The Battle for Rynn's World has begun!

Yesterday I played the first mission from the 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000 box set, because apparently I enjoy emotional risk.

~300 points.
30 Gretchin vs 5 Crimson Fists Tactical Marines.
Pure 2nd ed rules. No safety nets.

The game ended in a 1 VP tie, which somehow felt right.

Highlights:

• A Blood Axe Grot mob rallied after being broken, proving that courage is optional but spite is forever.

• The grots were alarmingly brave and chose to swarm directly over terrain instead of going around it, like proper lunatics.

• My Crimson Fists failed every single 3+ armor save I rolled. Every. One. Apparently their chapter tactic is “hope.”

• I was violently reminded that grenades in 2nd ed are not a suggestion, and that four turns can vanish in the time it takes to argue about a measurement.

End state:
I had 2 Marines left.
The Orks had 2 damaged Grot units (1 broken).

Best part: everything was fully painted and based, which means the dice gods punished me accordingly.

10/10. Would absolutely fail saves for the Emperor again.

88th Vermilion Regulars- “In Vermilio, Victoria.”

Founded during the Macharian Crusade, the 88th Vermilion Regulars are one of the oldest continuously serving regiments in Segmentum Pacificus. Raised from the noble families and martial academies of Valoris Prime, their officers trace their commissions to the personal muster rolls of the Lord Solar himself.

The 88th retains the traditions of those glorious days—crimson coats, duelist’s etiquette, strict line drills, and the unshakable conviction that they represent the finest soldiery the Imperium has ever produced. In their eyes, modern regiments lack polish, discipline, and lineage.

To march in vermilion is to inherit a legend—and to be judged by it.

No regiment is more conscious of its heritage. Few are as proud. None are as insufferably certain of their own superiority.

Using these guys 

And these guys

Tales of the 13th Necromunda- Ratling Sniper Teams

 

Field Tale: “Lunch at No-Man’s Table”

Featuring Ratling Sniper Teams: The Verminators & "Whisker six”

No one really knows how the two Ratling sniper teams ended up a full kilometer ahead of the main line, dug in behind enemy territory. Official records say they were “scouting forward positions.” Most of the 13th know better.

They were looking for a place to have lunch.

The ruins of an old hab block on the outer ridge of Zone Theta were just right—had a clear field of fire, plenty of broken wall for cover, and a collapsed pantry that still held a crate of somewhat-edible ration bricks. Naturally, the two squads set up shop.

Sergeant Bort of Whisker six even laid out a proper cookfire using promethium gel and a bent ammo pan. Meanwhile, Gunk and Loaf of The Verminators started racking up headshots on a Chaos militia patrol trying to set up a mortar nest on the far side of the ridge.

Between bites of scorched grox hash and sips of recaf boiled in a helmet, they casually dropped twelve enemy troops, one vox operator, and a cultist standard bearer.

“Ey, Gunk,” Loaf mumbled through a mouthful of protein bar.
“Hmm?”
“Scope that fella trying to flank our position.”
Pffft–click.
“Not anymore he ain't.”
“Ta, mate. Pass the salt.”

At some point, the fire from their perch was so effective that the rest of the enemy force turned and ran, believing they’d stumbled into a hidden Imperial forward firebase.

When command finally caught up with them six hours later, they were finishing second helpings and arguing about whether blood pudding counted as “morale-boosting” or “war crime adjacent.”

The ruins were renamed on the unit’s unofficial maps as:
“No-Man’s Table.”

Project Gorgon

Hive Fleet Gorgon, know to the Tau as the Toxic Fleet, is one of the many Tyranid hive fleets in the 40K universe. In the setting they have an adaptability level that is impressive even for the ever changing Tyranids. After a single encounter they will adapt on a biological level to defeat foes using ever mutating toxins that quickly overcome their victims with just the slightest touch. After encountering plague marines of Moldering Claw this became even worse as they adapted to a level that could even affect the followers of Nurgle.

Why am I bringing this up? Well I have volunteered to to refurbish and refresh an old Hive fleet Gorgon army for the 2018 NOVA Open. As far as I can tell the army was painted back in 2009. Some of the models have dates painted on the bottom of the bases that I assume are around when they were originally painted. Most of the models were current for that time period or older. The army was probably designed for 5th edition.  

I am attempting to bring them into the current edition of the game and get them ready for folks to bid on in famous NOVA Open Silent auction! 

Here are a few BEFORE shots.   

Not terrible, but after 9 years they are definitely in need of some TLC (and basing) 

Here are some close ups (also BEFORE)

My plan is to brighten them up and make them POP. My wife suggested treating the current paint jobs as the base colors and work them up. I tried that and it seems to work. The next three pictures are of a single Gaunt in the original colors.

Next is what they looked like after I brightened them up and re-based them. The Carapace is a bit darker than normal for Gorgon but I'll just call that artistic license.

There are 114 models to work on and around 4 months to complete while I am still doing everything else I do each day and my other NOVA Open obligations. Wish me luck

Next time I will go over what I am doing per model type and what paints I am using in case you want to follow along at home. 

Till next time 

RGH

Age Of Sigmar - Thoughts and opinions

Hello All,

I was recently asked what I thought about the new Age of Sigmar (AOS) game that came out last month. Here are my thoughts. There are some fundamental issues with the system that will eventually need to be addressed before the game is fully viable.  Let’s start with the negative side.

I will start with scaling. WHFB 8th was designed for large battles (2000 to 2500 points) with armies that frequently went well over 100 models per side, and units with thirty to forty models each, was not uncommon.  The game did not play so well at smaller point values. 500 to 1500 point range as army selection was severely limited. AOS seems to be at the other end of the spectrum with much smaller forces averaging forty to eighty models per side being about average. AOS has trouble when you get much larger than this.

Under construction

The system still feels incomplete. The fact that GW has stated that this “IS” the game and there will be no more basic rules for it seems more like a copout than a than an honest feeling that they have put out a proper product. My first impression was that we were given a trial system and that the “real” system would be released soon. That seems to be incorrect. It is what it is.

System balance is still undecided. No one has put out a decent point system or alternate solution for list building and pick-up games. So far it has not been an issue but it could become one. The NOVA Open is doing an AOS event for 2015 it is the first one of its kind I have heard of.  It will be interesting to see how it goes.

I have issues with this game but most of those revolve around the new fluff and GW marketing decisions. As for GW I have a deep feeling of betrayal for killing off the world/ Game system that originally got me into war gaming without official warning from GW in advance. Even that is mostly fueled by them continuing to sell the books for 8th right up till the end especially since armies like Dwarfs and Wood Elves finally got new books after YEARS of waiting only to have them dropped within 18 months. My irritation is with GW more than AOS. Even the lack of “point system” thing is less important since I don't play tournaments.

Now let’s take a look at the positives

Game play is fast- I am used to a game of 8th taking me hours to finish and even thin it was mostly because we ran out of time. The Games of AOS I have played were under three hours each super-fast for me.

The Rules are easy to learn. Four pages what would you expect? But there is room for tactics. Initiative, combat order, piling in for combat, all of it is just as important as positioning and synergy. The Magic system is a little weak but that may be a reaction to the over effective magic system of the previous edition. Overall the ease of learning the system is big +.

Time is consistent 

The rules are consistent; almost all of them use the same basic mechanic or modify a stat in a similar way across all forces. This is strong point as I hate having each unit in my army use different special rules with different mechanics. It’s often so bad I forget half of them at show time. With AOS the rules for great swords work in a similar way to the rules for Dwarf Iron Breakers and Blood letters. NOT the same just similar enough that they are easy to remember. 

Fun

Lastly the game is just fun. I have played three games (that is three times as many as the number of 40K games I have played in 6th and 7th editions. My opponents and I have been having a blast playing the game.  My Empire Army is currently 2 -1 vs.  Chaos Warriors, Demons, and Dark Elves!  

I know AOS needs help and that it may never be a good tournament game, but I am having a lot of fun just playing it. It takes me back to my 4th ed games back in the early 90s. So until it starts to suck I will keep at it.

If you have not already please let me know your thoughts on Age of Sigmar

Later

RGH