Angels of Perdition

So I think my list is about done, and it is time to go into playtest mode. This weekend I tried out a change in the list, and I believe I approve.

A little background.

I bought the marines I am now painting in the summer of 2008, the last time I dropped a couple hundred dollars on models. I was young, excited, and was giddy over the new Dark Angel codex. I was a fool. I got the codex and found it to be unispiring, both from a rules perspective from 4.0 and looking forward. I did however like the models in robes quite a bit.

So I gave a big sigh and moved to california. Last august I believe I finally brought the box out and decided I was going to get the stupid models painted. I hated the Dark Angels codex, but would do my own successor chapter and do 'green marines'.

I painted up a few squads and then moved back to Mississippi, the gleam of light in my eye as I picked up my dice to play with my friends... and promtly got obliterated off the table. I was still great with my tau, but my marines were not that good. I couldn't seem to get them to work, I lost game after game, and everything I did was just a bunch of fail.

But hey, if I'm losing, I'm learning. Slowly, after having played EVERY OPTION in the marine book now (except scout bikers) I started forming a plan.

First, was that I really liked Pedro Kantor. I liked that he made the army Stubborn, I liked that he had the orbital strike and I liked that he gave everyone +1 attack within 12 inches. I thought those were pretty good abilities.

I also loved the scouts in a storm. It was the only unit that I theory-hammered in california that has born out to be a powerful unit. I love it, and wouldn't leave home without it for tournament with marines.

Besides that I tried to make devestator marines work... and pound for bound I just find that they don't. The game is a much more fluid game then it used to be. Thinks are moving from multiple angles, or sometimes are forced to start off the table, therefore the devestator's often lose their ability to shoot. For less points I get the predator, which I like quite a bit.

I have been running with ten terminators (standard type with two cyclones) for quite awhile as counter-assault and shooting platform. With Kantor they proved to be quite shooty, and generally rather effective. My largest problem with them has been their speed. 6inch movement just isn't much. They simply didn't have the movement to make shifts in the game that I like to do. I found often that for all their power they were often out of position and in the wrong place entirey. So this weekend I experimented with a landraider and 5x storm shield terminators.

I hate how much more I like them. I hate running cookie-cutter stuff, but they proved to be a better use of the same points then I had been doing.

Right now at home I have the entire army deployed on the dining room table, as I figure out what else needs to be painted/modeled. It's not much. Here is my list, which is about 95% of what I will run, with some minor changes.

Chapter Master Gabriel Martel (counts as Pedro Kantor)
Codicier Raziel (Librarian with Null Zone and another power)

5x Thunderhammer Terminators with Godhammer Landraider
1 dreadnought (with either a heavy flamer/Multi-melta or another gun)
1 dreadnought (with either a heavy flamer/Multi-melta or another gun)

10 Tac Marines in a rhino w/Multi-melta/meltagun power weapon
10 Tac Marines in a rhino w/missile launcher/meltagun power weapon
5 scouts with power fist/combi-melta/melta bombs

Landspeeder with Multi-melta/heavy flamer
Landspeeder Storm with Heavy Flamer

Predator Destructor with side Las-cannons
Predator Destructor with side Las-cannons
Thunderfire Cannon

I have found that the best thing about the list is that I enjoy playing it, which I love.

I will be moving back into my home in the next 30 days, and hopefully will be getting set up to take photo's... yea!

Codicier Raziel

the sound of slugga rounds bounced off the rhino as Raziel landed hard on the earth, sinking up to his ankle in the thick mud of Larakus IV. The banner of the Fourth Company of the Angels of Perdition ripped in the wind. Even soaked with the waters of the rain and mud, the colors of the Angel of Nova Terra seemed to shimmer and catch the dying light.

"Good," Captain Maltheas said, his booming voice echoing through Raziel's earpiece, "I'm glad you made it. We have a problem. We magaed to but the Orks off from the main supply after the fall of Grendal Research station, but they seem to have been able to get a old refinery going up at the ruins of a mining station to the west. Resourceful bastard, I'll give him that."

Raziel was silent as the Captain through up a holo-display of the surrounding area, "If that fuel he is brining in gets back to their ship, he will be able to bring out his big guns, and I'm concerened I don't have the resources to deal with that here, especially with the fall of Grendal. For asking for our help these Mechanicus sure aren't doing much besides whining. Take Exeter, Maelin and senth squad that you already are attached to, and head up there. Sergeant Kaelix is already there with some recruits in position, and ready to move."

Maltheas only now stopped, flicking his holo-display off and turning his red glowing eyes of his power armor to Raziel. "Do you have any questions, Codicier."

"No, Master Maltheas. Find the orks fuel refinery, and destroy it."

"Good, may the Emperor and the Lion be with you. I will keep Uglug pinned here, while you move forward, with any luck, you can kill his Meks that have put the entire group together. Go with vengeance, brother codicier."

With that Maltheas nodded to his standard banner, and threw the great black blade of Affero Mortus over his shoulder and stepped into his Rhino, Angel Ascendant.

Raziel had a bad feeling about this....

40K Table

In a month I will be able to move back into my home.

What does this have to do with 40K you may ask?

Well, this means that I will (finally) be able to start putting the 40K table I have been dreaming about forever together in my wife and I's.... it's not a dining room, I think we are calling it the Studio now.

Anyway, I was planning on building a new army after BOLScon, but now, I'm considering just building my table/terrain set in August. I have got to come up with a storage mechanism that will work with the table, be fun, and allow me to modifiy it up some. I looked at the gw stuff, but honestly for $280, I can do a lot better.

I'm figuring build a table, and then under it have little rows to store mdf 2ftx2ft pieces to put together to build a table, I would need 6 of them (which if stored sideways wouldn't take that much room).

Eventually I want to have a green/brown field for games and a cityfight board (a total of 12 pieces) and perhaps 2 pieces that are a mix to have the ability to seperate them up. For now though I want to focus on one table, which will be my Angels of Penitance table that will probably include the following things:

(2) groups of woods - I am undecided if I want to use gw woods, or modify my own up. I think I will go for my own, as I already have the stuff to make it.
(2) Hills - I probably will go for the GW hills on this one. I like them, and they are very very durable (being plastic)
(1-2) Bastions - I like the model and want to play some planetstrike with a nice table.
(1-2) Ruins - I still have a fox of the GW ruins, I want to model them up as old decrepid building that have started to be reclaimed by the world, with moss on them etc...
(1) Of those new sets from GW with the space marine statue and broken aquelae.
(1) Fortress of Redemption - My Centerpiece, and probably the last piece I will do to the table itself.

That should be enough for a table, easily. Good solid stuff that will be pro-painted by me. I want to be able to put up battle reports and photo's and have them look amazing. I would rather have a few pieces of wonderful terrain. After all, you use the stuff every game!

Battle Chronicler

I downloaded it today and am trying to get it running. I have a thousand point game against Don today after work, in which under orders from Captain Maltheas Codicier Librarian Raziel will be leading a group of marines to destroy the Ork refinery that has recently come on line of Ugluug which Maltheas tries to keep the main group of Orks penned down.

This is Raziel's first solo command since being promoted to Codicier and he will have to show his character to get it done.

I will be trying to do a battle report tomorrow with battle chronicler to show what happened.

Don, if you are reading this, bring a list tonight that I can have!

Well

Been awhile hasn't it. I'm still between office and house till the end of june, so don't expect a lot of updates.

I've made some fairly significant changes to the list I have been working on.

I was remarking to Andy that he and I both suffer from a damaged mind set when coming to 40K that we need to work on getting out of. We both playes a slot in 1st and 2nd edition when there was only one goal, obliterate your opponent. There weren't any turn limits, so you focused on destroying opponent fire power and thn after that started on other units. In 5th edition with the strong emphasis on objectives on the tablew, we sometimes get carried away and don't go after them. In addition I am still not used to the game ending in the 5th turn.

I will say, I used to play a lot more 'in the moment' then I do now. Trying to get back into practice. Ryan (Andy's brother) doesn't have this problem at all, and constantly maintains a clear idea of what the mission is at all times. It makes him a great clutch player.

Part of the reason that I was having problems with the list was an overabundance of static lascannons. (talk about 4th ed and back mentality) that simply isn't working in 5th edition. I don't believe that Space Marine gun lines are very effective. I had two squads of sterm guard on foot with two lascannons (155 pts each) as two additional scoring units. Their lack of hth, and cost made them completely cost prohibitive to be honest. I've dropped them in exchange picked up two dreadnoughts that I have been loving lately. Completely worth it. I'm still playing on what guns to give them, but fairly pleased.

I played in a tournament that I did fairly well in. I wasn't dissappointed with the list, only in myself for playing it poorly. I played Ryand and barely lost the objectives last weekend when I went to do some hobby work for them.

As usual, need more practice.