Imperial Guard Project - Part 3 - To Do List

This should have been Part 1 I suppose but I do things in the order that they occur to me not necessarily in the order that they should be done, lol.

So onto what I need,

76 Standard Guardsmen.

These guys are a mass production job and I fortunately already have 20 or so assembled. I'm not going to convert these at all. Their 'Renegade' Status will be indicated more by the nature of their squad markings than anything else. I'm undecided yet whether I'm going to remove all the Imperial Markings or simple paint over the top of them with something more 'Chaosy'*.

* If Chaosy isn't a word then it fucking well should be.

6 Meltagun Guardsmen.

Some of these guys will have to have 'Marine' Meltaguns as I don't have enough Guardsmen ones.

10 Sergeants.

The 'Blob' Squad Sergeants will need Power Weapons so they'll get the bionic arms if I can scrounge another couple or Marine ones if I can't (I want them to look the same). The other 4 will just get different heads.

16 Heavy Weapon Teams.

These are already built but need remodelling slightly as it was pointed out to me that all the 'spotters' were in pretty much the same 'pointing' pose. The bases also could do with some more coverage so I'll probably use some foliage as per Chaosgerbil's suggestion.

8 Platoon Command Squad.

They're basically just Guardsmen so will be done in the same mass production phase as the rest of the Guardsmen.

2 Platoon Commander.

The actual models are a bit dull but I don't really want them looking as good as the Company Command Squad so they'll get minimal alterations.

8 Company Command Squad.

As with the Platoon Command these guys are just Guardsmen and are made with the same models.

1 Company Commander.

He'll need a bit more attention. I'll probably still keep the model simple but give him a more scenic base.

Creed.

I really like this model 'as is' so I see no need to mess about with it. The renegade look will be achieved via paint-job and basing I think.

2 Priests.

I'm going to use Sisters Repentia for these as I have 3 of them still in a sprue and am unlikely to ever use them otherwise.

2 Commissars.

The models I have are armed with Bolt Pistols but don't obviously have a Power Weapon. I've plenty of swords of various descriptions amongst my bitz so that should be a relatively simple conversion job.

12 Psyker Battle Squad.

I've already done a prototype for these which can be found here.

2 Overseers.

Standard Guardsmen with something that could pass for a monitoring device. Most likely I'll keep it simple and use a Guardsmen holding a Marine Auspex.

Guardsmen Marbo.

After reading the GW book 'Nemesis' I've decided I want to make an Eversor Assassin. Luckily I've got a few Assassin models still in their sprues. I'll use an Eversor with an arm swap (or 2) and some extra equipment to represent Marbo. This is one of the models I'm most looking forward to doing.

So that's it then, just over 140 models to assemble before I can start play-testing.

I'd better get a move on then I suppose...

Dice Science

Well It's not quite Mathshammer but I thought it was interesting.

Imperial Guard Project - Part 2 - Tweaked List.

Had a play around with the points and tweaked a few things very slightly. I also had a (imo) great idea for a Guardsmen Marbo so he's got himself included in the list for that reason alone*

* Well that and the fact that he seems to have been given unlimited access to the IG armoury and allows me to put a Demo Charge almost anywhere I please ;-)

1750 Pts - Foot IG - 1750 ver 1.1

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 145 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 145 pts (Vox Caster; Lord Castellan Creed)

1 Lord Castellan Creed

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 55 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 55 pts (Vox Caster)

1 Company Commander

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Elite: Guardsman Marbo (1#, 65 pts)

1 Guardsman Marbo @ 65 pts

Troops: Infantry Platoon (62#, 600 pts)

1 Infantry Platoon @ 600 pts

4 Platoon Command Squad

1 Platoon Commander

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

7 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster)

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

7 Infantry Squad

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

Troops: Infantry Platoon (62#, 600 pts)

1 Infantry Platoon @ 600 pts

4 Platoon Command Squad

1 Platoon Commander

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

7 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster)

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

7 Infantry Squad

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

Total Roster Cost: 1745

Imperial Guard Project - Part 1 - Weapon Teams.

I'm going to need more bloody sand!!!

Who's bright idea was it to do an infantry Imperial Guard army anyway...

Blood Angels - Assault Cannon Spam

Somebody at my FLGS (he knows who he is) wanted a Blood Angels list that had lots of Assault-Cannons in it.

This is my suggestion,

1750 Pts - Blood Angels Roster - BA - Assault Cannon Spam

HQ: Librarian (1#, 100 pts)

1 Librarian @ 100 pts (...in Power Armour; Blood Lance; Shield of Sanguinius)

1 ...in Power Armour

Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad (6#, 240 pts)

4 Sternguard Veteran Squad @ 240 pts (Combi-Meltagun x3; Heavy Flamer x1; Razorback)

1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Elite: Sternguard Veteran Squad (6#, 240 pts)

4 Sternguard Veteran Squad @ 240 pts (Combi-Flamer x3; Heavy Flamer x1; Razorback)

1 Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Bolter)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 165 pts)

3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Remove Jump Packs; Meltagun; Razorback)

1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Remove Jump Packs)

1 Sergeant (Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 165 pts)

3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Remove Jump Packs; Meltagun; Razorback)

1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Remove Jump Packs)

1 Sergeant (Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 165 pts)

3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Remove Jump Packs; Meltagun; Razorback)

1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Remove Jump Packs)

1 Sergeant (Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 165 pts)

3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Remove Jump Packs; Meltagun; Razorback)

1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Remove Jump Packs)

1 Sergeant (Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 165 pts)

3 Assault Squad @ 165 pts (Remove Jump Packs; Meltagun; Razorback)

1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Remove Jump Packs)

1 Sergeant (Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)

1 Razorback (Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Fast Attack: Baal Predator (1#, 115 pts)

1 Baal Predator @ 115 pts

Fast Attack: Baal Predator (1#, 115 pts)

1 Baal Predator @ 115 pts

Fast Attack: Baal Predator (1#, 115 pts)

1 Baal Predator @ 115 pts

Total Roster Cost: 1750

10 twin-linked Assault Cannons on vehicles that can move 12" and still fire them.

All the units have at least one Melta weapon with them just in case and the Sternguard units have a bit of extra anti-infantry in the form of a Heavy Flamer.

It has some weaknesses but it is what it is...

And since this is technically the last day of Mathshammer week...some maths ;-)

Assault Cannon vs. Vehicle.

2.67 Hits + 0.67 from re-rolls gives us 3.34 hits.

Vs. Armour 10 - 3.34 hits, 1.11 penetrate, 0.37 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 11 - 3.34 hits, 0.56 penetrate, 0.19 chance of wreck/explosion.

Now we start to need Rending hits.

Vs. Armour 12 - 3.34 hits, 0.56 chance of a Rending hit, 0.56 penetrate, 0.19 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 13 - 3.34 hits, 0.56 chance of a Rending hit, 0.37 penetrate, 0.12 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 14 - 3.34 hits, 0.56 chance of a Rending hit, 0.19 penetrate, 0.06 chance of wreck/explosion.

Mathshammer Week - Part 4 - Guardsmen 'Blob' Squads.

Well apparently 'Mathshammer Week' didn't have nearly as much Mathshammer in it as I thought it was going to as I got distracted by a large pile of Imperial Guardsmen.

I'm sure you're all terribly disappointed.

So to make it up to you all...Mathshammer.....Featuring Imperial Guardsmen.....

Sometimes I'm just too good to you all...

I've decided to go with the 'Blob' of Imperial Guardsmen as the bit of my army that moves forward. It's going to be set up like this,

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

: Ministorum Priest (1#)

1 Ministorum Priest (Eviscerator)

So that gives me,

23 Standard Guardsmen,

3 Guardsmen with Meltaguns,

1 Guardsmen with a Voxcaster,

3 Sergeants with Power Weapon and Meltabombs,

1 Commissar with Power Weapon,

1 Priest with Eviscerator.

Creed is going to be hiding at the back ready to yell 'For the Honour of Cadia!'* and make those units Fearless and give them Furious Charge.

* Since my Guardsmen are meant to be renegade cannon fodder for my renegade Space Marines who have (as far as I'm aware) never actually been to Cadia I'm not sure why they care so much about it. Maybe they just like the way it sounds...

A Brief Interlude.

It has been suggested to me that I should take Straken instead of Creed. The reasons why I believe Creed will work better for me are listed below,

1) 24" range for orders means I can give 2 'blob' units in opposite directions from one another 'Furious Charge' whereas units need to be within 12" of Straken to get the same effect.

2) I also need Creeds remaining 2 orders to help make my Heavy Weapons twin-linked using orders. Straken will be too far away from my Weapon Teams to use those same orders very early on if he's supporting the 'blob'. Creed can help both, Straken helps one or the other.

3) I have a Creed model, I don't have a Straken one ;-)

Back to the original ramble then...

The Priest also gives the unit re rolls to hit on a turn they charge so that's pretty cool too. He has an Eviscerator to help up the number of armour ignoring attacks the unit generates and also as an extra safeguard if I end up in combat with a Dreadnought of some description.

The Sergeants all have Power Weapons so that's 3 armour ignoring attacks each which isn't bad for a Guardsmen. Their Meltabombs are another anti-Dreadnought precaution though they obviously work against any vehicle (The Priests 're-rolls to hit after charging' ability is a big help here).

Guardsmen with Meltaguns aren't particularly reliable at BS3 but I need some ranged anti-tank and they'll just have to do. One guy gets a Vox to help increase the likely-hood of Creeds order going off by quite a lot (Ld 8 with a re-roll gives pretty good odds).

The Commissar adds a 4th (well 5th if you count the Priests Eviscerator) Power Weapon but more importantly makes the unit Stubborn with a re-roll (unfortunately that re-roll results in a dead Sergeant but that's better than a dead squad).

So well be using our 'Default' testing enemy the Space Marine Tactical Squad and presuming that both the Guard and the Marines are at full strength when the fight begins. We'll start with worse case for the Guardsmen and gradually weight the odds in their favour as we go. At the end we'll have a look at their shooting a bit as well.

Guardsmen Charged.

Round 1.

Marines go first,

21 attacks, 14 hit, 9.33 wounds, 6.22 dead Guardsmen after 5+ saves.

Remaining Guardsmen have a go,

21 normal attacks, 10.5 hit, 3.5 wound, 1.17 dead Marines after 3+ saves.

12 Power Weapon attacks, 6 hit, 2 wound and kill, 2 more dead Marines.

2 Eviscerator attacks, 1 Hits. 0.83 wound and kill, 0.83 dead Marines.

4 dead Marines in total. we lose combat by 2 which is pretty much irrelevant as the Commissar makes us Stubborn at his Leadership of 9. That gives us an 83.33% chance of passing.

Round 2.

Marines go first,

7 attacks, 4.67 hit, 3.11 wounds, 2.07 dead Guardsmen after 5+ saves.

Remaining Guardsmen have a go,

19 normal attacks, 9.5 hit, 3.17 wound, 1.06 dead Marines after 3+ saves.

12 Power Weapon attacks, 6 hit, 2 wound and kill, 2 more dead Marines.

2 Eviscerator attacks, 1 Hits. 0.83 wound and kill, 0.83 dead Marines.

4 dead Marines in total. We win combat by 2 and if the Marines don't get away we'll kill them next turn (in their Assault phase incidentally, leaving us free to stroll off and annoy something else next turn).

The same scenario against a 30 man Ork unit with the obligatory 'Nob' with Power Klaw would have resulted in the Guardsmen Squad killing 6 or 7 Orks and losing 28 or 29 guys in return in the first round of combat...

Lets give the Guardsmen the charge vs. the Marines this time but without Creed helping out just yet.

Guardsmen Charging.

The Priest will therefore be giving them re-rolls to hit...

Round 1.

Marines go first,

11 attacks, 7.33 hit, 4.89 wounds, 3.26 dead Guardsmen after 5+ saves.

Remaining Guardsmen have a go,

48 normal attacks, 36 hit (with re-rolls), 12 wound, 4 dead Marines after 3+ saves.

16 Power Weapon attacks, 12 hit (with re-rolls), 4 wound and kill, 4 more dead Marines.

3 Eviscerator attacks, 2.25 hit (with re-rolls), 1.88 wound and kill, 1.88 dead Marines.

Nearly 10 dead Marines in total. Even rounding down we win combat by 9 so the Marines are testing for Morale needing double 1 to stay giving them only a 2.778% chance of passing.

If the Marines escape we can most likely consolidate into a position that will allow us to make them run again. Either way the Marines (sorry, Marine) are (I mean is) Fucked...

Again, running the same scenario against a 30 man Ork unit with the obligatory 'Nob' with Power Klaw would have resulted in the Guardsmen Squad killing 11 Orks and losing 12 guys in return. Not as bad but still quite bad...

This time Creed will give them Furious Charge as well.

As were pretty much certain that Marine Squad is doomed and the Guardsmen are getting a bit cocky now we'll give them a bit more of a challenge soon.

But first let's make sure of those Marines...

Guardsmen Charging with 'For the Honour of Cadia!'

First we'll have a go at those poor Marines again, just to be sure ;-)

Round 1.

Marines go at the same Initiative as us this time so we get all our attacks back regardless of what the Marines kill,

11 attacks, 7.33 hit, 4.89 wounds, 3.26 dead Guardsmen after 5+ saves.

Remaining Guardsmen have a go,

54 normal attacks, 40.5 hit (with re-rolls), 20.5 wound, 6.83 dead Marines after 3+ saves.

16 Power Weapon attacks, 12 hit (with re-rolls), 6 wound and kill, 6 more dead Marines.

3 Eviscerator attacks, 2.25 hit (with re-rolls), 1.88 wound and kill, 1.88 dead Marines.

Yep, their dead.

Again, running the same scenario against a 30 man Ork unit with the obligatory 'Nob' with Power Klaw would have resulted in the Guardsmen Squad killing 25 Orks and losing 2 guys in return. Which isn't bad for a bunch of puny 'oomans ;-)

So now we need a real test. Who or what to choose?

Lets pick every-bodies favourite under-pointed assault unit the Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield armed Assault Terminator.

5 seems to be the common quantity so we'll have a go against them using all the advantages we have...

What do you mean that's not a good enough test?

Okay we'll put Lysander with them as well...Happy now???

Guardsmen Charging Assault Terminators + Lysander.

Well at least we're going first.

Round 1.

Guardsmen first,

54 normal attacks, 40.5 hit (with re-rolls), 20.5 wound, 3.42 dead Terminators after 2+ saves.

16 Power Weapon attacks, 12 hit (with re-rolls), 6 wound, 2 more dead Terminators after 3+ inv..

3 Eviscerator attacks, 2.25 hit (with re-rolls), 1.88 wound, 0.63 dead Terminators.

so that's 6.05 wounds worth of Assault Terminators deceased.

So the units dead and Lysanders lost a wound.

I suppose we best let him have a go back now...

3 attacks, 2 hit, 2.5 with the reroll for Master Crafted, 2.08 dead guardsmen.

We win by 4, the stubborn bastard has a 94.44% chance of passing his Leadership test so we'll presume he does.

Round 2.

Guardsmen first (again),

24 normal attacks, 12 hit, 4 wound, 0.67 wounds generated after 2+ saves.

12 Power Weapon attacks, 6 hit, 2 wound,

0.67 wounds generated

after 3+ inv.

2 Eviscerator attacks, 1 hit, 0.83 wound, 0.28

wounds generated

after 3+ inv.

So that's 1.62 wounds generated, leaving Lysander on a wound.

Lysander kills another 2 Guardsmen then dies during round 3 before he gets a chance to hurt any more Guardsmen...

Conclusion 1.

So if our blob squad doesn't get to charge it still makes a decent 'tar-pit' unless its against a 'torrent of attacks' style unit. If it does get the charge it can do considerable damage to most units. However if Creed gets in on the act as well then there isn't much it can't kill.

Bored yet?

lets quickly do shooting then.

3x S8, AP1 Meltaguns at BS 3, 1.5 Hit.

Vs. Armour 10, 1.46 chance of pen, 0.73 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 11, 1.38 chance of pen, 0.69 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 12, 1.13 chance of pen, 0.62 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 13, 1.08 chance of pen, 0.54 chance of wreck/explosion.

Vs. Armour 14, 0.87 chance of pen, 0.44 chance of wreck/explosion.

Conclusion 2.

3x BS 3 Meltaguns are pretty good at killing vehicles and Blob squads that charge with Creeds order active are fucking awesome.

I'm tired now so I'll post it as is and then check the Maths in the morning...

Imperial Guard Project - Starting Simple

So I'm doing yet another army using stuff I already had bought and never got around to using. In this case it's an Imperial Guard Infantry list that I've been toying with doing for a while. I bought all the models I thought I would need and then just never got around to assembling any of them...

Though I didn't quite get everything I needed and now I'm unfortunately (still) unemployed so spending a lot of extra money on the project just isn't feasible. So I've decided to use Psyker Battle Squads and couldn't think of a cheap way of doing them.

Then my friend Mike sent me this sketch he'd done of a rough idea he thought might work..

Edit - Flipped sketch so It's the right way up...sorry Mike.

So I thought a rough prototype might be in order.

Front.

Back.

Top.

The pictures aren't brilliant and the prototype took a grand total of 3 minutes to make but they should give you some idea of what I'm aiming for.

I'm going to start painting the Tyranid Project army sometime next week and I'll be assembling Guardsmen in-between.

There's only 150 models in it so it shouldn't take that long....should it?

Mathshammer Week - Part 3 - Thorax Swarm.

Since this particular weapon is only available on the Tyrannofex for free* all of you people who still think that the Tyrannofex is rubbish can go an sit in the corner till I've finished.

* A Hive Tyrant can take the same upgrade for 25 points if you really want.

Just the Tyrannofex fan-boys (and girls) here?

Good, off we go then ;-)

The Thorax Swarm comes as part of the Tyrannofex's standard wargear and has the wonderful ability to be fired in addition to the 2 weapons normally allowed by Monstrous Creatures. The 'default' option is 'Electroshock Grubs' but as changing to the other options is free that doesn't really make a difference to the analysis (points cost being a non-issue). In the unlikely event that your taking this as an upgrade for a Hive Tyrant the cost is also identical regardless of the 'insect ammo' you select.

As this is a Template weapon Maths becomes a bit tricky as there is no way to calculate average number of hits, so were going to go with 'chance to kill' as this...

...is unlikely to be your opponents deployment unless your very, very lucky or all your opponents suffer from mental disorders ;-)

So our template options are,

a) Electroshock Grubs : S 5, AP 5, Assault 1.

b) Sheddershard Beetles : S 3, AP -, Assault 1, Rending.

c) Desiccator Larvae : S1, AP -, Assault 1, Wounds on 2's Vs. non-vehicle units.

So lets see which is best then,

Electroshock Grubs.

Range - Template, S 5, AP 5, Assault 1.

Vs. Marine Terminator - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.11 chance of death after 2+ save.

Vs. Marine - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.22 chance of death after 3+ saves.

Vs. Ork - 0.67 chance to wound, 0.67 dead.

Vs. Guardsmen - 0.83 chance to wound, 0.83 dead.

It also has a small chance to penetrate Armour 10,

Vs. Armour 10, 0.167 chance of a pen, 0.056 chance of wreck/explosion.

So it does nicely against Orks and Humans but barely tickles anything with a decent armour save or actual armour (much like most Flamer weapons if were honest).

Sheddershard Beetles.

Range - Template, S 3, AP -, Assault 1, Rending.

Vs. Marine Terminator - 0.33 chance to wound (0.11 chance of death to Rending after 5+ inv. save), 0.05 chance of death after 2+ save.

Vs. Assault Terminator - 0.33 chance to wound (0.06 chance of death to Rending after 3+ inv. save), 0.05 chance of death after 2+ save.

Vs. Marine - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.11 chance of death after 3+ saves.

Vs. Ork - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.28 chance of death after 6+ saves.

Vs. Guardsmen - Vs. Ork - 0.33 chance to wound (0.17 chance of death to Rending) 0.22 chance of death after 5+ saves.

It also can in theory hurt Armour 10,

Vs. Armour 10, 0.17 chance of a Rending hit, 0.057 chance of pen, 0.01 chance of wreck.

So it's worse against everything, lol.

Desiccator Larvae.

S1, AP -, Assault 1, Wounds on 2's Vs. non-vehicle units.

As we're wounding everything on 2's anyway we'll look at effectiveness based on target save.

0.83 chance of wounding,

No Save, 0.83 dead (Is there anything with 1 wound and no save?).

6+ Save, 0.69 dead (Orks).

5+ Save, 0.55 dead (Guardsmen, Guardians, Rangers, etc.).

4+ Save, 0.42 dead (Ard Boyz, Dire Avengers, Fire warriors, Marine Scouts, etc.).

3+ Save, 0.28 dead (Blue Marines, Grey Marines, Red Marines, Spiky Marines, etc.).

2+ Save, 0.14 dead (Terminators).

1+ Save, sorry wrong game system...still 0.14 dead though...

So the Larvae work better against everything except Guardsmen who are slightly more vulnerable to Beetles and can do nothing to vehicles.

Conclusion.

Desiccator Larvae is the best overall despite it's inability to hurt vehicles. I'm sure the fucking great MC it's attached to can sort out the vehicles, especially if it's got a S10, Assault 2 gun of some description ;-)

Mathshammer Week - Part 2 - Crushing Claws.

So I got slightly distracted by my new Imperial Guard list idea, but I suppose I better finish off posting some of the Tyranid Mathshammer I threatened you with earlier in the week ;-)

So Crushing Claws cost 25 points and grant you an extra D3 attacks from your Carnifex at an Initiative of 1.

As a Carnifex is cursed with WS 3 it can occasionally have issues doing enough damage to a unit to avoid being tarpitted. With 4 attacks base that's only an average of 2 hits per assault phase which isn't going to chew through even a small unit particularly quickly. If that target unit has an invulnerable save of some description then the problem is exaggerated even more.

This problem is somewhat mitigated by it's 2 sets of Scything Talons which grant it a re-roll to hit in assault. However, this bonus is reduced to re-rolling 1's to hit if we only have a single set.

So the question is...do the extra D3 attacks granted by Crushing Claws make up for the reduced re-rolls to hit?

Often averages don't tell us the whole story. The average number of extra attacks is going to be 2, however there is always the potential of either 1 or 3 so we better look at the numbers for all the possibilities.

Lets take a completely un-upgraded Carnifex. The Characteristics we're interested in are WS 3, S9 and 2 sets of Scything Talons.

We'll take the worst case first and let it be charged and presume the charging unit doesn't kill it before it gets a chance to hit back * and that the target unit has no invulnerable saves.

* It's death is a very real possibility by the way...A WS3, T6, 4W and a 3+ armour save MC can be killed by a number of dedicated Assault units.

Charged Carnifex c/w 2 sets of Scything Talons.

4 attacks, 2 hits (+1 from the reroll) so 3 hits in total, 2.5 Dead whatevers.

Charged Carnifex c/w 1 set of Scything Talons + Crushing Claws.

A re-roll on 1's gives us a 0.167 chance of getting a re-roll per attack reduced by 50% to 0.084 (we've still got to hit with it the second time around and for the most part that will be on 4's)

+1 Attacks : 5 attacks, 2.5 hit (+0.42 from re-rolls), 2.92 hits, 2.43 dead.

+2 Attacks : 6 attacks, 3 Hit (+0.5 from re-rolls), 3.5 Hits, 2.92 dead.

+3 Attacks : 7 attacks, 3.5 Hit (+0.58 from re-rolls), 4.08 Hits, 3.4 dead.

So rounding to the nearest whole number our Crushing Claws made Fuck all difference. Even taking the fractions into account the best case scenario of 3 extra attacks didn't account for a whole extra model dead.

Maybe charging will turn out better?

Charging Carnifex c/w 2 sets of Scything Talons.

5 attacks, 2.5 hits (+1.25 from the reroll) so 3.75 hits in total, 3.125 Dead whatevers.

Charging Carnifex c/w 1 set of Scything Talons + Crushing Claws.

A re-roll on 1's gives us a 0.167 chance of getting a re-roll per attack reduced by 50% to 0.084 (we've still got to hit with it the second time around and for the most part that will be on 4's)

+1 Attacks : 6 attacks, 3 Hit (+0.5 from re-rolls), 3.5 Hits, 2.92 dead.

+2 Attacks : 7 attacks, 3.5 Hit (+0.58 from re-rolls), 4.08 Hits, 3.4 dead.

+3 Attacks : 8 attacks, 4 Hit (+0.67 from re-rolls), 4.67 Hits, 3.89 dead.

So rounding to the nearest whole number only our best case scenario (+3 attacks) gives us any benefit and when taking the fractions into account still doesn't add up to a whole extra model dead.

As one of the most expensive upgrades for the Carnifex (only a Heavy Venom Cannon or Regeneration clock-in at the same points) I'd really expect a more significant advantage from this biomorph.

Another factor that needs to be noted is that even with the 'Living Battering Ram' rule making you I3 on the charge, Crushing Claw attacks are still at an initiative of 1 so there's a chance that your 'extra' attacks will be useless if your opponent can kill you before that initiative step.

Some of you may still be under the impression that the Carnifex is unlikely to die in assault before it gets a chance to attack. However think about it this way, If someone is actually attacking your Carnifex there is always the possibility that they're either tying it up because they have the numbers (Orks, Imperial Guard) and don't care if they kill it or they have a unit that they think can take it out...

Oh and in case you missed my conclusion when I wandered of the point a little...Crushing claws aren't worth taking, but unfortunately (imo) neither is the Carnifex that can take them...that subject however needs a blog post all of it's own...

Infantry Imperial Guard

So I'm still a little bit bored of Marines so I'm going to stick with my current theme of doing something completely different.

5th Ed. is all about Mech as you've probably been told by pretty much everyone.

But is that actually true?

Well yes it is, actually.....but I'm going to try a Guard list with no vehicles whatsoever just to annoy all those people who loaded up with anti-tank but forgot the anti-infantry ;-)

I know this isn't necessarily going to be the most competitive of armies but I think with some work I can at least make it fucking annoying to play against...

So what do I need?

Creed is the obvious choice as a HQ. He has an excellent range for his orders (24"), can issue four orders a turn, has an extra 'Furious Charge' + 'Fearless' order and can give a single unit the 'Scout' Universal special rule. He's not cheap, but imo he's worth it for all those bonuses.

Of course as I'm going to need plenty of orders to make my Weapon teams actually useful (BS3 is not your friend) so I'll need another Company Command Squad so I can get the maximum possible amount of 'Bring it Down' orders dished out to twin-link my weapons vs. vehicles and MC's.

So lets see how much that has cost me,

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 145 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 145 pts (Vox Caster; Lord Castellan Creed)

1 Lord Castellan Creed

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 55 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 55 pts (Vox Caster)

1 Company Commander

200 points spent. Giving me 6 orders in total, 4 of which have a 24" range and 2 of which have a 12" range. Which means I can give the 'For the Honour of Cadia!' order out twice and still twin-link four units with heavy weapons.

Now in a foot list I'm obviously going to need some infantry...

Infantry Platoons are cheap and can have a wide variety of weapon upgrades to fit most purposes.

As I want to be able to take far objectives or at the very least push into midfield I'll need some troops to do that. I'm going to use a 30 man 'blob' with Power Weapons on the sergeants...

and a Commissar to stop them running away .

They'll also need Meltaguns (for the obvious reasons) and a Vox (to make sure that Creeds unique order goes off), they may also need Meltabombs as Dreadnoughts are going to ruin my day otherwise. I've seen units like this used In 40's or 50's but It seems to be a bit unwieldy that big and any smaller and there aren't enough ablative wounds in the unit.

I'll also have another couple of Infantry squads with a Heavy Weapon Team in each. Most likely weapon candidates are Lascannons to give me some long range anti-tank.

If my Marine lists have taught me anything it's that Autocannons are extremely useful. I've run out of viable places to put them in the Infantry Squads so I'll add a couple of Heavy Weapon Teams. Two should do it for now and we'll see what's left over points-wise at the end.

So that gives us,

Troops: Infantry Platoon (62#, 600 pts)

1 Infantry Platoon @ 600 pts

4 Platoon Command Squad

1 Platoon Commander

Not sure what use these guys will be to be honest as there orders don't help me that much the way the armies going to be set-up. They may require some upgrades to make them useful but I don't think they'll be getting any till the 2000 point level...sorry guys :-(

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

These guys are my 'moving forward' unit and should be able to deal with most threats through sheer weight of numbers. I'm told that they are complimented well by the addition of a Priest (an upgrade I'll probably end up needing).

7 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster)

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

7 Infantry Squad

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

These guys sit at the back and shoot at vehicles I want dead.

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

These fellows chew up light Transports and 'Torrent' down MC's.

If I do that twice that's another 1200 points gone making 1400 used so far.

I'd probably best add those Priests now before I forget about them...

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

The Priests get Eviscerators as an extra safe-guard against Dreadnoughts and also to up the overall amount of armour ignoring attacks.

So we're up to 1520. I can easily drop a few upgrades and turn this into a 1500 point list should it become necessary. But as my FLGS plays at 1750 for the most part we can add a few more toys.

None of the local IG players use Psyker Battle Squads which seems a bit odd to me. Their 'Weaken Resolve' power alone seems to make them worth the points, combine that with 'Soulstorm' and they become a highly worthy addition.

I was going to take maximum sized units until I remembered something Stelek said about them on his Blog (Yes The Truth Hurts for those of you who don't know) about it not being necessary. His argument (If I remember correctly) was that a S6 Soulstorm still wounded most Infantry in the game on 2's. Using the same logic a similar sized unit using 'Weaken Resolve' would lower a units Leadership by 6 making even the best units only Leadership 4 and pretty much everything else only Leadership 3 (or even 2) till the end of the turn.

Lets have a couple of those then,

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

160 more points used bringing us up to 1680 points used.

So I've got 70 points left.

Time for a brief run-down of what I've got up to now

4 Lascannons,

12 Autocannons,

2 S6 Large Blasts,

6 Meltaguns,

Lots of Lasguns.

150 bodies, 124 of which are scoring.

So I have a fairly decent fire-base, some threatening forward moving units, plenty of guys to hold objectives and a few dirty tricks just in case.

No major holes to fill so those 70 points could be used for pretty much anything.

I can drop a Meltabomb to save 5 points and buy a 5th Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team,

Or a Meltabomb from each of the Blob squads and use the 80 points to buy a 3rd Psyker Battle Squad,

Or I could give the 'blob' squads Krak Grenades which would annoy any vehicle with an armour facing of 12 or less and still leave me with 10 points left over,

Or I could add Guardsmen Rambo. Sorry, I of course mean Marbo.

If anybody has any better ideas then I'm open to suggestions. Quite often when this happens I play a few games under-pointed and usually I get an 'If only I had a *Macguffin*' moment that makes the decision for me.

For now I'll drop a couple of Meltabombs and have the 3rd Psyker Battle Squad.

Which makes the completed list something like this,

1750 Pts - 5th Edition Roster - Foot IG

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 145 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 145 pts (Vox Caster; Lord Castellan Creed)

1 Lord Castellan Creed

HQ: Company Command Squad (5#, 55 pts)

4 Company Command Squad @ 55 pts (Vox Caster)

1 Company Commander

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

: Ministorum Priest (1#, 60 pts)

1 Ministorum Priest @ 60 pts (Eviscerator)

Troops: Infantry Platoon (62#, 595 pts)

1 Infantry Platoon @ 595 pts

4 Platoon Command Squad

1 Platoon Commander

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Power Weapon)

7 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster)

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

7 Infantry Squad

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

Troops: Infantry Platoon (62#, 595 pts)

1 Infantry Platoon @ 595 pts

4 Platoon Command Squad

1 Platoon Commander

9 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster; Meltagun x1; Commissar)

1 Commissar (Power Weapon)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Melta Bombs; Power Weapon)

9 Infantry Squad (Meltagun x1)

1 Sergeant (Power Weapon)

7 Infantry Squad (Vox Caster)

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

7 Infantry Squad

1 Heavy Weapons Team (Lascannon)

1 Sergeant

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

3 Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (7#, 80 pts)

6 Psyker Battle Squad @ 80 pts

1 Overseer

Total Roster Cost: 1750

Fortunately I already have most of the models I need for this project (some of which are actually assembled) all I need is the time to assemble the rest of them...

Thoughts, comments and offers of money are of course (as usual) welcome.

Ultramarines Movie Trailer

So It looks pretty good.

It has Ultramarines dying in it which for me makes it worth watching...

Trailer can be found here

House of Paincakes Blog Network

There's a great new Blog Network that's recently appeared. There's some good Blogs listed on there already considering it's brand new so go over and have a look...

Mathshammer Week - Part 1 - Termagant Upgrades.

Seems like as good a place to start as any.

Termagants are cheap, scoring and can have access to a number of upgrades some of which are fairly cheap, others which well... aren't...

So lets see what we have...

Adrenal Glands - 1 point each.

Gives 'Furious Charge' to unit.

Pretty much essential if you want your Termagants to be of any use against vehicles, allows you to hit Marines before they hit you and allows you to wound those same Marines on 4's rather than 5's.

Obviously you need to get the charge but that applies to any unit that has Furious Charge...

There is an alternative however.....Tervigons...If your Tervigon has 'Adrenal Glands' then any Termagants within 6" get them for free and as spawned Termagants don't get any upgrades it's pretty much a no-brainer upgrade for the Tervigon.

So Termagants need this upgrade but personally I run Tervigons with Adrenal Glands so I get it for free*, if I didn't I'd pay the one point per guy ;-)

* Well not exactly free as it costs 10 points to give the Tervigon the upgrade.

Toxin Sacs - 1 point each.

Gives 'Poison' to unit.

Another essential upgrade which allows you to wound anything (that isn't a vehicle) on 4's whether you've charged or not.

Also, as the Poison rule says 'If the strength of the wielder is the same as or higher than the toughness of the victim, the wielder must re-roll failed rolls to wound in close combat' if you are Strength 4 at the time that the poison rule comes into effect (due to 'Furious Charge' from whatever source) then imo you get the re-roll to wound as there's no mention of 'base' strength in the poison entry anywhere, only strength. Some people have disagreed with that interpretation but as far as I'm concerned it's 'Rules As Written' so that's the way I play it.

So, take everything I said about Adrenal Glands in the last 2 paragraphs of their entry and replace the words 'Adrenal Glands' with 'Toxin Sacs' as the same things apply ;-)

So that's the 'special rules' upgrades out of the way...onto the weapon upgrades...and the Mathshammer...

First as a baseline, this is the weapon that the Termagants get for free

Fleshborer - Range 12", S 4, AP 5, Assault 1...Yes, It's a Bolt Pistol, lol.

We'll take a squad of 10 Termagants armed with the above and shoot at some Marines and then just for a change of pace we'll shoot at some Guardsmen as well.

Vs. Marines - 10 shots, 5 hit, 2.5 wound, 0.83 Marines dead after their 3+ saves

Vs. Guardsmen - 10 shots, 5 hit, 3.3 wound and kill as standard Guardsmen only have a 5+ save

Okay that was fairly indifferent (unless your one of those 3 Guardsmen I suppose) but what did you expect for free?

Okay then, onto the stuff we have to pay for.

Spinefists - 1 point per model

Range 12", S 3, AP 5, Twin-Linked, Assault 1.

Vs. Marines - 10 shots, 7.5 hit (with re-rolls), 2.5 wound, 0.83 Marines dead after their 3+ saves

Vs. Guardsmen - 10 shots, 7.5 hit (with re-rolls), 3.75 wound and kill as standard Guardsmen only have a 5+ save

So we've done exactly the same damage to the Marines with a negligible increase in damage to the Guardsmen. for the 10 points we've spent we could get another 2 Termagants which would make the following difference using the free Fleshborer.

Vs. Marines - 12 shots, 6 hit, 3 wound, 1 Marine dead after their 3+ saves.

Vs. Guardsmen - 12 shots, 6 hit, 4 wound and kill as standard Guardsmen only have a 5+ save.

So for the same points as the Spinefists we get 2 extra Termagants which actually give us better results and that's before we even take into account the extra attacks in assault or the extra 2 ablative wounds the unit gets.

It's also useless against vehicles**

** Not that the Fleshborer is much better, but at least it can glance armour 10 and if your charging the vehicle anyway you might as well take any shots your allowed...every little helps after all ;-)

Spike Rifle - 1 point per model

Range 18", S 3, AP -, Assault 1.

Vs. Marines - 10 shots, 5 hit, 1.67 wound, 0.56 Marines dead after their 3+ saves

Vs. Guardsmen - 10 shots, 5 hit, 2.5 wound, 0.83 Guardsmen dead after their 5+ saves.

6" extra range is of negligible benefit, worse than either the Fleshborer or the Spinefists at actually hurting stuff. Useless against vehicles.

Not worth it at all if you ask me...

Devourer - 5 point per model.

Range 18", S 4, AP -, Assault 3.

Vs. Marines - 30 shots, 15 hit, 7.5 wound, 2.5 Marines dead after their 3+ saves

Vs. Guardsmen - 30 shots, 15 hit, 10 wound, 6.67 Guardsmen d

ead after their 5+ saves

Any wounds caused reduces any subsequent morale check by the unit which is of only minor concern to the Marines but may worry the Guardsmen if one of the guys who died happened to be the Sarge.

So a fair increase in damage output for double the cost. Lets see how the unit would do if we spent those points on more Termagants...

Vs. Marines - 20 shots, 10 hit, 5 wound, 1.66 Marines dead after their 3+ saves

Vs. Guardsmen - 20 shots, 10 hit, 6.67 wound and kill as standard Guardsmen only have a 5+ save.

So we've killed 1 less Marine or the same amount of Guardsmen but have an extra 20 attacks on the charge and an extra 10 ablative wounds.

I'd rather have an extra 10 scoring bodies than an (almost) extra dead Marine and a slight increase in chance of the unit running away as I probably wanted to charge it anyway.

And finally the Strangleweb, which is a Strength 2?!?!?! Flamer Template.

Strangleweb - 10 points, 1 per 10 Termagants.

Range - Template, S 2, AP -, Wounds Vs. Strength rather than Toughness, Pinning.

They're shit.

Edit - Okay that seems a bit lazy now I've read my own post...sorry

They're really shit.

Still not detailed enough?

If you insist then...

Vs. Marines, 0.167 chance to wound, 0.056 chance of killing each Marine caught under the Template after their 3+ save.

Vs. Guardsmen, 0.333 chance to wound, 0.222 chance of killing each Guardsmen caught under the Template after their 5+ save.

Editors note - I used them in a dozen or so games and it failed to do anything of note in any of them. I replaced them with an extra 2 Termagants and I've been much happier that way...

So to summarise...

If you don't have Tervigons, give the Termagants Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs.

If you do have Tervigons, give the Tervigons Adrenal Glands and Toxin Sacs.

So that's episode one of Mathshammer week done.

Any comments are (as usual) most welcome...

Back, but not necessarily by public demand ;-)

Greetings all,

I'm back from holiday and I'm sure you all missed me ;-)

What do you mean... 'Were you gone , I didn't notice?'

Bastards...lol.

Anyway, I don't sleep much so I've had some spare time to have a more thorough dig through the Tyranid book to see if I was missing any particular gems. A lot of numbers were crunched and a few things sprang to mind pretty much all of which involved some kind of 'Maths-Hammer'...

Therefore, 'Maths-Hammer Week' seemed like a great idea...

So I'm going to get it all those Tyranid related numbers out of my system and then I'm going to start working on another project that will be being prepared while I'm finally tuning my Tyranids while giving them a (hopefully) nice paint-job *

* that sentence probably needs some punctuation marks.

Now having single handedly** proved that Tyranids are competitive, I'll be having a go at something else but I'm not sure what yet.

** Obviously, that's a lie...

The top 4 candidates for 'next project' are (in no particular order),

1) Space Marine Bikers.

2) Jump Pack Blood Angels.

3) 'Foot' Marine army (probably using Space Wolves)

4) 'Foot' Imperial Guard.

I'm not abandoning my 'Tyranid Project'. I'll still post battle reports that have any particularly useful strategic nuggets of wisdom in them, I'll still tweak the list when necessary, However the list works well as is and has now moved from the 'can I make this work' pile to the 'I suppose I'd better paint this' pile ;-)

Also, in a complete abandonment of correct procedure 'Maths-Hammer Week' will be starting on a Sunday (tomorrow)...

Leave of Absence...

I'm going on holiday for a week :-)

I may however (if I'm good) be allowed to use my Girlfriend laptop should I get withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately she doesn't have access to my extensive collection of Lolcat pictures, Demotivational posters and stuff I thought was funny...so anything I do post may be a bit 'basic', lol.

I hope those of you who normally check in regularly will be able to find something worth reading in the 'Best of the Bloggers' section while I'm away.

See you all next Saturday ;-)

Forge World - Newsletter #245

For those of you who don't subscribe to the Forgeworld Newsletter...

Phobos Pattern Bolter Pack
The Phobos Pattern Bolter Pack is closely associated with Mk II ‘Crusade’ Armour and is perhaps the most venerable design of the sacred Bolter used by the Astartes. Both were hand-crafted by the Fabricators of Mars at the very birth of the Imperium, to ensure that every Marine had the finest wargear with which to reunite the scattered elements of Humanity.

Designed by Phil Stutcinskas and Will Hayes, the Phobos Pattern Bolter pack contains 10 finely detailed, resin weapons, with optional combat blade attachments, and can be pre-ordered here for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd. Like the other Forge World Weapon Sets currently available to pre-order, the Phobos pattern Bolters can be combined with the full range of plastic Games Workshop and resin Forge World Space Marine sets.

Space Marine Infantry Upgrade Sets Available to Pre-Order Now:
We have even more Space Marine armour variants available for you to pre-order this week. Designed by Will Hayes and Phil Stutcinskas, all of these detailed resin kits contain enough parts to build 5 Space Marines - each set includes two different poses of legs, as well as separate torsos, helmets, backpacks, shoulder pads and arms.

MkII ‘Crusade’ Armour Set
The first of our Space Marine armour sets is this fantastic Mk II ‘Crusade’ Armour Set sculpted by Will Hayes and Phil Stutcinskas. Mk II Armour represented a significant technological step forward compared to the original Thunder Armour, and was supplied by the Adeptus Mechanicus, who hand-crafted each component to the highest specification. The few surviving examples of this pattern are still maintained by some of the oldest Space Marine Chapters, venerated as sacred relics.

MkV ‘Heresy’ Armour Set
The iconic Mk V ‘Heresy’ Armour Set is an archaic pattern of Power Armour, first created during the dark and shadowed days of the Great Betrayal, which saw several layers of inferior-quality materials bonded with adamantium studs. As some Forge Worlds sided with Horus and some remained loyal to the Emperor, the supply lines from the Forge Worlds that manufactured arms and armour for the Legions were heavily disrupted, forcing the Legions to develop the MkV pattern.

MkVI ‘Corvus’ Armour Set
Perhaps the most recognisable of all marks of power armour, the Mk VI ‘Corvus’ Armour Set is most associated with the Raven Guard Chapter, but also sees service in many other Chapters. Designed as a successor to the advanced Mk IV ‘Maximus’ armour that was derailed by the Horus Heresy, Mk VI ‘Corvus’ Armour is distinctive for its’ relatively clean appearance and elongated, conical nose – designed to house additional systems including advanced Autosenses. The studded left shoulder pad, taken from the previous Mk V pattern, commemorates the glory of those heroes who stood at the Eternity Gate alongside the Emperor himself.

You can see all of these sets here; along with a gallery of photos showing examples of how these brilliant parts can be combined with plastic Space Marine kits, as well as other Forge World resin accessories such as our Bolter sets and Special Weapons packs. All of these kits are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd, and while this is the last batch of Space Marine kits we will be unveiling for now, keep an eye on Forge World Newsletters over September for news of a few top secret models that we are hoping to release at UK Games Day…

Raven Guard and Flesh Tearers Etched Brass
The first in the expansion to our range of Chapter-specific etched brass accessories are these detailed sets of Raven Guard Etched Brass and Flesh Tearers Etched Brass from the talented hands of Forge World graphic artist Kenton Mills. These detailed frames provide a range of Chapter insignia that can be applied to both infantry and vehicles as you can see here and these symbols are perfect for adding detail and variety to your Raven Guard and Flesh Tearers squads. Both frames will be shipped from August 23rd.

Iron Hands and Imperial Fists Transfer Sheets
Not content to rest on his Etched Brass laurels, Kenton has also put together a new range of Chapter-specific A4 decal sheets, the first of which are Iron Hands Transfers and Imperial Fists Transfers.

These A4 sheets are packed with over 500 individual Chapter badges, squad markings and numbers, as well as vehicle markings and Clan-Company badges in the case of the Iron Hands – all perfect for adding additional detail to your Imperial Fists and Iron Hands units.
Both of these fantastic transfer sheets are available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing August 23rd.

All these new releases are available to pre-order along with the Caestus Assault Ram, Umbra Pattern Bolter Pack, MkIII ‘Iron Armour’, Special Weapons Pack, MkIV ‘Maximus’ Armour and the Umbra Ferrox Bolter Pack – you can find all these kits here.

Forge World Events News
Forge World will be attending Games Day Baltimore on August 21st, and in addition to our usual array of kits available from our Sales Stand, we will be selling extremely limited numbers of all our recent Space Marine kits as exclusive pre-release items.

Paul Rudge from our Book Production team will also be in attendance, showcasing final proof copies of the forthcoming, oft-hinted, Imperial Armour project which our recent range of Space Marine releases all link to…

Forge World will also be attending Games Day UK at the Birmingham NEC on September 26th, and we are now taking reservation orders for this event. This is the best way to guarantee that we will have exactly what you want on the day, and you won’t even have to queue as we have a separate Reservations Collections area on our sales stand. To place a reservation, just send an e-mail titled ‘Games Day UK Reservation’ to ForgeworldReservations@games-workshop.co.uk including your name and a list of the items you’d like us to provide. You can also telephone us on 0115 916 8177 – in either case, we will provide you with an order number and total cost slightly before the event, and we’ll also inform you of anything that we can’t guarantee to have for you.

New Forge World Catalogue Now Available! Our new 2010 catalogue is available now, and we are putting the finishing touches to a new Catalogue Supplement that will feature all of our most recent releases. If you would like a free copy of the Forge World 2010 catalogue, or the new supplement, please send an e-mail with your name and full postal address to forgeworldcatreq@games-workshop.co.uk Alternatively, you can request a catalogue by telephone. Just call 0115 916 8177 from the UK; 011 44 115 916 8177 from the United States or Canada; or 00 44 115 916 8177 from much of Europe, and our Customer Service team will be happy to take your details.