Borg OP 2 coming up...

Borg OP 2:

So, gearing up for this in a few weeks…  Another 90 point game, this time played out at Wolf 359.  So, pretty much the opposite mindset as the Gen con build where the tougher, survivable ships were better than the ones that just threw out Dice for Attack/Damage.  Here, the situation is a very different one, a battle that literally cannot be won in a conventional sense.  You are just trying to buy time and do as much damage as you can before the Borg destroy you as they pass through the system.  I have a few ideas for a Fleet build here, and this is actually something I am VERY good at.  J  Reading over a few of my Army psych evaluations and fitness reports does make for some amusing reading, if a bit scary if you actually understand what they are trying to say without actually saying it…  The poor Psych officer they sent over to evaluate us was fairly new and clearly never dealt with a Line Combat unit before.  Most of the things she said were “Red Flags” were actually highly favorable and sought after traits there…  J  But in any case, I am fairly good at the “desperation defense” and the idea of “do as much damage as you can before you die”.  Likely will not run a Federation pure fleet this time.  The Klingons, Dominion and to some extent the Romulans can throw out a lot of damage.  Mind, if I do a mixed Fleet (Ships themselves will be pure), some of the Federation stuff CAN compete.  As the rules for the scenario are that the Borg simply fire last, no need to have the high skill CPTs there unless they also do something else critical, they’ll be needed in Sector 001 for the next battle.  So a few options I’ve come up with are:

Romulan

I.R.W. Valdore (30)

Mirok (2)

Advanced Cloaking (4)

Ship SP: 36

Good base ship…  CPT Mirok has the ability that if he ends his move within Range 1 of a Friendly Ship, repair one Hull or Shield.  With the Advanced Cloak, I should be able to keep Cloaked for a LONG time, using the Green maneuvers to clear Aux Power tokens and gaining the +1 Attack each turn from the Ship ability.  The Flagship which will likely end up here is another +1 Attack, Hull and Tech slot (needed for the Advanced Cloaking).  So, decent basis for a Fleet build…  The Romulans however do not have  lot of “tank” ships that can throw out Damage well.

Dominion?  Looking at what I have, the BB, the Koranak class Cruiser and the Fighters all throw out a LOT of Damage…  Enough to win?  Not sure…  But might be fun to try.

Klingons almost seem the “Easy Button” choice here.  A group of 3+ just flying in and shooting like they are voting in Chicago…  Early and often.  They also have a fair number of abilities that boost Damage and Attack Dice making them pretty darn good at the run up and shoot game.

This of course is just the 90 points I build beforehand, getting another 30 point ship can be good (if I pull the Klingon or Federation ship) or not so much, except another target to soak fire while my heavy hitters move in and do damage.

Warmachine is the other thing I am playing at the moment I guess…  Found some more minis in the basement, even some I never painted.  Played out several games with CPT Kraye, so I think perhaps it is time to go with another caster combo…  Having all of the older ones, I do have a large selection of them to choose from, so I guess I should figure out what I am bringing before Wednesday as I hope to load up onto the ancient Silverwing and head out…

Gen Con 2014...

So, went to Gen Con yesterday...  Wound up playing in one of the STAW events.  Pretty well run, all of my opponents were quite fun to play against.  Kind of an odd heat though, 12 players I think and only a handful of Borg at all, NO "super cubes".  Problem for a LOT of the guys was that everyone built to deal with, some making it the focus of their fleets...  Did NOT work all that well against "normal" builds.  I was definitely in the minority playing a completely faction pure build, all Federation.  Not the potential to do the overwhelming damage that my Klingon or even Dominion builds can do, but WAY more survivable.

Gen Con Fed 1

U.S.S Excelsior (26)
Mr. Spock (4)
Adm. James T. Kirk (5)
Dmitri Valtane (3)
Quantum Torpedoes (6)
Ship SP: 44

USS Voyager (30)
Jean-Luc Picard (6)
Montgomery Scott (5)
Miles O'Brien (2)
Hikaru Sulu (3)
Ship SP: 46

Total Build SP: 90

Generated by STAW Builder
http://www.dracossoftware.com/STAWHome.html

Game one I got my ass kicked by a well build Borg Cube (bare bones) and Excelsior loaded out as a Torpedo boat like mine.  Lost because I maneuvered stupidly...  Kept bumping the cube instead of simply moving 6 forward and outrunning the cube...   Was pretty rushed getting there and was not really all there for the first game.  Got wiped because my Voyager was unable to use it's 3 actions/turn at the critical juncture.  DID burn through the shields and almost kill the cube in spite of my errors.

Game 2 was MUCH better, played against a mostly Romulan Fleet built around a Flagship Vo/Donatra supporting a Khazara (D'deridex) loaded out with the Ferengi Missile Launchers and a LOAD of attack cancelling things.  This game I did the "Wolfpack" thing, found the weaker ship and killed it first.  Saw the trick, survived it and focused fire into the 2 Hull ship to kill it despite the huge number of Defense dice.  Just taking 2 failures means I'll not be doing that for my own fleets...  Burned through all of the attack cancellers, took no losses and with the support ship dead, I got the win.  Got some damage through to the bigger ship, but did not kill it in time.

Game 3 was against a good player with a good Fleet...  Built again to deal with Uber Cube fleets, so less successful against a build like mine.  He had the Enterprise D with CPT Khan Singh, ADM Kirk, Scotty, AM Mines, Flagship for Battlestations, Tom Paris, etc...  Supported by another Vo/Donatra combo.  So, same thing here for me...  Kill the little ship quickly then the long dance...  He hit my Voyager hard, taking down the 6 Shields and a single Hull...  But then we flew around and had Scotty repair Shields.  His build was close to 70 points on the Enterprise D, so not as unbalanced as "I killed half of his Ships" might lead you to believe...   So, we basically ran out of time, I am not sure who would eventually have won...  I suspect it would have been him unless I was able to line up the Quantum Torpedoes AND the Voyager at range 1 with 2 Shields to disable to let Scott's action give me more dice...  His CPT skill of 10 though meant he would shoot first...  So, "less likely".  My strategy of "just survive" worked out.

So, 2-1 overall record...  Wound up winning the Doctor Bashir and Odo cards out of the DS9 pack   Overall I was really happy and the guys I played against are I suspect also on Board Gaming Geek's forum as I recognized a few names...

VERY disappointed in the Wizkids convention exclusives, etc...  Seeing the actual Dragons for the D&d game was "neat", but really not too impressive.  The STAW exclusives being sold out so quickly to other exhibitors and speculators rather than the people actual playing the game?  The message that sends is pretty bad I think.  I would have liked to have the cloaked ships, and the cards are pretty neat...  Not even having the OP ships for sale/prizes made the cost of getting there and entering the event pretty high...

Still, Gen Con from a family fun day standpoint was a great success...  My wife and the girls (+1 with one of my daughter's friends joining us) all dressed up and seemed to enjoy the spectacle...  We were only there for the day though, and with me gaming 3 hours, not as much fun...  Parked a LONG way off.  The Colt's pre-season game the same night made traffic a nightmare.  We wound up eating from a food truck in the little "court" they set up...  LOVED that idea.  So, definitely a major plus.  The lack of a "loot" bag made the price of the admission tickets a bit on the expensive side, especially with the kids costing the same as an adult and no gaming of "free stuff" really included.  So, next time, a multi day trip, more time to game for everyone and a more relaxing trip all around...

Wolves in Seventh, initial thoughts... Oh, and a bit more...

Right, so after a quick read through of the Wolves Codex…  REALLY not seeing anything to drag me back to playing 40K any time soon frankly.  Perhaps I missed something, but the big thing seems to be to use the “Great Company” Formation allowing your up to 6 HQ slots, etc…  This allows you to get the BA like roll for each Unit to Outflank.  6+.  Down to 4+ iff you add an IC to a Troops unit.  This is what we pay the extra points (presumably) for to get “Acute Senses”…  For at best the 50% chance to use them iff I use the format listed in the Codex.  Mind, I probably would since my Wolves have always been based on Grey Hunters.  So, unless I am missing something Wolves lack the “Objective Secured” rule as well.  So, they Score, but cannot Secure anything unless nothing else is alive nearby.   Eh, lazy writing at best.

Essentially the whole feel I got from the Codex was a lot like the 3^rd Edition one where it was in the “Hero Hammer” phase for GW.  Bring out your tooled up uber Characters, the minimum “other” to support them and run at each other.  This time I get the feeling they also want to sell a LOT of Thunder Wolves.  Since pretty much every IC can be mounted now, and the TWC have come down in price.  So, that seems to be the “good” unit in the book at the moment on first reading…  Problem I have is that this is a fucking Science Fiction game set in the FAR future involving genetically modified humans wearing Powered Armor with many futuristic weapons, etc… Oh, and now riding giant Wolves as Cavalry if you didn’t get that this game was simply the Fantasy game ripping off Tolkien’s (and Moorcock, etc…) stuff and changing the setting to be the far future, the Chariots and Cavalry should drive that point home again for you.

Not ALL bad, I like that the “Iron Priests” (Techmarines) finally got the IC rule, and this time they remembered to cut/paste in the rules allowing them to repair things…  J  Since I have at least one edition’s book where they didn’t, and when it was pointed out and the FAQ was asked for the reply was essentially “too bad”.  That and the Terminators remembered what the bloody teleporters were for.  They can once again Deep Strike.  Cheap Terminators, and since I have always liked them and have a mess I might at some point play that list…  Score now, but cannot easily mix Powered and Terminator armors…  So, not a complete waste by any means I guess.  Fliers look OK, but being limited to Wolves?  Eh…  Seems odd to produce an expensive kit that cannot be used for more Armies…

Negatives I already went over a few…  The biggest ones are the loss of the “Mark of Wulfen” and the Scout’s ability to go behind enemy lines.  Having converted the one Wulfen/Squad for my Grey Hunters and having played them in EVERY Wolves list I ever  used for several editions now, that loss is annoying.  Not devastating, but annoying.  HtH has not been the way to win games for a few editions in any case, I just tend toward the “No Kill Like Overkill” and “Fortune Favors the Prepared”.  Maybe the DLC books which hit, well probably next week, will add it back in, but that is itself another insulting and annoying negative.  $50 for the book that is itself incomplete on day one?  The Scouts loss of their traditional ability however is a killer for me.  When the Quad guns hit with the silliness that was “Interceptor” in the previous edition, these lads were essentially shelved.  Yes, I COULD bring them and if I were especially careful actually get them into position to get in their one shot with Plasma Pistols and Melta…  Then of course, they lost the ability to bring a Wolf Guard in Powered Armor with them and the ability to Assault out of Reserve.  Was great against the rear echelon gun line Troops, but really that was about it.  So, they were a Denial unit that was small, lightly armored and very vulnerable…  Now, well even worse.  I cannot come in on the Enemy or say my own table edge if the situation demands it…  So, one of my oldest and best units is now completely useless.  “Elites”, not even bloody Troops.  Not that it matters much except that the Elite slot is crowded with stuff that might actually DO something…

Other news, apparently the Grey Knights are coming out as soon as this Month?  Between the online army builder and the White Dwarf, looking like it will be very soon.  And this one will be just the Grey Knights, not “Inquisition, Assassins with a few token Knights…  Maybe.  The Dread Knights and Storm Ravens  were pretty darn good, and I rather liked using the Terminators (yes, running theme for me)…  Heck, even the PA Knights were good, better by far than their “normal” Marine brethren…  So, yea?  I guess…

Seems like it has gone to a subscription model that is simply too rich for my gaming budget, and the game itself has devolved to the point I have little interest in playing anymore…

But on to more fun gaming…  Getting a bit more used to the Warmachine v2 rules and CPT Kraye’s Cavalry battlegroup…  Fun, not hugely powerful I think, but FAST and able to surprise a lot of folks with the speed and accuracy of the fire… And the game itself is fresh enough to me that I do not have the baggage associated with the 6 previous editions J… 

Gen Con this weekend for me, playing in a STAW event, 100 points, pretty simple, taking either:

List Name

Resource: Flagship Independent (Fed) (10)

U.S.S Excelsior (26)

Mr. Spock (4)

Adm. James T. Kirk (5)

Dmitri Valtane (3)

Quantum Torpedoes (6)

Ship SP: 44

USS Voyager (30)

Jean-Luc Picard (6)

Flagship (0)

Montgomery Scott (5)

Hikaru Sulu (3)

Positron Beam (2)

Ship SP: 46

Total Build SP: 100

Generated by STAW Builder

http://www.dracossoftware.com/STAWHome.html

Or

List Name

Resource: Flagship Klingon (10)

Vor'cha Class (26)

Martok (5)

Ship SP: 31

Negh'Var (30)

Worf (3)

Flagship (0)

Ship SP: 33

K'T'Inga Class (22)

Gowron (4)

Ship SP: 26

Total Build SP: 100

Generated by STAW Builder

http://www.dracossoftware.com/STAWHome.html

Depending on how silly and brutal I feel like being…  The Dominion fleet is a possibility as well of course…  J…  Game time decision I guess.

Warmachine V2...

So, got in my first Warmachine/Hordes (Warmahordes) game last night…  So much vaguely familiar and forgotten, but overall it was quite good…  We only played 15 points each, so it was really quite a small game.  His army was just 3 figures.  Trollbloods, so a Warlock (I do not know their names), a Mauler and the big named Mauler character.  My own force was a lot different.  His was essentially “We have a Hulk”, counting on the HtH abilities of the big nasties.  I went with:

CPT Kraye

  Defender

  Charger

Arcane Tempest Gun Mages

ATGM CPT Adept

I focused not so much on “run over there and bash them” instead going more for an Ender “The Enemy Gate is Down” approach.  The Gun Mages all have the ability to shoot with their magic pistols and push things d3” out of the way, and if I roll a double, knock it down.  The Charger becomes “Light Cavalry”, so it can run for free, and has a 5” move after it activates.  Making it a great choice to move, shoot and then probably move back out of the way.  It has a decent shooting attack, but takes 2 Focus to run effectively.  The Defender is Cavalry, and with its 16” BFG shooting a POW 15 shot, it is a very long ranged threat and it is surprisingly effective with boosting against…  Well, whatever.  The Charger and Defender pretty well just won me the game last night with the Charger shooting and doing some damage to the Caster, with the BFG then hitting.  Since it did an additional 10 damage over and above the Caster’s armor, it would have killed him with the damage already done…  So, using the Warlock ability to shunt the damage to one of his Beasts…  But 10 damage almost takes out one of the Heavy Beast’s spirals.  Rolled the 5 for the “spirit” spiral, which is critical for the Beast’s effectiveness…  The Gun Mages then shot it, doing a few points, but more importantly, knocking it down and finishing off the Spirit Spiral…  So, in one turn the Warlock was wounded badly and one of the Beasts was crippled.  He charged his Mauler into my Defender, but it was too late really.  He hurt it badly, and threw it onto my GM CPT Adept, killing him instantly…  So, there was a casualty…  But CPT Kraye’s feat allows my Jacks to stand for free, I was in range to just stand and shoot again with the Defender’s BFG, the CPT’s carbine and the Charger…  Oh, and the Gun Mages…  So, he called it as it was obvious that the game was over and his Warlock was more or less set up for the end of "Butch and Sundance"...

So, a good start to my League run…  I will be able to finish up the painting of my models for more points…  Have to pay attention to the rules, points, etc…  Was surprised how many players there were J  Guessing this is where the 40K crowd went…  STAW planning I guess...  I may try to get in a 100 point game before Gen Con if possible to test the fleet I intend to bring there...  

Need to clean the Basement of Doom (tm), and clear off the painting desk to swap in for another table or something that will work a bit better...  But I have WAY too much sitting on the desk these days and too many things I want to get assembled and painted...  Imperial Knight, Wolf Terminators and Siege Breachers, now my Warmachine stuff to get touched up and finished...

Wolves stalking slowly, Warmachine and STAW

So, Wolves hit this week... And there is already a "supplemental codex", ie: DLC on day one.  So, painting guides and a few pages of rules for ANOTHER $50?  Sorry Dave, going to have to pass on this...  Still not seeing anything at all that brings the 7th Ed codex up to anything like the Generic Marines Codex in terms of leveling the field against the power armies.  Hell, the Marine book is pretty "eh" overall in that respect.  A few good options, but overall I think it has a difficult time coming up against one of the real power armies.  Plus side it does have Grav weapons to deal with the MCs.  Not seeing that with the Wolves yet.  Looks like they get some if not all of their magic spells back, but they seem weaker.  DNs, but those are "eh" at best still.

Was just down in the Basement of Doom (tm), and clearing off the table...  Some REALLY nice resin I picked up in trade, so Forgeworld Terminators being painted up in the old Legion colors along with the rest of my old "repaint" project for them...  Maybe I'll play them again i a few months or years...  Did get a bit of work done on my Knight.  Amazing model.  Just a bit annoying that the game has gone to this extreme that the big toys are really the only things that work...

Otherwise, gearing up for Warmachine tomorrow.  Haven't played since the beta of 2nd edition, and frankly I haven't a real clue what are the current "good" pieces.  Packed up the bag with my Cygnar stuff...  Well, most of it.  Sadly, I have more.  Stuff like this:
System: Warmachine
Faction: epic Caine - The Huntsman
Casters: 1/1
Points: 15/15
Tiers: 1
Captain Allister Caine (*5pts)
* Charger (4pts)
* Hunter (6pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer (2pts)
Gun Mage Captain Adept (2pts)

So, basically, the charge of the Trench-coat Brigade :-)  Nothing that does all that much damage, just mobile, accurate and should be fun to hit the field with...

STAW still going pretty strong locally.  Probably Gen Con next for me, so 100 point Joust fleets, followed by the Borg OP 2.  Thinking seriously about a Romulan build to throw out damage while being extremely survivable to outlast the other player.  The other options being a standard Klingon "Just Shoot Them" build with a swarm of high damage ships to die well and do a lot of damage on the way out...  Or a Dominion build somewhere between...  LOADS of damage potential, almost as much as the Klingons, just not as cheap...  Could be MUCH harder to kill though...  Some time though, so no hurry....

New Wolves... yea?

So far, the most enthusiasm I can muster is "Eh".  Looking at the leaked pages we have a so so flier that costs more than the Storm Raven, some DNs, a new "it's not Plasma" weapon....  So, looking like more of the same.

The Wolves were my first 40K army back in the late 80's, before they became space vikings who were afraid of "magic" like teleporters and other things that might make their role as a planetary assault Legion a bit easier...  Though, ironically, they never had a problem with actual magic per their extensive use of Rune Priests (Librarians).  So, I'm pretty disappointed that they seem to be looking like regular Marines with a few different options and without access to much of what makes the Marine Codex actually pretty good.  Seeing some reviews of "Murderfang" being so awesome, then reading the stats...  Well, obviously none of them play or play against Blood Angels where this is simply a named, unique Death Company DN...  More expensive and not as good...  And let's be honest the DNs are simply not good.  3 Hull Points to kill them instead of the 3-6 Wounds at a high T that the Tau/Eldar GK get with their MCs?  Just have to glance AV 12, really not that hard when you have say, a flying tank that shoots 4 twin linked S6 shots followed by d6 + 1 Str 7 twin linked (assuming at least one of the scatter laser shots hit) shots...  So, the DN's time on the field is limited at best.  The game as it stands now has passed the paradigm that the Marines as a whole are based on...

What exactly do I mean here...  Well, mulling it over the last few days/weeks it seems that 40K has become the game of Monstrous Creatures, Fliers and/or Super Heavies.  Not bringing or having a really good way to deal with the above means you are going to have a short and frustrating game...  Been assembling my Imperial Knight, have to admit I think it is going to be pretty darn powerful locally, probably on par with the Eldar Knights.  But with the new "unbound" ability to simply pick and choose whatever you want, all of it being scoring, it almost punishes you for bringing the frankly sub standard "Troops" to the field.  OK, not "almost", it really does punish you.  Marines specifically have expensive basic Troops.  Most of whom cannot even begin to harm the things that are hitting the field.  Sure, they can really hold Objectives, but only while they are alive.  Cover rules tightened up and there are so many things out there that either throw out so much firepower or simply ignore the 3+ save the Marine has...  A lot of armies frankly can do both.  The basic Marine Codex has the new Grav weapons that do a decent job dealing with the MCs and Vehicles overall, but of course, the Wolves do not get them...  They get a "cold" weapon that forces a STR test if you caused a Wound, else it dies...  Eh...  Maybe, but most of the things I am concerned about have Str 6+, T7+, so a long chain of things followed by a 6 (auto fail Str Test) on their part to remove a single MC...  Frankly, I'd rather have the Marine Centurion's uber Grav weapons and just shoot them off the table myself.  So, we have a nice new $50 book for the Wolves that completely fails to address the issues making any Marine based army sub standard, or at least as far as we can see before the book is fully released :-)...  Maybe I'll be surprised, but I am very much doubting it at this point...

So, found what I think are all of my old Warmachine minis...  Will try to wander out to at least observe some games...  Need to get updated cards for the things I know...  But given the amount of metal I found in the "Basement of Doom" I am fairly sure I could field a very sizable force immediately.  Now, not having played since last edition, not likely to be an effective one mind, but...

So, this week... STAW, 40K Wolves, etc...

So, the Borg OP 1 event is over and done… J  I did fairly well, with a solid second place…  Still not sure what to take against the Borg frankly.  I’ve come close to getting it with Federation and Dominion fleets.  I think the Klingons have the right tricks going against the Borg if they build their fleet with ONLY the Borg in mind.  I suspect the Dominion could throw out the amount and consistent levels of damage required to simply punch through the layers of shields and ablative armor….  REALLY liking the things available to modify the dice results on the Dominion fleets.  NOT liking the lack of maneuverability that they seem to have as their standard.  Didn’t make much difference in 2 of my three battles, the “tactic” of rush right at them and shoot like you are voting in Chicago (“Early and Often”) works well enough in general against the things that I can kill in that single exchange/volley.  Borg Cubes are not among the ships that I will likely be able to do this with.  Usually there is the “Feedback Pulse” which starts by nullifying an attack, with half of the damage being redirected BACK at the firer..  Probably a bit overpowered for the game as it stands now.  8 points is a lot, but to completely negate a strong attack?  Especially since it is virtually impossible to kill anything Borg in a single attack.  So, a lot of the ways I can think of to kill off the Borg involve disabling upgrades or lots of attacks, all of which are threats, but none overpoweringly so…  Klingon ships all get to the 5-6 Attack range without issue (OK, their “modern” ships of the line, support ships not so much, nor the TOS ships), so a “swarm” of 3-4 decent Klingon ships should be able to concentrate fire on a single target and expect to throw out the 15-24 Attack dice that should be able to deal with anything.  VERY different I think than the Star Wars version where the TIE swarms seem to be the build to beat.  The Klingons are good here, but not impossible to defeat in detail as you can maneuver fairly well and frankly the Klingon ships are NOT the most resilient.   Cloak can help against Torpedo boats, but there are ways to still fire Torpedoes at a cloaked ship…  And of course, you can simply fire your normal weapons.  Cloaked ships have no shields, so 3-5 Damage kills them off for the most part…  The Dice in this game are weighted to the Attack over the Defense with one more “Hit” result than “Evade” result on the dice themselves…  So, even assuming each side gets to throw 5 dice for their attack or defense, statistically the odds favor the attack.  And far more things that modify Attack than Defense so…   A little of the “Rock Paper Scissors” that most games seem to have where the thing that kills the “rock” of the Borg is vulnerable to something that cannot itself deal with the Borg…  J  Yeah, the “deck building” aspect of the game is one of the things I find more appealing… 

So, next game will likely be at Gen Con, I am signed up for one of the 100 point events, we’ll see…  Hoping to see demos of the Dragon version of the game and maybe pick up some of the previous exclusives…  We’ll see J…  Pack of Cloaked ships coming in at $40 might be something to snag…

Missed out on this week’s 40K game…  Wiped out and just not feeling up to playing after playing Sunday…  To be honest, 750 points is hard to actually play in any case.  Too many “gimmick” armies can do too well, and just not enough on the table to cover the “oops, I lose” roll with so few dice being rolled…  Looking like I’ll actually get my Knight finished up at some point.  I DO think it will be fun to play, and really not too hard for a prepared opponent to deal with.  Titans on the other hand might be more difficult for players not playing “slightly more aggressive” Marines like me…  Really liked how my Fleshtearers worked last game, if I remember to actually fire my weapons, you know ALL of them, it would probably have been an easy victory for me…  The DC DN dropping onto the Heavy Weapon Teams and only firing the Flame Thrower was a major “oops” J  The Melta and Magna Grapple would have each likely killed another Team leaving him without weapons realistically to take me down before I moved into his Infantry…  The other lads did well, just that 6 Marines can only kill so many before the odds catch up with you between Overwatch and CC… 

Wolves are next up, and based on the rumors so far, I am completely underwhelmed.  The ONE big consistent strength they had over the years was that their lads remembered that they could bring a rifle, close combat weapon AND a bloody sidearm.  If this goes away, I have a whole bunch of non-WYSIWYG minis in my army and frankly I am not so sure I’ll bother changing them.  Hell, the 30 Legions have this option, as do the Chaos Marines, so pulling it from the Wolves would likely be a deal breaker for me.  They’ll continue to be painted in their original Legion colors, not that silly baby blue crap and I’ll use them as a Legion list I guess.  They DO get a Flier, though it looks like the Cestus Assault craft, though only a single “hull”…  Rules sound “eh” so far, but I like it better than the Storm Raven…  Saying that, my conversion for a Storm Raven I do like, and it works well enough for me J…

Did dig up my old Warmachine things, I was somewhat surprised how many I have...  I did not remember them all, but there they are I guess...  Cleaning them off, mostly dusty, not damaged really...  No clue how many points in a modern game of course, but a lot of metal there...  Time to get some MKII cards and see about setting up a game or three with Joe and company to get the initial rounds of having my ass kicked to learn the hard way out of the way :-)...  Since I left the game near the top of the standings for most leagues, etc., good I think to be starting at the bottom and learning the correct way...

Diet and exercise moving along...  Getting up early to hit the weights and elliptical while my lovely wife rides her bike and hits the weight machine...  Seems to be a VERY good thing, regaining some of the strength I lost over the last year of not working out, etc...  Silly heart attack and other stresses...  But feeling pretty good these days :-)  And getting to work out with my wife is always a good thing...