www.games-workshop.com/gws/wnt/blog.jsp?pid=9400024-gws |
1500pt battle report – nids vs Necrons
It’s been a good while since Ben and I threw down and even longer since I faced the might of his Necrons. What followed was a truly Epic battle. I’ve learned a lot since the last time and forgotten a lot too. It was a finely balanced game, that teetered backwards and forwards never quite tipping against me as in the past, but lets get down to it.
Psychic Shriek |
The low down:
- The Relic
- vanguard Strike
- Ben won deployment, but elected for me to go first and then went on to win the Initiative on a 6 even though Imotekh wins it on 4+ [which I forgot]
- Warlord Trait – Night Attacker, so if I elect not to use night fighting it does say ‘for the game’ so it shouldn’t come in on turn 5 right? Equally how does that fit with Imotekh and his rule that Night Fighting is in play turn 1? Should we roll off to see who gets the drop on the night?
I set up completely oblivious to Imotekh’s steal the initiative on a 4 rule, my bad really. I should have used the Bastion for it’s intended purpose – LoS blocking, but no I wanted to capture the Relic first turn with a spawning Gaunt rush.
And then another round of Tesla [I think the last of Ben’s shooting] manages to put 5 wounds on her and this is my saving throw!
The Stalker goes for seconds of Mycetic Spore Pod but I manage to get a single overwatch hit!
I had some poor rolls later in the game but early on I was doing my usual 5s and 6s like a fiend, I don’t know if the alternative list or a different mission would have garnered different result. I was happy to play on so late given how close it was but here’s a thing do I get 2 Slay the Warlord points for killing Imotekh twice? If so, does that mean we drew 3:3 😉
To done! [ish] – Dark Vengeance Chaos Cultists
Dark Vengeance Chaos Cultists – nearly done
More trouble at t’ Tyranid rumour mill
The Tyranid rumour mill is in full flow with the imminent arrival of the new Codex, haven’t we been here before? Yes indeed, when we thought it would be ‘Nidvember’. You may recall I was swept up with the fever but it felt more like the flu in the end. I have to say time has not changed my symptoms. Initial rumours were positive – Termagants for 4pts [cool], Devourers for 4pts [cool] so my 10 man squad is going to save me 20pts, just think of the possibilities! Scratch that I can make the Devourers poisoned for 2pts, I’ll take it and suddenly I’m hitting 15 and wounding 10 or 11 Marines with 3 or 4 marines dead, lets hope they’re combat squaded! I suppose it’s better than 2 or 3 without poison and I can still have a pop at Monstrous Creatures.
Spinefists seem to be pointless, still! But alongside the redundant Strangleweb, still at 10pts there seems to be a new template in town that looks worth taking, although its15pts!. Anyway, Hormies become Beasts, which might make them worth taking again and a Tyranid Prime can finally join a unit of Warriors in a Spore Pod if they’re his ‘retinue’!
But yet what’s this we also have a rumour that suggests ‘things without models, not in Codex’ – theres no models for the Spore Pod, does that mean there will be no new model for this.
??? |
But there were ‘Nidvember’ rumours it was a dual model, also more recent rumours [this week] it would be a ‘dataslate’ as a full deep strike list so how does that fit with the Prime and his retinue in a pod? And yet the Harpy rumour still persists and there is no model currently for that in our Codex.
??? |
Even more dramatically – no Doom! If I’m honest I thought he would disappear, or be nerfed but what of the rumours saying a Doom model in a clamshell was in existence and others stating his rules would be the same. And Zoans without psychic shooting attacks as standard!? I know I like the randomness of Biomancy but still. Nevermind, without a pod to actually get them within range of anything they’re pretty redundant anyway!
And to cap it all NO ACCESS TO BIOMANCY, just the powers we already have in our Codex that won’t be changing – SERIOUSLY!
Every rumour coming out now just sucks, we’ve relied on Biomancy to make us competitive and it’s taken away?! Gaunts for 4pts and Hormies as Beasts, whoopee. Tervigons can still be wiped out even with Iron Arm or Endurance, you’re lucky if they survive the game. We adapted to what was considered a poorly produced Codex. We found ways to overcome our deficiencies, like the gribblies themselves. Without allies, without all the whistles and bells of other armies we had time on our side to perfect a few small lists that not only could stand against our opponents but with a bit of luck overcome them!
The only conclusion I can come to is whatever ‘big bad’ is in the works that will be the prime target and ‘must have purchase’ we’re forced into getting to leave the other models unmolested. I hat this idea and I’m even less convinced of this ‘team’ approach we’re hearing about the author. So the ‘team’ got on board to finally make this the Codex the nids deserved, well we all know how ‘design by committee’ works – it doesn’t. Maybe having a team makes it easier for them to shift the blame should this be as disastrous as it’s shaping up to be.
This is why I’m not feeling the excitement. All these rumours are just spoiling what should be a new dawn, although if they’re true it may end up being not so much a Dawn of War as a Dawn of Meh!
Flufftastic – The Free Radical Collective
Last known picture of Techno-Achaeologist Avro Vulcan and mechanid |
Dark Angels of the Deathwing teleported into the Collectives HQ in support of Inquisitor Rook. Whether they found a member of the Fallen or not has not been revealed… |
support your local blogger – Blue Warp Studios
He’s only gone and done it! My mate Liam has started a blog at http://bluewarpstudios.blogspot.co.uk/ I cannot recommend it enough, afterall I’ve been showcasing his insane talent and machine-like productivity for years. Lets face he scratchbuilt a Warlord Titan:
‘nids part 114 – Scratchbuilt Tyranid Capillary Towers pt9.
‘nids part 113 – Scratchbuilt Tyranid Capillary Towers pt8.
Bother! You sit down to write a blog post and don’t have the paper with the time breakdown. Nevermind I’ll push on and update the stats later tonight. Anyway, this was a nights work, mainly fleshy bits. Now all the 3 tier towers are done, only the 4 and 5 tier to go.
And the first base is done. Once again I went for DAS. Milliput may well have been more durable on the base. I edged my Bastion crater with Milliput for protection but the plastic crater was mounted on a card base. These bases are plywood so underneath the clay they’ll be plenty durable. Once again the adhesive issue will have to be tackle but so far a bit of water on the clay makes the stick enough. Whether they’ll remain fused to the wood base forever is experiment I’m running. Once I cut cracks in them I textured the surface a bit with an old toothbrush.
15 hours 21 minutes is the current project time to date. This took another hour and 30 mins so we’re 16 hours 51 minutes into the project.
16 hours 51 minutes into the project. All the work on these remaining towers was spread over three nights:
- half 5 tier and 3 bases = 1hr 24mins
- half 5 tier and half 4 tier = 50mins
- half 4 tier and 2 bases = 1hr 10mins