The Storm 2016 - 7 months and Counting...

Long time, no see my friends!

Life is slowing down now again (we have a newborn this year, our first) and it's time to start planning for the next Storm of Silence in Spokane, WA.  In 2016 it will be held in May, so I have a bit over 7 months to get things ready. 

Here's where I stand now:

First, I have a fully painted 1850 point Khuster's Cav list, but it's been a long time since I've used it, and it has never been truly competitive.  So I am going to piece it out, trying to stay with the theme, but make it more of a challenge for folks.  It needs a new list.

Second, I love the horse scheme on some of the bikes, but not all of them.  So a lot are getting repainted.  I also have a lot of mold lines on a couple of them, so some of them are getting a second (or third) go around with some filing.

Third, I have to buy, build, and paint some new units.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I don't intend on buying anything new, I want to use what I have now.  Might have to buy new paints though.  But I do have to build and paint some models.


So what am I doing with the list?  Well, first off, I have a core group of units that I don't want to mess with.  They are the heart and soul of the army, and I just can't bring myself to change them (aside from required codex changes):

HQ - Khuster (Chapter Master, SM Bike, Artificer Armor, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer)
EL - Command Squad (5x Veterans on bikes, Apothecary, Storm Shields, Grav/Meltas, Company Standard)
TR - Red Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Blue Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Green Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Violet Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)

That's about 1150 points, with some options left out incase my opponents think they can get one over on me.

So I have 700 points to play around with.  In the past, The Storm and The Harvester have been limited to two detatchments total, but with changes to the ITC from earlier this year, it's now up to three detatchments, which gives me some room to play.

My biggest weakness in this army is firepower.  I've tried the Tau Firesupport Cadre, but with the amount of bikes I have, and the Allies rules, it becomes a logistical nightmare.  Don't get me wrong, I love being able to pound my opponents with artillery before charging the bikes into the fray, but I'm not at the level to command that list yet.

I've played around with some Skitarii units, and I love the Ironstrider Cavaliers formation.  So I put one into the list.  There's a lot of mods to the model to get it more of the theme than Skitarii.  Right now, it's just 3 models, with one built, one opened, and one still in the celophane.  Lots of work there, but it only eats up 185 points (I picked all the fun options), leaving about 515 to add more.

So what to do with the 515 left over?  I know I need some more firepower, and I'd also like to have some more points for a couple more Sydonian Dragoons, if possible.

My ideas, and what I am thinking -

Classic Khuster - 3 Landspeeders, Scouts, more bikes, etc.  This is fun (my Conestoga style Landspeeders are awesome looking) but not really a solution.  Scouts give me another Objective Secured unit, and Landspeeders give me some mobile firepower platforms, but both are pretty crunchy, and I've tried it before.  Best for appearance, not gameplay.

Artillery - Thunderfire Cannons.  Loads of firepower, and I can trick them out to look like US Cavalry field artillery.  Also leaves me with enough points to get more Dragoons.  I like this option, I will have to play with it some more.  But I would have to hand make the cannons and techmarines.  Doable, but lots of work.  Also, TFCs are not very mobile, and I like the mobility of my army.  Good for gameplay, good for appearance (I hope).

Heavy Air Cav - 2x Stormravens.  This would answer my firepower problems, eventually.  Let me be very honest here, I hate using reserves.  I do not like having part of my army sitting around for a few turns, and I've never had much success with it either.  The only reason I want the Dragoons is because I can roll on turn 1, that I'm okay with.  So I'm rating this Bad for gameplay, bad for appearance (Can't think of a Khuster themed aircraft to save my life).

Knight - I can fit a Knight in here as a Lord of War, as well as enough points for another Ironstrider Ballistarii with Lascannons.  I'm not sold on the Knights as units.  I faced a couple in the last Storm, and it went down pretty fast.  But I see a lot of them, so maybe it's time to hop on the band wagon.  The downside is that I'd have to buy a Knight and another Ballistarii kit, or make them.  More work than the cannons option.  I'm going to say Okay for gameplay, okay for appearance.

I'll have to decide soon, and get a few test games in as well.

Of Swords and Silicone

Last night was my day off, and I managed to get in some painting and a new project.

Alas, not a new army theme, but a way to cast molds of those hard to come by bits.

A quick trip to one of the local craft stores to get some plasticard (styrene) sheets to build my drop pod with, and I quickly found out two interesting things.

1)  There appears to be a lack of styrene in pretty much every hobby store in town.

2)  The big local game store had a mold and resin kit for sale.

I've seen the kits online before, but they are not present when I go to buy in the store.  So I grabbed it while I had the chance, and went home to cast some molds.

I figured I'd cast two halves of each othe special weapons I wanted to have, and a couple bitz I'm running short of.  I'm also going to cast any sprues I get in the mean time.  The mold finally cured this morning, and I made a couple test grav guns, which were kinda of flimsy but okay.  Seems my mix was off because they took almost an hour to set.  I'll have to work on that.

I also managed to finish my D&D 5th edition dragonborn model, Whipthorn Icescale.  I also attempted my first freehand on his shield, and I think it turned out well!

Christmas List!

Well, after fiddling with my list for a long time, I've finally come down to the hard draft.  This is what I am going to be taking to the Storm of Silence in 2015.

1750 Points
CAD - Space Marines (White Scars)
HQ - Khan on Moondrakken
NS - Command Squad on bikes, 4 Storm Shields, Apothecary, 4 meltaguns
TR - Red Bike Squad Bikers x6, 2 Meltaguns
TR - Blue Bike Squad Bikers x6, 2 Meltaguns
TR - Green Bike Squad Bikers x6, 2 Meltaguns
TR - Yellow Bike Squad Bikers x6, 2 Meltaguns
TR - Violet Bike Squad Bikers x6, 2 Meltaguns
TR - Tactical Squad Marines x5, Drop Pod, Grav-gun

Formation - Dark Angels Librarian Enclave
Ezekiel
Librarian on bike w/Force Axe, ML 2
Librarian on bike w/Force Axe, ML 2
Librarian on foot w/Force Axe, Power Field Generator, ML 2

So there it is.  This is the tool box I'm taking with me next year.  I know, you have complaints and questions.  Let me handle the most obvious.

First, what's the game plan?  Easy.  First, we stick Ezekiel and the foot libby in with the Tac Squad, and have them drop to hold an objective or get Line breaker.  With the Power Field, every model should be getting a 4++ save, and with Ezekiel nearby, Mindworm now has a 24" range, making that a dangerous drop pod squad.  Next, we stick the two libby bikers in with Khan to create a Bikestar.  Now the opponent has to worry about that unit as well, giving them two tough nuts to crack on the field.  On top of that, there's also more bikes than they cna shake a stick at.  With 3+ armor and cover saves (with Jink and Skilled Rider), along with the Scout ability, the regular bikes can be very scary indeed.

If my opponents list needs something special, I can also stick the libbies into normal squads to boost them, and I'll have 9 powers to generate on the field.  In addition, the formation special rules also give me the ability to cast powers from any model within 12" also from the formation.  And 9+d6 psychic dice is comparable to Elder spam too. 

Oh, and did I mention the Psychic Hoods?  Deny the Witch rolls for units within range?  Pretty sweet.

Next Question.

Why no anti-air? Well, I can always snap shot the meltas and grav at the fliers.  But really, my secret weapon here is Mindworm and Prescience against FMC, and Prescience against normal flyers.  Rerolls are damned good in this game, and my dice love em.  It is a risk, but I feel confident in being able to hide my bikers in close combat, and roll the right psychic powers.  Worst case scenario, It'll take my opponent a few rounds to table the regular bike squads, and can't normally come in until turn 2, so I could still pull out a win by numbers depending on the scenario.  It's a risk, yes, but if it plays out right, I will have a tremendous win!

Next Question.

Why only a single Grav-gun?  Shouldn't there be more?

Look, I get that Space Marines get an awesome unique weapon.  It's pretty cool, and can toast vehicles and MC pretty quickly.  But here's the thing.  Sometimes it just doesn't work.  There are cases where the Grav-gun just won't get the job done.  And I don't like that.  When I take weapons, it's because they are either forced on me, or they can be used in any situation.  This is why I stack Melta like crazy.  In a meta where triple Knight lists and Lords of war are common, I need a weapon that can penetrate the toughest armor, and has a better chance of destroying things in one hit than the Grav guns.  So the only Grav-gun in the army goes onto the squad where I can ensure the best chance for it to be useful.  I know a lot of players who swear by them, but my loyalty lies with the tried and trusted melta weapons.  Remember, range isn't an issue with this extremely mobile army.

Alright, enough questions.  Down to my to do list:

1)  Assemble and paint a command squad.  I need more meltaguns for this.
2)  Assemble and paint the Tac Squad.  I have enough bits, but need a drop pod.
3)  Assemble and paint the Dark Angels Librarian Enclave.  I have enough bits for the two bikes.  Maybe enough for the two foot models too.  Need bits for the Force weapons on all of them though.

So I have a little shopping to do, and a bit of painting.  After Christmas, I get to work!

I'll keep you guys updated!

New Ideas Abound!

So I haven't been sleeping well, and it's forced me to the bench where my models are stacking up.  Over the past few nights, I've built about 20 bikes in total, and took apart about as many other models to gather bits and pieces to fill in Khuster's Cav.

The Tau formation list is pretty solid, but it leaves me with a huge bubble I have to work around, and given my history with terrain and movement in the past (I hate Vanguard deployment), I don't want to cripple my army further.  So I've been putting the list options through their paces, and nothing seems to be working well.

After reading a few billion battle reports, I really like the "deathstar" unit for White Scars (my understanding being that it consists of Khan stuffed into a command squad of storm shields with an apothecary, stuffed into a duck, or something like that) so I made a list with two HQs to be stuffed into identical Command Squads with storm shields and meltaguns.  And of course an apothecary in each.

I tried the unit out in the most brutal way possible.  I ran them into the open area where nearly all of an 1850 point Eldar army could see them.  1 bike lived, and considering how impressive that result was, I decided to keep them.

So knowing how tough they were, why would you not put two of those in the army?  You can survive some of the toughest shooting and assaults with the storm shields, and having FNP is pretty badass as well.  Plus, Hammer of Wrath, and either Khan with his instant death on 6s, or a suped up Libby with Iron Arm, and you're in for a fun fight on bikes.

But what if I wanted to have three of them?

Having played many opponents (and learned a lot each time I lost) I find that three high priority targets tends to be about the perfect mix to have on the field.  It forces your opponent to focus on more than one unit in your army, and with the mix of objectives, table specific rules, and tactical VPs, it's almost an overload for any opponent.

So I'm going to take the new list and play a few games, and see how potent 3 "deathstars" units can be...

Head in a Bucket!

Well, I have been working on other projects around the house, mostly D&D 5th edition related, but it's time for me to dive back into 40k, and prep for the upcoming Storm of Silence.

For those who don't wish to be bothered reading my earlier posts, the Storm is the sister tourney to the Harvester of Souls.  The Storm happens in Spring, the Harvester happens in Fall.  I skipped out last year, as my scheudle would not allow me to compete.

In the past, the Storm has always been more competitive than the Harvester, but I still show up with themed lists and play anyways.  It's what I do.  I would like to get a trophy one day, but for now, I'll settle with the only award I've won in those two tourneys, and that is the "Best Dark Angels General" from the Storm in 2013.  Admittedly, I was the only Dark Angels player there, but hey, it's still a good award!

In the past, I've only ever won a single game in each tournament, and those are always the first games on the second day of the event.  But this year, I am planning something much different.

You see, in the past, when I first started playing, I played Grey Knights.  I had no experience with the army, and for nearly a year, I lost every battle I ever played.  But I learned.  And while some laughed at the horrible lists I made (they really were, looking back on them), what they couldn't laugh about was how much better I was at each game everytime I played.  Yeah, it took almost a year, but my friends stopped winning.  They started tying every game, and what was scary to them was just how close I got to winning each time.

I ended up moving away from Grey Knights during 6th edition, and that's when I came up with the Khuster's Cav idea.  You can read the blog posts about it's evolution, but to some up, what started as a fun idea is slowly turning into a competitive army.

Right now I am in the middle of fine tuning my lists, and when I finish with that aspect, I expect to win more than just one game at the Storm this year.  Do I expect an all out victory?  No, but I can always hope.

So for now, I'm going to stick my head in a bucket and bob for bitz while I figure out my list.

Emerging Models

I haven't published the last few months as my model selection for the new pieces of Khusters Cav have gone through several tried and failed attempts.

But finally I have chosen my models!  I wanted something themed for the army, something that just screams "Custer" or "American Frontier" while I'm playing.  Below are the models I have picked up to fill in the ranks. 

The army list has also gone through some changes.  Essentially, it breaks down to this:

White Scars:
Chapter Master on bike
Bike Squad (6) w/ 2 Meltaguns
Bike Squad (6) w/ 2 Meltaguns
Bike Squad (6) w/ 2 Meltaguns
Bike Squad (6) w/ 2 Meltaguns
Bike Squad (6) w/ 2 Meltaguns

Tau Firebase Support Cadre:
Riptide w/ Ion Accelerator
XV88 Broadside (3) w/ High Yield Missile Pod and TL Plasma rifle; 6 Missile drones
XV88 Broadside (3) w/ High Yield Missile Pod and TL Plasma rifle; 6 Missile drones

So make them a bit more Tau like, I added weapons.  The bears on all 4 will represent the Shas'vres, and the Bison are the regular broadsides.  I used some spare bits I had picked up from another project, and behold - I have armed bears!

And, of course, I need some stand in drones...

So this is where my army is at for the 2015 Storm of Silence Tourney:

Khuster Models - Assembled, Painted, and Based
Tau Models - Assembled, needs paint and basing
Display Board - (a new one of my own design) Haven't even started...need to get on that...

The Waiting Game

Still waiting on bitz to arrive...