The 9th Foundation of Vengeance: Pain

Pain is a constant. Pain is a fact of life. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Pain is a central theme to the Dark Eldar. In fact the main mechanic to the army is the “Power From Pain” special rule. The quest to gain pain tokens and their proper distribution is essential to the function of the army. Not only does it increase the survivability of your units, but it also increases the killing power. So I give you the 9^th Foundation of Vengeance. Pain.

Feel No Pain, Furious Charge and Fearless are the stages of pain. Getting the pain tokens can prove to be difficult. You have to kill a non vehicle unit to gain one. This means actually killing the unit. Retreating units don't count and every last model in the unit must be dead. This can prove rather difficult to do quickly and speed is the key.

If you get lucky and roll a 6 for your combat drug units you will start the game with tokens. Haemonculi, Wracks and Grotesques also start the game with a token. You can of course combine these to start the game with a couple tokens for a fearsome unit. The real catch though is getting the units without access to combat drugs tokens quickly. Lets face it your HQ's can't be everywhere at once to play the token game, that is taking tokens with them when they leave a unit to give them to another unit.

For Token Generation in the Webway list I was using a Chronos Parasite Engine. When deployed by webway you are generally close enough to the enemy to start getting some kills and thus generating tokens. Never give the first token to the Chronos. With a toughness of 7 your opponent will be using hi strength, low AP weapons to shoot it so the FNP does not do you any good. Concentrate fire on soft targets. The whole purpose of the Chronos in the list is to generate tokens. So arm it as such.

The infliction of pain upon your opponent is key. The lesson of pain is not just about pain token generation. Any army can learn from the lesson pain. The real key is hitting soft targets and exposed targets. For a dark Eldar army this is ideal as it means quick and easy pain token generation. You thin out the heard so you can concentrate resources to take out the hard targets. If you deploy and move your army so you pick off the soft targets first and ignore the hard targets you really give yourself an advantage. Not only in numbers but the ability to press your opponent. With the exception of ranged heavy weapons, killer hard units are useless if the enemy can't get them in position to use them. Even the heavy weapons, like artillery and heavy weapons squads, are soft targets to me as they can only really do any damage at range. Your opponent does not want them to be attacked obviously so they will be surrounded or set up in a fortified position. This is where your deployment strategy comes into play. If faced with heavy weapons set up in a fortified position in the corner the obvious choice for deployment options is to outflank or deep strike units with the ability to do so. Get them in close enough to take out the threat. You must also set up in such a way your opponent deploys his dead ard units to try and take out your big guns. That Archon with a unit of Incubi, the Seer Council lead by Eldrad. Pain is an essential foundation, as you cannot really inflict the maximum amount without knowing the other, at least a few anyway, Foundations of Vengeance.

Use what you have learned to strike at the weak soft targets so that your units are stronger and able to deal with the larger harder targets. You then overwhelm the enemy with the fury of your assault.

So there you have it The 9^th Foundation of Vengeance: Pain. Next time I will be talking about a unit from the Eldar codex near and dear to me. A much underused and unappreciated unit. The Storm Guardian.

I may also have an update on the humble beginnings of my Waaaagh!

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

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

No Smpathy For the Devil: Wayland Games Rejects Finecast

So I was cruising around the web going to some of the different war games blogs and Online retailers checking out their wares and reviews.  I came across UK based Wayland Games.  They are a big online retailer that sells a lot of 40K stuff.  They had this to say about the new Finecast line

It is with regret that in the next 10 days all presently outstanding purchases of Citadel Finecast items will be refunded.  Unfortunately, a randomly sampled assessment has revealed what we feel to be an excessive level of actual and potential flaws that, if reflected across our entire stock of Finecast, could result in unacceptable inconvenience to our customers.  We have reached this decision as soon as was practicably possible but extend our apologies to all customers who are affected.   Although we will be returning our present stockholding to the manufacturer, please be assured that we remain committed to carrying the Finecast line and will be restocking in due course. Additional information is available from our website here

I know I have had some issues with the quality of Forgeworld models in the past.  Granted the company has taken care of the issues, but with such high production and GW limiting the amount you can buy, presumably because of production problems, what are they going to do about the apparent quality issue with this first run.

GW is charging a premium for the new models and they are no different than the metal ones, with the exception of some formerly unknown details on the models coming thru due to resin not shrinking like metal in the molds.  Some of the models are reaching Forgeworld prices.  The Avatar of Khaine jumpes form $20.00 U.S Dollars to $38.  

I applaud Wayland Games for basically sticking it to GW.  The new Brass obviously don't care for their customers.  The utter contempt they show  to the loyal fans of their games is insulting.

GW get a clue and get your heads out of your collective Bum.

Ok rant over.  I have assembled the orks I aquired from the bits trading, although I ended up wth 3 sides to some death koptas and no other half or blades.  I have 36 slugga boyz and a Warboss to start my Waaagh.  I look farward to getting some more and getting these guys painted.  

Next time I will have the 9th Foundation Of Vengeance.  Also I have been very lax in my coverage of my beloved Craftworlders.  So I will be talking about  a very seldom used unit.  The Storm Guardian.

Until then....

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

Bits For The Bits God! Also Let The Waaaagh Begin!

So I did not want to jump on the 6^th edition rumor band wagon. SO I won't. I will believe the rumors when I have the rule book in my hand. Granted Blood Of Kittens is fairly accurate with their rumors, but honestly me commenting on them is kind of beating a dead horse.

So I just wanted to remind everybody we will be doing some bits trading at Evolution Games in Lansing. Old School Terminator has the bits bug and I have to say it has bitten me too. I have been working on models and seem to be finding my way out of my hobby funk. I am very excited as I hope to trade Old School for some Orks tomorrow. IN honor of my new adopted army I am going to try ans start some discussion on Orks.

I want to do a themed army and I have it kind of narrowed down to a couple different things. I have been contemplating Bad Moons and Death Skulz. I Like the bright loud yellow colors predominant in a Bad Moon Army. I like the idea of blue and green though as well. I also really like the whole Death Skull habit of looting everything. This opens up a lot of possibilities for looted vehicles and big guns.

I am hopefully going to pick up the main core of Boyz tomorrow and I plan on painting a couple to see how I like the different color schemes. I am also leaning towards the Death Skullz because I am a fan of Meks. I like the whole concept of orky technology and the Meks just kind of hap haphazardly throwing stuff together.

So I am planing on running a Big Mek and Warboss as my HQ's. I plan on running boyz of course as the bulk of my army. I want Burna Boyz as well, but I am not sure what else to run. Since this is a fun army I want to keep in theme, but use units that are not seen that often. Something off the wall really. I like the idea of the Tank Bustas and bomb squigs. I was also kinda shocked to learn that Deff Coptas have a bomb attack they can do. I have never seen ork players use them like that.

I have a lot of reading to do so as I progress with them army cut this git a little slack all you veteran Warbosses.

SO I hope to see you guys at the bits trading. I should be there pretty early after I say hi to some people and get some stuff done. I will be parting with some of my Eldar as I just do not use the models and I don't see myself needing them in the future. I will be giving up some Chapter House Warlocks complete with jet bikes. I also have a falcon and Pathfinders to sell off. I have a complete Harlequin troop as well. I never run them so I might as well part with them.

I hope to have a fun battle report vs one of the Dark Future Game guys tomorrow as I have not gotten a one on one game with OST of CVinton in a while. Also look for the 9^th Foundation Of Vengeance this weekend. The Stormlord suggests I speak about a topic near and dear to a Dark Eldar's dark heart. Pain.

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

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

Putting The Fun Back Into War

It seems to me the whole 40K hobby is very different than it was 10 years ago. Its kind of cool I can make a statement like that about a war game. Game companies and games come and go, but there are a few, 40K one of them, that endure. I think the big thing is community and support. GW has always supported their games fairly well, with the exception of the era of the specialist games when they kinda just forgot about them.

The hobby has changed because the community has really evolved. I never really thought about it until a conversation with OST last week. That and one of our regular players from the shop decided he was going to get out of the hobby. The main reason was of how competitive things were, even in just friendly games.

OST also brought up the same thing. The competitive nature of play that is. Playing like its a tournament all the time really burns you out as a player. I think the community has gotten so intense with all the blogs, forums and big tournaments and conventions, the casual player is getting left in the dust. When you are at your FLGS to play a friendly game and everybody is “training” for a tournament, its like walking into the Cobra Kai Dojo looking for a Yoga class.

I have been feeling the same way as OST. The competitive nature of play is burning me out and taking some of the fun out of it for me. I use to play off the wall lists and play army lists just for the hell of it. Not to see how they work or how I can min max them, but just to have a good fun game. I am in a hobby rut. I play only half heatedly and I have not painted anything in almost 3 months. I am kind of glad I am at home this week due to being broke just to take a break and gain some perspective. SO I am going to have fun and try some new stuff.

This leads me to my next point. I am starting a new army to break up the all “Eldar all the time” mantra. I am going to start playing Orks. While I build my webway Dark Eldar and continue the Craftworlders I am going to be building an ork army for fun. I have yet to see an ork player get frustrated or not have fun even when getting beat. The orky style of play really speaks to my more basic gamer instincts. Hit , hit it again and if it still movin hit it again for good measure.

I really plan on doing some nice modeling and conversion work on DA boyz. I really want the army to have character and show my personality. I may even bring DA boyz to Adepticon next year for grins. I know OST and I have joked about it, but expect to see some conversions that may enable me to use the orks counting as Eldar. Its a challenge to my modeling skills and should prove to be fun as hell so

Ere'we go, ere'we go, ere'we go lads

I would really like a return to the FLGS doing more than just tournaments. Painting competitions, conversion contests and the like. I want to foster the hobby as a whole. There is nothing like 2 painted armies on the table. I want the FLGS to be an environment that is friendly to new players again. Someplace the casual player can come in and get a friendly fun game. The competitive side will still be there, but as veteran players we need to set a good example and make the new players feel welcome. We need to help the new guys out. Teach people how to paint and the modeling techniques that will allow them to convert models to their taste. Basically if you want your FLGS to have a good strong community for a long time you need to foster it. Give a man a fish..... Check out Dark Future Games for OST's thoughts on the subject later today.

Until next time.

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

.WAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't Fear the Reaper

A grand little present came in the e-mail this morning. Forge World has done a great job with this sleek looking kit. The Reaper can be seen at forge world's site here.

It's rules do seem to favor anti-tank, but without a higher rate of fire. This skimmer is limited to a pinning blast.

This bad boy really shines Against armor values. Capable of glancing a tank to death with just one volley.

I would love to see one of these fielded soon.


I wanted to share my fantastic find from my email.

The 8th Foundation Of Vengeance: Knowledge

Knowledge is power. Knowing the who, what, when, why and where of a situation gives you control of the situation and the ability to make informed decisions. In war gathering intelligence about the dispositions of the enemy force is essential to planning a strategy that provides victory with a minimal loss of soldiers and resources. Sun Tzu teaches us that “if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself”.

Knowledge about your opponent is just as important as knowledge of the game and your own army. You must know your own force and all the rules and errata associated it. It also makes sense to read other codex’s and learn about your opponents. Knowing the rules of another codex better than the person playing the army gives you a distinct tactical advantage as you know how the unit works and possible uses and scenarios involving said unit. This allows you to build a strategy to counter and eliminate the unit with a minimal expenditure of resources.

I have been taking this to heart as of late as I look for another Xenos army to start as a side project. I have been reading up on Orks and Tyranids. I also have been reading through the new Grey Knight codex and FAQ in order to better understand my prey. Grey Knights are proving to be a thorn in my side for the usual tactics with the Craftworlders. Once I complete my research I will be going over some strategies, which I will try out first, on the most optimal way of killing these uber marines.

I am studying the army as a whole and how it pertains to the primary list I am using. Since my webway list is a heavy hand to hand list I have to take a hard look at the Grey Knight units I may run into. The most popular is purifiers. They seem to have a lock on combat, even in small numbers. The most obvious thing that pops out to me is to pour fire into them and jut use weight of fire to wipe them out. This can work, but the key is not getting engaged in combat. So my mind starts laying down scenarios and possible outcomes based on different situations. There are a lot of permutations to deal with, but you kinda have to have that mindset in order to plan and be ready for things. Knowledge is nothing if you don't know how to use it.

I think the biggest thing though is know your own codex and know the rules. Remember to know thy enemy is to know thyself. Understand and know your codex inside and out. Know the FAQ rulings and different interpretations. Be prepared to defend yourself on the battle field and in the realm of rules problems. You can read a codex over and over and still find things you did not know where there and after more and more games see uses for units that you had not thought of before. SO study young Seers. Knowledge is power.

So there you have it the 8^th Foundation of Vengeance. Study well. In other news There will be a big Bits Trading Day at Evolution games on Wednesday June 22^nd. Old School Terminator has declared a bits day as we have not had one one since before Adepticon. SO I hope to see you there. I will have Eldar bits to trade and sell. I will be looking for Orks.

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

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

Craftworld Lansing is Expanding.

Well if you had not noticed 2 more writers have joined the Craftworld.  Seven and The Stormlord are locals players at Evolution games who play Xenos armies exclusively.  The Stormlord and I have been friends since 5th grade in fact.  I tried to get him into 40K back in 2nd edition and although he did collect some Tyranids it did not stick. 

Given the expansion I have decided to play host to all things Xenos rather than just all things Eldar.  The Eldar will remain at the forefront for myself, and probably seven as well, but you will see much expanded coverage of Necrons and more Xenos action in the future.  In fact I have been contemplating a new army.

I love my Eldar, but I have been in such a competitive streak with them it is wearing me down.  I want something fun for playing at the shop.  A nice on the side slow build and something to break the painting rut I am in.

I want to stay Xenos though so I have narrowed the field between two armies.  Both fond of hordes in fact.  Orks and Tyranids.  I really like the look and feel of both armies.  Fun factor goes way in favor of the Orks, but there is the allure of a faceless and emotionless killing machine.

So I thought I would leave it up to the readers.  What should I play?


Leave a comment and cast your vote. Orks or Tyranids?




Next time we go into the next Foundation of Vengeance, Knowledge



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

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