Blood Angels Captain

This Blood Angels Captain in Artificer Armor was released way back in January 1991 (WD133). They even used him as the prototype for the now famous Captain Tycho. I picked him up way back then (along with the Ultramarines Captain in Artificer Armor and a generic Space Marine Captain with Terminator Honors, who is now serving as a Brazen Claw Captain), but I only got around to painting him recently. I finished him on New Year's Day, 2008. Seeing as the original model was only equipped with a bolter, I converted him to give him a little more close combat "punch" by arming him with a power fist. He'd make a great captain for a Blood Angels army.

Except for one thing... He's illegal in the new Blood Angels Codex. Blood Angels Captains cannot get Artificer Armor (unless you're Dante, Tycho, or Mephiston). What is more crazy is that a Blood Angels Captain can't even get a bolter.

Now for the most part, I like the Blood Angels Codex just fine. But little things like this annoy me.

Battle Report: The Axis Columen Campaign, Part One

This battle is the first battle in a four battle mini-campaign between the Necrons and the Brazen Claw.

Located in a strategic central location that is also at the nexus of navigable passages through the warp, Axis Columen is known as the “keystone” of the Arcadia Sector. The planet itself remains uncolonized, however its orbit is widely trafficked by both the Imperial Navy and commercial shipping. Upon discovery of a unknown signal emanating from the planet, Imperial Navy scouts were sent to the planet’s surface to investigate, but contact with them was quickly lost. One of the scouts' last recorded transmissions indicated implacable, mechanical beings advancing on them.

Navy Commanders contacted the nearest Space Marine force in the area, a Strike Cruiser of the Brazen Claw. Recognizing the threat, the Brazen Claw responded quickly and decisively.

Battle One: Movement to Contact, 500 pts
The Brazen Claw send out small patrols into unknown territory. Their intent is to force the Necron forces to reveal themselves and give battle.

Brazen Claw vs. Necrons, 500pts

The Beheading

In the 5th Edition Rulebook, in the chronology of the Imperium, there was one event that caught my eye: "The Beheading." It recounts that the Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum, Darkan Vangorich, assassinated the rest of the High Lords of Terra in an attempt at a coup. Forces from the Halo Brethren, Imperial Fists, and Sable Swords Space Marine Chapters arrive to bring Vangorich to justice. The Space Marine Commander is assassinated early in the fighting, but the rest of the marines press their attack. Within the temple they are attacked by no less than 100 Eversor Assassins...

Now that would be one awesome Apocalypse Battle. 9,500 points of Eversor Assassins vs. an equivalent sized force of Space Marines (appropriately limited to infantry and dreadnoughts for the indoor fighting), fighting within a huge temple.

Now how do I get my hands on 100 Eversor Assassin miniatures...

Yriel-Dyann Eldar

The Eldar is one of my oldest armies, and it shows, both in the models, and the paint jobs. It all started back around 1990 when I bought the "Aspect Warrior Deal" through GW mail order, which consisted of 5 Dire Avengers, 5 Howling Banshees, 5 Striking Scorpions, 5 Swooping Hawks, and 5 Fire Dragons, all for...$20. Those were the days... The army grew through the years as I added a model here, a model there, without any real guiding force as to what kind of army it was supposed to be. It just got bigger and bigger with time, and eventually I had amassed a rather eclectic force. Despite the random nature of army construction, it has done pretty well on the battlefield.

The warhost of Yriel-Dyann

The Avatar

Farseers and Warlocks

Fire Dragons with Exarch

Harlequins

Howling Banshees with Exarch

Striking Scorpions and Exarch

Wraithguard and Spiritseer

Dire Avengers with Exarch

The new Dire Avengers

Guardian Defenders

Rangers

Storm Guardians, consisting of some of the oldest models in the army

Swooping Hawks with Exarch


The newer Swooping Hawks, with Exarch with (now illegal) Web of Skulls

Vyper Jetbike Squadron

Warp Spiders and Exarch

Dark Reapers and Exarch

Falcon

Vibrocannon and crew

Wraithlord

HQ
The Avatar of Khaine – 155pts
Eldrad Ulthran – 210pts
Farseer (Spirit Stones, Doom, Eldritch Storm, Guide) – 140pts
Warlocks – (1 Singing Spear, Conceal, Destructor, Enhance) – 118pts

Elites
Fire Dragons (Exarch with Firepike) – 116pts
Harlequins – (w/Troupe Master w/Power Weapon, Death Jester, 2 Harlequin’s Kiss, 2 Fusion Pistols) – 238pts
Howling Banshees (Exarch w/Executioner, War Shout, Acrobatic) – 128pts
Striking Scorpions (Exarch w/Scorpion’s Claw, Shadowstrike, Stalker) – 212pts
Wraithguard (w/Spiritseer with Singing Spear, Enhance) – 224pts

Troops
Dire Avengers (w/Exarch w/Diresword & Shuriken Pistol, Defend) – 97pts
Dire Avengers (w/Exarch w/2 Shuriken Catapults, Bladestorm) – 152pts
Guardian Defenders – (w/Scatter laser) – 175pts
Rangers – 95pts
Storm Guardians – 56pts

Fast Attack
Swooping Hawks (w/Exarch w/Hawk’s Talon, Skyleap) – 163pts
Swooping Hawks (w/Exarch w/Power Weapon, Skyleap) – 142pts
Vyper Jetbike Squadron (w/2 Scatter Lasers and 1 Brightlance) – 195pts
Warp Spiders (w/Exarch w/2 Death Spinners and powerblades) – 137pts

Heavy Support
Dark Reapers (w/Exarch w/Shuriken Cannon, Fast Shot, Crack Shot) – 182pts
Falcon (w/Scatter Laser) – 130pts
Support Weapon Battery (Vibrocannon) – 50pts
Wraithlord (Shuriken Catapult, Flamer, Starcannon) – 120pts

Total: 3235pts

Eisenhorn Review

One thing that can be said about the Black Library's novels is that they are of varying quality. Some of their authors are excellent, while others are just so-so. But Dan Abnett is one of GW's best authors, if not the best, so I thought I'd give him a chance and see what he could say about the Inquisition.

I was a little leery of picking up the Eisenhorn omnibus, mainly because of the background of the Inquisition that I have seen thus far. I was not interested in a novel about some hardliner Inquisitor who is surrounded by servo-skulls and cherubim and fanatical followers, doing nothing but screaming "Purge the heretic!" and "Exterminatus!" with spittle flying from his mouth, smacking down the plebian of the Imperium with his overblown self-righteouness. Fortunately, Abnett gives us nothing of the kind. Inquisitor Eisenhorn, while a devoted servant of the Emperor, comes off as a pragmatic detective, fully aware that while his badge of office can call down the might of the Imperium on his enemies, he still has some limitations and can get killed if he's not careful. He knows that he could just storm the bad guy's hideout with troops, but is savvy enough to know that the subtler approach is frequently more productive.

Eisenhorn's character matures as the story progresses. While the three novels are definitely linked adventure stories, they also form a detailed character study of Eisenhorn himself, and how he changes, in some ways drastically, throughout his career.

The story is fast paced and exciting, and never lost my interest. In fact, I would say without hesitation that Eisenhorn is by far the best Black Library novel I've read to date.