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Showing posts with label Veritas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veritas. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2015
Miniature Monday - 03/30/2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Miniature Monday - 03/09/2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Tuesday Tactics - Skeleton Chariots
Many people have asked me how I use Skeleton Chariots in my Tomb Kings, and indeed I've made something of a name for myself on the Tomb Kings forums (not intentionally!) for advocating their successful usage. I figured a little blurb on how I do it would be a good way to kick off Tuesday Tactics.
When I first started Tomb Kings, I just had one unit of three Chariots. While I played small games, I found their capabilities to be a bit limited. 6 BS2 shots won't clear chaff, but the 3D6 S4 Impact Hits will! Still, with only nine wounds to share, they didn't survive long. I soon got a second box and made it a unit of six Chariots. Now this fared better, being twice the size and double the shots...still only 3D6 Impact Hits, but at S5 they really started to put on the hurt.
This unit of six really started to rock and roll for me, supported by ranks of Archers and Constructs (and most importantly, magic!). I then picked up Settra, because who better to lead the Chariot legions than the big man himself? He really added more oomph to the unit, making them that much killier. I then took it to a primer event and played some games at a higher point value; I think it was 3000. There, I learned the downside of my idea.
I kept getting flanked, crushed, and overwhelmed by what I was running into. That day I learned a valuable lesson: use the buddy system! That is to say, take a second unit of six Chariots, because MOAR CHARIOTS IS MORE BETTA. I was really getting on a Chariot kick and having a TON of fun with it, but once I determined the buddy system is the way to go, they really took off. Now, instead of striking at a weak point hoping to overwhelm, I was presenting a prickly frontage that could smash multiple targets; indeed, my catchphrase became "Chariot SMASH" on the forums, with batrep after batrep recording how they would plow into units and just wipe them out.
This was especially true as the Elves were just coming into power, and slow slow Undead didn't know what to do against them. Enter the Chariots: Arrows that always hit on a set number can reliably whittle down weakly armored and statted Elves, and what strikes in CC before Always Strikes First? Impact Hits! 3-6D6 S4-5 destroyed so much that I would often only lose a single unit over the course of a game.
Thus, the first and most important lesson of using Chariot units, of any size (even for other races), is the buddy system. Pair up units for mutual protection and destruction. They can cover each others' flanks, set up traps, and so on.
The second big lesson is to give them magic support. Even just one spell is strong enough to make them worth far more than their points, and this is where Tomb Kings Chariots really shine over other races'. I'll go through those that I use:
- Incantation of the Desert Wind. This spell is very powerful for the mounted army. As a bubble it will hit both of your units and heal them. What's more awesome is that they get a second move, effectively letting them march, where other Chariots never can. As another workaround, when dealing with terrain, they never take DT tests when moving normally (it's only when you march, charge, flee, or pursue), thus letting them move through seemingly Impassable Terrain with impunity. This maneuverability, combined with their speed, makes them great for flanking, or getting in your opponent's face quickly. Overall, a pretty sweet spell (decent when using Settra with them).
- Incantation of Cursed Blades. This is a pretty simple spell, giving the unit Killing Blow, which at first glance gives a "meh" feeling, right up until you realize that it also affects their Impact Hits. Yes, 3-6D6 auto-hits with KB? Put the fear of the Tomb Kings' wrath into your armored opponent as they melt away. Plus it heals, like all other augments in the Lore of Nehekhara. Good stuff!
- Incantation of Protection. Gotta love giving them the same invulnerability as daemons! A 5+ ward save has saved my bacon too many times to count, and against shooting armies, keeps the unit strong on the way in.
- Incantation of Righteous Smiting. Combine this potent spell with Cursed Blades when you really want to carve up anything in front of you. Again, it seems blah at first glance, but the spell gives each horse and each rider +1 Attack, and there are two of each. That bumps each Chariot's attacks up from 6 per to 10 per. Pushing out 30 attacks, plus Impact hits, plus whatever else you have, makes serious dents, even in Knights of most stripes. Bonus: if you're not in combat, you're tossing out 24 arrows, for kicks.
The best part of all these spells? They can be cast in bubble form and affect both units with every casting. This is very good stuff! Keep in mind, as you heal up the Chariots, if you put more in base contact they will not inflict more Impact Hits; however, if you rank them up, you will get the rank bonus to Strength. Thus, you can lose one on the way in, then replace it and still be strong.
Other perks of using large amounts of Chariots is that they fill up your Core points quickly with strong units, instead of thinking of Core as a tax filled with chumps. As well, they are durable on the field, what with constant healing and protection. On the other hand, if you lose them, you're pretty well boned. Trust me, it does still happen and they are certainly not infallible; I've done poorly with them (especially in deployment) and lost as a result.
Overall, I maintain that multiple large units of Chariots make best use of the assortment of special rules in the Tomb Kings book: they heal up the best, get more bang per model with spell boosts, and take most advantage of what the game, and armybook, have to offer.
--------------------------------
Suggested loadout:
[360] 6 Chariots - Standard Bearer, Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame
+
[350] 6 Chariots - Standard Bearer, Musician
--------------------------------
Check out my old battle reports here: DAS LINK
Feel free to drop some comments and counterpoints; I'd love to hear them!
When I first started Tomb Kings, I just had one unit of three Chariots. While I played small games, I found their capabilities to be a bit limited. 6 BS2 shots won't clear chaff, but the 3D6 S4 Impact Hits will! Still, with only nine wounds to share, they didn't survive long. I soon got a second box and made it a unit of six Chariots. Now this fared better, being twice the size and double the shots...still only 3D6 Impact Hits, but at S5 they really started to put on the hurt.
This unit of six really started to rock and roll for me, supported by ranks of Archers and Constructs (and most importantly, magic!). I then picked up Settra, because who better to lead the Chariot legions than the big man himself? He really added more oomph to the unit, making them that much killier. I then took it to a primer event and played some games at a higher point value; I think it was 3000. There, I learned the downside of my idea.
I kept getting flanked, crushed, and overwhelmed by what I was running into. That day I learned a valuable lesson: use the buddy system! That is to say, take a second unit of six Chariots, because MOAR CHARIOTS IS MORE BETTA. I was really getting on a Chariot kick and having a TON of fun with it, but once I determined the buddy system is the way to go, they really took off. Now, instead of striking at a weak point hoping to overwhelm, I was presenting a prickly frontage that could smash multiple targets; indeed, my catchphrase became "Chariot SMASH" on the forums, with batrep after batrep recording how they would plow into units and just wipe them out.
This was especially true as the Elves were just coming into power, and slow slow Undead didn't know what to do against them. Enter the Chariots: Arrows that always hit on a set number can reliably whittle down weakly armored and statted Elves, and what strikes in CC before Always Strikes First? Impact Hits! 3-6D6 S4-5 destroyed so much that I would often only lose a single unit over the course of a game.
Thus, the first and most important lesson of using Chariot units, of any size (even for other races), is the buddy system. Pair up units for mutual protection and destruction. They can cover each others' flanks, set up traps, and so on.
The second big lesson is to give them magic support. Even just one spell is strong enough to make them worth far more than their points, and this is where Tomb Kings Chariots really shine over other races'. I'll go through those that I use:
- Incantation of the Desert Wind. This spell is very powerful for the mounted army. As a bubble it will hit both of your units and heal them. What's more awesome is that they get a second move, effectively letting them march, where other Chariots never can. As another workaround, when dealing with terrain, they never take DT tests when moving normally (it's only when you march, charge, flee, or pursue), thus letting them move through seemingly Impassable Terrain with impunity. This maneuverability, combined with their speed, makes them great for flanking, or getting in your opponent's face quickly. Overall, a pretty sweet spell (decent when using Settra with them).
- Incantation of Cursed Blades. This is a pretty simple spell, giving the unit Killing Blow, which at first glance gives a "meh" feeling, right up until you realize that it also affects their Impact Hits. Yes, 3-6D6 auto-hits with KB? Put the fear of the Tomb Kings' wrath into your armored opponent as they melt away. Plus it heals, like all other augments in the Lore of Nehekhara. Good stuff!
- Incantation of Protection. Gotta love giving them the same invulnerability as daemons! A 5+ ward save has saved my bacon too many times to count, and against shooting armies, keeps the unit strong on the way in.
- Incantation of Righteous Smiting. Combine this potent spell with Cursed Blades when you really want to carve up anything in front of you. Again, it seems blah at first glance, but the spell gives each horse and each rider +1 Attack, and there are two of each. That bumps each Chariot's attacks up from 6 per to 10 per. Pushing out 30 attacks, plus Impact hits, plus whatever else you have, makes serious dents, even in Knights of most stripes. Bonus: if you're not in combat, you're tossing out 24 arrows, for kicks.
The best part of all these spells? They can be cast in bubble form and affect both units with every casting. This is very good stuff! Keep in mind, as you heal up the Chariots, if you put more in base contact they will not inflict more Impact Hits; however, if you rank them up, you will get the rank bonus to Strength. Thus, you can lose one on the way in, then replace it and still be strong.
Other perks of using large amounts of Chariots is that they fill up your Core points quickly with strong units, instead of thinking of Core as a tax filled with chumps. As well, they are durable on the field, what with constant healing and protection. On the other hand, if you lose them, you're pretty well boned. Trust me, it does still happen and they are certainly not infallible; I've done poorly with them (especially in deployment) and lost as a result.
Overall, I maintain that multiple large units of Chariots make best use of the assortment of special rules in the Tomb Kings book: they heal up the best, get more bang per model with spell boosts, and take most advantage of what the game, and armybook, have to offer.
--------------------------------
Suggested loadout:
[360] 6 Chariots - Standard Bearer, Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame
+
[350] 6 Chariots - Standard Bearer, Musician
--------------------------------
Check out my old battle reports here: DAS LINK
Feel free to drop some comments and counterpoints; I'd love to hear them!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Hump Day Heroes - Adepticon XII Battlefleet Gothic Championships - Part 2 (of 3)
Almost forgot it was Wednesday! I'm bad.
Game 2 vs Tau Protection Fleet (Ernesto Salas)
Now, he was a bad boy and didn't bring a printed list (tsk tsk :P ), so it's off memory. I guess it was a mishmash of Armada and FW ships, didn't realize that was doable because I never got around to reading the Tau Protection fleet rules. And then of course Eldar allies, because no matter what game you play, you just can't escape the Taudar!
Tau Protection list
Custodian BB - Ld10 upgrade?
Hero
Emmissary
2 Protectors
4 Castellans
4 Wardens
Eldar allies
Aurora
3 Hemlocks
Scenario 2: Salvage. There were seven wrecks orbiting a planet. If you get a ship in base contact, roll a D6; on a 2+ you salvage it, on a 1 you muck it up and have to roll on the Catastrophic chart for the wreck! You got bonus points for having your allied fleet claim a wreck, and points for each wreck (up to 3).
Deployment and Turn 1
Sunny side is left side short edge. Once again, my opponent went first. Since we deployed 20cm off the board edge, he wasn't in range. However, the forward lances on my Hades were...but not locked on, because once again I failed my first Ld test (twice!). Still, I crippled the Protector that was closest. His Ordnance was ineffective, and he failed nearly all his resilient rolls. :'(
By this point I claimed two wrecks already.
Turn 3
As the bulk of his fleet closed on the planet, I swung my Slaughter squad out around the left side for rear shots, while the Hades just stayed the course and locked on. The rest of the fleet moved right, to crush all opposition! Escorts were shot down, a wreck had a plasma drive overload, and the Kroot boarded the Orks! That ended with me orks somewhat fending them off, losing the action by three.
Turn 4
The Eldar were content to dart in and out of the asteroids (space jungle?), scoring hits here and there. Unfortunately, the cruiser didn't pass one of its Ld checks, suffering four hits and a critical. Yay points! The rest of my fleet caught the Tau in a pincer, crippling or hulking nearly all other ships.
Each hulk salvaged gave you an extra 200 VP; that pushed my total up to 1450ish (with 3 claims) and him to 400ish (1 claim). Another 1000 VP difference gave me more big points. Round 2 victory! Stay tuned for round 3!
Game 2 vs Tau Protection Fleet (Ernesto Salas)
Now, he was a bad boy and didn't bring a printed list (tsk tsk :P ), so it's off memory. I guess it was a mishmash of Armada and FW ships, didn't realize that was doable because I never got around to reading the Tau Protection fleet rules. And then of course Eldar allies, because no matter what game you play, you just can't escape the Taudar!
Tau Protection list
Custodian BB - Ld10 upgrade?
Hero
Emmissary
2 Protectors
4 Castellans
4 Wardens
Eldar allies
Aurora
3 Hemlocks
Scenario 2: Salvage. There were seven wrecks orbiting a planet. If you get a ship in base contact, roll a D6; on a 2+ you salvage it, on a 1 you muck it up and have to roll on the Catastrophic chart for the wreck! You got bonus points for having your allied fleet claim a wreck, and points for each wreck (up to 3).
Deployment and Turn 1
Sunny side is left side short edge. Once again, my opponent went first. Since we deployed 20cm off the board edge, he wasn't in range. However, the forward lances on my Hades were...but not locked on, because once again I failed my first Ld test (twice!). Still, I crippled the Protector that was closest. His Ordnance was ineffective, and he failed nearly all his resilient rolls. :'(
By this point I claimed two wrecks already.
Turn 3
As the bulk of his fleet closed on the planet, I swung my Slaughter squad out around the left side for rear shots, while the Hades just stayed the course and locked on. The rest of the fleet moved right, to crush all opposition! Escorts were shot down, a wreck had a plasma drive overload, and the Kroot boarded the Orks! That ended with me orks somewhat fending them off, losing the action by three.
Turn 4
The Eldar were content to dart in and out of the asteroids (space jungle?), scoring hits here and there. Unfortunately, the cruiser didn't pass one of its Ld checks, suffering four hits and a critical. Yay points! The rest of my fleet caught the Tau in a pincer, crippling or hulking nearly all other ships.
Each hulk salvaged gave you an extra 200 VP; that pushed my total up to 1450ish (with 3 claims) and him to 400ish (1 claim). Another 1000 VP difference gave me more big points. Round 2 victory! Stay tuned for round 3!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Hump Day Heroes - Adepticon XII Battlefleet Gothic Championships - Part 1 (of 3)
Last weekend was Adepticon (as so many of you listeners should probably know), and I played in the Battlefleet Gothic tournament, among other events. BFG is my jam; my favoritest game evarzzz. I usually don't get to play more than three games a year (at Adepticon! ha), but I do have a couple clubmates who play, and we get in a game from time to time.
This year the terrain was gorgeous; Ernesto Salas, one of the main men who will be taking the reins on running the event from henceforth, spent his time making some kick-ass looking, and more important, completely functional, terrain. Asteroid fields, gas clouds, planets with rings (even one with a spinning moon!), all on airbrushed mats. Honestly, it was a dream, playing on those boards, and I can't wait for next year to see them again.
My Ultramarines fleet from the past two years has done me proud, going 6-0 and earning two Best Overall plaques, so it was time for them to rest as I introduced something new to the playing field. This year I brought Chaos. The Word Bearers fleet has been languishing in stasis, so I gave them all a new paint job...the day before the event, heh. The rules are:
- 1500 points for the primary fleet
- +250 points for an allied fleet, and you can use some of your primary fleet points if you want
There were additional rules for allies, including who can take what, which you can view here.
So this my list:
Chaos Gothic sector list
Hades-class Heavy Cruiser - Warmaster Ld 8
Hades-class Heavy Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Ork Clanz list (allies)
Terror Ship - boarding torpedoes
2 Savage Attack Ships
I made use of Brigade Models' Eurofed line for the escorts, which I originally bought two years ago to match the larger ship, which is from the Star Wars Titanium Diecast line (though I bought it when it came out, for like $6, not that nonsensical price). Caught some flack by other players for them "not being proper ships", but hey, when the game is no longer supported and models are no longer available, I'm going with theme (Republic pirates or something :P )
Game 1 vs Chaos (Andrew Raatz)
Chaos Gothic sector list
Desolator-class Battleship - Warmaster Ld 9, Mark of Nurgle
Repulsive-class Grand Cruiser - Chaos Lord Ld 8, Mark of Nurgle
Devastation-class Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Murder-class Cruiser
Murder-class Cruiser
Chaos allies
6 Infidel-class Raiders
Scenario 1: Brace for Impact! There's an interesting twist: D3 Asteroids enter the battlefield from a designated short table edge at the start of every game turn, flinging 30cm across the table. If they strike an asteroid field, an additional D3 asteroids are generated...this could result in a nasty chain reaction that fills the table. Luckily, that didn't really happen to us. Still, it directed us to deploy on the other half, to stay as far away as possible.
Deployment
He took the first turn and advanced. For my part, I failed my first Ld test and merely drifted foward into range, loosing a few shots.
Turn 2 was where it really went down. Ships lock on and crossed the T...the squadron of Slaughters combined their Firepower into an absolutely brutal 56, numbering 39+ dice. On top of that, 8 lances piled on the hurt. Combined with the guns of the Hades, I hulked (i.e. destroyed) the Desolator and a Murder. Not a bad turn 2!
Then it really devolved into a close-range slug-fest. Every year Andrew and I play, and every year our games turn into a cluster@#$% in the middle, and it's awesome every time. To be fair, he always also manages to have bad dice occur (fail to brace, or only make 25% of brace saves), and this year was no exception. His damage control teams just didn't have the right stuff. I'll let the rest of the pictures tell the story.
Tight quarters. Aooooooga! Aooooooga!
The final VP total had me ahead by almost 1000, so that was a hefty victory for the Word Bearers!
I learned (as not only was this my first game since last year, it was also my first games with the fleet) that I will likely both outgun and have more tonnage than any of my opponents. Going second will give me the advantage of being in range first, and with the insane amount of gun batteries at my command, means I get the alpha strike that they'll never recover from. Stay tuned for game two, where I take on the Tau Protection Fleet!
This year the terrain was gorgeous; Ernesto Salas, one of the main men who will be taking the reins on running the event from henceforth, spent his time making some kick-ass looking, and more important, completely functional, terrain. Asteroid fields, gas clouds, planets with rings (even one with a spinning moon!), all on airbrushed mats. Honestly, it was a dream, playing on those boards, and I can't wait for next year to see them again.
My Ultramarines fleet from the past two years has done me proud, going 6-0 and earning two Best Overall plaques, so it was time for them to rest as I introduced something new to the playing field. This year I brought Chaos. The Word Bearers fleet has been languishing in stasis, so I gave them all a new paint job...the day before the event, heh. The rules are:
- 1500 points for the primary fleet
- +250 points for an allied fleet, and you can use some of your primary fleet points if you want
There were additional rules for allies, including who can take what, which you can view here.
So this my list:
Chaos Gothic sector list
Hades-class Heavy Cruiser - Warmaster Ld 8
Hades-class Heavy Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Slaughter-class Cruiser
Ork Clanz list (allies)
Terror Ship - boarding torpedoes
2 Savage Attack Ships
I made use of Brigade Models' Eurofed line for the escorts, which I originally bought two years ago to match the larger ship, which is from the Star Wars Titanium Diecast line (though I bought it when it came out, for like $6, not that nonsensical price). Caught some flack by other players for them "not being proper ships", but hey, when the game is no longer supported and models are no longer available, I'm going with theme (Republic pirates or something :P )
Game 1 vs Chaos (Andrew Raatz)
Chaos Gothic sector list
Desolator-class Battleship - Warmaster Ld 9, Mark of Nurgle
Repulsive-class Grand Cruiser - Chaos Lord Ld 8, Mark of Nurgle
Devastation-class Cruiser
Devastation-class Cruiser
Murder-class Cruiser
Murder-class Cruiser
Chaos allies
6 Infidel-class Raiders
Scenario 1: Brace for Impact! There's an interesting twist: D3 Asteroids enter the battlefield from a designated short table edge at the start of every game turn, flinging 30cm across the table. If they strike an asteroid field, an additional D3 asteroids are generated...this could result in a nasty chain reaction that fills the table. Luckily, that didn't really happen to us. Still, it directed us to deploy on the other half, to stay as far away as possible.
Deployment
He took the first turn and advanced. For my part, I failed my first Ld test and merely drifted foward into range, loosing a few shots.
Turn 2 was where it really went down. Ships lock on and crossed the T...the squadron of Slaughters combined their Firepower into an absolutely brutal 56, numbering 39+ dice. On top of that, 8 lances piled on the hurt. Combined with the guns of the Hades, I hulked (i.e. destroyed) the Desolator and a Murder. Not a bad turn 2!
Then it really devolved into a close-range slug-fest. Every year Andrew and I play, and every year our games turn into a cluster@#$% in the middle, and it's awesome every time. To be fair, he always also manages to have bad dice occur (fail to brace, or only make 25% of brace saves), and this year was no exception. His damage control teams just didn't have the right stuff. I'll let the rest of the pictures tell the story.
Tight quarters. Aooooooga! Aooooooga!
The final VP total had me ahead by almost 1000, so that was a hefty victory for the Word Bearers!
I learned (as not only was this my first game since last year, it was also my first games with the fleet) that I will likely both outgun and have more tonnage than any of my opponents. Going second will give me the advantage of being in range first, and with the insane amount of gun batteries at my command, means I get the alpha strike that they'll never recover from. Stay tuned for game two, where I take on the Tau Protection Fleet!
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