First game of 7th (or 6.5, whatever they are calling it)

Lee wanted to get a game in with the new rules after having a few days to read over it. Being I had taken leave of the game for about a year I decided to dip into the waters to see how the changes are.

We met at Learn to Play Games in Tampa as they was open on Memorial Day and Anthem was not. The owner was really cool and the store was clean and well laid out. Clearly more of a card and board game store they also really want to bring in more mini gaming to the store.

Lee had the typical IG and tested out a few odd and end things...2 Wyrvens, several Chimeras, some veteran squads and a regular platoon, Inquisitor, Commander, some Priests and Commissars. A ton of shooting in essence....against my small horde of Word Bearers that had a Dark Apostale, Sorcerer, 4 Squads of 10 Marines (1 with 2 flamers, 1 with 2 meltas, 2 with 2 plasma guns), 2 Havok Squads (4x Heavy Bolters and Missile Launchers x2 and Autocannons x2 in the other), 2 small squads of cultists and a Vindicator....we opted for 1500 to keep the game small as we was learning the changes to the rules.

We opted to try one of the Maelstrom Games, which are the  more advanced missions, we got the one where you can score off your opponents cards as well as yours. In these missions the objective cards can really swing a game it seems. We placed 6 objectives, I won table side, Lee got first deploy/turn. I failed to seize on the first turn. At first our dice was wiffing but the large number of shooting from all the Chimeras, squads and weapon types plus Wyrven Bombardments started to take a heavy toll. I tried to stick to the game to  rack up victory points and managed to earn first blood....many of the scoring cards came up on my end and I was able to stall  Lee enough to rack up a decent total before my army crumbled in the end. We rolled for another turn and got it, this really helped Lee fill the gap...

The result: 10 VPs (me) and 7 VPs (Lee). I got first blood and a lucky 3 on a d3 on a card with a bunch of other 1 point cards. Lee got my Warlord, Enemy Lines and 5 from objectives. The Word Bearers was blasted to atoms and was to me a hollow win. It did prove the cards creates a random element in the game and does make things slightly less predictable. 

Thoughts:

Psychic Powers: Interesting changes, overall I think I like it....I do see a heavy psychic army pulling a ton of dice into a pool and stomping  someone in the psychic phase. Being in its own phase is nice to see again.

Like the Circle of 3-4-5 of vehicles going from weak to tough to weak to slightly tougher in 6th....I killed TWO Chimeras the entire game and it was a pain in the ass. AP1 and AP2 weapons are IMO gold now if you REALLY want to destroy a vehicle. Vehicles are back, they are no longer plastic coffins...

We really didn't do much hand to hand as I was foot slogging and he mostly sat back and shot with Chimeras advancing squads safely. Shooting is a bit more brutal with model removal and the resolving X set of weapons first also seemed to be a nice return.

What would have helped me was to have a Demon Prince and used the new Psychic powers to summon squads of demons to rampage on the field, fluffy for Word Bearers anyway. Also, Rhinos...or rather transports in general, a MUST in any army. Drop the cultists and take a few would have helped.

After thoughts, they fixed a few issues and opened a can of worms in many other aspects. To me the scales just reversed now. I had to say this but really their new stuff like the Wyrvens was DIRT cheap and UGLY in the game....yea, GW wasn't marketing these bitches to sell like other new kits right? Right! I do see several abuses that can spawn up quickly and I am unsure how this will impact the competitive gaming. To me keeping it simple and playing with friends is what I will do....and watch the local tournaments. Personally, the Unbound option just screams ABUSE ME! Like other famous lists you see on the net that are very popular to use by power games that just have more money than sense. Yea, I have a 9 Vendetta lawnmower list....pat yourself on the ass and call you Susan because you are that special. You broke the game and exploited the rules. Feel good? Want a medal? Making the game not fun for others a good thing? Nope. Oh well, it is going to happen....I just plan to avoid the stupidity. Yea, I am now a beard and proud of it. 

In many ways I am slightly disappointed by how GW handled this edition, the editing is rushed as I think the rules testing was also. They are clearly mining for cash and don't give a rats ass about a game really as long as they are sucking in the cash. They had a great game and concept and slowly been sucking the good from it and also pricing themselves to the point it is just stupid. Great you have a quality product but you don't have to charge designer drug prices for it. 

Shots of the game...

Darkside 2250 tournament (April)

Well, this is long overdue to post, so I will just post the highlights.

Chris and I hit Darkside this month and brought some interesting armies. Chris broke out his Blood Angels again to give them another try under the new rules and I put together a Chaos army with IG allies.

Chris was able to go 2 wins and 1 loss. I ended with 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw. A mistake on my part caused the draw and should have been a win for me but I really didn’t care. I felt like I was not in the running for the top and I was having a great game anyway with Cajun in the last round.

All three games was great except for the middle one with the Tyranids which I have to say was unique and refreshing to play but wow the gaunt unit doing like 60 shots on a flank with rerolls (gah!) Very annoying…..it was a one hit wonder but wow it was a rough game. Maybe if I had another turn or two it could have been a game changer for me as we NEVER got past turn 3. So, it was to the Tyranid player’s advantage at that point, I was slowly chewing down his army and as I said I could have turned it around given another turn or two. It was just a simple case of a new player with a large army that just plays slowly, it sucks but not much you can do about it.

Singles GT: Crucibile (The Narrrative)

Well, here is a general overview of the games, the lists and such at the event! Check my other post for pictures of the event!

My list:

Sorcerer: Mark of Tzeench, Level 2, aura of Dark Glory

10 Chaos Marines: 2 plasma guns, extra ccw

10 Chaos Marines: 2 plasma guns, extra ccw

10 Chaos Marines: 2 plasma guns, extra ccw

10 Chaos Marines: 2 plasma guns, extra ccw

Cultists x10 with pistols/ccw

Cultists x20 with 14 rifles, 2 heavy stubbers, pistols/ccw x4

Heldrake

Lord of Change

Flamers of Tzeench x3

Plaguebearers x6

Plaguebearers x6

Screamers of Tzeench x6

Game 1 vs. Rich with Space Wolves and Grey Knights

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil

Primary: capture objectives scattered about the table.

Secondary: Destroy Heavy and Troop choices, worth one VP each.

Tertiary: Table Quarters, each quarter earns you 1 VP.

Bonuses: Slay Warlord, First blood and Linebreaker

His list was Wolf Priest with saga of the Hunter, 3 squads with meltas/plasmas, Wolf Lord with Wolf Mount with Runic Armor, 3+ storm shield and power fist. 2 Long Fangs with mixed weapons of Missiles and heavy bolters, unit of Grey Knights (troop choice), Dreadknight, Techmarine, Cotaez with retinue with the psykers to throw the large blast and crusaders and jokeroo to add defense and shooting.

Amusing points:

• First turn my Helldrake entered he burned down 8 out of 10 Space Wolves with a baleflamer shot.
• First Turn the screamers arrived the turbo boosted over one of the Long Fangs killing 4 out of 6 the first turn. They also tied up the Wolf Lord that assaulted them for a few rounds keeping him out of the game.

I won Primary, Secondary and Slay the Warlord and First Blood. Rich got the Tertiary

Game 2 vs. Charles with Chaos Marines (Slaanesh)

Deployment: Dawn of War

Primary: 6 objectives scattered about 12 inches apart.

Secondary: Each fast and troop choice was worth 1 VP.

Tertiary: Destroy the most expensive unit.

He had 3 Rhinos, 2 Demolishers, 3 squads of 5 Noise Marines with the leader with the sonic flamer upgrade with a Lord with the Mark of Slaanesh, had a lighting claw and power fist I think, Aegis line with Quad gun, 10 men with two Sonic Blasters, 2 Hellbrutes, 1 with plasma and 1 with multi-melta, 1 Mauler and Helldrake (painted an amazing color of pink).

I took all 20 this game as the clock was ticking down and we was on turn 5 I had Screamers about to munch his last Vindicator, two Noise Marines was fighting 4 Plague Bearers, one Dread was in action too far away to do much. He gave the game to me as I had the objectives, the most expensive unit and more fast and troops than he had.

Great moments in the game:

• Mauler runs through a building towards my unit and charges. Krak grenades fly from my squad and I get 3 or 4 6’s on Krak Grenades to Pen, sure all glances, he rolls his saves….*THUMP* something like from Starship Troopers when they tossed the grenades into the big bugs mouth!

Game 3 vs. Michael’s Tyranids

He had the heavy monster bug list with a flying Tyrant, two big bugs that spit out more gaunts, some token gaunts for troop choices also, the Doom in a Pod with the psychic power that mimics the Doom power (so thus double Dooming!), a Tyrant with guard, some Venomthorpes (for shield coverage) and some other odd and end shooters.

Deployment was: Vanguard on a nice city fight table. I took cover in a building and he spread out on his side.

Primary: Supply drop, deep strike objective tokens for a total of 6 starting on turn 2.

Secondary: Destroy the enemy. 1 VP per unit dead.

Tertiary: Control the Field of Battle (most terrain objectives)

This was again a brutal game, despite the heavy handed aspect of the list the worst part was the Doom that always seemed to have 10 wounds with the ability to double doom  units. I really think this should be FAQ’ed as while it is legal is really just bending the rules in a way that just makes this unit very broken for the points cost. This was a minor loss for me with a 9 to 11 score against Michael. He is a great guy to play against despite the heavy handed army build.

Game 4 was against Devin with his Dark Eldar/Eldar Mix

The list he had: Eldrad, Baron Sathonyx, Fire Dragons x6 with Crack shot and Tank Hunters with Exharch, Wraithguard x10 with Warlock (Conceal, Spirit Seer), Guardian Bike x3 (shuriken Cannon), Kalabite Warriors x5 (blaster), Venom with Night Shields and Splinter Cannon, Kalabite Warriors x10 with Blaster, Splinter Cannon, Raider with Night Shields and Disintegrator Cannon, Drive Avengers x5, Warp  Hunter with Shuriken Cannon (Forge World), Heavy Falcon with scatter laser and shuriken cannon, 3 heavy walkers with scatter lasers and shuriken cannon and Aegis line with Quad gun.

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil (bad for me)

Primary: Each unit worth 1 VP

Secondary: 2 Objectives, one in each deployment zone.

Tertiary: 1 Objective in center of table, each turn in control gives you 1 VP

This was just an ugly game and a very hyper-competitive army list. Devin was a great guy to play but this game was zero fun to watch him roll hordes of dice, rerolls and other tricks just smoking my army bit by bit as I can’t do a damm thing but sip a beer and take a beating. Oh well, by the end of the game I was all but tabled army wise and he had a clean sweep of 20 points and leaving me a big 0. Ironic he would take overall with this list, well you can see why.

Game 5 vs. Remey’s Necrons

Deployment: Vanguard

Primary: Objective in center, you can move it 6” max only…

Secondary: Table Quarters

Tertiary: Destroy units 1 VP each

He had:

4 Troop Transport flyers with min squads inside.

2 Large Wraith Units with 2 Lords with destroyer bodies with mind shackle scarabs and two Canoptek Tomb Stalkers.

This game started on a bad foot with my opponent being about 45 minutes late to the table due to oversleeping due to the daylight savings time change. In an attempt to not be a dick and tell him that the game was forfeit for being late we played. My mistake, I should have took the auto-win instead as the army was pure hyper-competitive, in my eyes if you are this competitive you can be on time. He was all nice about being late and wanted to buy me lunch which I didn’t want him to have that obligation for feeling like he was beating my ass and being late. I just hate the feeling someone feels obligated to do something.

This was a pure cluster fuck list as his troops are never at risk, you have to kill two monstrous creatures that are modeled the size of a ratling sniper (hrm, what part of monstrous did you miss?) and terrain ignoring wraiths and mind shackle crap to annoy you further. I was able to hold my own until the end, which by the time I killed the two big things the warriors are gabbing table quarters, the flyers are shooting the hell out of me and the wraiths are just hanging out in hand to hand killing things every turn.  Exciting game, yea…..I would put this down as the worst game of 5 and perhaps in the top 5 of my gaming lifetime.

 Again I lost 0 to 20 and in a twist of irony ended up facing the Eldar list from last turn and his list was shredded by the Eldar list (yea, I was shocked by this one, hehehhe). So, I was doing well until that point with what I consider a fairly solid list.

 Game 5 vs.  Reinaldo’s Tyranids

 Deployment: Dawn of War

 Primary: 3  objectives down the center of the table.

 Secondary: 1 VP per psyker

 Tertiary: objective in each deployment zone.

 He had a decent list, again the Doom was there and flying Tyrant with the bio-shotguns that lets him rolls a crapload of dice! There were two large bugs making more and a large swarm of Gargoyles as well as some other random things.

 This was just a fun game in general as neither of us was up for any of the big awards except maybe faction which even then both of us was in the hole slightly. We had a good game overall with some small rules issues. I managed to buckle down and shake the last game to take in 7 points and he got 2 in the end despite the pounding I took. The first Blood helped in early scoring while he had Linebreaker and neither of us could take the Primary or Tertiary, I did manage to down my psyker Nids that sealed the win.

 No major awards of any type were won by Chris or I but I did manage to score a bag of 20 Cadians (box was damaged and sponsor/vendor bagged the set and gave it away)! All in all, it was a decent weekend with only two bad games (even then the players was not bad just the type of armies they had). I think I would go back again next year, I will have to work on a solid list for next year to avoid the hyper-competitive lists from pounding me to muck. 

*Note Not sure what happened to the code here and where this white box came from but oh well, I spent some time trying to remove it and I don't care to retype it at this time.*

Wow! The Warp has caught me!

Well, the camera was broken until of late when my wife surprised me with a new camera to take pictures again! Yay! She's a great woman and what more can I say!

While I have not been posting much, I have not been idle, among other projects on other blogs I have been seduced by the siren song of Chaos again, my first army when I first got into 40k and Dark Angels since the arrival of their new book after such a long wait from the last codex. I bought that codex, started to build up an army and then 5th just kicked it in the nuts and told me to pack it away. Chaos saw the table off and on but IG and Space Wolves won out as newer books, newer models, rules and much more playable.

These past few weeks I have the Hell Drake almost done, I've been reworking about less than 20  Iron Warriors and another lot of similar number to the Word Bearers to bolster both legions. Both was short some extra bolters and some specialist weapons as well as I had a few heavy weapons to add into the mix. Plus I have managed to crank out about 20 Possessed from my bits and are now ready to step up to the painting table. I have also about 6 Word Bearer Terminators that I have been painting off and on trying to get them done.

I also broke out some Army Painter Green and sprayed a huge chunk of my Dark Angels and found a nice bone color that claims to be a camouflage grey, really? Looks like bone to me! In any case, on a nice day I cranked out a ton of spraying to get ready for the wet season again and hot weather. Once that rolls in, primer work is a joke. Humidity and high heat don't mix well with rain off and on...welcome to Florida!

In any case, here are a snapshotof a batch of Iron Warriors that I just finished. There are of course some specialists in the wings to finish and the same goes for the Word Bearers that are just starting to see some red paint!

The work tray.

10 more Iron Warriors join the legion!

The Dark Angels stand proud next to the Space wolves.

November Darkside Tournament: Chaos for the Win!

 

This past weekend Chris and I made a trip down to Sarasota to play at Darkside Games. Chris brought along a new Blood Angel test list and I brought along a simple, bland Chaos list to dip into the waters to see how they would do.

Chaos Army List: Siege of Faith (Iron Warriors and Word Bearers) (Double FOC)

Dark Apostle, Veteran of the Long War

Warpsmith with Combi-Melta, Veteran of the Long War

4 Squads of 10 Chaos Marines: Plasma Guns x2, Veterans of the Long War, Close Combat Weapon

Havoks x5: Mark of Nurgle, Veterans of the Long War, Autocannons x2, Missile Launchers x2

Obliterators x2

Vindicators x2

Defilers x2

Aegis Defense Line (no weapon upgrade)

My first game was against another dark brother of Chaos playing the Black Legion. We joked that Horus had sent the Black Legion to bring my two warbands in line for a new crusade and they told him to sod off!

He had from memory:

Winged Demon Prince

Skulltaker (allied HQ)

2 HellBrutes with double talons

2 Units of Warp Talons

1 Unit of Chosen with assorted weapons in Rhino

2 Units of Chaos Marines in Rhinos, assorted weapons, double close combat weapons

2 Allied units of Bloodletters

We placed our objectives face down, picked sides and flipped the tokens and he failed to seize. All I can say is this game was brutal. I had a good defense pattern setup and it was rough for him right from the start. He got the wrong wave first off.

Turn 1, one HellBrute was immobile, one Rhino down

Turn 2, the other Hellbrute goes down, the Demon Prince dies, another Rhino gone, various Marines die, he deep strikes a unit of Bloodletters behind the line. All but 1 was dead at the end of my turn.

Turn 3: First unit of Warp Talons lands (dies to shooting); a second unit with Skulltaker gets gunned down to massed firepower, more CSMs dies...

Turn 4: Last Warp Talon squad lands, gunned down….I start picking off the rest of his CSMs…

Turn 5: Chosen make assault with 3 men I think, kills a few men, I hold then swamp him.

An epic moment in the game that was great laughs:

• Each time that the Bloodletters appeared I could only hear the Iron Warriors going, “Check with the Word Bearers, see if they summoned any demons…” (pause) “No?” *clicks his bolt gun* “BLAST THEM!* *DAKAKAKAKAAKA*
• The Dark Apostle and his Chosen in a challenge with power mauls…he took a wound off me the first round, the second round we failed to wound, the last we killed one another.

 

I sustained no losses in my army and won with a good score for the first round.

 

 

My opponent!

The Defence Line

The last demon standing...

Epic finish for the Dark Apostle vs the Chosen! Both dead!

 

Second Round: Tau and Chaos

The second round was against a regular player Matt that had a hybrid Chaos Tau mix taking it out for a spin. We had a lovely game here of Hammer and Anvil deployment and kill points. We both setup behind our Aegis lines and prepared for the gun exchange.

His list:

Tau Commander with melta and plasma rifle, darksun filter

Tau Broadside with darksun filter

Tau Broadsides (leader) both had darksun filters; I think one had the Target Lock

1 small unit of Fire Warriors

Big block of Kroot

Aegis line with Lascannon

Large block of CSM, with the fearless banner, not sure what weapons he had…

Chaos Lord with Khorne Mark, the special axe, mounted with some nasty assault buffs

Heldrake

Hammerhead with Railgun, darksun filter

Hellfiend with triple plasma cannons

Game was night fight first turn and went on how I expected. All on the dice….we both had some good luck and bad luck, plenty of saves all over. The game was a major shooting exchange as we both knew going out of our lines would have been suicide. So, the game was us taking turns shooting at one another, making morale tests and such...

Towards the end I tore up his CSM unit that came at my lines and the Lord was the only unit to make it, besides the Heldrake passing overhead.

The game ended with a solid win for me, he only had the Heldrake, the Tau Commander, and a Single Broadside left at the end….with my losses including both Vindicators and one Defiler….

Epic Game moment:

• Matt’s Chaos Lord charges my Iron Warrior Chaos Marine unit, he does a challenge, squashes the Aspiring Champion, rolls on the rewards table (POOF SPAWN) Guess Chaos didn’t take kindly to a rising star being killed off. The Iron Warriors promptly turned their bolters on the Spawn standing 2” away and promptly died.

 

Matt got First Blood; neither of us got the other’s commander…so points were low short of the win.

Matt that twisted Tau and Chaos commander.

My deployment

Towards the end of the game, notice those two green templates near my lines? Those WERE my Vindicators!

Chaos General charges! Kills my champion.

Life is like a box of chocolates....never know what you are going to get when you roll on that Chaos boon table...Forrest Gump playing 40k

My last round was against Marines

We had the two objective (or as I call it the draw game) with Dawn of War.

His list:

Pedro Cantor

Lysander

3 Tactical Squads with Drop Pods

2 Sternguard squads with Drop Pods, assorted combi weapons

3 Thunderfire cannons

Aegis line down, we setup….off to the races! This was just a game of drop the Sternguard and Characters down first, then a game of firepower on firepower….a real drop down and drag out game. Overall it was good; we had a few annoyances with the game. Namely the table being both nice and not very level for dice rolling, there were several instances of dice balancing to see if it was flat or not, rerolls and such. Including one I thought was a hit but my opponent said it scattered. Usually, I leave dice out and try to be slow about this sort of thing but being in the finals and tired is never a good combo and I picked up my dice. He said that it rolled down in a low spot on the table after the hit came up. In any case we just agreed to a reroll to avoid argument. He was ill (he had told me earlier he had been sick and his meds was wearing off) and tired, I was just tired….

The game ended on a draw, with me winning overall by 1 point and my opponent taking second place right after me. Chris had three losses with his Blood Angels but it was a very much hit or miss list. One mission was a repeat of his last time at Darkside playing the same CronAir list on the same open table with the SAME missions (kill points). If he had the objective games he would have had a better chance, alas he is going to blow off his Chaos and polish up the Space Wolves with Blood Angel allies now.

Last round opponent...

The defence line...

Porta-pods arrive....

Turn 3 drop pods...

Towards the end, epic shot deending the line...

A Return From the Warp

Well, it has been a few days now since I got back from my trip out of the states and I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. I had a few requests to help build a possible 1500 point list and also some other example lists for Chaos...stay tuned....I should have them done in a few days.

I have been busy painting some, relaxing watching Jerico, Dr. Who, Revolution and the Arrow among other things to get me back into the swing of painting and giving my mind a break every now and then.

Here is a few snaps of many projects on the table so mind you they are not all 100% done yet...

Ork Scrap Objective Marker

Tyranid Objective Markers

Random stuff including Chaos and Space Wolf Terminators

Snap of the hobby table with Space Wolves, Word Bearers, Iron Warriors and other assorted Chaos including 1000 Sons, Nurgle and Khorne! Been busy sorting and trying to figure out what I need to add to my collection.

Chaos Codex Review Part 7: Heavy Support!

On to the last section! Heavy support, one of my favorites!

Havoks: Compare these to Space Marines and you have a very versatile unit here with options out the wazoo! The popular heavy weapon choices is of course the favorite Autocannon and missile Launchers, that makes the missile launchers even more popular more than ever is this codex is the first to take flakk missiles to the mix. Sure adding them on makes them cost more than a lascannon but now you have THREE options when it comes to shooting. The Autocannon is a strong mainstay at STR 7 with good range making it a reasonable choice for it’s price and performance. Also the ability to take up to 4 assault weapons like flamers, meltas and plasma makes this unit form a different use depending on your needs of your army list. Pepper in a Mark of Nurgle and a possible transport (if needed) and this becomes a very strong unit option (perhaps one of the best!) Don’t forget to take Veteran’s of the Long War to get that bonus LDR!

Obliterators: Still good for what you get in the package, the marks now add some value (namely Tzeench and Nurgle) plus the extra weapon additions adds nicely with the assault cannon and heavy flamer. The only real downside is not being able to fire the same weapon you fired in the prior turn. Just be clever with your shooting and use the Obliterators to fill in the gaps to match your opponents and you will find this to be a very useful unit.

Defiler: This was once a great unit, and then went a bit meh when 5^th encouraged people to use them less. Now they have Daemonic Possession, Daemon (Fear and 5+ Inv save), Fleet, Daemonforge (reroll wounds) and It will not Die (let me catch my breath!) making the price upgrade to 195 still very reasonable. I personally am looking forward to trying these guys out as universal filler to my army.

Forgefiend: Again another demon engine that is ok, the Mauler and Defiler weigh in better and the Exctoplasma cannons are nice and helps make the BS 3 easier to swallow as you can adjust at least your template by 3”.

Maulerfiend: I am holding my opinion on this until I see them in action. To me these guys in a pair could be a real threat and could support a close combat based army better than most other unit options.

Chaos Land Raider: Very disappointing to be honest on this one. Price dropped in point value but you get a Marine Version, no variant, no special rules….after all this time in the warp. Take it if you need it, but IMO there is better.

Chaos Vindicator: Another mainstay tank, while the same price the upgrades can make it a bit more worthwhile of an option and 2-3 of these can scare the hell out of many armies.

Chaos Predator: Another mainstay tank, works well in the cheap and simple format of a TL lascannon or simple Autocannon with perhaps heavy bolters. Again the upgrades are what make this guy a gem with adding a Havok launcher to the mix.

Chaos Codex Review Part 6: Fast Attack!

In the last codex this area, well just sucked ass. Now, we have something that makes us proud and perhaps a very viable option for army building when it comes to Chaos.

Chaos Bikers: Price per pound, simply a great choice. Add the mark of Nurgle and some melta or plasma guns and a possible character that is compatible with the unit and have fun! Go on, waste your ammo on this unit, the rest of the army is going to pound you and if you don't pay for it later.

Chaos Spawn: Here was another really bad unit that now has some options to it. To me this is a cheap bullet magnet and can draw attention away from the army without paying a high cost. Ignore it? Well, may suck for you later.

Raptors: Chaos has useful dump troopers again and cheaper (perhaps slightly better) than the marine version. Depending on options this unit could be a serious threat to your opponent with proper scenery and screening by transport vehicles.

Warp Talons: They are very expensive, but if you apply them correctly they can garner a great value on the field. Then again, they can also be a serious liability if you are not careful.

Heldrake: To me the most popular of the choices, load them with a baleflamer and enjoy roasting marines over an open fire. A flying hellhound marine killer is the only way to sum this up.....oh an you can still strike flyers in the air as you pass over...a two for one value. Please leave the Hades Autocannon at home.

Chaos Codex Review Part 5: Troops!

The Chaos codex is very deceptive as it has only two entries but with selecting a character with a specific mark you can shift units around in your book including all four cult troop choices and Chosen (if you take Abbaddon).

Chaos Space Marines: Some people have tried to compare them to a Grey Hunter, which is like holding an apple to an orange. You get something different from each in terms of tastes and nutrition, that can be said in this case. For 2 more points they get a close combat weapon matching the cost of a Grey Hunter, but then this is where it gets different, they can take two special or one special and 1 heavy weapon, their Aspiring Champion makes the unit have a decent leadership (add for another point Veterans of the Long War) and perhaps a mark for a few points more and the unit can be built to suit your needs. A CSM unit is a nice filler between a Cult Troop Choice and a Cultist Troop choice, so keep that in mind.

Chaos Cultists: Cheap, massed troops and with the right leadership hard to break. These guys are great to hold objectives, swamp targets with massed attacks and Marks are cheap. It should be obvious how to take cultists and use them on the table. The favorite of late seems to be taking Typhus and upgrade your units to Plague Zombies, now you have cheap scoring, horde units that are fearless. Yes please!

Bonus Review: Rhino Transports!

I could add this at some other point but I figure that it would be better to address it here.

It is the typical 35 points that is common among Marines what is interesting is how you can modify this transport into some unique concepts.

First it is interesting in the Chaos Wargear list for Vehicle Equipment states a model may can take up to one of each of the following. So this means that with the base combi-bolter, you can add anotehr combi-bolter, a combi-flamer/melta/plasma AND a Havok in theory. Granted where the hell you would stick all these weapons would be a good question. Granted this is going to cost almost the price of two Chaos Marines and with the ability to kill a vehicle is much easier saves you much pain from considering this.

What is one of the best choices is the Havok Launcher and makes the Rhino into what I call a Havokback, something similar to a heavy bolter razorback in theory. Still, what is odd is that you cannot just upgrade the combi-bolter instead of adding another one which is perhaps a weird option.

Daemonic Possession is perhaps the most interesting, being able to ignore shaken and stunned on a 2+ and if a unit embarks it could eat one member of the unit to regenerate a hull point.

To me the best options to keep a Rhino reasonable in price is a Havok+Daemonic Possession at most. Dozer blade is a good runner up option.

Chaos Codex Review Part 4: Elites!

On with Elites!

Chosen: This unit can make a nice specialist unit for the typical multiple small units (MSU). If you have Abbadon you can use them as a troop choice again allowing the MSU unit option for troop choices. This is a specialist unit so build it wisely and don’t forget the rhino.

Possessed: Well, they no longer suck. They do have a high price tag, but they are a specialist close combat unit. Again, build this unit wisely and always take a rhino to ensure they can get somewhere to do something.

Chaos Terminators: Not a bad choice, but slightly more expensive than other choices and while the 2+/5+ (or even 2+/4+ with a Mark of Tzeench) seems appealing using deep striking to get weapons like combi-meltas near a target, again a small unit may be worthwhile but a larger one would be a huge point sink.

Hellbrute: Also known as a Dreadnought, again they no longer suck (no shooting and destroying your own army instead) the Crazed Rule makes them very viable as a unit choice. What makes a nice crown to this unit is seeing the Thunder hammer and Power Scourge return to the Dreadnought.

Mutilators: Well, this may be the only item of crap to me in the codex. Expensive, small unit size and limited options unless you can get them into close combat unless you are willing to front for a Land Raider to drive them down the field to get them close enough to be worth a crap. Still, it costs 25% of a 2k list.

Khorne Berserkers: This here is a specialist close combat unit that is very effective; you have to compare them (if you want a reference) to a Wolf Guard unit.   This unit is best as a large unit or at least with a rhino to ensure they get close enough to be useful. A unit with Rage, Counter Attack, Furious Charge and Fearless (and for 2 more points each you can get Hatred) makes this a very impressive unit.

Thousand Sons: Still, a decent unit and a specialist AP 3 killer that if built correctly you can take advantage of the bonus sorcerer and firepower. Be careful to avoid getting tangled in close combat as it will be a slow and painful death.

Plague Marines: Perhaps one of the best choices in the army as they are tough and able to hold up against things with a T5, Fearless and Feel No Pain. What else is just an added bonus that offsets the I3 is the return of the Plague Knife and Blight Grenades making their high cost still a decent value.

Noise Marines: Another decent unit at shooting ignores cover is a great option with the massed firepower they could put out at a low price. Plus they are able to handle getting into close combat taking advantage of the higher I stat they have. Plus throw in the icon of Excess they become another great unit with feel no pain if you are willing to eat the high point cost.

Chaos Codex Review #3: Troops


This should be quick as there is just two options!

Chaos Space Marines: Try no to compare them to a Grey Hunter, they won't match up once you pay the 2 points for the extra close combat weapon, still another point and you can take +1 leaderhip and hatred. Then add a mark and some weapon options to me becomes stronger and more flexabile unit for the game. Oddly GW seems to discourage MSU with this unit build making it more worthwhile to invest in larger squads.

Chaos Cultists: Got Cultists? Take them! for 135 points I can pack in 35 cultists, take a character and they are fearless. Not as great as they used to be but oh what the hell! Cheap squads now for Chaos!

Chaos Codex Review Part 2: HQ Choices

HQ Choices:

Abbadon: He weighs in slightly less than Logan and packs a heavy punch and stat package that is impressive. Drach’nyen now still gives the Demon weapon rule plus a bonus to STR and AP making it a nasty Terminator Killer, the Talon of Horus drops in AP to 3 but allows him to hit like he has a power fist (but not striking last!) and grants Preferred Enemy to all units within range. If you have the points to spare he could be fun but there is more ideal choices. Still, it could be nice to have an HQ sit near all your Chaos units to allow them a reroll to hit in both shooting and close combat as well as to wound.

Kharn: Nothing to sneeze at here with up to 6 attacks with Gorechild at STR 6 and AP 2 and throw in Armorbane for giggles. He also has the ability to piss off psykers with his 2+ Deny the Witch. Yea, he still has the Betrayer special rule if you roll a 1 but who cares? Break him off from the unit and send him to town ripping apart units. Challenge? Oh yea, go ahead!

Huron Blackheart: This is another figure that may see more table time due to the simple price balance of his cost to his abilities. Having Master of Deception allowed him to deploy d3 units using Infiltrate. If you build a list around this concept he is a very strong option to consider for investment. Add in the fact he rolls a random psychic power every Chaos turn and has a power axe (for dealing with AP 2 targets in close combat) and the Tyrants claw (still a heavy flamer with +2 STR and AP 3, with Shred and Armorbane). This allows him to be a unit killer again on his own.

Ahriman: Perhaps the most powerful psyker in the game and cheaper than Najal of the Space Wolves! Able to toss out 4 psyker powers (if all level 1), able to shoot multiple witchfire powers and decent access to 4 psychic power groups. Plus to make him a fan favorite add the Warlord Trait Master of Deception to allow you to infiltrate d3 units again.

Typhus: Another quiet bad ass in the codex, lots of wounds, high Toughness, feel no pain and with the bumps to the Destroyer Hive to AP2, STR 4. OUCH! Plus he can convert cultists to plague zombies thus once again bringing back old school fearless, feel no pain and SAP undead to 40k!

Lucius: Well, if you want someone to be your man for clos ecombat, this is a fairly good pick for the points. He is able to wipe out a squad or handle a challenge on equel level but otherwise not all that impressive.

Fabius Bile: Hey, he no longer sucks! His Rod causes instant death, a character with Feel No Pain and can upgrade one squad to be Enhanced Warriors for no extra point cost. I can give +1 STR and Fearless to one Troop CSM unit? Bile may find his way into a few lists.

Chaos Lord: CHEAP! Need I say more? Well, once you load him up with some cool goodies he can become a huge point sponge. Build these guys wisely and they will treat you right!

Sorcerer: CHEAP! I can have up to a level 3 sorcerer for just 5 points higher than a Rune Priest with two powers (and able to use one!) throw in a 15 point spell familiar to reroll failed psychic tests and blam! Add a Mark of Tzeench and use him as your commander and you get Rubics as core troops!

Demon Prince: People bitched when they saw the point leap, sure you have to pay 205 now to get a base 3+ save, 5+ inv with wings.....I doubt people have REALLY looked at the WS and I now? Yea, look again and tell me they suck now sure they can be gunned down, Mark of Nurgle and Tzeench are a Daemon Prince's best friend. Swoop around and chew up units....

Warpsmith: To me this guy is a sleeper, play against an army that loves cover. Tear it down! need to fix something now? Yes you can! You get a nice package of weapons  with some great perks...enjoy with a twist of lime.

Dark Apostle: I missed this unit option for my Word Bearers, I love it, a radius Fearless character, nice! Plus he grants hate to the unit he joins...fair cheap for what you get, IMO a great buy! Plus if you plan to use the gift of mutation, keep everyone near the Dark Apostle, rerolls anyone?

Chaos Codex Review: Part 1

Well, after having a few days to read, review and look over various parts of the Codex I am ready to start with an overview of the Chaos Codex and my thoughts on the book.

First off Phil Kelly did a fantastic job, perhaps one of the best books GW has done in a long, long time. Unlike other codex books that there are a few good and then a great deal of crap for units this book has upped the balance slightly to allow for what I feel will be an army that you will find more variety with than any other on the table. I know are tired of the same crap army lists over and over. Oh, you have Grey Knights? Space Wolves? Imperial Guard? What template lists are you using is the common topic? Not only that, but the hardback version is also very nice and stands out as a quality book product compared to their past offerings.

What I really like most about this book the most is how they expanded the fluff slightly and updated things. Subtle things but still, there is more there than what seemed to be in the last codex.

Army Wide Rules:

Champions: Some people love this rule, some people hate it. I have to admit it fits the flavor of Chaos no matter what. So, in close combat you have to declare a challenge or accept one if issued first. So, the age of power fists on Champions is long gone. Time to rip them off and give them either power swords, mauls or lighting claws at this point if you want a chance to survive and if you don’t care hand them a chain sword and pat them on the power armor ass out the door to die. The first thing to look at is how often will your list be in close combat? If you are in it often, perhaps you should plan your list out, otherwise if you are more of a shooter list; it is ok to neglect the Champions in favor of focusing on other important aspects in your list. My only complaint about this is rolling on the “favors” or as I call them “party favors” chart if you kill something in close combat, so in theory it should be rare but still to me could drag the game slightly in a tournament setting rolling and bookkeeping constant changes. I am sure Army Builder will have the option to add the roll list to each champion and if you do, stock up on paper as your list will grow about x3 the current normal printed list. I am not sure how I feel about handing a codex to my opponent printed from Army Builder.

Veterans of the Long War: +1 Leadership and Hatred? Usually just for a point more on a standard CSM and a few more points for an Independent Character you can have this great perk. While the leadership is not needed for an IC the average Joe benefits from that with their lower leadership now of 8 on average. You could always take the banner to make your unit Fearless but that gets rather pricey (and works best for larger, more expensive units) and should only go to key units in the game where the benefit gets the best impact. Play Marines often? Shop Smart, Shop Chaos Mart.

Demon Weapons: Wow, they are more powerful than ever and yes, you will pay for them in huge point costs. Still, it is nice to at least roll a 1 and still swing (at penalty) instead of being screwed over. Roll a 2+ and it is happy days! Demon Weapons are squad killers as well as deadly weapons in a challenge against a character. The only downside is that you have to protect the model with it until he can get close enough to get into close combat. Second you have to wipe out all characters first in a challenge before you can wipe the squad. So, if they have a character to challenge you could get bogged down fighting some units. Think IG blobs for example as they have the ability to throw multiple sergeants at you keeping you busy the rest of the game. Your only hope then is to cause enough wounds to break, unless they are fearless or something else making them hard to break (stubborn for example).

Warlord Traits: This is the first book to assign Warlord Traits to specific characters instead of rolling for them. To me this fits but also limits options taking them, if you take a character with a specific Trait, you are more than likely taking them for that benefit among other thins.  Here are the traits and my thoughts:

Black Crusader: Warlord and all friendly units within 12” of the Warlord have Preferred Enemy. For now this is nice for allies “note the word friendly”. Yes, this will be FAQ’ed later. Until then take Abbadon and park him near a majority of your army and enjoy the rerolls of 1 to hit and wound.

Flames of Spite: All melee weapons in the unit have Soul Blaze. Crap here really.

Master of Deception: Infiltrate d3 infantry units. Note the key word there, infantry. So, no first turn charges but you could very easy put an army in someone’s face quickly or flank.

Hatred Incarnate: Warlord and unit have Hatred. So, saves you points on Veteran’s of the Long War. Otherwise useless also.

Lord of Terror: Fear, another yawn unless you have something that can modify leadership.

Exalted Champion: Reroll on the Boon Table, limited prospects here unless you plan to engage in challenges.

Marks of Chaos

Mark of Khorne: Rage (extra attack) and Counter-attack special rules. This is a great mark to give to general CSM units that are not Bezerkers, they are a slightly cheaper option with ranged ability unlike Khorne Bezerkers.

Mark of Nurgle: +1 Toughness (no longer unmodified!) a great choice for a Biker Unit, Obliterators or Characters, makes them tough as hell to instant kill now. Even the basic CSM benefits well if you are cost cutting and don’t care about the other perks that a Plague Marine gets. Havoks are another that would allow you to take some punishment and still stay in the fight no matter what.

Mark of Tzeentch: +1 to invulnerable save or 6+ if none. Obliterators and Characters stand the most to benefit from here. A simple 6+ to a standard CSM is just a waste when there are better marks to pick (unless you can roll 6’s like crazy).

Mark of Slaanesh: +1 Initiative. What? Wake me up here! This goes best on a few select items, one thing I can say NOT to waste points on is giving them to a Chaos Space Marine. Why? 13 points base and 2 for the mark, 2 more points and you get Fearless instead of spending 1 more point for Veterans of the Long War for that +1 Leadership. 

What do you think?

Chaos Codex Review and Thoughts Series

Later today (just rolled past midnight a moment ago) I will post my first part of a series of posts reviewing the Codex and imparting my own personal thoughts and insights into the codex as well. I am a long time Chaos player and I am just elated beyond words about this book and looking forward to some great games!

So, I will open with the question: Will you be playing Chaos and why? Are you an old school loyalist like me? Are you just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest codex? Or do you have other darker secrets to reveal? Let us know!