Warlock Psychic Power Markers!

Nick speaking,

With my determination to keep the Seer Council in my Saim-Hann list for now, I need to figure out a way to keep track of all those powers. Although I would love to have little discrete magnetised markers of some sort, I am as yet, still not convinced of the future of the Seer Council in my army, so I came up with this template of markers, just to get me going. Please feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of the template. Saim-Hann battle report to follow...

Read more ...

Eldar Saim-Hann at 2k

Nick speaking,

During the period of 6th Edition dropping and the new Eldar Codex being released, my Saim-Hann army didn't really see the light of day. I found it hard to get motivated to put those Vypers and Falcon on the table, and so I turned towards my full Mechdar and Footdar lists instead. So with the new Codex dust all settled down, I want to take a look at my old Saim-Hann list and see if I can get it going again...

Ok, so here is my old 5th Edition Saim-Hann list, I had a lot of success with it back in the day, mainly because the Falcon was scoring and the tanks were very survivable, along with the all reserve/turn five concept that used to be...

IDIC Hann 1750 pts, 5th edition list...

HQ

1 x IDIC Farseer Jetbike with Spear/Doom/Fortune/Guide/Warding/Witnessing/Stones (208)

4 x IDIC Warlock Jetbikes with Spear/Destructor (232)

1 x IDIC Warlock Jetbike with Witchblade/Embolden (50)

TROOPS

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (152)

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (152)

5 x IDIC Dire Avengers (60)

1 x IDIC Falcon with Missile Launcher/Shur Cannon/Stone/Vectored Engines/Star Engines/Holofield (225)

FAST ATTACK

2x IDIC Vypers with Star Cannon/Shuriken Cannon (160)

2x IDIC Vypers with Scatter Lasers/Shuriken Cannon (140)

HEAVY

1 x IDIC Fire Prism with Shur Cannon/Stone/Star Engines/Holofield (185)

1 x IDIC Fire Prism with Shur Cannon/Stone/Star Engines/Holofield (185)

1749 points

My first port of call, was to translate this list unit by unit from the new Codex, to see how it would look. Whilst I was doing this, I made a few tweaks, like a Dire Avenger Exarch with a Shimmershield for the Falcon, as that unit will need to disembark to be able to score, and the 5++ will help a little. Interestingly, the new 'copy and paste' list is 203 points cheaper than it was before, and that is with the more expensive Dire Avengers and Vypers, due to holofields...

IDIC Hann, 1750 pts, 'copy and paste' list

HQ

1 x IDIC Farseer/Jetbike/Spear/Witnessing (135)

5 x IDIC Warlock/Jetbikes (250)

TROOPS

6 x IDIC Dire Avengers/Exarch/Power Weapon-Shimmershield (108)

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (122)

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (122)

FAST ATTACK

2x IDIC Vypers/SL/Shuriken Cannon/Holofields (170)

2x IDIC Vypers/SL/Shuriken Cannon/Holofields (170)

HEAVY

1 x IDIC Fire Prism/Stone/Holofield (150)

1 x IDIC Fire Prism/Stone/Holofield (150)

1 x IDIC Falcon/SL/Cannon/Stone/Holofield (170)

1547 points!!

So, with that and the move up to 2k points that my buddies and I have made, I now have 453pts left to spend, bonus! I don't want to mess around with the list too much at this moment in time, as I want to get a good feel of the changes and go from there. At the moment the list only has three troop choices, so first of all I want to address that. More bikes are my first thoughts, but I only own twelve bikes at the moment, so that rules that out for now. Next stop has to be troops in a Wave Serpent, maybe Guardians or Storm Guardians, but I think I want to stick with ten Dire Avengers, the longer ranged guns and 5++ Shimershield does it for me.

Now I know that I could drop the Falcon and have two Serpents with eight Dire Avengers in each, but the Falcon has always been a favourite of mine, and now that it hits on three's instead of four's, I want to give it a fair outing before I ditch it for a second Serpent.

Next is the Seer Council, I will keep the council as it is, but I am planning for the Council to have a different role on the battlefield. With the random powers it now has, nothing is going to be set in stone, it will either be as good as or even better than it was in the old days, or it could end up just being an expensive jetbike squad that can't score. So, with that said, I don't want the Farseer in that unit to be my Warlord, just in case the dice gods don't favour me! No, the Warlord role is going to have to go to the faithful Jetbike Autarch with Mantle.

I know it's not a perfect list, but I think it's a good starting point to get the Saim-Hann back on the table, which I am very much looking forward to. Battle reports to follow... 

IDIC Hann 2k v1

HQ

1 x IDIC Autarch/Jetbike/Fusion/Blaze/Mask/Mantle (168)

5 x IDIC Warlock/Jetbikes (250)

1 x IDIC Farseer/Jetbike/Spear/Witnessing (135)

TROOPS

10 x IDIC Dire Avengers/Exarch/PW-Shimmershield/Serpent/SL/Stone//Holofield (285)

6 x IDIC Dire Avengers/Exarch/Power Weapon-Shimmershield (108)

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (122)

6 x IDIC Guardian Jetbikes with 2x Shuriken Cannon (122)

FAST ATTACK

2x IDIC Vypers/SL/Shuriken Cannon/Holofields (170)

2x IDIC Vypers/SL/Shuriken Cannon/Holofields (170)

HEAVY

1 x IDIC Fire Prism/Stone/Holofield (150)

1 x IDIC Fire Prism/Stone/Holofield (150)

1 x IDIC Falcon/SL/Cannon/Stone/Holofield (170)

2000 points

Read more ...

Dual Flyrants Vs Ultra Marines

Nick speaking,

More dual Flyrant fun, and this time I had to slim down the list to 1200pts to play against my buddies Ultra Marine army...

HQ

1x Winged Hive Tyrant/Devourers/Adversary/Hive Commander/Swap for Biomancy (310)

1x Winged Hive Tyrant/2x Talons (230)

TROOPS

1x Tervigon/Catalyst/Adrenal glands/Toxin sacs (195)

1x Tervigon/Catalyst/Adrenal glands/Toxin sacs (195)

10 x Termagants (50)

10 x Termagants (50)

HEAVY

1x Mawloc (170)

Points 1200

 

Read more ...

How to Repair Broken Flying Bases

Nick speaking,

In my previous post, I talked about having to repair some flying bases for my Battle Fleet Gothic stuff. Being an Eldar and Necron player, broken flying bases is nowhere near new to me, so I decided to make a video with some tips and tricks that I have for repairing the stems of broken bases. I also refer to another magnetising video I made, so I have included that video at the bottom for you as well...

Read more ...

Army List Clinic - Dark Angels 7th Cav Help

Rob speaking,

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their army lists to our Clinic. In today's post we will have a look at a Dark Angels 7th Cav list, as submitted by one of our readers.

Email in:

Hey Beer guys!

I've run into a bit of a wall when it comes to my list.  First off, this is a themed list and army, modelled after Custer's 7th Cav.  Needless to say, it's lived up to it's theme, and I've secured all but one "historical" victory in it's time on the table.  Which is usually about 4 or 5 turns before I'm tabled.  Second, it's a very bike heavy army.  The only win I've had with it has been due to a tough Scout surviving 3 Ordinance barrages from an IG battery in one turn, securing an objective and taking me 1 point above my opponent in VPs.  Here's what I have for models at the moment:

Dark Angels 7th Cav Army

HQ - Sammael on Jetbike/Speeder (I have both)
HQ - Command Squad with Standard of Devistation (5 total bikes, per the new FAQ)
TR - Ravenwing 1 (6 bikes, Attack Bike with MM, Meltagun, Plasmagun)
TR - Ravenwing 2 (6 bikes, Attack Bike with MM, Meltagun, Plasmagun)
TR - Ravenwing 3 (6 bikes, Attack Bike with MM, Meltagun, Plasmagun)
TR - Ravenwing 4 (6 bikes, Attack Bike with MM, Meltagun, Plasmagun)
TR - Ravenwing 5 (6 bikes, Attack Bike with MM, Meltagun, Plasmagun)
TR - Scout Squad (10 Scouts, ML with Flakk, all camo cloaks, sniper rifles)
FT - Ravenwing Support Squad (3 Speeders, 2 with Typhoon ML, 1 with MM) 
HV - Predator w/ Side Sponsons
HV - Predator w/ Side Sponsons 
FT - Aegis Defence line w/ Quad Gun

Now, usually, I pack on Sammael, all the bikes, the command squad, and the scouts.  It's a very mobile army, and I use that to my advantage.  The Scout rule usually gives me command of the field early, and with SoD, a ton of fire power.  However, I still seemed to get tabled after turn 4, unless my dice love my scouts enough to keep them around.  It seems that my bikes die quickly, and often times only the Combat Squad rule will keep them on the table due to the sheer number of units my enemy has to wipe out, but they all eventually die.

I've played some with the speeders and predators, but the firepower they bring seems to be ineffective compared to the bikes, which can zip around like crazy, cover the holes I need, and head off even deep striking units.  The cover saves have spared more than their fair shareof bikes, but nothing seems to keep them on the table long enough to win against most armies, even if my dice are hot!

How can I balance the speed and offensive capability with enough defense to last into turn 6?

P.S. - Attached is an awesome pic of one of my last games.  Unfortunately, it was another "historic" victory against the Necrons, but he did more damage with terrain tests than I did the entire game!

Thanks for emailing the list clinic, on paper the models you have look solid, so no reason why you should be losing so much, so maybe the reasons could be tactical.

Here is a list I would want to run, using the models you currently own:

Sammael - 200
Ravenwing command -apothecary, standard of devastation, 1 grenade launcher, 2 additional bikes - 295
Ravenwing attack squad - 6 bikes, 2 plasma guns, attack bike mm 241
Ravenwing attack squad - 6 bikes, 2 plasma guns, attack bike mm 241
Ravenwing attack squad - 6 bikes, 2 meltaguns, attack bike mm 231
Ravenwing attack squad - 6 bikes, 2 meltaguns, attack bike mm 231
10 Scouts – 10 sniper rifles – 140
Darkshroud – 80
Aegis Defence Line – Quadgun – 100

This should come to around 1750pts

Basically, all I’ve done is added Night Shroud for that all important boost to the Bikes jink/cover save, combat squading is the way to go, making sure you distribute the special weapons into one half and all bolters into the other, then keep the bolter squads close to the standard of devastation (which can be the apoth model!), the special weapon squads are then free to do as they please, your opponent then has some really difficult decisions to make, shoot the bolters and the special weapons get you, shoot the special weapons and your infantry perishes under the weight of shots! If you don’t shoot Darkshroud (which will have a 3+ cover save behind the Aegis), then all these bikes get a 2+ cover save (behind the aegis) or a 3+ cover save (jink)... plus you have all those throw away Attack Bikes, which all score. Don’t forget Hit and Run! It will keep your bikes alive in combat (by not being in combat!).

Hope you find this useful and good luck in your future games, let us know how you get on!

Please feel free to comment with your thoughts on this list, and if you want to submit one of your army lists to us, you can do so here listclinic.idicbeer@gmail.com

Read more ...

Updated Eldar Painting list!

Nick speaking,

When 6th Edition came out, I posted about a new painting list I had planned. I have completed a fair few units from that list and indeed some extra ones as well, like my Fire Dragons, so I am happy with my progress. Now that the new Eldar Codex has hit though, things are just about to be shaken up again.

For my new painting list, I decided to select the units I want to paint and let my subscribers on my YouTube Channel decide what order I will paint them in. It was very close at the top, with the Avatar and Warp Spiders scrapping it out for the top spot. So, I will start at the top of the list and then see what happens from then on. I will also be painting my Gothic stuff as well, of course!

Here is the final list that my subscribers have selected for me to paint next, I know the Avatar is not that great on the table, but the allure of a Forge World model seems to have done the trick...

1) Forge World Avatar
2) Warp Spiders
3) Shining Spears
4) War Walkers
5) Dark Reapers
6) Autarch on Jetbike

Let the painting commence...

Read more ...

Eldar Void Stalker Built

Nick speaking,

If you didn't miss my previous post, you will know that I have been very fortunate to have received a massive collection of Battlefleet Gothic Eldar, from my buddy Lew, over at 40kWarPaint. The army is mostly unpainted and in bits, including many broken stands. So, to start me on my way of getting the fleet up together, I thought I would start with the biggest ship in the box, the Void Stalker.

First was to strip off the old paint a file it all down...

Then I built it up, leaving two sections unglued to make it easier to paint...

Finally I repaired and magnetised the flying stand...

Now all I have to do is paint it up, and I have to say I am looking forward to that, it looks like it has some amazing details, and the mini itself looks awesome.

Read more ...

Praying Farseer Painted

Nick speaking,

Here is the Eldar Farseer conversion I did all painted up. This guy started life off as a Reaper Praying Paladin miniature that I got from my YouTube buddies, Courage and Honour. I hope you like what I did with him guys...

Read more ...

Doom of Malan'tai Tactics

Nick speaking,

So what is the deal with Doom of Malan'tai in 6th Edition?

I know he can be a bit hit and miss, but I am a long time fan of Doomy, having played him a lot ever since he was introduced into our Codex. I have had some fantastic fun with him, regardless of how many dudes he actually kills. Just hearing the groans from my opponent as I declare he is in reserve is worth taking him alone!

Things have changed for Doomy a bit since 6th Edition came out, as he can now swap out his psychic power for a choice of Biomancy, Telepathy or Telekinetic powers, but is this worth it? I heard everyone talking about swapping powers on doomy when 6th hit, but I continued to soldier on with Cataclysm, as I had always done well with it.

No need to say that Doomy needs to come down in a pod, and he needs to come in as soon as he can, which should be turn two, as you will have Hive Commander on your Flyrant! Placing Doomy is key, as it's always very tempting to go for an isolated unit that the rest of the army is going to have a hard time with. What you should be doing is looking at placing him somewhere in the centre of the table or where the action is, and is going to be later in the game. Don't just think about the turn he comes in, he only moves six inches, so you need to reach as many units as you can each turn.

Once he arrives, suck those souls up and get his wounds/strength up as much as you can, I find I can usually get him up to seven to ten with good placement and a few bad Leech rolls from my enemy. Then it's time to lay down that Cataclysm large blast marker, strength seven/ten at AP1 is a very useful weapon indeed at 24" inches! There will be no doubt that your enemy will be shooting every double toughness weapon he can into him, as his biggest downfall is one failed invulnerable save to an instant death gun and he is dead.

So what about swapping out his Cataclysm? The popular Choice is the Primaris power on the Telepathy table, Psychic Shriek. This is similar to the Spirit Leech he already has, but is 12" in range and has the added benefit of not allowing cover saves. Double the trouble for your enemy troops, but lacks the potential to kill any vehicles that the Cataclysm has. This is a very fun and annoying combo indeed and has the potential to do a lot of damage to your opponent.

The second popular swap out will be on the awesome Biomancy table. A one in six chance of getting Iron Arm and solving his main big problem of being instant deathed. You will however be vulnerable for one turn, whilst you wait to get the power up in you next turn, but Doomy with Eternal Warrior and an increased strength and toughness, could be around for a long time to cause a lot of damage, if you can get him into the heart of the battle. Failing a good roll on the chart, some of the other powers are still pretty good, like Endurance, or you could just go for the Primaris power, Smite.

If you consider that Doomy in a pod only costs 130 points, how can you go wrong with any of the these options? 

Read more ...

Battle at the Camp (Game Two)

Nick speaking,

Time for another Battle of the Camp game! This time I took my Nids up against Imperial Guard and Blood Angels...

Read more ...

Praying Farseer Conversion

Nick speaking,

Along with the Out House that I received from my YouTube buddies, Courage and Honour, they also very kindly sent me a Reaper Praying Paladin mini. It didn't take me long to come up with the idea of converting it into a Farseer for my Eldar, so I got stuck right in and cut off the minis arms and head ready for converting...

First I prepared the new arms and head with some pins. Then I went to work with green stuff (grey stuff, but it's the same), tidying his arm joints and making some new green stuff shoulder pads. Lastly, I used a Space Marine head and a rock, to cover up the section where I had removed the original helmet by his leg, then I put him on a base ready for painting...

Read more ...

Dual Flyrants Vs Blood Angels (2k Battle Report)

Nick speaking,

Time to try out my new dual Flyrant 'Loc List'

Stinger Loc List v2

HQ

1x Winged Hive Tyrant/Devourers/Adversary/Hive Commander/Swap powers for Biomancy (310)

1x Winged Hive Tyrant/2x Talons/Implant/Miasma (260)

TROOPS

1x Tervigon/Catalyst/Adrenal glands/Toxin sacs (195)

1x Tervigon/Catalyst/Adrenal glands/Toxin sacs (195)

16 x Termagants/Devourers/Mycetic Spore/Death Spitter (210)

20 x Termagants (100)

ELITES

2x Hive Guard (100)

2x Hive Guard (100)
1x Doom of Malan'tai/Mycetic Spore/Death Spitter (140)

HEAVY

1x Mawloc (170)

1x Mawloc (170)

FORTIFICATION

1x Aegis Defence Line (50) 

Points 2000

 

Read more ...