New Adversaries On The Horizon! - Berks 40k Club contact!

Hey all Moros here!

I'm pleased to announce that we've been inducted into the Berks 40k Gaming organization. I've been following their blog (http://berkswarhammer40k.blogspot.com/) for awhile now. They do some great stuff including the False Hope campaign (Check it out on their site!)

This weekend I was able to touch base with them and get some more information about how their group works. They are a more informal group than us, and basically the way it works is they set up games and keep in touch through their forum. They also get together on a regular basis and have about 20 active members! I encourage you guys to head on over to their forums and get registered!

I also took the liberty to invite them to our monthly 40k Day event! I've already heard from a few of them that they are interested! So we might have some guests joining us! From what I understand they sometimes like to play smaller point battles. So it might be a good idea to work on some 750, 1000, and 1850 type lists to play with those guys.

We have also been invited to take part in their ongoing False Hope campaign. This narrative event pits you against other players and really gives the game a bit more to fight for than just the win! Now we have even more incentive to get those armies modeled and painted up!

The WAR is growing! Death to the false emperor!

Break the runes of binding and unleash the Defiler!

Hey all, just a quick update so you can see what's been on my workbench lately!

I've been working overtime to get some of my models assembled. For our last 40k day I wanted to have a 5 man Terminator squad that has been sitting around together and my 2 spawn assembled. I've been itchin' to turn something into a spawn so I can field thes
e models. I didn't get to play on 40k day, which is fine, so it will have to wait a little bit longer for the spawn!

And my good friend Agni got me a Defiler for helping him move into his new house! YEY!

The Defiler is totally magnetized. the turret rotates, the reaper cannon and the heavy flamer also are both magnatized so that close combat arms can be alternated (I still need to get the parts for the CC arms). Another good note, is that if I eventually play chaos daemons, the soul grinder could be magnatized to just pop right on top of the defiler frame!


My next project is either going to be working on my board or painting up some of these guys.

Anyway, here are some pics! I hope you Enjoy!

Dice Roller

Hey all,

I've developed a special dice roller that is specifically designed for large amounts of dice rolls. Please give it a try and let me know what you think:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b2bh8h8/n/Dice_Roller.exe

Update: Version 1.5.1 now has a summary and read-only results! - Added 7/27/2010

- Agni Prime

Post 100!

Can you believe it? 100 post... already? I am honored to be a part of this club, and each and every time we have a 40k Day, I learn so much about what strategy games really should be. I look forward to the next meeting, when I hope to remove at least another 10-20 circles and replace them with swarms of leaping, bounding, burrowing, and potentially flying nids. Keep up the good work everyone, and don't forget...


FEXES IN YOUR BASES... EATING YOUR MANSES!

Making 40k handicap accessible

I'm a web developer and I always have professors hammering accessibility into my head, It has become apparent to me that Warhammer 40k and other war games are not accessible to people who are handicapped. My good friend has cerebral palsy. He has good days where he can do almost everything on his own and he has bad days where it literally hurts to try and get out of bed.

 I introduced him to Warhammer 40k this past weekend and it became strikingly obvious that our gaming group is not even close to being as wheelchair accessible as it could be. He can get in the door but the tables are too high for him to see everything and I think  it will be hard for him to move models and roll dice. I had him play for me while I guided him through the rules, what my units could do, and made sure he didn't get my Necrons massacred . During this time I realized that he was an amazing strategist (without him I may not have tied that game against Brother C.). It would be an utter shame to have someone who has the potential to become a valued member of the Warhammer 40k community turned off because accommodations couldn't be made so he could actually play the game.

I am thinking we will need a few things....

• lower tables or tables with the ability to be lowered
• preferably not just one board, he likes variety as much as the next guy
• An electronic dice roller, web app maybe? There are a lot out there but none geared towards 40k, something you could enter  WS, BS,  S,  and T  into and then it calculates hits and wounds would be amazing.
• A way to move models, short of having an opponent or someone else move the models for him I'm stuck on this, he could do it but it would take a looooong time. Measuring distances might be hard too. I told him he should try and stay away from any army with a large number of models ie Orks.

Again any suggestions would be most appreciated and yes I asked him if I could write up a post about this. Surprisingly I didn't find a lot of info on this subject online so I would very much like to get a discussion going.

 

July 40k Day - Pictures and Recap!

Hey all Moros here!

I just wanted to post some pics I took from this past 4ok day and recap the day a little bit.

It was a glorious day of slaughter and all was as Tzeentch foresaw! Finally, the cursed Dark Angels lost their victory streak. They were taken down by the Necrons, the deceiver proved to be too much for them.

On the other side of the galaxy the Imperial Guard forces of our newest member attempted to protect their world from the Tyrannid Hive Fleet Agni. It was a blood bath on both sides but the swarms lead by the massive Trygon took the day and secured the objectives.

It was a great time and we were honored to have two new members join us and one of them played their first game at the club! Keep up the good work all! We are doing really well with growing the club and getting the word out!
I personally didn't get to play a match, but that's ok! I had a blast teaching the rules and throwing out tactics! For some reason when I'm not actually playing I have great tactical plans!

One thing I did notice was that we could all use some practice speeding up our games. That way we can get in more killing! But like I said, it was a great day and I can't wait for the next one!
All is Dust!

Trygon in your bases

Eating your manses... PREPARE FOR AGNI PRIME!

Trygon Prime

I'm Famous! - Well Kinda

Hey guys! I was so excited today when I checked out www.miniwargaming.com and noticed that they decided to use my Ahriman for the display piece of their website!

It just feels good to see my work displayed for the first time!

Check it out here!

I also got a 10% discount at their shop! YEY!

Ahriman!

Moros here, just giving you guys a glimpse at my latest creation! I finally finished Ahriman. This is my first attempt at basing, let me know what you think. I think it could use a little spice personally, but it was my first attempt :P


I really like the way he came out and he was very fun to paint! Watch out on the field, now that he's painted he will be turning ur manses into spawn left and right!

40k Stop motion Done Right

Mini Wargaming is one of my favorite war-gaming websites and they recently put out a series of stop videos without any real purpose other than being a narrative. So enjoy and check youtube for more, there were three videos at the time this was posted.

But there was a reason I posted this. Can we PLEASE do this lol. I know Moros and Brother C. have some stories already written up that would make very awesome stories.

Miniwargaming Free Magnets

Miniwargaming is giving out magnets for free! um well you have to pay for shipping but I doubt it will be that much. Anyway I knew there were a few players in the club who had a few things they wanted to magnetize and you can't do much better than free. Miniwargaming.com has a Deal of the day and it's a new item each day, check everyday in the next few weeks because thats when they say the free magnet deal will be. Well I had a video but I guess to many people are linking to it lol.

Thousand Sons vs Dark Angels!

Bloodthirsty Thursday!

Another Thursday night match-up battle report here. This week I tried out a new list vs the DA who have been having quite the run on me lately. I've lost around 4 matches in a row vs them with my Tzeentch themed list. I gotta admit, at this point I'm getting rather frustrated with how terrible Tzeentch is, but I will stick with it! I will not abandon Tzeentch, the warp is fickle and power waxes and wanes.

Now, I do realize there are a lot of problems with a Tzeentch themed army codex wise, and they definitely need an overhaul as far as that is concerned but I am determined to make them at least semi-competitive. It just seems like there is no hope when I can't even come close to beating Dark Angels! (No offense Brother C!)

This week I ran an experimental list that I posted previously. My hope was to be able to get the land raider down field and drop the terms to cause some damage. But I quickly found out how overrated land raiders are. I attempted to move up the right flank and avoid some fire, but low and behold, a single multi-melta shot ended my plans. The land raider popped and I was left high and dry. In retrospect, I think I did misjudge distances, he barely got the extra penetration for the shot, so it might have been better if I was more careful.

However, I still feel like my list just can't field enough firepower to even crack his transports so I can eat the juicy things inside them! Maybe it's just that I need to learn how to play the list better, but I just feel like there is nothing I can do against mass mech with Tzeentch. Any tips would be appreciated!

Terrain Rant

image courtesy of battlefield architect

Brother C here,

With our July 40k bloodbath approaching fast, I wanted to rant a bit about terrain. Terrain is a pain in the ass for a lot of people. 40k players simply do not want to be bothered by such inconsequential tasks as modeling and painting terrain when there are lists to debate, assemble, and paint. However, as a club manager, terrain has become one of the most important aspects of the game for me. Players come to club meetings and need terrain to play their matches. Thankfully many of our members have extended a lot of grace for us while we assemble an armory of board pieces for their use.

All this worrying about supplying terrain for member use led me to do a little research into the 40k rulebook and I discovered some interesting things. The first is the amount of terrain which is recommended for each match. The rulebook suggests 25% of the board be covered in terrain pieces. Using a standard 6’-0”x 4’-0” game board, that is, for example, 7 pieces of 12”x12” terrain. Now that made me stop and think. I cannot remember the last time I’ve watched a video bat rep, or have seen images from 40k matches where there has been this much terrain on the boards.

See images below for sketches showing exactly what 25% terrain looks like.






No wonder so many people fear the IG gunline lists, there is nothing to freaking hide behind. My recommendation: PUT MORE TERRAIN ON THE BOARDS. Again, the rulebook states a minimum of 25% should be used for each and every match, AND further goes on to describe that the more terrain you use, the better the gaming experience. There is a direct relationship between the amount of enjoyment, the amount of terrain, and amount of space for gun line spam of the game. So why aren't we enjoying more and spamming less?!!?!

Its simple. Lets look at an example from history. Funny how we can just use England and the US as the perfect scenario. We all remember learning about the ‘red coats’ and their gigantic gun lines across the battlefield. They would set up on a wide open field and simply ‘leafblow’ their opponents away. Nothing could stand against them. That is until the revolutionary minute men started using cover and terrain to their advantages to fight the British. They didn’t go out and try to stand toe to toe with that line of fire, they knew they had no chance. So why, as 40k players are we going out, into gunline or spam fire and not using the game board to provide us with the advantage?

Fight the use of gun lines; put more terrain on the boards. If your club is not providing enough for your use, try offering to help fund the purchase of additional terrain pieces, bring some of your own, or hell, just use whatever you have laying around. Using a stack of books for cover is better than getting blown off the board on turn 2.

Let your opponent take first turn, spread your units thin, into as much cover as possible while they deploy in the middle of no man’s land. Let all their shots rain down, while you hide, and when its on your turn, unleash the fury. rinse and repeat.

/end rant

July 40k Day - Thousand Sons List

Hey all, Moros here.

I've been mulling over my lists and after reading up on some fine articles in the last few weeks and having some good discussions with Brother C. I've decided to change up my list a bit. I am going for a more offensive and aggressive style of play with my Thousand Sons themed army.

With the cost of my troops being as high as it is, I feel like the best thing to do is limit myself to 2 troop choices and put more points in my heavy hitters. The resilience of my thousand sons should help them survive the game, but it is a risky venture. I feel like the goal of this list is to table my enemy as fast as possible.

It is fashioned as an all comers list, I haven't had a ton of practice with this list, but I should be getting some games in soon so I will let you know how it goes!

Ahriman's Renegades - 2000 points

HQ -
Ahriman - 250

Troops -
7x Thousand Sons - 296
+ Aspiring Sorcerer with Warptime or Bolt of Change
+ Rhino with Havoc Launcher

7x Thousand Sons - 296
+ Aspiring Sorcerer with Warptime or Bolt of Change
+ Rhino with Havoc Launcher

Elites -
5x Terminators -225
+Reaper Autocannon
+Chainfist
+Icon of Tzeentch

5x Terminators -225
+Reaper Autocannon
+Chainfist
+Icon of Tzeentch

6 Possessed - 186
+Icon of Khorne

Heavy Support-
Defiler - 150

Defiler - 150

Land Raider - 220

Total = 1998

The idea here is that the 2 thousand sons fellowships will hold the base of fire with the Defilers. The defilers will rain down battle cannon rounds forcing the enemy to react to them. The thousand sons can give them cover and anti-infantry support. I will probably run with bolt of change on the sorcerers so they can provide some ranged AV support as well.

With the fire base holding strong the land raiding packed with the possessed and Ahriman can punch the enemy in the face fast and hard. The terminators will deep strike within 6" of Ahriman's personal Icon and deliver a powerful punch into the enemy lines.

It should be difficult for my opponent to deal with both the offensive bomb and the defiler cannons in the backfield. I am hoping that this will throw off their game plan and force them to focus on just one of the threats so that I am free to hit them as I will.

Obviously since I am playing a Tzeentch army and I am taking Ahrmian I am nerfing myself. I don't see this as a competitive list by any means. But I really want to stick with the theme and I think this might be as competitive as a Tzeentch list can get. Thoughts are welcome!

Hero Quest

A few years ago I found an beat up old board game, in a consignment shop. I played it a few times and it was pretty fun. Just this weekend I thought I would find out more about the game. According to Wikipedia Milton Bradly Produced the game in conjunction with Games-Workshop. I think they mainly produced the minis.

Overall the game has received very good reviews and I remember it was quite fun to play. The game plays as a dungeon delve focused on bashing monsters heads in, and is a basically easy mode D&D. The entire base game can be found  in a digital format here. Any way I thought it would be something cool to bring to the next 40k day to show off, some of the models are absolutely spectacular. I am unfortunately missing the core rules and one of the character sheets, though I think everything else is intact. I thought I would just purchase the missing pieces online, but I was surprised to see copies of the game selling for $100. 

2k Dark Angels List

Brother C here -

Forsaken has graciously revealed his list for our showdown in 2 weeks and I thought it would be appropriate to reveal my list as well. to keep things fair. This is a list I have been working on for quite some time. I am trying to assemble a decent build that I can use against any opponent. therefore, this list is not necessarily just for necrons, it should be viewed as an adaptable list. (as such, most of the plasma can be substitute out for meltas if I'm playing a heavily armored opponent for instance).

Anyways, let me know what you guys think. One thing I have been debating back and forth with Moros is taking Ezekiel instead of just he librarian. I just can't justify an extra 40pts for 1 wound. although making all units within 12" of him fearless is great. however, I see this really only making HIS unit fearless (5 tacts) so.. it just didn't do it enough for me. Please feel free to critique this list as you, the reader, see fit.

thanks guys and hope to see you all on the 24th.


Dark Angels (Disciples of Caliban) 2k List


Belial + Banner: [155pts]

5 man – Deathwing squad: [215pts]
(Belial will lead this squad)

Librarian + combi.plasma/melta: [130pts]

10 man tactical squad + plasma gun (melta + meltabombs)+ lascannon + Rhino: [235pts]
(combat squaded + librarian will lead this squad)

10 man tactical squad + plasma gun (melta + meltabombs)+ lascannon + Rhino: [235pts]
(combat squaded)

Techmarine + harness + 2xservitors + plasma cannons (MM)+ rhino transport: [205pts]
(extra 20 pts for the MM would go for a cyclone on my terms if facing mechanized)

5 man Scout squad + 4x Sniper Rifles + Rocket: [120pts]

5 man Scout squad + 4x Sniper Rifles + Rocket: [120pts]

Dreadnought + Venerable + Heavy Flamer: [150pts]

Dreadnought + Venerable + Heavy Flamer: [150pts]

Autocannon Predator + Heavy Bolter Sponsons: [95pts]

Autocannon Predator + Heavy Bolter Sponsons: [95pts]

Autocannon Predator + Heavy Bolter Sponsons: [95pts]

Blood Angels 2k List

Hey all, just putting up my new list and letting you know that it is a subject of critisism so if you have a question or comment, let her fly!

HQ
-Mephiston-250
-The Sanguinor-275

Elites
-Two Sanguinary Preists with Terminator bodies, Power Swords, and a Blood Chalice-135
-Terminator Squad with Two Heavy Flamers and an Assault Cannon-240
-Brother Corbulo-105

Troops
-25 Death Company with 4 Thunder Hammers-320
-Death Company Dreadnought with Heavy Flamer and Blood Talons-135
-Assault Squad-100
-Assault Squad-100

Dedicated Transport
-Land Raider Crusader with a Hunter/Killer Missile-260
-Drop Pod-35

Heavy Support
-Whirlwind with a Storm Bolter-100
-Vindicator-145

Total: 2005 points

And you have to remember, this is an all new, never used list. I've never used Death Company before. And I know that it is 5 points over but, hey, sue me. We play friendly matches and it doesn't really make a difference.

July 40k Day

PREPARE FOR CARNAGE!!

that's right boys and girls, Lancashire Wargames July 40k day is fast approaching. This month the day of reckoning will be Saturday, July 24th from 1pm-8pm. Players of all skill levels are welcome. If you have any interest in finding out more about Warhammer 40k come. We will be doing teaching, assembling, modeling, painting, and playing. Matches are typically 2000pts but we are open to anything players desire to play. We do ask that each person bring 10$. 5$ for the rental fee for the space and 5$ for snacks/drinks/pizza. But come regardless.

As you can see, I'm gearing up my tact squads. These will be my first official painted units. These tacts will be accompanied by robe wearing vets in their squads so you are seeing the beginning stages of 2 tactical squads. i'm going with the Disciples of Caliban paint scheme, green shoulders, boots, chest and helmet; everything else black. As you can see from the vet on the left of the image, I'm also experimenting with green stuff. I'll keep you posted on that progress throughout the upcoming months.

feel free to give me any feedback.

thanks guys and gals, and hope to see you on the 24th.