~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. We love spectacle and characterful shots so lets see what you budding photographers can do!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Pic of the Day 12-7-09
~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. We love spectacle and characterful shots so lets see what you budding photographers can do!
40K NEWS: Tyranids Advanced Orders Up (New Pics)
Advanced Order Page
Codex Tyranids $25 (1 book)
Trygon/Mawloc $49.50 (1 model)
Ravenor Brood $44.50 (3 models)
Gargoyle Brood $29 (10 models)
Hormagaunt Brood $24.75 (12 models)
Termagant Brood $24.75 (12 models)
Pyrovore $33 (1 model)
Hive Guard $20 (1 model)
Venomthrope $20 (1 model)
~All this stuff is available for pre-order now, and ships out the 16th of January. Check out the Trygon link in particular for some sprue pics, and the others for detailed fluff descriptions. So the Trygon will retain its electric field, the Mawloc can devour things whole, and the Hive Guard can target things they cannot see... hmmmm... Your thoughts?
40K SNEAK PEEK: Battle Missions Cover
Look what showed up in the inbox.
Pretty nice overall. So who has interest in this one, and how do you think your playgroup will use it?
~Release date in March, and no street price listed.
40K EDITORIAL: Conan! What is Best in Life?
Just like every kid in the early '80s, I cheered along with the crowd and tried to work the phrase "crush your enemies, see dem driven before you, and hear da lamentation of da women!" into every conversation I could for the next decade.
But the rest of the scene really stuck with me. So let's go back a few lines before Conan's thickly-accented catch-phrase. The Mongol General says, "We won again! That is good, but what is best in life?". The Mongol warrior answers with "The open steppe, fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, wind in your hair!". Although Mongol General isn't happy with the answer, I totally grok it.
Conan took no joy in the battle -- his only goal was to achieve a complete and crushing victory. He fought only to win. The Mongol warrior fought because because he loved the battle and with it came freedom, excitement and prosperity.
When I sat back to consider the games I played in 2009, that scene came to mind. Was I Conan, who played only to win? Or was I the Mongol warrior, who played because of a love for the game? Which do I aspire to be? How about the hobby? Is one better than the other, or is there room for both?
As I look at my friends in the hobby, I've noticed that almost all of them are squarely in one camp or another. I'm struggling to name a single player that effectively straddles the fence. Even in the friendliest of pick-up games, it feels like "fun" and "winning" are mutually exclusive.
I feel like I need to illustrate the point with some examples. I'm going to use some friends to help me with that -- these guys are super close friends (most I've known for a decade or more), but that won't stop me from typecasting them.
"Crush Your Enemies"
Jwolf and Goatboy are great examples of "Crush Your Enemies" players. Jwolf is one of my closest friends and you'll never meet a nicer guy, but he's also (in my opinion) the best 40k player in the world. Although he claims to understands that both players are playing to have a good time, he has a tendency to get so caught up in accomplishing the goals of the game that he fails to notice that his opponent stopped having fun a few turns back.
Goatboy (another one of the top local players) is a completely different type of "Crush Your Enemies" player. He is much more intentional and methodical in his approach. He spends a decent amount of energy building (and beautifully painting) nasty lists, and then he tunes those lists based on what works and what doesn't. Once you have him on the table, he's relentless. He's a great guy, and laughs and jokes with you while he plays, but he won't pull any punches -- even when he's winning. And he'd never want you to pull punches against him.
I can understand the desire to win. I have it. I think we all do. But do players players that focus on winning games missing the fun in playing those games? Do they fail to enjoy the crazy random things that happen along the way to their victory?
"Falcons at Your Wrist"
Bigred and Bulwark are great examples of "Falcons at Your Wrist" players. Both are very strong players and can cause real damage on the table, but they focus a lot more on playing than winning.
Bigred loves the game more than anyone I know (he got me playing many, many years ago), but he doesn't enjoy the competitive side of the hobby as much as I do. It's frustrating to me because he's a great player and can hold his own against monsters like Jwolf and Darkwynn. I want to share that competitive side of the hobby with him. But he enjoys the fun he gets from the social aspect of the game.
Bulwark is just awesome. He'll play as hard or as soft as you want -- even in a tournament. Even when he disagrees with you, he's happy to let you play a rule your way. I've never seen him get frustrated. Never. We have a history of facing each other in 'Ard Boyz semi-finals and we've always played them like social, friendly games.
I can understand wanting to play with toys you've made and have fun. I can even see how not caring about losing is a good thing. But do players that focus only on the fun missing the excitement of competition? By focusing on the game are they missing out on the fun of winning games?
CONCLUSION
I guess for some players, it's the destination that really matters while others prefer the journey. Both are having fun while playing games, but I can't help wondering which are getting the most out of the hobby they love.
~So, ask yourself, are you Conan or the Mongol warrior? Is it about crushing your enemies or the falcons on your wrist?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Pic of the Day 12-6-09
~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. We love spectacle and characterful shots so lets see what you budding photographers can do!
WARMACHINE NEWS: Khador Book & More
Right into it guys.
The second faction book has been announced by Privateer Press, and its Khador. Following in the footsteps of the previously announced Cygnar book, these books will make a great read, giving players everything they want from background, to full army rules for the Khadoran Empire, including some all new units.
Expect this along with the Cygnar book following fast on the heels of the January release of Warmachine Mk.II, and the Faction card decks. I would look for this one in the late Q1 timeframe.
A couple of other minis came out this week including :
Dannon Blythe and Bull, the Bounty Hunters
Khador Extreme Destroyer
~The giant Mk.II reboot for Warmachine is just around the corner, so if you are thinking of getting your feet wet, of breaking out your old minis and giving them a spin with the new ruleset, January is just around the corner. I for one look forward to giving you guys an apples to apples comparison of a Warmachine Faction book compared to a Warhammer Codex.
WFB REVIEW: Skaven Armybook, Part 1 of 3
SKAVEN BOOK REVIEW
PART 1(Troop Choices)
by
Jordan Braun
PART 1(Troop Choices)
by
Jordan Braun
The rats have been swarming here in Austin. I have had a chance to play with and against the new skaven a few times now. I have also watched a lot of other skaven players mess around with the new rats as well. Today, I will breakdown the skaven books troop choices and rate them on a scale 1(bad)-10(good). I will also list why I dislike or like each choice. The unit will also be compared to its old version self if one existed. In later articles I will breakdown characters choices, magic items, and make a 2250 tournament list.
Final's are around the corner, lets see how skaven did this semester.
CORE
Slaves: A cornerstone of the last edition's skaven army is now more widely accesible with no mainstay requirement. There is some debate about how the explosion rules work and will probably need a FAQ. Some cheesy gitz around here are claiming skaven 1x20 would cause d3+19 S3 hits and while by RAW they are probably correct I feel it is an oversight. For 2 points and access to very cheap command I think 2 units of these guys will be fielded in every army. Backed by the general's leadership these guys are great for setting up tactical traps or just swarming the enemy's weaker units. I feel the only downside is the explosion and that argueably is a plus as well. Slings would be usefull if they were BS3.
8/10 Great (+++Point Cost, +Can shoot at combats with slaves, -Explosions can hurt you,-Low LD away from general)
Clanrats: No longer the required mainstay unit for a minor reduced cost. Really these guys are barely an upgrade from slaves. These guys get access to: Standards, Weapon teams,LD5, WS3, and lt. armor. For the supposed backbone of a skaven army from a fluff standpoint they are not impressive on the tabletop. The only real reason to field these guys is the weapon team in my opinion. Combined with Doomflayer they are actual compentent in the close combat phase.
7/10 Good(+Point Cost, +More options then slaves,-Comparable to slaves in combat)
Giant Rat Packs: The giant rats are vastly improved vs. the previous incarnation. The 2nd rank of giant rats can attack. This is the sleeper hit of the skaven book when combined with death frenzy. The master moulders are now champions instead of heros and can have some decent gear. Unless you go crazy with the master moulder the unit is also very low point cost.
10/10 Awesome(+Point Cost, + Massive attack output potential,+Great spell target,+Great unit upgrades,-Possible loss of control if shot down, no saves)
NightRunners: Huge overhaul compared to the old version. Now a ranked unit. Access to missle weapons is interesting. I think they really only have one use though. Skaven introduce us to the 1st ranked tunneling unit in warhammer. A pretty heft cost at 200 points with full rank bonus. But, this has game winning potential. Not alot of units want to be reared charged by 3ranks. Even a bloodthirster does not want to start combat 6 down.
5/10 OK(+Ranked tunneler,-Useless and expensive if not tunneling, -Tunneling is dangerous and unpredictable)
Rat Swarms: Cheaper with no more plague swarms is what we get in the new book. If you have 50 points pick up 2 bases. I don't see this being a bad choice to take. A great target for the poison attack spell. Swarms are quite capable of beating on machine crew, holding a flank from low number attack units like spawn or tomb scorpions, and contesting a table quarter.
5/10 OK(++Point Cost,+ Good friendly spell target, -Swarm rules crappy, -Low strength/toughness)
Stormvermin: Probably the most disappointing unit in the new book. Staying relatively unchanged besides a small point change from the old book. This supposed elite unit is still lacking compared to some of other elite units in recent books. Heavy armor shield and access to a magic banner is the only redeeming qualities when compared to clanrats.
4/10 Bad(+Armor save,+ Magic banner access,-Only slightly better then clanrats in combat)
SPECIAL
Gutter Runners: A new weapon option with nets and a sliglty modified point cost is what the gutters got in the new book. A solid scout unit that is neither amazing nor horrible.
6/10 OK(+Weapon options, -Point cost)
Censor Bearers: At first glance you might not notice this ,but, censor bearers have gained an attack increase. Going from 1/2 to 2/3 frenzied is a nice upgrade. There is also a champion option as well. If that was not enough to make this unit more attractive the old leash rule is now a benefit instead of a hindrance. No more being choked up by slow moving plague monks. There is a question if censor are stubborn 5 or 8 when next to the furnace.
9/10 Great(+Attack output, +Skirmish, +Gas,+-Frenzy, -Point Cost)
Plague Monks: 2nd hand weapon is now included combined with a lower point cost. While not a shining star , a definite argument for plague monks can be made when including a plague furnace.
7/10 Good(+Point Cost, +Furnace unit,+Tough 4, +-Frenzy, -No armor, -Low Strength)
Poison Wind Globadiers: Similar to the previous version, with the extra tid bit that they can still shoot into any combat. I dearly miss the core 2 man units , but, that was a bit much. They have the ability to have weapon team attached which could be intersting. I think they are a great for big monsters. If you can have slaves or a bell/furnace unit hold up a big creature these guys could easily finish him off.
8/10 Good(+Shoot into combats, +Skirmish, -LD)
Rat Ogres: Frenzied with a champ option is the new version of rat ogres. Still severly hampered by the packmaster rules. The slightly lower point cost and the extra attack from frenzy is a nice touch. I still don't see them being taken over censor bearers being in the same special slot.
1/10 BAD(+Attack output, +-Frenzy, -Packmaster rules, -Compete with better specials)
Jezzails: Lost skirmish and gained a unit champ option is the changes to the jezzails. Losing the ability to shoot into combat is a big hit for these guys. I think you will see less of these guys in the tournament skaven armies.
5/10 OK(+High strength long rang threat, - no 360 line of sight, -can't shoot into combat)
RARE
Doomwheel: Back from 5th edition with a vengeance. Impact hits, shooting beams of death, random moving beat down. I like the new doomwheel model a whole bunch. I think I would consider fielding it just for having that beauty on the table. Keep your multiwound models away from this guy though because his shooting doesnt discriminate.
6/10 OK(+-Random shooting, +-Random combat, +Tough, +Not like a normal chariot)
Plague Catapult: Stonethrower like plagueapult. No armor save is nice. Decent at killing big blocks of stuff.
6/10 OK(+Long range threat,-low strength)
WLCannon: This changed drastically in the new book. Now much more like a normal cannon with the added effect of a 3" template of doom added onto the end of the shot. Its random strength is the only downside. Having to have line of sight in exchange for a more reliable target with the 3" template is probably a decent trade.
8/10 Good( +3" template possible strength 10, +-random strength, -needs line of sight)
Abomination: The big hitter in the skaven book. In my opinion the nastiest model in warhammer. This thing hits harder, lives longer, and has crazy move potential.
10/10 AMAZING(+Warhammer combat god, +Regen, -+Random move, -Leadership)
Weapon Teams:
Still supscetible to shooting so can be somewhat pricey and risky investments.
Doomflayer(9/10) Great in combat. Makes clanrats/stormvermin viable. Nice armor.
Ratling Gun(6/10) Rolling to hit was not worth the trade off in range increase.
Plague Mortar(8/10) Deadly if your a good guesser and have decent scatter rolls.
Tunnel(5/10) Game winning potential but expensive
Warpfire(7/10) Hits hard, but, random shots with nasty misfire chart.
This is just a little insight on my thoughts for the skaven troops in the new book. Obviously some people will swear by that one random unit that killed a dark elf lord on a dragon in 1999. Look out for part 2 where I rate the characters and mounts.
40K DEEP THOUGHT: Fighting vs Hiding Edition
FIGHTERS
From Marines, to IG, to CSMs and others, these armies go for the throat with a myriad of tactics. Whether its through firepower or assualt, they are coming for you so you better be prepared.
HIDERS
From the Eldar, to the Tau, Necrons and others, these armies are using every trick in the book to make it to turn 5, and do for objective grabs. Yes, there is some hard fighting in there at key locations, but in general, these guys are battening down the hatches and just trying to make it to the end of the game with thier skin still intact.
I don't know if its a by-product of the 5th Edition mission rulesets and true LoS, or just the eternal imbalance between the older and newer books, but I don't like seeing so many once proud players going defensive and trying to run down the clock. Yes we are all suppoed to play towards the mission, but when tactics that emphasize "not playing" such as overt hiding, heavy use of cover and going to ground, mixed with reserves and last turn landgrabs become the norm, I feel very unsettled.
I feel one of the design goals of any game is for both players to actually PLAY, and not come up with tricky ways to avoid tabletop conflict.
~Are you a FIGHTER or a HIDER and what are your feelings towards this trend? Which armies do you think fall on either side of the fence in your areas, and what is the root cause of this state of affairs?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Art of War-hammer: Adeptus Titanicus Update 2
"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."
I've also started working on two of the three guns (Minus hasn't given me the other Turbo Laser yet). I don't really put a large amount of thought into which parts of the model I want to be green and which parts are going to remain in the bronze. Sometimes its obvious, sometimes not so much.
That terrible color inside the socket is a remnant from our first attempt at getting the green we wanted using a bright primer and washing it with badab black. Unfortunately, the primer we used created an impenetrable barrier and resulted in failure.And finally, the mock up. It's really starting to look good now, and less like an unfinished lump. Minus is starting to think about playing in Adepticon Gladiator this year with it.
Next up (once the weapons are finished) I'll be starting the interior work. The carapace is currently in many pieces and the interior needs to be finished before I can glue it together. It needs to be glued before I can start work on the outside.~What does everyone think so far? How much iconography does everyone thing I should do? I intend to hand paint at least a couple of banners for it. What else should I paint on the model itself? More work in progress and close ups over on bushido40k. Comments are welcome.
40K NEWS: Tyranid Battleforce Contents
Several retailers have cracked open their initial copies of the new Tyranid Battleforce. Here's what is reported:
3 Tyranid Warriors
8 Genestealers
16 Hormagaunts
16 Termagaunts
3 Ripper Swarms
and 6 gaunt accessory sprues.
~So it looks like the old Carnifex is out, and double the number of Gaunts (plus Rippers)is in.
In semi-related Tyranid news, apparently there are still copies of Space Hulk available from the Games Workshop online store. I had thought they were all sold out.
40K NEWS: Battle Missions Supplement
We've been hearing about a book of new missions for over a year, but Games Workshop just officially announced it: Battle Missions
"Coming in March, Battle Missions is a brand-new supplement for Warhammer 40,000 that expands on the basic missions found in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Each of the thirty-something scenarios detailed in Battle Missions has been designed to allow you to fight the sort of battles normally the subject of Black Library novels. From daring raids and assassinations, to breakthroughs and last stands, Battle Missions will allow your army to play in a way that reflects its background. No matter what Warhammer 40,000 army you collect this exciting new supplement will open up a whole new gaming experience.
Of course it just wouldn't be the same if there weren't some great new miniatures to fight through these missions with. Fortunately, there will be new sets for Space Marines, Orks and the Imperial Guard released alongside Battle Missions in March."
~So a couple of comments. First, this should really help to spice up games for folks into narrative gaming, as well as people who need ideas for new challenging mission (tournament organizers). It probably won't have much impact on standard pick-up games.
More importantly, that second paragraph tell us GW is using this supplement as a platform for a Marine, IG, and Ork post launch release waves in March. For the IG I would expect such likely new kits as the updated Chimera, and possibly the rumored Hydra/Manticore kits or the updated artillery-combo kits (look at the sides of that basilisk above). Have at it.
WFB HOBBY: Hellish Hellcannon
A friend of mine recently built and painted a Hellcannon and in the spirit of the recent "most gruesome" modeling contest at our local GW store he decided to make his Hellcannon as horrific as possible. Personally, I have to say I think he succeeded in making this model terribly gruesome to look at. The pictures here barely do it justice as in person the color and nature of the "blood" on this model is absolutely disgustingly realistic in color and overall appearance. The blood tracks in the snow are especially disturbing up close. The first time I saw this completed project I had a hard time looking at it! While photos don't fully convey the impact of the color and detail as well as seeing this model in person, I thought some of you out there might enjoy a few photos of this hellish model and a bit of explanation from its builder on how he accomplished it.
From the builder and painter: "Having been modeling/painting for a whole six months I decided to tackle the Hellcannon and make it spectacularly gruesome. The current codex says, "Flesh runs like wax as the fire-daemon inside the cannon's hearth feasts on body and bone." How could something like that be shiny?
In any case, I got an idea in my head of blood spurting from the maw of the cannon, but realized I was in no way going to be able to pull that off. I then poured myself a cup of coffee and promptly spilled coffee as it clung to the lip of the carafe and realized the Hellcannon would probably have something like that happen immediately after spitting out its latest round of victims.
Before adding the blood, I first painted the Hellcannon, and much of it before assembly. I wanted the blood to stand out, so I picked a very cold stone color for the cannon's body-work and the agonizing screams were first done with Mordian Blue, layered with Royal Blue and highlighted up through Ice Blue.
Again, shiny seemed the antithesis of everything this model should be, so I did all the metal work in Chaos Black and then layered it up adding equal parts Ice Blue and Codex Gray to the mix and did a very broad highlight of a pure Codex Blue/Ice Blue mix on the chains with a very fine edge highlight with just Ice Blue on some of the sharper edges.
As much as I wanted the Blood to stand out, I also wanted it to be in very stark contrast to the snow. To accommodate that, I kept the skulls very dark with a Bleached Bone base-coat, and Gryphonne Sepia wash and just a small amount of highlighting with Bleached Bone.
The Snow was just your usual mix of Elmer's glue and GF9 snow. First I covered the entire base with a very quick-setting epoxy resin, leaving slots for the dwarfs, base-coated it in Scorched Brown, drilled holes for the ties to hold down the cannon, then made two successive layers. I'd rather have a thinner, runnier mixture of glue in two layers than one super puffy layer in one. That is just my personal preference.
After assembly I proceeded to mold the form of the pouring blood with green stuff and let it dry overnight. I then painted the parts that would be covered in blood (most of the front of the model, admittedly) with scab red, layering on some Blood red and washing it with Devlan Mud. I also hit the rims of the wheels and the back of the furnace. I left the doors off the furnace so the viewer can see the goriness inside. I also laid blood down in the tracks (made just by tamping down the snow with a small file) using the same procedure. I covered the last dwarf's shovel with blood the same way. After all that I made a mixture of 3 parts Scab Red, 1 part Blood Red and 1 part Scorched Brown and added it to some GW water effects. I added it till I could just barely see through about 1 mm of the mixture while it was wet. After base-coating the bottom of the cannon's maw and the green-stuff with scab red I used a pipette to pour the water effects into the maw. It eventually spilled over and followed the mold until it reached the base where it pooled.The following morning I turned it in for my local store's "Most Horrifying Model" contest. I was rushed at the end and plan on cleaning it up a little in the future, but for right now I am happy with the skills I have gained in the last six months and plan on completing it when I have the skills to do it true Justice."
Shortly after my friend's Hellcannon model was finished I set about finishing up the planned "blood pool with bobbing skulls" on top of the Tower of Skulls I built last year. I finished just in time to enter my Tower of Skulls in the same contest as the Hellcannon shown above. The color I went for there was heavily influenced by the Hellcannon shown in the above article as I thought it was some of the best color for the purpose I'd ever seen on a model. I was especially impressed given the short time span my friend has been in the hobby and the short time he had to work on this project before the store contest. I hope you enjoyed seeing his gruesome creation too.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Pic of the Day 12-4-09
~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. We love spectacle and characterful shots so lets see what you budding photographers can do!
Project Log: Coming Out of WFB Semi-Retirement
Over the last two years my tournament WFB armies have been pretty much retired. They would come out from time to time to play friends or help folks out in tuning their forces up, but I have really not had much of an interest in playing tournament games with them. Mind you some of this is due to some absolutely horrendous sportsmanship at the first WFB ‘ard Boyz. Well, Minus 67 has talked me into pulling my oldest army out of retirement, which is now 20 years old. It is the one army I own that has the best chance of being competitive in the Daemon/Vampire dominated tournament scene, and one of the few armies that consistently shows up in the top ten rankings. That army is the Empire.
My Empire army is a multi-generational army that was started on the tail end of 3rd start of 4th edition. Its main core of troops was initially built using the figures found in the GW-Milton Bradley Game called Battlemaster. Many of those figures are still in my army, and yes they are absolutely tournament legal because they were made by GW. In 6th edition my army got its first real face lift with the figures that came out with the boxed set. Then in 7th edition, after the recent army book, I got the battalion box with the new style troops.
I’m sure that by now many of you are wondering what all of this rambling is about and I assure you that I have a point. I’m going to write a series of hobby articles revolving around rehabilitating this old army for tournament play. I will also discuss some of my thought processes behind unit selection and tactics. Overall, I will be focusing more on the hobby aspect of all of this because that is what I enjoy the most, and it will give me a framework for the hobby articles I have thought about writing.
I’ve designed a preliminary army. The build had a few main goals. They were: 1. Use what I have. 2. Make something fun to play and play against. 3. Make sure it has a chance to perform well. 4. Leave room for improvement.
With that in mind I designed the following list. It is far from perfect, but it looks interesting and should put up a decent fight.
Empire Army List
Arch Lector Of Sigmar on War Altar x1 w/ Wyrmslayer Sword, Armor Metoric Iron, Van Horstman's Speculum; 295pts
3x Battle Wizard Level 2 w/ Dispel Scroll x2; 450pts
Knights Blazing Sun x10 w/Full Command, Steel Standard; 290pts
Halberdiers x30 w/ Full Command; 170pts
Spearmen x30 w/ Full Command; 170pts
Crossbowmen x20 w/ Full Command; 180pts
2x Handgunners x10 w/ Marksman, Hochland Long Rifle; 210pts
Great Cannon x3; 300pts
Mortar x1; 75pts
Hellblaster Volley Gun x1; 110pts
Total: 2250pts 134 Models 8PD/7DD
The goal with this build is for the big units to act as meat shields for the casters. The Arch Lector is for general beat down, and I think it is pretty self-evident what the shooters are for. I realize that I spammed my artillery and casters, but I think that is a small matter. My greatest strength is guessing range, and I have enjoyed a lot of success with the big guns. Nothing brings a wider smile to my face than when my opponent walks into the mouth of the Hellblaster, or when my opponent thinks my ranges are off only to find that they have been hit by three cannons and a mortar.
I will be looking at ways to add a Steam Tank into this army. I may also look at some alternative builds, but for now it looks like I have a good starting point.
In my next installment I will face my shame publicly by producing the Portrait of Shame, or as I call it, “What I should’ve finished painting ages ago.” I will examine what exactly I will need to do to get this force fully painted and on the table. I will discuss how I will plan this all out, and I will look at what will need to get its paint stripped and what can just remain as is.
All right readers your turn! Have at my build. Also let me know what major army plans you are looking at for the 2010-2011 Tournament Season.
3x Battle Wizard Level 2 w/ Dispel Scroll x2; 450pts
Knights Blazing Sun x10 w/Full Command, Steel Standard; 290pts
Halberdiers x30 w/ Full Command; 170pts
Spearmen x30 w/ Full Command; 170pts
Crossbowmen x20 w/ Full Command; 180pts
2x Handgunners x10 w/ Marksman, Hochland Long Rifle; 210pts
Great Cannon x3; 300pts
Mortar x1; 75pts
Hellblaster Volley Gun x1; 110pts
Total: 2250pts 134 Models 8PD/7DD
The goal with this build is for the big units to act as meat shields for the casters. The Arch Lector is for general beat down, and I think it is pretty self-evident what the shooters are for. I realize that I spammed my artillery and casters, but I think that is a small matter. My greatest strength is guessing range, and I have enjoyed a lot of success with the big guns. Nothing brings a wider smile to my face than when my opponent walks into the mouth of the Hellblaster, or when my opponent thinks my ranges are off only to find that they have been hit by three cannons and a mortar.
I will be looking at ways to add a Steam Tank into this army. I may also look at some alternative builds, but for now it looks like I have a good starting point.
In my next installment I will face my shame publicly by producing the Portrait of Shame, or as I call it, “What I should’ve finished painting ages ago.” I will examine what exactly I will need to do to get this force fully painted and on the table. I will discuss how I will plan this all out, and I will look at what will need to get its paint stripped and what can just remain as is.
All right readers your turn! Have at my build. Also let me know what major army plans you are looking at for the 2010-2011 Tournament Season.
40k ASKEW: You get around?
Often when I play at my local shop I feel like I am eating the same twinkie wiener sandwich over and over. Even though I love twinkie wieners there is just no surprise anymore; sometimes I have them with or without cheese whiz, sometimes dipped in milk, but at the end of the day it is just a twinkie wiener sandwich. It is no one’s fault, you're just stuck with the hand you are dealt.
For me the twinkie wiener cards comes in the form of Space Marines, at least for my area. Which I am sure it not an isolated occurrence. I just want to know how it feels to have my armies be hit by a rail gun or pie plated by a basilisk. Now I am not about to jump on the corpse of “I hate Space Marines because GW does not love my Xenos enough” bandwagon. It also has nothing to do with the people I play. I am just stuck with a heavy Space Marine player base.
What it has to do with, is just how isolating a local gaming community can be. It is also the reason so many of us turn to the Internet, trying to get a whiff of what it is like to play other armies. It also could be why I suspect a lot of Internet blowhards (me including) make grandiose claims about this and that without any real life practice. So what is the cure to avoid your 40k muscles from atrophying from your steady diet of twinkie wiener sandwiches.
Warning! Obvious advice:
Simple, get out more. Even if it means going to GW store and beating up on children during game tutorials…well maybe not that far. Go to a tournament regardless if you are a competitive player or not. Go take the extra drive to play at another store. Go search forums and find local players in the same predicament as you.
Over the last two years I have played against more people from different areas then I have played against in the previous ten. I recently went up to Seattle to play in a tournament. In addition to being fun, it was also educational. I played against five opponents that had armies from five different codices, four of which I had not played against in years. At the same time, they had never seen a force quite like mine. It was great and challenging to fight armies I was not use to facing.
Final warning! Even more obvious advice:
Importantly, I started to think about how different parts of the country might have different twinkie wiener sandwiches. It also got me seriously thinking about the unreliability of the truly unreliable nature of online advice. Not only do we have to go through the filter of people with certain agendas, you also have to wonder what they are basing it on. If they think that playing against the same ten people in the same local area is perfectly representative of 40k as a whole, well they might not have the ingredients to make even one twinkie wiener sandwich.
I am not saying experiences against the same players are not important, you just cannot expand your creative or competitive potential without an influx of new experiences. As for the Internet it is the difference between a theory and well-tested theory; do not take what you just read and preach it as gospel, test it out first before getting burned at the stake, like Giordano Bruno…stupid heliocentrism.
~What armies in your area are you sick and tired of playing? What ways have you been able to make repetitive matches more enjoyable? Besides getting out more how have you been able to keep your 40k playing experiences interesting?
If you want more travel with me to www.bloodofkittens.com
40K TACTICS: What's In Your HQ?
Fritz here from you know where! When building out your list how much focus do you put on your HQ choice? What role should it have in your army? Conversion centerpiece? Mandatory force org choice? Fluff?
Consider another option- force multiplier.
Look at the focus and leverage of your army build and use your HQ to focus this like a lens.
Beyond sheer speed the focus of my Saim-Hann warhost is overwhelming firepower. Speed compliments this by allowing me to be where my opponent is weakest on the table and then open them up. My HQ choice further refines this through the support of two guided farseers.
In my Black Templar foot and dreadnought horde the Emperor's Champion focusses the strength of that army though the prefered enemy vow blessing all my Templars and dreadnoughts with re-rolls when hitting in the assault.
Start with what your army “does”, shooty, assault, etc. and pour through those HQ choices and wargear to stack your build even better...
~Your mission, sound off in the comments with your HQ choice and how it is amplifying the strengths of your army!
Consider another option- force multiplier.
Look at the focus and leverage of your army build and use your HQ to focus this like a lens.
Beyond sheer speed the focus of my Saim-Hann warhost is overwhelming firepower. Speed compliments this by allowing me to be where my opponent is weakest on the table and then open them up. My HQ choice further refines this through the support of two guided farseers.
In my Black Templar foot and dreadnought horde the Emperor's Champion focusses the strength of that army though the prefered enemy vow blessing all my Templars and dreadnoughts with re-rolls when hitting in the assault.
Start with what your army “does”, shooty, assault, etc. and pour through those HQ choices and wargear to stack your build even better...
~Your mission, sound off in the comments with your HQ choice and how it is amplifying the strengths of your army!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
HOBBY: Stone Wall Tutorial
Have to say, I'm rather impressed with the results for such a quick and easy project. I chose to use it on a small simple wall to try out some techniques I ended up using later on for other terrain.
I started off using just a small bit of pink insulation foam that I had laying about. I decided to start with a reliable old sharpie marker to get the lines down. Well, after finishing all the line work, I went to begin cutting into the foam and where there was sharpie, there was no longer nice solid foam, it ate away at the foam just enough so that when you cut directly into the line, you pulled up all the sharpie mark instead of making a neat little cut. So long story short don't use sharpie on foam projects!
After the sharpie failed me, I went back, cut out a new piece, and snagged a ball point pen. I lined everything out which ends up taking longer than one would expect to get the 'rocks' lining up properly!
After lining I got to cutting in the lines. To start out I just cut a thin shallow line right on top of the drawn lines, then I took a pencil and pressed it into the cuts. This really doesn't work as easily as you expect it to. You've gotta really get in there with the pencil and go over the same spots multiple times. I ended up pulling the knife back into service in a lot of spots that were being stubborn. I weathered them a bit by trying to sand out some corners, but again, not the greatest of results from this. Sanding is awesome on most materials/projects. But for this one, it just seemed to texture the foam in a way I really wasn't too keen on. So I don't really suggest sanding all that much. I would just stick to the knife on this one. After trying to sand, I cut out some corners, and added some cracks and divots to complete the weathering.
Remember, Spraypaint Melts Foam, so be sure you don't go nuts with the spray can. I used a bit of dark interior latex paint I had been using on my table project for a basecoat here. Marines in for scale of course. You can, of course, coat the entire project with a thin layer of White Glue should you really need to spray though.
Then I set to painting. I went with a Codex Grey base with a Fortress Grey highlight around the edges and cracks, and very lightly drybrushed all over with Fortress as well. I added some weathering around the base of the model then with Bestial Brown, very lightly highlighted with Snakebite Leather. Using a very thinned out wash of Chaos Black, I added 'drainage' from cracks and divots. After it was all said and done, I did a quick drybrush over it all with Bleached Bone.
When the paint was finished and dry, I pulled out the Woodland Scenics Blended Turf I've had sitting around for years. To add this simply paint on some White Glue and dip it into the flock. I found that it took two or three dips until I wasn't seeing wet glue spots.
And it's done! Wait for the glue to finish drying and hit it with a quick Matt Varnish.
All in all, a really easy but effective method. It would definitely work wonders on a full building or ruins. I suggest you give it a go.
Here's another try with the same method. I ended up skipping the pencil step for this piece and just cut into the foam at angles to get the separation for each stone. I wanted to try and get multiple levels on this one, making it feel less like a big pillar and more like a defunct wall section. It's just as thick as the last piece, if not thicker, but it looks more natural than the last one. I'm happy with the results for the time invested.
This was merely a time killer, again not a finished or completed piece, but it does it's job as an easy quick piece of terrain that can really spice up a battlefield.
This technique and material has far ranging terrain and modeling possibilities, and it really a great way to build your terrain collection in a short amount of time. If you've done something similar, we would love to see it! And any tips you might have to share are always welcome as well!
Don't forget to visit The Painting Corps for regular updates with tips for the newest wargamer to the most grizzled veterans. There's something for everyone. Head over and join the conversation!
Games Workshop in the News Again
Its rare to see any toy soldier manufacturer hitting the big internet websites.
On those rare occasions when it happens more often that not its some type of slow news day puff piece on our "strange little hobby". Its almost inevitable that the reporter takes some cheap stereotypical shots at wargamers.
But then somedays, its something entirely different.
~Reported without comment.
WFB: Marshaling the Empire pt. 1, The Army List.
By iamaddj
Earlier this summer GW released a new book, Uniforms & Heraldry of The Empire, this book describes in detail the (as advertised!) uniforms and various heraldry of the provinces and famous units of the Empire. This book is full color and I highly recommend it to any fantasy players out there. Now I have been playing Empire for about 10 or so years, and consider myself a fairly good Empire player. My army on the other hand is also about 10 years old, built from a hodgepodge of different old models and built and painted by a 13 year old. Over the years it has only deteriorated from that “high” point. On a recent inspection of the troops I found that at least one unit of spearmen where now armed with short sticks (cudgel-men anyone?) and that my knights had transformed themselves into a unit of headless horsemen, apparently in some misguided attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the army of Ichabod Crane. So with the need to rebuild my Empire army, and inspired by Uniforms & Heraldry of The Empire, I have set out to once again marshal the forces of the Empire and lead them to war. In this first installment I will discuss my army list and its creation.
The Macedonian army of Alexander the great operated on a very simple principle, it was comprised of three parts, a heavy cavalry striking arm, a solid infantry line and light/ranged troops. The cavalry worked as the offensive arm, breaking the enemy line and crushing them against the infantry, simple hammer and anvil tactics. The light and ranged troops acted to disrupt the enemy formations and cut them up from range. It is this simple principle that I seek to emulate with my Empire army.
Part 1, The Cavalry
The main offensive arm of my army is made up of a unit of 11 Inner Circle Knights, they have command and carry the Arcane Warding to give them some MR. I find this unit to be hard hitting and mobile, their 1+ amour save means they can survive prolonged combat. The unit is includes my general, a Templar Grand Master equipped with the Sword of Power, Enchanted Shield and Holy Relic, giving him a 0+ armor, 4+ ward and 4 S6 attacks, a quite capable combat leader, he is accompanied by a captain BSB carrying the Banner of Sigismund, combined with the TGM this makes the knight unit both immune to physiology and stubborn, so they can stick around for the long haul. In the past I have given the unit the banner of the daemon slayer giving them fear on the charge, but since so many units now are immune to fear and since magic has gotten more powerful, I have decided to go with the MR:2. We shall see how it works out. To screen and support the heavy cavalry I have taken a unit of 9 Pistoliers (an odd number I know but its what I had points for), I am not sold on the effectiveness of these guys, but I love the idea and look of them.
Part 2, The Infantry
To complement the cavalry force I have settled on a solid infantry line to act as an anvil. Normally I stick with spearmen, I like the extra attacks and find them to be the best but for this once I have decided to go with a mix of troops. I have taken one 25 man unit of spearmen, with full command, supported by a ten man detachment of free company (again I prefer the cheapness and extra attacks) and a ten man detachment of crossbowmen, I like the extended range. In addition I have taken a 25 man unit of Swordsmen, full command again, likewise they are supported by a ten man detachment of free company and a ten man detachment of handgunners. Each of these two blocks will contain a level two battle wizard, one equipped with two dispel scrolls, for anti-magic, the other with Van Horstmans Speculum and the Sword of Battle, to hopefully help deal with some enemy heroes. I feel that this arrangements gives me a pretty solid infantry anvil (about as good as Empire will really get) with some magical support.
Part 3, The Light and Ranged Troops
I have already mentioned some of my light troops, pistoliers, handgunners, crossbowmen, in addition to these troops I have taken some other support troops. I have taken a unit of 12 huntsmen, at act as advance scouts and to disrupt the enemy movements. As artillery is a strong part of the Empire army I opted for a wide assortment, 1 cannon, 1 mortar and 1 hellbalster. I feel this gives me enough firepower, 3 war machines and 30 ranged troops, to soften up and annoy the enemy with out being over the top or turning the army into a true gunline.
Final Army List:
Templar Grand Master
General; Lance; Full Plate Armor; Immune to Psychology
Warhorse, Sword of Power, Enchanted Shield, Holy Relic.
Captain of the Empire
Barding; Hand Weapon; Full Plate Armor; Battle Standard Bearer, Warhorse, Banner of Sigismund.
Battle Wizard
Level 2 Upgrade; Hand Weapon 2x Dispel Scroll
Battle Wizard
Level 2 Upgrade; Hand Weapon, Warhorse, Sword of Battle, Van Horstman's Speculum
25 Spearmen
Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield, Sergeant
10 [Det] Free Company
Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon
10 [Det] Crossbowmen
Hand Weapon; Crossbow
25 Swordsmen
Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield, Duellist
10 [Det] Free Company
Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon
10 [Det] Handgunners
Hand Weapon; Handgun
12 Archers
Huntsmen; Hand Weapon; Bow; Scouts; Skirmishers
Helblaster Volley Gun
Great Cannon
Mortar
11 Knightly Orders
Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Knights of the Inner Circle; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance & Shield (x10); Full Plate Armor Preceptor
1 Standard of Arcane Warding
9 Pistoliers
Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Brace of Pistols; Light Armour; Fast Cavalry, Outrider.
Total Roster Cost: 2249
Part 4, Conclusion
Again the basic plan is to use the light troops and ranged troops to disrupt and weaken the enemy, the infantry work as a solid anvil and the knights form my offensive arm and hammer. I think this army gives me a good mix of the various troops available to the Empire, infantry cavalry and ranged, while remaining a fairly “nice” army to play. As far as theme goes I plan on painting the army in various colors, representing a true “Imperial” forces, with units for several different provinces, my spearmen for instance will come from the Altdorf Company of Honor. I also plan to heavily convert the army, I want to give it a heavily armored feel, reminiscent of late medieval armies, knights in Gothic Plate, dismounted knights fighting on foot, things like that.
Well that’s my story so far I hope you stay tuned for later installments, if you have any ideas, questions or advice I welcome it all.
40K TACTICS: Nine Principles of War - Pt. 7
A series by: Rogue428
All right fellow gamers, we’ve made it to week 7. So far we’ve covered the Principles of Mass, Objective, Simplicity, Security, Maneuver, and Offensive. This brings us to Unity of Command, a Principle you might not think even applies to 40K, since most of the time there is only one commander per side. But let’s have a look.
Unity of Command: For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort.
“Things that must be together to work, usually can’t be shipped together”
-Murphy’s Laws of Combat
We’ve all heard the proverb, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” This is just as true when playing large games, such as Apocalypse or team games. Prior to the game, select an overall commander to dictate strategy for your side. Alternatively, you might give folks sectors of the table to control, and you control everything in your sector and your partner controls everything in his, regardless of which parts of whose army is occupying it. You might not win, but it will make for a more organized game. Personally, I prefer choosing an overall commander before the game starts and having a quick huddle to talk about your grand strategy. I know that in some team games, I’ve annoyed my partners by questioning their actions, because I didn’t know what they were doing ahead of time, and it didn’t go along with what I thought we were doing. To go along with that, if you do go the one commander route, and you’re not the commander, cede control. Let that commander make the decisions and go along with them. The worst thing you can do is decide halfway through the game that your partner isn’t running things the way you’d like and go off and do your own thing. Advise but don’t mutiny.
Conversely, if you’re playing against a team, the key is dividing and conquering. Most of the time, people in team games won’t intersperse their units, they’ll deploy their units right in front of where they are standing. It’s just easier that way, and we gamers are nothing if not creatures of convenience. So pick on one teammate. Force the other teammate to come to his partner’s rescue. If you succeed, you took out half of the opposing army. If they succeed, they just rescued their friend from an unfortunate fate. Everyone likes to be the hero and it makes for a heck of a game. Even the poor soul you’re both assaulting will have fun. Some of my most memorable games have been variations of holding out in the ‘Alamo’ hoping the cavalry shows up in time.
But what if we’re just playing a normal game of 40K? That means one commander per side and by definition, unless you actually listen to those voices in your head, Unity of Command. But here is a different way to look at this Principle. Consider Unity of Command as a guide to focusing on your goal and making sure that all your units are serving a collective purpose towards that goal. Ask yourself; are those Nob Bikers who are chasing down the falling back marines working towards the common goal the rest of your force is pursuing? If you’re playing a Kill Points game, the answer is yes. If you’re playing Seize Ground, they aren’t capturing or contesting an objective. What exactly are they doing? Keeping those Marines from regrouping? Then they are serving the common goal. If those marines aren’t remotely threatening an objective, maybe those Bikers could be doing something else more useful.
You could almost refer to this Principle as the Tau Principle of War. When you take an action, ask yourself, does it serve the greater good?
~What other ways can you see to apply the Principle of Unity of Command? How would it work best in other scenarios such as Planetstrike or Planetary Empires? I’m looking forward to reading your ideas!
Rogue428 has been playing 40K since the start of 4th edition. He fields Dark Eldar, Tyranids, Daemonhunters, Necron, and of course, Space Marines. He’s currently trying to figure out how many Carnifexes and Genestealers he’ll need to have painted by mid-January.
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