November 9th GW Game Day: Sons of Macragge!

My brand new Sons of Horus took the field for the first time a couple of weeks back, and with the army being only semi-completed I had to rely on the good ol’ Ultramarines to make up the 2500 points. I fielded Abaddon and ten Justaerin teleporting in, along with three Veteran Tactical Squads (two ranged with Marksmen, one with power weapons and Weapon Master) mounted in Rhinos and backed up by a Vindicator. The Ultramarines contingent consisted of a Consul accompanied by Invictarus Suzerains in a Rhino, a Legion Tactical Squad in a Rhino, and the good ol’ Sicaran, which was nothing but disappointing in every game I’ve used it in thus far. Matt fielded 1250 points of his Emperor’s Children, allied with Harry’s 1250 points of Night Lords.

I ended up winning the game, although I have some lucky dice on my part and some un-lucky dice rolling on the part of Matt and Harry to thank. It was my first time playing a fully mechanized force in 30k and I figured the best tactic would be to use my mobility to swamp the objectives with bodies and get stuck into close combat and close-ranged firefights, where the Sons of Horus rules and my squads’ equipment loadouts (BS5, Strength 5, Assault 3, Rending heavy bolters is nothing to scoff at!) would excel.

Of particular note were the ten-man Justaerin squad led by Abaddon, which attracted and soaked up a metric F-ton of fire while still managing to do some major damage in close combat. Two wounds each and a 2+/4++ save tends to keep models on the board. Even if all they did was get shot at, they still distracted attention from my Veteran squads, who were able to mop up opposing infantry and get dug in on the objectives. The Justaerin’s offensive contributions were really just a bonus.

The Sicaran also (finally) turned in a good performance, getting some key kills on infantry and light /medium vehicles alike. I’ve finally realized that the best way to use this thing is to take advantage of its speed and keep it moving, hopefully positioning it in a way that would let me get some shots on the side and rear of vehicles. The strength 7 of its autocannon isn’t that intimidating at first glance, but with 6 twin-linked rending shots on side and rear armor it’s more than capable of doing some damage.

All in all a fun game with friends, and really that’s all that I can ask. 🙂

Bonus: Brother Luckarius warns his fellow battle brothers of the treacherous Vindicator that claimed the lives of the rest of his squad:

WIP: 32k Post-Heresy Crimson Fist in Mark III

I could have easily used the Mark III marines from the Burning of Prospero boxed set to add to one of four Space Marine armies (Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Raven Guard, and Sons of Horus) that I already have. But because I am a madman that is obsessed with painting little plastic men in different colors, I decided to start up a Crimson Fists army.

More pictures of this utter lunacy after the break.

Mark III Power Armor – or, getting to know your clippers and glue

Awhile back, I remember remarking to gaming partner Harry that if GW ever released Mark III power armor in plastic, they would have all my money. Lo and behold, the excellent Burning of Prospero box came out last week, and as would be obvious to anyone who has seen my collection of GW minis, I ensured I got my hands on one as soon as I could.

I’m looking to put paint to plastic sometime this week, but for now, some thoughts regarding the Mark III minis:

• Overall, I like how the Mark III turned out. As with the Mark IV, they took Forge World’s design and mixed it with GW aesthetics to create a finished mini that blends in better with GW Space Marines, including the GW Mark IV. The armor looks big, beefy, and intimidating, just as Mark III should. Kudos, GW.
• I’m not a fan of the two piece legs and backpacks. I understand there must be some practical casting-related reason for the split, but it’s a bit of a pain spending the time putting them together, especially when pretty much every other Space Marine kit takes half as long to assemble.
  • The split legs and backpacks also have a further downside in that they take up more room on the three sprues, meaning less weapon options and accessories (there is no missile launcher or flamer, and less accessories overall). Aside from the transverse crest, for example, there’s nothing else to mark the Sergeant as being special, whereas the Mark IV kit had the pteruges, shoulder pads, and a special chest plate for him.
• The chest plates and shoulder pads are all identical, which is a bit of a let down considering the Mark IV had some variation in both. Understandable given the fact that Mark III generally looks quite spartan in the background imagery, but I don’t think it would’ve hurt to have some iconography here and there, even if it was just on the Sergeant’s chest plate.
• The sprues continue one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to GW plastic sprues – sometimes the “gate” (where the bit touches the rest of the sprue) is in a hard to reach area. This is most evident on the upper part of the backpack, where it is located between two raised ridges. This means you’ll have to reach in there with a hobby knife or very thin file, whereas if it were simply placed on a flat, straight edge (of which there are plenty), all it would take was a snip and a quick file.

I think perhaps I was a little spoiled by the Mark IV kit, which is probably my favorite Space Marine kit of all time in terms of aesthetics and the amount of bits on the sprue. The Mark III sprue has some small annoyances, but the finished minis look great, and I’m sure they’ll look even better once they have some paint on them.