Battle Report: Salamanders vs. Orks @ 1500pts

Tonight's game was at Da Goffer's house. His leash is much shorter now that he has a brand new baby gretchin (girl) at home. I played my standard 1500 point list detailed here, and he had an absolute buffet of orkish madness. Not sure of the exact make-up, but he had a large mob of boyz on foot, a smaller mob in a truck, some kommandos, 5 lootas, 3 deff coptas, 7 or so bikes, something called a "lobba" with four grots, some storm boyz with their insane character upgrade, that weirdo grot shooting cannon, and Gaz-somethingorother. Clearly, my lack of knowledge about codexes other than the current space marine book and the previous edition of the guard codex is one of my weaknesses. I'm working on it, but it's a work in progress for me.

We played Capture & Control with Dawn of War deployment. Our objectives were on opposite corners, and I won the roll to go first and deployed nothing. He deployed both squads of boyz and his grot shooter cannon thing. I have this nagging feeling that this was an error on my part, but I have no long range shooting and there was night fight in effect...This comedy of errors (mostly mine) was to end in seven turns as a draw.

My first turn was, understandably, short as I moved on my entire army opposite his objective. My goal was to make him commit to my objective and then leave his lightly defended. That's what actually happened, but it was uglier on my end than I would have liked. He moved the large mob towards my objective. and deployed the rest of his stuff midfield.

Turn two saw me move forward with no shooting. He got both of his reserves in and his sneaky kommandos immobilized both my speeders. I love my speeders. I don't have enough of them at the moment, and not have the two I do own in working condition for the entire game hurt considerably.

Turns three through five saw me loose both dreadnoughts, and my terminators while I took out a good chunk of his stuff in return. He still has his Storm Boy character, his large mob held my objective, his lootas were killing at will, his bikes were moving towards his objective (that I claimed with Tac squads) and I still don't know how to use 410 points of tactical marines. I seriously need to work that out so I can actually play with my whole army instead of sitting back with them because I'm too afraid of not being able to claim objectives with them.

In the final two turns, I could have moved my vindicator 24" and tank shocked his large mob and that might have contested my objective. Two caveats: I didn't know I had two turns to work with, and he could very easily have opened up my Vindi with his power klaw. Da Goffer, however, could very easily have moved his bikes close enough to contest the objective I claimed which would have earned him the win. He didn't feel that his bikes could have survived the turn of fire they would have taken, so he moved them more conservatively.

Bottom line? I played (and rolled) poorly. I'm pretty sure I botched my deployment decisions which handicapped me the entire game (especially the early loss of my speeders) and I couldn't roll 2+ saves on my terminators. It wasn't mass fire either, I would need to make four saves, and would fail three. I think I only earned a draw because its hard not to with Capture and Control. Da Goffer certainly played my better than me. Enjoyable game in the end, but it had some frustrating moments.

Product Review: Battle Foam P.A.C.K. 1520

The folks over at Battle Foam have a large selection of transports and custom foam available. I had 4000 points to transport, so I was only interested in their large transports. The "1520" is supposed to mean how many infantry models this case can hold. I have to say, it's probably pretty accurate. This thing can hold a lot of stuff.



The basics: It's got two sections, carrying handles on the tops of both sections, backpack straps, and thin pockets on both sides of both sections as well as the front of the larger section and on the interior of the upper section's cover. It's made of durable material, and the stitching on the seams appears quite sound.



Storage: The top section can hold 8" of foam, and the bottom can hold 14". I have all 4000 points of space marines loaded up in the bottom section. I used (1) 4" tray, (2) 3" trays, and (2) 1" trays to accomplish that feat. My infantry and their transports (8 rhinos in one tray!) are carried in stock trays, while the rest of the army is in custom trays designed with their innovative custom tray generator here. Something to be careful of is the bottom section of a tray isn't included in its description. Adding up my trays, I have 12" of foam. That completely fills a 14" compartment. Just something to keep in mind.


Extras: It has a lot of pockets, and as long as you're transporting something flat (mini-rulebook, codex, army lists, etc.) you'll be fine. Anything larger and you've got problems. There are no pockets big enough for dice. Really? Something that can carry well over 4000 points of 40k miniatures and there's nowhere to put your dice? Interesting design choice. I don't have enough models to need the upper section (yet!) so I just use it for things like my camera, dice, measuring tape, etc. Not sure what I'll do as my army expands, however, so it's still a work in progress.


Overall, I'm impressed. The larger trays, and the ability to get custom foam load outs is very appealing. The fact that I got it at a significant discount (last case on the last day of Adepticon = 25% off!) was also helpful. I won't lie, however, I'm disappointed in the P.A.C.K. 1520's lack of larger pockets. For something clearly designed for miniature gamers, not having dedicated pockets for bulkier items is noticeably missed. The last critique I have is the way the bag "carries". It sits oddly on the shoulders, but honestly, that's a minor quibble. I do recommend this bag, or any of the other Battle Foam products by proxy. A product with issues, but still very useful and the customer service I've experienced from the company has been top notch.

Grade: 4 out of 5 stars due to the lack of larger pockets.

To Cheese or not To Cheese...that is the question.

Like a lot of folks, I'm getting ready for Ard Boyz. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I'm planning on playing at the preliminary Ard Boyz tournament. I'm not furiously assembling and painting models, and I'm not playtesting my list. You know, stuff that's actually fun. What am I doing? Theoryhammer. There, I said it. I'm not proud of it either. Here I am, fresh off a serious butt-kicking from Adepticon, all fired up to get some practice in with my Salamanders, and I'm already trying to meta-game my lists. I have a 2500 point list, but I've seen some of the local lists and I'm actually debating the inclusion of an Inquisitor lord and his retinue in my list to work on the Drop Pods/Daemons that might show up in turn 1.

What I would lose:
115 Librarian with plasma pistol
20 2 combi-meltas
20 2 HK missiles
90 5 sniper scouts
10 siege shield
255 points total

What I would gain:
45 Inq Lord
20 psy hood
30 psy cannon
2 Auspex
1 targeter
60 (3) plasma gun bunnies
12 (2) mystics
85 chimera with multi-laser & Heavy Bolter
255 points total

Essentially I dropped my Librarian (you know, the one I was excited to include) and scouts along with some odd points here and there, for the ability to shoot at stuff that deep strikes or infiltrates on the first turn. I know the Psychic Hood is stronger with the Inquisitor's unlimited range and that will help with those new Space Wolf/Tyranid/Blood Angel powers.

Its Ard Boyz, so I'm not worried about hurting anyone's feelings (especially those dirty daemon & drop pod players) but it somehow leaves a dirty taste in my mouth. I have yet to make up my mind on the changes and it may very well be a decision made the morning of the tournament.

Ard Boyz List - May 15th @ Castle Perilous

I'm not entirely certain I can go yet, and I've already discussed here the difficulties of me fielding a list at large point values. So, with a limited pallet (and orders from the wife about not buying new models until AFTER our summer vacation) I have put together my list. It's Ard Boyz, so composition doesn't matter, but that's about all I have in this list. Plenty of Salamandery goodness, but lacking a few elements I think an effective list needs at this level. That's not too troubling as I don't know if I'll be able to attend the regionals if I score in the top three anyway. So, without further ado, here it is:

115 Librarian with Plasma Pistol, Null Zone & Might of the Ancients
190 Forgefather Vulkan He'Stan
200 (5) TH/SS Assault Terminators
260 Land Raider Crusader with Multi-Melta
225 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer, & Rhino with HK Missile
225 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer, & Rhino with HK Missile
265 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Lascannon, Flamer, & Razorback with TL Lascannon
265 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Lascannon, Flamer, & Razorback with TL Lascannon
90 (5) Scout Squad with Cammo Cloaks & Sniper Rifles
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
85 Predator Destructor with Heavy Bolter Sponsons
85 Predator Destructor with Heavy Bolter Sponsons
2500

I'm kind of excited to field my librarian. He wasn't used to good effect at Adepticon, so I'm looking to get some practice in with him. I'll be trying out that whole combat squad thing with some selective reserve use as well. There's quite a bit of Codex Space Marines that I haven't road tested, and I'd like to try out a lot of ideas before finalizing next year's Adepticon lists and my local tourney lists.

Wednesday Night Game & Local 'Ard Boyz

Some things go well together. Chocolate & Peanut Butter. Beer and Chicago Bear football. Bloody Marys from the Cellar (my watering hole in Carbondale, IL) & anything else up to and including more Bloody Marys. Somebody even thought that this dude had something worthwhile going on. What doesn't go well together you ask? Blackreach Orks and Space Marines playing in the same 1500 point list. :) I showed up at Castle Perilous, my local game store for a 3000 point game against Orks. That guy showed up early and was already playing by the time I arrived. I hung around chatting with an old friend until a guy I didn't know walked up and asked for a game. He said he only had 1500 points, and I was happy to oblige. About half of his army was tricked out, shooty Space Marines, and the other was tricked out, assaulty Orks. I was looking at a Chapter Master paired up with a 10 man Tac squad with lascannon in a Drop Pod, a Ven Dread with TL lascannon, 5 Terminators, 5 Nobs with Warboss, 3 Defcoptas, & 20 boyz. The characters & Nobs were all tricked out with various do-dads. I used my 1500 point RTT list detailed here. He said he was a new player, but the guy had a good head on his shoulders. He supported his units, made good decisions, and otherwise played a tough game. It was the toughest beating my 1500 point Salamanders have taken to date. My vindicator was, again, MVP as it shot to pieces anything it could and finally shielded my objective claiming marines from hostile fire. This was the first game where I lost all terminators and my Land Raider, to a 20 boy mob assault & TL lascannon respectively. His only failing was that he didn't play the Capture & Control objectives well and I owned mine while he didn't control or contest his. Anyway, he was a great guy, who I hope I play again (as a Space Marine OR an Ork...the combination was tough!). :) It was a good enough game that I forgot to take pictures, so you'll have to make due with the virtuoso at the top.

In other news, Castle Perilous will be putting on their 'Ard Boys event on May 15th. It's my weekend with my daughter, so I doubt I'll be able to participate, but I hope my boys from Cape will make an attempt.

Got Orks?

While participating in Egypt Wars I this past weekend I reconnected with some guys that I haven't played 40k with/against in five years. While sharing war stories, I mentioned the fact that I would likely be playing a few games at the local store (not as pleasant as it may sound. There's a reason I haven't played there in years...) to get some further use from my Salamanders since I, and others, put so much work into it. The words were barely out of my mouth before the gauntlet was dropped. Someone called "dibs" on my first game back and it was settled that I would be playing 3000 points of Orks. Thinking to my self: "Self you've got 4000 points, this shouldn't be a problem, right?" Right? Right. Making an army for four players at that point level is fantastic. Translating that into a single force org chart game at elevated points isn't all that easy, especially since those are the only models I currently own. My list:

190 Vulkan
145 Terminator Chaplain with Melta Bombs & Digital Weapons
165 Ironclad Dreadnought with (2) Heavy Flamers & Assault Launchers
165 Ironclad Dreadnought with (2) Heavy Flamers & Assault Launchers
460 (3) TH/SS Assault Terminators with Land Raider Crusader & Multi-Melta
215 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer & Rhino
215 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer & Rhino
215 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer & Rhino
215 Tac Squad with Combi-Melta, Multi-Melta, Flamer & Rhino
215 Tac Squad with Lascannon, Flamer & Rhino
215 Tac Squad with Lascannon, Flamer & Rhino
70 Land Speeder with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
70 Land Speeder with Multi-Melta & Heavy Flamer
125 Vindicator with Siege Shield
100 Thunderfire Cannon
85 Predator Destructor with Autocannon & Heavy Bolter Sponsons
135 Extra Armor for all Rhinos, the Vindicator, & the Land Raider

I'll be proxying my standard dreads as Ironclads. I debated putting in another Predator, but the templates from the Thunderfire Cannon appeal to me more than the extra dakka from the Predator. I suppose I could proxy my infantry heavy weapons as Heavy Bolters, but I just don't "feel" it. I don't want to completely tailor my list even though I'm a bit intimidated by the number of greenskins I'm expecting at this points level. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Adepticon Photos Posted On Website

Go HERE for pictures of the 2010 Team Tournament. Shameless plug time? There's an awesome looking Salamander's army with photos on pages #1 & #4.