Dark Angels Black Knights are the new GOLD

Hello all,

Apologies for the delayed postings, but you know....life.  I wanted to talk with you today about a unit in the Dark Angels codex that recently caught my eye, the Black Knights.  No, I'm not talking about the delightful comedy romp starring Martin Lawrence (though I could write an entire blog post about the topic), I'm talking about the Dark Angel's elite hard hitting, bike riding hooligans.

I'll be honest.  The first time I read through the Dark Angels codex I didn't give the Black Knights a second glance.  I was far more interested in the standard Raven Wing bikers.  This was mostly because I like to run Azrael and his ability to unlock the standard bikers as Troop choices really interested me.  After several months of running Dark Angels as my primary army I was becoming dissatisfied with my Ravenwing bikers.  While their toughness 5 was nice and their 4/5+ jink save is useful, the plethora of Helldrakes being fielded rendered them fairly obsolete.  Don't get me wrong I still love to run them in my army lists, and with Azrael being my primary HQ it's nice to have such fast moving Troop choices, but they just weren't getting as much done as I thought they would.  Enter Reece Robbins.  My roommate and sexual confidant, Reece mentioned that he had begun to use the Black Knights in his own Dark Angels force and expounded their merits both loudly and drunkenly.  Intrigued, I began to look into the unit more closely.  Here's the basics,

• Toughness 5 
• 12'' movement plus a 12'' turbo boost.  Relentless.
• Skilled Rider.  +1 jink save/automatic dangerous terrain pass
• Frag/Krak grenades.
• Teleport Homer
• Grim Resolve (Stubborn LD)
• Hit and Run
• Scouts (12'' move?YES)
• Corvus Hammer.  Strength 5 rending attacks.  Arguably more powerful than a power weapon.  4 attacks on the charge.  Yes please.
• Plasma Talon.  Twin-Linked 18'' Plasma Guns.  

As you can see, they are pretty hard hitting both in the shooting phase AND the assault phase.  They are 15 points more expensive than a Ravenwing biker and get SO MUCH MORE.  Why did I miss these guys? 

There is still one nagging issue.  How to deal with the ever prevalent Hell Turkeys with their 360 degree Strength 7 AP 3 Flamer of Doom (oh and also their Strength 7 no cover save Vector Strikes).   After some thought and consultation with the council (Frontline Games)  it was determined that by taking the Ravenwing Command Squad you could get an Apothecary for around 20 more points (DA FAQ now allows you to add 2 more Black Knights to the Command Squad).  This way you get Feel No Pain against Hell Turkey shenanigans and makes them more survivable to small arms fire.  

That wasn't enough though, I needed them to be MORE durable (I roll a LOT of 1's and 2's).  Since I HAVE to take an HQ on a bike to unlock the Ravenwing Command Squad, I decided to go with a Librarian.  I then gave him the Power Field Generator, which grants the model and any other model within 3'' a 4+ Invulnerable save.  NOW WE'RE COOKING WITH FIRE!  Oh, it also confers a 4+ invulnerable save to ENEMY units withing 3"?  FUCK.MY.NUTS.  Well, the trick is to not get charged if you can help it and break the Librarian off if you MUST charge the unit into something.  The 4+ Invulnerable Save is pretty crucial to my overall list (READ: MY NEXT POST) so it IS very important for this guy to have it, so again, just be smart with your positioning. 

What do you guys think about these Caballero Negroes?

Why Tau Will Rock Your Face 100% of the Time

This past weekend I went to a local RTT that also happened to be a qualifier for the upcoming Feast of Blades tournament in Denver, Colorado.  I brought what I THOUGHT would be a tournament winning Dark Angels/Imperial Guard 1850 point list.  I won't lie, I walked into the game store pretty confident in my list.  If you described me as being a bit cocky it would be an understatement.  Alpha Striking terminators with the Azrael/Guard 4+ Invulnerable save blob of DOOOOOOOOM?  I gots that!  I was ready to beat it like a sore dick, i.e. hard.  Little did I know I was about to be the sore dick getting beaten i.e. hard.

I would like to preface my embarrassing defeat with the fact that I have not really played against nor have I read to far into the new Tau codex.  I knew that they shot dead killy and were almost as tricksy as the light on their feet Eldar, but was ultimately so unprepared for what was to come I'm surprised I was still wearing my pants by the end of turn 2.  By the end of turn 3 I had to call the game, since that's just how I roll (READ: I'm a quitter, Vol.1).  So what happened, Raw Dogger?  What caused you to consider Tau the new hottest thing?  The best army since sliced bread?  Please keep in mind that I STILL have not read through the Tau codex so I'm basing my opinions off of what beat me to hell in the game.

• Did you know that Tau can take Interceptor for basically ALL of their units for around 5 points?  I sure didn't!  Having an all reserve (deep striking) force really, REALLY sucked in a game with 6 Intercepting Missile Broadsides and 2 Intercepting Riptides.  This should also be a lesson on NOT reading your opponents list.  I told my opponent that he could just tell me what things were when he was deploying, and I didn't really pay attention to what he was telling me.  As in 'Hey, your whole army is rendered obsolete so you know...want to get any early lunch?'
• Cover saves?  How you are supposed to operate in a game against an overwhelming shooting army when you cannot get cover saves?  'Why don't you kill the units with Marker Lights, Fatso?'  Well, dick, most of their units HAVE the Marker Lights so if you want to take them out you need to kill the whole army.
• Riptides.  FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU.  My opponent had two of these bad boyz, and to be honest, so would I.  Yes, they CAN hurt themselves when over charging their weapons but that never happened to me.  So yeah.
• NO COVER SAVES.
• Blocking Terrain gets negated by their no line of sight weapons.  So even if you try to avoid being seen, you still get blasted in the face.

I'm sure there is a LOT more that makes them insufferable, I just didn't last long enough to find out.  I think the thing that makes me the most upset is the fact that there is LITERALLY nothing you can do about getting shot off the board.  All I could do was hunker down and hope I had models left on objectives by the end of the game.  This isn't enjoyable.   

Rawdogger's IC Review: Astorath the Grim

Hello all,

Here is the first in a series of posts titled Raw Dogger's Review: Independent Characters.  As you might have surmised, I will be giving my reviews on random independent characters from various codices throughout the 40k game system.  The reviews will focus on the characters fluff as well as their capabilities (or lack thereof) in your army lists.  First on the chopping block,

Astorath the Grim

This guy is one of my favorites and has, in my humble opinion, one of the best looking models in the game.  Astorath the Grim is the high chaplain of the Blood Angels Space Marine.  His innate ability to sense the onset of the dreaded Black Rage has led him to become the bringer of oblivion to his maddened brothers.  He is tasked with searching the galaxy, war zone by war zone, for brothers who have fallen to the cursed geneseed of the Blood Angels and are too far gone (and too difficult to eliminate) and giving them eternal peace with the slash of his Executioners Axe.

Astorath has the basic stats of a Space Marine Captain.   He clocks in at 220 points.

 WS6 BS5 S4 T4 W3 I5 A3 LD10 2+.

Wargear:

Artificer Armor - Having a 2+ invulnerable save is fairly clutch in the 6th edition due to power weapons only being AP 3.

Jump Pack - Astorath is Jump Infantry.  This goes with the theme of the Blood Angels being a hard hitting, fast moving assault force.  It also forces you to put Astorath with a unit of Jump Pack equipped models if you want him to move at the quickness he was designed for.

Rosarius - Standard wargear for Chaplains.  Gives Astorath a 4+ invulnerable save which should keep him alive a little longer than the rank and file.

Executioners Axe - Aw, here we go.  Astorath possesses the dreaded Executioners Axe.  This bad boy is a two handed power axe which rocks strength 6 AP 2.  It is unwieldy so you WILL be striking last.  Best thing about this axe?  Successful invulnerable saves must be re-rolled.  NICE ONE!

Frag and Krak Grenades and Bolt Pistol - Don't forget that he actually does have bolt pistol to shoot before charging in and it is a precision shot, for what its worth.

Special Rules:

Descent of Angels - The Blood Angels universal special rule.  Models equipped with a Jump Pack only role one d6 when rolling to scatter when Deep Striking.  They may also re-roll failed reserve rolls.

Honor of the Chapter - Astorath gives Fearless to his unit.  Same as other Chaplains.

Liturgies of Blood - Astorath and the members of the unit he has joined may re-roll hits in close combat.  Death Company can re-roll hits AND wound.  Thought this is the same as a regular Chaplain in terms of the Death Company.

Shadow of the Primarch - Astorath makes it more likely that your units will succumb to the  Black Rage.  on a 3 or less your units have Fearless and Furious Charge but lose And They Shall Know No Fear.  BOSS.


Redeemer of the Lost - Astorath takes away the 0-1 restriction on Death Company.  The only way to take and all Death Company list is to take Astorath.

PROS

Astorath gives your army more of a chance to become Fearless and gain Furious Charge.  Having a ton of Fearless Space Marines certainly can't be a bad thing.  Furious Charge is also a great boon for your standard Assault Marines and take them from 'meh' to 'yeah!'.  He's a beast in close combat and will really add a punch to any unit he joins.  I like to run him with a standard 10 man Assault Squad.  Let some poor sergeant fall on a challenge and have Astorath chop infantry in half (or Monstrous Creatures).  The fact that he lets his unit re-roll hits on the charge really makes whatever they are hitting more likely to die.  Another great way to run him is with a unit of Sanguinary Guard.  Throw in a Chapter Banner and Astorath himself is getting one more strength 6 AP 2 chop on some poor fool's nut sack.  People who love Death Company love Astorath.  He is the only way to run multiple units.

CONS

While a cool ass mofo, Astorath is still just a Space Marine Chaplain.  That means he dies to strength 8 just like anyone else.  You CANNOT have him out on his own.  You need him with a unit to soak up wounds and to take challenges.  His Axe now being Unwieldy, Astorath will be swinging at the same time as a powerfist, and then you have a 50% chance of losing your 220 point HQ choice.  Speaking of his point cost, I find that to also be a con.  He, like the majority of the Blood Angels codex, is now severely overcosted.  He just doesn't do enough or buff your forces enough to warrant such a high cost.  The sad fact is, he is an assault based character who can be killed quite easily in combat due to his low initiative (thanks to the Axe). I feel it would have been better to give his Axe a special FAQ rule that made it a power axe that strikes at initiative.  It would have made him soooo much better (in my opinion).  I feel he is about 100 points over costed at the moment.  I know that sounds like a big number but he really, really suffers from the low initiative.  Again, this can be countered by having a cheap sergeant in his unit that will take challenges from power fisted challengers.  A lot of people say he is worth it to make Death Company troop choices, but Death Company do not score (how many missions require scoring units to win?) and are EXTREMELY expensive.  If you take an all Death Company list, while very cool and style point worthy, do not expect to be playing on any top tables in tournaments.

USES

Astorath is best used in a combat unit.  I like to run him with Sanguinary Guard since they really benefit from his Fearless and re-roll hit abilities and he really benefits from their Chapter Banner and Death Masks.  They are fast moving and hard hitting, but again they are toughness 4 one wound models and die VERY easily to plasma or strength 5+ weapons (like everyone else) which is cheap and plentiful in this edition.  Bring along a priest to give them Feel No Pain and Furious Charge.  BRUTAL.  If you really, REALLY want to spend a lot of points and not win any games, put him in a unit of jump pack equipped Death Company. Remember what Old Jack always says,  expensive marines die just as quickly as regular marines (thanks Hell Turkey!) so take along a Priest if you want to save a couple before you get into combat.  Lastly, I really feel And They Shall Know No Fear is better than Fearless.  Instead of being stuck in combat, the Space Marine unit can Fall Back in their opponents turn, regroup, and charge again in their own turn.

All in all I give Astorath the Gram 5 out of 10 Mehs.

 

The Curious Case of Christina Campbell

If you had 'identity fraud' as the next issue to plague our wargaming community, step up and claim your prize! What prize you may ask?  A swift kick to the nuts.  Yes, the 40k wargaming podcast community (this is a thing) was recently 'catfished' in a surprisingly underexposed scandal.

  

Yes, in a community that explodes whenever Games Workshop gets up to scratch its balls, the story of a person (man) pretending to be an attractive woman who plays Warhammer 40k gets a reaction I can most closely replicate as 'meh'.  Check out the Dakka Dakka thread here where BolingbrokeIV spills the juicy details in this strange and twisted story,

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about (i.e. you don't waste your time listening to 40k podcasts or reading online 40k forums) Christina Campbell was a 'woman' who joined the 40k podcast Deepstrike Radio after an on air interview where she apparently detailed her near death experience and her new found love for all things 40k.  I was actually aware of her through The Independent Characters' (another 40k podcast) Facebook page, where she was an avid poster.  I believe I actually checked out her profile once, thinking she looked a lot like the actress that plays the secretary in The Office and now that I think of it, those might have been the actual actress' pictures....

Hello, I'm Christina..err..Erin..err..Mike

A couple of weeks ago, Christina Campbell died.  Remember that previous near death experience?  Well, it finally got the best of her and she died suddenly.  There was much wailing and lamenting from the 40k community.  We lost one of our unicorns!  We only have like, two left (that I'm aware of).  How unfair for us!  That could have been the end of it.....

Soon, several 40k podcasters got together to host a memorial show where many fond memories of hearing her voice were conveyed.  Christina's grieving widow, Alexander, was interviewed and two tearful hours later the 40k community was silently cursing all of the dust in their mom's basement.  That could have been the end of it.....

A few days ago, Deepstrike Radio posted a message on their blog stating that Christina Campbell was not dead.  In fact, Christina Campbell never existed at all!  What about her grieving widow?  Alexander?  He was also fictitious, and most likely was the same person who had claimed to be Christina Campbell in the first place.  How could this happen?  Remember, Deepstrike Radio is a podcast that uses dial in hosts from around the world.  Many people had claimed that her voice sounded a bit...off..but reasoned it was her computer's microphone causing the distortion.  All traces of Christina Campbell have disappeared.  Her Facebook profile has been deleted, as has her friend's (fake) and family's (fake).  Needless to say, all of those involved are highly embarrassed and are hoping the story blows over.  The fact is, this is the most amazing story that has involved our strange, niche 40k community in quite some time.  Some person (man) went through a LOT of trouble to troll the wargaming podcast community....and completely pulled it off.  So, Christina Campbell, wherever you are...a tip of the cap....like so...