[WIP] 1905th Solar Auxilia: Rust Scorpions

[Brother Dallo]

Now the real question is did you make an appropriate amount of swooshing noises and fly it around before you put it on the base? :p

 

This log is making it really hard to resist SA. If I can get my act ( and sufficient funds) together, I'm going to have to pull the trigger on a small SA force, and see where things go from there. I just need to stop buying all of the other shiny things first.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

 

PS I dropped you a pm a little while back. Don't know if you've had the chance to have a look at it.

[Audemus]

I for one really like the Arvus, though of course never having painted one...

 

Yours look great though. And Multilas Tarantulas and dropzoning sounds great and fluffy, very much showing the difference between Great Crusade/Heresy Era Imperial Army tactics, and the sluggish inflexibility of most modern Guard Regiments

 

Thanks!  I'm hoping the on-paper concept performs as well as I think it will on the table.  I must admit it would amuse the hell out of me to take 3 teams of Tarantulas with a comm relay in the Aegis Defense Line (Thanks Rotor Cannons!) using a layered defense of multilas, lascannon, and hyperion missile launchers.  I can only imagine my opponents reaction to me grabbing 10 dice for reserves, as each one is rolled separately, and having a veritable fortress of firepower come crashing out of the sky with an overly equipped Lord Marshal and his axe wielding maniacs in-tow.  I pretty much never use my fast attack slots so doing it wouldn't cost me anything and the point value cost of tarantulas isn't horrible considered the layered fire it provides. 

 

All 9 tarantulas with the above equipment, one command station tarantula, and drop capsule comes out to 550 pts.  I mean, if I wanted to be particularly snarky, I could drop 9 twin-linked lascannons from the sky against a armoured cavalry opponent with my warlord behind it daring them to come get their victory point...all the while volleying lascannon bombardments from his position.  Can you imagine being caught between 9 twin-linked lascannons and the Stormhammer suited up with lascannon sponsons (7 total) and its main guns?  Bad times for everyone.

 

The only issue with lascannon tarantulas is they have to prioritize vehicles over infantry, which is why I am layering defense with different weaponry.  One thing I haven't figured out is whether or not Tarantulas can be modified by the Metaphasic Reader relic which grants all units from the same Detachment within 12" of the Lord Marshal the Interceptor rule.  I just don't know how that would interact with their program control protocols. 

 

Man would that be a rude awakening to have your drop pods come crashing in and automated missiles zip off right into them tearing them apart. 

 

Now the real question is did you make an appropriate amount of swooshing noises and fly it around before you put it on the base?

 

This log is making it really hard to resist SA. If I can get my act ( and sufficient funds) together, I'm going to have to pull the trigger on a small SA force, and see where things go from there. I just need to stop buying all of the other shiny things first.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

 

PS I dropped you a pm a little while back. Don't know if you've had the chance to have a look at it.

 

Do not resist!  Give in to the power of Terra! 

 

=====

 

By the way, I sent the Rotor Cannons to Forge World to show them the unpainted and painted final models...and I got a reply!

 

 

 

Hi Audemus.

 

Thanks for sending the pictures in, very cool. Also we love the red visors and keep up the good work.

 

...

 

Regards,

Forge World

 

--

Tris Buckroyd

forgeworld@gwplc.com

 

 

 

Pretty cool knowing they took a look at them and Tris specifically notes "we" loved the red visors.  Perhaps I should submit them to that Twitter feed that Forge World pulls photos off of!

Edited February 20, 2016 by Audemus

[Brother Pheidias]

Sounds quite the scary prospect, definitely wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that :p

[Brother Dallo]

"Do not resist!  Give in to the power of Terra!  "

 

I won't. I've already got plans for a magnetised Lord Marshal conversion, using the Genestealer Primus from the new Deathwatch box as a base. Should hopefully look pretty decent. I have images in my head of dual pistols and a trench coat flowing majestically in the wind. Out of curiosity, can a Lord Marshal take dual pistols, or only one and a close combat weapon?

 

Cheers.

 

Dallo

 

 

 

 

[Audemus]

Fast replies, off to the store to hopefully do a battle report!  I've been waiting on my camera to charge.

 

 

Sounds quite the scary prospect, definitely wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that

 

Hell yeah, I'm kinda digging the idea but I would be much faster to jump on it if Forge World was making multilas tarantulas.  I might just get Lascannon ones as a proxy because Heavy Bolters just don't fit for proxying between the two.

 

 

"Do not resist!  Give in to the power of Terra!  "

 

I won't. I've already got plans for a magnetised Lord Marshal conversion, using the Genestealer Primus from the new Deathwatch box as a base. Should hopefully look pretty decent. I have images in my head of dual pistols and a trench coat flowing majestically in the wind. Out of curiosity, can a Lord Marshal take dual pistols, or only one and a close combat weapon?

 

Cheers.

 

Dallo

 

 

 

You know, technically, I think you could put three pistols on him...two pistols of your choosing (aka 2 Archaeotech pistols (mastercrafted)) and the Nanyte Blaster.  Now, how that would play out on the table...I really don't have any idea but if it did work, Approach the squad, fire the Nanyte Blaster (giggle in glee as half or most of the squad explodes in erupting template wounding death), charge in and unleash the fury with your Household Retinue of axe wielding maniacs. 

 

Of course you'd have to give up the Paragon Blade to manage this, which is kind of a sin against humanity, but the mental image is pretty freaking awesome!

[Brother Dallo]

I understand that people like the Paragon blade, and it can be really awesome, but most things that you'll need ap2 instant death against will flat out murder you in a challenge, unless you load up on a 3++ and choose Eternal Warrior as your WL trait. Even then, you'll probably not come out of that fight in a good condition. I much prefer the idea of dual plasma (perhaps mastercraft one) hitting at normal BS, then overwatching at BS2 when they inevitably take a charge. I'd imagine it's cheaper too. Should be south of 150 points unless you load up on upgrades. Personally, I don't think unaugmented humans have much business going one on one with Praetors or Consuls, but like I said, I'll magnetise so I can do both, as the mood takes me. The Primus comes with a fancy looking sword anyway, so that may become a Paragon Blade.

 

All the best for your game.

 

Dallo

[Audemus]

Ladies and Gentlemen, today was a good day.  I knew Lady Luck was shining on me when my completely untested Legion of Azgorh (Chaos Dwarves) crushed all comers in an impromptu three-way battle royale.  The game closed with my Castellan delivering a 6 wound blade fisted upper cut into the Wood Elf hero after demolishing a squad that stood between them.

 

So with this victory under my belt, I went into a 1500 point battle against my same opponent from last week.  My first thought was "1500 points?  How on earth am I going to manage this?"  Luckily for me, I spent about an hour or two last night in Battlescribe playing out different point levels and strategies...oddly enough, I did not use any of these pre-made strategies but I was prepared to build a list and knocked it out in about 10 minutes after deciding my Lord Marshal did not have a place on the field with so few points available.

 

Hint: Rotor Cannons once again delivered.

 

Solar Auxilia vs. Space Wolves

1,500 Points

 

After winning the roll on deployment, I took first deployment/turn as Strategos Horav had a special delivery for the Space Wolves that would require I get the drop on them before they moved from their deployment zone.  My opponent attempted to seize the initiative but did not.

 

Deployment Overview

 

Note in this shot he had not put his marine squads in place yet but it came out so well I used it.  One marine squad was placed in the Circular ruin on the left side of the board, one was placed to the left (my left) of the Vindicator and one was placed in the two floor temple ruin on the far right of the board.  He also had a squad of Wulfen in the Land Raider and another squad of marines in the Rhino.

 

http://i.imgur.com/eeNrYGo.png

 

Deployment Right Side

 

http://i.imgur.com/ceRpBCy.png

 

Deployment Left Side

 

http://i.imgur.com/LKJLV5q.png

 

 

Turn 1

 

Facing off with Space Marines when they can already see your deployment is nerve wracking, especially with that giant assault cannon/melta/flamethrower monstrosity sitting there full of Wulfen.  Yet as he deployed, I found that Strategos Horav was not only a crafty bastard but he was down right evil.  You see, Strategos Horav has been trying...every game I've placed him in...to use his Precision Bombardment and he always dies before there is a chance.  Not this time, tucked away in his cubby, utilizing the fantastic nuncio vox system for bombardment based attacks...Strategos Horav had but one thing in mind for the Space marines nestled up next to their Vindicator and visible by the Rotor Cannon Vox trooper.

 

"No Mercy.  Remember Port Maw." was clearly heard over the Vox and the coordinates were rapidly delivered to the Rust Scorpion's Rogue Trader lying doggo in orbit overhead.  Only one shot could be made as any further would bring the Rogue Trader under fire it was ill equipped to handle but that was all the 1905th needed.  The Precision Bombardment opened my shooting phase and wiped out all but two space marines and took a hullpoint from the Vindicator as well.

 

Not satisfied with only decimating one squad the Leman Russ Incinerators moved to engage the second squad taking cover in the ruins and beneath the resounding CHOOM! of their Volkite Demi-Culverins the screams of the Astartes could be heard as their bodies exploded in a wall of deflagaration followed by a hail of mulitlas fire.  Only three remained and they survived strictly due to being on the first floor of the structure.

 

The Malcador Annihilator fired off its Demolisher Cannon at the Vindicator and penetrated, shaking the crew and taking the tank out of the fight for the rest of the turn.  This would prove to be an extremely fortuitous turn of events.  The lascannons reached out and hammered into the Land Raider but did not penetrate the 14AV armor as hoped.

 

Then the Rotor Cannons spooled up and unleashed a hail of fire on the Astartes on the left side of the board, eliminating 4 of them in the process.

 

Turn 1 - Shot 1 (Taken at the end of the Turn but shows the decimation delivered on the right flank.)

 

http://i.imgur.com/TTAyeVT.png

 

=====

 

The Space Wolves got their turn at this point and the Landraider, unsurprisingly came barreling forward with the Rhino in tow.  As he was out of flamer range still the twin-linked assault cannons spooled up and fired upon my Rotor Cannon Veletaris...who promptly went to ground and took only 1 casualty despite the Landraider's attention.

 

With the Vindicator shaken for the turn and out of service, I was spared any further attention and things began to look very good.

 

Turn 1 - Shot 2

 

http://i.imgur.com/tP9TM6l.png

 

 

Turn 2

 

The Landraider was going to be a major issue and very soon so Strategos Horav took a risk and ordered the Malcador to expose its side to the Vindicator bringing all of its gun to bear on the armored behemoth.  Meanwhile the Incinerators moved in behind the Malcador, ready to back it up with their hull mounted lascannons if it became necessary.  Anything to stop it from reaching the Aegis Defense Line and wiping the Rotor Cannon Veletaris guarding the Auxilia Tactical Command team.

 

Meanwhile on the left side the Dracosan shifted into gear and brought its Demolisher Cannon into range of the Landraider as well hoping to catch it in a pincer attack.  The Dracosan driver slammed the button on his console turning the red light filling the transports troop compartment from red to green and disengaging the lock on its left side.  The Veletaris Storm Section poured out and took position along the nearby ridge-line, preparing to engaging the advancing remnants of the Astartes squad coming from the ruins.

 

Turn 2 - Shot 1 - Veletaris Taking Position

 

http://i.imgur.com/SuG6FRK.png

 

 

The shooting phase began with the Dracosan firing it's Demolisher Cannon and glancing the Landraider.  Then the Malcador opened fire with its sponson based lascannons with the first shot absorbed by the thick armor it was not looking good...and then the second lascannon delivered double 6's  and the Landraider exploded, dumping bewildered Wulfen  out on to the ground.  Not satisfied with the already delivered slaughter the Malcador gunner cracked off a shot from its Demolisher Cannon and wiped the Wulfen from the field before they could move.

 

The Incinerators opened fire on the approaching Rhino and were able to punch through its armor and glance it to death, bringing  it to a halt and forcing the squad it carried to dismount.

 

The Rotor Cannons attempted to open fire on the squad in the ruins, despite being on the ground, but even though they landed 10 hits and wounded for 6 of them they were all saved.

 

Turn 2 - Shot 2 - Aftermath of the Malcador

 

http://i.imgur.com/agUZR86.png

 

The Space Wolves began their turn and the Vindicator, now back in business, came forward to flank my armoured column.  The squad in the ruins advanced forward and the dismounted Rhino squad took cover in the nearby structure.

 

Turn 2 - Shot 3 - Let the World Burn

 

http://i.imgur.com/mebp2oi.png

 

 

Turn 2 - Shot 4

 

http://i.imgur.com/FievI2q.png

 

The shooting phase came and the Vindicator fired its cannon and rolled a 6 for it's penetration, after scattering the shot on to the other Incinerator in the assault squadron, and took it out in one shot.

 

Astartes hunkered down in the ruins near the Rotor Cannons attempted to open up on the Veletaris and, as they were still laying on the ground and had intentionally never stood up, shrugged off all but one of the bolter shots bringing their total casualty count to two Veletaris.  Meanwhile on the ridgeline the Veletaris Storm Section took heavy fire from the remaining Space Wolves advancing out of cover and lost three of their section.

 

That brought Turn 2 to a close.

 

 

Turn 2 - Shot 4 - Leman Russ Incinerator Down!

 

http://i.imgur.com/CQspI9C.png

 

Turn 3

 

The Strategos issued a command to advance the Incinerator on the marines hiding in the ruins while the Malcador turned its full attention to the Vindicator and the three marines still hiding in the ruins behind it.  Meanwhile the Dracosan moved up on the Space Wolves who had fired on the Storm Section, intent to wreak havoc upon them for such insolence.

 

The Storm Section moved forward, bringing their volkite chargers into CHOOM! range and the Veletaris Rotor Cannons decided it was time to stand up.

 

The Volkite Chargers brought deflagarating fury and neutralized 3 of the marines while the Demolisher Cannon slammed down all but a few marines.  The Malacador Annihilator fired the sponson Lascannons first and tore through the Vindicator, leaving the Demolisher cannon to brush away the three marines hiding in the ruins.  Then, to add insult to injury, the twin-linked lascannon rotated and fired on the distant marines across the board and speared the meltagun carrying marine in the chest.

 

The Incinerator tank did not have as much luck, having lost the paired tank and subsequently the shared target bonus for the Assault Squadron, and managed to kill 3 marines hiding near the Rotor Cannons.  Then the Rotor Cannons spooled up and tore apart all but 4 marines who subsequently broke and ran.

 

http://i.imgur.com/eFRItDF.png

 

At this point the match was conceded and we packed up our models as fast as we could before the store closed!  It should be noted that I've painted three armies since I got back into the hobby in April of last year and this is my first true victory, I've had draws previously and losses.  Unlike the other armies, I feel like every time I put the Solar Auxilia on the table I am learning more about how to exploit their strengths and avoid their weakness.  I'm also learning to how to address enemy units quickly, as I went from a 2,000 point game against this opponent where I was unable to deal damage to the Land Raider...to a 1500 point game where the same Land Raider was torn apart by my priorities being re-worked.

 

The Rotor Cannons continue to prove themselves a priceless resource because, regardless of their kill count, they draw attention to themselves in such a stupendous fashion when rolling 40 dice that having them go to ground for the 2+ cover save allows them to soak up enemy fire like no ones business.  So many shots were hurled at them and they only lost 2 of the squad the entire game while inflicting casualties all over the board.  The Malcador Annihilator is such an awesome powerhouse for the point value and having the ability to split fire all over due to being a "Super Heavy" despite not being a Lord of War is without a doubt one of its best features.

 

One thing I will have to do soon is get a third Leman Russ Incinerator, I had not realized how critical that shared target skill was and the single Incinerator felt neutered without the squadron bonus.  Having three should allow me to avoid the issue in the future but Tarantulas are next on my to do list.

 

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the battle report, it was one hell of a fun game and we both had a good time. 

[Yoye]

one point that could ahve been devastating is to use the strategos ability to raise the Bs of the lemans russes to 4. so with the bonus they get bs 5, and barely fail anytime.

Great army and great battle report. 

Personally i got a Solar Auxilia army , worse painted but it does the job. xd.

[Brother Pheidias]

Scary how fast the Space Wolves disappeared under your firepower, really.

Great report, and pretty pictures :D

[Brother Dallo]

Congrats on the win man, but now I'm considering buying a Malacador as well. Not cool man. :P

 

Dallo

[Knight of the Raven]

It's such a pleasure to see Space Wolves scattered to the winds.

 

Lovely battle report!

[Reyner]

Great battle there man, show them mangy dogs who the true alpha is! Also Tris is an awesome guy at FW.

[Audemus]

one point that could ahve been devastating is to use the strategos ability to raise the Bs of the lemans russes to 4. so with the bonus they get bs 5, and barely fail anytime.

Great army and great battle report. 

Personally i got a Solar Auxilia army , worse painted but it does the job. xd.

 

I agree but there was no safe location for the Strategos on that side of the table and putting him over there, as I deployed first, would have guaranteed more armor on that side.  The building that the Strategos was hiding out in had absolutely no windows on its walls, meaning he couldn't find a line of sight to even fire on my command squad.  I did use Cognis Signum on the Rotor Cannons for their last barrage, bringing them to an absolutely crazy BS5 which combined with the ammo dump is what broke his last squad of marines entirely.  Precision Bombardment was so freaking effective and I rolled a hit on it so it just crashed into my opponent and caught him off guard, despite having pointed it out to him in the book previously.

 

 

Scary how fast the Space Wolves disappeared under your firepower, really.

 

Great report, and pretty pictures

 

It really was jaw dropping how hard my strategy hit him in the opening turn.  I brought two squads down to 2-3 marines and one to 6'ish marines, disabled his Vindicator, and placed my tanks into a defensive position that did not reveal their side armor until the following turn.  The Malcador engaging the Land Raider in the second turn and not only blowing it sky high but wiping out the Wulfen with the Demolisher Cannon really brought home how awesome a non-Lord of War super heavy tank is.  Normally I would not have been able to fire on the dismounted troops, as I would have fixed my target for the turn, but the Super Heavy rules allow for each weapon to fire on a different target and that was absolutely key to stopping them.  Those Wulfen were meant to overrun my Rotor Cannons and while I think that they would have fired from overwatch to handle some of them, I really didn't want him those things near my Strategos.

 

One funny tactic I didn't have a chance to do and is kind of visible in some of the later shots is the Tactical Auxilia bodyguards crept out of cover as a last ditch effort to handle the Land Raider using the tempest shell (haywire) for the grenade launcher and the meltagun.  It was a long shot but they were going to be my final shots on the Land Raider had the Malcador been unable to bring it down.  He hadn't even noticed them being moved during the movement phase and when I pointed them out he laughed because it felt like I had backup plans for my backups. 

Congrats on the win man, but now I'm considering buying a Malacador as well. Not cool man.

 

Dallo

 

Haha the Malcador is a fantastic tank and I'm really thinking about getting another Annihilator to stack up the Land Raider killing firepower as it allows me to engage targets at long range and then use the pintle-mounted multilas at close range to assist with infantry engagements and a medium range Demolisher Cannon that is always good times.  I don't have another Heavy tier unit as of right now, so I could technically field 3 Leman Russ Incinerators and 2 Malcador Annihilators.  Plenty of anti-armour and anti-infantry!

 

It's such a pleasure to see Space Wolves scattered to the winds.

 

Lovely battle report!

 

Thank you!  I've faced off with nothing but Space Wolves when I have fought Astartes, starting with my Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard)/Militarum Tempestus Air Cavalry force.  I've never once beaten them, despite at one point executing a beautiful tactical maneuver deep-striking two full plasma gun wielding squads of tempestus, their command squad to twin-link them, and a Vulture gunship in range...rolling 120 dice of insane firepower...and killing a single priest.  It was the character based formation but still, I can't tell you how demoralizing having something like that happen after nailing 4 reserve rolls and sticking each squad in rapid fire range.

 

So to get my Solar Auxilia on the table and knock down a force that outnumbered me on the ground with soldiers (Including the Wulfen he had around 35 marines, while I had 20 Veletaris and my command squad)...well I was grinning like the veritable Cheshire cat toward the end of the game.

 

Great battle there man, show them mangy dogs who the true alpha is! Also Tris is an awesome guy at FW.

 

Thank you!

 

It was awesome receiving the reply from Tris!  I wanted to show them that the standard pattern rotor cannon worked just fine on the Veletaris on the chance that they are going to complete the model range for that weapon as I *really* do not like that new rotor cannon pattern they showed at the recent weekend event.  I think it would look ridiculous in the hands of the Veletaris while the standard pattern is fairly intimidating and scales well to their armor.  So hopefully, having seen it, I can get the idea into their heads and avoid having to cut my fingers into ribbons making more conversion squads in the future!  Just imagine...two more Sections of Rotor Cannons in the Tercio with Medicae attached!  120 shots a turn! 

[God-Potato of Mankind]

It fills me with glee to see the enemy being reduced to ash so.

 

I really want to take my Auxilia to the field, I'm burning through painting them like crazy at the moment. It helps that I literally bought an entire army list for them at the Open Day at WHW, so once painted I have a fieldable 1.5 to 3k force available. Unlike my legions *glares*. I do have to paint 40 veletarii though. That will be agonising I'm sure, if 40 despoilers are anything to go by.

 

I am running Vanquishers over Choomtillery though. I should probably get some choomtillery. Choomtillery looks so cool.

 

And your Malcador. Oh god it did so well.

Edited February 22, 2016 by The God-Potato of Mankind

[Olis]

It fills me with glee to see the enemy being reduced to ash so.

 

And scattered to the winds. :wink:

[Vulkan He'Dan]

This whole thread is amazing..... It definitely makes me want to add some SA to everything! The amount of Choom is very very very satisfying. It's Choomificent Edited February 22, 2016 by Vulkan He'Dan

[rdrdrdrd]

 

Congrats on the win man, but now I'm considering buying a Malacador as well. Not cool man.

 

Dallo

 

Haha the Malcador is a fantastic tank and I'm really thinking about getting another Annihilator to stack up the Land Raider killing firepower as it allows me to engage targets at long range and then use the pintle-mounted multilas at close range to assist with infantry engagements and a medium range Demolisher Cannon that is always good times.  I don't have another Heavy tier unit as of right now, so I could technically field 3 Leman Russ Incinerators and 2 Malcador Annihilators.  Plenty of anti-armour and anti-infantry!

 

That would be quite the epic list. I am thinking of picking up a Malcador at some point in the future as I like the larger chassis of it and the look. Esspecially compared to the Dracosan vs the Russ hull. I think it'd be a cool conversion to put a bombard or basilisk weapon on a Malcador hull.

 

I also finally got some pics up of the stuff I've been working on and would appreciate some C&C from you. Heres the link.

[Knight of the Raven]

I know they're squishy humans compared to the space marines you face, but I was wondering how your veletarii fared in close combat, whether they rock power axes, volkite chargers or rotor cannons. I'm asking this because I just noticed they had las-pattern ultragrit and as such always had an additional attack, including when cracking skulls open with their power axes.

[Yoye]

I know they're squishy humans compared to the space marines you face, but I was wondering how your veletarii fared in close combat, whether they rock power axes, volkite chargers or rotor cannons. I'm asking this because I just noticed they had las-pattern ultragrit and as such always had an additional attack, including when cracking skulls open with their power axes.

So far i played like 3 30 k and 2 40k with axy guys

Without the stormlord they take diificult time to arrive to combat, but so far i had a full squad killing a deathshroud unit Of 5( before the buff, now it would be difficult) and a damaged unit Of 5 charging 15 tacticals and killing enough to win combat and destroy them sweaping.

But in shooting they died so easly but in combat they survive longer

Compared to 40k they are similar to unwildy incubi.

The rest Of the army, non including ogryns ( that are awesome) with strengths 3 does poorly in cc

But also they are a perfect distracción carnifex

Edited February 24, 2016 by Yoye

[Audemus]

It fills me with glee to see the enemy being reduced to ash so.

 

I really want to take my Auxilia to the field, I'm burning through painting them like crazy at the moment. It helps that I literally bought an entire army list for them at the Open Day at WHW, so once painted I have a fieldable 1.5 to 3k force available. Unlike my legions *glares*. I do have to paint 40 veletarii though. That will be agonising I'm sure, if 40 despoilers are anything to go by.

 

I am running Vanquishers over Choomtillery though. I should probably get some choomtillery. Choomtillery looks so cool.

 

And your Malcador. Oh god it did so well.

 

I'm curious about the effectiveness of Vanquishers on the table in comparison to the Assault Squadron tanks.  As I noted in my battle report, losing the +1 BS for same target shots really hurt the effectiveness of my Incinerator they are rolling Heavy 5 not a single dice.  I'm guessing the Vanquishers will either be extremely effective or leave you praying for another turn but I could be off-base.  My solution was to utilize the Malcador Annihilator as a stop gap that would provide me 4 (2 sponson, twin-linked main gun) for 3 penetration attempts; of course this works much better against things which are not 14 AV as even lascannons struggle in this area.  I'd recommend making one of the Vanquishers a tank commander as it's only +55 points and you get benefits to stack with your Vanquisher, including picking an additional trait to apply to the tank and BS4.

 

As my Strike Squadron is based on my Lascannon philosophy it's a bit late in the game to switch over to Vanquishers for me but I could always get some Vanquisher Ryza Pattern turrets and switch them out on the Annihilators.  It's not a bad idea actually, I'll have to look into it at some point for testing. 

 

For the Veletaris, I would highly recommend approaching them the way I did.  Paint one of them and really look at it, determine if the paint pattern is going to allow you to easily replicate it and...always do the hoses last...trust me, you will dry brush over them accidentally otherwise.  I make this more complicated by basing my metallic paints with Warplock bronze and then washing them in Agrax, which adds two steps to everything metallic, but I really like the outcome and it darkens the metal allowing me to go easy on the Nuln Oil.

 

Once you're happy with that single Veletaris and have worked out the best pattern do 4 more and get into the motions for your paint scheme then finish the whole squad.  Do a vehicle or two and go back to the Veletaris for another squad; keep in mind you only need 2 squads of them to meet the force organization rules to play.  That doesn't mean you're going to have all your tools but once you have two squads you can relax a little and do base colors, work on a vehicle, do details etc. without stressing on having to pump out 40 Veletaris at once.  I just finished 40 Veletaris with my Rotor Cannon squad and I painted my first one back in October, I had 30 of them in my first or second order so I know all about the dread of painting all of those models at once.  Just worry about two squads and, if you have them, their Dracosan Transports and then deal with the third and fourth squad!

 

 

It fills me with glee to see the enemy being reduced to ash so.

 

And scattered to the winds.

 

 

"...and it seems to me that I ended your life,

Like a pillar of salt in the wind,

Never knowing which Astartes,

That charred limb belonged to,

And I would have like to have known you,

But I had to CHOOM!,

Your body shattered and burned long before,

My Volkite weaponry ever did"

 

This whole thread is amazing..... It definitely makes me want to add some SA to everything! The amount of Choom is very very very satisfying. It's Choomificent

 

Thank you very much!  I love my Volkite weaponry and it's incredibly effective though it's an odd feeling rushing a Veletaris squad at a tactical squad knowing you're not just going to get cut down.

 

 

 

Congrats on the win man, but now I'm considering buying a Malacador as well. Not cool man.

 

Dallo

 

Haha the Malcador is a fantastic tank and I'm really thinking about getting another Annihilator to stack up the Land Raider killing firepower as it allows me to engage targets at long range and then use the pintle-mounted multilas at close range to assist with infantry engagements and a medium range Demolisher Cannon that is always good times.  I don't have another Heavy tier unit as of right now, so I could technically field 3 Leman Russ Incinerators and 2 Malcador Annihilators.  Plenty of anti-armour and anti-infantry!

 

That would be quite the epic list. I am thinking of picking up a Malcador at some point in the future as I like the larger chassis of it and the look. Esspecially compared to the Dracosan vs the Russ hull. I think it'd be a cool conversion to put a bombard or basilisk weapon on a Malcador hull.

 

I also finally got some pics up of the stuff I've been working on and would appreciate some C&C from you. Heres the link.

 

 

Yeah I am a big fan of the Malcador hull design though it does have draw backs; you have to be extraordinarily aware of just how big your side armor vulnerability is when positioning the tank and really persnickety when finally finishing a move.  Otherwise all those points in Flare Shields will be for not!

 

I will hop on your thread and make comments when I have a chance!

 

I know they're squishy humans compared to the space marines you face, but I was wondering how your veletarii fared in close combat, whether they rock power axes, volkite chargers or rotor cannons. I'm asking this because I just noticed they had las-pattern ultragrit and as such always had an additional attack, including when cracking skulls open with their power axes.

 

You know, I have yet to get into close combat with my Solar Auxilia.  That was one of the reasons for the deep striking Arvus Lighter tactic, so I could put the Household Retinue up close and personal without having to survive crossing an entire field with my opponent knowing the Dracosan carrying them just need to get glanced down to leave them stranded in no-mans land.  Now I need the Tarantulas to secure the landing site and I'll be all good.

 

 

I know they're squishy humans compared to the space marines you face, but I was wondering how your veletarii fared in close combat, whether they rock power axes, volkite chargers or rotor cannons. I'm asking this because I just noticed they had las-pattern ultragrit and as such always had an additional attack, including when cracking skulls open with their power axes.

So far i played like 3 30 k and 2 40k with axy guys

Without the stormlord they take diificult time to arrive to combat, but so far i had a full squad killing a deathshroud unit Of 5( before the buff, now it would be difficult) and a damaged unit Of 5 charging 15 tacticals and killing enough to win combat and destroy them sweaping.

But in shooting they died so easly but in combat they survive longer

Compared to 40k they are similar to unwildy incubi.

The rest Of the army, non including ogryns ( that are awesome) with strengths 3 does poorly in cc

But also they are a perfect distracción carnifex

 

 

Nice to see some numbers on them, I've been curious.  I was hesitant at first but I've warmed up to the idea of using the Nanyte Blaster, potentially combined with a combat harness for a forced wound and subsequent chain reaction, to soften up a target before closing with them.  Getting into 12 inches and then suddenly setting off an explosive chain reaction while your opponent was thinking "he has to charge me to hurt me" would be amusing as hell.  Of course that requires your Lord Marshal to be accompanying them but I'm starting to look at him more as an attack character/warlord trait choice, considering just how effective the Strategos is at running the show by himself.

[Slips]

If you want an idea on how the Leeman Russ Vanquishers perform, just ask Flint, she runs a squadron of 3 most of the time.

[Brother Dallo]

Before you model up a nanyte blaster, do you know that relics are explicitly permission only now? It's in the latest faq.

 

Dallo

[librisrouge]

Awesome battle report. I don't want to be a nit-picker here but there were a few errors with the Malcador that last game. While Super-heavies are allowed to fire at different targets, they do still need to declare all of their targets at once. This means that you cannot shot at something you can only see because another gun killed the tank between you and it. It also means that you cannot shoot up the contents of a transport you just killed with the same malcador that killed it.

 

Either way, the army is pretty.

[God-Potato of Mankind]

 

It fills me with glee to see the enemy being reduced to ash so.

 

I really want to take my Auxilia to the field, I'm burning through painting them like crazy at the moment. It helps that I literally bought an entire army list for them at the Open Day at WHW, so once painted I have a fieldable 1.5 to 3k force available. Unlike my legions *glares*. I do have to paint 40 veletarii though. That will be agonising I'm sure, if 40 despoilers are anything to go by.

 

I am running Vanquishers over Choomtillery though. I should probably get some choomtillery. Choomtillery looks so cool.

 

And your Malcador. Oh god it did so well.

 

I'm curious about the effectiveness of Vanquishers on the table in comparison to the Assault Squadron tanks.  As I noted in my battle report, losing the +1 BS for same target shots really hurt the effectiveness of my Incinerator they are rolling Heavy 5 not a single dice.  I'm guessing the Vanquishers will either be extremely effective or leave you praying for another turn but I could be off-base.  My solution was to utilize the Malcador Annihilator as a stop gap that would provide me 4 (2 sponson, twin-linked main gun) for 3 penetration attempts; of course this works much better against things which are not 14 AV as even lascannons struggle in this area.  I'd recommend making one of the Vanquishers a tank commander as it's only +55 points and you get benefits to stack with your Vanquisher, including picking an additional trait to apply to the tank and BS4.

 

As my Strike Squadron is based on my Lascannon philosophy it's a bit late in the game to switch over to Vanquishers for me but I could always get some Vanquisher Ryza Pattern turrets and switch them out on the Annihilators.  It's not a bad idea actually, I'll have to look into it at some point for testing. 

 

For the Veletaris, I would highly recommend approaching them the way I did.  Paint one of them and really look at it, determine if the paint pattern is going to allow you to easily replicate it and...always do the hoses last...trust me, you will dry brush over them accidentally otherwise.  I make this more complicated by basing my metallic paints with Warplock bronze and then washing them in Agrax, which adds two steps to everything metallic, but I really like the outcome and it darkens the metal allowing me to go easy on the Nuln Oil.

 

Once you're happy with that single Veletaris and have worked out the best pattern do 4 more and get into the motions for your paint scheme then finish the whole squad.  Do a vehicle or two and go back to the Veletaris for another squad; keep in mind you only need 2 squads of them to meet the force organization rules to play.  That doesn't mean you're going to have all your tools but once you have two squads you can relax a little and do base colors, work on a vehicle, do details etc. without stressing on having to pump out 40 Veletaris at once.  I just finished 40 Veletaris with my Rotor Cannon squad and I painted my first one back in October, I had 30 of them in my first or second order so I know all about the dread of painting all of those models at once.  Just worry about two squads and, if you have them, their Dracosan Transports and then deal with the third and fourth squad!

 

 

I run a duo of Vanquishers with tank commanders, sitting behind an Aegis line with the Strategos to bump on to BS5. Mostly all of my remaining army is very anti-horde (Stormlord & 40 Veletarii) or anti-TEQ (Malcador infernus <3) I needed some serious AV work.

 

The gun + armourbane + tank hunters = tank tears. I have yet to try it on a Spartan though.

 

I am doing a simple scheme for the Veletarii - spray purple, leadbelcher on anything not cloth. Mass wash of agrax and nuln, drybrush, highlight and redden the choombarrells. All will be well. *rocks back and forth*

[Slips]

If I recall correctly, Flint has told me before that her Trio of Vanquishers have killed a Spartan in a turn or two of shooting through its Flare Shield.