white metal games

February 4, 2020

Legio Gryphonicus: Swiping Right to Glory

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog, Warhammer 40k / adeptus titanicus, horus heresy, legio gryphonicus, white metal games /

The Legion was founded during the Age of Strife and when the Horus Heresy began the War Griffons remained loyal to the Imperium. Horus predicted their decision beforehand and scattered the Legion under fabricated pretenses across the stars. Throughout the Heresy, Legio Gryphonicus built a fierce hatred for Horus’ stalwart Legio Mortis. Some view the Princeps of the War Griffons as pompous and arrogant in seeking glory to maintain reputation, but in truth Legio Gryphonicus maintains an ancient warrior tradition that focuses on maintaining complex beliefs of honor by proving a Princep’s ability to wage war through single combat.

Traits:

Lust for Glory:

This ability allows for the War Griffon player to elect to choose an enemy Titan as a target for any Gryphonicus titan. If they attack their intended target in combat, they are allowed to reroll 1’s to hit and also get +1 to the results of any armour rolls. If a Princeps attacks a Titan that is not their claim, they lose the Lust for Glory ability for the remainder of the battle.

Mainstay of the Titan Legion:

When selecting a Gryphonicus Mantiple, the player may select a Reaver Titan in place of either a Warhound or a Warlord Titan.

Wargear:

Enhanced Auspex Relays:

Gryphonicus Warhounds, +10pts: Whenever a Legio Gryphonicus Titan attacks, it can always measure the distance to any targets that are within 12” of a friendly Warhound before declaring a target in the combat phase.

Gravatus Plating:

Gryphonicus Reavers (selected in a mantiple in place of a Warlord), +20 pts: Gravatus Plating adds +1 armour value to the body and legs of the Titan, but reduces its base and boosted speed by 1.

Motive Sub-reactors:

Gryphonicus Reavers (selected in a Mantiple in place of a Warhound), +25 pts: Motive Sub-reactors allows the Reaver to use its boosted Speed and Maneuver characteristics without pushing its reactor, but if it suffers a Critical Hit to the Legs, roll a d6. If the result is 1-3, its reactor is increased by 1.

Princeps Seniores Personal Traits

1) Reckless Maverick: Once per battle, the Princeps Seniores can activate a second time in the movement or combat phase. After, advance their reactor level 3 times.

2) Master Duelist: Failed Hit rolls can be re-rolled by the Princeps Seniores’ Titan when makings its attacks against a target within 8”.

3) Hunter without Equal: Re-roll any failed Hits, when the Princeps Seniores’ Titan attacks a target it has claimed.

Gameplay:

As the first Legio with rules in Adeptus Titanicus, Legio Gryphonicus proves to be very competitive across the board. Their Lust for Glory trait allows them to reroll all failed 1’s to Hit against claimed targets. Compared to 8th edition 40k, AT rarely offers the option to reroll dice, let alone an entire series of dice. This makes their combat phase devastating paired with high output weaponry on claimed targets. Warlord carapace Apocalypse Missile Launchers, “disco” Reavers (double Laser Blasters and carapace Turbo Laser Destructor), and Warhound Vulcan Mega Bolters become much more efficient and deadlier with the bump (+1) to armour rolls.

The War Griffon’s have an additional Legio trait that gives them the ability to insert a Reaver Titan in any Mantiple. This gives that Mantiple a lot more punch and durability (if replacing a Warhound) or a cheaper, yet faster option (when swapping out a Warlord). I would recommend giving those Reaver Titans the Legio special wargear in such instances as the benefits greatly outweigh their consequences. Motive Sub-reactors would allow a swapped Reaver to move 9” with 3 manuevers, keeping a fair pace with Warhound Titans in a Lupercal Light, Ferrox Light, or Venator Light Mantiple. Gravatus Plating would make a Reaver structurally tougher, but at the price of limiting its movement to 5”/8”. Though this reduction of movement is still an improvement compared to a Warlord’s, the true benefit is having an affordable Mantiple with the Reaver shaving approximately 200 points to replaced a Warlord. This utility allows for the creation of Maniples such as a Fortis Battle Mantiple with triple Reavers merging shields and ignoring armour modifiers i.e. structural damage and flank/ rear modifiers. Other alternatives include cheaper points options for an Axiom or Myrmidon Battle Mantiples.

The personal traits of the War Griffon’s are some of the best due to the fact that two out of three are not limited by how often it can be used i.e. “once per battle”. Master Duelist (recommended when in a Ferrox Light Mantiple) and Hunter without Equal synergize well with the Lust for Glory trait and further enhance their abilities to reroll Hits.

Counters:

The best counter when playing Legio Gryphonicus is to strip away their Lust for Glory ability. In order to do this, you will need to keep claimed targets moving fast and away from the hunting Titans. By doing so, you make your opponent choose to either pursue and possibly forfeit activating in the combat round (if they cannot target their claim) or sacrifice the ability and no longer get the benefit. As a side note; be a good sport and write down which Titan claimed whom so you and your opponent can both be accountable and avoid having to deal with claim confusion or gotcha moments.

I recently played a friend’s Gryphonicus Myrmidon Battleline Mantiple with Questoris and Cerastus support. I was able to use the Legion Fog of War Stratagem for my Solaria engines and it ended up working well as a shell game for him to either hunt down a Princep Senoris Warhound that was redeployed across the table or sacrifice the Titans Lust for Glory. He chose the latter. I had the benefit of speed, maneuverability, and numbers, but his Knights were able to hold me back long enough for his Warlords and Reaver to put enough damage down with the remaining glory seeking Titans that he was able to steal the game in the final round. Let that be a lesson to you all, don’t let those Titans Lusting for Glory steal your victory!

If you’re as excited as I am for the next wave of releases for Adeptus Titanicus, visit our webstore to order your copy of Shadow and Iron and get yourself a Warbringer Nemesis Titan while you’re at it all for 15% off!

Send us your quote request form so we can paint your new Knights and Titans so you can get them to the tabletop sooner!

White Metal Games is a miniature painting commission service based out of Knightdale, North Carolina. They specialize in producing custom models for any range including wargames (i.e. Warhammer 40k), board games, roleplaying games, historical figures, and display dioramas.

January 24, 2020

First Take on the First Legion

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog / 40k, dark angels, Ritual of the Damned, warhammer 40k, white metal games /

The Dark Angels are looking to rebound from once being an unplayable faction into one with longer teeth. With their new special combat doctrine from Ritual of the Damned, Relentless Hunt, all weapons in a Dark Angels force is improved with better range when the Devastator doctrine is in effect. It is being touted as one of the most all encompassing specialized doctrines, but is truly powerful? When paired with the Unforgiven’s Chapter Tactic, Grim Resolve (assuming their Chapter Tactic will be updated to now benefit all units), not only will units benefit longer range, but will be able to reroll Hit rolls of 1’s when stationary. Let’s take a look to see what weapons and units Relentless Hunt immediately improves for the Dark Angels and see how this will affect their meta.

Weapons:

Flamers- No one wants to be Overwatched by auto-hitting flamers, now it’s practically impossible to avoid it against the Dark Angels.

Assault Cannons- With range being its biggest disadvantage, Dark Angels are able to rely on this weapon to produce dakka with further reach.

Melta weapons- The biggest challenge with melta weapons is getting them in range, but more specifically within half range in order to benefit their damage ability. This greatly improves Melta Cannons while giving some much needed extra reach to meltaguns.

Plasma Weapons- Space marine plasma weapons have generally always toed the line as mid-range and long-range weapons. Now heavy plasma weapons can now sit back at long range while rapid fire and assault plasma weapons are solid mid-range weapons.

Bolt Weapons- As the backbone of a Space Marine arsenal, bolt weapons now make troop choices an even better value in a Dark Angels force, especially Intercessors.

Intercessors:

The best troop choice for Dark Angels has drastically shifted from the economic Scout squad to the Intercessor. It is arguable which weapon is better suited, but both the Stalker Bolt Rifle and standard Bolt Rifle synergize well with Grim Resolve and Relentless Hunt to allow for rerolls to hit of 1’s when stationary. The longer range improves the reach of the Stalker, while also making it easier to double tap with the rapid fire trait of the Bolt Rifle (either while remaining stationary or shooting within half range).

Auto Bolt Rifles- 27”

Bolt Rifles- 36”

Stalker Bolt Rifles- 42”

Land Raider Crusader:

Benefitting from both doctrines and Chapter tactic, Crusaders see a much needed boost to all of its ranged weaponry. Now a Land Raider Crusader will be able to have some flexibility during deployment rather than always being on the frontline and moving without penalty (Power of the Machine Spirit) to reach and maximize their shooting output.

Assault Cannons- 30” range

Melta Cannons- 30”, 15” half range

Hurricane Bolters: 30” range

Vindicators:

Once a favorite of many players, the Vindicator has seen drastic changes of late. Now with D6 shots and a 30” range for Dark Angels Players, this tank will make Knight players think twice about aggressive deployment and failed charges. Keep them hidden in the event you go second and enjoy a nasty counter punch. Take three is a relatively economic Spearhead Detachment to threaten monster and vehicle heavy armies.

Demolisher Cannon- 30”

Storm Bolter-30”

In recent years, The First Legion has played like a traditional gunline faction. With the anticipated updates from Ritual of the Damned, it looks like they will get benefits to emphasize this battlefield role, while also giving them tactical flexibility across the board. With an army wide buff to ranged weapons, they are able to sit further back and even outdistance other gunline factions. This makes them a tough opponent to face if they get first turn, but also help them pack an energized counter punch if they survive going second.

Are you interested in picking up a copy of Ritual of the Damned? Why wait? Visit our Webstore to get 15% off your copy and Master Lazarus!

January 14, 2020

Psychic Awakening: Faith and Fury, The Ruinous Winners

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog / 40k, Alpha Legion, CHAOS, CHAOS SPACE MARINES, Faith and Fury, Games-Workshop, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, wargaming, warhammer, warhammer 40k, white metal games /

With the release of Psychic Awakening: Faith and Fury, the forces of Chaos received an update to some of their most renowned and reviled Legions. The most notable winners of the Traitor Legions include the Night Lords, Alpha Legion, and Iron Warriors. Let’s review some of their best Warlord Traits, Stratagems, and Relics to see why they came out “winners”.

To mirror the updates granted to loyalist Space Marines, Chaos Marines were given their own rules of Malicious Volleys (see Bolter Discipline) and Hateful Assault (see Shock Assault) to upgrade the standard bolter effectiveness and increase melee output. Pair these perks with a few of the new daemon weapons and you’ll have a character that is a big threat on the tabletop.

Daemon Weapons:

The Rapacious Talons (Slaanesh): Rapacious Talons replaces two lightning claws or two sets of malific talons on a Slaanesh marked model. Though the stats are slightly better than regular lightning claws (Str User, -2 AP, D2), its ability makes the owner a winner. Basically as long as you pass the daemon weapon test on a 2+, you add the number rolled to the models attack characteristic while also being able to reroll wound rolls with the standard lightning claw rules. This would make a Chaos Lord have 4+1+ (2-6) attacks for potentially a max of 11 attacks in conjunction with the Hateful Assault rule before any other buffs come into play. For a unit that costs a little over 100 points, it is a horde killer and more importantly Primaris kryptonite with its Damage 2 value.

Fist of Decay (Nurgle): The Nurgle relic replaces a powerfist and has quite a more potent profile to the standard fisticuff. Delivering a flat Damage of 3, it also has the ability to always wound on an unmodified wound roll of 2+, making it especially powerful versus monsters and vehicles. Though it does have the usual -1 to hit for powerfists, a Chaos Lord’s has the ability to reroll 1’s to hit. Thus, it improves their chance to land with all 5 attacks by hitting on 3+ (rerolling 1’s) and then wounding on 2+.

Traitor Legions:

Night Lords:

The Sons of the Night Haunter have a great combination of Warlord Traits, Stratagems, and Artefacts that can build some terrifying combinations in collaboration with their Legion trait. Night Lord stratagems come at a reasonable cost, with many of their Legion specific Stratagems costing only 1 Command Point, allowing you to use them over multiple rounds. These Stratagems focus on buffing Night Lord units while the enemy is weak and denying the enemy certain abilities i.e. falling back or surviving morale tests. It helps that an Outrider Detachment of a single Chaos Lord and 3 minimal units of Warp Talons costs less than 400 points, allowing a Night Lords player to take multiple Battalion Detachments to farm Command Points while still having a hard hitting detachment that will enact and maximize their Terror Tactics ability once they arrive from reserves or close the gap to the enemy.

If you’re interested in building a Warlord that is a whirling dervish of a death; take the Killing Fury Trait (+D3 attacks) and pair it with the Talons of the Night Terror (Model that can Fly only, +D3 attacks or +D6 attacks on the Charge/Heroic Intervention) for all the attack bonuses. The Jump Lord will have 4+1+D3+D6 attacks on the charge for a maximum of 14 attacks at Str 5, -1 AP and D1. He will wipe hordes with ease and overwhelm tougher targets through sheer volume of attacks. As a backup, arm him with a powerfist in the event he gets into melee with a vehicle or character for a maximum of 8 attacks with the powerfist profile.

Alpha Legion:

As the ultimate masters of the shell game, the Alpha Legion have traits and abilities that make them super shifty, sabotage-centric, and tenacious thorugh misdirection. A few of their Warlord Traits are practical applications of their playstyle. The Master of Diversion trait allows the player to redeploy 3 units on the battlefield at the start of the First Battle Round. By redeploying 3 units, an Alpha Legion player is able to adapt to their enemies deployment, prevent or fix their own flawed deployment, and dictate an aggressive first turn or posture defensively. Faceless Commander is a once per battle Stratagem that allows you to remove your Warlord from the battlefield and set them up again with 3” of a friendly infantry unit and more than 9” away from the enemy. It guarantees that your Warlord gets into melee in no time, continuing to earn their points with kills.

The majority of the Alpha Legion specific Stratagems are modestly priced and prove that the Sons of the Hydra are playing with a loaded deck. Sabotaged Armoury costs 1 Command Point and can be used in any phase, but before an opponent’s roll to add 3 to a roll when testing if a vehicle explodes (on a 6+ it does). Remascent Infiltration allows an infantry unit to be placed back in reserves and brought back in via the standard reserves rules for only 1 point, allowing units to fight and fade in the early stages of the game.

The best of the Artefacts (Mindveil and Hydra’s Wail) don’t even take the form of weapons. Mindveil allows a model to roll 3d6 as their movement value, grants them the ability to move through units and terrain as if they weren’t there, and charge on a turn in which they fell back. An Alpha Legion Character would have no trouble getting into combat with this enhanced “jump pack” and perform hit and runs to prevent becoming a target in the enemy’s Shooting phase. Hydra’s Wail is a once per battle Relic, but forces an opponent to spend an extra command point on a 4+ (for the remainder of the battle round) in order to use their intended Stratagems. This is a great ability to use, especially in the later battle rounds, to ensure an opponent isn’t able to shift the momentum to their advantage and forces an opponent to budget additional command points with the knowledge that the Hydra’s Wail is on the playlist.

Iron Warriors:

The Iron Warriors are renowned as siege specialists dedicated to heavy weaponry and the daemon engines that ravage their foes. With their new rules, the Iron Warriors are nearly impervious to low AP weapons, excellent vehicle killers, and brutes in melee. Of all the Warlord Traits, Stoic Advance is the most practical as it allows Iron Warriors within 6” of the Warlord to ignore the penalty for moving and firing a heavy weapon. Units will always have a target in sight and the proper angle on their victims without suffering penalties to hit. If you’re looking to add iron within, the Bastion trait pairs with the Dour Duty Stratagem to allow a targeted Iron Warrior unit within 6” of their Warlord to negate AP -2 weapons to AP 0, making them missile proof (or Riptide proof).

Iron Warrior Stratagems are some of the best in the book, with only one being situational due to applying only when playing against Imperial Fists (Bitter Enmity). A solid combination is to use Tank Hunters (1 CP) and Methodical Annihilation (1 CP) in the shooting phase to kill vehicles by re-rolling the wounds and rerolling the damage. Now a unit of Iron Warrior Havocs with lascannons can make short work of a Knight with those buffs without worrying about 1’s or spending command points to guarantee a fatal attack lands.

Artifacts of the Iron Warriors come as a mixed bag, but two stand out above the rest. The Cranium Malevolus is used in the Shooting phase instead of the bearer shooting. Instead, roll a D6 for every enemy vehicle within 9” of the model, on a 4-5 the unit takes D3 mortal wounds and on a 6 the unit suffers 3 mortal wounds. Find the ideal opportunity via prime reserve entry to deep strike a character in to affect multiple enemy vehicles and get your credits worth. An alternative relic choice would be to arm a Daemon Prince with the Axe of the Forgemaster to have a powerful melee character able to wreck vehicles with a Str 10 weapon that does D3 mortal wounds on a wound roll of 5+ in addition to its normal 2 damage.

If you are interested in adding some heretical Warlords and corrupt Daemon Engines to your forces, check out our webstore to see which Chaos models we have game-ready and available or checkout our Rental program to test some new reinforcements during your next game!

January 8, 2020

Blood of the Phoenix: Is Drazhar the Baddest?

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog / 40k, aeldari, drazhar, drukhari, eldar, incubi, warhammer, warhammer 40k, white metal games /

Hi Metalheads,

Today we are taking a look at the deadliest Drukhari to have ever appeared in the Dark City: Drazhar! With the recent release of Blood of the Phoenix, his model was given an amazing update along with his ruthless retinue of Incubi. Sadly, even with new models and updated rules, you probably won’t see these miniatures on the tabletop (unless you’re playing a casual game at your FLGS or at home). Let’s change that and take a look at Drazhar the Living Sword’s rules and see just how good he can be.

Looking at his stats, he has a similar statline as before with the exception of now having 6 Wounds. This enhances his durability with a 2+ save, 5++ invulnerable save, and 6+ FNP from his Faction’s Power through Pain rule.

A vital stat for his offensive capabilities is his base S4. Combine it with a couple key special rules and he is a master of versatility. With the Master of Blades rule and the Incubi Keyword, he benefits from +1 to Wound, hitting T4 enemies on 3+ or T8 Vehicles on 5+. Paired with the Lethal Precision ability, any wound rolls of 6 double to 4 damage each, so either of his weapon options has potential to be devastating.

His strength in addition to his single weapon bonus makes him capable of wounding tougher T4 opponents such as Space Marines on 2+ and T8 vehicles on 4+ when using his demiklaives as a single blade. On the charge and using the single blade, the Living Sword would have 4A at S5, -3AP, D2 (D4 on 6’s to wound) and could double if he charges due to his Murderous Assault rule (allowing him to activate to fight an additional time when charging). If you chose to wield dual blades, he has a total of 12A, S4, -2, D2 (D4 on 6’s to wound) and with the clarity for the FAQ, he is able to attack twice when he charges before an enemy model is activated.

Drahzar is capable of doing everything from slaying hordes to hacking away at vehicles, but he also grants a useful boost to Incubi within 6” of him via Lethal Precision as mentioned above. Having an escort unit of Incubi grants him a sturdy screen (3+save, 6+ FNP) nearby to prevent him taking unnecessary ranged attacks via his character keyword (when they arn’t embarked or locked in combat), but also supports his murder spree through weight of attacks and Lethal Precision.

If you like what you see and wish to bolster your Drukhari forces, the Incubi are available for purchase!

January 6, 2020

T’au Tactics: Markerlight Mash-Up

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog / 40k, markerlight, markerlights, smatt, tau, warhammer, warhammer 40k, white metal games /

White Metal Games embraces the Greater Good with its latest T’au studio army.

Hey Metalheads,

It’s Smatt here with a brand new series for you! We are taking a deep dive into the Warhammer 40,000 universe to discuss T’au tactics. Today we are going to review how the Imperium and more specifically the Space Marine meta have drastically changed an imperative to T’au strategy: markerlight allocation.

With the arrival of 8th edition Warhammer 40k, some of its more flavorful T’au units have gone to the wayside, while others rise to ascendance. Markerlight drones were replaced with Pathfinders, but eventually the community cracked the code by discovering the finesse of the Greater Good in providing quality ballistic lights via relatively cheap characters. This norm has allowed T’au players to invest a small portion of their points on characters with markerlights and have them protected by their keyword character designation and the target priority rule.

A handful of updates and new units changed the T’au game and caused concern for this strategy. Not too long ago, snipers were few and far between. Now with the Vanguard Primaris line widely available, Space Marine players bring to the table Eliminators, capable of shooting characters and not needing line of sight. Pray that they aren’t Ravenguard, able to utilize the Surgical Strike ability to deliver a much harsher reality. In the Imperium, Vindicare Assassins were all the rage before the command point adjustment, allowing them to be taken for 85 points and one command point, while capable of killing two characters a turn without needing to change magazines. Vindicare Assassins are the sole reason I adjusted from being heavily reliant on solely characters with markerlights (via a Sa’cea Sept Vanguard Detachment with a Cadre Fireblade and triple Firesight Marksmen).

If you haven’t heard, T’au are sweeping the big tables lately with victories at SoCal and Nova, among others. We can learn quite a bit from both their lists as they show us markerlight innovation at its finest.

Recent 2019 SoCal Winner Brian Pullen uses mixed units of Shield and Markerlights Drones, Fire Warrior Shas’ui, Pathfinders, and an Ethereal for markerlights counters or similar aura effects. Let’s take a look at his list below:

His Markerlight Drones are able to move and shoot without penalty, adding better maneuverability for late game grabs and they are more cost effective on points in their role versus investing on a single character to get one markerlight. He buffs them by dedicating one of his Commanders wuth Drone Controller so they are able to Hit on 4+. The added protection of the Shield Drones allows him to allocate wounds if running low on markerlights or the Markerlight Drones can be used for Savior Protocols for other vulnerable units. Fire Warrior Shas’ui are cheap, hidden markerlights that will usually hang back in your castle. They will always be your last Fire Warrior to fall. Pathfinders can act as aggressive screens with their free pregame Vanguard move and have more staying power with drones. Each Pathfinder is armed with a pulse carbine or markerlight, adding to their versatility late game. Ethereals are able to use their ability to enact Storm of Fire, allowing reroll of 1’s to hit for stationary units within 6” as a backup for your diminished supply of markerlights.

Richard Siegler, winner of the Nova Open 2019 uses small accessory units of Shield Drones with Markerlight Characters (Cadre Fireblades, Darkstrider), units of Pathfinders, and an Ethereal to earn his markerlight buffs.

The main difference between Brian and Richard’s list is Richard relies on characters for quality markerlights hitting on premium BS and pairs it with Pathfinders and an Ethereal. He protects his characters by utilizing their drone options to have two shield drones accompany each applicable character and normally hides those drones out of sight. These small teams end up becoming tactically flexible for the T’au player and ceaselessly annoying for their opponent to kill.

With the game constantly unveiling new and better units and rules, T’au have proven that they have plenty of options for Markerlight counters, but just one won’t work. No matter where your markerlights are allocated, just make sure you have them well protected and your markerlights are not all in one Devilfish.

If you like what you see and wish to bolster your T’au forces, this T’au army is available for purchase!

January 3, 2020

Adeptus Titanicus: Stripping The Void Shields On Your Wallet

Smatt / 0 Comments / Blog / 40k, adeptus, adeptus titanicus, epic, imperial, knight, reaver, titan, titanicus, titans, warhammer, warlord, white metal games, wmg /

Originally released in 1988, Games-Workshop brought Adeptus Titanicus back to its fans at the end of 2018 in the form of a new gaming system, Adeptus Titanicus: The Horus Heresy. The delight of grizzled gamers everywhere rattled their dusty Epic scale models in storage lockers everywhere. I was only a few years old when the predecessor of Epic came into existence, so Adeptus Titanicus circa 2018 was not on my radar. I finally stumbled upon the system from an online preview and creeped on the miniatures, but one look at the prices had me aborting any thoughts of playing the game.

Fast forward to April 2019 at my groups bi-monthly game night. Lucky me, I was the only person to show up…aside from our host Dan. After twiddling our thumbs for about an hour and shooting the grim dark breeze, Dan had the idea to introduce me to his newest passion: Adeptus Titanicus! Thankfully, Dan diverted his energy normally dedicated to the Horus Heresy (30k) into Titanicus and provided two fully painted Legios to battle. We played a game with basic rules with mirror match god-engines; 1 Warlord, 1 Reaver, and 1 Warhound. It wasn’t until that night that I realized I’ve always subconsciously wanted to command an agile Warhound Titan into flanking maneuvers to kill its larger cousin machines. Each machine had its own strengths and weaknesses that a skilled Princeps could field to out maneuver, outgun, or survive engagements. Our battle ended with both of our Warlords hammering away at each other as they closed the distance. My engine fought off his striding Titan while immobilized and was able to destroy the machine from afar before it approached close enough to cause mortal damage from its detonating plasma reactor.

The best aspects of gameplay remind me of a mix of Warhammer 40k (old and new), Necromunda, and Kill Team. Blast and flame templates are back for those old school 40k players that have missed them since 7th edition. Players roll off at the start of each battle round to compete for the initiative. The command consoles for each titan makes the player question every decision in regard to their reactors and adds a wildcard factor with the possibility of the machine spirit taking control. Each hot reactor has the chance to cause self inflicted damage tying into each titan’s death becoming as cinematic as a Final Fantasy cut scene. The game is played on a 4’x4’ table and can increase with larger battles. A 1500 – 2000 point game plays well on such a board as you’ll typically have around half a dozen god engines striding around that point threshold. The free space is utilized though with command consoles as they tend to take up a large portion of room; requiring expert organization skills and all of the required accessories.

The biggest obstacle of the game is the initial cost of getting started. I highly recommend playing an introduction game with a friend or at your FLGS so you can get a feel for the game mechanics and see which Titans or Legio fit your playstyle. Typically, getting a Titan Battlegroup and the Ruleset is the best bundle with the total buy-in being $230.00 before tax or applicable discounts. This option offers you 1 Warlord, 1 Reaver, and 2 Warhounds plus all the necessary rules, cards, consoles, and assets at your disposal. All you would need to supplement your game would be terrain and a board. The Titan Battlegroup is a rare commodity nowadays as it is no longer in production since its first run, so if you see one at your local store snatch it up before it disappears to another Princep’s hobby bench. The newest option would be to purchase the Knight Household Battleforce for $130 instead, but this would be better as an supplemental purchase after testing your mettle with Titans and Knights alike. Another option would be to split a Grandmaster Edition box set ($290.00) with a friend in order for each of you to get 1 Warlord, a trio of Knights, the ruleset with a set of extra dice, and terrain. The lingering issue would be having to purchase another rulebook if sharing was not an option. If the Grandmaster Edition was the way you were leaning, you could get a reasonable buy in value of $145.00, but your models would lack the versatility compared to the Titan Battlegroup in your ability to utilize mantiples and diversify weapons.

Former obstacles to be aware of were the fact that a lot of accessories are not offered or available for purchase until recently. For example; Titanicus specific dice could only be purchased via a ruleset ($60.00) or a Grandmaster Edition box ($290.00), carapace weapons for Warlords and Reavers were extremely limited in what was offered (apocalypse missiles or turbo laser destroyers), knights came with one of each ranged weapon and did not include missile pods, FW Warlord quake cannons and macro-gatling blaster were extremely challenging to purchase since they were always out of stock in minutes. With the rising popularity of the game though, GW has corrected these grievances for the community by releasing products to end these community hindrances.

After you play your initiation game and decide to go full stride with Adeptus Titanicus; start slow and wait for the options and kits to improve to expand the game to its full potential. I hope you see you on the battlefield Princeps!

If you are interested in expanding your Adeptus Titanicus forces: these Cerastus Knights are available for purchase or if you’re looking for a center piece for your next Apocalypse battle, our 40k scale Forge World Warlord Titan is armed and eager for battle.

September 10, 2019

The Importance of Gaming Terrain (or: Welcome to the Jungle, We Got Fun & Games)

Edward WinterRose / 0 Comments / Blog / battlespice, buildingminiatures, CHAOS SPACE MARINES, GAMING, miniature, orks, paintingminiatures, space marines, tabletop, terrain, wargaming, warhammer, warhammer fantasy, white metal games /

“So where’s the building, then?” I asked.

My GM, who had planned this out grabbed a dry erase marker and moved around the table and considered. On the tabletop was a larger rolled-out, tan hex map with printed hexes on it. It was blank in an unrolled parchment kind of way for fantasy gaming, except for the regular pattern of hexagons, convenient for the moving and facing of gaming miniatures. The innovation here was a large coffee-table sized pane of thick glass; suitable for drawing on with dry erase markers.

It was a bit less detailed than this… Okay. It was A LOT less detailed than this.

There was a road, some bushes and carts. My GM reached down and drew in a large couple of rectangles for the buildings, then thoughtfully added a few other shapes for obstacles and the like. It was innovative to me. But visually, I wasn’t entirely IN the scene, ya know? My imagination was doing the lion’s share of the heavy lifting. And that’s okay. I’m not shaming my old DM’s game. He made that story sing and dance. And even if the map and terrain I was seeing were more akin to concept doodles on a napkin, I still remember them.

We were playing in service of not getting bogged down in the details. That was cool too. It was the equivalent of setting your videogame’s graphics settings to lower detail for faster performance. We had foes to slay, and at least 6 players with two characters each. We didn’t need to make this skirmish stretch into 3 sessions rendering the scenery as works of fine art. Especially if we meant to just erase them later. It was quick and dirty. And it was still fun.

But years later… I couldn’t tell you the details of that fight. Or what we were trying to accomplish at the time. This is no bad reflection on my GM. I tell ya sorry, gentle reader… But in my memory, it was ‘just another battle’.

Now contrast that with a time that I was with other pals of mine, and we were visiting a Games Workshop store here in Raleigh. My pal was checking up on minis he’d painted and put into a display case there as part of a competitive painting contest. My memory of the day is dominated by the large tabletops I saw there. Being a GW store, they had tables set up with countryside with hills and valleys and whole phalanxes of Lord of the Rings armies set to launch into one another. There was a blasted kind of cityscape, complete with ruined buildings and 40K minis jockeying for position on their Necron foes. There was a dark stone temple or dungeon setup with pillars and alters and a sense of claustrophobic cobbled depths and torchlight. I’d no idea what was being fought. Or what factions were gaming for victory. But I remember the scenes vividly.

I remember that.

Ultimately, I’m thinking this is the most valuable contribution your terrain is contributing to your wargaming experience. The memory anchored with the feeling of fun you were having at the time. You’re not merely flocking the grass and planting shrubs or bits of tree. You’re making a world your players are going to remember. I remembered the world I saw at the GW shop vividly enough that the next time I went back, I asked them if they’d let me photograph some of my minis on their terrain. They were very nice about it. And patient. Remember that, if nothing else. You’re making memories.

However, you’re making some practical decisions too. I mean let’s get down to brass studs here.

Setting the Tone

“Oh man… this is a bug hunt, man!! WE’RE IN SOME REAL PRETTY SH-” “SHUSH YO MOUTH!” “I’m just talkin’ about the bugs, man…” “I can dig it.”

I saw an article recently where someone was confronting the idea of terrain not being important in a video game situation. And maybe that was true to some degree in the nineties… maybe even the early aughts. Back when the rendering power of your machine was likely not up to something you’d see in a modern game. Terrain detail was the first thing you’d sacrifice to get the action running faster. But even then, there were standouts where the scenery were likely THE visual point of the game. ‘Darkseed’ in particular was one, featuring the organic machine surrealist worlds of H.R. Giger. The alien menace of those worlds set the tone of the horror adventure. Again, it was almost a throwaway nineties game, but the visuals were astonishing.

The menacing tone of the unfamiliar or alien. The oppressiveness of a desert. The lush difficulty of a jungle hell. The burnt and blackened scorch of an entrenched battlezone. The world around you determines the emotion of the situation you’re conveying. And the more detailed that is, the more memorable the experience. It is literally the difference between night and day for some. Especially if your game has vampires in.

Setting the Action

And then there’s the effect all this terrain’s going to have on your players psychologically. You can tell them that they’re in in a dense forest, or a vast desert plain, or in a claustrophobic dungeon or space hulk all you like. There will still be something lost without that visual representation of how people are oriented. What they can see and what they can’t depending on where their character on the board is facing. What might be obscuring their line of sight. What they can realistically climb or jump up on or across. The suspense of a whole tabletop full of places their foes may be taking advantage of to ambush you.

“I told you guys we shouldn’t have shot
Lieutenant Neidermeyer!

There’s assumptions your players might make as to what they can and can’t do, and therefore how they might behave in a given situation. Might this unit take the shot if they can pretty much eyeball that they really don’t have the best position for it. Might they instead try to get a better position instead? Might they resort to a spotter and use an indirect method of fire once they have a solution on their target? If they see that river of lava over there, maybe they’re not just going to rely on the stats of their equipment, which tells them they can probably jump that. Seeing it there, they may think twice. They may take on the feel that there’s more of a challenge here. Especially since the person running the game has chosen the battleground. There’s that feeling for your players that they’re not on their home turf. How can they strategically turn that terrain to their advantage?

Confronted visually with a dense jungle where guerillas might have set any number of ambushes or traps, where they can barely see one another, are they going to stick together so as not to get separated, or do they spread out so a munition doesn’t take out everyone at once? Are they going to try and snipe or get a single burst off at that guy they may only see partially through the foliage, or are they going to ‘spray and pray’? But they’re already making decisions based on what they’re SEEING. Not just what the rules tell them they can and can’t do. And that’s going to lead to a lot less assumption and/or disagreements that can slow or bring a game to a tooth or tusk-grinding halt. Which brings me to…

Removing the Guesswork

Take me hooooooome! Country roooooooaaaaads! (Yeah, I’m from WV. Don’t judge.)

“I waste him with my crossbow!”

“Dude, you can’t even SEE him.”

Ever launched into a ten-minute debate with a player over whether they had that shot or not? We had a ruler for that back on the hexmap and glass arrangement I used to RP over. But like the man said, it showed ‘Two-dimensional thinking’. “I can see over that rock/wall can’t I? How tall is it?” Blah Blah woof woof. In the case of your actual terrain, you’ve got that third dimension to work with and the measuring sticks to show whether or not your player’s got the shot or not. Whether they can be seen around or through that obscuring piece of scenery.

I’m already looking at some of the examples here in this jungle terrain set my people have done, and it has me rethinking strategy. The taller ferns here, the trees that your units ordinarily might not even look up into. The underbrush and bushes all around that indigenous life might hop out of. How I might want to set up a killzone or an ambush. All the decisions I might not even take into consideration on the hexmap open up to me and suggest different strategies towards my victory conditions.

The very practical ability to eyeball a situation and make it work for you, or replace the need to pull out a book and start math-ing your situation to death is, if I may paraphrase, a blood godsend. And probably worth the time and effort you’ll spend making it. Or borrowing. Or leasing, if you get my drift. We’ve got those too.

The Windup and the Pitch.

WHO RUNS BARTERTOWN???

So we’ve covered points a bit more in-depth than I’ve seen when it comes to some of the research and reading I did for this article. Oddly, I was astonished at how little it was commented on in a cursory search on the matter. I mean, I’m not re-inventing the wheel here. I’m kind of editorializing on the idea of terrain on the gaming table. I wanted to know what observations I could bring without repeating what’s been said ad nauseum, etc. Most of what I found was commentary on what point strength armies recommended for this or that kind of terrain. Or reviews of existing terrain. Not the actual practicality of the stuff or why it’s a good idea.

And it is a good idea. It can make the difference between what’s a good course of action, or a party wipe. It’s the difference between advantage and disadvantage on the battlefield, and how your players will strategize. It’s the difference between a flat table and 3 dimensions. It’s certainly the difference between having to TELL your players what they can see, and being able to SHOW them. It’s the opportunity to move your players emotionally, or thrill, intimidate, terrify or otherwise astound your players instead of just rolling dice and cheering the occasional critical hit at just the right point in time. It’s whether or not your players are going to have a visual to go with the memory of that one session that will live on in their tabletop stories for years to come. It’s making memories.

What’s that worth to you

— Edward WinterRose is a 48th level nerd with a 30 year character backstory of roleplaying games across who knows how many gaming systems at this point. Oddly, he does not consider this time wasted, and will fight about it for days.