Return To 40k

Every time Games Workshop produce another incarnation of Warhammer 40k I feel obliged to take a look, given that it's played such a massive part in my hobby life over the years.

8th Edition has been slightly different in that GW have highlighted some of the the key changes in the build up to release. I've been intrigued by the simplification of the Warhammer world with AoS (without ever actually playing it) and what I was hearing was that 40k was going to follow suit. This gave me some hope that things may actually change to the point where I could welcome 40k back into my life. It's been a long time time since the glory days of 4th Edition and I've had no interested in the versions since, especially as things escalated towards apocalypse type battle with flyers and war machines.

Then GW played their ace card – Death Guard marines in the starter box – ah, dammit, this was not going to be a cheap return to 40k. As has become the norm in recent years, said models were of the highest quality (even if there are still a few dodgy poses). That was it then, I would have to shell out close to £100 to see what it was all about – even though the rules are technically free (how does that work?!).

I managed to miss the postman on release day and have to wait 24hrs to go to the sorting office and collect my parcel. I was excited, but with a certain level of reservation – disappointment for so many years will do that to you! Upon opening the box I have to say it is a very smart product. The only company I have come across that presents it's products as beautifully as this is Apple (they're in a league of their own, but this was pretty good). Taking the time and effort to present products to this degree makes the unboxing experience so much more enjoyable. It shows that the company cares what the customer thinks.

The contents was pretty solid. The fact that you got the hardback edition of the full rulebook, instead of an A5 lite version, was a good decision. That helped make it feel like a quality purchase and good value for money. The models are as stunning as ever and, again, helps to give a feeling of quality and value. The Primaris marines went on Ebay and sold in less than an hour, so I've made most of the cost back already.

After building my first few Death Guard models I decided to crack out my current army and rebase them on the larger 32mm bases. However, when old and new Death Guard stood side by side I noticed there was a significant scale discrepancy. Not unlike a Primaris marine next to a standard one, the size difference was quite noticeable and looked quite odd – disaster!

Now I'm left with a bit of a quandary. Do I relegate my old Death Guard to be standard nurgle marines and the new plastics are Death Guard? Do I sell my old DG marines and start a new army? Do I stick to the old ones and not bother with the new ones?

To complicate things more, my two favourite conversions of all time – my Nurgle Heldrake and Nurgle Forgefiend – can't be taken in a pure Death Guard army!! Neither can my Nurgle Biker!

So for now I'm simply putting together the models. Just like last time I built some Nurgle on the back of a 40k box set (above), I jumped straight in with a conversion. More on that another time.

Nurgle Price Nonsense…

I had heard rumours for a few weeks now about a whole set of Nurgle releases as part of the Warhammer "End Times".

Plastic Nurgle models – how perfect!

Always on the lookout for new additions to either the 40k Death Guard or Blood Bowl Nurgle team, when I finally got to see the above photo of the Scions of the Last Plague I thought wayhay, fantastic!!

Then I saw the price tag…

I'm sorry but I find £83 for 11 plastic models extortionate in the extreme. The models are nice but not £83 worth of nice. I appreciate that they're Ogre sized too but even so, the Ogre battalion box set contains 16 models for £65, the extra £20 cannot be justified to me.

So, I'll save my money, thank you very much, and put it towards a plastic castle instead ;)

40k: What Have We Learned?

I've always found you tend to learn more from your losses in 40k but let's see what was gleaned this time round and which units excelled.

The Battle of the Forge on Sunday was a great game. Chaos triumphed in the face of some serious Ork mech and held on to the Forge which will be great going into our final epic fight.

Bull did spring a couple of surprises that I hadn't really banked on. First of all his Ork army was all mech, which given that I had decked out my marines with mostly flamers again should have been a problem. However, I had included a melta gun in my Plague Marine units which worked out a treat in the end. These melta guns managed to take out the Gorkanaut in a single shot, and get three hull points off the Stompa (the last one killing it).

Given the firepower hanging off all the Ork machines, I was expecting a round or two of massed shooting as he crept forward. What actually happened was only the Stompa did any real shooting while the other elements shot forward. Alas, hesitation seemed to creep in, compounded by some heavy terrain.

The Stompa itself was a worry before the game. I was expecting it to show and on paper it could have decimated my army rather quickly. Its opening salvo destroyed one of my lovely gun batteries and injured a rather relieved Hellbrute. However, after that it became rather underwhelming despite Bull rolling high for his number of Gatling shots each turn. When Typhus turned used its volume of shooting against it (more on that later) the Stompa became the architect of its own demise. Bull did constantly forget to try and fix hull points with his Meks which made it all worse for the Orks, but it was not a great debut for the big fella.

The keystone of the Chaos defence was a bunker, protected by a void shield, containing six Nurgle Obliterators – a massive 600 point investment. These boys were well protected and although the void shield came down, it was back up in a couple of turns with no damage done. The Obliterators had a fab game. They wiped out six Killa Kans in a single turn, shot down the Ork flyer and did damage to several other units. It was my intention to bring them out of hiding towards the end and support other units in combat, but it wasn't necessary in the end and they ran out of targets for the last turn or two.

Similarly, the Chaos HQs were immense. The Sorcerer, who had Daemonology spells, managed to summon a unit of Plaguebearers (who destroyed the Battlewagon) and the Great Unclean One (who killed the Mega Nobz and a handful of Ork Boyz). Typhus dropped his malediction spell on the Stompa, making his weapons hot. This proved to be a great move and chipped away the bulk of the hull points it had. Towards the end of the battle he threw caution to the wind and engaged the Orks in combat. He probably killed half a dozen before his challenge with the Warboss saw them both die.

Elsewhere on the table, the Chaos forces had a pretty good game all round.

But what about scores?…

Typhus
Thought he might not see the outside of his Land Raider but managed to kill at least half of the Stompa and the Warboss, plus a handful of Boyz. He's expensive but he proved to be pretty vital on the day.
Score 8/10

Sorcerer
I went with Daemonology and struggled to cast anything for a couple of turns. Then a unit of Plaguebearers appeared. He then sacrificed himself to summon a Greater Daemon. Awesome for the points.
Score 9/10

Terminators
I could only take three in a Land Raider with the two HQs and this isn't really enough. They probably inflicted three or four wounds but never really recouped their value. They're more protection for T than a serious threat.
Score 6/10

Hellbrute
A late addition and a bit of a waste. Didn't managed to hit anything with two turns of shooting then died to combined Ork shooting.
Score 3/10

Chaos Marines
A cheap 5-man unit brought in to soak up the last few points and to sit at the back, loiter around the generator and obstruct Bull's Kommandos (who didn't turn up to this fight). Too far out to really contribute anything and most of them got caught under a blast template.
Score 4/10

Plague Marines
Solid choice. One unit went toe-to-toe (literally) with the Stompa and came out on top. The other unit took down the Gorkanaut and jumped into combat late on.
Score 8/10

Plague Zombies
Managed to bog down the Stompa in three rounds of combat, preventing it from shooting. So worth the points, evening if they didn't kill anything.
Score 8/10

Forgefiend
Struggled to hit anything this game, but became the focus of the Stompa's shooting for several turns.
Score 6/10

Obliterators
Stunning opening volley against the Killa Kans and pretty solid throughout.
Score 8/10

Land Raider
Protected the HQ well enough, surviving a Stompa blast and a Deff Dread attack. Finished off the Dread.
Score 7/10

Fortifications
The Bunker/Shield combo was great. The Defence Line did see much use but presented a visual barrier which helped. The guns didn't contribute much (except killing a few Grots) and the Tank Traps proved their worth again.
Overall Score 7/10


…and the bonus units…

Great Unclean One
Turned out to be a bit of a bonus and tipped the balance an my right flank. Killed the Mega Nobz with ease but his biggest contribution was intimidation and the timing of his appearance.
Score 7/10

Plaguebearers
Arrived eventually and didn't scatter! They managed to destroy a battle wagon before being gunned to bits.
Score 7/10


Man of the Match / MVP
A difficult decision as a handful of units did quite well, however, I think it has to be the Sorcerer. At the cost of less than 100 points he managed to conjure up a unit of Plaguebearers worth over 100 points and sacrificed himself to summon a Great Unclean One worth over 150 points. These units definitely made a difference in numbing the Ork assault.

What have we learned?

First of all we learned that the Stompa is controllable… and Bull needs to remember it's full of Meks and can be fixed. The shooting it pumps out can be devastating but is a bit hit and miss. It's main attack is lethal in combat but the stomp attack has random results – though this too can be devastating.

The Psychic phase was great for Chaos in this game and Bull was not really in a position to counter it – I had a lot of Power dice. Again, individual spells are not devastating but can chip away at the enemy, or enhance regular attacks. The summoning was difficult to pull off (and I'm sure we did the perils of the warp wrong) but when it did come off it was great to see new units appear.

I also learned that my Plague Marines didn't often get to use their Feel No Pain roll as most of the big attacks now negated it – plus I can't roll 5+ for them, but I can for Zombies.

…And it's still all about the Shooting phase!

40k: The Battle Of The Forge

There was a strange stillness in the air, complete silence except for the whirr of a sevo or gutteral grunt of a daemonic engine. War was imminent and the defenders were ready. Then it came, a low rumble at first, followed by thick black smoke on the horizon. Gradually the noise got louder and louder, until the very floor began to shake…

It was finally time and the forces of Nurgle had the Sakar Forge firmly locked down. A bunker containing six Nurgle Obliterators, protected by a Void Shield, was the keystone of the defences. This was flanked by a defence line and Vengeance Weapon Batteries with Gatling cannons – 20 shots a turn… each! – with a row of tanks traps out front. The rest of the Nurgle forces consisted of a large unit of Plague Zombies (yay Zombicide), a Forgefiend with Hades Cannons, a Helbrute and two units of Plague Marines with Flamers and Melta guns. 

Out of shot above was the commander of the Nurgle contingent. Typhus and his sorcerer, supported by three Nurgle Terminators sat patiently in a Land Raider.

Across the table was a rather large Ork mech army. A close combat Deff Dread, a unit of six Killa Kans, a Gorkanaut containing Mega Nobz and a Battle Wagon containing our old friend Zagdakka and a unit of 20 Boyz. Off to one side was the intimidating silhouette of the Stompa – our first Lord of War model.

Ork turn 1 was rather ominous as the Stompa's big gun blew up one of the Gun Batteries and injured the Helbrute. Everything else ran forward.

It was time for the Nurgle troops to respond and in a show of superior shooting, the six Obliterators fired Assault Cannons into the Killa Kans… only missing with 4 out of 24 shots and wiping out the entire unit – an empty space where they once stood. Obliterators indeed!

The Stompa marched forward continuing its relentless shooting, with mixed results. Typhus then cast a malediction psychic power on the behemoth – all its weapons could now 'get hot', inflicting damage upon itself. Two turns later and the Stompa was down to half its hull points.

In the centre, the Deff Dread charged into the command transport but failed to do any damage. The Land Raider then moved out of the way, and the Ork mech was gunned down.

The sorcerer finally landed a summoning spell and up turned a unit of Plague Bearers who charged into the Battle Wagon and destroyed it with their rusty weapons. Out spilled 20 Orks, thanks to some shenanigans… or an in-built teleporter (when Bull upgraded the Vehicle to include the huge Killkannon the transport capacity should have gone down from 20 to 12).

Along side it, the Gorkanaut was taken down with a single awesome Meta gun shot, the 3 Mega Nobz staggering out of the wreckage.

Close combat proved to be a much more fruitful place for the Stompa as he literally stomped a unit of Plague Marines to death, but it was still losing Hull points to it's hot weapons.

In a final display of dedicated sacrifice, the Sorcerer gave over his mortal body to one last spell and was possessed by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle. He strode into combat with the Mega Nobz and the Orks were no more.

Having decided not to remain in combat with the Stompa, the Plague Marines fell back to the safety of the defence line. Similarly, with the Stompa on its last Hull Point, the Boyz inside fell back to the safety of a destroyed Rhino. Meanwhile the Zombies charged into the Stompa, not able to do any damage but preventing the thing from shooting. This seemed to confuse the Stompa and he seemed unable to stomp on the zombies, compounding Bull's frustration.

Having dispatched the Plaguebearers, the Ork command unit was ripe for attack. Typhus and the Terminators swept in, alas I forgot to move the Greater Daemon and his charge fell short. A challenge went out but Zagdakka hid at the back of the unit, sending in the Mech. The Terminator Champion stepped up but was unable to kill him. The other Terminators fell to mass Ork attacks and Typhus reaped a handful in return.

"Come out and face me Ork!" bellowed Typhus, but there was no reply. "Cowardly Greenskin!". Still nothing. Then amongst the melee a short, mangy-looking Ork covered in grease with a spanner in his hand stepped forward. "Pffft" spat Typhus, incensed by the sheer cowardice on display by the Warboss. "My Lord? May I?" enquired the Terminator Champion. "Please do…" sighed Typhus in relief. He would much rather repay the Warboss with more dead Ork Boyz.

The Stompa's last hull point finally fell to a cheeky melta gun and exploded in fine fashion – alas (or fortunately) nobody was in range to take the damage.

Typhus had taken a couple of wounds from a cheeky Mad Doc syringe and a Power Klaw. Then his own Daemon weapon turned on him and he took another wound. The Greater Daemon and Plague Marines joined the melee and things were drawing to an inevitable conclusion as the Orks became overwhelmed.

The challenge went out again and finally the Warboss crept out from his hiding place. Typhus decided it was time to end him so stepped forward, despite having only a single wound left that he was very likely to lose.

The Greater Daemon and Plague Marines took down out a few more Orks, and it all came down to the challenge. 

The Warboss's attacks came in and two got through – Typhus unable to save both meaning he was dead. But with one last swipe of his Reaper he managed to roll an epic 10 attacks, with six strikes getting through. The Warboss was killed outright with the first (Force Weapons hmmmm…), the other five spilling onto the remaining Orks and wiping them all out.

As the turn came to a close, the Orks had a unit of Boyz with a Big Mek (still hiding behind the Rhino, next to the crater left by the Stompa) and a handful of Grots. Chaos had lost the Forgefiend and Helbrute and a handful of marines and daemons.

The Ork attack had faltered – The Forge remained firmly in Chaos hands.

The fighting had been brutal and intense. The battlefield was strewn with bodies and a caustic smell of burnt flesh. The air was thick with psychic energy and oily smoke, both gradually dissipating as the calm returned. The Orks had been destroyed, the survivors scattering once their leader fell. Typhus too had fallen in combat, but he would return. As the chosen son of Nurgle he would never truly die. He had come to do a job and had done it well. The Orks had failed to take The Forge and had revealed their secret weapon in the process. Now the master would be well prepared when the final assault came.

40k: The Nurgle Plan…

As mentioned yesterday in the opening round of banter, the Chaos forces on Sakar Prime have called in Typhus and his Nurgle minions to defend The Forge from the Bull's Ork hordes.

But what's the plan?

As part of the mission rules the Chaos army has to take Fortifications of some description. This was always going to be the case and I learned a few lessons from our first battle in this respect. The question is how far do you go? Fortifications are great, but the cost can soon mount up and that's points you could spend on more Troops. So which is better – more Troops or solid bunkers and defence lines to protect the Troops you already have?

I would also like to convert the Fortifications I do have to make them more Nurgly but this would make them unsuitable for use (because I'm fussy) with other armies, and I'm not prepared to give GW more of my money. I need to go back to my roots and build terrain from scratch… if I had the time.

You may recall that when 6th Edition came out (September 2012) I began a Nurgle army, so I have a decent number of models I can call upon for this coming battle. No doubt the Iron Warriors would be more than happy to lend a tank or three but the Nurgle army has the option of quite a few daemonic vehicles which makes things interesting.

I'm using this game as an opportunity to spend more time finishing the units that were abandoned after our 6th Ed enthusiasm waned. It would be nice to put some finishing touches to the possessed Heldrake and Forgefiend, as well as some of the character models… such as my converted 'Dark Vengeance' Lord.

In addition, I started a unit of Nurgle bikers which would be awesome to field – Toughness 6 bikes! They are quite a time sink though so they may not make it in time for next week's battle. As much as we are defending the line again, I would like to have something fast (or survivable) that could get in behind the Orks and cause a disruption.

So, much like the last game, the plan is to spend some time on my neglected models. It wouldn't be fair to not have a surprise or two up my sleeve for game day – with the army list already decided I'm quite excited about this battle. I have to say this is possibly the one army that keeps me interested in 40k and so it would be good to expand it a little to compete with the Iron Warriors.

I'll post ongoing progress as soon as there is something to see!

Chaos Call In The Wolf…

"You're callin' the Wolf? Sheeeeeet, that's all you had to say!"

The assault on Sakar Prime by the Orks was taking its toll already. The small Iron Warrior garrison overseeing the Communications Array had been swept away and now the Orks were moving on to The Forge. It was imperative that The Forge was not lost – it was too important a site for the Chaos Powers. It was time that specialist forces were brought in to deal with the Ork incursion and stall their advances.

There was only one individual who could get the job done and that was Typhus. His Nurgle forces were ideal for grinding down the enemy and this was what was required. This would give the rest of the Iron Warriors time to shore up the defences around the mining facility itself and prepare for the inevitable all-out attack there.

Typhus arrived, undetected by the Orks, and soon there was a plan in place. The greenskins would not find The Forge so easy a target. The Orky green tide would be washed away by a brown Nurgle tsunami of rot and disease.

Clash of the Big Hitters

Yesterday saw the Blood Bowl debut for Mr Awdry's South Coast Saurus team against my own untested Plagueis Contagion Nurgle team.

When I arrived at Awdry Towers, Michael and Bull were already in the middle of a last minute training session. I have to admit that I was cautious yet confident going into this game. Last time we played Blood Bowl I had found my zone and things were really starting to click with all my teams, however, that was over a month ago and I was struggling to remember the basics as I unboxed my models.

The game started with an ominous Kick Off Table roll – Pitch Invasion. Luckily I only had one player stunned, whilst the Saurus were down two!

I kicked to the Lizardmen and the game got underway. The halfway line soon became an impenetrable wall as the two teams literally went head to head. All my months of learning had gone out of the window and I was resorting to newbie tactics, desperate to down some of the Saurus big hitters.

It didn't help that the dice were definitely not on my side and I quickly used up my two re-rolls. With Bull coaching him from the sidelines, suggesting various moves and combinations, it wasn't long before a Skink broke through the line with the ball and raced into the endzone.

1–0 to the Saurus

The Lizardmen kicked to me and I was feeling quite confident that I could score before half time. The Kick Off Table roll went against me again, as Michael got a free re-roll. Not to worry, I set my plan in motion but my Beast of Nurgle continued his non-participation stance and my plan started to unravel.

My Pestigor went for the ball, to move it out of danger, but was unable to pick it up. A skink broke through the lines, followed by a Saurus and before I knew it he had grabbed the ball and was in the endzone. Much laughter and cheering followed from the coaches on the other side of the table and I could see my chance of an opening win slipping away.

2–0 to the Saurus

Half time brought some respite – and a bacon sarnie or two – and a chance to gather my thoughts. I would be receiving next half and could grab a couple of scores if I was cunning and ruthless enough.

By the end of the first half I had managed to injure not only the enormous Kroxigor, but also a Saurus, drastically reducing the oppositions hitting power. This would be the key to my comeback.

The Kick Off table gave Michael a free Blitz turn, but the Pestigor grabbed the ball with intent and ran straight up the middle to a gap that was being created. I ensured all the Saurus were tied up before he burst through (somewhat alone) with only a skink or two to stop him.

I was desperate to score as quickly as I could but the dice were against me and it took until the fifth turn for me to stroll into the endzone. Not a lot of time left to grab an equaliser, but do-able.

2–1 to the Saurus

By this point Bull has left the match for a prior engagement so Michael was left to his own devices. I was hoping to seize an opportunity from his lack of experience and the inevitable mistakes that follow.

I set up my team in a blitz formation, hoping to charge down the ball and force a turnover. Michael decided on a refused flank tactic so I decided to take a chance and kick short to the opposite side. The dice were kind and the ball stopped 5 squares from the half way line, with no models between it and my Pestigor. The Kick Off table granted Michael another free move but I was confident that there was nothing to stop me grabbing the ball and getting an equaliser.

I have to say, risky as it was, the dice were kind and Michael's play worked a charm. His skink grabbed the ball and ran over to another skink handing the ball to him. This second skink then ran down the line behind the Saurus refused flank and squeezed through a gap.

Despite my best efforts I had nobody back with enough speed to get to the ball carrier before he scored.

3–1 to the Saurus

My final turn saw me try and inflict as much damage as possible but my dice were done for the day.

End of the Game.

Great game after months of build up. A crushing defeat for my Nurgle in the end but we walked away untouched and with a new skill for my Pestigor (Sure Hands perhaps?!). My Beast of Nurgle also managed to get two casualties so he is sitting nicely on 4 points.

Thanks to Michael for being an awesome host as always, and a gentleman in victory. His next game will be more trying as he will be missing his Krox and a Saurus, but he too came away with a new skill for one of the skinks.

Stay tuned.

Salute 2014 and Beyond

I've now had 48 hours to recover from another great day at Salute. This year was a little different as, not only did I have a shopping list with me, I was also going to give away some free miniatures.

Unfortunately wearing a black t-shirt with a rather small logo on the front and back was not enough to catch many people's eye, so I came home with a few more than anticipated – next year I may have to go all-out cosplay!

Yet, at the end of the day the main reason for the visit to the big smoke was to have a good day and that is what we had. I picked up a few miniatures for my next 'secret' project – my wife wanted to know why I'd only bought models of skinny women – though not everything on my list was available so I've done some more ordering since getting home.

I also managed to get some decent storage for my X-Wing models – no longer do I have to fear for their safety. Again, since returning home, I've ordered a similar box for all my Blood Bowl models which currently have no home. These cardboard containers are pretty good for storing in the attic short-term – they're cheap and cheerful.

I did bump into quite a few people on my way around the hall. I also missed a few people who either didn't cross my path or didn't go this year. It's a pity something of this scale is only once a year. I would have thought there was room for another later in the year and Excel is such a great place to be at (for me at least).

I also got to meet fellow blogger Kyle from Mr Lee's Painting Eporium. I've been a big fan of Kyle's work for some time now and a regular visitor to his blog (and visa versa). We had a good old chat about 'stuff' and was a great end to the day. Cheers Kyle.

So with this year's show out of the way there is no rest for the wicked… or me. This weekend myself and Bull are driving down to Awdry Towers to pull Michael (kicking and screaming) into the world of Blood Bowl.

I managed to get my Nurgle Warriors (above) painted last week, but still have the rest of the team to complete before Saturday. I managed to get these guys done in an afternoon with Game of Thrones on in the background. Took me back to the old days of painting before a tournament – it's amazing the results you can achieve when you have no time to waste and have to make quick decisions.

More of that after the weekend. I just have to sit and wait for all my parcels to arrive!

Painting The Nurgle Team…

After a successful semi-debut on Sunday with the Nurgle team, and inspired by a day of painting, I thought I would spend a little time adding some colour to my rotten players.

It was always the intention for this team to be a quick turn around in terms of painting, however, I am still experimenting with colours to some extent. Here's a run down of the process to date…

I started off – a couple of weeks ago – putting together the team on larger 30mm bases and using a bit of Polyfilla as texture. The Beast, as I discussed, is a resin piece from Kromlech; the Warriors and Pestigor are recycled 40k/Fantasy miniatures; the Rotters a combination of Mantic Zombies and Chaos Marauder bitz.

Next I got out the greenstuff and added it to every model. The Beast needed nothing more than a bit of filling. The Pestigor and Warriors had a few Nurgle extras added to have them looking the part a bit more. Meanwhile the Rotters had extensive work done, filling and bulking out parts of the models. Nothing complicated here and very quick to achieve decent results.

Once the greenstuff had cured, the models are spray basecoated in batches using the Army Painter Necrotic Flesh spray. A couple of passes later they look like they've been dipped in melted white chocolate!

Seeing the team in their creamy base colour – eurgh! – was enough to inspire me to move on as quickly as possible. I defaulted to my old routine of lots of inks and washes.

Every model had an initial wash of Army Painter Green Tone, then several coats of Citadel's Camoshade. In fact, they had so many coats of this last colour that (as you can see) many parts of the models got flooded to almost black! Still they looked a hell of a lot more like Nurgle miniatures.

I gave an exposed areas of flesh a wash of the watered down Necrotic Flesh to offset the flooding of the Camoshade. This was then given a couple of thin washes of Druchii Violet. This added some warmth to the model, helping to offset all the green. Armour was given a quick coat of Knarloc Green with a couple of highlights.

…and that's how things stand at the moment. The armour will get more Camoshade attention, the flesh some highlights and details. I have no doubt I'll still sink a lot of time into the Beast as he's just such a fantastic model.

The need to be ready for just after Salute, so stay tuned for a final team photo!