The Past And The Future

   I've got a game lined up fairly soon of combat patrol which is completely outside our current campaign against my brothers, where we have decided to use patrols we own but haven't managed to play with yet. My brothers both picked the ones they got for Christmas and I'm going for my Eldar/Aeldari.

   The issue is that while I bought the patrol a few months back when I was feeling flush, I haven't painted any of it. I have the Guardian squad in stock, so they aren't an issue but the rest needed painting asap.

   First up are a Farseer and a pair of Wraithlords*. 

*as if you are painting one, then a second can't hurt

   The Farseer is an old metal one as I just love the model, I'm pretty sure this is the 3rd of this model I've painted up and possibly the 4th I own as I have a feeling I ended up with one from someone else's collection too. I started painting them to match the army, then wondered what a starry coat would look like.

   The Wraithlords are both plastic - I never owned a metal one as a kid as I just kept buying the War Walkers instead. One from when the model was released while I was at uni and the other from the combat patrol box. The one I plan to use in the game has magnets in his shoulder guns to allow me to swap weapons to keep him game legal.

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The Grand Plan

   With all the recent games of 40k using my Genestealer Cult, I've found myself being weak and buying a model I have absolutely no use for but that I've wanted since the day it was revealed, the Nexos. This one of those weird models where I don't think it really has a place in a regular games - why have your grand strategist bumbling about with all his stolen Imperial equipment in what is effectively a platoon sized engagement? However, the model is just amazing and the fact a designer needed a hologram map on it and just did the map of Warhammer World is just the cherry on top*.

*I've almost bought this model in the past to convert into my Imperial guard

   With the new codex being released in a week or so, I'll have a look at his rules, but honestly, this is a model I've almost definitely collected rather than will see table time - but I have no regrets this time.

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The Hotter It Burns

   With the release of the new Sisters of Battle codex fairly imminent I thought I had better spend some time on some more of my mate' sisters army as I still have a few bits in the backlog. He had a squad of Dominion that he had started building before he gave up and passed them along, so I had to work out what he had done, then get them finished and painted.

   Colour scheme is identical to before but this squad has been built with 4 flamers and a slightly more upgraded superior. A few of the squad are from the monopose kits that he had extras of to replace models he's built with weapon options this squad can't take - they are half finished and will give him options for other squads.

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Mass Uprisings

   With both the failure of the Deathwatch to wipe out a hub of the Star Children Cult command and the renewed assault from the Hive Fleets, the Day Of Ascension has swung into over drive with cult uprisings all across the planet.

   Fighting has even occurred in PDF compounds which has resulted in whole companies of troops seemly swapping sides to help the alien invader with many an Imperial tank being seen opposing those still loyal to the throne.

   The final phase of the war for Fratribusia has now been reached. Great devourer organisms are emerging from spawning pods across the world, whose sole aim is to eat anything and everything in their path. Massive spore towers have spread and are erupting in areas behind Imperial lines. Even the planet's weather has been turned to suit the invader as the rain dissolves all it touches as a pre-digestion aid leaving the vast once verdant jungles as mere barren wastes.

   The Imperium has been left with but a single choice. How much can be saved.

A Light Exploratory Vehicle

   One of the models I had on my wish list for if I ever decided to expand my Genestealer Cult army was an Achilles Ridgerunner, there was just something about this vehicle that makes me happy. So when our final Fratribusia game date fell through with 2 players dropping out, it was decided to turn it into a normal game - which made me wonder if I could get my force to the points needed.

   I was already working on a squad of Neophytes to round the infantry out and while I had/have other plans for the army, this was the perfect moment to add a Ridgerunner. 

   I built it with 2 options - main gun is magnetised - so it can either have the armaments I would choose (heavy mining laser and spotter*) or the option that the new combat patrol includes which is survey auger and missile launcher.

*somehow I managed to drop and lose the spotter on the way to take a photo of the model and have yet to find him**

**ironically, I could do with a spotter

   I painted a big 2 on the front as I thought it balanced nicely with the fact the store voucher I got for coming second using Genestealer Cults in a tournament went towards this model. Otherwise it's in the same horrible corporate cheap green and dirty metal that my other vehicles are in.

Predictably, it died turn 1 in it's first game

   I suppose now I'm getting prepared for the new combat patrol box, do I go ahead and pick it up to keep this project as useful as it can be? This army was only ever supposed to be a small project to make Fratribusia more interesting, but I've really enjoyed using them far more than expected.

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Even More Cult Troops

   After the tournament at the weekend I was actually in the mood to do some painting which hasn't happened for a good month or so now. I had picked up a box of Genestealer Cult Neophytes for a different project as I had an idea I wanted to try out, but now they have come back to the home they should have been bought for as the 3rd troops squad.

   I built these guys in a pretty standard way, but I raided old sprues for weapons that the combat patrol I built my other squads for hadn't used. So this squad has two mining lasers and has bulked up the special weapons for my other squads - mostly flamers and grenade launchers. I also cut the hand off the leaders weapon, sticking it on slightly twisted for a bit of variety, but something not even I will notice in the future.

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Combat Patrol Tournament

   At the weekend I went to a 40k Combat Patrol tournament at Wayland Games. Like the 30k tournaments I used to do, I treated it as a paid day to guarantee a certain amount of games against new opponents rather than a win at all costs competitive thing, plus being combat patrol I was hoping to avoid the net 40k lists that don't look like fun to play. 

   The first game was against my regular opponent and his Sisters of Battle. This game played out like our normal games, mostly as we know how each other play, but much as it was annoying to play your regular opponent it did give us a chance to ease into the day.

   It goes without saying that he smashed me. I'm partly blaming the dice as I failed stuff I really shouldn't have - but ultimately I was out played.

   The next game was against the T'au - using the old combat patrol. This game was a weird one, my opponent forgot about the objective in his deployment zone for 2 whole turns before realising he didn't have time to go back to it later in the game. Then the army just didn't have the output you'd expect, so I just kept surviving beyond what I expected.

I ended the game sitting on every objective - which surprised everyone - with a large points difference.

   The last game was against Space Marines and a player who HAD A PLAN. He went over my combat patrol rules, decided my army was weak and told me how short the game would be.

   2 turns later I controlled every objective comfortably and I had blocked him getting to any. It took him another 2 turns to get any objectives by which point my points lead was fairly substantial and I still had answers to his gambits.

   The game ended with him having a single model left - the terminator librarian - and me having odds and sods spread across the board in key places. 

   This was the game I learned the most about how this army is really supposed to work and where I played my best which has given me ideas.

   I ended up finishing the tournament in second place - my best ranking for a proper tournament ever. Just gutted there was no certificate or anything for my wall.

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