First Game of 7th Edition---Horus Heresy Style

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!!! It has been a long time since my last post and I can only blame it on my ongoing health battles. I managed to actually get a little game time in with my good friend Mordian7th over the 4th of July holiday. It has been a tradition for the two of us to play a game of 40k on the 4th of July holiday and I was concerned we might miss it this year. As it turned out we were able to get together and decided we would try out the new edition of the rules while playing with our Horus Heresy armies. I went with my Salamanders and Mordian7th went with his Thousand Sons. It was nice to get out of the house that didn't involve a trip to the hospital or a doctor and I must say I had some much needed fun.

Mordian7th and I decided to play a 1500pt game to keep it simple as we adjusted to the new rules. Here is my 1500pt Heresy-era Salamanders army list:
HQ: 
Praetor M’tonga Chaga’st 
Master Crafted Thunder Hammer, Iron Halo, Stormshield, Mantle of the Elder Drake, Digi-Lasers

Epistolary U’uka Obataiye (Librarian lvl 2)
Artificer Armor, Refractor Field, Stormshield, Inferno Pistol
Troop:
Tactical Squad Mas’kini (10)
Nuncio-Vox, Artificer Armor (Serg), Melta Bomb (Serg), Master Crafted Power Weapon (Serg)

Tactical Squad Sim’baa (10)
Nuncio-Vox, Artificer Armor (Serg), Melta Bomb (Serg), Master Crafted Power Weapon (Serg)
Rhino Transport

Tactical Support Squad (5)
Meltaguns, Combi-Melta (Serg)
Rhino Transport
Elites:
Legion Terminator Squad (5)
Powerfist, Thunder Hammer x3, Storm Shields x5, Master Crafted Thunder Hammer (Serg)

Land Raider Phobos Transport
Hull Mounted Twin-Linked Heavy Flamers, Pintle Mounted Multi Melta

The game was played on some of Mordian7th's new urban terrain tiles (from some random kickstarter he backed) which I thought looked stunning. Here are some pictures of the table before the armies rolled onto it:

 There are so many little details printed on the tiles like crushed soda cans, bloody footprints, leaves, trash, etc. I really thought these tiles added a lot to the look of the game!

Here are some pictures of the initial setup of the armies:

1k Sons Assault Squad waiting to pounce:

 Lots of 1k Sons hunkered down behind a Skyshield Platform:

 Salamander Tactical Squad with Praetor holding an objective:

 Terminators ready to roll down the street to unleash Hell on the 1k Sons.

The game started with the Salamanders going first and the mad rush to grab tactical objectives (the orange d6 dice scattered around the table) was on. I was concerned about the 3 Landspeeders and 2 Predators the 1k Sons brought to the table but the Salamanders stayed strong in the face of such firepower.

Salamander Tactical Support Squad and Librarian rushing forward to kill the 1k Sons Scorpious Whirlwind Launcher which is just nasty and had to die quickly:

 The 1k Sons milling around in the backfield. I am glad they milled around back there instead of pressing forward with the Predators:

 The 1k Sons Assault Squad moves to capture an objective they needed (orange d6 dice):

 The mad rush of the Tactical Support Squad comes up just short as their Rhino Transport is disabled. It was time to make a dash for it on foot:

 1k Sons Landspeeders started to drop from orbit (Deep Strike) and it was not looking good for the other Rhino Transport:

 The Tactical Support Squad still trying to kill the 1k Sons Scorpious Launcher while trying to avoid getting blown to bits by its return fire:

 1k Sons rushing to protect the flank with the Scorpious Launcher and deal with the threatening Salamanders:

Poor 1k Sons Assault Squad couldn't quite make it into the building to assault the waiting Salamanders, this left them sitting all alone in the middle of the street facing down a lot of Salamander bolters:

 The 1k Sons move some firepower forward to press an assault on the Salamanders:

 The Salamanders respond with a charge from their Legion Terminators:

 The result of the Salamander charge:

 The result of the Salamander Tactical Squad unleashing 'Fury of the Legion' on the 1k Sons Assault Squad:

 Salamander Terminators now moving onto the 1k Sons Predator. The Salamanders having the 'move through cover' special rule allowed them to assault through all kinds of terrain catching the 1k Sons flat footed at times:

 The Salamander Terminators continue on after destroying the 1k Sons Predator:

 The last of the Tactical Support Squad and the Librarian finally managed to disable the Scorpious Launcher only to get washed off the table next turn by the 1k Sons 'Fury of the Legion' gunfire:

At this point it was getting awfully hot up in the game loft and it was the end of Turn 5 anyway so Mordian7th and I decided to call it a game; we tallied up our victory points and the Salamanders came out ahead 11-8. Both Mordian7th and I really enjoyed our first taste of 7th Edition; I really enjoyed the Tactical Objective cards which I thought gave the game a 'real feel' as units were scurrying around the table top trying to achieve vital objectives all game (instead of the mad rush at the end of the game). I also enjoyed the Psychic Phase being its own phase instead of trying to remember which game phase the different types of psychic powers went off in (previous editions). I found vehicles to be slightly more durable but everything still dies to a Lascannon. All in all I really found the game entertaining with never a dull moment as my troops had to scramble to achieve vital objectives all the time.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Blood Angels versus Eldar---4th of July game

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!!! My good buddy Mordian 7th and I had our annual 4th of July game of 40k today (delayed due to some personal stuff going on yesterday) and it was quite fun indeed! We started off going to a local 'greasy-spoon' diner named the Village Coffee Shop for some breakfast!

2000 points don't go very far:

Baal Predator MkI pushing the Blood Angel advance up their right flank: 

Eldar setup (Dire Avengers, Farseer with Wraithblades, and something large lurking behind the building!):

Blood Angels defending their backfield: 

Dreaded Brightlance armed Waveserpent which put the punishment on the Land Raider:

The Eldar tried a wide flanking move which I ignored for the first few turns:

The Wraithknight finally makes an appearance: 

The Eldar jump all over the Blood Angels:

Baal MkI still kicking butt in the Eldar backfield! It wiped out the Dire Avengers Unit and 1/2 of the Farseer's unit of Wraithblades and only lost a single hull point the entire game!

Wraithknight thinks he can crush the Baal MkI (failed the charge distance) as a Baal Mk3 rolls along the rear of the Eldar Line having just outflanked and about to wipe out an Eldar Guardian Squad (and Brightlance platform):

My poor Land Raider was a target all day long and it barely survived the game with a single hull point left. Here the Terminators charge the Falcon and crush it in their fists which meant the Falcon's passengers all bailed out:

However it carried Fire Dragons! This could hurt!

And it did, I lost 2 Terminators and failed the morale check. Being so close to my deployment zone really hurt me as the 3 surviving terminators strolled off to grab a pint of blood to refresh themselves.

I decided to crush the Eldar flank attack with a combo of deep striking assault marines (against the Striking Scorpions) and the Librarian and Bodyguard against the Eldar Corsairs.

The Melee continues. The Striking Scorpions could be nasty if fielded in 10 man units but these were not, so it was just a matter of time before the Xenos were crushed:

The center of the Blood Angel line looks to be in danger as the Land Raider moves AWAY from the Fire Dragons and their fusion weapons! However the Tactical Squad in the ruins rushed over to deal with them.

The last Dire Avenger is gunned down by the hidden from view Baal MkI (which is still around!). The game was kill points not objective based so I needed to kill him.

The Tactical Squad lays the smack down on the Fire Dragons killing all but the Exarch: 

The BA Librarian has a psychic battle with an Eldar Warlock which the Warlock was unprepared for. One of my favorite spells goes off boiling the Xenos blood in their bodies killing 4 or 5 of them before the Assault Terminators storm in to mop up the remains:

The resulting massacre of the Eldar with the Warlock trying to flee for his life:

The Blood Angel jump squad look to mop up any remaining Fire Dragons after having dealt with the Striking Scorpions. The Priest in the unit was a life-saver!

The Scouts which had terrified the Wraithknight all game (wound on 4+ no matter toughness) are finally charged by the Wraithknight (who had finally given up on hurting the Baal MkI).

The game ends with the Eldar having a wounded Wriathknight, a Farseer, and a Waveserpent left.

Somehow the Blood Angel Land Raider survived all of the punishment that was thrown at it all game; never lost a weapon just got glanced (almost to death).

The flank is secured! 

All in all it was a fun game and good times spent with my best friend! I could see the Eldar having some definite possibilities. Having played the Eldar years and years ago it was nice to see them getting such a big update. There were several times during the game I thought I was 'on the ropes' and it would have taken a nudge to send me 'down for the count'. I hope that you have enjoyed looking at our little annual 4th of July game of Warhammer 40k. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Product Review: Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 Transport Bag

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! It is July 4th here in the States and it is the day we celebrate our Independence and generally go overboard with the patriotism. For the past several years it is also the day I have a game of Warhammer 40k with my good buddy Mordian 7th, however this year he had some band-stuff to work out today so the game is tomorrow. I figured this would be the perfect time to break out a Christmas gift and give it a try......the Battle Foam P.A.C.K 720 army transport bag.

First Impressions: 

The P.A.C.K. 720 is what I would call a mid-sized transport bag, it supposedly can hold 720 marines (hence the name). I am not a huge 40k player and don't have massive armies (don't play Guard!!!) so I found this bag to be a good size for me.

Bag and tray dimensions:
Outside Bag Dimensions - 18W x 14L x 14H" (457W x 356L x 356H mm)
Tray Dimensions - 15.5W x 12L" (394W x 305L mm)


Front of the bag with the very good-sized front pocket:

Side shot with another pocket and I.D. spot on the back of the bag:

The other side with another pocket and showing the shoulder strap:

This is the standard way to open the bag:

Showing the ability to pull out the foam trays from the top:

The bag can be opened further to allow access to the bottom trays:

This allows you to get to the bottom trays without having to remove the top trays:

I found another big pocket inside the bag (also provides some side protection to the foam):

The codex is pulled out to show it fits in the pocket, when ready to close the bag it is not exposed at all.

 The bag comes with (in my chosen load-out) with 12" of foam trays:

Using the P.A.C.K. 720 to pack my army:

I have a 2000pt Blood Angel army to transport tomorrow so I jumped in and started to pack it all up. Here is the army waiting to be packed:

As you can see there are some large vehicles including a Storm Raven and a Land Raider. I was a little concerned that I did not have the correct foam to pack the Storm Raven but I did:

The rest of the vehicles packed:

Terminators on their custom (pain to pack) bases:

The rest of the infantry:

Everything all packed up in the case:

The bag easily holds all the other necessary gaming supplies:

My thoughts on the Battle Foam P.A.C.K. 720

Good:
1) So far I am finding the bag a joy to use. I had plenty of room to pack my miniatures including 2 large vehicles.
2) Battle Foam offers a custom tray creator which I think might be handy for the vehicles.
3) The bag is light and not overly large so it is easy to handle and store.
4) There is a shoulder strap that I find convenient to use.
5) There are pockets everywhere to store your other supplies including a 7" tablet and smart phone.
6) The ability to swap out foam trays from the front or top.

Bad:
1) The company states that it is carry-on approved for air travel but I would not be so sure about that. I travel frequently and I have only seen a couple of planes that I would say you could carry this on and store.


I hope you have found this helpful. I will have some additional thoughts after the game and travel/use of the bag. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!