Shadow War Armageddon - Astra Militarum & Sisters of Battle, for now..

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

I came back into the hobby in 2019 and stumbled upon Shadow War Armageddon. Apart from maybe the campaign system (but that can be fixed!9.  Played a bit and then went back to Mordheim and Warhammer Fantasy 6th Ed mostly.

But now, picking up Necromunda as well slowly, modelling and painting all over the shop 8mainy painting orcs & Goblins for The Old World otherwise) - I decided to make new "Kill Teams" for SWA for some reason.. Often happens that i pick up new projects during the Spring and then bring the new stuff to my hometown as I visit my parents, and play with old buddies from my very old groups..

Not sure I have the time to paint all of these new things this time, - it might be Mordheijm again this summer..

 

But the project is on!

 

I started with a new ork team (there is a thread in the Ork section). But they were really for a new pair of GorkaMorka gangs and I really need more, the maximum number of cheap Ork warriors. But the way I build them, with backpacks and stuff.. I can´t really do that right now..

 

So instead I picked up the "new" Cadians - I´ve been quite bad at keeping up with new 40k releases and suddenly spotted these. I did not know there were new Cadians.. And they looked real nice! So I got a box and planned to get a second - when i remembered that the maximum number in SWA is 10. So skipped it for now.. They will need some more as i want a couple more special weapon options and i want to make a radioman for the looks. And that Cadian upgrade looks fun to model stuff with..

But for now, they are ten men and will be done like that. Maybe first out to be painted.. Not sure yet..

 

Then i picked up a box of Sisters of Battle and a Retributor Squad. The last was a bit of just buying as they looked cool. But it was a blessing in disguise as it helps me making most of the options..

 

Working with them, I got real hyped and might expand them into a small 2nd Ed/3rd-4th Ed army (one of the reasons I use 25mm bases). But for now - they are a Shadow War Armageddon "kKil Team".. And I have planned to assemble, in addition to those done, a second Sister Superior with a combi-flamer and chainsword. A flamer, a melta gun, two heavy bolters, a heavy flamer and a multi-melta. The rest with bolters.

For SWA - the flamer is.. Almost unnecessary as it competes with the other special and heavy weapons and the heavy flamer is just plain better - but it costs more and having a flamer makes it easier to use the models with those older 40k versions.

 

I plan to ass Space marines Scouts, the Kill Team box, later - I need some "house Armies" as I play with people that don´t hobby, casually - like my brother. And I actually enjoy the modelling part probably the most...

 

But for now, this is assembled, and i will do the Sisters before deciding what to paint first. The orks might still compete for that spot.. But i have painted alot of greenskins the last two years...

 

I started to experiement with the arms on the Cadians late.. After i had done the special weapons.. I kinda regret that as I could have done those more dynamic otherwise. Like an advancing flamer. The arms seemed to mix quite good actually.

And that is one reason i might pick more up - as I enjoyed the lasgun dudes especially, really nice and dynamic poses - I can see where the inspiration came from, from various art, 40k, but also other sources (I am a fan of the bravo 6 ´nam models too!)

 

Not decided on colours yet either. I have alot of vallejo paints from my Flames of War days and might use some US colours like US Dark Green, US Field Drab - or maybe even British paras camo.. We´ll see!

 

 

 

[W.A.Rorie]

Great Start!

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Thanks mate! Just assembled a fifth Sister, with a flamer.. I really like the models, so elegant. But the barrels are a little tricky to drill on some weapons. Not screwed it up too much yet though. But the gap straight through the shoulder pads is starting to really bug me. On some i should maybe not have glued the heads yet. But I think i can make attempts at filling anyways. I should get liquid Green Stuff, but i haven´t yet.. I do have Tamiya´s white filler and Perfect Plastic Putty though.. Should actually also do the trick, the clean-up is the harder part..

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Love your models.

 

As much as I love small squad combat, I'm not a huge fan of shadowar armegeddon, with my main reservation being the way the squad caps work - 10 for everyone but orks, who are 20 (if I recall correctly), which disadvantages other armies that rely on numbers in 40K such as guard.  This issue is particularly pronounced in the mini campaign I played as guard in my campaign against my pal's orks (where the contrast in numbers was probably at its greatest, power wise), where I did really well at first but couldn't keep up with his weight of numbers.

 

Instead, I would recommend the previous version of kill team - still uses pretty standard 40K rules, has better campaign progression and has better balance (the latter 2 are obviously in my opinion, which may not be yours).  Plus, it allows you to tweak the game size to taste - and the various ad-ons are very much not necessary.  The biggest drawback is the pure number of strategems.

 

Haven't played the current kill team, so can't compare the two - for me, the completely different rules set was a mental barrier to entry that I just didn't have the energy to overcome.

 

That said, if that isn't a concern for you, don't let me stop you from having fun.

Edited May 7, 2024 by Dr_Ruminahui

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Ah yeah - it absolutely has its flaws! Imagine how good it could have been with a proper play testing and support!

But for a one-off, it is surprisingly good!  :)

 

I kinda went to play Orks and orcs in evrry game (apart from my Space Wolves). But Shadow War Armageddon made me rethink that, last time around.. Part of it is my fault as i did not want to push that as many as possible, cheap bodies.. I have mine modelled as veteran Kommandos and tooled them up.. But even when i did not, i suffered pretty much. the cunning opponents showered me in frags from upper levels, pinning me and killing me in droves. And when i got up there, the low initiative failed me..

 

But i see where you are coming from too..

 

I still love it though! For many reasons.. As i started in 2nd Ed 40k it is virtually "my" rules from when i was a kid and totally new and had just fun. But it is also so easy to paint up a new faction.

But there are some flaws, big and small, that could more or less be fixed - atleast a bit.. The campaign being one.. That´s why I also play GorkaMorka - and old necromunda..

 

I bought the first Kill Team rules but.. Eh.. I need bigger tables and more terrain generally.. it seems alright but.. I would rather go for old Necromunda and/or GorkaMorka (and Mordheim) over it.. or new.

But i would need to play it more to know for sure.

 

Ah no worries. When i get bored, or my buddies. We just switch to another game for a while. Right now it is the modelling and painting I enjoy most of the time anyways!

What Imperial guards did you use by the way, and equipment? So many cool options to personalize the guys.. Not sure how I feel about their power level yet.. Seems.. Not top dogs but with clever play, you will give the bad guy a fight?

 

I love frag grenades, something I spam, alot... I like them actually being pretty good.. Large blast, easier to hit, Pinning...

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Still assembling.. Slowly.. But i am getting quicker at it!

 

The poor flamer-girl got some hideous gaps in the shoulder pads. Not sure how I managed that.. But can hopefully fill that a bit.

 

The heavy bolter was a bit fiddly too - more so than the one I did from the first box (and removed!). Did not trust myself - nor the kit with the sub-assembly with the body and then the heavy bolter plus arms.. And glad I did, it did not align perfectly and would have been worse than it is.. Now some cables underneath are not perfect and the belt-feed is a little too kinked perhaps. But I can live with it. Love the pose and i think I took the Sister Superior´s head from the Troops-box - as it has a bionic eye..

 

 

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

A spare7reserve Sister Superior. She got a chainsword too. Don´t feel the need for a power sword (or maul, same rules in SWQ). And now I have one with a combi-melta and one with a combi-flamer. And I can also put up two starter "kill teams" and have a friend borrow one (will have four teams at the very least for some good multi-player action)

 

She also got a holster like the other one. Same with the flamer and melta-sisters. Don´t have any good spots for the heavies or they would have gotten them too (I think I am one short however so that´s cool). The flamer Ig vet got his on the cans on the back and I might be able to fix them somewhere, but for now. They won´t get any.. But it would actually be handy in game.. Maybe they can get frag grenades as back-ups when the team advances - frags are good..!

[Firedrake Cordova]

I imagine the gaps in the shoulder pad should be fillable with Milliput or similar?  

 

I don't think anything jumps out with the heavy bolter as being obviously out of alignment ...  

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Yeah, just gonna be fiddly. I´ll do it when all are built. I have Tamiya´s white filler and thought i had Perfect Plastic Putty but must have binned that one... Was looking for it yesterday....

Should probably get liquid GreenStuff too?

 

Thanks. :) The feed is notocably kinked at the connection but not horribly so.. And if you lift it and look at the cables coming from the backpack, there is a 1mm gap.. Was 2mm before I "fixed" it though..

We´ll see if it leads to many Jams and bad Ammo-rolls, hehe..

[Firedrake Cordova]

11 minutes ago, Wolf Lord Duregar said:

Should probably get liquid GreenStuff too?

Personally, I use Vallejo's equivalent. I've never used GW's Liquid GreenStuff, largely due to reading complaints about it drying out.  

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

Ah yeah - good to know Vallejo has one too, thanks mate!

[Rusted Boltgun]

I second the Vallejo plastic putty. You can also get it in a dropper bottle.

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

That´s cool! Easier to use than Tamiya putty?

 

Watched through Judge Dredd and then some other stuff, just cleaning plastics, lol..  Relaxing but also nice getting through some more Sisters..

 

That last one really pushed the 25mm base to its limits, lol..

Gotta love heavy flamers though..

 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Heh, she really does only just fit, doesn't she? I guess that's why they're on 32mm bases these days!

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

I guess.. But she is the "worst" and stands real far apart with her feet..  Never been a fan of huge bases though, even more so when the battlefield shrinks and the model count goes up.. 4th Ed, or something, for the win.. ;)

[Firedrake Cordova]

Heh, fair enough!  

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

In case some real nasty :cuss: shows up.. Heavy bolters and heavy flamers deal with Tyranid Warriors well enough though..  But need something with a little more penn for Terminators perhaps? I think that´s the best I have /(melta gun works too)

[Firedrake Cordova]

Unsurprisingly given I have Salamanders, I always had a soft-spot for the multi-melta ... and am still slightly narked that it lost some range this edition.  

Edited May 9, 2024 by Firedrake Cordova

[Dr_Ruminahui]

On 5/7/2024 at 3:34 PM, Wolf Lord Duregar said:

What Imperial guards did you use by the way, and equipment? So many cool options to personalize the guys.. Not sure how I feel about their power level yet.. Seems.. Not top dogs but with clever play, you will give the bad guy a fight?

 

Yeah, they seemed to do fine for me when the numbers were even - at least against orks, at 10-on-10 IG probably had the advantage.  Its just when he doubled my numbers there really wasn't anything I could do to avoid being overwhelmed.

 

Ruleswize, I think all IG were the same, so nothing special there.  In terms of gear, I had one of each special weapon except melta (so grenade launcher, plasmagun, flamer).  I think they were all in flak armor at the beginning, but by the end were largely in carapace.  Model wise, I used my Bellemonde penal PDF forces for a mix of regular guard, vac suited storm troopers, arbites and penal troops - though the force lost some of distinctiveness when I moved to carapace, as the only models in carapace I had were the storm troopers and arbites.  That's also the mix of models I used using the previous kill team rules, though there since the equipment on each model was static, I had the "advantage" of being able to keep the same models and not have to swap alternatives as their gear changed.  And given the depth of my collection, when one of my models suffered permanant death (only a 1-in-10 chance if they were taken out in a battle, still it happened to about half my original team), I could replace it with a different model with the same gear rather than pretend the same model was a different guy.

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

2 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Unsurprisingly given I have Salamanders, I always had a soft-spot for the multi-melta ... and am still slightly narked that it lost some range this edition.  

 

Not to mention the 2" blast!  But that is a while ago...

Really, less range though? 24" is not great for a heavy weapon - but the table is smaller now and you can move and fire (with a penalty)?

 

2 hours ago, Dr_Ruminahui said:

 

Yeah, they seemed to do fine for me when the numbers were even - at least against orks, at 10-on-10 IG probably had the advantage.  Its just when he doubled my numbers there really wasn't anything I could do to avoid being overwhelmed.

 

Ruleswize, I think all IG were the same, so nothing special there.  In terms of gear, I had one of each special weapon except melta (so grenade launcher, plasmagun, flamer).  I think they were all in flak armor at the beginning, but by the end were largely in carapace.  Model wise, I used my Bellemonde penal PDF forces for a mix of regular guard, vac suited storm troopers, arbites and penal troops - though the force lost some of distinctiveness when I moved to carapace, as the only models in carapace I had were the storm troopers and arbites.  That's also the mix of models I used using the previous kill team rules, though there since the equipment on each model was static, I had the "advantage" of being able to keep the same models and not have to swap alternatives as their gear changed.  And given the depth of my collection, when one of my models suffered permanant death (only a 1-in-10 chance if they were taken out in a battle, still it happened to about half my original team), I could replace it with a different model with the same gear rather than pretend the same model was a different guy.

 

Yeha, going for bodies, cheap seems nasty.. Maybe you needed more terrain and more levels? But is not that balanced either. Guards could have maybe needed somethingAtleast be able to be 12-15? it could certainly be improved, the game.

 

Ah they look good! I love those Sentinels!

The same special weapons I picked then! Did not feel the need for the melta but it might be needed.. I will probably pick up another box for more choices.

Carapace Armour is a good idea, for some reason, not even considered it

 

What teams did you face?

I kinda like that bionic arm, cool little detail.. Made her look to her right as I have a similar pose - looking more left, over the gun..

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Thanks - glad you like my guard.  Its the first army I truly made my own in terms of conversions, painting and back stroy.

 

Found in that thread a post with a pic and list of my initial loadout.

 

It was a mini campaign, only my guard force against my friend's orks... so I can't speak much outside of that interaction.  But yeah, I feel that 10 guard are not equal to 10 marines (or 20 orks) and would need some sort of bump to their unit cap.  That said, I don't know what the magic number is and probably any force limited to relatively low quality troops would need the same, though not necessarily to the same number.

 

As for the melta, really not much need for it when things cap out at a 3+ save.  That's one thing I liked about the previous killteam rules, where I did field a melta - the more damage you did to a model when you wounded it, the more likely you were to take it out (unless they were necrons) rather than just give it a flesh wound.  It that system, my melta did some real work taking out models that needed to die, like deathwatch flak cannons.

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

They look great! Love the lieutenant with the cap and bolt gun! And the "tracker" dude.. :)

 

Guards are - a cool modelling project there but I don´t feel they are fantastic, game wise. I´m okay with it but it is a strong feeling.. Hot shot packs, frag grenades, photo vision etc will make them pretty decent though, but still squishy. So, fun and a nice converting project. And then carruing that vet squad over to a bigger army is real cool!

 

Need to play a bit to personalize my dudes. But some names is needed.. The orks nicked stuff like Blaine, Rambork etc.. For fun.. So might do some more serious..

 

What´s good about the melta is the wounds though and to pop spec ops that might be tricky. I underrated the wounds before.  but it does give more rolls to get people out of action, and easier as it is a high strenght attack.. So it has a use.. For a high cost mind you..

(And then you wrote that, hehe, just read the first part before replying.. :) )

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

I like that bolt gun with the longer mag and the sight..  Good head too. Ah, only one left to build - a second heavy bolter.. Tomorrow..

[Firedrake Cordova]

Yeah, the long magazine and scope is a pretty iconic look.  

 

I too remember when multi-meltas had a blast template.  Reducing the range to 18" in 10th Ed stung a bit though! 

[Wolf Lord Duregar]

That might be my fav model of them now, in the gang..

 

Yeah.. One of my regular buddies - and still both a colleague,friend and real brother in arms, he played IG so I wanted multi-meltas badly... But there were not that many models with them. Dreads basically, iirc. And then the Land Speeder dropped.. It was an evil thing. I loved it!

 

18" - sounds borderline useless?