THeX Ride Again

It has been a while since I have posted but I am finally back with another update.  Since the last time I posted I havea few games of 6th edition under my belt and would like to revisit some of my 6th edition comments. 

6th edition is different but it hasn't had a major change in my play style yet.  Although I have only played with my IG and I am limited as to what I can take by what I actually have models for but it hasn't really affected me either way. Because of the new rules and having to look things up the games have been taking way longer than the previous edition.  Previous, with smoke breaks, the games would run about 3 hours.  Now, they are taking about 5 hours.  I think it has to do with going back and looking up the new rules and confirming that we are doing it correctly but it could also be that we are using 1000 points instead of 500, so it takes longer to move all the pieces.  Either way it should go way quicker in future games. 

As far as mechanics go I really haven't messed with the challenge system yet and since the update to the Look out Sir rule that seems like less of a mess and it is characterful for the peons to jump in front of a shot despite not actually succeeding in a roll for it yet. 

Flamers are a must take weapon now.  The reaction shot with a flamer greatly reduces the assault capability of everything but the hardest targets.  I would be curious to see the price of flamers in the chaos codex as where they stand now they are must have weapons for any frontline squad that could be assaulted.

Otherwise snap shot has not had that big on an impact on assaults.  I, so far, have yet to hit, let alone wound, on a snapshot in the reaction phase.  In the last game we played a situation came up where Jonny put himself in a position where he assaulted with 2 units at the same time on the same target. One a pack of genestealers and the other a group of IG.   While I know that assaults are declared and then the reactions happen and the one assaulted gets to choose which group to fire at but that seems to again discourage assaults.  Shouldn't the shrewd player be rewarded for setting up his assault in such a way that the peons take the reaction by having the reaction shots be taken against the first group that declared their assaults?  So we created a house rule that said that should be the case.  Then we thought about afterwards.  Somebody made a point that I can't recall.... damn it.  Shouldn't drink so much while gaming.  But it was a good one and made us rethink that rule.  What do you think?  What would a reason not to have that our house rule?

Vehicles exploding, especially flyers, is neat.  Granted they really didn't hurt me any so I would probably have a different opinion but it was pretty damn awesome when in the last game Jonny shot down a flyer and it careened into the backside of the building he had his autocannons hiding out in.  The resulting explosion didn't kill anybody but it did damage the building and caused a few wounds on his autocannons and his command squad.  A similar situation happened in the first game we were playing where he shot down my snowspeed after 1 turn of being on the board (fucking hydra flak batteries) and it again careened into a squad of guys.  Up to that point in the game it was the only fucking squad I had hurt. 

Random assault distance definately make things more interesting.  In two games I have come up short twice.  Once, to the left, in our first game it was the difference in the game because if I would have made it I would have tied up the objective and the game would have been a draw and the other time, in the second game, it was more of an inconvenience than anything else (below).  It has hurt Jonny once as far as I recall when his genestealers didn't quite make the charge against my stormtroopers.  However, that was also a miss communication on my part about the fleet rule.  He only rerolled one die instead of both when he failed the roll.  Fleet, by the way, while not as useful as the last edition does add a bit more excitement ot the game.  I had such high hopes that the tauntauns were going to make it despite needing a 10 or higher on the dice. 

I like the allies system but it really should only be used for higher point games.  I used eldar allies in our first game.  I chose rangers and a light farseer to deal with monstrous creatures that may be fielded and they did their job.  But at about 250 points it was very extravagant purchase for the 1000 point system we were playing at.  For the second game I just went straight IG and I think I got more bang for the buck, so to speak.  Jonny on the other hand has been fielding a genestealer cult army.  The first time out it was more tyranid-IG hybrid than the straight genestealer cult he used in the second game.  I know the rules don't allow tyranids to ally with anyone but I don't care so why not (see below.)


Game 1 IG-Tyranid Hybrid

Game 2 Gene Stealer Cult









You may have noticed from the pictures above the THeX are fighting in more of their natural clime over the last two battles.  This is thanks to a donation of white felt from the wife.  Honestly, at first I didn't think it was going to work out that great but once we began experimenting with it and adding other pieces of scenery below it to give a varied topography to the battlefield it turned out great!  I mean aside for the pink showing through on the unfinished terrain projects I used.  All of the natural terrain blended in well. 



I love this terrain set up because it really forces you to get down and look at eye level.  Let me show you what I mean. Take a look at the picture to the right.  This picture was taken before turn 1.  I had set up just outside the wall so that I could lay down a blanket of fire to thin out the wave a termagaunts that I knew were headed my way.  I was in perfect position to do some damage to the squad on his left flank.  I issued my order to fire, fire, fire then grabbed my dice, and thought, oh this would be an awesome picture.  I got down at eye level for the model and took a picture.  Looked at and thought, are you fucking kidding me?  I can't see anything! (see below) There are a few more examples in the pictures from the previous two battles at the end of the post.  The movement over and around make for some interesting choices as well since we decided that coming up and over a snow drift counts as difficult terrain for troops but going down and moving in the valleys do not hinder movement in any way.  This made for some interesting movement decisions on both of our parts as now the quickest way is not necessarily a straight line.  My tauntauns found that fact out late in the first game. 

 

 

Sorry no story for the THeX this time either as I just don't have the time to do it and I am already months behind on posting these battle pics.  A quick run down of the games then the pics from the game.  This post is already picture heavy so I will only post the pretty ones and not all of the pictures that were taken.

Game 1 - 1000 points Tyranids-IG vs. THeX-Eldar

Jonny had this one in the wrapped up pretty quickly.  It was the random objective mission where the objectives were worth different point amounts for holding on to them.  The ones that were deepest in his zone were the higher pointed objectives and so I had a long slow haul through the snow and a swarm of termagaunts that his montrous creature kept spewing out just to get to the objectives.  The hydras were a bitch.  I only took one of the snowspeeders and he promptly shot it out of the sky during his turn right after it arrived. 

My reserves were slow to come out and when they did it was just too little too late.  I did have one last hope to tie up a high pointed objective at the end of the game with the tauntaun squad but I needed a 10" charge role but didn't make it even with the reroll with fleet.  Fun nonetheless.

 

 

 

Game 2 1000 Genestealer cult (IG-Tyranid Allies) vs. THeX

Purge the alien was the mission and boy was this was a great game!  The whole game was a real back and forth slug fest.  Every turn it seemed like it was going to be the end of the other's army.  For the first time the THeX face the terror of a leman russ pie plate and holy crap that thing is scary.  It wiped out all but one of my command squad and unfortunately, even with a look out sir attempt, that was not my commander.  What made it worse was that from the front I couldn't hurt it.  I took two rounds of that damn thing.  Never again.  Never again.  It was only when the first of the snowspeeders arrived were we able to not only get behind it but blow it to hell.  Nonetheless, I gotta get me one of those. 

Madwars was right about the storm troopers  Their AP 3 lasguns are nice but their maneuverability is what made them stars.  They died but they died gloriously. They came in the snowspeeder and used grav chute insertion.  The roll was terrible but I got to roll on the chart instead of dying right away.  They dropped in the next turn after the snowspeeder right behind the great father.  They were able to finish off the great father and draw the attention of genestealers off of my left flank.  The ravages of genestealers ultimately were too much but they paid for themselves.   I proxied using Ethan's Salamanders SM but I need to build a squad.  I am thinking space marine scout torsoes and regular catachan legs.  Green stuff some plates.  Would that work? Or I could get some tallarns.  Still the same feel as the rest of the army, they have that poncho special forces look from return of the jedi, and the external armor looks a bit bulkier than the cadians.  (check it out)

It is now confirmed that the tauntauns are now my late game vehicle hunters.  Their primary role is still creature/marine hunting but after they use up their lances they are now vehicle hunters.  They have huge range and can usually get to a vehicle by the second turn they are out there.  Love them. Love them so much and they look so cool..   The special character is almost a gimmie now that rage isn't useless. Ohh wait challenges.... hmmm.... Maxed squad here I come. 

I love the snowspeeders, and flyers in general, even when they die they can do some damage (see above). 

Ultimately, I won but only by 2 points.  12-10 I think was the final tally.  First blood, kill the warmaster, and the deployment zome thing were really the difference in this mission.  He had first blood, we both killed each others warmasters, but I had 2 squads in his deployment zone where Jonny did not have any.

 

Hope you've enjoyed.