An Ancient Has Arrived

They say this cat Old School is a bad mother...
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
I'm talkin' 'bout Old School Terminator.
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!


Yeah that's right, I went there. I can do that because I'm holding, in my hot little hands, one of the most beautiful models I've ever seen. This Ironclad Dreadnought was my prize for winning the Super Blog Chain Give-Away hosted by Dark Future Games. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, and those can be checked out here:

Blog post with finished pictures and video

Blog post about Dreadnought Thunder Hammer Conversion

Here's another one with my newest Dreadnought standing tall amongst two of his three Black Reach brethren. At some point I hope to add a traditional dread as well as as a new venerable dread kit, and a couple more Ironclads...yeah, about that. The wife totally won't let me buy that much but it's nice to have goals right?

On a related note, none of my Chapter's ancients have names. Any suggestions for me?

Actual Game Experience...the other white meat.

I’ve been planning & playing my Salamanders for about 7 months now, with some lists here, here, & here. What have I learned? I’ve learned I need more practice. What else? There are some units that I like, and some that I don’t. Guess what? The internets were wrong!!! If you are a 40k god whose mastery of the game is second only to your awesomeness as a player…stop reading now. If not, then please pay attention. Nothing you read on the internet about this game is definitive. Everything I’ve included in my lists has been promoted on one site or another but some units didn’t work out for me. Regardless of internet terms such as noob, meta-game, playstyle, etc., you just need to play the game to figure out both what you like to play, and what you find plays best for you.

What do I like? Vulkan, TH/SS Terminators, Land Raider Crusaders (as long as I’m not playing Tau…then they’re just a waste of points, Heavy Flamer/Multi-Melta Dreadnoughts & Speeders.

What am I on the fence about? Librarians, Chaplains, Vindicators (great if I hit, not so much when I don’t) & Thunderfire Cannons.

What do I not like? Sniper Scouts, Tactical Squads, & Auto Cannon/Heavy Bolter Predators.

Vulkan is obviously appropriate for my army even though some elitists think that he’s “training wheels for a Space Marine Army”. The Terminators and Land Raider are expensive, but they’re effective. I’m thinking about moving away from them though and seeing how my lists evolve without them. Dreads and Speeders are cheap and versatile so they’ll be tough for me to leave behind. Nothing I’ve seen from Librarians and Chaplains is worth losing the close combat ability either Vulkan or a Commander brings. The loss of initiative 5 on these two units is huge for me. I may try two vindicators to counter my uncanny ability to choke in a tight spot. The dakka pred has been a colossal disappointment for me, though it is nice and cheap. Finally we come to the bread and butter of a Space Marine army…the Tactical Squad.

I don’t hate them per se; I’m just really bad at using them. They’re in the low to mid 200’s in points, and I’ve constantly got them out of position or otherwise misusing them. I think if I crack the tactical squad riddle, then my game will evolve to a new level. For now, however, I’m stuck with being a Master of Mediocrity. ;)

Stay tuned for some list tweaking and blatant internet list stealing. I’m going to shake some things up and see how it works out for me.

Infamy Arrives

While at Adepticon 2010, I met a gentlemen from Bell of Lost Souls who goes by the name of Bigred. He was wandering the hall of the Team Tournament taking pictures of armies and I happened to be standing next to my Salamanders when he stopped by. He was an amicable sort, and was neither Big or Red. Fast Forward to today, and you'll find the picture that he took the center of the BoLS Caption Contest here. Head on over and drop a comment if you'd like. I'm just excited to have this kind of recognition for my army. I owe it all to the excellent conversions from Ron S. over at +From the Warp+ and Ian F. at Heroes of Armageddon, awesome bits from Chapterhouse Studios & Forgeworld, and Aerion's ridiculous talent with a paint brush. For these salamanders, it took a village. Thanks guys.

DieCon initial debriefing: I gots STUFF!

Battle reports to follow after I've slept.

In summary: Team Snake Eyes (3 members representing- Aerion, Ol Seth, and Marvin) each tallied a record of 2 and 1. Marvin brought home 2nd place overall ($50), Ol Seth earned Best Appearance ($60), and your's truly managed the Sportsmanship award ($60). Before the tourney we all agreed to play as a team and pool any winnings for a 3/way split. The idiot that came up with that idea obviously didn't think he had a shot at winning anything (points to Self) but the combination left each of us with $56 to spend at the sponsoring store (Adventure Games in Collinsville, IL). I replaced my Vindicator which was donated to the Salamander cause and added some cash to enlist a new Land Speeder for the Templars.

In the spirit of being unusually full of it today ("it" being crap-tons of WIN!) I also garnered the Best of Show and 2nd place in the Masters Open category for my Circle of Orboros battlegroup (Kromac beast form, Gnarlhorn Satyr, and Pureblood Warpwolf). In addition to a box of miniatures for a game I've never heard of (hey, they're bits, right?) I got actual engraved and hung on patriotic ribbons MEDALS! WOOT! FTW indeed!

Condensed version: The Team rocked the joint, made some new friends (and found a new gaming home for Chosen1 if he's interested), played some great games on some nice tournament quality tables, won some stuff, caught up with a few old friends from the STL area, made tons of sport of Ol Seth's "retired man" shirt and questionable sexual orientation (no details but trust me there were many tears shed and my abs feel like I've done marathon crunches from laughing so hard), and ended the day with a fabulous meal of Mexican (food, not people) and esprit de corps (I'm too tired to check spelling and I know our resident former Marine will take care of it).

Pics and batreps coming in the next few days. This is Chaplain Aerion signing off from the Battlebarge Shield of Suckage.

1850 Templars Rogue Trader (Die Con) The Redux

After the thorough sheelak...schelaqu...uh, prison raping my previous list suffered at the hands of the cowardly, 30 point rhino-dwelling Salamanders at the Team tournafeast (see Chosen1's previous blog) I realized I lacked enough beef to handle silly things like armor and things that carry big guns (like Predators and Land Raiders).

I really liked that list and against some opponents it can be effective (namely inexperienced players who refuse to evolve to 5th edition). So I took that list, shaved an Initiate, remembered to give my Sword Brethren Furious Charge instead of Infiltrate, and squeezed (squoze? Squidged?) in a couple more power fists.

Here, then, is the final (if it kills me and probably will) list for the Die Con Rogue Trader (ConCarne).

HQ: Marshal in Terminator Armor w/ Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield, Crusader Seals

Elite: Sword Brethren Termy Assault Squad Lightning Claws x3, Thunder Hammers & Storm Shields x2

Land Raider Crusader

HQ: Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge, No matter the Odds

Troop: 10 Initiates (Bolt Pistol/ccw x 8, Power fist, Melta Gun)

10 Neophytes w/ bolt pistol/ccw

Elite: Sword Brethren (bolt pistol/ccw x3, bolt pistol/power weapon, lightning claws) Furious Charge

Troop: Initiates Bolter x4, plasma cannon

Troop: Initiates Bolter x7, Plasma Gun, Heavy Bolter

Troop: Initiates Bolt Pistol/ccw x 8, Flamer, Power Fist

Land Speeder w/ Assault Cannon & Heavy Bolter

Black Templars Assault Squad Bolt Pistol/ccw x3, Flamer x2, Power fist, Melta Bombs, Jump Packs