The Leagues Of Votann.

 My birthday has been and gone. Didn't really know what I wanted. Family got me Mass effect legendary edition as I have been wanting it for ages. If anyone else asked I asked for money for models. What models? Well it was either kill team or leagues of Votann. I then discovered the price of new kill team box so ruled it out. My birthday came and I got more money than expected. I popped to local gaming shop with the mind set of if they have kill team I'm buying it otherwise I'm getting leagues of votann. They had one copy but it was reserved so leagues of Votann it was!! Reasons why I wanted them? Well squats were cool in Epic 40k and I wanted my own OP army ha ha ha Guard are wonderful and the best faction but they do die easy. The Leagues of Votann seem a bit more powerful! The army box arrived home and I was surrounded by sprues and books and cards. The codex is full of fluff which I love . You get a pile of data cards (so much stuff to remember which I of course will forget) and a book of instructions. What I would have liked is pictures of some of the weapons as it took me longer than I would like to admit to work out the difference between ion cmgins and bolters. The models in box are 

 1x Ûthar the Destined, who can also be built as a Kâhl

– 1x Einhyr Champion

– 3x Hernkyn Pioneers

– 20x Hearthkyn Warriors

So guessing you wanna see the models? Well as its been a while and thanks to the all blessed speed paints they are done and I am super proud of them

There ya go! My personal favourites are thr champion with massive hammer, my Medic with an axe and a missile launcher 

Can't wait to give them a run out! 

Kill Team!!

 

Today I tried Kill Team. Just a basic run through of rules. The tacs ops and missions will require another game to play. This was straight up kill each other.

As you have seen before on blog I have the Imperial Guard Veteran team (Cheers Dave!) all painted up. So they jumped in their transport (foam box) and headed to war. Their opponents...... bleeding space marines!!!!

The size of battlefield shocked me even though I knew the size in my head.  This would easily fit onto a dining table or even a table at a board game cafe or Geek Retreat type place. The terrain is nice looking we had some smaller bits and not the buildings that are also in set but as I said juat a learning game. We didn't use the missions or tac ops. I believe these add a more tactical element and your way to score victory points. These will be explored another time. We will be playing narrative as well so will get to use the narrative rules (always better than competitive) and my little band of krieg brothers can grow from strength to strength...... Or die horribly I suppose such is the guard way.

Onto the game a roll for initiative each turn keeps you on your toes, you could be going first but you also may not be so plan ahead. Every model can start the game  with a conceal token or engage token. Models that have a concealed token can not be targeted  (they can be when certain conditions are met) and can not engage targets. This represents soldiers moving as stealthily as possible trying to get to the best position. Some units like snipers can shoot when concealed. Engage tokens mean your model can shoot and fight but also be shot and charged themselves. 

Models activate alternately though some less powerful models can activate 2 or more models  in one go.  When you model is activated you have AP to spend, most things cost 1 AP.  The ranges in Kill Team are represented by symbols, square circle triangle and hexagon. Square is 3", circle is 2", triangle is  1" and hexagon is 6".  So  a models movement would be 3 Circle which would be 6". The template you get is very nice and covers 2 of the distances you will be needed to measure. And a straight ruler for hexagon is also provided. They do look very cool as well. A thing I discovered today and really like is most guns have no range in Kill Team. The size of the board assumes your average rifle in 40k can reach anywhere. Some weapons do, I can only speak for what I played today but my flamer, plasma pistol and Melta gun had ranges listed. All my Las guns and opponents bolt guns had no range noted down. This little touch speeds the game up.  

Now the best bit the fighting! Kill team uses a system similar I believe to a game I own called Tanks Modern Warfare (Now been replaced with world of tanks or something like that). For example shooting, your weapon has an attack characteristic and that's how many dice you roll, your ballistic skill tells you what you need to hit. You equal or beat that total boom you landed a hit. If you roll a 6 that's a critical hit  which is always good cos you cause evtra damage!. So you've landed some hits well now the target has to see how well they defended.  Every model has a number of defence dice and a save throw. You throw your defence dice and try to make your saving throw. For every saving throw you make you are saved from 1 hit. Only a critical save (6) will save a critical hit though! Any hits that get through cause the damage stated in weapon. Once you have taken more wounds than your wound characteristic  your model is out of the game. Its kinda the same system for close combat but both parties fight at same time. You don't use defense you roll your close combat roll (depends on weapon) then any hits you can use to hit or parry the enemies hits. So you have some tough choices. This system runs really quickly and Let's you get trough your turns nice and quickly. It being GW there are a few special rules here and there but they are fairly simple and don't complicate the game.

How did the battle go....... OK for a first time I killed 2 maybe 3 space marines and then got slaughtered ha ha ha I found out about the ranges when I ran my flamer close but not close enough and he couldn't fire and was killed next turn. 

Overall really enjoyed it. The game runs smooth and the mechanics are quick to pick up and already planning another kill team. Really wanted the new box set Into the Dark but it's price is to much for me at the moment. So I quite fancy making a kill team board as when it needs storing it can live on top of a wardrobe. 

Well there ya go! I shall report back when we have played a full game with mi ssions etc 

There's Heavy support and then there is Super Heavy Support!

 I have painted the Demolisher so now my crusade welcomes LT Mkoll  (Tank Commander) and his tank the Vanguard of Terra. I went with the light grey dark grey camo theme that I have done my sentinal and hellhound in to keep the force similar looking.

Also as a new addition to my crusade force is this awesome beast!!

Imperialis Dominatus the super heavy Shadow Sword tank. The Volcano Cannon is a beast on this thing. Now technically in the current game it's not the best but it's so cool!!! And that's all that matters to me!

First time I have ever painted something so big! Can't wait to use it in a game even though it will probably die in the first turn. 

Krieg Team six Veteran Imperial Guard Squad

 Thought I would do some close up photos of my Kill team who have all been named and sorted on Battlescribe ready for war. First up the leader

Clark 

Next up is a Gunner Veteran

Price

Next in line is the Medic Veteran 

Sandy

Next to the front line is the Zealot Veteran

Pearce 

OK now here comes the Spotter Veteran 

Mortimer 

After the Spotter comes a Hardened Veteran with a bionic arm

Chavez

OK and then there is Veteran Trooper 

Covington

After the Veteran Trooper comes Veteran Sniper 

Homer

OK and last bit not least is the Gunner Veteran with a Melta gun

Oso Vega

That be my Kill Team can't wait to put them to the test. They are all named from a book do you know which one? 

Sons Blood Bowl Team

 My son has been playing in our blood bowl league and wanted his own team now and opted for cursed Dark Elves. I finished painting them up ready for the new season.

Think I'm missing one player which is annoying but you get the idea  ha ha  ha. So hourly my Halfings will be smacking done dark elves soon

Ye Gads sometimes i am rubbish at Posting!

 I realised how much time has passed since a blog post damn!!! Apologies all round. Kids work school the usual. My Imperial guard have had a boost thanks to the tax man. I got hold of a leman russ demolisher. So another big gun. Mha ha ha ha that's undercoated and awaiting paint.

Forward for the Emperor! 

My son had his birthday and asked for a blood bowl team. So he now has dark elves! Pesky elves!!! He chose them as the winner of our league the last couple of times has been dark elves so naturally he thinks they are the bees knees! So I also have these to paint for him. Then my Halfings can smash them to pieces!. 

Next the eyes have been wondering to a new game (as every Wargamer knows they do). Warhammer 40k Kill Team is the one as well all have models we could use. I have plenty of imperial guard to make a kill team from. I initially got out Colonel Schaeffer’s Last Chancers to use. Then my mate Dave bought the kill team box set and gifted me (cos he's a legend) the imperial guard vet team. So now I have me some Krieg soldiers! Lovely models has to be said. I didn't want to paint them black though so I made up a scheme.  These got painted first as I got quite infused by them. 

Speed paints are my favourite thing for the painting side of the hobby. I particularly like the power sword colour and plasma pistol.  

40K and Me!

My return to 40k  unlike the return of Roboute Gulliman was not spectacular I did not awake from a stasis slumber to rule over the Imperium. It was mainly a group of friends were talking about playing a crusade and I wanted in lol. So after 6 or 7 games I think I'm a regular now ha ha ha Now ideally I would have picked a small elite army so I wouldn't have to have loads of models....... Except the Astra Militarium or as they are properly known Imperial Guard are my favourites and I always think that the normal blokes given a Las rifle and told to fight that Carnifex has a lot more guts than a super soldier. Plus tanks, tanks and more tanks. If you know 40k at the moment you will know Guard are the worst army having no new rules for years (A recent update gives us a bit of a  boost to be fair but still not there yet )  but that's only really a problem if you are a super competitive player. Playing for fun I take my victories elsewhere. Like my last battle I scored 3 wounds on a Knight Tyrant with Las guns!! My Bulgryns beating a War Dog into the ground was amusing as well. That's what my Wargaming is all about those crazy stories or ridiculous dice rolls that come off..... Or fail. I'm well aware peoole play for different reasons and that's absolutley fine. Different strokes for different folks and all that

Let's get the cons out the way cos they are dull but for balance I should say them 😁

1. The turn system. It feels archaic and so disheartening to watch half your army get shot away  especially when you have a weak army. Alternate actions seems so much better allowing you to react to a enemy move.  A few wrong deployments and boom units are dead and utterly  pointless you might as well not bother setting them up. Now I hear you cry you should better deploy and this is true. How ever their are times when you will just get blown away with out reply and after playing games like Bolt Action it just doesn't feel a fluid. We have played 40K once using alternative actions and it was good fun.

2. The amount of special rules! I have a home made 4 page cheat sheet and that's not even all the rules. The main rules are super simple but so so many extra rules you could do with remembering.

3. The whole leaning towards tournament play. Most FB groups and twitter are filled with meta lists and what you have to have in a tournamant and everything else is seen  as a waste and pointless. I may just not have found any groups yet but there is for me at the moment a lack of narrative gaming on 40k. They do have the crusade idea which is good for building a force but still adheres somewhat to the whole tournament feel. Now true this is all down to the individual and their friends so I cam do it myself that's true but its a shame not to see a bit more narrative set ups. 

And that's it  yeah yeah I know people find plenty more and some of you maybe wondering why I haven't put price as a con. Honestly the models are definatly on the more expensive side! However the models are some of the best I've seen and they go together really simply with a few exceptions (Wood Elf Blood Bowl team I'm looking at you!!!!!) also since I've been doing the hobby I have been lucky enough to chat to a couple of games designers and miniature designers who have developed their own world and lore which also requires time, effort and can be easily ripped off by other people. Another reason is I'm not tied to GW several of my Imperial guard troops aren't GW models. I can't see me playing at a GW shop or Warhammer world with my army so haven't got to worry about that and my friends are super casual about what models I bring. I have a theme for them their just not GW models.

The pros

1. I'm a big fan of the lore always have been even through my period of not playing games I always read the books from black library and every now and then bought a white dwarf. I'm not as interested in the  chaos side of the lore I prefer the Imperium vs Xenos but once again different strokes for different folks. As you may have guessed I'm not into the whole super soldier malarkey I much prefer playing the grunts who are in the field hence why Gaunts Ghosts and Ciaphas Cain are my fave reads and highly reccomended. 

2. The models are really nice sometimes they are a bit too detailed for my painting skills but I can't blame my poor painting on the model designers! 

3. The core rules are simple to pick up and are designed for quicker play (clearly designed for tournament play) even though the miriad of special rules can hinder this. 

4. I do like seeing big Chunky armies fighting across the battle field I can't lie. Humping them around to various places can be  annoying though ha ha ha 

There's bound to be more but that's all I can think of right now. I'm enjoying my 40k journey, still not quite as fun as Bolt Action but I'm enjoying the nostalgia of playing 40k when I was a wee teenager. 

Boost to the Imperium and a new player on the scene!

 I have mentioned before that I have some space marine  interssesors for my Imperial guard army. I needed a HQ choice so they could have a little patrol detachment. So I acquired from my friend Matt a Captain in terminator armour. For ow this dude will prxy as a lietuent in Primaris armour as the captain has three three highest leadership so would become my warlord for the crusade force. That wouldn't really match thematically in my head as my would a captain be in charge of just 5 marines and a whole guard force. One more squad of marines and then I reckon he could. Painted him up last night while watching eurovision song contest.

Once again many thanks to the speed paints for making this a quicker process and one that looks amazing for the little effort I had to do. 

Next up is a new project. My wife is awesome and puts up with my miniature hobby taking space up and encourages me quite a bit however her one issue is everything is dark colours or khaki! (perils of being a WW2 gamer. Lots of brown and green). Even my Imperial guard ain't that colourful. So I endeavoured to find an army that would be a bit more wider in choice of colours (though on writing this I realised I have a 10mm English Civil War project to do! That's got to be a bit more colourful). So breaking away from my have everything human I went down the Aeldari route!! Now yes I know technically they are really close to humans but come on give me some credit. My friend Matt gave me a Harlequin Shadow seer. Now if you have seen the box art for this there is no way I am attempting that! So I had a Google and found a colour scheme I liked and off I went! 

I'm really happy with how they came out. I especially like the orange flowing cloth. He lead a combat patrol of Harlequins and the main force will be Aeldari. 

More Armour for the Guard!! Also some giant dudes join the Roughnecks!!

 Hello again!! Having sold some items on ebay (old sports tops sell really well it seems) the imperial guard is having a boost! I have known what I wanted for a while. I just needed funds! First up close combat. My loyal and wonderful Guardsmen are not great in close combat let's be honest so they needed a boost and the Imperial Guard can call upon some rather cool looking helpers. Bulgryns and Ogryns. The kit you buy  is not cheap for 3 models but one nice touch is it contains sprues that enable you to build 3 Bulgryns, 3 ogryns or the ogryn special character and 2 ogryns. I did not know this and was almost swayed to build something else but stayed the course! So 3 Bulgryns were constructed, the kits were fairly simple to put together and were plastic so I got to use Poly cement so know gluing fingers instead of models. There are a few options  to arm the Bulgryns and I was thinking about magnetising them all so I could swap them around but honestly I couldn't be bothered. I would hardly ever change them and it would be money and effort wasted. I knew what set up I wanted so saw no reason to change it. Once they had been constructed and primed I sat down to paint. 

I am so happy with how these came out! I used my speed paints and honestly I'm fully converted to them. The green, skin, skulls and trousers were all one coat of speed paint and they look blooming great (Now I know there are better painted models out there but as I've always said painting is my least favourite part of the hobby so anything that makes it quicker and better looking works for me.), the skin especially I love as I've never been able to get that properly down. The Bulgryns are armed with mauls and Slab shields. Mauls as I wanted close combat and slab shields because they look so awesome. So there ya go Bulgryns done next up is......

A tank! Well this is the Imperial Guard so I need armour. I wanted a Hellhound, a lovely shock tank to race up to the eneny uses its inferno cannon and then probably explode (that's OK as long as its surrounded by enemies). So a hellhound was ordered along with Bulgryns. These 2 boxes were ordered from Warlords and Wizards gaming. A lovely store in Netherton, its where I had the bolt action tournament and the guys there are always happy to chat and super helpful. Yes I probably could have got it cheaper online but I'm trying to support my local store as I'd like to game there again so it needs sales and it might only be a little purchase but it's my little bit to help. I also sold another item a week or so after the others so popped into Warlords and Wizards and picked up a sentinal and some darker green speed paint (see the dark green on the Bulgryns). So here's the armoured bit of my purchases.

I didn't use many speed paints on these vehicles as I wanted to save the paints. Though the tank commander, inferno cannon barrel and multi Melta barrel are painted using speed paint. I chose a grey type camo because my cousin painted a Chimera recently and mentioned my star ship troopers theme so I used the Grey camo and probably will now on all the vehicles I buy now. I couldn't match my cousins skill level (Seriously check out his work here it's brilliant) but I'm happy with how they have come out.  The Sentinel is packing a missile launcher and a hunter killer missile so they should be fun to use.

Well there you go! Can't wait to try these guys on a scrap. Stay safe friends.