Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Possessed

Background. 
The background text makes clear the differentiation between the possessed, as described here, and the Gal Vorbak. Whereas the latter is a fusion of two willing partners in crime, these possessed are created from the shells of men who can barely hold weapons, and the weak willed. They are wholly controlled by chaos entities and not in any kind of symbiotic relationship with a warp entity.

Strengths.
The possessed come in two different "flavours": one for legionaries, and one for auxiliary (i.e. base line human / Imperial Guard stat line).

They lack the generic daemon ruinstorm rules though, which means that they must set up on the board as regular troops do. This in turn means that one of their strengths can be to defend warp rifts that are placed on the table. Beyond that, they really are just marines or imperial guard.

Additionally, they are not subject to the ides of the warp like the rest of the army is, hence they are much more reliable throughout the game (in terms of not going down in S and T that is).

Weaknesses. 
They are fundamentally support units, and they can never be joined by an independent character from this particular army. Equally, no victory points are ever going to be lost due to their deaths which is good.

Builds.
Unlike the rest of the army where I have given explicit suggestions according to dominion, here I'm just going to focus on the unit itself without any particular chaos god associated with it. This is because there is no particular need (or even ability) to build this unit in this way.

20 Auxilia, 4 grenade launchers (140 points).
Dirt cheap, with ranged threat (of sorts), and likely to die quickly. This is a screening unit basically. A meat shield, and little else. For more of a mobile meat shield, swap out the launchers for flamers.

10 Auxilia, 2 plasma guns (80 points).
A bit hilarious since if an enemy ignore this unit, it can really hurt most enemies thanks to the plasma. Swap out for melta if you like.

10 Legionaries, 2 melta guns, 1 with thunder hammer (150 points).
The base line possessed space marine entry. Take bolt guns or bolt pistols, as preferred.

20 Legionaries, 4 plasma guns, 1 with power fist (275 points).
This is another nice load out with plasma to cause some strong damage at mid range.

Bigmeks Workshop Tiles Resin Bases

I recently purchased a set of 32mm resin bases from a company that I've not tried out before: Bigmeks-workshop.

Naturally, the idea behind this purchase is to have a set of scenic bases that I don't have to put as much effort in to creating as my normal miniatures would otherwise demand. The design I got is the Tiles range (mark two). Their appearance is one of a ruined urban or temple area. Although in some ways the design is fairly basic, I like them from the simplicity point of view. Indeed, the simple shattered tile is much more appealing from an ease of painting view point compared to others that I've tried in the past (e.g., the more complex, but admittedly good looking back2basix range I own; or the magnificent Scibor range).

The bases come in a variety of designs, all on the same theme. I'm sure if I had the time, I could craft something similar and cast them in resin myself. But. That's also part of the reason for buying off another supplier. Fundamentally, the bases are the broken tiles sat on top of rubble. I will get these painted up soon as I'd like to use them in conjunction with some other miniatures that I have on the boil. But more on that at a later date. For now: I'm happy with the purchase and price that I've paid for them. Yes: other companies have a higher level of detail, but they do cost more. That's not an issue for me here though.

On eBay this week

Okay, I have a bunch of miniatures on offer via eBay this week that I wanted to share a few lines with my readers about.

Firstly is one of the rarest in my collection: an RT7 Rogue Trader era Imperial Dreadnought. I bought this when it was new, and also when I was very much younger, hence the rather very poor paint scheme (don't laugh too much - we were all young once!). However, it has been languishing in the bottom of my collection for years unloved. Hence I want it to find a happy new home.

Further rarities from my aging collection are a squad of ancient Daemonettes of Slaanesh, pictured below.  These are also original metal miniatures from the Rogue Trader era / Realms of Chaos. 

Also, three Khorne Berserkers (again Rogue Trader vintage), this time fractionally better painted and replete with green bases.

Other Games Workshop items of mine on eBay this week include:

Winged chaos raptor squad (conversions all round!);

A single Death Guard metal plague marine that I've never assembled;

Meanwhile in Dungeons and Dragons sales:
A copy of the very rare Rod of Seven Parts in good condition (outer lid a bit worn)

Country Sites.

I hope that many of these will find a new home. I'm selling up these old items since I want to fund new projects, coupled with the fact that I don't use them much any longer and they're just taking up storage space. Hope that some of you find these items interesting!

[Note: if you're going to bid from outside the UK, do get in contact with me before bidding for a quote as postage can be significantly more than for postage within the UK. I always used signed-for and tracked, for what I trust are obvious reasons.]

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Swarms

Background. 
Swarms have been a feature of daemons since the earliest of days when we saw Nurglings for the first time. However, for the other chaos gods, there are few analogues. Indeed, Nurglings were supposed to be the analogue of steeds -- given the tenuous associated with palanquins. These days, Tzeentch competes via screamers (with a stretch of the imagination), and via brimstone horrors perhaps as well. Khorne and Slaanesh doesn't really have anything in this category.

Strengths. 
Lots of wounds are the main strength of the daemon swarms. That's about all there is to write home about.

Weaknesses. 
They're systematically weaker than other troops across the stat line apart from Leadership and Saving throw. However, for the price, the wounds are probably worth it. They are also support units.

Sadly, they can only take one emanation of horror as well. This makes things a tough choice.

Builds.
Resplendent Terror Build:
10 Swarms, Warp-Scaled Hide (250 points).
I actually like the naked build here. Add in an armour saving throw and they're a real pest.
Possibly take miasma of rot instead to get that negative modifier in play for this army.

Crimson Fury Build:

8 Swarms, Brass Collars (200 points).

Same issues as above.

Creeping Scourge Build:

7 Swarms, Miasma of Rot (161 points).

These are Nurglings, but poorly built! Get that negative toughness modifier in play. Equally, Nurgle is not short of this ability. 

Lurid Onslaught Build:

6 Swarms, Stupefying Musk (138 points).

No idea what these are in terms of the background. 

Maddening Swarms Build:

9 Swarms, Warp Scions (207 points).

These actually work for Tzeentch. Maybe take 10 instead of 9, but regardless, you're competing further in the psychic phase which is good for this build. Perhaps represent with lots of brimstone horrors on one base and you're done. 

Mirror of Hate Build:

10 Swarms, Wings (250 points).

Flying swarms. Let's say no more about this in terms of lore. They could easily be represented by small critters with wings. I really like what wings does for them and in game. 

Horus Heresy Review: Ruinstorm Daemon Beasts

Background. 
Aping some of the forms seen in human armies, the beasts of chaos are recognisable from the earliest days of daemons in the old Realms of Chaos books. Fiends of Slaanesh. Beasts of Nurgle. Oddly though, Flamers of Tzeentch and Fleshounds of Khorne don't seem like a good fit overall, largely due to the large (40mm) bases needed. Juggernauts of Khorne might do in a pinch as well.

Strengths.
Fundamentally, the Beasts entry in the army list has one pip extra in S and T compared to lesser daemons, they're also troops, and they are classed as beasts. For this, they are double the points, but this is arguably a good investment.

Weaknesses.
They can only take two emanations of horror, rather than three (lesser daemons can take three).

Builds. 
Resplendent Terror Build:

3 Beasts, Bone Shard Harpoon, Crushing Claws (98 points). 

A basic, shooting unit, with potential in close combat. 

Crimson Fury Build:

8 Beasts, Brass Collars, Sundering Fangs (280 points).

This is actually a dangerous combat unit with good staying power combined with S=10 attacks if needed. Notice the use of 8 here -- Khorne's associated number.

Creeping Scourge Build:

7 Beasts, Miasma of Rot, Warp-scaled Hide (231 points).

Pseudo-beasts of Nurgle. They're nothing like beasts of Nurgle, but they're the best I could do given the lack of options.

Lurid Onslaught Build:

6 Beasts, Stupefying Musk, Crushing Claws (198 points).

An attempt to build Fiends of Slaanesh. This one isn't too bad overall. 

Maddening Swarms Build:

10 Beasts, Warp Scions, Flaming Ichor (310 points).

Of course, I was going to go with 9 beasts here, but the flaming ichor calls for multiples of 5. These are the Flamers of Tzeentch build, and I actually like it. 

Mirror of Hate Build:

3 Beasts, Rift Barb, Horned Crown (93 points).

The light tank killer unit. Horned Crown is to follow up against any occupants. Take multiple small units. 

Good luck for the Titan Walk

To everyone participating in the UK Titan Owners Club Walk this weekend, we wish you good luck from Warpstone Flux!

Sadly Legio Perennia will not be there this time due to other circumstances and prior commitments. Hopefully in future years / events I will be able to join you!

Looking forward to hearing how it all goes though!
And photographs. Lots of photographs.