Review: Warhammer 40k Tournaments, the ITC and Imperial Armour

A number of people in the Victorian tournament scene for Warhammer 40k have been asking questions about the ITC, and some people have assumed knowledge and made a call on it fairly early. So today we take a look at the ITC, what it is, and how it affects a 40k Tournament

Who or What is the ITC?

To start with, here is what the Frontline Gaming crew have to say about themselves.

The ITC (Independent Tournament Circuit) is a coalition of tabletop gaming tournaments that have joined together to increase their mutual resources, exposure to the community and the prestige of their events. These events run through a season which runs one year, beginning and ending in February. The player that does the best overall through the year will be the Circuit Champion! Last year, that player won $3,000 cash! We also recognize the players that do the best with each specific faction, such as the best circuit Space Wolf Player, or best circuit Tau player, etc. as well as the best teams. The 2016 season is the third year for the ITC! The 2014 & 2015 seasons were huge hits and the ITC has now grown to be a global circuit!

Now lets take that a step further. The ITC is both a Gaming Format as well as a Ranking System.So lets take a look at those 2 concepts seperately.

ITC as a Gaming Format, something a little bit different.

The ITC as a Gaming Format covers 2 key differences to "standard" Warhammer 40,000.

1. List building restrictions
2. Rules changes through an ITC FAQ

List Building Restrictions

Almost every event I have ever seen has some form of list building restrictions; whether that be number of detachments, allowing/not allowing Imperial Armour/Forgeworld units, restricting the number of Super Heavies, the list goes on. So this really isn't anything new to pretty much anyone who has played a Warhammer 40,000 Event.

So you can find a detailed list of the list building restrictions in the ITC Tournament Format document. We won't go through all of them, lets just take a look at some of the big ticket items.

• Battle Forged armies only.
• Maximum of 3 Detachments.
• No Come the Apocalypse allies.
• An Imperial Armour Unit Index:
• List of Imperial Armour/Forgeworld units that are approved.
• Where to find the rules for each of the units that have been given the OK.

So on the most part if you were to take a look at the Victorian tournament scene over the last year to 2 years, the restrictions aren't overly different from our "norm". The only real big difference between ITC and the majority of events in Victoria is the Imperial Armour allowance.

Is Imperial Armour really that bad anymore?

So if the only real difference in list building is the fact that ITC allow Imperial Armour, is that such a big deal? I know from my experience as both a player and a TO over the last 6-7 years I have seen 3 arguments thrown around as to why Imperial Armour shouldn't be allowed.

1. The rules are not so readily available, you can just walk into a Games Workshop store and read the store copies of a codex.
2. There are multiple versions of the rules for a unit, which ones should I use.
3. There are too many over powered units that it just isn't fair.

Games Workshop over the last couple of years has made these arguments semi redundant. If you look at just Space Marines for a second, and think about all the various books (codex, supplement or campaign), dataslates or web exclusive formations it is crazy. They have 1 codex, 3 supplements (Clan Raukaan, Sentinels of Terra and Angels of Death), 1 campaign (War Zone Damocles), 2 active dataslates (Tyrannic War Veterans and Space Maine Strike Force Ultra) and 2 Datasheets (the Firespear Strikeforce and Space Marine HQ Command Tanks). This is just the list I am aware of, and I am sure there are more.

Did you know all of those? Could you tell me where to find them all? Can you simply have a read of these in the store? The answer to all 3 of those questions I would put money on is no.

So if they are in fact actually readily available, maybe we should look at the multiple versions argument, nope, wrong again...

Games Workshop have been consistently bringing out new books that re-print some unit entries and not others. Take a look at Space Wolves, when Games Workshop brought out the Curse of the Wulfen they seemed to "replace" the unit entry for Iron Priests... nope... Games Workshop then gave players the ok to use either or even both of these depending on what they wanted to do. They brought out a new Imperial Agents book which replaced the Inquisition codex, oh wait, you can still buy the Inquisition Codex and use either of the books. I would almost argue that it is more confusing now with "standard" Games Workshop content than Imperial Armour content release by Forgeworld.

Ok well surely the units are still overpowered right? Not even close. The most powerful units are still "standard" Warhammer 40k units. I mean you only need to take a look at the Librarian Conclave for Space Marines, the Invisibility psychic power, the ease of getting 2+ rerollable invulnerable save units, or a unit of 3 Super Heavy Walkers that can all shoot their weapons at different units and then charge any one of the units they shot at.

None of the arguments for not allowing Imperial Armour that I hear are even close to valid anymore, so why don't we allow it in Victoria? I think it is the fear of change, but lets put that aside for the moment and move on to the FAQ.

The ITC FAQ, what does it change?

Every event or social game you have ever played in has likely used at least 1 FAQ. Games Workshop recently released the official versions of their latest FAQ documents, with wide spread rule changes (erratas) and answers to "common" questions. The ITC FAQ is really not all that different, or is it.

Well the ITC FAQ is one designed by the team over at Frontline Gaming, however for the big ticket items they poll the gaming community. So instead of making a ruling on what they think the rule is saying, or making a ruling based on what they think is or isn't fair, they leave it up to the community. Now in Australia that hasn't been all that successful in the past, our votes have been lucky to crack 100 players.

So whats in it? Well the document is 24 pages long, which is actually pretty short for a comprehensive FAQ. I won't go through all of it here, as you can have a good read over it here, I will instead just go over some of the more big ticket items.

• Changes to Invisibility: Invisibility is one of the most busted psychic powers in the game. ITC have changed it so instead of making snap shots against the unit as the psychic power reads, instead you are treated as ballistic skill 1 and you hit on 5's in Melee. This means you can fire blasts and flamer templates against them, and you increase the potential for damaging them in combat.
• You can Look Out Sir Stomps of a 6: Games Workshop recently came out with an FAQ stating that you can look out sir the 2-5 result of a Stomp attack, however the result of a 6 you cannot. The ITC polled the community, and the majority decided that it was too powerful and that you would be allowed to Look Out Sir the 6 result as well.
• Changes to 2+ Rerollable Saves: Any saving throw of a 2+ that can be rerolled, if the first roll is failed, the reroll is only successful on a 4+ instead. So that turns a 1 in 36 chance into a 1 in 12 chance, which is quite obviously significantly less powerful.
• Changes to ranged Destroyer Weapons (combat ones remain the same): They simply changed the 6 roll on the Destroyer Weapon table, making it 3 Wounds/Hull Points instead of D6+6. Quite obviously reducing the effects of rolling a couple of 6's.

So instead of restricting the units you can take in an ITC format event (with the exception of a couple of IA units) they restrict the power of the game by changing rules.

ITC as a Ranking System is nothing to be scared of

The ITC Ranking System allows for players to have their event results accumulated and then ranked against all the other players around the world, which offers a number of really great benefits to both tournament players and tournament organisers alike. An event does not need to use the ITC format/rules set to qualify for the ITC Rankings. You can simply take your existing event, make absolutely no changes to it, and it can qualify for Rankings.

How does it help ALL tournament players and tournament organisers?

Well there are some people that just don't care about rankings, especially world wide rankings, and you know what, that is perfectly fine. But what ITC rankings bring to the table is extra players.

There are other players out there that do care where they sit in the rankings. Some just want to be the best in their club, others may be more interested in having the best results for a given faction, or maybe some have aspirations to be "the best in the world", and you know what this is also perfectly fine.

So how does ITC rankings help out players who don't care about rankings? Well it is actually fairly simple. If a player wants to do well at the rankings, they have to attend quite a few events. So to get those sweet sweet ITC points they may need to travel to events like Cancon (ACT) or Terracon (SA) or vice versa some of the non Victorian lads and ladettes would need to make the trip over to events like Eastcon or the Assault (previously known as the Hunt). So with players who may not have previously made the trip to an event interstate now having extra incentive to get on a plane, train or just in the car and cross the border, the tournament attendance increases.

So while the bigger the event gets doesn't necessarily mean a greater player experience, there is definitely a correlation. With more players means more entry fees, and with more entry fees means the TO's can do bigger and better things. The more entry fees there are the more "left field" prizes/acknowledgements there are. You just need to take a look at the biggest event in Australia, Arc40k. It has 130-150 players, which is massive fore Australian events. It has the budget to be able to provide a plethora of prizes and acknowledge the people at the event that have gone the extra mile, you couldn't do this as easily without the larger attendance.

Rankings isn't something new though...

Australia has had a number of ranking systems over the years. I know when I first started playing competitively there was a website called RankingsHQ. Now almost all the events in Australia were in there, and it too allowed you to see how you were matched up against other players in the world and within Australia. RankingsHQ was used for masters event invites, picking teams for events like the Australasian Team Challenge and the European Team Championships, as well as just regular bragging rights.

So if this is nothing new, will ITC rankings really increase tournament numbers? I can confidently say, from experience in this area, Yes! Rankings may not be something new, however it has been missing for a number of years now. There are players out there that will actively travel to other states to pick up their rankings points.

So wrap this up for us Difsta

What does an ITC Ranked event mean for me as a player who doesn't care about rankings? Absolutely nothing.

Does an event using the ITC Tournament Format mean more powerful armies compared to what the VMG'ers are used to? Yes, definitely. Victoria traditionally plays tournaments with a composition score, and as such the strength of the armies are reduced. However the lists wont be as strong as pure "no comp" due to the army building restrictions and FAQ.

Which format do I prefer, ITC or Comp (whether that be panel or community comp)? There is enough room for both, we don't need to say one or the other. Variety is the best thing for a tournament scene in my opinion, and ITC is just another option available to Tournament Organisers.

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Interviews: Jarrod Brehaut and The Assault on the Black Library

Today we take a look at one of the unsung heroes of the Victorian Miniature Gaming community, a Tournament Organiser (TO). They put in long hours to put together events for you and usually without enough thanx for their work. Jarrod Brehaut is fairly new to the TO game, making his debut in 2016 Co-TO'ing the Hunt, a narrative event at the House of War in Ringwood. Jarrod has stepped up as lead TO for 2017's iteration of the narrative event, rebranded it into a series labelled the Black Crusade - A Narrative Tournament Series, with the Assault on the Black Library the next in the series.

So Jarrod, tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been in the hobby?

It would have been 2001. I was at Chadstone Shopping Centre with some mates on school holidays, and we wandered into the Games Workshop store. The red shirt, as they were known at the time, grabbed us, put some dice in our hands, and walked us through a demo Warhammer 40,000 game. Orks vs Crimson Fists, from memory. I thought the little miniatures were so cool.

I had a bunch of birthday/Christmas money I’d received as gifts, and walked out of the store that day with some Plague Marines and a Chaos Space Marine codex.

At that point I was mostly interested in the painting and modelling aspect, more so than playing. I really enjoyed building and painting models.

As most people do, at some point I took a pretty lengthy hiatus from everything Games Workshop related, until about 2011, when suddenly I felt a panging to sit down and paint some models. I only ever intended to come back as an artistic hobby, and paint models that interested me. I never intended to collect an army. A mate of mine was hugely into the hobby however he had no regular opponents, so he had huge armies sitting on a shelf collecting dust. I originally started playing a few games using his armies, and while reading The First Heretic, suddenly decided I wanted to collect a Word Bearers army. From that point on, I’ve been pretty avid about all aspects, gaming as well as hobbying.

These days I do a lot of work with Menza Gaming in terms of helping to produce content to delivery to a wider audience, from volunteering to demo games at PAX, running the Menza Facebook page, and soon will be getting my hands dirty in producing some battle reports and hopefully painting tutorials.

What do you enjoy about going to events?

Initially it was a way to play against new people, but also a great way to see people’s awesomely painted and converted armies. Voting for Player’s Choice was my favourite part. I still love seeing great armies, and seeing other players ideas come to life, but I’m a lot more rounded as a Warhammer 40k player nowdays. I’m still pretty rubbish about the game, but I’m beginning to switch to a more competitive mindset.

And of course, sinking some beers and having a laugh. I’m a big fan of ‘beerhammer’.

What do you enjoy about running events?

I’m still quite new to being a TO, however for me I think the great thing is being able to run the kind of event you’d love to attend. If you can do that, and people enjoy what you do, it means other events may start to emerge that I can then attend.

Attending events, you see lots of guys putting in a lot of time and hard work in running their own events, so I also dig the idea of taking the reins so they can get back to the tables themselves.

What is your event about, and how is it different from others?

The Assault is all about being a narrative-style event. At the moment we have events that are really competitive, with big battle scores, and potentially no-comp. We have big hobby events that reward painting and modelling, and reward taking softer lists. But the one slice of the hobby pie we don’t have any events centred around, is the narrative and background.

It’s a huge part of the hobby, we play this game that has a rich immersive plot around it, and people really enjoy it. The popularity of the Horus Heresy novels is a testament to that. Yet we rarely, if ever, see this element creep into our tournament scene.

The concept for a narrative-style actually came about primarily for this year’s event The Hunt.

I’ve always loved Cypher. His little snippets of background in White Dwarf, and throughout various Chaos codexes (codices?) I’ve always found to be completely badass. He is an enigma, and I love all the theories surrounding his motives.

At some point, Matt Antonello put up a post on Facebook asking for people on information about Cypher. I PM’ed him to start unloading all the stuff I thought was awesome. He told me he was considering running an event with a ‘Cypher theme’. I at the time had been considering attempting to run an event of my own, so it seemed to be fate. We decided we could co-TO the event.

The feedback I got from that event was astounding, people really loved the opportunity to get stuck into an event with themed missions, structured around an evolving narrative. Matt Antonello has stepped down from being a TO, so I decided to step up and tackle it myself.

And here we are.

This year’s event is centred around the story-line of Ahriman attempting to bust into the Black Library, and the Eldar’s attempts to stop him, but it’s open to anybody playing any army, and even bonus points given for writing a ‘fluff piece’ as to why their army is fighting in this campaign.

Where can we find out more information about the Assault?

If you’re interested, please like the Facebook Page “Black Crusade - A Narrative Tournament Series” I plan on making this an annual event, so if you’re keen this year, or just to follow along, give it a like. The dates for “The Assault” are  20-21 May 2017 and it is being held at the House of War in Ringwood

Also make sure to check out the Menza Gaming facebook page, and check us out at menzagaming.net

We are committed to bringing loads and loads of content in the new year, and I’m personally really excited about a lot of the stuff we have coming.

So there you have it fellow Victorian Miniature Gamers, a bit of an insight into one of the people that help bring you events, in a hobby that you love to play.

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Hobby - Road to Arc40k - Word Bearers

I can't do it. I can't let Difsta have all the fun. It's time to have a chat about a project I've been working on, with an eye towards Arc40k 2017: The Word Bearers

Hi there, do you have some time to talk about the Dark Gods?

For those who aren't aware, the Word Bearers are a Chaos Legion, and were the first of the original Legiones Astartes to turn to the Gods of Chaos. Their Primarch Lorgar was a devout and pious son of the Emperor, but religion didn't wall into the Emperor's vision for the galaxy. He scolded Lorgar and his Legion and tore down their temples and idols.

Lorgar was seduced by his advisers Kor Phaeron and Erebus into putting his faith in beings that would welcome his worship: the Chaos Gods. It was the Word Bearers who would play a large role in corrupting Horus, Angron and many others in the Traitor Legions to the Primordial Truth as they called it.

Since the Heresy, the Word Bearers are the Chaos Legion that have embraced Chaos to the greatest degree. Where some Legions like the Night Lords spurn the gifts of the Gods, and others like the World Eaters, focus their attention on one of the Gods, the Word Bearers fervently worship all the Gods as a great pantheon. Each are given their dues, and the Sons of Lorgar can draw upon all of their power.

They are commonly led by Dark Apostles who inspire their followers with fiery rhetoric.

Rules

The Word Bearers, like the rest of the traitor Legions, have received some unique rules in the recent supplement, These are as follows:

Requirements:

• No unique characters
• No cult units (such as Noise Marines or Berzerkers).
• Units that can purchase marks can still take them, as long as that base unit doesn't have a specific mark by default.
• Marked Psykers and DPs can choose to generate all their powers from their gods' discipline. 
• You must take VotLW, which is free

Benefits:

• Unholy Pact: Word Bearers Psykers harness Warp Charges on 3+ when rolling Malefic Conjuration powers, and Possessed are Troops.
• Blood Feud: Models with VotLW re-roll to hit against Ultramarines, but Ultramarines gain Hatred (Word Bearers).
• Profane Zeal: Word Bearers units within 6" of Word Bearers Dark Apostles gain Zealot.

These rules suit the Legion pretty darn well. Their religious leaders are head-and-shoulders above their counterparts in the other Legions, and their dogmatic knowledge of the fell rituals of the Chaos Gods lends them a bonus to summoning daemonic allies. Finally, as the first to allow daemons to inhabit the bodies of their soldiers, the Possessed form a staple of a Word Bearers force.

So how am I using the lore for this army, and the rules, to construct my army?

The key thing that separates the Word Bearers from their traitor brothers is their total and utter religiosity. It's what makes a Word Bearers army unique, and so that's the feature I most wanted to accentuate in my models. Every battle a Word Bearer's army fights is part of a holy war, driven not by hatred or desire to conquer, but instead because it's what their Gods demand.

When building my models, I was struck by the thought that a Word Bearer might well utter the phrase "My body is a temple." Where we use this idiom to mean that we should take care of ourselves and so forth, a Word Bearer means it entirely literally. His every word is a prayer or a hymn, his every movement a ritual, and his body should be adorned with holy iconography and scripture.

The first model I'd like to show here is the leader of my force. Whether or not he ends up using the relevant rules, in terms of my army's background he is a Dark Apostle. His helmet is a leering skull, in twisted parody of Space Marine Chaplains. He still bears the Crozius Arcanum he did during the Heresy, and his backpack incorporates a censer, presumably buring some kind of profane incense. His armour bears the mark of one who tracks with the Dark Powers, mutated and distorted by the touch of the Warp. His armour is covered in script, literally bearing the Word of Chaos, and on his back he carries the Book of Lorgar, and the word 'Verum', Imperial High Gothic for "The Truth." 

Next up are my Chaos Space Marines. The core of any Chaos warband, I've made sure my marines are just covered in Chaos iconography, either in the form of adornments to their armour, trophy racks or 'impurity seals' and parchment inscribed with script and runes. The unit contains an Icon of Vengeance proclaiming their faith, and the Aspiring Champion shows signs of mutation, as well as being armed with a small athane in his left hand. This ritual dagger makes many appearances in the fluff of the Word Bearers, and is used for spilling the entrails of human sacrifices and enemies alike.

Their transport is likewise covered in marks of devotion, like spikes carrying devotional offerings as well as a plethora of candles, further accentuating the religious overtones. The top hatch uses a piece from a third-party manufacturer, and demonstrates that even the vehicles of the Word Bearers haven't escaped the foul touch of their patrons.

Next up are my Possessed, These are actually the least converted models in my army, mostly because the Possessed kit already looks plenty gribbly enough. The main effort I put into these guys was in trying to blend the colour of their armour with their flesh tones. This is meant to give the impression that their mutations have essentially melded their armour and bodes, and it's now impossible to say for sure where power armour ends and wicked talons or gaping maws begin.

I really wanted to run a Maulerfiend in this army, both because I really like the way they play in game, and also because I feel like daemon engines would form a natural part of the Word Bearer armoury, With that in mind, I wanted to further differentiate my model from a Maulerfiend of the Iron Warriors or Black Legion. I decided the best way to do this was to play to what was already strong in my army, and make the model more-Daemon and less-engine. I've replaced many of the metal parts of this model, like claws and feet, with fleshy counterparts from Age of Sigmar monster kits. The most striking detail is the head, which has been entirely replaced with a seething mass of tentacles. Not only does this represent Lasher Tendrils really well, but having no discernible face makes the model a bunch more otherworldly and creepy.

Finally, we have my Land Raider. This model serves as a transport for the holiest of my warriors, the Possessed. As such, it provided me with a really good opportunity to make a striking centerpiece model worthy of these blessed Secondborn. Using pieces from the Chaos Warshrine kit, Dark Apostle kit and Corpse Cart kit, I've made my very own rolling altar to the Dark Gods. The Apostle on top preaches to his flock, all the while making sacrifices to the Powers of Chaos, Since this photo was taken, I've applied a liberal amount of Blood for the Blood God technical paint to the roof of this tank, making the sacrifices look fresher and more gruesome. A few finishing touches and this Holy Temple will be ready to despoil the battlefields of the Imperium.

Between now and Arc40k, I'm hoping to add a large unit of Cultists to the army (because any good Word Bearers priesthood is followed around by a gaggle of the lesser faithful), some Havocs (to provide some much-needed firepower), some Chaos Spawn (because is not the servant who has been utterly subsumed by the desires of his Dark Masters not the most blessed of all?) and a Helbrute (because the Forgeworld Mhara Gal model is friggin' 

Theme in your modelling

Hopefully my thoughts above have given you a better idea of how the story and fluff of an army can manifest itself on the tabletop a little more than "They're Ultramarines, so they're, like, blue." By sticking to a couple of strong visual motifs, like Daemonic Possession, mutation, and religious ceremony, you can bring a real sense of identity to the models in your collection.

Until next time, all glory to the Primordial Annihilator!

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40k Legends: Lord Commander Eidolon of the Emperor's Children

The Risen; A Tale of Eidolon

Eidolon, born of Terra, elevated to the rank of Lord Commander of the Emperor's Children was, hailed as the exemplar of all that the Emperor's Children aspired to, or at least that's how it was 10,000 years ago.

During the Great Crusade, after the Cleansing of Laeran, Chief Apothecary Fabius was given free leave to do what was needed to enhance the gene-seed of the Astartes. Fabius set up a research facility aboard the Andronius, a Strike Cruiser under the authority of Lord Commander Eidolon. Eidolon had taken a personal interest in Fabius' work, and although disapproving of his methods, Eidolon informed Fabius that he would begin his experimentation on him. Through the Apthecary's genetic enhancements, the Lord Commander became faster, and more deadly than ever before. Fabius had implanted a modified tracheal implant that bonded with the Lord Commander's vocal chords, allowing him to produce a nerve paralysing shriek, similar to that employed by certain warrior breeds encountered on Laer. It was thanks to this newly acquired ability that Eidolon was able to destroy the Warsinger on Istvaan Extremis with a devastating sonic shriek, becoming the first of a new breed of warrior, the Noise Marines.

However Eidolon would owe Fabius for more than just his enhanced abilities, but for his life. Eidolon made the foul hardy mistake of questioning his Primarch's orders, which proved fatal, and quicker than the mind's eye could follow, the Primarch withdrew the deadly Kinebreach Anathame blade from its scabbard and beheaded his once-favoured son. In a moment of remorse, Fulgrim ordered the Apothecary to restore the slain Lord Commander back to life. Fortunately for Eidolon, Fulgrim's killing stroke was such a clean cut that Fabius was able to reconnect the nerve clusters at the base of the neck. Unfortunately, Eidolon would live the remainder of his days in pain like no other, but with thanks to his corruption of Slaanesh every instant of life given to him would be spent in a symphony of both pain and pleasure. Forever after, his fellow brothers would simply refer to him as "The Risen".

How to run him in a game of Horus Heresy

Well Eidolon is a character available from the Horus Heresy - Book Two, so there is not a lot you need to do to make this guy work, simply take him as a HQ choice for an Emperor's Children army representing the Traitors. But I have given you a look at his rules as this will come into how we design his character in the later days of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

How do I run him in Warhammer 40k

Well this one is a little bit trickier, because Chaos Space Marines (CSM) do not have him as an available character, the only 2 original Emperor's Children models available for us in the CSM Codex is Lucius the Eternal and Fabius Bile, neither of which would be even remotely workable (even as a "Counts As").

So lets see what we have to work with, some items will come across easier than others:

• Chaos Lord: This is fairly obvious, it is the only unit entry that would even come close to a good option for a Lord Commander. A Chaos Lord is pretty close to the same stat line as Eidolon's 30k stat line, with just 1 less attack and a 3+ save instead of a 2+ save.
• Mark of Slaanesh and VotLW: Well these should also be fairly obvious, he has been around since before the Heresy and has dedicated himself to the Chaos God Slaanesh.
• Jump Pack: You can take it or leave it with the Jump Pack, as Eidolon can rock it if he wants to or not if he wants to chill in a rhino with his home boys.
• Sigil of Corruption: This is the closest CSM have to an Iron Halo, and would grant our 40k version a 4++ Invulnerable Save.
• Power Maul, the Black Mace or Power Fist: So Eidolon runs around with an ornate Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer, an upgrade not available to CSM for some reason. So you can either run it as:
• A Power Maul which is the closest weapon available aesthetically to the Thunder Hammer, although it obviously packs no where near as much of a punch.
• The Black Mace which also shares a similar look to the Power Maul isn't that far from a Thunder Hammer also, and packs a bigger punch than that of the Power Maul, but still a much higher AP than the Thunder Hammer.
• As a Chaos Artefact this means that I will not be able to take another rumoured artefact that you will see below...
• A Power Fist which is the closest weapon available rules wise to the Thunder Hammer with the X2 Strength and AP2, however looks nothing like a Thunder Hammer.
• Shriekwave: Now this is a new rumoured artefact from the Traitor's Legion Codex Supplement due out on the 10th of December. This is as close as I think we are going to get to Eidolon's modified tracheal implant, or rules wise Eidolon's 30k special rule Death Scream. It is a Chaos Artefact, so would rule out the Black Mace if you take this one, which is a closer fit to Eidolon anyways. It is a Ranged Weapon with the following profile:
• Range 12", S8, AP2, Assault D6
• Mental Trauma: Before attacking, the target must take a leadership test, if they fail you re-roll to wound.

So all up you are looking at somewhere around 140 points without a Jump Pack and assuming he is taken in an EC Detachment (ie. Free VotLW). Sure you can take him a little cheaper without some of the bells and whistles, and it would still work, but the above I think best captures what Eidolon is in the 41st Millenium

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Review: 4 New Formations for Warhammer 40k

December is a massive month for releases for GW and Warhammer 40k. We have seen Wrath of Magnus (well technically November) as well as Traitor Legions (due out tomorrow) and we also have 4 new Warhammer 40k Battleforces

Space Wolves: Ironclaw Strike Force

This formation is pretty useless. The special rule is basically pointless and the formation has so many units that I don't think you will ever see this formation used.

• 1 Iron Priest
• 1 Stormwolf
• 1 unit of Wolf Guard Terminators
• 1 unit of Blood Claws
• 1 Venerable Dreadnought
• 1 unit of Fenrisian Wolves

Tau Empire: Targeted Reconnaissance Cadre

This formation is a bit better than the Space Wolf one, however with a couple of the entries being a single model rather than a unit means that you have a single broadside and a single ghostkeel. The special rule for this formation is pretty solid, granting free movement.

• 1 Commander
• 1 XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit (not a unit, so no additional suits)
• 1 unit of XV25 Stealth Suits, with 1 Drone
• 1 Pathfinder Team
• 1 TY7 Devilfish
• 1 XV88 Broadside Battlesuit (not a unit, so no additional suits)

Adeptus Mechanicus: Eradication Cohort

Now we are talking about some good buffs (not that Ad Mech overly need it). Basically shoot with your "weakest" unit that you know will at least cause an unsaved wound or glancing/penetrating hit, then all the rest get Preferred Enemy against the enemy unit. Now this is great when shooting against a big target like a Super Heavy or a Death Star, but against MSU the buff is lost pretty much entirely, but lucky for the Ad Mech player Death Stars are king in the meta.

• 1 Sydonian Dragoon
• 1 Kastelan Robot Maniple
• 1 unit of Kataphron Destroyers
• 1 unit of Fulgurite Electro-Priests
• 1 unit of Sicarian Infiltrators

Deathwatch: Watchblade Taskforce

Free hit and run, auto pass, thank you very much! This is the best of the lot in my opinion. This is an army right here. Nuf said!

• 1 Deathwatch Watch Master
• 3 units of Deathwatch Veterans
• 1 unit of Deathwatch Terminators
• 1 unit of Deathwatch Bikers
• 1 Deathwatch Razorback

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Reviews: Traitor Legions - The Death Guard

Last on the list for Traitor Legion review is the Death Guard

Content sourced via the Combat Phase podcast and SpikeyBits

The Death Guard

The Death Guard are one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines. They worship and devote themselves exclusively to the Chaos God Nurgle and as a result of his mutational "gifts" they have become Plague Marines; Astartes who are eternally rotting away within their Power Armour and infected with every known form of disease and decay but who are immune to all pain or minor injury. When the XIVth Legion was first raised on Terra by the Emperor, its Astartes were known as the Dusk Raiders. After the XIVth Legion was reunited with its Primarch Mortarion on the world of Barbarus, he renamed the Legion the Death Guard.

What makes a Death Guard Detachment?

To be a Death Guard detachment, much like what we saw in the Wrath of Magnus there are a number of restrictions:

• The army can have none of the Chaos Space Marine unique characters with the exception of Typhus.
• All models who can purchase a Mark of Nurgle or Daemon of Nurgle must do so.
• No model can come with or purchase a Mark of Chaos a Mark of Chaos or Daemon of Chaos other than Nurgle.
• All models that can purchase Veterans of the Long war (VotLW) must do so, but for free.

So what do I get for being a Death Duard Detachment?

If your detachment is a Death Guard detachment then you get the following special rules:

• Gift of Nurgle: Units with VotLW gain Fearless and Feel No Pain, but have a -1 to Initiative (this does not affet Typhus of Plague Marines).
• Inexorable Advance: Models with VotLW gain Relentless
• Lords of Plague Host: Plague Marines gain the Troops battle role

Death Guard Warlord Traits

1. Warlord gains Feel No Pain
2. Warlord gains It Will Not Die
3. Warlord gains +1 W
4. Warlord gains Eternal warrior
5. Warlord has their Poison weapons improved by 1
6. Units within 7" gain Contagion

Death Guard Relics

• Puscleaver (10 Points): Poison 2+ Melee Weapon
• Plague Skill Glothia (15 Points): Once per game, Range 8", S1, AP–, Assault 1, Poison 2+ , Large Blast
• Pandemic Staff (30 Points): Poison 2+ Staff with dual profiles:
• Ranged: Template, S1, Ap5, assault 1, Poison 2+
• Melee: S+2, AP4, Melee, Concussive, Poison 2+
• Dolorus Knell (25 Points): Start of any friendly fight sub phase give units fear or give a model fear.
• This sounds a little off, for 25 points I would expect more from this. Giving a single unit Fear is not worth 25 points, not by a long shot.
• Poxwalker Hive (20 Points): at the start of each turn, pick a friendly Cultist unit within 7". They can't run or shoot for the remainder of the game but have Fell No Pain and Fearless, in addition they immediately recover D3 Cultists from earlier in the game.
• Kind of a mini Typhus ability, turning Cultists into zombies.
• Plaguebringer (35 Points): AP3, Poison 4+, Deamon Weapon
• I am a fan of Daemon Weapons on the most part, and being not only Poison 4+ but AP3 at Initiative, this is a reletavily solid relic.

Death Guard Formation Based Detachment (FBD)

• Disgustingly Resilient: re-roll Fell No Pain rolls of a 1
• Cloud of Flies: Ranged hits from more than 18" away grant you the Stealth rule for resolving the attack.

Core Choices:

• Chaos Warband: As per Traitor's Hate
• Plague Colony: 
• Typhus
• 3-7 plague marines
• Units gain Fear and enemy units within 7" reduce their Initaitve and Weapon Skill by 1 during the fight phase. If there are 7 plague marines in the unit, then also -1 from the enemy's Toughness

Command Choices:

• Lord of Legion: 1 of the following; Chaos Lord, Sorcerer, Dark Apostle or Daemon Prince

Auxiliary Choices: 

• Lost and Damned: As per Traitor's Hate
• Helforged Wrack: As per Traitor's Hate
• Daemon Engine: As per Traitor's Hate
• Heldrake Terror: As per Traitor's Hate
• Cult of Destruction: As per Traitor's Hate
• Fist of the Gods: As per Traitor's Hate
• Raptor Talon: As per Traitor's Hate
• Terminator Annihilation Force: As per Traitor's Hate
• Spawn: As per Traitor's Hate

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40k Editorial: The Tragedy of the Traitors - Part 1

The Tragedy of the Traitors

Part 1

Dear reader, it’s my unfortunate duty to inform you that you’ve been deceived. The servants of the Imperium would like you to live in a world in which the Traitor Primarchs and their Legions are a gang of moustache-twirling evil doers, who dove headlong into their heresy with reckless abandon and villainous glee.

This is a lie. This is the first of a series of three articles where I’m going to attempt to convince you that the nine Legions now declared Excommunicatus Traitorus are in fact the tragic victims of the Horus Heresy: some of circumstance, others of their Father’s mistakes, but certainly victims all.

Foreword

Before I begin with the first three Legions, I’d like to offer a brief comment on the contrast the Loyalists provide here. Of the nine Primarchs who would stay loyal to the Emperor, eight were adopted into lives of camaraderie, love or power. Whilst none of their lives was without warfare or difficulty, they were surrounded by those who cared for them. Only Ferrus Manus spent his formative years alone. Is it any wonder he was so ill-adjusted that he would charge headlong into the Traitors at the Dropsite Massacre out of blind fury? This is my first point: the upbringings of the loyalist Primarchs were by and large experiences that shaped their psyches in constructive ways, teaching empathy and honour.

Not so for those Primarchs I’ll be examining today:

Konrad Curze - The Night Haunter

Konrad didn’t fall on an idyllic world like Macragge, nor was he shown the love of a family like Vulkan had received. Quite the opposite, he found himself on Nostramo, a world pitched in eternal darkness, and quite alone. Where other Primarchs grew up learning that when humanity stood together, it could accomplish great things, Konrad looked upon the people of his world, and saw instead a society that had brought out the very worst in human nature. The strong survived, and the populace lived in fear. Not fear of rampaging xenos or mutants, but simply fear of each other. On a world like this, can we really blame Curze for the sort of man he would become? He never had a role model like the Khan’s father or the Order on Caliban. Indeed, he essentially had no relationships with anyone until the Emperor arrived to welcome him into the Imperium.

I suggest that Konrad is simply a product of the circumstances he found himself in, and became the Night Haunter not because of some character flaw, but because it was inevitable that such a depraved world would produce a depraved Primarch. Coupled with the harrowing visions of his psychic “gift” these experiences moulded Konrad into a paranoid killer, and in the end it is these experiences that make Konrad the unfortunate victim of Nostramo and its inhabitants. Indeed, Nostramo was the also the prime source of intake for the Night Lords legion, and as such only provided the same dilemma that Konrad faced in his youth: in an environment where people only responded to fear, how else was he to lead? His sense of clothing, both for himself and the Astartes under his command, for what they had to become to eke out an existence on Nostramo, serves only to reinforce the tragedy of Curze's life.

Mortarion - The Death Lord

Mortarion’s childhood wasn’t the lonely affair of Curze, but would nonetheless scar him. He landed on Barbarus where he was adopted by one of the powerful necromantic warlords of that world. However his ‘father’ was not a statesman or honourable warrior. He was a despot who harvested the peasants of the lower valleys, reanimated them and forged their flesh into freakish abominations for his own internecine wars between the other lords of Barbarus. Whilst Mortarion was offered education and relative comfort, what sort of teaching would we expect this child to receive? His adoptive father’s actions show us exactly what value he places on others: they are tools, mere raw ingredients to further his own aims.

What reason do we have to think Mortarion wouldn’t be reshaped, at least psychologically, into a tool for these conflicts? Does a tool need empathy? What about honour? It stands to reason that Mortarion’s later callous disregard for mortal humans at his command, as well as those Terran-born Death Guard legionaries who cared for them, was bred not in the days leading up to the Heresy, but in his adolescence.

Unlike Konrad, Mortarion may have had the chance to excise this old self from his life. In his final days on Barbarus, Mortarion was leading the strongest of the peasants in a revolution against these warlords, and stood against his adoptive father, beginning to lose consciousness from the noxious fumes that surrounded him. Whether Mortarion could have slain him and exorcised this part of his life, we’ll never know, because the Emperor intervened and killed him. It is in this way that the dark side of the Death Lord would never truly die, and would fuel his betrayal of the Emperor and his Crusade. Like Konrad, I suggest it’s hardly Mortarion’s fault that he grew up on such a hellish world, and was educated and moulded by a moral monster. I mourn for the man Mortarion could have been if he was born with Macragge’s silver spoon in his mouth.

Alpharius Omegon - The Hydra

Very little is known of Alpharius’ early years. Like everything else concerning him and his legion, it’s likely this ambiguity and confusion has been engineered deliberately to make fighting them even harder. That said, I feel like “Nobody knows…” would be a cop-out for an article like this, so we’re going to have to settle for the apocryphal tales and rumours that surround these times. One such story insists that Alpharius never actually left Terra when the Primarchs were scattered, and spent his youth in the tutelage of the Emperor himself in secret. I’m prepared to discount this story, essentially because it doesn’t stand to reason that the Big E would keep a Primarch under wraps. In a climate where the Great Crusade was just beginning, and 19 Primarchs had been lost, potentially forever, Alpharius would have been a shining light to lead the Crusade. No, I think the more likely tale is the version of events where as a youth he was abducted by the hideous xenos race of the Slaugh. They kept him as a kind of pet, torturing him and twisting his mind with acts of cruelty. 

Like his brothers discussed here, it’s impossible that this sort of experience would leave a man, even transhuman one, completely unscarred. His sense of honour, or connection with other people, may well have been compromised to such an extent that the choice to engage in the Heresy in the way he did, was inevitable. Theirs is also a palpable sense that his decision to cavort with the shadowy xenos Cabal may be a strange version of Stockholm syndrome; is it any wonder he found it so easy to betray his own kind, when he spent so long as one of the others?

Next time, I’d like to explore the three Primarchs who are best described as the sad victims of the Emperor’s utter inhumanity…

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Reviews: Traitor Legions - The Night Lords

Next on the list for Traitor Legion reviews is the Night Lords.

Content sourced via the Combat Phase podcast and SpikeyBits

The Night Lords

The Night Lords were originally the VIIIth Legion of Space Marines created during the First Founding and became one of the 9 Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines that betrayed the Emperor of Mankind during the Horus Heresy of the 31st Millennium. They do not worship any of the four Chaos Gods individually, but acknowledge them equally in the form of Chaos Undivided as they ruthlessly spread terror and fear amongst the galaxy's inhabitants. The Night Lords are experts in the use of terror tactics to win battles and demoralise their foes before the main combat even begins.

What makes a Night Lords Detachment?

To be a Night Lords detachment, much like what we saw in the Wrath of Magnus there are a number of restrictions:

• The army can have none of the Chaos Space Marine unique characters.
• Any existing unit with a Mark of Chaos (eg. Khorne Berzerkers) cannot be taken.
• No model can purchase a Mark of Chaos.
• All models that can purchase Veterans of the Long war (VotLW) must do so, but for free.

So what do I get for being a Night Lords Detachment?

If your detachment is a Night Lords detachment then you get the following special rules:

• In Midnight Clad: VotLW gain Fear, Night Vision and Stealth
• Skyborne Horror: Raptors have the Troops battle role
• Terror actics: Enemies locked in combat count as -2 leadership for Fear

Night Lords Warlord Traits

1. Warlord gains Hit and Run
2. Re-roll failed to wound rolls of a 1 in Assault
3. Warlord gains Hatred
4. Warlord re-rolls cover saves
5. Warlord and his unit get Hammer of Wrath
6. Warlord gains Rampage

Night Lords Relics

• Scourging Chain (10 Points): Melee weapons gain Shred
• Talons of Night Terror (20 Points): During the fight sub phase make D3 additional
•  attacks (or D6 in a turn you charged) at S user AP5, Melee, Shred
• Viox Daemonicus (30 Points): Enemies within 6" suffer -1 Leadership and Enemy units suffer -1 from reserve rolls.
• Stormbolt Plate (20 Points): 2+ armor, and cover saves improves by 1.
• You all should know how much I love 2+ armour on mobile characters, and this one improving cover saves gives bike characters a 3+ cover save.
• Curzes Orb (20 Points): re-roll 1's on run moves, to hit and to wound
• Claws of Black Hunt (40 Points): AP3, Master Crafted, Lightning Claws with Rending and Shred.

Night Lords Formation Based Detachment (FBD)

• Strike Hard and Fast: re-roll failed Charge distance
• Nocturnal Warfare: You can choose if it is Night Fight turn, during that turn all your non-vehicles cover is improved by 1.

Core Choices:

• Chaos Warband: As per Traitor's Hate
• Raptor Talon: As per Traitor's Hate
• These guys as a Core is awesome, and I think we are going to see these guys get a good solid run on the tables.

Command Choices:

• Lord of Legion: 1 of the following; Chaos Lord, Sorcerer, Dark Apostle or Daemon Prince

Auxiliary Choices: 

• Lost and Damned: As per Traitor's Hate
• Helforged Wrack: As per Traitor's Hate
• Daemon Engine: As per Traitor's Hate
• Heldrake Terror: As per Traitor's Hate
• Cult of Destruction: As per Traitor's Hate
• Fist of the Gods: As per Traitor's Hate
• Terminator Annihilation Force: As per Traitor's Hate
• Spawn: As per Traitor's Hate

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Reviews: Traitor Legions - The Iron Warriors

Next on the list for Traitor Legion reviews is the Iron Warriors

Content sourced via the Combat Phase podcast and SpikeyBits

The Iron Warriors

The Iron Warriors are one of the nine Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines that turned to the service of Chaos during the Horus Heresy and now fight to overthrow the Imperium of Man. The Iron Warriors, who were originally the IVth Space Marine Legion, specialised in the breaking of sieges and assaults on static fortifications, which made them great rivals of the Imperial Fists Legion, which was said to construct the greatest static defences in the Imperium. It was this rivalry between the Legions, and between their Primarchs Perturabo and the Imperial Fists' Rogal Dorn, that helped turn the Iron Warriors to Chaos. Like the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Loyalist Iron Hands Chapter, the Iron Warriors have a strong predilection for replacing parts of their body with cybernetic enhancements. When struck with a mutational "gift" from the Ruinous Powers, most Iron Warriors simply cut off the mutated appendage, if possible, and replace it with a mechanical one.

What makes an Iron Warriors Detachment?

To be an Iron Warriors detachment, much like what we saw in the Wrath of Magnus there are a number of restrictions:

• The army can have none of the Chaos Space Marine unique characters.
• Any existing unit with a Mark of Chaos (eg. Khorne Berzerkers) cannot be taken.
• No model can purchase a Mark of Chaos.
• All models that can purchase Veterans of the Long war (VotLW) must do so, but for free.

So what do I get for being an Iron Warriors Detachment?

If your detachment is an Iron Warriors detachment then you get the following special rules:

• Blood Feud: Units with VotLW re-roll failed to hit in every round of combat vs Imperial Fists, and grant Hatred to Imperial Fists.
• Iron Within, Iron Without: Units with VotLW gain 6+ FnP
• Patrons of Technovirus: Obliterators and Mutilators have the Troops battle role.
• This is baller!
• Siege Masters: 
• Units re-roll Armour Penetration vs Buildings and get +1 to Building Damage results
• Havocs, Obliterators and Mutilators gain Tank Hunter

Iron Warriors Warlord Traits

1. Warlord has Feel No Pain 4+
2. Warlord has Fearless
3. Warlord can give your terrain piece +1 cover
4. Friendly Oblits w/in 12" of the Warlord can fire the same weapon twice in consecutive shooting phases
• This is pretty solid, as Oblits suffer pretty bad from not being able to fire the weapon they want in consecutive Shooting Phases
5. Warlord and his Unit have Split Fire and Counterattack while in cover
6. Friendly vehicles get It Will Not Die within 6" of the Warlord

Iron Warrior Relics

• Warpbreacher (25 Points): Warp Smith only. Can possess a vehicle each turn in the same manner as the daemonic possession vehicle equipment.
• Unsure of exactly what this is granting. Most likely it reduces the BS to a 3, but allows the Vehicle to ignore Crew Shaken and Crew Stunned results on a 2+
• Nest of Mechserpents (20 Points): Warp Smith only. In a challenge, resolve first 2 hits normally, if both hit then the remainder of attacks cause Instant Death;
• Axe of Forge Master (25 Points):  S+1, AP2, Melee, Armor Bane, Master Crafted, Unwieldy
• Fleshmetal Exoskeleton (30 Points): Armor 2+ and gains It Will Not Die
• As in my previous articles, I feel as though the 2+ Armour is fairly important on Characters and I think this will see a lot of use.
• Cranium Malevolous (30 Points): In the enemy's shooting phase; enemy vehicles within 2D6" of the bearer suffer automatic haywire hit, no cover saves allowed.
• Siege Breaker Mace (25 Points): S+2, AP4, Concussive, Master Crafted, Siege Breaker (Replace attacks with a single S10, AP1 attack).

Iron Warriors Formation Based Detachment (FBD)

• Master Annihilation: Barrage and Ordanace weapons can choose to re-roll the scatter die.
• Pretty useless due to the lack of Barrage and Ordanance weapons within the Chaos Space Marines book.
• Intractable Brotherhood: Al non-vehicles units are stubborn, and while in or on a forification they have Fearless instead.

Core Choices:

• Chaos Warband: As per Traitor's Hate

Command Choices:

• Lord of Legion: 1 of the following; Chaos Lord, Sorcerer, Dark Apostle or Daemon Prince

Auxiliary Choices: 

• Stronghold: 1-3 Fortifications
• Lost and Damned: As per Traitor's Hate
• Helforged Wrack: As per Traitor's Hate
• Daemon Engine: As per Traitor's Hate
• Heldrake Terror: As per Traitor's Hate
• Cult of Destruction: As per Traitor's Hate
• Fist of the Gods: As per Traitor's Hate
• Raptor Talon: As per Traitor's Hate
• Terminator Annihilation Force: As per Traitor's Hate
• Spawn: As per Traitor's Hate

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Rumours: Imperial Agents

So with all the Chaos love finally coming our way, lets take a look at the Imperial Agents that are coming to smack these heretics back to the Eye of Terror.

Here is what is in the new Codex: Imperial Agents:

• Inquisition
• Officio Assassinorum
• Deathwatch
• Grey Knights
• Adepta Sororitas
• Cult Mechanicus
• Adeptus Astra Telepathica
• Aeronautica Imperialis
• The Legion of the Damned

Sourced via Warhammer Community

With the arrival of Daemon Primarchs into the galaxy and traitors spilling from the Eye, the Imperium desperately needs to work together to ensure its continued survival.
Next week, they get much needed aid, in the form of Codex: Imperial Agents.

This is a book that compiles together loads of specialist forces that commonly operate alongside other armies within the Imperium – including agents from the Inquisition, Officio Assassinorum, Deathwatch, Grey Knights, Adepta Sororitas, Cult Mechanicus, Adeptus Astra Telepathica, Aeronautica Imperialis, and even the Legion of the Damned.

Much of this content is only available digitally at the moment, some of it is new, and much of it is updated.
It’s worth saying that this will not replace existing printed codexes for the Deathwatch or Grey Knights – this just means that, if you want to add a small strike force of Elite Space Marines to your Imperial army (perhaps requisitioned by an Inquisitor, or high ranking officer), this book makes it easy for you to do so.

Speaking of which, one of the coolest things in the codex is a change to the way that the Inquisitorial Henchman Warband works. To further represent the unique nature of the Ordos (and a lot of the fiction featuring these mysterious individuals) Inquisitors can now go to battle with a squad of elite power-armoured warriors appropriate to their specialisation: Grey Knights for the Ordo Malleus, Deathwatch for the Ordo Xenos or Battle Sisters for the Ordo Hereticus, they still keep their acolytes, general hangers-on and space-oranguatan-mechanics.

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Reviews: Traitor Legions - The Black Legion

Next on the list for Traitor Legion reviews is the Black Legion

Content sourced via the Combat Phase podcast and SpikeyBits

Black Legion

The Black Legion is a Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines that is the first in infamy, if not in treachery, whose name resounds as a curse throughout the scattered and war-torn realms of humanity. The Black Legion was once one of the 9 First Founding Legions of Space Marines who turned Traitor to the Imperium during the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium. The Black Legion, at that time still known as the Sons of Horus, became the primary instrument of its Primarch, the Warmaster Horus, to overthrow the Emperor of Mankind and seize control of the Imperium in the name of Chaos.

What makes a Black Legion Detachment?

To be a Black Legion detachment, much like what we saw in the Wrath of Magnus there are a number of restrictions:

• The army can have none of the Chaos Space Marine unique characters, with the exception of Abaddon.
• All models that can purchase Veterans of the Long war (VotLW) must do so, but for free.

So what do I get for being a Black Legion Detachment?

If your detachment is a Black Legion detachment then you get the following special rules:

• Endless Hatred: Units with VotLW gain Hatred, however against Armies of the Imperium they can re-roll to hit in every round of combat.
• First Among Traitors: Chaos Terminators and Chosen are troops
• This is awesome. While Chaos Terminators aren't game breakingly good, being able to take them as troops is a good start.

Black Legion Warlord Traits

These are effectively just a copy paste from the Black Legion Codex Supplement.

1. Black Crusader: Warlord and Friendly units within 12" have Prefered Enemy Space Marines
2. Eye of the Gods: Warlord can reroll Chaos Boon / Gift of Mutation rolls, but must accept the 2nd result.
3. Gift of Balefire: Warlord may make a shooting attack using the following profile: Template, S4, AP5, Assault 1, Soul Blade, One Use Only
4. Unholy Fortitude: The Warlord has the It Will Not Die special rule
5. Soul Eater: Melee weapons To Wound rolls of a 6 have the Instant Death special rule
6. Chosen of Abaddon: The warlord and friendly units within 12" of the Warlord have the Stubborn special rule

Black Legion Relics

These are just a copy paste from the Black Legion Codex Supplement

• Crucible of Lies (25 Points): -1T but re-roll invulnerable saves of 1
• Eye of the Night (75 Points): Once per game, in place of shooting you can make a shooting attack with range infinite, S5, AP4, Heavy 1, Large blast, haywire, maelstrom, ignores cover.
• The Hands of Darkness (50 Points): Instead of regular close combat attacks you may make a single SX2, AP1, melee, armorbane, flesh bane, instant death
• Last Memory of Yuranthos (30 Points): Psyker only, gain 1 mastery level, gain the spell Sunburst from the Pyromancy Discipline, declare range, 12" Range and Warp Charge 2, 18" Range and Warp Charge 3 if perils using boosting the range, do not roll on the Perils of the Warp table, simply remove from play as a casualty.
• The Skull of Ker’ngar (40 Points): Eternal Warrior and Adamantium Will
• The Spineshard Blade (30 Points): S user, AP3,  melee, demon weapon, Quicksilver (+1 Initiative)

Black Legion Formation Based Detachment (FBD)

• Heralds of the Black Crusade: All non-vehicle units cause Fear and have Crusader
• Speartip Strike: Units arriving from Deep Strike can roll for reserves from turn 1 on a 3+. The Warlord and his unit can auto-pass their Turn 1 Deep Strike reserve roll.

Core Choices:

• Black Legion Warband: As per Black Legion Codex Supplement
• Hounds of Abaddon: As per Black Legion Codex Supplement

Command Choices:

• Bringers of Despair: As per Black Legion Codex Supplement
• Cyclopia Cabal: As per Black Legion Codex Supplement
• The Chosen of Abaddon: As per Black Legion Codex Supplement
• Lord of Legion: 1 of the following; Abaddon, Chaos Lord, Sorcerer, Dark Apostle or Daemon Prince

Auxiliary Choices: 

• Lost and Damned: As per Traitor's Hate
• Helforged Wrack: As per Traitor's Hate
• Daemon Engine: As per Traitor's Hate
• Heldrake Terror: As per Traitor's Hate
• Cult of Destruction: As per Traitor's Hate
• Fist of the Gods: As per Traitor's Hate
• Raptor Talon: As per Traitor's Hate
• Terminator Annihilation Force: As per Traitor's Hate
• Spawn: As per Traitor's Hate

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Hobby: Beneath the mire, through the eyes of the mad.

Hobby: Beneath the mire, through the eyes of the mad. 

A hobby experiment to emulate a hobby hero. One mans journey to change his painting.

I have a friend you see...

He is more of a figment. If you worked for Games Workshop or frequented the stores 10 years ago you may know the name Richard Gibson. Richard epitomizes the "garage gamer" one of the silent hobbiest who doesn't often participate in tournaments or spends the day at a hobby store. At least, until recently. Richard is a prolific painter and enthusiastic gamer who has painted many fantastic models such as the ones below. 

Richard's style has always been muted, understated and technically spectacular. Duncan Rhodes would be in spasms gazing upon the multiple smooth thin coats that go into Richards models and his models all look extremely clean. One of the draw backs of this subtle and understated style of painting is that it can on occasion be overlooked.

One of Richard's great inspirations over the years is artist John Blanche. Many of us would be familiar with Johns work but for the uninitiated I present some examples below.

Richard took on the challenge of creating something weird, something mad, something undeniably Blanche. The type of painting that goes against his instincts of clean and crisp, instead making something messy and gross, but also with Richards own distinct style. Personally, I think he nailed it. Prepare yourself, to gaze into the madness below...

If you would like to see more treasures from Richard feel free to follow him on Instagram at brunel.richard

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