HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM BBF !!!

The Dark Eldar revel in piracy, enslavement and torture, and are sadistic in the extreme. Dark Eldar armies make use of various anti-gravityskimmers such as Raiders and Ravagers to launch high speed attacks. They strike with little or no warning, using an interdimensional labyrinth known as the Webway to traverse the galaxy safely and far more quickly than most races are able to with their Warp jumps.

Breaking down dark eldar • Part II - The 3 Stages

In my first introductory article on dark eldar I provided the math hammer for lances versus armor; my conclusion is that while lances are not strong at wrecking armor, they are good at shaking and stunning treads. So first you want to come in firing your lance battery shaking and stunning enemy tanks.

Oh My !!!

Hyori Lee

Breaking down dark eldar • Army wide analysis

This article is my second on the topic of the new dark eldar. It is meant as an introduction to assess the army as a whole, comparing their strengths and weaknesses versus the current top tiered lists. I consider Blood Angels, Imperial Guard and Space Wolves to be the three strongest armies. Blood Angels can be competitive as either a mechanized army (razorspam) or as a DoA army (jump heavy). Imperial Guard is most competitive as a mechanized army while Space Wolves have the largest number of varied approaches.

Dark eldar lance hammer

A lot of the power gaming players I have been chatting with about the new dark eldar all gave the codex a thumbs down. So let's first look at some basic math hammer for lances. I've always said lances are not that great versus armor 12 and higher. How do they stack up against AV11 and AV10?

DoA list from Germany

Here is a list I ran across from a German RTT that took 2nd place:

DoA list (all Marines with jump packs):
2x Librarian w/ shield, lance
2x Honor Guard w/ meltas
2x Priest
3x 10 Assault Marines w/ pf, 2 meltas
3x 5 Vanguard w/ pf

Note he had 4 Sanguinary Priests with the two squads of Honor Guard.

G

Periphery

This article I consider to be an advanced tactical discussion how to use a DoA Blood Angels army. The basic assumption is your army is composed almost entirely of jump infantry. Possibly you have a Stormraven and maybe some landspeeders as well. You will want a high number of Marines in your army with the minimum necessary number of Sanguinary Priests for Feel No Pain. I have found two Priests works best, one is in my Honor Guard which helps save points and makes the Honor Guard more effective since the Novitiate is buffing your army, not just his unit.

Like I said I consider this article to be an advanced discussion on tactics so probably if you are not already playing a DoA style list then it's best to first start with the fundamentals, develop your confidence then come back and read this again. 

New Painter's Blog

My good friend Kenny Boucher has started a new painting blog:

http://www.nextlevelpainting.blogspot.com/

Kenny is an awesome painter and can throw together entire armies almost overnight. I highly recommend him for commissions if you need some top notch work.

G

Gothic Embrace

How Dark Eldar will Affect Us (Tactica Coming Soon !!)

3rd DoA batrep from Kissimmee, FL • BA vs. BT

So here is the final 3rd round batrep from the RTT. My friend Gareth (2nd round opponent) and I are both tied for second place (1W & 1D each) while there is a Black Templar player in 1st place with 2 wins. When the matchups for the 3rd round are announced I find out I will be pitted against the Black Templars player whose name is Gary. Gary had a beautifully painted army with lots of really neat conversions. The rules for the 3rd round work as such:

Deployment - Spearhead
Mission - Modified Objectives; You place 2+d3 objectives starting with the player who goes second. You cannot place your objectives in your own deployment zone plus they must be at least 12" apart and 12" from any table edge. At the end of each turn you score one point for each objective that you control and only scoring units can control objectives. Also a scoring unit must be disembarked to hold an objective. There will be a total of 3 objectives. I finally manage to win the roll for deployment and choose to go second.

Here is Gary's Black Templar army list:

Emperor's Champion (Preferred Enemy vow)

7x Assault terminator (Furious Charge)/5x pair of lightning claws & 2x thunderhammer & stormshield

Venerable dreadnaught (Tank Hunter)/extra armor, twin linked lascannon & DCCW

Landraider Crusader/PotMS, extra armor & pintle mounted multi-melta

10x Initiates {Crusader squad}/8x bolt pistol & chainsword, meltagun & power fist - rhino
10x Initiates {Crusader squad}/8x bolt pistol & chainsword, meltagun & power fist - rhino
10x Initiates {Crusader squad}/8x bolt pistol & chainsword, meltagun & power fist - rhino

Predator/lascannon turret & lascannon sponsons
Predator/lascannon turret & lascannon sponsons

Landspeeder/multi-melta & heavy flamer

I place my two objectives 12" apart in the same table quarter adjacent to Gary's deployment zone and they are both 12" from the long table edge. Gary places his objective in the center of the opposite table quarter.

I roll for the Red Thirst and get it for my Vanguard while the assault Marine sergeant with the thunderhammer and stormshield receives the Angel's Blessing.

More Kerli !!!

Congratulations 
False expectations 
Wrong destination 
And realization 

That is 
Manifestation 
Fake sensation 
Just imitation 
Endless frustration 


It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 
It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 

Imagination
Identification
And weak foundation
Is a bad combination


It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 
It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 

Listen 


It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 
It's all the people going up up up up 
It's all the people staying down down down 

2nd DoA batrep from Kissimmee, FL • Space Wolves

Here is the second batrep from the RTT. I was up against my long time friend and chief nemesis, Gareth. I've never beaten him in 5th edition and having just revamped my list I was really looking forward to the game. We are both very competitive so I knew it would be one of those epic matches that keep us highly focused.

The mission was killpoints which I was very glad to see as this store typically does not use them for their events. To me killpoints are a part of the balance for 5ed. Without them I tend to see MSU armies having a distinct advantage. On a side note one of the reasons why I like this store is because they tend to cater to players who invest time and effort into the appearance and background of their armies. You'll typically see some older guys there like myself who have been playing for over a decade and can bore you to death with a myriad of details and minutiae regarding our armies and why we play them.

So basically you had to beat your opponent by at least five killpoints to win, which is a tall order. At first vehicles were listed as giving up zero killpoints but after some discussion with the TOs they decided to include them as killpoints. I thought that was cool. Deployment was Spearhead (which doesn't really affect me since I run a DoA list).

Here is Gareth's list:

Wolf Lord/Thunderwolf mount, Saga of the Bear, thunderhammer, stormshield, wolftooth necklace, runic armor

3x Thunderwolves/3x stormshields, power fist, MotW, meltabombs

Wolf Lord/Thunderwolf mount, power fist, stormshield, wolftooth necklace, runic armor

3x Thunderwolves/3x stormshields, power fist, MotW

Rune Priest/JAWS & Living Lightning

5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher
5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher
5x Long Fang/4x missile launcher

5x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, meltagun - rhino
10x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, 2x meltagun - rhino
10x Grey Hunter/MotW, Wolf Standard, 2x meltagun - rhino

There was also a special rule for endless reserves. Any time one of your troop choices was destroyed the next turn it could re-enter play either coming in from your own long table edge or by outflanking. Personally I liked this rule and found it to be fun. If you recycled a troop choice then your opponent would score another killpoint if they destroyed it.

We rolled for the first turn and again I lost and had to go first. Gareth deployed in a very tight cluster using his rhinos and Thunderpups to screen his Long Fangs from my Vanguard.

I rolled for the Red Thirst and again none of my units get it. The sergeant with a power fist and infernus pistol receives the Angel's Blessing. The Sanguinor chooses the Bear Lord as his victim.

Descent of Angels Blood Angels batreps from local RTT

I had the opportunity to bring my revamped list and see how it would fare at a local tournament yesterday. A lot of people were asking if I had brought my Death Company army again, but no they are retired for now. Hee!

We had 16 players showing up with a wide assortment of armies. Some of the armies I saw there included the following:

2x Blood Angels (including mine)
Black Templars (beautifully painted army)
2x Tau
2x Tyranids (one was a gorgeous army and won the award for best painted)
1x Space Wolves (Thunderwolf/Grey Hunter/Long Fang spam)
Orks (Ghaz horde)

Surprisingly there were no IG armies present... Seems like they aren't as popular here as they used to be.

Some really interesting missions that were challenging to play and lots of fun.

So here is my list (2000 points):

The Sanguinor
Librarian (jump pack)/Epistolary, Unleash Rage, Sanguine Sword
Honor Guard (jump packs, chapter banner):
•Novitiate
•Pair of lightning claws
•Lightning claw & stormshield
•Lightning claw & stormshield
•Thunderhammer & stormshield

Sanguinary Priest (jump pack)/power sword

Vanguard Veterans (jump packs):
Sergeant/power fist, stormshield & meltabombs
4x power sword & bolt pistol

10x Assault Marine/thunderhammer & stormshield, meltagun & flamer
10x Assault Marine/power fist & infernus pistol, meltagun & flamer

Furioso/extra armor, heavy flamer, pair of Blood Talons

Stormraven/extra armor, twin linked lascannon & twin linked multi-melta

Librarian joins Honor Guard, they ride in Stormraven with Furioso. I deployed the same each game - Stormraven held in normal reserve, all other units held in reserve and deep strike.

The Importance of Always Being Honest

I dont think any is more important, especially on the Internet. As was once said you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool everyone. So sure you can get over on a lot of people but it's not worth it.

I am in Austin this week and had the opportunity to play Goatboy from BoLS this evening. It was awesome to see his Goat Marines up close and personal. It was an epic match, my DoA BA versus his SW. My dice were cold in the beginning with a full assault squad destroyed due to a mishap after a risky deep strike but then it settled out and was a very exciting game. Ended up with a draw which was very cool. Like I said it was epic. I got to run my new squad with the Epistolary and Honor Guard - they came in a bit late (par for the course, hee) but then they did some nasty things with the Honor Guard managing to survive through to the end. A very nice evening and the sweet potato fries hit the spot .

G

New Blood Angels Assault Unit

Hi everyone ! Thanks for following my blog. There has been some recent growth following the Sanguinary Guard Project articles and that's a great feeling. Always feel free to comment if you'd like to share your thoughts.

I have recently been experimenting a bit with a couple of new HQs for my DoA Blood Angels army and I'm liking it so far. After all the hard work on my Sanguinary Guard I decided to drop Commander Dante and his golden boy retinue to finally test the Librarian with a squad of Honor Guard.

Armies I like to play and why I enjoy them

This article is intended to discuss why I play the armies you often see featured here. Basically there are three fundamental concepts I follow:

(1) Unique
(2) Character
(3) Fun

BOLTER BEACH II DATES MOVED BACK ONE WEEK

Kerli Girl 13

There's a little creepy house
In a little creepy place
Little creepy town
In a little creepy world
Little creepy girl
With her little creepy face
Saying funny things that you have never heard

Do you know what it's all about
Are you brave enough to figure out
Know that you could set your world on fire
If you are strong enough to leave your doubts

Feel it
Breathe it
Believe it
And you'll be walking on air
Go try
Go fly 
So high
And you'll be walking on air
You feel this
unless you kill me
Go on
And you're forgiven
I knew that
I could feel that
I feel like
I am walking on air

She has a little creepy cat
And a little creepy bat
A little rocking chair and an old blue hat
That little creepy girl 
Oh she loves to sing
She has a little gift 
An amazing thing
With her little funny eyes of hazel
With her little funny old blue hat
She will go and set the world on fire
No one ever thought she could do that

Feel it
Breathe it
Believe it
And you'll be walking on air
Go try
Go fly 
So high
And you'll be walking on air
You feel this
unless you kill me
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 
Go on
And you're forgiven
I knew that
I could feel that
I feel like
I am walking on air

Flitter up
and Hover down
Be all around
Be all around

You know that I love you, go on

Feel it
Breathe it
Believe it
And you'll be walking on air
Go try
Go fly 
So high
And you'll be walking on air
You feel this
unless you kill this
Go on
And you're forgiven
I knew that
I could feel that
I feel like
I am walking on air

Monarch Programming

Link to Explanation regarding Monarch Programming...

Kerli Girl 13 said "A lot of songs I wrote when I was really depressed and then the later songs I wrote after coming out of the depression, so the theme of the album pretty much is overcoming the darkness. ... I believe that until you are absorbed by the darkness you cannot overcome it and face the light. Surfing Dakka Dakka reminded me of the Mind Control experimentation."

Technique for painting golden armor

Here is the recipe for my golden armor - I saw this technique posted over on the B&C BA forum and tried to improve it a bit. :)

1) Solid black basecoat. Let this dry overnight.
2) Solid layer of Mithril Silver on all raised areas on armor. This layer should be thorough with no black spots sticking through. Let this dry overnight.
3) 8-10 washes of Sepia. I let each layer dry for several hours - this step transforms the silver to gold. Let the final wash dry overnight.
4) Lightly glaze over with wash of Shining Gold (3 part distilled water to gold paint). This step makes the gold sparkle a bit (ala Twilight :P). Let this wash completely dry).
5) One light wash of yellow (I used yellow Wonder Wash). This step really helps to make the gold pop.
6) Black wash in the greaves and recesses for better definition.
7) Finally highlight edges with first Mithril Silver then Chainmail Silver. That's it.

It takes a long time to go through all the steps but it's actually quite an easy technique.

G

Not another rant really - the state of the game where we stand now

Well I have to be honest and say I hate MSU armies. It's just not my style. That said I am okay with people playing them, I don't expect people to play my elite lists. My only complaint is when a tourney features a host of missions that favor one style of play such as MSU. I have to say I think VP favors MSU and was not intended as a primary win condition for 5ed. I know a lot of people hate KP but I see this as balance. In my mind a GT should feature missions with a variety of primary goals. Playing basically the same mission five to six times in a row is boring and obviously encourages one style over everything else. If you just want to play one win condition then sure it's easy to say some armies suck a long prong. Now if there was truly a variety of win conditions and a win is a win pure and simple versus the old battle points approach then we would see a broader spectrum of armies doing well. It's when only style of list can churn out massacre/win after massacre/win that I have to say something stinks. See it doesn't matter what system you advocate if it all just boils down to the same thing. I've been a TO for Indy GTs for over the past few years and what I look for are the best concepts others are using so I can borrow/steal from them and then tweak the heck out of them.

On the subject of painting - to me this aspect of the hobby is being grossly overlooked now. So I want to play mech BA and bring my Imperial Fists, or I want to play SW and bring my Chaos Space Marines. To me something is fundamentally very wrong with this approach. I think if you want to bring BA then you should bring red Marines. Really it's just that simple too. TOs should be stewards of the hobby and encourage players to bring beautifully painted armies with lots of wack conversions. When I go to a GT seriously I dont want to play lots of games versus plastic gray armies or hastily assembled dry brushed dipped washed armies. Sadly we are seeing more and more of these. Now don't get me wrong - I think you should be able to play whatever you want as long as it's legal. Sure there are some armies I personally don't enjoy playing against such as parking lots but I fully understand this is what it is and it's not going to change. I wont hold that against anyone ever. And if everyone were completely honest they'd realize there armies they don't enjoy playing either. Like I said it is what it is.   >.<

So dont take what I've said as a counterpoint. I have embraced many elements from NOVA and BoLS. I want to infuse them all together in one big pot and come up with something even better. Just take a look at my mission from Bolter Beach I (June 2010) - an objective in each table quarter that are all scattered 2d6 prior to the start of the game. As far as I know I was the first to do this and it seems to have caught on elsewhere to some degree. I'm happy about that too. So I hope ya understand where I'm coming from and realize this is not a rant. I do love to rant but this is definitely not one of those times.

G

Are 5ed Tyranids a sleeper codex ?

I have some forums I like to visit where there is strong tactical and strategic discussion. I keep reading posts that leave me wondering if Tyranids will make a surge. We know they have their problems now and some smart people are forecasting the new dark eldar as another thorn in the side of the hive fleet but honestly this kind of talk is purely speculation. Sure the dark eldar codex will be in our hands very soon. The question I pose is will dark eldar drive the last nail in the proverbial coffin or will it reanimate the hive? I am willing to go out on a limb and say here that based on everything I've read that Tyranids will be reborn. Some of us were hoping that Tyranids would drive a long sharp stake into the heart of mech but it didn't happen. From what I've read dark eldar will be another army that relies upon mech. We know that paper airplanes crash and burn but still it's quite potent. It is going to be very interesting to see what happens over the next six months. I'd love to see some change. Parking lots are boring.

G

In closing...

Sanguinary Guard Group Shot

Sanguinary Guard Project Part VI * Standard Bearer Fidelis

Initiate Fidelis
Brother Fidelis is the Chapter's Standard Bearer. Fidelis has the great honor of carrying the holy standard into battle and is a focal point for the entire army. The standard was woven back on Baal Secundus by a blind Saint using long strands of highly polished gold intertwined with raw platinum. The Chapter insignia is the symbol for infinity and hides a divine mystery dating back to ancient Terra, which is only learned when a privileged battle brother joins the rank of Sanguinary Guard and is raised to the rank of an Initiate. As long as the standard is held aloft by Brother Fidelis the Blood Saints will not break. The role of the standard bearer is very dangerous as the veteran must fight with only one free gauntlet and many have died serving in this function. Brother Fidelis' Angelus Bolter is mounted on his free wrist, he is so adept that he can both shoot and fight with his Glaive Encarmine using the same arm. Only the bravest veterans are selected as the Standard Bearer and upon death in battle another black candle is lit back on Baal Secundus byCommander Dante to pay homage to their great valor. Brother Fidelis seems to have an uncanny lucky streak, often surviving extreme misfortune by some odd twist of fate, and has served as the Standard Bearer longer than any other before him.

Sanguinary Guard Project Part V * Void Walker

Void Walker

The Void Walker is mystery to most of the Chapter as his true origins are unknown, even to other members of the Sanguinary Guard. The Void Walker's armor is fitted with an ancient and coveted power fist capable of leveling dreadnaughts with one mighty blow. Only the Blood Saint's Chapter Master knows of this Initiate's origin and it has been quietly rumored he is either a cloned son or dark doppelgänger from an alternate universe. It is the duty of the Void Walker to destroy enemies impervious to the Glaive Encarmine onceclose combat has begun. Often in battle he seems to remain unseen only showing himself at the precise moment to punch his armored fist through the exposed rear armor of enemy dreadnaughts. The Void Walker has even toppled mighty daemon princes, sending them back to the cold embrace of the warp. As his true name is unknown his title is seldom spoken and then only in a hushed whisper. The Void Walker is said to have an extremely violent temper, often not wanting to leave the battlefield only until the very last of the enemy have been purged by brutal death.

Invictus

OUT of the night that covers me,  
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,  
I thank whatever gods may be  
For my unconquerable soul.  
  
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.  
Under the bludgeonings of chance  
My head is bloody, but unbowed.  
  
Beyond this place of wrath and tears  
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years  
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.  
  
It matters not how strait the gate,  
How charged with punishments the scroll,  
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Sanguinary Guard Project Part IV * Neophyte

The Neophyte

Andromeda is the newest edition to the Blood Saint's Sanguinary Guard and is also currently the youngest. Andromeda served as a terminator first before being called to join this most elite cadre. Andromeda is haunted by dark visions of death and seems to have a touch of pre sight. Often either the Chapter Master or Bellum Aquila will confer with him on the eve of battle to learn if his latest vision might shed some useful insight. Great things are expected of Andromeda and it is thought by many that he will one day advance to the rank of Captain if he can survive long enough.