[venomlust]

I just purchased and read Kranon's Helguard and Enyalius, In Memoriam. I hope comments are welcome on this thread. Otherwise, apologies for taking up space.

Kranon's Helguard:

Claimed to add additional fluff to the Crimson Slaughter story arc. There were a whole... 2 or 3 paragraphs of mediocre fluff, and one introductory "fluff" paragraph which really just listed which units are part of the formation.

Spoilers: Kranon will eventually get killed by the Dark Angels librarian. Big surprise there: Chaos loses to loyalists. Great little detail to include in a Chaos publication. Thanks, GDubs.

The formation is simply the contents of Dark Vengeance and its Crimson Slaughter boxed set expansion pack thing. Thankfully there are no wargear or unit size requirements, and for some of the units the special formation rules are halfway decent.

Over all, decent but definitely nothing special. Would not buy again or recommend spending money on it unless you're a true heretic at heart and wallet.

Enyalius, In Memoriam:

Very disappointing.

The good: The fact that it's World Eaters fluff, plus a couple of Ultramarines getting owned, which is always satisfying.

The bad: Woefully short. Shorter than a chapter in a Black Library novel, surely. To make things worse, half the content in the book is fucking Games Workshop advertisements. I just paid 2 bucks: 1 for content and 1 for the ads, apparently. It's not well written or well edited, either.

Would definitely not buy again or recommend anyone does so unless they absolutely must own stuff like this for some reason.

 

[venomlust]

Comments are hugely welcome here so people can hear what they think about the stories. I was thinking about getting it, so can you give a spoiler-summary on the plot what is happening in it (the World Eater-stuff then I mean).

And weird that they kill off Kranon as he is the front-guy for Chaos at the moment.

Sure.

SPOILAS: There is a briefly mentioned large-scale naval/void battle above a planet. The World Eaters find themselves aboard an Ultramarines frigate that is in the process of crashing down into the atmosphere of the planet. The leader of the World Eaters warband was killed by a lucky shot from the Ultramarines that destroyed the bridge of their own frigate. This leader was something of a shepherd and hero to his "slaughter-brothers" (I kinda like that term, not gonna lie) who could keep tactical/strategic/leadership stuff in perspective despite the butcher's nails, and they're really pissed that he went out like a punk instead of like the ancient warrior and badass that he was. So his surviving buddies decide that they're going to make sure the Ultramarines frigate crashes into the planet to reap ~20,000 skulls or so in the name of their dead friend. The narrator kills a couple of Ultramarines and then it ends.

I think the coolest part of the story is when the narrator beats an Ultramarine to death by smashing his face in with the skull of his dead friend, which was "warp-hardened" (lawl) so as to provide a way of smashing through power armor and not seeming like complete nonsense. It breaks apart in the process, and the narrator would have felt something akin to sadness if the butcher's nails didn't give him bloodshed myopia.


@Nordicus you're right about Kranon, that makes a lot of sense. You definitely can't trust the voices... can you?

 

[venomlust]

A Kharn novel perhaps?? I truly truly hope so. :biggrin:


LotN

From your lips to Khorne's ears.

 

[venomlust]

Day 5: First Blood: an Altar of War Selection Pack.

War Across the Galaxy!
Upon the blazing battlefields of the 41st Millennium, warriors fight in a thousand types of brutal battle. Whether eradicating the enemy command structure, launching headlong attacks upon surprised foes, or striking the killing blow that will end the war in one fell swoop, commanders must be ready for any eventuality.
Altar of War Missions:
This product contains a selection of the missions available in the Altar of War Compendium. Including such battles as the Space Marines' Angels of Death scenario and the horrifying Tyranid Infestation, this selection pack provides missions for many of the galaxy's warring races.

I emailed Black Library to ask exactly how many missions are in this thing, and they (perhaps unsurprisingly?) did not send a reply. Fuckin' shady, GDubs.

I'm sure there is no possible way they are simply too busy right now and haven't had a chance to answer me yet. NO WAI!

 

[venomlust]

Along with a Kharn-related dataslate on the same day. Being the ultrapositive ray of sunshine that I am, I can only imagine the rules will be utter garbo, but they got me. My prediction for the cost of the dataslate? $9.99 USD.

 

[venomlust]

I hate this system. Release them at the same time and let the buyers decide for themselves which version they prefer the most.

Same with the limited/collector's edition stuff. A minor complaint, really.

*edit*

Also, WOW. What a difference a helm makes with the Sanguinary Priest. I love it.

 

[venomlust]

I emailed Black Library to ask exactly how many missions are in this thing, and they (perhaps unsurprisingly?) did not send a reply. Fuckin' shady, GDubs.

I'm sure there is no possible way they are simply too busy right now and haven't had a chance to answer me yet. NO WAI!

So, it turns out it was indeed the latter:

Hi [Venomlust]

Thank you for your email, my apologies for the delay in my reply. First Blood contains 9 missions.

Stand-up guys, those GW folks. I knew it all along! :laugh:

 

[venomlust]

Day 19: Dark Angels: Librarius Conclave Formation.

Grim Psychic Might:
The Librarians of the Dark Angels possess wills of iron. They use their sinister psychic discipline of interromancy to spread fear and panic through the enemy's ranks, while simultaneously tearing free the darkest secrets of their foes. A single such psychic warrior is fearsome enough, but an entire conclave led by none other than Grand Master Ezekiel himself is a living weapon that can change the fate of a whole war zone.
A Dark Angels Formation:
This product includes the datasheet for the Dark Angels Librarius Conclave Formation, for use in your games of Warhammer 40,000.

From user Majere613 on BOLS:

Put me in a kilt and call me a Scotsman, the Librarius Conclave is actually pretty good! You need Ezekiel and at least two other Librarians to run it, but it lets them share powers, manifest on 3+, and doubles the range of Mind Worm which suddenly starts to look quite nasty. You don't have to use them as a unit, either, though you could.

I'd prefer to avoid regurgitating the exact rules, but basically you nominate one Librarian each turn, and he gets all the powers of any other member of the formation within 12" of him, along with the other bonuses.

Here's hoping for a Cabal of Sorcerers dataslate some day for Chaos Sorcerers. I imagine every Sorcerer's attacks will get the Soul Blaze and FEAR USR:biggrin:.

*edit*

More, via Natfka:

Via an anonymous source
1 Ezekiel
2-4 Dark Angel Librarians

Choose one model in the formation, this model has access to any psychic powers known by other models in this formation within 12". Other models within 12" cannot manifest psychic powers until the end of the phase. The chosen model passes psychic tests on 3+

When using Mind Worm, models in this formation double the max range if there is at least one other model within 12"

 

[venomlust]

A good formation for assault fiends, expensive points wise and does little to make up for the shortcomings of assault.

Kharn +4 units of CSM +4 units of Berzerkers. All CSM must take MoK.

Adamantium Will for all.

If anyone's charge result is an 8, double their attacks profile. For Berzerkers and CSM that's 1 extra, which is decent but not as sweet as a unit champ or Kharn, especially. Volume of attacks wasn't really their shortcoming in the first place.

If anyone rolls a 6 to hit, they get an extra attack! If they roll additional 6s, they keep generating attacks! Sweetest rule ever, but again, too few attacks has never been an issue for a Khornate army.

These sweet rules still require the following consideration:

How will I get them there? 8 Rhinos? 7 Rhinos and a Land Raider for Kharn? With 8 units they're probably going to be minimum size. The second the zerks hop out they can shoot pistols and eat bullets. Maybe a combi-plasma per champ so they can actually inflict some damage at a reasonable cost before getting shot.

If each unit had a Rhino, minimum cost is 1200 points. If you want a LR, must take a CSM detachment.

Without Rhinos, these boys are footslogging. 920 points to do that. That leaves enough points to spend on support units, but how many turns will it take the footsloggers to kill anything?

Sorry for my negativity, but I was really hoping for something competitive. This formation has cool rules, but the usual drawbacks of close combat aren't addressed at all. Are some extra attacks and adamantium will worth the points? Dunno, but I'm still gonna try it in friendly games.

*edit*

Here's a 2000 point list that sounds pretty gat damn fun:

CAD: Crimson Slaughter

HQ:

Huron Blackheart

TROOPS:

Cultists x10
Cultists x10

FAST ATTACK:

Dreadclaw Drop Pod
Heldrake: Baleflamer

HEAVY SUPPORT:

Chaos Fire Raptor: Reaper Batteries, Armoured Ceramite, Legacy of Ruin: Auloth the Primordial Iterator (Fear, all weapons are Pinning, friendly units with Icon of Wrath within 12" have Fear and Feel No Pain)

KHARN'S BUTCHERHORDE:

Da Betraya

Chaos Space Marines x5: Mark of Khorne, Meltagun, Combi-melta, Rhino
Chaos Space Marines x5: Mark of Khorne, Meltagun, Combi-melta, Rhino
Chaos Space Marines x5: Mark of Khorne, Meltagun, Combi-melta, Rhino
Chaos Space Marines x5: Mark of Khorne, Meltagun, Combi-melta, Rhino

Berzerkers x5: Icon of Wrath <== joined by Kharn, embarked in Dreadclaw
Berzerkers x5: Icon of Wrath
Berzerkers x5: Icon of Wrath
Berzerkers x5: Icon of Wrath

 

[venomlust]

I'm about halfway through the Kharn novella, and it's pretty cool. Way overpriced, but I'll take all the Kharn I can get.

 

[venomlust]

Well, at any rate, it ain't bad.