I've Seen the New Guard Codex

So tonight while at the FLGS I noticed they had their copy of the new Guard codex. Watching that thing travel around the room was a joy, because I got to see these Guard players open it, page through it, and then smile.

I don't know enough about Guard to be able to say what the differences are between the old 'dex and the new one -- and don't ask me about points values because I didn't linger in my looking over it (though I do remember the plasma-packin' Russ, fully loaded with sponsons and everything was well over 200 points). What I do know is this: If you've been playing Guard for years now, and have been eating crap at the tournaments and even during friendly games...your Moment of Retribution is at hand.

There's some broken, broken stuff in this book. Guard are probably going to become a top-tier army, or close to it. You can roll out a TON of tanks. The special characters are awesome. It's a good time to be a Guard player. Enjoy it, my brethern in service to the Emperor, for the good times are here for you at last.

Divine Secrets of the Space Marine Brotherhood?

If there's one thing I believe space marine armies need, it's force multipliers. The two assault cannons you could (previously) take in a 5-man terminator squad was a perfect example of a force multiplier -- having those two assault cannons greatly expanded the damage that unit could do per turn. Now that we've all had a chance to get a look at the new marine codex (and hopefully digest at least some of it), what combinations of units/abilities create meta-units whose total is greater than the sum of its individual parts?

Here in Austin, there are a few favorites that seem to be rising to the top:

1. Captain Lysander joining a full squad of Sternguard: with his "Bolter Drill" special rule, those Sternguard will be pumping out the Hellfire rounds with re-rolls to hit and re-rolls to wound. Plus, re-rolls to hit means you'll never overheat when firing the Vengeance rounds. Nasty!
2. Join an epistolary librarian with the Gate of Infinity power (probably coupled with The Avenger) with a full squad of Sternguard. Add in either several drop podding units or scout biker units with locator beacons and it's bounce-tastic, no-scatter, deep-strike-to-where-you-really-wanna-be fun. Every time your movement phase comes up, if your Sternguard aren't where you need them to be (for example, if you need to avoid an oncoming charge or put yourself in rapid fire range), have the librarian cast Gate of Infinity and bounce out. Also, if your Sternguard/librarian get stuck in an assault you really don't want to be in (which is all of them, because every round they're assaulting is a round they're not shooting), Gate of Infinity out to safety (and by "safety," I mean "rapid fire range to the unit you were in assault with"). You don't have to have a few locator beacons around to use this combo, but I think it's very highly recommended to avoid that whole deep strike scatter issue, which can really ruin your whole day (or at least your battle plan). Also, if you're like me, you want to do everything you can to remove the potential impact random chance can have on your army/units. I originally thought this power was used during the librarian's shooting phase, but an anonymous commenter (who may go by the name "lord-o-doom") pointed out that GoI is cast during the movement phase. So while it may be a little less useful than I originally thought, this combo is still my current favorite.
3. Drop-podding a pair of tooled-up dreadnoughts (either ironclad or venerable) into your opponent's backfield and then opening up with heavy flamers and/or multimeltas/assault cannons/twin-linked auto-cannons. To follow that, charge on in for some DCCW/Seismic Hammer close combat lovin'. Support these dreads with a full squad of Sternguard (probably with a librarian rockin' Gate of Infinity) and maybe a full tac squad (or two) and you're in business. Just make sure you have enough drop-podding units to get all the units you REALLY want in the backfield on the first turn (which probably means you're going to need at least 5 units with pods). Don't forget locator beacons on the pods!
4. I created a 2000 point list with Pedro Cantor and 90 other marines (3 full Sternguard squads and 6 full tac squads). That makes a total of 91 power-armored marines on the table, and with Pedro...90 of them are scoring. Granted, they're all footsloggin', but I think it would be pretty impressive (and not to mention, hard to kill).
5. Honor Guard. Yes, they're ridiculously expensive. But let's think about it: for 385 points, you get 10 Sv2+ marines with power weapons, including the company champion and company banner. That will yield 51 S4 power weapon attacks on the charge (4 from the champ, 27 from the others, 10 from the company banner and 10 for the charge bonus) and 41 S4 power weapon attacks during a regular round of assault. If the S4 doesn't float your boat, you can give 'em all (or just a few) relic blades for some S6 power weapon goodness (at the cost of one attack for each model that has one). Giving the entire squad relic blades costs 150 points...and for the same price you can give the whole squad auxiliary grenade launchers for some added shooting power if you like. Granted, you have to take a chapter master to get them, so choosing one with some heavy CC power is probably a given (or not, they can run around by themselves). At first I didn't think these guys were worth it, but the more I look at what they're capable of, I think they're at least worth testing out...

What do you think of these combos? What interesting little gems of space marine goodness have you found lurking in the new codex? Share with the group and discuss!

First 5E Tournament

During this past weekend, I got a chance to play in my first 5E tournament, hosted by FLGS extraordinaire Battleforge Games here in Austin. BFG's "Hobby Tournaments" (which emphasize fun army lists as opposed to kill-em-all WAAC lists) are somewhat legendary -- this one had 28 players, and a free catered lunch (not bad for a free tournament, eh? Is it any wonder BFG has earned a large and loyal fan/customer base? It probably doesn't hurt that BFG is the venue-of-choice for the Bell of Lost Souls guys, too).

How'd I do? Well...1 loss, 2 draws. I wasn't in the top ten, but I consider this improvement, as in my first tournament, I lost every match, in my second, I had one loss and one tie (and a bye).

The picture is was taken by Jay, aka Bushido in the 41st Millennium during our match in round 2. If you'd like to read more about that match (and good match-by-match batreps by Bushido for the whole tournament including pictures from each), you should check out this act of bloggery he committed.

You may notice his gorgeous Eldar army in the photo. It looks fantastic, every unit has been lovingly given attention, and his vehicles are as beautiful and elegant as they are deadly. :) You'll also notice my Ultras are outnumbered. This was taken during the next-to-last turn. That loss I mentioned earlier? Yep, this was it.

You may be curious about the top five in this tournament, being is that it is one of the first 5E tournaments ever:

1. Eldar
2. Chaos Space Marines (Nurgle)
3. Imperial Guard
4. (tie) Black Templars
4. (tie) Tyranids

Hmm...looks like even with the new edition, some things have changed all that much. :) Although I should point out that most of the players in the top five consistently win tournaments using different armies (which lets you know they're good generals in any case).

There were a lot of marine armies in this tournament, which led Frank (aka Capt Tyranus on B&C) to comment that he thinks more people are picking marines up again due to the rumors about the upcoming codex, and it's supposed power. Interesting.

Does this mean we are entering into a Marines Ascendant era?

Which leads somewhat to this question: do you think the new marine codex will change the overall "power level" of the army?

Lastly, I'd like to say that having played 2 tournaments under 4E and now one under 5E, I greatly prefer the 5E ruleset. The games seem to have a more even ebb and flow, give and take...dare I say it: balance. I'm really looking forward to the bright times ahead in this hobby.

Synergy

I just had a quick thought.

5E isn't about looking at the changes to the rules by themselves. It's more about looking at all of the rules together, and how they interact and balance each other out. Pretty much any one rule change, looked at by itself, doesn't seem all that big, or, if it does, it can easily be mistaken for a buff/nerf, perhaps made arbitrarily.

But if you look at all the rules together, it seems to me that it makes for a nice, balanced synergy of action/reaction, checks and balances.

...anyway, just a thought.

Work, Sicarius, and a Few Random 5E Thoughts

So lately, work has been kicking my butt.

In my line of work, sometimes you have quite a bit a free time, and sometimes you really don't. I've been going through a "don't" period over the last couple of weeks, and as a result, I haven't even so much as picked up a paintbrush. This...is not good. Well, it's not good in the sense that I'm not getting any painting done, but it is good in the sense that come the next paycheck, I should have a little more spare cash to spend on models (wait, didn't I recently say that I wasn't going to buy any new models until after I had painted up the ones I already had?...yes, I did...what I meant to say is that I'll have more money to save for when the new SM codex releases so I'll be able to plunk down the cash for the new Sternguard Vets. And a Redeemer. Oh, and a Thunderfire Cannon. And some drop pods. Yeah, that's what I meant to say...).

In other news, I picked up a Captain Sicarius model -- the limited edition Medusa V release one, with the twin lightning claws -- from a local guy and now he sits there, staring at me accusingly, taunting me to paint him. I know I won't be able to resist that siren's call for very long. Hopefully, if all goes well, I'll actually have a decent camera within the next couple of weeks, and if so, I'll be taking some photos so this blog won't be so image-bare.

Having played a few 5E games now, I can honestly say I really, really love the new edition. True LOS rocks -- I never did like the "area terrain blocks LOS" rule. Luckily, my FLGS had a terrain-making party recently and there's now lots of LOS-blocking goodness to be had. It really does add another dimension to the game (if you'll pardon the unintended pun).

Running is probably my favorite "new addition", though, as it gives the occasional tac squad something to do when they're out of bolter/melta range. Just remember that the other side gets it, too (and if you don't, you deserve what happens to you when, oh, say, that gaggle of Khorne Berzerkers makes it to your dev squad...).

My next favorite thing is the change that states that ICs with a retinue count as an "upgrade character" until the retinue is dead. This means no more getting your commander/chaplain/librarian running with a command squad singled out in CC, which is, IMHO, a good thing. Well, at least until the new codex comes out. Hopefully, SMs won't lose the ability to take a command squad...but we'll see, right?

Lastly, I'm happy to report that 5E works seamlessly in Apocalypse games. In fact, it seems to make Apoc games run smoother in general.

Anyone got any 5E thoughts they'd like to share?

Played a little 5E

I finally got to play a full 5E game this evening.

I played against a mechanized IG army that had more tanks than I had heavy weapons.

It was a blast, went a full 7 turns, and ended in a draw.

I'm really, really liking the changes that 5E brings. True LOS is incredible, I can't be happier that area-terrain-blocks-LOS is gone.

I'll put up a more complete batrep later...it's time for bed now. :)

New List, Designed with 5E in Mind

So I've come up with a new list, designed to make the transition to 5E.

HQ: Master, Librarian & 7 Man Command Squad (9#, 403 Pts):

• Master with Frag Grenades; Bolt Pistol (x1); Power Weapon (x1); Iron Halo Terminator Honors
• Epistolary with Bolt Pistol (x1); Force Weapon; Fury of the Ancients; Psychic Hood; Storm of the Emperor's Wrath; Psychic Hood
• 6 Command Squad with Bolt Pistol & CCW (x6)
• Sergeant with Frag Grenades; Plasma Pistol (x1); Power Fist (x1); Terminator Honors
  

Heavy Support: Land Raider Crusader (1#, 265 Pts):

• Land Raider Crusader - Multi-Melta; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Hurricane Bolters (x2); Extra Armor; Power of the Machine Spirit

Troops: 5 Man LC Tac Squad (5#, 90 Pts):

• 4 Tactical Squad with Bolter (x3); Lascannon (x1)
• Sergeant with Bolter
  

Troops: 5 Man LC Tac Squad (5#, 90 Pts):

• 4 Tactical Squad with Bolter (x3); Lascannon (x1)
• Sergeant with Bolter
  

Troops: 10 Man Melta Tac Squad (11#, 213 Pts):

• 9 Tactical Squad with Bolter (x8); Meltagun (x1)
• Sergeant with Bolt Pistol & CCW
• Rhino - Storm Bolter; Smoke Launchers

HQ: Jump Chaplain Reclusiarch (1#, 126 Pts):

• Reclusiarch with Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol (x1); Crozius Arcanum; Rosarius; Jump Pack; Terminator Honors

Fast Attack: Assault Squad (10#, 275 Pts):

• 9 Assault Squad with Jump Packs; Frag Grenades; Bolt Pistol (x7); Close Combat Weapon (x9); Plasma Pistol (x2)
• Sergeant with Jump Packs; Melta Bombs; Frag Grenades (squad); Plasma Pistol (x1); Power Fist (x1); Terminator Honors

Elite: 5 Man 2AC Terminator Squad (5#, 245 Pts):

• 4 Terminator Squad with Power Fist (x3); Storm Bolter (x2); Chain Fist (x1); Assault Cannon (x2)
• Sergeant with Power Weapon (x1); Storm Bolter

Heavy Support: 6 Man 4 ML Devastator Squad (6#, 170 Pts):

• 5 Devastator Squad with Bolter (x1); Missile Launcher (x4)
• Sergeant with Bolter

Heavy Support: 6 Man 2 HB Devastator Squad (6#, 120 Pts):

• 5 Devastator Squad with Bolter (x3); Heavy Bolter (x2)
• 1 Sergeant with Bolter

Total Roster Cost: 1997

I've reduced the static elements (the heavy weapons teams and dev squads) down to a minimal size since their job will be to hang back, sit still and shoot. The master, libby and command squad will take point in the LRC, followed by the rhino and melta squad, followed by the termies. This should provide enough mobile firepower to play seek & destroy with. The assault squad and chappy will stay back with the dev squads and heavy weapon teams to provide counter-charge and/or take on objective-takers from the other side.

When the new SM codex drops -- and provided SMs get combat squads -- the melta squad will be rolled into the two LC-equipped tac squads to make a pair of 10-man tac squads (with either PG, MG or flamer as the special weapon) which will then split up into 4 combat squads.

The master and his attached squad haven't been performing for me, and the main reason is while I have them tooled up for CC, they never seem to get there, of if they do, the don't arrive full-strength due to attrition along the way -- or worse, I let them get charged. Giving them the LRC should provide them with a safe ride to charge out of. If I can't make that work, or if it doesn't perform well, I'll be changing that squad up a bit, possibly even dropping the squad altogether and replacing it with a tac or veteran squad. Their future depends heavily on what changes the new SM codex brings. If veterans become worthwhile, the command squad might find new life there.

As always, I'd like to know what you think!

Pics from CP Tourney at DL and other things...

...wow do I need to learn how to use the image adding feature on this site, and not have it come out looking like pure crap...anyway...

I was mucking about with my camera (the lovely POS-wonder that it is) and discovered the pictures I took at the Combat Patrol tourney at DL were actually still there. Only a few were usable, though, but I thought I'd share.

From the top, the first two are just show of my army, in all its work-in-progress glory (I'm happy to say that's no longer the case, the assault marines are finished and look a lot better, as do the other models you see in those photos that weren't already finished...just a few more bases and I'll be finished with them all).

The third pic is the post-deployment phase of my first game. Can you spot my tactical blunder in progress? I can!

The fourth and fifth images are from my second game, during deployment. After that, my camera's battery died and well, that was that.

On to other things...

I finished my first devastator squad plasma cannon marine. I'm very pleased with how he turned out. Current plan is to have two plasma cannons and two heavy bolters in that squad, so I'm only 25% done there. I'm concurrently working on my jump chaplain. Yes, he's metal so I'm a little squirrelly on working with him but so far it hasn't been so bad. I've discovered once I've slopped on the black primer, the paint goes on about like it does on a plastic mini. One nifty discovery I made this afternoon (after talking paint for a few minutes with Mike) is a Reaper Master Series color called "Adamantium Black". Since I didn't want to be cheesy and just leave the chappy's armor plain ol' primer black, I thought I'd experiment with this and see how it turned out. One word: Awesome. I'll try and post some pictures when I'm done if my POS camera will actually capture the way it looks. Imagine a nice pure black with microscopic metalflake. When applied, it dries with an ultra-cool gleam and adds a depth and texture that makes the surface really stand out. CJ gives it an A+.

My next army building goal is 1,250 points, so I can play in the next round of escalation at DL. I'm already signed up for it and committed, so I'm really working hard to make it happen. Hopefully, it'll all work out nicely. I'll probably post a first stab at an army list for that game sometime soon for y'all to critique.

Lastly, while I was at DL I spoke with someone (whose name I didn't get, and I feel like an ass for not doing so) about the recently "leaked" pre-release version of the WH40K 5th Edition rules. Evidently, it's the real thing -- according to him this is the version that the "tech priests" (what's a "tech priest"?) have been playtesting with. I'm not admitting to having -- shall we say -- questionable PDFs on my laptop or anything, but I have read the document and I can't really find anything in it that makes me want to rip my hair out, other than the rule that vehicle "defensive weapons" are now classified as S4 and under (which is going to cut down on vehicles moving and shooting in the same turn). Yes, skimmers have been nerfed in a couple of ways, but never having played them nor never having had my ass handed to me by a 3-Falcon Eldar Flying Circus, I can't say that I mind or care. I can see where the new "run" rule is going to be a-ha-bused, badly, and I hope it doesn't come to that...but it probably will. Either way, I'm looking forward to 5th edition, even though I am far and away from mastering 4th. I guess that having a new edition come out while I'm still learning makes me feel like the playing field has been "leveled" to a certain extent. Of course, I know this is going to cause no end of wailing and gnashing of teeth for some players whose favorite broken army list gets balanced (even though they will whine about "nerfing")...but I don't think power-gaming is in the spirit of the game, anyway, so I can't say I really care. :)

All right, that's it for now. Happy painting and playing!