Here we go, second part, with a bit of delay. If nothing goes wrong I should also finish psykers today, so expect to see them soon!

This time round, the really interesting units in all Imperial Guard armies! Also tomorrow I most likely am going to a 40k tournament for the first time. I wonder how will it turn out, I'll be sure to let you know!

Unfortunately I couldn't construct the list I really wanted, because my online store still didn't send me my Chimeras and as such I'm unable to field a Manticore as I wanted. Oh, well, once they arrive though look forward to the Manticore construction log!




And now, ot the point.

• Fast Attack
  
  • Scount Sentinels
    Not a bad choice, all in all, though there are more potent units within this section. Still the Scout Sentinels can mess with the enemy quite a lot. 90% of cases they should be outflanking. They're way too fragile to start on the table and will get pounded quickly, unless you're starting or can utilise the scout move to hide them from los. But I doubt you could do that with a squad larger than one model.
    As for weaponry I prefer them cheap, so Multi-laser. Mathhammer wise it's as effective against AV 10 (Outflanking means you should get them into position on enemy rear) as Autocannon and 5 points cheaper and can potentially score more hits.
    Don't forget they can assault to, did I mention my cc-butchers? But don't really do that against any combat oriented unit (not even Tactical Marines).
    
  • Armoured Sentinels
    At first when I heard of an AV 12 Sentinel with a plasma cannon I was going all "oooh" over it. But time and a few battles reviewed that opinion. It's a horribly expensive unit and not really that effective. Armoured Sentinel is still interesting, but not really that awesome. Plasma Cannon is horribly expensive and as such I'd rather use this unit for something entirely different. Equip it as cheaply as you can, so Multi-laser, and go ahead charge your enemies. AV12 means it can lock out quite a few enemy units effectively an hold them for quite long. Imagine a huge bunch of 20+ Kroot turning up from outflank and then getting charged by a single sentinel and getting locked out for the rest of the game!
    
  • Rough Riders
    Some say it's the least effective unit in FA section, but I disagree. Appropriately used the good ol' RRs are still deadly, though fragile. You'll have to hide them out of los of all enemies (tanks are quite helpful for that I'd say) till they're in position to unleash their charge. That they can now get both flamers and lances is only another bonus I like about them. Sadly the biggest problem is, of course, the lack of models (Attilans? What's that? You don' mean those horribly ugly models from the age of dinosaurs?). I only ever made one when I fielded them back in 4th ed., but after the 5th I haven't used them at all and as such never finished the unit. Maybe I will once... Still I've heard of people using them to a devastating effect, so if you have the models give them a try!
    
  • Hellhound/Devil Dog/Bane Wolf
    Let's start with the ol' Hellhound. It got changed, his range is slightly lower (remember only the short end has to be within 12") but he is now a fast vehicle, making him an excellent choice against enemy swarms and otherwise fragile units holed in cover. Like Imperial Guard heavy weapon teams, lemme tell you how nicely they get roasted... I'd pair it with Heavy Flamer, for double as much fiery death when moving up to 6", though Multi-Melta might be appealing too, making the Hound more versatile and make our enemy think twice which weapon to choose when it suffers a Weapon Destroyed result.
    Devildog is the underdog of all three, but it's still a good choice. It's a good AT vehicle, especially with a multi-melta on the hull and it's ten times easier to hide than a Vendetta, though it lacks the ability to outflank and deliver your troops where they're needed. Definitely something to consider.
    Finally, the Bane Wolf with its fearsome Chem Cannon, the bane of all MEQs. It's main weapon is utterly devastating but short-ranged. For those reasons it will be targetted a lot and will have a hard time getting anywhere useful (though being fast helps). For that reason I'd always field them in pairs (Not squadroned though!). That way one should reach its destination! Also remember that if you pair it with a Heavy Flamer you shouldn't fire it at targets of ASv 3+ because you might end up doing less damage due to wound allocation gimmicks.
    
  • Valkyrie/Vendetta
    Now for the beloved Valk. Starting off with the regular sort. Two ways to use this. Either bare to just transported, which doesn't sound appealing to me, since it will do nearly nothing aside of hopefuly getting the troops to the place and it costs a hundred points. For just 30 points more you get rocket pods, which are really nice and I see no reason to not take them. Still somehow the MRP Valk didn't perform too well for me, but I heard a lot of people utilise them successfuly, so I guess it was just my bad luck. Remember MRPs are defensive weapons, so Valk can be quite successful against hordes, putting out quite a few attacks after moving 12".
    Vendetta on the other hand is a very solid choice. It would seem most power-gaming lists include those. How to field them? Two pointers from me. Field at least two units and do not field maximum-sized squadrons. So, 2 in two slots, 4 in two slots, 6 in three slots, all work well! Just as Banwolf, a single one (or a single unit) is likely to attract too much enemy fire. They're resilient, but not invincible.Best way to use them is either outflank, to make sure they will get to fire at least once, or utilise the scout move to get them to a proper shooting position, if you have the first turn. Also, remember about the objective of the game (which is a general tip, but it's important to say in regards of that unit). Maybe you could get 3 TLL shots at the enemy rear, but if you go Flat Out, you will contest that objective!
    Not going to mention the RAW nightmare of properly handling Valks though. I wish you all to have as sensible gaming groups as I do, that consider it stupid if you'd tell them Valks have issues with disembarking or, mentioned earlier, contesting.
    
• Heavy Support
  
  • Leman Russ tanks
    Ah, everyone's favourite tank! (Non-IG players have no voice on that one!) Coming in a variety of different flavour. Let's start with the good ol' Leman Russ Battle Tank. I'd say it's still the best choice out there. Versatile, with a very big range on its main gun and it ignoring the majority of armor saves and inflicting instant death on majority of targets as well for the cheapest price of them all! Recently I discovered the barest LRBT is the best, that means no sponsons at all! It still performs just as good, but costs less. The only problem is that sponsons on mine require a knife and some strength... And now it looks silly (of course I repainted it and everything. Even put magnets in case I'd like sponsons in the future), but is just as deadly. Generally when it comes to sponsons, nowadays I'd never put heavy bolters. Plasma cannons are quite decent. Never used Multi-meltas but they could be handy. Heavy Flamers are definitely out. You don't want to be close to the enemy in these days.
    Next is the Exterminator, which is an interesting pea-shooter, as we call units with many shots around here. It's also nice in taking out light armour, but all in all I probably won't field one. Twin Hydras can have similar fire output and cost less. of course, they're more fragile, but still. I guess I just love those large blasts...
    And that's why I don't like the codex Vanquisher.It sure can be deadly to tanks, but at BS3 it's waaay to unreliable. However if you put a lascannon on the hull and a Knight-Commander Pask in the hull it can perform really well as a long-range AT platform. I think only this version is worth considering at all.
    And the last of the rear AV 10 variants - the Eradicator. A poor choice, I don't like it all. It can ignore cover saves, but is only S6 (means it won'tinsta-kill those pesky nobs for example) and only AP4, meaning MEQ don't really care. I'd rather take a Colossus, which is the same price.
    Starting the rear AV 11s is the Demolisher, the second very good LR variant. Yep, it turns out the best ones are still those we had in our armory for ages. Demolisher is utterly deadly on short ranges. I like mine with plasma cannons, so it dishes out quite a lot of AP 2 hits. It's also very feared by the enemies and acts as a great fire magnet and might also fear your enemies away from it. All in all, a very solid choice
    Next, the tank that made all non-Guard players tremble in fear when rumours about it leaked. In the end it turned out to be one of the poorest choices in the codex. Sure, it can fire off 20 shots, but it has BS 3 and athe shots are AP -. It can't even reliably hunt AV 10. The only way it could be useful is, again, with Pask. Then it becomes a decent MC hunter actually!
    And lastly, the Executioner, another tank that made everyone suddenly very afraid of the new Guard. Just like with Punisher it proved not to be as good as everyone though, though it's still a very good tank, unlike the former. It's very expensive however and one should be careful not to make it even more expensive. 5 plasma cannon shots might sounds very appealing, but I'd rather not put sponsons on it. Furthest I'd go is to put a lascannon on the hull, as it goes well with AP 2 plasmas, making it cost as much as plasma Demolisher, while being good as well. Apparently it performs quite well, according to some forum posts.
    Generally I'd avoid using Russes in squadrons, but the best working ones would probably be either two of the same time or a Battle Tank/Demolisher mix.
    
  • Hydra
    An interesting Heavy Support choice not to be overlooked. Very cheap points-wise and providing some really nice firepower. It's special ability is interesting, though a bit funny. The part about ignoring turbo boost cover save is more or less useless. About the only units it gives something against are DE bikers and regular Ork Warbikers. Everyone else either has a 3+ armour save anyway or laughs at puny few S7 wounds. Ignoring Flat Out cover is way better though and should help a lot against pesky Eldar. Works really well in squadrons as well, freeing up other slots for heavier toys... or more Hydras!
    
  • Artillery
    Starting off with the good ol' Basilisk, which in the new codex is rather.. uninteresting. It has a nice strength and AP values, but the other choices have some special gimmicks making them more appealing somewhat. If you need a solid all-round artillery piece it's a nice choice, but it's minimum range of 36" hampers it's effectivness quite a bit. Also, unfortunately, for now it's the only unit that has a model.
    Medusa is quite an interesting thing, really. It has the largest range of all ig S10 AP2 pie-plates, or becomes a rather deadly AT platform. The latter unfortunately takes away versatility of the regular gun, which has quite a lot of AT capability on its own. it's downside is lack of indirect fire, which means it has to see the enemy, which in turns means enemy will see it. It's quite fragile, so might end it's life abruptly.
    The next one - Colossus. Now we're talking. S6 AP3 ignoring cover saves is a bane of all MEQs. This one's downside is that it can only fire indirectly, so if the enemy is charging your way into assault you might get a range problem. Remember you can't fire indirectly after moving. Still it's a very solid choice. This one suffers the most from the lack of model, there is none, aside from the FW Bombard, which apparently is the same gun, just mounted on a Russ chassis.
    Finally, the lowly Griffon. A very solid choice, actually, the Accurate Bombardment rule is a very nice hting to have. I would field them in pairs or linked with other artillery pieces in a squadron. If it fires first it helps to guide the other shots due to Multiple Barrage.
    
  • Manticore
    Apparently the new king of Heavy Support slots in tournament play. I'm going to construct one soon, so I'll be able to give you more feedback, but from what I've gathered so far it's a real butcher. It might not be AP3, meaning meaning it won't slaughter those Space Marines so easily, but it will pop their Land Rider like a ripe watermelon. That's what it does best - hitting side armour of tough vehicles (Doesn't help against Land Riders, but Battlewagons? Sure thing!) rolling two dices and picking higher for armour penetration. It's also utterly deadly against Ork hordes on foot. The Limited Ammunition rule is hardly much of a drawback.
    Keep in mind however - competetive players field those in pairs. That ensures they will do what they have to do. Also keep in mind that a list basing around Manticores and e.g. 6 Vendettas along with mech-vets places you right there on a shelf next to twin-lasher-nine-oblits-plague-marine-spam lists.
    
  • Deathstrike
    This entry is a joke, honestly. It's totally unreliable and as such useless in competetive playing. I don't it should be used, unless in Apocalypse, some special scenarios or just a "for the laughs" game. In any other circumstances there are waaay better things out there for as much or less points that won't let you down.
    Of course it can be utterly devastating, but you sure need a lot of luck for that to happen. Not the best thing.
    
    

And that's it for today, juust like last time I'd love to hear your opinions!

Now to decide if I'm too lazy to go play at a tournament today, since I'm actually thinking I am, even though I was looking forward to it...



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I'm sorry for the slowness in the past week, but I've been busy actually playing the game. Whoa. Since the Psykers are still not finished I'm giving you this tactica post. Hopefuly the next thing will be them.

I've been playing quite a lot recently, making up for all that time I haven't played just after the codex was released. Right now the 42nd stands proud with 7 victories, a single draw and 3 losses. Not too shabby. The other thing that has been attracting my attention is the thrice-damned Blizzard Entertainment that once again proves they can make awesome games by announcing third expansion for World of Warcraft - Cataclysm. Looks like I'll have to derive some money off the Space Wolves project. I promise I'll try not to get sucked into it too much and continue to post things.



But enough of rambling, let's get to the point! This time, I'll tell you my thoughts about most of the units in the new Guard codex.

• HQ
  
  • Company Command Squad
    
    The most solid and the best HQ choice in an IG army, period. It provides you with a solid platform for some special weapons and is the ultimate support for the army at the same time.
    A while back I was going to field two of those in larger games, thinking what can be better than a load of meltas on BS4, double the ammount of orders and perhaps a double advisor bonus? Right now I don't think it's such a great idea. Perhaps another veteran squad is a better choice. A semi-mechanised list I play simply has nobody to give even 2 orders to, not to mention 4, since you cannot issue them to embarked units. A fully mechanised army will have it even worse. If you're high on foot infantry though, it can be a great thing!
    The orders the CO provides are the most powerful ones. Admittedly, Get Back in the Fight! is actually the best one, but making thoe pesky Nob Bikers re-roll their cover saves can work wonders too.
    What should the Squad be used for? I can think of two ways of using it. First, grab those meltas or plasma guns (the former being maybe a bit better, especially since it doesn't make the CCS so damn expensive) hop into a Chimera and make proper use of BS 4. The other is to deck them with sniper rifles and maybe a heavy weapon and hide within some cover to provide fire support. It might be worth to invest in camo-cloaks for this choice, though I'm not entirely sold on it.
    CCS also gives you access to one of the bes things in the codex - the advisors. Out of those only two are worth the attention however. Master of Ordnance is horribly unreliable and the Bodyguards don't help too much. The other two however, can easily shift the game in your favour. I'd rank the Astropath slightly above the Officer of the Fleet, but I include both. With the re-roll from Astropath you have roughly 90% chance that your outflanking units will come out of the side you want them to! Officer of the fleet makes such a chance of success for your enemy roughly 44%, which is quite nice too. His ability to delay reserves surely saved me from being overwhelmed in some cases!
  • Lord Commissar
    That one would be the worst HQ choice, unfortunately. I haven't fielded him yet, but I can't really see a lot of use for that unit. Being IC he gets to die quite quickly in combat, so you might not get to benefit from Stubborn. I suppose you could keep him around for the Ld 10 bubble, but honestly, with orders, it isn't really that useful.
  • Primaris Psyker
    A decent support HQ choice. I could see myself using him as a second HQ unit. He can give out a lot of S6 hits, which can be annoying to the enemy, even if he gets to make his armour save. Nightshroud however is totally useless. I don't know what did Mr. Cruddace have in mind when he made that power. I could see him attached to a veteran squad in a Chimera, though admittedly the best loadout for such vets would be GLs. With plasmas, you probably wouldn't want to shoot AP 5 shots since with the wound allocation you might actually deal less damage.
    Oh, he also has a force weapon. Wow, a S3 power weapon that won't insta-kill anything anyway because all the damn things have Eternal Warrior nowadays..
    
  • Techpriest and Ministorum Priest
    Just no. Overpriced and unreliable, unless in very rare and strange cicumstances. Unless you're going for a theme... but well, this article is meant to say about competetive play.
    
• Elites
  
  • Ogryns
    Ha, ha, ha.. Do not field, unless you like the models and want a fluffy game. If you're playing at least slightly competetively stay away from them. Highly overpriced, with low Ld (So what they have Stubborn...) and no real close-combat options available to them whatsoever..
    
  • Ratlings
    A strange choice. They aren't really too bad, but they aren't too good either. Ratlings are quite cheap and can give a lot of shots, which have a chance to be Rending and force a Pinning check - which might work well combined with Weaken Resolve. But the majority of weapons in game will wound them on 2+, meaning even their 3+ or better cover save won't do much (since they'll have to make a lot of those). At Ld6 as soon as you force a morale check they're out of the game. Don't expect to reliably use Get Back in the Fight! on them.
  • Psyker Battle Squad
    The best Elite choice and one of the best units out there. Mounted in a Chimera (without it they're actually a very poor choice) they can unleash devastation upon your foes. With Weaken Resolve you can easily get rid of that annoying and deadly enemy unit, push the enemy off the objective and many more. If the enemy is Fearless you can blast them with an S9 big pie-plate, which has 50% chance of penetrating Power Armour.
    With that unit you may no longer fear the dreaded Nob Bikers. You only need to kill 2 or 3 (and with the ammount of S8+ large blasts we can dish out it's not really that hard) and they're out of the game more-or-less.
    Keep in mind your overseer is important however - or you will suffer a really deadly Perils attack!
    I wouldn't field more than one squad however. Just keep their Chimera safe from enemies and prefferably in cover all the time (using other Chimeras for example). I'll just add that this unit has never failed me in any battle it had fought in. And I really love psykers fluff-wise, have I ever mentioned that?
    
  • Storm Troopers
    Uh. Fiercely debated on, I am unsure about them at all. They're overpriced quite badly, but not as much as Ogryns and they have much more uses. I would never field a full squad however, but rather a 5-man with either twin meltas or twin flamers. Together with Airborne Assault it means you're likely to get those special weapons exactly were you need them.
    Still, personally I haven't used them and as such I can't comment more. My friend used them a bit and said they perform quite well however.
    
• Troops
  
  • Infatry Platoon
    The bread and butter of the Imperial Guard, now even cheaper! Platoon is still a very solid Troops choice, giving you access to a Command Squad that is an awesome place to stack flamers, very cheap and expendable Infatry Squad, deadly Special Weapon Squads and two other choice which are rather poor.
    As I mentioned the PCS is the best place to stack up flamers. I use mine with 3 of those and they have done great things, like roasting 10 Lootas, a 3-strong Crisis Suit team and routing a Chaos Space Marines squad. I usually use either this or a Special Weapon Squad in one of my Vendettas to get them where they're needed. They're also Troops and can claim objectives, a win-win situation! I wouldn't really put any other options on those however, well perhaps GLs since they're cheap.
    The Infantry Squads are still nice. They're cheap and as such give you a lot of scoring units, about twice as much as other armies! (I have a total of 9 scoring units, that's way more than anyone can have!) The important bit is to keep them heap, however. Do not go over the board outfitting them with power weapons, lascannons and plasma guns! I keep mine simple, GL + AC bringing them to nice 65 points, which is still cheaper than squads under the old codex were! There is however a different way to use them. Get 5 squads, give every sergeant a power weapon, give them flamers and add a Commissar with a power weapon to one of those. Grab a priest. Combine the squads. Start slowly marching through the field of battle, being as deadly as a mob of Orks! Much more expensive of course, but with 25 power weapon attacks you can do quite a lot of damage to most foes, especially since those weapons can't be singled out! I'll have to try it out one day.
    Special Weapon Squads are, other than cheap cannon fodder, the best reason to take a Platoon. I kit mine out with two demo charges and a flamer. Last game they dealt 27 wounds to a bunch of Kroot.The other they evaporated 7 out of 9 GK terminators, including the Grand Master. A one-shot wonder tat can get you out of a lot of troubles! I usually put one into a Vendetta to deliver it onto the nasty enemy (or an objective, if there's no suitable targets!). The other sits back, preferrably out of los, behind the Infatry Squads and waits for that careless Ork mob or a Terminator squad to charge and slaughter the poor Guardsmen... I lose 65 points, he loses way more.
    Heavy Weapon Squads are strange under the new dex. Very, very fragile and quite unreliable to get orders at Ld7. They can be quite useful armed with their basic weapons though! Mortars can cause some havoc in the enemy ranks as he's safe nowhere and the teams can just hide out of los and not be so easily slaughtered.
    Conscripts are a big no in the codex. Why pay 4 pts per one when you can pay 5 pts for a guardsman with 3 Ld more, 1 WS and BS more and weapon options, which you can combine into a huge squad as well?
    
  • Veteran Squad
    And excellent Troops choice, to which many people have switched over. This is the best place to put those expensive and most powerful special and heavy weapons. Give the sarge a fist (this is the only unit which should use special melee weapons), to make sure a single Space Marines cannot ruin your day and put them into a Chimera or a Valk and start handing out punishment to your opponent. Doctrines are quite interesting, but are slightly too expensive for my taste. If I was to pick one I'd go with Demolitions. Nothing more fun than one more demo charge! It's also worth noting that if they're armed with plasma guns they should have lasguns, but if they're armed with meltas they should carry shotguns. If I made my squad again I'd convert them.
    
  • Penal Legion
    Haven't used those, so can't really say much. They seem quite interesting, but at the same time I feel they might let me down quite a bit. These don't really fit my army theme, so unless I get some crazy idea or GW releases some totally awesome kit, I'm not going to use them.
    Their outflank ability might be interesting for grabbing some lonely objectives however. The ammount of the attacks/rending they could dish out might sound interesting, but against highly armoured foe it probably won't do too much (and rending is a gamble, really). But ultimately, they're not too bad.
    
  • Chimera
    Ah, the lowly Chimera APC. Went from the worst transport in game (horribly overpriced!) to more-or-less the best one (at least cost-efficency wise). Sure, it has a side armour of 10, but it can get your troops where you want them and lets them shoot out of it! That means your squad is protected from most anti-personnel weaponry (after all, you should face your enemy with the front, right? Of course it's not always possible) while still being able to shoot all special/heavy weapons! For 55 pts it's a real bargain. There's a reason my favourite online store is constantly out of stock for those.. My favourite loadout is Multi-Laser and Heavy Flamer. Shoot some S6 shots on long distances, which have a chance of popping an enemy transport and if they get close, roast them up. Be careful though, if the enemy is too strong and is likely to survive roasting I reccomend getting away or you will lose the Chimera in the next assault. I'll be writing up general tactics of using units in the third part of Tactica Imperialis.
    

And that's it. I'll probably write up Part II with Fast Attack and Heavy Support (The interesting bits for every threadhead, eh?) choices tomorrow. As a closing word, a 1800 list I came up with a while ago, which I consider very solid and fun.

HQ: Company Command Squad - Standard, 3xMelta, OoF, Astropath
Chimera - ML, HF
Elites: Psyker Battle Squad(9 Psykers)
Chimera - ML, HF
Troops: Veteran Squad - 3x Plasma, Fist
Chimera - ML, HF
Troops: Veteran Squad - 3x Melta, Fist
Troops: Platoon Command Squad - 3xFlamer
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Infatry Squad - GL, AC
Special Weapon Squad - 3x Demo Charge, Flame
Special Weapon Squad - 3x Demo Charge, Flamer
FA: Vendetta
FA: Vendetta
FA: Scout Sentinels (3) - 2xML, 1xAC
Heavy: Leman Russ Battle Tank
Heavy: Leman Russ Demolisher - Plasma Cannons

1800 pts.

The list is quite mobile, while having lot of meatshields to block out enemies or sit on objectives. You can use Infantry Squads efficiently to block enemy assaults on your important bits, while SWSs act as a counter-assault unit. The Sentinels can do a lot of fun things. Last battle they outflanked right behind a Hammerhead, shooting it int he rear... and doing nothing, but shaking it. I decided that I got nothing to lose so I assaulted. Out of 6 attacks, one managed to hit (it moved 12" so needing 6's). I proceed to roll for penetration.. scoring a 6 - penetrating hit! I roll on the table... yet another 6 and the tank explodes spectacularly. Now try imagining the Sentinel running up to the tank, kicking it, making it go boom. Awesome. Vendettas outflank with the melta-vets and either the PCS or a SWS, depending on what enemy I'm facing and what I might need. I also removed sponsons from LRBT as you can see. More on that in next article.

Aaand that's it for today, thanks for reading! If you have any comments or opinions, I'd love to hear them!



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A few days ago I've show you a WIP of my Officer of the Fleet. He's been done shortly after but I wanted to post a shot of him together with the Command Squad and the second finished advisor - the Astropath and for some reasons I couldn't before.


Here they are, Lord Marshal Havelock Hals and his two regimental advisors, Astropath Liev and an Officer of Battlefleet ThatHasNoNameYet. Since at some point I want to get a small fleet for BFG I'll want those two to be linked.



Some more shots of the advisors from closeup. First the awesome Officer of the Fleet.



And a detail shot of all his insignia and the gem in the belt. It actually turned out well, I'm shocked!
What do you think about the red? I had no idea what colour to use (I was trying to reproduce the colour used in the codex with no success, I simply don't have such paints. And I didn't want to do it in NMM as I think the aquilas on handcuffs wouldn't stand out at all) so I went with that. It looks slightly off but I guess it isn't too bad.


And Astropath Liev. I just love that model. The shot in the codex doesn't give him justice. He's got quite a lot of hidden details, while still being a simple and elegant model.



As you can see the robe colour is exactly same as the Psykers' one. He was the first one to have it, sort of a test drive. Turned out really well I think, I love that tone! Here's a shot of one of the details I've been talking about, he's holding an Adepta Astronomica pendant in his hand!


Closeup of the behind of his staff. As you can see, it has a big piece of parchment attached to it! Great thing to work with.


And finally the shot of the entire Command Squad as it will be often fielded and as it stood yesterday in two battles!


Game-wise those advisors are brilliant, I'll write up more about them in the upcoming tactica article. But one has to be careful with the Astropath, you cannot rely on him entirely. I've done that together with underestimating Daemonhunters. Left too much in reserves and was simply picked apart till it was too late. Of course not mentioning hitting once with 3 meltas from a vet squad and failing to even glance a Land Raider...

That's it for today. Thanks for reading!


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It's coming!








Three done so far. Should be all finished by the end of the week.

What do you think?


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Finally, as promised - both of the Valkyries of Thor Squadron, 64th Imperial Navy detachement! This post focuses mainly on Thor II, as Thor I has been posted a while back with a lot of pics, but you'll get to see some of it too, mainly because there are some new additions.

After reading this post by Corbane I began to feel a little ashamed about my Valks it would seem. I might get around and touch up the painting on them at some point, but that's only after I paint everything else. But let's get to the point! First, a shot of the squadron.



Of course, there's much more.


A couple of shots showing Thor II from various angles. From the sides:



The top - closeup on the engines. I think the metallics turned out quite well.


Under the wings. (The black spot is suppose to be weathering, slightly smodlered hull after being hit, in case you were wodnering)


And the belly.


And now for some details shots. First the obligatory nameplate:


My clumsy warning sings on the other side.


And a couple of shots taken before the cockpit was glued of its interior. The co-pilots controls.


And the pilot's console.


The pilot himself!


And a couple of shots of the cargo bay. Just one side, since the other is pretty much its mirror. I think I should worka bit more on the details inside of it, it looks quite bland.


The front.

And a quick shot of the base, slightly more detailed than the previous one.


Thor squadron in action!
And again... with slightly different weaponry!


Here's a close-up of Thor I as a Valkyrie.



And of Thor II.
And that's it. I'm not overly happy with them, but they look good on the tabletop and not too shabby in closeup so I guess all is fine. But I might get to fixing them at one point, especially with clumsily highlighted metallics in some spots and the interior. Perhaps more details such as various stripes visible on many other models..

But that later. Right now I'm in progress of the Psykers and they're coming along nicely. I've spent a while searching for inspiration on the NMM on the staff-tops and it's looking good. Right now I'm waiting for some good sunlight to take shots of the regimental advisors I've painted! Also the next Tactica Imperialis should come up some time soon.

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you in the comments! Perhaps you got some great ideas on how to spice up those Valks? Let's hear it!


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Actually, this blog has existed for more than a year, so does the 42nd Cadian. Funny, when you think about it. I think it's about time to sum up what I've been through during that period of time. And to thank all of you regular readers, without which there would be nothing!

Some of you might remember that after a few months of semi-regular updates the blog went into a hiatus. There were very few readers (at least that's what I thought!), I was tired with translating every post.. And got slightly bored of 40k in general. Couldn't get myself to pick up the brush at all!

I don't really knwo what happened later. Perhaps it was first rumours of new IG dex, or maybe it was something else, but I decided to restart it all. To my surprise it appeared that people were still following the blog after such a long time! I think it gave me a second kick and let me pick up the brush again and restart the blog effort. And what a restart it was, eh?

Of course, the real breakthrough was the creation of From the Warp blogging group. It was Ron's awesome effort that introduced 42nd to the great internet and I'm sure 42nd wasn't the only one. I owe you a great deal, Ron, we all do.

During all that time I managed to finish nearly everything I own and get very close to that comfy place, where I'd field fully painted army. What is everything? I'll give you a list with fancy colours.

Fully painted
Started
Primed
Not assembled

Regimental Command Squad (3 meltas, medic, stanard, Astropath, Officer of the Fleet, Master of Ordnance) - Chimera
Company Command Squad (4 meltas)
Commisar Lord

Psyker Battle Squad (10)

1st Platoon
Command Squad (unknown loadout)
Infantry Squad (Plasma, Missle)
Infantry Squad (Plasma, Missle)
Heavy Weapon Squad (Lascannon)
Conscripts (20)

2nd Platoon
Command Squad (3 flamers)
Infantry Squad (Grenade, Autocannon)
Infantry Squad (Grenade, Autocannon)
Infantry Squad (Grenade, Autocannon)
Infantry Squad (Grenade, Autocannon)
Special Weapon Squad (2xDemo, flamer)
Special Weapon Squad (2xDemo, flamer)

301st Vet squad (3xplasma) (sgt options for las pistol, plasma pistol, fist) - Chimera
302nd Vet squad (3xmelta) (alternative sergeant)
303rd Vet squad (3xmelta)

2xScout Sentinels (ML and AC)
Spearhead Sentinel (ML and PC)
2xVendetta (with options for Valk with MRPs)
Hellhound

Leman Russ Battle Tank (HBs)
Leman Russ Demolisher (PCs)
Basilisk

I promised to give a full shot of the entire army and give it I will! But first I'd like to get those things marked as started painted first.

I'm really happy to see all those painted things. And I'm starting to, gasp!, like my painting. Not too much though, there's still so much room for improvement.. Especially looking at stuff of some of you people out there!

What else is there to say? Thanks to all of you, dear readers! Whether you leave comments or not, whether you like what you see or not, thanks a lot for stopping by! It's very heartening when you know there's over 70 people checking in here from time to time! Although the greatest thanks have to go to two people especially.
First is Drax. He was the random person whos comments suddenly appeared on the tiny little-visited blog. I believe you are amongst the very first readers! Thanks for supporting me all the time and for you selflesness! The 40k community needs people like you!
Second is of course, Ron. From the Warp was a brilliant idea and you executed it flawlessly. Half of us would still be in the forest (as a polish saying goes). I know that you will continue to improve the group and I'll let you know, that if you ever need any help in that, I'm there!

(now a tiny fragment to those polish readers of mine, disregard that if you're not one of them)
Wam również dziękuję z całego serca! Różnymi kanałami otrzymałem od was wiele miłych słów. Przepraszam za lenistwo, które jest brakiem polskiej wersji bloga, zwłaszcza mistrza wałków! Mam nadzieję, że mimo to dalej będą Cię interesowały artykuły, które będę zamieszczał. A obiecuję, że będzie jeszcze wiele!

Now, what's next? What after I finish those last few things? Of course it's not over. We all know all too well that there's no escape from this plastic crack! I can promise you more content, though there might be less 42nd Cadian in 42nd Cadian.

I'm planning a new army and I'm actually torn on what to do. I suppose it will come with not surprise that it's going to be Space Wolves. I always loved their fluff the most and I actually wanted to have some Marines. Gah, creepy, I know! The Wolftime draws ever nearer! I was wondering whether I should just post everything here as usual or to make a new blog, dedicated to the Wolves. In the end I can see pros and cons to both ways, but I think the former is still better. After all that would mean there could be two blogs with seldom updates and diluted content.. But I'll think about it. What are your opinions?

Of course Wolves don't mean I'm stopping Guard. I'm not so naive, there is no escape from the Guard! Not until the little men overwhelm the room and take it over in the name of the Emperor and then there'll be so many of them they'll have their own administrative staff (I stole that from someone's signature on Warseer, sorry!) There are also other tiny projects that definitely will be here.

I guess that's it, what more can I say? I wish that the next 50 posts will be inspirational and will help people out there somehow. Failing that I hope they will be a good read/watch! I also wish you all the best with your own blogs, projects and life. Let the next year be great for us all!


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I was supposed to post the twin Vendettas, but I thought they can wait a bit and I'll post a WIP of what I'm currently doing, as I don't really post these too often and I'd love to hear your opinions in this one, so that I could still change some things.


Here he is, the first of the advisors, the one I don't leave home without - the Officer of the Fleet. I only started the work on him, but I'd like to hear your opinons on the blue coat.


There's more, of course!



For those of you who do not have the codex and do not want to look through GW site, here's the shot of an OoF painted by the 'eavy Metal team.


Now, I feel I haven't caught the deepness of the blue. Sadly from blueish paints I only own Regal Blue, Space Wolves Grey and borrown a pot of Asurmen Blue wash from my cousin. If you have any tips, they' be muchly appreciated!

But not to make this post so small, a couple of other WIPs.

The Company Command Squad. The guy in the middle isn't the CO though, he's a sergeant for the 302nd in case I'd like a Power Fist. Or something like that.


And the remaining things waiting for their turn at the brush.

And... that's it. I find it hard to believe, you know. That's all I have left for the Guard. Of course, I still own a few odd models that aren't included here, like the old metal Standard, Master Vox, a plasmagunner, some odd GL guardsmen... Also there's the 303rd coming, and the Chimeras which I'll be buying very soon at last.
But still I'm nearing the point where everything I will field will be fully painted. Gasp.
I did some counting yesterday. With the missing Chimeras I own 2900 pts of Guard. Soon to be fully painted 2900 points of Guard. Wow. Although funnily enough, looking at the ammount of stuff on the shelves it's a bit silly it's only 2.9k. If I had as many Space Marines (or if I spent the entire budget on those SMs) I'd have probably around 4k at least. Silly, silly IG.
Also this is the post no. 49. I suppose I could make the next one somewhat special. Quite fitting now that the army is nearly done, though surely won't be till the time of next post. Stay tuned, perhaps I'll indulge further onto the future of the 42nd!


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At last, here it is. After fighting a battle with the Chaos God of Internets that denied me access to it, I finally managed to break through and write this post. I know there are a few of you, oh dear readers, who waited for this, so without more delay - the 302nd Veteran Squad of 42nd Cadian!


As usual, starting with a group shot. Or two.




As you can see, the squad is totting melta guns. It also has a distinct lack of purity seals compared to the 301st. The reason for that is actually quite simple. I ran out of them, but ordered more from a bits store. I really like the look of SM purity seals on guardsmen, so didn't quite make my own. However when the order arrived it got misplaced. It was done together witha friend of mine and he left it in our local store for me to pick up.. And apparently it got lost with the load of stuff they have out there.

With the lack of purity seals I decided that it might even be for the better. I will come up with some other feature and each squad will have it's own distinctive element! Have I achieved my goal? You decide, when you watch further closeup shots after clicking below.


Here is the sarge. Not a sergeant, sarge. Just look at his expression. I just love that head (coming from the Cadian Command Squad sprue) with the cigar. I just wish I made him modular, so that he could hold a Power Fist instead of that pistol. *cough* Oh well.



The special weapon... specialists. Three meltagunners. The left one you should be already familiar with and the right one is the metal Cadian meltagunner. The one in the middle is a little homage to the 301st and certain plasma gunner. Only he has a bigger knife!



And the "regular" vets. There always has to be one kneeling, eh? The middle vet wasn't always a veteran actually. He was originally meant to act as a guardsman in a Platoon Command Squad, but since the loadout of that squad changed significantly he was suddenly unemployed. I though not to waste the model with FW parts and after small repaint (covering hte gold pieces pretty much) he's a veteran now. If only I hadn't ruined his face, sigh! The right one might be least inspiring of the vets, but take a look at his pistol! Did you know that, according to The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, each guardsman is equipped with an auto pistol? It would be quite fun to have that in-game, though I suppose that'd make us mini-marines.



And the last three. The left one is my all-time favourite, another excellent head from the Cadian CS. It's not as detailed as the bare head from the FW pack, but still looks mighty fine. The middle vet is funny. It's a first time I finally got to use that las-carbine you get on vehicle accessory sprue. Ironically, I always assumed it's a pistol and tried to use it as such with no luck. Only recently I've seen what exactly does the Steel Legion carry. I think it fits rather well, hes wounded so can't carry a regular lasgun, but a shorter, more compact carbine fits just right in one hand! And lastly the vet on the right, who is something of a squad medic. I wish vets could take medics, maybe as one of their doctrines (the cost is even the same). Perhaps it wouldn't be that good, but it'd definitely have a cool feel about it. Still, it's impossible, so he doesn't really do anything special game-wise, but he's just carrying a medic backpack and has fancy bags and equipment.



And that's it. I wodner if you caught the "defining feature". Perhaps not, as it did end up less obvious than I though. Still, it's the litanies written over their armour and weapons, kind of SM-esque. It does look quite good, but doesn't stand out like the Purity Seals.

Now, I am actually slowly making the 303rd. They're going to have much better "defining feature", very obvious. What is it? You will find out...

I could end here, but I though it'd be fun to throw in one more pic, since I've made this gaming table and all. Here is the 302nd on the battlefield! I wish I could show you their dedicated transport, but sadly I do not have that Chimera yet. I'll be sure to post it once I get it.


And that's it for 302nd. As goodbye words, here's a sneak peak of the next update.


And what I'm currently working on.

As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your comments!

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