Stone Dragons additions

After painting up the Eagle Knight models, I have also painted some marines in a colour other than orange. These are some additions to the small Stone Dragons Kill team that i built for Kill Team first edition. When the rules changed to the second edition, which while a good game but just didn’t have the same appeal to me, I had some spare models that I decided to up build up to a full tactical squad and characters.   

The complete force

The force now contains; 

a full 10 man tactical squad, with missile launcher and plasma gun, plus sgt with plasma pistol. 

A Librarian.

A Lieutenant with bolt pistol and power fist.

A Captain with Storm bolter and power fist.

The only issue I have now is that I have one squad and three character, so someone isn’t getting attached to a squad. Its not a problem though, as this force will only every be played as part of the Eagle Knights first born army, just an additional tactical squad and characters.  

New tactical squad

Details

Lieutenant with banner

The last thing i need to do to bring this also of the models inline with the others is to give them a coat of quick shade. I’m hoping to get this sorted at the end of the month, when the wife goes south with my daughter for a swim comp. I usually wait until the wife is away as she doesn’t like the smell of the models, which, give that I usually do it in the kitchen with the Lino floors (just in case!), gets all over the house. 

Once I’ve got all the models Quickshaded, i try and post a complete army photo for the whole force, Eagle Knights plus Stone Dragons and Ultramarines. 

 

Stone Dragons

 The next force on the paint table was the Stone Dragons. Now, the Stone Dragons have had a bit of a convoluted  development, switching from ultramarine successors to space wolf successors, from system based to fleet based and back to home world based. One thing that hasn't changed is that the chapter is a crusading chapter, formed of many small crusading forces, such as this one. 

This force is based around the Phobos armour and stealth, a classic hunting party is you will. Lead by a Captain and a couple of Lieutenants, this force is the largest of the 500 point forces, coming in at 19 models in total. 

An incomplete family photo

Another angle

The force works in a number of ways but it mostly works around infiltrating and the unit of reavers and infiltrators backed up by the suppressors and eliminators. Now, there was a slight change of plan with this force, the suppressors were actually supposed to be part of the Eagle Knights but by the time I realised this they were already painted and transfers applied! So they are now part of a slightly bigger Stone Dragons force. 

The aforementioned suppressors with their eliminator buddies.

The eliminators are still headless as originally I wanted something classically Blood Angles but now I guess they will have to get the Space Wolf treatment and some wolf themed helmets. 

Headless warriors.

As with the previous marine forces I have tried my hands at transfers and I think that after some practice with the others I'm finally getting the hang of it. Ok so there not perfect, not by a long way, they are better than the first ones I did. I have tried to add in lots of details and extra little markings, to try and signify some of the deeds that they guys have done, I did think of adding in a lot more and I might go back and adds more later but for now they will do. 

Some of the transfer details. 

Eliminators

The eliminators are different from the rest of the force as they are a lot plainer, loosing a lot of the yellow markings, except their chapter badge and also a lot of the silver\metal parts. In addition, these guys are not finished as I really want to camouflage the cloaks to blend in to the grass basing and battle mat that i have. I had a go at doing some camouflage patterns on spare parts but I have yet to master the art. What I have decided is that I want a stippled effect but I have been struggling to get the right colour and intensity to the pattern. I have been asking around at the club and I think I've got a plan, I just need to try it out and see if it works, I'll let you all known as I'm brave enough to try it out!

Some of the extra details

Infiltrators

The infiltrators form the one half of the main force and are designated for ranged interactions. There was a slight error made here that I need to correct, as the Comms array man has his markings on his shoulder but the sergeant is missing his (the bloke holding his pistol), he has his Sgt insignia just above the chapter badge but no flashes below. I could probably just leave it but then it would fall foul of the lore, as no marine would reach Sgt without having claimed some sort of battle or personal honours. Apart from this minor issue, the squad is sorted.

Reavers

The reavers are very similar to the infiltrators but at least the Sgt has the right markings on. The only issue with these guys is that I really should have stripped a couple of the guys as the paint \ primer on them is very thick and not particularly flat in places. Luckily this isn't to noticeable from a distance and so it won't be noticeable on the table, it just annoys me that I didn't spend a bit more time preparing them.

The commanders

The leaders of the force are made up of a Captain and two lieutenants, one reaver and one infiltrator or Phobos armoured one. As usual I've taken a bit more time and care over these guys and I think I've done a good job. I've also gone and added a few more transfers, especially to the Captain.

Stranger details

More details

All in all, I really like these models and think that this is the best paint scheme of all the smaller marine force. The classic grey and yellow really works and stands out with out being to much. I will base these up with all the others when all the marines are finished, that is after I have dipped them in quick shade! 

Next up are the Dark Guardians, however, this may take a little longer than planned. We are currently away from home for a wedding, however we had to fly earlier than planned due to predicted weather issues, so we headed south several days earlier that originally booked and as such I didn't get a chance to finish the models and get pictures to post. I will try and get them done as soon after the new year as possible but that might be a few weeks away yet.

Stone Dragons

 

Next up are the Stone Dragons. This force is the least complete of all my new forces, as it currently consists of 3 Reivers, although 3 more should be on the way. 

The Stone Dragons are a bit of a mixed bag. The current lore states that these guys are probably Ultramarine successors but they follow the ways of the Space Wolves. This was because I wanted Space Wolves but without having Space Wolves, which you couldn't do. Now however you can but these guys are not a new chapter, so I can't just rewrite the lore. I could just continue as it is but that leaves another problem, how do you integrate new Ultramarine primaris units into a Space Wolf following chapter? Did they just turn up and go "yeah, that's sounds like a great idea!" Some how I doubt it. Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure a way to bring it all together. 

One thing that hasn't changed about the Dragons however, is the colour scheme. Along with the Knights, the original colour scheme is still in use, as it just fitted and look right straight away. It's Space Wolf enough for it to be obvious they follow the Space Wolves tactics but far enough away that they aren't instantly identified as Wolves. There have been a couple of minor alterations to the scheme and there will probably be some more minor changes to get it to fit with the new models, which I will explain later, but these will be minor. 

The only edits to the current scheme is the loss of the yellow helmet crest and the vox grill on the front being black instead off yellow, both because it hid the eyes to much, turning them from a prominent feature of the helmet in to just another yellow splodge.

The new Dragons will continue the lore of hunters and surgical strikes. This will be continued with the new breed by switching over to Vanguard Marines and exclusively using Phobos pattern armour. The lore will progress to a point where the "new" recruits and upgraded old ones will have integrated to form a coherent fighting force of silent hunters, using shock and awe tactics.  

As such the new for will look something like quite different to the old force, not that it got built! The new list will be lead by either a Librarian or a Lieutenant. I would prefer a Librarian but it depends on what boxsets I manage to pick up. The Vanguard start collecting box has a Lieutenant in, where as the Shadowspear box has all 3 options. A Librarian would also fit in better for when the forces are combined as with the new codex, I believe you can only have 1 Captain and 2 lieutenants in the force, so having a librarian and chaplain (from Dark Guardians) in the mix would be useful. Next up will be Infiltrators or possibly Incursors. Both of the boxsets, Shadowspear and the Vanguard start collecting set, contain Infiltrators but whether these are mono pose, single build models or proper multiparty kits I don't know. I suspect that they are mono pose jobs and so I won't have a choice. Thematically, I would like Incursors with their paired combat blades, it's more Wolfy but Infiltrators would still work. A barrage of bolters followed by an assault, should still be able to do a fair amount of damage. Next up are a small squad of Reivers, these are here for two reasons, partly due to there combat abilities, a unit of 5 can put out 21 attacks on the charge but also there ability to drop on grav chutes can be useful for grabbing back field objectives. The last element of the list is the Eliminators. These will offer some longer range fire power and also some anti-vehicle potential. Granted theses are not lascannons but they can still put out some damage.

All in all I think this is a pretty well rounded list for a 500 point list. These is some combat, some shooting and some long range shooting, plus the ability to snipe out characters. Yes, anti-armour is slightly lacking but at 500 point levels, I can't see many Land Raiders or Repulsars being used.  

As it stands, I have 6 Reivers, so I'm a long way off this list. As mentioned above, the colour scheme may change and this is due to the fact that Phobos armour only has one pauldrons and so I may well paint the top of the left arm yellow as well. I have no doubt there will be other changes, probably to the power packs but until I paint up some of the Reivers I won't really know. 

All that is left now are the Eagle Knights and that could be a long one!

Edit: Well, my plans have been in place for less than a month and already they will have to change! In the last post in this series I spoke about the Dark Guardians and how they were being built around scouts, to form a very narrative force. Only now scouts aren't troops. Yeah, didn't see that one coming! So a rethink is in order, what that rethink will be I don't know but I suspect it will be Phobos shaped.

Space Wolves kill team

Over the last few weeks I've had a bit of time to do some painting, not as much as I would have liked but still, I can't complain! Anyway, I've managed to get a few kill teams done, 3 to be precise, as well as start a couple of others but more about that later. 

This kill team is the Stone Dragons and is based on the Space Wolf kill team faction rules. The reason that these guys follow the Space Wolves rules is simple, it's the only way I can run the bloke with the storm bolter and storm shield with a jump pack. Not the greatest reason to base a kill team on but it works. 

But who are these noble warriors I hear you ask? Well it, the main chapter history can be found HERE, these forces are form one of the many crusading forces from the chapter and are lead by the Librarian Dysouris, or more accurately Codicier Gaius Dysouris. The squad themselves are specialist in infiltration, although while they follow the Space Wolves ways of war, they lack the keen senses the Sons of Russ have, being of Ultramarine stock. Despite this or maybe because of this, they have still mastered the art of infiltrating behind enemy lines before unleasing a barrage of bolter shells and blades to secure and control any ground they need to. Dispite this shock and awe approach the lives and safety of Imperial citizens is paramount in the eyes of the Stone Dragons and the warriors of this war band will go to great lengths to avoid any unnecessary civilian casualties. (Mission- Secure and control, Background - Infiltration, Squad Quirk - Selfless)

The warband itself is quite small, formed of only 11 members, although once there were nearly 50. Not all of these have been lost, several have been injured and unable to continue fighting, others have split off, joining other bands, where there skill were required more urgently. Only a few have actually died on the crusade, mostly down to the forsight of the Codicier and the attention of the Apothecary novitiate Sgt Cassus. 

The warband in it's current form, ready to battle the enemies of the Imperium.

Commander Codicier Gaius Dysouris - ebullient - Gaius is an relatively young for a Codicier and this is his first crusade as Commander. Newly promoted from Lexicanium and given charge of this crusade as a test of his abilities, not only psychically but also in leadership. While he maybe nervous of commanding so many battle hardened veterans, he is not nervous of the work he undertakes, for this is the Emperor's work and it is the most noble cause in the universe and he is honoured and delighted to be a part of it. While his zeal for smiting the enemies of the Emperor can draw looks of concern from his more veteran companions, none would criticise him for it.

In game, this will be run as a Commander, the only army that does actually contain a Commander. Obviously it will be a librarian but past this I have no idea how else it will be run. I have not played with commanders at all, nor have I really spent any time looking through the various options or bonuses. If I ever do play with him, I will have to look through the book.

From left to right; Agnathio Tarentus, Marius Varenus, Cato Cassus

The warbands junior leadership and the ones who usually lead the warband in combat. While none doubt the capabilities or passion of the Codicier, his experience however, is a different matter. Therefore it fall to either Veteran Sargeant Marius Varenus (centre) or Tactical Sargeant Agnathio Tarentus (left). These men could be more different. Vet Sgt Varenus is a Sombre, grim faced warrior, who strides the battle field with methodical purpose, recanting the various litanies of war every battle brother is taught, while  Tac Sgt Tarentus is a ferocious hunter, screaming wrathful war cries as he smites the does around him. There is a rivalry between these two, one of a gentle nature though, as each respects and trusts the other wholeheartedly. These two brother joined the Dragons around the same time and have served and fought much the same but Sgt Tarentus has not risen above the rank of Tactical Sargeant where as Varenus has risen to Veteran Sargeant and each feels a need to prove that they are the better warrior. The third member is Company Veteran Cato Cassus, a Mysterious character who, While technically superior to Varenus through rank, due to having been promoted from Tactical Sargeant, is by far more junior in experience and willingly defers to the older and more experience warrior. While unusual, it is not unheard of for such things to occur and if challenged, Cassus nearly shrugs and mutters a few words of wisdom to his questioner, words that it is usually wise to listen to and learn from. 

In game, Varenus and Tarentus, as Veteran Sargeant and Tactical Sargeant, are my leader specialists and which one I take depends upon which other selections I feel I need for the mission. There are two other Sargeants in the roster, another Tactical and another Veteran. The third member, Cassus, is run as a basic Company Veteran without a specialism, although he can be taken as a combat specialist if needs be.

Marcus Aggennor and Andrus Poladrus 

Next up we have the mobile and fast element to the team, Veteran Sargeant Marcus Aggennor and Company Veteran Andrus Poladrus. Vet Sgt Aggennor is an Ebullient warrior, who delights at nothing more than getting stuck in to the enemy and delivering the Emperor's Justice. While he is a Veteran Sargeant, he takes every opportunity to avoid the responsibility of such rank. He would have been happy still being an assault marine or maybe at most a Sargeant but he has found himself elevated to ever higher levels of leadership, the only benefit of which Aggennor can see, is a better selection of kit. Company Veteran Andrus Poladrus on the other hand is a noble and selfless warrior, who has taken it upon himself to watch over Aggennor's back as he throws himself at the enemy with complete disregard for his own safety. Poladrus owes his life to Aggennor, for it was due to one of Aggennors reckless actions, that saved Poladrus, who was just a Battle Brother at the time, from certain death. As such Poladrus watches over his friend and takes care of the threats that Aggennor can't.

In game Aggennor is the second Veteran Sargeant in the roster and will usually be fielded as a Zealot specialist. This means that he has 5 attacks at S5 on the charge and with twin claws, is hitting on 2's, wounding most things on 3's, rerolling, with -2ap, meaning that you will be getting a injury roll every turn of combat, if not an actual kill. At worse, he will be hitting on 3's, wounding on 4's, rerolling, with 4 attacks. So still a good chance of doing damage. Company Veteran Poladrus, a basic Company Veteran, probably run as a Veteran Specialist, for that pregame move to get his storm bolter in to rapid fire range as early as possible, or maybe a Demolition specialist for taking out those obscured targets with his storm bolter. 

From left to right: Titus Poladrus, Ollonius Aggennor, Cassius Cassus, Titus Poladrus, Andrus Tarentus, Cato Chronus

Next up are the basic tactical Marines. These form the bulk of the fighting force. On the left we have Tactical Gunners, Gunner Ollonius Aggennor, with his trusty Missile launcher and Gunner Cassius Cassus, armed with the temperamental plasma gun. Both these men are noble warriors of the chapter, upholding the chapters tennant that civilian casualties be avoided wherever possible. While both these men also apply this to the other brothers within the chapter, they do so in different ways. Gunner Aggennor watches from a far, spying targets and applying surgical strikes to eliminate the enemy threat while Gunner Cassus prefers getting up close and personal before unleashing a torrent of plasma fire at the enemy. To the right there are the two Tactical Marines, Brother Andrus Tarentus and Brother Cato Chronus. Both of the battle brothers are young and aggressive warriors, always eager to be at the front of the battle and prove themselves. Brother Tarentus carries the units comms array, needed for communicating back to the ships in orbit when deep within the hives and tunnels the warband often find themselves in, Brother Chronus on the other hand carries nothing but his bolt weapons. Lastly, in the centre we have Tactical Sargeant and Apothecary Novitiate, Sgt Titus Poladrus. Titus is one of the oldest members of the warband and is probably the most liked as well, due to his charismatic nature and friendly attitude. A veteran of many war zones, he 8s the bands medical support and a rather good one at that. Although not a fully fledged member of the Apothecarian, he has had substantial training from them, as due to the structure of the Dragons, it is not possible for all warbands to contain an apothecary. Titus is trained to do pretty much everything bar harvest the geneseed of the fallen. 

In game, Gunner Aggennor with his missile launcher will usually be played as a heavy specialist, to enable him to move and fire without penalty. With the range of the missile launcher, this will usually mean he is only suffering due to obscurement. Gunner Cassus on the other had is usually run without any specialism, although he may run as a sniper specialist on the odd occasion. Either way, Brother Tarentus, as a comms specialist, is always fielded when Gunner Aggennor is fielded, to ensure that those missiles fly straight and true. He maybe run other times but more often than not he will be paired with Aggennor. Unfortunately Brother Chronus is only ever run as a basic marine to fill the points and add another body to the mix. Tactical Sargeant Titus is the last Sgt model on the roster and usually fielded alongside Veteran Sargeant Varenus. 

So that's the warband in it's entirety. Only 11 models, 10 of which form the main band. The Librarian is really only there as I painted him up a long time ago when I was planning of running a larger force of these guys for 40k games but scrapped that idea a long time ago, when I just couldn't get stuff painted and when it became clear that primaris were going to take over all the Marine rolls. 

Anyway, the band is really split into two 100 point lists;

Vet Sgt Varenus (leader), 

Tac Sgt Titus (medic), 

Gunner Aggennor (heavy)

Tac Tarentus (comms) 

Vet Cassus 

Gunner Cassus

Or

Tac Sgt Tarentus (leader)

Vet Sgt Aggennor (Zealot)

Vet Poladrus (Demo) 

Vet Cassus (combat)

Gunner Cassus

For 125 point games, the list looks like this:

Tac Sgt Tarentus (leader)

Vet Sgt Aggennor (Zealot)

Gunner Aggennor (heavy)

Tac Tarentus (comms) 

Vet Poladrus

Vet Cassus

Gunner Cassus

The more observant will notice that Brother Chronus doesn't get a mention, like I said, he's there to make up the numbers and swap around with people if I want to change things up a bit. Obviously this is in no way an optimised list and is built mainly around the two jump pack equipped vets and the other storm bolter equipped vets. 

Next up are the Dark Guardians (Dark Angels successors) and their heavy list.

The future of my marine armies.

So with 9th we get a new wave of space Marines and the death nail of the classic marine is one step closer. Now I've mentioned in the past that my old marine armies, my Eagle Knights and Dark Guardians have been relocated to the loft for storage as but what's is the future of the various chapters? Well, let's have a quick look shall we.....

Eagle Knights

(Blood Angels successors)

The Eagle Knights were my first completed 2000 point marine army and to be honest is still my only complete marine army. These will also be my first primaris army I complete or that's the plan anyway. As it stands these will still follow the old Eagle Knights and be primarily close combat orientated. With the release of Assault Intercessors this plan is now a possibility. The army will be built around a patrol detachment, with one or two minimum Intercessor squads with one or two full squads of Assault Intercessors and two HQ's, a Captain and Lieutenant. At the moment I have no idea of the points value for these units, so things may get adjusted to meet the 500 point limit but to be honest, if any army goes over 500 points, it will be this one. 

Dark Guardians 

(Dark Angels successors)

Next up are the Dark Guardians and hopefully these will retain their hammer and anvil approach, with bikes and probably an Inceptor squad or two, hopefully with plasma. Now it might be quite difficult to get all of these units in to a 500 point patrol detachment. I believe that for a Intercessor squad and HQ will be around 150 points or more, so leaving only 300 and a bit for bikes and Inceptors. This may mean a small rethink, maybe dropping the Inceptors and just having bikes, or running scouts to cut down the required troop option. On second thoughts, sniper scouts might actually fit the narrative better, after all, someone has to tell the hunters where to hunt.

Stone Dragons

(Space Wolf \ Ultramarine Successors??)

Lastly, the force that has changed time and again, been amalgamated and split more times than I can count! The current idea is to form a scouting, sneaky force, which will necessitate another change in the forces narrative. The overarching narrative is a hunting force, so that will remain but the tactics that they use will have to change as the force will be formed of Phobos armoured units only. The idea will be to have a selection of units in there, although I might have to have a think about how to dark with vehicles. 

The 4th chapter, possibly a return of the Emperor's Disciples or the Brazen Hawks.

This force will be the 4th and final 500 point force, giving a total force when combined of 2000 points. This chapter will focus on longer range and heavier firepower, with a core including Intercessors with stalker bolt rifles and Hellblasters, with heavy plasma incinerator. Alongside a captain and a squad of flamestorm Aggressors there won't be much change our of 500. The Aggressors are in there as a counter punch units to protect the long range units. As to what chapter tactic they'll end up using, I have no idea, but probably something Imperial Fists.

So, here are the four armies that are planned for my Marines in 9th edition and also the upgrade to primaris units. These armies are not fixed in stone but the general idea will not change. As I said, the idea is to form 4 separate forces that can fight at 500 points or Combat Patrol level but can be combined to for higher level games while still keeping within the patrol and battalion detachments. The four armies also cover the 4 main elements of list building, with assault, speed, stealth\infiltration and range all dealt with. This is not going to be a highly tuned and optimised list but a fun and narrative one. How long it will take me to build and paint these armies is anyone's guess though!

On the paint table......

With the final couple of touched added to the Eagle Knights Kill Team, it is time to move on to the next project, which also happens to be a Kill Team. This team is also a marine team, but dedicated more to longer\medium range fire power.

Initially I for planned for this to be a Space Wolf inspired team, using the Space Wolf chapter tactic. However, with the Eagle Knights team using the Blood Angles tactic and really having the option for taking the Space Wolves tactic without any penalty to the overall effectiveness of the team, as both are active in the fight phase, where the Knights are designed to be. Therefore, this team have ended up being designed for a lot more longer range fire power, with a number of storm bolters and bolters, with some support from a missile launcher and plasma gun. There is however some combat ability with several lightning claws and chainswords in the mix. This has given me a little issue though, as I don't know which chapter tactic I will be going with yet, but it will be either Imperial Fists, Salamanders or Raven Guard.

The two test models, more or less finished, although I'm not 100% happy with the finish on the leather items.

The "paint table"

The paint table is currently an old tea tray which has enough room for my selected paints and brushes.

The current work load.

So, this is the full team, assembly for painting. Front rank is two jump pack vets for some fast assault along with a Sgt with storm bolter and sword. Middle rank is the two Tactical Gunners with plasma and missile launcher plus vet with plasma pistol and sword. At the back it's another Sgt with claw and storm bolter, a Tactical and Tactical Sgt, who double as Medic. They have been primed and based with the main areas of yellow blocked out all the units (the vet and missile Gunner have now been done) Next up is adding some details, such as black weapons and armour bits and silver highlights, oh and rebaseing all the models to the newly arrived 30mm bases.

Major fluff changes!

Recently i have been going back over my chapters and regiments back stories. This is something i like to do every so often but with the release a 8th and the new guard, BA and DA codeces, it was even more necessary. Apart from the obvious changes to the BA and DA fluff from there respective codeces, i have also had a major reshuffle of my own fluff.

The various guard regiments have not received much in the way of an update, as to be honest, they don't really need one. There has been so bits added about the great rift and it's effect on the system, which is not much, as the segmentum pacificus doesn't really seem affected or even mentioned much in the books.

The Eagle Knights have had more of an update, due to the events surrounding the defense of Baal and the conning of Guilliman and his primaris marines. The 3rd, my company are not overly effected, but will be receiving reinforcements due to the chapters reorganisation. This means there will be more units to add in the future.

The biggest changes are happening around the other 4 marine chapters. I have back stories for the DA based Dark Guardians, the Imperial Fists based Emperor's Disciples, the Black Templars based Brazen Hawks and the Wolves based Stone Dragons. 5 marine forces is 3 to many really and the Hawks were dropped quite early, as i never really liked the force as i always felt i had created them for the sake of it, although i did quite like the fluff i had created. Next on the chopping board were the Disciples, as although i like the fluff and the force, the new Fists tactics didn't inspire me and i never warmed to the colour scheme, yes i could have changed the colour scheme and i had tweaked it in the past, but by this point i had fallen out of love with the Fists as a whole. This has left the Guardians and the Dragons, both of which, in terms of fluff and colour scheme, i like.

The Guardians are very different to the Knights. The Knights are about jump packs and assault, where as the guardians are about termies and bikes. To very different forces both visually and in play style. Granted the Knights have morphed a bit to include some more shooty units, such as sternguard from the Disciples, however the main principal will still be jump pack assault. The big question at the moment is the Dragons, as the Wolves codex is yet to be released. The plan is still several long range units, a contemptor dread and several elite units. When the Wolves codex does drop, which of you believe the rumours will be sometime this year, then i will firm up the list.

So, with dropping the Disciples and Hawks, i now have quite a bit of fluff that i no longer need, but that i do quite like. Solution? I'm going to delete the Disciples and Hawks pages from the blog but not before merging the Disciples and the Dragons and also the Hawks and Guardians fluff together, something I'm in the process of right now. This will mean that both of the forces will see quite a change in the back stories, but hopefully one that will add depth to what is already there. In terms of the Guardians, i hope it will tie in nicely with current events on the codex.

One thing is still bothering me though, while i don't really care about the Brazen Hawks name, it was just a random name i came up with, i have an attachment to the Emperor's Disciples name, as this was the first chapter name i came up with many years ago, when i first got back in to 40k. My guard at that time went by the name Segedunum Yeomanry, named after a local Roman fort at the time but i was not very attached to it, so it got changed to the Hjaltland LI. At that time i was intending on finishing the guard force and then creating a supporting marine force, which over many months and lots of thought, became to be called the Emperor's Disciples, taking the Imperial Fists chapter tactic, a gun line marine force supporting a gun line guard army. The Disciples have remained part of the plan ever since, being formed in to 500 point forces, the 1000 point, then full 2000 point lists, before dropping back down through 1000 and 500 point lists until they were dropped completely. But now i have dropped them, i want to keep the name going somehow, as it's something that has always been part of my 40k revival.

I had thought about merging the names as well as the fluff, but Emperor's Dragons or Stone Disciples don't ring as well as the originals. So how do i keep the name or do i not bother and just let it be one of those things that dies as the hobby progresses?

Chapter symbols

You'll have to forgive the poor quality of the images, these were done while supervising the children painting. I have been pondering chapter symbols for my forces for a while and while I have settled on the Eagle knights symbol, the others are still WIP's.

Ill start with the Eagle Knights as this is now fixed, mostly as its been painted on to the shoulders of most of my army!

A Flamer from one of the tactical squads.

A simple design but representative of the chapter, a knights shield and the talon slashes of a eagles claw. Its also my first attempt at a free hand shape and so far repeating the shield two dozen times hasn't been to bad, there's only about another two dozen to go now! I like the shield, its nice and simple yet it still has a meaning, rather than being something random or sticking on a random transfer from one of the many sheets I have lying around. However, this symbol was actually fairly easy to come up with, some of the others were a lot harder and took far more effort. In fact I still haven't come up with one for the Emperors Disciples.

That's supposed to be a sword in the middle, just in case you were wondering.

The symbol about is my proposed chapter badge of the dark guardians. The main colors of the guardians is black and silver, mostly black armour with silver highlights with one black shoulder, for company and squad markings and a red shoulder for the chapter symbol. The red is supposed to represent the chapters blood shed in the name of the emperor, the green diamond (yes, it does look kinda blue but its supposed to be dark green) is to represent there progenitors, the dark angels and also to be a shield and finally the sword is to symbolize the other weapon of a guardian, which surprisingly is a sword. There, so the sword and shield of a guardian, over a field of blood. Oh you have to love the nice imagery of the 40k universe. Its not perfect, but I think it will work and it includes some element of the dark angels models that make up the bulk of the terminator and bike models the force is comprised of. 

Stone dragons chapter symbol, 90 degrees out, plus dark guardians mk1 on the right and mmk1lower left.

So, the stone dragons are next up and were actually Xxx while I was away on holiday. We were at a Viking museum, (because we don't get enough of Viking up here!) when I came across an exhibit of Anglo-Saxon writing and one symbol in perticular. Now with the space wolf/Viking back story, this intrigued and further examination of the "letters" led me to the second symbol. The first was Stan or the symbol for st, which also has the meaning on stone.

The second was the symbol for ior or io, which also means serpent. Ok so its not quite dragon, but a dragon is kind of a serpent, so it works in my books at least.

So it doesn't take a genius to work out where this is going. Combine the two symbols and you've got the chapter icon. Job done.

I'm pleased to have these sorted as I think that the chapter symbol makes a big difference to the look and cohesion of an army. Granted there are quite a few more complex symbols out there but I feel that simplicity is really key to how they look on the table, to much detail or an overly busy shoulder pad just ends up looking messy when the models are on the table top. For a golden demon model, great but not in game.

Other 8th ed marine lists

The last of my army list discussions is finally here. This post will focus on the two remaining army lists, the Stone Dragons and the Emperors Disciples, as talked about in the last post. Again, ill start with the stone dragons.

Rune Priest - w/plasma pistol and runic sword
Wolf Lord - w/storm bolter and wolf claw
Wolf Priest - w/ plasma pistol
Grey Hunters - Wolf guard w/plasma pistol and chain sword, Pack leader w/power sword, grey hunter w/ plasma pistol, grey hunter w/plasma gun, 2x grey hunter w/boltgun
Grey Hunters - Wolf guard w/plasma pistol and chain sword, Pack leader w/powerfist, grey hunter w/ plasma pistol, grey hunter w/plasma gun, 2x grey hunter w/boltgun
Long Fangs - Ancient w/boltgun, bolt pistol and chainsword, 2x lascannons, 2x plasma cannons
Rhino - storm bolter
Rhino - storm bolter

827 points (47 power points)

As you can see, the dragons are a bit of a mixed bag. The keen eyed amongst you might notice a bit of a difference between what was written about these guys in the last post and the list here. This is because having gone back through the index to double check the entries and also using BattleScribe, I have discovered that you can no longer take wolf guard squads with bolter, pistol and combat weapon, as per the last errata. No this is a bit of a pain, but not the end of the world, it just means that I've had to have a rethink about the force. So, out come the wolf guard squad and in goes........ Well, that's a good question, what does go in? With nearly 200 points to spare, what is going to go in the place of the wolf guard squads? I have thought about lone wolves, but even then, two lone wolves aren't the best choice, although they certainly are the cool choice. So what do i do? I will probably either run these guys with  the Disciples or with some Dagr Ormr, so I guess its better to go with a more combat orientated unit, but I want more good all rounds and just not Grey hunters. I think that my main problem right now is that I wanted to stay away from space wolves specific units, as in fenrisian wolves, thunderwolf Calvary and wolfen, not to mention chapter specific characters as well. Hopefully a solution will present itself in due course or maybe when the codex does arrive, either way there is a bit of time to decide.

Next up are the Emperors Disciples. As I mention in the previous post, these are going to be a fairly elite army, with only the captain and Dev's sitting outside the elite choices. Now, as mentioned in the last post, there is a high likelihood of a lieutenant being included within the list, probably at the expense of the company champion.

Captian - w/Combi-plasma and power sword
Apothecary
Company Champion
Honour Guard - Powerfist, Power Axe
Honour Guard - Power Sword, Power Axe
Sternguard - Sgt w/Powerfist
Sternguard
Devastator Squad - 4x missile launchers
Razorback - w/heavy bolters
Rhino - w/stormbolter
Rhino - w/stormbolter
Rhino - w/stormbolter
Rhino - w/stormbolter

966 points (56 power points)

With the current set up, you can see that there are 3 proper squads and 2 small squads and 2 characters, all of which can sit quite comfortably in the transports. While the Dev's won't  spend a lot of time in there's, it does mean that there are greater options for moving around the field, with a decent amount of redundancy built in to the list. Ideally I would upgrade a couple of the rhinos to razorbacks and I probably could upgrade 2 as things stand, but until I get around to building the force, I want to give myself some room to manoeuvre. Again it would be nice to have these razorbacks armed up with twin lascannon for some extra anti-armour punch, but that will be expensive.

In terms of the rest of the force, the plan is to run one sternguard squad and one honour guard squad together in a rhino, and then run the Dev's in the third rhino. The honour guard are there to help if the sternguard get too close to the enemy and get caught up in combat. Ideally they won't get charged, but if they do, then they will try and fall back at the first opportunity and leave the honour guard to hold up the enemy, until the sternguard can shoot again. Lastly, The razorback will carry the captain, lieutenant and apothecary, to support one of the sternguard units, depending upon who requires the most assistance. So, while not the most balanced list, it should be fun to play and also fairly easy to paint up!

Other 8th ed Marine armies

So, I've run through most of my army lists but there are a few still outstanding, pal of which are space marine armies. Now, for quite awhile I have been thinking about slimming down my forces, afterall, 2 pure guard, 1 guard/tempestus and 5 marine armies is quite a few. In reality this equates to 5 2000 point armies and 2 1000 point armies and a 500 point army, which is probably a little excessive. I have often thought about selling off a few models and reducing down my collection but I've never got around to it. Anyway, that's really for a another post, right now lets look at the last few army lists.

We'll start with the Stone Dragons. These are the space wolves derived chapter and are quickly growing in size. Starting out as a 500 point force, there now up to 1000 points. The original force was made of awolf priest, a squad of Grey hunters and a small unit of 3 long fangs. Now with the rule changes and the changes to some of the squads, namely the long fangs, the force has grown to include a wolf lord and rune priest, a second Grey hunter squad and a wolf guard squad, in addition to extra long fangs and a couple of rhinos. Now, even with these extra units, the idea of the force remains, as a multipurpose force, tooled up for combat and ranged combat, with every one wielding bolter, pistol and swords (of various types). They are not going to be combat monsters, or even ranged killers, but a general force to support other, more specific forces.

The end list may change again, when the wolves codex drops, and they will probably not see masses of table time, as I don't envisage me buying the wolves codex, unless its quite a bit cheaper then the main marine codex, which I don't see happening. I do however, see this force growing over time, as I like the wolves and their character.

Next up are the Emperors Disciples. These were actually the first force that I decided on, as a companion to my guard infantry force, something to add some "weight" behind the guardsmen. They have however been relegated somewhat to one of the lesser forces over time and also have become one of the more specialized forces. When this force originated it was in the form of a demi-company, with all the requirements that entailed, then with the release of the ssternhammer detachment its various formations, the force changed in a more dedicated force, something it retains now.

The main part of the force is still made up of sternguard squads, but with the increase in the cost of transports, there are now just two squads with rhinos, supported by missile Dev's and two honor guard squads and company champion for close support. Add in the obligatory captain and apothecary and the force is complete. Now, with the inclusion of a lieutenant in the codex, there is a good chance that one will find its way in to the force, giving some extra re-rolls and meaning that atleast one ofthe sternguard squads will be re-rolling 1's to hit and wound. There are also some additional transports, in the shape of another rhino and a razorback. This means that the force is a highly mobile force, with everyone being able to get into a transportfor rapid mobility, which is the main point of this force.

The last force to talk about are the Brazen Hawks. Now here is the biggest change, as I will be dropping these guys from my build schedule or rather my paint schedule as most of them are already build. The reason is that I was never really happy with the force in the first place. I think that I have mentioned this in the past, I wanted a black templars force and I created a story around that, but I could never get the force to where I wanted it. In terms of fluff, I like the back story, but the actual force always seemed a bit of a compromise.

In reality I would have liked to have included neophytes in to the squads, to have the proper feel to the units. Ideally I would have had land raiders as well, probably two land raider crusaders with a big squads of crusaders each and a couple of characters for good measure, all in a 1000 point force. But the reality is that I don't own the models and I'm sticking to my no buying new models rule (except for the chimera I need for the Hrossey yeomanry). As such, the models from this force have been distributed to the other forces.