Topic: Orange you glad I didn't say Iyanden

[Orange]

Long time no see!

Just got back from a whirlwind trip to the US and haven’t really been keeping up with the forums, I I’ve got a bit to come back and read.

I got back to Looshkin’s very generous gift of the old Web of Skulls Dark Realer exarch, and am  looking forward to getting some paint on him. But after that, I really need to figure out an army list with the new codex and start getting a legal army painted and on the table. There’s a lot to think about with the new rules, but I think I like what I see so far.

Unfortunately wraith constructs didn’t get objective secured, so I’m going to need to start by getting some actual troops... didn’t really want to use guardians but it looks like they are the way to go. Will see what I can come up with.

And blog name changed, love it Ynnead!

[Cavalier]

Hey bud. I think you are off to a good start with what you have painted. Wraithguard and Dark Reapers are heavy hitters that are auto-include for me. Scorpions have made the cut as well in my Alaitoc/Stealth wing, but should do well with the Iyanden trait going in against hopeless odds... which is very Iyanden.

Guardians look really good from where I'm sitting as well. I'm running 1x20 which will be webway-ing in with my Wraithguard, an additional 1x10 Defenders and then 1x10 Stormies as a screening unit.

Anyway can't wait to see what makes the cut and what units you'll be posting next. Just love your stuff man. Keep us posted!

[Ynneadwraith]

Hope the trip was fun! Glad you like the name suggestion

Not that I game much, but I hear Dire Avengers are a solid pick for troops as well. Slightly different tack to Guardians in that min-squads of 5 is the way to go, but gives you another option to get your Wraiths to the table

[SeekingOne]

Excellent models, love the yellow and the overall neat and crisp finish. Great job!

The oval gem on her chest bugs me and I still don't feel like it's right, might have another go at it.

I actually agree with you here - imho, the gem lacks the dark area at the top. If you make a white dot to represent a sharp glint, that dot should basically be on black - otherwise it doesn't look natural.

The Iyanna herself looks fantastic though

[Orange]

SeekingOne--yes, I think that's what bothers me. I think because the gem is oval and horizontal it throws it out. Might have another look at some point.

In the meantime...

Retro exarch done, again thanks to Looshkin for the model, hope I did him justice!


Of course his armament isn't legal anymore, but I'm just going to say he is armed with a reaper launcher, I don't think anyone I play with will mind.

And with his squad:



So now the book is out I want to make a legal 1000 point force so I can start playing some games.

So this is the plan for the beginning, including what I've painted so far:

Farseer with spear
Warlock

5 Wraithguard with d-scythe
6 Scorpions, incl exarch* with claw

5 Dire avengers, incl exarch with diresword*
5 Dire avengers*
10 Guardian defenders with shuriken cannon platform*

Wraithlord with flamers and shuriken cannon*
6 Dark reapers, incl exarch with reaper cannon (maybe two squads of 3, flexible that way)

So it's a battalion at 969 points, with 22 models to paint (the asterisked models). I'm going to try to push through with the troops first, and hopefully get some games in by the end of January. It's not really what I want the army to look like in the long term, but it's a start... I do have this rule that I don't use unpainted models in games, so it always builds a bit slowly for me

Having 6 command points at this point size should hopefully give me a few fun tricks to spring during my games!
 

[Saim-Dann]

Niiiiice!
Well done, Orange. The DR Ex looks really nice and compliments his unit. Interesting list as well. I personally will play the odd game with unpainted models. Mainly due to wanting to make sure the unit is a good fit within the list.

It would annoy the snot out of me to spend a lot of time painting a unit, just to find it lacking on the table. It's also the only time I will proxy as well. Don't want to spend $30/$100 on a unit that doesn't pull its weight... Pointy ears forever!!   

[Cavalier]

Looking awesome Orange. Such a classic.... I wish the new sculpts had some homage to the web of skulls, like have it hanging off his belt, or that little clip of extra ammo. You did a great job painting him and the color scheme suits him so well.

As for your list I think you are off to solid start their as well. I think you'll be surprised how much mileage you'll get out of that list. Webway Strike is the game changer for Eldar. No longer do you have to trudge up the field getting blown apart turn after turn as you try to get short ranged foot units into range, or blow all your points on a Wave Serpent for each unit.  So this list is perfectly suited to take advantage of that.

The Dark Reapers are gonna really reward you too. I'd put the Warlock with Conceal supporting them, then just lock and load. I'd probably say Reapers are the best unit in the dex. As far as anti-tank goes they are my go to option. I'm rocking a unit of 10 at present.

Anyway great stuff Orange. Just a killer paint job on a classic model. I love it!

[Irisado]

Another one of my favourite Eldar models which you have painted to an excellent standard.  You've particularly pulled off the bone colour very well and the Exarch makes a superb centrepiece for the squad.  The Rogue trader Aspect sculpts are still the best in my opinion.

[SeekingOne]

Nice paint job on those Reapers! What paints did you use to paint that bone colour?

List looks quite good too.
The way your army is, it just asks to be expanded further with 2 Wave Serpents, one for Scythe-guard and one for the Reapers to deploy in. Finish it off with one Hemlock, and you'll have a great 1500 pts force - strong and flexible with some great variety.

Then you can just capitalise on the Iyanden theme by taking more Wraithlords, splitting them off into a separate Spearhead detachment led by a Spiritseer.

[Ynneadwraith]

Haha i've got visions of your exarch hurling his web of skulls a clear 48" across the battlefield, followed by a full-on Hollywood explosion (who knew skulls exploded?) of SM-killing death

Love the paintwork as always too

[Blazinghand]

That Exarch looks great! They should bring back the Web of Skulls weapon just for that great model.

[Looshkin]

Orange! Wow! I'm really pleased that I sent you that Exarch because you have performed miracles on him. Really fantastic work that both captures the retro 90s vibe but also drags him forward to the present day. I can't really say enough about this guy, so I'll simply say that I have no idea how you could improve him.

Kudos dude. Simply stellar.

[Orange]

@everyone, thanks!

Saim-dann—I hear that, but I learned a few years ago that if I don’t paint it before putting it on the gaming table, most of the time it never gets painted at all! It does create the situation where I paint a unit (sometime even a whole army…) and find out I don’t like how it plays, but I enjoy the painting project side of it that much that it becomes a bit irrelevant how good it is on the table. And if I don’t like using the model or army, it just gives me an excuse to paint more stuff.

Cavalier—thanks, yes I wish it was still somewhere in the current rules too, it’s one of the few things they haven’t paid homage to. I’m hoping to find some more at some point too, they look pretty lethal rules-wise.

Seeking one—the bone is pretty easy, just Vallejo Game Colour bone, washed with Army Painter Strong Tone, then blended up with the original bone up to white. I start on a light grey spray undercoat so it only takes a couple of thin coats to get a good strong colour.

Looshkin—really glad you like it! Half of the fun of this army is getting hold of the models and the stories I can tell about where they came from.

Haven’t done much painting, I’ve done a little work on the scorpions exarch but as it’s the new model it’s not quite the same…

I’m gearing up to get a squad of 10 avengers done by the end of the month.

I might also change my list a bit. I was avoiding Storm Guardians as I didn’t know if I’d be able to source any of the old metal Guardians. But what do you know, I put a bit of a call out and a few locals came through. They aren’t the best quality models, and I didn’t have the best range of the plastic arms and weapons to work with, but the metal parts at least are great and I’m looking forward to painting them hopefully by the end of the month too.

[Saim-Dann]

G'day Orange!
Have a few rogue trader guardians myself. Would send them your way, however, I love them so much. Have truckloads of memories attached to each one.

[Orange]

Haha don't blame you at all! They're not that easy to come by, the guys who gave/sold me mine only did so reluctantly, and kept some for sentimental reasons.

[Orange]

Halfway through my pledge for this month:



I’m glad I’ve got these models in my army but they aren’t particularly nice models! Definitely much harder to paint when there isn’t a lot of detail. Some of them, the one piece ones especially, are good models but the metal/plastic hybrids are a little rough.

But I got them done

On to the much nicer metal dire avengers now!

[Cavalier]

Absolutley classic stuff Orange. Just brilliant paint jobs as I've come to expect from you. The Iyanden Guardians IMO are the best looking out of all the Craftworlds. The yellow and blue is just so striking and you pulled it off beautifully. Just such a rich quality to your paint jobs and the contrast is just great.

I'm with you the single piece sculpts are classic and really still stand strong even today (particularly the squad leader) but I still have a soft spot for the plastic/metal hybrids. I still they look really nice... in particular their weapons are really great.

Anyway just killer stuff Orange. I really look forward to your updates. Great stuff man I absolutely love it.

[Saim-Dann]

Niiiiice!
Have always loved those models and you've done them justice, mate. They're going to make a nice addition to your classic army. Good job on the faces as well... Pointy ears forever!!

[SeekingOne]

Hi Orange )
Can't say I'm huge fan of these old sculpts (not a fan at all actually ), but your paint job makes them look good!

[magenb]

not old school enough, where's the chain mail guardians lol

Awesome job on the basing as well.