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Blood Vow

Happiness is success... (Buddha)

Monday, August 31, 2015

Ravenwing Strike Force w. Support (1850)


+++ Ravenwing (1850) +++

++ Ravenwing Strike Force (1625) ++

+ Fast Attack (930) +

Ravenwing Bike Squad (215)
4x Ravenwing Biker - 2x Grav Gun
Ravenwing Attack Bike - Multi-Melta
Ravenwing Sergeant - Melta Bombs

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Outflank - Ravenwing - Scout

Ravenwing Bike Squad (215)
4x Ravenwing Biker - 2x Grav Gun
Ravenwing Attack Bike - Multi-Melta
Ravenwing Sergeant - Melta Bombs

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Outflank - Ravenwing - Scout


Ravenwing Black Knights (205)
4x Black Knight - Ravenwing Grenade Launcher
Huntmaster - Melta Bombs

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Outflank - Rad Charge - Ravenwing - Scout - Skilled Rider - Stasis Anomaly

Ravenwing Black Knights (200)
4x Black Knight - Ravenwing Grenade Launcher
Huntmaster

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Outflank - Rad Charge - Ravenwing - Scout - Skilled Rider - Stasis Anomaly


+ Elites (215) +

Ravenwing Command Squad (215)
4x Black Knight - 2x Ravenwing Grenade Launcher - Ravenwing Company Banner
Ravenwing Apothecary
Ravenwing Champion - Blade of Caliban

Rules:
Feel No Pain - Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Outflank - Rad Charge - Ravenwing - Scout - Skilled Rider - Stasis Anomaly


+ HQ (480) +

Interrogator-Chaplain (170) - Auspex - Power Fist - Rosarius

Rules:
Deathwing - Fear - Preferred Enemy (Chaos Space Marines) - Zealot

Crozius Arcanum - Shroud of Heroes - Space Marine Bike
·
Rules:
Feel No Pain -Hammer of Wrath - Shrouded

Librarian (110) - Psychic Hood

Rules:
Deathwing - Grim Resolve

Force Axe - Space Marine Bike
Psyker Mastery Level 2

Sammael (200) - Iron Halo

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Outflank - Ravenwing - Scout - Skilled Rider

Warlord Trait:
Rapid Manoeuvre

Corvex (Jetbike) - Plasma Cannon
Raven Sword

Rules:
Eternal Warrior - Fearless, Gets Hot - Hatred (Chaos Space Marines) - Hit & Run - Mastercrafted - Swift Vengeance


++ Dark Angels Formation Detachment (225+95) ++ Ravenwing Support Squadron

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Interceptor - Ravenshield - Strafing Run - Support squadron - Anti-Grav Upwash

Ravenwing Land Speeder - Heavy Bolter - Typhoon Missile Launcher
Ravenwing Land Speeder - Heavy Bolter - Typhoon Missile Launcher
Ravenwing Land Speeder - Heavy Bolter - Typhoon Missile Launcher

Ravenwing Darkshroud (95) - Assault Cannon

Rules:
Deep Strike - Fear - Icon of Old Caliban, Jink - Outflank - Ravenwing - Scout - Shrouded - Stealth


++ Selection Rules ++

Anti-grav Upwash:
With at least 3 Ravewning Land Speeders, a Speeder can move an additional 6" when moving Flat Out.

Grim Resolve:
A model with this rule has Stubborn and therefore ignores negative Leadership modifiers. In addition they may never choose to fail a morale check. Allows overwatch to be resolved at BS2.

Hatred (Chaos Space Marines):
Reroll all misses in the first round of each close combat.

Icon of Old Caliban:
All friendlies within 6" have Fear and Stealth. Units beginning their assault phase within 6" are not subjective to Overwatch.


Rad Charge:
On a to-wound roll of 6, two wounds are caused independent from the targets toughness.

Ravenshield:
May fire overwatch if another Ravenwing unit within 24" is being assaulted.. To fire a template weapon, they must be within 6" of the charged friendly unit.

Ravenwing:
Reroll failed cover saves when jinking.

Stasis Anomaly:
Every model of a unit hit by one or more weapons with this special rule suffers a -1 penalty to their Weapon Skill and Initiative, to a minimum of 1, until the end of the turn.

Swift Vengeance:
Sammael may fire up to two weapons.

Warlord Trait: Rapid Manoeuvre:
Your Warlord, and any unit he joins, can either roll 2 dice when they run, using the highest roll, or can add D6" to any Turbo-boost they make (or Flat Out move, in the case of Master Sammael on his Land Speeder).

Zealot:
Automatically pass all Pinning-, Fear- and Regroup tests and Morale checks. Cannot go to ground or use the "Our Weapons Are Useless" rule. Unit re-rolls all failed To Hit rolls during the first round of each close combat.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

BeakyCon5 Loot !


Here are some of the loot we are handing out this year at BeakyCon5 - these are from Battle Cap Markers and they are super awesome. These are part of the registration fee... Everyone attending get these.

Prize support will also come from Chessex dice and we reached outside of the tournament - the response was tremendous in support - thanks to everyone all over the world who helped out.

This year we are handing out four awesome Fat Mats from Frontline Games. I am a huge supporter of Reecius for all the good things he does for the community.

We will also be handing out some Knight Titan bases from Dragon Forge - they are truly amazing.

We want to give the most prize support ever for a Grand Tournament in the state of Florida and make this a truly special event everyone will always remember and enjoy.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

DraigoStar Tactica 201 • Casting Psychic Powers


I wrote a tactica not too long ago about casting psychic powers with DraigoStar. I have since accumulated more battle experience and want to update the selection and order of casting psychic powers for this army. DraigoStar is one of the strongest builds for a psychic laden army but when push comes to shove can still lay down the pain without any psychic buffs... Yes they are just that good.

Note that when I mention any Primaris power I always elect to use Psychic Focus for the character which automatically grants an additional psychic power.

Here are my psykers:

+++ Grey Knights +++

Khaldor Draigo (Lord of War) - Level 2 Psyker, Daemonlogy Santic
Draigo's powers are inbuilt. His main power is Gate of Infinity which is one warp charge. If you play it right you'll only need to cast this power once or twice versus most armies. Draigo also has Banishment which is great versus daemons (one warp charge) and he successfully casts it on a 2+. His other two major powers are Force and Hammerhand which are both also one warp charge.

Grey Knight Librarian (HQ) - Level 3 Psyker
You can choose the Librarian's lore - my typical choice is Divination but Telekenesis is also a good one. I equip mine with the Liber Daemonica which allows him to roll for one power from the Santic lore hoping to get Santuary. This wargear also allows Grey Knights to re roll 1s which can be clutch. If you select Divination you automatically get Prescience (two warp charges) which is a backup to the Librarius Conclave. Prescience is one of the most important psychic powers for DraigoStar since it is a huge buff to the Devastator Centurions' shooting and melee.


+++ Librarius Conclave +++

Chief Librarian Tigerius - Level 3 Psyker
You can choose your lore for Tigerius - Telepathy is the obvious choice. You'll get Psychic Shriek (one warp charge) since it's the Primaris power and the odds are very high you'll get Invisibility (two warp charges). Shrouding (one warp charge) is great defense for any enemy shooting that manages to get past Invisibility and can make your Stormraven gunship nigh unkillable if you move into the area of effect. Dominate (one warp charge) is a great malediction that can potentially shut down an enemy unit. Shriek and Dominate both combine well with Terrify (one warp charge) since these psychic powers all are based around enemy leadership.

I select Tigerius as my Warlord because his built-in Warlord Trait Storm of Fire is very powerful. This trait allows you to choose one friendly unit from the same Chapter within 12" and their shooting attack becomes rending. This works well in conjunction with either a Stormraven gunship equipped with Hurricane bolter sponsons or the Devastator Centurions' secondary weapon system (missile launchers or stormbolters).



Librarian #1 - Level 2 Psyker
Go for Divination for Prescience - Tigerius can cast psychic powers on a 2+ due to Empyric Channeling which combined with his ability to re roll is almost automatic. As I said above Prescience is one of the most fundamental psychic powers and you'll want to cast it every turn. The other two really good psychic powers are Perfect Timing (one warp charge) to ignore cover and Misfortune (two warp charges) which is a malediction causing all attacks to be rending versus the chosen enemy unit that turn. Scryer's Gaze (two warp charges) lets you control your reserves and combined which Tigerius' ability to re roll reserves for units from the same faction is a big boon. Forewarning (one warp charge) combined with Sanctuary from the Sanctic lore combines for a 3++ invulnerable save for your deathstar... This combination makes for a great defense and gifts Draigo with a 2++ invulnerable save.

Librarian #2 - Level 2 Psyker
I choose Biomancy in hopes of rolling Endurance (two warp charges). Endurance grants the psyker's unit a 4+ Feel No Pain and Eternal Warrior. Life Leech (one warp charge) is another good one since you can restore wounds to your deathstar which is also clutch.


Order of Casting Psychic Powers
0. If you need to Gate cast this first via Draigo. I roll 5-6 dice and sometimes it still fails to go off. This is a great way to bait your opponent to use up their warp pool in the beginning of your own psychic phase.

1. Starting with Tigerius first cast Endurance so your psychic deathstar has the 4+ Feel No Pain... This a great way to mitigate Perils of the Warp. Tigerius can successfully cast level 2 psychic powers on only two dice each.

2. Next cast Invisibility with Tigerius which only requires two to three dice.

3. Next cast Prescience with Tigerius for the re rolls. This will greatly buff any witchfire he later casts such as Life Leech or Psychic Shriek since you can automatically re roll to hit.

4. Cast Force and/or Hammerhand with the Grey Knight Librarian if melee is imminent.

At this point you have cast the Big Three psychic powers and probably depleted your opponent's warp charge pool. If you have other psychic powers you would like to cast with the Librarius Conclave then cast them after step 3 with Tigerius and prior to step 4.

Anti Cullexus Assassin Tactics for DraigoStar


Note - these tactics apply for any army running a high percentage of psykers in your army. DraigoStar has some special issues seeing how this deathstar is basically an infantry unit and it's hard to bubble wrap since your total number of models is small. So there are general tactics and then special tactics... I'll cover both types.

The Cullexus assassin's rules are pretty amazing and some anti psyker is needed for overall game balance. You have to have the right mindset to take them down and fortunately DraigoStar can do it. Keep in mind one model costing only a small percentage of your deathstar will shutdown a lot of your abilities.

Cullexus Assassin Rules
First and foremost learn the rules for the Cullexus assassin. Know the rules inside out. It's only got three wounds, is T4 and has a 4++ invulnerable save... So it's actually quite fragile and can be killed outright via instant death attacks.



Protection
It's shooting attack does not ignore cover so if you deploy in terrain you've got a save. I always take a Techmarine so I can bolster the cover save where I deploy. Its shooting attack does not ignore invulnerable saves either so you can tank wounds with Draigo. Also note the Cullexus assassin cannot fire Overwatch.

Offense
The Cullexus must move into 12" range for its anti psyker abilities to work which is actually its biggest weakness... Shoot first then assault it. Draigo should issue a challenge so it's melee attacks do not spill over into other friendly models plus all other models in the deathstar can attack it during melee. Volume of attacks is one of the keys to defeating it. The Centurions' chest missile can kill it outright along with the sergeant's twin linked lascannon. Every wound inflicted counts ! I run my GK Librarian with a Nemesis force Daemonhammer which is master crafted - another melee attack that can inflict instant death. My Techmarine has a servo arm and power fist so he can kill it outright as well. Remember the Grav Cannons put out a high rate of fire and you're bound to roll at least a couple sixes to hit. The Grav Amps take care of making sure you inflict some AP2 wounds. Save the Devastator protocol for re rolling to hit with your DevCents too... You'll need it !

Cullexus Assassin Delivery Systems
1) Bastion with escape hatch; this setup gives the assassin a large potential footprint so be very careful.
2) Drop pod; this setup is really good for the assassin as it's pretty much guaranteed to come in right where it needs to be... Again the cover save is your best defense. If you take Inquisitor Coteaz you can intercept the Cullexus which is one of the best defenses and may even serve as a psychological deterrent so much your opponent may even chicken out and deploy beyond its magic 12" anti psy area of affect which effectively negates its annoyance.
3) Stormraven; while the assassin is well protected and highly mobile this setup is points prohibitive.
4) Infilitrate; this setup can be the most effective. A good counter is to spread your deathstar with your psykers in back so they can move beyond its 12" area of anti psy.

Types 2 and 4 are the best delivery systems since they cost the least amount of points and are very effective at getting the assassin where it needs to be.

Using the Rest of your Army
I typically run one Stormraven with a squad of embarked Purifiers whom can paratroop when arriving from reserve and target the Cullexus along with the Stormraven... Those twin linked shots from the Stormraven help plus I always kit it with Hurricane bolters. The twin linked multi-melta can inflict instant death, you've got missiles that can inflict instant death too and there's also the twin linked assault cannon. The Stormraven is very good in this roll since it's very hard for the Cullexus assassin to hide and most of its weapons are twin linked.

Depending on how the Cullexus assassin is deployed you may be able to bubble wrap your deathstar - take care as you don't want to unnecessarily sacrifice them.

Conclusions
Other psychic deathstars such as jetseer council can simply out range the assassin once it's made its move which is not the case for DraigoStar - you must engage it as quickly as possible or use the rest of your army.




Sunday, August 23, 2015

Army List Analysis • IronStar [2000]


This army is composed of three separate detachments:

Clan Raukaan - Iron Hands - Allied Detachment
Ravenwing Strike Force - Dark Ahgnels - Formation Detachment
Librarius Conclave - Iron Hands - Formation Detachment

There are two Eternal Warriors and it's an all biker army except for the Darkshroud. Highly mobile, lots of mid ranged fire power and several units are melee centric. The army also has a lot of tricks.


++ Space Marines Supplement - Clan Raukaan ++
Allied Detachment (735)

+ HQ (260) +

Chapter Master (260)
Gifts: The Gorgon’s Chain - Iron Halo
Artificer Armor - Lightning Claw - Thunder Hammer - Bike

WS:6|BS:5|S:4|T:5|W:4|I:5|A:4|LD:10|Save:2+/4++

The Gorgon’s Chain:

The bearer of the Gorgon’s Chain has the following special rules, depending on how many unsaved Wounds he has suffered during the battle:
Wounds Suffered - Special Rules
0 Wounds suffered - The bearer has a 3+ invulnerable save, +1 to his Feel No Pain rolls and the Eternal Warrior special rule.
1 Wound suffered - The bearer has a 3+ invulnerable save and the Eternal Warrior special rule.
2 Wounds suffered - The bearer has a 3+ invulnerable save.
3 Wounds suffered - The bearer has a 4+ invulnerable save.

Each time the bearer suffers an unsaved Wound or recovers a Wound as a result of the It Will Not Die special rule, the effects of the Gorgon’s Chain change immediately; you should roll the bearer’s saves individually.

+ Elites (275) +

Command Squad (275)
Company Standard - 4x Melta Bombs - 4x Storm Shield - 4x Grav Gun - Bikes
Apothecary

WS:4|BS:4|S:4|T:5|W:1|I:4|A:2|LD:9|Save:3+

Company Standard:
Friendly units within 12" of the bearer, drawn from the same Chapter, re-roll failed Morale checks, Pinning tests and Fear tests.

+ Troops (200) +

Bike Squad (200)
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta (W:2)
Biker Sergeant - Combi-Grav - Melta Bombs
2x Space Marine Biker
2x Space Marine Biker w/ Grav Gun

WS:4|BS:4|S:4|T:5|W:1|I:4|A:1|LD:8|Save:3+


++ Dark Angels Ravenwing Strike Force ++ (920)

+ Fast Attack (510) +

Ravenwing Bike Squad (215)
4x Ravenwing Biker - 2x Grav Gun
Ravenwing Attack Bike - Multi-Melta (W:2)
Ravenwing Sergeant - Melta Bombs

Ravenwing Bike Squad (215)
4x Ravenwing Biker - 2x Grav Gun
Ravenwing Attack Bike - Multi-Melta (W:2)
Ravenwing Sergeant - Melta Bombs

WS:4|BS:4|S:4|T:5|W:2|I:4|A:2|Ld:8|Save:3+

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Jink
Outflank - Ravenwing - Relentless - Scout

Ravenwing Darkshroud (80) - Heavy Bolter

Rules:
Deep Strike - Fear - Icon of old Caliban - Jink - Outflank
Ravenwing - Scout - Shrouded - Stealth

BS:4|Front:10|Side:10|Rear:10|HP:3|Type:Fast, Skimmer

+ Elites (210) +

Ravenwing Command Squad (210)
4x Black Knight
Apothecary
Ravenwing Company Banner - 2x Ravenwing Grenade Launcher

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Hammer of Wrath - Hit & Run - Jink - Outflank - Rad Charge
Ravenwing - Relentless - Rending - Scout - Skilled Rider - Stasis Anomaly

WS:4|BS:4|S:4|T:5|W:1|I:4|A:2|Ld:9|Save:3+

Ravenwing Company Banner:
Automatically pass hit&run tests and roll 4D6 for distance rather than 3D6. All friendly models within 12" reroll failed moral-, fear- or pinning tests.

+ HQ (200) +

Sammael (200) - Iron Halo

Rules:
Grim Resolve - Jink - Outflank - Ravenwing - Scout - Skilled Rider

Corvex (Jetbike) - Plasma Cannon - Twin Linked Storm Bolter
Raven Sword

Rules:
Eternal Warrior - Fearless - Gets Hot - Hatred (Chaos Space Marines) - Hit & Run

WS:6|BS:5|S:4|T:5|W:3|I:5|A:3|Ld:10|Save:3+/4++

Warlord Trait: Rapid Maneuver
Your Warlord, and any unit he joins, can either roll 2 dice when they run, using the highest roll, or can add D6" to any Turbo-boost they make (or Flat Out move, in the case of Master Sammael on his Land Speeder).


++ Space Marines Librarius Conclave ++
Formation Detachment (345)

Chapter Tactics - Iron Hands

Rules:
Empyric Channelling

Librarian (115)
Mastery Level 2
Force Axe - Melta Bombs- Space Marine Bike

Librarian (115)
Mastery Level 2
Force Axe - Melta Bombs- Space Marine Bike

Librarian (115)
Mastery Level 2
Force Axe - Melta Bombs- Space Marine Bike

WS:5|BS:4|S:4|T:5|W:2|I:4|A:2|Ld:10|Save:3+

Psychic Hood:
Each Time a unit (or model) is targeted by an enemy psychic power and is within 12" of a frieldly model with a psychic hood, the wearer may attempt to deny the witch as if he were in the unit.


++ Roster Rules ++

Chapter Tactics: Machine Empathy: (Codex: Space Marines)

Chapter Tactics: The Flesh is Weak: (Codex: Space Marines)

First Huntsman (Ravenwing Strike Force):
May reroll your roll on the Warlords Trait table.

March of the Ancients: (Supplement: Clan Raukaan)

Objective Secured (Allied Detachment)

Speed of the Raven (Ravenwing Strike Force):
On the first turn of the unit, units count as jinking if they moved flat-out or turbo-boosted. May fire their weapons normally in the following turn.

Strike as One (Ravenwing Strike Force):
All units in this Ravenwing Strike Force must be placed either in reserve or deployed as normal. When placed in reserve, all units automatically arrive in your 2nd turn.


++ Selection Rules ++

Fear:
At the start of the Fight sub-phase, a unit in base contact with this model must take a Fear test. If the test is failed then the unit has it's WS reduced to 1 for the remainder of the sub-phase.

Grim Resolve:
A model with this rule has Stubborn and therefore ignores negative Leadership modifiers. In addition they may never choose to fail a morale check. Allows overwatch to be resolved at BS2.

Hammer of Wrath:
On the turn this unit charges into combat they get an Initiative 10 automatic hit at their unmodified Strength for each model with this rule.

Hatred (Chaos Space Marines):
Reroll all misses in the first round of each close combat.

Hit & Run:
Take an Initiative test at the end of the assault phase, if successful choose a direction and roll 3D6, move that far ignoring all models in base contact. If this would take you within 1" of another unit, stop 1" away. Ignore Difficult Terrain, but make Dangerous Terrain tests normally. Enemy units left makes an immediate D6" consolidation.

Icon of old Caliban:
All friendlies within 6" have Fear and Stealth. Units beginning their assault phase within 6" are not subjective to Overwatch.

Rad Charge:
On a to-wound roll of 6, two wounds are caused independent from the targets toughness.

Stasis Anomaly:
Every model of a unit hit by one or more weapons with this special rule suffers a -1 penalty to their Weapon Skill and Initiative, to a minimum of 1, until the end of the turn.

Stealth:
Counts it's cover save as 1 point better than normal (Combines with Shrouded)

Swift Vengeance:
Sammael may fire up to two weapons.

1500 point Batrep • DraigoStar vs. Decurion


I attended a local tournament today and this is the batrep for the second round versus the Necron Decurion detachment.

Here is my army list:

Grey Knight Nemesis Strike Force

++ Lord of War ++
Khaldor Draigo

++ HQ ++
Librarian - Level 3 Psychic Mastery
Nemesis Daemonhammer - Stormbolter
Divination: Forewarning, Misfortune, Precognition, Prescience

++ Troops ++
4x Grey Knight - Nemesis Force Swords
Justicar - Nemesis Force Sword

++ Fast Attack ++
Stormraven Gunship - Twin Linked Multi-Melta - Twin-Linked Assault Cannon


Librarius Conclave (Ultramarines)

Tigerius /Warlord - Storm of Fire
Telepathy: Dominate, Invisibility, Psychic Shriek, Terrify

Librarian - Level 2 Psychic Mastery
Force Axe
Divination: Prescience - Misfortune - Perfect Timing

Librarian - Level 2 Psychic Mastery
Biomancy: Smite, Endurance, Life Leech

Space Marines Allied Detachment (Ultramarines)

++ HQ ++
Techmarine - Power Fist

++ Troops ++
4x Scout - Bolt Pistols & Chainswords
Sergeant - Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
Landspeeder Storm - Heavy Flamer

++ Heavy Support ++
2x Devastator Centurion - 2x Grav Cannon & Grav Amps - Missile Launchers
Sergeant - Twin Linked Lascannon - Missile Launcher - Omniscope

I got the big three psychic powers I really needed to juice the deathstar - Endurance, Invisibility and Prescience. Force and Hammerhand would be very important too.

Here is my opponent's Decurion army list to the best of my memory...

++ HQ ++
Barge Lord /Warlord (WLT - ?)

++ Troops ++
10x Warrior
Nightsycthe

10x Warrior
Nightscythe

5x Immortal - Gauss Blasters
Nightscythe

++ Elites ++
5x Lychguard - Swords & Shields
Nightscythe

++ Fast Attack ++
3x Tomb Blade - ranged blast weapons

++ Heavy Support ++
Doomscythe

Doomscythe


++ Canoptek Harvest Formation ++
6x Wraith - Whip Coils

6x Scarab

Spyder


The primary objective was The Relic and deployment was Dawn of War. I won the roll to deploy first. I elected to deploy first and go second.

Deployment
I deployed the Centurion Devastators with Draigo, Grey Knight Librarian, Tigerius and the other two Librarians from the conclave all attached in a centrally located ruin on the edge of my deployment zone. I held everything else in reserve. I've got a pool of 12 warp charge starting on the table.


Note - I didn't know the Landspeeder has a capacity for only five Marines and mistakenly attached the Techmarine to the scouts embarked in the transport but it had no effect on the outcome of the game.

My opponent centrally deployed his Canoptek Harvest with the Wraiths up front and his Bargelord close by. He also deployed the Tomb Blades over on his left flank.


We both held everything else in reserve with the Strike squad embarked in the Stormraven.

I elected to go second.


1st Turn - Necrons
Everything moves forward directly towards my deathstar. The Tomb Blades drop their blasts but fail to drop any wounds then the Bargelord flats out towards them and the Harvest runs forward. Note the Wraiths are on top of the Relic now.


1st Turn - DraigoStar
The Wraiths are quite close and with a decent charge roll I should be able to assault them so I move my deathstar straight towards them.

I successfully cast the following psychic powers this turn...

Tigerius: Invisibility, Prescience, Endurance, Force & Life Leech - witchfire drops two of the Scarabs.

Draigo: Hammerhand

GK Librarian: Forewarning

Combined shooting drops two Wraiths and one wound on another. I then fail the charge by 1"... Wow they were really close too.



2nd Turn - Necrons
Two Nightscythes full of Warriors come in from reserve along with the Lychguard. The Wraiths pick up the Relic and move back away from Draigo and company dragging the Relic with them while the Lychguard disembark to screen them. The Scarabs move into charge range with the Bargelord not far behind. Necron shooting manages to drop one wound on a Centurion. The Scarabs make the charge but Bargelord falls a couple inches short. Draigo strikes first to finish off the rest of the Scarabs for First Blood. The deathstar then consolidates forward toward the Lychguard.

2nd Turn - DraigoStar
The Stormraven gunship comes in from reserve drawing a bead on one of the Warriors' Nightscythe - the Strike squad paratroops inside a ruin safely. The Landspeeder fails to arrive this turn. Draigo and company straddle around the Lychguard so they are in position to multi assault both them and the Wraithe.

I manage to successfully cast the same psychic powers again this turn plus I Misfortune the Nightscythe closest to the Stormraven. Life Leech wounds a Wraith restoring the lost wound for the Centurion.

Shooting sees the Stormraven pop the scythe full of Warriors that go into ongoing reserve. The Strike squad manages to drop two of the Tomb Blades but the remaining one passes its leadership test. Draigo split fires into the Wraiths for no damage while of the deathstar shooting brings the Lychguard down to the last one whom breaks and flees away. I then assault the Wraiths and they are wiped out taking no wounds in return. The deathstar consolidates on top of the Relic.

3rd Turn - Necrons
A couple more flyers arrive from reserve. Bargelord goes for the suicide mission lining up a charge on my deathstar. Shooting is ineffective with everything targeting the deathstar. The Bargelord rushes to his doom and is destroyed before he can swing. My opponent then concedes the match.

This was my second victory in a row with the first game also versus another Decurion army.




Saturday, August 22, 2015

40k vs. Age of Sigmar • Part 2

 

simplify

Simplification? There's been a lot speculation on what will be the new direction for 40k when the next edition drops.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Some of my picks for actors to portray the Primarchs


01 - Angron - Jack Nicholson (attitude)
02 - Kurse - Michael Keaton (twisted)
03 - Russ - Chuck [Fucking] Norris
04 - Horus - Marlon Brando (pimp)
05 - Alpharius - Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys)
06 - Perutarbo - Arnold (terminator)
07 - Vulkan - Lawrence Fishbourne
08 - Rogal Dorn - John Wayne (stoic)
09 - Fulgrim - Johnny Depp
10 - Sanguinius - Mickey Rourke (epic)
11 - Lionel Jonson - Kurt Russell
12 - Corax - Daniel Defoe
13 - Magnus - Robert De Niro
14 - Ferrus Manus - Bruce Willis
15 - Mortarion - Nicolas Cage
16 - Khan - Bruce Lee
17 - Lorgar - Val Kilmer

NOVA 2015 Invitational Bracket

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

40k vs. Age of Sigmar



I have created a poll on the blog so you can vote - are you happy with the existing 40k rules or could they be toned down and simplified.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

From Dorner on the ETC in response to my recent article

From Dorner:

Hi
I was present at this year’s ETC. I think the American team was maybe the strongest
ever and maybe the strongest performance to date, considering who they meet. I
therefore would be hesitant to change the selection process (eg in Denmark we
base our selection on a team national playoff, which also have it’s drawbacks).
Regarding
t he American performance:
- Round 1: Won over Spain
- Round 2: Drew Italy (missed 1 BP for a win)
- Round 3: Won over England who came 6th at ETC 2015
- Round 4: Won over Wales who came 4th at ETC 2015
- Round 5: Lost to Germany the winner of ETC 2015
- Round 6: Just lost (by 2 BP) to Sweden who came second (if had won US would have been
2nd, if draw would have been 3rd).
England and Wales are two very good opponents to win over.
I agree on the list/meta argument.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Spartan's Journey • Re Enactment of Ivstann Drop Site Massacre

I had the opportunity to play in a one day 30k Horus Heresy campaign today re enacting the first battle - the Ivstann drop site massacre. Two Primarchs were there...

Horus Lupercal in his Luna Wolf Serpent Scales...

Roboute Gilliman...

Horus lead his retinue of Justraerin in their ancient Spartan outflanking into the loyalist backfield catching them off guard...

Many loyalist Night Lords gave their lives in vain in an attempt to halt the Behemoth in its tracks - they were all grind underneath its tracks while the Warmaster patiently waited for the tank to break through their lines...

The Martians must have missed the memo and were left behind assailed by Angron and Daemonkin unleashed by the Word Bearers...

Angron and his Red Butchers arrived via the Kyhbardis Dreadclaw caught by the angry Martians...

The Spartan finds a hole in the loyalist line plunging through with the Green Knight protecting their rear... Many many loyalists both Ultramarine and Night Lord paid dearly...

"Hey sarge is that the Warmaster?"

"Indeed it is." were his last words...


All were butchered to the very last Marine. The Warmaster emerged victorious.

A dark day signaling the beginning of the civil war had begun !

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Critical Hit Games Thursday evening 40k • Saint Petersburg, FL

Starting this coming Thursday Critical Hit Games will be running a 40k evening. There is lots of new painted terrain to use and plenty of open tables. Players can choose what they wish to play for missions and FOC.

Hope to see you there !

Critical Hits is in Saint Pete ideally located located close to Clearwater and Tampa...

10462 Roosevelt Boulevard
Saint Petersburg, Florida

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Ravenwing by Izzy DeLuna

This is one of the best commissions ever !

Enjoy.





Here is Izzy's Facebook page:


I have to rate Izzy as coming in right behind GMM in overall quality. Check him out !!!


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Failure Analysis • ETC


Part of my profession is to conduct failure analysis - it can be small scale or large scale. Sometimes heads roll. I have had my share of failures and it is part of what makes us what we are in terms of how we handle it and if we learn anything. Repeatedly beating your head against the wall is not a solution. While I am considered a very competitive gamer I have not had the success as members of the team and hindsight is 20-20... BUT we can take an objective look. To me looking in from the outside I see two schools of thought for competitive play at the international level that is the ETC:

• Cheesing out an army list via spam and penultimate broken combinations which can result in armies that have no semblance in terms of background (USA)

• Tactical army lists that revolve around overall strategic play and still can adhere to background (Europe)

I think the US national tournament system unfortunately to a certain degree lends itself to the former type which has been shown repeatedly to not bring home the gold at the international level. Arguably our best daemon player lost to CenStar which is a really bad match up for the latter army.

ETC Primary Detachment (CAD): Codex Grey Knights, Faction Grey Knights

HQ1-Warlord: Librarian (110): Nemesis Daemon Hammer (5), Psyker ML3 (25) [140]

TROOP1: Strike Squad [110]
TROOP2: Strike Squad [110]

HEAVY SUPPORT1: Nemesis Dreadknight (130): Gatling Psilincer (30), Heavy Psycannon (35), Nemesis Daemon Hammer (5), Personal Teleporter (30) [230]
HEAVY SUPPORT2: Nemesis Dreadknight (130): Gatling Psilincer (30), Heavy Psycannon (35), Nemesis Daemon Hammer (5),Personal Teleporter (30) [230]
HEAVY SUPPORT3: Nemesis Dreadknight (130): Heavy Incinerator (20), Heavy Psycannon (35), Nemesis Greatsword (10),Personal Teleporter (30 )[225]

LOW1: Kaldor Draigo [245]

Total ETC Primary Detachment: 1290 pts

ETC Secondary Detachment (Allied Detachment): Codex Space Marines, Faction Space Marines

Ultramarines

HQ2: Chief Librarian Tigurius [165]

TROOP3: Scout Squad (55): Bolter (0) [55]

HEAVY SUPPORT4: Centurion Devastator Squad (190): additional Centurion (60), Omniscope (10), 4 Grav-cannon and grav-amp (80), Hurricane Bolter (0) [340]

Total ETC Secondary Detachment: 560 pts

Total Army Points: 1850

Another part of the equation to the failure mode is repeated self repetition. Maybe it's time to bring in a totally new line up and see what they can do. In contrast Germany is always a top contender. If it were up to me I'd study their approach to the ETC and learn as much as possible from them. I always want to study the top competition as much as possible to figure out what makes them go tick tock like a well built clock. I may not blatantly copy them but you can bet I will know what they do to win on a consistent basis and figure out a reliable counter.

The top ETC teams will often bring highly tuned lists specifically built to counter one powerful build. It's usually something not seen before or expected. The Polish team brought an anti leaf blower list the first year it surfaced in the Ard Boyz tournament. It consisted of nothing but Genestealers and Tervigons granting FNP. No one played anything like that ever back then and it tabled leaf blower lists all tourney long.

To me it's obvious that while an army featuring non themed components such as Orks and Farsight Enclave might produce winning results at a local level it will face a lot of really tough counters at a higher level of competitive play such as ETC. The ETC seems to be not that big a focus in the USA and more of a novelty but in truth all competitive players can learn how to improve their game by being a student of the European approach. We could adapt to a humble stance letting go our own approach to enact a more totally open mind. At a commercial level this is how many big companies have revitalized their own self interests and turned around their ability to truly compete again and succeed. Look at Ford Motor Company as one prime example or Chevrolet. It takes a big person to accept their own failures recognizing them for what they truly are then starting over again at the grass root level to reinvent themselves.

In general the USA has been very successful competing abroad in any endeavor when they are well organized and properly prepared. This is a big investment in time and resources but it is the same old story year after year. Part of it too is the good boy system used to select players rather than a truly competitive system such as national playoffs to make the team.

Friday, August 07, 2015

Narrative Batrep • Grey Knights & Ultramarines vs. Astra Militarum


I'm not going to post the army lists in an attempt to enhance the psychological aspect of this report. If you read my recent posts you'll have a good idea what I play.

The commander stood with his retinue beside the massive hulk of the ancient Shadowsword. He slowly scrolled down through the combat log embedded in his vid. An unknown enemy had been detected in the immediate vicinity following a recent orbital bombardment. Huge smoking craters pocked the hard ground juxtapositioned throughout the toppling ruins. A full company of fresh conscripts lead by the old war priest were close by scrounging through the burning rubble and debris. More tanks rumbled onto the battlegrounds, thick clouds of sooty smoke poured out from their stacks. A large platoon was up front combing through another nearby ruin looking to find a good point to setup the heavy weapon teams. The veterans' chimeras rolled ahead making their way carefully through the broken ground.

"Can you sense anything?" the commander voxed to a sanctioned psyker inside one of the lumbering transports.

"The warp has been disturbed." replied the psyker in a broken voice. "Whatever it is you can bet it's been touched." The vox then went silent.

"Alpha team has spotted something across the valley." came the voice of a sergeant chirping through the vox.

"Acquire immediate target lock and commence ordnance rounds." the commander ordered the Shadowsword tank crew. The ancient behemoth turned in place tearing huge strips of earth from the ground. The Basilisk pivoted behind the super heavy tank as the spotter ranged the Earth Shaker.

"Whatever it was its disappeared now." came the startled voice of the sergeant.

Suddenly the air grew cold and hoarfrost began to coat the ground. There was the distinct sound of heavy weaponry cycling then one of the chimeras exploded as the surprised veterans stumbled out from the burning wreck immediately followed up by the sudden pressure of an intense shock wave blasted out from a confined area behind a ruin engulfing the conscripts closest to it. They instantly disintegrated, their ash spilling to the frozen ground.

"We are under attack!" shouted the sergeant as the conscripts jostled forwarded urged on by the war priest. A small area of open ground was surrounded by the bodies of the young guardsmen but could not be penetrated and the commander watched in silence as those closest to the shimmering patch were smashed apart and cut in twain. The conscripts refused to break though wildly stabbing into the barren emptiness with their sharp bayonets.

"Do something!" ordered the commander to the sanctioned psyker. "Do it now!"

Focusing his mind the wizened adept reached into the madness of the warp silently mouthing the words to a trained spell. Fresh blood poured from both nostrils and his brain felt like it was on fire. There was the briefest moment of calm as the spell was cast harnessing a small portion of the etheric energy. The conscripts seemed to catch fire as tongues of burning warp flame engulfed them then the psyker's head exploded like a ripe melon inside the transport.

Shouting words of encouragement the war priest urged them back into the fight. Still there was nothing to see but the unseen attacks were now blunted by the blanketing warp. Here and there a conscript was torn apart but the attack had lost its intensity for the time being. They scrambled atop of each other as they speared their bayonets into the void over and over again.

"We have sighted a skimmer making its way towards the forward most objective." came the voice of the sergeant over the vox.

"Can you identify its markings?" asked the Imperial commander.

"Negative." replied the sergeant. "The aircraft is shrouded and moving too quickly to identify. It's small though, I can tell you that for now."

"Realign the the target locks and commence ordnance!" came the command.

The Basilisk fired the Earth Shaker cannon in immediate response followed by the Shadowsword. The ground shook hard as the ordnance found its mark exploding across the narrow valley.

"Target breached!" shouted the sergeant.

"Anything left alive?" asked the commander.

"We have detected transhuman life forms but they've holed up in yonder building."

"Platoon Bravo move out and identify!" the commander ordered.

The commander's attention was brought back to the immediate struggle of his young conscripts. The warp flame concealing them sputtered out only to be quickly followed by more carnage from the unseen enemy force they embraced in a death lock. Shouting more battle hymns the war priest sprang into the heart of the fight where the blows were thickest. Another sudden shock wave poured out from the untouchable area consuming all around it as the telekinetic attack instantly pulverized more guardsmen. The conscripts were slowly being rendered to death one by one and the speed of the assault reached a blinding crescendo. The commander spotted a large boot prints covering the immediate ground as the unseen tore through the last few surviving conscripts.

"It's right beside us now!" quivered the segeant's scared voice as the commander watched the war priest drawn and quartered by invisible hands tearing him apart limb from limb. The priest cried out in intense pain then went silent as the shredded remains of savaged body were hurled apart. "It lives amongst." were the last words of the old priest.

"Form up a rank!" barked the commander to his retinue and a close by squad of veterans. "Fire!" Plasma and melta followed by lasgun fire erupted over the short barricade. He watched as the huge boot prints smashed down upon the piles of dead pressing hard. Whatever it was it moved directly towards them at a quick pace.

"Incoming aircraft!" shouted the sergeant. The commander looked up into the dark sky to see a pitch black gunship pummeling down towards the platoon. Shoving his medic aside the commander manned their lone quadgun drawing a quick bead on the enemy flier. It too had no markings to identify its origin. Barking loudly over the immediate battle din the quad barrels fired into the craft, one round finding its mark. Dark flumes of blackened oily smoke poured out from the rent then the flyer opened fire strafing the platoon. Two rocket missiles belched snaking along the ground towards an outflanking devildog. The rockets found their mark exploding the vehicle.

Large transhumans covered in silvered power armor from head to toe dropped down from the flier firing their weapons at the hip into the remainder of the platoon rapidly dispersing the last of them. They all wore bright red helmets. Quickly they moved into the compound housing the objective.

One last time the Shadowsword fired lobbing more ordnance down upon the visible enemy. There was a bright blast vaporizing some of the armored enemy but not all. At the same moment the unseen menace overran the commander and his retinue. Their death was quick and never did they see whom it was that attacked them.

The traitors have been terminated with extreme prejudice. The few survivors will be interrogated then summarily executed for their sins against the Emperor.


Tuesday, August 04, 2015

ATC 2015 Blood Angels' Experience • The Power Rangers


BBF's Note - This article is by my good friend Chris who played on my ATC team this year - The Power Rangers. I had a couple of drops right before the ATC and was lucky enough to recruit Chris. He is a great guy, an up and coming player plus a really fun person to play.

Hail fellow gamers!

First of I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Christian Adorno also known as Blood Angel 13. I've been a 40k gamer since 3rd edition. After moving to South Florida and taking a few years off I found a gaming club called Sunshine Adventure Gaming... Little did I knew that my skills and casual gaming experience were going to be put to the test and pushed over and over again in the next few years to follow.

Over the past years I have participated in many local tournaments and GTs such as BeakyCon, Crucible and the FoB qualifiers - regardless of the meta my goal has always been to represent what's true to my heart and that is to be a fully fleshed out Blood Angels player. So far it has paid off as I've been able to place as follows:

Best Chapter Blood Angels 1st place - Crucible 2013 (Orlando)
2nd Best Space Marines - Crucible 2014
2nd Best Space Marines - SoFlo 2014 (Miami)

I've been also attended BeakyCon two years straight in a row for some good games but that event doesn't yet rank armies.

Now for my first major GT out of state I was chosen by my team captain Steve Turner when he messaged me about an open spot open on his team The Power Rangers offering me an invitation. I've known Steve for a few years now and he has been like a battle brother and a fellow Blood Angel player always motivating me to do my best. So I took the offer and started prepping the meanest Blood Angel list I could I imagine at the time - Flesh Tearers Detachment featuring 13 drop pods.

My list is as follows:

- HQ -
Librarian Dread (Level 2) - Meltagun
Drop Pod

- Elites -
Furioso Dreadnought - Frag Cannon - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Furioso Dreadnought - Frag Cannon - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Furioso Dreadnought - Frag Cannon - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

- Troops -
Tactical Squad (5 Marines) - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Tactical Squad (5 Marines) - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Tactical Squad (5 Marines) - Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

- Fast Attack -
#1 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Meltagun - Dual Inferno Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

#2 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Meltagun - Dual Inferno Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

#3 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Meltagun - Dual Inferno Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

#4 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Meltagun - Dual Inferno Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

#5 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Meltagun - Dual Inferno Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

#6 Assault Squad (5 Marines) - 2x Flamer - Dual Flamer Pistols (Sergeant)
Drop Pod

This build maximizes the use of drop pods at the 1850 point level with deadly units for both melee and shooting along with objective holding superiority due to so many boots on the ground. That's 14 units total dropping on turn 1 all with lots of shooting. Never under estimate stormbolter firepower en mass against a wounded HQ or squad.

To break it down a bit more the total amount of turn 1 firepower is as follows:

3x Frag Cannon
6x Heavy Flamer
2x Flamer
2x Hand Flamer

That's 13 templates on turn 1 for the alpha strike.

Or

21 melta shots if I drop the melta squads first turn along with the Librarian dreadnaught (Blood Lance).

Turn 1 = 14 Stormbolter shots
Turn 2 = 26 Stormbolter shots assuming none from the first drop have been targeted yet which usually can happen by Turn 3 depending on the opponent.

So who said you need a gimmick or crazy allies to build a deadly list?

Don't get me wrong, I still like to ally from time to time and make some original combos but this time I wanted to show that the Sons of Sanguinius as well as a pure codex build can still be effective and strong enough to win with some good match ups against my opponents' over powered lists.

My experience at ATC was well beyond my expectations and the feed back I got on my list made it stand out as truly my number one favorite build ever. Here's the quick batreps for each round at ATC this year.

- Day 1

Mission 1 vs. Double WolfStar & BA Allies

I scored a major win versus this list after a fierce Alpha Strike and being more flexible... my opponent simply could not catch up following my successful alpha strike.

Mission 2 vs. Eldar

A double Wraithknight list with 6 squads of Warp Spiders!!! It was this round that I had to take one for the team. Knowing about Eldar trickery I went in guns blazing hoping to shock my opponent a bit just so that I could score some points and avoid the donut. In the end that goal was achieved as I held back the Eldar long enough to grab 10 points out of a total 33 possible this round. This match was one of the most interesting ones in my life and it was against one of the guys from the Chicago Kamikazes team - they finished seventh place overall.

Mission 3 vs. another WolfStar & SM Allies

I took this pairing head on - I felt I could dispatch this list like I did in round 1. However as I proceeded with my Alpha Strike causing a total of 40 wounds he saved 36 of them with the combination of really hot 2+ and 3++ saves. I know I always say never tell me the odds but dang! That's a lot of saves and I knew I was in a pickle... It was gonna be one of those games. His armor saves were on point and in the frustration of the moment I forgot to grab the relic taking one turn longer, letting him catch up to me. I still scored some points so a moral victory - I'm blaming some of the loss to being outdiced as well as outplayed by my opponent.

BBF's Note At the end of day one our team's overall score was firmly planted in the bottom half of the standings. I knew I needed to rally the team's moral and pump them up for a big finish on day two. I felt Chris could help make it happen as he was still very focused and thinking positive - gotta love his awesome team spirit !!!

- Day 2

Mission 1 vs. Necrons

It was a Decurion list with some solid units - 2 Wraiths squads, two spiders, 2 ghost arks, 2 tomb blade squads and a Barge Lord... strong resilient list. This was one of my most fearless games. When I saw my opponent had left an opening behind his line I dropped some of my pods in his backfield and gave him Hell... I dropped both behind with melta and in front with dreads boxing him in as I started to collect objective points and engaging his forces to keep him very busy. By the end of the game I scored two of three objectives plus all of the bonuses for a very solid win.

Mission 2 vs. Space Marines

I faced one of those Demi Company armies with Raven Guard chapter tactics and the Librarius Conclave. I was a bit out numbered with boots on the ground and his Librarians so I decided to play this one safe engaging his smaller units and focusing on mission points for a close win by just one point!


Mission 3 vs. Ravenwing & Blood Angels

My opponent had a Librarian and Ravenwing command squad with Ravenwing Knights and bike squads. His BA detachment featured two Furioso Dreadnoughts, assault terminators (TH/SS) in a Stormaven with a Sanguinary Priest and melta teams in drop pods. Having the first turn put me once again in a great position to start scoring early and in place to grab the relic early on... Good shooting and countering my opponents' strategies and movement gave me my last win of the tournament.

- Recap

I was happy with my overall battle results winning the award for Best Blood Angel player, ranking 59 out of 250 people with a pure single CAD style detachment. This shows that a single CAD using only one codex can still be strong in this highly competitive meta, even with a non top tier codex.

Blood Angels are still a strong choice even without any gimmicks such as allying to build yet another Death Star... This is where my heart and soul for the hobby falls into place - to be the top ranked Blood Angel player in Florida... The US if possible is a future goal.

So here my journey moves forward onto other GTs to represent the Sons of Sanguinius in battle and show their strength.

DraigoStar Tactica • Selecting Psychic Lores and Casting Order


Here are my initial thoughts on selecting psychic lores for the new and improved DraigoStar featuring the Librarius Conclave and the order in which to cast them. Draigo's psychic powers obviously are pre selected and he is mainly there for the Gate of Infinity (GoI). I cast GoI first if I really need it since you'll need the 4+ and you have dice to spare.

Level 3 Grey Knight Librarian - Divination
I always select the primaris power Prescience since the star is very shooty but it also helps a lot in close combat when needed. Cast this power right after GoI because you'll need 5-6 dice since it requires two warp charge. If you select Ultramarine chapter tactics you can pop the Devastator doctrine once if you should fail to cast Prescience to re roll hits for the Devastator Centurions. Perfect Timing is another high order psychic power and sometimes more important than Prescience. These are typically the two most beneficial powers from this lore for DraigoStar.

Tigerius (Level 3) - Telepathy
Obviously you want Invisibility and Tigerius is your best bet since he can re roll when selecting each of his psychic powers. I start casting with the Librarius Conclave right after Draigo and the Grey Knight Librarian... Tigerius is successfully casting on a 2+ with the re roll; he is going to get most of his powers each turn and there's a good chance your opponent will have already expended his warp pool by the timing you start casting with Tigerius so he's very hard to deny. I take the primaris power Psychic Shriek - if you follow my order you'll be able to re roll to hit since Psychic Shriek is a witchfire assuming you've successfully cast Prescience first. Psychic Shriek is great for removing a nearby enemy unit camping on an objective or bubble wrapping another enemy unit you want to assault. Make sure to first cast Terrify should you get it for the -1 leadership reduction. These are the main powers for Tigerius. Dominate is another good combination with Terrify and could be a game changer.

1st Conclave Librarian (Level 2) - Varies
If you don't manage to get Invisibility with Tigerius and really need this is your second chance. If on the other hand you got Invisibility already then I switch over to the Biomancy Lore. Endurance is the best for the 4+ Feel No Pain (FNP) to buff DraigoStar. Life Leech is great for restoring lost wounds. Enfeeble is another good one too.

If you get Endurance make sure to cast it first with the Conclave for FNP to help manage Perils of the Warp since it can effectively block the loss of wounds.

2nd Conclave Librarian (Level 2) - Varies
This is your last shot at getting Invisibility otherwise I'm liking Telekenesis as the last lore and there are some really good psychic powers such as Crush, Levitate and Maelstrom. Levitate lets you move DraigoStar up to 12" which is great for following up on a bad scatter for GoI making sure they are in range to shoot and/or placing them outside of assault range from an enemy dedicated melee unit. The other two are witchfire and good for softening up troublesome enemy units including vehicles.

So if you follow my guidelines your DraigoStar will be buffed with the best psychic power available. There are some other great combinations such as Forewarning and Sanctuary... Tigerius, the two Librarians and Centurions will have a 3++ invulnerable save which be further enhanced by way of Precognition.


Sunday, August 02, 2015

DraigoStar Reborn • Mini Batrep


I had a game today versus White Scars Demi Company with my new list for DraigoStar (1850 points). As can happen the dice were quite fickle and I had to face a Cullexus assassin in a drop pod... It was the pyschic buffet for that traitorous bitch and she feasted well.

Here is my new list:

Nemesis Strike Force
Lord Khaldor Draigo -- Warlord

Librarian - Level 3 - Stormbolter - Nemesis Daemonhammer - Liber Daemonica

9x Purifier - 2x Psycannon
Keeper of the Flame - Nemesis Daemonhammer

4x Grey Knight - Psycannon
Justicar

Stormraven - Hurricane Bolters - Twin Linked Multi-Melta - Twin Linked Assault Cannon - Locator Beacon


Ultramarine Allied Detachment
Techmarine - Auspex

4x Scout - Camo Cloaks - Bolt Pistols & Combat Blades
Sergeant
Landspeeder Storm - Heavy Flamer

3x Devastator Centurion - Grav Cannons & Amps - Missile Launchers
Sergeant - Omniscope - Twin Linked Lascannon - Missile Launcher


Librarius Conclave
Tigerius

Librarian - Level 2 - Force Axe

Librarian - Level 2 - Force Axe


Psychic Powers
Grey Knight Librarian (Divination) - Prescience - Misfortune - Precognition - Perfect Timing

Tigerius (Telepathy) - Psychic Shriek - Invisibility - Shrouding - Terrify

Librarian (Telekenesis) - Crush - Maelstrom

Librarian (Biomancy) - Smite - Endurance - Haemorraghe


The mission rules were as follows:

Deployment - Hammer and Anvil

Primary 1 - Purge the Alien

Primary 2 - 5 Objective Markers

Secondary - First Blood - Slay the Warlord - Line Breaker - Last Laugh


I won the roll to pick my deployment zone and took the side with more line of sight blocking terrain. My opponent won the roll to go first so I only deployed DraigoStar, placing them behind a big piece of terrain to prevent the alpha strike.

I don't have my opponent's list but it was a Demi Company with many Razorbacks (heavy bolter turrets), a few drop pods and the Stalker formation plus two squads of Devastators with missiles. He chose White Scars for his Chapter Tactics and took Khan plus a Chaplain for his HQ.

Turn One
Luckily I was able to seize the initiative gating DraigoStar into a ruin back in my opponent's deployment zone... This allowed me to use the psychic phase prior to the arrival of the Cullexus assassin and I managed to destroy one of the Razorbacks and a five man tactical squad for First Blood plus two kill points.

Sure enough the assassin arrived via drop pod close to my Deathstar. I was able to tank most of the wounds by Look Out Sir (-2 due to No Escape) on Draigo and a few via cover saves. It was obviously a lot of shots via the Animus Speculum since it adds shots based on nearby psykers and up to three more warp charge from their own pool. After the rest of his army fired Draigo was down to his last wound and two of my DevCents lost a wound... It could have potentially been much worse.


Turn Two
The next turn was dedicated to killing the Cullexus via shooting and assault... Really needed to get rid of her ! The Scouts arrived via outflank coming in beside my deathstar in their land speeder. The Stormraven also came in and the Purifiers split into combat squads paratrooping out. I had a bit of good luck this turn - the landspeeder flamed her taking one wound then the Cerebus launcher dropped its payload for another wound which blinded the assassin - take that you traitorous c*nt. The deathstar whiffed in the shooting phase so I had to take her down the old fashioned way in melee... Draigo managed to finally club her down and I took no wounds in return. The Purifiers were able to wreck one Razorback via the combination of Cleansing Flame and their psycannons. So two more kill points this turn for Draigo and company.

I lost a Centurion during my opponent's shooting phase and the GK Librarian also lost a wound. One of the Purifier combat squads was shot off the table plus the Landspeeder Storm was wrecked. My opponent also stripped all three hull points from the Stormraven even though it had jinked so he scored his first two kill points (this occurred during my turn when he intercepted with his Stalker formation).

Up to this point I was doing okay and had contained the very real threat from the assassin - really glad to see her bite the dust !


Turn Three
The warp is both fickle and dangerous as you'll see this turn. Draigo successfully gated the deathstar but they scattered 9", mishapping but thankfully went into ongoing reserve. The remaining Purifier squad was in position to multi assault two five man tactical squads then periled while casting Cleansing Flame... Of course I rolled a 1 then failed the leadership test - good bye Purifiers ! My Strike squad came in from reserve as well deep striking behind a large piece of line of sight blocking terrain and I should mention the Techmarine split off from the deathstar to join the scouts for some much needed reinforcement. No kill points scored this turn for me and I've only got three small units left on the table... Due to good positioning though they were all tucked away safely from the bulk of the enemy's guns.

Recap
The game ended up going the full seven turns and I was able to claw my way back into the game needing a sixth turn to ahead on kill points. The Techmarine and his Scouts performed admirably holding down their piece of ruin - taking out two command squads and a drop pod. The deathstar played it safe picking off enemy units here and there... By the end of the game I was down to two DevCents, each on their final wound, plus Draigo and the Conclave. I foolishly split off the GK Librarian to join the Strike squad... Eventually they were all gunned down over the remainder of the game.


I won the primary for kill points and my opponent won the primary for holding objective markers. I had First Blood, Line Breaker and Last Laugh while my opponent only scored Line Breaker — so a tight win for the new DraigoStar.

The Cullexus was brutal but I think I properly dealt with her the best I could. Third turn was horrendous and I was seriously thinking it might be game over. Obviously the Cullexus is very bad news versus an infantry psychic laden deathstar like mine but I was able to clip her quickly enough... They are rather fragile with only three wounds and a 4++ save plus the 6++ FNP... I got lucky with the Storm dropping two of her wounds and blinding the bitch. Against an army like eldar jetseer council a shrewd eldar player will simply bubble wrap with scatbikes then turbo boost away the turn after she arrives.

The Conclave takes DraigoStar to the next level... I was successfully casting up to eight psychic powers a turn.