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Hi I’m Casual Heresy, and I’m a hobby butterfly. And that’s okay. Afternoon all. A combination of the forum upgrades and downtime from catching Nurgle’s blessing (covid) for the first time means I’m finally going to start the WiP log I’ve always meant to start. I love space marines of all types so always have multiple projects on the go. Currently, I’m focussing on Black Templar reinforcements for the August Throne of Skulls at Warhammer Workd with heresy era ultramarines in the background. But various other armies and one off projects will pop up over time. Currently I’m about to finish the first of two Redemptors for my Templars, and a Contemptor I finished yesterday is waiting on tufts. After that there is only Grimaldus and his boy band, a Primaris Techmarine and Castellan to go.

Well, it's been a while since I blogged last...too long in fact. I was only supposed to have a short break while I finished my Bladeguard and Assault Intercessors (and Bladeguard Ancient, and Captain...). They didn't end up being done till late November time as other things piled up. Here's how they turned out: This led to me finally starting the Marine half of the Leviathan box (I think I said before I wanted it done before New Year...That didn't happen). I started with my favourite Marine sculpts, the Terminators. While I may of saved the best till last with the tyranids, I wasn't following that trend with these. So seven models hit the table (Captain, Librarian, Terminator Squad): and at some point I added the old Terminator Marneus Calgar finecast (I didn't know this when I bought it) model to this. They got a coat of blue, and silver aaannnddd that was it for a month or so. Flash forward to January (same time I revived my thread in the wip area) when I picked up the paintbrush again. I tried something new for these which I had only done in trial cases before, and that was building up to white (and going further for the chest aquillas, up to gold). I worked through dark grey to light grey to white. With the helmets, I worked in as layers, leaving grey showing as shadows. It was a time consuming process but I liked the results. The capes on the captain and Calgar I'm particularly proud of, more so than my primaris calgar. I was grateful that the captain's base gave me an opportunity to do another tyranid...even if it was a dead one. I also attempted my first free handing here, and clearly I need more practice. The rest of the models turned out quite well, I also held back a little on the blue highlights, not sure if it was effective or not. It was about this time I realised that Calgar's little shield wing was glued on by the previous owner the wrong way. I didn't push myself on the Librarian as I should of but the GW standard paint scheme didn't appeal to me. The Terminator Squad though, I'm quite happy with these guys, in fact I'm itching to get the multipart set now, just to have their various weapon options. So, there was 25 models for the space marines in Leviathan, and I've done 7 models here. By my quick and dirty calculations, I've almost done a third. This brings us to the next batch for this mini project: Orto Cassius aside, it's another 7 models (one being the big boi of the Ballistus Dreadnought). Completing these will take me over the half way point. Let's see if I can get them done in under three months this time! People who follow my other thread will have an idea of where I am with these guys... Till next time, Keep hobbying! ZeroWolf

So someone else posted a Tiggy list, which made me take another look at him, and trying a variation of my list to fit him in. This is what I came up with. Calgar, BGV Lieutenant, 6 BGV - CP Gen, 10 4+++ models with basically 39 MC Powersword attacks, and 6MC PF attacks. Bobby G, 1 Ginsu Phobos Libby, 10 Infiltrators with Helix and Comms. Can't shoot outside 12, can't deepstrike inside 12. Tiggy, and 6BGV - 7 4++ models with -1 to be hit, a buncha power weapon attacks, a libby that can Hazardous every turn because they get a 4++ the 3MW IF they ever roll a 1. 5 Heavy Infiltrators 5 Intercessors Land Raider Land Raider 42 Infantry, 2 big vehicles, 1 monster, The only anti-tank is really on the Land Raiders and the Monster which I'm not fond of... The Normal version is Calgar, BGV LT, 6 BGV Bobby G, 1 Ginsu Phobos Libby, 10 Infiltrators with Helix and Coms Gravis Cap, Biologis, 6 Boltstorm Aggressors 5x Heavy Intercessors 5x Heavy Intercessors 5xDevs 4 Grav Cannon 5x Devs 4x Lascannon 3x Eliuminators LAs Fusil Not sure what I like better. The first one I like the idea of the regular Intercessors running around in the Land Raider doing some Sticky Capping. I see some potential for Assault Ramp Shenanigans there. The BGV in the other Land Raider is fairly obvious. The second one feels like a little more firepower and more spread out - 4 LC, 4GC and 3 Las Fusil, the Aggressor Bomb. 2 sets of T6 Objective Holders is also slightly nicer than the sticky cap-ability of the Intercessors.

Afternoon all. I'm heading to a 2k tournament in Glasgow next month and I'm looking to take the following list. I had a game with it yesterday against Necrons and its did very well, winning 57 to 27. But wouldn't mind hearing the thoughts of my fellow sons of Macragge. This is based on a list I took to Throne of Skulls in September last year. I'm deliberatly avoiding Calgar and Aggressors and Gladiators since A) I don't have the models, and B) I'm trying to use backlog and pile of potential models before buying anything new at the moment. Tigurius runs with the Bladeguard in the Land Raider. Being able to use Counter-offensive for free once a round proved very useful. Centurions ride in the Repulsor and go where they are needed most. In yesterday's game the eliminators were able to infiltrate on to an objective and hold it for the whole game, though they didn't do much shooting. I kept the Suppressors in deep strike, and their small footprint meant I was able to tuck them right into the corner of my opponents deployment zone. They did die horribly, but managed to get me behind enemy lines for two turns and forced a unit of Lychguard to fall back and deal with them. Obviously points will change soon, but I'm hoping that by avoiding the current 'meta' units I won't have to change the list drastically. But can anyone see any obvious weaknesses I'm missing in this list? Ultramarines: 2000pts Vanguard Spearhead Detachment Characters Chief Librarian Tigurius (Warlord) Battleline Units Heavy Intercessor Squad - 5 Heavy Intercessors - Heavy Bolter Other Units Incursor Squad - 5x Incursors - Haywire Mine Incursor Squad - 5x Incursors - Haywire Mine Centurion Devestator Squad - 3x Centurion Devestators - 3x Grav Cannons - 3x Centurion Missile Launchers Bladeguard Veteran Squad - 6x Bladeguard - Sergeant: Neo-Volkite Pistol Desolation Squad - 5x Desolators - 5x Superkrak Missiles Desolation Squad - 5x Desolators - 5x Superkrak Missiles Suppressor Squad Suppressor Squad Eliminator Squad - 3x Bolt Sniper Rifles Land Raider - Multi-melta - Storm Bolter. Repulsor - Twin Lascannon - Las Talon Repulsor Executioner - Heavy Laser Destroyer - Icarus Rocket Pod - Ironhail Heavy Stubber

Having been barely keeping up with the hobby for several years, Indomitus reignited my passion for 40k last year, so I decided to try to actually build a force. This time it will be Primaris space marines, but still my beloved 3rd Company of the Ultramarines. The plan is to build the complete company, including officers and attached specialists and a dreadnought, plus a ten-man Deathwatch kill team, and such a project needs a fresh thread, so here I am. In terms of bulding the company, I will be dividing it into combat squads, to avoid becoming overwhelmed or bored, and alternate those with Deathwatchers and officers, so that it will go Combat Squad > Deathwatch > Combat Squad > Officer > Combat Squad > Deathwatch... and so on. This should offer a decent balance between progress and sameness of models. I started an Intercessor veteran sergeant (the 30th anniversary model) as a one-off before I decided to make a full army, so I decided to finish him before doing the rest of the combat squad. If you visit the Ultramarines subforum, you may have seen him, but here he is again with one of the Necrons the 3rd is fighting: The Necron is really just a color scheme test model, not the start of an army, any time soon at least. The rest of Combat Squad Ardias is in progress, with their bodies only needing cleanup: The bolt rifle arms are coming along too, I just need to highlight the black and tidy up everything before gluing them on. Then it's just the other arms, backpacks and heads and then finishing touches. Of course, an Intercessor squad isn't the end of it. I have plenty of plans for all the squads and in particular the command cadre. I don't feel like typing out all the minute details of my plan that I've spent the last nine months overthinking, so for now I will just finish off with something black for now:

It took some time, but I finally got round to building and painting him. It was slow going, but overall I've thoroughly enjoyed getting him ready for table top.

Hey BnC I’ve got a couple logs up here - right now the active ones are my Iron Warriors 30k legion and my 40k Zerkers kill team. I also have a very slow progress log based around Fabius bile and the Emperor’s Children, and a Carcharadons army which is on Hiatus. So why make a fifth? The answer is simple. I love converting things. Sometimes I’ll see a piece and think it looks perfect for X Legion/Chapter/Xenos and I’ll put something together real quick. Some of my favourite kitbashes and conversions happen this way, but I have no place here to share them - so I wanted to put together a blog where I can post whatever, whenever, regardless of army. So to kick this off I’ll start with my current WIP - A late Heresy Word Bearer by the name of Myr Khothon, known as the Zealot of Cassidium Primus. Here he is a little before I finished converting him (some changes made to the right arm): And here he is now, nearing the end of painting! Here’s a close up of the glow effects on his conjuring hand as light glows through from between his fingers: LMK what you think! There’s plenty more to come, I’ve got years of conversions (Some of which are actually painted!) to share. CC welcome! Cheers

THE DEATH’S REDEEMERS http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q578/kydoimos2/Deaths%20Redeemers%20tactical%20marine_zpsdsvxcsxt.jpg CHAPTER NAME: .............. THE DEATH’S REDEEMERS FOUNDING: .................. 22nd CHAPTER WORLD: .............PRAXIDIKA VII FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........ THE EMPEROR’S EYE GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ... THE DARK ANGELS KNOWN DESCENDANTS: ......... NONE "LIGHT SHALL PREVAIL" The Death's Redeemers were created as a standing force, designed to strengthen and defend the Astartes dominion over the extreme south-east border of the galaxy. Situated in the Segmentum Ultima, based on the world of Praxidika VII directly south of the prosperous kingdom of Ultramar, they’re facing the Exodite worlds created by those Eldars who chose exile rather than decay and death. A successor of the famed Dark Angels chapter, the Death's Redeemers were zealous hunters of the Fallen in their early history. However, they see themselves more like defenders of the ideals of the Imperium now rather than a force belonging to the secretive successors chapters of the Dark Angels. They are therefore dedicated Marines, fighting for the glory of the Emperor, who believe that His grand design, embodied by the Great Crusade, must not be forgotten as it is too frequent in these grim days. A still young chapter, they nevertheless have gained the respect of their peers by showing their utter determination in eradicating the enemies of the Imperium of Mankind and defending an optimistic vision of the future. Sorely tested in these hard times, their faith in their cause need to be defended now more than ever. Fierce enemies of Chaos, their history is scarred by their breaking up with their genitor chapter, the Dark Angels. Unable to accept the sacrifices in human lives thought needed by their brothers, the Death’s Redeemers have cut their ties with them and became close followers of the Codex Astartes and the example given by the Ultramarines. ORGANIZATION The Death's Redeemers are a codex-adherant chapter. They follow the principles of the Codex Astartes and draw their tactical inspiration from the words of Roboute Guilliman rather than their original chapter, the Dark Angels. As such, they have abandoned the divergent organization of their genitor chapter and respect the rules edicted by the Primarch of the XIIIth Legion. The Death's Redeemers developed a taste for massive drop pods assaults. Albeit risky in the extreme, this mean to deliver Marines in the heat of battle had shown enough advantages for the Chapter to be adopted as the main assault technique. Therefore, every unit is training to this particular and dangerous way of fighting, even the Devastators. This choice is not only motivated by tactical considerations. It is also a way to answer the main demand the Death’s Redeemers imposed to themselves: to safeguard the planets they attack and the people living there as much as possible in order to bring them back as willingly as it is possible to the Imperial dominion. War is not an end in itself for the Chapter; it is the expression of the Emperor’s will and therefore must serve His design of a peaceful and united galaxy. The Death’s Redeemer also considers that following the precepts of the Codex Astartes is a key element to reach this goal. Not as dogmatic as the Ultramarines or their successors chapters can be regarding the edicts of Guilliman’s legacy, they will however respect it strictly, as long as it is not antagonist with their superior goal of restoring Imperial light in the galaxy. HOMEWORLD The Death's Redeemers’ fortress-monastery is based on Praxidika VII, a medieval and arid world. They are not the direct rulers of their planet but rather maintain a distant but constant watch over the population, not interfering in political matters, awed by their presence which is shrouded in mystery and legends. Praxidika VII is a planet with a harsh environment. Few could survive on its surface without the knowledge of advanced survival techniques in an arid world. SPECIFIC HISTORY The Death's Redeemers’ have a rather complicated history regarding to their origins and their evolution. Created from the Dark Angels gene seeds, they have developed similar characters traits: secretive, relentless and stubborn, they were designed for the hunt of the Fallen and embraced it willingly at the beginning. Dedicated to this task, they organized their newly-founded chapter in order to keep these secrets hidden to those unworthy. And behind their apparent dedication to the Imperial cause, they were relentlessly searching for any traces of their lost brothers, hunting them and everyone suspected to hold information regarding their whereabouts. However, this situation was not designed to endure. Having gathered information on a possible location of a Fallen angel plotting against the Imperial and Astartes dominance in relation with Eldars corsairs based close to the Maelstrom, the Death's Redeemers’ asked for help from their genitors. The plan, based on information gathered by the Ravenwing of both Chapters, was to lead a powerful strike, both by teleportation and ground assault, in order to destroy the Fallen’s fortress. But nothing went along as planned. The first problem to occur was that the people living on the planet were not as pacific as it seemed. As soon as the Death's Redeemers’ ground elements landed on a remote area, they were surrounded by frenzied humans, poorly equipped but relentless in their hatred of the Astartes. Forced to fight back, the spearhead couldn’t accomplish its objective in due time. This action showed something else: that the attack against the Fallen was known and surprise couldn’t be exploited. Both leaders wondered if the teleported assault should be carried out; the Death Redeemers’ chapter master, Caïn Ektes, voted against this option whereas the Dark Angels firmly asked their allies not to deny their secret oath. Unwillingly, Ektes agreed to follow his allies into battle under high pressure, startled by the aggressiveness they shown but not decided to break his word and show his honor as a Son of the Lion. Final preparations were made for the assault when an alert sounded in the Death's Redeemers’ battle barge’s strategium. Expecting an imminent attack at first, both Astartes leaders discovered that the fleet in approach belonged to the Adepta Sororita. The messages sent by this unexpected ally made things more complicated: suspecting a chaotic infestation on the planet, Sisters sent there had for mission to search for actual clues proving this assertion and, if needed, destroy subversive elements, if it wasn’t too late. The Dark Angels decided to use these allies as bait in order to create a new element of surprise. In conjunction with the Arbites forces on the ground, the Adepta Sororita organized an armed reconnaissance in the suburbs of the main city on the planet. During this time, the Astartes force withdrew, simulating a general fallback and abandoning the ground task force. However, they kept an eye on the Sororita’s action which functioned as planned: drawing the attention of the enemy, they were assailed by a large force, pushing them back from the city. This was the moment: the Dark Angels launched a surprise teleport assault on the fortress, destroying the command centre and capturing the Fallen. Withdrawing, they started an orbital bombardment in order to destroy the Ecclesiarchy’s forces, witness of their action. Ektes stood witness of all these actions in awe: he couldn’t believe anymore in the legitimacy of this hunt that was driving Astartes forces to fight and kill the very ones they were made to protect. Acting boldly, he rushed in order to retrieve his men stuck on the planet. Seeing this, the Dark Angels force stopped shooting. But this was a mere satisfaction: the Ecclesiarchy’s ships, believing the Death's Redeemers were the source of the attack against their forces started to shoot at them, while the Dark Angels were swiftly disappearing. In his anger, Ektes ordered to destroy the Ecclesiarchy’s ships that attacked them, retrieve their brothers on the ground and leave the planet. Since then, and after a very violent explanation with the Dark Angels, the Death's Redeemers have voluntarily forsaken their oath to hunt the Fallen and strive to earn forgiveness for their actions. http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q578/kydoimos2/Deaths%20Redeemers%20tactical%20marine_zpsdsvxcsxt.jpg Brother Rheto, 2nd tactical squad, 5th Company [http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q578/kydoimos2/Terminator%201ere%20Cie_zpsnuto6eal.jpg Veteran Brother Nedam, 1st Company ORGANIZATION The chapter organization is in keeping with the Codex Astartes. There are 10 companies: the first one regroup the Chapter’s veterans, either equipped with Terminator armor or classical power armor; the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th companies are battle companies led by captains and made of 6 tactical squads, 2 assaults squads and 2 devastator squad, each of them having their own armory and dedicated Dreadnoughts. 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th companies are reserve companies and the 10th squad is made of scouts. The Death's Redeemers have a high number of drop pods due to their tactical doctrine and assaults squads are also trained to excel in boarding actions. Their veteran in Terminator armor equally favors teleporting assault in these situations or planet fall attacks. The Chapter’s fleet is a reflection of their combat doctrine. The Death's Redeemers own few capital class ships compared to others chapters and focus rather on small, fast and aggressive ships. Their void combat doctrine is similar to their planetary engagements: they favor close quarters actions through the massive use of boarding torpedoes. Once on board, their assault squads, specifically equipped, are tasked with the destruction of the main propulsive elements of the enemy ships whereas their Terminators squads are looking for leaders in order to destroy them utterly, ending the fight as quickly as possible. The Death's Redeemers’ power armor is painted in black and ivory colors. They adhere strictly to the Codex Astartes’ principles regarding companies, squads and officers distinctive signs. SELECTED BATTLE HONORS The Occlusiad War [550.M37] Albeit far from Praxidika VII, the Death’s Redeemers took part to this conflict suspecting the presence of a Fallen behind the Blind King actions. The Death’s Redeemers distinguished themselves by leading several bold boarding operations in the numerous void battles that occurred during this conflict. Break-up with the Dark Angels [723.M38] The Death’s Redeemers, following the events on the planet of Merak, give up their hunt of the Fallen and publicly adhere to the Codex Astartes. They also develop their ties with the Ultramarines, which are now considered as their source of inspiration. The Redemption Crusades [131.M39] The Death’s Redeemers are a major force accompanying the global burst leading to the recovery of numerous worlds across the Imperium. The First Tyranic War [745.M41] Based on a world close to Ultramar, the Death’s Redeemers had to defend themselves against a tendril of the Hive Fleet Behemoth. However, the poor amount of biomass on Praxidika VII weakened the aliens that couldn’t get enough genetic material to renew their strength. However, the victory was hard-won and the chapter suffered important losses, until they could destroy the last Tyranids force disoriented after the victory of the Ultramarines in the battle for Macragge.

I am a lesser son of greater fathers. I am the descendant of men who carried the human race from its infantile cradle to the mantle of supremacy across the galaxy. I am the son of warriors whose tread shook the stars and whose fury shattered civilisations, whose courage turned back the shroud of Old Night, and whose honour has served as an example for generations since passed, and for those yet to come. I am the last in a long line of warrior-heroes who have left their indefatigible mark on the course of human history, and who will be revered forever more across the ages as legends. And rightly so. Yet I am no legend. Nor am I a hero. I am the last of my brothers and the most fallible of them all. I am the sole survivor, the outcast, the lone wanderer who stood, paralysed, as his brothers were cut down and murdered by those who should have been our kinsmen and shield-brothers. My sin is that I live, while those who were far worthier than I, far nobler and doughtier men, lie dead. I am a lesser son of greater fathers, and by what authority is vested in me by the Primarch and by the Emperor, beloved by all, I swear I will avenge my fallen brothers and reap such a tally amongst their murderers that I might stand as an equal amongst my brothers in the afterlife. -from the journal of an unknown battle-brother, XIIIth Legion 'Ultramarines', company and Chapter unknown _____________________

Emerald Tigers Origin "We will never know how much was lost. So much of what we have done and once were, as important a part of ourselves as what we are now, is now gone. All that's left for us is to exact equal vengeance upon those who took this from us. We shall destroy them. And then we shall forget them." Librarian Myrddin Wyllt, overseeing the reconstruction of the Chapter's Librarium The Emerald Tigers were formed during the 7th Founding from the legacy of Guilliman, around a cadre of an older Chapter, the War Consuls. Their first action once combat ready was to participate in a crusade to reclaim the worlds lost to the Imperium by the ferocity of the Emperor's Ire, a sector-wide warpstorm that had been raging for nearly a century. The Emerald Tigers found themselves facing a Sector at the very verge of being overrun. Creatures of the Warp and Traitor Marines wearing the panoply of the Emperor's Children cavorted and rampaged across the worlds and in the depths of space, playing with what was left of the weak and desperate mortal populations. Though a true enemy now stood before them, their joy over the bloodshed only seemed to grow to a higher pitch when the Crusade met the Chaos incursion head on. Though an arduous struggle, the Imperium was ultimately successful when the final dissipation of the warpstorm cut off reinforcements to the traitors. The Emerald Tigers re-tasked themselves with the defense of the Erinn Sector, deep in Segmentum Pacificus. With the approval of the High Lords, they took for themselves a homeworld within it that had particularly impressed the young Chapter on its continued resistance to the corruption of Chaos. The Emerald Tigers have remained in the area for millennia, on constant patrol for the ever-constant resurgence of Traitor Marine activity and the presence of insidious xenos. It took nearly three thousand years before the Emerald Tigers were able to finally cast out the Emperor's Children Warband, who called themselves the High-Born, led by the Chaos Lord Mogh Nuadat. Three thousand years of war, of hunting them down from world to world. It was Chapter Master Conn Eremon, their most revered hero, who finally hammered them down. The headstrong Chapter Master never gave them respite, even when his own Chapter needed it more. Whenever the High-Born went to ground, he would tear the world apart until there was nowhere left for them to hide. His crusade of extermination lasted three centuries. It began at the Brosnachian Fields, where the Chapter destroyed the fleets of the Rogue Trader Sampate and burned the extensive roots the High-Born cults had taken. It continued on the worlds of Mewsauc, Govran, S'wama and Lewein, as well as battles fought in scores of other places. Everywhere the High-Born would be found, uprooted and yet, disappear. This over-extended game of cat and mouse finally met its conclusion upon the moons of the gas giant Maglena. There they found not only the Warband but their ever elusive Chaos Lord. In a duel worthy of song and saga, Conn slew Mogh Nuadat. The High-Born, for the first time since they had arrived, were finally beaten and driven from the Sector. Suffering from great wounds, Conn was interred in a Contemptor-class Dreadnought, within which he would continue to serve the Chapter as a beacon of glory and honor, a veteran of every war the Chapter had waged. Since then, the Emerald Tigers have ever stayed loyal to their Emperor and fought countless wars in this remote and otherwise relatively unprotected zone of space. From their earliest victory upon the bloody hills of Khavidan to their most recent defense of their homeworld, Tara, the Emerald Tigers have won great glories and suffered many losses with trademark adaptability, overcoming all obstacles by virtue of their fluidity. Defense of Tara "A hundred times I have been awoken. A hundred times I have been unleashed. A hundred times I have faced your kind. I will do so a hundred more, but for you this is the end." Conn the War Ender meets Tyreke, Chaos Lord of the Eyes of Tivan, in battle Late in the 41st Millennium, the High-Born returned to Erinn, alongside a Warband of the World Eaters, the Eyes of Tivan. Together, the two Warbands cut a swathe across the Sector. Before the Chapter could even react, entire sub-sectors went dark. The Emerald Tigers were not slow in reaction. Such was the speed and ferocity of the attacks. Chapter Master Cormac Airt immediately mobilized the Chapter to stem the oncoming tide of heretics, daemons and Traitor Marines. Recruitment rates were doubled and then tripled as the Chapter met the foe and the attrition rates rose. Though Cormac's inspired leadership saw the traitorous advance falter, the Chapter's counter-offensive stumbled upon Buoyan. There Eoghain Mor, master of the High-Born and former Champion of Mogh Nuadat, laid a trap for the lord of the Emerald Tigers upon Buoyan treacherous glacier-continents. Utilizing powerful Warp sorceries, the traitors succeeded in isolating the Chapter Master and laying him low. The whiplash of the magic devastated the icy waste, making the land of solid ice too dangerous to fight upon and the Emerald Tigers were forced to retreat. Though Cormac survived, his body and mind were ravaged. He was transported back to their fortress-monastery, where the Apothecarion and Librarium collaborated on his treatment. In the interim, First Captain Cairbre took upon himself Acting Chapter Master. Though an accomplished leader of men, outshining all other living Captains in feats of glory, Cairbre did not have Cormac's resourcefulness or charisma. He held the line, preventing the oncoming enemy forces from breaching their defenses and spilling out onto the Imperium's unprotected worlds for a couple of years. Though Cairbre's response was laudable, it did not protect the true target of their enemy's wrath. Sub-sector Leathcuinn was, relatively, unprotected. With the bulk of their armies diverting the Chapter's defenses elsewhere, the two Warbands sent their veteran elite to lay siege upon the Sub-sector's crown jewel and homeworld of the Emerald Tigers, Tara. With the great majority of the Chapter's Fleet scattered throughout the Sector, the heavy bruisers and small destroyers that burst from the Warp met only a token resistance in orbit around Tara. With the target of all the High-Borns' rage buried deep under Taran ground and the Eyes of Tivan aching to meet their foe face to face, the traitors foresook orbital bombardments and instead released their warriors upon the surface of the world. Aside from the host of combat-ready Chapter serfs, wholly unprepared to face such a foe, and the nearly inconsequential mortal armies of Tara's clans and tribes, the traitors were met by the two hundred Scouts and Marines raised in addition to the Codex norm in response to the Traitor threat, as yet unassigned to their own places among the stars. Though the traitors outnumbered the Emerald Tigers nearly three to one, the Chapter had two advantages in its favor. First was that among the Dreadnoughts that had remained on Tara was Conn Eremon, ancient High-King and the Chapter's greatest martial hero. Once awoken, his presence upon the battlefield inspired the young Marines to equal exploits as he reaped enemy lives with every strike. Their second advantage, wielding the Chapter's most ancient relic weapons, the Fire's Claw and the Hound's Blade, took the form of yet another returned hero. Though weakened still by the venomous magicks wreaked upon him, nonetheless it was Cormac Airt who led the defenses. The battles that waged upon Taran soil lasted many months. Many of the world's island-continents were razed, its people gone forever. For a time, it seemed that no matter the awe-inspiring feats of the defenders, such as when Eoghain Mor fell with Cormac's claw buried within him, Tara would be doomed to fall. The defenders knew that their death knell had been sounded when Conn the War Ender, master of countless battles and warrior supreme, was cast broken from the Bones, a mountain range named for the ancient belief that it is the remains of an ancient race of giants, by the Chaos Lord of the Eyes of Tivan Warband. However, as the Emerald Tigers fought tooth and nail, viciously, within the hallowed halls of their own Fortress-Monastery, salvation finally arrived. Cairbre, finally freed from the wars that had laid siege to a Mechanicum Knight world, had struck an alliance with the Knight House Mobius and turned his forces back to Tara. In a replay of when the traitors appeared over Taran skies, Cairbre was able to force his ships past the traitor cordon and release his men and a host of Knights upon Tara. While four Companies, accompanied by a host of walker-machines, turned the tide on Tara, Cairbre and his veteran 1st Company committed boarding actions on the greater ships of the traitor fleet. Though the Defense of Tara took nearly a year, the Emerald Tigers were eventually able to push the Traitors back off their world. It cost the Chapter much. Nearly a third of the world's population remained and the war marked the death of the Chapter's most revered ancestor. With Cairbre himself gone, unable to teleport off ship in time to avoid its sudden self-destruction, Cormac Airt had risen to reclaim the mantle of the Chapter Master. As their Fortress-Monastery was rebuilt, the enemy's leadership slain or on the run, he led the Emerald Tigers back into the war that rampages still across Sector Erinn. Home World "The lands still will not green. What have they done to our world, that its scars yet remain?" Cormac Airt, Chapter Master of the Emerald Tigers once and again During the First War, as the later Emerald Tigers refer to their earliest Crusade, the young Chapter marched in its entirety upon the world of Tara, a world wracked by battles fought between the two traitor forces. There the Emerald Tigers witnessed the weakened, distraught Imperial citizens remain ultimately unbroken by the atrocities they'd lived through, fighting back at their enemies at every moment through subterfuge and guerrilla tactics. When the Chapter succeeded in throwing the traitors offworld it had already been decided that the world of Tara would make an ideal center for recruitment. Following the close of the Crusade, the Emerald Tigers petitioned the High Lords of Terra for the right to claim Tara as their homeworld. So granted, the young Chapter set to work on the feudal world, creating their Fortress-Monastery as a vast subterranean network in the center of the Great Valley, an immense basin as large as the Imperial Palace. The only evidence that can be seen from the surface is a large mound, too uniformly rounded to be a natural hill or small plateau. The tribal Tarans refer to this landmark as the Great Mother, who gives birth to the giant sons of the Sky Father, the local term for the Emperor. Those Tarans more civilized than their tribal brethren, living in a feudal state, know more of the truth of its existence and are fully aware of the presence of the Emerald Tigers. The Chapter recruits from both peoples equally, nominally by keeping watch over the internecine wars and tournaments. For every child taken as a potential recruit a token of precious metal is left behind for the child's family. Among the feudal clans, these tokens are of paramount importance, being physical manifestations of their divine right to rule. In essence, the tokens act as evidence of nobility. The greatest clans, called the Companion Clans as they can trace their long lineages back to the heroic Tarans who had fought alongside the Emerald Tigers at the very beginning of their histories. The patriarchs of these clans are kings of their imminent domains, Tara's highest mortal authorities. The tribes of Tara react to the tokens less reverently, thinking them payment for the taking of their child and nothing more. These tokens exchange hands and ownership at a rapid pace. Many clans have had their position secured by laying claim to traded tokens. These clans were purged when such claims were declared fraudulent in the 39th Millennium. For the past couple decades, Tara has been attempting to mend the horrific damage wrought upon it during the unprecedented assault by an allied traitor force. Since the ending days of the Defense of Tara late M41, the Taran populations have drasticaly reduced. Across its island-continents, the tribal Tarans were struck the worse and are nearly extinct. The urban Tarans suffered less than their tribal brethren, seeking more to survive than to brazenly attack as the tribes did, centering their efforts over the most important, populous cities. Many of the lesser cities were overrun, their people massacred. Enough time has passed that Tarans have begun rebuilding these abandoned shells but still the landscape is dotted with blasted ruins marking the sites of mass graves. Organisation "In our darkest time, we needed them. We would have not survived without them. Now, as dark times approach once more, we argue how to dispose of them?" 3rd Captain Tighearnan, as the fate of the 11th Company hangs in the balance The organisation of the Emerald Tigers has changed in the recent centuries, as the Chapter has been forced to raise nearly two hundred additional Marines to overcome the constant onslaught of foes that had threatened to overwhelm the Chapter during the 41st Millennium. Though no longer necessary, the survivors were coalesced into a single Company and are now used to man and escort the large Starfort Exalted Wrath, a recent addition to the Chapter that had proven particularly advantageous in breaking the back of the Traitor's attack on their homeworld. The Chapter is divided on the future of the company, as the current Chapter Master has yet to decide whether it will be retained and replenished as needed or allowed to diminish over time by inevitable losses until the proper Chapter size is once more reached. The remaining ten companies are primarily Codex in organisation. The Battle Companies are ever at work hunting down and striking out at nearby foes while the Reserve Companies patrol the Sector in constant vigilance. Beliefs "We are light. We can blind and we can guide. How we choose to use our power defines us and, through us, our Chapter and the Imperium. To abuse it is to forsake everything we have ever stood for or ever will. Do not abuse it." Chief Librarian Coran Wyrdbreaker, to the fey Marines being initiated into the Druid Circle The Emerald Tigers have for a long time lost their Primarch as their primary focus for reverence, shifting entirely to the Emperor. Though Guilliman remains as an important aspect of the Chapter, they view him mostly as a conduit, their connection to the Emperor through their genetic inheritance and on equal terms with the Chapter's own ancient heroes. This shift in focus is one of many visible clues as to how much of the Chapter has been shaped by their homeworld. Combat Doctrine "It has ever been our way to challenge ourselves to further feats of brilliance. What worth is there in repeating the same successes over and over? Once was proof enough that it could be done; twice perhaps if to prove the first was no mishap. But to have committed countless feats, each unique and independent of the other, is something to be proud of. Versatility. Adaptability. No enemy of Man ever strikes the same and nor shall we. Stagnation in battle is death. Predictability is death." Sergeant Daithi to his scout squad The Chapter has pride most of all in its mutability and adaptability. Rather than providing the same, static face to the enemy in each encounter, the Emerald Tigers has learned the hard way that only by approaching war differently each time can they take the enemy by surprise. The hunters of the tribesmen know full well that they are not the greatest predator of the forests and change themselves constantly, sometimes through drastic measures, to disorient any would be attackers. As the Emerald Tigers are isolated from any potential aid and can be outmatched at times by their myriad foes, they have adopted this as their creed. The rich and robust tomes that is the Chapter's copy of the Codex Astartes which details multiple potential military responses for virtually any potential situation. As a general preference, the Chapter will by its own preferences choose an unused method of attack or defense before falling back upon a previously used gambit. They have been known to go against such preferences often when opportune. They do not allow themselves to get lost in the fervor and heat of battle. They remain constantly aware for the perfect moment to strike with utmost ferocity, whether when striking from unawares or already locked in combat, the Emerald Tigers strive always to end conflicts quickly and decisively. Gene-Seed "War is in our blood! Feel its rage burn within! Let it overwhelm you as it sustains you with its hate! Let it fill your soul! Let yourself go within it, as you spill it from your enemies!" Chaplain Siobhan, leading the Uineil Clansmen in defense of their land The Emerald Tigers were founded upon the gene-seed of Roboute Guilliman and they have kept their genetic legacy as pure as it began. The Chapter keeps careful watch over the Tarans for prospectful recruits, though they do make such individuals easy to find. As the taking of a family member increases a clan's social standing, many capable boys are trained from a very young age to impress the watchers with strong arms and quick minds. Great tournaments are held with regularity, as the youths show off their skills and prowess in competitions against one another. Among the Taran tribes, life is less orderly. A child that can fight in tournaments is a child that can fight for his tribe's survival and will participate in the everlasting wars between tribes and the two great cultures. Despite the Tara's brush with Chaos so long ago, the purity of faith and mind of Tara's denizens kept them pure of body as well. Though an ever-present problem for any Imperial world, Tara's mutant birth rate is very low and harshly dealt with. The Emerald Tigers have been blessed with such purity, allowing the Chapter to rapidly recuperate from the many severe losses it has taken over its lifetime. Battle-cry "We live! They die!" A chanted call and return used first at the Defense of Tara.

++The following is an excerpt taken from an interview with Astartes Sergeant Aeneas and Interrogator Buria ++ ++Inquisition Eyes Only++ Buria: Sergeant Aeneas, you are a member of the Shattered Suns yes? A member of the 5th company I am led to believe? Aeneas: Yes Interrogator, I am indeed. Buria: Do you know why you are here? Any idea whatsoever? Aeneas: I can suspect on that account. Buria: Can you? Aeneas: Yes. I suspect I am here because, like the rest of my Chapter, we are one of the few living individuals to have survived against the skrið dauða. Or mostly survived. You and I both know most did not, either in that first, bloody encounter, or the wars after. Buria: That is correct. They are alleged to be operating in Conjuction with Abaddon, and the Imperial Inquisition believes the Shattered Suns are one of our greatest resources. Aeneas: Only took you 200 years, but I see how it is. We'd be going after them in any case inquisitor, I suspect a bit of help may be appreciated. But let me start from the beginning. Aftui` 200 years earlier Hab Spire 7/Level 425(Underhive) Squad Aesychlus had found itself in the Underhive, defending besieged citizens from the monsters that roamed the streets, the cultists in rags, and other...things. Aeneas snapped off a three round burst, the bolt shells detonating in the Plague Ogryns rotting gut, spewing a slurry of offal onto the cobblestone. Another two humans staggered out of the fog, one bearing an antiquated las weapon,the other a rusty cleaver. Both men charged him, but Aeneas deigned to waste holy ammunition on these dregs and simply crushed them beneath his boot. He turned to Cambrius, one hand shielding a child, the other firing with a bolt pistol. "Brother! Are you well?" Cambrius nodded, the grilled face plate presenting a bleak visage to the world. His bolt pistol roared again, and Aeneas heard rather than saw the fury of whatever his Brother had hit. The ground rumbled as it approached the putrid fog obscuring anything but the shape, a hulking thing with large shoulders and a hunched form.Aeneas felt his heart sink. Terminators... His head snapped as an autorifle round impacted and he turned, firing on the knot of cultists eho were attempting to bracket him with Heavy Stubber fire. A warning pulsated in his visor. Low Munitions Low Munitions SEEK RESUPPLY "Brothers! I am low on munitions! Anyone have any spares?" Wuldrad passed him two more magazines, and Aeneas expended the spent one, his bolter steaming. The other Astartes nodded once before moving past him, plasma weapon juddering in his hands, eager to release the Sun. The gorund shuddered again, and Wuldrad let out a roar, one finger pointing to the target. Aeneas turned and saw his guess was right. Two Chaos terminators were striding forward, their once crimson armor now faded, the leering Daemon skull marking their Allegiance to the XVII. One bore two crackling claws, the tips twitching, while the other had a power fist and combi bolter. Aesychlus came on the vox, "Terminators. Wuldrad, Aeneas, take the one with the fist! Ovidio, on me! Cambrius, let none pass!" "Affirmative." Wuldrad began a steady streamy of plasma, the bolts melting and penetrating into the rancid flesh of the Word Bearer, who simply growled. Aeneas began to fire on the joints, ceramite exploding with loud pops. Both astartes kept firing as the beast began to slow, and Wuldrad bellowed as the combi bolter caught him in the shins, knocking him to one knee. Aeneas ripped two grenades from his belt, priming them both as he did it and let fly. He dragged Wuldrad away as the terminator exploded, the damage far to much to bear. He heard a grunt and saw Ovidio go down, one arm spinning away, the other clutching at his neck, blood gouting in a stready flow. Aesychlus was a viper, moving two quickly to be hit, the power sword finding chinks in armor and severing servo muscle bundles. Cambrius had already grabbed Ovidio, but paused when he saw the sergeant knock away a clw and ramming his sword under the chin of the Traitor, the glowing blade coming out of the tusked helm. He staggered away, and Aeneas caught him as he stumbled, noting the damage to his Sergeants chest, the black aquila marred, and the blood leaking from 4 punctures. The 5 marines managed to get into the open shelter, hoping the other half of the squad was more successful in sabotaging the bridge three levels down. Intense Firefight by vazzy2012, on Flickr Primus Squad,under command of Sergeant Aesychlus. Primus would be engaged in a running war across Aftui` and would be one of the few to escape before the planets destruction. Cultist Cam by vazzy2012, on Flickr Captured from a damaged servo skull. Phobos rifle implies Brother Ovidio, the caretaker of this rare weapon.

This army is the next big thing in competetive games seeing how their gun lines are superb and numerous. How do we best them? I've got theoretical but no practical this edition. Decent terrain is a must against them I feel. For too long an open table has been considered "normal". My initial theoretical are decent numbers (My go to answer) mixed with reasonable fire support and an attack force. I have Cataphractii Terminators and Vanguard who can spear head an attack, along with a Rhino full of Sternguard, which is ideal for most armies but I do worry against Astra Millitarum.

In this topic I'd like us to discuss our preferred methods for using Sternguard veteran squads in Ultramarines armies. Things to consider: - Unit size - Transportation/delivery methods - role - equipment - army synergy My current build is a fairly simple option - 8 strong, all special issue Bolters and a lightning claw on the Sergeant. This squad goes in a Rhino with a Captain. The unit isn't an isolated attack force, working alongside Cataphractii Terminators and Vanguard. With the Masterful Marksmanship Stratagem they are fairly good at killing stuff, but not to the extent of overkill really. One thing I'm considering is adding special weapons or 2 Heavy flamers. My thoughts on this was to give the unit sharper teeth when jumping out of a Rhino. 2 Heavy flamers are definitely powerful but I toyed with the idea of a pair of melta guns. What do people think about this? The squad is a hit squad so a pair of melta guns could ensure the unit is more decisive against hard targets and characters. However, heavy flamers are still powerful and hard to pass up as it makes the squad dangerous. *** What are you preferences? Someone mentioned once upon a time that Storm Bolters are better and cheaper for Sternguard jumping out of a Rhino. I don't do the maths but I felt AP-2 along with Masterful Marksmanship was quite effective? What else is there regarding this?

So here's something I thought I'd turn into a series. I'm going to try to play primarily Primaris marines, and make a series out of it. But to be honest for the past couple of months this is how I've been playing my marines since the codex came out (Previous to that with the index I used quite a mix which was effective). Doing a little teaser here.... this moment is a critical scene later in the battle: +++ Ultra's fight for their lives. Surrounded by floods of infantry, and iron might of the Steel Legion.... with the guidance of Tigurius, do the Ultra's stand a chance? +++ This game is Maelstrom at 2K. My UM army from memory: - Tigurius - Primaris Captain with Fist and Relic Halo - Lt. - 5 scouts hvy bolter - 5 scouts - 5 Intercessors w/Grenade launcher - Repulsor - Redemptor - 3 Aggressors - Ancient - 10 Reivers - 3 Inceptors - 5 Helblasters - 5 Helblasters (assault variant) IG army from memory: Steel Legion - Cmd Tanks: Punisher (not Pask!) - Russ - 4 Chimera's with troops (some characters, priests etc) - 3 Sentinels Autocannons - 1 Lascannon Sentinel - Manticore - Basilisk - Hellhound - 2 Sqds of Scions with melta/plasma and cmdr. The Scenario: Maelstrom - each player starts with one objective but only draws cards for each objective they control from turn 2 on. Deployment - Quarters. The middle bubble 18" is no man's land. - Using the FAQ I add one to my roll to go first. And deployment looked like this: ++ UM Deploy - Scouts forward on flanks - Aggressors embarked with characters. ++ The Astra deployment: ++ From the Steel Legion table quarter. ++ The Game: - Astra fail to steal the initiative. - Shortly after movement, I completely forget my Psychic phase. I pull a card for killing a unit.... this should be doable! - The Reivers back the scouts on the left flank by grav chute-ing right to the side of the building for some cover, and surround the Inceptors to insulate them. ++ Reivers mean business. Deathmasks? Check. Grave Chutes? Check. Bullets with no AP? Check. ++ - This flank opens up but can't kill the single tank. It's horrible to admit, but one thing I counted on was the -1 AP from the Inceptors. News flash: Steel Legion ignore the AP on all AP-1 weapons, thus rendering about 90% of my army incapable of modifying vehicles saves! Darn you Belasarius... darn you to hell. - The mid table opens up. I don't move the Redemptor because I don't want it hitting on 4's with the HOG. It really doesn't matter... it does some fair damage to a Punisher and the Line of Sight forces the rest of the army to go after other tanks... the scouts concentrate a Heavy Bolter strategem on the right flank to deal three mortal wounds to the Hellhound. - Helblasters, Repulsor, Aggressors open up on tanks but the shots from the lascannons only cause one wound for 5 wounds on the command tank. Not good... No other shooting I have can do anything. I get desperate with overcharging Helblasters on a high Scaffold and use Scions of Guilliman on the assault blasters, causing just enough wounds to blow up the Hellhound. I had to do this for the objective card and First Blood... giving me 2 Points. But I don't feel good about this.. .the army largely flashed against the armour, with only my 2 solo lascannon shots having ANY meaning against Steel Legion armour saves. ++ 2 Squds of Scions with Melta and Plasma. Exactly what my Repulsor needs....++ - Astra show up in my zone with the Scions and I consider using an "Auspex Scan" but with only 5 Intercessors I didn't think it was worth the 2 CP's to hit his dudes in cover.... - Astra obviously see the Repulsor as my only real threat to the army. Lucky for me he can't complete his card as it's an objective on the UM side of the table. As he starts shooting Tigurius uses his special ability to make the Repulsor -1 to hit. This works... to a degree but the amount of firepower hitting the Repulsor from all angles is immense... with help from the Scions, the Repulsor blows sky high. That's it for my real vehicle damage. He puts additional indirect fire onto the closest Helblaster squad. I take 4 wounds killing 2... neither get back up from the Ancient. - The Agressors are always shot up early, but they vaporize in T1, and only one shoots back (fails to do anything). The right flank scouts with the heavy bolter are also vaporized. ++ Here we are... bottom of T2. Astra start to push forward hard. ++ Mid Game: - In turn 2 the UM realize they have to take down some heavy vehicles as this is already looking like a slaughterfest. With the Repulsor being sent back to Belasarius' scrap yard, it's up to the Redemptor. Unfortunately I have to move it. With some assistance it does a few wounds to a tank, but not enough to fully damage one. I think I get a Chimera down this turn. But it's mostly the Heavy Flamer that does damage to Steel Legion infantry looking for glory. - Again the lack of AP-1 doing any modifying is very punishing. Most of my army is wounding on a 5 or 6. The tanks are tearing the Ultra's apart. Sadly the best hope is on the left flank where he can't quite get a bead on the infiltrators, but again with Assault Heavy Bolters, I do no modification to Steel Legion armour so for example I counted.... and this is embarrassing... but I counted 48 shots from Reivers, Inceptors, scouts, and the Redemptor to take TWO final wounds off of a Chimera. ++ Inceptors seek cover, but expose themselves to a lot of firepower. Meanwhile the severely wounded Chimera would take 48 shots to take out of the game. Reivers get ready to assault...++ - Reivers commit to a multi assault killing squads down to 1 or 2 guys. Some how I manage to score a point putting Ultra's up 3 - 0. but the Steel Legion hit back hard.... ++ Astra push back and even with Tigrius' -1 to hit, the Redemptor goes down to 3 wounds quickly. At three wounds with movement the Redemptor is essentially useless.++ - Things looks grim in Astra T2. Yet the Astra can't complete their objective. - Astra with a priest decide to assault the captain and remaining Helblasters. One Helblaster survives and the Captain fists these brazen fools in the face for their misguided sense of heroism, but the writing is on the wall... there are very few Primaris left. - The Chimera's would advance, into the Assault Helblaster unit, while shooting would take care of most of the Ultra core units. Late Game: - In a true sense of desperation the Ultra's try to hit the command tank on the left flank: ++ Desperate assault: The Reivers make contact with the Punisher, assault, but cannot wound. It simply drives off. The Inceptor loses one of its mates to overwatch and DUAL assaults the Lascannon Sentinel and the Basilisk! However both would be fine and simply move away. This bought the Ultra's nothing but a second of breathing room preventing fire from these units. ++ - The inability to cause AP adjustments to the tanks is literally killing the Ultra's. Some tanks are damaged, but mostly functional. - The Intercessors are still dealing with the Scions in the bottom corner. One squad was shot up, and then assaulted to death. This allows the other squad to break out into the open to shoot at the redemptor. - The Redemptor flames some more useless flesh bags, but the retreating Helblaster assault squad is unable to really do much to the Chimera with the -1 to hit I was afraid of overcharge effects... it turns out I should have done it.... ++ The Intercessors kill off the remaining Scions in the ruins, but it took too long to finish the squad off, and now they can only watch on as the Scions would melta the Redemptor to slag. ++ - Although Ultra's score again going up 4-0 the Steel Legion now have two 'Defend' Cards which are auto complete in my T4. So in T3 after the Redemptor is destroyed, he turns his attention to my Reivers who falied to take the final wounds off of the Punisher command tank and they are killed to a man. The failed assaulting Inceptor is likewise killed. - The last Helblasters are killed. All that remains is Tigurius, the Captain, LT, Ancient and 4 Intercessors I decide to concede. With no board presence, and zero chance of killing his tanks (all are still on the table, only a few Chimera's died), the Ultra's are pasted pretty hard in this one. Conclusions: - I considered playing '7th edition' marines in this one. IE: Get a massive Maelstrom lead, hide for the game. But I never had enough board presence to have more than one objective card. Although I accomplished them all, and had first turn, it never gave me the lead I needed to hide it out. - Steel Legion ignoring -1 Ap was so brutal I can't tell you how dehabilitating this is to a Primarily Primaris army. I would have needed Multi repulsors and 4 squads of Helblasters. The ineffectiveness of the Repulsor made a bad situation worse. Too much fire power on the other end meant I was losing either the Redemptor or the Repulsor in T1. I would lose one per turn rendering the army incapable of damage. - Hind sight being 20/20 I should have pushed the Redemptor forward and preyed to the Emperor. I needed to assault the tanks. I actually saw for the first time a scenario where the Macroplasma Incinerator is actually better than the HOG... and this would have been it. However moving forward, overcharging is a super dangerous idea. - I still have a love/hate of the Redemptor. I love the model, I think it stinks still. If I could rip off the Icarus I would. The damage chart is so punishing to this unit. I still believe a vanilla dread, or Contemptor or Ven dread are all superior. I have 2 Redemptors and have played them (together) numerous times. I've never felt they pulled their weight. - Immediate knee jerk reaction is to add vanilla marines, but I'm trying not to. My missile Devs would have been huge. A Stormraven, and vanilla razor backs... all decent options. - My test unit: the Reivers were horrible. I knew I wouldn't like the 0AP on the guns and a parking lot list had nothing to fear from this unit. the Steel Legion lack of reaction until the last minute is proof of this. The Reivers had no effect in the game. - Agressors. Fun but always dead. This was a tough game for them. There was no valid target for 0AP weaponry. But then again the mass of the Primaris had no AP in this game! - Hopefully I will have some good changes to equal this out. But by no means was the Astra list a power gaming list. I would consider that list very average. If anything it shows the weakness of Primaris and exploited it nicely. Back to the drawing board....

_________________________________ For Hatred's Sake _________________ ‘...has been slain. I repeat...’ ‘...all Thirteenth Legion forces in the vicinity are to evacuate immediately, contingency Ultio in effect -’ ‘...belay that, the Primarch still lives! Reroute emergency landers to my position – ‘ ‘...say again, my lord, say again – we’re getting interference across all vox channels – ‘ ‘ – have disengaged, I repeat, XII and XVII Legion forces appear to be disengaging. What in the Throne’s name is happening in the heavens? Talon and Victrix flights report atmospheric disturbance like nothing they’ve seen before – ‘ -vox-chatter fragments c. Second Battle of Nuceria, XIII Legion archival log _________________ The destruction unleashed by the advent of Lorgar’s Ruinstorm was without precedent during the apocalyptic wars of the Horus Heresy. Until the war reached the shores of Sol, no other event inflicted as much sheer chaos or systemic disruption across the Imperium. Whole systems were lost to Imperial records, never to be heard from again, and on hundreds of worlds the skies split apart as the nightmarish denizens of the Immaterium poured forth from the roiling, seething tides of unreality now isolating the eastern domains of the Imperium. For those who populated the Five Hundred Worlds, the nascent empire-within-an-empire carved by honoured Guilliman and the XIII Legion, the infamy and treachery of the Word Bearers and World Eaters Legions was all too clear; in this darkest hour the state of the Imperium-that-Was – and the fate of the Throneworld itself – was unclear. Many in the highest echelons of the Five Hundred Worlds and its protectors believed the Imperium to have been irrevocably sundered. During the fateful first weeks of the Ruinstorm’s creation, the XIII Legion counterattack across the Five Hundred Worlds foundered and ground to a halt. Those planets not flensed of life by Angron’s hounds or sacrificed to malevolent powers were where the XIII Legion focussed their efforts of reconquista. Celerax Magna, a densely populated garden world on the western edge of the Five Hundred Worlds, became the stage for a brief but particularly brutal war in the weeks following the advent of the Ruinstorm. Before the Heresy, Celerax Magna had been a navigatory terminus for Imperial fleets and frequently housed members of the Navis Nobilite. Left relatively untouched by the Traitor advance, the survivors of the Navigator houses fleeing the carnage wracking the Five Hundred Worlds sequestered themselves in Celerax Magna’s teeming utopian cities, hoping to avoid the worst of the wars tearing apart Guilliman’s empire. Such a peaceful dream was as naive as it was false. As the Ruinstorm worsened, XIII Legion reserves drawn from censuria companies and VII Legion survivors of the Phall debacle spearheaded a Loyalist force from several Legions intended to secure the terminus, liberate any Navigators that could be located and with their aid forge a safe passage through the Ruinstorm, if one could be found. It was not to be so. The Traitor Legions arrived in force mere hours after the Loyalist vanguard arrived on Celerax Magna, alerted to the presence of the Navigators by powers dark and nefarious. Knowing that they could not count on reinforcement, and that to fail now would be to doom Imperial efforts to escape the Ruinstorm, the vengeful Loyalists readied themselves for a conflict that would be utterly without respite or quarter. The resulting war lasted for seven days without pause and saw the deaths of more than twelve billion souls. _________________________________ For Hatred’s Sake is a narrative doubles event made for the Age of Darkness supplement for the Warhammer 40,000 (7th edition) ruleset, with myself (BrotherCaptainArkhan) as author. In this event, players form teams of two to take on opposing teams battling for the fate of Celerax Magna. During the chaos and confusion of the Ruinstorm, the members of many Legions from both Loyalist and Traitor allegiances arrived in the domain of the Five Hundred Worlds, some by chance, some by darker design. Teams will face off across three themed scenarios, attempting to decapitate rival forces, capture valuable information that will enable them to locate the Navigator survivors who may be critical to the war effort, and finally enact their escape. This log will document the weekly buildup to the event itself, with army pictures, lore, force dispositions, themed scenarios and finally battle reports detailing the final hours of the garden world Celerax Magna, and the fate of the warriors fighting over it. _________________________________ Belligerents Loyalist force disposition VI Legion Pale Hunters VII Legion Mountainfire Company XI Legion Task Force Cornelius XIII Legion The Black One Hundred [Legion identifier missing] Strike Force Black Mamba [Legion identifier missing] First Sphere _________________ Traitor force disposition III Legion Third Company Elite VIII Legion Pythius Strike Force VIII Legion The Painted Exiles XIV Legion Death Guard XVI Legion Sons of Horus V Legion White Scars _________________ Next update: Event Rules

An interesting discussion... How do we get the best out of Stratagems when using the Ultramarines? Mentioned in another thread, should we burn through our Stratagems quickly whilst we have the units still alive or save them for later on to for something decisive when both sides have lost a lot of models? I'm thinking it's a matter of using the Stratagems as soon as possible, providing the benefit of doing so is measurably worthwhile. What does this mean? Well, be bold. If you want your Tactical squad jumping out of a Rhino with plasma and Grav Cannon to attack a powerful target then do it while you can soon as you can! Wait too long and the opponent might stop you or blunt the attack. Conversely, save the Command Point if your Sternguard are shooting at stragglers of a unit instead of using Masterful Marksmanship. That's an obvious waste but there will be times when you have similar options. Ask yourself "would I benefit from this Stratagem above and beyond the alternative of not using it?" I want a minimum of 7 Command Points in a 2000pts game, 6 in a 1500pts game. With 7 Command Points, I'll spend them a couple a turn until I have only a couple left then evaluate what I absolutely need to keep the CPs for. I'm not big on the 3 CP Stratagems personally. They are mostly over costed but one exception could be a counter charge with a Terminator squad against something beastly and using Honour the Chapter. Imagine charging into Mortarion with a Terminator squad and Dreadnought. He is unlikely to kill both and if he goes for the Dreadnought then you could hit him with Honour the Chapter. Potentially game winning. Death to the Traitors! looks interesting in a similar manner. I build my list now to use the Stratagems as best I can. It's our strength thanks to Scions of Guilliman, our Warlord Trait and every unit being able to hurt every unit. I make sure I have at least 1 Heavy Bolter so I can use Hellfire Shells. I try to use Sternguard so I can use Masterful Marksmanship. I have strong Tactical squads so I can benefit from Scions of Guilliman. I have Terminators for assault so I can use Death to the Traitors! and Honour the Chapter. Lastly, we have the best Warlord Trait for an army built for Stratagems. Refunds are amazing and will frustrate your opponent. Take Adept of the Codex EVERY TIME people! I'm interested in hearing other peoples musings on the subject. :)

I've been thinking that defeating armies with Mortarion in them will require some quite specific methods, to the extent I considered Frater would want to access that information directly. In this topic we will discuss 2 aspects to the same problem in an aid to winning a game against a Death Guard army - killing Mortarion and beating an army with him in it. I consider killing Mortarion to be quite difficult to do. He's got a monstrous amount of wounds and a nearby sorceror can heal him D3 wounds a turn I believe. Added to Disgustingly Resilient and we have a character that will likely last to the end of the game. So what ideas to players have to kill Mortarion? I'm considering people need help when not using Guilliman or an Imperial Knight. Bracketing him with a Devastator squad for a few turns can drag down his wounds regardless of how tough he is, but it might require some guts to finish him off. He's coming for you! He won't stand there and let you shoot him! Maybe a Terminator squad counter attack would help? Whacking him with power fists is going to hurt but can they survive back? I'm thinking it's Cataphractii and Assault Terminators only who can counter charge him to hold him up. On that note, holding him up whilst we punish his army is the other side of that coin. He costs a lot of points so if he is fighting 5-10 Terminators all game you're still up!

I figure with the release around the corner we should at least start talking about how we are taking these guys on. First off if anyone cares, I did do a recent batrep of my Ultra's vs Deathguard. It was a very close game, and I wanted to make sure my list wasn't too over the top and once I saw his list I made mine on the fly and it's basically 'pure' DG vs 'pure' UM. (No superheavies, no allies, etc.) That batrep is here: Prot's UM vs DG (has some pictures as well.) Getting into the nitty gritty: Tactica for UM: I'll try to keep my own experience in point form to keep it clean. I invite all of you to do the same. The more info we share, the better off we are. 1. Counter Disgustingly Resilient with Damage: I found T5 + the Disgustingly Resilient is really annoying after a while. I think this is one saving grace of Intercessors. Giving the DG a flat 3+ / 5++ is just pretty crazy over time with T5 as well. So I find getting mutli damage weapons on DG is paramount in overcoming the overlapping saves. The codex for DG isn't out yet, but I believe it will get worse. (I over charge Plasma every chance I get.) 2. When high Damage isn't available SPAM is your friend: By this I mean we obviously don't have a ton of high damage. High damage is great against ANY chaos in my opinion as multi wounds are a plenty in their elite builds (including "All is Dust"), but in the event you are playing DG and can't find the damage, make sure you are spamming. This is my big saving grace on Aggressors. Aggressors do great spam, and whenever possible this is a great matchup for Poxwalkers. Another excellent weapon for this match up is the HOG. (In my Primaris list I always take one Redemptor with a HOG). 3. Get the right Poxwalker matchup: Please remember that Poxwalkers can only turn Infantry into additional Poxwalkers. At first glance scouts seem like a good match up, but at best you're stalling the conversion of Scouts into Poxwalkers. I prefer slamming into them with a vehicle, or bikes even.... anything that is not Infantry and is high toughness. If you can hit them from an angle, quite often they will be forced to disengage giving a free breather turn. As of now, Typhus has to be close to them for the +1 T. I find if I get them off to a side, they will break off Typhus in search of a better target. 4. Get ready to tank a potential high volume of Mortal Wounds. The reason I mention this is right now (pre DG codex) the Psychic phase isn't the only source of Mortal wounds. The aura's are dealing Mortal wounds, and I know Mortarion is rumoured to have a 7" 4+ mortal wound Aura. Typhus has an ability similar on a 6+ (I think). I've been hit with it often enough in late stages this can be brutal. While there is no firm 'counter' to this I often soften the blow by using the Psychic Fortress (roll of a 5 = a friendly unit within 18 has 4+ against mortal wounds.) I will often position a Redemptor/Dread out front, or a Rhino if available when I can foresee Smite/Mortal wounds coming, and I will often use Armour of Contempt. For a single CP as long as you target a UM Vehicle, you can get a 5+ save on the Mortal wounds. That's some stuff off the top of my head. Basic ideas would be less specific, more about playing in general but we all like different armies. I personally find keeping reserves off till the "DG horde" is about Mid table works well. They don't like to turn around to take care of their back field so sometimes this can work to your advantage. My Inceptors have done some real work here. This is a rare army where I may see them last a turn or two! :) Please add whatever you can from your experiences.

Hail, lads, our fellow frater RobMac just posted an update about his future project: "Today I'm able to reveal the subject of my next Black Library novel - Ultramarines Primaris. It'll be the first outing for the boys in blue since Guy Haley's Dark Imperium, focussing on a specific ground-up combat operation rather than the work of Guilliman and thewider Imperium. Needless to say there's more to it than that, but for now you'll just have to trust me when I say it gets interesting fast!" I commented and asked him about (waiting for his reply ): - Why Ultramarines again? They were already the main faction in several releases. Did you choose them by yourself? - I'd love to read something about a entire new force of Primaris. Most likely the Wolfspear or maybe a BT Primaris or whatsoever. - Besides, it follows GWs focus and it will most likely suit well with Guys Dark Imperium series. - So is it basically about Primaris, which have become part of the UM chapter or are we going to see some new chapter founding shenanigans. Maybe the Fulminators? So let us see of what he might reveal further. Having his Carcharodons in mind and the coming of The Last Hunt, I'm really intrigued about his take on both, Primaris and Ultramarines. But I do hope that RG is only having a cameo or is a side character and not one of the main protagonists. This should be reserved for Guy's series. So, what do you think about it? cheers

Lets give that another try then shall we. Figured I'd just start a new log as the old one was over 2 years old and photobucket will no longer let me share pictures unless I hand over cash. This will be my painting log for what will start as my Ultramarine army but will eventually branch into a large imperial army consisting of Guard, Inquisition and maybe even mech. I'm setting this up to be a bit of a retro 2nd edition style army as this is when I started playing, so expect to see lots of red and bold colours. To kick things off here's my 1st company representatives. Librarian Maxinus. Here is 6th Terminator squad "Gorgon" (I made these before the new rules where cataphactii terminators were their own unit and can't take storm shields. Will have to run them as regular terminators) Lastly for today her is 2nd company veteran sergeant Corbius, entombed in a dreadnought. Hope you like them and I'll try and keep this updated on a regular basis. Fracture.

Hail brothers and sisters, just a question, that came up while I was painting my heresy Ultramarines: Is there any rule for when a marine or sergeant wears white pauldrons instead of regular blue ones? I am painting up my first squad and was wondering when to use the blue Ultima symbols on the decal sheet. I then thought, a white pauldron here and there might be nice, unless they are just for veterans and other special snowflakes...