Quick thought on Apoc Datasheets and "Deployment"

Quick thought on Apoc datasheets.

Look at all the superheavies. None of the weapons are hull, turret or sponson mounted.

Time to convert your Shadowswords boys. Turret mounted Volcano Cannons.

To me this is a major oversight as now WYSIWYG is the primary rule concerning weapon facings rather than spelled out mounting types.

Just something to poitn out.

For "Deployment" for those of you who are steady readers and don't know, I am in the Navy. This coming week I deploy for 9 months. I will get on and blog when I can but don't expect too much from me. And typically book reviews.

HOWEVER Sepulchre is not dead. I have 3 other contributors who should be putting up content occasionally. And after this period of 9 months I should never be away for so long again. So stick with me through the rough times ahead. See you all on the other side.

The Emperor Protects.

Opinion: GW dropped the ball on the Apocalypse Release

This isn't so much a rant, or a serious complaint, but I think that GW missed a great opportunity with this release of Apoc.

Owens = GW

What did they screw up? Bundle deals.

Now all the formations look great and it is an awesome way to start a collection. The problem is that anyone in the hobby has no incentive to buy them. If it is the same cost of buying the individual units, then I am more likely to budget out my puchases than spluge.

SM Battle Company from the original release. I think this was $300. Not that I expect those kinda saving today, but I am sure this flew off the shelves.

It is the same concept as Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Memorial Day sales etc. etc. etc. People overspend because they trick them selves into believing they are ultimately saving. You figure you are going to buy all this stuff eventually, or you at least want it all, and now it seems affordable, so you buy more than you intend. And yet you still spend more money later, even though you exceeded the amout you wanted to spend at the time. Most people spend pretty consistently and don't alter their purchasing habits, even if they had a month they spent too much.

The problem with what GW did is they gave me no incentive to overspend. I already have a large collection, so I can play Apoc just fine. Plus all the really cool stuff is available from Forgeworld, so I'd rather save my money and get a Titan or their superheavies.

New Battle Company. $674.75. So I get less than last time, and pay over twice as much. I already own half a battle company, so with no savings, why should I bother to buy this?

Are they telling me that on a formation of 3 Wraithknights, they couldn't bundle it for $20 less? That is only $6.33 less per Wraithknight. Still over $100 a model. BUT if I had planned on evetually getting 3 and there is no discount I am going to spread out my purchases, and keep my purchasing habits consitent. If I had had the bundle though, I would have bought it and then started planning my next purchases, which I had not been considering or budgeting for, but now I am suddenly and I am likely to buy them sooner than originally, ultimately spending more money.

Other than the impulse buyer or someone jump starting a new collection, there is no reason to buy the formations.

And since the formations are lackluster, I would've hoped for an awesome model release, but there wasn't much. 4 Finecast Marines, 3 superheavies, and terrain clearly for Imperial/Chaos use. And while they look good, it is really not alot and not for every faction. I do love that the baneblade is a combined kit. I am honestly surprised we don't see GW selling "Citadel Magnets" with all these combo kits these days.  And the WoM terrain does look nice.  But it just isn't what we were hoping for.

List of Apocalypse 2013 Formations/Datasheets

Okay, so the Apoc Preorders AND orders are up

I scoured the online store and found all the following "Formations" and "Datasheets" for sale

The numbers don't represent the number of models, but rather Units as they are sold (eg assault squads are sold in boxes of 5, so for a Battle Company to have 2 full squads, they require 4 boxes). As well, I apologize for some of the short hand, trying to get this up fast. All prices are USD.

Space Marines
Battle Company- $674.75 (6 Tac, 4 Assault, 4 Dev, 1 Command, 1 Capt, 1 Chaplain, 1 Dread, 1 Ironclad, 1 Ven Dread)
Reserve Company (Assault)- $875.25 (20 Assault, 1 Command, 1 Capt, 1 Chap w/ JP, 1 Dread, 1 Ironclad, 1 Ven Dread)
Reserve Company (Dev)- $748.25 (20 Dev, 1 Command, 1 Capt, 1 Chap, 1 Dread, 1 Ironclad, 1 Ven Dread)
Reserve Company (Tactical)- $583.50 (10 Tac, 1 Command, 1 Capt, 1 Chaplain,  1 Dread, 1 Ironclad, 1 Ven Dread)
1st Company Veterans- $1157.00 (5 Terminator, 5 Terminator Assault, 5 Vanguard, 5 Sternguard, 1 Command, 1 Terminator Capt, 1 Terminator Chaplain, 3  Ven Dreads)
Librarius- $86.25 (1 Terminator Librarian, 1 Force Staff Lib, 1 Force Sword Lib, 2 Force Axe Lib)
Masters of the Chapter- $181 (All 8 of the Masters (new and Old) + Marneus Calgar and Honour Guard)
Predator Assassin Squadron- $173.25 (3 Predators)
Scout Company- $522.25 (10 Scout, 10 Scout Snipers, 1 Captain)
Imperial Fist Titanhammer Squad- $171.50 (Lysander, 3 Terminator Assault)

Blood Angels
The Black Rage- $366.50 (6 Death Company, 2 Furioso Dread, Tycho, Astorath, 1 Chap w/ JP, 1 Chap)
Wings of Sanguinius- $753.75 (20 Assault, 1 Sanguinary Guard, Sanguinor, 1 Chap w/ JP, 1 BA Vanguard Vet)
Lucifer Armoured Task Force- $694.00 (2 Land Raider, 2 Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer, 2 Baal Pred, 2 Pred, 3 Tac, 1 Command, Captain Tycho)

Chaos Daemons
Cohort of Blood- $247.50 (7 Bloodletters, 1 Herald of Khorne, 1 Skulltaker)
Flaming Host of Tzeentch- $286.25 (3 Pink Horrors, 3 Flamers, 3 Flaming Chariots, 1 Changeling)
The Great Promenade of Excess- $190 (3 Daemonettes, 3 Seekers, 1 Masque)
The Tallyman of Nurgle- $345.50 (4 Plague Bearers, 3 Plague Drones, 1 Epidemius)
Tetragon of Darkness- $347.00 (1 Plague Bearer, 1 Pink Horror, 1 Daemonettes, 1 Blood Letters, 1 Bloodthirster, 1 Great Unclean One, 1 Keeper of Secrets, 1 Lord of Change)

Chaos Space Marines
Cult of Destruction- $104 (1 Oblits, 1 Mutilators)
Heldrake Fear Squadron- $222 (3 Heldrakes)
Khorne Lord of Skulls- $160 (1 Lord of Skulls)
Legionnaire Warband- $649 (3 CSM, 2 Terminators, 2 Possessed, 2 Raptors, 2 Bikes, 2 Havocs, 1 Aspiring Champion, 1 Daemon Prince, 1 Warpsmith)
Lords of the Black Crusade- $105.25 (Abaddon, Ahriman, Kharn, Typhus, Lucius)
The Lost and the Damned- $139.25 (12 Cultists, 1 Dark Apostle)
Thousand Sons War Coven- $68 (Ahriman, 1 Sorcer w/ Axe. 1 Sorcerer w/ Staff, 1 Sorcerer w/ Sword)
Tide of Spawn- $206.25 (5 sets of Spawn)

Dark Angels
Deathwing Redemption Force- $622.25 (1 Belial, 10 DW Command Squad)
Ravenwing Huntmasters- $665.00 (5 DA Battleforces (6x Bikes and 1xLS), 1 Ravenwing Command Squad, 1 Landspeeder Vengeance)

Dark Eldar
Carnival of Pain- $284.50 (3 Talos, 3 Grotesques, 1 Wracks, 1 Urien, 1 Haemonculus)
Dark Olympiad- $251.00 (1 Helions, 1 Reavers, 3 Wytches, 1 Khymerea, 1 Clawed Fiend, 1 Razorwing Flock, 1 Beast Master, 1 Lelith)
Kalibite Web Strike- $295.25 (2 Raiders, 1 Ravager, 2 Venoms, 2 Kalabite Warriors, 1 Incubi, 1 Archon)
Ravager Titan Hunters- $148.50 (3 Ravagers)
Sickle Squadron- $136.50 (3 Razorwings)

Eldar
Cloudstrike Squadron- $148.50 (3 Falcons)
Farseer Council- $90.00 (Eldrad, 2 Faseers w/ Staff, 2 Farseers w/ Spears)
The Pheonix Court of Khaine- $157.75 (Avatar, all the Pheonix Lords)
Sunstorm Squadron- $148.50 (3 Fire Prisms)
Wraithknight Dreamwalker Squad- $345.00 (3 Wraithknights)
Winrider Host- $374.25 (Autarch on Jetbike, 4 Jetbike Squadrons, 6 Vypers)

Grey Knights
Brothers of the Flame- $349.25 (10 Grey Knights, 1 Castellan Crowe)
Dreadknight Brethren- $161.25 (3 Dreadknights)
Execution Force- $301.25 (3 Stormravens, 1 Dreadknight)

Imperial Guard
NEW Baneblade Kit (All non FW variants in the kit)- $140 (1 Tank)
Catachan Ambush Patrol- $151.50 (3 Catachans, 1 Catachan Command, 1 Catachan Heavy Weapon)
Emperor's Fist Tank Company- $495 (5 Leman Russ BT, 5 Leman Russ Demolishers)
Emperor's Talon Recon- $300 (10 Sentinels)
Emperor's Wrath Artillery Company- $482.75 (9 Basiliks, 1 Chimera)
Imperial Shield Infantry Company- $409.75 (4 Cadian Command Squads, 6 Cadians, 3 Cadian Heavy Weapons, 1 Regimental Advisor set)
Imperial Sword Heavy Weapons Company- $437.25 (1 Cadian Command Squad, 1 Regimental Advisor Set, 10 Cadian Heavy Weapon squads)
Lord Castellan's Supreme Command- $124.25 (1 Imperial Bastion, Creed and Kell,  1 Cadian Command Squad, 1 Regimental Advisor Set)
Sanctioned Psyker Battle Elite- $45.00 (1 Primaris Psyker, 2 Sanctioned Psyker sets for 6 psykers)
Steel Fury Baneblade Company- $420 (3 Baneblades)

Imperial Armageddon Warzone (Imperial Guard and Black Templars)
Heroes of Armageddon- $154.75 (1 Cadian Command Squad, 2 Space Marine Command Squad, Blood Angels Tycho, Black Templars Helbrecht, Commissar Yarrick)
Armageddon Stompa Hunters- $90.00 (3 Sentinels)
Fortress of Arrogance- $159.23 (1 Baneblade, 1 Commissar Yarrick)
Imperial Vengeance Mechanized Company- $663.75 (10 Chimeras, 4 Cadian Command Squads, 6 Cadian Squads, 1 Set Regimental Advisors)
Crusader Hailstorm Squadron- $222.75 (3 Land Raider Crusaders)
Sons of Grimaldus- $746.25 (1 Grimaldus and Retinue, 1 Terminator Squad, 1 Terminator Assault Squad, 5 Tac Squads, 5 Scout Squads, 5 Black Templar Upgrade Kits, 2 Sword Brethren Sets)
The Legion Ascendant- $188.25 (1 Damned Legionnaires(1), 2 Damned Legionnaires(2), 1 Legion of the Damned Squad, 1 Legionnaire w/ Multimelta, 1 Legionnaire w/ Heavy Flamer, 1 Legionnaire Sergeant)
Firestorm Nexus- $195 (3 WoM Firestorm Redoubts)
Imperial Stronghold- $529.25 (1 WoM Firestorm Redoubt, 1 WoM Aquilla Strongpoint, 3 WoM Defence Lines, 2 WoM Defence Emplacements, 2 WoM Imperial Bunkers, 2 WoM Vengeance Weapons Batteries)

Necrons
Acquisition Phalanx- $184.25 (5 Lytchguard, 1 Trazyn the Infinite)
Balefull Necropolis- $688 (1 Tesseract Vault, 8 Monoliths)
Infinite Phalanx (my guess is it give without number to the warriors)- $362.50 (10 Necron Warriors)
Tessract Vault/Obelisk- $160 (1 Vault/Obelisk)
War Council of Mandragora- $190 (1 Stormlord, 1 Nemesor, 1 Obyron, 1 Diviner, 1 Immortals, 1 Lord, 1 Lord w/ Orb, 1 Overlord, 2 Crypteks)

Orks
Battlewagon Steamrolla Squadron- $242.25 (3 Battlewagons w/ upgrade kits)
Burna-Bommer Skwadron- $136.50 (3 Bommers)
Da Bully Boyz- $291.25 (Thraka, 2 Warbosses w/ squigs, 1 Warbosses w/ Choppas, 4 Ork Nobz, 2 MegaNobz w/ Skorchas, 1 Mega Nob w/ Rokkit Launcha)
Dread Mob-  $191.50 (2 Killa Kan Sets, 2 Deff Dreads)
Green Tide- $312.25 (1 Warboss w/ Attack Squig, 10 Ork Boyz)
Stompa- $115.50 (1 Stompa)

And More Orks (Armageddon Warzone)
Stompa Mob- $231 (2 Stompas)
Bikeboyz Kult of Speed- $390 (2 Warbuggies, 8 Warbiker Mobs)
Karnage Skwadron- $136.50 (3 Ork Bommers) (so just a different datasheet, pictures 3 Dakka Jets)
Stormer Elite- $150 (6 Stormboyz)
Overlord Von Strab- $60.75 (1 Imperial Guard Company Commander, 2 Nobz)
Red Skull Kommandos- $127.25 (1 Snikrot, 2 Kommando sets, 1 Kommando w. Burna)

Sisters of Battle
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

Space Wolves
Great Company- $1025.00 (1 Ragnar, 1 Ulrik, 1 Rune Priest, 1 Iron Priest, 2 Wolf Guard Terminators, 2 Thunderwolf Cavalry Sets, 10 SW Packs, 2 SM Devastators, 1 SM Scout Squad, 1 SM Bike Squad, 3 Fenrisian Wolf Packs, 2 Dreadnoughts, 1 Ven Dread, 1 Cyberwolf)
SW Librarius- $87.50 (1 Runepriest, 1 Lib w/ Axe, 1 Lib w/ Sword, 1 Lib w/ Staff, 1 Runepriest in Terminator Armour)
Brethren of the Great Wolf- $250.50 (1 Logan, 1 Njall, 1 Bjorn, 1 Ulrik, 1 Arjac, 1 Wolf Guard Terminators, 1 SW Pack, 1 Grey Hunter w/ Wolf Standard)
Wolfpack Flanking Force- $445.75 (5 Thunderwolf sets, 5 Fenrisian Wolf packs, 1 Canis Wolfborn)

Tau Empire
Air Superiority Wing- $195 (3 Sun Sharks)
Counterstrike Cadre- $219.25 (3 Devilfish, 1 Pathfinders, 2 Firewarriors)
Kroot Hunting Pack- $341.25 (3 Carnivore Squads, 3 Krootox, 1 Shaper, 3 Kroot Hound packs)
Optimised Steath Group- $79.50 (3 XV25 Stealth teams)
Rapid Insertion Force- $306.50 (1 Riptide, 3 Crisis Teams, 1 XV25 team)
Riptide Wing- $255.50 (3 Riptides)
Skysweep Missile Defense- $157.25 (1 Devilfish, 2 Hammerheads)

Tyranids
Carnifex Crusher Brood- $161.25 (3 Carnifex)
Endless Swarm- $174 (3 Termaguant, 3 Homaguant)
Living Fortress- $256 (2 Tyrants, 3 Hiveguard, 3 Tyrant Guard)
Subterranean Swarm- $314.25 (3 Ravenger Broods, 3 Trygons)
Vanguard Infestation- $189.00 (3 Genestealer Broogs, 2 Lictors, 1 Deathleaper, 1 Broodlord)

All in all, the bundles don't seem to have any savings, but it is cool to see what formations will exist in the game.

40k Humour: Whoever made the newest Apocalypse Trailer is a "Tactical Genius"

 So today has a new preview trailer for Apocalypse on the GW site/youtube:

 At about 40 seconds in, there is a close up of a Reaver Titan's "face". This is the only non-Imperial Guard unit in the whole video. Immediately after the Titan, the video has a close up of Creed.

Shows that someone in the studio may have a little bit of a funny bone, or at least an appreciation for memes.

CREEEEED!

Apocalypse Second Edition: Khorne Lord of Battle and Necron Super Monoliths (PIC/SNEAK PEEK)

Hot on the heels of Eldar, a friend (Mesdoram) found this little jewel floating around the Internet. Apparently the next edition of Apocalypse is coming soon! And apparently that means LARGE KITS! Rooted in fluff at that- this appears to be a Khorne Lord of Battle:

Don't believe me. Here is the original from Epic 40k

I think I like the bull head more TBH

I wish though they'd remake these models for Specialist Games as well, but a new edition of Apocalypse is equally awesome! I just hope that other kits are a little more appealing. And maybe a plastic warhound? If they are building things as big as this and the Wraithknight, why not produce a plastic Warhound Titan? And I hope they keep with remaking battle engines already in the fluff, instead of making up new random stuff. That often is disastrous from a design perspective. Stormraven anyone?

EDIT-
Monoliths mentioned in Comments

I wonder if they are the same and the one on the right opens to be the one on the left

Megabattle Scenario: Massacre

Today I thought I'd share one of the mega-battle scenarios my club has done.

This scenario is particularly good for groups that don't have very many armies geared to Apocalypse but still want a very large battle.

Mission: Massacre (Modified Annihilation)
No Apoc forces allowed (formations/legendary units)
Recommended pts cap per player: 3000-4500 pts

Force Organization Chart:
1-3 HQ
0-3 Elites
2-6 Troops
0-3 Fast Attack
0-3 Heavy Support
0-1 Free (may be applied to any other Force Org Slot)

Setup: Pitched Battle
Rules:
This mission principally uses annihilation rules, where everything is worth 1 kill point.
Furthermore there are Kill Point objectives. I recommend approximately 3 per 4000 pts.
Objectives are placed in each deployment zone and in between the deployment zones. Evenly distribute them is set of 3 so that every set has one in each zone.
If you hold an obj in your zone at the end of the game it is worth 1 KP.
If you hold one in the neutral zone it is worth 2 KP.
If you hold one in your opponents deployment zone, it is worth 3 KP.
Only scoring units can hold objectives as per normal rules.

Apocalypse Knight Rules

POLL RELATED POST

So I don't like the rules that exist for Knights. I don't think they reflect what was put forth in the Mechanicum book.

So what do you think of these rules? Poll over there --> but comments are better.

Knight Rules

~500 pts
Super Heavy Walker
2 Structure Points
AV F:13/14 (not sure yet) S:12 R:11
BS 3 WS 3/4 (not sure yet) A 2
3 Power Feilds
Titan Close Combat Weapon, Primary Weapon
Double Blaster- 72" S8 AP3 Ordnance 2 5" Blast, Primary Weapon
OR
Vulcan Mega Bolter

Chin Twin-linked Heavy Stubber
OR
Chin Heavy Bolter
OR
Targeter +50 pts (+1 BS)

Agile-
May move an extra d6" in the shooting phase and fire blaster as Ordnance Barrage or Vulcan at -1 to its BS
May move an extra 2d6" and not shoot

Meltdown- 1/2 of the warhound (see Apoc main book)

POLL RESULTS
Do you like my Knight Rules?
Should be the only ones 0 (0%)
Will use 1 (12%)
Yes 4 (50%)
Eh 2 (25%)
No 0 (0%)
Will use... OTHER ONES 0 (0%)
Remove the post. Now. 1 (12%)

Apocalypse mind sets

So I have been playing in a Lucky 13's campaign at a local gaming store this summer and it is really giving me a contrasted view to how I have traditionally played apoc games.

Even though I believe the games have been a little smaller in total size than the Georgia Tech Megabattles I have ran in the past, they play out very differently and I think it boils down to a few simple factors.

1- Emphasis on vehicles/infantry. I think the GT games have been geared much more to vast infantry combat rather than armour v armour. This is a very interesting way to play out Apoc in my opinion. Rather than being concerned with a superheavy duel or matching tanks co v tank co, you are playing more like a normal game on a grander scale. I recommend you try it sometime.

2- Balance. My club always strives to balance superheavies and points. We have done a very good job of this so far, with nothing dominating the game (other than a Super Monolith last time, bleh). But at Lucky 13's, people have shown up with Super Heavy flyers, which if you don't plan to fight specifically, they are nigh unstoppable. Titans are another thing that throw off the balance in a very similar matter. I suggest that unless you have a balance on each side of these things, then you restrict them. Baneblades and their variants aren't overpowered as long as oneside does not faild excess amounts against a side with none. But then again last game I destroyed a Shadowsword with 1 lascannon shot, so it can be done.

3. Scenarios. I think when players put their minds to it, they can come up with better scenarios than GW ever puts out. Asymmetcial, attacker/defender, crosslinked tables, amphibious assault, etc. etc. Give it a try.

Here is an example of a wacky scenario we have though of (but not tried) at my club.

You set up 3 sets of tables. Put what ever terrain you want on them. Then place "elevators". These elevators can carry infantry and walkers down to the next level, which should be set up like an indoor hangar/warehouse. Once again on that level there are elevators that go down to a bunker level. This table is accessible only by infantry and is laid out with corridors and rooms. Each table has 2 objectives (or more if you want, but make each table have as many as the next). You could even make certain things in certain levels effect the others, like a defence laser control room in the bottom floor grant control of a laser on the surface, or a building on the surface have secret tunnels to the hangar, or the hangar have a valkyrie to go up to the surface and a way to collapse a tunnel in the bunker.

Well there is just my general rant for now.

Apocalypse Tactic: Eldrad

Okay, in playing the second round of the Lucky 13's battle this past week, I was inspired to write up an article on the use of Eldrad Ulthuan in Apocalypse/Megabattle Games.
First of all Eldrad has Divination which is a pseudo version of Strategic Redeployment. Before first turn, you can reposition D3+1 Units within your deployment zone. This can turn out to be very usefull if your side deployed first, giving you a chance to get LOS you need, or get into cover from something.

Next up are his psychic powers
Doom- Target a non-vehicle unit within 24". Re-Roll to wound against that unit. So any power weapon squads become particularly deadly. Twin linked weapons are double guaranteed. This can be used to take out those annoying unit like Nob Bikerz and TH&SS terminators.

My Favourite in Apocalypse: Eldritch Storm: Don't bother shooting this at infantry. Not really worth it. What you want to do is shoot it at vehicles. Even better is super heavies.
Here is what you do: Use Divination to get withing 18 inches of a superheavy. You then Eldritch Storm it in your shooting phase to spin it around so you see its rear armour. Great way to kill them first turn. Works best if you have first turn (and if you have allied Tau with Rail Guns). And Eldrad can do this from withing a vehicle, so a Falcon can increase his chances of survival and give him mobility to reach a new vehicle each turn.

Fortune: Use this as needed to keep squads alive. Great if a squad looses a transport or is going to be vulnerable for some reason.

Guide: Use this to kill vehicles with your lance weaponry or as needed otherwise.

Mind War: Take out enemy characters, especially ones that grant abilities like Rites of Battle or extra attacks to squads they are around.

He can use 3 of the above per turn so long as he is not in assault, and may use one twice if he wishes too (spin 2 vehicles with eldritch storm).

Put Eldrad into a Seer Council with some Warlocks and they become even more potent, or if you dig up the old 13th Black Crusade Book and use and Ulthwe Council with the Avatar in it, they are super deadly.

His wargear is also great
Runes of Warding makes all enemy psychic powers harder. Runes of Witnessing make all of his easier.
So Runes of Warding along with guys with psychic hoods as allies becomes rather potent, meaning fewer get through and then they can be blocked still by a hood.
He wounds on a 2+ with a power weapon. Has a 3+ inv save and a 3+ save from perils. A witch blade and shiruken pistol to boot just add some flexibility.

Basically, you want him to stay out of combat to spin vehicles and buff squads, all the time protected by warlocks. Though they can easily engage in combat with all those whitch blades.

Good Allies to be Taken with: Tau, SM, IG, and Chaos. I know the last isn't fluffy, but it is practical.

So there you go. This guy can be a huge benefit. I recommend taking him if you have a small contingent of Eldar.

New Datasheets: Apocalypse in Gotham City

UPDATED 10PM
POLL RELATED POST

NOTE THESE RULES ARE PURELY FOR FUN! NOTICE THE HUMOUR TAG ON THE POST.
So a friend was looking at my Imperial Guard High Command Squad Datasheet and saw the orderly named Batman. Two hours later we came up with these two datasheets:

The Dark Knight and The Joker.

So check them out. We think that while quite rediculous, they are rather balanced against each other, and the Why So Serious Rule should keep them from being interfered with. Batman should be too busy trying to catch the Joker to be abusive to the game and the Joker should be too busy trying to avoid Batman to be abusive, and if he becomes abusive, chances are Batman dies and he looses his abusive abilities.

Enjoy. And Tell me what you think of them right over there ->

Poll Results
Woah, those are crazy awesome and fun and I can't wait to use them! 1 (10%)
Those look fun, I will try them. 1 (10%)
I can take them or leave them. 2 (20%)
I won't use them. 2 (20%)
What were you thinking. That doesn't belong in the game and is totally against 40k! 4 (40%)

Alot more negative than I thought it would get. I guess some people just can't take a Joke. To anyone reading this now, they aren't serious. Just for fun.

Power Unit: Blood Angels Honour Guard

NOTE THIS WAS DONE WITH 4th EDITION CODEX
So I thought I would do a post on the army dearest and nearest to me, the Blood Angels.

As far back as I remember, I have loved the honour guard. In 3rd edition and part of 4th, they could be an uber powerfull 1000 pt squad with 10 power weapons and furious assault. Now they are much more on the level but still can be rather strong.

Dante: 200
Honour Guard:330/355(meltabombs)
-Jump Packs
-Melta Bombs (optional)
Company Champion: Power Weapon, Combat Sheild, Plasma Pistol
Standard Bearer: Blood Angels Banner, Power Fist
Tech-Adept: Power Weapon, Artificer Armour, Plasma Pistol
Sanguinary Priest: Exsanguinator, Power Weapon
Veteran: Melta-Gun


So there you go. 530/555 points for the squad.

What makes it great- Dante gives preferred enemy to any squad within 12", meaning everyone, including himself, re-rolls to hit in close combat (though his axe is already MC). Further this by the fact any enemy within 6" of Dante has -1 to their BS and WS. Then he allows you to take the BA Banner, giving all friendlies within 12" +1 A and allows them to re-roll failed morale and pinning tests. Rites of Battle allows any unit in the army to use his LD for their checks. The more assault troops you can keep within 12" the better. Mass your DC with them and you have a crazy force with rending getting all these bonuses as well.

Dante himself has a sweet MC power axe and an inferno pistol (Axe Mortalis and Perdition Pistol). Basically it is a pistol with the stats of a melta gun, 12" S8 AP1 melta. He is fearless, but the squad isn't, so this doesn't matter, unless he detaches and joins the Death Company. WS6 BS5 S4 T4 3W I5 4A Base and a 2+/4+ save.

With Dante's Bonuses, you then have a squad that has 3 power weapons, a Power Fist, 2 Plasma Pistols, and a Melta-gun, that can do crazy amounts of damage. One of them has a 5+ Inv save in CC and another has a 2+ SV normal. 2 Attacks base each, 4 with 2 CCW, and almost a guaranteed charge, on top of everything Dante does and you are looking at 7 WS6, 20 WS4 Powerweapon attacks and 5 normal WS4 attacks.

Added bonuses: Exsanguinator keeps guys alive when you need it most, and the Blessing of the Omnisiah allows them to fix vehicles.

The whole unit has Jump Packs, so they are amazingly fast to boot.

In APOC I add the following to the unit
Masters of the Chapter- Jump Packs on All
Captain: 150- Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon
Captain: 150- Pair of Lighting Claws
Captain: 165- Thunderhammer, Plasma Pistol
Captain: 160- Lighting Claw, Plasma Pistol
Chaplain: 135- Jump Pack, Plasma Pistol
Mephiston: 225

Why not Lemartes- He is better left with actual Death Company.
Mephiston can keep up with the Wings of Sanguinius.
The Squad gains an old school psychic hood.
Mephiston can use all his powers, so he bumps himself with Might of heroes since he is S5 and has a Force Weapon, it is most useful on his self. Then Transfixing Gaze can leave an enemy completely defenceless, allowing this megasquad of hurt to hit automatically and not risk being hit in return (oppossing squad looses all attacks).
The Chaplain is there to make the squad fearless, and redundancy with litanies of hate. Plus more power weapon attacks is always welcome.
The 4 Captains bring some hurt in varrying shapes and sizes with a good mix of weapons and plenty of plasma bite.

Here is what everything would look like on the Charge:
7+D3 WS6 S5 I6 Force Weapon Attacks
7 WS6 S4 I5 Power Weapon Attacks
23 WS5 S4 I5 Power Weapon Attacks, 11 Reroll to wound
15 WS4 S4 I4 Power Weapon Attacks
4 WS4 S4 I4 Attacks
5 WS5 S8 I1 Thunderhammer Attacks (can stun)
5 WS4 S8 I1 Powerfist Attacks
ALL can re-roll to hit.

That is brutality.

Shooting right Before assault:
2 Meltagun shots, 1 at BS5 1 at BS4
7 Plasma Pistol shots, 5 at BS5 2 at BS4
2 Bolt Pitol shots at BS4

Saves
2+/4+ Dante
2+ Mephiston and Tech Adepts
3+/4+ Chaplain and Captains
3+/5+ Company Champion
3+ Veterans

All of this is a pure power house.
Take Lemartes with the Death Company and run them next to this power unit and you have a massacre on jet packs.

Mega Battle: Photos from the Front

Defenders are deployed.

Right before Turn One.

A view of the walls. Paper was used so segments could be torn out, allowing us to actually destroy the wall when needed.

Kharne the Betrayer...er faces hordes of assault marines, but lasts through two assault phases before being dispatched by a Dark Angel Power Fist.

The Roughriders arrive to attempt and turn the battle for the first objective, assaulting the Chaos Space Marines in amongst the Imperial Guard. Even with initial sucesses, their momentum could not be maintained.

Kharne dispatches the last of the roughriders, slaying each with a "decapitating" blow.

The Daemon Prince makes his fatefull assualt, that see's himself chased back to the Warp without doing any harm on the Imperials. Go 10th Squad Devs!

The Necrons advance around Razorwire, and even dare attempt the minefield.

Mega Battle Coverage

See the forces here and the scenario here.

So the game went well overall. I don't have detailed notes but I can give a brief over view.

Turn one saw a relatively effective shooting phase from the defenders, as well as our blind barrage blocking off the Pylon and half the field of fire for the Doomsday Monolith. For the attackers, it brought in the interdiction force and the Monolith Phalanx.

From then on the turns really lose focus in my mind. I know the Dark Eldar Splinter force appeared in turn 2, bearing webway portals, allowing for the arrival of Dark Eldar Infantry in turn 4. A blind barrage helped to cover their arrival within our fortress from the Ultramarines and Imperial Guard upon the parapet.

Turn 2 saw the first objective fall to Flank marching CSM. This was on the outside left of the fortress, an area defended by the Imperial Guard, who even though became swamped with CSM and Dark Eldar, managed to last until turn 5, seeing the battle through with one tank remaining at the end.

Turn 3 saw the second objective fall, taken by Tau Battlesuits. This was the outside objective on the right side of the fortress defended by the Defender's Tau.

Turn 4 saw the third objective fall; this one to CSM Terminators that had flank marched back in turn 2. Though valiantly fought over by the Ultramarines directly under Calgar, and requiring the sacrifice of a bike mounted Master of the Forge, the objective was lost.

Turn 5 was down to the wire. The Necrons and Tau were unable to make headway on the second objective on their side, and the Dark Angels had decimated the forces assaulting the front of the fortress. In a desperate gambit, the Tau force on the attackers rushed one Objective with a devilfish, tank shocking through Belial's Terminator Squad. Boldly, a lone Terminator stepped forward with his chain fist, and after some confusion with the Death or Glory rules, it was realized that he had destroyed the Devilfish, forcing the fire warriors within to disembark short of the objective, and with too much resistance between them to run to/assault the final position. At the end of turn 5, the game stood at 3/3 in terms of objectives.

Though we called the game here, it was called for the attackers. In terms of Kill Points, they had given up far less then the defenders as a ratio of their total force and were in place to definitely capture one, if not 2 more objectives had we played out the planned turn 6. Though the Imperium fought with gallantry, they could not stem the relentless Xenos advance.

Highlights of the game:
Samael's death at the hand of 2 Gundrones from a destroyed Piranha.
A Commissar Lord besting a Chaos Lord on a juggernaut in single combat after 3 turns of fighting (to be fair, the Lord's Daemon weapon loped his own head off, I assume it wass displeased for not havign dispatched of the Commissar, then going on to assault a Stormsword (though failing at it).
A deepstriking Monolith being blown to smitherines by the Hammerhead it displaced.
The Ork force entirely strategically re-deploying amongst the Tau to aid them on their quest for an objective.
A unit of roughriders eliminating 9 Khorne Beserkers only to leave Kharn there to dispatch the entire squad (6 in one turn, the remaining 4 the next).
Deddog, Creed and Kell weathering 2 turns of assault to fall to shooting later on.
A unit of witches miraculously surving a turn of combat against Marneus Calgar and his command squad, allowing other DE to come in next turn and dispatch them.
The Pylon failing to destroy the Baneblade for 2 turns, then annihilating it all at once.
The Necrons failing to breach the door, dying in multitudes at the entrance.
A khorne DP assaulting a Dev combat squad and dying without inflicting a single wound.
A squad of CSM Terminators with a Sorceror and Lord deepstriking of the table, wasting the Vortex grenade with them.

Forces of the Megabattle

Defenders:
Dark Angels- 8400
Imperial Guard- 3225
Ultramarines (Right)- 4500
Ultramarines (Left)- 4000
Tau- 2200

Attackers:
Chaos Space Marines (Khornate)- 5000
Dark Eldar- 3940
Tau- 6000
Necrons- 7065
Orks- 740
Renegades (Khorne CSM and Armoured Company)- 4580

Defenders Assets-
Blind Barrage
Supreme HQ
Shield Generator
Disruptor Beacon
Minefields
Obstacles- Razor wire

Attackers Assets-
Blind Barrage
Flank March
Vortex Grenade
Strategic Redeployment
Shield Generator
Careful Planning

Defender Formations/Legendary Units:
Dark Angels Battle Company
Dark Angels Masters of the Chapter
Ultramarine Baneblade

Attackers Formations/Legendary Units:
CSM Stormsword
Tau Rapid Insertion Force
Tau Armoured Interdiction Cadre
Tau Firestream/Ranged Piranha/Patrol Wing (one is reload, one is website, same thing, different names).
Necron Gauss Pylon
Necron Monolith Phalanx
Necron Doomsday Phalanx
Necron Shroudweaver War Cell
Dark Eldar Splinter Raid Force

Defender Special Characters-
Lord Castellan Usarkar E. Creed
Colour Sergeant Jarran Kell
Knight Commander Pask
Nork Deddog
Sergeant Lukas Bastonne
Azrael, Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels
Ezekiel, Chief Librarian of the Dark Angels
Belial, Master of the Deathwing
Sammael, Master of the Ravenwing
Marneus Calgar, Lord of Macragge
Tigirius, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines

Attacker Special Characters-
Kharn the Betrayer
Kharn the Betrayer…er
Shas’o R’myr
The Nightbringer
The Deceiver

Units of Note:
4 Exalted Champions of Khorne, Kharn, and 4 Berserkers in 1 Squad
Azrael, Ezekiel, 4 Captains, Chaplain, and Honour Guard in 1 Squad
Creed, Kell, and Deddog in one Squad

Mega Battle Scenario

Defender/Attacker Ratio:
Still not exactly sure. My side was down 6k and it was okay. What hurt was a lack of Ordnance, Super-heavies and Formations as compared to the opposing side.

Scenario:
The Defenders start with a fortress in the shape of a U (See pictures). The long walls are 48” with 6” doors. The angled walls are 18” with 4” doors. The short walls at the “top” of the U are 12” (giving the fortress a depth of 12”) with 3” infantry only doors.
There are 6 objectives, 4 in the fortress, two outside, but still in the defender’s deployment zone. To capture the objectives, any offensive infantry/jump infantry/cavalry that deployed on a table edge (so no deepstriking units) must be in contact with the objective at the end of their player turn. The objective then “explodes” as if it were a vehicle. This represents the enemy “bombing” key buildings. Once an objective is detonated, it may not be retaken by the defenders.

The walls give a 5+ cover save on the parapets. Each segment is 7” (48-6 = 42, 42/6 = 7). Wall segments are AV 14 and have 2 structure points. When a segment loses its first structure point, the cover save is negated on that segment. When it loses its second, anything on the parapet must “disembark” that segment and pass a dangerous terrain test. There then is a 7” gap in the wall. Penetrating hits remove a structure point on a 3+, glancing hits on a 5+.

Doors are as follows:
6” – AV 13
4” – AV 12
3” – AV 11
3+/5+ destroy the doors, each is 1 structure point.

Doors may be opened/closed at the beginning of the movement phase only. May only open/close a door once per game turn.



Victory Conditions:
Defenders hold 4+ objectives- Victory
Attackers take 4+ objectives- Victory
Defenders hold/Attackers take 3 objectives- Tie Breaker

Tie-breaker:
If opposing is below ½ starting Kill points, receive 1 point. If opposing side is below ¼ starting kill points, receive 2 points. Side with more points wins. If still tied, then game is a tie.

Terrain:
Each player rolls a d20. Go in order from highest to lowest. Each player deploys 2 pieces of terrain. Tied d20 rolls are rolled off to determine who goes before the other. Terrain may not be deployed inside the fortress.

Deployment:
Defenders deplow first. Attackers second. May use full 30 minutes each. We also set the condition that no unit may deploy 8 ft from another in the army, to make the battle run smoothly without players running all around the table during the game.

First Turn:
Defenders go first.

Strategic Reserves:
The attackers follow normal strategic reserves rules.
The Defenders may each only hold ¼ of their forces in reserves (not cumulative for the whole force)

Formations/Legendary units:
All allowed, including FW and Reload

Game Length:
We tried for 6, but only got in 5.

Assets:
Each side receives one for each player on the largest team (Our game was 6 v 5, so both sides received 6, plus any from formations).

The following assets are not allowed:
- Vital Objective
- Jammers
- Anti-Plant Barrage
- All Reload Assets (except ork rok attack)
- My club also banned any form of bombardment, but this need not be done.

The following assets are modified as follows:
-Ambush, when used by defenders, may not be used against enemy units flank marching
-Obstacles may not be placed in front of any doors
-Flank March, when used by the attackers, may not bring them within the fortress walls
-Tunnels may not be put inside the Fortress or in the Attackers Deployment zone.
-Bunkers may not be put in front of doors.

Other Rules:
Necron Wraiths may not score objectives. Moving through walls is cheap, and how can you carry a bomb when you phase in and out.
Monoliths and Super Heavies may not deepstrike into the fortress. That is too cheap.

Coverage of the game tomorrow. I am still waiting on some players highlights of the game and need to narrow down which pictures to use. But it will be up, I promise!

Another New Apocalypse Formation

This one is based off the Siege of Vraks part 6 and the Red Scorpions within. Check it out:

Red Scorpions Vraksian Breaching Force

Alot of rules I know, but it is true to the Fluff of the Sector 57-44 Breach.

New Apocalypse Formation

So I made this today:

Vanguard Linebreaker Assault Squad

It is a formation for Space Marines based around a heavy Vanguard Squad and a Land Raider.

Go ahead and download the file to see what it is all about. I like how it turned out. If anyone uses it, let me know how it did.

UPDATE: A few more grammatical and spelling errors were fixed. The revised sheet will be uploaded later today (MAR 25)

Mega Battles: Tips and Tricks

Twice a year, my club does a large mega-battle and with the advent of apocalypse, it has become simpler to run and organize. Despite this though, it still requires a lot of time and effort to get it right.

As well, this is mostly a guide for larger groups, and not so much a small 2 on 2 apocalypse game.

Organizing
1- Figure out a date a ways before hand.
2- As soon as a date is decided, start finding out who will be there. Make sure to get commitments at least a month before hand.
3- Choose a theme. This includes just a standard Apocalypse games, but there are other things you can do. Here are some examples from my club and just other possibilities
-Cityfight
-Fortress assualt (Large attack force, smaller defenders)
-Jungle fights
-Amphibious assaults
-Cross linked tables/objectives
-Themed forces
4- Come up with any special rules needed for the battle. Try and get as much input as possible. Put it to a vote with your group. What you think may be fair rules for a amphibious assault may be horribly unbalanced in actuality. Have others place a check on this possiblity.
5- Set a date for either lists or just point costs to be in. KPs are also a good idea to get. This allows you to early on balance the sides and set up teams. Make sure you have plenty of time before the battle to do this, as some people will be delinquent on this.
6- Decide on what assets will be allowed and which won't. Certain ones are just broken when playing battles with 6 players per size. Ambush is broken when 8k flankmarch.

Terrain Suggestions
1- Require all players to bring a piece
2- Decide a layout before hand. Some themes will require this. My club once did 2 table with crosslinked objectives, so things had to be specifically set up. Amphibious and Fortress assaults are the same way.
3- For abundant area terrain just use paper with things like "Rubble" or "forest" written on them. Because of LOS in 5th ed. this may not be acceptable, but often it can be generally agreeable how tall tress are. A tip here is to break up what trees you have to have on or two per forest area. If the LOS passes beneath the canopy of that single tree, then LOS is blocked.
4- Buildings/inpassible terrain can have its outline drawn on poster paper. While you can't have second stories, you can have doors and windows by leaving open places or dotted lines respectively
5- Build terrain quick and dirty for the one use out of cheap materials like cardboard, paper plates, etc. etc. Spray down with spray paint (textured for some extra zaz).

Objective ideas
1- Attach assets to cetain objectives, such as sheild generator.
2- Crosslink objectives. An example: as long as a shield generator is up, a building can't be captured elsewhere on the table
3- Make KP's an objective

Playing the Game
1- Give a time for arrival of everyone. If setup needs to be done, show up early.
2- Schedule in a lunch/break time for EVERYONE somewhere in the middle of the game.
3- Limit turn lengths. In the beginning, movement and shooting are going to take longer, towards the end it will be the assault phase. Things like Turns 1-3 10 min move, 20 min shooting, 10 min assualt, 5 min flexible. Turns 4+ 7 min move, 10 min shooting, 23 min assault 5 min flexible. Figure out a good time for you.
4- If you realize the game is moving faster than the alloted times, relax them/suspend them and just let people play.
5- Give an hour for set-up and and hour for starting the game. Schedule time for clean up at the end.

Okay, seeing as I am posting this in the wee hours of the morning check back later and I amy have changed some things. It will say UPDATED at the top.

Imperial Guard High Command Headquaters Group

Sorry I haven't posted in a week. Been crazy busy. BUT I did just finish this for you!

Imperial Guard High Command Headquarters Group Apocalypse Formation

Based off WD 306 Chapter Approved Article