6th edition FAQ's up, and Vampire Counts?

The 6th edition FAQ's are now available.  My take on the Orks:



Not bad. Still confused on how Profit of the Waggh! works now, but I guess I actually need the rulebook, eh?

So while waiting on the FAQ to post I dug out some Vampire Counts to work on. Betcha forgot I have a good-sized VC army?  I spent a lot on it when the book dropped, so I have a lot in boxes. Still need 1-2 boxes of the monstrous infantry guys and a mortis engine.

I might try to get a 1500pt game in tomorrow. I put together 5 hexwraiths and my finecast Varghulf.  I remembered how much I do love the finecast material, it's so easy to work with.

I really wanted to get the hexwraiths out of the way so I can try to put the plastic black knight riders on the old plastic horses. I hate the metal hybrid black knights. I'll give that  go later.

For now, bedtime and then a run to get my book!

6th edition eve!

Tomorrow is the big day!  I have my book on pre-order hopefully I'll get my paycheck today so I can get it, otherwise I'll have to wait until Monday.

Summery of released information from an Ork perspective:

Furious charge is getting a serious nerf. first no initiative boost at all, and if you multi-assault then you don't gain any benefit from it period. So no more assaulting multiple rhinos or chimeras. might mean taking stikkbombz a good idea so you can get that S4 no matter what, depends on the grenade rules though.

The psychic power "terrify" removes fearless from a unit. Could be potentially bad.

Snapfire though is going to make lootas and shootas absolutely insane. No, worse then that. Really, really f*&^ing insane.

No more wound allocation takes nobs down a notch, but then makes paladins easier as well

Our vehicles won't gain or lose much at all. If anything they will be easier to destroy with the KFF dropping to 5+

Stormboyz might be worth trying out with their I10 "impact" hit and their max 30" assault range.

Wierdboys boost the psychic defense roll. So in 2k when you can take 2 force orgs getting one in a key unit might not be a bad idea.

Really sucks no access to new powers

Allies will be fun. I would love to add 3 broadsides to my 30 lootas.

Biggest change by far is the end of No Retreat! That alone makes up for any other shortcomings.

Power weapons = Ap3 = MEGANOBZ RULE! Come here, DCA

I think any form of Mechanized army will suffer from how much easier vehicles will be to wreck.

However foot horde shooty armies are going to get a good boost. Not like they really needed it.

Remaining questions:
How will Prophet of the Waaggh! interact with new fleet rule
Will Ambush! still be able to bring an IC along

Nerfhammer #2 - Now this is just getting rediculous..

Now guess what? Pics are out of the psychic abilites. And guess what? there is one that removes fucking fearless!

Not only is "Terrify" a level 1 spell, removes fearless but also causes fear tests and an immediate pinning test!

Oh, ya, we get an amazing 6+ save against. it. Big. Fucking. Deal. Did I mention Primaris Psychers can get it? So now you can combine Terrify with...weaken resolve!  yep nothing like having a 30 boy unit pinned for the whole game or worse yet, lose just 8 models and run off the table!

Before you say "ya but.." don't forget ally rules..there will be lots of psychers everywhere.

What are Orks claim to fame? Furious charge and fearless. Now both are seriously weakened, and combined with the lack of inherent psychic defense means Orks will have to ally with a psycher to even have a chance.

Oh, ya, and weirdboys don't get any of the new power on top of all of it...

More bad news.. Furious Charge hit with the nerfhammer!

Ugh more bad news for Orks.  Furious Charge is getting a serious, serious nerf. Just read for yourself:

So not only do we lose the initiative (ya getting pounded by guardsmen again) but if you make a multi-charge (that's what "disordered charge" means)  you don't even get the S boost.  That means if Orks multi-charge they can't hurt vehicles at all!  WTF GW really?

The more I see the more I think CC is getting seriously nerfed in general. Like shooting wasn't already dominant, I was hoping for the exact opposite..CC needs a boost not a nerf!

Orks and Tau allies - revisit

OK fine, so I can't 9 broadsides. Only 3.  So time to revisit the list and see what I can do.

HQ: Big Mek, KFF, cybork, bosspole (100)
Troop: 30 Shootas (rokkits, nob) (250)
Troop: 30 Shootas (rokkits, nob) (250)
Troop: 30 Sluggas (Nob) 220

Elite: 15 Lootas (225)
Elite: 15 Lootas (225)
Elite: 12 Kommandos, 1x burna + Snikrot (220)


Ally:
HQ: Shas'o, HW Drone controller, Target lock, TL Missile pods, HW blacksun
2x Shield drones (106)

Troop: 10 Firewarriors (120)

Heavy: 3x Broadsides (A.S.S., Team Leader, HW drone, HW target lock, HW blacksun, 2x shield drones) (283)


1999pts


The firewarriors basically replace the Grots in my current list, and the broadsides replace the big guns.  I loose the punch of Ghazzy, but I could still drop a unit of boys for him. Or Mad Doc. Now that mad doc is coming in finecast I am going to pick one up for darn sure.

The blacksuns will of course help mitigate the insane amount of night fighting that will be in 6th. Plus being able to move the Lootas and still shoot will help there as well.  The sluggas will continue to be the screening unit and the shootas will be ready to overwatch whatever comes their way.

I've already been known to shoot GK off the table.  Now I can just do it even better.

I also might end up dropping the A.S.S depending on how the new relentless rules work.

6th edition will throw 40k on it's side. Allies will really mean you don't know what you will be facing, at all.

My other idea is to put together a Lord Commissar and a 50-man platoon to go with my Blood Angels.  50 guardsmen with stealth, stubborn, fnp and being able to move and shoot plasma at range? Yes, please.

Terminator Librarian WiP

Finishing off my Blood Angels Characters with a Terminator Librarian with Storm Shield.  Not much of a conversion especially compared to the Captain, but he does not need as much either.

Besides with the new powers in 6th I might want to run Libby's more anyway.

Enjoy!  Paint starting next week.

Get ready for the PAIN!!! - Lootas in 6th

One word will soon strike fear in all players of 40k: Lootas.

Dakka dakka dakka dakka!!

Lootas are soon to be the premier shooting unit in the game, by a large margin. They were already amazing in the 5th ed rhino-heavy meta.  But now with the new rules in 6th they will be astonishingly deadly.

Going from BS2 to BS1 isn't a big deal.  Lootas already have the volume of fire that makes up for that.  But with so many advantages gained by dropping to BS1 I can't wait for 6th now.

Snapfire: Shoot any assaulting unit at BS1, while giving up nothing.  I dare genestealers or Wolf Scouts to come at me now.  Muhahaha.
Move and shoot: (unconfirmed) Heavy weapons can move and shoot at BS1.  Wow. Moving lootas.  one game, long ago, I got to play with relentless lootas. It wasn't pretty. I could even keep them with the KFF..
Flyers: Zooming flyers hit on 6's.  With AV10. Whoopie! Dead flyers!
Glancing: 3 glancing hits? Not a problem!

The downside is that with cover mostly moving to a 5+ I'll either have to bring my own walls or use the 2nd FoC to bring additional characters with bosspoles. A mek with bosspole is 40pts, a small investment to keep the lootas on the table.

The only hard part for me is if it's worth dropping Snikrot for 15 more lootas...

The biggest change in 6th.

What is it?

Why of course the adding of the 3rd dimension.  Flyers. Flying monsters.  That can't assault or be assaulted by ground units.  

I read about having to get monstrous flyers to crash before you can assault them. Love it.  Flyers zooming around the board, but with only 4x6 they will be on and off the board during the game - limiting their availability. Sure they will be more survivable needing 6's to hit and getting a 5+ cover but will only be on the table for half the game or less.

What really is interesting is the idea of shooting the monstrous flyers out of the sky before you can assault them.  I can't wait to read how this works!  Should be a very fun and cinematic (ya I know that word is overused) game mechanic.

I just hope GW has a decent set of z-axis rules.  Actually I'm just hoping 6th is a solid set of rules in general. I know GW does not have such a history, but with competition growing maybe they can grow a little bit..

Tau Barracuda: coming to a tabletop near you soon I hope!

Winners!

Hell ya! My team won OFCC Fantasy 2012!  I can't freaking believe it!

So  my team was 3 people, myself, Ogres and Skaven.  The Skaven player completely smashed face, getting close to max battle points. I didn't do bad either going 3-1-1 getting 73 out of a possible 100pts.  The Ogres ended up 3-1-1 as well.

My army was one of only 2 at the event (74 ppl) with max painting score, but the other one got more favorite army votes (he had a Cthulhu-based VC army) so I got second there.

My team got 2nd overall battle points, 2nd overall sports and 5th overall paint.  Enough for the win!

I didn't take much video the first day, and 2nd day I forgot the camera. It's ok I really didn't want the added stress of filming. I just wanted to have fun.

Some great moments:

Game 1: I fired the rock lobber at a unit of tomb guard. It scatters 10" directly over the middle of a sphynx, killing it outright
Game 2: I Lost the game entirely, but about 1400 victory points but got full bonus, so I ended up with more battle points then my opponent lol!
Game 3: Was really close from the start. This game we were fighting over a hill.  His first shot killed my troll, made the archers and all 3 war machines panic.  However after that the warmachines were golden. In the bottom of turn 6 a mangler and the warmachines completely cleared the hill, leaving only the mangler to claim it for bonus points. It was amazing.
Game 4: By far the closest and best game.  Key moment was when 2 units of Knight Errants charged my big'uns. One unit passed over a mangler, but made all but 2 saves. The other unit, however, charged over a river and lost 5 to dangerous terrain. The Black Orcs were wiff-tastic, being locked in with 5 knights for most of the game.  Oh, and lost the spider to Heroic killing blow lol!
Game 5: Amazing game. Gork came out and did a lot of stomping, killing 15 out of 18 Khorne warriors along with most of the marauders protecting the casters.   The moment of the tourny though was when my spearmen charged a kited-out Chaos Lord on chariot in the rear.  He killed 5, but I had ranks and charge and won by 1.  He then failed two LD8 panic tests, and then rolled 2-2-1 to flee, and the gobbos ran him down!  It was epic!

Things I learned:
-Foot Showshoe of Gork is the most amazing spell, ever.  There is no doubt I'm going to dual- level 4 casters in big games.
-My new strategy really works out. I move from having the big'uns ready to do all the damage, to having my NG horde and deep HW/Shield boys out front. with the BSB and general nearby they are both very, very resilient. I then use the chariots, big'us and spider to come up and actually kill things. I never got to use sneaky stabin' though or had many flank charges, but I didn't really need too either.
-Jury is still out on the chariots.  Really, these guys are interesting. People put more effort then I think it is worth killing them, as the usually don't do anything. But they are great for harassing, flanking,  and just generally being a pain.  I might go to goblin chariots due to the extra movement.
-I could probably use a Calvary unit, maybe replacing the chariots.  Speed is something I lack.

MVP:
by far the mvp's of the tournament were the warmachines, and specifically the doom divers. Holy crap these things are just amazing.  The doom divers are incredibly accurate, and just love to hit small units of heavily-armored troops.  Not great against mass infantry, but that is what the rock lobber is for.  Second place goes to the Orc Shaman and Foot of Gork.
LVP:
Aracknarok.  Only in 1 game did he do anything (harassing and finally running down a horde of marauders) the rest of the time he was not effective. Being only S5 he can't cut through heavy armor, and just in general isn't very killy or survivable.  Not too bad if you can use him as pure support, but there are much better support units you can get for 290pts.

So that's it!  A year's worth of bragging rights!

Off to OFCC!

After a  year of work, I am out the door to Fantasy OFCC.

Pics of my army and display board.  Laters!

6th edition allies, for sure. but how?

So pics from the White Dwarf release confirms allies. GK+IG vs Deamons+CSM.  Wow.  GK terminators backed up with manticores and hydras?  Plague Marines backed up with Fateweaver?

This got me really thinking about what, if any, allies we will get with the Orks. I've seen a matrix but I keep reading it was for a tournament instead of 6th. I hope there are some allies in there, I would hate to be screwed on this awesome part of 6th as well.

I have Tau and Blood Angels. I keep thinking Tau + Orks would be amazing..  Would I take Orks in a Tau army or Tau in an Ork army?

HQ: Big Mek, KFF (85)
Troop: 30 Shootas (rokkits, nob) (250)
Troop: 30 Shootas (rokkits, nob) (250)

Elite: 15 Lootas (225)
Elite: 15 Lootas (225)

Ally:
HQ: Shas'o, HW Drone controller, Target lock, TL Missile pods, HW blacksun
2x Shield drones (106)

Troop: 10 Firewarriors (120)

Heavy: 3x Broadsides (A.S.S., Team Leader, HW drone, HW target lock, HW blacksun, 2x shield drones) (283)
Heavy: 3x Broadsides (A.S.S., Team Leader, HW drone, HW target lock, HW blacksun, 2x shield drones) (283)
Heavy: 2x Broadsides (A.S.S, team leader, HW target lock, HW blacksun)  (173)

2000pts exactly.

Won't know what is actually possible for another week or so, but the possibilities...*swoon*

Well look at that..Orks get screwed..

Well time to deal with a double-reaming in 6th. First is the rule where wounds are allocated to closest models first (which means you run forward and never get any closer) and now the psychic table is leaked and Wierdboys get nothing.  GW really could have made them useful with a simple checkmark. But nope, they will continue to stay on the shelf at home.

Oh and cover is a 5+ instead of a 4+.  Great. Now my stuff dies even easier. 

There are some glints of hope though, like an HQ being able to be a scoring unit.  Ghazzy scoring? With Snikrot? Who wouldn't want that.

Plus overwatch. Shoota boys on overwatch? That's going to be really, really fun!  Lootas will still be the answer to flyers, if in fact you do need 6's to hit them.  But with the cover change they won't be around long enough to matter.

It's looking like Orks might take a hit in 6th, which is really sad.

Ding dong done!!! Orcs and Goblins army complete!

As of 4:11 am June 17, 2011 I have finished my 2800 Orcs and Goblins army for OFCC 2012.  It has been over a  year of solid work to get here including twice having painted over 50 models in a single calender month.

As a reminder here is the video that started my O&G build on June 1, 2011



Here is a pic I just took of my last unit, the glue for the flock is still wet here:

Keep in mind this is a heavily comp'ed tournament which is all about modeling and fun more then winning.  I have been told I have one of the weakest lists at the event, getting 1-2 out of a possible 6 on the power scale.  Which is fine, that means I won't be seeing any 9 Mournfang/dual cannon Ogre lists or anything like that.

I have a great idea for a quick and easy display base, plus finishing the snowshoe template. I was going to make a diorama-like display base but now I have an idea I'm going to run with that requires only a display base instead. will be much easier.

I have this Friday off so I expect everything to be done before then and I will make videos and stuff talking about my army then. 

After this monumental task (as far as I'm concerned), the question is what's next?  Stay tuned...

The Snowshoe of Gork

Last week while I was getting my face pounded by dwarfs, I was commenting I need to make a Foot of Gork template before OFCC.

My opponent suggested I make a snowshoe, you know, cause it fits with the theme.

I was like "damn it, don't do that now I'm going to have to make it!!"  and tonight I did. Sure it wasn't my idea but it was my execution including watching videos on snowshoe stringing. The knots used are authentic!

I tried to get some square balsa wet enough to bend but I don't think I could have done that in time, so I went with plastic. I'll have to do a faux wood paint job.

I also plan on altering the spell card to say snowshoe and then set it and the template on a small stand next to my army.

This weekend is going to be awesome weather, so after Pokemon with the kids, washing and some buffing of the car I'll start my display board. It's going to be a lot simpler then I wanted, but time is short..

Terminator Captain done!

I spent some extra time on blending and highlights for this guy, Expanding my techniques.  Especially noticeable on the lightning claws and left shoulderpad.  I still love the blonde hair effect as well.

I'm very, very happy with both the repose and the paint job.

Let me know what you think!  I'm really looking for honest yet constructive criticism.

There is no such thing as a break - Terminator Captain WiP

Spent most of today doing  housework, then went out to my WHFB game night and got my weekly ass beating this time at the hands of Dwarfs.  How long does an Arachnarok last to a cannon? 2 turns.  Always.  I did a lot of damage to each unit (only a few guys left in each), but just could not finish anything off.  I only completely killed 1 thing the entire game..when my chariot killed off the cannon. His volley gun blew itself up. Those were the *only* victory points I had. What did I have left?  The Rock lobber, a doom diver and 4 black orcs.  460pts out of 2800. 

In both of the last 2 games, my HW/Shield boys have turned out to be fairly resilient.  That stubborn with the general/bsb nearby is actually pretty good.  I need to figure out how to properly support this unit either with the chariots, NG spearmen or the spider.  I think if I can figure out how to play around that strength I'll do a lot better.

At least I'll have one of the weakest lists at OFCC so I probably won't be playing any VC, Ogres or skaven at all.

So anyway after coming home and getting some sleep I decided to work on the Captain a bit.  Finished the head, and I'm very happy with it.  It really won't take long to finish.

Icy Orcs: Not quite done but close enough..

Finished the shields and got them attached. Then did the re-arranging of the models into the new formation.

Very happy with how things are now. I am actually done enough where I don't have to do any more at all. I will probably do the skin on the guys around the edges, then do the varnish and flock.

For now though I'm gonna push out the terminator captain, then try to get a display board done.

Icy Orcs: Boys done, starting in on shields

All the boys are painted, so it's shield time!  Cranking through all 33 at once.

Also tried out a new trick gluing on the first shield.  Buypainted uses plastic glue through paint when he assembles his models. I tried it and what do you know, it works. The glue just goes right through the paint kinda like when doing the hairspray technique..the paint is porous.

After all the shields are done I gotta get out all the guys and glue them on so they fit in the original horde formation, then rearrange into 5x7 and add a second set of numbers. Fun~!

Oh, and our van through it's serpentine belt today. So much for buying a Dakkajet..

6th edition officially offical

Well that's it then.  6th edition to be announced on Saturday, June 23rd.  I'll be at fantasy OFCC however, so I won't get to see anything about it until late that day..

4th Orks vs 3rd Orks?

After watching a recent BoLS batrep on the current vs last version of the Tyrannid codex, I thought it might be fun to try that with Orks. So I got out my 3rd edition codex.

Then I read it.

I don't think the previous edition codex would stand a chance against the current one.  There are somethings in there that might give the new dex a run, but overall everything is more expensive.  There are a few stand out points that I do miss, however.

-Tankbustas, burnas, lootas as troops
-The Trukk was actually cheaper ?!?!
-Warbikes were fearless (yes I've harped on this time and time again)
-Burnas available in multiple squads
-Old burnas  (2d6 armor pen)
-Skarboys!  Oh man do I miss skarboys!
-Iron Gobs/Big Horns.  Would love LD8/10 back.
-Wider range of HQ choices.
-Being able to loot actual imperial vehicles.
-Nazdreg! (BS4 4-shot plasma!)
-Auto hitting zzap guns.

And then of course, the bad things:
-Shootas are rapid fire
-Boys much more expensive
-Trukk boys separate entry and fast attack
-Stormboys more expensive
-Limited number of burnas in burna unit, limited rokkits in tankbustas
-Old burnas (not a power weapon)
-KFF effects models, not units.

The real difference though is what was added more then what was change.  The obvious thing is Lootas.  Lootas really make the dex so much better overall it isn't funny.  Having trukk boys as troops, the burna/tankbusta units so much better, etc. 

So if I find someone to play against I might still scrap together a list.

Orcs & Goblins: power vacuum

Are Orcs & Goblns a good army? I don't think so.  There are very few units that actually have any killing ability, while most of the rank and file core units lack any real power.

I played yet another game against Ogres tonight.  I lost by nearly 1000 victory points...though I did do a lot better then I thought I would.  I was actually able to munch through a couple units, and shot the mournfang off the table.

Still, it was a constant uphill battle. At least my warmachines didn't blow themselves up until turn 6..

The one unit that you can upgrade to big'uns with additional hand weapons is the one unit that can actually do anything. Of course they still die in droves so getting more is always required.  I'm pretty happy with that unit, with the Manglers and with the doom divers.  They usually perform pretty well.  I have a nasty habit of rolling a 1 on my magic mushroom..on the first spell he casts. 

My biggest disappointment though is the Arachnarok. It sucks. It has no survivability and no hitting power.  It's a waste of 290pts. 

What does it come down too? Savage Orcs.  Savage Orc big'uns with extra hand weapon. I can't see any other infantry unit doing anything.  With their ward save, it won't stop much but it's better then stopping nothing.  Black Orcs provide a bit of flexibility in contrast.

I havn't tried bolt throwers, but for a measly 35pts each how can you go wrong?  If I do anything else with this army, getting 3 of these will be a priority.

So drop the arachnarok, drop the boys, drop the orc chariots.  Get a hero warboss on boar, 3 spearchukas, block of 6 trolls and the rest on savage orcs.  I am pretty happy with the characters I have, but upping the Orc shaman to level 3 or 4 as well might not be a bad idea.


Lords
1 Orc Warboss: Shield, Armor of Fortune, Gold Sigil Sword (168)
1 Night Goblin Great Shaman: Level 4, Talisman of Preservation, dispel scroll (245)
1 Orc Great Shaman (165)

Hero
1 Black Orc Big Boss: BSB, Gambler's Armor, Sword of Battle, Ironcurse Icon (160)
1 Orc Big Boss: Boar, spear, shield, Talisman of Endurance (105)

Core
39 Savage Orcs, Big'uns, 2 hand weapons, standard, musician (449)
50 Night goblins: spears, musician, standard, 2x Fanatic, netters (265)
26 night goblins: bows, musician, fanatic (113)

Special 30 Black Orcs, full command, shields (425)
Spear Chukka (35)
Spear Chukka (35)
Spear Chukka (35)
6 Trolls (210)

Rare
1 Mangler Squig (65)
1 Mangler Squig (65)
1 Doom Diver (80)
1 Doom Diver (80)
1 Goblin Rock Lobber (85)

Maybe dropping some Goblins for a magic banner on the black orcs might not be a bad idea. Not sure which one though.

Overall this gives me a lot more punch, a lot more survivability and even more shooting without the huge point sink liability of the Arachnarok.

Icy Orcs - boys update

I finished another 5 boys, but this time I took them all the way to done.  Full layers/highlights just to show the difference between the base coat and the completed model.  I did this mainly to find out how long it takes, and it took about 3-4 hours for the 5 models. Now I know how much time to put aside. I'll probably go ahead and take the last 10 guys all the way to done.

 Let me know what you think.