You think YOU got problems?

I can't fit all my stuff into my cases.

I've got two Army Transport cases loaded with trays of all sorts. Can you believe that? I got some new foam trays and managed to put some of my new models into them and, before I knew it, I was out of space! Can you believe that?

Here's what they currently hold in them:

30 Dire Avengers (including Exarchs)
10 Warp Spiders (including Exarch)
9 Fire Dragons (including Exarch)
9 Swooping Hawks (including Exarch)
20 Striking Scorpions (including Exarchs)
10 Dark Reapers (including Exarchs)
20 Wraithguard
7 Rangers
Autarch
3 Warlocks
2 Bonesingers
Wraithlord
6 Platform Crew
3 Farseers
Eldrad Ulthran
Fuegan
Limited Edition Autarch
3 Wave Serpents
3 War Walkers
2 Heavy Weapon Platforms
3 D-Cannon Platforms
2 Starcannons
Twin-Linked Brightlance
3 Twin-Linked Scatter Lasers
2 Twin-Linked Starcannons
3 Twin-Linked Eldar Missile Launchers
20 Eldar Missile Launchers (yeah, 20)
3 flight bases with stems
1 Eldar Codex
1 Rulebook

...Hmm. When I look over that list maybe I shouldn't complain.

Alright. So maybe I don't have it that bad. That's a lot of cabbage to cram into two vinyl bags. That having been said, here's what I'm looking at:
Maugen Ra
3 Vypers
2 Fire Prisms
9 Jetbikes
12 Guardians
10 Banshees (including Exarch)

I can probably cram the War Walkers in there and maybe one Fire Prism, but that's it. I'll be outta room.

I figure I can retire a couple things (some of those extra Scorpions and the Rangers) and move some stuff around using new trays, and it'll all work out great. Thing is... I need some more trays. That's the trick.

Time for a visit to these folks to get more trays. I'd better hurry.

Why the hell am I working on Striking Scorpions right now?

I'm working on my Striking Scorpions right now (the ones with the Warp Spider foot and the nearly-impossible-to-remove mold lines) instead of things I actually need like my Dire Avengers. I don't know why.

What's nice, though, is that I finally busted out my airbrush. You know... the one I got back in May... and gave these guys a few squirts. Know what? It WORKED! I shouldnt be so surprised, but seriously... I just mixed Scorpion Green with Flow Improver, lined 'em up, and fired away. I love the results!



I'll be painting bone armor over the armored parts, but this makes a really nice basecoat, I say.

Warp Spider Foot

Eldar players know what I'm talking about: Warp Spiders have feet that curl up at the end. You gotta actually use the end of a paintbrush or the handle of a pair of side clippers to push them down. If you don't, it looks like they have excited toes that point up to heaven. It reminds me of Mad Magazine cartoonist Don Martin's work; he'd do these pictures of people whose toes would jut up in the air like magnets pointing due north.

The reason I mention this is because the new Striking Scorpions from Games Workshop? I'm working on a bunch tonight. They have Warp Spider Foot.

March of the Dire Avengers

The new Eldar codex has one new factor that I really support and am glad to see: Eldar players must now take troops, just like everyone else. I don't mean "troop slots". I mean troops; not Wraithlords, not Vypers, not non-Dire Avenger Aspect Warriors. Real, honest-to-goodness troops. The new codex goes a long way to try and sweeten the pill, and we should be grateful: Storm Guardians, Defender Guardians, Rangers, Pathfinders, Dire Avengers, Jetbikes and, in some cases, Wraithguard. This sounds pretty good, but it's still an adjustment for those who have been juggling the Force Org Chart to suit their whim for years with the 3rd Ed Craftworld Eldar codex. No more all-Banshee Scorpion armies. No more Wraithlords as troops (freeing up heavy support slots for 3 Falcons or whatever). No more mass-Vyper attacks. It's simple, straight-forward troop choices.

Just because I am all for this change in the new codex doesn't mean that it's a walk in the park for me to get my troops ready. Like a lot of guys, the new codex hit me with no real troop choices on hand. Rather than try to put it off and somehow force the stuff I have into some sort of list (I did give two squads of 10 Wraithguard some thought, but the 800 point total or so put me off), I decided to bite the bullet and start getting a healthy contingent of Dire Avengers together. I've scored a nice infusion of free Eldar models lately (don't ask how; you wouldn't like the answer), and I have 3 units of Avengers now.

All are assembled (save the arms, which go on after the body is painted). 30 of them. Exarchs and all. Here you go:



God, that is one crapload of painting I have ahead of me.

*Long exhale* ...back to it. Talk later.

Painting List

There's this thing that happens when you acquire a whole bunch of models at once: You put them all out on a table and look at them and feel a swell of joy. Soon, however, your smile melts away as you realize that you have to assemble and paint them, and how much work that's going to be. I took a good look at what I have to paint right now, and I think I've come down with a case of hives just from reading my own list.

HQ
To paint:
Limited Edition Autarch
Farseer
Prince Yriel of Iyanden
Eldrad Ulthran
3 Warlocks
Farseer on Jetbike

Troops
To paint:
9 Dire Avengers, 1 Exarch
7 Jetbikes
7 Rangers
1 Heavy Support Platform

To assemble and paint:
18 Dire Avengers, 2 Exarchs
3 Jetbikes

Elites
To paint:
8 Howling Banshees, 1 Exarch
5 Wraithguard
9 Fire Dragons, 1 Exarch

To assemble and paint:
9 Striking Scorpions, 1 Exarch

Fast Attack
To paint:
9 Warp Spiders, 1 Exarch
9 Swooping Hawks, 1 Exarch

To assemble and paint:
3 Vypers

Heavy Support
To paint:
Wraithlord
2 Fire Prisms
2 War Walkers

To assemble and paint:
Wraithlord
1 War Walker

Will I get them done? Of course. Will I enjoy it? 75% of the time I'll enjoy it very much... the other 25% Well, you know how it goes.

What I'll do is make up a lit and then paint what I need to fill it. Over time as I adjust lists and change my approach, I'll paint more.

Yep. That'll work.

(Good Lord)

Cow Walkers

Games Workshop has released the new War Walkers in a three-pack splash release (single War Walker boxes will be out soon). I got mine yesterday and, instead of posting all about sprues and bases and other things which are typical celebrations of new models, I'm going to link you to something else: This is a screenshot of a post I made at Warseer when photos of the new War Walkers were just starting to emerge. I have to show you a screenshot because, oddly enough, the original post was deleted.

Wonder why.

I'm Semi-Sorta-Kinda Micro-Famous

I was interviewed by Games Workshop Ottawa. Wasn't just me, though; it was my trusted and respected compatriot, Bill Dullemond (who is far, far more knowledgable about Eldar than I am). In my usual, inimitable way, I blather on and on and on every time I answer a question and use ten words where one would do... but those of you who follow this blog should be used to that by now.

Anyhow, I sorta feel a bit like a coat-tail rider by being on the same marquis as Bill, but it was fun all the same and, for the record, if you're not too up on the current Eldar stuff then you might get some new info from this interview.

Poor Derek

So I was at the Bayshore Games Workshop last night, and I ran into my old pal Derek. He's a huge Ultramarine fan and has tons and tons of models, and we always end up talking about our respective armies when we get together. I decided, for the heck of it, to ask him about how he likes to transport his models, and he said he likes the Games Workshop cases a lot. I asked him which cases he had. He said this:

"I really want the big hard one because right now I only have the big soft one", and then went on to explain why sometimes the models don't sit right in the big soft case because the walls move and sometimes let the models drop to the bottom.

"What was that you just said?" I asked him.

"I want the big hard one because I only have the big soft one" he replied.

I called Red Shirt Adam over.

"Now tell me again," I said to Derek. "You really want the...."

Derek, who had already figured out what I was doing, murmured through his teeth... "big hard one", he said.

"Cause you've already got... what?"

"The big soft one" he replied.

"I think I've heard enough." I told him.

Poor Derek. He needs better friends.

130 Days

It's been 130 days since I last made a substantial, 40k-relevant post here. Late June, summer was nearing its zenith, I was just wrapping up heavy involvement in the Forge Primus campaign, and the mysteries of the new Eldar codex were just starting to truly flow forth in earnest.

Now, fall is a hair's breadth away from giving into winter, I haven't touched a paintbrush or a bottle of glue since the above-mentioned post. I've had three haircuts, acquired a new computer, enjoyed a turbulent up-and-down love life, had my car in the shop for repairs twice, had a visit from my mother, took the kids on a trip to visit my brother in Ohio, and got a cat. Thoughts of Eldar and 40k have barely crossed my mind. My models and tools have all been neatly stashed in a closet, out of sight.

It's been a while, but I am so back. Oh, you heard me.

I got the giganticus Eldar box (which includes Codex, Wraithlord, Dire Avengers, Guardians, Fire Dragons, Howling Banshees, Limited Edition Autarch, Falcon and Vyper), managed to score two Bonesinger models, and am dusting off a bunch of my old stuff again. There's tons of stuff to paint, but I'm slowing priming and prepping models.

Am I hot to play? Only sorta. Right now it's about the models and the new book. We'll get to the rest later.

So where did I go? I just lost interest for a while. I'd had enough. Life changes, love changes, priorities change, and sometimes you just don't need tiny space elves to be your priority in life.

But I do now. Oh, you heard me: I do now.

Pics will follow as soon as I can find the stupid cable that connects my camera to my computer. I've got a Limited Edition Autarch carrying a Reaper Launcher that you have *got* to see...

Uh oh.

I've lost my interest in Eldar and 40k in general.

It's true. The thing that we all thought would never have happened has happened.

Help?

Wraithlord

A picture surfaced today from the Russian (???) Games Day: The Plastic Wraithlord has finally been revealed in all his splendor.

Let's ignore the stunning new Scorpion Exarch on his right and the two thingies to his left. Let's talk about the Wraithlord.

Here's what I like:
- He's plastic. I love that.
- His joints are ball-socket. The main complaint I have about the current Wraithlord is that he's very, very difficult to pose in anything except the most boring manner. This new guy? He'll look amazing.
- A variety of weapons and armaments.
- Nice looking base.
- He's lost that "Ant Man" look
- He kept the blank faceplate. That was a big thing for me, as I think the blank face goes far to give him the "dead" look that the model needs (it is a Ghost Warrior, after all)

Here's what I don't like:
- The fists look a little clunky

I am in love with this guy. Expect to see many of them posted here when the time comes.

The Careful Battle Against Aarhus

A big piece of area terrain in the middle of the table can really make all the decisions about a game.

This was a 1500 point pickup game between Lawrence, aka Aarhus and I that took place after Bill and I wrapped up (batrep coming soon). Incidentally, the diference between my 1500 point list and my 1700 is some Shuriken Cannons, some Wargear and some Witchblades. :) Nothing you can see, for the most part.

Some observations:
- All ten Dark Reapers went into a building with Fortifications and Medkit strategems. That, combined with Fortune, made them almost unkillable.
- The giant piece of area terrain in the middle, however, meant that they didn't kill anything else.
- It's worth it to huck the D Cannons up the table for 4 turns so that you can get a great shot on the 5th or 6th.
- Fury of the Ancients is frustrating as hell. Utterly unstoppable and no restrictions whatsoever in terms of range or line of sight. He kept running it through two or three squads at a time and it was driving me crazy.
- Wraithlords are great. It's not that they are monsters, as they don't move very fast and they have somewhat limited firing power... but they're solid. They always give me a nice, dependable shooter that doesn't have to cower in terror because a bolter might pop out of nowhere. Two Wraithlords took a few casualties. No world records set... but, as usual, they were a good anchor.
- The Psychic Hood is a broken piece of Wargear.

In the end, it was very close. Neither of us took many casualties (I lost two crewmen from my D Cannons, and that was it. He lost half a Devastator Squad and a Dreadnought). Due to the fact that his Librarian took one wound, I got extra points and eked out a win. Lawrence went a little green (as it was his fault; that wound was lost to Perils of the Warp), but was a good sport about it.

Yay, Lawrence for not being a big baby!

Beta 1 falls

The name of the game is to grab the objectives and hold on for dear life.

Secure and Control Gamma at 1500 points, 2 on 2. Ryan and James (Black Legion and Def Skullz) against myself and Brent (Biel Tan and Dark Angels). The region was Beta 1 in the Forge Primus campaign (of which I've spoken several times) and, for the record, this may have been one of the weightiest games of the entire campaign. You see, "Control Points" (the currency by which participants move forward) are awarded based on several factors. The winner, naturally, gets some points. You also get more points if the players are both campaign participants, if they're in the same region, if it's a megabattle, if it's a grudge match (i.e. part of an ongoing series of games between the same opponents), if there's fluff, and if there's a battle report. We had all of that. You can imagine, therefore, that while the game was friendly, no-one wanted to lose.

In the end, Brent and I held all three objectives (worth 1000 points each) and had significantly whittled down the ranks of the enemy in almost every section of the table. As the game was careening into turns 5 and 6, large numbers of Trukk Boyz, a Warboss, a Painboss and a rhino full of Chaos tac marines were beaten into submission on one flank by assault marines and striking scorpions. On the other flank, more marines and boyz were beaten back by a Wraithlord, an Attack Bike and lots of gunire, and the central objective was grabbed by a Wraithlord who helped to push out two killa kans an a looted leman russ.

The Chaos/Ork side was not without its victories, however; a lot of Dark Reapers bit the dust, a lot of weapons were blown off of Wave Serpents, and my D-Cannons were driven off the table before they fired a single shot. One of the biggest speed bumps for them, however, was early in the game when an errant squad of killa kans wandered right into the perfect position to block several volleys of fire from a Havoc squad. I think that if those guys had gotten more shots off in that first turn (especially with the Kans later getting immobilized and stuck in that position which blocked the firing lane), things might have been brighter for the enemy team.

Black Storm in the City of Death

The title has a good ring to it, doesn't it?

Grudge match versus Bill's Black Storm Chaos army (Bill... you can write the fluff part, ok?). This was my first full-on game of Cities of Death. Let me tell you: If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to do so. I thought it was going to be a really difficult thing with lots of special rules to memorize, but it was nothing of the sort. Pick a mission, pick some strategems, go kill something. It's really very quick to start (which, to me, seems like an indicator of how well-designed it is). Bill took "Power Generator" for his Defiler (which I killed on turn 2 anyhow) and "Deep Strike" for his Obliterators. I took "Fortification" for a building with Dark Reapers in it, and "Preliminary Bombardment", which did a wound on his Demon Prince.

It was something of a game of ring-around the rosey. 1500 points of the "Domination" mission, and a big piece of area terrain in the middle of the table. Bill always likes putting a big area terrain "no go" zone there because he doesn't like getting his head blown off by Dark Reapers.

This was also the first time in my life (at least that I can remember) trying out a Court of the Young King. It's flufffy, it looks great, the statline of that unit is absolutely staggering and... once it hits the table it's almost totally useless. See, here's the thing: The enemy will (not "might"... will) blast it to bits before you get it to do anything significant. First of all, it's slow moving and can't deep strike or get in a vehicle... so you're going to walk it everywhere, 6" per turn. Second, its shooting powers will be modest at best. Third, if it gets into hand to hand with *anything*, that thing will probably die instantly. Most enemies know this. Worst of all, they also know that it's a crapload of victory points on feet. Not only will they blow it to kingdom come before it touches anything, they'd be stupid not to. People tell me different things, like "Oh, it works well in big games" or "If you surrounded it by Guardians, it'll work", or "Best to escort it with some Wraithlords", but you know what? I love the Court on paper and as a modeling unit and blah blah blah but I will never, ever field it again. Bill Autocannoned the unit (Avatar and 3 Fire Dragon Exarchs, which was all I had painted) into confetti and I watched about 270 points turn into fertilizer... without it killing a single thing. Nosir. That's not for me.

In the end, it was a draw. Very tight game. He held 3 buildings. I did the same. He needed to kill just one more Dark Reaper to bring it down to a non-scoring unit and... nearly, but not quite. His last shot of the game... hit, wounded and I made my 4+ save with a roll of 4+.

Magic.

While we're on the subject of "Goals"...

Check out this post I made about my goals for Warhammer 40k. How am I doing? Let's look at the "to do" items and see what's still left.

- Top the challenge board at Deep Space
Update: I'm close. One tier down from the top. It'll be a fair amount of playing to get that top position and stay there (at absolute minimum I have to win 4 games in a row to do it, and I don't know if that'll happen).

- Play at this year's Conflict event
Update: I skipped it. It was on the same weekend I was with my kids.

- Finish my Iyanden army
Update: Not quite there yet. I can field a comfortable 1250, a lean 1500-1700... but nothing more, really. I'd like to get a few more key things into the army (like that Phoenix flyer) and finish all the painting. I'm not goin gto aim for something nutty like 4000 points, but a nice comfortable 2000 would be nice.

- Finish an Ulthwe Strike Force army under the new codex rules
Update: Haven't even started yet. That won't come into being until at least October/November.

- Do well in this year's Deep Space Campaign: The War for Forge Primus
Update: It's done in just over a week or two... and I'm doing well, I think. I'll be pushing to finish on a high note.

- Do well in this year's GW Campaign (The Fall of Medusa V)
Update: I'm gonna skip it. I'm not that interested in it and I don't want to constantly be feeling a pressure to play more... especially when I'm just a drop in the bucket.

- To finish a cityfight addition for my Eldar table.
Update: Got concept drawings. I'll be doing some more on that, probably when the Forge Primus campaign is over.

That's the thing about cheese...

For the record, I don't blame Marty.

I am participating in two online Warhammer 40k thingies which are both based on Deep Space (my favorite 40k web forum). One is an online campaign called Forgeworld Primus (it's a lot like Medusa V, but it's mostly made up of Ottawa-area players). The other is a challenge ladder that I'm scrambling to get to the top of. Both of these endeavors include my friend Marty (against whom I have fought before, and whose army you might recognize from pictures in earlier posts of this blog). Though he's not particularly active in Forgeworld Primus, he *is* at the top of the challenge ladder, and I have to knock him off. Those of you who follow my blog will also know that succeeding in the Forge Primus campaign and getting to the top of the challenge ladder are goals for me.

1250 points. Alpha-level Secure and Control is what it ended up being. I made my list about a week ago and did something I never thought I'd do: Take three Wraithlords. That's right: The world's favorite example of how to build a cheesy army had finally, for the first time, made it into one of my lists. I felt dirty doing it, that's for sure, and spent the week asking friends if I was going to go to hell for this. Oddly enough, a lot of people seemed to think it was fine, but that's probably beside the point. The important thing, however, is this: You can't decide what is and what isn't cheese from what other people say. This is a hard lesson for me, as I am adept at conforming to the status quo and then using those constraints to excel within a framework. In this case I was doing the thing you don't do. The list was basically like this:

- Two squads of Dark Reapers with Exarchs, each Fortuned by a Farseer
- Striking Scorpions and Exarch in a Wave Serpent
- Three Wrathlords

The thing is, the challenge board is meant for the hardest of hardcore armies. This is understood by all participants. No-one in our little online community is allowed to bitch about cheesy lists in the challenge board. Other places, sure... but not there. It's the safe haven for people who want to play the really hardcore, no holds-barred games. Secondly, Marty and I talk from time to time and he has been very clear that he sees nothing wrong with three Wraithlords. He isn't scared of them and doesn't see them as a bad thing. The combination of these two facts emboldened me to take the three Wraithlords this one time.

More to the point, however, I don't find them particularly hard to kill... and they don't dish out so much firepower that you have to constantly run for your life. They're pretty good in hand-to-hand, but they move so slowly that you'd be an idiot to let yourself get charged.

The day came and we hit the table. It was a very, very small table... not even 4X4. Maybe more like 3X3. I took Marty aside and told him that three WL's were coming his way, and he seemed a little anxious, but non-judgmental about it. The game started and we were off.

Marty got first turn and started killing things right away. Eldar players will tell you how it sucks not to get first turn (because you can't get your psychic powers off in time to help yourself), and this was certainly a good example. Then, the Librarian and his stupid psychic hood (a piece of wargear which I consider to be flat-out, no excuses about it broken). Fortuned continued to fail and Reapers just fell left right and center.

Then out came the four Assault Cannons. Let me just tell you: Never again will I feel guilty about fielding three Wraithlords... ever. Two of them went down so fast it almost gave me a nosebleed. The third tottered around trying to get a bead on something to kill, but it never happened.

When the Wave Serpent got killed and the Scorpions were entangled for one turn and then pinned the next (thanks to Fury of the Ancients), it was all over. I conceded in turn 5.

Lessons learned? 1250 points on a 3X3 table is just as cramped and claustrophobic as 2000 points on a 6X4... put more stuff in a good hiding place in first turn, even if it means you have to move your Reapers to get a good line of sight later... and just accept that the psychic hood is never, ever going away. Oh, and grab some cover when the Assault Cannons come out.

Anyhow, here are five neat pictures of Marty's army and one picture of my Wraithlord, hiding.

Step Two

Working on this Wraithlord a little more.



I've commented before on how static the standard Wraithlord pose is and how much of a pain it is converting them, but this guy is starting to look pretty nice and that does make it all worth it. The gun is mounted in the hand with a magnet so I can swap it out if I want to. The other hand will hold a banner pole, and there'll be pictures of that before too long.

In other news, I like blue.

The Iyanden Eyeball

The Wraithlord is sort of hit-and-miss. On the one hand, it's so plain and uninteresting that a talented, inspired painter/modeler can make it into a thing of amazing beauty. On the other hand, if you don't have that talent or inspiration, it wilts in your hands.

I normally prefer to keep the huge, blank "face" of the Wraithlord empty. I'm not a person who believes that you have to try to fill every empty space. This time, however, I'm going for something slightly different. I did this quickly, I did it in one take, and I'm going to clean it up in the morning.

What it does qualify as, however, is inspiration. I like the direction this is going in.

Bad Dreams

I had a dream last night that I was being stalked through my house by a Space Marine Terminator.

I seriously need to stop eating spicy food before bedtime.

Comparing Paintjobs

It's not about being proud or arrogant, but there are times when it feels good to take a moment and measure the distance between where you've been and where you are. This, for instance, was the peak of what I could muster about 18 months ago, while this is the kind of thing I'm doing now. I think in another 18 months I'll maybe try another comparison and see how it looks.