26/05/2012

I'm weak

  Games Workshop finally officialized the flyers.
I won't speak about the Nécrons flying crescents, they're well drawn and effective. Moreover, their profile already existed in their codex. Whereas the two other are completely new !


Games Workshop StomTalon
  Let's start with the "StomTalon", junior of a long series of flying bricks machines with a very angular design conceived for Space Marines.

  The reactions were unanimous: this is the ugliest plane Games made for the Space Marines !

  After reflexion, this very particular design isn't this shocking. I don't have the kit in hand yet but be sure that the Doom Angels will get a StormTalon in the next months.

  It should be noted that this is the first Space Marine machine with official rules having a "ceramite shielding".



Games Workshop Krama Bomba
  Let us continue with the flyer of the year: the one created for the orks.

  I'm completly f-a-n about this one. The kit is one piece of art !

  I am and remain a Space Marine player, Gork and Mork prohibited me to play Ork. But I must buy this kit to assemble a Krama Bomba. 

  Just for the pleasure of painting a figurine that one can qualify as a "true piece of art".

11/05/2012

LES HUSSARDS D’ISENGARD (Part 2)


Army List Analys: I came to Rennes with a list I wasn’t satisfied with. All the units I needed weren’t painted, I had to do with the painted minis I had at my disposal.

HQ
Chaplain; Flying backpack, Bolt pistol.
I know, a flying chaplain isn’t the best HQ choice for a vanilla Space Marines army. I wanted to play a “cool” list and such a choice was ok with the fluff I wrote. Next time, I’ll take a Captain equipped with a Relic sword and Combi-flammer instead. 

ELITE 
5 Assault terminators; 3 Hammer & Shield and 2 Lightning claws pairs.
  Transport : Land Raider Crusader; Multimelta.
Assault terminators and Crusader Land Raider are one of the best freakin’ units alliance! I just need to remember that when a model’s hit by a Thunder hammer, it looses it’s initiative and must play after anybody else. 

Dreadnought; Multimelta and Storm bolter.
  Transport : Drop-pod; Storm bolter
Murphy’s law incarnated in one mini. The Multimelta would have missed a Tervigon in a corridor! Add the Drop Pod and these are two KP (Kill Points) offered to your adversary. 

Ironclad Dreadnought; Seismic fist, Heavy Flammer and Hurricane bolters, Grenades.
A rare configuration but, when the Ironclad is immobilized, it remains dangerous and still mobilizes forces to be definitely silenced. I regret I hadn’t one in the Drop Pod (instead of that $%µ! Multimelta dread) during my confrontation with the Dark Eldars. It would have been terribly effective.
However, using the Ironclad without Drop Pod is an interesting choice. And in this case, believe me, the grenades are essential!
After all these games fighting against various armies, obviousness appears: Dreadnoughts used by pair are terribly effective. I hesitate between a second Ironclad in Drop-pod and a “goalkeeper” equipped with Autocannons, Dreadnought fist and Heavy flammer. 

TROUPS
5 Scouts; 4 Snipers, Missile launcher, Capes. 
Capes are obligatory; I haven’t been able yet to test the heavy Bolter.
Scouts can hold surprises. Take 5 of them, embark them in a Storm land speeder making a side attack. Add a Sergeant equipped with a Power fist, you’ll see some sport on the table! 

10 SM; Flammer and Laser canon, Sergeant with Energetic sword and Bolt pistol.
  Transport : Rhino; Storm bolter.
Laser canon is a must have. Sergeant with an Energetic sword is a good alternative to the Power fist option. He offers one more attack in close combat and strikes at I4, which isn’t negligible. The rhino can be used as transport either as a gun platform. 

10 SM; Melta and Missile launcher, Powa glove and Combi-flammer Sergeant.
I prefer the Combi-flammer to the Combi-melta: more effective and less random. Another transport (Rhino or Razorback) would be welcome.

FAST ATTACK
10 Assault SM; 2 Plasma guns, Sergeant with Power fist and Plasma gun.
Very expensive unit. Funny to play but not very profitable.  

Land Speeder Tornado; double Heavy Bolter.
Troops’ nemesis by essence. Fragile but useful. 

HEAVY SUPPORT
Whirlwind.
The "pizza dealer", essential against mass armies.  


Conclusion :
I finished 19th on 36 with a 15.5/20 note in painting.
Within sight of the obtained results, there remain two things to be made: to take again the painting of my Doom Angels (I only have 3000 points to –partially– repaint) and to work my army list.

06/05/2012

LES HUSSARDS D’ISENGARD (part. 1)

  1850 points tournament, list refusal and obligatory painting. In addition, orgas imposed we wrote down a fluff to justify the army prepared for the tournament.



First game: Imperial guard 
  Scénarii: Quarters of table, objectives, KP.

Kill that tank !
  My oppenent's a youg man and this is its second time in a tournament. Three Leman, two Chimeras, a Basilik count-have Medusa and some troops. Our Holly Hobby isn't for him: its army, mainly supplemented with an orga's, is neither finished, nor WYSIWYG. (This guy just won the Most Awful Army Price).

  No stress, we're all here to play. The Multi-melta Dread enters with its pod and misses its shooting (SNAFU). Between the un-WYSIWYG and the Medusa firing indirectly*, I take amazing damages.

 I tighten my teeth, sends my remaining Assault Marines and Terminators to the dread's rescue while the surviving tactical marines add supporting fire. The last terminator will then seek the sections in the ruins. Its tanks explode while its sections die one after another. Victory !

(*) Medusa fires at F10 AP2, direct shooting only.


Second game: Blood Angels 
  Scénarii: capture (5 objectives), Kill the HQ, KP. 

Multi melta's... off.
  Sympathetic adversary, no Black Guard in its army. Three razorbacks, a librarian with Shield of Sanguinus, Two tactical sections with two Sanguiniens Priests, 4xMissile-Laucher Déva, Dread with double autocannon and Land-Speeder Typhoon twins. 

  Between this %¤µ*! Shield on the rhino carpark, the priests' Feel No Pain and my D6 who think they are D3, the game is difficult. I take death every turn, my bolts are made of rubber and the shieldings made in paperboard. Major defeat.

  The game was so boring my adversary apologises for winning!




Third game: Tau
  Scénarii: To take and hold, KP.

  Young player for a traditional army: three Crisis (XV-8 and XV-15) sections, three Fire Warriors sections; a Hammerhead and two XV-88 to make bad things to shieldings.

  He doesn'tcontrol its army yet but, fortunately for him, this is my first time against Tau since we are in 40kV5. Former player Tau v4, I know that he fears close combats. But if I start running in the No man's Land, I can see three railguns which awaits  an error to smoke my tanks.

  The dreadnought arrives in drop-pod and … f*cks up its Multi-melta shooting (ace usual) on the Hammerhead. This one will survive all the game! I drive the terminators in a ruin to dislodge the XV-88 twins. Intelligently, my adversary protected them with seven warriors.
  Despite the amount of fire power delivered by the Crusader, the Fire Warriors resist! Unloading and assault. A termi dies under a combat drone blows. Shooting phase then assault with the XV-88. Another drone kills a terminator. Who programmed those $µ!£ drones !?

  At the battle field other end , a Devilfish unloads its load before attacking the marines. Epic phase of shooting where, after having avoided all the possible projectiles, a tactical marine fires from the rhino trap and... that transport smashes down! Assault marines attack and early reduce it to stray … but they lost two brothers in the following explosion.

  An cool game, with a pleasant and talented adversary despite its weak experice. Facing him again will be a pleasure. 


[Eat, Drink, Sleep]


Fourth game: Dark Eldars 
   Scénarii: Table quarters, objectives, KP.

Hold at any price !
  My oppenent belongs to the WaterGun association too but we never played together. Small detail which has its importance: the game proceeds entirely in night combat! The scenario is simple: each player must go to seek an objective in the other's zone while preventing its adversary from coming in.

  I gain first turn and sends the dreadnought multifuseur-bolter … which misses. SNAFU! The two first turns resemble at my second game: dices start again to think they are D3. Unable to aim correctly, Ravers swing between projectiles. Only trophy to my credit: a complete motojets section, pulverized by the Crusader.

  The game takes a new turn when a simple Scouts section manages to resist a Wyches assault… before making them flee! Meanwhile, Tactical marines hold their position on the smoking ruin of their Rhino, while waiting for reinforcements. And here come the reinforcements. For both sides!

  The game soon becomes an extatic dream where the Pleasure of playing two perfectly paradoxical armies in an epic confrontation  is palpable. Not less than fifteen (15!) units mash up on a modest table quarter encumbered with smoking carcasses. Shooting, fire support, charge, counter-charge. Projectiles fly everywhere, blows rain as hell, dices roll unceasingly and we completetly forget what time it is. Started at 09:30, the game will last no less than 4 hours for four turns (we had to stop it).

Epic battle is epic !
  After ten years practicing our Holly Hobby, I have never ever played such an epic game, with such difficult and crucial strategic choices. I want to thank my adversary for this game that'll remain for a long time in my memory. Thanks to him, he pushed me hard in the game and helped me to discover Warhammer 40.000 on a new aspect. 


Fifth game: Daemons 
  Scénarii: Cross the table, KP. 

Le wild Bloodthirster appears !
  Back from Nirvana, I fall in Hell. I will have to face an army from the Daemons codex, improbable alliance from Khorne and Tzeench.

  On the menu: Daemon Prince twins, Soul Grinder twins and 3 Horrors sections. What an imagination you have! Let us add a Bloodthister, 8 Khorne Flesh Hounds and 6 Tzeentch Flamers for the fluff. And two Khorne Bloodcrushers to have a1850 points army.

  The scenario's not helping. I form a death star at the edge of table and forward! Waves of daemons crash on my defenses, it's annyoning. To add to my chance, my adversary plays its life on the table! Its dice, launched with rage, cross the table and, too many times, land on the ground. He turns as a tiger trapped in a cage while I'm playing and doesn't speak.

Result is like the game: boring no one wins.