Ugh! Know your core rules!

I swear! I've had nothing by bad in so many pick-up games as of late. My CLGS is supremely sub-par just to start. Terrible tables that rarely actually measure to 6x4, and never have painted or textured surface through-out. I suppose that's fine if you like to have all your battles on Planet Particle-Boardia. I'm growing weary of that through.

The A-#1 kick in the soft-bits is the people I've had the chance to play against. So far I've encountered no less than three regulars that either routinely forget rules, twist rules, make up wargear, or are still playing freaking 4th edition because they haven't fully learned 5th. The last bit seems to be fairly common. So far my best games have actually been with fairly new players. Like me, they've learned only 5th, and thus tend not to adamantly demand they're right about some crusty rule that might be as old as 3rd edition!!!

Yesterday, I had TWO games ruined by one made-up piece of wargear. I don't own every codex, and I've been playing for less than a year, but when I'm playing against Mr. I've-been-playing-since-Moses-started-40K, I tend to yield on a lot of the armies that are foreign to me. This has resulted in MULTIPLE disasters. Let me describe my most recent disappointment.

My lowly 1000 points of Orks found themselves facing down a Necron gun-line. I honestly had very little hope of survival. I managed to struggle forward, losing most of my army in turn 2. I had only my group of 20 'Ard Boyz (had to take them as that to make up the points) and my big-bad Warboss. I managed to call a Whaagh! and make assault. I spread out my boys into multiple unit combat. I was stuck in with a group of 10 Warriors, 10 Immortals, and a Necron Lord. I had positioned myself such that I could allocate most attacks against the Warriors, and my Warboss' attacks against the Immortals. The result was EPIC! I managed to cause an unsaved wound differential of 12! SUCCESS! My opponent had his back up against the table edge to try and give his gun line the best chance of whittling me down. This now was backfiring hugely as he was about to fail leadership with his two big point units; Immortals and his Lord. I was ready to fist-pump all the way home when my opponent announced that he had taken some wargear on his Lord that made him Fearless along with whatever unit he joined.

WHAAAAAA!

Now, not knowing the Necrons, I just assumed that was correct. HUGE MISTAKE! He promptly made most of the saves for the additional wounds, and began his turn. He used the Veil of Shadows, pulling his Lord and Immortals out of assault. His devastated Warrior squad only saw three make their "We'll Be Back" rolls and were forced to join a nearby Warriors squad that was not in combat. This left my Orks out in the cold. I was immediately hit by a Monolith template weapon killing 15 Boyz. The remainder were gunned down by the Immortals.

When I got home I loaded up my Necrons PDF codex (Shhhh!! Don't tell anyone) and I couldn't find ANYTHING that would make them fearless. Quite the opposite! I found the explicit explanation of why they DO take leadership tests despite being Undead Zombie Space Robots for the Future. GAAAAHHHHH! Ruined game! What's worse, we played another game and he repeated this SAME violation on me, claiming this imaginary wargear. What's worse, he wanted me to take a negative modifier after one assault because he "Outnumbered" me. WTH guy! Even I know that was a 4th Edition rule that wasn't in 5th! What sucked was that he INSISTED it was in the codex and took 10 minutes to look for it... IN MY RULE BOOK!

To summarize: I love 40K... I hate 40K players! KNOW THE CORE RULES PLEASE! I don't CARE that you were around when GW invented Space Marines! I don't care that your army hasn't seen a new codex since tight-rolled jeans were in style! I WANT YOU TO READ YOUR RULE BOOK!

*sigh* I feel better now. Although I'm never playing that guy again.

Catching up with the Orks

Well it has been a while, and I have something to show for it. I took a little vacation back home to Dallas for New Years. I put a lot of effort into cramming as much 40K as I possibly could into the week I had there. I managed to play quite a few games with my two local 40K buddies while I was there. In an effort to make sure that I had two armies to play, I struggled to complete as many Orks as possible to bring me up to roughly 1000 points. Sadly I had to stretch a bit to get to that value, and in the end they certainly weren't the most competitive 1000 point list you've ever seen, but they were fun and finally getting some time behind the wheel of the army was what was most important.

I did have to fudge a little on my pledge of never playing a unit that wasn't painted. I had three Nob Bikerz that I had only about 15% complete on their paint job. It was still worth it and I think we all had a good time playing the various games. We did not, however, play at one of the GW stores this time around. I think it's a lot of fun though and next time I hope to do so. We paid them a visit a couple of times and I got the chance to see some of the new Tyranid models up close. The Trygon and the Raveners to be specific. Great models, and they'll be a fantastic looking addition to any 40K table out there.

Before I left for the vacation, I managed to finish up a 10 man squad of foot-slogging Nobz. I used both a box of Nobz and the five Nobz from Assault on Black Reach. At first I was disappointed with the box of Nobz, as I had originally thought I was going to be able to use the torsos for the warbikez. Sadly, I discovered that they are torso and legs together in essentially one piece. Instead of chopping them up, I scrounged some Nob torsos from my battleforce for the warbikez and decided to just use the Nobz box as intended. I'm now VERY glad that I did. These models turned out fantastic. They are some of my favorite Orks to date. Each model came out unique and I had a terrific time choosing the bits to customize each one. The AoBR models, though obviously not customizable, still turned out pretty good. When I ran these combined with the boxed ones, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart, all crowded together on the table. Of course, they tend to be the first to die since they're all just choppa-slugga Nobz, but that's alright because the wound allocation for the last five (the ones from the box) is pretty cheesy. Basically they're just a meat-shield, allowing my to hopefully deliver three Big Choppas and two Power Klaws with deadly force. By the way: Big Choppas are some vehicle killing bastards.

The Nob Bikerz were pretty good, but with only three of them, they tended to be an early target, and pay a pretty heavy price. When they managed to survive, they tended to be VERY good. I can't wait to finish the other three, giving them that same awesome allocation ability and bringing along a Painboy. Ooooooh it's going to be nasty.

I've essentially purchased everything I need to finish up the army to about 1500 points. I'll be finishing up my Boyz squad, building a Kommandos squad with Snikrot, bringing in a Painboy for my foot-slogging Nobz, throwing in a trukk for them to ride in, and putting together a nasty group of Lootas. The only model I've yet to buy is the Forgeworld Ork Warboss on the Bike. I shiver every time I think of that wicked model. I'll probably be purchasing that in the next couple of months. Until then, I still have the warboss on foot from the AoBR set.

Here are some more shots of my newest additions:

Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field

The newest addition to my budding Ork army is this Big Mek with the Kustom Force Field. I've commented on my personal delight in the outstanding comical qualities of the Orks, both from the codex and the models themselves. This model certainly reinforces that. The model was very simple to paint, and came out looking pretty nice. I didn't feel daunted by the details on the model, I simple started by dry brushing most of the Kustom Force Field pack. I took inspiration from the various panels and how things were going, and just kept building from there. I read a little strategy article after gluing him together about how it's recommended to take a burna with him as it gives him some utility while embarked in a vehicle and works as a power weapon in close combat. Well... too late now. I don't mind much because that choppa/wrench he has is just awesome looking. His arm position, leaning on the wrench is just perfect.

I also need to add that this is by far the heaviest single model that I own now. He certainly was a substantial chunk of metal. For the base, I decorated that with some "gears" to give him a bit more of the Mek Boy look. I had a tool kit from the Whirlwind box, but it didn't quite fit on the base without covering too much of the model. I also put a little nail varnish on the lenses to give them a shiny glass look. I like it.

I now have 10 Ork Nobz to prime and paint in about a week. I've gained a little courage and glued them all together prior to priming. I'm curious how much trouble this might add to the painting process. I see plenty of respected painters that do this, and it leads me to believe that there isn't much of a negative aspect to this at all. I also have their bases sitting there with the gravel glued and drying right now. I'm half tempted to go ahead and glue them to the bases... eh... maybe I'm not quite that brave yet.

Here are some more pictures of the Big Mek with the Kustom Force Field. I've also thrown in a shot with a Ork Boy next to him for size comparison:

Grey Knights completed

I've completed that final two Grey Knight Terminators for my little clump of terminators to be allied with my space marines chapter. I'll basically be running a Grand Master and five terminators as his retinue. This leaves me with lots of expansion room should I want to add more units either as further Demon Hunter allies or as a possible stand-alone Demon Hunters army. I've said it before, but I'll just say it again here: These are awesome looking characters. The Terminators from the Grey Knights are just so sharp looking. The near medieval look to their helmets and the nice engraved lettering really make these guys a treat to paint and own. I'll be interested in how they perform on the table. Here are a few pics of my latest additions as well a group shot:

Who's Da Boss?

Finished my Warboss from the Assault on Blackreach set. What an awesome model this is. I think there are basically three models that REALLY stand out in that starter set: the Warboss, the Space Marine Captain, and the Deff Koptas. I've gotten a TON of value out of that starter kit. I really think that GW did pretty much everything right with the contents of that box. That mini rule book is awesome for traveling, the models are terrific in inspiring you to start up the hobby, and of course throwing in the templates and some dice was a no-brainer.

Now, about the Warboss. I tried a few techniques on this model the kinda speed things up. I've got about 1000 points of Orks in my place, and I'm kinda starting to feel like I might just be able to have them all painted up before I go back home to Dallas when my leave comes up in late December. Maybe I'm crazy though, because I'm one HELL of a slow painter. I've found that I paint better by taking numerous breaks. I usually sit down for an hour, then wander off for an hour. On the weekends, I typically fill the off-time by digging through old Blue Table Painting YouTube vids. I love those guys. I can't get enough of their antics and inspirational builds.

One technique I explored with this model was blood splattering. I was worried about scaling this effect properly. What I ended up doing was taking my Citadel Detail Brush that I got in their 40K painting starter kit (that have five Ultra Marines in it) and I've since converted to a dry brush, and loaded that sucker up with Gore Red mixed with about 30% water, and just raked my thumb across the brush, flicking paint onto the model. The effect was really well scaled, easy to do, and looked great. Just be careful that you don't get unintentional splash onto something nearby that wasn't supposed to be speckled with blood. I managed to only hit a paint pot, so I learned my lesson at a very low cost.

Here are some more details of the Boss:

Telion is going to reach out and touch somebody

I finished this Telion model for my Prodigal Sons Space Marine chapter  just recently. I'm digging it, but I can't help but feel that I could have done a bit better with this. This is an okay model, not super inspiring, but his rules are just absolutely awesome. He is taken as an upgrade to a scout unit. His ballistic skill is 6 which means a 2+ to hit, and if you roll a 1, you re-roll and hit on a 6. His "Stalker Pattern Bolter" is 36" S4 Heavy 2, rending, and pinning. So sorta a sniper rifle that he double-taps. What's more you allocate the wounds, not the opposing player. He can also forgo his shooting attack and loan his BS6 to any other model in his unit. Wow! Totally worth the 50 points. Oh and weapon skill of 5. Crazy.

I was constructing a post the other day about how I've actually ventured out an started playing 40K at the local game store. In the midst of, what can only be described as an "epic post," the power cut and all was lost. I'll summarize it here.

I've played three games. I faced Eldar, Dark Angels, and Codex Marines (in that order). It was a loss, a draw, and a win. The game types were Annihilation, Annihilation, and Command and Control (D3 + 2 objectives, which resulted in 3 objectives for my game).

The Eldar player was a bit of a shark, come to find out. Pretty much 100% of the people I've spoken with at the store warned me (after the fact of course) that he's not to be trusted. I experienced a lot of regret and bitterness about the game, after the fact. Reflection upon the game lead me to discover that he look some enormous liberties with the rules. I don't know if these were intentional or honest mistakes. He told me, prior to the game, that he had been playing 40K off and on for about five years. I can write off some of his mistakes as remembering the wrong edition rules, but other rules he dropped on me... I'm not so sure. We played on a 4x4 board at 1000 points and that just didn't feel right for a start. I won't go any further but to say that I certainly won't be playing him again.

The Dark Angel player was a Navy man, like myself. He was fairly new to 40K, had an interesting list, and a great spirit for the game. We were both bumbling our way through the rule books from time to time but at the end, we had a terrific game. 1500 pts. and I honestly could have won that sucker if we'd gone just one more round. Hehe. Maybe next time.

The Codex Marine player was very enjoyable to play against. We both came to have fun, not just win. As a result, we had a great time, shared some laughs, and played some 40K. The fact that I won really came down to the fact that he kinda stopped playing the mission and got a little caught up in killing my guys. I don't think they play too many objective missions at this store.

Now the amount of unpainted armies is shocking to me. I'm obviously new to the hobby/game, but I guess I didn't know just how unusual it was to have a fully painted, fully based army. I've received a ton of compliments from gamers and passersby which is great. I've found myself in the sudden position of being the guy these people are going to for painting advice. Weird... I've not been doing this for even a year.

Here are some more pics of Telion for ya:

Time to catch up!

Yikes! I've really let my bogging slip! Time to catch back up. I've grabbed a box of Grey Knight Terminators. What a fantastic box of models that is. Each one has something unique and the poses are pretty slick. Which is good, frankly, as they are all metal. Painting them isn't complex, in fact they are pretty much the easiest models I've painted. The stakes are higher since it is a $55 box. Here are some of the results thus far: