Warmachine?!?

 Yes, Mr. GW has finally caved and tasted the forbidden fruit that is Warmahordes.  (and he liked it...)

My brother and I have been playing quite a bit of Warmachine lately, him with Menoth and me with Khador.  W're up to 35 points and are just starting to get a full picture of what you can do with this game.  I love all the shenanigans you can pull and really look forward to getting into organized play.

On that note, in a couple weeks after indoor soccer ends, I have the OK from the Mrs. to go hit up game nights at the DSM Mayhem.  Hopefully the community is full of good dudes.

The world, it is a changin'

My last post was almost 10 months ago.  Needless to say, a lot has happened since then.  In order to keep this post shorter than a novel, I will just hit the high points in both my personal life and my hobby life.

Hobby Stuff
I played in three 40k tournaments between my last post and now.  They were biggies.

Adepticon 40k Championship
I took my Space Wolves to the 1850pt singles tournament.  I don't remember a ton of details but I remember using a full unit of Thunderwolf Cavalry for the first time (I don't think I got a playtest game in with my final list) and liking them a lot.  I remember playing against Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Imperial Guard and Space Wolves again.  After the dust settled, I was shocked to see that I finished with the title of Best Sportsman and 12th best overall.  Unbelievable when you consider the field started with 246 players (humble brag).  I have come to the conclusion that I am the luckiest schmuck around.  Lucky or not, I now have hardware from my first Adepticon! (proof)

Adepticon 40k Team Tournament
I remember my list this time.  It was easy because there were only a couple models in it.  Kharn, Land Raider, 8 Berserkers, 3 Obliterators, 3 Terminators.  I'm pretty sure that was it.  Each member of the team brought a similar list with a Chaos character, a Land Raider and cult warriors.  Just remember kids, this was the old boring vanilla Chaos book, not the fancy schmancy new 6th ed. one.  We got smoked, 108th out of 116 teams.  This is undoubtably the Holy Grail of tournaments here at Adepticon and we went into it with a gimicky, poorly thought out plan and paid for it with a 10 hour beating.  proof :(

BugeaterGT 40k Tournament
My brother and I went to this tournament in Omaha, Nebraska and had a great time.  I remember at one point saying this was the most enjoyable tournament I had played in all year.  Unfortunately this was the only tournament I wasn't able to weasel any prizes from.  I ended up getting 13th out of 55 participants.  I would highly recommend this tournament to anyone within driving distance.  If I get into 6th edition, I would love to go again.  My brother was the only player to bring Tyranids so everyone was really excited to play him.  We also met another guy who lived in Ankeny but haven't kept in contact with him like we should have because I've been busy...

Life Stuff
I bought a house and made a miniature of my own!

I don't intend to take another 10 months to make another post but trying to fit hobby time into the family schedule is a challenge to say the least.  I do have some projects in the works and I'll try to get something posted about them.  In the meantime, I'm glad to be back.

Mayhem Results mk.I

I went 2-1 and got 5th place out of 16 people.  It was a really fun tournament and I enjoyed playing all of my opponents.  I was very impressed by the sportsmanship on display and I hope that it was indicative of the mood of the community here.  The TO did a good job running the event and I have zero complaints about how it was run.

The Missions:  The scenarios used the original Nova format that the BugeaterGT will be using this summer and the event was intended to give us practice with that style.

Terrain:  The terrain was a mixed bag.  The tables were set up with theme in mind rather than a balanced mix of LOS blocking and area.  Most of the tables had the requisite 25% coverage but it was a bit uneven across the ten tables.  Overall, there was a clear effort made by the TO to prepare enjoyable and balanced tables given the limitations of the available terrain.

Miscellaneous Notes:
 -I am now 0-3 in my last three tournament opening games.  This is probably testament to the lack of games I play in between events.  I don't think I'm in the correct frame of mind at the start and seem to make significant mistakes with the first couple turns.  I'm not sure how to correct this other than getting more games in against competitive opponents with a variety of armies (easier said than done).

-I'm not sure if my hybrid type lists are going to be effective against the current meta.  In order to out shoot Imperial Guard, Grey Knights and Razorspam, I would have to adopt a much more shooting oriented  list.  I am not a fan of this.  I honestly don't know the answer to this problem for me, especially with the limited time/models I have before Adepticon.

-You can't rely on Wolf Scouts.  They're great and add a lot of utility to the army, but they can't be a critical piece that you base your game plan on.  I had mine not show up until turn 4 and they came in on the wrong side when I desperately needed them.

-Missile launchers just don't get it done.  I think I've said this before but I haven't done anything to adjust to this realization.  Strength 8 doesn't cut it against AV12.  I would like to throw some lascannons into the army somewhere.  Either in the Long Fangs or on the Land Raider or something...

Despite fielding a far from optimized list last weekend, I was able to test out a couple ideas I had with mixed results.  I would like to say that the fog is clearing with my list problems but I'm afraid I'm still unclear how to resolve my issues.  Back to the drawing board.

Mayhem Tournament

I'm heading up to Ames in a few minutes to play in my first tournament here in Iowa.  I tried getting my Thunderwolves done in time to take but alas, it was not to be.  I did manage to throw a couple Fenrisian Wolves together so my Thunder Lord won't be going it alone today.  As usual, I thought bringing painted models was more important than bringing a more optimized list.  On a whim, I also threw in the Great Wolf himself, Logan Grimnar!  I think I've used him once since painting him and I thought it would be fun.  Here's what I'm taking.

Where: Mayhem Comics, Ames, IA
When: Saturday March 17, 2012
What: 1850pt, 3 round tournament
Attendance: ~20 signed up

HQ
Logan Grimnar

Wolf Lord
-frost blade
-storm shield
-thunderwolf
-ruinic armour
-fenrisian wolf

Runepriest
-jaws of the world wolf
-living lightning

Elites
(5)Wolf Scouts
-meltagun
-melta bombs

(3)Wolf Guard
-pf/combi melta
-pf/combi plasma
-termi w/chainfist/stormshield

Troops
(8)Grey Hunters
-plasma gun
-wolf standard

Rhino
-dozer blade

(8)Grey Hunters
-melta gun
-wolf standard

(10)Grey Hunters
-melta gun x2

Drop Pod

Heavy Support
(5)Long Fangs
-4xmissiles

(5)Long Fangs
-4xmissiles

Land Raider Redeemer

Adepticon pt. I

Since my last post, a new year has begun and the blog's first anniversary has come and gone.  I meant to do a year in review like everybody else and I probably still will, but for now I'm going to write what's on my mind instead.  What's on my mind you ask?  Adepticon.  I'm up to 6th on the 40k singles tournament wait list and 4th on the team tournament list so I'm confident that I will get into both events.

When we last left off, I was working on getting a Necron army with the intention of playing it in the 1000pt team tournament.  Since then, after talking with my teammates, we have decided that trying to build/paint/learn that army in time to be decent with it in April was going to be a chore.  After some deliberation, we have decided to play Orks instead.

Switching to Orks is going to be helpful in several ways.  The biggest one is familiarity.  Two of the guys on our team either have or had an Ork army that they have played quite a bit.  The codex has been around long enough that Alpha and I shouldn't have a problem with the Ork play style either.  Secondly, I helped build and playtest an Adepticon Ork team last year so I have been through the process.  I also think the mentality of playing Orks meshes with our attitude going into the contest.  They're like the comic relief of the grim dark future and we hope to be the comic relief of the tournament, at least to the opponents we go up against.

For singles I'm going with the Space Wolves.  I intend for this to be the last GT I take the pups to, making it a year of tournaments that I've played them in.  That is somewhat dependent on when 6th ed. drops of course.  I am planning on making some changes to the list I took to the Gentlemen's GT.  More lascannons, less rockets I think would be nice.

Yay, first post of 2012!

-Noah

First Necron Model

Ok, the title is a lie.  The first Necron I painted took a little bath in Simple Green, this is the first model I saw fit to photograph and share.  What's really interesting is that the metalic primer I bought from The Army Painter doesn't break down in Simple Green.  It must bond with the plastic, I am curious how it sticks to metal. 

This paint scheme was inspired by Tim over at The Vanus Temple.  The glow is something new to me as I've never used powder weathering pigments before.  I think it turned out ok, I'm sure I'll get better at applying it as I go.  The base was just a spare that I had sitting around from my Space Wolves and is probably not what I'm going to ultimately go with.  I got the pigment and base from Secret Weapon Miniatures.  Sidenote: Justin does a great job over there getting shipments out quickly, I've ordered from him half a dozen times and always been satisfied with the quality of the product and the customer service.

Ork Sidetrack

 Fish, here are your Ork pics, only four weeks after I said I'd post them.

1. Prime
Black

2. Basecoat
Skin: Gretchin Green
Clothes: Any color you want, I chose Mechrite Red because red is neat.
Boots: I left them black.
Metal: Boltgun Metal
Pants/Straps: Bestial Brown maybe?  If I were doing it today I'd use Calthan Brown.
Wristbands/Bandages/Horns: Dheneb Stone (best paint in the world)

3. Wash
Everywhere: Devlan Mud (use it liberally and then stick it in front of a fan on low or a space heater, this prevents a lot of pooling that is common when using this much wash)

4. Highlight with the original colors on any raised edges if you want it brighter.  I only went up one step but you could easily get a better result with a third color.  Then again, you could have a decent looking tabletop model by just throwing on the table after washing it.

There you go, if you want more detailed instructions, ask away.

Lessons Learned

The Gentlemen's GT was only my second 5 round tournament that I've played in and I learned a few lessons about tournaments, myself and my army over the course of two days.  Instead of hoping that I remember them for next time, I thought I'd write down as many as I remember so I can review it before Adepticon.

Play with your list before the first round of the tournament.
I not only didn't play with my list beforehand, I had two units that I had never fielded before (Thunderwolf Lord, Wolf Scouts).  Understanding their theoretical capabilities is not the same as understanding how to practically employ them.

Don't be so hungover.
I believe that this lesson and the previous lesson combined to cost me my first round on Saturday.  I don't know if it caused the loss in the first game on Sunday because I was pretty over matched but I'm sure it didn't help.

Play faster in the early turns.
The rounds were only two hours and fifteen minutes but not having enough time to play a 6th/7th turn could have had major consequences.  I felt pressed for time in all my matches and I know at least once it caused me to make a mistake that I'm sure I would have avoided if I hadn't been trying to cram in the final turns.

Terrain trumps lists.
On paper, my list stacked up poorly with at least half of the lists in the field, including at least three that I had to face throughout the weekend.  Luckily the terrain on the tables had a good mix of area and blocking terrain and I was able to neutralize many list advantages through cagey tactics.  The biggest boon was definitely largish blocking terrain located near the center of the board.  I would have gotten blasted off the table by the Razorwolves and both Guard armies if we had played on less populated boards.

The meta game is real.
I've always been a proponent of building lists that you like and damn the consequences but going to big tournaments makes me reconsider just a bit.  Going to the Chicago area and facing the competition that I did makes me realize that if you are planning on taking unconventional lists, have a plan for the major meta net lists or don't expect to win a lot.

Going to ground is how heroes are made.
Going to ground is the least used and most helpful rule I have ever seen.  Going to ground with units that would otherwise be wiped out saved me against the two Guard armies I played as well as helping a great deal against the Razorwolf army.  I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "But Noah, going to ground only saves 1-2 models who are going to get killed the next turn anyway!"  While that may be true, that is still one more unit that has to allocate its fire to a remnant unit rather than a more effective unit somewhere else.  If they ignore the two remaining soldiers, opponents can be devastated to learn how much damage a couple krak grenades can do.  Twice I had melta Grey Hunters survive an Executioner plasma tank only to later kill it or another vehicle.

That's all I can think of for now (see, already forgetting what happened this weekend), I may add more later but I doubt it.

-Noah S.

RockCon '11

I was pretty wiped by the time I got home yesterday after the drive home from the Gentlemen's Grand Tournament so I didn't write anything up.  Hopefully I haven't forgotten too much in the past 24 hours.

Let me start by saying I had a great time.  All the players I faced were great sports, I loved the mission setup and my dice were average.  I couldn't have asked for more!  Here's the vitals for the tournament before I get into my thoughts on my play.

Gentlemen's Grand Tournament
Where: RockCon, Rockford, IL
Participants: 30-32
Format: 5 rounds, Primary-Secondary-Tertiary objectives, Swiss pairings

Best Overall: Noah Schmelzer (Space Wolves, der)
1st Place: Tim Gorham (Grey Knights)
2nd Place: Steven Welch (Imperial Guard)
3rd Place: Jordan Nach (Imperial Guard)
Best Painted: Clayton McCarty (Dark Eldar)
Player's Choice: Steve Carlson (Space Marines)
Best Sports: Troy Weis (Space Marines)

That's right, you read that correctly, I ninja'ed another one!  I don't know how the tournament organizer's rubric worked for scoring, but I can tell you I was surprised as hell when he called my name.  I went 3-2 on the weekend so my sports and painting score must have given me a serious boost.  I'll give a quick and dirty breakdown of my games, don't expect too much, I don't love writing battle reports (gasp!).

Round 1
Opponent: Troy Weis - Space Marines
I lost to a Shrike list, he only had a Dreadnought, two Tactical Marines and two shelled Razorbacks left.  I had a lot left but I played too conservatively and the game ended on turn 5, much to my chagrin.  The highlight of the game was sucking half his Terminators and his Librarian into the ground with Jaws of the World Wolf.  Not a clean game by this guy but I learned a ton about my army, especially the strengths and limitations of my new units (Thunderwolf Lord, Scouts).  Record: 0-1

Round 2
Opponent: Matt Bartley - Imperial Guard
Standard Mechanized guard list.  I had first turn, it was Dawn of War deployment and there was a large piece of blocking terrain in the middle of the table.  Those three things contributed to my victory over Matt.  Wolf Scouts are the (melta) bomb.  Record: 1-1

Round 3
Opponent: Matt Raatz - Daemons of Chaos
Nurgle Daemons led by Ku'gath and Epidemius.  I felt in control of this game from the outset.  I was lucky enough to Jaws Ku'gath before he did too much damage and my Wolf Lord carved up Plaguebearers like it was his job....which it is....  Record: 2-1

Round 4
Opponent: Tony Malave - Space Wolves
I think Tony won this tournament last year, I could be wrong though.  In any case, he was a very good player and introduced me to a true razorwolf list.  I was able to keep it close by turtling behind blocking terrain and making forays out with non scoring units to inflict as much damage as I could.  In the end, he got the primary, I got the secondary and he may have gotten the tertiary but I can't remember.  Record: 2-2

Round 5
Opponent: Jarred Saxman - Imperial Guard
Jarred was a ton of fun to play and handled some atrocious dice rolling like a champ.  He had first turn and I just threw my stuff out to get blown away and he completely wiffed.  I was able to take control with some accurate melta shots and barely hung on for a win.  Record: 3-2

I'm going to be honest, I'm rushing through this so I can go back and bury my nose in my shiny new Necron Codex.  Here's pics of the new units all finished up and battle hardened.  TTFN.

-Noah

Judgement Day Cometh

I am 85% sure I'm going to make a Necron army within the next two weeks.  I haven't played Necrons since 3rd Ed. when I dropped them in favor of Space Marines.  The reason I dropped them initially was because they lacked character and there didn't have many options to field different armies.  It looks like both of these issues will be resolved in the new book, at least judging by what has been leaked so far.

I'm excited about the new book for the following reasons:

-More competitive
-New models, none of which will be metal!
-Hopefully a viable infantry, foot slogging army is an option, I am getting tired of mech
-Easy, easy, easy to paint
-They're Xenos, I need to break up the power armor party that's going on in my closet right now

Unfortunately I'm sure this will be a huuuuuuge bandwagon army.  Possibly more that Grey Knights but I hope not.  I need to think of a scheme that is different enough that I won't be knocked in painting scores.  I may go with some kind of fancy base or something.  I'll be back.

-Noah

List for GGT

I think I have my list figured out for the Gentlemen's GT (Nov. 4-5).


I am liking this list a lot.  Not a huge model count so I'll have to be careful with my Grey Hunters as they're my only scoring units and the backbone of my close combat.  I may miss my Terminators but they've been so poor lately that I don't mind leaving four of them at home.

One dimensional close combat armies will give me a lot of problems but hopefully they will be relying on transports that I can pop at range and whittle down anything dangerous.

Feel free to critique, I basically made it up just now.


HQ

WIP Wolf Scout

Logan Grimnar - 275

Elites
Dreadnought - 125
-2x twin-linked autocannons

Dreadnought - 125
-2x twin-linked autocannons

(5) Wolf Scouts - 110
-melta
-melta bombs

Troops
(9) Grey Hunters - 150
-wolf standard
-melta

Rhino - 35

(9) Grey Hunters - 150
-wolf standard
-melta

Rhino - 35

(8) Grey Hunters - 120

(3) Wolf Guard - 149
-power fist, combi melta
-power fist, combi melta
-terminator, storm shield, chainfist

Land Raider Redeemer - 250
-multimelta

Heavy Support
(5) Long Fangs - 115
-4x missiles

(5) Long Fangs - 115
-4x missiles

(5) Long Fangs - 95
-4x heavy bolters



Need to Paint
-4 Wolf Scouts
-2 Rhino hatches
-Logan Grimnar
-4 twin-linked autocannon arms

-Noah

The bandwagon is a calling (Thing 1 & Thing 2)

It seems like riflemen Dreadnoughts (2x twin-linked autocannons) have become all the rage lately on the net.  I had one guy I watched play a lot at my old shop that used a couple but I have no real world experience fighting against them or using them.  That being said, I am strongly considering converting my two multimelta drop dreads into riflemen.

I've beaten to death what I think of AV12 walkers dropping down unsupported so maybe it's time I tried out the new trendy walker on the block.  As things stand, I have a couple Aegis Defense Lines sitting in my closet that could be converted pretty easily to make them.  With the magic of magnets, I won't be required to scrap the multimeltas I have already converted for them, just add the option of the autocannons.

Ultimately, it's a matter of me sitting down and finalizing a list for RockCon and seeing where the Dreadnoughts fit it.  I wasn't planning on using them but I was just thinking the other day about how I love the models and how much of a shame it would be to never use them for anything but Apoc games, so finding a use for them in competitive play would be great.  Its getting a bit late to do anything about it tonight but I'll have a think on it and maybe write up a list or two this evening.

As a side note, I think I'm going to go public with this blog so I feel less like a nerdy teenage girl journaling about her toy soldiers.  We'll see if I feel up to public scrutiny!

-Noah

We have entered the Visual Age!

I cobbled together a temporary photo booth rig today.  I found a couple $2 desk lamps at Target today which I think will work great.  Definitely not perfect but I think it will be serviceable for the time being.

Ghetto Rig.

The mess.

Here's a random assortment of models I've painted over the past few years.  I basically grabbed a little bit of everything that was near at hand. My Imperial Fists began as a painting project with no intention of creating an army but I just kept adding to it and now I'm sitting at around 1500pts.

Ineffective but she's a looker!

That's all for now, don't want to use up all the material in one post!

-Noah

Found Some Pictures

I found a few pictures taken at Armies on Parade '11.  Thanks to whoever took them (John maybe?).  I think the first one is just a random assortment of Space Wolf stuff on one of the sections from my 40k table.  The second one is my Rune Priest that was my HQ in the Gateway GT.

Trouble with Tyranids

I played my brother's Tyranids yesterday with my pups at around 1850pts.  He didn't tell me what was in his list and he made me deploy first.  I nonchalantly deployed my army to capture the two objectives and he proceeded to use an all reserves list to euthanize my dogs.  It was a fun afternoon beer and pretzels game but I did come away with a few insights into my new list.

1.  I still don't like Drop Pods

I used one pod to deploy a 10 man Grey Hunter unit with two meltas onto his objective.  This is the unit that is supposed to drop down and hurt enemy armor.  They died unsupported to a Genestealer charge on turn two. (this is when the poo hit the fan)  I may have to reevaluate my use of even one pod.  I may try to paint another Rhino/Razorback or even drop my Terminators in favor of sticking a Grey Hunter unit in the Land Raider.

2.  My Terminators are underachievers

Here is the epic ballad* of my precious 250+ point Wolf Guard Terminator unit:

We ride to battle in an impenetrable horse (Land Raider Redeemer),
Brain bugs falling from the skies (Zoanthropes in Mycetic Spore),
Boom (two pens, explosion),
Ouch (I fail 2/4 saves),
Rally brothers and charge (Trygon),
Die gloriously! (fail all invulnerable saves, don't get to swing at the 1 wound Trygon)

I'm not a poet/musician.  I also suck at rolling 3++ saves.

3.  Wolf Scouts rock my socks

Definitely painting the rest of this squad, possibly a second.  They outperformed my Grey Hunters and I didn't even have a Wolf Guard with them (yet).

4.  I'm still searching for a close combat HQ

I used a proxy for a Wolf Guard Battle Leader and he was extremely disappointing.  I think it's go big or go home time.


That's all for now, I may set up my photo booth this week, we'll see.  No more ballads.

-Noah

* I DON'T KNOW WHAT A BALLAD IS, NOR DO I INTEND TO GOOGLE IT TO FIND OUT.

Space Wolves mk.II

Here's what I'm aiming or for the Gentlemen's GT in November.  Aside from having to drop 150 points off my Gateway GT list, I think it's time for a change to the overall make-up of the list.  After playing approximately 10-12 games with the wolves, I have come to several conclusions:


1.  Drop Dreadnoughts are underwhelming.

On paper, my two drop dreads were meant to come down first turn and multimelta a vital target (Land Raider, Leman Russ, Battlewagon, ect).  In reality, they come down, miss or fail to destroy their target, then die to meltas.  If I cut these out, I have 260pts back.

2.  The jury is still out on Drop Pods

It could be just me, but I think that Grey Hunters in Drop Pods are vastly inferior to ones in Rhinos.  It seems like every game I played with the drop wolves involves me dropping in, doing a bit of damage and then getting chewed up by my opponent while standing out in the open.  Riding around in Rhinos, shooting the occasional melta out the top hatch and making your opponent pop your transport before engaging your troops just seems like the more viable option.  I'll be honest, I may just be bad with pods but I thought they would be more effective.

3.  Lascannon Razorbacks makes me waste Grey Hunters

The theory behind the Grey Hunters in the Razorbacks was to provide long range support while also taking objectives in my deployment zone.  In reality, my model count is deceivingly large when you consider I waste 25 models (15 Long Fangs, 10 Grey Hunters in Razorbacks) just sitting back and firing a few long range weapons.  I found that what would happen in games I would lose is that my 20 Grey Hunters in pods died due to lack of support but in games I would win, it was often because I was forced to use my two fives man squads in more aggressive ways.  I would love to combine the squads and put them in a Rhino, but I don't know if I'll have time to paint one before the GGT.

4.  I want a close combat character

I don't have a big scary character and I want one. Period.  I'm used to having Daemon Princes/Lysander erase a lot of my mistakes when I play my other armies.  My Rune Priest does not fill that role at all.  I was thinking about running a Wolf Lord(termi armour, chainfist, storm shield) with the Wolf Guard in the Land Raider, we'll see if I can scrounge the points. (~180+ pts)

5.  I want Wolf Scouts

If I'm going to cut out my lascannon Razorbacks, I'll need some more anti-armour and I think some Wolf Scouts add that as well as some much appreciated unpredictability/versatility.

I'll put some numbers on paper in the next day or so and see what I can put together.  Maybe I'll even paint something, who knows?

-Noah

Calling all podcasts

My new job allows me to have headphones on most of the day and I'm burning through 11th Company podcasts like it's nobody's business.  I finally caught up to Episode 84 this week which leaves me without anything to listen to next week except Episode 85.  I enjoy 40kUk as well but I can only concentrate on translating the English accents for so long each day.  I'm hoping to find some more goodies this weekend.

Is this heaven? It's Iowa.

I'm back in the greatest state in the Union!  I could go on and on about the great things about coming home to Iowa after three years working for Games Workshop; family, friends, Iowa State sports, stress free job...but this is a blog about wargaming, so I'll look at it from the hobby perspective. 

Iowa is where hobby store's go to die.  In my lifetime, I have seen a dozen or more hobby stores come and go here in Iowa.  This is a harsh contrast to what I experienced out in Rockford.  I had about 20 stores within a couple hours that regularly held gaming events.  The problem then was that I was always at work at my shop and could rarely get away.  Now I've got nights and weekends off but have limited options for finding a decent game. 

There are two stores within driving distance of my current location, both called Mayhem Collectibles.  The stores are pretty awesome but the Warhammer/40k scene leaves something to be desired.  I've heard that the competitive players are all lusting over Warmachine/Hordes.  Its bad enough that you'll even see some Retribution of Scyrah models listed over in my painting reel as I momentarily lost my senses and bought/played Warmachine.  It was a dark few weeks, I assure you. 

Luckily, I have since regained my sanity and begun working on my Space Wolves again.  I really need to thank my brother for inspiring me with his Tyranids.  He was all about getting back into 40k now that I live in the area and his excitement was contagious.  I really need to get involved with the locals because my own gaming setup here is a significant step back from what I had back in Rockford.  I went from having a fully stocked man cave to having to shove what doesn't fit on my desk and bookshelf into storage (gasp!). 

I'll admit that my motivation is flagging.  Fortunately, I have a potential tournament coming up November 4th-6th in Rockford.  It's called the Gentlemen's Grand Tournament at Rock-Con.  It's a two-day 1850pt tournament.  I considered taking my Imperial Fists in a new Shrike-themed format, but I think that I would have to compromise too much competitively, monetarily and painting-ily.  So I'm going to modify my puppies from the 2000pt army that I took to the Gateway GT last June.  I'll post the list tomorrow maybe.  Time for bed, got to get up early for work (another side effect of Iowa).

-Noah

Pictures! (from Gateway GT)

Here's some pics that one of the organizers took at the Gateway GT a couple weeks ago.(my stuff is the Space Wolves)

Sooo I've Been Hobbying....

I just haven't been blogging about it.  Since my last post, I've been pretty busy.  If you look at the sidebar of what I've been painting, you may guess that I've painted about 2000 points of Space Wolves in the past two months.  If you were to guess that, you'd be spot on.

I had the idea back in April after visiting Adepticon for the first time that I would really really like to go to a big tournament.  Unfortunately, Adepticon only comes once a year and there was no way I was going to wait an entire year to experience one.

Luckily there was an event on the 2011-2012 Games Workshop Tournament Circuit scheduled for the first weekend in June called the Gateway Grand Tournament.  I talked to a couple of my  friends from up here in Rockford and we decided that it would be fun to head on down to St. Louis and 40k it up.

In addition to my Space Canines, we had a Ravenwing army, a Deathwing army and a Slaanesh Noise Marine army.  The tournament consisted of 80% power armor armies, so we fit right in.  Here's the vitals of the competition.

What: DieCon - Gateway Grand Tournament
Where: Collinsville, IL
Participants: 44
2000pts
5 Rounds
Battle Points: 150
Painting Points: 40
Sportsmanship: 50

At the end of the weekend, we were able to bring home quite a bit of hardware.  I got Third Overall in a ninja, come from behind surprise.  Our Deathwing player got First Overall and our Chaos player got Best General.  Painting scores helped us out a lot, as did timely massacres.  I may write up a more in depth report on my battles but for now, I'm back and writing again.  Oh yeah, I'm painting up some Orks.