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...

Book Review (In Brief): The Emperor's Gift

Hey there everybody! Old Man Chaos is back with another posting. Officially, there's only a few more days to go till the new Chaos Codex. I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on that. Speaking of, I did buy the Dark Vengeance boxed set finally, so I'll be reviewing that soon too (have to put the Chaos pieces together first). However, as a result of buying DV, I will have to wait on buying the big Chaos stuff, since the book alone is $50- of course, my birthday and Christmas are coming up (hint hint). Anyways, I will for sure rate the DV box and the Codex very soon.

However, right now, I just finished Aaron Dembski-Bowden's The Emperor's Gift. Now, you all know I think he may be the best Black Library writer out there- his Cadian Blood and Night Lords Trilogy are absolutely perfect works of 40K fiction. However, in this book he is focusing squarely on a Grey Knight brotherhood, which is far from his usual. So, did he knock it out of the park, or is it a swing and a miss? Let's find out:

 For sure, ADB is still the most fluid writer in the BL stable. His writing is concise, but still descriptive and occasionally poetic (for 40K, natch). ADB handles complex action scenes, emotions, and plots with ease. He gets the point across without beating you over the head with it, as some of the BL authors do. Nor is his writing "bolter porn" as it were- there's meaning in his action sequences, and his stories are about characters, not just action scenes staring the same character. Here, ADB primary focus is Hyperion, a new Grey Knight bonded to Castian squad. Hyperion is strong and brave, but he finds it difficult to coordinate his skills with his battle brothers, while at the same time trying to "re-figure" out human emotion from those mortals he serves with. However, trouble comes for Hyperion when word reaches his squad that the world of Armageddon is under attack from the forces of Chaos.

What follows is a very unusual story indeed- the book isn't about the First War of Armageddon- rather, it is how Hyperion becomes part of a task force sent to Armageddon, and then what happens after the wars. It is rather interesting conceit- the War itself is like two chapters long only. The war was longer, but the Grey Knights see battle only once- against Angron himself (very cool, by the way). The remainder of the book is about the moral conflict that follows: what should be done with the loyal soldiers and citizens of Armagedon who saw Daemons- standard Inquisitorial protocol says all must die for seeing "that which CANNOT exist". But the Space Wolves, who have fought for months on Armageddon, want to spare the innocents. Hyperion is torn- he wants to protect humanity, but allowing these people to live will only allow Chaos to spread, unwittingly perhaps, but spread nevertheless.

Therin lies the issue here, for both good and bad. The story has odd fits and starts- the War is truncated, and the first boarding action and subsequent mustering goes on for too damn long. Indeed, at one point I said "I get it- the ship is possessed- move on". And while the Armageddon scenes were cool, it was too brief, and relied on the fact that longtime fans knew the outcome already. On the other hand, the moral issues that Hyperion confronts are truly interesting and deep- we always know that the Inquisition will do such terrible things for the protection of humanity, but here it takes on a more realistic dimension as Hyperion wrestles with the moral implications of what the Inquisition must do. Since the story was told from Hyperion's perspective, it made for fascinating reading.

Even better, ADB has found a great "voice" for the good guys of the Adeptus Astartes , which can be tricky to write for(he can write Chaotic Marines quite well, as we already know). Hyperion is very sympathetic, a hero who wants to understand the humans that he fights to protect. To most humans, he seems cold and fearsome, but he is also capable of gentle warmth, which I thought was a great blend for the Grey Knights. Writing first person allows ADB do bring a great deal of depth here, and it makes up for the books flaws.

The other great thing that ADB does is he plants both feet firmly in the 40K lore. Not only is this about the First War of Armageddon, he also manages to tie this book to others, including The Battle of the Fang, Prospero Burns, and amazingly (and wonderfully, I might add) the Ravenor and Eisenhorn series. ADB did this with his Night Lords trilogy too, which makes his work feel like part of the mosaic of 40K, rather than just one author's take.

So, what to take away from this? ADB tries some risky things here- his first person Grey Knight narration, his willingness to forgo the battle that most would have expected going in, and his interest in the "clean-up", rather than the war itself, makes The Emperor's Gift very interesting and different from other BL tales. My only issue really was the pacing of the first third of the book, which takes too long. Perhaps if that had been trimmed, ADB could have done more with the Armageddon piece, which I think would have strengthened the weight of the moral questions  asked in the last third. Thus, I award this book 3 1/2 out of 4 Marks of Chaos. Its a good book in the chances it takes, but the pacing could have been better.

Until next time...

Book Review (In Brief): Battle of the Fang

Hey there Chaos fans! It's been two weeks since I've posted (I've been a bit busy, but that's how it goes), but now I've got another one for you. I just finished Battle of the Fang by Chris Wright, so I thought I'd give you a brief review:

I had just finished reading Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett, and I really liked it. No, it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I prefer it when Abnett does the unexpected (Legion, Eisenhorn) as opposed to when he's predictable (Titanicus, Ravenor). After reading that saga of the Space Wolves war against the Thousand Sons, I decided to "finish" the trilogy by reading Battle of the Fang, which takes place only 1,000 years after the events of the Heresy (as opposed to being in the 41st millennium).

The book is really, really good. An action packed book that shows how things are going to go from here on out in the "Long War". The Thousand Sons are splintered, with some of the sorcerers still backing Magnus, while the other half has been banished for following Ahriman. Magnus has been plotting for a long time to attack The Fang, the Space Wolves' fortress on Fenris. The Thousand Sons want to destroy it, just as the Wolves ravaged Prospero during the Heresy. Of course, Magnus would not be the chosen of Tzeentch if he didn't have another, more secret motive than just simple revenge...

The Great Wolf now leading the Chapter, Ironhelm, has become obsessed with chasing down the remnants of the Thousand Sons. Following clues to Magnus' whereabouts, Ironhelm takes the vast majority of the Space Wolves with him to chase down a lead, and leaves only the 12th company, led by Greyloc, to protect the Fang. Of course, this was Magnus' plan all along; once Ironhelm is off on the proverbial wild goose chase, the Thousand Sons lay siege to the Fang, with Greyloc desperately defending the fortress with his handful of marines and normal Fenrisians.

The balance of the book is the siege itself. I mean it as a compliment that it reminded me of the sieges of The Lord of the Rings. Greyloc is surrounded and outnumbered, and must rely on cunning to hold the enemy back as long as possible. There are upsets for both sides, and the battle ebbs and flows as an epic showdown should. There are some great bits: the escape of a single Wolf ship, that leaves Fenris to find and warn Ironhelm; the waking of the Dreadnoughts (Bjorn is awesome), the collapsing of the entryways into the Fang, and more. But the height, of course, comes when Magnus himself is "summoned" to Fenris (he is a Daemon now, after all), and all hell breaks loose.

As I said, its action packed, and the author does a great job of contrasting the Wolves with their corrupt and soulless opponents. I also enjoyed the paths of two human soldiers, father and daughter no less, and the parallel paths they take in the course of the battle. Several marines are developed (Helfist and Redpelt stand out), as does the Wolf Priest Wyrmblade. I do wish that the author had developed Greyloc a bit more- he is a heroic figure, but he gets lost in the action at points, and gets overshadowed by Bjorn and Wyrmblade, which is too bad. I also wish that the author had developed Magnus and his two lieutnants (Temekh and Aphael) just a bit more, but that's just me wanting to give the bad guys their due.

The best part of the book? Well, I don't want to give it away, but I do want to discuss it, so here's what I'll do. I'll rate the book now 3 1/2 out of 4 marks of Chaos. If you've read the other two (A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns) you really owe it to yourself to read this- they really do tie together quite nicely. If you've already read it and want to stick around, I'll briefly look at the ending, which may be one of  the strongest (and yet ambiguous) endings in the Black Library...

So, If you want no spoilers, stop reading now...

3...


2...


1...

Well, OK, if you're still here, you want to know about that ending then. Here's the crux of the plot and the climax: while Magnus wants to conquer the Fang for the sake of revenge, he is also seeking to destroy something else. Wyrmblade has been working on something called "The Tempering", which could shift the balance of power in the universe once and for all. The gene-seed of Russ is strong, but unstable. It does lead some of the Space Wolves to fall into animal fury permanently (one flaw), and it cannot really be replicated on those outside of Fenris (the second flaw). Wyrmblade's plan is to "temper" the gene-seed- keeping its strengths while limiting the flaws. Wyrmblade's vision is of many, many Space Wolf successor chapters, each with this new and improved gene-seed. Wyrmblade says that they could make so many Wolves, that they could surround the Eye of Terror and traitor marines could never again leave it. The Space Wolves would truly be the protectors of a new, stronger Imperium.

This is what Magnus is really attacking the Fang for. Obviously Tzeentch and the other gods of Chaos would not want the Space Wolves to become so great in number that they can actually carry out Wyrmblade's plan, so Magnus goes to destroy "The Tempering" and all who know about it. Magnus tells Temekh that this is not about revenge, but about preventing a "possible future" (how Tzeentchian). That is what the siege is really about... stopping the Wolves from reaching their "true potential". Ultimately, Magnus is successful- he kills Wyrmblade and destroys all the materials and experiments regarding "The Tempering", and it is made clear that this was the last chance the Wolves would have to try this. Thus, even though the Thousand Sons lose the battle (with the return of Ironhelm's companies), they won the war by denying the Wolves a better future.

However, in true Tzeentchian fashion, that may not be a victory at all... Why, you say? Think about it this way... Only the Emperor knew how to do the gene-seed thing (and even his results were far from perfect); who is to say that "The Tempering" would have been successful? Several characters called Wyrmblade's experiments "an abomination". What if... what if it appeared to work and was carried out on the scale Wyrmblade intended? Would the Wolves have run riot across the galaxy? Or what if it appeared to work only to develop mutations later on, say nine thousand years hence? The Space Wolves could have been ruined... So, did the destruction of "The Tempering" really hurt the Wolves, or did it force them to remain true to themselves?

Thinking about it that way- I can't be sure if this is a win for Chaos or a win for the Imperium... And that's great about the book- being that it is only the 32nd millennium, the events of the Heresy are still "fresh". The book sets the stage for an ambiguous, dark future, full of war and stalemate, without hope or change, of squandered potential.

Did the good guys win or the bad guys? Neither. It is simply war, with no winners...

Book Review: Prospero Burns

 Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos is back with a book review. I have just finished Prospero Burns by Dan Abnett. Now, for me, while Dan Abnett is a great writer, I find that his work is often hit or miss. When he hits, he hits BIG. His Eisenhorn Trilogy may be one of the best 40K story arcs ever- the writing, pacing, detail, characterization, etc are all fantastic. It was the type of book that I didn't want to see end, since I felt so invested in Eisenhorn, Bequin, Aemos, and the rest. Equally good are Abnett's Horus Heresy books- Horus Rising is a great introduction to the series, and Legion has some of the greatest story twists of any Black Library book. However, Abnett does miss quite a bit too- for example, his Titanicus is quite underwhelming, with too many charcaters floating around and not enough Titan action. Also, though I loved the title character, his Ravenor series isn't nearly as good as Eisenhorn, which disappointed me. As for Prospero Burns, some fans have said that it doesn't focus nearly enough on the Battle of Prospero, and that it feels like you're just following some historian around for too long.

While I agree that the Battle of Prospero itself is a bit too short, the rest of the story is, in fact, very, very good. Indeed, I feel that it is one of Abnett's strongest to date. You see, there's multiple themes and stories running through this book. Yes, it culminates in the Battle of Prospero, but if you have already read A Thousand Sons, you already know the general contours of the battle itself, as well as the perspective of Magnus and the Thousand Sons themselves. This book is bigger than that battle, but in a fantastic way, Abnett uses the smallest, most insignificant character as a window into not just the fight between the Wolves and the Thousand Sons, but the bigger conflicts that are happening between mankind and the immaterium, as well as man's battles within himself.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum. The story is about Kasper Hawser, a historian and archeologist from Terra. Hawser has had some academic success in making historical discoveries about ancient Terran history, and has even gotten Imperial recognition for his work. However, Hawser grows tired of the beauracracy of Terra (great foreshadowing of the future of Terra's administratum) and decides to leave it all behind and go to Fenris, the home-world of the Space Wolves (Or Vilka Fenrika, as they prefer to be called). The Wolves take him in and make him Skjald, a storyteller for their legion. Hawser gets swept up in the Great Crusade, sees battles, meets Leman Russ and other major figures, and gets involved to the conflict between the Russ' and Magnus' legions.

Now, of course, it isn't quite that simple. Now here's where I will stop on the plot, since I don't want to give too much away. There are some twists here that I don't want to ruin; the surprises here are very interesting and make one interpret the events of the Heresy in a new light (though it doesn't quite match the twists of Legion- boy, those are doozies). I don't want to dwell on those, so I will instead look at some of the major themes and concerns of this book.

The first, and perhaps most vital question that the book seems to ask is "What is the purpose of Knowledge"? For Hawser (and perhaps, the Thousand Sons), knowledge is essential- the phrase "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it" sums up his view. Hawser initially wanted to find the causes of Old Night, that time of anarchy when humanity nearly fell into ruin. Of course, Hawser suspects something sinister about the Warp, even if he is not sure what it really is out there. Of course, his own quest is mirrored by the Thousand Sons, who seek knowledge (ostensibly) for the benefit of mankind- learning about the esoteric and the Warp in order to master it.

The Space Wolves see knowledge a bit differently. To them, there are some things best forgotten. Too much knowledge is dangerous, even maddening. Traditions must be kept alive, stories of heroism and bravery must be told to inspire. But, knowledge just for the sake of it, can ruin people- excessive knowledge breeds corruption, ego, vanity. I would say that the Wolves value practical knowledge, but shun everything else. This philosophy is set up for some great contrasts between the two legions. And with that, one must question- did the Emperor go to far himself in the pursuit of knowledge and power? Should the Wolves feel the same sense of anger and disgust toward him?

Speaking of, the second issue of this book regards the purpose of the Space Wolves. Abnett goes out of his way to point out that the Emperor created each legion for a specific purpose. Some are made to fortify, others are made to be the Praetorian,  etc. The Wolves are made to be the ultimate deterrent. A weapon of war so terrible, that it could even take on a Space Marine Legion. It seems that the Emperor knew that this might be a possibility, hence the Wolves. Interestingly, the Wolves are not thrilled with their role. To them, this is a thankless task, which causes them to be looked on as savages by all others. They aren't- they are simply designed to be ruthless warriors, able to destroy anything without pity or doubt.

The third issue is that this calls into question just how "wise" the Emperor really is, especially when you combine this with the other Heresy books. After all, if he knows about the dangers of Chaos, why doesn't he warn his Primarchs more forcefully? If the story is true, why did he use the powers of the warp to create the Primarchs (The First Heretic)? How does he not know about the Twin Primarchs (Legion)? How is it that the Emperor condemns religion ("The Last Church") while still allowing the Wolves to practice their "paganism"? There are way more questions than answers, and I doubt we will get any more than that, which is OK- it allows us fans to speculate.

There are some issues with the book though- the pacing is sometimes spotty, and his characterization isn't as good as his usual (though he does a great job with Leman Russ, while Kasper Hawser is a cipher- on purpose). The action scenes are clipped, and I do wish we got to see the Battle of Prospero a little bit more. I do love how the last act is told as if the Skjald is telling the story after the fact though.

Ultimately, Prospero Burns is one of Abnett's strongest (though not his best). If you enjoy the Wolves or the Heresy in general, I think you will enjoy this book. I intend on reading The Battle of the Fang next, as it seems to be the final part of the war between the Space Wolves and the Thousand Sons, even if it takes place a thousand years after the Heresy. I've heard great things about this one, so after Prospero Burns, I'm excited to get it started! As for this one, I give it 3 1/2 Marks of Chaos out of 4.

Until next time....