#031 - shadow of the horned rat

my first warhammer fantasy army, the skaven, have finally received a new armybook after being outstripped several times by other armies... and what an army book it is!!

first off, the costs of clanrats, stormvermin, rat swarms, and night runners have all decreased drastically, which benefits me greatly:

1. clanrats - 2 bricks of 30 went for 390, now only costing 324 for a difference of 66 points...

2. stormvermin - 23 with shields and full command used to cost me 232, now dropping to 209... hey, 23 points is 23 points...

3. rat swarms - dropped from 45 to 25 points per base, which makes a 100 point drop this time around...

4. night runners - 2 units of 10 cost me 200 points in the last book, but now a single group of 20 only costs me 148, a drop of 52 points right there...

5. slaves - 2 units of 20 was 40 points, and has not changed... so 0 mark there...

6. weapon teams - while not exactly core, i do take 3 attached teams, and each one went down by 5 points, for extra savings of 15...

my core choices, keeping them exactly as they are, are already saving me 256 points, which is HUGE in an army like this... now as far as specials and rares go:

1. warplock jezzails - because of the surplus in points i have to work with, we add a second jezzail group... 2 squads of 5 rifles each, brings 100 points per slot... i like rifles, so this is good...

2. poisoned wind globadiers - gone from core to special, but no change in points costs... instead of two skirmish teams, i am consolidating into a single 10-rat group for concentrated globing... 10 globadiers cost me 100 points for this slot choice... i have to bunch these together because i only get 4 special slots at this level - in larger games, they will split back into 5 and 5...

3. plague monks - 20 monks with full command and paired weapons used to be 185, and the banner of burning hatred i always gave them brought it up to 210... the same unit with shroud of dripping death is only 195 points, throwing 15 points back at me...

4. warp lightning cannon - my only rare slot went down 5 points, but ill take what i can get... not sure how i feel about the new rules for it though...

now with the entire army built up, same as it always was, i have a whopping 579 points to spend on my army's leaders...

1. mister squeakers (warlord) - 150 points for warpstone armour, weeping blade, and default hand weapon

2. fluffkin (warlock engineer) - 118 points for a level 1 caster, with pistol, death globe, and warlock optics

3. nibbles (warlock engineer) - 160 points for a level 2 caster, warp condenser, and warlock augmented weapon

4. poxy (plague priest) - 151 points for a level 2 caster with plague censer

and so the epic destiny of mister squeakers begins... /post

#030 - da furst viktory!!

so how did i spend my day? well i received a call from kevin at the store that a small space wolves force was trying to move in on my turf, and that just couldnt be allowed... so gobsmasha and da krew went in to see what was gonna get done about these wolf boyz...

wolf turn one - i did not setup first, nor did i steal the initiative... the space wolves moved forward in a normal spread... a blood claw pack under the watchful eye of a wolf lord... four long fangs in the back... a blood claw and dreadnought up the other flank... a wolf priest up the center with a lone wolf...

ork turn one - gobsmasha had a plan going into this... he knew these wolf boyz liked a good scrap just as much as an ork does, so he set out the bait in good view - a mob of 25 stood in the back to present a very nice target... while they were getting into position, trakka and shadez made their way up and around outside the field to launch sneak attacks later on... gobsmasha and wogrot marched through the ruins of a building past the boomwagon, which fired at a pack of blood claws killing one, and the skorcha wagon advanced while slinging big shoota rounds at the wolf lord, though only his wolves took any damage...

wolf turn two - with still nothing in range, the space wolves had no choice but to keep advancing... unless they acted soon, it was going to be a range war they had no hope of winning...

ork turn two - shadez and his boys ran in from the wolves' right flank right on time, dishing out a hail of slugga rounds and rokkits, killing two of the wolves from behind before they could react... meanwhile a boomgun round sailed true to its mark and greased three more blood claws from the same unit, as well as another pesky wolf from the lord's group... gobsmasha and wogrot's wreckaz added more fire into the fray taking out a fifth blood claw, and the skorcha wagon fired both it big shoota to eliminate a sixth while irongob's 'ard boyz piled out and lent their shootas into the mess... then shadez and his krew decided it was time to teach these oversized 'umiez what a proper scrap is all about - charging in with his big choppa, two blood claws from the second squad were torn apart, but before they fell they injured shadez and one of his boyz...

wolf turn three - with the long fangs now in position, their targets eluded them as both wagons were on the opposite side of the adjacent ruins, so they opened fire at the bait mob but failed to wound anything... the lone wolf and wolf lord moved up but managed to still be out of reach - gobsmasha's plan was working well so far, keeping the wolves on the move while the boyz shot at their leisure... the dreadnought marched forward still in search of a target, finding none... meanwhile, the brawl between the kommandos and blood claws was failing to do the wolf boyz any good - the blood claws failed to injure anyone, while shadez cleaved through another two marines like paper... although marines know no fear, they know when a fight is lost and the remaining two "tactically withdrew" with their tails between their legs...

ork turn three - not looking to be outdone by shadez, trakka and his krew joined the fight from the opposite flank, a hail of bullets killing another three blood claws... the boomwagon took this opportunity to level its big gun at the wolf lord who, at the moment, was quite unprotected - the result was devastating as both he and his remaining puppy were torn apart in the blast, which did nothing to help the marines' cause... gobsmasha and wogrot moved in to being the pain to the wolf priest in the middle of the field, though neither skorcha blast fired did anything against the priest's armour... shadez and his krew advanced toward the long fangs who were dangerously exposed, killing one in a hail of gunfire... then the order came over the radio for the boyz to get stuck in - gobsmasha and wogrot charged the wolf priest, trakka charged the blood claws, and shadez charged the long fangs... shadez and his krew lost another boy, but killed a fang in the process, while trakka and his boyz lost two and killed two blood claws... things didn't go so well for gobsmasha though - while an astounding twelve blows found their mark on the wolf priest, his armour still held out, and his return swings managed to kill one of the wreckaz... the rage of the priest at losing his lord took its toll on high command, causing them to back off and be clubbed into unconsciousness as they withdrew...

wolf turn four - enraged by the loss of his lord as well, the lone wolf attempted to come to grips with the greenskins but still couldn't close the distance... the dreadnought kept marching forward, as did the two blood claws that survived from shadez's first push... the wolf priest then opened fire at the mob of boyz while they got ready to scrap it out with him, though he only killed one - hardly enough for anyone to notice... the blood claws missed all their attacks against trakka's krew, who proceeded to slay them to a man... the long fangs, however, managed to kill two orks while only losing one, sending shadez rushing into the night to "regroup" later - he did his job anyway, taking two squads of marines down to a combined total of three... the wolves still needed a big comeback in order to survive this battle...

ork turn four - the boomwagon's overpowered engine got the better of itself and proceeded to gun it towards the lone wolf and his dual puppy bodyguard, who attempted to make a heroic stand against it with a powerfist - unfortunately all he did was dent the fender with his face as the looted tank's treads ground his head into pulp, leaving the dogs whimpering next to his body... meanwhile, the mob of boyz rushed up and all 24 fired at the wolf priest - terminator armour or not no one can withstand that kind of punishment, and suffered two fatal wounds from the barrage... irongob and his boyz, in a fit of spite, gunned down the two wolves as they pined over their master, leaving a solitary long fang, a dreadnought, and two blood claws remaining on the field...

wolf turn five - it was too much for the wolves... they could not go back in shame, having lost both their lord and priest - it was all or nothing now... the dread, finally making it in range of the mob of boyz, killed one with his multi-melta, but was still too far away to make a charge... the blood claws followed behind it, ready to support a final push... the long fang fired at the mob as well, reducing another boy to melted slag, but it just wasn't enough...

ork turn five - the boomwagon scooted over and fired a shell at the last long fang, though it overshot its mark by quite a bit... the nob from the boyz mob, however, managed a brutal charge against the dreadnought, using three of his team as shields while he rushed in for the kill - a single blow from the power klaw shattered the engine housing, causing a massive explosion that killed six more boyz and one of the remaining blood claws...

wolf turn six - a final plasma cannon blast failed to do any damage to the boyz again, and the remaining blood claw made his desperate suicide charge into the mob, only to kill a single ork while the nob impaled him with a power klaw from behind... there was nothing left for the last long fang to do except become the next lone wolf unless he was killed next...

ork turn six - the boomgun hit its mark this time, but the shell was a dud, merely knocking the long fang back a few steps... gobsmasha and wogrot's krew were picked up and brought back to kamp, still alive and still ready to have a go, though no one was left to tear apart... first battle, first victory... it tastes good...

MVP awards - the boyz mob for killing a wolf priest, dreadnought, and finishing a blood claws pack in 3 consecutive turns, with runner up of shadez's krew for tearing apart two separate squads with only 6 models...

tactical critique - knowing full well that space wolves excel in close combat, my whole plan was to keep them split apart and constantly having to move at me... by hugging the back and right flank, i ensured that everything wouldn't have the range to do any damage to my boyz... the outflank gamble works just fine, as i figured it would... an all-assault weapon volley, followed by a 24-attack charge removes enough of the resistance to be successful, and at just around 100 pt each, they're not major losses if they get creamed... the only thing i would do differently is not charge terminator armoured characters without a backup weapon - the warboss and nobz should only attack things with normal armour...

/post

#029 - da mob so far...

now that i have enough models in the army, i can finally piece together how it will look on paper... so here goes:

gutstab gobsmasha - 90 pt
kombi-skorcha, big choppa, 'eavy armour, cybork body, bosspole

'toolz' murfy - 100 pt
choppa, mek's toolz, kustom force field, cybork body, 'eavy armour

wogrot's wreckaz (5 nobz) - 155 pt
3x kombi-skorcha, 2x big choppa, 'eavy armour, stikkbomms

chainz' burnas (5 burnas) - 75 pt
mek w/ big shoota, 4x burnas

trakka's mob (6 kommandos) - 115 pt
nob w/ power klaw & 'eavy armour, burna, 4x slugga/choppa, stikkbomms

shadez's mob (6 kommandos) - 90 pt
nob w/ big choppa & 'eavy armour, 2x rokkit launcha, 3x slugga/choppa, stikkbomms

boyz mob (27 boyz) - 197 pt
nob w/ big choppa & bosspole, 26x slugga/choppa

irongob's krew (10 'ard boyz) - 130 pt
nob w/ big choppa, big shoota, 8x shoota/choppa, 'eavy armour, stikkbomms

big gunz - 123 pt
3x zzap gunz, 12x krew, runtherd w/ prod

looted wagon - 125 pt
boomgun, big shoota, 'ard case, grot riggers

looted wagon - 100 pt
skorcha, 2x big shoota, 'ard case, red paint job, armour plates, grot riggers, stikkbomm chukkas, reinforced ram

which gives me exactly 1300 pt assembled, and in need of another 200 to make a round numbered army... so here's what im thinking with that - another 4 burnas and 1 mek with kustom mega blasta (spanna) as well as 2 ammo grotz (85 pt), then a deff dred with 3 dread CC and a skorcha, grot riggers and armour plates (110 pt, counts as troops from big mek)... which means the burnas go inside the skorcha wagon to benefit from power weapons, though only at initiative 3 on the charge (still beats fists)... however, since theyre all template weapons, they ignore cover saves and auto hit, so whatever is left when the assault comes is pretty much toasted... the dred works as a can opener in this list, 'plan a' as it were, doing 4 attacks at strength 10, ignoring armour, and striking before carnifex and fists again...

'plan b' comes next on the table, once more using the burnas and grotz at 85 pt, but this time including multiple trukks, with red paint jobs, stikkbomm chukkas, armour plates and a reinforced ram (so 65 pt each)... this leaves me with an overage of 15 pt, which is easily solved by taking the stikkbomms off of the 'ard boyz and the nobz - now it's back to being 1500 even... throw the boss and nobz in the skorcha wagon, 'ard boyz with big mek in one trukk, and the burnas in the other trukk... right now plan b is more appealing to the style of the warband - two kommando teams outflank, 3 transports push up the middle, and the boyz hold the backfield with the zzap gunz and looted 'doosa'... a totally different view than i started with (was hoping for deff koptas and kommandos for an all outflank battle), but one that is shaping up nicely all the same...

/post

#028 - da whip

i need an APC... something light and sporty, able to handle off-road conditions and any weather imaginable... most importantly, it needs to be dedicated to my 'ard boyz, so there will need to be decent armour plating and a heavy armament load... it will also need to be red... enter the hellhound i havent been using in my guard army, that happened to go the same way as the medusa - a good idea at the time, but not practical without the squadron...

skorcha, two big shootas, reinforced ram, 'ard case, armour plates, grot riggers, stikkbomm chukkas, and a red paint job - everything da boyz need to get da job done... of course, i have to repaint the whole deal, but with the brown base already on it, it shouldnt be hard... this wagon isnt as decorated as the medusa, naturally... the way i see it working with irongob's boyz is they don't need the trophies like the others do - his boyz want to get in and get fighting, so they just need trakks and a target...

i was originally looking to get a battlewagon into the list, but it doesnt seem like a viable option at the moment, both monetary and playability wise... as it stands now, i have about 1300 pt, which means only 200 more until its a standing list... im hoping to get another boyz box so i can make a second mob (18 and 18 respectively), plus i need 2 trukks, which i will probably convert from chimeras when i get the chance/money... gotta keep in theme, otherwise the whole thing loses its appeal...

/post

#027 - da 'eavies

so i got to thinking, what would make for an effective heavy addition to the blood axes... to be honest, i'm taking full advantage of furious charge for the most part, letting wogrot and his krew rush in at marine initiative with two big choppas (strength 7 is nothing to scoff at)... so far, only trakka, irongob, and a soon-to-be-named nob leader from the 25-count boyz mob have power klaws, and shadez's kommando team sports two rokkits - the extent of my anti-tank arsenal is rather limited... i did some pondering and came up with two answers...

the first, picture at top, is the zzap gun krew... keeping with my "looted imperium" theme thus far, i decided to take spare lascannons i had laying in the immense bitz box and rig up a trio on termie bases... then i decided they need to be orky, so i did what any brilliant mek would do and put bayonets on the underside of the zzap guns - style always trumps function in a greenskin force... add to that a grot mob with runtherd and we have our first tank popper... sure, the hit rate is a 50/50... and it's true that i may roll a 4 for strength when it really counts... but a gun krew is small and can be placed in cover, which is exactly what gobsmasha wants - throw three zzap guns inside a building or treeline and pop shots at heavy infantry (since they're AP 2 regardless of strength) and vehicles...

then i decided to take advantage of two things at once with the second picture... i had purchased, through proxy, a medusa conversion kit from forge world because i was building a guard force at the time... unfortunately, unless you take artillery in threes with a guard force, they are pretty much useless and easy to kill - fire magnets are never good when you only have the one... so the medusa sat around a lot, collecting both dust and ire until two days ago... i can't say how or why i decided on it, but before i knew it, i was looking for bitz to slap onto the medusa to make my first looted wagon... i don't even know where to begin with this one...

when i think of orks looting something, there are always additions to the original design... additional power cables... plates... superfluous gadgets that serve no practical value other than to exist... with this in mind, the first stage became armor plating, and with an abundance of fantasy shields laying about inside the bitz box, as well as ogre gut plates, i decided to go the trophy route... adorning almost every side of the looted medusa are totems and shields, as well as an ork icon and what will be another banner displayed proudly on the front of the vehicle - gobsmasha's pictogram will be on there as well... then it came time for the back of the tank, and it hit me again - gobsmasha and his krew love killing big game as much as smaller prey, and what could be bigger than the tyranid carnifex (at least in normal games anyway)... as a result, there are four fex carapace plates instead of a railing around the back, like a mobile hunting lodge - when hunting big game, you need a big gun, i guess... but the fun didn't stop there... it still needed something to make it more official that this was not just orky, but MY orky... wooden paneling protects the gear assembly of the boomgun on the sides, and there are two crates on the deck, presumably containing more shells... however, the unique bit rests solely with the two palm trees located in the corner - my homage to kelly's heroes... this looted wagon is home to a veteran krew, and one that enjoys its comforts...

this looted wagon has sun umbrellas on its deck... /post

#026 - da boss and his boyz

so now we get to the top of the food chain in the warband - gutstab gobsmasha and his personal bodyguard, wogrot's wreckaz... da boss himself is sporting a rather large bosspole, topped with his personal standard, which will be a broken ork jaw over two red axes... armed with kombi-scorcha and big choppa, i will be taking full advantage of what furious charge has to offer - initiative 5 is better than 1, especially since space wolves will be the new army for a while... the unique detail here is the big choppa itself, a polearm instead of an axe... i thought this a more fitting touch, considering they are sneaky gitz instead of loud and rowdy - better to gut someone from 10 feet away than risk getting too close... the fact it's a polearm just makes him look more skilled at close combat... finally, we have 'eavy armour and a kustom cybork job - a metal plate on the left abdomen covers where dok stabbawitz and 'toolz' murfy added "gutz 'n gubbinz" to give gobsmasha a localized kustom field powered by his twin hearts (an idea they got from gutting several space marines)...

which now brings us to gunna wogrot and his wreckaz... if gobsmasha is the brains, then wogrot's krew is the backbone... what da boss says goes, and those who dont get in line get a crack to the skull... wogrot, pictured on the left, is the captain to gobsmasha's colonel, also sporting a polearm big choppa, though not as long as gobsmasha's, and a slugga... next in line we have a choppa with kombi-scorcha, followed by a big choppa and kombi-scorcha, then slugga and choppa with voxcaster on the back, with a kombi-scorcha and choppa at the end... the entire krew has 'eavy armour and stikkbomms, as well as several different backup weapons (extra choppas, boltguns, backpacks, etc) that serve a purely cosmetic function - these boyz are kitted for the big fights, able to stand alongside da boss and come out on top of the pile no matter what...

simply put, da boss and his krew are meant to assault infantry and big game creatures, which is exactly how they like things... four one-shot heavy flamers, stikkbomms, and enough armour to withstand prolonged combat (short of power weapons anyway)... missing from this list at the moment, however, is one dok stabbawitz, the final piece of the top tier krew... while gobsmasha himself doesn't benefit from 'feel no pain,' the 12 wounds possessed by the krew certainly do...

all i need now is a battlewagon to transport them in... /post

#025 - da boyz, part one

so here they are, the first of da boyz: kommando teams wun and too, plus 'strika' irongob's 'ard boyz...

so trakka's team is up at the top, the team possessing a power klaw and burna... i found an interesting tutorial online about converting kommandos from regular boyz... all it involves is clipping one leg and repositioning it... now the team lives up to its fluff, crawling along the ground to be the sneakiest gitz in da game... even the kommando with the burna is sneaking along on all fours with a converted big shoota/guard heavy flamer... trakka himself, you'll note, wears a guard voxcaster on his back, since da boss needs to make sure they got the right targets...

the second group is shadez's kommando team, possessing big choppa and two rokkit launchas... since shadez is the more braggy of the kovert pair, his boyz strut upright, and are loaded with all sorts of gear... explosives, engineer packs, boltguns as backup pieces, extra choppas - all of it stolen from the bodies they've left behind... again, the motif here is the team leader with voxcaster, only this time with big choppa held at the ready...

at the bottom we have 'strika' irongob's 'ard boyz, the strike team sent in first to take care of anything that needs taking care of (since they have actual armour)... forged from the fires of fantasy black orcs, each model is a kitbash armed with shootas and choppas... irongob himself has the black orc big choppa raised over his head... then there's the big shoota in the group, sported one-handed by the shoulder strap... once i get transports, this squad will be much more effective in actual game terms...

next up, i think, will be getting a standard metal painboy, as well as two burna boxes... then i just need to convert a pair of mekboyz - spanna (with kustom-mega blasta) and chainz (with big shoota)... then i'm just a big mek away from the complete character set... the next update: gobsmasha, wogrot and the wreckaz... /post