Last shot with the DA for this League...

Looking like I have one game tonight and another makeup game for the Tournament that I had do leave early from to determine 3rd place...

So, tonight I intend to bring something completely different and probably silly.  List follows:

Belial
Deathwing Squad (10, 4 TH/SS, CML, Flamer)
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 5 TH/SS)
Nephilim Fighter
Mortis DN (TLACx2)
Mortis DN (TLAC x2)
Ravenwing (Melta, Attack Bike w/MM)
Ravenwing Speeder (TML, MM)

So, 2 DN and the Bikes are on the field to start, probably Reserve for the Speeder, and DW Assault the Terminators.  Fighter does the Fighter thing, and hopefully with the Mortis DNs keeps the fliers off my back. Guessing it is overkill, but I am caring less :-)  Might go to a TL Las Cannon on one of the DNs though...  Might be amusing.

On the hobby front, rebuilding the wrecked "Stormraven" I traded for a while back...  Getting some color on it and have it mostly rebuilt.  Just need to either attach the wings or figure out a way to magnetize them...  Getting some more of the Vallejo "Brown Violet" onto my ancient IG vehicles to make them consistent for my Praetorians.  Haven't painted many more of the lads, but I DID pick up some of the "Stormtroopers" for the army...  Looking forward to assembling some of them I think.

Honestly, I am a bit concerned that the IG are still overpowered.  Have seen the entries for the few rules contained in the "DftS" book, and they did not really change the IG at all, nor did they touch the Necrons other than to "remove" Deep Strike from both...  "Eh", honestly not sure I've ever seen a flier Deep Strike, there is simply no need if they can just cruise onto the field up to 36" without risk and get wherever they need to go...  Still thinking that the whole Flier thing is broken at the moment, and Allies are another major source of problems for the game...  But, we'll see how things work out in the longer run...

Assembling more fliers...

So, decided to actually get to assembling some fliers I gathered over the last few months...  A buddy sent me one of these:

 So, guessing that will be my stand-in DA flier or Storm Talon if I run my Crimson Fists...  I'll see how close to the actual model next week, but it is looking darn close, or at least close enough for me :-)...

I also have a Valkyrie that someone converted to be a Storm Raven of sorts...  Of course, it is in pieces and poorly base coated, but my Fleshtearers will do well with a Raven I think....  Yes, 200 points, but I think it would take down enemy fliers easily enough.  Just a but curious if my BA version is the "new" one in the DftS book or the codex one...  So far the FAQ seems to indicate that not much changes, just lose Deep Strike and the combat drops are a bit odd...  Not something I'd plan on doing in any case, so not issue :-)

Speaking of which I am thinking that I will be finishing up my Fleshtearers as my next project.  I miss the Jump Troops, and the DA are Battle Brothers, so I could bring Belial, a Deathwing Squad and a Mortis DN to the party...  Brings to mind the "They Live" line of "We're here to kick ass and chew bubble gum...  And we're all out of gum..."  I think that would be amusing...

Eldar, thoughts on an elliptical...

So, as part of my "get my ass back into shape" routine I was spending some time on the elliptical in the basement...  I've always been one who can think a LOT better on the move...  Helped me a LOT when I was off playing Army :-)...

Anyway, I got to thinking...  What would make the Eldar Codex instantly competitive and probably overpowered?  How about doing the same thing they did with the Necrons?  Just declare their Fast Skimmers to be Fliers.  Then, wait a few hours and listen for the distinctive sound of heads exploding all over the Internet :-)...  Yeah, wouldn't work I'm guessing, but would sure be amusing watching the worst codex leap to the top of the heap.

On the other hand let's see what exactly it would do:

Give the Army up to 6 flying transports...  Just like the Necrons.
Give the Army up to 3 Heavy Support flying tanks...  Hmmm, sounds familiar...
AV 12 Fliers?  Check, see them all over the place these days...


So, really what would they do that the IG and Necrons do not already do?  So, other than keeping the power spiral moving up, not a lot different than what already is hitting the table...  Would be a cheap (for GW) and provide a bit of variety to the game...  So, yeah, probably too bored with 40K at the moment...  It just has the feel of a "Beta" product to me, having play tested a number of other systems and done that "programming" thing in the old days...  'course, just my opinion as als=ways, I could be wrong...

Is it Second Edition again?

Ok, a bit of a rant :-)

A group of us were talking about Second Edition 40K during/before the Tournament today...  And I have to wonder if we are not heading there or already there.  Now, back in 2nd Edition just before it died, you had things like Ravenwing Speeders that literally could not be hit by a lot of armies, needed a 7+ to hit with modifiers, tough to do on a d6...  And then the Eldar could do the bad "nose touching" thing putting their Jet Bikes in BtB with their chosen target for a drive by HtH attack and shooting attack...  And this seems to be exactly where we are with the Chaos Heldrake...  It is a fly by attack that cannot miss, just hits for d3+1 Str 7 Ap 3 hits then flamer template at Str 6, AP 3 again.  So, no chance to fail and pretty much will be killing off bunches of 3+ or worse saves...  Right now, there are simply not enough defenses against fliers like this.  In and of itself it will not be the thing that breaks the game, but it is moving closer.  We have a Flier supplement that came out Saturday apparently, but not seeing it as it is "Direct Only" and only available through GW...  Not something I could have pre-ordered at the local store.  Maybe they will change some of the rules, point costs and or armor values/stats, but I doubt it given the history of the Company...

Second point is Allies...  On the surface, it's "neat", but not a big deal.  In practice though, it becomes an "All Stars Team" and a way to add extra slots...  So, 3 HQ, 4 Heavy/Elite/FA, etc...  And the interaction of a lot of the armies is odd at best, but being able to make giant blobs fearless, add fliers/Artillery/whatever...  I hate to say it, but playing a "mono" army does put one at a disadvantage given that there are no real costs to field Allies...  Especially if they are "close enough" Allies and can mix and match at will...  I hate to feel like a fool for playing a "by the book"army, but I am fairly sure that my Wolves are completely useless in the current environment.  Without going to FW stuff in the Mortis DN, etc., even the new DA codex is simply not all that capable of handling a top tier list.  I guess it is something to think about.  I'm not thrilled that I think that the IG allies are necessary to actually have a chance of winning, but...

1850 Tournament Sunday...

So, looking like I'll be making the trek over to Decatur for the League Tournament...  After finding out that my Mortis class DN is "40K Approved" and gained Skyfire and Interceptor if it stands still...  So 125 points for a pretty darn good AA vehicle that also doubles as a decent defense against things appearing from Reserves like say, Rambo...  4 Str 7 AP 4 shots can usually deal with him and put a decent hurting on Storm-troopers dropping in...  Not so great against Marine class armor, but can't have it all I guess :-)...

So, one of the bigger decisions I need to make is Belial or Azrael for the leader...  With Belial I play my hyper aggressive Deathwing Assault and drop in usually Turn 1 and KNOW I will hit exactly where I want, split fire if I can, but put a Troop that is darn resilient and impossible to break deep inside the enemy DZ.  Not a lot of disadvantages there, mostly just little things like a mostly useless Warlord Trait, NOT giving the high LD to the army, and only making Deathwing Troops...  Azrael gets to choose his Warlord trait, makes pretty much my whole army Scoring, LD 10, and...  Well, down side I am relying on Teleport homers to drop the Deathwing in and on target...  OTOH, I have 5-6 Scoring units if I go with 3 min squads of Deathwing...  So, kind of leaning toward Azrael for the leadership...

Keeping the Banner, Techmarine and Land Raider Crusader...  That combo is insane, and accounts for the "Horde Removal" portion of the list....  And it makes the flanking (flanking/escorting the LRC, NOT Flanking as in the entry mechanism) Ravenwing Bikes REALLY powerful shooting platforms as well.

So:
Azrael
Command Squad w/Banner of Devastation, Company Champion
Deathwing Squad (10, 4 TH/SS, CML, Flamer)
Deathwing Squad (5, 2 TH/SS, Flamer or Plasma)
Tactical Squad (5, ML w/ flak)
Mortis DN (2 x TLAC)
Ravenwing Squadron (3, Melta, Attack Bike w/MM)
Techmarine (Servo Arms, Power Field)
Land Raider Crusader (MM)


So, the army is my typical "Not Subtle" force...  Big, Heavy Tank, flanked by the bikes and the Terminators Deep Striking in around the assault element...  Just drive right at one of the enemy flanks or onto an objective and take it.  Hold until time runs out or the Enemy runs out of bodies to throw at us...  Doubt I'll win the Tournament again, but this force I think will be a contender...

Forgeworld saving the game?

Ok, feeling a bit like an idiot...  I've been playing the Consecrators, a Dark Angels force for a while now, and it was just pointed out to me that Forgeworld updated their stuff for 6th Edition and added a few rules to the "Mortis" class DN.  So, it is limited to DA and successors, but it is MUCH cheaper and it gains the same "Mortis" rule as the Contemptor class DN, if it stands still in the movement phase it gains Interceptor and Skyfire.  So, now only 125 points for the 2 x TL Auto Cannon DN, AND it can do Interceptor/Skyfire/AAA duty?  So...  Where's the down side again?  I was trying to scrimp and save enough points wise to keep using the Hyperion missile emplacements, but this is WAY better...  And as it happens I have "a few" DN hulls around, some of them even magnetized and painted up in my DA colors...  Might even be worth it for me to run the TL Lascannon one :-)  Just to be able to regularly throw 2 LC shots into fliers hitting the table...

Have to say, I was dreading using my Tactical Marines in any real way, but this information does make my a LOT more comfortable bringing the lads out to play, even with limited Flak missile use.  Though, as my ancient "Beakies" are almost all armed with the original weapons of Missile Launcher and Flamer...  I am a BIT limited there for the moment until I break out more of the lads from their deep storage, but still, Azrael leading out a few Tac Squads, DW Squads and RW Squadrons for an all scoring army seems like it will work with DA DN's able to provide AAA support easily enough...  Hmmmm...  I may have a "slight change" for my regular 1850 list...  And with the datafiles for the old 2nd ed Armybuilder program being updated (http://ab240k.freeforums.org/, it is MUCH easier :-)...

Sad to me that it looks so much like an afterthought from Forgeworld that will make the DA codex actually quite playable against the overload of flier silliness that seems to be hitting the tables...  Further convinces me that GW does not seem to play the same game we do, or at least not in anything resembling the same manner we play at least...  So much like the old "Planet Storm" game days where our local group would use the "K2 Shaw" (think an Artillery version of the Cyclone Missile armed Terminator), and make comments like "What to do once the Artillery ammunition is depleted?"  The groups playing in LA and Canada were speachless as they bitterly complained how useless the unit was, and how they'd never get more than a single shot off...  Turns out we played on a 4'x8' or 5'x10' table, they usually played on a 4'x4' table...  And by turn 2, you were at pistol/SMG range making board ranging Artillery and sniper rifles "less useful"...  Have to wonder if there is something like that going on, or if it just that they really do not play at all and so don't see the same issues and problems that we as players do...

Next week and beyond...

So, next week we play that Crusade of Fire game with multiple steps...  750 points and I have to keep a legal army...  So, either I keep playing my Deathwing and field an 11 man army or...  Well I guess I could field a Librarian, 2 Tactical Squads and "other"...  But not sure I can move fast enough, nor am I confident I could survive long enough to even get to the center of the table.  If we go by the rules in the book, I field Belial and simply teleport to the entrance and then enter the bunker on turn one...  Needing the second "Troop", I will likely only be able to field 2 min size Deathwing squads, some weapon upgrades and...  Maybe a Terminator Librarian?  Or just a really tooled out couple of squads...  Then the lads will have to survive the tunnel fight.  Only thing I really dread is that the scenario was clearly NOT written with a lot of armies in mind...  Thinking of the ones that can create more "Troops" or that can simply keep bringing the ones they have back from the dead ("Send in the next wave" for the IG).  I don't think it will be as much a problem with the only objective hopefully NOT being anywhere really near the entrances...  It was REALLY a disappointing end to the last multi player game with 2 of the 3 teams having the ability to simply appear right on top of the damn objectives on the last turn...   Really felt like we played out the whole game for nothing...  Hoping this one is different...

Kind of brings me to where I am with the game itself.  Maybe we have been playing the Forgeworld stuff for long enough that we have a bit more available to us WRT Fliers and defense against them...  The Hyperion missile turrets are cheap and REALLY powerful...  Not as powerful I think as the Fliers themselves are, or at least the Fliers we see on the table...  Vendettas, Heldrakes,Necrons the occasional Storm Raven and...  Yeah, that's pretty much it.  The ones that have come out in the 6th Ed other than the Heldrake are pretty expensive and weak overall...  So, probably what was intended and well balanced.  Problem is that the ones that are coming up from the 5th edition are simply too powerful and cheap in comparison.   Maybe they'll update this all in the upcoming "Flier Compendium" coming up next week, but being the cynic I am, I suspect it will simply be reprinted rules and nothing at all new..  No points adjustments, as GW is loathe to make changes on the fly, even to save their own cash cow game...  To a point I can see that as some games I have played in the past had the feel of perpetual "beta" as the developers kept making changes on the fly, FAQs became the rulebook, and that probably killed the system...  But I think that not making changes and NOT admitting that there might be a problem will kill this game.

I have to wonder if the developers and play testers are playing the same game we are really...  I know in typical English fashion, GW holds "competitive play"  in a great deal of disdain...  (yes, I'm mostly Scottish... Some English, Irish, etc., but mostly Highlander :-) )...  A lot of things do not really make sense...  Assault Cannons being the one that sticks out to me at the moment assembling Deathwing...  At one time, it WAS the single most powerful weapon in the game.  3 follow fire dice, Str 8, -5 save modifier and d12 wounds per hit?  Not as bad as the original rules where it was just a "keep rolling until you roll a 1"...  It would keep firing until you ran out of targets or failed to hit or wound...  2nd edition was insane (the first rules I have up there) where you could put 2 of them on a Dreadnought...  Now, they are still priced at a huge premium, one of the most expensive weapons, but Str 6, AP 4 unless it Rends...  4 shots...  "Eh" is the best thing I think I can say about it.  Not strong enough to do much against anything but the lightest Vehicles, not enough to deny 3+ Armor saves in general...  Not AAA...  So, really looking at it as someone who is good at math and actually plays the game this is just something that makes no sense whatever.  Seem that they are costing it in that it has the potential to do 4 wounds at AP 2 to "whatever"...  But that's a LOT of 6's to roll.  Just not happening.

And of course the "meta" or design philosophy we are more or less forced into with this edition.  Scoring units only really, and the Armies with strong Scoring options have a much easier time these days.  IG, GK and Necrons are all really easy to field these days...  The armies with the ability to make things Scoring like DA or Marines/Chaos are also pretty good, if more limited with the choices being made for the player if they choose the options...  I guess these days when I am building an army, if it is NOT scoring, I have to have a REALLY good reason to bring it at all before I seriously consider them...  Liking my BA with lots of choices as "Troops", but with all of the "can never score" ones really they are a bit worse off than most other Armies...  But Jump Infantry is pretty good as a Scoring option, at least locally...  Eh, too tired right now to go further, but something to expand on I think...