Game System: Warhammer 40,000
Army Type: Space Marines
Army Name: Paladins of Exodus
Name: Mathew Clifford

When and why did you start collecting this particular army?
The history of this army is fairly long and convoluted. I started playing 40k during the Rogue Trader days, after getting into the genre when I discovered the first edition Space Hulk game. Initially I had the models painted in Legion of the Damned colours, and had about a full tactical company painted up, as well as terminators, characters, vehicles and dreadnoughts. Second edition came out, and in it Legion of the Damned were reduced to one squad of allies for other space marines, so I considered myself in a bit of a fix. I decided to invent my own chapter at that point, as I was wary of using any "official" chapters as they used to have a habit of changing over time (and still do if the Black Templars vanishing whirlwind is anything to go by). I wanted a colour scheme that would stand out and be unique, so painting them all one colour was out, as they would just have looked like Ultramarines, Blood Angels or whatever with a different chapter symbol. At the same time I had this idea of the chapter being a bunch of futuristic knights, so I chose a quartered red and grey scheme, with bone trim. The quartered colour scheme, coupled with robes, shrouds and the like on veterans helped with this feel. I then set about re-paining all of my Legion of the Damned models into the new scheme, all the while converting and adding to the original models. This has resulted in a few models that are quite old (some from the first plastic space marine boxed set RTB01) being mixed in with some of the great new models that have come out more recently, such as the new heavy weapons troopers. This resulted in me coming up with a background for the chapter that allowed for a lot of older gear (basically the chapter is located out on the fringe of the galaxy and supplies are few and far between). Even the chapter name and symbol has changed over time. Initially they were called the Emperors Paladins, but I could imagine this name being used by someone else somewhere, so decided to go with Paladins of Exodus, after the planet they are from. The chapter symbol was originally a red chevron cross on a white disk, but it looked like they were soldiers of St. John's ambulance, so I changed it to a bone cross on a quartered red and grey shield. This tied in nicely with my idea of them being "humanities shield" in the area they are based.

What particular things about the army do you like?
There are a few things that I like about this army. As they are Space Marines, I like the tactical robustness that they have. Marine armies in general are reasonable in close combat, firefights and ranged shooting, and this means that it is possible to tailor your force to whatever you feel like. As one who is easily bored with an army I like to chop and change things, trying different configurations of squads and vehicles. The marine army I took to the state championships was an army that I had thought up with mobility in mind, with vehicle mounted tactical squads, land speeder support and deep striking terminators. They were highly mobile if they needed to be while still packing a punch (two terminator squads and a vindicator can pack quite a punch!).

What things (if any) do you not like about the army, or the way it plays?
One of the things that I dislike about the army that I took is the low model count. Two squads of terminators in a 1500 point game is a large point sink, and a few bad rolls can take out a large slice of your army.
Also, relying on deep strike to get the terminators into place can be a problem, especially with the assault squad, who can't move or shoot on the turn that they arrive. They basically teleport in, wave to the enemy and say "Hi, were over here. Shoot us before we charge you next turn." Naturally a canny opponent will punish them.

Has your view about the two previous questions changed over the course of your time playing with them?
I once thought that two terminator squads would be a fairly potent force in an army, but without a landraider they tended to lack the flexibility that they required. Tough models but tough to use effectively, and can be fairly unforgiving against an ap2 heavy opponent. Most players expect to play against marines, and tailor their army accordingly. That and the fact that I am ready to try something new means that the terminators will be left on the bench next time. I've been toying with the idea of an infantry heavy marine army, with few or no vehicles. So I think that I will dust off the red and grey paints and start preparing for that for the Paladin's next incarnation.

What is your style of play with this army?
I tend to focus the army into one part of the battlefield because of the low model count. Supporting other units becomes important when there aren't many on the board, as focused firepower seems to be the key to using marines effectively. I will usually refuse a flank or put a distracting squad in it to draw away some of the enemy, and then concentrate an attack down the other flank or up the middle of the board. The mobility of the units means that they can redeploy to an unsuspected situation arising, with deep striking terminators bludgeoning any areas of resistance.

Which are your favourite units to play with?
The vindicator is usually the man of the match, but like all vehicles it is prone to going down in the first couple of turns without having much of an influence. I think that my Landspeeder Tornado's are my favourite. The mobility and firepower that they have are just great, often taking out a flanking unit that appeared to be safely hidden or entrenched. Great fun to use even if they do get shot down every game!

What are your favourite units/Characters to have modelled or painted?
My favourite character is my power armoured commander with the power axe. I made him from a Dark Angels sergeant years ago, and use him as a veteran sergeant (as I did in the state tournament) or as my force commander if he is leaving the terminator armour at home. I like the pose that he has, looking a bit more dynamic than most marines that were available at the time. This reflected how I wanted to play nicely. Sadly I have learned a lot since I have painted him but I will hold off on touching him up until more Legion of the Damned have come over to the Paladins. And naturally I like his recent haircut and beard.

What are your plans for this army in the future?(tourneys, adding units, background)
The army will probably have a rest for a little while, as I put in a lot of work getting them ready for the states. I am considereing using them at next years comp, but that will depend on a few things such as if I get enough infantrymen painted between now and then. At the moment I am taking a break from painting red and grey, however the Black Templars release may get me interested in modelling loyalist marines again. Units that I will add are more Tactical Squads, and I will probably get my assault squad up to ten men as well (currently I have seven painted which isn't quite enough). Ideally I'd like to have a full battle company painted up, (six tactical squads, two devastator squads and two assault squads, one command squad) as well as a few supporting units and characters. I have been looking forward to making a command squad from some of my old metal Mk VI power armour models, so that will be fun.

Is there something that makes this army stand out from others of its type?

The colour scheme is the most striking part of the army. The quartered red and grey actually took a fair bit of fine tuning to get right (there is a blobby looking marine at home with quite a few layers of paint who was the guinea pig!), but I am happy with the result now. I decided to use transports for troops too, even though 40kv4 effectively killed the rhino rush, as I simply like the idea of marines in rhinos. And even though there is no more assaulting out of them, they certainly still have their uses setting up fire corridors and providing cover for the troops, blocking line of sight to enemy heavy weapons and generally getting in the way. They may require more skill to use now, but on the right table against the right opponent they can more than make up for their lowly points cost.

What (if any) background and theme have you created for this force?
Over the years I have come up with a fair amount of background for the army. A few events like the create your own chapter competition and the State Championships have helped.
Basically they were created from Imperial Fist geneseed, and are based on the feral world of Exodus Secundus. The natives of Exodus are descended from prisoners who were used as labour on the planet when it was a mining colony early in Imperial history. A bloody revolt left the
convicts in control of the system until they were subjucated to atomic purging by a fleet that didn't have time to deal with the revolution properly. Anarchy resulted in the population descending into feral tribes of barbarians warring over scant resources. These were later selected as recruitment stock for The Paladins of Exodus, a chapter of space marines, created to act as humanities shield in the galactic south east. The convict iconography was carried through into honor and squad markings of the marines, to remind them of their humanity and where they are from. The marines are fiercely loyal to their homeworld (a native Exodan trait where resources are scant) and have clashed with Imperial troops on a number of occasions. They are currently on a 100 year crusade as an act of penance for annihilating the Togari 21st Imperial Guard, who made planetfall on Exodus after rumours of a chaos incursion onto the planet. This crusade has resulted in the Paladins of Exodus venturing far from their regularly patrolled systems, encountering many armies that they would not normally see in the far galactic South East.

How was your experience of the various Tourneys you have entered?
I have only taken the army in two tournaments recently, the state championships and a 40k League of Gents. They played okay at both, but weren't really outstanding at either. Even though I have been collecting and painting for a long time (my scouts are older than a lot of people playing the game now!) I haven't really played a lot of competitive matches. Those that I have played have taught me a lot about the army, including selection as well as tactics, so I hope that I will continue to improve.
The state championships have definitely been the highlight for me to date, and it was great to see some fantastic and different armies there, as well as receive plenty of encouraging comments from other gamers. I'll definitely be there next year, and if it is with the Paladins then they will have received quite a face lift by that stage.

Is there anything you would do differently next time?
Hopefully for the next tournament I will be able to get everything painted and ready sooner than the night before. I have been in three tournaments and one Golden Demon competition, and for all of them I have been forced to rush the last minute preperation the night before. Just once I would like to get a good nights sleep before an event!
As for modelling differences, I will probably try to extend the crusading knights feel that I have created for the chapter, and I would say that a few well placed bits from the templars and inquisitors ranges will do that nicely. My greenstuff skills are also improving, so I might even have a crack at sculpting up some older armour variants.

If you enter again, what kind of force/army would you like to use, and why?
I will probably go with an infantry heavy army next time. I think that space marines have awesome basic troops, and it is easy to get distracted from this by including very powerful and expensive units and characters because you can. Next time I would like to actually design a robust force that is complemented by the odd useful, expensive item, rather than throwing in as many cool things as I can. The idea of an army made up of lots of tac squads, scout squads and points permitting an assault squad and devastator squad has a lot of firepower and it is something I have rarely done. Perhaps a couple of speeders to support the assault squad and my dreadnought to give the tac squads a bit of support. There is also the option of a command squad, and then there is that librarian that I have been meaning to paint. Then there is that Land Raider I have been going to buy....

Golden Demon Questions
Was your entry this year planned soley as a project for Golden Demon?
Although I had several models lying around that I thought were of reasonable quality, I decided to create a new model for golden demon.
Even though I had been careful with the paintwork of some of my other models that I had in my collection, I really felt that they weren't up to speed for a national painting competition.
As I am in the process of creating a new beastman army for fantasy, I decided to use golden demon as an opportunity to create some nice centerpieces for the army. Being new to fantasy it was refreshing and inspiring having so many new models and ideas to work with.

How long did you spend on the various aspects of getting it ready? (planning, converting and painting)
Planning the model took quite a few hours on its own. As there is so much conversion and scratch building involved in this piece, not only did I have to work out what I wanted it to look like, but I then had to decide what models I could use to construct it.
Constructing the model was the most time consuming, as I had to prepare the parts, fit them together, shape and re-shape joins, sculpt with greenstuff, wait for it to dry, re-sculpt, trim and then realise that the pose wasn't quite right, and modify it all. All in all I would say I spent thirty hours constructing the model.
Painting the model was relatively quick, as I wanted to go with fairly earthy tones and have a shambling, organic appearance, rather than clear, bright colours. I spent about five hours painting the trees and dryads, and about ten painting the model itself, and about three painting the base. So a total of 48 hours constructing and painting the model.

Do you have plans to enter next year?
I will definitely be entering the comp next year. I have already started planning entries, and hope to commence modelling some of them soon. Although I don't really know the specific criteria, it is a pretty safe bet that a lot of the categories will have similar guidelines, so I feel I can make a start on some of them now.

How long will you give yourself to complete the entry?
I hope to be entering most 40k and fantasy categories next year, so will begin planning them soon. Hopefully that will mean that I won't be having a late night the night before!

What categories would you plan to enter?
I plan to paint up my Death Guard army this year, and will single out a squad, character, vehicle and large model from it to enter in the competition. There is also a chance that I will be entering some of my beastmen into next years comp as well. So probably a character, unit and perhaps a chariot.

Would you like to see a regional location only based Open Category?
Definitely. I'd love the opportunity to enter a terrain piece or some other narrative work. Both Death Guard and Beastmen have backgrounds and imagery that I would like to explore on larger pieces.