Double Trouble 3

So, it's been awhile but back to random hobby articles it is!

I've just got back from Alex Brown's (of fromthefang.blogspot.co.uk) Double Trouble 3 Tournament, held at Element Games in Stockport, and what a day it has been!

The tournament is a doubles tournament with a twist, 875pts per player with different players in each game. So, not only do you have a different partner in every game, you are facing completely different opponents every game too!

Every board was set up with 6 objectives evenly spaced in each game with different deployments each time.

Secondary objectives were not in play, and Victory Points (VP) would be scored at the end of your turn if you claimed the objective (following the rules for objective secured). A variant of kill points was also in use, called Blood Points (BP) which would award the points value of a destroyed unit, or half rounding up for any units below half strength, or multi wound models being below half wounds.

31 players from not only the UK but also from the continent attended, with Alex taking part to ensure everyone got all their games on and there were no "bys" given.

I took a patrol detachment of Death Guard (list at the end of the article) which did surprisingly well.

Game 1
Ally: Luke Capper (Khorne Daemons)
Opponents: Alex Brown (Hive Fleet Behemoth, Dark Eldar [forget which kabal it was])

So, I had the tournament organiser in the first game, and it was great. This would also be my first time playing against Alex as well, and he definitely played to his strengths. I have give props to Alex for running two cobbled together armies, with various rules to great effect. The Nids had two trygons, a flyrant, ripper swarms and many many genestealers. The Dark Eldar, consisted of 3 venoms with kabalite warriors, a large unit of reavers, led by an archon. 

Luke brought the angriest bad-ass in the immaterium to the fight, Skarbrand, Bloodcrushers, Karanak, Flesh hounds and harpys (kitbashed from bloodletters and Dark Eldar Scourge bat wings).

If I had spent more time gathering notes and pictures for all my games I could enlighten you more with how things progressed, but alas I forgot to keep on top of this by mid point of this game over the rest of the tournament. I've put what images I have at the end of the article. 

DG, Khorne Daemons: 10VP, 623BP

Tyr, DE: 10VP 1268BP

Game 2:
Ally: David Irving Adeptus Mechanicus (Mars)
Opponents: Lucas Rooney (Imperial Knights [index])
Owen Brignall Adeptus Custodes

My word, this game was brutal. 

Unfortunately for Lucas, the IK codex didn't release in time for the cut off date for Double Trouble 3, limiting him to higher costing units, no new stratagems, warlord traits or relics. Lucas' Army consisted of one Knight Crusader, with Thunderfist, reaper chainsword, stub Cannon and carapace launcher, and two Armigers.

Owen brought one shield captain on foot, one shield captain on jetbike, and 3 custodes troops units. This was my first game against Adeptus Custodes, and my word they Just. Would. Not. Die... Lol

I suppose I shouldn't complain as the Imperial Knights fell pretty quickly to some unlucky rolls for saves on overeat chips and during assault, but the combination of IKs and Adeptus Custodes, is a strong one. Get a shield captain on Jetbike, he's awesome, and was more durable than the Death Guard, which made me laugh.

DG, Admech: 22VP 1480BP

IK, Ad Cus: 11VP 1084BP

Game 3:

Ally: Luke Doak (T'au [Borkan Sept])
Opponents: Mark Cromblehome (World Eaters [CSM])
Hendrik Müller-Joswig: Blood Angels

I was originally meant to be playing with Henni in this game, but he and Mark are old friends, so after a wee chat with Alex we were happy to switch partners. After all, but for the luck of the draw they could have been partners, so it wasn't an issue at a casual tournament such as this one.

Everyone at the table was looking for a daft, crazy, murderfest for a game, and that is definitely what we had! Khorne Berserkers were blenderising cultists left right and centre as the Bloat Drones weathered the assault of Kharn only to take him down in response with a healthy dose of whatever foul fluids the drones covered him in. I think the highlight of the game was Lukes' Y'varna assaulting Lemartes and finishing off his final wound as the final play of the game, which none of us thought would happen.

Henni and Mark took more VPs but myself and Luke took more BP so in the end I think we can call it a draw.

DG, T'au: 13VP 1510BP

KB, BA: 18VP 1207BP

Conclusions

I had an great day, all my opponents and partners made every game tense and exciting. I made a good show of my performance overall, and hopefully if Alex puts up standings for the day I can see how I did overall (and update it on here).

I wish I had remembered to take down the results my opponents, but live and learn I suppose!

I definitely feel tired, broken and very much in a good mood after the event. But alas, it is also potentially bittersweet, as Alex may only be running one more event to dedicate more time to being a responsible adult and father, as opposed to glorified nanny for all us nerds who attended.

It would be a massive shame if the niche Alex has filled, isn't taken up by another budding Tournament organiser, as I definitely believe there is the room and the scope for many more casual and fun tournaments, which are nothing more than spending time with friends, playing a game we all enjoy together.

I'm sure you will find plenty of other images and updates from across the tournament over on fromthefang.blogspot.co.uk soon, so I urge you to swing by! 

Jonathan 

Edited: for player names (spelling), opponents points, BP in Game 3.

++ Patrol Detachment (Chaos - Death Guard) [53 PL, 875pts] ++

+ No Force Org Slot +

Gifts of Decay (1 Relic)

+ HQ +

Daemon Prince of Nurgle [8 PL, 175pts]: 3. Tainted Regeneration, 5. Putrescent Vitality, Hellforged sword, Plague Spewer, The Suppurating Plate, Warlord

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [12 PL, 141pts]
. 31x Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun
. Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Flamer
. Cultist Champion: Autogun

Plague Marines [13 PL, 178pts]
. Plague Champion: Boltgun, Plague knife, Power fist
. 7x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

+ Elites +

Noxious Blightbringer [4 PL, 65pts]: Plasma pistol

+ Fast Attack +

Foetid Bloat-drone [8 PL, 158pts]: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe

Foetid Bloat-drone [8 PL, 158pts]: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe

++ Total: [53 PL, 875pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)

Exploring other facets of the hobby

Hello again everyone!

Today I thought we would have a think about a side of the hobby that has been integral to the back stories and world building of Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Age of Sigmar. The artwork.

Inside many, if not all of us budding hobbyists and lovers, of the worlds games workshop has brought to us, is the creative artist. Be that from the armies we build, the scenery we create ( from scratch built, to citadel moulds) to the stories we craft, we are all artists in our own right.

But what of the fine artists within, and amongst us? Where are they? Fine art in our hobby from the social media and articles I read, have been less represented compared to the physical mediums of our models. I am sure there is plenty of budding fine artists out there so I apologise if I have yet to find you (and more visible representation of your work would be a great boon to the hobby), so I thought I would start to look into this area myself.

Many many, moons ago I too was a sucker for the pen, the pencil and the page, fantasy art flew through my viens, but like any creative aspect of an individual, this has ebbed...

Now however it once again begins to flow!
The pen, the pencil and the page, I hath once again risen to bring randomness to life! So, in the spirit of self directed punishment I will be aiming to bring you artwork I myself I have created (not all original but we will get to that).

I hope to be able to post step by step guides for what I have done moving forwards (I forgot this time...), in case anyone out there would like to have a go. My work isn't professional level and shouldn't be considered as such, this is merely another creative outlet for myself, and I have a long way to get back to the level I once was at...

An important lesson I also believe in, is the difference between creativity and originality.

You can be creative without being original. No artwork is ever wrong, for your interpretation of a piece is personal to you. Never be disheartened if you feel a lack of originality, for you can always be creative.

So, with all that out of the way, lo' and behold my first foray back to the world of fine art!

As you can see, this is a rendition of the Daemon Codex front cover; nowhere near as perfect as the original, but I feel it has a dirty grimness to it I really enjoy.

I'll discuss more about the picture, and what I used in my next post, with some thoughts on what I may try next. If any of you have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know in the comments or by email. Let the journey begin!

Jonathan

Never mind the blog wars aftermath

Hey everyone,

Just got back from nevermind the blog wars, the aftermath is I'm shattered from a long ass day, but had plenty of fun, just waiting for the final standings, and once I know a bit more ill update further.

Thanks to all my opponents for a great day!

Now for sleep
Jonathan

Updated: I wonder who this is....?

Not mine, was sent by a friend...

Looks like a sleepy friend is coming back...

Update: so this turns out to be an old conversion, see here: https://imgur.com/a/mmy5j

Pre-event Gibberish

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to today's entry, where I will be discussing the statistics for the armies that will be coming to the Never Mind the Blog Wars event coming up in November. I would suggest you swing by Alex's blog and behold the pie-y goodness he has prepared before continuing with my thoughts (he put a lot of effort into them and I'm not going to steal them 😝). So, stop dilly dallying and pop over to fromthefang.blogspot.co.uk, and I'll see you in a moment...

Back? Excellent! Onwards with my ramblings!

So firstly, don't expect me to follow the pies an exact order, these are just my thoughts as they come... So! It would appear that not every army taking part is solely isolated to those with codexes alone when looking at the split between xenos, Chaos and imperium. Granted some of these armies will be additional Detachments, but it is still good to see that players (apparently) aren't immediately jumping on the bandwagon of codex released armies.

After talking with my good friend Ian it would appear to be that every player will have a 1-5 chance of drawing a guard list in the first round, and with my expectations of absolutely ridiculous gun line armies this may present an issue for some. Rules for damage limitation, such as disgustingly resilient or the tau's stimulant injectors will only go so far when you have to save against multi damage weapons (can anyone say leafblower? 😜). I know mortarion, can be blown off the field from concerted artillery fire and multi damage weapons, even with how tough he is to crack. On the other side of the coin, guard players drawing another guard list will be a long struggle through the mud, it will be interesting to see how well guard lists will do at the event.

One army in particular ill be interested in seeing make it to the event, will be the adeptus custodes army. I have yet to see a painted army in real life so that will be a pleasure to see, (and play against if we are both drawn against each other).

Interestingly enough, Roboute Guilleman won't be making any appearances for the armies of the imperium, though I expect some space marine/guard/soup lists may see Saint Celestine make an appearance due to her (reasonably) low cost. On that note, come on GW, give us sisters already!!! Primarchs will be limited to chaos, and as such it will be interesting to see if either mortarion or magnus comes out on top after the event. There is also at least the chance for an epic duel at some stage between the chaotic brothers.

Lords of War particularly Imperial knights are seeing a reduced appearance this time round, though I expect we would have seen more baneblade variants in guard lists, had they been one wound lower, or the wound limit for the event being one lower.

I think Alex has made a brave choice in putting in the limitations of 25wounds per unit, and no more than 3 detachments. Though this did seem to cause some tension on social media in the lead up to the event, I feel that it is the right choice for now, until more players have a chance to become more used to the system, and Alex has a chance to see how things play out at a tournament level.

It wasn't a surprise to me the most common detachment was the battalion, it gives extra cp and is close to what everyone is used to from previous editions. It will be interesting to see how this changes as more armies get codexes and the different play styles for each develop further.

Key to the event will, in my thoughts be Admin management, and really knowing your list. I'm taking 3 Detachments from DG/Daemons, so hopefully this won't be too bad for myself. This will be, I imagine the first singles tournament of 8th for many, so sticking to the time limit and getting the best out of all your units will be key,especially if you are using several different armies in different Detachments. Let's also not forget sticking to the mission as well, tabling your opponent won't always be the best course of action.

Well, that's all I have for thoughts right now so it's just the waiting game now until the big day. I hope you all enjoyed reading my attempt at random punditry.

Oh, and who will win? Who knows, I won't pretend to know all I'll say is #chaos

Let me know what you think down in the comments. 

Until next time 

Jonathan 

The Infection progresses: NMTBWs Tournament Talk

Hi Everyone!

It's been, a bit since my last article about modelling, and there has been a considerable increase in progress in relation to my burgeoning Death Guard/Nurgle Daemons army that I will taking to my next upcoming tournament in November, Never Mind the Blog Wars, run by our good friend Alex over at fromthefang.blogspot.co.uk

With this being my first event of the new edition, this will be quite the learning curve, not counting the fact I have yet to play a test run with my list! To anyone that ends up playing against me I hope I don't make the day less enjoyable for you! For now all I can do is try to brain-damaged the codex to make sure this game don't go too slow.

So what have I decided to take I hear you ask? Well, read on for the list!

Nevermind the Blog Wars - Death Guard/Nurgle - Jonathan Lyness

Patrol Detachment (Chaos - Daemons)

HQ
Herald of Nurgle [70pts] X1 Psychic power

Troops
3x Nurgling Swarms [60pts]

Plaguebearers [115pts]: Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos, x9 Plaguebearers, x1 Plagueridden

Fast Attack
Plague Drones [167pts]: Daemonic Icon, Instrument of Chaos, x2 Plague Drone, x1 Plaguebringer

Battalion Detachment +3CP (Death Guard)

HQ
Daemon Prince of Nurgle [156pts]: Hellforged sword, X1 psychic power, Relic: The Suppurating Plate

Lord of Contagion [137pts]: Manreaper

Malignant Plaguecaster [110pts]: x2 psychic powers

Troops
Chaos Cultists 109pts]
x23Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun
X1 Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Flamer
X1 Cultist Champion: Shotgun

Chaos Cultists [100pts]: x24 Chaos Cultist w/ Autogun
x1 Cultist Champion: Brutal assault weapon and Autopistol

Plague Marines [158pts]
x1 Plague Champion: Boltgun, Plague knife, Power fist
x5 Plague Marine w/ boltgun
x1 Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

Poxwalkers [60pts]: 10x Poxwalker

Poxwalkers [60pts]: 10x Poxwalker

Elites
Noxious Blightbringer [70pts]: Plasma pistol

Fast Attack
Foetid Bloat-drone [158pts]: x2 Plaguespitters, x1 Plague probe

Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Death Guard)
Mortarion [470pts] x3 psychic powers

Total: [2000pts]

I originally had the plan to include a foul blightspawn, however, as I am sure everyone here is aware, the units' popularity has made getting a hold of one on time difficult, so I've bulked up the cultist squads in place of it. You'll notice in the images above (such as the title image) the cultists aren't present, this came about from the fact that battlescribe (the version I had been using) was incorrectly costed for most of the units. Alex before the list submission highlighted the issue and I found I had a lot of points to work with, so for the event no lists would be submitted via battlescribe files and would be built directly for the sourcebooks either index or codex. I've managed to get everything table ready for the tournament, but there are a lot of small details that really need looking into after the event, so we'll see how that goes moving forwards.

Some here may worry about posting my list before the event takes place, but fear not! List submissions for checking have begun, so this won't be a problem, and as Alex's events are normally on the fun side of the meta-spectrum for competitiveness, people seeing my list isn't an issue.

More foetid bloat drones will come in the future as well as more plague marines and possibly some plague burst crawlers, so next tournament I may be taking a death guard single list.

Hopefully everything goes great at the event, and I'm sure I'll have a great time, win or lose!

Check back next time when I'll be highlighting/reviewing my thoughts from the pre event breakdowns Alex will be sure to find put up soon. Amy thoughts you have on the list, please feel free to chime in below.

Until then, take it easy
Jonathan

The Gardener and the Girl

A warm wet miasma wafted through hanging leaves, the rustling of dark, mottled, rotted flora, a constant comforting din. Occasionally, the lonely clang of a drop of dew from the leaves sounded out from the metal grid that the trees had sprouted from.

Cracked leather boots gently walked through the developing undergrowth, each small step carefully placed to avoid stepping upon one of the grandfather's creations.  It was a great boon for family that his garden had taken root here. Only a small garden in the depths of the ship, but a blessing none the less.

Her steps took her closer to to the destination, the observatory occulus. It was one of the most beautiful places upon the Placid Eye, a place to look upon the sea of stars, so barren of the caress of Grandfather, a place to look upon those who would soon know his blessings.

Darrelia, slim, almost willowy, showed few of the blessings her family had received, many having joined the jovial oblivion of the walking pox. Her sunken eyes, and small stature were the only hallmarks of the blessing she had received, a blessing to be kept deep not only in her heart but in her soul.

The soft settling of a claw cupping her shoulder startled her but for a moment. Beresius had arrived from the depths of the gardens oubliette, a small walk from here.

"Konor, some would think was a failure, but do not worry my child. Life will thrive again in the shadows, and our grandfather will be happy".

"Where do we go now Father?" Darrelia whispered to Beresius.

"Grandfather's chosen grandson will lead us and his blessed sons to a new world, a world to bless, a world I will not see, for I have been called"

Darrelia, looked in confusion as her father shambled to the closest tree, sitting down beneath its rotten bows. The roots slowly enveloping him.

"I must go now for the Grandfather has called me to his garden in paradise. Tend this garden here, until another comes, then you too will be called to walk in the true garden of nurgle".

* * *

Outside in the dark of the void, a rusted hulk floated harmlessly, dangerously towards the edge of the system. From afar, the flickers of sublight engines would be all that would herald the departure of the Vectorum Ephfluvious.