The Incandescent Coyotes & Votann meet their doom. Again. As usual...

 o/

Note the wounds to the Kratos sustained in just TWO turns...

I teamed up with my buddy Rob in what turned out to be yet another futile attempt to beat Screech's Necron horde last weekend. I was fielding my Incandescent Coyotes which rarely win, and was allied to Rob's Votann which have never won. No, it wasn't looking good from the outset. 

Tell the Chapter Master that this is just bullshit man! BULLSHIT!!

Screech was fielding 2k points of of his (official GW) Krylon gold & (3D printed) glowy yellow horde. The coyotes, unfortunately only clock in at about 700 points, so this week's 'allied contingent' was the Kratos which was wholly ineffective (will have to see if the Smurfs can have any better luck with it). 

The coyotes always need an allied something just to hit 1k points, and no matter what it is they usually come out on the losing end though they do have their moments (skip towards the end of that one).

These little guys pack a good wallop, but withered under the Necron onslaught.

Already a nightmare to paint and not looking to spend any more $$$ on them, I think it's time for the Coyotes to redeploy elsewhere (though the Razorback is likely to take up residence in my display case). 

Despite the poor showing all around, Rob's painted Votann nonetheless inspired me to paint one out of my own squad of them. After a bit of experimentation, this is what I came up with:

These guys are really just an excuse to base minis with the purple sand again.

Squad '6' I believe...

The unit is 'league affiliated' to Rob's Urani-Surtr Regulates.

Not too bad, I think I'll paint up the few more who are amongst the the horde of half painted and/or just primered minis that crowd my desk. 

Clearly my Smurfs need a bit of retooling...

 o/

Half a dozen Hellblasters can only do so much...

I had Frankie in tow with me this weekend when I met up with Rob and Screech for our usual 3-player 40k battle. Running 1k each, I gave Frankie command of my Smurfs though I did coach him as he (1) hasn't played 40k in quite awhile and (2) he's only ever played with my Tau. Clocking in at a little over 700 points, the remainder of our force was my allied Ad Mech contingent lead by the recently finished Techno-Archeologist 808-Linam (named for my friend Bob who is an Archeologist). 

He survived his first game both unscathed and without accomplishing anything (no doubt he'll blame a lack of funding). 

Anyways, following my sales pitch about the abilities of the Emprah's finest, It took approximately 1.5 turns to reduce 27 marines to just 8. With 30 proxied Immortals backed up by war walkers and characters bestowing we'll be back rerolls all over on one side, and Imperial Guard with hellhounds and an all heavy flamer equipped chimera backed up by howitzers (nice minis those are), mortars and a plasma cannon equipped sentinel in the other.

Unsurprisingly, the Smurfs were dying in droves. 

Plasma fire from one direction and Hellfire from the other. Ultimately this duel would prove to be bloody but inconclusive. 

Needing a 5+ to wound everything in range for every model in our army but the Hellblasters didn't help. Seriously what the hell? 

Frankie also was channeling Neverness and his die rolling techniques. Eventually I had to tell Frankie to stop rolling the dice in the way that he was as he kept rolling 1's. Looking to prove me wrong in the typical 13 year old manner, he then went on to roll several more 1's in a row before finally agreeing with me!

This pretty much sums up the game. 

It wasn't all bad though. 

My Negavolt Cultists Fulgurite Electro Priests after making their first game, combat debut where they wiped out a squad of 7 or so Immortals!

His assault intercessors made it to close combat vs. a squad of immortals, where the proceeded to struggle but not die, instead holding them in place. The following turn, my Fulgurite priests made their charge into the fray, inflicting 7 total mortal wounds plus several other regular wounds and wiping the unit out. I was pleased with this experimental unit's initial performance. 

Screech was not pleased with this and not even a 4+ invulnerable save and a 5+ shrug against lost wounds would save the unit from the 2 walkers. 

Also on the plus side, the Skitarii Vanguard inflicted a nice average of 6 or so successful wounds per turn. The Necrons survived most of them, but they did make nuisance of themselves. Indeed after inflicting a pair of wounds, they even sent the Necron Lord scurrying for cover!

This was a lost cause, though (field promoted) Captain Horridus did wipe out a mortar squad in the backfield in one volley with his master-crafted auto bolt rifle. 

This sergeant was cruising for a paint job after shrugging off a good amount of enemy  fire, but then he charged these three guardsmen and failed to do anything to them with his power sword over the course of 2 turns. Schmuck.

In the end these two would finish the game with 1 wound apiece. This guy did earn himself a paint job after surviving a full round of shooting by the hellhound. 

You know things have gone awry when Screech takes and holds an objective in order to win the game!

Not wanting to invest much more $$$ into the game at this point, I'm guessing that I'll have to build the box of hellblasters and the Kratos that I have as my Smurfs are proving to be seriously undergunned when facing most anything anymore.

A Friday night brawl in the Appalachian Subsector

 o/

If this doesn't qualify as a brawl, then I don't know what does.

I got to play another round of 40k this past weekend vs. my buddy Screech and his golden horde of Necrons. It was just the two of us in a 'standard' rather than multi-player game, and as such we upped the game size to 1500 points apiece. 

Three central objectives were used, approached by many, and taken by none. However, we'll get to that here in a bit...

My 1318 points of Smurfs (their maximum at this point) accompanied by a small Mechanicum contingent lead by Techno-Archeologist 

808-Linum and Ordo Mechanum Inquisitor MS-D05.

The golden Horde. Note: all of the warriors were being proxied as Immortals (gulp).

The Necron Deployment.

The Smurf Deployment with the Mechanicum off in the distance.

My first turn was disappointingly uneventful with the sole exception of my Firestrike Servo-turret removing a heavy destroyer from the other side of the table (it was perched atop the ork ruin in the distance). 

Displeased with this, his war-of-the-worlds walkers opened up on the Firestrike. The transhuman physiology stratagem was the only thing to keep said turret from being blown off of the table itself, though it came perilously close with but 1 wound remaining. 

I didn't get pics of the wraiths 1st turn charge, however my Smurfs were soon victorious and my close combat 'blob' advanced on the Necron line with another squad of Intercessors near by in support. The intercessors in back were meanwhile trading fire with that walker in the distance.

A better view of the close combat 'blob' consisting of assault intercessors, Reivers, a Chaplain and Lt. Horridus.

On the other side of the table, the combined fire of a third squad of intercessors and the Hellblasters dispatched a squad of Immortals who had done the same to my Skitarii the turn before. The Skitarii were arguably less of a target than the other two squads, however they out-shot all 16 marines combined, which slated them for immediate (and successful) removal.

After a short ranged fire fight, the Smurfs prepare to charge!

Or conversely, to take a charge on the other table end...

Overwatch got one!

And then the big 'crons killed two marines and wounded a third. 

After 3+ games in which every anti-tank weapon I've had has harmlessly bounced off of Screech's War-of-the-worlds walkers, the stalker bolt rifle equipped Intercessors of all things (with the aid of a stratagem or two) actually managed to take one down, huzzah!

Retreating to shoot again (its a Smurf thing). All while cursing the useless Inquisitor and Techno Archeologist 808-Linum for failing to do anything useful to the monster in their midst. 

Turn three, and practically everything I had left outside of the stalker equipped squad charged. 

Well, and Lt. Horridus who felt it prudent to hang back and buff those in combat with his Tactical Precision following his charge roll of a 2...

Turns out that a flag pole makes for a halfway decent close combat weapon!

Thinning 'em down but then...

...Necron chicanery fills their ranks with the undead Immortals once more! 

That has got to be one of the ugliest walkers in the whole 40k universe! 

After the Inquisitor failed to psychically dominate the Necron Lord's already dead mind, the beast charged yet again, taking down another marine!

And as it was almost 11:30 pm, that's basically where the game ended, with damned near everything in close combat and not an objective to be had by either side at any point. 

Not mentioned above but worth noting here: the Immortals toughness of 5, rerolls in addition to their we'll be back rolls and vast number of shots that they can dish out is down right frightening! Once again I had to question Rob's lack of wisdom in gifting this army to Screech when he arrived to play peanut gallery. 

We had fun though, so all was good even if the game only ended in a draw. 

And they went 'Wee! Wee! Wee! All the way home!'

 

Yes, I did in fact say that during the game itself. 

o/

Murl & Screech and I played our usual 1K, 3-way, central objective 40k game the other night and below is more or less a highlight reel of mostly my army rather than a proper report (as I only took a few pics). 

New codex in hand, Murl pulled his Imperial Guard army out of deep storage (of about a decade or so) and gave the new codex a try, leading the way with his ogryn. 

About turn two or three my Breachers emerged from cover and hosed down said Ogryn thoroughly. Murl was not appreciative and in the following turn his Demolisher returned the favor. 

The Remora's seeker missiles proved as ineffective vs. Screech's War-of-the-Worlds 'Cron walker as anything else I've ever thrown at that damned thing! The burst cannons then strafed the Necron lines for two turns or so before they blew it out off the sky. 

On my left flank, I 'took the hill' with 20 carbine equipped troops and proceeded to hose down the Necrons with 40 carbine shots a turn. It was pretty devastating and Screech took heavy casualties. 

At the bottom of turn 4, my center and left flank had just about arrived at the objective (in that little building) enmass. Victory looked assured as no one had any VPs yet with the Necrons having given up on it entirely, content to instead wade into the IG lines for some close combat and short ranged fire fights.

At the top of turn five, two of Murl's tanks rolled in...

...wiping out two whole squads and a few hogs as well. 

However going last, my Hogziliaries ran into to claim the objective handing me victory at the game's end!

Huzzah!

What's Old and Gold and rises from the dead all over?

 o/

This past Friday night, I got in another 3-player, central objective 40k brawl with Rob and Screech (who was returning to 40k after a considerable absence). Here's how it went down:

Trimming down some of his unplayed armies, Rob gave Screech his Necrons, bringing him back into the 40k fold.

I deployed facing this horde with a 5-marine tac squad in the razorback accompanied by an apothecary, with a 5-strong dev squad and allied Smurf Combat squad in support. 

My scouts deployed on the objective and taunted the grey horde on Rob's side of the table. 

My Lt. another combat tac squad were in the rhino with a 5-marine assault squad along side. 

Screech went first and started off turn 1 by going all 'War of the Worlds' on me as his walker 1-shot-killed my razorback! Luckily, it's passengers all survived.

Going second Rob's chaos marines advanced in most all directions with the Raptors wiping out the Scouts for no losses. In return the tac squad slagged two of them with meltagun fire before charging in themselves. Not the Apothecary though, he failed his charge miserably and stayed behind to throw morphine darts at my wounded troops. 

In the backfield, my suicide assault squad charged the warp talons, wounded one, and then were all killed. Fairly typical for this bunch who never want to get painted it seems...

Sing it!

Withering under the weight of fire coming from the golden horde, I told Rob to 'quit hiding under a rock and do something!'

Yeah, thanks buddy; take the objective and prepare to charge me with another squad....that's really helpful. Ah well, he is the enemy. 

The Warp Talons hit and massacre a unit of crons!

Several of whom promptly stand back up and bog these monsters down.

Obliterators teleport into the backfield! Maybe they can hurt the walkers which have shrugging off my Krak missiles with alarming ease. 

Screaming the praises of the Almighty Bobby G, the Smurfs charge into battle, to show the Coyotes how close combat is properly done!

Uninterested in Smurf showmanship, the Apothecary charges the cultist squad and starts laying waste to the misguided mortals. 

Despite getting bogged down on its flanks, the 'Crons advance with ruthless efficiency.

My Rhino meanwhile was trundling about in the backfield exchanging mostly ineffective fire with the small legionnaire squad hunkered down in the building.

All of the cultists died or fled save the champion who held my Apothecary in place. 

The Necron overlord charges the Smurfs who along with the armor of contempt and a pair of sixes shrug off his war scythe and continue to beat down the regular golden grunts. 

Having finally dispatched the other squad, the Warp Talons advance on the 'Crons in the center. 

Rob meanwhile sends in the next wave! (Gulp!)

Morphine for me it is!

Indeed, this was the apothecary's rolls to save vs. all of those chainsword wounds! Unfortunately, the Squad leader had a daemonblade of some sort and dispatched him nonetheless.

The rest of my tac. squad also falls ceding Rob the objective. 

Fabius was enjoying watching the slaughter before him right up until his urchin side kick exploded in a volley of bolter fire which inflicted a wound or two onto the mad scientist as well!

No, my krak missiles couldn't injure that oblit either. The heavy bolters did gun down that whatever its called character in the middle though. Unfortunately, Necron chicanery and shenanigans allowed it to stand back up with a lone wound remaining.

My Lt. and accompanying tac squad charge Fabius who for convenience was taken down off of the level he was technically standing on.

And then they promptly killed him. Clearly these marines want some proper paint jobs!

The warp talons continue to slice thru the golden horde whilst the Smurf keep on rolling 6's to ignore the lord's war scythe much to my delight. 

At this point it was the bottom of turn 3, 11pm, and we called it quits as Rob had to work the next day. As is all too common in these games, no one held the objective long enough to actually score a VP, ending the game in a bloody draw (though I'm claiming moral victory for killing Fabius Bile!).