Epic Armageddon training game: Dominic (Orks) vs. Kyle (Space Marines)

Having just barely finished the last of the Ork units just in time, I was able to show Dominic and Kyle how to play Epic with two FULLY PAINTED 3000 point lists!  Let’s get Epic!

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Dominic – Orks

• ‘Uge Ork Warband with 18 Ork, 6 Gretchin, and 6 Nobs stands!
• Ork Warband with 6 Ork, 2 Gretchin, and 2 Nobs stands plus 3 Battlewagons, 1 Flakwagon and 1 Gunwagon.
• Ork Warband with 6 Ork, 2 Gretchin, and 2 Nobs stands plus 3 Battlewagons, 1 Flakwagon and 1 Gunwagon.
• Mekboy Stompamob with 3 Stompas
• Fighta Sqwadrun with 3 Fighta-Bommerz
• Kult of Speed with 6 Warbikes and 2 Buggies
• Big Blitz Brigade with 9 Gunwagonz, two of which have Supa-Zzap-Gunz
• Great Gargant with Warlord Character Upgrade

Kyle -Space Marines

• Tactical formation with 6 Tactical stands, 3 Rhinos, and a Supreme Commander upgrade.
• Devastator formation with 4 Devastator stands, 2 Rhinos, and 1 Hunter
• Terminator formation with 4 Terminator stands and a Chaplain upgrade
• Whirlwind formation with 4 Whirlwinds
• Assault formation with 4 Assault stands
• Assault formation with 4 Assault stands
• Thunderhawk Gunship
• Land Speeder formation with 5 regular Land Speeders
• Warlord Titan

Standard Tournament Scenario

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Setup:

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Turn 1

Kyle teleports the Terminators right next to the gunwagons!

Strategy roll goes to the Orks!  Dominic goes first.

Dominic takes an Engage action with the Kult of Speed, who charge the Terminators!  …aaaaaaand bounce right off.  No Terminators die, and the bikes are broken and fleeing.

Next, Dominic retains the initiative, and Doubles with the Blitz Brigade to put the hurt on the Warlord Titan.  Just out of range with most regular Gunwagons, the Supa Zzap Gunz take down a grand total of… one void shield.

Kyle retaliates with a Sustained Fire action by the Titan.  The Gunwagons are shattered and break.

Retaining, Kyle sets the Whirlwinds loose on the ‘Uge Ork Warband with Indirect Fire.  Many gretchin die, much to the amusement of the orks!

Dominic moves the Evil Sunz mounted Warband up towards the objective with a Double.

Dominic tries to retain, but a poor roll leaves the Fighta Bommaz with a blast marker!

Kyle sends the Land Speeders to engage the Stompas.  One Stompa goes down, breaking the formation.

Dominic turns the gunz of the Great Gargant on the Terminators!  Three die, and the last flees!

Dominic takes a BIG GAMBLE and puts the ‘Uge Ork Warband on Overwatch!  Will it pay off?

Kyle Advances the Devastators, firing on the broken Blitz Brigade and scattering their remnants further.  However, a poor Dangerous Terrain roll loses the Hunter!  The Marines have no anti air!

Retaining the initiative, Kyle Marches with the Tactical formation to hold an objective.

Dominic puts the Blood Axe Warband on Overwatch, as they babysit the Objective on the board edge.

Kyle declares an Air Assault with the Thunderhawk, which brings BOTH Assault formations and goes for the Evil Sunz mounted warband!  AMAZING overwatch fire from the ‘Uge Warband kills three Assault stands, breaking one of the two formations, sending the survivors running.  The remaining Assault marines open the battlewagons like tuna cans, and wipe the whole formation out!

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Turn 2

Kyle wins the Strategy roll, and sends the surviving Assault formation after the broken Ork bikes!  This assault was a complete disaster.  Whiffs and poor armor saves, plus FOUR WHOLE ROUNDS of fighting finally wipe out the Assault Marines, and leave one Ork Bike stand alive.

Dominic Doubles the Great Gargant, and puts the Land Speeders in his sights!  Poor rolls left four Speeders intact.

Kyle wanted to March to get the Warlord into position, but a blast marker ruins his day, and the Warlord end up moving once on a Hold action…

Dominic’s Fighta Bommers shake off their Blast Marker and put some SERIOUS hurt on the Whirlwinds!

The Land Speeders menace the ‘Uge Warband.

Having enough of the Land Speeder’s crap, the ‘Uge Warband charges them.  The Landspeeders lose two and break, but the Warband loses two as well, and loses the combat, forced to flee.

Kyle’s Whirlwinds Marshall to remove their blast markers.

Dominic gives the Great Gargant a Double to move it out where it can do some good, as it has no enemies to fight!  What a terrible fate for an Ork.

Kyle’s one remaining Assault Marine which regrouped earlier moves out and holds the objective.

Kyle bides his time, Advancing the Tactical marines, but not moving them.

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Turn 3

Kyle wins the Strategy roll, and puts his Devastators on Overwatch.

Fighta Bommerz go after the last Assault Marine to clear the objective, but REALLY poor rolls keep the Assault Marines safe.

Kyle has a plan.  He needs the Titan to go off, but first he chains the Tactical Marines to hold both objectives!

Kyle’s plan falls apart as the Warlord fails again.

Dominic, to deny Kyle the They Shall Not Pass condition, Doubles the Gargant to get into Kyle’s table half.  Not to be outdone, Kyle Doubles his Devastators which loses a Rhino and a Devastator stand to dangerous terrain.  Now, neither player has They Shall Not Pass.

Kyle’s Assault Marines move into cover to protect themselves.

Dominic gambles and wins, putting the ‘Uge warband on March, and a ridiculous daisy chain CAPTURES THREE OBJECTIVES!

Final Score:

Blitzkrieg: NONE

Break Their Spirit: NONE

Defend The Flag: ORKS

Take and Hold: NONE

They Shall Not Pass: NONE

Final Score: Space Marines 0, Orks 1  Victory for the Orks!

Next, another training mission!

Epic Orks aplenty, 3000 pt. Teaching List complete!

You saw my previous post, with the squid.  That massive undertaking left me little time to finish the 3000 pts of Epic Orks that I promised to show my peeps in Highland tomorrow.

Just under the wire, I completed the last three formations.  Job’s a good ‘un!

Next: see these models (and my Space Marines) in action as my Highland peeps check out Epic Armageddon!  Stay tuned!

A Modest Cephalopod Proposal – Reaper Bones Unleash the Kraken!

For more than two years, I have been incredibly lucky.  The most wonderful woman I have ever met has somehow come to love me as much as I love her.  We both agreed that we’re going to get married at SOME point, but we’ve been distracted by the usual suspects.  Poverty, illness, painting models, Lou Gossett, Jr., etc.

A bit more than a year ago, Reaper Miniatures began their second Bones Kickstarter, and like a sucker, I threw a small fortune at them.  You know how it is.  One of the add-ons offered was called “Unleash the Kraken!”

It was perfect.  The love of my life has a POWERFUL ken for cephalopods.  I ordered it and waited… a lot.  Thanks China.  But it arrived and I have been dutifully painting it.

Behold.

This masterpiece serves two purposes: a belated xmas present, and an official declaration to the world of my intent to marry her.  She loved it.

Love is wonderful, but it’s not what this blog is about.  Being the first Reaper Bones mini I’ve actually BOTHERED to paint, I’d be remiss without a thorough review of this product, and a complete breakdown of all the steps that led to this final, precious artifact.

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The Reaper Bones Miniature:

Beautifully sculpted, I followed the instructions on the Reaper Bones Preparation Guide.  I washed the squid gently in soapy water, and dried each piece.  The Beak, mouth/head, tentacles, body, ship, and mast holding up the squid are all seperate parts.  Each part was carefully cleaned with a diamond file.  The bottom of the body had some Reaper branding words that took a lot of elbow grease to scrape off.

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Modeling:

I did a pre-assembly of some parts.  The support mast was glued to the ship using super glue.  Gaps between the ship and mast needed a bit of green stuff, which I modeled into barnacles to cover it up.  I painstakingly arranged the tentacles about the mouth/head, and used more green stuff to join them more perfectly.  It was joined later, after some parts were painted.

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Painting:

As per the Reaper instructions, I (for the first time) used no primer.  At first.  The green stuff demanded primer, so I used a Reaper black paint on primer.  As for the rest, the paint did stick… mostly.  I found that 95% of the surface area of the model held paint with one coat.  Some very small areas refused a second but paid heed to a third.  Paint took an INCREDIBLE amount of friction to remove with rubbing, just as good as if it had been primered.

The ship was my first test to see how the paint stood up.  I started by coating the entire ship with black.  I then heavily drybrushed it (almost a wet brush) with Fortress Gray.  I inked then entire ship with Army Painter black ink wash, and then hit the whole ship with another lighter drybrush of Fortress Gray.  I then built up color with a drybrush of Snakebite Leather.  The next layer was Snot Green, but only in places that face “up” where sunlight could reach algae.  Ropes were given a much thicker coat, as algae would gain a stronger foothold in a softer surface.  The eagle bowsprit was given a very light drybrush of Vallejo brand gold, to simulate fading gilt.  Barnacles were picked out with Fortress gray, and washed to darken the insides.  The shelf corals were hit with a custom blend of paints to make them a salmon/coral pink.

Next, I tackled the body.  Colossal Squids tend to be orange, so I built up from Mechrite Red, to Blood Red, Firey Orange, and Blazing Orange.  The belly was Bleached Bone washed with 50% Citadel Chestnut Ink and 50% water with one drop of dish soap (saved from at least a decade ago!).  It was then drybrushed Bleached Bone and then lighter with White.  Armor plates were Shadow Gray drybrushed Space Wolves Gray.

The head came next.  The interior of the mouth was similar to the body.  Teeth were black with a slight highlight of Shadow Gray.  Face was similar to the upper body.  The eyes were a challenge.  I started black, and when I added white I left a circle of black around the edges for contrast.  Vallejo brand teal for the eyes, and a mix of various paints to create a different teal for some eye freckles.  I then did a circle of black for the pupil.

Tentacles were built up similar to the upper body, and spines are black with Shadow Gray.

The interior of the beak was bleached bone, with a small painted on orifice inside.  Exterior is black with Shadow Gray highlights.

Finally, the Squid was assembled, touched up, and sealed with Testors matte varnish.

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The final verdict: Thanks to Reaper’s master sculptors and the skills I have honed over 14 years, this is my finest work.  There can be no better proposal, at least not with my skills.

…and by the way, she said yes!

Battlefleet Gothic 1505 Fleet Engagement – Marines vs. Imperial Navy

Had an amazing game of Gothic with Stephen, despite some setbacks.  But first, a shout out to all the peeps at AFK games in Holt for all the incredibly diverse games played!

First, some amazing Eldar tanks with clear red glazed canopies that look great!

Next, some shots of an amazing super-weathered Mantis Warriors army, fighting hard to regain their honor after the Badab war.  Those fellas could use a bit of fresh paint.  How about it, Munitorum?

Nathaniel’s white Imperial Guard tango with Mr. Cat’s tan colored Crimson Fists.

Josh’s Brettonians square off against some Lizardmen!

One table was set up with the Robotech miniatures game!  Valkyries clashed with Zentraedi pods over a city!

Long time Fourstrands contributor Stephen (Dark Angels) was practicing for a tournament with his partner, who had a stunning Saim-Hann Eldar army.

Finally, there was even some Warmahordes!  Here’s a nice Circle list led by Morvahna.

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Scenario – Fleet Engagement – 1505 points

Battlezone – Primary Biosphere

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Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines

-Piers, Master of the Fleet, one re-roll (aboard His Hammer II)

-Battlebarge His Hammer II

-Battlebarge His Anvil

-Strike Cruiser Sacrifice, extra shield (squadroned with following two ships)

—Strike Cruiser Vigilance, extra shield

—Strike Cruiser Courage, extra shield

-Nova Frigates x2, Flame Squadron

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Stephen – Imperial Navy

-Admiral (Ld9), one re-roll (aboard the Mars class battlecruiser)

-Retribution Battleship

-Mars Battlecruiser (squadroned with following two ships)

—Dominator Cruiser

—Gothic Cruiser

-Dauntless Light Cruiser, lances

-Sword Frigates x3

-Firestorm Frigates x3

-Cobra Destroyers x2

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The Azure Flames Space Marines deploy in a Wedge (white area) to cut into the Sphere of the Imperial Navy (gray area).  Deployment map C:

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Azure Flames turn 1

His Hammer II launches Thunderhawks and comes about.  Strike Cruisers go on All Ahead Full.  His Anvil fires Thunderhawks and Boarding Torpedoes to put the Imperials on the defensive.  Novas move up the edge of the board.

The Imperials are denied.

A threatening volley is fired!

Novas try to creep up the board edge.

Imperial Navy turn 1

The squadron of cruisers turns on His Anvil, which braces.  One Nova Cannon misses, but another hits!  …doing one hit.  Amazing fire from the Sword frigates lower the Battlebarge’s other two shields.  Torpedoes from the Gothic stop the boarding torpedoes.  The rest of the fleet comes about to re-engage.  Thunderhawks take out one of the two Cobras.

Nova Cannon?  More like marshmallow cannon.

Cobras get too close, and Thunderhawks make them pay.

Azure Flames turn 2

His Hammer II goes on All Ahead Full and leaves the Imperials in the dust (cloud).  Strike Cruisers pool their Thunderhawks and fire a 6 strong wave.  Novas and His Anvil destroy 2 of the 3 Sword frigates.

Here come the Space Marines!

The Novas pounce!

Imperial Navy turn 2

Mars launches 4 fighters which take up CAP duties in the squadron.  Gothic launches torpedoes, but a terrible Turret roll by me and a terrible Torpedo roll by Stephen means all 6 torpedoes go right through me!  Up close and personal Nova Cannon shotguns hit His Anvil hard, but fantastic Brace saves prevent any damage.  Thunderhawks approach.  Remaining Sword goes on a suicide charge at the Novas.  The rest of the fleet goes on All Ahead Full with some fantastic leadership rolls!

Nova Cannons lay into His Anvil, which weathers the storm.  The Sword prepares to sell its life dearly…

Don’t spare the plasma!

Azure Flames turn 3

Remaining Sword lives, despite failing to Brace for Impact, TWICE!  Strike Cruisers mass for a strength 18 torpedo wave!  One Thunderhawk splits off to remove the screen from the Gothic class.  This along with fire from His Anvil cripples the Gothic class, causing an Engine Room critical.  The Mars also gets an Engine Room critical and two fires from Thunderhawks.

…h…HOW?  HOW DID IT LIVE?

The storm is coming…

Imperial Navy turn 3

Due to Engine Room criticals, the Gothic and Mars cannot turn, so they move minimum distance.  Torpedoes fired by the Gothic several turns ago strike the Dauntless, causing one damage!  Lagging fleet continues All Ahead Full.  Nova Canon shot does 3 hits to the Courage, doing 1 damage, and causing an Engine Room critical! The surviving Sword disengages!

Friendly fire!

The Dominator draws blood from the Strike Cruiser Courage.  A fantastic Nova Cannon shot makes it unable to turn!

Azure Flames turn 4

Thanks to the planet, His Anvil makes a turn and boards the Mars class, doing 9 damage and turning it into a drifting hulk.  The Courage and the Vigilance board the crippled Gothic, making it a drifting hulk.  The Sacrifice fires torpedoes and Thunderhawks at the Dominator, doing two damage and causing a Port Weapons Malfunction.  His Hammer II launches Thunderhawks to menace the incoming escorts.

The storm breaks upon the Imperials… (pictured above, the Vigilance is where the blank base is)

Here comes trouble…

Imperial Navy turn 4

Dominator tries to disengage, but fails!  The rest of the fleet sticks around to help it.  Lance fire takes two shields down from His Hammer II.

The rest of the fleet covers for the Dominator.

Azure Flames turn 5

Both Battlebarges go on Lock On, and the Strike Cruisers Come to a New Heading.  The fleet does four more damage (with some poor rolls), crippling the Dominator.  Turn not pictured.

Imperial Navy turn 5

All ships disengage, except the Firestorms who fail!  They make for a Gas Cloud for cover…  Turn not pictured.

Azure Flames turn 6

Strike Cruisers Reload Ordnance.  18 torpedoes kill the closest and farthest Firestorm, but an incredible brace roll saves the second Firestorm!  …which then dies to Thunderhawk gunships.  Game ends.  Turn not pictured.

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Final Score

Azure Flames – 907

Imperial Navy – 10

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*squirts Mountain Dew out of nose*

…OK.

Well!  Let’s see what happened.  I got a great deployment opportunity to divide the Imperials.  Stephen had a 1500 list that he wanted to play, but it wasn’t tailored to fight Marines.  Stephen could have unbalanced his deployment (because he had more to deploy) but he was about as balanced as I was.  Next, I got lucky with some missed Nova Cannon shots and UNBELIEVABLE boarding rolls.  His Anvil beat the Mars class by NINE.  That killed a completely undamaged cruiser in one go.  Finally, the two hulked ships remained as I held the field, giving me approximately 140 extra points.  Finally I got 120 extra points because the Firestorms failed to disengage.

Next: Super Secret Project, Gothic or 40K at AFK and EPIC ARMAGEDDON at Highland!

Read this right now.

Normally I don’t make fourstrands my personal facebook page, but this thread came up, and I really liked it. Give it a read:

http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?53617-Why-Don-t-They-Put-Their-Helmets-Onhttp://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?53617-Why-Don-t-They-Put-Their-Helmets-On

A great piece on the culture of the Imperium.