Montana 40Kon - List Help

So, if you follow this blog, you are probably aware that I am running a Large Scale Tournament for 40k on September 18th and 19th, 2010 Called the Montana 40Kon. I am billing this tournament as a "Competitive Event" and as such, to promote that, I am also offering my services Non-Partisanly to review your list and try to make it more competitive. In truth while I am not "THE BEST" player or even close, I do win tournaments, I do make very competitive lists and I'm decent at the game.

So, if you want me to look at your army list and let you know what I think, Send it to me Via email at:

Montana40kon@gmail.com.

And consider coming to my tournament.

Spocon 2010

SpoCon

So I'm headed over to Spokane Washington this weekend, I'll be helping judge the Neophyte Tournament, and Participating in the Warhammer 40k GT Event. I'll also be looking for some gaming for my new excursion, Hordes (and for some of my opponent's War Machine).

It starts on Friday, so I'll be headed out on Friday morning and arriving at roughly 1pm. Which means I'll have roughly an hour and a half to get my affairs in order to start judging the Neophyte 40k tournament.

First off I'll offer my expectations:
The Neophyte:
This event is meant to be a "Teaching Tournament" an event to bring new people into the Hobby and expose them to the Competitive side of the game. I love the idea of this. Being a firm believer in the greatness of a competitive environment, I think that this could be the perfect way to draw people in.
it has:
-1,000 point limit
-No Painting Requirement
-Each Table (or group of tables, depending on the number of Judges that help out) has a judge. I'm thinking that it will likely be 1 judge per 4 tables as this seems like the correct ratio to me.
-3 Rounds
-1.5 hour rounds. While a normal 40k tournament I would recommend 45minutes for a round in a 1k tournament, The fact that this is aimed at a "Newer" audience, I believe that this is the correct time frame to be playing at. A lot of the games will finish beforehand, but the newest of the new may need the whole time to complete thier games, which is good.

I think this will do 2 things (for me at least)
-First off, I need the practice Judging. It's been a while since I've judged a tourney and doing this will get me back into the habit of answering questions for people during their games. I need the practice for My tournament in September.
-Secondly, I believe that it will bring more people into the hobby. which is IMO always a good thing. Support your local community!


The GT:
-This is a Primere event. 2,000 points, 2.5 hour rounds, 4 games over 2 days, With a lot of stipulations on how your army must Look to win.
-Minimum painting/basing required. I love this. While I had to bust my ass to get my army in playing condition, I am a firm believer that an army MUST be painted to a 3 color minimum to WIN an event.
   - While I am apparently in my own field as far as how this rule is implemented, as you are Allowed to play an unpainted army but not win, the Organizer knows me and told me that I am not under the "not painted may play" theory as he says he knows I will be on the top tables and he can't have me knocking the top players with painted armies out of the running so I have to bring a painted army. Dead Stop. I Have to have a painted army to participate. Thanks Chris. :D no animosity though, where I was thinking I'd relax a bit and bring an un-finished army and just play, I think his requirement on me is a good thing. As a result, I've finished off painting of 3 Drop Pods, 2 Land Speeders and a Dreadnought for it. Which is always a bonus. The models needed painting anyhow. And while I wont be winning any painting awards, I believe that I'll be running a fairly hard list which is 7 Drop Pods (5 of which have dreadnoughts) Vulkan, MoF, 3 Tac Squads and 3 Land Speeders. for a grand total of 8 Multi-Meltas, 10 Heavy Flamers, 3 Flamers, and some support. My only real bad match-up would be against an Avatar Eldar list, but well, you can't win em all, and I have 2 ML to knock that guy down. as well as a whole lot of Power Weapon/Power Fist attacks to help me out.
-Also included in this tournament are 2 Tickets to the Vegas Finals. While I don't expect that I'll be taking either of them, I do get the feeling that I will have the opportunity to at least take A prize.

These events are an amazing addition to the hobby. Competition is what makes us better players. While Sportsmanship is a scored section of the tourney, which I disagree whith, Since I believe that Sportsmanship should be required not scored. If you can't be civil to the other players and think you can browbeat your opponent into giving you the win, you should just be thrown out of the tournament completely.

I also plan on trying to find a game or two of Hordes, I need the experience in that game.

Other than that I am planning on 3 days of little sleep, lots of gaming, and lots of fun.

Guess it's a good thing that I'm staying on location to get more gaming in then eh?


Anyhow, if you have the opportunity, I hope you stop by and see both me and the event.
It should be a blast.

-Stephen

Hordes - Random Musings on Trollbloods

So, I got my 2010 Faction deck this weekend, as well as Calandra's model. Seems that they're now shipping models with both MKI and MKII cards. Interesting. now I'm uncertain that I needed to buy the faction deck. well, chock that up to $15 wasted.

Anyhow. The reason I got Calandra is because of a ridiculously overpowered looking list, which from everything I've ever read about Warmachine and Hordes is the way to build your army lists. So, without further adieu,

The Burrownomicon

This is an incredibly well written series of posts (specifically the first few, before the comments start rolling in.)

So, this is going to be the first list I build.

Army:
Type: Duel (1 caster, 35pts)
Points: 35
Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood (*5pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Bomber (10pts)
Pyg Burrowers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (1pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Stone Scibe Chronicler (2pts)
Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Trollkin Champion Hero (3pts)

Then it's on to the 50 point mark, which is the "Hardcore" level. which is what I really want to play at. First I have to learn the army the best I possibly can, then learn how to make all of my activations fit into 7 minutes. which I believe will be quite difficult.

I'm thinking that another Impaler and DTBomber would be the way to go to get this to 50 with the best efficiency.

Thanks to SevWall for his insight.

Make-Em Competitive: Chaos Space Marines PT2.

So, Now we move onto the meat of the army, Elites, Troops and Fast Attack. Bear with me, it could take a while.

Elites:
Chosen
-No Change

-No Change, I love these guys, though it seems people just don't know how to use them.
you put them in a rhino with 2 Melta Guns and outflank them. Perhaps give them an Icon of Chaos Undivided.
That is all.

Chaos Terminators
- No Change

-So you're getting terminators for 10 points less than Space Marines, Why are you complaining? Oh, Yeah, Because you can't get them to work right. These guys are not thunder shield termies. Chaos does not have Thunder hammers or Storm Shields, quit trying to make them that.35points to give them a 4+ Invuln seems not bad until you realize that the Icon is on 1 guy and in 5th you can't keep that guy around. don't do it. Keep them base, give them a few combi-meltas and DS them in.

Chaos Possessed
-20 Points Each

-Give them 2 CCW.
-Let you choose which mutation you get. Simple as that. They're useful again.

Chaos Dreadnought
-80 Points Each

-Drop rage OR make it ONLY apply to Opposing Models.

Troops:
Chaos Space Marines
-14 Points Each

-Upgrade costs 8 points.

 Chaos Rhino
- Drop Cost to 30 Points

Plague Marines
- Drop Cost to 20pts Each

- Flamer for 2pts
- Melta for 5pts

Noise Marines
-18pts Each

-Upgrade for 10 pts
-Sonic Blaster for 3pts Each
-Blast-Master for 20 Points

Khorn Berzerkers
-20 pts Each

-Add Fleet
-Skull Champ costs 10 pts

Thousand Sons
-No Change in PTS

-Aspiring Sorcerer should cost 40pts. Since you can't necessarily keep him alive to the end why are you paying 60 for each one? This is truly the downfall of this squad as this guy costs you at minimum 70 points and is almost NEVER worth the cost and you HAVE to include him.

Lesser Daemons
-12 pts each. just need that price drop and the're good.

Fast Attack:
Chaos Bikers
-20 pts per model

-Bike Champ costs 5points.

Chaos Raptors
-16 points each
-upgrade costs 8 points

Chaos Spawn
-25 points each
-Squad of 1-5

Heavy Support:
Havocs
-No Change

- These guys are great once you figure out that they are NOT a devistator squad. they are a special weapons rhino delivery squad. that is all.

Obliterators
-65 Points Each

-Add Feel No Pain

Predator, Vindicator, Land Raider
-Make Points Comparable to SM/SW Codex. That is all.You may say that they have the option for possession, yes, but they also pay for it. just start everyone on a level playing field.

Defiler
-130 Points

-Armor 13/13/11

 And there you have it. That is all.
-Stephen

Make-Em Competitive: Chaos Space Marines

So in the first installment in a new series, I'll be calling "Make-Em Competitive" I'll be throwing out My Personal Ideas on how to make a given codex competitive. meaning "On Par with the Space Wolves Codex" as that is the codex de-jour that I think is out there right now. First fix is an Adjusted Points cost for the model as is.
Secondly I will post the Changes I think that should be made to make the model both usable at it's points cost and turn it into an "Takable" choice.

So To start off with:

Chaos Space Marines

HQ Choices:

Special Characters:
Abbadon The Dispoiler
- 250 Points

-Does Not Suffer wounds on a 1 for Daemon Weapon and Add 1 attack
-Grants Fearless to any unit he Joins

Fabius Bile
-130 Points

-1 Squad of CSM auto upgrade to Enhanced
- Reduce points cost for upgraded marines by 2 points each
-Chirgeon counts as a Power Weapon (for his bonus attacks only)


Huron Blackheart
-130 Points

-Psychic Hood
-Know Another Power

Typhus
-200 Points

-Add Eternal Warrior
-Add Psychic Hood

Kharn
-150 Points

-He is quite usable but needs that price drop OR
-Reduce the cost of Berzerkers by 1 point per model

Ahriman
- 190 Points

- Add Eternal Warrior
- Thousand Son's Marines cost 2 point per model less (Does not effect cost of Aspiring Sorcerer)

Lucius the Eternal
- 150 Points

- Add Eternal Warrior (If ever there was an eternal warrior it is him.)

Regular HQs:
Daemon Prince
- 100 Points

-Add the Option for a Daemon Weapons to be taken

Chaos Lord
-Good As Is

Chaos Sorcerer
- 85 Points

- Add a Psychic Hood

Greater Daemon
- 90 Points

- 3+ Invulnerable Save

Well, at least that's how I'd fix the CSM HQ's.

A Change of Plans - Spocon

So, having realized that I have NO CHANCE of winning anything if everything I have is not completely painted.... I have to change the list I'll be taking.

It will hamper me a bit, but not too much I hope. So, my updated list:

Vulkan Hestean

Master of the Forge
-Thunder Hammer
-Combi-Melta
-Servo Harness
-Digital Weapons

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy-Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Tactical Squad
-Multi-Melta
-Flamer
-Power Fist
-Drop Pod

Tactical Squad
-Missile Launcher
-Flamer
-Drop Pod

Tactical Squad
-Missile Launcher
-Flamer

Land Speeder
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer

Land Speeder
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer

Land Speeder
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod

Venerable Dreadnought
-Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod

I know it's rather an odd army, but this is how it goes. in 2 forms:

Objective Missions:
- 1 Full Tac squad w/o Drop pod deploys near an objective and camps launching missiles
- 1 Combat Squad w/ ML camps near other objective
- 4 Melta-Dreds drop near enemy lines and wreck stuff

3 Drop Pods including Ven HF/HF dread in reserve w/ 3 Speeders.
Vulkan & MoF go with Full Squad in DP w/ Multi-Melta (This is a beatstick unit. when it falls, I'm dropping 3 template weapons on my opponent's squads. 1 HF and 2 Flamers along with 8 Rapid Firing Bolters, 1 TL plasma Pistol and a bolt pistol. in Combat, it's 4 Power Fist attacks, 2 MC thunder Hammer attacks, and 3 MC Relic Blade attacks, along with 9 regular marine attacks. 2+ armor saves to soak up some wounds and a 3+ Invuln to soak up some power weapon wounds. people see it and think "yay, a tactical squad" but it's a lot worse. and gets a lot worse if they don't charge me, and I get the charge on them.

The rest pretty much plays itself. if they blow up the Locator Beacons, I don't have to worry too much as the Pods have inertial guidance and the speeders can come down elsewhere.

Kill Points:
This is where i can get hurt. badly.
it's a 20 Kill point army. it can really suck for me.
So i don't combat squad and kill as much as possible so that I can hopefully pull out a victory.

I built this army to prove a point, Drop Pod armys are fun and DO win. I've won 2 tourneys with this army. Hopefully I can do pretty well at a GT event.

Thoughts?

Spocon - A GT 40K Tournament - I will be there.

So, this will be probably the ONLY Golden Ticket tourney that I will be attending this year.

Check out the rules here for more information.

From said URL:

Well Met …
The following are the rules for the SpoCon 3rd Annual
Warhammer 40K GrandTournament.
General rules …
... Players must use their current Codex for army creation.
... One standard mission Force Organization is allowed per army
... Armies must be composed of no greater than 2000 points (1998 is OK; 2002 is not)
... 5th Edition Warhammer 40K rules will be used.
... The following codexes are allowed:
5th Ed Blood Angels, Tyranids, Space Wolves, Imperial Guard, Space Marines.
4th Ed Chaos Daemons, Orks, Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, Eldar, Tau, Black Templars.
3rd Ed Witchhunters, Necrons, Daemonhunters, Dark Eldar.
... Imperial Armour rules are NOT allowed.
... Special Characters in current Codexes are allowed.
... Warhammer 40K FAQ http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=1000018...
... ALL rulings by the Tournament Organizer will be final.
Schedule …
... Each Round will last two and half hours.
... Tournament Organizer will call the Last Turn after two hours and 15 minutes. Do not start that turn unless both players will be able to play their full turn.
... There will be three games on Saturday and one Sunday morning.
... The exact schedule will be available at SpoCon.
Awards …
Overall Champion …
... Player receiving the highest total points.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Sportsmanship Score, then Gameplay, then Appearance Score.
... This player receives the Overall Champion Trophy and the invitation to National Championships in Las Vegas.
Best Sportsmanship …
... Player receiving the highest Sportsmanship Score.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Favorite Opponent votes, then Gameplay Score, then total score.
... This player receives the Best Sportsmanship medal.
Best Appearance …
... Player receiving the highest Appearance Score.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Favorite Army votes, then re-judging with stricter criteria by Appearance judges.
... This player receives the Best Appearance medal.
Best General …
... Player receiving the highest Gameplay score.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Sportsmanship Score, then total score, then Favorite Opponent votes.
... This player receives the Best General medal.
Runner-Up ...
... Player receiving the second highest total score.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Sportsmanship Score, then Gameplay, then Appearance Score.
... This player receives the invitation to National Championships in Las Vegas.
Second Runner-Up ...
... Player receiving the third highest total score.
... Ties for this award will be broken by Sportsmanship Score, then Gameplay, then Appearance Score.
... This player may receive the invitation to National Championships in Las Vegas, IF the two higher ranking players can NOT attend.
Scoring …
... The tournament will be scored out of 120 points as follows:
... Gameplay 60 points (50% of total)
... Sportsmanship 40 points 4 bonus ( approximately 33% of total)
... Appearance 20 points 3 bonus ( approximately18% of total)
Gameplay 60 points …
... The tournament will consist of four games. Three scheduled on Saturday July 31st and one on Sunday August 1st.
... Players can score a maximum of 15 points per game.
... First Round pairings will be determined randomly.
... Subsequent pairings will be determined Swiss Style (the person with the most Gameplay points will be matched with the next closest ranked that they have not yet played … proceeding down in the rankings.)
... The Tournament Organizer will make every effort that players do not play on the same table twice in this tournament.
Sportsmanship 40 points …
... At the end of each Round, you will complete a Results Sheet and a Sportsmanship Score for your opponent. A maximum of 10 points can be earned in sportsmanship each game.
... At the end of the Tournament, each player will vote for their Favorite Opponent. Each vote a player receives brings them an additional point, which will be used to break ties.
Appearance 20 points …
... Appearance will be judged by the Tournament Organizer and the Appearance Judges between Rounds and at 8AM Saturday and Sunday mornings.
... Appearance will be judged using the checklist below.
... If you did not paint the army yourself, you must note this on your Appearance Score sheet. You will receive a 5 point deduction on Appearance scoring (not to be less than zero points) and NOT be eligible for Best Appearance.
... Players will have the Appearance Score sheet to fill out that explains the scoring system and gives each room to note extra conversions, detail, and effort for their army.
... In case of a tie in Appearance Scoring, ties will be settled by Favorite Army voting.
Appearance Scoring …
... Painting, potential of 12 points
… Unpainted (0 points). Models that do NOT meet the three color minimum requirement. This applies if even one model does not meet the requirement.
… Minimum (+6 points) painting, at least three colors on ALL models.
… Details (+1 point) effort has been made to add details and paint all parts of the models as appropriate throughout the army (banners, unit markings, faces, eyes) and / or extra level of detail (battle damage, weathering, etc).
… Brush work (+2 points), depth and details are tabletop standard, throughout the army. Work is neat and clean
… Expert Brush work (+3 points), depth and details are HIGH tabletop standard, throughout the army. Multiple layers of color or blending is noticeable.
? Basing, potential of 2 points
... No basing (0 points). This applies if even one model does not meet the requirement.
…Minimum (+1 point). Paint, flocking, and / or sand. Edges have been painted. Clean and neat.
… Extra Effort (+1point). Bits, rocks, layering, static grass, resin bases, and / or conversion bases throughout the entire army.
? Conversions and modeling, potential of 5 points
…Models built properly (+1 point). Mold lines and flash cleared. All limbs and parts present.
… Simple Conversions (+1point) Simple, easy bit swaps of some models.
… Extensive Conversions (+1 point) Same as above but most of the army has been converted in this manner. Can also include a handful of models requiring basic sculpting but not found throughout the army.
… Notable Conversions (+2 points) Models with extensive scratch-building or sculpting present
Or the majority of the army has sculpting or some scratch-built bits present.
... Display, potential of 2 point
… No Display (0 points)
… Display Board (+1 point)
… Quality Display (+1 point) Appearance enhancing display, extra effort.
... Judges’ Choice, potential of 3 points
… Favorite of each Appearance Judge (+3 points)
Please note the following links for schedule information and lodging …
http://spocon.org/con_schedule
http://spocon.org/hotel

Good Luck and Good Gaming!





So, here is the Run-Down of what I will be bringing to this event:

Army List:
Vulkan Hestean

Master of the Forge
-Combi-Melta
-Thunder Hammer
-Digital Weapons

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Dreadnought
-Multi-Melta
-Heavy Flamer
-Drop Pod
-Locator Beacon

Tactical Squad

-10 Men

-Power Fist

-Melta Gun

-Multi-Melta

-Drop Pod

-Locator Beacon

Tactical Squad

-10 Men

-Power Fist

-Multi-Melta

-Flamer

-Drop Pod

-Locator Beacon

Tactical Squad

-10 Men

-Missile Launcher

-Flamer

-Melta Bombs

Land Speeder

-Multi-Melta

-Heavy Flamer

Land Speeder 

-Multi-Melta

-Heavy Flamer

Land Speeder

-Multi-Melta

-Heavy Flamer

Dreadnought

-Multi-Melta

-Heavy Flamer

-Drop Pod

-Locator Beacon

Dreadnought

-Multi-Melta

-Heavy Flamer

-Drop Pod

-Locator Beacon

Rings in at 2,000 Points.

20 Kill Points, (ouch) 

Lots of twin Linked Killy.

Will I see you there?

Trollbloods - Synergy may be hard to find sometimes

IABNSo, having aquired a fair bit of Trollblood models and having had people recommend NOT starting with circle since their play style is counter-intuitive to the rules of HORDES!, I'm starting with the not so lowly trolls.

Some things I've discovered in my reading and thinking:

pMadrak:
While he may seem quite dandy to start with Rathrok and relatively high mat (7) he is a bit on the weak side with ARM 16 and his movement rate of 6. While I see him as being a beatstick with a brick around him, this is definitely NOT my play style.

eDoomshaper
This guy has caught my attention because of a couple of things:
-Feat: Add 3" to SPD and making warbeasts not be forced to charge slam or trample makes getting into the thick of it a lot easier. makes my trolls run a lot faster and while I see this being used on the first turn to get closer to the enemy a lot more useful than not forcing to charge and slam or trample.... less of an attractive thing.
- Goad: While his feat would likely be used to run first turn, if you decide not to use this I can see this ability being used on such beasts as the Dire Troll Mauler or Mulg, simply for the added beatstick ability. moving 2" with a warbeast then forcing more attacks seems quite useful. especially for Mulg as you get to attack again with his STR 13 = dead stuff. no matter what it is. especially if you boost him.
Aggitation: Putting fury on your opponent's warbeast during your turn seems fun, though I see them frenzying and attacking Doomy for the effort. Seems useful at first, but in the end is a double edged sword.
Wild Aggression: Seems quite useful.

Calandra or "I make stuff do what you want"
I like Calandra the best of all of the Troll Warlocks. However some things need to be said first:
She will be easy to hit and easy to damage. this is bad.
She is low MAT and RAT so she can not hit anything except peons.
She has only 16 boxes of damage so can die quickly to beast/jacks with a decent str.
That being said, if you take her she gives you a LOT of benefits:
-Feat: AMAZING. I get lots of re-roll for anything in my 14" Control Area
-Fate Blessed: AMAZING. I can spend fury to give stuff in my Control Area Re-Rolls.
-Befuddle. Great for moving intervening models away from a caster for assassinations. or even puting others in the trample path of a Beatstick.
-Dodge Bullets: an amazing spell that can really help out a unit that needs to both survive and move quickly.
-Star Crossed:Great for close in stuff, but if they get too close you die. a double edged sword, but if you're this close, you have a plan already (Read Fell Caller/Dire Troll Bomber)

Synergies of Calandra:
The Dire Troll Bomber is your best friend with Calandra. As are Impalers. Adding 4" to the DTB's ROF 2 Bombs is..... well, rather stupid for your opponent. Have a RNG 12 POW16 AOE 4 blast is rather devistating. especially to single wound models that just sit there to tarpit stuff. Rather funny really when an entire unit or two disappear. Or if you really want to be an ass, you can boost his attack rolls with it and hitting a caster with 2 of those will cause a lot of damage. direct hits with re-rolls seems kinda broken, but meh. you pay for it in points.

Pyg Burrowers are also great on feat turn as you get to re-roll your 1 and 2. since they can attack with their POW 14 guns in combat, and you take 10 of them, you buff their MAT to 6 with the Fell Caller then charge in and unload a mass of firepower onto pretty much anything. lots of re-rolls + POW 14 = dead stuff. pure and simple. 10 shots with re-rolls is POWER Playing.

Fell Caller
This is your built in Auto-Take. He buffs, he's a weapon master with 2 attacks, has a nice spray, and has 8 boxes. all for 3 points. Duh.

Stone Scribe Chronicler:
Another Buffer, 5 Boxes and the ability to knock down powerful opposing models. fun to put on a tarpit unit engaged with a heavy and keep it locked down for a turn.

Troll Whelp:
Often underestimated IMO these guys help you in several different ways. 1 you get 5 for 2 points. 2, they are a fury management tool, you want to force the crap out of a warbeast? do it and comfort food them to a manageable level. 3, healing for warbeasts. D3 without forcing and 2d3 with forcing on a troll warbeast = no more crippled aspects. 4 hinderance. a little debuff to attack rolls while close to opponents. They have a lot of abilities that can come in very handy. just don't expect them to survive, ever.

So in the end I believe I will be playing with Calandra.

This is my "Idea" list at 25 points:

Calandra +5
Dire Troll Bomber -10
Impaler -5
Fell Caller -3
Fell Caller -3
Pyg Burrowers (full) -6
Troll Whelps -2
Feralgeist -1
Total: 25+5*

Why a Feralgeist? Well, mainly because i just like the idea of putting a model of the opponent's into play against them. even if it only has 3 boxes left before it dies again. I can do it a few times if I'm lucky. or I can bind to my bomber if i really want to throw a few more bombs after it has died. sure, it does not always work very well, but it can really piss someone off if they spent a lot of time killing one of my guys and i just bring him back as a minion. lols all around.

Do I expect to win the world with this army? hah. I expect the impaler to die first to deny the snipe, then the bomber. then calandra. HOWEVER, i do expect that this army MAY be able to win some stuff.

If I had to remove some stuff I'd probably drop the Feral, 1 Caller and drop the Burrowers down to Min size to gain another Impaler. I may just do that in the end, but who knows.

Some Blog Changes - You probably did not notice.

I've put my blog through some changes recently. you may or may not have noticed.

I've added a few to my blog roll:
Yes, The Truth Hurts - A Great Blog about Competitive Warhammer 40k. Language warning though.
Strictly Average - Brent's Musings and other stuff for 40k, Fun place to check out.

I've also added a few links at the bottom of my blog.
11th Company Podcast - An amazing 40k Podcast. Best one I've found
Dice Like Thunder - Another Great 40k Podcast
The Iron Agenda - So Far the best Warmachine/Hordes Podcast I've found

Enjoy the changes.

Dawn of War- Or where I learned to pull my hair out because GW can not write concisely

OK Guys, as those of you who have played against me in a Dawn Of War Mission know, I HATE THIS MISSION. No matter what the objective of mission is, the deployment rules for this mission are horribly written.

Here is how it works, I've read this thing many, many times.

You get to deploy 1 HQ UNIT not 1 slot, not 1 choice.

You get to deploy 2 Troop UNIT not 2 Slots, not 2 choices.

Units include:
Independant Characters
Units
Dedicated Transports
etc.

You don't get to put out 1 HQ and 2 Units in their transports.
You get 1 HQ (say it's an Independant character) Attached to a Unit in their dedicated transport.
THAT IS ALL YOU GET!

God sometimes GW Really needs to re-think the way they write.

Also, night fight is 2d6x3 inches. if you cant see your target you don't get to pick another target to try for.

Privateer Press Design - A Target GW Should Emulate

So, played my first game of Hordes this weekend. got a bit confused, con-fuddled, and had my caster assassinated. No bother, cant expect to win every game from scratch. anyhow, after looking back, i've come to a couple of conclusions that have rather firmly solidified my thinking on a few topics of comparasin.

First: Privateer Press goes out of their way to write COMPLETE rules sets.

GW Could only wish they had a design team that did this. It was rather simple to read through a confusing interaction to get the CORRECT RAW answer to my questions. Has this ever been the case with GW?... Thought not.

Secondly: Scaling. Privateer Press built into their game a scaling mechanism that is IMPORTANT to the game play itself. Fury Management (and I assume Focus management in WM) The ability to scale a game proportionally is something that has always frustrated me about GW. In 40k the game plays completely differently at different levels. At 2500 points, you are playing a completely different game than you are at 1500 points.
At 2500 Points you are building for 2 things: Killyness and Survivability. you have to survive your opponents uber crap while killing theirs with yours. At 1500 points the game is a lot more confined without the masses of supper doom units running amok on everything and you get the more objective oriented games. Tactics become a real part of the game.

In Hordes (and WM) you are not limited by the number of fast attack slots you need to field or how many troops are required. you are bound by the fury management abilities of your warlock/warcaster and the number of points on the field. If you get high enough in points, they've built in a mechanic to manage more fury by including another warcaster/warlock. Kudos to PP for doing this in a way that both makes sense and is functional.

And thirdly: COMPETITIVENESS
The way that Hordes/Warmacine is designed encourages competition. not ties, or half measures. their slogan says it all. Play like you've got a pair. Do you hear the WM/Hordes crowd yelling and screaming about how the eButcher has killed the game? NO. you see them building lists that hand that list it's teeth back to it though. no complaints, no crying, just playing.

And Finally: ERATTA and FAQ.
I add FAQ there because PP has their own forums set up so that people can ask questions. they don't release FAQs though. They do however release Erattas in short order. They make sure that their game is both consistant and fair to all of the different factions of their games. not just making sure that space marines or the newest prettiest thing wins everything.

There is definitely a reason that PP is taking more market share from GW year by year. their sculpts are routinely amazing, their rules are well written, balanced, fun an most of all fair. they are scalable, they support their product.

So, you have my initial thoughts, Any of your own?

Disenchantment- It's Happened Again

Thank You GW. I just have to say thank you to one of the Greatest (sic) Gaming Companies in the world.

Your constant micro-management and stifling of any army other than the Space Marines in all of their colorful and tasty flavors has made me lose my enchantment with warhammer 40k. again. I'm certain, as this has happened before, that I will return. I am running a large scale tournament in september so have to keep going on some things. but as for more purchases.... no. as for more painting... no.

Thank you oh Greatest of Great Gaming Companies for making me lose heart with you ..... again.

I'll be doing blogging still, but most likely it will be a lot of Privateer Press stuff as I learn that system. and, Knowing myself, will fall back into 40k in 6-7 months with renewed vigor.

Probably just the very sour taste I have in my mouth after investing and converting that new Tyranid Army.... Thanks again for that FAQ GW.

Thank you.

Hordes

So, with the impending release of Hordes! MKII, I've decided to take the plunge.

Circle it is with my primary warlock being... Kromac The Ravenous...

Something about having my warlock become a Warbeast in his own right just seems.... fun.

So Just learning the game, I'm starting at 15 Points.

I have never played the game, but this is my Idea of a 15 point list:

Kromac (+4)
Lord of the Feast -4
Warpwolf Stalker -10
Woldwyrd -5

I think this combination of 4 models gives me a lot of tactical opportunity and a LOT of painting practice. These models are incredibly detailed and I've wanted to paint some for a while.

So, all you PP players, what are your thoughts?

Anyone?

FAQ: Blood Angels - or when I learned to shut up and realize that GW will screw any non-Space marine army.

SO... At nearly the same time GW put out the Nid Nerf, I mean FAQ, they put out the Blood Angels FAQ, I mean "Yes, they are that stupid"

Follow along here: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1240365a_FAQ_BloodAngels_2010.pdf

- Yes, you can take a land raider for any dedicated transport

- Yes, the Sanguinary Priest gets his own effects. Why was this a question? He is an IC you know.

- Ok, so in 2 days you give 2 different rulings for how Furious Charge works. Not Consistent at all.

- Yes you can turbo-boost/move flat out to scout. This has been answered, more than once. why are we still asking this question?

- You can use smoke launchers during your scout move..... so you can move flat out, pop smoke. and go first move 6" fire EVERYTHING and during your opponent's first turn you get a 4+ cover save versus firing. Yeah, that's fair. way to go GW.

- Like jaws the Libririan must assault the first thing hit by the path of the Blood Lance. Yay.

- Yay, you get reduced scatter from jump packs, if you remove them to get into a transport, WHY WOULD YOU ASK THIS? NO. you don't get to reduce the scatter of the damn land raider.

- No tycho does not get an Extra attack from dead mans hand.

- Yes, the Librarian Dread can fire Psychic Shooting attacks if he has no weapons on the dread left..... Why is this a question? Really.

- Opponents get to choose weapons destroyed by Perils results on a Libby Dread. Unique ruling but unique to this army so.... Ok.

- Vehicles gain a cover save from Shield of Sanguinius. Note: NOWERE does it say that they become obscured. no cheating and trying to get a 4+. it's still a 5+.

- Sanguinor, Mephiston and DC Tycho are single model units. NOTE: no Independant Characters can join them. ever. they are their own unit. (look at the IC rules in the BRB.)

- Powergamers downfall. No you don't stack Descent of Angels to not scatter. Smartasses.

- Corbulo's free re-roll cant be used to affect pre-game stuff.

Go Go Power Rangers!

The Tyranid FAQ Debocle.

So, GW in it's infinite "Wisdom" has FINALLY issued an FAQ for the Tyranid Codex, one of the most necessarry FAQ's that was needed. Far more than the Codex Daemons FAQ that came out at the Nid 1 month range of time when the Nid FAQ was expected.

You can Get the Tyranid FAQ here and read along if you wish:

http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1240364a_FAQ_Tyranids_2010.pdf

So, To start off with we'll look at the Erattas:

Now we include the swarmlord in the Blind Rampage. Easy enough.

A harpie's barrage now affects the whole blast marker, not the center hole to drop the spore mines. Cool, far less likely to drop mines now and for the blast to go off, though it still may hit nothing, except perhaps the harpy itself.

Spore Mine correction that does nothing.

Useage change on the Mawloc, does nothing to people who know the rules.


on to the FAQ's:

Nid Weapons now stack. though observant readers of the codex already knew this as Tyranid cc weapons were NOT special Weapons to begin with. and thus did not go by their rules to begin with.

Nids dont test for Instinctive behavior the turn they come in from reserves. Duh.

Instinctive Behavior affects those that start the turn out of Synapse. Reserves happens in your turn and not before it. Yes you have to test even if you have Zoey's in a Spore. Duh.

Hive Commander does not stack, though it does stack with the Swarmlords ability. Works for me as they've been consistant with the IG dex.

It stacks with the Pheramone Trail.... that will never get used. EVER. seriously, lictors start in reserve. So HC and Swarmy makes the lictor come in on turn 2 on a 2+. then on turn 3 everything  comes in automatically. or it does not come in and everything comes in on turn 3 with a 2+. see. never.

Tyrants with Tyrant Guard are NOT independant Characters. Never were. why is this a question? because you can JOIN as an IC? still does not make you an IC. No you can't leave, rules say you can JOIN. that is all.

Yay, tyrant guard act like they should, only going into a frenzy AFTER the tyrant dies. lol.

Harpies and Winged Tyrants can now deep strike. Yay.

Harpies spore drop acts like a multiple barrage, like it says in the codex.

Random Moving spore mines, you don't control them.

Spore Mines Can Not Assault.

Spores go boom when you assault them and then you CAN NOT Consolidate.

Spores Deep Strike AFTER objectives are placed.

Hive Guard can only shoot at stuff they can see while lurking. It's in the codex, and while covering this I should mention that the Biovore works the same way. it MAY be able to fire indirectly, but it can NOT do so while lurking. RAW.

Zoies can use different powers. YAY. why would you want to anyway?

Zoies must make a Psychic test for each zoie using a psychic power. how is this hard?

you must declare how your reserves are coming in when you place them in reserve. the added options of arrival in the nid dex are no different.

You get cover from terror from the deep.... but it's not quite explained how. From below you? so you would get cover from intervening unit... none. terrain? Possibly area terrain. Equipment? I'd give you that.


You can't put a Warrior Prime in a Spore with warriors. LAME.

If you take a spore you HAVE to use it, unlike a drop pod where you dont.... LAME.

Mycetic Spores can be moved, say by terror from the deep, some people say with tank shock, but I don't know how that would work, I can't fall back, I can't move wilingly, but if I DoG you either I die or you are immobilized...... interesting.

Tyranid SC's are just nastier versions of the base creature. so the Doom's Warp Field works. and so does the Swarmlords psychic powers.

Doom is fixed. Finally.

Psychic powers are cleaner.

Shadow of the warp is useless now. Seriously GW? sure I know they are not Space Marines, but at least be consistant with this crap. So a Psychic Hood can cancel out a power used in a transport but the enervating presence of the shadow is blocked completely by it? Screw You Too.



Lash Whips took a major hit. Seems that GW is continuing with the "Screw you if you're not SM" contingency. And eldar just happen to fall into a good benefit.

And my personal Favorite. A powergamers' dream was quashed by GW answering the Rediculous question of "Can You Regenerate Wounds That Have already been regenerated?". No you moron. you get to go back to your maximum number of wounds. That is all.

-Thoughts?