40k Skimmer Indy 500

So I wanted to come up with a racing game for 40k and well... I did. Here's the preliminary rules:

40k SKIMMER INDY 500
Each player begins with 55 points to spend on a variety of gear for a skimmer vehicle. The model can be any skimmer so long as it is modeled with all of it's appropriate upgrades. All vehicles have the following profile-
BS          Armor         
       Front Side Rear
 3       12    11    10
If you build/paint a pilot you are allowed 5 more points.
If you paint a corporate sponsor on your vehicle you are allowed 5 more points.
Each vehicle must move at least 6" each turn and may move up to 12". It may make one turn at any point of it's movement 6" or more.
Each vehicle may fire it's weapons regardless of what speed it moves unless it's specific gear says otherwise.
Every vehicle may make ram attacks or may chose to move past opposing vehicles. No vehicle may end its move within 1" of another vehicle. If a vehicle is rammed it is pushed 1" away after the attack is resolved
Each vehicle may choose one of the following pilot upgrades for free and the subsequent upgrades for the points cost listed:

Marksman- +1BS
       Turreted Weapon (15pts)- The vehicle's weapon has 360 degree field of fire.
Ace Pilot- Pilot may re-roll mine activation die rolls.
       Thrusters/Vectored Engines (15pts)- The vehicle doesn't make dangerous terrain rolls.
Derby Driver- Targets of this vehicle must re-roll successful skimmer dodge rolls.
       Concussive Armor (15pts)- This vehicle counts it's armor as 1 higher when the roll to penetrate it's armor is rolled during a ram. This includes a return roll when the vehicle itself makes a ram attack.
Demonically Possessed Vehicle- This vehicle ignores shaken and stunned results. It also has BS 2.
       Tentacle (15pts)- The first vehicle that moves within 6" of this vehicle takes a S5 hit as if shot from that direction.
Living Vehicle- When this vehicle suffers a weapon destroyed result it rolls a dice. On a 4+ the result is repaired it may continue to roll in subsequent rounds if the previous round's roll was a failure.
        Spore Launcher- Instead of firing a weapon that round the vehicle may place a mine anywhere along the path the vehicle traveled except within 2 12" of another vehicle.

Every vehicle may choose one of the following defensive gear options for the points listed:

Night fields (15pts) The vehicle has a 5+ invulnerable save.
Smoke (5pts) The vehicle has a 4+ cover save for a whole round against all attacks made against it's rear armor. Chose to activate it at the beginning of any round.
Spirit Stones/Extra Armor (10pts)- Stunned results dropped to shaken.
Decoy Launchers (15pts)- This vehicle may choose to reroll any damage result but must take the second roll even if it is worse.

Every vehicle may take one of the following offensive gear options for the points listed:

Ram(10pts) +1 to ram attacks.
Bumpers(5pts) Ram attacks also push the target 6" in the direction of the ram attack.
Dirge Caster/Laud Hailer/Psychic Scream(15pts)- Enemies within 6" must roll 3+ to move or short. This only takes effect after turn 1).
Tongue/Claw/Tractor Beam/Grappling Hook(15pts)- Vehicles within 2" can be prevented from moving away. When the first vehicle each round tries to move away roll a dice on a 4+ it doesn't. This ability only works once a round.
Talons/Blades(5pts)- When you move over a vehicle you do a S4 hit against the side you pass over.

Every vehicle may take one of the following movement gear for the points listed:

Star Engines(15pts)- Instead of shooting the vehicle may move 7" in addition to it's normal move.
Aethersails(10pts)- Instead of shooting the vehicle may move 2d6" in addition to it's normal move.
Rocket Booster(5pts)- For one round instead of shooting the vehicle may move an additional 4d6" in addition to it's normal move.

Each vehicle may take one of the following weapons for the points listed:

Wraith/Haywire Gun(10pts)- 6" This weapon has no Strength value and instead when you make a hit roll a dice. 1: Nothing Happens 2-5: The target suffers a glancing hit. 6: The target suffers a penetrating hit.
Scatter Laser/Heavy Stubber/Heavy Bolter/Assault Cannon/Big Shoota(10pts) 12" S5 3 Shots
Las-Cannon/Bright Lance/Dark Lance(10pts)- 24" S7 1 Shot

The following changes are made to the damage table:
Shaken- Can't shoot
Stunned- Vehicle can't move more than 6" and it may not shoot.
Weapon Destroyed- The vehicle can't fire it's weapon but if it moves through the pit it's weapon may fire again.
Immobilized- When a vehicle becomes immobilized it is moved to the direct outside of the track. The vehicle may still shoot if it had not suffered a weapon destroyed result. At the beginning of the following turn roll a dice. On a 4+ the pit crew has come out and fixed the vehicle and it may move as normal that turn. If you build and paint your pit crew (3-5 models) your roll is increased to a 3+.
Wrecked/Explodes- The vehicle will respawn with it's rear touching the last waypoint.

To set up the track mark off a lane that is 12" wide around the edge of a 6'x4' table. Mark a waypoint halfway along each table edge. One of the waypoints will be the starting line. Place 2 mines equally spaced along the line from the inside of each corner to the outside of each corner. When a vehicle moves within 2 1/2" of this mine it rolls a dice. On a 5+ the vehicle evades the mine. If the vehicle ends it's movement within 2 1/2" or rolls a 1-4 replace it with a large blast marker. Any vehicle that is hit by this blast will receive a glancing hit on a roll of 2-5 and a penetrate on a roll of 6.  Place 2 pieces of terrain along each short edge track side. Place 3 pieces along the long table edge. If a vehicle moves through a piece of terrain roll a dice. On a 1 it becomes immobilized.
 
Roll for initiative with 2d6. Place each vehicle in rows of two with each vehicle 1" behind the previous one. This is the order the vehicles will activate in the first round. No vehicle may fire in the first round and each vehicle must move at least 6" each round. Each vehicle receives 1 pt for every wrecked/explodes result done to another vehicle up to 5 pts. The first vehicle to cross the finish line 3 times receives 7 points, the second 5 and the third 3. Each other vehicle receives 1 pt for competing in the race.

Codex Review: Necrons-Troops

I'm going to start a review of the Necrons. I'll review each unit only regarding the upgrades/transport options of each unit type. Here we go with troops:

Necron Warriors- Although with some downgrades to their "resurrection protocols/we'll be back" and armor save I believe the Warriors to be a good troops choice. The unit size of 5-20 can be adjusted to fit any situation you want be it foot or mechanized. The gauss ability of their weapons threatens all vehicles within 24" with at least being temporarily disabled. The Ghost Ark is a great support vehicle. Filled with Necron Warriors and fitted with broadsiding Gauss Flayer arrays they can lay down some serious firepower (30 shots to one side at 12"). Combined with the ability to "heal" models back into the squad the Ark is a formidable support vehicle as well. The Night Scythe has it's own benefits as well. A larger transport capability and the ability to deepstrike can bring a larger threat to bear deep into the enemies deployment area/zone of operation. It also sports heavier weaponry in it's Twin-Linked Tesla Destructor which has the capacity to take down light vehicles or transports so the deploying troops can open up on what's inside. Overall I feel the Warrior to be a good troops choice and would suggest it not be overlooked when considering your army.

Necron Immortals- Right out of the gate the 3+ armor and the heavier strength weapons will draw most Necron players to the Necron Immortal as their standard troop. The Immortals do also have the option of switching their blasters for the Tesla Carbine which can be more effective against horde units. While I agree that this is a bargain upgrade for only 4 points more there are some down points to them. The maximum squad size is only 10 and the only transport option is the Night Scythe which while a good option leaves an open section for 5 more models. That seems somewhat of a waste on the transport side. The other down point is a monetary one. Necron Warriors come 12 for $35(US) and Deathmarks/Immortals go for 5 for $33 that comes down to $2.92 a Warrior and $6.60 an Immortal. In a 2000pt army if you ran 4 units of 10 it would total around $116.80 and the same in Immortals would cost you $264.00!

In the end it really depends on what you want your troop units to do for you. Next I'll focus on the Heavy Support section.

Necrons! Martians! Another Counts As!

Well the Necrons are here and I've blasted through the codex. Swanky new rules, cool new units, awesome new kits. Life's all good in the 40k universe. I really like the way these rules feel but I can't get Martians out of my head. Good old Pulp Sci-Fi Silver Saucer "War of the Worlds" or "Mars Attacks" style aliens. So in that vein here is my "counts as" Martian invaders:

Overlord w/Res Orb, Warscythe 130pts
4 Crypteks 2 Storm, 2 Transmog 110
9 Necron Warriors 117pts
9 Necron Warriors 117pts
9 Necron Warriors w/Ghost Ark 232pts
9 Necron Warriors w/Ghost Ark
232pts
C'tan Shard w/Writhing Worldscape,  Pyreshards 235pts
Triarch Stalker 150pts
Triarch Stalker 150pts
Doom scythe 175pts
Doom scythe 175pts
Doomsday Ark 175pts
1998pts

It is a little lacking in troops but it does bring a huge ammount of Death Machines to bear. The Doom Scythe's Death Ray is like a dream and the doomsday arc brings the ranged death to bear. Thoughts on the list?

Underdogs

I've had many conversations with gamer friends over the years about my bad luck when it comes to dice rolling. There's been suggestions that I start a Lamentors army so it at least made sense. I have takn it a step further if my dice are going to betray me why not let them do so in a more spectacular fashion? I've looked around and settled on the Chaos Space Marines. Who else is more self destructive? Daemon weapons, plasma weapons and Bile upgrades. Let's do this!

The Underdogs (Loyalist Chapter)

Fabius Bile 160pts
Chaos Lord w/Mark of Khorne, Daemon Weapon, Personal Icon, Plasma Pistol 160pts
5 Chosen w/5 Plasmaguns 165pts
10 Upgraded Chaos Space Marines w/Champion w/Combi-Plas, 2x Plasmaguns, IoN, Rhino 320pts
10 Upgraded Chaos Space Marines w/Champion w/Combi-Plas, 2x Plasmaguns, IoN, Rhino  320pts
9 Upgraded Chaos Space Marines w/Champion w/Combi-Plas, 1x Plasmagun, IoN, Rhino 287pts
9 Upgraded Chaos Space Marines w/Champion w/Combi-Plas, 1x Plasmagun, IoN, Rhino 287pts
2 Obliterators 150pts
2 Obliterators 150pts

So here we have a self destructing army. Dying to Bile upgrades before the game even begins and to its own weaponry during the game. Regardless though my whole army is fearless and the upgraded marines end up being S5-6 and T5(at least for a while). The lord as well killing himself with his daemon weapon on any roll of a 1 on 2d6! Utter self-inflicted calamity! Complete underdogs! If I win the victory will be all that sweeter. Although at full strength there's 10 plasma guns, a plasma pistol and 4 plasma cannons. Which is nothing to sneeze at. Thoughts?

Armylist Exercise

As before I gave our friends over at our sister blog http://dissentingdice.blogspot.com a theme or an army list "Guard, Boots on the Ground, No vehicles." In response they gave me "Sisters, Heels on the Ground, no vehicles and nothing flying." So here's the list:


Uriah Jocobs w/10 Crusaders 240pts
Priest w/Combi-Melta 55pts
20 Sisters  Simulacra Imperialis, 2x Meltaguns, Combi-Melta 295pts
20 Sisters  Simulacra Imperialis, 2x Meltaguns, Combi-Melta 295pts
20 Sisters  Simulacra Imperialis, 2x Meltaguns, Combi-Melta 295pts
20 Sisters  Simulacra Imperialis, 2x Meltaguns, Combi-Melta 295pts
5 Retributors 4 Heavy Bolters, Simulacra Imperialis 105pts
5 Retributors 4 Multi-Meltas, Simulacra Imperialis 125pts

Strange Aeons

Yesterday I received my copy of Strange Aeons a Canadian independently produced skirmish miniatures game. The game is a two player game. One player takes the role of the baddies who are anything from cultists who seek to raise dead gods to avatars of those gods. The whole game is based around the stories of H. P. Lovecraft of whom I'm sure everyone has some knowledge of *cough*Cthulhu*cough* The other player takes control of Agents of "Threshold" an organization that fights these evil powers at every turn.

The rules are simple enough and there are more advanced rules later on. The game distinguished itself right away with its imaginative campaign style rules. As the Threshold agents grow and gain power so too do the "Lurkers." The Threshold crew must keep the same list until the main character is killed. Lost secondary agents can be replaced. There is also a way to balance the equipment of both sides which makes everything fair.

So Gott Des Todes and I threw some crews together and played a few games. My crew of what I had termed D.O.S.I.E.R. (Department Of Supernatural, Interdimensional and Extraterrestrial Research) started out small but grew by the end of the last game (Mainly because we misread the rules and I needed to get more men). Leading was Ivan Gregoryvitch the only Russian who knew the true nature of the Tunguska event. Armed with his trusty Mosin-Nagant rifle, lucky bear hat and armor he was sent with his fellow agents to investigate the explosion at the Brooklyn Museum. The area had been cordoned off by the police but anyone that had gone in to investigate had not returned.

Joining the stalwart hero was Agent Mark Wesberg a rather tough fellow who macheted first and asked questions later, Agent Shelley Winthrop who was well versed in Ancient Script and Peter a sailor friend of Mark's who had been brought along as extra muscle. Inside they came upon the cause of the ruckus: A mummy who had been part of the Egyptology exhibition and had subsequently risen from the dead. They confronted the mummy and after filling it with lead realized the futility of their actions. They escaped barely but not without the mummy assaulting and cursing Mark. Later he would find everything he fought causing a deep and horrible fear in him.

Then as the team made their way through the museum to the exit they came upon three zombies raised by the Mummy. Using the the exhibits Ivan, Mark and Shelley maneuvered themselves around the living dead. Peter, unfazed drew his .22 to unload round after round at the nearest zombie. With his second shot the gun was jammed.
"Damn it you piece of shit! Of all the times!" He moved away from the three zombies who now placed their attention on him. He unjammed his gun and fired again. The last thing the other three saw as they ran out of the museum was Peter surrounded by zombies.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Peter later showed up at D.O.S.I.E.R. HQ none the worse for wear. The crew re-equipped they returned only to face a giant undead monstrosity stitched together from the zombies and given monstrous strength. Mark was killed and the crew fled once again. This time to the rest of the museum where they searched for ancient artifacts to aid them in their battle. Ivan used a telephone in the curator's office to call in reinforcements.

In an hour the final showdown in the center of the Egyptology museum began. Shelley now armed with the knowledge to be able to bless the teams weapons did so. Training D.O.S.I.E.R. agents led by Alan Firth brought a .25 machine gun to the fight. Cultist followers of the Mummy, hellhounds and the mummy itself were waiting for the Agents. The battle was fierce with a two training agents and Shelley being struck down but in the end the D.O.S.I.E.R. agents prevailed.

Quick 1k edit

After discussion w/@bryce963 from our sister blog Dissenting Dice I streamlined the squads and added some Purgators:

Inquisitor Coteaz-100pts
Karamazov-200pts
Tech Marine w/Rad Grenades, Psychotroke grenades, Blind grenades, 120pts
10 Crusaders 150pts
10 Deathcult Assassins 150pts
10 Psykers,  100pts
Purgation Squad 4xPsycannons 180pts
1000pts

Deamon...Allies? Hunters? Friends? I don't know...

So back to my crazy ideas I had when the Daemon Hunters codex first came out (Sorry Grey Knights): Tzeentch Cult. I mashed together a list that will be henchmen heavy. Taking the process for my painting/modeling success (well at least in my case) from my Space Wolves/Arthurian Knights I will start with a 1000pt list and work from there:

Inquisitor Coteaz-100pts
Karamazov-200pts
Tech Marine w/Rad Grenades, Psychotroke grenades, Blind grenades, 120pts
Tech Marine w/Rad Grenades, Psychotroke grenades, Blind grenades, 120pts
10 Crusaders, 1 Deathcult Assassin 165pts
10 Crusaders, 1 Deathcult Assassin 165pts
10 Psykers, 2 Deathcult Assassins 130pts

I realize it is COMPLETELY lacking in anti-vehicle weaponry and I should adjust it but the Tech marine can pop some tanks and I think the Psykers as well. I'll give it a test and see what's what. As for Karamazov at such low points I can't not take the guy that lets you drop templates INTO COMBAT! It's sooooo evil and sooooo Chaos!

4k Battle Report

The Knights of the Round gathered together with the Dark Angels. Across the ruined city the Grey Knights and an inducted chapter of Space Marines stood ready. The prize: a relic known as The Holy Grail. A vessel claimed to have been used by the Emperor himself. A holy chapter relic to both groups of knights they would stand at nothing to achieve their goal. 

The game type was multiple objectives (5) which we placed one in each table quarter and one in the middle of the table and the setup was table quarters. We set up a ruined city on an 8' by 4' table. The Knights(Space Wolves) and Dark Angels have chosen to set up last. This was unfortunate for our long fang and devastator squads as we ended up with the least amount of terrain. We didn't chose to seize either and the game was afoot. The Space Marines and the Space Wolves moved up and the massed Terminators of the Dark Angel Deathwing and the Grey Knights marched forward and waited in deepstrike.

The enemy's tanks advanced down the streets. A speeder dropped to end Sir Lucan's (Dreadnought) involvement in the battle but missed. Two squads of Dark Angel terminators dropped down. One on the objective to our far left and one behind the enemy's Vindicator. Rockets fired and the Vindicator was no more. Plasma, rockets, las cannons and heavy bolter rounds were fired against rhinos and other heavy weapons squads. Sir Perceval's tank burst through the ruined walls of the central building which housed the Grail. Sir Plomyd's tank(Checkered) was not so lucky, immobilizing itself against the same ruins.

Two squads of Grey Knight Paladins appeared, both to retaliate for the Vindicator. One against the squad of Terminators the other against our Vindicator. They removed the Vindicator's turret and destroyed the squad. In return Sir Lyonell's tank containing a Rune Priest swung around and unleashed the Jaws of the World Wolf, dropping to Paladin's to their deaths.

The paladins, their mission complete, was teleported across the board to the Librarian. Two squads of Space marines left their rhinos near the center of the board, one toward the Grail and the other toward Plomyd's tank. A well placed melta shot made short work of the tank and a few of the knights inside. They returned the favor and mowed the squad down with the aid of their missile launching counterparts. Across the a rhino is destroyed and the initial squad of Dark Angel terminators containing their leader Belial engages in heated combat with the marines inside as well as Paladins nearby.

Lucan charges and destroys the upstart Land Speeder, the heavy weapon squads destroying each other in the meanwhile.

Belial stands firm in round after round of combat but eventually falls.

The squad in the ruins destroys Percival's tank and engages the squad in a combat that lasts the entire rest of the game.

Another squad of Dark Angel terminators drops and goads the Paladins to attack. 

Unit after unit enters the center of the board to take the Grail but none succeed.

The pictures run out here but in the bottom of the 6th turn we each controlled two objectives and contested the Grail. Three Paladins remained after the combat against the Terminators on the far side of the table. After a round of firing from the Lascannon devastators they were down to 1. Arthur had moved to within view of the last, fired his twin-linked lascannon and killed the last. We rolled the dice and the game ended there. A Knights(Space Wolves) and Dark Angels victory.

The day was won. Many had lost their lives but the Dark Angels succeeded in supporting their brethren Knights in acquiring the Grail. The Grey knights were forced away with their Space Marine allies and would fight again another day.

Mini Tourney

So this Saturday I played in a three round tournament at Gamer's Inn. The missions were imaginative to say the least. Here's an overview of my matches and opponents:

My first opponent was a newbie necron player(Bad combo..). Gametype was Seize ground and pitched battle. Secondary objective was Killpoints and the third was no units on your half of the table. The flip was that when you had to make the roll for something (Shooting, assaulting etc) your opponent would roll the dice for you. Odd. I castled myself in the largest piece of terrain and sent my Lone Wolf out to wreck some warriors. I lost a rhino first turn and some Long Fangs but managed to get my Lone Wolf
into a squad of warriors. They did nothing to him and he smashed one into the ground. I roll the dice for my opponent's Ld check: 11. I smiled as they ran off the board. The following turn I locked in combat w/the next squad over. They again lost by one. I roll for her Ld check: 11. Off the board which kills enough to phase out the army.

I stopped to enjoy a cupcake then continued on my way. My next opponent was an Eldar player. He had 3 units of Dire Avengers, a unit of Guardians w/Brightlance, Asurman, Wraithlord w/Brightlance, Firedragons in a waveserpent with TL-Starcannons, 4 Dark Reapers and a Vibrocannon (Never faced one before). This time it was multiple bases (One in the center of each quarter) and pitched battle. We then rolled for one unit chosen by us to gain a randomly rolled ability. His Fire Dragons became scoring units much to my chagrin and one of my Grey Wolf squads gained stealth which I later realized was a waste as his Dark Reaper Exarch had crackshot : / I stupidly decided to go first and didn't commit with one of my squads (the checkered tank). This cost me valuable suppression on the Dark Reapers cloistered on the tower and the approaching Fire Dragons. I had intended to contest the objective in the largest building with the Lone Wolf but he got stuck in combat for the whole game against Asurman. His Fire Dragons in the final round assaulted my objective in the bastion and lost against a Wolfguard and a Grey Wolf (Haha!) but even with -2 they didn't run. So he held 2 and I held 1. A few things I could have done: Let Bjorn die and sat on his objective corpse, kept the checkered squad in reserve and just driven onto the objective in the large building. Oh well. Hindsight huh? In that game I scored the tertiary objective which was to have your "modified" unit survive.

My last opponent was a novice Daemons player who gasped when I kept my entire army in reserves. The match was KP w/secondary as most troops on both halves of the table and tertiary as...I can't remember. Well in anycase I castled my forces and made him come to me. His troops didn't come in until quite late but by then I had made short work of the Masque, a unit of flamers and his Defiler who attacked Bjorn in CC. That was quite a test of the old man's abilities. in 3 rounds of combat he took 9 penetrating hits but only lost his mobility. In the final round he deflected 2 off his mighty shield and dealt 3 in return, wrecking the monstrosity. Every turn there was a random effect like "All infantry count as having moved and roll for difficult terrain" or "All armor saves are reduced by one and all facings of vehicles are reduced by one." In the end I was ahead by 1 KP so I got the primary and my opponent received the tertiary.

Overall I ran in 2nd place which netted me $30. Not bad for a $5 entry fee. I had fun and learned some things: Bjorn and Lone Wolves don't die. They didn't die the entire tournament. I can just see them post tourney.

Arthur(Bjorn): "Great job out there Bors. You really held your own!"
Sir Bors de Ganis(Lone Wolf): " You too my lord!"
Arthur/Bors Together: "FISTBUMP!"
*Dreadnought Close Combat weapon clashes against Storm Shield*