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)

The age of pirates

THREE weeks without warhammer…

I am on the brink of depression. Saturdays have never seem so lonely and boring but oh well, better times ahead. Better times ahead.

Thankfully I have my Dark Eldar Raiders to build. So far, I have added five raiders to my Black Beard’s crew (notice his flag lol). Just want to update you guys of my progress towards the dark side =)

I am thinking of using Silver Helm (calvary) to proxy for the Reaver Jetbikes too. That would mean I better get them painted up as well. How’s that for killing two birds with one stone? I will get to play with one of the least played armies (Dark Eldar) and I am also compelled to paint my High Elves. Well, better get my High Elves painted before the new Dark Eldar minis are released and letting my itch (to collect them) get the better of me!

The raiders are only about 80% complete but I am pleased with how they turned out. Special thanks and credit to Jeremy’s templates! I really can’t wait to start painting them once the entire Black Beard crew is assembled. Practicum has reached its last week so I should have more time to paint and plan my army lists too. Better times ahead indeed. Ahwoooo! Oh and a special shout out to Sam for making me a female lonewolf (whistle). I can’t wait to draft out her fluff (losing her husband seems to commonplace and over-used in Hong Kong Kungfu series). I definitely welcome ideas.