Warhammer 40k Firebase Issue 02_r)

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Another Action PAcked issue!

2 titaniC battle RepoRts!

BAck for more And Better thAn ever

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taCtiCs

ConveRsions

painting tutoRials

gaming ResouRCes

Zombie suRvival

Firebase EditorialMerry Christmas you little ho ho ho!

Tis the season to be jolly and filled with righteous cleansing zeal! What a line up FIREBASE has for you this Yule tide. However, just because were focusing on the Emperors favourite lap dogs, the Imperial Space Marines, doesnt mean there isnt plenty of festive cheer for everyone.

Santas Christmas zombies are rife in the Necromunda underhive, munching merrily on the flesh of the living through Boxing Day and into the New Year. Jon Boyces zoat army emerges from the warp like a long lost relative. The genestealer swarm delivers a festive, yet deadly, lick to the Deathwing space marines under the mistletoe and weve got more action packed orkiness from Ugluk in Chronicles of an ork.

Whats that big number you ask?

That is the amount of people that downloaded FIREBASE issue #1 within the first month of its release. The response has been overwhelming and we thank you for all your continued support in our very ambitious project.

Until next time, enjoy and I hope Santa brings you lots of little plastic men!

- ADAM SMITH

December 2006 ISSUE 02

www.warseer.com/firebasemag

Staff listing:

The Head Monkey: Adam Smith

PR Monkey: Brandon Valee

Assistant Monkey: Ashley Curtis

Subbing Gibbon: Brandon Murray

Specialist Monkey: Simon Fisher

Design Monkey: Steve Gagne

Art Monkeys: Leigh Kade, Donald Carr, Johnathan Ho, Johnathan Ostavia, Logan Lee, Charles Walton

Writing Chimps: Leigh Kade, Michael Rudder, Johan Westlund, Adam Smith, Troy Stuart, Luke Bardwell, Luke Houston, Johan Hansson, Jonathan Ho, Ashley Curtis, Jon Boyce, James Le Grys, Leigh Kade

FIREBASE is published every three months in association with Warseer.com. All text and layout remains the copyright of FIREBASE. FIREBASE is a fully independent publication and its views are not the views of any company mentioned herein. All characters and artwork shown in this magazine remain the and trademark of their respective owners. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express permission of the Editor or Deputy Editor. FIREBASE can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies or complaints arising from editorial or advertising within this magazine. All letters and emails received will be considered for publication, but we cannot always provide personal replies.

This fanzine is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited. FIREBASE is a non-profit making fanzine with the aim of promoting Games Workshop games, products and hobby.

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ContentsEditorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

How.Do.You.Carry.Yours?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Tricks.and.Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Getting.into.the.Deathwing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

One.Army,.One.Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Always.Outnumbered,.Never.Outgunned . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Cleanse.The.Xenos.Filth! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

How.to.Paint.Your.Deathwing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

A.Stinkin.Grot.of.a.Squigherder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Get.Your.Motor.Running. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Painting.For.a.Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Flame.On!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

The.Return.of.Hive.Fleet.Colossus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Hive.of.the.Living.Dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Lets..Get.the.Truck.Outta.Here!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

For.A.Few.Zombies.More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Firebase issue 2 December 2006

testimonial

How Do You CarrY Yours?It could be argued that the three biggest steps in starting 40k or any game system for that matter is choosing your army and army list, then the colour scheme, the fourth step you ask? How to transport your army from game to game without it being mashed to a pulp of course!

From customised shoeboxes to the case thats built like an elephant and all those in between, theres a carry case to suit every gamer. Cases vary from a fairly cheap, homemade solution to the expensive, luxury case whose only limitation is not being able to play the game for you.

To present a small cross section of how gamers transport their lovingly painted minis I asked the FIREBASE staff how you do carry yours?

Mike GlaesarI used to carry my figures in a

standard GW case. I never really had any problems with it as it could comfortably carry all my marines and rhinos without the threat of damage. As time went on, I started playing other armies that had different packing needs. The GW case that served me so well before couldnt handle all the extra models and vehicles. So now I own 2 Sabol transport figure cases. These things are kinda on the expensive side, but in my opinion, well worth it.

The foam trays on the inside give you TOTAL customizability. Large models? Put them in the tank trays. Tall models? Flip a tray over to add an extra inch of height . The Sabol transports also have extra pockets for rulebooks, dice, rulers, drinks etc...and it has a shoulder strap meaning two free hands to carry...the rest of the army in shoeboxes...sigh.

After attending several GTs, Ive realized that constantly packing and unpacking models between games gets very annoying. Therefore, inspired by a Black Gobbo article, I built my own magnetic army carrying tray. This tray fits my entire 1850 point daemonhunters army. Thats 6 rhinos, a landraider, HQ and 60 troops! Since its magnetic, I can hold the tray sideways and use my free hand to carry something else .

ashley CurtisHaving recently sold off my old

GW cases I found myself trying to move miniatures and my modelling equipment back to uni with great difficulty!, I found these reinforced metal cases in Lidl for 8.99 and


they are an absolute bargain with plenty of space for foam trays, brushes & models of course, I just need to go out and buy more!

adaM sMith The Limited

Edition Games Workshop Case

Ive had a lot of joy from this case. No broken or chipped models and best of all, its very comfortable for long distances .

The most i m p o r t a n t feature of this case is not the stunning aquila on the front or the little clear plastic slot on top where you can put your name and address or in my case favourite army badge. It is in fact, that this is not entirely a Games Workshop case .

The first give away? Well, its not a large plastic brick. The second is the quality of foam. These limited edition cases were produced for Games Workshop by Figures in Comfort.

Now, while Figures in Comfort tend to charge a little more for their cases, every penny spent goes towards quality. You get denser and softer grey foam and you can choose from a variety of trays.

As these were produced on a limited run, youre probably wondering how I got my grubby mitts on one. I waltzed into my local hobby store and they had one that had been gathering dust for the past few years. I soon found out why when it had a 60 price tag attached. After some haggling, I got the guy down to 40.

It was only when I got it home, I realised that the right hand side had 4 standard 4 X 9 infantry trays, while the other side had been filled with unusable odd chunks of foam.

After an order with Figures in Comfort (bless their cotton socks!) I have an awesome case that can hold up to 8 tiers of 36 men . Thats 288 men!

Best of all, there is a sturdy dividing wall through the centre of the case, making it ideal to take to tournaments. Army goes in one side, while clothes and wash bag go in the other. Perfect!

NatsuMi kojiMotoI use a general plastic GW

carry case to transport my army around from game to game, If I need to transport bulkier models such as tanks I make my own cases for them using cardboard & foam from blister packs to save cutting the slots in my carry case up as cases can be quite expensive

6 Firebase issue 2 December 2006

The case itself can carry a fair amount or infantry models as it has 4 foam tray inserts meaning I can carry around enough models within it to play games of most point values

su M M a ryIts worth forking out that bit of extra cash to transport your army

comfortably for the convenience of not having to touch up chipped paint, or reattach broken limbs. Manufacturers are constantly producing bigger and better cases with all manner of easy comfort features like shoulder straps, leather handles and thicker spongy foam. Take care of your army and Im sure theyll take care of your opponents for you with some improved dice rolling luck.

- Rob Holland


tactica

TriCks anD TraiTsThe full benefits and drawbacks of the space marine trait system. Is it wise to follow the teachings of the codex, or tread the path of a fetid deviant?

Well, the new Space Marine Codex has been out for some time now, with plenty of time spent playing with the new rules. Loopholes have been found and fixed, new tactics created and old ones reviewed.

One of the most discussed aspects of the new Codex, however, is the Trait system. After some discussion with fellow marine players on the Bolter & Chainsword forum (Nice plug, I hardly noticed -Ed), we have put together a small list of the pros and cons of some of the more popular traits .

CleaNse aNd PurifyIf I had to pick the most popular of the new traits, this would

be it. Allowing tactical squads to replace their heavy weapon for a second special weapon is an ability that many marine players have been quick to take advantage of, myself included! The extra plasma gun, melta gun or flamer in a squad allows it to keep moving and still put out a respectable amount of firepower. The downside of this is the lack of long-range infantry firepower, which means armies with this trait often must take several tanks, dreadnoughts and land speeders to deal with enemy armour. In addition, it is almost a prerequisite that these squads have some form of transport, to get them nice and close to the enemy .

A good combination with Trust Your Battle Brothers, Cleanse And Purify is an exceptionally useful trait.

trust your Battle BrothersOften taken in tandem with Cleanse and Purify, this trait

makes your marine squads far nastier in close combat without impacting on their shooting ability. Giving each marine two attacks instead of one makes assaulting a full-size squad a daunting prospect for anything but dedicated assault units, and removes the reliance on getting the charge to win combats. As no extra attacks are received from assaulting, marine squads with this trait are often better off rapid-firing their bolters which is more likely to cause damage to enemy units anyway. Apart from the True Grit ability, this trait also confers the Counter-Attack ability, which simply makes large tactical squads a very dangerous thing to assault .

No MerCy, No resPiteTired of your specialist assault troops getting their butts kicked?

Dont want to be caught up in protracted close combats? This may be the trait for you .

For +3 points per model, this trait gives your assault of tactical marines a +1 bonus to initiative and strength on the turn that they charge. I will discuss the two units separately.

Assault troops benefit most from this trait as they are most likely able to get the charge on the enemy, enabling them to get the bonus . Marine assault troops generally struggle to eliminate tougher units, like other space marines, in a reasonable timeframe, so having the extra strength combined with the initiative bonus enables you to deliver a crippling blow in the first round of close combat. Of course if you charge into cover the initiative bonus is useless, but wounding a marine or equivalent on a 3+ can be worth its weight in adamantine. Combine this squad with a chaplain, and we are talking about some serious hurt being dished out here.

Tactical squads can also be given this butt kicking trait. Unfortunately tactical marines are less likely to get the charge in, thus making good use of the trait difficult. The best combination with this trait would see an army using Take the Fight to Them (pistol and CCW for each tactical marine) and a land raider crusader for delivery. Alternately you could equip a squad for counter-charge


duties. Probably not worth the points, but if you can make it work for you go for it!

see But doNt Be seeNSee But Dont Be Seen gives you the ability to give Infiltrate to

your tactical and devastator squads at the cost of +3 points per model. The obvious utility of this is getting your units closer to your opponents lines. In most standard missions, this will let your units start 18 away from your opponents units, perhaps as close as 12 depending upon terrain, and how your opponent deploys.

Another utility to See But Dont Be Seen is that you get to set up your units after your opponent is mostly (or entirely) set up. It lets you hold back your devastator squads until the infiltration part of deployment, so when you do position them they have the

most opportune fields of fire. Its very easy to design an entire army where absolutely nothing goes on the table during standard deployment . Not only does this force your opponent to deploy blind and give you a huge advantage, but it often rattles opponents as well. It should be noted that if an opponent has a few infiltrating units, he can seriously constrain your army deployment if he gets to set up infiltrators before you do.

If you do the all-infiltrating, all-the-time schtick, every once in a while youll play a game where your opponent doesnt set anything up either. He might be playing a drop pod army, or he might have a heavily mechanised force in an omega-level mission. If thats the case, you pretty much have the run of the board and can deploy units anywhere on the table that you like. This is amusing when it happens .


A secondary ability granted by See But Dont Be Seen is that you can give Acute Senses to your units with infiltrate for +1 point per model, but this is almost always wasted points. Its only worth taking if youre making an army list for a special scenario where the whole game will be played according to night fighting rules, not for the odd chance that you might have one turn of night fighting every once in a while.

The upside to See But Dont Be Seen is that its considerably cheaper than rhinos: 30 points to give it to a 10-man squad as opposed to 50+ points for a rhino. The obvious downside is that you dont get infiltrate in alpha-level missions.

Complimentary Advantages: Cleanse and Purify, Trust Your Battle Brothers

heed the WisdoM of the aNCieNtsWell, the one good thing about the recent errata that Games

Workshop have put out is that it confirmed the 6 dreadnought army as a legal army list. Personally, I dont see why this was a big cause for debate . Dreadnoughts are fun, but in order to have 6 of them in a single army you either have to skimp on virtually everything else, or be play a pretty big game . I suppose one of the rationales for taking dreadnoughts as heavy support choices instead of tanks is that dreads can fight in close combat. However, I think this is as much a disadvantage as it is an advantage. Dreads have a WS rating, so they can be locked in close combat. Tanks do not, so while they can be assaulted, they can just drive away (assuming theyre mobile).

In my opinion, the real utility of Heed the Wisdom of the

Ancients is to a drop pod army. If you want everything in your army to be delivered via drop pod, then the only way you can get a heavy support choice that can fire heavy weapons the turn it lands is by taking this advantage and using dreads for heavy support. Mind you, this is no small utility. Delivering dreadnoughts into the heart of enemy formations via drop pod is huge fun. Having dreads suddenly appear and hose their units with assault cannons and heavy flamers (an upgrade I favour) is hugely distracting to most opponents, both due to the initial damage they do and the menace of having those dreads rampage around the following turn. When I use dreads in this fashion, they dont often make their points back, but the amount of disruption they cause to my opponents game plans usually more than makes up for it.

Complimentary Advantages: If you just want a lot of dreads in a standard army: none, really. If you want to play a drop pod army, then anything that would be advantageous to such an army, most notably Cleanse and Purify or Trust Your Battle Brothers.

Blessed Be the WarriorsThis trait allows assault squads to take up elite slots, provided

they take the furious charge veteran skill. These squads automatically become hard-hitting assault units and rightly feared, especially when joined by a character like a reclusiarch chaplain .

On the charge, they put out a solid number of attacks at a great strength and initiative, boosted by furious charge. This will easily see off most normal infantry and even some heavy hitters. Their increased cost can be a liability, but it is often worth it. They dont deploy last either, being elites, but hiding them behind cover works fine.

Its also a very characterful trait, depending on your chapters background.

hoNour your WarGear

Honour your Wargear allows you to take devastator squads as elites, provided you spend 3 points per model on the tank hunter or infiltrate, a flexibility that the other traits lack. Both of these


skills can be useful if played correctly, tank hunter giving a +1 to armour penetration rolls means that heavy bolters can now harm armour 12 and missile launchers have a chance to penetrate a land raider .

Infiltrate will let you set up your unit last and in some cases outside of your deployment zone, allowing you to look for better positions that have better lines of fire for your weapons.

While setting up last may sound beneficial to most, the tank hunter trait is usually better as when the squad is set-up with elites, it has already seen where most of its targets will be, and infiltration isnt always used or beneficial to the unit unless theyre all carrying multi-meltas and plan to get in close .

The drawbacks for this trait would be the extra cost obviously, along with the fact that you now have fewer slots open for your normal elites choices .

Purity aBove all & uPhold the hoNour of the eMPeror

Purity above all allows you to upgrade a veteran sergeant to an apothecary. Uphold the honour of the Emperor gives all tactical and veteran squads a 6+ invulnerable against shooting . The combo here is to always be able to shrug of a wound caused by an armour negating weapon.

Say that your opponent has a squad of Eldar dark reapers (with ap3 reaper launchers) that are constantly pounding your infantry squads and wiping out 2 to 3 marines a turn. Normally you would receive no saving throw,

but as Uphold the honour of the Emperor gives you a 6+ save, you can ignore one wound using the apothecarys ability each turn .

With clever positioning you can keep several squad fairly close together allowing them to share the auto negate failed save rule .

Well, thats just a taste of the trait system, and what it can do for you! May your bolt shells cleanse the impure, and your chainsword rend the flesh from Xenos filth!

- Michael Rudder

11Firebase issue 2 December 2006

army feature

GETTinG inTo THE DEaTHwinGA person can be attracted to an army for many different reasons. Their background, their models or their rules are quite common.

The reason for me to start a Deathwing army is, I would think, a bit more unusual. Banners. I started playing Deathwing in order to paint banners. Or at least, that was one of the main reasons. I was just finishing a Chaos marine army that I had been painting for the past two years and as always when the end of a project is within sight you start to look ahead for new ideas. The Chaos army featured quite a lot of freehand and I came to two conclusions:

1. I liked to paint freehand. 2. I was quite good at it.

With this in mind I decided that the next army needed to give me lots of opportunities to do freehand work. And of all the armies in 40K, one had by far the coolest imagery the Dark Angels. Ever since I saw the cover of the Rogue Trader era Vehicle Manual, which featured an extremely cool Dark Angels banner, I have been in love with their dark, gothic banners depicting hooded angels . A normal Dark Angels army could include some banners and paintings on rhino doors, but most sergeants banners would be too small to

do anything more advanced. With the Deathwing, every sergeant could carry a huge banner . I started painting concept sketches of possible banners and came up with a few ideas, but not enough for an entire army. Since I wanted each banner to be unique I put the project on hold for a while thinking of more ideas. After a few weeks I had around five good ideas and a few okay ones. The project could become a reality and I started thinking more about some practical concerns, such as what to include in the army and how to make the terminators stand out from each other.

GamesWorkshop solved the second problem for me by releasing the long rumour plastic terminators. A Deathwing army was suddenly a realistic possibility! I started thinking about lists and borrowed terminators from my friends in order to test the list . Although I consider myself more of a painter then a gamer, I would soon grow tired of playing an army that could not win. I didnt need an army that could win tournaments, but I needed an army that was playable.

The first trial games went alright and I started the army . The first problem I came across was the design c h a n g e s with the new


terminators . I loved that they were in plastic and larger then the old ones but I really liked the look of the 2nd edition ones a lot more. But it was nothing that a few conversions couldnt solve!

The biggest change was to raise the s h o u l d e r s . GamesWorkshop had listened to the people that complained that no human could

ever fit inside a suit of terminator armour since the shoulders were more or less parallel to the head . I realise that this is true and that the new design is much more realistic but the old one is so much cooler and make the terminators look much more menacing. Another change was to remove the new, huge targeter and replace it with a smaller one. I also did some minor changes to most weapons to make them look more like the old versions. And when the new assault terminators released I realised that it would take a lot more then minor changes to get them the way I wanted.

While the thunder hammers and storm shields looked awesome, the lightning claws were a big disappointment. They are supposed to have huge power blades mounted on top of the knuckles, not look like power fists with spiky knuckle dusters. The lightning claw conversions required a lot of work, but in the end I was very pleased with them. One of the major advantages with a Deathwing army is that you can put a lot of work into even your basic troops and still finish the army quite quickly.

After playing with the army for a while I was quite surprised about how well it worked. In the beginning I didnt fare so well but the more I played, the more I learned how to play them. And they are now my most successful army ever in tournaments. One thing that needs to be remembered is that the tournament climate in Sweden where I live is a lot different from USA or the UK. Army composition plays a large part and people tend to use a lot less competitive lists than in many other parts of the world. I was still surprised about how well they played and they were fun too. Combined with the fact that the army is easy to transport, most games tend to go quite fast (which is a good thing if you are a slow player like me) and the Deathwing are quite uncommon, which


has made all the tournaments Ive played with the army very enjoyable. Since you can really spend time painting each model, the army receives a lot of positive comments, which is always nice

- Johan Westlund


hobby

onE armY, onE DaYWhen umpteen Genestealers arrived in the post, my first thought was how dull it would be to paint 60 near identical models, all in the same pose and colourscheme.

I had the idea of making an all-Genestealer army as a great compliment to my Deathwing army. Itd certainly make for some fun and interesting games. The only problem is painting it while all my time is occupied at work, or in the running of this lovely magazine you are reading .

I gave Blue Table Painting a call. They were incredibly helpful and friendly, but I had never imagined the cost of shipping the army from England to America, getting it painted and then shipping it back, insured all the way. So that was out and there was no big painting service in the UK.

If only I could clone myself a few times, the whole army could be finished and ready to play in a day, leaving me time to paint more important things. That was when I had a great idea -I could get my friends to do it! The only downside is that theyre cold, hard, mercenaries and it would have to be a big CA$H bribe.

My job in corporate events taught me the value of bespoke incentive rewards. To put it simply, this involves doing something nice for someone . Instead of giving my friends a wad of


cash and sending them on their way, I promised to take them out to the finest curry house in all the land, The Royal Bengal.

hoW it Wor k sNo one was going to sit and flock models, then undercoat

them, wait for them to dry and start painting. Beside its too time consuming. Everything had to be ready for my friends to sit down and get on with painting. I spent the previous weekend assembling, flocking and undercoating the entire army so that theyd be black and dry for the big painting day . I set up the painting area and supplied everyone with a water pot, a good quality paint brush and paints .

So that everyone didnt end up painting whole models each, resulting in a very varied looking army, I came up with a

factory line process. Certain jobs were allocated according to each persons painting ability and skills. Simon is good at drybrushing, while Luke is good at base coating and James enjoys highlighting.

So that it wasnt all work and no play, I supplied a crate of beer (renowned for improving painting ability!) and lunch.

The army was complete and ready to tear apart some space marine terminators. Six broods of ten Genestealers, including a Brood Lord with a ten-man retinue and two old baby Genestealers as wound markers. Ah, the great old miniatures you can find on eBay!

I then took everyone to The Royal Bengal for a damn tasty curry .

Overall the painting day worked really well. It goes to show that with a little planning and tailoring to your audience you can get a brilliant result and save hundreds of pounds in the process .

Now to take the Genestealers out and infect some of the Emperors finest!

- Adam Smith


tactica

AlwAys Outnumbered, never OutgunnedSo you want to play Deathwing? Welcome to the hallowed halls of the inner circle my brothers! This army is not for the faint of heart.

Most of the time you will be heavily outnumbered. The Deathwing are a scalpel army, by that I mean they have to be used with precision, you cant afford to make mistakes. If this still sounds like the army for you then please read on and learn the secrets of using the all Infantry Deathwing army effectively.

PlayiNG aN all -iNfaNtry deathWiNG arMy First of all Id just like to clarify that I always use infantry so none

of this will have anything to do with vehicles. Now youre probably wondering why I love the Deathwing infantry army. I find the all infantry DW army is a very scary prospect for any opponent, in the hands of a good player the DW can be indestructible . There is nothing funnier then the look on my opponents face when I deploy 26 terminators at 1500pts split into 4 squads of 5 and one of 6 due to my HQ joining them. Since the new assault cannon rules came out I now run 6 assault cannons and 4 cyclones in my list. Having so many terminators on the board is a psychological advantage, because any opponent who has never faced Deathwing wont have a clue how to beat them .

th e Ba siC sThere are two areas you need to concentrate on. The first is your

all-important HQ. Now these days a lot of players are going for the high-powered librarians. Personally I think the point expenditure is ridiculous in an already expensive army. I always take an interrogator chaplain. I like him because he is slightly cheaper and he comes equipped with a power weapon, a 4+ invulnerable save. The simple reason I would choose him over a Grand Master or Librarian is because of the invulnerable save and the fact that the model rocks. All you have to do is equip him with a stormbolter and hes good to go. Which brings me onto the backbone of the Infantry Deathwing army.

ter M i Nator sAh, the humble terminator! The most elevated and decorated

marines in the DA army and indeed any army. Terminators rock! Deathwing terminators are even cooler, but then I am biased. Ok there are two types of terminators. First of all Ill cover the only type terminators Ive ever used.

Tactical Terminators are the ones with the guns. Their standard kit is a stormbolter and powerfist. The stormbolter has a 24 range with the stats of a bolter but is an assault 2 weapon. By moving and

firing, termiantors can have a greater basic weapon range then most units in the game .

Powerfirsts are both a blessing and a curse. Striking at S8 and ignoring saves is awesome without question. However, they also strike last, which can be really


frustrating . I prefer to shoot the enemy rather than engage them in combat, but well come back to that later.

Tactical terminators have access to two very nice heavy weapons. The assault cannon and the cyclone missile launcher . At the start of this little tactica I outlined my list and I told you I take 6 assault cannons and 4 cyclones . The reason for this is the assault cannon is extremely good at mowing down just about anything at S6 and firing as far as a stormbolter. With the new rending rules you have one deadly weapon! best of all Tactical Terminators have access to two of these puppies. I take 6 of these so that I have a lot of powerful medium range firepower to augment my stormbolters, so I can mow down lots of infantry and take on enemy armour.

Now on to the cyclone. Youre probably wondering why would anyone take cyclones if the assault cannon is so cool,? The cyclone is basically your standard missile launcher but looks cooler. The reason I take 4 is because with all that short range firepower we need some ranged firepower to kill tanks at long range. Im

thinking of going with an even mix of cyclones to assault cannons. The cyclone is good because it not only kraks armour, but it can frag infantry too. With the benefits of the new skills the cyclone can become even more deadly with the tank hunter ability.

a s sau lt ter M i Nator sIve never bothered with these guys. The reason I havent is

because they really dont work well in a force that is designed to blow the enemy apart with mid-ranged firepower.

While its nice to think about a land raider crusader delivering a huge lightning claw armed assault squad into combat, led by a chaplain (with lightning claws) who augments the squad with his Litanies of Hate ability so that they can re-roll to hit and re-roll to wound due to their lightning claws, this comes to over 650 points! Besides, the land raider is bound to get blown to hell on the way in,

making over a third of your army uneffective. My advice is not to bother with them. Theyre too much of a liability .

dePloy M e N tThe most important part of the game really,

sometimes I have been able to tell who was going to win by their deployment alone. Deployment will always vary, but my general way of deploying is to either spread my terminators out as much as possible across my deployment zone with a cyclone squad on each flank. Then I spread the other units out between the two flanking units, creating an effective net of support as I advance. The other way I deploy is what I call the weighted flank. I deploy 3 squads on one flank and 2 on the other to effectively split my opponents army to come after me . By splitting the opponents army and making them go after two flanks instead of one line, I dont face anywhere near as much firepower.


It also wrong foots the opponents you face, because most people deploy in a standard line formation and sit and wait. It comes as a shock when agressively played terminators are advancing, firing and making tactical withdrawals just to do the same thing next turn. Truth be told, most people have no idea how to handle a well played DW force the first time around.

I see each of my units as an independent . What I mean by that is they can work very effectively on their own. They have a phenomenal capacity for firepower what with assault cannons, cyclones and stormbolters. They have the best basic weapon in the game with the stormbolter, the assault cannon is plain nasty and devastating if you pick your targets properly. The cyclone is great, better with tankhunter, so you dont require a 6 to crack land raiders though. All of this means squat however if you dont deploy well.

its Not CoWa r diC e! its a taC t iC a l Wit hdr aWa l

My opponents have started calling me a coward because i refuse to engage. I will move my terminators forward to get juicy shots

but when the enemy is getting close enough to assault me in the next turn, I fall back and shoot the hell out of him. Its extremely affective against hordes (which when playing DW is every army). Lets face it, tactical terminators were not designed for combat.

sof t e N th e M uPThe best piece of tactical advice I can give is to always soften up

the enemy before charging . I dont care if they are Eldar guardians or Genestealers (although if you charge stealers youre dead meat!).

While shooting and disengaging is effective, you still need to enter combat every now and then. Whether its to hold a unit in place, block line of sight, or just stop them from being targeted by shooting, you will need to engage. Against something like a dreadnought or a carnifex, powerfists will make short work of them .


r e M e MBer t er M i Nator s a r e Not i N de st ruC t iBl e

You have no room for error due to the fact that the army is so small. Losing just one terminator weakens your whole army not just the unit. That 2+ save is all well and good until someone points an AP2 weapon like a plasma gun at you. Then you can kiss your terminator goodbye. That 5+ invulnerable save isnt particularly effective and I wouldnt rely on it unless youve got some serious luck on your side.

use Cov erTerminators need to use cover even more so then other armies.

In the open youll get shot to pieces, mostly by small arms fire in large quantities. Use cover to block line of sight as much as possible, wherever possible.

ta rGet t i NG Pr ior it yBefore the game starts decide your

targeting priority and stick to it. Leman Russ Demolishers and anything else with a large AP2 blast is first on your list to kill at all costs. A single hit could annihilate an entire squad and with just 5 squads to play with, it could be all over by turn 1. Next up, its the usual array of lascannons and plasma guns to watch out for .

Against horde armies like Orks and Nids that dont sport any AP2 weaponry, its up to you to keep firing every turn to maximise your potential kills. Kill the fast stuff first to stay out of combat, because once one unit has held your terminator

up, the rest of the horde will pile in very quickly and swarm you with bodies. Often taking out transports is highest on the anti-Ork agenda. Force those greenskins to walk towards you while you back up and fire.

de ePst r ik i NG t h e Qu iCk de at hDeepstrike is always an interesting topic. When youre facing

tau, deep striking in their faces is the way to go. I have to sat that, after losing 4 units in one turn from deepstriking and getting shot to bits, its just not worth it. Deepstriking against Tyranids whether in front of the army or behind it is suicide. Id really strongly advise against drop pods or deepstrike but thats just me. The problem is that the Deathwing army needs to focus its firepower to be effective. However, with your army dropping in piecemeal, you will produce very minimal damage, which means greater return fire and more casualties. The best deepstriking I have ever seen was a librarian with command squad who drop podded into the middle of a Tau army and cast Fear of the Darkness sending half the Tau army fleeing off the board, but I can see this tactica getting repetitive and certainly proving useless against space marines, Tyranids, Orks and anything else with good leadership.

Well I hope my long rambling diatribe has given you some idea of what its like to use an all infantry Deathwing force

A Deathwing army is a great way to become a better player . While the army oozes character, it is very punishing. Just one mistake and its all over, but when you do play that perfect game and win, the rewards are fantastic. Best of all, Deathwing are the cheapest army to buy in 40K . So if you need a break from your main army and fancy a breath of freshair, the Deathwing are ideal .

- Troy Stuart


battle report

ClEansE THE XEnos FilTH!After painting more genestealers than anyone should in a single day, we felt it was time to take them out for a spin and who better to face them than their old foes the Dark Angels Deathwing space marines!

+++ Transmission from Colonel John Derringer, 125th ScumDogs Regiment to nearby Imperial Guard Garrisons +++

Sector 7 vicinity has been sanitised of Tyranid bio constructs by aerial bombardments. However, recon reports a high genestealer infection in the surviving populace. Lacking the resources to neutralise the thread, recon has placed a sentry gun to prevent infected citizens from approaching our flank. Resource assistance or further bombardment required .

+++ Responding transmission from The Rock, Dark Angels Fortress Monastery +++

Cleansing forces have been dispatched.

Remain vigilant.

For the Lion and the Emperor.

Ge N e st e a l er a r M y se l eC t ioNLuke: With an army consisting of nothing but genestealers I

knew Id have to make the most of what strengths Ive got over the Deathwing. That boys and girls is numbers. Keep it cheap and run

forward screaming is the plan. None of this fancy scuttling or carapace armour extensions malarkey. My points are going into as many genestealers as my grubby mitts can muster . Its a good thing that were only playing 1,000pts or wed have run out of genestealers from the studio collection. My army looked great until I was reminded that I had to take an HQ choice to lead the army, namely that fat bloated waste of space Brood Lord. Hed be pretty good if he could fleet of claw with the rest of his mates, but he cant. Hes old and hes had one too many hip operations, but worst of all, he holds up a compulsory genestealer retinue with his slow fat arse. Enough rambling, the biggest issue is that hes pushed me over the limit by 70pts. Adam said that this wasnt a problem so long as he could have a sentry gun with an assault cannon as the main objective. I agreed and away we went. Now to rush forward and hope his guns dont thin out my army too much .

1,000pts Genestealer Swarm

Genestealer Patriarch Big Daddy (Brood Lord) with 10 Genestealer retinue

10 Genestealers

10 Genestealers

10 Genestealers

10 Genestealers


de at h W i NG a r M y se l eC t ioNAdam: Normally when I field my Deathwing force its at

1,500pts, complete with tank and dreadnought support, but this time I couldnt have any of those nice things. It was time to skimp on the points and try to field as many men as possible, which still isnt much. Basically, I dropped 2 dreadnoughts and a land raider from my usual list and took the remaining 1,000pts. I was a point or two over, but considering that Luke wanted a few more points for a Patriarch and I wanted a sentry gun to generate a few more kills, this was quickly agreed and wasnt a problem. With just 3 squads in my army I felt horribly vulnerable. Granted, I could have taken a land raider and I could have taken a close combat dreadnought, but these would have totally unbalanced the game due to genestealers being weak against vehicles. Looking at my army list, youre probably wondering why I havent gone crazy with assault cannons? The simple answer is that I normally field a well

rounded army to face all comers and for once this has left me quite vulnerable. But lets see what those cyclones can do. Im sure a few well placed frag blast templates will prove their worth.

ta k e a N d hol dWe chose to play a basic take and hold mission centred on

the sentry gun in the middle of the village. The sentry gun has a computer targeting system with BS2 and an assault cannon. The sentry gun has an armour value of 10 all round and is destroyed if it suffers a single glancing or penetrating hit .

alPha level The only thing that matters in this game is having the most

scoring units within 12 of the objective when the game ends.

set uPLuke spread his genestealer swarm out across his table edge,

hiding behind buildings, rocks and the refinery. Meanwhile, Adam set up the Deathwing clumped together in the centre of his deployment zone, ready to lay down some withering firepower. Its going to be a messy one!

1,000pts Deathwing Cleansing Team

Codicier Librarian Corvin with Fury of the Ancient psychic powers, terminator armour, and stubborn

4 man Terminator Command Squad with 2 cyclone missile launchers

6 Terminators with 1 assault cannon and 1 cyclone missile launcher

6 Terminators with 1 assault cannon and 1 cyclone missile launcher


turN 1Adam won the roll to go first, but after looking at the board,

decides that its better to wait and let the genestealers come to him with more targets in range for his first turn. Also, if he gets the last turn of the game, he can rush the objective and clear away any opposing units without fear of being charged.

Run you gribblies, run! Luke yells as his genestealer swarm sprints forward. One brood take cover behind a large rock to the left of the sentry gun while the rest of the swarm runs out from

their hiding places onto the open battlefield, followed by the waddling Patriarch.

The Deathwing hold their ground. Kill them. Kill them all.

Librarian, Codicier Corvin casts fury of the ancients across to the right, cutting through three

genestealer broods. Two genestealers burst into blue flames and died .

The combined fire from all three Deathwing squads tear apart the genestealer brood to the far right in multiple sprays of green liquid while the sentry gun cuts down a single genestealer from the nearest brood .

tur N 2The genestealers

dash forward screeching loudly . The brood in the centre leaps on the sentry gun, tearing it apart with their teeth and claws. Meanwhile the brood by the refinery move forward to take the place of their brothers that were hideously gunned down last turn .

The Deathwing fall back to form a defensive block, much to Lukes disgust .

Cheese! Beardy cheese!

The librarian casts fury of the ancients into the brood huddled around the mangled wreckage of what was once a proud imperial sentry gun. The psychic force kills a single genestealer in a fiery display of gore while the rest of the command squad and one of the terminator squads annihilate the rest of the brood with frag missiles and bolter shells. Meanwhile, the second terminator squad wipes out the brood on the far right with a volley of highly accurate bolter and assault cannon fire.


It looks as though its all over for the genestealers and the Deathwing gun them down one brood at a time. Lukes looking very worried and Adams looking rather bored at this point .

tur N 3Luke carelessly

runs his swarm forward, having lost all hope of standing a chance in this game. Then he realises that one of his broods is in charge range .

The genestealers on the right run towards the flank of the terminators while the brood to the left sprints forwards at full speed and leaps up the hill into close combat with the second terminator command squad .

As the genestealers have a massive initiative of 6, they get to go first with a total of 14 attacks. To Adams horror, Luke rolls

six rending hits, cutting down the elite Deathwing terminators in a sea of shrieking alien faces and sharp serrated claws. The crazed genestealers then sweep round, slamming into the side of the Deathwing command squad led by the librarian .

The Patriarch and his retinue are so far away

and so slow that they pose no threat .

The Deathwing terminator squad to the right moves away from the command squad to open fire on the approaching genestealer brood to the right, wiping several of the foul xenos from existence, leaving three that hold fast, ready to charge the terminators next turn .

In close combat the genestealers tear apart the terminator command squad with their rending attacks. The librarian swings his force axe, but the swift creatures step aside and dodge his attacks. Heavily outnumbered and stubborn, the librarian is forced to make 10 armour saves. One save for each time he is outnumbered . He disappears beneath a mound of chitinous bodies, never to be seen again .

tur N 4Having dealt with the librarian, the two genestealer squads jump

on the remaining terminator squad and tear them to shreds without any resistance. It has been a dark day for the Deathwing.

Time for fisticuffs!


Ga Me ov er

luke iNfeCt theM all!It paid off in the end, but if I hadnt rolled a 6 for my fleet of

foot on the third turn, it would have all been over before you could say lead poisoning. The terminators just gunned me down brood by brood and there wasnt anything I could do but run forward screaming. By the second turn I had lost all hope, but when I managed to charge in, oh how the tables did turn! I was lucky, very lucky to roll so many rending hits and to my amazement I totally shredded the squad. That was it for the Deathwing as the

genestealer brood leapt from squad to squad and there was nothing Adam could do about it (apart from cry like a little sissy girl!). You dont look so big and fancy in your pretty armour now, do you?

adaM fall BaCk! fall BaCk!Well, that was a bizarre game alright. It was inevitable that the

sentry gun would be ripped apart. Like Luke, I felt that this was going to be a massacre. The Deathwing would huddle together just out of charge range and hose down everything with heavy firepower. I was tempted to call the game and start again with a different scenariothen the genestealers charged and oh sweet Emperor, it was horrible! I remember saying Thats disgusting! when Luke rolled all those rending hits, my terminators failed their invulnerable saves (what a shock) and were reduced to a nasty smear. That spelled the death of my army because they were so tightly packed together. What I should have done was spread the army out so that if Luke did come for me (and he had to), hed have to split his forces or go for one unit at a time, which would have resulted in an easy win for the Deathwing. Regardless, Im happy about how the game went. What could have been a boring day at the firing range turned into a horror movie with plenty of laughs for everyone.

Next time Luke! *shakes fist* Next time!

- Adam Smith & Luke Bardwell


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tutorial

How To PainT Your DEaTHwinGIve had several requests asking how I painted my Deathwing. I can empathise with this, since bone can be a very difficult colour to do properly.

It was frustrating for me when I was looking for painting guides and tutorials online and couldnt really find any, back when I had just started on my Wing. Finally, I used a combination of several techniques to come up with my current style. While it can be time consuming, I feel that with a Deathwing army it is worth the investment to make a good looking force - especially since there are so few models to paint.

If you are after the basic methodology without having to read the extensive tutorial, my technique for bone can be summarised as: Skull White undercoat, then Bronzed Flesh, then Watered Flesh Wash, then Bubonic Brown, then Bleached Bone, then Bleached Bone/Skull White highlights, then Skull White highlights.

The following pages describe this technique, as well as several hints and tips in more detail. It also describes the methods used for other details on the model .

tu tor i a l: Pa i N t i NG de at h W i NGThe first thing to do, obviously, is assemble your model. Ive done

my Terminators slightly larger than normal, with 1mm spacers under the feet, at the connection between legs and torso, and also at the shoulders. In addition, the arms are not glued to the body until the entire model is finished. Instead they are dry pinned, with only the arm side glued in. This allows for much easier painting of those hard-to-reach places. After construction, undercoat the model. I assumed you wouldnt need a picture of this. For Deathwing, use a white undercoat.

st eP 1

BroNzed flesh The first step is to simply paint on

a layer of Bronzed Flesh over all the armoured areas. This should be watered down slightly, as we dont want details obscured. In addition, try and leave the areas that will be a different colour (green, metal, etc) white, although you need not be too concerned about going over the edges.

st eP 2

flesh WashAfter completing a layer of Bronzed

Flesh (and giving it plenty of time to dry!), crack open your brown ink. I use Flesh Wash, as its my favourite all-round ink. Chestnut Ink would probably

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work fine here. The most important thing to do is water it down a lot. We want the recesses to be a very light brown rather than a dark brown. Too dark and there will be too much of a contrast between the top layers of bone and the recesses.

st eP 3

Chaos BlaCkNow that the ink is dry, its time to start

putting on the black. Basically, this will go wherever there will be metallics (gold or silver) and also around the eyes, lights, joints, and any other colour you really want to stand out. If you are using Forgeworld shoulder pads, I find it helps to do a thin line of black where the sword meets the feathery-wings. This will help with separating the green and red later on . This also goes for the breastplate

Again, keep the paint thin-ish and avoid blacking areas that will be a lighter colour later on (such as green or red).

Try not to make mistakes, but if you do dont worry too much. I often go over the lines and as such I have contingency steps later on for virtually all the errors you could potentially make.

st eP 4

BuBoNiC BroWNThis is the part where we really start working on the armour.

Get out the Bubonic Brown and thin it a bit, then start going over

all the raised sections of armour. Leave the inked recesses visible at the very bottom, but you can go down the edges a bit. Examine the photos to see how far to go. Now is a good time to clean up the black you may have got on the armour-proper. I dont paint the vent type detail on the back of the feet as there is a high potential for error and I think they look fine as is.

st eP 5

Metals Part 1Now start working on the metals. I

use Mithril Silver for all my silver, with black mixed in if darkening is required, as here. Paint all the areas that will be silver or gold. It doesnt have to be particularly neat since more paint will be going on over the top. Leave some black in the recesses for depth.

st eP 6:

Metals Part 2 Once the metals are dry,

water down some black paint a lot . This needs to be more watery than ink. Coat all the metal parts that will remain silver with this mixture. It might take a bit of practice to get the right amount to go on, but I believe it makes the metal look very nice when done properly. Rub lightly over the upper areas with


your fingers; this will remove some of the black paint on edges and the top of curves, adding simple highlights.

st eP 7

BleaChed BoNe aNd GoldThis step compromises two

colours. First, Shining Gold is applied to the previously silver areas. The silver on the previous layer gives it a better shine and makes the gold come up brighter than if it was applied to black by itself. When the Shining Gold is dry, apply some Flesh Wash (or equivalent) to the gold to add shading to the recesses. Later the flat/high areas will be given another coat of gold .

Secondly, Bleached Bone is added to the armour. Now it will start to look like a Deathwing model. Water down the bone so that it applies smoothly to the armour plates, but not so much that it will dribble into the cracks. Again, this will take practice.

Apply the bone to all the areas of armour, leaving some Bubonic Brown showing in the recesses. You have now worked up from shading to main colour. If some paint does run into the cracks, dab as much as you can up with a tissue, but dont be too concerned, later you can run some ink in the cracks (almost blacklining) to tidy up. This step allows you to cover up any metallics you may have got on the armour in previous steps.

st eP 8

dark aNGels GreeN aNd soMe detail

Quite a simple step here. Water down some Dark Angels Green and apply to chest and shoulder eagles, and

storm bolter casing . If you arent into lots of highlight or want to finish the models quickly, you can leave the green here as it is, the watered green over white sort of acts in a similar way to ink, leaving some pre-made highlights and shading.

Additionally, paint the eyes and lights white in preparation for red.

st eP 9

More GreeN, red aNd aNother rouNd of BuBoNiC BroWN

Another simple step here. Give all the green areas another watered down coat to make the Dark Angels Green stronger. Paint the detail on the side of the storm bolter in white. Use Red Gore on the eyes and lights/lenses/details, as well as on the seal part of the purity seals and the sword on the shoulder pad. Apply Bubonic

Brown to the par chment part of the seals, as well as the skull on the left shoulderpad .


deta i l

Purity sealsPurity seals start with Bubonic Brown base layer. Following this,

apply an unwatered wash to the surface. I dont water this because I can direct the ink into lines in the deeper areas more easily with the thicker substance. Once the ink is dry, start with another layer of Bubonic Brown on the more upper areas, leaving the thickest ink as is. Gradually highlight this further from the ink using a mix of Bubonic Brown and Bleached Bone in as many layers as you feel reasonable before finally using a touch of pure bleached bone on the edges. You dont want to use too much Bone, as the Seals will then look too much like the armour.

The seals are a base of Red Gore, followed by Blood Red (sometimes a couple of layers are required to get a good effect) on the edges and part of the interior, and finally a mix of Blood Red and Skull White for the top and bottom edges, as well as a little in the centre. I have tried Bleached Bone in place of the Skull White to reduce the pinkness, but I feel both methods work well enough. At this stage you should also be completing the red on the eyes, lights and shoulderpad in the same method .

deta i l

Crux terMiNatus The terminatus symbol is relatively

simple. The gold follows steps previously outlined (silver, gold, wash, gold), and the skull is a very similar procedure to that of the purity seal parchment . So similar in fact, that I do them both simultaneously with the same mixes. The difference is that with the Forge World pads at least, the skull needs to be almost drybrushed in some areas to show the detail sufficiently. Also, on the skull the highlighting can go much lighter because the gold prevents the skull from not being discernable fully from the bone armour.

deta i l

Chest eaGle The chest eagle detail is completed in several steps. After

completing the multiple coats of Dark Angels Green in previous steps, start by mixing a 50/50 combination of Dark Angels Green and Snot Green. Use this to fill in most of the raised areas, leaving the darkest colour in the gaps.


Then use Snot Green to colour in about 50% of the raised areas, and finally a bit of Goblin Green at the tips of the raised areas as highlights. I find that if the Goblin doesnt go all the way to the center end of the raised areas, and curves upwards a little at the outside ends, it gives a very nice effect.

deta i l

shoulder Pad aNd storM BolterFor the feathery wings of the

shoulderpad, use much the same technique as that of the chest eagle, with a couple of small technique adjustments. First; on the Snot Green layer have two lines painted on each raised area along the edges, to help accentuate the feather effect. Second; on the Goblin Green layer, use only very light brush strokes from the centre of the raised areas out, becoming more solid at the strokes progress to the rims. As in the chest eagle, this gives a nice expanding effect .

Use the same green colours on the storm bolter casing, except only complete the Goblin Green layer on the edges of the casing, not the middle raised areas. I find this highlights the shape better without drawing attention to the edges on the inside of the casing if you get my drift . The metal on the bolter could use an additional highlight of mithril/black 50/50 mix, which Ive been doing on recent models but didnt on this one .

Complete purity seals as outlined above, and paint the red of the sword in the same colours as the red seals.

deta i l

sWordI used a different technique

to my usual sword-painting technique here, but I think it worked reasonably well. This was basically just as case of mixing gradually lighter shades of silver and using them to highlight, with the raised edge receiving more light than the shadowed edge. Light blue is also a favourite with Deathwing players for power swords. I have done that on my Librarian to reasonable effect using Ultramarine blue highlighting.

deta i l

Base (17)The base is also quite

simple. PVA some gravel to the base. Once dry, paint black. Heavily drybrush in Bestial Brown, then lightly drybrush in Bubonic Brown, then even more lightly drybrush in Bleached Bone. Paint the edges in solid Bestial Brown (you will need a couple of layers). Once all the paint is dry, glue on some clumps of static grass . Easy! It also complements the Deathwing scheme quite well.


st eP 10

hiGhliGhtiNG BoNeNow, you are almost there! The

detail has been done, now all that remains is some highlighting. Use a mix of Bleached Bone and Skull White for the bone highlighting . I dont have a strict ratio here; I usually just mix by eye which is a bit difficult.

Basically, you want the layer to stand out, but not too much. Make sure the mix is well watered so that the paint sits flat on the armour, otherwise it can be too distinct when it should look blended.

fi Na l st ePsAttach arms! Thats always

useful. When that is done, use some pure Skull White to pick out the edges and raised points of the armour. Again, keep it well watered and only do this sparingly as it can look too obvious if done everywhere. Uppermost areas only! It helps to do a little more on the helmet, as this brings out the detail better. You want the helmet to look good because the face is the focal point of a miniature .

I also varnish my Terminators, to keep the precious precious models (and paintjobs) safe. For this process I do one coat of Citadel

Gloss Varnish, followed by another coat of Humbrol Matt Varnish. I dont like shiny models, and the good thing about a Matt varnish is that it also takes the shine out of inks, leaving them looking flat as well. This helps immensely with the purity seals.

Now you have finished a Deathwing Terminator!

- Luke Houston


an orks tale part 2:

a sTinkin GroT oF a squiGHErDErAfter that fateful day by the tavern, Aghrukk Ard Knuckle became the new boss of the settlement and established his bossydom with ruthless tact.

As thanks to Ugluk for disposing of Gurthak, Ugluk had been given the position of ranking Squigherder, a task normally given to grots. Needless to say, Ugluk was the number one laughing stock of Da Ard Knuckles Kamp.

But Ugluk soon had the last laugh, seeing that he had turned the filthy and mangy squig farm that was placed half a mile from Da Kamp into a prosperous enterprise. Much thanks to the local mek, Drokkrakka.

Between them, they had built a working self-pumping well, two windmills to make squig pulp pies and a choppamill where you shoved a squig in the one end and it came out in chopped up bits in the other .

Not only that, but after a few months Ugluk had bought himself a couple of boars from the neighbouring village and started to breed himself a herd .

Soon business was flourishing, his squigs and boars being sold left and right, even being exported to other settlements by orks who stuffed their trukks full.

It had gone so far that Ugluk had a staff of forty grot slaves and over one hundred snotlings, along with the runtherder Whag-Durk Dimwitt to keep them all in check. Mind you, the runtherder was a drunken old idiot who couldnt move unless he leaned up against the very grabba-stick supposed to be used to keep the little runts in check.

But it all worked out well enough anyway, every now and then Gogg would come by and visit, bringing some new mekboy invention with him that he had picked up in the great ork city of Garg-Gorkdur.

The boar screamed and jumped, wrestling the strong hands that had a firm grip around the large tusks of the beast. Mud and dirt was thrown into the air as the boar, enraged, tried to break free. Ugluk wouldnt give him the chance, he moved with the boar, hanging over its neck, running by its side, pulling the tusks to wrestle it into submission. Along the shabby fence of the corral the grots and snots cheered him on, cursing the beast with various words best not translated (if at all possible) to the human tongue.

One of the snots got so carried away that he accidentally tossed a few phrases about a brain being made of the snotlings poo aimed at Ugluk.

In the end it resulted with the snotling getting smacked over the head by the gretchin closest to him, the snotling hitting his forehead against the fence and falling down on his back unconscious.

Out of the suns way, beneath the makeshift roof of a shed, Whag-Durk was sound asleep, a jar of homemade fungal firewater firmly held in his slumbering embrace. Two snotlings had made their way up on either side of the old ork, and both leaned forward to peek down the huge gaping hole that was the sleeping drunks mouth and throat. The space inside the orks head fascinated the tiny gremlins .

The boar finally became too tired to fight the strong ork that had him in his grip, and Ugluk threw the beast to the ground, slamming the boar into the mud and placed himself on top of the boar to weigh it down.


Alright!, Ugluk shouted, Yoo grots, tie dis naff grunta up!. Several gretchin rushed into the corral with ropes and quickly began to tie them around the boars tusks and neck.

Ang on now yer naff runts, Ugluk leaned himself up on top of the bull, the beast breathing beneath the weight of the orks arms .

As soon as Ugluk stepped back the boar got back on his own hooves, the twelve or so gretchin that were in the corral pulled on their ropes like Madboyz. Hold on to him! Ugluk bellowed, making the boar even more agitated, pulling several gretchin through the mud on their bellies. Chaos and pitched screams followed.

Finally, Ugluk had had enough. He strode up to the furious boar that was by now pulling close to twenty grots along. Ugluk kicked with a well-placed boot on the boars chin.

The boar instantly slumped to the muddy ground, much to the relief of the gretchin that had involuntarily taken part in the mud bath .

Now tie dat mor grunta up an turn it into a proper gargy an bad, grim, manik waaa-grunta! With that Ugluk left the corral, the grots got to their feet and cautiously walked over to the knocked-out boar .

Ugluk walked over to a large barrel of water and dunked his head in it, throwing it back out and spraying water everywhere. He spat out the water in his mouth and wiped his face with the palm of his hand. That was when he heard the noise of rushing engines.

He took a few steps out onto the open yard and looked over in the direction of Da Ard Knuckles Kamp, blocking the sun from his eyes with the aid of one of his large hands. Sure enough, trukks were heading his way.

Snikwort, a clever gretchin acting as work leader of the grots and snots on the farm, walked over to his master, Looks likes da boss iz coming .

Ya... Dat panzee snaga-nob has come for more teef.

He already got teef three Uz-lotz ago.

Ugluk shook his head, Dat Aghrukk shouldnt be boss. He would make a badder grubby ripoff villun.

Watch itz, Snikwort said, He may be a villun, but he iz still a skarboy an da Nob of da Kamp.

By now, the three trukks were clearly visible, along with the two buggies that trailed them . Lotz of orkies, Snikwort pointed out. Lotz of dakka, Ugluk added.

The trukks and buggies slid through the dirt as they came to a sudden stop, leaving deep ditches behind them where their big wheels had ploughed through the ground. The orks all jumped down from the crude vehicles, all armed to the teeth. Aghrukk stomped his way over to Ugluk, his mob of thugs in close pursuit .

Ugluk, ya stinkin grot of a squigherder!, the boss barked. Ugluk motioned for Snikgrot to stay behind and then walked out onto the yard to face the local chieftain .

Wuzz yer wunt dis time boss? Aghrukk gave the squigherding ork a slap on the shoulder, Ha! I wuntz all yer teef an all yer gruntas!

All da teef an da gruntas?, Ugluk could hardly believe his own two ears.

Yeah, ya hurd me!, the boss gave Ugluk a hard push, Dat no good for nuffin git Gaffrogg duffed me in a warbike zagrace, now Im gonna rip his kop off! .

An why doz yer needs my gruntas for dat?.

Ya tit!, Aghrukk Ard Knuckles gave Ugluk another push, Dont gob me! We needs yer gruntas to rip em off in Garg-Gorkdur to rip off some bad dakka kannons!

Ugluk had his suspicions where this was going, Why do au need new kannons to go after boss GrimBoy? .


Cos!, Ugluk got another push, Im gonna blitz his entire slag an snik all of dem naff grots calling themselves Da GrimBoy Klan!.

Yer gonna blitz Kamp GrimBoy?. Aghrukk leaned forward, his red eyes fixed on Ugluk, An I needs da teef for it.

It was the talk of the village. Some days back Aghrukk had raced against the neighbouring settlement boss, Gaffrogg GrimBoy, and lost. Now it seemed, Aghrukk wanted to settle the matter through the use of extreme and lots of unnecessary force .

To do that, he needed to buy a trukkload of guns from the market at Garg-Gorkdur, and for that he needed teef. Another way of getting guns was to trade them for something else, namely boars.

Ya manik boss! Ugluk was not about to give up his large herd of boars against no pay at all, These gruntas ar worth ordz of lotz of ordz of teef, an I og em all. Yu wants em, ya rip off for em!.

Listen ere!, Aghrukk grabbed hold of Ugluks collar, Im da biggest, so Im da boss! Now yer gonna hand dem gruntas over or else!.

Ugluks orkish brain kicked in, Kop Dis! . The headbutt sent Aghrukk tumbling, immediately his mob of orks rushed forward and threw themselves in a big pile on top of Ugluk, wrestling him to the ground, hitting and kicking him as they pleased.

Ugluk was eventually pulled up from the ground, an ork holding each of his arms, another had his arm locked around Ugluks throat and neck. Aghrukk wiped snot and blood from his bleeding nose and then spat a gob of it all in the dirt .

Alright, the Boss Ork said, Stuff all da gruntas an da teef on da trukk. Were goin for Garg-Gorkdur .

Ugluk tried to wrestle himself free, but the orks holding him were all far stronger than him. All Ugluk could do was to watch when all of his valuable belongings were stolen.

The farm was being trashed, the snotlings kicked out of the way, gretchins stuffed in bags to be sold as slaves, walls and doors

were sprayed down with heavy gunfire, the thick rounds punching through the simple sheds and huts with ease.

By the time Aghrukk and his boys were done, the farm looked like a battlefield.

Dats dat, the boss said, Lets get out of ere an rip uz off some bad kannons to dreg dem skabs Da GrimBoys!. The orks cheered, firing their guns in the air.

Wuzz about dis git, boss? One of the orks pointed at Ugluk. Aghrukk smiled viciously, Duff him up .

The mob of orks all closed in around Ugluk, all grinning and cracking their knuckles in their palms. It was time for Ugluk to find out why the clan was known as Da Ard Knuckles.

Ugluk woke up, his head pounding, his body ached. Hez awake .

Ugluk shook his head and his eyesight came back to him, he was lying on some bags of boarfodder in the foodshed . Next to him sat Snikwort and the gretchin was waving for someone to come their way.

Whag-Durk limped up to them, leaning against his grabba-stick, just as Ugluk sat himself up, holding his head with a hand. Ugluk moaned, Wuzz happened? .

Da Boss an his boys gave yer a bad duffing, Snikwort explained. How yu feelin?, the runtherder asked as he placed his hand on Ugluks shoulder.

Like Ive been stomped on by every ork on da slag .

Only a few lotz of em, Snikwort corrected. A second ork came over to them, he had a pair of thick glasses and a heavy bag in his hand, the other hand held a nasty looking scalpel.

Told ya, the ork said, Hez fine. It was Thraguz, the village Doc.


But Whag-Durk was not so sure, Wuzz about his innards, maybe dem has been duffed bad too .

The Doc took a close look on his patient, Hows yu feelin? .

My head hurts, Ugluk said.

Thraguz chuckled, Den there is no problem. After all, if yer head hurts, you cant be dead, now can ya? .

The other greenskins looked at each other, the logic of the Doc was irrefutable.

Hupp Hupp Hupp!!. The herd of squigs ran like a single creature, moving like a school of fish, with only the odd little squig making a wrong turn or not turning fast enough. Ugluk lashed the whip above the heads of the herd, urging them on, steering their movements by positioning himself on either flank as it was needed.

The boar he rode on grunted and squealed, but with a few kicks along its torso with his heels, Ugluk kept it under control, along with hard pulls on the reins, tied to the boars tusks as it were. A small buggy raced by, heading after a small group of squigs that had veered off and was leaving the herd. Snikwort was sitting behind the steering wheel and two other gretchin held on for their dear lives as the grotboss drove at full throttle after the ork-cattle.

Snikwort hit the brakes and in one fluid turn, skidded round the runaway squigs in the shape of a U, the two grots with him firing grotsluggas in the air while at the same time they tried their best not to fall off. It had the desired effect and the AWOL squigs instantly turned and headed back in the direction of the herd.

Once the last of the squigs had passed through the gate, a dozen snotlings pushed for all their worth and closed it, trapping the squigs in the corral .

Ugluk pulled the reins of his boar and it came to a strained halt, throwing its head, grunting and growling, large puffs of heated air shooting out of its nostrils .

For the past two weeks Ugluk and his remaining grots and snots had worked hard to rebuild at least part of the squig farm, and the

last few days had been a hard chase to find and bring back all the squigs that had fled after the bosss rampage.

Snikworts buggy almost crashed through the fence of the newly built corral before coming to a stop, leaning up on two of its wheels, dangerously close to falling over. As it finally fell down on all fours, the entire buggy bounced on the huge coils attached to the frame of the vehicle.

The engine pounded and shook, like an enraged boar waiting to rush off on some insane charge .

Dats da last of em, Snikwort said and stood up in the cockpit-like drivers seat of the buggy.

I dunno, Ugluk rode over to the buggy, I think dat miffgit Oghrek has gotten his no good hands on some of me squigs .

Now dont yer go over to Oghrek an starts something silly, boss.

Yu think so as well!.

Yu have to go to da Bonk-Pit for it, an boss, Oghreks twice yer garg.

Ugluk frowned and tossed the reins to a pair of gretchin and then stepped down from the boar. Instantly the boar tried to escape, the two gretchin pulling frantically on the reins trying to keep the strong beast in check.

Ugluk walked over to the fence and leaned himself over it, the shabby work bent beneath his weight. Im da duffgrot of da kamp, Ugluk said as he watched the herd of squigs moving in the corral, But I know me can be more.

Snikwort turned off the engine and jumped down from the buggy, then climbed the fence and sat down next to his master. Yu ar more, yer da squigherder. Ugluk tossed a nasty glare at the grot, and Snikwort knew he had spoken out of place.

Ugluk shook his head and sighed, Yu know wuzz I would do if I wuzz boss?.


Naah.

First I would snik dat grod Aghrukk, den I would re-shuv da kamp.

Snikwort got puzzled, Re-shuv da kamp? Why?.

I would blitz da middle of it an shuv an uge yard there instead, a yard where yu could rip off stuff. Den I would shuv a large shak for Drokkrakka where he could shuv his mekgubbins, da mekshak would be unki enuff so all us orks could gets some bad studs an gubbins for our own. As the ork spoke of his grand scheme, his eyes seemed to shine, his brain hard at work, I would blitz da Bosss shak an wid da scrap I would shuv an uge dur around da kamp, a dur unki and gor enuff to duff any kannon or kan dat tried to dreg it. Ya, I would make da boys an da grots work like a proper mob.

Snikwort just blinked with his eyes, unsure of what it was the ork was talking about, But boss, we already has a mob.

Not an orky wun!, Ugluk almost hit the gretchin to the ground when he threw out an arm, Dat naff mob of skab gits an dat grass-snaga of a miffnob ar no more orks dan yu grots and snots ar. Now, da boss over in Garg-Gorkdur, dats a grim boss dat iz. Garg-Gorkdur is a bad kamp.

But boss, Snikwort scratched his green scalp, Garg-Gorkdur is not a kamp, itz a slagdur.

Ugluk frowned and grunted, then left the corral behind him, his head slumped between his shoulders.

Snikwort was smart enough to realise something was wrong and that something was eating at the ork, but he wasnt smart enough to figure out what.

Ugluk kicked a piece of leftover engine part, sending it flying through the air. He was frustrated and depressed. He slammed his fist against the wall of a shed to vent out some steam that was building within him, but it had little effect.

Yer head gits does it?. Ugluk looked up and saw the old runtherder walking up to him, ever leaning against his grabba-stick to make up for the heavy limp.

Naah, Ugluk lied, Im just skabby after da squigherdin .

Whag-Durk Dimwitt chuckled, Dont yu try an naff me, Im tuf enuff to know when a boy is gitty in da head .

Wuzz do yer know about dat, tuf ork.

Whag-Durk sat himself down on a pile of wooden rubble, as he stretched out his bad leg it clearly pained him, he still leaned somewhat against the grabba-stick, but not with his full weight.

The old runtherder looked at the young ork, Yer only wuzz, a full year old?.

Ya. So?

I am tuf enuff to know my skull is coming zaggy, Whag-Durk said, the old ork seeming even older, In all my Uz-lots, I have seen many orks, many bosses. Many brawls and Waaghs.

Yer been in a Waagh? Ugluk had never thought of old Dimwitt as a warrior, he had always seemed like an old drunk who couldnt even keep the grots and snots under control.

Ya, ordz of tuf ago, Whag-Durk smiled and chuckled, When I wuzz orky and zag wid da choppa, I blitzed and dregged and gored wid da Waagh Ghazghkull.

Waagh Ghazghkull??, Ugluk could scarcely believe his ears, Badgarg Waagh-Boss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka was a legend, the orkiest ork there ever was.

Ya, we had ourselves some bad and orky duffs on dat bugeye ooman slag Armiegiddin.

Ugluk sat down on the ground before the old ork, like a child listening to some great tale of adventure.


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Whag-Durk nodded slowly, remembering his days of youth, We blitzed and we gored and duffed all who wuzz naff and miff enuff to get in our way. Den came dat grimgrod ooman boss, Yurruck. A bad git he wuzz, gored orks by da ordz an ordz. Duffed us right off da slag. Ah, doze were da Uzes, when an ork could pick up a choppa an dreg all he wunted, in da Waagh all orks ar bad grods.

But wuzz ar yer doin here den? On dis naff slag?.

I got tuf, too tuf to be in da Whaags. When da Uz-lots zag yer by like da Wazza, bosses an nobs dont lug yu dat much any more. Da naff task of a runtherder is just wuzz a tuf ork likes meself needs when da skull is coming zagging on a vrum.

Ugluk sat mesmerised, his ork brain seduced by the tales of old fights and mass killings. To think that he would stand next to an ork who had taken part in the great Waagh of Ghazghkull Thraka against the naff oomans.

Whag-Durk leaned forward and placed a hand on Ugluks shoulder. The old ork smiled, revealing the missing teeth of his large gob, I have seen many orks in my uzes, Ugluk. An I have nevva seen an ork likes yu. An ork wid plans, an ork wid da grub to dream, wid da grub to shuv things. Yu ar an ard wun an a grub wun, as good an ork I have evva seen, an I have seen ordz of orks in my life. Just keep yer ead on straight, and lurk of lurky things, then Gork an Mork will give ya teef in da lotz of ordz.

But how? Dat grod Aghrukk sticks grots an snots in my plans when ever I comes up wid em, an I cant duff him in da Pit, hes too gargunki.

Yu will find nosh in da end, young wun. There is a bad an grim morgog inside dat thick kop of yers, da grub an gubbins of a nob. Yull be a grim skraga yet, yull see.

End of Part 2.

- Johan Hansson


tactica

GET Your moTor runninGWe explore the tactics of the Dark Angels Ravenwing black bikers and how best to use them on the battlefield in their hunt for the fallen.

ov erv ieWThe Ravenwing are the result of a reorganisation of the Dark

Angels Legion following the Horus Heresy. The second company of the now Dark Angels chapter, the Ravenwing follow the organisation styles of the seventh companies of most other chapters, with two exceptions. The Ravenwing are more elite, representing the cream of the crop from centuries of training and experience. Also, the Ravenwing typically take to the field in greater numbers of mounted space marines than any other chapter .

To build a pure Ravenwing army would require the integration of both space marine bikes and land speeders into a cohesive force. The land speeders would fill the niche of infantry killers and with the new assault cannon rules, be capable of downing even the greatest of tanks or monstrous creatures. Meanwhile, space marine bikers would form the spearhead that broke through the enemy lines, providing firepower when necessary, but more often than not finishing the enemy off in vicious melee. Tank hunting would also be a primary role of the bike units, in particular attack bikes.

PriNCiPles

exPeNsive fraGilityYou will be outnumbered and outgunned by virtually every other

army in the game. Therefore, losses are not something you can readily afford and you will pay for every mistake you make. However, the gain of such an unusual army is the element of surprise! Most of your opponents will have never faced a Ravenwing army, making this a new challenge for them.

BaNG for your BuCkThe only visible difference between a standard space marine

biker and a Ravenwing biker is the points cost (32 compared to 40) and frag grenades on the former. All bikers can now turbo-boost, turning their 3+ save into an invulnerable save. In addition, the +1 toughness bonus makes space marine bikers just that much harder to hurt . Although you are still only Toughness 4 for the purposes of instant death .

For those who have read through the Dark Angels codex, you will notice that the Ravenwing also come with what is known as a jink save, which basically counts as an invulnerable 6+ save, provided you moved more than 6 inches in the previous turn. Not a great bonus for a whopping 8 extra points is it? Ah but fear not! Tucked away in the current Dark Angels FAQ is the salvation of the Ravenwing list: skilled rider. Each and every Ravenwing biker comes with it and with this ability the Ravenwing is an army to be feared .

MoBility aNd reaChTo say that the Ravenwing army is mobile would be an

understatement, as they rival the skilled Eldar of the Saim-Hann Craftworld and the raiders of the Dark Eldar. It is in the movement phase that the outcome of your games will be decided and it is here that you must concentrate your efforts .

There is a concept you must grasp when you begin to play Ravenwing, and that is the idea of reach. Every army has it, but most people dont think about it because it is generally the same for


most other armies. Reach may change when units are mounted in transports and may flux depending on whether a unit armed with a heavy weapon chooses to move or remain stationary. Most players tend not to think about this concept. As a Ravenwing player, you will show them the error of their ways.

I want you to take a model. A space marine bike mounted on a 25mm cavalry base is best, but any model will do. Now, with your measuring tape, trace out the following distances in a circle, keeping one end touching the models base:

12 around the model (24 diameter circle)




You dont need to remember these numbers, but keep a mental note of the approximate distances . This series of numbers represents your reach. The first is your actual movement, should you want to shoot. The second is your full movement via turbo-boosting. The third is the distance you must close should you wish

1 .

2 .

3 .

4 .

to charge into an assault. The fourth is your movement, plus range of fire with the majority of your weapons. This means that on a standard 6 by 4 tournament table, you could quite easily extend your reach to cover the entire table with only a few units.

Also, because of skilled rider, you can effectively ignore intervening terrain in regards to movement reach, allowing you to extend and maintain your reach more effectively than any other army .

dePloy M e N tAs your army is both significantly faster, and equipped with

greater reach and mobility, allowing for quick deployment and redeployment, take some time in the pre-game to size up your opponent. Or more specifically, their army, its components, and how they are being deployed. Here are some questions to get you started on what you want to be thinking about:

i. What style of play is it? Primarily shooty, melee, or a balance of the two?

ii. How is the terrain set up, and how is your opponent deploying in relation to the scenery? Are there visible or invisible lanes of fire, or perhaps chokepoints?

iii. What is the quickest route to the enemy? How many turns will it take for you to close and reach combat?

Remember to keep your reach in mind and try not to think of the battlefield as you would conventionally. You need not worry about what would impede your movement, or even about cover. Your greatest concern should be natural obstacles, where you can use appropriate size two and three terrain to deny line of sight as you close in .

Additionally, where you would normally deploy to counter your opponent, with Ravenwing, you should try to deploy so as to confuse your opponent. Throw them off-balance with a seemingly haphazard positioning of units. Deploying anti-tank or anti-infantry units furthest away from their most appropriate targets is the

Documents

Warhammer 40k Firebase Issue 02_r)