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Nostalgia mode:

Here are some shots of my RTB01 Devastator Marines..



The banner has a skull topping it, on which is scrawled 'Heretic', classy.



The Sarge has a PF for some reason and Sarge bars. The Devs have a non standard flame motif as well.



I think the painting is marginally better than the Tac squad too..



I didn't have a Marine Heavy Plas so I 'converted' an Ork one..



Pro conversions, a bit of base stuck to the side of the back pack with some fuse wire cabling... the 'Adios' is a an Aliens reference which I repeated in the IG on a Autocannon...



A simpler more successful conversion, a thumbs up. He's obviously pleased with himself, maybe those 'Anti-plant' rockets he requested finally arrived..had my arse handed to me in 2nd Ed once because of Anti-plant shells fired on mass by Dark Reapers....grrr



Packing some reloads..

I've always loved my Devs, in 1st - 2nd Ed power armoured Marines were rubbish really, originally starting out with T3 and AS4+, with most weapons (even the mighty Lasgun) having a save 'modifier' of -1 meaning they died like Guardsmen. Many subsequent buffs arrived via WD (to much cries of cheese) finally getting Marines to T4 and AS3+ with the 'Shaken' buff to Leadership (you basically had to break them twice) and an ability to fire twice with bolters, or 'Rapid Fire' if they remained still. With all this they were still a bit crap really but Devs could really lay down the law with the massed heavy weapons. These were much more deadly than now and swung many a game in my favour. I've many fond memories of shelling Tyranids with Plasma, Melta and Super Krak missiles rolling double '3' on the sustained fire dice for Heavy bolters and killing myself with Plasma misfires....

Hope you like these troopers...I'll post up some pics of the converted replacements for these...I'm starting work on the 2nd unit of Devs too, I'm going to split some of the existing guys into the new unit and add in a few rank fillers, more soon!

Here's my replacement Devs. I built this unit as the 3rd I completed in the original 4th Ed era beginning of this army. I added in another 2 guys in 5th Ed (to make it up to 10) and eventually replaced the Lascannon and Heavy B' pictured here with another 2 Rocket Launchers (not pictured). I wanted the unit to be different from the Tacticals (other than duh 4 Heavies), I wanted each Dev marine to look different to it's Tack counterpart. I modelled them all to be supporting the Big Guns, some are spotting, other hauling ammo or loading.



The Sarge is a simple conversion using the classic Cadian head, it was the first big use of 'Green Stuff' for me and I struggled a bit. I added a badly done bionic eye and a slung bolter not really visible here (strap is over right back pack vent thing). He's using a slightly trimmed RT era pair of Ork binocs to spot for his unit, I was pleased when the Signum rules arrived which allowed him to actually do this. He's supposed to be dropping his arm from the vertical in an 'Unleash Hell!!!!' kind of gesture not, as some have suggested, a Nazi salute...If you pose him behind another guy it you can make it look like he's offering support by putting his hand on their shoulder.



Rocket Launchers. Good old workhorse weapons. Bare headed dude was a gift off the old housemate, with bandaged head, latterly I realised SMs clot super quickly because of their 4th kidney of something, so it's probably superfluous but it adds some interest. Both are wearing the blast shield or Mk VIII breastplate.



Rocket launcher helpers. These are more current jobs. The Black Reach guy has the rocket ammo backpack, I think the launcher tube is bulky enough for one guy, might as well spread the load. The other guy is proffering a reload to a RL.



Lascannon and all Heavies have targeter heads. The HB guy is showing off his torso nicely but all the 'big backpack' heavy weapon guys have the Assault torso. I prefer the idea of ammo/generators being ditchable rather than Jump Packs which I think should be integral to the armour, anyway I think they look nice.



Troopers spotting. I didn't want any of the bolter guys to be firing, they are all supporting their more important bretheran. Guy on left is from the original build and is using a spare LC scope, the other guy is using the binocs off the scout sprue as this had been released in the interim. Also a lot of bare heads in the Devs, they're further from the fisty cuffs and small arms so more are bare headed.



An early conversion but I like it. Slung bolter again and auspex.

I hope you like these dudes, I'm currently finishing off some minor conversions to make up my 2nd unit necessary for the Battle Company, more soonish...

I love what you’ve done with the bolter boys. So much more character then just standing around waiting to suck wounds.

Thanks!

I did see an army (I think based on the Emperor's Pointed Sticks off of TSOLR) where all the bolter carriers were dying heroically, it was well done and pretty funny.

I just noticed we're building the same Company, the 3rd!

 RandyMcStab wrote:

If you pose him behind another guy it you can make it look like he's offering support by putting his hand on their shoulder.

"Hey buddy, keep your chin up. I know you loved Mittens very much but he's gone to scratch curtains in heaven now."
That kind of thing?

RandyMcStab wrote:Thanks!

I did see an army (I think based on the Emperor's Pointed Sticks off of TSOLR) where all the bolter carriers were dying heroically, it was well done and pretty funny.

I just noticed we're building the same Company, the 3rd!

While the 2nd gets all the glory due to Sicarius the the stock-picture gold trim, we all know who gets the job done in the Ultramarines

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:

 RandyMcStab wrote:

If you pose him behind another guy it you can make it look like he's offering support by putting his hand on their shoulder.

"Hey buddy, keep your chin up. I know you loved Mittens very much but he's gone to scratch curtains in heaven now."
That kind of thing?

I’m guessing it’s more like “Bob, you’ve got the lascannon, and if you don’t kill that dreadnought -right now- it’s going to dismember all of us. No pressure. (but have BS5)"

"I just can't believe she left me"
"Chin up Brian, have BS5"




Automatically Appended Next Post:

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
"Hey buddy, keep your chin up. I know you loved Mittens very much but he's gone to scratch curtains in heaven now."
That kind of thing?

Exactly that kind of thing.

"We're afraid Mittens was eaten by Tyranids.."

Nevelon wrote:

While the 2nd gets all the glory due to Sicarius the the stock-picture gold trim, we all know who gets the job done in the Ultramarines

I’m guessing it’s more like “Bob, you’ve got the lascannon, and if you don’t kill that dreadnought -right now- it’s going to dismember all of us. No pressure. (but have BS5)"

LOL that too!

Yeah the 2nd get all the press coverage but they're gold plated glory boys. The 3rd have the awesome 'Sword thru Nid head' logo which I love. I've used it throughout my IG as a Tyranic War battle honour and I'll be doing the company banner eventually to finish off the 3rd.





Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've managed a little progress on the 2nd unit of Devs actually..



The 1st guy has a brand new GS hand and will get the slung bolter backpack off of the above Dev Sarge who will be upgraded to a Signum. The other guy is made from legs that were a gift from Alex and some parts I had already. I've converted a bolter holding arm to have a scope cut from a scout sniper rifle, he'll be a spotter for one of the LCs. The paper on the base is covering the slotta bit, I'm out of round bases now : /

Other freebies from Alex include these other guys (thanks again BTW!! double awesome of you)..



More basic guys these will fill some gaps in the Devs and Tack squad 5..



These guys are earmarked for Tack 5 too, they'll need some work, 2 have the wrong heads, I only use the double cable heads in my Assault units, probably cutting off the arms etc...



However these dudes may be only fit for target practice...If I do some stripping ever some of these might be worth rebuilding........maybe......Still I have enough guys to get on with the Devs, I finished bulding them and undecoated them today. I have pretty much enough dudes to build Tack 5 too which is awesome too. Bit and Kits are having a sale till the end of Feb so I just put an order in tonight for some components to start my 2nd Ass(ault) squad as well, I can make 5 and pick up an Ass box from GW sometime, they didn't have enough Jump Packs or bases but there's no rush....

I've done some loot pics which show some projects yet to come too so look out for those....

Toodles..

So I cancelled my subscription to WD today, felt weird as I still want it but it just doesn't exist anymore. Visions is absolute toss when I got my copy and flipped through it I was amazed at it's lack of content and shoddiness. I got the knight copy of WDW and it felt like a shard of a full WD but there's no way I'm able to get in to my local GW every week and it's so short it's not worth it anyway, nice to see some rules however. I would consider a Knight (for Apocalypse) but am in no rush...plenty to do already..

Reinforcements incoming!!

These are some of the outstanding projects I've got lying around. Some are presents from friends and family others I've saved up my 50p's for and got off ebay. A few have been lying around for years..



Here's the beginnings of my 'Masters of Chapter' formation. There are 2 guys from the original box of the same name, 1 other has already been made into a Captain the other is going to be converted into a Librarian. Original Calgar, I'm thinking I might do a back banner for him. Termie Captain is a quickie conversion using the torso of the Black Reach Captain and the Termie Sarge from the same box.



NiB Predator. I want to convert this a bit to show the AV13 on the front...got some plasicard lined up..



Mwahahahah, Airforce in a box. I want to do some moderate conversions on these too, mostly resiting weapons to make them look less goofy..



Got this off ebay, I'll get rid of the AC and probably replace it with a HF, needs some tidying up, I've got 20 scouts (12 painted) I'll be doing them soonish.



Old lump of lead Dread with AC and NiB(ag) Contemptor. Bit intimidated by the FW kit, these will help finish off the Battle Company.



I've been buying bits of FW stuff of eBay to build a Cassius conversion, I might do this next..

I'm doing the Devs now and then I'll be picking my next project. I've some other units as well mostly ones I've had for a while I'll do some pics of them soon. All I need now is about 6 months in my hobby room.......

This should be fun to watch come together.

Very keen to see what you do with Old School Calgar, I imagine you are going to make him less Calgarish with an arm swap or something?

Very surprised to see a whole flying circus in a box, I wonder how you'll make them look better (I actually don't mind that Dark Angels flyer with the much bigger wings, perhaps obtaining some of those wings would make the guppies less offensive to the eye, also one of the bits 3rd party types does a nice stormraven conversion kit).




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 RandyMcStab wrote:

Interesting. I was pondering as I read you saying you're doing a full company, whether you'd be including older suits of astartes armor.

@ Nev

Thanks dude! I've nearly read up to current with your blog!

@ MGS

I hadn't any immediate plans to alter Old 2 Gloves, I was thinking a banner but hadn't put loads of planning into that unit as it's not very high up the 'to do' list.

I was surprised myself with the flyers. I bought a Thunderchicken with some Xmas/B'day cash and Alex had the 2 Thundergoldfish left over from a Commission which he gave to me as a B'day thing (what a dreamboat). SO I ended up with effectively a full Stormlancewingfist or whatever. I've come round to them a bit and only plan minor changes really. I was thinking of moving the ACs on all of them so they look a bit more like the Vulcans on the Stormlord (and Macharus etc)...I like the DA flyer too although it does seem to get a lot of hate. I don't know if I can be enthused enough to massively rebuild them but I'll see how the kits go together...I do like the Chapter House SR kit but am put off by several horror stories, I really don't want to get into massive arsing around with resin if I can avoid it.

I don't plan on massive amounts of old school Mks of armour, Cassius seen here wears Mk IV and the new FW kits are lovely but I'm only short 10 Tack Marines now and the new box is lovely (I think it has a full suit of Mk IV, VI and VIII). If I was just starting out I might have got a few of the nice sets and mixed them through but I'm past that point now I think. If I run out of projects (hah) I could happily refit a few units but that's not a priority ATM..I got a minor bag of supplies off Bits & Kits again and will need a few more odds n sods (2 jump packs, a few torso backs, I like the Sternguard HB..) as well as a Assault squad box but that's all that stands between me and the Battle Company. *wrings hands*

Not had a lot of time but managed a little bit on the last Devs, the 1st group of 4 is nearing completion then there's another 3...I getting board of regulars and I think I'll do Cassius or my Converted Sternguard next....

I've done some pics of my old Command Squad and Captain, I'll post them up soon.....

WOW EPIC FAIL on the new IG/ST transport...if they'd just built something that looked like the lovechild of a CRASSUS and a Gorgon I'd deffo got one....The Stormies look nice but expensive to build any serious sized contingent..Not sure if it'll be necessary to buy the ST book to field my force of them..The IG codex cover looks great though, amazed at how little rumours are flying around as to rules..

Here's some pics of my Captain. I built him when I restarted this army in 4th Ed Era..



He was a big conversion for me at the time. It's built using (mostly) stuff from the SM Captain box (which is still available and cheaper than the new plastic combi-grav one!?). It was some serious greenstuffing for me then as well.



The helmet had a GS targeter eye added and the laurel is off the Termie(?) sprue and just glued on. The Captains holster is brown as well, everyone else webbing/kit is standard issue green, I expect space leather to be rare in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium.



The knee had Termintor honour GS'd on. The big silver square bolts I added too. The other leg has gold studs also made of GS.



I added a spacer between his torso and legs, to hide it I extended his 'belt buckle' and added a (slightly wonky) Ultra symbol to it.



This shoulder pad is actually in the kit. People bang on about how Ultras get everything but it's really rare to see the 'Upsilon' insignia actually sculpted on things...I was really shocked when TWV happened 3 whole SM models exclusive to Ultras! The converted arm holding the helmet was tricky to place. The entire space under the pad is filled with GS and the arm pushed up into it, making it twice as long as normal but this was the only way to make the angles work..



3rd company logo (sword thru Nid head) rendered on his other shoulder pad, the scroll below has the Captain's name, Gabriel.

I wanted him to look imperious and officer-y not running around screaming brandishing a Bloodthirster head in one arm and a twin linked thunder hammer in the other. These were the much maligned 'Rites of Battle' days so his mere presence on the field gave everyone Ld10 so I wanted to sort of convey that. I went with purple (not the company colour of red) as I liked the colour purple with the blue, gold and white. It's also suggestive of Imperial Purple and it's also worn by his bodyguard (al la praetorians).

I hope you like him, I'll showcase his converted Command Squad next. I've also got my original 2nd Ed Caprain too as well as my 5th Ed version. I'll be adding 3 more to this army eventually...

Let me know what you think...

White is very crisp, I'm envious. I remember this chap showing up and spoiling my fun. I always appreciated the lack of red on him. Purple does give him an air of command, as does his pose.


(and as an ork player, I love the new imperial transport... not sure if I was the intended audience though... )

Very nice pose. Your darkish take on Ultras is a little more obvious when you’ve got the white helmets and shoulder pads.

Why “Gabrial”? Ardias and Fabian are both listed as 3rd Co. captains in various sources, wondering where you got his name from. Did the 3rd use the sword/nid logo before the Battle of Macragge?

MeanGreenStompa wrote:White is very crisp, I'm envious. I remember this chap showing up and spoiling my fun. I always appreciated the lack of red on him. Purple does give him an air of command, as does his pose.


(and as an ork player, I love the new imperial transport... not sure if I was the intended audience though... )

Thanks!

Yeah pretty much all the positive noises for the Truck thing have been from ork players A front ramped heavily armoured mini Gorgan thing would have been cool....At least there's the new Ogryns to cheer us up................................................................................................................................

Nevelon wrote:Very nice pose. Your darkish take on Ultras is a little more obvious when you’ve got the white helmets and shoulder pads.

Why “Gabrial”? Ardias and Fabian are both listed as 3rd Co. captains in various sources, wondering where you got his name from. Did the 3rd use the sword/nid logo before the Battle of Macragge?

Thanks. Yes I like them a much darker blue than the usual. GW have slowly been catching up with me, each new 'eavy metal iteration is darker! I really disliked the powder blue with bright yellow rims and red bolters era...it gives me the shudders. BrotherSRM is doing just that army (very well, high nostalgia value, not dissing his opinion/taste) but it's the opposite of how they should be in my mind.

I picked Gabriel as I liked the name. I had an idea to make a Captain named after all 4 Archangels at one point. I haven't followed GW's version of much and this is my version of the 3rd, no coloured rims on the shoulder pads for instance, so I didn't bother going with a book name, anyway there is a long history to plunder. I have no idea what their flag depicted before the Tyrranic Wars, I doubt there is a version created. I love the Battle for Macragge I think it's one of the best stories in the GW pantheon, I've always loved fighting Nids because of it. My regular opponent has tons which helps too. I was deeply disappointed when the SM Warzone book was stupid Damnos which has much less coverage then BfM and is less interesting/pivotal, I did get it however (for the Apoc Formations/Assets).

Here's where I'm at now..



These 4 are nearly done and I've drybrushed the last 3...



Here's 20 (incomplete) Devastators!! Mwahhahahahha, I hope to be able to finish them off soon, then I might do Cassius, I've been getting little bits from various sources, just got a delivery of Zingle Industries cabling....Be nice to do a (special no less) character instead of all these regulars...after him I'm thinking my converted Sternguard should get a go as they are in my standard list. Then probably some armour....

I'll post up the pics of the converted command squad soon!!

Here's hoping we start getting some rules leaks for the IG soon!

Here he is with his drinking buddies...

I was lucky enough to be given the SM Veteran set (the first one) that came out with the 4th Ed book, these models were a revelation at the time. I thought they were too 'posh' looking for veterans and so decided to convert them into a Command squad.



I never liked this guy's massive axe so I clipped it (all these are metal models) away. I replaced it with a bolt pistol which now has an huge handle/grip...I swapped his pistol arm for the pointy powerfist.



He's the Sarge of the squad (even though they're all Sarges really, it's more of a first among equals deal..) and I like how he turned out.



This unit was also one of the only ways a Codex force could put 2 Meltas in a single unit. This guy used to be the 'holding a mace downwards guy' that arm was cut away from under the fancy shoulder pad and replaced with the trigger arm holding the MG, the other arm is a standard bolter holding arm. The basic looking loincloth thing I added to tie him into the rest of the guys who all have purple otherwise.



The unit has no fixed insignia and this guy is proclaiming he was part of the 1st Company at one point.



The other MG, again arm removed (other one this time) and MG added.



This guy is a double of my Assault Squad Sarge so I set out to differentiate it. I added a basic GS bionic eye, I was still learning how to use it at this point. And I added the big gold blob to his chest.



This arm is 'supposed' to go on the axe guy (who now has a pistol) above, but I thought the Mk VI pad should go here on the Mk VI dude, I also cut away the dangling exposed bullets (too chaosy) and replaced it with a clip made from a RTB01 reload pack.



This guy is normally the lightening claw equipped trooper, I've used him as a medic.



The backpack I had spare and I added the helix onto the shoulder pad as a simplified/stylized caduceus variant.

So that's the squad of five I can do field however the 4th Ed book had a variable size so I made a unit of 7 originally. I finished this unit in the dying days of the Codex, imagine my joy when I can no longer field these other 2...



The much maligned weirdly frowny guy. He's the one who's usually packing the pointy powerfist. I chopped off the upraised hand which held a BP originally and replaced it with the CS, the other arm is a one piece metal one from the kit. I can still use him at times as I don't usually find the points for a PF so he can replace that guy.



As I had run out of metal veterans (box had 5 and I added a blister which had the ex mace wielding guy) I made up this dude to bulk the unit out to 7. 8 was the magic number for me in 4th and all my squads were of 8 (this unit added in the Captain). I added the 'U' to his leg and a slightly shonky cloth thing with a broach. The helmet got a little badge too. He's got a little RT scanner/computer thing at his waist too.



I swapped out his chainsword for this 2nd Ed powersword and I now use him to lead a Tack squad if I want to swap in a PW.



I started this conversion a little while after completing this squad but never completed it, I need to now as the Apoc formation requires it. He'll need a bit of tweaking and I'll need to add some sort of purple cloth to fit him in with everyone else but he should prove a good starting point..

I've got a suitably pimped rhino for these guys to cruise around in I'll try to do some pics sometime..

I hope you liked this trip down memory lane, these were the a testing project for me then and I was very pleased with them, they performed well on the table too. Unfortunately with the 5th ed book I gradually stopped fielding them as the new 10 man squads bit into the points I used to use for these guys.

Hope you like 'em!

Nice personalization work on those old metal vets. Lots of history and character with those guys.

It's great being able to see these guys one by one to see exactly what's gone into them. I've had plenty of chance to look at the army as a whole but these guys don't often spend much time on the table. It's really easy to see the wood from the trees or whatever in this format.

Nevelon wrote:Nice personalization work on those old metal vets. Lots of history and character with those guys.

Thanks, I really like making 'big units' a bit different and agree with you (you mentioned in your blog) that the robes don't necessarily make them look like veterans but I think look good for a La Di Da HQ asset, my vets are loaded out with kit and damage.

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:It's great being able to see these guys one by one to see exactly what's gone into them. I've had plenty of chance to look at the army as a whole but these guys don't often spend much time on the table. It's really easy to see the wood from the trees or whatever in this format.

Thanks!, I miss fielding them, I might fit them in a 2k list..

I've got an unusual day off today and hope to fit in 2 games, 1.5k vs Farsight Tau and 2k vs New Nids, I'll take my basic 1.5k list for both and I need to do an add on for the bigger game..not sure what to take yet. I might do some pics and do some short format BatReps in this thread if I feel inspired. let me know if you're interested.

Finished the group of 4 Devs, and started in earnest on the last 3.

Did I miss the reason this thread appears to be pinned to the front page?

Because I keep linking people here under the pretence of Dubstep Tau.

LOL, excellent next tell them I'm making boobs out of GS and putting LEDs in everything.................

Ooooohh FP nice!

I've taken a bunch of photos and will upload them maybe tomorrow and start on some mini BatReps of those games, both were very enjoyable. Many xenos were rightly purged. Always nice to play against a new book and I was surprised how different the Nid book feels, it's much less pathetic than it first felt (still a slap in the face of nid players).

Some after action reports, pics from the Tau game...and there will be Nids too...



TAU!! He's using the cheating Farsight book..his army is still quite new and so semi painted..



This guy is a commander with 2x Marker drones..(all the other drones are shield)..



This is his 'Fusion Blade' conversion which is Farsight for the purposes of this game..his bodyguard are all double plas......yum. Behind him is a 3 man squad with missile pods and 1 melta.




On the wings of his formation are 2 double missile pod dudes with monat double meltas..



Cheesetide and 2 Broadsides..



Against these honourless scum who don't even have the decency to use swords (bar maybe that chaos worshiping Farsight) was my standard 1.5k list..



These guys haven't had their pics in this thread yet (but will). A MG/HB Tack and a PF/FL Assault squad. The Rhino is the pimped version that belongs to my captain.



Said captain, Terminators, unfinished Sternguard (all yet to feature in blog) and obligatory Thunderfire.



Las/Plas Tack and Devs. Normal Rhino which the first Tack unit rides in, 5 man sniper scouts are just visible too..



The field of glory..My opponent is building some nice multi leveled ruins but they are not yet finished...

SO who will win? Who will care? Who knows?

Tune in again for the next thrilling (not thrilling) installment!


Automatically Appended Next Post:


Sneak peek of other game!!

Grabs popcorn.

Thanks hope you enjoy.

Here the first scrap. Both my opponent and I had a game in the afternoon and we didn't play very fast so we didn't go beyond turn 3, still it's only my second game against the Farsight list and my first against the actual special character.



I won the first turn and deployed, it was 'Hammer & Anvil' and 'Big Guns', Night Fight was on. To the left was the Las/Plas Tack on the roof holding an objective (he always insists we use 'Mysterious Objectives', this was was a reroll 1s to hit, hilariously every other one was booby traps) and Rhino bourne Tack 1 (MG/HB) just behind. The larger building to the right held the Devs and thunderfire and to the right again was my Captain and Sternguard in a Rhino.



The big building on the left had the 2 independent Broadsides holding the top floor and a Missile team backed up with a Melta guy holding an objective on the bottom floor. The ruin to the right had another 2 man missile team with Melta buddy, the Riptide, the Commander and the 3 man Melta MP sqaud. Farsight was held in reserve and so were my Termies. My Scouts infiltrated onto a ruin in no mans land in front of the Broadsides.



At this point he rolled a 6 and managed to 'Seize the Cheese' for the first time....bah..



He advances quite rapidly on my left (there's an objective in the building in front of them, a RT metal Termagant) and missiles and heavy burst cannon do for 2 marines out of the las/plas Tack...



The BS chip in with 2 precision shots with Railguns (with twin linked rerolls he ended up with 2 5s which added to their charcter status and Tau 'tech' mean precision shots) so I have to make 2 cover saves for my Lascannon and Plasma gunner, I opt to go to ground so the unit isn't rendered useless in turn one....at least I make both saves..not much happens on the other side of the table as most things are out of range due to H&A deployment.

My turn, so with night fighting and long range all of my shooting will be going against a 2+ cover save, as all Tau suits get 'Black Sun Filters' (sounds racist to me) and with FS enclaves all Tau are suits so his entire army ignores night fighting, the searchlights on my Rhinos are out of range...Thanks Obama....



The Tacks decide to bail out and try to help their pinned brethren and plink off some snap fire HB at the marker drones, I'm desperate to kill them before my entire army is undone by these stupid 12pt frisbees, to no avail. But that's 18 Marines holding my Objective. The pinned Las/plas manage a wounding hit on the Riptide despite needing a 6 to hit and NF etc, w00t. Only 4 left. Again wanting to kill the drones I check range with the Thunderfire, they're out by like an inch, stupid H&A deployment.



I shell the 3 man MP MG unit and manage to kill one and pin the survivors..



On the other flank the Devs roll poorly to hit and the one bullseye is defeated by 2+ cover. The Rhino and Assault squad floor it forwards towards the scouts who hold an objective.

Turn 2



This starts with FS arriving from reserve, his Warlord Trait is DS without scatter, mine was useless, the plan behind attaching him to 6 plasma guns begins to dawn on me, I await the rolls to hit on the Marker Drones (only need a 2+) and he gets both, these are used to strip the cover form my LasPlas guys just before FS and co. open up...the squad are wiped. The Riptide kills a few Tacks from the remaining squad..The whole party Jetpack back toward the objective between us. The BS do something unmemorable.



My turn starts with the Termies arriving from DS. I position them in the midst of the Tau to draw attention from the aborted attack on the Tactical's wing and the Captain's Rhino dash on the other. Immediately 3 Tau units utilise their advanced 'Tau Tech' to 'Interceptor' them, neither my SM or IG even have it in their books but all FS units (as they're all suits) can take it for 5pts. I lose the assault cannon and so most of my firepower. I manage to kill one of the marker drones which will at least prevent him from denying me a cover save again.



As he was able to deploy reactively and then go first the majority of his strength is on the other flank to my Assault dudes, they brave open ground to try to close on the Riptide..the Captain plows on towards the Tau home objective to hopefully assault it and cover the scouts lurking in the ruins quietly holding an objective of their own. The Devs supply utterly useless covering fire, even with the 'Tactical Doctrine' in effect and fail to get the Broadsides heads down.



The remaining Tacks reform to hold their objective and the Rhino attempts to give them some cover. Being Twin linked they put down a reasonable amount of fire into FS and kill 2 guards and wound another with melta and bolt fire.

Turn 3

I'll run the player turns together..



The Captain's ace ride is rattled by MPs and then blown up by Melta fire (Tau have 18'' Melta guns by the way, more 'Tau Tech' FTW), 1 Sternguard is killed in the explosion and 3 more by further MPs and BS based Plas.



In my turn a poor MtC roll leaves me out in the open unable to get LoS blocked from the 2 BS ans 2 MP suits on the floors above they do however gun down the Monat dual MG suit in a hail of hellfire rounds.



The Tau consolidate onto the central objective and shoot the Termies I make some saves and 3 are left, In my turn I move them right up to FS (shooting him for a wound) hoping to PF him up, gaining me Warlord, the Assault marines hoss toward the Riptide as close as poss, I pop the 'Assault Doctrine' and the AM still fail a 6'' charge through cover, the Termies make theirs only to be overwatched by the Riptide, the Commander and FS with remaining guard (more Tau Tech), some good rolls on his part and bad on mine wipes out the veterans. The Devs again do nothing.

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNnnd that's where time constraints kicked in and we had to leave it. I did warn you. At the beginning.

I was definitely on the back foot and I would have struggled to recover from those losses, I was currently holding more objectives however. It's hard to say what would have happened but IF the Captain survived a round of shooting and the tedious super overwatch he could have denied the home objective to the Tau but that's some big 'ifs' still he could have had fun Power Axing all those suits. The Scouts could have GtG indefinitely to hold the middle objective and maybe the Devastators would have even caused a casualty, it could happen. Anyway it's never a loss if your opponent is using a 'variant' list and a special character, I think that's in the rules somewhere....

The FS list is nasty to play against and the tweaks since the 1st time I played it have paid off. The TAU TECH stuff is frankly ridiculous. The ability to easily reach out and snatch away cover, snipe special weps, ignore NF, easy access to Interceptor, Jetpacks on 2d6 etc is so strong. The Riptide had an 'Earth Caste' pilot which lets him reroll 1s to hit (basically negating the overcharge 'gets hot') and reroll failed reactor rolls but it is expensive and drops it to WS1 (though it's so quick you only really get to assault it if it lets you). My opponent (who does lurk on here, and was toying on doing a blog of his own) was at pains to point out it could have been a much cheesier list, which is true, but doesn't speak well of the balance of the Codex. Still I did enjoy the game but every future one looks to be an uphill struggle. I'm not even sure what units would fare better, counter SC cheese with SC of my own? Tigurius could work. All tips greatly accepted.

SO from the OP book de jour to one generally thought of as pants, that means I can't lose right?



WHATS WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!!!!!!!

Tune in soon for 2k SM vs Nids!!!!!!

Nice report guys. Although most of the tau stuff is nonsense to me having only played them twice ever before this new codec edition and not having really read up on this new one.
I've got a feeling that you might not do so well against the nids though. I've seen those models somewhere before and heard that the guy who plays them is a bit of a badass and outlandishly handsome. Also looks like he's got a Haruspex, good luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here's my 2k list
It's a bit of everything and some of the new stuff as I just wanted to see how everything worked with the new codec.

Hq
Dakka flyrant,
Tervigon, claws
Troops
20 hormagaunts
20 hormagaunts
20 hormagaunts
6 warriors deathspitters
10 genestealers
Elite
Haruspex
Zoanthrope, warp blast, warp lance
Zoanthrope, warp blast, warp lance
Fast
Crone
20 gargoyles
Heavy
Exocrine
Tyrannofex, rupture cannon.

You gota love Tau. All those rules the rest of us play by? Nah, they got tech that overrides that.

That said, make sure you know the rules, and make sure they are following the ones they should. I.e. with interceptor, you can’t fire that same gun on your turn if you fire it during your opponent’s. It also happens at the end of your movement phase, and still needs range/LOS, so there are some things you can do to mitigate it.

Once you get past the “You can do What?” part of the Tau and can start planning for it, they get easier. But being blindsided the first time sucks. The other thing is to play smart, and keep the victory conditions in mind, which is sounds like you were doing.

Nids should be easier. Just picture yourself on a nice, snowy plain, surrounded by the corpses of the 1st company, harness your wrath, and ride the vengeance to victory!

Hi Babe,

Thanks for making the effort to post the game up - Hopefully one day my Enclaves and amazing cardboard buildings will do your beautifully painted Ultras justice.

I'm looking forward to seeing how your 2nd game of the day went down.

Mine was a DoW, Kill points affair which did not go well for either Farsight or my Cheesetide (that's both of them taken out by our friend's BAs in our last two games). Still, after a block of predominantly objective-based games it was good to have an old-fashioned punch (or plasma) up.

For the greater... blood.

Nevelon wrote:You gota love Tau. All those rules the rest of us play by? Nah, they got tech that overrides that.

That said, make sure you know the rules, and make sure they are following the ones they should. I.e. with interceptor, you can’t fire that same gun on your turn if you fire it during your opponent’s. It also happens at the end of your movement phase, and still needs range/LOS, so there are some things you can do to mitigate it.

Once you get past the “You can do What?” part of the Tau and can start planning for it, they get easier. But being blindsided the first time sucks. The other thing is to play smart, and keep the victory conditions in mind, which is sounds like you were doing.

Nids should be easier. Just picture yourself on a nice, snowy plain, surrounded by the corpses of the 1st company, harness your wrath, and ride the vengeance to victory!

Yes he's pretty good with not getting his rules wrong and I've read his book, it's definitely about keeping the objectives in mind too. It's just annoying so many things are just so easy for that book. We played a lot in 4th Ed which I won most of and whilst the SM book wasn't exactly OP then, the Tau book was a bit meh and generally overcosted and the core rules favoured assault more. The main culprit was the consolidate into a new unit thingy which I think most people were pleased to see go. Now it's a full reverse and the Tau book is OP too. Obviously Karma.

The snowy plain bit made me literally LOL in a crowded cafe, thanks, now they all think I'm a psycho. I do find the Nid stories the most stirring in my black carapace and have a special place in my 2nd heart for killing them. It feels like your saving the universe one gaunt at a time.

Mid-life Crisis Suit wrote:Hi Babe,

Thanks for making the effort to post the game up - Hopefully one day my Enclaves and amazing cardboard buildings will do your beautifully painted Ultras justice.

I'm looking forward to seeing how your 2nd game of the day went down.

Mine was a DoW, Kill points affair which did not go well for either Farsight or my Cheesetide (that's both of them taken out by our friend's BAs in our last two games). Still, after a block of predominantly objective-based games it was good to have an old-fashioned punch (or plasma) up.

For the greater... blood.

Glad you liked it, I would have liked to have finished it really but we both had other plans and we should have spent less time talking and drinking tea and just got down to the wargasm. I glad he managed to kill Farsight, I'll get him eventually! I think this iteration of your list is really good and hope to play again without the crappy rolls, Nightfighting and cheese-seizing.

Also glad to have your first post, my quick snaps don't show the conversions on your stuff well, I look forward to any blogs you do.





Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
Nice report guys. Although most of the tau stuff is nonsense to me having only played them twice ever before this new codec edition and not having really read up on this new one.
I've got a feeling that you might not do so well against the nids though. I've seen those models somewhere before and heard that the guy who plays them is a bit of a badass and outlandishly handsome. Also looks like he's got a Haruspex, good luck!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here's my 2k list
It's a bit of everything and some of the new stuff as I just wanted to see how everything worked with the new codec.

Hq
Dakka flyrant,
Tervigon, claws
Troops
20 hormagaunts
20 hormagaunts
20 hormagaunts
6 warriors deathspitters
10 genestealers
Elite
Haruspex
Zoanthrope, warp blast, warp lance
Zoanthrope, warp blast, warp lance
Fast
Crone
20 gargoyles
Heavy
Exocrine
Tyrannofex, rupture cannon.

Some pics of that army..









Here's the fearless band of heroes pitting themselves against the intergalactic menace. This is 2k and is the same force from above with a few extras (obviously). I stuck in my new Tactical as I've never fielded it before (MM, FL, GP), I had 2 Dev units of 7 instead of 1 of 8 (2xLC, 2xML and LC, 2xML, HB) and after talking about how I never field my Command squad they had to go in (they're also finished).



I swapped my Captain too as I like a Relic Blade against nids and he costs the same as a PW GP one. This is my 5th Ed guy and I'll do a photoshoot with him sometime.



The battlefield. We rolled Killpoints (my first go with them ever in 6th and the first time I've EVER had less than my enemy, thanks IG) and Hammer & Anvil (the above game was actually Vanguard Strike I now remember but it was functionally a H&A game).

I arrived to find the terrain was set, the Nids were lined up and his list was written. Thinking that Alex may have been replaced by a 'body snatchers' style pod person I had this suspicion confirmed when he pointed out there was no comedy Pyrovore! BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A PYROVORE! I shouted as I ran for the hills.

He clearly means business.

This was the first game (I think) with the new book and units and so was pretty exciting for us both as we'd played under the old book a lot.



Here's my deployment, I basically occupied all the terrain I could as I had masses of troopers using a near all infantry list. This meant deploying right to the front of my deployment zone which I think is good as it means Alex will have to slog less, H&A can be a bit of a joke for assault armies and I'm more confidant being close with my SM than IG. The shots a bit blurry but the jist is there. From the bottom Dev 1 occupy the heights, then the Sternies right up at the front, behind them the empty Rhino of Tack 1 who are just above it protecting Dev 2 who are upstairs. Out of LoS behind that building is the Thunderfire and Assault Marines. Moving up from Dev 2 is the Captains Rhino in front of that is Tack 3 and finally above them is Tack 2.



Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiids, Tyrranofex, then the front rank is Hormies, Zoanthrope, Gargs and more Hormies. Starting in front of the cat we have the brand new Hentaifex, then the warriors Dakka Flyrant, hormies, Crone, Tervigon and Exocrine. We were all looking forward to seeing his new beasties in action!



Devs 1 hold my left and ready their heavy gear..



Tack 1 hold the centre guarding Dev 2 up above..



Tack 3 hold the right..



Tack 2 the extreme right..



The AM prepare to respond to any breakthroughs..



Fly my pretties!!!



Crone readies it's 'Drool Cannon'.



Bugs are ready to go over the top..

I win the roll to go first and Alex rolls to seize the cheese and............................