Wargames Gallery: Iron Warriors in the Ruinstorm

Lost deep within the Ruinstorm, without backup, without communications, without much hope. The loyalist Iron Warriors tackle the terror of the daemons of the Ruinstorm with grim resolve and duty. 

Dark Master Progress

It has been very slow progress to get to this point, but happy with the Dark Master Be'Lakor thus far. 

There are some fiddlesome bits to the build, to be clear. The most obvious being which left arm to select for the build. There are two left arms, and each requires a different chest. It is therefore vital to figure out which chest is required for which left arm -- this might not be totally obvious from the instructions, so always dry fit these two components in combination with each other before gluing into place. 

I personally like the details on the blade and around the face. This one is going to be great to paint up once I reach that stage. That said, I'm not looking forward to the chain mail armour parts or the chains in general - they always feel awkward to get looking right. Regardless, the miniature is a gorgeous build and it is easy to see why this particular kit has proven so popular. 

Back to Bases: Be'Lakor

As bases go, Be'Lakor takes some beating. This then, is the start of one of my projects for the next few weeks and probably months. 

Of course, I have the old miniature of Be'Lakor still in my collection. He is now heavily converted with some pincer arms to give off a bit more of a Slaaneshi vibe. I have regularly used him over many years in a variety of daemon and chaos space marine armies in a variety of guises. Not only as himself, but also as a daemon prince, a generic greater daemon, and more recently as a 30k daemon. 

The new miniature - and it is not so miniature - is nothing short of a beauty. It is not without good reason that it was identified as one of the miniatures of the year when it was released. It is also one that I have wanted to have in my collection since I saw it, but only really had the opportunity when I nicely asked Santa if he would deliver it. I think I must have been a good boy after all. 

With the base now assembled, I'm looking forward to getting the rest of this legend assembled. More later on this project!

Horus Heresy Review: Argel Tal

Background.

A captain of the Serrated Suns chapter of the Word Bearers and also one of the first of the Word Bearers to look into the depths of the Eye of Terror -- he discovered that it looked back at him. The daemon, Raum, possessed him (or arguably formed a symbiosis with him) and enabled him to transform into an incredible part daemon entity capable of mass destruction on the battlefield. 

Purely aside from me, he was also best buddies with Kharn, and the two enjoyed a strong friendship until the end. At which point Kharn was rightly angry...

Strengths.

The stat line along for Argel Tal is very attractive with 5's all round apart from 4 wounds and an extra pip in WS. Combine this with a natural 2+ save and the daemon special rule means that this is an HQ choice to be reckoned with. His close combat attacks feature AP3 at S+1 which means he can pump out a huge amount of damage in melee. The rending and shred rules merely add to this deadliness level. 

I find the warlord trait, Master of the Vakrah Jal, to be very interesting indeed. Using this, Argel Tal unlocks Gal Vorbak as troops choices. If the unit that Tal joins are made of models that have the daemon rule, then they all get feel no pain too. This can be really strong overall, and encourages a really interesting army composition. 

Weaknesses.

He is not a scoring unit, nor does Tal have any ranged weaponry (except for the standard grenades). Naturally, he's also only available to the traitor faction. 

Curiously, Tal lacks the Word Bearers Astartes special rule, but this is understandable. This does not affect his ability to be a praetor level character and select a rite of war from the Word Bearers list though. 

Other than that, the player will need to consider how to get Tal where he needs to be. 

Overall.

Argel Tal is a very strong close combat HQ choice for the Word Bearers legion. An army with lots of daemons in and Gal Vorbak is frankly frightening from a number of different angles. But that sort of army requires finesse to make work well. 

Greater Possessed

On my "to buy" list for a while was the Greater Possessed model that came out quite a while ago now. I really liked the sculpt and wondered whether it would be of comparable size and detail level as the Val Gorbak from 30k Word Bearers legion.

Overall, I like the sculpt and the size of the miniature is indeed rather comparable to the Val Gorbak resin models. However, the sculpt is done in a different way and the detail is simply different to what is found on the Forge World models. I don't think this matters at all for the table top, and they would fit right in with the Word Bearers legion for any 30k game.

For my model, I wanted some red Word Bearers colours on the armour, and to have blue "flesh" coloured bits at the extremities. The images show what I came up with.

They have come out reasonably well overall, and I'm pleased with the contrast of the blues and reds -- particularly against the resin base. I think this would be a fine addition to 30k Val Gorbak squads, and I might just use it as such. 

Daemonology in 30k: Possession

Analysis. 

Rounding off the discussion on daemonology in 30k is the return of an old favourite that has been present in the game as long ago as Realms of Chaos.

In short: sacrifice the caster and replace her or him with a greater daemon! It is certainly worth the points cost, but probably best to play later in the game, just before the sorcerer or caster has lost their final wound for the match.

As for emanations, don't forget that Lord of Sorcery can be taken for free here, which in turn means potentially more daemons to summon. Or just take wings, or something equally good. Actually, since its a greater daemon that is appearing on the battlefield, there's not too much negative aspects to this power.

The only drawback with this power is if the caster fails their test, in which case it results in an automatic perils of the warp. Even so, this is still a risk worth taking for having a bonus greater daemon join your team on the battlefield.

Daemonology in 30k: Incursion

Analysis. 

The penultimate power on the new daemonology list in 30k is Incursion. This is also a summoning spell that creates a unit of either three beasts, or three brutes.

To be quite candid, I cannot envision a situation in which the player would choose beasts over brutes, given the option. Not only are brutes more expensive in terms of point, thus giving the controlling player more points, it is reflected in their stat line which is simply superior in every way to the beasts. Choose brutes. Every time. Only if you desperately want troops is there any reason to choose beasts. But I'm sure a daemons player won't be short of troops to be honest. And there's always the primaris power for that too(!).

As for the emanation to give to the unit, wings remains a solid choice along with the others that I noted in the original Primaris summoning power.

Overall, this is a powerful summoning spell, which is justified by the warp charge cost of the power. I'm not sure it is quite as warp charge points effective as Sacrifice, but its still well worth-while. 

Daemonology in 30k: Sacrifice

Analysis. 

We now turn to a conjuration power which is similar to the Primaris power of summoning. 

As the name implies, there is a sacrificial offering to the chaos gods in exchange for a one of the most trusted servants making an appearance on the battlefield.

What I found odd about this power when I first read it was the fact that the only thing to be sacrificed is a single wound. In other words, one does not (technically) have to remove a model from the tabletop, which is what I thought it would have been. Instead, you can just choose a multi-wound model to drop a single wound and gain a new miniature out of it. This is perfect for many armies since a wounded praetor will hit just as hard as one on full wounds. 

The summoned daemon, in turn, is a single Chosen miniature. In effect, this is (over) fifty free points of miniature appearing on the table for the controlling player at the cost of a single wound. This is therefore a solid power.

Unlike the Primaris power though, it only requires a single warp charge and is therefore much easier to manifest. The points cost of the summoned unit is therefore almost in line with the one-third reduction in warp charge required. I will refer readers to the Primaris power for suggestions on the single emanation permitted, with one important difference. As they are a chaos chosen daemon, they can be given the Lord of Sorcery upgrade for free (taking the effective unit worth to 75 points). This thus reinforces armies like Tzeentch in a very effective manner, and probably means it is one to watch out for on the battlefield. 

Daemonology in 30k: Infernal Gaze

Analysis. 
If Dark Flame was a bit "shrug", then Infernal Gaze is its cousin, "meh". As a beam power, it is okay more or less for 1 warp charge. However, with a range of 18 inches and a very low strength that is not tied to the strength of the model using it (unlike emanations), the power just doesn't have much of a place in a Ruinstorm army to my mind.

Sure, the armourbane effect is nice when required (as is fleshbane), but if the daemons army is not pulling off anti-armour in another way, then this power will not make much difference what so ever.

In my (biased) opinion, this power is simply in the okay category rather than being amazing, or totally worth it. Even Word Bearers sorcerers have access to better (literal) fire power than this in principle. 

Daemonology in 30k: Dark Flame

Analysis. 
As a witch fire power, this particular daemonic dakka is okay, but not spectacular. The torrent template is very nice, but nothing to write home about. The strength is fixed (and not based on the strength of the user as the emanations are in the daemons of the Ruinstorm list is).

The AP is poor, and soul blaze is (and mostly has been) in the okay category without being outstanding.

This, then, is a moderate power and one to think of leaving at home if you have a heavy flamer to hand instead, or for daemons, if you otherwise have corrosive vomit at a native higher strength.

Shrug overall. 

Daemonology in 30k: Cursed Earth

Analysis. 
As a bessing, the cursed earth power is a really powerful addition to the toolset for daemons, especially the Tzeentch variety.

The ability to provide an extra pip of invulnerability save is not to be overlooked lightly, but the real clincher is the ability to not scatter on deep striking.

Sure, these abilities are limited to a 12 inch bubble around the caster, but played right, can turn the tide of a battle. For melee daemons, the bonus save is great (and really nice as well with any other bonuses to save that the daemons can create or manufacture). However, having the deep striking forces come down where you want them can not only out-manoeuvre an opponent, but can also provide a body of daemons to screen the summoner and any unit the summoner is attached to.

Overall, I'd give this power a good rating overall and it is one worth attempting if you're not actively summoning every turn. 

Daemonology in 30k: Summoning

Summoning. 

Malevolence introduces a replacement Daemonology psychic discipline that supersedes the one presented in the Horus Heresy Age of Darkness core red rulebook. 

The designer explicitly notes that this is to bring the discipline in to line with the new Daemons of the Ruinstorm rules presented in book eight. 

The interesting side effect of the new summoning rules is that any summoned lesser daemons gain the same allegiance as that of the summoner. This means that as well as having "traitor" daemons, the summoner can create "loyalist" daemons too. The book gives the example of the tools of the enemy being used against them (perhaps some strain of loyal Dark Angels?), or when wanton destruction is needed by loyal members of traitor units (I could readily imagine that the Alpha Legion loyalists would not think too much about using such tools at their disposal!). 

Summoned Daemons.

Turning now to the Primaris Power: Summoning. This spell creates a unit of 10 ruinstorm lesser daemons for the summoner. These new daemons do not gain any of the usual Ruinstorm rules. Instead, they have the much more classical daemon and fearless special rules. In addition, they can also have a single emanation of horror.

The question is which emanation might be best to select? Without any dominion rules, the choice is more limited than normal emanations. I would suggest one of the following:

Daemonic Wings (for quickly moving around);

Crushing Claws (for better close combat);

Bone Shard Harpoons (for general dakka);

Warp Scaled Hide (for survival).

Plausibly flensing talons is a reasonable choice too, but I'd favour one of the above depending on the situation. Horned Crown might also be viable if there's something close too. 

Overall, this is a balanced approach to summoning that does not have much of a "run away" feature; more of a reinforcement flavour, which is very reasonable. The summoned unit has a base value of 120 points, plus the cost of whichever emanation is selected. This could take the points value up to 170 points plausibly. Of course, the inclusion of such a unit might tilt the balance of a game, but in a large points value game that 30k encourages, it is not so great as to be imbalanced. However, multiple successful summonings can sway the entire game, and an opponent would be well advised to guard against it. 

We will have a look at some of the other daemonology powers in future posts. 

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Arch-Daemon

Background. 
These creatures are the stuff of legends, and in the presented background are suggested to be the daemonic equivalent of titans. Miniature wise, these are the exalted greater daemons, or any large dragon or fiend from other companies that you can lay your hands on. Or your toddler who will ruin your game board?

Strengths.
They have a stat line that is better than many primarchs. Their abilities are commensurate with this too. However, they get to choose different options compared to the regular emanations, some of which are better than others.

Weaknesses.
The only thing I can say here is that I feel the points cost is fractionally too high in comparison to Primarchs, especially given the buffs that primarchs can provide.

Builds.
Given that some of the options are better than others, I will go through them sequentially before presenting a couple of builds to consider.

Lord of Chaos. Given the bonus to saves, this should be an automatic selection for all arch-daemons.

Reaper of Souls. Possibly not worth it unless you are terrified of being tar-pitted.

Breaker of Titans. You are taking a Lords of War here, hence the enemy can as well. This would be a prudent selection.

Font of the Warp. Mastery level 4 is fabulous, and very appropriate for Tzeentch players. Don't take if you are playing a Khorne army though.

Wound in Reality. Nice for Mirror of Hate builds I think.

Beyond Death. The inherent randomness in this upgrade possibly argues against its selection. That, and I suspect the time taken to down this daemon means it is not prudent.

Torrent of Unreality. A nice hellstorm attack.

Warp Burst. Another nice titan-like blast attack.

Rend Space and Time. The ability to place a new rift marker is tactical genius level trolling against an opponent in the right hands. Nurgle players will like the bonus victory points, and its is also very Tzeentch-like too.

Warp-forged plate. A 2+ armour save is good.

Flying Gargantuan Creature. Can be taken in addition to three of the above. Recommended.

Suggested builds (untested).

Resplendent terror: Arch-Daemon, Lord of Chaos, Breaker of Titans, Warp Burst, Flying (820 points).
A base line entry with firepower, stability, and threat.

Crimson fury: Arch-Daemon, Lord of Chaos, Warp-forged plate, Torrent of unreality, Flying (830 points).
Armour everywhere, and a giant flamer to torch the flesh from the skulls for ready addition to the throne.

Creeping Scourge: Arch-Daemon, Lord of Chaos, Rend Time and Space, Breaker of Titans, Flying(835 points).
Very nice for Nurgle players!

Lurid Onslaught: same as Resplendent terror. Possibly replace warp burst with font of the warp?

Maddening Swarms: Arch-Daemon, Lord of Chaos, Font of the Warp, Rend Time and Space, Flying (900 points).
The Font of the Warp has to be a given for Tzeentch daemons really.

Mirror of Hate. Arch-Daemon, Wound in Reality, Font of the Warp, Breaker of Titans, Flying (860 points).
Seems fluffy to me, and could work really well for the alternate victory conditions under certain circumstances (like being killed and taking others with them). 

Master Painted Great Unclean One

I took my time. A hell of a lot of time. And I am pleased. I'm not sure I'm quite finished yet, but this is looking striking, original, and very fitting for a 30k Ruinstorm Daemons army, 40k daemons of chaos, or Age of Sigmar army.

Behold my new Great Unclean One.

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Behemoth

Background. 
These are the largest and most imposing monster straight out of the warp. They are enormous, living tanks and weapons, but beyond that, their forms are as variable as the masters and whims that they serve.

Strengths.
They're big. They have a massive ten wounds. Yes: ten wounds! And they are monstrous creatures. Their stat line is on par with a primarch overall except for weapon skill and ballistic skill.

They have they special rule, Unstoppable, which affects the way that instant death interacts with them (cause d3 wounds instead) and similar for anything that demands their removal from play. Sniper and Poisoned attacks are reduced to a natural 6 to hurt them too. This is very nice!

Weaknesses.
They cost three times the amount as a greater beast, but I think this extra cost is worth it considering the extra wounds and special rule that we get with the behemoth.

Builds.
Resplendent Terror Build:
Behemoth, Rift Barb, Warp-scaled Hide, Molten Blood (345 points).
Destroy a transport tank. Get in combat with whatever they were carrying. Kill them. They kill themselves when they wound the behemoth. There's little not to like thematically!

Crimson Fury Build:
Behemoth, Brass Collar, Rift Barb, Molten Blood (335 points).
A more points-efficient variation of the above build. Note also: this build is open to Resplendant terror too!

Creeping Scourge Build:
Behemoth, Miasma of Rot, Warp-Scaled Hide, Molten Blood (345 points).
This is just rude. In combat the molten blood hits at strength = user, but the miasma of rot reduces the effective toughness of the opponent by 1. Very nice for taking on deadnoughts in the early game. 

Lurid Onslaught Build:
Behemoth, Stupefying Musk, Rift Barb (325 points).
Another tank hunter really.

Maddening Swarms Build:
I honestly don't think Tzeentch players should use this due to lack of magic or psionic powers. However, if you do, refer to the resplendent terror build, above.

Mirror of Hate Build:
Take the base line Resplendent Terror build, above. 

Horus Heresy Review: Greater Ruinstorm Daemon Beast

Background. 
They are big. And that is about all that we know about the greater ruinstorm daemon beasts. They have a variety of shapes, and are described in the text as casually swatting tanks as if they were toys.

Strengths.
These things are effectively living tanks. With a base strength of 8, they can provide very effective anti-tank in the army to back up any Shrike that you've already given rift barb to. That, and they're a monstrous creature.

Weaknesses.
Not too many to be candid. They're a solid choice and need to be played as a living tank, albeit with 4 wounds each. That said, it would probably be better to invest in a behemoth if the points are available simply because they have superior survivability.

Builds.
Resplendent Terror Build:
Greater Beast, Rift Barb (115 points).
I regard this as the base build. Add on some Warp Hide for extra survivability perhaps.

Crimson Fury Build:
Greater Beast, Brass Collar, Rift Barb (130 points).
Standard Khorne build - and a very nice one it is too.

Creeping Scourge Build:
Greater Beast, Miasma of Rot, Warp-Scaled Hide (140 points).
This is now in a "distraction carnifex" style.

Lurid Onslaught Build:
Greater Beast, Stupefying Musk, Rift Barb (125 points).
Not as survivable as the Khorne version or Nurgle version (both above), but still nice.

Maddening Swarms Build:
Greater Beast, Flaming Ichor (120 points).
The inability to take any magic or psychic powers hurts Tzeentch here. I don't advise taking greater beasts if you are a Tzeentch player. I want to like this slot in the army, but can't for this build. Sorry.

Mirror of Hate Build:
Take the base line build (see resplendent terror, above).

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Shrike

Background. 
Potentially dragons breathing fire over the battlefield, or rotting vultures looking for the next snack. These daemons are the over-sized fliers of the Ruinstorm daamon army.

Strengths.
They're big, with a nice stat line, and are fundamentally flying monstrous creatures. However, they are only equipped with close combat weapons like claws and no ranged options which would have to be obtained via emanations.

Weaknesses.
I'd like these to ideally be deployed without the need for regular daemonic deployment, but such is life. The playstyle here calls for swift action and getting in to combat or range very quickly. They are broadly worth the point, but as with many other daemons need to be used well and quickly in a given battle.

Builds.
Resplendent Terror Builds:
Shrike, Corrosive Vomit (170 points).
Its a dragon.  

Shrike, Rift Barb (170 points).
A different type of dragon (anti-tank!).

Crimson Fury Build:
Shrike, Brass Collar, Horned Crown (180 points).
Some sort of flying Khorne monster? I don't know anymore.

Creeping Scourge Build:
Shrike, Miasma of Rot, Warp-Scaled Hide (185 points).
Some grotesque decaying fright bat.

Lurid Onslaught Build:
Shrike, Stupefying musk, Lord of Sorcery (195 points).
Erm?

Maddening Swarms Build:
Shrike, 2x Lord Of Sorcery (210 points).
This one makes more sense, but I've still no idea what model to represent it with.

Mirror of Hate Build:
Shrike, Rift Barb, Lord of Sorcery (195 points).
A utility dragon?

Great Unclean One: Daemonic Sword

A painting update today on the Great Unclean One, focussing in on the weapon he's holding. The sculpt of the Great Unclean One in plastic is simply phenomenal, and laden with a slew of details; the daemonic sword that he holds is no exception to this.

Around a rusted outer edge is a core festooned and embedded with skulls. When I saw this, I wondered immediately if I could somehow bring a bit more life in to this core skull area rather than just stick with a rusted tone. Although others have attempted similar, I figured I wanted my version to stand out as noxiously Nurgle, but also unique. Therefore I opted to have the skull area painted in a contrasting, but consistently Nurgle, green toxic tone.

The painting approach here is straight forward. I undercoated the model in Corax White all over to begin with. I then set to work on the inner region of the blade by giving it a base layer of white. A generous coating of hex wraith flame ink was then applied to give it a spooky and toxic like depth. This was highlighted in a lighter green colour around the skulls and raised parts. I might go over the highlighting again later, but overall I'm happy with this part.

The thing that makes it "pop" a bit more than usual is the muted colours around the edge. I used pure black to outline the blade and base coat the rusted portions. Following this, a dappling of golds, silvers, and bronzes followed on top, laying up a very rusted feeling with a random application of these colours and blends along the entire length of the blade.

Overall, the effect is really nice and speaks volumes of a daemonic blade suitable for wielding by a Great Unclean One. I really like this approach and experiment. Onward with the main body that I'm going to try a master work blend approach on. More about that at a later date.

Unclean and most assuredly Great

A "little" ...erm... "treat" following some recent sales that I've made on eBay from my older miniatures: one of the newer, plastic Great Unclean Ones!

This is a kit that I have wanted to get a hold of for a while, but couldn't quite justify the cost to myself without selling some of my older and unused miniatures. And what a kit it is. It is readily apparent how much design work has gone in to the new Great Unclean One and the superior production values compared to years ago when the metal versions were all the rage.

The size of the miniature is immense too. It has a really dominant presence on the battle field from its sheer height and bulk.

Putting together the miniature was straight forward: it is hollow on the inside, hence its a bit like making a "cup" or semi-spherical object using plastic and glue. The parts slot together really well, and the only choices are which arms and head to attach to the miniature, plus the teeth versus the spilling gut on the front.

For this one, I have opted for the teeth (largely because its a classic in my eyes), the sword in the right arm, and the Rotigus arm for the left hand as I really like the tentacles and the pose -- it looks as if a spell is being cast to my eyes. And if not, then it looks like the right hand is about to come down to chop whatever the left hand is going to grasp on to. I was struggling to choose which head though as both have their merits. I did attempt to put the viper tongue on the symmetric horned head, but a dry fit revealed how poor that worked. Hence I went for the symmetric horned head without any special work done. One nurgling on the shoulder and I was done!

I know that this arrangement is not canon for 40k or Age of Sigmar per se. However, I'm not bothered much since I will be using this primarily in 30k for a Ruinstorm army where such implementations will look excellent.

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Cavalry

Background. 
In the old Realms of Chaos books, each god had a steed. For Khorne, it was the juggernauts, for Slaanesh the steeds, Discs of Tzeentch for the god of magic and ... erm ... Nurglings for Nurgle (because they held aloft palanquins of Nurgle -- don't overthink this one).
These days, there are more variances and nuances such as Tzeentch having both discs and the Screamers. Nurgle even has the Rot Fly these days too for a bit of Plaguebearer mounted air support.
This entry in the daemons list is therefore backed up extensively in the canon background and a true and welcome addition.

Strengths.
Naturally, cavalry are treated just as the name suggests (i.e. they have the same unit type as their name!). This means that they come with both fleet and hammer of wrath as standard.

Their stat line is nothing to write home about though: the exact same as lesser daemons, but with one extra attack. This is nice, and also encourages aggressive play with them.

Weaknesses.
As with lesser daemons, they share the same general vulnerabilities. Worse, they cost double the points of lesser daemons. Therefore: don't hold these daemons back - go for the kill.

Builds. 
Resplendent Terror Build:

5 Cavalry, Horned Crown (140 points).

Why bother with Horned Crown when they already have hammer of wrath? Because they will now have 1d3 hammer of wrath attacks instead of one!  Add ephemeral terror to taste?

Crimson Fury Build:

10 Cavalry, Brass Collars, Horned Crown (330 points).
Hard hitting, and a large unit with a good save. This is very decent overall!

Creeping Scourge Build:

5 Cavalry, Miasma of Rot, Warp-Scaled Hide (165 points).

Essentially a good tar-pit and death through attrition unit. 

Lurid Onslaught Build:

5 Cavalry, Stupefying Musk, Crushing Claws (165 points).

A moderate attempt to build steeds of Slaanesh.

Maddening Swarms Build:

10 Cavalry, Warp Scions, Bone Shard Harpoons (310 points).

Screamers, but with magic, and shooting weapons. Okay, they're not screamers any longer. But they are a reasonable Tzeentch build. 

Mirror of Hate Build:

10 Cavalry, Horned Crown, Molten Blood (310 points).

I lost the plot here a bit. The molten blood kills others if they suffer wounds, which feels kind of like it should play out here perhaps?