Warhammer 40'000 - Dark Vengeance

Dark Vengeance

The long awaited Warhammer 40k box set has finally arrived.


The Artwork on the box cover isn't the usual epic battle scene that we have grown accustomed to over the years. Sixth edition sports a more simple charcoal colour box with game logo.
The box is deeper that both Battle for Macragge and Assault on black reach sets.

Contents:

Miniatures
I may have my reservations about the Finecast range  but the plastic miniatures is where i think GW really shines. The Dark Vengeance set not being an exception.

The Sprues are tightly packed with all kinds of Dark Angels and Chaos goodness.
The main stand out figure of the set clearly is the new Chaos Hellbrute.
My personal choice is the Dark Angels Librarian Turmiel.
A black and white assembly guide booklet is included to help.

Dark Angels Librarian Turmiel

I like this miniature as he isn't too ornate and overcrowded with details.

The Limited edition box set-  This particular set is different as it contains an Interrogator-chaplain Seraphicus, only available in the limited edition set. The miniature is set on a single sprue and a A4 card stat sheet with assembly guide on the other side

Interrogator-chaplain Seraphicus

I have hyped up the Dark angels so here are few pictures of the Chaos forces to balance things out

Chaos Lord Kranon the Relentless

The Cultists

The Hellbrute

Gaming aids:

The gaming aids included are the usual bits and bobs like the dice and neon green templates that have been in previous warhammer 40k box sets.
It contains a two page A4 reference guide containing the basic tables and turn guide.
For each force there is a roster so you can get the stats for the models. but there are no points values for them.

One thing that baffled me was that the A4 gaming reference sheets were made out of quite thin paper and not even thin card. This is even more surprising when you think of the Interrogator-chaplain Seraphicus stat card is made from glossy thick card.


Rules:

The mini Warhammer 40k rule book is up to the same high standard as previous editions.

The Dark Vengeance booklet is very well put together and the first half of the booklet is a step by step guide on how to play 40k with the miniatures in the set.

The second half of the booklet is a fantastic piece of work, it gives six original missions to play with the DV(Dark Vengeance) set. The reasons why i like these missions are because these are not dumbed down versions of missions from the rulebook but they are unique and look fun to play. The first mission in the book can be played one player.
Each mission links to the next and lets you try out the various rules. A mission book like this is something that the previous 40k set Assault on black reach truly missed. 

The selection of miniatures chosen for DV was very clever as they allow you to cover most of the rules while keeping with the flavour of the forces.
The Dark angels let you cover Bikes, Psychic powers, Deep strike, Reserves.
and the Chaos allow for vehicle rules, close combat weapons and provide the cannon fodder.


One thing from the set that is missing is any attempt to give basic painting guides of the models from the DV set. I would of thought that this would be quite important in a starter set.

300 - Warmaster ancients

''This is where we hold them! This is where we fight! This is where they die!''- King Leonidas, 300

I had decided that my next Warmaster ancients project would be a quick one.
so straight away i decided i was going to get a Spartan force, well maybe not a full force but enough to recreate the battle of battle of thermopylae.

 I wanted to make it more in theme of the film 300 than real historical.

Looking at the army list for the Greek,The force consists of:

General - King Leonidas
1 unit of Spartan bodyguards
1 unit of hoplites (these will act as a supporting unit)

coming to a total points value of 285 (just short of 300 points)

All in all this small force has 17 attacks even if it doesn't charge( 20 if it does) and +3 to combat resolution

King Leonidas

''Give them nothing! But take from them everything!''

Front rank

Supporting rank

The 300

The 300 defend the Hot gates.

 The Miniatures are 6mm and i picked them up from the Baccus stand at the 2012 claymore gaming event.

June update

June update

This month I started back to painting up

 my 1500 point cityfight Imperial guard army

Platoon command squad

I now have only 31 miniatures left to paint, so with that in mind i feel that i will have them completed shortly. although with the 6th edition of Warhammer 40'000 just around the corner i think i may have to change the army list. to best fit with the new rules set.

Over the past few weeks i have been having a few practice games with my three possible army lists for the Blood in the badlands campaign due to begin in the next few weeks. The games have been fun and it amused me that my generals army can produce eight out of a possible fourteen spells. I've mentioned before that i haven't played much of this current edition and some of the finer rules elude me, but as far as army selection is concerned i have tried out a few horde units (namely plague monks and skavenslaves).
The armies i came up against were High elves at 2400 points and Warriors of chaos at 2000 points. Both of those armies worked in very different ways and it good to see how the skaven held up against them.

I have been quite busy with Urban war. On the 4th June i ran a Urban war headhunter tournament held at Highlander games Dundee.

Also this month i finished my Koralon force at 300 points that a few of my fellow gamers are both scared and eager to get their claws into combat against them. .
As far as painting another faction i am eagerly awaiting for the Neo Iskandrians to become available.
Urban mammoth have released some sweet artwork by Wayne England for them.

Companion with Xyston

Cover sketch by Wayne England

Work on Malifaux has been slower than the other projects.

I added an extra 2ss points bringing my Neverborn to 21ss points out of 35ss to make it up to scrap level.

Cherub for liliths neverborn

I've completed a Convict gunslinger to put my outcasts to 29ss points

any suggestions on what i should get next with the remaining 6 points would be great.

Convict Gunslinger

Projects completed:

Warhammer fantasy battle:

Skaven 2000pts

Warhammer 40'000 :

Orks 1000pts

Featured in the battle report here

Urban War:

Koralon 300 points

Warmaster ancients :

Norman force 1000pts

Warmachine:

Menoth-  25pts

Projects still to finish:

Warhammer 40'000 :

1500 point cityfight Imperial guard army

Malifaux:

Make each of these forces to 35SS (Scrap level)

Liliths Neverborn (21/35)

Viktorias Outcasts (29/35)

Rasputinas Arcanists (9/35)

This month i have been playing lots of the Space hulk card game Death Angel

Space Hulk: Death Angel - The Card Game from fantasy flight games is a cooperative card game set in the grim darkness of Warhammer 40,000. Players must work together as an alien menace threatens to devour their hopes of survival. If all Space Marines perish, the players collectively lose. Likewise, if at least one of the surviving Space Marines completes the objective, the players all win!

The add-on packs to game give it a new dimension, the add on pack so far are:

Mission Packs and Space Marine Packs; along with larger packs: Tyranid Enemy Pack  and the Deathwing Space Marine Pack

Special Operations: Headhunter - Urban war Tournament

Special Operations: Headhunter -

Urban war Tournament

3rd June 2012

at Highlander Games

Scenario: Headhunter

This scenario is used in conjunction with the Strategic Withdrawal scenario for tournament play. The Headhunter scenario is very simple. Each player must attempt to kill their opponent's commander model for which the player will receive bonus victory points

In addition the first player in the tournament to kill their opponent's commander will receive the Headhunter T-shirt .

All of the players arrived in good spirits ready to begin the first  300 point game at 10am

Round One - "It's time to make a hero out of you."

Round one begins

Table 1 Viridians Versus Gladiators

Table 2 V.A.S.A versus Viridians

Table 3 V.A.S.A versus Syntha

A well placed Gladiator howitzer shell takes the headhunter prize

 leaving the Viridians Leaderless

Round one results (including headhunter points)

Table 1 - Ian Fergus - Viridians (12) V Neil McGregor -Gladiators (20)

Draw

Table 2 - James Fergus- V.A.S.A (0) V Sion Bayliss - Viridians (32)

Crushing victory

Table 3 - Stefan Jelks- V.A.S.A (12)  V Dan Rayner - Syntha (12)

Draw

Round Two - "seize some ground."

Round two begins

Table 1 Gladiator versus Viridians

Table 2 Viridians versus Syntha

Table 3 V.A.S.A Versus V.A.S.A

Round two results (including headhunter points)

Table 1 - Sion Bayliss - Viridians (28) V Neil McGregor -Gladiators (4)

Major Victory

Table 2 - Dan Rayner - Syntha (4) V Ian Fergus - Viridians (32)

Crushing victory

Table 3 - Stefan Jelks- V.A.S.A (16) V James Fergus- V.A.S.A (16)

Minor Victory

Round Three - "Full Alert status."

Round 3

Table 1 Viridians versus Viridians

Table 2  V.A.S.A versus Gladiators

Table 3 Syntha versus V.A.S.A

Round three results (including headhunter points)

Table 1 - Sion Bayliss - Viridians (32) V Ian Fergus - Viridians (4)

Crushing Victory

Table 2 - Stefan Jelks- V.A.S.A (32) V Neil McGregor -Gladiators (0)

Crushing victory

Table 3 - Dan Rayner - Syntha (8) V James Fergus- V.A.S.A (28)

Major victory

Round Four - "Now the fun part.."

Round 4 pairings

Table 1 Virdians versus V.A.S.A

Table  2  Viridians Versus V.A.S.A

Table 3 Syntha versus Gladiators

Round four results (including headhunter points)

Table 1 - Sion Bayliss - Viridians (24) V Stefan Jelks- V.A.S.A (12)

Major Victory

Table 2 - Ian Fergus - Viridians (8) V James Fergus- V.A.S.A (28)

Major victory

Table 3 - Dan Rayner - Syntha (16) V Neil McGregor -Gladiators (20)

Draw

Highlights

After the sound of gauss fire had died down, it was time to total up the points. but before we do that i would like to share some of the tournaments highlights. All of the games seem to have been well played and hard fought the headhunter rules creating an exciting element to the games. A total of 112 Headhunter points were awarded of the course of the tournament. This is definitely something i would like to run again in the future. Everyone who played had a fully painted strike team. Command models such as Neura, Konrad Borislav and Neo Pi made a re-appearance from Suburban war.

From round one:

Greater pit beast advances towards the Viridian gun line

The  Viridian Gun line

Viridian sniper has the greater pit beast lined up in his sights

On table 2 the Viridian commander faces off against a Black legion sergeant.

Neo Pi leads her synths

•  Neo Pi and Neura engaged in a shooting duel to take each other out of the battle.

From round two

Suppressors cover their commander Neura

Both Viridian forces set up sniper positions

Syntha battle formations

Black legion sergeant and a Kabuki doll duel it out

Shock Troopers work together to kill a Hercules class biomech

A Secutor takes refuge in the buildings

From round three

V.A.S.A make a defensive position in the buildings

Black legion trades blows with a Hercules class biomech

Konrad Borislav lurks searching for the enemy commander

Artemis Biomech searches for Konrad

To great confusion, Shock marine sergeant (and Viridian commander) 

deep in enemy Viridian territory

Konrad Borislav and Neo Pi locked in mortal combat,

 both weakened from earlier wounds.

Gladiator Howitzer rains death upon Neura's V.A.S.A force

From round four

V.A.S.A defensive position,

The fighting grows fierce a Kabuki doll tries

 to stop a charging Shock marine

Gladiator forces charge forward to the Syntha positions

Syntha plasma launcher waits for its target

Viridians cover each others advance

Final Results

1st- Sion Bayliss - Viridians
 2nd- James Fergus- V.A.S.A
3rd- Stefan Jelks- V.A.S.A 
4th- Ian Fergus - Viridians
5th- Neil McGregor -Gladiators

6th- Dan Rayner - Syntha

Headhunter - Neil McGregor - Gladiators

Special Operations: Headhunter 2012 winners.

From left to right: Neil McGregor - Headhunter winner, James Fergus 2nd place, Sion Bayliss 1st place, Stefan Jelks 3rd place

Congratulations to all the winners

and a thank you to everyone who took part.