Pages

Friday, May 17, 2013

A Long Expected (Partial) Assembly

Finally on the road to the table.
Prompted in large part by a flurry of texts with EV last night, today saw the nigh-total construction of my long neglected Stormraven.  The impetus for this assembling was the dread Heldrake and attempting to find an answer for them that doesn't involve buying my own flyer or a large batch of Tau that I have no real interest in outside of killing flyers. While I think the Stormraven will do a reasonable job of fending off the dragons, I don't really like it as a solution for my Dark Angels mostly because it requires allying in Blood Angels and getting away from my plan for 6th edition (build some Dark Angels). Despite these misgivings I'm glad to get the Stormraven on the path to completion.  The red marines are getting a rest for a while, but that doesn't mean they have stopped occupying the place closest to my (40k) heart.  I'm the only person who likes the look of the model and I love the idea of a flying gunship/transport that gives unique flavor to the Blood Angels any random chapter can now field (except for Dark Angels of course).  Why all marines get the Blood Angels' special toy while the BAs can't field a Stormtalon is beyond me, but I'm sure there's some well thought out reasoning behind it.

Of course I can't just take the Stormraven, it has to have a minimum posse of a BA HQ and a Troops choice.  My initial thought was to load up on Death Company, plus a DC Dreadnaught, and top it off with a Chaplain.  Turns out that's really expensive, so now I'm considering something that is probably just as expensive: Dante and Sanguinary Guard.  The SGs got a bump this edition thanks to the nerfing of power weapons (their 2+ actually means something now), though their weaponry still leaves much to be desired.  Whatever route I end up on it'll be something with melee punch as I've had issues getting swamped in combat lately. 

In other news, don't let the long pause between posts let you think I haven't been doing other things.  I finally assembled the remaining parts of the pair of AoBR Tacticals, plus basing and priming.  I'll need to find a pair of missile launcher marines to join my BA Devastators now that the aforementioned Tacticals will be filling their primary roles, not to mention building a whole squad of Devs for my Dark Angels, but at least now I won't have Devs with Tactical markings.  While poking around at the Bolter & Chainsword I found a painting challenge that started a couple days ago and runs through the middle of August, which sounds like a great time frame to get some stuff finished.  I've noticed a large drop off in painting recently, aside from the speed painting that is Dust, and I wonder if it isn't related to the loss (to me at least) of Lost Hemisphere's Paint the Target (which may still be running in spite of the demise of the site).  I'll lurk along through the various B&C threads for a bit before making my move, but considering the personal success that was the LPC it's all but certain that I'll be throwing in my hat for this new (to me) challenge.

3 comments:

  1. Um, you may want to look into getting the flyers update "Death From the Skies" which can only be purchased through GW (though it is available digitally). In it they update the storm raven rules and allow not just Blood Angels and Grey Knights to take them, but also Black Templars and regular space marines. So if you don't want to add BAs to your army, you could add a detachment of BTs, GK, or even regular old SM.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One other thing, if you chose SM or BT you could also take a Storm Talon as they are Fast Attack and Storm Ravens are Heavy Support. Just and idea.

      Delete
    2. Given my druthers I'd just be running Dark Angels, and all ground based at that. Sadly it hasn't proven to be too effective against the Heldrakes. The only reason I'm adding in the BAs with Stormraven is that I have both on hand. Going with another chapter would violate both flyer-fighting principles I have (no new purchases, no allies) instead of just one. The whole "everyone gets the Stormraven, but Blood Angels don't get the Stormtalon" thing is (yet another) kick in the junk from GW and (one of) the reason(s) why they won't be getting a single thin dime from me for their flyer supplement.

      Delete