Update

Just a quick final post here. It's been a busy year since the previous post here. We've got a new site up and running with a broader wargaming focus although still strongly featuring 40K. This is geared towards gamers in the Midwest. Come check us out @ www.custodesimperialis.blogspot.com. We're still getting things organized but we should be sorted out within a few days.

News: Forgeworld Newsletter #281

Forgeworld's latest newsletter brings out some options for the Contemptor dreadnaoght and the cool new Praetor armoured assault launcher!

Contemptor Plasma Cannon, Heavy Bolter and Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon
The ancient and prized Contemptor Dreadnought, once a mainstay of the Astartes Legions during the Great Crusade, is capable of fielding many different heavy weapons. The Contemptor Pattern Plasma Cannon and Contemptor Pattern Heavy Bolter are both precursors to the weapons systems found on the MkIV and MkV Dreadnoughts, and the Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon is considered by some techno-savants to be the forerunner to the Assault Cannon carried by Space Marine Terminators.

Designed by Will Hayes, all three new weapon options are now available to pre-order for despatch in the week commencing August 30th.Experimental rules for the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought are available to download from the Forge World website, and the keen-eyed amongst you will notice that one of the ‘forbidden’ weapon options has now been revealed. We’ll be bringing you more weapons for this amazingly popular Dreadnought in the coming months.

Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher
The Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher is a sophisticated weapon that mounts a multiple heavy missile launcher system. Use of this design, recently approved by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, is spreading swiftly throughout frontline regiments, but the use of the Praetor missile system far predates the hull design of the Crassus Armoured Assault Transport upon which it is now mounted.

This resin model is packed with lavish interior details such as missiles and auto-targeting systems, the Praetor’s massive main weapons system features three racks of immense warheads, and a sliding support that allows it to be opened for firing and closed for transport. The Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher is a complete resin kit, designed by Stuart Williamson and Daren Parrwood, and is available to pre-order now for despatch in the week commencing 30th August.

Basing: Dragon Forge Desert Wasteland Bases

Hey all, Slick here. I recently ordered some DragonForge bases for my guard army. I went with the Desert Wasteland II bases and ordered a few flying bases and enough regular size bases to cover a platoon and some vet squads. The bases are all top quality with excellent detail. I can highly recommend DragonForge after this order and I'll be putting in another order to finish up my guard. I'll post some pics of finished squads with the new bases soon.

Dystopian Wars: Battle Pics

Hey all, Slick here. Here are some pics from a recent Dystopian Wars battle - Prussians vs Empire of the Blazing Sun.

Uncharted Seas: Battle Pics

Hello all, Slick here with some pics from our last Uncharted Seas tourney - this time it was a Team Tournament.

Dystopian Wars: Dreadnoughts Report

Hello all, Slick here with some updates on Dystopian Wars. We've gotten two games in using dreads - one average size game and a 1200 per person 4 player team battle with 3 dreads per side.

First game - fired two salvos at an FSA battleship, one at rb4 and then rb3. Nearly double-critted it both times on sub par rolls.

Game 2 - His fsa dread sales into rb 2 and manages to cause a damage (thanks shields!). My return fire sees the tesla broadsides cause a fusion leak and I rolled a 6, so a total of 8 dead crew. The primaries opened fire then and cause another fusion leak finishing off the rest of the fsa dread in one turn of action!

My 2nd dread along with a task force of 1 bb and destroyers put 6 damage, 4 crew, and half AD on his other dread.

Both my dreads had dual shield generators which worked fairly well, usually negating 2-3 hits.

Painting up my 3rd dread right now - it will be a bit different - going with dual tesla generators.

All in all, the dreads present a serious weapon in the game and can deal out massive amounts of damage. Dystopian Wars also scales up nicely as you go from fairly small skirmishes to major fleet engagements. Games will take quite a bit longer though so be prepared to have about 4-5 hours set aside for huge games, especially if newer players are present.

News: Salamanders Dreadnaught

Forgeworld has previewed the latest venerable dread this time for the Salamanders! Impressive work.
"Bray’arth Ashmantle – Salamanders Venerable Dreadnought

The armouriums of the Salamanders Chapter contain many ancient relics; some bearing proud histories of glory and honour while others are burdened with darker legends. Sokhar Bray’arth, once a Captain of the Salamanders 4th Company, is the current occupant of the ancient relic-Dreadnought known as the Iron Dragon, fashioned it is said by the hands of the revered Salamanders Primarch, Vulkan, himself.
Bray’arth was interred within this revered artefact after succumbing to the grievous wounds he suffered during the now infamous purging of the moons of Ymgarl of its Genestealer taint. His strength of will combined with the dark machine-spirit of the Dreadnought in which he is entombed make for a potent warrior on the battlefield.

Salamanders Venerable Dreadnought Bray’arth Ashmantle is a unique MkIV Ironclad Dreadnought, designed by Simon Egan and Will Hayes. The model is packed with intricate detail including ornately carved and segmented armour plates, symbols of the Promethean Cult, and even a jaw-droppingly detailed bas-relief on the Dreadnought’s shoulder armour of Bray’arth’s death duel with a horde of Ymgarl-strain Genestealers."

Dystopian Wars: Prussian Destroyers and Escorts Review

Hello Slick here again. Destroyers and Escorts are now available for all the factions so let's take a quick look at our two ships. In general I'm a bit disappointed with the ships - both the models and the rules. This isn't to say that I leave these ships out of my fleet. They'll both provide useful assets. My major gripe is that if you look closely on both ships you can clearly see tesla coil weapons on the hull (front on the escort, rear on the destoyer). Why sculpt these onto the model if neither ships includes them as a weapon type? One might argue it's for decoration... well sorry, but they just shouldn't be on there then. The other issue I have with the models, specifically the destroyer, is that it just seems undersized compared to the fsa/britannian ones. While it won't really have an impact in the game it would've been nice to see a slightly large model rather than one that is really just slightly bigger than a frigate. Other than that the details on both are the same high quality as the rest of the range.

On to the rules...

Our escorts are great so no gripes there.

Destroyers... again not bad at all, but having a secondary weapon system would have made our destroyers awesome which is why the tesla coil being on the actual model really is annoying. Pack hunter + rear tesla could have been an interesting and effective option. Raise the points accordingly to match the extra weapon. As it is, I would say the FSA and Brittanian Destroyers are the most impressive of the bunch (model & rules), especially the FSA destroyers. It is going to be tough to deal with the crazy amount of firepower properly positioned FSA destroyers can unleash.

We'll be testing out the new ships this week so look for a battle report! In the meantime, what do you guys think?