Expect More!

After a long disappearing act, I'm back! I guess it's been around four months since I last wrote here, but as I'm the only reader I'm sure that's OK.

So, what have I been doing? Well, besides the banalities of every day life, I placed rather well in the Fantasy TSHFT last month with a 2nd place and Best Overall for division A which is more than I could have hoped for for 7th's last hurrah. After the tourney, though, I didn't do much in terms of wargaming. Sure, I've played a game here and there (mostly getting ROFLstomped at Warmachine), but I think the encroaching 8th edition of WHFB really put a damper on things these last few months. I know that I'm probably overreacting with the doom and gloom (actually, the more I think on 8th, the more I realize it'll be fun), but I just can't help feeling trapped in terms of projects to finish.

You see, I had this idea for an awesome Dark Elf army about a year and a half ago. Problem was that I didn't have the funds to do it right away and my time was siphoned away by the very project this blog is about. Add to this the impending massive change that 8th represented and you're left with a man who had little reason to pursue his idea. Still, I collected a few of the key pieces for the project which I guess I'll now have to repurpose, but that's not all bad. I mean, I really like the new plastic Daemonettes and Stegadons anyway so it's not really a huge deal. After reading the changes that 8th is bringing, I do believe I will put the army on the back burner while I figure out what its latest incarnation will look like (the Cult of Pleasure never truly dies out, after all).

I do, however, have something 40k-related to announce: I have been working on my Space Wolves in the mean time! I know, I know, I'm excited too, but it only makes sense as I'm going for max hobby points at the next 40k TSHFT which takes place in September. To this end, I have rewritten my list to include all the units I've already finished while slightly fine tuning my army to fit me a little better.

13th Company x2.0

Wolf Lord
-Thunderwolf, Thunderhammer, Storm Shield, Saga of the Bear, Wolf Tail Talisman, 2xFenrisian Wolves

Rune Priest
-Terminator Armor

Wolf Scouts
-Meltagun

Wolf Guard
-2xWG w/ Combi-Melta, Power Fist
-1xWG w/ Bike, 2xWolf Claws
-1xWG w/ MotW, Combi-Melta
-1xWG w/ Cyclone Missile Launcher, Terminator Armor

Grey Huntersx8
-MotW, Wolf Standard, Meltagun
-Rhino

Grey Huntersx8
-MotW, Wolf Standard, Meltagun
-Rhino

Grey Huntersx8
-MotW, Wolf Standard, Meltagun
-Rhino

Fenrisian Wolvesx10

Thunderwolf Cavalryx3
-Frost Weapon, Meltabomb

Swiftclaw Bikesx5
-Attack Bike w/ Multi-melta, Meltagun, Power Weapon

Long Fangsx6
-5xMissile Launchers

Long Fangsx6
-5xMissile Launchers

Little different from my previous lists mostly as it brings its damage potential right into the mid range/close combat where the wolves should be anyway. I'll have to play a few games trying it out, but I think that it has potential while also sating my need for unique builds even if the unit equipment is standardized. While I still hate netdecking, I feel that enough of the stuff I have in here is from my own head that it doesn't matter if it's super effective as defined by the masses as the whole is definitely my own.

New army fever

As most of my friends would tell you, I am a collector at heart. I love to covet new kits and armies and definitely have "shiny!" fever. Because of this, I have quite an extensive collection of GW products and a nice sampling of other games (although my Warmachine is definitely becoming less of a sampling and more of five-course meal). In this haze of new armies and new games, I have collected some truly outrageous amounts of things that have really peaked my interest. Generally, these collections are based upon available funds at the time, interest in the project, and luck of the draw deals that I've stumbled upon. Among these are armies such as my Elysian Fields/Hades Daemonhunters army that numbered at 40 or so Grey Knights in Power Armor, 10 in terminator, a bevvy of vehicles, and somewhere around 100 Guardsmen. This army was my pride and joy for a good while just because I fell in love with the stories I wrote for it along with the models themselves, but even it pales in comparison to my true love child: Blood Angels.

As I've probably stated before, I started my wargaming lifestyle with the Blood Angels back when their book was released for 3rd edition (around when I was 10 or so). I fell in love with the red armor, the forlorn history, and the tragic heroism that they embodied. To top things off, I've always been a speed nut in my play style so the Blood Angels were just one of those serendipitous choices that we sometimes find in life.

Now I find that my attention is waning towards my Space Wolves and an old itch is suddenly burning within me again: the need for red robots. I feel terrible about it, but I just can't help myself. It's like when you know that the girl staring at you from across the bar is going to be nothing but trouble and yet you go and chat her up anyway. The heart wants what the heart wants. With this said, I'm not going to be stupid enough to announce any plans towards making or not making a Blood Angels army, but I can definitely say that the Wolves are officially dead for me. They were an incredibly fun army to learn the game again with, but I find that they are not meshing well with my style. I plan to redirect myself down the original path I had for the Space Wolves army when I created it which was getting it ready to sell. What shall be finished before I do is listed below:

Njal Stormcaller (partially done)
Thunderwolf Wolfen Character (converted)

5xWolf Scouts w/ MotW and Meltagun (almost complete)
Thunderwolf Iron Priest w/ Cyberwolves (partially done)
3xWolf Guard w/ Power Fist + Combi-melta (almost complete)
2xWolf Guard w/ Terminator armor and special weapons (one done, one started)

30xGrey Hunters w/ a mix of Power Fists, Meltaguns, MotW, and Standards (in varying stages, but all at least partially completed)
2x Rhino/Razorback conversion kits (one completed, one almost complete)

7xBikers w/ Attack Bike, Wolf Guard w/ Wolf Clawsx2, Meltagun, and Power Weapon (complete)

Dakka Pred (partially done)
6xLong Fangs w/ Missile Launchers (complete)

As you can see, there's still a good bit to do, but I'm hoping to finish it all this Spring and get a decent price for the lot (something in the ballpark of double MSRP would be just right). Now, back to the paint mines! *whip crack*

Not Dead Yet!

So, TSHFT has passed and I'm left with a 40k army that I never truly intended to keep possession of. After all, I was always the Blood Angel fan of the group so why would I be siding with these wolves who are more about objective camping and counters? Well, people change and so have I.

Coming into this crazy plan to go to the 40k TSHFT, I was not expecting to truly stick around for long. I mean, I pretty much just thought it would be a fun change of pace and give me a bit more practice at some more neglected painting skills of mine (armor, rounded surfaces, etc). Over time, though, this has become more of a renaissance for me as I learn that I enjoy 40k more and more. Sure, it doesn't have quite the same level of thinking that Fantasy or Warmachine have, but 5th edition did change my biggest problem with the game which was that the movement was too simplistic.

In a game that was all about VPs, why was everything based around 6's? Everyone had reactive 6-12" movement with only a few armies capable of useful 24" movement while everyone else just compensated with stupidly long ranges like 120" (seriously, IG?). Now, things are different. Rules like Outflank, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, and cheaper mech portions in armies really make it so armies have interesting movement besides the simple 2d affairs that existed before. Sure, a lot of those rules existed before, but 5th really brings them into their own by having the developers actually write around these core concepts of objective-based movement. After all, what makes or breaks a game should not always be about raw power. Sometimes, you just need to be in the right place at the right time.

Anyway, with that ramble done, I'd like to say that I'm sticking with the wolves...at least for now. I really enjoyed the modeling and simple-yet-decent paint scheme that I've come up with for the army and playing it is turning out to be an excellent reintroduction to the 41st millennium. Sure, now that I've been blooded with the army I want to change some things, but that's normal. Nothing can truly replace real play time and tournaments are an excellent place to learn about what works for YOU. With that said, I'm currently in the process of retooling my list to work for me.

In most places, this retooling means that a lot of my units have had quite drastic battlefield role changes (such as the majority of my Grey Hunter squads), but I've also taken the time to look at some of the models that I just don't have the heart to drop (such as the Rune Priest in termie armor). This has changed my force from one that has a strong firebase coupled with mobile swiss knife squads to one that ups my firebase even more while using more specialized squads to do my fighting instead of the troops.

This shift goes against what I see to be one of the central strengths of Space Wolves or at least partially does. See, one of the main strengths of playing the pups is that you gain access to one of the most versatile and deadly troop squads in the game: the Grey Hunters. Early in my play testing with them, these boys ripped up the field. Even with only statistically average rolls, they just destroyed armies on their own, but that's just it: you cannot, and should not, rely on average rolling to carry you through a game. With the Grey Hunters being used as my main combat units, I was relying on them not to roll poorly and get stuck places they shouldn't get stuck in which was a rather large weakness in my list. Granted, I'm not the end all of 40k tacticians, but I do fancy myself a rather shrewd individual who knows the difference between a positive gamble and suicide (meaning that I can tell when odds are in my favor). This may work for some who believe in their dice or maybe are just luckier in their roll placement than me, but I've decided that it's too frustrating and demoralizing to watch my boys go and lose combat after combat (or miss time and time again with their meltas) that they should easily win only to end up swarmed or negated by units that should easily be defeated.

No, instead I've adopted a new model which I think utilizes the strengths found in the wolves' mech options coupled with their cav (and, of course, Long Fangs). This new list, without giving too much away, gels with my play style a lot smoother as I get to preserve the units that will cause me the most consternation if destroyed through poor statistical placement while I simultaneously gain the rush allowed from units built for destruction found in the SW cav options. The only thing that bothers me is that I lose some of the flavor of the 13th Company by mech'ing up, but I do gain the modeling options allowed by more cav (aka, big wolfen).

For your pleasure, and as a thank you for reading this far, I give you my under construction 2k SW list:

HQ:

Rune Priest
-Terminator Armor

Elites:

Iron Priest
-Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Tooth Necklace
-4xCyber Wolves

Iron Priest
-Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Tooth Necklace
-4xCyber Wolves

Wolf Guard
-Mark of the Wolfen w/ Combi-melta
-3x Terminators w/ 1xChain Fist
-Terminator w/ Cyclone Missile Launcher

Troops:

Grey Huntersx5
-Mark of the Wolfen w/ Flamer
-Razorback w/ Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun

Grey Huntersx5
-Mark of the Wolfen w/ Flamer
-Razorback w/ Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun

Grey Huntersx5
-Meltagun
-Razorback w/ TL Lascannon

Grey Huntersx8
-Mark of the Wolfen w/ Meltagun, Wolf Standard
-Rhino

Fast Attack:

Thunderwolf Cavalryx3
-Frost Blade, Bolter

Thunderwolf Cavalryx3
-Frost Blade, Bolter

Heavy Support:

Long Fangsx6
-5xMissile Launcher

Predator
-Autocannon, Sponsoned Heavy Bolters

Whirlwind

Total: 2000 pts

I'm currently playing around with the Whirlwind, but only because I've literally never used one. I might swap it out for some kit on the remaining squads and maybe another Rhino just for foolin', but who knows for now. It's been a very entertaining list to just shove the cav down non-aggressive forces throats while setting up counter charges against others. As always, if you have any comments, fel free to drop them.

TSHFT Batreps: Day One

In an effort to subvert Fluger's legendary tales, I shall place my own Saga of the Team Awesome's Wolf down for your judgment.

So, my TSHFT story starts way back in December with a certain buddy of mine who posted his German WWII themed IG army up on these boards. He was met with some rather hilarious debate involving Godwin's Law, but through this he decided to bring the army down to TSHFT for people to judge it in person. Well, with me being the little fire starter that I am, I decided that I would assemble my own team to go down to TSHFT mostly for the reason of giving him a hard time about a very beautiful army that is hardly worth the controversy. With this in mind, I gathered all the remnants of old 40k marines I hadn't placed paint on from my parent's storage in N. Carolina and coerced some buddies into playing 40k with me (one of which purchased a full Death Korps army so he could come).

This pretty continued how one would expect (have interest, lost interest, repeat) for a few months until it was suddenly March and I had to get my butt in gear. In the last week and a half before the tournament, I put three colors on: One Razorback, one Rhino, one Predator, 13 Grey Hunters, one Iron Priest on Thunderwolf plus his four Cyberwolves, Njal Stormcaller, a Drop Pod, and six scouts. This was in addition to the five bikes plus attack bike, six Long Fangs plus termie CML WG, ten Grey Hunters, and display board that I finished that week (not to mention the Lone Wolf and cubs plus extra Grey Hunters I rotated out of the list at the last second). The paint didn't turn out too horrible and it did what I wanted it to do which was to give me a bit more practice working with rounded surfaces, extreme highlighting, and armored individuals after all this time spent on Fantasy.

My list was as follows:

Njal Stormcaller in Terminator Armor

6xWolf Scouts
-Meltagun
-WG w/ Combi-melta+Power Fist

Iron Priest
-Thunderwolf, Wolftooth Necklace
-4xCyberwolves

8xGrey Hunters
-Meltagun, Wolf Standard, Power Fist, MotW
-WG with Combi-melta plus Power Fist
-Drop Pod

10xGrey Hunters
-Meltagun, Wolf Standard, Power Fist, MotW
-WG with Combi-melta plus Power Fist
-Rhino

5xGrey Hunters
-Meltagun
-Razorback w/ TL Lascannon

6xSwiftclaw Bikers
-Meltagun, Power Weapon
-Attack Bike w/ Mutli-melta
-WG w/ 2xWolf Claws plus Meltabombs

6xLong Fangs
-5xMissile Launchers

Predator
-Sponsoned Heavy Bolters

Predator
-Sponsoned Heavy Bolters

There was quite a bit of fat in my list that I had because I wanted to use the models (the bike squads and the Scouts being chief among them). Were I to go again, I'd probably change things up considerably, but I was happy with what I brought in the end as it was very dissimilar from the other wolves I saw there.

Game One: Kenny and his Lashaddon

I have all of my opponent's exact lists in my car, but I'm lazy and typing this instead of doing school work so just take it all with a grain of salt (just ONE!).

Lash Sorceror
Abaddon
8xPlague Marines in Rhino
8xPlague Marines in Rhino
9xThousand Sons in Rhino
3xOblits
Possessed Vindi

Kenny had a very, very nicely painted army with an absolutely gorgeous Abaddon conversion. I won choice to set up and took first turn. Setting up in a castle on my right hand quarter, I was hoping to better utilize the ruin and hill that was over there. The only unit I had break from the castle was the bike unit who decided to set up by his edge in case he brought in his reserves from there. Surprisingly, Kenny decided to not reserve anything but Abaddon and the Oblits. The game went how you'd expect with me popping the Rhinos early with my 48" fire while Kenny tried to slog it over to me. Coupling that with some bad rolls on his part, it was just a slaughter with the Space Wolves losing nary a dude which was terrible considering it was Kill Points. Late in the game, Abaddon got close to Njal and, feeling the need for at least one combat this game, I attempted to charge the little clone. With a double two for my difficult terrain test, I dutifully failed at this attempt which was followed by a prompt '1' on the game ending roll. Pity, really

I ended up getting two points for the secondary (have more Fast Attack than your enemy) and both the tertiaries (which were about having more kill points and having the unit with the most kill points)

Result: 18 points to me

Game Two: Gerry and his Blood Angels

Gerry's list I could tell was going to be trouble, but us wolves never back down from a fight!

Lemartes
10xDeath Company
5xTactical Squad w/ Meltagun and TL Lascannon Razorback
5xTactical Squad w/ Meltagun and TL Lascannon Razorback
5xTactical Squad w/ Meltagun and TL Lascannon Razorback
5xTactical Squad w/ Meltagun and TL Lascannon Razorback
3xAttack Bikes w/ Multi-meltas
3xAttack Bikes w/ Multi-meltas
Baal Predator
Baal Predator
Baal Predator

Just a brutal list played by a very competent general.

The mission was to set up three objectives in your opponent's quarter (setup being Spearhead) which you had to get to with tertiaries for contesting all of your opponent's objectives and getting the fewest kill points. I won the roll and decided to go first.

Now, before I get into the battle, let me say that I fully realized my mistake in choosing to go first, but decided that I would make the most of it in and hope that Gerry just failed his reserve rolls which would give me plenty of time to blast away at a list that just contained no fat at all.

I started by full deploying except for Njal's pod, the scouts, and my Rhino full of dudes while Gerry deployed nothing. Njal dropped onto two objectives and set up a perimeter of cover just in case I would need it while the rest of my army set up for cover saves around the hill in the center and the forest on my left. Now, I did do one thing that seemed to confuse everyone there which was slap my bikes on the table edge opposite my own quarter. Gerry asked me why I did this after the game and the answer was simple: the Death Company. What I mean is that I had set up a you-cannot-enter zone opposite my Gerry's objectives that was flanked by difficult terrain. If Gerry decided to ignore my bikes with his DC and instead just attempt to shoo me with the rest of his force, I would destroy what he placed over there piece by piece (hopefully, at least). Gerry being no fool decided to counter my bikes with the Death Company and Lemartes which, while affective, had the side effect of leaving the Death Company no where near my own objectives and right on his table edge where I could shot at them freely as time went on. Towards the end of the game, we had had quite the brutal match with the DC mulching through my units while my shooting downed Razor after Razor. This all culminated in a late turn turbo boost by Gerry onto my objectives with his bikes and destroying my last Dakka Pred that valiantly tried to contest Gerry's objectives and the game ending turn five.

I don't think I would've won had the game continued, but it was a great game nonetheless. Gerry is a quality general that really helped me with my understanding of 40k in 5th.

Result: 7 points to me

Game Three: I can't remember his name, but will change it later when I have my sheets and his IG

Ah yes, it was about time for some IG fighting! This list was very vet spammy and I shall correct any mistakes I make later.

Command Platoon in Chimera
Inq Lord with three Mystics
10xVets w/ three Plasma Guns in Chimera w/ hull mounted Heavy Bolter
10xVets w/ three Plasma Guns in Chimera w/ hull mounted Heavy Bolter
10xVets w/ three Meltaguns in Chimera w/ hull mounted Heavy Flamer
10xVets w/ three Meltaguns in Chimera w/ hull mounted Heavy Flamer
8xRough Riders w/ the Khan
Manticore
Leman Russ Demolisher
Basilisk

This list was not messing around so neither could I. The mission was Echelon deployment with four objectives (one in each deployment zone and one each in no man's land) with secondary giving points for killing choices from each part of the FOG (notice my opponent has no elites, though) and a tertiary giving points for owning all of the no man's land and/or deployment zone objectives. I lost the roll to go first and was given second so I chose to deploy nothing while he castled up in the right hand corner. Turn one, I slapped Njal down right next to his castle for an alpha strike. As I had made his army -1 BS that turn, the mystic-guided demolisher cannon did nothing but scare off some rabbits. Njal's squad, on the other hand, was more effective as they blew up the commander's Chimera and scared off the squad inside. On the following turn, he unloaded into Njal not hitting with too much, but I balanced this out by failing every last save I rolled which left just Njal to fight off the castle.

Njal charged and (barely) killed the Inquisitor who had attempted to back off the hill away from him. Now, if I rolled over a two, I could get off the hill and inbetween his Basilisk and Manticore who would be trapped by both the hill and Njal so they could not give the rest of the army the chance to fire at my little mystical man. Of course, Njal rolled a one and decided that death by every damn gun on the planet sounded nice which the IG were only happy to provide. The rest of the game went on with me failing to hurt any of the tanks while all of my reserves sans the Razorback and the Long Fangs stayed off the board until turn five. Some of the funnier moments were my scouts again deciding to come in where THEY wanted and not where I wanted them only to attempt a charge through difficult terrain and have the dice again fail me. But the funny part with the scouts is that they all died except for the meltagun which started falling back towards my lines always with a tank within 6" of him which he would then blow up, fall back and blow up another tank. Amusing to say the least.

My opponent was also cursed by bad luck through out the game with his pie plates veering off to no where or, on the turn they finally hit, failing to kill either of my scoring units remaining and thus giving me the tie. An amusing battle caused by dice rolls that would've done nothing but sour my day were this the Fantasy TSHFT.

Result: 13 points to me with the draw

Thus ended day one with me thinking I couldn't roll any worse than the game I had just had. Day two would go on to prove me wrong, but that's a post for later.

Tournament Ovah!

So, TSHFT is over and, even with some bad rolling on my part, I don't feel any of the frustration I have felt in the past at the end of the Fantasy tournaments. Really, this is probably because the bad dice simply don’t matter as much in 40k if you keep your eye on the prize. I had some great games against some fun generals and especially enjoyed my game against ASUgrad’s Dark Eldar from the Ordo forums. Just good clean fun and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s a little tired of the taking it in the pooper at the Fantasy TSHFT due to dice.

As for the army in terms of completion, I actually got pretty far. Really, only 13 Grey Hunters and the Iron Priest + Njal are left for the troops. The vehicles will obviously need work, but it’s actually kind of fun to be working on something that size and with the unique compositions that constructs bring. I’m still looking into selling off the wolves after completion as I don’t feel they’re the army for me, but I had great fun playing around with them in the interim.

Now, the nitty gritty of my stats:

I went 2-1-2 with a total of 64 battle points (out of 100) and a surprising 37 paint points (out of 50). Really, the battle score didn’t surprise me too much as I hadn’t played the list I brought at all and wasn’t familiar with the edition itself, but the paint points really gave me a decent score. Most of this I’m sure was due to the amount of conversion and basing that went into the army along with sticking with the simple-yet-effective paint scheme on what did get finished. I’m glad I stayed up a little late on Friday to get the three base colors and washes on the tanks as it really helped the appearance that I thought I owed my opponents.

Unfortunately, it is time for sleep and a final picture that was taken of my army at the tourney with the display board I made.

Agh!

With only a few days left, I've been painting like a mad man. Well, not exactly, but I have been painting!

Since last you saw, I've received my air brushed transports from a nice buddy of mine along with finished the bikers, the last members of Njal's squad (wolfen and standard), and the Long Fangs. On top of this, I've three colored all of the non-tank models in the army and have plans to finish the tri-color rule on the armor along with finishing painting the scouts. Now, some of you (by you I mean me when I read this later) might think it a little counter productive to finish all the special guys in the army before I finish all the troops. Yes, you're correct in the assumption that it is foolish to leave no reward for yourself when painting an army, but really I had no other choice. I highly doubt I could keep myself interested in painting Grey Hunter upon Grey Hunter this week while keeping up with my finals and personal life. Plus, there's the fact that I have a tournament this weekend. Why does that matter, you ask? Well, because people get bored of looking at basic guys very, very quickly and want some eye candy to look at. This means that, to get the best "feel" (which is where a majority of the always-subjective paint score comes from) for your army to your opponent, you need everything done to a basic standard, a good chunk of the basics done to a high standard, and hopefully all of your toys done to that same high standard. Joe Space Marine is probably going to be lost in the crowd (even if the crowd is only his 27 Grey Hunter friends), but nobody is going to miss that you didn't fully paint the Wolf Guard and his converted scout buddies.

Do yourself a favor when time is running out: paint up the eye candy. It'll keep your sanity and up your score.

Bakon is awful

So, with just a little time left, here's an update video:

Insomnia, give my sight beyond sight!

Another 5am has come and gone and I'm still awake. Tonight, I finished up the putty work on my "Njal" (or at least the work I'll be doing right now). I'm not sure I really like the finished result as I think it'd tie into the theme a bit better if I had him wolfing out a little, but the original GW 13th Company release had the Rune Priests as the ones who find their resistance to Chaos not in the curse, but in their intense psychic training. Plus, I don't have time to be futsing about with all this noise.

Speaking of futsing about, I have done a bit of it. While trying out different ideas for a Njal model, I went ahead and made another wolfen model out of some Confrontation models a buddy of mine donated to me. I spiced it up with a few parts from old and worn Warmachine models, but it's mostly what it started as: a beautiful werewolf sculpt. Now, this didn't work for Njal (ended up too big plus I already had the Iron Priest pretty much the same way), but it did help me start a new unit for the ol' SWs: Thunderwolf Calvary. I've already started work on a second (they're pretty easy given the little work I'm doing on them) and have enough parts for five total with maybe a character if I can scrounge up the parts from friends. This isn't to say that I'm big into TWC, but it does give me the option.

With this new early morning madness complete, I took stock of what I have in terms of useable models. Besides what I have in the list seen in my previous post (minus one pred), I have access to: 5 TWC (soon), one Lone Wolf w/ cubs, LRC, 10 more marines (two with flamers), one more biker, and a bevvy of Fenrisian Wolves. Not bad for an army that has run me $35 or so in investment so far. Now, if only any of it was painted....

Another list change!

A buddy of mine and I went up to Fire and Sword last Friday for some games. Now, we only got in one between the two of us (not that unexpected given the TSHFT time frame), but it did open my eyes to a few things. One was that poor dice rolls can really, really fuck up my army. Now, I can already hear you saying, "poor dice rolls fuck up ANY army!" Well, yes, that is true, but let's look at this for a minute.

Now, in my current list, I have three very offensively geared units of Grey Hunters. These boys, without Wolf Guard or transports, weigh in at around 200 pts a squad. This is because I gave them all the best of the best in terms of equipment. They all have a meltagun, a standard, a MotW guy, and a power fist. It's obvious to tell that I'm of the opinion that squads in 40k need the ability to perform at the role I choose for them regardless of the enemy. What I mean is that these units are obviously meant for close combat and are able to take out ANY unit in that forum through their diverse weaponry. Bogged by a Wraithlord? I have two hidden power fists with counter attack and reroll ones once in a game. Squad I want to assault inside a hard shell like a Land Raider? Prepare for meltagun.

This ability to take on all comers in my chosen arena (close combat) is very nice when the dice behave themselves, but it also heavily weighs me down when they don't. What I mean by this is that these units can take out anything...on paper. Theory and statistics do not tell you what will happen in a real game because they're both based off of a graph that is infinitely long and has way more data gathered than I can possibly give in a single weekend of gaming. For me, this hadn't really been that impactful until I went and played a game at FnS. In this game, I played a very aggressive front believing that my superior armory would see me through. This was not to be as I rolled quite the gaggle of one's and two's. After the game, I didn't feel at all frusterated (mostly because my opponent still managed to give me a quite enjoyable experience), but I did start thinking about ways to tinker my list. Did I really need all of my toys in all of my units? What could I get if I took down some of the squads and swapped to a more defensive strategy? The answer is quite a lot, I've found out, but that's for later.

What I want you all to take away from this post is, what would you include in your list to combat bad dice rolling? Do you think your army could still play while rolling below average? Food for thought.


PS: This is how I changed around the list:

HQ:

Njal Stormcaller in termie armor

Elites:

Wolf Scoutsx6
-Wolf Guard w/Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun

Iron Priest:
-Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Tooth Necklace
-4xCyberwolves

Troops:

Grey Huntersx8
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, MotW, Power Fist, Standard
-Drop Pod

Grey Huntersx10
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, MotW, Power Fist, Standard
-Rhino

Grey Huntersx5
-Meltagun
-Razorback w/ TL Lascannons

Fast Attack:

Swiftclaw Bike Squadx6
-Wolf Guard w/ Bike, 2xWolf Claws, and Melta bombs
-Meltagun, Power Weapon
-Attack Bike w/ Multi-melta

Heavy Support:

Long Fangsx7
-Wolf Guard w/ Terminator Armor and Cyclone Missile Launcher
-5xMissile Launcher

Predator
-Side sponsoned Heavy Bolters

Predator
-Side sponsoned Heavy Bolters

Total: 1850

The changes are that one of my 10 man Grey Hunters became a bare bones five man in a TL Lascannon Razorback while their Wolf Guard joined the scouts to give them a bit more tank busting and be able to keep my WG in the Long Fangs as-is. I also shaved off a biker to allow me points that I put towards another Dakka pred. This should give me a stronger fire base which I think my particular SW list would benefit from having. Finally, I gave the WG in the bikers melta bombs to help them bust tanks a little better should they need to (I also had five points that didn't make sense anywhere else).

As always, C&C are welcome.

Time is fickle bitch....

So, with only a few weeks until TSHFT, it's looking unlikely that I'll be able to finish my army in time. Now, I am going to give it the ol' college try, but that might be the problem right there: college. I've been a student for way too long and am looking to finally finish up my studies and get on with my life. Problem with that is that I've had a bitch of a quarter so far and things aren't looking to get any easier. This has put a huge strain on my time and resources to the point where I just don't have enough me to spread around. As many others have done before me, I've decided that hobbies will have to take one for the team this time around as I get the rest of my life all sorted.

Who would've guessed that school and life would get in the way of starting and finishing a new army for a game I haven't played in years? Everyone? Well, what if I told you I gave myself three whole months. Worse, you say? Bah.

In non rant related news, I think I've finalized the list I'll be taking to TSHFT. The changes are minor and were made mainly as I've found the Lone Wolf to be a difficult piece to place in a lot of my games while a Dakka pred is pretty self explanatory.

Space Wolves:

HQ:

Njal Stormcaller in termie armor

Elites:

Wolf Scoutsx5
-Meltagun

Iron Priest:
-Thunderwolf Mount, Wolf Tooth Necklace
-4xCyberwolves

Troops:

Grey Huntersx8
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, MotW, Power Fist, Standard
-Drop Pod

Grey Huntersx10
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, MotW, Power Fist, Standard
-Rhino

Grey Huntersx10
-Wolf Guard w/Bolter Power Fist
-Meltagun, MotW, Power Fist, Standard
-Rhino

Fast Attack:

Swiftclaw Bike Squadx7
-Wolf Guard w/ Bike, 2xWolf Claws
-Meltagun, Power Weapon
-Attack Bike w/ Multi-melta

Heavy Support:

Long Fangsx7
-Wolf Guard w/ Terminator Armor and Cyclone Missile Launcher
-5xMissile Launcher

Predator
-Side sponsoned Heavy Bolters

Total: 1850

And there you have it. CC are welcome.

Batreps

So, here are a few Batreps from just fucking around at my LGS. In video two against the Orks, I forgot to record turn three I believe. You'll just have to live without!

In other news, the tournament draws ever closer and my paint nights are looking fewer and fewer as midterms and my mother's constant business visits leaving me without a night to paint through! Well, I guess I'll just have to start using more of my down time painting alone at home in hopes of getting a usable force up and running.

Here are the vids:

Time Management

So, it's 6am on V-day and, while I told my girlfriend I'd get a good night's sleep last night for our plans today, I instead painted one of my SW squads. This seems to be a problem that I commonly have where the pleasures of the now dominate my time expenditures. My friends say I need a PA, but I think that maybe one of those shock collars they use on dogs would be better.

Anyway, the unit turned out to a decent table top which is fine by me. When I get more time I might come back and just play with them a little to tighten things up. Seems like that will be a common sentiment through out my entire SW army as I finish it up. Still, it feels good to be painting my own models again and producing work that I don't mind showing.

Where's Jean?

I promise to post more pictures in the future, but for now you'll have to deal with video as it's easier to post up. Changed my scheme to the Scott scheme and thoroughly enjoy it.

Where

FINISH IT!

So, I started painting the Legion tonight, but all did not go well. I do not like how the test model is turning out and might drastically alter the scheme before I'm through. I had forgotten how much I hate highlighting shoulder pads in an expedient manner.

Paint Night

So, out of my little group of gaming buddies, I am the only one who essentially lives alone and I'm also one of the frequent tournament players. What this means is that my place has become the place we go for quiet, but frantic painting before tournaments. Now, these paint nights have actually been rather fun when I've hosted them in the past so I decided with the new year that I'd make it a regular thing. Join us as I video tape some of these nights.

Note: In the future, I'll try to actually tape some of the "action" aka, when I actually show people how to paint instead of talking about Street Sharks. Today, unfortunately, you only get to listen to Street Sharks.

Footage of the army making

Here you go, footage of the actual army. Hope you like it!

The List

Since my last post covered my thoughts on a part of the list I'm currently building, I thought it might be pertinent to actually post said list. Feel free to post comments/criticism if you wish.

HQ:

Njal Stormcaller in Terminator Armor: 270

Elites:

Wolf Scoutsx5: 85
-Meltagun

Lone Wolf: 55
-Mark of the Wolfen
-2xFenrisian Wolves

Iron Priest: 165
-Thunderwolf Mount
-Wolf Tooth Necklace
-4xCyberwolves

Troops:

Grey Huntersx8: 238
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, Power Fist, Wolf Standard, Mark of the Wolfen
-Drop Pod

Grey Huntersx10: 273
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, Power Fist, Wolf Standard, Mark of the Wolfen
-Rhino w/ Dozer Blades

Grey Huntersx10: 273
-Wolf Guard w/ Combi-melta and Power Fist
-Meltagun, Power Fist, Wolf Standard, Mark of the Wolfen
-Rhino w/ Dozer Blades

Fast Attack:

Swiftclaw Bikersx7: 283
-Wolf Guard w/ Bike and 2xWolf Claws
-Power Fist, Meltagun
-Attack Bike w/ Multi-melta

Heavy Support:

Long Fangsx7: 203
-Wolf Guard w/ Terminator Armor and Cyclone Missile Launcher
-5xMissile Launcher

1840

Note: While looking at my list on my AB roster, I see that I included one more guy than I've been fielding in my Drop Pod squad (as Star Puppies' pods only hold 10 and Njal joins them). I swapped out 10 points to give my Swiftclaws a Power Fist, but can't think of a place for the last five points except for maybe a meltabomb somewhere. If I take off the Dozer Blades from the Rhinos and the Swiftclaw's Power Fist, I'm left with 25 pts which is enough for another biker. Decisions, Decisions.

The Codex Astartes calls this maneuver "Steel Rain"

Now that the introductions are out of the way, I can begin telling you about the wonderful world of creating a Space Wolves army in 5th ED. Alternatively, I could call this how I've learned that 5th ED is absolutely nothing like 3rd ED.

When I started playing, Rhino rushing was the order of the day. By chance, I bought Blood Angels as my first WH40k book (red robots looked cooler than blue ones) so I'm no stranger to the power that was metal boxes in 3rd. Now, this isn't going to turn into me wondering where the days of slamming a whole bunch of sardine cans filled with rape down my opponent's throat went. No, I played a little in 4th (in fact, I placed 4th in the last official Seattle GT with my Daemonhunters) and have fully realized the depths that Rhinos sunk to in that edition. Instead, let's talk about the magic of transports in 5th ED.

Cruising the internets for advice on how to run my Star Puppies, I've come across quite a few people telling me that I need to emphasize foot slogging or GTFO. These people, mainly followers of a fellow named Stelek I hear, postulate that "mech'ing" up with Space Wolves is a mistake because Space Marines do it better. Personally, I find this to be hog wash. After all, Wave Serpents and Devilfish make Rhinos/Drop Pods/Razorbacks look like steaming piles of mistake by comparison, but that doesn't stop the boys in blue from riding in them. Hell, even IG can get more from their Chimeras than the smurfs can on paper. Why does one army's boon make it another's bane?

Granted, I do think Stelek is correct in his assertion that Space Wolves should not try to OUT mech regular Space Marines. They simply have access to more (and better) transports than we do. That is fact, but it doesn't mean that I still don't want a few metal boxes screaming down the field to disgorge my hot load of grey death down some xenos throat.

Thoughts?

Preamble

So, here I am again trying to start a blog to help me both keep track of my Space Wolves army and simply to practice my writing on a more regular schedule.

To begin, my name is Kremmet and I am a student at the University of Washington (some might say a permanent student...). My first proper exposure to wargaming was back in 1995 with some historical WWII game that I no longer remember the name of, but it wasn't until '96 that I was introduced to WH40k. This was love at first sight as there was history, there were terrible xenos scum, and most of all there was the Imperial Guard.

Wait, IG? Yes, when I first started playing, I was in love with the IG models. I believe the Catachans had just come out or maybe they were just hot on the trail of when I started, but I loved those steroid using bastards. This was, however, a forelorn hope as my gaing group at the time consisted of my two friends who not only got me into the hobby, but played IG exclusively. This left me looking for a new force and, like many new players, lead me straight to the genetically enhanced super soldiers in the game. That's right, it lead me to the Space Marines.

Now, 14 years later, I have had my falling outs and reinvigorations with the game that started me on this collosal debt accrued through buying glorious amounts of plastic and pewter, but I'm back. Will I stay back? Who knows, but I can tell you that I have a Space Wolves army in the mix and that's the whole point of this blog here.