1st Holiday Grudge Match • Plaguewing vs. Tyranids

This is the first grudge of the holiday weekend... Plaguewing versus my arch nemesis' Tyranids... 2000 points, double FOC and Allies. Neither of us brought any Forge World units.

Here are the rules for the mission which is from the Crucible 3 40k GT qualifier to be held in Tampa at Anthem Games next weekend.

Deployment—Hammer and Anvil

Mission Special Rules
Night Fight—Infiltrate—Outflank—Deep Strike—Reserves

Primary Mission
Place an objective in the center of each table quarter and one objective at the center of the table for a total of 5 objectives. Heavy Support are scoring units (including vehicles) and each is worth 1 victory point (VP) if destroyed. Only scoring units can control the objectives. The player with the most objectives wins this mission, if an equal number of objectives are controlled by both players then the mission is a draw.

Secondary Mission
All Scoring units are worth 2 VP if destroyed and 1 VP is below 50% in unit strength. The player with the most VPs wins this mission, if both players' score is equal then the mission is a draw.

Tertiary Mission
Destroy Vehicles, Monstrous Creatures, and Flyers! Each Vehicles and Monstrous Creature is worth 1 VP and each Flier and Flying Monstrous Creatures are worth 2 VP. The player with the most VPs wins this mission, if the points are equal then the mission is a draw.

Victory Conditions
Calculate the total VPs for each mission. The player with the most VP for each mission wins that objective and generates Battle Points (see below). In the event of a draw then the Battle Points are divided between both players equally rounding down. The player with the most overall Battle Points wins this scenario.

Primary Mission
8 Battle Points (WIN) - 4 Battle Points (DRAW)

Secondary Mission
5 Battle Points (WIN) - 2 Battle Points (DRAW)

Tertiary Mission
3 Battle Points (WIN) - 1 Battle Point (DRAW)

Bonus Objectives (Each is worth 1 BP)
Slay the Warlord—First Blood—Line Breaker


Here is my army list - note that I've made quite a few modifications since my last battle report:

Chaos Space Marines Primary Detachment

- The Black Blow Flies -

Chaos Lord: /Warlord
Mark of Nurgle—Power Axe—Sigil of Corruption

Daemon Prince:
Daemon of Nurgle—Wings—Armor—Black Mace—Spell Familiar—Level 3 Psyker

4x Plague Marine - 2x Meltagun
Champion - Combi-Melta
Rhino

4x Plague Marine - Meltagun & Flamer
Champion
Rhino

4x Plague Marine - Meltagun & Flamer
Champion
Rhino

Heldrake - Bale Flamer

Chaos Daemons Allied Detachment

- The Black Plague -

Great Unclean One:
Level 3 Psyker—2x Greater Reward

Daemon Prince:
Wings—Armor—Level 3 Psyker—2x Greater Reward

12x Plaguebearer

3x Nurgling


Warlord Trait, Psychic Powers & Rewards

Warlord Trait - Useless

CSM Daemon Prince—Endurance—Haemorraghe—Iron Arm

Great Unclean One—Haemorraghe—Iron Arm—Warp Speed • Armor & Bale Sword

CD Daemon Prince—Enfeeble—Haemorraghe—Warp Speed • +1W, IWND & Bale Sword


Here is my opponent's army list - note that he was using double FOC, so I've rolled it all up into one list:

- Hive Gargantic -

Flyrant #1: /Warlord
Twin Linked Devourers—Ancient Adversary

Flyrant #2:
Twin Linked Devourers

Flyrant #3:
Twin Linked Devourers

Swarmlord
Tyrant Guard

Tervigon #1

10x Termagant

Tervigon #2

10x Termagant

Tervigon #3

10x Termagant

3x Biovore


Warlord Trait & Psychic Powers

Warlord Trait - I can't remember

Unfortunately I don't have a list of all the Tyranid psychic powers, however I do remember the following:

Flyrant #1—Iron Arm

Flyrant #2—Endurance

Flyrant #3—Iron Arm

Tervigon #1—Iron Arm & Enfeeble

Tervigon #2—Iron Arm & Endurance

Tervigon #3—Endurance & Enfeeble

Amazing Death Guard by Dave Taylor

http://davetaylorminiatures.blogspot.com/2013/11/horus-heresy-tactical-marines.html?showComment=1385780110460#c5181771394534969741

Speechless .

Chaos (Kenny Boucher) vs. Imperium (MBG)

Awesome battle !!!

http://nextlevelpainting.blogspot.com/2013/11/mbg-vs-kenny-bouchers-next-level-chaos.html

Horus WIP Update

An update on the collective genius of Dave Taylor...

Holiday Grudge Matches

What is better over a holiday weekend than friendly grudge matches versus your buddies? I've got some really good ones lined up for this weekend including my arch nemesis' Tyranids which I only ever beat once. I've got some nasty tricks up my sleeve so a word to my opponents — don't expect the same old same old. Heh ! It's going to be a great weekend and I'm totally stoked !!! Death to the filthy xenos scum . You've all got it coming. You've been warned. We're talking super Shiva mode.

Horus

By Dave Taylor.

A monster is reborn...

Current State of the Meta • Tyranids & Iron Hands

Approximately a year ago when sixth edition was first released the playing field was leveled and everybody stood on equal ground... Except of course for Necrons and the still hated flyers. Those days are over now and there are plenty of nasty lists out there such as ScreamerStar and the Jetseer Council.

So let's talk about the current state of the meta. Two big things that immediately come to mind are Tyranids and the new Iron Hands. I have already briefly discussed the new rules from Forge World for Space Marine chapter tactics and characters that took part in the Badab War.

Tyranids are soon to see a new codex (maybe next month) so there is no telling what will happen with the bugs. Remember when everyone said Tyranids were the worst army ever? Heh. I am certain some of the major havoc reaping meta units like Doom and those ever gant pooping Tervigons are going to take a really big hit from the nerf bat. You never know, they might even drop the Doom from the codex and it's happened before to many other special units such as Moriar the Blood Angels dreadnaught and Tyrannic Veterans from the Ultramarines — there's no official model so I could see this to make room for the new units. It could be a good thing too... It just seems like every Tyranid army you see nowadays has all the same units:

• Flyrant w. twin linked devourers
• Flyrant w. twin linked devourers
• Tervigon
• Termagant Brood
• Tervigon
• Termagant Brood
• Doom in a Mycetic Spore

Sprinkle in some Gargoyles, Biovores, Zoanthropes or Hive Guard. Most of the 2000 point lists I see have up to 10 psychic bugs (most of which are monstrous creatures) and they are rolling for a Endurance and Iron Arm. Sure it's very competitive but something new could be a good thing. You never know exactly what will drop and GW has kept things air tight. At one time there was a rumor that Mat Ward wrote the new codex... That's kind of scary! I am hoping units like genestealers will be playable again at the competitive level. I have always wished that Warriors were T5 with a 3+ armor save but I seriously doubt that's ever going to happen. So it's soon to be back to the drawing board for the Hive Mind.

Next up are the Iron Hands and I'm very excited about the new supplement. This was well coordinated with their release in the second Heresy book from Forge World. One of the things I really like is being able to field more Techmarines - if you take two HQ then you can field up to five and even more if you have a Master of the Forge. Their new relics are very good and I think its possible to field a competitive melee army using drop pods. This will be my next project so expect more discussion on Iron Hands.

Herald of Nurgle

I think this HQ could be a sleeper unit. The Nurgle Herald is S5 T5 and can have the following attributes:

—FNP to him and his squad (Loci of Fecundity)
—Four wounds (Palaquin)
—S6 AP2 melee weapon (Greater Ether Blade)
—Level 2 Pskyer

I brought him to a four round tournament today attached to a squad of 12 Plaguebearers... I vote him for my MVP. Not every army has Ignore Cover like cheap candy... He can keep a big squad of Plaguebearers alive the entire game. I prefer to choose Telepathy for his psychic lore as Biomancy is a waste on this unit... Invisibility is not needed - Deep strike his unit into a ruin for the 2++ cover save and they will cause some major mayhem. If you want to save some points just take one psychic power - you can't go wrong with Psychic Shriek.

In my game today versus a meta list Tyranids army he chopped down a Tervigon in two rounds of melee with some help from his Nurgle buddies and that's impressive. I will definitely be fielding him again.

IT IS OFFICIAL I AM NO LONGER ON THE FORGE WORLD BAND WAGON

Don't get me wrong. I love me some FW but it really needs to be reigned in for competitive play otherwise the douches will rise up to omega level. Just say fuck no .

40k Batrep - Plaguewing vs. Sisters of Battle & Imperial Guard (2000 pts)

This was a very tough game for the Plaguewing !!! I was up against the new Sisters of Battle with allied Imperial Guard. Before the game started I jokingly told my opponent nowadays you have to design an army that is tough enough to stand out in the open and take it right to the face each and every turn, to which he readily agreed... This turned out to a prophetic statement as you'll soon see.

As you'll see this game was a mosh pit of gory death on both sides. I was counting on my superior toughness to outlast and outclass the enemy's great number.

NOTE - I forgot to have my opponent take toughness tests due to the Black Mace's Curse after the first round of the initial melee... Oh well. That could have made a huge difference in the final result. I guess that's the best way to really learn.

Here is my army list...

Chaos Space Marines - The Black Blow Flies (Primary Detachment)
# Chaos Lord - Mark of Nurgle, Bike, Black Mace, Sigil of Corruption

Warlord (Trait - Crusader)

Boon of Mutation:

—+1S (combi bolter)

# Chaos Sorcerer - Bike, Force Axe, Sigil of Corruption, Spell Familiar

Level 3 Psyker (Biomancy):

—Iron Arm
—Endurance
—Warp Speed

Boon of Mutation - Life Taker (just what I needed seeing he has a force axe)

# 3x Chaos Space Biker - Mark of Nurgle, 2x Plasmagun
Chaos Champion - Power Fist

# 6x Plague Marine - 2x Meltagun
Plague Champion - Meltabombs
Rhino - Dozer Blade, Extra Armor

# 6x Plague Marine - 2x Meltagun
Plague Champion - Meltabombs
Rhino - Dozer Blade, Extra Armor

# Heldrake - Baleflamer
# Heldrake - Baleflamer

Chaos Daemons - The Black Plague Lords (Allied Detachment)
# Daemon Prince - Daemon of Nurgle, Wings, Hell Forged Armor

2x Greater Reward:

—S8 AP1 18" Ranged Weapon, Lance
—+1S

Level 3 Psyker (Biomancy):

—Iron Arm
—Endurance
—Warp Speed

# 10x Plaguebearer

# 4x Plague Drone - Rot Proboscis, Death Heads
Plaguebringer - Greater Reward (Greater Ether Blade)


Here is my opponent's army list:

Sisters of Battle (Primary Detachment)
# Uriah Jacobus

Warlord - Trait : ?

# 5x Ministorium Priest

Litanies of Faith — automatically re roll failed saves and to wound (in melee)

# 5x Battle Sister
# 5x Battle Sister

# Exorcist
# Exorcist
# Exorcist

Fortification
# Aegis Defense Line, Quad Gun

Imperial Guard (Allied Detachment)
# Command Squad + Heavy Weapon Team - lascannons

# Sly Marbo (The Dirty Old Bastard)

# Infantry Platoon:
—Command Squad
—5x Infantry Squad - 5x Power Axe, 5x Meltabombs, 5x Flamer
—Special Weapons Team (x3) - Saber Defense Platform - Twin Linked Lascannon
—Special Weapons Team (x3) - Saber Defense Platform - Twin Linked Lascannon
—Special Weapons Team (x3) - Saber Defense Platform - Twin Linked Lascannon
—Heavy Weapons Team (x3) - Autocannon

# Basilisk


Mission - The Relic

Deployment - Dawn of War

My opponent won the roll to choose his deployment zone. He also won the roll to go first... I tried to Seize but failed.

Imperials
My opponent deploys his entire army except for Marbo. He spreads out his forces with his super blob including Uriah and his Priests ready to make a dash for the Relic. Due to our army builds it will be a big fist fight in the center of the table.

Chaos
I deploy all my units except for the Heldrakes and Plaguebearers. It was very important to establish an area of dominance around the Relic. Sometimes it's better to hold more units in reserve but this was not one of those games.

I was hoping my Heldrakes would both come in the same turn, otherwise they'll be picked off by the intercepting Sabre Platforms... There is no way around that with all those twin linked lascannons. Regardless though the Heldrakes could still have a significant impact on the game.

I planned to deep strike my Plaguebearers on top of the area terrain on the Relic if possible, so they are a suicide squad if they mishap or scatter completely out of cover. The rest of my army lined up behind the big piece of area terrain in the middle of the table ready to counter assault the mighty blob using as much cover as possible.

I planned to hold back my a Daemon Prince so he could react to enemy movement and play the role as the second wave... He got both Iron Arm and Endurance for psychic powers so he was blessed by Lord Nurghal - I had to get the most out of him possible.

Night Fight - 1st Turn

Night Fight was a huge blessing for my army seeing I had to go second. It was one of the very few good things to happen for me in the beginning.


1st Turn - Imperium
The big blob moved and ran straight towards the relic. Note that the blob was fearless due to the attached Priests.

The Basilisk dropped a bomb on the lead rhino and popped it for First Blood... The Plague Marines split out crouching in the smoking crater left behind in the wake of the explosion. The rest of their shooting was inconsequential.

1st Turn - Chaos
All my psychic powers go successfully. My BikerStar and Plague Drones moved straight towards the blob for a first turn assault. The remaining rhino pulls up behind the central area terrain and it's cargo remained embarked. The other squad of Plague Marines moved up behind the area terrain hugging as much cover as possible. I then shot the blob as much as possible dropping a few guardsmen.

Charge! Both the BikerStar and Plague Drones slammed into the blob, taking no wounds from enemy Overwatch. I rolled snake eyes for the BikerStar charge range, they were one inch away though — due to placement and spacing only the Chaos Lord and Sorcerer could make base to base contact. All of the Plague Drones made it into base contact. The Chaos Lord issued a challenge and popped a priest. The Drones lost a couple wounds in return then they and the Sorcerer dropped a few more guardsmen. The Curse then killed a couple more. Everybody piled in.

Neither army was holding the Relic at the end of the first turn and my Chaos Lord earned a worthless boon... That would be a running theme throughout the epic scrum.


2nd Turn - Imperium
Marbo arrived from reserve and tossed his demo charge on the disembarked Plague Marines vaporizing them all — that hurt. The Basilisk then popped the second rhino — two for two... Ouch !

Melee them recommenced with the Sorcerer (T8 due to Iron Arm) issuing a challenge this turn versus a sergeant. Again my BikerStar and Drones drop some more guardsmen slowly thinning their rank, taking a couple more wounds on the Drones again. The Sorcerer pops the sergeant and gets nothing worthwhile from the Dark Gods (i.e., boon table) for his trouble.

2nd Turn - Chaos
All psychic powers were successfully cast. In from reserve comes only one Heldrake... It vector strikes the Marbo putting a quick end to the miserable Catachan then was immediately wasted by the intercepting Sabre Platforms. The Daemon Prince took flight landing in the central piece of area terrain firing his daemonic lance at an Exorcist and popped it. The last squad of Plague Marines legged it into the central piece of area terrain but couldn't assault this turn.

My Sorcerer issued a challenge accepted by Uriah and struck him down with his Force Axe for Slay the Warlord. He is then blessed by the boon for Fleshbane which was worthless since he was always S5+ due to his axe and Iron Arm. Still lots of guardsmen and a few Priests left in the blob. One biker is snuffed and the Drones are down to just three remaining.

The game was now tied at one victory point apiece. Neither army held the Relic.


3rd Turn - Imperium
The Platoon command squad and a unit of Battle Sisters moved out from cover both making a beeline towards the Relic... They have a lot of ground to cover. My opponent dropped a pie plate from his Basilisk on my Plague Marines but it scattered on top of the blob killing a couple more.

Melee then recommenced... The biker sergeant issued a challenge and popped another sergeant — he is rewarded with yet another worthless boon. Due to placement and spacing the BikerStar could not pile back into combat and were free to consolidate. Oh joy! The blob is below half strength and starting to run low on able bodies but still fearless.

3rd Turn - Chaos
All psychic powers were successfully cast again. This was a key turn for Chaos and I needed to assert positional dominance. Both the Plaguebearers and last Heldrake come in from reserve. The Heldrake vector strike the platoon command squad, killing two... They break and fall back. The intercepting enemy Sabre platforms then drop it from the sky... The ensuing explosion wiped out the rest of the platoon common squad... Heh !! The Plaguebearers deep struck on top of the Relic but scattered 8" towards my right away from the objective marker... Most of them could still land within the edge of the central piece of area terrain for some solid cover.

My Biker Lord and Sorcerer detach from the remainder of the biker squad and join the second squad of Plague Marines ready to launch a second assault — this was a key move, the bikers have served their purpose and I needed to preserve the integrity of my command — the Chaos Lord and Sorcerer could tank wounds to keep two of my scoring units in control of the Relic. The rest of the Plague Drones and bikers continue to trade blows back and forth with the dwindling blob.

The Daemon Prince assaulted the Sisters of Battle and obliterate them while the Plague Marines grab the Relic... It was starting to look grim now for the Imperium but I was running low on body count too.

Plague Marines hold the Relic and we both have one bonus point apiece — First Blood to the Imperium and Slay the Warlord to Chaos.

4th Turn - Imperium
This was another key turn. I had established positional dominance the previous turn and needed to continue to apply the pressure looking to score the killing blow versus the blob.

My opponent focused all his fire power versus the Death Guard and Chaos command. When the smoke cleared all that was left was one Death Guard, both the Chaos Lord and Sorcerer were down to one wound each. My Chaos Lord failed at least six Look Out Sirs in a row but made every invulnerable save of FNP to squeek it out to the bitter end... It was incredible.

The last of the blob was finally snuffed in melee. I had only the Drone Champion left from his unit along with only the biker Champion from his unit. The Daemon Prince was still at full wounds.

4th Turn - Chaos
The last Death Guard along with my HQ moved back out of line of sight from the Imperial guns and the Plaguebearers moved up beside to snatch the Relic if necessary. The Daemon Prince took out the Basilisk with his ranged attack to eliminate the threat of indirect enemy fire. My opponent then conceded the game with no chance to take the Relic or score Slay the Warlord|Line Breaker.

Victory to the Plaguewing in a very hard fought match. At times I thought my dice would betray me but then they would roll smoking red hot like boss when I really needed those key rolls down the line. I stuck to my original game plan and it paid off in the end.

=][= Codex

Yes it is very dirty. It is just what the Imperial side needs at this point in sixth edition. The people who hate on it are the usual cast of losers whom couldn't win a game if their life depended on it. My philosophy has always been jump all over a good thing. This supplement spells the beginning of the end for Tau and eldar... You can pull the same dirty tricks they do now.

Profit .

Badab War Campaign Chapter Tactics and Character Updates

Forge World has updated the PDFs so check them out !

Chapter Tactics v2

Characters v2

Another Chaos Space Marine Rant

Apparently some people really really hate on the codex. They say things like Heldrakes are the only good unit and are broken as can be. Every army has at least one good unit. To me it's silly to complain about Heldrakes when most every eldar army I see has four wave serpents and Tau always have two Riptides plus lots of markerlights - there's nothing wrong with that either. If you like to play competitively then you bring the best units... It's always been that way.

And then some of the same people say really silly things like only Death Guard are competitive probably not realizing Typhus is the only Death Guard unit in the codex. Maybe they meant to say Nurgle. Statements like that tell me they don't really understand what Chaos Space Marines are all about. Sure some codices only have one good build. Not every army can be like Grey Knights or Necrons in fifth edition and of course those types of armies are going to get a lot of hate.

If you can't win consistently with one army then probably a good idea is play another army... There's no shame in that and it's not a short coming on your part. I really liked the new dark eldar codex but it didn't work out for me - probably due to my play style. I tried very hard to make it work but never got anywhere close to the level I wanted to reach. I had no desire to play venom spam and I could never figure out how to beat Grey Knights or Necrons.

Most every army has a bad matchup. Of course it sucks when it's versus the most popular armies. It can and does happen. If you really believe an army sucks why keep beating a dead horse with an unrealistic expectation for GW to re-release a prior codex? It's never going to happen... Never ever. Move on and put it behind you. Move on to greener pastures. Look at Black Templars as an example... They don't even have their own codex any more and something like that will never happen to Chaos Space Marines. Certainly GW has their share of perennial favorites such as Space Wolves but even these armies eventually drop in power over time as newer armies are released with better rules and units.

Things always change and they always will. If you play an army you love you will be rewarded. If you hop from one bandwagon to the next then you'll never know what you're missing, not that it's a bad thing... It's simply that you don't understand about that rewarding feeling when it finally works for you.

I did not like the previous CSM codex because for me it didn't have any flavor... Lash spam was so boring and didn't make any sense to me from a background point of view. I didn't hate the army and even played it for awhile but it wasn't for me. The new codex has brought back a lot of the old flavor... It's more than good enough for me and as I've said many times it has everything it needs to beat any other army.

There is a lot more to the codex than just vanilla Chaos Space Marines. The days of the Undivided Legions is over with the exception of the Black Legion. Thousand Sons were never a competitive army.

It's awesome to be able to field real daemons as an ally again. I don't think anyone can make a solid case that daemons aren't competitive and they can be real nightmare for both eldar and Tau. Don't give some lame reason about why not to field daemons as an ally... That's silly in every sense. It worked well before and works well now.

It's possible to build an army at 2000 points and above now reminiscent of the old Lost and the Damned using the new rules for allies. Try it out, you might like it. Maybe you'll win a few games too.

Return of the Plaguewing • 2k battle versus Tau & White Scars

This was a recent battle versus two friends. I was finally playing my Plaguewing versus Tau and White Scars.

Primary Objective - The Scouring
One objective marker in each table quarter.

Secondary Objective - Kill the Alien
Kill Points.

Tertiary - First Blood, Slay the Warlord, Line Breaker

The primary was worth five points, secondary worth three points and each tertiary was worth one point each.

Deployment - Vanguard Strike

No Night Fight


My opponents (team) won the roll to choose their deployment zone and I won the roll to choose going first but opted to go second. Going second allowed me to react to their deployment and have the last turn to take or contest objectives.

Here are the army lists:

Plaguewing
Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Lord - Mark of Nurgle, Bike, The Black Mace, Sigil of Corruption (Warlord)

Sorcerer - Bike, Force Axe, Level 3 Psyker (Biomancy)
Spells: Endurance, Iron Arm, Warp Speed

3x Chaos Biker - Mark of Nurgle, 2x Plasma Gun, Power Fist

Heldrake - Bale Flamer
Heldrake - Bale Flamer

7x Plague Marine - 2x Meltagun, Combi-Plasma
Rhino - Dozer Blade, Extra Armor

7x Plague Marine - Meltagun & Flamer
Rhino - Dozer Blade, Extra Armor

Chaos Daemons
Daemon Prince - Nurgle, Wings, 2x Greater Reward (Bale Sword, Re-roll Invulnerable Saves), Level 3 Psyker (Biomancy)
Spells: Iron Arm, Life Leech, Warp Speed

5x Plague Drone - Rot Proboscis, Death Heads, Greater Ether Sword

10x Plaguebearer


White Scars
Khan - Moondrakken (Warlord)
Command Squad - Bikes, 4x Storm Shield, 4x Grav Gun, Apothecary

5x Space Marine Biker - 2x Grav Gun, Combi-Grav, Meltabombs
5x Space Marine Biker - 2x Grav Gun, Combi-Grav, Meltabombs

5x Scout - Shotguns, Meltabombs
Land Speeder Storm - Heavy Flamer

Storm Talon - Twin Linked Lascannon

Tau
Ethereal

20x Kroot - Sniper Rifles, Kroot Hound
10x Kroot - Sniper Rifles, Kroot Hound

Riptide - Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Override
Riptide - Heavy Burst Cannon, Velocity Tracker, Early Warning Override

5x Pathfinder

3x Broadside - Heavy Yield Missiles, Railguns, Velocity Trackers

Note - I don't have a copy of my opponents' lists so what you see above is to the best of my memory.


The table had three good size pieces of line of sight (LoS) blocking terrain - one in the middle of the table, one over in my near corner and the other over in my far corner.

Here is how my opponents deployed.

The Pathfinders were in an excellent elevated position using infiltrate and would be a thorn in my side the entire game. Of course all the bikes are probably going to scout move prior to the first turn.

I deployed in a castle with both rhinos behind the building in my near corner along with by bikerstar. I opted to hold the Plaguebearers and Plague Drones in reserve along with both of my Heldrakes. Both the Plaguebearers and Plague Drones would come in from my long table edge.

Here are the points for each objective marker:
4 points - objective by the building holding my castle
3 points - objective in the diagonal table quarter
2 points - objective in my far corner
1 point - objective adjacent to my castle

So I had the advantage on points for objective markers plus some good LoS blocking terrain so I don't get alpha struck too hard.

First Turn - Tau & White Scars
As predicted all of the bikes scouted up prior to the first turn and then they moved forward again during their first turn to surround the building holding my forces. Shooting saw one rhino immobilized and the Daemon Prince lost a wound.

First Turn - Plaguewing
I successfully cast all my psychic powers. The Plague Marines in the mobile transport dismount behind the wall while the rhino crashes through, popped smoke and turned sideways. The Plague Marines in the immobilized rhino disembark out of the rear maintaining good cover. The Daemon Prince flew out of the building landing beside the rhino for cover from Overwatch prior to the charge. My bikerstar held its ground moving just a bit for the jink save. Shooting sees the Prince regenerate his lost wound with Life Leech. The Daemon Prince then charged a bike squad and destroyed them then consolidated 6" back behind the smoked rhino for cover.

I have First Blood and one kill point.


Second Turn - Tau & White Scars
The White Scars are mad and want revenge! The huge blob of Kroot with Ethereal attached outflank coming in on the far side of the table. The biker units repositioned for better line of sight to the Prince but he would still draw some cover from interposing enemy units and the rhino. Both the Daemon Prince and rhino were destroyed in the shooting phase but it required all of their shooting.

My opponents have two kill points.

Second Turn - Plaguewing
The Daemon Prince had played the classic role of baiting the enemy into the position I wanted. Both Heldrakes arrive from reserve using the middle piece of LoS blocking terrain as a shield along with the Plague Drones. The Heldrake focused on flaming the bikes while the Plague Drones entered cover and would have to wait for the next turn to assault the big blob of Kroot. I passed all my psychic tests I rolled for the Sorcerer. My bikerstar held its ground moving just a bit for the jink save. The Heldrakes take out most of the bikes then the Plague Marines behind the immobilized rhino charge a remnant squad of bikes and destroy them. Khan is left along with two Honor Guard... They break and fall back 12". Plague Marines consolidate back towards the building.

I now have First Blood and three kill points.


Third Turn - Tau & White Scars
The Storm Talon and scouts both came in from reserve. The Storm Talon lined up to target one of the Heldrakes while the scouts hung back over on the far side of the table. The Plague Marines caught out in the open took some losses from shooting with only three left and the one Heldrake lost two hull points. The other Heldrake lost its bale flamer. The big blob of Kroot target the Plague Drones and managed to kill one. Khan and his two remaining Honor Guard then assaulted the three Plague Marines... Both Honor Guard died, Khan lost a wound in the challenge then broke again. The three Plague Marines consolidated towards Khan.

I now have First Blood and four kill points.

Third Turn - Plaguewing
The Plaguebearers arrived coming in behind the two point objective marker located in cover over in my far corner. The Sorcerer successfully cast his psychic powers. The Heldrake with its bale flamer flew off the table. The other Heldrake vector struck the Pathfinders, killing four but the last one held. Plague Drones moved forward to assault the Kroot blob. The three Plague Marines scooted up towards Khan while the other squad dropped back to control the four point objective marker. My bikerstar moved over to get the plasma guns in range to the Storm Talon. Shooting from bikerstar and the full squad of Plague Marines dropped the Storm Talon. Plague Drones charged the blob killing over one half their number - due to spacing the combat ends since neither side can move back into base contact with an enemy model. The Plague Marines charged Khan - he lost another wound and broke yet again... The three Plague Marines then consolidated back to the outer edge of the building.

I have First Blood and five kill points plus I'm holding the four point objective while my opponents still only have two kill points. At this point we were not keeping track of additional bonus points for destroying enemy fast attack units (i.e., that would be three more for me though).


Fourth Turn - Tau & White Scars
Things were starting to look really tough for my opponents at this point. They could still make a game of it but really had their work cut for them. They couldn't really challenge me for the four point objective marker but the two and three point markers were possible.

The last squad of Kroot automatically arrived and came in on the far side lining up to shoot my Plague Drones along with the remainder from the other squad. The scouts hung back. Khan decided to play it safe and dropped back hiding behind terrain. Shooting finishes off the three Plague Marines and another Plague Drone snuffed it. The Heldrake still on the table was destroyed as well.

My opponents now had four kill points plus two bonus points for the Heldrakes.

Fourth Turn - Plaguewing
The last Heldrake entered play again going after the last Pathfinder and Khan with its bale flamer but was brought down by the intercepting heavy burst cannon. The Plague Drones moved into position to assault the remaining Kroot with the Ethereal. The Plaguebearers moved into range of the two point objective marker. My rhino re-mobilized itself. Bikerstar and the full squad of Plague Marines both camped out on the four point objective marker. The Plague Drones then shot and assaulted Kroot wiping the squad along with the Ethereal... They consolidated onto the three point objective marker.

At this point we decide to call the game as it didn't seem possible my opponents could get back into the game. I had some really hot dice when I needed them such as hitting the Storm Talon with two snap shots (plasma and melta). This was a great return to the field of battle for the Plaguewing. It looks like there's a good chance there'll be a rematch soon too and I'm sure my opponents won't make the same mistakes again such as going after a bait unit.

The under appreciated Space Marine Stalker (by AwesomeOne)

This is a guest article by my friend AwesomeOne.

I'm here to talk about the very overlooked and underrated Space Marine Stalker as well as the tactics you could use to get the full potential out of this Space Marine Tank. At first a large majority poo pooed the Stalker for its lack of the Interceptor Special Rule. I'm here to tell you how and why this tank is and can be very competitive in multiple builds for Space Marine Armies including Allies.

Pros and Cons
Pros : At 75 points this baby is a steal. It's armor is 12/12/10, 4 shots at S7 AP 4 twin-linked BS4 or the ability to shoot 2 units with 4 shots each at BS2. Why is this great you ask? The Skyfire Special Rule allows you to shoot at those pesky Flyers and Flying MCs of the 40k universe at full BS. What many people didn't realize is that it also allows you to shoot skimmers at full BS as well. Death to the notorious Wave Serpents! Most competitive builds in the current meta run as many as one to three or more possible targets for the Stalker.

Cons : It takes up a Heavy Support Slot. Lacking the Interceptor does hinder it's possible Damage Output. Having to Snapshot has its disadvantages but it is twin-linked so there is always a Silver Lining to this tank. It does only count as a single weapon so a weapon destroyed result tears it's turret clean off. But that is only a 1/6 chanceso don't fret.

Tactics
What makes the Stalker so useful in a Space Marine army is that it adds an Anti-Air element to your army.
It's ability to shoot at a single unit twin-linked or at multiple units makes its value sky rocket. Say your facing Daemons and he has multiple Flying MCs. A large majority of players play Nurgle or Tzeentch MC s so you would think it becomes useless cuz you will more than likely not hurt it. Causing a wound is not the intention when shooting flying MCs... it's all about causing grounding checks, which is what you're really looking for so you may obliterate said unit easier.

When shooting flying vehicles or skimmers the odds are in your favor that you will at least strip one hull points from most.

The Stalker can move up to 6" and still unleash all of its fury upon those foolish enough to oppose the Emperor! Okay so say you are not up against any serious air targets. What do you do then you ask? You lose none of its available firepower when you move the Stalker a full 12". So you use that cheap 75 point unit with 12/12/10 armor to screen more valuable units which will increase their survivability. If you feel your not able to deal any kind of damage you can go flat out to move in front of something that has already fired. If they destroyed your Stalker oh noes... they more than likely dedicated well over it's points value to do so and that in my book is pure win. For all that firepower is not being brought down to bear upon your more important units.

One thing to mention about the Stalker that needs an FAQ is whether or not you always shoot using a BS of 2 when firing at two separate units special rules for the Stalker. Talk to your opponent first or TO.

Let's talk some more about Chaos Space Marines • Chosen

Let's talk about the Chosen. Anything really good is going to cost some points. I like Chosen primarily because they are so flexible. To me they are strongest as an assault unit with some short range shooting to soften the enemy prior to launching an assault. In the previous edition they were relegated to the role of an infiltrating mech killing unit - they would outflank in a rhino with four meltaguns and blow something up (very similar in concept to Sternguard)... back then I never used them. Now they have so many options and can do a whole lot more for you. The Black Legion Supplement lets you field them as a troop choice which to me is the best thing it's got going and I think a lot of people completely missed that aspect. You may remember when Purifiers were very popular... The Chosen are very similar. If you take a look at the new Battle Sisters you'll notice that mechanized lists are starting to make a comeback now. Chosen operate very well in rhinos. It's all about getting to the midfield and controlling board area to control or contest objectives.

As an assault unit with the Mark of Khorne and the Icon of Wrath they are throwing down four to five S5 attacks each on the charge. They make a perfect retinue for Kharn who grants them Hatred. Here is my typical build:

7x Chosen - 2x flamer, power axe & plasma pistol
Champion - power axe
Mark of Khorne
Rhino - dozer blade, extra armor

I'm sure there are other good builds as well.

I have seen a lot of people saying that Nurgle is the only good build for CSM. It's not true at all and I can say I have not once ever fielded any cultists or zombies. I prefer to field elite units.

There was a lot of interest in CSM when the codex first dropped. Now there is a lot of interest in Space Marines. I bet that the same people who claim CSM are not competitive or only have a couple of competitive builds will eventually say the same about Space Marines. Space Marines (excluding grav biker spam) is not an EZ win codex... It's all about getting the right synergy between units for maximum strength.

If we take a look at eldar and Tau most armies look exactly the same in terms of what competitive gamers are fielding... I could make a list but I'll spare you the details. If Tyranids take hold then grav spam will take a big hit in losing its effectiveness since obviously the meta will significantly change. I would not count on the new Tyranids being a top tier army though - you never really know what to expect from GW. The game reminds me a lot of MtG now every time a new deck hits the street.

Chaos and the current state of the meta

Today I saw on another blog some hate and frustration focused on the new Chaos Space Marine (CSM) codex. Much of the dissatisfaction with the codex stems from older veteran players who still long for their fourth edition codex. There is a vocal minority telling other players that CSM is not a competitive codex. There are also claims that the new Space Marine (SM) codex is better. Is that true or even a slightly feasible claim? Remember that the new recently released Imperial Fists supplement went over like a big lead balloon.

Let's compare the Heldrake to any SM flier... The Heldrake cost less points than a Stormraven and is more competitive. Next compare a unit of Obliterators with the Mark of Nurgle and the Veterans of the Long War to the new Centurions. I think Obliterators are the better choice having access to longer range fire power, power fists, an invulnerable save and they can deep strike all rolled into one. Grav cannons can be very situational, especially versus horde armies and we have the new Tyranid codex ready to release within a month or two.

I could go on and on how I think CSM are a competitive army but I think that's quite obvious. If you don't like CSM and feel they aren't competitive that is fine and everyone is entitled to an opinion. My advice is do everyone a favor and play another army. That's really all I have to say on the subject.

Hail Grandpa Nurgle

Sixth Edition Tactical Analysis • Reactive versus Active

There are several ways to play the game competitively now - two methods that quickly come to mind are shooting versus assault. Mobility is another key factor. The combination of these three attributes has always been a key to playing at the most competitive level. Obviously shooting is considered the top attribute in sixth edition and dominates most of the lists we see. Tau are obviously very strong at shooting while eldar are also very good as well plus they inherently have much better mobility with things like their wave serpents and Battle Focus. Space Marines have seen a huge resurgence in the game with the release of the new codex and can bring the total package to the game if properly designed.

The term reactive is used to represent a fundamentally built shooting army while the term active represents an assault army... Both benefit from being mobile. As I said above the best armies are built around shooting, mobility and assault. Tau and eldar both being currently considered the two top armies adds more fuel to the tenant that shooting is the king in sixth edition. Tau have some built in mobility with their jet packs and can counter fast eldar units such as jetbikes via specialized shooting such as their Smart Missile Systems (SMS).

I have posted many batreps here that demonstrate the strength of assault in the current meta. The key to assault is getting your melee units stuck in close combat... This can be quite a challenge but with the advent of more LoS blocking terrain it's certainly not as hard as it used to be. Obviously mobility greatly favors an active army.

A solid tactic for active armies is to coral in a reactive army preventing them from breaking out from their deployment zone. The reactive army then has nowhere to run and can be assaulted with impunity. Thus superior mobility is the key to winning with an active army versus a reactive army. One reactive army versus another will have a huge advantage if it's more mobile.

Two armies that should be mentioned in this discussion are Daemons and Tyranids. Both armies can be a tough matchup for both Tau and eldar... However both armies depend a lot on their psychic powers to consistently win though and one game with bad dice for their psychic tests can take either out of the game.

I am planning to demonstrate these concepts in more detail soon with some new batreps.

Bikexander

So it seems White Scars grav spamming biker armies are very strong and can handle other popular internet meta lists. Bikexander is the White Scars Chapter Master mounted on a bike with the Shield Eternal, artificer armor and either a power fist or thunderhammer plus and auspex. So you are looking at 250-255 points to field Bikexander. I prefer the thunderhammer since it's concussive and there are lots of flying monstrous creatures (FMCs) roaming enemy air space.

Update (11/3/13) - I had a 3000 point game with my Sons of Horus versus a double FOC allied Space Marine army featuring Imperial Fists, Space Wolves and White Scars... Two Bikexanders and two Thunderlords with all the trimmings. Towards the end of the game I had waxed all four of the big baddies but unfortunately lost my last scoring model to a sniping TFC. Very close game and it's been awhile since my last game so I made a few silly mistakes such as not protecting the rear armor of my Contemptor dreadnaught. The Contemptor could have been a game changer if he had survived another turn... Oh well that's how you learn.

I think you need weight of AP2 melee attacks to handle Bikexander so I'm not too worried about them... Or just shoot the crap out of them.

Nurgle Daemons WIP

By Daniel Halverson..

BIG FATTY