FInecast: WTF

I was going to have the 6th Foundation ready for today.  Sadly I, for readers not my wallet, I got a promotion at work and this week was the first week of the new job.  I have been looking around the web looking at the pictures of the new finecast models. 

The new Wrack and Grotesque models are confirmed as Finecast as they went up for pre-order on GW's site earlier this week.  The new Haemonculus is also going to be Finecast.  As I have previously said I like the switch to resin models.  After years of dealing with metal models and being spoiled by new awesome plastic kits I am ready for some easy to assemble models that won't break my drill bits.

The price increases is really what is making me mad.  The new resin Wrack box is $33.00.  You get a grand total of 5 Wracks.  SO to make a full squad you will be spending just shy of $70 for a full squad of Wracks.  The Grotesques are $20.00 each and there is only one pose.  So Grotesques now take the prize for most expensive Eldar unit.  $200 plus for a unit of 10 makes Wraithguard jealous of their baller status.

That raises the question of how much are they going to jack up the prices on the models they are redoing.  Its the same model just made out of resin.

I may be beating a dead horse, but this whole Finecast thing upsets me.  On a semi related note I have gained possession of the Pre release models of the New dark Eldar Plastic kits.  I will be doing some assembly this week and I will give you my impressions of the new kits.

I leave you now.  The Judge is turning 21 tonight and as the youngest member of the Dark Future Games crew he will be going through the initiation into manhood.  May god have mercy on his soul.

Happy Birthday Judge I apologize in advance for destroying your liver.


Next time some kit reviews and the 6th Foundation Of Vengeance.

Until next time.....................



Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!

Freakshow On the Way and A Lesson In Economics

So it looks like we have some pics of the new Wracks and Grotesques as well as the new Haemonculus.  These were previously thought to be metal, but it looks as if they are going to be getting the fine cast resin treatment.  Given the fact GW is raising the prices to Forgeworld or better for these new resin versions of the old metal models I know I am going to be upset at the price.

Although I like the idea of them moving to totally plastic and resin minatures, how can they really justify raising the prices.  The reason given for the switch is of course due to the rising price of tin which is the base of the pewter type metal GW uses.  I can understand from a business perspective.  They want to recoup mold costs and the like with the change over from metal to resin.  Different machines and such are used so they want to maintain their profit levels while at the same time investing into this new direction they are taking the company.  The only real problem I see is that this is kind of a "have you cake and eat it to" kind of reasoning.  You generally forgo huge profits when investing heavily back into the company so that future gains are higher. 

GW is almost to the point where they may price themselves out of the niche market they created.  I have joked about it in the past with several different bloggers and old GW coworkers of mine.  There has been a steady increase in prices.  Thats to be expected in any market.  Inflation and the rise of labor and material costs dictate an increase in prices.  The market can only bear so much though.  GW has been pushing the envelope when it comes to their pricing.  The markup and gross margin on their products is huge.  Their per unit cost very small.  The change to resin is in response to rising material costs.  The switch means their per unit cost remains the same, and even improves because the molds last longer and resin can be cast more quickly, and they are able to possible improve their gross profit.

A big mistake it to use a cheaper material, like resin, and then increase the price to a higher one than it would be for the product made from the more expensive material.  Sure the gross margin is better, but it really kind of gives the middle finger to your customers.  People expect more when you raise the price of a product, especially when you raise it by a good measure.  People will go with lower cost alternatives.  Supply and demand. 

GW does have the advantage as its army of lawyers squash any third party trying to make miniatures for their games.  They also ban any non GW miniatures form their tournaments.  They may see a drop in their numbers after this increase though and we will see an explosion in the used market.


Ok rant over.  The strategy GW uses in its business do make it money, a good chunk if you look at their financial report from last year.  They need a more sound release schedule though.  The codex rant can wait though.

Next time the Webway list gets some tweaks and we will talk about the 6th Foundation of Vengeance: Kindness.


Until then...........



Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 6th Foundation Of Vengeance: Truth

There are many different truths in this world. All of them are subjective. One mans truth is anothers heresy. The 5^th Foundation Of Vengeance is Truth. That is, it is the truth of how the game is going to go according to you. Truth is a 3 edged sword. The truth you see, the truth your opponent sees and what is actually going on in the game. The key to victory is showing your opponent the truth of the matter according to you.

I put the 5^th Foundation into practice just yesterday as continued play testing of the webway list. The list has gone 3 and 0 so far. I got in 2 of these games yesterday against the Necrons of Meatban and Ryan one of our local Tau players. I started each game with basically telling my opponents that I was going to rush forward and deploy my portals and then slaughter their army. The game against the Tau required a little more in depth explanation as he had not faced or even knew what the webway portals did. Regardless I gave them full disclosure and they could not do much to stop the onslaught.

Truth is a very effective kind of psychological warfare. Faced with a truth many players will start to think of things that are way worse than what you are actually going to do. This paranoia is why in the real world propaganda machines work overtime in times of crisis and war so that soldiers and the populace stay confident and don't freak out when things are not going so well.

Staying in control of the flow of the game is essential for victory. When you loose your cool, as I am guilty of way to often, you loose control of the flow. The truth you have imposed to your opponent wavers and he see hope. Its the denial of hope that brings you victory. Showing your opponent that this is going to happen regardless of what they do lets you control the flow of the game.

So remember full disclosure and show them the truth. Next time we will be discussing the 6^th Foundation Of Vengeance: Kindness. This is a Foundation I have trouble with. They say though one of the best ways to deal with people is to kill them with kindness.

Also I will have a battle report of Epic proportions. Farseer Re-Rolls and I will be throwing down in a massive 6000 points per side Apocalypse game in 2 weeks. The 8^th company , along with some support elements, of the Storm Heralds will be going to war against the forces of Ulthwe. The Seer Council of Ulthwe will be leading the black Guardians into battle over the position of a Maiden World.

Stay tuned as this game should be pretty brutal.

Until then............

BLOOD RUNS, ANGER RISES, DEATH WAKES, WAR CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Old Soldiers Don't Die They Fade Away: Specialist Games

Well I played in the “Def Race 2011” Tournament yesterday. I did not place. Congrats to Bill Kim AKA Centaurian99 on DAKA DAKA, though who took first and gave me a sound beating in round one with his Daemon army. Old School Terminator Took second with his Tyranids. This rascally Dakafexes were at it again. Sadly I did not get to play him.

The tournament was a 2250 Spearhead tourney and I have to say this was the first time I have played spearhead. It is also probably the last. I really do not like the expansion at all. This really was a very thinly veiled attempt by GW to sell tanks. The rules for the expansion are not real clear and not very well thought out.

Although I promised the 5^th foundation of Vengeance I have a bit of a rant because this whole experience got me in a nostalgic mood. Spearhead is yet another example of GW not really supporting expansions and games that are not Fantasy and 40K. Granted Spearhead is a 40K expansion, but after the issue of white dwarf it was in you have not seen any real mention of it. This could have something to do with the fact it is not great. If they were judging by number of issues sold it also I think their appraisal of popularity is thrown off by the fact the rules for the Night Spinner are in the same issue.

So to my rant. GW has never really supported their “Specialist Games” well. They come out with the game make models for it and then relegate it to obscurity. They really seem to have the attention span of a 5 year old when it comes to these games. Back in the day, and by the day I mean the mid to late 90's, there were lost of GW games that now fall into the “Specialist” category. Games like Necromunda, Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, Man'O'War ( for you really old gits) and my favorite Blood Bowl.

Blood Bowl was my gateway drug into the hobby. I had an undefeated, albeit very mauled , Skaven team for 4 seasons. We had a big league at the FLGS. As I played that I stemmed into 40K. I played the crap out of Battlefleet Gothic as well. After a while though these games just kind of went the way of the dodo as others were released. GW sited many times that the game was not popular enough to continue full support. I saw it as short attention span though. They did not support it enough so people did not play. If you had rules but no models it is kind of hard for people to justify starting to play. It gets boring playing one or two fleets in a game when you have the rules for 6 or 7.

Lots of people still play these games and its a shame they were not given a fair shake. It is hard to support a lot of product lines from a business standpoint, but trust me GW is not hurting. They could stand to give a little on other areas due to massive earnings in the main gravy train that is 40K and fantasy.

SO rant over. Next time the 5^th Foundation of Vengeance: Truth

Until next time.............

BLOOD RUNS, ANGER RISES, DEATH WAKES, WAR CALLS!!!!!!!!!!

Reinforcements Have Arrived: Dark Eldar 3rd Wave

Although this new release has not given us the Voidraven / Razorwing fighter it has given us some nice new models.  Scourges, which I really like the new models, The much anticipated Venom, The Talos / Cronos Parasite Engine and a Battle Force make up this next wave of models.  Sadly no Wracks.

So feast your eyes and enjoy

Scourges

Cronos Parasite Engine

Talos Pain Engine

Venom

I am surprised that the Talos kit is under fifty bucks.  It seemed the trend for big critters was going to be higher than the $44.50 they are charging.  I like the price tag of $25 bucks on the Scourges though.

Slight addition.  I was going to post it later, but OST scooped me so here s the preview shot from GW of the Voidraven / Razorwing

Well Just a little update.  Sadly due to me being sick I can't make the trek out to the FLGS today.  I am looking forward to "Def Race 2011" at Evolution Games this Saturday though.  DFG will also hosting a tournament at Game Links in Fowlerville Michigan on June 4th with the help of the boys over at MI40k.  If I am not asked to help I may be playing.  Well time for some nyquil and some sleep.


Until next time.........................


Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!

The Webway Revealed

I got my first game in with the Webway list. I should say my first singles game that also actually went a full 5 turns. It was a Dawn of War deployment and to keep it simple we just played fro kill points. I was able to get one Raider loaded with wracks and their Haemonculus handler on on the board with the other identical unit coming on the first turn. This allowed me to really get excellent position for the portals. One portal was right where I wanted it. Because of terrain the second was not ideal, but it got the job done. I had to deploy it near a piece of area terrain which kind of limited my mobility a bit. This was mostly due to squad size. Since I want to talk openly about the list I am going to do something I don't usually do.

Here is my 1850 Webway List

HQ

1x Haemonculus with webway portal, agonizer, stinger pistol and liquifier gun.

1x Haemonculus with webway portal, agonizer, stinger pistol and liquifier gun.

1x Succubus with 2x venom blades and Haywire grenades.

Troops

3x 15 Wyches with Haywire Grenades, 2x Shardnets and Impalers, Razor Flail and Hekatrix with Agonizer and Phantasm Grenade Launcher.

2x 9 Wracks with Liquifier gun and Acothyst. Raider with Night shields and Flicker Fields, Grisly Trophies and Tormentor Grenade Launchers.

Fast Attack

1x Beast Master Pack with 5x Beast Masters, 1x Clawed Fiend, 5x Khymerae and 6 Razor Wing Flocks.

Heavy Support

Cronos Parasite Engine with Spirit Probe and Spirit Vortex

SO the basic premise is the Haemonculus units try and get as far forward as the can on turn one and get the best possible deployment area for the Webway portals. This way the rest of the army can start coming in on turn 2. The real secret in the list is to get into assault range and hammer your army with furious intent upon your opponents army.

The lack of lance weapons in on purpose. The raiders are basically Webway portal delivery vehicles that can also harass long range armored targets. The wrack units are to ensure the Haemonculus survive and also try and hold some objectives. Since they have the poisoned weapons they can also deal with the big bads, at least those with a toughness stat, in close combat. Their initiative of 5, they have furious charge thanks to the Haemonculus being attached to the unit, on the charge lets them strike before most units.

With the Wych units emerging form the portals the Cronos will be able to sit back behind them and supply a steady stream of sweet sweet pain tokens to the wych units. The beast master pack can surge forward ahead of the wyches to mire down death star units and cut them down to size. You have to be very careful with your wound allocation though as most of the beats in the unit still have a toughness of 3. So allocate wisely. The Cronos should get the first pain token followed by the Wych units. Try not to get any one unit up to three quickly. The Wych units should be able to generate their own quickly if they have targets.

So that’s the list and a little insight as to how I play it. I am hoping to get some decent games in over the next month to test it and tweak it. I have to prepare for the “Def Race” next Saturday at Evolution Games. I have a Wraithlord to paint and forces to prepare. I have a Tyranid Swarm I must contemplate on how to deal with.

Next time the 5^th Foundation of Vengeance

Until then..........

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Fourth And Fifth Foundations of Vengeance: Speed and Relentlessness

I am a military history buff. I think it goes hand in hand with war games. In fact the whole reason I read Sun Tzu's “The Art of War” was not because everybody said I need to read it because its a great treatise on war and even business. Most people say they read it and quote it like Nietzsche, which they also only read snippets of just to appear deep and smart, and do not truly understand the work as a whole. I don't fully understand all the nuances, but I try to. I read it because General George S. Patton thought it would make an excellent field manual for the Army when he read it as a Colonel in 1919. I bring up Patton mostly because he is one of the Figures in the American Military I really admire and he personifies the Fourth Foundation Of Vengeance. Relentlessness.

Relentlessness goes hand in hand with the 5^th Foundation Of Vengeance so I will be doing a double feature. Speed is the 5^th Foundation of Vengeance. Speed is the essence of war or Sun Tzu tells us. So what does this mean for you as a Dark Eldar or even Eldar player?

You must be relentless in your persecution of the enemy. This means no stopping. No break. No letting your enemy have even a second to breathe. You can't be relentless without speed. The Dark Eldar have speed. The Craftworlders do as well, but they cannot match the pure unbridled speed of a Dark Eldar army. That said you should not just hurl your whole army in an orgy of speed and relentless fury at your opponents army. Remember we are building on the other Foundations of Vengeance.

You must have a distinct plan laid out. Speed and a relentless assault means nothing if you are not focused. In fact your speed can work against you. You are able to move about the board and harass the enemy rather easily. Troops can even move fast to assault the enemy. You have to really think though about your targets. Case in point. Last time I played OST I removed his gaunt screen effectively and then took out his center mass of Genestealers. I also took out some hive guard. The only real issue about this blinding fast assault is that once it was over I was out in the open and the momentum of my attack was broken. I was using speed without thinking about the consequences.

So you must temper your speed with planning. Being relentless can also get you into trouble without planning. Pursuing a course of action that bears no fruit is a waste of resources. You must temper your relentlessness with wisdom. Pouring all of you fire into a target, although dangerous, that really does not have the ability to effect the outcome of the game is not something you want to waste your time with. The only effect it will have will be to force you to loose because you did not hit targets that could take objectives or contest table quarters.

So you must be relentless and have speed. Hit your opponent hard and fast, but with focus and a definitive plan. You must not let up. Plan carefully because it is very difficult, impossible sometimes, to redirect the focus of an army once it is dedicated its full might to the relentless pursuit of a foe. The Dark Eldar as an army is not a blunt object like the Imperial Guard, nor is it a Pinpoint attack like their Craftworld cousins. They are the knife from the shadows. They strike fast and without warning. It is a surgical and remorseless strike at the heart of the enemy. It is well planned and directed with one purpose.

SO next time I will have a battle report. I am heading out to the FLGS to continue Webway list development. OST and CVinton are on the schedule for tonight.

Until next time............

Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!!

New Model From Chapterhouse

I am a fan of the Chapterhouse Studio miniatures.  I bought a few of the Warlock and Farseer on jetbike conversion kits.  Well they now have another Eldar offering in the form of The Doomseer Iyanar-Duanna.
  This alternate Farseer is a nice addition to their line.  Check it out at the Chapterhouse site.

I am composing the next Foundation Of Vengeance.  Relentlessness is probably one of the most important ones.  It really is the hallmark of the Dark Eldar.  Look for it mid week as I may not be able to get up to the FLGS for my weekly 40K fix.  I was promoted at work so my schedule is kind of batty this week.

I am also hoping to get a game in with the Webway list against OST soon.  I think that his nids will be an excellent test.  CVinton is also on the hit list.  Speaking of CVinton.  He will be joining the ranks of Tournament orgainzers on may 14th as Evolution games hosts "Def Race 2011"  Check it out over at Dark Future Games.  He just posted the missions so take a look and plan accordingly.

Until next time............



Blood Runs, Anger Rises, Death Wakes, War Calls!!!!!!!!!