Krisken's art stuff, previously all 40k miniatures
- Thread starter Krisken
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Zappit
Staff member
Zap's Incomplete Review of the New Space Marines.
Codex: Had some time with it, and it's an improvement over the previous codex. The six sets of chapter tactics don't shoehorn in a playing style, but rather seem to benefit different play styles. The biggest complaint I have, though, is equal representation. The major characters of the last codex and the Black Templars return, but this means The Ultramarines get six characters, the BTs three, RG get one, WS get one, Salamanders get one, IFs get one, and the Crimson Fists get one. The Iron Hands, on the other hand, get none. They could not come up with a single character for that chapter/tactics category. The Iron Hands do boast the best generic character, as it gets It Will Not Die and a 6+ Feel No Pain. Take the shield relic and a bike, he gets T5, a 3++, and Eternal Warrior. That's a damn tough and fast chapter master that can take on anybody else just shy of Abbadon and maybe the Swarmlord. Add in cheap Honor Guard, and it's a brutal assault unit. I'm leaning towards an IH successor. An entire army with FNP and vehicles with IWND is pretty appealing.
Decent amount of fluff. Most of the art is the old black and white art with digital color added. Fewer chapters are shown in the lineups. Most of the painted models in the gallery are UM. (Surprise, surprise.) But it's meaty, and when you get used to the funky rules with the named characters, it's actually pretty dang good. It sticks to the SM spirit of old - solid, balanced army capable of taking on any threat.
The Black Templar still get their flavor. It feels like one of those codex updates with two pages of rules without the forty dollar cash grab.
Storm Talons are surprisingly affordable. Might see more play.
Legion of the Damned got a little bit better, but they're still just not quite worth it.
The new anti-air units are exactly as you've heard, and pretty useless against ground units.
The Centurions will only get played as Devastators. They can easily shred an entire unit of power armor models each turn. They're very slow (ensuring the assault variant never sees the light of day) and the Grav cannons have a short range, but god help the Terminators that take a bad scatter or the monstrous creature that wanders too close. These guys are a hard counter to the big bads in the other codexes. You field three as a basic unit, but can add up to three more. Doubt that will happen, as they are very expensive, both in terms of dollars and points. They will draw fire, which could give a SM player time to grab objectives.
Grav Cannons have salvo, and Thunderfire Cannons get barrage. Techmarines no longer take up a spot on the FOC, but you can only have one per IC.
Sternguard combi-weapons are a bit pricier, so lists might not rely on them as much.
Drop pods are still going to be the transport of choice. Rhinos really didn't change, and Razorbacks ticked up in points a bit.
Sternguard Kit: I have the sprues in hand, and I have to say, this is the most ornate kits GW has ever done. Tremendous variety, a ton of special weapons, and plenty of leftovers. If you've got the extra bits for relic blades, they would make an incredible Honor Guard. It comes on two sprues.
Centurions: Got it, but it's still in the box.
Codex: Had some time with it, and it's an improvement over the previous codex. The six sets of chapter tactics don't shoehorn in a playing style, but rather seem to benefit different play styles. The biggest complaint I have, though, is equal representation. The major characters of the last codex and the Black Templars return, but this means The Ultramarines get six characters, the BTs three, RG get one, WS get one, Salamanders get one, IFs get one, and the Crimson Fists get one. The Iron Hands, on the other hand, get none. They could not come up with a single character for that chapter/tactics category. The Iron Hands do boast the best generic character, as it gets It Will Not Die and a 6+ Feel No Pain. Take the shield relic and a bike, he gets T5, a 3++, and Eternal Warrior. That's a damn tough and fast chapter master that can take on anybody else just shy of Abbadon and maybe the Swarmlord. Add in cheap Honor Guard, and it's a brutal assault unit. I'm leaning towards an IH successor. An entire army with FNP and vehicles with IWND is pretty appealing.
Decent amount of fluff. Most of the art is the old black and white art with digital color added. Fewer chapters are shown in the lineups. Most of the painted models in the gallery are UM. (Surprise, surprise.) But it's meaty, and when you get used to the funky rules with the named characters, it's actually pretty dang good. It sticks to the SM spirit of old - solid, balanced army capable of taking on any threat.
The Black Templar still get their flavor. It feels like one of those codex updates with two pages of rules without the forty dollar cash grab.
Storm Talons are surprisingly affordable. Might see more play.
Legion of the Damned got a little bit better, but they're still just not quite worth it.
The new anti-air units are exactly as you've heard, and pretty useless against ground units.
The Centurions will only get played as Devastators. They can easily shred an entire unit of power armor models each turn. They're very slow (ensuring the assault variant never sees the light of day) and the Grav cannons have a short range, but god help the Terminators that take a bad scatter or the monstrous creature that wanders too close. These guys are a hard counter to the big bads in the other codexes. You field three as a basic unit, but can add up to three more. Doubt that will happen, as they are very expensive, both in terms of dollars and points. They will draw fire, which could give a SM player time to grab objectives.
Grav Cannons have salvo, and Thunderfire Cannons get barrage. Techmarines no longer take up a spot on the FOC, but you can only have one per IC.
Sternguard combi-weapons are a bit pricier, so lists might not rely on them as much.
Drop pods are still going to be the transport of choice. Rhinos really didn't change, and Razorbacks ticked up in points a bit.
Sternguard Kit: I have the sprues in hand, and I have to say, this is the most ornate kits GW has ever done. Tremendous variety, a ton of special weapons, and plenty of leftovers. If you've got the extra bits for relic blades, they would make an incredible Honor Guard. It comes on two sprues.
Centurions: Got it, but it's still in the box.
Haven't had time to pick mine up yet.[DOUBLEPOST=1378788251,1378788206][/DOUBLEPOST]
I dunno man, one mortis contemptor or a stalker/hunter and it could be the end of a heldrake pretty quick.
not if it is grimoired.
Even better! People who aren't used to playing against Daemons are easy pickings. The whole army is just bizarre and messes people up if they aren't used to them.
Be glad you didn't encounter them in the white dwarf update days. That shit was just unfair.
Sisters of Battle were hardly played because they had shit model selection, a hardly updated book, and had trouble against more popular army types. This says to me that the problem was of marketing and balancing, not lack of interest.
But then again, Games Workshop doesn't know anything about marketing ANYWAY. All of their recent successes have been because of the work of outside companies, not their own movements.
But then again, Games Workshop doesn't know anything about marketing ANYWAY. All of their recent successes have been because of the work of outside companies, not their own movements.
Just got my shipping confirmation. It may take much longer than getting them on launch day, but I'm MORE than willing to wait for the savings.
I did order some extra boxes from my FLGS. When I went to pick them up, he had mistakenly gotten me the wrong models. He profusely apologized and told me he'd get the right ones in and they'd be on the house. I refused that offer, told him it was cool, if you're into Warhammer and you're not a patient person, then you're in the wrong hobby. I'm not making a small business that makes such little margins of profit on these things eat that kind of cost.
This was the day (and I've been an RCMP member for 6 years now) that I realized I was lawful good.
I did order some extra boxes from my FLGS. When I went to pick them up, he had mistakenly gotten me the wrong models. He profusely apologized and told me he'd get the right ones in and they'd be on the house. I refused that offer, told him it was cool, if you're into Warhammer and you're not a patient person, then you're in the wrong hobby. I'm not making a small business that makes such little margins of profit on these things eat that kind of cost.
This was the day (and I've been an RCMP member for 6 years now) that I realized I was lawful good.
Heldrakes are so ridiculous. It sucks that the Chaos Marine codex was so devoid of great stuff except for that one massive, glaring exception. Now, everyone who runs Chaos has 3 (or 4 if they're Black Legion).
From what I hear, and read, that's a common problem with Phil Kelly codexes. Monobuilds based around one better than everything else unit. Long Fangs, Heldrakes, Wave Serpents.
From what I hear, and read, that's a common problem with Phil Kelly codexes. Monobuilds based around one better than everything else unit. Long Fangs, Heldrakes, Wave Serpents.
Zappit
Staff member
I started seeing the new SM stuff right before I planned on buying a trio of Helldrakes. SMs were my first army, and I'll always put them first. (I had such a cool play group back then. We all decided to buy different armies for a ton of variety. Necrons and Tau were still a couple years away...)
I can't wait to see how that conversion turns out. I can't quite figure out how to go from Soulgrinder to Drake.
I can't wait to see how that conversion turns out. I can't quite figure out how to go from Soulgrinder to Drake.
Well, it basically involves taking off the claw arm and putting it in the front (as I did already), making two sets of wings (one big, one smaller in the front below them), creating a sort of spine area and tail (yet to do), and then finishing it off by adding a turret underneath with the flamer.
Edit: Oh, and scrap off all the Daemon parts on the legs and not use the big goofy chest bit.
Edit: Oh, and scrap off all the Daemon parts on the legs and not use the big goofy chest bit.
I have just as many failures, I'm just not quite as willing to share those![DOUBLEPOST=1378868916,1378868781][/DOUBLEPOST]That is pretty rad!
Green Stuff Industries has an awesome conversion he's making right now as well.
Green Stuff Industries has an awesome conversion he's making right now as well.
Zappit
Staff member
For those looking for the new stuff, this vendor on Amazon has the kits for about ten bucks cheaper, and a good rating.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?i...=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=&seller=A2HG7KNUEK3HVB
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?i...=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=&seller=A2HG7KNUEK3HVB
Ugh, 20+ dollars shipping per item to Canada. Boo-urns.
On another note, you know, we can bitch and moan and cry about GW (and we'd be right to do it) but sometimes they do the coolest little shit and don't say a word about it. Like this, models from the new Sternguard kits that look suspiciously familiar.
On another note, you know, we can bitch and moan and cry about GW (and we'd be right to do it) but sometimes they do the coolest little shit and don't say a word about it. Like this, models from the new Sternguard kits that look suspiciously familiar.
So, I ordered a Puppets War Ursus with Big Momma cannon and a Thunder Crow model kit today for my Space Marine army to basically be Vindicator and Storm Talon replacements. They're both about half the price of the GW versions (and the Thunder Crow comes with pre-drilled magnet holes for all the approximate weapon options a Storm Talon has) and I'm not a fan of how most Space Marine vehicles share the exact same chassis so some visual difference is a plus for me. I've read good things about these models. I'll post some shit when I get them.
The Ursus kit comes with a siege shield for it too.
The Thunder Crow can also be configured (thanks to the magnets) into a Landspeeder as well apparently
Will need to at least replace the heads of the pilots with some left over Space Marine heads.
The Ursus kit comes with a siege shield for it too.
The Thunder Crow can also be configured (thanks to the magnets) into a Landspeeder as well apparently
Will need to at least replace the heads of the pilots with some left over Space Marine heads.
I have no idea what any of that means.