Grey Knights Thought

I just played my first game with the new Grey Knight codex.  My initial observations are that they hit hard and fast, but die in droves to massed gunfire, which they should face often.  If you can keep them in combat where they belong, they can be hard to take out.  Mixing up the Nemesis Force weapons in a Strike Squad can make all the difference.  A good blend of Halberds and swords with a Demonhammer thrown in can be great.  The Storm Raven is incredible with the shear amount of weapons fire it can unleash, not to mention  its ability to drop off a squad of Paladins wherever you need them.  Speaking of Paladins, they were the biggest disappointment in the whole list when they got tar-pitted by a squad of Thousand Sons (don't let ANYONE tell you Thousand Sons are useless!).  The true MVP has to be the Vindicare assassin.  He started out slowly, missing his first two shots, but finished strong.  He immobilized or stunned a pair of Rhinos carrying my opponent's only surviving Troop choice towards my objective (I rolled a 22 and a 24 on the armor pen rolls).  That slowed him down enough for me to grab his objective with my last two Knights and roll a 3 to end the game in turn 6.    For most of the game, he was alone on my half of the board, holding the fort by himself.  I might try a pair of them next time...

Good or Bad Idea?

I was painting one of my Terminators from Space Hulk last week as a test model for my Grey Knights I plan to pick up when they are released.  After I was done, I realized how much my skills have improved since I painted my Marines many years ago.  Aside from the fact that GW doesn't make the primary color I used in them (Midnight Blue), I think the work I did with Sergent Giddeon was much better and more interesting looking.  It is basically a Deathwing look with Necron Abyss as a secondary color.  My dillema is do I want to repaint ALL 5000 points of my Marine army, or just the Terminators?  I'm leaning towards the Termies only for now, but I might do them all this way eventually.  I guess the Grey Knights will have to remain Grey for the time being. 

Tournament prep

Now that the Avatar and his Farseer buddy are finished, I can look forward to their debuit at Gamers Sanctuary tomorrow.  Here is the list I am bringing:

HQ:
The Avatar
Eldrad

Troop:
10 Dire Avengers (Exarch w/ Bladestorm and dual Shuriken Catapaults)
10 Dire Avengers (Exarch w/ Defend and Diresword)
2 X 12 Guardians (Scatter Laser and Warlock w/ Conceal)

Elite:
6 Fire Dragons (Exarch w/ Fire Pike, Crack Shot and Tank Hunter)
Wave Serpent (TL Bright Lances, Shuriken Cannon, and Spirit Stones)
6 Howling Banshees (Exarch w/ Executioner, Acrobatic, and War Shout)
Wave Serpent (TL Shuriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon, and Spirit Stones)

Heavy Support:
2 X Fire Prisms (Spirit Stones)

1750 Points

In the several test games against Warmaster Phil from Ruinous Powers, this list has been amazing.  There are several custom missions for this tournament, and these guys have blown away my expectations.  The Guardians have been the MVPs each time.  The shear volume of fire they add to this army has turned the tide more often than  not.  Results to follow Sunday.

Later

I'm On a Roll (Part 2)...

I couldn't help myself.

Bring on the Jade Falcons!

Later

I'm On a Roll...

That's  two companies down for my Battletech demo kit.  Meet the Kell Hounds; a "mercenary" company in name only. 

I'm using Battle Force scale Mechs because I think they are actually a little more scale accurate to Classic Battletech.  A hex is supposed to equal 30 meters in game terms.  A standard Mech model is nearly two hexes high, but is supposed to range between 8 and 14 meters tall.  This looks more accurate on the table to me. 

I also have nearly finished the Avatar AND my Seer Council.  They'll definately be done for next weekend's tournament at GS.  Pics will go up when they are done.  I've already primed a Binary of Omni Mechs for some Jade Falcons.  However, the Storm Raven on my desk is calling my name...

Later

Exciting news!

I just posted my first blog entry on Bell Of Lost Souls for Classic Battletech.  Look there for more in the future.  I'll be posting most of my Battletech stuff there.

In other news, I finished painting my 1st Genyosha Company.  Here are a few pics:




The company at full strength.






A closeup of the Battlemaster of the company Captain, or Tai-i in Japanese.


A step by step painting guide will be on BoLS sometime soon.  I'll be starting a company of Kell Hounds soon and a Binary of Jade Falcons after that.  My buddy, Phil from Ruinous Powers, has been painting some Wolf Clan Mechs for me as well.  I'm really looking forward to the Demos at Gamer's Sanctuary next month.

Later

I took the plunge...

...and started to paint my Avatar.  It has been primed for nearly a year.  I'm hoping to get it, my Farseer, and a pair of Warlocks painted up for a tournament later this month. 

I'm thinking about progressively lighter drybrushes over the molten areas and brass on the armor.  Suggestions always appreciated.

Later