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So I've been on a secret mission.... to get into a different army that is not 'power armoured'. I love my Ultra's, and my Thousand Sons/Chaos but I have built/painted/played most of the armies in the game that interested me. AdMech is different. I've played against them a fair amount. I play at our local GW, and a few groups of friends. I have to say the height of Power Armour at the store these days is insane. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen power armoured armies. (Not that I recommend doing so!) So it turns out the codex is around the corner. So I thought I'd post a shot of my last game: I am struggling to find something I like that also motivates me like Thousand Sons/ Red Corsairs / Ultra. I was on my back foot vs Renegades (FW) : Even though I commit to playing "Cawl Wall", I do a lot of damage back. (All the Artillery Renegades have is sick... S10, 2 x Laser Rapiers, and indirect 10 x D6 S4 is brutal, and untouchable) Dual Onager Dune Crawlers with Cawl were fantastic. I forgot a Datasmith, never got to change protocols. I swapped out two of my 4 Dunestriders to get a squad of rangers with sniper dude in them.. big mistake. I like those walkers... all of them. I never scored a point after T2 to t5, and then on T5 I scored 4 points, but he was already at 13. I did hit 12 to his 16 going into T7 but I had the bottom of the turn, drew up my 3 cards and all were impossible at that point in the game. He started annihilating me and by mid game I thought I was going to be swamped in zombies, but I did fend them off. The walkers with repairing HQ's running around are very good I think. He had so much trouble actually finishing off those units. But the two squads of Kastellan Robots were a huge threat, and one squad survived the game. SO they always took most shots. Mobility and staying power (combined in a unit) is a massive issue. I always despise using allies, but the golden boys would fit this army very well. (custodes). That being said ti was a fun game, I came within 2 points of tying it up, but I went back and looked and EVERY card I drew until T7 was 'hold something' which is probably what I felt I was least suited towards. Baller lasted the game, he had a lot of Ogryn, possessed, zombies and deposits of artillery. It was a very good list I'd say. It mimics Astra fairly well even with sprinkles of walkers, banewolfs, chimera's etc. (IE: Similar playstyle) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Kudos to my friend. He's had this army since inception, but he doesn't like it as much as his other armies and I'm fortunate enough to borrow it while I buy some stuff, and fumble around in the dark like a fool trying to find my way. I started to work on a Onager Dunecrawler (Love the las type weapon) and was going Metalica (it's rare) and I also like the main stream red colour however it has become apparent there will be different Strategums for different Forgeworlds! So a bad choice in my first unit could suck!

+++ Welcome to Prot's Chapter Keep of all things anti-Xenos. Here you will find the shared tactics, hobby ideas, painting, battle reports and (hopefully) the motivation you need to smite the xenos in the name of the Emperor. +++ +++ The gravest lessons are learned in defeat: What follows are various batreps of (typically 1850 points) in various levels of competitive environments. All battle reports are covered with pictures and a 'play by play' for your perusal. +++ + Tau Frustrations: Going back in time a bit here, this was the first full sized, non-allied, Deathwatch new Codex game vs Tau ITC style 1850pts: LINK + An 1850 Maelstrom game vs. the Orks: LINK + An 1850 Maelstrom game vs. the Eldar. This was not a 'hardcore' Eldar list but shows how nasty even a mediocre list is. LINK + 2 Battle Reports for the price of 1 ! ! !. This is not for the feint of heart. We have the first game against Tau, and the second against the Daemon Tetrad list. 1850 pts. LINK + The "New" Genestealer Cult Codex is chalk full of things that made me instantly jealous of such a well thought out codex. But nonetheless, the Xenos must be confronted. 1850 Maelstrom vs. Tyranid Genestealer Cult. LINK + The Deathwatch put a call into the Assasinorium and take on the Blood Angels with the assistance of the Culexus. LINK + Deathwatch continue using Custodes as an experiment and test a new Black Shield Config vs. Ork Wazdakka Biker Star. LINK + Prot's Deathwatch CAD and Skyhammer take on a no holds barred Tau Stormsurge List. LINK +++ Most of the articles/links below focus on finished models, but there are a few WiPs. +++ + First up a link to our first ever Painting Event. LINK + One of my faves... a Deathwatch Terminator Captain: LINK + Finished (and sold) Terminator Librarian, and Black Spear Strike Force Units: LINK + Added a squad of Painted Custodes: LINK + The squad above sold, so working on some more. Here's a WIP of the new blade I've decided on : LINK + After selling my first Custodes Squad, I knew I had to do another one. They're some of my favorite models in the line right now: LINK + Prot's buddy's Deathwatch army. Here's a couple of pictures of my friend's Deathwatch. The army looks really sharp and he's done it really quickly: LINK + 2017 WIP shot of some contents from the Watchblade Task Force in progress: LINK + 8th Edition and Shadow Wars inspired me to do 2 Figs as fast a possible with a decent standard set to them. LINK + 8th Edition WIP's using a more involved technique beyond Airbrush + Highlight. LINK + Final Veteran (6 man squad) shots of my more detailed attempt at Deathwatch: LINK +++ Below are links to special interest pieces in this thread or outside of it. Various topics including, rules, fiction reviews, art, etc. +++ + The Black Fortress Edition Codex. I take some pictures and discuss the lavish contents of the limited special edition codex: LINK + Deathwatch the novel by Ian St.Martin. This came out around the release of the codex and it has impressed me. Join in on the conversation here: LINK + My Deathwatch Print arrives! I also talk with David Annandale about his book from the Beast Rises series (where this print is from.) LINK ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So a few times I've been asked for close ups and references to my battle reports so I think it's time to just start this up as a thread: Contents: + Finished Thousand Sons and Tzeentch Models are here: +LINK+ The following WIPs and Finished projects are in order of oldest to newest: + WIP shots of various units: Tanks/Forgefiend/Flamers/etc: +LINK+ + Finally...after some delays Magnus the Red is complete! +LINK+ + Alright time for Daemons! We have Pinks, Blues, Brimstones, a Tzaangor Herald AND Flamers all in one post: +LINK+ + Hopefully some better shots of Magnus the Red here: +LINK+ + Finally a WIP Forgefiend turns into the finished product! +LINK+ + Thousand Sons Helbrute for 8th edition! +LINK+ +++ New Shadow Wars Content +++ I'll slip in the Shadow Wars Armageddon content here as most of it will be paint related, but I will link the Shadow Wars batreps in the section below. Whereas this section will mostly host projects related to Shadow Wars: + First up I challenge myself to finish some terrain from the starter box set in 2 Days! Can I do it? +LINK+ + Phase 2: I showed you the Crates/barrels, but I also bought a Galvanic Magnavent and gave myself the same 1 week challenge: +LINK+ + Two Batreps for the price of One! ITC mission 5 (Highlander) 1500 Points: vs Orks and vs Admech: +LINK+ + Another ITC (Highlander) 1500 Points vs Space Wolves: +LINK+ + Two Batreps again for the low price of one: 1850 Points Maelstrom vs Orks and Tyranids: +LINK+ + Another ITC (Highlander) test of my futility at 1500 vs AdMech + Skittles: +LINK+ + The Fall of Cadia Campaign SUPER DUPER Batrep collection (3 games, then a 4th mega battle game featuring 3 Chaos armies vs. 3 Armies of the Imperium using the "Emperor Protects" scenario. All games were played out at my local GW store: (lots of pics) - Fall of Cadia GAME ONE: +LINK+ - Fall of Cadia GAME TWO: +LINK+ - Fall of Cadia GAME THREE: +LINK+ - Fall of Cadia Final Mega Battle: The Emperor Protects: +LINK+ + An important tactics article for me as I'm trying to understand Tzeentch Daemons and Summoning. I never foresaw me going down this path until I saw how tough life is with 18 models on the table.... Are you trying to figure it out as well? Do you have something to add? Please check out the conversation here: Using Daemons with Thousand Sons +LINK+ + + More to come shortly!

Guys, I desperately needed a change of pace. I have tried to steer away from all loyalist activities heading into the new year. I wanted marine infantry with staying power in this edition of mass destruction while sticking with Chaos so here we are. I have to start with some advice though. I haven’t played DG since the codex came out, and I’m starting with the new Plague Marine box and wanted some unorthodox build in a Landraider to launch the project. I love the look of some of the new cc models/ bits. ... but I don’t want t handicap myself too much. So that said, let’s pretend 2 of my squads will be traditional, champ Fist/ plasma and 2 Blightlaunchers. And this third squad will be for mixed or more specific for CC ability coming out of the Landraider. Could you share some wisdom on this? Flails look amazing to model, the giant axes are fun, but what works for you and what’s reasonable?

Sorry for the brief report. Time is really tight, but I wanted to at least document this game.... Game Setup: (POST Chapter Approved 2017) Maelstrom, 2,000 pts, Deployment: Frontline Assault. AdMech: Brigade: Cawl Dominus Techpriest 5 Vanguard/Ranger sqds 5 Torsion/Claw Breachers (New Test post Chapter Approved) 5 Infiltrators 1 Datasmith 10 Jazz Hands 3 Dragoons 3 Phosphor Kastelans 2 Onagers Nutrons Nids: Lots. Tervigon + Gaunt Blob Fart cloud squad (I always forget the name of these things. Essentially three dudes that force you to fire at -1) Super Zoanthrope 20 Geneastealers Tentacle super bug (Sorry forget the name, it's a close combat massive bug) Trygon (deep strikes with mortal wounds) 5 (?) Hive Guard squads of spore mines Deathleaper Shooty Carniefex Shooty Flyrant Shooty Warrior Squad The Mission is a new one.. pretty cool one: Kill Confirmed (?) Basically you have 3 cards a turn, but cannot discard any 'kill unit' type cards, and if at any point during your turn you kill any unit, you get a bonus victory point. A fairly balanced idea. Here's what my army looked like (there is some minor proxying, mostly the Breachers) +Hold the line boys. Here's the plan: Nids are hungry for meat, but we're more like chewing through an old 50's TV set. Indigestion for the win? + - I lose the roll to go first, I cannot seize. Here's our deployment: The Nids are a bit off screen, but you get the idea. One side is charging forward, the other is filling their boots with used batteries. + - Early Game: - Nids get good rolls. I am defenseless against the psychic phase but at this range it is mostly a buff session. - He does get first blood....and I can't believe how deadly the Hive Guard are! They take down 1 and a half Breachers. He infiltratred his Deathleaper behind some crates as well. But keeps the rest of his reserves intact. He takes an early 3 point lead (gets a bonus "Kill Confirmed", accomplishes a kill card, and First Blood.) - His turn is strong with shooting between those Hive Guard, and all the shots from the Gaunts (special psychic ability? allows him to advance and shoot) and Flyrant + Carnifex. - I draw 2 cards I can't do, but one is a shooting kill type! This is big because of where he put the Deathleaper. - This is where things get ugly for me (yes this soon)... I realize the fart cloud -1 to hit pretty much extends to his entire army. The Gaunts are already getting close because his special rule is roll mutli advance dice, and pick the highest. I have no real damagable targets with my low end firepower. It takes a LOT to kill about 6 gaunts... then I remember, with the Tervigon he can regen 10 per turn! Ugh. What a fool... I blame Cawl... he's so cocky. - I realize that I can barely see the Tervigon with a few key Dunecrawler Nutron shots, but with the -1 to hit Cawl is helping a bit, but not enough. Also the Tervigon warlord trait is -1 to all Damage. That's actually huge. I do about 5 wounds to the Tervigon, but it maybe takes 3? - The Torsion cannons have re rolls but again everything is so hard to hit. It's darn good Cawl allows rerolls of ANY to hit or I truly would be screwed. The bad BS of Kastelans and Breachers is keenly felt here... I need 6's to hit the bloody Deathleaper, and the Kastelans moved (change protocols for next turn) and therefore need 6's to hit his army! This is killing me. - I kill one unit. The Deathleaper is hit twice ,but wounded twice, and the Torsion guns split him apart. This gets me 2 points. But the rest of the turn is abysmal. I can't hit anything, and wounding is bad. The 3 Arquebus' do nothing as they do every game for me. (I think I got one wound off the Flyrant). Mid Game: + A shiny, obscure, robot from the back yells, "The odds of us surviving first contact are 3,720 to 1." Cawl deactivates the robot, and fires up an escape pod. + - Yes it looks bad. This is T2. He draws another kill card, and an objective. He has a fairly mediocre psychic phase which is good for me. - His Mawloc comes in, spanks some mortal wounds all around him. Then the shooting starts.... - Flyrant finishes off a squad, gaunts split fire and hose a bunch of Vanguard/Rangers. I have canticles Shroudpsalm running and it makes a HUGE difference on a few Vanguard, soaking up tons of fire. But weight of fire catches up... the Hive Guard ignore cover, and pop my Kastelan, and remove another Breacher. - Here's something I may have done illegally but it did not have an overall efffect. When the Mawloc came in, I played the Strategem that lets the Jazz hands fire 'as if in shooting phase (but at -1 BS). And I used Cawl's aura. I couldn't figure out if this was right or not... I don't use Cawl often and realized his shooting aura is for shooting phase, but the strat said to treat it like a shooting phase so I hope this was correct??? - I also had Jazz hands use the Wrath of Mars. Still I could not kill the Mawloc when it came in. That was ugly. It took about 2 mortal wounds and 4-5 more wounds, but it had a fair amount left. - End of Nid Turn and I'm shot up far worse than he is, and about to be assaulted. +From the nid perspective: A Sicarnan Surprise attack. A total act of desperation. Indecision causes these guys to blue-screen at the worst possible moment. I think they've been hit with ransom ware and won't be functional until Cawl can come up with some bitcoins. + - This is truly desperate. My opponent convinces me to take on the Tervigon with my shooting, and I agree... it's a sound judgement. But with all the damage reduction, and -1 to hit, the Dunecrawlers still struggle. The Torsion cannons have maybe... 1-2 shots. They take it. But fail to do anything. The Tervigon is holding me from killing Gaunts. I don't have LoS from anything else so... I throw reason to the wind and really do something stupid.... - The Sicaran Infiltrators come in; I had a card where I needed to take an objective from my opponent for 2 points. I desperately need these two points to just stay in the game. - I had 3 wounds to get rid of on the Tervigon. My original plan was to shoot up the Hive Guard though... they were really shredding me, now that they hit on 3's (not moving) and go through shroudpslam. So against my better judgement I throw 25 Strength 3 shots into the Tervigon and use two strategems: one to reroll 1's to hit, and Wrath of Mars. I hit a lot... a fair amount, but I only get about 3 wounds, and 1-2 mortal wounds. The Tervigon stands with 3 wounds left. - Back at the ranch, the Dragoons have to finish the job that the Arquebus' fail to yet again, by charging the Mawloc. They take a wound or two, but the Mawloc still lives. Some remaining Vanguard shots ignore the Gaunts because while the Tervigon lives, this will be futile. They shoot at some Spore mines, but I get zero points for spore mines (special rule). - The Jazz hands fire up again, and they fire everything into the Genestealers, as usual the army is -1 to hit... I maybe kill 5-6 out of 20. - I can't kill the Flyrant, and I finally can see part of the squad of that is emitting the -1 to hit cloud... I kill 2 out of 3 of them, so the cloud still exists.... - The Sicarans are now entirely screwed. They killed nothing in shooting. I was going to assault the Hive Guard pictured above, but my opponent convinces me with Tazer Goads I can get those last three wounds. I'll tell you at T8 a Tervigon is bloody hard to take down, especially reducing damage, and -1 to hit. I feel it's a big miss match, but I do it... I successfully charge the Tervigon (instead of the Hive Guard). Of course this is a massive, massive mistake. So I don't go for the Maelstrom points on the Hiveguard, and they can shoot like crazy, so that's two bad moves combined, because I bounce right off the Tervigon causing zero wounds. At 3 wounds I hoped he wouldn't be able to move far enough away from my squad to become unengaged, but apparently he can! Great news everybody, I killed no units this turn and am entirely exposed! + Don't worry boys, they hate chewing on metal....+ - Turn 3 is a good draw for my opponent. He's had reserves that really didn't have a job until now, he draws some objectives and the reserves take them. - He advances, and smites me successfully in a few areas depleting squads. - Shooting is fully normal thanks to my stupid moves, and bouncing off the Tervigon. As a result: - Sicarians are shot dead - Jazz Hands are shot to death with Gauts/Carnie - Rangers/Vanguard are shot to death with Flyrant. - I lose some other stuff... so before assault and the ensuing tabling, I concede. Cawl crawls in an escape pod mumbling something about 'resurrecting a better Primarch' and takes off... Conclusion: - Totally wiped. Torsion Breachers did nothing- but it was a bad match up. Really bad. They would have been a good anti-assault, short range marine type killer but this was the wrong match up. - I was out shot. Out psykered, and out assaulted. That's rough. - -1 to hit seemed to be super penal to this army. My best shooting (aside from Onagers) comes from BS4 (BS5 if moved) and BS4 Breachers. Even with Cawl my inability to hit was poor. - I was out maneuvered (typical with Admech) but without having an answer to an unbreakable horde, I had no options for movement. I had no answer for the Tervigon, and therefore no answer for the lead horde, nor the secondary horde of Genestealers. The buffer this created gave his Hive Guard and psychic phase free reign. This was key, but I saw no way to change the outcome of this game..... while I have done an honest assessment of mistakes I made, I don't think I could have changed the results....back to the drawing board!!!