The Road to Astronomi-Con 2014 (page 8 Inq Warband Complete)

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Well orders can be quite useful but on the timeline front I feel that I could paint the quartermaster and retinue faster because I'll do them up with an Ecclesiarchy feel using citadel paints so they should paint up faster than Krieg guys with those annoying Tamiya paints.

 

Both options would look cool. The Krieg CCS models are quite nice. Yet the best Krieg order "without mercy" is wasted on the grenadiers since they don't have lasguns. I would still have access to. "Bring it down" though.

[Warhawk Shizu]

Well, then perhaps go for the thing you'd get up the fastest first. And should time, after all the other stuff be done, allow then go back and paint the CCS if time allows.

I left my AI12 at home, so can't remember quite all the Krieg orders, but definitively useful.

 

Though without as many Heavy Weapon teams perhaps not THAT useful. I rarely find orders to be game changing to be honest, except Bring it Down on plasmaguns!^^

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Here's a brief update, just some work on my Company Command Squad. I've just undercoated, done the "Black Green" basecoat on their fatigues, and some Scorched Brown on the gas masks and leather. I am a bit distressed at how the Black Green is looking semi gloss despite faithfully stirring the pot every day for a week (usually what is needed to keep these Tamiya paints nice and matte). I am hoping the next layer of Field Grey will save the day.

 

As you can see, I've gone with a "naked" CCS. I am going to save the points for goodies for my Inquisitor -- who, depending on the tournament organizers' ruling, will either be an actual inquisitor accompanied by crusaders and death cult assassins, or will be a Canoness with Battle Sisters who are represented by converted Scions. It's a win-win modelling wise. I think the Codex: Inquisition variant will be better in HTH though.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/3/30/598325_md-.JPG

[WarriorFish]

Looking good Nico, keep us updated with your progress! :D

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Well, the Field Grey saved the day -- it turned out nice and matte just the way I like. This got me all excited and I rushed ahead to get the Company Commander finished. I'm quite happy with how he turned out even if I say so myself. Below the pic is his fluff:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/3/31/599057_md-.jpg

 

Major Henryk Zajac - Commander, A Company, Emperor's Own Sorgrecian Rifles. In an army known best for its brash, gallant officers and heroic charges into hand-to-hand combat, Major Zajac (pronounced Zai-ontz) has unfairly been given a reputation as a coward. He is anything but, as those who stood with him at the battle of Paraschutsk --where impassively and without so much as flinching he called long-range artillery fire onto his own position to destroy a Necron overlord and his guard -- will attest to. Lord Inquisitor Soulis noticed and appreciated this officer's cold, calculating manner and inducted him into his crusade to act as a steady hand.

 

EDIT: Edited to put in a smaller version of the picture, since the original was so big it didn't even fit in one screen and did not do justice to the miniature.

[lionofjudah]

Looking great man! Perhaps a midtone glaze on the jacket to blend the colors together a lil softer.

Happy painting days ahead :) Looking forward to seeing a full army shot soon. 

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

The problem with a glaze is, I don't know if Tamiya makes any, and I wouldn't want to risk mixing paint brands ... nor do I know what colour I'd use.

 

The thing is, he looks a lot better in real life. I think this picture is just way too zoomed-in. Let me know what you think when I post a pic of the whole command squad.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Here's a GW-style teaser for the conversion I'm currently working on ...

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/4/600137_md-.jpg

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Ok, hope that teaser piqued some interest because here is Lord Inquisitor Soulis conversion complete, or 99% complete -- let me know if you think I should add anything else. I like the look better with some extra gear being carried.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/4/600239_md-.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/4/600240_md-.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/4/600241_md-.JPG

[WarriorFish]

He looks great! The extra gubbins really make him stand out, a model suitable to match the figure of Soulis methinks :)

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Glad you like him WarriorFish! I am quite happy with how he turned out myself. I've been debating whether to add any more gubbins, but as I keep looking at the model I think he's well-balanced as-is and any more might start making him look too cluttered. The last change I'm contemplating is to shave-off the auspex and replace it with an hour glass from the Empire Flagellant sprue.

 

The two infantry squads of 1st Platoon are now fully painted with the completion of Pte. Drewnowski. I just need to base the rest of them and I'll post a pic.

 

Then all I will have left is the Death Riders (partly painted), Hydras (not yet purchased -- not yet released by GW), and then whoever will accompany Soulis (pending the decision of the Astronomi-con organizers either a small squad of Battle Sisters or a warband of death cult assassins, crusaders, and some acolytes).

 

As I go over what's painted and ready to go, I am troubled by the armour numbers. I've been out of the game for a while ... the last tournament I went to I believe I fielded a Russ, a Basilisk, two chimeras, and two rhinos. I'm concerned that two Russ chassis and two chimera chassis (Hydras) is a bit light and with my list building I've built myself into something that is uncomfortably between infantry heavy and armour heavy. I feel like a proper hybrid list would have more. If I could squeeze one more Russ in that would be nice. Can't figure out how to do that without dropping something I really need or something I really want (or something I spent way too long painting!) But what do you guys think? At 1500 pts is 2x Russ and 2x Hydra okay?

[Kierdale]

Very nice work on that =][=!

Looking forward to seeing him painted. :)

[WarriorFish]

A couple of Russes and Hydras at 1500pts should be fine, they'd offer some fire power to support your main force. Are you expecting to come across many flyers or skimmers?

 

Very nice work on that =][=!
Looking forward to seeing him painted. :)

+1!

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Thanks guys.

 

WarriorFish you out my mind at ease. Obviously I need to play test but I want to ensure I'm buying/building the right stuff since i only have so much time/money.

 

Looking at last year's registrants there will be lots of Helldrakes and a decent number of skimmers. Out of 62 registrants 8 were Tau and 8 Eldar. 4 Necrons so in total that seems fair potential for skimmers (1/3 of armies present).

 

30 are Marines and about 1/3 of those chaos so I expect Helldrakes. Only 2 IG last year. I didn't see many land raiders in the tournament pictures. One jerk brought a CSM w/ necrons allies for 3 Helldrakes and 3 croissants. Although most guys there are cool and more into fluff and good narratives / fun. There is always one very flyer heavy army it seems.

[WarriorFish]

Happy to help :) I was wondering if two Hydras would be wise but from the looks of it they will put in a good showing for you - let us know how it goes!

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Happy to help I was wondering if two Hydras would be wise but from the looks of it they will put in a good showing for you - let us know how it goes!

What were your thoughts on the wisom of two Hydras? Possibly too many points committed to platforms that can only snapfire at ground targets?

I can see that, but my thinking was that it's only 10% of my list and I will be VERY grateful for it if I end up facing a flyer heavy army and I don't have anything else to handle flyers. An Aegis isn't really an alternate option, while with an Icarus its only 85 points, you need to man it, so in effect it ends up being more -- especially since I want my army to be on the move, so I'd have to buy something to man the Aegis.

Also, it seems to me that the Hydra will be gold against Tau and Eldar. Against marines, it couldn't hurt a Land Raider anyway, whereas against Rhino chassis, 4 twin-linked shots per Hydra are statistically going to result in at least one hit, and against AV 11 I only need to roll a 4+ to do some damage so they're still usefull. They'll tear Tau or Eldar to pieces though. And a Tau player won best overall last year in Toronto plus with the new Eldar codex I guess there will be more not fewer Eldar this year.

There's only a 1/30 chance that I'd face Orks or IG, the only armies Hyrdra would be less useful against.

If I took one Hydra out, I don't know what I'd replace it with. A griffon maybe, but I feel I need to replace it with something multipurpose that could hit flying targets too.

The only alternative I can think of to 2x Hydra might be a Leman Russ Eradicator with hull and sponson Heavy Bolters. That would just put out so many shots that it could be used for AA, and having a further AV 14 hull on the board warms the cockles of my heart. But the heavy bolters underwhelm me. Useless against Vendettas/Valkyries. What's the AV on Helldrakes?

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Oops I mean Exterminator.

 

Or MAYBE an Annihilator (Krieg have access to those -- twin linked turret las cannons) but I'd have to leave off sponsons due to price. Two las cannon shots (one twin linked) has a 50/50 chance of hitting a flyer ... :/

[WarriorFish]

Just that the Hydra while good is a specialist unit and I'm always leery of having too many specialised units unless I'm confident they will be of use. In your case I think a couple of them is a good choice as they should give you a good chance to take out some of the peskier enemy units in flyers and skimmers. As you said It's not like Hydras are expensive either :)

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Thanks again for your thoughts and assistance, WarriorFish.

 

I also dislike specialist units. This is one of the things that frustrates me so much about the introduction of flyers into the game, in the manner that they've been introduced, and the options for countering them. With a Kreig list anyway, my only AA options are Hydra and Aegist Defence Line. The latter just doesn't suit my list because it limits mobility although otherwise it is more multi-use. I just don't like using objective campers.

 

I am concerned that I do not have enough assets to deal with AV14 outside of 6". The Russes can only glance it, but I want to keep them because they are otherwise very multipurpose good for everything from hordes to AV 13. I'd love to be able to somehow squeeze the Vanquisher back in or perhaps a Demolisher (I have one built, it just needs paint).

 

At this point I have painted or mostly painted:

 

CCS

25-man Platoon

20 Grenadiers

10 Death Riders

2 Leman Russ Battle Tanks

 

Which is good for 1,135 points. So I have 365 points to cover of AA, Lord Inquisitor Soulis and his retinue, and some more AT. Not enough points left.

 

I'm doing well enough time-wise that I could possibly build two new sergeants without power swords and a "naked" trooper to replace the platoon standard for a savings of 30 pts from the platoon. Maybe I could scrounge another 25 by swapping the naked CCS for a Quartermaster and retinue (I dislike this because the Quartermaster seems too expensive for what he does IMO, but I guess 6+ FNP is better than a boot to the head).

 

I don't think there's really anything else I can take out from the core listed above.

[WarriorFish]

You're almost on the home stretch! There is such a think as too much tinkering I think, if you're happy with the army then you should go for it. You can't make a list with a perfect answer to everything after all, it's what makes games interesting.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Especially 1500 points. That's what makes that point level so frustrating and satisfying (and thus my favourite point level to play at) -- because you have to make some really tough decisions. Although I think the addition of flyers has made it more difficult. If I didn't have to account for flyers, my list would be almost a "no brainer", I'd dump the two Hydras and bring another Russ (either Demolisher or Vanquisher with co-axial heavy stubber and lascannon).

 

In any event, by May the core will be 100% complete so what I will do is try to wrangle some 1500 pt games at the local shop and ask for people to bring heavy flyer or heavy AV 14 lists and see how I do.

 

I suppose another option would be to cut-off the hull heavy flamers from the Russes and replace them with lascannons. That's a 30 point solution to my AV14 fears. Maybe I can be initiated into the mysteries of magnetizing at the same time (although this would have been much more easily done during initial assembly).

 

I've also toyed with the idea of making my second grenadier squad into Scions so their meltas can be deep-striking. I think they'd cost 10 points more as Scions ... but would they be scoring if taken from C:MT (or do they only score if C:MT is the primary detachment)?

[WarriorFish]

1500 has long been the "standard" game, and it's what I almost always play. As you say the right amount to get some toys in but not be lazy about it, you have to work for a good list

Standard Russ + hull weaponry is a waste though, the Ordnance rule forces you to snap fire and a single Lascannon at BS3 isn't going to be that reliable. The points are better spent elsewhere I feel. I'd also keep your Grenadiers as they are, Scions are cool but I think you should stick with your Krieg theme

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Well, talking to some veterans of Astronomi-con, I've been convinced that my Inquisitor and his retinue will not make it into combat without a ride, preferably an assault vehicle. So I need to find ways to get a Land Raider into this list.

 

I'm going to wait until the weekend. The easiest way might be to go standard guard (the DKoK markup and a bit of fat trimming might be enought to get a Land Raider in there) otherwise I am going to do some serious reworking. In the interests of being able to use stuff I've already painted and written fluff for, I might gamble and dump the Hydras (since I haven't bought them yet) and trim some stuff here and there. If I tone the PCS down, remove the sergeants' power swords, make the CCS completely naked, shrink the inquisitorial warband slightly, I may fit it.

 

EDIT TO ADD: I am thinking a "regular" Land Raider. Two BS4 twin-linked lascannons makes me feel better about my ability to deal with heavy armour. Throw in a multimelta, it could actually do some anti air duty. With twin linked there's a better than even chance I could hit a flyer. And whatever flyer got hit with a lascannon is going to die pretty much.

[WarriorFish]

That's probably the best way to fit a Land Raider in, but it would definitely be a squeeze!  The Godhammers will provide some excellent long range fire power, though it's still a bit of a long shot shooting flyers with it. Keep in mind that it can't be a gun platform and an assault transport at the same time, so it's not a vehicle for the half hearted!

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

I'm okay with not being half-hearted!

I think that's why I need to go all-out and buy my inquisitor a ride, because doing things half way and footslogging will not accomplish much.

Now I am just trying to decide what variant of Land Raider is best. I am heavily leaning towards the "godhammer" variant since I think the lascannons will be most useful as it advances up the field (I think I already have sufficient weaponry to deal with the things that Hurricane Bolters or Flamestorm Cannons would). However, those frag assault launchers on the Crusader and Redeemer would be nice since Death Cult Assassins and Crusaders do not have grenades (only the inquisitor does).

I am going to play around a bit. I might have to lose one of the Russes ( ) to make it all work.

EDITED TO ADD:

Did some playing around on Quartermaster and came up with this as something I think I could live with (keep in mind I haven't purchased Codex: Tempestus Militarum yet, I'm just going off White Dwarf and assuming to ally them in I need an HQ and a troop):

HQ

Quartermaster (75)

Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor w/ Lvl 1 Psyker, Force sword, carapace armour, 3x Servo skulls (72)

Commissar (25)

ELITE

Hydra Flak Platform (75)

Inquisitorial Henchmen Warband w/ Ministorum priest, Crusader x2, DCA x4, Acolyte x2, Land Raider (373)

TROOP

Platoon same as before but minus the Commissar, platoon standard, and power swords (225)

Death Korps Storm Grenadiers w/ power sword, melta x2, heavy flamer (160)

Tempestus Scions x5 w/ meltagun x2 (90)

FAST

Death Riders x8 (130)

HEAVY

Leman Russ Battle Tank (150)

Leman Russ Battle Tank (150)

TOTAL = 1525

Well, I'm pretty close at this point. What do you think?