The Blog's Back Baby

That's right, it's back! The blog has been on hiatus for quite a few months as I sort my new house out, plan for weddings etc (I'm sure it wasn't missed too much) but I'm going to be hitting the painting table again with renewed enthusiasm.

Blog Changes
"There's going to be a few changes around here." The original plan was to get guest bloggers to write some articles but that idea seemed to die (although if any readers want to submit one, or even start a regular feature, email me here). So, as my painting isn't as prolific as it used to be I'm going to expand the blog's focus a little. Not only will I share my painting and gaming progress as normal, I may be doing reviews of non-GW gaming and even some graphic novel articles (well... one, maybe). We're finally getting a dining table soon so hopefully I'll be playing more board and card games - if you have any suggestions of games my mates and I should play let me know in the comments!

Kill Team
The Kill Team ruleset is still going strong, and you can check out the growing community on Facebook. At the time of writing the group has over 150 members! The group is a great place to share photos of your team and gaming boards, as well as work out any rule contentions you may have. Campaigns v2 has just been uploaded, adding more in-depth rules for Walkers as well as a new optional 'HQ' mechanic for those who want to take their campaigns further (think base upgrades in the original Dawn of War).

Mutagenesis Skirmish Game
The 2nd edition of my home-grown game Mutagenesis is nearing completion. You can find the alpha version here. It's a lot different to the original book, and now has a 'you-go-I-go' system like chess which has allowed me to add in things like interrupt actions and just gives a whole new tactical depth to the game. The book is still in heavy alpha and needs a full proof-read and more playtesting before it goes beta but if you have any comments or ideas please contact me (either on the KT facebook page or email below).

Plans for the Future
In the coming months you'll hopefully see progress on my Lizardmen army, as well as bits a bobs from my on-going Storm Reavers (chaos). We've also started playing Battlefleet Gothic again so you'll probably see me finally paint some ships! I'm also putting together a guide on how to start reading Marvel graphic novels so we'll have our first non-gaming post soon. Also look out for more 'xenos' related posts on the horizon... maybe with a Tauish feel.

Again, if anyone wants to post an article or start a regular progress report email me here! It may take me a while to reply to your email as I don't check this one very often.

Until next time,
Darth Meer

Hobby Update: Cultists, D&D, KR Cases, BFG, Kill Team

If you haven't noticed already, It's starting to become a long period between posts. I expect this to continue for the next few months while we move into our new house and plan wedding, but after all that hullabaloo service should be back to normal :-D. Until then I'll probably do a few Hobby Update posts like this one.

Cultists

I managed to grab a few hours last weekend to finish off one of my two squads of chaos cultists. Pics below:

Sect Momus - Chaos Cultists

Xenophon Momus - Chaos Cultist Champion

As you can see its not the usual quality of both painting and photography! After all, they're only cultists, and I have 30 of them to paint. Eventually I may go back over them and highlight but at the moment gaming standard will suffice. To be honest, I was still quite impressed what a simple layer and wash (well more like a dip really, as its all one shade) can accomplish in almost no time. It also means more time to paint more important models! Next on the desk will be one of the Chaos Space Marine squads I think.

Dungeons & Dragons

We've started a new D&D campaign using the playtest rules and I'm painting up a new model. My character is the mighty Thrulk the Barbarian.The model is from Avatars of War found here. I'm taking my time with him, especially the flesh (there is lots of it!)

We've had one D&D session so far and the new rules are pretty awesome. Much, much simpler than 4th edition, and focussed more on the 'what do you want to do?' aspect of RPGs rather than just a constricting narrative miniatures game that I found 4e to be. Although I don't think the difficulty is quite balanced yet, we struggled to survive a couple of Orcs but the Cleric managed to one-shot an Ogre...

KR Cases

I've decided to fully convert my old GW cases to new shiny KR ones. This, astonishingly, has been put forward by my fiancée who wants my armies out of the way in the new house! The card cases fit snuggly in an Ikea Billy bookcase if anyone wants to know.

I won't post a review (I did that previously), but I will say again that these cases are simply awesome. The custom cut ones are worth the extra few pounds, especially for vehicles. You can fit so much in! Check it out, 3000 points of vehicle heavy Blood Angels in 2 cases (plus an extra one for my Stormraven that I've had for a while):

KR Cases - Left has custom foam, right has core

Battlefleet Gothic

I won't lie, I'm disappointed in Games Workshop for suspending their Specialist Games line. I totally understand it from a business perspective, but they must still be making a little bit from the models - enough to keep the line selling and the fan boys happy perhaps. Of course this started a panic buy from the community and now hardly anything is available. Luckily I managed to place my order for a few bits before the rush! A few bits for BFG, mainly a Battle Barge and some Cobras to add to my fledgling Imperial Fleet that I still haven't got round to finishing. I'm going to have to try and have a few more games of BFG soon.

Kill Team

The new update for Kill Team (v1.7) was released a while ago, but I'll post the update log here for anyone doesn't check the forums or the Facebook group (which you can join here by the way, and is the easiest place to post your questions or comments - or just share your tactics and teams).

Kill Team v1.7 Update:

• Added Blasts and Real Terrain rules
• Added 'purchasing grenades' rules
• Clarified mission VP/EXP with Squads
• Clarified optional Injury rule with Squads
• Replaced Hostage mission with Breakthrough
• Replaced Grab & Run mission with Seize Ground
• Adjusted bonus EXP rewards for missions
• Only Special models may now become the banner bearer in Last Stand
• A load of rewording for clarification

A few updates have been released for the Kill Team lists, so check them out and see if your army has been updated  Of special note is the update for Tau (new codex) and new Black Templars and Deathwatch lists.

You can find all of the unofficial Kill Team rules here.

Thanks for reading, and happy hobbying!

- Darth Meer

Storm Reavers Chaos Bikers Unit Painted

Storm Reavers Chaos Biker Unit - Achlys' Marauders

Chaos Bikers are awesome both in-game and model wise. Unfortunately they are a bitch to paint! They have been the bane of my existence this last couple of months, I'm sure everyone has their 'painting dread' that they leave on the desk for an age in the hope it finishes painting itself. Anyway, they're finally done. That's it, no more bikes! Too... much... trim!

Achlys’ Marauders Background
One of the original Storm Hawks that fled through the warp gate at Vardia, Achlys had resisted the extreme mutative effects of Chaos for many decades of service in the Storm Reavers. That was until the battle of Davkon V against the Iron Warriors, where Achlys squad was slaughtered by sustained Havoc fire. Achyls turned and ran from the battle, infuriating Lord Moros, and inciting the wrath of the gods. Achyls was sealed within his armour and to his bike for all eternity, cursed to feed only on the tainted fuel of his motor and to feel only the cold steel of the bike's chassis. Although Achyls has been given command of another unit of bikers, he has vowed to Lord Moros to never again run from the enemy - if he does so, Achyls may face the terror that is spawndom.

Forge World Chaos Havocs
And here's the next project for my Chaos army! The autocannons are from the Forge World legion set, and are really, really good. Only a little liquid green stuff (I like to call I liquid awesome) to tidy up small gaps and miss-casts.

Forge World Chaos Havocs

A Note On Kill Team Support

Most of the people who this matters to will have probably already read my note on the Kill Team page, but I just want to reinforce it here. Development for Kill Team will not stop, but will slow down. A lot. Life is taking me in new and wonderful places, but as everyone knows this can leave little room for hobby. The hobby time I do get will be spend mostly painting (my way to relax) or socialising/gaming with friends. The time I used to use for working on, and answering emails about, Kill Team has been replaced with work and other things. I would like people who have questions to post them on the forums, and hopefully the community will be able answer and work out house rules for things I overlooked. If this is popular, I will compile a list of community house rules and incorporate them into Kill Team. I have enjoyed the last year of Kill Team development, but it has reached a point where the rules are stable enough that I can take a back seat. But please, please, please do not let this mean the end of your Kill Team enjoyment!

Darth Meer

Playing 1000 Point Mini 40k Campaigns

Last week me and my gaming buddy decided we would try something different in our usual weekly game, a mini campaign! Three story-driven 1000 point games played on three different boards. Amazingly we managed to play it after work, taking about 3 and a half hours in total (including lots of chat with on-lookers).

We played on a Tuesday at Warhammer World and it was pretty empty so we got to use two of the 'special' boards as well as the Zone Mortalis table in the last game. Really sorry there's no photos but I just wanted to share the rules for our little campaign, and hope to inspire some other players to create there own!

The campaign story follows the Storm Hawks (the codex I wrote a long time ago can be found here, although I didn't use it) last stand on Vardia and their eventual fall to chaos (see here for background on my Storm Reavers). There is a lot of background taken from the Vardia campaign book my friend is writing, so it may seem a little off-cuff to some readers.

The rules below are built specifically for our mini campaign (Space Marines vs Chaos), but it may give you ideas about how to write up your own. I kept the mission objectives simple as I knew we would be playing after work, but you can spice them up if you have a day to play.

GENERAL CAMPAIGN RULES

• Three different 1000pts armies. The third army may not have any Vehicles except for Walkers (and no Defilers!)
• The Storm Hawks must take Chapter Master Falco in every army: A Chapter Master with Terminator Armour and Twin Lightning Claws. In addition he gains the Fearless special rule.
• If Falco is killed during battle, at the end of the game roll a D6. On a 1 the model's Wound value is permanently reduced by 1. On a 6 the model permanently gains the Hatred special rule. If you roll a 6 again after future games, the model also gains Rage.
• If any of the Chaos HQ units are the same (both type and build) they may keep all of their rolls on the Chaos Boon table for all games.

GAME 1: RAPID ASSAULT

The Storm Hawks have arrived at Vardia, only to find it already lost to Chaos. Heedless of the Blood Angel requests to hold, the Storm Hawks race towards the planet in a daring attempt to break the enemy's back before it can reform to meet the incoming reinforcements.

In this game the Storm Hawks use a lot of fast moving transports such as Stormravens, Drop Pods and Land Speeder Storms, supported by Stormtalons and regular Land Speeders. The Chaos forces have lots of troops on the ground but not many 'linebreaker' units such as Obliterators or tanks.

Objective
The Storm Hawks must rush in and destroy the Chaos forces.

Deployment
The Chaos army deploys first, anywhere in the table that is more than 12" from a table edge. In addition, Chaos units must be placed more than 6" away from each other. The Storm Hawks will enter play on their first turn from any one table edge (in exactly the same way as arriving from reserve). In this mission, all units fall back to their nearest table edge. No Chaos unit may be placed in reserve. Any Storm Hawks units that do not arrive first turn are assumed to be in reserve. Storm Hawks always get first turn.

Special Rules

• Orbital Assault: Any Storm Hawks unit that can Deep Strike may arrive automatically on the first turn.
• Already Dug-in: All Chaos forces receive the Move Through Cover and Stubborn special rules.

Victory Conditions
Kill Points and Secondary Objectives.

GAME 2: THE ENDLESS TIDE

The warp portal has been unleashed upon Vardia and caught the Storm Hawks unawares The Storm Hawks have been pushed back by the chaos tide against the entrance to the ancient Vardian catacombs. Luckily, the marine forces have come across an abandoned PDF strong point and plan to use it to try and whittle down the enemy before they retreat further in.

In this game the Storm Hawks forces have no fast support units, but have managed to deploy artillery tanks such as Whirlwinds and Vindicators in order to support their defence. Most of the Chaos forces are transported in Rhinos or are equipped with Jump Packs.

Objective
The Chaos side must cause as much damage to the dwindling Storm Hawks as they can!

Deployment
The Storm Hawks deploy first, up to 12" from the edge of the table. They also get an Aegis Defence Line to set up for free (note: we actually used a Fortress of Redemption instead). The Chaos forces deploy anyway up to 24" from the Storm Hawks forces. Chaos automatically gets the first turn.

Special Rules

• Endless Tide: When a non-Vehicle Chaos unit is completely destroyed it automatically re-enters reserves. This counts as a new unit in all respects.
• Last Stand: All Storm Hawks units gain the Stubborn and Preferred Enemy special rules.

Victory Conditions
Kill Points and Secondary Objectives.

GAME 3: FALL BACK!

Chaos have overrun the Storm Hawks and Chapter Master Falco has ordered their retreat into the warp portal, through the underground catacombs. The trouble is some of the Storm Hawks are too stubborn to run! What the Storm Hawks do not know however, is that their Chapter Master has already succumbed to the will of chaos and is in the progress of being possessed!

Objective
The Storms Hawks must get as many units through the warp portal as possible before they are destroyed!

Army Restrictions
No vehicles may be used in this game except for Walkers.

Deployment
Played on a 4x4 board. A lot of terrain must be placed as the game is played within the Vardian catacombs (preferably on a Zone Mortalis board!). Both sides deploy within 12" of their board edge. Randomly determine who sets up and goes first. You may seize the Initiative. Only units which are described as being able to teleport or materialise from the Warp may use the Deep Strike special rules.

Special Rules

• Filled with Doubt: At the start of the Storm Hawks movement phase, any unit not within 24" of the Chapter Master must take a leadership test. If it fails, the unit may not move at all this turn (except to charge).
• Falling Back: The Storm Hawks are proper legging it! They may run 2d6 and choose the highest.
• Chosen of Chaos: Chapter Master Falco gains the Champion of Chaos special rule.

Victory Conditions
For every Storm Hawks unit that leaves the board via the Chaos board edge, they gain 1 VP. For every Storm Hawks unit that is completely killed, the Chaos player gains 1 VP.

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game Review

Introduction

I finally managed to get my hands on the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game by Fantasy Flight Games. It's been pre-ordered for a long time, and OG Games have now managed to get stock from across the pond. For those who have been living in an exogorth, here's the official blurb:

Control the most advanced starfighters and outstanding pilots in the galaxy! In X-Wing Miniatures Game, you take the role of squad leader and command a group of merciless Imperial or daring Rebel pilots in furious ship-to-ship space combat. Featuring stunningly detailed and painted miniatures, X-Wing recreates exciting Star Wars space battles from small engagements of only a couple of crafts, to large conflicts where multiple squadrons clash. Select and equip your ships, pick your crew, plan your attack, and complete your mission. Taken from the FFG Site.

The first thing I'll say is that I love Star Wars, as if you didn't already guess from my internet handle. I was the kind of kid that ran around the woods with his mates and bashed the crap out of each other with plastic glow rods screaming the star wars theme. So as you might imagine, I had steep expectations.

In this review I'll talk mostly about the Core Set and its out-of-box gameplay, with only a small section on expanded play (as I only have two expansions currently).

Opening The Core Set

As with any other FFG game, you get an overwhelming number of components! The box provides all the movement templates, action and status tokens, range rulers, asteroids, mission counters, dice, cards and miniatures (two TIE Fighters and a single X-wing) you need to start playing. The only thing you have to provide yourself is a 3' x 3' gaming surface - I just used a square of black fabric from Hobbycraft, but it would have been nice if they included a play sheet or fold away board. Anyway, all of the included bits and bobs are printed on high quality card stock and feel as though they could handle some serious use. I was particularly impressed with the artwork on the cards and templates as they really give off a Star Wars 'feel'.

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game - My Ships

The ships themselves look like they came directly from the ILM archives, and are highly detailed. The models are adequately painted to gaming standard, and to be honest I probably won't even touch them up - although I may add Rogue or Wraith squadron markings at some point... but that's purely to satisfy my nerd cravings. The scale is just right, not too big to interfere with gaming and not too small that you can't see the details.

With all these components X-Wing initially seems to come across as a bit of hybrid game. Part miniatures, part board game. You can buy the Core Set and set up a game in minutes (once you've read the rules) using the pre-generated pilots and missions, just as you would a board game. No assembling and painting models beforehand. Of course you only get 3 missions in the rulebook so this approach may get tired fast. On the other hand, if you want to go deeper and craft your own squadrons (like a traditional miniatures game) you can - which I will cover later.

X-Wing Miniatures Game - Core Set

Another thing I wanted to say was the box itself is actually sturdy enough to hold your bits. I have two expansions and their plastic 'cradle' (for want of a better word) sits nicely inside with enough room for everything else. I've used resealable bags to store all the components and the rulebook sits nicely on top. This is a nice touch as the game can sit on a shelf with the rest of my board games, I don't have to buy any additional storage like I do with my other miniatures games and find a place for it.

Playing the Game

As a space miniatures game I was expecting pages and pages of rules (like Battlefleet Gothic), but was surprised when the rulebook turned out to be just under 30 pages, and only about half of that is actual rules. You can read the pdf, or watch the tutorial video on the FFG site so I won't go deep into the rules, rather give my overall impressions.


X-Wing is simple and easy to learn. The book is very well laid out and takes you through the game step by step. The game uses templates in order to determine movement and range, and custom dice for combat. Something I actually rather like and makes movement and combat a lot quicker with less contention. You don't have to look at any charts to see what effect your roll had on the game - it's already right there on the die face.


I also really like the 'hidden manoeuvre' aspect of the game, where you have to try and out-guess your opponent in where they will be moving next - with different ships having different manoeuvring capabilities. The combat phase is totally reliant on your movement (through firing arcs) so it adds a heavy dose of tactics to quite a simple game mechanic. With most ship stats being similar, manoeuvring well and outguessing your opponent is what will win you games. Another thing to add is that the rounds fly past, this game is so quick! With most of the decision making done simultaneously, both players have something to do at all times - none of this twiddling your thumbs for half an hour while your opponent moves and picks off your army.

X-Wing Miniatures Game - Game In Progress

I've played a number of games with my fiancée now (a non-gamer) and she picked up the rules after only two games. She even said she had fun, something she has yet to do for any other miniatures game I force her to play! I personally would have liked a little more detailed rules (being a seasoned miniature gamer), but the game is very quick to play and there isn't anywhere that says I can't make up some extra rules myself! You never know, they may being out an Advanced version some day.

X-Wing Miniatures Game - Game In Progress

Squad Building and Expansions

Where X-Wing diverges from its board game roots is the ability to build and upgrade your squad. Like all good miniatures games it uses a points system for ships and upgrades, with 100 points being typical. You can load up on ships with elite pilot skills, missiles and modifications, or go with lots of ships with fewer upgrades, or you can find a nice balance. As I only have two expansions (about 50/60 points a side) I can't say how playing a 'full' 100 points game would effect the rapidity of play, but as the rules are so simple I doubt it would have too much effect.

An example Rebel squadron from the FFG site.

One bad note I have with this is that instead of giving you all the upgrade and pilot options from the start (such as a Codex), the upgrade and pilot cards come packaged with different expansions. This means that the only way to get all the options is to buy everything (as most upgrades can be used by both Rebels and Imperials). This annoyed me a little with one of my favourite SW characters Wedge, as instead of being able to buy two starter sets (and thus grabbing 2 X-wings and 4 TIEs) I'm forced to buy the X-wing expansion if I want to use him. But I suppose that's business.

Of course the main reason for buying expansions is the miniatures, and FFG are bringing new ones out all the time. The larger ship expansions also come with new rules and missions. I can't wait to get an Interceptor, piloted by the famous Soontir Fel of course! May have to paint the rest of my Imperial squadron with red stripes then.

Cost

I bought the core set for £25 from OG Games and expansions are around a tenner (of which you'll need about 2-3 per side). So a 100 point squadron will cost you around £45-55 if you're only collecting one of either Rebel or Imperial. Which of course no-one will! So it ends up being more like £75. That's a lot of money, but a new army from GW costs over £300 for each player not including things likes books, paint and other paraphernalia  When you take into account that £75 gives you everything you need for 2 players to play a decent sized game, its a bloody bargain!

X-Wing Miniatures Game - Game In Progress

Conclusion

If you love the movies, love the books, there is no way you won't like this game. The miniatures, the art, the characters, awesome. To be honest, even if you're not a Star Wars fan I would recommend it. I wouldn't replace my regular more-in-depth miniatures game with it, bit X-Wing is great for light evening entertainment. The models are of high quality, rules are tight and quick to learn, and if you can resist making 'pew pew pew' and 'froooom' noises while playing then you're a better man than I.

Darth Meer

P.S. You know you want to play it with A New Hope playing in the background.

Chaos Sorcerer Conversion - Plastic Kitbash

Chaos Sorcerer Conversion with Wings!

I've been wanted to convert a plastic Chaos Sorcerer for a while now but didn't seem to have the inspiration until recently. This beast is actually very simple to kitbash! The legs, arms and gun are from the new Raptor kit, the torso and wings are from the Possessed box, and the head, torso, staff, and miscellaneous gubbins are from the Terminator Lord sprues. Bung them all together with magic glue (Humbrol Liquid Poly actually) and viola!

I will be Jump Pack-ing him around the table in future games, but if this turns out to be folly the wings can simply count as 'excessive decoration'.

Some more shot below. Only minor green stuffing was required - mostly due to the MASSIVE Sorcerer head preventing the shoulder pads from sitting correctly. I've also repositioned his left foot slightly so he's pushing off the rock.

A simple, but effective alternative to the Finecast model I say. I'll be painting him up soon and writing up some more of my oh-so-popular background! Oh, and I'll just leave you with this parting shot or something I may be talking about a little but in the future...

Pew pew pew!

Darth Meer

Storm Reavers Chaos Helbrute Painted

Storm Reavers Chaos Helbrute

Meet Varea Metalla, the newest painted member of the Storm Reavers warband (see here for the army background). I've only been taking him in bigger games lately as he tends to die quickly unless the opponent has other threats to focus on, but I wanted to paint him up as I love the Dark Vegeance model - so much detail!

Paint wise, I wanted to go for quite a 'choppy' look when highlighting so the metal looks as though its chipped and scratched. The flesh red is simply Mephiston base, Carroburg Crimson shade, layer on the Mephiston, then an organic highlight of Evil Sunz.

Chaos Helbrute - Close Up

"Varea Metalla was once Brother Nisus, a well-respected veteran of the Storm Reavers Chapter. Nisus met his fate during the Vardia campaign against Chaos and was entombed in a mighty dreadnought. However, it was on his début battle in his metal sarcophagi that the Storm Hawks were overrun by daemons and fled into the warp with Chapter Master Falco. Nisus battled his way through the daemon hordes and followed his brothers into the warp rift. But when he re-appeared in material space, like his Storm Hawks brethren, Nisus was not the same being. Twisted by the warp and driven mad, Nisus became Varea Metalla, his metal body chained until his crazed fury can be unleashed on the eve of battle once more."

Darth Meer

40k Kill Team Rules v1.6 Update - New look, DA team list

The next update to Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team is here, and with a shiny new look. This look isn't restricted to the main rules either, I'll be rolling it out to all the team lists soon. For now, you can check out the new Dark Angels team lists to get a feel for it. The DA team lists also features a new format of unit entry that I'm trying out. More tabulated (and harder to edit) but should be easier to read!

Get the new Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team rules here.

Rules wise, v1.6 is mostly tweaks with the only 'new' rule being for psychic powers (they actually work now...). Take a quick read through though, as the whole document has had a going over with rules tweaked, missions adjusted slightly and you can now Deep Strike (only if you teleport though - yey for deathwing!).

If you have any comments or ideas for Kill Team, please visit our Facebook group!

I was hoping to get my Helbrute finished for today (for some non KT content), but alas he's taking longer than expected. Damn all that trim! I've not been totally idle this last few weeks however, and have finished 10 more saurus! A mighty achievement in my books. Only 30 more to go for that unit of 50...

Darth Meer

Blood Angels Army Background Document

Bit of a random one today. I thought I'd share a little background document I've been working on today for my Blood Angels army. I've added the screenshots below, but you can download the PDF here (its only 6 pages). I'm planning to spend time on each of my armies background over the Chrimbo period as I doubt I'll have much chance to paint (we're here, there and everywhere next week). I think putting together a document like this really brings you closer to your models, and the background of the 40k setting. It also makes a neat 'leaflet' to give to your opponent before a game.

 

Norse Blood Bowl Team Converted and Painted

I love Blood Bowl, but haven't played for many years (since Uni). So when I got the chance to pick it up again, I jumped at an opportunity to re-create my original Norse team. Only this time I thought I'd convert up some Marauders instead of using the horrible old GW models. The Ulfwereners are from heresy minis.

Norse Blood Bowl Team

As you can see the Warhammer Marauder models work really well, and extremely simple to convert! The painting, however, is what I like to call 'slap dash' - it isn't my best. I basically needed to get these ready for this weekend, so used the tried and tested base-shade-layer technique. I may go back and highlight them eventually (may...). Here's a close look at the shoddy paintmenship:

Norse Blood Bowl Team Close-up

Wish the team all the luck in the Warhammer World, as from what I remember, they tended to die a lot... I may be purchasing an apothecary first chance I get.

Darth Meer