As I have pressed on with only a few minor changes to my army list and no increase in size yet I am at a crossroads of sorts. I don't particularly feel like doing the conversions required to field Kroot and I am converting a Farsight character at the moment which leads me to the conclusion that I may want to take a 'renegade' army.
The drawbacks to fielding such an army are many since the Kroot obviously bring a significant power to the army that the Tau otherwise lacks. Farsight does of course bring his own set of benefits with him but in a much more predictable way than our primitive friends.
The benefit of course to taking a "Farsighty" list is that in 'doubles' tournaments where I play with another army I am able to provide arguably unmatched ultra long range tank killing as well as the power of Farsights ability to decimate armor in close combat while relying on the other army to deal with infantry and sitting on objectives. In a solo game however I would still be a victim of the typical Tau problem of being unable to match the objective capturing ability of other armies.
Next week I will hopefully get the opportunity to test this very theory in a game against the unstoppable Goblin Guard (Imperial Guard 2.0) when I ally with Trashman and ravenous (and as yet headless) Blood Angels. Our last meeting was brief and murderous however this time, if the universe wills it and I don't tell Trashman to place his entire army in reserve I feel that we may be able to make something happen. With any luck, that something will be a field of dead Imperial Goblins.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Needs More Fire Warrior
You really cannot have too many Fire Warriors from what I've seen so far.
During this weeks games I amended my list in order to both make use of the very powerful Airburst Frag Projector and try to make better use of my Fire Warriors whos Str 5 AP 5 weapons I had hitherto failed to truly appreciate.
Over the course of two evenings play I only drew one win out of six games though I did manage a clutch of draws one of which should have been a definite win and one of which really should have been a loss had it not been for unbelievable luck.
Fortunately throughout these games I had the opportunity to face a number of Imperial Guard armies which was a welcome change from the Marines however it did highlight the flaws in my low shot number, low AP plasma rifle fetish that I had acquired the previous week. The large number of battlesuits that I brought carrying missile pods were largely unable to effectively move the massed Imperial Guard off an objective particularly when they were both in cover and under the effect of the 'Incoming!' order.
In light of this, the primary lesson for this week was with respect to markerlights and the realisation of just how powerful (read necessary) they are for a Tau army to play aggressively which, after seeing how effective battlesuits within 18 inches in a strategy that I will try to follow more closely. In the low point games that I am playing at the moment however I feel that I do not have the room for a relatively expensive Pathfinder team which makes this heavy use of markerlights possible however the presence of one of these plus a target lock within a Fire Warrior team adds a significant level of flexibility when things start to take an unexpected turn such as a Hellhound approaching your precious scoring units and refusing to die.
In other news there is a conversion competition coming up at my local GW so, provided I improve my photo taking ability I should have some more shots of my entry up in the next couple of weeks. As for the regular army conversions the Fire Warriors are still progressing slowly, oh so slowly.
During this weeks games I amended my list in order to both make use of the very powerful Airburst Frag Projector and try to make better use of my Fire Warriors whos Str 5 AP 5 weapons I had hitherto failed to truly appreciate.
Over the course of two evenings play I only drew one win out of six games though I did manage a clutch of draws one of which should have been a definite win and one of which really should have been a loss had it not been for unbelievable luck.
Fortunately throughout these games I had the opportunity to face a number of Imperial Guard armies which was a welcome change from the Marines however it did highlight the flaws in my low shot number, low AP plasma rifle fetish that I had acquired the previous week. The large number of battlesuits that I brought carrying missile pods were largely unable to effectively move the massed Imperial Guard off an objective particularly when they were both in cover and under the effect of the 'Incoming!' order.
In light of this, the primary lesson for this week was with respect to markerlights and the realisation of just how powerful (read necessary) they are for a Tau army to play aggressively which, after seeing how effective battlesuits within 18 inches in a strategy that I will try to follow more closely. In the low point games that I am playing at the moment however I feel that I do not have the room for a relatively expensive Pathfinder team which makes this heavy use of markerlights possible however the presence of one of these plus a target lock within a Fire Warrior team adds a significant level of flexibility when things start to take an unexpected turn such as a Hellhound approaching your precious scoring units and refusing to die.
In other news there is a conversion competition coming up at my local GW so, provided I improve my photo taking ability I should have some more shots of my entry up in the next couple of weeks. As for the regular army conversions the Fire Warriors are still progressing slowly, oh so slowly.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Square One
Last Friday night I finally got to playing my first 40k games ever starting off with four good games that yielded two draws, a win and a loss. My army list for the four 750 point games was as follows;
HQ
Shas’el CS (122) – Cyclic Ion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting array
HW Drone Controler, HW Multi tracker
2x Shield Drones
Troops
5x Shas’la + 1x Shas’ui FW (80) 6 x Pulse Rifle, 1 x Markerlight
5x Shas’la FW + 1x Shal'ui FW (70) 6 x Pulse Rifle
Elite
3x Shas’ui CS (201) – 3 x Plasma Rifle, 3x Missile Pod, 3x Multi-tracker
2x Shas’ui CS (110) – 2 x Burst Cannon, 2x Missile Pod, 2x Multi-tracker
Heavy Support
Hammerhead (165) – Railgun, Disruption Pods, Smart Missiles, Landing Gear, Targeting Array
Total = 748
Throughout the night I collected draws against Micros Imperial Goblin Guard (which probably warrant a blog of their own) and a Tau player where is both instances I simply setup and dug in around my objective wiping the floor with anyone who dared to get too close. At this stage I was a little unsure of what else I should be doing since, for some reason I was terribly afraid of losing battle suits even though, as I now know, battle suits exist to be lost in Capture and Control battles.
Following the pair of draws I fought an annihilation battle against a Daniels Space Marines where I managed to skilfully snatch defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory by forgetting that I was playing for kill points and sending my two squads of Fire Warriors to their death for no good reason despite previously decimating over half of his forces with the loss of only one suit. A worthy lesson was learned though that the stat line of Fire Warriors can not truly communicate just how incredibly bad they are in close combat.
With that brain-fart out of the way I moved on to another Space Marine player named Adam for whom nothing could seemingly go right. In the first two games I had well learned that the combination of plasma rifles and being aggressive with battle suits was a very powerful union. This tactic, despite rolling a 1 to hit for my Hammerhead in two successive turns, ensured that by the end of turn three Adams army amounted to one very lucky Dreadnought, one very lonely squad of Assault Marines and half a squad of very lost Scouts. The suits ensured that the Assault Marines didn't remain lonely for long and with the objective cleared I was able to claim my first ever win in Warhammer 40k. Go me.
Since tyhe learning process never really ends I include a 'What I Learned' section after my battle reports.
What I Learned:
The Rules
Plasma Rifles are, in fact, the best rifles
Don't forget to jump in the assault phase
Don't forget to run in the shooting phase
Don't forget that your Fire Warrior teams exist and leave them hiding behind a wall for most of the game
HQ
Shas’el CS (122) – Cyclic Ion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting array
HW Drone Controler, HW Multi tracker
2x Shield Drones
Troops
5x Shas’la + 1x Shas’ui FW (80) 6 x Pulse Rifle, 1 x Markerlight
5x Shas’la FW + 1x Shal'ui FW (70) 6 x Pulse Rifle
Elite
3x Shas’ui CS (201) – 3 x Plasma Rifle, 3x Missile Pod, 3x Multi-tracker
2x Shas’ui CS (110) – 2 x Burst Cannon, 2x Missile Pod, 2x Multi-tracker
Heavy Support
Hammerhead (165) – Railgun, Disruption Pods, Smart Missiles, Landing Gear, Targeting Array
Total = 748
Throughout the night I collected draws against Micros Imperial Goblin Guard (which probably warrant a blog of their own) and a Tau player where is both instances I simply setup and dug in around my objective wiping the floor with anyone who dared to get too close. At this stage I was a little unsure of what else I should be doing since, for some reason I was terribly afraid of losing battle suits even though, as I now know, battle suits exist to be lost in Capture and Control battles.
Following the pair of draws I fought an annihilation battle against a Daniels Space Marines where I managed to skilfully snatch defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory by forgetting that I was playing for kill points and sending my two squads of Fire Warriors to their death for no good reason despite previously decimating over half of his forces with the loss of only one suit. A worthy lesson was learned though that the stat line of Fire Warriors can not truly communicate just how incredibly bad they are in close combat.
With that brain-fart out of the way I moved on to another Space Marine player named Adam for whom nothing could seemingly go right. In the first two games I had well learned that the combination of plasma rifles and being aggressive with battle suits was a very powerful union. This tactic, despite rolling a 1 to hit for my Hammerhead in two successive turns, ensured that by the end of turn three Adams army amounted to one very lucky Dreadnought, one very lonely squad of Assault Marines and half a squad of very lost Scouts. The suits ensured that the Assault Marines didn't remain lonely for long and with the objective cleared I was able to claim my first ever win in Warhammer 40k. Go me.
Since tyhe learning process never really ends I include a 'What I Learned' section after my battle reports.
What I Learned:
The Rules
Plasma Rifles are, in fact, the best rifles
Don't forget to jump in the assault phase
Don't forget to run in the shooting phase
Don't forget that your Fire Warrior teams exist and leave them hiding behind a wall for most of the game
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Fire Warriors?
More like Fire Doom-rat-warrior-lords amirite?
Yeah, I'm right.
I've finally finished my first group of Fire Warriors and their accompanying Devilfish transport. On the Devilfish I installed 5 LEDs on the underside of the body to represent "anti-grav pads" or whatever it is that makes hovertanks hover. For the Fire Warriors I used some of the (now) old school Clan Rat heads, legs and tails combined with the regular FW bodies, weapons and sundry components.
The LED work in the Devilfish is far from perfect the first time around but I feel that it still gives the effect that I was after.
The next project will be the pathfinders, suits, sniper drones and FWs that I need for the rest of my first 750 point list. How very exciting!
Yeah, I'm right.
I've finally finished my first group of Fire Warriors and their accompanying Devilfish transport. On the Devilfish I installed 5 LEDs on the underside of the body to represent "anti-grav pads" or whatever it is that makes hovertanks hover. For the Fire Warriors I used some of the (now) old school Clan Rat heads, legs and tails combined with the regular FW bodies, weapons and sundry components.
The LED work in the Devilfish is far from perfect the first time around but I feel that it still gives the effect that I was after.
The next project will be the pathfinders, suits, sniper drones and FWs that I need for the rest of my first 750 point list. How very exciting!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Rise of The Skaven Tau Part 2
Year 1545: As the vehicle makes its way to an unknown destination through the darkness of space the new nest, unimpeded by the squabbling of the mob, makes technological breakthroughs that they have never previously dreamed of. Engineers of Clan Skryre, through investigation and scavenging of the vehicles components learned how the humans were able to produce such tremendous power without the severe limitations of Warpstone, the Moulders moved away from their ad-hoc surgical methods and began working with tissue on a cellular level and Eshin agents turned their attention towards accessing the vast stores of information that the humans kept.
Year 1562: For thirty years the Skaven nest aboard the vehicle had remained undiscovered by the humans though it was not until an experiment with using human technology to stabilise Warpstone went wrong causing a massive explosion that the stowaways realised that there appeared to be no humans onboard at all. Discovering this, the Skaven set about taking some measure of control of the vehicle by trying to establish where they were and where they were travelling to.
Year 1563: Having thoroughly investigated the vehicle it was established that there were once humans on the ship however, in an apparent attempt to prolong their lifespan they had reduced their own body temperatures. While in this state one of the many experiments that were carried out by the Skaven had caused their temperatures to rise without the proper procedure and as such none of the thousands of humans onboard survived the process.
Year 1830: After hundreds of years aboard the vessel the Skaven had gained a full understanding of the human technology to the level where they were continuing the human’s cultivation of plants for both oxygen and food, maintaining the power systems built by the humans and had completely mapped out the computer systems present on the ship. Strict breeding controls were in effect aboard the ship to ensure that overcrowding was kept in check and the clan system had faded into a distant memory. The nest was ruled over by a meritocracy with each potential leader being tasked with inventing a device of some kind, the most impressive device as voted every two years by all (male) Skaven was declared the winner.
Year 2878: It had been over one thousand years now and hundreds of generations of Skaven had lived and died aboard the vehicle that the humans had called Icarus III. Stories of Skavendom were vague now but generally they told of the horrors of life underground and how evil, selfish rats had ruled over clans fighting petty wars over the ownership of dark, worthless tunnels. Young Skaven were uncared for and each Skaven was left to fend for themselves without the rigid support structures and discipline of New Icarus.
Year 2891: 1359 years after they left Skavendom forever the new nest continued to maintain and control Icarus III however the time had come when the powerplant seemed unlikely to be able to continue operating for much longer. The Skaven had done what they could to keep it running but they had run out of Warpstone hundreds of years ago and without it the repairs were only temporary. The currently acting leader of New Icarus, Brighteyes Kritkin, made the decision to leave space and attempt a landing on one of the planets orbiting a nearby star.
Year 2892: Using the sensors constructed by the humans the Skaven located a planet not unlike the planet that their ancestors had left behind when they first boarded Icarus III. From information left behind by the humans and his own understanding of the vessel Kritkin was able to land the massive vessel without loss of life though on inspection of the crafts engines after landing it was clear that the damage was significant and the decision to land had saved New Icarus.
Year 2893: After his performance in the landing of the craft along with a recent brilliant invention it was decided that Kritkin would remain leader of Skaven for his entire life and that elections would be held immediately upon his death. Exercising caution on behalf of New Icarus Kritkin declared that most Skaven would remain on board Icarus III for another two years while specially chosen teams investigated the planet.
Year 1562: For thirty years the Skaven nest aboard the vehicle had remained undiscovered by the humans though it was not until an experiment with using human technology to stabilise Warpstone went wrong causing a massive explosion that the stowaways realised that there appeared to be no humans onboard at all. Discovering this, the Skaven set about taking some measure of control of the vehicle by trying to establish where they were and where they were travelling to.
Year 1563: Having thoroughly investigated the vehicle it was established that there were once humans on the ship however, in an apparent attempt to prolong their lifespan they had reduced their own body temperatures. While in this state one of the many experiments that were carried out by the Skaven had caused their temperatures to rise without the proper procedure and as such none of the thousands of humans onboard survived the process.
Year 1830: After hundreds of years aboard the vessel the Skaven had gained a full understanding of the human technology to the level where they were continuing the human’s cultivation of plants for both oxygen and food, maintaining the power systems built by the humans and had completely mapped out the computer systems present on the ship. Strict breeding controls were in effect aboard the ship to ensure that overcrowding was kept in check and the clan system had faded into a distant memory. The nest was ruled over by a meritocracy with each potential leader being tasked with inventing a device of some kind, the most impressive device as voted every two years by all (male) Skaven was declared the winner.
Year 2878: It had been over one thousand years now and hundreds of generations of Skaven had lived and died aboard the vehicle that the humans had called Icarus III. Stories of Skavendom were vague now but generally they told of the horrors of life underground and how evil, selfish rats had ruled over clans fighting petty wars over the ownership of dark, worthless tunnels. Young Skaven were uncared for and each Skaven was left to fend for themselves without the rigid support structures and discipline of New Icarus.
Year 2891: 1359 years after they left Skavendom forever the new nest continued to maintain and control Icarus III however the time had come when the powerplant seemed unlikely to be able to continue operating for much longer. The Skaven had done what they could to keep it running but they had run out of Warpstone hundreds of years ago and without it the repairs were only temporary. The currently acting leader of New Icarus, Brighteyes Kritkin, made the decision to leave space and attempt a landing on one of the planets orbiting a nearby star.
Year 2892: Using the sensors constructed by the humans the Skaven located a planet not unlike the planet that their ancestors had left behind when they first boarded Icarus III. From information left behind by the humans and his own understanding of the vessel Kritkin was able to land the massive vessel without loss of life though on inspection of the crafts engines after landing it was clear that the damage was significant and the decision to land had saved New Icarus.
Year 2893: After his performance in the landing of the craft along with a recent brilliant invention it was decided that Kritkin would remain leader of Skaven for his entire life and that elections would be held immediately upon his death. Exercising caution on behalf of New Icarus Kritkin declared that most Skaven would remain on board Icarus III for another two years while specially chosen teams investigated the planet.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Rise of The Skaven Tau
While I'm still in the process of building, converting and painting my army I have written a few words of 'fluff' behind my idea for the Skaven Tau army.
Keep in mind that in terms of rules on the tabletop nothing changes and for all intents the Skaven Tau are simply different looking Tau models.
Timeline
All dates given in years after the events of the ‘Warhammer Fantasy’ setting.
Year 500: As fighting on the surface dies down and Clan Moulder has been all but wiped out by the combined forces of Clan Skryre and Clan Eshin an uneasy peace falls upon Skavendom that will last hundreds of years. The humans on the surface have made quantum leaps in technology that are unrivalled by even the most capable of the Skryre engineers.
Year 900: After a long period of technological stagnation and dwindling food sources the Skaven population has fallen by 80% in the past 700 years. Belief in The Horned Rat has all but vanished, The Council of 13 has lost credibility and most of the viruses, the last weapon that the Skaven had against other races has been rendered useless by advances in medical technology.
Year 934: Through a short civil war lasting only a matter of days, Clan Skryre kills all members of The Council of 13 and their few remaining followers. Clan Skryre declares themselves to be lord over all other clans with their Lord-Warlock as supreme ruler over Skavendom. Skryre rules with an iron fist, crushing any dissent with brutal force backed up by their war machines and their close allies in Clan Eshin.
Year 1482: After 500 years of relative peace and technological prosperity under Clan Skryre the Skaven have made a significant leap forward in the subterranean agricultural technology signalling an end to the long running food shortage which had hampered their much needed population growth.
Year 1529: On a routine mission to the surface to gather information and intelligence, agents of Clan Eshin discover the existence of a vehicle designed and built by humans with the intention of travelling to distant places far from the tunnels of Skavendom. The technology described by the agents is unlike anything that the minds of Skryre engineers ever thought would be possible. Aware that Skaven technology is no longer able to compete with that of humans the Lord-Warlock of the Skaven declares that they will attempt to infiltrate this vehicle and follow the humans to wherever they plan to go.
Year 1531: With a close eye on the human vehicle, the construction of which is near completion, the Lord-Warlock assembles a team of 2,500 of the strongest and most cunning Skaven from each of the four clans. The team would include breeders and nurses with the intention of creating a nest aboard the huge vehicle while the engineers would gather information on human technology which could someday be sent back to Skavendom.
Year 1532: With the Skaven nest successfully set up aboard the human vehicle without detection the new colony is cut-off from Skavendom and it becomes apparent that they will never be able to return.
To be continued...
Keep in mind that in terms of rules on the tabletop nothing changes and for all intents the Skaven Tau are simply different looking Tau models.
Timeline
All dates given in years after the events of the ‘Warhammer Fantasy’ setting.
Year 500: As fighting on the surface dies down and Clan Moulder has been all but wiped out by the combined forces of Clan Skryre and Clan Eshin an uneasy peace falls upon Skavendom that will last hundreds of years. The humans on the surface have made quantum leaps in technology that are unrivalled by even the most capable of the Skryre engineers.
Year 900: After a long period of technological stagnation and dwindling food sources the Skaven population has fallen by 80% in the past 700 years. Belief in The Horned Rat has all but vanished, The Council of 13 has lost credibility and most of the viruses, the last weapon that the Skaven had against other races has been rendered useless by advances in medical technology.
Year 934: Through a short civil war lasting only a matter of days, Clan Skryre kills all members of The Council of 13 and their few remaining followers. Clan Skryre declares themselves to be lord over all other clans with their Lord-Warlock as supreme ruler over Skavendom. Skryre rules with an iron fist, crushing any dissent with brutal force backed up by their war machines and their close allies in Clan Eshin.
Year 1482: After 500 years of relative peace and technological prosperity under Clan Skryre the Skaven have made a significant leap forward in the subterranean agricultural technology signalling an end to the long running food shortage which had hampered their much needed population growth.
Year 1529: On a routine mission to the surface to gather information and intelligence, agents of Clan Eshin discover the existence of a vehicle designed and built by humans with the intention of travelling to distant places far from the tunnels of Skavendom. The technology described by the agents is unlike anything that the minds of Skryre engineers ever thought would be possible. Aware that Skaven technology is no longer able to compete with that of humans the Lord-Warlock of the Skaven declares that they will attempt to infiltrate this vehicle and follow the humans to wherever they plan to go.
Year 1531: With a close eye on the human vehicle, the construction of which is near completion, the Lord-Warlock assembles a team of 2,500 of the strongest and most cunning Skaven from each of the four clans. The team would include breeders and nurses with the intention of creating a nest aboard the huge vehicle while the engineers would gather information on human technology which could someday be sent back to Skavendom.
Year 1532: With the Skaven nest successfully set up aboard the human vehicle without detection the new colony is cut-off from Skavendom and it becomes apparent that they will never be able to return.
To be continued...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Welcome to the Ground Floor
Welcome, I am Warrio and this is my blog detaining my exploits surrounding my Tau army in the table top wargaming system known as Warhammer 40,000. This is my first army in 40k and is indeed my first foray into the table top wargaming community at all. I have no experience in painting models, developing army lists or devising strategies within the wargaming context so I look forward to this blog documenting for your pleasure my humble beginnings, meteoric rise and eventual tragic decent.
I have a number of ideas for what I would like my army to look like and throughout my future posts I will provide plenty of pictures and, should any of my ideas turn out nearly as well as they look in my imagination I will provide tutorials on what I have done. To this end I should thank Adam who authors a blog which I have found to be both an excellent read and an impressive source of information about how (and occasionally how not) to play Tau.
I have a number of ideas for what I would like my army to look like and throughout my future posts I will provide plenty of pictures and, should any of my ideas turn out nearly as well as they look in my imagination I will provide tutorials on what I have done. To this end I should thank Adam who authors a blog which I have found to be both an excellent read and an impressive source of information about how (and occasionally how not) to play Tau.
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