Battle Report 133- Ambush! White Scars vs Tyranids

For this week's battle report, I was playing my White Scars against Bert's Tyranids in the Ambush scenario. I would be the defender, trying to push my White Scars convoy through the Tyranid lines. 

This was my first attempt at one of the new narrative scenarios from the rulebook, so would be interested to see how it went.

My 2000 pts army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Captain- Relic Blade, The Armour Indomitus, Master-crafted Bolter (C)
Librarian- Force Sword, Veil of Time, Psychic Fortress (L1)
Librarian- Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter, Force Stave, Might of Heroes, Psychic Scourge (L2)
10 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Heavy Bolter, Flamer (TS1)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R1)
10 Tactical Marines- Heavy Bolter, Meltagun, Bolters (TS2)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R2)
10 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Plasma Gun, Power Fist (TS3)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R3)
5 Devastator Squad- 4 Grav Cannons, Armorium Cherub (DS)
Razorback- Twin Assault Cannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)
10 Sternguard Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters (SV)
Land Raider Crusader- Twin Assault Cannon, Two Hurricane Bolters (LR)
6 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB)
Attack Bike- Heavy Bolter, Twin Bolter (AB)

I went for a thematic force for the game, a convoy of transport vehicles led by a unit of Scout Bikers and an Attack Bike.
I armed the Sternguard with Storm Bolters to give me more shots. This should hopefully help me mow through the smaller Tyranid beasties that might impede my path of escape. I also had some heavy hitters to strike at the bigger beasties.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 49- Binx's Hobby Blog

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Chris from Binx's Hobby Blog.

I first found out about Chris' blog when he contacted me on Twitter (@BinxHobby) to take part in the Better Know a Blogger series.

I'm only a recent follower of Binx's hobby blog, but there is a lot of great content to check out there. You can find some great hobby work and some really great battle reports. The photos on them are brilliant and make me think I need to improve mine!

Here are Chris'answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I got into gaming in my early teens when my cousins used to bring Heroquest to my Nan's house when our families got together during the summer holidays. I then started playing Blood bowl when one of my cousins gave me a copy of 2nd edition. My first venture in to 40k and Warhammer happened at secondary school when I was introduced to it through newly found friends. I was not convinced immediately, but soon got hooked. Strangely it was Man O War that got me really invested in the hobby. I still have all my Man O war stuff, however, it doesn’t get played at all these days 

Hobby Sunday 25/02/18- White Scars Librarian with Jump Pack

This week, I also got my Librarian with Jump Pack painted up for my White Scars army.

This was a pretty quick and easy paint job to get it finished for a tournament this weekend. It's not a perfect standard, but pretty good for tabletop quality. 

With the Librarian done, I've got my White Scars army fully painted up once more. 

Hobby Update 23/02/18- White Scars Thunderfire Cannon

This week, I finished my Thunderfire Cannon and Techmarine Gunner for my White Scars Space Marine army. 

The Thunderfire Cannon is a strong option for the Space Marine army in 8th edition. If you want to know more, you can check out my review for Frontline Gaming. It talks about some of the useful tactics for using it in your games. 

The Tremor Shells stratagem is pretty effective, allowing you to slow down an enemy unit for a single command point. 

Hobby Update 21/02/18- White Scars Captain with Jump Pack

Today's hobby update sees another completed model for my White Scars tournament army, the Captain with Jump Pack. 

I decided to arm this Captain with a Combi-melta and Lightning Claw. The Combi-melta should be able to do some decent damage, hitting on a 2+ re-rollable in most cases and has the potential to get into Melta range more easily thanks to the Jump Pack. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 48- Hobbyist Girl

This week's Better Know a Blogger features Sophie from Hobbyist Girl/Paint Stained Leggings. 

I first came across Sophie's blog on Twitter, after seeing some of her awesome Ork vehicles. The blog features work on her growing Ork army, Da Bloody Hand Boyz, and features some fantastic conversion work on her Ork vehicles. Most recently, an awesome Big Mek on Bike, based on a Skaven Doomwheel. I can't wait to see how this turns out when fully painted.

You can also find Sophie very active on Twitter (@hobbyistgirl), where you can keep up to progress on her hobby work.

Here are Sophie's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

My gaming, in general, would have started early in life. I grew up with an Atari 2600 and Intelevision game console, playing on that when my parents weren’t occupying it. As video games progressed, I did as well; moving through 8, 16 and 32 bit systems as the 80s and 90s moved on. It wasn’t until High School, around 1993-94, that I moved toward table top gaming. I suppose the game that really broke me into it was Dungeons & Dragons, though we did play this new game that was gaining a lot of popularity called Magic: The Gathering. Most of our attention was on roleplaying games, however. 

I played two games that were a somewhat precursor to my wargaming hobby; HeroQuest and BattleMasters. I used to love playing these, but it was never more than just a board game back then. There was no urge to paint them up. I didn’t turned toward painting miniatures until later on. Toward the end of High School, one of my friends discovered Warhammer 40,000 being sold in a small military war gaming hobby shop. He relayed this cool game that he found, to our group of friends, and it was quickly picked up by everyone. 

Squaduary 2018: Vanguard Veterans complete

This week, I managed to complete my final squad of White Scars for Squaduary 2018. 

I already had a squad of Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs, three armed with a pair of Lightning Claws and two with a Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield. I decided that my new unit would be armed with dual Chainswords. I like this option in 8th edition, as it gives each Vanguard Veteran 4 attacks, great for going through massed infantry. I had to have a dig around in my bitz box to find enough Chainswords to arm the unit. 

I armed the other two Veterans with Lightning Claws to give me a full unit of 5 armed with a pair of Lightning Claws each. 

Hobby Update 16/02/18- White Scars Lieutenant with Jump Pack

This week, I was also able to complete one of the characters I need for my upcoming tournament list, the White Scars Lieutenant. 

I think this model was originally a Captain, but thought he would make a good Lieutenant for my army. He comes with a Power Axe, giving me some nice bonus strength attacks. He will be good for getting additional damage with my Vanguard Veteran and Assault Squads, who he can keep up with thanks to his Jump Pack. 

Battle Report 132- 1600 pts Deathwatch vs Harlequins

This week's battle report sees a return to the table for my Deathwatch, taking on Yaro's Harlequins once more. 

We would be playing the Tactical Gambit maelstrom mission. This is the mission where you bet how many of your four cards you will score in your turn (before you know which cards you draw). If you score at least that number, you gain that number of bonus points. If not, your opponent gets the bonus points. This can make it risky to bet big, but rewards you if you do and score the cards. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Captain Artemis (A)

Librarian- Force Sword, Bolt Pistol, the Beacon Angelis, Null Zone, Might of Heroes (L)

5 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, Bolters, Chainsword (KT1)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R1)
5 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, Bolters, Chainswords(KT2)

5 Veterans- Bolters, Chainswords (KT3)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R2)

5 Veterans- Stalker Bolters, Chainswords (KT4)

5 Veterans- 3 Missile Launchers, Bolters, Chainswords (KT5)

5 Veterans- 3 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, Bolters, Chainswords (KT6)

Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)

5 Veterans- Deathwatch Shotguns, Storm Shields (KT7)

6 Vanguard Veterans- 3 Pairs Lightning Claws, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords (VV)

A different kind of Deathwatch army for me. I decided to go for bodies over toys, dropping the Corvus Blackstar from the list. 

I decided to give Watch Captain Artemis a go. His Stasis grenade should negate the pesky invulnerable saves of the Harlequins. I made him my warlord and gave him the 6+ FNP from the rulebook warlord trait. My other secret weapon was the Librarian with Null Zone. Negating the invulnerable saves of the Harlequins is key to bringing them down, as my Deathwatch don't have the weight of fire to get past them easily. 

Saying that, 7 units of Deathwatch Veterans should give me a decent level of firepower. I also remembered to give them all Chainswords. With 2 attacks base, getting an extra attack on each Veteran should boost my damage output a lot. 

Squaduary 2018- Scout Squad Completed

Today I have another of my Squaduary 2018 pledges completed, the Scout Squad. 

I decided to add another Scout squad to my White Scars army for an upcoming tournament. Scouts make a great screening unit in 8th edition, allowing you to carve out a nice region to block enemy deep strikers thanks to their infiltrating abilities. 

Squaduary 2018- Assault Squad Completed

This last weekend I managed to get my first squad for Squaduary 2018 completed, my Assault Squad. 

I needed to add a bunch of Assault Marines with Plasma Pistols to my White Scars army for an upcoming tournament. I managed to get 7 of these Marines painted up to join my force. 

It's weird to be fielding Plasma Pistols once more. The lack of Gets Hot (unless you overcharge) is great, meaning the unit can put out a lot of high strength firepower with little risk. These seven Marines will be split between three Assault Squads. 

Battle Report 131- 2000 pts Genestealer Cult vs Iron Hands Space Marines

This week's battle report sees my Genestealer Cult army take on Yaro's Iron Hands Space Marines. We would be playing the maelstrom of war mission, Targets of Opportunity. This is the mission where you draw three cards per turn, but must discard all your current cards at the start of your next turn. This means you only have a single turn to try and score your cards. I was looking forward to this mission, as it is the way I tend to play my maelstrom games anyway!

My army consisted of:

Brigade Detachment

Patriarch- Mass Hypnosis (Pt)

Magus- Force Stave, Might from Beyond (M)

Primus- Needle Pistol, Bonesword, Toxic Injector Claw (Pr)

10 Neophyte Hybrids- Mining Laser, Grenade Launcher, Autogun (N1)

10 Neophyte Hybrids- Mining Laser, Autogun (N2)

10 Acolyte Hybrids- 2 Heavy Rock Cutters (A1)

10 Acolyte Hybrids- 2 Heavy Rock Drills (A2)

10 Acolyte Hybrids- 2 Heavy Rock Saws (A3)

5 Acolyte Hybrids (A4)

15 Purestrain Genestealers- Purestrain Talons, Rending Claws (PG)

4 Aberrants- Power Hammers (Ab1)

4 Aberrants- Power Picks (Ab2)

Scout Sentinel- Heavy Flamer (S1)

Scout Sentinel- Heavy Flamer (S2)

Scout Sentinel- Multi-laser (S3)

Goliath Rockgrinder- Heavy Stubber, Clearance Incinerator (GR1)

Goliath Rockgrinder- Heavy Stubber, Clearance Incinerator (GR2)

Cult Leman Russ- Battle Cannon, 3 Heavy Bolters (LR)

12 Command Points

I would like to say that I kept my army the same in order to test its strengths and weaknesses, but in all honesty, I simply didn't have time to make up a new list for the game, so used the same one as my last game with the Cult.
I realised when writing this up that I had played the Rockgrinder as a Goliath Truck without realising! This the problem of proxying models. Apologies to Yaro for the mistake. I really need to get the second one built and painted.

Squaduary 2018: Week 1- White Scars assembled and undercoated

Today I have a hobby update on my Squaduary progress in the first week. 

I had pledged to get several units of my White Scars painted up, needed for a tournament at the end of the month. The units I want to complete are a squad of Vanguard Veterans, Assault Marines and a Scout squad. 

The models have been built and undercoated. I also managed to get the base layers of the armour and their highlights completed at the weekend.

Squaduary 2018- White Scars

It's that time of year again! Rory from Stepping Between Games is running his Squaduary hobby event once more this year, and once more, I am joining in.

This year, I am going to pledge a number of units for my White Scars. As you may have seen from yesterday's battle report, I am changing up my White Scars army a little for 8th edition. I have purchased a number of new squads and want to try and get them painted up.

This serves as double motivation, as I have a tournament at the end of the month and want to try and get the units completed for that. I plan to try and paint up a unit of Scouts, a unit of Vanguard Veterans and a unit of Assault Marines. Not only that, I have a few characters and a new Thunderfire Cannon to try and complete as well before the end of the month! Who needs sleep anyway?

I hope you follow along with my progress, as well as the progress of all the other great bloggers taking part in the event.

Battle Report 130- 2000 pts White Scars vs Orks

This week's Battle Report sees my White Scars take on Ben's Orks. 

I have been following the Frontline Gaming series on updating White Scars for 8th edition with great interest. It talks about using the White Scars Chapter Tactics to their best extent. Based on the suggestions, I've had a look at changing my list around a bit to further suit 8th edition. I purchased some Assault Marines, Scouts and Vanguard Veterans from ebay to add to my army. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment
Captain- Bike, Power Fist, Shield Eternal (C1)
Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Might of Heroes, Veil of Time (L1)
5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)
5 Scouts- Bolters (S2)
5 Scouts- Close Combat Weapons, Bolt Pistols (S3)
5 Assault Marines- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords, Flamer (AM1)
5 Assault Marines- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords (AM2)
5 Assault Marines- Bolt Pistols, Chainswords (AM3)

Battalion Detachment
Captain- Jump Pack, Master-Crafted Bolter, Power Axe (C2)
Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Fist (L2)
5 Tactical Marines- Heavy Bolter (TM1)
5 Tactical Marines- Missile Launcher (TM2)
5 Tactical Marines- Missile Launcher (TM3)
5 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Pairs of Lightning Claws each (VV1)
5 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Chainswords each (VV2)
10 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Boltguns (SV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
6 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB)
5 Devastators- 3 Heavy Bolters (D1)
5 Devastators- 2 Missile Launchers, Lascannon (D2)

The army is based around the Space Marine characters, who can hit hard in combat and can buff nearby units. The Jump Pack units also benefit from the White Scars Chapter Tactics, as they can fall back from combat and still shoot and assault.