High Elves - Back to Basics

As I had mentioned in my post yesterday. I almost literally got ran off the table during my game of Warhammer Fantasy. Now, before I go any further, I am not one of those players who placing winning above the fun aspect of the game. But I would like to at least master the game and get more enjoyment out of a gaming session. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with any opponent that I've ever played. Classy players one and all. So the work has to start with me.

After some considerable thought, I think my inability to play well as less to do with lousy dice rolling that it does with the fact that I don't know my army. I need to spend more time with my army and learn what it can and cannot do. So...I'm going back to basics. I cut it down to a 1,000 point list that is an 'ideal starting army' for a new player. Which is basically what I am. The term, 'ideal starting army' comes form the High Elf army book.

Basically, I've started with GW's recommendation for a starter army on page 73 of the book. I decided to go with Dragon Princes instead of Silver Helms, because let's face it, those are stupid looking models. The new plastic Dragon Princes are great looking kits. Here is the list that I'm going to begin with:

1 Prince on Elven steed w/ Ogre Blade
10 Archers w/ full command
15 Spearmen w/ full command
10 Sword Masters of Hoeth w/ full command
5 Dragon Princes w/ full command
1 Repeater Bolt Thrower

The list does not have any magic, but I figured one step at a time. Plus, both my mages were absolutely useless yesterday. So in future posts, I'll add updates to this project and hopefully include a little fictional background as well. In the meantime, I'm re-reading the army book and payings specific attention to the unit entries that are in this starting force.

1500 High Elves...Fail

I got that game in with my buddy Jon today. He brought Chaos Warriors against my High Elves. The game started out will, I gunned down his Marauder Horseman in pretty short order, but that was the extent of my success. I won't get into the details, but by the end of the third turn, I was down to just my level 2 Mage. Nothing went right. So it's back to the drawing board, 'cause my list sucked.

I still haven't given up on the High Elves. I am convinced that there is a way to a winning army. I'm thinking of dropping my Ellyrian Reavers (2 units of 5) and going with a nice block of 10 Dragon Princes and maybe give up some finesse and sink some points into a Dragon Mage as well. Lothern Sea Guard totally crapped the bed for me, so I'm dropping those in favor of some cheaper Spearmen. Those are just some initial thoughts. My losing list today was:

Noble - no magic itmes
Level 2 Mage
Level 1 Mage
10 Archers w/ champion
20 Swordmasters w/ command and banner of sorcery
20 LSG w/ command
5 Ellyrian Reavers
5 Ellyrian Reavers
1 Bolt Thrower

40k Book Review - Victories of the Space Marines

I just finished reading Victories of the Space Marines, the latest edition in the series of short story anthologies from Black Library. I really enjoyed this third volume. Some of the tales featured a great piece about the Grey Knights and sacrifices made to battle daemons. Excellent story. Loved it. It was also good to see the Blood Angels audio drama, Heart of Rage in print. That one's my favorite Blood Angels story. Some of the chapters features were the Crimson Consuls, Warbringers, Imperial Fists and a Deathwatch Kill Team. I finished this book just in time to pick up the latest Space Marines Battle novel, Battle of the Fang. Of course, this will probably launch me back into Space Wolves (yes, I've prepared a 750-point list). With the rumors about the next Imperial Armour volume featuring the sons of Russ, I couldn't resist.

On the hobby front, I got three of my Grey Knight Strike Squad painted today. I mean completely painted. That includes basing and a couple of coats of sealer. I can't remember the last time I painted three models in a single day.

Tomorrow, I'm playing a game of Warhammer Fantasy against my buddy Jon. 1500 points of High Elves against Warriors of Chaos. I'm guessing I'll get stomped, but it'll be a fun time in any case.

GW switches to 'Resin-ish'

Looks like GW has confirmed the move to Resin-ish models. Amen. Personally, I hate metals. Below is a list of the initial product list, couresy of BOLS. I can't wait to get my hands on some of these items. The new stuff is reportedly hitting the shelves at the end of the month. But instead of a price decrease as rumored by one of the GW staffers, there seems to be a price hike, but I expected nothing less. The items in red are definitely going to be my first choices. I wonder if the sculpts will be new?

41-60 COMMANDER DANTE £10.50 53-60 LOGAN GRIMNAR £14.50
55-61 THE EMPERORS CHAMPION £9.50
48-63 SPACE MARINE CHAPLAIN WITH JUMP PACK £10.50
44-60 DARK ANGELS COMPANY MASTER £10.50
48-61 SM LIBRARIAN IN TERMINATOR ARMOUR £14.50 53-61 NJAL STORMCALLER £14.50 41-61 ASTORATH THE GRIM £12.50
43-60 ABADDON THE DESPOILER £14.50
43-61 HURON BLACKHEART £10.50
50-61 ORK WARBOSS WITH ATTACK SQUIG £14.50
50-63 ORK BIG MEK £14.50
50-65 ORK PAINBOY WITH GROT ORDERLY £10.50
46-61 ELDAR AUTARCH WITH POWER WEAPON £10.50
46-62 THE AVATAR OF KHAINE £22.50
46-63 HARLEQUIN DEATH JESTER £10.50
46-64 HARLEQUIN SHADOWSEER £10.50
47-61 COMMISSAR YARRICK £10.50
47-63 IMPERIAL GUARD LORD COMMISSAR £9.50
51-61 TYRANID ZOANTHROPE £15.50
51-63 TYRANID TYRANT GUARD £15.50
51-64 TYRANID HIVE GUARD £15.50
51-65 TYRANID BROODLORD £15.50
57-61 BROTHER CAPTAIN STERN £14.50
57-60 LORD KALDOR DRAIGO £14.50 57-62 CASTELLAN CROWE £10.50 57-63 INQUISITOR COTEAZ £10.50
45-60 DARK ELDAR ARCHON £9.50
45-64 LELITH HESPERAX £10.50
45-63 URIEN RAKARTH £10.50
45-61 DARK ELDAR SUCCUBUS £9.50
56-60 TAU ETHEREAL WITH HONOUR BLADE £9.50
83-62 CHAOS EXALTED HERO £9.50
83-63 CHAOS KHORNE EXALTED HERO £10.50
86-60 EMPIRE CAPTAIN WITH HAMMER & PISTOL £9.50
92-60 WOOD ELF HIGHBORN WITH GREAT WEAPON £9.50
84-60 DWARF LORD WITH HAMMER & SHIELD £9.50
84-61 DWARF RUNELORD WITH GREAT WEAPON £9.50
90-60 SKAVEN WARLORD £9.50
90-61 QUEEK HEADTAKER £10.50
90-62 DEATHMASTER SNIKCH £10.50
91-61 VAMPIRE LORD £9.50
89-60 GRIMGOR IRONHIDE £10.50
89-62 BLACK ORC BIG BOSS £10.50
87-60 CARADRYAN £10.50
85-61 DARK ELF ASSASSIN WITH TWO HAND WEAPONS £9.50
81-60 MALAGOR THE DARK OMEN £12.50
10-61 URUK-HAI WITH CROSSBOWS £14.00
10-62 URUK-HAI BERSERKERS £14.00
08-61 GOTHMOG (PELENNOR) £20.50
05-60 ELROND AND GIL-GALAD £15.00
10-60 SARUMAN AND GRIMA £15.00
02-60 GANDALF THE WHITE £20.50
04-60 ARAGORN (THE BLACK GATE) £20.50
04-62 THEODEN (HELM’S DEEP) £20.50
04-61 BOROMIR (ITHILIEN) £20.50
09-60 SULADAN THE SERPENT LORD £20.50
08-62 THE DARK MARSHAL (RINGWRAITH) £20.50
05-61 DAIN AND BALIN £15.00
97-60 SKULLTAKER £14.50
48-40 MARNEUS CALGAR AND HONOUR GUARD £36.00
48-41 SPACE MARINE TECHMARINE WITH SERVITORS £25.50 55-40 BLACK TEMPLARS SWORD BRETHREN SQUAD £25.50 48-42 SPACE MARINE STERNGUARD VETERAN SQUAD £25.50 48-43 SPACE MARINE VANGUARD VETERAN SQUAD £25.50 53-40 CANIS WOLFBORN £30.00
43-40 NURGLE DAEMON PRINCE £21.50
43-41 CHAOS SPACE MARINE RAPTORS £25.50
43-42 DEATH GUARD PLAGUE MARINES £25.50
50-43 BOSS ZAGSTRUK £14.50
50-40 GHAZGHKULL THRAKA £22.50
50-41 ORK TANKBUSTAS £25.50
50-42 ORK BIG MEK WITH SHOKK ATTACK GUN £23.00
46-41 ELDAR RANGERS £20.50
46-42 ELDAR DARK REAPERS £23.00
46-44 ELDAR STRIKING SCORPIONS £23.00
46-40 ELDAR FARSEER AND WARLOCKS £20.50
51-42 TYRANID LICTOR £15.50
51-40 TYRANID HIVE TYRANT £36.00
51-41 TYRANID PYROVORE £21.50
45-40 DARK ELDAR INCUBI £23.00
45-41 DARK ELDAR MANDRAKES £20.50
56-40 TAU SNIPER DRONE TEAM £23.00
83-42 ARCHAON THE EVERCHOSEN £30.00
83-43 CHAOS LORD ON DAEMONIC MOUNT £22.50
83-41 CHAOS DRAGON OGRE SHAGGOTH £36.00
86-41 LUDWIG SCHWARZHELM £22.50
86-40 KURT HELBORG £22.50
82-41 THE GREEN KNIGHT £22.50
82-40 KING LOUEN LEONCOEUR £30.00
92-42 WOOD ELVES TREE KIN £30.00
92-40 ORION KING IN THE WOODS £22.50
92-41 WOOD ELVES TREEMAN £36.00
84-40 THOREK IRONBROW £36.00
84-41 DWARF GYROCOPTER £23.00
84-42 DWARF BOLT THROWER £23.00
90-40 SKAVEN WARPLOCK JEZZAILS £30.00
91-40 VAMPIRE COUNTS VARGHULF £21.50
91-42 COUNT MANNFRED £22.50
91-41 VAMPIRE COUNTS BLOOD KNIGHTS £61.50
88-41 KROQ GAR £40.00
89-44 GOBLIN SPEAR CHUKKA £18.50
89-43 SAVAGE ORC GREAT SHAMAN ON WAR BOAR £15.50
89-41 ORC WARBOSS ON WYVERN £40.00
89-42 GOBLIN ROCK LOBBER £23.00
89-45 GORBAD IRONCLAW £30.00
89-40 AZHAG THE SLAUGHTERER £55.00
85-41 DARK ELVES REAPER BOLT THROWER £18.50
08-40 THE DARK LORD SAURON £25.50
08-42 GULAHVAR THE TERROR OF ARNOR £30.00
08-43 MORDOR TROLL CHIEFTAIN £25.50
02-40 THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING £37.00
97-42 FLAMERS OF TZEENTCH £15.50

Captain My Captain...first GK finished!

Brother-Captain Omarus Halcyon, commander of the 7th Brotherhood, is one of the chapter's finest warriors. He is far older than most of his comrades realize and he often eludes to past experiences that none of his men can remember. He is an accomplished warrior and brilliant tactician and he is held in high regard by the Chapter Council. It is said that Halcyon was a once a battle brother of the Red Hunters chapter of Space Marines and commanded one of that mysterious chapter's veteran squads before joining the ranks of the Grey Hunters.

I finished painting my Brother-Captain and had a pretty hard time with the sword, which I'm still not happy with, but after spending pretty much the whole afternoon on this one, I'm ready to call it a day. I just can't seem to get that wet blending technique down.

I'm only including the tabard on squad leaders and such, to help differentiate them from the rank and file. Believe it or not, there are only so many different poses that you can build. The red tabards, for purposes of my collection will signify command (Brother-Captains, Brotherhood Champions, Justicars). The white tabards will signify senior officers (Grand Masters). On the bright side, I've completed the first model for my army. Only 26 more to go.

Grey Knights - Army Update

I finished assembling, basing AND basecoating my 1250 point Grey Knights list. My next step is to, one model at a time, complete the detail painting. The goal here is to try and make each model as unique as possible. I'm also working on some background work for the collection as well.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, but it in the interest of getting an update out, I just threw them on the table and took a quick shot. I'm also pretty anxious to start playing with the force and getting comfortable with the army before I expand it. I do have a ton of stuff waiting in the wings, but I don't want to get overwhelmed and bored.

High Elf Noble - Completed

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I made my foray back into Warhammer Fantasy. I made a kick around list, just to get my feet wet. That list included a High Elf Noble. Well, I have finished painting that model and gave him a name.

Galdiril of Nagarythe was once numbered among the deadliest warriors in the ranks of the Shadow Warriors. He recently saved the life of a High Elf Prince against an Orc warband and was granted a title and given command of a small detachment.

I used standard GW paints for this model. I couldn't really decide on the colors of the base until I saw the Island of Blood demo models painted up at one of the Games Workshops nearby and decided to go with that. I want to keep this army a bit darker than the traditional 'shining silver' of the High Elves.

1,250 pt Grey Knights List

This is my first time playing Grey Knights and from what I hear, it's not your average starter army and while I've been playing 40k for some time, I don't play with any great frequency, so I still consider myself a beginner. In fact, I've lost way more games that I've won. So with that in mind, I came up with a 1,250 point list to get myself comfortable with the codex.

Keep in mind that I tend to build forces more out of a desire to fit into the 40k universe and its fiction and not to win games. This probably explains why I lose so often, but I enjoy playing, so I don't really mind.

GK Brother-Captain (1)

Nemesis force sword, m/c

stormbolter

psybolt ammunition

GK Strike Squad (10)

psycannon (x2)

Nemesis force halberd (x2)

Nemesis force sword (Justicar)

Rhino w/ psybolt ammo

GK Terminator Squad (5)

psycannon (x1)

Nemesis force halberd (x3)

Daemon hammer (Justicar)

psybolt ammunition

GK Terminator Squad (5)

Nemesis force halberd (Justicar)

Incinerator

Nemesis force swords x4

psybolt ammunition

Interceptor Squad (5)

Nemesis force swords x3

Incinerator

Daemon Hammer

psybolt ammo

Dreadnought

twin-linked lascannon

psybolt ammuntion

Boarding Action!

The MkIII Boarding Marine from Forge World arrived this week! Really nice model. Can't wait to add this one to my collection! This was the event model featured at Adepticon this year, but the line was too freakin' long, so I ordered it.

Happy Easter from Kantor Base

Just wanted to wish everyone out there a Happy Easter! I know it's a religious holiday and it may not apply to everyone, but there's the commercial aspect too. So with that in mind, May your day be filled with Marshallow Peeps and Chocolate Bunnies. Oh and Gaming. Lots and lots of gaming.

First Game....

...in three years. And it was fun. So I finally got my first game of Fantasy in over three years. We were unable to complete the game to time constraints. By that I mean GW has some real sissy hours of operation and kicked us out at 9pm. Which is BS, because many of us work for a living and can't get there until 7pm anyway. But I digress.

Anyway, I played a 1500 pt game against a new friend of mine. He ran an Orcs &Goblins list and I went with my High Elves. We were both pretty much newbies and so we didn't have much painted and we muddled our way through the rules, so there were no photos. This time.

My army consisted of a Noble, 2 Mages, 2 units of LSG, 2 units of Reavers, 5 Shadow Warriors, a Bolt Thrower and 15 Swordmasters. If memory serves, he brought along 4 characters, 10 Spider Riders, a Giant, a ton of Goblin Archers and Goblin Spearmen, a Doom Diver and block of Boyz. The game was pretty even of the two and a half turns until right before we got tossed out. My friend got ahead of me when I charged his Boyz with my Swordmasters and forgot that I get to re-roll misses because of my high initiative AND Speed of Asuryan. But that's what happens when you don't know how to play your army. Although, I did take out the Doom Diver and I shot up his Spider Riders pretty bad before losing my Shadow Warriors.

Anyway, it was fun getting out and playing and I look forward to the next battle. Nick was a great opponent.

Finally....Time for Gaming!!!

This Wednesday I will at long last have the time to pull up a stool, sit down and play some Warhammer. It's Warhammer Fantasy, but hey, I'm not complaining. It's been a long time since I've been able to play a game, but at long last the planets are aligned and the moon will be full (I think). By that I mean that the kids don't have any activity and my wife is off.

So...I'm playing a 1500 pt game of Fantasy; my High Elves against Orcs & Goblins. I never played against that army before, so it should be fun. If anyone has any tips - let me know. Anyway, I have a ton of stuff to do. I've got a 1000 point list that I need to upgrade, which will in ally likelihood involve, at the very least, building some more models.

I've got two days to get a ton of stuff done: Brush up on rules, update my list, assemble a couple of custom bases, build a unit or two, and if there's time - paint some stuff.

Grey Knight Librarian Conversion

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I'm not thrilled with the fact that the new Grey Knight codex has limited options for Librarians. By that, I mean Librarians must be in Terminator armor with no options for power armor. To me, it's a complete waste of Space Marine Librarians. With so many Grey Knight HQ choices, they should have produced a GK Commander Kit (just like the Space Marines). While I like the metal Terminator Librarian model, there aren't enough options for the rank and file Librarians. With that in mind, I sat down last night and tried coming up with my own conversion. I deliberately tried to avoid anything elaborate (that's what the metal one is for). Let me know what you think. Sorry about the bad lighting.

Now That's A Monster!

I got a heads up from my old gaming buddies and I just saw the newest kit from Warhammer Forge. Tamurkhan on Toad Dragon. Man, this kit is bad ass! Part of the Chaos army, this is by far one of the cool Fantasy models to come from Forge World yet. Maybe it's because I'm in Daemon slaying mode or something, but wouldn't it be cool to put this piece on a round base and have the Grey Knights beat the crap out of it?!

New Arrival

My Castellan Crowe arrived today in the mail. Pretty cool mini. Time to start the Purifiers!! I'm working on a list of pure Grey Knights (for now, at least). Currently, I'm debating whether or not I should go with a Grand Master or Brother-Captain. I'm trying to build the army, one Brotherhood at a time. That means (according to the Codex), eight captains, eight brotherhoods, plus one brotherhood each of Purifiers (approximately 40 models), and Paladins.

Most of the lists I see out there are including a Grand Master over a Brother-Captain, but I'm more of a fluff/background lover and enjoy building the collection around how the chapter is described in the published material.