The Wulfen Have Awoken My Daemons

Hey there folks! Welcome back to the Corners of Chaos. I'm still thinking about last week's Tournament. That was a lot of fun. There's supposed to be another in April- hopefully that weekend will be clear so that I can go.

I just finished the Curse of the Wulfen book. I love the story- a saga of heroes, misguided heroes, and some villains too, in the form of Chaos daemons. I also love the friggin' cliffhanger of an ending too. Wow. I am really looking forward to the conclusion (assuming they are following the format of the previous campaign book releases).

Of course, my eye was immediately drawn to the Daemons part of the rules. I am slightly disappointed with the Daemonic Incursion "Decurion". The number of models (and points) required to take these formations make it fairly impractical. You simply don't have the points in most 1800-2000 point games to fill out the Incursion and have the flexibility that the Daemons codex actually provides. I mean, you can possibly have both a Tallyband the Tzeentch formation (9 units!!). It blows.

However, if you take ONE of the formations AND instead use CAD... well, then it is possible to build a decent army around a solid core of the Formations. I could well take a Tallyband, and then take a standard detachment with a few other daemon types. That, I think, would work really well. I could (thanks to my numerous Daemonkin) also do the same with a Murderhost. Tzeentch and Slaanesh- well, I don't have enough models for those, and I doubt I ever will.

I am appreciative of the god-specific psychic powers, artifacts, and warlord traits. Several of the warlord traits are actually useful, and some of those artifacts can be nasty. I am pleased they expanded this after the rather too narrow scope of the original Daemon codex. Oh- another bonus- you can now take the new Bloodthirster and give him Lesser,  Greater, and Exalted Gifts. That ain't too shabby.

Of course, all this talk of Daemons really got me thinking. I told you before, the lure of Chaos is very strong, and I can only be away for so long before I get sucked back in. Well, thanks to the Wulfen book- I'm doing Chaos again. Now, don't get me wrong- I still have Mechanicus I'm working on. I'm enjoying that army so I will continue to build on it. However.... must... paint... Daemons! LOL

After reading Wulfen and dreaming of a Tallyband, I counted my Plaguebearers and Nurglings. I had 6 between the two unit types (provided I use the minimum sizes for each). So... you know what I had to do. I decided to buy one more box of the plastic Plaguebearers of course! Now I have 7 units (and of course, I already have a Herald of Nurgle).

I love this "new" plastic kit. Don't get me wrong- the metal ones from 4th (I think) edition are really nice. At the time, they were the best. I enjoyed painting those (I think it was in 2002 or so). Those metal models inspired me greatly, impacting my modeling work in many ways. I had already been doing Plague Marines, but doing the Daemons pushed my painting techniques further, thus influencing my painting of subsequent Plague Marines. Indeed, painting these metal Plaguebearers made me a much better painter- I only started seriously painting in 2000- and my Dark Eldar were quite plain. Using the old White Dwarf articles, I learned about new techniques and applied them to the Plaguebearers. I really upped my painting with them. (Truly, that is something I truly miss with White Dwarf magazine as it is now. It is merely a sales brochure- I loved the old WD that had hobby and story articles that INSPIRED).

Anyways, as I assembled my Plaguebearers I decided I would do something totally different. I decided I would spray them white and then do their flesh ONLY using washes. It is a technique that I have NEVER used before. Naturally, I have used washes (recesses, to alter a hue), but never have I used washes to primarily paint a model. I have read about the technique (WD had a few articles when the new paints were released, but mostly I read about it online).

So, I used different wash combos on different Plaguebearers. For some, I used Cammoshade to make the sickly, pale green that has been the trademark of my Plague stuff since day 1. However, the washes allowed me to get a nice color much more quickly.

For others, I used alternating coats of Fleshshade and Sepia. This gave them a more fleshy, yet still sickly appearance. Though my original Plague stuff was NOT this color, I had since painted Nurgle stuff in all kinds of colors, as long as they were disgusting (though I still primarily do that pale and sickly green, I have enough colors interspersed that they still form a coherent looking army).

On one, I used Fleshade and Earthshade. That guy looks the most different. However, he still looks like part of the same Daemonic force. I think I may paint future Nurgle stuff with that color combo, as I like how dirty it looks.

There was only one model I had a mishap with. I used Bel Tan Green on one- yikes. Waaaaaayy too green. I tried to put Cammoshade over, but to no avail. So, I had no choice but to re-coat him with Deathworld paint, followed by Cammo wash. Despite this error, he still came out looking like his festering brothers. (Note to self- don't use Bel Tan Green over white again. Ever.)

The rest of the details I painted with regular paints and the technical paints. The guts I did Khorne Red, then I brightened them up with lighter reds, finally adding pink to some of the intestines. Then I followed this by using Blood for the Blood god technical paint. Nice and goopy in some spots.

The swords I did with Leadbelcher, followed by Typhus Corrosion technical paint. This gave them a filthy look. As for the eyes, I used my old technique of painting the entire eye area white, followed by a Mephiston Red eye rim, and finally a slit of black for the iris.

For the sores and tumor looking stuff, I used various contrasting washes (yes, Bel Tan Green works for this stage, as does purple and yellow) and the Nurgle's Rot technical paint around/over the sores, then used white to highlight the top of the sores.

Finally, I put gobs of Nurgle's Rot on their swords, their sores, some of their mouths, and running down their legs and onto the bases. Once all of that was done, I used 'Ardcoat over the entire model- sword and all (EXCEPT the banner). This gloss varnish makes them look extra slimy and sickly.

Oh- forgot one thing. My Plague champion I put a zombie head on. The one think about the kit I don't like is that SOME of the poses are limited. The champion is posed so that his sword is sticking straight up. I decided that, since there was little I could do with the sword, I put a zombie head on the Plaguebearer, thus making him look different from the others. After all, according to the mythology, anyone killed by one of Nurgle's plagues becomes a Plaguebearer in the warp. So- why not look slightly "man-ish"?

Now- a confession. I enjoyed painting these guys so much that... at last week's Tourney, I bought a Start Collecting! Daemons of Nurgle box... That means I have more Nurgle stuff to keep me busy. I told you- Chaos will always have me in its grasp! Hehe! As for the ones I just finished, they match quite well with the rest of my Nurgle Daemons- as I mix and match them, they would form a very unified force- all the colors of filth and rot. I think I will paint my next batch of Nurgle stuff in the same manner with the washes, as I like the results of this technique.

I also wanted to show off some terrain I recently finished for my friend Joe. As you may recall, we recently finished his ice world table (it is beautiful for sure). Joe had the old wrecked ship terrain from an old 40K boxed set from the early 2000s. He asked if I would paint it for him.

So, I painted the ship to be Dark Angels, which is now is primary army that he's working on. I did it simply, Caliban Green with lighter green highlights. As for the snow, I started with Kantor Blue, then used brighter blues. Then, I followed with a liberal drybrush of Russ Grey, followed by brighter greys and whites, making sure to leave the blue beneath. It gives the whole thing an icy appearance. If you paint it just snow white, you lose a ton of detail and visually its rather dull. The blue under the white gives it the appearance of glacial ice or something.

These didn't take me long to do. I used Blood technical paint to give it a little something interesting. I also put on some Dark Angel transfers. With all the pieces together, they really make a nice set of terrain pieces, and the ice blue will go with Joe's table perfectly.

So- that's everything for now. I'll be back next time with undoubtedly more Daemons, but I will be getting back to Mechanicus as well very soon.

Until next time...

The February Tournament (2016)

Hey there Chaos followers and sycophants! Welcome to yet another (ugh) edition of Chaos Corner. It's been a busy hobby time for me these past few days- I have had a work break, allowing me to do more modelling, painting, and why yes, even gaming. The truth is I don't get to game as much as I'd like- but that's the way it goes. However, this weekend was a tournament at my local, and I had the opportunity to partake.

This tournament was different in a few ways. First, we were limited to 1,000 points- and then we were randomly assigned allies. In a strange twist, I was teamed up with my friend Brian. What?! The gentleman running the tournament swore that it was done randomly on his Excel program. I believe him- but seriously, what are the chances? LOL. So it was my Cult  Mechanicus with Oathsworn Knight alongside Brian's Ultramarines (which are MY Ultramarines, FYI).

Second, the tournament was set up for 3 rounds. The ranking was based on how many points your side could achieve. This was done in a very interesting way (inspired by one of the bigger tournaments whose name I can't remember). Basically, you could achieve the primary objective in one of two ways- you had to choose before setting up (and then announce it at the start of turn 1). There were also a set of 10 secondary objectives- you chose 3, and announced them at the start of turn 1. I have never played with this format before. It was a little confusing at first- but once we got going it got quite clear, and was a lot of fun.

First, I have to say that we had some nice battlefield terrain. My local had a terrain building session several weeks ago. I was unable to attend, but I donated some of the GW building sprues from the big box set that I still have. The terrain was a mix of old stuff and these newly built pieces. Overall, there were some really nice pieces on the tables. One that stood out was a set of pieces that had Tyranid spores consuming/dissolving things- built with foam and toothpicks for the "teeth". The other really nice piece (that we didn't get to play on sadly) had a huge sectional piece that had a large cliff and plateau - and a bunker at the bottom. Awesome piece. Finally, one of the guys had brought in their Fantasy Realm of Battle Board, painted up to be a desert wasteland. The glowing skulls were a really nice touch. This was to be the site of our first match.

Ultramarines and the Mechanicus prepare to wage war as allies to the Omnissiah

So, I was now teamed up with Brian, and we are about to square off against an unholy alliance of Necrons and Dark Angels (bike and terminator heavy). The game did not go well for me and Brian for several reasons. First, like I am sure all of you are aware, Necron Reanimation Protocols suck. Seriously. I don't know how many my Grav Cannons killed- but the Reanimation made it seem like NONE died at all. I have used the Mech army twice- and against that many gravs most things don't stand a chance (unless they are armor 5-6). Ugh.

Necrons and their Reanimation... UGH.

The Dark Angels also had some crazy invul saves, negating the usefulness of my Grav and the Imperial Knight's Gatling Avenger. Last, Brian and I did not cooperate as well as we could have. He deployed his Marines out of their Rhinos and ended up blocking my shots and giving cover saves for firing through our own men. Then, his Rhinos also caused a bit of a traffic jam, slowing down our movement (I guess the "free Rhino" thing has some limits then after all?).

This would ultimately become a huge traffic jam. Where's General Patton when you need him?

The most humiliating thing was when Necron Scarabs got in and charged my Knight. The truth is, this is only my second game USING a Knight, and I didn't know all the Super-Heavy rules. Should his swarms have been smashed or not? I wasn't sure. It took 2 turns of combat to get rid of them.

Shameful indeed for  Knight Vindicta

Hehe... You said "Cocked"...

However, it wasn't all bad. We all had a laugh when the Necon player rolled a dice and it got "cocked", standing on edge on the table- it was at such a great angle- even as we lost, we could chuckle at that sight. Further, Brain and I did manage to gain SOME of the secondary points. My Knight destroyed a Dark Angels Land Speeder, which we had nominated as a High Value Target. The DA player had kept him hidden, but grew too confident and brought him out to play (though, the rest of the game gave him lots of reason to be confident). My Gatling Avenger made short work of the Land Speeder- a slight triumph for us.

The Land Speeder that was our High Value Target

Ultimately, we got wrecked. And, sadly, the entire match felt like we didn't stand a chance. Between Reanimation, re-roll of invuls for DA bikes, and my team's lack of cooperation, I don't mind losing- but I want to feel that the battle was hard fought and close till the end. We didn't get that at all. On the flip side, I don't enjoy winning by tabling my opponent in turn 2 either- that may be a "victory", but not a fun game.

The Terminators mop up after the Necrons- HERESY!

As we broke for lunch (some tasty pizza), Brian and I regrouped. We discussed ways to improve our coordination. We decided that we would talk before we started moving models, making sure fire lanes were open, and that we could move without getting in each others way. Funny enough, since I introduced Brian to the hobby, we have ALWAYS been opponents. This was the first time we had to cooperate. And our first opponents presented a steep learning curve (he has never faced Necrons before, FYI).

Onto the second match. This was on the field that had Tyranid digestion pools, which I really liked. Our opponents were once again an Unholy Alliance of Chaos Daemons and Dark Angels (Ravenwing... are you sensing a pattern here). They were lead by Sammael and Fateweaver. The Dark Angels were nicely painted, and Fateweaver had a nice conversion- a "crystal ball" was placed in his hand.

We just couldn't get Fateweaver down

This time, Brian and I cooperated much better, combining our fire on targets to make sure they were DEAD. In our first round, we shot the heck out of a squad of Screamers, whom we nominated as the High Value Target (gaining us that second objective and First Blood). The DA bikes posed a problem initially, but as Brian and I combined our strength, even their re-roll invuls couldn't save them.

Dark Angel Ravenwing Column Advances

Our opponents got in their licks too though. Fateweaver was flying high, and my Icarus Cannon just couldn't tackle him. Fateweaver then proceeded to rain Psychic attacks down on our troops, destroying Rhinos and harassing the men (he also killed their High Value Targets, which were a group of my Kataphron Destroyers). The enemy Soul Grinder also did its thing, lobbing its Phlegm attacks onto exposed Marines. Lastly, arriving Dark Angel flyers did some damage as well.

Ravenwing Bikers make their way down to the advancing Ultramarines

Ultimately, Brain and I were winning, whittling down their forces at a faster rate. The final decision came at the center of the table. The objective was worth 5 points- and Brian and I had selected the secondary objective that requires a Warlord to be near the center of the table. The Dark Angels swooped in with bikes and Sammael, hoping to clear the Ultramarine captain and his squad off. Unfortunately for the DA, their initial strength had been dwindled due to my Grav Cannons, so there were fewer of them.

"Rampaging Knight kills Sammael. Film at 11"

The DA player  rolled pretty badly in that combat, killing none of Brian's Marines. However, this could have been a long drawn out fight. So, I charged my Knight in. The Knight cut through the rest of the bikers. All that was left was Sammael. So, I rolled to stomp. I only rolled for 1 stomp. Would 1 be enough. I rolled on the Stomp chart- I got a 6!! Sammael had no chance and was basically stomped to death by a rampaging Imperial Knight. With him gone, we certainly had the center of the table- and with a Knight standing by, there was nothing else they could do.

Brain and I won. Points wise it was close, but it was clearly our win. The game was a lot of fun with lots of back and forth. Our opponents were very good sportsmen, laughing at our foibles as well as their own- such as when Fateweaver suffered Perils of the Warp. A great game with lots of laughs, and fought well till the end. For my team, it seemed that Brian and I had found our groove.

Saruman wasn't kidding when he said "Two Towers"...

So- now to our third match. This battlefield's distinguishing feature was the two towers on a hill in the middle of the battlefield. Our opponent had a problem. His partner had to leave, so he was on his own. To compensate, the TO jumped in with his (guess) ... Ravenwing Dark Angels. Wow- I guess I know what the Meta is at this place! Anyway, he had Ravenwing Bikes, 3 Land Speeders (each as a separate unit, one with Melta) and a Fire Raptor Gunship from Forgeworld (a beautiful model- and quite deadly). Our other opponent was just a vanilla Space Marine list.  Nothing fancy, but enough to be a challenge.

The Tech-Priest guards the objective

The game started off with Night Fight- this didn't hurt too  much, as we were deployed basically in table corners and too far away to hit anything turn 1. Starting turn 2, we began firing on the Space Marine player, again wiping out our HVT (A Rhino). We already had 3 objectives, and thought we could prevent the SM player from getting the Relic in the middle (which THEY chose to treat as a stationary obj for their victory requirement). However, bottom of turn 2, the Dark Angels made their appearance. Bikes and Land Speeders came in from the flanks. One squad (with the librarian) came on next to me- my Tech Priest and Destroyer unit were in trenches with the objective. Luckily, I knew this was a possibility, and I had selected the Canticles that ended up giving me Stealth and Shrouded (my warlord trait allowed the Tech Priest and his unit to enjoy the highest bonus on the Canticles). The bikers shot everything they had (plasma mostly), but thanks to the Canticles I was unharmed.

The Fire Raptor enters the field

Meanwhile, the Fire Raptor came in. I used my Knight's Icarus Cannon to intercept. I manged to take a Hull Point and Make him fire snap shots. He vowed revenge. His Land Speeders did just that, assailing my Knight from 2 directions. My Knight was down to 3 Hull Points. Meanwhile, try as we might, we just couldn't clear the Space Marines from the table center- it was happening, but not fast enough it seemed.

Trying to clear the Space Marines from the center objective

On turn 3 (the final turn, due to time constraints) Brian and I went all out. Ultramarines and Destroyers firing at the approaching bikers. Using Canticle that re rolls misses, my Grav managed to kill the librarian and final bikers, thus eliminating the threat. The TO recognized that this hurt them, as did the fact that Brian managed to get into the relic thus contesting (both Marine forces having obj secured). I also had my Knight charge the nearest Land Speeder (the Melta) and cleaved it in twain.

The Ravenwing Bikers were destroyed by mass Grav fire- despite their re-roll Invuls

In the final analysis, they won by 1 point. However, the TO noted that if the game had gone on another turn or 2, it would have been a different story. The Knight was still functioning and would have done lots of damage to the Space Marine units. Further, I still had 2 squads of Grav Destroyers that would ruin anybody's day. So, while we lost by 1, Brian and I felt good about the match nevertheless. The Space Marine player was friendly and laid back. The TO was in it to win, but he was also a lot of fun- bellowing (humorously) that he would get revenge on my Knight for his temerity in shooting his Fire Raptor. A great match, and a great way to end the Tournament.

A fun day was certainly had. On a side note, we had a contest for best painted model. With a tie breaking vote from one of the store employees, my Tech Priest Dominus won best painted model. I was very happy and honored. There were lots of good looking models on the tables though- and that was awesome.

Well, this has been a long blog, but I wanted to get in as many of the details as I could remember before I forgot them.

Until Next Time

Mechanicus, Bloodletters, and Books...

Hey There Chaos Fanatics! I'm sure many of you have been excited about Curse of the Wulfen. I have been going through the story-line slowly- it is very exciting and a lot of fun. I did quickly devour the Rules book, and its a mixed bag for Daemons. It is very difficult to do a Daemonic Incursion with some of those formations- they are VERY unwieldy (seriously, 9 units of Horrors? 7 units of (but-ugly) Beasts of Nurgle? Give me a break). I feel that the Daemons got shafted here a bit- to do the Incursion, you have to sacrifice a TON of versatility and balance. The Space Marines Decurion is very tactically flexible, for example (yes, there are "unit taxes", but not like this). Time will tell, but I think the Daemonkin book is better than this Daemon upgrade. I'll certainly have to try it soon.

So, this posting has a smorgasbord of stuff, so why not get started then...

First, I have completed another Skitarii Dunecrawler. I really love this model, and it fits in so well with the Mechanicus aesthetic. I equipped this one to be similar to my previous one. My thought was that they should be uniform within their vehicle squadron. In truth, I may have to get 2 more and make them anti-air support.

At any rate, I continued my Stegadon Scale Green with Thunderhawk Blue plates and Russ Grey highlights. Although the base is green, the highlight certainly makes it look blue. I painted the gears and legs with Leadbelcher, with Nuln Oil over all, with lighter metal highlights. The trim I did Balthazar Gold with Bronze over it. The energy of the gun, etc. I did with Khorne Red, adding successive highlights of reds and ending with orange. This give it a deeper, energy-pulsing look.

My wife recently commented that my Mechanicus army has grown really, really large fairly quickly. To recap, I have (painted) the following: 1x Tech-Priest Dominus, 6 Kastellan Robots, 3 Datasmiths, 6 Grav Destroyers, 3 Plasma Destroyers, 3 Breachers. My Skitarii include- 10 Rangers, 3 Ironstriders, 5 Sicarian Infiltrators, and 2 Dunecrawlers. Plus, I have 2 Imperial Knights. Unpainted I have another Ironstrider, 5 Sicarians, and 20 Skitarii Rangers. Whoa... maybe my wife is right?

As I have told you many, many times- I am always drawn back to Chaos. I always will be. The Mechanicus has my interest, sure, but... my true love will always be Chaos. So, recently I painted up 10 more Khorne Bloodletters.

These I did slightly differently. GW has a new Dry paint Astorath Red that I used. I did Khorne Red base coat with Nuln Oil liberally used on the models. Then I did Astorath Red drybrused over. This gives them the models a deep red color. I then used Wild Rider Red highlights to make the models really pop. Overall, I am pleased with the new Red dry paint.

The daemons swords I did Dryad Bark brown with Trollslayer Orange highlights, making the sword look fire-y and molten. The Bloodreaper's sword I painted with the technical Blood over the whole sword- the blood is translucent, so you still see the orange and brown underneath. I just wanted his sword to look different.

I did the Banner of Blood similarly to my previous banner. The flag is black with grey highlights. Then, I used Khorne Red to draw the Khorne symbol. I used Mephiston Red and the Blood technical to put blood smears all over the banner.

Thus, my Daemons were complete. They certainly compliment my previous Khorne Daemons. This means I have 40 Bloodletters! With my Bloodcrushers and Flesh Hounds, I have enough to do the Daemon formation Murderhorde. But brother is that a lot of points!

In between painting, I have also been reading Black Library stuff at a pretty good pace. What follows aren't full reviews, just impressions:

First, I'd like to comment on The Beast Arises series. I liked I Am Slaughter, though I feel it is one of Abnett's lesser efforts (now, his weakest is still really good, but still). I finished the second book in the series Predator, Prey by Rob Sanders. I must confess the book was odd. It seemed to be a bunch of vignettes, bouncing from war-torn world to war-torn world with little or no connection between events. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either- and it only minimally advanced the overall plot. However, I did like the ending(s) to some of the stories within. There's one scene toward the end when the Space Marines are getting ready for a final battle in a wrecked Star Fort. The book quietly details the smashed relics of Rogal Dorn, and you get this sense of sadness and loss. The hopes of the Emperor and Primarchs have truly collapsed- war without end has come at mankind from all fronts. It was a well-written part, and it moved me. So did the end of a female guardsman. She was forced to make a world shattering decision, made poignant by the fact that she was pregnant. Now, I don't recall a Black Library book that dealt with such a realistic concern; in this case Sanders put the horrors of the galaxy in strong relief- a mother with absolutely NO hope in a galaxy gone mad. Both of these "endings" were great- I just wish they had been in a better book.

Finally, I just completed Pharos by Guy Haley. Now, I think I read a short story of his at some point in the past and I didn't care for it that much. As a result, I avoided his more recent works (Valedor, etc). I saw he was the author of Pharos and I was like "man, I guess I'll be missing that HH story". However, I saw on line some positive reviews, so I decided to give Haley a second chance. And boy, was I glad I did. Pharos is an amazing book. Crisp action, VERY well-drawn characters (both good guys and bad guys), and, frankly, worthy of Know No Fear, Betrayer, and Unremembered Empire (it contains threads from all of those, and takes some of those strands to their logical conclusions). I found three really noteworthy things about the book- I'll try to avoid spoilers.

First, the emerging friendship between Dantioch (the non-traitor Iron Warrior) and Pollux (Imperial Fist) is very compelling. We know the two legions HATE each other (and we know the hatred will get deeper and harsher after the Heresy), and yet their friendship shows "what might have been"- if only the Legions and their Primarchs could see past their petty issues- the Emperor could have accomplished his dream. Dantioch and Pollux show the wasted potential of the Emperor's works.

Second, there's a guardsman Sgt. Mericus. He's a bit roguish at first, and a bit too sarcastic (comic relief?). But, as the story went on, Mericus encouraged bravery in his men, and through quick thinking managed to pull off some miracles in the heat of battle. Mericus becomes our surrogate- a regular guy confronted by the horrors of the Night Lords. Without spoiling too much- Mericus has a brave last stand, and it was exciting and moving stuff. A great character.

Finally, I want to make special mention of Haley's treatment of the Night Lords. As I'm sure you're aware, Aaron Dembski-Bowden has a lock on Night Lords with his Talos trilogy. However, Haley gives him a run for his money in his characterization of the Night Lords (and that's high praise). I love how he puts them in various shades of evil and wickedness. Rather than just make them evil for evil's sake, Haley gives them many motivations, and many different thoughts on what they think their Legion is (and is becoming). The brothers Kellndar and Kellenkir exemplify this- both are "bad guys", yet you feel some pity for them, and you can see that "evil" may well be a sliding scale. I was also very amused by the flamboyant Krukesh the Pale- his command of a host of Night Lords drives much of the action. He's quite vile, but has a sly sense of humor. Finally, there is Skraivok, a Claw leader that has his own agenda, though he longs (in his own way) for the old days of the Legion. His machinations lead to a lot of suspense and tension among the Night Lords, making their scenes so much more interesting and complex, as opposed to just plain "evil" (though the Night Lords do plenty in this department too).

I was pleased by the appearances of Guilliman and Sanguinius. However, I was unhappy to see Kurze once again. I like him, but damn- he's been in a ton of these HH books now. I think we get the picture about him at this point. He comes across as moody and angsty- again, we get it. His appearance leads to an interesting scene, but it ultimately resolves NOTHING. Its as if he has a contract to cameo in X amount of HH books... Can't we see more of some of the other Traitor Primarchs? How about more Peturabo, or Mortarion? Oh- and read the epilogue... amazing!

Anyway, I can't recommend Pharos enough. If you love 40K fiction or are following the Horus Heresy series- this book is an excellent addition to the overall story. I give Haley a huge amount of credit for living up to Abnett and ADB- no mean feat. Check the book out.

On top of all this, I have a tournament tomorrow at my local. Really looking forward to it. I'm sure I'll take pix and then post them on Chaos Corner at some point.

Until next time...