Recon by Fire

5150: Star Army

2011-10-12T21:55:00.006-05:00

For my first foray into 15mm sci fi gaming I decided to use Two Hour Wargame's 5150: Star Army.

This book is a revamp of the original 5150 and centers exclusively around military combat from skirmish up to company level.

For $25 I received a comb bound soft cover book of 97 pages. The front and back cover are color with a black and white interior. A .pdf copy was also included for free. I happen to carry my .pdf copy on my phone.

Inside we are treated to a genre specific treatment of the Chain Reaction 3.0 rules. This is not an IGOUGO set of rules.

Truth be told, even on your activation not much seems to happen. The beauty is in the reaction system. As you meet the enemy (or THINK you do) things begin to happen. Sometimes involuntary movement triggers new reactions which cascade into a whole different set of reactions. This is all handled very simply and moves quite quickly.

In the end it is not impossible that you discover the enemy and the initial contact quickly reaches a crescendo of violence that leaves one side or the other quite dead. This is roughly what happens in the real world. As the old military axiom states, "No plan survives contact."

This is a nice set of "loose" rules. They move fast and do not require a ton of time to learn. Ed (the author) has also included a little "STOP" point at the end of each major section with a suggestion to play with the new pieces and parts until you are comfortable before continuing.

These rules do not have points values assigned to the units. Period. This is not a tournament set of rules. It cannot be played that way.

What I like is that the rules can be played head-to-head, solo, or cooperatively. In fact the rules mostly seem to revolve around the solo gamer. Which is why I picked this set of rules. You do not need anyone to play against and the "enemy" army plays realistically even though dice rolls decide their actions from moment to moment.

Oh, one other thing, you only have a modicum of control over your own forces. Once the Chain Reaction is set off, your forces can fight bravely or even flee the board whether you want them to or not. The one exception is your Star. He is your, "in-game" avatar and will do what ever you want every time.

Miniatures scale is left deliberately vague and the rules work quite well with either 15mm or 28mm (the two scales I game with).

Terrain, buildings, cover, concealment, and vehicles all receive their due and are quite comprehensive.

There are seven premade army lists and a brief fluff/background section that I cheerfully ignored because I brought my own. The background is based off a RPG setting written by Wes Davis. So, you could always go there to learn more if you wanted to.

My gripe. My only real gripe is the editing. I would love to edit this rulebook for Ed.

The sections seem illogically placed for roughly 75% of the book. The are are no real section breaks in terms of page breaks. One section stops and the next immediately starts. Even though it would have made more sense to continue on a new page. Campaign rules are before the mission rules, etc. Just seems to me, to be illogically laid out in most places.

Charts...Ed loves himself some charts. They are neat and easy to read and I fully understand why they are needed. What I would have liked to have seen is ALL of the charts compiled at the back of the book so I could print them out as a booklet of only charts. That said, most of the charts aren't even needed in a typical game but, it would have been nice.

However, I would not let those two things discourage you. For the price you get a very flexible and robust set of rules. There is a very active Yahoo Group that supports these games and publishes a lot of user content that you can drop right into your game.

I give this set of rules a rating of 75%. Damn good with room for some improvements.

9/11 - 4 month update

2011-09-11T17:32:00.003-05:00

It has been almost 4 months since I updated this blog.

My feelings on GW have not changed.

However, I have continued gaming.

I am not only running a Pathfinder game set in Eberron, I am also playing in one. I had forgot for a long time how much enjoyment I get from a good RPG. Not to mention the price point to play is much, much lower than tabletop war gaming.

I have been playing Warmachine quite a bit more. I bought a Khador starter box ($50) and received another $80 worth of Khador stuff for my birthday. I can field a good 35-40 points. This makes for a fast and yet very tactical game. good stuff. Now that Privateer Press has released (or soon will) a 2-player starter box it is only going to get better. I have not even read the fluff concerning the Iron Kingdoms but, I am still having fun.

My Battletech fever has tapered off a bit. However, I am planning on getting ti going again pretty soon. Getting in at least one game each week is my goal. I find the depth of detail to game play a real draw. I actually enjoy more of minutiae than I thought I would.

I hope to start posting more often. I have considered changing the name of the blog to something a little less 40k-ish. I wonder if I can do that in Blogspot?

Take this job and shove it...

2011-05-17T18:55:00.003-05:00

GW continues to knock them out of the ball park.

Trade Embargo and a price increase?

I have roughly 5000 pts of SM/BA, ~2500 pts of Tau, ~1500 pts of Necrons, and ~1000 pts of Orks.

I have no need to buy anymore to continue to play the game.

eBay will be my source of any new models from here on out.

I have only been playing for two years and it is clear that GW does not like me.

So, I am moving on. I'll still play 40K but I won't be buying anything else directly from GW.

Battletech is my new passion. My $50 starter set came with enough stuff that six people could each field a platoon's worth of mechs. Two players could run a battalion vs. battalion level battle.

Battletech has been around longer and is still on the "first" edition. Sure there have been some revisions along the way, most of those clarify or add something to the game.

So long GW. It has NOT been fun.

P.S. Your rules suck and the constant power creep with each codex release will NOT make me start a new army. Rather, I will start a new game.

Fuck You, very much.

Dear GW: Thunderwolf Cavalry

2011-04-11T17:20:00.003-05:00

Dear GW,

I am writing this letter because I love you. I feel you are currently in a self-destructive phase with the bad behavior you have been displaying since we met.

Price raises, corporate tinkering with the stores, a substandard ruleset...

Despite that I still like you...a lot. I want to help. Let me give you some advice.

First, you have screwed the pooch (pun) concerning Thunderwolves. Your players really like them. They like them so much that they have been busy converting them, kit-bashing them, and buying alternative models from your competitors. Yup, classic capitalism in action, there was a void and someone filled it. Several someones at the time of this letter. Let me tell you, your competitors are churning them out. Fast, pretty, and inexpensive.

Flat out, you are losing the market share. Sure, you might exert some will and ban alternatives from 'ard Boyz or Adepticon but, that is only a stop gap measure.

You need to get off your bum and get your own product out. Of course, I have some qualifiers. Allow me to illuminate them.

1. They must be pretty. You already do this really well.

2. They need to be plastic. Again, something you can do.

3. They need to be packaged advantageously. This means five to a box, with enough bits to customize them.

4. They must be inexpensive. You really really suck at this part. This will be painful but if you want to win back the market share you have to be prepared to lose some profit margin. In the end, you can only ever blame yourself. Also, your competitors are selling them for about $7-8 per model.

I know this has been painful for the both of us. I am only telling you this because I love you.

I won't mention the 25th Anniversary BattleTech Introductory Box that has 26 models in it and all of the supporting material for only $50. I think I'll cover that next time.

Yours,

Brother Vizlani

What a Day!

2011-04-04T15:01:00.003-05:00

I did not attend Adepticon this year. I may never reach a point where I am good enough to justify a four-day trip to Chicago to play 40K.

What I did do on Sat. was take part in my local GW's tournament.

2000 pt Last Man Standing

The rules are simple. No reserves unless they deep strike or outflank. No walking on from your board edge. Three turns or 30 minutes, whichever comes first. If it dies, it does not go into the next game. Same with immobilized or weapon destroyed results, they carry over into the next game. Using a techmarine you can repair damage "in game". Reloads are available for one-shot weapons (combi-, hunter-killer, etc.).

The goal is to be the, "Last Man Standing".

I won't bore you with details except to say, I placed third. I survived the seventh and final game with 522 points of BA intact. Dark Eldar took first with 943 points. Black Templar finished second with 602 points.

Fun was had by all. The F-bomb was dropped on several occasions. Someone got chewed out. Like I said, a great time.

For my troubles I scored a box of Death Company. Using all the bits in the box I intend to kit out a full assault squad and dress up my BA (bone-stock SM miniatures) like proper Angels of Death.

Look for another post soon, with my views on how GW can still pull a win concerning Thunderwolf Cavalry.

The Future is...Grey

2011-03-12T21:39:00.002-06:00

Ok.

http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0901/grey-knights-grey-knights-warhammer-40k-space-marines-demotivational-poster-1231564907.jpg

Played my first game against Grey Knights today.

I ran a 2000 pt Deathwing army;

Belial

5x 5 man Terminator squads with a mix of TH/SS, Power Fists, 2x Assault Cannons, and 3x Cyclone missile launchers.

2x Tactical squads with a meltagun apiece.

Land Raider - stock

10x sniper scouts

He ran 2005 pt of the following;

Draigo

10x Terminator Paladins w/a Apothecary

Land Raider - stock

Dreadnaught w/ TL Lascannons

10x Grey knights

Paladins were carrying a mix storm bolters, 3x psilencers, 1x psycannon. The regular squad also rocked a psilencer and a psicannon.

1x Vindicaire Assasin

1x Culexis Assassin (I think that is the name, the one that comes out of YOUR squad)

We played annihilation from the short table ends. Deployment zone was 18 inches deep.

He walked everything. LR was empty.

I had mucho terrain to hide behind. I castled up and let him walk to me. I shot him up the entire walk, AND he did walk for about 30 inches.

Krak Missiles WILL double out paladins IF he fails his armor save AND his FNP roll. Final tally - 16 missile shots (13 total hit and wounded) resulted in ONE paladin death (7.69 % success rate).

I had marginally better luck with the lascannons. I managed to take eight lascannon shots against him. This resulted in three paladin deaths (37.5% OVERALL success rate).

He lost no other paladins to me. Period.

He ate four of the five terminator squads. Flat out killed them. The psilencers (12 shots per round) killed me. When in range he was getting off 50 shots (36 psilencers, 1x psicannon, and 12 storm bolter shots). The psilencers were getting 16-18 wounds on my five man terminator squads by themselves. Even 2+ armor saves cannot hold up to that type of punishment.

My own rolls for the day ran in the 38-46% success range, so a little below the statistical average.

In the end we played out 7 full turns and I had killed one assassin and five paladins. I had Belial and his terminator squad left, as well as an immobilized LR that had a TL heavy bolter left.

Perhaps armoring up will be a better tactic.

Against the paladins you either need to kill them with weight of fire, which frankly, any type of space marine has trouble doing. OR go for the double out using high strength low AP weaponry.

Either way, expect a LOT of grey knight armies to be showing up in the future.

Multiple Vehicle Explosions

2011-02-20T20:50:00.002-06:00

This came up for the third time in my gaming career this weekend.

When multiple attacks against a vehicle results in multiple penetration rolls and more than one of those penetration rolls results in a Destroyed - Explodes! results, what do you do?

I stand by the position that each explosion result is counted as a hit against all passengers and all models inside the blast radius.

I have found in the rulebook or a FAQ or something that this is indeed the case. The only problem was that in the heat of the moment, I was unable to find it in an official document.

It came down to a roll off which I won. Since then I have been perusing the FAQs and forums searching desperately for the exact wording so I can highlight the hell out of it. I might even sticky-tab it.

I have read the various opinions in some of the forums. Some say only roll once others agree with my take on it.

I feel for the folks that think you only roll once. I mean to basically paraphrase their arguments, "how many times can a vehicle explode?".

On the surface it would seem vehicles can only explode once. However, if we look deeper the prevailing logic might be flawed.

Vehicles (and presumably high-tech future war machines) are packed full of potential explosion factors. Just off the top of my head I thought of the following; ammunition, fuel tanks, high-pressure systems, exotic energy plants, charged power capacitors, etc.

If only one of these were to explode it would be enough to destroy a vehicle. However, if more than one of these systems should critically fail in an explosion the force or power of the explosion has a high probability of increasing as well.

This would be replicated in-game by the multiple explosion results resulting in multiple hits against all relevant parties.

So, if any of you have the relevant page reference to an official rules document, please drop me a line in the comments section.

If you agree or just think I am totally off my rocker. Please do likewise.

Stromraven, Furioso, and Battleforce for preorder

2011-01-19T08:21:00.001-06:00

It's true!

Head over to GW's newsletter and check it out!

Does GW hate God?

2011-01-10T08:06:00.003-06:00

That's quite a catchy title, I know.

I have no idea if GW does, in fact, hate God but, I do have some observations about GW that I want to share.

First, lets establish my base so we have a common frame of reference. I am an old fart, ex-military, Christian (more on this later), white, from the South, and middle class. I was raised Catholic and upon gaining adulthood, promptly left the church. My absence from organized religion lasted for 18 years before I, "came back into the fold". I did what all reformed Catholics do and became a Baptist. It goes without saying that I believe in God. I (try) to follow his teachings and live a good (what I judge to be good) life. I don't recruit people into the church. I have barely read 1/20th of the Bible.

I am also a sci-fi/fantasy nut. I have played Dungeons and Dragons (and other RPGs for that matter) for 25 years. I have been quite active in 40K for about two years. Active, meaning I play between 40 and 60 games per year. So, I know what our hobby is all about.

I am also old enough to remember when every well-meaning parent was hell-bent on "protecting" America's youth by obliterating DnD completely. Seems the overzealous religious types got there nose bent out of shape about "demons" and alleged "satanism/witchcraft". It was pure poppycock. Were there some troubled, depressed, and impressionable young people that took it too far? Yes. Much like there are troubled youth still to this day, busy taking things too far.

Parents are protective of their children (duh). Even the hint of danger, real or perceived, will turn a parent against you.

I do not know at what age GW intends to recruit its customers. All indications would point to children between 10-14 years old. This is purely based upon my own observations around the 3-4 local game stores that I frequent. However, GW is not doing itself any favors if that is its intended "new customer base".

For example;

I got my newest GW Newsletter in my e-mail. The subject line was, "Chapter 666: Hammer of Daemons". Say what?

Now, I know what this means. I play Space Marines and I am always looking to add more power armor to collection.

But. and this is a big one...

The average parent is ignorant. They have no idea what our fictional little universe is about. However, the parent controls the money flow. I also know that the parent is going to key off of certain words and phrases. Let's take a peek into the average parents thought process...

"Hmmm, what to get little Johnny? He likes the 40K thing... Looks okay.

What is this? 666? Isn't that the mark of the beast or something?

Daemons?

What?

What kind of game is this for children?"

Yes, I believe that fairly and accurately represents what the average person probably thinks when they read about GWs product.

or take this from the back of the DE Codex.

"...pure evil in its most sickening and elemental sense..."

"Sadists and murders all..."

"...utterly inhuman, eternally thirsting for the anguish of others..."

The is no effing way I am letting my kid play a game of, "Sadist and Murders". Or so goes the thought process.

So...

If GW is so creative and innovative of a company, why even bother digging into Judeo-Christian pop culture references like, "666"?

Why even have a religious connotation at all?

Was having aliens as the sole antagonists of this story not creative enough? Did they really need to bring pseudo-religious overtones into the story?

If the goal is to get new players between 10-14 y.o., why is there no effort to "win over" the parents? I will tell you, you do not "win" over anyone's parents by seemingly exposing them to and/or promoting occultism.

Seriously, it is only going to take one event involving a troubled youth and 40K and the media firestorm (fuelled by overzealous parents) will blow up this hobby. Look at what the false panic of the 80's did to TSR, the publisher of DnD.

Well, that's it. The rant is over. I just needed to get that off my chest and out there for discussion.

1000 pt Shrike list

2011-01-01T13:22:00.006-06:00

This list is extremely lean in the objective capturing department.

195 pts - Shrike

400 pts - x10 Assault Treminators TH/SS

110 pts - x5 Tactical Marines + Melta bombs and Teleport Homer

145 pts - x5 Tactical Marines + Rhino + Melta bombs and Teleport Homer

150 pts - x5 Devastators + x4 Missile Launchers

1000 pts - 6 KPs - 27 Models

Oh how I love this list.

As long as I get good reserve rolls I am looking at a 2nd or 3rd round arrival of Shrike plus his attached squad of (fleet) Assault terminators.

This list is absolute garbage for capturing objectives but, it is a brutal in-your-face-might-table-you-if-you-are-not-careful @ 1000 pts.

This list is easily evaded by a mobile foe.

Random Stormraven Reference

2010-12-30T09:24:00.003-06:00

I got a copy of Deathwatch from Fantasy Flight Games for Christmas.

As I was reading through the section on the Storm Wardens chapter, it mentioned the Stormraven.

The mention was set in an account of a battle between Orks and the Storm Wardens.

Could this be an indication that regular Space Marines will be able to take the Stormraven at some point?

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T08:34:00.001-06:00

Wishing you all wonderful holiday filled with food, friends, family, and fun.

Jetbikes for Tau

2010-11-24T16:13:00.003-06:00

Custom conversion by a guy named super0sonic @ tau online

It is a little known fact that after writing the Elite and Heavy Support sections of the Tau codex, Games Workshop outsourced the writing of rest of the codex to Nepal.

I have been thinking about the Tau, a lot, recently and I could not recall what their fast attack options were. Once I cracked open their dusty tome, I discovered that the Tau fast attack FOC is missing something…oh yeah, the fast attack part!

First, the options available now and then some speculation and wishlisting...

Let’s have a look, shall we….

Gun Drones – Jump infantry (Jet Pack) @ 12 points each. Let’s see…jet packs are not truly “fast” in any instance. A 6” “jump” during the movement phase with the option of making another 6” “jump” during the Assault phase. 6” + 6” = 12”….

Space Marines (all varieties) get “jump” packs and make a 12” “jump” during the Movement phase with the option of a 6” “charge” during the Assault phase. Hmmmm…12” + 6” = 18”

Is this the best that a technologically advanced civilization can do again a bunch of Luddites (i.e. Humanity)?

To sum up; Gun Drones = NOT fast. Couple this with a lousy stat line and a relatively shorted ranged weapon that will only hit its target 2/3rds of the time (no weapon upgrades either!) and you have a weak and slow fast attack choice that is a bit pricey.

Next!

Pathfinder Team – standard, albeit pricier Fire Warriors (Shas’la) that MUST take a Devilfish (80 points).

The markerlight, which is the Pathfinder’s stock in trade, is a Heavy 1. The Devilfish is a Tank and a Skimmer and has zero firing ports.

So, let me get this straight…must take a transport that happens to NOT be a fast skimmer, a non-fast skimmer that CANNOT be fired from, and once disembarked they cannot even fire their trademark weapon (the only reason for taking them in the first place) because disembarking counts as moving. Well, hell I can do that in a Land Raider!

In the end Pathfinders are only capable of moving as fast as their transport. The same exact transport available to the rest of the army. A transport that moves as fast as any other vehicle in the game…Nope! Definitely not fast attack.

Next!

Piranha Light Skimmer Team – more expensive than a SM landspeeder but at least tries, as it is a fast skimmer.

Not a bad choice overall and with the option to field up to 15 of them (900 points, no upgrades) you at least have some redundancy. Vehicle upgrades are long in capability and short on weapon options.

Hopefully, the lack of weapon options on all Tau vehicles will be addressed in the new codex (whenever that is). This will make them more versatile. Points should be lowered to compensate for the “open-topped” drawback. SM landspeeders are 10 points cheaper and are NOT “open-topped”.

To sum up; Piranhas = fast attack. A bit pricy for what you get but can get around the board quite fast.

Next!

Vespid Stingwings – a flaccid statline for the same cost as a Space Marine; fleet, skilled flyer, and move as jump infantry (the real kind, not uh, the “jet pack” kind). A nice weapon is provided but, no other options are available.

Their statline means you should stay out of close combat but the short range of their Neutron blasters means that you mostly will not be able to avoid being assaulted.

In short; Vespids cost as much as Space Marines but are not nearly as capable. They are armed with a powerful (yet criminally short ranged) weapon. They do, however, move as “real” jump infantry and therefore fully earn their fast attack assignment in the FOC.

Roughly half of the Tau fast attack options are neither “fast” nor “attacky”.

How can this be fixed?

I feel that adding in some new blood will be the answer. Move the Gun Drones and Pathfinders to where they really belong, the Troop FOC.

I think that Tau jetbikes have epic potential. It would give them a much need boost to their Toughness and truly illustrate their technological mastery over gravity. Plus, if more weapon options are available they could be custom tailored for specific missions.

So, gentle readers…

What do you think?

AND

What should be the fourth option in the fast attack FOC?

Dead Killy Tournament Results

2010-11-17T19:28:00.001-06:00

On November 7th we had the first Dead Killy: Kill Team Tournament at the local GW.

For a $10 entry fee and a readable copy of your army list you got into the tournament.

We had a field of ten competitors. This brought the prizes given out to $120 in total (I put up $20 to get the ball rolling).

The prizes given out were 1st Place ($48), 2nd Place ($24), Last Place (Booby)($12), and Best Appearance ($36).

I would say that a great time was had by all. A two-way tie for 2nd place went down as well as three-way tie for last place. We did end up running "playoff" games so that clear winners were found.

1st Place went to a local school teacher named Ryan Degenhardt and his brutal Tau Kill Team.

2nd and 3rd Place went to, two Dark Eldar players. Zach took 2nd and Cody took 3rd.

4th place was, surprisingly, a Necron Kill Team that consisted only of 8 or 10 warriors.

Last Place was a hard fought affair with Ork Lootas, Plague Marines, and Space Marines battling to be the best (of the worst?). Chris' mix of sniper scouts and assault marines took the day and summarily declared that they were the worst of the lot.

Cale's Plague Marines took Best Appearance. We had to go to an outside judge as the three painting judges were tied between the plague marines and Ryan's beautiful Tau force.

My daughter Lauren was the photographer for the day and also did an outstanding job. Unfortunately, she did not take pics of either of the two best painted forces in the tournament.

BA StormRaven unveiled!!!

2010-11-11T19:55:00.003-06:00

Warseer posted some text and picture from the GW website.

The image and text have since been taken down...

Dice Like Thunder fails their invulnerable save...

2010-10-24T19:38:00.005-05:00

...but are not subject to instant death because they are The Eternal Warriors!

Ha Ha. Anyway, the talk of the intenetz is that DLT is going away to be replaced by the new podcast known as The Eternal Warriors. The first?! episode should be out some time during the first week of November.

The cast will stay the same, the format will stay mostly the same (only the inclusion of Warmachine is changing), and the schedule will stay the same. No plans are in place to have forums as they do now but, each of the cast members will start their own blog to communicate with the listeners and keep us abreast of their hobby efforts.

When I heard the news that DLT was ending I found myself feeling a little sad. I felt bad enough when 40K Radio (the original) ended but they were only my second love. DLT was my first.

However, a quick jump over to their forums renewed my hope that quality podcasting will continue from the guys I have come to know. No details are being given about the name change and there probably never will but, there has not been a collapse from the inside or an IP issue, it is something else entirely. All it really means to us is that we will now have a two week wait before we can download a current episode.

To the crew I wish the best of luck and godspeed as they make they jump to the new name.

Dead Killy - Kill Team Tournament

2010-10-19T21:02:00.003-05:00

Image totally stolen from Dr. Gabes Miniatures

This tournament will be held on November 7th, 2010 at the Tomball Crossing Games Workshop. Entry fee is $10 and all money goes for prizes. Four prizes will be awarded; 1st place, 2nd place, Best Appearance, and the Booby (last place) prize. Come and get some!

The Dante model was a custom build and I found it on Dr. Gabes Miniatures blog. Impressive isn't he?

Played my 2000 point Dread heavy SM list against the new Dark Eldar last Saturday. For the love of God keep they away from you and shoot them! They are brutal in close combat. The dark lances while plentiful did not really have as much of an effect as the wyches and the Augubriel Beil (or whatever his name is). It was like a bad dream. Power weapons were flying everywhere! Marines are going to need to bring the firepower because very little can whoop up on these guys in hand-to-hand.

A Great Idea

2010-10-15T21:30:00.002-05:00

Rust, Dust, and Ceramite wrote a post that makes a lot of sense to me.

Keeping our fellow gamers who are serving overseas supplied with hobby material.

Check out his post and see if volunteering some models for overseas duty is your cup o' joe...

Dark Eldar = flight stands done right

2010-10-10T21:27:00.003-05:00

No pic for this one but I did get my grubby hands on the display models of the new raider and DE jetbikes.

Besides being fine models in and of themselves I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the flight stands have been re-engineered.

Flight stands now end in a ball joint that mates with a socket in the bottom of the models. This means that the wimpy stud is no longer there to break off in your model as well as the fact that you can "pose" your models as they ride down your enemies...

The friction seemed just right and I can see using a coat of paint to tighten it up as the joint loosens up over time.

Certainly a step in the right direction.

Score! part deux

2010-08-28T19:30:00.002-05:00

Local GW had a Bizarre Bazaar today.

Picked up two complete sets of AoBR Orks for $35!

As purchased a five-man assault squad for $5!

Could not be happier right now!

Gotta keep using the exclamation point!

Oh, that looks bad...

2010-08-24T09:46:00.003-05:00

I just viewed the new trailer for the Ultramarines movie.

Not impressed.

The level of CGI is looking more "Toy Story" than "Avatar".

Lets hope the story is up to snuff.

Score!

2010-08-23T20:38:00.005-05:00

Somebody got their closet cleaned out!

A trip to my local Goodwill toy section yielded the following finds.

Cobra gunship (movie)
GI Joe HUMMV
Transformers Vector Prime
Two sets of Tamiya kits (Barricades and brick walls)
Boba Fett action figure

Total + tax = $9.21

Score!

Items of Interest 001

2010-08-13T17:21:00.005-05:00

Just a few things from around the net that I have found noteworthy.

Table Top War has an interesting article concerning assaults and when a vehicle become immobilized. Certainly something to either; make you aware of a little known situation that may come up, or send you off into a spittle spraying rage. Immobile vehicle assault situation

Incunabulong does some interesintg Tau mathhammer concerning twin-linking and markerlights. Well worth a few minutes read to bring up your Tau tactics. Maximize your Tau markerlights.

Berks brings up some love of this game that we all hate to love or love to hate. feel the love!
For the love of the game.

Micropanzer unveils a walker model for $25/$30 that is all metal and looks like it could be used as a sweet Tau Apocalypse walker. Side-by-side size comparisons to existing 40K models gives you an idea of it's size. $25/$30 for a 20 piece half pound of metal model is a good deal by anyones definition. Check it out!
Micropanzer Light Assault Walker

Rules Writing = Hard

2010-08-12T16:36:00.004-05:00

Wow, it has been a month now since I started writing the miniature rules that I want use. What a long strange journey it has been. I know the rules, they reside in my head. Getting them on paper is a completely different story.

I can actually see the rulebook, I have dreamt of it at least twice, in all of its glossy color glory...

It does not help that as I sit here writing, or attempting to, I have several models on the shelves that are looking at my. Guilting on me is more like it, "Take us outside to play", "We need some more paint work", Your gonna fail, the 40K rules as they stand now are the greatest ever written!". Or something like that. I am almost sure I imagined it, right?

Having no feedback on anyone interested in playtesting or even submitting faction names has not helped. I want you all to be as excited as I am!

So, as to tease you along I have been converting some of the 40K characters into E.O.D. stats.

These are not final stats. BTW if any of you know the maximum of any stat listed in 40K could you pass that on. For instance the highest WS I can find is 9. If you know of something higher let me know. I need the max stat of any category in 40K, whether it is BS, T, S, Ldrship, etc.

Engine of Destruction - Introduction

2010-07-25T20:35:00.003-05:00

The draft of the intro to the ruleset I am writing titled "Engine of Destruction".

I love games. However, there is a disconnect between the two types of games I love.

Role-playing games (RPGs) are the ultimate in character expression. Your character is ultimately customizable into the type of avatar you desire. All of the customization comes at a price though; you usually are only able to control one character at a time.

Miniature wargames on the other hand allow you to control multiple characters, squads, platoons, companies, and perhaps even entire armies. The end result of that scope of control is the loss of individuality. The sheer scope of war and units under your command take away some of the personality or you units. The myriad factors affecting warfare also affect your armies and the rules concerning these factors in other game systems can be a bit…arcane.

In these rules I have sought to attain several goals; customization/personalization of your forces, a unified mechanic to cover all battlefield situations, balance against your opponents, freedom to use whatever miniatures you choose to use, and freedom from the restraint of an established constrained universe.

Customizing and personalizing your units will be easy and intuitive. If you want to outfit a squad with nothing but missile launchers go right ahead. However, you need to be prepared to pay the price for those decisions. You will be able to increase the effectiveness of your units as they continue to survive on the field of battle and they apply their experience to their actions in future battles.

A unified mechanic will keep things simple and the action moving. A simple mechanic does not however mean that you will have to settle lack of depth.

Balance is a serious consideration. Chess has ultimate balance as both players have identical units that are equally capable and the only deciding factor to the game is the competence of the respective commanders. However, who wants to play on the same battlefield with the same identical units every time? We are all aware of certain companies that regularly release army books that “creep” up the effectiveness of that particular army and subtly reduce the effectiveness of the remaining armies. Further, when you purchase a model you are not only paying for the materials, time, and talent required to manufacture that particular model but the “in-game” capabilities of that model. In short if you want to continue to have the most effective army it is almost compulsory that you start the new flavor of the month army and buy the requisite models to remain competitive. Balance is a nebulous concept especially when army books are outdated from the current rules by an edition or more.

Use the models you want to use. If you prefer 15mm, then use them. 25mm or 28mm, use them. If you prefer to use action figures or Lego minifigs, go right ahead. Do you prefer the intimacy of a small skirmish game, the thrill of commanding a few squads or platoons, or the god-like power of commanding an entire army including off-board assets? You can and the game mechanics will not change. Prefer playing in an established universe? Go ahead. Prefer to create your own? Go ahead. Prefer to pit your home-brewed units versus established units by other publishers? Go ahead. The balance will be there. You bring the talent.

This does not mean that you are going to be bogged down in minutiae. Unit creation will take about 30 seconds per unit. You will not need a fistful of tokens, cards, or reams of paper in order to track your unit’s capabilities on the battlefield. One sheet of paper will usually be the maximum you need to know your armies vital statistics.

This is just the draft but I feel that the meat is there. I will be looking to recruit some playtesters in the near future. Drop me a line if you are interested.

Faction Name Design

2010-07-17T09:19:00.003-05:00

I am writing my own ruleset for use with all of the different minis I own including GW's.

What I would like from you is names.

Please leave a faction name in the comments section below.

It does not have to be set in any particular universe. Some examples are...

Weyland-Yutani Corporation
The Rebel Alliance
N.O.R. - Northern Ore Refinery

If you care to leave a line or two describing the type of faction it is, feel free to do so.

If I use the faction in my ruleset you will receive full authorial credit.

I got the gunship blues....

2010-07-05T21:14:00.008-05:00

Art used without permission of MKingery

I love dropships/gunships. The idea of screaming down on top of your enemies from orbit gives me the goosebumps.

The BA Stormraven is the latest focus of my gunship love.

Part helicopter, part spaceship, 100% bada$$.

Unfortunately, gunships cost money. Sometimes, lots of money.

So, with wise words from the The Year of Frugal Gaming blog echoing in my ears I have been keeping an eye peeled for easily converted projects.

First up is the Secret Saturday's Griffin plane. This is at first glance a cheap, brightly painted, action figure holding, toy plane. The price however cannot be beat. I found them for $5 each at a Big Lots! store downtown. With some simple conversions and a fresh paintjob this thing will sate my gunship lust. Measuring the exact same length as an IG Valkyrie and only two inches wider, it falls into the correct scale.

Just today my Google-Fu yielded another potential love interest. Ebbles Miniatures publishes several print and assemble cardstock sci-fi vehicles, one of which is a dropship. Cardstock?!? you ask. Yes Virginia, cardstock. Evidently this material is a serious modelling tool. These paper models are high-speed. The engines pivot, there are hot-swappable weapons pods, a working cargo ramp, and stuff to place inside the cargo bay! I am telling you this thing is like the Cadillac of paper models. Jump on over and check them out yourself! The price is $16 USD and once you have the file you can make as many as you want.

Have you seen any inexpensive gunship conversion possibilities?

GW = Greatest company ever?

2010-05-28T19:08:00.001-05:00

I have been kicking this around lately...

OK, lets look at what they have done.

They have created a universe that is as deep, immersive, and varied as Star Wars. This has led to the establishment of a line of books that almost rivals Star Wars and Star Trek. Not to mention the fan generated material.

They are established in multimedia. Books, board games, RPG games, computer games, miniature games, and magazine(s)?. I am not including the blogs, forums, and websites dedicated to the various games they produce.

They have a fan-base that is as fuelled by rumors as a bored housewife. Despite a tepid economy they continue to raise prices on their products and release new material.

What is surprising is that despite a near constant swell of discontentment for their various practices, such as raising prices, outdated army books, no long-term release schedule (available to fans), lukewarm support of the tournaments, a flawed rule set, and constant changes wrought on the systems by army book rules exceptions; they continue to thrive and we ask for more!

They must have unlocked the secret to corporate success.

They do not (seemingly) listen to the fans, they ruthlessly enforce their IP even if it hurts their image, they do not advertise, they raise prices when the market does not seem to indicate that they should, they do not have sales, and they show no loyalty to their employees.

I have to admit...they seem to be doing everything wrong but succeeding despite that. I remain as dedicated a 40K enthusiast as I ever have. Despite some of the luster being lost because of how they operate. I still ante up to play in and read about their wonderful universe.

Most Inspirational Book?

2010-04-27T15:44:00.011-05:00

Photo from Chicago Terrain Factory - Used without permission

Lately, I have been getting out my copy of Cities of Death and thumbing through it. I have found Cities of Death to be the most inspirational 40k book that I own. The photos of the model conversions and the terrain just captures my imagination. I can feel the environment and the strife in those photos. No other 40k game book fires me up like Cities of Death does.

It also helps that GW released their Cities of Death design notes as a free White Dwarf archive .pdf. Just click on Cities of Death

I am feeling hyped up right now to build some city terrain. Maybe a super huge factorum to play a Kill Team mission in?

What about you? What inspires your gaming? What lights a fire in your belly and makes you say, "I have to do that!".

One to lead them...

2010-04-07T00:16:00.003-05:00

Captain Praxus, what is best in life?
To crush the Blood Angels
See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their Chaplains...

This is my Terminator Captain.

He still needs a few touch ups and sealing before he is completely finished.

He will be leading the Void Legion into battle from here on out.

Opinions sought...

2010-03-24T20:22:00.004-05:00

In the singing stillness as dark fades to light...we stand, ready...

1st stanza of the Void Legion Lament

Ok, I purchased a Terminator Captain. He came with a standard base.

Should I put him on a Terminator base or leave him on the standard base?

House Rules - Fog of War(p) deployment

2010-03-21T17:49:00.004-05:00

Your army is on patrol as they stumble into an unnatural fog bank....only to exit the fog a few minutes later surrounded by enemies and their unit formations in disorder...

Designate a 12 o'clock position on the battlefield.

One objective per player. This is especially fun with more than two players.

Each player may place their objective. Roll off if objective placement order matters to you.

The objectives must be within 24" of the center of the table and can be as close to one another as they desire. After objectives are placed, roll for scatter.

Roll for deployment order.

The first player to go will place one unit anywhere they want. Roll for standard scatter (will always be a full 2d6 scatter irregardless of special rules to the contrary). If a unit would go off the table it is not destroyed it just sits on the edge. If a unit scatters into area terrain or difficult terrain that is fine (no dangerous terrain check needed). If a unit scatters into impassable terrain just place the unit next to it. Using common sense will help things work out.

If the deployed unit is a vehicle (or any unit in which facing matters) roll a scatter die and a 2d6. On a "hit" of the scatter die the controlling player may position the vehicle to any heading they desire. If it is a "scatter" the 2d6 result will determine the heading the vehicle is deployed at (remember the 12 o'clock position you set before starting?)

Then the next player deploys one of their units following the above guidance. If a unit scatters within 12" of another unit that is fine.

Deployment follows one unit at a time alternating between players until all units are deployed.

A few clarifying notes:

1. The models are placed as if they had conducted a deep strike (IE., clustered tight together surrounding the initial model placed down). Notice the "as if", models deployed in the deployment phase can assault on their first turn.

2. You cannot be a killjoy and plan a unit deployment in an area not large enough for your entire unit to be staged in deep strike formation. Well, OK you can, but if during placement of your unit you cannot place all models in a deep strike deployment configuration your opponents get to roll off with the winner placing your unit (with proscribed scatter!) anywhere they want on the battlefield.

3. Scout and infiltrating units may make their preemptive moves if all of the regular requirements are met.

4. Any disagreements can be resolved with a roll off to determine who fortune will favor in this battle.

For an extra helping of randomness, roll for at the beginning of every round for the order of player turns.

Sportsmanship...

2010-02-20T23:45:00.002-06:00

Today was the second day of Owlcon and the only day I could actually go. The kids had a great time with my daughter winning a $25 gift certificate in a Settlers of Catan tournament.

For the 40k tournament I had a win, a draw, and a loss. Meh.

The GM for the tournament is a local at my gaming store and I know him fairly well. After the final scores were posted, I went and asked him about where I had placed in the pack. Turns out I placed 13 out of 24, making me the first place slot for the bottom half.

I was then shown the sportsmanship scores.

When I was tabled in the fourth round, I received a perfect sportsmanship score. When I managed to draw, I received an average sportsmanship score. When I pulled off a 5 KP to 1 KP win, I received the lowest sportsmanship score possible.

It seems that success on the battlefield is inversely proportional to perceived sportsmanship.

I gave all of my opponents perfect sportsmanship scores because they were all decent fellows who did not try and pull any shenanigans on the board. I was told that my scoring of my opponents (and others like me) actually make it harder for the GM to post up scores because not everyone can be the best of sports.

While, I agree with that, to a degree. How do you know? I mean in the first round it is pretty hard to compare my opponent, to my opponent in the third round...

Anyway, I am quite satisfied with a 13 place overall, especially with only eight months of gaming under my belt. I still seem to be incapable of beating Space Wolves.

Who am I...when I win?

2010-02-17T21:36:00.004-06:00

The local GW is holding a March Madness tournament.

Every player has to play seven games and the top four will battle it out at the end of March to find out who is the best.

I have played three games so far. Resulting in two wins and one loss.

Now, one of my resolutions for this year was to bring my game up...with 22 losses under my belt, I figured I needed to work on my list, tactics, etc.

In the past I have mentioned that I have two "hats" that I wear depending on how I am going to play the game. On one hand I have my "let's have fun" hat and my "No holds barred" hat.

The fun hat has not stood me too well in the winning department as I am too laid back, not as focused on the game, etc. However, the winning hat has made me feel like a dick.

Let me cover a few key events in the last couple of games to bring this into perspective.

First winning game (in the tournament) was against Dark Angels. It was an objective game and I maximized my objective placement by grouping them as close as possible to each other and maximized for the terrain. My opponent is a regular in the store and he has steamrolled me every time I have played him in the past. This games was bit different. I was a lot more focused.

I controlled my movement and spread out a full tactical squad, while remaining in coherency, to claim two of the five objectives. My target priority was much more brutal as I systematically smashed his transport/armor capability. In the last round (I went second) I barely managed to run my Captain into contesting range of one of the two objectives my opponent held.

So, it went from a draw situation, to a win for me.

As we shook hands I couldn't help but notice that my opponent had a look on his face. That look said to me, "I can't believe you kicked my dog, mister". It made me feel kinda small, to see that look.

Second winning game (tournament) was against a brutal Chaos Demons army. Two objectives. Two full units of Flamers of Tzeentch, a couple of Nurgle units, and a Soul Grinder. This game was against the manager of the store and, well, he's a hell of a nice guy.

Early in the game, I took out his Soul Grinder before it could even wound one of my units. One shot - BOOM.

After he wiped two complete tactical squads out and claimed my objective, I tank shocked (Land Raider and Rhino) him off of the objective and embarked my last tac squad into the Land Raider. Now, the way I positioned my tanks, he was incapable of getting within 3" of my objective, period. the Flamers of Tzeentch are brutal against troops but, tank busting is not their strong suit. He tried for four rounds to use a lance type weapon against my tanks, to get a destroyed result. He managed to get a wrecked result on the Rhino but, because it now becomes terrain he still could not get within 3".

He kept trying to move his model's bases under my tanks (the tanks were set up a little because they were sitting on area terrain) but, I kept saying "I don't think you can crawl under my vehicles"...

In the fifth round I used my Land Speeder to contest his objective. I also had ran my Marneus Calgar equivalent into close combat with his unit, which prevented him from assaulting my Land Speeder.

I did not know this at the time because, I was hoping the game would end on turn five and since I was going second (again) he could not bump me from his objective. The game went a full seven rounds.

However, there is a little known statement in the rules that basically says in a multiple close combat situation that involves a vehicle, the defender will ignore the vehicle to face the more imminent of threats (which makes sense). It was this situation that allowed me to win. He literally could not ignore my assaulting HQ unit to attack my contesting vehicle.

So, I won on two technicalities (or so it seems to me). One, he could not physically get within 3" of my objective because I had parked on top of it. Two, he could not fight off my contesting vehicle because I had managed to get another non-vehicle unit into close combat with him.

I again, saw the look.

It had been a tense game all around. In the end the entire store was gathered around, watching and waiting to see the outcome.

Anyway about twenty minutes after, I told him I did not feel good about how I had won and he was very cool. He told me not to worry about it, I had played smarter (and luckier), I had played to the objective of the game, etc.

However, I have looked back at the last two games and wondered if they have cast the most favorable light on me.

In the end I won but, what did it cost me, to do so?

Prepare for drop!

2010-02-07T21:42:00.005-06:00

After two hard fought losses this weekend I have begun reassessing my list.

My problem seems to boil down to mis-positioning my units during deployment.

Since I usually footslog my marines, due to only owning one Rhino and one Land Raider, I am badly outmanuevered on most missions. I have found myself saying repeatedly, to myself, if I could only get my heavy firepower "over there", I could wreak some havoc.

So, I dug into my codex and began looking at other options. I was immediately enamored with the drop pods. For the same price/points cost of a Rhino I have a transport option that can carry anything in my army.

Terminators?....check, Dreadnought?...check, All flavors of marines?...check.

Only problem is that it is immobilized once it drops, not much a problem as my Rhino and or Land Raider is usually popped on the first turn and cannot carry a Dreadnought at all.

So, I came home with two drop pods (I would have bought more but the store didn't have any...) and built them while watching the Super Bowl. They went together quickly, as I did not bother to build the central column and harnesses. I am not happy that the doors will not stay closed on their own, but a few magnets will fix that.

I also picked up a couple of Dreadnoughts. I am strongly toying with the idea of a six Dread list.

I think the pods will give me a better chance of getting my firepower "over there" and into the backfield of my enemy.

Now, I have read the Drop Pod Assault rules and they basically distill down to this...no scatter mishaps unless you scatter off the table. Is this a correct interpretation?

Who's afraid of the big bad bug?

2010-01-24T20:49:00.004-06:00

This Saturday saw an impromptu apocalypse game happen at the local GW. I had my Void Legion marines and my son brought his Tau. As is the usual these days we found ourselves as opponents.

On the side of Order we had; Steel Legion (rocking no less than 20 tanks), four space marine armies, and Sisters of Battle with IG allies.

On the side of Chaos we had; Chaos Marines, Tau, Eldar, two traitor IG, and four (yes, four!) Tyranid armies.

I am not going to go into a blow-by-blow account but I did want to share a few observations...

Deep Striking Mawlocs and Trygons will not survive if they are unsupported. Neither of the two that popped up survived past their first round of combat. Granted, I fired everything I had in my army at the Trygon in my sector, but the results were still the same; one dead Trygon. All it managed to do against the back armor of a Dreadnought is stun it (then the Trygon died).

Psyker powers on the Tyranids seem pretty tough. However, I did not see the results of any of the powers because the Sisters of Battle HQ chicky stopped their powers, all of their powers, cold. Not one Tyranid power manifested the entire game. Go Sisters!

Termagants are still really easy to kill. Full tactical squads with bolters in rapid fire range will decimate a brood. For an added bonus kill the Tervigon synapse creature before you shoot them up and they will pretty much run away without the "fearless" special rule to support them.

Combat tactics are going to play a larger part in my strategy against the bugs. In close combat, I am going to take casualties, period. But the ability to break away and get another shooting phase before getting tangled up again is going to be priceless.

Use terrain. There are so many models in an infantry brood that if you can funnel them, when they hit your line most of the brood will be out of close combat range (ie, more than 2" away). This will reduce the attacks against you and possibly allow your entire (smaller) unit get all of your attacks against them.

The game ended on the fourth turn when all of the Tyranid players pulled their armies off of the table, stated that they felt outnumbered, and in general acted a bit upset that we had broken their new toys. So it goes...

The new Tyranids are a tough army to fight. Once the players get some wicked unit and tactics combinations under their belt they are going to be even more deadly. I predict a second coming for the long-range pieplate firepower of the Whirlwind and Thunderfire Cannon.

Manners - What are they good for?

2010-01-14T00:36:00.003-06:00

My local GW is overrun with kids.

Sometimes it little kids, you know 8, 9, 10.

More often it is older ones 14, 15, 23.

The little ones are usually pretty cool and are only bothersome when they want to handle your minis with their grubby, sticky, clumsy hands.

The older ones now, they should know better. They should have, you know, manners. I am not speaking of miniature handling. What I am speaking of is a cordial awareness that the person standing across from them is a person. An actual, just-across-the-table-from-you, person.

Just because you are a kid and you are accustomed to speaking however you speak over X-Box Live, does not mean you will not be called on it.

Clearly, over the internet, people have grown accustomed to speaking/writing to others in a manner that reflects the inherent safety of sitting behind a computer, safe in your home. The guy you just sniped in Modern Warfare 2 can't do anything about it when you call him a jerk.

However, the 6'2" amateur Mixed-Martial Arts practitioner, that you just called a jerk can do something about it.

Such was the scene today in my local GW. I was busy getting my tookus handed to me by some teenager, meanwhile, my opponent's brother was looking on and making comments about various things happening in the game. During round four, Zach, the aforementioned MMA aficionado, wandered over and made a couple of comments concerning my opponent's loose interpretation of a rule. Having said his piece, and opening my eyes to the shiftiness of my opponent's conduct, Zach wandered off to the paint bar.

It was at this point, that my opponent's brother made his mistake. He said (to his brother) "That guy is a jerk". A few minutes later the game ended (badly for me) when I heard the following words, "You shouldn't insult someone when they can hear you". These words were uttered in Zach's unmistakable bass rumble of a voice.

I, of course, looked up because this sounded like it could be the beginning of something interesting. It was at that point that I noticed the 135 lb, 5'8" teenager looking up (with a quite frantic expression, might I add) at Zach.

Zach wasn't looming over the kid, and his tone/expression was that of someone commenting about the weather.

I think, however, the kid got message.

A hasty apology followed and everything was cool.

Where are we as a society where pointing out that someone is cheating (or near enough) gets you called a jerk?

2010: Looking Forward

2010-01-03T21:30:00.003-06:00

A brief list of things I intend to accomplish this year...

Quit smoking

Lose some weight. I have gained about 40 lbs since I got laid off. Have to keep in fighting trim.

Finish my scratch built Arvus Lighter.

Be more competitive. I feel I have laid too far back to accommodate my opponents. I am going to bring my A game to the table more often. They are big boys, they should be able to handle it.

Start and finish my Tyranid army.

Fine tune my SM Void Legion army.

Build a proper gaming table in the garage.

Post some army pics.

Post some battle reports.

2009: A Review

2009-12-31T15:53:00.003-06:00

My next post will concern the resolutions for 2010 but first I wanted to take a moment and ponder the events of 2009...

I began and completed 1850 points of Tau. My son has now assumed command of that army as it grows to, and beyond, 2500 points.

I began playing in July of this year. I have played 23 games. My record is 17 losses, 4 draws, and 2 wins.

I began a Space Marine chapter (Void Legion) in September. I have assembled and painted (tabletop standard, three colors) 1500 points. I have another 1000 points unassembled and unpainted.

I have started collecting a Tyranid army. It remains unassembled and unpainted, awaiting the day that the new codex is released.

I have yet to be "that guy" in a game. If anything, I feel that I have restrained my competitiveness to the point of being a lame duck (see win-draw-loss stats above).

I have drawn a new player into the hobby, my son. My nephews are next on the hit list.

My daughter owns 2.5 tactical squads of SM and SW. She is working on painting them. At eight years of age, I feel she is doing pretty well.

I was laid-off in February and started college in May. I have a 3.88 GPA.

Ho Ho Ho!

2009-12-24T16:30:00.002-06:00

Christmas Eve here. In a few hours I will be opening presents to see if Santa brought me any new 40K stuff.

I will keep you posted.

I hope everyone enjoys their time off celebrating the birth of Christ with their family. If you and a family member are having a squabble, try to make amends. This life is fleeting and neither of you may be around much longer to squabble at all.

Fog of War(p) deployment

2009-12-23T22:45:00.002-06:00

We tried this today with a three-way battle between Ultramarines, my Void Legion, and my son's Tau.

The point limit was 1000. Three objectives with each player getting to place one each. The objectives must be within 24" of the center of the table.

Roll for deployment order. Place one unit anywhere you want, except within 12" of another unit. Roll for standard scatter. If your unit would go off the table it is not destroyed it just sits on the edge. If the unit scatters within 12" of another unit that is okay. If you scatter into area terrain or difficult terrain that is fine. If you scatter into impassable terrain just place the unit up next to it. Using common sense will help things work out.

Then the next player deploys one of their units following the above guidance. And so on, and so on, and s.......

It is a lot of fun and gets you right into the fight. No unit is right on top of another unless it scatters there, making for some fun tactical decisions.

For extra randomness, roll for at the beginning of every round for player turns.

In the end, the Tau manuevered and sniped the SM and Ultramarines (who were busy tearing each other up!). Tau for the win!

Got Chitin?

2009-12-21T20:09:00.006-06:00

Ok, I am not going to repeat all of the information that is out there on the web about the new Tryanids coming in January. The Trygon model is sweet.

I am receiving a Tyranid Battleforce for Christmas and other related goodies. So, I will be building and painting immediately. I hope to have a built army (probably not painted) ready to go on the 16th when the codex comes out. So, woohoo! Let the harvesting of biomass begin!

As I mentioned in my last post I have come into possession of 110+ imperial guardsmen. Since, I do not play IG and I am loath to get rid of any models (because they are hella cool). I am considering painting them (NOT all of them!) in my Void Legion chapter colors and making a few weapons mods and playing them as Space Marine scouts. Has anyone ever seen this?

I watched Avatar today and I cannot express how happy I am that it was a genuinely good movie. The story did not break any new ground but was solid nevertheless. The effects were impressive and more importantly they looked as close to life-like and real than any CGI done yet. The combat, little that there was, is very well coordinated and quite devastating. If there is an anti-Transformers spectacle out there, this is it. Micheal Bay, you should give James Cameron a call and let him teach you something about plot, story, and continuity...

Christmas is almost here! Rejoice!

110 what?

2009-12-13T10:10:00.003-06:00

Yesterday saw my return to my local GW and we had a blast. I played zero games but that hardly mattered.

The annual Bizarre Bazaar was happening and I was hunting for the good deals. These deals caught my eye.

SM Assault squad for $10, yep! - Ended up not getting it.

Emperor's Champion for $5, yep! - Let a buddy make the purchase instead.

Ork Codex for $5, yep! - I did buy this!

Fully painted, based, and flocked Blood Angels detachment for $150, yep! - I did not get this, but it was a pretty good deal. x20 Assault Marines, x40 Tactical Marines, x15 Terminators

Random bag of genestealers and gaunts for free, yup! - My son somehow got this deal knowing that I am starting a new tyranid army for 2010. Bag contained x3 genestealers, x9 termagants, x2 spore mines. Some guy just gave them to my son!

My personal best deal of the day. $70 for 300+ models and three books. I bought this one and I don't even play Guard!

More than 100 guardsmen, 2 heavy weapons teams, and an old ork trukk converted to an IG buggy.

Complete, mostly unassembled celtic army, over 200+ models! Three books; Warhammer Ancient Battles, Armies of Antiquity (Ancient Battles Supplement), and Alexander the Great (another Ancient Battles supplement).

Ok, more to come later today. with pics!

It seems like it was yesterday....

2009-12-06T23:03:00.002-06:00

My 14th wedding anniversary was today. We did not do much since we are both studying for finals week.

I did purchase a Tyranid Battleforce today. I will be receiving it as Christmas gift on the 25th. Yea me!

Toymallet $0.40 battle test

2009-12-05T23:08:00.002-06:00

Ok, using the Toymallet rules are simplicity itself.

Our niece is spending the weekend with us and tonight was games night. After a couple of games of Cranium, I left my 13 y.o. son in charge of running a Toymallet game with his sister and younger niece.

I came back about 30 minutes later to find the Tyranids and Space Marines, supported by Ironman, engaged in wiping out a platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers.

Fun was had all around.

Rules? We don't need no stinking rules...

2009-12-03T21:56:00.004-06:00

I have in my time collected a lot of figures. Fantasy, Star Wars, Heroscape, and, of course, 40k are the figures I currently own.

Occasionally, I get the urge to play with them, all of them, all at the same time.

Since my regular gaming partners are my eight year old daughter and my 13 y.o. son I need a simple mechanic that keeps the game moving but with enough depth to make it interesting.

I have downloaded the Forge of War homebrew rules and I like them. However, I needed something a little bit more "fun".

So, what did I do? I went websurfing.

It did not take me long to find just what I was looking for. A 40K parody game. Brilliant!

Here is the link; www.jenniverse.com/toymallet%20main.html

The ruleset's name is ToyMallet 40 cents. It is not serious ruleset, but it looks pretty fun. I cannot wait to introduce my daughter to this. She has been waiting to field her Rainbow Space Marines with her Heroscape Amazon Warriors(esses?), and the hot pink hormagaunts.

I think this will do the trick.

Range = Unlimited

2009-11-29T15:19:00.002-06:00

We had a great day at our local Tanksgiving. We discovered that the hunter-killer and seeker missiles really did have unlimited range.

On round three the forces of order launched every hunter-killer missile they had. From the south of Texas the missiles roared until they found a target in Gig Harbor, WA. Once on target, they inflicted severe damage to a Warhound Titan.

If you are the player from Washington whose titan was damaged by a missile salvo from Texas, please let me know. We want to hear from you.

Did anyone else make a longer distance shot during their Tanksgiving?

Gamer Stigma

2009-11-21T16:22:00.010-06:00

We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with some family today. At some point my wife was telling some members of the family about an event that occurred earlier this week...

We had purchased the new Star Trek on DVD. The edition we bought was the one that has the model of the Enterprise that doubles as the DVD holder. Once home, but before we began the movie, I had to slip outside and give the model a quick zoom-zoom around the driveway while I smoked a cigarette.

As my wife related this story I felt a twinge of...shame? embarrassment? What kind of man still plays with toys into his mid-30s? Was I a man or some type of man-child eternally caught in an immature phase?

I have throughout my life had this feeling of disconnect between what is manly behaviour (especially in Texas) and the hobbies/interests that I cultivate.

I am middle-aged man with a family, mortgage, normal pets (no snakes or spiders), car payments, and all of the attendant responsibilities that comes with that life situation. I am a combat veteran with 15 years of service under my belt.

So, why is it that I should feel this twinge? I mean, I am a free citizen on my own property pursuing my own type of happiness. Am I too sensitive to mainstream culture? Am I too aware of a society that favors certain manly behaviours over others as a definition of what it means to be a "man"?

Have you ever had the feeling that playing with fictional toy soldiers is somehow diminishing your manliness, in the eyes of others?

I know defeat....

2009-11-14T22:32:00.004-06:00

Well. The "Vegas Odds" tournament happened today. I placed solidly in the middle of the pack. 1st place too $40 worth of product home. 2nd and 3rd took $25 and $15 respectively.

I did not play the list I had previously posted. I conferred with older and wiser warriors than myself on the Dice Like Thunder forums and the general consensus was that I lacked any mobility. This is the list I ran...

Cato Sicarius
3 Tac squads at full strength
2 Dreadnoughts w/ CCW, MM, SB
1 Rhino
6 Terminators w/ x1 power sword, x5 powers fist, x6 SB

This is fairly solid list. Mobility is somewhat solved by using Sicarius to give one tac squad infiltrate. DS the terminators, and put one squad in the Rhino.

I wish I had only been competing against my opponents. The "Vegas Odds" were against us all but I seemed to have fallen into a puddle of bad luck on my way to the game and I felt it the rest of the day.

Every time you gave a shooting order to a unit you rolled a d6. On a 1, you targeted the nearest friendly unit and fired everything at it. On a 2, you used the night fighting rules. 3-5 shooting occurs as normal. On a 6, you are are out of ammo, no shooting that turn.

Every time you gave an assault order to a unit you also rolled a d6. On a 1 or 2, your unit is spooked and falls back d6 inches away from the unit they were going to assault. 3 thru 5, assault as normal. On a 6, your unit assaults itself. My squad of Terminators actually took themselves out twice thanks to that.

We were also playing four people to a table. You were facing your opponent across the table but only half of the long side you were on belonged to you. You could also shoot and be shot at by the other two players on the table. I don't think that happened more than once or twice all day. We mostly concentrated on our respective opponents.

All missions were Dawn of War deployment and Annihilation. Scoring was different. If you managed to kill the enemy commander you received 5 points (and you had to kill him, if he ran off the table, you did not kill him). If you destroyed your enemy's most expensive unit your received 3 points. If you destroyed at least one vehicle you got 2 points. You received one point each for every scoring unit you had left alive at the end of the battle. Finally, your opponent rolled 2d6 and you received the result as points. You then rolled 2d6 for him.

Now, the games were fun. The "Vegas Odds" definitely changed the entire feeling of the game. You could have had a perfect deployment and flawless tactics and it could have completely fallen apart around you on the "Vegas Odds" roll.

I would say my major gripe is that prizes were being awarded. I mean, I wanted a chance to win based off of my tactics, my deployment, my list, my generally good luck. I found that those random 2d6 rolls completely skewed the outcome. For instance I managed to keep my commander alive and my highest point unit stayed alive. That means I denied my opponent 8 points. And then we rolled the random points. I rolled a 12 for him, he rolled a 3 for me. My roll literally put him ahead by a point due to no game play on his part.

I don't mean to sound sour, it really was a lot of fun. But, I really wanted to win some free product. As I am sure everyone else did. The "Vegas Odds" are good for a lark, for bragging rights, and amazement at the outrageous results, but not for prizes.

Ah well, until the next tournament. I will keep my blade sharp and my gun oiled. You do the same...

Odds are....

2009-11-11T21:22:00.003-06:00

This is the Space Marine list I am going to use this Saturday at the local GW "Vegas Odds" tournament.

Supposedly, random events will be occurring each turn. I guess that's why it is called "Vegas Odds".

I went with a basic flexible build. Enough meltas, meltabombs, and powerfists to deal with armor and enough regular shooting and flamers to deal with large unit armies like IG, Orks, or Tyranids.

The tactical squads will probably be combat squaded into a heavy element and an assaulting element. The Captain and Terminators will be my close assault hammers. The dreads will provide longer ranged anti-armor and be my bait units.

1250 Pts - Space Marines Roster - Void Legion

1 Battle Captain @ 160 pts (...in Power Armour)

1 ...in Power Armour (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Iron Halo; Auxiliary Grenade Launcher; Digital Weapons; Melta Bombs; Artificer Armour; Bolter x1; Power Sword x1)

9 Tac Squad - Tempus @ 175 pts (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Flamer; Missile Launcher)

1 Sergeant (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol; Chainsword)

9 Tac Squad - Vulgus @ 175 pts (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Flamer; Missile Launcher)

1 Sergeant (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Melta Bombs; Chainsword; Chainsword)

9 Tac Squad - Deo @ 180 pts (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Meltagun; Missile Launcher)

1 Sergeant (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol; Chainsword)

1 Dreadnought "Dutch" @ 120 pts (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Storm Bolter)

1 Dreadnought "Blaine" @ 120 pts (Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Storm Bolter)

7 Terminator Squad @ 320 pts (Power Fist x7; Storm Bolter x7)

1 Sergeant (Power Sword; Storm Bolter)

Unintended Consequences

2009-11-10T19:15:00.002-06:00

I posted a rant on here about a week ago concerning the size of the GW store that is local to me. I also posted it on the Dice Like Thunder forums.

Boy was I surprised when I was listening to the new podcast and heard my rant being read aloud.

Wow, I didn't think it was good enough to attract that level of attention.

Anywho, most of the size issues have been worked out as the manager is thinking about setting up the remaining tables in the back area for overflow gaming purposes.

All's well that ends well.

Oh yeah, If you do not listen to Dice Like Thunder you should give them a listen. They are at www.dicelikethunder.com . Richard, Dan, Ian, Skrivus, and Mack are great buch of guys.

Floorspace Shenanigans

2009-11-05T18:44:00.008-06:00

Ah....

My friendly local Games Workshop has moved. Today was their opening day at their new location and I am a bit disappointed.

Granted the move to a new location did save them some rent money. Which, is a good thing.

What disappoints me is the size of the new store. It's too small.

Now, the old store was about 1500 square feet in size and supported seven gaming tables, a painting bar, and the demonstration table. It never felt crowded.

The move to a new store with a commensurate lower rent would lead to the conclusion that there would be less floor space.

That conclusion would be incorrect.

The floor space of the new store is roughly 2000-2200 square feet.

So, why does the new store feel too small you ask? Because the corporate headquarters has mandated that all stores (not Battle Bunkers) will be about 1100 square feet in size. This has cut the store down to three gaming tables, a paint bar, and the demonstration table, and about two feet between each table.

So, what do you do when you are renting a store that is twice the size mandated by the corporate HQs?

Why you build a wall in the middle of the store. I am not kidding, that is what happened.

"Buy our product and please leave.", is the message I get when I look upon a store that is forced to only use half of it's available floorspace. The Baltimore management team even stuck around to take pictures proving that the floorspace standard had been met.

So disappointing.

The Rites of Maintenance...Paintbrush Prayers

2009-11-04T21:06:00.005-06:00

I had a couple of paintbrushes that I was going to throw out. After months of grueling service they had old dried paint in the ferrule and the heel of the brush. They could not maintain a point, etc.

However, I was loath to, because they are my favorite paintbrushes.

Because I occasionally strip and repaint the same model two or three times, I have a stash of Simple Green on hand...

On a whim, I put some in a cup and used my third hand to hold my old paintbrushes with the brush part suspended in the Simple Green.

I waited a couple of days (forgot about them is closer to the truth) before removing them. After a good rinse and a few fluffs I was surprised to see the body was forming back up, the points were as sharp as ever, and the old paint in the heel/ferrule area was completely gone.

New brushes run about $5 apiece from the local GW store. Now, that money can go to buying new models.

The Simple Green does evaporate after couple of weeks, just add some water every now and again to keep it hydrated.

What are your waiting for Marine? See to your Wargear!

Nice Chaos Rhino

2009-11-02T21:20:00.005-06:00

I began following 40K Noob's blog a few days ago.

He recently began the 40K journey and he has done some pretty nice work in the last couple of weeks. He doesn't seem to be set up for comment posting on his blog, but I think he is off to a great start.

This is his first Rhino and I think it looks ready to get into the fight.

Making Tau unkillable...almost

2009-11-02T15:21:00.003-06:00

This is a comment I made over on Zorcon's Word.

He has trouble keeping his suits alive long enough to tear things up.

This is my suggestion...

"I would consider scrapping the two elite teams.

Take one Shas'o HQ suits with a bodyguard.

For 301 points you have a 3 suit team with 14 wounds and 4+ invulnerable save.

Loadout is as follows;

Shas'o; with TL plasma rifles, HW Drone controller, Target Lock, Shield Drone, Gun Drone.

Bodyguard suit; TL Fusion Blasters, HW Drone controller, Targeting Array, 2x Gun Drones

Bodyguard suit; TL Missile Pods, HW Drone controller, Targeting Array, 2x Gun Drones

The gun drones are great for attempting pinning tests, but they mostly exist for ablative wounds. Each bodyguard suit has 2 wounds and the Shas'o has 4 wounds. That means you can absorb 10 wounds (x5 gun drones, x1 wound from each bodyguard suit, 3 wounds from the Shas'o suit) before you lose your 4+ invulnerable save by sacrificing the shield drone on the 11th wound.

After that you will lose one suit for each wound taken, for the remaining three wounds.

The twin-linking allows you to almost never miss and the weapons loadout gives you a mix of long to short ranged firepower.

Granted, you are giving up numbers in exchange for survivability. As it stands your two elite suit teams only have a total of 12 wounds between both of them. In this instance you free up two force organization slots, gain two more wounds overall (14 vs. 12) while only giving up four suits overall (7 vs. 3). Looking at your list and removing your two elite and one HQ selection (416 points); replacing it with the HQ as outlined above (301 points); saves you 115 points that can be sunk into another unit.

Try it. I think you will be surprised by the amount of energy your opponent will have to devote to destroying those three suits while your Broadsides and HQ rip him apart."

MAG-Con considerations

2009-11-01T19:05:00.002-06:00

Well, I was thinking I could host a 40K tournament at the upcoming MAG-Con in Houston.

However, with the following issues I doubt I will be doing so. They are not running any 4' x 6' tables, only 4' x 4' tables. I figured in a pinch we could just push two tables together to form a 4' x 8' table. Than I heard the worst news. No terrain. They have no terrain. You can bring your own of course.

So, with me being a very much first timer to organizing a tournament, the incorrect sized tables, and no terrain; it looksl ike I am going to back-burner my tournament organizing aspirations.

Besides it will leave me more time to paint and play my army rather than trying to make a tournament out of nothing.

MAG-Con

2009-11-01T09:59:00.003-06:00

The 1st Annual MAG-Con gaming convention is happening on DEC 11-13.

More info here. http://www.mag-con.com/

I am thinking about hosting a 40k tournament there.

Is there any interest?

The must-have unit

2009-10-30T22:15:00.004-05:00

Ron over at FTW has asked the contributors to work on a collaborative post concerning the units we consider our, "must-haves".

My must-have unit is the second HQ choice.

Even in a 500 point list I always try to include two HQs.

Sure, they are not as damaging as the heavies or as flashy as the Elites, but they are solid and vicious in their own right.

Let's face it, the stat block is always better, the armor is always better, and the wounds are always better than your standard troops choice.

For example take the Shas'o XV-8 Commander suit. BS is 5 with the from the word, "go". Acute Senses, Deep Strike, Jet Pack, 4 wounds, a hard-wired drone controller, 4 attacks at initiative 3, and a 3+ armor save come standard. Add in a shield drone and another drone of your choice and you add a +4 invulnerable save and two ablative wounds to the mix.

Basically, your HQ looks something like this; hits on everything but a 1, has 6 wounds, if you take a twin-linked weapon system you will never miss (unless your dice hate you), 12" of move per round, the super-duper insta-kill wounds can be ablated to a shield drone, in short you have a nearly unkillable HQ unit on the board.

The only thing that would make it better is if you had two....

Think about it.

Working....

2009-10-28T20:58:00.002-05:00

It has been a week since my last post. I am still working on the Arvus Lighter and have painted more of my Space Marine Chapter: Void Legion.

Finished the first Horus Heresy novel and picked up the second.

Currently reading the Soul Drinkers Omnibus.

Finished the Star Wars novel Deathtroopers. Quite a nice little book. An easy read.

Arvus Lighter part 3

2009-10-20T21:30:00.004-05:00

Cockpit module has been attached. Foam buildup on the left and right side of the cockpit and a generous helping of joint compound to fill the gaps and build up the body.

Top and bottom edges have been beveled and the boarding ramp detail is nearly complete.

This must be finished for a Apoc game on November 14th.

Arvus Lighter part 2

2009-10-18T22:12:00.005-05:00

Did some more work over the weekend.

The rear hull is taking shape. I am reinforcing the edges of the foam with styrene (plasticard for our friends across the pond). My styrene source is actually pretty good since it's free. I like using the blank credit cards that come with credit offers or empty gift cards. I have been saving for some time and have a stack about 1 1/2 inches tall. My filler of choice is drywall joint compound.

The cockpit module is coming along nicely.

Tau for the win!

2009-10-18T21:53:00.003-05:00

Harrison (my son) took his 1500 point Tau army out for a spin this weekend against the Emperor's finest, the Ultramarines.

The mission was Annihilation and the deployment was Dawn of War.

Tau for the win, six kill points to two.

The MVP units of the game were the Kroot squad with Shaper (12 strong) and the Gun Drones (8 strong).

Tau forces

Shas'o with Fusion blaster, plasma rifle, and cyclonic ion cannon. HW drone controller; x1 shield drone

x12 Kroot with shaper

x12 Fire warrior squad

x1 Devilfish with smart missile system

x1 Hammerhead with burst cannons

x1 Ionhead with burst cannons

x3 stealth suit team; one with a fusion blaster

x8 gun drones

x2 piranha; one with a fusion blaster

Ultramarine force

x20 space marines

x1 dreadnaught

x10 terminators

x5 assault squad

x5 command squad with chapter master

x1 drop pod (command squad was in it)

There were more space marine forces. I am just not sure what they were.

What is the MacGuffin?

2009-10-16T17:59:00.002-05:00

Seems to me that every army has it's own MacGuffin.

It's own specific niche talent/equipment/ability that sets it apart from other armies.

The Tau have markerlights and jetpacks. The Space Wolves have the four HQ and Grey Hunters options. Blood Angels have Death Company.

Those are the only armies I am familiar with.

What are the MacGuffins for the rest of the armies?

Are the MacGuffins balanced?

3...2...1...Liftoff!

2009-10-16T17:26:00.004-05:00

Work on the Arvus Lighter has begun.

First I gathered raw materials and reference materials to begin plotting the hull construction. Hull is 5mm foam.

Top, bottom, and sides of the hull have been roughed out.

Assembly begins.

Blood Angels

2009-10-15T18:56:00.004-05:00

I have seen a lot of rumors flying around the blogosphere lately concerning the Blood Angels. Rumors concerning a new codex.

This last weekend GW released a .pdf file of the Blood Angels codex that was presented back in 2007 in White Dwarf. On the front in big letters it proclaims "Fully Updated to 5th Edition rules".

So, why produce a new codex next year when resources were allocated to updating the existing one to 5th edition rules, this year?

I imagine the conversation went something like this....

"Hey, Jim can you update the current Blood Angels codex and get it ready to be a free .pdf downloadable from our website?"

"Uh, yeah. Don't we have the new Blood Angel's codex already written and waiting to go on sell next year?"

"Yeah, forget that. Let's throw the fans a bone on this one."

"Well, couldn't you use my help writing a new codex? Like say the Tau or the Dark Eldar?"

"No, Jim we don't need you help working on new product that we could sell. Get your ass in there and update the existing one so we can give it away for free."

"Ok...."

My call? No Blood Angels codex in 2010.

Successful corporations do not do, double work. They do not split their resources to work on the same project from two different directions.

Arvus Lighter Project

2009-10-15T15:56:00.005-05:00

One of the great things about our hobby is the proliferance of really cool models.

I have admired the various vehicle models for years. I was, in my younger years, a sci-fi and military modeler. I was never very good mostly because I rarely finished the models, because I was too busy tweaking the build and zooming them around the living room.

Well, here I am years later and I have finished most of my models and even painted them (well, mostly).

Because I am addicted to cool models, it was not long before I was drawn towards all of the wonderful models that Forgeworld puts out. One of the models I really like is the Arvus Light shuttle. I do not like the price though.

So, I am going to try my hand at scratchbuilding one. I don't care if I never get to play it, I want one because it is a cool little design.

Besides, I can always make it an objective.

The First!

2009-10-14T17:52:00.002-05:00

Welcome all.

This is the first entry of my first ever blog.

I have been playing Warhammer 40K for about three months now. I have also managed to get my son hooked on the plastic "crack".

I field a Space Marine army in my own "homebrewed" chapter, Void Legion.

My son fields a Tau army that I occasionally try my hand at playing also.

I will be posting more, soon.