The Dark Elves are coming!

So I've begun construction on the army (and am working on it as I'm typing this), though initially I am building up to a 500 point level as my club is going to start an Escalation League after the new year.

Here's the list I'll be using:

497 Points
Core
22x Corsairs with Extra Hand Weapon (Musician, Standard Bearer, Sea Serpent Standard)
12x Repeater Crossbowmen

Hero
Master (Extra Hand Weapon, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Pearl of Infinite Bleakness)

So, I'll attach the Master to the Corsairs, and use the Repeater Crossbowmen to mitigate any flanking nonsense or soften up a big block of troops before they make it to my Corsairs. By having the Pearl and the Frenzy banner, my Corsairs will have one extra attack AND will be immune to psychology. I think this makes up for the fact that I'm only bringing 35 models to a 500 point game, but hey, it could be worse. The Corsairs wills strike at Initiative 5 and since I'm ranking them up 7-wide, they'll have 25 WS4 S3 attacks plus 4 WS6 S4 attacks from the Master (at Initiative 7), all re-rolling failed rolls to hit in the first round of combat (thanks Eternal Hatred).

On a side note, I didn't include a Reaver in the Corsair unit because I knew I was going to attach the Master, and honestly I can't justify spending 10 points for one attack when there's a character already in the unit.

So, we'll see how it goes, and I'll be sure to post updates soon.

It's an Army!

So I've made the plunge! I have finally purchased my Warhammer Fantasy army of choice, the Dark Elves! Here's what I purchased:

• Dark Elves Army Book
• GW's customizable Movement Trays
• Dark Elf Battalion
• 20 Corsairs
• 16 Repeater Crossbow Warriors
• 12 Spear & Shield Warriors
• 5 Cold One Knights
• 10 Corsairs
• 16 Repeater Crossbow Warriors
• 5 Cold One Knights
• Dreadlord
• Sorceress on a Cold One
• Hydra
• Lokhir

Also, next Friday I plan on purchasing the following:

• 40 Corsairs
• 20 Blackguard (with command)
• Cauldron of Blood
• Assassin
• Dreadlord on Cold One
• Hydra

Also, I'm putting together a Fantasy "escalation" style league at my local game store. I'm hoping I'll get between 4 to 6 participants so we can end up with a couple of people who will have fully painted Fantasy armies in a couple months time!

More to come, including pictures of the Fantasy emo Elves in progress...

It's a Yob!

That's right, I currently work for a company who contracts additional technicians out to the Microsoft Stores, and at the moment I'm one of them! Sure, it's only a temporary position (was hired as a "seasonal" employee), though not only is it an absolute blast but it may be the foot in the door that I'd need to work for Microsoft directly!

From what I've seen first-hand, it is a fantastic place to work. The employees are all really nice and knowledgeable, and wow do they get treated well by the company.

Maybe my Christmas gift from Microsoft will be a job working for "the man"!

It's a girl!

At 9:35am on Friday October 29th, Amy gave birth to our first daughter (though second child), Alice Marie Goldberg! She's 20" long and weighs 8 lbs 2 oz.

We fully intend for her to grow into a hot gamer chick, but for now we've still got about 30-ish hours at the hospital.

Otherwise I'll be back with some more hobby news in about a week or so, so thanks for stopping by!

A little bit of everything...

Wow, just looking back at the blog posts I've made over the last few months, I've really dropped the ball on updating this thing. I started covering Fantasy 8th Edition and the games I was going to be playing while learning the new system, and I was going to have hobby store reviews after the Collectormania incident. Also, since then, I have played in two tournaments and another event at a convention AND I hosted and played in a local tournament.

I guess I have a bit to put into this blog, and I'll start by giving my opinions on the Dark Elves AND coverage of the convention I went to.

Part 1 - Dark Elves in 8th Edition Fantasy

 So far, I've thoroughly enjoyed running the Dark Elves. Though I was proxying with D&D miniatures at the time (hadn't picked any actual models up yet), I was able to learn a lot about how the army operates and learned their strengths and weaknesses pretty quickly, both in combat and in unit efficiency. I discovered I really liked Corsairs, and a close second would be Wyches. I'm not a fan of Reaper Bolt Throwers, regular Dark Elves, Cold One Riders, and Har Ganeth Executioners. In my opinion, the book really supports an "in-your-face" assault-oriented play style (with hints at competent defensive play as well), and Corsairs, Wyches, Hydras, Blackguard, and Cauldrons really epitomize this motif.

Here's a list I've been running at the 2,250 point level:

LORDS
Dreadlord (Whip of Agony, Armor of Darkness, Pendant of Khaeleth, The Other Trickster's Shard)

HEROES 
Death Hag (Cauldron of Blood, Battle Standard Bearer)
Sorceress (Level 2, Power Stone, Seal of Ghrond)

CORE 
30x Corsairs (Command)
25x Corsairs (Command, Sea Serpent Standard)
16x Repeater Crossbowmen
16x Repeater Crossbowmen

SPECIAL 
20x Blackguard (Musician, Standard Bearer)
War Hydra
War Hydra

Now, I found that while I have only 8 "units" on the table, each one hit like a sack of bricks! The Cauldron of Blood really is the catalyst that holds the army together, as its ability to grant either a 5+ Ward Save, +1 Attack, or Killing Blow is invaluable (when used at the right time). Honestly, having an army that hits first (Initiative 5) with re-rolls to hit in the first round of combat (Eternal Hatred) is awesome. Then, giving that army special abilities like Frenzy (from the Sea Serpent Standard) and Killing Blow (from the Cauldron) backed up by a Sorceress who is reducing characteristics by using the Lore of Shadow, is awesome.

I will be picking up my Dark Elves in February, and it will be the first army where I will force myself to paint a unit before I can use it. I'll go one unit at a time until I can field small forces (and continue playtesting and learning) and then before I know it I'll have my 2,250 point list ready to go to tournaments!

Part 2 - Tacticon 2010 Coverage 

Apologies, as unfortunately my sweet Digital Camera was being repaired during the event, so most pictures were taken using my phone (which admittedly does have a 3MP, 10x zoom Camera).

Click HERE to read Day 1

Click HERE to read Day 2

Click HERE to read Day 3

Enjoy!

Blood Angels 3rd Company - WIP

So, after a bit of inspiration and thought, I've decided that after I pick up the remaining bits of my Blood Angels army in February, I will take my army more seriously (and get to painting!). In the mean time, I have finally come up with names for the sergeants and characters in my Company, and have listed out it's contents here. This thread will be updated with progress on getting the Company organized, built, painted, and photographed.

Blood Angels 3rd Company

History

930.M41 Day of the Swordwind.
Only the stalwart actions of the Blood Angels 3rd Company preserve Explorator Station Ghosa Prime from the unprovoked fury of the Biel-Tann Eldar.

941.M41 The Second Battle for Armageddon.
Waaagh! Ghazghkull descends upon the hive world of Armageddon. The Blood Angels are one of three Space Marine Chapters to respond. Such is Commander Dante's reputation that Tu'shan of the Salamanders and Marneus Calgar of the Ultra marines cede overall command to him. Fighting is fierce in and around the hive cities, with the determination of the defenders matched only by the unremitting battle-lust of the Orks. The Blood Angels bear the brunt of the close-quarter fighting, chiefly because only the overcharged engines of their Lucifer-class Rhinos can hope to keep pace with the roaming convoys of Ork Trukks and Battlewagons. The tactical maneuverability of the Blood Angels proves to be crucial in the later stages of the campaign. The 3rd Company, under the command of the newly promoted Captain Erasmus Tycho, forms the heart of an armoured spearhead that cripples the chief Ork supply lines, leaving the Waaagh I 's Mekboyz without the necessary gubbins and gears to keep the massive Skullhammas and Stompas fully operational. With its 'eavy guns thus neutralised, the Waaagh I is finally broken before the towering walls of Tartarus Hive, where Dante and Tu'shan famously fight side by side against Ghazghkull's bodyguard.

955.M41 The Gehenna Campaign.
Commander Dante and the 3rd Company battle against the Necron Legions of the Silent King amidst the dusty wastes of Gehenna. For three weeks, neither side can seize the upper hand, with Dante's tactical brilliance stretched to its limits in countering the time-space manipulations of the Silent King.
The stalemate is broken only when a Tyranid splinter fleet enters orbit, forcing the two armies to break off hostilities and fight the common foe. The impromptu alliance proves to be the Tyranids' undoing. Following the final battle at Devil's Crag, Dante and the Silent King go their separate ways, both forces now too battleworn to guarantee victory over the other, and, at least for the Blood Angels, the idea of turning on those they had so recently fought alongside, a rather distasteful one.

995.M41 Beheading the Serpent.
Tycho's 3rd Company is one of many Space Marine strike forces that responds to the threat of Hive Fleet Jormungandr. Though Tycho leads his Battle-Brothers to several crucial victories, so reckless are his tactics that the Sanguinary Priests begin to fear for his sanity.

998,M41 The Third Battle for Armageddon.
Ghazghkull returns to the arid world at the head of another, vaster Waaaghl Over two dozen Space Marine Chapters respond this time, which is fortunate as the Blood Angels are forced to deploy much of their strength against the growing threat of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Nonetheless, honour demands that the Chapter provides assistance to beleaguered Armageddon and Dante sends his 3rd Company and a generous complement of support units. In the course of the campaign. Captain Tycho finally succumbs to the Black Rage and dies a valiant death on the outer walls of Hive Tempestora. Command of the 3rd Company passes to Galan Machiavi.

Quotes

"Blood calls out to blood. so they say, Let us
spill that of our enemies with all due haste.
that we may hear its cry all the clearer,"
- Sergeant Arcula. Blood Angels 3rd Company

"When war is eternal. the blood of the foe
is the only coin that can enrich a warrior.
and the glory of victory holds the only hope
of final redemption."
- Brother Zargo. Blood Angels 3rd Company

Force Roster

Captain Machiavi
Chaplain Tiberius
Sanguinary Priest Phaelon
Honor Guard

Sgt. Decimus – Tactical Squad 1
Sgt. Arcula – Tactical Squad 2
Sgt. Nereus – Tactical Squad 3
Sgt. Quintus – Tactical Squad 4
Sgt. Gaius – Tactical Squad 5
Sgt. Karpos – Tactical Squad 6

Sgt. Marcus – Assault Squad 1
Sgt. Kallias – Assault Squad 2

Sgt. Galenos – Devastator Squad 1
Sgt. Alcaeus – Devastator Squad 2

Dreadnoughts: Ares, Zeus, Orion, and Tychian

Support Units:
6th Company Bike Squad 1 - Sgt. Claudius
6th Company Bike Squad 2 - Sgt. Julius
6th Company Bike Squad 3 - Sgt. Valerian
1st Company Vanguard Veteran Squad 1 - Sgt. Aetos
1st Company Vanguard Veteran Squad 2 - Sgt. Kiron
1st Company Terminator Squad 1 - Sgt. Thaddeus
1st Company Terminator Squad 2 - Sgt. Damian
1st Company Terminator Squad 3 - Sgt. Zeth
1st Company Terminator Squad 4 - Sgt. Evander
1st Company Terminator Squad 5 - Sgt. Proteus
1st Company Terminator Squad 6 - Sgt. Bastiaan
1st Company Terminator Squad 7 - Sgt. Gideon (SH)
1st Company Terminator Squad 8 - Sgt. Avram
1st Company Terminator Squad 9 - Sgt. Lorenzo (SH)
1st Company Terminator Squad 10 - Sgt. Zarek
10th Company Scout Squad 1 - Sgt. Gordian
10th Company Scout Squad 2 - Sgt. Leon
10th Company Scout Squad 3 - Sgt. Donicus
10th Company Scout Squad 4 - Sgt. Otho
10th Company Scout Squad 5 - Sgt. Barrius
2 Sanguinary Guard Units
1 more Honor Guard Unit
4 Land Speeders
2 Vindicators
2 Baal Predators
1 Predator
2 Whirlwinds
2 Land Raiders
2 Furioso Dreadnoughts: Moriar, Thor
3 Furioso Librarians: Zeddicus, Alatar, Severus
10 Chaplains
4 Librarians

Headquarters
Chief Librarian Mephiston, Lord of Death
Commander Dante
Captain Tycho
Chaplain Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost
The Sanguinor
High Chaplain Astorath the Grim, Redeemer of the Lost
Brother Corbulo, Sanguinary High Priest

Coming Soon...

Over the next few months, I will try to complete several projects that I've been working on for QUITE a while. I have a long list of things I've started and haven't made any progress on, and I've decided to share them with you all if not to have a list actually written down somewhere.

• Post pictures of each unit in each of my armies on my webstie (sort of an ongoing WIP log)
• Finish painting 1,850 points of Tyranids for GenghisCon in February
• Finish painting 2,000 points of Blood Angels for general use at my LGS
• Sell off my Orks as three different lots on eBay (I'm looking for between $700 and $1,000 for them)
• Finish painting my club's Planetary Empires set for a campaign coming up this holiday season
• Update my website (include more content for different games, change layout, incorporate blog)

 Hopefully I'll keep this blog updated with progress on all of these fronts, but for now, I am working on painting the Tyranids and will try to get another batrep up with the Blood Angels by next week.

And my Fantasy army of choice will be...

When I first decided I was going to play Fantasy (at the end of 7th), I thought Tomb Kings were going to be a really cool army. I looked at their army book and the models and ended up not liking them at all (I mean seriously, what the heck is up with the "Chiquita Banana" Tomb Giant?). Later, the Beastmen got a new army book and yet again my interest in Fantasy was sparked. They got a whole new line of stunning miniatures but again, after looking at the army book I was disappointed with the number of units (Ungors, Gors, Bestigors, Centigors, Minotaurs, and the Pumbagors and that's it).

And now, with the release of 8th Edition, my interest has yet again peaked with Dark Elves (after seeing several pictures of the army on one hobbyist's site). Some of the factors that helped me decide which army to play were:

• The actual sculpts of the models
• The number of units and options available to that army
• Was this army going to be the "Tau" of Fantasy

Now sure, it's plainly obvious that Dark Elves are a nasty, and even top-tier army, but I didn't know that when I made my original decision. They fulfilled all of the requirements I had, plain and simple. They look sweet, there are enough different builds to be nearly in the double digits, and they're at least competent.

I plan on picking some up soon, and I will keep a progress report going on them as this will be the first army I plan on buying then painting unit by unit!

5 Land Raiders in 2,000 points?

Yes, I have done it! I have made a 2,000 point Blood Angels list that has five Land Raiders in it! But the beautiful part is that the list also has Mephiston in it!

It consists of three Crusaders with Multi-Meltas, two normal Land Raiders, three squads of six Assault Marines with a Power Weapon and Meltagun in each Crusader, and two squads of five Assault Marines with no upgrades in each normal Land Raider, not to mention Mephiston running around by his lonesome. That's five Armor 14 vehicles that SCORE objectives!

Sure, this is a gimmick list but what would you do against FIVE Land Raiders AND Mephiston???

Tell me!

Hobby Store Review - Collectormania, Parker, CO

Today I decided to do something I haven't ever done before, and that's walk into another local game store on their 40k night and see how they did things (and maybe even get a game in). I visited Collectormania on Parker and Cottonwood in Parker.

When I walked into the store, I was greeted with a brief "hello" by an employee who was sorting comics into boxes. I noticed a four-player game of 40k and a two-player game of 8th edition fantasy in progress, with several other people painting and modeling.

I approached the 40k table and noticed the teams were Tau and Ultramarines/Blood Angels vs Dark Angels and Space Wolves (apparently one player was using two different space marine forces). The game seemed quite intense, as there were three land raiders on the table, over 15 terminators, The Sanguinor, an HQ Crisis Suit with bodyguards, and Azrael all in the same 24" space of ruined buildings and rubble. I stood by and watched, then as the game was wrapping up I asked if people were going to stick around for more games. One of the players explained that two of the four players were going home but that the other guy and himself would be staying for more games. He asked what army I was playing, and I explained "Blood Angels", and he let out a sigh and moan of discontent and then proceeded to explain that he was done playing 40k for the evening. As some of the other players in the game sat down to play Magic the Gathering, one of the players complained that if tonight was a 40k night, why weren't all those people breaking out their armies and playing me? He was confused since he said if he didn't have to leave that he would have played me or anyone else that was staying.

Over the next hour, the store seemed to empty out and people started settling into card games or painting/building new models. I resorted to Plan B which was playing Amy in a 2,000 point game of 40k (Blood Angels vs Necrons), which went amazingly in my favor by the way.

The players at this store a very tight-knit group of players that refused to play newcomers because they owned an army that recently got a codex (even though I don't run a traditional Blood Angels list and I have been playing with this army since 1996 so I'm not a codex-jumper). This is called being "elitest" and basically just rude.

Here is my rating of this store on a scale of 0-5 stars:

Attention to the customer: 4/5 (they set up a table for me as I was waiting for the 4-player game to finish)
Quantity of Product: 4/5 (they had a lot of the best of each product line in stock, which made my home store look bad)
Player Base: 0/5 (Apparently one of them is a thief but not wanting to play someone because they say two words is just retarded)
Quality of Terrain: 2/5 (unfinished Cities of Death buildings, welcome mat cut-outs for "difficult terrain")
Store Hours: 3/5 (Their store closed early at 9pm though they let us play until 9:30 to finish our game since the employee on duty was deep in a 4-player Magic game)

Total score: 13/25

Stay tuned, as I will be attending the 40k night at several other hobby shops in Colorado to see what other Games Workshop enthusiasts are doing and how other stores compare to my home store (which will be the last review).

Continuing coverage of Fantasy 8th Edition

So Amy and I have been getting in a couple of small games with the new rules and I have to say it's a blast!

We ran the following lists:

Empire:
16 Handgunners
18 Spearmen (with musician and standard bearer)
1 Great Cannon
1 General of the Empire on a Warhorse
1 Battle Wizard (level 1, Lore of Fire, added on after our last game)

Orcs:
16 Arrer Boyz
18 Boyz (with musician and standard bearer)
1 Orc Boar Chariot
1 Orc Warboss on a Boar
1 Orc Shaman (level 1, added on after our last game)

The game went really well for the Orcs, as in the Empire's first turn their cannon exploded! Their wizard got off a spell that cast a cage of fire around the regular Boyz, but it was dispelled in the second turn when it was cast again. The Orcs got off successful charges against the Empire Handgunners and Spearmen, and the Shaman even got to cast Gork's Warpath though Gork only stomped once then moved on to other things.

At the end of the day, the Empire were tabled and the Orcs had only lost a handful of models.

Next time I think we'll introduce the cool new terrain rules!

Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition

So today I tried a small game of Warhammer Fantasy using the new 8th Edition rules. My wife and I used the minis found in the 6th Edition starter set (Orcs and Empire) and after using Army Builder to tally up the points we found that the two forces were exactly 415 points. The Orcs got a Warboss on a Boar, a Boar-Boy Chariot, 16 Arrer Boyz, and 16 Orc Boyz with a single hand weapon, while the Empire got a General of the Empire on a Warhorse, a Great Cannon, 16 Handgunners, and 16 Spearmen. Both forces had one musician and one standard bearer.

We had picked up the new template set, the new counter set, and the battle magic cards, but only ended up using the counters. They helped tremendously in keeping us aware of all the things that were going on.

Now, this wasn't my first game of Fantasy. I have played two games of 7th Edition, but something just drew me in to Fantasy and I can't quite put my finger on it. When I heard Fantasy was getting a new edition this summer, I decided to hold off on buying into the game until the new rules came out, and I have done precisely that. And since I have no idea what I'm doing yet, I can proudly say I didn't start 8th Edition because of any rules rumors as I'd be clueless as to what they meant.

And back to the game I played tonight, it was quite a lot of fun. My wife left the Warboss all alone and did not attach him to either of the Boyz units, which ended up winning her the game. It flew down my flanks and charged my great cannon, demolishing it, and then chose to overrun into some handgunners in their flank. Brilliant.

I am excited to play more Fantasy and I think that so far I'm liking the new rules. Stay tuned for more!

New YouTube Videos

Attention cronies, I recently uploaded two YouTube videos on my Sons of Sagnuinius channel. The first one is my review for the Stormraven Gunship from Codex: Blood Angels, and the second is a video battle report between my Blood Angels and a Salamander Space Marine army at the 2,000 points level.

Make sure you guys check them out and SUBSCRIBE! :D

Blood Angels & Tyranids FAQ's released

So, today we saw the release of what was probably the dumbest FAQ ever written by Games Workshop. The Tyranid FAQ. Not only do some of the FAQ answers fly in the face of pre-established precedences, but some clearly written rules are just turned upside-down by a simple "yes" or "no" answer with no explanation as to why.

Now, the Blood Angels one is fairly decent yet it covers some really silly questions similar to other recent FAQ's. For example, no, you cannot use Descent of Angels on a Land Raider dedicated transport, or use multiple instances of Descent of Angels to reduce the scatter dice from 2d6 to 1d6 to 0d6. On the flip side, the FAQ boldly declares that the Blood Chalice on Sanguinary Priests only grants Furious Charge when the attacks that would benefit from it are actually rolled, not when the unit launches their assault.

Similarly, the Tyranid FAQ points out that you cannot single-out the Hive Tyrant or Swarmlord in shooting or assault when they are attached to Tyrant Guard, and it also states that you "can" deep-strike the Mawloc into enemy units, as if the rules weren't clear enough that you COULD in the first place.

I am very disappointed in Games Workshop for their latest attempt at "clarification" and "balance". They are morons, and surely have not play-tested any of the main rules, codex rules, or FAQ/Errata rulings that they've been making.

Shame on you, GW, if only your rules were as good as your model sculpts...

Video Battle Report

So I've done it, I've finally filmed myself, though I'm going to have to get my camera repaired now. Anyways, I've completed my first video battle report for 40k and I posted it on my club's forum (though I'll post it here too). Check it out!

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLqiR3vPeJE

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSkuNRwLF58

Coming soon to a game store near me...

Fairly soon my local game store will be hosting a 2,000 point 40k tournament, either run by myself or another of my 40k club members. I'm excited to hear that Blood Angels are doing well in many different arenas, so I'm going to try to come up with a 2k list that doesn't do a *whole* lot of copy/pasting but still utilizes the strengths in the new codex.

Additionally, I just got a new job so my schedule is not only constantly changing, but I have been CRAZY busy lately and have not had time to update anything. I will be adding some info on the many 40k projects I've been working on lately and hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have my schedule figured out so I can continue making my Blood Angels YouTube videos.

'Ard Boyz 2010 - Batreps HERE!

So I attended the 'Ard Boyz Preliminaries yesterday at Valhalla's Game Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Thirty power-gaming 40k fanatics showed up to have epic battles at the 2,500 points level, and after ten grueling hours and the dust settled, some amazing battles were had and a victor was named.

I will put up my results and some pictures of the event after I recuperate, so be sure to check back soon!

--Edit--

Check a post I made on my 40k club's forum for more info here!

Blood Angels at 'Ard Boyz?

In a very short three weeks, the 'Ard Boyz preliminaries will be held around the country. If you've never heard of 'Ard Boyz before, it's a nation-wide tournament consisting of the most brutal and devastating lists at 2,500 points you've ever seen. No painting is required though everything MUST be "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG), as in properly represented on your miniatures.

I've been tooling around with a few lists that I'd love to bring, though I'm not quite set on which one yet. Anyways, here's what I came up with so far.

List #1:

HQ
150 Librarian, Epistolary <-- Shield of Sanguinius, Unleash Rage
150 Librarian, Epistolary <-- Blood Lance, Unleash Rage

Elites
130 2x Sang Priest w/PW
210 Furioso Librarian in DP <-- Wings of Sanguinius, Blood Lance

Troops
450 Assault Squad (10, 2x Melta, PW, LRC w/MM)
450 Assault Squad (10, 2x Melta, PW, LRC w/MM)
180 Assault Squad (5, Meltagun, PW, Razorback w/TLAC)
180 Assault Squad (5, Meltagun, PW, Razorback w/TLAC)

Fast
155 Baal Pred (TLAC, HBS, SB)
155 Baal Pred (TLAC, HBS, SB)

Heavy
145 Vindicator
145 Vindicator

 Now this list is a little bit safer than the next one. I went with a core of two Crusaders full of Assault Marines, with each one including a Sanguinary Priest with a Power Weapon and a Librarian with Unleash Rage. One Librarian will use Shield of Sanguinius in a similar manner to an Ork Big Mek's Kustom Force Field, granting a 5+ cover save to all units within 6" of the hull of the Land Raider he'll be chilling in, and the other will use Blood Lance to knock out multi-wound T4 creatures or rank-and-file tanks like Chimeras and Rhinos. Pretty much anything these two mounted units shoot at and/or assault will be removed from the table. Then for some additional objective support I took two five-man Assault Marine squads with a meltagun each in Razorbacks with Twin-Linked Assault Cannons. These are extremely versatile as they can fulfill a number of roles as needed. To back them up I took a Furioso Librarian in a Drop Pod. With the Wings of Sanguinius and Blood Lance powers, he will be an immediate threat that will have to be dealt with sooner rather than later, and with a front armor value of 13, it won't be that easy. Finally, for some mixed anti-infantry and anti-armor choices I took two Baal Predators (dakka variants) and two Vindicators. As Fast vehicles, they will be able to respond to situations quickly and put out enough firepower to suppress almost any type of unit.

And here's list two:

HQ
250    Mephiston
150    Librarian (Epistolary) <-- Unleash Rage, Shield of Sanguinius

Elites
130    Sanguinary Priests (2, 2x PW)
210    Furioso (Librarian, DP) <-- Wings of Sanguinius, Blood Lance
300    Sternguard (10, PW, DP)

Troops
450    Assault Squad (10, 2x Meltas, PW, LRC w/MM)
450    Assault Squad (10, 2x Meltas, PW, LRC w/MM)

Heavy
135    Predator (Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons)
135    Predator (Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons)

Fast
145    Baal Predator (TLAC, HBS)
145    Baal Predator (TLAC, HBS)

Okay, there's not a HUGE difference between these lists but I'll go over the changes. First of all, I decided to go with my favorite character in all of Warhammer 40k, Chief Librarian Mephiston, Lord of Death. With stats like a Greater Daemon and abilities and psychic powers to back them up, I just can't say no to him. I thought about using the Sanguinor but Mephiston is just too cool to pass up. So sue me if he's not "the best" option available. Next, I took Sternguard with a Power Weapon in a Drop Pod. Sure, they're a solid Codex: Space Marine entry but I think they can do some real good in this list either as area denial or Monstrous Creature/specialty unit hunters. Finally, I replaced the Vindicators with Autocannon/Lascannon Predators for a little more anti-vehicle support considering I took out the Razorbacks and added a few anti-infantry units. These were basically meant to balance the list back out so I'm not incapable of dealing with a Mech list.

Well, I'm currently building and painting (albeit slowly) my army and with some luck I might be able to show up to the Primaries for this year's 'Ard Boyz. Let me know what you think!

Houston, we have a problem...

So after some technical difficulties experienced during the upload process, I am continuing to work on getting my battle report up ASAP. The game was against my friend Thomas using the same 1850 list I've been using for my Blood Angels lately, and was one weird game with a lot of twists and turns and some really unexpected rolls and outcomes. However, as I promised, I will have the bat-rep up this week AND since I've made people wait a bit, I'm going to go ahead and post a unit review from the new Codex. And just because I'm feeling generous, I'll review the highly anticipated Stormraven Gunship first! Keep checking both this blog and my YouTube channel for updates!

Blood Angels - First Three Games

So after playing three games Friday night at my local game store with the new Blood Angels codex, I'm very happy with how it performed. I used the 1,850 point list that I posted right before this entry and played three different opponents. I didn't take notes after each game so I'm not going to be able to do any battle reports with them but here's the rundown of how things went:

Game 1:
Versus a Slaanesh-themed Chaos Space Marine army played by Toni G. Included three Vindicators with Daemonic Possession, two Slaanesh Daemon Princes with Lash of Submission, two Noise Marine squads in Rhinos, a Chaos Space Marine squad with Mark of Slaanesh in a Rhino, and two units of five Chosen Chaos Space Marines with four meltaguns (in each unit) infiltrating.

Result: Blood Angels major victory.

Game 2:
Versus an Eldar skimmer army played by Matt D. Included two Wraithlords, two four-man Guardian Jetbike squadrons, an Autarch on a Jetbike, 10 Banshees in a Wave Serpent, 10 Fire Dragons in a Wave Serpent, and a Warlock with six Wraithguard in a Wave Serpent.

Result: Blood Angels major victory.

Game 3:
Versus a Nurgle-themed Chaos Space Marine army played by Thomas F. Included two 10-man Plague Marine squads in Rhinos with melta/plasma/fists, a Chaos Space Marine squad in a rhino with a lascannon, a five-man Havoc squad with four missile launchers, four Chaos Terminators with Icon of Nurgle, a heavy flamer, and a combi-melta, a Sorcerer in Terminator Armor, Typhus, and a Land Raider (Typhus, Sorcerer, & Termies ride inside).


Result: Blood Angels major victory.

All three games were great fun and I have to send a special thanks to Thomas for working with me through the one round where I surrounded his Land Raider with Typhus, the Sorcerer, and the Termies inside and destroyed it.

I'll probably be doing a battle report on Monday so look for it to hit my YouTube channel by Friday!

1,850 Points - Blood Angels

So after reading through the codex some more, I decided to try my hand at a 1,850 point list. I wanted to use a lot of the new units while still having a competitive list so here's what I came up with:



HQ

Librarian (Epistolary)
-will use Blood Lance and Unleash Rage and will ride in the Land Raider

Elites

Sanguinary Guard (Chapter Banner, Infernus Pistol, Power Fist)

3x Sanguinary Priests (2 Jump Packs)
-will be attached to the Sanguinary Guard and the two assault squads

Troops

10x Assault Marines (2 Meltaguns, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon)
-will keep their Jump Packs

10x Assault Marines (2 Meltaguns, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon, Land Raider Crusader with Multi-Melta)

Fast Attack

Baal Predator (Heavy Bolter Sponsons)

Heavy Support

Vindicator

Stormraven Gunship (Hurricane Bolters, Typhoon Missile Launcher)

I know there are only 33 models in the list but the new codex makes everything really expensive.

With the Sanguinary Priests giving Feel No Pain to my Assault Squads I think my troops choices will be much more durable. Though they are "assault" squads, I don't have to over-commit my forces early. They can take cover or ride around until needed so they're not Manticore'd off the table for example.

Additionally, though there are only two troops choices I can combat squad the Jump Pack Assault Squad and put five of them in the Stormraven to make it a scoring fast skimmer. Sure, Armor 12 means it has a moderate chance at getting shot down in the first or second turn but it can go flat-out to get that 4+ obscured roll and then in the next turn it can disembark the unit, fire 4 Bloodstrike Missiles AND it's Hurricane Bolters AND it's Assault Cannon AND it's Heavy Bolter AND it's Typhoon Missile Launcher (as two kraks or two frags), all while having Power of the Machine Spirit to possibly harass two different units, followed by that unit assaulting whatever's left. Or, no one has to ride in it. Who knows.

This new codex is quite different than any other book the Blood Angels have gotten, and it's going to take a lot of practice to get used to the new units and rules.

Blood Angels - First Thoughts

I've had a chance to pour through the actual codex (as my local game store has a copy now) and I'm quite impressed. This time the Blood Angels codex doesn't look like a copy/paste job from a different codex cough Dark Angels cough, and most of the units seem very well balanced in ability and cost.

There's a lot of new units and rules to take in, but to me the one unit that stands out is the Assault Squad. For a base cost of 190 points for a full 10-man unit, this unit has almost a half a page of options. In addition to being able to take a special weapon for every five models in the unit, the Sergeant can take an Infernus Pistol along with the typical Sergeant wargear. This potentially allows the unit to have three melta weapons for slightly less than 250 points. And the coolest part is that if you take the jump packs off of the unit, you get a 35 point discount on any dedicated transport, which in this codex happens to include Land Raiders. Thus, a 10 man Assault Squad with two meltaguns, a Sergeant with an Infernus Pistol and a Power Weapon, and a Land Raider with a Multi-Melta totals only 465 points! That's 25 points more than similarly armed Space Wolf Grey Hunters in a Land Raider Crusader but it only takes up a Troops slot instead of a Troops and a Heavy slot, and the Assault Squad will have Leadership 9 and possibly even Furious Charge if they rolled a one for the Red Thirst.

Another really cool unit I look forward to using is the Stormraven Gunship. With rear armor 12, an immunity to the melta rule, four S8 AP1 72" missiles, a twin-linked Assault Cannon, Power of the Machine Spirit, and having the "assault vehicle" rule all for 200 points, this fast skimmer will surely see regular play and possibly even tournament play.

As we approach the release day expect to see more Bell of Lost Souls articles covering this 96-page codex, as well as articles and even battle reports from myself.

Codex: Blood Angels

Okay, now that we're only three weeks away from the release of the new Blood Angels codex, we have a lot more solid information as to what's in it by people that have seen the actual book.

One of the things I want to talk about is the Descent of Angels ability. The entire army is subject to this rule and it is rumored to say that all Blood Angels models wearing Jump Packs may re-roll their reserve roll and they roll only one d6 for scatter. I really really like this rule as it seems the Blood Angels would definitely have a firm grasp on how to land after using their Jump Packs, however I don't think they're good enough with them to get a rule like that. They're an assault army and the Jump Pack is just another tool to them from what I've read over the years. The entire army should have Furious Charge by default, or at least get to pay for it for a few extra points per model as opposed to being Deep Strike masters. I see a rule like that belonging more to Raven Guard instead, as a majority of their army is either in Jump Packs or Speeders.

Another rule I'd like to talk about is how some of our vehicles are now "fast". I have one word to sum up my opinion on that: "excellent". I'm tired of rolling for Over-Charged Engines (OCE) as most of the time in my games I either roll a one meaning the vehicle couldn't move that turn or I'd roll a two or three and move as normal anyways. Now not only do we get the effect automatically but they expanded the ability from Rhinos and Baal Predators to Razorbacks and Vindicators. This is going to give the army a better ability to respond to situations, grab/contest objectives at the last minute, and just plain get across the table faster. I'm going to be watching a lot of battle reports this summer and probably making a few myself to see how much more of an impact this rule will make.

And finally, the most talked about entry in the Blood Angels codex is their new skimmer. So far it has been called the Storm Harbinger and the Stormraven, and it's inclusion in the army has been debated since late January when the original rumors of it's existence surfaced. Apparently it will actually be in the codex though the model won't be a first wave release. My guess is that they'll make it a summer release with any other Apocalypse super heavies that might be planned for that time. I'm also thinking there will be a third book for Apocalypse allowing all chapters of Space Marines to use it as Games Workshop is probably not going to spend that much money on a plastic mold for one army.

Well, I gotta run, so be on the lookout for new videos on my Sons of Sanguinius YouTube channel in the next week or so as I start to review the rumors during the lead-up to the release!

News and Updates

I know hit has been two weeks since I've posted anything on this blog, and I apologize to anyone who's been reading this. I've been fairly busy and have had a lot going on, but I'm back and this time with a few updates.

First, we all know that the Blood Angels 5th edition codex has been around the Internet and back now, but apparently there's a problem with it. Reports have hit Bell of Lost Souls that the PDF that has been floating around may not be entirely accurate. We know that most of their rumors came DIRECTLY from the PDF so at the moment everything is in limbo. However, when you sit back and think about what could possibly be presented in a new Blood Angels codex, the PDF is likely not far off. So I say go ahead and play-test it and see how you like it, because I'm thinking that it's not far off from what will be hitting shelves this April.

Second, with the new Tyranids codex having been out for a month now, there are some interesting strategies (and arguments) that have been going around. It's still too early to tell what the new standard Nid list is, but there are several units that appear to be a mainstay across the board. Over the next few weeks I'll post some unit reviews and interesting combos that are hidden in the book.

And third, after receiving my tax return one of the things I decided to do was complete my Chaos Daemon army (of the Khorne variety). I picked up a couple of new units and finally rounded out the army. I'll be posting pictures of the collection soon along with maybe some battle reports.

So, be on the lookout for new posts as I get a few things in order. This should be an interesting spring!

2,000 points - new Blood Angels

Here's something I came up with after going through the new Blood Angels codex (well, at least the rumors) a few times.

2,000 points:

HQ
Astorath the Grim

Elites
7x Veteran Assault Marines (2 Inferno Pistols, 2 Power Weapons)
-Storm Harbinger (Twin-Linked Flamer)

Troops
10x Tactical Marines (Flamer, Missile Launcher, Inferno Pistol, Power Fist)
-Storm Harbinger (Twin-Linked Flamer)
10x Tactical Marines (Flamer, Missile Launcher, Inferno Pistol, Power Fist)
-Storm Harbinger (Twin-Linked Flamer)
10x Tactical Marines (Flamer, Missile Launcher, Inferno Pistol, Power Weapon)
-Rhino

Fast Attack
8x Scout Bikes (Inferno Pistol, Power Weapon)
10x Exalted

60 models, 4 vehicles

So with 3 Storm Harbingers I figured I'd be able to put my army where I wanted to while still being able to pull some dirty Eldar/Tau tricks of mobility/denial. The Scout Bikes let me place a Stealth Locator Beacon anywhere on the table so that I can have deep-strikers not scatter, so I can place X amount of Storm Harbingers (or the Exalted) in reserves and have them freely enter the opponents side of the table and wreak havoc. Astorath will of course join the Veterans in their Storm Harbinger, so I'll be able to hop out after going 12" and still assault with 3 models with power weapons. Additionally, Astorath makes the entire army Stubborn so no silly Red Thirst for this list! And I know there's no Death Company, but I wanted to try making a Blood Angels list where I didn't feel like I was REQUIRED to take them.

This is just an initial look at the possibilities that lie in the new Blood Angels codex, coming out in April. This list isn't "perfect" but it seems pretty cool considering we're now able to do things well that we couldn't do at all in the last codex.

Here's to hoping that the rumors are true!

Blood Angels

After compiling a lot of the rumors and having seen the PDF that is floating around, I am very excited about the new Blood Angels codex.

There's a lot going on with this codex and it will DEFINITELY need a good read-through before designing any lists, so I'm going to be reviewing each unit on my YouTube channel starting when it releases.

Until then, be on the look-out for more Blood Angels releated articles from myself and the Games Workshop daily blog.

A new list, a new strategy

So, after play-testing a bunch of the lists I put up here and others that I built on Friday nights at my LGS, I decided to try something new based on a lot of feedback I had gotten from multiple sources including Auxellion. Here's a list that has three elements to it: A fast assault element, an objective-holding shooty element, and a deep-striking/outflanking element.

HQ

• Swarmlord with two Tyrant guard (Lash Whips)

Elites

• 3x Hive guard
• 2x Zoanthropes (Mycetic Spore)

Troops

• 15x Termagaunts (Toxin Sacs)
• 15x Termagaunts (Toxin Sacs)
• 15x Termagaunts (Toxin Sacs)
• Tervigon (Adrenal Glands, Catalyst)

Fast Attack

• 7x Shrike Brood (Scything Talons, Devourers, Adrenal Glands)
• 20x Gargoyles (Toxin Sacs)

Heavy Support

• Trygon
• Trygon

So, the Shrike Brood will fly behind the Gargoyles while the Swarmlord and Zoanthropes advance behind the Termagaunts. The Trygons will Deep Strike and the Tervigon will Outflank for gaunt spawning and overwhelming a flank. The Hive Guard will take cover mid-field for some nice vehicle harassment, and the cool thing about this list is that all three elements will have Synapse and Shadow in the Warp (with backups). I believe I have enough distraction units (Gargoyles, Trygons, Zoans, Gaunts) to let the REAL nasty stuff do what they need to do (Swarmlord, Shrike Brood, Hive guard, Tervigon) which would be winning the game, or at least that's the plan.

Hive Fleet Hydrus, Concept Art

So after finally coming up with a Hive Fleet name, I've also decided the paint scheme I want to use. Thankfully I have Dawn of War II, so I can apply practically any paint scheme I want to Marines, Eldar, Orks, AND Tyranids. Here's what I came up with:

 

So, the main body will be Bleached Bone covered in a Gryphonne Sepia wash, with the muscle fibers and other minor details starting as Dark Angels Green then being highlighted up to Snot Green. The chitin will be Chaos Black with Regal Blue highlights, though at this point I haven't determined if I'm going to highlight the Regal Blue with Skull White or just use Ultramarines Blue.

Soon I'll add some pictures of some tests of this paint scheme.

The end of Star Wars

I was poking around Wizards of the Coast and I came across something that has tore a chunk out of my gaming heart.

Quoted from Wizards of the Coast's website:

There have been several questions lately regarding the future of the Star Wars Miniatures and Roleplaying Game and until now I haven’t had definitive answers to give you.  After a lengthy evaluation, Wizards of the Coast has decided not to renew the Star Wars license with Lucasfilm. We’ve had a long and fantastic run, but with the economic downturn, we have made the tough decision to discontinue our Star Wars lines.

The license officially ends in May this year, with WotC product available through August. In the meantime, we have awesome new products still coming your way. This week, we released The Dark Times minis and Galaxy of Intrigue RPG. We’ll have more coming with Masters of the Force minis in April, which will have some of your most favorite characters along with rare creatures from the Dejarik Holochess game that have never appeared in our game. We’ll also release The Unknown Regions RPG in April, which includes entirely new planets and mini-adventures for each world.

We are finishing the line with a bang so look for special programs at your local game store to stock up on favorite sets before they go into the vault. We will continue to support our Star Wars forums on the Wizards Community site so you can reach out and chat with us and other fans.

While I know the news is disappointing, we wanted to make this announcement as soon as possible and thank you for being such great fans. It’s been a fantastic ride with the Star Wars community and working with Lucasfilm. We hope you enjoy the next several months of great products. You never know when we may circle back again!

Greg Yahn

Director of Marketing, Wizards of the Coast

What does this mean for all of us that play Star Wars Miniatures and the Star Wars Saga Edition Roleplaying game? Well, I'm GLAD to say that Wizards won't be screwing up rules or stats anymore and that some other company will probably JUMP on the opportunity to put out Star Wars products, with my guess being Fantasy Flight Games.

Stay tuned and maybe before Christmas we'll have news of what's going to happen to these games...

More Tools

Yesterday I picked up the Dremel Stylus to aid in my Monstrous Creature magnetization project. The tool cost $69.99 at Home Depot and comes with its own accessory kit. After trying it out on a Carnifex I had already glued together, I am very impressed with how powerful and capable this little tool is. Within minutes I had bored out 6 holes in my Carnifex's torso and was able to also open the model back up in preparation of green stuff and magnets. I got the idea from Miniwargaming.com's YouTube video (found here) and I am definitely a fan.

Along with the Dremel, I purchased some rare earth magnets from K & J Magnetics that are the size the video suggested. Today I will be magnetizing almost all of my Carnifexes as this is a project I've been wanting to do since I started Tyranids back in early 2009. Also, today I should be getting in some Balrog wings that I ordered from Games Workshop so those will also get magnetized for my Hive Tyrants (which also will be magnetized as all of the Monstrous Creatures can have several different weapon variants).

So, long story not short enough, if you are on the fence about whether to purchase a tool like this I must say it is totally worth it. It has already let me accomplish in minutes what would have taken all night otherwise.

Tyranids @ 2,000 points

So lately I've been proxying Tyranid lists at the 2,000 point level. I've always loved higher-points games though the smaller more tactical games have their place as well. One of the things I like about playing with more points is that you can take the bigger, nastier units and wargear options that you might have stayed away from in smaller games. For the new Tyranids, examples would be multiple Trygons, Tervigons, or even Carnifexes, as well as options like Mycetic Spores, Regenerate, or even multiple Hive Tyrant abilities.

Here's a 2,000 point list that I'll be trying this Friday:

HQ
Hive Tyrant - (Bone Sword & Lash Whip, Paroxysm, Leech Essence), Hive Com, Old Adv, TL Devs, Acid Blood (250)
1x Tyrant Guard (60)
Tervigon - Catalyst, Crushing Claws, Toxin Sacs (210)

Elites
2x Zoanthropes (120)
Doom of Malan'Tai - Mycetic Spore (130)

Troops
11x Genestealers (154)
11x Genestealers (154)
11x Genestealers (154)
15x Termagaunts (75)
Tervigon - Catalyst, Crushing Claws, Toxin Sacs (210)

Heavy
Trygon Prime (240)
Trygon Prime (240)

So the point of this is to have some of the most powerful units doing what they were designed to do. The Doom will come in on a 3+ on turn 2 and a 2+ on turn 3 (thanks to the Hive Tyrant's Hive Commander upgrade). The Trygons will perform their Subterrainian Assault with that same +1 to reserve rolls, firing their 12 shots each and providing Synapse within 12". The Zoans can take care of all armor and the Tervigons can spawn enough Troops choices to secure a victory. The Hive Tyrant has 6 Twin-Linked S6 shots at 12", Paroxysm to aid in a CC mop-up, and has the Acid Blood and Lash Whip combo. There is a lot of potential in this list and I know it will devour Marines quickly but the challenge will be against Guard and Sisters. My tactics there would be to pop as many tanks as possible, then have the Doom do it's thing, and maybe switch the powers on the Hive Tyrant from Paroxysm to Psychic Scream. Also, 12 S6 shots from the Trygons are pretty sweet on rear armor...

The right tools for the job...

Just a couple of days ago I picked up a new headset/mic combo for gaming and YouTube-ing purposes. I bought the Triton AX 180 headset and I have to say I'm quite pleased. I've owned a few super-cheap headsets and mics before but nothing compares to the quality that I've gotten out of this so far. It's nice to watch movies or shows and play video games on my computer late at night without waking the wife. This headset is also compatible with the PS3, X-Box 360, and the Wii, so I'm able to play console games in relative silence as well.

Anyways, I'm going to be using this headset to do my Sons of Sanguinius YouTube videos in March so the audio quality should be great. Be on the lookout for more videos by me at www.youtube.com/sonsofsanguinius.

First Game with new Tyranids

So last night I played my first game using the new Tyranid codex (and of course proxying a few models that I have yet to purchase). I played against my wife's Necrons, and I used this 2,000 point list:

HQ
Swarm-Lord (280 points)
Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)

Troops
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termaguants, (80 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)

Heavy
Trygon (200 points)
Trygon (200 points)
Mawloc (170 points)


So, we rolled an Annihilation/Pitched Battle game and I won the roll to go first. I set up mostly centered in my deployment zone but fairly spread out. Having 8 creatures with Synapse in the army REALLY helped my deployment considering every creature without synapse must test for Instinctive Behavior. In response, Amy set up all three of her 10-man Warrior units in a 4-level ruin, with both of her 8-man Immortal units and a Lord with a Res Orb in it as well. She then put the Monolith dead-center in her deployment zone, and put her 5 Destroyers with the Destroyer Lord off to her right, hoping to flank my swarm and pick off the Termagaunt units without shooting through cover.


After several pauses throughout the first two turns to look up abilities and weapon stats, the game started to flow quite smoothly. She proceeded to pick up at least half of my entire Termagaunt force in the first two turns, but when my Trygons and Mawloc came in, things DEFINITELY changed in my favor. It was at that point that the Tyranids regained momentum and started annihilating whole units at a time. The game went slightly back and forth for a bit with a lot of highly effective Necron shooting and disgusting Tyranid assaults, but in the end the bugs claimed the tomb world and PHASED OUT the Necrons before rolling to see if there was a 6th turn! If there would have been, however, both sides had approximately 8 kill points each!


In one of the better games I have played with Tyranids in a while, I have to thank my wife for being such a good sport. She made the game quite enjoyable and I'm glad I got to use the nasty new Monstrous Creatures to such great effect.


However, I didn't walk away from that game completely satisfied. I have thought about some of the units and how they performed and I think I'm going to make a few small changes before I playtest the army some more tonight with the War College where I know I'll face some slightly more stiff competition.


Here's my "Big Bug List" v2.0


HQ
Swarmlord (280 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes (120 points)


Troops
16 Termagaunts (80 points)
16 Termagaunts (80 points)
15 Termagaunts (75 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 points)
Tervigon, Catalyst (175 poitns)


Heavy Support
Trygon (200 points)
Trygon (200 points)
Mawloc (170 points)


I'll comment on this post when I get back tonight, letting you all know how things went. Stay tuned!

5th Edition Tyranids - First Thoughts

I've been playing 40k long enough to know how powerful Tyranids are and I've seen their changes throughout the years. Sometimes GW nails the codex, and other times they create a different army altogether. This time, however, I think they put out one of the Tyranids' best codexes so far. With the introduction of four new species and a host of kit-bashed monsters as actual entries in the codex, the 5th Edition bugs could prove to be a very competitive and fun army to play.

Going through the codex, I've come up with my very first 5th-ed Tyranid army list!

HQ
Swarm-Lord (280 points)
Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)

Elites
3x Hive Guard (150 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)
2x Zoanthropes, (120 points)

Troops
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termagaunts, (80 points)
16 Termaguants, (80 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)
Tervigon, scything talons, catalyst (180 points)

Heavy
Trygon, Adrenal Glands (210 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)

Total: 2,000 points
Models: 62
Monstrous Creatures: 7

Now, I think this list may throw off the opponent. There's 62 models here but most of them are Termaguants. I'll likely lose a third of them in the first turn, and maybe a medium-sized creature or two, but on my turn some really cool things happen. Both Tervigons can spawn scoring Termagaunts! Later, the Parasite of Mortrex can turn outflankers and some other models into d6 ripper bases, and thanks to the Swarm-Lord, the Trygon and Mawloc get +1 to their reserve rolls! Basically, I loaded up on the big nasties, hoping that they can spawn enough chumps to help bog down the opponent until the MC's can get where they need to be. The list appears to be a "Nidzilla" of sorts but should produce enough numbers to quickly overwhelm the opponent by mid-game when I've taken a bit of casualties anyways.

And here's a disgusting Vanguard list:

HQ
The Parasite of Mortrex (160 points)
Hive Tyrant, Wings, Old Adversary (255 points)

Elites
2x Lictors (130 points)

Troops
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)
20x Hormagaunts, Landing Spore (160 points)

Fast Attack
21x Gargoyles, Adrenal Glands (147 points)
21x Gargoyles, Adrenal Glands (147 points)
Harpy, Twin-Linked Heavy Venom Cannon (170 points)

Heavy Support
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)
Mawloc, Adrenal Glands (180 points)

Total: 1,849 points
Models: 112
Monstrous Creatures: 8

Now, with this list, the point is to be in your opponent's face so quickly that they only really have one turn to shoot you down (two tops) before you're in hand to hand with everything. As things start to get worn down, two Mawlocs will come to the rescue (with a +2 to the reserves roll thanks to the two Lictors, so turn 2 is a 2+, turn 3 is automatic), using two S6 AP2 large blasts to tear open holes in your opponent's defenses.

Now, I have no idea how these lists will actually perform but I'm definitely looking forward to the new book, due out Friday of next week!

Incoming! Blood Angels

Quoted directly from my Games Workshop newsletter:

This April the Blood Angels will be re-launched with an all-new Codex and range of plastic and metal miniatures. One of the oldest and noblest of all Space Marine Chapters, the Blood Angels have stood fast against the enemies of the Imperium since the Great Crusade and it was their Primarch Sanguinius, who laid down his life to aid the Emperor against Horus in the final hours of the Warmaster’s rebellion. The new Codex explores the background and history of these superhuman warriors like never before, and contains new artwork depicting some of their greatest battles and most powerful champions.

The Blood Angels have always been a powerful close combat army and have been made even deadlier thanks to a range of specialist wargear, the ability to field Assault Squads as Troops choices, and more Dreadnoughts than any other Space Marine Chapter, including a Death Company Dreadnought and the fabled Furioso Dreadnought. The Sons of Sanguinius will be deep striking onto a tabletop near you this April – now’s the time to practice painting red.