Exemplum: Vostroyan Veteran Squad

Here are a few examples from one of my Vostroyan veteran squads. Consisting of three meltaguns, a sergeant with a power fist, and shotguns, these guys are obviously anti-armor focused. The power fist sarge model is straight out of the blister with no conversions. I had considered giving him a matchlock pistol to count as a shotgun, but decided that I didn't want to change the look of the model at all.

Next up is a meltagun toting vet. This was the basic flamer to meltagun conversion that has become the mainstay of any Vostroyan army.

Finally, we have a Vostroyan vet carrying a blunderbuss. The blunderbuss counts as a shotgun and was a simple (but effective) conversion. I had a number of blunderbuss arms left over from the WFB Empire Militia sprues that I used for my Necromundan 23rd. The hardest part was using a jewelry saw to gently remove the lasgun tips to leave a flush surface for mounting the blunderbuss muzzle. My wife commented that the blunderbuss actually looks more authentic given the period garb worn by the Vostroyans.

Commutatus: Vostroyan Rough Riders

Inspired by Santa Cruz Warhammer, I recently picked up a bunch of Rough Riders off ebay for cheap in order to convert them into Vostroyans. The conversion is fairly straightforward, with the hardest part being trimming off the fuzzy sombreros. I hadn't really liked the Rough Rider models, but without the hats they are actually not terrible models.

But of course they are crazy cossacks in the far flung future so normal mounts would not do. Inspired by Sonobovich over at Dakka, these Vostroyans will be riding cave bears! 'bovich used rough rider legs with Valhallan torsos on cave bears from Trent Miniatures. Unfortunately, these guys are no longer available in the US of A so I have an order for ten of these guys en route.

More to come...

Advocatus: Modified Kill Points

I played a really good game recently where we used a modified version of the NOVA format by replacing victory points with kill points as a victory condition.  However, the kill points were actually selected by each opponent and were limited to five. Mike Brandt, over at Whiskey & 40k, introduced me to this system and I have to say I really like it!

The basic concept is that, before the games starts, you and your opponent each pick 5 units from the others army list that will be worth a kill point. You can put limitations on this, like no more than 2 dedicated transports or a unit with a dedicated transport must always be taken together as 2 kill points, etc. There are also different ways to allow selection of these kill point units (i.e. before/after deployment, secretly before game starts, secretly until game ends, etc.).

Using kill points in this way required a different set of tactics, as now you had priority targets to take out and your own kill points to protect. The game itself was great and I lost in turn 5 because one of my kill point units broke and refused to rally by the end of turn 6.

For the next game, I will have each player secretly choose their opponents kill points before deployment. Then, once both sides are fully deployed, each player reveals the kill points chosen to their opponent. This way, there is no advantage gained either by a) knowing what your own kill points are and deploying them accordingly (holding everything in reserve, bunkering them in transports, etc.) or b) knowing how your opponent is deployed then selecting the most vulnerable units as kill points.

The cool thing about this system is the simplified creation of new scenarios based on mixing up the kill point selection. Here are a few mission examples:

• Taking Scalps: Both players fully deploy. Each player marks a copy of their opponent's list with 5 kill points. At least 2 of these must be non-vehicle units. Lists are folded over and set aside so that kill point selection remains a secret throughout the game.
• Assassinate: Both players fully deploy. Each player openly selects 3 kill points from their opponents list. The other 2 kill points are assigned to the highest leadership independent character or, if no ICs are available, an HQ unit selection with the highest leadership (Ex. guard company command squad). If their are 2 (or more) ICs or HQ units with the same leadership, randomly determine the target AFTER both sides have deployed.
• Priority Targets: Before deployment, each player secretly marks their opponent's list with 5 kill points (no more than 3 may be dedicated transports). After both sides have deployed, the kill point selections are revealed.

There are many more possibilities that a 5 kill point system opens up. The mechanic is fairly simple, but the permutations should keep the game fresh without encumbering players with oddball victory conditions (that I usually manage to forget).

Gaming Aid - Codex: Civilians

Codex: Civilians gives you the ability to field civilians who take an active role in your battles. Civilians are aligned with one specific side in the conflict. This can be determined randomly or explicitly as part of a narrative for the game. For example, you might have the Dark Angels defending an Imperial colony against the predations of a newly uncovered Necron tomb. Or you could have a human genestealer cult aligned with a Tyranid assault force intent on consuming an Imperial stronghold.  Regardless, civilians become part of the action, both offensively and as part of the mission objectives.

You can download the PDF for Codex: Civilians here.

Indicium: Warhounds at the Gladiator Tournament

I have entered the Adepticon Gladiator tournament this year... and plan on losing every game! Seriously, my goal is just to have fun and take a unit or two that I normally wouldn't be able to run in a normal game of 40k.

Specifically, my Armorcast Warhound will be making an appearance, complete with plasma blastgun  and turbo-laser destructor. Having played a few games with this hulking beast, I am firmly convinced that destroyer blast weapons really have no place in a game of regular 40k. Of course, the Gladiator is not a normal game of 40k and I fully expect to see a bevy of flyers, super heavy tanks and walkers, and gargantuan creatures. This is also why I am expecting to lose. Having not used the warhound overmuch, I really have no sound tactics and will likely just shoot at the biggest thing on the board... hopefully that works!

On the plus side, no Reavers allowed this year and hopefully the organizers clean up that silliness about flyer bases blocking opposing units from assaulting.

Indicium: Unofficial Dark Angels FAQ

Here is a link to a DA update FAQ that I'd put together a while back. I think this would be a pretty fair update to the Dark Angels codex to bring it inline with the current Space Marine codex.

Unofficial Dark Angels Update

Annuntio: 2010 Games Day Mini

So here is the latest Games Day miniature and I have to saw I am less than impressed. Though not a Fantasy or Chaos player, I really did like last years Chaos mini. On the other hand, this mini just doesn't do it for me. I suppose its because GW already has a number of excellent sorcerer minis in both games systems and this one really brings nothing new to the game.