Orky Fortifications for Winters

Hello!

I recently took on a little project for the exceptionally busy Winters SEO to paint up some terrain for him and his channel. Winters asked for assistance on Patreon and I, among several others, took up the challenge. I accepted, partially because it's cool seeing stuff you painted turn up on the internet, partially because I felt a bit guilty about certain events during our battle report, but mostly because the terrain looks really cool and I fancied a go at it!

The scenery in question is a series of wall sections from Kromlech's Tabletop Scenics Orkenburg range. It's laser cut MDF sheets that, thankfully, Winters stuck together before posting, so it arrived as pictured above. There are loads of little wall sections that are all modular, having textured doors or barricades on each end so that they can be placed freestanding or as part of a larger fortification.

First step was to spray all the bits. A note to anyone trying this at home. Untreated MDF soaks up loads of paint. You'll either need to coat it in PVA glue or some kind of sealant first, or just be super aggressive with the spray paint to get any sort of coverage. Of course in true Orky fashion I just used an entire can of cheap spray paint getting them (and my fingers) black. The internet tells me that this is less of a problem if you use higher quality spray paint. In any case, after the first coat the rest of the painting was easy enough, just like painting undercoated plastic or metal. After the black I gave them all a blast of a dark metallic spray to get the base colour.

A whole lot of messily slapping on reds and oranges and a bit of white, followed by dry brushing with various metals, and this is the result. A dirty, rusty wall of scrap metal. I did attempt some coloured plates in among the rust and bare metal, but I didn't really think it was working out so I just made it all metal apart from the white for the skull symbols and 'tooth' spikes. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and hopefully it'll look cool on the battlefield. Obviously though I had to set it up somewhere to see it 'all together'.

I built it up as a two staged defensive wall, imagining a larger fortress lay just behind the gate in the second line. One side was left open to allow access for larger war machines, while the other side was walled off. Seeing it all placed out on a table is pretty cool, but there was something missing...

Yes, that's better! I couldn't help myself from populating it with my Orks before I packaged it back up for it's trip home. Maybe one day they will be reunited and I'll command the Orks on a Winters SEO battle report?

Given that I've named myself and this blog after my Ork Warboss, I've been somewhat neglecting them while waiting for the (now imminent) Codex. They have not really been seen on the blog, apart from the Gorkanaut. So as a special treat (mainly for myself), here are a load more pictures of Orks on a wall!

Explorator Fleet Helios - Ryza Adeptus Mechanicus and Taranis Imperial Knights army.

Hello!

Now that the Valiant is all painted up, I decided to get all the Adeptus Mechanicus stuff out for some photos. This is my most recently started and smallest army, originally intended to just be an allied force to allow me to attend doubles events alongside other Imperial players. It's grown a bit since then, but I don't see it getting much bigger since I struggle to match the orange. That said, there might be further Imperial allies coming down the line...

I decided to name the force 'Explorator Fleet Helios' because it sounds cool, and because of all the brighter-than-the-sun plasma culverins. Lore wise this is a force that ranges far through the galaxy searching for archeotech and lost STC technology. I figure the commanders of the Ryza force hope to find more weapons to turn on the Orks that infest their Forge World, while Sir Camulus and the Knights of House Taranis are fulfilling some sort of ancient oath.

Anyway, pictures! Enjoy:

Video Battle Report with Winters SEO - Tyranids vs Adeptus Mechanicus

Hello!

As you might remember, a while ago I took my Tyranids on a trip to Swindon to play a game against the legendary Winters SEO for his Youtube channel. I had an absolute blast playing against the master of the Penitent Forge, and Winters at the very least tolerated me. (I did bribe him with Yorkshire Tea, so I think that helped.)

Anyway, the video is now up, so give it a watch! I've been way more excited for this than I should be, given that I already know the outcome...

I have to admit I was pretty nervous and I made a few mistakes that I realised on the drive home, but I don’t think any of the errors had a significant impact. The game itself felt very back and forth, we both had some weird luck at times (one of use perhaps more than the other...) which made the game much less predictable. Hopefully it’s just as fun to watch as it was to play.

As a fortuitous bonus, the video has popped up just in time for this to be my 50th post on the blog. It's a small milestone but it's a good sign that the blog is here to stay!

Battle Report - Tyranids and Genestealer Cult vs Chaos Space Marines

Hello!

Had a game a little while ago against regular-opponent-John and his Emperor's Children. 2000 points, Open War deck once more. We drew a mission that required 3 objectives, holding one was worth 1 point at the end of your turn, but taking it off your opponent was worth 3 points! We also drew a twist that required us to draw 2 further twist cards. In the end everything was immune to morale and all shooting and psychic ranges would be reduced to 12 inches, with the possibility of increasing as the game went on. For deployment we drew a wedge from the long edge into the middle, and on the other side two corner triangles, forming a V shaped no-man's land. It's worth noting this game was played before the September FAQ. I'm not sure if it would have made much difference though.

My list was essentially the same list I later took to play against SorcererDave in his recent battle report. I just added in an extra Leman Russ and a couple of Genestealers to make up the points. It was made up of a Genestealer Cult Battalion and a Tyranid Outrider detachment. In this game however I used the Kraken adaptation, since in this one off game my usual go-to Jormungandr wouldn't help very much. I wasn't expecting much from this list since it was designed for a narrative game, but I thought it'd be interesting to see how it held up.

HQ: Hive Tyrant, Wings, twin devourers with brainleech worms, monstrous rending claws, adrenal glands, Psychic powers: the Horror, Psychic screech, Warlord Trait: Adaptive Biology, Relic: Chameleonic mutation. Genestealer Patriarch, Psychic power: Might from Beyond. Genestealer Magus, Psychic power: Mass Hypnosis
Troops: 2x5 Hybrid Acolytes, 1 Demolition charge. 10 Hybrid Neophytes, 2 Grenade Launchers. 20 Termagants.
Elites: 20 Purestrain Genestealers.
Fast attack: 3x10 Gargoyles.
Heavy Support: Cult Leman Russ, Battlecannon, heavy bolter. Cult Leman Russ, Vanquisher cannon, lascannon, 2 multimeltas. Trygon, adrenal glands, Pincer tail.
Flyer: Hive Crone
Transport: Cult Chimera, Multilaser, heavy bolter, heavy stubber.

John's list was a bit of a classic John list, from before he discovered Renegade Knight Gallants. It was an Emperor's children Battalion, Vanguard and Super Heavy Auxiliary detachment.

HQ: Chaos Lord on Steed, Lightning claws, Warlord trait: Flames of Spite, Relic: Intoxicating Elixir. Sorcerer on Steed, Force axe, Psychic powers: Prescience, Warptime. Chaos Lord, Power fist, combi bolter.
Troops: 2x10 Cultists, 18 Noise Marines, Doom Siren, 2 Blastmasters, 15 Sonic blasters.
Elites: 2x Decimators with Soulburners and claws. 2x Noise Dreadnoughts with 2 Blastmasters, Doom siren and power scourge.
Lord of War: Spartan

We deployed up, with the objectives near the Spartan, the middle in the circle of pillars and just left of my Vanquisher. I put my cult units to defend the objective while the flying Tyranids came out of the sun on the other corner, barely visible in this picture. The Acolytes rode in the Chimera, while the Trygon was underground with the Termagants and the Patriarch/Genestealers were ambushing. For John's side everything was on the table bar the Noise Marines riding in the Spartan. We rolled up to see who went first, which John won, but then I stole the initiative!

First turn and the Tyranids swarm in. The Leman Russ tanks moved to get range on one of the Decimators, while the Chimera moved around the building. Shooting from the Chimera on the left flank, and Gargoyles on the right removed a few cultists. The Russes did some damage to the Decimator while the Crone did something to one of the dreads. I was hoping to maybe kill one of them, but as the internet will tell you, Vanquisher cannons are not very good. One of the cultists ran away, before running back again when we remembered we were ignoring morale this game.

John's turn 2 was predictably brutal. The Noise Marines disembarked and killed loads of Gargoyles. The Sonic dreads killed a load more. Spartan put wounds on the Hive Tyrant and the Decimators damaged the Leman Russes. In the assault phase the Crone was torn out of the skies by the combination of a Sonic Dreadnought (which I think took damage from overwatch) and the Noise Marines. The Decimators smashed the Vanquisher, consolidating into the regular Russ. A strong showing from the Emperor's children, claiming two of the objectives and putting pressure on the third while eliminating almost everything they aimed at. But it wasn't over yet, it seems the Genestealer Cultists were just about to spring their trap!

My turn 2 and all the reserves arrived, as well as the Hybrids getting out of the Chimera and heading towards the Decimators and the warlord. On the right flank the Genestealers and Patriarch emerged with a 4 inch bonus move from the Cult Ambush table, while the Trygon popped up, ready to charge the Spartan. Shooting from the demolition charges and psychic powers took out one of the Decimators and severely damaged the other.

Melee on the left flank put wounds on the Lord and killed the Decimator (which exploded to wound the lord further) at the cost of almost all the Acolytes. One remained in melee with the warlord.

On the right flank, things were getting interesting. The Genestealers, having Might from Beyond cast on them, charged the Noise Marines and the Sonic Dreadnought to try and save the Patriarch from it's overwatch. They lost 8 of their number getting in, and failed to reach the dread, forcing the Patriarch to weather the Doom siren and Blastmasters. At the top the Trygon and the Hive Tyrant made it into the Spartan, having already wounded it in the psychic phase. The 12 remaining Genestealers attacked first, with 5 strength 5 attacks each, hitting on 2+. Then the Noise Marines that died fought back thanks to their Music of the Apocalypse rule.

This is what it looked like afterwards. From both units, only 2 Genestealers remained. The Patriarch survived the dread's swings, killing it in return, and the big monsters put a big dent in the Spartan. Sadly as a superheavy tank it would be able to just trundle off and keep firing, though at a now reduced ballistic skill. So after my turn 2 the battlefield was suddenly a lot emptier. I still held one objective but with a lot of John's key units dead or diminished, it could certainly swing either way.

Turn 2 for the Emperor's Children. Vehicles shuffling at the top, while the cultists on the left advanced through the building towards my objective. The Sorcerer who was on the middle objective ran over to help the Lord, using Smite and the Chaos Familiar stratagem to swap a power for the Chaos kinda-smite power to try and kill the one Acolyte in combat with the Lord. I denied both powers, forcing the Lord to deal with the Acolyte in melee, though he let his steed do the work, licking the poor hybrid to death. Elsewhere the Sonic dread and the Spartan killed off the Hive Tyrant.

In my turn I claimed the central objective with the two Genestealers while the Patriarch went over to take out the second Noise dread. In the shooting phase the Leman Russ opened up on the wounded warlord, but only managed to reduce him to a single wound. I understand why Guard armies need to take so many tanks - they are just not reliable at all. Unlike the Patriarch who handled the dread after the Termagants went in to soak the overwatch. Speaking of overwatch - the Trygon charged into the Spartan again, and took a couple of lascannons to the face, and died. That was disappointing because the Spartan was pretty unhealthy and taking it out would have been a big blow.

John's turn 3 and unsurprisingly the Spartan blasted the Patriarch to bits. The one wound Lord moved back to the centre to easily remove the two Genestealers and claim the objective. The Sorcerer and the Cultists on the bottom left killed off the Magus and remaining Neophytes to claim that objective as well. This gave John a commanding 7 points this turn for a total score of 11-4 in his favour. And that was pretty much that. We played another turn just to see, but my two remaining tanks were unable to kill the cultists that prevented me shooting at the characters, and in John's turn he would have reduced the Chimera to a single wound and removed my remaining 3 Termagants. In the end a solid victory for the Emperor's Children.

I was actually quite surprised by how close this game went, given that I was effectively relying on a good cult ambush roll to do most of my damage. This was the first time I'd used the GS Cult since the Grinding Advance change, and the first time I'd had access to the Chapter Approved stratagems. It was a nice little boost, but I still don't think the cult is in a good shape at the moment. Especially now that the big FAQ has removed their ability to ambush on turn one (which I didn't use in this game anyway). I think for them, as was with so many armies, it's a case of wait for the Codex.

Imperial Knight Valiant, House Taranis, Complete!

Hello!

As you may be aware, I've been working on the Knight Valiant for House Taranis. An now, thanks to some transfers from SorcererDave (ooooh you're a legend Dave), it is complete! Here are some pictures!

And all the angles:

 

 

Alternative loadout:

And the whole family: 

(More Armiger pics here. More Crusader pics here.)

As you can see, the Valiant is a bit less shiny than the others - I used a matt varnish this time instead of the dregs of the can of Purity Seal. I think I prefer it, and I'm considering spraying it over the others as well to try and dull them down a bit. I'm not entirely sure if this will work/be a good idea. Anyone got any suggestions?

Anyway, I hope you like the Valiant, I'm pretty pleased with it, I can't wait to get it on the table and go hunting!

Match Report - The Fiery Fowlers (Halflings) vs The Hokkar Loogies (Goblins)

Hello!

Recently the Fiery Fowlers (Sponsored by Nan Doe's Spicy Chicken) took to the field on their home turf in the first game of a long term ladder league thing. This was both their first home game and their first game with real consequences - if a player dies, he dies! In the unlikely event that anyone does something notable enough to earn star player points, they might actually gain a useful skill, maybe.

After their first game against Dark Elves at the Taylored Games Stadium went somewhat badly, this time they picked on someone their own size, a Goblin team known as the Hokkar Loogies. Boasting a pair of trolls and a host of illegal weapons, the sneaky, slimy Loogies were a little surprised to find themselves playing the role of the faster, more heavily armoured team.

In perfect Bloodbowl weather we kicked off! The Fiery Fowlers receiving the ball first.

The middle of the pitch quickly turned into a big guy shoving match. The Treemen, Ash Oldvine and Rowan Greenleaf proved too strong for the Trolls (one of which looking suspiciously like a Minotaur) and attracted the attention of a fanatic and a chainsaw.

Mid way through the first half and the Halfling's tiny legs carry the ball nearly into the Goblin half! The Trees were doing good work in the middle, proving capable of both hitting things and standing up (a tough ask for a tree), but with a goblin out there bouncing around on a Squig (counting as a pogo stick) the Halfling cage around the ball was never going to be safe.

Sure enough that jumpy gobbo leaped right into the cage and messed everything up. He grabbed hold of the ball, and it fell to the captain, Piggy Beefteeth, to smack him with his trusty bottle for a KO.

With time running out in the first half it was time to get the Halfling with the ball into the reach of a Treeman and throw him towards the end zone. The throw was good, but the landing wasn't - the double 6 was for the injury roll. The half ended 0-0.

Second half and the pogo/squig rider goblin gets the ball again. There is a big mess of Stunty players dodging around each other to surround the ball, but blocks on the carrier are unsuccessful. Eventually the dodging failed for the Hokkar Loogies as one of the Goblins tripped and fell on a sharp rock (or possibly a stale baguette) killing himself instantly.

In spite of the set back the ball managed to make it to the end zone and the Goblins went 1-0 up. There were plenty of Halflings off the field at this stage, but with more lining up to get in on the after match feast, the Fiery Fowlers were able to field almost a full strength team for the last drive...

It's deep in the second half and the Halflings have the ball again. Not trusting their little legs to take them to the end zone, they caged up around the ball behind the Treemen, waiting for the opportunity to go airborne.

With Goblins and Trolls all over the pitch and Rowan Greenleaf falling over and refusing to get up, it turned to Ash Oldvine to make the throw. Once again it was a good one, but, as before, the Halfling landed on his head.

A last turn attempt to throw another 'fling at the ball carrier and into the end zone failed (the tree's fingers were obviously covered in slippery Goblin blood as he dropped the Halfling), leaving the final score 1-0 to the Hokkar Loogies.

A good, Halfling supporting crowd meant the Fiery Fowlers earned enough money to purchase a 4th reroll, and Rowan Greenleaf was awarded the MVP for squashing a Goblin. In training he later learned how to use his strength to break through opponent's puny tackle attempts. To add to the good news, only two of the Halflings suffered permanent, career threatening injuries! Captain Piggy Beefteeth developed a niggling injury, but he is a veteran campaigner and will soldier on! Gilbert Smoothands however managed to break something important (I think from landing on it) and suffered a reduction in strength (down to 1). A good day out was had by all! (Apart from that Goblin who died...)