Apoc game was great fun on Friday. Hard work, given only four of us (one staff) had much of an idea of the rules in a game involving 12 people.
We were each allowed about 1,500 points, which gave me the Line Breaker and Suppression Force formations (each with three tanks) plus a Land Raider and Lt. Smithers flying CAP. I was on one flank, with Imperial Guard tanks next. Opposite was a Necron force including three Monoliths. Details of the rest of the battlefield are sketchy!
We managed to immobilised one monolith on the first turn, and I then spent the next six turns killing necron warriors only to have them jump back to their feet. I think I must have killed (numerically) the entire squad four times over.
Top moments:
1. Lt. Smithers in his Thunderbolt arriving on turn 2 and unloading all weapons (including four bombs) onto the Necrons, causing 25 wounding hits and 20 kills. Gotta love restricted deployment space! The fact that the five surviving troops (floaty things) blew him and his Thunderbolt to smithereens immediately after, and most of the kills passed their "we'll be back" roll was by and by. Damn Shiny Model Syndrome!
2. Our team's Baneblade parking itself on one of the objectives (a building) after I had been given strict instructions not to fire the Vindicators in that direction in case I destroyed the building by mistake.
3. The enemy Baneblade losing it's primary weapon every turn to our shooting, only for it to remain stationary and repair it in the following turn. I'm not sure it got a shot off in the entire game.
4. My two Leman Russ tanks (donated to the enemy as one very little chap didn't have any models but wanted to join in) blowing a Deathwing Terminator squad (not mine, thankfully) to hell and gone on the first turn. Suffice to say, the little chap enjoyed the game - especially as the tanks survived.
5. The Thunderbolt being allowed to return (one of our side had to go home, leaving us with a couple hundred points down). Lt. Jones proceeded to do exactly as well as Smithers, only was able to then survive the last two turns.
6. On the last turn, we tried to take out all the remaining necron warriors so that they wouldn't get a WBB roll. Alas, we killed all but one. The squad took fire from the Thunderbolt, three whirlwinds, a Baneblade, two Land Raiders and a Vindicator, so the little fella was lucky!
7. My Land Speeder, after making an all-or-nothing dash to take an objective, weathering fire from two monoliths(!) before being shot down by the last few necron warriors that had just gotten to their feet...
I think the game ended with one objective in enemy hands (the one the Speeder almost took), with two contested.
Shooter of the match was not to Lt. Smithers, however. The Baneblade killed 35 'nids on the first turn with it's salvo.
The game took about 3 hours, and started around 17:00 and I think most people enjoyed themselves.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
From the Front Line
Following the release of the much hyped Apocalypse supplement (for fielding really, really big armies in Warhammer 40,000), one of the models available caught my eye.
There's now more opportunity to field aircraft than before, and the Thunderbolt Ground attack aircraft used by the Imperial Navy caught my eye. Okay, the Thunderhawk Gunship did too, but we'll come to that later.
Whilst thinking how great these would be (just as a cool model, in addition to being useful in the game), and knowing full well that the Forge World model was well outside my budget, I happened across a set of templates for scratch building one.
Scratch building means just that; building the model from scratch, using whatever materials are available/suitable/can be begged borrowed or scrounged from sources. Not something I have done in a few years, my only experience being a couple of Ork tanks many years ago that were made from cereal packet card.
So, armed with the templates, some plastic card, a tool box and plenty of TV time over Christmas I was able to put the first model together over the last couple of weeks.
The end result was better than I had hoped. After 20 hours effort, I had something that, admittedly, wasn't as detailed as the Forge World model, but was more than adequate. I was pleased when I got some positive comments when I took it up to the GW store to work on it some more.
At the moment, the engines are the only things to be finished, and then I can paint it.
The plan at the moment is to get the first model completely painted, then think about making two more for a squadron. A couple of people asked me how much I would charge to make them models...not sure if that is something I would want to do given the time needed. Effort aside, total cost for the model was about £5.
Anyway, below are some extracts from emails with a friend on using the Thunderbolt in games, mostly for me to keep somewhere for future reference.
Can you imagine fielding several squadrons as a significant chunk of an Apocalypse army? It would sure confuse those with all-tank armies, as they'd be mostly hitting on sixes :) And nailing Baneblades is always satisfying... How many pintle-mounted weapons can people field?
Okay, it only works until people cotton on to the hydra...
Anyway, as for the scale, yours is close to the images in Imperial Armour, I guess, but those don't seem to be to any particular scale as the Marauder seems to be too small in there. I haven't compared the scales in Apocalypse with models I know to comment, as it seems more likely it's a little off. I mean, GW could never consistently scale titans, so the smaller stuff could be anything. I think both our models are okay - there's not much difference between them really, and looking at things like F-15 Eagles, there is a lot of machine around the pilot. Essentially, the scales irrelevant though, as it's not like the model will be making use of cover, and range is nominally taken to the base*.
When shooting at tanks they use the rear (possibly side?) armour value (weaker armour on the top!), so even the autocannon stand a chance at getting through AV12 with that many shots. Void shields are AV12 any way, so they would be pretty good at knocking those down at the very least. Get close enough and those void shields don't work anyway. A squadron of three may not kill a Baneblade in one turn, but they could do some serious damage to it.
Add a bomb load, and they are going to eat horde armies and light armour for breakfast. Rhinos, Chimera, Trukks etc? Nailing the Whirlwind's spotter Land Speeder? Taking out indirect-fire batteries? Knocking out Hammerheads (damn Tau!)?
Aimed at a unit of light armour, the hits are going to be distributed evenly, so with 7 shots, something is going to go. Being able to get into a position to target heavy weapon squads as well will be easier - targets that would not normally be closest to the ground-based units.
Also factor in the psychology on the enemy player - something fairly killy that they can't hit back at easily is going to really wind them up! I suspect an awful lot of fire power aimed at them, which lets everything else survive another turn or two.
Admittedly they are no good for taking and holding objectives, but they would be good for clearing the objective prior to making a ground assault, just like in real life.
And, since most people won't be fielding aircraft or dedicated AAA, most things won't be able to target them. Most pintle mounted weapons are storm bolters or stubbers, and are low strength (although AV10 is still possible). As flyers they only suffer Glancing hits in any case due to the high speed.
There's now more opportunity to field aircraft than before, and the Thunderbolt Ground attack aircraft used by the Imperial Navy caught my eye. Okay, the Thunderhawk Gunship did too, but we'll come to that later.
Whilst thinking how great these would be (just as a cool model, in addition to being useful in the game), and knowing full well that the Forge World model was well outside my budget, I happened across a set of templates for scratch building one.
Scratch building means just that; building the model from scratch, using whatever materials are available/suitable/can be begged borrowed or scrounged from sources. Not something I have done in a few years, my only experience being a couple of Ork tanks many years ago that were made from cereal packet card.
So, armed with the templates, some plastic card, a tool box and plenty of TV time over Christmas I was able to put the first model together over the last couple of weeks.
The end result was better than I had hoped. After 20 hours effort, I had something that, admittedly, wasn't as detailed as the Forge World model, but was more than adequate. I was pleased when I got some positive comments when I took it up to the GW store to work on it some more.
At the moment, the engines are the only things to be finished, and then I can paint it.
The plan at the moment is to get the first model completely painted, then think about making two more for a squadron. A couple of people asked me how much I would charge to make them models...not sure if that is something I would want to do given the time needed. Effort aside, total cost for the model was about £5.
Anyway, below are some extracts from emails with a friend on using the Thunderbolt in games, mostly for me to keep somewhere for future reference.
Can you imagine fielding several squadrons as a significant chunk of an Apocalypse army? It would sure confuse those with all-tank armies, as they'd be mostly hitting on sixes :) And nailing Baneblades is always satisfying... How many pintle-mounted weapons can people field?
Okay, it only works until people cotton on to the hydra...
Anyway, as for the scale, yours is close to the images in Imperial Armour, I guess, but those don't seem to be to any particular scale as the Marauder seems to be too small in there. I haven't compared the scales in Apocalypse with models I know to comment, as it seems more likely it's a little off. I mean, GW could never consistently scale titans, so the smaller stuff could be anything. I think both our models are okay - there's not much difference between them really, and looking at things like F-15 Eagles, there is a lot of machine around the pilot. Essentially, the scales irrelevant though, as it's not like the model will be making use of cover, and range is nominally taken to the base*.
When shooting at tanks they use the rear (possibly side?) armour value (weaker armour on the top!), so even the autocannon stand a chance at getting through AV12 with that many shots. Void shields are AV12 any way, so they would be pretty good at knocking those down at the very least. Get close enough and those void shields don't work anyway. A squadron of three may not kill a Baneblade in one turn, but they could do some serious damage to it.
Add a bomb load, and they are going to eat horde armies and light armour for breakfast. Rhinos, Chimera, Trukks etc? Nailing the Whirlwind's spotter Land Speeder? Taking out indirect-fire batteries? Knocking out Hammerheads (damn Tau!)?
Aimed at a unit of light armour, the hits are going to be distributed evenly, so with 7 shots, something is going to go. Being able to get into a position to target heavy weapon squads as well will be easier - targets that would not normally be closest to the ground-based units.
Also factor in the psychology on the enemy player - something fairly killy that they can't hit back at easily is going to really wind them up! I suspect an awful lot of fire power aimed at them, which lets everything else survive another turn or two.
Admittedly they are no good for taking and holding objectives, but they would be good for clearing the objective prior to making a ground assault, just like in real life.
And, since most people won't be fielding aircraft or dedicated AAA, most things won't be able to target them. Most pintle mounted weapons are storm bolters or stubbers, and are low strength (although AV10 is still possible). As flyers they only suffer Glancing hits in any case due to the high speed.
Oops
From the BBC
Clarkson stung after bank prank
TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank details in his newspaper column.
The Top Gear host revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people's personal details on two computer discs.
He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.
But Clarkson admitted he was "wrong" after discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK.
Clarkson published details of his Barclays account in the Sun newspaper, including his account number and sort code. He even told people how to find out his address.
"All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I've never known such a palaver about nothing," he told readers.
But he was proved wrong, as the 47-year-old wrote in his Sunday Times column.
"I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account," he said.
"The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again.
"I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake."
Police were called in to search for the two discs, which contained the entire database of child benefit claimants and apparently got lost in the post in October 2007.
They were posted from HM Revenue and Customs offices in Tyne and Wear, but never turned up at their destination - the National Audit Office.
The loss, which led to an apology from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, created fears of identity fraud.
Clarkson now says of the case: "Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy."
Clarkson stung after bank prank
TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank details in his newspaper column.
The Top Gear host revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people's personal details on two computer discs.
He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.
But Clarkson admitted he was "wrong" after discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK.
Clarkson published details of his Barclays account in the Sun newspaper, including his account number and sort code. He even told people how to find out his address.
"All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out. Honestly, I've never known such a palaver about nothing," he told readers.
But he was proved wrong, as the 47-year-old wrote in his Sunday Times column.
"I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account," he said.
"The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again.
"I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake."
Police were called in to search for the two discs, which contained the entire database of child benefit claimants and apparently got lost in the post in October 2007.
They were posted from HM Revenue and Customs offices in Tyne and Wear, but never turned up at their destination - the National Audit Office.
The loss, which led to an apology from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, created fears of identity fraud.
Clarkson now says of the case: "Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy."
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