Throne of Skulls - Tom - Day 1

I know it's been a while since I did one of these but all those pictures take fucking ages to upload, lol.

Tom has been using a 'Counts-As' Raven Guard list using the Blood Angels Codex because.....well lets be honest if it wasn't for Shrike being in the Vanilla Marine Codex would anybody use it to represent Raven Guard?

The answer is most obviously, Of course not ;-)

Anyway.....


1750 Pts - Blood Angels Roster - Toms 'Counts as' Raven Guard

HQ: Librarian in Power Armour (1#, 125 pts)
   1 Librarian in Power Armour @ 125 pts (Jump Pack; Blood Lance; Might of Heroes)

: Honour Guard (5#, 240 pts)
   1 Honour Guard @ 240 pts (Chapter Banner; Equip with Jump Packs; Honour Guard; Honour Guard)
      1 Sanguinary Novitiate (Jump Pack)
      3 Honour Guard (Jump Pack; Flamer x1; Meltagun x1)
      1 Honour Guard (Jump Pack)

Editors Note - The list he gave me has the Honour Guard being 265 points whereas this load-out only appears to come to 240 which would seem to make his list 25 points short. As this list is somewhat different from the one we play-tested together I don't know if the mistake is his or mine, lol.

Elite: Sanguinary Priest (2#, 180 pts)
   1 Sanguinary Priest @ 180 pts (Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour)
      2 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour (Jump Pack; Lightning Claw)

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad @ 235 pts (Meltagun; Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad @ 235 pts (Meltagun; Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 235 pts)
   7 Assault Squad @ 235 pts (Meltagun; Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (10#, 225 pts)
   7 Assault Squad @ 225 pts (Meltagun; Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (5#, 125 pts)
   3 Assault Squad @ 125 pts (Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Close Combat Weapon; Infernus Pistol x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (5#, 125 pts)
   3 Assault Squad @ 125 pts (Meltagun)
      1 Assault Marine with Meltagun
      1 Sergeant (Close Combat Weapon; Infernus Pistol x1)

Total Roster Cost: 1725


Rather helpfully, Tom has done Battle Reports for all these matches using the pictures that I took. So rather than listing the 'significant events' like I normally do with these things I'll just link to the Battle Reports on his own blog. On that note - The opinions on his own blog are obviously his and not (necessarily) mine so don't come complaining to me if he happens to call you a twat or comments on your personal hygiene, he's also currently on holiday so don't expect a quick reply from him either ;-)


Game 1 Vs. Space Marines
Mission - Seize Ground*, Deployment - Dawn of War
Result - Loss

* When announcing the mission the Tournament organiser said one mission type and put a different one on the display. This resulted in a large number of people playing the stated mission (Seize Ground) rather than the apparently correct displayed one (Capture and Control).

Opponents Army List.
Marneus Calgar in Terminator Armour,
Chaplain Cassius,
Tactical Squad with Power Fist, Missile Launcher + Flamer in Lascannon Razorback,
Tactical Squad with Power Fist, Lascannon + Flamer in Lascannon Razorback,
Tactical Squad with Power Fist, Multi-Melta + Meltagun in Rhino,
Assault Marine Squad with Power Fist + 2 Flamers,
Devastator Squad with 4 Missile Launchers in Lascannon Razorback,
Thunderfire Cannon,
Attack Bike with Multi-Melta.

Significant Events.
Toms Battle Report on this match can be found here.

Game 2 Vs. Eldar
Mission - Annihilation, Deployment - Spearhead.
Result - Loss

Opponents Army List.
Yriel,
Farseer with runes of something or other,
5x Fire Dragons,
6x Fire Dragons,
10x Dire Avengers,
10x Dire Avengers,
10x Dire Avengers,
10x Storm Guardians,
3x War Walkers,
5x Wave Serpents (not sure what units were in these).

Significant Events.
Toms Battle Report on this match can be found here.

Game 3 Vs. Chaos Space Marines.
Mission - Sieze Ground, Deployment - Pitched Battle.
Result - Loss.

Opponents Army List.
Daemon Prince with Mark of Tzeentch, Wings, Doombolt + Warptime,
Kharn the Betrayer,
Greater Daemon,
8x Plague Marines in Rhino,
10x Khorne Berzerkers in Land Raider,
5x Chosen with 4x Meltaguns,
5x Bikers with Mark of Nurgle,
Defiler with Additional Close Combat Weapon.

Significant Events.
Toms Battle Report on this match can be found here.

I'll see you all tomorrow (hopefully) for Matches 4 and 5.

The Night Reapers Chapter - Origin

I had a couple of e-mails asking about my chapter background due to me mentioning it as part of my Deathwatch articles.

To be honest I have a tonne of stories, character background, Index Astartes style pieces all on my chapter but none of it was done for publication but rather so I had a consistent set of information for my own personal reference. However there now seems to be enough interest for me to compile it into some semblance of order so it at least can be read in some kind of approximation of coherency. It is however going to take a bit of effort to do so don't expect stuff to appear with anything approaching regularity, lol.

At an appropriate juncture in the future I'll publish the rules that I use to portray them as my custom Deathwatch Chapter as well.


Okay, lets get on with it then before I change my mind.....

The Night Reapers Space Marine Chapter.

Origins.

During the Great Crusade the Ultramarines were the largest Legion of all, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Amongst their many Commanders was a warrior named Repus who’s somewhat unorthodox tactics (though successful) resulted in any victories his warriors gained been given far less credit than those gained by other Ultramarine Chapters using more traditional methodology.

Been treated with little respect by other Ultramarines and almost completely ignored (except for the odd reprimand) by Primarch Gulliman, Repus’s 33^rd Company quickly gained the dubious honour of receiving any mission that was considered unsavoury, distasteful or involved contact with Legions that the Ultramarines disapproved of. In particular they fought alongside warriors of the Night Lords, World Eaters and Iron Warriors as well as the Alpha Legion. All of which were looked down upon by the Ultramarines in general and (in the case of the Alpha Legion) by Gulliman in particular.

This reputation was further compounded by the fact that Marines from other companies that were deemed to have similar attitudes inevitably found themselves transferred to Repus’s Company which later due to this influx of men resulted in him effectively having command of the equivalent of companies worth of troops. On occasion Marines of varying ranks with no history of insubordination would also find themselves in the same position, leading many Captains to quietly whisper that Gulliman was purging the other Companies of men with some unknown flaw in their Gene-seed, though such rumours were never spoken of openly for fear of experiencing the same fate. If Captain Repus ever held any resentment for this reputation he never let it show. Rather he and his troops fought all the harder in order to prove themselves, resulting in several spectacular victories in campaigns considered to be close to ‘suicide’ missions by other more favoured commanders.

During the events of the Imperial civil war that later became known as ‘The Horus Heresy’ the 33^rd’s close ties to several Legions that had turned traitor darkened their reputation even further to the point that other Ultramarine companies would actively avoid been required to serve with them. This effectively turned them into an independent force whose activities were rarely even cared about by the Ultramarines high command let alone monitored. As by this time the influx of ‘recruits’ from other units had swelled the company numbers to Chapter strength and beyond they rarely needed support and even on the few occasions it would have been useful they never asked for it from their own Legion knowing that the answer would invariably be no.

Despite this less than cordial relationship with their own Legion they fought alongside companies from other Legions without prejudice in a number of theatres of war. Fighting alongside representatives of the Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Salamanders and even the notoriously independent Raven Guard the 33^rd picked up an increasingly variable set of combat doctrines that even greater distanced them from other Ultramarines. However, by this point Captain Repus own troops had little in the way of any ties to their brother Marines regardless.

The 2^nd Founding.

When Gulliman’s decision to split the Legions into smaller Chapters was announced it barely made a difference to the 33^rd who had to all intents and purposes been operating that way for decades. Returning to Ultramar just long enough for the refuelling of their fleet and the re-arming of their units with equipment and ammunition they were renamed the ‘The Night Reapers’ as they had been referred to by this name for years anyway at this point. Though some commanders queried the fact that ‘The Night Reapers’ were created oversized (though only marginally) by the guidelines in the new Codex Astartes it quickly became clear (though never spoken in their presence) that nobody would have been happy to have Marines from the ‘33^rd’ inducted into their own forces anyway.

“I have no desire to have other Chapters corrupted by their methods. Give them what equipment they need and then send them as far from Ultramar as possible”

Attributed to Primarch Gulliman in reference to ‘The Night Reapers’ creation during the 2^nd Founding.

Organisation.

Due to their haphazard and unpredictable ‘recruitment’ history the ‘Reapers’ would have had trouble organising their companies into the required format laid down in the Codex Astartes (even if they had wanted to), so altered those doctrines to suit themselves.

Marines with similar specialities were grouped together creating Companies that excelled in certain types of warfare and complimented each other’s abilities in those same areas. Those units with a preference for overwhelming firepower were grouped into the 2^nd Company while those who had a greater inclination for brutal assaults were grouped together into the 3^rd and those showing latent psychic abilities were grouped together as the 8^th and so on until twelve distinct companies were created with the thirteenth to fifteenth being designated as Scout Companies in order to supply the others with appropriate recruits. Though traditionally the 1^st company would receive the majority of the Terminator armed veterans many with particular skills were allocated to more appropriate companies. This particular method of organisation owed much to lessons learned fighting alongside the ‘Great Companies’ of the Space Wolves as Repus himself had a great admiration for their efficiency in warfare.

A Fortunate Alliance.

Moving further and further from the newly compliant systems the Reapers fought for the most part as a single immense force destroying any enemy that was weaker than them and simply ignoring any that may have had the ability to cause them significant harm, eventually reaching the far extreme of the eastern fringe.

It was in this sector of space that a distress call was received from an Adeptus Mechanicum Forge World thought destroyed many years previously. Though the distress calls time signature was several years old it was deemed worthy of investigation on the chance that there may be any survivors or (more critically) some useable supplies as resources in this sector were few and far between and certain essentials were reaching dangerously low quantities.

Long Range scanners detected what would turn out to be only the first of a number of significant threats. Several traitor warships were detected on the outskirts of the system apparently hidden from the Forge World by the energy output of a nearby star, who seemed to be waiting there for some nefarious reason of there own. Though a formidable enemy for a mid sized force they were little threat to an entire chapter of Space Marines who had the advantage of surprise. All four of the Chapters Battle Barges combined with the support of their Strike Cruisers opened fire and crippled 6 of the Chaos Vessels and destroyed several more before they had a chance to react with their own weapons. The targets of the Reapers weapons had been carefully chosen to cause the maximum disruption with the minimum structural damage as the need for valuable resources outweighed all other considerations. Boarding torpedoes were launched in order to capture the vessels as intact as possible. Unprepared for the swiftness and efficiency of the attack the Traitors stood no chance at all and were quickly captured or killed.

With the immediate threat neutralised the Reapers had a chance to evaluate the situation and decide on the next course of action. With data taken from the ships systems combined with information gained from interrogation of captured heretics a picture of the traitors intentions became clear. The main Forge World facility and space station had apparently been the victim of a number of attacks ranging from raids by Elder pirates up to their current siege by a large force of Xenos in the shape of an Ork Waaaargh. The traitors had intended to let the Orks weaken themselves destroying the last few defenders of the base and then fall upon them when they were most vulnerable and take what they wished from the now neutralised facility. In an ironic twist of fate they had fallen to exactly the same strategy that they themselves were about to utilise.

Immediately seeing the benefits that an alliance with the followers of the Mechanicum would bring (particularly when combined with the gratitude of being rescued) Chapter Master Repus began to plan the destruction of the Greenskin threat. Having grown weakened by the lack of capable opponents the Orks were ripe for destruction. The large but ramshackle Ork fleet was docked at what was left of the Star Fort and this was the primary target for 1^st and 3^rd Companies with support from elements of several others. While the Ork starships were destroyed by the fleet’s firepower, the aforementioned Marine companies would board the station and purge it of all opponents. Meanwhile the rest of the chapter would fall upon the Orks besieging the remnants of the Mechanicum forces planetside. Using tactics learned fighting alongside many Legions (some of which were now best not mentioned) The Night Reapers fell upon the Ork horde and broke it utterly. Having no way of escape and finally facing opponents they deemed worthy the Ork forces died to the last Greenskin Warrior…

What remained of the Mechanicum forces and their Astartes saviours immediately swore oaths of loyalty to one another and an alliance of mutual benefit was born in that instant. The Forge World and Star Fort (once repaired) would provide resources; equipment and docking facilities while the might of an entire chapter kept the facility defended from all Xenos and Traitor threats.

Even more useful was the fact that the human population of the systems largest world after intensive destruction testing were found to be compatible with the Gene-seed of the Astartes giving a supply of new recruits to ensure the future of the Chapter. As the Mechanicum used the population only as a source of biological material for their Servitors the arrangement was deemed perfect. Within only a decade the System and its facilities were bought back to full operational capability. The Night Reapers now had not only a purpose but a home as well…

.....

Thoughts and Comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Forge World Newsletter 289

The Proteus is kinda cool but I'm not sure it's worth £85.....especially when I already have 6 Land Raiders.

 
Forge World Newsletter #289

Hi there,             In this week’s newsletter we’re excited to unleash a new Land Raider variant, available to order now, and a fantastic video focussing on this iconic and venerable armoured vehicle. With December and the festive season looming, we’ve also got a reminder about our order deadlines for pre-Christmas delivery. Christmas Order Deadlines On the eve of the festive period, Forge World’s Customer Service team and Despatch warehouse is working around the clock to ensure your Christmas orders are shipped as quickly as possible. We’ve got full details of our imminent order deadlines at the end of this newsletter, but there’s still plenty of time to receive your orders in time for Christmas, so please order as early as possible. Land Raider Armoured ProteusThe ancient and venerable Land Raider has served the Adeptus Astartes since its earliest beginnings, and many variants and patterns are recorded in the data-stacks of Mars. Adepts of the hallowed Adeptus Mechanicus collectively refer to the oldest of these as the ‘Proteus’ patterns, and examples of these mighty armoured vehicles that survive into the dark days of the 41st Millennium are held in the highest regard, war-relics beyond compare to the Chapters that possess them. Believed by certain war-savants to be an example of sacred machine-evolution, the Land Raider Armoured Proteus displays early features of the MkIIb Land Raider, enclosing its twin-linked lascannons in bulky armoured sponsons and adding to this formidable anti-armour firepower with a limited traverse twin-linked heavy bolter recessed into the forward hull armour. The Land Raider Armoured Proteus, designed by Phil Stutcinskas, is a highly detailed full resin kit, linking the design of our various Land Raider kits together and providing an excellent centrepiece for any Space Marine force. The side sponsons feature blank doors, and in addition the side hatches from our Rhino Door Sets are fully compatible with this kit just as the side doors from our Land Raider Door Sets are with the standard Land Raider Proteus. This kit is available to order now for immediate despatch. Forge World Visual Feed – Designing the Land Raider Proteus and the Deimos Pattern Rhino The original Rogue Trader plastic Land Raider boxed set is a true classic, treasured by many veteran gamers, and the process of updating it to create the Proteus Land Raiders has been a suitably reverent one. To give you an insight into how we designed the various ‘old style’ Space Marine vehicle kits we’ve been working on recently, Tony Cottrell has recorded an exclusive video which is now available to view online. We hope you enjoy it! Forge World Christmas Ordering Deadlines Standard Delivery: Thursday 1st December – Australasia, Asia, Far East (including Japan), Africa, the Caribbean, South & Central America, APO addresses and static BFPOs Monday 5th December – Eastern Europe, USA and Canada Thursday 8th December – Western Europe Tuesday 13th December – UK and Operational BFPOs Express Delivery: Tuesday 13th December – Worldwide Thursday 15th December – UK The Customer Service team are standing by to assist with any and all enquiries you may have - from product availability and hobby advice to helping to explain the difference between a Titan and a Dreadnought to a confused relative. You can call us on: 0115 916 8177 within the UK 011 44 115 916 8177 from the US and Canada 00 44 115 916 8177 from much of Europe. Our opening hours are 0900 to 1800 (GMT) Monday to Friday and 0900 to 1700 (GMT) on Saturday. Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

House of Paincakes Article No.43ish

iHoP has slipped into a parallel dimension this week, personalities have been swapped, articles warped and several prominent authors have been replaced by evil clones*

* Or in one case a 'good' clone as they apparently couldn't manage to make the copy any more evil than the original.

One of the clones articles can be found here,

and in keeping with the 'Bizarro Week' theme, this Tuesdays Eye-Candy will also have a bit of a twist as well......

The Punisher.

Wolverine.

Iron Man.

Spiderman.

and for the Star Wars fans,

R2D2 and C3P0

Boba Fett.

Chewbacca.

and a few Miscellaneous others that caught my eye,

and yes.....I used the Pikachu girl picture again......