40K SNEEK PEEK: Space Wolf Minis and ICs!

Images brought to the community by Warseer's: Rabianegra

With the Space Wolves release window just around the corner, all kinds of stuff is breaking of late. Lets see what's been bounding around the net int he last few days.

Latest from Warseer's Ragnar:

"I've seen the dex. I am a very happy puppy player, i think Phil captured the spirit of the wolves.

Bjorn and Canis are by far my favorite HQ's. Ragnar is a combat monster!!!

Bjorn is armour 13/12/10 with a built in 5+ inv. save he is also a ven dread. he comes with a assault cannon but u can give him a plasma cannon for FREE with a BS 0f 6!!!! he has 4 base attacks at I3 and WS6. all this for 270pts. he allows all frendly ubits with (iirc) 12" to reroll moral. if he is killed all SW become feerless and becomes a new objective to be captured.

Canis is riding a HUGe wolf ... and the model looks great. he allows Fen. Wolf pack to become Troops. and there is a unit of wolf riders . Canis has 5 base attacks but if he gets surounded he goes crazy and get one attck for evry model in base contact.he has a pair of wolf claws. hes S5 T5 bc he is riding the wolf.

Ragnar gives himself and the unit he joins d3 extra attacks on the charge. he already has 5 built in. with WS6 and S5 thanks to his Sword hes a tornado in combat. Put Ragnar in a unit of Blood Claws and it a distructive combo because the BC get +2 attack on the charge.

Ulrik is back and hes pissed LOL hes gives the unit he joins prefered enemy angainst a unit type he chooses at the start of the game.

Logan is a true comander. he gives special rules to any unit he joins i cant remember them all but one of the is relentless. othe then that he has not changed much.

The trickster is a BC unit upgrade. And he could be a lot of fun.

The T-hammer thrower is S10. he throws the hammer 6" at S10 AP1 assault 1. and he gets an extra attack for his shield. "

BoLS Bjorn Tidbits:
-Armour 13 12 10
-Venerable
-5+ Invuln
-If he dies, his remains count as an objective. In KP missions, no KP are awarded to the enemy if the owning player has a friendly model in base contact with his remains at the end of the game. If the owning player has no model in base contact at the end of the game, D3 kill points are awarded to the enemy (such is his importance to the chapter)

~Standard caveats on all these IC rules rumors, but the Codex is just around the corner (October 3rd). We should be getting all kinds of stuff by Gamesday-UK. Overall, the Bjorn rules seem really good. He's the toughest dread in the game and if thse killpoint rules are correct, his legendary reverance to the chapter has been captured on the tabletop as well. What's your take on these minis and rules?

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Happy Labor Day!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

First a bit of history courtesy of Wiki and the Department of Labor:

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country.

The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes in the 1870s, which resulted in legalized and protected union activity in 1872 in Canada. The parades held in support of Canadian organized labor led to an annual celebration in Canada. In 1882, American labor leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto. Inspired from Canadian events in Toronto, he returned the USA, to New York and organized the first American "labor day" on September 5 of the same year."

~As you all kick back and enjoy the holiday I think we should take the time to rank the 40k and Fantasy nations from best to worst in their labor-relations practices. This ought to be good... To our non-American readers... GET BACK TO WORK! :)

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40k Pic of the Day 9-06-09

Braveheart - Ork Edition
~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. If its one of the rarer xenos races, even better!

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40K / WFB Costume Thread

Lets have some fun on this slow holiday weekend.

You've seen them, you know em, and secretly you love em. I am speaking of course about those most fanatical amongst us, the 40k/Fantasy cos-players.

Now we all have an expensive addiction. GW doesn't just give away their products for free, and then you have to add in all the paint and hobby supplies on top, not to mention time.

But my friends we are all mere amateurs compared to those who above and beyond take the time to handcraft, paint and wear their hobby literally on their sleeve.

I've put together just a tiny snippet of some of the most memorable cos-players out and about on the internet. In the end, I think the line between good and bad costumes is like the laws regarding obscenity..."you know it when you see it"


Abhor the Witch indeed...

So umm, what are you into?


~Have fun, lets hear your comments, links to pictures, personal experiences, tall tales and anything alse. Have fun and remember...BE NICE! :)

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40K SNEEK PEEK: Space Wolves Cover

The Sons of Fenris are coming for you!

~Details on characters are dribbling out as copies of this one are certainly back from the printers at this point. More soon. Also, look at the size of the Fenrisian Wolf head on that leader... That thing's the size of a buffalo!

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40K NEWS; Space Hulk Ships

Today; Saturday September 5th is the day folks.

Go grab your copy of the best board game Games Workshop ever made. Hurry as they won't last long at this rate. Expect the full BoLS review of Space Hulk soon.

~When its firmly in your greedly little hands, let us know what you think, and how your first games are going.

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40K NEWS: Forgeworld Chaos Reaver

Hey guys,

Forgeworld has wrapped the Chaos Reaver, and it will be making its debut at Gamesday-UK.

They will have several copies for sale on hand, and full production will ramp up post convention.

You can see 3 pages of pics of the beast here.

~I think my favorite part is that Carapace Missile Launcher. Its looks much more menacing than the Imperial one.

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40k Pic of the Day 9-04-09

"Captain Temeter to Lord of Hyrus, requesting immediate bombardment, over."(bonus points to the first poster who gets the reference and can date it)
~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. If its one of the rarer xenos races, even better!

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40K NEWS: Imperial Guard FAQ is Out

Games Workshop just put up the latest Imperial Gaurd FAQ. Check it out:

Imperial Guard FAQ

~Wow, this one answered a ton of interesting stuff. In particular check out the Witchhunter allies clarifications, and such sneakness as the Master of Ordnance/Mortar combo being dealt with. Dive in guys.

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40K TACTICA: Reserves for Fun and Profit

I use Reserves, and I find the uncertainty they create into the game useful. Yes, sometimes Reserves stay off the board until turn 5 and I suffer for having used them. The vast majority of the time Reserves are a much bigger problem for my opponent than for me. Suppose I have a Demolisher, Hellhound, and 2 infantry squads in Reserve – these units are effectively multiplied in value because the enemy cannot prepare to deal with all of these units everywhere at the same time, so these units can be deployed more effectively from Reserve and their value is increased. Add in an Outflanker or two, and the threat radius of your army becomes extremely wide.

Basic reasons to use Reserves:

1) Things in Reserve don’t get shot or assaulted.
2) Your opponent loses time to react to your deployments if your deployments happen later in the game.
3) In Capture and Control, Reserving your whole force encourages your opponent to pursue your objective, allowing you the luxury of the strategic defensive and tactical offensive (this is one area where 40K is exactly the opposite of best-case from real world military decisions).

Explaining these basic concepts:

The first is obvious, and generally useful for preserving low efficacy units and/or short-ranged forces facing incoming opponents. The second allows you to exploit weaknesses in the opponent’s decisions. Yes, you are expecting only half of your force on turn 2; you can run these out in such a way as to encourage the reaction you want. You could leave a unit vulnerable to assault and have stronger assault elements enter to counterassault, for example. Another good example is running a fast unit up a side to get enemy tanks to turn and shoot them, leaving their flanks and possibly rear open to your Reserves. The third is best done as the subject of a future editorial; but I recommend trying it out, to see what works best for you.

Using Reserves in Your Army

Imperial/ Inquisitorial Guard Wall of Steel – Generally a couple of Hellhounds (or Immolators) and a Chimera or Demolisher won’t be missed on turn 1, but can come in on turn 2 or 3 to sway the battle significantly. This is especially true if your opponent is fast and/or has deep striking elements. If your opponent is all in Drop Pods, you shouldn’t even start with anything on the board.
Mechanized Marines/CSM – A unit of MEQ in a Rhino held in Reserve can turn almost any flank. Remember to hold the unit and transport separately if you plan to charge when you enter play (unless the transport is a Land Raider). Landspeeders in Reserve can be terribly effective, and have the added bonus of not being shot dead before they get to act – definitely a good choice if you’re going second.
Eldar – Eldar have almost no reason to start anything on the board, regardless of mission or opponent. Eldar have no staying power to absorb shooting, overall weak long range shooting (except for Fire Prisms), expensive units, and generally great maneuverability. There are builds and opponents that do better if deployed, but those aren’t the most common builds.
Necrons, Tyranids – Completely situational, no general rule to apply.
Orks – A small Boyz Mob might be worth holding back to claim home objectives. In Spearhead, you can shorten the travel distance of a Trukk or two by holding them in Reserve, and you might actually have the elements that would have killed them on turn 1 otherwise occupied by that point.
Imperial Guard / Inquisitorial Partial Mech – a small squad without a transport can very easily win the game from Reserve, but isn’t going to do much starting on the board.

~I know this topic is too complex to touch on so lightly and have every idea covered; I’ll use questions as a basis for detailed pieces. The floor is yours generals...

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40k Pic of the Day 9-03-09

World Eaters Captain Kharn leading a charge, Isstvan III, M29
~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. If its one of the rarer xenos races, even better!

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40K TACTICA: Pinning 101

Pinning Tactica 101 ~ A Guest Tactica by Way of Saim-Hann's: Fritz

Anytime you roll dice in 40K bad things can happen…failed armor saves, perils of the warp, exploding vehicles, etc., and it is with this idea in mind that I try to get my opponent to roll those dice as often as possible- which leads us to the topic of this article: pinning.

Pinning as a viable and useful tactic rather then just a little used rule on page 31? Why yes! Consider this army:

1750 Eldar Warhost
-Eldrad
-30 Harlequins
-12 Rangers
-3 Wraithlords

Everything in the army has a chance to pin enemy units, Eldrad has eldritch storm, harlequins with the death jester, rangers with the sniper rifles, and the ‘lords with missile launchers. With nine chances to score a pin each turn, it opens the concept up as a tactical option which is used to control your opponent’s shooting and movement. Examples of pinning in action from two recent games…

Two groups of nob bikers zooming towards my two harlequin troupes- one nob group is bigger then the other and even with doom backing the clowns I can’t take on both going one to one. I need to bomb the bigger biker group with clowns and throw in doom for good measure. What to do then about the other biker group since they will then charge me next turn? Pin them of course with my rangers and wraithlords! Cause a wound, roll the dice, and the second bike unit is pinned buying me time and some breathing room.

My group of harlequins is on approach to assault a space marine tactical squad holding an objective. Next to them a few inches back is a group of stearnguard veterans in support. I know I can hit the tactical marines with moving, running, and then fleet, but I am positive that the stearnguard are just out of assault range. At best I’ll kill the tactical squad and then get blow away by the stearnguard with their special ammo, and then they will just move onto the objective and I’ve gained nothing. Options? Pin the stearnguard, clown assault the tactical squad and then next turn assault the stearnguard gobbling up both of them. Rangers tried and failed, but then the death jester from my second troupe scored and my opponent failed his pinning test.

Now I won’t say you should rely on this any more then counting on melta guns to actually explode tanks and then roll a “1” on the damage chart, but the concept does open up options that are often never considered by some players. They key to a pinning load out is to not sacrifice your build to favor pinning- it should be something that can compliment your army, adding to it as opposed to focusing it or narrowing it down, you are also going to have to find a way to build in pinning shots from multiple units to make sure you have the redundancy to make it count when you need it.

~A crazy idea? Maybe, but sometimes left field is all you need to give you that slight edge in a game for the win! Obviously throw all this out the window if you are facing mass fearless troops, but hey, not everybody in the 40K universe is fearless…yet…

~Bigred here, lets give it up for Fritz in what will hopefully be the first of many future articles here on BoLS. I'm sure he will be jumping into the comments and would love to hear your thoughts on pinning.

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WFB: HOMEBREW: Dwarfs of Chaos Army Book

It looks like other groups of fans are busy burning the midnight oil trying to expand the army book offerings for their favorite ancient armies. Lots of these things cross our inbox, but this one's production values sent it right to the top of the list. Check out the Indy GT Dwarfs of Chaos Army Book.

"Below you will find the link to the new Indy GT Dwarfs of Chaos Army Book, a complete, 92-page Army Book in the Games Workshop tradition. The book—professionally written, designed, illustrated, and thoroughly play tested—will be legal for use in participating Independent Grand Tournaments. As of this writing, the Crossroads, Conflict, Colonial, Destruction Derby, NEWCC, and War Camp GTs will allow the book as legal, and we expect the number to grow with the publication of the book.

About the authors
Written by Kevin Coleman. Kevin has been writing background and rules for Warhammer for well over a decade with his work appearing in White Dwarf Magazine, the Games Workshop Website and the Citadel Journal including such articles as Gnoblars Hordes, the Dark Elf City Garrison army list, Goblin Ecology, Mighty Champions and more. Kevin has also worked as a games designer and writer for other games and magazines
including Fleer, Inc.’s customizable card game, Ophidian 2350.

Book design by award-winning graphic artist Matt Birdoff. Matt has been a professional designer working in the entertainment industry for over 15 years. His recent works include logos for DC Comics, sports card designs for Topps, Inc., style guide design for Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey, The 39 Clues book and card series from Scholastic, among others.

Additional background material and fiction by Justin Hill and Jarrett Messing. Justin is the author of the Black Library novel Forged in Battle (as Justin Hunter). His internationally acclaimed first novel, The Drink and Dream Teahouse, won the 2003 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and a 2002 Betty Trask Award, and was banned by the government in China. It was picked by the Washington Post as one of the Top
Novels of 2001. His second novel, Passing Under Heaven, won the 2005 Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Encore Award."

Note that this book is not endorsed in any way by Games Workshop.

Download it HERE!

~I always like to see what other fans can crank out to add more fun and variety to the hobby. This one looks like a class act all the way. I'm sure you Fantasy guys (thats 50% of you) can weigh in with your opinion of this labor of love.

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40k Pic of the Day 9-02-09

Pic submitted by reader Jorvic

That is just WRONG!
~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. If its one of the rarer xenos races, even better!

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40K: Community Space Hulk Support

Hi guys,

Space Hulk is almost upon us. Stockists should be selling it on September 5th, and we have heard from various folks who have already recieved their advanced orders from GW directly.

Expect a full Space Hulk review on BoLS soon, as we have had a nice long time to sit down with a promo copy and played it inside and out.

There are a couple of folks out there who are not waiting, and already working on some great items to enhance your Space Hulk experience.


Battlefoam Space Game Foam Kit
First up is Battlefoam, who has a fancy 2 part Space Hulk insert. The first tray has custom cut foam to hold each individual Space Hulk figure securely, while the second tray holds all the tiles, dice, and other playing pieces.

The coolest part is that both trays fit inside the Space Hulk box, so there is nothing additional to carry. You can grab it from Battlefoam here.


Beasts of War Deep Space Assault Console
Those fine chaps at BoW have cooked up this little program that is sure to liven up your Space Hulk games. It is a free download that adds just the proper mix of background sci-fi sound effects, and claustrophobic terror to your games. For best results use this in a dark room with copies of Alien running on the TV. You've been warned. Grab the free download here.

~Who's chomping at the bit for Space Hulk? I know the Broodlord model is my personal favorite, and sure to displace the current metal "singing broodlord" to the dark recesses of my gaming closet for a long time to come. Lets hear what has you most excited about the return of this cherished classic boardgame.

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BoLS Polls: The Expansion Projects

Over the last few years, GW has been cranking out their line of game "expansion" products, to widen the definition of what it means to play Warhammer 40k.

First we saw Cityfight/Cities of Death. This tested the waters, and was the springboard for GW's line of urban terrain.

Next came the big dice roll of Apocalypse, and the associated mega-product bundles and the Baneblade (still perhaps the most technically impressive kit released by GW).

This year came Planetstrike with its bastions and defensive terrain kits.

The question for you is are you satisfied with these products, and how much do you think they open up the game and general hobby? Do you like the use of resources, or would you instead choose a smaller game with more regular codex and updated mini releases?

~The floor is yours, and by all means lets hear your likes, dislikes and thoughts on the expansion line products. Poll, right hand column, ATTACK!

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40k Pic of the Day 9-01-09

Deys racked up lads. Lets go for a strike!
~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. If its one of the rarer xenos races, even better!

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BoLS CHALLENGE: Lounge Edition

Hi guys,

You know what we haven't done in a while? Have a giveaway! Now normally we expect you to jump through some crazy hoops, convert up a fantastic piece of work, and paint it up to blow away all your fellow BoLS readers in some ridiculous timeframe.

We opened the BoLS Lounge just over one month ago, and it is quickly approaching 1 million page views. With that kind of opening month exceeding our best hopes, it was time to give away something as our way of saying THANK YOU to our loyal readers and posters, as well as any of you other folks who haven't joined quite yet, but want a shot at the following loot:

-A brand new Imperial Guard Valkyrie
-A hardcover copy of Dan Abnett's: Brothers of the Snake

This week the challenge is fiendishly simple. One week from today, I will draw a random registered BoLS Lounge poster who has achieved the rank of Scout or higher (thats 5 whole posts) and give them those 2 prizes.

~The clock is ticking, and some lucky person is winning the loot. Take a look around the Lounge, meet some new friends, and drop into some of our threads. As one of our previous happy Challenge winners (seen below) would say, "what have you got to lose?"

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40K: Observations from the BoLSCon floor

Before I get too far, realize that as the TO, I had to be in a lot of places, so sitting and watching games from start to finish was essentially impossible. Nevertheless, I noticed a few interesting things overseeing a few hundred 2000pt games:

1) 80% of rules questions are based on remembering old rules and either thinking they are in the current edition or that the current rule is related to them. This is more of an issue for veterans than new players, obviously.

2) People tend not to use Reserves. I’m not sure why this is so, but people that should have been holding units in Reserve were instead feeding them into the meatgrinder.

3) Very few good players had an issue that had to be addressed by the judges, and most good players had extremely good sportsmanship scores and friendly matches.

4) A very small percentage of people had trouble getting through 2000 point games in 2 hours. Most games were finished in under 1:45 after the first round. My strong suspicion is that most games that did not finish would not have finished in 2:30, either. In short, most people were prepared for the time limits and played accordingly.

5) Mechanized SM and CSM are still the standard armies in tournament play. Nothing in 5e has changed this basic fact of tournament environment. Armies that do well against these armies tend to have an easier road ahead of them – this means IG and Dark Eldar in particular do better than they would against all comers.

~That’s all for now. What's your take on these observations and does it match up with what you see out in your neck of the woods?

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