Army Showcase: Salamanders Troops

We skimped on our troops in the final, hectic run to Adepticon. They need detailing, highlighting and then washed before I'll call them done. They'll get squad markings, flames on their right shoulder pad and their transports will get dolled up too. Both to add more detail to the model, and to tie them to their squad. I wanted to try a mix of bits (forgeworld, chapterhouse studios, etc.) on the transports just to break up the similarity between, what would be, eight identical tanks. Having never seen a color picture of a Salamander with hair, we took a wild ass guess and went with bright red hair. It grows on me, but I'd be interested to hear what other folks think or have done.

Sniper Scouts (didn't work out so well for me at Adepticon):

Tactical Squad (8 of these guys, outfitted in a similar fashion):

Rhino Transport:


Razorback Transport:

Converted Returned Deathwatch Sgt:

1500 point Salamanders list for RTT on 4/10/10

With Egypt Wars coming up in a week, I need a 1500 point RTT list for the 10th of April. I'll be taking my Salamanders instead of my Imperial Guard since I will likely be selling the guard off (I really only have the time/money/space for one army) and I want as much practice with my Codex: Space Marines army as I can get in since I've proven myself to be a bit lacking in the skill department. My Adepticon lists were designed with close to mid-range shooting in mind, but I neglected to close with the enemy so that I might actually destroy them, instead choosing to sit back with one or two auto/las cannons. Yeah...that didn't turn out so well. This time, I'm dropping my stationary guns as well as the Predators and I'm coming at you. This is the first attempt, of many more to come, where I will put my army through its paces to find a play style that suits me. Battle reports will be forthcoming. List follows:

135 Chaplain in Terminator Armor with Melta Bombs
200 (5) TH/SS Assault Terminators
260 Land Raider Crusader with Multi-Melta
205 Tactical Squad with Multi-Melta, Flamer, & Rhino
205 Tactical Squad with Multi-Melta, Flamer, & Rhino
115 Dreadnought with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
115 Dreadnought with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
70 Land Speeder with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
70 Land Speeder with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
125 Vindicator with Siege Shield

1500

Egypt Wars, April 9-11

I have recently come to the realization that I can actually participate in this event, so I figured that I should probably go ahead and advertise it here and here. It's basically a 1500 point RTT. It covers two "rounds" of the tournament schedule, so it's likely a standard 3 round tournament. Are the Salamanders too depressed from their most recent prison-rape? No sir, the Emperor's work must be done! "Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of War!"

Meet the Gang...and the Army

Pre-game team photo (left to right):

Chosen 1, Aerion, Mechastar, Da Goffer

Edit: Below is a picture shamelessly lifted from here.

Adepticon 2010...How We Did.

Place: 90th out of 110 teams

Overall Points: 241/499 (48.3%)
Battle Points: 46/240 (19.2%)
Head Count: 15/32 (46.9%)
Command Counters: 16/32 (50%)
Sportsmanship: 56/56 (100%)
Composition: 24/24 (100%)
Theme: 40/45 (88.9%)
Spirit: 5
Army Appearance: 36/60 (60%)
Quiz: 3/10 (30%)

Opponents:
1st Round = 10-Year Lifespan - Tyranids/Imperial Guard/Space Marines (placed 73rd)
2nd Round = Pack-N-Heat - Space Wolves (placed 57th)
3rd Round = Frosty Treats - Space Wolves (placed 38th)
4th Round = Spellbinder - Tau/Tyranids/Eldar/Space Marines (placed 95th)

Commentary:

Clearly, we didn't end up so high on the list. Looking at the breakdown, it's obvious that Battle Points were our weakness. I mean honestly, we scored better (percentage wise) on that hard-ass quiz than we did on getting battle points. Out of 8 games, we accounted for one win and one draw. As far as what to work on, I think that "winning" is certainly on the list. :) We considered our army "half painted", so we hope to gain points in that catagory as well.

The teams we played, for the most part, gave us enjoyable games. We had no experience with the new Tyranids or Space Wolves codexes, and we played some of each in all four rounds. That was troubling to say the least. Two of the teams were primarily teenagers too young to drive. The Space Wolf teams were our age group (30s-40s) and we especially enjoyed those games.

Bottom Line? We got outplayed. We stressed about getting our army put together and painted on time, so we clearly didn't have time to playtest. We didn't know the abilities of our most likely opponents, and so we were easily outclassed. We earned our "Team Snake Eyes" name as well. Three of my four opponents remarked that they had never witnessed anyone roll as poorly as I had done during my games. I refuse to blame my performance on my dice, however, I just think it's funny when I have 13 year old kids shouting "SNAKE!" with me every time I roll yet another one.

We are going back next year. We will be taking the Salamanders (and boy, there weren't a whole lot of codex Space Marines at Adepticon) again, and in spite of our poor showing, we enjoyed our time there.

Final Countdown

No clever pictures this time. Just trying to wind things up. We'll finish up what we can of the army, which still won't be where I wanted it to be, and get everything loaded up. We plan on leaving the Southeastern Missouri/Southern Illinois area by around 8:00am Friday which will put us in Chicago around 2 or 3 in the afternoon depending upon food and fuel needs. Dice, templates, rulebooks, codex, army lists, display board (also lacking from where I wanted it due to time constraints), team shirts, spending cash, camera, etc...Damn, this is no joke. :)

If any of you who read this frequent "My Battalion", Aerion posted some pics of our stuff that made their Facebook page. You, of course, have seen some of those photos here, but here's the LINK.

Edit: Learned how to add links. So easy you'd have thought I could have figured that out before...

Salamanders

Here are some of the preliminary pictures of some of my Salamander HQ choices and my Land Raider. Props go out to Aerion for all the kick ass work he put into these things. Better pictures will be forthcoming once life settles down for Da Goffer (hectic work and new baby only weeks away!). A very special thanks to Ron Saikowski over at From The Warp for converting the characters, and Chapterhouse Studios & Dark Arts Miniatures for the resin bases and cool Salamander bits. I realize I paid for the product, but the hard work and dedication of those craftsmen allowed me to add more character and feel to my army. It absolutely enhances my appreciation and enjoyment of this hobby. I hope you enjoy, I know I will. :)