Ruin corners, CC threat ranges and LOS

Just a quicky on a pretty fundamental change in 6th. You need line of sight to declare a charge. In certain instances this can have a dramatic impact. Utilising losblock with your assault units not only blocks you from shooting, but also from other charges. Jabbdo was toying around with scarabs behind a defence line at one point. Can't charge them 'cause you can't see them. Ultimate bubble wrap. Turned out it wasn't quite that simple. None the less, things like the corners of ruins (without windows) are perfect for counter attack units. This distorts threat ranges, possibly turning a stand off in your favour. In 5th, placing units inside terrain had a similar kind of impact (and charging through difficult terrain is even more brutal nowadays) but not being able to charge units behind walls or around a hill is even better. beasts/cavalry and wraiths that are the go to fast cc units of 6th might ignore terrain, but they don't ignore the requirements for los.

SW/BA: Mantis Warriors speed painting

 "a chapter on the edge of the law, teetering on the brink of oblivion and approaching the borders of extinction, fighting desperately to regain its place amongst the chosen. They were not outlaws or renegades, but they had no home in the Imperium of Man." (lexicanum)

Hi guys, I've been a little MIA lately. Uni, life and what not have been keeping me busy. I've still been doing stuff on the 40k front. I've been doing a lot of comissions, but in between I've been playing out and trying things in 6th. As often is the case, I also felt like repainting my wolves. I recycle my minis a lot! This time I wanted to try out a lesser known chapter. The Badab Wars was a great place to start, as being part of a campaign like that instantly adds depth to the narrative. I grew fond of the mantis warriors back story, marines nearly extinct and on the edge of law, fighting for survival and redemption.

Painting wise I was really looking for a super fast paint scheme, so that I would have a real chance to paint them in between comission work (my veermyn are getting painted up very slowly since there are so many models and they still require a certain degree of work to get painted). I decided to try out pigments on these guys aswell. Sometimes over the top, but they instantly add character to the colour scheme. I also made tiger stripe camo on the vehicles, 'cause marines with camo is awesome!

On the list front, I've been moving more and more towards vehicles in my lists. So far I've found rhinos to be good for the points, still having a lot of utility in 6th, despite having to play a little differently and think ahead a little more. Razorbacks are paying for weapons, so you'd really want to be using them aswell. That's why I'm still not certain if they are worth it. Are they just too easy to destroy? Despite this, my latest list is going to try them out. Oh, and did I mention that I've never played mephiston, despite having had the model for almost 10 years?

Runepriest, Runic Armour, Jaws of the World Wolf, Murderous Hurricane
Runepriest, Runic Armour, Bolter, Jaws of the World Wolf, Storm Caller
Runepriest, Terminator Armour, Jaws of the World Wolf, Living Lightning
Mephiston

Furioso Dreadnought, Blood Talons

5 Grey Hunters, Flamer, Wolf Standard, Razorback with twin-linked Lascannons
5 Grey Hunters, Flamer, Wolf Standard, Razorback with twin-linked Lascannons
5 Grey Hunters, Flamer, Wolf Standard, Razorback with twin-linked Lascannons
5 Assault Marines, Razorback with twin-linked Heavy Flamers
5 Assault Marines, Razorback with twin-linked Heavy Flamers

6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers
6 Long Fangs, 5 Missile Launchers
6 Long Fangs, 5 Heavy Bolters

1850pts

Random Charge Distance: The Pros

Especially when 6th came out, a lot of people were discouraged by the newly added mechanic, random charge length. Many people point to how it makes assault units unreliable, nerfing cc armies. However, there are also some good sides to it. How has random charge distance changed the nature of cc units/armies?

Premeasuring allows us to decide just how far away we want to be from a given target. When you are playing a cc unit, how far away does your opponent come with his troops? Does he go for the safety of 18.1"? Probably not, but how close would you go? I think a lot of people see 16" as a fairly safe distance. The charging unit needs to roll 10 on his 2d6 to make it into combat. But lets compare this to threat ranges in 5th. A basic infantry unit had a threat range of 12". It was a sure 12" but it is still clearly less then 16". CC units in 6th make strong area denial units, because your opponent will generally prefer to avoid coming too close, even if the risk of actually getting charged isn't so big.

This doesn't mean that a pure cc list is epic winning, but a combination of cc threats and shooting is very viable. I'd say you generally want a cc unit that can still provide range firepower (shoota boys are hot in 6th). I tried experimenting with foot th/ss. It sure provides are denial, but is too much points for what it's bringing. If the cc unit has a larger threat range (jump infantry, beasts etc.) then It's even better. Perhaps then having a dual function as a shooting unit is not as important (e.g. spawns, wraiths, scarabs).

In a game where are control generally wins you the mission, cc units are still very potent. The nature of cc units has somewhat changed for sure, but in a supporting role cc units are important, and got a nice boost in 6th imo. On top of that, the new way assaults work in 6th are very interesting, and the assault phase is imo the most interesting one.