My Experiences with the New Daemons

 Thats my Karanak conversion :)

Before the new codex, my Daemon list was built purely for fluff purposes. I was running pink horrors, flesh hounds and nurglings - none of which could be considered powerful units. OK I had Fateweaver in there too, but in most games he ended up being more of a hindrance than a boon and pissing off around turn 2.

A new codex comes around and of course everything changes. Fateweaver is now a shadow of his former greatness, and Horrors and Hounds are bloody brilliant. Admittedly I am playing primarily on a 4'x4' table where the Hounds can get to the enemy easily and the Horrors are usually in range of something. Still, they have been performing brilliantly even under my sub-par generalship.

I'll take you through my 750 point force and then show how I intend to build this up to 1500. Here's the little version:

Chaos Daemons (750)
Karanack (120)
Herald of Tzeentch - Psyker (mastery level 2), Exhalted Locus of Conjuration (95)
17 Horrors (153)
16 Flesh Hounds (256) 
4 Nurglings (60)
4 Nurglings (60)

Flesh Hounds now have 2 wounds, which makes them amazingly resilient. OK so they don't have power weapons, but thats not always a bad thing. It means that the unit can remain in combat for the opponents shooting phase against Space Marines. And with S5 on the charge they easily rip holes in any kind of mech with rear armour 10. Oh wait they also have scout! Push them forward 12" after setup and you have one uncomfortable opponent :)
Karanak is a beast (as well as literally). Strength and Toughness 5, and he gives Rage AND Hatred to the flesh hounds. Combine that with the Furious Charge that all Khorne Daemons get and you have one unit that is terrifying on the charge!

Initially I was annoyed that the Horrors had lost their previous Assault 3 ranged attacks. But they have gained a lot in this new incarnation, whilst coming in at HALF the points cost. Using the default Tzeentch power, a unit of 16+ gets 4d6 S5 attacks at 24".

But that is not the full story, you have to add a Herald of Tzeentch to get that. He can bump those attacks up +1S and cast prescience on the unit so they can reroll hits and wounds. He also adds another 2d6 attacks to the units ranged attack, hitting on 3s. Sure you spend on points but I'm pretty sure its worth the pennies.

So last of all I have the poor Nurglings, who have picked up Shrouded but lost Eternal Warrior. Pretty much unchanged in effectiveness. I usually keep them in reserve, and deep strike them in to contest objectives, or tie up enemy shooting units. They work OK.

Chaos Daemons (1500)
Karanack (120)
Herald of Khorne - Greater Reward, Exalted Locus of Wrath, Juggernaut of Khorne (145)
Herald of Tzeentch - Psyker (mastery level 3), Exhalted Locus of Conjuration (120)
Herald of Tzeentch - Psyker (mastery level 3), Exhalted Locus of Conjuration (120)
20 Horrors (180)
20 Horrors (180) 
16 Flesh Hounds (256) 
16 Flesh Hounds (256) 
4 Nurglings (60)
4 Nurglings (60)

So this is roughly how I imagine the list will scale to 1500 points. Two big units of Horrors blasting out S6 shots to anyone who comes near. Two big units of Flesh Hounds marching forward to threaten the enemy battleline. The Herald of Khorne is a poor mans Karanak, giving Hatred but not Rage. At least he brings some AP2 to the party.

Reinforcements - Send In The Dogs!

Told you I was getting back into the swing of things! The paints and brush are back on the table, which is a good feeling. I've been working on a counts-as Khorne Hounds unit for my Rat Daemon army. The above is a unit of 15, which comes in at 225 points of super fast, Grey Knight slaughtering goodness.

I bought a bunch of Chaos Warhounds from the fantasy range, then used green stuff to fill the holes on either side of their head where the horns are supposed to go. That turned out to be rather easy as the scuplting tool could just follow the lines of the hair to either side.

Here they are a little closer. These photos were taken with my new iPhone 5 and it is way better at photographing miniatures that the 4. I'll bring the rest of the rats home from work and take some nice closeup pics of the army very soon.

The dogs will let me run my Daemons at 750 points without Fateweaver, using a list like this:
 
Herald of Tzeentch - Daemonic Gaze, Bolt of Tzeentch 80
8 Horrors - Bolt of Tzeentch, The Changeling 151
5 Horrors - Bolt of Tzeentch 95
5 Horrors - Bolt of Tzeentch 95
8 Nurglings - 104
15 Flesh Hounds 225 
750 points

Wednesday Warriors at Good Games Melbourne

Name: Wednesday Warriors
Location: Good Games Melbourne (365 Lonsdale St, Melbourne)
Time: 12pm-1:30pm every Wednesday
Cost: Free
Army Size: 750 points

Let me introduce to you Wednesday Warriors, a lunchtime 40k meetup in Melbourne CBD. For all of you who aren't getting enough 40k in your week, this is an opportunity to squeeze in an extra game without impacting on your busy schedule.

Get Ready For Some Blogging Action!

Hello loyal readers... well those I still have :) After writing a post a week pretty consistently over the last two years, I have been on a bit of a blogging holiday over the last few months. Its pretty standard as a gamer to hit a lull in one part of the hobby, and I've gone from checking my blog hits daily to not even logging on to blogger in the last four weeks. Of course you can't keep a good gamer down, and I have been busy playing a bunch of great board games and obsessing over the Netrunner LCG.

Do not panic however, because I write to you now reinvigorated with blogging energy. As discussed I am looking into starting a new 40k meet in the city of Melbourne. This is ready to kick off, and I will dedicate a post to it very shortly. I also need to continue my articles on Tau in 6th edition, as delayed as they are. And expect further 40k podcast reviews as required.

Silent Blog, Not Wholly 40k

 Pardon the weak pun in the title

Sigh. I hate starting my posts by apologising, but its been over a month since my last post so I guess I am a little bit sorry :) So why haven't I been posting? Well I haven't played a game of 40k in months with no sign of the drought ending any time soon. And after working hard painting my Russian Imperial Guard I lost traction on that project. Haven't painted a Space Marine in a couple of months. Hey at least I have picked up the 6th edition rulebook.

So what I have been doing? Playing Android:Netrunner, deckbuilding Netrunner, browsing Netrunner forums and resisting starting a Netrunner blog. I absolutely love this game, the latest LCG from Fantasy Flight. But I've in general avoided posting about it here as this has always been primarily a wargaming blog, and I don't want to spam you all with off topic card game crap :)

That said, I am getting the 40k itch again. I want to play 6th edition games with my Crimson Fists! As a father of two I struggle to find the energy to organise a new playgroup and get out there. I guess  I am going to have to make time for it.

One thing I've been considering is starting a 750 point league at Good Games Melbourne on Wednesdays. I actually love playing at this points level because you have to think on your feet and cool stuff happens. Perhaps I'll get that off the ground in the new year.

Otherwise I have recently bought a couple of good board games so I could post reviews of those. I'll also post a toolbox Space Marine list I have been working on recently. Perhaps I'll get some painting done over the summer holidays and have some pretty pics to post!

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all my loyal readers and I hope you have a happy year of gaming to come in 2013.

Resurrecting my Plague Marines III: Army Lists

I'll tell you what; building armies with this new codex is a refreshing change - there are plenty of options! Here is something I am confident I would love to play.

Resurrecting my Plague Marines II: The Unpainted

Following on from my previous post, here I am going to go through my unpainted / unassembled Chaos Space Marine models. These forces have been gathered from bargain purchases off Wargamer AU in the four years since I built the original army. These reserves have been patiently awaiting their chance to be unleashed on unsuspecting enemies and spread a little pestilence.

In general I love the assembly and modelling part of the hobby, but the level of detail I have gone to in this army makes some of the tasks a little onerous. Still with a new codex (well I don't actually have the codex but its starting to look like I'll have to pick it up) one can find the patience and energy to do what has to be done :)

Resurrecting my Plague Marines I: The Painted

Well, well, well. A new Chaos Space Marines codex sees the light of days. Four years ago (or something to that effect) I was just getting back into 40k. I had harboured a fondness for the followers of Nurgle for a long time, and made the commitment to start a Nurgle army. My idea was to theme the force around a Chaos Sorcerer and his immediate retinue, supported by a horde of plague animate zombies brought back to life by the Sorcerer's will.

By the time I had got my shit together and bought a couple of CSM boxes, the new simplified codex wa released and my plans were in tatters. The best they could do was vary my zombies as Lesser Daemons, which didn't really work thematically. They (and my chaos lord) didn't have Feel No Pain damn it! I love my FNP. I built that force up to around 1200 points, before my "el cheapo" Crimson Fists force started to dominate my hobby time.

Android: Netrunner Initial Thoughts

It finally arrived! I walked into Good Games Melbourne during lunchtime on Tuesday. Looking around and lo and behold - a bunch of large brown boxes labelled Fantasy Flight Games. The first had something about Star Wars minis, so I threw it aside. But there underneath was what I have been waiting for all these weeks, "Android: Netrunner" in bold print.

From there it was easy. I grabbed the guy from behind the counter and forced him to open the boxes. I then waited patiently whilst he called his boss for a retail price. $55 later, and the box was mine. I think I was probably the first person in Melbourne to own a box.

Android: Netrunner: The Eternal Wait

You know that unhealthy feeling when you start to get obsessed with a game? Spending all your waking hours:

• writing army lists / deck lists
• cycling repeatedly through every related web forum, waiting for new posts
• studying spoilers to memorise stats
• talking about it to people who don't care...

Well I got it bad for Android:Netrunner -  and I don't even have the game yet! I have been walking to my FLGS each day at lunch, and asking the same question - "Netrunner?". The answer is invariably no, but the exercise is good for me. Just recently the answer changed to something like "We expect the ship in Sydney any day now", then "The boxes are in customs", all the way to "In a trunk on the way to our warehouse and should be in tomorrow" (that was today). I wrote a haiku to capture my frustration:

Tau in 6th Ed: Crisis Suits (POST FAQ!)

I dropped an article one week ago going through the Tau crisis suit armoury options and unit configuration options in detail. Then, after all this hard work, Games Workshop release their now famous Warhammer 40k 6.1 Ed FAQs, screwing up several of my analyses and ruining a couple of tactical options that I was looking forward to trying out on the table.

However I can't complain because (A) they at least reinstated target locks to their former glory, and (B) these FAQs are fair, balanced, and the best thing to happen to 40k since, um ... OK I dunno. Maybe the Ork codex. Whatever, choose something that you liked. So instead here is the revised version, with original text scored out when no longer applicable, and new coolness added.

Oh yeah, not relevant to this article but disruption pods now give shrouding! Thats a 3+ cover save for all Tau vehicles which have 25% cover. Just saying :)

40k Rulebook and Codex FAQs Summarised

This is just me copying and pasting the interesting looking entries from each FAQ, without large amounts of thought. It the ruling was obvious to me I didn't bother. Take it for what it is.

My general impression is "well done', this is a positive and well thought out update, something that we all wished for I'm sure. Some of the cheesiness of 6th edition has been toned down - Fateweaver, Tau drone characters - leaving Flyers at the top of the cheese mountain.

You can find all the FAQs on the Games Workshop site.

Review: 28mm Russian Heads from West Wind Productions

I'm building a WWII Russian themed Imperial Guard Armoured Company. Its taking me a while, but one of the blockers has just been overcome - my Russian heads from West Wind Productions have finally arrived. West Wind have a line they call their Separate Heads System, where most of the heads they make for 28mm lines are available separately.

Firstly, let me complain about how long these tool to arrive. They took a LONG TIME. Checking my emails, I put my order in on 23rd June and was informed they shipped from the UK on 5th July, two weeks later. They arrived OVER FIVE WEEKS after that, on 10th August. Don't expect swift service here folks.

At least everything arrived as ordered.  I ordered 80 heads with helmets and 20 with caps. They come in packets of 20, with four connected to each sprue, cast in white metal. There is also a colourfully illustrated catalogue, that sadly has no pictures. Duh! There aren't any pics online either, I had to go sight unseen and that doesn't help sales folks.

Tournament: Judgement Day 7

So I'm back and recovered from a day of 6th edition 40k action at the annual Judgement Day tournament. This 750 point tournament is hosted by the Western Suburbs Wargaming Association, and this was the 7th year of its operation.

I had just finished painting this army the night before. A bunch of rats from the Warhammer box set painted up as Horrors and Nurglings, lead by the big man Kai-rat Fatecheeser himself. The display board was a plate I bought from a $2 store on the way home from work the night before, covered with air-drying clay, and spray painted and dry brushed in the morning. Here's the list:

• Fatecheeser
• 6 Horrors with bolt and icon
• 5 Horrors with bolt
• 5 Horrors with bolt
• 4 Nurglings
• 4 Nurglings

Quick Update Before Judgement Day: Army Pic

Well time to jump into the car and head off to Judgement Day once more. Here are the boys all ready for transport. Not really ready for my first 6th edition game...

I'm promise I'll take photos! Tournament report coming.

Netrunner: A Classic CCG is Reborn

Along time ago in 1996, after Magic had created a brand new genre of gaming, a new CCG was popping onto (and often out of) the market every time i visited my local gaming store. One of these, a little game called Netrunner, was written by none other than the creator if Magic himself - Richard Garfield. It was themed on cyberpunk style corporate hacking, and in an original twist it was 2 player asymmetric, with one player taking on the role of the Mega-Corporation, and the other playing the insidious hacker breaking in to the network.

Netrunner was quite a revolutionary game bringing bags of new tech to the SCCG genre. However it also suffered from issues in balance, and it was discontinued relatively quickly. This is one of those games that the players have never let die, and the crew on http://www.netrunneronline.com/ have apparently worked to balance existing cards, as well as release their own virtual expansions online. The game obviously inspires loyalty in its players.

40k Squeaky Daemons

Kai-Rat Fatecheeser!

I'm going to the Judgement Day 7 tournament on August 4th, less than three weeks from today. They are going to be running 6th edition, of which I have not even seen the rulebook. I'm not going to buy the big rule book (its $120 is Australia!) so I pretty much will have to learn the rules from the internet. That should be fun.

However in order to keep myself on my toes I have decided to build a new army for the event. Its a stupid idea I have been playing with in my head for a while - building a budget Chaos Daemons army using only the skaven models from the Isle of Dread box. My original idea was to model Horrors by taking a basic skaven model and replacing the hand weapons with sculpted flames, so that each rat's hand appears engulfed in fire. The flames would be painted blue/green/yellow to look magicky.

The next logical step is to use the Rat Ogre models as Daemon Princes. Also with their hand on fire to represent the good old Bolt of Change. I had done a couple of test scupts of fire when I was thinking of building a fire themed Ork army, with Wierdboys on fire and Lobbas with flaming ammunition. So I knew it was possible.

I've got a set of moon-themed resin bases that I won at Judgement Day 5, which I am going to use mainly because I have all the right base sizes. My idea in painting them is to keep the colours drab, paint the flames and eyes bright, then have a have a stab at object source lighting. Might not be a good idea to do that in the next three weeks though! I guess they will be lucky to get three colours in the time available.

I have a few more ideas to round out the army. I have some Giant Rats that will work beautifully as Nurgling bases. The LotR Warg models will make a perfect Flesh Hound - everyone needs something to deal with the ubiquitous Grey Knights right? Finally the skaven two-rat special weapons teams should be convertable into Flamers with a little thought.

Thank the lord that Judgement Day aren't requiring list submission before the even. I have a heap of list ideas though I need to settle soon if I am to make sure that everything is painted. I'll leave you for now with the two examples of lists I am thinking of taking:

Squeaky Daemons (750)
Herald of Tzeentch - We are Legion, Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch (95)
8 Horrors - Bolt of Change, Changeling (151)
5 Horrors - Bolt of Change (95)
5 Horrors - Bolt of Change (95)
8 Nurglings (104)
Daemon Prince - Mark of Tzeentch, Daemonic Flight, Master of Sorcery, Bolt of Tzeentch (210)

Squeaky Daemons with Cheese (749)
Fateweaver (333)
5 Horrors - Bolt of Change (95)
5 Horrors - Bolt of Change (95)
5 Horrors - Bolt of Change (95)
8 Flesh Hounds - Fury of Khorne (130)

Probability of Failing Charges (including Fleet!)

Sadly with the demise of my local club I haven't been able to get in a game of the new 40k, so I haven't had much to post. I will say that I love most of the changes in theory, except the god-awful wound allocation rules and the game balance fucking of the flier rules. With all the new rules and dice rolling I thought I could help out by calculating the probabilities of a very important new mechanic.

Random charges have got to be up there in the list of most controversial changes in the new edition. Personally I'm on the fence, but then again I only play shooty armies. It's pretty harsh for assaulting armies to fail a charge. The rules now are that units roll 2d6 to determine their charge range (after a 6" move). Saving your jump pack for the assault allows you to reroll the dice. Fleet allows you either reroll both dice or just reroll one of them.

Pre-Review: A Game of Thrones LCG

 
There is a group of people at my work who have been playing games after work on Fridays. I think it all started when I brought in Bang! one day, and since then I have also had success with Carcasonne, Settlers and Battlestar Galactica. Now four of us have put together $15 each to buy the "A Game of Thrones" living card game.

I've always thought that the workplace provides a great environment for getting into a CCG. The reason is that by only playing with participating workmates, you can easily control the available cardpool and this keep costs low. Well an LCG is a little different but I assume the same general principals apply - there is no need to buy all the little expansions when no-one else is either. New cards will come through trading, and buying the occasional expansion to be shared amongst the plaayers.

Podcast Reviews - Mantic + 40k

I have three new podcasts up for review this week. Interestingly two of them are Mantic related, which has been so rare up until now as to be non-existent.

Before I get into the reviews, just a quick note that The Overlords podcast has finally switched to a biweekly format. This is great news for me, as I had dropped them from my subscription list strictly due to time constraints. They are back on now and I enjoyed hearing those familiar voices.