Craftworld Mul-Girtab (Eldar) vs The House of Rilyn Vuz-Stra (Dark Eldar)

Well seems I have finally found tiem to get this blog rolling again. To start if off here is a Battle Report of a game played last week between Eldar and Dark Eldar..

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++BEGIN TRANSMISSION++

Sir, it seems the Intelligence reports was wrong. These attacks have not been caused by mere raiders.  A Dark Eldar Kabal has been raiding the nearby Imperial post and taking slaves as trophies.  We will hold them off to allow the workers to fall back to the city.  Sergeant Tithas, out.

++END TRANSMISSION++

The Space Marines prepared hasty defences and prepared to sell their lives.  The approaching Kabal could be seen over the horizon, their frenzied screams piercing the night air.   The air grew still, as portals appeared in the Space Marine lines. Steeling themselves to their fate , a voice echoed in their heads causing them to pause.
An Eldar Farseer step out, his hands leaving a glowing trail. "Sergeant, you have not to fear us. We come to help. I am Pathwalker Arahman of Mul Gir-tab, we have come to help. My brother has pillaged this sector long enough and must be bought to heel. Do not worry, Archon Drago O'Preto of Rilyn Vuz-Stra  has been expecting us."  
Steeling his gaze, Sergeant Tithas saluted the Farseer as his forces flowed around the beleaguered marines.

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Forces (1850)

Rilyn Vuz-Stra (Dark Eldar)

Archon

Incubi,

Haemonculi w/WW, Dark Gate

Grotesques w/Liquifier gun

Raider, Night shields, Flickerfield, Grisly Trophies

Haemonculi w/shard pistol, Flesh Gauntlet

Wracks, Arco(something) w/Hexrifle

Raider, Night shields, Flickerfield, Grisly Trophies

Trueborn, Shard carbines w/Splinter Cannon

Kalabite Warriors

Kalabite Warriors

Wyches w/Hydra Gauntlets, razor flails; Hecatrix w/P.Weapon

VenomBalde Fighter,

Craftworld Mul-Girtab, Black Consul: Squad Typhion (Eldar/Space Marine)

Farseer w/Doom, Guide, Fortune, Spirit Stones

Avatar of Kaela Mensha Khaine

Striking Scorpions; Exarch w/Stalker, Shadowstrike

in Wave Serpent w/S.Cannon, S.Cannon

Dire Avengers; Exarch w/PW&SS, Bladestorm, Defend

Dire Avengers; Exarch w/Dual Cats, Bladestorm, Defend

in Wave Serpeant w/S.Cannon, Missile

Rangers

Wraithlord w/Brightlanes, Sword, flamers

Wraithlord w/Starcannon, Sword, flamers

Tactical Squad, Missile, flamer

Sergeant w/PFist

Mission and Deployment

Seize Ground; Spearhead

Battlefiled

DE won the roll off, and elected to go second.

Eldar deploy all forces in their midfield. WLs flanking Avatar, with WS and Falcon on wither side. Scorpions decided to outflank. SMs combat squad and sat in swamp and Rhino.

Dark Eldar, held all in reserve except for the Haemonculi and their Raiders.

Turn#1

Eldar: Farseer guides Flacona nd Fortunes Avatar. Eldar forces advance. Eldar opened fire on the Raiders, but weapons were out of range (grr, Nightshields). Ranger managed to take out one raider :) was some lucky rolling (5 to hit, 6 to rend, 6 on chart).

Dark Eldar: Haemonculi and wracks climb out of the crater and advance behind the trees. Remaining Raider zooms forward towards the Eldar line, a some trees obscuring its sight. Wracks shoot art rangers but the make their cove save.

Turn#2

Eldar: Scorpions arrive for reserves and zoom in front of the ranger (blocking their fire arc *duh*). Farseer 'Guides' his WS and nothing is in range to fortune. Passing Wraitsight the WLs advance with Avatar in rear. Eldar open up on the raider and manage to knock off its weapon. (6 cover saves made!!) SM missile fires and misses (it does this for the rest of the game).

Dark Eldar: Voidraven and Reavers arrive from reserve and strafe the rangers shredding one on their fins. Wracks secure the objective, whilst the Haemo throws a Dark Gate at the WS, he gets a direct hit the Energy field weakening the blow. Grotesque surge forward and Haemo throws down another WW. The raider attempts to tank shock the WL but gets caught on the rhino (shock prow)

Turn#3

Eldar: Farseer 'Guides' the falcon and curses the Grotesque *Doom*. Scorpions charge out the WS and slaughter the Wracks. Falcon, WL, and Avatar advance behind the rhino. SM bolters wreck the Raider making a vehicle wall. The Grotesque shake off a hail of fire and lose one. Farseer's WS zooms over the water and shoots at the Void, but only stuns the crew.

Dark Eldar: Wyches, Archon, and Trueborn arrive from reserve. Archon and Trueborn take the WW close tot he Eldar, with Wyches assault the Scorpions, pulling one down. Archon and Incubi charge the Falcon managing to shake the crew. The Trueborn fire on the Avatar, but he manages to shake off the few wounds that get through. Grotesque attempt to liquefy a WL but fail to do any substantive wounds. The Reavers shred another ranger forcing them to fall back into the open and zoom towards the Voidraven.

Turn#4

Eldar: Farseer 'Guides' the WS as it zooms towards the Void. Rangers recover and run for cover. WLs charge forward as the Falcon skirts to the side, along with the Avatar they crash into the Archon and Incubi (this does not go well) Red DAs fire on the exposed Grotesque, leaving the Haemonc all alone. Scorpions and Wyches trade blows, with the Wyches taking out 3 to 2. (6 Wyches, 3 Scorpions at this point) Archon watches his Incubi get crushed around him and makes a tactical retreat. Blue DAs stun the Voidraven with a hail of shooting (It need to be AV11)

Dark Eldar: Warriors refused to come on the board. True born brace to the pending assault and unload at the Avatar with shard carbines and splinter cannons, inflicting one wound (So many 1's were rolled to wound). The Wyches pull down the Scorpions loosing one of their number (this went on longer then we both though, two whole turns)

Turn#5

Eldar: Farseer guides his WS, but it only stuns the Voidraven. Blue DA shoot at the Reavers bringinthem down to their last bike. Red DAs hustle over the closest objective, whislt SM fall back onto thiers. WLs advance roasting Trueborn and Avatar charges down the Archon. The Archon and Avatar go blow for blow, neither causing any wounds.

Dark Eldar: Warriors finally arrive and secure the far objective with the Wyches. The Avatar Archon battle continued with the Archon loosing his Shadowfield save (rule confusion so the Archon lived). The last Reaver slices through the Blue DAs to reach the Red DAs on the objective. Fuelled by rage he kills 8 DAs (2 Blue, 4 Red; was so horrible armour saves) Last Haemonculi charges the SM but fails to wound, ang gets his head crushed by the Sgt's powerfist.

Turn#6

The games was called at this point BUT the Archon and Avatar had one more round. Neither doing anything to each other!!

They both whiffe horribly, stupid shadow field!!!

*whew* need to add more pictures but it is getting late so will provide a link to the album instead.

Slideshow of Battle

Terrain for great justice!!!!!

Recently I have hit a gaming funk, so have switched to terrain and campaign design to keep my spirit high. After looking at my terrain making/painting tools I realised I need to update and jot down some tips. IMO the key to making good terrain is to have an idea and then let the creativity flow.

Bda does not have any dedicated hobby shops, so I tend to use a different approach.

Tools:
Large 2” paintbrush
Large 1” paintbrush
Scissors
Foamboard or cardboard
Gorilla glue
Spray paint
Spray glue and large bottle of Elmers
Spray varnish (matte)
Large pots of base colour paints (paint samples are good as they give enough paint at a reasonable price)
Cat litter (any cheap brand)

General Tips:

• Use a notepad to plan the initial design: This is a great tool, as when the design changes (and they all change) you will have a base guide that can be followed and visually see the changes.
• Paint large Surfaces: When painting a dry brushing large surfaces always use down ward strokes, this gives a natural (aka semi realistic) look to the weathering pattern.
• Sparse use of metallic paint: Be wary of using too much metallic paint on a building it can sometimes be too much and detracts from the other building features. Of course, if the building is something industrial go crazy with the metallics.
• Painting order: Basecoat, 1st highlight, 2nd highlight, wash and leave.
• Cardboard + cat litter on one side + varnish on the other makes a very sturdy base.

 Stay tuned for the next few post. I will be going over specific projects I have built, with pictures this time.

1 degree of seperation

Last week was very interesting!!

I found out I had 4 aunts and a bunch of cousins I never knew! A semi-family hushed secret was unburied. It is quite a shock when one finds 'new' family members. Even more shocking when you have known some of them for years, and could not figure why they seemed familiar. It also helps bury the stories of people seen your "twin" somewhere you have never been.

Now my brain in in less of a spin I can get to some updates.

Why the Hate ?!?

What is with all the Space Marine hate?

One would think they are unbeatable, and/or one would think they are unbalanced.

The iconic image of the Space Marine has been around since GW came into existence. The boxy square shape, the defenders of humanity. How heroic is it for someone to shed his humanity and protect that same people that would consider him a mutant?

SM on the workbench

I for one love the Space Marine in all his flavours. You have the Ultramarines (Vanilla) jack of all trades, able to do anything to an average degree, whilst not being stellar in any field without many special rules. You have the Space Wolves (Rock Road) masters of smashing face and taking names, an all rounder that focus on the short range brute force approach; Vikings in Space. You have the Blood Angels (Chocolate) the excel at the assault, fancy toys that suit their needs, pretty boys with a dark secret. And finally you have the Grey Knights (Rocky Road) special rules every and and even more specialized toys, the elite of the elite.

Sharksmile's Wolves in Action

Many of the young players (and we all were young at some stage) are drawn into the hobby wishing to play the superhero, the defender of humanity. So may are drawn to the Space Marine as their first army. As they learn to play, they find their feet and develop a unique play-style. During this growth many change and get a new army. But will still keep their SMs around.

Yes, that did not end well for the Space Marines

As they play with their new army they see the SM in a new light, cold brutal and deadly, but for the few they also remember how is also feels to play a Space Marine. To know the pain deciding what to field on your list, the torment ans you can not afford a 'needed' (a.k.a. wanted) toy. The dread as you faced off against a horde and the certainty that you could win but it would be bloody.

Not to sure where this ramble went. :)

But we all still love our ice-cream, even if we have not had it in awhile. We as gamers need to be careful of the venom we have towards certain armies as it can dishearten and scare away new players. Lets start spreading the love.

Have you had any unwarranted hate recently?

Oooh, Shiny! Must have!!!

Last night I was painting some Striking Scorpions and while finishing the highlights I remembered why I was drawn to the unit. .The 5^th edition models closely resemble a Predator, with their slightly bulky build and “dreads”  This got me to thinking how often do we choose a unit simply based on looks.  I will post some pictures of the scorpions when they are finished.

Here are some pictures to break up my scattered ramblings...

In my Eldar army I frequently use Dark Reapers and have found them to be very reliable.  They are also another model which I fell in love just by looking at them. The skull helmets and the bold armour contrast the usual smooth organic look of the rest of the Eldar army. My favourite configuration is Exarch with crack shot, Tempest Launcher.  In using unit I noticed a shift in my play-style, I would play more aggressive to  draw attention away from them as they 'reaped' carnage.

Dark Reapers

Does this choice effect our play style?  Or do we develop a play style based on our choice? What other units have you simple chosen based on their looks?

Battle Report - Eldar vs Tau (750)

Had a fun refresher battle with an old friend this weekend. The games was fun and had some very close moments. Even though I won, he said he had a good game and has vowed revenge.

Blogger Challange

I have challenged myself to update my blog every day for the next week. I oddly have a few articles in the draft from that I need to finish.

This "challange" is just to help/force myself to get some of my ideas written and posted.

Some Tyranid Work

Recruit Camp was a blast! Got injured the first day though so limped through till the end.

Did some work on a project that had been sitting on the shelf for 3 months. I offered to build a Tyranid Prime for a friend of mine. 

Overall i am happy how he turned out. He/It was built from the Ravaner box set. Was going for the "evolved" serpentine look. Not to pleased with the glowing eyes, but this was my first attempt at the technique.

 

Next I need to work on my Eldar Autarch.

A New year..time to get this blog moving

I guess the introductory blog is where I should introduce myself.

Been fooling around with Warhammer 40k since the 2nd edition. Not a very skilled painter but I am improving my technique.  Currently have many unfinished armies and such, and plan on getting them moving this year.

Currently have baby girl so she eats up some of my gaming and painting time. 

Guess I'll slap up some pictures of my "finished" minis. Bare with the noob blogger.

Sternguard Veteran Sergeant

Captain Tallum

Wave Serpent

Falcon