Axes will Fall and Empires will Crumble!!!

Dwarves....

Stoic Pride....Unbending Will

Their Grudges will be Reckoned!!!

This is a warning too all the Lancashire Armies who have ever crossed the Dwarves and left them with a Grudge....they are coming and the Axes will Fall.

Starthalas the RuneLord and his Engineering Guild are sending out their reckoners and looking to cross out the names that have wounded our pride and wrecked our Honor..Guard your Necks

Guild Lord and Guild Masters

Starthalaz the Runelord  241
-Great Weapon, Rune of Gromil(1+save Armor Save),Rune of preservation(reroll armor saves),Master rune of Spite(4+ward Save)

Thorne the RuneSmith  81
Rune of Stone(+1 to his armor save),Gromil Armor(4+armor save),Shield
(all together he has a 2+armor save), Great Weapon

Matthiaz the RuneSmith  81
-Rune of Stone(+1 to his armor save),Gromil Armor(4+armor save),Shield
(all together he has a 2+armor save), Great Weapon

The Dwarven Throng

 Thorne's Warrior Engineers 265 (Thorne Goes here)
-24 Warriors with Great Weapons, Heavy armor, and Full Command

Matthiaz's Warrior Engineers 265 (Matthiaz goes Here)
-24 Warriors with Great Weapons, Heavy Armor, and Full Command

Starthlaz's Counsel of LongBeards 337 (Starthalaz goes Here)
-24 LongBeards with Great Weapons, Heavy Armor, and Full Command
(LongBeards are warrior upgrades that are immune to panic, act as a Anti Panic Standard bear for all Warrior units within 6 inchs, and they have +1 Strenght and +1 Weapon Skill)

The Rune Encrusted Toys of the Guilds

Cannon-Rune of Burning(Wounds are Flaming),  95

Grudge Thrower 105
-rune of accuracy (re-roll on scatter dice)
Grudgethrower 110
-rune of accuracy, Rune of Burning (for Regen/Monster sniping)
Bolt Thrower-Engineer(allows BS4 and extra crewman) 60
Bolt Thrower-Engineer 60
Bolt Thrower-Engineer 60

Organ Gun 120 (24 inches, unit takes hits  = to Artillery die at STR5 Armor Piercing)
Organ Gun 120


This my RuneSmith Engineering guild That I am currently in the process of collecting and building. So far I am the proud owner of one Cannon...but the Dwarves are not getting a new Army book for awhile and they are still quite competitive with Awesome Magic defense, rock solid units, the ability to spam Great Weapons on every model, and Magical warmachines that can be tooled for every occasion. I have some time to collect and build and this I will do.

The Army is based upon my love for RuneLords and my Love for Dwarven Warmachines. The Army is centered around the RuneSmiths...they are RuneSmiths and Engineers. They Craft their own Warmachines for Reckoning and Enscribd their own Runes too. That way they are in complete control of making sure their Grudges are Met. The Great Weapon Warriors represent all the underming workers of my RuneSmiths....they do not wield Shields as they are Craftsmen and Choose to go to Battle with their Large Working Tools...Giant Hammers and Pick Axes and Crafting Axes and Mattocks that they use in their Forges and Craft Halls and Mines. They dig their own ore, they Craft their own Metal, and they enscribd their own Runes. Complete Ritualistic Warriors in every sense...and they represent that on the battlefiend by going shieldless with only their Heavy "Armor" work gear and Large Craft Tools. The LongBeards Represent the Eldest and most respected Guildmasters and Craftsmen of the Guilds. They too represent their Role in Life on the BattleField with their Work Gear and Heavy Craft Tools. These LongBeards form the Personal Retinue for Starthalaz the Rune Lord and the Warriors act as Guardsmen for the Master RuneSmiths Thorne and Matthiaz. The Load of Warmachines that follow their host in the personal Toys of the guild and are used extensivly to Settle the Grudges for the Guildsmen.

Tactics:

This Army is completely a Turtle Phalanx style army. When deploying Terrain I make sure there is highground in each deployment zone, that way I can set up my Warmachines to face any threat and shoot over my Warriors. I use the Warmachines to the full extent and pick off one unit a turn with them from concentrated fire...after the other players army is weakened I either back off and continue shooting or I push forward with all 75 of my Great Weapon Wielding Toughness 4 Dwarves and finish off whats left.

Each of my Runesmiths Generate a dispell dice, and my RuneLord generates 2 Dispell Dice,,,so I start the magic phase off with 4...and the average of two dice is 7 so I typically start the phase off with more dispell dice than you have casting dice ^.^ Their roles in the squad is just magic defense and extra str6 attacks in combat, sort of like a powerfist wielding champion in 40k. Same goes for the RuneLord...he is just extremely durable and I plan to use him as a Wall for any DeathStars that come on my side of the board...with toughness 5 and a rerollable 1+save and 4+ ward save he is an extremely tough nut to crack, and he also has some str 6 action going on as well.

The Warmachines do what Warmachines do BLOW STUFF UP...they also focus on Deathstars and rip them apart...and they Really hurt Monsters and the Grudgethrower is designed for Monster/Regen Unit sniping. It can re-roll its scatter die to ensure that it hits the Target and with those flaming shots it will cause havok upon any regen monster..hydras, Rat abominations, troll units, Varghulfs. Same goes for the flaming Cannon

Deployment:    Warriors-Organ gun-LongBeards-Organ Gun-Warriors
                                 Grudge thrower-BT-BT-BT-Grudge thrower
                                                       Cannon                                                  
-the right hand Warrior unit extends out a little so that it has some reach on any Flanking Units that would cause any harm to the Warmachines. the Organ guns are closer so that they can make sure their 24 inch range comes into effect as soon as the other player moves.

Thoughts upon moving into 6th ed.

We are finally on the cusp of 6th edition for 40k. and its about time.

there have been hundreds and hundreds of rumors flying around. will these new edition bring balance to the game? who knows, probably not. It is extremely hard to balance a complex miniature wargame while keeping it unique. At the club, there is a strong contingent forming to playing Mordheim. the fantasy game where you roleplay a warband and you can level up your different models, etc. Honestly, it is much fun but some of the rules for the bands seem a bit.... stale.. to say the least. they were written about 7-8 years ago and has not gotten any support from GW. Some internet fans have tried to design more factions and updated rules but even those seem a little much, lets just say, its very easy to see which factions said rule maker liked to play and which ones he could care less about.

What is the point?

Well, some of us have started delving into revamping certain factions for Mordheim. giving them back something unique to how they play. but there has been much talk of balance. and.. balancing the balance versus uniqueness/style of an army. 

The ultimate balance, as we seen is chess. it is completely a mirror match. each player has the same peices, the game board is always  exactly the same, and the winning conditions are exactly the same. the only thing chess tests is individual tactics and strategy.

so how does one now add some individuality to a game?

dice is a good place. now, all of a sudden, we introduce and element of chance in the game. maybe that rook cannot just move in and take out that bishop. Now, maybe that bishop wins the fight. oh snap! what now? Now, you have to work some new strategies. you have to have back up plans, you have to play precentages... well.. how likely is that bishop to live and what if he does lose? then what?

the game becomes very complex very fast. It also makes the game very exciting. you can cheer on your units as they fight your opponent. you never know when you can pull out that under dog move. However, this comes with a price. you will lose some of your competitive audience because now the game has become unpredictable. competitive players do not like random 'chance' events. they want to know that if I do this move, than this will happen. cause and effect.

From my recent tournament experience, 40k has become very much cause and effect. I can look across the table at what my opponent has brought and I can pretty well determine how the game will play out. and likewise he can look at my army and see the same. We really do not even have to play the game.  Granted, I am doing a good deal of generalizing here, but on the whole, I think it is true. It is one of the reasons why there has been such a strong push for warhammer fantasy at the club this past 6 months. our guys simply look at what is being presented on the table and say, eh, played that fight before, and I don't have any interest in doing it again. I know I am going to win or lose in this manner and I'd rather just not play that game.

Fantasy however, has introduced many of us to a new level of chance in a game. there are so many rules and things you must roll for in WHFB that is has become fun again for all of us. down to spells  you receive, the winds of magic, the charging, fleeing, and running down of units. warmachines, giants, you name it. everything has a chance to work or not work. the spell has a chance to go off, not go off, or go off and damage you in the process. now 40k does have some elements of the random, but not to this level.

The rumors for 6th edition in general appear to be placing some of these more random/chance elements back into the wargame, which I believe will make the experience more enjoyable for those playing it. Sure it will probably lose some of its competitive edge but at the same time gain a ton of uniqueness and fun and enjoyment to the game. That is trade I, and most players, will make every time.

So bring on the 6th edition, and more 'chances' of things to happen, that are out of my control. Lets let the dice gods have more a say in the game rather than the list hammering calculators. It is the dawn of a new day!

- Brother C

ULTIMATE DAEMON DESTRUCTION

So I have recently finished buying and finally modeling pretty much every single model that a daemon player could want or use in any situation. Ive got the whole codex sitting on my desk waiting to be Painted.

After playing the Wood Elves competitivly for the last 7 years, after massacareing everything in my path with them I am giving them a rest until the new Army Book. This is not cause they are "weak" or cause 8th edition has nerfed them in any way shape or form. It is because they do need a rest...ive gotten to the point where during the first turn ive planned my whole game out and im just going through the motions and hoping the dice favor me. So....because of this blandness I have acquired for my Beloved Wood Hippies I am now releasing my Daemons into Fantasy. This is the not the first time I have used them..ive been playing them pretty harshly for the last 4ish years...but now I am only playing them.

This is my Current List:

Lord:
--BloodThirster  490
-Armor of Khorne(3+)
-Immortal fury(Hatred)

Heros:
Herald of Tzeentch Level 2 Wizard 140
 -Flames of Tzeentch (d6 str4 shooting attack)

Herald of Tzeentch
 -Flames of Tzeentch Level 2 Wizard 140

Herald of Khorne 140
 -Armor of Khorne
 -Soul Hunger( reroll to wound(hes got killing blow, so this allows forced killing blow rolls)


Core:
21 BloodLetters (Khorne Herald lives here) 276
-Standard, Champion

10 Pink Horrors 120
-level 1 wizard (Flickering fire of Tzeentch)

10 Pink Horrors 120
-level 1 wizard (Flickering fire of Tzeentch)

Special:
5 Screamers of Tzeentch 150
(any unit they fly over suffers a str 5 hit per model that flew over it)

Rare:
6 Flamers of Tzeentch 210 (tzeentch Herald Goes Here)
(d6 str4 shots per model)

6 Flamers of Tzeentch 210 (Tzeentch Herald Goes Here)
(d6 str4 shots per model)


Basic Tactics:
-bloodThirster....He Flys..has Ws10, str6,T6,5W,Intiative9,7Attacks, 3+ward save aginst magic, 3+ Armor Save, and Hatred. I deploy him last...to find the Weakest part of the other players line and Rip it to Spreads..exposing their army for my Flamers to rip it apart and the BloodLetters to finish off the surviviors

-both Tzeentch Herald join the Flamer units. The Flamers are 2 wound skirmishing deathstar mobile machines guns. They marche 10 inches, fire off up to 36 shots (42 with the Herald), and if you go into combat you have to deal with 12 str 5 attacks and unbreakable Daemon goodness. These two units are set up on each flank of my Army, moving and weaving through the other players army with swift unrelenting death. The Heralds are level 2 wizards that have the famer upgrade and at the same time can cast some of the most powerful magic in the game, Including Glean Magic (Allows me to cast any of your spells) and Bolt of change ( d6+4 Hits at Strength 2d6) BOOM!!!!

-The Herald of Khorne Joins the BloodLetter Squad to form the Centerline of my Deamons. They are unbreakable, ws5, str5, 5+ward save, killing blow, and Hatred. They are slice and Dice Machines. They do not fear anything in the game and are quite capable of going toe to toe with any unit thrown at them. The Herald leads the Squad with ws7,str6,intiative6, and killing blow and hatred. He has Soul Hunger that makes him an excellant Character hunter. Soul Huner allows the re-roll to wound(Forcing the killing blow), so with rerolls to hit and to wound and intiative 6 in any Duel his is almost unstoppable in hand to hand combat. This Unit Holds the centerline of the Army and Looks for the most Daring Squad to come close to it

-Pink Horrors. The unit counts as a WizardThey are an excellant support Unit...one of the best in the game. The unit strenght determines the Wizard level, and 6 models makes it a level 1 Wizard. They are excellant support because for 120 Points I can maybe generate a dispell dice, or a casting dice. I can also cast Flickering fire (casts on a 4+..range 18, (d6+1 Hits at Str d6+1) They take the Flanks of the BloodLetter Squad and provide magic support for the BloodLetters or help finish off units that the Flamers/Tzeentch Heralds have been Pounding on

-Screamers of Tzeentch. Also an Awesome Cheesy support Unit. They are Flying Skirmishers. Str3, t3..ehh W/e....their Strenght is found in their Slashing attack during the movement Phase. Any enemy unit they fly over suffers a str5 hit per screamer that flew over it. So the big tactic with these guys is to follow a flamer Deathstar or follow the bloodThirster right behind them. That way they are a skirmishing unit in cover from your squad so shooting is hard to accomplish anything with. Then Once you hit the center of the Board you just fly over as many of the other players units as possible..and if you do it correctly you can hit 3-4 units causing up to 20 overall str 5 hits per turn. That is damage.

The Grey Knight Effect

The Grey Knight Effect:

So how many clubs out there are experiencing the same thing as we are?

The Grey Knight effect…

Has literally killed the 40k community at our club. Now we will have some die hards, but in general, people simply are no longer that that interested in 40k. mainly due to grey knights. And honestly, for our guys, I do feel bad for them. They were not the bandwagoners that most of the people who know play GKS are. They had been waiting for that book forever and most of their army still consists of the old GW models. But what are the rest of us supposed to do? When we have the option of many other game systems or opponent to pick, why on earth would anyone want to play against the Grey Knights?

We are hoping 6th edition can bring balance to the force, for the sake of the game, for the same of our club members who play grey knights, play against grey knights and for the community at large.

For now, we have suggested to our guys that they run an army other than grey knights. Oh look, they get more games in. big surprise. I hope this is just a short lived time period in the 40k timeline, and they 6th brings hope for a bright future.

It will be nice timing that our fantasy league will be ending right at the beginning of 6th edition. It was a nice jaunt into the fantasy realm of wizards and knights, but I am ready for some chainsword and bolter action again.

To arms!

1500 Lizardmen vs. High Elves

Brother C here,

Fantasy Battle Report this time. So for the Shadowbane Escalation League, I played my 1500 point match this past week against Alex and his High Elves.

I’ll be honest. I thought he would have me here. He knew exactly what I was bringing, and he brought counters for them. He had a lvl 4 high magic mage, a lvl 2 shadow wizard (joy, pit of shades and drain magic) a block of sword masters, a block of phoenix guard, 2x spearmen blocks (1 mage hid in each) and a unit of dragon princes with noble with BSB (I believe)

I brought my slaan, 2x blocks of saurus, 4x groups of skink skirmishers, a salamander pack, and a terradon pack. We played the mission with the ‘no mans land’ going diagonally across the center of the table, and this area was also deemed a stinky swamp that caused dangerous terrain tests in order to pass through it. (it was chosen for fluffy reason and to help people learn about dangerous terrain and to make the mission more of a challenge)

I deployed everything first as the mission states, as far forward as I could. I wanted to be in range of dwellers as well as my slaan’s innate abilities. I only had to put two units of skirmishers in reserve. I had the terradons ready for a vanguard move.

He deployed along his back table edge, he was trying to lure me into an ambush and then hit me with all his blocks at once. He went for the mindrazor with lore of shadow instead of pit (whew). He had to put both his spearmen blocks in reserve which really got him out of his strategy. He did not know what to do with the mages without those blocks.

I vanguard my terradons safely across the swamp, fly over his lines and drop rocks on his swordmasters on turn 1. killing 4 of the 8. I land safely out of harms way beside the calvary, but out of front arc. Everything else just sorta shimmies into the swamp. (thank you aquatic) I take some losses here and there on the saurus. I stop short of crossing because I want to try to entice him to come into the swamp, and take the dangerous terrain tests. I have numbers on him, so, some free kills would be even better. My goal was to wait until later turns and then move just enough guys across the river to capture it, while still having a unit or two in my deployment zone to capture it. I figured if I brought the fight to him, he would have to be on the defensive and forget about capturing my side.  

HE turn one he charged his swordmasters into a skink skirmisher unit I had and took some heavy losses to terrain tests and stand and shooting, I think he only had 1-2 left when he came in, but that was enough to wipe the skirmishers out. Javelins from the terradons would later finish them off.  The dragon princes and phoenix guard missed their charges. His mages were still out of range for any of their good spells, so he just dispelled a bunch of my remains in play. (hiding back in the corner awaiting their spearmen escort)

Turn 2 I shot my salamanders at his calvary, killed 1-2 of them. Moved my skirmishers up along the flank, trying to entice him to assault me off the table. Slaan got 2 augument spells, but miscast on both (both on just 3 dice) and ended up making me a lvl 1 mage instead and taking a str 10 hit, which I later healed back up. I did manage to get dwellers off on his phoenix guard and took down a slew of them.

His turn 2 had his spearmen move up, calvary charges the salamanders. This combat would go on for a few turns which saw my salamanders finally beat down the calvary, after I fled and regrouped and came back for more. The stomps really came through in the end. Regrowth really helped me keep that squad alive during the match as well.

Slaan attempted dwellers again, worked again, and took down more phoenix guard which I think got blow piped down to finish them off.

HE turn 3 he again moved his spears up. He was throwing magic into my saurus and taking them down, but there were just too many bodies.

Turn 4, I move up again and start putting shots into his flanks of his spearmen block, taking down a ton.

High elves finally assault into the saurus blocks. He assaults both into the main one and we actually tied combat. He did however make a HUGE mistake by charging those two units into my block. He left the 2 mages all by their lonesome with 2 groups of skirmishers and a terradon unit nearby. Now they were hiding in terrain, and he saw it afterwards, and knew it was a bonehead move.

My turn 5, I was able to actually get a flank charge on his one block of spearmen locked in combat with the other saurus block (go go good positioning) and that was when the hammer came down. I was also able to blow pipe his lvl 2 mage down, and take 2 wounds off the lvl 4, but not quite finish him off. The spearmen ran like crazy from the saurus, I was just completely overwhelming him. I was able to catch on the blocks, but the other blocks got away. And the game ended.

I had most of my entire army on his side of the table. But I had the slaan over there and that sealed the deal. I had just one unit of skirmishers sitting on my end behind a house and that was enough to hold both table halves and earn the victory for me.

Alex had declared earlier that his general was the mounted noble BSB, so even though I did not finish off his lvl 4 mage, I still go the bonus points for taking down his general, and all the banners.

It was a pretty brutal fight. I apologize for not having pictures. I know it is a long read without some eye candy.

I really threw him for a loop with my skirmishers. He just did not deal with them well. In fact, I don’t think he really had a strategy to fend them off, he more or less tried to just ignore them, which is always a bad idea when there are 30 of them running around your flanks picking off your expensive units, and of course always a threat to those lone casters in the back.

I wish we had a better magic duel. Dropping down to lvl 1 on turn 2 was a bummer. Hurt me a lot. But having the ability that my opponent ignores all 6s he rolls for casting really really hurt him. It basically completely shut down his magic for the majority of the game (I later showed him how to maneuver so he would be out of the range for his own casting and keep forcing me to maneuver to stay in range)

It was a fun match, Alex was on a hot streak, he thought he would challenge an opponent above him and try to narrow the gap, which is what he should have done, but he was not fully prepared for this fight. We will play again soon, and he’ll be ready for the 2k round for sure.