Random Stuff

Hey there Chaos worshipers of all shapes and sizes! Old Man Chaos has just returned from the Eye of Terror (in actuality I finished moving, unpacking, and setting up my new place- whew!). I have a few things I thought I'd update you guys on, if you are interested:

Dark Eldar

I had my first two games with Dark Eldar about a week ago against Iron Hands with Grey Knights allies. My friend Pete can smile now (see that game HERE)- my Dark Eldar got their asses handed to them- not once but twice. In the first game I held a lot in reserve, which enabled my opponent to table me by the start of turn 2. Yikes. We then played a rematch where I held less in reserve- and I was pretty much undone by the end of turn 2 again, so I gave up.

It was just brutal. My rolling wasn't even that bad- but my opponent had plenty of tanks and guns- my Dark Eldar just couldn't catch a break at all. I was absolutely despondent at the end of the games. I barely put up a fight at all. I don't mind losing- I get upset when it wasn't even a contest, like why did I even bother putting my minis down? I no sooner put them down and I had to scoop them all up. My opponent was gracious both times to be sure. Still- I was shamed, to say the least.

So what happens now? No, I will not put the DE back on the shelf for another edition. I will find a way to make the army work. I just think in this edition of overwatch and Imperial Knights that the new DE book as it is now just isn't enough (they took Haywire Grenades from Wyches- WTF?). The supplement (Covens) is hardly much better (though a couple of the formations are interesting). I am at a loss on what to do here. And you know I love my Dark Eldar army...

Campaign for Trovana Prime Update

 I played another battle against my friend Brian in our campaign last week. As you may be aware, I have been running a few articles about the Judgement of Trovana Prime (look HERE and THERE for the most recent posts). I have been enjoying the campaign, but I haven't won a game yet, which is odd for me. Not that the games haven't been competitive (some have been blowouts, most have been really close). The best "victory" I got was that I destroyed his Imperial Knight (meaning he can't use it again for the rest of the campaign).

So this week we played a Maelstrom of War mission (Cloak and Shadows). This mission has the deployment at the short edges- a long way to trek to get to the other side. I played very well, plenty of killing on both sides. However, the tactical objective cards just wouldn't come to me- I kept getting cards for objectives that were on my opponents side; while he kept getting cards for objectives that were ON his side. As a result, the final score was 10 to 1... BUT in terms of kills and objectives held it was much much closer.

Brian remarked that while he loves the card missions for variety, he also feels that it may be too random- he acknowledged that the game was much, much closer than the lopsided victory points would suggest. Nevertheless, he repelled my advance into his territory, and the campaign goes on.

I did learn a few things though-

1) Plague Marines should use plasma- I had always equipped them with Meltas, but I have since discovered that it is tough to get them close enough for Meltas to make the difference. Plasma Guns have the better range and are still S 7 AP 2, which still gives you a chance to explode a vehicle.

2) Obliterators- I have always been reluctant about using them- they are a bit pricey compared to havocs, but their versatility is key. They got in some great shots until Brian's Centurions grav gunned 'em down like bitches (did I mention how much I hate these guys?).

3) Daemon Princes- they are a bit funky, especially with grounding tests, and they can't charge ground units if they were in the air the previous turn, which is annoying. However, I used the Prince to harass the ground troops with Smite, and he did charge and destroy a Storm Talon. Not too shabby.

4) Plague Drones- they are great, bringing some speed to Nurgle. However, they don't work well against Terminators, let's put it that way. Next time I'll try to have them go after regular marines or vehicles instead.

Well, that's all I have for now. I am slowly but surely painting stuff, which I'll be sure to post when it is all finished. Until next time...