2020 Targets

I'm well aware that nobody is likely to be reading this, much less coming back for any updates, but i'm told by my wife that a journal is a good way to keep to targets and also I have a tonne of models lying around. So, I am going to use this long-forgotten blog to list what I plan to get done this year to help me stick to it, and also strengthen the branding of Teesside Tyrants before Paddy thinks his YouTube channel gives him exclusive rights.

Historical Romans

Situation

We are getting into historical wargaming at the shallow end with the KoW Historical Ruleset, which is a bit shallow in depth but is at least fast and easy to keep track of. I'm working through Punic War Romans, Dave is rocketing through Cartheginians and Graham is deciding between Dacians and Persians. So far I have built over 1000 points of Victrix models and painted a Horde of 40 Principes and a Troop of 8 Leves as Skirmishers.

Immediate Goal

I need to get 1000 points painted. This means painting 2 Characters, 20 Principes, 20 Triarii and 10 Cavalry. This is my headline project now but between units I will be working on other things.

Stretch Goal

The army will go to 2000 points. This will mean painting another 20 Principes and Triarii to take those units to Hordes, and also 2 Hordes of Hastati. I haven't worked out a full list yet, but I'll probably try and do some missile units or Cavalry.

Warhammer 40,000

Situation

Last year, without a single blog entry, I painted 2000 points of Necrons after buying many more in the form of several halves of Forgebane, a Get Started Set and 2018's Christmas Megaforce. Ian from Middlesbrough Gaming Club also gave me a Monolith. The 2019 points update pushed me slightly below 2000 points so I have 5 Lychguard built but not painted and 25 points spare.

I also have a half painted Chaos Knight army built around a Renegade Knight I built when they first became a thing. Still to paint is a Knight with 2 Avenger Bolt Cannons and a pair of War Dogs.

Immediate Goal

I need to paint the Lychguard I have built so I have a fully panted 2000 point army of Necrons.

Stretch Goal

I own enough models to take the Necrons to 3000 points. This will involve painting the Monolith and building and painting the units still in the box on the sprue such as Tomb Blades and another 5 Lychguard. As I like the 3000 point level for longer games this would be nice to have, and will also give me options at 2000 points.

The Chaos Knights will be painted - from experience this would take about a week for the big night and another week for the War Dogs. They also need basing, for which I am trying out a roller from Green Stuff World which is drying as I speak, although I have used cheap air drying clay rather than Green Stuff, so it is a bit of an experiment. 

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Situation

I've yet to be won over by AoS, however we are playing it at the club so I have built a functioning Khorne army around my 40k Deamon army and added some Chaos Warriors, Chaos Knights and a Warshrine which I had had an urge to paint for a while. I've also picked up the Cities of Sigmar and Slaves to Darkness books, but haven't committed to either. Early in 2019 I transferred my 8th ed WFB Lizardmen to round bases, and had already decided to use them in a game against Graham's Skydwarves when the new Seraphon book was announced. Since then I picked up the Get Started set with the Carnosaur in on the assumption it will be replaced with another set.

Immediate Goal

Build and paint the Carnosaur from the Get Started set so it can munch any nearby Ironclad Skyvessels.

Stretch Goal

Once the new Seraphon book comes out, transform the army into an effective force. Additionally, use the newly painted Mortal Khorne units to make a Slaves to Darkness Army, both to a minimum of 2000 points.

Other GW Games

Situation

I liked Necromunda a lot, but it never really took off with my group. Regardless, I have a Delaque gang which I bought when they came out and built at Christmas. I also have the two gangs from the Dark Uprising box and the Escher and Goliath from the original starter set.

Warcry has taken off, probably because Pad is very keen and has bought the set, all the warbands and some terrain. He also plays it at home with his 9-year-old daughter. I bought a Splintered Fang Warband for my own in the hope that this will last past Easter.

Immediate Goal

I've already started the Splintered Fang, and intend to get them knocked out pretty quickly. I also need to buy a Warcry rulebook so I can keep an eye on the shenanigans the others are pulling.

Stretch Goal

I'm going to paint the Delaques, more for the principle of the thing than because I expect them to get used. The Corpse Grinder Cult models I want to use as Chaos Cultists for my Night Lords, but they are down the list.

Terrain

I've also got a fair bit of unpainted terrain, but I rarely play at home and the terrain at our gaming venues isn't atrocious so I find it hard to prioritize this. I did binge over Christmas and built and painted dthe Dark Uprising terrain and a load of other stuff I got at a local show, so I have a full set of industrial terrain which looks good. I'm not setting any goals on this because it will need a special focus.

Plan

Overall, the idea is to paint one unit of Romans followed by one GW unit.

This is what I see as the next few items:

1. Splintered Fang
2. 20 Triarii
3. 5 Lychguard
4. 20 Principes
5. Carnosaur
6. 10 Roman Cavalry + General
7. Chaos Knight?

And the hope is that keeping a log of this will keep me on focus as I will need to keep updates.

Hopefully...

(This is presented with no context)

Campaign Rules

Here is the first issue of a set of campaign rules we are planning to try out at the club.

The intention is to provide a framework for a narrative campaign, and give those of us with large armies chance to use them all in a confrontation without having to fight a 10,000 point battle.

Campaign Rules

Have a look and feed back any opinions.

Martin

Army Bios: Warriors of Mayhem

Warriors of Mayhem

Chaos Space Marines

Most wargaming armies contain characters and sometimes these characters are used enough to acquire personalities. To that end, here a few of the personalities from my ever growing chaos space marine (Heretic Astartes?) army.

Organogram

All successful organisations need to know who is in charge of who. Chaos Warbands are no different, so I have produced a handy guide to show the hierarchy amongst my toy soldiers. Some heroes have names, and there's a bit behind them.

Edric Blightbringer

Edric, normally known as 'The Blightbringer', is my main Nurgle Lord. This is the plastic Chaos Terminator Lord kit, without anything special to it. The armour is painted the standard purple and silver of the Warriors of Mayhem warband, but the cloak is the dirty green of my Plague Marine units. In the future I am tempted to replace the model and paint it the same green as his Terminator bodyguard.

The Blightbringer is one of the senior captains in the Warriors of Mayhem, answering only to Rakarath and in charge of a significant sized band of troops. He is rarely seen without his terminator bodyguard to shield him from the worst the enemy can field, and has a preference for fighting on foot rather than teleporting into battle. Alongside the Whispering King, he has most recently been pursuing campaigns against the Dark Angels and the Orks, avoiding fighting enemy leaders to scythe through large numbers of troops with his lightning claws.

The Whispering King

The notorious bounty hunter known only as the Whispering King is the highest ranking Sorcerer in the Warriors of Mayhem beneath Rakarath himself. Commanding the loyalty of the larger sections of the warband who have not committed to a particular god, and leading them in a constant quest for short term glory and power by tracking down valuable bounties, such as most recently Dark Angel Chaplain Rapheal, for those with the right rewards, and also working alongside the warband captains when the situation demands.

The Whispering King is made from a standard Chaos Space Marine with the staff and head from the Plastic Chaos Terminator Lord kit that built the Blightbringer. In games before Traitor's Hate introduced the chaos formations he filled the role of a cheap HQ choice, and has since filled the optional sorcerer slot in the warband formation. With the changes in army selection back to Force Organisation Charts in 8th edition I am fully expecting The Whispering King to make a return to solo leadership.

Rorrik the Packless

Abandoned with a small squad when his Great Company retreated from Espos VII, Rorrik Redaxe continued the fight against the victorious Orks as all Space Wolves would, but for all their skill the numbers of greenskins soon left him fighting on alone. Long he prayed for rescue, for reinforcements, for the power to avenge his packmates on an vicious universe, but when marines arrived they were not wearing the grey of the Space Wolves but purple and silver, or red and brass. The leader of the newcomers tracked Rorrik to his hideout and challenged him to single combat. The Berzerkers howled as their leader matched Deamonaxe to frostblade, but at the critical moment the axe betrayed it's owner and Rorrik tore the Khorne Lord limb from limb. As one the berzerkers fell to their knees, and Rorrik saw a new future opening up, one in service of those who appreciate strength. With his new followers he tore a bloody path through the Ork Hunta Killa Eata patrols searching for him until confronted by the larger part of the Warriors of Mayhem force led by Rakarath himself, pledging loyalty in exchange for power and respect he long desired. Rakarath's campaign against the Orks was short and bloody, ending with the retrieval of a cache of inactive dataslabs used by the Mekboz as decoration on a Stompa's faceplate.

Rorrik is my oldest chaos lord, dating from 2011, which is why he is a slightly different purple to the more recent models. He is a standard metal Khorne Lord, in the purple and silver of the Warriors Of Mayhem. The cloak is painted Space Wolf Grey, and shows his former loyalties. Rorrik is a model who has not been a regular in my armies for a long time, as when I use my deamonkin I tend to use a herald in the single HQ option in the formation, and I often found chaos lords lacklustre in the previous edition. Maybe with the coming of the new edition my original warlord will once again grace the battlefields of the 42nd millennium?

That's all for now. Still to come is the main man(?) himself, and a few other minor characters. I'll also  try and get some pictures of the army itself.

Project Blog: Black Powder French

Project Blog: Black Powder French

We've decided it's time to do something new, and we've given in to something we've always wanted to try which is Napoleonics. It's still early days, but I'm planning to give regular updates as we progress.

The first move has been by Luke, who bought the Black Powder starter set which has netted Luke 72 British Infantry and a cannon, and me 48 French Infantry and 12 Cavalry, as well as mounted and foot officers for us both, as well as a copy of the rulebook for Luke. Also joining us is Dave, with Prussians, and Pad joining me with the French.

First impressions of the French is that the models are very different to the modern citadel models that I'm used to, but do remind me of the older Empire Spearmen / Handgunner sprues, and are perfectly appropriate for building up blocks of uniformed troops as you would want for this sort of army. The Late French Line Infantry that come with the box set are perfectly usable models, but I've decided to pass them on to pad in order to use purely Warlord's other style of line infantry minus the greatcoats, as I think these are better looking. 72 models for £40 strikes me as very good value. I have painted up 2 before I made this decision, so they will be mixed in to the units somewhere.

I've also built the Chassuers a Chevel, and used one of the mounted officers in the unit, which may or may not be appropriate. I haven't had a good read of the rulebook yet, and also I've ordered a book about Napoleonic uniforms which should arrive in the next few days.

I'm planning to use the other mounted officer as my C in C, and will base him on a 40mm round base from a Bolt Action model with a small dog I picked up at a local hobby show and have been looking for a use for. I haven't added a head until I've looked through the uniform book but there are a few options.

So, apart from clearing my hobby area to accommodate the impending large units on smartly dressed Frenchmen, that's all I've got done so far. I'm planning to get as much stuck together as I can in time for me and Luke to have a go at the rules at Middlesbrough Gaming Club next week, and I'll give reviews of how this goes as we go on.

Au Revoir!

Teesside Tyrants YouTube Channel

Hello Gamers, this is just a short post to inform all you lovely people, that the Tyrants have started a YouTube channel.  The first video is up, and it's a very close battle between my Dark Angels and Martins Chaos Marines.
 The link is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFvSypBHlzM . Please head over there and give it a watch.
Hope you enjoy it.

How to paint Iron Warriors - demonstrated on a Dreadnought Talon

Welcome hobbyists and fellow Tyrants!  Today I've done a run through on how I've been painting my Iron Warriors!  I hope you find it helpful and feel free to leave comments below!  Throughout you'll see that I use GW paints but I'm sure any similar colours from other ranges will have the same effect.

For the Iron warriors I started with a black undercoat, I used Auto Extreme matt black but any spray will get the job done.  

 Next I took a large brush and gave the dreadnought a dry brush of Leadbelcher, I made sure to thoroughly cover all the areas I wanted silver.  By drybrushing it helps to keep the silver nice and dark, just how you want an evil remorseless killer.

For the start of the base I took a large brush and gave it even helping of Rhinox Hide, making sure to avoid the dreadnought's feet.

 I kept hold of that large brush and gave the silver a light dry brush of Ironbreaker, this gives the armour a slightly battered and worn appearance round the edges.

 I started off the gold by using a standard brush to apply Retributor Armour.  I love this new gold and find it goes on so much better than the other golds produced by GW.

Then I basecoated all the areas I planned to paint hazard stripes on black.  I found painting them in different places across the units looks a lot cooler.  Elbows, shins, knees and weapons are all great places for the hazard stripes!

 Next I masking taped off the stripes, this takes longer than freehanding them but I struggle to keep them neat over larger areas.  Here i have used 3mm tape, for larger vehicles I've used both 6mm and 10mm.

 I took a standard brush and used Averland Sunset to base coat the yellow.

 I then used the standard brush to basecoat the scrolls with Dheneb Stone.  You can see here the tape hasn't been entirely effective but don't worry we'll touch that up later.

The wax seals were basecoated Khorne Red using a standard brush.

 Next I washed all the hazard stripe areas using Reikland Fleshshade. This starts to build up the dirty effect on them.

 I then washed the rest of the model using Agrax Earthshade, again this starts to make it look dirty and builds up the worn and battered effect.

 To keep building on the worn look I lined all the silver areas using heavily watered down Mournfang Brown.

To further add to it I used Typhus Corrosion on random patches, this is the perfect base for rust as it creates a rough area.

I then drybrushed over the rough areas using Ryza Rust to really create that rusted look.

 Next I applied heavily watered down Nihilak Oxide on to all the gold areas,this weathers it and creates a great looking verdigris effect.

 I then went back and neatened up the black ready for doing the hazard stripes.

 For the first yellow highlight I used watered down Averland Sunet.

 Next I used watered down Yriel Yellow for the final yellow highlight.

 Next I used Mournfang Brown to create a chipped and damaged effect on the hazard stripes.  I also use the chips to hide any areas where the stripes are not as neat and to hide any mistakes.

 I then go over the chips using Runefang Steel but still leaving some of the brown showing.

 Khorne red was then used as base on the lenses and as a highlight for the red on the wax seals.

 Mephiston Red was used next to highlight all the red areas. I kept it towards the bottom of the lenses.

 Next I highlighted all the red using Evil Sunz Scarlet, keeping to the very bottom of the lenses.  I then painted the top of the lenses black and added a white dot to finish off the effect.

To finish off the lenses I glossed them and I used pink horror as the final highlight on the wax seals.

 I then went on to highlight the scrolls using Dheneb stone.

I used a fine detail brush and watered down black to to add the scripture to the scrolls.  I also washed the base using Agrax Earthshade to add some depth to the mud.

 Next I took a large brush and drybrushed the mud using Dyrad Bark.

 For the final drybrush on the mud I used Gorthor Brown and a large brush.

 Next i gave the wood a drybrush of Mournfang Brown.

The final touch is neatening up the base rim using black.

Finnished!  There you have them, a completed Iron Warriors Dreadnought Talon red ready to slay the false Emperors lap dogs!

Black Legion Supplement - Run Down and My Views!

So we are now one week on from the Space Marine 30th Anniversary, but while every one was focused on the fancy new model, and the new Crimson Slaughter Supplement, the Black Legion one slid under the radar ... but not my radar!

So today I am going to embark on giving you a run down of the rules and whether I feel these formations are any good to improve the poor old Chaos Codex. To explain, I will am going to explain the rules for each formation and i'll give you my opinion on whether it is worth taking in your army or not ... So lets get started!

The Bringers of Despair
Units
Abaddon the Despoiler
1 Unit of Chaos Terminators

Rules
Without Equal: Chaos Terminators that are part of this formation (including the Terminator Champion) have a Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill of 5 rather than 4.

The Despoiler's Guard: While Abaddon the Despoiler is joined to the unit of Chaos Terminators from this formation, you can re-roll one Look Out, Sir roll for him in each phase.

Review
Right lets look at this closely, because when I first looked at this I was disappointed, after all this is the only formation with the mighty Abaddon the Despoiler in it. But Terminators that are hitting Space Marines on 3+ in combat as well as when shooting, cannot be played down!

The re-roll for the look out sir is handy, but then again Abaddon is Eternal Warrior.

Overall, I would have to say this is a good formation, and if you are going to take Abaddon then I see no down side to taking this.

Judgement: Glancing Hit!

The Chosen of Abaddon
Units
1-4 Chaos Lords or Sorcerers (In any combination)
1 unit of Chosen or Chaos Terminators for each Lord or Socerer

Rules
Exalted Champions: During deployment, each Chaos Lord and Sorcerer from this Formation must join one of the units of Chosen or Chaos Terminators. Only one character can join each unit in this way, and they cannot leave these units during the course of the battle. As long as the character is on the battlefield, his unit has the fearless special rule.

Blessed by the Chaos Gods: Before deployment, roll on the Chaos Boon table for each Chaos Lord and Sorcerer in this formation, re-rolling any results of Spawnhood or Dark Apotheosis. The result lasts for the entire game.

Review
This could potentially be a very expensive formation! In my experience, people do not often take more than 1 or 2 chosen units. With the additional rules that this formation gives you, to me does not give anyone a reason to take more than one unit and if that is the case, take Abaddon and the The Bringers of Despair Formation.

Judgement: Miss!

The Hounds of Abaddon
Units
1 Chaos Lord
1-3 units of Khorne Berserkers
1-3 units Chaos Space Marines
1-3 units of Raptor, Warp Talons or Chaos Bikers (in any combination)
(All units in this formation must take the Mark of Khorne but at no additional cost)

Rules
Let Slip the Hounds: Once per game, at the start of any of your turns after the first, you can declare a massed assault. For the duration of that turn, units from this Formation can charge in the assault phase even is they have made a run move in the same turn.

Khorne's Favour: If a unit from this Formation makes a successful charge and the total rolled for its charge range in 8 or more (before modifiers) add 1 to the Strength of its models until the end of the assault phase.

Review
The only chance I have had to test this formation was sadly against an army of dreadnoughts. (I lost obviously!)

That being said I like this formation. I chose to use Warp Talons (Even if G kept forgetting they are not Raptors!) 5 attacks on the charge re-rolling failed wounds at potentially Strength 5 is pretty tasty.

I think the potential to run and charge on one turn is useful, but you just have to be careful not to waste it, its only once a game! But for me that change of the +1 strength is more than useful, especially when you are not paying for your mark.

Judgement: Penetrating Hit!

Daemon Engine Pack
Units
1 Warpsmith
1-2 Forgefiend(s) or Maulerfiend(s) (In any combination)

Rules
Hunting Pack: After deployment, but before the first turn, nominate one enemy character. All Forgefiends and Maulerfiends from this formation have preferred enemy against that character. If the nominated character is slain by a vehicle from this formation, that model regains a hull point lost earlier in the battle.

Prized Possessions: At the start of each shooting and assault phase, you can nominate a Forgefiend or Maulerfiend from this formation that is within 12" of the Warpsmith. That model uses the Warpsmith's Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill for that Phase.

Review
This one for me gives me mixed opinions, mainly because I see no benefit to taking Maulerfiends. My reason for this, is that if you have chosen one character which is often going to be in a unit. Therefore surely a lot of fire power from two forgefiends with Hades Autocannons would be better, especially if you have to be within 12" of the Warpsmith to get the bonus!

Judgement: Glancing Hit!

Cyclopia Cabal
Units
3-5 Sorcerers

Rules
Shroud of Deceit: Select one model from this formation, this model can attempt to to cast Shroud of Deceit. For each sorcerer within 12" of the model, add one dice to the Psychic Test - These dice do not cost any warp charge points.
Warp Charge 3
Target a single - non vehicle enemy unit - within 30". The target unit cannot be locked in combat. You can immediately make a shooting attack with that unit as though it were part of your army.

Review
I am not sold on this one yet. I think Warp Charge 3 is very hard to achieve, especially without the risk of perils. Plus I think it might be hard to find space for 3 sorcerers in any army. On the plus side though, it would be funny to take a storm surge and use it against them!

Judgement: Glancing Hit!

The Tormented
Units
1 Daemon Prince
2-5 units of Possessed

Rules
Advanced Possession
Units of Possessed in this formations have Initiative and Weapon Skill 5, and Rending Special Rule. However if a unit of possessed are not locked in combat at the end of the turn, not within 18" of the Daemon Prince they must take a leadership check. If they fail the leadership check they must move D6 the following turn rather than their standard move.

Review
All kinds of yes! Weapon Skill 5 and Rending on Possessed is such a strong change for them. That is ignoring the standard roll that you also get because of Vessels of Chaos.

In addition to the upsides, the downside to this formation is not really much of a problem considering they are Leadership 9 as standard!

If you want anything good in combat, why wouldn't these be in your army!

Judgement: Penetrating Hit!

Black Legion Warband
Units
1 Chaos Lord
0-1 Sorcerer
2-6 units of Chaos Space Marines or Chosen (in any combination)
1-3 units of Chaos Terminators or Possessed
1-3 units of Raptors, Warp Talons or Bikers
1-3 units of Havocs or Hellbrutes

Rules
Favoured of the Warmaster
When a model in the Formations gets to roll on the Chaos Boon table, you roll twice and you get to choose which one you want or both.

Thirst for Glory
If a unit from the Formation destroys an enemy unit, all other units in the formation re-roll all 1's on rolls to hit and to wound.

Review
This is a debatable one. In large games, you would have to take it, but in smaller games it could be difficult to get enough to fill the formation.

On the other side, as a stand alone formation, this is a great formation. For example if you can quickly kill a rhino/transport with the Havoc or Hellbrutes you are getting to re-roll all 1's from that point on!

I think if your game is big enough you have to take this formation!

Judgement: Penetrating Hit!

Overall
I would have to say this supplement is well overdue. Some of these formations together in an army could make Chaos relatively competitive. I am looking forward to the whole chaos codex when it is redone!

Judgement: Penetrating Hit!

Remember peeps, this is my opinion and you do not need to take it as gospel, but that's up to you!