Emicus I.G. Campaign Diary

[Emicus]

All future posts will be on www.emicus.net


Leaving everything here for posterity:
______________________________________________________________________________________​​

Welcome Soldier to Emicus' Imperial Guard Campaign Diary. This should be a long slog, as war is want to be.

Table of Contents​​
​1.0 - Introduction
2.0 - Kill Team​ Overview

3.0 - Reinforcements have arrived!
3.5 - The second wave​

= For the Emperor and the Imperium of Man =​

[Emicus]

And so the journey begins.

As some readers might be aware, I usually hang out in the Grey Knights section. I’ve been mulling over getting stuck in with the Guard for quite some time, believing the Emperors more numerous Hammer to be the “most opposite army to GK that isn’t a heretic or alien”.

I found the Cadian Defence Force to be a decent discount, and even better when I found it discounted. It had a bit of everything so I could take the army in whatever direction I eventually settled on. For those not in the know the Defence Force consists of (w/AU$ prices):

2x Cadian Shook troops (48) – 96
1x Command Squad (41) – 41
3x Heavy Weapon Teams (22 single or 65 for 3) -65
1x Chimera APC (55) – 55
1x Leman Russ (83) - 83
TOTAL: 340 bought individually

Defence Force: 270
Bought at: 189

The savings helped tighten the noose around my neck. I could not get away now. I bought three.

But I had promised I would finish off my Grey Knights army first! And by finish I mean at least get the models I use on a frequent basis painted to a tabletop standard (take that Purifiers, never getting painted!) So the boxes have been sitting underneath the bed collecting dust for nearly three months… Until now.

[Father Mehman]

Yes, it begins...

[Emicus]

My Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS) is hosting a modified Kill Team tournament at the end of the month, August 30^th. An amazing opportunity to get some plastic dudesmen together and see if the paint pots have dried out! Vows to paint Grey Knights be damned, there’s prizes and fame on the line.

For those not in the know Kill Team is:

Zero HQ units
0-1 elite units
0-2 troop units
0-1 fast attack units
Zero heavy support

- 2+ save is not allowed
- 4 and above wounds/hullpoints are not allowed
- A greater armour value than 33 is not allowed (determined by adding front, side and rear armour)
- Every model behaves independently, even though you buy full units, they are separate on the board. HOWEVER a group of models bought as a unit can enter a dedicated transport as if they were one unit.
- One model must be the leader, three must be specialists. They can’t be vehicles. Also meaning that there must be at least 4 non-vehicle models on the board.

Addendum: There is five specializations, each specialization has a list of Big Rule Book (BRB) powers. You can only pick each specialization once, meaning all your specialists can’t load up on the same special rule.

Second Addendum: GW Official Kill Team not to be confused with Heralds of Ruin Kill Team, which looks to be an excellent game, but made havoc when I tried to research what Kill Team was as I’d never played it before.

​

The FLGS has decided to change or specify:
- 300 point limit rather than standard 200. This has been done to open up the game a smidge.
- No more than 30 models total. To prevent our local Guard, Tyranid, Heretic Guard and Ork players from bringing more models that can feasibly be shot. Especially important with the inflated points.
- Played on 4x4 board. Hopefully with lots of terrain.

We will be playing the 6 Kill Team book missions for the tournament, 6 games in a single afternoon even if they are 300 points is sure to cause some fatigue. The missions are a mix of ‘killing the other guy’, objectives and one where the attacker can score points by exiting the table on the defenders side. There is also a lot of Night Fighting.

Preliminary army list is subject to change. I have two weeks to make sure and nearly three weeks to get it all together.
 

Veterans
     2 x Plasma Guns
     1x Autocannon
     1x Sargeant w/ Laspistol & Chainsword
     5x Lasguns

     Grenadiers Doctrine (4+ save)​

Chimera
     w/ Multilaser, heavy bolter

Armoured Sentinel
     3x w/ Multilaser

 

 

[Quneitra]

It begins. I can't wait to see where this goes.

[WarriorFish]

You're well set with all those models! I'm eager to see your army come together :) Don't forget the leader rule for KT too, so best he sticks inside the Chimera shooting a lasgun.

[Emicus]

Yes I hope to keep them all nice and snug inside the Chimera. Possibly kicking out the Autocannon Team on an objective in cover if it can't be helped. Two firing ports is just 8 too few!

[WarriorFish]

The HWT might be one of the better choices for the Chimera. In the field they're just a two man squad that sadly won't last long. Don't forget the lasgun ports can be used to further increase your mobile bunker's fire power :)

[Emicus]

A two wound Autocannon w/stealth in terrain and extended range just might work though.

 

But I see what you mean. An inconspicuous and comparatively harlmess Lasgunner could go under the radar and survive the game much easier since there's bigger and juicier targets around.

 

But those two fire ports.. Would be a shame if either Plasma or Autocannon didn't get to fire. Even for just one turn.

​

[Frater Cornelius]

To be fair, I would keep two Plasmas inside for the firing ports, one with FnP and the other with something that helps him survive as well, have the other 6 ride inside for the Lasgun Arrays but disembark when needed, while the AC has stealth in a ruin. So, your plan checks out if you ask me. All I am missing is the 4+ pants for the dudesmen ;)

[Emicus]

That's a good call Immersturm, I've paid the points for Grenadiers but forgotten to type it up. It shall be corrected expediently by order of the Colonel Himself.

 

I'm actually thinking Master-Crafted on one of the Plasmaguns and Preferred Enemy on the other. The Preferred Enemy is obviously wonderful but I think Master-Crafted trumps Feel No Pain since you have a greater chance of getting that hit and subsequent wound in, vs just surviving your own fumbling with the weapon.

[Frater Cornelius]

I do not play Killteam, so I do not know what traits there are. You have chosen the correct ones already ;)

[WarriorFish]

You can only select one from each "tree" so make sure they're not in the same one. I agree that FnP is nice but too easy to lose so better to make use direct use of the specialisations. Better to have skills you can put to use each turn rather than one that relies on your opponent shooting you!

[Emicus]

And that comment prompted me to double check the rules...Let's see.

Master-crafted is under the Weapon Specialist, where I lose out on other gems such as Ignores Cover, Rending, Split Fire, Tank Hunter and other goodies.

 

Preferred Enemy is under the Guerilla Specialist where there is Fleet, Hit & run, Stealth and others. Stealth is a problem.  I was going to give that to the Autocannon!

• Relentless and FNP is up for grabs from Indomitable Specialist.
• Fleshbane, Soul Blaze from Dirty Fighter.
• CC related stuff from Combat Specialist.

I've picked the best candidates in my eyes from Indomitable and Dirty Fighter, there are other options too.

 

Ideas?

​

[Emicus]

Reinforcements have arrived!

I’ve assembly lined five standard Guardsmen, which was surprisingly easy to put together. Very refreshing compared to mould-lining Grey Knight Terminators.

And for those who despise gluing bolters on Space Marines (gluing four places at the same time), Guardsmen have only three when attaching a Lasgun.

I decided that since they will be mechanised, carrying backpacks and lots of extra supplies on foot doesn’t suit the theme. But they better keep some grenades, combat knife and canteen at hand!

I’ve even had the chance to prime them. Going with white (for the first time!) since the majority of the model is fatigues, and fatigues will be beige/tan according to standard paint scheme. I sure hope it will work out. As you can see the priming isn’t perfect, but I’m a firm believer in having 90% coverage being better than trying for 100% and gooping on too much. Lots of paint is going on top of it anyway.

Talking about mechanised… tada!

Emicus tank build&paint Hobby Tip: Leave the tracks off. They are super easy to paint on the sprue, and as long as you aren’t sloppy with glue it’s no trouble putting them in after the tank is finished.

I’ve also left the Lasgun arrays unglued for now, since I want the tracks in first to make it easy on myself, but I think I will glue them later on since they have a tendency to move around and sit at odd angles.
 

The turret is also not glued, since it has a locking mechanism, and it allows me to rotate, take it off when the gun is destroyed, tank is destroyed, etc.


I must remember to take some pictures as I build it next time, especially of those gakking hatch handles. For those not in the know: they’re small, fiddly, can easily break and they have to sit just so.


So here is the first 6 models, with just another 7 to go for the Kill Team I’m planning to run with.

[WarriorFish]

Never glue a turret! :P A good start keep up your momentum :tu:

[Frater Cornelius]

Turret gluing is Heresy. Besides, it is easier to transport or show weapon destroyed or wrecked result.

[Vel'Cona]

I glued the turret on my old 3rd edition Baal Predator. Ah, to be young again!

[Frater Cornelius]

I glued the turret on my old 3rd edition Baal Predator. Ah, to be young again!

Yeah, those days where we did not give a heretic's arse about gluing turrets, point optimization or facing of the vehicles. Good thing that it returned to me when playing Age of Sigmar. I managed to create a legal Empire list without questionable rules or any kind of fun rules that was literally unbeatable, even with the enemy cheating. I treat it like a nuke and force myself to have fun and bring crap to the table for the sake of my friendship :D

But back to the topic at hand. Any reason you decided to go for the regular Cadian models? In my opinion, they are the least interesting of all options available.

[Emicus]

I’ve been mulling over how to respond to that question for almost two days now, Immersturm. It’s a tough one to formulate!

I think the main reason for me that the standard Guardsmen are so appealing is just because they are the standard ones. One of a billion instead of one in a million, you know? I feel like it resonates with me, just being one small unimportant cog in a huge machinery. If a Guardsman dies, who will care? But he still does his best to make a difference.

Oh, and not dealing with metal is nice. And since the above^ works for me, running a Rambo army really doesn’t work

Spoiler for next instalment... tonight? (I hope, need to type up a Grey Knights vs Dark Angels league game too, check out this thread for the previous games to catch up to speed) I’ve built some more guys!

​

[Emicus]

Saving the best for last as usual, here is the rest of the squad (from the previous post).

Sergeant, two Special Weapons and a Heavy Weapon Team (HWT). Astute readers will notice I have also made two Lasgun Guardsmen as well, and that takes the number up to 12. *BRRRRR* I was a bit too enthusiastic when clipping out pieces and forgot all about the HWT! But never fear I will always have use for more Lasgun Guardsmen in the future, and if I don’t want to run a HWT I can swap them in easily.

Great planning Emicus. So forward thinking. You will become an excellent strategian.

I wanted to give the Plasma gunners a Lasgun strapped to their back but I couldn’t find a good way to do it. It’ll always be possible to add them later. I believe having more “stuff” on their backs would counteract the “falling forward” feeling I’m getting from them, but I suppose that’s inevitable when they hold a big gun out in front of their body.  At least they have a better firing pose than the Lasgunners.

Addendum: When you are wearing body armour that protects your chest, but not your sides, it’s a good idea to not stand sideways when shooting. Army veterans may be able to relate, hunters may throw small rocks.

The Sargeant has some tiny conversions and I’m very happy with how he turned out. I’m traditionally against anyone not wearing their helmet, but I need him to stand out to make it easier playing with him. (Ever placed your Character at the front of a unit by accident? I want to avoid doing that, again.)

The head is from the Tempetus Scions box but the neck just wouldn’t fit! It’s enormous on the scions so I had to cut the piece until it worked. I’ve also hung his helmet on his belt because sooner or later his survival instincts will kick in.
The chest is from the Platoon Command Squad box and is subtly different from the regular Guardsmen’s.

For the HWT I really wanted it to fit in my future transport solution and had to place it in the middle of the base. This isn’t inherently a problem but when adding the spotter it feels a little off centre. The gunner is a gunner is a gunner so he simply shoots the autocannon. His spotter is trying to yell over his shoulder and point out targets, binochulars held at the ready.


The spotter naturally carries some extra supplies for the Autocannon, as well as his trusty Lasgun if things go south fast. He’s leaning it on his pack to keep it within reach, and leaving it straight on the ground likely carries a death sentence. The mould-lines really popped in the pictures and I’ve gone back to sort them out after typing this up.


As you can see I didn’t glue the Autocannon so it can easily be swapped for another gun, but I think removing the pin and magnetising would be a better long-term solution. The pin holds the cannon hard enough so I don’t fear it ever falling off by itself.

 

A group shot. Station two of the Lasgunners for guard duty and you’re left with the Veteran w/Chimera for the Kill Team Tournament.


Now get us gakking painted!

 

[Emicus]

 At this time of Trial, I beseech you beloved Emperor of Mankind,

 

To give me strength to fulfil my duties in Your Name,
To give me the Wisdom to Enlighten Your Subjects of Your Will,
To give me the Courage to Smite Your Enemies,

 

For the Emperor and Imperium of Man, your humble servant at this time of Trial.
 

 

I need some feedback on this thread!
1. Do you like the format?
                Mini-article style posts that do not follow the flow of comments. With comments and discussion interspersed?
2. Are posts regarding hobby in general interesting (Y/N)?
                Posts about anything I’ve done in the hobby such as “How to basic” power weapons or ‘This
is what I did for a Light/Photo-box so my pictures wouldn’t suck so badly’.
3. Is there too many pictures? Not enough pictures?
4. What about some lore/stories?
5. Not so much nitty gritty please, just give the big updates
                Battle reports and ‘I have finished x unit’ only, not all this mucking about with half units, first lick of paint, building Sentinels, etc. Less content but more hearty.

Thanks! Here’s what’s in the pipeline for those who can’t contain themselves. I’ve got the pics just need the words to accompany and structure a post.

I’ve started painting a few guardsmen and the chimera! Paint is being evil.

• I’ve cleaned my desk! Woop
• Sentinels arrive in force, and get built! AND there might me an issue with the sprues
• I’ve got a new transport solution! I can talk about that, right? I’m super happy about it
• I’ve written a small intro to the army’s lore…
• I’ve started work on a photo-box
• 99% chance have 1-4 Kill Team practise games next week, might be battle reports involved.

​

[WarriorFish]

I think you shouldn't worry about it. As long as you stick to the B&C's rules you can use this topic as you like. If you want to share something do so! My recommendation is to put as much in as you can; lore, updates, batreps etc. If you don't have time to add something then don't, or save it for later. A WIP topic shouldn't be a chore, it's a way to share your army, get help and maintain motivation so whatever does that best is what you should do :tu:

[Emicus]

Thanks for your feedback WarriorFish!
 

I find writing challenging and fun, that’s why I do it. But I crave response, riposte, comments, criticisms, views and likes so I know someone is actually reading it. Otherwise I might as well write it by hand (hah, in 2015?!) and shove it in a drawer. I’ve been toying with the idea of writing an actual blog as I believe that could be an easier way for me to engage with the community at large, as well as write about fantasy or even heretics which is sadly not permitted on this esteemed board. But it does drive me bonkers that it crashes twenty eight times every time I try to write something.

Would it be acceptable to write excerpts here with a link to a more elaborate post somewhere else? I wouldn’t want the IG forum to miss out on my journey ;p

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[WarriorFish]

You can put as much in as you like. If it's a large bit of text use of the hidden tag would be a good idea so people can skip past if they've read it or aren't interested. Little and often is best for lore I think. Not everyone has the time for lots of reading, bite sized background is more likely to be read as people pass through :)