Happy 4th of July

I'll be spending this rare day off like everyone else i.e. eating too much BBQ and moving as little as possible. 'MERICA!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Space Marine Player in 6th Edition

I've been playing Space Marines for about as long as I've been playing 40k (around 15 years if you want to know).  Throughout all those long years wasting my hard earned money I've played all flavor of Marines; from the over-zealous Black Templars to the emo rocker Blood Angels.  Throughout the 4th and 5th edition Space Marines enjoyed a fairly consistent power level ranging from mid to top tier tournament placings.  Sure they got lots of flak from the online community for having a better than average stat level and getting the lion's share of GW attention and why not?  Space Marines are essentially the bread winning member of the household and are about as iconic to Warhammer 40k as you can get.  Honestly, if I read one more asshole on BOLS comment about a Space Marine release with 'SPEZ MARINZ' I would shit my pants.  And not in a good way!

Having become tired of the repetitive nature of the 5th edition tournament scene (Space Wolves or Grey Knights for the win? Yes) I had taken a break towards the end of it's life cycle.  After learning that the 6th edition was coming out and the promise of endless army composition and combinations due to the ally system, I took my marines out of the closet and prepared for battle.  At first, things didn't change much.  My Space Marines were holding steady and in many ways seemed to have gotten better with the changes to 6th edition.  Their rapid firing bolters gained range and their basic troop's abilities to take and hold objectives was game winning in an objective dominated game system. I was happy.  Then the sky darkened.....

I looked up into the air and beheld the fall of an empire.  A beast which breathed fires hot enough to melt through power armor like a hot knife through dog shit.  Cover could not protect me.  I tried to be sneaky and run behind the great behemoth as it flew overhead, but was dismayed to learn that it could also breath the fire out of its asshole.  Whole squads of my beloved Space Marines where annihilated by the hellfire of the Helldrake.  Chaos Space Marines were released and the Emperor wept.  With no viable way to shoot it down, I turned to twin linked weapons with the hope that THEY may fell this foul beast.  It worked. That is, until they decided to take 3.....

My beloved Astartes were reinforced by the valiant Dark Angels.  Surely GW would give us some tool to fell these great Dragon Turky beasts (which were soon joined by flying Croissant-like things) and we would no longer rely on our puny Imperial Guard allies.  This was not to be.  We received Flakk missiles that cost 25 points and were strength 7.  You could certainly take 4 of them in a Devastator Squad, but that would just ensure the Hell Drake knew which unit to fry first.

When Chaos Demons were released I truly learned how weak the Space Marines were in combat.  It took the Demon players about 10 seconds to learn that multiple large units of fast moving rending units would make mince meat out of Space Marine units twice their point cost.  My Assault Marines gather dust.  The basic Herald could annihilate an entire squad themselves.  The only defense against the initiative 6 rending machines was to hold in cover and take the charge, hopefully killing a couple of them before they get into you turn 2-3.  Flying units laugh at our unreliable anti-air abilities.

The Tau Empire got a much needed release and the 40k community learned what it is to play a shooting game without any cover saves.  The plethora of high strength plasma and missile shots ensure that our 3+ cover save is obsolete.  Even the basic strength 5 pulse rifle wounds our hardy Space Marines on a roll of a 3.  Yes, you get an armor save but how many 1s and 2s will you roll on 12-15 dice?  Want to deep strike those Terminators?  Army wide interceptor will ensure that you'll lose 220-260 points in no time!

The sneaky Eldar were next.  Army wide rending once again makes our armor save obsolete.  Eldar special move run shoot rule makes sure you'll be outmaneuvered and shot to pieces in short order.  Surprise surprise, Eldar have a plethora of cover ignoring weaponry.

So where are we now as Space Marine players?  It's certainly not any easy road to the top tournament tables at the moment.  The plethora of high strength low AP weapons is exasperating as is the increasing amount of cover ignoring weaponry.  We DO have some good things going for us at the moment. The great thing about the Dark Angels 6th edition codex is that we see the point costs for future Space Marine units.  Surprise surprise, the things that I list below as being GOOD mostly happen to be the things that got cheaper.

• Land Speeder Typhoon Squadrons.  Especially near a psycher that can Prescience them to gain Twin-Linked.  These guys are now auto include for me and the amount of damage (especially twin linked) that they can put out is staggering.
• Librarians.  These are a great primary or secondary HQ, especially for their abilities in buffing your other units.
• Whirlwinds.  Barrage weapons have gotten really good in 6th edition and the once 'useless' Whirlwind is now a much feared unit for the Space Marines.
• Thunder Hammer Storm Shield Terminators remain to be boss.  The Invulnerable 3+ save goes a LONG way in the Strength 7 AP 2 ignore cover world of 6th edition.  Blood Angels can get Feel No Pain to make them even more survivable.
• Bikes.  Toughness 5 fast moving units are nothing to sneeze at.  Unfortunately the Helldrake will kill an entire unit fairly quickly.  Dark Angels is really the way to run them since they can be scoring, but Blood Angels can get Feel No Pain.  
• Null Zone still rocks face.  Oh, please re-roll those invulnerable saves Demons.
• Thunderfire Cannons.  Again, taking away cover saves is pretty rad in 6th edition.  Put THEM on the receiving end for once.

So, what do you guys think?  Can Space Marines (and their variants) survive 6th edition tournaments without allies?  What are some other great units to take?

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...

Terminator Ain't No Hollaback Girl!

Hello gentle readers, today I want to talk about something that really gets my goat.  A topic that really grinds my gears.  An issue that violently slaps my nuts (like that's a bad thing...).  The idea that all units should be able to eliminate terminators with ease.  For those uninitiated few reading this post who have no idea what a 'terminator' is and are wondering why their google search for Gwen Stefani's iconic Holler Back Girl sent them here, let me take a moment to explain.

 A terminator is a 7 foot tall human turned biological weapon called a Space Marine in an incredibly ancient suit of neigh impenetrable armor.  These warriors are the finest members of an already elite chapter of 1000 warriors.  They carry devastating weapons that are used to fully eradicate whatever is unfortunate enough to be in front of them.  In the actual game of 40k they come in at a hefty 40-45 points and you are required to take a unit of 5 (usually).  These 5, with a decent weapon load-out will most likely cost you between 225-260 points.  Not an insignificant allocation of points.  In short, they came to chew bubble gum and kick ass.  Just your luck, they're out of bubble gum.

Unfortunately, for some time now any discussion regarding the merits of a unit will inevitably cause someone to compare said unit with terminators.  Usually, it will go something like this,

Newb: Hey guys, what do you think about (x)??
Dork: They're ok, but they can't kill terminators.

WHAT.  Of course they can't kill terminators.  Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE FLIPPING TERMINATORS, CUNT!  BITCH!  They cost 40 points per model.  Oh, I'm sorry you feel your 15 point model sucks because it cant easily eliminate my terminator models.  I just don't get why people feel that they're unit of (x) should for some reason cost half the points of other models and be able to go toe to toe with them.  When a Banshee costs 40 points (or more with weapons) give me a call.

I would like to go further and claim that terminators are now TOO easy to kill.  Yes, they have a 2+ save, but at toughness 4 they are fairly easy to wound and with the prevalence of plasma weaponry (another article) their 5+ invulnerable save will get you dead more than 50% of the time.  At toughness 4, you are taking a lot of armor saves.  How many 1's will you roll on 10 dice?  2 most likely (or 5 in my case).  Even the ubiquitous storm shield/thunder hammer terminators are toughness 4.  In order to have them survive past the 3rd turn you are forced to take them in large numbers, which will eat up your points right quick.  I would propose making terminators HARDER to kill.  Fuck, at 40 points, they better be!  How about toughness 5? Why are they the same toughness as marines in regular power armor?  Maybe making them come with 2 wounds standard?  Lower point cost?  I would like to see them move to a 2+/5+ Feel no Pain that can be taken no matter what type of weapon causes the wound.  Something.  ANYTHING that will make them better reflect the fluff that is written about them. Also, why is Dante not eternal warrior and why is he initiative 7 but the FAQ gave him a power axe? Why women be shopping! TELL ME ASSHOLES!  Ok, I'm sweating now.

Next up!  Kublacon 1500 point tournament with Azrael and Friends!

A turd by any other name....

....... is my Grey Knight's list that I took to a local 1750 point tournament this past weekend.  I don't want to go through the entire list again, and one needs to look no further than my last post (over a week ago) to see the list in detail.  Let's just say that with only 17 models in the entire list (not counting the Bastion) I did manage to go 2-1, though lady luck has more to do with that than any discernible skill on my part.

I had a whole plan for this post, but seeing as how I attribute most of the positives from the list to luck I'm just going to go over some of the pros and cons of the list that I think might interest people.

 *I'm not taking the time to go over my list again. Please go back and read the last post to get the details...Don't be an asshole...*

PROS

• Low model count.  This made taking the time to set up properly not so much of a hassle.  A lot of games are lost due to poor deployment, and having a large army can lead to this at times.  If you only have a few units, they more than likely each have a specific job and you can spend a good amount of time making sure they are set up to do their job properly.
• Powerful units. Lord Kaldor 'd'Brikashaw Ferguson' Draigo and Paladin friends make for an intimidating unit, and there wasn't much on the table that could handle them.  I believe in my last game against Necrons, d'Brikashaw aka Draigo took every wound from two Annihilation Barges....TWICE.  Yes, friends, placement is everything.  
• Coteaz is the Grey Knight tax, and putting him in the unit of Paladins/Draigo is just mean.  I've Been Expecting You with two Psycannons and strength 5 Storm Bolters will make most players rage quit 100% of the time.  PRO TIP: Don't tell your opponent about I've Been Expecting You. 
• A Vindicare in a Bastion firing from fire points can make sure your opponent is going to have a bad day.  In the same game that Draigo was taking wounds from Annihilation Barges, the Vindicare exploded both of the same Barges.  Now, to be honest, he did make about 400 4+ Invulnerable saves and about 10 6+ Feel No Pain saves from being glanced by 60 rapid firing Warriors....
• A Dreadnight with a heavy incinerator deep striking will ruin a LOT of people's days.  Especially Necrons.
• A Storm Raven's mindstrike missles make Paladins die (and shit their pants).

CONS

• Low model count.  With two troop choices and the majority of book missions being objective based, you are going to have a really steep hill to climb.  Throw in the fact that we use the BAO (Bay Area Open) format in most west coast tournaments now, which mix in objectives in EACH mission, and 17 models starts looking REALLY unattractive.
• No real anti-horde.  I was fortunate to not have faced any horde armies or else I would have been in big trouble.  Yes, I had a Storm Raven, but it was kitted out to take out enemy fliers.
• Draigo AKA d'Brikashaw Ferguson ain't what he used to be.  Yes, he can still destroy most enemies, but with his sword now being AP3 and unless he is fighting a demon or psycher, he has a hard time taking out anyone with a decent armor/invulnerable save.  I actually forgot his sword was AP3 and challenged Belial in my first game.  I almost lost Draigo to that pigeon toed fucker (He was making his 2 ups and I was failing my 3 ups...).
• A Vindicare assassin might look cool, but he dies to mass bolter fire just the same.  With just a 4+ invulnerable save, and even with a 3+ cover save most of the time, he only has two wounds and you are GOING to roll 2 twos when rolling for 12-15 saves.
• Low model count.  I'm going to say this again.  With that low model count, when you lose a unit it REALLY HURTS.  

So with that said, here is how I would improve the list.

• Drop the Bastion and Vindicare and take two Psyflemen Dreadnoughts.  I know this has become cliche, but it's for a good reason.  They tear shit up and do it on the cheap.  Vindicare's are cool, and If I went up to 1850 I would most likely drop a Paladin and take him.  They can be made scoring with Draigo.
• Drop the lascannon on the Storm Raven and bring the assault cannon and find points for the hurricane bolters.  With Psybolt ammo it's just too good and I still think Storm Ravens are where it'st at (it's no Vendetta).

So that't it.  I hope you found this remotely useful.  Next blog post will be about Terminators and why you're an asshole for thinking every army should have a cheap counter for them.

Whither a Grey Knight? FUCK YEAH

This weekend a local FLGS, Game Kastle, is hosting a 1750 point tournament.  Seeing as how I am currently working on no less than 4 armies, choosing an army to build was unsurprisingly difficult.  At the 11^th hour I decided on Grey Knights because hey, why not?  I’m a list builder, as in I spend my free time watching television with numerous codices surrounding me furiously writing and re-writing lists.  One list that I created recently was a pure Grey Knight codex that I believe has the tools to take on the gamut of powerful builds that I am likely to see at a tournament.  It has all of the qualities I look for when writing a list, and much like my sex life, is hard hitting and in your face! *(Don’t tell that one to my girlfriend)*

Before going into detail, THE LIST

Lord Kaldor Draigo –Duke of Cheese, King of Pain

Lord Draigo do what he do.  Makes the Paladins troop choices, overall bad-ass, you know the drill.  I like to use the Grand Strategy making d3 units Scouts, moving him and the Paladins closer as well as the Dreadknight.

Inquisitor Coteaz – ‘Re-Roll that, Please’

Everyone's favorite auto-include.  Give you Divination spells and a fun I've Been Expecting You attack.  Also, his Psyber-Eagle rocks way too much ass.  He also basically guarantees you wont get seized on which makes deployment a lot less stressful.

Paladin Squad (6) 2x Psycannon, Apothecary, Brobanner, Psybolt Ammo – Draigo’s Extra Wound Squad

2 wound terminators with Feel No Pain, 3 Base Attacks (Bro Banner), Psychic Bad ASSES. 8 twin linked strength 7 rending shots (that should be re-rolled with Coteaz' Prescience. These guys go to 11 with Draigo and Coteaz. 

Paladin Squad (1) Incinerator/Twin Linked – ‘Did I just deep strike onto your table quarter? LOL’

Late game grabber of objectives that's also the bane of hiding troop squads on said objectives.

Strike Squad (5) 3x Halberd, Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo – Warp Quakers

I like these little squads.  They can hold their own if drawn into combat (6 Init 6 power weapons attacks on the charge) but really shouldn't be getting into combat.  Decent shooting when sitting still (8 Strength 5 AP 5 shots and 4 Rending Strength 7 AP 4 shots).  When I go to 1850 these guys go to 10.

Storm Raven with Multi-Melta and Twin-Linked Lascannons, Extra Armor – Boom goes to Croissant

I have the model, 'nuff said.  One of the best fliers in the game, if on the expensive side.  The twin linked Lascannon and Multi-Melta will make short work of enemy fliers and enemy armor.

Dread Knight with Heavy Incinerator, Great Sword – DIE GARGOYLES, DIIEEEE

If I had the points I would give this guy the personal teleporter, but with Draigo's Grand Strategy handing out Scout and the threat range of the Heavy Incinerator, I can live without it.  2+ armor save with a toughness of 6 makes the dude hard to take down.  I like the Great Sword, with the ability to re-roll hits and wounds.

Vindicare Assassin – *Head Shot*

A guy that can literally take down anything, and with the recent FAQs making his shots un-look out bro-able, the Vindicare assassin is looking really good.  I plan on putting him on the quad gun, which will benefit from his precision shot.  If he intercepts with the quad gun, he can shoot his rifle during his turn.

Bastion with Quad Gun

Armor 14 is nothing to sneeze at and makes for a terrific firing platform for the Vindicare Assassin.  Some people say the Bastion cannot be target by the enemy, as it is unoccupied so is not an enemy unit.  I would subscribe to this newsletter, but cooler heads say that it CAN be targeted.  I'm sure there will be arguments for and against at some point.

So there it is.  The Vindicare sits on top of the bastion manning the quad gun.  If he uses the quad gun to intercept, he shoots his rifle from his VERY generous vantage point from the top of the bastion, which BTW, cannot be targeted by enemy attack as it is technically unoccupied.  Draigo and Coteaz do what they do, Storm Raven poop on you, and Dread Knight (hopefully with Scout from Draigo) gets me first blood.  Lone Paladin hopefully drops in late game and flames someone for the lols.  Big Paladin Squad rolls with Draigo/Coteaz and Strike Squad sits on an objective and unleashes warp quake.  Small and fierce, just like your mom likes it. 

Let me know what you think.  I’ll post Saturday night or Sunday morning with the results.

Poor Black Templar Terminator.....

I really should have worked harder on my terminator costume..- Black Templar Guy

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