2018: A Year in Review

Another year has passed by. For those of you who are long time readers, you know that at the end of every year I write a blog post about the top 3 most viewed post of the year. I do have a quick aside though. From August to now, I have not had the opportunity to post much. I found a new job and it has kept me very busy. What that means for this blog at the moment I do not know. However, I do intend to do 1 post per month in the coming New Year. Just to keep this blog alive. I also will be encouraging guest writers to add to the blog with their own takes on their miniatures and models. Another idea I had was setting up a Youtube Channel and filming a few games to post here as well. Would anyone be interested in that? Let me know in the comments below!

The Tanith and the Guard army grew with new tanks and new infantry soldiers throughout the year. Mad Robot released his Rangers set which helped to boost the army significantly. The Ad Mech grew in numbers with more skitarii and Onager walkers purchased. I now have a 2000+ point army of Ad Mech ready to march across the table into the enemy.  The Tau were mostly ignored this year as the points cost and the army size made playing the army no longer fun for me. However with the chapter approved 2018, I might try to start playing them again. I started a Sisters of Battle army this year and grew it to 1500 points! I am ready for 2019 and the Sisters beta codex is giving me a lot of hope for things to come. The Menoth from Warmachine were also mostly ignored as well as the local warmachine scene is dead here.

What wasn't dead here though was Kill Team for Warhammer 40k!  I built 2 kill teams, one based upon the Tanith 1st and Only and the other built around the All Guardsmen Party. Both of those saw extensive play through our shops Campaign which was played over several weeks.

As always we will now look at the Top 3 projects were have done this year.

Coming in at #1 was the Blood Pact Commission which was done for my friend Matt
Coming in at 1,303 views this post was the most clicked on post of the year. Matt's Blood Pact is being build in response to my Tanith army and soon we hope to have a few battles from across the Sabbat Worlds to tell.

#2 this year was the Tau Codex review at 1,281 views. This post gained a lot of views following the Tau codex release. A lot of people disagreed with my ideas on what was said but I still stand by them. The codex review was a lot of fun and something I would like to do again.

#3 this year was my Imperial Guard Verghast at 1,013 views. This post was also a surprise to me. I had not expected  for it to be in the top 3. The idea of the Verghast models came from Dave Taylors own assembly of some troopers he got from Victoria Lamb. I liked the way he had assembled them and decided that my own Verghast would look like his.

With that I want to wish everybody a Happy 2019. Hopefully 2018 has been good to you all and 2019 will be even better. Keep rolling those dice and stay tuned. Many new things are to come in 2019!

Read more »

Phantine Air Corp: Tornado's are coming!

                     Since today is July 4th, I've decided to bring you another Phantine Air Corp article. Long time readers of the blog will note that on July 4th, we here at Behind the Lines celebrate American Independence Day. The last few times have been about the Phantine as seen here and here as examples. So we figured we would continue the tradition of talking about airplanes and paratroopers.

Well a while back, I joined the 40k Aeronautica group on Facebook. This group is all about the Air Club. People post their own home made aircraft as well as official GW / FW models.Its a very exciting group to be a part of. The community is great and the admin team is super. Since aviation has always been one of my interest, it seemed like a natural fit for me. Warhammer 40k and airplanes? Whats not to like!

One of the admin had some skills with 3D design and set about designing his own aircraft to use in 40k. This quickly took off (groan I know) and in time the group had funded the design. The admin promised not only patches, but also buttons, pins, and a full model of his first design. The "Tornado" fighter.

The community came together and with the promise of a new aircraft, we set about making it happen. This project will be the first of hopefully many new designs. It  has tightened the community together. The Admin team has already started working on new designs and future aircraft that they hope to be able to bring to the table top.

Lets talk about my experience as a backer. Although the wait was long, it was worth it. This was the first true "community supported" project that I have backed. However, when the cast came in, the models were shipped very fast. The admin team has kept everyone up to date on the process and the project.

 When I got my model about three days later It arrived in a standard packing box. It was in a baggy with not only the model pieces but also my backer rewards. After washing the model pieces in warm soapy water, I sent the model to a friend to assemble. This was because at the moment, I was working on the Blood Pact Commission, which I hope I will be posting more of soon. After it was assembled and primed it was sent back to me. What I got back in return was less than perfect. The model had been rushed and the tail was bent.

I stripped the model and took it apart over the course of a few days. Then after everything was apart, I set about reassembling it. The model is easy to put together. It holds together very well. It does not eat a lot of glue, so you can fit things together quickly. My advice would be to use very little glue in assembly. A little will go a long way on this project.

It should be noted that this project does not come with missiles, bombs ect. You will need to have your own or buy some from other sources. I used GW Valkyrie missiles for mine in my second build. The Original build my friend used was the GW Chimera missiles. Both will work.

It must be noted that this model is MUCH smaller than a GW Thunderbolt or Valkyrie. I like it however. It looks like a fast air to air fighter that it is mean to be.

 I haven't had time to airbrush or paint the model since it was reassembled. Life has been very busy as of late.I hope to break out my airbrush and get some work done soon.

Now I would like to take some time and talk about how this model will be used on the table.

It could be either a Lightening or a Thunderbolt depending upon the players wants. Im going to run it as a Lightening fighter since I own two thunderbolts already. This Lightening will be a part of the Phantine XIX. Also known as "Orbis" Squadron.

 In the books, Orbis squadron was described as deep grey with their fins and tails painted a deep blue. For this aircraft, Im planning to use my standard mix of Basalt Grey from Vallejo for the body and then use a GW Kantor Blue for the blues. The Cockpit will be a mix of many blues that I have collected over the years. For the engines, I will be using a gold color.

To all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July! and to the rest of the world Happy Wednesday!

Leave a comment, say hello or just let us know you were here. We enjoy hearing from you. Also check out our Patreon page. Even a 1$ per month would help us bring you new content. If you like what you see please consider donating. Every little bit helps.

If you want to pick up your own Tornado then head over here

Until next time!

Read more »

Commission: Blood Pact Infantry

First 5 members of the squad

"They hide their faces in snarling iron, but the cruelty in their hearts is manifest in their burtual deeds. We are lost and we are done. May the God-Emperor forgive our failure and protect our souls." - Last Transmission of General DeLesstt, Urdesh

Back of the first 5 members. Notice the cloak done up in the style of my Tanith

So I've been commissioned again and this time Im painting Chaos. I never really thought I would paint chaos. However since this commission was something that was close to the Gaunt's Ghost series, I decided that it would be fun to paint. The Blood Pact are the main villains of the Gaunt's Ghost Series. A chaos force that has built itself up as a massive threat to the Imperium in the Sabbat Worlds. Having read the entire series, I was excited to paint red, lots and lots of red after painting my Tanith army for so long.

These traitors are the first squad of Matt's new Blood pact army. In order to get them ready, I ordered them from Mad Robot Miniatures. His Crimson Pak models make perfect Blood pact! Next I washed the models in warm water and soap. After a 24 hour wash, I dried them out and prepared them for paint. After a lot of intense airbrushing, I saw these models primed and readied for paint. After they dried, I started to add the base colors. I used Vallejo red for the base.I then used Vallejo Black-grey for all the black colors.After a Nuln wash, I then highlighted the reds and blacks. The bronze was Games workshop Bronze and the silvers were Vallejo silver and Vallejo chainmail. Both colors were to help the models look closer to their artwork. Sharp eyed viewers will notice that I added some dead Tanith models onto the bases and that the sergeant is wearing a ripped Tanith cloak. This was a request by Matt, both as a personal joke against my Tanith army and as a way to connect our two armies together from the book material.

Second 5 members of the squad

My poor attempt at Photoshop

To complete the look of the models, I added in a special "blood wash".  Since I dont have Games workshop paints available to me here, I mixed my own paint using Nuln oil, agrax earthshade, 4 different types of reds and lots of matte mediums. It worked very well I think.

Back view

Matt did request that I not base these models since he wants to add them onto his chaos army. However, the few pieces of Tanith bodies, stocks, and guns helps to make the model feel as if it is on the battlefield. In the future, he hopes to commission me again. Eventually this army will grow into a full force. One that will rival my Tanith on the tabletop. Matt has already started talking to me about doing a few Blood pact Chimera for him in order to transport this squad across the battlefield. Before too long we might see a few Leman Russ Tanks.


Now onto other news. We here at Behind the Lines have set up a Patreon page. This Patreon would to support us in bringing you new content such as painting tutorials, gaming reviews, blog post and eventually videos. If you would like to support us please head over to here. Even 1$ a month would help us out to bring you more content. The team has been gearing up to add a lot of new content that we are excited about.

As always, leave a comment, say hello or just let us know you were here. If you would like to get a commission price as well you can message us here or on Patreon.

Until Next time!

Read more »

Marcharius IX Campaign: Curtain Call

"I dont care about that damned planet,I only care that the heads of each and every [Chaos] Lord there is on a [expletive] pike" - Uriel Bejz (Renegade Marine, once of the Minotaur's chapter 999 M41)

"I commend them, the Gue'La. Not for their tenacity, not for their ferocity nor for their cunning. It is for their honor that I now have great respect for them. Even when drawn down to a man, even when death was inevitable, they still fought us with all they had, instead of cowering or surrendering like dogs. When faced against overwhelming odds, they stood strong, even when scores fell. These...humans...they will forever have my respect." -  Shas'O BrightSun (T'Kain Sept, Marcharius IX reclamation Force M41)

Today ends our groups Marcharius IX Table top Campaign. Marcharius IX first appeared in our Dark Heresy game as a world on the edge of the Imperium. Located between Tau Space and the Imperium, this world would come to have drastic consequences for the party.

The party first encounter Marcharius IX in their pursuit of the Rogue Trader Josiah. Josiah had been spreading chaos tainted wheat across the imperium for years, having been chased by Inquisitor Herodotus and his warband. Bo Terran, the charismatic interrogator and de facto leader of the party, unintentionally brought the party to the world after getting captured and pulled into in a webway with eldar pirates. What the party found was a world high in tension. Tau and Humans living together in tense truce. After reestablishing contact, they found that the local Governor of the world had made a trade deal with Josiah in order to sell the world's resources to chaos in exchange for immortality. It was discovered that Bubo the plague father and Kordan of the Thousand Sons would soon arrive. Bubo with the Rogue trader, and Kordan in pursuit of Bubo. The party only barely escaped as the world fell to chaos around them. Having made it out alive, the party called upon the Marines of the Dorn's Raiders and "The Coalition", a mass gathering of Space Marines, Guardsmen, and other factions of the imperium in order to retake Marcharius IX. When the party returned to Marcharius, they had one goal. Kill the 2 chaos lords. While Bubo was killed in the fighting, many members of the Coalition were lost. Unable to stop the imperium, Kordan summoned a warp storm and consumed the planet in the warp. The party was only barely able to escape having suffered major losses in friendly Non player characters and major damage to themselves. The Coalition along with the Dorn's Raiders took massive causalities in the fighting as well.

100 years passed......

This is where the table top campaign took off. After 31 days in May, each of the former PCs and GM recorded a total of 20 games played.  The armies were as followed:  Jon: Detachment D-44 (Imperium), Jerry: T'Kain Sep (Tau), Greg: Dorn's Raiders (Space Marines) and Tallarn (Imperial Guard), Kurtis: 186th Death Korp (Imperial Guard) and Chaos Marines (Night Lords) , and Matt: Brother Hood of Ferrus (Iron Hands Space Marines).

 The Imperium had a 1:4 win loss ratio.  The Tau had a 1:1 win loss ratio and chaos had a 0:0 ratio. The height of the campaign was when the Dark mech stole a former PC's power lance that they had left behind for the survivors. What chaos wants with the Power lance is a story that will be told when Wrath and Glory (the new 40k RPG) releases this June This is not the last we have heard of Marcharius IX. In the mean time, the Tau of the T'Kain Sept had reclaimed the world in the name of the Tau Empire. What they found was horrific and barbaric......

Post Campagin Patch for Detachment D-44

The last of the Gue'la lay dead in a pile. The firefight had been tough and many shas'la of the T'kain sept lay dead near where the Gue'la tank had blasted their position. After a month of fighting, the human world, once known as Marcharius IX had been reclaimed by the Tau Empire. The Etherals wanted to cleanse the world of all chaos taint and make it into a new sept world. One that would be a shining example to the rest of the Empire. However Commander Brightsun was not so sure. Having seen the horrors of the landscape and the chaotic influences that had ravaged this world for so long, Bright sun was sure that no tau citizen could ever truly consider this a home. The surviving human forces had either been scattered or died en masse. As for the chaos forces, they had disappeared as quickly as they had come. Many of the Imperiums soldiers had escaped and command reported that they had gotten back to the Imperium lines. Entire parts of the world burned. The Imperium had not left quietly and Brightsun believed they would back someday. Among the survivors had been found humans as old as 150 years old. Many Earth Caste believed this was not natural for the human life span and questions had been asked of those who had been found. One of them, a young human had responded that the warp had kept them alive to live their own personal hells. Many Earth caste scientist took this be the ramblings of a insane human.Whatever the case was, there was still work to be done. The twisted barren landscape was still full of daemon creatures and resistance cells. Whether or not the world could ever  be fully reclaimed Brightsun did not know. Taking a last look at the deadpile of tau warriors Bright sun activated his XV-8 and flew off to find another battle.

Read more »

Tanith 1st and Only: Verghast Recruits from Vervunhive

"For Vervunhive! For Verghast! For The Emperor!" -  Battle cry of the Verghast
Tanith First and Only

Another month done for 2018. Where is the time going? Today I present to you my next squad of Tanith 1st and Only. This time is is my redone Verghast squad. Sharp minded readers might remember that I had showed off this squad Here back in 2016.

So you might be asking, Jon, why are you posting these guys again? Well they're part of the great "repaint of 2017 - 2018". Essentially I have started adding eyes to all of my Guard infantry models. Ive also added Tattoos to some squads like the one shown here. For the moment, im focusing on the eyes and repainting the flesh to be less flat. Ironically, the flesh paint I got for these guys originally was "flat flesh".

 Ive also finally found a supplier for Dark Reaper Layer paint so im adding in highlights of dry brushed dark reaper to all my models. Ive also started adding highlights to all the camo cloaks so all squads in the future will have their cloaks highlighted.These are really just touch ups to older models. My painting skills have improved,and so have my desires to make this the best army I can.

Now whats coming in the future? Well, first off Ive ordered myself a small group of Sisters of Battle. That order will be shown off and painted here. Secondly, Ive gotten my Marauder Bomber back from the gentleman that I had assemble it. Im going to get that model painted up and show it off here. I am excited to see that centerpiece come to fruition. Ive also started working on my Knight and Ad mech again. There are a lot of projects going on here. Perhaps too many!

A quick note: Part 2 for the painting Tanith series is coming. I just need to get back to them.

Until Next time!

Read more »

How to Paint Tanith: The Uniform and flesh tones (Part 1)

                   Today I present to you our first paint guide! I have decided that I am going to show off how to paint the Tanith First and Only models. The squad I am using is one of my many Tanith squads. I messed up these five Tanith models painting them and so after stripping them in LATA, I decided I would use them for the painting guide. When done, they should look like the first five Tanith you see in picture 1. It should be noted that this guide is not the only way to paint Tanith. This is simply my method.

Finished Squad

Picture 2 is the one of the models from the second squad of five after they were stripped in LA's Totally Awesome. After I got the models stripped, I realized that I was out of primer and so had to go get another can. Finally getting another can of primer, I was able to prime the models and prepare them for the paint job.

Step one is grey primer. The primer I choose to use is from Rust-Oleum and the type is 2x Ultra cover primer. This primer is the best grey I have found for miniature in rattle can form. If I were to airbrush more often, I would recommend Vallejo Grey Primer. After letting the primer dry, I brought the models in doors and set about on the second step.

Stripped in LATA and ready to prime

Step two was the base colors. I chose Vallejo Black-Grey and put it all over the model. The hair, as well as the gun strap was also done up in black-grey. After the black-grey dries, I then added on the flesh tones. The base color is Vallejo Rosey Flesh. Once I got a solid base of flesh, I switched over to Citadel Leadblecher and did up the metal parts on the gun. I also did up the buckles on the uniform and the metal straps on the gun strap. For the cloak, I used P3 Baston Grey. P3 paint can be pretty thick so you need to be careful when applying this color to the cloak. Lastly we add some steel legion drab to the stock of the gun in order to get that Nalwood look.

Just before the wash stage (and optional eyes)

Step three sees the model covered head to toe in Nuln Oil. Be sure to avoid the flesh. We dont want to get the skin covered in Nuln oil. We also want to avoid the stock of the gun if possible, although if some does get on the stock, then its easier to fix. We will need to let this wash dry. About a hour will do to allow for the wash to really get into the crevices. After the wash dries, we need to check the model and make sure the wash got everywhere.

Step four is optional but can be used to make the models look a little bit better. Eyes. Lots of people hate doing eyes but I have found a way to make them easier on models. Where the eyes would be on the model use Ulthuan Grey and paint around the eye area. After the paint drys, turn the model upset down and getting a small 10/0 brush draw a small black line down the center of where the eyes would be. Once you are happy with the eyes turn the model right side up and then let it dry. If the model seems a little bit crazy looking at this stage, DONT WORRY! We will be cleaning all this mess up.


Thats all for today. Join us next time when we clean up the eye sockets and proceed onto making this model table top ready! If you a new reader let us know what you think of this new series. Would you like to see more? Maybe another army? Comment Below!

Until Next time!

Read more »

2018!: New Year and New Projects!

Hello and welcome to the 2018 edition of Behind the Lines Gaming.As a new year gets underway we look forward to the new start that a new year will bring. Like last year I will be attempting to post every other week but real life might  get in the way. As with last year, this is more a attempt to regulate myself than a true schedule or promise.

Projects for this year include finishing my Tanith 1st and only army as well as my Phantine and Pardus 8th Armored. Good progress has been made on this army and I can only hope 2018 sees to it that more good things are to come.

My Menoth forces will also continue to be worked on. This army is a small one and I am unsure if any more models will be added to it. Time will tell. What use to be a nice 50 point army is now somewhere in the 40 point range. These point changes, as well as the game going up to 75 points has left a sour taste in my mouth.

My Adeptus Mech forces might also grow some in 2018. I am planning to completely rebuild my list with a new force and build up my forces to 2000 points.

With the lack of a Tau codex for 8t Edition, The Tau Sept has been shelved until the codex hits. Once the codex comes out, I will see how Tau have transferred over to the new edition. 

The Deathwatch force remains small while the Black Templar army I bought in 2017 has been stripped and primed. Im still not certain what I want to do with them at all. I might at some point sell them. 

2018 is going to be a exciting new year that we here at Behind the Lines gaming hope everyone will be excited for! Stay tuned for a much more to come!

Read more »

2017: A Year in Review

Well here we are again! Seems like only yesterday we were starting another New Year. This year has seen a lot of changes in both myself and this blog. Every day brought something new this year and the world has kept on spinning. We here at Behind the Lines Gaming would like to wish you a Happy New Year.

The Tanith and Imperial guard have gotten a lot of attention this year. I can safely safe that most of those units have been painted. 2018 should see some additions to the armies.  The Tau as noted earlier will be getting reinforcements with the Riptide battlesuit and hopefully a few more surprises. The Adeptus Mechanicus army is growing with the additional purchase of a skitarii army pending at the moment. More news on that soon! Finally with MK III of warmachine out now, I have gotten into full swing of painting those miniatures. Hopefully i'll be able to take them out for a few games.

As always we plan to do a Top Three projects we have done this year. Located here, the Gallery is a page dedicated to the top work on completed models we've done each year.Give it a look and let us know what you think!

#1 This year was the Matlida Battle Tank Review coming in at 1,649 page views. I got the Matilda tank as a birthday present this year and so I was thankful to have one! It is a beautiful model and a joy to put together. I first posted pictures of it after I had airbrushed it German Grey and Black-Grey. It always get compliments on the table and is a real head turner. Victoria Lamb out did herself with this model! Hopefully in the future I will be able to pick up a few more!


#2 Behind the Matlida was the Mortian Tank Review I did. This review came in at 1,511 page views. The return of the Mortian was a pleasant surprise. I had never thought I would see the return of this tank but it turned out that this post was to be my second most viewed post of the year. I even got a comment! Makes me sad I sold my old Mortian tank.

#3 This was a odd third place but coming in at 833 views was my Review of Menoth Paladins. This was one that I did not see coming! The Paladin review of my Menoth models shows that our reader base has some fans that are interested in War machine! The Paladins of the Order of the Wall were really fun to paint up during football season and so came in at 3rd place on the list. Hopefully next football season I'll get a few more done up before the games.

As the year comes to a close I wish to thank my loyal readers and those who follow me. It makes writing these post easier knowing that some people read them and enjoy the content of them.If you like what you see please become a follower of the blog or leave a comment below! Every little bit helps

With that I wish you the best in this ending to 2017 and a happy start to 2018! Keep rolling those dice and stay tuned for many new exciting things to come in 2018! 

Read more »

Product Review: Matlida Battle Tank "Fury"

Today I present to you another product review. This time from Victoria Miniatures. Long time readers of this blog will know that I have done a few Victoria Miniatures reviews for her Border World Rangers before but never a vehicle.

The Matilda Battle Tank has been on my list of "to buy" items for a long time. This Battle tank was a gift from my friends for my birthday. They bought me not only the tank itself, but also the gun pack and the sponson pack. Shipping took the normal amount of time to reach the US from Australia and was not bad at all. When the tank arrived, it arrived it a single box with the bits in one part of the box and the main tank located in another box. The Tank was then washed and dry fitted together.

The casting on the tank is beautiful. The way the turret guns fit into the turret is flawless and does not even require magnets to work. It should be noted that the tank also has spots for magnets built into the sponsons. Assembly was easy and once I got started it was hard to put it down. I was able to assemble the model in one sitting but after that it was a few weeks before I could get the courage to airbrush her. When I finally did it was well worth it. I have taken the model to my local store many times and get questions about who makes it all the time. It is certainly a conversation starter and eye candy for the table.

I think sometime in the future I certainly will be ordering a few more! Victoria Miniatures has hit a home run with this model. I would certainly recommend this model to anyone looking for a change to the standard Leman Russ. If you are a fan of historical tanks but want a touch of science fiction to your 40k models you cant go wrong! Let me know your own feelings on this beautiful tank! In the mean time I got to get back to painting her.

Until Next time!

Read more »

Mortian Battle Tank: A Review

Today I present to you a unscripted post. Mostly because its Here for only a limited time. The Mortian tank! A popular favorite with the Imperial Guard Community has returned and with it the limited chance to get a very nice tank.

I first encountered the Mortian tank in 2015. At the time, I was looking to get out of Game's workshop models and move onto 3rd party stuff. The Mortian tank instantly became a favorite while doing a casual search online. It had everything I wanted. The look of a Panzer with the proportions of a realistic looking tank.

However, I soon found that the designer of the tank had not had his stuff for sale since 2009. Nonetheless, I searched through google and found his site. In a desperate bid to get a trio of the tanks, I sold of my Leman Russes and ordered three Mortian. With  that done, I also found a 4th from a mutual acquaintance. This Mortian you see in the picture was the tank from the mutual acquaintance. When i received it, it was in harsh condition. I was able to fix it up and put it back together as best I could. Finally, I got it into a game against necron. I have pictures from that game but since it was so far back, I don't really remember the details. Needless to say, the model was a absolute delight to play. I soon primed it but then things took a turn for the worst. After 2 months, my orders had not come in yet. Digging deeper, I found that the site was down and with it my order had been lost. It seemed as if the company and the designer had dropped off the face of the earth. I was able to get a refund through PayPal and that was the end of my hopes for a trio of the Mortian. I sold off my Mortian on Ebay for next to nothing and pushed it from my mind. I was disappointed and sad. Mad Robot and Victoria Lamb both had tanks coming out soon I heard. So I waited.

Every so often I would look online at Leman Russ tanks and see the Mortian and remember that it was no longer available. I tried another route and bought three Leman Russes from Game's workshop but soon tired of those too and sold them off to a friend. However with the Mortian now back (Even as a kick starter) it hold a special place in my mind.

The model is beautiful, easy to put together and looks great on the table. For those of you who want a tank that will be sure to turn heads and get comments from people around the gaming table I would highly recommend ordering one (or three!) They really are worth it in the end, even for the rarity factor alone, I would suggest at least 1. They'll look great at any photo op!


Below are some battle report photos from the Battle i used it in back in 2015. I don't remember any of the turns so its best just to leave the photos here.

Until next time!

Read more »

Battle Report: Ambush at Outpost 352

So its been a while since I did my last post. My new job has been very busy and in that regard im grateful. Its good to be working full time in a career that I enjoy. However, what that does mean is that these post are going to get infrequent and so Im planning to do 1 per month now.

 So what do you all have in store today? I present to you the Ambush at Outpost 352. This game took place right after the Imperial Guard Codex came out but before the FAQ so some of the rules might sound wrong for those who are on the look out for such things.
Lets Begin

Turn 1: He castles in the objective on the far left of the table. It was secure and control. Each player has to hold their objective and try to seize the enemies. I had set three chimera's with troops and platoon leaders off the table to use the Tallarn Ambush doctrine. Therefore his only targets were my Valkyrie and three Leman Russes. He fires at my Leman Russ and does a number of wounds on it. His Lord and Sorcerer deep strike close to my tank line and throw out a smite and a wound. Nurglings are also summoned via the Lord and so I have to deal with daemons now.

Turn 1: My chimera's come on to the Table. Doing a drive by they push up the right side of the table. Meanwhile my Tanks back off the Sorcerer and the Chaos lord. My Valkyrie flys forward 20' and prepares for a round of shooting. 2 Tanks fired on the Sorcerer and kill him. The 3rd fires on the nurglings and kills them as well. First Blood goes to the Tanith! Meanwhile my Chimeras fire on the lord dealing some damage to him. The Valkyrie fires a few missiles into the fortress where all the chaos marines are holed up with the objective.

Turn 2: Turn 2 saw him move his lord up and get closer to my tank. On the other end of the board a few of his marines in the castle moved around to get better shots. The lord cast a power of smith on a tank causing a wound. The marines fired wounding two of the three tanks and aiming to hit the Valkyrie doing a little damage. The chaos lord fails to make his charge and the turn goes to me.

Turn 2:  My Turn 2 saw my chimeras move up. My Valkyrie did a 90 degree pivot and flew away from the castle gunfire. My Tanks backed up nearly to the board edge. Now after orders were kicked out in the shooting phase it was time to strike back. My chimeras fired upon the fortress and killed a marine. The Command Chimera shot at the lord but missed. The tanks fired upon the fortress but missed due to being badly damaged. Overall it was a very bad turn and things were looking bleak!

Turn 3: His turn 3 saw him summon daemons of slannesh and nurgle. The nurgle daemons were spawned near his castle with the marines. The Slannesh daemons were summoned by his lord to chase a chimera across the board. The Chaos lord moved towards a tank. In the shooting phase, the marines fired at my chimeras doing a few wounds. Another squad fired at my Valkyrie damaging it. Another squad also fired at my tanks damaging them too. By now my tanks were starting to get low on wounds. The Slannesh daemons were able to make their charge in the assault phase and wounded one of my chimera's. The other escaped with a failed charge.

Turn 3: My two chimeras drive off away from the assaulting daemons. The Command Chimera goes for the middle of the board. The Valkyrie does a 90 degree pivot and comes back around. The Tanks push forward a little bit. Ibram Gaunt and a Command squad outflank onto the board and arrive to cap my objective as seen in the picture. In the firing phase, the command chimera fires and kills a few of the daemons of slannesh. The Valkyrie fires upon the newly summoned nurglings killing them and damaging the three flying blight drones. One of my chimeras is unable to fire but the far one is able to fire on the blight drones wounding it. The Tanks then fired killing a blight drone but failing to kill the lord who by now was down to his last wound.

Turn 4:  His Slannesh Daemons moved up chasing the Chimera. His blight drones move up towards the Valkyrie. The chaos lord moves up to attack a tank. Shooting phase sees him fire upon my tanks causing tank #3 to die. The Valkyrie is hit a few times but suffers no wounds. The Chimera is fired upon but also suffers no wounds. Assault phase sees him assault the chimer and blow it up. Three Tanith die in the explosion but the survivors get out ready to push cold hard straight silver into the daemons. The Fight is nasty but at the end a platoon commander and 6 Tanith are alive. Having killed four daemons they remained locked in combat. The chaos lord assaults my Tank but fails to wound it.  The Valkyrie is assaulted by the drones. The drones are wounded but remain locked in combat with the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie is also damaged as well.

Turn 4:  My troops disengaged from the assault and move forward by advancing. The Command chimera goes for the middle hill. Chimera three goes towards the blight drone attacking the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie disengaged and flew off somewhere else. Gaunt and the Command squad hide out on the objective. The tanks back behind cover. Shooting sees the Valkyrie fire and kill another Blight drone. One tank fails to kill the chaos lord but the other does kill the last blight drone. The Tanith on foot gun down one or two slannesh daemon and then unleash a flamer upon them killing 3 more having used the "Get back in the fight" order. The Command chimera fires on the chaos lord but fails to kill him.

Turn 5: He moves his daemons towards the Tanith on foot. The chaos lord sees Gaunt and the Command squad and decides to duke it out, moving towards them. The chaos marines in the castle fire upon the Tanith killing two on foot. They also damage a tank and blow it up but do little else. The Chaos lord fails his assault charge but the Daemons catch up to the Tanith on foot and whittle them down in the fight phase wiping the squad. They then turn and head towards the Command chimera.

Turn 5: My turn I move Gaunt and Company away from the Chaos lord but still within capturing range. The Last tank moves up to add Gaunt and company. The Valkyrie turns around to aim at the Daemons. The Command chimera drops off Corbec, Hark and a squad of Tanith. The Other Chimera moves towards the Daemons to aid Corbec's boys. Gaunt and his squad fire on the Chaos lord failing to kill him. The Tank fires upon the chaos lord and finally with the lascannon kills the chaos lord. Corbec and his squad on the hill First rank fire second rank fire into the Daemons along with Hark. They kill a few daemons.  The Valkyrie fires upon the Daemons killing a few more too. The Chimera fires upon the Daemons from the rear but the squad of 20 daemons is still going strong. Corbec is about to prepare his squad for a order to affix straight silver when the daemons and the chaos marines disappear!

Game over at Turn 5

5-3 Tanith Victory!

Talk about a match! The Tallarn doctrine was great and the outflanking really felt like i was playing a Tanith army. Everything went back and forth all game long and so it was a great match. Since the FAQ came out however, Hark and the Ambush doctrine are no longer as good as they once were. What do you all think of the changes to the codex FAQ? Let me know in the comments below!

Here are some screenshots from another battle that I did the next weekend. This battle was also verses chaos. This time Alpha Legion. This battle ended up with a Tanith Victory wiping out the enemy forces to a man. The Alpha legion player was new to the world of 40k and so I consider it more of a training game than a true game victory. However, it was a lot of fun to see the Matilda out on the table. Enjoy the screenshots from the game highlights.


Until Next time!

Read more »