New Chapter Added

I've added a new article to the Background section, directly continuing from the events of the last chapter. Check it out here.

Any comments, criticism and suggestions are welcome.

Enjoy.

The Story Continues...

The second part of the Shadow War series has been added to the Background section, featuring Van Baalen tracking down a rogue psyker. Here's an extract to whet your appetite:

“More work, Renfield, and not even anything remotely interesting. Rouge psyker tearing stuff up on some planet none of us have ever heard of. This isn't even my fething Ordo's job!”

“Sir,” Hansfeld uttered calmly from the darkness, “just read the other side.”

Van Baalen did so, and after a moment, his thunderous frown faded.

“Oh, that's interesting.” he chuckled, “Very interesting.” Leaving the others in silence, he strode for the bridge.  

The full story can be found the the Background section. Hope you enjoy it.

An epilogue to this story should follow over the next few days, and in future I hope to post at least one chapter of either Wolfe's Tale or The Shadow War each week, so check back often for more 40k action.

New Fiction Series Begins Here!

Hello again, readers. It's been a while since I've posted here, but I've finally added some new content. In the Background section, you will now find the first part of a new fiction series, Wolfe's Tale and The Shadow War. 

It's the first in a series that I plan to develop over time, supplemented by background pieces, battle reports and maybe even other stuff as well.

This series follows characters who feature in my 40k games, and will eventually evolve into two separate series:

The Wolfe's Tale, which will follow Commissar-General Wolfe on the front lines with the First Antor Rifles, so from this you can expect plenty of combat scenes of all types, and a sense of what it's like to be a humble guardsman in a world of Gods and monsters. While the war drags endlessly on, he becomes more and more aware of a cancerous secret at the heart of the regiment which threatens the entire sector.

The Shadow War will follow Inquisitors Van Baalen and Skjor as they did deeper into the conspiracy from the outside, so you can look forward to lots of skulking around the underhives, sneaking through the shadows and plenty of good old inquisitorial skulduggery.

This story introduces both sets of characters, which, as I mentioned, will eventually get their own series.

Here's a taster of what's in the story: 

“But you have doubts?”

“Of course I've got my bloody doubts, Hansfeld.” Van Baalen exploded, his armoured fist halting only moments from the diminutive acolyte's face. “Look at him. He's a wreck. He won't walk for a month, It'll be a miracle if he can fight before the year's out, and Emperor only knows what kind of a mess his mind's in.” He frowned as, on the other side of the glass, Wolfe contorted again, his face curling in a noiseless scream. Van Baalen's frown softened. “Poor bastard.”

“It's your call, sir, but I don't agree. If this goes wrong, there's every chance we lose the whole sector.”

Enjoy. 

Space Marines as Allies

What with Space Marines having just received a new codex, I though it would be worth a look at why, when and how to use them as allies to an Imperial Guard army: 

For marine allies with guard, what you need to do is either A) bring them to counter a specific weakness in your lists or B) use them to bring more of what you already have. Option A is probably the best, as it adds versatility to the list, but B has its merits, and can use some good combos like a Drop Pods assault backed up by stormtroopers for even more backfield killy goodness, or a mechanised list with a couple of rhinos and a predator or vindicator chucked in to add to armour saturation. 

On the whole, though, you should be looking at countering the 3 main weaknesses of the IG codex on its own: Lack or durability, lack of mobility, and lack of Close Combat prowess. 

Lack of Durability: it is an unfortunate reality that guardsmen, particularly on foot, have massive problems with staying alive in the later parts of the game, and this is where the Space Marine codex can help out. Taking 20-30 marines, some/most of which are scoring can boost the survivability of the army as a whole, and also because the enemy will have to divert considerably more firepower to remove them than some Infantry Squads, even in cover. This gives you better objective-holding ability, and also helps in missions where kill points are in play. A good allied contingent here would be: 

Chapter Tactics: Iron Hands

Librarian, terminator Armour, Storm Shield

2x 10 man Tactical squads (add weapons as appropriate)

TH/SS termies. 

Gives you a good core of reliable troops, a pretty tough if expensive Close Combat unit, and has great staying power. 

Lack of mobility: Drop pods seem like the obvious answer here, but consider for a moment the humble Rhino. A DP gets you to the enemy and then does nothing, a Rhino can keep you moving (and therefore reacting and capturing) until the end of the game if you are careful with it. Combine this with the Raven Guard Chapter Tactics, and you can have the enemy board edge in rapid-fire range by turn one, or outlfank your allies for a nasty side attack. Sample list:

Chapter Tactics: Raven Guard

Captain, Jump Pack, weapon of choice

2x 10-man Tactical squads, rhinos

Assault Marines or Vanguard Veterans for some mobile Close Combat if you want. If not, swap the captain for a librarian and shove him in a platoon for 'and They Shall Know No Fear' on a combined squad.

Lack of Close Combat ability: This is something that is less essential, and probably better covered by the Space Wolves or Dark Angels codex (or chaos if you're willing to go non-Imperium), but Codex: Space Marines can still hold its own. in this case you want to keep troops to a minimum, maybe even just a scout squad, and then put all the points you want in Elites and Fast Attack, getting ASM and Vanguard/Terminators (if the latter, get a Land Raider Dedicated Transport) and maybe even a Close Combat tooled Command Squad, on bikes to keep up with the mounted and Jump Pack elements. Good list:

Captain, bike

Command, bikes, Close Combat kit

Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield termies, Land Raider

scouts

Assault Marines, full squad, Jump Packs

Review: Codex Space Marines

Alongside my sizeable Imperial Guard army, I also have several Space Marine armies, so was very keen to get my hands on this new book as soon as I could. Having now had a good look at it, I've put together a review for anyone looking to pick one up for themselves. 

The first thing you notice about this codex is the frankly exceptional production quality. The hardback cover features a full-colour spot-varnished illustration of an Ultramarine captain, which is a great piece of artwork in and of itself. It also feels sturdy, especially compared to its paperback predecessor. The next thing you will notice is the page count. Codex: Space Marines is around 70 pages longer than the other 6th edition Codices, and upon opening it, it becomes clear why. 

Each of the First Founding Chapters/Legions and the Black Templars have their own sections in the book, detailing their history, combat doctrines and Successor Chapters, and each one features the artwork from their respective Limited Edition versions,  covering a full page, as well as a great combination of new, old and remastered and recoloured art. Stand-out pieces include the full-page painting of a Raven Guard air force of Thunderhawks, Stormtalons and Storm Eagles doing battle with a selection of Chaos fighters, including Heldrakes and Hellblades, and a smaller picture of a Salamanders Captain or Chapter Master wielding a burning blade against an Ork warboss. 

There is a wealth of background contained in the book, covering the origins of the Space Marines in even more detail than previous editions, and information on more than 30 Chapters. The gallery is as impressive, featuring dozens of paint schemes and poses, and showcasing some great models. The new Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans are shown in the colours of several Chapters, and the new Tactical Squad models are prevalent in almost any Chapter scheme displayed. 

The rules sections themselves are also well laid-out, with every unit entry featuring a full-colour piece of art, some of which is brand new, including new versions of several of the Special Characters. The armoury is simple and easy to use, the army list is set out in the traditional way (it isn't broken, no need to fix it), and there is a handy fold-out reference page at the back, featuring weapon profiles, special rules and unit profiles for everything in the book. 

I cannot yet comment much on the gameplay side of it, as I haven't tested it on the table yet, but points-drops across the board for most infantry and HQ choices bodes well for smaller games, and the new Chapter Tactics rules all seem flavourful and useful, while nothing screams of being overpowered. It looks, much like its spectacular predecessor (gone but not forgotten), to be a very balanced codex, and now even more varied. 

In short, this is a great book, easily worth the few pounds more than the other Codices, and I can't wait to see how it performs on the table. 

5 Things to Know About: Veteran Squads

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on Mech guard, and particularly the Chimera, here is an introduction to the key component of the list, the Veteran Squad:

1) Specialise: As with everything in the codex, specialisation is important, and doubly so for veterans. The ability to take 3 Special weapons is best utilised by making them all the same, so that when you hit your target of choice, you hit it hard. If you're shooting an AV14 tank, 3 meltaguns will be 3 times more effective than a melta, plasmagun and flamer. Against a horde target, the melta and plasma are useless, so the effect of the flamer is less effective.

2) Pick Your Targets: Veterans are very useful tools, but require careful use to get the most from them. Pick a target type for them when you deploy (or even when you build your list) and focus on that role. As an example, if you are facing a space marine army that uses terminators, and you are using a 3-plasma veteran squad, the terminators should be your primary target, as they are the best chance you have of doing damage, Similarly, a 3-melta squad can be effective against said terminators, but are going to be more useful bringing down a vehicle if possible.

3) Be Careful: A kitted-out veteran squad costs nearly twice as much as an infantry squad with similar weapons, and while you do gain a lot of utility from this, you will also have a lower model count, making every casualty matter more. As such, try and use cover and Line Of Sight blocking terrain to your advantage to keep them alive as long as possible.

4) Doctrines: If you have the points available, doctrines can improve the survivability of your squad, as well as helping them specialise, but the key here is not to take them unless they are guaranteed to help. If you are deploying in them in a Chimera, then Grenadiers is not going to help them much, but if they are on foot, it can potentially double their survivability against AP5 small arms.

5) Mech or Foot: While veteran squads will form the core of a mechanised list, they are equally useful to a foot list, with the ability to concentrate special weapons in a much smaller footprint than platoon infantry. They can be use as a counter-attacking unit with flamers, or for long-range support with plasma and a lascannon. In a foot list, they will benefit more from doctrines, as grenadiers keeps the upgraded models alive longer, and Forward Sentries combined with an Aegis Defence Line can be very useful for a 3+ cover save.

5 Things to Know About: Mech Guard

In this post, I present the first in what will become a series of brief articles on the very basics of certain units, styles or strategies. For the first, Mechanised Guard:

1) Cover Your Flank: Despite better front armour than many transports, Chimeras only have AV10 to the side and rear. What this means is you should be doing your best to keep them out of assault, and try and keep the flanks covered, or they are going down fast. If you can do so, try and block Line Of Sight with some to others, so that the minimum side armour is showing.

2) Plasma or Melta: This debate is at the heart of mech lists, as plasma weapons have the advantage of longer range (so less chance of being caught in Close Combat) and more shots when they do get close, and they are better on overwatch. However, they can harm the guardsmen and lose firepower fast with some unlucky rolls, so some do not like relying on them (personally I find them fine, and the Grenadiers upgrade can prevent some damage). Melta, on the other hand, is devastating at short range, but you are really putting yourself at risk of being charged. You'll have to experiment to find your own preferred ratio, but I like plasma:melta 2:1 most of the time.

3) Mechvets Are Defensive: Despite their considerable firepower, mechvets are far better as a rapid-reaction force than an aggressive force, as they are great on overwatch (fire normally, Overwatch for vehicle, disembark when destroyed, fire normally, overwatch again) and their mobility allows you to react to incoming threats and pick your targets.

4) Specialisation is Key: Specialisation is essential for mech lists, as your limited model-count means you need each unit to focus on one thing and do that. A punisher should take Heavy Bolter sponsons, for more anti-horde, while a Vanquisher should take Plasma Cannon/Multi-Melta sponsons for more Anti-Tank. The same goes for Special Weapons in vet squads, and anything else. Making a unit for every occasion is making a unit waste half its firepower regardless of the target.

5) Play the Mission: At the end of the day, your immense firepower is wasted unless you can win on objectives, so in the final turns you should be doing everything you can to take objectives, including sacrificing firepower. For example, on Turn 5, you can disembark onto an objective, and then move the chimera to block LOS to them. This will probably lose the chimera, but might win the mission.

All these articles will be uploaded in the 'tactics' section of the site for future reference.

An Introduction to Antor

Hello readers,

Now I've got the basics of this site up and running, with pages for tactics, background and battle report articles, it's time I got around to introducing the world at the heart of all this, Antor.

Located in the far Galactic North, Antor was only discovered by Imperial Explorator fleets following the end of the Horus Heresy, in early M32, and as such, had escaped the galactic turmoil caused by that great conflict almost entirely. To those who found it, Antor was something of a paradise compared to the horror that had swept the Imperium, with cities still standing high, and wide plains rich with crops. The people of Antor were initially suspicious of the new system they found themselves a part of, but soon came to accept the ways of the Imperium, and as more and more settlers arrived from worlds ravaged by war, more and more of the planet was converted to Hive-cities, and the population began to swell.

The first regiment of Imperial Guard raised from Antor entered service in 413 M32, and they were immediately deployed near the Eye of Terror, assisting the Cadian Garrison to guard the vital Cadian Gate. While this initial task was a test to the regiment, it was but a shadow of what was to come, with the Traitor Legions too consumed with bitter conflict among themselves to be a trouble to the Imperium.

Even in times of peace, though, the regiment still suffered losses, through nothing more than a quirk of evolution. Where the explorators were amazed at the cleanliness and purity of Antor, the troops from that world were equally horrified at the polluted and clouded environments found across the remainder of the Imperium. While this was initially nothing more than a simple dislike, it soon turned to outright disgust as men started dying, claimed by illnesses and diseases in the atmospheres that were long eliminated on Antor. Before long, the problem had been once more countered, but only so long as the troops remained in respirators on any world but their home. With this issue resolved, or at least prevented, they returned to duty near Cadia, and for many years, were engaged in nothing but the smallest conflicts, not being redeployed for fear Cadia could not hold the gate alone.

This peace was not to last, as barely a century after the regiment was first deployed, the Beast's Waaagh tore through the Imperium, and like so many other regiments, the men of Antor took near-fatal losses. As the Waaagh was finally defeated, and the cost counted, the regiment was found to be all but destroyed, and for generations, they were merely assigned piecemeal to various warzones, losing any semblance of coherency or identity. It was only at the close of the millennium that the regiment again fought together at full strength.

Since then, the First Antor Rifles have fought across the galaxy, against all manner of foes, and their style of warfare has become as varied as their foes. This is partly due to the wide range of threats, but also to the unpolluted nature of their homeworld. The relative peace and comfort of Antor made it a haven for any regiment who were either too exhausted, weak, or underequipped to fight on the front lines, and as such, the leaders of Antor's own regiment have been exposed to a thousand different combat doctrines, and have gained experience in all manners of warfare, from siegecraft to airborne assault, and from infantry wave attacks to armoured breakthrough. This has also led to Antor regiments having an unusually high contingent of veteran troops to call upon, as they are typically deployed to take the place of those who use their home.

In a age of war, the First Antor Rifles are rarely off the front lines.

Antor's Finest: Commissar-General Wolfe

In this, the first of a series of character bios for the men of Antor, I'm introducing the commander of the army, Commissar-General Wolfe. In games, he is represented by a Forge World Death Korps Of Krieg Commissar model, armed with a power sword. Without further ado, here is everything you need to know about this leader of men:

Commissar-General Wolfe is a rare case among Commissars, in that he leads not through fear or brutality, but through respect earned through years of fighting on the front lines of a hundred warzones. Armed with his trusted and ancient power sword, Vigilant, he leads from the front, frequently fighting alongside the men of Captain Lorcan's 3rd platoon, and has yet to fail to achieve an objective when with them. His iron will, skilled mastery of battle, and daring wilfulness to lead them where other commanders would hesitate have turned them from a rabble of conscripts to a battle-hardened force, and as such, it is Lorcan's platoon that lead the charge when the men of Antor go to war, bayonets fixed and rifles ready.

As well as the formidable skills as a commander, Wolfe is possessed of extraordinary talent with a blade, and is ever eager to prove this, seeking out the enemy commanders for a challenge of single combat. This is seen by some of his fellow officers and superiors as reckless, even careless, and there are some in the upper echelons of Antor's hierarchy that would see him restrained or monitored should he continue what is considered by them to be personal glory-hunting. Wolfe is well aware of this criticism and his precarious position, but knows too that to cut the head from the enemy army is to watch the body die, and as such, he persists with this policy. Regardless of the personal opinion of his critics, Wolfe's unorthodox tactics have been proven effective, though he bears more than his fair share of scars from a number of desperate gambits. Wolfe is fully aware his luck will one day run out, but has long since accepted this fact, and asks only that when he falls, the men of Antor will fight on.

Wolfe's past has not always been so noble, and he hides a secret known only to his closest fellows, and that haunts him through every battle. While his near-perfect record with the men of Antor speaks of a great hero and flawless commander, his success and heroism stems from a far darker place than faith and skill alone.

Wolfe's first deployment as a fully-fledged commissar was to be the mission that defined his career. Deployed against the forces of Chaos on the world of Calix VI, Wolfe and the Calix regiments swiftly became bogged down in a bitter stalemate with the chaotic hordes, trading shots and lives but gaining no ground against his foe. Wolfe knew the deadlock must be broken, and after a month of examining every scrap of information available, he devised a plan. Using a hidden tunnel network, Wolfe led a handful veterans on a daring mission behind enemy lines, leaving the command of the main battle to Calixian General Trav. For 2 days Wolfe and the veterans studied the enemy position, and on the third, they made their move, using the last of their stock of meltabombs to destroy the vast majority of the Chaos vehicles and crippling their forces. Wolfe's message for Trav to attack went unanswered, and when no advance came, he returned to the Imperial lines. What he discovered was an army in turmoil, turned against itself as the corrupting influence of chaos took them one by one. Trav was in the thick of the fighting, swelled beyond his normal bulk by the blessings of dark gods. Wolfe relayed the information to the High Command, who, faced with the prospect of an unwinnable battle, gave the order for Wolfe and those with him to retreat. Wolfe's pleas to attempt to quell the rebellion fell on deaf ears, and he grudgingly fell back. As the planet was subjected to Exterminatus, Wolfe swore on the lives of those billion souls that he would never again retreat, and never again leave the men under his command to the enemy.

Now returned from a successful campaign against the Tau on the Eastern Fringe, and having led Antor to victory in the centennial war games with Savosen, Wolfe now returns to Antor, before being once more thrust into combat in the name of the Emperor.

Going live in 3...2...1...

Hello everyone, and welcome to the the home of the First Antor Rifles regiment, an Imperial guard army for Warhammer 40,000. This page will in time play host to battle reports, painting logs, articles and general wargaming ramblings, but for now, the only thing of worth here is the page linked above, the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer. This is intended to be a complete guide to playing Guard in 6th edition, and should hopefully provide some useful information for anyone from the oldest veteran to the newest recruit.

Welcome again, I hope you enjoy this,

Paradigm