Caledonian Revolution 2017: Game 2- Deathwatch vs Astra Militarum

Game 2 of Caledonian Revolution 2017 saw my Deathwatch taking on John's Astra Militarum army.

The misssion for game 2 was Big Guns Never Tire for the Eternal War, Tactical Escalation for the maelstrom mission and Dawn of War deployment.

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 had the Legendary Fighter warlord trait. 

Caledonian Revolution 2017: Game 1- Deathwatch vs Ynnari

Welcome to my first battle report from the recent Caledonian Revolution 2017 tournament. The weekend features five games of 8th edition 40k, with 2000 pts armies. 

The basic rules for the tournament were:

• 2000 pts, battle forged armies
• No more than 3 Detachments
• No duplicate detachments
• No Forgeworld

I decided that I would be taking my Deathwatch army. I had been having fun with the army towards the end of 7th edition and had made a real effort to get them painted to a higher standard than my previous forces. 

Each of the five games were to ETC standards, meaning that each mission would be a mixture of Eternal War objectives, Maelstrom points and Kill Points, as well as bonus points for First Blood, Slay the Warlord and Linebreaker. 

The first mission was Retrieval Mission (4 objectives), with Contact Lost for the maelstrom mission (one card for each objective held). The deployment zone was Spearhead Assault. 

My first opponent of the day was Tess and his Ynnari army. I had previously played Tess at Blog Wars X in a really fun game. I hoped that this would be another fun encounter. 

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

I figured I had a good mix of units to take on most threats in an opponent's army. I added some potent anti-tank firepower after my first few games had showed a serious problem taking on vehicles. 

Battle Report 104- 2000 pts Deathwatch vs Blood Angels

This week's battle report sees my Deathwatch take on Andy's Blood Angels in a straight up, Kill Points slug fest. 

Andy and I played the No Mercy mission for our 2000 pts game at the Newcastle Warlords gaming club. Andy was new to the club, so I was hoping he would have fun playing against both my Deathwatch and my fickle dice rolling! 

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

After my last game, I decided to change up my army. I added a couple of Frag Cannons to the squad in the Corvus Blackstar for some added firepower, as well as adding a Vanguard Veteran and Biker to the squad. This would allow me to fall back and still shoot and assault in my turn, a pretty powerful combo.
I also added some much needed anti-tank firepower with a squad of Veterans armed with Melta weapons. These would go in the Rhino to get them up the field quickly. The other squad had two Frag Cannons in another Rhino.
I also had two squads for objective holding; one with Stalker Bolters and another with normal Bolters and a Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher for some more tank-hunting capabilities.

I also added a Captain with a Jump Pack. This would give the second character some much needed mobility. I figured I could use him with the Bikers or with the Meltaguns to give me some re-rolls for shooting. The Watch Master would go in the Corvus with the squad, for those important re-rolls. He was my Warlord and took the ignore wounds on a 6+ trait.

Finally, I took two squads of four Bikers and a Corvus Blackstar. The Bikers came with a range of Power Weapons for dealing with different squads.

Caledonian Revolution- Best Painted Army Nomination

This weekend, I attended Caledonian Revolution at Element games in Stockport. It was a great weekend, as I got to meet up with some friends from previous events and play some great games of 8th edition. I will be writing up my battle reports from the tournament and hope to have them ready for next week. 

Today though, I wanted to share with you some other awesome news. My Deathwatch army was nominated for Best Painted Army at the event. Needless to say, I was thrilled to be nominated, especially after all the effort that I have put into the Deathwatch army, and really trying to improve my painting skills with the force. Sadly, I did not place in the top three, but when I post the photos of all the nominated armies, I can understand why. There were some fantastic armies on display at the event. (Sorry for the shoddy photographs below, the tables around the armies was really busy and I didn't have long to try and get photos). 

Hobby Sunday 02/07/17- Genestealer Cult Neophyte Hybrids

This week's Hobby Sunday sees me complete my first half squad for my Genestealer Cults army. 

For the scheme, I followed the Warhammer TV "How to paint Genestealer Cults- Neophyte Hybrids" video. You can find the first part of the painting in an earlier post. 

Hobby Update 27/06/17- Deathwatch Watch Master

Today's hobby update showcases my completed Deathwatch Watch Master. 

This was one of the first models that I purchased for the Deathwatch army, but it has taken me a while to finish put some paint on him and get him completed. For painting him up, I used a similar colour scheme to my Watch Captain Artemis model, taking a bit of time on him as he is a centrepiece for any Deathwatch force. 

Battle Report 103- 2000 pts Deathwatch vs Primaris Marines/Astra Militarum

This week's battle report sees my Deathwatch take on Will's Primaris Marines with Astra Militarum allies. 

My second 8th edition battle report saw me bulk my army out to 2000 points. I was working on a list for Caledonian Revolution, so was keen to try out my army and see how it would perform. The game was the Scouring. 

My army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment- 6 Command Points

Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)

Librarian- Force Sword, Bolt Pistol (L)

Kill Team 1- 5 Veterans with Stalker Boltguns, Terminator with Power Fist, Storm Bolter and Cyclone Missile Launcher (KT1)

Kill Team 2- 5 Veterans with 2 Frag Cannons (KT2)

Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans, Terminators with Assault Cannon and Power Fist (KT3)

Kill Team 4- Black Shield with Power Sword, Sergeant with Power Sword, Heavy Thunder Hammer, two Veterans with Power Swords, Vanguard Veteran with Pair of Lightning Claws (KT4)

3 Bikers- Teleport Homer, Power Axe, 2 Power Swords (DB1)

3 Bikers- Teleport Homer, Power Maul, 2 Power Swords (DB2)

3 Bikers- Teleport Homer, Power Maul, 2 Power Swords (DB3)

5 Vanguard Veterans- 2 Pairs lightning Claws, 2 Heavy Thunder Hammers (VV)

Rhino- Storm Bolter (R)

Dreadnought- Heavy Flamer, Assault Cannon (D)

Corvus Blackstar- Auspex Array, Hurricane Bolter (CB)

Hobby Update 28/06/17- Deathwatch Vanguard Veterans

Today on the hobby update, I have a unit of Vanguard Veterans for my Deathwatch army. The new rules for Kill Teams for the Deathwatch give some nice bonuses for adding a Biker, Terminator or a Vanguard Veteran to the unit. 

I wanted to have some cheap, basic Vanguard Veterans that I could add to units in my games. I happened to have five spare Veterans lying around in my unpainted pile, so I quickly got them painted up and added to my army. 

Three are armed with Bolt Pistols and Chainswords, one has a Power Sword and one has a Power Fist. 

Hobby Update 27/06/17- Deathwatch Bikers and Teleport Homers

Today's Hobby Update features my Deathwatch Bikers and some Teleport Homers for the unit. I purchased these Bikers a few months ago and finally got round to painting them up. Deathwatch Bikers seem to be really great in 8th edition, getting four shots at short range with their special issue ammunition, as well as unit-wide access to cheap power weapons. 

Here are the five Bikers that I painted up. 

Hobby Update 26/06/17- Deathwatch Rhino and Terminators

This week, I have been making another push on my Deathwatch army. With Caledonian Revolution coming up, I am planning on taking my Deathwatch army to try them out in 8th edition. In order to keep as many options as possible open, I decided to try and paint up the rest of my Deathwatch forces. 

With the release of 8th edition, I purchased another Rhino to ferry my forces to battle. I have three Drop Pods for my army, but they have taken a bit of a hit in 8th edition for my Frag Cannons, as well as a big points hike, so though some more armour would be useful to me. The Rhino was painted up to match the first in my force.