First Strike Review (and a look at the Primaris release)

First Strike is a new starter set available for Warhammer 40,000 eighth edition. It is something of a first as there has never been such a small or cheap starter set available for 40k before. Usually you get the option of the main box set containing two good size forces and all the accouterments you need to play as well as a rule book or just the rulebook on its own. With the release of eighth we have been spoilt with four choices.

First is Dark Imperium the main two player starter set which contains the new Primaris Marines and the Death Guard, the second time that the starter has contained two power armoured forces, the first being the previous edition's (sixth and seventh) Dark Vengeance. To accompany that you have a hard back rule book. Released alongside First Strike is Know No Fear, a paired down version of Dark Imperium that contains a soft backed rule book containing the main and advanced rules of the game and most but not all of the miniatures included in Dark Imperium. First Strike is the final option for getting started.

First Strike comes packed in a rather neat little box. It is about the same size as a standard infantry box but twice as deep. This is very compact for a starter set and has been designed this way to fit into the FSDUs that are being rolled out to independent retailers to go in bricks and mortar stores. Each unit is able to comfortably hold the full range of eighth edition starter products.

Games Workshop has been getting fancy with their boxes of late. If you have purchased one of the Triumvirate boxes you will have seen how fancy they are with artwork printed all over the inner tray. Here this takes on a practical purpose as the tray for First Strike's box has been printed to look like Imperial Containers, making the tray a ready made piece of terrain. This method has been repeated with Know No Fear as well as the Age of Sigmar mini starter set.

I was impressed with how neatly everything fit in the box. There is a lot in there too. Four sprues of miniatures, bases, a measuring stick, dice, books, unit cards and a game mat.

Once its all out you can really see how impressive this set is. As a product it is a complete starter, providing a gaming area and terrain to play on as well as the miniatures. All of which (bar the minis once you've painted them) can go straight back in the box for storage which you will want to do to keep the mat and scenery nice.

As a veteran gamer you might not get much use out of First Strike as it was intended. Indeed, I bought the box mainly for the miniatures which individually would have cost £40.00 whereas this box costs £25.00! I get that its only a saving relative to the prices GW has set themselves but when you take in everything here, It's still a good deal.

Do you remember what it was like being a noob? There was nothing like this. If you wanted to get into the game it was expensive, as it still is, but when we were younger cash was even harder to come by that it is now, even with bills and such. £25.00 is a really good price to introduce new players to the game. 

That is actually all it is, an introduction. The rules in this box are only the core rules, with the more advanced rules that do appear being specific to the models and missions in the box. If you want the full rules you will need to pick one of the other three options that accompany this kit.

But that's not a bad thing. If you tried it and didn't like it, then you haven't sunk £95.00 into a large box of miniatures you are never going to use again. If you do want to go further then either Dark Imperium or Know No Fear is a great upgrade as the units in the box, especially the Death Guard units can integrate into the forces present in the larger box. In fact the Death Guard Plague Marines in First Strike will upgrade the Death Guard in the larger boxes to a full ten man squad with most of its options, only really missing an icon. That's why this is probably going to be the top seller out of the four beginner products.

A word on the Death Guard (Allen will review the Primaris). Even though they are push fit models, they are the best GW has ever done. Usually you can tell straight away that a model is push fit as it has an awkward pose and appears to be less detailed than the true plastic versions of the same troops. These are indistinguishable in quality from the miniatures in Dark Imperium. A real step forward in GW's production quality.

Another thing to note is that they are all slotta models! I've not seen new slotta models since the Assault on Black Reach starter set for fifth edition.

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Yep slotta bases! man that takes me back... very cool and essential to the no-glue Easy build concept being presented here!

Like Lee says, First Strike serves as a brilliant intro to 40K. Compact, yet still containing everything you need to dip your toes in to the game. Lee has adroitly covered most of the box so I’ll talk about the rest.

The Primaris marines come on blue plastic sprues, I presume that they are of the same quality as the normal grey plastic but they are a bit shinier so it is hard to see if the sharpness of the detail is the same. I couldn’t discern any major differences. You can easily cut off the ‘easybuild’ pegs to get more variety out of the poses but in all honesty it ends up looking a bit awkward. They have been designed a certain way, messing with that with the parts you have doesn’t go as well as you would think it would. Certainly if you were to use other parts, say from the multipart plastic kits that are coming out I think you would garner better results. I’ll be filling in those leg greaves with Greenstuff though, the below picture has ensured that.....

The Reivers are actually the poorer models in the set in my opinion, the Primaris Intercessors come off quite a bit better, this is probably largely due to the fact that they are markedly different to those that have come in the Dark Imperium box set, well two are at least. One is holding an Auspex which is pretty cool and the sergeant is also a nice dynamically posed figure. I swapped out my Nurgle with a pal for more Primaris and will likely convert the second sergeant into a lieutenant as I hate having identical figures and it would be a little hard to convert up. With an irremovable helmet clipped to his belt you can’t even do an easy head swap. Oh well i’m sure the MPPK will come with a multitude of parts for conversions. (edit - it does! 24 heads in fact!)

In addition to the models you get two snazzy books, I’ll get to those in just a sec but you do also get a couple of other bits not mentioned yet, one is a range ruler, a cut down version of the ruler you get in Dark Imperium and rendering the measuring tool made available for purchase utterly redundant (honestly who makes a measuring tool out of bendy soft rubber ?) There are of course dice, kind of necessary for playing the game, sadly these are not the really nice ones from Dark Imperium and are instead bog standard game dice. You also get cards with the contained models rules but these are MASSIVELY stripped down and in the scheme of things of no use outside the First Strike scenarios. 

Speaking of which,

First Strike comes with two books, one is basically the core rules so no need to explore that here. It is JUST the core rules though, no army building rules advanced rules or deployment maps/missions. Great for carrying round to games though.

the other book, titled 'read this first' really does serve as an intro the the world of Warhammer 40,000
with 9 pages of fluff. a half dozen pages of hobby material, including a painting guide so basic i'm not sure it deserves the name and then the 4 scenarios that make up the game, each one introducing more rules and models till you use the lot in the final battle. It's a really great way to get someone to learn the game, it's hard to imagine being a TOTAL novice but it seems really accessible. There are also more than a few adverts for other GW products. Strangely enough!

So that is First Strike, a pretty decent and affordable starter, scaling up you get Know no Fear which is a stripped down version of Dark Imperium at 50 notes.  This new idea of multiple entry point starters is a really good one from GW. Top marks there. First Strike really feels like a starter taste though and you are not getting the full experience by any means. 

Time to look at the other Primaris releases (this has delayed the article a few times, sorry about that)

So along side all this we got a couple of clampack characters, coming in at almost the cost of a full squad  (at present) they are certainly quite expensive and in my opinion the Captain is rendered redundant by the far superior ‘birthday’ limited edition available from GW stores on their anniversary. Still, the Librarian looked really nice so I grabbed that.

And you know what? It is a phenomenally well designed and engineered model. GW really are absolutely at the top of the pile here and it was a dream to assemble, of course the trade off is convertibility and I would say that you would find it very difficult to make a second model look distinct. then again at the the price GW are asking for these who could AFFORD more than one?!

Reivers, £35 quid for 10 might seem like a lot but if you are paying £10 for three Easy-build versions then the price doesn't seem that bad! Add in the discount for a third party retailer such as Wayland Games and it will drop below 30 quid and start to look a bit more reasonable. There are also a BUCKET load of parts to this kit and in the end despite being a price you would balk at for a squad it actually works out better value than the 'value' sets people are raving about. Odd how that works eh?

Aggressors: Now these at £30 for three models I am having a LOT more trouble justifying. A tenner a model, minimal options and spare parts, and just not that great looking in the first place, (imo) they are a hard sell. Given the option i'd pay the extra fiver and go for the ten Reivers every time. The Aggressors seem to have been priced purely to be cheaper than the reviled Centurions which they are clearly meant to replace. 

On top of that we also have the Redemptor Dreadnought, at £40 it seems much better priced to me. Now I have seen better pictures I feel that I understand the model much better and to be honest... I'm really digging it. I think the price is good (Twice the size of a normal dread and only 25% more) and I'll definitely be picking one up. Huge and stompy, I want to compare one to an Imperial Knight!

this keeps getting delayed as more stuff is reviewed. this is the last of it thankfully!

Ok so the last couple of Primaris releases.

Apothecary, quite nice, not sure he should be standing on his brothers corpse but the little details are really nice. The flasks round his neck containing the progenoid glands, the lenses in front of his face, it’s a nice job, lots of character. I’ll probably grab one of these.

The chaplain is also quite nice, a lot more dynamic if perhaps a little too interrogator like for me, his Crozius has also been downgraded to a mere stick, not so keen on that. Looks a bit like a baton. He’s half the sprues of the apothecary for the same price too, not cool.

And lets not forget that the four released characters are collectively  practically the same price as the ENTIRE of the Dark Imperium box. Insanity.

Something else that is insanity?  £30 quid for 3 Inceptors. Utter madness, they aren’t nice models in the first place  (IMO) and they don’t even come with that many parts. Those new flying bases are rubbish too. Might just be worth mixing with a cheap squad from DI to get the most out of it and end up with two squads for about £40.00. 

Better is 35 for 10 Intercessors, (the hell blasters are the same price), Ok it’s a lot of money for a ten man squad but the models are undeniably bigger and better and you get 3 variants of weapon which can be used throughout the entire squad and 24 heads! 12 bare and 12 helmeted, and who doesn’t like more head?(snigger). I think the concerning thing is that I just said £35.00, a 40% (ish) markup is perfectly justified. I feel dirty now.

50 quid for your Repulsor grav tank. Doesn’t seem too bad, there is quite a lot to it. Lots of guns certainly. Given that the LR is roughly the same price and similarly sized models from AOS cost a LOT more I don’t think it’s too bad.

And that’s the Primaris release. (at least the first wave) Total cost to get one of each box? A Staggering  £345. I mean that really is a LOT of money for 42 infantry models a tank and a dreadnought. This is the price of the new Scale. Some armies are about to get HORRIFICALLY expensive.

In general I think the Aggressors, Inceptors and Characters are probably the raw deals here. The Dread and 10 man squads seem OK for the amount of bits you get, the Tank is so, so.  I’m not surprised by any of the prices overall, they are much in line with AOS.  

Next up, (presumably) will  be the Deathguard. I’d expect a similar release there, we already know a tank is coming, Typhus, a terminator box, a Plague Marine box, I imagine a multipart pox walker kit, and a clam pack for each of the existing characters in Dark Imperium too (Sorcerer, Noxious Blightbringer and Lord of Contagion) Oh and a great big flying bloke called Mortarion.

Of course, we’ll review those when they arrive....

Shadow Wars Armageddon Game Report.

Scout Sergeant Apollyon lowered his mag-nocs, checked his chronometer and scowled. The enemy were late, this wasn't part of the the plan. He activated his long range vox.
'Base, this is Apollyon, confirm time of estimated enemy contact'
The vox in his ear cracked and hissed. Communications had proven to be problematic of late, following a number of pitched battles his squad had been pushed further into the depths of Hive Acheron, the tall structures and haphazard myriad radiations had plagued any signals from base, he adjusted his vox settings and strained to listen for any reply. Though squeals of static he discerned a response.
'Apollyon, Base. Tim... ... ... mated Xenos contact confirmed. La... .....rts have the greenskins within 500 metres...... .... position. They should ...... right ... you. Hol..  ...sition.'
'Base, Apollyon, confirmed .'
He shut off the vox and scowled again, to his right were Orosius and Zakian. Both of them swept their area in front of them with their bolters. A glance from Zakian was all he needed to confirm they too had not sighted the greenskins. He thumbed his vox again, choosing the short range setting this time.
'Aryius. talk to me, any sighting of the greenskin filth?' as he spoke he raised his mag-nocs, peering into the darkness through the devices enhanced optics, even his superhuman senses couldn't detect any Ork activity..
Nothing here Sergeant, this, isn't right, the Orks aren't subtle, they don't hide, we should be able to SMELL them from here. 
They will come brother, the Ork are a force of nature, they are relentless and formidable but they are predictable, you, Caeon and Nikaeon need to continue your vigilance'
Aye sergeant, we'll see them from up here, The Emperor protects'
Apollyon looked up at the snipers position in nearby building, in such an elevated and concealed position the field of fire they were afforded would leave the orks no chance, whenever they chose to appear. The practicals were in place and the theoreticals were covered.
That he does brother, that he does, he murmured.

Boss Snikbang! eased himself over the corroded pipe, carefully placing his booted feet down onto a dry patch of flooring so as not to cause any unnecessary noise. He had managed to get far enough into the Hive interior zones that he could see the winking lights of the 'oomie perimeter defences through the gloom ahead. Around him he was sure his boys were getting into position, good lads the lot of them. It wasn't just their stealth skills that marked them out but their spanking shiny boots and the way they threw a crisp salute whenever he uttered an order. Proper Blood Axes. 

Boss Snikbang! studied what was ahead. The dense jumble of coolant pipes that he and the boys had crossed to get this far were opening out and he could see streets separating a collection of walkways and bulkier machinery. He went to give the signal to advance, three light taps on the pipe in front of him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Snikbang froze. His jaw hanging open. He was a tough boy and could punch the head right of a 'oomie if he needed to but he had tried to be gentle when giving the signal.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Now that was odd. He hadn't even hit the pipe that time. Snikbang! looked around to see if he could figure out who was making that racket. He threw a nervous glance towards the'oomie compound in case one of them squishy zoggers heard the noise and came to investigate. 

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

That had come from his right, or left, Snikbang! never bothered to learn the terms. His axe hand or his lobbing hand was how he remembered them, got to have a system his old drill sergeant had said. He looked in the direction denoted by his lobbing hand, out in the open, strolling along without a care in the world was a spanna boy. He held a fancy looking shoota in one hand and a gleaming hammer in the other. The hammer looked new. As Snikbang! watched the spanna boy was looking at a large piece of machinery. He prodded it with his foot, licked it, had  a think about the taste then whacked it three times with his hammer.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

What the zog?! Before Snikbang could get up to go smack the spanna boy with his own hammer he heard another commotion coming from his axe hand side. He heard whooping and something else, a ululating rumble of sound that echoed off the pipes creating a sound like nervous thunder. Then a group of odd looking lads burst out into the open. Madboys! They were shaking their fists at the sky and hollering at some unseen foe, only stopping to bend over and let rip with some of the loudest flatulation he'd ever heard towards the 'oomies' outpost.

The 'oomies! Snikbang! looked over towards where the lights were blinking. He could hear something else, the ring of booted feet on walkways. Squinting he made out a bunch of the smaller beakie type 'oomies taking up firing positions and aiming out towards the madboys and the spanna boy with the hammer. 
"Zog me." grumbled Snikbang! That had torn it. He stood up and whacked his choppa on a nearby pipe, sounding the charge order. His lads emerged from cover and as one they began a march towards the 'oomie's position. He'd have to do it the old orky way. 

Right, following on from my review of Shadow Wars we decided to get a few games in, we were requested to do a write up for it so here we go!

I've already played one game (a four way battle with Genestealer Cult Orks and Chaos Marines that I had managed to prevail in with only a head wound to my Sergeant. (causing him to suffer from frenzy). The promethium I had gained (just one poxy barrel) had enabled me to get a Heavy Bolter for my Scout Gunner. One of my bolter scouts had been chosen to advance in the last game and had got the skill Hipshooter, he could run and shoot - albeit with a minus 1 to hit.

Lee on the other hand, had a fresh mob. Now, unlike Necromunda there do not appear to be any rules for underdogs, meaning that if a fresh kill team goes up against a more advanced one they will be at a major disadvantage and won't even get a bonus to experience at the end. Time will tell if this proves to be a problem but with no experience per se in the game anyway it seems that it will be something that is difficult to resolve.

So, Roll Call! (It's worth noting that Lee in typical Lee fashion had names and behaviours for ALL his Orks before the game started whilst I was still referring to Bolter dude with Helmet and Heavy Bolter guy. Suitably shamed I have now named all my Kill Team members.

Scout Squad Apollyon:

• Sgt Apollyon (Head Wound - Frenzy)
• Scout Trooper Orosian - Bolter
• Scout Trooper Nakius - Bolter - Hipshooter
• Scout Trooper Aeryius - Sniper Rifle - Toxic Rounds and Reload
• Scout Trooper Caeon - Sniper Rifle - Reload
• Scout Gunner Nikaeon - Heavy Bolter

The Sneaky Boom Bangs! (all armed with a shiv and squighide armour 6+)

• Nob Snikbang! (The exclamation mark is important, he insists on it) - big choppa, stikk bomb and kombi-shoota
• Klank, Spanna boy - slugga and big shoota
• 4 Blood Axe Boys all armed with a slugga and choppa - Stretch, Skrabble, Whao and Steddy Baz
• 4 Yoofs all armed with a slugga and choppa - Wobblz, Hatz, Squelch and Happy Zug

We rolled for sides, Lee won and chose his and got first turn, we were just playing a straight up fight so it would be till one team bottled. We completely forgot to roll on the conditions table though. Lee deployed right at the front of his deployment zone, a very agressive stance from the greenskins. I on the other hand, set up my Snipers and Heavy Bolter in elevated positions and the remainder of my Scouts in the bunker. Perfect tactical positioning. The only thing I would need to be careful of was Sgt Apollyon charging off into trouble due to his frenzy.

Orks are made for twatting stuff up close so that was my plan hence deploying forward. I had plenty of boys so made sure my yoofs were front and centre. Snikbang and one of his lads set up on the right flank whilst the rest of the boyz made themselves conspicuous.

Orks Turn 1:

I got to go first so did the only sensible thing and ran everyone forward. Most went straight for cover and Snikbang! sneakily sidled over to hunker down behind some cargo containers, whistling nonchalantly as he went.

Scouts Turn 1:

There was no reason at all for my Scouts to move. Well out of charge range I didn't need to worry about my Sergeant's frenzy either. Therefore I stood my ground and opened fire:

Orosius fired at one of Lee's Yoofs - Happy Zug, happy he might be but he was pinned by fire, though I failed to wound.

Nakius took down Stretch with his bolter but promptly ran out of ammo. That was a problem, it was early in the game and he had no reload or other weapons. Worse still, he was my guy with Hipshooter, though I had no plans to run round the battlefield at present. Still the Ork falling to the ground face down was enough to unnerve Lee's Spanner Boy Klank and the cowardly Greenskin promptly scarpered to the nearest cover. Steddy Baz stuck around though, seemingly unbothered by his fellow's fate. Lee had named his Orks well it seemed.

Aeryius sighted down his Sniper Rifle and took down Wobbles, the Ork slumping to the floor in a pool of blood. Down but not out. Sgt Apollyon and Nikaeon went into Overwatch, waiting for a target to present itself.

Orks Turn 2:

Klank had scarpered like a right git but it didn't take long for him to come back to his senses. Actually, he had dropped his poncy new hammer and was going back to retrieve it. Squelch, dancing to and fro, hopping from foot to foot noticed that the open door of the Ferratonic Furnace looked like a porta-drops and dashed in to relieve himself. So as to make thing a bit interesting we decided that this was potentially hazardous so decided to roll for what happened, agreeing on a table of events prior to rolling the dice.

• 1: Falls in - removed from game
• 2-3: Constipated - roll next turn
• 4+: Took a wrong turn and has appeared on top of the Furnace and able to move normally. This would save him a good deal of movement.

(I readily agreed to this, these sort of things add so much fun to games and are one of the reasons that Lee and I have remained such firm adversaries over the years. Lee plays Ork very well (I'm not an Ork person) and already his Kill Team was proving full of character.)

Rolling turned up a six! A confused Squelch appeared on top of the furnace. Still needing to go he wondered around looking for another spot to relieve himself which coincidentally took him towards the Scout's positions.

Snikbang!poked his head out from around the side of the corner and promptly ducked back again as five heavy bolter shots impacted on the side of his cover, Nikaeon's overwatch had failed to hit him, phew. Waiting for a moment to make sure no further fire was coming his way Snikbang! let rip with his kombi-shoota. Two sustained fire dice gave him enough shots to pin Nikaeon behind cover but not much else.

This wasn't the only patient scout, Apollyon pinned Whap who thought he was in more cover than he turned out to be. That's two Orks on the floor but more still mobile.

Scout turn 2:

With my only Objective being to get rid of Lee I still had no reason to move. Sadly this meant Lee was rather running a gauntlet. I couldn't feel too sorry for him though, sympathy for the Xenos is heresy.

Apollyon took careful aim and pinned Waap again before Orosian took him Out Of Action with disciplined Bolter Fire. Lee would be taking Bottle Tests from here on.

Caeon managed to pin Boss Snikbag! This was a good thing, the large Ork posed quite a threat. I'd rather he was down but stalling him flat on his back was better than nothing.

Aeryius spotted Squelch on top of the walkway in the gloom. A clear shot, a quick exhale as he pulled the trigger and Squelch was down, stumbling from the walkway and nearly landing on Hatz below. Thankfully Hatz dodged just in time, though he scarpered anyway. Squlech on the other hand was immensely fortunate and landed on his head. Suffering only one wound which Lee managed to save on a six no less! Aeryius had hit on a six but thankfully passed his ammo test.

Nikaeon recovered from being Pinned, he couldn't go into Overwatch, I'd have to hope he could escape Lee's attention for a turn. Nakius meanwhile glared impotently through the sights of his empty bolter.

Ork Turn 3:

Bottle tests on leadership seven. Passed this turn, the muffled swearing coming from the direction of Snikbang! enough to convince the boys to stay in the fight. Hatz wasn't having any of it though and failed to rally from last turn and ran into cover.

Klank, as well as testing his new hammer on any and every solid surface had also brought along his newly kustomised big shoota. He opened up on Orosian but in typically Orky fashion missed with all of his shots.

The madboy yoofs were rather enjoying writhing on the ground so stayed there but none of the boys was squishy so they stuck around. Boss Snikbang! got up to show the lads what they should be doing.



Scouts Turn 4:

Nikaeon went back on Overwatch, that Boss was bound to make a break for it at some point and the Heavy Bolter was my best chance of putting him down for good. Apollyon lead by example and took out Shank with a perfect Bolt Pistol Shot.  Thus far his frenzy hadn't been a problem though it must be noted we're assuming that they were M4 where they are actually M5! Ridiculous!

Aryius scored a flesh wound on Klank, passing another Ammo test in the process.

Ork Turn 4:

Cowardly lot them beakies, not that any of them had them beakie helmets. What a swoz. The boys passed their bottle test and stayed in the fight for another turn. Snikbang! burst from cover, pegging it towards the tower opposite that would lead to the entrenched snipers and Nikaeon. He was forced to run a gauntlet of overwatch fire, Nikaeon having to pass an initiative test in order to overcome his surprise at Snikbang!'s sudden appearance and succeeding. Even with a -2 to hit he scored a wound. Snikbang! had two to begin with so didn't get knocked down though he skidded into cover and stayed there, pinned for the rest of the turn.

Steady Baz had methodically worked his way to the top of the centre section walkway, not bothered by all the bullets and bolts whizzing by his head. He took a shot at the scout with the fanciest looking armour, pinning Sgt Apollyon. Steady Baz passed his ammo check, that Stormboy training serving him well with a well oiled and maintainted slugga.

Despite this most of my Orks were doing nothing due to being pinned or hurt. Wobblz went out of action with a large burst of flatulence before lying still. His memory lingering as a green cloud that followed the breeze coming from the nearby ventilation ducts. Squelch's desperate need overcame his common sense and he recovered to a flesh wound as he looked around for that secluded spot where he could do his business in peace.

Scout Turn 5:

The game was turning in the Scout's favour but Lee still had a few Orks that could cause me problems. Apollyon passed his initiative test to recover from Pinning early but rushed his shot at Happy Zug and missed. I was actually lucky that Apollyon had been pinned or the Frenzy would have made him charge, a lucky escape for myself and the Yoof.

Zug's luck ran out though as Orosian put him down though with another impressive display of shooting. He had an ammo check but unlike Nakius passed it no problem. Nakius was probably hoping for the Orks to get close enough so he could use his bolter as a club, Reloads were high on my shopping list after this game.

Speaking of Ammo Checks Aeryius took Hatz Out of Action with yet another 6 to hit, passing a third Ammo Roll in a row (on an 11 no less). Sniper elite indeed!

Not to be outdone Caeon downed Klank, Nikaeon went back on Overwatch with his Heavy Bolter in an end to a decisive turn for the Scouts. Very few Orks were left standing now.

Ork Turn 6:

"Wots wrong with ya?! You Orks or is ya grots? Get stuck in!" To the boys credit, or sheer lack of common sense, they didn't bottle again.

Unfortunately there were not many Orks who could actually affect what was happening. Steady Baz maintained his cool and shot at Orosian but missed. That was it, everyone else was pinned or down and none of them snapped out of it in the recovery phase.

Scout turn 6:

Sadly the only target for the Scouts on top of the Bunker was the prone form of Happy Zug, still the Codex Astartes says never give a sucker an even break (or something like that) and Apollyon and Orosian dutifully riddled the greenskins body with boltershells. Annoyingly though they couldn't do anymore than score another Down result.

Therefore it was up to Aeryius to show them how it was done yet again, Steady Baz was his target this time with yet another hit roll of 6. A toxic round took Baz out of the game and this time round I finally failed an ammo check, on a double 1 no less! Had it been one of those shoddy Ork weapons it would have exploded, Imperial equipment is far from shoddy though and Aeryius just used his reload.

This just left Nikaeon and Caeon, both of whom went on Overwatch.

Orks turn 7:

The lads, all absorbed in their own suffering did not notice that they really should make a run for it and stayed on for yet another turn.

Squelch had caught sight of the bunker and moved towards it, there had to be a lav in there somewhere! He took a shot at the occupants but missed. He was a bit exposed.

Over on the left Boss Snikbang! had recovered and made a run towards the scouts but was cut down by Nikaeon's heavy bolter. Back at camp the number of scouts who had fired at Snikbang grew by lots in the re-telling (the highest number any Ork knows how to count to).

All that writhing was hard work and both Klank and Stretch decided they had better things to be doing and went Out of Action.

Scout turn 7:

Much as I hate to say it Squelch was the only available target. For my entire Team. It was literally a shooting gallery. Still, Hate the Alien, Kill the Alien and all that. My Scout's Drill Instructors had clearly drummed the Codex into them well as my Kill Team opened up on Squelch.

First Nikaeon downed him with a burst of heavy bolter fire. Apollyon did the same with his bolt pistol. Caeon did the same, as did Orosian, Aeryius inconceivably once again hit on a 6 passing his ammo check. Even with Toxic Rounds he couldn't take Squlech (or what was left of him) out of action. Poor Squelch.

Lee gamely passed another Bottle check but had no Orks standing. At the end of the Turn Boss Snikbang! went out of action and Lee conceded, with only two downed Yoofs left on the battlefield.

Post game action.

Kill team Apollyon had suffered zero injuries, Lee, not so lucky.

Both Lee's Orks left on the battledfield went OOA. Worse was to come as Squelch and Whap were captured (better than dead I suppose)

See, what happened with Squelch was that he'd managed to crawl into the sewer and float away from the battle. Later he was seen floating amongst the effluent but after calling him a few times Squelch had refused to stop floating face down so the boys left him to it. He eventually got caught in a grate that prevents large bodies being sucked into the waste purification facility and was picked up by a patrol.

Steady Baz suffered a head wound. Frenzy for him.
Happy Zug would miss the next game and now hated Orosian
Strech Scored against the Odds! He gained Infiltrate which was very handy (Lee was using the Blood Axe Skill table.)

Sadly none of Lee's other Orks were eligible for advancement. (Yoofs only get mission completed marks.)

The Scouts scored two promethium and I just had to choose Aeryius to advance. Four hits on a six multiple notches on his rifle? There could be no other. He picked up the Hipshooter skill, a Sniper Rifle isn't a heavy weapon so he could now run and gun! Albeit at a minus 1 to hit.

In the Re-arm phase Lee replaced one of his Orks, I chose to buy reloads and Photovisors. The reloads were a necessity the way I was rolling and the Photovisors would reduce the enemies cover by 1.

Our next game was already decided! A Rescue mission!

We'll be back soon, will Lee manage to rescue Squelch and Whap? Does he really want to? (They were a bit crap) Find out in the next game report, coming soon!

Conclave of Har Game Report: Second Edition. Space Marines Vs Eldar.

It's no secret that we love Second Edition Warhammer 40,000 here at the Conclave. Not only is it the edition that Lee and I commenced the hobby with, it is also in our opinion, the best most cinematic and narrative edition of the game. Indeed the Conclave of Har is the home of the Second Edition Revival Project though work on that has stalled somewhat due to a number of factors, not least that the latest version of 40K has incorporated a lot of elements of Second Edition itself, rendering our work somewhat diminished in the grand scheme of things. Maybe 8th will offer a better opportunity.

So for now we just squeeze some 2E games in where we can, and our 'Day of 40K' offered us such an opportunity. Originally Lee suggested 1500 points but I remember all too well how long Second Edition could take to play at even moderate points levels and cut that down to 1000pts. Now I had planned to take a Genestealer Cult even though they were unpainted as it would be something a little different, however a number of problems which are ably documented in the Kill Team report HERE meant that I fell back on my standard army, Space Marines. 

Problem is you really do not get many Space Marines for 1000 points. Even a fully kitted out Tactical Squad will run you 350 on its own. However back in the day the Force Organisation Chart didn't exist and your army selection was instead based upon percentages with 25% as a minimum from Squads  and up to 50% for each of the other departments. 

So it was that I saw myself with the opportunity to field an army much like I used to back in the day, I'm sure Lee will be able to tell you with varying amounts of fondness of facing my three Dreadnought Ultramarine army with plenty of sniper scouts on the side. (He has a beard now but it was bigger in those days - Lee).

Therefore my Emperors Blades army was as follows: One Codicier (Lee was taking Eldar so I would need some kind of Psychic counter) a full Tactical Squad sans heavy weapon, which I would split into two Combat Squads, a Whirlwind for artillery support and Two dreadnoughts. I felt a pang of guilt at this selection but in all honesty Lee's second Edition Eldar builds could be pretty brutal and I'd likely need the extra firepower. In addition I selected some protective wargear for my Codicier opting for an Aegis Suit and Psychic Hood so that I would be better protected against his Psychic Powers.

My Space Marine Army: The Emperor's Blades

My force was equally strained in what it could fit. I would have more Eldar than Allen had Marines but they can still be expensive, particularly as I couldn't leave Aspect Warriors out of my force. Lucky for him my tanks are in the display cabinet at the office. My force was too small to include a Farseer so I took a Warlock Champion who is a level two psyker. My hope was that Librarians were costly enough that if Allen included one then it would just be a Lexicanium so it would be easier to dispel his casts but as it turned out he took a psyker of equal level so ho hum. 

The Warlock was not my leader though, that honour went to a Banshee Exarch. In second edition Exarchs were purchased as toughness 4 2 wound characters who were given the armaments of their temple and purchased additional Exarch powers. Mine was a Banshee with an Executioner and a conversion field for a bit of extra protection. Her powers were Fighting Fury, which gave her an extra and War Shout which meant she caused Fear. She would be accompanied by a unit of four Howling Banshees.

How I loathed this book back in the day....

The bulk of my army was made up of two squads of Guardians all armed with Shuriken Catapults. Each of these weapons as a range of 24", one sustained fire dice at S4 -2 armour save per shot, Space Marine Killers! When we were playing this as teenagers I had a hell of a time getting enough models together for a squad, now I was only using a fraction of my available models.

For a bit of fast moving harassment I took a unit of five Warp Spiders which at 205pts basic was the most expensive unit in my force. For support I took a Warwalker with two missile launchers and a Vyper with a Shuriken Cannon and Scatter Laser.

In second edition each player could have a separate mission, this was something we definitely like and greatly miss even if GW tried to reincorporate them with the tactical objective cards in seventh. In this instance Lee had the mission Witch hunt. His objective was to kill or at least wound my Codicier. I had Engage and Destroy, this was a simple kill mission, take out as many units as I could and get extra victory points for obliterating entire squads and vehicles.

I decided to go period specific with the terrain so we used the Necromunda scenery from our Kill Team game and the powerstation from the Storm of Vengeance campaign pack.

Now second edition had Strategy Cards as well, cards that you would keep in hand and use at opportune moments during the game to try to gain the upper hand. We actually completely forgot to use them during the game but I originally drew Virus Outbreak which Lee and I refuse to use as it is utterly broken and can cripple the opponents army making for a dull game (the designers even gave instructions via White Dwarf to tear it up and throw it away - Lee). My redraw was the moderately useful Minefield but as I saw we neglected to use them in any instance. 

So with that it was time to start the game, we deployed and I went first.

Turn 1

It turned out however, that I couldn't see any of Lee's army, the cowardly xenos lurking out of sight. This being the case I put pretty much the entire army into Overwatch. This wasn't the Overwatch that you have now that just enables you to take a snap shot at a charging enemy this was a proper delaying of your shooting till the opponent moved into line of sight, you would get a minus modifier to your shot but it was still often useful. Tokens were placed and my army bade it's time. All except the Whirlwind, which took an Indirect Fire shot at Lee's Guardians, the Scatter and Artillery Dice came up a hit and 5 Guardians were blown into little pieces by missiles. 

As there had been no movement and precious little shooting and nothing had charged into combat it was the Psychic Phase (Psychics were done at the end of the turn in 2E) The Warp swelled and a Total of 11 cards were shared out with myself getting the extra as it was my turn. However, my powers were not such that I could really use at the time and I settled for engaging Lee in a Psychic Duel, he passed the challenge though (we rolled the same after modifiers) and retained all his powers. I stored a card in my Force Staff and It was Lee's turn.

Where are all these Eldar then? 

I'm no dummy. Last game we played with these armies I lost a Dreadnought to Space Marine fire in turn one before I had even moved a unit so yes, everyone was in hiding which allowed me to begin the first turn of this game relatively unscathed. Most of my units ran as anyone who was going to pass in front of Allen's overwatching units needed to get the additional -1 to hit for moving over 10" where possible. Regardless, I managed to get past all that out of sequence firing in good shape. 

My Warwalker wanted to take out a dreadnought so fired both of its missile launchers but failed to penetrate. Checking the weapon stats it wasn't going to be easy with D6+D10+8. I would need some pretty good rolls, having two shots and some psychic back up should help. My Vyper hoped to make a better show of things zooming up to Allen's Whirlwind which I knew was going to give me no end of headaches but disaster! My thinking had been stuck in seventh edition and shots at the rear of a Whirlwind with a Shuriken Cannon and Scatter Laser could do nothing, the best armour penetration I would be able to do was only D6+D4+5! Oh for a lascannon. I decided to shoot up some marines instead but because I had moved so fast the modifiers on my to hit dice meant I hit nothing but air. 

I hoped to have a more successful psychic phase but with only 5 cards split between the two of us the chances weren't good. To top it all my attempt to cast Guide on the Warwalker failed as Allen played the Daemonic Attack card but thankfully the Warlock survived!

Turn 2

I had no charges to declare (2E combat was done in Combat phase but you HAD to have declared and charged in in the movement phase) and I didn't really need to move so It was straight to shooting. My Twin Lascannon Dreadnought tried to take down Lee's War Walker as this was the only thing that had any real anti-armour weapons (rub it in already-Lee). I hit and on rolling for location hit the right weapon. I easily beat the armour and one of the missile launchers was destroyed. The Plasma Dread shot too but hit the Eldar Pilot himself and with a 2+ invulnerable Power Field save the alien escaped harm (Wubalubadubdub!-Lee). 

The combat squad had more luck though and took out the Howling Banshees heading towards my Librarian. With no overwatch modifier the Astartes rapid firing Boltguns made short work of the Eldar Combat troops. The other Combat Squad went on Overwatch as there were Warp Spiders on the prowl on the left flank. The Whirlwind failed to hit, Indirect fire was always more inaccurate. At least I didn't roll a misfire on the artillery dice so nothing went wrong with the launcher. 

In the Psychic Phase I was able to cast Salamander and a flickering tongue of fire shot out 5D6 directly in front of my Librarian and took a wound off the Howling Banshee Exarch, the only survivor from her squad.

My luck has to run out soon as that Whirlwind can cause major havoc for Eldar but there was nothing I can do about it as none of my units bar the Warwalker had anything that could even scratch it and that was on the opposite side of the board. And my Banshees man, son of a bitch! 

Still, got me some Warp Spiders and they jumped over to the Marine squad my Vyper had failed to hit. Their 3+ armour meant they took no casualties from the overwatch fire as they were moving out of cover and more than 10" thanks to their jump generators. Laying down multiple flame templates each marine even partially under the template had to take an initiative test, if they passed then they leapt out of the way of the monofilament cloud in time but if not then they were ensnared and took an automatic wound with a -2 save which left three piles of minced Marine. I jumped out of there but lost a Warp Spider in the process. Sad face.

My Warwalker only had one missile launcher but this hit the dread, the +1 to hit for a large target coupled with my targeters helped but I couldn't penetrate the armour. Bad news for Allen though as I had some guardians in range of his Marines. More specifically I was in range of his Codicier who was the target of my mission card. Sure he had terminator armour but force enough 5+ saves on two dice added together and he'll drop sooner or later. Didn't happen this turn though.

I did manage to get another shot off at the dread with the Warwalker thanks to Guide but that armour must be made out of Nokia 3310s cause that stuff didn't break.

At the mid game point (2E games only lasted 4 turns) I definitely had the advantage, slight though it may be. Obliterating the Howling Banshees (The Exarch was an Independent Character and not part of the unit) afforded me extra points due to my mission and gave me the lead. However, there was still much to play for and a good amount of Eldar to continue to be a thorn in my side. The Warp Spiders in particular were a problem and I had to keep them away from my Codicier...

At the midpoint the Marine right flank looks very strong whilst the jumping Warp Spiders harry the left. 

Turn 3

Movement was once again minimal from the Marines, the Combat squad on the right took down a couple of Guardians, meaning Lee would have to take break tests. The Las Dread hit and penetrated the War Walkers Leg Armour but could only stagger the construct causing it to crash into the power station but causing no additional damage. The Plasma Dread took out another two guardians on the left side and the reduced combat squad, being unable to target the Warp Spiders finished off the squad. The Whirlwind fired at the Spiders but once again scattered off target. 

The Psychic phase saw a mighty 11 cards dealt out but there was nothing for me to cast so I just saved a force card for next turn. 

It was time to hunker down and trade fire with the Marines with my Shuriken Catapults so I moved them into some ruins. The Vyper when psyker hunting as I wanted those mission points as the Space Marines weren''t being cool and headbutting my missiles and such. The Warp Spiders went into mince some more marines but they all dodge the fire and to top it off I lost two Spiders on the jump back which gave a victory point to Allen for 50% squad casualties.

By this point I had given up on blowing up the dread so targeted some marines and popped one to lie down next to the one the Guardians had shredded so that meant a break test. The Vyper disappointingly failed to hurt the Codicier which meant I was running out of options.

By the last turn the Marines are in the ascendancy...

Turn 4

I started my last turn passing my break test and then by declaring a charge on the War walker with my Plasma Dread. If I couldn't shoot it down I'd tear it apart with my Power Fist! My Codicier moved into cover heedless of Lee's taunts, no point in taking chances. The reduced combat squads positioned themselves to finish off the Guardians. 

Shooting saw the Whirlwind miss AGAIN! Sigh, a 25% percent success rate was not going to please the chapter master...  Still at least the Tactical Marines went some way to restoring chapter honour, finishing off the Guardians. Robbed of their target the other Combat Squad shot down the Banshee Exarch. Finally the Lascannon Dread shot down the Vyper by killing both of the crew, the Jetbike crashing to the ground in a heap of wreckage. 

The combat between the Dread and Warwalker saw the dread hit the War Walker 7 times (in 2E you both rolled a dice for each of your attacks and added your weapon skill plus modifiers comparing scores with the difference being landed in hits-) Despite this, all I could do was rip off the other missile launcher, If I'd hit the pilot I would have crushed him as his armour save was only good against weapons fire. 

 Despite 12 cards in the Psychic phase nothing was cast. 

I passed all my break tests so started to move. I had nothing to lose by trying to get out of combat with that dread so made a disengage move, Allen took his free hit and smashed it to pieces. It was going to die anyway. I was damned if I was just going to let that Codicier bugger off woundless but I had nothing in range so decided to knock off his mates instead.

The Guardians took down a single marine and the Warp Spiders also killed a marine. My Warlock hurled his Singing Spear at the dread but only managed to give it a gammy knee. Time to pin my hopes on the psychic phase.

I had enough cards to cast Executioner, sending an astral version of myself to fight a round of combat for each power card I expended but Allen reflected it back at me ending the game. Poop.

A quick totaling of the points revealed the Marines to be victors by 13 points to 3. Glory for the Emperor's Blades!


I'II shall not quickly forget that if I want to bust armour that I need to bring lascannons to the party. That or I need to get my dread with D-cannon built again. Eldar used to have to walk and run everywhere and that was the problem here as Allen could stay entrenched. Some Hawks may have helped, dropping a few krak grenades on the marines may have had a noticable effect. Still, I'll be bringing a Falcon or Fire Prism next time.

That game was loads of fun if a little one sided. Lee just couldn't cope with my Armour and he was actually really lucky that my Whirlwind was only 25% accurate. (They are a bit hit or miss but against Eldar if they do strike true they will wreak absolute carnage)

Also, Lee's rolls for his Psychic Phase certainly didn't help. Whilst I was consistently rolling double figures in my turn Lee was rolling much lower giving him much less to work with, the few powers he did get off I didn't have too much trouble countering.

That said, his War Walker was a pain in my Ceramite plated neck, Whilst I had the firepower to take it  out I just couldn't hit the right BIT of it and I honestly thought it was going to escape entirely unscathed, thankfully Lee walked off and gave me the free hits to finally wreck it.

I'm also really lucky that Lee killed three of his own Warp Spiders for me as I was having a horrible time against them. They are monstrously hard and therefore monstrously expensive. They could have caused me real problems and decimated my infrantry.

Ultimately though it was Lee's failure to take out my Codicier that cost him. It wasn't for lack of trying though I think I would have used the Vyper a little more aggressively. Losing the Banshees so early was a big blow for him too and maybe a different Aspect Warrior unit with more fire power would have been a better option.

After the 2E game we squeezed in a game of 7th. This also was a win for the marines (bigger army) but it was MUCH closer with only one point in it as Lee's excellent Chaos army gave me a run for my money.

The Seventh Ed game was significantly Larger. 

I even had to use a few partially painted figures!

Conclave game report: Kill Team

It's hard enough to find time to paint these days let alone game, Schedules rarely match up and we all have various commitments to fulfill meaning that any time that we can fit in for a game is at a premium. Being an adult sucks sometimes.

Thankfully the opportunity presented itself recently for not just a game but a DAY of gaming, such a rare chance had to be exploited to the maximum. We arranged to squeeze in three games total. One Kill Team, one Second edition and one Seventh, A day of 40K.

I'd never played Kill Team before. I had no idea what to take, I knew Lee was taking Orks so I was likely to be outnumbered no matter what. I toyed with taking Genestealer Cult so that I would at least have a chance of  matching his numbers, but they are TOTALLY unpainted and I really had no idea how to go about putting a force together. Besides I was planning to use them for the Second Edition game. I knew I wanted to take something other than Space Marines, which I thought might be a bit dull,

Next up on my assembled but painted list was Necrons. Four Canoptex Wraiths might prove interesting, 3++ and phase shifting.  Problem is I moved not all that long ago and couldn't find them to save my life (they have since been located). Damn, there went my Seventh Edition list as well.

I still, didn't want to use Space Marines, they were fully painted but no, just no, i'm sick of using Space Marines for everything. I think it was Gangs of Commoragh that gave me the idea to use Dark Eldar, When they were first released I bought a massive army, but since they were treated so poorly in 7th they have languished in a box doing, well, not very much at all. They were also unpainted but I was very much running out of options here, I'm not a very prolific painter even if it is my favourite part of the hobby.

In the end I settled on ten Reaver Jetbikes. An Arena Champion and Three Blasters, (one for each of my specialists) took me to the 200pt limit. I had considered taking less Reavers and giving a few of them Cluster Clatrops to increase the amount of Hammer of Wrath hits but in Kill Team each model is an Individual and none would have more than 2 wounds so it would have been pointless. Besides, I was going to still be outnumbered. The advantage of the Jetbikes though is I could hopefully zip around and stay out of the Ork's range, picking them off to try to get them to break.  I certainly wasn't planning to get into combat.

I like little games of 40k and Killteam offers just that. On top of that as every model is a unit all on its own every dice roll would count, as Allen would later learn. This evokes games of second edition where every roll had significance.

I chose to play Orks as I have so many but have had few chances to try them out in seventh. As well as my own collection since last we played I have obtained a mountain of Ork models from a work colleague which has boosted the amount and type of units I have available. With this in mind I was ready to try out all manner of force compositions.

My first idea was to go pure Kommando led by Boss Snikrot who with two wounds and a modest amount of points would have fitted nicely in a Killteam. Unfortunately I could not find the model so that idea was out (till next time). Next I considered Boss Zagstruk and Da Vultur Skwadron but I couldn't find him either which was a shame as I wanted those Str10 hammer of wrath attacks in case Allen brought a vehicle along.

After considering a Killa Kan or two I decided to take a varied force and try to outnumber whatever Allen brought along. Having visions of glory with Kommandos and Stormboys dashed I decided to take a unit each. THe high speed of the Stormboys meant that I could get stuck in with the 3 attacks (4 on the charge) these boys had as well as their hammer of wrath attacks. On the charge they could be devestating. As I needed a leader and because only a big tough Ork would do I added a Nob with a power klaw to the unit. If Allen did bring any vehicles I wanted to be able to take them out sharpish.

With my Kommandos I had a unit with the option to infiltrate and get in close to any objectives. I took a rokkit launcher and gave that Ork Eagle Eye so he would stand a chance of hitting something. I rounded the force off with a unit of ten Gretchin and a Runtherd to give me numbers. They may only have grotblasters but every shot counts in Killteam so I was hoping to surprise Allen. My full list can be found at the end of this post.



We were using the Necromunda card terrain for a classic feel and Lee went first, he moved all his Orks forward apart from his Rokkit Launcher which was perched up atop of a building. That could be a problem, especially as he would be re-rolling to hit (weapon specialist). Lee was clearly going for the objectives. He could have them as far as I was concerned, my plan was to thin his numbers and swoop on the objectives later, preferably once he had broken. After all I would have to kill 12 of his models to reduce him to half strength. He only had to kill five.

His Rokkit launcher missed but the reroll paid dividends and he blew one of my Reavers out of the sky as I failed my cover save. First Blood went to Lee! Thankfully his Stormboyz acted more like Orks and rolled a triple one with their sluggas.

I had the numbers and was going to use them. Objectives were a priority but my plan was to make it look like the Stormboys were going for them but then keep going and charge the Reavers. While that was going on the Kommandos and Gretchin would follow up and consolidate my positions.

Night fighting could have done for my shooting which was a bugger as my rokkit Kommando managed to hit but out in the open as it was that Reaver stood no chance. Most of my boys were out of range only having sluggas and those that did missed. Ho hum, it is to be expected with Orks.

Right, time for revenge! I had planned to target Gretchin for an easy kill to get myself First Blood but that had gone, except... we were meant to be using Night Fighting! We hadn't taken that into consideration at the time and neither of us could remember the roll, so I rerolled the save and the Reaver came back. First Blood was mine to take.

But the trio of Reavers on the left all missed or failed to wound, and it was left to the four in the middle to blow away a Stormboy on the gantry getting me that Victory Point. My specialist with Fearless (at least he wouldn't be running away) managed to nail the Rokkit Launcher with his Blaster, that was a relief, threat eliminated. Only ten more kills needed to get Lee taking Break Tests!

The three Reavers on the right managed to take out the Gretchin's Runtherd as a bonus, every little helps after all. Nonetheless, killing three a turn just wasn't going to cut it... I used my Jetbike move to get back into cover as much as possible.

I'm too honest by far, letting Allen save his Reaver but we're playing for fun not for victory at all costs. Allen managed a few kills, Orks have paltry armour, but I could afford a few losses.

It was as Lee undertook his second turn that I realised I had completely forgotten to Rapid fire. Balls.

I'm honest but it's not my job to point out things like rolling all the dice you're entitled to, it's your job to remember that ;)

Lee's second turn consisted of charging his Stormboyz into as many Reavers as he could, after consolidating his hold on the objectives, I completely forgot to Overwatch (you can tell which of us re-read the rules the night before) and Lee was the one now using Hammer of Wrath attacks, taking out my Weapon Specialist that had Eagle Eye. I had a feeling this was going to hurt.

However, two of my Reavers actually managed to kill their opponents, the other died, pulled from his mount and another was crushed to bloody gibbets by the Nob with the Power
Claw. That was me with a Third of my force down. Still at least no one was stuck in combat so there was no need for me to Hit and Run.

I was looking forward to getting stuck in. I knew I would be hitting second once the Hammer of Wrath attacks were out of the way but those Dark Eldar hit surprisingly hard. As I said, every dice roll counts and I had not much in the way of saves to protect myself. Thank Gork (or possibly Mork) for my Nob (tee hee). Of course all that drama distracted Allen to what the Kommandos and Gretchin were doing.

Revenge! Again! I HAD to take out those Storm Boys or this was game over on turn 2. The two blaster toting specialists downed the Nob, That's Slay the Warlord for me! Elsewhere my reduced Kill Team managed to Kill all the Storm Boyz before getting back into cover.

Bit painful that, I had hoped my Nob would have survived but he was no better armoured than his boyz. If anything this shows how much Orks rely on mobs to see them through, they are an attrition army. One day we'll play a full sized game of Druchari versus Veridi Gigantus and that will have an entirely different outcome.

Turn 3 had Lee once again keep the objectives as his priority, with his fast hitting assault team gone, he was happy to take a pot shot with one of his Boyz, it was good enough though as another Reaver came crashing down.

Every. Dice. Roll. Counts. Bye bye Reaver. One more and Allen would need to start taking bottle checks.



I only had six Reavers left but this was my turn I was sure of it. I only needed to kill another couple of models to make Lee take break tests and with his remaining force consisting mostly of Grots I couldn't see them sticking around. It was time to be bold, decisive and stop skulking in the shadows. I moved into prime shooting positions and prepared to deliver the kill.

Except that I failed to kill ANYTHING, I either missed or didn't wound with the whole Kill Team and despite my jetbike moves back into cover I was horribly exposed. Bollocks. That was some truly horrific dice rolling, the Greenskins had obviously adapted to the poisons I was using.

Well that was lucky and certainly made up for me losing all my Stormboyz. You'd have thought these boys were painted blue. Had Allen's luck been in this could have been the end of the game pretty much but fortune is fickle and the match continued.

Lee's 4th turn saw his reduced force thankfully fail to punish me too much. The Grots failed to achieve anything and only another Marksman Ork Boy managed to take down another Reaver. I was now taking break tests.


Success, another casualty and in Allen's force every death counts as he has half the models he started with.

Which thankfully I passed, all being clustered round my Leader and using his LD of 9 to cover my whole Kill Team. Fortunate.

Elsewhere I finally managed to kill enough Orks to get Lee taking break tests, if the game went on... and just in case it didn't I moved my Jetbikes to contest every objective. Being bold hadn't worked for me last time but if I left Lee the objectives and the game ended it he would win 3-2.

As an Aeldari player I am well versed in the quandry of moving my jetbikes over to contest/claim objectives, not knowing if another turn was coming which would see your fragile units blasted away. Still, break tests would now kick in for my force and with no leader and most of my remaining troops with a measly leadership of 5 I could well see my force melt away fairly quick.

The game continued though, and Lee had to take break tests. Predictably three Grots and two Ork Boyz decided the fight wasn't for them anymore and legged it. His shooting was ineffective so he charged in. I Overwatched one Ork to death and he failed to do any damage so I used Hit and run to move away.

In small games like this my advice is to be bold. This is what I did, going for victory through decisive Orkish action. It didn't work out exactly how I would have liked and some of the Orks that ran were holding objectives, one which was too far away for me to do anything about so it at least focused my tactics.

My turn 5 break tests were just about all passed (I was too far spread to utilise my Arena Champions stats) and I gunned down another three Grots, Lee only had two models left to my four, it was looking good for me.

However, the last two Gretchin, were too brave (or maybe stupid) to run away. To make matters worse one of them even killed my Leader in combat! Super Gretchin. That wasn't supposed to happen. Another point for the Orks.

Hahahahahaaa. Millennia old gladitorial champion ended by a Gretchin. If he has a contract with the Haemonculi to be ressurected I'm not sure how he'd live this one down. Kill all the witnesses I expect. It was getting very close but I could still win.



My turn 6 had me still in a very good position, winning the game comfortably. However, the sight of my Arena Champion being pulled from his saddle by the diminutive Greenskin clearly unnerved my Kill team as the first two reavers ran away, including the one that had the objective all to themself. My victory was slipping away. Thankfully the last Jetbike stayed so Lee didn't win by default.

It was the Endgame and this was the position: Lee controlled one Objective with one Gretchin and the other was Contested. I had First Blood and Slay the Warlord and Lee also had Slay the Warlord. Currently it was a draw. 2-2.

So I had to take out one of the Gretchin, either would do. I chose the one controlling an objective. This was the last roll of the dice, literally. Thankfully my rolling didn't let me down and poisioned shards riddled the Gretchin killing him. Victory for the Dark Eldar!

See, every dice counts. Allen's Reavers scarpered despite having good leadership while my Gretchin remained. It really came down to the wire and there were lots of notable moments, great fun. I can see us playing more Killteam.

Damn right that was a lot of fun. Full of events and the unexpected just like a game should be. It's like a mix of Necromunda and 40K and is definitely something I could get into a little more. It also cries out for some aftergame phase, for leveling and the like. Maybe I'll work on that at some point.

As far as tactics go, I think it was fairly solid. A few awful dice rolls aside I did an awful lot better than I expected. The jetbike move was invaluable and allowed me to get back into cover in most instances. Had I remembered to rapid fire (and my Combat Drugs which I COMPLETELY forgot about as well) I might have secured a more comfortable victory.

I think Lee's Kill Team worked fairly well, I would have been tempted to take less Gretchin and more hard hitters though, A lot of his force just  sat on objectives and I think in a game like Kill Team you really need more of your force active. A few more Stormboyz would have seen me in all sorts of trouble. Then again, Lee's numerical superiority was quite telling and it took me a long time to break him down.

You see, large numbered Kill Teams are always going to do really well as each model is an individual unit meaning that apart from templates only one can be killed at a time. I have had it suggested to me that a Kill Team of 22 Pink Horrors would be good and in all honesty they would be pretty much unbeatable given the amount of wounds you would have to inflict to wipe them out (they are Fearless so you wouldn't be able to break them) Flamers or some other template weapon would really be your only hope. In addition grenades would be king in Kill Team one grenade throw per unit per turn doesn't matter when every one of your models is a separate unit!

So overall we like Kill Team a lot. In today's bloated 40K ruleset it was refreshing to play something that was quick easy and endlessly entertaining. Only needing a handful of models and much  more personal Kill Team gets two thumbs up from us and has a lot of potential.