Sooo apparently we have a blog? But I refuse to use the word blog as it seems like a creature that lives on the bottom of a riverbed (zero punctuation).
Enough lollygagging about what about me? I am the old fart of the group but have not played the longest so around 5 years. I have a love hate relationship with this hobby it sucks up my money but I have fun with friends. I play two armies Tyranids and The Empire. Both swarm armies, the more dudes the better. I am not the most dedicated of players but i try. I hate building and painting...I lack fine motor skills; but playing is quite fun. I have been told to put more effort into my lists but as of right now i don't have the time. In another post I will talk about my armies and the general lists i use. Oh I forgot i have started to play magic as well, I'm pretty terrible but yeah I play....and DnD....but not wow
I also have played and want to play again really old board games so yeah.. personal interest thing oh and I like military history....a lot if you people of the internets want to have a debate on it feel free to yell at me. Christ I'm long winded and terrible at grammar.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Tanks, Tanks, Tanks
Bobby - If you couldn't tell by the title, this post is about tanks and strategies with them.
I love tanks. 5th edition made them so much more durable, and in my opinion nothing tops Imperial tanks. There's nothing I love more than watching my Land Raider drive full-speed into my enemy's line to disgorge space marines while my predators and vindicators pound away at their troops.
Offensively: Offensively, tanks are (in my opinion) often overestimated. They usually pack the biggest guns on the battlefield, but when you've only got a couple shots, its important to make them count. While that sounds obvious, the point a lot of people miss about it is placement. So many people worry about their precious tanks being wrecked and focus too hard on defending them, and then have to waste all those high-powered weapons against useless targets. While this isn't a problem for armies like Eldar or Guard with lots of long-ranged and barrage weapons, my Space Marine tanks don't have anything past 48" for weaponry. So my two cents is that if you're torn between placing your tank where its going to be very safe, and where it will be more exposed but will have a better shot at the targets its weaponry will be most effective against, its almost always better to place it in the second position. Tanks aren't scoring units - let them smash and get smashed
Defensively: That being said, don't go nuts with your tanks and let them get shot up before they get to fire a single shot off. Also, while they lack little power offensively, transports come into their element when using tanks on the defense. Some vehicles just lack the armor to be use defensively (Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks for example) but my 11/11/10 Rhinos have saved my soldiers countless times from small-arms fire. Yes, transports are typically meant to carry troops forward into the fray, but if your enemy is flinging their whole force at you, consider holding back and using your transports as rolling bunkers. When used correctly, that 35 point rhino can save your 200 point Tactical squad for useless casulties. Above all, any kind of tank's defense will rely on its placement. Just as you need to make sure you vehicles can make the most of their weapons, so too do you need to place tanks to maximize their survivability. Make the most of cover, your units, or even enemy units to ensure your tanks will live long enough to do their job, which is usually making sure your enemies dont live long enough to do theirs.
With all of that strategy, here's a sample 1,500 Point Armored List I use frequently with my Marines.
HQ - Chaplain w/ Melta Bombs
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Heavy Bolter, Flamer
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Meltagun, Missile Launcher
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Lascannon
^DT - Razorback
Elite - 5 Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields
^DT - Land Raider Redeemer
HS - Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
HS - Vindicator
HS - Whirlwind
--Hey guys, it's Jack, just adding some extra stuff to the above info. Definitely don't go all suicidal tanks on your opponent when you play a game- those were points and are not worth throwing away. However, like Bobby said, sticking them in nowhere land won't help either. Being strategic with tanks is the best way (like everything else in Warhammer) to do well. That being said, I usually don't have to worry all that much about tank strategy seeing as most of my standard lists have 3+ tanks in them, and most of my weapons are 48+ inches for range, so a lot of the issues range wise that Bobby has are nonexistent for Guard players. Again, don't be stupid- if you have a Basilisk (120in max range) and a Leman Russ Battle Tank (24in max range) and you decide to place the Basilisk so that it's directly in front of a squad of Boyz and you put your Leman Russ out on the corner of the map behind a building, have fun losing those 400 points. Just be aware of your max and min ranges on the weapons you have, and be smart when picking turns. If you win the dice roll for first turn/deployment, it may be in your best interest to go second so as to strategize the best place for tanks. Other times, the board may just be easy enough for you to gauge an adequate place for each tank regardless of the positioning of your opponent's models. Just remember- be smart, and don't throw away those points. Sure, 9 Basilisk Earthshaker Cannons SOUNDS like fun and deadly, but in the end you can only shoot from between 24in and 120in, and you've effectively killed about 1000 points that could have gone to more strategically smart units. They're just tanks- take it from a me, who, if I worked for the Imperium, would have been sacked long ago for my massive losses on the field in terms of artillery. Those Leman Russ factories are loving me right now
I love tanks. 5th edition made them so much more durable, and in my opinion nothing tops Imperial tanks. There's nothing I love more than watching my Land Raider drive full-speed into my enemy's line to disgorge space marines while my predators and vindicators pound away at their troops.
Offensively: Offensively, tanks are (in my opinion) often overestimated. They usually pack the biggest guns on the battlefield, but when you've only got a couple shots, its important to make them count. While that sounds obvious, the point a lot of people miss about it is placement. So many people worry about their precious tanks being wrecked and focus too hard on defending them, and then have to waste all those high-powered weapons against useless targets. While this isn't a problem for armies like Eldar or Guard with lots of long-ranged and barrage weapons, my Space Marine tanks don't have anything past 48" for weaponry. So my two cents is that if you're torn between placing your tank where its going to be very safe, and where it will be more exposed but will have a better shot at the targets its weaponry will be most effective against, its almost always better to place it in the second position. Tanks aren't scoring units - let them smash and get smashed
Defensively: That being said, don't go nuts with your tanks and let them get shot up before they get to fire a single shot off. Also, while they lack little power offensively, transports come into their element when using tanks on the defense. Some vehicles just lack the armor to be use defensively (Dark Eldar Raiders and Ork Trukks for example) but my 11/11/10 Rhinos have saved my soldiers countless times from small-arms fire. Yes, transports are typically meant to carry troops forward into the fray, but if your enemy is flinging their whole force at you, consider holding back and using your transports as rolling bunkers. When used correctly, that 35 point rhino can save your 200 point Tactical squad for useless casulties. Above all, any kind of tank's defense will rely on its placement. Just as you need to make sure you vehicles can make the most of their weapons, so too do you need to place tanks to maximize their survivability. Make the most of cover, your units, or even enemy units to ensure your tanks will live long enough to do their job, which is usually making sure your enemies dont live long enough to do theirs.
With all of that strategy, here's a sample 1,500 Point Armored List I use frequently with my Marines.
HQ - Chaplain w/ Melta Bombs
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Heavy Bolter, Flamer
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Meltagun, Missile Launcher
^DT - Rhino
Troop - 10 Tactical Marines w/ Lascannon
^DT - Razorback
Elite - 5 Assault Terminators w/ Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields
^DT - Land Raider Redeemer
HS - Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter Sponsons
HS - Vindicator
HS - Whirlwind
--Hey guys, it's Jack, just adding some extra stuff to the above info. Definitely don't go all suicidal tanks on your opponent when you play a game- those were points and are not worth throwing away. However, like Bobby said, sticking them in nowhere land won't help either. Being strategic with tanks is the best way (like everything else in Warhammer) to do well. That being said, I usually don't have to worry all that much about tank strategy seeing as most of my standard lists have 3+ tanks in them, and most of my weapons are 48+ inches for range, so a lot of the issues range wise that Bobby has are nonexistent for Guard players. Again, don't be stupid- if you have a Basilisk (120in max range) and a Leman Russ Battle Tank (24in max range) and you decide to place the Basilisk so that it's directly in front of a squad of Boyz and you put your Leman Russ out on the corner of the map behind a building, have fun losing those 400 points. Just be aware of your max and min ranges on the weapons you have, and be smart when picking turns. If you win the dice roll for first turn/deployment, it may be in your best interest to go second so as to strategize the best place for tanks. Other times, the board may just be easy enough for you to gauge an adequate place for each tank regardless of the positioning of your opponent's models. Just remember- be smart, and don't throw away those points. Sure, 9 Basilisk Earthshaker Cannons SOUNDS like fun and deadly, but in the end you can only shoot from between 24in and 120in, and you've effectively killed about 1000 points that could have gone to more strategically smart units. They're just tanks- take it from a me, who, if I worked for the Imperium, would have been sacked long ago for my massive losses on the field in terms of artillery. Those Leman Russ factories are loving me right now
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
BIO - Jack Marriott
Hey guys, this is Jack. I've been playing 40k for about 2 years now. I'm a tried and true Imperial Guard player, and I'm sticking to it. For a while, my specialty has been mostly massed-infantry led by Creed and Kell for maximum order usage, doing well by basically combining 200 flashlights into a semi-painful laser beam (and that's being generous). Recently, however, I've been trying to move away from the classic Guard infantry lists and trying out more artillery-based lists that don't take 60 guardsmen. You'll never play against me in a game (despite an infantry- or artillery-based list) without at least 1 Basilisk (or version of a Basilisk) and a Leman Russ.
My favorite character is Commissar Yarrick, the hero of the Battle for Armageddon. I prefer him in my army really for two reasons. The first is the hilarity that spawns from his awesome fluff included in the Guard codex and the crazy stories about how he came to be the senile cyborg that we know and love. I love him also in his abilities on the battlefield: YARRICK CANNOT DIE. His rules allow him to get back up a possible infinite amount of times despite losing his last wound, and his sheer make-up makes him a formidable foe for many the army- he has an Ork Battleklaw that he ripped from the twitching body of a downed Ork, as well as an implanted laser gun in his eyeball that has the same profile as a Hot-Shot Laspistol.
I do consider myself (as do many of the other guys) as a mediocre player and kind of a newbie to the game, but I carry on and sometimes come out on top. I look forward to adding stuff to this blog. Thanks for visiting.
My favorite character is Commissar Yarrick, the hero of the Battle for Armageddon. I prefer him in my army really for two reasons. The first is the hilarity that spawns from his awesome fluff included in the Guard codex and the crazy stories about how he came to be the senile cyborg that we know and love. I love him also in his abilities on the battlefield: YARRICK CANNOT DIE. His rules allow him to get back up a possible infinite amount of times despite losing his last wound, and his sheer make-up makes him a formidable foe for many the army- he has an Ork Battleklaw that he ripped from the twitching body of a downed Ork, as well as an implanted laser gun in his eyeball that has the same profile as a Hot-Shot Laspistol.
I do consider myself (as do many of the other guys) as a mediocre player and kind of a newbie to the game, but I carry on and sometimes come out on top. I look forward to adding stuff to this blog. Thanks for visiting.
First Battle Report - Winner's View - Textbook Execution and Deployment
Bobby - Honestly that battle was about as perfect as you can hope a warhammer game to be. If I can attribute our victory to anything it was our planning. Jack and I massed a lot of artillery into our army, along with most of our army being in transports. We left our fast units in reserve. Our plan was to draw their main force in while pounding it with artillery, then use our transport-mounted units to surround them with our reserves coming in.
I was a bit worried when my bikes and land speeders were destroyed much faster than I expected them to be, but they had done enough, and cleared the way for my drop pods and terminators, who mopped up the remainder of our enemies.
I'm also proud of my Master of the Watch who, after deploying from his drop pod, threw his vortex grenade (AKA the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch) and removed a monolith and a half dozen warriors.
As I mentioned earlier, the two grizzled veterans of the army, Yarrick and Cassius were our MvPs. Cassius turned his knowledge of killing tyranids against the xeno orks and threw back an entire unit of nobz and a warboss, and proceeded to kill a warboss in the wake of an orbital bombardment. Yarrick proved his mettle against a unit of warbikers, then slew a big mek with his bale eye after his squad was nearly decimated by it.
I was a bit worried when my bikes and land speeders were destroyed much faster than I expected them to be, but they had done enough, and cleared the way for my drop pods and terminators, who mopped up the remainder of our enemies.
I'm also proud of my Master of the Watch who, after deploying from his drop pod, threw his vortex grenade (AKA the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch) and removed a monolith and a half dozen warriors.
As I mentioned earlier, the two grizzled veterans of the army, Yarrick and Cassius were our MvPs. Cassius turned his knowledge of killing tyranids against the xeno orks and threw back an entire unit of nobz and a warboss, and proceeded to kill a warboss in the wake of an orbital bombardment. Yarrick proved his mettle against a unit of warbikers, then slew a big mek with his bale eye after his squad was nearly decimated by it.
First Battle Report
The game started well for the Imperial forces, with pre-game surgical raids destroying one of Shaun's trukks along with wounding his big mek with the shokk attack gun (who was later killed by Yarrick's Bale Eye). Things started to look bad when the bastion they were claiming was surrounded by zagstruk and a unit of warbiker's, but Yarrick, the space marine command squad, and the Sisters Repentia threw them back, wiping them out to a man. Jack's Lord Commissar proved indispensible in keeping his troops in line as the Deciever continously targeted them with his morale-check inducing powers. The special weapons team mowed down wave after wave of scarabs and the nightbringer was felled by a volley of Hellfire rounds from Bobby's sternguard veterans.
The Imperial forces then used the careful planning asset to bring their reserves into the fray quickly, Bobby's bikers killing shaun's lootas and felling a few destroyers with supporting fire from his land speeders.
The 2nd turn started off bleakly for the Imperium, with Lucas passing most of his We'll Be Backs.
The tides turned back in their favor when the xeno army attempted to flank march to the cathedral with 30 warriors, 10 immortals, and Shaun's entire Green Tide, and all but the immortals were blocked by the disruptor beacon! While Shaun was placing his entire Green Tide back in his deployment zone, the ambush stratagem hit all 5 of the aforementioned units, killing 46 boyz and downing around 15 warriors and 7 immortals.
Things were thrown back against the Imperial forces when Bobby's Honor Guard was then wiped out to a man, along with his captain by Shaun's nobs, but Chaplain Cassius saved the day by surviving, winning the combat and sending the remaining orks into retreat. Bobby's command squad and Yarrick took a direct hit from Shaun's Shokk Attack gun, and lost 3 of its veterans, including the company champion.
From there the rest of the Imperial strategy fell into place, with the two orbital bombardments coming in, sending scores of warriors down and killing an entire unit of 10 nobz. Cassius slew another warboss while Yarrick picked off the Big Mek with his bale eye.
With most of their warriors downed, the Necron phased and the orks, seeing their leaders slain or running for their lives, pitched into a headlong retreat.
The Imperial forces then used the careful planning asset to bring their reserves into the fray quickly, Bobby's bikers killing shaun's lootas and felling a few destroyers with supporting fire from his land speeders.
The 2nd turn started off bleakly for the Imperium, with Lucas passing most of his We'll Be Backs.
The tides turned back in their favor when the xeno army attempted to flank march to the cathedral with 30 warriors, 10 immortals, and Shaun's entire Green Tide, and all but the immortals were blocked by the disruptor beacon! While Shaun was placing his entire Green Tide back in his deployment zone, the ambush stratagem hit all 5 of the aforementioned units, killing 46 boyz and downing around 15 warriors and 7 immortals.
Things were thrown back against the Imperial forces when Bobby's Honor Guard was then wiped out to a man, along with his captain by Shaun's nobs, but Chaplain Cassius saved the day by surviving, winning the combat and sending the remaining orks into retreat. Bobby's command squad and Yarrick took a direct hit from Shaun's Shokk Attack gun, and lost 3 of its veterans, including the company champion.
From there the rest of the Imperial strategy fell into place, with the two orbital bombardments coming in, sending scores of warriors down and killing an entire unit of 10 nobz. Cassius slew another warboss while Yarrick picked off the Big Mek with his bale eye.
With most of their warriors downed, the Necron phased and the orks, seeing their leaders slain or running for their lives, pitched into a headlong retreat.
The aftermath of the Surgical Raid
Land Speeders and Bikes Flank March behind the necron destroyers
Bikers Flank March Next to the lootas
The Green Tide is forced to deploy far back in the xeno deployment zone
The Master of the Watch arrives to throw his vortex grenade
Reinforcements arrive in drop pods to attack the orks
terminators and storm troopers attack the necron gunline
Special Weapon troopers finish off the remaining scarab swarms
First Battle Report Overview
Bobby - Well this has the distinction of being both our first Battle report and first apocalypse game.
I'll be writing the view from the winner's side, and I believe Lucas will be giving input from our opposition later, and I'll also put the overview of the battle.
Overview:
The game was about 8,000 pts a team, with my roughly 6,000 pts of marines and Jack's 2,000 pts of Imperial Guard against Lucas' 5,000 pts of Necron and Shaun's 3,000 pts of Orks. I'll be posting complete lists later too.
The battle took place on the outskirts of an Imperial City, with a cathedral and skyshield landing pad being our objectives, 2 bastions being the center ones, and a comm relay and crashed ship being Shaun and Lucas'. The Xeno side won first turn and deployment, bidding 15 minutes to our 30, and deployed the majority of their heavy hitting-forces out, while holding most of their numbers in reserve. The Imperial side deployed its entire army, mostly consisting of tanks, on the field to begin with, holding drop pods, terminators, bikes, land speeders, and a valkyrie in reserve. The xeno side selected the Camoflage and Flank March Strategic Assets, while the Imperial side chose Vortex Grenade (given to the Master of the Watch) and a Disruptor Beacon (deployed in the middle of our deployment zone.) Due to our formations, we also recieved 2 free Orbital Bombardments, Ambush, Surgical Raids, Careful Planning, Precision Strike, and Flank March.
Attached are pictures of the battle at deployment. (Taken with my phone, I apologize for the quality)
I'll be writing the view from the winner's side, and I believe Lucas will be giving input from our opposition later, and I'll also put the overview of the battle.
Overview:
The game was about 8,000 pts a team, with my roughly 6,000 pts of marines and Jack's 2,000 pts of Imperial Guard against Lucas' 5,000 pts of Necron and Shaun's 3,000 pts of Orks. I'll be posting complete lists later too.
The battle took place on the outskirts of an Imperial City, with a cathedral and skyshield landing pad being our objectives, 2 bastions being the center ones, and a comm relay and crashed ship being Shaun and Lucas'. The Xeno side won first turn and deployment, bidding 15 minutes to our 30, and deployed the majority of their heavy hitting-forces out, while holding most of their numbers in reserve. The Imperial side deployed its entire army, mostly consisting of tanks, on the field to begin with, holding drop pods, terminators, bikes, land speeders, and a valkyrie in reserve. The xeno side selected the Camoflage and Flank March Strategic Assets, while the Imperial side chose Vortex Grenade (given to the Master of the Watch) and a Disruptor Beacon (deployed in the middle of our deployment zone.) Due to our formations, we also recieved 2 free Orbital Bombardments, Ambush, Surgical Raids, Careful Planning, Precision Strike, and Flank March.
Attached are pictures of the battle at deployment. (Taken with my phone, I apologize for the quality)
Hordes of Necron and Ork nobz mounted in a trukk konvoy prepare their assault
Guardsmen, a Devastator Squad, a Rhino, and sternguard veterans mouned in a land raider defend the landing platform
Lootas and warbikers prepare their assault
The necron deploy in front of the tanks of the Imperial Forces
A front view of most of the necron
The ancients assault force, yarrick and bobby's command squad in a razorback, and a squad of sister's repentia defending a bastion
Jack's artillery (And Bobby's Damocles Rhino) deployed in front of the cathedral (you can see the deathstrike missile launcher sticking out from behind, as well as the techpriest hiding behind the manticore)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
First Post
Hey guys, welcome to our page. We're a group of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k players who will be posting our various games, models, scenarios, and army bios.
This is Bobby and I guess I'm the first one up, hopefully we'll get some posts from the other guys soon. I'm the most veteran Warhammer player of the group, I've been playing about 6 years. I play Space Marines, Dark Angels, Witch Hunters, Space Orks, and Wood Elves.
I'm more of a builder and player than painter, so most of my posts will be battle reports and models I've built or converted. I also like to write custom games and fluff for my armies, so you'll probably see a lot of that too.
This is Bobby and I guess I'm the first one up, hopefully we'll get some posts from the other guys soon. I'm the most veteran Warhammer player of the group, I've been playing about 6 years. I play Space Marines, Dark Angels, Witch Hunters, Space Orks, and Wood Elves.
I'm more of a builder and player than painter, so most of my posts will be battle reports and models I've built or converted. I also like to write custom games and fluff for my armies, so you'll probably see a lot of that too.
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