The 25th part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.
In this episode, we play the second Scout Mission!
Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.
You can buy your own Task Lamp here
You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-
I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Marvel Untold novel Reign of the Devourer by David Annadale, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am also friends with David on Facebook, but I suspect that’s more about him connecting with fans rather than being a big fan of mine!
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!
This story focuses on Doctor Victor von Doom, the ruler of the Eastern European country of Latveria, and is a sequel to last years Harrowing of Doom.
In this story Dooms desire for power and control leads him to attempt to regain knowledge that was lost on Walpurgis Night in the previous book, and with the assistance of the priest turned geomancer Zargo and surgeon Orloff, he searches for a repository of stolen memories and knowledge buried beneath Latveria.
But Maleva Krogh, a former member of Latverias ruling elite has a connection to the Devourer of memories, and is granted the power of the Urvullak, a deadly strain of Latverian vampires who steal the very soul of their victims.
The book is a slow burner, it takes a while to get going, but once it does the action is frantic, and epic.
It’s a very different novel to its predecessor, in that book Doom knew what was coming and was planning several steps ahead, whereas in this book, he was forced to react to the Urvullak who he was not expecting whatsoever.
In the last book you got time to know the main characters in the build up to Walpurgis Night, whereas this book takes place over a shorter timeframe, and you get less of the background. So I would say that the previous book is best read before this for maximum enjoyment.
Zargos inner turmoil is really well written, he is a man who made a choice to deny his powers and take a different path, but now has that choice taken from him. He is tortured inside and he is forced to develop his abilities further to fight the threat of the Urvullak.
Orloff gets a lot more fleshed out as Doom takes her from practising medicine to developing a new science, which is eventually weaponised as she becomes a warrior and potentially Dooms greatest tool in the fight against Krogh.
My favourite part of the book really is Krogh and the Urvullak, they are written in a way that is terrifying and horrific.
What they do is so awful, they way they rip away your soul and transform you into one of them. They feel just as much a threat on their own as they do when amassed as an army.
They are chilling and something like out of a horror film, absolutely petrifying.
This book takes a turn toward horror that I wasn’t expecting, reinforcing Annandale as a writer who is one of licensed fictions best writers of the weird and dreadful.
This book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me!
You can buy the eBook now, and the paperback is available in the US now and will be in the UK on 28th April.
The 24th part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.
In this episode, we play the first Scout Mission!
Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.
You can buy your own Task Lamp here
You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-
This week I have been doing a lot of research about Battle Reports, I am trying to branch out a bit from Imperium ones.
I am hoping to do a Blood Bowl Sevens or Heresy one tomorrow, but it’s dependent on what’s happening overall in the day.
Me and Lindsay are thinking of joining Skillshare so I can try and figure out some ways to take photos better and get an easier way to produce the reports.
But let’s see what we can do!
I started off by painting Morg ‘n’ Thorg, which means I have no more Blood Bowl left to paint 🙁
And then I painted the Corpse Grinder Cult gang for Necromunda, which completed all of my Necromunda projects that I had outstanding.
After which I finished off Fafnir Rann as a test model for an Imperial Fists army.
I painted the Haemotrope Reactor from Warhammer Imperium to add to that box of scenery.
I am currently working on some Assault Intercessors for the Blood Angels army I share with Megan.
So what’s coming up next week?
Not made much progress on my book, but I have listened to a couple of audiobooks, first was the Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin Hill which was very good, and just a little bit creepy.
I then listened to Traitor Rock, also by Justin Hill, also a great listen, mostly because the Cadians are space Geordies!
I am now listening to Warhawk by Chris Wraight, I already read the book which was brilliant, so I know I will enjoy this!
Finally played some Horizon Zero Dawn after a couple of missed weeks due to Company of Legends and illness.
I played for 1 hour and 40 minutes on Thursday.
I had a game of Warhammer Age of Sigmar tonight with Jabez at Durham Raiders.
And I lost, by a huge amount!
I bought a few movies that were on sale, I got Fighting with my Family, Jay & Silent Bob Reboot and Baywatch (seriously it’s a really funny film).
I bought a new bottle of Resin cause I am pretty much out, got a grey this time, and from Elegoo.
Also picked up Rogue One for my 4K Star Wars collection.
And I bought the upgrade to the Directors Cut for Death Stranding on the PC.
And my Humble Choice membership renewed so I have now got Ghostrunner, Destroy All Humans and a few other games
I failed to make an update for February, but this is because I lost my nana and I wasn’t exactly in a very good place.
Anyway let’s see how I have done in the last two months, and I brought my painted models up to 290.
No progress I am afraid.
No progress here either!
I got a unit of Ironjawz Brutes painted this month!
The first 500 points are painted, we now have a combat patrol led by Uriel Ventris, and consisting of an Intercessor Squad, Redemptor Dreadnought and a Suppressor Squad.
The next 500pts will be made up of an Assault Intercessor Squad, Bladeguard Veteran Squad, Eliminator Squad and Eradicator Squad.
I also plan to buy an Invader ATV for them as well.
This should give me the following list.
+ HQ +
Uriel Ventris
+ Troops +
Assault Intercessor Squad
. 4x Assault Intercessor: 4x Astartes Chainsword, 4x Frag & Krak grenades, 4x Heavy Bolt Pistol
. Assault Intercessor Sgt: Astartes Chainsword, Plasma pistol
Intercessor Squad: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant
+ Elites +
Bladeguard Veteran Squad
. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield
. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Heavy Bolt Pistol
Redemptor Dreadnought: 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, Heavy flamer, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon
+ Fast Attack +
Invader ATV Squad
. Invader ATV: Onslaught Gatling Cannon
Suppressor Squad
. 2x Suppressor: 2x Accelerator autocannon, 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Frag & Krak grenades
. Suppressor Sergeant
+ Heavy Support +
Eliminator Squad: Bolt sniper rifle
. Eliminator Sergeant: Bolt sniper rifle
. 2x Eliminators: 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Camo cloak, 2x Frag & Krak grenades
Eradicator Squad: Melta rifle
. 2x Eradicator: 2x Bolt pistol
. Eradicator Sgt
I have just started work on the Corpse Grinder Cult gang fro Necromunda and Fafnir Rann for an Imperial Fists project.
My curren painting queue is thus:-
The past weekend it was Company of Legends, our twice yearly Horus Heresy Residential weekend that Edge of Empire run.
It was fun but exhausting, and I love doing it.
We managed to pull it off successfully, i always worry that I am less organised than I need to be, but Graham and Chris as usual were amazing.
I got to play four games over the weekend, with my Questoris Knights army list below
+ HQ +
Seneschal. Questoris Knight Crusader: Meltagun, Occular Augmetics, Stormspear rocket pod, Thermal Cannon
+ Troops +
Scion Auxilia
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
Scion Auxilia
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
Scion Martial
. Questoris Knight Paladin: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Occular Augmetics, Questoris Battlecannon
Scion Martial
. Questoris Knight Paladin: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Occular Augmetics, Questoris Battlecannon, Twin Icarus autocannon
+ Fast Attack +
Scion Dolorous
. Questoris Knight Gallant: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Heavy Stubber, Occular Augmetics
+ Heavy Support +
Scion Arbalester
. Questoris Knight Dominus: Occular Augmetics, Plasma Decimator, 2x Twin-Linked Siegebreaker Cannon, Two Shieldbreaker Missiles, Volcano Lance
My first game was against Rob on Friday night, and his Mechanicum, which I lost, was in fact tabled.
My next game was the first main game of the day which I played against Ozzie and his Emperors Children and Mechanicum, I lost that but at least wasn’t my tabled!
My third game of the weekend saw me face Mark Frost and his daemons at long last, allowing him to claim the grand slam of beating all four Edge of Empire hosts with the army.
But I held my own ok I think.
My final game of the weekend saw me face off against Henry and his Emperors Childrens allied with Imperial Milita.
That was my most successful game, I did alright, but losing a couple of knights to an Assault Squad with Melts Bombs cost me the game.
The traitors won the weekend, probably because I was playing for the loyalists.
It was an awesome weekend and I cannot wait for September.
With Company of Legends, not a lot got done!
I did have a build session on Tuesday night and got a bunch of terrain for my 15th table built. This is stuff from the Charadon which is going to supplement the Imperium terrain to make a full tables worth.
I then finished painting my Space Marine Primaris Supressors to add to the Ultramarines army.
At the same time I painted up some Thermo-Pipes.
And after that started work on an Ork Kommandoes Kill Team.
And I painted a Thermo-Exchanger Shrine at the same time, also for the Imperium box.
At the same time, I painted up some referees for Blood Bowl.
And late last night I finished off a Deredeo Dreadnought I bought at Ardhammer in January, although I think the guns are recasts, the actual Dreadnought seems fine, but the guns are just not quite right.
I am gonna keep it, I only paid £10 for it, but I need to keep a closer eye on things I buy at secondhand sales.
So what’s coming up next week?
I have yet to pick up a book this week 🙁
But I have been listening to The Wolftime by Gav Thorpe which is really good.
Not a great deal just a daily game of Halo Infinite for the most part to get the points.
Other than those at Company of Legends, none.
Two more battle reports were published, issues 22 and 23!
Now that all the tutorial missions are done, I am going to be moving to a new schedule, Wednesday will be Imperium and Saturday will be something else.
I am kinda thinking the first something else will be a Horus Heresy very small Zone Mortalis game.
I did manage to pick up Watchmen: Ultimate Cut in 4K from the Microsoft Store for £3.99 which is awesome!
Also when at the North East Model Centre on Thursday, I bought another Painting Handle!
The 23rd part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.
In this episode, we see the debut of the Canoptek Spyder to the battlefield!
Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.
You can buy your own Task Lamp here
You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-
The 22nd part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.
In this episode, we the Adeptus Mechanicus take to the field for the first time as a squad of Skitarii Rangers face off against a phalanx of Necron Warriors!
Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the servants of the Machine God?
You can buy your own Task Lamp here
You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-
The 21st part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.
In this episode, we see a Lt and some Assault Intercessors facing off against an Overlord with his phalanx of Warriors!
Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.
You can buy your own Task Lamp here
You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-
So I am gonna write about something, controversial, well I don’t think it’s controversial personally.
I want to write about the US swimmer Lia Thomas, whom you may have seen featured in hate filed articles arguing that as a biological male, she has no right to compete against cis women.
I saw a meme that made a big deal about the fact that in the 2020-21 season, she ranked 462nd amongst males.
But you see that got me wondering, she had to be on oestrogen for a full 12 months before she could compete as a woman. So that means in the 2020-21 season she was competing against cis men whilst on oestrogen.
Oestrogens biggest impact on a person assigned male at birth, is the extremely quick reduction in muscle mass, it drops off you very quickly.
What this means is that you have a denser bone structure that you need to work harder to make work, so against cis men, and even against cis women, you would find yourself at a disadvantage.
So how did Lia perform in the last season she competed in, prior to oestrogen treatment.
Well the answer is available for all to see, she was in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle events, number 1, not simply good, she was the best amongst men in the entire US.
Her times when she swam before her transition were exceptional, I mean they were incredible.
She was an exceptional swimmer when competing as a man, and is an exceptional swimmer when competing as a woman.
What this says to me is that it’s not about her being a mediocre man who changed sex to win medal, but that she is simply a good swimmer no matter how she competes.
It reminded me of a US army study that looked at trans women in training. After being on oestrogen, they did have an advantage over the average cis woman, 12% to be precise.
However, the average elite level female runner is 29% better than the average cis woman, and none of the studies participants even reached that level.
Now I conceded, the research done into trans woman’s participation in sport is limited, and the conclusions are not quite conclusive either way.
But so far the evidence suggests that trans women are less likely to be as good as other cis athletes in their ability level.
But contrary to what people say, trans women aren’t dominating woman’s sport, far from it.
Lia Thomas is simply an exceptionally good swimmer, she has demonstrated it in both gender categories by dominating them.
So frankly I think it’s more likely that like Michael Phelps, she may have genetic differences that simply make her better at swimming.
I painted the Pathfinder Team for my T’au Empire.
After that I finished Darkstrider.
A Thermo-Exchanger Shrine got bought earlier in the week and painted up on Sunday night to add to the Company of Legends terrain.
After this I competed a unit of Deathmarks for my Necrons.
I then turned my attention to the Skitarii Rangers that I needed for a battle report.
Currently on my painting desk are some Primaris Suppressors for the Ultramarines.
So what’s coming up next week?
I published my review of School of X which you can read here.
And I also finished To Chart the Clouds by Evan Dicken, a review of which you will find here.
I am currently reading Reign of the Devourer by David Annandale.
Not much, but I did play Horizon Zero Dawn for a couple of hours on stream on Thursday.
Other than that it’s mostly been Halo Infinite, been playing Ranked Area games to get an achievement.
And some Forza Horizon 5 here and there.
I published the issue 20 Imperium Battle Report.
I did grab a Thermo-Exchanger Shrine to add to one of the Company of Legends table, one of the Sector Mechanicum probably.
I bought the Itch.io Ukraine bundle, it’s an awful lot of stuff, but the donation is the best but about that.
To help with the vlogging for Company of Legends I grabbed a Mini LED video light.
I wanted the one recommended by Randomfrankp, but that particular model isn’t available in the UK, so I grabbed this one as it’s pretty much the same thing.
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