Blood Angels Models. Some Very Nice Work

Today's theme is apparently Blood Angels. With that being said, they released some excellent pictures Blood Angel models. These are done exceptionally well, and I really appreciate the Stormraven. While not the first, it is one of the best I have seen not in our traditional Blood Red.

New Missions from Games Workshop

It has been a long time since even a thought of Armageddon has come through. Games Workshop has apparently released a set of 3 scenerios for the third war of Aarmageddon.

While not all that news worthy, it is a couple new missions for people to play. I don't know if these were previously released during that campaign 10 or so years ago, but here they are. Break out Commissar Yarrick, and find some Ork players.

Don't Touch! Raider Conversions (WIP)

I am finally feeling pretty good about where I am at on my raider conversions. They are 3rd edition raiders cut up pretty bad and put together with spikey things, like fish hooks and metal barbs. So there will have to be a Do Not Touch policy during games. The model shown is one I just opened up out of the box, brand new from 1999. I have 3 more now under the knife and are coming along well.

Do Not Read This Book If You Do Not Want To Start a New Army

I am serious about not reading this. I am talking about Prospero Burns, a fiction novel by Dan Abnett. The first thing I did after reading this book was re-read the codex. The book was extremely good, the story line very well thought out.

The Best and Closest Pics of a Stormraven and Furioso

In the GW newsletter this morning they gave us some pics of a Blood Angel Stormraven and Furioso. They are extremely close and clear pics which is nice for a change. These were some nice shots of completed models.

New Information on Grey Knight Psychic Powers

When last discussing the latest rumor from Blood of Kittens, more information has come out expanding upon Grey Knight psychic powers.

Just to set the baseline, this was from Blood of Kittens a few days ago

"The Grey Knights are getting a new unit or they are getting an upgrade that causes an automatic hit to any enemy model in base-to-base with them. This hit wounds on a 4+ regardless of enemies toughness with normal saves allowed and occurs before ALL attacks (think old mandiblasters), but still adds to combat resolution at the end of combat."

Here is more information on these powers

Morale in 40k. Running Scared.

It is quite a touchy subject for most people. Did you know a unit can fall back more than once during  your turn? In fact, it is possible for several armies to make a unit fall back more than once during a phase. I have these discussions quite often when I am using moral against someone in 40k, as it appears most people that play the game have no idea how it works.

While this article is probably not for most of you that read on blogs and forums, sometimes people do not know morale. I have been held up for rulings more than once in tournaments on it's use, so lets get this out on the table. Grab your rulebooks, because I have the page numbers so you can check for yourself.

Grey Knights Rumor

It has been a little bit since we really heard anything new about Grey Knights. We know they are coming around tax time, so that is where our refund money is going to go. I am hoping that we will start getting some images and more solid information for Grey Knights, but a little of something is better than nothing.

Dark Eldar Darklight 51 (Area 51)

When you head down the path of Darkness, as a Dark Eldar player it is worth exploring to it's full extent. Darklight weaponry is uses an unknown substance sourced from Black Holes, Warp Storms, or other clestial phenomena of great magnitude to cheat the laws of physics. Even to see a beam of it fired will leave permanent damage to the retina.

Back in the day we had Dark Lance spam like crazy. It was all over the place, and really only one a maybe a couple builds that were even possible. It was effecient for Dark Eldar, but was it competitive?, no. Is it possible to continue this way of thinking to make an army now in 5th edition with our new codex? Probably. So its what I sat out to do. However, with our new codex I was not as limited to the Dark Lance, so Blasters are included as well.

Icons and Decor. Dark Eldar Style

While in conversation with a friend of mine several states away, the discussion turned to me asking for advice on my raider projects. With him being a lot more adept at the lore and story lines behind warhammer 40k than I am, I was very keen to pick up whatever advice I could.

Armies on Parade

GW is doing an event to show off your modelling skills. I'm sure that this will bring out some amazing work, however it is not quite up my alley. I will look forward to seeing what people can create as I think it's a great idea, but I cringe at the idea of driving for 5 hours to not even get a game in. Take a look at "Armies on Parade".

The Future of the Stormraven. The Drama resolved, What Now?

It really does appear that the Drama concerning whether or not the stormraven is going to be given to all the chapters in this coming white dwarf is resolved. Enough people have seen the article now, and all say the same thing.There is nothing in there to suggest it is allowed in the other space marine armies. This has been confirmed a couple times and even once by a reader here. Thanks Ianc.

Fliers Rules Coming to 40k? Pics of Fliers

So it is very possible that the flier rules we will be getting soon (this summer), could just lead to 6th edition rules including fliers. While I know that 6th edition is a ways off, it is still exciting to think of bombing runs, strafing runs, dog fights etc. Perhaps this summers releases on the flier front a prelude to what is coming down the road. How would this change our game? Does anyone have experience with Apoc flier rules? I haven't gotten in an apoc game for about a year.

Nemesis Review

Nemesis is a book by James Swallow and is part of the Horus Heresy Books from the Black Library. In essence the setting is Horus moving against the Imperium and the worlds still loyal, as he makes his way to Terra. Powerful figures in the book gather and decide to send a team of assassins to execute the traitor Horus and end the war against humanity before it begins.

Stormraven Drama Continues

Apparently Wayland Games has announced that the Stormraven will be usable by all marine chapters. that seems to be quite a leap of faith in my book for a company to announce it, but I figured I would give everyone the the clip, and let you decide for yourselves.

The Latest Releases for Summer. IG Hydra, Tau Remora, CSM Hell Blade, Tyranid Harpy

The rumor mill is in full force atm. We are looking at some very exciting possible releases this summer. Our "Summer of Fliers" looks to include apoc style rules with strafing and bombing runs. Also included are many other releases include a little bit for everyone.

Pics of the Week

Today we are delving back into my archives. I was going through these dusty folders and found there were a ton of pics that I really love, and had forgotten about.

GW Half Yearly Report - Statement by Mark Wells (CEO)

Today we have the half yearly report for investors, but better yet from a hobbiest perspective, it gives us insight into the company that provides us with our pasttime.

Just recently we were talking about costs vs a better game . You can link up to it here. Link. 

Furioso Dreadnaught Pics

Here are some new pics of our Blood Angel Furioso. The model is quite nice, and I look forward to actually having it in my hands. The magna grapples look cool in the front, and I have to say I like the looks of the librarian dread a lot. Here are the rest of the pics.

Secrets of the Dark Eldar- One shot, two vehicle damage rolls

Every once in a while, you read something and then re-read and discover something you hadn't seen before. With the Dark Eldar I have been making discoveries like this for my own personal list, and as of this morning discovered yet another one.

While discoveries do not really change my army lists, sometimes they fall right into sync with what I was trying to achieve with a unit in the first place.

Eldar Nightspinner Rules Now Available for Download (link)

Previously only available through the June 2010 white dwarf issue, GW has now posted these as a free download. Here is the link.

The Night Spinner is unique amongst artillery vehicles. It does not fire crude explosive shells like the guns of lesser races, but instead utilises a far more subtle and elegant means of delivering death from afar. The Night Spinner grav-tank mounts a doomweaver atop its sleek chassis, a weapon that spins threads of monofilament wire into a lethal web that is launched high into the air. This substance is incredibly thin, and yet so strong that nothing can stop its inexorable descent towards its victims. Indeed, the threads are known amongst the Eldar as the Chain of Vaul, named after the unbreakable bonds of legend.

Dark Eldar Tactica - Dealing with Heavy Armour

It seems simple right? Take a bunch of Darklight Weaponry and boom, heavy armour means nothing to you. Land Raiders, Predators, Leman Russ's, Monoliths, and Black Templar Land Raiders..... Oops.

Hey look, that land raider is rampaging through your army because lance weapons mean nothing to it. That necron monolith pretty harmless? lol. Nothing says die to dark eldar MSU like a monolith in your face. (yes, just faced that the hard way). Yea yea yea, you can always just run circles around them, but do you remember that we play objectives in this game?

Sneak Peak into February's White Dwarf (Questions Answered)

We have all heard the rumors, "The Stormraven will be able to be used for all Space Marines." This rumor has been floating around for quite some time and was also hinting that upon its release we were looking to a white dwarf article to get these special rules.

Well, the answer is in. It is already in Black and White. Previews of the February White Dwarf have already been read, and the answer is no. Other Space marine chapters will not be getting special white dwarf rules to allow the use of a Stormraven in their armies. Not even a 0-1.

Converted Dark Eldar Raiders

I am working on my raiders still. I have three that are just about done. I have 6 more raiders to do and 3 ravagers. Right now I am fighting with my Venoms, but I should be able to get them figured out sometime this coming week.

Of note, I decided since my last post on this, to completely remove the sails, and not do them. Instead I am going to probably set up a bunch of spikes and spears with chains and skulls etc down the center of each raider. I figured that since I am basically just redoing my dark eldar with current models, there is not much need to put sails on them. I will still have this option though later if I feel a need to.

Stormraven Pics (new)

I really have not set myself to either liking the stormraven model or not. I have not had one in my hands or faced one on the table. I do think that I like them better without that turrent on the top. Anyhow, here are some pics floating around.

Model Time with some Pics of Course

Just sitting back and doing some modeling tonight, wondering if I will ever create that masterpiece, or just be forever doomed to draw blood on just about every available fingertip. I am currently working on my raiders and venoms, since they are in large a big part of my army. While I won't be posting any of my pictures tonight, I figured I would post some recent models that are a little more inspiring than my own work.

Dais of Destruction

I get asked this a lot. what do you think of the Dais of Destruction. One of those models that will not make the list all that often. It simply is not that much of a threat on the tabletop for the 200 points.

HIgher Cost vs A Better Game?

Over the last year we have had several things happen to our beloved game. Prices increases and better codexes, and even more recently, updated FAQ's. Even though all of us complain about GW to some extent, I am more than happy seeing the price increases alongside a better game. Many of you I'm sure are going to say that there is no correlation but I have to disagree.

Grey Knight Release Date and Other Rumors

There are a lot of rumors floating around, including in depth discussions about what people want to see, what they are expecting, and a little about what actually might be there. We all know that the we will be seeing the Grey Knight codex in April, but the latest actually sets the date.

Blood Angels Dreadnaught List

In the spirit of the new Furioso pre-orders, I figured I would post a list based on Blood Angel Dreadnaughts. My interest of late has been Characters, so Mephiston is also included.

New Eldar Releases Available for Pre-Order Today.

Both the Shadow Spectres Aspect Warrior Squad and the Warp Hunter Grav Tank are available to pre-order now from Forgeworld, for despatch in the week commencing the 24th of January. You can order them here from Forgeworld

Stormraven, Furioso, and BA Battleforce Now Up for Advanced Order (with new pics)

It is official. New Blood Angel models are up for advanced order on the GW website. This means you can now order your stormraven, furioso, or even your Blood Angel battleforce. These are set to be released on Februaruy 5th. The Battleforce contains a Tactical Squad, an Assault Squad, a Death Company Squad and a Rhino dedicated transport vehicle. Here is some pics that were just posted via GW.

When Disaster Strikes

Disasters strike, and when they do it can change the lives of those that go through them for years. Queensland Flood Relief (40k Style) is in full effect. Sons of Taurus posted earlier today of a relief effort under way by deepstrike radio. It is a worthy cause, and figured I would help to get the word out. Here is a link to his site Sons of Taurus. Please go there for further information on how you can help the releif efforts and link up with Deepstrike Radio who is heading this project.

Pics of the Week

With the new FAQ's out, we will start seeing the return of several armies on the tabletop. The Black Templar and Dark Angels. So that is where we are headed and the theme for today's Pics of the Week.

Ex-Illis gone and the Future of 40k

Word is that Bastion Studios, makers of the hybrid wargame Ex-Illis have gone bust. It appears their servers will remain will up for the time being, however it does not look good as they have laid off their employees, and are praying for a new financial partner.

While this doesnt fall into my normal 40k mode, it is a wargame that I have seen played locally. For those that do not know, it is a hyrbrid tabletop wargame slash computer game. It is a rough market out there, and while there are some good "other" games out there, Games Workshop is king. More information about about Bastion Studios going down can be found here.
http://www.beastsofwar.com/ex-illis/bastion-studios-bust/

The New 40k (already at a store local to you)

It seems odd, that already we are hearing about armies that we hadnt seen or heard from in a long time. Unless you own a Black Templar army, do we really remember what is in that codex? The same goes for the sudden return of Dark Angels. I for one don't remember them. Dark Angels back in 3rd edition were my army of choice, and I recall spending $500 one day on metal terminators to get an all Deathwing Terminator army. Now suddenly those armies are back, and very well could be back with a vengence.

When Epic Characters Clash

In general I have always avoided the big expensive guys for my games. When Logan Grimnar and Mephiston came out, I generally passed over them, as rediculas expensive, and often down right dumb if they were taken. I will have to say that I even thought this way up until very recently.

Stormraven Sprue Pics

This just hit the sphere, pics of the new stormraven sprues. While they are fun to see, I just want to get a hold of one, so I can get a real feel for this vehicle. The latest rumor mill is also suggesting that other chapters will be able to use the stormraven via white dwarf. We shall see as that rumor is pretty much drowning in salt.

Below are 5 pics of the new stormraven sprues.

Unmanned Aircraft

I am still recovering from Friday Game night, since it lasts well into Saturday. I've also had a close loss in the family. This blog is not about my personal life, its about warhammer 40k. However with all this I am a little behind on some of the things I have been working on. So if posting these seems a little lazy today, oh well. I enjoy watching what current technology we can bring to the warfare.

Playing with Vect (He just killed What?)

When it comes to such a price tag, there had best be something worth while. So the question comes down to is he worth while, and can he make his points. Having many games under my belt using him, I've been able to dissect him pretty well, granted though that I do not play many skirmish games of 1500pts or lower (so we are not discussing games that low in points).

GW's FAQ's Celebrated, Slaying the Beast

GW has really stepped up to the plate. They've done an amazing job with all the 5th edition codexs, and even better, at listening to the public, and getting the FAQ's out. GW has really helped us crush and slay quite a few of those silly forum arguements

New FAQ's. Dark Eldar, Blood Angels, Space Wolves and Lots More

I have not yet read all that is updated, but it looks like the Main Rulebook, Black Templar, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Dark Eldar, Space Marines, and Space Wolves. I am plowing through these looking at what we have going, but here is the link so that you can check for yourself.

GW Mini's Being Removed from Stock

The main intent with deleted product codes is to make room for newer models, which may or may not be direct replacements for the models in question. The following is a list of models being removed from GW Stock, apparently these  items are currently available whilst stock lasts.

Next Generation Dark Eldar MSU (List Refinement and Observations)

It seems a Dilemma, but most of the lists I have been facing are dreadfully terrifying against Dark Eldar. I think in the last 3 games, I have had the opportunity to attempt 2 FNP rolls, as I was facing some heavy duty mechanized lists wielding Assault Cannons and Missile Launchers, or massed Autocannons. The amount of firepower incoming was devastating when I did not go first, and out of those last three games, I was only able to pull out two of the three games.

Next Generation Dark Eldar MSU

Of late, a lot of the games I have been playing have shown that MSU (multiple small units) lists are almost a complete failure. Not because they do not have a lot of flexibility or because they do not have the units to destroy the enemy, but because the enemy which is also playing the MSU game is it doing better.

Furioso Dreadnaught Sprue Pics (close ups)

Now this is one of the models I have been waiting for. I have two of the old metal (I weigh a ton) Furioso's. It's very nice to see some close ups with the librarian forceweapon options on them. There are going to be some very beautiful models made once these arrive. Following is a four close ups of the new sprues.

The opening pic is a couple of mine with a Magna-Grapples, however, please note that mine are not done yet. They've been sitting on the shelves for some time.

Next Dark Eldar Release (Voidravens, Talos, Beastmasters and more..)

Although posted as news, I am going to take these as rumors until I hear something a little more solid. I am excited about this release, as I will get to finally see something for the models I want to field. I hate testing out models with proxies. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Grey Knights Release Information

With Grey Knights now officially just around the corner, there is a little bit of information floating around the blogospheres tonight. While most of it is not new information, and some of it we could speculate ourselves with the release of a new codex, some info is better than none.

Pics of the Week

This week there really is not a theme, just some great pics that I have to get sorted and filed away. There are a couple of Neil Roberts artwork as well that I did not include last week. Without wasting anymore time here are the Pics of the Week.

Denizens of Commorragh - Complete Guide To Your Dark Eldar

It is complete. We have been through each and every unit (almost), as well as several tactic sessions. While many of the reviews came out before the codex was released, I will be going through and doing a more final update. I am linking up the entire series as well as tactics posts. I may even be doing an up to date final binded version with expanded diagrams and pictures. That will take more time, and would be in several months, as playtesting continues and my tactics and perspectives on units becomes more refined.