Trials of a Casual War gamer
Welcome to my rambles and experiences in the world of wargaming
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Thursday, 26 March 2026
Outpost 64
Thursday, 19 March 2026
Phalona Reach the Push for the City
The battle for Phalona Reach continues! Though I forgot to take pictures again!!
The Ultramarines tried an armoured punch to break through into Phalona Prime. They were met by Phalonas own armoured might.
The battle started with a fast thrust from the Ultramarines down the centre of the board. Magneus Calgar lead a charge of blade guard into a squad of guardsman, predictably they were cut down but crucially they held up the marines. My ogryns swept in and uneashed a hail of fire before charging in. Ultramarines fell to the Ogryns leaving only Calgar and one other left but Calgar isnt the chapter master of the Ultramarines for nothing. He slaughtered the ogryns leaving just the Commisar leading them alive. Meanwhile the Cerastus knight Lancer that pushed forward alongside Calgar was my no 1 target. 3 Rogal Dorns targeted the knight and brought it down in one turn! Then it exploded! Causing 8 mortal wounds to the 2 Land Raiders .
This loss hit the Ultramarines hard, terminators teleported in and got out of the surviving Lamd Raider. My Gaunts ghosts aka Phalona team 1 were destroyed by the terminators after they took my opponents objective in deployment zone.
My infantry pushed forward along with reserves coming on . The one Rogal Dorn came face to face with the chapter master of the Ultramarines. Everything it had went Into Calgar and took him out (I love the oppressor camera). The 2 land raiders were took out as well cutting off the Ultramarines from using the transport for rapid changes of location.
After this my opponent conceded the game. His remaining forces would struggle to take objectives off me and I still had 3 Rogal Dorns that could pound him from range.
.it was a fun game, when I saw the knight and 2 Land Raiders being set up i had a deep sense of foreboding but the knight blowing up and stripping 8 wounds of each land raider was a huge stroke of luck!
Friday, 6 March 2026
Adeptus Custodes. The Story so far
As I have mentioned on an earlier post I have started collecting Adeptus Custodes. Over the past few months I have been collecting mostly second hand models and I have around 1000pts now.
I have
Trajann Valoris
I bought him already painted. I have added a few little touches but he's pretty much as is. Quite excited to have a proper epic heroes that can kill many things (I know there are many heroes like this for Space Marines but when you run your own chapter not so many unless you use another characters stats. Which I have done to be fair).
Next up is
Allarus Terminators
The pics have had a filter added to try and brighten the pic bur hopefully you can see the paint job. I have painted these, they came undercoated black so I had to use the slap chop method. I am quite happy how they have turned out.
Blade Champion
This guy was going to be my leader till I decided to buy Trajann. he will be the only chap in my army with swords. I know the Guardians and wardens can have swords but honestly the axes and spears are much cooler.
Custodian Wardens
These guys will accompanying Trajann around the battlefield. I love the axes!
Custodian Guard
These guys did not get the fancy filter treatment. I have this squad done and painted and a box of new ones that I need to make up this week.
Weird having so few miniatures for 1000pts, can you imagine how many tanks and infantry my guard can have for 1000pts. Painting them was a new experience as well, the easy answer is just paint them with gold spray. You would be amazed how many of these miniatures are on Troll trader and second hand sites undercoated that exact way! That put me off as I wouldn't know where to start from a metallic gold undercoat. So I started my usual white primed and went from there. I went with Glittering Loot from the Army painter speed paint metallic range as the main gold. i tried to pick out a few details like the red eyes and some silver pipe work on the armour. The models with capes and robes were slightly more easier to make something pop out. Then after the gold I covered them in Army painter Dark Shade. Which was then dabbed ( I quickly learned not to wipe!) off with a new piece of kit make up egg sponges!
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Battletech
So a new exciting arrival for 2026 is BattleTech!
I have heard about this for a long time to be fair but last year I went to a warganing show called Wargamer (Check out my blog post here ). Great little show and I need to be more organised with work to try and go each year. Well there I got to play BattleTech thanks to the awesome Nat. He ran me and my son through a game of Alpha Strike and we loved it. Big mechs fighting will always be awesome. So christmas came, Alpha Strike and a beginner box appeared from santa. Gonna be fun digging into the game both the shortened Alpha Strike version and the classic
Beginners Box
All the stuff inside looks really nice! Haven't had a proper dig through this one yet but the quality is lovely.
This is the more indepth version of Battle Tech I believe. Where you track damage on your mech by seeing whee on the mech has took the hit. So you can lose an arm but carry on fighting. There are sheets that keep track of armour points on various different parts of the mech.
Alpha Strike
Next up is Alpha Strike, this is the slimmed down version. It allows you to bring 5 or 6 mechs a side and play a battle with them. This box is packed with stuff!
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| Quick start rules, a small novel and a primer to get you started on the lore |
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| Scenery! |
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| Handy cheat sheet |
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| Mechs! |
I love the dice you get with the set but I have a feeling im going to need more than 2. So will.have to dig through my dice collection see what colours I have.
Can't wait to try these games out.
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Both sides take a breath on Phalona Reach
Been a bit of a gap between our Phalona Reach Campaign. Don't worry we haven't forgot and the fate of Phalona Reach all be decided. We have played a couple of 40k games using the mission deck (don't ask me which one ha ha ha I'm pretty sure it's the basic one) and seem to have got the hang of it. So we will use these for a good chunk of the games. I really enjoyed my missions and ideas for the victory points but they need more testing and ideas. There definitely still will be some home made missions but might chuck the GW secondary missions as another way of scoring VP. If each game can net us between 50 to 70 pts that should keep the overall total ticking along nicely.
To this end Matt has written a short story as a certain character of his just recently got a promotion and his own campaign. I have added a short story from the Phalonians perspective. I have the Matts story in this post but I would urge you to visit his page and have a look at the plethora of stories he has written! Check it out here.
The Weight of the War
The air aboard the vessel was a suffocating, holy miasma, a "soup" of cloying incense, melting candle wax, acrid promethium exhaust, and the sharp, metallic tang of sacred machine oils. It was the scent of a crusade. The soundscape was equally overwhelming, the Roar. Sub-orbital craft and heavy ground transports thundered across the deck, their engines vibrating in Angelica’s chest. The Chant, the rhythmic, binary-heavy canticles of a hundred Tech-Priests rose in a constant drone, attempting to soothe the machine spirits of the war-engines. Angelica felt a flicker of unease. The war on the surface had ground into a bloody stalemate, with both the Imperial forces and the Rebel insurgents pulling back to lick their wounds. With Lieutenant Titus, the stalwart bridge between their forces, unexpectedly recalled to Macragge by the Primarch’s decree, she found herself navigating a political and tactical vacuum.
The Resilient Heart
A chapter serf, clad in the pristine white and cobalt robes of the Sons of Guilliman, bowed low and began to lead them into the ship's guts. They moved past the bustling Stratagium, where she had once seen Titus hunched over tactical displays, and ascended into the command tiers. Here, the industrial roar faded into a heavy, oppressive silence. The architecture shifted from military utility to Gothic splendour—vaulted ceilings draped in tattered battle standards and marble pillars inscribed with the Codex Astartes. They finally reached a set of towering golden doors, guarded by the Victrix Guard. These elite warriors, statuesque in their ornate plate, offered a silent, respectful nod to the Canoness as the massive locks released with a series of rhythmic, hydraulic clacks.
The doors swung wide to reveal a grand observation chamber dominated by a massive hololithic projection of the Phalona system. In the centre stood a figure that defied the natural order. Roboute Guilliman, the Lord Commander of the Imperium, stood over the table. His towering form, encased in the Armour of Fate, made the Primaris Marines nearby look like children. As the doors closed, the Primarch turned. His movements were a paradoxical blend of ancient authority and cultured refinement, carrying across the room with effortless power. The heavy boots of the Victrix Guard remained motionless as Angelica passed, their presence like statues carved from cobalt and gold. As the massive doors hissed shut behind her the low, rhythmic thrum of the Battle Barge’s warp drive and the frantic clicking of data-slates were replaced by low muttering voices of strategy and logistics.
The chamber was vast, a cathedral of logic and logistics. Shafts of pale light filtered through stained-glass viewports, casting long, multi-coloured shadows across the marble floor. In the centre of the room, the hololithic projection cast a ghostly blue glow upward, illuminating the face of the Avenging Son. Roboute Guilliman did not look up immediately. He moved a massive, armoured hand through the flickering light of the hololith, shifting troop icons with the grace of a musician. Even without his helm, he radiated an aura of such sheer, crushing authority that Angelica felt the breath hitch in her throat.
"Canoness, welcome, you find the air of my ship a bit thick?" Guilliman asked, his voice a deep baritone that seemed to vibrate in the very marrow of her bones. He finally turned, his eyes, ancient and weary, yet burning with an intellect that moved faster than any mortal mind, settling on her.
"It is the scent of duty, Lord Commander," Angelica replied, her voice steadying as she found her resolve. "It is not unlike the incense of the Cloister, merely... more industrial."
Now I had to make a short story from my side, just be warned my writing skills are much less than Matts.
“Are these confirmed” Governor Xavier Snarpe waved his hand over 2 data slates he had just read.
Friday, 9 January 2026
A new 40k Project
Another one I hear you say! Well yes, to add to my guard and space marines. It's mainly due to one animation I saw while scrolling through FB (Cheeky FB page plug here). It's from a warhammer TV show called Tithes I believe. The clip I watched portrays a Adeptus Custodes absolutely mulching some Tryanids. Their Guardian Spears are just awesome.
Now I know it's another Imperium force but hear me out .
I looked at Chaos and I have never been that bothered by them but I thought Death Guard might be cool but I don't have an awful lot of room left so a small deadly elite force that can fit in one box is preferred. Also have you seen the models, the details? I don't have the skill for all that detail and would end up hating them. Tau again don't have the room for all those battlesuits! Tryanids and Orks are both horde and I absolutely have no more room for another horde army. If I did i would be an Ork player in a heart beat.
The plan is to fill one easy plastic storage box A4 sized with the force. I reckon I could get just over a 1000pts in one box though GW not helping recently dropping the cost of a Custodes squad. Yeah won't be any vehicles in that but its mainly the infantry i like the look of.
Yes these sound like famous last words but I'm gonna try!
So far I have 4 custodian guard. 3 terminators and a shield champion. All second hand sound need a touch of work. Christmas is fast approaching so highly unlikely to have them painted soon.
*Update*
Got some wardens as well ! All built ans sand on the bases just awaiting an undercoat
Friday, 2 January 2026
And That Was 2025!
Well thats the year done! Another year of wargaming, mostly 40k as we got really into the narrative campaign I came up with. We have played some good varieties of games and it had encouraged ys to get models painted. Yes its been a bit rough eound the edges and some things haven't worked and somethings have. We have had a blast doing it so thats the main thing. The campaign is still on going, that 1000VP total is awhile off yet. Then gotta work on another campaign to try ha ha ha.
I know in the new year me and Matt wanna try some new games to break up the 40k. For this I wanna try:
I have the legion models so I am currently writing up lists for us to try. For those that don't know Xenos Rampant is a generic rule set that you use to tailor any force you want in a sci fi setting. It's based off the fantasy rule set Dragon Rampant which is based off the rules for Lion Rampant and historical rule set. Want to see the Klingins go against Orks ? You can with Xenos Rampant.
Next up is
BattleTech
I have a good idea I an getting BattleTech Alpha Strike and the Beginner Box for Christmas (Joy of people just saying send me the link don't explain it ha ha ha). Me and my son had great fun playing this so can't wait to show it to other people.
And lastly
Specifically 3rd Edition as I have not tried it yet and really want to. I have a large British force and I know Matt is itching to get his Soviets back out.
These will be the main three games I try other than 40k. Still have all my other games that I own to try if anyone wants to try something new.
I recently got the Black Ops rulebook after playing it at the Wargamer. I still wanna make a project for this so far in my notes I have SAS raid in a fictional country. Found on Etsy some SAS 20mm models so might buy some.to see the quality.
I have plans for a super elite 40k Army so watch this space for more models.
Speaking of models, I worked out i painted a huge 78 models! That's quite impressive for me. I still need to slow down my painting and not rush paint jobs.
My favourite model I painted this year? I think it easily is the a Wookie model one in particular.
Its a really cool model to start with anyway but I am super happy with how it came out.
That's it for the year!
Happy New Year to all my readers thank you for perusing my rambles .































