Are monkeys writing the FAQ for 40K? Do they even play the bloody game?

Thinking about fielding my Wolves, so I snagged the January FAQ (latest for them)...  The one change is that if a Wolf Scout unit has an IC OR an assigned Wolf Guard Pack Leader, they lose the ability to go behind enemy lines.  Understandable if it is the IC, this was the case in the previous edition, but now the WGPL?  Wow, it wasn't enough to take away the ability to go to Assault and actually use the Melta bombs they can buy or be safe briefly and give every army out there the ability to probably kill 3-4 of them with the Quad Guns firing Interceptor as the Wolves have NO BLOODY FLIERS of their own.  Oh, we CAN get an ace :-)  For all the fliers we do not have...  All I can say is wow.  GW had an excellent opportunity with the "Death From the Skies" book to get fliers out to all the armies and some form of AA to the armies lacking it but instead we get a $37 FAQ adding the Fliers to SOME armies, but not fixing anything really and being really a disappointment overall for the players out here.

So, no Fliers, no AAA, neutered Wolf Scouts and Wolf Guard...  Hmmm, wonder how well the Wolves will do in our local environment?  Not really.  No defense whatever against the Heldrake or tank lines I see across the table, no really compelling reason to field them really...  A bit of a caffeine inspired rant as I am snowed in, but really kind of confusing and disappointing...

So... Wolves and Praetorians? Maybe Eldar?

Yeah, the Fleshtearers are OK, but 1000 points is stifling...  The Storm Raven is amazing, as long as it stays a Flier...  Landing to have the lads and DN assault is the turn before it dies...  So, have to learn a bit better when to actually works out in my favor to fully commit...  Something to work on, but REALLY only something I think comes into effect at levels over 1500 points...  Means I am committing ONE of my assault elements, not the bulk of my army...  And with my usual attack involves several elements all going at the same time, so it will not be the same guarantee that the Raven dies...  VERY vulnerable of course, but not just waiting to die.

Brings me to what I am thinking about...  Probably going to switch out my army.  Wolves are interesting, and seeing more than a few Tank Line armies locally, I think the Wolf Scouts are going to be brutal.  My initial response was they are shelved with almost every army fielding the Aegis line with the quad gun...  Now, not really seeing the Quad guns or Aegis lines, so the Scouts appearing in the backfield with Melta and Plasma would be a very good thing...  The Rune Priest is still the only real psychic defense Marines have, and it till wounds Daemons on a 2+...  Long Fangs are OK, but with the Heldrake roaming everywhere, I do not have  the same confidence I once had.  Maybe with a Wolf Guard and Rune Priest in Terminator armor in the squad...  Just seems a LOT of my points in one small squad.  Grey Hunters are a solid choice and I am liking  the Razorbacks with small squads these days...  Probably helps that I snagged the last metal Njal at the Gopher and Munin sent me the last of my Wolf Scouts, but we'll see if I can make them work...  And I am REALLY liking how my new paint scheme test mini came out, so the lads will be getting repainted...  Or painted :-)  Some of the lads haven't ever really been finished since they hit the field in the ancient pre Heresy days of the RT edition...

Praetorians and Eldar are also starting to make their way back to the top of the list...  With my Praetorians, I am thinking I could abuse Artillery and just win by shooting and Arty sniping...  So, potentially devastating  but ultimately boring I think.  Eldar will be more of a challenge, but mostly because I do not believe they are competitive in the current edition.  OK, I didn't think they were competitive in the previous edition either, and it has really just gotten worse...  Farseer or Eldrad look like they'd be good, and I can put out a metric crapton of Str 6 shooting...  Neat, but...  For Troops, the Pathfinders are good, but only until someone else locally figures out that there are a lot of things that ignore cover saves...  Once someone else figures it out, well, the Pathfinders will evaporate...  HtH is limited and the Vehicles by and large are overpriced...  Oh, and unless I use IA, nothing close to a Flier or AAA...  OTOH, excellent flier in IA 11...  So, I think I could make something work...

1K Team League starts tonight...

So, I'm bringing my Fleshtearers...  I toyed with a few other armies, and I think we CAN change it during the league, so not a big deal...  Just that the Eldar are nigh unplayable in this edition unless I am playing one of the IA lists like the Corsairs...  Even the Nightwing Flier they have in there is really quite good at 145 points...  But the IA lists are probably overpowered, and a single Flier is not so much fun to bring to the table...  If Pedro Cantor changed Sternguard to Troops rather than just making them Scoring, I'd be using that again, but the "tax" of having to bring at least 2 minimum sized squads of crap troops is just too much I think.  DA I just played, and while I think they are OK, the parts I want to play would not work well in small 1K games...  That and frankly I was tired of playing the same army every week...  There really are some things it does well against and some it is incapable of dealing with barring insanely good dice.  So, the game devolves to a "Rock Paper Scissors" game that takes several hours to play out, but that most of the players know what will likely happen before Deployment...

/rant off :-)  So, I am bringing a nice "Team Friendly" force, either my Roddy Piper force ("We're here to kick ass and chew bubblegum...  And we're out of gum") being the first:

Reclusiarch (Jump Pack)
Death Company (5, 2 Power Axes, Jump Packs)
DC DN (Claws of Eternal Combat, HF)
Storm Raven (MM/TL LC)
Assault Squad (10, Flamer, Melta, PW SGT)
Sanguinary Priest (Jump Pack)

Aegis Line w/ LC

So, nothing at all subtle, the Raven loads up with the DC elements and comes in to hit the enemy on or about turn 3...  Assault Squad and Medic can combat squad and hide in ruins/Aegis line...  The line is just the extra 85 points...  I COULD bring the Whirlwind at 90 if I really wanted to, but given the DA version @ 65...  Just no where really to sink those points...

Second is a straight up stand and fight list...

Librarian (Jump Pack, Blood Lance and ?)
Assault Squad (10, 2 Melta, SGT w/ Inf pistol and PW)
Assault Squad (10 Melta, Flamer, SGT w/ ?  Flame pistol maybe)
Storm Raven (TML, TL LC)
Furioso DN (HF)
Attack Bike w/ MM

So, nothing subtle, just bringing scoring bodies, a Flier to dogfight and ....  Well, that's about it.  Should be a good "half" of another Army for a team...

All in all, nothing TOO overpowered...  Should be interesting at least.  I still have the Death Company squad I won in the Tournament a few leagues back...  Might have to paint them up as Honor Guards...  Think I have enough DC with 25+ Jump Troopers...  Or I'd be happy to trade them for something else if someone is needing more DC...

Are Assault Armies Dead?

So, I've been hearing this over and over...  I'm not sure, but I DO think they have taken a serious hit since the new edition hit.  Not being able to Assault out of Reserve in general is bad, and of course having an entire new class of target that is completely immune to HtH is pretty bad as well...  Random Charge length can be annoying, but overall I actually like that.  It HAS killed off the 5th edition standby of the "Power Blob" the IG could field.  Casualties being taken closest (or directed by placed shots) leads to some interesting situations that could well allow you to kill so many targets that you are no longer IN combat...  Or you lose wounds done because you can only kill the close things...  Of course the inability to assault from non "Assault" (or open topped) Vehicles is pretty bad...  Especially because this prevents you from Assaulting if you have to get out of a wrecked or destroyed Vehicle...

This and the no assaults from Reserve are particularly difficult to justify.  The stated reason is that the designers have is that they did not want the players to be hit by things that they could not react to before getting hit...  All well and good, except then you get things like the Heldrake that CAN simply fly on, hit you with the Vector Strike then hit you again or another unit altogether with it's Flamer of Doom...  The first happens before ANY reaction is possible, including Interceptor fire, the second after, but by then it is too late usually and frankly how many Fliers get killed by Interceptor fire?  Most of my armies will have the Quad gun, or an Icarus Las Cannon...  If they're lucky and have access to the Forgeworld stuff or are allowed to proxy in stuff then the Hyperion Missile turrets or Mortis DNs perhaps...



Kind of lost track of where I was here...  "Assault" to me I guess I apply my own more modern definitions to.  So, I would include short ranged "shock" shooting as part of an Assault strategy.  Sternguard or IG Stormtroopers dropping in onto a target and smacking it with Plasma and Melta at point blank range to me is every bit as much "Assault" as the Death Company jump packing into HtH...  More suicidal I think as you are not "safely in HtH and will likely take heavy casualties or get wiped out by the return fire, but My Sternguard never failed to get me First Blood when I played them regularly...  Yes, in my best iteration of that list was in the 1850+ point range and included CPT Tycho's Fleshtearer doppelganger, Sternguard, Medic in Terminator Armor and the Vanguard Vets following the Drop Pod's beacon in to deal with anyone silly enough to be close to the CPT and the boys...  Sometimes they even survived.  And I usually won the fight, and the battle because First Blood, Line Breaker and Kill the Warlord were all pretty good odd wise for that setup...  NOT long term holding the line, unless I happen to kill them all of course :-)...

Off to work out I guess, I am finding that I think a lot better when I am on the move...

1000 points of Fleshtearers, take 2 (Now with pics :-))

Mkay, got in a 1500 point game last night against Bradly's Grey Knights...  He had a really good list, not quite as Meched up as his previous ones, but...  The only real weakness I could see is the lack of real long ranged firepower, specifically AT firepower...  But the HtH silliness and the melta guns everywhere on the Henchmen squads is solid if a bit fragile outside of their Chimeras...  Weight of fire is a concern as well as he can throw out a LOT of fire in the 24" range bracket...  Still, my thrown together list did fairly well, mostly due to the Medics (Sanguinary Priests) allowing my insane number of FnP rolls to keep my lads on the field...  I made something like the first dozen before failing one, and overall made something like 20+ in the course of the game.  So, I think the Medics are keepers...

Gabriel Seth was also on the field...  Did well, but his 2 big HtH rounds were destroying an Interceptor SGT in a Challenge and then wiping out a Henchman Squad single handed on the Charge...    He ran with a tooled out Honor Guard, so the Medic there helped a lot, but I think overall I would have done better with Death Company.  The Furioso I used in place of the DC DN did well, but the DC DN has Fleet and twice I rolled a bad Charge distance and failed the Charge...  And died as a result.  The DC DN in Assault would have wiped the Terminators and Coteaz easily I think...

Oh, and here's the Raven:

So, here's my second take at 1000 points:

Gabriel Seth
Death Company (5, 2 Power Axes)
DC DN
Assault Squad (10, Melta, Flamer, PW on SGT)
Storm Raven (TL Las Cannon, TL Melta)
Medics (1 Termi, 1 Jump Pack)

Have to juggle the points a bit...  I WANT the H Flamer on the DN, so the Medic riding with Seth might well go away or lose the Terminator Armor...  I tried the "Typhoon" Missile Launcher on the Raven, but was pretty disappointed with it, especially given the extra points I paid for it...  Might be that I simply did not face a flier, but AP 1 and Melta is HUGE, and a free swap, so there we go...    Might bring in an Attack Bike in place of the Medic in the Raven...  Would LOVE to have a Chaplain, and may well swap  a Reclusiarch for Seth...  Hmmm...  Then the DC might get Jump Packs...  Probably not though :-)  Bloody expensive...

Fleshtearers for the next league...

Looking like a team league, but I am looking at playing at least some of the games with the 1500 or 1850 lists...  Last time I played CPT Tycho and the Sternguard All Stars.  Pretty effective, and VERY "Fleshtearer" with the win or die nature of the army...  Not sure I want to do the same thing again, especially with FT Sternguard NOT being scoring.  Was different with the Crimson Fists, especially with Pedro Cantor being able to ride in the Drop Pod with a full 10 man squad.

So, Gabriel Seth...  Thinking of running him with an Honor Guard squad, loaded out with a variety of weapons, power, melta, etc. and having them ride in the Storm Raven...  Really liking how that thing turned out, will have to get some pictures...  The DC DN or a Furioso rides in there as well...  A few full Assault Squads, some Sanguinary Priests (Medics to me...), and?  Dunno, guessing a Vindicator, maybe a Predator or two...

Leads to a rule question, does Gabriel's "Ferocious Instincts" mean that anyone rolling one's against his unit in HtH takes the Str 4, or does it only work when he is on his own/in a challenge?  As I read it, I'd say it is only him, but the Necron codex has a similar character, and it goes the other way as I understand it...

1000 points of Fleshtearers

Well, not sure this will work well...  Looking at the Partner League starting up, so here's my rough draft:

Librarian (Jump Pack, Blood Lance and ?)
Assault Squad (10, 2 Melta, Infernus Pistol, PW on SGT)
Assault Squad (10, Metla, Flamer, Flame pistol and Melta bomb on SGT)
Attack Bike (MM)
Stormraven (TLLC, TML)
Furioso DN (HF, DN CCW)

Not thinking it will win a LOT of battles on it's own, but I have an answer for first blood on the MM Attack bike and Jump Troopers...  The Raven can take it's shots at 2 Fliers/turn and they are the Str 9, 4 Str 8 shots.  Done messing around, I do not want to glance, I want penetrating hits and destroyed results.  AP 1/2 on high Str shots seems to be the way...

The Troops can Combat Squad, Deep Strike if needed, move fast and probably hold if needed...  I am concerned that it has no medics for FnP, might have to drop the TML on the Raven and maybe the Attack bike for one...

Old Stuff Day 2013, Ancient Wolves...

Well, here's something from the REALLY ancient times...

Shame I do not feel the Wolves can compete these days...  Would like to take the old girl out for a spin, but I think the time of Land Raider Dominance is past...  Built this back in 88 or 89 I think from the White Dwarf templates...  Have since converted the other MK I Land Raider to the Spartan Class like this one, but the Black one has magnetized weapons for swapping...

Not great pictures, but the new phone does have a MUCH nicer one...

With the stroke of a pen, could the 6th edition be "fixed"?

Mkay, thinking about the few fixes I think that would make the game actually a LOT more playable.  Not saying any of this will ever happen, and it would likely break something else down the line if applied.  Still, here goes...

As of right now, the biggest single issue I see is that Fliers are simply unmatched and unevenly applied across the armies...  Some armies get loads of them, and those that get the ability to field LOTS of them seem to have the ones...  Well, let's call them "less balanced in the current environment"...  Broken, but wanting to stay away from a "complaining" tone...  Specifically, some armies have NO access to either Fliers or AAA of any sort.  That is JUST counting the GW published things, with the exception of the Tyranids I know every army has SOMETHING they could field as AA or has actual Fliers...  Tyranids have Flying MC's, but REALLY not the same IMO.  Strange to think that the Hive Mind would not have come up with an effective way to deal with Fighters and Bombers, but what would I know...

So:

1)  Hitting Fliers on 6's (snap fire only) is simply too much of an advantage for Fliers when it is not matched with an equal disadvantage...  Well, let's be honest here, there is NO disadvantage to fliers engaging ground targets...  IE: Fliers can only hit ground targets on a 6 unless they go to a more vulnerable "low altitude/hover" mode, in which case ground fire becomes more effective...  Something on the order of halving the BS or simply steal the "Mortis" rule and say anything that stood still gets "Skyfire" that turn...  Most things hitting on 5's doesn't seem like TOO much an advantage, every HW having Skyfire might well be too much as most HW's only fire well when standing still...

2) Not every army has Fliers.  Given, but it is sticking out like a very sore thumb right now with some armies having a LOT of them, and others getting none or perhaps one or two overpriced pieces of junk.  Not very conducive to seeing a variety of armies on the table.  And having entire armies relegated to "well, they make decent Allies" status is pretty much unacceptable to the player base who have collected large armies...  Not even touching on the Game Stores who have stock of things relegated to "well, that's useless crap"...  Of the armies I play some are OK...  I have Blood Angels (Fleshtearers), GK, Marines (Crimson Fists), and IG (Praetorians) all of whom have either good/decent fliers and AA support.  My DA (Consecrators) I would also add to this list with the addition of the FW Mortis DN rules.  The Flak missiles are craptastic at best and NOT worth another 10 points on top of the 15 for the Launcher.  So, leaves my Wolves and Eldar as being completely hosed when it comes to facing Fliers.  Right now, playing Wolves seem foolish as I have no answer for the Necron or Chaos armies I am seeing commonly.  The Eldar are just so far behind the current "curve" that they are pretty much impossible to compete with.  2 full editions behind after so many major changes is simply impossible to keep up.  Just thinking that they have served enough penance for the stupidly overpowered 2nd/3rd ed codexes...  So here is where I think the "stroke of the pen" as it were would even things out...  Just like the Land Raider Crusader went to all Marine forces from Black Templar only, why would ALL Marine armies not have access to the Storm Raven and Storm Talon?  Simple thing and mind boggling that it was NOT done initially or even in the $30 FAQ they just released.  I know it is REALLY only the Wolves at this point who have NO fliers...  Frustrating as they have a bloody "Fighter Ace" chart they can buy a roll on...  With the Eldar, pull a Necron Codex on them.  Simply make the Fast Skimmers into Fliers with Hover mode...  Yeah, it would be insanely overpowered...  Just like the Necron Codex :-)... Pretty much goes without saying that ALL missile launchers should get Flak missiles as a free upgrade...  Craptastic, but as a free upgrade, would at least not be so bad...

3)  Useless things...  For me one of the most frustrating things is something like the Land Raider Redeemer.  Looks neat on paper until you realize that the rules make it completely useless.  Now, not just the LRR, but pretty much any sponson mounted flamer...  Baal Predator and Leman Russ come to mind, there may be more...  So, by the rules essentially only one of the 2 will ever fire...  My thought was to make it a Torrent weapon.  Hell, the IG have this in their Hellhound, so it's not like there aren't a billion examples of this sort of thing out there.  Yes, it might be powerful putting down 2 flamer templates  12" out and maybe hitting for a whole bunch of wounds...  OTOH, 250 points for limited transport and a bunch of useless weapons?  At the least they should be given split fire so they CAN shoot at multiple targets...  So essentially, go through and find the useless "stuff" and make a few minor tweaks and changes to make them all at least useful...  Some things like Wolf Blood Claws may well be beyond saving, so...

Yeah a bit of time on my hands :-)  Working out, etc...

1K for the next League... So Fleshtearers?

Looking like we're doing a simple(ish) team games league next...  Each player brings 1000 points to be teamed up...  Will I think at the least alleviate the table situation we are facing at the moment.  Despite what is happening elsewhere (referencing Stelek's comments on http://yesthetruthhurts.com/), our local group has only grown recently to the point that on Mondays we actually have folks waiting for the first run of games to conclude before they can get a table.  7-8  tables I think is pretty much the maximum we can really have in play, so after the first 16 players are set usually we have a "second wave" showing up in the 6:30-7 range to get in another round... This should get us all playing and moving along...

Only down side I see is the caveat of you CAN bring a 2000 point force and just play that.  Great if it is just the "when there are an odd number of players" thing, but someone wanting to play an "I'm here to win, whatever the cost" army will have a MUCH easier time bringing a hard to beat force at 2000 points than 1000 + partner.  Example being if I bring a Sternguard Squad in a 1K list, I cannot max it out and still have a  force that can still win on it's own.  At 2K, the bells, whistles and maxxed out Squad still is in the 300-400 point range, so not a problem as that will be the "First Blood" hunter and probably "Warlord Assassin Team".  I could even bring in an "Ally" in Pedro Cantor and make them Scoring...  Other examples abound, mostly with the maximum number of say, good/broken Fliers packed into the list and then filler Troops.  NOT saying I see anyone doing this locally, by and large we are more of a "fun" group than cut throat win at all cost group...  Just that the possibility exists.

Guessing I will field my reconstructed "Storm Raven" (Vendetta conversion I picked up in a trade)...  Just seeing WAY too many Fliers hitting the table, and with decent rolls this could provide me with a counter to a small horde (3-4) of the enemy vehicles without going that route myself.  At 1K, I have much more "limited" options for AAA otherwise, so I am rather hoping NOT to be facing a lot of them across the table.  So, that more or less defines 20% of my force...  Full Squads of Jump Troops run me in the low 200's as well.  Scouts are a possibility as well, but even they are almost 200...  Not as versatile, but having camping Snipers HAS won me several games...  Counting on them to actually kill shit?  Not so much...

What I'd LIKE to field would be a Jump Pack equipped Death Company (Yeah, I've been playing THAT since 3rd ed...  Hasn't always been "good", but now other than the "Can Never Score" thing, they are quite good), the DC DN, something in a decent HtH Character and Vanguard Vets to back up my Sternguard...  At 2K, I can do this.  1K no...  The Heavy Tank forces are starting to make a comeback, so the ability to drop in Melta on top of them and shoot or Assault out of Deep Strike with Melta Bombs/Fists is HUGE.    I don't have a Horde/crowd control option like with the DA Banner list, but figure I can shoot well enough and selectively engage in HtH...  Tyranid hordes will be a problem, but not many play them locally...  And even then, play the mission, not the Army, I've beaten the Tyranid swarms with armies that should not have survived before...  :-)  Maybe I can do it again...

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...

1850 Deathwing vs Chaos (Khorne)

Well, the League Organizer wound up working late so we just played a "skirmish" League match...  So, 1850 but not for flags on the campaign map...  I wound up playing Joe L's Chaos Marines...  Mission was Kill Points.   From memory he fielded:

Chaos Lord (jump pack, Daemon Weapon of some sort, MoK)
Jump troops, ~10 with a few Melta Guns
3 Squads of Khorne Marines, Champion in each, Power Sword, Plasma, Melta? 2 in Rhinos
Heldrake

Daemon Allies:
Blood Thirster
10 Blood Letters w/ icon

I brought:
Belial (SB/Sword)
Deathwing (10, CML, H Flamer, 4 TH/SS)
Deathwing (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS)
Tac Squad (ML w/ Flak)
LRC
Techmarine w/Power Field
Command Squad w/Banner of Devastation
Ravenwing Squadron w/Attack Bike (MM)
2 Hyperion ML turrets

I got first turn, deployed the LRC w/ Banner front and center, with the TM and Command Squad embarked.  The Ravenwing flanked the tank, and Scout moved to cover the front.  The Attack Bike moved to my Right flank to deal with the single Rhino full of Khorne hate...  Realized the Scout move is 12", so a bit more flexibility...   Basically, the Bolters (Hurricane and Bike) opened up on the Jump Troops at 24" range...  The Lord survived along with a few of his lads...  But most of them disappeared in a fine red mist.  The Attack bike zoomed up, got a penetrating hit on the Rhino and following that with a 1 for the Damage result...  Did that a lot :-)

His turn one was mostly just killing my Ravenwing...  Lord and remaining Jumpers offed my bikers, the Rhino dismounted the passengers who shot the Attack Bike off the board...  Not bad, but it left a lot of his Infantry out in the open for my next turn.  Speaking of which, Belial deployed with the CML/HF squad and they set themselves down perfectly to split fire.  The flamer caught pretty much the whole Berserker squad who dismounted to shoot up my bikes, Storm Bolters went there as well...  CML went into the Lord and single remaining Jumper.  LRC and Tac Squad shot up the Blood Thirster and my second Deathwing dropped to the middle of the field to throw a few missiles out there, but really just set up a second big, heavy Squad...  Basically, the Tac Squad shot their Salvo Bolters at the Thirster, it failed it's Grounding test.  Then the LRC and Deathwing unloaded on it...  It had one wound remaining at the end of that as the AAA did Jack AND Shit.  So, the "Roll lots of dice, looking for 6's" for the Flier...

Turn 3 was fairly brief as his Thirster died to overwatch fire trying to Assault Belial's Squad.  Belial and his Lord faced off and the Fleshbane combined with the Preferred Enemy for me was just too good...  Helped a LOT that his Lord only had Powered Armor, so the 4++ save was the best he had...  And of course, having had to weather a LOT of fire getting there so I think he only had one Wound at that point...  But 2 VP on that Challenge as Belial's Warlord Trait actually paid off.  His Drake finally showed up, I shot it twice with AAA stripping a Hull Point, and I think in 4 I hit it a few more times, but removed the weapon forcing it to Reserves...   Pretty

So, AA did it's job I guess, but it was a LOT more that I had primarily Terminator armor on the field.  The fly by attacks are not an issue, he didn't really have an answer for the Raider and the Flamer being AP 3 is not so scary with 2+ everywhere...  Have to say the Banner combo is absolutely amazing locally...  I may have to bring in a Librarian with an Auspex to remove a bit of cover for the Salvo to hit...

Next week is the 750 point mini game followed by the separate table for the Tunnel game...  Not so sure what will happen, but looking at another 11 model army, but Deep Striking in exactly where I want should mean I get there first...

Painting projects, fliers, campaigns and contests :-)

On contests, I wound up winning the Wolf Scout and Samurai from Muninn's Brush ...  Probably not telling my wife :-)  She feels that the hobby area of the basement is really too crowded now...  But to be fair, my hobbies include ancient weapons, old firearms AND miniatures...  Right now restoring several old rifles (1890's Krag-Jorgenson rifle, US issue during the Spanish American war one of them), getting things ready for my "Klingon Wall" in the basement when I get around to finishing it...  Thanks for the Scout!

Finishing up my Consecrators (Dark Angels)...  Not a lot changed for me, NOT a complete repaint, so just the few new pieces to be painted and touched up...  Basically I need to piece together the few new pieces like a banner bearer/command squad.  As it happens, I have 40 or so ancient Powered Armor Marines that haven't seen the field for 3 editions in that army :-)...  Now, they're not too bad overall just have one major problem...

The Chaos Heldrake...  Purpose built to kill PA troopers, so being out in the open or even in cover means nothing at all...  Looking like I will be fielding some Rhinos for the AA missiles to get launched out of for a bit at least...  Need to break out some more of the hulls from deep storage and paint them up I guess...  Until then, more Terminator suits hit the field for me given the sheer number of these bloody things prowling locally at least...  It's clearly viewed by many as being under costed as I regularly see 2 of them across the table, usually with a third flier in a Vendetta.  While I like the Ally rules in general, this is where it gets a bit tiresome...  Seeing the exact same cookie cutter "ally groups" for a lot of folks.  It's a bit boring seeing the exact same under costed things all over the place.  Oh look, another IG ally with cheap Vets for the BS 4 and cheap Special Weapons fired out of the Chimera and/or a blob led by a Marine for ATSKNF/Stubborn/Fearless...  How original.  And a Vendetta or three AND Rambo?  Yeah, didn't see that coming :-)...  Not sure how I am feeling about the upcoming Flier book.  On one hand I am hoping they actually bring up the points for the 5th ed fliers that are clearly not costed on the same paradigm as the current ones.  I mean comparing the DA "dog-fighter" in the Nephilim to the IG Vendetta...  Yes, the DA does have a special rule that might in some circumstances actually bring down enemy fighters...  With it's ONE TL Las Cannon.  Or the IG can just shoot it down with it's THREE TL Las Cannons.  Oh, and the DA flier that is inferior in almost every respect costs 50+ points more...  So, not sure why people would field that if they can just do the safe alternative in fielding a small IG Kampfgruppe with the clearly superior Vendetta...  But like I said, it gets a bit boring seeing the same things over and over...

But back to the painting :-)  Yes, my Wolves are moving closer to the fore...  Praetorian IG are MUCH closer to complete.  Liking the Minwax for the quick and really pretty nice coating it puts on the minis.  So, I'll actually have a BUNCH of stuff fully painted ready to go.  Sadly, my Wolves are not one of them.  Being my first 40K army, I do think it is time for me to bring them up to a more modern and well painted standard...  Just not so sure they are really playable in the current environment.  :-)  Kind of bringing me full circle, I got back into the game mid 5th edition using the "unusable" 3rd ed Codex and did really well.  Think I will enjoy the challenge for a bit at least using the 5th ed Codex in the current environment...  A bit at least, at this point I am not so sure they will be able to survive the Heldrakes...  Guess we'll see what happens with the Flier expansion...

1850 DA, next week...

So, reflecting on last weeks game I think that while making Deathwing and Ravenwing "Troops" is really nice, the 215 points Azrael costs was just way too much to not hit the table.  Yes, I probably played wrong, so I am not totally discounting the usefulness of the Commander...  But having Belial hit the table on turn 1/2 exactly where I want him to be?  And then fighting for the bulk of the game, or at least until he dies :-) makes more sense to me.  Still not 100% sure it is something that will be able to beat things like the Necron Air circus, or the local IG hordes...  More specifically, the AV 14 tanks that are becoming popular locally...  Drop in, get a side shot maybe, hope for Melta/Multi Melta to survive long enough to matter...  Having Terminator armor is nice, but roll enough dice and 1's WILL come up.  Looking at fewer than 30 bodies total for the army at 1850, so those will all hurt.

Looking at:

Belial
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, several TH/SS, probably at least 4)
Deathwing Squad (5, Heavy Flamer, a few TH/SS)
Deathwing Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Champion, Heavy Flamer)
LRC (NOT a dedicated Transport, but maybe?, Melta, dozer)
Techmarine (Servo, Power Field)
Tactical Squad (5, ML w/Flak)
Ravenwing Squadron (Attack Bike, MM, Melta in Squadron)

I'm NOT sold on using the DW Command Squad over just a regular one, or even dropping that particular aspect altogether.  I'd probably swap out the LRC for a regular LR and hope to roll 6's when shooting at fliers I guess...

I am also kind of building it with the Campaign in mind.  I am facing off against several Chaos forces, including my primary enemy.  I forget my overall Warlord Trait, but in essence, I am hunting him...  Good bonuses for holding territories next to his, and better ones for actually defeating him in a game...  Since I just took a Hive City from him last turn, I'm set up fairly well for that.  And I have a number of "Bastion" spots, giving me free Bastions in games there...  Thinking my small Tac Squad foes there and fires Flak missiles, Heavy Bolters and Quad Gun/Las Cannon at fliers/reserves...  Seeing Rambo, I mean "Marbo" a lot these days in IG forces, so having something to potentially shoot him out of existence is a REALLY nice thing for me...  Getting out of paying the "Aegis Tax" for not bringing fliers...  And since I have yet to actually declare an attack in the Campaign, seems likely someone will try to come and take one of my good spots from me.  Plus side, no Planetstorm silliness attacking my Hive City as it incorporates a Shield Generator...  I could I guess bring extra Heavies or the like, but really not all that impressed with my choices there.

Kind of riffing off of that, my choices of Fliers is extremely limited overall.  Yes, I do have 1+ (the + is the extras I am building as Airships) for the Praetorians, I have a converted Valkyrie to stand in as a Storm Raven for my GK/BA forces...  But, honestly feeling that my IG/GK forces would be overpowered and over represented in our local environment.  My Fleshtearers are brutal.  Not a lot of local players are REALLY prepared for the way I play them.  Adding in a Raven to transport my DC DN and probably an Assault Squad?  Not sure I'd play it if I were not playing a "I'm making a point" Army and just going out to be a complete dick and destroy the opposition as quickly as possible...  So, no, not going to play that force I think...  And the DA fliers just look craptastic on paper.  NOT saying they needed to be "OMG BROKEN" level to have people play them, but really, 180 points for a very lackluster dog-fighter or 160 for a "ground attack" aircraft that is inferior in every way to the IG Valkyrie/Vendetta?  Yes, the IG flier is TOO good, and I don't think they need to make all of them too good, but playing now, I do not often see an army across the table without one of them as an "ally"...  Not the only reason to ally with IG of course, but I can erase blobs, even fearless ones easily enough, the filers are just a PITA...  The current crop of fliers is overall "Eh"...  The Chaos Heldrake is a bit over the top against Powered Armor armies not bringing Transports, but that can be dealt with I think...  The DA/Marine fliers are just a bit confusing to me.  Overpriced garbage.  And limited in which flavor of Marine gets the bloody things?  Not the strategy I would have taken as a business trying to sell more models, but...

Speaking of odd business decisions, rumor has a direct only "flier compendium" coming out in a few weeks.  Now, I am no longer involved in a game store, but I REALLY would much prefer to purchase through my local store as that is where I play, and the owners are friends.  Even without knowing them, the "buy where you play" thing is big for me.  some other stores over the years where there was either no or limited play space or where some/all of our game group were "no longer welcome"...  Well, then buying online was the way I'd go.  If the rumors are correct, barring Dave getting a bunch of orders together and being able to get them in bulk from GW, does not seem that we CAN order through him.  That does not even get me started on the whole releasing broken, silly rules and selling expensive "patches" later on like the liquid Green Stuff and "Finecast"...  Once upon a time, they released updated online as freely downloadable PDF's...  Wouldn't think that would have cost much at all, and would retain a fair number of customers.  To say nothing of the ability to release say, an Eldar tank kit with the rules online so they do not have to wait for the next iteration of the Codex...  :-)  Not that this will happen again...  But kind of frustrating as a player not having "legal" access to the rules for things like the last wave of fliers (Marine/Ork ones) without hunting down a back issue of their advertisement/magazine...  :-)  I guess I am missing the "good old days" a bit, maybe it will all work out...

1850 DA AAR

So, played the "We Shoot Things" list last night against a pretty good Chaos force...  Just going from memory, but this is approximately what he had:

Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon/Black Mace?, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
15 Cultists
15 Cultists
2 Predators (AC, 2x LC)
Vindicator
2 Heldrakes (bale flamers)

IG allies
CCS in Chimera (plasma/meltas)
Vet Squad in Chimera (plasma/2 Melta)
Manticore
Vendetta


So, lots of Fliers...

He had first turn and set up for an alpha strike...  I seized.  My bikes that had Scout moved up were in position and ended up winning me the game.  The Attack bike caught the Manticore in the 12" "sweet spot" for the easy kill netting me "First Blood".  The other bikes I had ran as Combat Squadrons so 2 groups of 3. Made my first big mistake when I did not just shoot the first Lord out of existence...  I shot each at one Cultist Squad with the LRC pitching in to wipe the closest one off the table.  I should have pushed the 48 TL Bolter shots all onto the one squad along with the TLAC/MM/etc...  So, killed off all of one and almost all of the other Cultist squads, but I REALLY should have just focused in on the one to kill the Lord.

That brings me to me second big mistake...  I rolled the LRC forward, leaving the Tactical Squads in their cover...  They did move out some trying to keep up, but...  In any case they got strung out and left behind by the uber-tank...

Brings me to the Drakes.  So, they fly "near" something, a wing clipping it maybe, and it's d3+1 Str 7 AP3 hits.  Movement phase, so absolutely NOTHING I as the defending player can do about it.  Not a HtH attack, no opposed rolling, just automatic hits, take the damage and move on.  Then of course there's the 360 degree Torrent Flamer hitting at Str 6 AP 3...  Kind of makes Power Armor completely worthless.  I was planning on running my Wolves at some point, but to be honest I think they'd just die.  FAQ killed the Wolf Scouts completely as the Interceptor Quad Guns are not really as big an issue these days...  Not bringing the Wolf Guard with them means just the 4+ Armor on the Scouts can strike behind the lines, and no Assault out of Reserve so "less useful" to "why bother"...  Seeing a lot of folks getting more and more frustrated with the game, and the "slightly overpowered" flier armies in general...  The now insane prices for the models is not helping, but the rules are really just lagging.  Maybe in a few months it will even out, but it is NOT there right now...

With the DA, I am left feeling that it is Terminator Armor or nothing.  Bikes are expensive and 3+ Armor, so they are looking like a "bring a Squadron" for the Bolters and Teleport Homers...  But do not count on them living with all the things that ignore cover AND the 3+ save...  OTOH, they do bring speed and a really good first strike ability to my force...

Far and away the "Death Star" I brought in the form of the LRC with the Command Squad/Banner of silly shooting/TechMarine w/ Power Field was the MVP for me...  It DID take 2 hull points of damage over the course of the game, but I made a LOT of 4++ saves, and the TM has the 4+ to repair the vehicle instead of shooting and since he cannot shoot inside the vehicle...  Not so sure it will be something I keep running, but to be honest I am pretty happy with it all things considered.  24" range only, so a bit limiting there...  Any light Infantry caught by this should really just die though...  So many shots hitting that even Heavy Infantry have to be careful...  Thinking that next week I run this, maybe back to Belial and Terminators for the most part...  Could be a really brutal "rush forward and hope for the best" army...  2 DW Squads, Belial, the LRC of silliness and a bike Squadron...  NOT a lot of models, but might work...

So, next week's Army... 1850 again...

Well, looking like nothing too bad on the rules questions I had...  So looking like this will be what I am bringing:

Azrael
Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Power Weapon maybe?)
Land Raider Crusader (MM)
Techmarine (Servo Harness, Power Field)
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS?)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/ Flak, Flamer)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/Flak, Flamer)
Ravenwing Squadron (6 bikes, Attack Bike w/MM, Melta Gun)

Leaves me a few more points, and it is going to be a very "unsubtle" force...  Techmarine gives me a 3+ cover save to park some of the lads in...  Probably a Flak team, though maybe the Terminators against some forces...  Terminators can DW Assault in on one of the many Teleport Homers I have out there, or just hole up and hold an objective.  Everyone is a "Troop" selection, so I could potentially have 7 of them...  A lot of them a bit weak, but...  Plan is to park the Land Raider with Techmarine, Command Squad and probably Azrael in it at the front of my DZ...  The Tactical Squads deploy around it, preventing Deep Strikers, and giving more Salvo Bolters...  The Bikes Scout to the front to provide coverage there, and gaining the 4++ and making their Bolters Salvo as well...

Essentially, I have a metric crapton of Bolter fire, so it will be pretty deadly against Hordes...  Most Marines will have a fairly hard time dealing with the sheer number of shots they can throw out...  Fliers are going to be an issue, but can't be helped I think.  Just kill off everything else...

couple of rules questions...

Sitting at doctor office and have a few minutes....

So, here goes...

For the purposes of the Banner of devestation what all counts as a Bolter?  Hurricane Bilters list as "3 twin linked bolters fired as a single weapon", so I would say yes...  Likewise bikes have the tl Bolter, assuming that too...  Combi weapons? Yes?

Do "bubble" effects work from within a Vehicle?  The Sanguinary Priest's does, so I am going with the assumption that it is "yes"...  So the Banner and Power Field inside the Land Raider would have a fairly big "footprint" on the field...

Thinking that I might have to run a Heavy Bolter in one of the Squadrons of Ravenwing that I keep near the LR/Banner...  Just to be able to cause casualties at ranges greater than 24" via the new FAQ...  Potentially 28 TL Bolter shots should do a few wounds on whatever, but I am more concerned about hitting IG Blob/Chaos Cultist squads and only being able to do a few casualties if we end up dancing on the edge of 24" range...

Guessing the biggest thing I am really concerned about is the verdamnten Heldrake...  I just don't have a good answer to that.  Though giving all of my lads huddled around the LR a 4++ might help...  2 ML with the Flak missiles are not I think the answer to deal with AV 12 fliers, and while the Salvo of Bolter fire might work should one present a Rear arc shot...  Unlikely I would say...

1850 DA, This time formatted better...

Yeah, kind of doing a free range ramble on the last post there...  On one hand, really unfocused on the surface...  But thanks GraveMind!  That Power Field suggestion is looking like a really good one...  And amusing with the Techmarine riding in and hopefully repairing the LR...

So:
Azrael
Command Squad w/ Banner of Devastation, Company Champion
Techmarine w/ Servo and Power Field
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS)
2 Tactical Squads (10 man each, Flamer, ML w/ Flak)
Ravenwing Squadron (6 Bikes, Attack Bike w/MM, 1-2 Melta guns?)

Getting pretty close to the end there...  I'd LIKE to fit in a Hyperion ML turret or three at 35 points each, but I should have a fair amount of resilient scoring presence on the field with this...  Al LD 10 or Fearless, loads of 4++ saves, some upgraded cover saves hopefully...  Not the same hyper aggressive force I normally play with my Fleshtearers, Wolves or even my Crimson Fists, but I DO think it will work well, assuming the Banner and Power Field both project their bubble around the Land Raider hull...

DA back to 1850...

Back to "normal" games...  Not sure if the weather will permit the motorcycle next week or not, but in any case I tend to have a "set" army list or two that can be easily transported via bike or truck...

So here goes:
Azrael or Belial...  Still deciding here.  Azrael gives me Ld 10 and that's pretty nice...  Deathwing/Ravenwing Troops...  Belial makes the DW Troops...  If I bring them, really feel I need to Deepstrike to get the full advantage.  Belial would not scatter and has the Homer for follow on forces.  Been playing DW Assault wrong, it is only one, they ALL come in at once, no choosing for each unit...  Still, turn one, good odds on the lads coming in on turn 2 to support...  Azrael if I can find some points for a Ravenwing squad I guess for the extra Homers...

2 Squads of PA Troops...  8 Bolters each, Flamer and Missile Launcher w/ Flak rounds.  Probably should mention that I am bringing a Command Squad as well...  They'll have the Banner of Detestation and ride in my Land Raider Crusader.  Now, as I am reading it, the Hurricane Bolters are listed in the Codex as 3 twin linked Bolters that fire as a single weapon...  And the Banner makes the Bolters Salvo 2/4...  Being Vehicle Mounted, they should always fire as if stationary.  So 24 shots/turn, twin linked, and the 2 squads (4 if Combat Squad) of lads on the outside to be a buffer...  LD 10, Stubborn, with the potential for 32 more Bolter shots each...  Yes, I COULD bring more, but I am honestly more concerned with things not easily brought down by Bolters ..

Deathwing Squad, maybe 2...  Or one and one Ravenwing Squadron to give me Homers and a fast moving platform...  Maybe they park in front of the LRC to take advantage of the Banner for the start of the game... :-)  Does sound like a bit of fun...  Bonus they're ALL Troops, can throw down a metric crapton (Yes, the Metric one IS bigger) of fire...

Yeah, posted quicker than I should have...  In the LRC and attached to the Command Squad will be a Techmarine...  Thought it was a bit light...  So, depends a bit on whether the Hurricane Bolters are counted as "Bolters", else I can just bring a standard "Godhammer" class Land Raider for the TL Las Cannons...  Am feeling a bit light on the AAA/AT firepower...  But I may just be paranoid...

Ah, Campaign games...

Yeah, remembering again why I do not like GW's campaign games.  There is almost never any thought given to "balance" or anything of that sort.  The game last night illustrated it very painfully.  And I am most certainly NOT faulting the players for running armies that exploited the poorly written rules for the scenario...  Just that Fliers, which are already "somewhat overpowered" got a bunch of bonuses and Reserves being able to come in anywhere on the Station meant that people bringing in late reserves were able to simply walk on and take Objectives...  Things like "Send in the Next Wave" for the IG were REALLY powerful as the 30 man unit could just keep walking in wherever they wanted, fire their now with Rending las guns, kill a bunch of things and then die to reappear next turn somewhere else...  Yeah, Rending for all attacks EXCEPT against Necrons and Demons...

Just poorly written and unbalanced rules.  Not a major problem if you are doing this as a "beer and pretzels" thing with a group of buddies, and since that appears to be the GW philosophy for most of their stuff, unsurprising.  Problem if you are wanting to inject this into a competitive league where there is money on the table.  Mind, I am not stressing/stressed about this, if I happen to win, great, else as long as I have fun playing then I consider the league fees to be money well spent.  This was not a fun game.  One of the reasons I stopped playing a lot of Privateer Press league stuff, the scenarios were, to put it nicely "poorly written".  Just led to games that were no fun whatever for one or both players.  Kind of easy to burn out on a system when you pay to play, must play with their models (no proxies/3rd party stuff allowed) and then feel like you get thrown into a game you cannot win, no matter what.  NOT the situation in the 40K league, we're all about proxies, 3rd party stuff is fine, etc...  Just that some of these special ones like this just kill off a lot of the "good feelings" we get from playing most of the games.

Anyway, back to 1850 games next week, so I can actually field a regular army...  Looking forward to that.  I might even get to play :-)

750 DA for the "Crusade of Fire" space station game

Well, we're playing the "Space Station" game in the Crusade of Fire campaign tomorrow...

Playing DA, I do not have much choice...  I more or less need Belial to keep my Deathwing Troops (Yes, I could bring Azrael, but...), so that eats up 190 of it right off the top.  Filling out one DW squad, 440 points and I need the 2 heavy weapons and a number of the Storm Shields...  So that's about it.  I COULD skimp on the squad, bring 2 5 man Squads, or maybe even bring a small Assault Squad.  The special rules for the game include things like movement being like Jump for normal Infantry, if they are Jump, double move...  Minus side, Difficult Terrain test, but potential 24" move for Jump Troops?  Thinking the BA will be WAY too fast for most people to react to in this one.  Jump Terminators might be amusing...  But one of the other rules being a 6 on the "to wound" makes it AP 2...  Just thinking this will suck for me.  And considering that Chaos gets free Demos squads every turn to appear and assault...  Has the makings of a REALLY short game for my lads.  Looking at maybe 11 bodies on the table, and the potential for everything Rending...

Most of the other rules for me are less relevant for me with most of my lads coming in via Deep Strike/Teleport in any case...  Belial does not miss his, and has a Homer in the event I bring 2 Squads and want to keep them together.  Guess we'll see, but my list is more or less fixed...  Have to say these small games are the most difficult for me since I can only being a little...  Just concerned that there will be NO balance in the game as no one can bring effective AAA if fliers are allowed...  And hordes are just going to be silly...

Thoughts on the new DA codex/FAQs...

So, got in a few games with the new book, and overall I am VERY happy with the book and the overall direction GW seems to be taking with the Chaos and DA books...  Assuming they continue this going forward of course...

The book itself has a good number of options, many of which seem viable as Army builds.  My "Subtle, like Sledgehammer" build of the Deathwing Assault is REALLY good now.  Belial and Azrael both open up Deathwing Terminator Squads as Troops, and Azrael also opens up Ravenwing Bikes to match Sammael (Master of the Ravenwing).  Focusing mostly on Belial for me, he went up in cost from 130 to 190, but the new Deathwing Assault (DWA) rules are REALLY good.  I ran him with a DW Command Squad, but I do think he would be better off in a line DW Squad...  His precision assault combined with the twin linked shooting the turn they deep strike in means I can really simply place the DW Squad 1"away from, say, a Scout Squad hiding behind the Aegis Line and fry a bunch of them.  Oh, and Split fire means we can ALSO shoot at something else altogether :-)...The Command Squads is nice, but not scoring and fixed at 5 seems like it is something for larger games...  The Apothecary is nice, the Company Champion is REALLY good (Str 7 AP2 weapon?  Yes, please...  And just +5 points?), but a single Heavy Weapon and just not THAT much weight of firepower means this just might not be the normal route for me.  DW Knights are another interesting one...  Their weapons are modified Power Mauls, so Str +2, AP 4...  Except against their Preferred Enemies, Chaos Marines.  They get -1 AP...  The Flail used by the SGT here IS AP 3 to start, so he could be a Terminator killer if it came to that...  Storm Shields, Hammer of Wrath and +1 T if they are in BtB with 2 others?  Not much more expensive than my "line squads", but no shooting at all and no way to make them Scoring would I think make them an expensive "linebreaker" unit...  I can see using them, and probably running them in a Land Raider Crusader...  If I were playing a stupid expensive list, I might give them the Banner of Devastation turning the Bolters to Salvo 2/4 weapons...  Park it in the middle of 3+ squads of Tac Marines for the sheer number of Bolter shots as I park on an objective.  Dare them to let me charge with the Knights after they make it through the firepower...  Silly, expensive, but might be amusing...

The other thing I am really liking is the ancient Missile Launcher getting Flak...  Yes, you have to pay to upgrade, but silly at this point NOT to.  Seeing a lot of fliers and looking like more are inbound soon.  The FAQ change limiting casualties to only include models in range of at least one weapon also makes inclusion of a Heavy a good idea.  It does not need to hit, just be ABLE to cause a casualty out to 36 or 48" range (AFAIK, I could be wrong, going from memory here), and having the ability to slap down a 5 man squad with AAA in the form of a ML seems like a good thing.  Down side, you might well be giving up "First Blood" playing with a min sized squad and the Chaos Heldrake is now REALLY powerful (no cover on vector strikes and the AP 3 heavy flamer has a 360 arc)...  Conceivable that one simply flying over could wipe out or almost wipe one while the Flamwerfer toasts another.  Since my only other defense against that is "gee, I hope he rolls lots of 1's" or perhaps a Bastion?

Have to admit the Bastion is growing on me.  Yes, it is a death trap if someone brings a Melta or similarly armed unit down specifically to deal with it...  But it is also a good way to get AAA with a quad gun or heavy laser.  And a squad inside could occupy and fire the Heavy Bolters and shoot their own weapons as well.  So Flak missiles and the Las Cannon probably for me...  Dunno :-)  Hobby budget for the month blown getting the DW Command box and book...  But given measurements I HAVE a full shop downstairs...  Hmmm...

Oh, and have to say that the DW Command box set is one that is certainly well worth it.  Especially if, like me, you have an existing DW Army, and maybe more than a few Terminators around to modify.  3 full sprues, options to make the Knights, Command Squad and normal Deathwing...  Including ALL of the possible options like Heavy Flamer, Assault Cannon, Cyclone Missile and the new Heavy Plasma...  Neat, and I am betting that I will use every piece in the box converting a large number of my existing DW models as well as piecing together the 5 that come in the box...  This one I do think is well worth the $60 price tag, I can't say the same for the new speeder variants or fliers...  Maybe it is just my bias of not really liking the model in the case of the Speeder or the completely underwhelming game stats in the case of the flier.

Free ranging ranting, moving from the cost of the Fliers to their in game use...  I think the recent fliers, in general, are costed out pretty well.  Not too horribly overpowered and relatively easy to deal with.  Exception being the Chaos Dragon...  Playing normal Marines, I do not really have a good way to deal with it as my Crimson Fists found...  Deathwing are less vulnerable, but I dread bringing my Grey Hunters out of hibernation.  Conversely, my IG probably worry the least about the Drakon...  Losing d3+1 models to flyby and then a single flamer?  "Eh", they take worse casualties hitting the mess hall...  The issue I have is with the older ones that got "Flier" tagged onto them and some of the Forgeworld ones.  Vendetta/Valkyrie is VASTLY undercosted for the new rule set...  It was too cheap in 5th before becoming a Flier, now looking around at the competitive armies it is unsurprising how many are included.  Have to admit that sort of stalled out my drive to make my Steampunk "Airship" versions.  Really not wanting to just be one of the crowd there...  So, still building them, just pushed back a bit on the workbench...  The Forgeworld stuff is going to be problematic I think.  AV 13 fliers with twin linked 5" template Melta weapons?  Maybe a bit too much, being completely immune to a lot of ground fire...  And the dirt cheap weapon platforms in the Aero book...  No one using them locally yet, but I have to admit they are becoming a major temptation for me...  Hyperios ADA Btty and the Contemptor DN's are both thing I would use in an instant...  I'd ALMOST feel bad using some things like the Land Raider immune to Lance and Melta, so those are likely out...  But the ADA Btty would be something CHEAP points wise I could throw together myself...  35 points/platform for the Str 8, AP 3 Skyfire, Interceptor missile?  Btty of 1-4, and potentially split fire?  Hmm, let's think it through...  No, really no need, it is really almost too good in and of itself with Interceptor being able to fire at things arriving from Reserve, so Drop pod troops, flankers, etc...  Almost never going to be a useless investment...  Thinking I can put my Whirlwind missile packs on a platform for use as this...  So, will have to get the ruling about "homemade" Forgeworld rules units... (edited for spelling, slipped back to Scottish I guess for a bit...)

New Dark Angels...

So, picked up the codex today at the Gopher :-)  Looking good so far.  I was using Belial, or the Consecrator's equivalent to make Deathwing Troops.  The 5 man squads were pretty darn good so was pretty hopeful they would at least NOT mess that up...  Nope.  The Terminator squads are a bit more expensive, but I can get 10/Squad, they are Twin linked on the turn they Deep Strike in, can still mix in TH/SS and LC with the shooters... Oh, and they can split fire as well...  And the first actual NEW Terminator weapon since the RT era...  We can get a Plasma Cannon :-)...  Not really all that great an option I think overall as you cannot snap fire or shoot at Fliers...  But I'll be modeling at least one to give it a shot as it were...  Might work well given the "foot" heavy focus that this edition seems to be having at least locally...  Belial himself has gone up in points from 130 to 190, but there are a LOT of new rules for him...  His squad does not deviate on Deep Strike, he gets precision shot on a 5+ rather than 6+, he has a Teleport Homer, 4++ save and his sword is fleshbane (wounds on 2+ like the Eldar Witch Blades)...

Azrael makes the Ravenwing and Deathwing Troops...  Gives his squad a 4++, gets to choose his Warlord trait from the DA specific ones...  Pretty powerful, and coming in at 215 points he is NOT bad at all...  Longer term, I will definitely play that force...  Maybe the 1-2 punch, but that is 400 points for my army...  Doubt I could go for that...But still, one or the other I think and I will have a pretty darn good force to lead out my lads.  I am also thinking that a Bastion will probably be used :-)...  Park the objective there, a squad of Deathwing with him for the 2+/4++, FnP, Fearless, Split fire?  Good luck getting them off the Objective...

So, more to read, and a bunch more to paint I guess...

The next batch...

Well, here's the next batch of the lads on the way to get the Minwax/Matte coating...  Oh, and one of these things is not like the others :-)

Random ancient High Elf in there to test paint scheme...  Guess I will be painting up one of the ancient Elf armies I have around, I had High and Wood Elf armies in the ancient times...  Not thinking that Warhammer will start up any time soon, but these things have been around here bloody forever and something to break up the monotony of painting the Redcoats...

I also threw together one of my ancient "Assault Marines"/Grey Hunters with my new paint scheme for my old Wolves...

No REAL plans on redoing the Wolves in the short term, but I am pretty happy how this one came out so I think I have my basics set for them.

Also gathering up my Consecrators (Dark Angels)...  I had almost forgotten about the ancient "beakies" I have for the Consecrators as they probably haven't hit the table since 2nd Edition...  But another 50 or so "Basic Marines" to go along with my 60 or so Terminators.  So, really no matter what the new book has in it, I am set for "basic troops"...  Curious what the vehicles and Aircraft are going to do, but seeing the price tag, well...  Not likely I'll be picking up a lot of them...

Redcoats everywhere...

Well, getting over the plague again...  I didn't get hit nearly so badly as my wife and kids, but that did kill a lot of my "hobby" time...  So, just got back to painting a bit last night and I got the main hull cut out of press-board for the Airship...

Another random "concept" shot:

Oh, got a new phone last week too, and it does take some amazing pictures...

The lads are coming along, still not COMPLETELY bored and burned out...  Still have yet to actually play the army in this edition though...  Played against it a fair number of times, and I think this codex is certainly still among the more powerful ones.  Getting the vehicles repainted in the "Brown Violet" (what I used to call OD Green, Vallejo Flames of War paints), coming along slowly as I am focusing mostly on the "Light Rifles" for the moment.  I do not have any particular doubt that the Armored Division approach is still insanely powerful, at least in our local scene...  So filling the ancient Armory/Chessex figure case with repainted and sealed minis...  And realizing that I'll be filling 2 cases for my Infantry alone...

All of this is just in time for the DA codex to be released...  I'll be dropping by the Gopher later to pre-order/pay for one...  So, looking like one of my 2 4th edition Codices  will be updated...  I'll be in my "Wait and See" mode for this as well.  I HAVE a giant Deathwing based force already, if the Terminators are viable still as rumored, might be breaking out my Consecrators for a bit while the Praetorians get redone...  Will likely be fabricating weapon swaps and doing more magnets as I see what I can actually field in the new era...  Guessing my old standard 5 man unit of 3 TH/SS, 2 LC with one having the CML will not be allowed...  I am kind of hoping (though really doubt) they go back to the 2 HW/5 man Squad on the Terminators and that the Assault Cannon drops a LOT in price...  :-)  I still have a bunch of them, and for nostalgia reasons I still fielded them in "fun" games...  Counting on "roll lots of 6's" to do much of anything against modern armies just doesn't cut it in a more competitive force though... Just my opinion of course, I'm just an Engineer, what would I know :-)  I guess we'll know for sure in a few weeks...  This stealth product drop just HAS to drive retailers nuts...  To announce it officially less than 2 weeks before it ships?  Seems "less than well thought out", but again, Engineer, not business or marketing, so these things are likely beyond my poor comprehension :-)...