Goodbye 2022

 

Greetings all.  Its been quite a while.  Life and a lack of motivation has kept me from writing. 2022 has been quite a year.  I have started to play a few different games and a couple have gone by the wayside.  I am getting my gaming mojo back.  I have been hobbying a lot more and I have even started painting again.  The burnout I experienced doing stuff for Spartan Games and the pandemic had lasting effects that are finally going away.  I picked up A billion Suns to satisfy my need for spaceships and I have started playing 30k since the release of the new edition.  In fact we are running A Billion Suns tournament at Adeption this coming March.  I just wanted to pop in and say that I am going to make an effort to write even if nobody is reading it.  Just to talk about the hobby and games to kinda work things out for myself.

Happy New Year.  may the coming year be good.  Adeption Registration is January 8th! 

Adepticon 2022

 Hello all.  Its been a while.  I have been absent and for that I apoligize.  Hell I don't know if anybody still reads the blog.  Well after some thought I decided I am going to post at least once a month.  My gaming life has not been what it use to be.  I am hoping this changes next week and I feel a little of the passion come back.  I speak of Adepticon.  After two years on hiatus, the convention has returned.  I am participating in two events this year and I am helping to judge the Infinity GT.  I am brushing up on Infinity as I have not played the new edition.  I have only read the rules.  I plan on helping out none the less.  The gaming group here in Lansing has been experimenting with a bunch of different games and it has made us lose our focus on any one game. It's kind of frustrating honestly.  Its gotten to the point I am thinking about dipping back into 40K.  I know, thats kinda a point I thought I would never reach. We will see what happens.  I am going to try and do at least one post at Adepticon and might do a YouTube video on the channel I have not used in years.  If you are reading this I appreciate it.  I am going to get the passion back.  Life and past circumstances have left me burned out and honestly longing for days past.  Well thats all for now.  If you are reading this and are going to Adepticon, say hi if you see me. until next time.....

Remember Dramos! 

and

Blood runs, anger rises, death wakes, war calls !!!

Awesome Eldar models!

While I may not play 40k anymore, that in no way stops me from drooling over amazing models that people have painted or converted. Check out this freaking awesome job that was done to this Forgeworld Eldar Vampire Hunter! The missiles alone are amazing, let alone the crazy paint job on this flyer's hull. Well done! 
Here's the link to the original post over at When Craftworlds Drop By.

Drool.

Eldar Ghostwarriors Dataslate

The Eldar Datalslate has arrived as part of GW's advent calendar release schedule.
As per GW's site:
The Eldar Ghost Warriors contains 1 Eldar Wraithknight; 3 boxes of Eldar Wraithguard; 2 Eldar Wraithlords; and 3 Eldar Transfer Sheets which can be used to add Craftworld markings and heraldry.

So we have 15 Wraithguard, a pair of Wraithlords, and a single Wraithknight making up this formation. Unfortunately, the Wraithguard can't take any transports so they will be hoofing it.

The formation does come with some interesting special rules, however. As reported over at Faeit 212:

Desperate Measures: All Friendly units in this unit and those within 6" have Hatred. (re-rolls in the first round of close combat)

Wraithbone Wall: Any friendly unit that receives a cover save from this formation form the intervening models rule, receives a cover save of 4+.

You can definitely do some cover save shenanigans with this but given how common Ignores Cover is in the game these days I don't think it holds much water.

The bubble of Hatred is also kind of meh. But if you were building an assault list, you could do worse than having that many pissed off Wraith-constructs whipping everyone around them into a fit of hysteria. Maybe splash in the Avatar to project Fearless and add a dash of Harlequins. Might be a fun list, but over all not my style at least.

So far, the winner is definitely the Tau Dataslate.

What Did You Do, GW?

Let me preface this by saying I am not complaining, lamenting, or anything else. Honestly, I don't really know what my feelings are right now and I kind of just want to talk about it as the gravity of the situation hasn't quite set in. As many of you know, Escalation and Stronghold Assault are out. Escalation isn't the cause of my bewilderment, it's just some data sheets carried over from Apocalypse and implanted into normal 40k games, the points costs of the units will limit these being used for the most part. But what really is throwing me for a loop is the Stronghold book.

There's a lot in there. A lot.

Dreadbeard had his copy of Stronghold at the shop today and we perused it and played a test game. Unfortunately, rules questions started popping up left and right. Like what happens when a wandering Vortex template encounters models on a multi-level ruin? Is the template on the ground floor? Seen from above like a barrage? Hits everything regardless of level? Chosen by one of the players? Who knows? There were many other little questions about rules interactions that came up, but we tried to work through them as best we could.

What concerns me most about Stronghold isn't the D weapons (which are brutal and awesome) or the Void Shields (which are pure win), but it's something a little more innocuous. Mainly, a little section under the Obstacles section that you can buy as an upgrade for pretty much any Fortification. I'm speaking of Walls. Yes, Walls.

According to the book, walls are purchased in 6" sections for 10pts a pop, up to six sections per Fortification. What makes me raise an eyebrow, is that they don't give a height. You could theoretically, make them 10" tall and have a 36" long line of walls that block line of sight. Kind of neat right? Yeah, probably. That's a cheap way to avoid getting your models shot off the board on Turn 1 and can make up for bad terrain availability (especially at tournaments).

Where we start getting into the weeds a bit is that since you can buy 36" of wall per Fortification, and some Fortifications are actually a group of many Fortifications, the amount of walls you can bring really start getting absurd. With the Void Relay Network one, you could bring 252" of wall. 21 feet of LOS blocking terrain. You basically build a labyrinth on your half of the board. I don't know how to feel about that, and I hope I am just misunderstanding.

I did think of two ways to build the labyrinth and still forge a raging narrative. A) You play some flavor of Chaos and model up a Daemon Prince to look like a Minotaur as a throwback to old mythology, or B) you do up the maze to look like inside the Webway for Eldar or Dark Eldar.

In conclusion...

I guess I don't have a conclusion. Not until this sinks in. 40k changed today, and I don't know what that actually is going to mean going forward.

Jetbikes Win Again

Had another game tonight with the Jetbike list against SeerK. Hammer and Anvil deployment, Purge the Alien was the mission. His list he deemed the "Bike Breaker Version 2". His army had me seriously worried. Specifically threatening were three Wave Serpents at the fore and two squads of Dark Reapers sitting on a Skyshield Landing Pad with none other than Eldrad leading them. Since the Reapers need only look askance at a Jetbike to kill it (because they are AP3, have long range, and ignore Jink saves) I felt like I was going to take some heavy casualties.
On my side of the board, I deployed some LOS blocking terrain and tried my best to deny him some lanes of fire before I could get up and running since he had first turn. His shooting took a toll on my Warlocks though, and he vaporized a full squad of Jetbikes.
My first turn didn't result in much damage since he was passing saves like a champion and my Jetseer council failed their 5" charge. My second turn however, resulted in me killing off all three Wave Serpents, instant deathing Eldrad, and stomping both Dark Reaper squads. He conceded as he only had two Ranger squads and two Guardian squads left, I had only given up the one kill point.

Another solid and fast win for the Jetbikes.

As I get more practice with the bikes, I am learning that they have a specific way they need to be played. More the pattern they follow for the attack. I haven't quite gotten it down to a science, but I am starting to notice it. As time passes, and more games are played, I hope to master the maneuvers and perfect the forms.

Musings About the Current Meta

Meta, a word that can produce sighs, sneers, or a quiet acceptance from players. Some people balk at it, but call it what you will, you know what I'm talking about. Perhaps if your play group is very small and isolated you may be insulated from it, but if you're playing in community events like small tournaments or even bigger regional ones, you've seen the meta and probably been on the receiving end of it.
Basically, my point is that its tough out there right now. There are a lot of powerhouse builds being wielded with varying degrees of skill and it is hard to make lists to deal with all the likely threats that one would be expected to face.
I'm debating in my head different approaches to succeed nowadays on the game table. Better to do your best, make a balanced "all-comers" list as its called, or specialize in one or two aspects in the game and hope to make the best of those advantages? I don't know.
I have been noticing a slight shift recently from absolute number of shots for the shooting aspect of the game to slightly better quality of shots. Grav-guns have certainly made this shift a little easier as they have quality and rate of fire. Also, an increase in general mobility has been gathering steam in people's lists. Gun line style armies are getting rarer and rarer because they struggle in the objective based environment that most missions create. Interesting shifts.
And looking to the future, the hordes are coming. Hordes that don't care what AP your weapons are, and may have enough bodies on the table that many lists might not have the sheer volume of fire to stop them. Tyranids, Orks, and to a lesser extent Imperial Guard are coming and the body count is going to rise. Essentially, throwing another curve ball into the mix for players to have to plan for when building their army.

To reiterate, it's tough out there, and it doesn't look to be letting up anytime soon. So my question to you is, what is your philosophy for surviving on the table these days and going forward into the future?

Path of the Bonesinger: Farseers on Jetbikes Conversion WIP

Last night I took a pile of bits and started bashing together a pair of Farseers on Jetbikes for my new Jetbike list. They are looking pretty rough right now, as I still have some Green Stuff work to do on them, but overall I'm pleased. The two Howling Banshee bodies I had lying around collecting dust finally found a purpose as well as the incomplete old style Reaver Jetbikes I had in my bits box.
My Farseer on foot was named Elros Mithrandir because that is what came out of the Elven name generator I found online when I inputted "Chuck Norris". I'll have to put in Sigourney Weaver and Kate Beckinsale to get these girls' new Farseer names.

Wave Serpent Down: Revenge of the Jetbikes!

I had a grudge match last night against the five Wave Serpent list that massacred the previous incarnation of my Jetbike army. SeerK rolled it out again so that I could test my new retooled Jetbike list as I viewed this as my worst matchup. The new list was utterly victorious. The Wave Serpents went down fast and SeerK took the gentleman's way out and conceded at the top of Turn 3, as he only had seven infantry models and a Crimson Hunter left and I had only given up two kill points.
The new list hits like a freight train and I am inspired enough to actually get everything finished from the hobby side of things. I have been in a bit of a hobby slump because I wasn't motivated to do anything. As I reflect on my tendencies, I usually am only able to muster sustained hobby progress for models I am actually going to use and enjoy in the near future. During my search for non-Wave Serpent lists, I was unable to commit to anything. Now I have purpose.

So can my Jetbikes beat Serpents? Oh, yes. Now I just need to start hunting the other normal tournament lists.

Since "Serpent Spam" is crossed off my list, what other builds should I seek to test my Jetbikes?

Perhaps There Just Weren't Enough Jetbikes Last Time...

Well, if I am really going to try this Jetbike thing, then it's time to go all in and get nearly every variation I can out of the codex. Sorry, Autarch, you're sitting the bench on this one. So here's the new retooled list I am going to try running. Other than my trusty Rangers (who are ridiculously good sometimes and compliment Jetbikes very well actually) and the often late but clutch Crimson Hunter, (somebody has to pop Heldrakes with a quickness) its all bikes. Dropped the Vypers and the Fire Prisms, they just didn't add what I was looking for in the list.

Eldar 1848

Farseer (Jetbike, Singing Spear)
Farseer (Jetbike, Singing Spear)

Warlock x4 (Jetbike, Singing Spear)
Warlock x5 (Jetbike, Witchblade)

Shining Spears x8
Shining Spear Exarch x1 (Star Lance, Hit and Run, Monster Hunter)

Windrider Jetbikes x9 (3x Shuriken Cannons)
Windrider Jetbikes x9 (3x Shuriken Cannons)
Windrider Jetbikes x9 (3x Shuriken Cannons)

Rangers x6
Rangers x6

Crimson Hunter Exarch (2x Brightlances, Pulse Laser)

If nothing else, playing this list is going to get me VERY familiar with the intricacies of the Eldar Jetbike (since there will be 47 of them now) which may lead to more adept choices for list changes in the future. I'm fairly excited, because even though the bikes have been so-so in play tests thus far, these guys are blast to run on the table. And there's some assault in there too, which I think should add an extra layer of fun.

Model count comes in at an even sixty, and some of those the opponent is really going to have to earn. I think the rework really confronts some of the glaring weaknesses of the last version. Namely Daemon Princes en-mass and Wave Serpents in any large quantity. I should be alright to make Riptides cry as well.

What do you think?

Retooling the Jetbike Army

Well, I got another game in with my Jetbike army. SeerK was kind enough to take a five Wave Serpent list against me at my request. I eventually conceded around Turn 4. I learned a ton about my list in the course of the slaughter. There's no way I can make the Jetbike list competitive in its current form, not tournament competitive anyway. Since getting a list that is capable of winning at least at the RTT level is the goal, I must take my lessons and return to the drawing board.
I've got some things cooking in my mind. The big thing that I feel like I was lacking was staying power with my Jetbikes. Thirty bikes spread across five units just doesn't work. The scoring elements are just too fragile when I roll a solid string of 2's for armor saves. The bikes are ok. But they suffer the same way that any elite, low-model count list does when the dice turn slightly sour.
Fundamental lesson learned. Check.
Now to retool, rework, and relaunch the army. I WILL make Jetbikes work in some fashion, but unsurprisingly, the first draft wasn't a keeper. No problem, this is a fun challenge.
Anyone have any suggestions? I'm back to the brainstorming phase.

More Jet Bike Adventures

I played another game last night with my fledgling Jetbike army. My opponent had a mostly foot Marine army (Black Templars allied with Dark Angels) and the mission was Relic. The Jetbikes successfully managed to grab the Relic and scoot away with it. Jetbikes are great at The Relic.

So this is the third game I've played now with my new Jetbike obsession. Unfortunately, the data leaves me a little wanting. All three of my opponents have played very slow lists and while it confirms my assertions about mobility being a weapon in its own right, I haven't been able to test the list against anything where I don't have a severe advantage in that respect. We have a White Scars player at the shop, and I will corner him eventually to get a game in. I also need to get someone to bring one of the cookie cutter style tournament Tau lists.

But for now, I am learning how to move the Jetbikes around so they aren't competing with each other for space and to most effectively get their weapons on target. They actually produce a pretty good volley of fire. The Bladestorm rule for them really gave them some teeth, not to mention the Ballistic Skill 4 upgrade from the last Codex.

What do you think would be a bad/difficult matchup for this list? These are the types of games that I am going to be seeking because rough games teach me the most about an army.

My Jetbike Army So Far...

Well, I figured I would post up the army list I am working with currently. I would like to preface this list with the explanation that I am performing an experiment that is not necessarily tied to the jetbikes. Basically, I am trying out a new idea I had for building a list. My idea was to start with a very low variety list. A list that probably has a ton of bad matchups, but whose composition was very different than what I had been playing before. Through practice games, I will gain experience using the units in the list, as well as learning where it really falls down. Once I identify the weak points in the army, I can then begin to switch out units to fill those gaps. My hope is that I will develop a list that performs very well because it grew organically over time. So here it is:

Eldar 1850

Farseer [Runes of Warding, Singing Spear, Jetbike]
Farseer [Singing Spear, Jetbike]

Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Windrider Jetbikes x6 [2x Shuriken Cannons]
Rangers x5

Vypers x3 [3x Star Cannons]
Vypers x3 [3x Star Cannons]
Crimson Hunter [Exarch, Pulse Laser, 2x Brightlances]

Fire Prism [Holofields]
Fire Prism [Holofields]
Fire Prism [Holofields]

This list has the basic tools required to have a chance in most games. That chance can go to the "slim" part of the spectrum pretty fast, but it's still there. The very original version of the list had a sixth squad of jetbikes instead of Rangers and a third squadron of Vypers instead of the Crimson Hunter. I made a command decision and made the switch because I knew I would need the Rangers for sitting on back objectives, and I wanted NEEDED to gain skill with the Crimson Hunter. Though, admittedly, I weep silently for the loss of utter uniformity.

I am kind of excited to be trying this list growing idea out. The mostly one-dimensional aspects of this list should make it pretty easy to isolate trouble areas and remove them. In addition, as I gain practice playing it, I will be able to more effectively use the units that remain so that I can hopefully get a solid feel for what the changes are actually doing.

What do you think?

Adventures in List Building

I've been trying to quit Wave Serpents cold turkey. Currently, I have been experimenting with Windrider Jetbikes, lots of 'em. Past two games I have had 32 (counting the twin Farseers) flying around the board. I'm not sure how I feel about them, honestly. I'm giving my opinion some salt because much of my trouble probably stems from my trek over their learning curve. So far, they seem to be getting in each others' way. I'm also still learning how I want to deploy them, they have such a huge footprint that getting them behind stuff can be challenging, so I tend to keep a squad or two or three in reserve for better or for worse.
Anyone have any anecdotes about Jetbikes that I can digest to quicken my mastery of them?

Round The World: A Good Weekend Of Gaming

Well its been a whirlwind weekend for old SeerK.  I have been off of  work since noon on Thursday.  I went up to Lansing to visit and of course play some 40K.  I started off by meeting up with CVinton of Dark Future Games and headed over to The Fortress in East Lansing.  This is not my usual FLGS as I am usually found playing at Evolution games across town.  A change of scenary is nice once and a while. There was a sense of battle in the air as well, mainly because Michigan States first home game of the season was also happening,

I got in a good Ard'boyz game in with CVinton.  He had won the prelims at evo with his Imperial guard.  A mech list that included 9 scoring units.  I used the Craftworlders.  I was using two seer councils.  The game was a slug fest that had CVinton emerge the winner, but the toll taken on his army was severe.  I made a couple of Tactical errors that probably costed me the game, but it was fun regardless.  I also took the opportunity to buy my first dose of Finecast...........More on that later in the week.  Needless to say I am less than impressed and GW owes me 2 models.  Not because they were messed up, but because they were missing.

Saturday night 40K at Evolution games was busy.  Its nice to see the resurgence now that the summer is over.  FarSeer Re-Rolls and his Blood Angels based marines challenged me to a 2500 point game.  I decided to use my other possible Ard'Boyz List.  Its basically my Webway List with a 3rd Haemonculus, a fully decked out unit of 10 Incubi and 2 Ravagers with a full complement of Dizzy's.
The game ended on turn 4 when Farseer ReRolls scooped.  The Marines went down hard.  I claimed one of his dice as a trophy.  Sadly I think the rematch is going to be rough as now victory is a matter of honor and one of his chapters sacred relics is now in my possession.

Samsquatch Monster and I were also supposed to get a game in, but it was kinda late and w decided to hit the pub instead.  I also got a look at the new Ogre Kingdoms book and models.  I have to say they have me convinced finally.  I am going to start playing Fantasy.  I think I may have been scooped though as it looks as if Old School Terminator has beat me to the punch and already made an initial purchase.  The model that really convinced me was the Stonehorn.  Its dead sexy and with a hunter mounted on it, even more deadly.  Its a good thing I only have to get some Razor wings for the Webway List.

I am slowly building the orks for use in a Tournament coming up in November, don't quote me on that I will double check, called the "Back To Basics" tournament, being hosted at Evolution games and run by SamSquatch Monster.  Its a 1500 point basic force organization tournament using the basic missions.  Its great if you are new to the game or new to tournaments.  Its also nice for those of you still feeling out an army.


Well that was my weekend, its time to recover and try to get motivated to start painting Dark Eldar.  I also have a display board project I am going to start soon.  It is for the Webway Army when I take it to Adepticon this comming year.   Next time my first experience with Finecast.

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


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

Good books and even better Fluff

I love to read. I have read fantasy and sci-fi books since I was 6. The first book I read cover to cover was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Vern. I Skipped the books for kids and tweens and jumped right into Bradbury, Clark, Heinlein and of course Tolkien.

The point is I love to read and the Black Library is probably the only branch of GW that does not anger me. Other than the lack of good 40K fiction from an Eldar's perspective, Gav Thorpe let me down with “Path of The Warrior”, I enjoy the books immensely. For new players the books are an excellent source of fluff and background to the game. Not everybody has been playing since the hallowed days of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. I thought I would share some of my favorites and ones I have recommended to those who want to get to know the universe. One of the players in my Rogue Trader Campaign asked for recommendation for background since he does not play 40k and for a good RPG character you need background information. So here are some of my favorite series.

You will notice a theme as to who writes my favorites as well. Dan Abnett is my favorite author. He really captures the universe and the characters are memorable. There is a very real and visceral feel to his books. The newest series he had contributed books to is of course the Horus Heresy series of novels. These are great books that really shed light on a past that is shrouded in mysticism and legend. “Horus Rising” is the first book and written by Mr. Abnett. Graham McNeill Actually wrote my favorite book in this series. “Fulgrim” details the fall of the Primarch of the Emperors Children and really gets disturbing at points. Plus there is a cameo by everybody's favorite Farseer.

My favorite Series though has to be the Gaunts Ghosts series by Dan Abnett. These are a very good and really show you things from the average grunts point of view. The characters are very colorful and you get attached to them. The Eisenhorn books are also great. You follow the adventures of Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn. Its in the same realistic style you come to expect from Abnett. The Enforcer trilogy by Matt Farrer is also a favorite. It follows the Adeptus Arbitus officer Shira Calpurnia and her enforcement of imperial law in the Hydraphur system.

I really don't read novels about space marines though. They tend to be epic and over the top in just about every aspect. The Death Watch series and the Book Rynns World is pretty good though.

If you want good fluff book Xenology is awesome. Not only does it have a nice narrative in the form of a series of log entries it also details most of the races in the 40k universe in epic detail.

So read the Heresy books and Gaunts Ghosts for some good reads. Basically Read Dan Abnett and you will get all the fluff you can stand.

So next time we will be talking about Eldar Fast Attack and about the End of Days Tournament being hosted at Evolution games on August 21^st and run by Dark Future Games.

Until Then......

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

Rogue Trader: Session 2

Session two of my Rouge Trader games sees our explorers take to space as they have uncovered some secrets left behind by Quintis's father. We last left out hero’s on the cusp of a trade deal moving agricultural goods to the Forge World Iconix from the Agro world of Satire 7 in the Malconis system. The deal was originally set up by Marik Tarsus with some rather unfavorable terms. It was a two way trade route as Iconix would be supplying equipment and machinery as well as new seed strains as Iconix specializes in biological items and is predominately under the auspices of the Magos Biologis. The crew was feeling rather good after their tumble with the thugs in the market place from session one . Quintis starts the talks and finds that the dynasty would be shouldering a lot of the costs involved and would actually be loosing money by doing this deal. After some hard negotiating and the Magos Gabriel finding some classified information concerning a plague that was turning crops to mulch. Whit this revelation it was clear the Cartel was more interested in the Magos's on Iconix fixing the crops than receiving machinery. The information was not public as this would weaken their bargaining position. So Despite Quintis's lack of tact and bargaining skills he made a successful deal.

With the deal concluded Forgemaster Lennox of Iconix gives the group a data crystal with a large amount of star charts and system survey data that would normally not be available to anybody outside the upper echelons of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This was the reason for the bad terms of the trade deal. After grilling Angelica for information the crew discovers that Marik Tarsus was involved in the Xenos artifact trade and that he was looking for a specific item. He had become obsessed with finding said item and this was the reason the dynasty had withered away to nothing. They also learn that Marik found the Cathedral Terra on one such expedition in the orbit of a world many months away by warp travel. By this time Gaius had identified the odd parts of the ship that were Xenos to possibly be Eldar in origin.

The group decides they need some answers, to who attacked them and why, what was the artifact that Marik was looking for and where did the Cathedral Terra come from.

Joker along with Quintis interrogates the one remaining thug that attacked them. They find out he works for another Rogue Trader named Nathaniel Allen. He is out for vengeance against Marik Tarsus for the death of his son. They also find out that another group was supposed to be hitting a second target that was an associate of Marik's on Tarlac Alpha, in the Solomon system which was about a weeks travel away.

As the are leaving the system they encounter another ship. The ship belongs to Inquisitor Simon Locke of the Ordo Xenos. He demands to board and once there questions the crew about Marik and his dealings. His tech adept is unable to pull any information from the cogitators as Magos Gabriel thwarts their attempts with his crack coding skills. The Inquisitor leaves without whatever it was he was looking for and the crew makes the transition to warp space. The ship makes the journey very very quickly and arrives after only a day.

As they transition and get oriented they pick up a distress signal form a ship near by. An older vessel Identifying itself as the Grace of Sophia is under attack by to raider vessels. The Cathedral Charges in and easily disables one of the raiders. The other runs as it does not want to take on a ship the size of a cruiser. Turns out this is the contact the crew was looking for. Lady Charlabelle Armelain boards the Cathedral Terra to thank the captain as the rest of the crew helps with repairs to her vessel. Joker boards the enemy raider with a security contingent and quells the crew quite easily.

The Lady doe s not know why Allen wants her as well, but she does ask a favor, and a share of the profits, to Quintis if he would be willing to transport 2 passengers she is carrying. The share is 25 Eldar Dream stones. Very rare and very expensive. Through the right channels this could help rebuild the dynasty. Quintis agrees. The passengers are brought on board shrouded.

The crew meets them in private in the trophy room on board the Terra. The lady introduces Farseer Iyanna Althoran of Ulthwe and her body guard the Exarch Solvanus , a Striking Scorpion. Needless to say there is some shock.

With the Exception of Gaius I am really surprised by the acceptance of the Xenos on the ship. This proves to be very useful for me in later sessions. It would seem the group is caught up in something big after only just getting hold of the Writ of Trade. Everybody should have expected Eldar honestly. I do run a 40K Eldar blog. Things get a lot more interesting. Things get pretty epic. Whats the point of doing a Rouge Trader game is you don't go big.

So next time session 3. Before that though we will be delving into heavy support choices for the Eldar army.

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

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

Lost in Translation

I have always enjoyed War games.  From Axis and Allies to Battle tech and eventually to 40k.  I always played with friends and if we had any issues with rules we always decided amongst ourselves how to solve any issues. When it came to tournaments though there were always judges to keep everybody on the level and to ensure people interpreted the rules consistently and above all the same way.
With the release of the much anticipated Blood Angels and Tyranid FAQ as well as the uproar caused by the ommission of a page from the Daemon Hunters Codex PDF I really wonder about the state of things.

The rules give us the means to play a game. They are there to provide balance and a clear manner in which to build strategy.  You and another player can enjoy a nice contest of strategy and tactics.  In theory anyways
Apparently people are getting creative in their interpretation of the rules. From Fire prisms still being able to contribute their beam despite a weapon destroyed result to Zoanthropes in a brood only needing one psychic test and don't even get me started on how some people interpret Necron "we'll be back" rules. Power gamers, munchkins, Beardy Gits have always been around but some of this stuff is getting out of hand.  This, to me anyways, seems like it is violating the spirit of the game.  Granted the FAQs solve rules questions but GW seems to be pretty lazy and inconsistent as of late when it comes to interpreting the rules.
Gav Thorpe Actually posted on his blog about this topic.  He wondered why Americans are so obsessed with getting rule questions clarified and third party judging of the rules.  This to me was light shed on how the GW guys across the pond think.  They speak of tournaments and campaign weekends.  They talk about how they solve their own issues and they don't understand the need for arbitration.  Gav actually went on to defend himself as a games designer saying "it was his job to eliminate any obvious abuses".  Basically somebody was calling out the design team about the loopholes people find to abuse the rules and make broken lists, IE Lash Sorcerers and daemon princes and the Allies rules that allow Imp guard to do the mystics trick.  Apparently the designers were shocked people would do this, but Gav downplayed any shock that was expressed by the design team.   I don't think the designers or writers have been out of the studio in the trenches as of late.  The tournament circuit seems a lot harsher here than in the UK so I had to ask.  Gav have you been on the forums lately?
There are weird and scary ways people are building lists and interpreting the rules.  I think a big portion of these people have lost touch and have gotten so competitive they forget we play this for fun.  The tournament circuit is pretty harsh and is above and beyond the level of cheese you may find at your local hobby store.
I play with a great group of players and we are competitive and do well, most of the time, when we play in a tournament.  In fact we had some nice team games today which included a nice BBQ out in front of the store thanks to Farseer Rerolls and Samsquanch Monster.  Much fun was had by all and we had some fun playing. You can't get so set to win you throw out the spirit of the game.

Ok rant over.  SO what do you think?  Rather than me preach and ramble on chime in give your two cents.
While you do that I will write up some more tactics articles and start writing about my new Dark Eldar.

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

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

Welcome to the Dark Side

In my quest to become a decent Eldar player I have decided to tread another path. I decided I must learn all there is to learn about Eldar both good and the bad. So I have now embraced the dark side of the Eldar. I have acquired an army of the Dark Kin. The Dark Eldar have landed on Craftworld Lansing and they are ready to party.

I had a Noise Marine army which I have played once. It is a left over from my early days as a gamer and my time at GW back in third edition before Gav Thorpe bent the chaos codex over a barrel. I added some new stuff but it never inspired me. I love my Eldar I have to say but I wanted something a little wicked.

So I made a deal with Old School Terminator. I traded him my noise marine army for the recently acquired Dark Eldar army of Capt Obvious. Now I have both sides of the coin as it were.

SO this means we will be covering the Dark Kin as well as the Craftworlders. I have a fascination with wyches so expect some wych cult action and lots of mobile shootyness as I delve into the depths of Commorragh.

I am going to run them this Saturday to get in a battle report. Unless the big apocalypse game happens. Which will be round two Vs the Daemons of the Daemon lord An'ggrath. So there may be two battle reports before our next Aspects of Khaine segment, which will be covering Warp spiders.

So until then

Scream Prey thing it amuses me...........

I mean err um......

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

Battle Report: Eldar vs Daemons and Orcs

Old School Terminator of Dark Future Games and I teamed up for a team battle Vs Papa Nurgle's Daemons and the Ork Horde of Evolution Games Computer Guru Shane. This battle was a capture and control mission with everybody's favorite deployment dawn of war. Each of us had 1750 points for a massive 3500 points per side battle. Old School was using his newly acquired army of Dark Eldar. That right you heard right Craftworld Ulthwe led by none other than Eldrad Ulthran was allied with the Dark kin of Cormaragh. In retro spec I should have brought my super heavies. A titan would have been nice for the battle given the amount of Orks on the table. I guess I was not fully aware how many boys you could cram into 1750 points. Add the fact it was led by the mighty Ork warlord Ghazghul Thraka and we have quite the horde. The forces of Nurgle were noting to scoff at as well. 4 units of Plague Bearers made up the core with a unit of 7 beasts of Nurgle. Yeah I said 7. I think it was 7 anyways. The mass was just to scary to look at for to long. A Great Unclean one lead the way with a Blood Thirster drafted from the legions of Khorne.

The list I was running is the prototype for my GW Store tourney list for the second round. Old School was running an Archon with Incubi and two warriors as well as Drazaar. He also had a squad of wyches led by a witch dracite. There were 3 ravagers and a hoard of warriors all on raiders. I think he had 4 warrior squads. There was a lot on the board and my memory is a bit fuzzy after such a long game. I had Eldrad and 8 warlocks leading the way with the Avatar. 2 squads of 15 guardians with warlocks , a squad of Dire Avengers, one wave serpent with bright lances, 2 Wraithlords and a squad of Striking Scorpions.

Our first turn was lack luster as we advanced. We only managed to kill 5 orcs in the initial shooting phase out of the mob of 30 that was on the board. Once the rest of the hoard hit the table on turn 2 Ghazghul initiated a waagh and all the boys advanced, except the really big mob of lootas , 15 to be exact. The first mob in had a big mech with them and they managed to wipe out a gaurdian squad but the Dark Eldar warriors guarding the objective managed to hold back the tide until one of my Wraithlords managed to make it there. The big mech actually did not die until turn 4 though. He was a tenacious git. The Minions of Papa Nurgle landed with the Great unclean one almost having a little accident. They began the slow advance towards the objective. The beasts, 3 units of plague bearers, the Great Unclean one and the blood thirster all landed in the same corner which was a very scary sight.

The orcs advanced and my Striking Scorpions came in on turn 2 outflanking on the right. This brought them into a huge unit of boys and although they took heavy casualties my unit Scorpions out numbered 3 to 1 came out on top after 2 turns of combat. Eldrad and the Avatar took out the boys brought in by the looted vehicles while The second wraithlord supported the Archon and wyches as they engaged the minions of Nurgle.

The Avatar Fought one turn of combat with Ghazghul Thraka and added him the the tally of hero's brought down by the wailing doom. The Avatar was not so lucky as he engaged the Blood thirster. Despite his wounds he brought the Blood thirster down to a single wound and then fell beneath his mighty axe.

By this point the battle was pretty bloody. The Minions of Papa Nurgle were engaged in a huge melee with the Archon and his retinue, the wyches and the wraithlord who finally succumbed to sheer weight of attacks by the plague bearers poison weapons.

The Orcs were pretty much wiped out with the 2 looted vehicles and truck immobilized and the lootas taking fire from 2 ravagers and two squads of warriors and one raider.

The unit of plague bearers who engaged the warriors guarding our objective finally defeated them. My Dire Avengers cut their number down a bit with a blade storm them moved to hand to hand. Mean while a gimped out raider made a break to contest their objective.

The Archon and his minions along with the wyches defeated 3 units of plague bearers along with the beasts of Nurgle and a Great Unclean one. A melee that lasted 4 turns. Alas my Dire Avengers could not hold out in the end and were routed. Eldrad and the Archon moved in but the Wych Dracite finished off the Bearers on our objective.

So with no Troops to hold it and A raider and some warriors contesting theirs we had a draw. We totaled kill points and again we came to a draw. Since it was 1:30 a.m. We just called it a draw

So this epic game that was a swirling melee of death and destruction was all for naught. I guess that's how it goes.

Old School Terminator will have a video report of this battle up soon on Dark Future Games so check it out when he gets around to it.

Next time we will have part 4 of our series on Aspect warriors. The ladies of death. The Howling Banshees.

Also next week will will have a look at the Chapter House Studios Warlocks and Farseer On jet bikes conversion kits.

Next Sunday I will have the aftermath of the GW Store Tournament 2^nd round as well. OS lots of stuff

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

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