eBay!

I realize I’m a decade or more behind on this one, but I’ve recently discovered ebay and the fact that I can buy all the models that I always wanted from when I was a kid, but were either already out of production or I couldn’t afford.

Trumpeter’s Salute

On March 31 there’s a 1500 point tournament that I’m going to. There is a restriction that you can’t have more than 2 of the same choice in any slot other than troops. So no 3 vindicators for me. Lists have to be submitted in advance, but I still have some time to finalize it. Right now I’m working with:

Chaplain
Librarian with null zone and might of ancients
5 Assault terminators (3 LC, 2 THSS)
5 sternguard with 5 combi meltas in pod
Tactical Squad with combi flamer, flamer, las cannon and rhino
Tactical Squad with combi melta, melta gun, las cannon and rhino
Land Speeder with typhoon missile launcher
Land Speeder with typhoon missile launcher
Land Raider Redeemer with extra armour and multi melta

It leaves me with 10 points to spend. Melta bombs will probably go on the chaplain and I’m pondering swapping the meltagun for a plasma gun. We’ll see how the playtesting goes.

Tournament Lists

I don’t really have a set list that I bring for tournaments since they tend to vary in points values and other restrictions. But generally I’ll include the following as a base:

Librarian and Chaplain. I’ll swap out the Chaplain for Vulkan if it’s over 1500 and there is something real on the line.
Assault terminators in Land Raider Redeemer
5 sternguard with 5 combi meltas in a pod.
2 tactical squads, usually combi flamer/flamer and combi melta/melta with las cannons. If I’m taking Vulkan it’s more likely that they’ll be in pods instead of rhinos.
A couple Land Speeders of some description.

And I’ll build from there if I’ve got more points for it.

Bikes

This is the latest list I’ve been running. It’s slowly improving in painting quality as I play it. The ravenwing battle forces seemed like such a good deal, and they made a cool list.

1500

Captain with relic blade on bike
Command Squad on bikes with Company Champion, Company Banner, Power Fist, and Stormshiled
6 bikes with 2 plasma guns
6 bikes with 2 plasma guns
5 bikes with 2 melta guns
3 attack bikes with multi meltas
2 land speeders with typhoon missile launchers
2 land speeders with typhoon missile launchers

To get to 1750, the captain gets artificer armour, one bike is added to a plasma squad and the melta squad, a third speeder is added to each squad.

3 Vindicators

I got one vindicator because it seemed cool. I got another 2 during the miniwargaming birthday sale because I thought the linebreaker apoc formation would be cool. Now I’ve not really played a lot of apoc, and it’s pretty easy to damage one vindicator so they can’t fire the massive template, so I’ve never had the joy of really seeing the full effect. None the less I decided to write up a list with 3 vindicators. It’s preformed well except against the fast moving dark eldar.

1500 points

Librarian with null zone and might of ancients
Chaplain
Terminators (usually 3 lightning claws and 2 thunder hammers) with a Land Raider Redeemer dedicated transport with extra armour and a multi melta
Tactical squad with combi melta, las cannon and rhino
Tactical squad with plasma gun and las cannon
3 vindicators with siege shields

To get to 1750 I add 5 sternguard with 5 combi meltas in a pod, make the tacticals flamer/las cannon and add a land speeder with typhoon missile launcher.

Half Company

I thought it would be cool to have a list that was half a company. A captain and his command squad, 3 tactical squads, an assault squad, and a devastator squad. This list puts out a reasonable amount of firepower and has a lot of mobile scoring bodies. It is really lacking in assault power since the command squad is pretty overcosted and lacks mobility. But it’s fun, and a lot of people are shocked to see that many marines on the table. This list has also been through a few iterations to get where it is now.

1500 points

Captain with artificer armour and relic blade
Command Squad with company champion, company standard and power fist
Tactical Squad with power fist, combi flamer, flamer, las cannon and rhino
Tactical Squad with power first, melta gun, las cannon and rhino
Tactical Squad with melta gun, las cannon and rhino
Assault Squad with power fist and 2 flamers
Devastator Squad with 4 missile launchers

To get to 1750 I add a Chaplain with jump pack and a Dreadnaught with assault cannon and extra armour.

Drop Pods

I always thought that the idea of marines descending from the sky to smite the Emperor’s enemies was awe inspiring. Since there was now a drop pod kit I wanted to build that army. This list is already several iterations old, but I find it works reasonably well…except against Tyranids.

1500 Points

Master of the Forge
3 Ironclads
5 sternguard with 5 combi meltas
Tactical Squad with Power Fist, Combi Melta, Melta, and multi melta
Tactical Squad with Power Fist, Combi Flamer, Flamer, and missile launcher
Tactical Squad with plasma gun and missile launcher
7 Drop Pods

To bring it to 1750 I add a librarian (avenger, gate of infinity), expand the sternguard to 10 with 1 more combi melta and a power fist.

My Collection (short version)

I’ve amassed a pretty large collection of Fists. I have just over 7,000 painted points as it stands now with around 2k more on the way in the form of more rhinos and an all bike/speeder list. Maybe another 2k worth of unpainted models.

I’m not super enticed by another army. I can play so many different styles based on the models I have now (I’ll breakdown my recurring lists in some later posts). I did take the orks out of storage at my parent’s house and I’m hoping to get them up and running because I’ve always loved the orks. Maybe after I’ve finished the bikes and the 40 power armoured marines I need to finish up the company.

I also picked up and painted a box of grey knight terminators when they were released in plastic. I was inspired to try out an all terminator GK army and I bought another 5 boxes of them when they were the deal of the day at miniwargaming. They are still in their shrink wrap. Another project for another day.
I play almost exclusively 1500 or 1750 points.

About my 40k Career

I’ve been playing 40k since 1995 or thereabouts. I started with the Second Edition starter set and went from there. My first army was blood angels since that was in the starter box, painted to a nice shine with Testors paints. I went through both orks and guard in Third Edition. Oh to have the old choppa rule again…but I was away from the hobby from 2001 to 2006 when someone in my office came and asked me if I’d ever heard of a game called Warhammer 40,000 because he was interested in starting it. I broke out some of the old IG and played a few games over the next year, but then it was another break until 2009.

I wanted to start fresh. There were so many new models since my hayday of playing. I was still drawn to the marines, but I wanted to do something different. I really liked the idea of marines with bright heraldry, unafraid of being seen at any distance. Confident in their ability to overcome any foe they might encounter. I had settled on the Imperial Fists. I looked at many many paint schemes online. I waffled a bit because of the apparent difficulty of painting yellow. Some days I still regret my choice, but practice and a spray gun triumphed over the adversity of yellow. My models certainly don’t look great, but people often comment. “That’s a really bright army” isn’t exactly a compliment, but I’ll take it!

My first years playing 40k were in Kitchener, Ontario. I found the game again in Ottawa, Ontario. And since July 2011 I’ve been in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Inspiration

I’ve been thinking about writing a 40k blog for a while and I’ve apparently finally motivated myself to do it. My plan is really just to post some army lists and write about my battles. I’m sure some random thoughts and commentary will work themselves in somehow. I don’t want to speculate on rumours. I generally feel like it’s a waste of time. When I can read the rules, and I guess more importantly, when I’ve seen how it performs on the table, then I’ll make my decision.