Josiah's Escalation Thread

[Josiah]

I played a 25 PL game last Tuesday against @happycamper. He was a good sportsman and a fine general--plus his fiery orange Primaris army is looking terrific.

@happycamper scored a massive lead in points because I stupidly wasted three turns by trying to bring down his Primaris dreadnought, but I finally managed to table my opponent at the top of turn five, so I took home a win for my biker-heavy Marine army.

I hasten to point out that @happycamper forgot to utilize his Salamander chapter tactics until I reminded him at the bottom of turn three. (I told him as soon as I thought of it myself, I swear!) From that point on, @happycamper was able to re-roll hits and wounds for all of his dangerous Primaris units, and that tactic nearly turned the tide of battle. If he had been playing with that ability for the whole game, I would have gotten crushed. I'm not ashamed to say it.

DO NOT SLEEP ON THE SALAMANDERS CHAPTER TACTIC. IT WILL INCINERATE YOUR FACE.

I managed to score a narrow late-game victory by killing my opponent's few remaining Reivers and his Primaris captain. My biker sergeant managed to pull off a charge by driving through a fiery demon gate (see the picture), and it played out like the coolest Evel Knievel stunt ever.

I love 8th Edition 40K, and I love this escalation league. If you've been thinking about trying the new edition with some extremely nice people, you should swing by Western Oregon Wargamers on a Tuesday afternoon and roll some dice.

 

[WestRider]

That Biker is pure win.

[Josiah]

I'm putting together a 38 PL army for the next escalation game on Tuesday. I'm gonna use two non-Primaris Lieutenants for my HQ choices. I love that marines have such a cheap and awesome HQ choice in the new Codex!

Here's the two Lt.'s that I built a few days ago. I'm thinking about running the power fist guy as my Warlord. I'll be playing him as an Iron Hand, so he'll get the 6+ FNP from Chapter Tactics, and I'll be adding the warlord trait that gives him yet another 6+ FNP. (Both saves can be layered! I checked the rules!) I'm thinking about using the Armor Indomitus relic for a better armor save plus a one-shot 3++ Invuln. He's not gonna be nearly as survivable as my usual Bike Captain with Storm Shield, but my Lt. will be two PL cheaper, and in these small-scale games, you've gotta make every point count.

I'm thinking about spending a command point to buy another relic for my second Lt, so I can turn his master-craft boltgun into the Primarch's Wrath for some extra shooty nastiness. (Four rapid fire shots with re-rolls to wound!)

I'll be painting these guys up over the next few days, and we'll soon see how they fare on the table. Looking forward to it.  

[happycamper]

3 hours ago, Josiah said:

I played a 25 PL game last Tuesday against @happycamper. He was a good sportsman and a fine general--plus his fiery orange Primaris army is looking terrific.

@happycamper scored a massive lead in points because I stupidly wasted three turns by trying to bring down his Primaris dreadnought, but I finally managed to table my opponent at the top of turn five, so I took home a win for my biker-heavy Marine army.

I hasten to point out that @happycamper forgot to utilize his Salamander chapter tactics until I reminded him at the bottom of turn three. (I told him as soon as I thought of it myself, I swear!) From that point on, @happycamper was able to re-roll hits and wounds for all of his dangerous Primaris units, and that tactic nearly turned the tide of battle. If he had been playing with that ability for the whole game, I would have gotten crushed. I'm not ashamed to say it.

DO NOT SLEEP ON THE SALAMANDERS CHAPTER TACTIC. IT WILL INCINERATE YOUR FACE.

I managed to score a narrow late-game victory by killing my opponent's few remaining Reivers and his Primaris captain. My biker sergeant managed to pull off a charge by driving through a fiery demon gate (see the picture), and it played out like the coolest Evel Knievel stunt ever.

I love 8th Edition 40K, and I love this escalation league. If you've been thinking about trying the new edition with some extremely nice people, you should swing by Western Oregon Wargamers on a Tuesday afternoon and roll some dice.

 

It was great match sir!!! LOts of fun!

i think if you attacked my troops rather than that marathon of melee with my Dreadnaught it might also have been a different story too, in your favor. That was crazy how long he lasted!!! Lol

Look forward to a rematch!

[Josiah]

I played a bunch of tactical marines in razorbacks this week, and it wasn't the most creative army, but the bonus points from the battalion detachment were freaking sweet.

For next week, I'm hoping we get enough points/PL for me to break out some Vanguard Vets that I've been working on. I bought a bunch of forgeworld assault marines when I was thinking about making some 30K Blood Angels. I shelved that project for a while, and then 8th Edition made jump packs useful, so I decided to repaint these dudes to serve in The Royal Spiders, my West African marine chapter.

I organized the Vanguards in a flying V/delta formation in this photo, and I just realized that the way I equipped these guys is like the "12 Days of Christmas".

1. The Sgt. has lightning claws.

2. Next there are two guys with bolt pistols & power axes.

3. Followed by three guys with chainswords and storm shields.

4. And the back row consists of four vets slinging plasma pistols & chainswords.

 

I did't plan that mathematical progression at all. Weird coincidence. Also, I just realized that I can optimize this unit by giving two of the plasma pistols to the axe-wielders, so I can make two jabronies with only pistols and swords to serve as ablative wounds if I ever need to make a sacrifice play.

Oh well. I am currently feeling lazy, and I also like the mathematical symmetry of this squad, so I'm gonna stay with the current loadout for now. I'll try to build my list around them for next week. Can't wait to see what everyone else is working on!

[Sugarlessllama]

I

On 8/17/2017 at 6:23 PM, Josiah said:

I played a bunch of tactical marines in razorbacks this week, and it wasn't the most creative army, but the bonus points from the battalion detachment were freaking sweet.

For next week, I'm hoping we get enough points/PL for me to break out some Vanguard Vets that I've been working on. I bought a bunch of forgeworld assault marines when I was thinking about making some 30K Blood Angels. I shelved that project for a while, and then 8th Edition made jump packs useful, so I decided to repaint these dudes to serve in The Royal Spiders, my West African marine chapter.

I organized the Vanguards in a flying V/delta formation in this photo, and I just realized that the way I equipped these guys is like the "12 Days of Christmas".

1. The Sgt. has lightning claws.

2. Next there are two guys with bolt pistols & power axes.

3. Followed by three guys with chainswords and storm shields.

4. And the back row consists of four vets slinging plasma pistols & chainswords.

 

I did't plan that mathematical progression at all. Weird coincidence. Also, I just realized that I can optimize this unit by giving two of the plasma pistols to the axe-wielders, so I can make two jabronies with only pistols and swords to serve as ablative wounds if I ever need to make a sacrifice play.

Oh well. I am currently feeling lazy, and I also like the mathematical symmetry of this squad, so I'm gonna stay with the current loadout for now. I'll try to build my list around them for next week. Can't wait to see what everyone else is working on!

I am loving those jump packs. 

[Josiah]

Thank you sir!!!

[Josiah]

They're just a *tiny* bit like the packs worn by those Warp Talon guys that you know and love.

[Josiah]

My favorite tank in the spehss muhreen arsenal is the Vindicator. I affectionately call them 'War Pigs' because of the the wide, chunky profile; the blunt, snout-like cannon; and of course, my fondness for Black Sabbath.

Back in 7th, the Demolisher cannon was justly feared by infantry because of its large template with S10/AP1 damage potential. But the Demolisher could also pinch-hit as a decent source of anti-tank because that AP/damage profile was so freaking good. One of my fondest 7th edition memories is taking down a dual-gatling Chaos Knight with my Linebreaker formation of three little War Pigs.

I've yet to play with Vindicators in 8th because our PL/points have been so low in the league, but I think that's gonna change very soon. The new Astartes Codex gave Vindicators a healthy price drop, and the new Linebreaker stratagem seems like it could be devastating if you time it correctly and if the dice gods smile upon you.

One last thing: I am terrible at hazard stripes, but I finally hit on a cool way to make those dozer shields look cool. I slopped tons of Typhus Corrosion over the whole thing, and after it dried, I dry-brushed Leadbelcher on top of it. I love the gnarly, rugged look of it, and I imagine those shields are at least 5,000 year old relics by this point in the 40K timeline.