Battle report: Mr T and his Lamborghinis

Introduction
Two games in a single day! What more can a gamer ask for?
Thanks to Crazyrat for testing my list for me. I still need to be more familiar with my list (and improve it with all your help).

2250 points pictched battle (hope to get the rulebook to start trying other missions)
Crazyrat used the same Woodelf list (I hope Mr T has finally retired the list for him)
High Elves
Lord
Mr. Teclis (cheesemaster)
Core
35 Spearelves, Champion, Standard, 5pts Pendant
2 X 10 Archers
Special
2 X 5 Silverhelms, Shields
8 Tiranoc Chariots (my Lambos)
Rare
2 RBTs
2 Great Eagles

Turn 1

1. WE deployed all the way back again-touching the end of the board. Treeman deployed all the way to the right flank away from Mr T (hmm... how many purple statues have I collected?)
2. WE archers shot HE archers and killed 4. They passed their panic.
3. WE Fast Calvary marched down let flank after vanguard move.
4. Chariots split 2-6 with 2 going down the middle while 6 flanking right.
5. Mr T cast Soulbright and reduced WE archers' Strength and Toughness
6. RBTs and 1 Archer unit shot at Soulbright-ed WE archers and killed 8.
7. Archers turned and shot at Fast Calvary killing 2. Unit passed panic test.
8. Eagle moved up to threaten WE mage and BSB in Eternal Guard bunker.

Turn 2

1. Treeman failed charge against closet chariot (needed 8 on charge roll).

2. Right flank remained stationary (could be the chariots?)

3. Wardancers moved up to stand between 2 eagles and their lords in eternal guard bunker.

4.WE mage on the left flank transformed into a Dragon taking a wound for IF miscast.

5. One HE Chariot and 1 eagle combined charged depleted WE archers and overrun into second archer unit behind.

6. Second Eagle flew to the right, landing to the flank of the eternal guard and expossed mage.

7. Chariots moved up out of Treeman's LOS. 2 chariots moved back to play hide and seek with Treeman. Archers and RBT shoot WE fast calvary reducing unit to champion who passed his morale (he is going to do so much damage).

Turn 3

1. Treespirits charged into Chariot, Great eagle (carrion) and archers combat and wiped out the eagle while the chariot wiped out the archer unit and overrun.

2. Champion of Fast Calvary charged HE archers (photo above) and wiped them out, overrunning into second archer unit.

3.Treeman continued to chase chariots as they retreated and taunt the old bark.

4. Mr T moves up in his huge bunker and sniped 1 wound from BSB and dispelled dragon transformation.

5. Silverhelms charged Mage whose transformation is dispelled. Mage fled out of range.

Turn 4

1. Three chariots charged into wardancer unit and eagle charged into Eternal guard unit behind (so that when chariots break the wardancer and overrun into the eternal guard, i get a 'free' combat turn). Impact hits killed 10 while charioteers killed none so Eternal guard still has 2 ranks! Eternal guard lost combat but passed leadership (stubborn) and reformed.

2. The champion will wipe my second archer unit (sigh) and overrun into my pointy spearelves unit to be poked to death.

3. Eagle gets killed for his efforts even before it struck (initiative order below elves)

4. 2 chariots continued to retreat from treeman hee hee.

5. Mr T cast Purple Sun and rolled 2 on artillery dice so he turned the ruin into a purple statue (see the green template-Green Sun).

Turn 5-6

1. 1st picture shows the chariots-WE combat before they lost and were run down by the guard. They killed none with ASF and Mr T failed to dispell The Savage Beast of Horros cast on Eternal Guard unit (BSB and Mage in it) so 7+4 S7 hits later, 2 chariots turned into splinters.

2. 2 more chariots charged into eternal bunker with 2 characters trying to assassinate them (only killed the mage) and failed to hit/wound the BSB turned them into splinters too.

3. Mr T finished the job by sniping the BSB (I think).

4. Two Silverhelm units (1 finally chased mage out of board) turned and one unit charged remaining eternal guard which fled and redirected with a chariot into the treespirits, wiping them out, leaving only treekins.

5. 2 chariots still retreated from Treeman.

6. Mr T (last turn) walked out to snipe the Treeman with Soulbright, Caress of Lanipah and Fate of Bjuna (all on IF so nothing Crazyrat can do really.Cheesemaster did it again. Stinky!)

Aftergame thoughts

1. Mass chariots charge is devastating but i still want to think of ways to make it better

(e.g., what units to combine with flank charges with?

i. Chariots or ranked up units to remove steadfast and rank bonus, but which ranked units are cheap and fast enough to keep up with my army?

ii. I also do not really want to reduce the number of chariots in this army.

iii.Sigh, any ideas?

2. 8 Chariots are fun!

3. Death takes armies that centers on many characters apart easily. I wonder how it will perform against armies that focus on troops instead. Of course there is always Soulbright and Doom and Darkness.

4. Love the iPhone. Doing battle reports (and taking photos) have never been so easily.

5. Gonna play Beastmen (similar chariot style. Yeah)

Criticisms and ways to improve my strategies are greatly appreciated.

Battle report: Where are the dragons?

I chanced upon Stelek's list and couldn't resist testing it against Crazyrat. Full credit for the list goes to him. I definitely did not bring out the potential of the list but my thoughts (and Crazyrat's) below nonetheless.

Stelek's Battery Pack Vampire Counts (Downsized to 2250) VS Crazyrat's Wood Elves

Highlights

Turn 1

1. Woodelves deployed all the way back (touching the end of the board) waiting for me to come to him.

2. Mage transformed into a Black Hydra (which I did not dispell. Lack of experience here or pure stupidity)

3. Vampire Lord failed to cast Purple Sun through 'battery' and magic ended. Gulp

Turn 2-3

1. On th right flank, Woodelves fast calvary and Black Hydra charged Varghulf and cooked it (breadth weapon).

2. In the middle, Treeman charged into ghoul unit with Vampire Lord on foot and 1 Vampire. Ghast challenged and is stomped for its efforts.

3. Vampire Lord on foot once again failed to cast Purple sun, where the Treeman will proceed to stomp the Vampire hero (called challenge).

4. Wardancers and Tree spirits unit 1 marched down my left flank. Wardancers then charged the zombies and wiped them out after Vanpire Lord on steed's Purple sun was dispelled (no battery).

5. Two Ghoul units with a vampire hero each charged the tree spirits (failed to transform into dragons) and ran them down.

Turn 4-6

1. Vampire Lord on foot finally cast Purple Sun and turned Treeman into Purple Stature. He was then charged and stomped into dust by Fast Calvary and Black Hydra (then finally dispelled after Crazyrat clarified the dispelling rules, and killed by something undead and stinky. Ha!).

2. Second Vargulf was minced into pork chops in combat and I do not expect anything from them anymore (at least I painted one lol).

3. Army starts to crumble. One unit of ghoul with vampire that ran down tree spirt had its vampire hero charged Archers and was shot to death by stand and shoot (what was I thinking? Wait, I wasn't thinking...)

4. Mop up by Woodelves after vampires could not transform into dragons and remained unarmoured VPs for the taking. Massacred by Woodelves. Undead remained dead.

Thoughts

1. I forgot to take any pictures!

2. After my first spell (Purple sun) did not go off, even with the Power Scroll lol, things went down hill for me. In fact, I could not even transform (lore of Beast) once.

3. Without the 'dragons', the unportected vampires were cheap or pircy fodder for the taking.

4. Varghulfs were unimpressive the entire game. I will stick to Crazyrat's suggestion to switch to two Blackcoaches if I were to try the list again (with some modifiation). I think this list has potential and might be the list I'd use for my Vampire Counts because its crazy enough lol.

5. I think I need cheap redirectors too. Modifications in process.

Comments and suggestions appreciated. Thank you to Crazyrat for the game and Stelek for the inspiration.

Battle report of the Desperate Alliance

This battlerep is long overdue (so memory's sketchy too) and is badly done. However, I learnt a lot from this game and would like to share my thoughts and also yours. My thoughts will be in italics (army lists not provided in detail due to lazy fingers lol).

The Battle of the Desperate Alliance
Daniel (1k Ogres) and DeFeng (Jaeroler's 2250 Dark Elves)
VS
Crazyrat's (1k Skaven) and me (2250 pansy High Elves)

Deployment (from left to right)
Giant, Leadbelchers (Bucher), Bulls (Tyrant), RBT, 25(?)Blackguards, 5 Drak Riders, 5 Harpies, 5 Cold One Knights (COK), 1 Cold One Chariot, 5 Harpies, RBT,40(?) Spearelves (Lv4 Sorceress, Lore of Metal), Chariot, 5 COKs, 5 Dark Riders

5 Dragon Princes (DP1), Tiranoc Chariot (TC1), TC2, TC3, 40(?)Clanrats (Fire thower), 20 spearelves (LV4 Archmage with Cheese Book, Lore of Shadow), 40 Plague Monks with Furnace (Priest, lv1), 20 Spearelves, 40(?)Clanrats (fire thrower), 4 X 1 Great Eagles, DP2, 15 Archers (Flaming), TC4, TC5, DP3, DP4 (5 Shadow Warriors in Building)

Turn 1 (Ogres and Dark Elves starts)

1. Everyone moved up.
2. Both Harpy units charged Shadow warriors in building (which was not allowed! Need to read rules again!). Shadow Warriors stand and shoot, and wiped out Harpy unit 1.
3. Dark Riders on right flank moved after vanguard move to shoot DP4. I rolled wonderfully so 2 died and the unit fled.
3. DP1 failed charge against Leadbelchers. Other failed charges too.
4. Magic saw Pendulum cast on Bulls, which failed to wound.
5. TC1 charged Giant (dealt 1 impact wound) and no thunderstorm means they danced cha cha for 3 turns =)

The ability of Shadow warriors or other scouts to take buildings should not be underestimated. Just look at how well they did against the harpies and the rules that protected them (only one assault per turn). Chariots are good against Giants, negating their thunderstorm!

Turn 2-3 (from left to right)
1.Bulls (Tyrant) charged the Clanrats who held on due to steadfast.
2. TC 2 dealt 1 impact wound against Butcher and they danced Cha Cha for 2 turns.
3. Blackguards charged into Furnace aka Green Bulldozer and got more than they bargained for. I think at least 15 died in the first round of combat.
4. Clanrats 2 charged into Harpy unit and overrun into COK(?).
5. RBT killed 1 eagle so 2 eagles charged and stomped it into matchsticks.
6. Last eagle moved to block the chariot.
7. My luck turned for the better when DP 3 (on the right) charged Riders (fled) and redirected to the COK. They then killed one, failed all armour saves and got wiped out by COKs' S4 handweapons.

Steadfast works wonder here to hold units until the 'hammer' drops on them. Hammer and Anvil ya. Great Eagles did their job, giving Dark Elves only one shooting turn. I couldn't go after the other RBT because of the lack of space (too many units). In a one-to-one game, I am confident that 4 eagles will wipe out any artillery least by 2 turns. Made a mistake of not charging Shadow Warriors out into the left RBT. Plague Furnace is unbreakable and stinks of more cheese than my book. As Raymond pointed, magic and RBTs (and maybe Eagles) rather than committing any unit to its doom. Dumb of me on hindsight not to send one eagle to assassinate the DE sorceress too (whose unit moved up)!

Turn 4-6 (okay, battlerep's really imprecise lol)
1. Green Bulldozer (Plague unit) steamrolled Blackguards and moved into better position to charge Bulls, which they did.

2. Giant finally wrecked Chariot and charged into Plague unit's flank. These 3 units survived the game!

3. Spearelves with Archmage turned to cast Mindrazor on Archers which was charged by a Cold One chariot (failed charge), Dark Riders (Stand and Shoot then mauled them to death with S8 close combat attacks). COK dare not commit due to S8 Archers (using the spell defensively).

4. High Elf Spearelves charged into Chariot (wrecked it with Mindrazor) and overrun into Dark Spearelves with Sorceress and killing her in the next turn.

5. Crazyrat's on a crazy (if I may say) roll as the Warpfire(?) unit on the right throws the appropriate Artillery distance and flames a lot of Dark Spearelves, COKs and the chariot over a few turns. Finally it killed itself on the last tun (Misfire). A fitting end for a rat indeed lol.

6. Island of Blood Alliance (Rats and High Elves) won mostly because Plague-Green Bulldozer is a huge point denial, and Dark Elves lost his general, Blackguard unit, banners and a couple of expensive MSUs (COK and Chariots).

Magic did not do much for me because I rolled 1 and 1 and 2 and 1 in two turns. I guess I would require the Banner of Sorcery and a slow and more defensive Phoenix Guard unit (less paper armour Dragon Princes and Chariots I guess). I hope this game showed at least one thing that is needed for Calvary (and MSUs) to perform-Maneuvering space. What was not reported was Dragon Princes' immune to flaming attacks ability that protected them from Searing Doom and its ability (with the chariots) to lead opponents to redeploy backwards, thus giving me more time to outshoot and outmagic my opponents. Still they faced an uphill task against huge blocks of infantry like DF's 40 Spearelves (e.g., steadfast). I did not get the chance to do my Calvary and Chariot combo too because of the lack of space but I am sure it would have helped alot.

Any suggestions, comments or criticisms (in terms of strategy, and not my horrible battlerep haha)?

2250 High Elf List 1

Thanks to DF who posted an open list, I decided to follow suit.

2250 High List
Lord
Archmage, Level 4, Book of Hoeth (Death)
Heroes
Mage, Level 2, Seerstaff (Shadow)
Noble, BSB, Dragon Armour, Great Weapon, Banner of World Dragon (Thanks Crazyrat!)
Core
3 X 10 Archers
16 Lothern Seaguard, Full Command, Flaming Standard
Special
13 Phoenix Guards, Keeper, Standard, Banner of Sorcery
2 X 7 Swordmasters
Rare
3 Repeater Bolt Throwers
3 Great Eagles

Let's see how this works out. Mr T is on vacation (OP la) and his apprentice, Eoloran is here to with the Book of Hoeth (less cheese please, okay, maybe still quite cheesy. Sigh.)

Can't wait to playtest this list =)

A long hiatus

It has truly been so long since I last posted an entry. Sigh I have been really busy with work and lazy with my hobby.

No post means no progress and that makes me a sad wolf. I will try to motivate myself with this blog and upload more photos to chart my progress. To begin, these are some photos to show all my 'black' and WIP miniatures.

Hopefully they will look different soon =)

Krom's wolves
Wolf brothers and tanks guarding the Fang. The ones I use are not in the picture as they are in my army case (ready to descend upon our enemies)
High Elves
There are more elves hidden somewhere. Hopefully I can get them painted up and published in time to come =)
Btw, is there anyone who is interested in getting the Skaven from the Warhammer 8th ed. starter box? I am only interested in the elves and the book lol.
Orcs and Goblins
Awaiting Shrek and Fiona (giants), and many more warmachines to join the Waagh!

Waaaagh!

The 8th Edition is upon us. I have amassed a large High Elf army but there are just nights that I wake up to drum beats and distant war chants. It doesn't take long before I realised my calling to Shrek 4 and the greenskin 'ogres' (they look like orcs to me haha).

Yeah 8th to me calls for a change. A change from the small elite High Elf army to a drastically different army. Seeing that I also have Orcs and goblin, lots of undead and some empire stuff, only two armies appealed to me: Orcs and goblins and Beastmen. The potential to spam lots of worthless useless crap till you choke your opponents to death seems like an interesting style I have never experienced. I don't have any model for Beastmen though this is one army I would definitely want to try. For now, it seems appropriate to swell the unruly ranks of the greenskins.

So the High Elves will remain in the elusive Ulthuan while my Waaagh will gather and prepare for the impending battle...

So far, I have the following:
1 Orc Boss on Wild Boar
1 Orc Chariot
1 Orc Lobber
24 Orc Boyz
24 Orc Archers
40 Night Goblin Archers
40 Goblin Spearmen
3 Fanatics

I need more goblins! Need more worthless goblins. Haha let me know if anyone wants to trade or sell their greenskins (empire lord, cannon, hand gunners, spearmen, lots of VC).

Giants seem like fun too. Oh man, this army seems so fun really, not to win (but I can always hope hee) but for the randomness of it all. Can't wait to roll for animosity man! Lol

Great Hunt I Battle Reports

Between intensive gaming/training and what little painting I did. I guess I better list my thoughts about the battle reports (briefly, okay I am lazy, but what can you do? Haha) before they fade from my memory, especially since Jaeroler asked for them. I am glad that they inspired you too =)

Okay, let me make my coffee first....

Krom's Great Hunt I Crusaders
(HQ)Krom (Logan)
(HQ)Runepriest Hortgar
(HQ)Wolf Lord Sigvaldi, TW, WC, SS, Saga of Warrior Born
(T)4 X 5 Wolfguards, 1 Terminator Armour + CML
(F)2 TWC, PF+SS, SS
(F)2 TWC, PF+SS, SS
(F)7 Fenrisian Wolves
(H)5 Long Fangs, 4 LC

First encounter into the warp @ 7pm: Vanilla Space Marines
(HQ)Captain, Relic Blade, Artificer Armour, Digital Weapons, Hellfire rounds
(T)10 Tactical Marines, Missile Launcher
(T)10 Sniper Scouts
(E)Venerable Dread on foot, Missile Launcher, Lascannon
(E)Ironclad Dread on foot
(E)6 Sternguard Veterans in TLLC Razorbacks
(H?)Techmarine with Thunderfire Cannon
(Hope I did not forget anything else)
Thoughts:
1. A very nice chap who's here on summer break from US. Has a wonderfully painted army (much like black templar) and is familiar with the rules but is not used to the gameplay in general. So game was quite relaxed which was cool for a 1st game.
2. TWC charged Ven. Dread because he has not S10 instant death CCW. Lesson learnt is that dreads with S10 CCW is really cool solid rock that even CCW units would think twice about charging (which influences a new list I had, which subsequently underwent incredible revamp [a new list really] by Kenny)
3. Scouts with camo cloaks in fortified ruins (Techmarine) are annoying and extremely difficult to kill (2+ cover saves)
4. Won by KPs. Sigvaldi fulfilled saga by killing around 14 marines that day =)

Second Encounter @ 9pm: Elliot's Necrons (Flying Circus)
(HQ) Lord, Orb, Destroyer Body, Warscythe
(HQ) Lord on foot, Orb, Warscythe
(T) 11 Warriors in reserve so they don't die so fast
(T) 10 Warriors in reserve
(F) 10 Scarab Swarms
(F) 5 Destroyers
(F) 5 Destroyers
(H) 3 Heavy Destroyers
(H) 3 Heavy Destroyers
Thoughts:
1. Another friendly list with another friendly chap. Can't help chatting with him when I was playing my first game so he challenged me lol. List wasn't competitive so I have no grounds to criticise much.
2. Against such a shooty list (large volume of fire). I reserved everything since I can always move and fire (e.g., relentless terminators and Long Fangs with Krom). My list does well even when going second it seems.
3.Made mistake of turboboosting Scarabs into midfield. My Lord charged into it and after wiping that unit bunny hopped into the Lord+Warriors that arrived from reserve on the left (moving a total of 48" into Enemy deployment zone). Saga kill tally=14
4. CML gives me a 48" range of fire, coupled with 2 TWC units kept his flying circus away (Basically cornered in his right deployment zone. Remember my lord is in his left deployment zone, my TWC units coming from Southwest and my shooty elements taking cover and shooting from my right).
5. Won 2-0 objectives. Failing a lot of WWBB rolls (necron ability) didn't help him really. Game ended with delicious chicken rice and prata lol. Ahwoooo.

Third Encounter: Tank's Ultramarines @ 1am (I want my Assault Termies too sob)
(HQ) Librarian in terminator armour
(T) 10 sniper scouts, camo cloaks
(T) 10 Tactical Marines in Rhino (reserve to come in for objective grabbing. Lol they only came in the 5th turn though, hence accomplishing nothing
(E) 5 Assault Terminators in LRR
(E) 5 Assault Terminators in LR
(E) 4 Shooting Terminators with 1 CML, Deepstriking but mishhaped and was promptly destroyed. Phew.
(F) 1 Landspeeder, MM+HF
Thoughts:
T1a. 15 Terminators and 2 LR. Ouch! Spearhead deployment and I made my first mistake of deploying all the way forward. Having 48" range, I should have deployed back and waited for him to come. Dumb...
T1b. Second mistake was not shooting the scouts (3+ cover) in cover and guarding objective in Seize and Control mission. I shot everything at the LRR and got Shaken result throughout the game. Sigh. Termies remained in their LRs while LRR melted one wolfguard unit into jelly. Scouts will continue to harass Krom and his Long Fangs to no avail.
T2. Shooting termies mishapped and was destoyed, impaled by the ruins upon deepstriking. LRR tankshocked into my ruin which has my objective on the 3rd level and 1 unit of wolfguard guarding it. LRR inclined 45 degrees upwards so that the hatch was 2" from 2nd level and so assault termies disembarked on 2nd and 1st level. Apparently this could be done! Of course, this maneuver screwed me. Something wrong happened here 'cos the termies then moved an additional 6" on a DT roll (despite the transport having moved) and charged upstairs pulling my wolfguard down to the 2nd level to get mawed and smashed to mashed potato. Having fluffed all my shooting, I had to charge 2 TWC into LR to finally explode it with S10 hits (therefore not being able to charge its passengers).
T3. Assault termies then charged downstairs again to create mashed potato salad with 3rd wolfguard unit. Assault termies from exploded LR assaulted both TWC and 1 fled while the other stayed with the lost of 1 TW and 2 termies. Wolf Lord charged in and together termies became nachos for the Thunderwolf mounts.
T4 -T5. wolfguard destroyed landspeeder. Last Rhino comes in from edge, unable to grab my objective which was so far far away. Assault termies finally die to lascannon shots. Last wolfguard unit too far away to climb 3 levels to claim objective. Lost 0-1.
1. Really gonna change my TWC to make them more killy. You are in for a shock, YC and Jaeroler =)
2.Wolf Lord with Saga of Warrior is not afraid of termies. Really.
3. Mission comes first. Repeat again. Mission comes first. Not 10 terminator armours that looked like nachos. And certainly not S8 Krak missiles against AV14 LR. Frag all the way (8 small blast templates per turn) at the scouts could have at least gotten me a draw if I persisted since Turn 1.

Fourth Encounter: Tank's Ultramarines @ 10am (1000 points scouting parties)
1. Basically, 5 Las/TL Plas Razorbacks spelled melted termies as I firstly melted his Librarian in Terminator Armour, followed by a unit of TEN shooting termies.
2. Nothing much but a fast list (unfriendly on my side)

Fifth Encounter: Kenny's Tyranids @ 12noon (1750 points)
Tried my mech list this time
(HQ) Wolf Lord, TW, WC, SS, SoWarrior
(HQ) Runepriest
(T) 3 units of 5 Grey Hunters. Flamers in 3 Las/TL Plas Razorbacks
(E) 5 Scouts, MG
(E) 3 wolfguards, 3 combi-melta (1 assigned to scouts) in Rhino
(E) 3 wolfguards, 2 combimelta (melta-less guy assigned to Long Fangs)
(F) 7 Fenrisian Wolves
(F) 2 TWC, PF+SS, SS
(H) 3 units of 3 Long Fangs, 2 missile launchers. 2 Las/TL Plas Razorbacks

Nids
(HQ) Tyrant (close combat, forgot what wargear)
(HQ) Tyrant (shooty, 2 Hive Guards, S9 Venom Cannon)
(T) 3 units of 8 Genestealers (1 infiltrate, 2 outflanked at my flanked. Groaned...)
(E) 2 units of 3 Zoanthropes
(H)Trygon (Prime? I forgot haha)

Mission: Killpoints
Deployment: Spearhead
Thoughts:
T1. Close combat Tyrant deployed behind 2 units of Zoanthropes in the middle. One unit of Genestealers infiltrated in ruin near one Long Fang unit. Tygon, Shooty Tyrant and 2 Genestealer units in reserve. All 5 Razorbacks and Long Fangs shot at close combat Tyrant and dealt 3 wounds through cover saves. Every nid moved forward. Zoanthropes blasted 2 units of Long Fangs into their graves.
T2. All nids came from reserve. Trygon into my deployment zone and shot 1 Razorback in the rear, wrecking it. 2 Genestealer units outflanked (my flank) and charged my 2 Rhinos that I used to cordon and wall up the flank (so that they can only come in 12 " above my flank, protecting my TWC and Wolf Lord), doing nothing to it since I move them 1".The other genestealer unit ate up the last Long Fang unit. Scouts came in and everything that is AP2 (Las and TL Plas) and AP1 (combi-melta) shot at Trygon and it felt back to fill up the hole it created. Runepriest failed psychic check to Jaws 3 Zoanthropes. Sigh. Zoanthropes destroyed 2 more Razorbacks btw and close combat Tyrant ate up Grey Hunter squad while Runepriest refused to die. Sigh that means I cannot shoot that Tyrant. Shooty Tyrant wrecked one Rhino disembarking one wolfguard unit to their doom (recall Genestealers nearby)
T3-5. After an exciting T1 and T2, its mop-up for the nids. Killing Runepriest, close combat Tyrant and Zoanthropes wrecked last Razorback I think. All Genestealers have by now been mopped up by Wolf Lord and TWC though all Fenrisian Wolves died. Wolf Lord and TWC charged into shooty Tyrant and after a spectacular melee, only the Wolf Lord and the Tyrant survived as the game ends. With so many easy KPs to offer, I think I lost by 17-4 (Trygon and genestealers; out of 8 possible KPs).
1. My list needs amendments but I believed I still had a chance if I did things differently. Firstly, list changes include special close combat weapons for scouts (so that they can do something to shooty Tyrant unit). Chooser of the slain to prevent infiltrating units like Genestealers. A bigger unit of TWC for REAL killiness. No more fenrisian wolves for KP give away.
2. Razorbacks should have been deployed back since I have 48". I seemed to have mentioned this right? Sigh, need to learn from mistakes. Doing this will also ensure that I do not get shot in the rear by Trygon (12 S5 shots at AV10 rear = wreck).
3. Deploying army back should enable Zoanthropes to come nearer so that TWC can charge them instead of Genestealers (had nothing to charge really and the threat of 3 Genestealer units are very real). I rolled badly on 3 flamers of Grey hunters killed on average 1 despite 5-6 hits per flame templates but that also means that I need better defence. Thinking of MM+HF Dreadnoughts for Elite options now.

Sorry for the long chunk of text. I would appreciate sponsorship for a camera but till then, words will suffice lol.

Krom's Great Hunt I

A lone figure sat cross-legged on the highest of the Fenrisian peaks, forming a dark silhouette amidst the raging snowstorm. His eyes were closed in deep concentration and he remained in the same position despite the constant belting of hailstones and snow on his tattered body, protected only by a thin layer of tunic made of wolf pelts.

It had been 10 days since Runepriest Hrotgar began his meditation on the peak, his superhuman body able to withstand hunger and cold for long periods of time. Without warning, Russ appeared to him in a vision, telling him that it is time.

The time for the Great Hunt I for Russ has come.
________________________________
I had a stayover at Kenny's clubhouse where I played four games from 6pm to 4am, only to wake up at 9am to play two more games the next day! It appears that I can only justify this awesome madness of playing six games within 24hours as a quest for the Great Hunt (hence the short fluff haha).

Battle reports are due, but most importantly, I hope to pen down some pointers that I've learned from these games. More to come =)

Wolf Brothers in Singapore

I hope to get pictures and army-lists of fellow Wolf brothers of our heroic Space Wolf chapter to share with everyone because we really have very talented painters (such as Edward and Tsui) and also to present a concerted army . Imagine feasting upon the wonderful array of viking heroes in power and terminator armour.

I am proud to say that there are five of us, each a Wolflord of a different company, protecting the mankind in Singapore. The followship of five include:

1. Edward (Logan Grimnar, Great Wolf, or Papa Wolf)
I really would love to show you a glimpse of his drop prods and terminator wolfguards. They are a beauty to behold. Truly. Pity I have never played him though.
2. Ralph (Egil Iron Wolf's Mechanized company)
A creative Wolf Lord with a fluffy and stunning mechanized company. You should check out his tanks and Dreadnaughts.
3. Tsui (Ragnar Blackmane's company, though he doesn't use Ragnar for obvious reasons lol)
Tsui is truly an experience player and painter. Master of both domains. I had the privilege to play once with him and it was such a wonderful learning experience. Also, his company was just so beautiful I promise you it will make you drool.
4. (I forgot the name but I know he plays at Bishan)
Never played him before but you know how headstrong we wolf brothers are. A battle is imminent, that I assure you =)
5. Me (Krom Dragongaze with my wolfguard heavy company)
I have two vastly different army lists-a foot and a semi-mechanized list, both with lots of wolfguards in my company as fluff describes. I also have to thank Edward for suggesting that I take up the banner of Krom Dragongaze and also giving me the transfer with the Dragongaze company markings.

I hope I can add more to the list of Wolf Lords and especially pictures of their painted armies. Myself, I will try to get more stuff painted and hopefully this post will motivate me to do so.

Painting Schedule (hopefully on a weekly production rate)
1. 4 Missile Launcher Long Fangs
2. 4 Missile Launcher Long Fangs
3. 4 Lascannon Long Fangs
4. 4 Power Armoured Wolfguards
5. 4 Power Armoured Wolfguards
6. 4 Power Armoured Wolfguards
7. Runepriest and 1 Lonewolf
8. 4 Thunderwolf Calvary (Powerfist and Stormshield)
9. Touchup 6 Razorbacks and 2 Rhinos
10. 4 Thunderwolf Calvary (ccw and bp/bolter, and a Canis Wolfborn)
11. 2 Landspeeders
12. 2 Drop Pods

So hopefully I will have a fully painted army after 12 weeks =)

A day at Kenny's clubhouse

Ralph (fellow wolfbrother) invited me to Kenny's place for a game this Monday. Was feeling a bit apprehensive due to some misunderstanding that kept me from going back to the clubhouse. Turns out Kenny was gravely misunderstood. I had such a wonderful time there and even had a great game with him (I have never played him before despite all the time there)!

Kenny graciously asked me to pick an army (he has Tyranids, Necrons, Tau, Orks, Marines I believe and IG). Of course I picked IG seeing the array of tanks on the display shelves and I am glad I did.

Mission: Capture and Control with 3 objectives
Deployment: Spearhead
Kenny's fully mchanized IG (briefly 'cos I can't really remember)
10 tanks that included:
3 Hellhounds (noxious fumes and MM),
1 WYSIWYG Colossus that cost him 200 pounds (go do your math),
2 Leman Russes, Demolisher Cannon and 2 or 3 Heavy Bolters (scary)
4 Chimeras which seated 10 troopers with a scary arsenal of 3 meltaguns, 3 grenade launchers I think)

My SW foot list
Logan (Krom Dragongaze)
Runepriest (LL and Jaws)
Wolf Lord on TW, WC, SS, Saga of Warrior Reborn
4 X 5 Wolfguards, 1 Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher
2 Lone Wolves, Terminator armour, Chainfist, Stormshield
2 TWC, PF, 2 Storm Shields
10 Fenrisian Wolves
5 Long Fangs, 4 Lascannons

A brief 1750 battlerep:
1. Only 1 Lonewolf perished under the heavy fire (believe me, I really saved a lot of dice rolls) while the other Lonewolf took 1 wound. The next turn, he destroyed one Leman Russ before crumbling to the ground with numerous bullet holes in his armour.
2. First turn saw one Chimera wrecked and 2 Leman Russes stunned. Then Long Fangs with Krom failed pinning test and was pinned. Lol I had to roll an 11 for a leadership 10 test.
3. Both wolf units came in on turn 2 (as usual my battle hungry wolves can't wait. Bad doggie. Sit) and rolled 1 for fleet, for BOTH units and for BOTH consecutive turns. Eventually TWC unit wrecked 2 more Chimera thanks to Stormshields and multiple assualt in turn 3. Wolf Lord used up all wolves to soak up massive fire and ate up one IG trooper unit but it was really scary. imagine taking 3 melta and 3 S6 small pie (grenade launchers) from 2 units and then more shots from the Chimera and Hellhound. I was very lucky to survive all that shots despite the fleet rolls hahah.
4. IG Hellhound/banewolf poisoned and melta-ed one Wolfguard unit into oblivion.
5. Colossus, which was deployed at the corner took pot shots at wolfguard units and actually crushed 2 wolfguard terminators from different units (I rolled 1 for their armour saves). But to be honest, I was still rolling above average considering my Lone Wolves and TWV saves.
6. Turn 6, a Chimera and its occupants wiped out one Wolfguard unit by shooting to secure one objective. The remnants of one IG trooper unit secured the other objective in midfield after wiping out TWC and Wolf Lord. I still have 2 wolfguard units left securing one objective. Lost 2-1. Oh, and Krom died to the barrage of shots.

Learning points
1. Fully mechanized IG list is awesome. Really made me see a lot of flaws in my list and also my strategy (or the lackof haha). Given the durability of tanks, it was really an uphill task taking out all these tanks. Then hell breaks loose once again when the troopers overwhelm you with 3 melta and 3 grenade shots.
2. Because of point 1, I forgot that this was an objective game. I feel that I should have focused on the Chimeras and the troopers, and also the Banewolves. That said, my target priority was horrible.
3. I had excellent armour saves that compensated for the fleet and armour penetration rolls so I do not think luck was a factor. It was more of a target priority issue for me. Hope I will remember this when I get to play IG again =)
4. Being a foot list, I am rather static despite having 2 calvary units. I feel I should focus more on either (1) shooting and/or (2) calvary counterattack. Army list revision is in order. Suggestions are extremely appreciated.
4. The 4th troop was really doing nothing for all the games I had, except for the 2 cyclone missiles. I am thinking of switching it to a 2nd Long Fang unit for more missiles.
5. Multiple assault wins the day when I multi-charged 2 tanks in one turn and wrecked both of them. I am beginning to love my unit of 2 TWC, 1 PF and 2 SS.
6. Having a chunk of text for a battlerep stinks. Pictures are necessary and I truly apologise for straining your eyes haha.

Hope this list/game/post inspires Jaeroler in some way as it had inspired me. I am sure Kenny wouldn't mind us going down to play and learn from each other, and I truly encourage you guys to make a trip down to play also. Always cool to throw dice with more players =)

Twists and turns and good Samaritans

The recent posts down memory lane (c.f. Crazyrat and Jaeroler's blogs) swept me with nostalgia as I recounted my warhammer experience and the many people or good Samaritans who helped shaped the gaming experience for me. I felt that I should share my long long story too.

Warhammer Quest-Paul
First exposure with warhammer was Warhammer quest during P6. I used to go to my friend, Paul’s house to play with him and another friend. He soon lost interest and sold the game to me before we lost touch.

Today, I still play warhammer quest, mostly with my friends and gf’s young cousins (so that I can eventually sneakily entice them to play warhammer-in psychology we term that ‘foot in the door’) I fail most of the time though lol. Halfway through the “wheeling” and marchblocking rules, my friends and cousins would stare at me as if I spoke alien tongue. In fact, one of my friends even fell asleep as I was explaining the movement rules during a stayover. Lol.

Warhammer Fantasy (WHF)-Benjamin, Kenneth, Tusi and gang at Serene Centre
In secondary three though, three years after I bought and stopped playing warhammer quest, my friend, Benjamin heard of my obsession with fantasy genre (forgotten realms and especially Drizzit do Urden, Artemis Entreri, Lord of the Rings, and fantasy related mmorpg) and the Dune chronicles, and showed his collection of ultramarines to me. He proposed to start WHF with me. We went to PI together but never got to starting the game together. Sigh. I even bought the starter box with orcs and empire then and felt rather betrayed and let down.

A few months later, I bought the first edition warhammer starter box of high elves and goblins from a friend’s friend for a really low price-it seems that the elves from forgotten realms and lord of the rings are calling out to me. Again I never got to play with them.

By some odd chance, I heard of serene center and during my first visit, I bought my first Space Wolf fBlood Claw box and the Space Wolf codex. Space Wolf provided fantasy fluff in the futuristic or 40k of the warhammer universe. Sign me up I thought. But once again, I had no one to game with so I kept the models and read the fluff from time to time.

I even started Mageknight with my NS mates because they found warhammer too expensive though they like the idea of tabletop gaming. We soon joined a group who played at Serene Centre. Again Asur’s horns of battle called to me for I always walk over to look at Kenneth and Tsui’s gang playing WHF when taking a break from Mageknight. Deep inside, I somehow knew warhammer is the game for me and Imrik, the Dragonprince’s dragonhorn must have imbued me with insane courage as I passed my morale test to ask Kenneth if I could join them for a game, which they kindly allowed. So began my WHF days as a High Elf general (yes by then I have amassed a decent army for I would buy at wimp from eBay and Maelstorm). They were really a nice bunch of people and games with them were always fun and full of learning pointers. Not to mention the array of truly beautifully-painted miniatures that will melt your eyes and hearts. Always a sight to behold. Always. That, with the wonderful people you meet there, makes me miss Serene Centre and the now defunct Comics Mart. Though I have lost contact with them, I hope they are still gaming regularly.

WH40k- Ralph, Mark, Edward, Alvin, James, Hong, Samuel, YouCai, De Feng, Daniel, Kenny, Striderx and many others (by order of appearance haha)
It appears that beside Asur, Russ has his eyes set on me as I chanced upon Mark (IG and Chaos player) and Ralph (fellow SW)’s WH40k game once day at Serene Centre. The bond between wolf brothers are so strong that I had to chat with him and was soon introduced and invited to Alvin’s (Grimcron) place for a game (I was still a staunch Asur then, insisting that I will only take a look at 40k which I am NOT really like to pick up- how wrong I was lol). It was there I met Edward also and I thoroughly enjoyed the 2v2 WH40k battle as I tried to take in every nuances of the game. I was hooked and there was no turning back.

Eventually I was invited to Kenny’s place where Sam and YC also visited but our paths did not cross, yet. Well, before I stopped attending the gaming club at Kenny’s place, I met Sam and had a really wonderful chat with him (mostly about our day job and the Necron player that we really do not want to play against, though we still both ended up getting picked with and massacred by him lol). Eventually, my paths and that of YC, Sam, De Feng and Daniel intersected when Sam then invited me to play over at YC’s place before he departed for Australia for a well-deserved break. And games at Yc's place has been fun to say the least. The sharing and really bizzare encounters (e.g., rolling 1 for 2+ invuln and instant killing Dante), the beautiful gaming board and terrain are just the tip of the iceburg that contribute to the wonderful gaming experience. What else can make me wake up at 8am on Saturday mornings to travel 1.5hours?

Conclusion
I’ve played at Bishan too by invitation from Grimcron (really touched with the presence of so many gamers- it feels like some guerilla warfare occurring simultaneously at different spots in Singapore and that I am a part of it), and even attend a fellow gamer’s (Grimcron) wedding. Today, I count myself truly blessed to be able to play occasionally in the west at Grimcron’s place and also in the east at YC’s. You know, I suddenly have this idea that we can arrange for a campaign across Singapore where we contribute our battlereports and results, like what GW did. Stuff like this makes excellent fluff and bonds all of us even closer.

Truly, behind every model lies an incredible story. For me, each model tells a different story, usually related to a Samaritan. I hope to be one to my gf’s cousins too. Haha. Well, you know what present a Good Samaritan like me got for my gf’s cousin last year- yup a box of 5 tactical marines. Lol.

Oh, and my answer to the question if I will continue to play WHF, Warhammer Quest or WH40k? I quote WH40k:

"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war" =)

Ho Chi Minh, City of motorbikes

I just returned from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city or Saigon. It is truly a city of motorbikes. Mind you, they scared me when I crossed the roads. Well they still do. Zebra crossings or pedestrian crossings do not exist or the motorbikers do not care. Either way, cross the roads at your own peril, or resort to my strategy of crossing the road with the locals (you may have to wait 10 minutes for one to cross the road though lol). They seemed to have this 2+ invulnerable save from the biker-rush =)

Oh, and a 1750 list for my girlfriend's cousin, Ebell who I have "convinced" to play 40k with. She likes men in white so she'll be playing the WhiteScars bikers (without Khan who costs too much).

1750 Ebell's WhiteScars
HQ
Ebell, Space Marine Captain, Bike, Relic Blade, Stormshield
Command Squad, Bikes, 1 Thunder Hammer, 3 Lightning Claws, 4 Stormshields, 2 Meltaguns, Apothecary
TROOPS
2 X 7 +1 Space Marine Bike Squad
Powerfist, 2 Meltaguns, MM Attack Bike
4 X 5 Space Marine Bike Squad
2 Meltaguns

Can't wait to get a game soon =)

Second brush with BA (Aesgeir's Honor)

A belated battle report (c.f. Aesgeir's Honor)

Aesgeir (painted) fighting to reclaim honor against Mephiston (unpainted silvery model) as the Long Fangs looked on with pride.

Summary
YC played the same list but I made some modification as mentioned in the fluff. I exchanged one unit of TWC for a Wolf Lord on TW (Sigvaldi).

Space Wolf list HQ
Hrotgar the Runepriest, chooser of the slain
Sigvaldi the Wolf Lord, TW mount, Wolf Claw, Storm Shield, Saga of Warrior Reborn
Elite
Aesgeir the Lone Wolf, Terminator Armor, Chainfist and Stormshield
3 Wolfguards, 2 combi-melta. TLLC Razorback
Troop
2 X 6 Grey Hunters, Mark of the Wulfen, Meltagun. Rhino
1 X 5 Grey Hunters, Flamer. TLLC Razorback
Fast
3 TWC, PF, BG
2 TWC, PF
Heavy
3 X 3 Long Fangs, 2 Missile Launchers. 3 TLLC Razorbacks

Mission: Capture and Control AGAIN!
Deployment: Dawn of War AGAIN!

View the pictures (courtersy of Jaeroler) and comments of the battle report here. I will let the pictures do the talking. Hope you like it.

Afterthoughts about BA
1. Crazyrat or YC was really unlucky with his rolls the entire game, not to mention that I seized the initiative from him.
2. As Crazyrat pointed out, he should not have charged Mephy into my Lone Wolf. Even if he killed him, he would leave himself open to be shot at. The game could have turned out differently had he concentrated his forces instead of splitting his force, allowing me to take them out individually. More infernus pistols would have wrecked quite a few tin cans too.

Things I would have done differently include:
1. Take pictures for Crazyrat and Jaeroler's game. I was sitting there admiring the battle on my fat butt instead of doing constructive things such as taking photos of their game. Sorry, I will take pictures for you next game. I promise!
2. Use the TWC squad on the left more aggresively. They did nothing the entire game thanks to my cowardice.
3. Watch out for my runepriest. Lol.
4. Try to fit in one more Lone Wolf. I still think they work better in pairs. And they really guard my army against super killies, such as Macheeston =)

Aesgeir's Honor II: Death or Glory

The heavy weight of the blanket of darkness on the eyes, the sting of the cold winds against the faces, the constant rumbling of machines in the distant hills all feel the same as that fateful night Mephiston assaulted the Space Wolf outpost. Now Aesgeir stood alone facing the very outpost that his wolf brothers have failed to protect. Though he could not see the outpost, his acute senses could pick out the metallic smell of the outpost and the acursed stench of the Blood Angels.

Where his wolf brothers had fallen, he had survived.
Where honor was lost, he had one last chance to regain that honor.

Sigvaldi, Wolf Lord of the Thunderwolves, pack father to the deceased Harkon and Kjartan packs stood at a distance from Aesgeir. The Space Wolves prize honor above everything, even their lives, even against impposible odds such as the Lord of Death. He understood the gravity of the task Aesgeir shouldered. He was here for the very same reason to regain the honor of his pack sons. The rumbling sound of the engines crescendoed to a loud roar that resonated the very ground he stood on. The Blood Angels are moving towards them, in all likelihood having detected them from their thermal scanners. Let it be, the Space Wolves are here for vengeance and honor and they will face the Blood Angels in open battle.

Sensing the heavier breathing of his rider, Sigvaldi, that signaled the pack father's rising bloodlust, Inegeld a ferocious black thunderwolf that towers even the largest thunderwolf in the pack moved to stand beside him. The sudden movement behind Asegeir caused him to turn quickly only to find Sigvaldi staring at him. How could this huge behemoth stand so close behind him without him knowing, and how long has he been there? Sigvaldi did not answer Aesgeir's doubts, and only jumped onto Inegeld's back with practiced ease and skill. With an approving nod at Aesgeir, Sigvaldi and Inegeld howled into the night which was picked up by all the Space Wolves. Even Aesgeir could not resist howling one last howl for his pack and their honor.

The Blood Angels were taken aback by the menace of the howls and stopped in their advance. Leaving them not a moment to recover, the Space Wolves seized the initiative and charged into position. Five Razorbacks rumbled over the crest of the hill that Aesgeir had previous stood and fired their lascannons at Mephiston who had supernatually flew ahead of the army. Only one found its target under the darkness and amidst the terrain.

Soon however, all eyes were on a lone figure who ran towards Mephiston. Aesgeir switched on his chainfist to a cresendo rattling and charged up his stormshield, and shouted at Mephiston for vengeance. Mephiston only smirked and flew towards him. Everything else seem to fade into oblivion as Mephiston struck the first blow, and the next barrage of hacks and slashes. Russ was with Aesgeir that day as he deflected blow after blow of Mephiston's force weapon with his stormshield. Seizing an over balanced swipe by Mephiston, Aesgeir drove his chainfist into Mephiston's chest visciously. Blood exploded from the contact as Mephsiton roared in pain. Then he was silent and not moving. Believing that honor has been reclaimed, Aesgeir looked back at Sigvaldi only to see his wide-eyed stare. By reflex, Aesgeir spun around and held up his stormshield only to see Mephiston with his chainfist embedded widening his grin with blood flowing from the sides of the lips. Aesgeir did not see the swing from the side that cleaved his head from his body.

"So passes Aesgeir the brave," Sigvaldi lamented as Inegeld growled in feral fury. Enraged by the death of the lone wolf, Sigvaldi ordered the razorbacks to fire their lascannons in unison at the monstrous being. This time all of them hit the target but even as Mephsiton fell on his knee, it appeared that he was impervious to any arsenal the Space Wolves could bear upon him. It was then that Hrotgar the Runepriest emerged from a Rhino hatch and with a quick incantation and intricate gesturing that ended in Mephiston's direction. Thunder loomed and dark clouds manifested out of nowhere suddenly. Two lightnings forked down the dark clouds with righteous fury and descended upon Mephiston, one in particular went straight for the chainfist and illuminated it upon contact. The build up of energy in the chainfist caused it to overload and exploded, tearing Mephsiton apart with a loud thunderclap. As sudden as the clouds appeared, they dissipated. And what remained of Mephiston was his charred armour parts scattered in all directions and a small crater that was to be known as Aesgeir's Honor.

Sigvaldi killed 12 Death Company Marines that day, fulfilling his oath of Warrior Reborn by killing at least ten of the acursed blood frenzied Marines. More importantly, honor has been regained for the wolf brothers and Aesgeir. Sigvaldi and Inegeld raised their blood faces to skies and howled in victory. Blood-drenched Space Wolves took up the howl as they stood over the bodies of all the Blood Angels.

Honor has been reclaimed by the Space Wolves.

Please refer to the battlereport for this fluff. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did as I wrote it.

Asegeir's Honor

(You can refer to the Battle report with YC's Blood Angels and Sam's post that inspired my first attempt at writing fluff. Pointers to improve are always welcomed.)

The Razorback's engines roared in protest as it tore through the debris at cruising speed. Inside the armor chasis however, the cacophony of the noises hung over the air as a lone Grey Hunter, Asgeir looked down in silence at the lifeless body that lie before him. The body belonged to Thorodd, Runepriest and leader of the Space Wolf outpost, or what was left of it.

Under the cover of the night, the Blood Angels had descended upon the outpost. Led by Mephiston himself, the attack was swift and one-sided. Even with the genetically-enhanced acute senses of the Wolf brothers, the wolf brothers were not prepared to handle the likes of Mephiston and the Death Company of the Blood Angels Chapter. From their defensive positions, five Lascannons fired by the Space Wolf Razorbacks illuminated the darkness and pierced Mephiston but even he did not fall. Wolf brothers looked in astonishment and despair as they wondered how this monstrous being can be felled.

"Russ is watching ye dogs! Why, Krom would smite you if he sees you cowering in fear. We are sons of Russ and we shall fight for him even unto death," Thorodd bellowed in defiance not at his fellow wolf brothers, but at Mephiston. He was flanked by the battle-hardened Grey Hunters and he knew they would fight even against one known as the Lord of Death. Still, the names of their Primarch and Wolf Lord instilled courage and an eagerness meet their enemy in combat.

Even as the battle raged around them, Thorodd kept his gaze on Mephiston, preparing to nullify any of his psychic attempts. Sweat blistered down his forehead as he nullified the first psychic attempt by Mephiston and into his eyes and that single moment that Thorodd lapsed in his concentration proved to be his downfall. As Thorodd wiped his eye and looked up, he saw a dark figure fly towards him. Mephiston was too quick for Thorodd and even before he could raise his runic staff, he was cut down by the lightning fury of Mephiston's blades. Wolf brothers howled their leader's passing in anguish and with renewed determination, charged into the Blood Angels as the dawn of war lifted the blanket of darkness.

Howling for vengeance, Hakon's Thunderwolf Calvary pack charged into the squad of Death Company and tore through their armor with their chainswords while the Thunderwolves snatched up the black armored marines in their blood-caked maw and tore them apart with their ferocious bites. However, where even normal genetically enhanced marines would have fallen, the Death Company only rose up and slashed the Thunderwolves and their riders with renewed fury, imperious to any pain. Within moments, the proud calvary lay in a heap of mashed pulp of blood and fur.

Kjartan Orcbane did not witness the death of his blood brother, Hakon, nor would he have faltered in his charge if he had. His eyes were fixed on the Death Company Dreadnaught with twin talons that disembarked from the drop pod. As he built up his momentum on his thunderwolf pack and charged up his powerfist, everything became silent. Like a warning that came too late, Kjartan and his Thunderwolf Calvary pack charged into the Dreadnaught like waves upon a huge boulder. The charge was stopped as the Dreadnaught tore through the head of the first wolf with one talon and riped its rider into half with the accompanying talon. The second Thunderwolf rammed into the Dreadnaught but even it cannot be stunned. None could stay its wrath as it carved the Thunderwolf and rider into half. Kjartan howled his pain at the loss of his comrades and punched his powerfist repeatedly into chasis of the Dreadnaught until he tored through a hole, finally destroying this monstrous being. As Kjartan mourned for his fallen comrades, he looked up and saw the bodies of his blood brother and his pack lying sprawled under the feet of the Death Company Squad. Unable to hold back his anger, he charged. Taken unaware, the squad was squashed by Kjartan's Powerfist and decapitated by his thunderwolf before they could react.

As Kjartan surveyed the battlefield for more Blood Angels to unleash his anger on, his acute senses warned him of someone approaching from his side at an impossibly fast speed. He turned to see Mephiston flying towards him, and spit at him as he raised his powerfist. However Mephiston was too fast for Kjartan. Kjartan's powerfist never connected as Mephiston hacked his hand off in a flash and rotated to follow the arc of his swing to behead the thunderwolf mount.

The battle was lost but Krom has to be informed. Harkon and Kjartan had fought valiantly and bought time for Asegeir to carry Thorodd's body onto the Razorback, as they sped back to the Fang. Asegeir swore an oath of vengeance against Mephiston for the lives and honor of his wolf brothers as he etched the names of his wolf brothers into his flesh. The Blood Angels will pay.

Epilogue
Aesgeir sits alone in his cell as he awaits the call to battle against Mephiston, shunning all company. Krom Dragongaze flew into a rage at the news and only agreed to remain in the Fang when Sigvaldi Fangrider, of the Saga of Warrior Reborn pledged his honor to avenge the fallen Thunderwolves. Honor is of utmost importance to the wolf brothers, not least to Sigvaldi, Wolf Lord of the Thunderwolf Calvary.

Finally, the wolf scouts returned with the coordinates of Mephiston and his traitorous battle force. The time has finally come for vengeance and honor and Krom even personally fitted Aesgeir with Terminator Armor, a chainfist and a stormshield. Having seen Mephiston carve through the thunderwolf and Thorodd, Aesgeir knew he stood little chance against Mephiston, but he will not relent, not until honor is repaid.

First brush with BA and review

Had a wonderful game with YC today which was my first game with BA and also my first using a hybrid mech (with big wolves) list. I hope my memory serves me correctly. Anyway the battle summary is posted at YC's blog. I apologise for the long post. Need your feedback (especially for point 5 to improve my game and list), thanks! Oh, I was massacred. Thanks for the game, YC. Revenge is on the list now =)

My Space Wolf list (1750 points)
HQ
Rune Priest, chooser
TROOPS
3 X 5 Grey Hunters, Flamer. 3 Razorbacks with TLLC
FAST
3 X 4 Thunderwolf Calvary, PF, MB, BG
HEAVY
3 X 5 Long Fangs, 4 Missile Launchers. 2 Razorbacks with TLLC

YC's BA list
HQ
Macheeston
Chaplain (with Death Company)
ELITE
2 Sanguinary Priests, 1 in Terminator armor, 1 with Power Weapon (PW)
1 X 5 Assault Termis, 3 TH, 2 LC. Landraider Redeemer
TROOPS
5 Assault Squad (Jump packs)
5 Assault Squad, PW. Razorback with TLLC
9 Death Company (DC), 1 PF, 1 TH, 1I. pistol, (Stormshield?). In Rhino
Death company (DC) Dreadnought, blood talons. In drop pod.

My thoughts:
1. Night Fight Deployment gave BA the time (first turn) to advance pretty much unhindered. I think BA will really appreciate Night Fight, being a Close Combat Specialist army

2. I won roll off and chose to go second because of (a) Night Fight which hindered shooting, (b) a chance to isolate the already small army to pick off one unit at a time and (c) for last minute objective contesting

3. I believe what cost me the game was my deployment (let's not be a wuss and blame luck lol).

• I did not deploy anything so that I can come in on the 1st turn and react to BA's deployment. BA deployed in two halves.
• Mephiston stands alone on the left while the Termies in a Redeemer, DC Rhino and Drop pod DC Dread are on the right.
• My problem is that I deployed everything (castled) on the right (except TWC unit 3 as reserves) to face his bulk of army on the right who were already at the doorstep with night fight (too wussy and afraid of Mephiston I guess). Read point 4 to see what entailed from the deployment error.

4. My rant (you can skip this part)

• So my 1st turn shooting wrecked DC rhino and dealt 2 wounds to Mephiston. That's all! (okay I said I should not whine like a wuss haha) DC Dread passed all 3 Lascannon cover saves.
• Thunderwolf Calvary (TWC) unit 1 charged disembarked DC and got themselves wiped out for the trouble. Oh well...
• TWC 2 charged DC Dread and suffered 6 Wounds = only PF (I think of Tomb King Giant haha) and normal Wolves survived with 1 wound each. Hmmm. I think I should just stick to shooting.
• TWC 3 arrived from reserve in Turn 2 to finish up the DC squad. So it takes 2 units of 4 TWC to wipe out DC squad on the charge. Oh bother. I am getting more guns.
• The same Razorback failed to wound Mephiston who was on his last wound (rolled 1 in consecutive turns). Another Razorback failed to hit with Twin-link LC. Let me whine man =)
• Mephiston carved through my army from my left. The termies stormed downward undeterred on my right. My TWC can't do shit to both units.

5. Learning Points and changes

• I should have castled on my left (quarter which was empty compared to the bulk of BA which advanced straight down the right flank) instead and attempt to wipe the isolated Mephiston FIRST with my TLLC. More crucial, deploying on the left was not only to kill Mephiston but so that the BA units deployed on the right have to come to me (diagonally from the right quarter) as I take them down with my 5 TLLC, 12 S8 Missiles and D6 S7 Lightning per turn. For my army, I would not move and blast my shots, only moving my TWC when the units are softened.
  
• If I stuck to point 5a, I could have blasted DC Dred with 12 Missiles even in Turn 2 as he is stuck in the Right Quarter and would have taken 3 Turns to reach me.
• Mephiston can be brought down with concentrated fire (especially LC). As they say, shoot the assaulty, assault the shooty. Besides I really see no other way I can take out the assaulty BA units, not even with my TWC in close combat. I really would love to have TH and SS Assault Termies cheap. Lone Wolves are making a comeback surely. Mephiston's head would make a good trophy and reason to promote to the Wolfguard! haha
• Okay, point 5c will mean that I need to shoot (i) Mephiston, (ii) Assault Termies, (iii) DC squad and (iv) DC Dred with Talons, leaving only the assault squad for me to assault. Hmmm. Not much choices for me. If I get a next game, I will try to charge the DC Squad with 2 units of TWC at the same time to see how it works out.
• I forgot about the effects of Murderous Hurricane on Mephiston which could have prevented a charge on my Runepriest. Need to find a way to remember the additional effects. Maybe I will do a counter to represent the dangerous and difficult terrain effects.
• Seems like SW is better off with a shooty list. I will knock off TWC unit 3 for 1 Razorback and 2 MM Landspeeders. Probably will make room for 2 Lonewolves (or WL on TW) too.

What else do you think can be done?

More blood spilled

Had a second game (1500 point) with Grimcron this morning. Black Beard assulted the Tau encampment as the sun reached its zenith, ready to capture some slaves and trophies (skulls anyone) to embellish the new Raiders with. The plan is not to do what I did in game 1 and melt his tanks with mybarrage of formidable dark lances.

Grimcron's 1500 list (vaguely, sorry)
Boss in Crisis Suit
2 Crisis SUits
2 Squads of fire warriors in devilfishes
2 Hammerheads
2 Piranhas
1 large squad of Kroot (12 dogs and 11 Kroots I think)
5 Stealth Suits

Black Beard's 1500 List
(HQ)Dracon, Shadow Field, Drugs, Punisher, T. Helm, Grenades, RJB
(ELITE) 2 X 5 Wyches, 2 Shredders in a Raider, Nightshield.
(FAST) 4 RJB, 2 blasters, Succubus, Punisher
(TROOPS) 4 X 5 Raider Squads, Raider, Nightshield
2 X 10 Warriors, 2 Dark Lances
(HEAVY) 2 Ravagers, 3 Disintegrators, Nightshield

Things do not actually go to plan though.

Highlights
1. 14 dark lances (and 2 blasters) and 5 turns later, non of the 6 Tau tanks were wrecked or destroyed. I got immobilised results at best.
2. Teach the Dracon failed 2+ shadow field save. Hmmm I kinda expected this haha.
3. I can go on ranting but Grimcron played a good game and I made noobish mistakes again (e,g,, sending my Wyches on a Raider to go after the Stealth Suits (bait), away from the main battle.
4. 2 Ravagers and 5 Raiders scrapped by Railgun (leaving only 1 Raider at the end of the game)

Many thanks to Grimcron for the wonderful game and feedback to improve my army list (Increasing (Raider squad's) warrior-count from 5 to 10 with close combat powress too).

Planned changes
1. I will reduce my RJB to 3 with Succubus and 2 blasters. Normally they die in one turn to volume of fire anyway.
2. Change Shadowfield to Horrowfexes (not sure)
3. Addition of one more dracon with retinue on a raider (or wyches for more CC capabilities)
4. WWP. Hmmm still trying to see what I can come up with...

Thanks for accompanying me on my journey to build and play the pirates correctly. It had been really fun using them though I lost horribly for the first two games
(which I would definitely love to attribute to my rubber lances lol. Still, having more CC goodness could serve as a good backup when that happens. What do you think?) My pirates will recuperate for now and attempt once again to charge up their dark lances batteries. Next battle will be my wolves. Krom is restless. Really restless.. =)

Thanks for reading,
Teach

First Blood

First bloodGrimcron has kindly invited me to his place for a game today and I can't wait to blog about it, considering that it was my first game in more than a month! Teach's Black Beards are ready for gold, slaves, honor and (first) blood. Yes, always in short supply of blood =)

Grimcron played his usual 1750 Tau list (refer to his blog) with some minor adjustments- Crisis Suits now have BS 4. During deployment, I realised I am 250 points short so I added troops and foot mainly. Well I only have 7 ships!

Black Beard (temporary) 1750 list
HQ
Teach the Dracon, RJB, Shadow Field, Punisher, Tormenter Helm, Plasma Grenade, Combat Drugs
Elite
2 X 5 Mandrakes (lol)
2 X 5 Wyches, 2 Shredders. Raider with Nightshield and Torture Amp
Fast
1 X 5 RJB, Succubus with Punisher, 2 blasters
Troops
2 x 10 Warrior Squads, 2 Dark Lances
4 X 5 Raider Squads, 1 Dark Lance. Raider with Nightshield
Heavy
2 Ravagers, 3 Disintegrators, Nightshield

Yeah I used Mandrakes =)
I heard so much about how crappy they are, I just cannot resist using them lol. It was a learning game and Grimcron has graciously allowed me to do stuff that would earn me the inglorious 'Idiot' title more than 10 times over.
Highlights
Seize and Control deployment with 5 objectives
Turn 1
I choose to go second Wohoo!
Both squads of DE Warriors were wiped out by turn 2, after bearing the blunt of Tau firepower. Of course, the Dark Lances were not charged up and dealt no damage to the Hammerhead and Piranha.

Turn 2
All (4) Raider Squads, 1 Ravager and 1 Wych Raider came in. Raider Squads only managed to shake ONE Hammerhead. I begin to think of the "rubber lance syndrome". Ravager vaporised a few insignificant Kroots and 1 Pathfinder, then got itself melted by the Piranha that was constantly 'hit' by rubber lances in Turn 3.

Turn 3
Tau immoblised one Raider, destroyed the Wyches' Raider. Mandrakes appeared from cover and assaulted the same Kroot bubblewrap unit. Of course they did not kill enough (killed 6 for 5 of their units) which was a good thing. Wouldn't want them to be shot up by the second unit of 15 kroots. Raiders' combined fire destroyed Railgun from ONE Hammerhead. Wohoo! I think of Brettonians charging with rubber lances =)

Turn 4
If you are wondering. This is when my boss, Teach (Dracon) finally arrived on his slow RJB. Finally blew up one Piranha, leaving the other to wreck one Raider later. Now how did the other Piranha survive? Teach and the RJB made their maiden entrance in front of the last Piranha and proceeded to roll snake eyes for both blaster lol. (I see Brettonian lancers again lol)

Turn 5 and on...
All Raiders destroyed. Teach died under volume of fire from Crisis Suits. Time to shake hands.

Thanks Grimcron! I really saw for myself what an unforgiving army the DE is and I really liked it =) This is the ideal army to learn the strategies of 40k from. I can't wait to learn more using this list and Grimcron has kindly offered a rematch tomorrow. Wohooo!

Stuff which I did and will NEVER do again with DE include:
1. Choosing to go second
DE is about attacking 'too FAST too FURIOUS'. Giving up the first turn meant giving the initiative and any chance of winning to my opponent
2. Using Mandrakes (lol, by the time they finally reached combat in turn 3, both squads were run down for all they're worth)
Okay, it was for the fun of it. Honestly, they were fun to move about until they showed up. Lol, not so fun after that.
3. Reserving everything (for going second) except...- allowing my pirates to come in piecemeal
Even if I have to go second, target saturation is better than coming in piecemeal. My counterattack was pathetic, not due to the rubber lances (lol) but rather the inability to 'gang up' and do substantial damage to any part of the battle. Same goes for point 4.
4. Deploying only my foot warrior squads in cover and the Mandrakes. They were inevitably wiped out by turn 2 for my stupidity and lack of targets.

Conclusion
The real Black Beards will be back (and with more ships) after charging up the batteries for the Dark Lances and feeding all Mandrakes to the Lions. Can't wait for my second game tomorrow =) Oh by now you should know that my title refers to Grimcron drawing my first blood (my first defeat!) wahahaha.

More to come. Now to pick up my penknife and handsaw for the 8th Raider...

Signing off,
Teach (Krom's alter ego aka dark side hee)