Warhammer 40k 9th Edition – first play

A couple of weeks back, prior to the latest pandemic restrictions kicking in in our particular area of England I actually managed to play a game of something. In this case Warhammer 40k, which I have not played for over a year.

The battleground!

This was the first time playing 9th edition and having sold most of my 40k miniatures I was able to borrow a force and be guided through a game by my good friend Jamie.

We played the new ‘combat patrol‘ rules which allows you to play smaller quicker games, but without skimping on the big units (and in my case as a dyed in the wool Imperial Guard player….TANKS!).

Ork on tank action.

Now I am not brilliant at remembering rules and am never paricularly scientific about analysing games, but my main conclusion here is that 9th was a lot, lot more fun than 8th.

The commander of my borrowed Astra Militarum forces.

I played Guard facing off against Orks. Extra narrative was added by using the new set of ‘Open War‘ cards. These allow you to setup and play fun games really quickly and include things like deployment, objectives, twists, ruses and sudden death!

Example of the new Open War cards.

The game started off well for me with an initiative win and proceeded fairly positively from then on. It was back and forth and most importantly based on my previous more negative experiences was fast! Even though the turn sequence followed the standard IGOUGO format that Warhammer has been using for decades it felt fluid and interesting. This was helped significantly by some of the new rules (in particular the ability for vehicles to fire in close combat and not get bogged down), but also by the open war cards and the smaller force and table sizes enabled by the combat patrol rules.

The game lasted about two and half hours (yes we actually played a game to a five turn conclusion) – thank you again combat patrol! Apparently this was one of the longer games Jamie has played in the format. This bodes well for evening games once we are able to meet face-to-face again.

And, although it is never my reason for playing any game, I actually got a victory under my belt. Yup, I actually won something! The MVPs in my borrowed Cadian force were my mortar team and my off table support. Nuking the site from orbit – it is always the only way to be sure.

My star players!

I might just start up another Imperial Guard force of my own now, quite possibly using some of the excellent proxy models I have got from the Anvil Industries 3D print file Patreon.

Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard – The Sons of Skaro

Or should I say Astra Militarum?

I recently posted about my return to Warhammer 40k after a couple of decades off.  My faction of choice for both 40k and the smaller scale Kill Team are the Imperial Guard.  There is something appealing to me about the freedom that fielding a Guard army gives in terms of background and modelling (especially if you look beyond the official line of Games Workshop / Citadel Miniatures).  I also really like tanks!

As per usual I’ve got more than one related project on the go at once.  On the back burner are my ‘Empire of Men not Death Korps of Krieg’ troops.  I started off thinking I’d use this in a Weird World War game (and painted the armour accordingly); however since the Kill Team bug has bitten I think I’ll be diverting them to the front line of the Grim Dark.

Male Stormtroopers by Archon Studio – totally not Death Korps of Krieg

My Empire of Men Stahlratte – not quite the right livery for 40k!

In the meantime however I’ve been continuing to expand my basic guard force from a Kill Team to a full 40k army.  Having concentrated on tanks initially I’ve recently gone back and continued to flesh out the grunts.  Primarily using the standard Cadian models with some head swaps from the Tempestus Scions kit to distinguish my veterans.  I have stuck with the colour scheme that harks back to the original Rogue Trader plastic set.

I’ve also started to think about the background for my regiment.  So these guys originate from the planet Skaro.  In ancient times the home of a mythical race of metallic war like creatures….

Over the millenia mutations have come full circle and the inhabitants of this once irradiated world have come full circle and back into the light of humanity!

This has got me thinking though – Chaos Daleks……