Weekly Finds #9

Last day of the year. And boy has it felt like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. On the hobby front there has been a steady stream of new, and well balanced codices. There is the reliable reports of Grey Knights coming out next year, some time around April, as well as rumour of Black Templars. I've also begun to work on the Victorian Crusade again after almost two years of mostly silence. On a personal note I'm almost finished my first University degree, started a blog which people actually follow and comment on and I've gotten engaged to my high school sweet heart. But onto the last finds of the week for 2010...

Guest Article: Cheap and easy Sanguinary Priest by Keith from Mind War - I've seen this article before over on Heresy Online, but when I saw it again on Mind War, well it had to be included. Wouldn't be a cheap conversion if you didn't have the parts, but if you do it will save you some monies.

Friday Quick Tip: OTT Lite Bulbs by Grey Death from The Painting Corps - Not much chance for me to get my hands on an OTT Lite bulb, but this has encouraged me to go looking for some white-white light bulbs. Also need to get my hand on some more appropriate lamps for painting.

Heavy Bolter Servitor by Brother Captain from The Bolter and Chainsword - This is just brilliant conversion. Instead of heavy bolters could use hunter killer missiles or some Rocker Launchers from the Imperial Guard range to create some cheap count as Devastators.

Repairing Damaged Models by Ron from FTW - Nothing overly exciting about this post, bit it may be helpful for someone out there. Remember to pin your metal miniatures and to use primer on all your miniatures. Also get yourself a decent quality transport case. Games Workshop has theirs, can get yourself a Battlefoam bag or you could go with any number of others like Sable or Feldherr.

4th Company Ultramarines Rhino (freehand motifs) by Side Streaker from 4th Company - I saw this in the latest Tuesday Top Ten by Ryan over at From The Warp. I'm glad that I found it, because the freehand is just stunning.

Colonel Shofer's Mild OCD Model Blog - This entire blog is filled with useful articles from around the blog-o-sphere. Especially everything on making rivets, something that I have been interested in for some time.

I hope everyone has a happy New Years. God Bless!

Imperial Armour Vol. X: The Badab War Part II Preview

Okay so this has made it's rounds about the interwebz already. I would have joined the masses, but wanted to be unique special. I really want to get this series of Imperial Armour... but they cost so damn much. So says the person who has spent 260 AUD on shoes in the past two days...

The map in the second picture looks cool with the borders on it. The second last picture answers the question of which chapter the Achilles is painted in.

And before going to bed I'll leave you all with a final reminder for Dave Taylor's Steel Legion Competition. Not only is there the chance to win something that will no doubt be awesome. But you will help out a pillar of our small community as well as see your own army list painted up to an amazing standard. Plus you will join the ranks of Dethtron, TKE and Brent who have all given into the desire to join the kool kids.

Madness Combat

Won't be a White Dwarf review for this month at the moment. Decided that I will do a bunch of them at the same time and then post them on the first Wednesday of their respective months. Means that there will be White Dwarfs dating back as far as the mid 00's. But onto the content that is behind the name of the post...

And the madness doesn't stop with those four. But that is enough violence for one day. And don't forget you only have a few days left to enter Dave Taylor's Steel Legion Competition. Tasty Taste and Dethtron are in on the action. Are you?

The Swarm Returns

The interwebz is consistently spewing out more and more content directly into our brains with each passing day. Guess we know how these feel during a turbulent flight. So it comes as no surprise that there is newer 'Nid and Ork content to be stolen added to the blog.

I'm not sure where to start with the 'Nids to be honest. Anybody who has taken a look at Mid-Life Gaming Crisis will be aware of just how much new content there is. Even just the list compiled by Old School Terminator would take days of free time to read. Fortunately for my imaginary readers I am willing to waste the time to gain some insight into the thoughts of others. First, I'll take a look at Dark Future Games and then the series by Hulksmash.

As for Orks... there is the stuff produced by fester that needs to be run over with my purple italics. And there is more content to be added to the Ork Defence Force.

Shout Out: Mid-Life Gaming Crisis

After my last shout out I figured there should be more. This time it is for a blogger who is doing something very similar to myself. He is collecting all useful articles on Tyranids into a library in a hope to improve the quality of army lists and tactics. Unlike me he has focused specifically on the 'Nids, is putting up content of his own and is deserving of more followers. So without further ado I present Mid-Life Gaming Crisis.

And don't forget you still have a few more days to enter an Army List for Dave Taylor's Steel Legion competition. Emails have been sent out to several bloggers including Kirby and The League of Dastards.

Music Monday - Massive Attack

Once again I've jumped into the time machine so that a post goes up when it was supposed to. Now it has been awhile since there has been a Music Monday. To make up for it there will be two videos, both by Massive Attack. The first is something new to me while the second is something I have heard many times.

The video for Teardrop is pretty freaky but the music is great, and really works in favour of the video. While I've got your attention here is a friendly reminder to my Imaginary Friends that there is only a few more days left to enter Dave Taylor's Steel Legion competition. And go have a look at The Ranting Griffin. It isn't a hobby blog, but it has alot of interesting content including songs and cop stories.

Warning: Flammable Rocks!

Found this while wasting time on this...

... and hope your having a happy Christmas.

Weekly Finds #8

Only one more sleep till Christmas for most of the world. Which means that only seven more sleeps till it is a new year. Feels like the past one has just flown by. But anyways, even with my silence on the the blog-o-sphere I've managed to compile a collection of articles.

Tutorial how to make socket label by Raffa from Massive Voodoo - There has been an absences of these guys in Weekly Finds. However, they have returned with this pretty cool tutorial on how to make a label for a plinth. Not something a gamer would need, but still interesting.

Friday Quick Tip: Black Battle Damage by Grey Death from The Painting Corps - This isn't a tutorial, but it does offer alternative methods to achieving battle damage on black armour/surfaces. It is something I have struggled with for my tanks for some time. Hopefully my practise goes work out.

Painting black armour, learning how by Ron from FTW - This leads into an article further down. It looks at different ways of painting black armour. I really like the end result of the miniature shown below. However, I'm not a big fan of line highlighting every damn surface. I've done it before on my Black Templars. Just too time consuming...

Spacecurves' Tactics Class: More Deployment Strategies by Spacecurves from Bell of Lost Souls - Another article that has gone against the common trend of craptastic advice from BoLS. It isn't something I'd consider awesome, but it is something that would be helpful for newer players.

40k Scourge Conversions by Bigred from Bell of Lost Souls - Not actually by Bigred, instead done by a BoLS reader named Daniel. They look awesome, and alot better than the others that were shown. I'd use different heads just to lower the costs, even though the Incubi heads would really help to make the miniatures look unique...

Friday Quick Tip: Painting Snow by Grey Death from The Painting Corps - This is an old article that was linked to in a recent post by GD. I have a tub of Games Workshop snow that I plan on using eventually. May get some of the realistic snow from Secret Weapon Miniatures to achieve the effect talked about here.

Painting black, some help by Ron from FTW - With a horde of Black Templars these sort of discussions are always an interesting read. It is interesting to see how other people go about painting black. I particularly like the effect achieved in the picture below...

Dark Eldar Wyche Painting Tutorial by Dave Taylor from davetaylorminiatures - This is a follow on from Dave's tutorial that he did for From The Warp. I much prefer the effect achived by Ron for the black armour, but the skin and hair works. Especially the skin which reminds me of a Dark Elf army featured in White Dwarf many years ago.

Imperial Fists Sternguard Veteran by Mister Justin from misterjustin.com - Something else from the past that I decided to throw up on the blog. I really, really like the look of the large crests from the Secret Weapon Miniatures range. And the way the Imperial Fists has been painted just looks awesome... probably pick up a set of these in my next order.

Hope everyone has a happy Christmas and an awesome New Year...  

Dawn of War II Retribution Trailer

Saw this over on the Bolter & Chainsword. Figured that some of my imaginary friends may be interested in the DoW series. I've never gotten the chance to play any of them for a number of reasons. Looks interesting...

... and the FAACs can go slit their wrists if they have a problem with khorne daemons fighting alongside Noise Marines.

Tower of Sorcery

Another quiet week from me with little activity in the blop-o-sphere. Side effect of work and Christmas shopping. Everything will return to normal the beginning of January. Anyways, below is a post from What's New Today with any of my thoughts in purple italics as usual...

Today which was actually November 24th, we've added two new articles to the Astronomican. Warhammer: Painting Witchfate Tor, Tower of Sorcery is a step-by-step guide on how to paint your own Tower of Sorcery. Chad has included some great hobby tips throughout the article - my particular favourite being how to match your tower with the scenery you already own. Can you imagine building your very own sinister tower surrounded by dark and haunted woods? Or would you paint up a glorious, well-maintained tower that dominates fresh rolling pastures? I like the top view which I've added below. Could easily use that in a Black Templar Chapter Keep.

PNEUMoNIC'S ZoMBIE CRUSH...

...is a place filled with time wasting stuff. The sort of stuff I don't mind wasting time over.

... and that is only from the first few pages out of 58. So if you wanna kill time, and some brain cells, then go visit PNEUMoNIC'S ZoMBIE CRUSH.

Weekly Finds #7

Another quiet week on the blog. Although, once again I have managed to collect some articles for today. Not as many as there usually is, but I've saved the best for last...

Belial Redux - Deathwing Project Update by John from Santa Cruz Warhammer - The final product looks awesome, and was featured over on From The Warp. However, I particularly like the WiP pictures and how John went about adding the detail on the shins.

Recipe: Black by b.smoove from A Gentleman's One - The tutorial shows a different way of painting black... more of a blue actually. But with some washes it could be turned into a true black...

Painting Question: Line Highlighting by Sandwyrm from the back 40k - I like Sandwyrm's painting style. Especially the way he uses contrast. It makes his models pop, even in photos from a few feet away. This is just one of many painting articles by him that I have enjoyed reading... I'm stealing the way he painted his Sanguinary Guard wings, although I will make the blood more prominent.

Applying Waterslide Decals Step-by-Step by Winterdyne from Winterdyne Commission Modelling - Been some time since Winterdyne's work has appeared on the blog. But he has returned with another tutorial, this time on applying waterslide decals.

Improving my basing by Ron from FTW - The best has been saved for last this week. A tutorial by Ron on making those crucial next steps in basing. I will have some pictures after Christmas showing what sort of difference those extra steps can make. Yes you read that correctly, there will be pictures.

Citadel Terrain & Scenery

Another Saturday without a spotlight. To be honest, I've not been in the mood to spend much time on the interwebz the last week. The level of stupidity over in the Black Templar subforum of BnC is beginning to match that of Warseer and Dakka Dakka. Some of the worst advice I have ever seen. Oddly enough, the stupidity has encouraged me to make further progress on the Victorian Crusade. I've spent the better part of day and half cleaning and pinning Sisters of Battle. Has anyone else noticed that their feet is really ducked up? I digress, it has been too long since my last look at some terrain. The below images and commentary have been taken from the latest What's New Today post, and as usual my thoughts are in purple italics...

Today, the blog has been based around scenery and the potential that if offers the ambitious modeller. Jervis, Kevin and Adi all mentioned scenery when they told us about their Ultimate Gifts, so it seemed like a good time to go out and find some examples of it. Stop the press! A Games Workshop employee is spamming three Land Speeders armed with multi meltas and heavy flamers. To accompany today's battlefield-based content, Adam Troke has written an article about Getting Started With Citadel Terrain, which is a great way to learn more about how to start your scenery collection. Now, off to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where they have a very big tower:

Weekly Finds #6

The blog has been quiet the past week... no real reason, other than me wanting to spend time away from the computer. I have still managed to amass a collection of content that interests me.

Long Barrelled Heavy Bolter by Spyrle from The Medusan Triple Nickel - I can't imagine this tutorial being much help to my Black Templars. But, it may be useful for others. And the construction of the barrel could be useful in future projects...

Magnetising a Rhino/Predator by The Other Kevin from Paint Pot Procrastinator - I like this tutorial, especially the bit on converting the side doors and sponsons. It is the first time I have seen someone suggest magnets being placed like that... this conversion for the AoBR Dreadnought arms may interest someone as well.

Imperial Fist Fellblade by Tom McBride from Bell of Lost Souls - I like it, simply because it doesn't look like a Baneblade painted in Space Marine heraldry. The effort to make it look distinctly different, yet similar, is noticeable. 

TKE's GoT - "Wound Allocation" by TKE from Mind War, ftw! - This is a long, in depth read. However, it slaps iamaddji in the face, and hopefully educates the unwashed masses. And, don't forget we were vindicated in the latest FAQ, which proved what GW intended with wound allocation... also, click the picture.

Spacecurves' Tactics Class: The Art of Disembarking by Spacecurves from BoLS - I respect Spacecurves for what he is doing. He isn't the first to write useful tactic articles, but he is doing it on a blog renown for being so illogical that it has resulted in mass suicides of entire alien races. And while your off reading about disembarking, go take a look at this article by TKE...

Basics: Science Fiction models by Ron from FTW - If you haven't been following this series, then now is as good a time as any. This one is great, because it breaks down each step to show Ron's Target Priority.

Painting Dark Eldar and doing it well by Dave Taylor from FTW - This tutorial is similar to the above, as it shows how to achieve a simple table top standard miniature with minimal effort. It won't be winning any awards, but will mean your fielding a fully painted army. The below picture is Ron's attempt at the tutorial. I much prefer his finished model, most likely a result of multiple washes over the armour.

I got my two orders from Wayland Games this week. Means that I only need a few more things before I have everything needed. Should have my articles for Kirby finished soon. Probably start taking photos as well... but no promises.

Music Monday - Captain Planet Theme Song

After last Thursday's post, I figured this would be a perfect song to start the week...

Weekly Finds #5

It is only three weeks away from Christmas and soon all of my most recent orders should arrive. I'm looking forward to when my Battlefoam Bag arrives... although I am a little annoyed that I missed out on the Black Friday sale by a week. Made the order the Friday before. Enough of that tangent...

'The Basics' - Part One: Choosing An Army by TKE from Mind War, ftw! - This is a REALLY long read. It is almost TL;DR. But it is still worth the time. TKE takes a look at the idea of winning and how it influences your choice of army list. I may do my own post on what I believe winning is and use my authorship to post it up on Mind War. First, I will need to get my ideas onto a medium and then bounce ideas off TKE and others.

Shout Out: Community Involvement

First up is a shout out for Dave Taylor. Hopefully you all know who he is and the amazing work he does. If not then here are some links to give you some ideas. Click me and me and me! So why is Dave getting a shout out? Well, other then being an awesome guy and an Aussie, he has a project he will be involved in next year and is in need of a 3000 point Apocalypse army list. But, he also wants some competitive 1500-1850 point lists that can be built from those 3000 points. This is something I believe alot of my imaginary friends will be able to help out with. So if your interested then here is the link.

Next is a shout out for Col. Corbane who is in need of some help for a side project of his, Going On Campaign. If you don't know who the Colonel is then now is your chance. A tutorial of his is also include in my finds for the week, which should be appearing on the blog-o-sphere in the next few hours.

Cartoons Invade Facebook

Went onto Facebook today and noticed a bunch of people had changed their display pictures to something from a cartoon. Scrolling down the Most Recent page, I came across this post...

Change your Facebook profile picture to a CARTOON FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD and invite your friends to do the same. Until Monday there should be no human faces on Facebook, but an invasion of memories! This is for a CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN

For next few days I'm going to have the Bike Mice from Mars logo up and then probably change it to either Captain Planet or Banana Man. What about you?

White Dwarf 372 December 2010

Inside this month's issue:

Trial of Champions - Not one, not two but three battle reports. The White Dwarf team take on the Games Developers in War of the Ring, Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 battles to see who comes out on top Necrons beat Imperial Guard in a wacky scenario.

Dark Eldar Kabals - Phil Kelly shows us some brand new background on the Kabals of the Dark Eldar, providing you with new inspiration and paint scheme ideas.

Tactica Spearhead - Official New Rules - Jervis puts pen to paper on two new Spearhead formations - the Skystorm and Destroyer Spearheads - while Andy Hall provides some tactical insight to give you the winning edge is Spearhead games.

Battle in the Deep - Adam Troke recounts one of the bitterest battles in Middle-earth history; the Dwarves against the Moria Goblins. Not only does he provide us with some exciting ideas for recreating underground battles but he also presents a new War of the Ring scenario for you to play.

Standard Bearer - Inside this month's issue Jervis talks about the nature of change and narrative campaigns. 

Battlefield Challenges: Tower of Sorcery - Jervis creates a Warhammer scenario that is designed to be played with Witchfate Tor. 

Modelling Workshop: Realms of Battle: For our Trial of Champions mega battle report we had three new terrain sets specifically built and painted by the Studio hobbyists Chad Mierzwa. Adam Troke talks to our one-man scenery machine to find out more. 

Citadel: Battlefield Terrain - After getting some pretty pictures and little blurbs on how to achieve the look, we then get hit with some more advertising on Games Workshop terrain. 

Army Masters: Matthew Hutson's High Elves - Fresh from the trials of our online edition of 'A Tale of Four Games', our Matt has spent the former half of 2010 painting up a rather good High Elf warhost. Being anything but shy, he was more than happy to feature it on these very pages. 

Some Kind of Monster -  In this article, Adam explains how you can play a competitive game and still have fun. There are dozens of these sorts of articles all over the interwebz. Just take a look at The Pinktastic blog with its host of writers who have shared their thoughts on the topic. The difference is that this is by an employee of Games Workshop sharing his thoughts in a Games Workshop publication. It challenges some strongly held beliefs that being competitive is bad for the hobby and that all competitive gamers are 'powergamers', 'cheesy', 'beardy' or my favourite 'WAAC'.

Citadel: Hall of Fame -  A look back at some of the miniatures that have been inducted as well as the latest addition.

You'll also find full details of all the latest releases and news, a directory featuring all of the hobby activities in your local area.

Project Kirby...

Penny Arcade!

Necron Discussion

This was a discussion over on The Bolter and Chainsword in regards to handling a Necron army. Unlike places like Warseer and Dakka Dakka the advice given by some is relatively solid. To sum up the discussion...

1. Ignore the monolith. Don't bother with melta weapons, it ignores the "Melta" special rule. Any lascannons you're firing at the thing are better spent laying waste to Destroyers and Warriors.

2. Ignore the Night Bringer and the other C'Tan. He will rain all over your parade when he shows up anyway, so there's no reason to go looking for him.

2a. Spread out your heavy support so that the NB has to travel (if that's what he comes at you with).

3. Get into melee as quickly as possible. He doesn't get WBB rolls against losses due to a unit breaking and running (unless there is a Res Orb).

3a. Pile two Crusader squads against every one of his warrior squads. Gang up on him because in all likelyhood you will have to kill more than a few of them multiple times, therefore it is in your best interest to wipe him asap to avoid casualties.

Your goal every game should be to phase him out.

- Head Mook

Within the discussion there is also a link to Marshal Wilhelm's Necron Tactica which takes a look at the codex and it flaws such as Phase Out.

Terribad Destroyer Wing

Althought this list represents what a true Destroyer Wing is with the inclusion of Destroyers for Fast Attack... it has Monolith. Thus, it is terribad and will be looked down upon as if it is pox ridden...

In addition to my nightmare shroud build, and experiments with a fun wraith wing I’ve been revisiting the tried and true destroyer wing which I feel has been bumped up a few notches with the move to razorback spam everywhere on the table. In this article I’d like to present the good and the bad so you can adapt the idea to your own Necron army. Necrons are far from dead, well actually they are, you know what I mean…

Definitions. By definition a destroyer wing does what the Necrons do best- shooting and survivability. As a core it maxes out on destroyers (15 in total) with the rest of the army being built around this core concept. A destroyer based army is attractive because it puts a number of T5 models on the table with WBB, fires three S6 shots a model at a range of 36” plus 12” of jetbike like movement. S6 is the “sweet spot” for Necrons throwing a number of wounds on infantry, monstrous creatures, and most importantly penetrating hits on all those razorbacks flooding the table. Remember all 15 of those Destroyers are stuck in 3 squads... this means your killing 3 Razorbacks/Rhinos/Chimeras/Trukks a turn. Sure it is 3 reliable kills, but it is far from crippling. Added to the core of destroyers is a lord, group of immortals, warriors, and a monolith. At 1750 points the list looks something like this: a Lord, 8 Immortals, 15 Destroyers, 20 Warriors and a Monolith.

Click for Army List

Functionality. The army deploys and works the same regardless of the mission or your opponent. It looks to start in the center of the table with the monolith in the center, immortals plus the lord in front, destroyers ranked behind them, and finally the warriors trailing behind. With only 4 'real' threats on the board this list makes target priority very easy.

Is there such a thing as alpha-strike Necrons? I very much doubt it. And going by the definition used by Danny Internet here, it is hard to imagine the above Necron list being able to perform the requirement. This idea comes as close as it can to such a plan, and the destroyer wing likes to go and deploy first. After you set up in the center of the table, and your opponent has deployed you look for which side is weaker in terms of models and long range shots- this is the side that the destroyers and immortals shift over to attack first, which leads to target priority. Resist all temptations to shoot your destroyers at anything other than AV 11. Once your opponent is on foot, then you can switch to other targets. As for the AV 13+ tanks and vehicles, it is up to the immortals to handle that threat, if it really is a threat.

Against tanks you are looking to shake them to stop them from shooting as in facing vindicators or dakka flame baal preds, or to immobilize them as in land raider with deathstar units (more on this in a bit). Veil of darkness can help you get a bit closer as needed to try and get those glances. From there it is just going down the target priority line and adjusting it for the mission.

Second to the destroyers, the monolith is also the powerhouse in this list, but played a bit differently- it is a WBB factory over a deepstriking capstone or particle whip blaster. The ‘lith is there to WBB your destroyers as needed to get that extra 4+ chance of getting back up. Keeping the destroyers up and running is key so shifting the monolith to the weak side and always making sure your destroyers are in 18” is key. The good news about this is that most of the Internet community has dismissed monoliths and popular wisdom states to just ignore it- which is good advice, your opponent should be shooting at the destroyers, which means the monolith is free to help with WBB. Ignoring the Monolith is always good. It is not worth wasting resources in an attempt to take it out, it presents a very small threat to a well built list. Finally there is the hidden gem of the list- solar pulse. In a dawn of war deployment or nightfight turn pop off the pulse for a free round of shooting, in games without it, start off attaching the lord to a group of destroyers to pop the pulse and protect them from any return fire, depending on how your army shifts over.

Weaknesses. Every list of course has its weaknesses but this list has a crap ton of them. Firstly, it has very little in dealing with Land Raiders or other high AV threats. Secondly, it has two fragile scoring squads that are also very important to ensure the army doesn't fall apart from Phasing Out. Thirdly, it is hoping that your opponent doesn't have a good shooting turn which sees a good portion of your Destroyers wiped out... Some can be countered with a good list, others with solid tactics, but some just can’t be fixed, and the outdated Necron codex is one of them. Here are some things to watch out for…

With only two warrior groups (I’d like at least three, but the points are needed elsewhere) they are a tempting target. Target them in 66% of the standard missions and the Necrons can’t win. Focus on the Necron mobility and anti-tank first and then take out the Warriors in the later turns. If the mission places a high importance on scoring then your target priority may change. Based on your opponent’s army you have to ask yourself if you can deploy them or if it is better to keep them in reserve. Be aware that the monolith might also have to portal them through to keep the numbers up, and be aware of where your lord is to he can potentially VOD himself and a group of warriors out if needed.

You also have to be keenly aware of any deathstar units your opponent may have coming your way. Without a C’Tan or tomb spyders to speed bump them you may have to shift your target priority early to immobilize the DS deliver system, like a land raider, speed bump with the immortals, or just plain old spray and pray shooting sign of a bad list as this one falls into the R/P/S of 4th Edition everything and then dumping the particle whip into them. Unfortunately the same goes to any remotely dedicated assault unit that might be running your way. Like what nearly every codex has to offer in some form or another... imagine what will happen against Dark Eldar and Blood Angels with their insane mobility. Deep Striking Space Marines can drop in ontop of the Necrons, weather a turn of shooting and then get stuck in. Imagine what a Dante Wing could do with some Vanguard Veterans with Feel No Pain and shields for Invulnerable Save... the Devastators in the back field would play havoc with the Necron Target Priority.

Now back to the tomb world, time to start awakening those destroyers and warriors, soon the harvests will begin again…

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Destroyer Wing Revisited

Music Monday - Crusader Promo

Who isn't looking forward to the release of this album? Exactly...

Wraith Wing

The second list by Fritz. Once again it has serious issues that a competent general will be able to exploit to their advantage... take out the mobility and anti-tank.

While we are talking about “wing” based Necron armies another variant is the wraith wing which still packs some punch but is a bit harder to use on the table given a lower model count and the vulnerability of the wraiths themselves.

A wraith wing list is built around a core of fast moving wraiths backed by Necron destroyer lords and heavy destroyers. Here is the list and how it plays out:

The List

To sum it up there is are 2 Destroyer Lords, Warriors, Wraiths, Heavy Destroyers and Spyders... there is some anti-tank but as Fritz points out this has some serious weaknesses.

The main issue of the list is that wraiths occupy the same slot as destroyers and this list needs to crack open transports so the wraiths can get at the guys inside plus there are all the other reasons you want to kill mech- this leaves single shot heavy destroyers for the task, at least you can get those heavy destroyers on the table. While they aren’t bad per se, the problem is that you only get a single shot, and the models come in units of only three. It means at best your killing two, maybe three, transports a turn from shooting... Imperial Guard and Razorspam players are able to dominate the shooting phase. This is a problem my Black Templars face... but to a lesser extent.

The two lords each get attached to a wraith unit for some added punch and to take a few wounds on the way in if needed. Wargear is up to you, but solar pulse on one is 100% mandatory- not so much for night fight this time, but more so to protect you from shots on the way in.

Warriors are there for “scoring” and three are taken over the standard two for variants lists like this since there is no counter assault or speedbump unit. Let’s now look at deployment:

Standard Wraith Wing Deployment…

Ok, let’s start with the back of the table and work our way up. Warriors are spread out on the table- one on the left, once center, and one on the right. Being spread out means your opponent has to divide their forces up to get to your warriors. The tomb spyders go in-between each group and poop out a single swarm for wounds and then get into cover. This way when one warrior group falls to shooting, etc. the spyder is the bridge to WBB those warriors over to another group. Be prepared to shift warriors on the flanks and the spyders over if your opponent looks to hit the center warrior group.

Ahead of them are the heavy destroyers. They start in the center of the table so they have range to everything and operate as a “pack” so you can get WBB rolls when a unit goes down. Their job is to crack open the tanks for the wraiths to assault. The final layer is the wraiths who also start front and center and then flank the weak side. They too also operate as a pack with the lords, with the non-lord wraith group piling in on one of the assaults to make sure combat it won. The idea is to kill a unit or two in the assault, and then zip away to the other side of the table as opposed to wading through combat after combat like they are terminators or something- which they are not. The wraiths and lords are a surgical strike, looking to hit and run, keep your opponent busy moving and shooting trying to react to them so your warriors can slip in RE mission objectives.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Wraith Wing

There is little to say as the obvious problems with this list have been pointed out... anti-tank has been sacrificed to play a themed list.

Nightmare Build

The first of the three builds that Fritz has put up on his blog. All three are very different to the sort of lists that Stelek has shown and this may help explain why Fritz made the suggestion of reserving Warriors while Stelek uses the same deployment every single time. Keep in mind Stelek does use alot of hyperbole...

So this is a build that I used to use extensively in 4th edition and now adapted for 5th edition play- the nightmare build. Making extensive use of flayed ones, pariahs, and tomb spyders backed by the golden one it is all about synergy and fun. Note the word fun and the inclusion of a C'Tan. I don’t think I have to point out that this is a fun/themed list to give you some variety in your Necron games, and not a “competitive” list. Props to Fritz for making the differentiation, this isn't the only great thing about the article, with another to follow soon. The goal of this army is to scare your opponent with non-competitive list and make them run away crying like little children. Nothing is funnier than seeing Space Marines consistently run away turn after turn.

Pariahs’ are the lost child of the Necron codex. ‘Cron players so want to do something with their souless ability but struggle based on the over the top point cost, 0-1 limitation, and the fact that they aren’t Necrons. This theme builds on them and gives you a reason to put them down on the table. So here is the list at 1750 points…

The List

To sum it up there is a C'Tan, Lord, Pariah, Flayed Ones, Warriors and Spyders... there is a complete absence of long range anti-tank in this list. 

Deployment…

Regardless of the mission the army needs to stick together and work as a core unit- think of a Roman legion formation marching and fighting as one giant block. Tomb spyders are in the front with a second rank of flayed ones, pariahs, and the C’Tan. Behind them is the lord and your two warrior groups.

If you are familiar with Necrons right away you are asking yourself what is in the list to pop all those spamy razorbacks that are going to be coming your way.

Nothing! But hear me out…

In the best of cases you have ranks of destroyers and maybe even a heavy destroyer group mixed in. With this build we just don’t have the points for them, and to take a single group of min destroyers isn’t going to do anything so we just aren’t going to bother trying to stop the opponent from crashing out ranks- but remember the idea of sticking together. The second thing that Fritz has done that deserves props... the inclusion of something to illustrate what he is talking about.

You want to deploy where you can enter and be in terrain. In the front ranks the spyders will begin pooping out scarabs swarms that get into cover and now you have a T6 unit with a 3+ cover save. Position them so a “net” is cast around the rest of your units granting them a 4+ cover save.

At the start of the game your warriors and pariahs move to the front to get the 24” range of shooting so maybe you can get lucky at immobilizing a vehicle. With shooting for the first few turns you can even go to ground for the 3+ cover save- keeping units alive is important for now. Keeping the P’s up is key so be ready to attach the lord and pop off solar pulse to cut down on a round of shooting if needed.

As those legions of razorbacks come forward why would they with superior shooting? they will hit your wall of tomb spyders with two options. Crash through and tank shock or stop just before and rapid fire. If they crash through you are fearless or LD 10 and if they get out and rapid fire you take it with the T6 or WBB rolls. By now the interwebz should understand the importance of staying inside steel coffins. If they move up to then assault next turn through your ranks, then you assault the transports first and swarm for the emergency disembark. Hold the line and take the crash. A bunch of 5 man squads that have jumped out of Razorbacks charging into Necrons... way to assume the other guy is a complete idiot. Plus there are all those other equally good lists.

Now when those marines get out for whatever reason they are in the pariah bubble- LD 7 as you hit them with the C’Tan powers, visage of the flayed ones, and the shroud of the lord. Mob those units and pile in the assault. Once you are in the assault, you are then protected from shooting so you want to encourage that as soon as possible… and a good opponent will know this and will avoid combat. Especially, with the C'Tan in your list.

Wraith wing, destroyer wing, and the nightmare build can all give you some new fun and different games while we wait for that new ‘dex, especially if you are playing the battle mission books and variant missions.

- Fritz from Fritz 40K in Necron Nightmare Build

Weekly Finds #4

Another week has passed. So far I have worked alot but hardly on my miniatures. Which to be honest isn't a surprise... but things will slow down over next two weeks and then get crazy hectic leading up to Christmas. When this pops up on the blog-o-sphere I'll either be on my way to find out how plastered I can get myself or already in the process. Note: I normally do not drink... but this semester has been a self-edit. Looking forward to hanging out with some friends and acquaintances that I haven't seen much in the last 6 months. But that is enough about me and my life or is it...

Painting Tutorial: Human Faces by whmpg from Modelling, Painting and Gaming! - There are tutorials all over the interwebz that explain different ways of painting flesh. The 'Eavy Metal ones are my favourite as they show how to use washes to bring some life to miniatures. But this one by whmpg would be great for line troops...

Imperium Statues by b.smoove from A Gentleman's Ones - I have included this because of the great links it has. I'm always looking at different ways to achieve the effect that b.smoove is illustrating. This is well worth the time to look.

What comes and goes by Corvus from Corvus' Miniatures - Just a blogger blogging his thoughts. It hit on something... not sure what... But this single post has shown that I have no excuses not to paint for the next three months with the exception of the hectic weeks leading up to Christmas. Does this mean I will work on the Victorian Crusade? Yes. Will I be showing updates of my army? No and yes. I need some proper lamps. Something like the one shown here. And I really need some low heat, white bulbs. Not sure if others have this problem but the heat makes my hands sweat... and somehow my metal tools end up rusting especially exacto blades and drill bits. I guess this is me going on a tangent that can be summed up as me needing to spend some money on two decent lamps and bulbs... the miniature below is my favourite one by Corvus.

Massive Voodoo TV: First Tutorial by Raffa from Massive Voodoo - If you haven't watched these then now is your chance. You don't need to understand German to learn from them... I will understand if you don't return after watching all four videos. I sure wouldn't...

MiniVault by Thomas Schadle - Stumbled across this Facebook page while on From The Warp. Alot of the miniatures look awesome and there is also a very disturbing diorama. His photo gallery is filled with Space Marines including a bunch of Black Templars like the one below... he also has a Recipe Book which may be interesting for some.

Working with liquid mask by Raffa from Massive Voodoo - The guy is a machine, constantly churning out tutorials. This is an old one that popped up on the Massive Voodoo Face Book page. I've seen other tutorials on how to use liquid mask. But for some reason I have been pretty dense in understanding how it actually works... but it finally clicked.

Glass Porthole Tutorial by Dave Taylor from davetaylorminiatures - The cracked glass recipe is what I particularly like. Encourage you to keep track of what is going on over at Dave Taylor's blog as he has been doing alot of charity work for two friends of his...

Painting Space Marine Helmet lenses by Ron from FTW - This one is better then the Games Workshop tutorial as it uses the Inside out Method... plus his suggestion of using a white coat to help make the lenses pop is clever. Make sure to use a brush with a decent body to avoid the paint drying before you get it onto the miniature... especially when it comes to doing the white dot.

Calculating probabilities in Warhammer 40K using binomial distribution by The Antipope from 122nd Cadian - One long arse title for a post... but to sum it up: everybody is doing mathhammer wrong.

Sorry about the mess in the middle of this post. I went on a tangent and didn't want to wipe it out. Fortunately it is hard enough to read that you completely skipped it and instead spent 40 minutes watching the Massive Voodoo tutorial.