Battle Report! - Warhammer 40k, Necrons vs Adeptus Mechanicus

Just a quick write up of a 1000 point battle I had at my FLGS last night. This was against my good buddy Rich and his terrifying Necrons. We were using matched play rules and playing the Cleanse and Capture Maelstrom mission which has become a staple of our games nights.

Many of these models were used during the battle.

Apologies before you read any further; I didn't take any photos of our game, nor have I included any maps past deployment. I have inserted some bad memes informative images to break up the inevitable wall of text; but if you want to bail out now I won't take it personally.

Rich was playing Mephrit Dynasty which gave all his guns an additional -1ap under half range (scary!) and took the Battalion detachment below: 

Necron Overlord (Voltaic Staff, Merciless Tyrant)

Cryptek (Canoptek Cloak)

Cryptek (Canoptek Cloak)

C'tan shard of the Nightbringer (Antimatter Meteor, Transdimensional Thunderbolt)

10 Warriors

10 Warriors

10 Warriors

3 Destroyers including 1 Heavy Destroyer

They used to be so scary.

Against this merciless tide of steel I had my very own battalion of robots. I was playing Forgeworld Graia (because I like it) and my 1000 points looked like this:

Tech-priest Dominus (Anzion's Pseudogenetor, Magos Biologis)

Tech-priest Enginseer

10 Skitarii Vanguard (3x plasma caliver)

6 Skitarii Rangers (2x arc rifle and Alpha with taser goad)

5 Skitarii Rangers (2x Transuranic Arquebus and Alpha with power sword)

5 Sicarian Ruststalkers (Transonic Blades)

5 Infiltrators (Power Swords and Stubcarbines)

Onager Dunecrawler (Neutron laser and 2x Heavy stubber)

Onager Dunecrawler (Eradication Beamer and Heavy stubber)

Sydonian Dragoon (phosphor serpenta)

3 kataphron breachers (Arc claws and Heavy arc rifles)

6 Fulgurite Electropriests

So, an interesting matchup, although it was clear from the outset that I had far more bodies and wounds on the ground than my opponent. Would the toughness and resurrecting abilities of the Necrons be enough to even the odds?

We set up on a 6' x 4' board using Dawn of War deployment. Rich got the first placement, but I had loads more units than him anyway so he got +1 to the first turn roll off. Even so, I managed to win the roll and Rich failed to seize the initiative.

Deployed for battle.

The Necrons had castled up at the back of their deployment zone in a tight huddle. I had spread my units out more and had my faster moving ruststalkers, infiltrators and dragoon on one flank with my Skitarii Vanguard on the other. I had used my Servitors, Onagers and Dominus to make a little castle of my own in the middle.

Rich had left the destroyers in the open so after some shuffling of various units I opened fire with both Onagers and my servitors. When the dust had settled, the Destroyers had been reduced to a smoking crater. Most of my other stuff was out of range but I did manage to snipe a Cryptek (using my Arquebusiers) who came back to life using the Resurrection Protocols stratagem. I had an excellent card draw this turn which included Overwhelming Firepower, Supremacy and Defend Objective 5 all of which I was able to score. Unfortunately I was only able to get 1VP for Supremacy but it still left me on 5VP coming into my turn two.

A succinct summary of turn 1.

I don’t think Rich had expected to lose the destroyers on turn one and he seemed a bit shaken, but gamely played on regardless. The entire Necron army moved forward but most of their guns were out of range. A few gauss shots were fired which killed a couple of skitarii rangers but that was it. Rich had also had a terrible card draw and failed to score any objectives. From memory he discarded psychological warfare.

On turn two I moved my ruststalkers, dragoon and infiltrators onto the flank; obviously a brilliant tactical gambit (actually I think there was an objective out there that I needed.) I had also moved my plasma vanguard onto the opposite flank. It wasn’t really intentional, but it looked like some sort of genius strategic manoeuvre. At any rate, I shot a unit of warriors off the board with my Vanguard, Onagers and Servitors. I also sniped another Cryptek (who promptly came back to life) and that was my turn. Due to some more lucky card draws I was raking in the victory points, I ended turn two on 7VP.

Sadly for the Cryptek, he wouldn't get the chance.

Rich’s turn two and the c’tan came into play, unfortunately, his powers are basically like super-smites and the closest units were all skitarii. He managed to wipe out a unit of Skitarii rangers and the necron warriors added their fire to kill a few more skitarii from other units. My snipers were reduced to two models but passed their morale check (with a command reroll). Rich had another terrible draw this round but did at least manage to score a point of his own for Overwhelming Firepower.

In turn three I was looking to get a shot with the neutron laser into the c’tan; which would prove decisive if I could get it off. Unfortunately there was a unit of warriors in the way so they would have to be removed. I managed to kill three of them with the Eradication beamer. The servitors hadn't charged their batteries and whiffed big time only felling one. 

The vanguard opened fire along with the infiltrators and managed to bag five leaving just one lonely necron guarding the c’tan. Only one of my snipers could fire this turn (due to having to move the other to maintain coherency) so I lined up the shot (using the Protector Imperatives stratagem for +1 to hit) and promptly missed. With that, I fried the remaining warrior with the neutron laser and the c’tan was left unharmed. I also got a charge off with my ruststalkers into the last unit of warriors and killed a couple. Much to my surprise, they managed to kill a ruststalker in return! So with that, the turn ended.

Haha! What a dork! Oh wait.....

The Necrons were getting a bit thin on the ground, but basically the remaining characters and c'tan all lined up to charge into the ruststalkers. The c’tan fired off its power but pathetically missed on a 1. Then he charged in. The c'tan made it easily but the rest of Necron middle management failed. 

In a show of terrible rolling the dreaded Nightbringer managed only one kill despite hitting on 2+ and wounding on 2+. Basically he got 3 hits, 2 wounds and I made a single 6+ invulnerable save. In return, the ruststalkers managed to put two wounds on the c’tan. The remaining Necron warriors bonked their gun butts against the ruststalkers ineffectually.

In what would prove to be the final turn (my turn four) I tried to line up my guns to target the Necron characters but to little avail. The skitarii vanguard were able to shoot a cryptek though and my snipers accounted for the other one (even though I had already killed both of them once). 

I managed a bunch of charges though, the Sydonian Dragoon into the C’tan and the Electropriests and Infiltrators into the Necron warriors. The Infiltrators and priests managed to kill all but one of the Necrons and then it was time to fight the c’tan. 

The dragoon managed only two wounds despite using conqueror protocols and getting six hits. I did however get a lucky roll with the Ruststalker Princeps' chordclaw dealing two mortal wounds. With that, it was down to the remaining ruststalkers to see if they could chip off the last two wounds. From nine attacks I managed an impressive four wounds (no mortals though). He failed two saves and the mighty Star God was slain. To add insult to injury he didn't even have the decency to explode. With only two models left on the field at this point Rich conceded.

After Battle Thoughts:

So, a fun game which unfortunately led to an early concession. Rich is a great guy and we will undoubtedly have several more games in the future.

Several of my games have gone this way recently and I am at a bit of a loss to explain why. I know my local meta is very casual; but I don't consider myself a competitive player. The list above is pretty much what I would take to any game (although I change it every time so things don't get stale) and I don't think it's super competitive.

I'm also not egotistical enough to think that I'm just a better player than my opponents. It just seems that Adeptus Mechanicus are very powerful in my meta right now. This could definitely be due to playing 1000 point games; I am aware that at a 'low' points level some factions just play better and I think Ad Mech may be one of these.

Anyway, I'd always rather have a game that results in a close loss than an easy win. I don't want to have to shelve my Mechanicus because I love the models and have worked really hard on the army recently. Equally, I don't want to do my opponents the disservice of throwing the game or making bad tactical decisions.

Congratulations if you've made it to the end of this massive ramble, please, leave your thoughts below. What can I do to make the game closer and more enjoyable for my opponents?

Salute 2017!

Well, it's that time of the year once again, Salute is upon us!

For those that don't know, Salute is often called 'the largest wargames expo in Europe'. Personally I have no idea if that's true but I can say for certain that it's huge! Hosted by South London Warlords at the Excel, London, Salute brings together a massive number of traders, gamers and artists for one day of enthusiastic consumerism. This year, the event will be on Saturday 22nd April and opens at 10am sharp.


Last year I attended Salute in support of my FLGS (Marquee Models) so you may have seen me proudly wearing the blue shirt and putting various punters through the hardships of board gaming. This year I'm being very selfish and just heading down for some good old retail therapy! I was delighted by the bargains on offer last year and hopefully I can snag a few more this time around. In particular I'm on the look out for some terrain to spice up my gaming board but I've no doubt an unreasonable pile of miniatures will find their way into my grubby hands as well. Oh, and don't forget, Forgeworld have a stand at Salute so if you need some resiny goodness without paying the postage this is the place to be.


As well as battering my wallet, Salute has a variety of other attractions to look forward to. In particular the painting competition which showcases some truly amazing examples of the miniature painters art. Last year their were also plenty of impressive wargames displays and a host of participation games for various systems. All in all, a great day out for the intrepid wargamer.


Give me a shout in the comments if you're planning on coming down. It would be nice to put faces to some of the names that comment from time to time!

Horus Heresy: Converted Night Lords Legion Centurion

So, I found an old finecast (shudder) Wulfrik the Wanderer in the bargain bucket at my FLGS. After looking over the model for a few minutes, I couldn't resist buying him (only £3!) to convert into a leader for my Night Lords Legion force.

Well worth the asking price I reckon!

As you can see he's absolutely festooned with skulls and bones and other assorted body parts. Just the thing for making him look like a veteran Space Marine who's been carving his way across the galaxy for centuries, spreading terror wherever he goes! In fact, there's so much detail crammed into the model that it made him somewhat difficult to paint. Just knowing where one part began and another ended was a chore in itself.


The conversion is a simple one involving swapping out both weapons for plastic Betrayal at Calth parts (yes, I know a power sword and plasma pistol is a useless combination, but it looks cool, so there!) The head was exchanged for one of those delightful White Scars helmets from Forgeworld.


The only other change was to remove some of the detail from the back and add a random Chaos backpack that I had laying around. (I know this isn't strictly correct for the era but once again, it looks cool, so there!)

Obligatory 'rear of the year' view.

As my only painted HQ choice, he sees more than his fair share of battles (for such a useless miniature with even more useless weapons.) In spite of his many deficiencies, he's often performed surprisingly well on the tabletop. Winning a game by being the only surviving miniature and beating a squad of Space Wolf terminators in close combat are at the top of his accolades.

Ooh, menacing.

It's always nice to be able to make a conversion like this, a relatively simple thing which results in a unique miniature which can be used again and again. As his legacy of tabletop victories (and defeats) grows, I hope to share some of them with you in a fictional format. Until then, Ave Dominus Nox!

Single Miniature Painting Competition

Ok, so this post is long overdue, but hey, sometimes that happens right? Back in December I entered another local painting competition for single miniatures with my Night Lords Assault Sergeant.

They call me Mr. Claws!




I figured I had little hope of winning this one; after all I was up against some stiff competition! With this in mind, I resolved to paint my entry in the most dazzling way possible, thereby blinding all to the actual quality of my painting. A pair of lightning claws painted with a red to yellow fade and a skull faced helmet cut from a Khorne Berserker seemed to fit the bill nicely. With the addition of a giant jump-pack from Anvil Industry he was complete.



Plonking him on the table next to the other models, I was apprehensive yet slightly hopeful. After a short game of capture the flag (with some slightly bizarre additional rules) the judging commenced. I became more and more concerned as the other participants described their entries. As the votes were cast, I was sure I would lose out to the beautiful Salamanders Captain (pictured below). My apprehension was ill founded however as I managed a narrow victory over the competition (only one vote in it!). As my reward (believe me, pride at being crowned the new painting champion was enough) I earned a hideous model of Batman's Joker from sometime in the mid eighties. Well, you can't have it all I guess.



Photos of the other entries below:

Check out the Salamander in the bottom left.

Age of Sigmar and a Shameless Plug

In the midst of all this Dreadtober madness, I thought I'd share a few photos of another project I've been working on. I want to clarify this by saying that these miniatures are at best a collaborative project and at worst just photos of wonderful things created by someone else. Regardless, behold!

The mighty Lord in all his glory - or should that be gory?

Now, I can't take any credit for the paint job on the Mighty Lord, it's all the work of a far more talented hand than mine (Berserkerbro). But I painstakingly built and assembled the model before handing it over, so I feel justified in posting pictures and claiming all the credit. I had slightly more to do with the grim faced fellows below.

My love for you is like a truck, BER SER KER!

My love for you is ticking clock, BER SER KER!

Not only were these guys lovingly crafted by my bare hands, I also applied the Khorne Red basecoat. I know, my skills are amazing.

So, the question on everybody's lips is. Why on Earth are you suddenly messing about with all this Age of Sigmar stuff in the middle of Dreadtober? Sit back, relax and I'll tell you.

It all started when Age of Sigmar was first rumoured to be around the corner. I had a few discussions with Berserkerbro about possibly painting the minis for our FLGS. So I had a chat with Keith (proprietor of said FLGS) and he hummed and hawwed and even sashayed a little and then eventually said yes. 

Marquee Models delivers exceptional customer service - mostly due to the cloning vats.

So, if you're in the area, and you fancy seeing some of the minis in the flesh then come on down. If you ask really nicely, Keith will probably let you play a game with them into the bargain!