1850 Escalation Chaos Marines List

Love or hate escalation it is now part of the game.  With that in mind I've been looking at my current options to try out the new rule set.  I'm not to keen on ordering a forge world model for my Eldar list mainly due wanting a plastic army.  With the Eldar then I'll likely look to incorporating Void Shield generators moving forward.

However, I would like to try out a super heavy in a regular game of 40k.  Wanting to limit myself to plastic models I really only have the Lord of Skulls as an option.  I have a small chaos marine force that with the inclusion of only one model jumps it up to 1850.  The list is as follows:

HQ:
Level 3 Sorcerer - plasma pistol, spell familiar, 5++ save

Troops:
10 Marines in Rhino - 2 plasma guns, dirge caster
9 Marines in Rhino - 1 plasma gun, dirge caster
2 x 10 Cultists - flamer

Fast:
Heldrake - baleflamer

Heavy:
Mauler Fiend - lasher tendrils

Super Heavy:
Lord of Skulls

Total Points: 1850

So not the most optimal list but another criteria was to keep everything WYSIWYG.  I think this army could be very fun to play.  Looking at the lord of skulls, for 888 points you are not getting something that is overly powerful for the points.  9 hull points on AV 13 can be burned down in a number of different ways.  However, playing this army you get to charge forward recklessly to smash things up.  Very fun I think.  Not quite ready to buy the lord of skulls model yet, but its nice knowing I have the ability to instantly have an 1850 point army with the purchase of one model.

Bring on the Nids

Nids could not appear on the scene at a better time as far as I'm concerned.  Going to get some narrative games under my belt.  My Iyanden army is moving forward at a good rate.  Although just a prime on the models, it is one step further to completing the army.  Going to dig deep over the holidays to try and finish up painting the army.  The prospect of playing a Nid vs Iyanden game is a great motivator.

As far as the list is concerned, I'm not going to change it up.  I was going to incorporate the new data slate but I'll wait to see if the rules regarding troop status are cleaned up.  If they do become troops then all I need to do is split the 10 man avenger squad into groups of five to be placed in the wave serpents. Bam!, instant rage and cover saves (though I don't like walking the d-scyth wraithguard).

As far as painting the army goes, next step is to pick up another can of army painter yellow.  Blast the wraith units then finish up the base coat with blues and blacks.  Next step then will be to base all the models.  At that point I will have a three colour min on all models and can return to them individually to provide highlights and shading.

With such a low model count it should not be too hard.  After the 1500 points is done I'm not sure where I'll go from there.  I may park the Eldar and start working on my lizardmen or chaos marines.  Also have the Robotech kickstarter models coming in February to look forward to.  2014 is shaping up to be a fun year for hobby and gaming both.

Brainstorming a Ghost Warrior Detachment List

I'm leaving aside the issue as to whether wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment can become troops right now.  The point of this post is just to have a little fun respecting the rules that dropped yesterday. So the focus is on the two special rules attached to the formation: wraithwall and rage.

So any friendly model that would gain a cover save (by way of intervening models) from a unit part of the ghost warrior detachment is granted a 4+ save.  This is a very beneficial rule in my opinion.  In essence it gives the Eldar player a mobile ageis defence line that can contest objectives (at minimum) and fire 15 strength ten shots a turn to name a few benefits.  The wraithguard themselves are fairly tall meaning quite a few units from the Eldar dex would benefit from the cover save.  Units like like warp spiders or warwalkers become a lot more durable when they can capitalize on a constant mobile 4+ cover save. Also, the living wraithwall can obtain battle focus when using an Iyanden spirit seer.

Warwalkers in particular seem to work well with the new detachment.  The Eldar player essentially has 3 extra heavy slots to work with.  So now an army can take 3 squads of warwalkers on top of the 2 wraithlords and single wraithknight.  The warwalkers also help shore up a weakness inherent to wraithguard: finding a point efficient way to provide anti-infantry firepower.  Plus in a pinch if the warwalkers get assaulted they benefit from the rage special rule.

Looking at the rage rule, the wraithlords and wraithknight will really shine now.  In the last few games I've played with my Iyanden list the swordlord has been the MVP.  Working in tandem with the wraithknight the swordlord often advances up the field unmolested as my opponents will focus on my wraithknight. Once the wraithlord makes it to the enemy lines it rolls over the opponent.   Wraithlords/knights with rage become very good.  A stock wraithlord for 120 points becomes a beast with rage.  Re-rolling all to hit rolls in the first round of combat greatly improves the standard WS 4 stat they carry.  That means more character challenge hits that are often doubling out an opponent on a roll of 2+.  If the wraithlord becomes a beast with rage, the wraithknight becomes a monster.  Initiative five re-rolling 4 attacks at strength 10 is a big improvement over the stock version of the wraith knight.

So for 480 points the two stock wraithlords and wraithknight provide you with 12 toughness 8 wounds that can be positioned so as to assure any intervening cover save they provide will be a 4+.  You can then layer your army so that the wraithknight can tank wounds and provide a cover save to all models behind it.  Being such a large and fast model you can really take advantage of this rule.  The wraithlords become all the better now that they don't have to dip their toe into cover to get a save.  They are also quicker as one does not have to roll for move through cover and they get an improved cover save to boot.  They can provide a 4+ cover save to the wraithguard behind themselves that in turn provide a 4+ cover save to the warwalkers behind them.

So if I were to brainstorm a list using the new formation it might look something like this (going with the Bay Area Open format as it is the next majour tourney coming up):

HQ:
Spirit Seer - wraithforge stone, helm of xellethon

Troops:
5 x 3 jetbikes

Heavy:
3 x 2 warwalkers - scatter lasers

Ghost Warrior Detachment
3 x 5 wraithguard - stock
2 wraithlords - stock
1 wraith knight - stock

Total Points: 1750

Total Troops: 5 (or 8 depending on whether the wraithguard become troops)
Total Strength 10 Shots a Turn: 17 (that can be spirit marked)
Total Strength 6 Shots a Turn: 48
12 toughness 8 wounds that can be healed every turn
3 MC's that will rage through the enemy lines.

While not a standard army and perhaps not the most optimal I think the above list could catch a lot of people off guard.  It is durable and deceptively fast with the jetbikes and battle focus.  Anyway just food for thought.  It may all be moot however if the general consensus is to ban the new data slates.

Why wraithguard in a ghost warrior detachment are troops:

Early morn I picked up the new data slate salivating at the prospect of some free USR's for my wraith army.  Well, I was not blown away, but after some thought the rules have grown on me.  The first thing that struck me was that if I selected the detachment it appeared I would loose three troops choices in the bargain.  Unlike the Marine and Tau data slates, the Eldar one is made up of troops.  It's a big deal to loose them given the high cost you pay to put wraithguard on the table.  Reading the rules more carefully; however, I think if you take a spirit seer in your primary detachment, the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment become troops. 

First stage in the analysis is to look at the relevent rules:

Eldar Codex:

-If a wraith seer is selected all wraithguard/blades in the ARMY move from elites to troops.
-All squads, vehicles and characters in the army are placed into a FOC slot depending upon their role on the battlefield.

Eldar Data Slate:

-A formation is a special detachment.
-The army list entries for units part of a detachment can be found in the codex corresponding to the faction the formation belongs to, including battlefield roles.


So at first I thought that because an army includes all detachments the spirit seer rule trumps all and wraithguard must be troops no matter what detachment they come from.  The problem with this proposition is that the spirit seer rule also explicitly states that the wraithguard shift from elites to troops.  The ghost warrior detachment makes no mention of what FOC slot the wraithguard belong to.  The problem that arises is that while the first condition of the spirit seer rule is satisfied (all wraithguard in the army) the second condition of the rule (FOC slots) can not be addressed.  So I thought to myself rules as written, wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment cannot become troops.

Not satisfied with this answer I dug a bit deeper.  Looking at the data slate rules for these special formations there was a clear link drawn between the data slate and the parent codex.  It is explicitly mentioned that individual rules for the units listed as part of the detachment can be found in the parent codex.  A number of examples are then listed including battlefield roles.  I was not really sure what exactly battlefield roles referred to so I cracked open my Eldar codex to take a look.  Under the 'using the army list' heading the rules state that unit entries are placed into FOC slots based on battlefield roles.  So there appears to be a direct connection between battlefield roles and FOC slots.

If this is the case then the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment now has a FOC slot assigned to it.  I believe this proposition is buttressed by the compulsion to look at the parent codex to determine the particular rules of a unit that make up part of the formation.  I suggest this means that the wraithguard selected as part of the special detachment has an FOC slot assigned to them.  This would then mean that the second component to the spirit seer special rule could be applied to these wraithguard.  As the spirit seer rule is army wide and not limited to detachments, the wraithguard from the ghost warrior detachment would move from the elite FOC slot to the Troop FOC slot as soon as a spirit seer was selected from the primary detachment.

I think it is important to note that while the wraithguard in the ghost warrior detachment become troops if a spirit seer is selected in the primary detachment, those same wraithguard do not satisfy the troop requirements of the primary detachment.  So 2-6 troop choices must be selected from the primary detachment.

Putting this all together I think the ghost warrior detachment provides a lot of options then when designing an Eldar list.  Without taking an allied detachment the Eldar player can (when a spirit seer is taken as an HQ) include up to 9 troop choices and 6 heavy slots (3 of which must be 2 wraithlords and a wraithknight).  In essence the Eldar book can now ally with itself to a limited extent without giving up the ability to take a secondary detachment.  I think this makes the ghost warrior detachment a very solid choice when building a list.

1500 Point Iyanden Army Ready To Test

So I've had the opportunity to get a couple of games under my belt with a few different 1250 Iyanden lists.  Now its time to build up to 1500k.  The above army includes:

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
2 x 5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard with D-Scythes - Wave Serpent - Shuriken Cannons up and down
10 Avengers - Wave Serpent - Scatter Lasers

Heavy:
Swordlord - flamers
Wraithlord - flamers, 2 starcannons
Wraithknight

Total Points: 1500

I've added the avengers to help deal with hordes and to add another quick element to the army.  Loving the swordlord, the wraithlord with 2 starcannons not so much.  Moving up to 1850 I'll reintroduce the 5 wraithblades and flesh out the army with some more pyschic support.  Its become a very fun army to play.

Cypher home for the holidays?

Just took a look at the new GW teaser trailer.  I'm going out on a limb but I think the warrior returning from the shadows just might be Cypher...

Hybrid Iyanden Army to Tackle New Space Marines

Hobby time stalled out last week and I've only got back to getting my 1250 list together.  The 5 wraith blades are assembled with only 4 more d-scyths to go.  I cannot stress how cool these wraithguard models are.  I really want to make them work.  Once the list is built I can get some games in at my FLGS. I've been thinking lately though that a hybrid army might be the way to go using wave serpents and wraith axes for bigger games.

With the prevalence of marine bikes I've been thinking that bubble wrapping 20 wraith units around 4 wave serpents might be a good idea.  Wave serpents die hard to assaults.  Especially assaulting marines. With the wraith blades you can provide some good interference.  I think this could really be effective if combined with rangers to provide another layer of defence.  The list I'm thinking about would look something like this.

HQ:
Baharroth

Elite:
2 x 10 wraithguard/blades

Troops:
2 x 5 rangers
4 x 5 avengers - serpent, holo, lasers

Heavy:
Wraithknight

Total Points: 1995

So the way I see the list working is the rangers infiltrate to prevent scout moves.  The wraith units set up as close the opponent as possible and push forward blocking incoming assaults to the wave serpents. The wave serpents set up on the board edge as far away from the opponent as possible.  The wraithknight stays with the wave serpents to provide the last layer of defence against assaults and drop pods.  Baharroth can join units that might require hit and run.  He also can bully weak units or scoot forward to help out rangers.  Just a rough idea but I'm trying to come up with a productive way to utilize the wraith guard models.  At any rate I'll play some games with my 1250 list before putting more wraith units together.

Working away at Iyanden

Started putting wraith blades together, they look deadly.  As I'm wont to do I've been rethinking my list. Because I'm not taking two squads of bog standard wraithguard I'm wondering if I need the farseer.  2 HQ's is a lot of points when I have so few models on the table top.  It might be better to drop the farseer and take a unit of 5 jetbikes and give the wave serpent holo-fields.

Moving up then to 1500 I can take another squad of wraithguard and perhaps 3 shadow weavers.  Then beyond an Autarch on jetbike with soulshrive and banshee mask.  Seeing as this is Iyanden I could also fit in a hemlock wraithfighter.

Just brainstorming really, going to keep on modeling though.

Almost There: 1250 Iyanden Starter List

I've settled on my 1250 list and have begun getting it assembled.  As you can see in the photo above it is very minimal.  I will build play and paint this list to get a feel for what is needed to expand it.  Here we go:

HQ:
Farseer
Spirit Seer - Helm

Troops:
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Scatter Lasers
5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Blade - Axes

Heavy:
Wraithlord - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1250 on the nose
Total Models: 20 (ohs nose)

Only point of contention I have with the list right now (other than the extreme low model count) is whether or not to replace the wraith blades with bog standard wraith guard.  Variety being the spice of life I've decided to go with the axes in leu of more shooting.  The wraithblades will camp my board edge objective along with the wraithlord.  The wraith blades can bubble wrap the wraithlord adding some extra protection from drop pod assaults and other nasty surprises.  The 4++ save makes them very hardy against hell drakes as well.  With that squad goes the spirit seer.

The Farseer will attach to the wraith guard squad and roll on the divination tree.  Goal is to get the 4++ save power.  This squad pushes forward mid field supported by the wraith knight.  The d-scyth wraith guard can push a flank or intervene where needed.

As for anti air I have 5 guided strength 10 shots and my wave serpent.  Not the best but the Eldar do not have great options in this department.  Because of this, part of me is thinking that I should replace the wraithblades with another 5 wraithguard.  I forgoe durability for the ability to twin link 10 strength 10 shots.

The wraithlord I equiped with 2 starcannons.  His job is to provide supporting fire focusing on heavy infantry.  Because he is a character he will get a precision shot on a roll of a six.  This will help me take out special weapons such as grav guns on bikes.  The spirit seer gives him battle focus so I have a limited ability to jump shoot jump with him.  I did not give him the sword as I don't think he needs it.  He can smash attack to get to strength ten if required.  If strength 10 is not required then strength 9 really is not that much different than strength 8.  The master crafted aspect is nice but I want to keep him shooting.  I get this ability at any rate with the spirit mark from the spirit seer.

Not sure what I will do beyond 1250.  Once the 1250 is assembled and painted I should have a few games under my belt.  I'll turn my mind to growing the list then.  In closing here is a close up photo of the assembled wraithlord.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Reminds me of the spartan destroid from robotech.

Trouble Building Iyanden List

So I really want to build an Iyanden list.  The problem is I don't know how to go about doing it.  What I do know is that I wan't a variety of different wraith units in the army.  As it stands I have 30 wraith guard, 2 wraith lords, the wraith knight and a spirit seer to work with.  I've come up with a 500 point list that I will finish building and painting before moving on.  I figure I should be able to spring board into the army after this is done.

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
10 Guardians - Bright Lance
5 Wraith Guard

Heavy:
Wraithlord - 2 Star Cannons

Total Points: 500

Nothing to drastic here.  I went with the star cannons on the wraithlord simply because I think it would look cool to mount the star cannons on the arms of the wraithlord.  I could swap them out for bright lances making the wraithlord look like a mini wraith knight but I like the look of the star cannons better.

Growing the list from here though has me stumped.  Eventually I want both wraith lords and the wraith knight in the list.  This eats up a ton of points (400 to be exact).  I also want to include some wraith blades of both varieties because the models look so cool.   But again having trouble fitting it all into a list. I do have one wave serpent that I've already primed yellow.  I plan to put 5 D-Scyths into it.  This unit is 340 points by itself.

With the above three blocks of mini's completed I'm looking at 1240 points total.  The army would look like this:

HQ:
Spirit Seer

Troops:
10 Guardians - Bright Lance
5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Holo Field

Heavy:
2 x Wraithlords - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1240

I still have not added any wraith blades yet.  I also think some jet bikes would go a long way in rounding out the list or some swooping hawks.  I don't need the army to be the hardiest list around but I don't want it to fall on its face every time I play a game.  I could add in another 20 wraith guard bringing the total in the army up to 30.  This would sky rocket my total points to 1910 points.  I could drop the guardians bringing the total points down to 1800.  I also should be looking to put hit and run into the list. Either through allies or Barroth.  I like the idea of Barroth because no know one ever uses him.  So at 2k the list might look like this:

HQ:
Barroth
Spirit Seer - Helm

Troops:
10 Wraith Blades - axes or swords
3 x 5 Wraith Guard
5 Wraith Guard - D-Scyths, Wave Serpent, Holo Field

Heavy:
2 x Wraithlords - 2 Star Cannons
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1995

What would look really cool would be to run a wraithseer in the list.  Replace Barroth with a the WS + EML would bring the list up to a cool 2k.  At the end of the day this would look awesome on the table top.  Hate investing a ton of time into an army that is sub par though.

Anyway if you've made it this far into my ramblings thank you.  I'll start with the 500 points and go from there at any rate.  Still though I would like to have an idea of how the list should look at 2k but it escapes me.

Asurmen Death Star

So I've been messing around some more with army builds to try out.  The shinny thing that has captured my attention lately is Asurmen.  Not a big fan of the model but I think as a beat stick he is fairly good.  I want to run him with a bunch of psychic support to really make him shine.  I have been tossing around running him with 5 spirit seers or 4 warlocks and a farseer.  Going to try out the farseer/warlock path first.  The army list is as follows:

HQ:
Asurmen
Farseer - spear
4 Warlocks

Troops:
3 x 10 Avengers in serpents with holo lasers
2 x 6 Rangers
3 Jet Bikes

Heavy:
Falcon - starcannon, holo
Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1850

Going back to using 30 avengers.  With marines back on the scene I think they become all the better as my go to eldar troop choice.  The rangers are there to block scout moves if facing bikes.  Otherwise they either camp my board edge objective or outflank to grab objectives late game.  Also plan to (hope to) combine horrify with their sniper rifles.  The 3 jet bikes are there to get line breaker late game and will spend a game reserved/hiding as best possible.  The wraith knight I have been waffling on with the advent of grav guns. However, the model is a great center piece to my army and I think he still brings a lot to the table.  Just need to be mindful of 30 inch grav gun ranges when placing him.

What I'm really excited about is running a jacked up Asurmen death star.  Asurmen by himself is pretty good, however when pimped out with runes of battle powers I think he will really shine.  4 rolls on the battle runes table.  Really gunning for horrify and renew.  Being able to heal his lost wounds will put him over the top.  Also horrify combined with his remove from play sword should come in handy.  The warlocks are a natural fit for Asurmen as they also provide an answer to potential assaults with AV 12/13 walkers.  Also he gives the warlocks counter attack.  I will be happy with the 3 primaris powers on the farseer.  2 guides to twin link the wraith knight and falcon.  I think the psychic shriek will be deadly when combined with horrify.

The way I envision the army being deployed is the two ranger squads mid field to block scouting bikes.  The wave serpents will deploy in a line.  The falcon and wraith knight will deploy behind the wave serpents. Ultimately the army is designed to brace against an oncoming army.  The tanks dish out pain turn one.  Turn 2 the infantry jump out to bladestorm away.  I've found the avengers do a good job withstanding an assault. Between snap shots and counter attack they usually hold their own.  If they break, initiative 5 usually means they won't get swept.  Turn three I'm in a position to counter assault with Asurmen and the wraith knight.

Also with the way the army works in tight formation, having d3 Eldar warlord powers can really add some significant punch.  Being able to re-roll 1's on turn two is clutch when my entire army unloads its guns.  If I need to re position a 2+ cover save is nice to have on a turn.  Re-rolling ones on armour saves goes a long way as well.

On paper I think it works but I need to get some games under my belt with the list.  If I really like the way Asurmen plays I think I may try and kit bash a plastic version.  Think you could make a cool looking model using high elf and avenger bits.

Project Alaitoc

Been awhile since my last post.  Have not been in the hobby much with work and enjoying the summer.   Winter is coming so I figure I should have more time for the hobby.  In the mean time I've been struggling to come up with my Eldar army.  When the codex fist dropped I was all over the power lists.  When I first started reading the rules all I saw was wave serpents and wraithknights.  With marines out and the almighty grav gun I'm not so sure wriathknights are as optimal anymore.  Still a strong choice but not the beast he was prior to September.

With that in mind I decided to stop focusing on the best list I can build to a list I want to build.  Alaitoc.  I want lots of rangers and scorpions.  Throw in some war walkers and avenger wave serpents  The goal is to build a unique army I can call my own but still can hold its own.  Off the top of my head I'm thinking of a list like this:

HQ:
Farseer - singing spear

Elite:
10 Scorpions- exarch, power claw

Troops:
10 Storm Guardians - 2 fusion guns, wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 10 Avengers - wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 5 Rangers
5 Jet Bikes

Fast:
5 Spiders

Heavy:
Fire Prism
Night Spinner
3 War Walkers - star, lasers


I think this would be a fun themed list to build and play.  Lots of character with the Scorpion Exarch.  Will it shine probably not.  Could it sucker punch someone who does not see it coming: yes.  At any rate not sure what my Eldar army will look like when its done.  I do know that I want to make sure I build a list that is not cookie cutter.

Taking out Gabriel Seth for a spin.

Going down to my local game store tonight.  Going to take Seth out for a spin.  Here is the list using as many painted models as possible:

HQ:
Seth

Elite:
Priest: - power axe

Troops:
10 Tac Squad - flamer, missile launcher, rhino
10 Assault Squad - 2 melta guns, rhino
5 Assault Squad - melta gun, rhino
8 Death Company - power sword, rhino

Fast:
2 Baal Preds

Total Points: 1250

35 feel no pain marines led by Seth.

Should be fun.

Returning to the Flesh Tearers

I don't know why but I've a hankering to return to the Flesh Tearers.  Must be underdog syndrome.  I think because the army did not transition as well to 6th edition as others that there is more freedom to take a fun list.  No problem then to have Seth leading a frenzied bunch of marines across the table.  If you lose so what lol.  Fooling around with army builder I've been thinking of running the following list at 2000 points:

HQ:
Seth
Librarian - blood lance, shield

Elite:
Priest - Power Axe

Troops:
5 man assault squad - rhino, melta gun
5 man assault squad - razorback, twin linked lascannon
10 man assault squad - rhino, 2 melta guns
10 man taq squad - rhino, plasma gun, missile launcher
7 Death Company
1 Death Company Dread - claws

Fast:
2 Baal Preds - heavy bolter sponsons
Attack Bike - multi-melta

Heavy:
Storm Raven
Pred - lascannon sponsons

2k in total.

In a way its anti-meta in that there is quit a bit of melta weapons in the list.  The way I see it working is the lascannon pred and razorback stay back field giving me some long range cover fire as well as a little 5 man deck chair unit.  The Baal preds will scout move up a flank away from the main thrust of my rhino rush.  Its a move that always paid off in 5th edition.  The three rhinos push into mid table turn one utilizing the 5+ cover save and 5+ FnP bubbles.  Seth then can ride in glory with the death company in the storm raven hitting what ever target presents itself.

Over all the army is the closest I have to completion.  I have all the models.  Going to give it a spin next time I play.

All Aboard The Dinosaur Bus

Iyanden Paint Scheme

I finished my test model and can say I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.  Only big problem I see is drybrushing the gun.  Becasue I apply 2 spray coats of primer (white then yellow) the model gets a textured feal to it.  Makes it impossible to dry brush as the entire surface is covered in raised paint.  Future models I'll simple add a couple of quick line highlights such I did for the yellow bits.

Iyanden though lol... I don't know if I just bit off a bit more than I can chew.  Lining up the new paint scheme with my existing work in progress I'm not sure if the two fit.  I'll paint up the yellow wave serpent and then decide if I keep going with new Iyanden style on the wraith knight or go back to tried and true blue.

Fist Official Lizardman Teaser From GW

Another 1250 point game against raven wing

Got another game in last Thursday.  Mixed up my 1250 list dropping the wraithknight and adding in a crimson hunter.  Also swapped one fire prism out for night spinner.  We called the game middle of turn three.  As he only had one unit of bikes left and the nightshroud skimmer.  I also had a whack of stuff left to shoot that turn.  Wave serpents are amazing.  Every game they shine and when people get close thinking they can take them out... out pop all my shuriken guns rending away to their harts content.  Anyway, did some painting the past while.  Last week has been busy for me with work so not as much done as I would have liked.  Still though I just have to keep chipping away at the mountain and eventually the army will be painted.  The following photo's are sequential up to middle of my turn three.

Finaly, below is just a rough test model using army painter yellow (stole idea from zen 40k here). Looking to add lots of more yellow into my standing army...

Eldar Apocalypse

I've told myself no.  No I will not jump on the new fad from GW.  I will not buy the new Apocalypse book.  So I will not buy the new book... yet.  I do however have the Doom of Mymeara campaign and as would luck would have it, a friend that has a Cadian IG army.  Nothing stopping me from trying out a few missions from the Imperial Armour book.

The above is a 1500 point army nearly painted to completion.  As it stands the first mission of Doom of Mymeara requires a 1500 Eldar army.  It includes a bunch of upgrades and whatnot and is not very optimal.  But it is nearly painted in its entirety.  I hope then to play the first mission and then aim to play out the campain as presented in Imperial Armour 11 at a leisurely pace.

Expanding the army I can draw upon some Eldar Corsair allies.  In particular I have 2 falcons that likely won't have a place in my Eldar list.  Bringing the list up to 2k and beyond I can easily add in some Corsair's and perhaps at some point down the road pick up a forgeworld model or two.  In particular I really like the lynx.  Not now or any time soon but perhaps down the road some indeterminate time I may look to expanding my collection with some forgeworld models.

With respect to my standard games of 40k, I've changed up my list for 1850.  Ultimately I've decided to drop the wraith knight for now.  A couple of reasons: one I want to try out some other units in the Eldar book (namely the crimson hunter and some war walkers).  Two, I have two war walkers nearly completed and a third one on the sprue in my collection.  As with the last post I'm taking the path of least resistance.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the army right now but it is all but built and 2/3rds painted (one war walker needs to be assembled).  The list is as follows:

HQ:
Farseer - spear
Spirit Seer

Troops:
5 Wraith Guard - wave serpent, holo, lance
2 x 10 Avengers - wave serpent, holo, laser
10 Storm Guardians - 2 flamers, wave serpent, holo laser

Fast:
Crimson Hunter

Heavy:
Fire Prism - spirit stone
Night Spinner - crystal matrix
3 War Walkers - shuriken cannons

Total Points: 1850 on the nose

The basic premise of the list is that the Farseer picks only divination powers and rides with the wraithguard.  Guaranteed prescience, I know that I can always twin link 5 s.10 and 1 s.9 shots to deal with flyers toughness ten or heavy armour.  Any other combination of 2 powers from divination will not be wasted when cast on the Wraith Guard.  In particular I want the 6th power that allows me to roll 3 dice on reserves/outflank/mysterious terrain.  In fact I might not take prescience if it means losing that power.  As I see it I need the control over reserves and outflank rolls to maximize the potential of the war walkers and crimson hunter.

I know the crimson hunter is not considered optimal but even if it takes out one heldrake, its paid for itself.  My 4 wave serpents can take out a quad gun very reliably.  With the 3 rolls on reserve I can help assure my flyer comes on after an opponent.  I feel I need a second option in case I face 2 heldrakes or more.  The twin linked wraithguns can take out one but if there are two then the squad will likely be wiped in return.  Perhaps the hunter is a waste of points but I want to move beyond theory hammer and try the model out.  Especially because I really dig the look of it.

The war walkers are as cheap as I can make them.  I plan to put them in reserve and outflank.  The additional dice on choosing a side to outflank will come in handy as well.  Big thing for including the 3 walkers is that I nearly have a unit completed and painted.  Also been watching a lot of the front-line gaming videos and the walkers tend to do very well.

The Spirit Seer rides with the Storm Guardians.  They worked very well for me last edition.  Often my opponent would simply discount them and focus on other parts of my army.  I think they will work all the better now with the boost to their stats.  Guaranteed shrouding and one other additional power, they will complement my list.  Cut down my Avenger squads by one mainly because I did not want to paint 10 more white helmets.  I stand by my choice however to include them in the wave serpents.  The internet and myself do not agree on their utility.  They have done very well for me though so they stay.  Switching the Storm Guardians in for the 3rd Avenger squad will give me some more flexibility.

I had to make room to put on the crystal targeting matrix on the Night Spinner.  It seems like this bit of kit was made for the spinner in particular.  For 140 points this unit is very flexible and gives me access to a decent barrage weapon to deal with opponents behind the aegis.  Plus if the opportunity presents itself can scoot across the board to capitalize on poor enemy model placement with the torrent weapon.  The Fire Prism does what it says on the label.  Has the stones so it keeps firing every turn.

So that's the new list.  I think I will miss the wraith knight but at least I will have tested out some other units.  It may well be that it makes it back into my list.  Bringing the list up to 2k, I would add in 3 jet bikes and 6 spiders.  Need to figure out how to shave 15 points though.  That's it for now.

Eldar update: 1250 point army nearly done, 1500 in sight.

The path of least resistance is one I decided to tread.  Was not really up for painting another group of ten dire avengers, so I pulled out from storage a squad of storm guardians I used to run in 5th.  It will be a lot easier to finish them up rather than go through another ten white helmets.  Also with points saved I can throw in a crimson hunter in my 1250 list.  Also wanted to try out the night spinner so I got out my conversion knife.  Cut the fire prism gun off and then magnetized it.  Also magnetized some spinner barrels for the night spinner.   The above now (absent the wraith knight) comes in at 1250 on the dot.  Bringing the list up to 1500 I'll add the wraith knight.  Going beyond that to 1850 I've 5 d-scyth wraithguard and serpent I'll add.

The 1250 list:

HQ:
Farseer - singing spear

Troops:
10 Storm Guardians - 2 fusion guns, wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 10 Avengers - wave serpent, lasers

Fast:
Crimson Hunter

Heavy:
Fire Prism
Night Spinner

Painting wise, it is a lot easier to paint up the crimson hunter than another ten avengers.  So the end is in sight to having a completed 1250 army.  I've been thinking an autarch might be a better choice for the above to assist the CH.  I can take him stock with the banshee mask, thus freeing up 30 points to put holo fields on the avenger wave serpents.  Or I can give the autarch the fire saber to make the storm guardians half decent in an assault.

With the farseer I've given him the spear and the guardians fusion guns: as those three guided anti tank shots will do in a pinch if I need to drop a landraider or monolith.  It was how I ran the squad back in 5th and it did well for me.  For now the unit will stay as is.  I'm happy with how the farseer turned out so I plan to use him aplenty.  I think after my army is complete at the 1250 level and I have time before the lizardmen drop, I might return to the chaos marines.

I've had a hankering to make up a nurgle sorcerer to act as an antagonist to farseer dumuzi.  The 1250 army is primed and on the way to being painted.  Would be cool to have two completed 1250 lists so that I might get some games in with friends that otherwise would not be interested in the initial start up cost of the hobby.

In closing, the state of my eldar army is looking good.  It is 100 percent a plastic army and built up to 1850.  It includes all the new mini's I bought as well.  Is it hyper competitive - likely no - but it can hold its own.  At 1250 I have a lot of tools to play with on Thursday game nights.  That's all for now.

-- edit --

Thinking about it some more, bringing the list up to 1850 I should swap out the farseer for a spirit seer and use the iyanden army list.  I can then make my wraith knight the warlord and the d-scyth wraithguard are now scoring.  Battle focus would be deadly on the wraithguard and wraithknight.  Can also afford to take the item that allows me to heal wounds on a 3+.  If I drop the holo stones on the guardians and give them flame weapons then I should have 25 points to play with.  Not sure how much it costs but if 25 points or less can take item that allows the wraithguard to accept challenges rather than the spirit seer.  I think a fairly solid list.

Second Squad of Avengers Nearly Done

Have the second squad of avengers nearly complete. The white helmets took forever. While I painted multiple thin coats, I also decided to paint the white bits on another wave serpent. I need to do some edge highlighting that should go fairly quickly and one last coat of white... Can never have enough thin layers of white lol.

Here is my 1250 list that I want to paint to completion before moving onto the wraith knight.  The 5 OOP ranger models are ones I had from back in high school (nearly 20 years old).  I think for now they will act as stand ins.  Will likely pick up 5 of the new fine cast models.  Have five of the new models in metal but they got banged up very badly last summer when I was doing some work on my basement.

My goal is to have the above painted by the time the new lizardmen book comes out.  Most of the work on the tanks is done but for the bottom half's and some edge highlighting.  Now that I know how I want to paint them should not take too long.  The Avengers are a time sink though.  If I have the time I would like to go back and update my first squad of Avengers.  Its the first unit I painted a couple of years ago when I first came back to the hobby.

Eldar Farseer Painting Steps

After priming the model I first did a quick blue base paint on the cape with Kantor Blue.  I then painted the face plate with Alaitoc Blue simply to help define the edges of the helmet before painting my yellow.  All yellow started with Averland Sunset.  I then worked my way up to Flash Gitz Yellow with a number of thin coats.  I also added more layers as I painted out of the recesses to help provide depth.  Final step for yellow was to edge high light with a 50:50 mix of Flash Gitz and White.

This just shows the back side of the model from first photo.  Yellow is done and only one blue base coat.

Worked quite a bit on the cape.  Layered out of the crevaces using Alaitoc Blue Hoth Blue and Ice Blue (old paint line).  Also panted the leather and wraithbone bits a brown base that I will differentiate with layers on the next step.  I think it was bestial brown from old paint line.

Painted the wraith bone bits bleached bone (old line).  The staff handle is not painted yet but will be bleached bone as well.   Also applied a wash of Asurman Blue (again old line) to cape to tone down the highlights.  Leather bits are painted with a lighter brown (not sure of name old line something leather).  The staff head I was trying to go for a purply weapon effect.  Failed.  Need to practice on other models before I go back and try to fix.

Backside again.

Gems painted up and washes applied to wraithbone (earth shade).  The belt was simply a green wash over the white primer. 

Model is done for gaming purposes.  Looking at these photo's I think I should go back to do a few touch ups.  Notably the yellow splashes on the blue collar.  Also not happy with singing spear.  I really want to work on painting weapons up with a sheen to make it pop.  

And started working on a squad of Avengers last night.

Farseer Dumuzi Painted

Really happy how the yellow turned out.  Blue cape is good as well.  Not very happy with singing spear.  Not sure if green sash was a good idea.  He is done though.  Going to paint up a squad of Avengers next then finish their wave serpent.  Will tackle another troop choice after that.

Forging My Eldar Narative

In my mad rush to build a list I almost forgot this game is focused on forging a narrative.  I'm all for it.  So I looked back to a story that really struck a chord with me in the recent demon codex.  The whole affair where Nurgle battled the newly (or always) formed Slaanesh for the now defunct Eldar deity Isha.  Great story about an against all odds attempt to rescue the goddess that ultimately failed.  Because the Eldar codex did little to advance the fluff I've decided to theme my army off that tale.

Looking at the general back story of the Eldar I suspect games workshop drew heavily upon Sumerian mythology.  This is very cool when one looks at the Necron fluff as well.  Clearly a similar backdrop appears in Eldar and Necron origins.  Ultimately entrenching the links between the two oldest mortal races of the 40k universe.  With this in mind I did some internet skulking to do some rudimentary research as to the background story to my Eldar army.

I came across a great tale involving Ishatar who went down to visit a relative in the underworld.  Funny thing about the rules of the Sumerian underworld is that gods are trapped there even after a benign visit.  So what does Isha do, cuts a deal with the demons down below to switch her spot with her demi-god boyfriend Dumuzid.  Dumuzid, the shepherd, takes her place and becomes the god of the underworld and fertile agriculture.  Seems like he cut his own deal with the demons where he could leave the underworld for 6 months out of the year to come topside.  Hence the cycle of life and death becomes attributed to his domain of influence.

What really makes this story great is that the lord of the underworld prior to Dumuzid's involvement is Nergal.  A real bad ass who inflicts plagues and disease on mortals as his whims please him.  Now Nergal or some other derivative of his name is a fairly strong center piece in the eclectic and diverse Mesopotamian pantheon.  Apparently there is even reference to him in the Old Testament.  What a great backdrop to forge a narrative.

Enter center stage Farseer Dumuzi.  A juxtaposition to be sure.  While in no real fashion a rival to Eldrad's tenure as the longest living example of his people, Dumuzi is ancient by all standards of his race.  That being said, poor Dumuzi has only recently begun his journey along the path of the seer.  And it will be the last path he treads in his mortal life.

Path of the outcast, avenger and many others are well known to Dumuzi.  He is a paragon of Alaitocii society.  It is whispered that the lineage of his house predates the fall a tenfold.  That his pedigree can be traced back to the wondrous time of Asuryan.  His family name is found in the same ancient texts analogous with the Eldar gods of old.  Who is Dumuzi?  What do the runes of fate portent for him?  Why now, in the twilight of his lifespan, has he finally succumbed to the whispers urging him onto the path of the seer?  Only time will tell...

I have my protagonist.  A rough start to forging my narrative: but a start none the less.

1850 Built Eldar Army

1850 points of Eldar built (with a couple of minor exceptions):

HQ:
Farseer - spirit stone, singing spear

Elite:
5 Wraith Guard - wave serpent, holo, lasers

Troops:
3 x 10 Avengers - wave serpent, holo, lasers
2 x 5 Rangers

Heavy:
2 Fire Prisms - holo
1 Wraith Knight

Total Points: 1850

So this is it.  Army is built and now onto finishing up magnetizing and painting.  I need to figure out something for the tank bases.  I refuse to continue with the GW supplied ones.  I'm thinking golf tee's shaved off at either end glued onto a thin piece of round plywood.  Magnetize the top of the tee to the tank.  I'll play around until I find something I like.  Not a big fan of the plastic bases.  Especially since my tanks are 3-4 years old.  The stands have worn a bit so my tanks flop all over the place playing any given game.  Need to magnetize the last serpents gun and magnetize the serpents underslung gun.  After that do one glance over the unprimed models for mold lines then bring on the primer.  I need to dig around all my bits boxes as well.  Missing the turret mount for last wave serpent.  Also need to find one more scatter laser.

As for the army, I know I have been talking about dumping the fire prism's but they serve a function and I don't really want to spend more money on the army right now.  Now is the time to get as many games under my belt before I make any drastic changes.  Besides, I think I may have come up with a solution to the fast in your face armies after chatting it up on the 11th company forums.  I was lamenting about my loss to the raven wing when a seasoned Eldar player suggested I use rangers to block the opposing bikes.  I did not think about the game turn priority between infiltrating units and scout moves.  With my 2 ranger squads I can deny my opponent their scout move thereby pushing back their initial movement 12 inches from my deployment zone.   This would also work for korne dogs I suspect.  No more double tapping into my tanks turn one if I go second.

I think this is especially potent if you are playing on a nova style table top.  Rangers can infiltrate on the mid ruins out of site.  This splits the opponents army up to the flanks as I've denied the scout move down the middle.  I can then in turn refuse a flank to focus on the other army piecemeal.  Big bonus points for bringing it back to my Alaitoc theme as well lol.  Also like the idea I'm not screwed if I go second.

I do think I might be better served swapping my fire prisms for a wraith knight, but with my rangers blocking the initial thrust, my fire prisms might actually do a good job.  Also, been watching the killadelphia tournament that the 11th company put up on Ustream this weekend.   The extra long range shooting from the fire prisms might be worth keeping.  Especially against tau.  It would be nice to get rid of those skyrays turn one if possible.  4 wave serpents and 2 twin linked fire prisms could take out 2 skyrays.  This then leaves the Eldar army out of range from the remaining broadside unit or riptides from retaliation.  Next turn focus on killing off remaining marker lights.  Its a rough plan but I'm glad I was able to see some hard tau armies at play.

So no more changes I hope, as I want to start on the next stage of completing my army.  I also have lizardmen coming down the pipe to think about.  What great ways will I be able to expand my fantasy army.  So for now this is my list.  Could be better, but it could be a lot worse.  I have a plan and at the end of the day it is my list and not a net list which is nice.

Leaked Lizardmen Photo?

Was taking a break from trolling forums for Eldar info to trolling forums for new lizardmen info.  Came across this photo on Lustria Online.  Looks like the terradons are moving to plastic.  Great news if true. Only issue I have with it are the 3 metal ones I bought at the beginning of the year lol.  Ah this is my year for the hobby.  Lots of stuff to get excited about.

First Loss With Eldar

Had another game against Raven Wing last night.  This time I did not steal initiative.  He hit my lines hard knocking out 2 wave serpents and pinning one squad.  Being put on the defensive turn one, I screwed up my target priority with him breathing down my neck.  Everything looked really grim as I tried to consolidate my avengers into terrain and circle the wagons so to speak.

Big advantage to the Raven Wing is hit and run.  I could not tie up his models with my wraith knight and when they jump out of assault on my turn they get an extra 3d6 movement.  It was looking grim as by turn three I was down to a full unit of avengers and an unscathed wraith knight.  Was going to call the game there but I decided to see what kind of punishment the wraith knight could take.  I almost tabled him lol.  Through combat and assaults my wraith knight took down  all but 1 of a squad of bikers and 1 squad of raven knights and a command squad on bikes.  My avengers took down an attack bike and flubbed against his dark shroud.  Game ended on turn 6, he had 1 bike with plasma gun, 1 attack bike and the dark shroud left.  My avengers were still 10 strong and my wraith knight was down to one wound.  After the game I realized I forgot completely that the wraith knight has hammer of wraith hits as well lol.  Could have made a difference but c'est la vie.  My opponent played a strong game and out played me.

Man the raven wing is a tough nut to crack if you don't have first turn.  Especially the raven wing knights.  From here on in they are target priority number one.  Still like my wave serpents though so I don't plan on making any drastic changes in the immediate future except perhaps dropping my fire prism.  Perhaps its because my opponents have treated it as a large target priority is why I've found it underwhelming.  This could be a good thing.  But I can drop 2 fire prisms to pick up another wraith knight.  And that thing is simply boss.  I'm also going to start turning my mind to allies.  That is all I guess for now.