Home of the Fighting Tigers of Veda

Armies of the Jungle: Fearful Symmetry

In this series, we showcase armies used by your humble Jungle Guides. By detailing how the army was collected, how the background and color schemes were developed, and how the army is used on the battlefield, we hope that this series will provide inspiration for those interested in collecting similar armies.

In the chilly dark just before dawn, Shamshir Talatra—accompanied, as always, by Panja, the Vedic Great Tyger—surveyed his army. Once again, the Scepter of Shiva, a holy relic in the form of a curved sword, had done its work well, summoning scores of the fearsome rakshasas, greater and lesser, to the material world.

Tiger-headed humanoids from Lankapura, a realm outside of time and space, the rakshasas had terrorized and preyed upon the humans of Veda ever since it was settled, before the Age of Strife. But no longer. Now, they served Shamshir.

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Veda In the Balance Campaign, Battle #1: Old Grudges Die Hard

by Patrick Eibel and Kenton Kilgore

Huron Blackheart strode from the hastily constructed shanty he was using as a headquarters, and joined the Master of Executions, who was standing in the shadows of the fuel dispensary. The two made a grotesque pair, one disfigured in a long-ago explosion that left his face hideously scarred, the other encased in the skull armor of his station. They surveyed the Red Corsair warband making preparations for battle throughout the bivouac.

“It will be soon,” rasped Huron, “that our old friends the Fighting Tigers will be in the area. No doubt, they intend, like us, to use these abandoned fueling stations to supply their ships.”

The Master of Executions grunted. “The men are not ready. We are too few to wage a full battle as yet.” His voice was flat, dead, the creak of a coffin lid.

“I agree.” If the leader of the Red Corsair warband took any affront to his lieutenant’s lack of deference, he showed no concern.

A dull hum could be heard off in the distance, and Huron turned to watch as a plume of dust approached, kicked up by a rapidly moving vehicle. “That is why I have made other arrangements.” He waved to the others in the warband to let the vehicle approach.

With a loud rumble, a ramshackle bike-like vehicle skidded into the encampment. A large, green Ork disembarked, and, spewing a string of profanity, made his way to the two Red Corsair leaders.

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Deployment for Dumbasses (Like Me): Heavy Support, Part 2

Proper deployment is at least as important to winning as having a good army list is. Though I am by no means a master tactician, I will share with you what I've learned by trial and error (mostly error). 

The lessons in this series won't get fancy or complex: this is basic information that new players or dumbasses like me need to know and remember to better their chances at victory. 

This article was originally posted in 2015, and has been updated for 8th Edition rules.

Welcome to the second installment of this series on how to better deploy your 40K forces. Previously, I discussed best practices for placing Heavy Support units whose main strength is shooting: Space Marine Devastator Squads and Predators, Eldar Dark Reapers, Tau Broadsides, Tyranid Exocrines, etc.

Though most Heavy Support units’ primary task is the shooting of very large guns, a few units are more dedicated to close combat, or for conveying troops from one location to another. There are enough of these units to warrant their own article. Here are some examples:

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Deployment for Dumbasses (Like Me): Heavy Support, Part 1

Proper deployment is at least as important to winning as having a good army list is. Though I am by no means a master tactician, I will share with you what I've learned by trial and error (mostly error). The lessons in this series won't get fancy or complex: this is basic information that new players or dumbasses like me need to know and remember so as to better their chances at victory. 

This article was originally posted in 2015, and has been updated for 8th Edition rules

Back in the 3rd and 4th Editions of Warhammer 40K, Heavy Support units were almost always required to be deployed first, so we’ll start this series by discussing them. And even though you are no longer forced to deploy Heavy Support first, it’s not a bad practice, as often, they are the lynchpin of one’s army. In this post, we’ll discuss “shooty” Heavy Support units.

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Battles with the Becker Boys, Part 4

For almost 20 years, my family and I have been good friends with our neighbors across the street, the Becker’s, who have two sons: Nathan (19) and Dylan (18). The “Becker Boys” are ardent video gamers, and last year, got into 40K, with Nate choosing Space Marines, and Dylan picking up Space Wolves.

In teaching them how to play, we did two demo games against Necrons, then a “for-real” match against my proxied-Tyranids, then a massive contest with lots of figures and vehicles on each side.

The boys went off to school in the fall and played a little bit while they were away. On Christmas break, they came back and we did a holiday-themed game.

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Battles with the Becker Boys, Part 3

The Jungle is turning 20 years old, and we’re celebrating! Come back every day from February 2 through February 8 for new material!

For almost 20 years, my family and I have been good friends with our neighbors across the street, the Becker’s. Our kids are close in age, and have grown up together like siblings. The two “Becker Boys”—Nathan (19) and Dylan (18)—are ardent video gamers, but haven’t been interested in 40K, despite knowing for years that I play.

“Haven’t been interested,” that is, until Nate went off to college, found some friends who are into it, and came back home raving to his little brother about how cool it is. So, in the summer of 2019, I taught them the rules, gave them tips on collecting and painting, and helped them acquire their very own armies. Nate has gone for Space Marines, while Dylan purchased 2000 points of Space Wolves from Jungle Guide Patrick Eibel.

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Tigers of a Different Stripe

The Jungle is turning 20 years old, and we’re celebrating! Come back every day from February 2 through February 8 for new material!

I’m not the only one who has a collection of Fighting Tigers, or a similar army. Here are some examples that people have been kind enough to e-mail me or send to the Jungle’s Facebook page.

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Fighting Tigers Coming to the Biggest Jungle of Them All

The Jungle is turning 20 years old, and we’re celebrating! Come back every day from February 2 through February 8 for new material!

If you’re a long-time visitor to the old version of this site (which you can find here, btw), it’s quite possible that you read one or more of the fan-fiction pieces that I posted there. If you did, I hope you enjoyed them, and if you’d like more, I’m excited to tell you that in the near future, you will be able to get it. Not just on this site, but on another jungle: Amazon.

Yeah, seriously.

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Armies of the Jungle: Kult of Speed

by Patrick Eibel

The Jungle is turning 20 years old, and we’re celebrating! Come back every day from February 2 through February 8 for new material!

In this series, we showcase armies used by your humble Jungle Guides. By detailing how the army was collected, how the background and color schemes were developed, and how the army is used on the battlefield, we hope that this series will provide inspiration for those interested in collecting similar armies.

The Drukhari struck as the line of Ork ramshackle vehicles entered the canyon, dark lances firing beams of energy blacker than the night, the splinter weapons of the Hellions and Scourges bringing down an entire mob of Ork Bikers.

If the Dark Eldar thought that the Greenskins could be cowed by an impressive opening volley, they were sure to be mistaken. “Oi!” Speedo bellowed, pointing into the darkness where their enemies lurked. “Da fun’s not ovah, ladz! Lookee dere! At ‘em, triple time quick quick! Last one dere’s a Stuntie!”

The warband roared ahead, Boyz cackling as they loaded fresh ammunition into their shootas. After running down—and gunning down—the last of the fleeing humans that had set up this archeological dig that the Orks had attacked, Speedo’s ladz had reluctantly turned back, with the bittersweet realization that there was no one left to kill, and that they would have to content themselves with mere looting.

But now! Now, there was a new enemy, one they hadn’t tangled with for quite some time. Joy surged in their chests, as their Trukks bashed, scraped, and shoved each other as their drivers sought to get there first.

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Armies of the Jungle: Fighting Tigers of Veda, “White Tigers” (Shikar #1)

The Jungle is turning 20 years old, and we’re celebrating! Come back every day from February 2 through February 8 for new material!

In this series, we showcase armies used by your humble Jungle Guides. By detailing how the army was collected, how the background and color schemes were developed, and how the army is used on the battlefield, we hope that this series will provide inspiration for those interested in collecting similar armies.

“We have lost contact with Veda.”

There was silence on the bridge of the Battle Barge where the leaders of the Fighting Tigers had gathered. Then Librarian Zaghnal Maratha spoke again.

“It is no mere Warp storm that will subside. It is, I believe, something much worse. The Maelstrom has swelled, shifted, and engulfed Veda. Our home world may very well be no more.”

“What is the latest on the Red Corsairs?” Raja Khandar Madu asked.

“Nothing new,” Kshatriya Jirbu Ghosh replied, “since we engaged that small force on Kepton’s Minl.”

“We cannot abandon our Crusade against them,” Anhurada Chawla, most-senior of the Chaplains, or Tigers of Varuna, said.

“Agreed,” replied Raja Rama Ayodhya. “And we’re also tasked with ridding this sector of the Drukhari and Aeldari, the Orks and Dvergar, the Kurindans and Necrons, and the remnants of Hive Fleet Ravana.” He shook his head. “So many of them, all of them resurgent.”

“Then there is the traitor Shamshir Talatra,” Chandramatie Bahl reminded them, “and his ‘Fearful Symmetry’ of Daemons.”

“Too many threats, all at once,” Khandar Madu said. “And Veda seemingly lost.”

“But we’re strong,” Rama Ayodhya replied. “There are many more of us than even in my first tenure.”

“More of us than ever,” Zaghnal Maratha pointed out, “even than at our Founding. Much more than Guilliman would allow—if he knew.”

Anhurada Chawla frowned. “Varman Kumar would not be pleased.”

“Kumar sanctioned it,” Zaghnal Maratha told her.

“I did not,” she replied.

“Regardless,” Khandar Madu said, rising from the table, “I see no other option but to split the Tigers, at least for a while, but perhaps forever.”

Rama Ayodhya nodded. “Send most of our forces after the Corsairs, and some against the others. I’ll finish off Ravana. They won’t get away from me this time. But I’ll need help, Zaghnal. A lot’s changed between then and now.”

“I’ll be with you, Raja.”

“Shamshir is mine,” Chandramatie Bahl insisted. “For Talwar’s sake.”

“In time,” Khandar Madu told her. “Daksha Ram, you will return to Veda.”

“I hear and obey, Raja.”

“Jirbu Ghosh, it’s fitting that you serve karma as it relates to the Ozone Scorpions. Anhurada, you and I—with Chandramatie’s assistance—will keep pursuing Blackheart.” Khandar Madu looked around the table. “Are we agreed?”

“We are,” Rama Ayodhya said. “Assemble the strike forces. Let the hunts begin.”

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