40K - April FAQ: GW Hits It Out Of The Park

In all reality GW could have named this the "DON'T BE A DOUCHE" FAQ.....because this is where they came down hard against perceived unintended consequences.

GW HITS A HOMERUN

GW have clarified wording to remove rules "abuses" that didn't fit their view of how the game should be played. In doing so, they haven't been afraid to admit they have been wrong in the past and readjust the landscape.

Things you should be aware of:

• Changes to units with the "Fly" keyword regarding the Charge phase
• Creation of a new "Aircraft" keyword designed to address issues with the current Eldar Flyer Spam army (suspect this will only prove partially successful)
• Changes to Eldar Psychic Powers (affect allies)
• Significant changes to Orks - Mob Up restrictions, Characteristic rolls
• Limitations on Datasheets...or a mortar is a mortar is a mortar
• Restrictions on Bolter Discipline
• Point changes to Castellan
• Limitations on improvements to Invulnerable Saves (IK and GK)
• Increase CP for the 85 point Assassin reservoir
• Mental Onslaught defanged
• No orders for Brood Brothers
• Vexator Mask "Fight Last" effect depowered

The one thing they didn't "fix" was the stacking of -1 to Hit. IMO GW hit things they saw as "unfun". There is nothing IMO more unfun than a -3 to Hit especially if that makes it impossible to hit a Flyer. I would have liked to see a cap at -2 to Hit (at least).

Still very happy GW addressed the main sore points. 

Well done!

40k - New Zealand Team - ETC 2020

A few weeks ago I registered my intention with the ETC Chairmen to enter a New Zealand Team in ETC 2020.

We are now at the stage where we are looking for candidates for the team. The event is being held in Luxembourg in early August 2020. I require eight players for the team.

Ideally we would draw on NZ domestic resources in the first instant. It is not a cheap exercise to attend ETC so prospective candidates should be budgeting on an all up cost of between $2500-3000. That would cover the cost of flights, accommodation, entry fee, shirts, dice, food and beers. This covers the five day period of the ETC (Wednesday to Sunday).

Obviously it also provides an opportunity to take a longer holiday in Europe.

Finalisation of the team would take place over the next two months to allow people to plan their 2020. As you can imagine with 1000+ people involved in the event, accomodation gets tight so we will be looking to book early. This will require a non-refundable deposit from the candidates selected.

It is my suspicion that we will have places for all interested so selection criteria won’t be required. However if demand exceeds capacity these will be transparent.

I have set up a Facebook group for this venture. If you are interested in being involved drop me an email or PM and I’ll sign you up.

Community Call for Help

Here's a call out from myself and James Brown.

 One our friends Glen Tibbles is going through a bit of a shit time with cancer.  He is currently not able to work and while he fights this prick of a disease. It would be great to give him a financial boost to take the stress off. 

Glen has been active in the Ancient wargaming, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K tournament scenes over the past 20+ years.   

Those of you who know Glen will know he is a humble guy and would never ask for it but this is an opportunity to show what an awesome community we have and how much he has been a part of it. (sorry Tibs you can blame James!)

We’ve seen this done in the USA and think we can nail it here.     

WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR

For us as the community to donate models or time* (*Paint a unit) to make a fully painted/competitive above table top standard  2000+ point Death Watch army that will either be sold through Trademe or raffled off and the $ given to Glen to help him out. 

How you can help –

Please contact James at jamesbrownnz1@gmail.com  or myself (pete@thefieldsofblood.com) if you wish to donate Space Marine models on sprue (come on we all have Space Marine models in boxes!) We're after veterans, terminators, primaris, bikes etc. storm bolters, storm shields  (all the competitive stuff) or you wish to put your hand up to paint a unit or two.  

Once we have collected the models they will be assembled (with shoulder pads & realm of battle bases which we’ll provide) and sent to people to paint with a detailed quick guide on how we’ll paint the  army cohesively and then sell it.  

James will lead the initiative and coordinate the Auckland end while I'll act as a hub for the Welly collections.

  

Show a mate what a great community we have. 

James & Pete

EDIT: Here is the painting recipe we are following.

We have a store of extra Deathwatch bits if anyone needs them.

The whole army is to be based using Realm of Battle bases.

40k - Hivefleet Cerebane: Malenthrope

Next model for painting is a Malentrope I've had for a few years. I put him together Wednesday evening and he'll be part of their next expansion which will include Lictors and additional gaunts.

Hopefully I'll hit him with primer and basecoats tonight.

Terrain - Priming: Rattlecans Ahoy!

Working with MDF you have to make sure that the primer you use also seals the surface. If you don't your model will literally engorge itself on your expensive paints. MDF is very very thirsty.

I use the Rustoleum brand 2x Primer and have found it by far the best. It seals the surface but does not obscure any detail. My go to is Flat Grey but I also use other colours depending on the job (brownish red for containers).

Here is this morning's spray. I'll let them dry during the day before giving them any necessary touch ups prior to airbrushing them at my hobby desk.

Check back to see how they get on.

Terrain - Titan Terrain MDF

A few months ago I picked up some MDF terrain from NZ company Titan Terrain. Run out of Dunedin by uni student Joseph, I purchased the Sci-Fi Slum bundle and the Freight Hub bundle. The total cost including delivery was $250 NZD.

Over the past week I have been putting the various buildings and scatter terrain together and I'm very impressed.

Here are the two bundles - more than enough for a 6' x 4' table

Dispensary, Shop, Apartment Block, Container Hauler, Walkways, Containers, Dumpsters

Warehouse

The Warehouse is probably the best MDF building I've constructed. It is really large and provides plenty of LOS blocking. The overall building is 15" x 7" and over 6" tall. Like all the Titan buildings the design is quite intricate but is quite sturdy when constructed.

Here you can see a Genestealer on the apron to give an idea of scale. Joseph uses different types of board to provide texture. The roof has a thick corrugated cardboard that simulates roofing iron,

Apartment and Shop

Again these building provide plenty of LOS blocking cover. I'm looking forward to painting them over the next few weeks as I feel they will come up really well. Each building probably took 1-1.5 hours to put together. The pieces fit together easily.

In this last photo you can see the Dispensary and some of the scatter terrain Titan produce. There are plenty of barriers, crates, barrels and dumpsters. These should provide interest to the table once I've finished it. 

Check back in a few weeks and I'll have the pieces painted up, ready for the upcoming Fields of Blood NZ Grand Tournament.

40K - ETC Mission: Dark Eldar v. Custodes

Last week New Zealand registered a 40k team to compete at ETC 2020 in Luxembourg. Ahead of putting the team together I thought I'd start getting acquainted with the mission form and also the points level.

Luke came around with his Custodes and we played Mission 4: Altered Four Pillars. The list I used was not tailored for team play but was rather an ETC-friendly list.

The game was characterised by me making all my charges and studiously using my CPs in the first two turns to construct a winning position. As per recent games the Grotesques did very well, taking control of the middle of the table.

Grotesques going into two units of Custodes Guardians and Vexilla supported by Succubus and Khloe my Haemonculus.

The Custodes reinforced the centre with Terminators however were hampered when the Telemon failed to make a 6" charge. A unit of Wyches (+1S) came down and helped the Dark Eldar finish them off.

Near my baseline the Bikes deep struck in but failed a 9" charge. I was able to use a combination of Poisoned Shots and Haywire to reduce them down before two Talo went in.

Poor placement meant my Archon took 4 shots to the head from the Vindicare which gave me a few squeaky moments.

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [51 PL, 840pts, 5CP] ++
Detachment Attribute: Prophets of Flesh

Haemonculus [5 PL, 76pts]: Electrocorrosive whip [6pts], Splinter Pistol, Diabolical Soothsayer
Urien Rakarth [5 PL, 90pts]

Wracks [3 PL, 45pts]- 5x Wracks
Wracks [3 PL, 45pts]- 5x Wracks
Wracks [3 PL, 45pts]- 5x Wracks

Grotesques [14 PL, 245pts]
7x Grotesque with Monstrous Cleaver [2 PL, 35pts]: Flesh Gauntlet [3pts]

Talos [6 PL, 98pts]: Chain-Flails [3pts], Macro-Scalpel [4pts], 2x Haywire blaster [16pts]
Talos [6 PL, 98pts]: Chain-Flails [3pts], Macro-Scalpel [4pts], 2x Haywire blaster [16pts]
Talos [6 PL, 98pts]: Chain-Flails [3pts], Macro-Scalpel [4pts], 2x Haywire blaster [16pts]

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [51 PL, 972pts, 5CP] ++
Alliance of Agony [-1CP]
Prizes from the Dark City (2 Relics) [-2CP]
Detachment Attribute: Kabal of the Black Heart
Detachment CP [5CP]

Archon [4 PL, 72pts]: Labyrinthine Cunning, Splinter pistol, Venom Blade [2pts], Warlord (Archon), Writ of the Living Muse
Archon [4 PL, 93pts]: Blaster [17pts], Huskblade [6pts]

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
3x Kabalite Warrior [18pts], Sybarite [6pts], Kabalite Warrior with Blaster [17pts]
Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 47pts]
3x Kabalite Warrior [18pts], Sybarite [6pts], Kabalite Warrior with Blaster [17pts]
Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 38pts]
3x Kabalite Warrior [18pts], Sybarite [6pts], Kabalite Warrior with Shredder [8pts]

Ravager [7 PL, 125pts]: 3x Disintegrator Cannon [15pts]
Ravager [7 PL, 125pts]: 3x Disintegrator cannon [15pts]
Ravager [7 PL, 125pts]: 3x Disintegrator cannon [15pts]

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: 2x Splinter Cannon [10pts]
Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: 2x Splinter Cannon [10pts]
Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: 2x Splinter Cannon [10pts]
Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: 2x Splinter Cannon [10pts]

++ Patrol Detachment (Aeldari - Drukhari) [12 PL, 188pts] ++
Detachment Attribute: Cult of the Red Grief

Succubus [4 PL, 50pts]: Archite Glaive, Splinter pistol, The Blood Glaive, +1T, 3++ Save

Wyches [4 PL, 69pts]
Hekatrix [8pts], 6x Wych [48pts], Wych with Shardnet and impaler [5pts], +1Str
Wyches [4 PL, 69pts]
Hekatrix [8pts], 6x Wych [48pts], Wych with Shardnet and impaler [5pts], +1A

I'm unsure whether Red Grief is best for the Wyches. I'm in love with Red Grief relic more than anything.

40k - NatCon Results

Over Easter weekend Natcon has been run in New Zealand for the past 40+ years. Traditionally this was the biggest event of the year but since 2005, the rise of a plethora of other tournaments and conventions has reduced its size. This year it was held in Kapiti - about 40 miles north of Wellington - and used the ITC Missions and scoring (WDL). Armies were 1500 points with no comp restrictions.

The results were:

Rank	Player	Army	W-D-L	VPs
1	Simon Smith	Imperium	4-1-0	135
2	Pete Dunn	Dark Eldar	4-0-1	133
3	Sam Whitt	Chaos Daemons	4-0-1	105
4	Dave Hodgetts	Astra Militarum	3-1-1	133
5	Sean Sullivan	Dark Eldar	3-0-2	144
6	Luke Archbold	Custodes	3-0-2	133
7	Aaron Wilson	Adeptus Mechanicus	3-0-2	108
8	Jordan Green	Death Guard	3-0-2	102
9	Bede Bailey	Eldar	3-0-2	98
10	Kim Styles	Eldar	3-0-2	76
11	Scott Paterson	Tau	2-0-3	130
12	John Murrie	Astra Militarum	2-0-3	102
13	Kent Jackson	Eldar	2-0-3	88
14	Ryan Stuart	Tyranids	2-0-3	75
15	Tom Dunn	Tyranids	2-0-3	75
16	Jeremy Martin-Smith	Necrons	2-0-3	61
17	Paul Knieriem	Imperium	1-0-4	101
18	Ross Brewster	Eldar	1-0-4	61
19	Simon Avery	Tyranids	1-0-4	60

Best Sport - Tom Dunn

Best Presented Army - Sam Whitt

Congratulations to Simon on his win.

The results have been uploaded to the FOB NZ Rankings

Great to see that everybody had at least one win. The lists were very hard. All the Eldar were Alaiatoc while all the Tyranids were STC Kraken. Both Dark Eldar lists ran base of Black Heart Ravagers and Prophets of Flesh Grots/Talos, Seans having Wych Cult while mine had an Ulthwe Doomrunner.

My list was as follows:

++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [49 PL, 805pts] ++

Detachment Attribute: Prophets of Flesh

Haemonculus [5 PL, 76pts]: Electrocorrosive whip, Splinter Pistol, The Vexator Mask

Urien Rakarth [5 PL, 90pts]: Diabolical Soothsayer

3x Wracks [3 PL, 45pts] - Acothyst + 4x Wracks

Grotesques [12 PL, 210pts] - 6x Grotesque with Monstrous Cleaver: Flesh Gauntlet

3x Talos [6 PL, 98pts] - Chain-Flails, Macro-Scalpel; 2x Haywire blaster

++ Spearhead Detachment +1CP (Aeldari - Drukhari) [31 PL, 560pts] ++

Detachment Attribute: Kabal of the Black Heart

Alliance of Agony [-1CP]
Prizes from the Dark City (1 Relic) [-1CP]

Archon [4 PL, 72pts]: Labyrinthine Cunning, Splinter pistol, Venom Blade, Warlord (Archon), Writ of the Living Muse

Kabalite Warriors [2 PL, 38pts] - 3x Kabalite Warrior; Kabalite Warrior with Shredder; Sybarite

3x Ravager [7 PL, 125pts]: 3x Disintegrator cannon

Venom [4 PL, 75pts]: 2x Splinter Cannon

++ Auxiliary Support Detachment -1CP (Aeldari - Craftworlds) [7 PL, 132pts] ++

Craftworld Attribute: Ulthwe: Foresight of the Damned

Farseer Skyrunner [7 PL, 132pts]: 2. Doom, 4. Executioner, Shuriken Pistol, Twin Shuriken Catapult, Witchblade

I had five challenging games:

Rd 1 - 14-15 loss vs Bede’s Alaiatoc
Rd 2 - 29-16 win vs Ryan’s Kraken
Rd 3 - 25-15 win vs Paul’s Imperium
Rd 4 - 33-14 win vs Kent’s Alaiatoc
Rd 5 - 32-28 win vs Sean’s Dark Eldar

The dice were fickle all weekend. I generally didn’t see a lot of good luck on either side but saw plenty of bad. Sean’s dice in a couple of our turns were horrific. He must have failed 4 8-9” charges on one turn where he had rerolls. Gave a great demonstration on maximizing his points despite adversity.

My stars were my Grotesques. They were decisive vs Paul, Kent and to a lesser extent versus Sean and Ryan. Bede reduced them to a single model Turn 1. The Doomseer helped me immeasurably vs Sean - being able to put unimpeded Doom and Smite was huge.

40K - Hivefleet Cerebane Update

Back in 2002, during 3rd Edition, I built my Tyranid army, Hivefleet Cerebane. The models of this era were an update on the 2nd Edition "goofy" nids but for the big critters, generally still metal rather than plastic.

In 2007, Jack pulled out the army and updated it for the Nidzilla era. More Rippers, the obligatory Dakkafexes and flying Tyrant with Devourers all made appearances. Jack repositioned and repainted the Genestealers but still in the Cerebane colour scheme.

Jump forward a dozen years and Tom has picked the game again and is using a STC Kraken army. This has required some new additions to the Hivefleet and the painting/re-equipping of some old models.

Six Hive Guard provide the long range firepower for Cerebane. Their ability to shoot indirectly helps keep the enemy honest.

 A second unit of Genestealers has been added, sporting scything talons and rending claws.

 Another "new" unit are the Venomtropes, providing protection for the chittering horde.

 I bought the Old One Eye model when it was first released but never got around to building or painting it. Earlier this year Matt Liggett provided me with the crushing claws I had lost in the intervening years and "Carl" was painted.

Finally my old metal Tyrant has been re-purposed as Swarmlord. He has had his Venom Cannon replaced with Bone Sword and Lash Whip. I've kept is "pet" Blood Claw, reminiscent of a time when all the wannabes played Space Wolves 😊 

Great to get an old army updated and ready for the table again.

Hobby - CK Studios' "Terrain Class" at Adepticon

While I was at Adepticon, Jack and I took an airbrushing terrain class with CK Studios. This was the first time that they had run the course and it focused on three key techniques:

1. Marbling of Wall Surfaces
2. Another Marbling technique for floors
3. Fast way to do metals using drybrushing

Here are the results:

The marbling technique on the walls involves using a laundry dryer sheet and a strange mix of colours.

Metals are all drybrushed over black primer. I used purple and blue inks through airbrush to provide interest.

The marbling on the floor section was painted using a torn piece of paper and the airbrush. It was done in flesh colours before applying GW Camoshade wash through airbrush and a final GW Waywatcher glaze through airbrush.

Spent three hours at the course and learned techniques that will save me literally days of work going forward. 

Hobby - Salt Chipping & Weathering

At Adepticon I picked up a Gale Force Nine Power Generator that was 30% off. These come pre-painted but I decided to repaint it to match my Gamemat.eu Industrial Terrain.

Here is the finished article:

I wanted something that looked like it had had a hard life. The kit comes in a box already assembled and painted.

The GF9 generator is very clean. It looks like it is constructed of some type of concrete.

The first thing I did was prime it metallic brown and give it some underlying rust modulation.

This took about 5-10 minutes total with the airbrush spraying first Badger Brown Primer (Adepticon giveaway) then GW paints.

Aim was to get a mottled finish that I could chip back to.

Next a mix of rock and sea salt - wet the surface and sprinkle.

I let it dry overnight.....it turns opaque.

I then sprayed it with a Chalky Finish Lime Wash rattlecan and went out for a coffee.

It dries reacting with the salt mask.

The next stage is to brush the salt off which exposes the underlying paint.

The rougher you are the more you can chip away.

The finish is quite natural and approximates real world weathering.

The final stage is to prime (black) and drybrush (Boltgun) the core. I then sprayed the joins and random patches with Burnt Umber ink.

Very happy with the finished result. Great match for existing terrain. Total project time 30 minutes over a 12 hour period.

AOS - The Notorious GT

Shaun Bates is running the Notorious Grand Tournament for the Age of Sigmar community at the end of May in Upper Hutt.

This is the inaugural running of the GT and I have every confidence that it will be a memorable event.

This is a 50 person event and they have already sold 45 of the tickets. Three of those signed up are coming from Australia for the event.

The key attributes of this event are:

An event for all gamers

Expanded painting competition - with A-list celebrity judges

Narrative achievements

Social pub quiz 

Superior trophies 

A premium venue - clean toilets, food and drink on site 

The Players' Pack is available here

There is extensive coverage on the Notorious AOS podcast which you can hear here

So if you are an AOS player or even just a little AOS-curious then do yourself a favour and check it out.