The Black Diamond

 

  I've spent a bit of time trying to get my Relic Knights models painted, but stuff keeps getting in the way.  I pulled out the Black Diamond box because I really like the military aesthetic and figured that would keep me motivated to finish as much as I can.  Progress has been made, so I'm showing it off to further build that motivation.  

  With these models, I'm still using that 'zenithal' priming method and then contrast paints to keep that natural highlighting.  I love the effect and am still mastering the geometric highlighting part, so this is the foundational technique for this game's models already.  

First, the Militarum Green for the fatigues, then Templar Black for the guns.

Guilliman Flesh for the... flest (faces under the goggles)

Then Biel-Tan Green for the plates- in a couple of layers to stay saturated

then BACK to Guilliman Flesh for the holsters, pouches, and belts

add in a bit of white to start the glow effect (don't forget the goggles!)

Iyanden Yellow to start the gold NMM effect

and finally the Soulstone Blue over the white

  This is as far as I've gotten on these guys so far.  I will be doing quite a bit more as I'm really geeked to get that geometric highlighting thing a go on these models.  I'll post more when they're done, and I'll have a tank going too!

As always, Happy Hobbying!

The changes to my Space Marines

     My precious...  Everyone who's been into 40k for any amount of time has likely accrued and often even played with the flagship force.  I started there (and with the boyz-in-blue to boot!) and, like most everyone who's been into 40k, was very excited to get the codex.  Just like the Ork codex, it was sold out for a short bit and I was chomping at said bit to get it.  I got it!

  Immediately upon getting the book, I finished my dinner and dashed to digest the new rules.  Page by page, I furiously read and re-read to make sure that I comprehended every single sentence and paragraph (I'm in a bit of a 'rules-lawyer' mode with another game, so my brain-hole was primed for this!) and there were some surprises to be sure.  I also gained an understanding of GW's path forward, I think...

Detachments?

  The first thing I noticed was something very similar to the Orks codex that has been driving me nuts- there's a cheap detachment for every unit "type".  The detachments are wildly different in both of these books compared to the previous edition and show a specific focus on certain units.  For example- I can't make a Orks army list right this second because I don't know if I want to use Grots or Nobs or Deff Dreds as my core and there's a detachment for each of these.  The Space Marines do the same thing with detachments for Tacticus, Gravis, and Phobos units.  It's just a matter of choosing a bunch of little detachments based on all the units you'd like to bring, which I think is too much work.  What's more, that will leave certain units unaffected by detachment rules because it's not one of the "types" that are covered.  That Ork codex is making my 'combined arms' approach a bit more difficult and it looks like the Space Marines book goes the same way.  

  Beyond the crazy detachment model, the units were significantly changed!  Quite a few of them are obvious, and some others really change the way the units operate on the tabletop.  Being the consummate Astartes fanboy, I was very keyed in on figuring the differences out as a fun exercise and there was plenty.  Just like my post about the greenskins, I'll go through a few of those changes below: 

The obvious (everyone knows)...

  We all know that the entire codex had their Toughness and the strength of their weapons increased.  All Space Marines are at least Toughness 5 while Bolters have become Strength 5.  This was made a huge deal leading up to the release, but I don't see it as such a major thing.  I judge it by my Imperial Guard and what they need to Wound- 5s still?  Okay.  Unfortunately, the Necrons and Eldar may have something to say, but the jump in Toughness isn't the end of the world.  Oh, and all the first-born are gone.  Like, even the 'box-naughts' first-born.  All of them.  No more squat marines...  Ventris is gone.  Terminators got better.  Everyone knows this stuff.

Battleline!

  I've always complained that Space Marine players don't use enough Tactical Squads.  If it isn't Scouts filling the Troops role, it's a detachment rewarding Elite units and so-called 'hero-hammer' otherwise.  The rubricon didn't change anything and the Intercessor was left to languish in the land of playground pick-me's.  While the Infiltrators counted as Battleline, they were the option chosen.  Then last edition came out with some interesting options to get points off Battleline actions.  It still didn't work. 

  Which meant, of course, that I had to flip straight to the most disrespected unit in the codex first- the Intercessor Squad.  And I was quite surprised.  First, their Bolters have two different profiles- one of them is Strength 6 and Damage 2 so it can kill other marines, so that T5 mattered for no time at all against these guys.  Add the +1 to hit if on or attacking an objective.  Then slap in a couple of Grenade Launchers with rapid-firing Krak grenades.  Finally, top it all off with this squad not being restricted when preforming an Action.  Like, can do if they're engaged and even shoot while doing it.  Whoa!  And there's detachments focused on this unit, buffing their shooting even more!  Methinks that Intercessors will be making some appearances on the tabletop.

Dreadnought!

  With the retirement of the 'ol 'box-naught', the three Redemptor-style ones got a bit of an overhaul themselves.  The namesake class no longer reduces incoming damage (but there's a detachment upgrade that can give that ability back) and now is harder to wound from Strength 11 or higher attacks.  Downgrade.  The Balistus no longer buffs against fresh targets but gains Rapid Fire on its guns.  Upgrade.  Finally, the Brutalis lost its 'bowling ball' rule, but gains the 'ol Tank Shock strategem for cheaper, so mostly a side-grade.  Admittedly, this changes the reasoning for these armoured monsters in army selection and makes that Dreadmought detachment look all the more interesting.

Plasma and Flame

  If you're not aware, I have been the biggest fan of the ubiquitous plasma weapon since 3rd edition.  It's a high enough Strength to penetrate anything under a Land Raider and punish even heaviest-armoured infantry.  It adds Rapid Fire to a rapid-firing squad.  You can choose to melt soft-targets or become Hazardous to take down the tougher opponents.  Plasma is versatile.  Now there's no need to overcharge as the Damage 2 is for both settings!  Obviously, an extra point of Strength is still a good reason to 'push it', but now all plasma weapons are Damage 2 base!!!  That's a welcome change.  Except Hellblasters no longer shoot-on-death and instead are just better at those Hazardous rolls.  That makes me sad as a fanatical user of Hellblasters.

  Fire, on the other hand, is weird.  Flamers were always the most 'swingy' of weapons since the loss of the template.  That's gone as all Flamers have 3 shots.  Oh, and blast, meaning more against those hordes.  Infernus marines and flame-gressors seemed like they lost something but they really didn't.  In fact, the consistency of the number of shots means an average of more hits in this new version than ever before.  Unfortunately, the Infernus marines lost their Battleshock rule, so there was a bit given up.  Otherwise, flame-weapons are going to be a lot more common now in my forces.

Still a tad upset...

  A unit came out last edition that made me very happy.  This unit has been around in one form or another since the beginning of "Chapters" and was specific to the Ultramarines.  The Codex appointed them and the return of the Primarch rejuvenated their purpose.  The honour guard for the Ultramarines is called the Victix Guard and they're led by my last captain- Cato Sicarius.  When the unit first came out, they had four wounds each with their artificer armour and the new 'Surge' rule.  Smurf-haters whined up a storm and forced GW to take away an entire Wound to balance them out, but that really nerfed the squad as there are plenty of 3-Damage weapons to plink models quickly.  That drop in survivability is a very strong one.  That still didn't change in this codex.  Worse, the direct comparison I have is the Company Heroes.  That squad had a better... everything, including a Damage 3 Heavy Bolter and 4 Wounds each!  The heavy weapon is back down to Damage 2, but nothing else was adjusted.  They still have 4 Wounds, even if they are wearing standard Tacticus armour- it's about that damage-to-model ratio for me.  And being a fan of plasma and only getting UP TO Damage 3 on the vehicles...  well, that upsets me still.  

Finally, those characters

  In the 90's, I played with Captain Agemman of the 2nd company.  That model will always be one of my favorites.  Then the Battle for Macragge happened and he was promoted to the First Company while his role was filled by Captain Sicarius.  Then the Cicatrix Maledictum happened and he was lost to the warp and Captain Acheron filled in.  Then Sicarius returned, Acheron died, and Captain Titus got promoted to take over the 2nd campany (again) while Sicarius was given the honour guard.  Whew!  Master Calgar was nearly killed by Abaddon and went through the rubicon, gaining new armouir and abilities, then he got different new armour.  The Primarch himself was returned.  Tigurius... didn't change.  And I have them all!  Let's look at each one:

-Captain Titus has fight-on-death and buffs his unit's melee attacked with Sustained Hits.  What's crazy to me is that he has more Wounds than any other character at the Captain level- six!  That's Chapter Master level and equal in this book to only Marneus Calgar himself!    Pretty good, even if this model's rules are just trying to capitalize on the success of a certain video game...

-Cato Sicarius is pretty much the same, including the ability to be attached to Master Calgar's squad.  His sword has a huge amount of variety for all the opponents, he still gets the tactical maneuver, and his artificer armour puts him above most at his rank.  And that model is super-schmexy!

-Tigurius just keeps getting more awesome each edition!  He has that invulnerable save and hits in melee with the same stats as an Autocannon!  Best yet- he's a Level 3 Psyker, meaning he can toss out some magic like no one else (so far)!  And now, he even generates Command Points like Captains- he's a boss!

-Master Calgar went down from 8 to 6 Wounds.  I get that it's the 'Chapter Master standard' and all, but Titus has the same.  I would think that the greatest non-Primarch hero of the entire Imperium might get a little glow-up in survivability.  But alas, twas not meant to be.  There is quite a shiny silver-lining, however, as he gained an anime-style downswing in melee that is brutal (d3+3 Damage at Str 14!!!) and stole Ventris's old ability to give a unit Deep Strike.  Oh, and his guantlets can be used while engaged like pistols!!!  Minus two Wounds for all that?  Okay, I'll take it!

-Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the XIIIth and Lord Commander of the Imperium of Mankind... is a beatstick!!!  He's up to 16 Wounds on Toughness 10 with a 2+/4++/5+++.  This matters because he lost his resurrection and doesn't have a fights-on-death ability.  He is still affected by all the Doctrines and can stack Doctrines on another unit.  But now Guilliman is a walking aura of rerolls, buffing everyone around him (as he should).  And the weapons must be mentioned- his shooting is better than an Assault Cannon and can wipe out half-a-squad of marines reliably with a lofty ceiling of 24 Damage, and his sword swings with the might  of his father, finally!  The stronger hit is only 7 Lethal Hits attacks at Strength 14 and 4 Damage, while the sweep attack is 10 attacks with Cleave 2 and Devastating Wounds, wounding marines on 2s.  That means that he'll consistently demolish a full squad of regular Astartes that dare to touch him in the Fight phase.  I've always used the Lord Commander as a 'super-dreadnought' and now his rules make him just that.  I ain't mad other than he's still over 400 points.  He may be a beatstick, but he ain't a Knight!

  I am so geeked on this book!  While the Ork codex has my brain-hole totally fried with the army construction part, this Space Marine codex has me excited to pull out the units and get them battling!  The changes are drastic from last edition and actually pretty good.  It's not overpowering (that's for the Custodes codex coming soon) but there is some re-alignment with how units work.  I can't wait to use those detachments to build my armoured-assault force or my power-armour force, or my Gravis-for-fun force.  This book is awesome!  Let me know if you've had a gander and agree or not.

Happy Gaming!

by Peakpx (?)

What did they do to my Orks!?!?!

   My son comes home to surprise me with the new 40k Ork codex.  At the time, I was focused on digesting the new rules for Necromunda (and having a bear of a time as this is way different from N95 and certainly not similar to N17, but I digress) and ripping through the new starter kit models, so my focus had nothing to do with anything 40k.  We had resigned to wait for a bit as the codex had been sold out and the Space Marine one was coming out already, but that patience disappeared when the book 'o rules for those greenskins finally appeared on the shelf.  He dropped that book on me mid-read and my attention immediately shifted.  And then I went crazy.

  You see, I had been used to playing my Orks with a particular style.  One could even argue that I copied the pointy-ears with the style, but that could be offensive...  I like to use speshulists in trukks supported by clankin' walkers in the form of Meganobs and Deff Dreds.  My armies used those rokkit-boyz and Burna-boyz, supported by Lootas.  I even had wagons to roll over da enemies when the Meganobs wanted a ride.  And all the regular boyz- dey's shootas!  But dey'z dere to be a distraction for da Dreds and nobz.  

  Well, all that made me happy, so GW saw fit to change it or outright remove it.  Let's look at how they personally stabbed me in the back on my play style:

First, the Loota were completely removed from the codex.  I had 15 because I didn't build the Meks when they weren't mandatory many bad moons ago.  Then I built those because a new edition required them and I had three squads of five Lootas.  They're cheap and downright random, but they work great when you're trying to pop off a squad of beakies holding that objective.  I was already annoyed that my Bad Moons special rule was removed, then my squad composition was reset, but now they just disappeared! 

Second, they removed my Burna-boyz.  I loved by Burna-boyz.  Stop me if youi've heard this one- I had 10 because I didn't build the Meks when they weren't required.  Then I built those because a new edition required them and now I had two squads of Burnas.  They're cheap and very random, but they were key in wiping out those 'oomies in droves.  I was already annoyed that they were going down to 3 shots, then my squad composition was reset, and now they've just disappeared!

Third, they removed my Deff-rollas.  The iconic front-end attachment known to all Ork vehicles since the beginning of time (1987) was once a mainstay in every army.  In fact, they were so important to every Ork player that GW capitalized (and I say that literally) by making it a separate upgarde sprue that had to be purchased outside the Battlewagon box (definitely a brutally cunning move)!  The rules were phenomenal and made short work of all but Terminators when on the move.  I heard a rumour that the sprue has made its way back into the box, but it no longer matters as the big gun options have been narrowed in the codex, and the Deff-rolla is outright gone.  I want my Deff-rolla!!!  It ain't a true wagon without one.

Fourth, they destroyed my Power Klaw delivery system known as Warbikers!!!  The nobs no longer get Power Klaws and their bikes no longer have dakkaguns...  WHAT!?!?!?  Every Ork army that ever hit the battlefield has Warbikers delivering that tasty Klaw right into the enemy, even chasing down vehicles and delivering that slap.  But no, now there's rokkits on the bike (which I really don't hate) and the nob has a weapon with the same stats (but it's not a Klaw!)....  I don't understand.

Finally, there are too many Ork detachments for too cheap.  Building an army now requires either the War Horde or three other detachments, which are too specific.  You want a bunch of runts- there's a detachment for that.  You want to use a ton of Dred's- there's a detachment for that.  You like Meganobs- detachment!  This means that army-building is now more complicated that ever and that's annoying.  

  I'm very annoyed at what has happened in this new 11th edition codex.  My greenskins are feeling anguish right now for a number of reasons.  My wallet is dreading the muster.  My rules are betraying me.  First, my son surprised me with the codex.  Then the codex surprised me with this stuff.  Let me now what you think and if you've felt this way.  

Happy Gaming!   

The Radiant goes down!

 

  We had returned from ReaperCon, where we'd spent considerable time on Relic Knights, but we didn't do anything for a week in rest.  That was unacceptable and my wife angrily demanded a game.  Better, she wanted to change sides and give the Radiant faction a go.  That means I was going to play the Void faction for this battle.  Oh yes- a warband based on manipulating the enemy?  This is gonna be fun!

Deployment and stuff

  This battle is taking place in the defense compound, found deep among the rocky terrain of this planet.  Therre's plenty of cover and choke-points, and even elevation to take advantage of if you're inclined to fly or climb.

  Bang-bang's Sundown Enforcers immediately took cover near the center of the board and created an anchor-point for the rest of the Radiant's forces to threaten most of the objective markers.  

  Meanwhile, Tahariel's forces deployed to spread around the perimeter and threaten Bang-bang from all directions at once.  Bang-bang isn't dumb, so she set up a support element parallel to make an ambush corridor.  The two Knights were certainly working to out-smart each other.

Game start!

  Immediately, the Void jumped out to start locking down the good guys.  Alibaster was even able to charge and slap Bang-bang herself a bit before tucking into the same cover to stay engaged.  This was bad start for the Radiant force as this took away her support and damage role.  Unfortunately, Bang-bang's knuckles aren't soft...

  Cordelia used her flight to dash to an objective, but was immediately wounded as Dark Pinions also dashed in the opposite direction and took the opportunity to shoot.  Coordinated attack has its advantages...

  Mikel charged out to grab the enemy's attention, luring out Ms. Kaylee and staging for a helpful charge into Bang-bang.  What Kaylee didn't realize was that Tahariel had skated behind to attack her while she was distracted, creating that sense of fear that her kind rarely feels.  

  During all of that commotion, the Dark Pinions continued their advance to shield Tahariel's claim one of the objectives and give the Void the lead.  Worse for the Radiant, Mikel joined the melee against Bang-bang and overwhelmed the Knight finally, also stacking that lead for the bad guys.

  After some shenanigans between Cupid and Cordelia, another objective was finally claimed by the Radiant, but it resulted in the near loss of Ms. Kaylee.  The Enforcers were tossed around by the Priestess of Puirty, while she and Mikel gleefully glided from their small victories toward the central objective. The Sundown Enforcers, a severely wounded huntress, and even Mr. Milky realized how close they were to defeat and tried respond as quickly as possible.  

Finale

  With a quick move, Mikel locked down the Cypher and watched as Tahariel skated right up the last objective to lay claim and win the game.  In a flash, it was over.  The Void forces had easily outmaneuvered Bang-bang's team to claim this compound and teach those good guys their lesson.  The Radiant forces were shocked, especially at the loss of their Knight so early in the battle.  

  My wife was not happy with me for a couple of days.  She did also have some very poor card draws for a number of turns in a row and it didn't help.  In fact, Cordelia has (for the second game in a row, mind you!) failed to do any real damage with that huge rail gun- it seems the cards can be as brutal a mistress as the dice gods...  It was fun, for at least one of us...  

Happy Gaming!