Painting, temperature and Necron lists.

It's been waaaay to hot to paint here in the UK over the last week or so, so not much progress has been made on Caliban's Twilight. However, after a quick painting session today, she's very close to completion for me, needing about an hour's work. You can see in the WIP pics my sloppy painting style, which looks awful at the moment, but I've always been more inclined to get paint onto a model and clear it up later.

In the meantime, I've been looking at my Necrons. The Nerd Garage needs some new armies to play with and against. Pootank is going for the new Eldar, and Danny's slogging through his Tau, leaving me to step up and get the 'Crons back on the table. I've come up with the below list, and ordered the Tomb Blades. The rest I currently own and just need to get built/repaired. Thoughts would be good.

1500 Pts - Necrons Roster

HQ: Overlord (1#, 145 pts)

   1 Overlord, 145 pts ((C:NE, pg. 30); Infantry; Warscythe; Mindshackle Scarabs; Resurrection Orb; Ever-Living; Independent Character; Reanimation Protocols; Warlord)

: Royal Court (3#, 125 pts)

   1 Royal Court, 125 pts

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Solar Pulse; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

Elite: Triarch Stalker (1#, 165 pts)

   1 Triarch Stalker, 165 pts ((C:NE, pg. 39); TL Heavy Gauss Cannon; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Move Through Cover; Targeting Relay; Vehicle (Open-topped, Walker))

Troops: Warriors (20#, 260 pts)

   20 Warriors, 260 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

Troops: Warriors (9#, 219 pts)

   8 Warriors, 219 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Ghost Ark ((C:NE, pg. 53); Gauss Flayer Array (each side); Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Repair Barge; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Troops: Warriors (9#, 219 pts)

   8 Warriors, 219 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Ghost Ark ((C:NE, pg. 53); Gauss Flayer Array (each side); Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Repair Barge; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Fast Attack: Tomb Blades (3#, 60 pts)

   3 Tomb Blades, 60 pts ((C:NE, pg. 42); Jetbike; TL Gauss Blaster; Reanimation Protocols; Hammer of Wrath; Jink; Relentless)

Fast Attack: Tomb Blades (3#, 60 pts)

   3 Tomb Blades, 60 pts ((C:NE, pg. 42); Jetbike; TL Gauss Blaster; Reanimation Protocols; Hammer of Wrath; Jink; Relentless)

Fast Attack: Tomb Blades (3#, 60 pts)

   3 Tomb Blades, 60 pts ((C:NE, pg. 42); Jetbike; TL Gauss Blaster; Reanimation Protocols; Hammer of Wrath; Jink; Relentless)

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (1#, 90 pts)

   1 Annihilation Barge, 90 pts ((C:NE, pg. 49); Tesla Cannon; TL Tesla Destructor; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (1#, 90 pts)

   1 Annihilation Barge, 90 pts ((C:NE, pg. 49); Tesla Cannon; TL Tesla Destructor; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Nerd League final results and a Necron army list (!)

The final games of the Nerd League were played this week. I took on Pootank's Space Wolves in what can only be described as one of the oddest games I've ever played. It consisted of me walking towards two units of Long Fangs while they poured fire onto my units. My poor rolls to hit and wound, and Pootank's ability to roll all his saves were a nightmare for me until I started (on turn 3 of 5) to actually kill some of his Marines. At this point the rest of his army came out to play. The highlight for me was when my Deathwing Knights absolutely battered his unit of 5 Thunderwolves in one round of combat. I really adore Smite mode! However, we tallied it up and at the end of my turn 5 there was no way I could stop his units taking the objectives, leading to my first loss in the league. I'm not sure there was much I could have done different, and as I guessed it turned out to be tough.

In Danny and Gandy's game, the Tau cut their way through Gandy's CSM army. Gandy realised that his list was sub par at the start of the League, and tried to compensate by playing aggressively. However, he just wasn't able to compete. 

So, at the end, both myself, Danny and Pootank had two wins each, meaning it was a three way tie! It just goes to show that we are all starting to create lists that can take everything on, and Gandy, after some help, is starting to pick up what makes a list decent. The next round promises to be brutal, and I'll be rolling out my new mixed wing list. I'm looking forward to seeing what lists the guys come up with as well...

Finally, I've been messing around with lists for my Necrons. I wanted an incentive to get them rebuilt and ready to go, and was struggling to come up with a list I found fun. I think Necrons are a bit of a funny army to list build with, and if you aren't using Scythes as your transports then they aren't quite the threat people make them out to be. In my group we've not really started with using flyers yet, so taking an air force isn't an option for me if I want to keep playing games. So, with this in mind, I created this list. It's very AV13 heavy, and with 36 Necrons being supported by both Rez Orbs and Ghost Arks should be a tough cookie to crack. I also threw in Zahndrekh as he can buff my units, debuff enemy units and also is quite cheap for his wargear loadout. He's a bit of a bargain imo!

1500 Pts - Necrons Roster

HQ: Nemesor Zahndrekh (1#, 185 pts)

   1 Nemesor Zahndrekh, 185 pts ((C:NE, pg. 60); Infantry; Staff of Light; Phase Shifter; Resurrection Orb; Sempiternal Weave; Adaptive Tactics; Counter Tactics; Ever-Living; Independent Character; Phased Reinforcements; Reanimation Protocols; Warlord)

: Royal Court (4#, 180 pts)

   1 Royal Court, 180 pts

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Harbinger of Destruction ((C:NE, pg. 32); Infantry; Harbinger of Destruction; Eldritch Lance; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Lord ((C:NE, pg. 30); Infantry; Warscythe; Resurrection Orb; Ever-Living; Reanimation Protocols)

Elite: Triarch Stalker (1#, 165 pts)

   1 Triarch Stalker, 165 pts ((C:NE, pg. 39); TL Heavy Gauss Cannon; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Move Through Cover; Targeting Relay; Vehicle (Open-topped, Walker))

Troops: Warriors (20#, 260 pts)

   20 Warriors, 260 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

Troops: Warriors (9#, 219 pts)

   8 Warriors, 219 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Ghost Ark ((C:NE, pg. 53); Gauss Flayer Array (each side); Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Repair Barge; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Troops: Warriors (9#, 219 pts)

   8 Warriors, 219 pts ((C:NE, pg. 33); Infantry; Gauss Flayer; Reanimation Protocols)

      1 Ghost Ark ((C:NE, pg. 53); Gauss Flayer Array (each side); Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Repair Barge; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (1#, 90 pts)

   1 Annihilation Barge, 90 pts ((C:NE, pg. 49); TL Tesla Destructor; Gauss Cannon; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (1#, 90 pts)

   1 Annihilation Barge, 90 pts ((C:NE, pg. 49); TL Tesla Destructor; Gauss Cannon; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

Heavy Support: Annihilation Barge (1#, 90 pts)

   1 Annihilation Barge, 90 pts ((C:NE, pg. 49); TL Tesla Destructor; Gauss Cannon; Quantum Shielding; Living Metal; Jink; Vehicle (Open-topped, Skimmer))

The Tomb Awakens. The Gift of the Emperor.

I've recently been looking at the armies I have unfinished sitting in boxes, and after some discussion I have decided to pick two of them back up and complete what I started. So, in addition to the Dark Angels I've been blogging about, I will soon be adding posts about my Necrons and Grey Knights. Both of these armies are at vastly different stages.

Necrons

Oh dear, where to start with these guys? They were built pretty rapidly to get gaming with them ASAP, and due to some shoddy gluing and spindly joints, the vast majority are now in pieces. I have been working on them slowly to get them pinned and rebuilt, but it has taken time and dedication. I'm currently still putting pins in place, and will hopefully be starting to get these guys put back together soon. I still have a few models to build to get the army to a decent 1500 pt level, and from there will start to look at ways to build on the core list. I have painted a few models, but I'm not too sold on the colour scheme and will probably look at some colour theory to find my new scheme.

Grey Knights

These are looking a lot healthier. The vast majority of the army is painted, excluding tanks. However, due to a change in the way I run and play with them, I will need to paint some Psyflemen Dreads, at least one Dreadknight and some extra Razorbacks. I'm going to be painting some more Strike Squads and adding details to the current tanks, as they're just boring silver boxes, using spare tilt shields and adding colours. I've added some pictures to show how these are looking so far.

So, what does this all mean? Well hopefully I will be able to start breaking up the posts on here so that it's not all Dark Angels, which will mean a nice variety of stuff to check out and keep an eye on. I can also start to log my progress with the Necrons, which will push me to finish fixing the suckers and get them built finally so I can have a non-Marine army. I'd also like to add modelling and painting advice so that will give me a perfect opportunity to throw in some posts about that side of the hobby.

Now, this doesn't mean I won't be pushing to get my Angels finished up, as these guys are my number one priority. But it does mean I shouldn't suffer green and black burnout, which I think is important! I'm also going to have a decent clearout of models and bits to ensure that nothing distracts me from finishing these three armies this year, or at least getting them to a decent painted standard. There will be one offs that catch my eye, and to avoid working on the same things over and over though, so keep your eyes open for those as they will be eclectic and not fit in anywhere else.  

That's the plan anyways. Luckily I have a supportive gaming group, and a girlfriend who knows how to make me focus on these sorts of things! After a small initial outlay this should save me money too as I will only need the odd bit from GW (barring treats and list revisions).

Lastly(!), please take five minutes to have a look at my friend Danny Kastigaunt's blog, Hand Of Junk on the sidebar. It's a damn good read and convinced me to start my blog. He covers a wide range of topics with regards to his Salamanders army, and has a slight obsession with Rogue Trader era models. His tutorials are fantastic too, and well worth a read! Get to it, and tell him I said hi!