Shadowsword - Iron Warriors

Hi guys - I have a new toy to share with you today; a Shadowsword super-heavy tank.

Its hard to tell now, but this is actually Siph's Shawdowsword that he converted back in 2009, but never got around to painting it - so I kindly re-purposed it for my Iron Warriors (not that I can really use it in games other than Apoc or 30k as Tormentor).

Siph had done some awesome work converting the tank to be 5 out of the 6 Shadowsword variants, although I ended up gluing the hull in the rear position, so its now not 100% accurate as the Banehammer and Doomhammers - but close enough for me.

I filed off the filthy imperial aquilas from the sides of the tank and anywhere else I could find them (other than the tracks - because...just no) - so it fits in with my Iron Warriors, although there is now heraldry on there.

 I actually started working on the tank back in Autumn last year - but got interrupted by a Titan, so promised myself that this would my next priority to get finished.

I treated the paint job in exactly the same way I would a normal Iron Warriors tank - just like a giant Rhino really. Which was fine until I got round to painting on all the edge highlights/scratches - which admittedly took me ages.

 

I'm pretty happy with how the weathering came out - I was a little concerned about the sheer flat expanse of some of the surfaces; even as detailed as they are, painting them as bare steel left it looking very sparse, but that wasn't really a problem after all the mud had gone on.

 

I hope you like - I can't wait to get it in a game and start blasting holes in Siphs Titans.

Relictors Landspeeder - Apocalypse Suppression Squadron

Coming at you from sea still - A small update to my ever growing Relictor Battle Company, another landspeeder which I found in my big pile-o'-to-do box, I intended this for a Apocalypse Suppression Squadron when Apoc came out, so finally I had this completed in January! Now I just have to go find the rules somewhere as it is not in the latest Apoc edition... basically the Landspeeder acts as a spotter and if has LOS, the Whirlwinds don't count as firing indirectly - or something along those lines. Anyway, one can never have too many anti-tank fast options for 40K.

The frontal view shows the underslung sensor package, this is the Marine Sensor from the Apoc Command Upgrade Sprue. And because the formation can be any type of Landspeeder, I opted for a basic MM armed one so I could field in a normal game of 40K when points were tight.

The tail fin has the numeral III as it is the third Landspeeder I have done, so all three can operate as a Squadron if wanted.

The rear thrusters of the landspeeder show a red and blue 'light', just the same as the others and the same as any Marine Backpack or Terminator waist in the army so far, a visual link to the rest of the force. Grab a mini and look - see bet you didn't even notice they were there!

Finally, a shot of the whole Squadron together - that must be able to toast a Landraider or Sicaran Battletank or two...

Welcome Home Siph! - Ooh Pressies!

Well, I'm finally back from sea and decided to treat myself to some new purchases, darn it GW... my plastic crack habit bites the wallet again and my Necrons will play second fiddle again to the newest miniatures on the block...

I bought myself a Stalker/Hunter, some Centurions and a Tactical Squad - for the new Grav Weapons and one or two new poses. How I'm gonna justify a 11th squad of Battle Brothers I don't know! ;)  And waiting for me was the gamers edition of Apoc with the massive Vortex Grenande carry case! Anyone else missing the Formation Cards... I got the amended Daemon ones in the post but don't yet have the originals they replace?

I'm glad 6thDegree and Lord H have been keeping me upto date with their respective projects whilst i've been away and now the Weeman trophy resides up North for a while... Well, hello avid readers, I'm back for a few weeks so hope to get some weemen painted and posted before I disappear back to sea to go hunt for pirates... and sunken ships, I kid you not!

9000pt Apocalypse Madness - Picture Heavy

Another weekend, another 40k battle - this time Siph and I decided to go 'old school' with a good old fashioned floor battle - as we had a full weekend potentially available we went for a mammoth 9000 points a side, including titans and superheavies - as we arranged our respective armies together, it was apparent that this battle was going to be colossal, with potentially average 40k armies getting killed in a single turn. (Turn 1 and 2 being the Relictors!!- Siph)

The scenario for the titanic battle pitted the mighty Ultramarines against the Relictors. Each force included Reavers and, for the Relictors a Warhound from Legio Astorum. The Relictors had also included two Baneblades and an Emperors Fist of 10 Leman Russ Battletanks and a lowly squad of 10 Guard (all I'd painted! - Siph) to fight on their side. For the Ultramarines, a Shadowsword and Banesword fought on their side, along with a Vindicare and Eversor assassins.

### (Transmission) ### Marneus Calgar - this is Sgt Abacus, we have located the site were the forces of chaos once fought. The city of Andarc, once a proud Imperial City - now a wasteland of deserted buildings and wrecked tanks. We believe that we have located relics within the city, 5 in total. We have sent scouts ahead to monitor the location, however reports indicate that they spotted a large force heading this way - request further intervention - Lord Calgar - we have spotted titans - aaarrrgghhhhh...(static)(Transmission Ends) ###

## 'Sergeant Abacus, Lord Calger- confirmation- titans?' 'Sergeant Abacus confirm!' ###

### 'Master Librarian Ephesus - Ultramarines have been spotted within the city- how would you like to proceed? '

'Titan Honorum - engage the hostiles'

'Sir? - these are Ultramarines'

'They are here to prevent us taking the relics! We need those relics for the Emperor - engage!' ###

Deployment

As per a normal Apocalypse battle we selected our strategic assets, and the time to deploy. Having played a couple of apocalypse battles before, I knew how important going first was. I decided to opt for a deployment time of 90 seconds- Siph 22 minutes - Thus the mad dash to deploy all my initial troops started- with Siph laughing as I hopped over buildings trying not to cause too much damage. I was quite happy with the facts, that I had 3 trusty strategic assets- careful planning - allowing half the reserves to arrive on turn 1, flank march - allowing my reserves to enter from any table edge and legion relic - a nasty S10 power weapon, that doubles the users attacks, I gave this to my Jump packed Captain - 8 attacks on the charge- nasty!

Siph went for the precision strike - allowing all models firing at a single unit (Emperor's Fist against Terminus) to hit on a 2+ for a whole turn, Orbital Bombardment- apocalypse barrage (4) S8, AP3 of pain (which I forgot to use! - Siph. Doh!), and Strategic Redeployment - allowing any of my forces outside 12" of enemy to move anywhere across the table on Turn 1.

Deployment

Turn 1

Turn 1 saw the arrival of half the Ultramarines Reserves, taking key positions around the relictors deployment. In response the Relictors used the strategic redeployment to re-deploy force to the left flank of the Ultramarines.

Key moments- Saw the arrival of half the Ultramarines reserves, taking key positions around the Relictors deployment. In response, the Relictors utilised the strategic redeployment assets to redeploy forces to the left of the Ultramarines. The Ultramarine terminators supported by Marneus Calgar, and honour guard into the Relictors terminators, with the Relictors taking heavy casualties.

Turn 2

Key moments- Relictor Vindicators turn to combined fire against the Land Raiders- however the blast (even though it was 10inches missed!) Ultramarine Ironclad disposed of the Chief Librarian, and took a wound of the Relictors Chapter Master.

Turn 3

Key Points- Marneus Calgar finishes off the Relictors chapter master, The Leman Russ's take damage from the Land Raider Terminus, however the Russ's take out the marines holding the objective in front of them, the Ultramarine Scouts are blasted apart by the banblades in the centre- again leaving an objective clear. The Ultramarine captain with the legion relic charges into the Reaver, taking 2 structure points- in return the Reaver flattens the Captain with a mighty stomp. Ultramarines down 1 objective.

Turn 4-

Key Points- The Leman russ's charge into take the objective in the ruin- they open fire on the shadowsword by the Ultramarine held objective, causing a hit, which took a structure point, the result of which caused an apocalyptic explosion! (Siph rolled 3 6's in a roll!) the resultant blast killed the Ultramarines holding the objective! Marneus Calgar took all the firepower of the Reaver, falling after several destroyer blasts from the turbo laser destroyer! (simply overkill.... Jedi)

The end of the battle saw Siph holding 2 objectives, Jedi with 0 (due to the -1 legion relic)

Overall a really great battle, with several interesting situations. (I will be working to produce some Apoc House Rules as a post over the next few weeks.) it definitely helped having plenty of space for the battle, and having floor space for dice rolling/discussions/beer drinking. There were a few moments of heated discussions- such as drop podding next to a titan (within void shields) and whether a hit from a destroyer weapon should negate some invulnerable saves (storm shields) These are definitely special battles, which can provide those magic moments- the 3 6's Siph rolled was just incredible- then the apoc blast of 11inches taking my squad out holding the objective.

Apocalypse Battle Report - 4500 pts

Once again the forces of the Ultramarines and Relictors drew swords, both armies brought along several considerable units from requisitioned from the Zevas IV Planetary Defence Force and garrisoned Titan Legions.

The battlelines were drawn across the ruins of the former capital city which through earlier battles had been reduced to ruins. The Relictors were searching for relics in the ruins of the Shrine of the Aquila temples when the large Ultramarine and Super Heavy force came at them. The Relictors won first turn and struck back with 3 Baneblades and a Warhound and Linebreaker Squadron. The Banes opened up on the Reaver taking down some Void Shields but failing to penetrate the defences, the Warhound fired at the greatest threat - a titan killing Shadowsword and destroyed its main gun with the Plasma Blastgun on maximum power. The relictor Predator and Dreadnought fired at the accompanying enemy Baneblade taking out its main cannon.
The Ultramarine force kept up the initiative and launched a drop pod assault with its Ironclad Dreadnought landing at the feet of the Warhound. The Reaver opened up its main weapons destroying one of the three enemy Baneblades and an Apocalyptic Barrage on the Relictor Linebreaker Squadron, destroying two of them. The shadowsword carried out damage control and repaired the main gun whilst the Reaver regenerated 2 of 3 collapsed voids. In the assault phase, the space marine hero within the Ironclad showed us why he should have been saved from death and carried out a near suicidal charge into the Warhound - the warhound struck back at the Ironclad stunning him but not before the dreadnought sheared through one of the Warhound's vunerable knee joints bringing the mighty War Engine to the ground in a mighty explosion - when the dust and flame dispersed, the ironclad stood alone in a smoking crater.
This was the beginning of the end for the dubious Relictors, the Assault Squad and Chaplain holding a recovered Legion Relic were lost to the warp in a deep strike mishap, whilst the Sternguard in a drop pod assault behind the Ultramarine lines failed miserably in the shooting phase and overheated 6 Vengeance bolters killing one of their number and only slaying 3 enemy. In a response to the titan killing Dreadnought, the Relictors fired a point blank Demolisher round from the surviving Vindicator killing the heroic space marine ancient outright. The surviving two baneblades turned their guns on the enemy baneblade taking its last structure point and destroying it in an apocalyptic explosion. The Relictor Dreadnought and Predator fired at the Shadowsword destroying the repaired Volcano Cannon once again.

In response, a second Relictor baneblade was destroyed by the Reaver, a second Baneblade loyal to the Ultramarines flank marched behind the Vindicator and Relictor troops holding an objective and started to open fire on the Relictor marines but misjudged the short range, killing 3 of the troops but the misfire also destoyed the main cannon in the large explosion. The Ultramarine Captain with the Legion Relic and Assault troops charged the Relictor sternguard, slaying them all but one - with the Legion Relic and finishing of the remaining veteran with the accompanying assault squad. It was not going well for Siph!

Siph only had a squad of Terminators and some Tactical Marines left in reserve against the unstoppable Reaver and Ultramarines. The loss of the Relictor Legion Relic (resulting in minus one to any objectives held) and the Warhound and 2 Baneblades was too much for Siph and he called the battle there and then. This was a well earnt and first victory for Pornstarjedi against Siph, and an excellent result for the Ironclad Drop Pod assault!

Points we learnt from Siph's first foray into Apocalypse and Pornstar's second, were to be wary of close assault on our 'invincible' and highly expensive super heavy walkers. Baneblades act better in large groups! and are great fun to play. Even a humble dreadnought can seriously hurt an over confident foe - punching far above it's weight. Deep strike is a risky business without Homer Beacons or Drop Pods. We also think that Apoc battles will be better played against bigger forces, and different ones, we will try to arrange an Apoc at our LFGS with some other gamers as well. We look forward to getting our FW Reaver's done so they can bring as much death and destruction to the enemies of the God Emperor!.

Apocalypse Hints and Tips

From my first apocalypse battle, and boy was it a massive apocalyptic battle!! Stompa's, a Reaver titan, a Gargant and Thunderhawk Gunship plus millions of troops!

I feel that an apocalypse battle needs good planning beforehand, the guys at Games Workshop had organised the whole event and sorted a clear battle plan and history for the battle. They supplied the tables, terrain, and in a game with over 20,000 points you need lots of terrain!

I planned my army the week before, as the initial plan was for 4,000pts per player. However, on arrival I was told that due to the Imperials being down a player that I could have more troops. Queue a mad dash home to pick up more tanks!

In my mind, there are a couple of key points that I took away from the battle which I would like to share:

• Time- We only had 2 hours play, and we were strict with the half an hour turn rule. This helped to keep the game moving. - It would of been good to have more time so look to have your battles over the course of a day/weekend
• Organiser- We had one of the guys from GW monitor the game for any issues/problems/bare knuckle fist fights etc- Having a strong organiser is essential for a smooth game.
• Space- We had 4, 8x4 tables so lots of space for all the weemen! - You also need to be able to reach models in the centre of the board, therefore having lower tables is best
• Communication- Talking to both your team mates and opposition is vital. Any roll you make needs to be done whilst one of the opposition watches to avoid any 'what was that roll for?' and 'how did you kill my super-heavy??)
• Dice, Dice and more Dice... I found it useful to have several different colours of dice.
• Having further space to keep you reserve units save, and out of the way.
• Troop choices are essential, simply these guys are needed to grab the objectives.

Hope that these points are useful!!

Imperial force vs Orks Games Workshop Apocalypse battle March 2009

I took part in my first Apocalypse battle at my local Games Workshop. It was a weekend of 40k, however due to work I could only attend the Sundays activities.

The battle was themed around the third War of Armageddon, a massive force of Orks clashed with the Imperial forces. There were 5 Ork players and 4 Imperial. Each player had upwards of 5000 points.
My Ultramarines comprised of serious 'punch' units, two squads of Terminators with a Terminator Chaplain and the God Of War (or dog of war during the battle) Marneus Calgar. These units were transported into battle in a Thunderhawk Gunship. I also had two 10 man full drop pods, a combat squad supported by Tigurius, 6 man Sternguard squad with Cassius, two Dreadnoughts a Landraider with support from a Baneblade and a Shadowsword, oh, and a Reaver! On the Imperial side there were also several baneblades/shadowswords and a Stormlord plus several Sister of Battle units.


The Orks had 5 Stompas, and a Gargant- 7 Structure points and 4 shields. The orks also had renegade Imperial guard and Space marine units. The deployment stages was very entertaining, the orks played the jamming beacon, so no communication during deployment, - 4minutes isn't long to get as many units on the table! - The orks had a massive 25 minutes and another 5 minutes to discuss their tactics!

Due to time issues we could only have 2 turns, 30 minutes a turn. let battle commence!!

Turn 1, the Orks grabbed the initiative and started first, all of the Stompa's charged forward getting into a good position to launch into assault. The Gargant took aim and blasted one of the Baneblades, 1 structure point down. The lifta drop also showed good aim and dropped one of the Leman Russ' into the forest. Combat was bloody, with the titan close combat weapons showing no grace as two Baneblades were assaulted, one exploding taking another two Leman Russ' with it! (curse that 6 on the super heavy catastrophy table!) The Reaver took some heavy fire and all void shields were overloaded. (BOO!!)

Imperial turn 1 started with the landing of the Thunderhawk Gunship (reserves were allowed on turn 1 due to the lack of time). Terminators and Marneus deployed from the gunship, ready to charge into assault that turn. The Sisters of Battle charged forward to comand the objective in no-mans-land. My Sternguard took control of the second objective in no-mans-land. The shooting phase was heavy, with all weapons fired at the Gargant and the Stompas. The Gargant lost all of its shields and 2 structure points. 1 Gargant was reduced to 1 structure point. The assault phase was swift as the Terminators and Marneus charged into the renegade Imperial forces and wiped them out without loss. The Orks final turn, the arrival of another Stompa, two mobs of Killer Kans and 30 ork boyz just behind the Reaver titan, all ready to charge into combat. Things were looking bad for the Imperials. More boyz arrived on the other side if the table to contest the objective in no-mans-land from the Sternguard. A further mob of biker boyz zoomed up behind one of the Baneblades, the Nobz powerclaw readied for action. The Orks weren't able to hit a thing, (a good thing) however, the Renegade forces with the support from a Drop Pod full of space marines managed to take out two of the mighty terminators (Two failed storm shields saves. I need bigger shields like Siph's Termi's.) and also took out the thunderhawk with lascannon fire from all directions. In the assault phase, the orks took control of the battle, two more Baneblades felt the wrong end of the Stompa's close combat weapons. A further Baneblade was destroyed by that Ork Nob on the warbike (four 6's in a row... unbelieveable). Worst was to follow as the Orks behind the Reaver charged into combat with my lone combat squad, wiping them out to a man, the Stompa charged into combat with the Reaver and hammered home by taking off 3 structure points. Things were looking very bad for the Imperial forces.
The final turn had little movement, Drop Pods were deployed to contest objectives. Orbital bombardments with support fire from the remaining super heavy tanks managed to take out the Gargant, on the last roll for damage, a 6 was rolled... a further roll of 6 meant that the Gargant went out with a massive apocalyptic explosion. 9 was rolled, thus taking a massive amount of troops and tanks, enough to have made a good small skirmish! Close combat again was manic as the Terminators smashed into more of the Renegade Imperial forces and killing more of them. The Reaver stomped back at the killer kans around its base, taking one with it, however the combination of 2 killer kans and the Stompa were enough to take down the mighty Titan. A bell on Mars chimed at the death of one of its mighty war machines.

As the dust settled, the results were close. The Imperial forces had control of 1 objective and contested 3 others, the Orks had control of 2 objectives!! The Orks won the battle.