Winchester Tournament: Game 1- World Eaters vs Tyranids

I recently attend a one-day tournament in Winchester, taking my World Eaters for the three games. This event featured some custom terrain layouts, the first time I had tried them. 

Game 1 was against Charles and his Tyranids, playing Scorched Earth on sweeping engagement, with the Supply Drop special rule. 

My army consisted of:

Angron

Lord Invocatus

Master of Execution (Berserker Glaive)

10 Berzerkers

5 Berzerkers

Rhino

10 Jackals

10 Jackals

2 Spawn

3 Eightbound

3 Eightbound

6 Exalted Eightbound

3 Exalted Eightbound

Hobby Update 20/10/23- Tyranid Swarmlord

Today's hobby update features one of big leaders of the Tyranids, the Swarmlord. This model adds some great utility to the army with free CP and adding to the cost of your opponent's stratagems. 

Hobby Update 18/10/23- Tyranid Barbgaunts

This hobby update features another new unit, the Tyranid Barbgaunts. This unit provides some useful firepower and ability to slow your opponent's army. 

Hobby Update 16/10/23- Tyranid Screamer Killers

Today's hobby update features a couple of the Screamer Killers from the new Leviathan set. These are some great models and really quick to put together and paint. I got some variation in the poses by mistakenly gluing the wrong arms in the wrong slots. 

Hobby Update 13/10/23- Tyranid Psychophage

Today's hobby update is the Psychophage from the Leviathan boxed set. The new Nid models from the boxed set are fantastic and really drew me to starting the army. I really like how this model turned out, as the blue contrasts quite well with the purple of the main model.

 

Hobby Update 11/10/23- Winged Hive Tyrant

Today, we have the Winged Hive Tyrant to lead my Tyranid force. This is one of Jennie's favourite models painted, she really likes the winged ones. This was purchased from ebay, so I didn't get to choose the weapon options and had to pin the tail to the body where it had snapped off. 

Hobby Update 09/10/23- Tyranid Hormagants

Today, I have some Hormagants that were painted up in the Leviathan scheme. This squad adds some fast-moving combat potential, as well as the ability to tie up enemy units. 

Hobby Update 05/10/23- Tyranid Termagants

Here are some of the Tyranid Termagants that Jennie and I have been painting up. We painted up 40 of these using a modified tutorial we found on YouTube. This was a really easy scheme and we got through them very quickly. 

Hobby Update 20/09/23- Leviathan Tyranids

Today, I have some Leviathan Tyranids that have been painting up, though this time, not by me! My partner has been helping me to paint up some of my terrain and models over the past couple of years. She loved the look of the new Tyranid models, and wanted to paint them up once I got the boxed set. 

We had a look online and found a tutorial and colour scheme that she liked, which happened to be the purple Leviathan scheme. We used this tutorial from Sonic Sledgehammer Studio, with a few minor modifications. 

The Nids at the Warhammer store in Reading used the Leviathan scheme, but with red claws and weapons. Jennie liked the look of that, so we decided to copy it. 

Here are some WIP shots of what she has done so far. I helped out a little, showing her the drybrushing highlighting technique, but the majority of the work was done by Jennie. I think they are coming along really nicely. She likes the big models, so I picked up a few more models to make the army a bit more viable with the new codex coming out. 

I don't think she'll ever get into the gaming side, but really does enjoy the hobby aspect. 

Beachhead Brawl Tournament: Game 3- White Scars vs Tyranids

Game 3 of the Beachhead Brawl would see my White Scars take on Paulie's Tyranids, consisting of a lot of big beasties. 

We were playing ITC mission three with Hammer and Anvil set up. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain on Bike- Twin Bolter, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Master of Snares, Wrath of the Heavens

Librarian- Jump Pack, Force Stave, Mantle of the Stormseer, Ride the Winds, Storm-wreathed

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols
5 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols

Impulsor- 2 Storm Bolters, Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Shield Dome
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
3 Eliminators- Bolt Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield, Chapter Master, Imperium's Sword

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, MC Bolter

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolters

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistol, Combat Knives
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters
3 Inceptors- Assault Bolters

Battalion Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack, Crozius Arcanum, Bolt Pistol, Litany of Hate, Warlord
Phobos Librarian- Force Sword, Camo Cloak, Shrouding, Mind Raid

5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Infiltrators- Marksman Bolt Carbines, Smoke Grenades
5 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Lascannon

Thunderfire Cannon- Techmarine Gunner with Flamer, Plasma Cutter, 2 Servo-arms

Winters SEO Battle Report- Tyranids vs Deathwatch

I recently played Winters SEO in another great battle report on his channel. This time my Deathwatch took on his Tyranids. 

If you want a good laugh, check out the comments section. I had no idea that so many stranglers disliked me. I mean, I had my suspicions, but it's nice to have it confirmed! :)

Uxbridge 40k tournament: Game 1- White Scars vs Tyranids

I recently attended a tournament at BattleUX in Uxbridge. This was the first tournament that they had held, so I was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out, as it is a relatively short drive for me and I might be able to attend on a regular basis. 

The day was four (yes, four!) games of 40k at 2000 pts. The missions would follow the ETC-style format, where you would be playing both a maelstrom mission and eternal war mission at the same time. The army was restricted to no duplicate detachments and Forgeworld was allowed. 

The first mission used Retrieval Mission for the Eternal War (4 objectives, scoring at the end of the game) and Kill Confirmed for the maelstrom of war mission (3 cards per turn, cannot discard any "kill" cards and you score a kill point for each enemy unit destroyed).

Remember, you can now follow the St Andrews wargaming Facebook page for all the up to date news on the blog. 

I had recently been practising with my White Scars army, so decided to take this force along for the day. My army consisted of: 

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Bike, Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal, Imperium's Sword Warlord Trait (C1)

Lieutenant- Jump Pack, Power Axe, Master-crafted Bolter (L1)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S1)

5 Scouts- Bolters (S2)

5 Scouts- Bolt Pistols, Combat Knives (S3)

5 Tactical Marines- Heavy Bolter (TS1)

10 Vanguard Veterans- 5 with Plasma Pistols and Chainswords, 5 with two Chainswords (VV)

10 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Bolters (SV)

Stormraven Gunship- Twin Assault Cannons, Twin Heavy Bolters, Two Stormstrike Missiles, two Hurricane Bolters (SG)

Outrider Detachment

Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Combi-Melta (C2)

3 Bike Squad- Twin Bolters, 2 Meltaguns (B)

3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB1)

3 Scout Bikers- Twin Bolters, Shotguns (SB2)

Spearhead Detachment

Lieutenant- Master-crafted Bolter, Chainsword (L2)

5 Devastators- 2 Missile Launchers, Lascannon (D1)

5 Devastators- 2 Heavy Bolters (D2)

Thunderfire Cannon (TC)

Techmarine Gunner- Flamer, Plasma Cutter, two Servo-arms (T)

A had only playtested this exact army once, but it performed rather well in a recent battle report, so I was hopeful for the day.

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.

Battle Report 124- 2000 pts White Scars vs Tyranids

This week's battle report sees my White Scars take on Stu's Tyranids in a 2000 pts maelstrom of war mission. 

This game was played a while back before the release of the new Tyranid codex, so won't feature any of the new rules. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Khan- Moondrakken (K)

Lieutenant- Master-crafted Bolter, Chainsword (L)

10 Tactical Marines- Meltagun, Bolters (TS1)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R)

5 Tactical Marines- Flamer, Bolters (TS2)

Razorback- TL Assault Cannons (Rb)

5 Scouts- Camo Cloaks, Sniper Rifles (S1)

5 Devastators- 4 Missile Launchers, Armorium Cherub (D1)

5 Devastators- 4 Heavy Bolters, Armorium Cherub (D2)

Stormtalon- TL Assault Cannons, Typhoon Missile Launcher (ST)

10 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Bolters (S2)

Drop Pop- Storm Bolter (DP)

10 Vanguard Veterans- 3 Pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields, 5 Bolt Pistols and Chainswords (VV)

6 Scout Bikers (SB)

5 Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Power Axe (B1)

Khan was my warlord and took the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.

Battle Report 120- 2000 pts White Scars vs Tyranids

This week's battle report sees my White Scars take on Stu's Tyranids in a 2000 pts Maelstrom of War mission.

This week, I was playing Cleanse and Capture (three cards per turn) with Spearhead Assault deployment zone.

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Captain- Bike, Teeth of Terra (C)

Lieutenant- Master-crafted Bolter (L)

10 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Meltagun (TS1)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R)

6 Tactical Marines- Bolters, Flamer (TS2)

5 Scouts- Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks (S1)

Razorback- Twin Assault Cannon (Rb)

10 Sternguard Veterans- Special Issue Bolters (S2)

Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)

5 Vanguard Veterans- 3 pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields (VV)

Outrider Detachment
Chaplain- Jump Pack (Ch)

5 Bikers- 2 Grav Guns, Power Fist (B1)

5 Bikers- 2 Meltaguns, Power Axe (B2)

6 Scout Bikers (SB)

2 Attack Bikes- Multi-meltas (AB)

7 Command Points

My warlord was the Captain and he took the White Scars Deadly Hunter Warlord trait.

North West Open 2017: Game 1- Deathwatch vs Tyranids

A few weeks ago, I attended the North West Open tournament at Wargames in Southport. This was an ITC tournament and the first of its kind that I had attended. The tournament took place over 2 days and 5 games, where I would see if my Deathwatch could compete with the other armies in 8th edition. 

The first mission was ITC scenario 3- No Mercy. This mission featured a mixture of maelstrom points and eternal war points with bonuses for tertiary objectives. 

The Eternal war mission was kill points, with points being awarded for each enemy unit destroyed equal to their power level in the index. Maelstrom missions used the ITC maelstrom objective table. In this table, you roll three times at the start of each of your turns to generate three unique maelstrom objectives and choose which two of the options that you rolled you want to try and achieve. For this mission, the table was:

1. Hold Maelstrom Objective 1
2. Hold Maelstrom Objective 2
3. Hold Maelstrom Objective 3
4. Have more units further than 12" from your deployment table edge than your opponent does from theirs (Advance)
5. Have a unit at least partially within 12" of the enemy deployment table edge (Hold the Line)
6. Have at least 3 of your and none of your opponent's units within 12" of your deployment table edge (Behind Enemy Lines). 

What is interesting about ITC maelstrom objectives is that you score them at the beginning of your following turn. For example, if you roll hold maelstrom objective 1 and 2 in turn 1, you have to be holding them at the beginning of your second turn in order to score them. This forces you to plan ahead and can allow your opponent to try to stop you scoring in their turn. In addition, if you roll two hold objective results, you have the option to exchange them to hold all three objectives and score 3 maelstrom points. 

The tertiary objectives were First Strike (destroy a unit in the first turn, both players can score), Slay the Warlord and King of the Hill (have more units/models within 6" of the board centre than your opponent). 

I hadn't played these missions before, so it would be interesting to see how I performed in them in 8th edition. 

My Deathwatch army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Pair Lightning Claws (W)

Kill Team 1- 5 Veterans, Vanguard Veteran with Pair Lightning Claws, 3 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield. (KT1)

Kill Team 2- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Boltguns (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, 3 Stalker Boltguns (KT3)

Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans, Meltagun, 3 combi-Meltas (KT4)

Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans, 2 Frag Cannons (KT5)

Rhino (R)

Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)

6 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Pairs Lightning Claws, Power Sword and Bolt Pistol, 3 with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords (VV1)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- Power Axe, Power Sword (DB1)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- two Power Swords (DB2)

Corvus Blackstar- Auspex Array, Hurricane Bolter, Twin Assault Cannons, 2 Blackstar Rocket Launchers (CB)

Vindicare Assassin (V)

6 Command Points

My Warlord was the Watch Master, who took the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait.

Bunker War 3: Game 3- Deathwatch vs Tyranids

The final game of the Bunker War 3 tournament would see my Deathwatch take on Phil's Tyranid force. I had only played Nids once in 8th edition so far, and it did not go well. Hopefully, this game would be a lot closer than that last one.

The mission for game 3 was the Scouring, with Dawn of War deployment. We were playing on an industrial table with some of the awesome new Armageddon scenery taking up a fair portion of the table.

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Pair Lightning Claws (W)

Kill Team 1- 5 Veterans, Vanguard Veteran with Pair Lightning Claws, 3 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield. (KT1)

Kill Team 2- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, 2 Stalker Boltguns (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans, 2 Infernus Heavy Bolters, 2 Stalker Boltguns (KT3)

Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans, Meltagun, 3 combi-Meltas (KT4)

Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans, 2 Frag Cannons (KT5)

Rhino (R)

Drop Pod- Storm Bolter (DP)

6 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Pairs Lightning Claws, Power Sword and Bolt Pistol, 3 with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords (VV1)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- Power Axe, Power Sword (DB1)

3 Deathwatch Bikers- two Power Swords (DB2)

Corvus Blackstar- Auspex Array, Hurricane Bolter, Twin Assault Cannons, 2 Blackstar Rocket Launchers (CB)

Vindicare Assassin (V)

6 Command Points

The Watch Master was my warlord and had the Tenacious Survivor warlord trait. 

Caledonian Revolution 2017: Game 5- Deathwatch vs Tyranids

The final game of Caledonian Revolution 2017 saw my Deathwatch take on Craig's Tyranids.

Game 5 featured the Scouring as the Eternal War mission, with Cleanse and Capture as the maelstrom mission (three cards per turn). The deployment zone was Vanguard Strike. I had yet to play a horde army with my Deathwatch yet, so would be interested to see if I had the firepower to take them out before they could reach me.

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (W)

Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Xenophase Blade, Bolt Pistol (W)
Kill Team 1- Sergeant with Power Sword, Black Shield with Power Sword, 3 Veterans, 2 Frag Cannons, Vanguard Veteran with Pair Lightning Claws, Deathwatch Biker with Teleport Homer (KT1)
Kill Team 2- 5 Veterans with 2 Frag Cannons and 2 Shotguns (KT2)
Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with Meltagun, 3 Combi-meltas (KT3)
Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with 5 Stalker Pattern Boltguns (KT4)
Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans, Terminator with Power Fist, Storm Bolter and Cyclone Missile Launcher (KT5)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R1)
Rhino- Storm Bolter (R2)
5 Vanguard Veterans- 2 pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Heavy Thunder Hammers (VV)
4 Bikers- Teleport Homer, Power Axe, Power Maul, 2 Power Swords (DB1)
4 Bikers- Teleport Homer, Power Maul, 3 Power Swords (DB2)
Corvus Blackstar- Twin Assault Cannon, 2 Stormstrike Missiles, Hurricane Bolter, Auspex Array (CB)

6 Command Points

My warlord was the Watch Master, who took the Legendary Fighter warlord trait.

Battle Report 87- 1500 pts Deathwatch vs Tyranids

This week's battle report is the first game featuring my new Deathwatch army. I was playing at Heaton Games Club taking on Adam and his Tyranids. I had previously played his Dark Eldar, so was interested to see how this game would play out. We rolled for mission and got the Relic. 

My army consisted of:
Combined Arms Detachment

Watch Master- Beacon Angelis

5 Veterans- 5 Stalker Pattern Boltguns

5 Veterans- 4 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, Auspex

Drop Pod

5 Veterans- Infernus Heavy Bolter, Sergeant with Xenophase Blade and Combi-melta

5 Veterans- Black Shield with Power Sword, 2 Heavy Thunder Hammers, Power Sword, 2 Storm Shields

5 Bikers- 4 Power Swords, Power Axe, Meltabombs

Corvus Blackstar- Extra Armour, Auspex Array, Blackstar Rocket Launcher

Vanguard Veteran- Heavy Thunder Hammer

Vanguard Veteran- Heavy Thunder Hammer

For my warlord trait, I got Lord of Hidden Knowledge, giving my warlord and his unit one re-roll. 

I started the army with the Watch Master. He is essentially a Chapter Master with an AP2 power weapon that strikes at initiative, pretty handy! I gave him the Beacon Angelis to allow me to quickly re-deploy a unit.
I took a combat tooled-up Veteran squad to accompany him; a Blackshield with a power sword, two Heavy Thunder Hammers, a power weapon and a couple of Storm Shields for defence. I planned to put them in the Corvus Blackstar for assault. 

I then took a Veteran squad with 4 Frag Cannons. Deployed in the drop pod, these should eliminate any threat on the turn they arrive. I could use the Beacon to re-deploy them quickly to support the Watch Master. I also took a unit with Stalker Boltguns for some long range firepower. A final unit with an assault Heavy Bolter and a Sergeant with a Xenophase Blade was also added. 

I took a Bike unit with power weapons, this would give them some good mobility and combat ability. With the points left over, I took two individual Vanguard Veterans with Heavy Thunder Hammers. This would give them good mobility and could hit really hard in combat.

Apologies for the "grey army", I've just got them built and am waiting on some decent weather to get them undercoated. It may be some time.....

Battle Report 79- 1500 pts Orks vs Tyranids

A brief break in my Genestealer Cults reviews to bring you this week's battle report, which sees my Orks take on Innes' Tyranids in the Crusade mission. Innes and I have fought one another a number of times, mostly in competitive practice games or tournament games. This time we decided to go for a game using slightly less competitive armies from our collections, me with my Orks and Innes with his Tyranids. 

My army consisted of:

Warboss- Power Claw, Eavy Armour, Bosspole (with B2)

Painboy (with B2)

30 Shoota Boyz- Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole. (B1)

30 Slugga Boyz- Nob with Power Claw and Bosspole.  (B2)

12 Slugga Boyz (B3)

12 Slugga Boyz (B4)

Trukk- Extra Armour (T1)

12 Shoota Boyz (B5)

Trukk- Extra Armour (T2)

15 Lootas (L)

Scorcha (S1)

Scorcha (S2)

Scorcha (S3)

3 Killa Kans- Grotzookas (KK)

Deff Dread- Scorcha, 3 Power Claws, Extra Armour (DD)

My Warlord trait was Prophet of the Waaagh, a nice bonus for my large mobs of boyz.