Emperor's Children under way

So, in the past little bit I have painted up a 8 man Noise Marine unit (with Rhino) and a 5 man with blastmaster to hold local objectives. Here is what they look like so far:

I have added static grass since the pic was taken.

Continuing work on the force, pressing towards 1250pts for the upcoming local Return to Locara: Tournament & Campaign.

What a concept - lower tournament points limits

Just read this comment on BoLS site (see link on right) about the creep of game size and its impact on tournaments and list creativity. I find it really interesting that in the UK all GTs are 1500pts -to encourage creative thinking and compromise, as opposed to the Us where 200pts it common and people just max certain selection. I may as well just post the whole comment here - this is a quote:

Conrad_Dakarn 21 hours ago

"I've noted one thing when speaking to people in America about their games and tournaments and that's to do with the points costs. Almost every game you have is 2000pt or over. Even the tournaments seem to be centred around over 2000pts.

The 40k rulebook recommends that you play 1500-2000pts on a 6 by 4 board.

The MAJOR GW throne of skulls tournament is set at 1500pt, thus showing that GW believe 1500 is the ideal size for a tournament setting on a 6 by 4 board.

Most US games take place using over 2000pt in their tournaments.

Why am I bringing up points cost as an argument about balanced lists....simple really. You get more stuff for more points. In a 2000+ army you can afford to take pretty much anything you want because you've got the point spare to cram in those 3 land raiders or what-ever else and still take a decent set of troops and the like. In 1500 you're much more limited to your options and can't simply slap a list together using the hardest of everything because you'll find you quickly run out of points. An example would be 7 terminators with lightning claws, 1 chaplain and a land raid crusader....coming in at over 500 points. This takes up the main portion of your army for very little in terms of models. The other 1000 would have to contain the troops and any further support. If you're spamming your list as a combat heavy list (using the terminator example) you'd probably take 2 of the above and then take minimum troops and suddenly you're out of points for anything else. That's 2 armour 14 vehicles and a subsequent 16 wounds worth of models for over 1000 points.

A balanced list in 1500pt will contain enough of everything to deal with an orientated list any day of the week. The above example would, for example, find itself in trouble at the sight of a single Vindicator for only 115pt and perhaps 2-3 attack bikes with multi-meltas at 100-150pt. For a quarter of the value you've got two units that can take out the land raider and then the terminators inside with relative ease and do the same again the next turn....all the while, the terminators are trying to get to you to engage in combat. For 265pt, the 1000 odd has been delt with. You can then think on the other side of the box with the other 1235pt of your army for what else you might want to take....the theory works sound in any situation and you can create a list that can deal with any threat as well as maintaining a good balance all round.

A combat heavy army is always going to have the problem that they have to get to the opponent and when they do get their, they have to ensure they can't be shot after they've destroyed the unit they've charged.

A gun line army has to be able to deal with a combat army that can jump on them by turn 2....or even worse....try and compete with another gun line army of equal magnitude.

By creating these sorts of lists for limited points, you've put inherent weakness in your army. Sure, in over 2000pt it's a lot easier to get rid of these weaknesses but that's kind of my point.....1500pt is more challenging for list building in my opinion.

However....I'm over the pond in the UK and we do play a very different style of game to yourselves. Not just in the points but our tactics and game play seem to vary from certain things that you do. So, my opinion may not be valid in terms of a US situation....but, I do plan on coming over eventually for a week's holiday and taking part in one of your larger tournaments, just to get a feel for it....so, who knows? I may learn a few things or hand out some lessons.

A current favoured marine list is quite balanced for all round but with a few small space weaknesses which are covered with the method of the build and my gaming style. My list is also built around 6 games with the different set ups as detailed in the 40k book and a 1500pt limit (UK GT). I've won every game so far with this list...and not just against standard players or other standard lists. I've played a 6 AV14 guard tank army, a space wolf army, a 10 terminator and chaplain marine army and a seer council build Eldar list. Each game with different mission types and deployment. The list is, for me, a balanced list."

Wow- this guy nails it. I think I will push for 1500pt games more often.

Chaos has taken hold....

So, the dark powers have taken my soul, and I have started into the army of the Emperor's Children with a fever. Here is a WIP (work in progress) Rhino that I just built.

More to come!

Hmm, tempting

So, I have to come clean on something. I do not own a gaming table anymore. I used to have a primo one, back in the day at the Ratt Haus (that's another whole story) but it has long since gone the way of the buffalo. I was thinking of making a new one, to allow me to host games and such again, but with a 15 month old and limited space, I was not sure I could pull it off. I have since discovered this: http://www.theterrainguy.com/ezterrain153.html

I wonder how well a 4x6 of those would sit on a folding table from Cosco. This would allow for quick tear down and storage, and would fit in the basement play room easily. It may even work on the dining room table in a pinch. I'm leaning towards this one in particular, done in a mix of green/brown : http://www.theterrainguy.com/ezte4fox6fot.html . Come to think of it, my wife was asking what I might want for Christmas, and this may fit the bill. We will have to wait and see.

They are done!

Wow, I painted 9 Eldar Jet bikes. It may not seem like a mighty feat, but with my head swirling with Chaos, and reading "Storm of Iron", it's all I can do to keep myself from jumping in to Chaos with both feet and never looking back.

Now that the bikes are completed, I need to actually play with them. So, tonight, I am meeting up with Matt Varnish and Lothlann for some battling. As usual, I will document the fight, and may try out "Battle Cartographer", at least I think that's what it's called. Once I locate the website for this cool little app, I will post it. I will also take pics of the game(s) tonight, and post them up.

Now that the bikes are done, I am going to start painting a single noise marine to test some paint schemes, and post them here for reference. Stay tuned to the site for updates!

*** UPDATE***

BIKES:

The program is http://www.battlechronicler.com/
It's free, and should allow me to visualize the battle and key tactics. I think it's worth trying out and seeing how well it can be posted to a site.

Cheers!