40k 11th Edition

 

Well the worst kept secret has been revealed at Adepticon. A new edition of 40k is coming. Lots of new stuff to see and learn it seems. Nothing much revealed about the box it seems other than images of a new space marine intercessor and ork boy.

They are both ok in my opinion.  Space marines will.all look the same they have been done over and over again. Not much different you can do.i imagine. 

Its nice to see the ork having all the guns and a choppa as a proper ork would have. 

As for rule.chamges again all little bits of info have been let out. Sone nice person on Reddit put them together in a handy list!

So let's have a look . Codexes are still valid, good if you have spent a load of cash on one. Bad if your codex ain't great. Does mean not as good codexes will not be getting changes just yet. I do not have the experience playing to comment on what's a good codex and what's not so no deep dive there I am afraid. 

70 new detachments. That sounds a lot but split across the factions its probably 2 or 3 new ones for each faction.  

Now we will be able to combine detachments? I'm not sure how this works maybe my tanks can have an armoured  detachment while my infantry gets a more infantry specific detachment. Could work as long as it does not get to confusing.

As you will know with me narrative play beats tournament play every time! Having missions linked to detachments seems interesting. A fast moving detachment for a quick recon or smash and grab.  A heavier hitting detachment  for a take and Hold type mission. 

Round objective markers are off (typical just as I buy some!!!). Replaced by terrain....now this could be really great and thematic or just rectangle and square footprints. Im hoping for terrain or rules for you to use terrain. 

Benefit of cover changing to hit roll makes sense (my poor guardsmen will now be worse shots). Intriguing is the stay hidden rule that supposedly coming in. If you dont shoot you can't be shot at until they are within 15" of you. Guess this edition will be the melee edition!! 

No stacking of strats well I never remember them any way so I am safe there.  

The charge change is a nice boost to charging units so will be fun to see that in action. 

Well thats it , we shall all have to await the slow drip feed of previews and see what's what. 

Outpost 64

The Adeptus Sororitas have taken an outpost on the edge of Phalona Prine as a start of the operation into Phalona Prime, the planet capital.

The outpost fell quickly, the Lion Warriors saw an opportunity for a counter attack to help the beleagured Phalonians. 

The mission was unexploded ordinance so we had to drag the objective markers into the opponents deploynent zone. 

The forces clashed quickly, the Sororitas melee units and armoured vehicles closed quickly with the on coming space marines. 

What followed can only be described as the worst dice rolling ever. 

Initially the space marines had success virtually wiping out a squad  of battle sisters.  After that  their aim was off  for the rest of the game. 

The Sororitas paragon warsuits laid waste to many space marines . In the centre the my captain in gracis armour and his aggressor squad was killed before they even got to do anything meaningful. 

Then the death watch made an appearance!! Who knows what they are looking for!

Absolute show of power by the Sisters of Battle, I had more units to use but time was running out and the mission went I wasn't going to score anything to win so the space marines retreated. 

Phalona Reach VP total for Victory: 1000

Phalona Reach Defence Forces: 387

Ultramarines : 372

The Lion Warriors boarded their transports. Heads hung in shame. Cpt Krenal watched the last of his brothers board the craft. The Chapter master would not be impressed. This world was becoming a curse on their chapter. 

 Battle Barge Vigilant Nemesis 

A Shadow cast over a giant of a man, he sat in his throne grim faced. The hall of the Battle Barge was largely empty. After the latest contact from Phalona Reach Chapter Master K'narn had retreated to his throne. Only his personal guard and a few servitors running routine maintenance were present. 

The chapter master stared into the emptiness . After an hour he suddenly moved and made for the bridge. His personal guard snapped to attention and followed. 

The bridge was the opposite of the hall, full and bustling with activity. Everyone stopped when K'narn entered. 

“Back to work!. Bring me the reports from Phalona Reach” he barked. 

A bridge officer handed him several data slates. K'narn studied them closely. 

Officers and space marines on the deck waited . They hadn't seen the chapter master like this before. After what seemed like an eternity K'narn laid the data slates down.  

“Put me through to Cpt Krenal. “ 

After a brief pause Cpt Krenal voice echoed across the Vox  

“Chapter Master. I have failed you”

“Cpt Krenal we will discuss that later. What is your assessment of Phalona Reach at this time? I have read the data slates and I have my own opinion but you are on the ground. “

A moment of silence followed silence filled the bridge

“Our losses have been catastrophic. The Ultramarines arriving and backing up the Adeptus Sororitas was an unforeseen complication. Reports are that the returning son Gullimann is also in the System now”

The chapter master nodded,

“Yes it does appear Phalona Reach has garnered more attention than we had accounted for. It is time, we will start the withdrawal. It is a shame Phalona Reach could not have been kept as a recruiting world but we must take what stock we have and leave. “

The vox crackled…

“Captain?” Chapter Master K'narn snapped impatiently 

“Master, I am uneasy about leaving the Phalonians.”

A power armoured fist slammed on to the bridge throne, the human serfs jumped at the sudden sound.

“This world is doomed! Would you doom our chapter? You may offer assistance while we withdraw but Captain you will be on those transports leaving. You have failed me enough times “

“it will be done”.

The chapter master took one look at Phalona Reach and cursed under his breath. 

Phalona Reach Command

Governor Snarpe saw the vox light up,  

“Captain Krenal to Governer Snarpe. I have some.bad news”

The Governor smiled, currently all news was bad news. 

The smoke over the Phalonan outpost did not rise; it drifted in heavy, greasy ribbons, hugging the shattered remains of the bastion walls. The air was a thick slurry of ozone and the coppery tang of high-velocity impact.

Canoness Angelica moved through the carnage with the slow, deliberate gait of a predator that had already feasted. Her power armor, once a pristine ivory, was now a tapestry of soot and the bright, spray-patterned yellow of the Lion Warriors’ heraldry. She didn't holster her plasma pistol; the coils still throbbed with a fading turquoise heat, a rhythmic heartbeat of contained miniature suns.

Around her, the field was a morbid hive of activity. Sister Initiates, their robes tucked into their belts to avoid the gore, moved like ghosts through the wreckage. They worked in silence, a sharp contrast to the ecstatic, melodic chanting of the Living Saint. High above, the Saint drifted on wings of pure, blinding light, a golden icon of the Emperor’s wrath made manifest. Her presence turned the battlefield into a cathedral; where her shadow passed, the Sisters of the Order fell into a rhythmic praise-song, their voices rising in a soaring polyphony that celebrated both the Master of Mankind and the cold genius of the Primarch’s strategy.

"His blood for our life," an Initiate whispered nearby.

Angelica stopped as she reached a cluster of fallen Astartes. These were the Lion Warriors—traitors who had traded their loyalty to the Throne for the hollow promises of the rebels. Their yellow plate was cracked, scorched by melta-fire and bolter rounds. A Sister Hospitaller knelt over a wounded Loyalist, her Narthecium whirring as she performed the grim alchemy of battlefield medicine. Beside her, another Sister performed a different rite. She stood over a Lion Warrior whose chest cavity had been hollowed out by a krak grenade. With a prayer that sounded more like a sentence, she delivered the Emperor’s Peace with a sharp, vertical strike of a combat blade, ensuring the traitor’s soul was sent to the Judgement he deserved.

"Record him," Angelica commanded, her voice raspy from shouting orders through a vox-grille.

The second Initiate stepped forward, the Tome of the Lost cradled in her arms. The heavy vellum pages flipped in the wind of a passing gunship. With a quill made from the feather of a cyber-eagle, she scratched a name into the margin—not of the traitor, but of the Sister who had fallen taking him down.

"Canoness," a voice grated, cutting through the Saint’s holy chorus.

Angelica turned. Standing near a matte-black Inquisitorial Rhino—its engines humming a low, predatory growl—was a figure of shadow and silver. A Deathwatch Lieutenant. His armor was a patchwork of ancient marks, the silver left arm gleaming with the etched icons of the Ordo Xenos.

He reached up, the magnetic seals of his helmet popping with a sharp, pressurized hiss. As the helm came away, a face of rugged, scarred granite was revealed. He looked less like a soldier and more like a cliffside worn down by centuries of salt and storm. One corner of his mouth hitched upward, pulling at a jagged scar that ran from his jaw to his temple.

"Congratulations on your victory, Canoness," the Lieutenant said, his voice a low rumble that seemed to come from his boots. "A fine display of purging. Though, I must admit, I’d hoped our quarry would have been found among this particular pile of scrap."

Angelica reached up and disengaged her own seals. She pulled her helmet free, and a cascade of shock-white hair spilled over her pauldrons, framing a face that was youthful in features but ancient in the eyes. She took a deep breath of the acrid air, her sharp gaze immediately locking onto the silver crux on his shoulder and the specific, notched insignia of his rank.

"Lieutenant," she said, her voice steady and demanding. "The air is still thick with the ashes of my Sisters. If the Deathwatch has seen fit to shadow our advance, I would know the price of your presence. Who, precisely, is your target?"

The Lieutenant’s smile widened, though it remained a fearsome mask of old wounds. He leaned back against the warm hull of the Rhino, the Inquisitorial "I" glowing a faint, menacing red behind him.

"A shadow, Canoness. A ghost in the machine who has been feeding the Lion Warriors more than just tactical data. We tracked a signal—a high-level heretic cipher—to this outpost. Someone was coordinating the retreat before your Saint turned the sky into a furnace."

"And who is he?"

The Lieutenant didn't answer he just turned his head in the direction of the retreating Lion Warriors, his eyes narrowed

Angelica nodded at the silent marine "Then we shall hunt him, ghost or not"

The Road ahead 2024 (Update)

 Just flicking through my blog and saw my post about plans for 2024 ( Check it out here). So I thought I would add an update!

40k 

Imperial Guard has stayed the same apart from one unit that will be Tempest Scions. Not been tempted by the jump pack ones .... Yet. With the new codes expected in the first or second part of next year it's a kind of just wait and see now.

My Lion Warriors have been reinforced! Assault intercessors acquired and all painted up along with some other character options as well oh and a new dreadnought on the painting table. So these are going strong. 

Bolt Action

Got the 3rd edition rulebook still not managed to fully read through it so haven't played a game yet but I did buy a 25pdr and a centaur tank for my British (ooo haven't done a blog post about them!!) so plodding along nicely. 

Last Days 

Still not played this. Thought it might be a good idea to try with the kids one school holiday but we shall see. 

A Space ship game

I played battlefleet Gothic! An oldy but a goody. Had a great time 

Starship Trooper Project

Well I've gone from 15mm to 6mm!! I even have actual models. I do need more bug models at the moment. The troopers have got to be outnumbered it's the only true way. 

Star grave 

I still wanna try this maybe next year . I might start actively planning an idea for 2 crews and see what's out there. 

Anything Else

Gaslands and Rumble slam are fine, I'll play them if a game opportunity appears but don't need anything adding to them I don't think. 

Tempest Scions

 I always wanted to add some Scions to my guard army. Being able to deep strike with them makes them quite useful. So I naturally went to station forge. A lot of the grimguard special forces match Karskins more but I found these guys who look a lot like Hell divers to me but they still work. I bought them from South of Resin. The colour scheme is quite bright and showy but I'm my head canon they are from a very elitist planet and deem themselves better than normal folk (like the Volpone from Gaunts Ghosts). 

These guys will be dropping in behind enemy lines to cause chaos!! 

New models (GW ones )

 

I have finally acquired the Guard models I really always wanted. Gaunts Ghosts! My favourite books from Games Workshop is now my army leading command squad. As you can imagine these were built and undercoated in lighting time! So here's the results!

Colonel -Commissar Gaunt 

The main man himself! My new army warlord, armed with his trusty chainsword and bolt pistol ready to lead his Ghosts and my army to victory! (Hopefully)

Mkoll

The stealth master himself. Ready to cause some damage with his straight silver!

Colonel Colm Corbec

One of my favourite characters in the series. Though some how I always pictured him as bald guess I missed a character description somewhere while reading.

Try Again Bragg

My favourite character in the books. Though on the model I'm not a massive fan of his beret but I'll look past it as it's Gaunts ghosts!

Major Elim Rawne

The shifty but always loyal  major to the Ghosts looks ready for up close action. 

Hlaine Larkin

Mad Larkin is the master sniper of the Gaunts a bit unstable but always on target!

There's the gang. Can't wait to try them out, they are still just humans so can die very easily so got to be careful how I play them but they have some fun rules that I can't wait to try out. 

Across the Dead Earth Factions #1 Here is one of my gangs for the game Across the Dead Earth. Now you would think of start this with pics of the gang is played my first game with (78th Smethwick Irregulars) however I'm not happy with the paint scheme so they've been striped and awaiting a new coat of paint. 'the Fighting Spanner's' The fighting spanner's are a forward expeditionary squad of the engineers guild. The engineers guild value knowledge and technology so they send out the squads to scout and scour the wastes for either. The 'Spanners' set out from the settlement called the Rag Market in what used to be Birmingham after reports of the State moving into the ruins of Smethwick. The engineers guild does not want the state to find any tech or to get a foothold in the area.

Rufus is the leader of the squad, born and raised in the rag market. He is known for always having a plan and tinkering with all manner of hand held tech

Jade is the squads heavy back up. Her motto is "Any problem can be solved with explosives"

Sparks is the squads medic, he sees medicine as just another form of engineering though he always keeps his shotgun handy!

Lara is an angry lady, many people on the guild have tried to teach her but if things don't work they get broke! So she was recommended to the expeditionary squads where she thrives with bat and shotgun.

Zero started out as a hunter in the wilds of Canon hill park until he was hired by the guild as a guard. After single handedly rescuing Rufus from ten Solus he was recruited into the 'Fighting Spanners" That's the Fighting Spanners. Keep an eye out for the next gang Mart

My Across the Dead Earth Universe

A recent friends blog about his imagined Necromunda and Mordhiem areas has inspired me to write my own about my imagined Across the Dead Earth area where our games take place.
It's based around Smethwick  (my local area) just on the fringes of Birmingham which is a large settlement in Across the Dead Earth so ties in nicely.

The 'Thorns

This is the remains of a football ground that the survivors have turned into a thriving settlement (Think Diamond City from Fallout 4). Here is where the 78th Smethwick Irregulars base of operations is.

The Thorns

The old pumping station

Dodgy Kens Pumping Station Trading Post

This is a trading post set up in an old canal pumping house  (quite famous round Smethwick). With access to the canals meaning good trading routes between the post and the Rag Market Dodgy Ken can get you always what you want ( Dodgy Ken is an injoke between my friend and I. He is a legendary local shop keeper ☺).

The start of the concrete jungle

Concrete Jungle

No one goes near the Concrete Jungle unless absolutely necessary.  Traders travelling the old railway lines always have extra guards for this section unless they are full of bravado or stupidity.  In the ruined housing estate resides a 'settlement' owned by the infamous Concrete Jungle Savages.  This band of psychos and lunatics pray on the weak and if they outnumber them the strong.

The Valley

The Valley

The Valley is a heavily wooded area right next to the Thorns having overtaken the few industrial units that were between the sports ground and the valley  however the  ruined road that separates the 2 is always kept clear with flames to keep a clear space so the sentries can keep the Forest Kin away. Few enter the Forest and return. The locals know to keep a wide berth and the sentries know to be vigilant all the time for raiding parties. 

Chance Glass Works

Chance Glass Works

In this abandoned factory now settlement reside the raider gang The Coggers. The leader claiming descedency from an old industrial boss guards his territory with a tenacity and brutality. Many a trespasser are found floating in the canal that runs along side the abandoned factory.

The Avery

The Avery

The Avery is a factory complex used by the Engineers Guild as a forward base. Currently inhabited by the Fighting Spanners, they explore the ruins of Smethwick looking for technology and any lost knowledge amongst the ruins of the industrial estates though recently they have started to have run ins with a squad of State troopers who have moved into the area.

The old council house

The Big House

This is the old council house in Smethwick.  The state squad Sector 14 have set up here in their bid to spread the influence of the State over the people of Smethwick but at the moment are struggling with the fiercely independent locals

That's little imagined area of the apocalyspe. 

Interview with Rich from Dead Earth Games

Hello everyone. I've decided to try something new out on the blog. Since getting back into wargaming I've got chatting to lots of people in the hobby including people who have made their own games, so I decided it would be interesting to try and do a little interview with some. Never done anything like this before so bear with me.
In this post I spoke to Rich from   Dead Earth Games, creator of Across the Dead Earth and The Shattered Crown. Now I'm a bit of an Across the Dead Earth fan boy, as it was as I see it, the game that got me back into wargaming.  My friend was into old Necromunda and I found out my old necromunda miniatures with the aim of making up a few gangs.  Then I found Across the Dead Earth for the rule book and bam! My necromunda miniatures became gangs for the post apocalyptic version of my home town Smethwick  (Across the Dead Earth is set predominately in a post apocalyptic U.K. ). The chat was about the upcoming 2nd edition of the Across the Dead Earth and a few other things. Anyway here's the chat.

Mart: Congratulations on the latest kickstarter for Across the Dead Earth. The assassin models look amazing. When did Dead Earth games start up and what did you have in mind? 

Rich: Thanks. So, I wrote ATDE in 2013. It came about quite naturally, developing out of a skirmish ruleset I was playing with my friends in the loft. Originally their was a Napoleonic setting, but with only a handful of figures, then there was a very brief period where I tried to make a skirmish game set in Stalingrad 1942 which didn’t work because no one ever moved. To give myself more freedom around tech and classes, and avoid any sense of feeling tied to realism I chose a futuristic setting, but I really wanted to restrict technology too – it had to make sense as a skirmish game, rather than anything that could be resolved with planetary missile strikes. I started talking about the rules I had written and a publisher got in touch and we spoke and eventually they passed but really encouraged me to still try to get the rules out. That’s when I spoke to my brother Mike and he suggested a Kickstarter campaign. So as a company we basically existed as a result of that first Kickstarter campaign being successful in 2014. I don’t know what we had in mind – making some miniatures was a cool enough end in itself! 

Mart: Across the Dead Earth has been a solid success having been around for a few years. I think the rule set is great but what can we expect in the 2nd edition in terms of rule changes, New gangs and potentially vehicle rules?

Rich: I don’t have any urge at all to change the fundamentals of ATDE. We’re streamlining the rules and trying to make everything as easy to remember as possible – so, for example, Short, Medium and Long ranges will always be the same distance, but some weapons will only be able to fire “up to” Medium or even short. We’re reversing some stats so scoring higher on the dice is always better, which might seem like a big change but, honestly, it just makes more sense and people get used to it in minutes. We’ll also be expanding the rules a bit, yes, to bring in proper vehicle rules. I’m also varying factions and the stats that go along with them a lot – so the State will actually play completely differently to the Forest-Kin now, for example. 

Mart: I'm a huge fan of the Across the Dead Earth fluff. Will the original fluff from rulebook be kept and possibly expanded in the 2nd edition?

Rich: Yes. All of the faction detail from Origins has been included and expanded. The F-UK feels a lot more territorial now. We talk about larger factions more as well as just the individual roaming gangs. Things have moved on a tiny bit for some characters mentioned in the original fluff, and there is now an organised or semi-organised resistance to The State. 

Mart: Will the supplement that had been released (From Sea to Poisoned Sea) be integrated into the 2nd edition?

Rich: Some of it. I think the Sollus rules will remain pretty much intact. I don’t know if we’ll talk about The Disunited States this time. I want the book to feel complete and not like it has random appendices added in. So…some of it. Also, we never really finished FSTPS so in that sense the missing parts will be in the second edition.

Mart: I attended the Across the Dead Earth Tournament 'Murder in the Midlands' and had a great time as did everyone else. Is this and maybe wargaming shows something you would like to do more of in the future to push the game forward?

Rich: Shows, definitely. They’re the lifeblood of games. We haven’t been out much recently as we simply haven’t been able to put out new products to sell and we don’t have a rulebook available at the moment. That’s one of the main reasons for taking the opportunity to create a second edition. I very much want to get back out there. As for tournaments – as you know, Murder in the Midlands was all down to other people, and I had a great time there too and I hope it happens again. I suppose if Neil doesn’t do it again I could…but there’s always The To Do List.

Mart: What new miniatures would you like to be released at the same time as the 2nd edition rules? 

Rich: Oooh. So many. Hopefully we’ll get a Trade Guild gang out and someone for them to go up against. Probably a faction from the new fluff. I’ve always really wanted to get a gang called The Gentleman Adventurers done – tweed jackets, hunting rifles, monacles etc based out of the nuclear bunker of a stately home…Maybe one day.

Mart: When roughly will we see the 2nd edition be released?

Rich: The 1th of Nocemburary.

Mart: Any other plans or teasers you would like to tell us about Across the Dead Earth v2? 

Rich: Well, I can’t tell you too much more because I haven’t finished writing it. And I’ll be influenced by player feedback from alpha and beta testing yet – after all – there’s no point releasing a version of the game that I like but no one else does. So I guess I would say to people to keep their ideas coming in. 

Mart: Now onto another game you guys are developing 'Pirates of the Undead' where did the idea for this game come from? 

Rich: I love pirates! Who doesn’t? And whilst there are some rulesets out there, really I wanted to bring the speed and simplicity of ATDE to a pirate setting, and then as soon as I thought about it it just made so much sense. ATDE is actually largely about finding and fighting for treasure (Loot tokens), and the event cards really allow you to impart themes and flavour, so there is a LOT of that in the Pirate versions of the cards. 

Mart: Will this be a skirmish game also and what do you feel is unique about it?

Rich: Yes, it’s absolutely a skirmish game. I think the character and sense of fun and adventure is the uniqueness. It doesn’t take itself too seriously whilst still being a proper, tactical game. The whole point of it is to make it feel like a Pirate game, not just a skirmish game with swords and ships.

Mart: How big a table does the game need and how long would a game last? 

Rich: This will take more playtesting, but I would imagine we’ll end up recommending 3x3” when ships aren’t involved and bigger if they are, and a similar period of time to ATDE. Although I am writing some deliberately quick scenarios for this one too. 

Mart: What miniatures would you like to see released for the game?

Rich: Again, I have loads I’d like to get done. Everything from dwarves with peg-legs to parrots, to giants with rowing boats for hats to mermaids and sirens. We’re starting with Dwarves. 

Mart: Is there a timeline for the game or is or slightly on the back burner with Across the Dead Earth v2?

Rich: In all honesty I don’t know which will get finished first! Writing a new game is much easier. There’s nothing to compare and contrast to. With 2nd Edition ATDE everything needs to be better than it was, otherwise there’s no point doing it. With Pirates of the Undead Seas I’m just playing. 

Mart: Dead Earth games also have the fantasy game The Shattered Crown but whenever we had a a discussion on Facebook post I always imagine you are having new game ideas all the time. Is this the case? If so no details needed but how many game ideas are in the back of your mind right now? 

Rich: Hmm…I think there are four others that have names, put it that way. If only thinking of the ideas was the tricky part! As we saw with The Shattered Crown, it takes a lot of support to get a game made and we overstretched ourselves with that one. We needed to be much more firmly established to try to get a game of that scale out. So everything else in my head now is probably in the realm of skirmish, or smaller starter size anyway. I have ideas all the time, you’re right, but a lot of the time 2 days later I’ll realise that either there’s a problem, or that someone else is doing something similar, or that whilst the ideas is fine, if I don’t LOVE the setting and the fluff and won’t enjoy writing it, I’ll never be able to push it in the right way. I wrote a fair amount around some rules for a 1920’s gangster game based on ATDE, and then abandoned it because I realised I didn’t particularly want to write about that period and I had no desire to write about real people…so it just got forgotten about. It would have probably worked, but I wouldn’t have been as into it as ATDE, TSC or Pirates of the Undead Seas and as such someone who really IS into that setting will make a better game for people to play.

Mart: Thank you for answering my questions and I can't wait to see what Dead Earth Games has planned.

More painting!

Been working my way through the painting queue and it's down to only a few models now! (Guess I'll have to get some more)
First up is another Across the Dead Gang, The State. This gang is part of an organisation that believe they rule the country now from the ruins of London.

Also got my SAS jeep 99% done just needs a bit of finishing here and there (well probably a lot more than that but that be beyond my abilities)

Painting is on hold as I have appeared to have killed my painting light 😢 only dropped it about 2 foot but it looks like it's given up.
I might have a crack at painting my bunker complex as shouldn't need the light for that! !

I also forgot!!!!!

I also forgot I painted my prototype Drexyl that I won in a Facebook competition in the Across the Dead Earth game group.  Here he is!!

A painting bonanza!!

Had a lovely break in dawlish now back home and thanks to my shift pattern I've had a good few evenings to assault the painting queue!!
First up was the rest of my Test of Honour warband. A samurai, a musician and spearmen (evil long spears i kept stabbing myself on! !).

Half painted spearmen

Spearmen done!

Musician and Samurai

Next up was some spectre miniatures I won way back during the Across the Dead Earth Tournament. (Blog here ). Love these modern CIA types and I'm sure they will find a home in an Across the Dead Earth gang or as dino hunters.

Painting going well

All done

My favourite miniature of the four

After that I had found some resin ammo crates on eBay that were super cheap and I wanted them for scenery in my bunker complex. They quality around the sides wasn't super great but they were cheap ☺

Not rough and ready but they'll do

Next up was the Across the Dead Earth gang the Sisters of Acquisition. I was a little daunted by these models as they are  a smaller scale (different sculptor I believe). Fantastic miniatures but my broken eyes struggle with them lol

The gang awaiting paint

Completed Sisters of Acquisition

My attempt at making the pistols look like they have red dot sights (hopefully gonna get some gloss to give the red a glint and maybe the sniper scope)

There ya go, that's a massive dent in the paint queue!! Have a great day folks

Games Night!

Last Friday night was games night! My good friend arrived for the evenings battles.
First up he handed me some sprues from Test of Honour as he had bought the game and kindly (rather awesomely I have to say) spilt the forces with me so soon I will have some samurai led forces to add to my model collection.

My 3 samurai heroes!

I'll obviously post pictures of the Japanese force progress.
First game of the night was Across the Dead Earth.  I made up a map of a small area for a campaign between our 2 main gangs. The Coggers  (my friends gang) and the 78th Smethwick Irregulars  (obviously my gang). The premise was a captured map off a State explorer about a recently discovered area.

The captured map

Basic I know but I'm no artist. It's spilt into a grid. You win a game you take a grid. Get all the grids you win!  Or capture the opposing gangs HQ grid you win. This idea uses one of the suggestions in the back of the Across the Dead Earth rulebook as a base. So the battle was a capture the objective and hold it. The objective in question was an abandoned Tesco store. Both gangs at one end of the board with the Tesco on sight.  Some modest loot tokens were around as well.

The game board

My gang has a new member Grimm the gunslinger  (using my gunslinger model I got by backing a kick starter last year). The gangs lined up and away we went.
Our gangs ran up the sides of the battle field a few peeling off to exchange fire to slow up the oppostion

SNAFU and his usually reliable special assault rifle jammed the first shot fired!!!

Dead Eye Dave steps up and adds to the shooting but another poor showing

My first attempts at shooting went terrible the dice rolls were not with me! About half my gang made for Tesco the other kept an eye on being flanked by the opposing gang.

Grimm after clearing a jam takes down a Cogger with his hand cannon

My leader heads the charge for Tesco

Grimm jammed his pistol  (I swear I have never had that many hand before!!!) The gangs started getting close now.

Adahy my scout bravely takes on Wall the Coggers melee specialist

And with a superb roll wins the melee!!!

SNAFU forgetting his jammed assault rule pulls his tomahawk out and engages Lug the Coggers LMG specialist.

SNAFU takes out Lug in melee

A Cogger takes possession of Tesco and waits weapon ready

Next turn up SNAFU decides to take out Lug from the game completely but wait my opponent pullled out a grenade and boom!!!!

My opponent played our 2nd favourite event card!! Can't beat trip wire!

The grenade took out both out gang members. We love the event cards especially this one but our favourite is trip wire  can't beat a bit of petty stopping players running with loot ha ha ha

Adahy falls to Cogger reinforcements

The alley next to Tesco becomes a focal point. Adahy is shot ,a Cogger jams his assault rifle and Dead Eye Dave rolls a head shot instantly taking a Cogger out of the game!

Selene takes out the last Cogger in the alley

With the alley cleared there is one Cogger left holding out.  My gang close in on Tesco. The lone Cogger leans out the door and fires but  to no affect
.

My leader charges the door with his axe

The last surviving Cogger was took down  in melee and I win the game. 
I chose a grid on the map so now that's my territory. Also got a bit of loot and bought me a silencer to add to my gunslingers hand cannon (not sure how that works but he he he).
Next up Star Wars Armada

The fleets line up

We played a 300pt game. (Though we forgot to use various evade tokens but it was getting late and we still had fun lol)  I was as always the resistance and had a fleet comprising off a Nebuleon B frigate (my strongest ship), 2 Corvettes, the Millenium Falcon, Luke Skywalker plus a handful of x wings and b wings.  The opposing fleet had a Star Destroyer (still an imposing model), an Imperial Raider, Boba Fett, Darth Vader and a score of Tie fighters and bombers.

The Heroic Resistance

The dreaded Empire

Battle was joined!!

A rather disorganised start from the Resistance Fleet. The Empire rolled forward

The fleets engage! !!

The fleets engaged the Corvette closest to the Star Destroyer bravelly hit it with all it had sapping shields but was stripped off all shields in return. Fighters engaged with each other trying to keep them away from their own capital ships. 

Fully engaged in close range battle

In the pic above you might notice the lack of an Imperial Raider. After being stripped of shields it received the full frontal battery of my Nebuloen B frigate and disintegrated. Also lost was Boba Fett after a dog fight with Han solo the Corvette added its fire and blew the bounty hunter out of the sky.
Unfortunately my frigate has taken a beating from various shots including Darth Vader and is in a vulnerable situation. The Corvette on the left has taken some horrendous damage from the Star Destroyers side guns.

The fleets pass through one another counting the cost

As you can see from the pics above though getting some solid hits on the Star Destroyer my Frigate faced the full power of its frontal guns and was obliterated!!! The Corvette on the left speeds away desperately trying to raise shields to its rear as it is carrying a lot of damage. The Corvette on the right is attempting to get behind the Star Destroyer. My squadrons start to get the upper hand on their counter parts and bombers head for the Star Destroyer. 

The Millenium Falcon swoops in

The Star Destroyer has only one Hull point left after being attacked from long-range and the Millennium Falcon swoops in to the rear and scored the final hit destroying the Star Destroyer and winning the game.

Overall great games and lots of fun. I always love the skirmish action of Across the Dead Earth and Star Wars Armada grow on me more and more (can't beat a massive space battle!).
Have a great day folks

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