The New Great Unclean One

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos is back with a new look at my finished Great Unclean One (just like the title says duh). Let's take a look...

How long I have waited for this model. I have been hoping for a plastic Great Unclean One since they did the plastic version of the Bloodthirster. While the 'Thirster was a tremendous re-envisioning of what came before, the GUO isn't nearly as radical a change. Indeed, his form is more of a natural evolution rather than a major overhaul.

My friend Joe says that he is unimpressed with it, as it looks not unlike the Forgeworld GUO (forgettting his daemon name at the moment). But to me that's the point. They all tend to look like Nurgle himself (check Nurglings... they look like micro GUOs). This model looks exactly how it should- boils, maggots, slimy tentacles, and of course huge open wounds. There is no mistaking what this model is.

I should also comment that the thing is as big as a house. While not the size of a Knight or something it will likely be the biggest single thing on an average battlefield. It is clear that he's "large and in charge" as it were. Certainly a sight to see in a game of 40K that's for sure.

For his skin, I sprayed him Death Guard Green then I did successive washes of Earthshade (heaver in some places than others). Then I highlighted some of the folds with Nurgling Green to make them stand out a bit. The boils I did with yellow and a wash of Earthshade over that to make them duller and dirtier looking.

The wounds / guts were outlined in flesh tones to make their edges stand out from the rest of the model. Then I painted the wounds with screamer pink and then some khorne red. Finally, on the muscles I added some brighter pink to differentiate the muscle strands a bit. The guts I decided to keep dark red, as it contrasts with the rest of the model. Naturally I put the Blood for the Blood God technical on, but used it sparingly.

The tentacles I decided to do purple. Purple and green go together nicely, so I figured why not. Speaking of, I made the GUO look the way I wanted- a big sword but with the sorcerer's (Rotigus') arm- I thought the dagger was stupid, and I just didn't want a flail. If I ever did another I'd do the bell- I like the idea, but since I'm only likely to have one I decided to go with my top choice.

Overall, a very impressive model. I am quite pleased with it. I was also pleased by my paint job. I still feel that my Bloodthirster is still my best. However, it is certainly clear that this thing is the leader of my hordes of Nurgle Daemons.

Though Joe is right about one thing- it is a bit bigger than the forgeworld GUO, but not by a lot. That means that I have two GUOs. I should make up a story about the "Brothers of Ruin" or something like that lol. I wonder how a game with two of these things would go...

Until next time...

Some Pics: Blight Drones and a Great Unclean One

Hey there everybody! I've got another edition of Chaos Corner here for your perusal. I may have to up my game here, if GW is going to publish a WD every week... Hehe. I really have no clue if those rumors are true or not (can GW actually publish once a week? Even if its only 32 pages? Online downloads, sure. Printed? IDK about that). If the rumors are true, the monthly mag will have more modelling stuff, so that pleases me.

At any rate, I have been taking some pics of some of my older models with my new pic-taking setup (a Christmas gift from my brother). He got it from Cowboy Studio. It is really cool, as I have never had anything like this. It is a very simple box with backcloths and small lights, but it is just so easy to use and looks so cool- it is perfect for taking pictures of miniatures. It makes my work in taking pics so much easier, and the pics look so much cooler. I love it. If you are interested in taking pics of your models, check out Cowboy Studio. You may or may not like it, I'm just saying you should check it if you want to take "more professional" pics.

So, I decided to take some pics of my "older" Nurgle models. First up, lets see the Blight Drones. I really dig these models. Yes they are Forgeworld, and at the time they really couldn't be used in regular games (can they be used now? What FW book will I need to use them in 6th edition?). Even if I wasn't going to use them that much, I really wanted them. The models just looked too damn
good.

These models just scream Nurgle. Part machine, part daemon, all scary looking. A contraption that is part organic and part fan blade. I just wanted them as a part of my army, even if I didn't use them. They were a bit pricey if I recall, so I only got 2 (1 would be bad, three too expensive). I just don't know how people can afford to build whole armies with Forgeworld (says the man with a Titan).

They were quite easy to put together if I remember correctly. I used metal rods to have them hovering over their bases (I never use the plastic ones, as they always snap- just ask my Ultramarine Land Speeders). I had one be higher than the other, just to give the illusion that they are hovering irregularly.

As for painting, I painted them kind of like how I was painting my army at the time- a green base coat with Rotting Flesh and the like over it. I was careful to leave the mottled look for the shells and the fan guards. The eye was yellow, as I wanted to give it that mechanical yet sickly looking sensor/eye.

I decided to do the flesh differently. Perhaps its a different daemon in the machine. Perhaps they are in a different state of decay- who knows. One I decided to do flesh colored, while the other I did grey and purple- giving it a more deathly look. I used blood and yellow ink to do the sores and whatnot.

Finally, the rust was done with my old standby- dark brown, orange stippling, and boltgun metal. I suppose now the new effects paints would make that much easier, but hey- at the time it was a great method. The blades in particular look good on these bad boys.

I know I have used them in a couple of battles, in particular my Bachelor Apocalypse game. But, they are really cool, and look good with my Death Guard army.

The other model I wanted to show today is my Great Unclean One, which we affectionately call "Jimmy". Why Jimmy? That calls for a short story. Back in the day, as I was building up my Death Guard Plague Marine army, I wanted to add some daemons (back then, you'll recall, they were in the same book).

So, I sat down with my friend Pete to discuss this addition. I wanted to do something different, and I suggested that I'd like body parts reaching out of the Greater Daemon, as it would look like he consumed them or absorbed them or something. At this early point, I had NO putty skills, and didn't know how to carry out the vision. Pete said that he would do the conversion for me- and seeing the final product got me to learn putty work (that and I hated the bland looking metal Death Guard that had been released for 3.5/4th, and putty was the only way to make them better).

When Pete was done, I was awed. The putty work was amazing, and the thing looked so twisted- perfect for Chaos. After playing several games with him (later on), Pete called the little zombie thing in the Unclean One's stomach "Jimmy". Thus, the name stuck, and he would always be "Jimmy".

The painting was what would be my "typical" Nurgle. Dark Angels green base, with successive layers of Rotting Flesh. I used their old inks for the wounds and the "wooden" horns. I was careful to pick out the maggots and whatnot.

The eyes would be what I would always do for Nurgle daemons- red, white, and black (which I think I got from an old WD). The sword I also did with metal and inks. What really sells the model is the conversions- the zombies were done with brighter flesh tones- are they a part of him? Inside him? The paint makes them stand out a bit, but I also blended to make the zombies look like a part of the model.

When all was said and done, this was one of my favorites. The teamwork of conversion, the paint job- it really became a great part of my emerging Death Guard army. He had been a mainstay then, and he evolved to be the heavy hitter of my successive Daemon armies- the guy is currently a beast. Give him psyker levels and bam! The guy is almost unkillable, and he deals out punishment of all kinds. Nurgle himself would be proud.

So, perhaps I'll be back next week with some more pics of other models. Like I said, if WD is going weekly, then I have to try to keep up- Ha ha.

Until next time...

A Couple of Battle Reports

Hey there my fellow mutants, heretics, and traitors. Old Man Chaos is back with another exciting blog post... wait... do I hear snoring? Ok- so maybe I think my posts are more exciting than they actually are. But hey, its my blog, so I can think what I want. Tough audience...

Anyways, I have been fortunate to have the time to play at my local store. I have been going more frequently than I used to- I am now playing once a week, give or take. That is more than I have played in a long time, and I have learned so much about 6th edition, and my own armies, in particular. I have also had a blast. Win lose or draw, the games have been fun, frantic, and fast paced. I also learned to hate Centurions (lethal to Marines and such... I'll have to swamp them with zombies when I have the chance).

For the past two weeks, I have played against Frank "the tank". Or rather, Frank "the drop pod". Frank plays Space Wolves, and he plays them like I have never seen. He has their special characters all in ONE SQUAD. They are the ultimate killers, ready to take on just about anybody (Logan, Njal, and Arjac, plus two terminators for good measure). Frank also uses the Thunderwolf cavalry to great effect. Oh, and he drops his guys down in drop pods.


So, as I said, I played 2 games with Frank. The first game I played against him with my Khorne Bezerkers, led by Kharn himself. The game was a ton of fun, and filled with a lot of back and forth throughout (a tense and close game is just the way I like it- very exciting).

I discovered that Space Wolves are more than equal to Khorne Bezerkers. I had a very very tough time with his Thunderwolves in particular. Since Bezerkers only get +1 S on the charge only (thanks Codex nerf), I simply didn't have the strength to tear through them (that's what they did to me). His Thunderwolves killed everything they ran into pretty much. His magic also did a number on my Heldrake. Ugh.

I gave as good as I got though. There was an epic duel in which Kharn went toe to toe with Logan- and they killed each other at the same time! Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows, as long as it flows, I suppose. I ultimately won due to linebreaker, but it was just too damn close.

Then, we decided to play again in 2 weeks... he would tweak his Space Wolf list, but he wanted to face off against my Plague Marines. I decided that I would take a very different list from what I'm used to though. I took Typhus and 75 zombies (3 squads) for a start. I figured I would just try to swamp his units and drown them in flesh eating undead. I also copied something a Space Marine player did against me- I took 3 Dreadnoughts (excuse me, Hellbrutes) with Lascannon and bolter/cc weapon. I had two squads of 5 Plague Marines each with 2 Rhinos. Finally, I had the requisite Heldrake, and I decided to take a Vindicator (shouldn't they call it a "Hell-dicator" just too keep up the Hell theme?). But that left me a lot of points shy of 2000. So, I chose to take Deamonic allies. 14 Plaguebearers and a juicy Great Unclean One, complete with a Greater and Exalted Gift (which I rolled Unholy- allowing me to re-roll failed inv svs- excellent).

The game was afoot, with the mission being the Emperor's Will. I placed my zombies all over my board edge- with Typhus and a squad of zombies on the objective, placed near the center of my deployment zone. With the tanks and hellbrutes filling in the rest of the spots, he was unable to drop the pods BEHIND me, as he did last game. However, dropping them in front of me proved to be almost as disasterous. His Longfangs and Rune Priest took pot shots at my Dreadnoughts, destroying one the first turn, the next turn (the 3rd was safely on the other side of the board, and was OK).

In my turn, I fired a lot at his HQ killer squad, to little effect. They even made their inv svs against the demolisher cannon (which I fired waaaay too clost to Typhus, luckily no drift). My 3rd dread destroyed his Rhino, stranding his 10 men on the far side of the board (too far from their objective, but nowhere near the action). I moved one Rhino the left flank, while my other Rhino unloaded its men and they shot at the HQ killer squad (again, no effect). My left flank zombies moved up (with the Rhino). Typhus and the zombies charged the triple threat HQ squad and challenged Arjac. Neither fell in the first round, and zombies died, but the 2 terminator guards were taken down.

Turn 2, his other drop pod comes down, behind the zombies I had advanced- which at this point was fine with me, as the zombies couldn't make it to his objective opposite the field, and Typhus would need all of the zombies at his disposal- better to concentrate all the heavy action on my end so I could respond faster and time him down. His Longfangs killed the 2nd dread, and destroyed the vindicator (damn split fire). Then, it was combat time. Typhus and Arjac continued to piss each other off but couldn't land the killing blow, while Logan seemed reluctant to kill any zombies. Meanwhile, the Thunderwolves charged my Plague Marines. They had been able to run through my Bezerkers in the last game, but with the Plague Marine toughness of 5 and blight grenades denying them their +1A on the charge, the wolves only managed to kill 2 Marines.

At the bottom of turn 2, all my reserves arrived. My Heldrake clawed at his drop pod squad at the back, then moved and torched his retreating Rhino squad, killing a handful. My Plaguebearers arrived, but scattered very far away- and into difficult terrain, and 3 died! Bad luck, but since I had the instrument and banner, I brought in the Unclean One 6" from them- still far, but he could reach the Thunderwolves in a turn or 2. I continued to move the Rhino up the left flank, being protected by the Heldrake now (and my dread was still available to cover them too). Speaking of, I pivoted my dread to fire at the rear drop pod squad, and then they were charged by my zombies. Meanwhile, my last zombie squad charged the Thunderwolves, now ensuring that they would be tied up for a while too. Now, all 3 zombie squads were in combat. Unfortunately, at this juncture, Typhus got killed. So Frank now had First Blood (the first dread) and now slay the warlord, and Linebreaker too. However, his Thunderwolves, drop pod squad, and HQ killers were all tied up in an endless tide of the undead.

Turn 3 was the "turning point", ultimately. Frank made a tactical mistake early on (I made plenty myself- leaving my dreads and vindicator far too exposed, just for example). He left NO troops with HIS objective. It was in a ruin, with his Longfangs/Rune Priest on the roof. At this point Frank began to realize what I was doing. With 3/4 of his army fighting zombies, I was racing the Rhino to his objective. And, covered by the Heldrake, this would be a real problem for him. He moved his ex-Rhino squad near the ruin. Meanwhile, he split his Longfang fire- he shot at my GUO- and he mocked them with his re-roll of inv svs. He also fired at the Heldrake. Even with the casting of prescience, he could not roll the 6s that he needed. That was where it ultimately hinged- he should have hit the Rhino instead- it would have meant that my Plague Marines would have been stranded a bit too far out to get to his objective. His combat was more of the same as before- he killed handfuls of zombies, but they took a few of his guys down too (even whittled down one of the Thunderwolves). In my 3rd, I pressed forward with my plan. The Heldrake burned his whole Longfang squad, with only the Rune priest surviving. But not for long- my 3rd dreadnought fired his twin las and vaporized him- great shot. Now all that remained was the ex Rhino squad near the objective. I also advanced my GUO and he charged the Thunderwolves- killing their leader (he was a character too I think... too many characters). They finished off the last Plague Marine, but the zombies held on. The zombie slaughter continued, but Arjac fell to them. Finally, the drop pod squad was slowly being wiped out (his squad leader just couldn't get enough attacks).

Turn 4, Frankie had his ex-rhino guys at the objective, ready to fight any interloper. The close combat went on in my zone, BUT- his HQ squad killed the last zombie in that assault- this was a problem for me, as they could go and tip the balance of either of the other 2 combats. The Thunderwolves continued to suffer against the GUO. But- in a bit of great luck, the drop pod squad bit the dust, and the zombies did feast- and they were free to move in my turn. In my half, my Heldrake did the only thing it could- it incinerated the last of the ex Rhino squad. Now my Rhino had a clear path and parked near the objective. My now unengaged zombie squad moved toward MY objective. The GUO and Thunderwolves continued to hurt one another, but this combat wasn't going anywhere.

Turn 5, Frank split his HQ squad up, sending Njal after my zombies, with his spell/effect electrocuting some of them, but not enough. Meanwhile, he had Logan charge the GUO- and it was another battle of attrition. In my half, I pulled my men out of the Rhino, and claimed his objective. I had my zombies move in toward my objective, but Njal was close enough to contest- my dread had fired at him, but couldn't pull off the same miracle twice, and Njal's inv sv shrugged the las shot off.

The fight was over. I won, 4 to 3. He had slay, linebreaker, and first blood. I had 3 for his objective and linebreaker. The game was intense, and just one different choice by Frank's longfangs could have changed the whole game. It was a blast to play, and both participants were good sports and honorable warriors.

Frank is a great player and a strong painter. His Thunderwolves look amazing, complete with the snow effect base. I can't wait to see him paint the rest of his army. And, Frank has challenged me to another fight- he wants his Grey Knights to go against my Daemons. I think he just wants revenge, but how can I refuse? Haha! That will be a heck of a battle!

Until next time...

Battle Report: Dawn of the Dead!

Welcome back to another edition of Chaos Corner- your favorite place for Warhammer 40K goodness. I've got a battle report for you- I'll keep it brief. I fought my Grey Knight opponent once again. My others of my gaming group have had some things going on in their lives (marriages and such), so we haven't gotten a chance to play as much. That should change by the summer, if the new Eldar codex rumors are true. I'll also have time to play at my local store once the summer comes.

Deamons and Chaos Marines fighting together- as nature intended!

At any rate, my brother decided to play his Grey Knights once again (one day, he'll go back to Imperial Guard). It was his usual list. As for me, I decided to go for a Chaos alliance- Plague Marines and Nurgle Daemons. I've been excited by this possibility for a while, and I was very anxious to try it out.

The Dead Will Walk The Earth

I had Typhus as my leader, plus I took a Dark Apostle as HQ choices. I took 2 squads of 30 zombies apiece (One squad for Typhus and the other for the Apostle). In addition, I had a squad of 7 Plague Marines (with 2 Meltas) in a Rhino equipped with Dirge Casters. These forces were backed up by a Predator with Twin Lascannon turret and sponson Heavy Bolters. The Daemon contingent had 2 squads of 14 Plaguebearers and a Great Unclean One, who was waiting in the Warp, just waiting to deep strike into the carnage.

My brother then surprised me by suggesting that we play one of the missions that I posted here- the Dawn of The Dead mission, since I already was taking zombies. I was thrilled to try out one of my crafted missions, so I agreed (see the Dawn of the Dead mission in my post New Battle Missions). We set up the table, as per the deployment I described in that mission. He had the bottom quarter, and I had the other 3. We had to be at least 6" away from the boundary. My mission was to wipe out his troop choices in 6 turns (his 10 Marines and 2 squads of 5 Terminators apiece- 20 men I had to eat or kill). His mission was to keep them alive until dawn (or turn 6).

I had a serious placement problem...

 I made a stupid mistake at the outset. I placed my Plaguebearers first, with my zombies further back. This was stupid placement on my part, especially since my "Dawn of The Dead" roll gave all zombies +1A!! My thoughts were that the Daemons would get in there and hurt the Grey Knights, but not kill them. Then, the zombies would move on in, cleaning up the job. My Plague Marines and Predator would provide the fire support. A good plan, but as I said, I placed the zombies a bit too far back. It took them way too long to move up the field. Once they got close, the battle was already over.

My Brother always plays great defensive campaigns...

 Of course, I once again underestimated my brother's ability to play defensively. He has always been very good at such scenarios- basically he adopts a "Come and get me attitude" toward playing in defense- and he is damn good at it- withdrawing rather than advancing- making me do the work of getting to him. In this mission, he hid his troops in a series of manufactorum ruins. Thus, his Marines and Terminators got a 4+ cover save- I literally had to go to him, and he made me pay for every inch.

I bet that was expensive!

The game started off well (deceptively) for me. My Plaguebearers charged his Land Raider, and using Touch of Rust, they managed to score 4(!!) glancing hits- thus his Land Raider was a wreck. My brother was unpreturbed though. In his turn, his Dreadnought turned the corner and laid waste to most of the Plaguebearers that wrecked the LR. His Grey Knight Terminators opened fire on the zombie squad coming from the ruins- A lot of casualties. Stupidly, I decided to put them back into cover to await my Plague Marines to arrive via Rhino- 2 Meltas would put a good whomping on them, allowing the zombies to move forward- but that wouldn't be until turn 3 at the earliest.

What possessed me to HIDE the zombies!?!

My Great Unclean One- affectionately known as "Jimmy"...

In my second turn, my Great Unclean One appeared near the second Plaguebearer squad (thanks to the Icon no scattering) though he was nearing the Dreadknight. Typhus' zombies moved upfield, while the Apostle's took cover. My Predator shot at the Dreadknight, but missed (twice with Twin Linked!!). My Plaguebears began to move toward the Dreadnought, and my Rhino advanced behind them. In his turn, he moved the Dreadknight toward me, but still a bit to far for him to charge. His Dreadnought and Terminators shot the Plaguebearers, but just a few still clung to life.

The Great Unclean One is  to open for business- and business is good!

The Death Guard are about to unleash strong fire discipline on the Grey Knights

Top of turn 3, I move my Predator to get a better shot at the troops in the manufactorum. I shot using snap shots, killing one. I moved the Apostle's zombies out of cover again, knowing that the Rhino was drawing near. It pulled up, and the Death Guard deployed. They put good fire discipline on the Terminators at the top of the factory, killing 1.  One squad of Plagueberers advanced down the street, while the other squad charged the Dreadknight- I used their Plaguebanner, thus allowing them to hit in 2+. My brother took 1 wound. Then I threw in the GUO- my Daemon lost a hit point but passed his Ld. The Dreadknight took another wound. For the Grey Knight turn, my brother's dreadnought killed off the one squad of Plaguebearers, and took some shots at the zombies, since my Rhino provided a good screen. In the Grey Knight's 3rd turn, he shot at my Death Guard, killing one. The Dreadnought had no choice but to shoot at the zombies- killing a score more. Finally, his Dreadknight succumbed to my Great Unclean One- plus several of the Plaguebearers were alive to fight on.

It's going to be tough to get them out of their positions...

At my turn 4- I tried to put on the full court press- I advanced my GUO and Plaguebearers toward the Marines in the factory- and the 2nd squad of terminators just under the walkway. My Typhus zombies advanced (but they were just too damn far away). My Death Guard shot at the terminators on the walkway, killing all but one, who was on the other side of the walkway (hidden from view, which would haunt me later). Meanwhile, my Predator finally got into the fight, killing a few more Marines on the other walkway. In his phase, his Dreadnought continued to shoot at my zombies, killing another handful. His marines on the lower walkway shot at my GUO- that much storm bolter and psilencer fire is a bit too much- my GUO lost 2 wounds!! His Terminators on the ground also took a few shots, and the GUO lost another wound.

The Death Guard advance through the ruins to get at the other Terminators.

The zombies were just too far away to make a difference.

 By turn 5, I realized that my zombies just weren't going to make it in time. I needed my Death Gaurd and the Great Unclean One to get in there and take out the rest of his men. The GUO used his primaris power, killing all but one of the Marines on the lower walkway. The Predator then finished the job. My Dark Apostle broke from the zombie squad and charged the Dreadnought, hoping to score 6s. He did not. But neither did the Dread hurt him (both arms were shooting arms). The Death Guard were making their way to through the ruins to get to the ground level Terminator squad. They technically were not behind cover, so in turn 6 I could use the Meltas and hopefully make him fail those saves.

I just couldn't get to him...

Decision time- Turn 6. This would be the game. I had my GUO jump up to the lower platform and used his Primaris Power on the lone Terminator who was hiding at the top with Captain Stern. The Primaris power hit, but he rolled his invulnerable save. Damn. Technically, the game was over right there. My Death Guard fired at the terminators, only killing one. The zombies were nearing, but they were just too far off- if only I had one more turn! Alas, I did not, and my brother won.

In a way, it was fitting. In the tradition of the zombie movie- the heroes faced quiet moments until all hell broke lose. When it did, many of them died; but, at the very end, there are a handful of survivors, which was was the case here. Despite my last full effort, he had 1 Terminator from one squad and 4 from the other still alive. Out of 20, 5 were left. That meant that he won. Once again, I must give kudos to my brother for fighting a great defensive campaign. He made my forces die for every inch, and ultimately I just didn't have enough time. Again, my big mistake was to put the zombies too far back- I was too conservative with them.

"I choose not to run"

Regardless of win or loss, it was a great match. There was a lot of tension, some great dice rolls, a lot of back and forth... There was a thrill about using my own mission rules- must try out the other ones I made/tweaked. The battle was a ton of fun, a classic 40K match for us. My brother gloated all weekend about his victory. When I asked him for a rematch, he said "I choose not to run"! Haha! He will though, he will... and then vengeance will be mine!!

Until next time...