Bolter Wars

  Well, isn't that interesting?  Games Workshop recently released a new beta involving my favorite army with my favorite weapon.  And I think this may actually be one of the best 'rules adjustments' that GW has ever done.

  In case you're not sure there's precedent- remember that Space Marines were originally T3 models until a White Dwarf article way back in the Rogue Trader (1st edition) days, and Terminators didn't have an invulnerable save in 3rd edition until a White Dwarf article introduced the Crux Terminatus rule.  Beyond introducing races into the game (what's up, Necrons?), that magazine has contributed some pretty game-changing aspects to the rules.

  Now it should be noted here that this rule is "beta".  That means it is here for the joy of testing and giving feedback to the developers and there is no guarantee that this rule will ever become official.  Some of my favorite batrep sites don't use beta rules and exclusively use what's printed and I can totally understand that.  But we use beta rules around here since they're meant to represent the 'evolution' of the game and we want to be prepared to play other gamers when we ascend into the real world.  Plus, most of the other beta rules were transferred directly into the rules through the Chapter Approved, so it's a safe assumption that this rule will be as well.

Here it is in case you haven't seen it seven thousand times already:

  Basically, this just means that Space Marines (or their heretic ilk) gain some special abilities with their bolters outside the normal Rapid Fire rules.  Like normal, you get double shots if the unit is within half range of the target.  But now, those Astartes get double shots if they stand still (that's out to max range, by the way) or always if they just happen to be a Terminator or biker.  Or vehicle.  Like a Land Raider Crusader.

  Now I'm not the smartest guy and I originally read this to mean that Space Marines get to double their doubled shots.  I forgot the first part of that second sentence "Instead of following the normal rules for Rapid Fire weapons...".  Apparently, I wasn't the only one with reading comprehension issues as this interpretation turned into a debate online for a bit.  I was set straight by a buddy that reads the rules a little too well.  Okay, finally got it.  Not too shabby.

  So I can go on and on about who are the best recipients of this rule and whether it's game-breaking or not.  The first one is a dead horse that I don't really want to beat anymore.  But the second point?  Well, I don't think it's really game-breaking at all.  Let me explain.

  So a regular 13-point Space Marine with a bolter can stand still and put out two S4 shots at 24".  An Intercessor with a bolt rifle, costing 17 points, can put out two S4, AP 1 shots out to 30".  Does this compare to the seven points for an Ork or five for a Guardsman or Cultist (the Guardsman can shoot twice if ordered and the Cultist can get +1 to both hit and wound with a bit of voodoo)?  The problem with Space Marines is that they're pretty good at everything so their points cost has to reflect that.  But the entire game is filled with Space Marine-killers and they pay less points just out of sheer fact that whatever's holding the weapon is cheap (Tau) and the gun is cheap ("That causes how much damage?!").  It's not about the points, it's just how wargaming works.  Hordes have a higher ceiling than elites.

  So I think that this is a great way to give those 'elites' a higher ceiling without having to monkey with points or introducing even more cheesy weapons into the game.  All in all, it just helps narrow that natural gap between hordes and elites.  It's game-changing, but not at all game-breaking (in that negative way, like Castellan Knights...).

  Even then, that's not why I'm such a fan of this rule.  I'd rather waste your time talking about why this was such a fantastic addition to the game.  And just like above, I'll show you how it's as impactful as the previous White Dwarf incidents.

  In the original lore for Space Marines, they weren't yet what they are today.  They were typically just really tough dudes, often criminals of the worst kind, psychoindoctrinated and filled with combat stims to go smash alien face.  Someone, at some point, thought that they could be so much more and the concept of genetically-engineered super soldiers became the focus.  Publish an article that uses this rationale to change that all-too-human T3 to a tougher, meaner T4 and BAM!  You have the entire foundation stat for the game!

  3rd Edition was released when I went off to college and it changed... everything.  While there were some similarities (like most of the stat-line), the game became more 'generalized' and less granular.  Suffering from this was Terminators.  They went from having a unique armor save that kept them alive against even lascannons to having a bog-standard 2+, which was cancelled out by plasma weapons and even power swords.  Thankfully, it wasn't long before someone realized that the invulnerable Tactical Dreadnought armor was quite vulnerable and I came back from college to a 5+ invulnerable save.  BAM!  That became the standard for invulnerable saves and the primary reason to take the 40-point models back in those days.  Chaos Lords seemed to prefer the Terminator armor for some reason after that...

  Now here we are in 8th edition where everything has again changed (except most of the stat-line).  While the game didn't suffer vanillization like 3rd edition did to it, it did lose some of the charm for certain units.  And that natural gap between hordes and elites?  This edition has made that weakness much more glaring.  And here's what it comes down to-

number of shots

  Hordes have a higher ceiling because they come with some sort of specialty (shooting in the case of Guard and attacks in the case of greenskins) which, with numbers, allows them to overwhelm the elites.  Meanwhile, elite armies don't have enough shots or rounds to get off shots to even match the number of models the hordes can bring!  Sure, the elites usually have good armor saves which allow them to survive.  And hordes don't usually have good armor or toughness, so die quickly.  Except that the horde hits with 40 attacks against a 5-man squad of elites with 3+ saves.  Failing a third of those saves by probability means that the elites have to hope that those 40 hits only turn into 12 wounds and that they roll well.  The elites attack the horde with 10 attacks from whatever size unit into a horde and 6 die.  And?  Six down and dozens more to go...

  This means that the elites simply need a way to match that number of shots to that number of models in the target better.  This rules does that great.  

  But there's more.  For me, it's all about the narrative.  One of the things that used to drive me nuts was that the Space Wolves had True Grit and Counter-charge as special rules.  I play Ultramarines- the best armed, trained, and planned warriors in the galaxy.  Yet only the barbaric and not altogether bright Wolves were able to rock their rifles with one hand and help their battle-buddy when charged.  Yeah, that made sense.  There's none of that in this edition anymore, so no big deal.  It just never made sense to me in the fluff.  

  Today, the fluff shows that the average Imperial Guardsman has had two weeks of training en-route to a battlezone with their lasguns.  An Ork rebuilds his shoota at least twice per battle.  Even the Eldar go back to making pottery in between attempting genocide on somebody.  But a Space Marine never puts his bolter down.  It's gene-coded to him so only he can use it.  It's a club as well as a ranged weapon, and it carries the same honorifics as a legendary warrior.  And they've been using it for somewhere around hundreds of years.  They know how to use that bolter a bit better than the Canoness on her best day or the Tallarn Sergeant after killing Orks for a cycle or three.  

  Just like the Space Marines being tougher because they should be tougher and the Terminators are more survivable because they're supposed to be more survivable than regular armor, the ability of a Space Marine to use that boltgun should be represented in the rules.  For me, this rule is fully justified from the fluff and works.  

  Now let's talk about one unit that I would really like to see make its comeback- the Terminators.  I have always been in love with these guys, now having a fully painted 3k Deathwing army and another 3k in Ultramarine Terminators waiting for the paint.  When I really got into this game at the end of 2nd edition, Terminators were the best of the best and were worth every point and penny.  They lost favor as the editions progressed until today, where they're almost never used.  The reasons are obvious- multi-wound weapons and copious amounts of rending makes these models less survivable than before.  And they never really put out a ton of damage, even with assault cannons gaining an extra shot.  

  But this rule means that those storm-bolter-wielding Terminators can really cause some damage to the enemy hordes.  A 175-point squad could be laying down as many as 20 shots, adding re-rolls with some smart play, and BAM!  Damage output doubled.  And here's the best part- they don't have to teleport to take advantage of this!  Ever wanted a 'distraction-carnifex' unit for Space Marines?  Found it!  

  Overall, I couldn't be happier with this beta rule.  It's inclusive, but only to Space Marines of both varieties and all their vehicles.  It's not game-breaking but it does help to close an obvious gap in the meta.  And it fulfills the narrative 'fluff' aspect that got me and keeps me into this game.  I'm excited to use it...

Let me know what you think below and Happy Gaming!

There's color in the Underworld

  It's been well over a year since Games Workshop released Underworlds: Shadespire.  The wife and I have played many games and I've even gotten buddies from out-of-state to fall for it on a visit.  Unfortunately, the game is so fast that blogging about it isn't really that interesting.  Now battle reports about it, well, that's a different story.  I've tried to get a bit of blogging about the game going here, but it just didn't work.  I think much of that had to do with the fact that the models weren't painted.  

  That all leads to the next hobby resolution for the year- paint up all the Shadespire warbands.  This will eventually lead to painting all the Underworlds: Nightvault warbands as well, but I'll get to that.  One edition at a time, ya know?

  If you haven't picked up the game or tried it out yet, you may be out of luck for this first edition.  The second edition I mentioned above just adds magic to the game, but everything is still good.  Luckily, you'd be able to get the starter warbands if you wanted to start at the beginning.  That old starter kit came with a Stormcast warband, including three beastly models all armed differently, and a Blood Reavers warband of five scantily-clad berzerkers.  I promise that you'll love the game itself, but the models are all of a character-level quality and are a blast to paint.  Although I didn't put the most effort into my models that I probably should have (it is a board game, after all), the painted models make the games look absolutely fantastic!  The wife and I have found ourselves admiring the models on the board more than paying attention to the game a couple of times.  

Steelheart's Champions (Stormcast Eternals)

Garrek's Reavers (Blood Reavers)

  I use Garrek's Reavers most of the time that I play.  I've found that they can really hit hard and do some real damage to the weaker opponents and otherwise speed around and deny objectives to the opponents.  Steelheart's Champions rarely get used, but they are tanks- simply soaking damage while smashing whatever they have to and moving together to support each other.  Other warbands are used more, but I'm working on getting them painted before I show them off here.  

  If you really want to learn some tactics and see decks built for the competitive scene, check out warhammerunderworlds.com, where you can learn all about the background, get painting advice, and see what the latest 'netlists' are for the game.  Like most of the blogosphere on this topic, I can't bray enough about how awesome this game is.  And look at those models!

  Let me know what you think and if you've played Warhammer Underworlds yet.  Happy Gaming! 

Get off my lawn, you dirty heretics!!!

  I'm not actually sure if we've played a game of 40k since the new year began.  My son and I started to wrack our brains and... I think...  yeah!  No game yet this year!  That being said, I finished painting Roboute Guilliman just before the new year and Lord Calgar just after the new year.  But since then, we've been busy and otherwise just working on the painting part of the hobby.

  My wife is diligently trying to get her Sisters of Battle painted up and I even pulled out a bunch of bits and finished two old-school Immolators for the force. Unfortunately, there's still not a lot in her army and we decided to make a 1500 point list and include an Imperial Knight- just for fun, I promise!  Of course there's a Saint Celestine involved and she's working really hard on that one.  Beyond all that, it motivated me and my son to talk about a 'campaign'.

  If I were to play the Ultramarines that I'm known for, then why would I be fighting the Sisters of Battle?  We're on the same side and, in fact, Lord Calgar is kinda the head guy in the current fluff.  And my boy wants to use his new Dark Angels, which could be the source of some conflict between green and blue but just doesn't really make sense (Lord Calgar has decided to 'overlook' the Sons of the Lion's actions on Vigilus while in need of arms).  I have to paint the Ultramarines, and I'm more than happy to 'inspect' Azrael's holdings due to their reticence to take the Primaris gift, but I'm also a narrative guy and three Imperials beating on each other is not a good narrative.

  So I decided, in the interest of good storytelling, to pull out the Chaos marines.  Oh how I've missed these guys!  To boot, I'm including the Renegade Knight (Gallant, of course) and a bunch of fluffy choices like Possessed and Warp Talons!  I figure that the coming of Abaddon is heralded by more than a gaggle of Raptors, including other legions getting involved as quickly as they can.  Always up for a scrum against the boys-in-blue are the Word Bearers and they shall be involved in the attack on Vigilus!  So our little in-house campaign, based on Vigilus, will include Ultramarines, Death Guard, Dark Angels, Word Bearers, and Sisters of Battle.  Toss in some Orks, Eldar, and Astra Militarum and we've got ourselves a ton of actors for our little play!  Did I mention that I'm a narrative guy?

  All of that just to get to a battle report...

  My son and I each chose 1500 points (to match the wife's army later)- his Dark Angels and my Word Bearers.  For simplicity (and because my son is learning a whole new army), we decided that playing a simple "12-and-Kill" scenario was the way to go.  And to keep it even more simple, we went with a really basic battlefield.  This setup even gave me some nostalgia as I couldn't help but be reminded of how battlefields used to look when I first got into the hobby- green and empty!

The battlefield in the blaring morning sunlight

Here's the story:

  While the Dark Angels were doing their typical patrols, they received a coded alarm that one of their Chapter fortresses was being invaded.  They may not have used the base in centuries, but it can't fall into enemy hands, whoever that enemy is.  Grand Master Azrael gathered some forces and immediately made to secure the post.

  Upon arrival, he found that the enemy was a hated Legion from ages past- the Word Bearers.  Assuming their goal was to secure and utilize the bastion, Azrael's force focused on heavy weapons and speed.  He even included a Ravenwing squad to ferret out any hint of the Fallen.  Pulling plasma weapons from every broom closet on his barge, he armed his battle brothers to exterminate the heretics.  

  The Word Bearers had not yet gotten into the locked portals of the ancient battle-fortress, but they brought some vicious forces themselves.  Having allied with a Renegade Knight and some rebels from the planet's population, the Chaos forces felt confident that they'd defeat whatever they had to face.  

His forces- Azrael, Ezekiel, a Company Master with Relic Blade and Lion's Roar, an Ancient with a bolter, 2 Tactical Squads with a chainsword and plasma all around, a combat squad with a power fist and plasma where it could be sitting in a twin-lascannon Razorback, 2 Ravenwing bikers with a couple of plasma guns, a Devastator Squad with all plasma cannons and a Devastator Squad with a couple of missile launchers and a couple of heavy bolters.  Whew!  That's a lot of pew-pew of the plasma variety!

  My forces consisted a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with wings, a hellforged sword, and that elixir that everyone loves, a Sorcerer, a squad of 17 autogun-wielding Cultists, 10 marines with a couple of plasma guns and a power fist, 10 more marines armed for close combat and rocking a couple flamers and a power sword under their Banner of Excess, a unit of Possessed with a Banner of Excess, 5 Warptalons, an Annihilator, and a Knight Gallant with a stormspear rocket pod.  More for the up-close-and-personal approach- the way Slaanesh likes it!

Deployment

  Deployment wasn't complicated- the Dark Angels piled all their big guns around Azrael in the woods, set their mobile unit to assault over the hill, and deployed the Ravenwing on the flank to immediately engage behind forces behind the walls.  The Word Bearers answered by setting up marines in the woods to snipe at the bikers, hid the Knight behind the fortress to avoid all those big guns, set up the Daemon Prince and Annihilator to threaten the center of the board, and mobbed up the Cultists and close combat troops in the ruins to rush the loyalists and pressure them.  The Warp Talons remained in the warp...

  The mission was even simpler- a Kill Point for every unit wiped out plus the current secondary objectives.  I had nine units in my army and he deployed 11.  Since he finished deploying first, he chose to go first.  Would the Chaos gods permit a seize?  Of course not.  The controllers of randomness are as fickle as they are tempting...

Battle Round 1
  The Dark Angels started their attack by rushing the Razorback over the hill to immediately engage the Annihilator.  With combined firepower from the Devastators in trees, enough damage was dealt to destroy the tank.  But the gods blessed the ancient hull it survived on one wound (and some Command Point spending).  Meanwhile, the rest of the firepower-from-the-forest was able to fell a couple of the Possessed in the ruins, mitigating that threat before they could get started.  Finally, the Ravenwing stormed forward and put tons of bolter rounds into the trees to kill a marine and some overcharged plasma into the Renegade Knight.  With some good rolling, the ion shields held and the massive war machine only lost two wounds.
  The response was shocking.  The Renegade Knight stomped toward the bikers while unleashing stormspear rockets into the Razorback to instantly destroy it.  One Dark Angel was killed in the blast and before they could recover, they were mobbed by Cultists and whizzing ammunition and lascannon blasts, felling almost everyone and leaving the Master rather exposed.  The heretic Sorcerer cast some powers on those Cultists, proud to invoke the blessings of the warp.  Three of the Ravenwing were stomped to death and the final marine from the Razorback was dragged down by the Cultists, leaving a mighty character locked up with the Chaos-worshiping rabble.  The Dark Angels were reeling...

Score Round 1: 0-3

Battle Round 2
  The Ravenwing immediately retreated from the Renegade Knight and hid behind the ruins to determine their next step.  The Company Master desperately fought for his life against the Cultists, killing many more with his Relic Blade.  But before his eyes, the survivors slunk away into the fog of the battlefield and disappeared...  Azrael saw his firebase being pressured by a mob of Possessed and chainsword-armed Chaos Marines, so he ordered all of the guns into the daemon-things and wiped out that enemy unit with prejudice.  The Tactical Squad in the middle of the battlefield took advantage of the Ravenwing's retreat and poured plasma into the ion shields until another few wounds broke through the Renegade Knight's shell.  Finally, a well-aimed shot finished off the crippled Annihilator that wouldn't die.  Frantically, the Dark Angels prepared for the response again.
  It started with a Daemon Prince screaming into the face of the Company Master and charging with furious abandon.  The Company Master used his artifact combi-plasma in overwatch and exploded, robbing the Lord of Chaos of a sweet victory.  Azrael watched in horror as the Cultists that had abandoned the now dead Master appeared behind his Devastator line, guns blazing!  When the smoke cleared and more Command Points spent, there were no casualties as the marines' armor proved superior to autoguns.  The Sorcerer tried to take advantage of the confusion and used Warptime to speed up the advancing close-combat marines and threaten Azrael's position from the other side.  As the marines advanced, they immolated a couple of the loyalist Tactical Marines frozen in defense.  The Renegade Knight, without a target now that the bikers had retreated, turned and immediately assaulted the Tactical Squad that had just shot him.  Wisely, he was even able to get into combat with Ezekiel, locking down the Dark Angel's most powerful psyker.  With might feet, he stomped half the squad, used his massive reaver chainsword to destroy the loyalist psyker, and conspicuously dominated the center of the battlefield...

Score Round 2: 2-5

 Battle Round 3
   Grand Master Azrael needed that moment to take stock of the battlefield.  A Renegade Knight was threatening his left flank and Cultists were behind him, while a mob of Chaos Marines backed up by a Daemon Prince and a Sorcerer threatened the position from head on and separated his forces from the fortress they'd come to secure.  Assessing the urgency of the threats and determining the tactics to handle them, he quipped orders through the vox and watched his army mobilize.  The Tactical Marines facing the Knight retreated and allowed the Ravenwing and elements of the firebase to pound the war machine, bringing it down in an anticlimactic crumble.  Other elements of the firebase turned their attention to the sneaky Cultists and shot most of them down, leaving only the Champion standing among the pile of corpses.  The Chaos Marines coming straight at the woods despite seeing their war machine taken down, unfortunately took the brunt of the defensive Tactical Marines before they were charged and nearly cut down by the Dark Angels, including the impatient Azrael himself!  Azrael's orders were turning the tides...
  The Word Bearers, uncaring to the state of the battle, continued the mindless goal of slaughter.  The enraged Daemon Prince finished off the Tactical Marines that had suffered stomps and killed two more of the Ravenwing with his daemon gun, laughing maniacally at the slaughter.  The Sorcerer decided to take matters into his own hands and leapt into combat with the Dark Angel Tactical Marines after smiting one with his powers.  Better yet, reality tore itself apart at that moment as the unit of Warp Talons showed and blinded loyalists all around so they couldn't defend themselves.  Unfortunately, the Daemon Prince's mirth was contagious and the daemon-spawn failed to charge as well.  The squad of Chaos Marines that were hiding in the trees finally mobilized to join the battle.  Still confident, the Word Bearers' efforts were beginning to stall.

Score Round 3: 4-6

Battle Round 4
   Azrael was now feeling very confident.  No longer having a Knight to worry about and seeing the Sorcerer tied up by his marines, he knew that his firebase could handle the last remaining threats.  There were Warp Talons looking to charge the trees and a Daemon Prince still aching for slaughter, so he ordered his guns on them.  The remaining Ravenwing sergeant focused on hurting the Daemon Prince while the Devastators focused on the Warp Talons.  After a torrent of firepower, one Warp Talon remained and the Daemon Prince still laughed...
  The Warp Talon leapt over to help free the Sorcerer just in time to watch the renegade warlord get cut down by the Dark Angel marines.  In revenge, he hacked with his daemon-claws until only one marine stood, ready to finish him off and get at the loyalist warlord to return the act.  The Daemon Prince stared down the Ravenwing sergeant before finally just eviscerating him from the air with his daemon-sword.  The chase was over and the bikers were finally finished.  Emboldened by this destruction, the Cultist Champion tried to charge into the woods and lock up the marines for his allies, only to be shot down just as he started the dash.  The daemon-things weren't concerned as they could only think about getting to Azrael.

Score Round 4: 7-7

 Battle Round 5
   There was not much for Azrael to do.  His forces were now dominating the battlefield and only the Daemon Prince and a Warp Talon remained as any threat.  With well-place firepower, the Warp Talon was exploded from a storm of plasma.  The rest of the Devastators opened up on the advancing Daemon Prince and wounded it so bad that it limped at them.  Azrael, fearing he would have to charge into hand-to-hand with this creature, turned his gun and fired the fatal the shot that ended the monster.
  Their warlord, the Sorcerer, slain and the Daemon Prince now banished from this realm, the remaining squad of Chaos Marines discreetly abandoned the battlefield and mission of taking the Imperial fortress.  It was a decisive victory for the Dark Angels.

Score Round 5: 9-7

  Here's the scoreboard at the end of the match, including Command Points.  A loss for the heretics, for sure.

  Well, that was fun!  It was also nice to have more painted models on the table than normal (no thanks to my own lack of motivation these years).  My son also appreciated the ability to play his army and learn it a little better.  It's funny that he kept forgetting about Azrael's buff in the game- I remember that Death Guard don't have a lot of that!

  As for this campaign that we're going to do- this was the first battle to try to place that first flag on a tile.  Unfortunately, it fails and this means that the tile will keep its Imperial flag.  No worries- there's plenty of other places on this planet to attack and the Chaos forces aren't known for turning away those opportunities.

  And I'm really excited to see my wife's Sisters of Battle hit the battlefield for this story.  She bought and built a new Sanctum terrain piece that I think her new force is going to have to defend from the Word Bearers.  And she has an Imperial Knight (Errant).  This ought to be interesting...

  Let me know about your games below.  As always- Happy Gaming!