Tallarn Commander's Tallarn 23rd Blog

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Great models doing great things on the tabletop as always, Tallarn Commander. Reading your exploits and looking at your sweet models is helping me get my hobby mojo back.

 

I have been reading up on this last page of your exploits in the end of 7th and the beginning of 8th! It makes me anxious to start working on my Inquisitor, her bodyguard, and the Elysians that are going to make up the bulk of my army. I want to follow a similiar format to yours as a project log and a war diary!

Please consider posting the inquisition stuff in the Agehntd forum. We need more WIP there.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi everyone,

Here are some WIP shots:

During my last game my armies' leader, Captain Scheherazade, took a dive off of the table during my game. Sadly, her bolter broke off. I was just going to glue it back on when I got inspired to give her a powerfist and plasma pistol.

WIP Captain Scheherazade

The stormtroopers and mortars are shaping up for next Saturday's tournament. Both units have really improved this edition.

WiP stormies and mortars

And since powerfists are now cheaper, I'm dragging Lieutenant Colonel Khomeini out of mothballs and re-doing his base. Colonel Khomeini is the boss of my warlord, Captain Scheherazade. Meaning, he is the CO of 7th Battalion and since 7th Battalion includes Alpha Company, Cpt. Scheherazade reports to him. Whenever I include LTC Khomeini in a battle, I will use him as a second company commander. In terms of fluff, he will be present on the battlefield in an unofficial advisorial capacity.

WIP LTC Khomeini

And I've added side mounted magnetized sentinel chainsaws to a couple of my scout sentinels. In test games the sentinel chainsaws are sometimes nice to have, but they usually don't do much. But I also have ork and chaos armies so adding a huge freaking chainsaw to an IG walker makes perfect sense to me. I've moved the heavy weapons magnet so that my heavy weapons are underslung rather than side mounted. Over the next couple of years I'll slowly convert all my sentinels to this configuration.

WIP Sentinels with Chainsaws

Also, yesterday I learned that my friendly local gaming store (FLGS) is going out of business. RIP Games and Gizmos in Kirkland, Washington, in the United States. I'm fortunate in that I have 4 other FLGS' in the Seattle-Everett area with a 40K scene: Card Kingdom in Seattle, PFC Games in Edmonds, Games Workshop in Lynnwood, and my favorite, Mugu Games in Everett. But my round trip to a game just went from 10 minutes to 90 minutes and fuel/wear and tear on my car costs also went up dramatically.

For those of you fortunate enough to have a FLGS near you I encourage you to support them with some of your gaming dollars. Games and Gizmos said online competition killed them.

Take care,

Tallarn Commander,

IG, "We are many. They are few."

Edited February 12, 2019 by Tallarn Commander

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Mounting the Sentinels' autocannons in a traversing turret is an excellent idea.

[Guardsman Bob]

Khomeini Looks like he knows how to party. Should be good for morale

[duz_]

And since powerfists are a wee bit cheaper I'm in the process of rebasing and dusting off Lieutenant Colonel Khomeini, leader of 7th Battalion. I'll use him as a company commander. He'll replace Lord Commissar Abra, freeing up enough points for a small ratling squad. According to my fluff Captain Scheherazade will still lead my detachment and be my warlord. Khomeini will be present in an unofficial advisorial role.

 

 

 

He looks great! Was he a GW model back in the day?

 

I wish the sentinel chainsword was +1A ... then I'd probably take it. -1AP just isn't worth it for me

 

Yeh that sucks the trek has become so long! One of the FLGs here closed temporarily due to essentially mismanagemenr. They have since reopened fortunately. Im not sure if its any closer but I have a friend who plays at Meeples in Seattle which seem to have a good vibe going on.

[Tallarn Commander]

Bjorn, yes, I like the look of the underslung guns as well. I saw the conversion done years ago somewhere and copied it.

 

Bob, you're right, Khomeini is a dynamic model. He almost looks like he's cheering. :)

 

Duz, his top half is Sheik Almad Shufti. He was a character in the horse light cavalry unit called Al Muktar's Desert Dogs for Warhammer Fantasies' Regiments of Reknown line of mercenaries. I had a Dogs of War/Regiments of Reknown army back in the day. Now the army is gathering dust because I'm not a fan of Age of Sigmar. Khomeini's bottom half is from a Tallarn lasgunner.

 

I'll have to check out Meeples Games out in west Seattle. I didn't know it had a 40K scene. It's a bit far for me, but on a weekend the traffic out to west Seattle from Kirkland wouldn't be too bad. Thanks for the FYI!

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone,

Here's the list I'm taking to a 2000 point tournament tomorrow. It's the last hurrah for my FLGS Games and Gizmos since its closing at the end of the month

Tallarn Brigade Detachment: Alpha Company, 7th Battalion, Tallarn 23rd Light Infantry Regiment

HQ

-Captain Scheherazade, powerfist, plasma pistol, Aquila

-Captain Al'Rahem, power sword, plasma pistol, Dagger

-Captain Mustafa, tank commander, "Death Wish," Leman Russ, heavy bolter, 2 plasma cannons

Scheherazade will support troopers in my deployment zone, Al'Rahem will outflank with Blue Platoon. I'll make Mustafa into a "commissar" tank and he'll buff morale in my deployment zone.

ELITES

-Lt. Mecca

-Alpha Company Command Squad, regimental standard, 2 sniper rifles

-Desert Scimitars Special Weapons Squad, 3 plasma guns

Mecca will advance with Gold Platoon. Alpha Company will provide morale support in my deployment zone. The Scimitars SWS will outflank with Blue Platoon.

TROOPS

-Red Platoon, 3 infantry squads of 10 troopers, 3 lascannons, 3 plasma guns

-Gold Platoon, 3 infantry squads of 10 troopers, 3 missile launchers, 3 plasma guns, 3 plasma pistols

-Blue Platoon, 3 infantry squads of 10 troopers, 3 heavy bolters, 3 plasma guns, 3 plasma pistols

Red Platoon sets up a base of fire in my deployment zone. Gold Platoon advances to midfield to gain board control and grab objectives. Blue Platoon outflanks.

FAST ATTACK

-Blue 1, scout sentinel, autocannon, sentinel chainsaw

-Blue 2, scout sentinel, autocannon, sentinel chainsaw

-Blue 3, scout sentinel, autocannon, sentinel chainsaw

-Desert Dogs, 8 rough riders

HEAVY SUPPORT

-Desert Mombas, heavy weapons squad, 3 mortars

-"Faith and Metal," Leman Russ, 3 heavy bolters

-"Emperor's Champion," Leman Russ, 3 heavy bolters

Tallarn Spearhead Detachment

HQ

-Colonel Khomeini, powerfist

ELITES

-Liaison Officer Lieutenant Zaim, Master of Ordnance

HEAVY SUPPORT

-"In Nomine Imperator," Manticore, heavy bolter

-"Slaughterer," Basilisk, heavy bolter

-"Vengeance," Basilisk, heavy bolter

Total=2,000 points; 13 command points; 107 infantry, 8 cavalry, 6 tanks, 3 walkers

The fluff for this list is that a standard Tallarn 23rd infantry company (3 platoons of 3 squads) has been reinforced with some support elements. Captain Scheherazade's force is reinforced by a Russ squadron from the Cadian 9th Armored Regiment and a self-propelled artillery section from the Valhallan 337th Artillery Regiment. Both the Cadian and Valhallan vehicles have been temporarily repainted in Tallarn colors, a not uncommon practice when units are placed on long term temporary duty to another regiment. Scheherazade is also supported by units from the 23rd: walkers and cavalry from the regimental recon company and a mortar squad from 7th Battalion's heavy weapons company.

Sadly, I wasn't able to finish up my stormtroopers in time for this tournament. I'll definitely finish them up by the end of the month though.

Also, I got in a fun game against bugs this week. It was a maelstrom mission. On Turn 1 he flooded the board with gribbles which denied my outflanking and deepstriking assets places in which to deploy. An excellent strategy which got my Tyranid player the win. He was a great sport and I hope to see him at this weekend's tournament.

Here are some images from the game:

A Tallarn Leman Russ targets some Nid beasties

Red Platoon Squad and Leman Russ watch a Devilgaunt squad pour forth from a Tyranid drop pod, called a "Tyrannocyte"?

Stormtroopers capture Objective 4

A Carnifex chows down on members of Blue Platoon

Stormtrooper Sergeant overwatches against a Tyranid Hive Tyrant, he missed

An impressive old school model, a Haruspex?, chews on some stormtroopers. This model was great! And from the front he looked like he was smiling. I guess you'd be happy too if you were a Nid monster and you got too eat your fill of humans.

The left flank holds (the center and right flank had collapsed)

Enjoy the photos!

Edited January 21, 2019 by Tallarn Commander

[sunspear]

Good looking army and nice pics from the batrep!

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi everyone,

I had a great time at the Huzzah Hobbies tournament this weekend! I managed to win best painted and I won 1 of my games. All 3 of my opponents were very nice and had some very well painted models.

Here are some photos:

Alpha Company, 7th Battalion, Tallarn 23rd Light Regiment, with attached armored, artillery, and recon support elements

Manticore and Scout Sentinels (with new Sentinel Chainsaws!)

Game 1 vs Slaanesh Emperor's Children CSM, after Sentinel Scout moves. I managed to win this game thanks to my Basilisk blowing my opponent off his objective. My outflanking platoon was this games MVP though. They acted as an excellent harassing unit.

Sniper command squad in the treeline. This photo looks very Christmas-like to me.

Sgt. Schaeffer's Gold Platoon Squad tarpits a spawn. Or am I the one being tarpitted?

Tallarn Rough Riders outflank. They would fail their charge roll and re-roll and get blown away by the Emperor's Children you see here.

Game 2 vs Space Marine Ultramarines, before the Sentinel Scout Move. This was a relic mission. I lost. My opponent infiltrated his scouts onto the relic. They grabbed it on the top of Turn 1 and spent the rest of the game sprinting away. He did a great job deepstriking his assault squads onto his flanks so my outflankers coudn't go after the relic. My MVP was my command Russ, its plasma cannons and battlecannon kept dealing out damage.

My Tallarn Manticore, "In Nomine Imperator"

Space Marine Ultramarines in the center of the board. On the left you can barely see the scouts with the relic speeding away from my line. They had just jumped out of melee with the sentinel you see here.

The Tallarn firebase advances

Sergeant Spike, Corporal Leroy, Private Jamar, and Captain Al'Rahem outflank

Game 3 on Turn 1: vs a gorgeous Blood Angels opponent. I lost this mission due to poor maelstrom rolls. My opponent and I agreed I would have won had the game gone onto Turn 3 since he had only killed 17 power level worth of my stuff I I had killed 42 power level worth of his stuff. My MVP: My Manticore, strength 10 vs a Landraider is certainly effective.

Sergeant Schaeffer's Gold Platoon Squad tarpits a deepstriking character

Tallarn sentinel's chainsword actually kills someone!

Tallarn Manticore targets a Blood Angels Land Raider

Blue Platoon Outflanks next to a Baal Predator and Tac Squad

Blood Angels Termies beat on one of Gold Platoon's missile launcher teams

Some thoughts:

-Game Length: We had 2 and a half hours per game. I managed to finish turn 3, turn 2, and turn 2, respectively. This is a bit ridiculous. While I love 8th edition, the games do seem longer. It's OK if a 2000 point pickup game lasts 4 hours, but 2000 points is a bit much for a tournament. And both my opponents and I were playing fairly quickly. I timed the rounds and usually I would take bout 2-3 minutes more during my turn than my opponent, which isn't bad for a horde army with 100+ infantry. Maybe 1500 points would work better.

-Super Heavies: Only 1 player brought super heavies, an IG player who brought 3 Shadowswords. He easily defeated all 3 opponents and won the tournament. I tried to convince him earlier this month that this was a bit unsporting. Then, during the tournament we all tried to convince him this was unsporting. We noted we are a casual, local tournament not the LVO. Sigh. This just reinforces my long held belief that knights and super heavies should only be allowed by your opponent's agreement. They have no place in a typical 40K game.

-Commissar Tanks: spending the 2 CP for the lead 9 buff to nearby infantry doesn't really fit my playstyle. I like to run my troops and tanks willy nilly around the board, often going in different directions. The Russ rarely buffed my infantry. I suspect this strategem would work well for a static gunline though.

-Manticores: This was the first time I used my Manticore since the 2014 IG Codex made them ridiculously expensive. I was very impressed. It served as a solid arty unit. I'd say it's about on par with the Bassy, all things considered.

-Command Squads with Sniper Rifles and a standard: the standard was a nice, cheap piece of kit. The sniper rifles killed 1 marine the entire tournament. Which is all you can expect of them. I think this squad would have been better served by a heavy bolter.

In all, it was a great tournament and a fine swansong event for Huzzah Hobbies!

Edited January 20, 2019 by Tallarn Commander

[duz_]

Awesome work

 

*sigh* nothing worse when people can't understand the difference between friendly tournament and competitive ...

 

Interesting your games didnt make it past T3. I haven't played competitively/timed since our codex dropped. Before then I could make it to T4/5 comfortably.

 

I definitely agree super heavies need to be agreed upon prior to the game.

 

I was luke warm on the maticore. When they upped the points cost in CA I've decided to run a second bassie before a manticore.

[Tallarn Commander]

Duz, yes, the higher points cost in CA is annoying.

 

I also suspect that game length will go down a little as well once we all commit our armies' rules to memory. With every edition there's a bit of a hiccup, but the game gradually speeds up.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello, I hope everyone enjoyed their Holidays and Boxing Day!

I finished up the batch of 11 stormtroopers. Here are some pics.

Also, I've been very impressed with the way plasma pistols have workedfor IG sergeants. They are well worth the points. So I've converted all 9 of my platoon sergeants (Gold, Red, and Blue Platoons) to plasma pistols. This is technically a fluff violation since plasma is supposed to be rare. But the 2003 IG Codex said Tallarns preferred to fight with missile launchers and plasma guns, so at least I'm sticking to that fluff. Plus, in 8th we've all seen a significant increase in the number of Imperium and Chaos armies sporting plasma so someone must have found a plasma STC somewhere.

Here are my sergeants with their new plasma pistols

And 2 of my stormie sergeants lacked chainswords so I gave 1 to each of them

Enjoy the pics!

Edited February 12, 2019 by Tallarn Commander

[Reviler]

They are brutal looking chainswords. They look very heavy. I’ve put plasma pistols on all my sergeant and captains retrospectively. Great bang for your buck

[Tallarn Commander]

Happy New Year everyone,

I've finished up a bunch of small IG projects! Here are some photos:

I painted up a bunch of chainswords and plasma pistols on my sergeants. Here is a before shot...

And an after shot...you can see Spike and Bella sleeping in the background.

I also finally finished up Captain Scheherazade's powerfist and plasma pistol

And I finished painting up my mortar and heavy weapons squads' bases. Here is a before photo:

And an after photo:

And I finished up Colonel Khomeini's base...

And I completed some magnetized plasma cannons. I've found these work great on tank commanders. They are less effective on regular Russes because of the reduced BS. But if I have points to spare I sometimes upgrade sponson heavy bolters to sponson plasma cannons on my regular Russes as well.

And in this image I was a bit goofy and stuck some plasma cannons on my Tallarn Hellhound rather than the usual inferno cannon/heavy flamer.

I also tried out a new hobbying skill, using fluids to improve my "paint chipping" effect. Til now I've just painted chips on by hand using black and boltgun metal or (in the case of my Manticore) used a sponge and boltgun metal. I like this effect, but over the years I've seen people do incredible things using either hairspray and salt or various third party interactive fluids. So I bought AK's worn effects acrylic fluid for about $10.00 USD and gave it a whirl on Khomeini's base and on the base of one of my mortar squads.

The mortar squad base looks pretty lame, but it was my first time using this new trick.

My 2nd attempt was with Khomeini's base and I think it came out better:

Also I learned afterwards that I was doing it wrong.

What I did was:

-Prime

-undercoat

-seal with gloss varnish--I'll experiment to see if the effect is any different with matte varnish

-apply 2 coats of weathering fluid, letting it dry after each coat

-apply 4 thin coats of the basecoat, also letting it dry between each coat

-scratch off paint to achieve the desired effect. For the heavy bolter team I used a toothpick and was not impressed. For Khomeini I used a green scratch pad and was more impressed.

But I read that right before I begin scratching the paint off, I'm supposed to add some water to the model. This is the "interactive" part and it will make the scratching process easier and more natural. Since I didn't use water I had to scrub pretty hard and some of the undercoat and primer rubbed off.

Later this year I'll paint up an armored sentinel and use this trick with water.

Later this month I'll do a 2017 gaming/hobbying year in review and 2018 upcoming year goals overview for ya. To whet your appetites I just got a small 5 trooper squad from Victoria Miniatures:

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Edited February 13, 2019 by Tallarn Commander

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Why put a yin-yang symbol on the Hellhound?

[Tallarn Commander]

Mostly because I liked the Yin Yang symbol's look.

 

But I  also love the WW2/heist movie "Kelly's Heroes." It seems to me that such a symbol would be something Donald Sutherland's character Oddball would paint on the side of his Sherman. Hellhound crews are supposed to be slightly unhinged after all.

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi everyone, I wrote up a “year in review” post. I hope ya’all don’t mind but I’m posting this to both my Night Lords Chaos and Tallarn IG Bolter and Chainsword blogs.

2017 40K Hobbying Year in Review

-Chaos Renegades

Renegades and Heretics were the big winner here. I managed to paint up 57 chaos renegade rank and file troopers. These troopers can be used as militia, cultists, disciples, or marauders. Most just have autopistol and brutal assault weapon, but some have missile launchers, icons, etc.

-Night Lords

I also painted up a bunch of Night Lords Chaos Marine models: a Dark Apostle, 3 spawn, 2 furies, 5 raptors, and 5 Chaos Marines.

-Death Guard

My long neglected Death Guard also got some love: 2 Chaos Rhinos, 3 spawn, and a Chaos Biker with lightning claw

-Imperial Guard

My main army, my Tallarns, also got some attention: I finished painting the names on the bases of all 300+ troopers and I painted up 4 servitors, 2 techpriests, a primary psyker, and 11 stormtroopers. I also completed the odd upgrade to existing turrets, infantry, terrain, etc, e.g. added a few backpacks too troopers and added more stowage to the odd turret.

-Terrain

I completed some IG trenches and some hills.

Here are some photos of most of the 97 models I completed in 2017

I clocked in a little over 180 hours of painting which is my 5^th most productive year since 2000.

In terms of my hobbying skills, I picked up 2 new skills: how to make greatcoats out of greenstuff and how to create paint chipping effects with AK interactive fluid, although my first stabs at both skills was somewhat rudimentary. I also free-handed two models with icons. I didn’t really develop any other new skills though. I’ll have to develop more new skills in 2018.

Close up of one of my free-handed banners

2018 40K Hobbying Goals

First and foremost, I’d like to get started on my long neglected Ork army for 40K. It will be thematically based on a WWII soviet Red Army. Thankfully I already own most of the models.

I’d also like to keep adding new units to my IG and Chaos armies. These will have to be newly purchased units because I’ve finally finished all the backlogged items in both armies—it only took me 17 years to catch up. In terms of terrain, I recently got a nice Forgeworld fighting emplacement that I’d like to paint up. Also, my Chaos army needs a display board for tournaments. I’m thinking a series of foam stepped hills with a nice Chaos star centerpiece. I’ll paint it red so I can use it with my Death Guard, Night Lords CSM, and/or my Renegades and Heretics—all 3 armies have red bases.

In terms of skills, I recently got Volume I of Forgeworld’s books on how to paint up armor so I’d like to try out some tricks in that awesome tome: using weathering powders, oil paints with spirits, etc. I’ll use those skills on some Renegades, IG, and Ork vehicles over the course of the year.

I’d also like to get better at painting flesh, greenstuffing greatcoats, color theory, and innumerable other skills.

2017 40K Gaming Year in Review

As always, I really enjoyed all my games. Since 7^th Edition was so unbalanced I lost most of my 7^th Edition games. I did much better in 8^th. I really enjoy the way this edition got rid ot formtions and balanced everyone up. I also like the various you-go-I-go aspects of deployment and melee. 8th is just such a fun and fluid edition.

-2017 7^th Edition Chaos record: 33% win rate in 7^th Edition (2 losses and 1 win)

-2017 8^th Edition Chaos record: N/A (I didn’t play any Chaos games in 8^th til 2018)

-2017 7^th Edition IG record: 8% win rate in (1 win and 11 losses)

-2017 8^th Edition IG record: 62% win rate (5 wins and 3 losses)

I brought my IG to a total of 4 tournaments over the year at PFC Games in Edmonds, Mugu Games in Everett, Games and Gizmos in Kirkland, and Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge in Vancouver Washington.

2018 40K Gaming Goals

I don’t really have any specific gaming goals other than to get in a game here and there and to attend a few tournaments. Like most of you, I’m really enjoying 8^th edition. I’m hoping to bring my Renegades and Night Lords to Ordo Fanaticus this summer—and maybe I’ll bring Orks next year. There’s an escalation tournament in Ballard that goes from early February to mid March. It starts at 750 and ends at 2000. I’m not sure if I want to schlep over there 6 times though (about 100 minutes round trip) and I’m also not sure if I’d bring my Night Lords and Renegades or my Tallarns.

Til next time!

IG, “We are many. They are few.”

Night Lords, “The quick and the dead.”

Nurgle, “There’s something rotten in Denmark.”

Edited April 16, 2022 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Hello everyone, I recently got in a small game of 40K against a very kind and chill Imperial Fist player.

 

I managed a win although it was a close game and could have gone either way.  Here are some photos:

 

 

My A Company, 7th Battalion, Tallarn 23rd Light before the game

 

 

His Imperial Fists before the battle. His scouts were already deployed. Imp Fist painters sure do a great job of layering up that yellow. Kudos!

 

 

Imp Fist snipers treat Lt. Rushdie with extreme prejudice by juicing him on Turn 1

 

 

Causing Captain Scheherezade to wisely hide behind  a wall

 

 

The Desert Dogs rough rider squad outflanks and takes out a Tac Squad, although it's a training mission so no one is really hurt. But the Tac Squad does owe the rough riders a round.

 

 

Blue Platoon, Captain Al'Rahem, rough riders, and Desert Scimitars SWS outflanking

 

 

The Imp Fists meet this threat and begin shredding my outflankers to bits

 

 

 

Imp Fist character dramatically swinging his power sword

 

 

 

Captain Khomeini, with his freshly painted powerfist, manages to use it to take out this flyer. No New Model Syndrome here.

 

 

 

Also, I finished up my first pledge for Trooping the Color. This is Lieutenant Winters, formerly of the Praetorian 8th. She has been mustered into the 23rd where she is now learning the customs, tactics, and battle cant of the Tallarns. She is hopefully the first of many Praetorians from Victoria Miniatures. I'm a fan of the 1997 Games Day Massacre at Big Toof River display board (where Tallarns and Praetorians fought and died alongside each other). I intend to eventually have at least a pair of 30-trooper Praetorian platoons.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the pics!

[spafe]

fantastic pics dude! love seeing your army in action, such character to it. Also very nice to see the mon a good table against an equally nicely painted army.

 

I assume thats a vic pretorian? looking forward to seeing the rest of them get transfered into the regiment. That display... man, I spent soo many hrs looking at the pics in the WD when that came out

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

[long post removed]

Holy :cussballs.

 

Your Captain is female? There are female Tallarn sculpts?

Edited February 13, 2018 by WarriorFish
Long quote edited

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Congratulations on your victory.

[WarriorFish]

That's a nice Imperial Fists army, but nicer still to get a close win well done :tu:

[Tallarn Commander]

Thank you for your kind words.

 

Spafe, yes, the Praetorian lieutenant is from Victoria Miniatures. It’s a really well-sculpted line of troopers. They are really fun to paint up.

 

Res Ipsa Loquitir, no, sadly the Tallarn line did not include females. Although next week Forgeworld will be releasing Yolanda Scorn, a female bounty hunter with a Tallarnesque head for their Necromunda game. Captain Scheherazade is an “augur” model from the old Mordheim Sisters of Sigmar mercenary warband. I just gave her a Tallarn head. 

[Tallarn Commander]

Hi everyone,

 

I recently brought the Tallarn 23rd to a pickup game at my friendly local gaming store, Heroic Knight Games in Issaquah, Washington, United States.

 

I played against a fluffy and fun Eldar army with some units that (I guess) are considered underpowered. I lost but it was very close. If the game had ended on Turn 5 I would have managed a win. Alas, the game went on to Turn 7 and I lost. But I'd rather lose a close game than win a blowout.  

 

Here is a battle report

 

His list

 

Eldar Bieltan (1500 points, 6 command points)

 

HQ

Autarch with fusion guns and wings

Farseer with ghosthelm and other stuff

Some sort of Dire Avenger like HQ (sorry I don't know the Eldar very well)

 

ELITES

squad of 6 scorpions, exarch with claw ?

squad  of 6 Warlocks

 

TROOPS

Squad of 10 Dire Avengers, exarch

Squad of 10 Rangers

Squad of 10 Guardians, bright lance

 

FAST ATTACK

War walkers with missiles ?

3 wind riders

 

TRANSPORTS

Wave Serpent

 

HEAVY SUPPORT

Falcon 

Fire Prism

 

 

My List (Tallarn 23rd Light Regiment, 7th Battalion, A Company, with supporting armored units from other regiments; 1500 points, 12 command points)

 

HQ

-Captain Scheherazade, leading my force for over 17 years now, she was equipped with a plasma pistol and powerfist

-Captain Al'Rahem, armed with dagger of outflanking, plasma pistol, and power sword

-Colonel Khomeini, an advisor attached from regiment, equipped with laspistol and powerfist

 

Colonel Khomeini uses his powerfist to swat a windrider off off his bike 

 

ELITES

-Alpha Company Command Squad, banner, 2 sniper rifles

-Red Platoon Command Squad, 3 sniper rifles

-Desert Scimitars Special Weapons Squad, 6 troopers, 3 plasma guns

 

Image of the Desert Scimitars outflanking

 

 

TROOPS

-Red Platoon, 30 troopers, 3 lascannons, 3 plasma guns, 3 plasma pistols--this is the platoon that hold my deployment zone and sends out a base of fire

-Gold Platoon, 20 troopers, 2 bazookas, 2 plasma guns, 2 plasma pistols--this is the unfortunate platoon that acts as a speed bump by advancing upfield, as you might imagine, their life expectancy is short

-Blue Platoon, 30 troopers, 3 heavy bolters, 3 plasma guns, 3 plasma pistols--this is the fast, mobile platoon that outflanks using the Tallarn stratagem

-Desert Falcons Stormtrooper Squad with plasma guns

 

Privates Jasmin and Khalis outflanking along with  their Blue Platoon squad

 

 

FAST ATTACK

-Blue 1, Scout Sentinel, autocannon, chainsaw

-Desert Recce, Salamander Scout, autocannon, heavy bolter

-Desert Dog, 10 rough riders, flamer

-Desert Heat, Hellhound, heavy flamer, track guards

 

The Desert Dogs outflank on the IG left flank

 

 

HEAVY SUPPORT

-Desert Mombas Mortar Squad

-Desert Hyenas Heavy Bolter Squad

-Faith and Metal, Leman Russ

 

The Desert Hyenas set up shop in a ruined building

 

 

 

 

The Game

 

The mission was an eternal war mission with 5 objectives on the board, first blood, linebreaker, and warlord were also part of the mission

 

The board after deployment

 

IG side of the board

 

 

 

Eldar side of the board

 

 

To be continued...

Edited March 27, 2018 by Tallarn Commander

[Tallarn Commander]

Continued from previous post...

 

 

The Eldar Turn 1 began with quite a bang.  His War Walker popped out on my left flank and joined fire with the Falcon and Fire Prism to blow away my Scout Salamander.

 

His Dire Avengers ripped my sentinel to shreds with shooting.

 

His snipers also put 2 wounds on Captain Sheherazade in shooting. Ouch. On my right flank he pulled out a tricksy Eldar stratagem and deep-struck a Wave Serpent 9 inches away from my lines! 

 

Out jump a squad of 6 warlocks and a squad of 6 scorpions. D'oh! I should've taken a 3rd unit with the scout ability.

 

 

Uh oh. In melee the squads charged my line, killing some guardsmen as well as my warlord Captain Scheherazade (who I foolishly had thought was safe).

 

Warlocks vs Tallarns in melee

 

In my turn I advanced my Hellhound forward on my right and I jumped Red Platoon out of melee with the scorps and warlocks. I also hid Al'Rahem and Khomeini behind buildings--a squad of 10 rangers can do nasty things to characters. Why can't my snipers shoot like that?   I outflanked 3 squads into his rear to deal with his rangers and gaurdians. I then deep-struck my stormies into my own lines to deal with the nasty scorpions and warlocks that had been in melee with Red Platoon. In my shooting phase I managed to blow away the scorpions and I ate away a bit at his rangers, warlocks, and guardian squads. My Hellhound and Russ eat away at some of his rangers, but they are nicely buffed by some sort of spell and I don't do much. In melee my rough riders failed to make it into assault with his war walker and my outflanking special weapons squad failed to make it into melee with his guardians.

 

 

Turn 2

 

He begins his turn by advancing his Dire Avengers into cover in front of my lines.

 

His War Walker, Fire Prism, Falcon, and Wave Serpent move around to get good shots.

 

Since my 2 remaining characters were hiding behind a building, his snipers got into a good old fashioned sniper duel with my snipers.  He wins.

 

His vehicles handily destroy my Hellhound and plink a few wounds off my Russ. He also blew away my heavy bolter squad and a couple of infantry squads. During the only melees this turn his his warlocks killed some more Tallarn infantry and his guardians charged and killed some troopers from the Desert Scimitars Special Weapons Squad. For the next 2 or 3 turns, the Desert Scimitars would jump out of combat allowing me to innefectually shoot at the Guardians with other units and then the Guardians would charge back in. Hmm for only a few more points, the Desert Scimitars Special Weapons Squad could become a Desert Rats Veteran Squad with 3 grenade launchers and a powerfist. That might be a bit more effective in the enemy backfield.

 

I think I used up 2 command points to autopass and tie the warlocks in melee, he then killed off all the squad in his psychic phase except for little old Sgt.Alleppo, who tied him up so he couldn't assault other infantry squads!

 

He easily killed off the Tallarn sergeant during the melee phase

 

During my turn I brought the last of my outflankers, 2 infantry squads, in to deal with his rangers and guardians.

 

Outflanking Blue Platoon targets guardians....and misses

 

I also moved up to charge his warlocks, but, in the end, I didnt' have to charge them because I blew them away in the shooting phase with my stormtrooper's plasma (oveheating but re-rolling ones thanks to orders).

 

My rough riders charged his Dire Avengers and characters (which was a mistake because I would have shredded the Dire Avengers but, instead, his charactes shredded my rough riders).  D'Oh! Lesson learned:  shoot the assaulty stuff, assault the shooty stuff. 

 

My outflanking infantry, Blue 2 lead by Sgt. Haroun, charged the Rangers (they would remain tied up their til Turn 6).

 

Turn 3

 

He reconsolidated his HQs, Dire Avengers, and Wave Serpents right in front of his line while his 3 AT units (war walker, Fire Prism, and Falcon) shuffled around in his backfield. In his shooting phase he ate away at various squads, blew away the mortar squad, and took wounds off my only remaining vehicle, "Faith and Metal," my Leman Russ. In melee he finished off my rough riders and Sgt. Haroun's Blue 2 Squad kept up its slapfest with the rangers.  His remaining biker charges Colonel Khomeini but gets slapped down by the Tallarn officer's powerfist.

 

During my turn I move my stormtroopers up to deal with his Wave Serpent. In shooting I don't do much with my remaining infantry, Russ, snipers, or stormies though.

 

During the melee phase I charge the Wave Serpent with my Desert Falcons stormtrooper squad. My opponent and I were looking up what krak grenades do in melee, when someone walks by and informs us that krak grenades are only a shooting weapon this edition. D'oh! I charge into his Dire Avengers with my last Red Platoon squad, but the melee ends in a draw.

 

Turn 4

On the Eldar turn, his characters get ready to finish off Red Platoon and his other units shuffle around. He blows away Faith and Metal, poor little Russ, you absorbed  great deal of shooting. In melee, Red Platoon is wiped out. The ranger vs Blue 2 fight continues as does the Guardians vs Desert Scimitars melee.

 

During my turn I move the 2 squads in his backfield around and my stormies move up.

 

Sgt.Sa'ud's Blue 3 moving around the enemy backfield, in a harassment role

 

 

During the shooting phase, my stormies almost wipe out that dang Dire Avenger squad, but the Exarch lives. I charge my stormies into his Exarch, doing little. Surprisingly, he does little damage to me as well. 

 

Turn 5

He jumps HQs out of the melee with the stormies so as to approach objectives. In melee, not much happens. In my turn not much happens either. At the end of Turn 5 the IG is in the lead with 3 objectives to the Eldar's 0 objectives. Sadly, the game continues.

 

 

Turn 6

 

Eldar units wipe out Blue 2, Blue 3, the Desert Scimitars, and the Desert Falcons stormie squad in shooting and assault. 2 infantry squads and 1 sniper squad cower near my objective in the rear.

 

Sergeant Burrows, seeing that only 2 Tallarn guardsmen remain on the field below them, suggests his sniper squad relocate to the rear

 

Turn 7

 

The game ends at the end of Turn 7 with 2 heroic IG troopers wiped off the board for a table. 

 

 

A very fun game indeed. I will get a rematch against my crafty Eldar opponent! :)

Edited March 27, 2018 by Tallarn Commander