Cadmus Tyro Xth and XXth blog: Terror Squad

[sockwithaticket]

I'd say reflex sight personally. Having used a couple, the thermal scopes are bigger than you think and because of the two lenses that hang over the side it's difficult to position them on non-Anvil weapons. Admittedly I haven't had any of those particular plastic bolters to play around with.

[Cadmus Tyro]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Thanks for the views and the likes!

My thread seems to be jumping all over the place at the moment, I was hoping to get some paint on my Gorgons but I’ve realised I only have two weeks before my annual trip to WHW with my brother. He is taking custodes (which will be a welcome change for him as he usually plays Orks) so I need to finish a few more XXth legion units.

So, I present the leader of my 2500pt list, Autilon Skorr:

C&C welcome!

Anyone interested in the list?

Cadmus

Edited October 20, 2018 by Cadmus Tyro

[Pearson73]

Nice work on Skorr, though I feel his axe looks a little boring? No differentiation between the blade, power unit or haft.

 

Though I've yet to have a 30k game (army still under construction and painting), I'm always keen to look at list ideas.

[Cadmus Tyro]

Nice work on Skorr, though I feel his axe looks a little boring? No differentiation between the blade, power unit or haft.

 

Though I've yet to have a 30k game (army still under construction and painting), I'm always keen to look at list ideas.

Thanks Pearson, I see what you mean about the axe, I wasn’t quite sure where else to go with it, I quite like the smooth silver haft and the model is so busy with detail I didn’t want to add too much colour differentiation. I’ll have a think!

 

Cadmus

[hushrong]

Skorr looks fantastic, bud!

[Pearson73]

 

Nice work on Skorr, though I feel his axe looks a little boring? No differentiation between the blade, power unit or haft.

 

Though I've yet to have a 30k game (army still under construction and painting), I'm always keen to look at list ideas.

Thanks Pearson, I see what you mean about the axe, I wasn’t quite sure where else to go with it, I quite like the smooth silver haft and the model is so busy with detail I didn’t want to add too much colour differentiation. I’ll have a think!

 

Cadmus

 

Simplicity can be the best option sometimes, but I do just feel that there's too much of the same, perhaps even just changing the power block to a brass or bronze might work without adding too much interference?

[Cadmus Tyro]

So, work presses on in preparation for WHW. I’ve had a third Deimos Rhino languishing in its box for a while now. It was destined for the Xth legion, but fate it seems had a different idea:

I decided my seekers deserved their own transport in matching Dark blue/black metallic. It’s early days but I’m pretty happy with the base colour so far!

C&C welcome

Cadmus

[hushrong]

That is an awesome color you've achieved for your seeker and their rhino. I seriously love how it looks black but the light catching the angles show off a different color.

[Cadmus Tyro]

That is an awesome color you've achieved for your seeker and their rhino. I seriously love how it looks black but the light catching the angles show off a different color.

Thanks mate!

Had a great ZM game with my seekers on Wednesday night! Tempest rounds + reactionary fire at BS5 + shred in a cramped environment = death. Highlight of the game was my seeker sergeant slowly killing my friends delagatus with a power knife:

The challenge lasted about three turns! Wish I had taken a few more pics.

Cadmus

[Cadmus Tyro]

The rhinos are finally finished!

Cadmus

[hushrong]

That ZM game looks great! Would love to see any future battle reports on any ZM games you get in. Also love the seeker sgt putting in some work with a blade.

 

The rhinos also look great. I believe you’ve told me before but what did you use for weathering? I love the grit and grime on the seeker rhino and would love to try that on some black armored astartes.

[Cadmus Tyro]

Thanks Hushrong, I’m heading to Warhammer world tomorrow with my brother and his custodes so will try and snap a few pics on their tables.

 

The weathering is slightly different for each a colour. I’m not fully happy with the black scheme, I had it almost perfect and then decided to spray it back with some acrylic varnish spray, which then splattered the top of the tank! Oh well, I plan to paint a landraider proteus in the scheme so it was a good test vehicle and it’s not too bad.

 

Weathering for each tank:

 

Teal standard colour - AK interactive panzer blue grey enamel filter (Great for a slight change in tone and to give a more realistic overall finish, adds depth and can be remove where you want more shine). AK streaking grime for a few rivets. Humbrol dark earth weathering powder around the tracks etc.

 

Black blue colour - lamp black oil wash all over, streaking grime around raised areas, humbrol dark earth powder applied with 50:50 decal fix and water sound some rivets, then applied dry over the tracks.

 

Thanks for the comment!

 

Cadmus

[Varyn]

More inspiring work Cadmus, the pictures don't do your work justice!

 

Looking forward to the next ZM game, I need to up my painting game if we're to be long term allies!

[Cadmus Tyro]

Assault on Orellion III

Orellion III capital - 0700hrs

Alpharius surveyed the ruins of Orellion 3s from his vantage point. The preliminary orbital bombardment had done its job well, levelling vast portions of the urban sprawl, turning a once magnificent example of gothic architecture and design to nothing. He observed the intricacy of disorder arrayed before him, shattered buildings and scattered debris, beautiful.

Far below, unaware of his presence, the custodes patrolled what remained of the magnificent city. He knew they would already be aware of the approaching armoured column. That was the point, the custodes had deployed the majority of their martial strength in defence of the civitas, the real objective lay elsewhere.

The distant throaty rumble of astartes vehicles echoed through the streets as flashes of bright teal appeared on the distant horizon. The custodes formations coalesced to meet the oncoming threat from the north of the city. Alpharius admired the effortless fluidity of their change in focus, each warrior individual in their response yet each perfectly complementing the detachment as a whole.

As the two forces moved to engage, Alpharius disappeared into the surrounding shadows......

Autilon Skorr took the measure of the custodes forces arrayed against him from the safety of his rhino APC.

The custodes presumed the armoured column would press further into the city towards the provincial district. The true objective of his force was much more simplistic, distraction.

The armoured column advanced, an unstoppable tide of teal armour. At the forefront of the formation an alpha pattern typhon rumbled onwards, it’s crushing weight was barely slowed by the piles of debris littering the street, creating a path for the lighter rhino APCs to follow.

Towards the rear of the column the dark black seeker transport clung to the shadows of the surrounding ruins, ready to deal death on their intended target.

Far in the distance, assault squad Mycenaean had moved into position. The custodes were currently unaware of their outflanking position, ready to seize the objective when the correct time came.

Suddenly the Rhinos Vox burst into life, “Contact left!” the cry emanating from the concealed quad mortar battery in the buildings ahead. The hazy image of a telemon dreadnought rounding the corner of the building ahead appeared from the artillery teams pict feed.

“All units move to engage target!” The Delagatus replied. As one the armoured column moved into position, then they opened fire. The telemon dreadnought disappeared under the deluge of fire from siege cannon rounds, shatter shells and lascannon beams, the cloud of debris cut through by neutron laser beams emanating from the Sicaran Venator.

The smoke cleared but the towering construct still stood, clearly wounded by the incoming fire the telemon limped back behind the building. In response to the opening salvo the custodes grav carrier, jet bikes and infantry raced up the right flank, under cover of the the buildings.

Towards the alpha legions left flank the custodes Achilles contemptor closed in for the kill, pouring fire into the flanks of the column as it advanced. Skorrs Rhino lurched forward to meet the threat, the machine killer veteran squad burst from their transport, melta guns roaring in heated defiance.

In response to the advance on the right flank, the alpha legion veteran squad disgorged from their rhino. Climbing the precarious constructs above to meet the advancing foe.

Weathering an incredible amount of incoming fire from the jet bikes and grav carrier, ancient brother Arkanus barrelled into the thin line of golden warriors. Ripping the main weapons from the grav carrier, the momentum of the leviathans charge carried him into the jet bike squadron. Riders were tossed aside like rag dolls, but eventually the venerable dreadnought was brought down by the Hetaeron guard.

Despite the veterans attempts to bring down the mighty Achilles dreadnought, the ancient warrior weathered the fire and continued his advance towards the Typhon Siege tank.

The custodes continued to push back the alpha legion line. The typhon moved into full reverse in an attempt to survive. The seeker team saw an opportunity and moved to take it.

The Rhino moved rapidly from its concealed position under the ruined walkway. The custodes shield captain had over committed himself, in a vain glorious attempt to finish of the veteran squad on the alpha legion right flank. Jumping from their transport, combi plasmas whining under the pressure of rapid charge, the seeker squad opened fire on the exposed unit. The squads expert marksmen-ship all but ensuring the demise of the enemy warlord.

The reversing typhon targeted the Achilles with its lascannons, the spears of bright light spearing through the dreadnoughts main reactor, ending the ancient warriors life in a fiery demise.

However, one lone custode warrior remained. Sprinting down the ruined walkway, meltabomb primed the valiant warrior leapt over the edge of the walkway. Landing on top of the Siege tank as the meltabomb ignited the tanks fuel cells. The huge behemoth exploded, showering the area with debris, the brave custode warrior died in the conflagration.

The alpha legion assault squad ignited their jump packs and moved towards the rear objective. Their presence attracted the nearby custodian guard and they were mercilessly cut down.

Skorr waited alone in his command Rhino. His personal helmet vox crackled, “we have secured the primary objective, withdraw your forces to the extraction point”

[Cadmus Tyro]

Mining facility - Orellion III - 0700hrs

The darkness began to fade as the sun rose on the mining facility. The alpha legion seeker team advanced on the primary objective.

As the defending custodes became aware of the advancing power armoured figures, the central mining facility erupted in fire from concealed quad mortar positions.

The custode jetbikes responded to the incoming threats. Screaming through the tight passages the warriors opened fire on the advancing kill teams before charging headlong into their midst.

On the right flank a small squad of custodes attempted to engage the advancing leviathan. In the vain hope that their melta bombs would be enough to end the towering monster. Their charge stalled as they were cut down by a hail of fire from the dreadnought.

The charging custode jetbikes took a heavy toll on the advancing seeker team. But their overconfidence was their undoing. Alpharius, finally revealing his presence at the facility, waded into the fray.

Non could stand against his onslaught, in a second the riders were cut down from their mounts as the mighty primarch advanced towards the objective. Seeing the threat, all the custodes forces moved to engage Alpharius.

The gantry ran with the blood of the emperors guardians. Even the might of the Hetaeron guard was no match for the primarch. Finally the shield captain joined the battle, the pale spear flashed in impossible arcs of light, severing the head of the ancient warrior in a moment, the shield captains lifeless body slumped to the floor.

The remaining custodian guard fought valiantly to the last man. But they were unable to come between the primarch and his prize.....

Well Warhammer World was a blast! Thanks to my brother for prepping his amazing custodes in time for the trip and for putting up with my XXth legion shenanigans.

We played two games, I lost the first by one victory point, so it was a pretty close game, essentially won due to the lucky destruction of my typhon, a single custodian with a melta bomb managed to take the final two hull points off! Insane!

The second game was much smaller on the mining facility board. Alpharius

I learnt quite a few things during the game:

1. eat lunch before you play a 2500pt game! I’m pretty sure most of our tactical errors were as a result of hypoglycaemia.

2. Typhon Siege tanks have limited utility. The extended coherency rules, flare shields and layered refractor fields all serve to nullify the tank to some degree. It’s also a big liability, six hull points does not make for a durable tank!

3. Deployment is everything. I was not aggressive enough with my infiltrators and as a result had less board control than I should have at the start of the game. My assault squad should also have been deployed in support of my vehicles. Without power weapons they lack the ability to take on multiple threats and therefore they don’t work well as a backfield harassment unit.

4. Alpharius is great against custodes. Yes he will probably loose to valdor in combat but instant death on his pale spear and the ability to give most of my units preferred enemy is amazing.

Well that’s the annual pilgrimage to Nottingham done for another year. Now to work on the next project!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Cadmus

[hushrong]

These were excellent battle reports! Great narrative and great accompanying pictures. Your Alpha Legion look utterly perfect in the midst of battle!

[Vykes]

Duuuuude, seriously just... awesome there are many words, but right now I'll settle with :cuss fantastic!  I love seeing good ol' proper narrative reports and you nailed it: good pacing, good way to tell it, clear and concise, and fantastic picture mate.  It looked like an absolute blast too.  I'm definitely green with envy (as befits the loyal son of the warmaster, green is always the best). 

 

You know, I was kinda scared seeing Alpharius up against Custodes as I figured their natural fighting perks would nullify a lot of his better qualities. It looks like a fairly good mix of forces, too.  I'm a bit surprised the Typhon didn't pan out quite that well (totally unsurprised that it went down to a melta bomb on a lone custodes.  Seems like that's the Superheavy curse to get Death-Starred "one in a million" shotted out of existence) But it seems like a really good mix and it's terrific to see those seekers in detail.  As honoured brother Hushrong mentioned, it's terrific to see that black colour with the metallic undercoating in the right ligh.  That and the cloaks, yeah, kinda perfect.  

 

Thanks a ton for all the time to write up the report (I know how long they can take) and for the pictures as they are killer.  Can't wait to see what you got for us next time, mate!

 

-clicks the like button, and a few more times as the 'quota' message pops ups- RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!  I shall be back, B&C, I shall be back!

[Pearson73]

I'll echo the above, the reports were really well done with some very atmospheric/cinemtatic photography. Both forces look stunning on the field and the boards themselves are excellent.

 

I must say these battle shots have changed my opinion of the Seeker's Rhino, initially I thought it was, perhaps, too dark; but seeing it in play with the rest of the force shows just how well it fits in, albeit with an air of independence.

[Dosjetka]

Fantastic battle report. :tu:

[Trixie]

Awesome battle report, great scenery at Warhammer World and the two armies present were well painted and did more than match the great terrain on the tables.

[Varyn]

Really great report on your battles, thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The photos were excellent

 

 

Your army looks great lined up against the golden boys, top notch stuff 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Varyn

[Cadmus Tyro]

These were excellent battle reports! Great narrative and great accompanying pictures. Your Alpha Legion look utterly perfect in the midst of battle!

Thanks Hushrong, the WHW boards make it really easy to snap some great pictures, well worth the effort of visiting Nottingham!

 

Duuuuude, seriously just... awesome there are many words, but right now I'll settle with :cuss fantastic!  I love seeing good ol' proper narrative reports and you nailed it: good pacing, good way to tell it, clear and concise, and fantastic picture mate.  It looked like an absolute blast too.  I'm definitely green with envy (as befits the loyal son of the warmaster, green is always the best). 

 

You know, I was kinda scared seeing Alpharius up against Custodes as I figured their natural fighting perks would nullify a lot of his better qualities. It looks like a fairly good mix of forces, too.  I'm a bit surprised the Typhon didn't pan out quite that well (totally unsurprised that it went down to a melta bomb on a lone custodes.  Seems like that's the Superheavy curse to get Death-Starred "one in a million" shotted out of existence) But it seems like a really good mix and it's terrific to see those seekers in detail.  As honoured brother Hushrong mentioned, it's terrific to see that black colour with the metallic undercoating in the right ligh.  That and the cloaks, yeah, kinda perfect.  

 

Thanks a ton for all the time to write up the report (I know how long they can take) and for the pictures as they are killer.  Can't wait to see what you got for us next time, mate!

 

-clicks the like button, and a few more times as the 'quota' message pops ups- RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!  I shall be back, B&C, I shall be back!

Thanks for the kind words Vykes, it was your battle report that inspired me to write it in a more narrative way, much more interesting to read that way I find. I was a little scarred using Alpharius, mainly because of his “one of many” rule, it was only luck that prevented the squad he was hiding in from being wiped out. In retrospect I think it was too risky to deploy him in this way, although it did keep my opponent guessing, forcing him to spread his force. In the end, Alpharius didn’t take a single wound, although that may have been a different story if there were more paragon blades in the custodes force. His “preferred enemy” rule was incredibly powerful.

 

Where are you based Vykes?

 

I'll echo the above, the reports were really well done with some very atmospheric/cinemtatic photography. Both forces look stunning on the field and the boards themselves are excellent.

 

I must say these battle shots have changed my opinion of the Seeker's Rhino, initially I thought it was, perhaps, too dark; but seeing it in play with the rest of the force shows just how well it fits in, albeit with an air of independence.

Thanks my friend, I’ve been in two minds about the black scheme, part of me wonders whether I should have just left it black rather than adding teal tones, but I think I’m happy with it....The lighting make sure a massive difference to how much I like it! The rhino was an experiment to see if the scheme translated to a larger model. With its relative success, I’m planning a full 1500 point force in black.....

 

Fantastic battle report. :tu:

Thanks! How are the death guard going?

 

Awesome battle report, great scenery at Warhammer World and the two armies present were well painted and did more than match the great terrain on the tables.

Cheers Trixie, wish I had the cash to splash on such awesome terrain myself!

 

Really great report on your battles, thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The photos were excellent :)

 

 

Your army looks great lined up against the golden boys, top notch stuff

 

Thanks brother, I’m only sorry the emperors lackies were not annihilated in the first game.....it’s all a learning curve!

 

Cadmus

[Vykes]

Hey dude, you did an awesome job. Better than I did and it's a fantastic read. It's definitely an engaging way to keep up and relate it to experiences (man, reading all mechanical die rolling tournament shorthand is just... ugh, can't do it.) The lighting at Warhammer World seems pretty stellar, too. 

 

Hmm, yeah that might be a bit of luck but man that'll keep you on your toes. Everyone runs away from Horus, Angron, Fulgrim and the likes, but running from Lord Alfy is kinda hard -laughs-. It's definitely runnin' the risk but it's a gamble, and when you're playing with primarchs, it's about cinema and gambles right? Man, Preferred Enemy is a killer, and against an enemy like custodes where every wound hurts that makes it a great way to force stuff through and really make it hit home. It's gutsy, but great!

 

I can't wait to see more, mate. Looks right fantastic, and you may have right sold me on some allies/kill team from the XXth.  I do think that the all black is a pretty striking colour that just works, in the right light they can pass for blackshields and then when hit dead on, you see their true colours.  It's pretty striking. 

Me, I'm in the lost land of few people and tons of snow: about an hour north-west of Edmonton Alberta, Canada. IE, English speaking Siberia :P

[Dosjetka]

Vykes: And there I was, thinking you were an Aussie! Cor, I got Alpharius'd! :lol:

[Pearson73]

I think a whole force in the blackened scheme would look stellar.