Recently you may have noticed that I have been posting a bit more sporadically than usual. I have generally tried to keep to posting twice a week or at the very least once a week but recently I've been struggling to do even that. There are a few reasons for this. I haven't lost any of my enthusiasm for the blog and I actually have a number of posts, either sitting in my draft folder, half finished, or in my head, waiting for me to actually get something written down. I have my guard kill team to post up, along with all the fluff and back story for each member. My deathwatch are also modelled up and ready for painting, plus I've started building my marine and AdMech teams. I've also got a couple of other posts sitting waiting to be finished plus some batreps. Plenty of content to keep me going for weeks.
There are several reasons for not posting. My new job is a factor that i've mentioned before. Working nights over the weekend has meant that I've lost a lot of my hobby time, not only as I'm sleeping on the weekends but also it means that I don't get as much free time during the week as I'm catching up with my housework, such is the life of a house husband. The main reasons that I haven't had time to write and post stuff is that I've been spending all of my other free time on the DIY.
I'm currently upgrading the utility room (read upgrading as building a whole new one) and redoing the play room, which I'm in the process of stripping back to bare walls and floors. There is a good reason for this, as there will be a new arrival to the family in february and as such were going to need some better washing and drying facilities, apart from the back of the garage and the spare bedroom (which won't be spare for very long).
I'm hoping that I might get some more time to blog in the new year but we'll see. I know that I probably could use my breaks at work to do some blogging, but right now it's 4 o'clock on Saturday morning and I've been up since 8am with a two and a half hours sleep while the young lady was at nursery on Friday afternoon and I'm pretty much just monging while watching rubbish on YouTube. Saturday and Sundays are a little better as I don't get up till about 2 but then I don't get an afternoon nap before work. I guess I'm just getting ready for all the sleepless nights when the next one turns up!
Anyway, I haven't gone anywhere, real life is just taking over somewhat. Hopefully I'll be back up to speed soon.
A WH40k hobby blog dedicated to the men of the Imperium of Man, from the humble Astra Militarum trooper, to the Scions of the Militarum Tempestus and the super men of the Adeptus Astartes.
Saturday 24 November 2018
Friday 9 November 2018
Infinity scenery packs
A couple of weeks ago I posted about a new terrain set that I had purchased and last week I posted a few pictures and ideas on alternative layouts. The set in question was the Infinity Scenery Packs, Navajo Outpost. This set comes with four building and six containers plus the mat and all for the princely sum of 8 English pounds.
Well, after having it a few weeks and playing a few games, including my first two full games of kill team, on the set, I have come to really like it. It is simple and cheap but provides everything you need for gaming. Yes you can get better looking set but they are also a lot more expensive, like a LOT more expensive. There are a couple of downsides, which I shall get to in a moment but overall I highly recommend the set, which is why I decided to bite the bullet and bought another.
The Kurage Station is a slightly different set, with a different aesthetic to the outpost but one that I think will work for my kill teams. I did ponder going completely different and very "alien" but in the end I settled for a more human\imperial vibe. There are several reason I bought a second set, for variety and playing options, so that I'm not always using the same board but also cos there's bridges and who doesn't like bridges. Yep, that's pretty much the main reason I bought a second set, cos it's got bridges, two of them in fact. It comes with 4 buildings, 6 small containers (about half the size of the other set) and the two bridges plus the mat as well. Again this lot cost me 8 pounds, so for around 20 pound (ncluding all the postage) I have two boards with scenery, not bad really.
Now I did say there was some negatives, two really, both of which I could solve easily, probably with just one solution. The trouble is that the building and crates are very light and are easily knocked during the game, as happened several times in my kill team games. Secondly, the big building get a bit wobbly and deform when loaded with models, especially big ones like the new plague marines or a couple of deathwatch. There seems to be a simple solution to all this and it's to fit MDF frames inside. Now, I got the idea from eBay, where someone was selling sets of MDF frames, which were basically two lengths of wood in an X shape that fit across the insides of the building from corner to corner, bracing the set and also adding some rigidity of the center, stopping deformation I noticed when the models were on top. Unfortunately I can't seem to find them anymore, which isn't a problem as I wasn't going to buy them but I wanted to show another club member, who has a laser cutter, to see if he could knock a bunch up for me. I probably could do it myself with the MDF sheets I already have but getting them laser cut would be better. I'll just have to rely on my descriptive powers instead, what could possibly go wrong! I can't imagine it will cost much for a few bits of MDF, so even after I get them the scenery sets will still be excellent value for money.
Edit: found the after writing the post and and a bit of an internet trawl.
Navajo Outpost
Well, after having it a few weeks and playing a few games, including my first two full games of kill team, on the set, I have come to really like it. It is simple and cheap but provides everything you need for gaming. Yes you can get better looking set but they are also a lot more expensive, like a LOT more expensive. There are a couple of downsides, which I shall get to in a moment but overall I highly recommend the set, which is why I decided to bite the bullet and bought another.
Kurage Station
The Kurage Station is a slightly different set, with a different aesthetic to the outpost but one that I think will work for my kill teams. I did ponder going completely different and very "alien" but in the end I settled for a more human\imperial vibe. There are several reason I bought a second set, for variety and playing options, so that I'm not always using the same board but also cos there's bridges and who doesn't like bridges. Yep, that's pretty much the main reason I bought a second set, cos it's got bridges, two of them in fact. It comes with 4 buildings, 6 small containers (about half the size of the other set) and the two bridges plus the mat as well. Again this lot cost me 8 pounds, so for around 20 pound (ncluding all the postage) I have two boards with scenery, not bad really.
Now I did say there was some negatives, two really, both of which I could solve easily, probably with just one solution. The trouble is that the building and crates are very light and are easily knocked during the game, as happened several times in my kill team games. Secondly, the big building get a bit wobbly and deform when loaded with models, especially big ones like the new plague marines or a couple of deathwatch. There seems to be a simple solution to all this and it's to fit MDF frames inside. Now, I got the idea from eBay, where someone was selling sets of MDF frames, which were basically two lengths of wood in an X shape that fit across the insides of the building from corner to corner, bracing the set and also adding some rigidity of the center, stopping deformation I noticed when the models were on top. Unfortunately I can't seem to find them anymore, which isn't a problem as I wasn't going to buy them but I wanted to show another club member, who has a laser cutter, to see if he could knock a bunch up for me. I probably could do it myself with the MDF sheets I already have but getting them laser cut would be better. I'll just have to rely on my descriptive powers instead, what could possibly go wrong! I can't imagine it will cost much for a few bits of MDF, so even after I get them the scenery sets will still be excellent value for money.
Edit: found the after writing the post and and a bit of an internet trawl.
X braces
Tuesday 6 November 2018
Kill team: first impressions
Well, I've finally done it! I've played kill team, not once but twice! After all these weeks of pondering and planning and musing, I have finally been able to see what all the fuss is about.
After two games I can say that I really like kill team and can see it being my main game from now on. As I don't get down much theses days due to work and family, being able to play several games in a day is great, plus only needing to take a smallish box with everything I need, rather than a large case, box of terrain and a mat, really makes a difference. But enough about that, how did I get on? Well, won one and lost one.
Game 1: Deathwatch Vs Orks
The Orks were running a horde list, with a nob, a boy with rocket launcher and 11 or 12 boys with choppa and slugga's. The pox walker in the picture was a stand in boy as one had gone walkies somewhere. I had 5 deathwatch, a leader with xenophase sword and bolter, a shotgun, infirnus heavy bolter heavy specialist, combi-melta and power sword armed veteran specialist (modelled with two swords and combi on pack) and blackshield with sword and shield zealot. The mission was the one where you need to capture your opponent's models.
Now, I probably didn't play this very well as I spread out my guys and charged the blackshield in first turn. I was really just trying to test out the system and try and get into as many situations as possible. While this worked, it did leave me very exposed and I ended up loosing three to nothing when we finished the game at the end of turn 3.
So what did I learn from this game? Marines still suck in combat. One on one the blackshield could probably hold its own, with a good number of attacks and with zealot, there at t5 if you charge. Shooting is good, especially the heavy bolter, although you really have to be within 8 inches of your target and have a second target within 2 of that, to make maximum use out of it. Also I must remember that deathwatch have special issue ammunition, as I only remember for the last round! I don't know if it would have made a difference or not but it might have.
This mission definitely favoured the Orks , as they were able to swamp forward in numbers and stop me from gaining prisoners. Also I really need to remember tokens, I've enough from the two sets I have, so I just need to take them with me.
Game 2: astra Militarum Vs deathguard
For this, the tables were reversed, with my opponent switching to deathguard and brining 6 models. A leader with fist and bolter, a (heavy?) Plague marine with blight launcher, a marine with melta (veteran?) Combat marine with bolter and two marines with bolters. I on the other hand brought the hordes, with a leader with bolt pistol and chain sword, comms specialist vox caster, sniper gunner with sniper rifle, heavy gunner with grenade launcher, plasma gunner and flamer, plus eleven guardsmen. We were playing the mission where you had to hold the opjectives to gain points at the end of each turn I can't remember which one it is off the top of my head.
I didn't take many pictures sitting this game as a was busy moving all the guardsmen around and getting in to the game. We played the scouting phase again in this game and while I went for moving a few guys forward, my opponent booby trapped the centre terrain price, which really put the dampeners on things. With this objective being worth 3 points I couldn't get to it with out risking getting one of my guys blown up by booby traps, while my opponent could just wonder around at will.
This was another fun game to play and while we again finished it in turn 3, with the guard claiming a lead of something like 10 to 4, with only 2 marines left to 12 or 13 guardsmen. In the next couple of rounds I could have gone on to claim up to 5 point a turn uncontested, so there was little point in continuing. The guard were good in this game, with the highlight being taking a plague marine down with a buffed plasma gunner overcharging his weapon, with a +1 from Comms and re-roll 1's from orders, shooting at a marine in the open. My opponent was quick to shut it down by charging the guardsman with his combat specialist.
I this there were fewer mistakes in this match, a few things were done out of sequence but nothing that would have changed the game. I really like guard, there orders are still just as powerful and despite there inability to hit and wound very often, they do have the numbers to make up for it. I can see why people spam plasma, they are really good, especially when buffed but I don't really see it as fluffy and so I'll not be spamming them. Sniper rifles are good, but just as in reliable as in 40k. I was lucky this game and got a mortal wound off but apart from that it didn't impress me much. Next game I will be giving a melta gunner a go and see how that does.
Again, this mission favoured one army over the other, namely the guard, as with the number of bodies they could claim many of the objectives easily and obsorb any losses the deathguard could inflict. I wonder what the results would have been like if the Orks had faced the guard or the deathwatch, the deathguard.
I am really liking kill team and hopefully I will get a few more games in soon but life is pretty busy at the moment and will be getting busier shortly.
After two games I can say that I really like kill team and can see it being my main game from now on. As I don't get down much theses days due to work and family, being able to play several games in a day is great, plus only needing to take a smallish box with everything I need, rather than a large case, box of terrain and a mat, really makes a difference. But enough about that, how did I get on? Well, won one and lost one.
Game 1: Deathwatch Vs Orks
The Orks were running a horde list, with a nob, a boy with rocket launcher and 11 or 12 boys with choppa and slugga's. The pox walker in the picture was a stand in boy as one had gone walkies somewhere. I had 5 deathwatch, a leader with xenophase sword and bolter, a shotgun, infirnus heavy bolter heavy specialist, combi-melta and power sword armed veteran specialist (modelled with two swords and combi on pack) and blackshield with sword and shield zealot. The mission was the one where you need to capture your opponent's models.
Now, I probably didn't play this very well as I spread out my guys and charged the blackshield in first turn. I was really just trying to test out the system and try and get into as many situations as possible. While this worked, it did leave me very exposed and I ended up loosing three to nothing when we finished the game at the end of turn 3.
Headless veteran tries and fails to take out some orks.
Rather annoyingly I forgot my mat, at least I remember the terrain. The Orks are swarming my lines.
The infirnus heavy bolter really proved to be a very potent weapon in this game, although it does have some drawbacks.
End game, at the end of turn 3 this was the situation. I had killed quite a few orks but was unable to capture any due to the proximity of other orks. Also we rolled to see if we broke, the Orks broke automatically I think but I rolled a double 6! So two broken teams and me down 3 to nothing, we called it quits to get another game in.
So what did I learn from this game? Marines still suck in combat. One on one the blackshield could probably hold its own, with a good number of attacks and with zealot, there at t5 if you charge. Shooting is good, especially the heavy bolter, although you really have to be within 8 inches of your target and have a second target within 2 of that, to make maximum use out of it. Also I must remember that deathwatch have special issue ammunition, as I only remember for the last round! I don't know if it would have made a difference or not but it might have.
This mission definitely favoured the Orks , as they were able to swamp forward in numbers and stop me from gaining prisoners. Also I really need to remember tokens, I've enough from the two sets I have, so I just need to take them with me.
Game 2: astra Militarum Vs deathguard
For this, the tables were reversed, with my opponent switching to deathguard and brining 6 models. A leader with fist and bolter, a (heavy?) Plague marine with blight launcher, a marine with melta (veteran?) Combat marine with bolter and two marines with bolters. I on the other hand brought the hordes, with a leader with bolt pistol and chain sword, comms specialist vox caster, sniper gunner with sniper rifle, heavy gunner with grenade launcher, plasma gunner and flamer, plus eleven guardsmen. We were playing the mission where you had to hold the opjectives to gain points at the end of each turn I can't remember which one it is off the top of my head.
Deployment and yet again, the guard hordes are squeezed in. You can see the objectives in this picture, one is on the central building and one is hidden up on top of the top right hand building.
I didn't take many pictures sitting this game as a was busy moving all the guardsmen around and getting in to the game. We played the scouting phase again in this game and while I went for moving a few guys forward, my opponent booby trapped the centre terrain price, which really put the dampeners on things. With this objective being worth 3 points I couldn't get to it with out risking getting one of my guys blown up by booby traps, while my opponent could just wonder around at will.
By this point were on turn three and the last turn of the game. By this point I had taken down all but two of the plague marines and claimed the two right hand objectives and while the lower left was being challenged, there was little chance of loosing it. I had abandoned the centre objective, but had made sure to keep a close eye on it, with my sniped, sitting on top of the crates at the bottom doing a grand job killing off the marine champion that tried to claim it turn 2.
The final fight, which ended up with just one guardsman dying and the objective held.
This was another fun game to play and while we again finished it in turn 3, with the guard claiming a lead of something like 10 to 4, with only 2 marines left to 12 or 13 guardsmen. In the next couple of rounds I could have gone on to claim up to 5 point a turn uncontested, so there was little point in continuing. The guard were good in this game, with the highlight being taking a plague marine down with a buffed plasma gunner overcharging his weapon, with a +1 from Comms and re-roll 1's from orders, shooting at a marine in the open. My opponent was quick to shut it down by charging the guardsman with his combat specialist.
I this there were fewer mistakes in this match, a few things were done out of sequence but nothing that would have changed the game. I really like guard, there orders are still just as powerful and despite there inability to hit and wound very often, they do have the numbers to make up for it. I can see why people spam plasma, they are really good, especially when buffed but I don't really see it as fluffy and so I'll not be spamming them. Sniper rifles are good, but just as in reliable as in 40k. I was lucky this game and got a mortal wound off but apart from that it didn't impress me much. Next game I will be giving a melta gunner a go and see how that does.
Again, this mission favoured one army over the other, namely the guard, as with the number of bodies they could claim many of the objectives easily and obsorb any losses the deathguard could inflict. I wonder what the results would have been like if the Orks had faced the guard or the deathwatch, the deathguard.
I am really liking kill team and hopefully I will get a few more games in soon but life is pretty busy at the moment and will be getting busier shortly.
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