+ inload: 3rd edition battle and Leman Russ Vanquisher lore +

 + Vanquisher – and battle against the Emperor's Hawks +

+ 707th infantry +

The benefits of batch painting reveal themselves when you dig out an army carry-box and find a load of models that are nearly finished.

These Steel Legionaries, for my 707th army, have been part-painted for ages, and with a couple of hours free I've worked them up a little more, so they're ready for the table. This involved little more than picking out the dust goggles and a little work on the various weapons/equipment, as the coats were already finished by past-me. They still need the skin and eyes to be painted, but there's so little visible that this should be swift.

You'll spot the company banner has been worked up a little more, too, though I'm still musing over some icons to add. PCRC suggestions have included a Yarrick claw and evil eye, which sound cool.

I also took the opportunity to add some detail to this comms-trooper's map. I used contrast paints to prevent the lines looking too harsh and stark.

+ Tank support +

... and likewise this half-finished Leman Russ Vanquisher got polished up a little, an so is now three-quarters-finished.

This involved working the turret up a little more and picking out some more darker/metallic details.

Background-wise, the Leman Russ Vanquisher is a variant of the Leman Russ Battle Tank. Armed with a Vanquisher cannon, it's able to shoot dedicated anti-tank shells as well as regular battle cannon shells. So powerful and reliable is its main gun that it's even a credible threat to War Engines including Titans.

The STC for its construction was lost when the Forge World of Tigrus was overrun (darn orks!), but the Imperium can still produce similar variants from a limited number of other Forge Worlds. As a result, where once entire tank companies were made up of the Vanquisher, it's now more commonly seen alongside other Leman Russ variants, either acting as a dedicated tank-hunter or as a prestigious command tank.

+++

In the real world, Forge World produced a few different variants, shown below:

+ Gryphonne IV variant +

I'm fairly sure that the Gryphonne IV version above is the oldest – and was amongst the first Forge World releases in 2001. 

If you're interested in the history of the Leman Russ Battle Tank, inload this [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], which covers all sorts of ins and outs of this storied old model. Note that things marked with an asterisk in this inload are expanded on a bit further through the noosphericinloadlink.

+ Stygies VIII variant +

This version was released soon afterwards – it's certainly in the 2003 catalogue, and I'm fairly sure it was new in 2002. It's a good reflection of the early days of Forge World, where small runs of minor variants like this were their bread and butter, rather than having full ranges of their own.

Both this and the Gryphonne IV conversion kit were created for the original 1995 plastic Leman Russ release (the Mark IV*), and were later redesigned with an adapter to let them work on the redesigned Mark VII, which had a small hole in the hull for the turret. If you're looking to get one second-hand, it's worth checking which version you're getting.

+ Ryza Vanquisher turret +

This was a slightly later variant that came out for the Death Korps of Krieg, which by this point had expanded to have a whole range of their own subtly different vehicles. I'd not like to put a solid date on it, but I think the Ryza-pattern tanks and conversion sets stated appearing in the form above around 2008–2009.

This is a bit vague, because I think the DK-specific tanks were a development of an earlier Ryza-pattern turret, which came out earlier – around 2004. 

+++

+ The lenses and headlight go a long way to adding suggested detail, even when the rest of it needs a lot of cleaning up and refinement. +

But enough of delving into the dusty murk of past releases. I'll be continuing to work on this – the paintjob needs highlighting and cleaning up – but it's in a nice place and perfectly fieldable.

+++

+ Into battle! +

And speaking of fielding it, I had a great game against PCRC droog Stuntwedge. With the Tears of the Eye of Terror event creeping up on us, we wanted to get some practice in for 3rd edition 40k (well, '3.5', as we're using the various Chapter Approved updates).

To that end I dug out my Armageddon board [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] and set up a few rocks, crops and hedges to suggest some roads.



Stuntwedge brought along a 2,000pt army of Emperor's Hawks, a Chapter he's had for decades, and has many happy memories for the whole PCRC. It was a treat to see them back on the board.

The Emperor's Hawks came along on one of the first campaign weekends we all went on, where he'd built a full Battle Company of this Codex-compliant Chapter.

The game itself was a thorough drubbing for the poor Steel Legion, with the final VP total being something like 1,500–200 to the Adeptus Astartes – more training needed for my Guardsmen, I think!

Some more glamour shots from the game.

Steel Legion lurk in the fields, the crops providing a 6+ cover save which proved considerably more useful than their armour...

+++

+ inload: Thoughts on 3rd +

+ Radnutz Runtsmasha's Rampage +

+ I had the great joy of blowing the dust off Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition last night with Pootle77 and Sinan, the former bringing his Death Skulls orks to break some Steel Legion heads, and the latter bringing the Elysian cavalry – and his excellent camera skills. All credit to Sinan for the awesome and atmospheric pict-captures! +

+++

+ Slipping back into the groove+

We played a 1,500pt game to try to brush up on how the game worked ahead of the Third War in 3rd event we're running in March. 

Accompanied by a general chorus of 'Is that a rule in this edition?' and 'Does that work like this yet?',  we set to and polished off the game in about three hours from set-up to finish. Not bad!

We played the 'Take and Hold' mission, which involves the defenders (Steel Legion in this case) setting up Troops and Heavy Support within 12in of a central objective. The attackers – Pootle's Feevin' Gits Death Skull army – then take first turn, moving onto the board from a long table edge.

+++

Daybreak came reluctantly to Armageddon, the sun red and sullen. A company of the Steel Legion 7th were already on the move, their dustcoats stiff and greasy after a night in the cold comfort of the minehead entrance – one of the short-term mineheads that dotted the plains to the west of Death Mire.

The Commissar, in the blunt manner Karstein had come to realise was his only way of speaking, had told them that the burnt-out shelter they'd spent a shivering night in were the result of the last war – the inevitable result of not standing up to the orks, and the future for the hive, if the soldiers of the company didn't pull their weight.

If it were possible, that particular observation had flattened Karstein's spirits still more.

+++

At a weary signal from the Captain, shrugging himself into his greatcoat, the company moved out. Their destination: the comms-hub at the nearby Hab-Beta Sub-Four. 

The settlement was barely worth an identifier. Little more than a handful of three-storey habs surrounding a dismal little church, it was one of dozens such anonymous hab-complexes built to house mineworkers. Destruction and dereliction had added nothing to its charm.

Worse, thought Karstein, rolling his eyes, was Winkworth's grousing. The heat. The dust. The boredom.

At least he'd one day leave the Hab-Beta Sub-Four behind. No such luck with the grumbling squadmate.

Something whipped past his helm, buzzing. Irritably, he brushed his gauntleted hand across his collar, warding off the sandfly. It came back wet.

He started dumbly at the red stain on his glove – had he... No...

Winkworth's headless corpse slumped across him, bearing the startled Steel Legionary to the floor.

All at once, the ash wastes erupted with orks, yelling and firing. Clad in black and blue and grey, they barrelled towards the company, which was slow in responding.

At the screams of the Commissar, las-fire began to fall down-range, pinging off the ork's clanking vehicles or falling wide of the mark.

+++

Coming back to 3rd after many years was interesting – in comparison with 2nd edition and the post-8th versions, the game feels very stripped-back and streamlined. Between the three of us, we managed to get the game complete within two and a half hours, even with lots of consultation of the rulebook!

I regret to inform our superiors that the 7th Army suffered a stinging defeat to da Feevin' Gits, with the complete loss of Steel Legion operational command and Salamanders 2nd Company support – and the Elysian 46th also suffering heavy casualties. Those orks are tough! 

+ inload: Third War in 3rd +

+ Third War in 3rd +

+ Upcoming gaming event +

+ The Steel Legion needs you! One of the Imperial team has sadly had to drop out of the event in Hildenborough, Kent, UK. +

+ The event is in March this year, and is a one-day affair, where you'll play two thematic linked games of 3rd edition Warhammer 40,000. +

+ If you'd like to join in and (ideally) have an Armageddon-themed Imperial army of 1,500pts, let us know via the [Rubricist contact form] at the bottom of the this noospheric node, or via the Discord group here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. +

+++

+ Echoes of Armageddon +

The event is set in the Third War for Armageddon, rather than my usual imaginary sandpit of the Second War, which means that there's a lot to play with in terms of who's there and what happens.

Happily, a planet is a big place and so there's plenty of space for us to dig into and explore, in order to make a (hopefully) compelling and enjoyable event for the attendees. The event revolves around an ork advance on Death Mire from the South, and an Imperial counter-attack to engage them on the plains.

+ An extract from the event pack +

The scale of events are the sort of thing that's resolved with a couple of cardboard counters and a dice roll in the Battle for Armageddon boardgame, but which involved tens or hundreds of thousands of individual soldiers – and orks. Sinan (the organiser) and I are really keen to get that sense of your force's victories and losses having an effect in a larger campaign.

Taking a closer look is a perfect opportunity to explore the personalities of the different sides as well, and it's been lovely to engage with the players to make sure their leaders and armies are what's represented in the story.

+ A spread showing the Imperial side in this campaign (don't worry, the orks get one too). +
+ The 'awaiting reinforcement' section is where your army can fit in! +

+++

The project has also been a chance for me to dig some old figures out and get some pict-captures. There are a few campaign-specific units, like the Steel Legion Liaison Team below. These are units that give players an opportunity to paint up two or three Steel Legion figures to fit in their army, so a Cadian force (for example) then has a little visual reminder that the battle is taking part on Armageddon.

It's also an excuse to paint up an odd priest, Sister of Battle, Stormtrooper, Space Marine etc. – these individuals can be added to the unit and bring in a little of that 40k weirdness and personality without bogging down the game with allies and complicated detachments.

So, if this sounds like your sort of thing and you want to grab the last Imperial ticket, let us know via the [Rubricist contact form] at the bottom of the this noospheric node, or via the Discord group for the event [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. Armageddon needs you!

+ inload: Corsair Gambit part III +

+ The Corsair Gambit part III + 

+ I've had a very busy and very enjoyable few days of gaming, hanging out with friends old and new. Saturday was spent with Baraqu droog @seneschal_werhner at Maximal Fire's The Corsair Gambit event for some Epic: Legions Imperialis fighting; and Sunday and Monday was with the PCRC, including a 2nd ed. 40k game. I'll froth about the latter game in another inload, so here's a very quick overview of how the Corsair Gambit played out. +

+++

+ Salamanders and Legio Maximal +

As you can see below, I did manage to get everything painted up in time (hooray), though not quite as polished as I'd have liked (boo). 

The event itself was brilliant. Two games over the course of the day was a good shout for 3,000pts. Epic: Legions is an old-school game that rewards time spent on it: the rules are too byzantine to crash through three games easily, and there's the very practical aspect of moving models from one board to another. To put this in context, at Beachhead, I had five Titans and their terminals to move between games. Here, I had upwards of a hundred, and that's with a sixth of the army taken up in a hefty Warlord Titan.

I also had the good luck to spend time with two great and gentlemanly generals, who made the gaming really enjoyable. Please excuse the lack of pict-captures – there was already a lot going on, and I wanted to focus on enjoying the games!  

First up was Grant's lovely Dark/True Mechanicum, which were supported by a Warlord and Reaver:

The mission involved capturing three objectives, one of which was removed each turn. This shot, from the Mechanicum's table side, shows the end of turn 1, I think. I'd managed to get a foothold on all three objectives, largely thanks to the manoeuverability of the Space Marines.

There was a good mix of forces at the event, with all three big forces (Marines, Guard and Mechanicum) appearing on both sides, along with a healthy sprinkling of Titans and aircraft. 3,000pts really lets the visual side of the game shine, particularly since everyone had really pulled out all the stops to make some great-looking armies.

The Warlord, Consequens Indevitatus, was downed in this game on turn 1 without firing a shot – to our mutual amusement – which gave me an uphill battle. It turned into a real back-and-forth struggle, with the speed of the marines allowing me to adapt to the changing battlefield; while Grant's ponderous Mechanicum were unable to put their (substantial!) power where they needed to be, as the objectives thinned out.

The game ended up being decided on secondary objectives, and was a narrow squeak for the loyal Salamanders. A very fun game indeed, and a great army and opponent to face.

+++

Game 2 involved the Salamanders surrounding and attempting to capture three central objectives, while the Imperial Army held them off. Commanding the traitors was @Tetsugakhan (go check out his awesome painting).

This was a bloodbath from the beginning, with huge damage done to both sides from turn 1. Solar Auxilia have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and the sheer number of superheavy tanks and artillery was daunting to face. 

The variety in this army made it great fun to play against, with a real feel of combined arms. As with Dark Mechanicum, I'd never played against Solar Auxilia, and they were a treat to fight against. Events like this give me a great opportunity to actually play games, and so it's lovely when you get to play cool new armies against cool people on cool tables.

This shot sums up the visual appeal of Epic: Legions for me – tanks, troops, titans and aircraft all in concert. You'll be pleased to hear that Consequens Indevitatus gave a bit of a better account of himself in this game, contributing to clearing out the central bastions, and surviving everything Tetsugakhan's air wing could throw at him!

This game ended in an honorable draw owing to time, with both sides exhausted!

+++

A really enjoyable event, so thanks to Johnny and Alex from Maximal Fire for organising it, and to all the players involved. The narrative ends with Nabed-Paleae falling to the traitors... so we'll see what the future holds for the Vigilants!

+ inload: Bloodsong goes public +

+ Bloodsong complete + 

+ Free Adeptus Titanicus expansion with rules for Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants +

+ No time to waste? Just need the Google Drive link? +
+ Manifold access, my Princeps: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ Command new forces; engage new enemies! +

+++

+ Changes and updates +

... and now that everyone who just wants the free Bloodsong expansion has blithely closed this noospheric node, those that remain suckling on the datafeed can enjoy the inner secrets of the project.

Way back in 2018, shortly after the release of the new Adeptus Titanicus, I (rather fatefully) wrote:

I'll preface this by saying that these rules are only intended to tide players over until we get some official rules.

Well, seven years have passed, and not so much as a squeak from Games Workshop on any official rules for Eldar and Orks, so since 2023 I've been tinkering away on creating a full print-ready expansion for the game so xenos enthusiasts and those looking for a new Open Play challenge can get involved. 

The result is Bloodsong, which has gone through nine 'alpha' iterations, being playtested and tweaked in a small pool in various back rooms and on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group (thanks for all feedback thus far!). It's now complete to the point that it's ready for more broad distribution, with everything from custom Command Terminals and Weapon Cards to instructions for how to print the 50pp booklet to the right size. Perhaps most importantly, it explains how to use the supplement with the official rules to create all-Eldar or all-Ork forces.

For anyone who's already been using the supplement, this new public version includes the following improvements:

• Practical additions: 8 Maniple equivalents – 4 each for Eldar and Orks.
• Extensive improvement and refinement of the Ork section, polishing it to match the Eldar. Clarification of suggested base sizes and conversion ideas for Gargants.
• Mega Gargant rules clarifications.
• Useability improvements: a table of contents, 'How to use this book' and development notes throughout.
• Single page formatting (view it on Acrobat in two-page view with cover page)
• Terminology tweaks – the Wraithtension table had started to annoy me, so it's now the Wraith Matrix table, which feels a bit more 'Eldar' to me.

+++

+ Find new enemies and allies for your Imperial and Traitor Titans for Open Play Titanicus! +

+ What's next? +

Next, I hope, is for the supplement to get more feedback from other gaming groups, which will help to tweak and adjust the points values to make for more fun and exciting games, and highlight any glaring clangers I've made.

Besides the nuts and bolts of the mechanics, my next priority is improving the look of the layout by adding some artwork and more background material: example Titan/Gargant pictures for the maniple equivalents, nicely styled in-action battle pictures, and some design flourishes to make it as professional as possible – I've been aiming to make it as user-friendly, polished and attractive as I can.

If you can help – either by supplying pictures of your own models, or suggesting artists I can ask, please do let me know in the comments, either here on the blog, or on the Facebook group – or through the Google Drive link:

[+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]

+++

+ Tell me more! +

Glutton for punishment, eh? Want to know more about the process and past development? By using the [+insphere contentsieve+] at the top right of the page, you can search for Titanicus and read through all the various changes and designer's notes – here's a good start, if you fancy looking at the philosophy and process behind the project [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+].

+++

+ inload: Free weapon cards expansion for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ Archaeotech weapons for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ I've created some rules for weapons that haven't appeared in the current version of Adeptus Titanicus, but were in previous Epic games or editions. If you give them a go, I'd love to hear how you get on. +

+ A print-ready PDF version 'Archaeotech weapons v1' is available for free on the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group, under the 'Files' section. +

+++

+ Using the weapon cards +

+ For obvious reasons you shouldn't use these in Matched Play, but they should be fine for Open Play – just let the other player have first dibs! +

+ They'd also be fun to use in Narrative Play, where you might have them as reserve weapons brought out from mothballs/captured from the enemy/precious archeotech prizes from a grateful Forgefane. If you like sticking closely to the Matched Play rules even for casual games, I'd suggest that you use the following stratagem:

Experimental Warfare stratagem

ARCHAEOTECH STOCKPILE

> Play this Stratagem in the first Strategy phase of the first round //_

> You may purchase this Stratagem multiple times //_

> The player selects a Titan and replaces one of its Arm Weapons with those marked 'Archaeotech'; or one of its Carapace Weapons with one marked 'Archaeotech' //_

COST: 1

+ The file linked includes a Stratagem card with this text. +

+++

+ Designer's notes + 

+ Most of these weapons are fairly self-explanatory, and many are simply filling in gaps. It's not a complete list, and the selection is largely based on weapons that are available from third party sculptors, would be easy conversions, or simply tickled my fancy for various reasons. The Reaver- and Warlord-scale Inferno Guns, for example, are both there because Lucifer216 plays Legio Infernus (and flamerthrowers are awesome); while the Barrage Missile Launcher is included because it's on Clavigera, one of the Legio Metalica Titans I'm using as inspiration for a new Maniple. +

+ The weapons fall into three categories:

+ 1: Location changes +

+ The Reaver arm weapons are simply the Warhound weapons transferred (e.g. Vulcan Mega-bolter); or the carapace version made available as an arm (e.g. Volkite Eradicator); or a halved version of the Warlord carapace weapon made available as a Reaver Arm (e.g. Turbo Laser-Destructor). These are included to allow you to recreate favourite Titans from the past. The arm-mounted Apocalypse Missile Launcher is a good example, as the three-missile support Titan was a classic option from Epic: Armageddon and earlier. These weapon stats/cost etc, are identical to those originals; which seems to be how the other official weapons available to multiple chassis work. + 

+ 2: Iterative creation +

+ Others are iterated versions of those weapons available to other Titan classes. These have all been designed conservatively, so they shouldn't displace any of the other existing weapons – they're intended as fun additions, rather than 'better'. +

+ The Inferno Cannon and Avernus-pattern Inferno Cannon are bigger versions of the Warhound Inferno Gun for the Reaver and Warlord respectively. Like the Warhound version, I suspect these are unlikely to see much use, but I hope they're fun to play with – particularly for Legio Infernus/Suturvora players! +

+ The Quake Cannon is a Reaver-scale version of the Mori Quake Cannon; the stats based on the changes between the Belicosa Volcano Cannon and Volcano Cannon. I reduced the blast size, but left the strength as-is, following the precedent of other solid-shot and laser weapons across chassis. +

+ The Ruinator Chainfist goes the other way – it's a Warlord-scale version of the Reaver Chainfist. I compared the Reaver Power Fist to the Arioch-pattern Power Claw, and then applied similar changes to the Reaver Chainfist to produce the Warlord-scale version. +

+ Finally, the Sumer-pattern Power Fist for the Warlord Titan. A very simple card to allow people to use the Vulcan mega-bolter on the back of the Arioch-pattern Titan Claw. While it never particularly bothered me (the justification that it contributes to the punching power seems fair enough), a close combat build is already unpopular on Warlords, so if this helps to encourage it a little more, that's a job well done, in my eyes! For clarity, the intention is that the Long Range stats only benefit from Rapid; not from Melee or Rending. +

+ 3: Retrohammer classics +

+ Barrage Missile Launcher – described as follows, this was a bit tricky to design, as weapons tend to be either good against shields, or good against armour. I plumped for a combination of special rules that make it either good at 'depleting void shields' (Shieldbane), or at damaging 'unshielded targets' (Rending, Ordnance). The downside to this wonder weapon (for it had to have at least one!) is that it is a 'one-shot support weapon', and is not as accurate as a standard Apocalypse Missile Launcher. +

+ source: White Dwarf 142 +

+ Kamaki-pattern Trident – almost certainly the likely inspiration for the Ursus claw, the original Trident was pure Warhammer 40k (see the original rules below), and I couldn't resist writing up some rules to allow the Reaver to take it, too. The increase in Strength makes it quite a bit scarier on the Reaver, but this is balanced against it being unlikely to be able to be used in a squadron, so the points increase is modest. +

+ source: White Dwarf 142 +

+ In addition to the Plasma Blastgun, the Reaver also gets access to the Plasma Annihilator. This is loosely based on the 'Plasma Cannon' from the original Adeptus Titanicus – a midway point between the Plasma Blastgun and Plasma Annihilator in the original AT; and intended as a midway point between the Plasma Blastgun and Sunfury Plasma Annihilator in the modern game. It is essentially the Sunfury with one fewer shot – and this is why its price is comparatively high. The name follows the pattern of similar weapons; losing the 'special' bit from the Warlord version. +

+++

 

+ inload: Post-event enthusiasm +

+ Gaming at The Corsair Gambit part II +

+ A company of Salamanders Predators sweep in on the attack. +

+ Last inload concerned polishing off a Legio Maximal Reaver Titan for a Legions Imperialis event run by Maximal Fire down at Entoyment in Poole. Very pleased to report that it was a lot of fun! Alex and Johnny who were running things had clearly put a lot of effort into making sure things ran smoohtly, and that was eased along by everyone being a really nice, friendly bunch of players. I'd thoroughly recommend further events down here – Entoyment is a real Aladdin's cave of gaming, and one of my few regrets was the schedule being so packed that I didn't get more chance to explore. +

+++

+ The background for this event was built on the results of the previous Corsair Gambit event earlier in the year, in which the forces of the Warmaster managed to establish a foothold on Nabed-Paleae, Forgethrone of Legio Maximal. As a Salamanders loyalist player, I was part of the taskforce sent to reclaim this critical world. +

+ I won't go into great depth about the games, but suffice to say they were all very fun, and it was a treat to come to a gaming event where everyone was so friendly. +

+ Game 1 +

+ A planetstrike against a defending Sons of Horus army. Highlights included the Kratos tanks that just would not die, the treacherous Reaver Moderatus (I missed all three of its – 2+ to hit – Volcano Cannon shots!), and an absolutely spectacular Sons of Horus army belonging to a great chap called Gary. +

+ I managed a narrow win on objectives here – my strategic skills rather flattered by the fact he had to deploy his army to defend the whole board, while I could pick and choose which parts to contest. +

+ If nothing else, these shots go to show just how cool Legions Imperialis looks on the boards Maximal Fire brought down – and bear in mind that this was one of ten or so, so they'd really put the effort in on terrain. +

+ Green on green. Playing against such a beautiful Sons of Horus army was a real highlight of the weekend. Helps that it was against such a sporting opponent and remained close all the way through. +

+ A shot from the viewpoint of Profugon Iratus. +

+++

+ Game 2 +

+ This game was an ambush scenario, with the Salamanders defending a central ridge against Night Lords attackers, led by a cunning commander whose name – alas – evades my leaking mem-banks. Apologies! +

+ A very different army to face. Rather than tanks with infantry and air support, here I was facing a mass of infantry, Dreadnoughts and jetbikes, largely deployed via Drop Pods. Quite the contrast, and a nice change of pace. At the last event, very little had been released, so most lists were pretty samey – not so here; a very diverse set of lists. +

+ Another very fun game against a lovely opponent who was very patient with explaining the intricacies of drop pods and transports to me. These events are always learning experiences for me; however well-prepared I try to be! +

+ A second close victory here – despite Profugon Iratus being surrounded and brought low by the swift and vicious Night Lords legion. Again, the result could esily have gone either way, and I benefitted from some event special rules that affected morale. The Salamanders' special rules are not quite a hard counter to the Night Lords', but I think were important in how a few close fights fell out. +

+ I had been warned that Titans were a bit pillow-fisted and ineffectual in Legions Imperialis, and I'm sorry to say that was my experience, too. On the plus side, I think having a lot of points tied up in one activation did help my games to go slightly quicker – and of course it was great to be able to field a campaign-specific Legio to lean into the theme of the event. +

+++

+ Game 3 +

+ The day closed with a short sharp shock of a game with the awesome Jon [+IGident: @jonlukedesign +] from Battle Bling – he had designed a lot of the bits in my army, in fact; from the Thunderhawk upgrades to the objective markers. +

+ I had faced his World Eaters at the previous event, and lost in a fairly close tussle across a dense city – but his beautiful army has clearly have been polishing their skills, as they took my army apart in two turns across the salt desert, with minimal casualties! +

+ I'd love to blame tiredness for the number of tactical blunders I made early on, leading to isolated picket forces being bypassed and troops being trapped in their transports, but full credit to him, he kept the pressure up and finished the job in a fittingly brutal World Eater style! +

+ Victories are lovely, but you learn a heck of a lot more from defeats – and when they're in such a friendly, collegiate atmosphere with such a nice gang, there's really nothing to mope about. A third very fun game. +

+++

+ Closing calculations – on Legions Imperialis +

+ I don't think I'm saying anything too contentious to say that Legions Imperialis is a flawed system. It is also, however, a lot of fun. Events like this demonstrate to me that you do get spectacular thematic games, and beneath all the needlessly complex chrome, bells and whistles it retains a good underlying engine that looks great on the table. +

+ You do, however, need to play with the right spirit of cooperation. It would be very easy to abuse the army-building, and if you're looking for the 'best' options in-game, there's rarely even much consideration. With this borne in mind, I was really pleased to see the sheer variety of armies and unit types that people had brought – these were a group of people who clearly love both the setting and the scale, and valued playing the game first and foremost. I'm very grateful to have been playing in this sort of environment. +

+ I hate to say it, but as it stands I'd hesitate to recommend Legions Imperialis to new players until there's a substantial FAQ or revision. I hope that in a year or two the army list, agonisingly incompletely and broken up across multiple expensive expansions, is collected into a single volume. +

+ Of course, when you do get these ingredients together – sportsmanship, beautiful armies, great tables – it's a heady combo, and the game is really very fun. Things largely do what you'd expect them to, and you get the sense of a 'grand sweep of battle'. I just hope GW can get their act together to make Legions Imperialis the success it could be. +

+++

+ Closing calculations – on the Corsair Gambit +

+ On the event itself, I have no real criticisms. Very nicely run, and some flavourful additions that added to the theme. Three games at 2,000pts did feel a little crammed, but we were asked midway through the first whether we'd prefer to cut things to two games. We ended up pressing ahead for three, which I think was the right decision, but for future events – particularly if they're at larger points limits – I think I'd prefer a two-game per day approach. +

+ Personally, I'd have loved this to be done over the course of a weekend; it was nice to meet and catch up with people from last time, but it would have been even better to have less time pressure, and some more time to socialise. +

+ We also got to see a sneak preview of, and free sample from, Battlebuilder – a very snazzy-looking nameplate service that's a collaboration between Maximal Fire, Battle Bling and some others. I hope to do a proper look at that in the near future, but the thing that made it jump out to me is that you can design things 'live' on the website itself. +

 

+ Glittering prizes +

+ I was also delighted to receive the Best Painted trophy, which you can see nuzzled between the free objectives pack we were given, and a flyer for Entoyment's Beachhead 2025 event next year. Winning this was very unexpected, given the quality of armies on display. Turns out that I can thoroughly recommend painting a Titan from the organiser's Legion to score some brownie points with the judges! +

+++

+ The true test of an event is whether you come away filled with enthusiasm, and I'm happy to say that I'm already planning for a potential third event in the Corsair Stars – you can see some additional Land Raider reinforcements above, and as you'll see below, I've also got started on an Iron Skulls maniple for Adeptus Titanicus, too. More on this shortly... +