Enter the realm of nightmares

Hmmmmmm, oh dear oh dear. 

For those of you who know me, you will know I’m a big GW fanboy - 40K specifically, I love the miniatures, the setting, the lore, the stories, the game, everything about it is everything I love in this hobby.

Now, that said, there is one company, one game that I love more.

Kingdom Death. 

Ever since I first saw the miniatures i was hooked - captivated by the baroque horror style and sheer depraved madness of the monsters and in love with the bleak frailty of the survivors.

Im sure I’ve posted about KD before but with them recently having launched the 1.5 update kickstarter my excitement has once again flared to critical levels. I have previously painted a couple of the starting survivors and the games starting enemy the White Lion so decided to pull my finger out and set about finishing the starting models giving me acces to the games first 3 or 4 game years minis all painted up. As I said at the start, these are my favourite miniatures I own so doing them justice is very important to me. 

As 

As you can see, nothing is ever standard with the monsters of this twisted realm, from the oddly human hands of the White Lion to the giant gapping maw on the Screaming Antellopes stomach. With very little in the way of coloured art work to go on its really up to each individual how to colour their nightmares.

And speaking of nightmares, very little tortures the fractured minds of those unfortunate enough to have glimpsed him than the Slenderman.

I’ve slowed down the amount of work I’ve been willing to do for commission of late because I have been trying to improve my skills as a minature painter and thus having more time to focus on my own work I’ve been trying to flex my own muscles and push myself (see my Belasarias Cawl post) so decided the Slenderman was a perfect chance to push myself once again and see what I could do. 

Now, recently a lot of the Code attended a good fun days 40k gaming run by the guys over at 6Up Save (which once we get hold of some pics we shall do a write up about...) and I was incredibly humbled to take the publics vote for Best Painted army and as a prize was given a set of the Scale 75 paints. 

Deciding to try these out on the Slenderman was a very  fun (albeit expensive) experience as I fell instantly in love with the super mat finish given by these paints. So much in love that I had to nip out a few days later and grab a couple more sets!

Anyway - here is what I managed to achieve, the pictures are not the best but hopefully you get the idea...

I’m really happy with how he come out, enjoyed painting him immensely.

Might have also gotten a little excited with the Black Friday sales on the Kingdom Death webpage and purchased a few more bits to try my hand at.....

Now if I can only get 3 other people to sit down for a game I might actually be able to use them!!!

As ever, thanks so much for reading my hobby waffle and please comment below with your thoughts!

Until next time :)

DB

Battle Report; The Cypra Incident, "Birth of the Beast of Cypra"....mission 4a; "The Marshalling Yards"

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with the next instalment of our narrative campaign; "The Cypra Incident".
Doc and I have been at this a while now and we both agree it's a fantastic way to play the game (the best way and we've painted so much stuff as a result! ed doc), the story is evolving as we play and creates it's own branches through the vagaries of dice driven events.
This was the first mission in the story which would use 8th edition and we were both interested to see how the new rules set would work with our flexible approach to the game in this campaign, (we don't use formations or org charts or detachments, we merely put together lists of units which we feel would fit with each mission premise.) The result was I must say excellent! 8th is by far my favourite edition so far and has a built in flexibility which works well with an easy going narrative style of play. I'd recommend you give it a go.

So on to the guts of this bat rep....

Why mission 4a? I hear you ask...

Our plan after mission 3; "Running the Gorklet" was to play mission 4 "Airfield Assault" as the next mission in the tree after the Dicers' partial victory. However with lives getting in the way and our natural tendency to flit from project to project, there was no way we could get everything we needed done by the end of this year. (We need to build and paint an airfield, complete with control tower, hanger and workshop as well as emplacements and not to mention another Ork flyer and 2 more Imperial flyers!!) So we wanted to and had the chance to play, we decided to create an offshoot mission from the tree and came up with 4a......

Current mission tree...

As you can see mission 4a sits off to the side and will have long running effects into the campaign and future missions. We are now preparing for the Airfield Assault. The offshoots of 4a will be played next year.

So mission 4a.....

"The Marshalling Yards"

Back story...

During mission 3 "Running the Gorklet" the Dicers recon force escaped from Ork territory with partial intel to allow them a better strategic understanding of Ork dispositions on the planet, in addition the highly perceptive ratlings spotted signs of major Ork vehicle movement from the main valley leading deeper into the wastelands and signs of industrialisation. This data was assessed and a mission approved to investigate and intercede as deemed appropriate by the mission commander.

The Mission;

Crucible of War; Sabotage.

With a few adjustments; The building is swapped for a powered down Stompa currently under construction, which is moved further from the Attackers deployment zone to allow for Docs list which includes vehicles. We didn't want him to blitz the target and win in 2 turns but since this army is new and his painted collection only just meets the 100 power we set for game size we are limited in applying the mission recommended lists.
Ork reserves represent nearby mobs answering the call to war after the Dicers incursion. The Ork plan is to march on the Dicers main base with a mighty Stompa at the head of the assault! With this mechanical monster they cannot lose!!!!
The Dicers force will approach stealthily under cover of darkness during a raging thunder storm and with the cacophony of industrial activity around the Stompa even the Imperial vehicles should be able to approach undetected. Ork sentries are patrolling the area so The Dicers must take care, once the alarm is sounded nearby mobs will respond quickly to the attack.
The Dicers goal is to reach the Stompa and place demo charges, with their current strength the Imperial forces on the planet would be hard pressed to withstand a massed Ork assault and a Stompa would be a devastating threat!

The Lists;

Ork defenders..

MISSION 4A ORKS LIST

VANGUARD DETACHMENT +1CP, TOTAL = 4CP

CP SPEND PRE SETUP; -2CP = EXTRA SENTRIES

2CP LEFT FOR BATTLE, TO BE USED FOR “CUT THE WIRE”

POWER	ROLE	UNIT	WARGEAR AND OPTIONS
5	HQ1	BIG MEK	Kustom force field, grot oiler
3	EL1	MEK	Kustom mega blasta, grot oiler
3	EL2	MEK	Kustom mega blasta, grot oiler
9	EL3	10x BURNA BOYZ
4	EL4	5x TANKBUSTAS	Boss nob, 2x bomb squigs
5	TR1	10x BOYZ	Slugga/choppa, boss nob, powerklaw
5	TR2	10x BOYZ	Slugga/choppa, boss nob, powerklaw
9	TR3	20x BOYZ	Shootas, big shoota, rokkit launcha, boss nob, big choppa, kombi shoota/rokkit launcha
15	TRANS	3x TRUKKS	-
6	FA1	4x GROT TANKS	Kommanda, 5x grotzookas
7	FA2	GROT MEGA TANK	2x rokkit racks, 2x big shootas, rokkit launcha
19	HVY1	GORKANAUT
10	HVY2	3x KILLA KANZ	3x grotzookas

• The Action.....

The Dicers force approaches the construction site under darkness amid a violent storm, the noise of their engines drowned by the storm and sounds of industry. Ork and Gretchin sentries patrol the area.

Imperial infantry units approach lone sentries and quickly and quietly dispatch them whilst heavy weapons and tanks move into position to provide cover and support for the infantry push to the target. The Dicers air support, in the form of a Valkyrie, holds station out of sight awaiting the call  to attack and deploy the veterans it carries.

As the Dicers push deeper into the yard they encounter more sentries and now hulking Orks with brutal shooters and rusted choppas are encountered.

As the Dicers forward elements engage the first Ork sentries, their armour pushes up the left flank. The Orks prove tough in a fight and one survives the Dicers sneak attack! Guttural Ork curses ring through the night and his shoota fire raises the alarm!!!! The Ork reserves approach from the flanks, the element of surprise is gone with the Dicers half way to their target. Now they must drive for the Stompa and hope they can plant sufficient charges before the Orks overwhelm them!

The first waves of Orks enter the fray, including a hulking Gorkanaut which quickly dispatches the Dicers artillery support and then pushes into the ruined building to threaten the heavy weapon teams. Ork trukks race in from the flank to attack the infantry squads, on the opposite flanks Grot vehicles attack the Imperial transports and tanks.

The Imperials grind across the yard, constantly pushing towards the target but sustaining constant attrition from the flanks. Their support section suffers massive losses at the hands of the Gorkanaut, even with Imperial sanctioned psykers throwing smite after smite at the behemoth!!

The last of the Ork reserves enter the fray and the Dicers are under pressure, their armour has caused huge losses in the Grot armour but has suffered itself. The Ork trukks have pressed into the centre field and the battle becomes a meat grinder with flailing weapons, whirling buzz saws and screams filling the night. The Valkyrie enters play and tries to find a safe LZ to drop its payload of veterans!

In the dying moments of the battle with the turn counter rapidly approaching the end, the Valkyrie prepositions and the Vets daringly leap out, another vet team makes a mad dash for the stompa from out of the melee and between them the two teams plant charges! The nearby Orks have been waiting for this and they desperately run around cutting the wires!

As the Dicers pull together and start their retreat, with more and more Ork reinforcements approaching, the mission commander triggers the explosive charges.........

.....Nothing!!!!!!

The Ork defenders successfully cut the wires and protected the mighty Effigy of Mork (or possibly Gork)!!

The Dicers pull back under heavy fire, dragging their wounded. Long range artillery barrage covers their retreat and the next stage of the Cypra Incident looms large......

Aftermath:

We had a blast with this mission, the sentries were incredibly lucky with armour saves and the random movement lent a great sense of drama, Doc was funny to watch as he agonised over decisions as to advance? charge? overwhelming force? My decision to use cps for extra sentries was a good one. without the second set Docs approach would have much easier and the alarm may not have been sounded early enough if at all!!
The balance between target location and vehicles in Docs list was a difficult one, as the game progressed we were very flexible with the turn counter, not starting it until the alarm sounded in the end. Even with that extension of game length Doc barely made it to the target in time and only managed to plant 2 charges. His final roll was modified by my single cut the wires stratagem so at +1, he needed a 6!
Doc made good use of the silenced weapons stratagem in the early stages, sniping several Grot sentries to allow his infantry to approach unmolested. It was only a single incredibly lucky Ork who rolled double 6 for his armour saves which sounded the alarm!
A great game and another example of how much fun this more flexible approach the the system can provide excellent results. The story advances...

Next.....

So the outcome of this mission was an Ork Victory, this means I will be allowed to field Stompas in later missions however currently the Orks don't have an adequate power source for the machine.
A future mission entitled "The Power Source" will see an Ork expedition into the arctic region of the planet to locate a hidden Imperial weapons factory where records show a huge cache of heavy Imperial vehicles and equipment. Who knows what they'll find and more importantly what will the Dicers uncover when a nearby defence force responds to the Orks presence??

That's a way off yet though. Our next mission will be "Airfield Assault" early next year.

We hope you've enjoyed reading about this as much as we enjoyed playing it. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Cypra preparation. Also keep an eye out for our upcoming series of posts: "Lords-a-Reaping" as the code show what mighty war machines they're painting throughout December!

Bluddtoof.









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Showcase Imperial Regiment the 19th Dicers Valkyrie

Hi All,

Doc is on a roll here is post no 3 in just under 10 days!  Anyway this post showcases the finished Valkyrie for Skirmish 3 unfortunately I didn't quite get it finished for the next cyrpa mission which Boss will write up soon.

I don't normally talk much about tactics preferring to talk fluff and hobby stuff but I quickly learnt equipping this model with lascannon and hellstrike missiles meant it was useless 2 shots a turn hitting on 5's if you moved.....  Anyway equipping it with Lascannon, Multiple Rockets Pods and 2 Heavy Bolters however works much better especially as the new codex allows you to move in hoover mode and not suffer the -1 to hit.

Since retrofitting it the results are much more encouraging and I haven't found loosing the -1 to hit by being in hoover mode too much of a problem it is still toughness 7 with 14 wounds.

Anyway on to the showcase hope you like...

As always constructive comments are most welcome...

Cheers

DOC out....................................................

Showcase Imperial Regiment the 19th Dicers Basilisk

Hi All,

As promised a first completed post for the dicers as I head into Six up Save's skirmish 3 event.  As i mentioned in the previous WIP post this model is a rescue from my youth.  Since the last post I decided to build some crew from my bits box and went to town on the weathering.  In the end given the age of the model I am really happy with the end result.

I even managed to bob round to innermechs and use his photo booth to snap some better shots:

Overall happy with the finish and it matches nicely some of the earlier tanks.  Not bad considering the time lapse between them being completed and the fact the earthy red is a mixed paint!

The beady eyed will notice the tracks are not perfect and I debated trying to take them all off and sourcing new ones but two things stopped that time and money.  After all this model has a history with me and the little bit of track reminds me of that!

Second crew member complete with hammer and pistol essential basilisk firing equipment surely..............

For those who may be interested in an alternative head this crew men's head came from victoria minatures all the way from aus!

Hope you like as always please give me some constructive feedback.

Cheers

Doc Out...............................................................