Hello everyone!

Now as you may or may not have seen, but over the past few days I have been posting about tournament play and working towards participating in Adepticon.  However, I have ran into a problem that is hampering my current effort.  My team NEEDS another member to have the desired 4 member set up.  So I figured that I would post our help wanted ad in an effort to try and solve this problem.  The faster we take care of this the faster we can get this show on the road.

We are looking for an experienced 4th player for our Adepticon team tournament team in the Cleveland area.

Requirements

1. Attend Adepticon in April 2011
2. Practice every tuesday (missing a day here or there is ok, but needs to be dedicated like us to win 1st. place) with us at our local gaming store in Middleburg Heights.
3. Pay for your 1k point section of the team.
4. Experienced. We are not looking for a new player. We want someone who KNOWS the rules.
5. Wants to WIN, not just play at Adepticon!

The army will be built and painted for you with lots of conversions. Again, No painting is required! Although if you are a good painter and want to, then that’s a plus. We have a conversion master, and 2 painters already, with experience playing the game. Between the 3 of us, we own a total of 10 armies with the background to play against all styles of armies.

If you think this is you please just post and we’ll get back to you…

Also, if you are unable to help us out, but you have a team yourself and want to get some practice games in we are willing to travel and try out our lists. The more practice the better I say! This also applies to solo gamers who just want to play competitively. We can even arrange for a meeting as I am always about meeting new and passionate gamers.

I look forward to hearing back from you, and hopefully we can find someone and soon.

So here it is. Now it is not quite done yet because every single time I take pictures of my models I see the mistakes that I missed when I had the paint out. It is actually kind of annoying. So it is still a work in progress. I hope you enjoy the work I’ve done on it!

Now I have never actually participated in an event with army composition is such a huge factor let alone a scoring factor so this is definitely a culture shock for me. Just by judging from the descriptions on their web site of what a good, average, and bad army composition is, it looks like my current White Scars list, despite the all bike theme, would get hammered. So I had to go back to the drawing boards and figure out a decent list with would score higher with army composition.

So here is the current list that I am contemplating because it would require very little in the way of painting and touch up for me to finish it.

Khan on moondrakkan
–205

Command Squad (5 man)
Mounted on bikes
Apothecary with chainsword and bolt pistol
Company champion with power weapon and bolt pistol
Veteran with lightning claw and melta gun
Veteran with power fist and storm shield
Standard with power fist, melta gun, and storm shield
–350

Bike squadron (6 man)
2x flamers
Sergeant with powerfist
–200

Bike squadron (6 man)
2x plasma guns
Sergeant with combi-plasma and melta bombs
–210

Bike squadron (5 man)
Attack bike with multi-melta
2x melta guns
Sergeant with powerfist
–235

Bike squadron (5 man)
Attack bike with multi-melta
2x melta guns
Sergeant with powerfist
–235

Attack Bike Squadron (2 man)
2x multi-meltas
–100

Attack Bike Squadron (3 man)
3x Heavy Bolters
–120

Scout Bikes (6 man)
3x grenade launchers
Cluster mines
Sergeant with powerfist
–195

–1850

Color Code

Finished

Almost Complete

Primed and begun painting

Not even built

Other options I have available because they are painted would be to drop the flamer bike squad and the heavy bolter attack bikes along with the two melta guns in the command squad in order to take a 10 man assault with with powerfist and 2x flamers and finish filling out the rest of the plasma squad with 2 more dudes and a multi-melta attack bike.  If I did this list, I would probably give the plasma bike sergeant a power weapon because I would have 5 extra paints and I think that it would look pretty cool in that squad.  That option requires significantly less painting but I am unsure how effective it would be, but then again 10 outflanking assault marines sounds pretty bad ass to me!  They would also complement my command squad.

Either way it looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me over the next two months in preperation.  Not to mention that I am also going to have to build a display board for my army and work on some fluff so I can get higher scores in the presentation and theme categories.  Well its definetly a challenge but I am willing to accept it because if I get first or second at this event then I get an Invitation to the championships in Las Vegas during the summer of next year.  So its all worth it!

After knowing about and wanting to go to this event for years now I am finally going to break down and plan for the event. I have no idea who my team members are going to be. I have no idea what army I am going to play. I have no idea about how I am even going to do at the event.

BUT! I am going and have 220 days to decide.

So I would love to know who else is going and some of the stories you have to tell about previous experiences.

 I wrote this piece for a new White Scars blog in which I am working on. I hope this pieces helps you out in your games! So why use Vindicators in a White Scars army???

Compared to all of the other heavy support options, vindicators provide the biggest bang for your buck in my opinion. Vindicators provide three things that a White Scars army typically lacks, Large Blast templates, high armor value, and strength 10 weaponry.  This unit can be used to compliment your army or completely mismatch your army depending on your build.  So lets break down what makes this unit good and bad and determine whether or not this is an ideal unit to use in your army.

So what makes them good?

• They are cheap!  Only 115 points for a large blast strength 10 weapon is quite a steal.
• They are a heavy support choice.  This is important because it is not taking up fast attack choices where every slot is fiercely contested.  
• High armor value.  Having armor 13 in the front make the unit somewhat resilient.  
• They provide an excellent distraction for the rest of your army.  If you have an over saturation of armor or heavy hitting units it causes your opponent to think twice about who he shoots at first.  Because vindicators are often considered “scary” they typically get shot at before your scoring bike units.  You can also hide attack bikes and regular bikes behind the vindicator for some much needed cover.
• The large blast template with high strength and low ap is great for taking out tanks, nob bikers, tyranid warriors and the like.  Deep striking units can and will be torn up by this weapon.
• Also being high strength it is great for insta-killing special characters. There is nothing as priceless as seeing your opponents face when his 200 point character dies in an explosion!

Being such a good unit, why is it bad? 

• There is only one main weapon.  Once that demolisher cannon is gone, the tank losses is main purpose.  Though it can still be a distraction and provide cover, it is best used as a weapon platform.
• They need to be taken in numbers.  Only using one vindicator is a death sentence for that vehicle.  This unit needs to have a partner or two to increase its overall effectiveness.  
• It is a vehicle, so it suffers from the damage chart, along with terrain issues.  This is not a major fall back but should be noted.
• Smart opponents.  Yes if you are playing against a smart player, he/she will know the best way to mitigate the damage received by a vindicator is proper spacing.  It is unfortunate when your tank only can kill one or two models with that large template. 

What about the upgrades????

Well taking a vindicator gives you the option of taking vehicle upgrades to “enhance” your vehicle.  So lets break them down.

• Pintle mounted storm bolter: Pretty pointless.  Use the points elsewhere… seriously
• Hunter killer missile: Somewhat pointless.  Some people swear by them but for a single shot missle that is not guarenteed to hit just seems like a waste of points.  I have always had horrible luck with these.
• Extra armor: Pointless.  This vehicle is meant to shoot.  So if it can’t shot then being able to move is not going to help you that much.  I only take extra armor on transports if at all.
• Dozer Blade: Not bad.  Most of the time the tank is only going to move 6 inches and being able to re-roll immobilization tests is nice when trying to get the best cover save.
• Siege Shield: If you must take an upgrade, this is probably the best.  Never taking any tests for moving through terrain is not bad at all.  

As a rule of thumb do not bother with upgrades on this tank.  The tank is fine as it is now and adding upgrades is a waste of points which are better suited else where such as powerfists or more melta guns.

Overall 

This tank is best suited for a defensive style of playing white scars.  Using vindicators in an aggressive list leads to accidents, such as killing your own models due to an unfortunate scatter roll.  The 24 inch range on the weapon is the sweet spot in an white scars defensive style list so the vindicator fits right in.  Finally don’t  expect your vindicators to preform spectacularly in every game, I have played games with them where they die before they do anything or never seem it hit which is even more annoying in my opinion.

So I hope you enjoyed this write up and go forward and get your tri-vindi spam lists written up so you too can bring death and destruction to your enemies!

The list and comments of rumors are located here.

Disclaimer: Please remember these are PT notes. These may not be in the final codex.

Release items:

Codex: there is much less focus on Inquisition aspects, and no SoB. No Allies. A GK army.

Boxes:
Storm Raven. obvious choice. Options for BA, GK and ???

TA knights: 5 pack, Paladin upgrades, squad upgrades. Psycannon, NFW, SSTH, banner?

PA knights: 10 pack, justicar upgrades, squad upgrades, extra bits. NFW, psycannon, incinerator, banner?

walker: There have been some rumors of a GK driven walker. I have not personally seen this in any incarnation. However, there is a boxed walker of some type. I suspect this is a dreadnaught box set that will also have bits for BA.

Tank: I have not seen mention of a GK troop transport. Rhino based with psycannon options has been in some PT. I list this as possible, but unlikely, 4 box sets of this size are about par for a release, 5 would be a surprise.

Blisters:
New Stern

New Chaplain?

Justicar upgrade character

Paladin upgrade character

Inquisition character

2 other blisters unknown contents

Other:
Later release of GK themed terrain set? Concepts are out and some “preview” shots are floating around if you hunt. Nothing more I can say on this.

Rule bits:

these are very subject to revision, but not for much longer, to hit a Jan/Mar window codex needs to be tied up and sent to printers soon:

NFW lose the changing abilities based on rank of user. standardized to PA NFW is PW with special abilities vs Daemons, TA NFW is FW with same.

Some interesting Psychic abilities. just about all squads have psychic options. Heavy on they disabling side. Enemy psychers beware.

Not a lot of Mech. But quick to deploy.

Corrected Psycannon profile (updated 8-12-2010):
24″ A3 AP3 S6, no invul saves, pinning test for units or models with psykers.
or 36″ H1 AP4 S5 5″ blast, no invul saves, no cover saves. (does not cause psyker pinning)

(updated 8-12-2010): Incinerator, no profile changes noted: S5 AP4 A1 template, no invul or cover saves.

(updated 8-12-2010): GK Annointed Armor: All GKs (TA, PA, AA, etc.) wear ornate armor which has been blessed and annointed to provide additional protection both physically and spiritually. Any GK may always Re-roll any failed armor, invul, or cover saves.

Army wide. Daemonic Infestation makes summoned demons less instable?

No allies from/to other Codii. new fodder units in codex. not same as guard units.

New options for Dreadnaughts including libby. psycannon arm. Purge weapon…large pie plate, special abilities include forcing instability test for daemons, including DoC armies, pinning in other armies.

Added 8-3-2010:
The basic GK marine profile looks very similar to a SM sergeant.

The box sets should all be plastic.

I’ve seen other people posting rumors of a penitent engine style walker, with a PAGK driver…I have absolutely no confirmation of such a beast. However, if GW wanted to avoid the cries of “GK dont have Dreads, it isnt fluffy” that could be a way…

While External Allies rules are gone by all accounts, it does not mean allies in the codex are gone. Inquisition forces ARE present, just not as dominant. And you will recognize others.

A conversation earlier centered around an ability named “Out the Heretic” which could be used against non-daemon forces causing one unit to “count as” daemons.

Some models “may” be on display at GDUK.

Added 8-3-2010:
I’ve seen “other” sites reporting I said nfw gave wound daemons on 2+. I never said that. Not sure where that is coming from.

From what I know right now nfw will be +2S across the board as now, but pagks will all count as pw, and tagks will all count as fw. Then on top of that, all nfw gain additional capabilities vs daemons. Plus unit leaders may have master crafted nfw…not sure if it’s upgrade or standard.

Added 8-9-2010:
GK 2000pt AL from PT:

HQ
GM w Retinue
Named character

Elite
5-man TAGK squad + 2 spec weapons
Dread – unknown configuration

Troop
2x 5-man PAGK squad + 1 spec weapon + razorback
10-man ????? squad + chimera

Fast
Storm Raven

No Heavies

Added 8-9-2010:
The PT list posted was played against 2k of Orks including nobs, mek with kff, lots of boys in trukks, a BW and dread mob. It was C&C with DoW.

GKs held most in reserve.
PAGKS in RB came in turn 2 and moved to boys flank. 1 squad got tarpitted with boys, the other fought thru boys to take objective 1.
unknown unit had HQ attached, spent game trading shots with dread mob until TAGKS arrived to help.
TAGKs TP in turn 4 and later assaulted Dread mob. 4 standing at end of game.
The SR took out one trukk turn 3 and the bw turn 5. Dread and HQ w retinue arrived in it and assaulted Nob mob. wiping it out in 1 round. then started after other boys.

It was reported as a pretty one sided battle. GKs nearly unassailable. GK win with 1 objective and second contested in turn 6. supposedly orks were close to 4:1 outnumbering GKs

Added 8-10-2010:
Interesting bit here. Got to see some layout work on the new codex. I’ll confirm the rumors of a fleshed out chapter org chart, but it’s not your typical SM structure of 10 companies of 100 marines for sure.

One of the very first images I posted on this web site was this bad boy right here:

Well, I did like they way he came out… but after reviewing the rules I realized the principle purpose for this conversion, which was to give him additional attacks in close combat, was impossible because he would be carrying two special weapons. Dhur!

Besides that, I have been using him as being armed with a psycannon in order to get a ton of long ranged fire power into my list. So he is the updated model now

I modified his daemonhammer into a nemesis force ax! I wanted to mix it up and make him stand out a bit more when compared to the rest of the army. I did this because I realized that having a daemon hammer is pointless because I hardly ever face daemons and hammerhand can do it better for cheaper. I also finished off his “anti-tank” squad that I will be using to hunt monstrous creatures and transports of all sorts with two more psycannons and a slew of thunder hammers. Its actually a pretty scary unit in theory, but to bad those shields do not give a 3+ inv save!

Here are the finished products of the bases which I was working on. While I am showing off their new bases, I figured I would also take a bunch of pictures of a few of my Grey Knights because I have not taken many pictures of them. I hope you all enjoy this sampling of terminators and now I am off to work on the grey knights in power armor bases! Only 60 more to go! Oh shoot… I also have dreadnoughts too. Damn!