Tuesday 31 July 2018

Imperial Knights 8th Edition Codex Review: Part 2- Strategems

Part 2 of my 8th edition Imperial Knights codex review will take a look at the Stratagems available in the new book. 


Stratagems
Ion Aegis (2CP)- Use at the start of your opponent's movement phase. Choose a Dominus Knight in your army. The Knight cannot move until the end of the next turn, but all friendly Imperium units  wholly within 6" of the Knight gain a 5+ invulnerable save against ranged weapons. 

This is a pretty strong stratagem if you don't get the first turn. This will work really well for some Imperial allies you may wish to take with your Knights, with the Guard Battalion for command point farming. This will be strong for the Knight Castellan, which has a lot of powerful, long ranged firepower. As this works on the whole unit, you may not get a lot of units in range, but it still should still help a number of units. 

Noble Sacrifice (2CP)- Use before you roll to see if an Imperial Knight explodes. On a 4+, it explodes. If a Dominus Class Knight, roll two dice, if any is a 4+, it explodes. If both dice are 4+, then all units in 3D6" are affected. 

This could be quite powerful in the right cirumstances. Doing D6 mortal wounds to nearby enemy units after losing a Knight could help to kill their attackers (if in combat) or damage nearby enemy units. I don't see it being used too often, but could be key in a few games. 

Thunderstomp (1CP)- An enemy Infantry unit (or swarm) within 1" suffers D3 mortal wounds on a 4+. Titanic units only. 

A cheap way to do mortal wounds to an enemy unit in combat to finish them off. Though, Knights are tough to tie up in combat now, so may not be necessary much of the time. 

Monday 30 July 2018

Imperial Knights 8th Edition Codex Review: Part 1- Household Traditions and Warlord Traits

The Imperial Knights codex was released a few weeks ago and has been making a big impact on both local club games and tournament games. The codex features three brand new Knights to add to your army, as well as a whole host of unique stratagems and Relics to add to your force. This week, I will be reviewing parts of the new codex. 

The first part of the review will take a look at the Household Traditions and Warlord Traits. 

Household Traditions
These are the "Chapter Tactics" of the Imperial Knights, giving them army-wide bonuses if the army is battle-forged an in a Super-heavy Detachment. The traditions are split between Questor Imperialis and Questor Mechanicus. 

Questor Imperialis Household Traditions
There are five of these traditions that can be chosen for a Knights army. These focus mainly on combat-orientated bonuses for the units. These traditions can be a big bonus to any combat-armed Knights in the army. 

House Terryn- Roll an additional D6 when determining the distance this unit Advances or Charges, discarding the lowest result. 

This is good for getting your Knights around the board quickly or for ensuring that you can make it into combat. However, for most Knights, advancing for a turn is a waste of their potent firepower, so something you are not going to be doing that often. If you want a more mobile Knight army, the House Raven tradition (see below) is far more effective for doing this. Not one I think you will see used often. 

Friday 27 July 2018

Warhammer World GT- Deathwatch Army Review

With another tournament out of the way, it is now time to review my army and how it performed over the course of the weekend. 

As a reminder, my army consisted of:

Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords 
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher 
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords. 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword 
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher 
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad- Lascannon 
30 Conscripts- Lasguns

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin 

Let's take a look at the individual units and how they performed in my games. 

Watch Master
The main role of the Watch Master in this army was to accompany the Storm Bolter Kill Team and Intercessor Squad from deep strike reserves. With the Watch Master's full re-rolls to hit, he was there to maximise the firepower output of the two squads, ensuring that they could perform a valuable beta-strike on the enemy army. 

In this role, he was quite successful, allowing my squads to perform powerful attacks on my opponent's forces when they arrive.

His combat ability was a bit wasted, as he only got into combat in a couple of the games I played at the tournament. In combat, he did quite well, taking out a Necron Overlord and a Bullgryn. However, this was not his main role in the army, simply a nice bonus. 

In one game, I gave the Watch Master the Tome of Ectoclades. I probably should have done this in all of my games, as it was very useful when the main Deathwatch army was using different Mission Tactics to the units arriving from reserve. 

I would take the Watch Master in the army again. 

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Warhammer World GT- Exhibition Photos

While visiting Warhammer World for the first time, I took the opportunity to visit the exhibition hall. This was an awesome display and very impressive in person, well worth the visit. Here are some photos I took of the display.




Monday 23 July 2018

Warhammer World GT- Armies on Display

Today I have all the photos I took from the armies on display at the recent Warhammer World Grand Tournament. There were some fantastic models and armies that were picked for display at the event. 




Friday 20 July 2018

Warhammer World GT: Game 5- Deathwatch/Astra Militarum vs Astra Militarum

The final game of the tournament would see my Deathwatch/Astra Militarum force take on Paul's Astra Militarum army in the Frontline Warfare Eternal War Mission. 

At this stage, I was sitting on one win, one loss and two draws. I was hoping to get a win from this game to end the weekend ahead in my performance. The one benefit was that the objectives in the centre and opponent's deployment zone were worth more points, so it would pay to be aggressive. Against a Guard army that was more comfortable sitting back and shooting, I may be able to control the board a bit better. 

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC)
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (KT1)
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher (KT2)
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords (KT3). 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws (VV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords (KT4)
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon (IS3)
30 Conscripts- Lasguns (C)

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin (A)

Thursday 19 July 2018

Warhammer World GT: Game 4- Deathwatch/Astra Militarum vs Necrons

Game 4 was at the start of day 2 of the Warhammer World Grand Tournament (Heat 1). In this game, my Deathwatch and Astra Militarum would be facing off against Jon's Necrons in the Resupply Drop Eternal War mission.

In this mission, at the start of the third turn, a player nominates three objectives and randomly selects one to stay on the table. The other player randomly selects which of the other three stays, so you end up fighting over 2 objectives.

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC)
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (KT1)
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher (KT2)
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords (KT3). 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws (VV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords (KT4)
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon (IS3)
30 Conscripts- Lasguns (C)

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin (A)

Wednesday 18 July 2018

Warhammer World GT: Game 3- Deathwatch/Astra Militarum vs Deathwatch

The third game of the Warhammer World Grand Tournament would see my Deathwatch and Astra Militarum army take on Sean's Deathwatch in the Scorched Earth Eternal War mission.

In this mission, there are 6 objectives on the table. You get one point for each objective you hold at the end of your turn. In addition, you can choose to destroy an objective in your opponent's deployment zone. This gets you D3 victory points, but the objective is removed.

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC)
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (KT1)
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher (KT2)
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords (KT3). 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws (VV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords (KT4)
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon (IS3)
30 Conscripts- Lasguns (C)

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin (A)

Tuesday 17 July 2018

Warhammer World GT: Game 2- Deathwatch/Astra Militarum vs Imperial Knights

My second game of the Warhammer World Grand Tournament (Heat 1) saw my Deathwatch take on Steve's Imperial Knights army. 

With the release of the strong new codex for Imperial Knights, there were quite a few present at the tournament. In game 2, I would be facing a whole army of them. The randomly determined mission for game 2 was Ascension. In this mission, three objectives are placed centrally on the battlefield. You get a point for each objective you hold at the end of your turn. In addition, Characters get a a super "objective secured", able to hold an objective on their own and getting additional points for holding it for subsequent turns. 

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC)
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (KT1)
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher (KT2)
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords (KT3). 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws (VV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords (KT4)
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon (IS3)
30 Conscripts- Lasguns (C)

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin (A)

Monday 16 July 2018

Warhammer World GT: Game 1- Deathwatch/Astra Militarum vs Astra Militarum/Adeptus Mechanicus/Imperial Knights

Welcome to the first battle report from my recent trip to the Warhammer World Grand Tournament (Heat 1). I was taking a mixed Deathwatch and Astra Militarum list. You can find the army list and my thoughts on it in a previous post

The tournament consisted of 5 Eternal War missions from Chapter Approved 2018, straight out of the rulebook. 

The first mission of the day saw me square off against Rob and his mixed force of Astra Militarum, Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Knights. Rob runs the Honest Wargamer, so check it out. For game 1, the randomly determined mission was Dominate and Destroy. In this mission, you get one victory point for each objective you hold at the end of your turn, as well as a victory point for each enemy unit destroyed. 

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment (Deathwatch)
Watch Master- Guardian Spear (WM)
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Thunder Hammer, Storm Shield (WC)
Kill Team 1: Watch Sergeant and 9 Veterans- 10 Storm Bolters, 2 Storm Shields, 8 Chainswords (KT1)
Kill Team 2: Intercessor Sergeant and 9 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols, Auxiliary Grenade Launcher (KT2)
Kill Team 3: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 2 Frag Cannons, Storm Shield, 3 Shotguns, 2 Chainswords (KT3). 5 Vanguard Veterans- 4 Bolt Pistols, 3 Chainswords, Storm Shield, Pair of Lightning Claws (VV)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R)
Kill Team 4: Watch Sergeant and 4 Veterans- 3 Combi-Meltas, 2 Bolters, Storm Shield, 4 Chainswords (KT4)
Razorback- Twin Lascannons, Storm Bolter (Rz)

Battalion Detachment (Astra Militarum, Cadian)
Company Commander- Plasma Pistol, Chainsword, Grand Strategist Warlord Trait, Kurov's Aquila (CC1)
Company Commander- Laspistol, Chainsword (CC2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS1)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon, Grenade Launcher (IS2)
Infantry Squad- Lascannon (IS3)
30 Conscripts- Lasguns (C)

Auxiliary Detachment (Assassins)
Culexus Assassin (A)

Thursday 12 July 2018

Better Know a Blogger: Part 51- Aura of Dark Majesty

Better Know a Blogger is back, this time with another first. This week's highlight features Jon from Aura of Dark Majesty

Jon has actually appeared on the series before with his blog, Kaptain Von. He contacted me a few weeks ago to let me know about his new blogging venture, Aura of Dark Majesty. He now has the honour, nay, the privilege, nay, the audacity to appear on Better Know A Blogger once more!

Aura of Dark Majesty focuses on Jon's Age of Sigmar Vampire Counts army. After reading the first few blog posts, I was amazed at how similar our experiences were in collecting the army.

White Dwarf 211 was where it both started for us. This was the first issue of White Dwarf I ever bought. I had just started playing Warhammer and was collecting Orcs and Goblins. However, after seeing the fantastic new studio Undead army, I was sold. I immediately picked up a few boxed sets of skeletons and started a fledgling Undead army.

The second edition of Age of Sigmar has tempted Jon back into the game, with some great new releases for the Undead on the way. You can check out Jon's descent in the wonderfully named "How I learned to stop worrying and at least tolerate Age of Sigmar".

Here are Jon's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?
Really young - about six or seven. A Fighting Fantasy choose-your-own-adventure book is one of the first things I remember reading on my own.

Wednesday 11 July 2018

Hobby Update 11/07/18- Deathwatch Watch Captain

Another hobby update this week, showing my Deathwatch Watch Captain. This one is a bit of a cheat, as I only had to paint up the Storm Shield and Thunder Hammer. I added them to one of my already painted Vanguard Veteran models to make a Captain for my tournament army. 

The combination gives him some great combat ability and defence for the army.


Tuesday 10 July 2018

Hobby Update 10/07/18- Deathwatch Storm Bolter Veteran Squad

Today's Hobby Update features my new Deathwatch Veteran Squad, armed with Storm Bolters. 

This is a new option in the codex and a very powerful one at that. I went for a full unit of 10 to give me an amazing 40 shots when they arrive from the Teleportarium. I scoured my bits box to find a bunch of spare Storm Bolters to add to a Veteran squad. 

Here is the painted squad. 


Friday 6 July 2018

Hobby Update 06/07/18- Deathwatch Razorback

Today's hobby update features a Deathwatch Razorback with a Twin Lascannon. 

This adds some anti-tank firepower to my Deathwatch army, as well as a nice transport option for one of my Kill Teams. 

Thursday 5 July 2018

Battle Report 157- Deathwatch vs Ultramarines

This week's battle report sees my Deathwatch take on Tom's Ultramarines in a 2000 pts game. We were playing the Targets of Opportunity maelstrom of war mission. This is the mission with 3 cards per turn, and you only have a single turn in which to try and score the cards. 

My army consisted of:
Battalion Detachment
Watch Master- Guardian Spear, Lord of Hidden Knowledge warlord trait (WM)
Watch Captain- Power Sword, Master Crafted Bolter, Tome of Ectoclades Relic (WC1)
Kill Team 1- 9 Veterans and 1 Terminator, Storm Bolters, Chainswords, Power Fist on Terminator (KT1)
10 Intercessors- Bolt Rifles, Bolt Pistols (KT2)
Kill Team 3- 5 Veterans with 5 Stalker Pattern Bolters (KT3)
Kill Team 4- 5 Veterans with Bolters and Chainswords (KT4)
3 Bikers- Twin Bolters (B1)
3 Bikers- Twin Bolters (B2)

Battalion Detachment
Watch Captain- Jump Pack, Relic Blade, MC Bolter (WC2)
Watch Captain- Xenophase Blade, Combi-Melta (WC3)
Kill Team 5- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, Bolters, Chainswords (KT5)
Kill Team 6- 5 Veterans, 2 Missile Launchers, Bolters, Chainswords (KT6)
Kill Team 7- 5 Veterans, 5 Shotguns, Storm Shield (KT7)
Kill Team 8- 5 Veterans, 2 Frag Cannons, Bolters, Chainswords, Storm Shield (KT8)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R1)
Rhino- 2 Storm Bolters (R2)
Razorback- Twin Lascannon, Storm Bolter (Rz)



Wednesday 4 July 2018

Hobby Update 04/07/18- Deathwatch Intercessors

It's been a bit quiet on the blog recently, but I have not been slacking off, I've been busy getting my Deathwatch painted up for the upcoming Warhammer World tournament this weekend. 

Today's hobby update features my Deathwatch Intercessor unit. The Primaris Marines now get access to special issue ammunition, giving them a big boost to their firepower the the already potent Bolt Rifles. I've added an auxiliary grenade launcher to the squad. For only 1 pt, they are a bargain to allow me to fire a long range grenade at the enemy army. 

Here is the completed 10-man squad.