New 1750 SM list.

This is what 1750 points gets you in new SM codex...
1 captain
1 chaplain
6 tac squads with lascannon, razor back with lascannon
2 assault bikes with multi melta
2 devistator squads with lascannons, razorbacks with lascannons
2 dread with multi meltas
2 hunters
2 stalkers
Everything is objective secured
2 free tactical disciplines a game
2 free combat doctrines a game
Chapter tactic of choice.

Bad Ass 1250 Point Pure Blood Angels

Rather than working on my army for the escalation tourny I've been assembling a pure Blood Angels list.  Got carried away with wanting to start painting a new project fresh.  Really looking forward to building and painting the above army.  I need to bling up the pods and raider with some BA icons then time to spray.  Going with another army painter primer.  Learning my lessons from Iyanden and my Lizardmen, I will prime white then apply a light coat of army painter dragon red.

After red prime is down I'll switch to GW paints.  The army list is as follows:

HQ:
Terminator Librarian - Level 2, Combi- Melta
Priest

Elite:
5 Thunder Hammer Terminators - Banner, Land Raider Crusader, Multi-Melta
Furioso - Drop Pod, Frag Cannon

Troops:
2 x 10 Tac Marines - Drop Pod, Melta-Gun, Combi-Melta, Heavy Flamer

It's going to be a bad ass looking army on the table top!  The new Eldar codex really sucked the joy out of my Iyanden army.  Glad I've rediscovered the Blood Angels.  Full steam ahead.

Archangels 1rst Company

While working on my flesh tearers I caught the 40k bug.  I want to build a proper blood angel detachment to go along with my tearers.  Loving new librarian and new blood angel terminator skulpts.  Just picked up a furioso dread to go along with my termies.  Nice 500 point package. 

Hq
Terminator Librarian -melta gun, auspex

Elites
5 Assault Terminators - banner, thunder hammers.
Furioso Dred - pod, frag cannons

Total Points: 500

Plan to plug the above detachment into my existing 650 point army of flesh tearers.  I admit I've really come around to all of these detachments.  I'm having fun planning them out.  These plug and play elements all with there special rules are fun to mull around.  Also makes for easier management of projects. 

Another big reason I want to do blood angels proper is that I had front line gaming paint up most of flesh tearer army.  I love the paint job.  But rather than try and recreate it I want to start with something fresh.

650 Flesh Tearers Rebased

Plugging away.  Rebased my old marines to the new standard.  Looking good I must say.  It was touch and go with a couple of them and some toes were lost to the warp.  Not sure how I want to base them.  Likely will use the GW material.  Before that I'm going to go through the army systematically touching them up.  Will start with assault squad as they need the most work.

500 Point Flesh Tearer Detachment in 30 Days.

Lists are due tomorrow for the mini tourny starting at the end of June.  All painted and wysiwyg number one rule.  I've focused on 500 points using the flesh tearer detachment.  After tourny is over I want to run it with my eldar spirit host detachment.  Nice prepackaged 1500 point list.  Anyway army is as follows.

HQ
Librarian - auspex, gallians staff

Troop
Tac squad - flamer, heavy flamer, rhino

Fast Attack
5 Assault Marines - 2 melta guns, rhino

Elite
5 Death Company, jump packs

I like that it is a stand alone army using flesh tearer detachment.  Leaves me lots or room to try out some allies.

In order to complete it I need to paint 5 more marines and rebase all the models.  I have a 30 day window to get it done.  Time to dust off my hobby tools and paint.

650 Flesh Tearer List (painted)

Some friends are running a narritive campaign for the summer.  650 points painted.  About 12 armies (all different) have signed up.  Story driven games.  It should be fun.  Im going to bring Flesh Tearer's.  It's  the path of least resistance.  Deadline for painted minis is June end.  Just need to tidy up details and rebase on bigger space marine bases.  Looking forward to some games.

1500 Points of Iyandin

Getting the army built is taking longer than I thought.  Time is a precious commodidity that I have little in store of lately.  Still though, the guardian boxes came in and I've started assembling them.  On the painting side of things, getting a white then army painter yellow coat down will take no time at all.  I will paint up the blue bits en masse.  Then its a dark brown for the weapons (later to be highlighted bone colour for a wraithbone look) and a quick splash of paint on the bases.  This will give me my three colour min army wide.  Only then will I look at highlighting the models.  Frankly I've got my first wave of robotech tactics sitting on a shelf waiting to be assembled.  Want to start that project up sooner than later as well.

The list above is as follows:

Wraith Host:

Spirit Seer - Kurnous's Bow (had the points left over)
2 x 5 Wraithguard
5 Wraith Axes
Sword Lord
Wraith Knight - (probably switch out to sword from photo above)

Guardian Defender Host

Far Seer - Spear, Stone
3 x 10 Guardians - EML's
Viper - EML
War Walker - Scatter Lasers
Weapon of Vaul - Vibro Cannon (only have bits to build vibro cannon)

Total Points - 1500

Not sure if EML's are worth it even though they have skyfire.  AP 4 gives flyrants a armour save.  Still though 4 shots a turn at regular BS should help deal with flying monstrous critters.  Helldrakes will be the bane of my army I think.  Having twin linked across the board for my wraith units might help out in this department.

At the end of the day the above list is not uber broken.  For one thing there is no mass S.6 scatter bikes.  It is a foot list that though relatively fast, is not really so much when compared to a standard Eldar list template.  At any rate just need to plug along to get the army built then I'm off to my FLGS with an army to run for the next 6 months or so.

Playing Iyanden Responsibly

So I'm fealing the hate with the new Eldar book.  Still going with Iyandin.  No way I'm paying for a new army.  That said I could do to tone the list down.  So the only ranged d I'll take will be on the wraith guard.  Mainly because they are built and on the way to being painted.  The wraithknight will take a sword with no upgrades.  Wraith axes rather than d-scyths.  So the wraith host will still come in at 960 points.

I still want to run the guardian host.  No where near the power level of the scatter bikes.  Still though, will not take a d weapon for my weapon of vaul.  Building up from 1500 points I want to beef up the viper and war walker squads. 

For fun I think I will add a Phoenix lord to the mix.  Some warlocks and more wraithblades.  I would love to add a hemlock to continue with the Iyandin theme but it is too contriversial. 

Spirit Host:
Spirit Seer
8 wraith blades
2 x 5 wraithguard
Wraithlord - sword
Wraithknight - sword

Guardian Host:
Farseer
3 defender guardian squads - eml, warlock, spear
Viper - eml
Warwalker
Shadow weaver 

Banshee PL (might replace with hawk pl)

Total Points 1750

Progress on 1500 point Eldar Army

Two more boxes of guardians and I can build my 1500 point list.  I think it will be a fun army to play. 

Craftworld Iyanden

So I've digested the new codex and have put a list together that I think should be fun to play.  I'm not giving up on my Iyanden army that I was working on before the drastic changes.  That means the Wraithknight and Wraithguard stay around with all their D glory.  If it turns out these units are over the top then I'll revisit the list.  Anyway, going with the defender guardian host and wraith host as a template.  While the use of these formations really limits the scope of choice when designing a list, it amounts to an army that I was well on the way to building prior to the changes.  At bare min the guardian host costs 500 points.  As I've kitted out my wraith models the detachment will come in at 960 points.  My goal is to play at 1500 points while I get back to painting my army.  I have a consistent painting strategy that will get the army into table top condition.

The break down of units are as follows:

Guardian Battle Host:

Farseer - Spirit Stone
3 x 10 Defender Guardian squads - EML upgrades
1 Viper - EML
1 Walker - Scatter Lasers, Ghost Walk
1 Weapon of Vaul - shadow weaver

Total Points - 540

Wraith Host:

Spirit Seer
5 Wraith Blades - axes
2 x 5 Wraithguard - D guns
Wraithlord - sword
Wraith Knight - 2 D-guns (though thinking of the sword instead)

Total Points - 960

What I like about the list is that I keep my theme.  Bar the new gargantuan critter in the list I do not think it is anywhere near over the top.  EML's in guardian units for free and the 15 point EML for the viper give me a nice little anti-air option that I struggled with before in my old army.  With the new guaranteed 6" battle focus rule that all models get now I feel like the army will be a lot of fun on the table top with the reliable movement options.  The guardians and wraithguard now have a solid 24" threat range.  Its been a while since I last played so at the end of the day I have no idea how it will perform, but my local meta is filled with a bunch of good fellas to game with.

Craftworld Eldar Initial Thoughts

Just finished reading new codex.  Big changes.  Some initial thoughs in point form from my phone:

-cheaper points accross the board as seen with free aspect and exarch powers.  Free skyfire for all eldar eml's.  Banshee's reduced in points.  Crimson hunter, viper, wave serpent, night spinner, reduction in points.  Scatter lasers reduced by 5 points accross the board (no laser lock). 

-exarch's and aspects look like a lot of fun to play. 

-the bonus for taking a guardian host and formations is amazing for wraithguard.  All models in the army have guaranteed 6"run move.  Wraithguard get battle focus to boot as part of there formation.  Guardians with this rule have an effective 24 inch threat range.

-jet bikes are all sorts of cool.  Might be better to go down that road instead of guardian defenders.

-I will not feal guilty for running my iyanden army! Lol.  But I just need to pick up 2 boxes of guardians and ive got my battle host and wraith army covered. 

-but before I spend money on new models I will be playing a couple of games with a standard foc chart. 

-I love the new plastic models!  Lots of more options for me to grow my all plastic army.

-was in a malaise with the hobby after BA release.  I'm all fired up again.

Or should I play Eldar?

Not going to lie.  I really want to play Eldar...

--  Edit --

I'm thinking off the top of my head the following list:

HQ:
2 Iyanden Spirit Seers (shadow council).

Troops (objective secured):
 3 x 5 Wraithguard units (one a wraithblade unit for comp), wave serpent, sl, sc.

Heavy:
Wraithknight (warlord)

Final Blood Angels 1250 Highlander List:

Final list I think.  Trying to squeeze as much shooting into list mindful of the highlander comp.

HQ:
Librarian

Troop:
10 Man Tac Squad - melta gun, combimelta, missle launcher, razorback, assault cannon
10 Man Tac Squad - melta gun, combimelta, heavy flamer, rhino

Elite:
9 Death Company - power fist, (edit - jump packs)

Fast:
Bike Squad - 2 gravguns, combigrav
5 Assault Marines - 2 melta guns, combimelta, drop pod

Heavy:
Baal Pred - assault cannon, heavy bolters
Pred - las cannons, fast

Total points 1250

Gives me mobility.  As well as lots of special and heavy weapons.  List also has a nice close combat punch.

Gabriel Seth

How to run Seth?  I’ve been having trouble figuring out a place for Seth in my 1850 list.  At first blush he seems a great deal coming in at 155 points with chapter master stats but it’s hard to find him a good fit in the army.  Lord of War is the first stumbling block.  The 155 point cost is no longer as attractive when you consider an HQ tax must be paid.  You want him in assault but he is slow and really should have an assault transport to get him into the mix of things.  As far as what squads he fits with here is a list with pros and cons as I see it:

Assault Marines:

The go to kit out for this unit looks like three melta guns in a drop pod.  Plenty of room for Seth in the pod but he is exposed to a hefty counter attack when coming in with the suicide marines.  He does do well against vehicles in combat though so perhaps there is merit to putting him in a pod but it seems like a waist of his potential.

Death Company:

 Two reasons why I don’t think he fits here.  1) His fearless is wasted on Death Company.  2) Death Company are optimised now for jump packs.  I don’t think running them on foot is the way to go anymore.  At 20 points a pop and a reduced WS Death Company took a nerf when on foot.  However at 3 point per jump pack there are back on top of the heap again.  Even in a pod I don’t think they are that great.  I view pods as primarily as a means to get shooting units into optimal positions turn one.  Death Company don’t bring efficient shooting to the table so I figure leave the pods to the assault marines.  Also, it’s cheaper to give 10 Death Company jump packs than it is a pod.

Vanguard Vets:

I think they are a good fit for Seth.  Fearless is a nice buff for them, plus access to storm shields and melta bombs fits well with Seth.  Only big drawback I see with the vets is that I would rather take Death Company in my elite slots. 

Shooty Squad (Tac Marines, Stern Guard et al.):

Seth needs to run free.  Don’t want him in a shooty unit when he should be hacking away at the enemy.

Scouts:

This is the unit!  10 close combat scouts come in at 110 points.  Stick them in a raven with Seth and I think you have a solid unit.  The squad is cheap enough to still allow you to run with all the cool toys in the new book.  They take up a mandatory troop tax slot that points would have to go towards anyhow.  If objective secured you have a unit that is hard to shift with fearless.  If you need to take an objective you get 30 strength 5 attacks on the charge along with Seths 6 +d3 +d3 potential for mayhem.  The big benefit I see though is that this unit can jump out of a raven without much concern the turn the raven comes on the board to grab an objective.  Scouts ignore dangerous terrain tests so no real disadvantage to their being deployed this way.  Or if they stay in the storm raven a turn and it explodes losing the unit is not as devastating as if it were an expensive one.  Also Seth still has a 50% chance to crawl out of the ruble unscathed.  The biggest problem I have though with running scouts is the crummy models.  If I built this unit I think I would have to find some alternative way to represent them on the table top.

So at 1850 I’m thinking the following Combined Arms Detachment is something I’ll aim for:

LoW:

Seth

HQ:

Librarian – Auspex

Troops:

10 Marines – Heavy Flamer, Melta Gun, Combi Melta, Rhino

10 Marines – Missle Launcher, Melta Gun, Combi Melta, Rhino

10 Scouts – Blades

Cassor the Damned

Elite:

9 Death Company – Power Fist, Jump Packs

Fast:

5 Assault Marines – 2 Melta Guns, Combi Melta, Drop Pod (Death Wind)

3 Bikes – 2 Grav Guns, Combi Grav

Heavy:

2 Baal Preds – Heavy Bolters

Storm Raven

Total Points: 1850

The list has 8 objective secured units and still packs a punch.  Its fast and plays to the strengths of the Blood Angels.  If I where to go with the Baal Detachment I would drop the tac marines for more goodies to be had in the elite section.  As it stands though I’m of a mind it is not worth giving up objective secured for +1 initiative across the board.

1250 Blood Angels Almost Built.

New highlander list nearly built.  Love the new tac squads.  I'm going to rebase whole army when 32 mil bases become available.   Very fast hard hitting army.   Looking forward to starting the  tourny.   I think my first match will be against necrons.