My Games Day UK 2013

First thing to say is that GW ran no games at Games Day. There were Warhammer-related card and computer games to try, but not the core games. In downsizing from the NEC to the NIA (still in Birmingham) the participation games and make-and-takes have gone. Well over half the floor area of the main arena was taken up by sales.  To be fair, that is where most people headed first into some still fairly lengthy queues. Probably quicker than last year though.

Forge World had a few new models on show. Ferrus had been announced before, but Lorgar was also in the cabinets. I was most impressed with the new Assault pod, which also caused a bit of a stir.

I resisted the temptation of buying Ferrus, but did go for the new Iron Hands Contemptor.  I did want to get the IH Legion squad, but they had sold out by the time I got through the queue.  There was a big display board of the Iron Hands vs Emperor's Children and Iron Warriors, which was very well done.

Both the Armies on Parade and Golden Demon competitions were held in the sports hall downstairs. As always, looking at the best models there takes a lot of luck and patience amid the crowds.  I am still convinced that my parade board was better than many of the store winners. The overall parade winner featured a running waterfall and surprised many people. I would also like to see the Golden Demon winners close up too.

The highlight of the day for me was chatting to Robin Cruddace again. He is a fellow Howling Griffons player and we discussed our armies.  He even signed my Space Marines codex with a nice note for me. I am a fan!

Armies on Parade 2013 Howling Griffons

It was finally time for GW Newbury's annual competition today.  My board came fourth in a very close race.

Unfortunately,  I couldn't get any of the new models ready in time.  After spending so long on the armour, I should also have been a little more careful with the unit markings, which ended up a bit messy.  Oh well, maybe next year.

Well done to George, who won with his Iron Warriors.

My first thoughts on Space Marines 2013 codex

I grabbed my book as soon as GW Newbury opened this morning.  I also picked up a Tactical Squad and some Centurions and will try to add some new models to my Devastator Company for Armies on Parade next week.  I still have most of the scenery and the Storm Eagle to finish painting.  Both sets of sprues look vey good, although I will need a quiet few minutes to build the Centurions.

A couple of rules points I have noticed so far:

Asssult Squad sergeants can no longer take a Storm Shield, so I will either have to count mine as a Combat Shield or play them as the much cheaper elite-slot Vanguard Vetetans instead, until I get the new models.

The Centurions are Slow and Purposeful, so can't overwatch.  Not sure about using them with Grav-Cannons now, which only have 24" Salvo 3/5 range.  A shortish range defensive infantry unit that can't overwatch seems a handicap.

My recent 600pt list for Invasion now comes to 570 points, so is 5% cheaper.  A special weapon and another marine are the obvious additions and will still fit in the Razorback.  Of course I will also work out some brand new lists too!

Finally for now, I'm a little disappointed I have only found a couple of worn Howling Griffons references so far in the codex, especially when Robin Cruddace is  HG player.  I had hoped for more.

Space Marines Battle Company (and new Space Marines incoming)

Having been working on my Howling Griffons all summer I now have enough figures to field a full company.  Not only that, I can either field a standard Battle Company (6 Tacticals, 2 Assault and 2 Devastator) or a full Devastator Company (10 Devastator).

As I'm saving all the devs for Armies on Parade, I took the Battle Company formation to GW Newbury for an all-day Apocalypse game yesterday.  It was a long day but great fun.  The result was a very close 19-20 loss for my side, which was the only downer.  My partner had a Leman Russ company and one super-heavy.  Our opponents had Wolves, Eldar and Tau and 5 super-heavies.  As new players arrived during the afternoon we were allowed to recycle units to keep things balanced.  One plucky marine was all that survived from my original deployment to the end.  He will be getting a promotion soon!

Of course, as a Space Marine player, I'm also looking forward to getting my hands on the new codex.  The Tactical and Sternguard sprues look particularly promising.  I'm even impressed with the Vanguards and all their plastic Thunder Hammers.  However, as I've spent the last few weeks assembling and painting all that power armour, I'm not planning on painting much more in the near future. I may get a Stalker for my Armies on Parade board, but I already have to finish painting the board, scenery and a Storm Eagle (which has taken me a good few days just to assemble...!)