Army Profile: AbsoluteBlue's Vraksian Renegades

On February 15, 2009, Shep, KevinNash, and I started up a Tale of Three Gamers Campaign. It was as part of this campaign that I started up my Vraksian Renegade Army, counts as Imperial Guard. I started this list using the pre-5th edition codex and it has gone through many revisions since I first envisioned its creation. My complete progress on this army can be found in by plog on DakkaDakka.com. So now, over a year later and three Indy GTs later, I have decided to move on to starting up a Chaos Daemons army. Before moving on though, I decided to do a short profile of the Army here.

In the above photo, I have the Company Command Squad. As modeled, the Company Commander, Captain Phaeton Skarvos, has a Plasma Pistol and he is accompanied by a guardsman carrying a Regimental Standard and 4 guardsmen carrying meltaguns. Of course, when played only 4 of the guardsmen, so I usually have the 4 meltagunners go along with him. They also ride in a Chimera with a Heavy Bolter.

Here we have the Psycher Battle Squad. Sister Dolores Rayne, a renegade Inquisitor from the Ordo Hereticus, has rounded up a group of warp-twisted psychers to do her, and the Captain's, bidding. As with most of the Army, to keep up with their Commander they also ride in a Chimera. On rare occasion they are joined by the Primaris Psycher Volo.

While Captain Skarvos' Company has taken many casualties during the seige of Vraks by the Death Korp, he still maintains a full platoon led by Lt. Harkon Dren. Lt. Dren's history has found him in the position of having to reclaim ground lost by the other Vraksian forces, often burning out trenches clearing them the enemy. He brings 4 guardsmen equipped with flamers wherever he goes. The 1st Squad in Lt. Dren's platoon is lead by Sgt. Flavius Rex. He runs a simple minded squad equipped with a Grenade Launcher and ride in a Chimera equipped with a heavy flamer.
The 2nd Squad is run by Sgt. Varus Stillicho. He also runs a batch of renegades, mostly former miners with autoguns and a grenade launcher. Fortunately, they can sometimes be accompanied by a Khornate Oracle, Skaldus Gyr, who has the ability to move the squad into a warp tainted fervor that enables them to crush through enemy lines.
The 3rd Squad, while led by Sgt. Rey Garru, is "motivated" by Enforcer Werl. Enforcer Werl carries a Power Sword and will often use it to keep Sgt. Garru in line. Preacher Ollog Quel of Nurgle can sometimes be found along side Enforcer Werl, inspiring him and the 3rd squad.
Lt. Dren also commands 2 Heavy Weapon Squads that use Autocannons. More often than not, Lt. Dren loses sight of the Heavy Weapon Squads and Capt. Skarvos is required to command them.

One of Capt. Skarvos' greatest assets is the Iron Pigs. The Iron Pigs are a Veteran Squad lead by Sgt. Hoag Pennen, a name that is thought to be the source for the Iron Pigs name. The Iron Pigs are demolition specialists that also carry meltbombs and 3 meltguns. While they have they own dedicated Chimera, the will also make use the companies Valkyrie, when they feel they need to get into position faster.

In rare form, Capt. Skarvos' Armory is fortunate to have two Vendettas and a Valkyrie. As rare as it is to find these gifts in Vraks, having the pilots to fly them was an even greater find. On occasion, these Vendettas will be used by the 2nd and 3rd Squads for greater mobility.

This Valkyrie is the one sometimes used by the Iron Pigs.
Though these Devil Dogs rarely see action any more and usually just collect dust in the armory, they have been useful in burning through Heavy Armor in the past.
The Demolisher once used by Capt. Skarvos has since been mothballed. It has served its purpose in the past, but Skarvos has chosen to employ tactics that favor faster and longer range support options.
Much like the Demolisher above, the Executioner doesn't see much action these days. However, Skarvos has been considering its usage of late as he has heard reports that the Death Korp have been getting support from Greyhunters, some of which have been seen in wearing Terminator armor, which the Executioner can excel at piercing.
The Hydras are by far the Captain's most prized possession. They have proved, time and again, an invaluable resource. They have consistently been able to pierce the enemies armor, reducing their mobility and giving Skarvos mobile advantage.
Finally, while ammunition has been of recent issue, the Manticores have been a recent staple for Skarvos' engagements. The employ of the Manticores has crippled the enemy forces early in the engagement and turned the tide of the battles in Skarvos favor, before the battle seemed to even start.

I do look forward to continuing this force in the future, but it is time to move on. I do intend on using this Army during Conquest Invasion GT in June, but will most likely not build or paint any new models for this Army within the next few months.

See the list I brought for Slaughter in Space 2 for an example of how Skarvos has used the above assets.