40K Pic of the Day 6-30-09

pic submitted by reader: Talarion

Rumble in the Jungle
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K VOTING: IG Command Squad 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 Command Squads below are randomly ordered, and the summary of the Squad 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 Valkyrie courtesy of Battleforge Games as a prize well deserved.


The Cadian 22nd Regiment, known as the "Bloodhounds of the Emperor". General Rokossov, known as ruthless leader is the glorious Company Commander. His veterans are real "Dogs Of War" and true specialists of their own military profession.By Konstantin Kucher


Commander Ivan Karamazov of the 501st Valhallan has been in command for the past twenty-two years and has seen more combat than most can stomach (his bionic left arm a battle wound left by a stray Las-Cannon shot from one of his more drunken heavy weapon crews.) His regiment, the "Ice Dogs" as they are referred to for their gritty determination and rather crude methods of warfare, has most recently been dispatched to hold defenses on an outer world against the encroaching Orks.
By Kevin-TF


This command group came from a very small planet used for advanced tech research, since the planet has an acid atmosphere not compatible with human life the whole squad is forced to wear masks. They are well equipped and specialized in fast hit and run attacks, they are knows as the Heron Hounds.
By Luther Blisset


The vostroyan Military is known for one thing, their ridiculous headgear. Although the Vostroyan headdress is considered a symbol of noble blood, Field Marshal Demitriev, commander of the 1st platoon of the Vostroyan 9th regiment, refuses to create such an obvious target for his enemy. He and his platoon are looked down upon as peasants by others in their regiments for refusing to don such foolish garments. Demitriev and his subordinates take comfort in the fact that the other prouder Vostroyans won't be around long enough to mock them.
By Alessandro Kitchener

Hauptmann Hermann Musk of E Company Cerberus VII Regiment and his staff.
Musk, along with the remains of the Regiment, disappeared following the purging of the Librarians of Ush in the services of Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Dunstable Llan. Hauptfeldwebel Schwartz carries a copy of Llan's Inquisitorial Mandate under which the Regiment fought during the conflict. After-action reports archived by the Departmento Munitorum record tales of "saints" aiding the attackers, and Inquisitor Llan's movements since the conflict are unknown...
By Simon Brown

The Catachan XVII ''Swamprats'' are the deadliest jungle fighters ever known in the Imperium. Led by the infamous Colonel Gator, the Catachan 18th fought the Tyranids in a seven year campaign on Koralkal VII.
By James Beng


The Catachan 233, "Ol' Painless", were thought KIA on Kynlee Secundus, a world being devoured by the Tyranids from Hivefleet Jericho. They signalled for rescue 3 weeks later, 750 kilometers from their last known location.
By Joshua Goss

Command squad for the 72nd Krieg Siege Company. They are currently being re-deployed further from enemy lines as they were a bit too aggressive in their shelling and accidentally demolished a key fuel depot that the 22nd Armored Regiment was set to capture. Commissar Von Lietzietz (far left) summarily executed Captain Strough and has taken command due his failure and negligence.
By Will Downey


82nd Platoon Command of the Iron Army of the 14th Grand Company led by Tiresias the Lost. Tisesias was a small boy when the 14th conquered his world and as the Warsmith strode upon the field of victory, Tisesias was brave (or foolish) enough to not look down. The Warsmith had him immediately blinded and promoted to the lead the 82nd platoon. He is accompanied by Niles the Unspoken, who is required to be gagged or else will continue to scream blasphemies until he passes out.
By Joseph Baird


Colonel Aristides and his staff from the 9th Prosan. The regiment is currently stationed at Blutenanger, taking part in the Bavarius Campaign. Former achievements are the "Devensor Cadium" during the 13th Black Cursade the "Medusa Star" and the "Via Mortis". The regiment was founded on the training-deathworld of Prosan in the Cadia system. The soldiers are well known for their light infantry and being far from home, the regiment has no more recruits but a lot of veterans.
By Johann Bauer

~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 conversions and painting styles. Good luck, and may the best 40k hobbyist win! Poll, right column, VOTE!

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'Ard Boyz Preliminaries Planning - Dark Eldar

So you 40k hardcore fanatics, the ‘Ard Boyz missions are out, and I’ve already committed myself to playing Dark Eldar. At first glance, the missions seem pretty bad for my army choice, but let’s take a look at them in a little detail – note that I’m only interested in Massacres with full Battle Points; anything else isn’t in the spirit of the event.

Mission 1: Land Grab
Massacre requires holding more objectives and having more kill points than your opponent. The Battle Points are to hold all 5 objectives, have all HQ alive, kill all enemy troops, and no opponents in your deployment zone.
Deployment is Pitched Battle
*** Note – Night Fight is in effect on Turn 1.

This is the easiest deployment choice for me.
If I go first I put everything down and rush the enemy. If the enemy holds everything in Reserve, I run around fast until they come into play.
If I go second, I do the exact same thing, only I know if they started on the board.
If the enemy is Daemons or Heavy Drop Pods, everything goes in Reserve and comes in to concentrate on what is nearby and then chase down the rest of the bad guys as I can.

There is no way I can hold 5 objectives if the enemy is alive, so I have to kill everything on the board. Which is what the Dark Eldar are all about anyway, so that works for me.

Mission 2: Head Hunter aka 43 Kill Point Dark Eldar
Massacre is 8 KP over the opponent.
Deployment is Dawn of War

With 43 KP to give, many armies can loose everything but one model and beat me easily. I have the choice of avoiding them and sniping (which means I certainly won’t get all the Battle Points), or going all out to kill every model. Again, the choice seems simple. Kill ‘em all, no sorting required.

Again, the worst draws for me will be Heavy Drop Pods or shooty Daemon lists, as they can get too close to me for my tastes.

Mission 3: Drawn and Quartered
Massacre is more objectives and more kill points. The Battle Points are control both objectives, have scoring units in 3 table quarters, destroy all enemy troops choices, and kill all enemy HQs but keep one of your own alive.
Deployment is Spearhead.

Spearhead means that I’ll have an actual range advantage over some armies, and one that I can maintain during the game.

This is the only mission that I can play for the objectives in order to achieve my goals. Careful use of suicide squads to dash in and take out the enemy’s long range weapons should allow me to pick them apart and win on objectives.

~I’ll be testing my theories against several opponents on Thursday, and I’ll let you know how it turns out. What are you bringing out for the ‘Ard Boyz Preliminaries, and how do you plan to play the scenarios? Don't be shy now. It's spillin the beans time...

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LotR TACTICA: Mordor by the Numbers

A guest tactica by: iamadj

In part four of our ongoing War of the Ring series I am going to discus one of the most iconic armies of all time, Mordor. This is it, the original Orc horde, the horde from which all other hordes spring. So lets get down to it.

INFANTRY
Mordor Orc Warband. Mordor Orc are a cheap and flexible unit, able to take two handed weapons, shields or bows, along with the full list of command, including a Shaman. They also have the Mob Rule, special rule, meaning each company of Mordor Orcs in support will add 2 dice instead of 1, so big formations are more useful. The down side to Mordor Orcs, as would be expected, is a rather sub-par stat line, especially in defense; even with a shield they have a measly 5. Because of this I find them best taken with two-handed weapons. They will die in droves but they're cheap so who cares and their large numbers will generate a massive amount of attacks, which the two-handed weapons will translate into kills.

Morannon Orc Warband. Morannon Orcs are Orc heavy infantry and are pretty much the equivalent of other armies main line infantry, such as Warriors of Minas Tirith, Isengard Uruk-Hai, Dwarf Warriors, etc. Use them as such. While many are drawn to them over the Mordor Orcs due to their better stat line, I prefer the sheer destructiveness of Mordor Orcs.

Mordor Uruk-hai Warband. I’m not really found of these guys, they represent a midway point between Mordor and Morannon Orcs, but don’t really seem to fit either role well. I feel that if I really want Uruk-hai in my army I would be much better off allying with Isengard.

Morgul Stalker Warband. This is a pretty cool, and underused unit. While their stat line is not amazing, S4 and prowlers means that they can really hurt units by hitting them in the flank. Wounding most heavy infantry on 4+s is nice. Ambushers is as always a nice rule and helps them get those much needed flank charges, while enchanted cloaks are just fun.

Black Guard of Barad-dur. Now this is a brutal unit, that can really wreck things. High F,S and D are the stats you want in your unit and these guys have them all. Having a captain with fight 6 means they can take on Epic Heroes without to much trouble. These guys really shine when taken with a Shaman (or Ringwraith) The combination of casting “Strength From Corruption” on the unit and their own Berserk rule means that they will on average be S8 on the charge (maybe 10), allowing them to tear up lesser units.

Shagrat’s Tower Guard. A legendary formation of Mordor Uruk-hai, with all the weakness of regular Mordor Uruk-hai, this unit does not really endear itself to me. Shagrat is a pretty good captain, F6 with 3 might, but doesn’t really justify taking the unit to me. The ability to spend might to automatically pass Courage tests is nice but of limited use on a small formation (only 3 companies) with low defense.

Castellans of Dol Guldur. Well whats to say about these guys, they are most likely the best single infantry unit in the game. High strength and defense (without shields!) are nice and make the unit good, but resilience two infantry are what make the unit amazing. Combine this with a host of good rules and they guys can form the center of any battle line and be counted on to destroy just about whatever they face. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Totally.

Gorbab’s Morgul Rats. This is one of my favorite units in the Mordor list. Essentially a unit of normal Mordor Orcs with the ability of move At the Double! twice a turn, I like to combine these guys with the Witchking’s ability to allow units to automatically pass At the double! tests. This in effect allows the Morgul Rats to act as foot cavalry, great for getting flank charges with two-handed weapons.

ARCHERS
Mordor Orc Warband. Poor but cheap archers, they allow you to put out a lot of shots for not too many points. Not a huge fan of these guys myself.

Orc Tracker Warband. Better Orc Archers, with prowlers and Ambushers. These guys have the ability to pop out form hiding and shoot up a units flanks/rear. Prowlers means that even trough they are archers the enemy will think twice about giving you flank/rear charges. They are a little pricy for Orcs.

War Catapult Battery. The heavy artillery of the evil side. Expensive but able to put out a whole lotta hurt, I would take this in bigger games and watch then just smash enemy units.

Siege Bow Battery. One of the better of smaller classes of Artillery, the siege bow is far better then the Gondor equivalent and out ranges in Dwarven counterpart. This thing will tear up enemy units. Taking 3-6 of them may win you games, but it won’t win you friends.

Grishnakh’s Trackers. A legendary formation of Orc Trackers, these guys are pretty nice. Grishnakh has the Take Aim ability allowing him to temporarily increase the shot value of the unit, good when you just HAVE to have those shots, and his 3 might means more heroic shooting. Better then Orc Trackers which are already pretty good these guys have a lot going for them.

CAVALRY
Warg Rider Warband. Mordor’s one unit of cavalry. These guys are firmly in the realm of Light Cav. While they are a good way to get your heroes around these guys need to aim for flanks and rears to do much damage in combat. Don’t expect them survive much punishment either.

MONSTERS
Mordor Troll. The Mordor troll is pretty much your basic monster to which all other monsters are compared. 7s for a lot of its key stats means this guy will either wreck stuff, or die to the first attack he suffers. I’ve seen both happen a lot. Good for either running in groups, or alone on a flank you will see these guys in almost any Mordor army, and for good reason.

Mordor Troll Drummer. A more expensive troll, the drummer allows all friendly formations nearby to count as having a drummer in their formation, i.e. +1 movement. Other then that he is you standard troll. Expect to see with other trolls.

Mordor Troll Chieftain. The Granddaddy of all trolls, this guy can hand out a real beating. Better then a normal troll in almost every way (and twice as costly) with a host a special rules, use this guy anywhere a normal troll isn’t good enough. He can also be used a potent hero killer. I would use him to “lead” a small group of trolls.

Mordor Battering Ram. An amusing unit, useful in scenarios or if you expect to attack a lot of defended terrain. Useless in any other situation.

EPIC HEROES
Shelob. Shelob the Spider queen, while in the books she may lose to a single angry hobbit (and lets face it would you want to fight an enraged hobbit with a glowing sword?) in this game she will kill more then her fair shard of enemies, combining a good number of attacks, S7, prowlers and the ability to reroll misses, she is a deadly killing machine. She is best used against small expensive units as she is not to tough and even a small number of return attacks can see her slinking off to her lair, head hung in shame.

The Necromancer of Dol Guldur. The first (and cheaper) incarnation of Sauron in the Mordor list the Necromancer is one of the most potent casters in the game. With a Mastery level 5 and access to 3 lores he can really put the magical hurt on the enemy. Keep him out of combat, and out of danger.

The Nine are Abroad. A powerful unit combing all nine Reingwraiths into one uber-unit. This is an incredibly deadly unit, but will have a hard time earning its points back. Mastery level 10, means you can cast a lot of spells, but without the ability to cast the same spell more then once you will almost always run out of spells you want to cast before you run out of mastery. While this unit is nice, and can pack a punch, I would rather take the Ringwraiths as special heroes.

Twilight Ringwraiths. Weaker less useful ringwraiths best left for scenarios and the like.

Ringwraith/Winged Nazgul. A discussion of the Ringwraith abilities and which ones ones are best on foot or mounted is best left for its own article. It is sufficient to say that both are very useful choices are I would include at least One Ringwraith and one Winged Nazgul in just about any Mordor army I take. In particular I see no reason to ever take an Orc Shaman when for 25 pts more you can get a ringwraith, who knows more spells, has mastery 3 rather then 2 and a nifty special rule. In addition a word to the wise, be careful with your Nazgul, they are potent, but fragile.

The Mouth of Sauron. Another good Shaman replacement hero. I find the Mouth to be a relatively week hero and would always just rather take a Ringwraith over him.

Gothmog, Castellan of Minas Morgul. Gothmog is without a doubt one of the best heroes in the game. While 4 might, overlord, being an army banner and the all important Epic Strike all for only 110 points might seem like a really good deal, the “Master of Battle” special rule really pushes him over the top. Master of Battle allows Gothmog to mimic any enemy's heroic or Epic action taken with 12’ of him, for free, even if he cannot normally take that action. Let that sink in. He can mimic for FREE. I can’t really describe how awesome this is, but Gothmog is a must have for any Mordor, or any evil player.

Kardush the Fire Caller. Another Shaman replacement hero. Kardush has the ability to cast spells of ruin, something with the Ringwriaths cannot do, which is the only reason I would take him over a ringwriath. Still if you plan on taking Kardush I would think long and hard on whether a Ringwraith can't do his job just as well.

Sauron, The Dark Lord Of Mordor. This is it, the big guy himself, the Lord of the Rings, and boy is he a monster! Clocking in at a mean 500 pts of man killing and elf roasting badness, Sauron is the Lord of Mordor. With the ability to call free epic actions and getting free might Sauron can either make himself a combat monster OR a master wizard, without expending points. While Sauron is a massive beat stick, able to put out the hurt like few other heroes (or full units) he needs to be protected as he can be killed, and without much effort by some heroes or units.

Gollum. A neat little hero that joins enemy rather then friendly units. Gollum doesn’t have much effect on the game by himself, but rather increases the number of casualties an enemy unit is going to suffer. Gollum will almost always end up earning his 50 pts back so if you’ve got the model and the points you might as well try him out.

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BoLScon 2009 Pod-Racing and More!

BoLSCon 2009
August 22-23
Doubletree Hotel, Austin, Texas



So by now you've heard all about our cool events and formal events. Now its time to talk a bit about our BoLScon 2009 after-hours events. Yes that's right, you can play like crazy folks all day, and drag yourselves back for even more fun in the evening.

Friday - August 21st: Lucky 13s and Open Gaming.
If you guys are taking part in the Lucky 13s campaign across the country, have no fear. You can take part in the latest campaign Apocalypse battle and get your participation logged and submitted to GW by our local FLGS.

The Open Gaming is not just a big set of cool tables ready for pickup play. We will have a large set of our own "big-dude" models available for you guys to use (just be careful). If you've ever wanted to field some of our Reavers, Revenants, Gargants, an Eldar Phantom, or even our own Capital Imperialis, this is your change to have a great time with some awesome models.

Saturday - August 22nd: 40k Pod-Racing!
Oh you heard that right. The racing pits are open Saturday night, so grab a skimmer of your choice and see if you're the fastest racer in the galaxy. Here is your totally free set of Pod-racing rules for you to practice with in your local playgroups, and we hope to see you at the track!


40k Pod-Racing Rules

If you have a bits box and a need to show off your conversion skills, brew up a 40k Pod-racer the likes of which have never been seen and see if you can win the grand prize in our BoLScon Pod-Racer Hot-rod Exibition. All races are eligable. Now this isn't just some simple conversion challenge here. We want you guys to pull out the stops on your pod-racers. If it has neon running lights, vibrates, hops, plays music when you touch it, has the most high-gloss metallic paintjob a 40k table has ever seen, or anything else, come ready to impress! Here are some pictures to help inspire your hot-rod conversions:

War of the Ring Tournament – The very first War of the Ring GT event. This three game event runs on Saturday August 22. We expect to see all the monsters of Middle Earth rampaging around the field in this event.

War of the Ring Tournament – On Sunday August 23. That makes two days of tournaments for your War of the Ring armies, with two days of prizes!

Warhammer Fantasy Point Tournament – Two days and seven games of Fantasy battles. One of the few tournaments ever run with enough games to determine a true winner based on the Swiss System. No composition restrictions, just strategy and tactics on the field. Please note that this is not a ‘Ard Boyz event, so Sportsmanship matters – taking a maximum Power Dice Tzeentch list and being a jerk about it is not going to be a winning strategy.

Warhammer Fantasy Consolation Bracket – For those who have a bad day one of the Fantasy Tournament, we have a totally separate track for day two, the Consolation Tournament. And unlike many other Consolation Tournaments, ours has placings and prizes. While no one is required to move to the Consolation Bracket, we expect that this offering will be fun for all participants.

Warhammer 40K Tournament – Two days, seven games, maximum carnage. Come find out if you’re the best tactician in the Grim Dark Future.

Warhammer 40K Consolation Bracket – Just as in the Fantasy bracket, some people will have a bad first day. The Consolation Bracket lets you reset your game face and play day two for prizes and placings, putting all those 1s behind you.

Warhammer 40K Narrative Events – Competitive tournament events not your thing? We’ve got just the ticket for people that prefer a game with a story. Based on our own Horus Heresy, Macharian Crusade, and upcoming Badab War sourcebooks, we will have 2 days of 3000 point action for you. With prizes for accomplishing events in the storyline (and for dramatic failures, too), the Narrative Events are the perfect anti-tournament option.

Painting Contests – We have painting contests in 12 categories, with multiple placings possible. Expect to see some of the finest painting in the US on display.

$4000 Prize Pool – Lots of Forgeworld goodies, battalion boxes, and more.

LETS GET REGISTERED! There are less than 2 months to go!

~Come on down to beautiful, sunny Austin and enjoy a weekend of your favorite games with the Fly Lords. We'll see ya there!

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: Sucky units are Fun?!?

Every game has pieces that just aren't that good. Whether they are cards, minis, or just units in some kind of pixilated battlefield, each game has something that just seems to scream, “SUCK”.

First of all, what makes a unit terrible? The way I define a “crap” unit is something that costs too much and doesn’t do anything to improve your game in some way (beyond making your opponent giggle or feel superior). There are a lot of these units in the game and I what I want to talk about today is how to make them into more then just crap units.

So what are crap units good for? Lots of things as I have discovered in my own journey to create an effective yet fun army. Today I want to go into how I use them and what I expect out of each subpar 5th string JV unit I sometimes use.

Your army is built of threats. Your opponent has to decide what is an immediate threat and how to best nullify it as quickly as possible. Now how does a crap unit even register as a threat? Well most of the time they don’t, which gives them an advantage when trying to get somewhere across the board. There are many times I have had my lesser daemons live a lot longer then they should have, because people don’t respect their awesome crapitude. This lack of a threat makes these units a great option to get somewhere and become an annoyance. Nothing is better then watching your unit get a group of guys off an objective with a well time assault, or just get in the way when someone wants to get somewhere. This is where sub-par units can be great, since their lack of threat status to the opponent means they can be left alone to pick flowers or run around the field.

Another thing I find crap units good for is a bit of comedic relief in a game. Nothing is funnier then watching bad assault units win an assault. You could have a bunch of grots taking down a greater daemon. I know the chance for that to happen is slight, but it still can happen especially when rolling a ton of dice. These bad units excel in creating odd-ball situations that can create cool narratives that might not normally happen in a tough game. One of my recent games had a squad of lesser daemons take out a predator in 3 turns by immobilizing it, blowing up the heavy bolter in their face, and finally taking it out by blowing up all the weapons. It was like a big gremlin fight trying to get into the squishy center and made for a funny moment as these daemons tried to blow up this tank as slowly as possible. In the end, its the crazy moments that often leave the most lasting memories years from now.

I went into this a bit earlier but sub-par units are good for speed bumping guys. They might not win combat, but a lot of the times they can make sure that walker or big threat has to chew through some guys for awhile before they can go do something more threatening. That is the main use of my Lesser Daemons as well as the Possessed I take in my current Bile build. I don’t expect them to do anything extremely awesome, but when they do it will be very cool. Nothing is more fun then watching these flying possessed have to sit outside of their rhino and then take out some hapless enemy command squad.

Now I am not saying you should always take crap units, I just want people to rethink some of their army builds and how they might be changed to just be a bit more fun to play against. I know we all like to win, but I always prefer a hard fought game, not a 3rd turn sucker punch to the jaw.

Goatboy's Weekly Army
Now Ard Boyz is coming up and I wanted to show what I decided to play this time around. I don’t really feel like needing to win, so I decided to tweak out my Bile list and just mess around with a different build. It has a lot of movement for Chaos as well as a ton of scoring units. I know the Killpoint missions are going to hurt, but who really cares at this point. All I know is I get another 3 game day and I can hopefully have some cool games.

Father’s (Fabius Bile) Super Awesome Ard Boyz of Doom – V1.1

HQ: The Father (Counts as Fabius Bile)
HQ: First Born (Counts as Kharn)

Elites: Possessed (6), MoT, Asp Champ, Rhino

Troops: CSM (9), Bile Upgrade, Meltagun (2), Asp Champ, Pwr Fist, MoK, Rhino
Troops: CSM (9), Bile Upgrade, Meltagun (2), Asp Champ, Pwr Fist, MoK, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (5), Plasma Gun (2), Asp champ, Pwr Fist, Plasma Pistol, Personal Icon, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (5), Plasma Gun (2), Asp champ, Pwr Fist, Plasma Pistol, Personal Icon, Rhino
Troops: Plague Marines (5), Meltagun(2), Asp champ, Pwr Fist, Combi-melta, Personal Icon, Rhino
Troops: Lesser Daemons (6)
Troops: Lesser Daemons (6)
Troops: Lesser Daemons (6)

Heavy: Obliterators (2)
Heavy: Obliterators (2)

~So lets hear about your adventures with "crap" units and some of your most memorable game moments with them. I know there are some awesome tall tales out there. Oh and check out 40k radio, as I was a special guest on Saturday night. And as usual, shoot me an email if you have any questions etc.

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40K NEWS: How to Paint Citadel Tanks

Hi guys,

A quick one here. This little one kind of slipped in under the radar, but its up on the Advanced Order page for you guys who want a nice how-to guide for the vehicle kits out there. I've found these books to be useful for the newcomers who have never tackled larger kits before as there are quite a few techniques that differ between them and the standard 28mm models.

Price: $25.00
Release date: Aug 1st

~The description text says this book details the construction and painting of 5 vehicle kits. Any guesses which ones they are based on that cover? :)

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40K NEWS: Ard Boyz Prelims and Missions

Hey all you Warhammer 40k tournament junkees. Games Workshop put up the list of locations for the July 11th Ard Boys prelims and the mission pack to get you ready.

Ard Boys Basics

Participating Stores List

Mission Pack

~Ard Boys is great fun, and I recommend it to anyone who want to try something new. WOW, check out that Killpoint chart on Mission 2, and guard your HQs well!

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40K NEWS: Forgeworld Goodies: June 2009

Hi folks,

Forgeworld has 2 new offering this month.

Inferno gun and Turbo laser for the Mars Class Warhound Titan
Vraksian Renegade Heavy Stubber team.

These are available for immediate release and shipping. Look here.

~Pretty Nice! They also say that Siege of Vraks: 3 is complete and off to the printers, so look for it soon.

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40K Pic of the Day 6-27-09

INTO THE BREACH!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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NEWS: Goatboy Crashes 40kRadio LIVE!

Hi everybody,

Goatboy will be the LIVE guest host on tonight's 40KRadio show, discussing everything Codex:Chaos related. Don't miss it!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Saturday, June 27
9-11 PM Eastern

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40K CHALLENGE: IG Command Squad Challenge is Closed!

OK, The Battleforge Games Imperial Guard Command Challenge is closed for further submissions. We have gotten a boatload of great command squads and are getting the finalists ready for you all to vote on.



~I would like to thank everyone who entered, and may the best painter win. Look for the finalists poll early in the week and lets see who gets that Valkyrie prize courtesy of Battleforge Games.

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WFB NEWS: Bloodbowl for PC Ships

The digital download version of Bloodbowl for the PC is available now.

Check it out here: MSRP:$49.00



The 8 races included are:
-Humans
-Orcs
-Dwarves
-Skaven
-Chaos
-Lizardmen
-Goblins
-Wood elves

~There is a new trailer to see here, so let me know what you think of the Warhammer Universe's most famous team sport.

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40K ARMY LIST: Methalor 2.0

So some of you may remember my old Methalor Penal Legion army I made for the Macharian Crusade. With the new IG book I decided it was time to revamp and touch up the old guys. The list I made ended up being pretty different in form than my old list, but it seems like a lot of fun.

HQ
Primaris Psyker 70
Primaris Psyker 70

These guys seems like a blast. I load them up in the Valks with some Veterans and they get to blow 4d6 S 6 shots on the flank. If it's a MC or vehicle then they'll re-roll to hit thanks to Bastonne and the 'Take it Down!' order.

Troops
Penal Legion 80
Penal Legion 80
Penal Legion 80

These just seem like a natural choice for this army. The fact that they are stubborn, can outflank, and can roll some really cool abilities just sweetens the deal.

Veterans w/ 3*Meltaguns 100

These guys load up in one of the Valkeries and try to down a vehicle on the flank with their meltas.

Veterans w/ 3* Grenade Launchers, Missle Launcher, Powerfist 115

These guys control my backfield and take pot shots.

Veterans w/ 3*Plasmaguns, Grenadiers, Bastonne 205

These guys hang out with the Psykers, issue orders to themselves, and contest and hold far objectives.

Fast Attack
2*Valkyries w/ 1*multiple rocket pods, 1*Lascannon 245

I suppose these have been explained pretty clearly in the other entries, but I have to give a shout out to the multiple rocket pods, they are awesome.

2*Banewolves w/ Heavy flamer, Smoke Launchers 270
2*Banewolves w/ Heavy flamer, Smoke Launchers 270

These squadrons are really, really killy. In a game Thursday a group of them destroyed a twenty man combined Infantry squad, and today one of the squadrons killed an entire Thousand Sons squad. They do the most damage in the list.


Heavy Support
Demolisher w/ Hull Heavy Bolter, Plasma cannon sponsons 205
Demolisher w/ Hull Lascannon, Multimelta sponsons 210

These guys can do a few things for the list. Foremost they attract alot of fire and are very resilient. They are also this lists main way to kill 2+ armour.

~So how are everyones old IG armies converting over to the new book? I was really afraid for my army because it was so specialized and had so many Last Chancers, but thanks to Veterans being Troops and the Penal Legion selection, my army actually came out fine. It's funny, most people got to add stuff to their army with the new book, I have less infantry now!~

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40K RUMORS: Minis From the Age of Yore

Something short but oh so tantalizingly sweet for us Warhammer 40k old-schoolers...

So a little bird told us that GW was going to start a program in which gamers could essentially petition to have some of their favorite classic models brought back into the collectors range. This of course all depends if they still have the original mould to work off of, and the number of requests. There will supposedly be a mention of this program in one of the upcoming White Dwarfs.

~Standard caveats on this one, but it would be pretty cool if true. There are still a few gems out there in the ancient ranges. My personal favorites are Jes' original Eldar Aspect Warriors. What old-school mini would you most want to see return to the light of day if you could pick any one?

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WFB PAINTING: Bigred's Druchii Complete!

"Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty I'm free at last!"

My friends, it has been a long road. Almost 20 years ago I choose 40k over Fantasy and swore I would never look back. Then last year I saw those plastic Cold One Knights, and something in my icy Grinch heart skipped a beat... I was enthralled.






You have been with me along this journey. First I choose a paint-scheme, then began the slow grind of painting more, and more, and yet more.

September 08- Bigred Picks His Army
November 08 - First Units Painted
May-09 - Army Mostly Completed

As I was painting, I was also reading everything I could regarding the Old World as the last time I was into Warhammer it still had Fimir in it. Along with this came my training games, and let me tell you losing 12 games straight is just what anyone who is struggling to find incentive to paint that 3rd set of 12 crossbowmen really needs :)

But at last I stand before you... With my army done. I don't feel like I'm a good Fantasy player, but it is no longer foreign and I have a new exciting feeling. When I play this new exciting game with my new fully painted army, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of sheer FUN I'm having.

~Now that my first Warhammer Fantasy army is complete, its time to start my next army. Its for yet another GW game system and it also involves pointy ears. Yes I know, I am a glutton for punishment... My wife says its a sickness, I hope I never recover :)

Comments are welcome (yes I know, I'm working on banner logos now), but lets hear about what armies you are working on now, and what you hope to start up as your next army project?

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40K NEWS: Planestrike Strikes, July 4 Events

In addition to GW's Planetstrike product launch on July 4, many Games Workshop stores and independent retailers will be hosting Planetstrike hobby events that day to give everyone a chance to test out the new scenery and expansion rules.

For example, GW's Maryland Battle Bunker & HQ will be hosting The Battle Of Cold Steel Ridge, a massive mega-event pitting players against a Tyranid Hive army of more than 25,000 points! Rally your troops, prime your weapons, set your fuses and prepare for war. This game will combine Planetstrike with Apocalypse over ten large game tables for one of the largest Battle Bunker game events ever held by GW in the US. Similarly Planetstrike-themed events will take place in stores all over North America that day. Please contact your local game store for information about specific events in your area.

I'm looking forward to playing a lot of Planetstrike. My Chaos and Dark Angel armies both have massive amounts of Terminators and my new Space Marine army will have at least a half-dozen Drop Pods in it. Like Apocalypse, Planestrike should really allow people with large collections of models to give them a good showing on the game table.

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40K SNEAK PEEK: Bastion and Skyshield - Unboxed

Hi all,

Well guys it was only a matter of time before some lucky Warhammer 40k fanatic got an early shipment of Planetstrike goodies. The fine folks over at Beasts of War have thrown up 2 videos of the Bastion and Skyshield kits and sprues. Enjoy!





Bastion Video




Skyshield Video

~In partcular, I'm pretty happy with the fine texture on the bastion. I was initially worried it was going to be glass smooth and look pretty drab painted up, but fine texture like that should give good results with dry-brushing, and many other scale modeling weathering techniques. Also, that Skyshield is HUGE!

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40K EDITORIAL: Five Precepts of 40K

Any approach to a broad set of tactical guidelines is necessarily either incomplete or terrifyingly long and tedious (and also incomplete). So here are a few thoughts from military history translated into 40K for you.

1) Do nothing which is of no use. - Musashi
When you build your army, have a purpose in mind for every unit (even if the purpose is just looking good, admit that). If you don’t have a purpose in mind, don’t include the model in your army. When you deploy your forces, if you don’t know what you expect to do with a unit, don’t deploy it. Maybe you’ll figure out a use for the unit before it comes in from Reserve. When moving units, move towards a goal or don’t move. I’ve won games by ignoring one of my units until the crucial moment and having my opponent do the same until it was too late.

2) Generals who save troops for the next day are always beaten. – Napoleon
Every unit must be deployed to be used up in the pursuit of the objectives. For example, a tactical combat squad deployed in the middle of the board in Dawn of War against Tyranids is going to die. It also keeps the Tyranids from putting a Tyrant and 50 Gaunts halfway across the board. Likely suicide in pursuit of objectives is far superior to preserving your forces in pursuit of nothing but preservation.

3) The best armor is to be out of range. – Italian Proverb
Just because you deploy your forces to be used up to achieve your goals doesn’t mean you waste them. For example, if your opponent has meltaguns arriving in drop pods, deploy your tanks with infantry to keep the pods more than 6” from your tanks. Another example is deploying your long-range shooting to knock out enemy fast transports. Always deploy looking towards the order you have to kill the enemy forces in to keep them from being effective. Always move to minimize the enemy’s options to hurt your key units.

4) Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. – Sun Tzu
If you can get your enemy to commit to a course of action you have prepared for, you stand a better chance of winning. A good example is a Chimera placed so that an Ork Mob can assault them. No matter what happens to the Chimera, the Mob is now piled up to get burned by Hellhounds. Another good example is a Seer Council. The Council can’t win a game, but it can cause your opponent to lose by drawing all the fire onto it instead of important targets. Even the best opponent can be enticed if the bait is good enough.

5) Plans are nothing, planning is everything. – Eisenhower
Unless you’re very lucky, you won’t be able to do what you expected to do with every unit when the game started. However, if you didn’t make plans before you placed a model on the board, you’ve conceded the initiative to your opponent. Always approach the table with a plan. Then make a new one after you know what you’re facing. And then spend every turn during your opponent’s moves making a new one. Planning effects every single aspect of the game, from army construction on up.

~Nothing I’ve written here is innovative or revolutionary; everyone should know these things. Nevertheless, I believe that following these simple precepts improves my game and will improve yours as well. Thoughts, and examples are welcome fellow generals.

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40K Pic of the Day 6-24-09

Peek-a-boo!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K SNEAK PEAK: Plastic Battlescape

Intrepid Reader Paul G. snapped these pics of the upcoming large plastic battlescape at GD-Toronto.

It seems to be in the same rough size and category as the Temple of Skulls, but for 40k of course. You can see the underside of the piece has plastic ribbing for strength, and the piece is large based on the size of that wrecked rhino.





~It would hard to fit more than a couple on a single 4x6 board, but I coult certainly see an oversized apocalypse board having a handful for that blasted WW-1 theme. Pricing is rumored to be @$25 with an August release.

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Iron Halo Valkyrie Challenge

Hi Everybody,
Those folks over at Iron Halo are having a painting challenge and a giveaway! Who's in?

One of thier latest products is a full line of scenic oval bases that match the new Valkyrie flying base. There are several still in production, but the following 7 are ready to go:




Southern Sands

Battlefield of Thran

Wyldewoode

Valhalla

Tauran Refinery

The Keep

The Fens

These bases will look great for your large monsters and of course for your flyers. Now the Iron Halo folks need a nicely painted Valkyrie model to show off their bases, and that is where the BoLS readers come in.

The Giveaway

Iron Halo is giving away two of each of our new oval bases only to BOLS readers.

The first people to email: painting@ironhalo.net with the base you want, gets it mailed out to you. You can put down a second choice if you want.

The Catch

Well, as I said Iron Halo needs to see painted flyers on these bases (Valkryies or any Forgeworld flyer is fine), so the catch is:

You base-giveaway winners have to send us photos of your painted flyer on the base (painted) we send you, and put up a review of the base on our site.

This needs to be done by the end of July 2009. So before you email for a free base, make sure you can commit to this.

Enjoy the new bases.

Alan and Rachel
Ironhalo.net

UPDATE from Iron Halo!!!
You guys can stop emailing, as the free giveaways are already accounted for! Thank you all for emailing!

I want to expand this to a full painting competition in light of the response and the comments.

We will open this up to anyone who buys one of the oval bases and gets us painted pics of a flyer on it by the end of July, not just the free ones.

And to make it more interesting;

1. There will be a 15% discount for all orders. And you can order more than just the oval. BOLS-OVAL is the code. http://ironhalo.net/store//catalog/

2. We will give away 3 prizes of vouchers, a $50US, a $30 US and a $20 US to the 3 that get the most votes, and we will also give out 3 $15 US spot prizes for random coolness we like, that may or may not be the best painted.

Once you have painted the base and model, please send me a photo at this email address, and I will get the next stage of the competition going.

Please note, you can put any flyer model on that you want, you can use the funky GW flying stem if you wish, or not, you can paint the base anyway you want, you can add any details to the base if you wish. What I want to see is how you have used it, and how cool your flyer looks on the base.

The discount code is up and running now, so go at it. I can’t wait to see peoples pics.

In addition, we have a new base going up for sale tonight; it’s the Oval base for the Trenches of Agin Range. It’s been done up as a fox hole, with space in the middle for your stand. So it looks like the model is flying over an abandoned fox hole.

I don’t have photos yet, but if it sounds like something that would fit your army then check out the store.

Alan,

Ironhalo.net

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40K TACTICA: Necron Monoliths (v 2.0)

Bushido here, back from vacation. I've done a few articles on the less powerful units in the Necron codex, so I'm going to write about one of the best. The Monolith is one of my favorite models in all of 40k and I enjoy its uniqueness in games.

Anyone who has had to play against monolith's knows how tough they can be. Though they are slow, the armor 14 all around and the ability to nullify many armies anti-heavy armor weaponry. The prevalence of melta weapons in the current 5th edition environment means that many marine and guard armies are going to have trouble taking them down.

Also, an often forgotten fact about the particle whip is that the model under the center hole on the template must take the AP 1 hit it delivers. Though the wound can be distributed around to whichever model in the unit your opponent wants according to the new FAQ, ap1 against vehicles is always a good thing. Even without the AP1 center hole, a ST 9 large template is always helpful.

The portal can also be invaluable if you need a particular squad to make more We'll Be Back rolls or to get a squad in position to take/contest an objective or unload their weapons at max capacity. As the vast majority of Necrons are terrible in close combat, the ability to teleport out can mean the difference between losing at least one squad, to annihilating the attacking squad.

Even the secondary weapon can be spectacular against a well packed in opponent. D6 shots at every unit even partially within a 12" radius can be pretty devastating.

PROS: Armor 14 all around, deep strike, good weapons, teleport portal.

CONS: High point cost, slow.

TRICKS: There are a number of tricks I've done using monoliths. The most fun being to deep strike all three monolith's in the middle of a guard army, unloading on everything around. I probably destroyed a quarter of his army in that one turn, including doing some battle damage to his russes.

I have also used the portal from two monoliths with one particular build to deliver 2 squads of Wraiths with war scythe armed destroyer lords into a first turn assault!

Even the warriors special reserves rule can be brutal. 20+ gauss shots can do some serious damage to smaller squads or even armor with enough glancing gauss hits.

Unfortunately, the new FAQ negates many of the advantages that were clearly explained in the codex. I'm not sure what the reason for this was, but I certainly never had any questions about the wording.

~Has anyone out there used any other fancy moves using monoliths or had something tricky done to you? Does anyone still plan for monolith's when considering anti-vehicle weapons?

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40K Pic of the Day 6-23-09

INCOMING!!!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K EDITORIAL: Dark Eldar, Seven Games In

Following up on last week's article, my descent into the black pits of Kabalite Eldar depravity continue. I didn’t get in a game against Orks this week, as Goatboy and I got our schedules crossed. I did get in two more games against Marines, and two games against Imperial Guard. Here is what I learned this week:

1) Mechanized Imperial Guard don’t do any better than Space Marines when they get jumped by Dark Eldar.

2) The Nightmare Doll is worth it. Making the enemy reroll their die for choosing sides (and therefore going first) is well worth a 50/50 chance to take a wound on the Archon.
EDIT - I did this wrong. This is the rule I've struggled with more than any other in 5e. I've had it right and wrong in my head multiple times, and clearly I had it wrong in my head last Thursday when I was making changes before the game.

3) Leman Russ Squadrons are still a pain to kill when you shoot them with one lance at a time.

4) Dark Eldar are good, but not good enough to win with a 500 point deficit against a good opponent. Even if the opponent is Chaos Space Marines. I did almost get a draw against Darkwynn’s Ard Boyz list, but this isn’t horseshoes.

5) The Talos Claw rule makes it easy for one to struggle killing any vehicle.

I tabled the Imperial Guard in 4 turns for the non-fully mechanized and 5 for the fully mechanized 9-Russ list (he kept reserves that didn't come in until his turn 4).

So I’m going to take Dark Eldar for Ard Boyz, at least for practice. My list is something like:

Super Archon Squad with Drazhar (2 Blasters), in a Raider
Super Dracon Squad (2 Blasters), in a Raider
6 Wyches (2 Blasters), with Sybarite, in a Raider
6 Wyches (2 Blasters), with Sybarite, in a Raider
4 Warp Beast Pack
3x 10 Warriors (2 Dark Lances)
3x 6 Warrior Raider Squads(Blaster), with Sybarites
3x Ravagers (2x Disentegrators, Night Shields)
Every Raider has a Dark Lance and Horrorfex

~I’ll let you all know how testing goes this week. And the Mon-keigh say the forces of Commorragh are weak... What say you?

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EPIC: Look what I found...

Look what I found floating around the internets:

EPIC NECRONS!


AND 'NIDS!


This proof of concept document was put together by a team of Epic enthusiasts seeking to add Necron and Tyranid support to the game.

I understand this proof of concept was submitted to GW and FW for consideration. I think you'll agree these "greens" are 31 flavours of 100% pure Awesome, so please join with me in shouting out to GW and FW:

Give these guys a job...stat!!

For more information, see this thread on the Tactical Command forums.

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BoLScon 2009 GW Announcements

BoLSCon 2009
August 22-23
Doubletree Hotel, Austin, Texas


Hi everybody. This week we would like to announce that Games Workshop will be in attendance at BoLScon 2009. Our special guest will be John Shaffer, master hobbyist from Games Workshop. John will be around all weekend to talk about modeling projects, conversions, and all the clever tricks you need to get your army from good to amazing. So make sure to stop by and talk with one of the true talents in the hobby. Check out some of John's work:

Word Bearer Sorceror Lord

Army of the Dead

IG Mordant 13th

There will also be an official Games Workshop seminar to talk about upcoming products and anything else they want to throw your way.

Finally, don't forget about our over $4000 of prize support including these fine examples! BoLScon may have the highest level of prize support per attendee you've ever seen, so don't miss out.



BRASS SCORPION




WARHAMMER FIRE DRAGON

Registration - Don't wait to register, as space is filling in at all events, including 40k, Fantasy, LotR, and 40k Narrative events.

REGISTER NOW! Get that Cheap Airfare ASAP


~Come on down to beautiful, sunny Austin and enjoy a weekend of your favorite games with the Fly Lords. We'll see ya there!

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: Ard Boyz Breakdown

‘Ard boyz is now upon us and we all have to think about ways to make our armies stronger to face the sheer amount of idiocy that 2500 points can bring to the table. Each codex has their own ways to get to 2500 points and what I want to discuss today is how to create these armies.

Lets start with some of the newer codexes. The new ones have an odd design sense to them, because they seem to be meant to be played at 1750-2000 points. You can see this in how they somehow can easily fit some nice basic troop selections plus some crazy pieces and still have room left for some random Fast Attack choices and other HQ choices. I know a few times that I have built a Marine army and somehow fit all the things I want in it, and still have points left to add powerfists or combi-meltas for the sergeants.

IG - The new dog on the block and one of the few armies that can easily fit in some extra bits from the Daemon/Witch hunter book to create a force that can just about give hell to any incoming army. I personally feel that this new design easily lets you build out to 2000 points, with tanks, guys, and more tanks. I would probably look at two basic troop choices with lascannons plus a few sprinklings of special characters and then look at filling up on some devastating tanks. From there, I would ally with some mystics and an inquistor to give you a cheap and effective hood. Psychic battle squad might be a nice addition to help deal with Emperor fearing armies and you got something that I would not want to see across the table from me.

Marines – Marines are an interesting build, as I really feel you can build out a strong army at 2000 points, and with the 500 extra points you can add in some crazy stuff to help out. I really like Lysander as the main HQ, and feel his stubborn ability, plus mixed in with his insane combat and vehicle hunting skills, makes him a natural choice to lead the army. The other thought would be to add in a chaplain to lead some TH/SS termies, or maybe a librarian to help gate them around. Mix this with 3+ tactical choices with razorbacks and you got a pretty nice looking army that should put the hurt on a lot of enemies. Make sure to take meltas everywhere, as usually point limits like this will cause the armor 14 Land Raiders to come out and play. Nothing takes the wind out of an opponent's sails like popping one a LR early and leaving the troops sitting not so pretty in the wind.

Daemons – The extra 500 points really allow you to fill out a lot of your army. Personally, if I were to play this I would take a Khorne/Nurgle build with Fateweaver leading the front. 1 large Bloodcrusher squad, plus 2 Fiend squads to help deal with walkers would be the main smash of the army. 2 Plaguebearer units, followed by some Bloodletters and a full suite of Daemon Princes would be the way to go for my build. The other HQ would be a Bloodthirster as its mech crushing skills will be very handy. Each Daemon Prince would be Mark of Nurgle with wings, flies, and some armor. I am not the biggest fan of the army, but I feel this build can give a lot of trouble to people, as well as be fun to play with and against.

Orks – Nob bikerz have been taken off their high seat with the incoming templates of the IG army. So how would I play them differently? I would probably go for a BW list with stormboyz and trukk boyz running around. Nob squad in a BW, Triple 20-man boyz, plus some lootas should help you take opponents down. Look for that second turn full assault and you will see lots of army men wilt to the incoming green tide. The big mek will be working double time as he tries to save as much as he can by his field. I still see a problem for the army with Land Raiders, but hopefully a strength 10 klaw can punch through its Emperor blessed armor. This codex is one of the few that I feel has a similar design aesthetic like IG, where there are multiple avenues to create strong and flavorful armies.

Chaos – I still think Chaos has a good chance to do well, due to the fact that they can take one of the best heavy support options in the game, as well as still be assaulty when needed due to the technology of having a superior basic equipment on the basic Chaos Marine. I would probably mix a Plaguemarine heavy list, followed by lesser daemons as an additional scoring unit. Mix that with 9 oblits and either Lash Princes or MoN assault princes to help out. Lash might not be the best option now due to the sheer amount of mech you are starting to see come out. I prefer the assault guarantee of the MoN prince, just due to the fact he won’t be shot nearly as much as the Lash guy will. The extra points will allow you to field some of the crazier Chaos builds out there, as you have more room to wiggle in extra guys. Look for some 3+ Land Raider builds to come out, as they are one of the few armies that can fit a lot in.

Eldar – An older codex that needs a points update to help keep them in line with everyone else, is still something to fear when staring at them across the table. Bright lances can pop mech, as well as a seer council kitted up to take you out. They also have one of the best anti psychic options in the game, as well as having some of the better powers. Look for a seer council build, mixed with wave serpents and fire dragons to do well versus any heavy mech list. IG put a hurt on the army, but with some smart playing, they can try to limit the damage done to them and still score at the end. The extra points means they are more in line with some of the newer builds as they can spend the extra bits on the troop sections they need. It also means more flying transports waiting to give you a gift of pointy eared vengence.

Blood Angels/Black Templars/Space Wolves/Dark Angels – These older Space Marine chapter builds are all dangerous to play against. The extra 500 points allows them to play with some more toys that can still hurt you. Any one of these armies that get into assault, can beat whoever they are playing against. Not my favorite armies to play, as I find them somewhat limited in army builds. I would still not assume they are an easy win if you see them across the table.

Tryanids – One of the few codexes I feel that has a good chance versus guard. Large templates that cause pinning, mixed with high wound MC’s makes IG very fearful. Mix that with weapons that cause your big tanks to not shoot and you got something that will keep you stuck as your assault units get into place to kill a bunch of weenie guard. Orks were keeping this army in check, and with the drop in ork armies as well as overall design builds, it means Nids might be a good dark horse to take. I would probably take two kitted out Fexes to help run into combat and bring the pain to the tin cans you might see running around. Implant attack does a number on Nob bikerz too. Play smart and look for the objectives too, as your MC’s can last awhile and cause players to concentrate on them too much as you get stuff done mission-wise. The 500 points means you can really max out your 3 Heavy Fex choices, so be prepared for 5 wound, 2+ save abominations running towards you.

Tau – Flying fish can be good and the mantra I would say for any Tau player is, don’t get out of the transports unless you have too. They still have one of the best basic guns in the game, plus mixed with a great long-range cannon of doom that can hurt anything it hits. Marker lights help get rid of all those pesky cover saves as well. I like the two commander list a local player is throwing around. Lots of fish mixed with the flying tank of doom. Move around the board and pull an opponent along and finish them off with your massed fire. 500 points for them mean more upgrades on vehicles, as they normally max out the troop choices. Look for more piranhas as the extra points help round out your anti tank options.

Dark Eldar – Is the dark horse that has gotten very strong with 5th edition. Buckets of dark lances can still be a pain for any mech army plus you have an extremely efficient assault unit to use to mop up afterwards. The biggest thing with this build is that it is boring to play, as you can usually zip around any opponent and put out fire that hurts anything in the game. I would watch out for these lists to do well as the extra 500 points means the maximum number of lances as well as two extremely hard hitting assault units to hit your face with on turn 2 anywhere on the table.

Necrons – The extra points means you won’t get phased out as easily as before. You can also load up on those Monoliths that give many armies fits to try and deal with. Look for more warriors then you are normally used too, mixed with floating tanks of doom. Not the best choice personally, as losing to a crappy army restriction is not always fun, and a smart opponent will try and take advantage of that. Hopefully the new codex will drop the phase out rule.

Witch/Daemon Hunters – Looking for them to be hanging out with IG most of the time. Their older rules mixed with slightly unfair equipment options means they are a natural fit for the crazy tournament known as Ard Boyz. I would see the Inquistor psychic hood start to become a mandatory choice for many armies who can take them. It is just too cheap and useful versus some of the more powerful psychic options available.

So that is some of the thoughts for army builds in the upcoming Ard Boyz. What kind of army are you going to play? What kind of armies do you think you will see? What armies scare you the most?

As usual, shoot me an email at goatboybols@gmail.com if you have any questions. I wanted to throw a pic of a newly commissioned piece. I did not build this model, but I did paint it. It as an Arbite repression vehicle based off the Ork Battlewagon kit. For those wanting to know, this is the 3rd Battlewagon I have painted and look for at least 6 more (2 for a client and 4 for me). Fun times indeed.

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WFB Pic of the Day 6-21-09

Icy hearts on the icy plains of Naggaroth
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K TACTICA: Plotting & Planning for Planetstrike!

A friend of mine at GW US HQ proposed an irresistible topic to me this week (thanks, C.M.), so here it is for your consideration and participation. With so many preview copies of Planetstrike out there now, surely some gamers must already be plotting the nefarious destruction of their enemies. Whether you're contemplating a set of intricate and stalwart defenses to trip up invaders or planning a destructive lightning strike to circumvent those defenses, the new set-up, force organization, deployment and stratagems for Planetstrike likely have many 40K players thinking quite a bit about this latest expansion for their favorite game. So, here gentle players pretending to be merciless commanders, are some questions to get you thinking and sharing ideas about Planetstrike:

1) What are some sample mean army compositions or nasty unit combinations for each 40K army using the new Planetstrike force organization for both attackers and defenders?
2) Which of the new stratagems seem to be the most effective? Least effective? Most colorful and fun? Also, note that the new stratagems have a "cost" depending on their perceived efficacy such that some of them use up multiple stratagem points. Which of them are possibly overpriced or under priced and why?
3) Which armies have the greatest potential as attackers? Defenders?
4) When combining Planetstrike with Apocalypse, which Apoc units and formations will be the most wicked, or fun, or wicked fun to employ?

I don't play all that often these days, but when I do I prefer to play expansion games, using Cities of Death, Apocalypse and now Planestrike I'm sure. I like the colorful fun, large forces, and role play elements that these expansions reintroduce into 40K, bringing back many of the best things about the Rogue Trader first edition of the game without any of the problems.

I'll start off the suggestions for Apoc formations that would be fun in Planetstrike. I recently finished a Titanhammer formation for the new Space Marine army I'm building and I can't help but think about how great a Titanhammer will be in Planetstrike as well as plain Apocalypse. Whether they're launched like an attacking lightning bolt or used as a flexible tool for reacting to problem areas in one's defenses, a Titanhammer should add some real excitement to any combination Planetstrike-Apoc game.

Finally, I'm going to invite my fellow Fly Lord, Goatboy, to do what he does so well in the near future as a follow-up to this article and come up with some cool army composition and tactical suggestion articles for Planestrike of his own.

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40K NEWS: Ork Battlewagon Accessory Sprue

Look what's coming in hot off the GW presses:

"Ork Warbosses and Battlewagon krew everywhere have been awaiting the release of the Battlewagon Upgrade Pack since the Battlewagon's release in Janu-Waaargh!-ry - and today at Toronto Games Day, it was finally revealed.
Ork Battlewagon Upgrade Pack

This new sprue - the first plastic frame to be designed exclusively as a Bitz Pack - includes the mighty Deff Rolla, a lobba, a brutal-looking killcannon and a cheeky Grot rigger. Available to order from the 1st August, make sure you check out the Incoming! article on Monday to see more of this new Bitz Pack."



Deff-rolla Sprue pic from GD-Toronto, courtesy of BoLS Reader: Big Willie

~Look for this to show up August 1st. And some folks said it would never ship...

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BoLS RSS Special Request

So remember when Google messed with the auto forwarding to our new .net domain (you all have updated your links to point at http://www.belloflostsouls.net/ right)?

Well it looks like our older legacy RSS feed is somehow tied up in the issue as well. I would suggest that anyone who uses our RSS feed, re-subscribe via the button on the top right-hand column. Until Google works through this issue, the old legacy RSS feed may not be updating. The new one you want for your RSS readers is: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/BellOfLostSouls

UPDATE: You bloggers may also want to re-add our current www.belloflostsouls.net address to your google blogroll widgets. The old address may not be updating. Grrr... :)

~Again, thanks for helping out during this little technical snafu. Come on Google, come on!

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40K TACTICA: Tau Devilfish

A guest tactica by: SLXIII

So, 5th edition has been out for a while, and Space Marines and IG seem to be getting a lot of love these days as far as taking advantage of the new rules. Other races such as the Necrons have been getting the short end of the stick. Tau are ont he weaker side of things but are graced with a nearly mandatory unit that has a very strong 5th edition trick.

The Pathfinder Team: Simple, effective, and very much a one-trick pony. Couple that with the massive overhead of a mandatory transport and the unit starts to lose a bit of its polish. However, with a tad bit of extra spending on this alleged point-sink, we can round out our purchase into a respectable package capable of earning its points back, or at the very least be a major distraction for your opponent(a valuable quality in a unit either way!)

At first glance, the Tau Devilfish pales in comparison to the insanely cheap Ork Trukks or powerfully equipped Eldar Wave Serpents. However, one rule may even the playing field against these transports: Outflanking. The Pathfinder’s Devilfish is capable of outflanking easily on turn 2, if you’re willing to spend a bit more to ensure that happens. You’re already forced to spend 80 points on the transport, so why not make it useful for a handful of points more? Simply upgrade one of your commanders with a positional relay for a rather inexpensive way to virtually guarantee your transport’s arrival as soon as possible.

From here, I would recommend equipping your ‘fish with a seeker missile(or two, if you have the points) and a flechette discharger. If all goes well, your fish will enter the field turn 2(3 if something went wrong), blow open a hole in a transport, and be free to roam around mopping up the passengers. I find this especially effective against Orks, you can pull in your fish right at the front of their front line, blow up one or two of their rickety transports, and proceed to clean up the remaining passengers.

This is why I wholeheartedly recommend the flechette dischargers; they are both a defensive and offensive weapon. In the above scenario, lets say you get lucky(though not much luck will be required) and destroy the enemy transport. Assuming the transports cargo is ork boyz, 3 should die in the ensuing explosion, leaving your fish to mop up the remainder. Even with the poor offensive capabilities of the devilfish, you should be able to net another 2 or 3 boyz worth ok kills. Now 6 dead boyz is not that impressive in the grand scheme of things, but consider the following: The Orks are no longer fearless, and are now subject to pinning. With 6 dead boyz, your opponent is going to roll for pinning tests with an abysmal Ld 7. If only there was a pinning weapon your devilfish could carry…..

Even still, the humble devilfish is not quite complete in its mission. From here you can use it as mobile cover and area denial(no enemy model within 1” means a lot further run for all those nasty assault types), or my personal favorite: suicide assaults. Most players simply can’t ignore a relatively fragile skimmer buzzing around their troops, especially not their assault troops. Move your devilfish to within firing range of one of your opponents assault-oriented squads and open fire. After you’ve fired your shots, you should have weakened your opponents squad by just enough to prompt a revenge attempt from him. He’ll charge in with his squad of 50 point power weapon wielding terminators or a full mob of 30 boyz and attempt to blow your transport to kingdom come.

This is when you inform him that your vehicle is, in fact, armed with flechette dischargers. One out of two of every model assaulting you will take a wound, saves allowed. Against smaller, heavily armored squads you should inflict minor casualties, possibly none. But against the aforementioned 30 Ork strong mob, you will inflict about 12 casualties, nearly making up for the initial transport cost. The best thing about this little upgrade is that it’s effects are resolved before the enemy makes his attacks, so it is entirely possible to escape from such a situation without any damage at all. Now just wait for the time when you get lucky with your rolls and wipe out a grey knight terminator squad with this little trick!

~Bigred here. Lets give it up for SLXIII, who is delving into the Tau Empire looking for way to expand the Empire for the Greater Good. If you've got any good tips and tricks for 5th edition Tau, lets hear them.

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40K NEWS: FFG Rogue Trader Preview Copies Free Today!

Hi guys,

I just got the word that today; June 20th is FREE RPG Day across the country. That means lots of manufacturers have provided quick start or preview copies of thier RPG rulessets to local retailers across the country.

Fantasy Flight Games have provided copies of the introductory adventure Forsaken Bounty, a quickstart adventure for the upcoming Rogue Trader RPG.

~So if you're interested, check to see if your local FLGS is participating, and go dive into your free piece of the Warhammer 40000 RPG universe.

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40K SNEAK PEEK: Iron Hands Straken & More

Iron Hands Straken

Hey there you Saturday Morning Warhammer 40k Die-hards!

Look what showed up inthe BoLS Inbox. These shots look to be from a White Dwarf or trade publication and lo and behold:


Leman Russ Punisher (from the new Demolisher Kit)


Leman Russ Executioner (from the new Demolisher kit)

Lets take a stroll down memory lane and look at the old Iron Hands Stracken...



~That new one's pretty nice huh. Maybe some of those other Guard ICs may get fancy new minis in the future. The old Marbo mini is getting a little long in the tooth.

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FANTASY PAINTING: Dark Elf Manticore

My most recent painting project was this Dark Elf Dread Lord riding a Manticore that I painted on commission for Full of Monkey Design studio. My client wanted to avoid the typical purple, dark blue, and/or black color schemes that are so prevalent in most Dark Elf armies, and instead has chosen yellow as his main color.

I think my client's choice to avoid painting the Manticore black, like on the website was a good idea, as it'll prevent the model from looking like a massive shadow on the tabletop.

Below are some pics at different angles and zoom levels. Enjoy!

It had been about 4 years since I'd painted a set of the GW dragon/daemon/whathaveyou wings and I had forgotten just how much surface area there was on them! I'm definitely pleased with how they turned out, though.

Here's a close up of the Dread Lord himself. My client wished for me to use gold sparingly so as not to conflict with the yellow cloth, so I limited it to some of the fancy designs that embellish his armor.

Definitely a face only a mother could love, if Manticores even have mothers.

~ I'd love to hear what you think about the model, even if you don't play Fantasy, yourself.

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40K NEWS: IG Hellhound & Demolisher Pre-orders

Hey, hey, hey Treadheads.

Crack open the piggy bank because the new all-plastic Demolisher and Hellhound kits just went up for Preorder.

Hellhound
Demolisher

~With both of these combo-kits, a large chunk of the vehicle options fromtne new codex are now available. We hear the later models such as Basilisk and Hydra variants are in the works, awaiting a future Imperial guard release wave. These two kits ship out August 1st.

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40K EDITORIAL: Welcome to the Lunatic Fringe

So I really shouldn't be doing this but I can't help myself. I always make a point of not linking out to "teh stupid", but sometimes you stumble into a patch of the internet that's crazier than a sackful of weasels.

Now I've seen a lot of disparaging takes on 40k over the years:
-Its for kids
-Its really dark
-Its male dominated
-Its to dystopian for the mainstream
etc, etc...

But this my friends TAKES THE CAKE.

~Don't say I didn't warn you. I think that when the lunatic fringe is taking potshots at you, you must be doing something right! I for one stand proudly for indoctrinating a new generation of super-soldiers through the insidious gateway drug of tabletop wargaming. How about you? :)

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NEWS: New GW US Hobby Centers

Games Workshop has recently opened some new Hobby Centers in the US and are about to open a couple more. Here's the list below. For more details, visit the GW US website.

NOW OPEN!
Deer Grove Hobby Center
605 East Dundee Road
Palatine, IL 60074

Gig Harbor Hobby Center
4641 Point Fosdick Drive
Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Royal Oaks Hobby Center
11803 Westheimer Rd.
Houston, Texas 77077

Coles Crossing Hobby Center
24120 NW Freeway
Cypress, Texas 77429

Copperwood Village Hobby Center
6807 Highway 6 North
Houston, Texas 77084

OPENING JUNE 20TH!
Portola Plaza Hobby Center
27676 Santa Margarita Parkway
Mission Viejo, CA 92691

OPENING SOON!
Preston Ridge Hobby Center
3231 Preston Road
Frisco, TX 75034

That's a lot of new GW stores, many of them in Texas. How many of you BoLS readers out there live near one of these new stores? How will having a new GW store near you influence your participation in the hobby?

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40K RUMOR: Plastic Daemon Prince?

Hi guys,

Here's an interesting set of pics an enterprising reader uncovered when looking through his FLGS's Planetstrike preview copy. I present these without comment. You make the call:



Insets from Planetstrike



Old shots of upcoming 2nd Wave Plastic Daemon Prince

~What do you think you see in those first 2 Planetstrike pics? Interesting no?

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40K Pic of the Day 6-17-09

Skarbrand on the hunt!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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BoLS URL: A Special Request

Hi guys,

A special request today. We've had several people run into 404 errors trying to access the site from the old www.belloflostsouls.blogspot.com address. We don't know if this behavior is just a glitch or whether Google has decided to permanently stop forwarding the old URL to our shiny new one at http://www.belloflostsouls.net/ .

In any case, we would ask all of our readers who link to us (especially any of the sites in the BoLS Warhammer Directory) to please take a minute and update any old blogspot links to point to:

http://www.belloflostsouls.net

Thanks,
-bigred

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NEWS: Temple of Skulls Release

The Temple of Skulls scenery piece is released this coming Saturday, June 20, as are several Lord of the Rings sets, including the plastic Galadhrim Warriors and Galadhrim Knights.

UPDATE, June 18: My Advance Ordered Temple of Skulls is scheduled for delivery sometime on Thursday. Mmmm, giant plastic model stone skulls, I can't wait! Is anyone interested in pictures of the sprues? If so, comment below and I'll see if I can get some up here late tomorrow or Friday.

UPDATE #2, June 18: Well, my Temple of Skulls was delivered today and I was not disappointed. It's about 15"X9" and roughly identical in size to the plastic hill also sold by GW. It's also mostly one large piece, with a sprue for the columns and the three large stone skull faces. I have to say, I hope GW will at some point sell the skull & column sprue separately. It would be great for all kinds of conversions. Check out these pictures of the raw model just out of the box. I hereby dub this the "Temple of Awesomeness"!




I Advance Ordered the Temple of Skulls back in May and I'm really looking forward to going over all the cool pieces of it this coming weekend. Chaos themed scenery is always appealing to me, especially new relatively affordable plastic sets like this one.

By the way, the two limited release items for Planetstrike are still available on Advance Order: Mines, Bombs and Booby Traps and Blastscape. If you were interested in those items, take note that they are limited quantity releases that will not be available for long.

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Hobby: Green Stuff Pro Tips

It’s time to look beyond the basics when it comes to working with green stuff.

Storage
When you buy your ribbon of green stuff, do not leave it together in the way you bought it. Separate the yellow half from the blue half with a hobby/ xacto knife. Then place each half in a small airtight container of its own. Gladware and Gale Force 9 make small containers that are perfect for this. After they are in their component halves store them in your freezer. Yes you will need to thaw them out when you need to use them, but you will greatly extend the useful life out of your green stuff.

If you buy the two tubes of green stuff from Gale Force 9 then take it out of the tubes and put them in some wider mouthed container. You will find after a while the plastic tubes it comes in are difficult to work with.

Working Surface
I am a fan of the portable working surface. A piece of plastic card .040” thickness will work just fine. If you cover the plastic card with brown packing tape you will have a surface that green stuff will not adhere to well, which means you can make an item and pull it off your working surface with relative ease when you are done.

Curing Speed
The speed that green stuff cures at is affected by temperature. The warmer it is the faster it will cure. Cooling it down will slow curing time but the putty becomes stiffer the colder it gets, so it doesn’t balance out. However, speeding up drying time might be exactly what you need. If you can get a toaster oven that you can set the temperature on then you will be in business. At 150 degrees Fahrenheit you can get green stuff to set in 10 minutes. I only recommend the toaster oven on all metal models, or if you are making your green stuff piece separate of the plastic model.

Brown or Grey Stuff
When you start to get adventurous and go beyond gap filling and detail repair, you will want to look into brown or grey stuff. It is aluminum epoxy putty, and its primary use is for creating armatures that you will base your green stuff on. Its ability to “self-armature” makes it really good when you are making cloth or banners. Currently the only companies that I have found that sell the stuff are Reaper and Gale Force 9. I am sure there are other companies that resale the stuff, but these are currently the only two I know of.

That wraps up my thoughts on green stuff. Do you have any green stuff “pro tips” that I have missed? Tell us about them. Also, keep your eyes peeled for future conversion articles. I will be using many of the techniques that I have discussed.

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40K Pic of the Day 6-16-09

pic submitted by reader: Alex Bradbury

Shhhhh...It can only see motion...I heard (gulp)
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K HOBBY: Rogue Trader Eldar Jetbikes

Here's a little trip down memory lane for fellow Rogue Traders and an historical visit for newer 40K enthusiasts. The picture above is of the seven lead alloy Rogue Trader era Eldar Jetbikes I used to use when I played my Eldar army back in first and second edition 40K. Notice there is even a minor conversion to one, the sword wielding Guardian.

I no longer use these ancient warriors on their first version hexagonal GW flying stands. I began updating my Eldar army (finally!) last year and have already painted more than a dozen plastic Jetbikes in a totally different paint scheme. These Rogue Trader models are now retired.

So, what's the oldest model in your collection? Did you acquire it after it was already a classic or did you buy it when it was current in days of yore?

Warning, what follows is a shameless plug, so stop now if you might be offended! I've been shopping these lead Jetbikes around at Bizarre Bazaar but so far no takers as the last few Bazaars have taken a bit of a downturn since the economy did so, so I've currently got them up on eBay for a starting bid that is much less than seven new plastic Jetbikes along with a few other items. More than the money, I need the space. Seriously, with all the bundle deals for Apocalypse a couple years ago, including the Eldar Windrider Host box, I really need to make room for newer models so a few classics just have to go. It's always tough to part with models that have so much personal history and fond memories attached. The models I still miss most that I sold at Bizarre Bazaar a couple years ago are my two peanut-shaped Rogue Trader era Space Marine Dreadnoughts.

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REVIEW: Iron Halo Resin Bases

I want to talk today about some resin bases I've discovered of late. Iron Halo is a resin base maker out of New Zealand, and they make a pretty extensive range of products for almost any type of miniature gamer.

In fact I have to say that the size of their range is just staggering. Iron halo has a full line of square, round, oval, and everything in between for your modeling needs.

Whether you play Warhammer 40k, and need 25mm, 40mm, 60,mm, or even the new fancy rounded bike bases or the oversized Valkyrie bases, they have them in a variety of different thematic ranges.

Warhammer Fantasy is covered just as well, and there are even resin bases for both infantry and cavalry companies for War of the Ring.

Each of these lines comes in a series of themes from industrial sci-fi to rocky outcropping, to cobblestone, and many, many more. If you are looking for something a little different I can't say enough about Iron Halo's Steampunk Deus Ex Machina line. I've already got ideas for an Iron Warriors or Mechanicus army based on these.

The detail on these products is crisp and clean. As a final cherry on top of the range, the prices are very, very good. I heartily recommend.

You can see a variety of these bases painted up in the top pictures, and by all means check out the Iron Halo online store for their full lineup. Tell them BoLS sent ya.

5 Stars (out of 5)

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40K EDITORIAL: Dark Eldar – Three Games In

I’ve been getting grief about the new Imperial Guard and my Red Corsairs Chaos Space Marines and how the newer books are just overpowering compared to the older ones. So I dusted off the Dark Eldar army I "night-lorded" a few months back and have barely begun painting. After all, it would be hard to find a Codex older than 3rd edition. In my first three games, I played against Plague Marines (3 turns), Tau (4 turns), and Codex Space Marines (5 turns). What I found was that the Dark Eldar are not crippled at all. Again, I’m only 3 games into testing them, but here are my observations.

#1 Retinues with good CC characters are devastating. An Archon and Incubi Lord are able to kill just about anything, and before the enemy gets to act. Add in the Incubi and even Assault Terminators get the point. Yes, this kind of unit costs a lot, but thankfully this is the only expensive unit you really need.

#2 Raiders are cheap and kill things.

#3 Ravagers are cheap and kill things.

#4 Dark Eldar Warriors are cheap and kill things.

If this is sounding redundant, you’re paying attention. Dark Eldar have a good selection of effective units that are quite cost efficient.

What has worked for me so far: Line up assault units on both edges with Raiders obscuring them for round 1. Race Raiders forward so that assault elements are too close to ignore, and shoot every vehicle on the planet with Dark Lances - there are plenty of Dark Lances to go around. On turn 2, it’s time to assault. The trick is to get into assault and either destroy everything that could shoot you the next turn or end the turn locked. How to end the turn locked when you are attacking with a buzzsaw is easy if the enemy is fearless or Space Marines, but takes a bit of finesse in other circumstances.

In short, I think the cries of “Codex Creep” are nonsense. Sure, every time the balance shifts some armies get better and some get worse, but if everything was constantly static, we’d all get bored, wouldn’t we?

I’ll give the Dark Eldar a spin this week and see how they fare against Imperial Guard, which is the match-up I’ve judged Dark Eldar as weakest against. We’ll see.

~What do you guys think of the Kabals of Comorragh? The Army is ancient, but there must still be hidden sprue caches left over that got traded away from the 3rd edition boxed sets. Its always heartwarming to see such an old tired list still taking names on the tabletop.

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WFB Pic of the Day 6-15-09

pic submitted by reader: Ozan Kaplaner

By KHORNE, this feels like a trap...
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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GW NEWS: Free US Shipping

Yup, you heard that right. Last I checked, there was the old $100 minimum order for US customers to get free shipping. Well it looks like that has been thrown out the window and the new minimum order is: $15. Check out the full details below.

Free US Shipping Info

~I'll leave the idle speculation as to reasons behind such a change open to you...

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Announcing BoLSCon 2009 Prize Support

BoLSCon 2009
August 22-23
Doubletree Hotel, Austin, Texas


We've been so involved in making sure we have interesting scenarios and events that we haven't mentioned one of the best things about big Grand Tournaments - the fabulous prizes. Our prize philosophy is focused less on single enormous prizes and more on having a deep prize pool while still making sure we have great prizes for our top winners. To make that possible, we need to have more prizes, and we're proud to announce we've arranged over FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS in Games Workshop and Forgeworld models, including:




BRASS SCORPION





WARHAMMER FIRE DRAGON

All event winners will additionally receive Battalion or Battle Force boxes, (or elite companies in the case of War of the Ring), with plenty of great Games Workshop prizes for other placings, and random prize giveaways throughout the weekend. We have so many prizes we have to arrange more space for all the loot we'll be handing out!

For those of you interested in the Narrative 40K events, we are nearly full on this track. Register today to ensure your place in the first ever Bell of Lost Souls sourcebooks untournament!

REGISTER NOW! Get that Cheap Airfare ASAP

~Come on down to beautiful, sunny Austin and enjoy a weekend of your favorite games with the Fly Lords. We'll see ya there!

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Goatboy’s 40k Thoughts: Is there a Best of Army?

Lately I have been reading lots and lots of best of army articles. Everyone seems to know the ultimate list that just destroys everything else, leaving all opponents in a pile of broken machinery, dust, and pee as they are terrified to even play such a monstrous list. The question today is, is there an ultimate list for each army?

We all like to win, no matter how many times we strive to be a good loser. Now this win might not be winning the whole game, it could be just something small as getting off that cool army trick or having something do much better then it should ever do, we all like things to work out our way during the game. Its this push, that drives people to try and create the "best-of lists" that let you “win” more often due to their sheer awesome power.

The other thing with these best-of lists, is that if you know what is the best thing to play, it helps you limit your overall spending on an army. I know this hobby isn’t cheap, and watching what you spend is all on our minds. So knowing a list that is the “ultimate” means you know exactly how much you have to spend. This can be helpful for those on limited budgets. Being a compulsive mini buyer, means that this sort of things doesn’t fit my mold, but for many others, especially younger players, this is something to seriously keep in mind when designing and buying a new army.

So now the question is, is there a Best of Army? I don’t think so at all. I think each army has a good core you can build off of, but there is never a best of. You can see this in the new army books that are coming out. Each codex has multiple avenues to create your list. I have seen so many different IG builds, that every game ends up being different. I know we all hate Nob Bikerz, but there are a ton more ork builds that can be just as effective as well as a hell of a lot more fun to play against. I know the CSM tournament builds have been boring lately, but I think that has more to do with the lack of change in the overall army environment then something to do with the army itself. I have 3 different CSM armies I like to bring out from time to time, and only one has Lash in it.

The big thing I find with all of these Best of Army articles, is that each army is different and is built towards the players own personal play style. I have seen some lists, that supposedly crush other players and I think to myself, I just don’t see it. But then I am not that player. His army could be just perfect for their play style just like my lists revolve around similar elements that fit my style. I know we all play the same game, but each local group has a different play style that revolves around that areas strengths and army likes. I know locally we have a large amount of IG players. We don’t see nearly as many Orks as some other areas and most of the time the heavy armor is split between CSM and Marines. It makes for an interesting tournament scene as well as creates a much different area then what I read about online.

So what do I think you should do with all these crazy lists you see out there? Well as players I think you should play the army you feel the most comfortable with. Nothing is worse then playing with a list, you don’t understand, as you won't have faith in your army. I know when people feel defeated; they often just automatically drop the game. I’ve seen it locally a lot and I have fallen into that trap too (I hate magic…). It makes for a rather uncomfortable game as well as something you don’t really want to finish out. I know a lot of games that if I had quit when I thought I “lost” I would have missed out on pulling a win. If you play with army YOU built and inderstand, you will have a bigger investment and understanding of it, than some thing you pulled off the internet.

In the end go with what YOU KNOW, and steadily expand out and grow your skillset with new exciting units and builds. As long as you are learning and having fun, whats a loss here and there?

~If you have any questions, you can shoot me an email at goatboybols@gmail.com. I'd like to hear your ideas on whether each codex has an "ultimate list" or whether its just a fevered pipe-dream of the mathhammer theorists.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-14-09

The Red Baron Lives!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K SNEAK PEEK: Planetstrike Strategems - Index

Yo Warhammer 40k fanatics, look what the little birds have sent us today.

~Euclidian Mindphase!? Necrons or Tau maybe... I can also see the 6 mission campaign in there on the left column. It would appear that there will be plenty of strategems for both Attacker and Defender alike. Pretty cool stuff. Comment away folks. More as we get it.

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40k DEEP THOUGHT: AP vs Rate of Fire?

So something has been noodling around the back of my mind.

If you think back to 4th edition everybody and thir brother loaded up on all the low AP weapons they could get their hands on. Things like melta, plasma, and the like were the prevalent choices and you would see them spammed throughout tourney and hardcore lists.

Even back then, I always preferred high rate of fire mid strength weapons (S:5-7)to the low shot low AP choices. And in 5th my opinion has only hardened. Where many new players go for the "sexy" ignores armor save weapon loadouts, I still rely on just drowning my opponent with wounds, so that eventually some of those armor saves are going to fail. I have also found that this approach is consistant across differing opponents, in cover or not. In the end, I'm all about making my foes pull models of the table, and the best way I can think of is to make them roll armor saves... as many as possible.

~What is your preferred loadout for you heavy/special weapons in an army and why. Lets hear your thinking and what proportion of weapon loadouts are working for you in 5th. We're not talking throyhammer here my fellow generals, we want to hear about what you are SUCCEEDING WITH on the tabletop. All armies are open for discussion.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-13-09

Death Comes on Carrion Wings...
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K SNEAK PEEK: Planetstrike Inbound

Hi all,

Planetstrike is about a month away and means preview copies are headed out across the world. Here are some of the coolest VERIFIED tasty morsels I've seen so far:

-All missions in the book are attacker-defender

-The defender gets to construct the board in any way he sees fit (including an unlimited amound of planetstrike terrain)!

-The following attacking forces ALL gain deepstrike:
a) Infantry
b) Jump Infantry
c) Monstrous Creatures
d) Jetbikes
e) Vehicles with the Deep Strike rule

-Attacking units with the Deep Strike rule in their codex unit entry can assault the turn they deep strike!

-The Defender's bastions and any other defensive terrain piece with built in weapons CAN USE THEM at no point cost, at BS:2!

-Tons of cool strategems are available for both attacker and defender (including race specific ones). Here are couple of the coolest for your entertainment:

a) HELLESH CACOPHANY (DARK ELDAR-ATTACKERS ONLY)
The Amplified shrieks of the crazed worshippers of Khaine and the screaming of the damned grows ever louder, robbing mortal men of their wits.
~Defending models must subtract the turn number from their leadership characteristic.

b) DEATH FROM ABOVE (SPACE MARINES-ATTACKERS ONLY)
When the Angels of Death descend from the skies upon fiery contrails, the Emperor's enemies are filled with dread, they know that judgement is upon them.
~Defending units within 6" of a landing drop pod must make a morale test at the end of the Marine movement phase.

-A full 6 mission campaign is provided to allow players to recreate an entire planetary invasion.

-Lots of cool fluff, pictures, and famous battles are listed. Many of these feature the Dark Eldar, and Space Wolves prominently, just saying...

~It looks really cool, and should be a hoot to play for both narrative campaign players or guys who just want mix up the grind of the standard 3 missions. With Planetstrike, a lot of the missions we lost from ther old 4th edition rulebook have effectively returned to us. More as we get it.

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HOBBY: Goatboy Loves To Draw

Hi Goatboy here. I've gotten few requests for "drawing how-tos" regarding my 40k pictures that I throw up on BoLS. So here you all go! As much as I enjoy throwing dice and painting armies I also like to draw. Here is a peek into my process for creating some of the artwork you see in the BOLS mini dexes.

I do all of my artwork digitally as of late. I just don't have the space to really draw by hand as much anymore. Plus digital inking allows me a lot more freedom to change things up on the fly, when normal inking would make me pull out the white out. I use photoshop to do everything currently and draw on an Intuos 4 from Wacom.

First I start out with a sketch. I usually start with a green sketch that just lets me build out the shape and find where I want the figure to go.



Next I go ahead and ink on top with a black paint chosen. My brush is set to 100% and I use a larger round brush to give me some variation possibilities in the inking. Here it is with the green lines and without it.




After that I put in the flat colors. I like to flat out my entire sketch first, to ensure I have colors that sorta fit together. This way your image will look more cohesive instead of a color by numbers look. In a lot of ways, this is how I do my physical painting, trying to flat out the entire model first, to ensure I have a nice overall color theme. I also threw in a background that is different from the front image. It helps make the image stand out and not look like it lays flat.



Now I go into the fun part. I like to use the lasso tool in photoshop to create shadow and highlight shapes. From there I select the gradient tool to create shading and highlight effects with the screen and multiple options in photoshop. Screen lights and multiple darkens based on the colors you choose. I then go back and start to find some of the colors chosen and do hard highlights and shadows were needed. You can see here where I start to add a crazy highlight color on the bottom that matches the background. This helps make the figure part of the background, instead of just seeming to be not lit by whatever is behind it. Everything gives off color, due to how it reflects and absorbs light.



Finally I go into the finishing stages. I like to take textures I have found online or scanned myself to create more effects within the picture. I set the texture on top and mess with the layer settings. Each setting will effect how the top layer effects all the other layers below it. You can darken the image and lighten it, all based on the initial layer you use. I decided to use this paper bag scan I found online and layer it above the model. After that, I go behind all the colors and put a pinkish highlight around the figure to help break it apart a bit and not look so attached to the background.



Hope you enjoyed this little break into my design process and art process. If you have any questions, again shoot me an email.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-12-09

The Feast of Fuegan
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K SNEAK PEEK: THQ Space Marine Full E3 Trailer

Hi all,

Well guys it was only a matter of time before someone from E3 put up their video of THQ's "Space Marine" full trailer. Enjoy!



~In partcular, look closely in the background at 3:23 and let me know what you think you see. I see some type of Tyranid monstrosity, a dreadnought, and a Warlord. Let me know if you guys catch any other little easter eggs in there.

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Hobby: Green Stuff 101

For many epoxy putty (a.k.a. green stuff) is a difficult modeling medium to use. This was the case for me until I took a class at a convention on using green stuff in conversions. This class taught me three important concepts when it comes to working with green stuff. Once I learned these concepts, working with green stuff became a breeze.

The Mix
Green stuff is epoxy based polymer clay. It is typically sold in a thick ribbon that has a yellow and a blue half. Like all epoxies green stuff uses a resin and resin hardener. The yellow clay is the resin and the blue half is the hardener. You can adjust how firm your working clay is by adjusting how much of the yellow and the blue you add to the overall mix. It is important to note that too much of the resin or hardener will cause problems with your final product being too rubbery, or too brittle.

When I mix my green stuff I tear off a piece of each and roll them into small balls. If they are roughly the same size I will mash them together, and then work the clay until it is an even shade of green. At room temperature you will have about 2 hours of working time if you mixed at 1:1 ratio, so I have learned to mix small batches and work on small specific areas versus large areas.

The Tools
It may come as no surprise that your fingers are inadequate tools for shaping and working with green stuff. The real secret is that sculpting is tool marks made on a surface, which resemble objects found in the world. Therefore, the furry coat of a wolf is actually tool marks that when applied in a particular way look like a wolf’s pelt.

The sculpting tool that GW sells is a great tool to start out with. I used mine for years before I figured out that I needed some other tools. There are three other tools that will make your job easier, and they are easy to find once you are aware of what you need.

The easiest of the three to come by is the “point.” My first point was a large gauge sewing needle mounted in the handle of my pin vise. I discovered that this had some disadvantages-- piercing my skin was the big one for me. I then began hunting for a better point and came across a $5 set of dental picks in tooth brush aisle of my super market. These have served me well.

The second tool is a clay shaper. A clay shaper has a rubber or silicone point, which come in a variety of shapes, and are useful for blending green stuff. What I mean by blending is causing the seams between your green stuff and the surfaces of your model to disappear. They will also help smooth away wrinkles and fingerprints in your clay. The different tip shapes will facilitate different blends, and tool marks in your clay.

The third and final tool is a roller. I use a 4” length polyethylene rod as a roller. I got mine through a local plastics company. A roller is how you will get your clay into sheets that have an even thickness, so you can create cloth, armor, and anything else.

Lubrication
It is commonly known that green stuff will stick to your tools. The stickiness is something that you want because you want your work to stick to your model, but not to your tools. The most common lubricant that we hear about when it comes to green stuff is water, or saliva. It works ok, but it has a short work life that will cause you to re-lube your tools more often then you might want.

In my search for better lubrication I first turned to oil based lubricants, i.e. baby oil, Vaseline, and mentholated rub. These worked great, and I could work with them long after the clay hardened. Removing the substance afterwards became the real drawback. Isopropyl alcohol worked well in the removal of these lubricants, but I would never get it all off.

This caused me to search for a water based lubricant because before I prime a figure, I wash my figure in warm soapy water, and anything water based will always clean up with soap and water. Then one day I had an epiphany. I went to the drug store and picked up some water based lubricant, aka KY Personal Lubricant. This is now my favorite way to help my tools not stick to the green stuff. It has the thinness of water with the long working life of Vaseline. (I am sure come comment time there will be plenty of jokes about this, but seriously it works well.)

Remember that your clay mixture, tools, and properly lubricating your tools will help you find success when working with Green Stuff.

Hey Readers! Tell us about your mix ratios and tools that have helped you be successful with green stuff, as well your tips and tricks for those just starting off into thw world of scuptling.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-11-09

pic submitted by reader: Mike

This'll keep those traitors warm!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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NEWS: Flying Stand, Skulls Bitz, Chaos Icons Bitz Packs, New Brushes

The much anticipated Chaos Icons and Pack of Skulls "bitz packs" are available from GW Direct. This includes the following.

Five different Chaos Icons Bitz Packs, 10 icons for $8.25 US:
- Chaos Icons
- Khorne Chaos Icons
- Nurgle Chaos Icons
- Slaanesh Chaos Icons
- Tzeentch Chaos Icons

Plus the Pack of Skulls for $11.50, containing 32 individual skulls, 2 small skull piles and 1 large skull pile.

The Flying Stand that comes with the Valkyrie kit is also now available separately for $10 US.

~Can a Warhammer 40k/Fantasy player ever really have too MANY skulls? I thought not :)

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40k SHOWCASE: Pake's 2nd Death Guard Army

Death Guard Army - Recently Post Heresy


Primarch Mortarion


Death Guard Rhinos


Death Guard Early Pattern Land Raider


Death Guard Dreadnought


Death Guard Terminators - Possibly Deathshroud Bodyguards


Death Guard Plaguemarine Squads







I proudly present our favorite painter from Finland: Pake, and his NEW Death Guard army, following up his fabulous original pre-heresy Death Guard army of 2 years ago. Take it away Pake:

"I re-built my Death Guard army just because I wanted a project.

I wanted them to look more battle-damaged than my previous army and I read somewhere about a "weathering with Marmite" -technique and it was just what I was looking for. The Marmite Technique can be found here: http://www.tabletop-terrain.com/archives/2008/02/19/852/ I just took it a little further and added some of my own secrets and a few texhinques that can be found in Imperial Armour - Model Masterclass vol 1.

This time I wanted to make the army more coherent and plasticard was the solution. I started chopping pieces of plasticard and glued them on basically everything.
I think it gives the army a very coherent look.

Even though the army looks a little pre-heresy, it's definitely post heresy. I didn't want to go with the bloated and rotten look but still maintain the pre-heresy feel.

The Mortarion was a commission job done for me so it's an original model but not sculpted by me."

-Pake lives in Finland. He's been playing 40K since Rogue Trader. (his first copy of White Dwarf was issue 104.) He feels DG players are the most passionate about their armies and everything related to DG. Pake started collecting a Plague Marine army because he thought it was easy to paint, but as soon as he had painted his first unit, he knew there was no coming back. After almost two decades of painting, he's still learning new techniques every day and trying to improve the stuff he already knows.

~Lets give it up for Pake. If you have any questions for him, I'm sure he'll be along soon enough. I'm pretty impressed with that chipped paint technique of his. It's a really fantastic effect I hope to replicate one of these days. I'm also officially green with envy over that Mortarion model. My pre-heresy Deathguard feel inadequate without their Primarch. Also, great work using our Pre-heresy Death Guard logo sheet for both plasticard and decal work.

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EPIC: Rulesets available

One of the things that can confuse the would-be Epic:Armageddon player is something that should be fairly elemental: the rules by which most people play.

NOTE: The discussion below is focussed purely on Epic:Armageddon, which is the 4th edition of the Epic ruleset. For information about NetEPIC, a community-developed version of the popular 2nd edition rules, see the TacComs NetEPIC forums.

When you first start looking into Epic:Armageddon, you usually find the free downloadable rules on Games Workshop's Specialist Games website, but you may also find something called the Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008. Alternatively, you may find something called the Epic Compendium. All of these documents are available as PDFs, free to download and use.

Three versions of the rules?? What's that about??
As you would expect, the PDFs from GW are the official rules; there are, however, a number of errors (typos and the like) and changes to wording that GW has embraced over the years--these are documented in GW's Epic Errata and Epic FAQ documents, which are of course also available for download (PDFs).

This is where the Epic Compendium and the Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008 come in. Both of these community-produced documents include the core Epic:Armageddon rules, BUT they also include fixes to the various erors noted by GW.

Epic Compendium
In order to improve visibility to the FAQ entries, the Epic Compendium includes the FAQ entries within the main body of the rules as footnotes. As of version 2.0, it now also includes most of the current and up-to-date army lists.

Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008
The Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008 also includes the error fixes, but it then goes several steps further by including all the community-approved changes that were being employed at the time (for example, a contentious change that appears in the Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008 is a change to the Vindicator that makes its main gun a Macro Weapon requiring 4+ to hit, rather than the Anti-Personnel 3+/Anti-Tank 4+ it was originally).

The Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008 also includes several of the major army lists; however, most of the lists included have since been superceded as the Epic community has advanced army list development.

Which should I use?
So which ruleset is the best one to use? At risk of looking like a fence-sitter, it depends; by that, I mean that the ruleset that is best for you largely depends on you and your intentions with the game.

If your intention is to participate in Epic:Armageddon tournaments, the accepted rules are generally the original rules plus any changes of clarifications in the 2008 Errata and FAQ documents, so your friendly (practise) games should also use these rules. To that end, the Epic Compendium is your new best friend because it includes all of these things in a single document--very handy.

If you are not really interested in the tournament scene, use the rules that you and your opponents prefer. In my case, I have in the past preferred the Epic:Armageddon Handbook 2008, largely because it made getting into the game that much easier by having everything I needed in a single document. Now that the Epic Compendium includes all the army lists, however, I think I will move over to playing with that document, as having the FAQ entries in-line with the main content makes it an exceptionally handy resource.

For what it's worth, I ran a quick poll both on TacComs recently, and the result is shown below:


As you can see, the majority of peeps out there are using the original Epic:Armageddon rules with the 2008 errata, so the Epic Compendium would seem to be the ruleset of choice.

My spies tell me that GW and Jervis might be about to re-release the Epic:Armageddon rulebook PDFs on the GW website, and that these new PDFs will incorporate the errata fixes and those community-recommended changes with which Jervis agrees. Time will tell, but, if true, the re-released rulebook would certainly be the best ruleset to play to--stay tuned.

Packing up
Hopefully, the relationships between the three main rulesets out there is now reasonably clear, and enables you to get stuck into your Epicing with confidence.

In any case, it's worth mentioning that the differences between the rulesets discussed above are not so extreme as to make for fundamentally different playing experiences--they are all the same game, just with some variations, and the strategies and tactics that worked well for you in one should work well for you in all.

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40K Deep Thought: Unit Synergy

Hi guys,

Its time for another of our reader tactical round tables. Today's topic my fellow generals is unit synergy. Now we all hear that lots of super players out there use the synergy between different units to enhance both and really take down opposition units.

From Fateweaver-Plaguebearer combos, to Farseer-Banshees, to the old reliable CC Termy-LR Crusader, ther are lots of units that just pair up really nicely.

I want to hear about simple pairings of units that you all have discovered that work really well on the tabletop. Lets hear about just a single pair (we'll deal more complex interactions later), how you use them, and expected tabletop performance. All armies are open for discussion.

~My fellow Generals, you have the floor:

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40K News: Spear of Sicarius and More

So some new info today:

Spear of Sicarius
This one of the BIG releases coming the pipe July 9th with Planetstrike. It is the full assault force used by Ultramarines Captain Sicarius as described in a famous battle in the planetstrike book. You get:

Sicarius
Command Squad
Vanguard Squad
2x Standard Dreadnoughts
4x Ten-Man Assault Squads
4x Five-Man Terminator Squads (Normal not Assault)
6x Tactical Squads
9x Drop Pods

142-models
Price: $1066 USD

In other release news, did you all catch that GW just put out a line of new brushes? I missed it as well, but hey look at all the pretty colors :)




~I'm sure someone can do the math on the Spear of Sicarius, but it feels kind of like the Apocalypse Battle Company. There is probably a bulk discount in there compared to getting all that stuff a la carte.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-9-09

Strange things are seen in the Eye of Terror

~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40k HOBBY CHALLENGE: IG Command Squad Edition

Hi everybody,

Its been to long since we had a community hobby challenge. Since the last Badab APC Challenge was such a hit, we have decided to open up another painting challenge and are once again happy to offer PRIZE SUPPORT courtesy of Battleforge Games!

In the spirit of the times, this challenge's theme is Imperial Guard. So lets get right down to it readers. Your challenge is to submit to the BoLS emailbox 1-3 high-quality pictures of the following:

-Your choice of a Cadian or Catachan Command Squad (one of the new fancy plastic ones).
-It may be painted as you see fit, in the style of any of the myriad regiments of the Imperial Guard.
-Weathering, fine detail work, minor conversions, extra equipment, fancy bases and the like are all acceptable to dress up your entry.
-Shoot 2 pictures against a well-lit white background (see the example Command Squads above).
-Shoot 1 picture of the squad up against a piece of paper that says "Bell of Lost Souls" somewhere on it (just print a screenshot of the blog from your browser).
-One or two sentences of fluff describing the squad, its regiment, achievements, and fate (have fun with it!).
-Email the entries with the subject line "BFG IG CHALLENGE" to the BoLS emailbox.

I will select the top entries and put up a poll once the deadline has passed. The winner gets a brand spanking new shrink-wrapped Valkyrie for your command squad to ride around in courtesy of Battleforge Games, mailed straight to your home. Tell your friends to come get in on the action.



~The Deadline is June 26th. Gentlemen, start your paintbrushes! This is your chance to really show off to your fellow BoLS readers, so lets see what you all can do. I hear that the fine folks at Battleforge Games carry those IG command squads as well. Just saying...

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40K EDITORIAL: What is an All-Comer’s List?

Jwolf, taking a break from BoLSCon preparation again.

I’ve noticed that I talk about the concept of All-Comer’s Lists (ACL) and get a lot of unrelated comments. So I guess I’ll define the ACL at 2000 points so we can all know what we’re talking about.

-ACL Item 1: Transports. A good ACL has transports, both to allow more mobility for troops and cover as needed.
-ACL Item 2: Transport Killers. Since most transports are AV 12 or less, we want a good volume of fire that kills transports. Lascannons are too expensive in this roll; Autocannons are great.
-ACL Item 3: Heavy Armor Killers. In most armies Meltaguns and Vehicle-mounted Multimeltas are the best choices for killing AV14.
-ACL Item 4: Unit Killers. Here’s where we run into radical variations, based on army list and playstyle choices. Ordnance weapons and super assault units are both Unit Killers.
-ACL Item 5: Objective Takers. A good ACL has 4 or more Objective Takers. More can be useful, less are a weakness.
-ACL Item 6: Wild Cards. It’s important to keep your opponent at least somewhat off guard.
Wild Cards are things like Outflankers, Fast Movers, Summoned Daemons, Deep Strikers, and Death Strike Missiles. None of these really win games, but they all help disrupt you opponents’ focus on what is going to win you the game.

Notice I don’t even consider the survivability of your own units. Living isn’t anywhere near as important as killing you opponent. If you have a significant disadvantage in the killing arena, just throw everything into Reserves and play for the late win/draw. If you have the advantage, deploy everything (except possibly Wild Cards) and go for the kills. It is always preferable to kill as many enemy units as possible – dead enemies can’t surprise you later.

Here’s a 2000 point ACL for Eldar:

2000 Pts - Eldar Roster – Eldrad All-Comer’s List

-Eldrad
-Autarch - Mandiblaster; Power Weapon; Shuriken Pistol; Fusion Gun; Haywire Grenades; Plasma Grenades
-2x 5 Fire Dragons - Fusion Gun; Melta Bombs
In Wave Serpent - TL Shuriken Catapult; TL Shuriken Cannons
-5 Striking Scorpions and 1 Striking Scorpion Exarch – Shadowstrike
-2x 10 G Storm Squad - Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol; Flamers(x2)
With Warlocks – Destructor; Shuriken Pistol; Witchblade
In Wave Serpents - TL Shuriken Catapult; TL Shuriken Cannons
-2x 3 Guardian Jetbike Squadron - Shuriken Cannon(x1); TL Shuriken Catapult(x2)
-2x Vyper - Bright Lance; TL Shuriken Catapult
-Fire Prism - Spirit Stone; TL Shuriken Catapult; Prism Cannon
-Fire Prism - Holo-Field; Spirit Stone; TL Shuriken Catapult; Prism Cannon
-Wraithlord - Flamer (x2); Wraithsword; Bright Lance

Total Roster Cost: 1994

This list has plenty of Eldar tanks, which are fine vehicles if you resist giving them too many upgrades. The Jetbikes are almost always in Reserve for late game grabbing. Every unit has the ability to kill AV12. The Vypers can theoretically kill any tank in the game (probably won’t, but they can) so use them either to distract early or kill late, your choice. The Wraithlord is a very good unit killer, and Eldrad makes even the Storm Guardians capable of killing units.

~Give it a spin and let me know what you think. Also what are your criteria for all comers lists in general?

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40k Pic of the Day 6-8-09

pic submitted by reader: nahri


Surrender! I am Prince Yriel, bearer of the staff of... KRUMP!!!
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K HOBBY: Plastic Terrain Kits

About two weeks ago, I was thinking about what I would write about and I thought that it was high time that I wrote an actual terrain making article. With that in mind I headed down to my local Hobby Lobby. I started with the toy train aisle because I use Woodland Scenics terrain products in most of my projects. Nothing tickled my fancy there, but when I was strolling down the plastic model aisle, the Tamiya terrain kits caught my attention. Then I remembered that I had all of these kits at home, so I rushed home to start work.

What I really like about these kits is that they are incredibly affordable, easy to put together, and look generic enough that they can be used for more than what their World War II packaging would suggest. The kits I pulled from were their brick walls, sand bags, and Jerry Cans and barrels. I used the 1/35 scale kits, which for 40K terrain looks just fine. If scale is real important then I would suggest getting your hands on the 1/48 scale kits. Also these Jerry Cans match in size to those that are produced by GW.

I started out by cutting all of the brick wall sections off of the sprue. Once I had them loose, I cleaned off the mold lines, and then cleaned them up with a toothbrush and warm soapy water. After that, I sat around for awhile a played with various combinations of assembling them. Once I got a good idea of how they were going together I started assembly. I will point out that on this project I used plastic glue almost exclusively. The use of super glue is a mistake with plastic kit terrain projects.

As I assembled the pieces I started out by assembling in long sections wall sections. After the glue had set up, I then took the wall sections and assembled my corner pieces. I was able to get them squared up by using the grid lines on my cutting mat. Initially, my plan called for two corners, but with some left over pieces I decided that I would flesh the ruined building out a little more.

Once the walls were assembled I took a sheet of plastic card, .040” thickness, and started to work out my floor plan geometry. I utilized all three standard 40K base sizes to ensure that most models would be able to use the terrain. Test fitting models to terrain projects is vital to the piece’s overall success. Otherwise, you will end up with terrain that won’t get used after a couple of games because your models don’t work with it.

Once my floor plan was in place I marked my plastic card, removed the test fit walls, and squared up the markings with a T-square and a pencil. After I had my cutting line I then test fit my walls one last time to make sure that my cutting line was in the correct spot. After the last test fit I cut my plastic card by scoring along the line about a dozen or so times. Once the card was scored, I bent the card along the score until it broke. This is the standard way for cutting plastic card. After that, I fixed the walls into place using plastic cement.

After the walls were in place I noticed that the piece needed a little pizzazz. This is when I decided to use the sand bag kit to build up the back area because it seemed a little weak. Once the sand bag emplacement was built, I then added the Jerry Cans and some pails to give the piece a lived in feel. Once everything was glued into place, I then applied wood glue to the base, so I could apply sand to the base. I covered the entire base with a thick layer of sand and let it sit for about 5 minutes. After that, I poured all of the excess sand off, and then let the glue dry overnight.

The next morning it was time to paint. When it comes to terrain, I forego the usage of my figure paints and use craft paints. I do this because they usually cost me between $0.50 and $1 (US Dollars) for a 2 ounce bottle. I will put the Citadel equivalent color in parentheses next to the color I used.

The first step was to spray prime the piece. I spray primed it gray. The main reason for this had to do with the mortar on the wall. After the spray primer had dried, I broke my work down into distinct phases. First I would paint the walls, then the sand bags, followed up by painting the floor, and then finally painting the jerry cans and cleaning things up.

I started painting the walls by applying gray (Fortress Grey) to the entire wall surface. I did this to brighten up the darker grey primer and to ensure complete paint coverage. After this I began the process of dry brushing the walls Brick Red. (Dark Flesh is close) This required multiple applications. On the interior walls I made fewer passes which gave the walls a dustier appearance. After this was done I picked out a few bricks using a darker brown color to help the wall look a bit more realistic because bricks are not uniform in color.

The sand bag emplacement was painted Territorial Beige (Graveyard Earth). I then made a wash using equal parts of Espresso (Scorched Brown) and Black (Chaos Black.) I thinned this mix down to a wash using a ratio of one part paint to 3 parts matte medium and 3 parts water. I achieved the highlights by mixing Territorial Beige with Gray and dry brushing that on.

The painting of the pails and jerry cans was a breeze. I decided early on during the project that these would be painted in the classic military color Olive Drab. I rarely used a premixed version of this color because Yellow mixed with Black is how this color was achieved in the first place. Once you know the basis of this color mix, highlights and shadows are a breeze.

The final element of the painting process was painting the floor. This is a simple process that starts with painting the floor Espresso. The trick to highlighting the sand on the floor comes from two tricks. First, I dry brush with the brush I am using to mix my highlight color with, and second, I use a filbert brush. The second trick, I have found, gives spectacular results on terrain, and it is what I use almost exclusively on terrain now. The highlights were built by adding Territorial Beige to the Espresso and then adding increasing amounts of Gray to that. I painted the edge of the base with Espresso, and called it done.

Next time: Green Stuff

What other projects can you think of using Tamiya or any other scale model terrain kits? Let us know, and if you have pictures of these projects send them to us.

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NEWS: BoLScon 2009 GT Circuit Info

BoLSCon 2009
August 22-23
Doubletree Hotel, Austin, Texas

We are pleased to announce that BoLScon 2009 will be the first event of the 2010 GT Circuit. This means that our top ranking winners in the 40k, Fantasy, and WotR tourneys can earn entry into further competitions later in the year. I would expect to hear more details on the 2010 Circuit coming from Games Workshop in the months ahead, but we wanted to get the news out to the players as soon as possible.

War of the Ring 3000 Point Tournament – The very first War of the Ring GT event. This three game event runs on Saturday August 22. We expect to see all the monsters of Middle Earth rampaging around the field in this event.

War of the Ring 2000 Point Tournament – On Sunday August 23. That makes two days of tournaments for your War of the Ring armies, with two days of prizes!

Warhammer Fantasy 2250 Point Tournament – Two days and seven games of Fantasy battles. One of the few tournaments ever run with enough games to determine a true winner based on the Swiss System. No composition restrictions, just strategy and tactics on the field. Please note that this is not a ‘Ard Boyz event, so Sportsmanship matters – taking a maximum Power Dice Tzeentch list and being a jerk about it is not going to be a winning strategy.

Warhammer Fantasy 2250 Point Consolation Bracket – For those who have a bad day one of the Fantasy Tournament, we have a totally separate track for day two, the Consolation Tournament. And unlike many other Consolation Tournaments, ours has placings and prizes. While no one is required to move to the Consolation Bracket, we expect that this offering will be fun for all participants.

Warhammer 40K 2000 Point Tournament – Two days, seven games, maximum carnage. Come find out if you’re the best tactician in the Grim Dark Future.

Warhammer 40K 2000 Point Consolation Bracket – Just as in the Fantasy bracket, some people will have a bad first day. The Consolation Bracket lets you reset your game face and play day two for prizes and placings, putting all those 1s behind you.

Warhammer 40K 3000 Point Narrative Events – Competitive tournament events not your thing? We’ve got just the ticket for people that prefer a game with a story. Based on our own Horus Heresy, Macharian Crusade, and upcoming Badab War sourcebooks, we will have 2 days of 3000 point action for you. With prizes for accomplishing events in the storyline (and for dramatic failures, too), the Narrative Events are the perfect anti-tournament option.

Painting Contests – We have painting contests in 12 categories, with multiple placings possible. Expect to see some of the finest painting in the US on display.

REGISTER NOW! Get that Cheap Airfare ASAP

~Come on down to beautiful, sunny Austin and enjoy a weekend of your favorite games with the Fly Lords. We'll see ya there!

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Goatboy's 40k Thoughts: The Sky isn't Falling

Every time a new codex comes out, we all fall into the “how can GW release such a broken thing into the game? “ I know this since I fell into the trap too, especially when dealing with the new IG codex. Why am I talking about this today? Well I just wanted to say that I don’t think the IG codex is the be-all-end-all of the game, nor do I think it is the best thing on the block. So yes, I am going to take back what I said earlier. I want to discuss how players seem to think that certain army advantages break the game.

I remember when the new chaos book was looming, and everyone and their mom were complaining on how broken lash was. Now I am not saying the power isn’t good, because it obviously is, but I want to say that it is something you as a player can work around.

Which leads to my next point, every power or advantage has a work around. Whether it is staying in vehicles (lash), having more melta (mech), or just having more templates (horde), each advantage has a counter. It just takes some play testing to figure out the new tactics you need to use to deal with “the latest greatest thing” that you see on the battlefield. Trust me, everything can be dealt with, even the evil Nob Biker list that some people were touting as the best of the best (IG takes care of them).

Which comes back to my thought, no army is automatically the best. Yes the newer books are going to be at an advantage, as GW has changed their point cost system and all the new armies are reflecting this. So yes, some of the older books are going to be hurt, because they cost too much. Even with that, many of the older armies can still hold their own versus the newer stuff if you build nice tight lists, and don’t cheese out on the superfluous wargear. The key is to not give up. Just keep playing and testing out things till you find something that sticks and gives you a better chance then using a whiffle ball bat in a gun fight. What is important in these setting is to throw out preconceived notions of the rules and units. Try crazy things, experiment, and go with what works on the tabletop and feels fun.

I just wanted to go over this thought, as locally we all have had a bit of a fit when trying to talk about what is good and not good etc. The biggest thing I am finding is, that no matter what, the game isn’t just about the math on the table. Different players have different strengths and the human factor is not to be underestimated. I have seen players who just can’t get the hang of some of the game’s “super units” while others can instinctively master units that others malign as useless and push on to victory.

In the end, play the army you like to play, they are your toy soldiers after all. The advantage given to you, in moving around models you think are neat and are personally invested in, is greater then any advantage the rules can give you.

Enough of that bit of banter, let me show you the new “hobby” list I want to play in any upcoming games. I have been tweaking this Fabius Bile list for awhile, and think I now have a set up that should be more fun to play against, as well as give me lots of opportunities for goofy fun.

Fabius Bile V3.1

HQ: Fabius Bile - 160pts
Elites: Possessed (9), Asp Champ, MoT, Rhino - 319pts
Troops: Plague Marines (7), Melta*2, Asp Champ, Combi-melta, Powerfist, Personal Icon, Rhino - 271pts
Troops: CSM (10), Bile Up, Melta*2, MoK, Asp Champ, Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Rhino - 315pts
Troops: CSM (10), Bile Up, Melta*2, MoK, Asp Champ, Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Rhino - 315pts
Daemons: Lesser (10) - 130pts
Daemons: Lesser (10) - 130pts
Daemons: Lesser (10) - 130pts
Heavy: Oblits (3) - 225pts

Pts: 1995 Scoring: 6 KP: 13

The thought is the two Bile squads shoot forward with the possessed. The plague marine squad houses Bile and they sit around the back, to deal with anything as well as keep an objective or two. The lesser daemons are there as a flesh screen as well as a way to get an objective real quick. I might drop the MoT on the possessed as it can really make them tough, but the unit’s randomness makes up for it. Either way I think this would be a pretty fun and goofy list to run around on the tables and give an alright game as well as still allow me to play a bit even against superior armies.

So what are your thoughts on the current strengths of the current 40k universe, and more importantly, what is the overall value you show to the player compared to the various codex rules? Can a strong player with a weaker codex overcome a weaker player with a stronger ruleset? Also, if you have any questions, want to me to review a list, or just go over some painting thoughts shoot me an email at goatboybols@gmail.com.

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40k Pic of the Day 6-7-09

Eldar face the Great Enemy.
~Your daily dose of tabletop fun! Enjoy. If you have an awesome shot you think would make a great BoLS pic of the day, email us!

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40K RUMORS: Odds and Ends

Hi all, here are some of the little rumblings we've been hearing over the last few weeks:

Planetary Empires
We've heard this one is going to come with a little rules pamphlet like Mighty Empires did, so don't expect a big complex campaign system with it. It is still going to be ideal for playgroups who can devise campaign systems of their own to "dress it up"

New Ork Vehicle
Little birds say there is yet another Ork kit in the pipeline. It is described as a new smaller ork truck on the way, possibly with wheels up front and tracks inthe back. Its smaller than the trukk, so perhaps a new buggy is being devised.

Vehicle Accessory Sprues
The Ork Battlewagon Deffrolla/Cannon sprue will finally see the light of day along with a Leman Russ accessory and Land Raider Crusader sprue in August.

~Have at it guys

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