Bros And Saving Throws

Our good bro Clark is in town for a month or two.  He and I have played more games against or with each other than anyone else, having played together consistently from the age of 13/14 to 23/24. He hasn't played 40k in over four years now.  Over the last couple weeks we have played three games, two marines on marines and one marines on orks.  The first two were a ton of fun and were pretty much draws.  He narrowly won one, and I the other (1 vp for the win!).  This game was a little different.  He pretty much got tabled.  Despite having lost most of his force by turn two, he stuck it to the very end!  He is one of those guys who can have a good time while loosing miserably, taking small victories where he can make them.

Overall, this game was about luck more than any I have seen in a long time.  His plasmas constantly overheated, his scouts missed most of their shots, his land speeder rolled a lot of 1's with its multimelta, his charge distances were a joke (a two inch and a three inch!), and he failed almost every armour save he was called upon to make.  That said, we still had enough of a good time that I took some pictures!  Here's a bit of a report.

1,000 point The Relic, 4x4 jungle and ruins table

He took:

Chaplain with plasma pistol Storm of Fire Warlord Trait

Ten man assault squad with two plasma pistols and a veteran with a powerfist

Two ten man tactical squads  with plasma guns, plasma cannons, and a veteran with a powerfist

5 scout snipers with camo cloaks

Land speeder with heavy flamer and multi melta

Dreadnought with assault cannon and power fist

Astral Claws chapter tactics

I took:

Valthex

Ten vanguard vets with 4 melta bombs, two lightning claws, and a thunder hammer and storm shield on the sergeant

Ten man Tactical squad with a Lascannon, plasma gun, combi plans on a veteran

Ten man tactical squad with a heavy bolter, plasma gun, two grav pistols on the veteran (they got the poisoned 2+ bolts from Valthex)

Venerable dreadnought with assault cannon, powerfist, heavy flamer

Astral Claws chapter tactics

The First Turn:

I had set up Valthex and my tacticals in or behind the trench, which I bolstered.  The Honor Thieves and Venerable Amru pushed up the center to intercept the enemy and prevent them from seising the relic.  Brother Armon, "Lion Eyes," quickly prioved his worth by blowing up the Dark Angels Dreadnought (it is now the brown crater behind the assault marines in the picture!).  This single shot not only took down the ancient, but killed a plasma cannon marine from the squad on the rocks nearby.  An assault marine may have perished as well.  The explosion was so big it was hard to tell!  The rest of The Steel Spines and the members of The Tyrant's Arm moved up twords the relic.  The Tyrant's Arm managed to take down a single scout!

In clarks turn the tactical squad in the center moved forward (they have not done so yet in this picture), as did the assault marines.  Rather than risk droping thier charge chances, they elected not to shoot at The Honour Thieves.  Instead the entire army shot at The Tyrants Arm.  A single squad member perished, mostly because the plasmacannon marine shooting at them overheated!  Off screne the land speeder moved through the jungle and nailed Venerable Amru with its multi-melta!  It pened and I failed my cover, but Clark rolled a one for damage!   The assault squad and chaplian charged The Honour Thieves, but snap firing bolt pistols managed to kill two of them!  They then rolled a three for thier charge distance!  There were a lot of critical one's that turn!  Clark's abysmal luck and my exceptional luck began to sway the game early on!

Turn Two:

The Steel Spines advance, double timing it to run towards The Relic, intent on seizing it next turn.  Amru snap fires at the landspeeder to no effect.  Left behind, Valthex blasts at the landspeeder, his conversion beamer stripping off a hull point.  The Tyrants Arm blasts at the tactical squad with the remaning plasma cannon, killing a marine.

The Honor Thieves roll box cars and charge into the assault marines, losing thier only Tiger Claw to the enemies snap fire!

The Honour Thieves slaughter the assault marines.  The lighting claws of Retaliators Kathum and Cordoba in particular take a hefty tole, slaying three between them!  The Chaplain challanges Retaliator Arkash to a duel and smashed in his skull with his Crozius, ending the heretic with the same brutal, bitter vengence that hallmarked his career.

Clarks Tactical Marines advance twords the relic and the beleaguered chaplain.  The Scouts take aim at The Tyrant's Arm and kill one of them!  One tactical squad kills a member of The Steel Spines with plasma fire, while the other steps up to charge The Honour Thieves.  The Landspeeder moves out of the jungle and blasts at Amru.  Clark rolls a one.  The bad luck continues.

Led by thier brave, powerfist armed sergeant, the tactical marines charge in to save their chaplain.  (They rolled snake eyes but were only an inch away!)

The Honour Thieves take down half the tactical marines!  Though I have no photo of the combats end, the powerfist sergeant and chaplian manged to kill all of The Honour Thieves except Kathum and Cordoba!  The Honor Thieves hold thier ground stubbornly!

Turn Three and Four:

Brother Armon proves his worth again by destroying the landspeeder in a sepectacular explosion, though Veteran Sergeant Nispul and Brother Dragars plasma fire helped!  Valthex, Amru, and The Tyrant's Arm open fire on the tactical squad in the open, killing all but four of them in several abysmal rolls of amour saves by Clark.  Cordoba and Kathum are crushed by the power fist veteran, but not before they tear the fearless Chaplains guts out!  The remaining six marines Dark Angels on the left advance and manage to kill a single Steel Spine with their fire.  The Scouts try to pick off Valthex but can't place a single shot!

The odds matter nought brothers!  Take the Relic from the Heretics!

Turn Five:

The Steel Spines withdraw, taking the Relic with them.  They blast at The Dark Angels persuing them, wiping out the three remaining marines!  The Tyrant's Arm advances on the second tactical squad and wipe them out with the aid of Amru.  Valthex tried to help but rolled an 11 to scatter!  The remaining four scouts consider thier options.  They try to down Valthex again, but to no avail.

Final Tally:

Astral Claws:  Relic (3), First Blood (1), Slay the Warlord (1):  5

Dark Angels:  0

Astral Claw Victory!

We had a lot of fun playing that game, even if it was one sided!  Here is a pic that pretty much sums up what happened:

How the heck does this happen?  A game of anomalous dice rolls for the poor Dark Angels.  Still, he and I would and will do it again!  I can't wait!

Here are some more models I want to paint to battle Jamo in June.  Wish me luck!  It's a lot to paint!

The Forgefather Acends

I LOVE PAINTING SINGLE MINIATURES.

There, I said it.

This is what I've been chomping at the bit to produce. I present Forgefather Bregen Hallithec.

I have some weird mental disconnect between painting single heroes and line troopers. Although I try and put an undue amount of effort in my foot sloggers, I can never bring myself to use more that 40% of an ass when painting them. However, give me a centerpiece model and its pure serendipity!

Anyways, here at last is my Master of the Forge.

I put a lot more effort into the NMM effect this time around. I found that pushing the contrast made those highlights read more as metal sheen. Blending steps helped a lot too. Or maybe I've been staring at it too long. What do you guys think?

Suffice to say, I had a lot of fun painting this dude and I look forward to forging his lore on the battlefield soon. I'm definitely pumped to get into painting the next of my Dreads. Here's my proof shot including next month's goal:

Until next time, Glory to the Omnisiah! Glory to the BBST!

The Alchemancer

Would you believe I already painted Valthex?  I wouldn't, but I had the day off and got cracking this morning!

Here's a modified list to update what I have so far.  Also I had 60 points to fill, rather than just buy upgrades, I am going for a bonus round of a librarian.  Should be fun!

Astral Claws Boarding Assault Force Enlil

1,005 pts

HQ:

Master of The Forge Armenneus Valthex "The Alchemancer":  145

Epistolary Ashur Nuntar "The Dark Seer": 65

ELITES:

Venerable Brother Amru "Roar of The Ancients"

Venerable Dreadnaught

Heavy flamer.

135

Veteran Retaliator Squad Arkash "The Honor Thieves"

10 veterans, two lightning claws, thunder hammer, storm shield.

230

TROOPS:

Tactical Squad Kalath "The Tyrants Arm"

10 marines, plasma gun, heavy bolter, veteran sergeant, two grav pistols.

215

Tactical Squad Nispul "The Steel Spines"

10 marines, plasma gun, lascannon, veteran sergeant, combi-plasma.

215

And my next challanges:

Resistance, retaliation, and revenge!

I finished my fiction for The Honour Thieves.  I also managed to finish painting Squad Kalath!

And the weapons are magnetized!

My next chalange is not part of my priginal army list.  My new HQ will be...

VALTHEX!

I'll make a new army list to share soon!  Till then...

Veteran Retaliator Squad Arkash

Kyro Tyrant's Legion Enforcers

Seconded to the Second Company by order of Corien Sumatris

"The Honour Thieves"

Squad Arkash was forged in the fires of the defeat at Kyro.  When Venerable Amru led the Astral Claws survivors in a breakout from the planet, Retaliator Arkash gathered all the surviving Retaliators together and formed a counter assault force that accompanied Amru in intercepting enemies attempting to engage the withdrawing units.  The squad took heavy casualties but was steeped in Minotaur blood, most notably massacring a full assault squad waiting in ambush without loosing a single man.  The survivors of the encounter formed the core of a new unit of Retaliators that would become known as "The Honour Thieves" for seeking out enemy champions and claiming their weapons and honors once they were slain.  This unit saw lengthy service as a boarding assault garrison on a variety of ships throughout the war, eventually serving alongside Captain Corien Sumatris on the strike cruiser "Tyrants Talon."  Sumatris was impressed by their marshal prowess and ruthless brutality and adopted "The Honour Thievs" as an unofficial bodyguard.  This lead to a heated rivalry with the Second Company's Command Squad, who thought the captain should be guarded by honorable warriors, not a band of ruthless killers who stole honour from their foes.  Sumatris tasked the command squad with defending the honour, relics, and morale of the second company while he and "The Honour Thieves" sought out and slew enemy champions, both physically and figuratively staining their honour with loyalist blood.

Though several squad members were confirmed killed in the defense of Sentinal Sigma, the status of most of the unit is unknown.  Like Sumatris, it is believed the whole unit perished in the engagement.  Dead or alive, the unit likely shared the same fate as their captain.

Here "The Honour Thieves" are seen engaging a squad of Minotaurs scouts during the fight for Isin.  The squad of scouts held their ground only to be mercilessly slaughtered for their impudence.  After Arkash smashed the scout sergeant into lumps of quivering gore and bits of sundered armour, the remaining scouts fled.  "the Honour Thieves allowed their retreat and pressed on elsewhere in search of greater foes to overcome.

Veteran Retaliator Arkash

"The Hammer of Retaliation"

Tagar Arkash is an anomaly amongst the astartes, and his career of service reflects this throughout.  Arkash was recruited in Huron's initial wave of expansionist reforms, his very creation anathema to the holy codex astartes.  After his service as a neophyte, Arkash joined the Retaliators and The Tyrants Legion, where he ruled the auxila under his command with cold choler and an iron claw.  He often implemented "trials by ordeal" to weed out the weak from his ranks.  His men were forced to run for hours without rest or water, dig entrenchments meters deep, force-march under a hundred pounds of gear, and even spar with deadly blades.  He expected absolute perfection and punished any found wanting with service in one of the "blocking detachments" used as human shields for the astartes.  He gave these disgraced men two paths to redemption, glorious martyrdom or miraculous survival of their "trial by fire."  In his eyes, constant "trials by ordeal" weeded out the weak and provided protection for the invaluable astartes elements of the legion.

When the garrison on Kyro was put to the sword, Arkash fought in the running battles of the withdrawal led by Venerable Amru.  He gathered other Retaliators to him as he went, forming a counter assault element that intercepted Minotaurs forces attempting to catch the Astral Claws.  During one such encounter, Arkash slew Veteran Sergeant Aperus, goring the Minotaur's neck with his chain blade before he could swing his mighty thunder hammer "Oblivions Touch."

Covered in the splattered gore of his defeated foe, Arkash claimed "Oblivions Touch" as his own, beginning the practice of trophy taking that would make "The Honour Thieves" so infamous throughout the war.  He and his men would go on to claim "the spoils of the unworthy," better arming and armoring themselves as they drenched imperial honours in an iconoclasm of blood.

Veteran Retaliator Mammuth

"The Executioner"

Mammuth was one of the new recruits raised from the scout company into the ranks of The Tyrants Legion just before the outbreak of the war.  Mammuth quickly earned a bloody reputation for fierce discipline amongst the human auxilia he oversaw.  Mammuth strode amongst his charges like the herald of a vengeful god, installing terror, devotion, and discipline in equal measure.  With his gore-splattered chainsword "Doom-bringer" he mercilessly executed all guilty of cowardice or dereliction of duty.  Such bloody examples made even the weakest of his charges fall in line, a respectful fear of Mammuth and the tyrant he represented rooting them in place when saner men would have fled in terror.

When the Tyrants Legion garrison on Kyro fell, Mammuth withdrew from the planet with Venerable Armu's irregular forces.  He became a founding member of "The Honur Thieves" after proving himself in combat against several Minotaurs during the withdrawal, his weapons, armour, shield, and honours drenched in blood.

The ultimate fate of Mammuth is unknown.  He is technically recorded as missing in action, but most inquisitorial investigators believe he met his end on Sentinal Sigma.

Veteran Retaliator Cordoba

"Mentor"

Another founding member of "The Honour Thieves," Cordoba was famed for his close combat prowess long before the unit was forged.  On Kyro, Cordoba was seen as an oddity by his fellows.  Rather than training and tempering his charges through fear and punishment, Cordoba raised the skills of his auxilia through instruction, training, and reward.  He thought it his duty to elevate the lowly auxila to a more effective fighting force, to better defend themselves and the Tyrants domains.

This earned him the mocking moniker "Mentor" and sneering ire from his fellow Retaliators.  He cared not, and used his expertise to teach his auxila how to injure, cripple, or even kill an astartes.  He showed his men weak points in power armour and taught them fire saturation.  In combat he taught them to swam individual astartes with grenades, knives, and bayonets, downing the mighty giants through sheer weight of numbers or distracting them from more auxila sneaking in behind.  

The other Retaliators saw little value in this.  Instead using their auxila as ablative shields, having a foregone conclusion that such conflicts could only lead to the auxilas death.  But it is a testament to Cordobas skills and methods that his men fought to the last, taking several Minotaurs down with them where other auxila would have simply been slaughtered. 

Veteran Retaliator Kathum

After the loss at Kyro and the forming of "The Honour Thieves," Kathum earned a fearsome reputation among both loyalists and secessionists for seeking out and slaying enemy champions in single combat.  During the boarding of the Red Scorpions cruiser "Envenomed Sting," Kathum became locked In a losing bout with Captian Stanso of the Red Scorpions Seventh Company.  Though Kathum sought no aid, Cordoba soon intervened, causing Kathum much embarrassment and rage.  

Beset on both sides, Stanso succumbed to their blows, the two Retaliators dealing him mortal blows simultaneously.  In the aftermath of the battle, the two nearly shed blood contesting Stanso's praised set of lightning claws.  The incident was only stymied by the intervention of Arkash himself, cowing the two men into sulking away with a single claw each.  A bitter, competitive hatred simmered between Kathum and Cordoba for the rest of the war, and only ended when Kathum met his death in the defeat on Sentinal Sigma.

Veteran Retaliator Nicomedes

Nicomedes was appointed to the ranks of "The Honour Thieves" by order of Corien Sumatris.  Originally an assault trooper in the Second Company, Nicomedes had only seen service in the company for a decade when he caught his captain's attention.  During the boarding of the "Envenomed Sting" Nicomedes was charged by a Red Scorpions Vanguard Veteran.  The young Astral Claw dodged and parried the veterans every strike, frustrating the Red Scorpion with manic energy brought on by desperation.  Enraged, the Red Scorpion struck at Nicomedes head with reckless abandon.  Nicomedes sidestepped and turned his head, causing the vanguards chainsword to tear down Nicomedes' helm and imbed itself deep in his shoulder pualdron.

Wincing in pain, Nicomedes twisted sideways and stepped forward, opening and entering the Red Scorpions guard as the imbedded chainsword moved with his body, its engine roaring impotently.  Nicomedes slammed his own chainblade deep into a rent in the veterans abdominal armour, gutting his opponent in a gory spray.

After the battle he knelt before Sumatris, who replaced Nicomedes' helm and shoulder pualdron with those of his defeated foe, offered him a "Shield of Retaliation" and membership within "The Honour Thieves."  From then on Nicomedes was intensely loyal to his benefactor and would repeatedly prove his worth, earning the respect of his brothers.

Resistance, retaliation, and revenge!

Combat Squad Complete!

Just finished a combat squad for the HPC. I decided to paint this squad up while I waited for some generously donated parts from Nyle to complete the other half of this Tac squad. Next up, will be my Master of the Forge.

Official: