GW NEWS: Australia Website Reborn

"Do you come from a land down under? Where women glow and men plunder?"

A quick one guys. Hot on the heels of the GW Canada update the old Games Workshop-Australia website has also just been updated to the new-style GW Website. There are now only a couple of countries left with the old-style sites (we're looking at you Italy, and Japan), as the slow web-transition continues.

No word so far as to the Web Exclusive Space Marine Sergeant which was offered with the rollout of some other countries sites. Maybe, or maybe not...

~The changeover of GW-Australia was the final chapter for many of those old Warhammer 40k and Fantasy fluff and Chapter Approved articles from the days of yore. The only old-style sites remaining are non-english.

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40K RUMORS: Space Wolves Chatter

So we have been hearing for months and months that the Sons of Russ are in the pipeline. First it was last holiday season, then it got bounced to the back half of this year and the latest we hear is Q4 of this year.

A sharp-eyed reader has noticed that Games Workshop has just removed the Space Wolves Codex from their website. The rest of the Space Wolves range is here, but no codex! It stands out as a clear contrast to other old armies such as the Dark Eldar who still have their codices up for sale.

Also note the Collectors Range Wolf Guard with Lighting Claws that was just released. Hmmm, the plot thickens...

~You can put 2 and 2 together and theorize to your heart's content.

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40k TACTICA: Killing Nob Bikers, for Bob

Hey all, Jwolf here. So reader Bob asked for a list of what to kill Nob Bikers with for each Codex. I didn’t want to go crazy and promote units that most people wouldn’t take anyway, so here’s the list.

Space Marines: Terminators, especially TH/SS Assault Terminators. Ironclad Dreadnoughts are also pretty good.

Black Templars, Dark Angels: Terminators.

Blood Angels: Terminators and Furioso(s) charging with Dante and Corbulo should kill them all.

Space Wolves: Space Wolf Bloodclaws with many Powerfists can kill a normal Nob Biker Squad. Probably the cheapest Nob Biker Killer unit in the game.

Chaos Space Marines: Lash of Submission and Obliterators/Battlecannons. Follow that up with a charging Defiler and whatever is left is insignificant.

Chaos Daemons: Soulgrinders are very cost effective for killing Nob Bikers. Pretty much anything in the Codex is good for tying them up, though I’d suggest Bloodcrushers and Bloodletters are better choices. Tzneetch Daemon Princes and Fateweaver nearby means doomed Nobs, especially once the Warboss becomes a Spawn.

Orks: Lootas with Nobs to follow up.

Eldar: Fortuned Seer Council charging Doomed Bikers = wins combat and can run them down. Fortuned Harlequins are also a good choice; saves aren’t as good but rends mean more wounds get through. A lucky Mindwar on the Warboss cripples the unit as well.

Dark Eldar: The army that loves to fight only tough things loves to fight Nob Bikers. Dark Lances, Pinning blasts, and Wyches are contemptuous of Nob Bikers and the army anyway.

Witch Hunters: Lurk in Rhinos unit they charge, then pop out and use Divine Guidance flamer spam. It is best to shoot them dead unless you’re a fan of Penitent Engines, but that’s not terribly hard to do if you point the whole army at a single squad. Exorcists are also good things to lay into the Bikers with, though Lootas tend to suppress their fire effectively. The most fun possible way to kill Nob Bikers? A 2+ invulnerable Cannoness with a S:8 Eviscerator killing a couple Nobs and then running them down.

Daemonhunters: Nothing particularly good for the job, but driving around in Landraiders makes it hard for them to do anything to you. Shoot them a lot and charge with Grey Knights once they’re weakened is the best bet, and it’s not a great bet.

Tau: Shoot them with heavy markerlight usage to get them nearly automaticly pinned. Repeat until no more Bikers are alive.

Necrons: C’tan can keep the Nobs from ever being in close combat, so C’tan the Nobs into a corner and shoot them. 2 units of Nob Bikers are a big problem, so kill one first then get to the other.

Imperial Guard: Demolisher and Battle Cannon rounds, followed with gouts of Hellhound promethium while leaving nothing worth killing to attack is the basic plan. Guard can kill Nobs over several turns if they leave the Nobs no way to earn their value easily. Also repeated tank shocks will break them, which is possibly the most fun thing in the game.

Tyranids: Implant attack is the bane of Nobs. Jumping on a unit of Nobs with implant attack Genestealers and Carnifexes will kill them. A Lash Whip Tyrant and Guards will drop the Nobs attacks by 1/3, which means the Carnifexes get to eat them and keep going.

~So there you go Bob – you asked for it, you got it. If any of you have a more efficient way to deal with a large Nob Biker squad, Lets hear about it.

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40K NEWS: New Bitz Additions

A bunch of new bitz have just gone up on the Games Workshop site ready for immediate purchase. Some are incredibly useful for the converter, some...less so.

The new releases are:

Land Raider Terminus Upgrade Kit
Baneblade Sponsons and Accessories
Imperial Guard Tank Accessories
Space Marine Backpacks
Chaos Space Marine Backpacks
Space Marine Jumppacks
Chiurgeon and Cypher Backpacks
Eagle Warriors Shoulderpads
Silver Skulls Shoulderpads

~Hurray for the jump packs and backpacks which are bread and butter bitz for a host of common projects (pre-heresy forces for example). As for the rest, we can all now jump on this seasons newest 40k fashion trend; the "All Chiurgeon All The Time" army. Fabious Bile's backpack... its the new black :)

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Goatboy 40k Thoughts: Rules Lawyers

I started on this topic a bit last week, and wanted to delve into it more this week, right before I head up to Chicago to throw down at Adepticon. We all know what a rules lawyer is. What I want to do is go into the different aspects of rules lawyers as well as ways to play with them.

First lets look at what is a rules lawyer. Lets thank wikipedia for giving me the following definitions.

A rules lawyer is a player in a game who for whatever reason attempts to use an often encyclopedic knowledge of the rules of a subject to gain an advantage, to annoy or to ingratiate himself with other players, to amuse themselves in a round of banter with others, or to test a rule's solidity.

(slang) Someone who knows, or thinks he knows, even the most arcane and technical rules of a game.

A player who seeks to gain game advantage by invocation of the letter of the game's rules.

Lets break down each definition and see what makes this type of rules lawyer annoying or difficult to play with.

Rules Lawyer 1. I am the smartest!

We all have played the players that seem to “know” everything and make it known they know everything. Hell I’ve fallen into that trap, since I play 40k a bunch and have usually taken on just about every army in the book. At a base level, this type of lawyer is usually the easiest to deal with, as well as the most beneficial to the game. You see the rules of the game are meant to be enforced to make the game run smoothly. Knowing the rules or having someone that can help you figure out the rules is a great help in ensuring the game is played smoothly (or as smoothly as can be). Yes it can be annoying to be corrected all the time, but when you are playing something wrong and it creates an unfair advantage, it is helpful to know how it is supposed to work.

As a player, if I feel someone is just spouting too much during a game, or trying to be annoying by pushing the rules, I make them find it and prove it to me. I know that most of the time they are right, but making them look for the rule and prove it lets me learn as well as lets them look right, thus making them not seem as harsh due to proving that they know what they are talking about. Having proof makes you not look like someone trying to push the rules, it just makes you look like someone that is just trying to make everyone play the game right.

Rules Lawyer 2. I think I know my rules but I forget sometimes…

These are the players that are adamantly stating their rules while forgetting they have changed. We have all done this, with many players going through 3 editions of a game change in their hobby life; it is hard to keep all the rules in check. What you once thought was a rock solid rule, has now changed due to rules changes. I have done it, as you could see with the chaos dreadnought thoughts and vehicle LOS. Many players have forgotten a rule an HQ might have now, or thought a stat was higher in this edition then it was in the last. How many times have you thought your Chaplain’s BS is 5 like in the last codex?

If you are playing someone like that, the best option is to just show them the rules. Instead of arguing back and forth about it, keep your cool and just go to the book. Nothing is more concrete than breaking out the rules and making sure things work the way they are supposed too. I know as a player who sometimes falls into this, the best way to break the stalemate/argument is just to look at it and see. There is never a need to argue or fight about anything in this game.

Rule Lawyer 3. Tweaking or mismanaging the rules will get me that win…

This is the rules lawyer most people think about when hearing the word. It is the player that strives to break a rule or misquote a rule to try and create an advantage. You know the player knows the rules, but you don’t as well as they do. So whatever they say, they must be right, no matter how “broken” it seems. This is where the game moves from being fun, to something just not all the enjoyable. Losing is one thing, but losing because someone was not truthful or tried to break the RAW of the rules just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Each army has advantages and disadvantages. They are designed that way to create games that evolve into something more advanced than a pair of 40k monkeys rolling dice. The game’s myriad units, stat lines, and equipment create a game that is more then just army men on the field. We all can’t have copies of every codex or have access to all the armies so knowing everything is a hard thing to master. When facing someone that is known to do this, the best option I have is to ask for proof for anything I feel is fishy. If you think you are getting taken advantage of, call a judge. Nothing shuts down a player like calling a judge and getting a ruling. If you are not in a tournament setting, ask the most experienced player who is NOT playing the game to help you guys resolve the situation. I have found that folks have a very level head and are impartial when it’s not their own plastic soldiers fighting for their plastic lives on the tabletop.

Use the Rules for Good, Never for Evil

The rules are part of the game, and it is up to us to know them and inform our opponents of them. This game is not secretive nor should you rely on rules deception to eek out a win. Each army should be fairly open to any questions due to having lists open to each of the players. It is up to the players to create environments that are both fun as well as exciting to play in. Remember, the game takes at least two people to run and it is up to the players to make sure things move smoothly.

For those reading this and going to Adepticon, I will be getting up there Thursday night. I plan on playing the gladiator on Friday, judging on Saturday and finishing off my gaming weekend with a run in the invitational on Sunday. If you see me, give me a shout. Or yell at me for the dreadnought shenanigans. Either way come and say hi. It would be great to chat with you guys and get some feedback and ideas for upcoming articles/thoughts/etc.

Let hear your thoughts on rules-lawyers and your approaches to dealing with them. I know every one of us has a really good story on this topic… and as usual email me if you have any questions.

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Lugganath Craftworld Logo Sheet

I think It's time for a another detour from our regular marine chapters. I've been meaning to do the Lugganath logo sheet for a while after seeing that beautiful 2-page craftworld spread in the new rulebook. Here you all go!

I have been noting (again) that GW does a great job of covering the major Craftworlds with their decal sheets. However, there are a number of great looking minor ones who get decent back-stories and have great alternative uniform colors that never have had decals produced for them. In the interest of promoting diversity in the Eldar community and encouraging players to branch out beyond the "big 5", I keep knocking out logo sheets for some of these other Craftworlds who I think look great and have no GW decal support.

"The renegades of Lugganath foster close ties with the Harlequins, for they hope to abandon this galaxy and start civilization afresh, claiming the webway as their realm."

That sounds like just the ticket for someone who likes lots of Harlequins, or has a favorite enemy in the Dark Eldar. Here is the link to the PDF file for the decal sheet you can freely pull down and use:

Download Here

The sheet is designed for printout on Decal printer paper which is easily available online. These decals are designed for the CLEAR decal paper. The procedure is as follows:

CLEAR PAPER: If you use the clear decals, the orange decals need to be applied to a light colored surface such as white or light grey to be visible at all. The black ones can go just about anywhere and look good.

Click here for a detailed Custom Decal Tutorial

Size wise, the larger decals towards the top are best used for super heavies/terrain, and move down in size to the large array of infantry/jetbike sized towards the bottom.

In any case, enjoy and I wish you the best in using this set for your forces.

~Please feel free to leave comments if there is a special Chapter, Craftworld, or something else you would love to collect, but have no GW decal options, and I will see what I can do. We are down to just Iybraesil and Kaelor for the Eldar.

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REVIEW: War of the Ring

"In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie..."

Hi all

I said you were going to get a review of War of the Ring, and here you go.

First things first. Put aside everything you have heard of the previous Lord of the Rings efforts from Games Workshop. Forget all those months of skimming over the LoTR section of White Dwarf, as well as walking right past the LoTR minis. We all did it, but just for a second, lets pretend we have never heard of this new game.

And NEW it is. What we have in War of the Ring is an entirely new game, with no similarities with previous efforts, aside from using the existing LoTR minis. This has given Games Workshop a once in decade opportunity to start a new core game from scratch, with a clean slate. The results are impressive.

This isn't going to be one of those micro-level reviews that goes over every rule, so lets hit the highlights.

Playtime: 1-2 hours for a good sized game (2000pts). This game plays 50% to twice as fast as 40k or Warhammer Fantasy. The standard game ends after 8 turns.

Turn sequence: We have a phase interleaved sequence. Basically its I-go-u-go per phase, with a critical Priority Roll determined at the start of each full turn to determine which player will move, shoot, and assault first for that turn. Its kind of a halfway point between the full I-go-u-go of 40k and Fantasy, and the by-unit interleaved structure of Epic.

Full Information: In a nod to some other products such as Flames of War, premeasuring is allowed at all times. This is a big break from the Games Workshop main-line products, and give the game a less adversarial, more skill based feel. If you got yourself into a briar patch, its not because you couldn't have seen it coming, and in one stroke, a lot of the uncertainty and potential deception that one can find in 40k & Fantasy is swept away.

Companies and Formations: Armies consist of formations which are composed of companies of either 8 30mm based infantry models or 2 40mm based cavalry models (in those cool plastic movement trays). For all practical purposes, the individual models are wound counters for the company, making this once again an interesting halfway point between 40k and Epic.


a formation of 2 companies

a damaged formation of 2 companies

Movement: Movement is handled with a trim set of rules governing how to position and move formations. Its a lot easier that it seems, and plays rather like a very fast moving version of the Fantasy Battle movement phase with all the irritating fiddly bits of wheeling, changing formation, and the like thrown out.


a formation of 6 companies

a formation of 6 companies repositioned

Shooting and Assault: Both of these are handled very cleanly with an overall higher bar to strike and wound targets that you are used to in the existing games, due to the lack of saves! Once you've nailed the bad guys, they are out of there, very similar to infantry in Epic.


warg-riders charge Riders of Rohan

casualties after the charge

Morale: After most combats, checks are made and formations occasionally flee, but generally, units just step back and reassess the situation and prepare to reposition or duke it out again the next turn. While not as historically accurate as the rapid chain reaction panic and routing that you often find in Fantasy, the War of the Ring system is a lot more fun, and tends to keep both players "stuck in" later into the game.

Heroes: After all the previous LoTR games, you may well be wondering "It is really all about Frodo?" It is and it isn't. Heroes and villians are aplenty in the game, but with rare exceptions, they are all upgrade characters for formations. What this means, is that yes, Boromir is an Ork buzzsaw, but if you just pound his unit from afar with war machines, or hit him in a well coordinated flank assault, he's going down just like all the dudes around him. In short, you can emphasize heroes if you wish (and there are some really mean ones), but they don't equal an automatic victory and a good general can deal with them with practice.


sampling of heroes

Armies: The best part of War of the Ring for me is the army section. In a throw back to the early days of Warhammer 40k and Fantasy, you get EVERY ARMY in the game in the core book. You just buy this one book, and add minis. There are 10 armies (5 good and 5 naughty), and the forces of good and evil are balanced on the tabletop.

Minis: Virtually the entire range is ready to go after years of buildup with the previous LoTR games. With everything from the terrifying Mumak to the enchanting Goldberry, you can have a grand time building up an army that strikes your fancy after reading the books or watching the films. Many of the minis are quite well priced with several core boxed sets being in the range of $1 per model.





Conclusions: I'm not going to tell you this game is the greatest thing since sliced bread, nor will I tell my fellow Warhammer 40k and Fantasy enthusiasts to drop your current projects, sell them on ebay, and take up War of the Ring. What I will say is Matthew Ward and Jeremy Vetock have done right by Professor Tolkien. This is a strong product. War of the Ring is easily accessible for new players, has a deep miniatures range to back it up, and offers a refreshing "third way" in comparison to the Warhammer 40k and Fantasy product lines which are burdoned with decades of legacy and expectations from the fickle playerbase (that would be us). It has the power of one of the strongest licences on the planet to pull in new players, and is the least burdonsome on the checkbook for them as well.

~I would say in closing to not expect War of the Ring to go away any time soon, and the next time you see a pair of players throwing down at a tabletop near you, don't saunter on by with your nose turned up. Stop for a few minutes and check out the action. You may decide to linger for a bit in Middle-earth.

4 Stars (out of 5)

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Bell of Lost Souls Alliance Blog Network

Highlighting the Best of the Warhammer & Wargaming Blogosphere

Do you have a great Warhammer 40k, Fantasy or Wargaming Blog? Do you love the Games Workshop, Privateer Press, or Flames of War universe and want to expose your hard work to a wide audience of 40k, Fantasy, and Wargaming fanatics? If you answered yes to those questions you may be ready to join the BoLS Alliance Blog Network.

Members of the BoLS Alliance are exclusively displayed on the BoLS front page for all our readers to see and visit. The requirements for inclusion in the BoLS Alliance Blog Network are:

REQUIREMENTS LIST

1) You have a blog that is primarily dedicated to the Miniatures wargaming. It can be Warhammer 40k, Fantasy, LoTR, Privateer Press, or Flames of War. Specialist Games (Epic, BFG, Inquisitor, Blood bowl, Necromunda, and even Dark Heresy) are welcome to.

2) Your blog is more than 3-months old.

3) You post regularly (we leave this one fuzzy, but we all know what that means)

4) Your blog is attractive and well organized, with easy navigation for visitors. Your best content is easily accessible to new readers.

5) You provide an avatar based following or commenting system so readers can identify each other as they visit various blogs. Either the Google Connect Followers Widget or DISQUS will work (or both).

6) You do not use profanity or adult language in any of your post's titles (this can negatively affect all other blogs who include you in blogrolls).

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If you meet all of these requirement, drop either of these identifying links (cut and paste the html below)onto your site somewhere, and email us with your URL. We will get you right in! The BoLS Alliance blogroll will display the 25 most recent members who have posted, so post reguarly to keep from dropping off the bottom.






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BoLS Update: Belloflostsouls.net

UPDATE:
1) The move is over. Keep a sharp eye out, and if anything seems wonky, email us at belloflostsouls@gmail and let us know.

2)"Where are all the comments?" The DISQUS comments are perfectly safe, and we are working with DISQUS to get them re-synched with thier old posts. They will be back very soon. All new posts since Saturday are fine and you can comment away.

3) If anyone has old links or banners on your sites that point to belloflostsouls.blogspot.com please take a couple of minutes to redirect them to http://www.belloflostsouls.net It would mean a lot to us, really!

Hi guys.

We will be moving to www.belloflostsouls.net this weekend, so there may be some little hickups along the way. Everything is being forwarded from our old .blogspot url, so all of our backlinks will be fine. You should redirect automatically.

We will see you on the other side, with all sorts of cool stuff planned for our new home.

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40K Poll: Codex Peoples Choice Awards

Its time to have some FUN over the weekend. So you've all seen Jwolf's opinion of the best and worst of the codices in the game.

We've had a lively discussion, but now its time to turn the mike around to you all.

I just put up a new poll listing all the 16 codices in the Warhammer 40k. Your job is to pick the best 8 (no more or less). As we get the votes in, this should give us a good distribution of where the community thinks the armies lay in terms of power.

~I can't wait to see how this one settles out, and compared to Jwolf's list. By all means speak up guys and lets hear you comments of who you think is the best and worst and why. Remember, reasoned argument, and no chairs! Poll, right hand column, attack!

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EVENT: Battle Bunker Birthday, April 4

Here's a list of the special events for the Glen Burnie Battle Bunker Birthday Bonanza, Saturday, April 4, 10 AM to 9 PM. Note that the special "Celebrate the Day" merchandise will also be available for purchase that day. This may be the biggest Celebrate the Day store event ever!

- Army Speed/Batch Painting: Learn tricks to get your army painted and ready for battle in a short amount of time.
- “The Mighty Gift” LotR Game: Bring 250 points of LotR for an epic battle that will change the fate of Middle Earth.
- “And So It Begins” War of the Ring Battle: The massive battle for the “Rally the Troops” national event. The gigantic War of the Ring battle will cater to both brand new players and experienced gamers alike. Bring your War of the Ring army and get ready for war!
- “Bad Moon Birthday Brawl!” 40K Extravaganza: Bring 1000 pts (no Force Org.) plus one Super-heavy of your choice to this gigantic 40K birthday event. A planetary governor has been targeted by Warboss Gazbag Moonrippa. Will you help him escape the planet or will you collect the bounty?
- “Rise of the Warlord” Fantasy Campaign: This event will be a massive Fantasy campaign in a day. The mightiest warlords from the Fantasy world will gather for the ultimate contest of skill and generalship. Will you be crowned the Warlord of the Fantasy Realm or left bleeding in the dirt? Bring 1500 points (standard organization) with a 500 pt. sidebar and crush your enemies beneath your feet!
- Advanced Painting Master Class: Learn advanced painting techniques for your army from Golden Demon winning painters.

There will also be the unveiling of a massive Birthday Banner for the staff that everyone can sign. If you have any questions, please contact the store at 410-590-8675. The Emperor Wants You To Celebrate This Day!

I've been asked to assist with some of the model painting instruction being given that day, a request to which I've gladly agreed. I've been to four of these Celebrate the Day events in the past and they are always fun. This one has more special events planned than any I've been to previously so it should be a pretty full and entertaining day no matter what game system or aspect of the hobby one enjoys. I hope some of you out there can make it.

On the subject of new store openings, it looks like the new GW store at Fair Oaks Hobby Center, Fairfax, VA will be opening on or about April 16. There's a possibility that I'll be assisting with the festivities on the first Saturday, April 18, much as I did at the Olney store a few months ago. If you have questions about any of the new store openings this spring, please contact GW for more information.

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40K SNEAK PEEK: Sentinel Sprue & More

Images brought to the community by: John's Toy Soldiers

Check out the sprue and Instruction sheet for the new Sentinel kit.




~Notice some of the little things such as the smoke launcher,plastic closed top, and all those weapons. I can't tell if the ankle ball and socket has been beefed up or not...

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40K HOBBY: The Average Guardsman - Part 2

The second in a series of modeling and painting posts by Fade_74

The Average Guardsman - Part 2 | Color Selection and Base Coating

Hello people! Following up on part 1 of this series, today we are going to talk a little about basic colors and then start base coating our average guardsman. By using just a few easy techniques, you easily achieve an above average look for your Imperial Guard, or whatever else you are painting.

Color Selection

Let's talk a bit about color selection. I like to use 2 main colors, one for the uniform and one for the armor and helmet. Any more than two colors and your paint scheme might look a little funky to the eye. Remember that most of the time people will be looking at it from 2-3 feet away. Always use colors of the same tone. A red-brown and a greenish brown won't look right together. Colors that are sold together will be your best bet. All paint companies try make colors that complement each other, including GW. For example:

-Codex Grey goes with Fortress Grey
-Scorched Brown goes with Bestial Brown
-Mordian Blue goes with Ultramarines Blue, etc.

Avoid clashing colors. Yellow and purple, red and green, etc. If a normal person wouldn't wear those colors together, then your models shouldn't either. If you are having problems deciding on a set of colors, look at GW's website. The 'Eavy Metal team has a real eye for color, look at their stuff. Look at the winning models from Games Day. Find a site that shows real world military uniforms. There are a million places to find inspiration. I got my color scheme at Wal-Mart. I looked in the craft paint rack and lo and behold came up with two well matched Greys that I thought would look great together in a city-fight themed army. Once you have your colors picked we can move on to painting.

Priming

The first thing you need to do is prime your mini. Black. Period. Using black primer allows you to add a touch of shading and all your black lining right from the start. Whether you spray it on, or brush it, make it a thin coat. If you use a brush, water down your black quite a bit and go over it a couple times. You should have just enough paint on the mini to color it black and not obscure the details. Don't forget to primer the edges of your base also. It will help paint stick to them later on in the process.

Base Coating
Base coating the clothing and armor always comes next for me. Take a fine brush and outline the items that won't be getting painted. Belts, hands, face, etc. You can do this with paint straight out of the pot, as it will be a little thick and it will create sort of a dam that will help you from getting your colors in places they don't need to go. Don't forget to leave a very thin black line between everything. It will add definition and a clear demarcation between things.........DOH! I was going to have a pic of this step, but I went into a trance and did this and the next step without stopping lol. You will be able to see how I left the black lines in the next pic.


Once you have your outline complete you can start blocking everything in. Now is the time to thin out your paint a bit. The thinner your paint is, the smoother the finish will be when complete, but you will have to paint more coats. I would suggest something a little thicker than milk for most applications. You don't want to have to paint more than 4-5 coats of any one color but you don't want the paint to be globby either. I know this seems a little tedious but the results will be well worth it in the end.


Shading
Now that we have a nice base to work with let's shade a bit. Your shade color should be warm for warm colors, reds, browns, olive greens, and yellows should always be shaded with a darker version of that color, or brown. Cool colors like blue, blue greens, grey, and brown should be shaded with black. You can either use very, very thinned paint (10 to 1), or you can buy a ready mixed wash. I find that the citadel washes work great for me. The one thing you want to watch out for is putting to much wash on. Don't just slop it on. It won't look good. A wash should be painted into the low spots of your mini not painted over the whole thing. If you want to avoid the wash ring effect, put just a drop of dish washing detergent into your mix. It breaks the surface tension of the wash and allows it to flow easily. Allow your mini to dry thoroughly before you move on. And don't worry about any wash that gets in the wrong place. Leave it, as the next step will remedy it very easily.



Next time, we will delve into highlighting, but if you have any questions or comments on this step or others, feel free to post, I will get back to you ASAP! See you around!

P.S. Here are some pics of my finished Macharius tank. It turned out so well that I feel the need to show it off a little. http://www.coolminiornot.com/216478
Please feel free to vote or leave a comment!

Fade_74 has been an avid gamer for 20 odd years. He plays just about everything. His favorite 40k army is Imperial Guard, but he has also been known to collect and play Necrons, Space Marines, and Tau. If you would like to check out some of his other work just follow this link. http://www.coolminiornot.com/artist/Fade+13

~Lets give it up for Fade_74. He's pressing forward with his painting series aimed at everyone, not just the high-end painters and converters. Comment away guys, I'm sure he will be along shortly to answer any of your questions.

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RUMORS: Space Hulk Chatter

Hi guys,

More whispers regarding the best Warhammer 40k boardgame ever made, Space Hulk.

Talk about the tubes is that when Games Workshop sets their mind on something they go all the way. Space Hulk is being described as a full bore rework with all the bells and whistles you could ever want.

Sources say to expect it in Q3 2009, and we have heard tales of modular plastic boards, an extensive set of large scale sprues with all the termys and genestealers you can shake a stick it, and all new fancy elements such as sliding doors and the like. There might even be a need for batteries (perhaps). Expect a full sized boxed game that will make all you cry with tears of joy.

~I was somewhat excited after our last Space Hulk rumor, but its looking like its not going to be just a simple re-release but a hefty overhaul. Now I'm excited!

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SHOWCASE: 40K Scale Warlord Titan

~Hi guys,

You all know how we love to bring you the finest Warhammer 40k crazy projects from across the globe. Well get a load of this Warlord Titan brought to you by California's Dave Smith. Dave, take it away:

Why Did I Do It?

I built the Warlord simply because I wanted titans in my games of Apocalypse, but couldn’t really afford the Forge World Warhounds or Reavers, well I could… but I’m married with kids after all. At first, I was going to make a Warhound, but figured that GW would eventually make a plastic kit in the future, and I might as well make something big if I was going to go through the effort of scratch building.











Project Overview

I started with the Epic mini and I scaled it from that. A lot of people think this thing should be huge… like six feet tall, but I’m used to the epic scale and I based it off that. I like the size and it will play well with existing Reavers. My Warlord is about 28 inches tall. Basically, I compared the mini to other epic minis like Leman Russes and Land Raiders and built it from there. Actually, its scale is a little bigger than Epic comparatively.

I roughed the whole thing out in foam board and was too lazy to snap pics of it after that. I layered thin sheets of styrene plastic “armor” on top of the foam board to tighten up corners and to build in the “crevices” between armor plates. It’s equipped with two Volcano Cannons which can be separated from the arm if I choose to add a different gun, but nothing else is built at this time.

I used a lot of bits from my Leman Russ Battle Company, but even that wasn’t enough. I cast a bunch of bits from the Imperial Sector and Space marine kits—mainly skulls, eagles, and engine pieces. I also used Forge World brass etched eagles. All the styrene, bits, and paint added up to be about $200 bucks in materials. I kept running out of styrene and had to buy more. Don’t cheap out if you build one of these things, it’s worth it in the end.

Originally, I wasn’t planning on using a base, but the upper body was so top heavy, that I felt I had no choice. My only regret is that the ankles are a bit “wobbly”. I should have been more careful and reinforced them with wood or something. When I started, they felt firm.

I used Photoshop for my banners. I scanned in Baneblade decals to start with and added from there.

Big tip: I used wood glue for my foam board and strips of cut-up Bristol board (thick art paper) to cover the foam. Also, get “The Chopper”, a styrene cutter; it works great and is worth the cost.

Eventually, I will add a crew to the cockpit and LED lights, but that’s another project. I want a Reaver crew, but Forge World doesn’t sell them separately. If anyone can help me get a crew, let me know. I fielded this baby in a huge Apoc game at the LA Battle Bunker where it was finally destroyed by four Necron Pylons. It is on display there, so check it out if you are in the area. I also play Epic at the bunker on the last Saturday of every month, so stop by or join the club.









Dave Smith has been into Warhammer 40k and Specialist Games, like Epic, since 2nd edition. He was an Outrider back in the day—back when you got the games for free and a few weeks early. He has kids, so he's been into GW off and on during the last four years. Dave is a professional artist of sorts, mainly as a digital painter. As a part of Liquid Graphics, he colored popular comics like X-men, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man. Lately, he teaches Photoshop/Illustrator and paint backgrounds for Eli’s Dirty Jokes (starting with episode #30), so check them out on Youtube.

~Give it up for Dave folks. That may be the finest Warlord I've seen since Apocalypse has hit the scene. She's the right scale, and ready to rumble on the tabletop in style. I'm sure Dave will be along soon to chime in on your comments.

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GW NEWS: GW Canada Reborn

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

A quick one guys. The old Games Workshop-Canada website has quietly sunk beneath the waves, to be reborn as the new-style GW Website. There are now only a few countries left with the old-style sites (we're looking at you Australia, Italy, and Japan), as the slow web-transition continues.

As with other web-site rollouts, Games Workshop is offering the Web Exclusive Space Marine Sergeant for those who order over $100 from the new Canada site.

~If anyone wants any of those old Warhammer 40k and Fantasy fluff and Chapter Approved articles from the days of yore, GW Australia may be your last chance...

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40K RUMORS: Plastic Trygons Ahoy?

OK gang,

Some nice Warhammer 40k detective work has been has been done by the fellows at Warpshadow, so lets just throw up a few interesting pictures and let you all decide...

If you all remember way back in the days right after the release of Apocalypse there was a 2-3 month period where folks were saying Games Workshop had done a lot of experimental work on converting Forgeworld kits to plastic as a test of ther new fangled CAD-design technology.

As we have seen with the Stompa, some of those kits just hitting the shelves now were almost done, or well into design way back then. There was talk of Thunderbolts, Stompas, Valkyries, Thunderhawks, and Trygons...oh my! :)

Well take a look at these three pictures and tell me what you see.


Forgeworld Trygon


Trygon from Apocalypse Book, p.29 (From Below...)


Phil Kelly Trygon from the now defunct GW-Canada website

~You all notice anything interesting in those last 2 pictures? It would seem that as with the Planetstrike terrain in the BGB, someone at GW has a great sense of humor about putting upcoming releases right in front of our faces for months. It may be time to break out the magnifying glasses and start going on Apocalypse release hunts in all our existing books gentlemen... What this means in terms of the release schedule is unclear.

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40k Radio Webzine Issue#1 Released

The crazy Freebootaz fans of 40K Radio have gotten together and created their very own Webzine. Its a really impressive first release, and if you like FIREBASE, you should check it out.

The Freebootaz Webzine is a bi-monthly publication, concentrating on Warhammer 40,000.

"I’m sure you will find that this debut issue is packed with great information, ranging from How to Paint Faces to Tips & Tactics, as well as great stories in the Fan Fiction segment. Not to mention it is full of amazing fan artwork as well!" - UnrealG, Editor

The Freebootaz Webzine is a free download available here:

www.40kradio.com/webzine

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NEWS: Adepticon 2 Week Warning

With only two weeks left until AdeptiCon 2009, hobbyists across the country and the world are furiously painting to finish up their armies for the “Can’t Miss” event of the year in the Games Workshop miniature wargaming hobby. April 3rd-5th, 2009 will bring hundreds of gamers and hobbyists from across the world to Chicago for a weekend of fun and excitement.

AdeptiCon 2009 Online Registration Closes on March 27th, 2009, at 1700 (5:00 PM) CST
If you haven’t registered yet for AdeptiCon 2009, what are you waiting for? Online registration will close at five PM on Friday, March 27th. After that, you will be able to register onsite at AdeptiCon beginning Friday, April 3rd…but who want’s to risk not participating in your events of choice? Register online today at http://www.adepticon.org/cart to make sure that your weekend is packed full of miniature wargaming goodness.

New AdeptiCon 2009 Guest of Honor: Gav Thorpe
Due to circumstances outside of our control, Alessio Cavatore will be unable to attend AdeptiCon 2009. Never fear – because Gav Thorpe has just confirmed that he will be in attendance.

Prior to becoming a freelance writer, Gav Thorpe worked for Games Workshop as lead background designer, overseeing and contributing to the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 worlds. He has written numerous novels and short stories set in the fictional worlds of Games Workshop, including the Time of Legends 'The Sundering' series, the seminal Dark Angels novel Angels of Darkness, and the Last Chancers omnibus. He lives in Nottingham, UK, with his mechanical hamster, Dennis.

Find out more about Gav at his blog: Mechanical Hamster

I Spy With My Little Eye, Something That Begins with an F…
Free Swag! The first 800 AdeptiCon attendees will receive an Chaos Dwarf Lord from Avatars of War:
http://www.arena-deathmatch.com/images/aow15_blister.jpg

I Spy With My Little Eye, Something That Begins with an M…
More Free Swag! The first 750 AdeptiCon attendees will also receive a set of special AdeptiCon deployment zone markers, courtesy of AdeptiCon sponsor Gale Force 9(http://www.gf9.com/).
http://www.adepticon.org/images/gf9dz.jpg

I Spy With My Little Eye, Something That Begins with an E…
Even More Free Swag! Additionally, players in many of our tournaments will receive objective markers and/or tokens that will be used during the event, and taken home afterwards! Check out some of our tournament marker/tokens below, created by Flying Tricycle (http://www.flyingtricycle.com/):

Lord of the Ring Tokens
http://www.adepticon.org/images/lotrtoken3.jpg (Shot of both/Skull side

40K Team Tournament Tokens
http://www.adepticon.org/images/ttcc5.jpg (all four head on)

From the High Seas, to Middle Earth, to the Red Orktober
Due to the popularity of our non-competitive open gaming and demo events, we’ve worked to add more such events to our roster. We’re adding demos of Warhammer Historical: Trafalgar, War of the Rings, and the Sabol Designs-sponsored “Hunt Within Red Orktober!”

Trafalgar – Age of Sail Naval Combat – Times TBD – Sign up onsite! Sponsored by the Last Square, Warhammer Historical and Lithko Aerosystems.

War of the Rings Demos – Times TBD – Sign up onsite! Sponsored by the Games Workshop Chicago Battle Bunker.

Sunday 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM – The Hunt Within Red Orktober - Sponsored by Sabol Designs. For more information download the PDF below:
http://www.adepticon.org/files/2009Orktober.pdf

Sponsor Spotlights: Sabol Designs & Armorcast
We’ve created two more Sponsor Spotlights, highlighting longtime AdeptiCon Sponsors Armorcast and Sabol Designs. Find out more about these two companies by clicking on the links below.
http://www.adepticon.org/files/2009armorcast.pdf
http://www.adepticon.org/files/2009sabol.pdf

40K Tournament Rules Update
With the recent release of new FAQs and datasheets by Games Workshop, we’ve updated the INAT FAQ and our allowed armies/units lists to reflect these changes. We’ve also added some new questions to the INAT FAQ that have been asked by attendees.

We’ve taken a conscious effort to not reverse previous rulings or listings, but if you’re playing in a 40K Tournament and want to make sure your army list is legal, or how the judges will rule on contentious issues, check out the documents below:

INAT v2.2 http://www.adepticon.org/files/INATFAQv2.2.pdf

Allowed 40K Army Lists: http://www.adepticon.org/09rules/0940KArmyList.pdf

Allowed Forgeworld/Apocalypse Units (only applies to the 40K Gladiator): http://www.adepticon.org/09rules/0940KIAList.pdf

Sponsor Highlight: DragonflyMini.com
In need of a commission painter? Well then your search might be over! For your next painting project consider DragonflyMini.com. Professional, quality service is their standby. With a list of services from army, to character painting and gift certificates there's something for everyone. DragonflyMini.com- your home for high end artistry, without the high end price!

~And I just put the final touches on my last Gladiator mini...whew! See you all there. BoLS is sending up 8 guys this year, so look for the Bell of Lost Souls shirts. Bigred, Jwolf, Goatboy, and many others will be there, so if you want to say hi, tell us we are idiots, or go grab a brewski, here's your chance.

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: Don't get Ruled Out.

Goatboy here, and let me start by saying I was wrong. The trick with Chaos Dreadnoughts I was talking about does not work, according to the nice people at GW who wrote the books. Dreadnoughts, like every other model in 40K, can see 360 degrees around themselves, and only worry about Arc of Sight for weapons after they choose their targets. That said, a lot of you were swayed to my side of the argument, and that brings me to my topic for this week – rules abuse.

When we come to the table to play a game, we have an idea of the rules of the game that is probably at least slightly different than our opponent’s idea, even if both are experienced players and neither wants to twist the rules to gain personal advantage.
It is important to know the rules of the game, and being able to know when an opponent has made a mistake and call them on it is important in competitive play. The pitfall to avoid is reading part of Rule A, part of Rule B, and creating Rule C that is sort of like those two put together, and just happens to give you a big advantage. Most players don’t have the familiarity with the rules to deal with this kind of manipulation, so most rules lawyers can get away with it at the table. Later, though, when you look through the rules, you realize that Rule C doesn’t really exist, and you want to rip that guy’s head off. Don’t be that guy.

Forgetful Opponents

We all forget the rules from time to time, but try to have all the important stats and abilities of your army correct 100% of the time. Also, don’t be the guy that forgets that you can’t shoot with one guy and run with the rest of the squad, or anything like that. Practice for fun like it was for real, so when you’re playing a serious game you don’t screw up as much. That doesn’t mean being a jerk about mistakes your opponent makes in a pick-up game, but it does mean trying to make no mistakes yourself. Depending on the opponent, you may or may not point out their mistakes in the game, so they can play a tighter game as well.

How do we keep the rules?

First, have the rulebooks and codices for the armies you’re playing. Explain your list to your opponent, and make sure they know how any tricky things in your army work. Anything that feels hidden can make a player feel cheated, and no good player wants to win by taking advantage of their opponent’s ignorance.

Second, ask a judge. Outside of a tournament, there may not be a judge, but there are probably other gamers around that know the rules, so ask their opinion. If it’s just the players and you can’t figure it out, right it down, dice it off, and look it up later.

Lastly, ask questions if you think something strange is going on. Just because your opponent has a fully painted army and seems to play all the time doesn’t mean they are right; even the best players make mistakes, and I’ve know players to make the same mistake for a long time before someone helped them see their mistake by asking the right question.

I know a lot of this is common knowledge to most seasoned players. But I don’t know how many times I have seen people “cheated” by misrepresentation of the rules. Whether it is on purpose or on accident doesn’t matter, as you are the opponent and it is your job to make sure that things are run smoothly and correctly. The game is more then just rolling dice and moving plastic guys around. You need to interact with your opponent to help create a fun experience; no matter what army you are playing.

I will be heading to Chicago for Adepticon soon, and beyond that I am trying to finish up some painting commissions at the same time. I have both my armies done, so really I am just waiting for the date to rotate around. I just wanted to give a heads up for some upcoming articles that I plan on doing. The wash article will be coming, I just need to get BigRed’s camera set up and get to painting. Most likely I will take a bunch of ork models, do one step at a time on each one to show you how I do it from beginning to end etc. Beyond the painting article I borrowed a Tau army and plan on playing them a bit to see if I can find other tactics that might help the Tau players out there. 

Oh and a quick question for those getting up to Adepticon, how do you plan on dealing with the ork menace? Comment away, lets see if we all can figure out how to deal with them. As usual, send me an email with any questions you might have and good luck with your games.

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40K NEWS: Valkyrie Price Increase

Well it looks like the pricing rumors were true folks.

If you go look at the Valkyrie Advanced Orders page, you will note the price is now set at $58.00, up from the $50.00 it was at over the weekend.

~Is a price increase that occurs before the product ships really a price increase? Its almost a "one hand clapping" type of question...

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NEWS: New GW Stores, Events

Games Workshop is opening new stores in the US at the following locations:

• Fair Oaks Hobby Center, Fairfax, VA


• Gig Harbor Hobby Center, Gig Harbor, WA


• Royal Oaks Hobby Center, Houston, TX


• Coles Crossing Hobby Center, Cypress, TX


• Empire Hobby Center, Antioch, CA


• Copperwood Village Hobby Center, Houston, TX

An updated list of GW US Hobby Center birthday parties is also now available as well as the general Hobby Center events calendar for the next few months.

And of course, don't forget that Games Day Baltimore is now less than two months away. There are still open spaces for people wishing to show off their armies by participating in Armies On Parade.

On top of the good news about new store openings, there's a massive event going on at the Battle Bunker in Glen Burnie, MD on Saturday, April 4. It's the Bunker's Birthday Celebration. Besides the special merchandise, there are battle events for all three major GW game systems, raffles, contests and more. If you're in the area, be sure and come by and check it out. Maybe I'll see some of you there!

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40K EDITORIAL: The Also-ran Armies

Hi, Jwolf here. Last week I posted my top 8 codices in Fifth Edition; thanks all who put thought into their comments and gave their experience of armies in Fifth Edition. Here’s my list of the bottom half of the armies in Fifth Edition, based on what I’ve seen at the tables.

9) Blood Angels - Blood Angels can concentrate their forces to be better than Black Templars in one small area of the board. The problem is, you really have to pack the Blood Angels in to make the most of Dante’s Aura of Win, and that makes them very vulnerable to Battle Cannons and other very bad things. It also means that the enemy only has to avoid one knot of destruction until it is pounded to dust.

10) Dark Eldar – These guys can pull off a win against any force, and really do hand Nidzilla a bucket of pain. I just don’t have enough experience with them in Fifth to have a lot of respect for an army that my lifetime record is entirely lopsided against, but I’m grabbing a Dark Eldar army soon, so we’ll see what I have to say about these guys in 6 months.

11) Witchhunters – Acts of Faith are just plain cheating in a prescribed manner, and can do a lot to change the course of a game, if used well. The significant reduction of the Exorcist’s ability to destroy AV 14 means that the girls are expected to use Melta against Landraiders full of very bad men, instead of on the men themselves, which makes them less effective. It doesn’t take an overwhelming amount of firepower to kill half a dozen AV 11 transports, and then the Sisters are using their faith up to stay alive.

12) Space Wolves – Space Wolves? I almost forget about the Space Wolves – Fourth Edition saw these guys fade from glory for most local players, and having a phantom Codex means no new players pick them up. Space Wolves suffer from downsides in Fifth Edition (TLOS makes them more shootable, outflanking makes Wolf Scouts less unique) and get very few upsides. The end of Blood Claw Rhino rushes was the end of a Golden Age for these guys. Still a strong army in close combat, they would probably be higher on my list if I saw them more often.

13) Tau – Wow, did Tau vehicles get a huge relative boost to survivability in Fifth Edition. That said, the Tau are incredibly vulnerable to fast or outflanking assaulters and deepstriking or outflanking shooters. Which means every Marine, Guard, and Ork army that exists locally. Tau can still win, but their gunlines and crisis suits are far more vulnerable in Fifth Edition than they were in Fourth, and their vehicles don’t have the firepower to stop any army’s infantry.

14) Dark Angels – Dark Angels have the coolest scoring unit rules and some of the most interesting special army builds in the game. The only problem is they’re worse in every other way than every other Marine force, and thus really great models with really great fluff are now successor chapters that play as normal Space Marines. Having 26 scoring units doesn’t help when they’re all dead.

15) Daemonhunters – You would think with the addition of an entire Codex of Daemons added these guy would be better, but you’d be wrong. Grey Knights are such wonderful models and I do really love to have them on the field, but a small Power Armor GK squad costs as much as a Leman Russ Battle Tank, with neither the survivability or killing power of the tank. The bright spots are the Inquisitor with Mystics that seems to find space in my roster (riding on the rear running boards of my Leman Russ Demolisher) and the still effective Force Weapon of the horribly expensive GK Grand Master. 200 points gets you 10 wounds of Bloodcrushers or 4 wounds of GK Terminators. Guess which is more maneuverable, has more attacks, and wins every time?

16) Necrons – What’s worse than being expensive and ineffective in close assault? Being expensive and ineffective in close assault AND requiring large unit sizes to maximize the benefits of your special abilities. The new assault rules, the new vehicle damage table, the reduced penalty for hitting skimmers in close combat, run and outflank all turn the happy robots into the basement of 40K. Necrons are the only army that got worse in every phase of the game for all their major units (though Flayed Ones and C’tan are at least arguably better).

Closing Thoughts
And a couple of closing remarks. I’ve recently started playing Warhammer Fantasy as well as 40K, and the balance in 40K is a lot tighter than in Fantasy. I would not recommend that a new player start a bottom half army, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with any army in 40K that skill and practice can’t at least partially mitigate.

Also reading comments and looking at armies other people play successfully, I can’t help but wonder if there is a whole lot of large midfield LOS-blocking terrain being used in other areas (there isn’t much locally, nor is there much at tournaments). If the battlefield is 30+% completely LOS-blocked (even for models as large as Land Raiders), the balance radically shifts towards a more Fourth Edition game that would change the ratings considerably.

~If you’re certain that your army is incorrectly maligned, feel free to come play a game or three sometime. I’m at Battleforge Games in Austin every Thursday night. I welcome the chance to get educated.

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Generic Imperial Guard Logo Sheet

Did someone ask for generic Imperial Guard logos?? You all asked (loudly) and you shall recieve.

We are all starting to ramp up our Imperial Guard armies, and gearing up for the row upon row of infantry and tanks that will soon be on our painting tables. As we gather together our IG companies and vehicle squadrons, one of the most fun parts is designing the iconography for our forces. GW does a great job with their Imperial Guard decal sheet, but there are just too many cool army logos, and vehicle/infantry squad markings for those sheets to handle. Here is a logo sheet providing a set of army logos (upper left) vehicle squadron color bands (middle), and infantry squad markings (bottom). The goal of this sheet is to allow you to keep all of your infantry squads/platoons, and vehicle squadrons identifiable across even a very large army. I have also thrown in a set of colorful names, and some regiment stencils for some of our favorite forces. Its just what any self-respecting colonel would want to decorate his forces.

Here is the link to the PDF file for the logo sheet you can freely pull down and use:

Download Here

The sheet is designed for printout on Decal printer paper which is easily available online. These decals are designed for the WHITE or CLEAR decal paper. The procedure is as follows:

WHITE PAPER: Most of the color squares and army logos are designed for white paper. You will need to cut the logos out exactly (which is why most of them are squares), and can then apply them to any color background. They will completely cover any background color.

CLEAR PAPER: If you use the clear decals, the decals need to be applied to a light colored surface to be visible at all. The procedure for applying the text decals is to apply them to a light color, and wait till they are fully dried. You do not need to cut them out right up to the edge.

Click here for a detailed Custom Decal Tutorial

This entire sheet is sized for tanks, down to sentinels and even infantry shoulder-plates for the bottom squad markings. The infantry markings can also be placed on the back edge of the model's base, facing the controlling player to help keep your squads seperate. Please make sure you run off a test sheet first on your printer to make sure they will fit your models, and scale the sheet up or down as needed in your print settings.

In any case, enjoy and I wish you the best in using this set for your forces.

~Please feel free to leave comments if there is a special Chapter, Craftworld, or something else you would love to collect, but have no GW decal options, and I will see what I can do.

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40 RUMORS: Planetstrike Whispers

Rumors brought to the community via Warseer's The Dude

Hi guys, here is the latest talk about town regarding Planetstrike, the next 40K release after Imperial Guard.

Planet Strike will supposedly come sooner than expected. I’m told July at the latest.

RULES
In a game of Planet Strike, the Attacker/Defender split will be very important, with them possibly getting different FOCs.

Defender
-Gets to place all terrain on the battlefield and picks his table edge.
-He can declare Terrain to be dangerous if he wants (Mined for example) although it’s not clear how much he can do this for.
-There will be buildings with mounted weapons, like armed bunkers etc. Probably, the defender will have to place all of his army.

Attacker
-May place some Craters to get some cover.
-May move in from his table edge, Deep Strike and Outflank, similar to a "Dawn of War" Scenario.
-May also get some goodies like a prepared Artillery fire on the defending units, special equipment etc.
-Will most likely get first Turn.

MINIS
New multipart plastic terrain kit similar to the Cities of Death ruins. With enough of those you will possibly be able to build fortresses, defensive structures for tanks, or control towers, outposts etc. These are believed to be seen on p.81 (bastion), p.230 (bastion, barricades, autocannon AA turret), p.243 (bastion) in the 40K rulebook.

-Aircraft landing pad
-New craters
-Ironclad Dreadnaught
-Land Speeder Storm
-Vulkan Hes'tan
-Plastic Thunderhawk is again mentioned.

~Quite interesting. Its another "Cities of Death" type release, that serves as a platform for another set of terrain models. This time instead of GW buildings and ruins, we get modular defensive structures, pretty cool! It would seem they are cramming the 2nd wave Marine releases int there with it.

As for the plastic thunderhawk, its entered "Loch Ness Monster" status after almost 2 years of speculation, but lets be honest for a moment. Games Workshop would be silly to not at least do preliminary research on what could be a big selling and very profitable kit, aimed squarely at their best-selling army. We've been told that they have gotten a bit farther than prelininary research.

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40K TACTICA: Adeptus Arbites

“It is better that one innocent man suffer than ten guilty men escape.”
- Misquoted British jurist (pre-unification Terra)

~Something a little different this time. Our Lead Tester has decided to tell you guys the secrets to kicking butt with my favorite BoLS minidex, the Adeptus Arbites. Take it away Geoffrey:

We’ve all seen riot police marching with their shields and batons, throwing an occasional smoke grenade into a boisterous crowd. In turn they’re smashed with rocks, Molotov cocktails and baseball bats, along with an array of other improvised weaponry. What would a riot in the forty-first millennium be like? Apparently, things are a lot less peaceful thirty-eight thousand years from now, but the path to pacification remains unchanged. The riot police of Warhammer 40K are the Adeptus Arbites, and while their gear is high-tech in comparison to that of present day, their function is the same – hold back the upstart protesters, quell rioting mobs, and restore order to His Imperium for the good of its citizens.

Testing the Arbites army list was a great time. What initially got me excited about them was their ‘Thin Black Line’ concept; while the initial deployment of Arbiters holds off an advancing mob, their supporting forces are circumnavigating the area, waiting to outflank and contain the coming riot. Reserve units use the ‘Units Inbound’ special rule to enter play anywhere on the table that isn’t in an opponent’s deployment zone. This is especially useful in Spearhead missions where there’s a full 180” of board edge from which to enter (as opposed to the other two deployment options that give 120” and 144”).

Being an anti-horde army, the Arbites are the masters of anti-personnel weaponry. Their basic troop weapon is the Arbites Shotgun (arguably better than a bolter!). Their squad upgrade weapons either enhance their anti-horde capabilities, or enhance their anti-horde capabilities… and by the way, did I happen to mention that they can take on hordes of enemy troops? Their primary supporting units (like Suppression Platforms and Storm Teams) are anti-horde as well; in case that isn’t enough to take on a horde army, they have a heavy tank with an awesome anti-horde option. Hordes beware! Oh yeah, important detail here – almost all of their guns ignore cover!

The Arbites are great at tying units up in close combat. Their ‘Riot Tactics’ special rule makes it impossible for any unit to hit them on a 3+. This isn’t a huge bonus for troops with the stat line of guardsmen, but when combined with defensive grenades, its’ benefits become more apparent. You might ask “Why would a unit like Arbitrators want to put so many points into slowing an opponent’s charge?” Uhm, yeah, they’re the cops!

Can you guess the weakness of an army that’s frighteningly efficient at killing troops? If you guessed “It costs $1000 because every model is metal,” then you’re only half correct. Armor. Armored units are difficult for the Arbites to handle. The judges are good at stalling vehicles with their Lockdown Grenades, but eliminating them is a different story.

Another glaring weakness is the army’s low toughness and relatively weak armor saves. Carapace isn’t terrible, but as any Eldar player whose toughness 3 Aspect Warriors have been mowed down by a single Heavy Flamer will tell you, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.

Finally, while the Thin Black Line and Units Inbound can be great advantages in many situations, they can also hurt you. These rules force you to make do with your Troops selections until you roll high enough to bring in those much-needed reserves. – which might never show up. However, odds are that you’ll get 25% more of your army on turn two, another 16% on turn three, and another 7% on turn four. Have faith in the Emperor, for in case the unthinkable happens (about 1 in 50 chance) and your final unit doesn’t come in on turn four, it’s guaranteed to show up on turn five.

Due to the Thin Black Line rule there are a limited number of units the Arbites can utilize at the start of the game. Most Arbites forces will field as many units of basic Arbitrator Teams as possible; they’re scoring units, they carry Arbites Shotguns and Grenade Launchers, they gain the benefit of 4+ cover saves from terrain, as well as other units (making them highly resilient), and they’re extremely cheap to field. Consequently, this is the unit that got the greatest amount of testing. Balancing its ability to ‘dakka’ enemy troops to death was difficult, ultimately resulting in the restriction to a single Arbites Grenade Launcher per squad.

The other units available for your initial deployment are HQ characters, Execution Teams, Sharpshooter Teams, Sentinel Squadrons, and Suppression Platforms. While these are valuable units, most tactical requirements point towards Arbitrator Teams being the most useful in the greatest number of situations. However, that should not stop you from making great use of these units, as their bonuses are plentiful and obvious:

BS4 Sentinels – Outflanking and shooting at enemy armor from the sides is an invaluable ability.
Massed Grenade Launcher blast fire that wounds on 3+ – They’re great against Ork and ‘Nid hordes.
BS4 Sniper Rifles (Space Marines don’t even get them!) – Wave goodbye to those pesky C’Tan.
Arbites equivalent to Death Cult Assassins – No one likes heavy weapons teams hiding out in ruins.
Stubborn characters giving units the Stubborn USR – Holding out against dedicated close combat units for several turns is amazing.

Now we’ll get to the next bunch of units. They’re the most controversial in the codex; they’re the type of units that make you sit up and take notice… and they have to! Any unit that can’t begin the game on the table and has no guarantee of joining the fight for several turns has to pack a significant punch.

Shock Teams are nothing less than amazing. On the offense a fully equipped unit has the potential to wound any unit on a 4+, and the ability to re-roll to-wound rolls against T3 models. It’s not spectacular against units of Space Marines or Necrons, but it’s nothing to laugh at. Against models that rely on their high toughness to keep them safe, it’s phenomenal: Wraithlords, Marine Bikers, Elite Carnifexes, Greater Daemons, Daemon Princes – the list goes on! In fact, the more beastly the target, the more appealing of an option the Shock Team becomes due to their 4+ invulnerable saves.

The Pursuit Team is a highly specialized kind of unit. It exists mainly as a delivery system for one of its weapons. If you need an auto-hit against a stationary vehicle with a Breaching Charge, this is the way to do it. Is a squad of Storm Guardians heavily clumped together after rolling a ‘1’ for its consolidation move? Send in a fast-moving flamer to burn them out. Do you need to stay a step ahead of an advancing horde of Gaunts? Move 12” and drop a lot of ‘dakka’ on them with twin-linked bolters and an Arbites Grenade Launcher. Do you need to risk a unit to contest an objective in the bottom of the 5th turn? Turbo Boost them 24”.

Storm Teams are the all-purpose death-dealers of the codex. They can be equipped for a variety of roles, most of which will be useful. Given a quad load out of template and blast weapons, they can dish out the pain; if you want them up close and personal for maximum effect, deep strike them on top of a multi-comm. They can also fill a deep-striking anti-tank roll when equipped with a pair of plasma guns and a Proctor with Breaching Charges.

Finally, the Black Maria is the crown jewel of the list’s Heavy Support selections. But why pay 140 points for this clunker? Three reasons: 1) Its main gun is amazing, possessing both anti-tank and anti-troop capability (almost unheard of nowadays), 2) it can outflank to maximize the gun’s potential against armor or LOS-protected units, and 3) it has AV12 on every side; the potential damage from frag- and krak-equipped units is minimal; no unit is going to glance this baby to death!

Tactical sensibility says that once a unit gets charged, it’s better that they’re wiped out; you can fire at their killers the following turn. The alternative is a lot uglier: the charging enemy unit is locked in combat during your following turn, eliminates your squad, and is free to repeat the process when they’re able to move again. This is, of course, the worst case scenario.

The Arbites deal with scenarios like this by following a few easy steps. The first step is to make sure that any enemy unit that charges them has already been whittled down to a manageable size. Manageable is a relative term, but it’s pretty easy to gauge depending on the army you’re facing.

While testing this army, there were several games I lost where a single Venerable Dreadnought locked in combat was able to contest my only objective, or break and run-down multiple units. Models like this (including Sentinels, Killer Cans, Defilers, Soul Grinders and Penitent Engines) are extremely difficult for your basic troopers to deal with. They must either be constantly locked down, or avoided until a suitable solution can be found; the best I discovered was a unit outflanking and shooting it in its vulnerable rear armor (usually with Multi-laser equipped Sentinels). Other dangerous units include Land Raider Redeemers, Terminators with Storm Shields, or just about any unit that is loaded out with multiple decent saving throws (i.e. Plague Marines).

Geoffrey Snider (BoLS Lead Testing Magos)

~Bigred here, Did any of you guys ever finish up Arbites armies. I remember quite a few of you were pulling minis off of dusty shelves, and planning Arbites purchases from the Necromunda range to get you started. I would love to hear your battlefield exploits or see some pics of your armies. If you are a new reader and don't know what the Adeptus Arbites are all about, grab the minidex, grab a cold drink, and enjoy!

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40K News: IG Advanced Orders Up

Hi guys,

Games Workshop put up some of the first wave Imperial Guard releases on the Advanced Orders Page.

-Codex Imperial Guard $25
-Imperial Guard Valkyrie $50
-Imperial Guard Sentinel $25
-Imperial Guard Cadian Command Squad $Not listed
-Imperial Guard Catachan Command Squad $25
-Imperial Guard Ratlings $20
-Imperial Guard Primaris Psyker $15

~Its our first sight of the box for the new Sentinel, featuring a missile launcher on the rear one (I think).

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NEWS: Games Workshop Closings

Hi all,

We've been hearing all kinds of news from across the country regarding Games Workshop stores and reorganizations. In no particular order:

North America HQ Re-organization
Apparently in a major re-shuffle the GW-US and GW-Canada groups have been integrated, with many folks getting pink slips as part of the corporate re-shuffling. There is now reportedly one new GW-North America group with responsibility for both US and Canadian operations.

Store Closings
We have heard word of multiple stores being shuttered in the Southern California region, and the shutdown of the Memphis TN, Battle Bunker, along with associated layoffs. There are also reports of sporadic layoffs across the country at GW stores in various locations.

~Talk is that GW's numbers have been holding up fairly well, and thier last financial report was positive. Perhaps they are tightening the belt as they face the headwinds of the recession, or are just implementing a long-planned corporate reshuffle. If anyone is seeing anything odd with your local GW store, lets hear it.

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EPIC: Getting Started With Epic

A guest article by Global Epic-Evangelist: GR00V3R

This week’s Epic post discusses how to start collecting an army to get into this great game without breaking the bank. I've outlined four different and effective 1,000-point starting armies: Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Eldar, and Orks. I’ve described the strengths and weaknesses of each army (and with which you should already be familiar if you play WH40K), and also tried to describe how you might choose to play this force. Finally, I’ve put prices for each of the box sets or blisters you would need (in US Dollars) to give you some idea of the entry cost.

NOTE: Given the current fluctuating currencies situation, these prices--while accurate at time of writing--could be entirely out of whack by the time you read this, so I recommend you check the current prices on the GW online store.

At 1,000 points, your options are pretty limited, as are the forces you can muster. The usual game size you’ll read about in battle reports is around 3,000 points. Do you remember when you were starting out with Warhammer 40,000, though? You probably started with a 500-point army then. It didn’t offer you the scope that a 2,000-point game provides, but it was fun and it was a start. Well, a 1,000-point Epic army is roughly the equivalent of that 500-point Warhammer 40,000 army. You’ll appreciate, then, that--at 1,000 points--there’s a lot of room for growth.

Some existing players may disagree with these army selections, but (in my defence) I have focussed here primarily on keeping the cost of entry low while retaining reasonable effectiveness.

Imperial Guard (Steel Legion)
Strengths: Large armour formations, super-heavies, long-range artillery, and cheap infantry.
Weaknesses: Their troops die easily.



One Imperial Guard Infantry Company box: $20.00
One Imperial Guard Leman Russ Tank Company: $45.00
Total cost: $65.00

You could combine these units several ways to make a 1,000-point army, going with either an armor- or infantry-focussed force. One possible combination would be:

Infantry Company (17 units, 350pts)
1 Commander
12 Infantry
2 Ogryns
2 Snipers

Tank Company (10 units, 650pts)
9 Leman Russ tanks
1 Leman Russ Vanquisher

Tactica
This Imperial Guard army wins by destroying the enemy’s will to fight. Aim to achieve the Break Their Spirit and Blitzkrieg victory conditions.

Space Marines (Codex Astartes)
Strengths: Flexible and exceptionally tough infantry. Fast and hard-hitting.
Weaknesses: With small and expensive formations, marines are always outnumbered and therefore susceptible to out-manoeuvring on the ground. They require high mobility to be truly effective.



One Battle Company box set: $20.00
One Space Marine Character blister pack: $17.00
One Space Marine Rhinos blister pack: $25.00
Total cost: $62.00

With these, you can easily make the following 1,000-point army:

Tactical Detachment (9 units, 400pts)
6 Tactical marines stands armed with bolters and one missile launcher per 10 models
3 Rhinos
1 Supreme Commander

Tactical Detachment (9 units, 350pts)
6 Tactical marines stands armed with bolters and one missile launcher for every two stands
3 Rhinos
1 Librarian

Devastator Detachment (4 units, 250pts)
4 Devastator marines stands armed with bolters and two missile launchers per stand

Tactica
With this army, a reasonable game plan would be to hold your own blitz objective with the Devastator detachment and hold the other two objectives in your half with the two Tactical detachments for the Defend The Flag victory condition, while also doing your best to ensure there are no unbroken enemy formations in your half of the table for the They Shall Not Pass condition.

Eldar (Biel Tan Swordwind)
Strengths: The Eldar are fast. No other army can get around the battlefield as quickly thanks to their high-speed skimmer vehicles. Also, the Farsight and Hit And Run Tactics abilities provide the Eldar a tactical flexibility that their opponents can only dream about.
Weaknesses: Expensive formations. Armour formations are fragile, both in terms of armour and suppression (they are easily broken). They require high mobility to be truly effective.



One Eldar Warhost box set: $20.00
One Eldar Court Of The Young King blister: $20
One Eldar Anti Grav Platforms blister: $15
Two Eldar Fire Prism Grav Tanks blisters: $17 each ($34)
Total cost: $89.00

The Eldar Warhost box set provides a lot of flexibility by providing both Guardians and Aspect warriors. With these, one possible 1,000-point Guardian-centric army might be the following:

Eldar Guardian Warhost (11 units, 300pts)
7 Guardians stands and 1 Farseer
3 Support Weapon platforms

Eldar Guardian Warhost (10 units, 250pts)
7 Guardians stands and 1 Farseer
2 Support Weapon platforms
Swords of Vaul Troupe (6 units, 390pts)
6 Fire Prisms

Wraithgate (50pts)
1 Wraithgate objective replacement

Avatar (0pts)
1 Avatar (see special rules)

Tactica
With 1,000 points, it is difficult to bring the Eldar’s speed to the fore for their troops (by purchasing transports), but you can still bring plenty of pain. With Hit And Run Tactics rules are used effectively, the Fire Prisms can be particularly nasty, and with this force you would use them to achieve your BTS victory condition. The second victory condition will be more difficult, but They Shall Not Pass or Take And Hold should be achieveable.

The Ork (Ghazgkhull’s Warhorde)
Strengths: Large formations and cheap infantry.
Weaknesses: High Initiative rating means they often fail to execute orders that contradict the Ork nature.



One Ork Warband box set: $20.00
One Ork Gunwagonz blister pack: $20.00
One Ork Big Gunz blister pack: $25.00
One Ork Character blister pack: $20.00
Total cost: $85.00

Here’s one possible 1,000-point combination of angry Ork:

Big-sized Warband (45 units, 850pts)
1 Warlord
8 Big Gunz
24 Boyz
8 Grotz
4 Nobz

Normal-sized Blitz Brigade (4 units, 150pts)
4 Gunwagonz

Tactica
Dese ’ere Orkz winz by destroyin’ daiz enemees ’olesale. Weez wantz ta Breakz Dair Spiritz! An’ den takez dair Blitz objectivez!

VASSAL40K:Epic
For those of you who are still unsure about Epic and hesitant to expend your hard-earned without ever having played the game, I highly recommend you check out VASSAL40K:Epic, available from http://www.vassal40k.com/

VASSAL40K:Epic is an invaluable learning and play-testing tool, not to mention great for producing battle report diagrams. Why not try play-testing the armies I’ve listed above?
The tool is expected to expand soon to include the Eldar and other armies, which will be great to see.

Further reading
If you want to learn about force composition, I highly recommend you read Moko Cwiklinski’s excellent article Building and Using Epic Armies, which discusses in detail many of the ideas I’ve mentioned in passing.



You’ll find the article on the Games Workshop server at http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1320014_Epic_Building_and_Using_Armies.pdf

For those of you who prefer to jump straight in--none of this mamby-pamby “toe in the water” stuff for you!; you know who you are--there’s a great discussion about 2,000-point starting armies that’s been running on TacComs:

http://www.tacticalwargames.net/forums/index.cgi?act=ST;f=4;t=14539;hl=

Thanks to Mark Logue and Onyx for the use (again) of their images. Special thanks in particular to Dezartfox, developer of VASSAL40K:Epic, who has done a great, great thing by producing the Epic module for VASSAL. You are so very high in my Cool Book right now...

~Give it up for GR00V3R guys, and let him know what articles you would like to see next regarding Epic.

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40K NEWS: Shadowsword Apocalypse Formations

Hi guys,

Games Workshop has kicked out 2 new 40k Apocalypse formations for the new plastic Shadowsword in the latest White Dwarf. They should be making thier way to the website in due time:

Shadowsword Domination Force
1 Shadowsword, 3-6 Leman Russ, optional other vehicles like Sentinels. In a nutshell, if the Shadowsword loses a structure point it can pass it off as a destroyed result on a Leman Russ. If a Sentinel is available in the formation, it can take the destroyed for the Russ.

Iron Saint
It has 5 special crewmen and costs 850 points! Basically, each crewman gives the vehicle a special ability or strategic asset which is lost when he is killed. Each time the tank would lose a structure point, roll a D6, on a 6 one of the special crew is killed instead of losing the structure point.

~These two are just what the doctor ordered. In Apoc now, the dominant force on the table are often dual turbo-laser warhounds which offer a nasty punch-to cost ratio and eat the baneblade family for breakfast. The titan-killer family (shadowswords, cobras, etc...) needed some way to survive a few turns to be able to get some shots in to bring down the big guys, and both of these formations do exactly that.

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40K RUMORS: Imperial Guard HQ, Troops & Elite Info

Rumors brought to the community by Estalia-Cordoba's Glandalf sama and Warseer's The Dude

~You all didn't think we were done did you? There is a ton of Imperial Guard stuff breaking over the last 24 hours!

HEADQUARTERS
Chenkov
-Is a Special Character Infantry Platoon commander
- Can upgrade the conscript squad in his platoon to allow him to use the order ‘Send in the next wave’ for 75 points.
- ‘Send in the next wave’: The squad is immediately removed and next turn comes from the table edge (like reserves) at full starting strength.

Al'Rahem
Allows a unit to Fire in the shooting phase and still run.
Instakills on a roll of a 6 in combat

Mogul Kamir
He and his unit are subject to Rage.

Sly Marbo
Deploys similar to a Callidus Assassin. Has a Demo Charge and always wound on 2+'s in assault. He also retains his Sniper Pistol.

There is a Tank Commander upgrade, called Sergeant (?) Pasc, he gives the tank a BS of 4 and has an additional special ability against tanks and Monsterous Creatures, he costs around 50pts.

Order Rules:
- HQ Commanders must order first, then Platoon Commanders, then Squad commanders (if they can)
- Done at the start of the shooting phase. If a unit does any action in the shooting phase before orders are given, they cant benefit from any order
- Vox allows a unit to reroll failed Ld tests for orders
- Company Officer can give 2 orders and may order any squad with a vox or within 12”
- Platoon officers can give 1 order and may order any squad in their platoons with a vox or within 6”
- Some squad leaders can order their own squad (Veterans?)
- Unit must pass a Ld test, Double one means they understand and can take another Order, passed Ld means 1 order, failed Ld means no Order and Double 6 means no Order and unit does nothing this turn.
- A double 6 on a Ld test will prevent any further orders in that turn.

List of Orders:
-Tank!: +1 AP against vehicles (possibly Tank Hunter)
-Fire in ranks: All weapons may fire 1 extra shot (May only be Lasguns)
-Down!: A unit which goes to ground gains an additional +1 Cover Save bonus
- Move!: A unit rolls 2D6 when running and picks the highest
- (HQ Commander only): Bring it down! Twin links weapons shooting at tanks, MC’s etc.
- Rally: Instantly rallies a unit, can be used to lose the downside of using ‘Down!’

-Basic Company Commanders are around 50pts.

-Officers are NO LONGER Independent Characters.

-The new Advisors, Officer of the Fleet, Master of Ordnance and Astropath are around 30pts each, Sanctioned Pyskers are no longer Advisor upgrades.

-Bodyguards are around 15pts and allow you to allocate two wounds which would affect their officer against them instead.

-Medics now give the unit the Feel No Pain USR.

ELITES
Stormtroopers are 16pts each, you may pick one of three missions, Behind Enemy Lines which grants the USR Move Though Cover, Recon which grants Out Flank or Arial Assualt which gives them a reroll of scatter dice for deep strike and Valkyrie disembarks.

-Sanctioned Psykers - Have a number of powers:
- The Psykers may drop 1 Ld from an enemy unit for every sanctioned psyker alive at the time. - Soulstorm is range:36 SX AP:d6 Heavy1, Blast. Gains +1 Strength per psyker in the unit.
- Comes as a Sanctioned Psyker unit, of 4-9 Psykers and a Commissar Handler.
-The Pysker Chior starts at around 60pts for an Overseer and 4 Pyskers.
- On any perils of the warp the Commissar will shoot D3 Psykers.

TROOPS
-Infantry Platoons consist of, Command Section, 2-5 Infantry Squads, 0-5 Heavy Weapons Squads, 0-3 Special Weapons Squads, 0-1 Conscript Platoons

-The 2-5 Infantry Squads can be marged into a single unit.

-Infantry Squad come in at 50pts, weapons options come in at 5pts for Mortars, 10pts for Heavy Bolters and Autocannon, 15pts for Missile Launchers, 20pts for Lascannon, 5pts for Grenade Launchers and Flamers, 10pts for Meltaguns and 15pts for Plasma Guns.

-Heavy Weapons Squads start at 60pts with 3 Mortars, and each weapon can be upgraded as follows, 5pts for Heavy Bolters and Autocannon, 10pts for Missile Launchers, 15pts for Lascannon.

-Special Weapons Squads are able to take 3 Demo Charges.

-Conscripts are Lasgun only units.

-Commissars come in at about 35pts basic.

-Veterans Squads may take Carapace.

~Standard caveats apply until the Fly Lords get some eyeballs on the Codex, but these seem very plausible based on all the other info we've seen. Stormtroopers seem a little on the high side, and either IG commanders will have to stay close, give up orders for distant units, or spend the points on voxes. I'm also thinking the new verb for IG codex will soon be "You have been Marboed".

UPDATE: This list is by no means complete. Don't assume that if something is not listed here it is not in the codex.

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40K RUMORS: Imperial Guard Fast & Heavy Info

Rumors brought to the community by Estalia-Cordoba's Glandalf sama and Warseer's Hoarmurel

So folks from Spain are saying they have seen hard copies of the codex and are offering up the following details on the Fast Attack and Heavu Support sections.

Fast Attack:
- Fast Tanks Squadron:
- You may choose any of the following tanks in a 1-3 tank squadron.
- Hellhound: 130 pts. Tank, fast. You can change the heavy bolter by a flamer for free or by a multi-melta by 15 pts. Extra armour 15 pts, searchlight 1 pts, heavy stubborn 10 pts, hunter-killer missile 10 pts, dozer blade 10 pts.
- Banewolf: 130 pts. Tank, fast. You can change the heavy bolter by a flamer for free or by a multi-melta by 15 pts. Extra armour 15 pts, searchlight 1 pts, heavy stubborn 10 pts, hunter-killer missile 10 pts, dozer blade 10 pts.
- Devil Dog: 120 pts. Tank, fast. You can change the heavy bolter by a flamer for free or by a multi-melta by 15 pts. Extra armour 15 pts, searchlight 1 pts, heavy stubborn 10 pts, hunter-killer missile 10 pts, dozer blade 10 pts.

The entire squadron can buy smoke launchers for 5 pts/mini or camo-netting for 20 pts/mini.

- Sentinel Squadron:
- Scout Sentinel: 35 pts, open-topped, scouts, move through cover, multilaser. Auto-cannon 5 pts, heavy flamer 5 pts, missile launcher 10 pts, laser cannon 15 pts. Searchlight 1 pt, hunter-killer missile 10 pts, the entire squadron can buy smoke launcher for 5 pts/mini and/or camo-netting for 10 pts / mini.

- Valkyrie: 100 pts.. Armour: 12-12-10
Skimmer, fast, scout, may deep strike
Equipment and weapons: extra armour, searchlight, 2 hellstrike missiles, multilaser
Options: change multilaser to laser-cannon +15 pts, change hellstrike missile for 2 multiple rockets pods for +30 pts, heavy bolters for +10 pts.
Can be bought in a 1-3 squadron.
Transport 12 models, they have the “grav chute insertion” (deep strike from the valk)

- Vendetta: 130 pts.. Armour: 12-12-10
Skimmer, fast, scout, may deep strike
Equipment and weapons: extra armour, searchlight, 3 twin-linked las-cannons
Options: change 2 las-cannon for 2 hellfury missiles for free, heavy bolters for +10 pts.
Can be bought in a 1-3 squadron.
Transport 12 models, they have the “grav chute insertion” rule.

Heavy Support:
Lemas Russ Squadron
Composition:vehicle squadron composed of 1-3 Leman Russ or Leman Russ Demolishers in any combination.

- Leman Russ Battle Tank. 150 pts Hull Heavy Bolter. May change it for a lascannon for 15 pts, may have sponsons with: heavy bolters 20 pts, multi-melta 30 pts, plasma cannons 40 pts.
LR may have Heavy stubborn for 10 pts, dozer blade 10 pts, h-k missile 10 pts, extra armour 15 pts. Entire squadron with camo-netting for 20 pts/model. One of the squadron tanks can be the squadron leader for 50 pts.

Same options for the next tanks:

- Leman Russ Exterminator: 150 pts.
- Leman Russ Vanquiser: 155 pts.
- Leman Russ Eradicator: 160 pts.
- Leman Russ Demolisher: 165 pts.
- Leman Russ Punisher: 180 pts.
- Leman Russ Executioner: 190 pts.

Artillery Squadron, 1-3 models in a squadron. Same options as the LR’s. Can be topped for 15 pts / model, the camo-netting cost 30 pts /model.

- Basilisk: 125 pts.
- Medusa: 135 pts. Can buy siege bombs for 5 pts.
- Colossus: 140 pts.
- Griffon: 75 pts.
- Hydra: 75 pts. Camo-netting cost 20 pts for it.

The following vehicles cannot be bought in a squadron:

- Manticore: 160 pts.
- Deathstrike: 160 pts.

~Standard caveats apply until the Fly Lords get some eyeballs on the Codex, but these seem very plausible based on all the other info we've seen. It would seem the tanks and thier upgrades in general are going up in cost, to go with some of ther new abilities. That Valkyrie/Vendetta is point costed to fly off of shelves. Heck, an IG army that is going heavy Valks may be more mobile than an Eldar force at this rate. I shudder to consider the possibilities of 9 Hellhound/Devildog combos.... The Ork horde may have finally found its match.

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40K HOBBY: Whats On Your Painting table?

Hi folks, a little evening diversion from all the rules and tactics stuff. Look what I got in! Oh these are going to be so fun for my evil master plan... One down, two to go.

~Why don't you share what you're working on right now. When you're in the middle of a big project, its nice to get inspired by all the cool stiff I know the BoLS readers are painting up at this very moment.

PS, what do you think the plural of Arvus is? I think Arvii has a nice ring to it.

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40K NEWS: Imperial Guard Retailer Brief

~Hi guys, boy has the tipline (upper right column) been buzzing of late. Here is a basic rundown of the upcoming IG codex sent to retailers to help explain the upcoming Warhammer 40k release. There are some more nice confirmations in there, after all these months of rumors and speculation.

Release Summary:
The new Codex is designed around the Imperial Guard Infantry Company - a rank upon rank of soldiers supported by a huge array of armoured vehicles and battle tanks. The range is well supported with plastic box sets for two famous Imperial Guard regiments - the Catachan Jungle Fighters and Cadian Shock Troops - as well as a number of vehicles including battle tanks, troop transports and scout walkers.

The key themes of the Imperial Guard army - lots of men, lots of tanks - are highlighted in this Codex. Infantry Platoon squads can be deployed together as a single scoring unit of up to fifty men can (sic), and tanks can be chosen in squadrons of up to three vehicles: this brutal mass of bodies and armour is what the Imperial Guard is all about.

The Codex includes a number of special characters, including famous officers such as Captain Al'Rahem of the Tallarn Desert Raiders, Commander Chenkov of Valhalla and Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken of Catachan. Each of these characters has a unique rule or set of orders that conveys the character of his home regiment. In addition, legends such as Commissar Yarrick and Ursarkar Creed are brought up to date, and new characters such as Knight Commander Pask of Cadia and the Catachan Devil Gunnery Sergeant Harker are presented.

Features & Benefits of Codex: Imperial Guard:
- Reduced points costs and Infantry Platoon special rules allow Imperial Guard armies to rival even Ork and Tyranid hordes for huge units. Plastic box sets and the two Battleforce sets allow customers to build such an army quickly and conveniently.

- Chimera fighting vehicles are now the standard Transport upgrade for Imperial Guard squads, and can be chosen without need for special rules or variant army organisation: any Imperial Guard army can be fielded as Mechanised Infantry.

- Command Squads can now influence nearby Infantry Squads through the use of the orders rules. These range from allowing nearby Guardsmen an extra shot with their lasguns, benefiting from improved cover saves, or receiving a bonus to their anti-tank shooting. These rules make the Command Squads more important than ever before, and introduce a new dynamic into the Imperial Guard army.

- Tanks can be fielded in squadrons of up to three vehicles as a single choice on the Force Organisation chart, allowing players to include more than ever in their armies.

- The expanded army list includes several tank designs available from Forge World, such as the Medusa, Hydra Flak Tank and Leman Russ Vanquisher.

- This book revisits many of the Imperial themes of the Guard army, including new character types like Astropaths, Primaris Psykers and Lord Commissars. Touches like these firmly place these human soldiers in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium."

- Leman Russ special rule: "Lumbering Behemoth" - a Leman Russ that remained stationary or moved up to 6" can fire its turret weapon in addition to any other weapons it may fire - even if the turret weapon is ordnance.

Models
May 2nd
-Cadian Shock Troops (box of 10 plastic guardsmen). "Can be used to build Infantry Squads and Conscript Squads, and more exotic squads such as Veteran Squads and Penal Legion squads. Repackaged box set offers an Infantry Squad in a single purchase, and includes options for flamers, grenade launchers, vox-caster and Sergeant. Vox-casters are more useful than ever before as they allow officers to re-roll the Leadership test to determine whether their orders are issued successfully or not.

-Catachan Jungle Fighters (box of 10 plastic guardsmen). Same info as above.

-Imperial Guard Command Squad (5 figure plastic box set). "79 components on sprue, including plasma gun, meltagun sniper rifle, heavy flamer, respirators, power weapon and power fist."

-Catachan Command Squad (5 figure plastic box set). "81 components on sprue, including plasma gun, meltagun, sniper rifle, heavy flamer, power weapon and power fist."

-Primaris Psyker (1 figure blister). HQ choice Psyker Lord. Lightning Arc: Assault 2D6 Strength 6 psychic attack. Nightshroud: enemy units must pass a Leadership test to shoot the Psyker or his squad.

-Imperial Guard Sentinel (1 figure box set). Can build a single Armoured Sentinel or Scout Sentinel from the Imperial Guard Codex. Armoured Sentinels have Front Armour 12, Scout Sentinels are open-topped but have the Scouts and Move Through Cover special rules. Weapon options include multi-laser, autocannon, lascannon, heavy flamer, plasma cannon, and missile launcher. Replaces all existing Sentinel box sets in range. Can be upgraded with hunter-killer missiles, searchlights, camo netting and smoke launchers.

-Imperial Guard Ratlings (5 figure blister). Abhuman snipers with Stealth and Infiltrate special rules. Characteristic snacks modelled onto bases. Sculpted by Dave Thomas.

-Imperial Guard Valkyrie (1 plastic model kit). Includes multi-laser and lascannon weapon options, multiple rocket pods and Hellstrike missiles, plus optional heavy bolter sponsons. Includes new clear plastic flying stand for Warhammer 40,000 vehicles. Can be fielded in squadrons of 1-3 Valkyrie Assault Carriers per Fast Attack choice. Transport capacity of 12 models. Grav Chute Insertion: embarked squads can deep strike over any point the Valkyrie moves over in its Movement phase, taking dangerous terrain tests as they land.

May 16
-Imperial Guard Cadian Battleforce. - Imperial Guard Cadian Command Squad, 20 Imperial Guard Cadian Shock Troops, 3 Imperial Guard Cadian Heavy Weapons Teams, 1 Imperial Guard Sentinel.

-Imperial Guard Catachan Battleforce. -Imperial Guard Catachan Command Squad, 20 Imperial Guard Catachan Jungle Fighters, 3 Imperial Guard Catachan Heavy Weapons Teams, 1 Imperial Guard Sentinel.

-Imperial Guard Regimental Advisors (3 figure blister). Includes Officer of the Fleet, Astropath and Master of Ordnance. Can be added to Imperial Guard Command Company HQ Squad. Whilst the Officer of the Fleet is alive, your opponent must subtract 1 from all his reserves rolls. Add +1 to all reserves rolls whilst the Astropath is alive. Master of Ordnance can unleash a Strength 9, AP3 Ordnance Barrage with unlimited range if he does not move.

-Imperial Guard Lord Commissar (1 figure blister). HQ choice: leader-commissar who inspires his troops by leading from the front.

~Now we know the contents of the Battleforces, and the detailed wording of the Leman Russ' Lumbering Behemoth rule; boy is it sick. And is it just me, or the description of the Valkyrie's flying base worded to make it seem that others flyers could be coming in the future? GUARDSMEN, READY, AIM, COMMENT!!!

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NEWS: Adepticon 2009 March Update

AdeptiCon 2009 News – Incursion APE’s, Mold-making and Casting, and More!

http://www.adepticon.org/images/2009buzzsaw.gif

Less than four weeks until AdeptiCon 2009, the “Can’t Miss” event of the Games Workshop miniature wargaming hobby! April 3rd-5th, 2009 will bring hundreds of gamers and hobbyists from across the world to Chicago for a weekend of fun and excitement.

2009 AdeptiCon Model Released
The first 800 AdeptiCon attendees will receive their own Grunt APE II model for the new Grindhouse Games miniature wargame/board game Incursion.

http://static1.shopify.com/s/files/1/0022/6852/products/INC102_Grunt_APE_2_large1.jpg?1236478471

Incursion is set in the world of Grindhouse Games’ Secrets of the Third Reich, where American Armored Personal Exoskeletons (APEs) form the front line in Weird War II against the twisted creations of the Third Reich’s Special Weapons Development (SWD).
San Antonio Texas based Grindhouse Games has worked with West Wind Productions to develop Secrets of the Third Reich. They have just gone out on their own and launched a new and expanding miniatures range and website to support their new Weird War II boardgame: Incursion - while continuing to support Secrets of the Third Reich. Jim and John Bailey of Grindhouse Games also run the Alamo Warhammer Indie Grand Tournament in San Antonio every year. As fellow Grand Tournament organizers, Jim and John along with sculptor Seth Nash are thrilled to support the Adepticon.
Find out more about Incursion and Grindhouse Games at: http://www.incursiongame.com/

New Seminar Added and Registration Update!
We’ve added a new hobby seminar to our schedule – Michael Harmon, of Reynolds Advanced Materials, will teach a special seminar on mold-making and casting. Tickets for this seminar are only $8, and will run on Saturday, April 4th, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

Over a dozen events have already filled up, and others are close to capacity as online registration continues at a brisk pace. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to attend the event of your choice – register online today at http://www.adepticon.org/cart/ and purchase your weekend badge and the event tickets you need.

Sponsor Spotlight: Battle Foam
We recently had a chance to talk to Romeo of Battle Foam, one of our newest AdeptiCon sponsors. Find out more about Batte Foam and see pictures of their newest trays and army cases by downloading the Sponsor Spotlight at the link below:
http://www.adepticon.org/files/2009battlefoam.pdf

Road to AdeptiCon: Warhammer and Lord of the Rings Development Reports
Frank Brown and Brent Sinclair continue documenting the process of creating their Lord of the Rings Team Tournament army, while James Hyde and Caius Jennison do the same with their Warhammer Fantasy Team Tournament army.

Download these articles from the links below:
Building a LotR Tournament Army - Part 2 (From Theme to List) Frank Brown & Brent Sinclair
Building a Warhammer Team Tournament Army - Part 2 James Hyde & Caius Jennison

AdeptiCon 2009 Hotel Information – Deadline Extended!
Our original block of hotel rooms are filled, but we’ve gotten additional rooms added and the deadline extended for one week. If you want to make sure you get our discounted room rate, make your reservations today! After Monday March 16th, we won’t be able to help you save money on your hotel stay.

The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
70 Yorktown Center,
Lombard, Illinois 60148
Phone: (630) 719-8000 - Fax: (630) 719-8079
AdeptiCon Room Rate: $109.00/night - Parking: Free
Group rate available until March 11, 2009 (Subject to availability)

Reservations can be made by calling the The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center directly (1-630-719-8000) or by visiting http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0808063151&key=1184D

Full details of our host can be found on http://www.adepticon.org/modules.php?name=Hotel

Registration Deadline Approaching!
Remember, online registration will close on Friday, March 27th at 1700 CST. After that, you’ll have to take your chances and register in-person at AdeptiCon on April 3rd, 4th, & 5th.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to attend the event of your choice – register online today at http://www.adepticon.org/cart/ and purchase your weekend badge and the event tickets you need.

Sponsor Highlight : BK Army Painting
BK Army Painting is your complete miniature painting solution - a US-based painting studio specializing in painting whole armies to a quality tabletop standard, at a reasonable cost. Don’t settle for playing with poorly-painted miniatures, or worse – bare metal and plastic. Visit http://www.bkarmypainting.com/ to find out how BK Army Painting can meet your army painting needs.

~The Fly Lords are putting the finishing touches on our Gladiator entries now (expect more info on them as time goes on). We will see you all there.

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40K NEWS: March 2009 Main Rulebook FAQ

Quick one everybody,

Games Workshop have posted an update to the Warhammer 40k Rulebook FAQ, labelled March 2009. The changes from last time are in blue.

~Oh, even more sadness for Artillery, and that objective one is interesting...

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: How I plan my army.

Hi, Goatboy here. Between Jwolf, and myself, we have a lot of 40k tournament experience with lots of different armies. I prefer the go to your throat style list, while Jwolf likes a much more, shootie army. We might have two different play styles, but we plan our armies in the same way. We look at what we commonly see and try to create ways for our armies to either exploit a common tactic or generate some kind of advantage that most opponents find hard to deal with. So today, I’ve decided to go into an army build of mine I plan on taking to the invitational at Adepticon 2009.

I have decided to take a Death Guard list that is built upon using rhinos and superior short range fire power to hopefully deal with Orks and any other type of list I might see out there. So let’s take a look at the basic list. Total points is 1850.

HQ: DP, Wings, Warptime, Mark of Nurgle
HQ: DP, Wings, Warptime, Mark of Nurgle
Elites: Dreadnought, Multi-Melta
Elites: Dreadnought, Multi-Melta
Troops: Plague Marines (8), Plasma Gun (2), Plague Champion, Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (8), Plasma Gun (2), Plague Champion, Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (7), Melta Gun (2), Plague Champion, Combi-Melta, Personal Icon, Power Fist, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (7), Melta Gun (2), Plague Champion, Combi-Melta, Personal Icon, Power Fist, Rhino
Heavy: Obliterators (2)

Now let’s get into why I took each part of the army, and what I hope they will do for me during any general game. I plan on going into what I think the common armies will be, and hopefully how I can deal with them.

HQs

First off are the HQ’s. So first of all, this is a chaos army that doesn’t have lash princes/lash sorcerers/lash spam. The reason I decided to go away from this is that most enemies see a lash-whatever and decide it should die right away. Whatever the HQ is, it will receive a ton of fire in hopes to killing it off immediately. I know in most games I play against any type of lash, I usually just shoot them to pieces. They are not all that tough mixed in with either a large size or in a unit that isn’t the most effective. A Nurgle DP won’t get nearly the amount of firepower thrown at it due to not being nearly as game breaking as a well-timed lash. What it will do for me is give my army two extremely tough assault opponents that are normally guaranteed to throw down 4+ wounds in any given combat. This can give them the ability to cause a massive swing in any assault I might face. Warptime is easily the second best psychic power chaos has access too, and if it wasn’t for the game breaking ability of lash, you would see a lot more Warptime princes/sorcerers. Now if you could only have a lord with access to it, Daemon weapon would be so much more fun. 10 wounds on Nob Bikerz, is still a ton of stuff to try and deal with for them. You have a good chance to kill out 3 or so guys and cause enough wounds to win combat and cause them to run away. You have wings too so there is a good chance you can catch them and make a nice green paste out of em. Also two DP’s versus TH/SS termies is another nice win for them. Normally you see 5, termys and 10 wounds should take them down to 2 or so models. That isn’t enough attacks to ensure a won combat and most likely will give the DP’s the win.

ELITES

Next we have two dreadnoughts at elites. I know what everyone is thinking chaos dreads are terrible. I’ve started playing with them lately and have found them to be a great way to get a multi-melta on the table. Mix that with the randomness and you have a fun unit that can be extremely effective if deployed in an isolated position on the table. The big thing to remember is how the fire frenzy works. If you place your dreadnoughts facing outward, and not facing any of your models, you can mitigate the damage from fire frenzy. If you roll it, and they are facing outwards, they don’t see anything to shoot. A dreadnought only has a 45 degree angle from its weapon to fire, and it only sees 180 degrees do to how its “head” is locked. Of course if it is the second or third turn, most likely it will get a shot at some vehicle butt, but hey its chaos and I am sure the rhino deserved to get shot. I use them as front runners to scare the enemy. I have 4 large targets that will hopefully create some nasty situations and difficult decisions for your opponent.

TROOPS

Now we head to my troop section and my change to half the troops having plasma. I still think melta is better, but at this time I have a large amount of anti tank in the army. I think a nice round of plasma should do enough damage to combat squads and other smaller, high armored opponents. Versus other chaos marines who are using plague marines as their troops, 5 plasma shots have a good chance of crippling the squad and allowing your bolters to finish the job. It is a bit expensive, but I think they are worth it for two squads. I will also have an easier time versus any Nid player and their larger MC’s. The ability to cause 5, no armor save wounds on a big bug is a great way to quickly turn a game in your favor. The two squads of melta are there to rush forward and try to take out any LR’s that might be running forward to drop off some annoyances. Plus they can help kill off a dreadnought or other vehicle that might be getting to close for comfort. I added power fists to all the squads because I just like to have them there just in case. They all have rhinos to help mitigate enemy lash issues, as well as give me the ability to create movable terrain. It can also help get me where I need to go and capture an objective. Plague marines are also great at dealing with hordes as they are normally too tough to effectively wound. Orks wounding on a 6+ is a really good way to help deal with all their extra cheap attacks.

HEAVY SUPPORT

Finally we head to my heavy choice, 2 Obliterators. I added personal icons to the two melta plague marine squads due to the squads usually rushing forward. Nothing helps them out like a pair of heavily armored backup that can pop out with all sorts of energy weapons to bring the game to a Goatboy win.

I hope this helps see how I think about my armies and what I want them to do for me. The list is based on 2’s. I want each unit to do a mission, and if I have two of them I know I can have a great chance to have that unit complete its mission.
Now onto a list that was floating around in my head. I am sure everyone has thought of a Fateweaver build and here is the one I would play at Adepticon if I felt like taking the chance on daemons (they are still in the doghouse with me).

HQ: Fateweaver
HQ: Bloodthirster, Unholy Might
Elites: Bloodcrushers (6)
Elites: Bloodcrushers (6)
Troops: Plaguebearers (10), Icon
Troops: Plaguebearers (10), Icon
Heavy: DP, Wings, Mark of Nurgle, Iron Hide, Unholy Might
Heavy: DP, Wings, Mark of Nurgle, Iron Hide, Unholy Might

There are lots of MC’s that can give Orks hell. The Thirster can auto kill Nob Bikerz and everything else can float around Fateweaver and hopefully survive the shooting of anything the bad guys are bringing. I don’t think it would win a whole lot, but I do think it might be fun. The cost of it is a pain, with so many metal models, but it would look neat on the table. The best thing is that rounds shouldn’t take too long, thus leaving you with enough time to get food, and catch up with your friend mid-round… the most important part of tournaments!

Again if you have any questions email me. And yes, there is a speed painting article coming, I was slammed all week with work and crap weather (no spray painting for me). I am hoping to have it ready for next week.



All I had time to do, since these were already primed. I found a way to do yellow that I like, so hopefully this marine army can get done and I can start writing about them.

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40K NEWS: Imperial Guard Boxes, May Releases

Hi guys, this showed up in the Fly Lords mailbox today:

We have boxes for the Valkyrie, Cadian, and Catachan command squads. There is also a listing from Games Workshop of the May releases:

Codex: Imperial Guard
Cadian Command Squad
Cadian Shock Troops
Catachan Command Squad
Catachan Jungle Fighters
Imperial Guard Valkyrie
Imperial Guard Sentinel
Imperial Guard Ratlings
Imperial Guard Primaris Psyker
Imperial Guard Regimental Advisors
Imperial Guard Lord Commissar
Imperial Guard Cadian Battleforce
Imperial Guard Catachan Battleforce

~Further buildup to the release. No info on the contents of the Battleforces's but there is normally a reshuffling of contents.

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40K EDITORIAL: Rating the Armies

Hi all, Jwolf here. I’m reading the comments that we receive, and seeing requests for things like Necron Tactica and “Why do you guys talk about Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield Terminators and Nob Bikers so much?” In every iteration of Warhammer 40K, some Codices rise and others fade away, and we tend to talk about the armies in ascendance more than those which are disadvantaged. Here is my ranking of the top 8 Codices of 40K, in approximate order:

1) Orks – Orks have the single best unit in the game, Nob Bikers. Their basic troops are cheap and effective at shooting and assault. The vast amount of cover available means that having ineffective armor is a very minor issue most of the time. A low KP army of Orks still has the killing and staying power to win most objective-based games as well.

2) Chaos Space Marines – Chaos Space Marines have great units, including their well equipped and LD9 basic troopers (or LD10 with a reroll, which is both common and cheap). Add in very strong HQ choices, cheap Terminators, and excellent options for every spot on the force org and you’ve got a seriously capable army. And they have Lash of Submission, one of the most evil things since Virus Bombs.

3) Black Templars – Preferred Enemy got a big bump in 5e, and every Black Templar has it. Add to that Righteous Zeal and LD10 everywhere (never leave home without a Marshall), and you’ve got an army that is 50% better in assault than a similar point cost of Marines. The target priority is an annoyance, and not having all the amazing and new cool toys does hurt them, but no one is as solid in the back alleys and barroom brawls of 40K as the Templars.

4) The Imperial Guard – in 5e, ranged weapons get to shoot, and generally out to their maximum range. And no one else packs the volume of long range firepower the Guard does. Add in the shear number of units in a Guard army, the high availability of cover and you’ve got great options against hordes and elite armies. A well built (and lucky) Guard army can kill half it’s points in enemy forces in less than 2 full turns of shooting, even if the enemy has no vehicles or expensive units. Really no one else can generate the weight of firepower to so many places on the board so easily, and firepower is the best cure for strong enemy assault units.

5) Space Marines – Amazing and cost effective special characters. Great units in every slot of the force org, and those 2+/3++ guys popping out of Landraiders are not fun. The biggest downside for Marines is that everyone gears their take-all-comers armies to play against them, but they’re solid anyway you slice it.

6) Eldar – The Eldar are really great at killing small elite armies, and have a lot of ability to kill hordes of Orks with Bladestorming Dire Avengers. Their biggest problem is that without blocking terrain their vehicles are pretty easy to shoot down, and their aspect warriors are too easily handled at long range.

7) Tyranids – Tyranids have issues similar to Eldar, in that what worked so well for them last edition just doesn’t work in Fifth Edition. Different builds are developing, but it looks like Tyranids are facing an uphill battle to regain regular top table appearances.

8) Chaos Daemons – Fatecrusher builds can turn any day into a bad day for most armies, and have singlehandedly given Dreadnoughts a new special purpose. While too random to dominate the game, Chaos Daemons do break the paradigm that most armies operate under and require entirely different tactics.

~Next time I’ll go over why the rest of the armies are getting dusty on our shelves. Your thoughts are eagerly anticipated.

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Il-Kaithe Craftworld Logo Sheet

"The Eldar of Il-Kaithe constantly crusade against the forces of Chaos. Their talented Bonesingers are said to be able to practice their art even in the heat of battle"

First of all, this is the Craftworld for any of you guys with those limited edition Bonesinger models GW put out after the Eldar codex came out. Secondly, if you're playgroup allows BoLS stuff, we wrote Bonesinger rules and 2 ICs for Il-Kaithe as part of the Macharian Crusade book, so go check them out. I've been meaning update this logo from the Macharian Crusade days into a full sheet of its own.

I have been noting (again) that GW does a great job of covering the major Craftworlds with their decal sheets. However, there are a number of great looking minor ones who get decent back-stories and have great alternative uniform colors that never have had decals produced for them. In the interest of promoting diversity in the Eldar community and encouraging players to branch out beyond the "big 5", I keep knocking out logo sheets for some of these other Craftworlds who I think look great and have no GW decal support.

Here is the link to the PDF file for the decal sheet you can freely pull down and use:

Download Here

The sheet is designed for printout on Decal printer paper which is easily available online. These decals are designed for the CLEAR decal paper. The procedure is as follows:

CLEAR PAPER: If you use the clear decals, the purple and green decals need to be applied to a light colored surface to be visible at all. The black ones can go just about anywhere and look good.

Click here for a detailed Custom Decal Tutorial

Size wise, the larger decals towards the top are best used for super heavies/terrain, and move down in size to the large array of infantry/jetbike sized towards the bottom.

In any case, enjoy and I wish you the best in using this set for your forces.

~Please feel free to leave comments if there is a special Chapter, Craftworld, or something else you would love to collect, but have no GW decal options, and I will see what I can do. Hey we're down to only 3 more Craftworlds from the codex and we will have a complete set. Lugganath, Iybraesil, and Kaelor; which should I do first.....?

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40K RUMORS: Daemonhunters on the Move?

Image and news brought to the community by Warseer's Industrial Propoganda, and Static Grass.

So we have been hearing rumblings of plastic Grey Knights as a possibility for a bit now, but along come 2 fellows with a picture of a glorious Grey Knight assault, and a snippet from the artist that he was retained by Games Workshop to produce imagery having to do with the final assault during the 1st War for Armageddon.

Artist's quote"
"heya guys final piece for the grey knights GW project been working. was asked to do a realy big piece ie compositionaly for a banner/ poster for games day. the brief was to depict the first war of armageddon when the final assault on the inner hive to find and destroy the deamon primrich aragorn and his 12 greater deamons. 200 hundred grey knights space marines went in but only 2 came out. anyway enough with the talk. thanks for looking theo"

~Definately an impressive painting, and if you look closely at the head of that titan, it sure looks to be forged in the shape of a Grey Knight helmet... I'm already envisioning the effects of a titan-sized psi-cannon....(drool). Also note the presence of a Grey Knight Chaplain, and jump-pack marines in there. Perhaps this is simply promotional material for Gamesday-UK, but perhaps it is a portent of something more...

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40K Tactica Orks: Standing Still

Orks love nothing better than a full tilt charge into enemy lines. But occasionally, the wise 40k warboss will have his boys stand around doing nothing. First off, let me say that I don't play gunline Orks. While they are capable of playing that way, it takes away from their best abilities. It's similar to having an assault guard army; you can do it, and it kinda fun to play, but it is not the best use of their abilities. I normally run a 70/30 list: 70% assault and 30% guns. This is usually a shock attack gun and a couple of loota mobs.

When facing another assault army, or a short to mid-range gunline army (Sisters) don't be too quick to rush in. Everyone knows that Orks are good at assaulting. If you opponent is sitting still, he probably has a very good setup of ambushing counter-assaults and criss-crossing firelanes. You don't have to walk into his fire pit like that. Seize the initiative and force him to move to you.

Move your guys up very aggressively until they are about 25" away, then stop. Rest for a turn, or even two. Let your lootas and SAG do what they are good at. I have found that I can usually out-shoot these armies at this range. This will leave your opponent two options: A) stand still and let his 6 or 8 heavy weapons kill a handfull of Orks a turn and loose an equal number of expensive units. or B) move out into the open where there is no cover save and he is within assault range of your trukk and stormboys.

I played a game last night against one of my favorite opponents. This week he brought witchhunters: 3 or 4 sisters squads, a tooled out seraphim squad, some assassins and inducted guard. His guard and sisiters squads took defensive positions behind linear terrain and the seraphin were sitting atop a tower, waiting to bring the hurt on anything that came within 18 inches.

I rushed my boys in full speed until I was about 20 inches away from his seraphim and 25 from his gun lines, then I stopped. The SAG and lootas would then take out about 6 or 8 sisters a turn, and he would kill an equal number of Orks. After a few turns it was obvious that I wasn't moving and would win the game of attrition. He had to move towards me. No one likes to say they lost all their squads to Ork shooting. At this point, his expensive squads were within range of the stormboys and trukks and it was pretty much over.

Playing Orks is a lot like playing poker. You have to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away, know when to run.

And in the great goatboy tradition, I'll post my ork list:
Big Mek with Shokk attack gun and ammo run (reroll a scatter FTW)
Big Mek with Kustom Force Field
12 tankbustas (nob+klaw, 2x tank hammers)
5 lootas (SAG bodyguard)
10 lootas
12 boys in trukk
12 boys in trukk
20 boys
20 boys
16 shoota boys
13 stormboys
13 stormboys
2 deffkoptas with rokkits
battlewagon with armor and grots (tankbustas and KFF ride in here)

This gives me 4 quick assault units that can get stuck in by turn 2 and 3 followup units once the spearhead has broken through. I normally run my squads very lean, no special weapons and few upgrades on the vehicles. Obviously, every squad that can, will take a nob+klaw+bosspole.

~Special thanks to Kenny Rogers for helping write this article.

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40K REVIEW: Dawn of War 2 by Chris Roberson

A book review by Timo

Dawn of War 2 – Chris Roberson

Books based on video games (Warhammer or otherwise) usually aren’t that promising but I am set on giving Chris Roberson’s book a fair chance and read this novel from front to back. I must admit, I didn’t manage to do this with the first Dawn of War Omnibus by C.S. Goto. That one I actually put down in boredom; this time, however, I will hang in there so I can give you a full report. Let’s get to it!

The book begins with a Space Marine operation on a Tyranid infested planet. Their mission is to safeguard relics before the planet is completely devoured. The majority of Space Marines in this unit die; but one of the survivors, Brother Aramus is promoted to the rank of sergeant. The book's main character is born.

So far so good.

A delegation of Blood Ravens is underway on planet Calderis, trying to find new recruits for the Blood Trials. The planet’s Orks attack, refusing to stay on their side of the continent.

The aforementioned Space Marines from the relic safeguard operation arrive in the surrounded settlement on Calderis just in time. Similar to the scenario in Starship Troopers, the area is surrounded by aliens, Savage Orks piling their dead up into a kind of makeshift ramp in order to climb the walls.

The Seventh Assault Squad fights its way through the Orks in order to save a few refugees, encountering the book’s third level: there are "civilized Orks" behind the Savage Orcs.

Of course this is not the real threat in this novel; and of course, we can never imagine who that might be, since no fan of 40k ever watched the Dawn of War 2 trailer, right?

Believe me when I say that I fought my way through this book, level by level, and that is exactly the problem. The chapters seem to be written in levels with increasing degrees of difficulty, which really doesn’t disprove my instincts against novels about computer games.

In addition, the plot is extremely predictable, the Tyranids and the battles seem somewhat illogical and the constant descriptions of key Space Marines’ organs are redundant. It’s like describing the Space Marines to a newbie, trying to justify thier power.

It felt like I was reading the Disney version of a 40k novel the whole time.

A few questions popped up and bothered me until the end: The Space Marines find the tracks of an Eldar ship (How? Do they leave logos imprinted in the jungle?). Why are the Eldar mentioned in passing, then the topic is dropped? Is someone planning a sequel here?

Okay you guys and gals, if you’re thinking about giving this book to your 9 – 12 year old cousin that caught you working on your 40k miniatures and keeps asking questions, then I’ll give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

If you’re considering reading this novel yourself, I’ll give it only a 2 out of 5, and only after comparing it to "Blood for the Blood God"

1.5-2 Stars (out of 5)

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BoLS Update: Warhammer Directory Project

Hi guys,

A bit of BoLS website news today. You may have noticed a little addition to our nav-bar at the top of the blog. That "Links" button leads to our new BoLS Warhammer Directory page.

It is my intention to make that page an exhaustive directory of the Warhammer and 40k community, so folks step right up. If you have a forum, website, gallery page, painting service, or anything else in between and want in, please email us with your details, and general category (forum, fantasy, 40k, etc...). A few rules of the road:

1) Your site needs to be related Games Workshop tabletop gaming: 40k, Fantasy, LoTR, Specialist games, Dark Heresy, or the greater Games-Workshop universe.

2) Please link back to us using one of the html snippets provided here. (You don't even have to host the image!)

All you bloggers, hold off for a few days, we something special coming down the pipe for you Blogger and Wordpress guys, so hold tight. Lets get in all the non-blogs first.

~Thanks guys, and help BoLS make this the most comprehensive directory of the Games-Workshop hobby universe around.

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40K Deep Thought: How Many Units?

So I've been pondering guys...

Lets talk today about numbers of units within your army. In 40k 5th Edition, there are 2 really big changes,:

-No more sweeping advances
-Prevalent 4+ cover saves

This has had the effect of making high quality armor saves a little less important, as now even dirt cheap troops like Guardsmen or Gaunts can easily get a 4+ cover save. What I've seen slowly becoming more prevalent are "hybrid armies" that are taking smaller numbers of medium-to high quality units to accomplish particular jobs on the tabletop backed by larger numbers of dirt cheap units who serve only to tie up the enemies quality units.

Examples of this in action would be dealing with TH/SS terminators not with other expensive units but with a series of IG remnant squads, or dealing with Devastators, by hitting them with 4-6 low quality but numerous troop squads with distibuted heavy and special weapons.

These "fusion-army" builds rely not on the quality of thier units, but the low number of turns in a 40k game. There just isn't enough time for an all elite, or all-horde army to take them down these days.

So my question is what is the ideal number of units you should have in your army an what quality level do you aim for? To low and you can't accompish any objectives, to high and Killpoints can start to mess with you.

This number I'm sure would vary from codex to codex but I would love to hear how you all take unit number into consideration as you prepare for battle.

~Discuss

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LoTR NEWS: War of the Ring Quickstart PDFs

Hi all,

Just dipping a little toe into the wider world of War of the Ring. Games Workshop released a pair of PDF "quickstart" files so folks can get a handle on the basics of the game and its turn mechanics. Grab em here:

War of the Ring "Quickstart Rules"
Turn sequence and basic rules

War of the Ring "Playing the Game"
Basic mission and 2 sample armies

~I'm still checking out the game and that review I promised is on the way. I just need to get some pretty pictures together for you guys. Sometimes it seems that no matter how far one travels in the world of fantasy and sci-fi games, eventually you always find your way back to Professor Tolkien.

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WINNER: Badab Challenge: Nate Oesch!

The entries were great, the 10 finalists were awesome, and the polling was polling was neck and neck down to the final minutes. In the end, there could be only one... I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who entered the challenge. You guys make BoLS what it is.



This Mark-7 pattern Salamanders Razorback is nicknamed "The Oven" by its passengers, not solely because of its armament which spews forth fiery promethium onto its enemies, but also because of the way its riders are baked by the amount of heat produced inside of the vehicle when its twin flamers ignite. Deployed mainly towards the end of the Badad War by the Salamanders' siege specialists, The Oven's passengers would lay waste to any traitors' structures with their various melta-weapons, followed in turn by The Oven's flamers incinerating any survivors within the rubble.
By Nate Oesch

~Lets give it up for Nate Oesch! He has truly earned his prize. One Land Raider is on the way sir, and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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40K & FANTASY RUMORS: Q2-Q3 2009 Schedule Whispers

Hi all,

There has been a lot of talk out there regarding the great blackness of the release schedule after Imperial Guard in May (confirmed by Games Workshop as of now).

We are still hearing whispers and chatter that Q2-Q3 holds:

-Empire 2nd Wave
-Planetstrike
-Skaven
-A 40k related release

Its that mystery 40k one that has everyone guessing. Some say its Space Hulk, others say the Sons of Russ are on the way, while others point to a xenos release. We will keep digging, and report what come up.

~Standard caveats apply. Have at it guys

P.S. On a side note, War of the Ring looks like a mighty interesting product. If only someone at GW could contact me I would love to have a nice little chat about it :)

-bigred

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40K HOBBY: Battleboard Trench & Bunker

When I saw this project in progress at my local Battle Bunker I knew I had to share it with the hobby community. A friend of mine is in the process of combining parts of the Forge World Imperial Trench System with the Citadel Realm of Battle Gameboard. There's a lot of cutting and sawing involved, but the results are already looking terrific.

In the picture above and immediately below, you can see a comparison between a finished board section and one that is still a work in progress. Notice the roughly square hole in the unfinished board, which will house a Forge World Bunker when completed.


This closeup photo shows the partially finished trench installation and open space for another bunker. When completed, the gaps around the trench will be filled to blend with the rest of the board surface. The board and inset trench pieces will then be painted to match the finished board. The existing paint scheme on this unfinished board will be covered by the new paint scheme seen on the finished board section shown in the photos above.


Craters from the GW Moonscape can also be blended into the Realm of Battle Gameboard.


Here's a glimpse of what a completed trench and bunker installation looks like with actual 40K models stomping about.


I'm looking forward to seeing this project when it's fully completed and maybe even trying out a game on it myself. As usual, if there are specific questions about this project, I will do my best to answer them.

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EDITORIAL: 40K Etiquette

Jwolf here. There’s not a lot of need for preamble; I wrote about what is wrong with Warhammer 40K a few weeks back and touched lightly on etiquette. From the responses, it seemed worth doing to list some basic etiquette. Note that games among friends can and do break whichever of these conventions they see fit.

Physical Aspects:
-Have a typed list, with unit costs and a total. Ideally this would be in Army Builder or a similar format, but typed is key.
-Have all the materials to play the game – dice, measuring device, templates, BRB, your Codex.
-Be clean. Seriously, a smelly player is a bad thing.

Dicerolling Conventions:
-Announce what you are rolling for before rolling any dice.
-Roll the dice, pick up misses, then pick up hits to roll for wounds.
-Follow the same rules every roll on cocked dice – if it’s okay once on terrain, it’s always okay.
-Reroll any die that your opponent questions.
-So-called practiced rolling is cheating, even if it doesn’t work.
-Casino dice are only fair if they are rolled, and most tables simply don’t have space to roll them. They require 2 bounces minimun in Las Vegas when playing Craps for a reason.
-Bring a box if you want to roll giant dice.
-No special dice for leadership tests. If you have different dice for different conditions, you are attempting to cheat.

Measuring:
-Measure from front to front, not middle to middle (for your movement).
-Give the opponent the benefit of the doubt where possible with movement and templates.
-When moving a vehicle that you are also rotating, the distance between the closest spot of the original position and the furthest spot of the end position is the distance you have moved.

Behavior at the Table:
-Keep cool, losing your temper is certain to make the game worse.
-Play in a manner consistent with at least 6 turns being completed in 2 hours, unless you discuss playing slowly with your opponent before the game starts. This means that you may have to go faster than you would like to in order to make the game more enjoyable for your opponent.
-If you believe your opponent has broken the rules, ask him a question rather than making an accusation. Most competent players will fix their honest mistake or be able to articulate what they are doing and why they think it is correct.
-Be cordial and commiserate with your opponent if they have bad luck. Never complain about their good luck or your bad luck.

Other:
-Learn the rules. Don’t skim through the book one weekend, actually read the basic rules as if studying for an important test.
-Unless specifically playing in a no-holds-barred event, make lists people can enjoy playing against. Things like 2 Nob Biker squads, 2 Lash Princes, or 5 Landraiders make for no fun in most cases.

~Following these should keep a lot of the incidental rough edges out of your 40K experience and make the hobby as a whole more enjoyable. Now go politely and kill something. If you think I missed something or have your own Etiquette story to tell, you've found the perfect place.

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40K Hobby: Shadowsword Kit Converting

One of the fun things about the new Stormlord/Shadowsword kit is that if you build a Stormlord you're left with an entire Shadowsword gun (and vice versa) to feed your conversion machine as well as some additional armor plates and other bitz. I'd been planning to convert one of my existing Baneblade kits to a Chaos Shadowsword for months using plastic tubing to construct the gun. After building the new Stormlord kit I proceeded with this conversion straight away, but with the GW produced Shadowsword gun barrel instead of a scratch converted one. The fixed turret is scratch converted and I took the opportunity of doing so to build Chaos decorations directly into it. I also built Chaos themed decorations right into the scratch built side armor plates in front of the sponsons. By request, here's a picture of the custom cut side armor:

Whatever model you build from the new Stormlord kit, you'll have plenty of cool bitz left over for some other fun projects!

I'll bet some of you out there build a Shadowsword and then use the left over Vulcan Mega-bolter muzzles to build one of the new Leman Russ variants. As for myself, ever since GW released the original Baneblade kit in October 2007 I've really developed a special fondness for larger models and the Baneblade in particular. It's a great palette that allows for a lot of creative fun. I hope more large kits are on their way from the GW studio in the near future.

Also note that for anyone interested in a ready-made Brass Scorpion conversion for tearing apart all those new Stompas and Shadowswords now appearing on game tables, I have just listed one on eBay at this link.

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: Kill the Hammer!

If you are a competitive Warhammer 40k player, you all know how annoying Nob Bikerz can be. They are an extremely hard hammer unit that can win the entire game for a player. They are a unit with such destructive capabilities that an unprepared opponent will not know what hits them when the biker gang of doom comes knocking. Today’s thought deals with how to deal with this unit, as well as other hard hammer units.

Let’s first take a look at what makes these units so hard. Once we see their strengths, we can figure out their weakness and how to exploit them. Most of these units have 3 strengths that push them beyond the normal realm of a unit.

OFFENSE

First of all, and most importantly, a hammer unit has to have an extreme amount of offense. You can see this in Nob Bikerz by the amount damage they can put out when they get there. I know that they are really a tough assault unit, thus hampered by the changes in 5th edition’s brutal assault phase. If your units are in any way close, there is a good chance that the bikerz will be able to grab 2+ units to bring the pain on. Mix in a vehicle or two, and you have an extremely deadly assault phase coming at you. This can also help large assault squads as well as some of the other hammer units in the game (seer council, TH/SS termies, massed daemon assault) since they can try to spread out.

DEFENSE

Second the unit must have some form of resilience. We all know how the multi wound/multi equipped Nob Bikerz unit can spread wounds around to make auto kills disappear. We also know how tough they can be with 2 saves and ways to pawn off auto kill wounds to someone tougher (Warboss likes to take lascannon fire). This is the same with the other example units, who normally have rerollable saves or an invulnerable save that is a bit unfair (TH/SS Terminators).

SCARY

Third of all they have the ability to control the game through fear and intimidation. The units are so offensive and tough, that they control a game. Instead of trying to win the game, you can become focused on trying to kill the unit; sacrificing the actual objective of the game in order to somehow kill the unkillable unit. This focusing of your opponent’s army is probably the greatest ability of these “uber” units. If you make your opponent play your game, you’ve already won 50% of the match.

HOW TO DEAL…

Now how do we deal with these units? How can we control them and still win the match? Well all know the advantages of these units; lets break them down a find ways around them. Nothing is unbeatable, and with the power of math in our hands, we can push the game to our advantage when facing these units.

BLOCK EM

The ability of these units to do massive damage usually resolves around assault. 40k 5th edition brought about a massive change in close combat. You now have sides taking large amounts of damage and getting broken pretty easily. So how do we stop them from doing this? I’ve already gone into baiting before, but let’s look at something else that is a bit more advanced then just baiting your opponent with a nice fat worm. I’ve talked about rhino walls before, but the greatest thing about it, is that you can corral your opponent around. If you drive the rhino forward, at full speed, and create a wall that the opponent can’t just go around, you force them to either deal with it or add a turn in trying to get a charge off If they deal with it in combat, they do not get the advantage or getting closer due to not being able to consolidate after they blow up the unfortunate moving pill box. This leaves the unit high and drive, to get rapid fired/shocked and awed by your impressive fire.

LAY ON THE FIRE

This leads into the next point about abusing their high resilience. Most players, who field these units, think they are invincible. Use this to your advantage, by tempted these units into situation where you can pour fire into them in a way to build a mathhammer advantage to your side. Yeah you might have 2 saves, but if you take 60 wounds, you will most likely lose enough to make your crazy unit a lot more manageable. Rapid firing plasma is a great way to kill off enough of a unit, to make sure that even if they get to combat, you have a pretty good chance to taking them out. 3 Nob Bikerz are not that scary, especially when they have 1 wound apiece.

BAIT EM

Finally we get to the whole controlling the game aspect of these units. The best way to avoid this is to take the control back from them. It helps when you have highly mobile units you can move away from the opponent, and try to push them into over extending into your well constructed trap. Baiting works again in this situation, as you know you can create speed blocks, to make their game last longer than the first 4 turns. If you slow them down, you can get into a situation where you can control an objective and keep enough in the way that they have to spend 3 turns just to get a chance to get at your zone. You have the ability to control the game beyond the chances of rolling that 5 or 6.

Your movement phase and deployment skills are just as valuable as pulling and pushing your opponent into situations that build an advantage that isn’t dependent on dice rolls. There is strategy in 40k beyond having the bigger and better gun. I hope these thoughts help you out when facing some of the tougher players in your local store. I know it isn’t fun to bring a nice list to your local game night, and have it trounced by the latest cookie cutter power-list. Every codex out there can put together an army that has the ability to control a game, no matter how many subpar units they may contain.

I didn’t bring an army list last week due to the topic not really needing one, but here is one for those wanting something different then the normal orky list you see running around. I call it the Ork Bullet, and I’ve seen it crush Nob Bikerz like tin cans.

HQ: Ghazghkull Thraka –
Pts 225
HQ: Big Mek, Kustom Forcefield, Cybork Body, Burna
Pts: 115
Troops: Nobz (8), Painboy, Cybork, PK (4), Kombi-Skorcha (2), Waagh Banner, Bosspole (2),
Pts: 365
Troops: Shoota boyz (29), Big Shootas (3), Nob, Eavy Armor, PK, Bosspole
PTs: 240
Troops: Shoota boyz (29), Big Shootas (3), Nob, Eavy Armor, PK, Bosspole
PTs: 240
Troops: Slugga Boyz (29), Rokkits (3), Nob, PK, Bosspole
PTs: 250
Heavy: Killer Kans (3), Rokkits (3)
Pts: 135
Heavy: Killer Kans (3), Rokkits (3)
Pts: 135
Heavy: Killer Kans (3), Rokkits (3)
Pts: 135
Fast Attack: Deff Koptas (3), TWL Rokkits (3), Buzzsaw
Pts: 160

PTS: 2000

Thoughts are that the killer kans are in the front, becoming the bullet of orkie doom that goes at the enemy. The shootas are behind, mixed with the nobz and other goodies. The big mek attaches to the nobz, with Ghazghul. This should give him enough wounds to ensure that he lives for a while. Now if only killer kans were plastic like all those rumors said.

Questions? email me

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40K NEWS: IG Cover, Advisors, and More

The floodgates are opening folks, and Games Workshop is letting the first Warhammer Codex of the year slip out into the light of day. We are less than 2 months out from getting the new Imperial Guard codex and first wave miniatures.

Here we see the new codex cover, and get better shots of the upcoming Advisors and more.



Go see the GW Imperial Guard teaser site here.

~This stuff should be hitting us the first half of May. The wait is almost over.

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40K REVIEW: Dawn of War 2 by THQ

THQ’s follow up to every avid 40k players favorite RTS is finally in stores and I for one could not wait get my grubby little hands on it. Having watched the intro video posted some time ago I couldn’t wait to smash chitin under power armored feet and show those dastardly xenos witches the true power of the Emperor.

Popping the disk in to my computer I was greeted to a "robust" installation process. You install the game using the Steam client. “Awesome” I thought to myself since I have a large friends list and like the Steam client for finding servers to jump into for pickup games. I downloaded and installed the game through Steam in a jiffy and fired it up. The first surprise was encountered here, you have 2 CD keys, one for single-player and a second for multiplayer which you have to put in when you play online. Granted it does remind you what it is each time, but 2 keys seems a bit much.

Before you can fire up the game you must next create a Windows Live account in addition to signing in with Steam. The game only uses Steam to deliver the game to you; not any of its other features. Needless to say I got the game running after satisfying Microsoft and fired it up.

The first thing you do is name your captain who looks just like Rocky IV's Dolph Lundgren, which I guess is appropriate as you are a young up-and-coming Space Marine Captain of the Blood Ravens Chapter. You are dropped on a world with a squad of 4 tactical marines and told to assist your chapter master in defending one of your recruiting worlds from upstart orks led by a big mek. You get no real tutorial or anything, you just get thrown into the action which I actually appreciate. Any game that can be learned "on the fly" while the bullets are flying is well designed in my mind.

As soon as the game begins you discover why there is no single player campaign for anyone but the Blood Ravens, as you kill easily over 100 Orks on the first map leaving a mound of bodies everywhere your marines walk. It is about this point that you figure out that you are playing Space Marine the hybrid RTS-RPG, instead of the old-trusty RTS that Dawn of War was originally. And its OK. Its time to dispense the Emperor’s justice on the foes of man. The lack of base building and resource management is odd at first but liberating after a while as it leaves you time to slaughter and concentrate on getting to the next teleport relay to replenish the casualties if you take them.



The game has an experience system that lets your squads and captain level up as they move through the game. You have 4 traits to put points into as you level which increases their stats and unlocks abilities. Be wary as you don’t initially get a good understanding of what's more important: health vs. damage resist or how important having an additional accessory slot. Your first couple of levels might be wasted since you have to feel your way through these choices early on.

You find wargear along the way to equip your squad leaders and your commander. The Blood Ravens are apparently leaving chapter relics all over the sector, they should really get a handle on that :) The game does a good job of making the wargear choices real decisions instead of the newest thing always being the best. You have a limited amount of spots to store gear , but you can trash old gear for a small XP reward with some notable exceptions, so be careful. You also gain items that you may not be able to use for a level or two which is a tad annoying.



Game play itself is excellent representing everything that I love about Dawn of War, the knockback, AOE and cover systems are superb. The maps themselves seem to have changed very little in terms of detail but are still awesome and provide a great backdrop for the game. Be sure to take time to zoom in and watch you commander butcher everything in his path as well as your assault squad as the new kill animations are particularly neat. The boss fights provide a nice cap to the end of each level and gives you an idea how tough things like Wraithlords and Eldar Farseers should be (I hate Wraithlords even more now).

The difference in damage output between the Eldar, Orks and Tyranids seems to me to be pretty extreme. The Orks and Tyranids seem almost like cakewalk compared to the thrice damned Eldar who seem to randomly shred my squads if I’m not paying attention and their eagle-eyed snipers in building that are impossible to get rid of with frag grenades.

The final issue with game play you may encounter is some of your squad's abilities such as Focused Fire or Battle Cry you want to be on at all times. In boss fights it’s a nuisance to have to constantly click it every 5 seconds while maneuvering out of grenades, bio plasma and the like. It would have been nice to have a macro to key all the abilities at once; but that's just me being super-picky.

Overall , I had an absolute blast, and DoW2 is the best thing to come to the computer for 40k players since Armybuilder. This is an awesome game that I recommend any lover of 40k to pick up and enjoy for countless hours. Remember Brother, The Space Marines fear no evil, for we are fear incarnate!

~4 Stars (out of 5)

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40K SNEAK PEEK: GW Press Pics IG

Commissar Lord

From the latest Games Workshop newsletter (#30), stating these will be available with the new Imperial Guard Codex in May.


Catachan Command Squad


Cadian Command Squad


Ratling Snipers

~Nothing we haven't seen before, but these are studio painted, and yet more formal confirmation of May as the release window.

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40K ARMY: Lamenters Strikeforce Iltempus

The Strikeforce assembles under Chaplain Athaloc, Captain Roderic, and Librarian Jordanes

HQ
Captain Roderic w/ Bolter, Power Fist, Hellfire Rounds 135
Librarian Jordanes w/ Gate of Infinity, Plasma Pistol
Force Dome, Epistolary 165

Elites
8*Sternguard w/ 2*Combi-plasmas 210

Troops
10*Marines w/ Meltagun, Multimelta, Combi-melta 185
in Droppod 35

10*Marines w/ Meltagun, Multimelta, Combi-melta, Power Fist 210

5*Scouts w/ Heavy Bolter, Combi-melta 95

Fast Attack
10*Assault Marines w/ Power Weapon 205
5*Vanguard w/ Jump Packs, 2*Power Weapons 190

Heavy Support
Land Raider Redeemer w/ Extra Armour, Multimelta 265
6*Devastators w/ 2*Missle Launchers, Lacannon 171
Vindicator w/ Extra Armour 130

=1996

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40K NEWS: More Bitz Packs, New Model

The following bitz packs and models were added to the GW Online Store on Friday and are available for Direct Order:

- Space Marine Backpacks
- Chaos Space Marine Backpacks
- Chirurgeon Backpacks
- Space Marine Jump Packs
- Wolf Guard with Lightning Claws

These items are all currently showing in the New Releases section of the GW website.

I'm especially happy to see backpacks available again. As a frequent converter, especially of Fantasy Chaos models to 40K Chaos purposes, having extra backpacks available is always handy.

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40K VOTING: Badab APC Challenge

Hi everybody, Its VOTING DAY! Below we have the 10 finalists from the pool of entries BoLS received. We got a good selection of entries and it was very difficult to pick 10 finalists. Thank you to everyone who entered. The 10 APCS below are randomly ordered, and the summary of the APC along with thier creator are listed BELOW EACH ONE.

Look each one over, and judge them as you will. When you have selected the best one, vote in the poll. We will have our winner in a few days time, and they will recieve a brand new Land Raider as a prize well deserved.



This vehicle was designated APC 3 of the Space Sharks - Green Company at the beginning of the Badab war and operated as a transport for Squad 3. During the war, the Captain of Green Company ordered functioning sponson weapons recovered from wrecked Land Raiders to be assembled as firepower turrets for available Rhino APCs. APC 3 was retrofitted with a turret and tallied 7 tank kills over the course of the war.
By Tristan McKerracher



This Mark-7 pattern Salamanders Razorback is nicknamed "The Oven" by its passengers, not solely because of its armament which spews forth fiery promethium onto its enemies, but also because of the way its riders are baked by the amount of heat produced inside of the vehicle when its twin flamers ignite. Deployed mainly towards the end of the Badad War by the Salamanders' siege specialists, The Oven's passengers would lay waste to any traitors' structures with their various melta-weapons, followed in turn by The Oven's flamers incinerating any survivors within the rubble.
By Nate Oesch



Red Scorpions Razorback of the 4th Battle Company. This vehicle was the personal transport of Commander Praesor, and fought alongside Star Phantoms forces during the Siege of Badab.
By Alex G.



Instrumental in the initial push onto Badab, the Space Sharks Razorback "Blood of The Deep" was responsable for over 20 confirmed kills.
By ZiggyQubert



The Razorback Ferocia, or Ferocity as it was known in latin was the first transport of the Salamanders 2nd Company which served in the Ultima Segmentum. This vehicle sports urban nightfighting camo to help it deal with counter attacks from the Astral Claws. During the Badab War, it transported Brother-Captain Deflagratio, and his command squad.
By Mitch Boudreau

Red Scorpions Apothecarion Rhino of the 6th Company. Unarmed transports such as this one are favored by Red Scorpion Apothecaries to evacuate injured off the field of battle. This Rhino was destroyed by a direct artillery hit from the renegade Mantis Warriors, killing the medic, three patients, and crew.
By Michael Austin



Raptors Razorback Infernum: 907.M41 Landing on Tranquillity the Raptors techmarine quickly got to work adapting the Rhino to deal with the Jungle conditions. At first it was thought impossible that any APC would be usable on the ground, but the techmarines quickly crafted “Infernum”. Such was the strength of the twin linked Heavy Flamer even the densest jungle could be penetrated by its power, allowing the 3rd company to clear the Executioners from the planet. Like the Raptors, the Executioners were also known for adapting their armour with camouflage patterns when needed, but this would not be enough to help them this time as they were quickly swept from the planet.
By Andy Gregor



During the Badab War, the Mantis Warriors relied heavily on their knowledge of their home system and Rhino APCs to scout out enemy positions as well as ferry their units to the battle. This Second Company Squad Nine Devastator Rhino was instrumental in the location and elimination of an enemy Red Scorpion Rhino column retreating the battle on Tranquility.
By Kingsley Coppinger



Lamenters Rhino Invictus. The Invictus unfortunately never really saw much action in the Badab war. Racing sergeant Introcus and his men to battle, the driver stumbled upon an ambush of Marines Errant. A land mine destroyed the back end of the Rhino. As Sergeant Introcus’ tactical marines exited form the vehicle, they were met with round upon round of heavy plasma fire, anihalating the entire squad before they even reached the battle.
By Tomas Mennes



Command Tank W2K5 was deployed on the planet of Badab with the Salamanders 3rd Company. Over it's term it aided in the defence of the southern Boreal regions until finaly meeting it's glorious end during a skirmish with the Astral Claws, where it took a Krak missile to it's engines whilst surrounded by several allies and enemies. The last transmission over it's enhanced comm station was a garbled "In the name of the Empe-!"
By Mike Taylor

~I'm sure the entrants would love to hear your comments folks. We have a really great pool of painters out there and I would like to say THANK YOU to each and every one who entered. I really enjoyed the little stories entered and the variety of fates both great and small that befell these vehicles. Good luck, and may the best 40k hobbyist win! Poll, right column, VOTE!

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40k NEWS: New Apocalypse Datasheets Q1-09

Hi Guys, Lots of new 40k Apocalypse Datasheets headed our way, including the "Big Guy", the Imperator Titan! Lets run down the new sheets real fast:

Chaos - Doomsday Device ~Immobile superheavy full of random lethal fun!
Dark Eldar - Karnival of Pain ~Grotesques, grotesqes, grotesques...OH MY!
Eldar - Shadowwalkers ~Lots of War Walkers; and they deepstrike better than you do.
Imperium - Imperator Titan ~4000 pts of YOU'RE DEAD!
Imperium - Shadowsword Variants ~Everything you need for the new plastic kit.
Necrons - Shroudweaver War Cell ~Lights out...Let the terror commence.
Orks - Evil Eye Stompa ~This guy. Walking aircraft carriers are cool.
Space Marines - Lucifer Armoured Force ~RUN, FORREST RUN!! Our Land Raiders are fast!
Tau - "Mirage" long Range Infiltration Unit ~I see you...BANG You're dead!

~Well look at that. A Dark Eldar sheet! Its also interesting to see some "outside the box" stuff like the Doomsday Machine, and hey who can hate the Imperator. It seems little weak compared to its fluff, but overall its still 4000pts of "I WIN!"

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40K NEWS: Baneblade Variants & IMPERATOR!!!

Hold on to your hats folks.

Games-Workshop Germany just threw up new Apocalypse Datasheets for:

The new Shadowsword-Variants

and...........

The IMPERATOR TITAN!

~HOLY MOLY, German BoLS Readers, this is your chance to serve! We need translations...ASAP! In any case, they should be showing up on the UK/USA sites soon.

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40K Deep Thought: Eldar Power Level???

Is it just me or do you feel a distinct sinking feeling regarding the power of the Eldar Craftworld Codex, since 5th came out. In paricular, I've noticed a real inability to deal with well commanded horde lists.

Last year at this time you couldn't walk 10 feet without stumbling over triple-Falcon Eldrad/Yriel lists, but the Craftworlders seem to have faded into the mist over the last 6 months.

~Discuss

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40k NEWS: Black Library Heresy Lineup

Hi guys. Check out whats coming down the pipe for all of us Horus Heresy Fanatics:


TALES OF HERESY: April-09
When Horus the Warmaster rebelled against the Emperor, the ensuing civil war nearly destroyed the Imperium. War raged across galaxy, pitting Astartes against their battle–brothers in a struggle where death was the only victor.

This collection features stories of heroism and tragedy set during this turbulent time :

Dan Abnett – Blood Games
Matt Farrer – After Desh’ea
Mike Lee – Wolf at the Door
Graham McNeill – The Last Church
James Swallow – The Voice
Anthony Reynolds – Scions of the Storm
Gav Thorpe – Call of the Lion


FALLEN ANGELS July-09
As news of Horus’s treachery spreads, the Great Crusade grinds to a halt as the primarchs and their Legions decide where their loyalty lies – with the Emperor, or the rebel Warmaster Horus. In this sequel to Descent of Angels, the Dark Angels too face a time of testing, both in the stars, and on their home world, Caliban.

Arriving in the Gehinnom system, Lion’el Jonson and a force of Dark Angels set about subjugating the system’s core worlds which are key to the Warmaster’s plans to overthrow the Emperor.

Meanwhile, on Caliban, Luther and the rest of the Legion feel abandoned by their primarch. Civil war erupts as the planet strives to break from Imperial rule, and the Dark Angels are thrown into a deadly conflict where all that they know and trust is thrown into doubt."


PROSPERO BURNS: November-09
By Dan Abnett

~I'm most anticipating Prospero Burns as its part of a two-novel series telling the story of the Fall of Prospero from both sides. Abnett goes first with the Wolves point of view, and the Thousand Sons perspective comes afterward.

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BoLS Boardgames: Shoulder of Orion

Boardgames
We have just put out our latest BoLS Boardgame, and launched our new sister-website! If you're like me, you have a soft spot for a good board game. In this age of technology, there is still a great charm to sitting around a table, having fun and sharing company with your friends and family.

Shoulder of Orion
Lets take a look at: Shoulder of Orion. Here you have a fun and fast-paced sci-fi game of star ship boarding actions for 2 players. Its really easy to learn, offers a set of 6 different fleets with differing playstyles and plays fast. Face off with a friend as deadly Colonial Marines or the brave Naval Crewman in a race against time to control the ship!


Shoulder of Orion playing pieces


The heart of Shoulder of Orion is a set of 6 deck-tiles with different objectives and corridor layouts types on them. The players will take turns laying these down and construct a different board each time you play.

Once the board is built, you assume control of one of the six fleets of the Shoulder of Orion world, and begin your battle for control of the ship. You will hunt your foe through dark corridors, capture or defend shipboard objectives, be wary of the deadly robot, and fight your way to ultimate victory and control of the ship.


Sample Shoulder of Orion pages

All of the BoLS eBoardgames are provided as PDF downloads with all the counters needed to play. Just print out the playing pieces, add dice and get playing. All BoLS Boardgames can be enhanced with easily available plastic pieces from standard board games you probably have lying around your house, like chess, checkers, etc... Its an easy way to "dress up" your game if you enjoy the feel of 3d-playing pieces.

~I hope you go check out www.bolsboardgames.com, and have a look around. If you like anything you see, make sure you tell your friends, or rate us on Boardgamegeek.com.

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40K/FANTASY RUMORS: 2nd Wave Daemons

A quick one folks.

If you recall back towards the end of last year there was word of a 2nd wave of Daemons of Chaos headed our way.

It was said to include:
-Plastic Daemon Prince (pictured above)
-New Seekers of Slaanesh
-Plastic Plaguebearers
-Some of the missing Chaos Daemons Named Characters

While first reported as a Q2 2009 release, it looks like it had been pulled to make room for Planetstrike, said to be on way around July. There was no word on the Daemon 2nd wave's fate, but we hear chatter that the delay may be minor and they could still be on the squedule for late 2009.

~Standard caveats apply folks. Which one of those listed minis would you be most excited about? Personally, I'd be first in line for Ku'gath,or Skarbrand, but Seekers could be really wicked if they were plastic. Also, what is your take on the Chaos Daemons codex/Army book now that they have been out for a while. Did they cause any "cross-pollination" between Fantasy and 40k in your neck of the woods? Do you see more folks playing them these days?

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Yme-Loc Craftworld Logo Sheet

I think It's time for a another detour from our regular marine chapters. I've been meaning to do this special request Eldar logo sheet for awhile and here you all go!

I have been noting (again) that GW does a great job of covering the major Craftworlds with their decal sheets. However, there are a number of great looking minor ones who get decent back-stories and have great alternative uniform colors that never have had decals produced for them. In the interest of promoting diversity in the Eldar community and encouraging players to branch out beyond the "big 5", I keep knocking out logo sheets for some of these other Craftworlds who I think look great and have no GW decal support.

"The Eldar of Yme-Loc are talented artisans, and thier armies are supported by powerful grav tanks and Titans." That sounds like just the ticket for someone who likes the big Forgeworld stuff. Here is the link to the PDF file for the decal sheet you can freely pull down and use:

Download Here

The sheet is designed for printout on Decal printer paper which is easily available online. These decals are designed for the CLEAR decal paper. The procedure is as follows:

CLEAR PAPER: If you use the clear decals, the orange decals need to be applied to a light colored surface to be visible at all. The black ones can go just about anywhere and look good.

Click here for a detailed Custom Decal Tutorial

Size wise, the larger decals towards the top are best used for super heavies/terrain, and move down in size to the large array of infantry/jetbike sized towards the bottom.

In any case, enjoy and I wish you the best in using this set for your forces.

~Please feel free to leave comments if there is a special Chapter, Craftworld, or something else you would love to collect, but have no GW decal options, and I will see what I can do. Sildani, I'm expecting a tin of shortbread cookies in the mail for this one :)

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