An Army of Rough Riders! - WIP Post

OK, a lot of people have asked to see them so here they are!

It all started with the 1998 3rd Ed Warhammer 40,00 Rule Book.

First of all, this book was great because it included the all of the codex Army Lists. Secondly, there was a real focus on being free to mix up the rules to be as creative as you wanted. With that in mind, at the end of each Army List there was an Appendix containing ways that you could alter the standard list. The Space Marine Appendix included rules for Blood Angles, Dark Angles and Space Wolves. The Eldar Appendix covered Ulthwe, Alaitoc, Saim Hann, Biel-Tan and Iyanden army specific rules. The Ork Appendix includes Kults of Speed, Feral Ork Hordes, Boarboyz and Weirdboyz. And finally, the Imperial Guard Appendix contained rules to field an Armoured Company, Mechanised Infantry Company, Rough Rider Company and Storm Trooper Force (shown below).

The sad thing is that while almost all of the Appendix rules made it into the mainstream game either in its parent codex or with its own specific codex, a few fell by the way side. With the Imperial Guard Appendix rules, Forge World now have an army list for an Armoured Force, Mechanised Infantry first got its own codex (within the Armageddon codex) and then was incorporated into the Guard codex and Storm Trooper forces were made possible in Witch Hunters and Daemon Hunters codices (and later with the Inquisition supplement). Rough Rider forces however, went the way of the Squats! In recent times with the changes to the power weapons rules and the addition of bigger scarier models, only the most daring or fluffy gamers bring their Rough Riders to battle. 

It isn't all doom and gloom though. Recently Forge world have reinvented the sturdy Rough Rider with their Death Rider rules. They currently stand with:  WS 4, Stubborn, Re-roll Dangerous Terrain, 2 Attacks, plus a Hunting Lance AND Close Combat Weapon & Pistol, Krak and Frag Grenades, Feel No Pain, ... and, wait for it ... 2 Wounds - all as standard! All this and now you can take them in Platoons with a Command Squad and Commissar as well.

We currently are on the brink of a new Guard Codex and there have been some rumours of cutting the humble Rough Riders completely. I don't see this as likely but with the new FW rules and a new codex imminent I think now is the time to finally do what I have always wanted to do.... build a Rough Rider Army.

And cue..
Colonel Ackland's 3rd Brigade of

The Macharian Thunder Guard - Veteran Cavalry Division

"I have seen war in all its forms. I have seen feral world savages braining each other with stones, and I have monitored the death of a whole planet at the hands of a virus bomb. I have seen Space Marines drop to certain death, and win. I have seen Titans crush whole platoons underfoot. But there is no more stirring sight in war than the charge of massed cavalry."

— Dravin Gratz, 14th Tharinga Regiment

Background and Theme

I wanted the freedom to make as many different types of units with different uniforms and styles as I wanted, without being constrained to make them all look like one army. So naturally the fluff for these guys have them coming from different regiments. Briefly, when battle hardened cavalry regiments are significantly reduced in strength, rather than be disbanded some are transferred into a Veteran Cavalry Division. This force (The Macharian Thunder Guard) is one such division. Some of the background to the Thunder Guard can be found here. For the overall theme, I have tried to give the riders the same style mount and hunting lance. I think that while differing uniforms are accepted in the division all the equipment should be somewhat standardised. This and the same bases should help to tie them all together. I frequently lean heavily on the style of the 19th century cavalry but I have also add in a few other regiments that I felt really needed to be present.

Rules

The DKoK Siege army list or DKoK Assault Brigade army list form the base list of my force (N.B. FW currently have the DKoK Siege army list as a downloadable PDF). Of course the first change is that all models are mounded on horses and change their unit type from infantry to cavalry.

After my fist game with this army a few things became evident. The Imperial Guard are a force that really excel at standing still and shooting at the enemy. Allowing them to move faster and assault further without adding any protection or fire power turns everything on its head. In order for the list to be anywhere near competitive we needed to add a few extra abilities. The DKoK 2 Wounds and 6+ Feel No Pain works perfectly in the game giving the riders some extra durability without making it silly.  Other special rules that we enjoy adding are Hit and Run, Scout, Preferred Enemy (Infantry) and making Hammer of Wrath attacks Concussive. All this for 6 points extra per model. That doesn't sound like a lot of points for a big advantage but upping a 100 point veteran squad to 160 points is a significant increase. That is more than a Chimera but without the added armour protection, weapons and durability. Without these upgrades you end up having a very expensive list for what is essentially just a normal Guard stat line. In addition,  these special rules really help the units play like real cavalry. For example, seeing cavalry charge in then quickly braking off to reform and charge again is epically fun. Anyway, this isn't meant to be a rule focused post, so I'll leave it to this brief explanation. If you have any specific question please drop me a comment.

Before I get to the photos I'd like to point out that this is obviously a work in progress (WIP) post. The big difference a WIP post has from a 'Finished' post is that you are asking people to look beyond their current status to where they may be when they are finished. So please look past their flaws to see their potential because everything here still needs a lot of work.
:) cheers.

Army HQ

This is Col. Ackland (my pseudonym). I have posted pics of him before and sadly I have made no progress on him since last time he appeared on the blog. Never the less, here he (arr, me) is:

Command Squad

Two Body Guards to lookout for the Colonel.

This old Imperial Army era fellow is carrying an  Aquila standard (it won’t have a flag being reminiscent of a Napoleonic Eagle standard).

Two banner bearers, just because flowing banners look good during a charge. I haven't decided on what heads to give these guys yet.

And a medic, to keep the Colonel kicking around a little longer.

 Storm Troopers / Heavy Dragoons 

(aka Cuitassiers / Dragoon Guard / Household Cavalry / Carabiniers - armed with hotshot Las Carbines)

 Interestingly, in the DKoK Assault Brigade list these guys are Troops instead of Elite.

I try to do five men for each different regiment that I mix into my force. That way they can run as a half squad or I can split them all up into different units. In terms of fluff I would expect that small groups of comrades from one regiment may stick together to represent the few survivors of their old company or regiment. Each unit has a name and background but I’ll post them up when I eventually finish each unit off.

As well as these very ceremonial looking Heavy Dragoons I wanted some 'regular' looking Storm Troopers. I think the idea of a mounted regiment of Storm Troops it pretty cool. 

These next guys are Veteran Death World Cavalry. 

 Veterans / Scouts 

(aka Hussars / Chasseurs à cheval / Rangers)

In the DKoK Assault Brigade list these guys are Elites instead of Troops.

"Sound the charge! These traitors are in for a surprise."

— Captain Yonast d'Lancier, 77th Mordian Light Patrol

 Some people might recognise these bodies from an old post.

 Lancers / Death Riders

(aka Chevau Légers / Shock Cavalry) 

These guys are Fast Attack. 

I still need to make a command squad so I can run these in a platoon.

I only have two of these 'Red Lancers'. If anyone has a spare head from the Blandblade or Hellhound kit with this cap that they are willing to part with please let me know :)

Obviously I need to have some Attilans! I have only made one so far but the rest are coming, along with a Captain Mogul Kamir conversion as well.

 Also I couldn't miss the Cadians...

Dragoons

(aka Mounted Rifles / Light Horse)
These are troops.

After my first test game with this army it became obvious that I really needed to add some cheaper troops to the force to add more numbers, soak up hits and take objectives. To do this I have mounted troops that fight on foot (like actual dragoons). Rule wise, they are an infantry platoon that count as cavalry but don't have any of the spacial rules that the other units have and as a consequence are a little cheaper. To model them I have infantry on foot that have their horses next to them on a 30mm base. The great thing with having removal infantry like this is that I can use any models that I want to represent the Dragoons. I'm happy with these horses being a little small then the others as they are not meant to be augmented or genetically modified.

"What is it like to ride into glorious battle atop a noble, loyal steed? If I ever find out, I'll tell you."

— Gellen Kegn, Luggnum Sewer Rats 83rd Aethexe Cavalry

Horse Artillery

Finally, I always wanted to make Horse Artillery – that is, horse drawn cannons. DKoK artillery are perfect for this. Rule wise, all I need to do is add a few extra points. They move like cavalry but obviously need to be stationary to fire.

For the models I will use Curious Constructs heavy weapons. The ‘Tesla Cannons’ will be Rapier Laser Destroyers and the rocket battery will be Quad Launchers. I have extra cannon carriages to use as the lumbers. I haven’t decided whether I will do teams of 2, 4 or 6 horses and I'm also not sure which horses I will use. 

...And that's about it. Loads more work to do but I'm in no rush. This is a slow burn project that will take a while to get together. Still, I'd like to get these all ready for some paint some time soon.

In the real world things are pretty hectic at them moment but I'm hoping that in a month or two I might be able to tee up a game with Frothing Muppet and test these guys out again. Then they should be ready to take to the field at the new local club that we have found.

Thanks for checking them out. Feel free to post any comments below.