Hobby Update: Adepticon Tau Army Complete

With a few days to spare I am glad to say I have finished painting up my Tau army for Adepticon. I have made a small change to the list and dropped the firewarriors and added two Crisis Suits with twin linked Fusions. Since my last post, I had to paint two Stromsurges and the two above mentioned Crisis Suits. Lets take a look at the army!

Now for a closer look at the newly painted items:

Hopefully this army can pull out all the stops and wreck some face this week in the championships. Wish me luck!

Hobby Update: Riptides Done

Finished up work on the three Riptides for my Adepticon list today. Two days behind schedule. Next up is the Stormsurges.

Also made a change to the army. By playing with the upgrades on the single Iontide, I was able to free up enough points to add an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor with three Servo Skulls (which I already have painted from previous efforts). In my test games with Adam (with him playing his White Scars Battle Company that you can see progressing along on this blog) I have many times come very close to winning to only lose by a landslide. Preventing his scout move will hopefully give me time to get into position to score more points and help me to have a better alpha strike vs his force while mitigating the damage I take in his first turn. Optimizing my list to play vs his is a very big factor as the Adepticon mission packet heavily favors his list (not just vs my list but in general) and I see his list being one of the most powerful armies that can be fielded in the format.

Only two models left to paint!

Hobby Update: Display Board

Took a break from painting Riptides and banged out my display board for adepticon.  Started with a basic design of two craters and a paper out line of some hills.  Fellow Havoc Adam (capnmoe) had some extra foam and we did a foam for some craters trade.  Here is what the planning stage of the board looked like:

Next up the hills, craters, and sand are are all glued to the board.  The hills have some toothpicks inside as well to add stability.  Here is how it looks at this point:

Everything is the primed grey. The primer did worry me a bit as the spray caused some very minor melting of the foam. This turned out to be a non issue as base coats covered the damage. The sides of the hills and the insides of the craters are coated grey while the sand is all coated brown. Here is the result of this step:

I wanted to bring level of detail into the craters. I washed the inner parts with a black wash and the did a small highlight around the center point making sure to leave a black point in the middle. Then I highlighted the inner rim with two levels of brighter grey and then highlighted the outer non washed parts. I also highlighted the brown parts of the outer crater with grey then a light brown to help link the colors to each other.  I am happy with how it turned out:

The final step was to highlight the brown sand and get some flock onto the board. Here is the final look both by itself and with the army on it:

Next week back to finishing the Riptides!!!

Hobby Update: Tau Adepticon Army Progress

So I am working every spare moment of time into preparing for Adepticon.  I am bringing a Tau army with 3 Riptides, 2 Stormsurges, a Commander, 8 Drones, and 10 Fire Warriors.  The plan is to finish the Commander, the Drones, and the Fire Warriors by the end of January and I have finished that part.

Next up is the Riptides for February.  Wish me luck!

Hobby Update/Battle Report: Kataphron Destroyers and the First Ride of the White Scars Battle Company

I just finished up my Kataphron Destroyers. With that, the entire Cult Mechanicus portion of my War Convocation is finished. Next up I plan on going back to the 3 drop pods I had been working on before my airbrush broke. From there, on to the Skitarii, or perhaps my new Battle Company.

Speaking of the Battle Company, I managed to get a game in with it this past weekend. It was pitted against William Key's new Tau army. It was an 1850 Adepticon practice game featuring scenario 1: King of the Hill.

Deployment: Vanguard
Mission Objective 1: Control the 24" center of the table to score points at the top of each of your turns starting turn 2.
Mission Objective 2: Emperor's Will

My List (White Scars Space Marines/Imperial Knight):
Battle Demi-Company
HQ

Kor'sarro Khan – Moondrakkan (Warlord: Re-roll failed morale, pinning, fear tests within 12")

Troops
5x Tactical Squad - Grav-Gun, Combi-Grav, Razorback
5x Tactical Squad - Grav-Gun, Combi-Grav, Razorback
5x Tactical Squad - Grav-Gun, Combi-Grav, Razorback

Fast Attack
4x Space Marine Bikes – 2x Grav-Guns

Heavy Support
5x Devastators – 2x Grav-Cannons and Grav-Amps, Rhino

Battle Demi-Company
HQ
Chaplain – Space Marine Bike, Hunters Eye

Troops
5x Tactical Squad – Grav-Cannon and Grav-Amp, Rhino
5x Tactical Squad – Melta-Gun, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod
5x Tactical Squad – Melta-Gun, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod

Fast Attack
4x Space Marine Bikes – 2x Grav-Guns

Heavy Support
5x Devastators – 2x Grav-Cannons and Grav-Amps, Rhino

10th Company Task Force
Troops
5x Scouts
5x Scouts
5x Scouts

Imperial Knight
Knight Gallant


William Key's List as Best I Remember(Tau):
Hunter Cadre
HQCommander – Drone Controller (Warlord: Infiltrate 3 non-vehicle units)

Elites
Crisis Suit

Troops
5x Fire Warriors
5x Fire Warriors
5x Fire Warriors

Fast Attack
4x Markerlight Drones

Heavy Support
3x Broadsides – 6 Missile Drones, 6x High Yield Missile Pods, 6x Twin Linked Smart Missile Systems
2x Broadsides – 4 Missile Drones, 4x High Yield Missile Pods, 4x Twin LinkedSmart Missile Systems

Lord of War

Stormsurge - Early Warning Override, Shield Generator

Riptide Wing

Elites
Riptide – Ion Cannon, Twin Linked Smart Missile System
Riptide – Ion Cannon, Twin Linked Smart Missile System
Riptide – Ion Cannon, Twin Linked Smart Fusion Gun

Drone Networt
Fast Attack
4x Markerlight Drones

Tau won the roll to deploy first. I won the roll to place infiltrators first. This was key because with his warlord trait, he could have blocked my scout moves with his Infiltrators. Tau chose to go first and I failed to seize the initiative. Emperor's Will objectives are circled below.

Note the sweet ass F.A.T. Mat

Full report after the jump!

Imperial Knight Update & Battle Report: Eldar/Imperial Knight vs Tau/Farsight Tau/Chaos Space Marines

I finished all the painting on the Imperial Knight and he turned out fantastic. Now I need to finish the base and get the decals on. I ordered some Micro Sol and Micro Set. Once they arrive I'm going to take the advice I got from my last post and seal the model with lahmian medium or a matte spray once I get them on.

Last night I got this guy on the table for the first time. Sadly, due to my opponent, it may have been one of the most awkward and unenjoyable games I've ever played. To start, his list was about 2728 points from what I can tell. The league is supposed to run at 2000 points. That combined with his sour mood and whiny antics really just put me off. At any rate, here's a quick battle report.

Points: 2000 vs 2728ish
Deployment: Vanguard
Mission: The Relic

My List (Eldar/Imperial Knight):

HQ
Spiritseer (Warlord)(Dominate, Psychic Shriek, Hallucination)

Troops
5x Dire Avengers – Wave Serpent - Holo-fields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers
5x Dire Avengers – Wave Serpent - Holo-fields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers
5x Dire Avengers – Wave Serpent - Holo-fields, Twin Linked Scatter Lasers

Fast Attack
10x Warp Spiders

Heavy Support
3x War Walkers – 6x Bright Lances
Wraithlord – 2x Flamers, Scatter Laser, Bright Lance
Wraithlord – 2x Flamers, Scatter Laser, Bright Lance
Wraithknight

Imperial Knight
Knight Errant

My Opponent's List From What I Gathered While Playing and From His Comments (Tau/Farsight Tau/Chaos Space Marines):

HQ
Commander Shadowsun
Cadre Fireblade
Chaos Sorcerer – Mastery Level 3, Mark of Nurgle, Terminator Armor, Power Fist, Gift of Mutation, Spell Familiar (Summoning, Infernal Gaze, Sacrifice)

Elites
Riptide – Twin-Linked Smart Missile System, Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Overide, Stimulant Injector
Riptide – Twin-Linked Smart Missile System, Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Overide, Stimulant Injector
Riptide – Twin-Linked Smart Missile System, Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Overide, Stimulant Injector

Riptide – Twin-Linked Smart Missile System, Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Overide, Stimulant Injector

Troops
6x Fire Warriors – Shas'ui, EMP Grenades, 2x Markerlight Drones
6x Fire Warriors – Shas'ui, EMP Grenades, 2x Markerlight Drones
6x Fire Warriors – Shas'ui, EMP Grenades, 2x Markerlight Drones
3x Crisis Team – 6x Fusion Guns, 3x Shield Generator, 3x Bonding Knives
3x Crisis Team – 2x Flamers, Missile Pod, 2x Plasma Rifle, 2x Fusion Gun, 3x Bonding Knives
20x Chaos Cultists - 20x Autoguns, Mark of Nurgle
30x Chaos Cultists - 30x Autoguns, Mark of Nurgle

Heavy Support
Hammerhead Gunship - Disruption Pods
Hammerhead Gunship - Disruption Pods, Longstrike

Fortification
Aegis Defense Line

Warhammer 40k: DieCon Gateway Grand Tournament Results

Eric Darrais vs Avery Windau at one of the two top tables.

The final standings were as follows:

Overall Winner: Avery Windau (Space Marines/Tau)

1st and Best General: Adam Warnecke/Capnmoe (Tau/Eldar)

2nd: Brent Naumann (Necrons)

3rd: Eric Darrais (Tau/Necrons)

4th & Best Painting: Brent Gates/Makers (Chaos Daemons)

Sportsmanship: Dave Naumann (Orks)

3 of the top 5 armies had Tau and 2 of them had Necrons. We definitely weren't expecting Space Marine's to be in any, especially since it was 6th Edition rules. But there they were, in the top spot... thanks to the Centurion-Star. My god it's amazing.

It consisted of a Tau Commander with Command and Control Node & Mutlispectrum Sensor Suite which twin linked the units shots and allowed them to ignore cover. Tigurius and a Chapter Master with the Shield Eternal, Artificer armor, and a Power Sword. Finally, it had 4 Centurions with 4 Grav Cannons/Grav Amps and the Sergeant also had Missile Launcher/Omniscope.

He would use Tigurius to get Gate of Infinity and jump around the board destroying anything and everything he needed too.

Capmoe was running his Tau/Eldar Combo.

And Makers was running Daemons

Full lists and game summaries after the jump.

DieCon and the Gateway Grand Tournament

It's that time of year again. This weekend is DieCon!!! A list of events and tickets can found and purchased here http://diecon.com/D14/. Last year I took part in the Gateway Grand Tournament and managed to win the title of "Best General" with my Necron/Grey Knights combo. Hopefully this year I can do even better. If you love gaming, this is the place to be this weekend. I know they are also hosting 40k skirmish games, an Apocalypse game, and a 30k event. They also run a huge amount of Warmachine/Hordes events and more. This year I'm bringing out my Tau/Eldar combo. I have one Riptide left to finish painting before Saturday which shouldn't be a problem. Makers will also be playing in the tournament with his Chaos Daemons. Can the Lonely Havocs bring the noise? Stay tuned for updates.

Picture of this years army photographed with a potato. Better photos to come.

Final Warhammer 40K 6th Edition Battle Report: Daemons vs Farsight Enclave

As 6th edition comes to a close, so has league play out our FLGS. That means it's open play at the club. I decided to get my Daemons on the table one last time as I had only ever ran them once in 6th edition.

Deployment: Vanguard

Mission: Emperor's Will

My List (Daemons):

HQ
Fateweaver (Warlord)(Knew all of Change, Endurance, Psychic Shriek, Fire Shield, Prescience) 

Troops
10x Plaguebearers of Nurgle
10x Plaguebearers of Nurgle

Fast Attack
15x Flesh Hounds of Khorne
9x Screamers of Tzeentch

Heavy Support
Daemon Prince (Iron Arm, Endurance, Life Leech)

• Daemon of Tzeentch
• Daemonic Flight 
• Warp Forged Armour
• Psyker Level 3
• Greater Reward
• Exalted Reward (Portal Glyph) 

Daemon Prince (Iron Arm, Endurance, Life Leech)

• Daemon of Tzeentch
• Daemonic Flight 
• Warp Forged Armour
• Psyker Level 3
• Greater Reward 
• Exalted Reward (Grimoire of True Names) 

Daemon Prince (Iron Arm, Life Leech, Haemorrhage)

• Daemon of Tzeentch 
• Daemonic Flight 
• Warp Forged Armour  
• Psyker Level 3 
• Greater Reward  
• Greater Reward

My Opponents list as best I can Remember (Farsight Enclave):

HQ
Farsight (Warlord)

Sub-commander Torchstar

Elites

Riptide 

• Earth Caste Pilot Array
• Stimulant Injectors

Troops
9x Fire Warriors

• Devilfish

9x Fire Warriors

• Devilfish

3x Crisis Suits

• Various Gear and Weapons

3x Crisis Suits

• Various Gear and Weapons

Fast Attack
7x Pathfinders
8x Gun Drones

Heavy Support
Hammerhead

Hammerhead

Riptide/Wave Serpent Finished for DieCon

DieCon and the Gateway Grand Tournament is coming up quick, (June 20-22) and I realized that my army needs to be fully painted if I want to be able to take the top prize. While a fully painted army isn't required to play in the event, it is if you want to win overall champ. So this past weekend, I started the big push to get everything I need painted up. Here are the first 2 fruits of my labor.  One of two Riptides and one of two Wave Serpents. I was pretty stoked about how they turned out.