Wednesday, December 8, 2010

UG&G 40K Tournament - Dec 18th, 2010


Unique Gifts and Games
Warhammer 40k Tournament Rules:

~3 Games
~1,250 points per army. Limited Force Organization ( 1 HQ, 2-4 Troops, 0-1 Elites, 0-1 Fast Attack, 0-1 Heavy Support, 0-1 Floater {Troops, Elites, Fast, Heavy})
~Max Number of Players: 12
~Entrance Fee: $5 Dollars
~Prizes: Best Overall, Best General, Best Sportsman

Tournament Rules.
1. You must use the same army for all 3 games.
2. Warhammer 5th edition rules will be in effect.
3. All models do not have to be painted, but paint scores will be factored in to the overall results.
4. Tournaments are for fun and poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated (also see Unique Gifts & Games house rules for sportsmanship).
5. You can only use one force Organization Chart per player.
6. What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) will be in effect. This rule is up to the judges discretion and opponents opinion.
7. No Imperial armor units or lists of any kind.
8. You must bring all the materials needed to play including: dice, Measuring device, templates, models, and any rules that you will be using. BRING YOUR CODEX!!
9. You must bring at least 2 printed copies of your army list. ( If they are hand written I must be able to read them and you must still have 2 copies.)
10. Jungle fighting, cities of death and VDR rules will NOT be used.
11. Each player is given a 1,000 point limit and may not exceed it.
12. This came up at the last tournament but unless specified otherwise, only troops can capture objectives with the exception of army specific rules.

All points are in a 3 layer format.
~Max Points: 63 Points (Max 21/game)
~Battle: 36 (Max 12/game)
~Sportsmanship: 18 (Max 6/game)
~appearance: 9 (Max 3/game)
~Tie-Breakers are as follows: Total Points --- Wins --- Head-to-Head --- Sportsmanship ---Paint --- Judge decision.

~Sign In: 11:00AM.
~Dice Roll at 11:30 AM.
~Games will be 1 hour and 45 minutes in length with a 10 minute break in-between.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Around the Net: GW Announces Orcs & Goblins

Incoming: Orcs & Goblins

Picture taken from GW without permission

For years uncounted, before even the Empire existed, and Men were little more than barbarous and primitive cave-dwellers, the Orcs & Goblins have haunted the mountains and deep forests of the world. Extremely aggressive and savage creatures, Orc & Goblin tribes rarely suffer a peaceful moment in their unending lust for battle and inexplicable urge to pillage and despoil.

Once roused to war by a powerful or charismatic leader, a greenskin Waaagh! on the march can rapidly snowball into a seemingly endless tide of rowdy Orc and Goblin warriors, scuttling creatures and lumbering monsters as neighbouring tribes flock to join the gathering masses, or capitulate in defeat. The haphazard nature by which Orc & Goblin armies are mustered results in a huge variety of unruly mobs of squabbling warriors and a wide selection of creatures both great and small. Such huge diversity ensures that greenskin armies are by far the most unpredictable to face in battle.

March 2011 will see the release of Warhammer: Orcs & Goblins, an essential guide to fielding a greenskin host on the tabletop, and a veritable font of knowledge detailing the complete rules, background, artwork and enormous range of miniatures available to a budding Warboss.

To support this exciting release, we will also be unveiling a genuine feast of new miniatures that would sate even the most ravenous Troll. All will be revealed in time, but keep up to speed on developments by checking out White Dwarf and the What's New Today blog on the website. If you haven't already done so, make sure you sign up to the Games Workshop newsletter to learn of any news as soon as it is released.

With this in mind, if you have ever fancied starting your own legion of greenskins, or are looking to ensure that your tribe is the biggest and nastiest around, remember that the Orcs & Goblins are already blessed with a plethora of multi-part plastic kits. The selection of fantastic sets below are the best way to get your army up and running, safe in the knowledge that they will not be replaced in March. So, gather up some Boyz and grab your favourite choppa because now is the time for WAAAGH!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

November 2010 Painting Points




November was a slow month between business trips, holidays and school work. I only completed one model, but that is still something.

The picture above is not the model, but let me just say that it is related to him. Once I work out some technical issues with uploading new pictures (work computer doesn't allow external drives and my wife's computer is R.I.P.), I will get my site updated with what I have been working on over the past few months.

Points Earned in November 2010: 1 Points
Total Points in 2010: 38 Points
Total Points in 2009: 34 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

How the Grot Stole X-Mas - 40K Tournament (12/18)


In the grim future there is only holiday cheer, but the Green Tide plans chaos and fear; while all the worlds forces gather and muster, a grot plots to steal all the holiday luster! Standard Force Organization Chart at 1000 points. Special missions will be used. Treats will be provided. Breaks between matches will be short (10-15 minutes), so plan accordingly. Muster at 11am, battle starts at Noon. No entry fee and armies do not have to be fully painted. Space for 20 players, so sign up in store today!

Details: http://www.rockheads.com/webpages/general/calendar_news_events.shtml

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Fantasy Thursdays: Alternative Hot Pot


I am wanting to add a Halfling Hot Pot to my Dogs of War army. I dislike the current models from GW, so I am trying to decide on an alternate approach that can flex my converting muscles and help raise my score for future tournaments. With that goal in mind, I have three ideas:

Chaos Dwarves Steam Cannon - A converted steam weapon crewed by chaos dwarves. I am thinking the cannon would use bits from various kits (steam tank, dwarven cannon) and a good helping of plasticard rods.

Goblin Vomit Team - A river troll that has been chained and saddled by some goblin handlers. One goblin would be riding his back, while two are smacking the troll in the belly.

Skaven Death Ray - A crew of heavily cloaked skaven working a warpstone powered deathray. Unlike the vomit team or steam cannon, I am really thinking I would model this one to be stationary, more like a gun emplacement than a mobile piece of artillery.

There is a new poll available to help me decide.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Around the Net: Stormraven

Courtesy of GW and another "cough" accidental web posting.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

October 2010 Painting Points

Happy Halloween!


I had a short window between papers and mid-terms, so I used the time to catch-up on some stuff that I started but never finished.

Points Earned in October 2010: 5 Points
Total Points in 2010: 37 Points
Total Points in 2009: 31 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Special Operations: Killzone

Since becoming aware of this format, I have been pondering what I would like to play if I were to participate in it. I love these kind of small formats because they give me a chance to be creative while not pressuring me to build and paint a large number of models.

When it comes to designing an kill team for the game, I am more interested in a solid theme than actual effectiviness. I just can't get into painting anything if I feel like I am doing it for the math and not the fun of it. With that said, here are some of the ideas I am floating:

Tau/Kroot - I am thinking a small force of kroot with a couple of hounds and a ox. Maybe include a single tau, a water caste conversion, as an advisor to the team. If I have points to spare, I may also include a pair of allied guards (something different, like hrud or such). The challenge with this idea is making it exciting visually.

Tyranids - When I first read the rules, I was reminded of an old image of a Nid warrior bursting thru a wall with some gaunts around it and a genestealer in the foreground. Nids would be a real challenge as there are some outstanding conversions and paint jobs out there, so making something that stands out can be very hard.

Dark Eldar - I love the new models, but have no interest in building a full army. I could see myself sitting down and painting a small kill team, but what would I theme it around. I like the new mandrakes, but 3 metal models is not alot to start with, so I would need to do some heavy conversion work. Incubi are another option, but again, metal models with a limited number of poses means more work. Of the new models, the hellions and reavers have the most potential. I have two color schemes in mind, but not sure about what I can do from a conversion standpoint.

I have added a poll and look forward to feedback or ideas.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Fantasy Thursday: Golgfag's Mercenary Army



I really need to settle on an army for the Cheddar Bowl, even with it over 1/2 a year away, so I have been playing with various lists trying to incorporate what I have finished and what I am interested in painting. In the end, I decided on the theme of Golgfag's Mercenary army because of the Ogre Kingdom fluff and that he was originally a RoR unit for DoW.

Golgfag's Mercenary Army

This is version 1.0. There are still some areas that I may change; mainly whether or not I will go with the second bruiser or do a butcher instead for a little magical support. I may also swap the two cavalry units that are allies for Oglah Khan's Wolfboyz as an ally.

Overall, the army gives me a nice DoW feel while allowing me to include some of the OK units I have worked on.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

August 2010 Painting Points

Points Earned in August 2010: 1 Points
Total Points in 2010: 32 Points
Total Points in 2009: 29 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

New Cities of Death Stratagems for Daemons


GW has posted some new Cities of Death & Planet Strike stratagems.

You can see them here.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Cheddar Bowl IV - Website is Live




Two days of great Warhammer fun in Titletown, WI

March 5th and 6th, 2011

University of Wisconsin, Green Bay Campus

Phoenix Room B

2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI, 54311

Saturday, July 31, 2010

July 2010 Painting Points




Points Earned in June 2010: 1 Points
Total Points in 2010: 31 Points
Total Points in 2009: 29 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Fantasy Thursdays: Preparing for Vanguard - Part Five


With the cancellation of Vanguard and a focus on work and family, I haven't really touched anything gaming related for a few weeks. With that said, I decided this week to pick-up where I left off for Vanguard and continue the process of building my DoW army.


Every DoW army must have a paymaster, so I decided to paint one. When it came to which model to use, I decided to use the Mydas the Mean model instead of a conversion or the new merchant model that was released with 8th edition. I also decided to go with a slightly lighter grey scheme for the armour, giving more of a steel or polished appearance.


Since I have not played a game using 8th edition rules, I can only really speculate as how the paymaster will work. Since he is considered a BSB, and the rules for BSB are very good, I expect him to be an anchor for my army. On the other hand, the new rules for standards, including BSB, makes a paymaster even easier to kill, so he has also become more of a liability.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Weekly Contest Roundup: TfJ's Contest #2


Wanted to bring to everyone's attention a contest that is being hosted by Terrain from Junk blog.




Overview
Build a piece of terrain that could count as a bastion and incorporate pieces of junk that we need example photos for into your entry.
The Prize
The winner of terrain building contest #2 will receive as their prize, one (1) complete imperial bastion!
The Rules
1. You must be a follower of Terrain from Junk (hereafter referred to as TfJ)
2. The deadline for contest submissions is July 31st, 2010.
3. Send all submissions to terrainfromjunk@yahoo.com
4. The piece of terrain must be suitably large to be considered a bastion!
5. You must use a piece of junk listed on TfJ, choose from this list.
6. The final submission must be fully painted and based.
7. You must submit a completed (painted/based) photo with a piece of paper that says "Terrain from Junk".
8. The winner will be determined by poll results and bonus points.
Bonus points available (5);
(0-2) using extra pieces of junk from the above list.
(0-3) providing photos of junk in a similar fashion to what's found in TfJ posts (with miniatures for scale)
9. Voting will be open for seven days.
Sounds like a sweet contest and I encourage all of my readers to participate and vote!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

GW is Now Charging People to Volunteer

While my schedule is packed with work and family related matters, I do have time while sitting in airports to read some of the local forums. One post I read today made me shake my head so hard that I had to write something about it.

Below is the abbreviated post. If you would like to read the full thread, go here.

On Saturday, July 24th, the Chicago Battle Bunker is having a Mini-Gamesday to kinda recreate what was lost but make it better…

Dan, the manager, has asked me if we would be interested in running some sort of an event as a promotional deal for both IWFB and WFB in general. He can give us two tables (8x4) to do something…

The Rundown of What is Needed:
4 people minimum to run tables for the day, or we can split it up into shifts
6 1600 point friendly armies that showcase what each army can do…

Tickets are $20 to get in the door, regardless of whether or not you are running something, but you buy a $20 gift card which is handed right back to you along with a swag bag to buy stuff at their auction of product or to buy stuff in the store. In the end its $20 out of your pocket and into theirs, but if you were planning on buying something anyway its no loss.


So basically, the Chicago Bunker wants to run an event and is asking for folks to volunteer to help run the event. The catch, you have to pay the Bunker $20.00 to volunteer. I am not going to knock any individual that wants to participate in their hobby, but when a company asks for ‘free’ labor, charging them for providing that labor crosses a line in my opinion. Am I wrong for calling this one out?

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

June 2010 Painting Points

Points Earned in June 2010: 2 Points
Total Points in 2010: 30 Points
Total Points in 2009: 24 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

GW Prairie Ridge - June 2010 Calendar of Events


Since this month seems to be about making comments, I must say that I don't get why this store is running a 2000 point WFB tournament when it can barely fit three 6'x 4' tables in it. Also, is anyone actually playing in the Nationals?


Vanguard Cancelled

Hello,

I am very sad to announce that due to scheduling mishaps at the location of the vanguard tournament, the tournament will sadly not be occurring. I have had to cancel the tournament as I have been informed by the store that it is conflicting with another event. The store has to make a profit and the other event is a large money maker so sadly my event has to be canceled. I was offered a reschedule date of July 3rd but I cannot be up there that weekend as I have work.I want you to know I am deeply sorry for this and hope that it has not caused you any inconveniences.

I will be refunding all registration money. I will send all registered participants their money back via-paypal. Once again I am deeply sorry for any inconvenience.If you wish to contact me with any questions or concerns, feel free to do so.

Josh Link
Founder and Webmaster of the NIMGC
WWW.NIMGC.ORG

I am sad to see that all of Josh's work was wasted by the poor management of the store. He had worked very hard to get some great sponsors and prepare for what would have been a fun event and a good way to bid farewell to 7th edition.

As for the store, I have not been to it since it changed owners. I have always been of the opinion that an event should not be cancelled unless there is a true emergency. In this case, it is my opinion that the owner simply saw dollar signs and decided to bump Vanguard for a Magic tournament that would have more players. (Note the same tournament/event that the store is also hosting on the Friday before Vanguard.) More to the point, there were better options that would have worked for everyone involved (such as running the MtG event again on Sunday or hosting the MtG event upstairs and Vanguard downstairs.) I wonder if the store is going to compensate Josh for the free advertising that the store received?

Vanguard Scenarios: Chapter Three


CHAPTER 3: Sever the head

Read the Entire Scenario Before Setting Up!

Battlefield: Terrain is preset. Hills are open ground. All Forests, buildings, and hills are considered large target sized: a large target behind an object may not be targeted except by a unit on high ground.

Game Length: Games will last Six turns or until time is called.

Who goes First: Deployment and who goes first are normal per BRB. Pg. 3.

Special Rules: Your generals know this is the final battle. To fail is to spell the doom of your people. Thus they are putting everything they have left into the fight. All army generals have a 5+ ward save. If the general flees it loses the ward save. The ward save cannot be combined with other ward saves. Also all units within 18” can use the general’s leadership.

Victory Conditions: Standard victory Points per BRB pg. 102
If you concede your opponent gets full battle points

Battle Point Modifiers:

+1 BP Enemy General is killed or Fleeing

+ 1 you have destroyed/fleeing all enemy units

-1 BP Your army general is Dead or Fleeing

Vanguard Scenarios: Chapter Two


Chapter 2: Wizards Keep

Read the Entire Scenario Before Setting Up!

Battlefield: Terrain is preset. Hills are open ground. All Forests, buildings, and hills are considered large target sized: a large target behind an object may not be targeted except by a unit on high ground.

Game Length: Games will last Six turns or until time is called.

Who goes First: Deployment and who goes first are normal per BRB. Pg. 3.

Special Rules: In the center of the board a ruined tower stands. This tower counts as an Arcane Monolith (BRB pg. 100). Also one on foot wizard/caster/magic user can go inside the tower. While this caster is in the tower all their spells can reach an extra 6” and they can see the whole board regardless of cover. The arcane power of the tower Gives them “sight beyond sight”. Dwarf Players since they lack “magic Users” can put an Engineer in the tower and the Engineer gets the 6” bonus added to any ranged weapons he is equipped with and one dwarf war machine can use his BS as long as he holds the tower.

The Tower grants Hard Cover to the caster that is in it.

Victory Conditions: Standard victory Points per BRB pg. 102
If you concede your opponent gets full battle points

Battle Point Modifiers:

+2 BP Your Wizard Controls the Wizards Keep at end of game

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Wednesday Peek

Last Week's Peek...





This Week's Peek...
I am trying something different this week. Below is an image taken from the GW US website this morning. Outside of cropping the image, I have not doctored it in anyway. Can you figure out what is wrong with it?

Monday, May 31, 2010

May 2010 Painting Points

1 Bronzino's Galloper Gun Cannon (1 model)


Dogs of War Crossbowmen (9 models)


Horrors (2 models)
Daemonette (1 model)

Points Earned in May 2010: 13 Points
Total Points in 2010: 28 Points
Total Points in 2009: 23 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Tournament Tuesdays: UG&G Aftermath Part Two


Now that I have had some time to reflect upon the event, my general impression of it is positive. The scenarios were clearly cut & paste jobs of my old scenario sheets that I used for K’Wars and the KGC. This made me giggle and was a good reminder of how past efforts still impact the community today. Moving past the bit of nostalgia, I found the scenarios to be ok, with some strange deployments and special rules. In particular, the second scenario made Ernie’s army way to strong, as he had FNP ‘Ard Boyz and Boyz w/ 4+ cover saves and the ability to charge in the 2 turn with foot slogging orks. The third scenarios special rules also had a huge impact on the game and should have been done differently or limited to only the first turn. My advice here is to avoid using a lot of special rules or trying to be overly creative with deployment zones.

The gaming area of UG&G has a lot of character about it. The numerous posters, flyers and shelves with board games truly give the store an atmosphere of being a ‘home’ for gamers. The problem is that the gaming area is very small and can barely hold 4 4’x4’ tables. 4’x4’ tables are great for combat patrols and other small scale games, but 1500 points per side doesn’t work as well. The small gaming space also means that accidents are more likely, as in the case of two of my bloodletters getting swept to the floor and broken. This can happen anywhere though, so I am not complaining, just pointing out that one needs to be prepared to game in such tight quarters.

When it came to the TO, he was a very nice guy and a pleasure to meet. He was very laid back and casual, the kind of guy who makes an event feel more welcoming to new players. The only suggestion I would make to him is to stick to the posted schedule and not let things run over as much as they did during the event. There were only six teams (11 players plus the judge), so clock management and such should not be a big deal. Again though, the TO was such a nice guy and he seemed a little new to the role, so it wasn’t a big deal.

My last thought is that the scoring system could use a little work. The tournament was clearly geared towards winning games, but an award for painting would be nice. It would also be nice to see the final scores and know where our team placed. Since this is a casual event, I am not ultimately worried how I did, but it is nice to know.

At the end of the day, I had a good time at UG&G and will try to make another tournament in the future. Due to the size of the store, I would suggest it sticks with combat patrols and other small scale tournaments and not try to run full size games in the available space. I would love to go back there for a combat patrol tournament* or kill team tournament, so I hope they heed this advise. In the end, it was a good time and I thank the TO and store owner for running the event and giving me a day out to play.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Fantasy Thursdays: Ogre Maneater W.I.P.

Wanted to show off this conversion since it has me really excited about painting up the unit for my DoW. Before settling on doing some conversions, I debated about whether or not to just buy some of the Araby Maneaters. In the end I decided to do conversions since it would be alot cheaper and also meet the converion requirements for Vanguard.




Vanguard Scenarios: Chapter One



One of the more controversial aspects of Vanguard is the fact that the scenarios for the tournament are posted well in advance. Knowledge of the scenarios beforehand in conjunction with the tournament not having any sort of composition system can be a recipe for disaster. If this was any other event, I may be more concerned, but the NIMGC make a point of advertising their events as casual fun and expecting folks who attend to treat them as such. They also have a solid crew of judges who will work hard to keep the event fun for everyone.

Upon first reading the scenario, I did have a few questions, mostly about the bonus conditions. Now that my questions have been answered, I feel pretty good about it. I like that the ‘Historic Landmark’ rule is being used as it adds a little flavor to the scenario without being an overly burdensome special rule.


Chapter 1: The Old Hill

Battlefield: Terrain is preset. Hills are open ground. All Forests, buildings, and hills are considered large target sized: a large target behind an object may not be targeted except by a unit on high ground.

Game Length: Games will last Six turns or until time is called.
Who goes First: Deployment and who goes first are normal per BRB. Pg. 3.

Special Rules: the Hill in the center of the board counts as a Historic Landmark (BRB pg. 100). The hill should be in center of the board so remember for results measure from center of board and not from edges of hill.

Victory Conditions: Standard Victory Points per BRB pg. 102
If you Concede opponent gets full battle points

Battle Point Modifiers:
+ 1 BP The enemies largest point unit is destroyed or fleeing at end of game.
-1 BP None of your units have charged an opponent unit outside of your deployment zone.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Wednesday Peek

This Week's Peek...


Last Week's Peek...


Last Week's Bonus Peek...


This Week's Peek...


Note: There will be no Wednesday Peek next week due to the Memorial Holiday. Check back on June 9th for the answer to this week's peek.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tournament Tuesdays: UG&G Aftermath - Part One

Last Saturday I participated in a team tournament at Unique Gifts and Games in Grayslake, Illinois. Overall, I had a good time, but do have to admit that I am very rusty when it comes to playing in tournaments.

The first game was against an ork & imperial guard team. The ork player was using the biker special character and a lot of boyz and trucks. The IG player was fielding a leman russ, penal squad, a big squad of ratlings and a platoon. Overall, a decent mix between the WAAC of the ork player and the well rounded force of the IG player.

The tournament was using PST format missions. For this game, the primary mission was to hold the center objective the longest. The secondary mission was killing the opposing team’s highest costing unit. The tertiary mission was standard kill points. The deployment zones for the mission were 24” x 24” triangles starting from opposing corners. Terrain was symmetrical; with each table half have two ruins/cliffs that were ~12” from each table edge. There was also one ruin in the center of the table.

We lost the starting roll, so the opposing team deployed first. Ernie deployed his boyz, ‘ard boyz, and mek on the ground and his lootas on top of the cliff in our d-zone. The opposing team lined up all of their trucks and while the IG platoon and ratlings were positioned on and around their cliff.

When it came time to deploy my daemons, I broke up my primary squad to be the horrors and daemonettes, with my secondary being the bloodletters and flamers. The chaos gods decided to screw with me and I ended up rolling for my secondary squad to come in. This quickly became the theme of the game for me.

To sum up the game, Ernie could only hold up so long with me being unable to get any units on the board. Worse, when units finally became available, or in the case of the flamers on turn one, I ended up rolling really high on the scatter and being forced to roll for a deep strike mishap. In the end, Ernie was torn apart by the combined forces while my stuff got picked off as it arrived. Not a good start to the tournament.


Our second game was against an IG/Tau team. They were designed to sit back and fire a lot of shots. There were also heavily geared to deal with mech armies. When they saw that we had no vehicles in our army, they joked about how their various railguns and lascannons were going to be pretty useless.

The second mission was about getting into the enemy’s deployment zone and killing their commanders. The problem with the mission wasn’t the goals; it was the special rules and deployment zones. Each team got a different deployment zone (see diagram) and since we won the coin toss, we selected the spearhead d-zone. This meant that Ernie could start at the center of the board with his orks. What made matters worse was that each team got to select two universal special rules from the book and apply them to two units on the team. Upon review of the options, we decided to give Ernie’s ‘ard boyz FNP and his regular boyz stealth since they were travelling with a KFF wielding mek.

The winners for me this game were the horrors and flamers. On turn one I deployed my horrors and bloodletters within a few inches of the IG players main line. Of the two units, my opponent was more concerned with the bloodletters and wasted his first turn wiping out the squad. With my horrors mostly unharmed, I had a solid launching point for my other units as they arrived in turn 2 and 3. By the end of turn 3, I had mostly wiped out the IG army and was now chasing a few broadsides. Also at this point, Ernie was making his way across the board to my side to finish what remained.

If there was one thing that I could take from this game, it was the fact we ignored the hammerhead. Before the tournament, Ernie and I discussed in length how we would deal with armour as it was sort of our Achilles heel. The reality in this game though was that the hammerhead simply couldn’t do enough against Ernie, so we just left it and focused on the missions.


The last game was against an Eldar and space marine team. The Eldar army was clearly WAAC, but since it was the judge playing it, I didn’t mind as much. The space marine army was pretty simple, so like the first game, the combination of the two armies made for a balanced mix.

Of the missions played, I feel this was the worse one with regards to the rules. Looking back, I think my dislike for it has to do with how they impacted my army. The special rule for the mission required all deep striking units to scatter, even when in range of an icon or similar. This suddenly meant that 50 points of equipment in my army was useless and that even lucky rolls to hit were meaningless. If it was only the first turn of the game, I don’t think this rule would have been as bad.

When it came to the game, we did decent. The Eldar player was fielding an avatar, two wraithlords, and two guardian squads with conceal and platforms. The space marine player was fielding two 10 man marine squads with missile launchers and melta, a dread, an attack bike, and the Salamanders special character. When it was over, I had a unit of bloodletters on an objective, Ernie had a couple of orks, and the marine player had his one marine squad, character and dread sitting on the other objective.

At the end of the day, Ernie and I were 1-1-1. Not bad considering this was our first tournament of the year. I wish we could find out what our total score was at the end, but nothing has been posted yet. Of the armies being fielded, most had unpainted units and I can proudly say that we were the best looking team on the table. Shame there was no best appearance award!

Tomorrow: Final Thoughts and Feedback

Monday, May 24, 2010

40K Radio: End of the Show

40K Radio has officially announced that they are calling it quits. You can read it all here.

Based on what I saw on the site, it looks like personal matters plus the usual internet trolls are the cause of the show ending. 40K Radio was never one of my favorite podcasts, but I hate to read anyone being threatened over a stupid podcast. Bottomline, the community will miss the show and it is a shame that it had to end the way it did.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Rival List for 05/22/2010

10. Bay Hammer
A couple eldar titans.

9. Santa Cruz Warhammer
Tauros Venator - Nice finished model and a very cool group shot.

8. Enter the Nurgling
A am really digging this conversion, especially since I don't see alot of green stuff work on it. Nice use of bitz...

7. Craftworld Lansing
Its a battle report. Its feedback on round one of 'Ard Boyz. It was a good read from a new blog.

6. Blackjack & Hookers
A decent breakdown of the Space Wolf HQ choices.

5. Blood & Blades
A pretty good Brettonian general on a hippogrif. I like the use of yellow and the skin tone of the mount.

4. The Winds of Magic
A bunch of short guys that like to drink. They must be from Wisconsin.

3. Gurer - The Blog
I still remember a time when orcs were pig headed humanoids and goblins were just lame (I preferred Kobolds). These models bring me back to those days. I am also really digging the skin tones on these models and think they would be a good choice for my fiends of slaanesh. Not GW models, but still excellent work.

2. The Lair of the Breviks
The blue on this model makes me drool. So does krispy kremes and red heads, but that is different. The LotB is just one of those sites that consistently produces some great stuff.

1. Realm of Lead Addiction
Since the post is this week, I decided to include it in the list even though the models were completed earlier in the year. Fantastic looking dwarves!

Honorable Mention

Little Green Monsters
Some amazing green stuff work.

Note: There will no Rival List next week due to the holiday. The Rival List will be back in two weeks!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Preparing for UG&G Team Tournament - Part Three

"Get out on the floor
Do things to make 'em adore you
Show 'em why you were born
And put a little mustard on it

Don't tell me what time it is now
I know what time it is now
It's show time!
Show time!"
(It's Showtime, Electric Six, 2007)


We are less than 24 hours from the UG&G Team Tournament. At this point, I am doing some last minute touch-ups on models and a display base. I am also trying to get a good nights sleep so I can fully enjoy a day of gaming.

Photo from a recent battle with Warlord Ernie's Orks

Nar-Duruk-Mek's Warband (aka Ernie's Orks)
Big Mek w/ KFF & Cybork Body (95 pts)
25 Boyz w/ Nob (185 pts)
27 Ard Boyz w/ Nob (305 pts)
10 Lootas (150 pts)

60+ orks means that we have two very solid troop choices for holding objectives. These two units are even better with a KFF providing each unit with a decent cover save. I wish I had time to paint up a Soul Grinder as I would love for it to be parked with that KFF.

Looking at the overall combination of units between our two armies, the first thing folks will notice is that we have no fast attack or heavy support choices. 63% of our combined points are spent on troops, while less than 20% is used on HQ models. This should go a long way towards helping us get higher than average sportsmanship scores. I say this because most people tend to score down armies that have the "hard" stuff.

The next thing I notice is that we have stuff to deal with pretty much all types of armies. I have units that can deal with elite units, while Ernie has the stuff for hordes. At the same time, neither of our lists is pigeon holed into one "style" as I can manage hordes and Ernie can crack elites, we each just do it differently. This means that unless we face an optimized team that is a one trick pony, we should have a fair chance at winning each game.

Next Tuesday: Aftermath!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

8th Edition: Already Having an Impact



Wanted to do a brief follow-up from Monday’s post about 8th edition and how it will impact the size of games. Since that post, I have been checking out tournaments that are set within a few months of the new edition. Upon review, I believe some of my concerns about how the community embraces the new rules may be coming to fruition.

As an example, the Blood in the Sand* WHFB tournament in September is considering whether or not to raise the army sizes to 2500 points. Not a huge increase, but it does have an instant impact, so I thought it would be a good example for this discussion.

The first impact any point increase is going to have is to require players to field more core models. In this example, players will be required to field an additional 62.5 points. Depending on the army, this could mean adding one or two models (OK), or it could mean adding 10+ models (skaven, goblins). Depending on your preferred army, this may not comes as a shock, or burden, but it is something to consider.

The next impact is that players are allowed an addition 62.5 points in heroes and rare choices. Like with the core requirements, the leap in points is not a lot, but it still allows for players to slip in one more magic item or low cost rare. While I doubt this change will have a huge impact, it is something to consider before making the change.

The reason I would ask fellow TOs to refrain from raising the army sizes of their events is quite simple, we don’t know everything yet. There is not a lot of risk in playing at 2250 points or less using the new composition rules because they limit the units most people would identify as the source of the current editions problems. Any major increase in points in will reopen the door to those units and combinations; it may also create the potential for new combinations not possible under the old system.



The other reason we should refrain from making any sweeping changes to the format of our events is the potential impact on our target audience. The Nova Open is in the difficult position of being held approximately five weeks after the release of 8th edition. During one of the recent posts about the event, the author implied that registration for WHFB was lagging. As I commented on the blog, I am sure there is a correlation between the date of the event and the launch of the new edition.

In the case of the Nova Open, they are taking some excellent steps to alleviate concerns caused by the new edition. If I understand correctly, folks registered before its release can get a refund if they will be unable to attend due to the new rules impacting their army. It also sounds like appearance scores/requirements/restrictions will be loosened up to accommodate folks needing to make last minute changes. In general, I think folks are going to have reservations about attending any ‘big’ events until the new rules are shaken out, but it is good to see one event taking steps to make the transition less painful.

Let me conclude by saying that I am still 100% backing the launch of a new edition. The potential is simply too high for me to be anything but optimistic about it. I am glad that events are moving quickly to embrace the new edition, but I would advise them to be cautious of making any radical changes to the general format of events as they run under 7th edition. Until the community has had enough time to fully digest the new edition, I think it is best to embrace the new rules as they are and work later on making them uniquely ours.

*I am considering whether or not I can attend this event, so I am not implying this event is a bad one for raising the army sizes, just an example of the reaction I anticipated happening based on the new requirements.

Fantasy Thursdays: Preparing for Vanguard - Part Four


Since deciding on Dogs of War for Vanguard, I have worked with the intention of building a gunline style army. My finished unit of DoW crossbowmen is the first actual regiment that actually fits my intentions. Before working on them I debated between doing them or Braganza’s Beseigers. In the end, I chose the generic unit because I had a complete kit and couldn’t settle on a color scheme for the RoR.


Before discussing how I painted them, I have to go on record and state that upon completion of the regiment, I have really come to hate the Empire crossbowmen kit. I think what bothers me about it is some of the bizarre design decisions that were made with the models. One example would be the models that have bones tied to them. I understand that WFB is a gritty and dark place, but the bones were out of place and sculpted such that removing them would be a chore. Another thing I dislike about the kit is the general goofy appearance of empire troops. The medieval jumpsuits are not my thing and I would have preferred a different style.


When it came to painting this unit, I decided to paint it to align with Vespero’s regiment. I knew going in that this unit would be a bit more colorful because of the feathers and ribbons, but I still wanted the general look to fit with my other core unit. The challenge painting the unit came from having to make decisions on how to paint certain things that were not on other models finished for the army. The crossbows are one example of this challenge. It took me a bit of time to determine a color scheme that I liked and was average to recreate. Overall, I think the regiment turned out fine, but I could have done better.


When it comes to the battlefield, this unit’s role is pretty obvious. My strategies are never complex, so I plan on setting them up to take advantage of their 30” range and just prioritize targets. I expect them to panic easily, even with the paymaster near, so I will need to have other units nearby to protect them from the approaching enemy.

In Three Weeks: Bronzino's Galloper Guns

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Wednesday Peek

Last Week's Peek...


This Week's Peek...


Bonus Peek...