Tabletop Teacher

Reports of my death have only been slightly exaggerated... The last year was very difficult in terms of school life, and if anyone is a teacher you'll probably know why. The Teacher's Pension Scheme issues, schools in the UK dropping off the registered charity status and such had people scrabbling around trying to keep heir jobs... yeah, it wasn't fun. Not that it affected my job security, being a Housemaster, Physics teacher, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator, Warhammer coach, and general nerd teacher. In fact, I got promoted! But still, it was very busy. Abyway, I'm looking to get back into blogging, and so I'm starting off with a mild ramble about Space Wolves and Aggressors. Enjoy! Thanks for reading. If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter , Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated. If you have anything you want me to look at, let me kn...

About a subtle as a brick to the face that title. It's been a mad week, with Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, new reporting systems and other events kicking off, hence the total lack of posts. I have been saving this for a while, at least until the Genestealer Cults investigation is complete. I'm unlikely to finish until next week though, so enjoy this small preview of my new "Space Wolf" Great Company colour scheme. Yes, this post and the piece I did on Magnus are two of the forms of suicide on Fenris. I do like how the base green came out, and unlike many similar guides didn't need anything apart from standard Citadel paints. A proper guide is incoming! Until next time! Hopefully! If I can avoid the Sons of Russ a few days longer... Thanks for reading. If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter , Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated. ...

This is half a thought I had about Magnus the Red being more of a Viking Primarch than Leman Russ. I never quite had time to research the idea, but I thought I'd share the half-finished idea with you all now for discussion. Why? Because it's blog post day, I still have 5 hours of school work to do and it's already 9pm. Enjoy the idea, and see if you can flesh it out a bit more than I have! Whilst everyone considers Leman Russ to be the quintessential Viking primarch due to his reputation fo heavy drinking and general combat demeanour (a fancy way of saying he likes to hit stuff with a sword), Magnus is actually a much better candidate to represent the Norse in 40K. You might be thinking that he much more clearly represents the Egyptians. Well, there's a difference between visual aesthetic and plot themes. Everything about Magnus hints at a far more Northerly inspiration than Ra or others in the Egyptian pantheon. In fact... he's Odin. Let...

Summer's over, and so is my free time. Apologies for not having the latest Kill Team guide up yet, but I had 3 unexpected 2 hour meetings today. However, here's a grab bag of comments that should be highlighted. I try to respond to all commenters on the blog, ad if I don't get back to you it's usually because the comment is on an older post and gets held for approval. Hey. Regarding the vertical movement. I was just wandering, since I am quite a noob, what is an advantage of having a Reiver go to higher ground? He is then usually far away from everybody else with no help and most of enemies can shoot him (sometimes with -1). Hwo to use properly higher ground like scond floor of a building? Anonymous on  Kill Team Guide: Tips for the Psychic, Shooting and Melee Phases. Thanks for commenting! The big advantage is effectively ignoring walls, and changes in height. Whereas other models would need to use up their move value going up and down, the Reiver just ...

Primaris Marines do two things well; take a hit and be easy to collect . They might not be as flash as Tacticals or as unique as Scouts, but they'll be a strong anvil to throw at the enemy. And they do have their own tips and tricks too! In talking about the units in detail I run the risk of reproducing the  Core manual , which then skirts dangerously close to copy write infringement. As such I will try to include as many details as needs to be clear, but if you want more you will need to buy the book. What will be included is: Name of the unit Different models in that unit (maximum number in brackets) Wargear options (but keep in mind they can’t carry everything at once!) Abilities Specialisations Any other important pieces will be included in the analysis itself. Right, let’s get started. Intercessor Models: Intercessor, Intercessor Gunner (2), Intercessor Sergeant (1) Wargear: Bolt rifle, Bolt pistol, Frag and Krak grenades, auto-bolt rifle, Stalk...

Space Marines have a frighteningly broad range of strategies available to them, as you would expect from a Faction which needs to contain quite a few Chapter themes and identities (close combat Blood Angels and sneaky shooty Raptors as opposite combat styles come to mind). I’ve written way more than I wanted to on this post, so settle in… this is going to be a long one. And we’re only covering Scouts and Tactical Marines! In talking about the units in detail I run the risk of reproducing the Core manual , which then skirts dangerously close to copy write infringement. As such I will try to include as many details as needs to be clear, but if you want more you will need to buy the book. What will be included is: Name of the unit Different models in that unit (maximum number in brackets) Wargear options (but keep in mind they can’t carry everything at once!) Abilities Specialisations Any other important pieces will be included in the analysis itself. Right, l...

We’re kicking off our look at the Space Marines by analysing their tactics first, before we get into speaking specific units. I’ve written way more than I intended to on this topic, so settle in! The tactics for the Space Marines fall into two general categories: general ones usable by anybody and model specific tied to a particular model. Whilst it might look like they have more Tactics than other factions on the surface, the majority are quite situational, and you’ll probably be looking to use the Basic Tactics first. General Tactics Tactic: Death to the Traitors Use when you select a model to fight in the Fight phase To hit rolls of 6+ result in an extra attack against that model Only useable against Heretic Astartes Cost: 1CP This is a similar, more restricted version of the Zealot tactic. I’ve gone over that one already in the Zealot specialisation post and the same criticism applies here. It’s not one I’d spend precious CP on, unless I had tooled u...

The Space Wolf “chapter tactic” has been revealed over at Warhammer Community , and it looks like I was right in my prediction! Well, sort of. Back in March I predicted the Space Wolf trait to be the same as the recently revealed Necron one for the Novokh dynasty. Everything I say there about how why this would be good for the Space Wolves is still true, so if you want to read a discussion about how this would work with the Vylka Frenryka have a quick look there first. Games Workshop were a little more careful with their buff on the Space Wolves in comparison to the Necrons, perhaps because of the Sons of Russ are more universally close combat themed. Whereas a Necron Warrior or Immortal is defensive and ranged first, an average Grey Hunter is likely to have two attacks thanks to the chainsword with some power weapons thrown into the squad. As such, adding 1 to Hit rolls makes them a lot better than base on the charge or receiving one, without making them too strong. ...

I have to admit, I've always been fascinated by the Sons of Fenris. In them the grim dark of 40K perfectly fuses with the silliness and conceits of the setting. Of course there are space viking werewolves, and of course they're hard drinking and yet loyal to a fault. And of course, they are a dying light of optimism in the galaxy after losing their home world. This is the original Grim Dark universe after all. Their fluff is excellent, but I wanted to talk about some crunch today and engage in some speculation about their best potential Chapter Tactic. Currently, they only have one warlord trait, and two stratagems. They have their own psychic discipline too, but it's a little on the weak side now. Warlord trait Saga of the Warrior born:  I'm not sure about its utility. It allows you to always fight first, unless another unit gets to do so for charging first or has a similar ability. Not bad, but you'd need to keep your warlord in melee all the time. ...

I, like most neck beards, have a big soft spot for the Space Puppies. Whether you consider them to be space werewolves, space Vikings, or people who just really like wolves and alcohol in space, they are one of the few factions in 40K who realize they're in a fantasy genre. Yes, riding a 10-foot high wolf into battle is ridiculous, but it's awesome at the same time! I'm not a huge fan of the light blue armour though. I think it lacks the grit that the Sons of Russ are famed for. I also think the Horus Heresey grey is boring, so I've been looking for an alternative. Whilst doing my T'au Mu'gulath Bay Avengers, I found the above! The grey here is really dark blue, brought up to typical Space Wolf Fenrisian grey. It was also really quick to do, the whole thing taking about an hour including drying time for the basing material. Step 1 - Base Coat Dark Reaper is our first paint, over an undercoat of Mechanicus Standard grey. You can get a...