My first WIP thread. It's taken me a while to get round to this, so there's a load of images to start off with.

The list for my Raven Guard is as follows:

Raven Guard 10th Company
Taskforce Korbijn
Luther McIntyre Campaign

[HQ] Steward Captain Korbijn = 140
*Counts as Lias Issodon (IA9)*

[ELITES] Sternguard = 310
-10 Sternguard
-Combi-Flamer
-2 Combi-Meltas
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

[ELITES] Dreadnought = 160
-Heavy Flamer
-PLasma Cannon
-Drop pod

[TROOPS] Scout Squad = 150
-10 Scouts
-Bolters
-Missile Launcher

[TROOPS] Scout Squad = 150
-10 Scouts
-Sniper Rifles
-Missile Launcher

[TROOPS] Scout Squad = 150
-10 Scouts
-Sniper Rifles
-Missile Launcher

[FAST] Scout Bike Squad = 145
-5 Scout Bikers
-2 Astartes Grenade Launchers
-Melta Bombs
-Cluster Mines

[FAST] Land Speeder Squadron = 140
-2 Land Speeders
-2 Heavy Flamers
-2 Multi-Meltas

[FAST] Stormtalon Gunship = 155
-Typhoon/Skyhammer Missile Launchers
(Plan is to Magnetise this)


Total Points Cost = 1500
Total Model Count = 52
Total Expenditure = £278.45 (Roughly $428.42)

There's no real need to critique the list, the chances are I'll completely ignore you if you do, but feel free nonetheless.

Now, I'lll start with Steward Captain Korbijn, built using Forge World MkVI armour and Raven Guard bitz and various other gubbinz I could find, and my favourite helm from the Black Templars sprue. Not at all unhappy with how this chap turned out. I chose to limit the amount of white because he is one of only eleven PA marines in the army, and the Sternguard display a lot of white because of their veteran status. I sculpted the cloak myself, though it can't really be seen here.


Next is the first half of my Sternguard Squad; unless I run into anything monstrous, I intend to combat squad this unit.


The second half; this squad was built using FW bitz and some Assault Marine legs for the more dynamic posing, and to make them look bigger next to the scouts.


The Drop Pod for the Sternguard. I didn't want to over-adorn this, the Raven Guard seem to prefer function over aesthetics, and this is obviously a craft designed for atmospheric re-entry.


The first of my Scout Squads, I plan to convert the scouts with bolters from the snipers, to increase the unified look of the army. The squad doesn't have camo-cloaks, but Issodon gives them the Stealth rule anyway.


And finally, the first of what will be 5 scout bikers, they seem a versatile unit, and I like the look of them, they will be outflanking with a Stormtalon in tow.


I'd be thrilled if Dakka could let me know what it thinks. Be gentle with me though, I'm new here.

Looks fantastic man, love the Captain, that's my favourite helmet too ;D
Nice blog, can't wait for more

Thanks man, it shouldn't be long before the next post, I'm finished with Uni for the summer and feeling motivated.

I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Now normally I love the monarchy, I think the royal family are wonderful and hilarious and that they give Britain an excellent sense of national identity and pride that couldn't be gained from an elected Head of State. But...

CURSE ME FOR A FOOL IF I DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!

Games Workshop, in their wisdom, decided to release a bunch of fantastic new kits on Jubilee weekend, and now my Stormtalon hasn't shipped in time. So the chances are I won't get it until Friday.

And now my local hobby shop reveal that they don't even have my Land Speeders yet.

I'm going to have to spend all week painting gaunts.

They all look quite good, especially the captain and the scouts, though I can't help but think that the sternguard would look better if they had a strong tertiary color to break up the black/white a bit.

Rayth Phaenor wrote:They all look quite good, especially the captain and the scouts, though I can't help but think that the Sternguard would look better if they had a strong tertiary color to break up the black/white a bit.

I know exactly what you mean, as an army in its own right it seems a bit too monochrome. I wanted to get a more gritty aesthetic (which sounds terribly cliché now that I've typed it). Although it didn't come out all that well on the photos, their lenses, seals and laurels are all picked out in a deep green, and the odd detail in yellow or gold acts as a contrast to the dark silver. As it happens I intentionally kept the colours fairly dark because the Imperial Guard army that sits alongside them (pics to come) are all in quite rich colours.

Some of those guys look wicked cool. Barely see too many ravenguard beyond JUMP PACKS JUMP PACK JUMP PACKS

Howabout some grey edging?

I love it. I will be keeping an eye on this.

Miss Dee wrote:Howabout some grey edging?

The Sternguard are the only Marines in Power Armour in the whole army, and most of them are in MkVI armour, so no edging at all. The Land Speeder pilots are from the 8th Company: Assault Reserve, so they will have grey edging. If I ever decide to take the list to 2000pts I might add more PA marines, but that'll depend on how well the 1500pt list performs.

I also have a list written for a 6th Company Orbital Drop force, tactical reserve, just in case I ever go completely insane. They'll all have orange pauldron rims, which should be quite striking. That runs to exactly 3000pts and involves 117 models, including 11 Drop Pods. Like I say, I'd have to be utterly potty to try that, it's predicted to be in excess of £500.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

kenshin620 wrote:Some of those guys look wicked cool. Barely see too many ravenguard beyond JUMP PACKS JUMP PACK JUMP PACKS

Absolutely, I'm as big a fan of Shrike as you're likely to find, but Lias Issodon captured my imagination, and I felt that a shooty RG force would be a nice change. I can't promise it'll be competitive, but it will be fluffy and with any luck it'll also be attractive.

Finally! Update time!

1. My Stormtalon is nearly finished, expect pics within the week.

2. Along with the Stormtalon will come 2 shiny new Land Speeders, my other rapid support element.

3. Today I ordered my copy of the 40k 6th ed. rulebook. *squee*

4. To fill in the gap, here are some pictures of a Blood Raven I painted because I was bored of black.







Quite happy with the freehand, even though it was just a filler model essentially.

I love the look of the Raven Guard keep it up !

Looking really good, loving the stern combi flamer. the skin tone is spot on.

Finally! My Stormtalon is finished.

Named 'Ephrenia' after the former admiral of the Raven Guard starfleet, this Stormtalon now takes to the air under the command of Steward Captain Korbijn, bringing swift justice to the traitor forces invading the Follax system.



I've made this longer and sleeker by mounting the Assault Cannons higher up and a bit further forward. I'm rather happy with the results.



The insignia on the wings was a bit of a gamble, but I think it paid off. The Smurf's Stormtalon we keep seeing has the fast-attack symbol on the wings, but I don't think it really fits considering that Stormtalons come from the chapter Armoury and not from any of the fast attack elements. By that logic, all the Land Raiders, Vindicators, Whirlwinds and Predators should have the heavy-support symbol plastered all over them. Inconsistency offends me.



The devil is in the details. I put a frankly ridiculous amount of effort into the interior of this model. I know some people think it's unnecessary, but I find that painted interiors really lift your army to another level. I kept the colours light so the model could be black without being dull, and I think turning the pilot's head a bit really adds character.

The interior looks fantastic. The little details really makes it look special. I must say I have been checking up on this thread as I am starting to build Raven Guard as well and it is very inspirational.

UnCool Villain wrote:The interior looks fantastic. The little details really makes it look special. I must say I have been checking up on this thread as I am starting to build Raven Guard as well and it is very inspirational.

To inspire is my primary intention. There's little that pleases me more than seeing new, original, interesting armies going together. I look forward to seeing your own RG.

Update time! I finally finished the interior of my first Land Speeder. Again, considerable effort for minimum effect, but that's how I role. I also got some stronger clear rod to make the flying base, and I magnetized the land speeder to the stalk, I've already fielded this in a game and it really worked. No wobbling, no snapping, and peace of mind for all involved.





I really wasn't sure about only having colour on the right shoulder, but it's growing on me.



Following this Land Speeder, I couldn't really face doing the other one just yet, so I started my second Scout squad. These will be armed with Bolters to make them a bit more mobile (yay, 6th), but to avoid using the same five poses six times, I'm converting half of them from Sniper Scouts, the other five will have rolled-up cloaks which I may or may not sculpt myself. Expect finished pics at some point, maybe.





The rebreathers are to hide the massive underbite all the Scouts have.
Reminds me of this:

Fantastic looking army, nice to see use of a IA character in an army, they give so much more background to a force. Looking forward to seeing more from this army as it has so much potential

Young Logan

I got my PC back, so I've been playing games rather than painting scouts. That's my excuse anyway.

I also had my first few proper games with the 500pt version of this army, resulting in two wins and a loss, which isn't bad considering that these are the first three games I've played in more than a year. So now I know where my strengths really lie and what the army needs in future. Rapid strike elements are the key, so the Stormtalon, these Land Speeders and my Scout Bikers are essential, I also lack melee proficiency, so a few assault marines might be in order, perhaps as a later addition. So with the below list I have in sequence been massacred by and have massacred an army of Sisters of Battle, and I've executed a punishing guerilla strike against a large mob of Orks.

[HQ] Steward Captain Korbijn = 140

[TROOPS] Tactical Squad = 135
-5 Space Marines
-Combi-Flamer
-Drop Pod

[TROOPS] Scout Squad = 150
-10 Scouts
-Sniper Rifles
-Missile Launcher

[TROOPS] Scout Squad = 75
-Bolters

Total Points Value = 500

All very promising. Korbijn is a monster, he and his 5 men saw off 20 boyz in last night's game, Overwatch is my friend.

And I finally finished those scouts, the picture quality isn't up to much because I forgot to choose the auto-adjusted version when I was uploading it.

Finished my second Land Speeder, hoorah. Nothing particularly different about this one, but still, an update is an update.

These two vehicles are brought from the 7th Company, which is actually a tactical reserve, rather than assault. Still, the marines of the 7th are trained extensively in the piloting of Land Speeders, and are valued as support elements for the operational battle companies. This squadron is on training detail with the 10th company, tutoring the pilots of Land Speeder storms in the tricky art of controlling a big chunk of metal as it approaches terminal velocity.









As you can see, the pilot is actually the Veteran Sergeant of the squad. I reasoned that as the 7th is a tactical reserve, they'd have all the normal markings of a tactical squad, but would be in Land Speeders, so the pilot of the head speeder would naturally be the squad leader.

Okay, so I've been off-task for a while. I haven't painted anything more for the proper army list, but I felt compelled to paint some Tactical Marines. Incidentally, they're almost finished, I'm now waiting on a can of gloss varnish from Vallejo, then I'll get the last 3 done. Expect pictures soon.

In the mean time, I've painted a model that doesn't require a coat of gloss (No big transfers, you see.) This is Codicier Ernaldus, the Librarian who first found Korbijn as an infant on Kiavhar, he's a potent psyker and a first-rate mentor, and he'll be formidable once he's got a ten-man squad backing him up.







You'll probably see the freehand designs in the book, I love painting freehand, and the various books and scrolls that adorn this miniature are an absolute playground for the steady-handed. I also really enjoyed doing the pattern on the haft of his Force Weapon. This is only the second initiate in the army to bare his face (I don't count the scouts, they haven't proven themselves yet.) and I took care to get the skin-tone just right, the vibrant red of a fresh scar is a nice contrast to the muted tones of the face. Head to my gallery to see the images in full-size.

Hey there Spine.

I came over your blog while i was walking through some blogs. I really like the dark and cold colour scheme for your army. I can see that you got some nice painting skills, your models are well painted to a good standard, keep it up!

Good lines, nice highliths, nice work on the detail work, cant wait to see more really.

The tac marines with assault legs make them just so much more dynamic, love the look, done the same thing on my models, you get an alot more aggressive army, its a good touch to the army.

Keep on happy painting bud!

Nice to see this back at the top. I really like the storm talon, you have nailed the functionality of the raven guard with the paint job as well

Looking forward to seeing the dreadnought in due course as well

Young Logan

Charky wrote:
Hey there Spine.

I came over your blog while i was walking through some blogs. I really like the dark and cold colour scheme for your army. I can see that you got some nice painting skills, your models are well painted to a good standard, keep it up!

Good lines, nice highlights, nice work on the detail work, cant wait to see more really.

The tac marines with assault legs make them just so much more dynamic, love the look, done the same thing on my models, you get an alot more aggressive army, its a good touch to the army.

Keep on happy painting bud!

Your comments are much appreciated, and it's nice to see a new user coming in. I hope you can get your own blog started before too long.

The Sternguard, featured in the first, post are a huge success. They really look like brave, noble warriors and, as odd as this sounds, people really think twice before tangling with them in games. A good paint job is a wonderful psychological tool, I'm very happy with how they've turned out.

You'll see what a difference the legs make when I put up some photos of this Tactical squad I've been doing recently. The marines look fine, but that ridiculous stance they have is a real embarrassment

 Young_Logan wrote:
Nice to see this back at the top. I really like the storm talon, you have nailed the functionality of the raven guard with the paint job as well

Looking forward to seeing the dreadnought in due course as well

Young Logan

I feel like I should hold off on the Dreadnought until I've finished my Scouts, it'll be my reward for painting a full army.

The end is actually within reach now. Just 15 more Scouts and 4 more Scout Bikers, and the Dreadnought, obviously. Where I go from there is anyone's guess. I have designs on expanding this army even further with separate 500pt detachments which can be appended to the main army list as the situation demands. If I'm facing Tau or Traitor Guard, a Librarian and Tactical squad can be brought in via deep-strike to combat dug-in troops and tanks. Against armies like Eldar or Chaos that'll try to hit me in my deployment zone, Shadow Captain Korvydae can bring in an Assault Squad to catch the enemy off-guard and mount a counter offensive.

Anyway, I now have Dark Vengeance to paint, I'm doing an allied detachment from the Disciples of Caliban so I can have Terminators and a Librarian with access to the Divination powers. Watch this space.

Wow, it's been a while. Keeping a blog going while trying to look like I'm also studying is proving tricky.

Nevertheless, I have a treat for everyone today.

After two whole years of on-and-off painting (though mainly off) I have finally finished my Imperial Guard Veterans. When I wrote the army list, which is shown below, I calculated that the GW models would come to roughly £400, which is just obscene, so I went for the fantastic Napoleonic-era infantry from Victrix. Honestly, I can't overstate how wonderful these minis are as guardsmen. Rather than paying £18 for 10 Cadians I managed to build all 35 of the infantry you see pictured here for a little less than £30, though shopping around online helped immensely as well, the Autocannons are 1:72 scale German 'PAK 40' guns by Italeri and I built the Grenade Launchers myself.

42nd Follaxian Light Infantry "No Hopers"
5th Follaxian Armoured Corps
Escape from Luther McIntyre [Last Action]

[HQ]Company HQ = 320
-Field Marshal Hubert Thistlethwaite, Lord of Wickersgrove *CREEEEEED!*
-Ensign Officer Victor Habberjam, Earl of Birreldon *Kell*
-Master Servatius Claudel *Astropath*
-Captain Augustus Coxswain *Officer of the Fleet*
-Camo Cloaks

[TROOPS] Veteren Squad I = 115
-Grenade launcher
-Autocannon
-Forward Sentries

[TROOPS] Veteren Squad II = 115
-Grenade launcher
-Autocannon
-Forward Sentries

[TROOPS] Veteren Squad III = 115
-Grenade launcher
-Autocannon
-Forward Sentries

[TROOPS] Infantry Platoon I = 415

Platoon HQ = 105
-Flank Lieutenant Aurelia Bennet *Al'Rahem*
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad I = 90
-Commissar
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad II = 55
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad III = 55
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad IV = 55
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad V = 55
-Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad V = 55
-Grenade Launcher

[HEAVY] Leman Russ Squadron = 320
-2 Leman Russ
-Heavy Stubbers

[FORTIFICATION] Aegis Defence Line = 100
-Quad Gun

Total Points Cost = 1500
Total Model Count = 95 + Fortification
Total Expenditure = £137.53

Now this list has seen quite a bit of re-writing since the release of 6th ed. So if anyone has any good advice that would be fantastic. Ideally I'd like to keep to the 'Light Infantry' theme, but chuck some ideas at me anyway. If extra points need to be freed-up you can drop one or two of the Infantry squads. I don't think I really need a blob that big, but it'd be nice nonetheless.

First, a full group-shot.


The Company HQ. As I say, this will have CREEEEEEEED! and Kell added later.


The Company Colour. Marvel at my mad freehand skillz.


Veteran Squad 1, nothing too radical going on here.


Veteran Squad 2, advancing at march.


Veteran Squad 3, locked in a fierce close-quaters with... something.

Extra points for the 'fisticuffs' guardsman?

'What are these doing on a Raven Guard blog?' I hear you ask. Well, you'll probably see from the bases that these chaps are designed to sit alongside my Raven Guard. The two army lists were written side-by-side as part of an ongoing narrative.

The painting on these isn't massively impressive, they're only guardsmen, but the quantity was what made them take 2 years. The rank-and-file infantry will not have the white details, those are what really made them a chore to paint. But I am very happy with how these turned out. As always, comments are encouraged.

I'm finished with Uni for the summer, now I've finally got time to update the blog. Huzzah!

Since my last post, I have done a whole Tactical Squad, plus a few other things. I'm aware that these are not relevant to the army list written above, but I had a sudden compulsion to paint a squad of rank-and-file marines, so I did.

Continuing my theme of Reserve Companies, these chaps are from the 6th, a tactical reserve typically dispersed among other forces as single squads to bolster the line and capture objectives while elements from companies such as the 7th and 8th engage the foe from a flank. 6th Company Marines are also trained extensively in the use of motorbikes, and are well equipped to fight from the saddle as well as on foot. Despite the jarring change of theatre, from Kastoral Novem's arid salt flats and scorched earth to the verdent fields and filthy cities of Follax, and Shadow Captain Korvydae's controversial decision to designate a mere Brother Sergeant as his steward, these men have stayed true to their orders and continue to train and instruct the fresh recruits of the 10th.


I've toned own the highlights on this squad, so they allow my characters to stand out a bit better.


Every marine bears a tactical symbol and a squad number, the orange border shows that this squad is drawn from the 6th company. Also displayed on each marine's right greave is the distinctive yellow diamond symbol which signifies that this squad took part in the ill-fated Kastoral Novem campaign.



Also, here are some better quality images of the Librarian I posted earlier in the year, now that I have my light-box again.






As always, comments are welcome.

Love the liddy

No Raven Guard for you today, I'm afraid, but if you click on the link below, you'll see what I've been doing instead.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/536804.page#5793455

Night falls.

Welcome blackness spreads.

And a resumption beckons.

The adventure continues!

What a year! I've graduated, got a job and accomplished many things that have nothing whatsoever to do with wargaming.

But that's not what you're here for. I'm happy to say that after a sizeable hiatus (during which I've been painting all sorts of exotic things which may be uploaded in a different thread), I have now finished two new Raven Guard units and got some considerable way through a third! I've also re-written the army list to make it work with more recent versions of Chapter tactics and done some work to update the painting on the older units.

So here we go, updates away!

Firstly, I have added recognition stripes to my Land Speeders:


And altered their colour scheme to bring them in line with a stronger overall theme for the army (the only colours I'm using now are black, white, yellow and green):


I've done the same with my first Tactical Squad, changing the colours slightly to make the army look more cohesive:


And I've changed all of the Sergeants' helms to be white, rather than red:

*Note that I've added individual stripes to the weapons. As far as I know there's no fluff basis for this, but it looked very cool in Forge World's Raid on Kastoral Novem book, and helps the Raven Guard stand out among the countless other black-armoured space marines.


These changes were made early on last year, but more recently I've also added two new units to the army. The first is a second tactical squad, which was really fun to build using the new kit, and has come out extremely well:


I've continued the trend of weapon stripes and white-helmed Sergeants here, as well as the limiting of colours. Having bright greens and yellows really helps the black look blacker, and creates a strong look for the whole army. I know that the 6th Company's colour is traditionally orange, but I've used some artistic license to shift the hue a bit, I think the effect is well worth it:


The second unit I've added is a Land Speeder Storm, which can ferry Scout Squads about, blinding the odd enemy units and delivering troops to objectives at the last minute. The kit is brilliant, by the way:


And from another angle:


And a shot of the passengers for good measure:

*The interior of the Speeder is fully painted. It didn't occur to me until I started gluing the passengers in that you'll hardly be able to see any of the interior detail. Still, at least I know it's all there.

And that's your lot for now. I'm only a few days away from finishing the next unit to be added, so expect another update before too long, along with details of how the army list has been re-written to accommodate the new rules.

Spiney out.

Amazing work! Great to see the Raven Guard getting some love, especially when the paintjob is so perfectly executed

The only criticism I have is that the bases are a bit dark, I think the marines would stand out a bit more if they were lighter

Excellent work!

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
The only criticism I have is that the bases are a bit dark, I think the marines would stand out a bit more if they were lighter

I know what you mean. That's really more a matter of Dakka's auto-editing. It sharpens up detail and brightens things on the models themselves (which I like), but it makes the dark colours look a bit closer together. The bases are actually quite a bit lighter IRL. It's Charadon Granite, drybrushed Khemri Brown and Dheneb Stone.

As promised, I have an update.

In the past two weeks, I've finished two units, an unheard-of pace for me.

First, here's half of an Assault Squad. This is treated separately to the rest of the squad because it was a project in an of itself.


Rather than the boring old 'merrily jogging' poses we generally see with Assault Marines, these are posed to be lunging at the enemy with the aid of their jump packs...


...this was done using brass rod, Milliput and clump foliage, which was then painted to simulate the flame and smoke of a Jump Pack firing.


Here you can see the Marine's personal markings, as well as the Kastoral Novem campaign badge. This squad is painted as the 4th Squad of the 8th Company. The conversion work also serves as a fun way to tell the two Combat Squads apart, should I need to separate them.



Today I finished this. It's the Rhino for the first Tactical Squad and it matches the squad's markings, as well as bearing the same Company Colour. It also has the Kastoral Novem campaign badge on its rear right flank.


Most of the vehicle's Markings are transfers, but the large arrow on the roof hatch was done by masking off a shape when spraying on the basecoat.
Note that it also has the stripe on its weapon, echoing the theme of the rest of the army.


Finally, here's a shot of the Interior. I always try and paint the interior on my vehicles, it adds character and completes the paint job. I took my cue from Borderlands for the lights on the fronts of the lockers under the seating. Green means there's something stored in the locker, red means it's empty. This really helps add subtle colour to a model which would otherwise be monochrome. I like to strike a balance between a strong scheme and a range of colours, and the lack of yellow or black on the interior really helps to brighten the model overall.

Anyway, that's your lot for this week. I'll probably post another update in a couple of weeks, once I've had a chance to tackle the rest of the Assault Squad. I'll definitely get round to finalising the army list at some point, too.

I think this might be the final update of the summer, as I've now actually run out of Raven Guard to paint. I plan to get hold of a Predator at some point later in the year, but that'll only happen when I can afford it and when I've finished planning what it is I'm going to do with the kit.

In the meantime, here are the photos:


First, the second half of the Assault Squad. These marines aren't firing their Jump Packs, but are instead posed to be already in combat. Like the others, though, they all bear the markings of the 8th Company's 4th Squad.


This Combat Squad is lead by Veteran Sergeant Boreus, the 8th Company's foremost duellist and braggadocio. He is armed with a well-balanced Power Falcion, but frequently wields this alongside a long dagger which, while predominantly meant for parrying, can be a lethal and unexpected weapon in its own right.


Attached to Squad Boreus is Kubaryi, a Chaplain from the Raven Guard's Recclusiam. Though his strength is in the way he inspires his borthers, Kubaryi is not to be underestimated, as his ornate Crozius Arcanum is as fierce a weapon as one is likely to find, as well as being his Badge of Office.

As you can see, Kubaryi is converted from the Lord Executioner model. The only real conversion work was to replace the Captain's axe head with a banner top to act as the head of the Crozius Arcanum. The design is a departure from the established style, but I don't think there's any doubt about what this object is for.


I had to cut the transfer to make it fit around the braiding, and then fill in the gaps with white paint. I think the result is quite good. It's also worth noting the absence of the Kastoral Novem campaign badge on this model. Frankly, there wasn't any space for it, but then perhaps the Chaplain has only recently been attached to the army to keep moral up in the wake of that bloody defeat. We'll go with that.


There's really not much point to this image, I just thought you'd all like to stare at his arse for a minute.


I don't think it's usual for a Chaplain to wear the Crux Terminatus, but perhaps Kubaryi is particularly proud of his time in the 1st Company. I did enjoy painting the winged skulls on his Jump Pack.


Finally, here's a shot of the whole squad. They look quite menacing overall, and I must say that it's only when I see them like this that I realise just how bulky the Jump Packs are.



As promised, here's a quick breakdown of the updated Army List. There are two lists, covering different points values. The first is intended to get me playing games with this army nice and quick. It's not meant to be competitive by any stretch of the imagination, but the units should all work reasonably well together.

Raven Guard 1st, 6th, 8th and 10th Companies
Taskforce Korbijn
Combined Arms Detachment (Raptors Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Steward Captain Edric Korbijn = 175
*Counts as Lias Issodon (IA9)*

[HQ] Codicier Ernaldus = 65
(Telepathy)

[ELITES] Squad Garrulus = 110
-5 Sternguard

[TROOPS] Squad Coroni = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Mellori = 65
-5 Scouts
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[FAST] Squad Nasicus = 120
-2 Land Speeders
-Heavy Flamers
-Multi-Meltas

[FAST] Ephrenia = 130
-Stormtalon
-Typhoon Missile Launchers

[HEAVY] Enca = 125
-Predator Annihilator
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter


Strike Force Kubaryi
Allied Detachment (Raven Guard Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Chaplain Kubaryi = 105
-Jump Pack

[TROOPS] Squad Orru = 155
-10 Scouts
-Camo Cloaks
-10 Sniper Rifles
-Veteran Sergeant

[FAST] Squad Boreus = 195
-10 Assault Marines
-Jump Packs
-Veteran Sergeant
-Power Sword

Total Points Cost = 1500
Total Model Count = 48
Total Expenditure = £275.20

As you can see, I've had to switch things about a bit, but overall I've been able to fit more units into this army following the almost universal price drops in the new codex. I know it's quite Character-heavy, as well, but there's nothing here I haven't got a use for and I'm quite happy with how the list plays.



Secondly, here's an expanded list which will take a bit longer to complete, but should cover me for bigger games:

Raven Guard 1st, 6th and 10th Companies
Taskforce Korbijn
Combined Arms Detachment (Raptors Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Steward Captain Edric Korbijn = 175
*Counts as Lias Issodon (IA9)*

[HQ] Codicier Ernaldus = 90
-Mastery Level 2 (Telepathy)

[ELITES] Squad Garrulus = 110
-5 Sternguard

[ELITES] Venerable Brother Albicollis = 130
-Plasma Cannon
[TRANSPORT] Drop Pod = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Albus = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Coroni = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Mellori = 65
-5 Scouts
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[TROOPS] Squad Validus = 65
-5 Scouts
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[FAST] Squad Nasicus = 180
-3 Land Speeder Tornados
-Multi-Meltas
-Heavy Flamers

[FAST] Ephrenia = 130
-Stormtalon
-Typhoon Missile Launchers

[HEAVY] Enca = 125
-Predator Annihilator
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter

[HEAVY] Florensis = 125
-Predator Annihilator
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter

Total Points Cost = 1740
Total Model Count = 49
Total Expenditure = £336


Raven Guard 1st, 8th and 10th Companies
Strike Force Korvydae
Combined Arms Detachment (Raven Guard Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Shadow Captain Korvydae = 155

[HQ] Chaplain Kubaryi = 105
-Jump Pack

[ELITES] Squad Tristis = 140
-5 Vanguard Veterans
-4 Power Swords
-1 Pair of Lightning Claws
-Jump Packs

[TROOPS] Squad Boreus = 195
-10 Assault Marines
-Jump Packs
-Veteran Sergeant
-Power Sword

[TROOPS] Squad Orru = 164
-10 Scouts
-Camo Cloaks
-9 Sniper Rifles
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant

Total Points Cost = 759
Total Model Count = 27
Total Expenditure = £133.80

This second list is basically the same as the first, but with a few extra units to make it viable for higher points levels. I haven't got a schedule in mind for completing the larger list, but it should be done in the fullness of time, and the smaller list is very close to completion (with just the aforementioned Predator to go before it's done)..

So that's probably it for now. As I said, I may well get a Predator before too long, but you might consider this to be my last update for a while. That said, I can't possibly say what kind of whim will strike me in the coming months, so keep an eye out.

The Emperor Protects.

All looking good, love the duelling dagger and the converted Chaplain!

I'd love to see some full army pics of this lot!

That chaplain is looking epic, very nice work thus far. Keep up the outstanding work.
For the Emperor!

Despite not being the most well-off person right now, I've managed to get hold of every model I need to finish my Raven Guard! If things go well, I may have this army finished before the New Year. If not, I'll definitely have it done by Easter.

Dayyyum. Some seriously baddass looking raven guard you have there.

D

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Outstanding work

Thanks, chaps.

Right, first pictures of the birthday haul incoming!

Not strictly speaking part of the army, this month I've finished a Damocles Command Rhino. I'm a big fan of this model and I added this to my wishlist as soon as I saw that bloody stupid Command Vehicle twin pack GW did earlier this year.


Here you can see the vehicle's markings, showing that it's the 3rd vehicle of the command pool, and that it was present during the Raid on Kastoral Novem. There's also a short litany of devotion on the rear cooling unit.


On the vehicle's left flank is a large chapter symbol. The transfer had to be painted over; it was so large that being laid over a black field turned it a dull grey colour. I like the result, though.


Finally, a shot of the interior detail. This is what makes this one of my favourite Forge World models. The two crewmen actually have plastic heads, because I didn't want them to be identical. I've also painted their pauldrons with individual heraldry. On the other interior wall, not visible in this photo, the crew's helmets are stowed, and each also bears individual markings painted freehand.

I'm thinking I'll have to make another allied detachment to use this model, as its locator beacon only works for Teleporting models, not those arriving via jump pack or as flyers. Nevertheless, that's a job for another day. Next up is the first Predator, which should allow me to start posting battle reports for this army. Exciting stuff.

Amazing work, as always! The individual heraldry and the markings really bring these figures to life, makes me want to dust off all those transfers I've accumulated over the years

How do you paint the white parts by the way? They always looks so nice and clean

Very nicely done. I don't have the patience to paint the interiors of my vehicles. Excellent work.

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
Amazing work, as always! The individual heraldry and the markings really bring these figures to life, makes me want to dust off all those transfers I've accumulated over the years

How do you paint the white parts by the way? They always looks so nice and clean

Thanks. It always pays to invest that bit of effort. The trick to nice, clean, seamless transfers is to apply them over gloss varnish, using a decal solvent (I use Microsol) to shrink them into the surface.

I always undercoat my models with matte grey (it sticks well to plastic, metal and resin alike and gives a smooth surface without influencing the colours), then I mask off the bits I want white before I spray on a black basecoat. The bits I left grey can then be layered up with thinned white.

Last update of the year!

I've now finished the second unit from my Birthday haul; a Predator Annihilator with Forge World armour upgrade.



As you can see, the Forge World bits make the whole vehicle look that bit bigger and more Tankish. One thing that bothers me about the basic Predator kit is that it is quite evidently a Razorback with a new haircut, so these extra bits help distinguish it from other Space Marine Vehicles. This also fixes another Predator Pet Peeve of mine which is that turret. The inward-sloping plate would just deflect incoming shells down into the turret ring, which at best would disable the main gun and at worse would kill the Commander!



From the other side you can see the identity markings, which show that this is the second vehicle of the third squadron (not the thirty-second tank as some people seem to think, I'm relatively sure most chapters have fewer than twenty Predators in total!). You can also see the crispness of the stripe (which was again achieved by masking the vehicle before the basecoat was sprayed on), as well as the large emblem shown on the front plate. The stripe motif was inspired by Force World's Raven Guard stuff, and makes the tank go faster!



Finally a shot from above. That front plate come from a Baal pattern Predator and was given to me by a good friend. It helps to further distinguish this tank from the Rhinos in my army. Thanks, Alistair.

Lovely tank. The extra armor makes a huge difference. I completely agree about the basic rhino hull pred; it just doesn’t feel like a tank. A new hat makes you AV13 up front? That’s one think I liked when assembling my vindicator. I felt like a tank. Nice to see a pred looking as solid.

Beautiful work on the vehicles, I do not envy you painting white over that black at all.

A very nicely themed army list as well, great stuff.

 Nevelon wrote:
Lovely tank. The extra armor makes a huge difference. I completely agree about the basic rhino hull pred; it just doesn’t feel like a tank. A new hat makes you AV13 up front? That’s one think I liked when assembling my vindicator. I felt like a tank. Nice to see a pred looking as solid.

I do like the Vindicator kit, it's just a shame that the rules let it down, unless you're playing very large games where squadrons of 3 are viable. They really need a price cut, and to have the Seige Shield grant +1 to armour on the front facing. Then you'll have a tank worth taking.

 Thraxas Of Turai wrote:
Beautiful work on the vehicles, I do not envy you painting white over that black at all.

A very nicely themed army list as well, great stuff.

Thank you for your kind words.

The white on this was actually rather easy, because I just put a spray of white down the middle once it was undercoated, then masked it off for when I sprayed on the black basecoat. The other tanks in the squadron will also have stripes in different styles.

The Predator looks gorgeous, it gives me some ideas for my UM Predator (well, the 2nd one since I already finished the 1st)

Just a quick update this, as I've only managed to do one model in the past month. You'll see why, though. This is one of my best paint jobs ever, and it's just got joint first in the local painting competition! I'm really happy with how it's turned out.

Around 990.M41, Korvydae commanded a force of Raven Guard brothers drawn from four companies, as well as the entire 181st Elysian Drop Troop Regiment, in an attempt to isolate and destroy Big Mek Buzzgob on Kastorel Novem. Despite admirable personal heroics on his part, Korvydae's raid resulted in the unnecessary deaths of 70 Brothers of the Raven Guard and more than 2,500 Elysian Guardsmen, and the loss of Kastorel Novem to the Orks. Since then, the Forsarr Sector has been all but completely claimed by the Greenskin hordes, leaving Deliverance itself open to attack. For his failures, Korvydae was sentenced by Master of Shadows Corvin Severax to a full two years of service in the Deathwatch,


Shadow-Captain Korvydae is the Raven Guard Master of Recruits, though he delegates many of his recruitment and training duties to his staff Sergeants (what an arse!). He prefers to be out for as much time as possible, leading a group of loyal raiders and saboteurs in daring guerilla campaigns.


I'm a big fan of this model. The pose is just perfect and the detail is brilliantly sharp. It was a joy to paint. Just try not to think about what the end of the haft on that hammer might be for...


That gold braid is just fantastic. It really conveys that this is a somewhat vain and arrogant sort of commander. Also, this is the first time I've applied a marble effect to an actual model (as opposed to the base). I think it's been really successful and this fellow will be taking pride of place among my Assault Marines.

That's all for now, but I've already started work on my next miniature, and this one is a real treat as well!

Woah, that's really good! I love how you've pulled off a sort of subtle marbly effect to the whites on the eagles - how did you do that? My only criticism would be that his head looks quite bright but i'm not sure if thats the image, the contrast on the armour or what, but let that detract from my compliments - all round he looks killer! Great work mate and congrats on the joint 1st

Really great stuff!

 lipsdapips wrote:
Woah, that's really good! I love how you've pulled off a sort of subtle marbly effect to the whites on the eagles - how did you do that? My only criticism would be that his head looks quite bright but i'm not sure if thats the image, the contrast on the armour or what, but let that detract from my compliments - all round he looks killer! Great work mate and congrats on the joint 1st

Thank you for your kind words. I did intentionally go rather pale on the skin. Korvydae is old and would therefore have paper-white skin due to the flaw in his gene-seed. That said, there's an awful lot of bloom on the image; the shadows on his face are a lot deeper IRL. I don't have my own light box and I can't afford a decent camera, so this is the best I can do. Thanks anyway.

Oh, the Marble effect was just done with a fine brush and some very thin paint. I just added a spot of grey to the white and sketched out the veins with it, then gradually darkened the tone and applied it in thinner and thinner lines. This was my reference: http://previews.123rf.com/images/mg1408/mg14081104/mg1408110400110/9225470-White-marble-texture-High-resolution--Stock-Photo.jpg

I just did the same in reverse for the black eagle on his left shoulder. It's an effect I used quite successfully on the bases of my Inquisitorial stuff (which I really must upload pictures of). I didn't give it a gloss coat on this occasion, though, because I didn't want it to end up looking wet. I think it's a bit too fine in the detail for a varnish to work properly.

Hot damn, this one was a treat to paint! I really bloody love Dreadnoughts. I know they're out of favour in competitive circles, but honestly I couldn't care less. These are fun units and this one in particular is really nice.

Presenting Venerable Brother Albicollis; a veteran of over three millennia of battle, Albicollis was interred within his MkIV Dreadnought's sacred sarcophagus in 741.M36 after he was bisected at the waist by an Ork Deff Dread. Since then Albicollis has become a true master of the Dreadnought's art of war, levelling mobile fire-power and terrific melée capability with consummate skill.


I'm tremendously happy with how this has turned out. The marble effect on the symbols and details continues from my experiment on Captain Korvydae and the chevrons make this a strongly-themed piece. I particularly like the Forge World MkIV Dreadnought Power Fist because it can be assembled in a closed, relaxed position.


A close-up of the detail on the sarcophagus. I wasn't sure whether to go for the RG Venerable or the regular MkVI Dreadnought (so I could really go to town on the freehand), but I'm glad I went with this. Incidentally, this model is also magnetised at the waist and shoulders, so the loadout can be changed and the fragile waist joint is less likely to snap.


Overall, this is probably one of my favourite models in my collection. The detail and paint-job have both come out incredibly well.

Anyway, that's your lot for now. Next up is a plain ol', boring ol' Rhino, which shouldn't take me too long at all.

Very nice work, that thing is awesome!

This one's been a long time coming. I got distracted by some Inquisition (which I promise I'll upload one day, but which for now can be found on my Deviantart Page), and was rather busy with work.

Anyway, here's the second Rhino, complete with its own tactical markings and freehand designs. I'm quite happy with how this has turned out, but there's not much to say about it, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking.





That's your lot for now. Next up is some Scouts, which shouldn't take too long (although I've said that before). In the meantime, I promise to start uploading some battle reports with this army. Now that I've got a fully-painted 1500pts, it should look quite good.

My suggestion for your pictures is to take them in a slightly lower-lighted setting if you can, and then fiddle with the brightness, shadows, or contrast in post using an image editor. Even if you don't have one, sites like picmonkey.com are easy to use and free.

The bright light, white background, and black paint are just too harsh of contrasts. But even with a decent phone camera, you should be able to get some decent results.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
My suggestion for your pictures is to take them in a slightly lower-lighted setting if you can, and then fiddle with the brightness, shadows, or contrast in post using an image editor. Even if you don't have one, sites like picmonkey.com are easy to use and free.

The bright light, white background, and black paint are just too harsh of contrasts. But even with a decent phone camera, you should be able to get some decent results.

Thanks for the advice. I am working on getting a new set-up, but funds and time are jolly short at the moment. Alas, I didn't really pick my phone for its camera, so it's less than ideal.I'll have something together soon.

Really like your Ravens dude, and your very napoleonic looking guardsmen, they look the business.

Always good to see some more Ravens.

 General Kroll wrote:
Really like your Ravens dude, and your very napoleonic looking guardsmen, they look the business.

Always good to see some more Ravens.

Thanks. I'll make sure I take some decent photos of the Guard soon. Once my Raven Guard are done I'll be making a move on my second big Platoon, so watch this space. Or rather, watch the space on the other thread I'll probably be setting up to show progress on the army.


In the meantime, I've had my first proper game with the new edition of the Raven Guard army list, and it was a doozey! It's been months since I've played a proper, honest, traditional, working-class game of 40k. No funky extra rules or game-breaking experiments, just tow CADs and their armies chucking some dice about in a slightly grotty Church hall.

This game involved the following edition of my Raven Guard army:

[HQ] Steward Captain Edric Korbijn = 175
*Counts as Lias Issodon (IA9)*

[HQ] Codicier Ernaldus = 65
(Telepathy)

[ELITES] Squad Garrulus = 110
-5 Sternguard

[TROOPS] Squad Coroni = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Mellori = 65
-5 Scouts
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[FAST] Squad Nasicus = 120
-2 Land Speeders
-Heavy Flamers
-Multi-Meltas

[FAST] Ephrenia = 130
-Stormtalon
-Typhoon Missile Launchers

[HEAVY] Enca = 125
-Predator Annihilator
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter


Strike Force Kubaryi
Allied Detachment (Raven Guard Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Chaplain Kubaryi = 105
-Jump Pack

[TROOPS] Squad Orru = 155
-10 Scouts
-Camo Cloaks
-10 Sniper Rifles
-Veteran Sergeant

[FAST] Squad Boreus = 195
-10 Assault Marines
-Jump Packs
-Veteran Sergeant
-Power Sword

Total Points Cost = 1500
Total Model Count = 48

My friend, Lee, had brought an Imperial Guard list involving Pask in a Punisher and three other Russes of various types, a Macharius Vanquisher (I actually have one myself, which I really must get around to painting), a Vendetta Gunship and two squads of Veterans. I actually outnumbered him by quite a margin, but as you can see, my army was not repleat with anti-tank weapons, so it was always going to be a challenge. Incidentally, there were meant to be some photos here, but for reasons I'll explain later I actually made a conscious choice not to take any.

Turn 1 really set the tone for the first half of the game. A combination of bad rolling on Deployment zones and a lack of terrain at our club actually meant that I couldn't infiltrate anything, and that I was left sitting in the open, staring down the barrels of Lee's assembled tanks. Having started the game at a significant disadvantage, I then failed to seize the initiative and so was subjected to a PUNishing (HEHEHEHOHOHOHUHUHU!) first turn in which my Assault Squad and the associated Chaplain were decimated by cannonfire (despite Night Fighting and Raven Guard CTs!) and sent packing off the board because I rolled a double-six on Morale. I'll be having words with that Chaplain later.

Turns 2 and 3 went much the same way, with Marines dying in droves because I can't roll dice and no significant gains being made at all. The Sniper Scouts killed three Guardsmen before the objective they were on decided to explode and they took a leaf out of the Chaplain's book when it game to their Morale. At the same time my Predator was blow'd the hell up having just about managed to glance a Russ. Add to this my terrible Reserve rolls and it was genuinely beginning to look like I might have been tabled by the end of Turn 3. I was left with six Tactical Marines and a Rhino clinging to an Objective and that was it! It was at this point that, ever the gracious loser, I decided not to bother documenting the game.

However, Turn 4 saw the winds if fate change in my favour (we have those in 40k, right?). This time ALL of my reserves made it onto the board, and although the Land Speeders accomplished sod-all before they were shot to pieces by the Paskisher, the Scouts in their Storm, Korbijn's Sternguard and the Storm Talon all made a real impression as they came on. In fact, Turns 4 and 5 went so well that seemed I might have been in line to draw the game, so long as we didn't roll for any extra turns...

Turn 6 went about as well as could be expected, with Lee's still-very-much-intact army striking blow after crushing blow, to the point where I was once more looking at a wipe-out. But oh no! I was not wiped out, gentile reader, for the talent of my army is to know when to hide like a Gretchin! Hunkering down behind an Objective that granted +1 to cover, Edric Korbijn and his noble Sternguard managed to weather the fire of three Heavy tanks and a Vendetta; using 2+ shenanigans to take shot after shot and losing only three of their number to the enemy guns, while my Storm Talon (which had actually spent the whole game in Hover Mode) tore apart the Vanquisher and remaining Veteran Squad.

When all was said and done, I was left with Korbijn's squad claiming an Objective marker and Linebreaker for 4 VPs, while my enemy was left with just First Blood and a Linebreaker of his own. Three models on the board and I claimed a coward's victory! Glorious! That's exactly the sort of game that keeps me in this hobby. We both had loads of fun and parted with a handshake, and there was nary a mention of Formations or Decurions.

So that's my Raven Guard's first win. I hope to play many more games with this army because I really like it, and even with my crappy rolling it performs well. I''ve also almost finished another unit, so expect to see pictures soon.

Spiney out.

And so, less than a week after posting that Rhino, I'm back. Being on holiday is great!

Just this week I've finished two units, which you can see below. One is a bit boring, but I'm happy with it, while the other one has really just scratched an itch that I developed after finishing Venerable Brother Albicollis.



So here's Squad Mellori, dismounted from their Land Speeder. In last Thursday's game I found that I really did need some Scouts on foot (I had to proxy them on the fly with dead Sniper Scouts, just imagine!), so it spurred me on. This unit has the same markings as the passengers on the Storm, and although it's unfortunate that the transport will still have passengers after the squad has disembarked, the Speeder is likely to get blown up shortly after dropping off its squad, so it shouldn't matter too much.



Yeah, it's another Dreadnought. This was bought on an impulse because I was frustrated at work, and I haven't looked back. I'm happy with the paint job and the conversion, although these plastic Dreads are a ball-ache to repose.


I wasn't sure about how I was going to apply the company colour. Decided to go with thick bands in the end. Vertical for close support, horizontal for long-ranged.


Arbitrary shot of dat mech-ass. You can see how the toes are bent, though, to look like they're gripping the rubble.


Sindalo is magnetised, so I can swap the weapons as I please. The plan is to do more arms so I can do a Rifleman and a Lascannon Mortis build as the enemy demands.


Finally, a close-up of the freehand design and the markings on the Dreadnought chassis. The text comes from a Sisters of Battle transfer sheet, but the main event is the depiction of Saint Keeler on the Sarcophagus. As with characters in comics and anime, Saints usually have a few select symbols which let the audience know who they're looking at regardless of the artist depicting them. Given her job in the stories, I decided that Keeler's symbols would be the scholar's (or Remembrancer's) robes, the amulet she used to banish a Daemon that one time, and 'Tears for the Innocence of Mankind'. I also gave her a distinctly 'iron'-looking halo, which signifies her affiliation with the Adeptus Astartes, although it's likely that such information would have been suppressed for the general populace. Space Marines have long memories, though.

So let me know what you think. I've already started the next thing, but I'm back at work as of tomorrow, so it'll probably be a few weeks until my next post.

That dreadnought is amazing. The freehand is superb, and the fact it's based on a character from the HH is even better.

As for your scouts, they too are great. I've found scouts in speeders to be invaluable. I love to outflank them, and use the pinion formation to let them guide in tactical squads from the flanks too.

It's nasty.

 General Kroll wrote:
That dreadnought is amazing. The freehand is superb, and the fact it's based on a character from the HH is even better.

As for your scouts, they too are great. I've found scouts in speeders to be invaluable. I love to outflank them, and use the pinion formation to let them guide in tactical squads from the flanks too.

Thanks. It's been quite a while since I did some proper freehand, with a figure and everything. The limited colour pallet was a challenge, with the highlights and shadows having to be applied very subtly (and with a brand new brush which cost me £20, I might add!), with barely a dab of paint being the difference between shades. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed doing freehand, because there hasn't been much call for it with the Raven Guard. I'm really not a fan of the moulded detail on the standard Sarcophagus fronts.

I generally prefer to infiltrate my Scouts, rather than outflanking them, as the early-game Cerberus Launcher is quite formidable. That said, I did outflank them last game and I found the rapid reinforcement to be of great value as well. The reserves shenanigans of the Damocles Rhino might be helpful for when I outflank them in future.

I haven't actually tried infiltrating them yet, I think I've either always outflanked them, or hidden them in my own deployment zone. Might have to try it some time.

 General Kroll wrote:
I haven't actually tried infiltrating them yet, I think I've either always outflanked them, or hidden them in my own deployment zone. Might have to try it some time.

I'd only advise doing it on quite densely-furnished boards. The last game I played had virtually no LoS-blocking terrain, and none whatsoever in my half of the board. Normally I'd infiltrate nearly everything in my army, if for no other reason than to always deploy reactively.

Awesome stuff, love the Dread!

Great painting all round here. Especially love the vehicle interiors and the firing jump packs

Awesome. Your blacks and whites are really crisp. The freehand on a dread is super cool. Great work.

EDC

 JustALittleOrkish wrote:
Great painting all round here. Especially love the vehicle interiors and the firing jump packs

 evildrcheese wrote:
Awesome. Your blacks and whites are really crisp. The freehand on a dread is super cool. Great work.

Thank you both. I mask and spray my larger white markings to get them nice and crisp without having to add too many layers, and I find vehicle interiors to always be worth the extra effort. On a related note, my next post will likely be a converted Drop Pod for these Dreadnoughts.

Busy month for me; got a new job (I start on Monday), and submitted a short story to the Black Library!

But that hardly matters to my readers (and there must be at least three of you now); here are some old units that have been given a much-needed revamp to fit the new order.

First is the Drop Pod from the first post (yes, the same one). It has been taken apart, cleaned up, converted to carry Dreadnoughts and repainted in its entirety.

Blimey, that's bigger than I expected! As you can see, the colours are much smoother and neater. It now has chapter symbols and proper scorching on the lower parts, which would bear the brunt of the heat on re-entry. I was agonising over whether or not to use some of the bigger RG transfers from my Forge World sheet (which I've had on the go for years now, and is still far from exhausted. Good use of £10.), but I decided that it would be a waste to use five of them on a 35pt, disposable delivery vehicle.


And when opened, you can see the conversion work, as well as the repainted interior. Now it matches the colours of the Rhinos in the army, and looks as though it could actually carry a Dreadnought. On the other hand, I think it'll now be harder to argue that it blocks Line of Sight, given the fact that it... doesn't.


Venerable Brother Albicollis (or Sindalo, as the situation demands) should look quite fetching stepping out of this to deliver some S10 pounding right into the enemy's back-field.


Here you can see the repositioned Storm Bolter. The conversion was quite easy, mostly because back when I built this, I couldn't get hold of poly-cement all that reliably, so I used to be rather sparing with it. As a result, the pod was easy to pull apart. I then stripped out the harnesses and Auspex console and either filed or filled all the lugs and slots that remained. I then mounted the Storm Bolter on a circle of plasticard (with some simple detail carved into it) and used it to cover the pentagonal hold in the centre. The result is a compartment that is actually tall enough to accommodate a Dreadnought (sans base), but which retains its armament.


Next is the first unit I ever painted for the army: Squad Garrulus.


Now with new poses and freshened-up colours (seriously, that 'white' was practically green!), and two Combi-weapons made by splicing Hand Flamers from the Forge World MkIV Power Weapons Set onto the unit's existing Umbra Ferrox Bolters. I think this is a serious improvement over the squad shown in the OP.


You can also see that I took the response to that post into account, and brightened-up the green to make it stand out.


Anyway, that's all for now. The other five Sternguard have been re-armed (literally) and as soon as my friend comes through with some Jump Packs, I should be able to get them painted up as Vanguard Veterans.

The end draws near. I now have just four more units to build for the full 2500pt army. Hopefully I'll be able to make a start on some more Tau later this year. For now, though, I'm looking forward to getting these Sternguard on the tabletop.

Peace-out, and such.

Great thread, enjoyed reading through it.



Its hard to make the dark, black Raven Guard pop and look good but I think you've managed it.

Awesome attention to detail too, I love the squad numbers/company colours/campaign badges etc etc etc.

 MagicMan wrote:
Great thread, enjoyed reading through it.



Its hard to make the dark, black Raven Guard pop and look good but I think you've managed it.

Awesome attention to detail too, I love the squad numbers/company colours/campaign badges etc etc etc.

Thank you. The army's been a real joy to paint, and I'm even now working on ways to extend it and add variety (I want more Dreadnoughts!). Think my Tau deserve some attention first, though.

Stay tuned.

Great additions there, keep it coming!

Those vets look brilliant.

I am impressed by your freehand skills. Do you plan to develop your IG regiment more?

Nice minis all over the thread.

 RazgrizOne wrote:
I am impressed by your freehand skills. Do you plan to develop your IG regiment more?

Nice minis all over the thread.

Thanks. I've always enjoyed doing freehand.

The Guard have already been developed quite a bit. There's now a Regimental HQ (with another freehand banner) and some Commissars, and I've got close to 1000pts' worth painted on the whole. Once I've finished the current stretch of Raven Guard (I.e. without all of the extraneous stuff I have planned for them), I'll start taking stock and putting proper threads together for both Guard and Tau. Should have Ravens done by the end of July, so keep an eye out.

I'll do. Good luck for the rest.

So following the relative success of my Raven Guard army in their first battle, I was feeling relatively confident about taking them up against some Dark Angels. The results were less than stellar, as you will shortly see. In my defence, my opponent recently came third in a European tournament (albeit with a different list), and he was genuinely surprised by my dice-rolls, which were actually about usual for me. It's somewhat gratifying to have shocked an opponent like that, because it reinforced my own little delusion and let me further convince myself that I'm not just incompetent after all.

Anyway, on with the show. Please forgive the awful (and few) photos. Only about 20% of the pictures I took were actually usable; I think my phone's camera is actually getting worse.


This was the first game I've ever played using the Maelstrom of War objectives, and I started in typical style, drawing three objectives that were not realistically achievable in the first turn; these being to Seize Objectives 5 and 2 (one of which was in my opponent's deployment zone, while the other was underneath a Land Raider), and Slay the Warlord (who was cowering within said Land Raider).

Nevertheless, I made good use of Night-fighting and weathered a turn of shooting with only three or four casualties, right up until the point where my opponent's Rapier Quad Mortars fired, decimating the Scout Snipers and leaving them vulnerable to a charge in the subsequent turn from a deep-striking Dreadnought. In return, my Predator glanced said Dreadnought once (and frankly I considered that a lucky break), while my Assault Squad made a break for the Rapiers, not thinking that the Deathwing Knights would rather spend two turns in combat with them, rather than the more vulnerable Tactical units in the centre of the table. Having made no gains at all, I discarded one of my Seize objectives and drew another, equally impossible one.


At the beginning of Turn 2, the slaughter truly began. My opponent's second Drop Pod landed on my backfield objective, which its Tactical Squad then claimed while the Land Raider swivelled and disgorged its Deathwing right into the faces of my Assault Squad. My opponent's Tactical Squad moved across in their Rhino to avoid an engagement with my own. The Land Raider then glanced my Rhino to death with one burst from its Assault Cannon, while the Dreadnought claimed a few more Scouts with its own shooting.

I was then subjected to two awful assault actions; the first involving my Scouts being mulched by a Deathwing Dreadnought, while the other was rather more interesting. One Deathwing Knight fell to a Bolt Pistol in Overwatch, and another was claimed by massed Chainswords. Meanwhile, the Chaplains and Squad Leaders fought a tense duel; the Chaplains simply wounding one-another, while the Assault Sergeant and Knight Master each fell to the other's blows. At the end of the turn, the two fearless units were still locked.

My response was totally pathetic, with none of my reserved units coming on and nothing at all happening of any note. My Predator again failed to do anything to the Dreadnought which was now lining up to destroy it in Turn 3, while my Tactical Squad managed to kill only a single enemy model. Incidentally, the Plasma Gunner killed himself the first time he fired *sigh*. Elsewhere, my Sternguard, lacking anything better to do, charged and failed to even scratch the Dreadnought's Drop Pod. By the end of the turn, my opponent had three VPs, while I had yet to claim a single one.


Turn 3 saw my opponent consolidating his victory, killing the Predator (predictably), and half of my Tacticals and finishing off the Assault Squad. Nothing surprising happened at all, and I was in an even worse state than I had been at the beginning.

My turn saw my reserves finally arrive; the Land Speeders making a successful Deep Strike into the centre, while my Scouts in their Storm came in from the right flank. As it arrived, the Storm Talon took a Hull Point off the Land Raider, while the Scouts killed one of the Artillery Crew. The Land Speeders rolled snake-eyes on their Melta Shots and failed to do anything more to the Land Raider, despite it being about 2" from them. My Tactical Squad ran for the centre objective because I'd forgotten that I had yet to get any useful Maelstrom cards.


The Scouts destroyed one Rapier team before lining up to assault the second, unaware of the imbecile who was holding their dice.


Turn 4 really just involved my opponent tidying up, kettling my Tactical Squad into the centre objective and approaching with the remaining Deathwing Knights. The Tactical Squad in my deployment zone got a lucky hit with their Grav Cannon and Stunned my Storm Talon, forcing it to maintain its speed and limiting it to Snap Shots while the remaining Rapier immobilised one of the Land Speeders and glanced the other.


Confident of their victory, the Deathwing close to deliver the final blow.

Finishing the game just seemed like a formality for me, with every one of my units now horrendously reduced and incapable of affecting any outcomes whatsoever. I decided to just throw everything I had into the meat-grinder in the hope of something interesting happening, but it gave us some of the more interesting moments of the game. My Storm Talon and the remaining Land Speeder finally destroyed the Land Raider. My now utterly superfluous Sternguard Squad, including my Warlord and Librarian (who'd been similarly useless up until this point), decided to charge the enemy's mechanised Tactical Squad in a doomed final stand.


Yeah, that's a full ten-man Tactical Squad in Turn 4. The assault went about as well as could have been expected.

So yes, 'lesson learned' and all that. Final result was 4-0 to the Dark Angels. Now let's never speak of this again.


I always preferred painting anyway. And on that subject, I'll have quite a bit of spare time this week, so I hope to have my Vanguard Veterans done very soon.

There is honour to be found, even in a loss, when two well painted armies clash.

Keep up the good work.

 Nevelon wrote:
There is honour to be found, even in a loss, when two well painted armies clash.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks. It was a pretty game, if nothing else.

As I said they would be in the battle report a few days ago, my Vanguard Veterans are now done. Let's not stand on ceremony; here come the pictures...


I elected not to do any more of the jumping Assault Marines effect, partly because I wanted to make this unit fit alongside Shadow Captain Korvydae (who'll mostly be leading them), but also because I wanted to make this unit nice and distinct from the other Jump Pack models in the army.


I used the arms from the Forge World MkIV Power Weapons set to give these marines some proper fencing-style poses, with lunging and slashing and blocking going on all over the place. This is also the first whole squad I've ever done my blue power-weapon effect on. It's just as well that it'll also probably be the only such squad, as I'm now well and truly running out of Asurmen Blue wash.


Here you can see the details on the Sergeant. I've always believed that Lightning Claws should be significantly smaller than Power Fists, but these look cool nonetheless.


Some more details shown here, including the freehand heraldry on the right pauldron and the gold details on the Jump Pack. I reasoned that Korvydae would be accompanied by like-minded (read: similarly vain) warriors, and so the extra gold seemed quite appropriate. Every army needs some arrogant malcontents, and these proud veterans and cronies of Korvydae seem good candidates.


And finally, details of the only two models in the squad to bear the Kastoral Novem campaign badge. These two marines were likely elevated to Veteran status in the aftermath, and there would probably be some tension between them and Korvydae; the architect of that ill-fated action, which no doubt bore them considerable grief.



This week I've also done the second Lascannon arm for Ancient Brother Sindalo, so he can now be fielded in a Mortis configuration for dealing with tanks and aircraft.


Magnetising this Dreadnought has been loads of fun, and I'm hugely happy with the fact that he's now pretty much future-proof, and every bit as adaptable as a Dreadnought should be.


Here you can see the freehand design on the left arm, which is meant to echo both the tactical symbol on his right greave and the company-coloured stripe on his other arm.


And that's it for today. I've already made a start on the next unit: a Land Speeder to complete the squadron detailed earlier in the blog. There's now only four units to finish until the army is done. That said, I may have just acquired a couple of distractions...

Nice! you paint white really well, how do you do it? whenever I do mine It goes all blobby and crap

 STG wrote:
Nice! you paint white really well, how do you do it? whenever I do mine It goes all blobby and crap

Well, usually I undercoat parts that I want white in grey (i.e. without the black basecoat), then do a layer of Vallejo Glacier Blue (which is basically Space Wolves Grey), which I then shade with pure black, followed by white in successive, thin layers until it's nice and bright. There's an inevitable loss of definition in the details, but I've found it's fairly easy to compensate for this by 'drawing on' certain extra details with the shading. For larger areas (such as on the vehicles), it's easier to spray white onto certain areas of the model, mask off the stripes before the black basecoat, then shade and layer them as normal.

I must say, however, that it's a much better idea to use a very light grey or blue as your main colour, rather than white. I think I've got away with it here, but you should generally avoid doing pure white if at all possible. A white basecoat is still a good idea, but the layer will be a bit darker (only very slightly, mind), with just the extreme highlights being pure white.

Hope that helps.

The end is nigh! Or, at least, the beginning of the inevitable hiatus while I work on other things.

Yes, I'm now just one unit away from having 2500pts of finished Raven Guard. There are two weeks left of the Summer Holiday, in which I should be able to finish the last Predator, but in the mean time here's a nice little unit to tide us over.

It must be said, though, that the ratio of 'Monetary Cost:Hobby Time:Overall Usefulness In-Game' of Scouts in a Land Speeder Storm is probably the worst of any unit in 40k, with the possible exception of the Drop Pod. Not only does this unit come in at less than 100pts for a total spend of £34 (giving it a cost-per-point of 35.79p), but you also end up painting three units (Scouts + Speeder + Passengers) to achieve just 95pts' worth of gameplay!

What's that, you say? There are greater evils in the world than Work:Gameplay ratios? Well, we'll see what you think when I set up the camps.


...but I digress. Here are some pictures which may or may not be relevant:


Boring ol' Scouts. I now have twenty-five Scouts with various different weapons, and a converted Sergeant Telion from waaaaaay back, meaning I can now field that cheesy formation.


Naturally, this Speeder has a unique colour scheme. I'm told the stripe makes it go faster. Incidentally, this Squad seems to have fought on Kastoral Novem. This was a conscious choice, and is definitely not related to a shortage of number transfers.


There was some conversion work done on the passengers to change their poses and positions on the vehicle. This way, they can ride alongside the other Land Speeder Storm and not look totally identical, which is nice.


And that's it for now. I hope to be posting again very soon with pictures of the second Predator, which will be the last unit I need to field a full 2500pt army!

I like the Storm, incidentally I like building them as models, I've built a couple, they a fun to convert and easy to make changes to. Lots of opportunity to swap heads and weapons etc. I find them to be pretty cool models. And they play quite well on the table top too. Hopefully you will get a lot of use out of it. You've done a great job of this one.

I said I'd be back soon, well now I am! Behold, the final unit of my 2500pt army, which I'll post below. This will be the biggest post for a while, as I'll soon be moving on to other things, but it's far from the end of this army. Soon you can expect to start seeing more battle reports, which will hopefully contain more images than have been seen previously.

Onto the pictures.


The second and final Predator. This tank bears markings and insignia which denote that it's the second vehicle of the first squadron. I've always liked the Forge World-style diagonal stripes, but this was the first time I've had the confidence to try it on an actual model.




I feel like the markings might be a little front-heavy, but that's not unrealistic.




One day I'll have a go at photoshopping a 'battlefield pict-capture' with some of these models.



Because it's now totally finished, here are some shots of the full army. First divided by element, then spliced together to show the whole thing.



First the Core 'Line' units, taken from the main companies. This could easily be fielded as a legal army, led by Kubaryi, Chaplain of the 8th.




Next the Auxilia, comprising Veteran and Neophyte units from the Chapter's 1st and 10th companies.




Finally, the armoured support units.




And all three images spliced together. I currently lack the means to capture the whole army at once, but this should give an idea of what it might look like. This is actually about 2800pts' worth of models (if you factor in the Venerable Dreadnought, converted Telion and addition Scout Squad), but the army list looks like this:

Raven Guard 1st, 6th and 10th Companies
Taskforce Korbijn
Combined Arms Detachment (Raptors Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Master of Shadows Edric Korbijn = 175
*Counts as Lias Issodon (IA9)*

[HQ] Codicier Ernaldus = 95
-Mastery Level 2 (Telepathy)
-Auspex

[ELITES] Squad Garrulus = 130
-5 Sternguard
-2 Combi-Flamers

[ELITES] Honoured Brother Sindalo = 120
*Dreadnought*
-Assault Cannon
-Heavy Flamer
[TRANSPORT] Drop Pod = 45
-Locator Beacon

[TROOPS] Squad Albus = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Coroni = 180
-10 Space Marines
-Plasma Gun
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant
[TRANSPORT] Rhino = 35

[TROOPS] Squad Mellori = 55
-5 Scouts
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[TROOPS] Squad Validus = 55
-5 Scouts
[TRANSPORT] Land Speeder Storm = 40

[FAST] Squad Nasicus = 180
-3 Land Speeder Tornados
-Multi-Meltas
-Heavy Flamers

[FAST] Ephrenia = 130
*Stormtalon*
-Typhoon Missile Launchers

[HEAVY] Enca = 145
*Predator Annihilator*
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter

[HEAVY] Florensis = 100
*Predator Annihilator*
-Lascannon Sponsons
-Storm Bolter

Total Points Cost = 1740
Total Model Count = 49
Total Expenditure = £332


Raven Guard 1st, 8th and 10th Companies
Bolstering Force Korvydae
Combined Arms Detachment (Raven Guard Chapter Tactics)

[HQ] Shadow Captain Korvydae = 155

[HQ] Chaplain Kubaryi = 105
-Jump Pack

[ELITES] Squad Tristis = 140
-5 Vanguard Veterans
-4 Power Swords
-1 Pair of Lightning Claws
-Jump Packs

[TROOPS] Squad Boreus = 195
-10 Assault Marines
-Jump Packs
-Veteran Sergeant
-Power Sword

[TROOPS] Squad Orru = 164
-10 Scouts
-Camo Cloaks
-9 Sniper Rifles
-Missile Launcher
-Veteran Sergeant

Total Points Cost = 759
Total Model Count = 27
Total Expenditure = £137.80


Wow. What a milestone. There are plans afoot to expand the force and to add units for variant lists, but this is the core army finished. It's the first time I've ever seen an army through this far, and I'm really chuffed with the results.

Hopefully I'll have a battle report by this time next week, so stay tuned. The army's done, but the thread is not.

Nice looking army you have there. Good to see them all lined up!

Really great looking army! I love how crisp the painting is. You're making me miss my own Raven Guard... I must root them out and give them a touch up!

Well done mate. What is the next milestone going to be?

 Nevelon wrote:
Nice looking army you have there. Good to see them all lined up!

Thanks. I don't think there are enough full army photos out there, and certainly not enough where every miniature is painted.

 AirborneAnto wrote:
Really great looking army! I love how crisp the painting is. You're making me miss my own Raven Guard... I must root them out and give them a touch up!

They're an under-represented Chapter, although that's changing now that they have proper rules. I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 WarbossDakka wrote:
Well done mate. What is the next milestone going to be?

Well for now I'm going to be looking at other projects. My Tau are eight models away from 1000pts and my Imperial Guard are only a hundred and ten models short of 1500pts! Those will be my next projects, all of which will be posted in other threads.

At the moment, though, I've been commissioned to spruce up a Revenant Titan. The chap only wants it gluing back together and neatening up a bit, but I'm a total perfectionist, so I'll be giving it a proper going over. I'll see about posting that as well, but it's unlikely to be in a thread.

Raven Guard-wise, I have a total of four 1500pt army lists written, each of which uses existing units, but also adds a little to the overall collection (a tank here, a Dreadnought there, etc). These can then be boosted to the 2500pt level with the addition of units I've already finished, so over the next year or so I may post the odd new unit here, but I intend for it to be mainly battle reports for the time being, while I have a break from black Power Plate.

Anyway, this thread isn't about to go dormant, so check back now and then for updates.

So, this happened sooner than I thought. Had a great game on Thursday night against the supposedly 'unholy trinity' of Battlesuits. Admittedly this was not your dad's cheesy, min-maxed army, but neither was mine. Still, this game really went in my favour from the first minute. I did manage to take a few more photos this time.


My opponent's army consisted of three Riptide-class suits, including the two Forge World ones, alongside two squads of 12 Fire Warriors, three Remora Drones and Shas'o R'Myr with a pair of bodyguards. Expecting a gunline, I had loaded up on bodies and Alpha-strike units, with two Tactical Squads and a full Assault Squad, my customary unit of Scouts in a Speeder, three Land Speeders, a Stormtalon and a Predator. We rolled for a Hammer and Anvil deployment and a Relic gametype, which is probably my favourite combination in the BRB. Though I lacked my normal Lias Issodon, I managed to roll the very same Warlord trait, allowing me to infiltrate three units. My two Tactical Squads were set up in cover, as was my Assault Squad and Chaplain, while the enemy Battlesuits and Fire Warriors poised to strike.


The first turn was fairly uneventful, with my squads shifting around to avoid what fire they could. My Dreadnought came in, the Drop Pod taking Interceptor fire from the Riptide and R'Varna and losing its Storm Bolter (I was distraught). Luckily this left minimal firepower available to punish my units at ground-level. They would have benefited from Shrouding, but hardly needed to. In the Tau turn I copped a few wounds from the Y'Vahra and Fire Warriors, but nothing major.


The highlight of the turn was a Rhino pivoting on the spot, moving the equivalent of 1", and immobilising itself on a rock. The Tactical Squad inside collectively rolled their eyes and prepared to disembark early.



Turn 2 began in a bit more style, with my Predator advancing into the ruins and my Dreadnought and Assault Squad moving into position. The Land Speeders and Scouts all arrived on target, instantly decimating the backfield Fire Warrior Team, the remaining member of which promptly soiled his fatigues and fled. Meanwhile, the other Warriors were cut apart by Bolter fire before being assaulted by the Dreadnought. None of these things were good for my opponent's battle-plan, shreds of which we were now peeling from our clothes.


The Chaplain's squad fearlessly launched themselves at the Riptide, beginning one of the most tense and vital assault actions I can recall seeing.


Unsurprisingly, this did not end well for the Tau.



Turn 3 saw my Stormtalon arrive, sending all of its shots into the Y'Vahra to no avail, while my Predator advanced, being similarly ineffectual (New Model Syndrome, you see). The Riptide's combat ground on, with the Scouts jumping from their Land Speeder to join the fray, and by the end of the turn it was on its last wound. The R'Varna fared no better, taking five wounds from my Librarian's Psychic Shriek (which might be my favourite Witchfire power now). Meanwhile, my second Rhino nipped out from cover so that the Librarian could grab the Relic. In the Tau turn, the Remoras arrived and took a Hull Point off the Stormtalon, while the immobilised Rhino was finally wrecked by the R'Varna.


It might not have been able to hit anything, but this Predator cut a dashing figure as it cruised through the ruins.


With all the Reserves, things started to get pretty choked in the Tau Deployment Zone. Linebreaker, it seemed, would not be a problem.



Turn 4 was simply a matter of consolidating my victory, but not before my opponent gave one last Hurrah! In his turn, the Librarian hopped back into his Rhino with the Relic, tagging in the Tactical Squad, who assembled to guard his retreat. The R'Varna finally fell to the cannons of the Stormtalon and Dreadnought, while the two remaining Land Speeders blasted a Remora from the sky. Finally, the Chaplain finished off the Riptide, mere moments before the Y'Vahra valiantly charged in to avenge his stricken mate. The Shas'o and his Bodyguards dropped into play, reducing my forward Tactical Squad to a single pinned Sergeant, but leaving themselves open to the Librarian's squad in the following turn.


Yes, that's the R'Varna from the Forge World website; the very same model! No, I didn't feel bad.


I didn't have much hope for this one, but it was another two guns I didn't have to worry about.



The fifth and final turn of the game saw me secure a decisive victory. The Tau had been routed, their impetuous Commander humbled, their machines brought to ruin and their numbers severely depleted. Though the wider Praefectia campaign would not fare so well in the weeks to come, this engagement would be remembered as one of the Chapter's finest. The results speak for themselves.


Some may call this cowardice, I prefer to think of it as Professionalism.


As a final humiliation, the enemy Commander was brought low. Though I wouldn't have the time to claim Slay the Warlord, the alien's capture will surely have aided the war effort greatly, and I'm sure it had nothing to do whatsoever with the tragic accident he'd had on the way to the battle, which meant that he spent the whole evening in a heap.



Final result was 5 - 1 to the Raven Guard, and a good time was had by all. Hope you enjoyed the report. I've been invited to a tournament later in October, which should be interesting. Until then, watch out for pics of my ongoing commission, which you'll be able to find in my gallery when it's complete.

Nice report. Alsway good to hear about some xenos being purged.

Short one for you today, partly because I didn't take too many pictures and partly because we had to call the game after just four turns.

Nevertheless, this was a fun little game. Due to a bit of an oversight, it ended up being a three-way battle, and I had to write my list on the fly, so it wasn't as well assembled as I normally like. Nevertheless, I took a Tactical Squad, some Sternguard, an Assault Squad, a Stormtalon and a Predator up against a horde of Guard Veterans and a Scout-heavy Blood Angels list, on a board featuring three objectives, as well as Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord and First Blood secondaries. I won't do an exhaustive turn-by-turn exposé (because I can't be bothered), but here are some of the more dramatic moments.


In Turn 1, my Assault Marines took heavy fire from the assembled Guardsmen, but leapt fearlessly onward.


Meanwhile, the Predator advanced, taking care to avoid the sights of the enemy Russes, whose Vanquisher Cannons would have made short work of its side armour.

Elsewhere in Turn 1, the Blood Angels surged out to claim objectives and set up their early strikes, while my Infiltrated units held tight, waiting to exploit weaknesses in the enemy battle lines.



Into Turn 2, the enemy tanks still struggled to draw a bead on any of my own vehicles. When they got a shot off against my Rhino, however, it would spell the end for my Tactical Marines, who were left exposed to a nearby Baal Predator.


On the other side of the board, my Sternguard took their chance, decimating the enemy Tactical squad with a volley of Vengeance rounds, before steeling themselves for the inevitable charge...


...the results of which looked like this! For once, the dice were with me, as only a single Veteran fell to the Blood Angels' furious assault, while I dealt two further wounds from Overwatch and Master Korbijn's Power Sword. The Blood Angels fled, but were caught and fought on valiantly.



The last two turns of the game saw my Tactical Squad wiped out in a single round of shooting from a Baal Predator, while my Assault Marines wrought havoc among the Traitor Guard, wiping out the Command unit having already sent some Veterans scrambling for an escape. The Blood Angels tank would later be finished off by my Stormtalon, but it wasn't much of a consolation.

although they had positioned themselves to charge the remaining Guard infantry, a round of Blood Angels Sniper Fire would render this idea pointless. Instead, the Chaplain's squad charged and wrecked the Leman Russ which had earlier blown up my Rhino.

And that was the point at which we called it. The final result was a tie between myself and the Blood Angels player, who held an Objective and scored Linebreaker, while I claimed Linebreaker twice, as well as First Blood and Slay the Warlord. We tried to settle it with a duel between Tycho and Korbijn, but after three rounds of failing to wound one-another, we gave up.

Quite a fun, casual game. So fun, in fact, that I forgot to roll for my reserves, thereby lacking a unit of Scouts in a Land Speeder.

Next week's game should be a good one, as I'm hoping to get a game against some excellently-painted Tyrant's Legion. I'll be sure to do a more thorough job of documenting that one.

Time for another Raven Guard Battle Report. This time I was up against Max’s Harlequins, and a player with a somewhat more competitive oeuvre to my own, so even though he was 'handicapped', as it were, by a slightly less-than-top-tier army, I was feeling slightly pessimistic. So pessimistic, in fact, that if pessimism were an Olympic event, I wouldn't have fancied my chances. Hur hur hur.

But enough ground-breaking comedy, time for a serious report. I took plenty of photos this time, as well. Anyway, my army consisted of my Counts-as Lias Issodon, a Level 2 Librarian, five Sternguard, one Mortis and one Venerable Dreadnought, two mechanised Tactical Squads, a Stormtalon and both my Predators. I'd packed this army in the morning, and only found out at Lunch Time on the day of the battle that my opponent was bringing a full Masque Detachment loaded with Caresses and as many Haywire weapons as possible. Nevertheless, I felt that I had enough armoured infantry to swarm him where he castled and get as much Instant Death going on with his Jetbikes as possible. We rolled for a Dawn of War and Purge the Alien game and started deploying.

I won the roll-off (after no fewer than five tied attempts!) and chose to go first, deploying my Predator Annihilator and Mortis Dreadnought in commanding positions and my Tactical Squads as close to his castled units as I could, intending that they would use their transports to get into Rapid-fire range and start depleting units before they could gain momentum. For Max's part, it seemed he intended to run rings around me from the get-go, so I would have to do my best to deny him the chance.


Turn 1 began with my Venerable Dread podding into cover, ready to charge some Jetbikes as soon as he had the chance. After this, a Rhino barely managed to move an inch before it immobilised itself on a rock. Grumbling, the tactical Squad inside debarked and lined up to do their best at maximum range. Meanwhile, the Predator Destructor broke cover and started putting rounds on the enemy Skimmer, joined a moment later by its Lascannon counterpart. The light vehicle was momentarily lost in a haze of colour and dancing images before it exploded spectacularly, its mirage launchers hopelessly outmatched by the Imperial firepower. After this, a Skyweaver was smoked by the Mortis Dreadnought, the rest of the Squadron then failing their Morale check and fleeing to the very edge of the battlefield. A single dancer on the other side of the board was the final casualty, his squad weathering a storm of fire from the Tactical Squad before failing one save against a throw-away Storm Bolter from the immobilised Rhino.

In return, the Harlequins took a significant chunk out of my army. Making use of a rule I had totally forgotten about, the Death Jester's Shrieker Cannon took one Marine out of one of my Tactical Squads, who then failed their Morale Check and ran sideways off the board. Meanwhile, my infiltrated Sternguard copped a charge from a full Troupe, complete with Shadowseer. The Eldar took wounds from Combi-flamers, claiming three Sternguard in return, while Korbijn slew the Shadowseer in single combat. The Troupe Master making his escape, with the Sternguard hot on his heels.


The Skyweavers began the game castled in the corner of the board.


2+ Cover Saves, indeed!


The Voidweaver was about as much use as my Rhino, shame it was thrice the price.


Turn 2 saw me make some gains here and there. I dealt significant wounds to one Skyweaver Squadron. My Venerable Dreadnought fired its Plasma Cannon at the Death Jester, who was saved by his cover shenanigans. Korbijn and his Sternguard finished off their assailants, with the Troupe Master being gunned down as he fled.

My plan to hammer the Harlies while they were castled was in tatters, so my remaining Tactical Squad prepared to receive a charge. The lone Skyweaver came first, with all of my Overwatch failing to accomplish anything. After this, the squad was also charged by a full Troupe, including a Solitaire. Obviously they didn’t even get the chance to strike. My Sternguard fared little better, losing all of their remaining members to Zephyrglaives. Finally, the depleted Troupe on the far right of the board charged and wrecked the stricken Rhino with their Caresses.


The Venerable Dread would probably have been one of my star players, had it not failed in the last combat.


Making use of that sweet Shrouding.


By the end of Turn 3, I had begun to think I might be in with a chance of winning. My Stormtalon dropped onto the board in Hover Mode. My remaining Rhino roared toward the consolidating Harlequin Troupe, sending them packing even as it failed its terrain check *rolls eyes*. Meanwhile, the Venerable Dread made a counter-charge against the Skyweavers, knocking two out of the air and sending the last one fleeing off the board.

The enemy turn saw the Harlequins start clawing back the game. The Troupe which had previously wrecked the a Rhino went on to do the same to my Predator Annihilator, while their counterparts in the centre of the board rallied, casting Veil of Tears and Shrouding and taking out the other Rhino. With that, the Victory Points stood at 6 – 4 and I was quietly confident.


Mortis puts Las up the field. As you can see, we take things seriously at our club.


I love Dreadnoughts, and they love me.


Turn 4 saw me truly give the game away. With Veil of Tears and Shrouding preventing any meaningful shooting against them, the remaining Troupe was all but invulnerable. Stupidly, I moved my Predator, Dreadnought and Stormtalon forward to see if I could get a shot, while Korbijn and the Librarian ran to claim a Linebreaker.

In the Harlequin’s turn, my defeat was assured. The Troupe which had taken out my Predator stuck around to claim its own Linebreaker point. The central Deathstar hammered forward, their sights set on the helpless units I had stupidly fed them. The tank lasted all of three seconds, while the Drop Pod actually managed to weather the Solitaire’s onslaught.


The Sternguard prepare to receive a thunderous charge.


...having already survived one difficult combat against the Eldar.


Luckily, they would have help against the Jetbikes.


The fifth and final turn of the game was just a matter of clearing up. My Venerable Dreadnought charged the Troupe in the centre even as they picked over the wreck of my Predator. He whiffed all but one of his attacks and absolutely obliterated one basic Harlequin. A Second hit would have got me a Kill Point, but it wasn’t to be. The Mortis Dreadnought took a cheeky shot at the Solitaire, but it was to no avail.
Finally, the Harlequins ended the Venerable Dread’s rampage with Caresses and Haywire grenades, claiming a tenth Victory Point for Max and ending the game.


This was the point at which it all went wrong, really.


I should have focussed more fire on that unit.


This Rhino would prove quite the inconvenience to the Eldar, and would pay dearly for it.


The final result was 8 – 10 to the Harlies. I definitely feel like I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory there. If only I had been more careful and not under-estimated that Deathstar to such a degree. Nevertheless, it was a rather entertaining game. No grinding combats, no turns consisting only of movement, just two fully-painted armies going at each-other like mortal foes.

As a final thought, Max told me that the game had restored his faith in Harlequins as an army. Sadly, with the opponents he usually faces, he felt that he couldn’t make the army work. I’m glad I could be of use in that regard, at least.

Still hoping to get that game against some Tyrant’s Legion, so stay tuned.

Those are some gorgeous minis! Really nice batrep. I kinda want to start a Raven Guard army now

Nice report! well fought.

 War Kitten wrote:
Those are some gorgeous minis! Really nice batrep. I kinda want to start a Raven Guard army now

They can look very nice on the tabletop, although my preference is now moving away from the first founding Chapters. I'd advise you to consider the rules before you buy anything, then have a look at some Successors, just for the sake of variety. Since the Warzine Damocles books came out I've been seeing an awful lot of rubber stamped RG armies.

Cool batreps. The battle with the Harlequins was very cool.

EDC

 Spineyguy wrote:

 War Kitten wrote:
Those are some gorgeous minis! Really nice batrep. I kinda want to start a Raven Guard army now

They can look very nice on the tabletop, although my preference is now moving away from the first founding Chapters. I'd advise you to consider the rules before you buy anything, then have a look at some Successors, just for the sake of variety. Since the Warzine Damocles books came out I've been seeing an awful lot of rubber stamped RG armies.

True enough. I'm not all that concerned with how strong/weak a given CT is, I'm more concerned about if I'll like how the scheme will look on a mini. Although I probably should consider a successor since I already have an Ultramarines force...

 War Kitten wrote:
True enough. I'm not all that concerned with how strong/weak a given CT is, I'm more concerned about if I'll like how the scheme will look on a mini. Although I probably should consider a successor since I already have an Ultramarines force...

That's just my preference, you should obviously feel free to do as you please.

That said, I've always been a fan of the Revilers' colour scheme. If you can't find one you like in the end, just make up your own. Creating a cool, unique army needn't be difficult.

Crikey, one-a-week?! I don't think I've ever managed one-a-week of anything! Must be because I'm having such a good time with this army. Even my losses have been entertaining.


So this one was a bit of a practice for an upcoming doubles tournament. Ben and I are entering as a team and wanted to test our units tactics, as well as comparing our (rather similar) armies. My force consisted of Shadow Captain Korvydae and my usual Chaplain heading a rapid assault force including Assault Marines, Vanguard Veterans, Land Speeders and all of the Scouts I could muster. I was facing a more Armoured force including Lias Issodon, a Terminator Librarian, two Tactical Squads and some Tanks. We also both had a Storm Talon to call upon, though that went a lot better for my opponent, as you'll see.


We began by rolling Dawn of War and Crusade for our game type, then I lost the roll-off and got Conqueror of Cities for my Warlord Trait. Yes, folks, I began the game by rolling four consecutive 1s. That's just the way I do things, ain't nothing gonna change that. We deployed (with both of us using many Infiltrators) and I rolled a fifth 1 for my Seize attempt.


The First Turn began with a Dreadnought appearing right up my rear-end, before continuing into casualties on my Scout and Assault squads from shooting. My Vanguard Veterans had taken up a position in the only ruin on the board (I was determined to use that Warlord Trait), and then rolled a 1 for their 2+ Cover save, losing a member instantly. My opponent's Whirlwind and Dreadnought failed to hit anything, thankfully, but one of my Land Speeders was Stunned by his Predator. In my side of the turn, all three Land Speeders missed their Melta at the Dreadnought, only for a lone Scout with a Rocket Launcher to Immobilise it with one shot. Meanwhile, my Assault and Vanguard squads both made it into combat against Infiltrated units, with the Vanguard losing another two models to Overwatch, but wiping their target unit.


Ben made the mistake of infiltrating a squad right in front of an Assault Squad.


The Assault Squad would pull of a brilliant first-turn charge which undoubtedly won me the game.


"Ere, Korvis, did you hear something?'


Turn 2 involved more casualties for me. My Vanguard were polished off by the other Combat Squad, with Korvydae then failing his Morale check and fleeing a full 13"! This was followed by my losing a Land Speeder to Autocannon fire, and two Scouts to the Heavy Bolter of a Razorback. The Whirlwind missed again and Issodon and his Sternguard disembarked to bolster the Raptors lines. In return, I brought in my Stormtalon to destroy the immobilised Dreadnought, took members out of the Sternguard, dealt more wounds to the central Tactical Squad, and had Korvydae polish off the last of the Tactical Marines in the fortress.


Luckily, the Lascannon was not functional.


With the Sternguard unable to intervene, the central combat ground on.


With things getting crowded in my Deployment Zone, the Stormtalon was quite welcome.


Turn 3 saw the game start to swing in my opponent's favour. The Land Speeder squadron was reduced to one immobilised model, the Scouts took a third casualty from the Drop Pod's Storm Bolter, and the Assault squad continued to struggle to finish off their prey. Finally, with his brothers now dead, the Terminator Librarian closed to duel with Korvydae, who hadn't managed to consolidate far enough to be safe. One failed Invulnerable save later and the Shadow Captain was violently de-souled. For my part, I brought on my two Scout Squads, one of which demolished the Predator, while the other sped on to put rounds on the Librarian. I also stunned the Razorback, burned the remaining Sternguard alive and finally finished off the Tactical Squad, my Assault Marines consolidating into the enemy deployment zone.


This didn't end as well for Korvydae as I'd hoped.


Luckily, reinforcements arrived to avenge the Captain.


Turns 4 and 5 were where I began to claw back the game, but not before being punished further still. My Stormtalon, stricken from the previous turn, was laid low by its opposite number. The Assault Squad came under more fire as it closed with its second target, but weathered it without loss, and the Whirlwind roared forward to ram the Land Speeder for a glancing hit. In return, the Speeder hopped over and its passengers piled out to deliver bolts in the back, while the other Scouts took the unoccupied objective and sent some fire in the general direction of Issodon, the immobile Land Speeder finally got a Melta shot off and destroyed the Razorback which threatened my objective and the Assault Squad sent the remaining Tactical Marines packing. Shortly after, the Librarian took on the Chaplain, slaying him just as he had the Captain before. Issodon failed to accomplish much, but the Stormtalon tore through the Scouts that threatened his position.


Another improbable charge ended the Tactical Squad's existence.


This Librarian was ridiculous.


One final turn stood between me and victory. my opponent clung onto two objectives by his fingertips and I had units poised to dig him out. With the intervention of someone with better luck than me, Turn 6 was confirmed. A Land Speeder Storm fell to Issodon's bolter and the Librarian took his home objective. Once my remaining Scouts were in position, breath was held as I rolled my final two attacks. In the first, my four remaining Snipers took aim and scored two Rending hits against Issodon, killing him instantly. In the second, my Speeder Squad sent everything they had into the Librarian, hoping beyond hope that he would a second armour save. As that sweet 1 was rolled, a cheer went up. The objective was mine and with it the game; 3VPs to 5.



With such similar tactics, these two armies should make a decent team for the tournament, although we'll also be up against another team from our club, who I suspect will have a more optimal army.

So one Battle Report per week turned out to be unsustainable; this was partly due to a pressing matter (a tall, lanky one with pulsars, images soon), and partly to my own laziness in not bothering to organise a game. There was no such issue last week. I wanted a game and, for my sins, they gave me one. I have always had a tenuous relationship with dice, but the way I was rolling in this game was just beyond understanding. You'll see what I mean shortly. Anyway, this game would pit my Raven Guard against Traitors in the colours of the Night Lords. I must say that the match-up gave an excellent impression of hatred and history between the two armies, to say nothing of their conduct in the actual combat. With my opponent winning the roll-off, we deployed across from one-another and I gave my Sternguard a forward position where they might bring in my Dreadnought early-on. My Scouts would Outflank later to claim the Relic, once my Land Speeders had swept it clear. At least, that was the plan.

Turn 1 began with both of my Rhinos taking fire. One was shot half to death by Havocs, while the other copped a Hull Point from a Helbrute. I couldn't pass a single cover save, with both Tactical squads under fire from afar. My Sternguard took a 1st Turn charge from a unit of Raptors, losing two members just to pistol fire! In my turn, my Dreadnought podded in to give my opponent's tanks a good rogering, while my Tactical squads made the best of a bad lot, shuffling forward to gaze longingly at the Relic. Then ensued a truly terribad shooting phase; with the Tactical Squads acheiving the death of two Chaos bikers between them and the tanks managing no more than an immobilised Helbrute. The Dreadnought turned out to be a massive waste of points; as it scored three damage results against one of the Chaos Predators, only for the enemy to pass two 6+ cover saves! He rolled his auto-senses and braced for a counter-rogering, while my Sternguard swept away the last of the Raptors to claim First Blood.


I was unnerved by this. I shouldn't have been.


...this, however.


This was one of the better-looking armies I've faced.


Turn 2 began with my Dreadnought dieing to vengeful Predators. This was followed by a pre-assault barrage from the Bikers and the Relic being taken by a Chaos Lord and his Terminators. It was at this point that I decided it would be a good idea to drop my phone, sending it clattering through the remaining Sternguard and sending snapped-off arms and bolters, as well as phone parts, all over the damn place. Once the depression had abated, I resumed the game, rolling nothing on any of my reserves (even with my Warlord's modifier), losing most of a Tactical Squad to assaulting Bikers (but not all, crucially), and failing to gain any purchase on the enemy. Every shot either missed or failed to wound, my opponent becoming gradually more incredulous at my shocking performance.


The woods did not offer enough cover. I rolled many 1s.


Nor, it seemed, would LoS-blocking terrain.


Nor, it seemed, would standing in the open like a lemon.


Turn 3 went much as the others had, with the Night Lords colonising the centre and starting to make off with the Relic. I lost both Rhinos (which had accomplished bugger-all up to that point), and some Marines from the unengaged squad (ditto). I didn't feel too bad about the losses. In return I brought on two Scout Squads in Speeders (one of which broke as I put it on the table). Neither squad accomplished anything, but that was expected by this point. I rolled to bring on my Land Speeder Squadron, but they scattered into difficult terrain, mishapped, and went back into Ongoing Reserves. On the other hand, I did manage to score a Weapon Destroyed result on the Helbrute (from three Lascannons, mind), but only got rid of its Chainfist. Having been held up for a full turn, the Bikers then finished off my Tactical Marines and set their sights on the Armour.


Not a promising sight.


Relic claimed for the enemy.


No sooner had the Helbrute lost its Chainfist than it rolled a Fire Frenzy result on the Crazed table, which was nice. It shot twice at my remaining Rhino, destroying it in short order. The Bikers moved up and 'sploded my Lascannon Predator. One of my Scout Squads had their Speeder done in by the Chaos Predators, but passed their Pinning check and debarked in the right direction. I brought my Land Speeder Squadron in, without rolling this time. They scattered, mishapped and return to Ongoing Reserves. My remaining Predator then FINALLY managed to do something, wrecking one of the Chaos Rhinos and spilling a full strength Attack Squad onto the field in Turn 4! Finally, a 55pt Scout Squad on foot did what a 165pt Dreadnought in a Drop Pod couldn't, and destroyed a Predator.


Hah, sucker thought he was safe from my Scouts!


Taking rounds!


Turn 5 began, and it was looking pretty grim for me. When my Drop Pod finally got glanced to death, I had run out of Vehicle Destroyed counters and started optimistically using Stunned ones instead. Having destroyed a Predator last turn, the Bikers charged my remaining Tactical Squad, who took many wounds (including one from an Overheating Plasma Gun), but fought on valiantly. In my turn, I brought in my Land Speeders, who then scattered, mishapped and went back into Ongoing Reserves. The other Scout Squad moved up and took chunks out of some Chaos Marines, who were then further hammered by my Predator, leaving just the Champion and one regular Marine.


The Sternguard were meant to be my linchpin, but there they go.


In Turn 6, the enemy made a grave error. Sure of his victory, the Chaos Lord abandoned the Relic and moved to engage the upstart Scouts, cutting them apart with their Lightning Claws. Meanwhile, the remaining Chaos Champion charged and wrecked my other Predator, putting the number of models I had on the table at three. My Land Speeders landed, on target this time, taking it back up to six; they immolated the Chaos Marines that had taken the relic, sweeping it clear and opening the game up again. My three remaining Scouts cowered behind the wreck of the Predator they'd destroyed, hoping beyond hope that I wouldn't now roll for a seventh turn.


You shall pay for your hubris, Night Lord.


...Actually, I can hurt you, so you shall pay for his hubris..


Turn seven was a nail-biter. Every remaining Chaos unit was bent on my destruction, but none were going to make it to the Relic in time. The Terminators would have to hack through three Land Speeders to even see the Relic. They did so with savage glee, while the Havocs put everything they had onto the Scouts. When all was said and done, I was back down to three models on the board, but they happened to be claiming a Linebreaker objective.


Bizarrely, had the Night Lords not won this combat, the game would have been mine!


This Bike Squad claimed two Tactical Squads and a Predator, which is a pretty good tally. Unfortunately, none of the units they destroyed had even a tiny impact on the game. They may as well have been killing Grots.


That's right, folks, it's just like my first battle with this army; lose the vast majority of my models and get by on a technicality. I claimed First Blood and Linebreaker, while my enemy claimed Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord, making it a tied game, which I consider a victory against my rotten luck.

That was a close-run thing. I'm used to rolling badly, but that must have been worse than usual. It was another one of those games where my opponent simply couldn't believe my luck. I of course, know that it was far from unusual for me.

My unit of the game was a tough choice. On one hand, the Scouts stuck around against the odds, but my Land Speeders had by far the best kill of the game. Incidentally, they also scattered, mishapped and went back into Ongoing Reserves.

Wow, nice tie in the face of adversity.

Have you thought about luck mitigation? Things like homing beacons, stuff for re-rolls, etc? While you can’t totally ignore our fickle little friends, there are some things we can do to mitigate bad rolls.

 Nevelon wrote:
Wow, nice tie in the face of adversity.

Have you thought about luck mitigation? Things like homing beacons, stuff for re-rolls, etc? While you can’t totally ignore our fickle little friends, there are some things we can do to mitigate bad rolls.

I've taken plenty of twin-linked weapons, and always bring at least one Locator Beacon. The trouble is that I took a chance in this game and didn't use my beacon, and my bad rolling all happened at the To Wound/Penetrate stage, or with my opponent's Saves.

Anyway, as you say, a draw isn't bad.

Cool bat rep. Typically Choas, so bent on destruction that they abandoned the objective. So, well done on a draw, I think you definitely deserve to chalk it up as a minor victory considering how badly the game seemed to go!

EDC

 evildrcheese wrote:
Cool bat rep. Typically Choas, so bent on destruction that they abandoned the objective. So, well done on a draw, I think you definitely deserve to chalk it up as a minor victory considering how badly the game seemed to go!

EDC

Thanks, it's always nice to hear that I'm not totally incompetent.

Hear that? That stuttering, coughing, grinding sound? It's the sound of Thread Necromancy, and I'm doing it in the most spectacular style.

2016 was crap, wasn't it? Since my last post I've been to three funerals and about twelve Job Interviews, all of which have gone equally badly. My job has been getting steadily worse and it's looking increasingly like I'm going to have to leave my home town to deal with a family crisis too tragic to go into. The only constant has been wargaming, and I think we all ought to take a minute to appreciate the value of the hobby we have.

2017, I hope, is going to be a much better year. I'll start it by resuming my posts here, and that, ironically, means revisiting one of the negative experiences from the-year-which-shall-no-longer-be-named: my first ever 40k Tournament.

Now, one cannot exist near a broadband connection these days without hearing one of two rather extreme views of the competitive side of our hobby. Tournaments are either the only way it's possible to play now (because it's well-known that living rooms don't exist), or they are a blight on all human existence and should be bombed without exception. I'm not here to espouse either one of those views (despite the content of report that will now follow), and I certainly feel that no good ever comes of holding such absolutist views. However, I can say with relative certainty, that the three games presented hereafter did nothing whatsoever to endear the idea of Tournament gaming to me, and that the next time an even like this is run at my local shop, I fully intend to ignore the crap out of it.

Right, without further ado: the event was a little doubles tourney organised by my local games shop. mostly they actually do card games (God knows why), but they have a small 40k community, so my club decided to send a couple of teams. I took a fast-moving assault force with Captain Korvydae and I was partnered with my friend, Ben, who'd brought an altogether more shooty Raptors army involving small Tactical units and a couple of tanks. I won't go into massive detail here, but suffice to say that I think I came across all the worst types of people at this Tourney. Games were 2*750pts, Maelstrom Objectives, and we could expect to have a Bye Round due to the odd number of teams.


Game 1 put us up against a team of Tau and Necrons. The Necron player was new to the faction and didn't know most of his own rules, while his mate had brought a Stormsurge and a massive chip on his shoulder.

My Land Speeders swept the central objective clear of Tau, and I came in for a lot of bitching from their owner, who apparently had not reckoned on Heavy Flamers ignoring both his cover and his armour saves.


My Vanguard Veterans wiped out these Destroyers, only for the opponent to bring them back in a rather dubious manner.


My Assault Marines claimed points from the objective here, then overran the Necrons (eventually). Meanwhile, my partner copped an earful for having the audacity to bring a Whirlwind.


We only got to play four turns. The game ended just before this combat began, which probably worked in my favour. Incidentally, we completely ignored the Stormsurge.

Game 1: Loss.
Lesson Learned: don't rely on the enemy to know his own army. Expect rules to be misinterpreted in his favour. Don't provoke sleeping bears.


Game 2 had us face a couple of older blokes who we were actually warned about. One had brought Red Scorpions with all the trimmings, while the other was using Ravewing and a Knight Acheron (yep, in a 750pt force!)


Face full of 4+ FNP from Turn 1.


Red Scorpions owner was very proud of his army, which he'd just got back from the painters that morning.


This Dread was some cheesy Special Character, who completely wiped out my Vanguard before charging and destroying both of my partner's tanks.


The combined fire of these units killed I think two Marines.


By the end of Turn 3, this was my army.

Game 2: Loss.
Lesson Learned: Some people are just awful. I believe the line was 'No, you don't understand. If you don't explicitly ban this sort of thing, I HAVE to take it.'


Game 3 was, if anything, probably the best of the weekend, in that only one of the opponents was intolerable. Up against a team of Orks and Dark Eldar.


This was the Ork player. I'd been looking forward to playing him, and I have to say he was a thoroughly fun chap. Think the hat might have given him an unfair advantage, though.


My Storms took up forward positions and hammered the Boyz.


My Assault Marines struck and, for a brief moment, I was having fun. Until the other player got involved, that is.


Then there were Deldar. Seriously, this guy spent more time quoting chapter and verse than actually playing the damn game.

Game 3: Loss
Lesson Learned: The rules are there as much for the player's entertainment as their guidance. Obsessing over sentence minutiae is deeply tiresome.


And that was it. At the end of the 3rd game was our Bye Round, and after that it was clear that even if we won both our fourth and fifth games, my team were still going to be bottom of the table. We'd done that badly. One thing I hadn't really anticipated going into this is that each game would only last four turns. Not sure if this is common, but it certainly made the whole thing a lot less painful. It was also only the second time I'd ever played with Maelstrom objectives, which may have gone some way to ensuring our downfall. Played three, lost three, never again.

So yes; in one event I'd had a whiner, a goldfish, two Power Gamers, a brilliantly fun true hobbyist and a Text-to-Speech generator. Does that cover every Tournament stereotype?

Welcome back!

I'm a huge fan of painting/gaming logs in the same thread; so I'm happy to see this one revived.

At least you got some cool pics from the games!

Seriously though, don't let this experience put you off tournaments all together, but I can definitely appreciate that they're not always the best experience.

EDC

Eesh sounds like you just had the misfortune to meet some unpleasant people. Don't let it put you off all tournaments, at least at the LGS level, most people are pretty nice there

Oof.

I hear you about The Year Which Shall Not Be Named. Giant dumpster fire of a year. Spent a chunk of it getting divorced and looking for a job and new place to live myself. But the hobby perseveres! Keeping painting and playing is one of the few things keeping me sane. 2017: Nowhere to go but up!

I find that tournaments tend to bring out the worst in people, myself included. Not a big fan. My last FLGS had some nice low key ones I enjoyed though. Most of the crowd wasn’t particularly cut-throught, and it was a guaranteed 3 games. There were the bad matches, but those were the exception, not the norm. And the ugly games I tried to set achievable personal goals. Like “Not get tabled until after turn 3” or “Kill that irritating unit”

But at the very least, I got to go out and socialize with some like minded hobbyists.

Good to see you still blogging.

Yep, definitely good to see you back, even if it is on a bit of a low note. I'm not much of a fan of tourneys either if I'm honest, probably due to my FLGS being a bit more competitive than most.

Thank you al for your encouragement. I'm sure this experience isn't indicative of the wider tournament scene, but I think I'll be sticking to my little, casual games for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of which, I've got a cracker lined up for this weekend. Stay tuned.

Okay. Time for some better news.

In the aftermath of that awful tournament, I felt the need for some light relief, and so I approached a friend of mine from the club. Simon and I always have loads of fun when we play, primarily because we have very similar approaches to the game. Simon used to play a lot of tournaments, but quit the scene when he lost patience with the Power Creep in 5th Edition (at which point it was less of a creep and more of a cascade).

Because I tend to play easy-going, friendly armies, Simon felt able to give his long-neglected Orks some action and I was delighted to see that in addition to being one of my favourite factions, his army was almost fully painted and comprised of alternative, 3rd-party models, meaning we had a really entertaining evening of play, and that I got plenty of good pictures. I was taking the opportunity to run some of my Imperial Guard (seen much earlier in the thread), along with some sturdy Raven Guard. The game was meant to be 1500pts, but once I'd done some adding up, it transpired that I'd only brought about 1250. Nevertheless, on with the show.


In Turn 1, Simon seized the Initiative, which was fine by me. He hammered up the field with his Trukks and Deffkoptas, and his big, scary Kanz and Dreadz swarmed through the midfield. The Deffkoptas opened up on my Veteran Guardsmen, who had taken up positions in the ruins on my side of the board, sitting on objectives and poised to Go to Ground. They did so and weathered the fire. The Warboss' retinue also moved up in their Trukk, but they were a while off yet. And I had a Predator ready to pop their flimsy transport. In my turn, I positioned my Tactical Squads and Dreadnought forward before doing just that, wrecking the Trukk with a Combination of Lascannons and an Autocannon and leaving the Meganobz on foot. I then put rounds into the Trukks on the my flank and marched my Guardsmen up to scythe through the spilled Boyz and claim the right-hand-side of the board.


I'm a big fan of my Guardsman blobs. This one was just forty-men, owing to poor maths on my part, but still pretty formidable.


This was the kind of model Simon had brought. Made of paper, no less!


I love the Deffkopta models. Shame they've never been released on their own. This Squadron took a lot of fire in the first turn, failing their Morale check and fleeing right to the back of the board.


Turn 2 began with Simon's Boyz rallying and getting into position to lay into my infantry on the right flank. The Kanz and Dread had moved up so far that they had no chance of charging my Dread, which had been unable to move last turn having debarked from its Pod, meaning the Ancient retained the initiative for what promised to be a deadly assault. On the left flank, Simon's Deffkoptas failed to rally and flew off the board, while the Warboss and his Meganobz made for the central objective, which I had sent a Tactical Squad to claim from the Gretchin. In my side of the turn, they took wounds from my Veterans and Predator, but kept on shuffling. Meanwhile, my Guardsmen and other Tactical Squad poured fire into the Boyz on the right flank. I also moved both of my Rhinos up, one to cut off the narrow corridor through which the Killa Kanz were advancing, and the other to block the charge from the remaining Trukk Boyz.


The remnants of the Tankbustas were able to line up a volley. My Dread took it like a fifteen-foot Iron Lung on acid.


This is a great use of Rhinos. I always look for opportunities to control my enemy's movement.


And a subtly different tactic is screening. Remember kids, waste a 35pt vehicle, not a 170pt Tactical Squad.


Turn 3 saw the armies clash in earnest. The Kanz, frustrated by a Rhino, headed in the opposite direction, and wiped out a tactical Squad with their Grotzookaz. A mob of Shoota Boyz on the right flank destroyed a Rhino in short order, while their Trukk made for the centre, (I expect the driver remembered his orders at the last minute). Meanwhile, my Guard blob swarmed over the Shoota Boyz, an avalanche of bayonets turning the Orks into a fine mince. My remaining Tactical Squad gave a huge effort to reach the centre objective, but failed their 3" charge, instead giving the encroaching Meganobz an awkward look.


These Kanz were a real threat at the beginning of the game. By the beginning of Turn 4, their presence had been thoroughly wasted.


Blitzkrieg Boyz! Love these models.


The Blob is triumphant. The Blob is supreme!


In Turn 4, our armies were actually largely spent. The Killa Kanz has achieved so little that they seemed to just give up on trying to get through the ruins. The Meganobz struck my Tactical Squad, not quite wiping them out. My Autocannons immobilised the remaining Trukk, meaning it wouldn't be claiming any objectives, and my Dreadnought took a Hull Point off the Deff Dred before charging it for the other two.


this was long-awaited, and it went my way. What a great game!


The Kanz, however, got nothing at all. They just stood there with their bottom lips thrust out, lamenting their lack of a fight.


This was a disappointment, but I'd won on secondary objectives, and held all of my own.


And that was it. Just a full evening of fun with friends. In a contrast to the truncated, rushed games of the tournament, this was fast, brutal and tactical, with both armies clashing like old foes should. Though it was a decidedly low-scoring game, my victory came from a First Blood for the Warboss' Trukk and a Linebreaker from my Dreadnought, while Simon had failed to score at all. Still, a hugely enjoyable game with plenty of action.

And I have another such game lined up this week at the club. Stay tuned for details.

Well, it was promising from an anticipatory point of view, but I'm afraid last week's game turned out to be something of a train crash for my army. In my defence, the enemy was absolute kryptonite to my sneaky, mid-to-close range, largely uncentred army.

My opponent this week would be a thoroughly nice chap from out of town. He was in the area for work, and had contacted the club for a quick, friendly, low-pressure game. Being one of our foremost representatives of that style of play, I stepped jovially forward, and arrived with an CAD army consisting of a large Imperial Guard platoon, three squads of Veterans, an Aegis Defence Line and a small Allied Detachment of Raven Guard designed to be a strike element. What I was met with was what might be called a truly Battle-forged army; a Rapture Battalion of the Emperor's Children, thick with sonic weapons and Feel No Pain saves. With the combination of cover-ignoring weapons, high initiative and enhanced toughness, I went into the game with some cynicism, but was nonetheless perfectly ready for a fun few hours. We chose to play a simple Kill Points game, and my opponent took the first turn.


Turn 1 was uneventful for my opponent. He moved some of his army forward, but upon achieving the 18" range that his army favoured, it was clear that he had nothing to do but await my advance. He did knock two Hull Points off my Predator, but said vehicle would go on to fulfil its purpose. Not wishing to risk an entirely empty first turn, I marched my Guardsmen into position and decided that it would be better to steal an extra round of shooting early on. I brought in my Dreadnought, blew up two Rhinos and scythed apart an expensive assault unit with Lasguns. All thoroughly good things.


My Guardsmen are one of my favourite units. They're big, ridiculous, unwieldy, difficult to transport and move on the table, and require frankly ridiculous feats of multiplication to use.


My Veterans set up their heavy weapons, expecting an assault. Instead they received no more than a pounding of awful sound.


Turn 2 gave me a taste of the punishment to come. While my first proper Shooting Phase had been exciting, my opponent's was devastating. Guardsmen were stripped from my blob at a rate I'd never seen before, my Predator was shaken to pieces and my poor Dreadnought barely had time to watch the Rhino burn before he copped a Blastmaster to the upper glacis. Thusly neutered, my response was simply to array my infantry and await reinforcements. When these arrived at the beginning of my turn, I had a brief moment of hope before I started rolling dice. My Assault Squad got into what might have been heavy cover in any other game and awaited their chance to strike, while my Scout Squads rode their Land Speeders in from the flank to attempt vainly to blind and harm the Noise Marines.


This had been promising, briefly.


And this one, while absolutely successful in its application, had not made back its points.


Turn 3 came on with momentum, and my destruction promised to be swift, if not a little brutal. Again, my opponent hammered me with sonic death, and I, in my folly, had fed him more units. A Land Speeder, most of its Scout cargo and very nearly an entire Assault Squad were evaporated by the horrific blasphemies of the followers of Slaanesh. In response, I could do little but lose the Assault Squad to Overwatch, plink away with my Lasguns and try to ignore the fact that half of my opponent's units had yet to take even a single wound.


Frankly, the Chaos army could have been this big, and I still would have lost.


Spoilers: he gets one.


Turn 4 should really have been the last. I finally lost a full Veteran Squad to enemy Bolt Pistols, and decided that the best course of action was to try and save my Warlord. In true Imperial fashion, I drew my Veterans back and positioned them as speed-bumps with my Commander left far away from any Blastmasters and my remaining Guardsmen and Scouts moving to stall the enemy advance.


In hindsight, this assault was never going to happen.


'Dammit, Sergeant, you will hold them until you have confirmed my escape!'


Turn 5 was no more than spite from my Army's point of view, with the meagre remnants f my Blob hurling themselves at the enemy with simple, bloody-minded hatred while their distant Commander made a tacit effort to reclaim his honour. Five VPs to Twelve. Job done.


Unit of the match was, inevitably, my glorious Blob. Ever reliable, utterly devastating, and worth their weight in plastic.


Yes, a quite entertaining game. I thoroughly enjoyed my opponent. His army was brilliantly turned-out, even including Sonic Rhinos (with mounted speakers for the Dubstep). To me it proved that a defeat can be as much fun as a victory, and that modern 40k is not one, but two Sci-fi tabletop games. The one I started playing all of twelve years ago is definitely still in there, but sitting atop it is another, altogether more serious and involved game which I'm afraid still leaves me rather cold.

As a final thought I must say that I found myself feeling rather sorry for my opponent. It seems he asked for a small, simple, low-key game because in his local metagame, that's precisely what his army represents. I find Formations decidedly restrictive and frustrating to build, probably because I begin an army with a vision of what I want long before I consider any rules, and it strikes me in the aftermath of this game that I must be in something of a minority in that regard. What a shame.