Echoes of Eisenstein - upscaling madness with the XIV

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job.

[Sherrypie]

Tried the new Apoc for the first time, though with 6 mm armies. We played a ~250 PL match between Death Guard and Krieg, worked pretty swimmingly. The XIV took hold of the center field, held ground and racked up the victory points while the Krieg kept hammering them with their tanks. Much clamour was had in the middle. A full report coming later on, got to play a game or two more first today.

 

[Sherrypie]

Battle report time, ~250 PL armies!

 

The first contact between Death Korps of Krieg 17th line korps, under marshall Karis Venner, and the XIV's 3rd mechanised,

led by captain-commander Erasmus, had ended with the mobile astartes claiming the area and gunning down all opposition as

the Krieg consolidated their still formidable armoured assets away from the confrontation. Much was learned in the clash,

such as the imposing nature of almost unstoppable Spartans and the fear of destructive if short ranged Demolishers.

 

* Krieg order of battle *

 

- Supreme commander marshall Karis Venner, along with his court of aides, medics and 4 squads of 10 infantrymen.

- 40 grenadiers in 5 Chimeras led by a field officer, towing two heavy stubber teams along.

- 6 heavy weapon teams led by a commissar.

- 5 mortar teams led by a commissar.

- 5 Leman Russes with battlecannons led by a vanquisher commander.

- 3 Leman Russes with demolishers led by a battlecannon commander.

 

All Krieg tanks are of robust make and have Ignore Damage (6+).

 

* XIV order of battle *

 

- Supreme commander captain Erasmus (Chaos Lord), leading 4 squads of 10 (plague) marines.

- 4 squads of 10 marines, led by a witch (Malignant Plaguecaster).

- 4 super-heavy Spartan transports with havoc launchers transporting the above two detachments.

- 2 squads of 10 marines, led by a biologist (Putrifier).

- 3 long range support dreadnoughts (Helbrutes) led by a lieutenant (Chaos Lord).

- 3 assault Contemptors with lascannons and soulburner fists.

 

All marine squads are equipped with two blight launchers.

 

 

Our second game turned out to be a raid, with both sides trying to strike through the opposing lines and raze their supplies.

The XIV was still on the attack and like rolling thunder, the 3rd mechanized entered the battle.

 

Objectives ringed with red, VP's awarded for controlling and destroying those on the opposing side.

 

 

First detachment, led by a plucky biologist, enters the soon to be nicknamed "House of Death" in the center of the field

as Contemptors rain lasfire on the faraway Russes.

 

 

Catching the Krieg line in a crossfire, the support dreadnoughts on the

right flank take position to bully the grenadiers' rides. This prompts the Krieg to move towards their right flank in an

attempt to bypass the marines' firing positions midfield and protect their important Demolishers until they are ready to

pound the Spartans to dust.

 

 

Midfield, Spartans rumble forwards and pour more lasfire into the flanking Chimeras, half of which explode midway spilling

men and flames everywhere. Return fire from the battlecannon Russes and heavy weapons lays low the squads occupying the

House of Death, leaving the biologist all alone in his tower. Despite losses, grenadiers push forwards through the flank

and speed to their objective, which they manage to take and burn to the ground despite a talon of Contemptors blowing their

rides open with deadly radiation.

 

 

The midfield starts crawling with marines as Spartans' ramps crash down under ceramite boots and bolter fire fills the air.

Marshall Venner sees his chance and urges his cohorts onwards to take the building in front of them before the astartes can,

leaving the XIV in the open for a crucial minute that allows the Russ squadrons to blow holes in their midst. This does not

come without cost as the lonely biologist calls an air strike on the Demolishers, taking most of the nearby infantry and

some command personnel to their grave on the side. Unceasing tank fire manages to down one Spartan, which crashes against

the tortured walls of the main building, shaking dead men down like leaves in the wind. More marines took position in the

House of Death, only to be gunned down like dogs by the autocannon teams in the woods while shooting apart some of the

Demolishers in their sights.

 

 

Uttering something horrible, the witch pulls out all stops and rampages through the Krieg forces with corrosive winds of

unearthly sickness, blasts apart brave footslogs with mind bullets and bends reality so that the three forward Spartans

blink forwards ready to roll the opposition under their tracks. Both tank squadrons are taken by some surprise and lose

valuable shooting time as the assault tanks from their nightmares are trying to capsize them by force. They try to fall back

as well as they can, taking positions by their own objectives but open themselves for the support dreadnoughts to pour fire on.

At the same time, the grenadiers take the fight to the enemy and charge, shovels in hand, against the Contemptors to tie them

down while their last Chimera bravely rushes deep into enemy territory to take the second objective in preparation. Their

commading officer, who due to much confusion though he was a commissar this far into battle, charges the lone biologist

in the House of Death and ultimately bests him, kicking his broken body down from a window. Orbital lasers sweep the tanks

and evaporate the commander of the mortar teams, who then in turn get wiped almost to a man by the anti-personnel rounds

from the Spartans nearby. Though it seems that the Spartans are next to untouchable, there is a loud cheer in the Korps

as the autocannons kick into overachieving gear again and pour hit after hit on the tank sitting on objective 1, slaying

the beast in a spectacular explosion that also greatly hinders their nearby Russes' survival. Captain Erasmus and his

remaining men charge the last sneaky Chimera, but do not manage to destroy it outright.

 

 

 

Before the poor machine can drive towards the last objective further away, it is surrounded and torn down.

 

 

The fighting in the Krieg's left heats up to its final crescendo. The last Russes blaze through their last moments under

dreadnought's fire but manage to almost wipe them out in return with the aid of the autocannon teams on the right side of

the field, but the objective is finally lost under the weight of XIV's wrath as bolt fire tears through the last remaining

mortar team and everything burns to ashes.

 

 

On the right flank, the last Demolishers have retreated to the final objective (having given up the midfield where the

infantry holding it was lost to bolter fire after the Spartans' rampage) but cannot hold their nerve under the fusillade

of lascannons coming their way. Krieg is now out of tanks and their morale is wavering, but the battle is not yet over.

 

 

Out of the burning wreckage of the last Chimera scramble two heavy stubber teams, coats blown to bits and packs aflame,

but with the gusto of the grenadiers and imperial steel in their hands manage to tear down the enemy commander! Erasmus is

wounded by the assault and as the last proper grenadier squad falls back from the Contemptors, the Krieg actually does have

more units near the objective, bringing the situation to an exciting 2-2 as we enter the final turn.

 

 

The final charge of the grenadiers is sounded through a dastardly Seized Initiative by the field officer, who charges the

marines from one side while the grenadiers plunge suicidally into the other squad, buying time for the now free heavy teams

to leg it at the double towards the third objective. At the same time there is a fierce firestorm from the witch and his

marines into the woods holding the last couple of autocannons, but they do not manage to cut their targets down in any

meaningful numbers as they swarm the final objective on their side of the board to prevent the charging Spartan from taking

it as it comes crashing down on the ragtag heroes defending it.

 

On the other side, the XIV see there is no victory to be had any longer and turn their remaining guns to ensure the grenadiers

won't be smiling in victory either. The marines on the ground slaughter their assailants while the trio of Contemptors turns

around to bathe the would-be arsonists in agonising gamma bursts before puncturing them with over the top lasfire. With a

harsh "KA-FREEEM!" sound and a whiff of burnt flesh, the heavy stubber teams are no longer.

 

As a final note to a bitter draw, marshall Venner (having already marched through a bombardment, weathered several salvos

of bolter fire and a Spartan assault that crushed the Demolisher's next to him) charges the final behemoth and drives his

power sword through its thick hide in a spiteful gesture of defiance.

 

 

Phew!

 

A 2-2 draw on objectives, with almost complete destruction of the Krieg forces at the end. Bloodied but unbroken, the guard

had only two officers and two autocannon teams left alive in the end while marines had lost about half of their forces in

total. 60 men, two commanders, two Spartans and two dreadnoughts were lost in the engagement. Being mechanized is a HUGE

boon in Apocalypse, as casualties are not taken until the end of the turn you can always get some way up the board and it can

deny your opponent a lot of fire as they don't have light targets available until turn two. Being able to actually get

somewhere helps, too

 

I'm really enjoying the system, though there are some wrinkles we'll settle among gentlemen anyway (like making it harder

to shoot characters, using some thematically fitting command cards on factions other than those specified, using hidden

Orders through the whole turn instead of revealing them all before acting etc.). I must paint more stuff in this scale for

variation, as my buddy was getting a bit demoralized by the near indestructable Spartans without having super-heavies of

his own to counter them. Well, it's easy to fix that hole given we both have Titanicus armies to go, too

 

Thanks for looking!

[Sherrypie]

Back to building, then.

 

I needed a cheaper chaos lord to hang around my shooty marines for rerolls, so 'ere we go then. Captain-commander Erasmus joins the fray to lead his few, the happy few, this band of brothers. For he who stands with me today, shall forever be my brother.

 

 

 

 

Always wanted to use Kurtha Sedd's bits for some command figure, now they can finally hit the field. He'll get a proper base soon :P

[Jukkiz]

Wonderful use of AT knight weapon as marine weapon. Might be just tiny bit too out of scale but with paint, who cares~~

[Sherrypie]

Thanks Jukkiz! I don't think the scale is problematic there, it's just a bit fancier bionic. Not all studs and screws are the size of one's thumb :D

 

Also, our first 21st man joins the crew! Woo, 5% increase in survivability, yay... within 3"... Yay... But hey, he's got a sword! That counts, right?

 

 

 

 

[Sherrypie]

And in the spirit of gotta catch them all, we also need an inspirational speaker in the ranks to finish the set of supporting characters. So here's the beginnings of a company standard, standing in for a Noxious Blightbringer. Inspire us to run, instill fear in them. Sounds like a swell day job.

 

 

 

[TechType]

I'm impressed with the conversions, you have a really characterful and cool force!

 

The 6mm batrep tho, that really blew me away. Well written, and I've been pondering something like 6mm 40k for a bit - maybe I should do something about it.

[Sherrypie]

I'm impressed with the conversions, you have a really characterful and cool force!

 

The 6mm batrep tho, that really blew me away. Well written, and I've been pondering something like 6mm 40k for a bit - maybe I should do something about it.

Cheers, rule of cool is the name of the game :)

 

Glad to hear you liked the report, it's always fun to make them. 6 mm is a great scale, which allows proper battles instead of mere skirmishes.

[Sherrypie]

Well, there was some stuff on sale and...

 

 

He's a chunky boy, twice the height of his sons, but the gaunt reaper has always been a tall, pallid shadow in the fluff. No wings or daemonic greebles, as usual, just pure unabating self-loathing and alchemical doom. Except for Silence, but that's a daemon / xeno weapon to begin with. I will probably be running him with daemon prince rules, since they feel more in line with the primarchs (pre-daemonhood) being just that much beefier but not to titanic levels.

 

Fluffwise, I've been pondering this just in case and I'm leaning on the legio apothecarium having been on a quest to create their father again, this time without the disaster (eeh, best laid plans and stuff...). Much like Fabulous Bill alledgedly made Horus and Ferrus again, albeit this might not work as well, meaning that the simulacra thus wrought fall into decay soon after their birth. But as it is, some parts of our sire's consciousness remain after each try, learning and guiding our hands, eventually to succeed truly though it might take hundreds of lifetimes...

[Ryltar Thamior]

quality efforts - interesting use of lightning claw ends on the abdominal area

[Son of Carnelian]

Really spectacular stuff! Can't wait to see more!

[Sherrypie]

Thanks Ryltar Thamior and Son of Carnelian :)

 

The lightning claws were a serendipitious find, the BaC and BoP kits are full of them so they'll be popping up here and there from now on. Though I might redo the standard bearer's abs, he looks a bit chubby as it is.

[Marshal Rohr]

I'm insanely jealous of the epic scale models. I'm really hoping GW brings Epic back. 

[Sherrypie]

Huzah, random pictures time!

 

We had a freshmens' night at the roleplaying club and as the resident miniature nut I led some incursions into Space Hulk for the new blood. Always nice to have a 3D board ready for random layouts, slap every player two marines and it's burninating time :D

 

Attempting to reroute a hulk full of 'stealers away from the rich agriworld below, first eight men died, next twelve men died but finally the last fourteen had the spine to blow up their objectives (and then die immediately afterwards). Some pics taken by a friend:

 

"Ach, Gynter, we're all gonna die!"

 

 

 

 

[Sherrypie]

Adventures in smolscale continue, tanks galore!

 

They aren't yet ready, but I'm happy with how much got done in a day. Tomorrow it's correcting decals and numbers, weathering, battle damage and small details like headlights. Now my third mechanized can drive around without super-heavies :D

 

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Wow man wonderful painting, the conversions are nice too!

[Sherrypie]

Thanks Kolgrim!

 

On the painting front, the damn tanks are finally finished. These blighters are just too cute for their own good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

the baby tanks are so cute lol! 

[Sherrypie]

Yes, yes they are :D

 

On somewhat bigger front, I finally painted the Blightspawn! Phosphex for everybody, we'll see how he fares against Custodes tomorrow (damn invulnerables everywhere!). It's nice to have the style down so it only takes an afternoon to knock one of these guys out.

 

 

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the Blightspawn.

[Sherrypie]

Cheers, Bjorn!

 

Had a few matches versus my pal's Custodes and after splatting them left and right with the dreads my love for them was rekindled again. So here we go, another go at making the monopose horrors from BaC look like they're actually doing something. I got some second-hand pieces lying around, so a lot of chopping later this guy is shaping up nicely. Green stuffing and cabling to come. Funny sidenote, terminator lightning claws fit right in at the dreads fingertips to elongate them to claws

 

Not visible here, but I tore the ammo boxes off from his fists and replaced them with death's head containers. I'll probably paint some radiation warnings on the sides and use them as Soulburners or flamers as this merry box of murder thunders down the field.

 

Edited October 28, 2019 by Sherrypie

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The kitbashing done to the Contemptor are most appropriate for one of Mortarion's sons. Will you repaint it? Or leave the yellow arm taken as a trophy from an Imperial Fists Dreadnought, plus the turquoise frame taken from a Sons of Horus Dreadnought, in those colors to demonstrate the Death Guard's superiority over other Space Marines?

[Sherrypie]

It'll be completely repainted, though using a scavenged arm would be a nice detail were any of my regular buddies to play marines wherefrom an appropriately coloured one could be stolen :D

[Markus_]

Just wanted to point out this thread now has both upscaling and downscaling. :D
Good stuff all around, love the cramped battle shots.