Chris Borer's Killzone Team

I don't have much time for blogging right now so tonight I just want to quickly show a few pictures I took at AdeptiCon of some really amazing Space Marines. I played in the Killzone event on the last day of the convention and had the good fortune of both playing against and then later teaming up with one of my favorite miniature painters, Chris Borer of Full Borer Miniatures. Having admired his painting for years and even taken one of his painting classes at the previous AdeptiCon, I had come to think of him only in terms of his work as an artist. It was therefore a particularly special treat for me to get to actually spend time gaming with him and have fun throwing dice with a winner of four Slayer Sword awards and more than twenty Golden Demon trophies. (Click here to see his tally of Golden Demons.) You can imagine then my elation when Chris even complemented my own Killzone team and said what a pleasure it was to play against a well-painted army!

For his Killzone team Chris brought a mix of Space Marines and Space Marine veterans primarily equipped for rather specialized roles, and complemented by a number of cheaper Space Marine Scouts. His team was lead by what I think was a Veteran Sergeant who had been upgraded to carry the special issue Medipack, and hence was modeled as a Space Marine Apothecary. The other members of the team included a Sternguard veteran, a Vanguard veteran, two basic Space Marines armed with a Heavy Bolter and a Flamer, and one more Space Marine with the standard equipment. Finally there were five Scouts, one carrying a shotgun and the other four armed with bolt pistols and close combat weapons. It seemed to me to be a really well balanced and quite lethal Killzone team and I believe Chris did fairy well with them in his games. Oh and they look fantastic, too! Check 'em out...

Apothecary (Team Leader)

Sternguard Veteran

Vanguard Veteran

There was also one more member of the Killzone team, a very cool Space Marine posed in the act of throwing a frag grenade, but unfortunately none of the pictures I took of him turned out well. Too bad as it was one of my favorites from the bunch and I apologize for not getting the complete set photographed. Chris was very kind and allowed anyone who was interested to handle his minis and set them up for photos, an opportunity of which a number of people took advantage. So who knows... maybe I can track down a decent picture of that last Space Marine from this team.

That's it for tonight, however. I hope you enjoyed taking a look at these beautifully painted miniatures, I'm very thankful for the chance to share them with you. Happy gaming, everyone!

Old Stuff Day!

As decreed by Rob over at Warhammer 39,999, today is Old Stuff Day for all of us hobby bloggers. It's a chance to dust off some old favorites and to take another look at posts that may have been forgotten, overlooked, or otherwise somehow missed by the internet since originally being posted. Not many folks have the time or interest to dig around through archived material to find the juicy bits, and certainly some blogs [ahem, diceRolla, cough cough] do not make it terribly accessible either. So hooray for Old Stuff Day!

For today's fun I've picked out links to a sampling of vintage diceRolla posts, including a bunch of still unfinished projects, all of which I plan on returning to later this year. Therefore as well as being a sort of review of diceRolla's past, this is also a preview of some projects which I hope to work on in the coming months. Even though I might not have mentioned them in quite a while, they have not been forgotten. For your consideration the posts I have chosen are: a 40k army project, a Killzone project, the collaborative results of a contest, a "semi-regular" blog feature, and a 15mm historical minis project from long ago relative to the lifespan of this blog.

The Drones of Sector 7G (Illustrated) - I love the Simpsons, and I love 40k. Newer readers might not be aware of the ways I've been trying to make the two subjects intersect. This post describes the selection process I went through in choosing which units to include in one of my current army projects, the Blisstonian 9th, an Imperial Guard army based on the workforce of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Competitiveness, efficiency, and all other normal gaming considerations were discarded in pursuit of my chosen theme, an admittedly silly one at that. Work on this project has been on hold for several months with just a little bit of occasional painting but it's still one that I am very eager to get back to, hopefully sometime this coming spring or summer.

Killzone WIP: Rogue Trader Crew - What can I say, Killzone is awesome! Unfortunately I've only been able to play a handful of games so far since Big Jim and the Killzone development team made available this amazing set of fan-created skirmish rules for 40k. As part of the 10/10/10 Killzone Blitz I decided to put together a Special Ops team based on a Rogue Trader accompanied by his closest associates, bodyguards, and allies. I didn't finish painting these guys in time for the Blitz but was able to get a decent amount of color onto each one, certainly enough to get a sense of what they'll look like once fully painted. I'd like to have them completed later this month in anticipation of the big Killzone extravaganza at this year's Adepticon.

Contest Links Bonanza - This was the culmination of the most recent diceRolla contest, a big list of links supplied by lots and lots of hobby bloggers. To participate in the Good Karma Pre-Heresy Celebration and qualify for the prize drawing, I had asked everyone to provide a link to something of which they were particularly proud, or to link to someone else's work that had inspired them in some way. I really enjoyed following the links to learn more about my fellow hobby enthusiasts and to see the sort of things that really motivate and inspire them. This contest was a lot of fun for me and I look forward to hosting another one in the coming months, though details of which are yet to be determined.

Flashbacks and Nightmares: Plaguebearers - Ahh... the sweet, sweet taste of internet fame. :) This post garnered the much sought after approval of my peers in that it made From the Warp's Tuesday's Top Ten list. WOOHOO!! Many thanks to Ryan for being so kind as to honor some of my own handiwork with inclusion in one of his weekly lists, this was indeed an early highpoint in my blogging adventures. It also happened to have been the second and final installment in what I had planned on being a semi-regular feature here at diceRolla. I have a fair number of old minis I'd like to photograph for use in future Flashbacks and Nightmares, I just haven't gotten around to it yet... almost a year later. Pitiful, just pitiful. We'll see, I'd like to revive this series if it can even be called that.

Woo-Hoo!! Painted Archers! - I generally advise against going too far back into the history of my blog but this is a special day after all, so for this last one let's go waaay back. This post is from the second week of diceRolla and showed off the first minis painted since having started the blog. At that point I was primarily focused on de Bellis Antiquitatis and so I spent most of my hobby time working on various 15mm armies. These archers from Corvus Belli are for an unfinished Hundred Years War: English army that I haven't touched in over a year. Since moving on from the idea of collecting Bretonnians, I've realized that whatever interest I had in painting medieval knights and archers could be directed at this old HYW project instead. I don't know when I'll work on them again but it's nice having them around should I feel so inclined. And once I've finished with the English there's still the French to be painted, too.

That's it for my participation in Old Stuff Day. I hope it's been an enjoyable look back at some of diceRolla's past glories. Thank you very much to all my readers, both old and new alike. It's been an exceptional joy posting up my hobby ramblings here for you to read. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to check out what I've been up to and I am grateful for all the excellent feedback and comments I receive. I understand the blog has been quiet lately but with Adepticon less than a month away it's going to be a busy couple of weeks. Thanks for sticking with me so far... there's lots more hobby fun still to come!

Frog Fighters WIP

When I started this blog one of the main purposes in doing so was to use it as a way of keeping track of my painting notes. I've had notebooks for this before but have done a poor job in the past of hanging on to them or using them consistently. Since I like to skip around with my projects and always have a number underway at any one time, not keeping up with my notes can become very problematic. Thus my plan to use diceRolla as an online painting notebook was conceived.

Typically with the first WIP post of a new project I would include a complete list of the paints I had used up to that point, broken down for each discrete area of the miniature. As I made further progress these steps would be added and through the magic of the Edit Posts button a fully updated painting guide would gradually be created. (An example of how this ultimately looks once complete can be seen here.) This method provides less than a step-by-step or painting tutorial would but it is enough for me to feel comfortable about leaving a project for a long time without sacrificing consistency in the colors used. And voila... I had a painting notebook!

This system worked well initially but after my unexpected four or five month break from painting last year I neglected to resume this helpful habit. I'd like to say it was just laziness but truthfully I became self-conscious about this practice once I realized how many exceptionally talented painters see my work here. I worried that these "color guides" as I called them would come across as presumptuous or vain if their purpose as being for my own benefit were not understood, so I stopped doing them. I've since come to regret that as I, true to form, failed to take any notes once I started painting again last autumn. In that short amount of time I've already forgotten how I went about painting my nascent Blisstonian 9th army and the currently dormant Rogue Trader crew for Killzone. I'll likely be able to figure those out again but it will require time that would otherwise go to something more productive.

Therefore one of the things I've decided to do with diceRolla this year is return to my former intent of maintaining an online painting notebook. If all goes according to plan, the first WIP post for each new painting project will have a list of colors used, gradually expanding to include every pot of paint touched in the process of working on the miniature. Hopefully this will not be too intrusive as to annoy any veteran painters and perhaps might even prompt suggestions as to how I can improve my painting or choice of colors. And if anyone does in fact find these notes to be in some way helpful to their own hobby, then that will just be a nice bonus.

What follows then is my first color guide of 2011, beginning the year with a selection of Frog Fighters for the game Critter Commandos. Over the coming days I will return to edit this, updating it as I make progress painting these miniatures until completed. This is meant for my benefit but if anyone has questions, please don't hesitate to ask as I'd be happy to help if possible.

Bodysuit: Necron Abyss, Asurmen Blue, Exile Blue, Cygnar Blue Base

Jetpack: Iyanden Darksun, Gryphonne Sepia

Jetpack Bands: Thamar Black, Boltgun Metal, Badab Black

Skin: Knarloc Green, Thraka Green

Eyes: Underbelly Blue

Guns: Thamar Black, Boltgun Metal, Badab Black

Pineapple: Tausept Ochre, Devlan Mud

Base: Charadon Granite

Armored Suit: Macharius Solar Orange, Gryphonne Sepia (twice), Mecharius Solar Orange

Jetpack: Iyanden Darksun, Gryphonne Sepia

Jetpack Bands: Thamar Black, Boltgun Metal, Badab Black

Skin: Knarloc Green, Thraka Green

Eyes: Underbelly Blue

Pistol and Sword Blade: Thamar Black, Boltgun Metal, Badab Black

Sword Hilt: Tin Bitz, Dwarf Broze

Base: Charadon Granite

Armored Suit: Iyanden Darksun, Gryphonne Sepia (twice), Iyanden Darksun, Moldy Ochre

Eyes: Gnarls Green

Hairdryer: Mechrite Red

Before I go back to painting these guys tonight I'd just like to note the bases upon which these miniatures now stand. I tried my best to blend them with their original bases and am reasonably satisfied with the results. I am normally very reluctant when it comes to the greenstuff however so even this is an accomplishment of which I am proud. I wasn't sure if I'd bother with bases at all but trying to paint them without anything to hold onto was too much of a hassle. Now that they're properly based, painting my Frog Fighters has proceeded far more comfortably.

As an unanticipated side effect of mounting them on bases appropriate for WH40k, I'm also starting to have thoughts... terrible, heretical thoughts... about what to do with these miniatures once I've finished painting them. It's been many years since I lasted looked at the rules but I remember Critter Commandos as being something of an awful mess as far as game mechanics are concerned. Therefore if I want these miniatures to do anything besides sitting on my shelf I suspect I'll need to look elsewhere for a viable gaming experience.

Hmm... Killzone, perhaps? Someone call the Deathwatch. ;)

My Halloween Zombies

I finished painting the zombies last night and had a great time in the process. It was a fun Halloween project and definitely made the holiday more memorable for me. The downside of this however is that I am now fighting the urge to begin constructing a horde of the hideous things for use in Apocalypse games as suggested by jabberjabber of Warpstone Flux. For a more immediate use I think I've found a way to fit these five into the next Killzone team I'm planning out. I need to put some more time in with the codex to see if it will work so for now I just have pictures of my new zombie friends.

Looking at these guys I now wonder if I should go back and add some blood stains or just make them dirtier and drippy. I always worry about overdoing effects like that so I may leave them alone for the time being. Now for a few closer shots of the zombie gang.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe night regardless of whether or not it was a holiday for you. We didn't have an trick-or-treaters so it was a quiet night and a good one for painting. I'm not sure what is up next for me to paint but I'll sort that out quickly enough. Oh well... good night!

AdeptiBlog 2011

It's official, I'm going to AdeptiCon! Five months from now I will once again load up the diceRollamobile and hit the road for charming Lombard, Illinois. I had a great time last year and am very happy to be going back. Three days of rolling dice and hobby seminars, hanging out with old friends and new, and most important of all... celebrities!

"See ya next year, doofus!"

At the last AdeptiCon I filled my schedule entirely with hobby seminars and ended up spending around thirty hours in hotel conference rooms, painting miniatures and learning new tricks. (A lengthy review of these seminars can be found here, many of the same ones are being offered again in 2011.) I therefore initially thought I would only take one or two more of these and focus mainly on the gaming opportunities. Of course this plan did not last long into my review of the pre-registration catalogue as I spotted lots of classes that sounded interesting and helpful. So for 2011 I'm doing close to a fifty-fifty split between hobby seminars and playing games. I also cautioned myself to leave more room for free time but that didn't happen either. Whatever, it's going to be another busy weekend of AdeptiFun.

Each day I'll have one gaming event in the morning going into the afternoon, to then be followed by seminars lasting into the night. I like the idea of unwinding with some classroom time after a few hard-fought hours in the tabletop trenches and feel like I've worked out a good schedule that nicely balances my interests. Also I've heard these shorter tournaments are a bit more relaxed than the big, all-day or even multi-day competitions, so I'm optimistic that the ones I'm playing in will be better suited to my usual gaming disposition.

Friday I start out at 11am with the 1000 point Warhammer Fantasy "It's How You Use It" tournament. I don't have an army picked out and it's been more than four years since I last played Warhammer Fantasy with regularity or gave it any serious attention. I therefore have some significant preparation work to do for this event and I'm psyched about the challenge this presents. Unlike the Privateer Press games, which I did briefly consider for AdeptiCon, I am at least comfortable with Warhammer Fantasy's fundamental game mechanics after years of playing previous editions and think I can get up to speed with the current rules by April. Or it could all go horribly wrong. Either way it should at least be an enjoyable journey.

Saturday morning at 9am I'm registered to play in the first of the day's WH40k: Combat Patrol sessions. Again I haven't decided what type of force I'll use for these games. I have plenty already painted from which I can choose though I would prefer to make something new specifically for the event. It's nice to know that if I get crunched for time I can field something ready to go from one of my usual armies, but I want that to be only as a last resort. I'm leaning toward either mechanized veteran Praetorian IG or scrap huntin' Orks, but I'm really open to anything that seems like fun.

Lastly I'll close out the weekend with Spec Ops: Killzone on Sunday at 11:30 am. I've become quite taken with Big Jim's skirmish rules for 40k and am thus particularly excited to play in this event at AdeptiCon. Thanks to the Killzone Blitz earlier this month my Rogue Trader team isn't far off from being complete and is my top choice to use in these games. I'm going to finish painting them and will then begin field testing to determine which of the Rogue Trader's entourage make the final cut. Playing on the awesome boards b.smoove of A Gentleman's Ones has been assembling for this event should make for a fittingly dramatic finale to my weekend hobby binge.

And so those are the gaming events for which I've registered. There's a lot for me to get done before April, especially since I now might be moving to North Carolina as early as February, which I'm sure would help tremendously with the requisite painting and practice games. Along with the 40k and Fantasy stuff mentioned above I also have plans for display boards, a Blood Bowl team for some possible extracurricular gaming, and even an entry or two for the Rogue Demon painting competition. I'm really happy with the variety of projects which I'll be working on over the coming months in preparation for this and will be sure to post updates on my progress.

Alright, that's it. I hope everyone has a great weekend, bye!

Killzone WIP: Rogue Trader Crew

One of the things I enjoy the most about Killzone is the amount of customization available when it comes to putting together your Special Ops team. There are so many options that it is really easy to personalize your team and make each member feel like a unique individual. Add to this the strong narrative element found in games of Killzone and your team naturally becomes a characterful cast of either protagonists or antagonists. For today's 10.10.10 blitz I wanted to assemble a new team with as much emphasis on this as I could muster. After much procrastination and dithering I finally settled on making a Rogue Trader accompanied by his closest associates.

I came up short in my push to get everything painted and did not finish in time for today's festivities. It was a fun few days trying to make it and I'm still happy with how much I was able to get done. What follows therefore is a review of my progress and some notes about each team member with details on likely wargear, abilities and such. I made it as WYSIWYG as I could without resorting to any conversion work, though there are a few cases where I deviated from this standard and these are pointed out as well. To represent my Rogue Trader crew I am using the Witch Hunters Codex rules for the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor and Henchmen.

Rogue Trader Scorpio

Rogue Trader Henri Marcellus Scorpio (Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor): laspistol, power weapon, digital weapons, frag grenades, melta bombs, Psychic Power - Scourging, Refractor Field. 81 points. I wanted my team leader to be armed with something stronger than a laspistol upgraded with either the Twin-Linked or Extra Shot specialist skill as I had initially considered. That's why I gave him the psychic attack Scourging with the WIP fluff explanation that it represents his fancy dueling pistols, perhaps psychically attuned to him or coming from some other exotic alien technology. Of course he sports the mandatory Jokaero digital weaponry as well. : )

Dietrich (left) and Prugg (right)

Arch-Militant Xiomara Dietrich (Acolyte Henchman): bolt pistol, power weapon, frag grenades, General Skill: 6+ invulnerable save. 25 points. Scorpio's dodgy bodyguard, armed with a big pistol and a nasty power spike.

Void Master Gustav Prugg (Acolyte Henchman): plasma pistol, close combat weapon, frag grenades, +1 Toughness. 39 points.

Lovejoy (left) and Sphek (right)

Father Bastian Lovejoy, Imperial Missionary (Warrior Henchman): hell pistol, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Specialist Skill: Twin-Linked. 20 points. In this case I couldn't figure out how to switch out the single hell pistol for something more appropriate based on the model I'm using. I'm therefore going with the fluff explanation that they are a pair of autopistols loaded up with armor piercing rounds.

Senior Armsman Vigo Sphek (Warrior Henchman): shotgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, +1 Strength. 25 points. I think his bionic arm is a cool little detail and gave him the stat upgrade to go along with it.

Lamont (left) and Sprungfeld (right)

Gun-Servitor Lamont (Warrior Henchman): heavy bolter. 25 points.

Chief Steward Hans Sprungfeld (Acolyte Henchman): laspistol, power weapon, frag and krak grenades. 21 points. Scorpio's personal valet and wielder of a huge sword.

Dauterive (left) and Niku (right)

"Doc" Rolando Dauterive (Chirurgeon Henchman): laspistol, close combat weapon, medipack. 20 points.

Trade Seneschal Serpi Niku (Sage Henchman): laspistol and close combat weapon. 10 points.

Lord Winthrop

Lord Winthrop, Cyber-Mastiff (Death-Cult Assassin): power weapon and additional close combat weapon. 40 points.

Alright, that's what I've got so far for my Rogue Trader crew. If you tally up the points for each model you will see that the total is well above the recommended Killzone ceiling of 250. There are also eight total henchmen but an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor is limited to a maximum of six. My plan is to select the actual team members from this group with consideration for the point size, story, or type of game I want to play. It should usually then just be a matter of adding or subtracting a piece of wargear or a specialist skill for the final points balancing, thus giving me what I hope will be a very versatile team.

Here are some sample lists based off of the above descriptions. Modifications are noted but otherwise assume everything else is as described for each model.

200 Points: Scorpio, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Niku.

225 Points: Scorpio w/ +1 Leadership, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Dauterive.

250 Points: Scorpio, Dietrich, Prugg, Lovejoy, Sphek, Dauterive, Lord Winthrop.

I will post updates as I finish painting these models. I also have plans for a rival team to match up against these guys and will begin working on it after finishing this group. So expect more Killzone to come. Blitz on!

Killzone Painting Blitz

I'm racing to finish in time a new Special Ops team for Big Jim's upcoming Killzone Blitz. I only began work on it yesterday afternoon so I really don't know if I'm going to be able to get everything complete, but it's well worth the attempt. I rarely paint under any sort of deadline which makes this an interesting challenge for me. I've got ten miniatures to paint and at this point I'm probably less than a fifth of the way done. I usually consider myself a slow painter but I am eager to push myself over the next couple of days to see if I can come in under the wire. No matter what, it's going to be fun.

I'm excited to see what everyone has been working on and I'm psyched to have a shot at contributing something of my own. I will be traveling with my family on Saturday to Charlotte for my grandmother's 92nd birthday but otherwise I should be able to get in a fair amount of painting time. Who knows, I might even be able to pull this off. We shall see.

Okay, that's it for now. Happy painting and gaming everyone!

Killzone: Space Marines and Orks

It's going to take some time to get my new team "Baker's Dozen" ready for use in games of Killzone but I do want to start playing as soon as possible. To that end I've spent some time over the last few days merrily going through boxes of miniatures to see what could be used right away. I made some nifty discoveries which I'll be writing about over the coming week or so, the first of which I am presenting tonight in the form of these two opposing Killzone teams.

The beta edition of Big Jim's Special Operations: Killzone is poised for release tomorrow but I thought I'd enjoy putting together some teams to start getting a better sense of the game. These are likely rather basic teams comprised almost entirely of standard models with very little in the way of special equipment or personal upgrades. I therefore don't anticipate having to make too many changes to them to stay in line with the evolving ruleset or to scale down for lower point games. What follows is a look at the first set of teams that I will be trying out in the coming days, Space Marines and Orks

Killzone: Space Marines - 247 points

Space Marine Sergeant (Team leader): bolt pistol, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, refractor field (41)

Space Marines x 7: boltgun, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades. (112)

Space Marine: flamer, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades (21)

Space Marine: missile launcher, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades (26)

Space Marine: heavy bolter, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades (21)

Space Marine: boltgun, frag and krak grenades, medi-pack (26)

This team constitutes most of what's left from my first 40k army intentionally collected as such. It seems like there are many interesting things you can do for a Space Marines team in Killzone by selecting individuals from all the different types of units available. In this case however I've put together essentially just a tactical squad with a couple extra specialists attached for the mission at hand. The most basic Space Marine still represents the pinnacle of bio-engineering and military training. I like the idea that their standard troopers are on par with the elite soldiery found in many other armies. It's a pretty common theme in GW and Black Library fiction and seemed like a fun way to go for this group.

You say something strange is happening on the planet's surface? Simple. Load Marines into a pod and drop a Tactical squad in to deal with it, whatever it is. Problem solved.

Well, that's the idea behind this group at least. Basic, no frills, flexible, tough... Space Marines.

Killzone: Orks - 250 Points

Nob (Team Leader): slugga and power klaw, 'eavy armour (50)

Nobz x 2: slugga and power klaw, 'eavy armour (100)

Nob: slugga and choppa, 'eavy armour (25)

Ork Boyz x 11: sluggas and choppas (66)

Gretchin x 3: blastas (9)

Again nothing fancy with these guys but there are at least some grots and nobz providing a little variety to the list. The goal with this group was to max out on the number of models allowed in a single Killzone team so that I can try out a more screaming-horde style of play, if such exists at this scale of skirmish gaming. I don't think of these Orks as a specialized team chosen for a particular mission but rather simply those Nobz and their underlings who happened to be closest at hand when the opportunity for a fight presented itself. They're Goffs so I think they'd approve of that approach.

I should be able to start playing games of Killzone this week with only a few scheduling details that still need to be resolved. Until then I'm going to put together some more teams including ones for Imperial Guard, Chaos Marines, Necrons, and Tyrandis, though without anything nearly as vintage as the miniatures featured in this post. I'll also check to see if anything needs to be adjusted for the Ork and Space Marine teams once I've had a chance to read through the new Killzone stuff. I'll post some sort of update to cover all that.

Oh, and there's quite a lot of painting to do as well. Good times ahead.

A classic match-up: blue marines vs. ork clones.

In time I'll report on how things go once I've played through a number of the scenarios. If everything works and Killzone turns out to be as much fun as I hope it will be then I may also attempt writing one or two more detailed reviews of individual games. Regardless I'm sure I'll have plenty to chatter about soon.

Okay, time to paint!

Entering the Killzone

Let me start by saying that the mystery of the Simpsons dice has been solved. Very special thanks go to Sons of Taurus! As a result of his generosity and good will, I'm sure these fantastic dice are loaded with positive mojo and as such I expect great things from them. Thank you so much, you embiggen our hobby with your kindness. This has been for me a truly cromulent experience!

Now as it so happens, Sons of Taurus has recently become formally involved in a project that I am really excited about and he has been working to develop it further. Since returning home from vacation I have been eagerly catching up on all the latest developments with Big Jim's 40k skirmish undertaking, Special Operations: Killzone. I think he's hit gaming-gold with this one and I'm thrilled to see such a cool fan-driven project come together like this. I never understood why Games Workshop kept Necromunda locked up in the Hive, endlessly fighting fairly mundane gang conflicts when there was so much potential for expansion with the inclusion of xenos, Chaos, and the various Imperial military types. I believe Killzone will do an excellent job filling this vacancy in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and I can hardly wait to see what Big Jim and his dedicated Rules Committee do next.

It seems like there's been a lot going on with Killzone recently and that it has generated significant interest with fellow gamers. The updated ruleset is due to be released soon, Big Jim has hit the podcast waves to promote and discuss his creation over at Imperial Vox Cast, and now b.smoove of A Gentleman's Ones reports that he is cooking up some sort of Killzone event extravaganza for Adepticon 2011. Awesome, right?

This has all been too much for me to resist and it appears that I have now fully caught the Killzone fire. It's therefore a fine time to start thinking about a Special Ops team of my own. While I hope to begin trying out the Killzone rules using miniatures already in my collection, what really has gotten me excited is the prospect of putting together a small force specifically for this new skirmish system. Painting the Blisstonian 9th is still my priority but I believe this will be a really fun side project to work on alongside the main army as it presents the opportunity to model and paint a unique batch of characterful individuals. Here then is my idea for my first Killzone team, The Baker's Dozen:

Blisstonian 9th - Special Operations Group, "Baker's Dozen"

Concept: For my first SOG team I want to do something inspired by the "rag-tag bunch of misfits" type of ensemble cast that was a staple of so many classic war movies (the most obvious example of which being The Dirty Dozen). Every model should be unique in terms of overall classification, weaponry, equipment, et cetera. There should be no duplicates, each member of the team must be an individual and a specialist of some sort, and movie cliches are encouraged. The team must be generally related to my current Simpsons army project, the Blisstonian 9th, but separate enough to have its own identity. I do not want to just repurpose models previously assembled but to instead take advantage of this chance to do something new.

Background: SOG "Baker's Dozen" is comprised of those members of the Blisstonian 9th who have been assigned to the most hazardous duties available at Sector 7G. Having each earned Plant Manager Burns' displeasure for a variety of probably minor offenses, these men have been pulled together to deal with the worst that Imperial industry of the 41st millennium has to offer. They're the guys who fill and handle the toxic waste barrels, who risk their lives and sanity in maintaining the Sector's haunted steam tunnel labyrinths, and who are called upon to clear out Burns' corpse-hatch when it becomes clogged. The soldiers who survive these traumatic ordeals become strong and are toughened by the harshness of their daily existence. Out of necessity they develop survival and combat skills not found amongst the other members of their regiment tasked with serving 7G. These factors, as well as their expendable nature due to having unwisely angered Burns in the past, make this group ideal candidates for whatever commando raids and suicide missions are required for the defense of Sector 7G.

Modeling: I'm sticking with the Imperial Guard for this team and want it to be visually connected to my Blisstonian 9th army project, but nonetheless distinct as befitting such a specialized unit. My standard Blisstonians are built using Cadian Shock models with Pig Iron Kolony Militia heads, so to change up my approach a little I plan on building the Baker's Dozen special ops team using the more muscular parts found in the various Catachan kits and then topped off with Pig Iron Kolony Rebel heads. Thus they will be similarly gas-masked as the other Blisstonians and should still be recognizable as Imperial Guardsmen, but otherwise will hopefully look more like the collection of specialized action heroes that I envision.

Points Level: To determine the size of my Killzone SOG team, the range suggested in the current set of rules goes from 175 up to 250 points maximum. My team will therefore be built for the high-end of that scale but it should be simple enough to adapt for smaller games by simply removing team members in excess of the agreed points total. Obviously in such cases Baker's Dozen has taken some casualties on the way in to their objective and thus not everyone has survived for the big, exciting finale. Oh well, at least they'll still get shown posthumously in the tearful closing montage.

Theme upgrade: NA, none purchased

SOG List, "Baker's Dozen"- 250 total points:

Veteran Sergeant (Team Leader): plasma pistol, power fist, frag and krak grenades, Refractor field - 47 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Vox caster - 12 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Medipack - 15 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Commando - 17 points

Veteran: shotgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Brawler - 10 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Blade Master - 15 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Resilient - 10 points

Veteran: lasgun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades, Targeter - 10 points

Veteran: sniper rifle, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades - 12 points

Veteran: meltagun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades - 17 points

Veteran: plasma gun, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades - 22 points

Veteran: heavy flamer, close combat weapon, frag and krak grenades - 27 points

Scout Sentinel: multi-laser, Searchlight - 36 points

Questions and Assumptions: While working out the details for my SOG, I encountered a few things which I was unsure how to handle per the current set of Killzone rules. I could have been sensible and just waited a few more days for the next ruleset and its accompanying codex-specific errata to be released, but where's the fun in that? In putting together my list for the team, I have therefore made a number of assumptions and guesses based on what I hope will soon be clarified. My two main questions concern the points value of my team leader and the inclusion of some items of equipment available in the IG Codex but so far not mentioned in the Killzone documents. I'd love to hear from any members of the Rules Committee should you happen to take note of this.

Specifically, if individual IG Veterans cost 7 points apiece (starting cost for a basic unit of Veterans is 70 points and consists of ten models), would the Veteran Sergeant cost the same in a Killzone team or do I need to pay a premium for him due to his improved stat-line? For this initial list making attempt I assumed a starting cost of only 7 points as I could not find any further guidance regarding this question. The other big assumption I made concerns the points cost of equipment available to those units from which I've selected my SOG but which are not covered in any of the Killzone rules. I have no idea if these items (the squad's vox caster and the Sentinel's searchlight) will ever make it into the rules, and if they do get included in the future, I certainly don't know if they will be costed the same as they are in the Codex. As this is only my first team and Killzone is still in playtesting, I felt it would be okay to go ahead and include them in my list paying the cost given in the Guard book. I don't see this being a major problem as I can just ignore the items if need be and accept the slight penalty in wasted points. I do hope, however, that more pieces of specialized gear will eventually find their way into Killzone as I think that would be a neat way of further personalizing our teams.

Okay, that it's for my initial thoughts on Special Operations: Killzone. I'd appreciate any feedback in general, but I'm especially interested in hearing about those possibly incorrect assumptions I made in putting together my team. Of course if I missed any other areas in which I did not properly select my team or calculate its cost, please let me know what I need to do to be in compliance with the rules. I'm excited about getting to try out Killzone and I'm very grateful to Big Jim for initiating and orchestrating this project, as well as to those of you distinguished gamers volunteering your efforts as part of the Rules Committee. Thank you for enriching my hobby experience.