Erratic Blogging and Other Apologies...

Blogging can be a demanding mistress,

For those of us without 'Internet Celebrity' status before we start our own blogs it's a small beginning. Usually we throw up a few pictures of things were proud of, post our current army list, write that tactica article we've had in the back of our minds forever or any of a dozen other things that seem like a good idea at the time.

We tell our friends who then become followers as much out of sympathy as any real interest in our meandering brain ramblings and maybe plug our little projects as thinly disguised comments on other more popular blogs and forums...Most of us give up pretty quickly or end up posting once a month or in one particularly strange case end up as a clothing website*

* You'll either know where I mean or wont but for those of you in the 'know' camp I'm sure your having a quiet chuckle to yourself now...

Some of us stick at it though and end up with a decent following of people who either through luck, masochism or a genuine interest in our work stick around. Unfortunately like the aforementioned mistress that following needs to be satisfied.....and often at that ;-)

Now lets stop talking generally and talk about me,

Some of my more popular articles are tricky and time consuming to get right and some just require access to a search engine but even the simple stuff takes time and that available time's been a bit random lately.

For those of you who are unaware I work worked in the construction industry and that industry in the UK is in quite a sorry state. The companies that could use my expertise (I repair repaired surveying equipment to be specific) would rather pay somebody less money to do a worse job than pay me to do the job properly...

I have therefore decided to go into business for myself as I need far less of a profit margin to cover my overheads and make a living than a big company would as I have no need of a sales force, typing pool, board of directors or that guy you always see wandering about who nobody actually knows the job description of...

So that's been eating into my time at the most random and inconvenient of moments which may explain my somewhat erratic posting schedule of late. I however plan to become more organised by reattempting to work to an almost nearly vague set schedule.

Which will be this,

Sunday.
Primarch Posts - These are the ones that I most often promise and then fail to deliver. This week however I published my stats for Corax as promised and next Sunday will feature Fulgrim or maybe Alpharius if I can iron out the wrinkles (balancing the rules is currently eluding me with the Alpha Legion guys I'm afraid).

Monday.
Probably Bugger All - I usually write my Tuesday Blog post on a Monday as it needs to be approved by my evil overlords benevolent and wonderful hosts at The House of Paincakes Blog Network and I also have to find a suitably nerdy bit of Eye-Candy to use in the post on my own blog that links to it.

Tuesday.
House of Paincakes and Eye-Candy - This as always will be the day I link to my HoP article and then liven it up with some pictures of pretty ladies ;-)

Wednesday and Thursday.
E-mails In - These will be the days that I sort out any e-mail or personal requests for list help (I don't get loads but am happy to help anybody who requires it). My E-mail address is at the top right corner of the blog for those who require it.

Friday.
2nd Company Progress - I'm going to allocate myself an hour or two a night for painting and converting so any progress made will probably appear on this day.

Saturday.
Featured Army - This is a new feature that I'll be hopefully doing every week where I'll 'feature' an army belonging to somebody of my acquaintance (at first anyway). Hopefully I can use this spot to showcase well painted and competitive armies with a brief interview with their creator on what inspired them to create them, how they use them, what issues the armies have, etc. This is going to take some organising so is most likely the one feature that I might miss the deadline for on the first week for which occurrence I'll apologise for in advance just in case ;-)

The in betweens. 
I'll continue to publish Games Workshop related 'Newsletters' as they appear in my Inbox for those few people in the world who don't actually receive them themselves and any interesting 'leaks' that find there way to me will be slotted into the schedule where appropriate.

And now a humble request...
Most of my available finances will be being re-invested into my own business for the foreseeable future which will make certain 'hobby' related investments a bit more tricky. Those of you who enjoyed my coverage of such events as 'The Throne of Skulls' in the UK and other events can help me to fund these activities by clicking on the various unobtrusive adverts that are scattered around the blog. There's' no need to click on them all every day but if you could be kind enough to click on a couple every other visit this would be much appreciated. You can also order things from Wayland Games via the banner at the top of the blog (at a good discount compared to Games Workshop) for which I apparently (It's yet to happen, lol) get a small commission. Any monies generated will be used to fund coverage of tournaments and hobby events rather than go into my 'Buy Gmort a Yacht Fund**'

** Of course if anybody wants to buy me a yacht I'd obviously be too polite to refuse ;-)

So that's it then, but to summarise...
Sorry about the erratic posting schedule, I'll try to do better and please click on some advertisements.....

And thanks to all of you who have supported the blog as followers and lurkers over the last year or so it's your support that makes it worthwhile.

Primarchs - Corax

Editors Note : I apologise for how long this has taken to publish but real life has a habit of eating into my blogging time ;-)

Well what do we know about the Primarch of the Raven Guard then.

He's one of the combat orientated Primarchs for a start. His Legion makes extensive use of hit and run tactics which is a tendency they presumably got from him.

His altercation with Konrad Curze of the Night Lords seems to indicate that he's not quite as strong or as fast as Curze and his statement about not wanting to fight Angron could indicate that he's weaker than him as well. Of course the latter could just as easily indicate that he's not an idiot, lol.

If we take his appearances in various books and audio from the Horus Heresy series then a few things become apparent. Firstly he's armed with a pair of Lightning Claws and then later adds a whip to his armoury. As I don't really like the idea of putting equipment options into these posts as 'Unique' characters should come pre armed imo I'm tempted to stick with the Lightning Claws for now but unfortunately the artwork for the upcoming 'Deliverance Lost' book has him with the whip on the cover. His armour appears to be quite happily deflecting Lascannon shots in 'The First Heretic' so at least my whole 1+ save thing is justified and he has a Jump Pack. The aforementioned Jump Pack also has what is described as 'thrumming wing blades' so presumable they're power weapons of some sort.

He's also apparently going to appear in a new Horus Heresy book some time soon which is going to be really fucking irritating if it necessitates me re-writing this post....

Anyway,

Corax, Primarch of the Raven Guard.

WS 8, BS 6, S 6, T 6, W 6, I 8, A 5, Ld. 10, Save 1+/3+inv.

Composition : 1 (Unique)
Unit Type : Jump Infantry

Wargear:
Frag and Krak Grenades, Primarch Armour, Pair of Lightning Claws* or Single Lightning Claw and Neuro Whip**.

*Pair of  Lightning Claws - Such is Corax's skill with these his signature weapons that he re-rolls failed to hit rolls as well as failed to wound rolls. They also have the 'Rending' Special Rule as well as granting the normal extra attack for being armed with two such weapons..

**Lightning Claw and Neuro Whip - The Lightning Claw allows Corax to re-roll both to hit and to wound as well as having the Rending special rule. The Neuro Whip itself is a fearsome weapon in it's own right, in addition to his 'normal' attacks the controlling player makes a single attack using the Primarchs base Strength score against any model in a combat in which he is involved (Controlling Players choice).This attack counts as a Power Weapon attack and if successful does D3 wounds. Should the target be wounded but survive he is immediately reduced to a single attack and Initiative one till the beginning of Corax's next turn. Against a 'brother' Primarch or Monstrous Creature only the D3 wounds effect is applied.

Special Rules:
Acute Senses, And They Shall Know No Fear, Eternal Warrior, Fleet, Hit and Run, Independent Character, Infiltrate, Master of the Raven Guard***, Might of the Primarch, Relentless, Strategic Relocation****, Will of the Primarch, Wing Blades*****.

***Master of the Raven Guard - Any Jump Pack equipped Raven Guard unit joined by Corax gains the 'Fleet', 'Hit and Run' and 'Infiltrate' special rules and automatically succeeds any Initiative test in order to Hit and Run as long as Corax is with them. Additionally the unit is never required to take dangerous terrain tests for entering or leaving terrain. Corax may choose to 'Hit and Run' in a separate direction from the unit he's joined to and may double the result for his Hit and Run move distance should he choose to do so.
In addition all Raven Guard units gain the 'Fleet' special rule and those equipped with Jump Packs gain the 'Hit and Run' rule as well.

****Strategic relocation - Once per game during the movement phase Corax (but not a unit joined to him) can choose to make a Jump move of 36". This move also gains the benefits of the 'Wing Blades' special rule.

*****Wing Blades - Any enemy unit moved over by Corax when using his Jump Pack takes D3+1 automatic Power Weapon hits at Strength 5 as he slices through their ranks on the way to his desired destination.

Despite my better judgement I've included both weapon options in his war gear in case people wish to model their Corax one way or the other. I think this set of rules nicely represents Corax himself and the way his Legion would operate. Of course I'm sure people have their own ideas but this is how I'd represent him.

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Forge World Newsletter #277

Forge World Newsletter #277

17/06/11

	Hi there,             In this week’s newsletter we are excited to announce four great new products: an addition to our Dark Eldar range in the form of the terrifying Reaper, a Space Marine Heavy Weapons set, and two decal sheets for the Eldar and the Astral Claws. Dark Eldar Reaper Akin to the Ravager, the Reaper is a swift and deadly gunship. Its sleek, dart-like hull is built around a single, monstrously-powerful weapon codified by the Xenosavants of the Adeptus Biologis as a Storm Vortex projector. This cannon operates much like the smaller Haywire blaster, and unleashes a cascading pulse of electromagnetic energy that is far more powerful than anything possible in a hand weapon. The vortex chamber at the Reaper’s heart is a cage for howling energies harvested from the spires of Commorragh itself, which when combined with its speed and manoeuvrability makes the Reaper an elegant but still devastatingly lethal weapon when compared to the brutal armoured warfare practiced by lesser races. The Dark Eldar Reaper is a complete resin and plastic kit which contains a plastic Dark Eldar Raider kit and a set of detailed resin conversion parts, designed byStuart Williamson, which allow the reaper variant to be added to any Dark Eldar army.Experimental rules for this sleek and powerful craft are available now to download from the Forge World website, and the Dark Eldar Reaper is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June. Space Marine Heavy Weapons Set The noble Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes are supplied with weapons and armour by ancient alliance with the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some of the less common patterns of heavy weapons created by these techno-magi date from the hallowed and ancient days of the Great Crusade and the Astartes Legions of old. These shoulder-mounted patterns afford greater protection to the wielder as they allow less of the firer to be exposed to incoming enemy fire as they unleash their destructive salvo. This Space Marine Heavy Weapons Set, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, contains four resin heavy weapons: a Plasma Cannon, Multi-Melta, Heavy Bolter and a Lascannon, as well as supporting and counter-balancing arms, and backpacks that can be used with the full range of both Citadel and Forge World Space Marine kits. This detailed resin upgrade set is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June. New Astral Claws and Eldar Decal Sheets Our final releases for this week’s newsletter are two new additions to our range of A4 Decal sheets, designed by Kenton Mills and Paul Rudge. The Eldar Decal Sheet is packed with over 1,000 individual decals that are suitable for use on both vehicles and infantry. Craftworld, Path and Aspect runes are all included as well as unique runes for the doomed Craftworld of Mymeara and the Corsair bands of the Sky Reavers, Sunblitz Brotherhood and the notorious Void Dragons. The eagerly-anticipated Astral Claws Decal Sheet contains over 500 Chapter badges, Tyrant’s Claw symbols, blazons and the Maelstrom Warders heraldry suitable for use on both vehicles and infantry. The sheet also contains Chapter badges for the ill-fated Tiger Claws Chapter and is packed with the Astral Claws ‘true’ lion-headed Chapter device as well as the heraldry of Lugft Huron that became synonymous with the notorious Badab War campaign. Both of these decal sheets are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June. Badab War Campaign Weekend – 25th - 26th June 2011 Warhammer World’s Events team are re-fighting the infamous Badab War campaign over the weekend of 25th - 26th June, and with the event rapidly approaching there are only a very small number of Secessionist tickets remaining. The complete rules for army selection can be downloaded now as part of the event pack. Head over to www.games-workshop.com and you will find it in the Badab War event pages in the Warhammer World section of the website. As mentioned in our last newsletter, Imperial Armour writer Alan Bligh will be hosting a Q&A session on Saturday evening, and the Forge World stand in the main hall will have a selection of our previous Show Only models on sale in limited numbers, along with this year’s MkIII Armoured Boarding Space Marine and Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith. For more details about the campaign weekend, please contact Games Workshop Customer Service on 0115 91 40 000, the Events Team on 0115 900 4175 or e-mail whworldevents@games-workshop.co.uk. Games Day Spain – 3rd July 2011 Forge World will be attending Games Day Spain 2011, held at the Pabellon de Convenciones at Casa del Campo in Madrid. Our sales team will be bringing a wide selection of the Warhammer Forge and Forge World range, including both of our Show Only models for 2011: the Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith and MkIII Armoured Boarding Space Marine. We are now accepting reservation orders for Games Day Spain, and this is the best way of ensuring that we will have exactly the models you’re looking for, packed up and waiting for you to pay for on the day. To place a reservation order, please send an e-mail entitled ‘Games Day Spain Reservation’ to fwreservations@games-workshop.co.uk, making sure you provide your full name and a list of the items you’d like to reserve. We must receive your reservation order by 20th June to ensure we’re able to process and ship them in time for the event. You can also phone your reservation order in to the Forge World Customer Service team on 00 44 115 916 8177 (from much of Europe). Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

E-Main In/Request for help - Orks

After having his Ork army dismantled neatly by a load of Salamanders, a young player at my FLGS started asking for help from various of the people there...

Firstly he had a minimal amount of trukks which meant they required the minimum amount of anti-tank fire to take out leaving the rest of his opponents fire-power free to kill whatever it damn well pleased. He didn't have the Ork unit prerequisites of Nob with Power Klaw or Boss Poles amongst many other little mistakes which combined to make him extremely easy to wipe-out.

Unfortunately the young man in question likes Trukks, fortunately (I suppose) he likes Bikes but he also likes warbuggies and wartrakks. With these practical limitations in mind I'm attempting to help him out.....it's not easy to make a good Ork list at the best of times but with these limitations I'm not sure we'll be sending him off to tournaments but at least he might win a game or two.

His personal preferences seem to lend themselves to the 'Speed Freak' theme so taking his personal requirements of Trukks, Bikes and Buggies I thought this might be a bit better than what he's using currently,


1500 Pts - Codex: Orks Roster - Orks for Josh

HQ: Wazdakka Gutsmek (1#, 180 pts)
   1 Wazdakka Gutsmek @ 180 pts

Troops: Warbikers (8#, 240 pts)
   7 Warbikers @ 240 pts
      1 Biker Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)

Troops: Warbikers (7#, 215 pts)
   6 Warbikers @ 215 pts
      1 Biker Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)

Troops: Boyz (13#, 162 pts)
   11 Boyz @ 162 pts (Rokkit Launcha x1)
      1 Boyz Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)
      1 Trukk (Reinforced Ram)

Troops: Boyz (13#, 162 pts)
   11 Boyz @ 162 pts (Rokkit Launcha x1)
      1 Boyz Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)
      1 Trukk (Reinforced Ram)

Troops: Boyz (13#, 162 pts)
   11 Boyz @ 162 pts (Rokkit Launcha x1)
      1 Boyz Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)
      1 Trukk (Reinforced Ram)

Troops: Boyz (13#, 162 pts)
   11 Boyz @ 162 pts (Rokkit Launcha x1)
      1 Boyz Nob (Bosspole; Power Klaw)
      1 Trukk (Reinforced Ram)

Fast Attack: Warbuggies (2#, 70 pts)
   0 Warbuggies @ 70 pts
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)

Fast Attack: Warbuggies (2#, 70 pts)
   0 Warbuggies @ 70 pts
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)

Fast Attack: Warbuggies (2#, 70 pts)
   0 Warbuggies @ 70 pts
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)
      1 Warbuggy (Unit Type: Vehicle (Fast, Open-topped); Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha)

Total Roster Cost: 1493


Not the most optimised list I've ever done but it at least makes the best of the things he has. It has 6 scoring units for objective games. With two of the scoring units being a decent threat in close combat.
10 rokkits for anti-tank with 6 of them having the all important (for Orks anyway) Twin-Linked rule. And a fair bit of anti-infantry fire-power from the bikes (3 twin-linked S5 shots per bike).

Hopefully I can persuade him to gradually change this list for something a bit more optimised at a later date ;-)

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Deathwatch.

I was recently reintroduced to the world of Role-playing games courtesy of a group of friends of mine who had started playing 'Deathwatch'. A few of them had already had a game as a team and me and another friend of ours were added in as a Techmarine and Apothecary respectively for the last session.

It was a lot of fun, even though my grasp of the rules system was non-existent and my RPG muscles were a bit rusty having not been involved in one since I stopped playing 'Vampire the Masquerade' some ten years or so ago.

The rules system is very well designed (as far as I can tell) but like most similar systems it's the GM who controls whether the experience is a good or bad one. Fortunately we seem to have got lucky there as Adam did an excellent job in that role. Though my rustiness with the RPG scene showed in a number of areas, not least of which was failing to open a door and then rather than having another attempt I smashed a hole in the wall with my Servo Arm instead.....
Another thing I need to do is quite specifically say that I'm having a conversation over the squad Vox link as our GM takes any statement as being 'out loud' unless you specify otherwise. Therefore I may have revealed to the Imperial Governors guards that he was dead a little before we actually wanted them to know. Fortunately a Demo-Charge I'd placed earlier did a good job of covering up that little mistake ;-)

Anyway,

Inspired by the whole experience I've made a start on a model of my character*,

* Still a fair bit of work to do on him yet though ;-(

Please welcome Techmarine Mortis of the Night Reapers 2nd Company currently seconded to Deathwatch Kill-Team Epsilon,

He got a bit trigger happy with his experience points but the system is designed so you can't really save them up if you want to go up in rank as well....

WS 48, BS 51, S 44, T 52, A 40, Int 59, Per 39, WP 44, Fel 43

Space Marines get a load of upgrades as standard which I haven't bothered to list. The ones 'unique' to me however are,

Skills - Tech Use, Speak Language (Tech Lingua).
Talents and Traits - Electro-Graft-Use, Mechandrite Use (Servo Arm), Mechanicus Implants, The Flesh is Weak (1).
Bionics - Bionic Hand, Mind Impulse Unit.

As soon as I can work out a way of converting PDF files to a format up-loadable by blogger, I may post his character sheets in order to chronicle his path to glory. Don't worry I'm not going to be changing the current blog emphasis and waffling on about RPG's all the time, however you may hear from Brother Mortis again if he does anything awesome this Saturday ;-)

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.

House of Paincakes Article No. 25

Article can be found here,

This Tuesdays Eye-Candy is bought to you by Rhona Mitra,

As Lara Croft,

As Sonja in Rise of the Lycans,

As Eden Sinclair in Doomsday,

And a few pictures as herself,

See you all soon ;-)

List Design for Beginners - Part 4 - List Analysis - Marine 'Best-Of'.

Before we get down to individual concepts lets take a look at a few nicely balanced lists that tick all the appropriate boxes as examples.

Though there are a lot of different lists I could have used as our first example I've picked what is (imo) the first truly 5th Edition list to hit the internet...Namely Stelek from YTTH's 'Best-Of' list. My own mechanised Marine list at the time was very close to this one but I have to admit that this one was better and therefore was how my list inevitably ended up.

First we'll look at the list as a whole and then we'll break it down,

1750 Pts - Original 'Best-Of' Marine list

HQ: Master of the Forge (1#, 120 pts)
   1 Master of the Forge @ 120 pts (Converison Beamer)

Troops: Scout Squad (7#, 161 pts)
   6 Scout Squad @ 161 pts (Sniper Rifle x5; Heavy Bolter w/Hellfire Shells; Sergeant Telion)
      1 Sergeant Telion

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 105 pts

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 105 pts

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 pts)
   1 Dreadnought @ 105 pts

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 205 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 205 pts (Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)
      1 Rhino (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 205 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 205 pts (Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)
      1 Rhino (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 205 pts)
   9 Tactical Squad @ 205 pts (Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino)
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)
      1 Rhino (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)
   2 Land Speeder Squadron @ 140 pts (Multi-Melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)
   2 Land Speeder Squadron @ 140 pts (Multi-Melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2)

Heavy Support: Predator (1#, 85 pts)
   1 Predator @ 85 pts (Heavy Bolter (each side))

Heavy Support: Predator (1#, 85 pts)
   1 Predator @ 85 pts (Heavy Bolter (each side))

Heavy Support: Predator (1#, 85 pts)
   1 Predator @ 85 pts (Heavy Bolter (each side))

Total Roster Cost: 1746

Now first let me say that truly balanced competitive lists should't rely on single 'rock' units to carry the weight. For every game won by such lists there's another where the unit in question is torrented to death, tar-pitted into uselessness or any number of other disasters ;-)

Okay now back to that list,

HQ: Master of the Forge (1#, 120 pts)

   1 Master of the Forge @ 120 pts (Converison Beamer)

Troops: Scout Squad (7#, 161 pts)

   6 Scout Squad @ 161 pts (Sniper Rifle x5; Heavy Bolter w/Hellfire Shells; Sergeant Telion)

      1 Sergeant Telion

An objective holding unit needs a number of factors, amongst which are survivability (either through inherent toughness, high armour saves or weight of numbers) and if at all possible something to do while it's sitting there.

We've bundled these together because 'together' is exactly how they work.  The Master of the Forge uses his 'Bolster Buildings' rule to up the cover save of a building by one and Tellion's Stealth rule ups the units save by one effectively giving the Scouts a 2+ Save against anything with the exception of Template weapons and the odd rarity with cover ignoring special rules. The unit is armed appropriately for it's role (which is sit at the back and shoot at things while not dying). Originally the Scouts would have had Camo Cloaks but they became unnecessary when the recent main rule book FAQ/Errata stated that 'Stealth' was passed on to the unit that the person with the ability was in. 

So we have a unit with decent survivability to sit on our objective while the rest of the army gets shit done. This unit also retains it's usefulness in Kill Point missions as it's fairly safe at the back but still has the weapon range to kill things itself.

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 pts)

   1 Dreadnought @ 105 pts

I like Dreadnoughts, however even taking that into account the 105 point upgrade-less Dreadnought is exceedingly useful. It scares vehicles with it's Mult-Melta, Heavy Infantry by virtue of being S10 and ignoring armour saves, normal Infantry by being pretty much invulnerable to most of them once it's in combat and can even worry Monstrous Creatures (if only a little). With three of these marching into midfield along with the Tactical Squads you give your opponent the problem of what to prioritise. If nothing in your army is essential and most of it can threaten both infantry and vehicles then you have both Duality and Redundancy covered as well as making your opponents target priority something he needs to be extremely careful about.

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 205 pts)

   9 Tactical Squad @ 205 pts (Flamer; Multi-Melta; Rhino)

      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)

      1 Rhino (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter)

What certain portions of the internet refer to as a 'Melta-Bunker'. It has survivability (Metal Box + Bodies) can threaten vehicles with it's Multi-Melta, Infantry with it's Flamer and you still have 10 Marines to annoy people with. Three units of these parked in mid-field with 3 Dreadnoughts along side them is a lot of mid-range threats to everything all sitting in your opponents way ;-)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)

   2 Land Speeder Squadron @ 140 pts (Multi-Melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2)

Nothing quite screams 'Duality' like a fast moving platform with a Multi-Melta and a Heavy Flamer. They also work wonderfully as 'movement blockers' as the last thing that a Land Raider want's near it is a pair of Melta Weapons.

Heavy Support: Predator (1#, 85 pts)

   1 Predator @ 85 pts (Heavy Bolter (each side))

2x S7, AP4 shots and 6x S5, AP 4 shots for 85 points. Autocannon threatens medium tanks, Autocannon + Heavy Bolters can easily torrent a few wounds onto Monstrous Creatures and Daemon Princes with ease and put holes in Infantry by the same method. Armour 13 on the front makes it pretty survivable while it's doing it as well.

So it's an old idea but like all true classics it isn't really showing it's age as much as you'd imagine.

See what I mean ;-)

Anyway,

10 Multi-Melta's,

4 Heavy Flamers and 3 Flamers,

6 Autocannons shots,

18 Heavy Bolter shots,

Some Sniper Rifles,

and 2 Small Blasts that will be wounding most things on 2's (Conversion Beamer) or everything on 2's (Hellfire Round).

It also has 4-7 Scoring units and can afford to lose almost any unit to a dice disaster without compromising the list in any appreciable way.

So a list written at the very beginning of 5th Edition that can still compete in today's mechanised environment because it has all the necessary ingredients to do so....

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Games Workshop Newsletter

In this issue: New Tomb Kings models launch this weekend

Citadel Finecast Tomb Kings are released The sands of Nehekhara are stirring as the mighty skeletal warriors of the Tomb Kings receive several new models this weekend. From the Ushabti to Prince Apophas, and the Liche Priest to the mighty Casket of Souls, there are plenty of wonders for you to discover. What's more, all of these miniatures are part of our brand new Citadel Finecast range - our most detailed models yet. Head into your local Games Workshop store to join in with all the activities, or order online at games-workshop.com and we'll despatch to you on Monday.

Warhammer Forge Newsletter #9

Hi there,
            This week’s newsletter brings you details of two more exciting Chaos Dwarf releases, along with a reminder of our presence at Games Day Spain and Games Day Chicago. We can now officially announce that as well as attending these two great events, Warhammer Forge and Forge World will also be at Games Day Australia on the 1st October 2011!

Chaos Dwarf Magma Cannon
The Magma Cannon is a terrifying war machine that is a nefarious amalgam of field artillery piece and furnace. Their exact design and source of ammunition often differ, as some fire sorcerously-bound, volcanic glass shells filled with volatile liquids while others comprise massive boilers which unleash jets of molten iron, caustic acids and sulphur. Whatever their appearance, the Magma Cannon is a devastating weapon against those who suffer the wrath of the Chaos Dwarfs.

The Chaos Dwarf Magma Cannon, designed by Tim Adcock, is a finely detailed resin kit that contains three unique Chaos Dwarf crew designed byEdgar Skomorowski. While eminently effective as a stand-alone artillery piece, the Magma Cannon may also be towed by an Iron Daemon, allowing it great manoeuvrability across the battlefield and maximising its short-ranged destructive potential.

Experimental rules for the Magma Cannon are available to download now from the Forge World website, taken from the Legion of Azgorh army list that will feature in Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos.

Chaos Dwarf Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher
The Deathshrieker Rocket is one of the more diabolic examples of the Chaos Dwarf artificers’ mastery of blackpowder weapons. Bound within its munitions are howling, malevolent fire-spirits, which are unleashed as the multiple warheads of the Deathshrieker detonate over the battlefield in an incendiary storm. Unlike more mundane munitions, these explosions possess a terrible hunger: the shrapnel and tendrils of flame actively seek out victims. The tormented spirits are far from discerning as to whose flesh they burn though, and the Chaos Dwarfs must be cautious lest their own ranks are consumed by the fire storm.

The Chaos Dwarf Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher is a full resin war machine designed by Tim Adcock, supplied with three Chaos Dwarf crew sculpted by Edgar Skomorowski. Included in its rules is the option of a Steam Carriage upgrade which enables the Iron Daemon to rapidly redeploy this hellish war machine to better support the implacable advance of the Dawi Zharr.

Experimental rules for the Deathshrieker Rocket are available to download now from the Forge World website, taken from the Legion of Azgorh army list that will feature in Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos.

Both models are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 27th June.

Games Day Spain – 3rd July 2011
Forge World will be attending Games Day Spain 2011, held at the Pabellon de Convenciones at Casa del Campo in Madrid. Our sales team will be bringing a wide selection of the Warhammer Forge and Forge World range, including both of our Show Only models for 2011: the Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith and MkIII Armoured Boarding Space Marine.

Games Day Chicago – 30th July 2011
Forge World will soon be returning to the U.S. for Games Day Chicago 2011, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Centre. It’s been brought to our attention that last week’s Forge World newsletter incorrectly listed the date of Games Day Chicago as the 24th July. This is incorrect and it is actually held on the 30th July! Apologies for any confusion this caused.

Forge World sculptors Will Hayes and Mark Bedford will be accompanying our intrepid sales team to the show, where we will be bringing a huge selection of the Forge World and Warhammer Forge range, including our Show Only MkIII Armoured Boarding Space Marine and Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith, alongside limited numbers of all our recent releases.

We are now accepting reservation orders for both Games Day Chicago and Games Day Spain, and this is the best way of ensuring that we will have exactly the models you’re looking for, packed up and waiting for you to pay for on the day.

To place a reservation order, please send an e-mail entitled ‘Games Day Chicago Reservation’ or ‘Games Day Spain Reservation’ to fwreservations@games-workshop.co.uk, making sure to provide your full name and a list of the items you’d like to reserve, or telephone the Forge World Customer Service team on 01144 115 916 8177 from the US and Canada, or 00 44 115 916 8177 from Europe.

In order to process your reservation order in time, please ensure that your e-mails reach us by the 13th June for Games Day Chicago, and the 20th June for Games Day Spain.

Games Day Australia – 1st October 2011
Forge World are excited to announce that we will be attending Games Day Australia, held at the Australian Technology Park, Redfern, NSW. More details will follow in future newsletters, but suffice to say we will be bringing a massive selection of our range of books, resin kits, weathering supplies, etched brass and decal sheets, as well as our 2011 Show Only MkIII Armoured Boarding Space Marineand Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith, and all our recent releases from 2011. Attendees of Games Day Australia will also have an exclusive last chance to purchase our 2010 Show Only miniature, the Ork Runt Bot!

Thanks,
Ead Brown
Customer Service Manager

Forge World