This Week in 40K Podcasting – 04/11/2014 – 04/17/2014

Welcome to another installment of “This Week in 40K Podcasting,”

Here is this week’s top 5!

40K Global – Episode 118 ***Explicit*** 

Highlights:  This week the boys take their first look at the new Codex Astra Militarum!  They opened up the show with ‘Operation Codex” where BJ and Franco cracked into the Codex Astra Militarum.  They started off with looking at the new models that came with this release, including Ogryns, Scions, Hydra/Wyvern, and the Taurox/Prime.  Surprisingly, the guys then discussed some cool fluff behind Ogryns and mutants in the Imperium.  They move on to talk about the Warlord Traits for the army, the Army Special Rules like Orders & Voice of Command, and went through the Orders and what they do.  Next it was on to the generic HQ choices like Company Command Squads,  Tank Commanders and their Orders and more.  They moved on to discuss the Troops, starting with Infantry Platoons, moving on to Conscripts, Tempestus Scions, and Vet Squads.  They also talked about the Dedicated Transports.  They then moved on to talk about some of the Elites like the new Pysker Squads, Ratling Snipers, Ogryns and more.  They then moved on to the Fast Attack choices like the Sentinels, Vendettas, Hellhounds and more.  Then in was on to the Leman Russ and all of its variants, Hydras, Manticore, and more.  They then covered the Special Characters, such as Commissar Yarrick, Castellan Creed, Color Sergeant Krell, Iron Hand Straken, Night Commander Pask and much more!  They then looked at the Heirlooms of Conquest (Artifacts) and some of the cool surprises found there. 

Opinion:  This week’s show was the most comprehensive look at the Astra Militarum Codex thus far.  BJ and Franco did an outstanding job covering every facet of this new codex.  The boys covered everything, from the new stuff added to get the IG up to 6^thEdition, to the things removed, to some early thoughts on tactics to the army.    Overall, my favorite show of the week.  Outstanding guys!

Turn 8 – Episode 44

Highlights:  After several months on hiatus, the boys are back!  They kicked off the show with what the heck they have been doing over the last five months and what has held up the show.  This came down to several technical issues and the frustrations that cropped up from them.  This came with the announcements of changes to the format of the show, and this included moving their famous Battle Reports to every other show, with the tradeoff being more shows every month.  They moved on to what else they have been up to lately, including some games played, tournament attended and planned to attend, and much more.  Next, in the ‘News’ segment, the guys cover all of the recent events in the 40K world including announcing their contest winner, the new GW website with no FAQs/Errata on the site, the new Astra Militarum and Militarum Tempestus, and some of the highlights from Forgeworld and the Black Library.  They then moved on to discuss the latest rounds of rumors, mostly hitting on 7^th edition the rumors behind it.  Next it was on to their review of Codex Imperial Knights, if you can call that a codex.  They cover how Knights can be taken, they whole whopping two units that can be taken from this book, and how they differ slightly.  They then go into the rules of a Knight, including the Superheavy rules, the Ion Shield, the big D-Weapons, and more.  They covered the Warlord Traits and the detachments, and that about all of the rules in the book.    

Opinion:  HOLY COW the guys are back!  I have to say this show was a surprise to me, as the word I had received was that the guys had folded up the show and there would be no more Turn 8.  So to see this show come back from the dead was just amazing.  I was really happy to hear from the boys, and I am looking forward to the new format.  They also did a great job on reviewing Imperial Knights!  Welcome back boys, you were missed.

The 11th Company – Episode 197

Highlights:  This week the guys reviewed the Codex Supplement Crimson Slaughter!  They kicked off the show with ‘This Week in Gaming’ where they discussed what games they have been playing lately and where they heck they have been!  This included Neil’s very real possibility of moving soon, some RTTs coming and past, Highlander events, and what they have been doing with the lack of 40K in their life.  Next, in ‘the List’ the guys take a tactical look at the Crimson Slaughter, the Codex Supplement for Chaos Space Marines.  They started off with the Special Rules for this army, including ‘Slaves to the Voices’ and the weird omissions on the allies matrix and moved on to the Warlord Traits.  They then covered some of the really cool Relics the Crimson Slaughter are bringing to the table, including the ‘Balestar of Mannon’ which opens the Divination Physic power tree to CSM for the first time.  Next, the guys move on to discuss the new Astra Militarum and some of the rumors surrounding them.  They cover the rules for the Taurox/Prime and how they would run them.  They closed out the show by answering some questions from their Facebook fans! 

Opinion:  So very happy to have the guys back this week!  So the guys played some catch up and covered the Crimson Slaughter.  This book seems to be what CSM should have been and based on what I heard here I am going to recommend this book to my CSM playing buddies.  Great show guys, thanks!

Jaded Gamercast – 172 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week Nathan is back from Adepticon!  They kicked off the show with some talk about their recent Firestorm Armada event.  Next, they covered their weeks in the hobby and gaming in which Nathan talked all about Adepticon!  He talked about some of the games that he played in, all of the amazing things he saw, and a lot of the afterhours activates.  They then covered the Weekly Listener Poll quickly, on ‘how many Dreadnaughts is too many?’ and their love for the Dreadnaught.  They then respond to a listener email about the viability of an all infantry Space Marine army and what it needs to survive.  Next, it was on to the main topic of the show, their review of the new Codex: (Imperial Guard) Astra Militarum.  They started off with the confusion of the name change, and their overall impression of this book before covering the Heirlooms of Conquest (artifacts) that are available.  Then, it was onto the army list itself.  This included the point’s changes in the HQ slots, the missing names there, and how awesome Night Commander Pask is!  They then jumped back to the Warlord Traits and the Special Rules for the army, including the Orders & Voice of Command rules and how they have changed slightly.  Then it was back to the generic HQ choices, with very little changing in points and function.  They then moved on to talk about the Troop Choices and changes, which included the Conscripts drop to 3 points, Vets getting cheaper, and the dedicated Transports, the Chimera and the Taurox/Prime.  They then moved on to the Elites like the Ogryns, Ratlings, Storm Troopers, and much more.  They moved on to the Fast Attack choices of Rough Riders, Hellhounds, and the Valkyrie/Vendetta.  Next, it was on to the Heavy Support Choices including all of the variants of the Leman Russ, Hydras, Manticore, and more.  They closed out the show with their final thoughts on the book and its ‘spit polish’ to 6^thEdition. 

Opinion:  This was just a really great first look at the new Astra Militarum! From top to bottom this gave you everything you need to start understanding this new codex and how this army really has changed all that much.  As usual Nathan and Lange had some great opinions on the name change as well.  Overall, a great show, thanks guys!

Forge the Narrative – Episode 47

Highlights:  This week the crew is fresh back from Adeptiocn and are reflecting on the event.  They kicked off the show with some tales from Adepticon, including the trip there and back and the wonderful Chicago food.  They then swung it back to the actual 40K events that they played in and what the Meta looked like there.  Surprise, surprise, it was a lot of Daemons, Eldar, Tau, and Marines.  They each talked about their singles/team experiences, which included Rob and his Super Friends list, and Paul and an interesting ruling on placing models on the Skyshiled or Monstrous Creatures in Ruins.  After that they talked about the new GW Website and the website limited edition model you get for spending $100.   They then moved on to talk about the Astra Militarum releases including the Taurox and their thought on this model.  They moved on to a discussion about some of the new missions they are working on.  Due to some editing errors, I am not sure what started this conversation. 

Opinion:  I have to say I am not sure how this was edited, but several times in this show I felt like I had messed something important to the conversation.  Specifically when Paul is talking about a rules ruling, we never heard what ruling he was talking about. There were a lot of good topics here, but I think due to some editing issues it was kind of hard to follow.  Still, what you could hear was worth the listen. 

Honorable Mentions– All great podcasts that just missed this cut this week, but you should still check them out, in no particular order:

Signals from the Frontline ***Explicit*** General Gaming News, Rumors, List Reviews, Tactics, and Rants!

Life After the Cover Save – Episode 103 ***Explicit*** Dealing with Superheavies and an interview with Kino from Frontline Gaming!

Screaming Heretic – Episode 60 ***Explicit*** Adepticon 2014!

40K Radio – Episode 74 ***Explicit***

Imperial Vox Cast – Episode 112 ***Explicit***Imperial Vox Cast – Episode 112 ***Explicit*** A Review of Chaos Space Marines and its Supplements

Preferred Enemies – Episode 74 ***Explicit*** Tyranid Dataslates and Formations