So I took a bit of a break from painting to assemble an 1850 point Skitarii army. I am so excited about this project and this army in particular. Musings and army list after the jump!
I am really happy to have a 40k army again. Over the last couple of years I have sold off my armies, keeping only random projects and small collections for various skirmish games (Arena Rex, Dark Age, Infamy - Welcome to the Big Smoke, Infinity, etc.). I also had a couple children in that time, so my gaming time went to zero. I did find myself in the position that even if I wanted to play a game of 40k (which I really enjoy), I wouldn't be able to! I also developed codex fatigue after the 7th edition blitzkrieg of rules/codexes/formations/etc. Recently I decided that while I would be branching out more into different games for a little variety (especially Dark Age and Infinity), I did want a standing 40k army to have some fun playing some games.
Traditionally I have played Orks and Chaos Space Marines. I'd love to build up my Green Tide army again, but not only would it take FOREVER (My 1850pt list had around 170 models on the table), but I'm just not inspired to build them back up just yet. They will rise again, however! After spending time immersed in the Horus Heresy armies done by Forgeworld and building up my own Heresy force, I wanted to do something more archaic and more ambiguously aligned for my next army. The Adeptus Mechanicus release by Games Workshop provided the perfect opportunity to build a decent sized army that was visually unique and diverse, but one that also would keep me from going Apocalyptic with my army building. My style is to have as many options as possible for an army, despite not playing often. For a new challenge, I wanted to have one army list but with enough internal flexibility that it wouldn't get stale. The Skitarii hit all the notes for me. Small confession, I do plan to add a Culexus Assassin that I'll switch in and out, as the army has zero psychic defense and it'll be fun to troll psyker heavy armies with him. It'll also demand a lot of attention from my opponent while the rest of the army is advancing.
I don't math-hammer, and generally go by the 'rule of cool'. At the same time, I don't want to get my head kicked in every time I play, either. My favorite units in the Skitarii Codex, aesthetically, are the Sydonian Dragoons, the Infiltrators, and the Ruststalkers. As I think they're cool and will be fun to paint, they've found a prominent place in my list. They're also very, very fast and will force people to make decisions early in the contest, which I've always been a fan of. With everything having Scout, and with the Infiltrators and Ruststalers able to Infiltrate as well, target priority will be an issue for opponents. One thing is for certain, this army will be in your face in a hurry! Everything being T3 makes them quite squishy, but my hope is that their mobility will enable them to make the most of available cover. My first game with them will be in the next week or so, and I absolutely cannot wait. All that remains as far as assembly goes is to fill the gaps on their cloaks (an abysmal location for the two part cloaks). They will, of course, be on Dragon Forge bases. Ok, enough rambling, on to the list!
Skitarii Ludi - 1850 Points
5 Sicarian Infiltrators w/ flechette blasters & taser goads
- Infiltrator Princeps w/ Conversion Field, The Omniscient Mask
5 Sicarian Ruststalkers w/ Transonic Razor, Chordclaw and Mindscrambler Grenades
- Ruststalker Princeps w/ Conversion Field, Prehensile Dataspike, Phosphenix
10 Skitarii Rangers w/ 3 Transuranic Aquebus, Omnispex
- Ranger Alpha w/ power sword
10 Vanguard w/ 3 Arc Rifles, Omnispex
- Vanguard Alpha w/ Arc Maul, Arc Pistol, Conversion Field, Pater Radium
10 Vanguard w/ 3 Plasma Calivers, Omnispex
- Vanguard Alpha w/ Radium Pistol, The Phase Taser, Conversion Field (Warlord)
3 Sydonian Dragoons w/ Taser Lances
3 Sydonian Dragoons w/ Taser Lances
3 Ironstrider Ballistarii w/ Cognis Lascannons
2 Onager Dunecrawlers w/ Cognis Heavy Stubber and Icarus Array, Smoke Launchers
I chose the Vanguard Alpha with the Plasma unit as my Warlord because he confers Preferred Enemy to his unit, which will help a lot with 'Gets Hot'. It is a bit of a risk as the unit will already be a top priority, but we'll see how it plays out. I did a couple little kit bashes to show some of the relics that my guys will be toting around. I love little touches like these, as they lend a lot of character to what will otherwise be a pretty stock assembly army. I can't wait to see how they perform on the tabletop!
Vanguard Alpha w/ Arc Maul, Arc Pistol, Pater Radium
Vanguard Alpha w/ Radium Pistol, The Phase Taser
Also, BUSHIDO! Work continues on the Silvermoon Syndicate, albeit slowly. It was so hot that I was having trouble glazing as I needed to, so I decided to assemble my Skitarii and wait for the heatwave to pass. I am looking forward to getting back to these tomorrow.
Zenithal priming:
Shadows (upon reflection, not dark enough and not enough of a contrast)
Mid-Tone:
Final airbrush of lightest tone - I actually like the shading on this guy, but most got very washed out
Because they were so washed out, I had to go back and glaze in some shadows, which is a new technique for me. In the past I had usually done washes and then highlights. I mixed in some blue and some very dark brown/umber into the shadows and then worked the highlights back up. I like the technique a lot, and feel like it'll really pay dividends the more I practice with it.
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