Relics from the 80's

Digging around in the basement...  Found one of my relics from the 80's.  An old Armorcast (I think) Tempest class Eldar Grav Tank...  In the old days it was a "super heavy" tank, but these days it would make an interesting Wave Serpent probably, the scale has grown a bit since then...

X-Wing this weekend and Gen Com coming up...

Bigger X-Wing tournament coming up Sunday at Titan, so I’ll fly something at least familiar to me and that I think has a chance against the current “top lists”…  Right now, the scariest things are the 2 big turreted ships (Usually the Millennium Falcon x2) or the like loaded out to be annoyingly survivable or the Imperial equivalent with the one big ship and either a mini swarm or a few top notch fighters to escort.  Swarms of many small ships are still a danger, but becoming less so with more people looking ahead to Wave 7 and the probability of good Ordinance based squadrons being able to handle them easily…  That is one thing I REALLY like about this game, it is slowly evolving, not EVERY month a batch of ships, cards and the good chance that something in there is “poorly tested” and has some unforeseen combo that breaks the game a little bit more (or a lot).  Frankly pretty excited for Wave 7, looking like ¾ ships are going to be good for my fleets, and the Rebels get an excellent support bomber in the K-Wing.  https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/7/13/wave-vii-rebels/ says it FAR better than I.  Both the K-Wing and the Firespray with Emon in bomber configuration are looking VERY nice with new bombs and tricks to deploy them. 

So, looking at fielding the following:

Boba Fett (Scum) — Firespray-31	39
Predator	3
K4 Security Droid	3
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 49
IG-88B — Aggressor	36
Lone Wolf	2
Sensor Jammer	4
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Autothrusters	2
Ship Total: 51

Pretty simple really, the Aggressor is hard to take down and has the potential to land up to 4 hits each turn…  Yes, not great odds of course, but it will likely hit for a few each turn even against crazy high Defense with its reroll ability.  MAKING people Focus to fire on it negates the turret’s ability to just throw out a shot hoping to ping for a hit here and there.  The 2 defensive additions can almost guarantee 2 dodges for someone firing at long range or outside of their 90˚ firing arc.  And I still have a base 3-4 Defense dice to roll.  So, it will likely survive.  Fett’s Firespray is set to essentially move slowly, take pot shots with Predator allowing re-rolls (and Fett’s ability if they get close)…  Not 100% sold on this configuration honestly, it has the potential to simply be swarmed and die without doing much of anything.

Other option is a fairly standard Dash/Corran list for the Rebels:

Dash Rendar — YT-2400                36

Heavy Laser Cannon       7

Navigator            3

Engine Upgrade               4

Outrider              5

Ship Total: 55

               

Corran Horn — E-Wing 35

Veteran Instincts             1

Fire-Control System       2

R2-D2    4

Hull Upgrade     3

Ship Total: 45

               

Nothing subtle, nothing really exciting, but potential to survive and do a fair bit of damage on the way… 

Probably stick with the S&V (first build) as a “fun” one…  I found 3 of my “Debris” markers so can use them instead of the verdammten Asteroid markers…  Last few times I parked on an Asteroid and lost several REALLY important rounds of shooting, but with this at least I get a shot…  Yes, a Stress and potentially a Critical Hit, but…  Better the 1/8 chance of a Crit than the 1/2 chance of a hit and loss of action/shooting… 

So, one last big event this month at Titan, Gen Con at the end of the Month…  Looking like a Star Trek Attack Wing tournament or two for me as they are what is scheduled when I’ll be around J…  Will need to get to “Will Call” probably Thursday when we get into town and get my badge/tickets…  Else, head in early Friday…  Guessing Saturday will be the day the girls and I wander about the Con…  Hoping we all have a better year than last, but staying at the Embassy Suites on the edge of Indianapolis, so at least a few meals, etc. will be included and we have a nice suite…

Overflowing basement, vehicles breaking and it is mid July already?

So…  What to do with “too much stuff”…  As it is appearing a pretty darn good bet that several of my GW armies can be downsized with the new WFB being…  Well, not Warhammer Fantasy.  Read over the rules and it is a “no” for me at this point.  40K is also going in a somewhat silly direction, and it is another good bet I will not be playing the game any time soon again, if ever.  That one is a real shame, as I’ve played off and on since the late 80’s and I have amassed WAY too many armies over the years:  Wolves, Dark Angels, Fleshtearers (Blood Angels), Crimson Fists, Generic Marines, Grey Knights, Imperial Guard (Praetorians, so think “Zulu”), and finally Eldar…   Oh, and a Warhound class Titan and a Knight...  Just SO many models everywhere.  Nothing particularly valuable individually, and of course not really looking at just dumping the lots on e-bay to get next to nothing back for them…  Just seeing too many of the people I knew for a long time walking away from the game, and frankly haven’t played either of their games now in quite a while (measured in years for WFB).  So, I don’t know if someone were looking to pick up a bunch of stuff, get in touch I guess… 

The basement is feeling more and more like a tomb of ancient/dead games.  I have WAY too many dead games down there, but just can’t seem to get rid of them.  1^st Edition Space Marine/Adeptus Titanicus (sp?)/Epic stuff mixed in with WizKids MechWarrior and BattleTech stuff in one corner.  Shelves full of Confrontation and related minis…  Then the 40K sprawl begins J…  So, I guess it is time to start packing some of it away.  Loads of ancient firearms there as well, should probably clean those and finish the armory closet…  Maybe get the painting station moved and set up a real “Hobby Area” for my wife and I complete with work bench, etc…

Waiting on payday, then ordering a few things for the bike I think…  REALLY missing the windshield, and yet another speedometer cable as I think I have installed them incorrectly with them dying so soon…  The Escape lost its exhaust flange, so the catalytic converter and the muffler are no longer attached.  Bolts rusted out, so that will be something I look at I guess.  The repair looks simple enough (thank you YouTube), so I guess I’ll give it a shot.  Need to pick up some more industrial strength break free (WD-40 is NOT enough) to get the rusted bolt head out of the flange and re-attach to the muffler….  Assuming I CAN and it does not break, this should be easy enough, but just saying that reminds me of the Clausewitz quote about “the easy things are the most difficult (in war)” …  So, we’ll see.  Might be a winter project, but may wind up getting a titled wreck/frame for the Magna and transferring everything that way…  Or just sell it as a “parts bike” and let the next buyer worry about the title.  In any case want it gone.  The Silverwing is running fine, but is just a tad too small for me to be comfortable taking it anywhere but in town, and I would very much like to go on longer rides…  So, I’ll probably get a Goldwing in the next iteration, can remove the trunk as I really just want saddlebags and a luggage rack to strap my ruck to if I am carrying more cargo.  Saddlebags need to fit my laptop and game stuff though as the Silverwing lacks in that area…  Probably get the "big bike" eventually, something in a Harley, Indian or Victory in a heavy cruiser with the nice hard side saddlebags...  But the Bluetooth headset my wife got me is working great as a comm unit for the helmet :-), so I am set there in the short to mid term...  And for the record, "Bat out of Hell" is an excellent soundtrack to cruise the back roads here in central Illinois....

Job search is a bust so far.  Other things are changing, so I guess we’ll see what shakes out when that gets settled.  Plus side I have some substantial things on the current resume that were not there in previous rounds, so my chances I would think are a bit better…  REALLY looking forward to next week ending as I can wash my hands of the one Department that I intend to have nothing to do with ever again….  Silly me volunteering to chair their search, but I think they have cured me of that.

Memphis trip, etc... A great way to start July...

So…  Took a long weekend trip to Memphis with my wife…  Was the first trip without the kids in a LONG time.  Had a great time, had great food, etc…  A few observations:

•    Was VERY clean and well maintained where we were.  Now, this was pretty limited to Main Street and Beale Street between the big Government complex (Federal Bldg, City Hall, Courts, etc.) and Beale itself…  Part of the clean and well maintained was due to the HIGH number of private Security personal on the ground there.  Almost every business it seemed had some or “Staff” that reminded me of our “Goon Squad” we had back working at Joe’s Brewery in the old days…  Very orderly, and the high visibility of what appeared to be competent Security staff helped that impression.
•  Beale St was pretty much like my impression of the French Quarter in New Orleans…  A lot of themed bars, most of which had window service so that you could get a drink and walk outside.  We decided not to go in to places with cover charges, and the drink prices were quite high…  Or at least they seemed that way to me, I don’t really drink anymore, so it’s been a LONG time since I last ordered myself anything in a bar other than the rare Guinness…  The crowd on Beale seemed a mix of “Frat Boys” and “Tourists” for the most part with a few more obvious local predator types mixed in…  As I mentioned above a LOT of Security, and I tend to be able to avoid issues with all of those crowds…  Am told I can project that “Just leave me alone if you want to live” feeling quite well..  Memphis PD had the street blocked off each night, so the place was very pedestrian friendly…
•  Food was AWESOME overall…  We hit “South of Beale” the first night for our first “As seen on ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’” meal.  Was probably the best meal we had there.  Certainly was the best we’d had out in a VERY long time.  Their Pimento Grits (I’d have called it “Polenta” coming from a more Italian background cooking wise) were the highlight for me… 
• BBQ was REALLY good overall…  Rendezvous I thought had the best ribs I’ve had in a LONG time…  Their Brisket was also quite good.  The sauces that they had mixed well for my wife and I, so that was another winner…  Blues City Café was another place we tried…  My wife liked the ribs there better, I found them to be a bit too “fall off the bone” tender as they tended to disintegrate on me…  The lack of sauce was disturbing to me as a Yankee as well J…  She loved the fried catfish (not one of the things I like particularly, so I’ll take her word that it was among the best she’d had), and I REALLY liked their “Delta” style tamales and BBQ sausage…  Those had an excellent flavor and certainly made that meal for me…  So for me Rendezvous for the Ribs/Brisket and Blues City Café for the sides…  But certainly both were far better than anything I’d had locally in Champaign as I’ve been thinking the general BBQ quality here has been bottoming out for a long time…  Another one of those “If I can cook it better, I am unlikely to enjoy it out” things…
• The “Bass Pro Shop Pyramid” was amusing…  We visited more as tourists than shoppers…  Neat building, but the fact that the roof was leaking in several places on the 25+ floor building was a tad disturbing to me…

All in all, though we stayed in the well-marked “safe” zones for the most part it was quite nice…  Stayed at the “Sleep Inn”, quite reasonable rates, nice place and RIGHT there on Main so we could park the vehicle and walk almost everywhere… 

Took the ancient bike out for a ride last night, missing the windshield…  Got hit by my first bird…  Was riding among the cornfields and going maybe 20mph coming out of a turn, so not a big deal, but the shield would have been nice.  Also had to clean out the helmet’s screen with the bugs hitting it pretty hard…  Got to ride into work today, but looking like my last ride for a while as we reenter monsoon season here in Illinois… 

Off to play STAW at the Gopher this evening, and I have my wee fleet packed away in the bike’s saddlebags…  Should be pretty decent as I just brought the 3 biggest ships I could fit in for the Klingons and Romulans and plan to take and hold the center while avoiding the terrain effects…

Waiting on a few things at work, did not get the last few things I’d applied for, but looking out longer term…  Well, it looks like a fair number of changes are headed our way, hoping that some moves happen the way I want them to which will open the way for me to move…  Eh, no hurry, I have a good job (at least it pays fairly well), family is doing well, etc…  So, there isn’t the sense of urgency I might otherwise have, but…  I do think it is definitely time to look very seriously at changes, be they within my current organization or another at the University…  We’ll see I guess…

Klingon/Romulans for STAW, random games and motorcycle stuff to start July out

So, getting ready to play another STAW event at the Gopher next Monday… 

Klingon/Romulan Alliance

I.R.W. Avatar of Tomed (34)

Martok (6)

Cloaked Mines (3)

Ship SP: 44

Scimitar (38)

Mirok (2)

Romulan Helmsman (2)

Cloaked Mines (3)

Ship SP: 45

Negh'Var Class (28)

Donatra (4)

Ship SP: 33

Total Build SP: 120

Generated by STAW Builder

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

The scenario is based on one of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes with Cmdr Riker being assigned to a Klingon ship as part of an “Office Exchange Program”.  Their ship and the Enterprise both pick up some bacteria that eats away their hulls until the crew of the Enterprise figures out the “cure”.  The board for the event will a grid of 12 tokens placed leaving a narrow band in the center of the board without bacteria waiting to latch onto a ship.  Oh, and your ships all start with the stuff on them, so everyone rolls at least once to take damage (50% shot) before being able to clear the token by sacrificing an action more or less…  So, Fighters and small ships are pretty much right out for this event.  I’m going with straight joisting with big ships and big damage with the plan of run up the middle where it’s clear, and use the Cloaked Mines to punish the opponent for doing the same…  Not playing subtle, and with 2 ships that can heal along with the potential 9 Dice Attack from the Scimitar, it should leave a mark.

Hockey season is over…  Really the only sport I even follow a little.  The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, and with the hard salary cap, the dismantling of the team has begun…  A real shame, but if it prevents a NY Yankee situation where one team is completely dominant in the league being able to simply buy the best players, etc…  I guess I understand, and why it is impressive for a team to win the cup consistently.  And with the Cup being the most difficult trophy to win in any sport…  Kind of sad seeing the Hawks get broken up like this, but that’s the way it works I guess…

40K is gaining speed, but not I think in a good way.  The Space Marines and Dark Angels just released new Codices.  After a quick read through, I can’t really say that there is all that much new information in them frankly.  The Marines get a bunch of new formations, which is “neat”, but this is something that could have been an inexpensive web/e-book/whatever update, not another $60 hardback book to replace one less than 2 years old.  I think that is what is bothering me so much about it, this situation is the same as my experience with the University when I got here and took Chemistry…  Professor Zumdahl (I think, been a few years) was the instructor of record, and even usually did the weekly lectures…  He also wrote the book we used, and every 3 semesters there would be a “new” version so that you’d have to buy the new version and the used ones were completely worthless.  Nothing really new in basic Chemistry in the last 50 years certainly, just book royalties for the author who was also of course the instructor…  Getting that feeling here with 40K, nothing major changing, just updates in the Marines cases, but new and expensive book to play.  So, on one hand, it beats the LONG time between books for some armies (Orks, Wolves), but trading that for the things like the new AD Mech where you need something like 3 full books to play the army?  And knowing that the books are cycling out so quickly?  Meh, I guess I’ll paint up my Wolves Legion force and get ready for 30K games…  Eventually.  Maybe.

Started painting again, my Warmachine Dwarves (Rhullic) are getting base coated…  Still have some of their light Jacks in the package, and never really DID finish any of the army, so…  It looks OK, not professionally painted, but will look decent on the table I think.  And consistent with the same colors, etc…  Might get back to playing that game eventually…  Liking how it plays, but the Attack Wing stuff is just easier to pack up and get in some pickup games, so…  Looking like STAW at Gen Con unless somehow I can get into the X-Wing event on Thursday…  That sold out quick, so not really all that much a chance, so a nice slow trip over and Friday playing STAW/wandering the center…  Guessing the girls will want to come Saturday, so keeping the day clear…  Hopefully my kilt will be back by then J…

Motorcycle is still running, but apparently we now have a monsoon season in Illinois…  But have a nice new Bluetooth device that allows some background music to be played, and it is AWESOME to have that…  An amazing gift from my patient and understanding wife J…  Workouts are starting to come along, still looking for a new job I guess...  We'll see how things work out...

Engine, Diesel, One Each

Engine, Diesel, one each….  It is very important to be specific when you are asking for something.  The Engine comment is something that I ordered back when I was in the Army.  See, we just got back from our first combat deployment and we were engaged in a major overhaul of our equipment.  Now, I got bored pretty easily and we had access to the “big book of things” that did contain pretty much EVERY thing we could possibly order.  We needed to replace the engine pack for our M-113.  Well, in reading the big book of “stuff” I did come across a listing for “Engine, Diesel, One Each”.  The 113 A2 was in fact powered by a Diesel engine.  So, it MIGHT have made sense that one could order just the engine.  You couldn’t, there was an Engine Pack with the differentials, etc…  So, I was wanting to see just how far it would go before someone caught the “error” when I ordered the Engine.  If one were to read the whole description in the book, one might have made the connection and realized that there was something else called a Diesel Engine.  A train for instance.  So…  Nothing came in for a few days, then Division HQ called our CO to let him know that, “Yes, we do have one.  Where would you like it delivered, and by the way, why does a line combat Engineer Company need a train?”…  Never did get the train J…  CO had a darn good idea who actually ordered the train, and as punishment I was promoted to the “Training NCO” for the Company… 

So, applied for a few other jobs at the University.  Things with “Director” in the job title.  Guess it is about time I actually get an actual “Management” job since I’ve actually been doing it for a few years now and have been in formal training and schooling (MS in IT).  There is a great deal of talk about a lot of the IT on Campus going to a more central model.  From my perspective iiff this is done right, it will work.  Problem is that I feel like “Big Joe”, Telly Savalis’ character from “Kelly’s Heroes” yelling at Kelly about him “counting on the Artillery to be ON TIME and ON TARGET, when they have yet to be”…  So, since there is pretty much nowhere to go in my current organization until things shake out with the new “Executive Director” for us…  If it ends up being the one I hope, then there is a possibility of moving up here…  Assuming of course I do not end up taking another position elsewhere before…  Since EVERYTHING moves at the speed of committee here…  We’ll see I guess.  I know I am a finalist for one position, and thinking my resume at least looks good for a few others… 

Gaming wise, in 40K the Space Marines are getting another new Codex…  Not really sure how much has changed really…  Free transports if you follow the Force Org chart for Companies and Demi Companies (?), so I expect there will be some broken builds involving that.   So, my Crimson Fists could hit the field again and probably have a decent chance…  Eh, I may get around to painting again soon.  The 30K Wolves I had been painting are looking pretty good, and I hear that Book 5 or the Horus Heresy series is out…  Still Wolf free, so not really all that excited about it.  So, thinking that painting and perhaps gaming cycle will begin again soon.  The basement cleaning will continue and will see about building a shared hobby space for my wife and I…

Pool opening soon…  Filter basket did not survive the winter, so that has to be replaced…  I really do not like swimming these days…  I did once, but some of my time playing Army killed that as well for me…  And looking for the weather to clear so I can ride the Silverwing again…

But all things considered, things are going quite well…

STAW, and is it June already?

So, we finished up the "Resistance is Futile" arc for STAW...  We wound up getting some more players who used to play at the game store in town that just closed...  So, 7 of us and the group is getting back up to close to where we were at our height...  I wound up running a Dominion (Cardassian) fleet since the scenario was pretty much "half the table, no terrain" with the Borg automatically attacking anything that ventured into their half...  So, a straight joust really.  I fielded:

"Shoot like Voting in Chicago"

Resource: Fleet Captain Independent (Klingon) (5)

Koranak (26)
Gul Dukat (5)
FleetCaptain (0)
Unnecessary Bloodshed (0)
Adm. Gul Madred (5)
Boheeka (1)
Breen Aide (1)
Ship SP: 43

Reklar (26)
Sar (1)
Ship SP: 27

Dominion Attack Fighters (20)
Ship SP: 20

Total Build SP: 90

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

The Koranak is a 5 Dice attack that is almost guaranteed to hit with all 5.  The Reklar is "just" 4 Attack, but both have 180 degree firing arcs.  Fighters are starting at a 6 Attack, are HARD to kill and are just really quite good on the table (thanks to my amazing wife for working with the Gopher to get those during the Christmas season :-))...  The build is pretty much my "A" game build, ruthless and effective.  I wound up sweeping the field in each of my 3 games, but they were all close games against pretty good opponents...  Ironically, the one ship that survived in all 3 games was the Reklar...  Not as much a threat, but solid ship.  Glad this is the last of the blind buys though, got pretty old with this round of them being ships I had no interest in...  So, won the Cardassian ship AND the Borg Cube, but traded it off to be sure that Joe got the Cardassian ship as well...  Wanted to be sure that all of the regulars who play the faction have the ship...

But looking good for STAW at the Gopher...  X-Wing is even heading in the right direction there...  Overall looking quite good gaming wise...

Just got back from Universal Studios in FL with the family...  An excellent vacation, highly recommend if you have teenagers to entertain :-)...  Otherwise, moving along with school and job searches...  And still need to replace the windshield of the ancient Silverwing...  Looking forward to riding again at some point...

X-Wing event and STAW the next day... Oh, On Vacation now...

So, X-Wing event coming up

Kath Scarlet (Scum) — Firespray-31	38
Lone Wolf	2
Tactician	2
Inertial Dampeners	1
Engine Upgrade	4
Ship Total: 47
IG-88C — Aggressor	36
Push the Limit	3
Sensor Jammer	4
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Inertial Dampeners	1
Autothrusters	2
Ship Total: 53
So, the plan is to have the Firespray on one flank, and the Aggressor on the other staying back for long ranged firepower. The two will meet in the middle somewhere more or less with the Aggressor being annoyingly fast I think. Kath in the Firespray hoping to lure people into her rear arc and getting 4-5 dice attacks with the Tactician and Lone Wolf bonuses… Going into the STAW event Monday, I will play Dominion I think… Have the Fighters, the Keldon class ship(s) and/or the Galor class ones. The prize ship is another Galor class, but a REALLY good one at least for the way I play that is. So, bringing my closer to “A” game with Joe and I both gunning for the Cardassian ship. We’ll see how it works out, his Dominion fleet is pretty rough to face, he favors the BB class ships, so nothing subtle, but effective. Actually on vacation now… Took almost a whole week off, something unheard of for me. Gone to the Universal Studios resort in Orlando. It is quite amazing. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter stuff like my wife and daughters (Yes, me too), then this all is a lot of fun. The package deal we got included the “Fast Pass” which is a “bypass main line” card… Not sure if it would be worth it for full price, but it was included and WELL worth it for us. Getting to just walk up to the Hulk roller coaster and be put at the front of the line made it a LOT nicer. Did not apply to say, the HP castle ride, that one everyone had to wait in line for, but we did get early admission to the parks and so we went first thing and only had a 20 minute wait or so… Expensive overall, but since it is a once in a LONG while at least thing… And the girls loved it so J…

Gaming while ill... X-Wing and STAW

So…  Playing Strategy games while ill and on Sudafed is a fail.  Got out to the Gopher to play in their X-Wing day event, decided to try out a ship I’d never flown and…  Well, apparently I chose wisely NOT riding the Silverwing in.  I got hit hard by whatever hit my amazing wife earlier…  Wound up having fun, but playing like crap.  First game I parked my big ship on an asteroid and wound up staying there for 3 turns…  Needless to say, went poorly with my Heavy Laser Cannon  out of action for so long.  The Y-Wings I flew were quite good, but rather like flying the old Vipers up against the new Cylon fighters (Yes, BSG on BBC America last night)…  Possible to do damage, but you are clearly outclassed by everything else out there…  The Aggressor was survivable.  And if I didn’t make stupid mistakes and literally fly off the board in my next two games I would have at least done well…  The Y’s did a fair amount of damage though the Range 1 limit of the Auto Blaster turret meant they have no choice but be VERY aggressive and fly right at whatever they are going after.  With the 3 Maneuvers being Green, I can make some good progress especially with an additional 1 Bank from the Engine Upgrade…  Surprisingly, I only put on of these on an Asteroid, and I got them into Range 1 of things pretty well so they were decently effective…  Not nearly top tier I think.  Neat, and fun but not something to take to a serious event.  I suspect in June when I play in the Titan event that I will be flying my more familiar Firespray if I stick with S&V, or go back to some of the more competitive Rebel builds… 

3 B-Wings make for a pretty decent force…

Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing	22
Fire-Control System	2
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Ship Total: 31
Blue Squadron Pilot — B-Wing	22
Fire-Control System	2
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Ship Total: 31
Ten Numb — B-Wing	31
Veteran Instincts	1
Fire-Control System	2
"Mangler" Cannon	4
Ship Total: 38

Have another STAW event coming up, and unfortunately, the prize ship is a REALLY good Dominion ship…  So, Joe and I will both be gunning for it.  Getting bigger crowds in so will have to bring my “A” game I guess…  Have a LOT of ships fortunately, so fleet building should be interesting…  Federation or Dominion I think.  Played Klingons and Romulans most recently.  Will see if the Fed Fighters come in to the Gopher, else the Dominion it will be.  I think the fighter Squadron, a Keldon and a Galor make for the basis.  Joe tends toward the Battleships (BB).  So, my ships will be more maneuverable but his hit like…  Well, Battleships.  And can take a hit like one as well.  My ships will move well and hit hard, just not quite as hard nor can I survive the big hits as well.  The Fighters though…  Those are the wild card that I think can tip it my way.  We’ll see, Joe know hit fleet well and it will be tough…  And of course there are new players showing up which is great…  In general J…  We’ll see, already have the USS Hood, so the Fed builds might be a thing with stuff no one else local has yet…

Gen Con plans, GI reflections and Motorcycle fun...

So, apparently I was late signing up for the Gen Con X-wing stuff, I thought they were doing Thursday AND Friday qualifiers for a Saturday final, so was going to get in on Friday…  Nope, Thursday qualifiers and with us travelling on Thursday not going to try to get on the wait list.  Signed up for an early morning tournament last year and travelling with the family is…  Well, a LOT different than by myself or with a few other Ex-GI buddies able to realistically get up and on the road at “oh dark”.  But going there with the family is a LOT more fun in so many other ways, so NOT a bad thing in any way…  Just have to recognize the limits beforehand and avoid the stress of trying to travel quickly and keep a schedule with a bunch of people who have NO interest in being ON a schedule J…  So, guessing I’ll be playing STAW…  I suppose my Dwarves could come out and play for Warmachine, but thinking I’d get stomped pretty hard there playing a “thematic” force like Dwarves rather than a “We’re just here to kill shit” force…

Got me thinking a bit…  Guessing a lot of people think I’m a bit strange with the way I interact with others.  I do not in general make friends easily or get too close to  people. Over the years, starting mostly around the time I joined the Army, I wound up losing a lot of my friends.  We did not lose anyone on either of my “combat deployments”, but not long after that we started.  Honestly, given what we did then and after I am more than a little surprised ANY of us survived.  In any case, kind of a defense mechanism I guess, keeping people at a bit of a distance because they were likely to die in a bit anyway, so no real point getting to know them.  Am told it comes across as arrogance at times.  And that was pretty much where I was when I got out, so not a real stretch J…  There was also the whole CID infiltrating our units when I was in Germany that tended to breed a real distrust between the old timers and the new guys.  Was NOT effective finding drugs or whatever they were looking for, but it was VERY effective at destroying unit morale in any unit getting replacements.  When a guy shows up with pressed and starched uniforms, highly polished boots, combat patches and claims to have been an Engineer or Grunt for years…  Without ever getting dirty?  No.  Little things that just stick out to someone who has been doing this for a while…  Was another reason we really did not need to NOT get close to anyone else.  “I’ve got all the friends I need” J…  Might have been something I’d heard working with folks on the other side of the war against crime… 

Oh, and this happened last week:

Glad I was heading home at an odd time, wearing the helmet/leather jacket/gloves and have my reflexes still…  Caught the piece as it broke free in the cross wind.  35 year old Plexiglas and a strong wind…  Well, the Wind won looks like J…  Took the rest of the shield off and looking for a replacement now…  Just does not feel right riding without the big shield to hide behind, so I guess I've gotten soft in my old age J…

Replacement cycles... Computers and games :-)

Replacement cycles…  Doing that at work, swapping out old, obsolete machines for either slightly less obsolete machines or new ones…  Ideally new ones, but budgets being what they are of course…  Fun times.  And something of a never ending cycle…  Guessing I have another 10+ years until retirement, so that is good I guess…  Grad School continues apace, classes are different…  Nothing at all like I remember the “slightly higher pressure” classes in Engineering school here at the University of Illinois.  I do think that this will be done a lot quicker than I expected…

Got me thinking about GW and 40K.  Having seen a game company completely implode when Rackham made their version 3.5 rules and tried to break the system enough that the version 4 would be seen as good and a shift from “skirmish” to “massed battles” I have to wonder if there is not what GW is doing on some level…  Rackham had an excellent line of miniatures, some of the best I’ve ever seen (and some of the worst, I did NOT like every army, but tastes are individual of course) and their game itself was fun…  If somewhat complicated at times.  Then some changes came out that were good, the free magic/faith spells for the folks who could use them and suddenly spell casters actually started seeing some play time…  Well for some armies, my Wolfen were still really focused on the “Big Werewolves rushing at you” theory…  Effective J…  But my Kelts…  Yes, the Druids and such were fun, and not even slightly over powered really…  The changes to “Assault Fire” were broken and stupid for my Wolfen especially.  Seeing the lads able to run 35cm (French game company, so metric units), throwing a spear for a free shot before slamming in with a charge…  Getting to redirect their charge in the event they killed their initial target on the point blank throw…  That was not so good J..  But in any case, the game fizzeled HARD when they changed it to a mass combat system.  Then it just quickly disappeared.  Have had that feeling with 40K for a long time now, and I am thinking it is accelerating.  Please do not take this as a wholly negative thought, I have liked and played the game a LONG time, just seeing it change so very much and make the iconic piece in the game relegated to complete irrelevance is somewhat disheartening. 

The pace with which they are releasing Codices is in and of itself something of a problem.  Yes, there was that wish years ago to see more releases and not have something like the 3^rd Ed Wolf codex STILL in use late into the 5^th Edition of the game.  So, got our wish I guess.  Kind of like my wishes when I was back in High School…  Wanted a Mustang, to travel the world, become an Engineer, etc…  Got everything on that list, just nothing like what I thought I was asking for J…  A whole lot of interesting stories I guess, and I’ve been a lot of places and done a lot of things most people only read about…  And per usual, a lot of it was not good…  But back to the Codices…  Eldar got their SECONG hardback book in 2 years.  At $60/book, keeping up with more than a single army has long since become “difficult”.  Especially with the “DLC” model of “Codex Supplements” for more specific things like Marine Chapters and Eldar Craft Worlds…  Those are now officially obsolete and unusable.  Glad I did not buy them, and it makes me wonder what is in it for the FLGS in this environment…  No clue if there is some sort of return policy for dead product, especially with GW not officially announcing ANYTHING until a week or so out and now with what is looking like a 2 year cycle for the major books…  I know I would be of the opinion that I keep only the bare minimum on my shelves, but then my negotiation skill has always been “poor” at best, frankly I would likely have been rid of GW years ago to keep from getting repeatedly burned by that company… 

With the Eldar release last weekend, looking like Knights this weekend?  The “old” Codex from what a year ago with BOTH Knight Titans in it will more than double to something like 5 possible Knights now?  But of course, not an update, a complete new book invalidating the previously purchased one…  GREAT models, I have one that I hope someday to actually get assembled (the legs are done on mine now)…  But this is getting kind of ridiculous…  Marines are rumored for next Month as well.  So, the cycle has begun again, and frankly I can’t see spending that much every month to keep my WAY too many armies current.  My wife is patient with my toys, but there are limits J…

X-Wing is still coming out with some great stuff and the pace is WAY less…  Even STAW is slowing down, hopefully the group continues to regrow…  X-wing is becoming absolutely huge locally, and it is an extremely well balanced game in my opinion…  J  Hopefully I’ll get back to playing it as real life has gotten a tad busy recently

MI, Earthquakes, weather and gaming...

So, off in MI for a road trip with the family…   Got the new truck in time, so the trip up was quite nice.  Missing the motorcycle trip and the weather up here has been perfect for riding…  Ah well J  At least the weather will be back to rain next week…   Did get to be here for the Earthquake, not something hugely common up here…

 Not a lot of gaming the last week really, getting ready for STAW next Monday (the 11^th) at the Gopher.  Hopefully a larger group of folks will come out and play.  The rules are a bit odd for this one, so I have to build a few different Fleets I think.  And I think we’ll need to get in touch with Dave and see if we can kick in to purchase the prize kits at least to run the events in our own group…  I REALLY want to get the USS Hood ship of course (I REALLY like the Excelsior class ships, but I really do not want to have the Store lose money for this…  Comes to that I can just E-Bay for the ships I really want.  Down side, I play Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Dominion so there are a fair number of the ships I would like to pick up.  BIG rule changes last week (http://wizkidsgames.com/blog/2015/04/30/star-trek-attack-wing-announement/) nerfing the Fighter Squadrons and Borg in general.  GREAT for the game, just hoping it is not too little late for the game as a whole.  Got at least one of the old guard to come back and play, and thrilled.  Joe is a LOT of fun to play against and his Dominion are quite a challenge to face. 

Think I need to snag some of the nice Movement Templates…  Thinking that they are close enough between X-Wing and STAW/D&D AW…  And as the only really “competitive” stuff I am doing is X-Wing these days, should make sure they work for that…  Really looking forward to the K-Wing for the Rebels.  The S&V ships do not look all that interesting to me honestly…  The bombs look like they’ll make my Emon pretty devastating.  The extra Ordinance is useless for that ship in particular, but every other ship?  Maybe…  The K-Wing certainly looks like it will work amazingly well…  Get expensive though.  But it will be a drastic shift of the meta I think.  Makes the game pretty darn interesting to me at least…  

Z-95s, Y-Wing and a Viper repaint...

So, going with an almost Soviet paint scheme for my Z-95's and Y-Wing...  The Star Viper I am painting up like a Monarch Butterfly :-)...  I think they look a LOT better than the Black Sun schema that they shipped with, much more my style...

I'll probably end up repainting my Firespray as well at least...  Some of the Rebel stuff will probably get squadron markings at the least...  Not sure if I want to do a lot with my Rebels...

AM looking much forward to Wave 7, the Rebels get a K-Wing Heavy Bomber, and there are more types of bombs coming...  Not sure if I understand the new ation, but I THINK it is essentially "take another move", which will be game changing for the Rebels allowing them to MOVE...  Not hugely impressed with the Scum ships, but the Imperial Bomber looks interesting...  'course I do not play that side, so...

Probably will get some acrylic movement templates for X-Wing and/or the Wizkids AW games...

Oh, and anyone looking for some ancient firearms/ammo or a "parts" bike you can "salvage"with minimum work...  Hit me up...

And the repaints begin... I guess Eldar are next...

Starting to repaint some of my X-Wing minis...  The first is my Star Viper and a pair of Z-95's...  Going for a more WWII feel on the Z-95's, so an OD Green base coat, not sure what next but probably nose a different color, etc...  Thinking they'll look like old P-47's or 51's...  Nose will go red and I'll likely go with the "Flying Tiger" shark mouth for them...

This is NOT mine, but what I'm working toward... Initial ship on the left of course...

Got the Star Viper base coated, more or less, and it does look a LOT better than that bad photo of mine would seem...  I've only flown it a few times, it is interesting, but not even a little OP I think.  Turrets hate them with the Autothrusters and agility, but they do not have a lot of HP nor do they do all that much damage...  About on par with an X-Wing really...  A bit more survivable and more in line with a correct points cost I think...  Plus they are interesting to fly...  The S-Loop is its only Red maneuver and takes some getting used to, but can easily get you places you need to be to line up a shot or avoid incoming fire...  A bit on the expensive side though really for competitive play.  I would be surprised to see many out on the tables even locally, though I suspect in some of my builds I will fly them...  Well, the one I have :-)...

Really liking the Y-Wings, Firesprays and B-wings I have been flying recently...  Not sure what I'll bring to my next events, but they are a while off I think...  Aggressor loaded out with a pair of Y-Wing or a Y-Wing and 2 Z-95's seems like a good build for me.  Or stick with Firesprays, maybe Boba Fett's...  :-)  Dunno, but looking forward to next event(s).

STAW is coming back a bit locally, that is great!  I won one of the Romulan D-Dedrix/Borg ships ("Avatar of Tomed"), and looking very much forward to flying that against the Dominion next Month.  Able to regenerate when it cloaks...  Pretty darn good.  Still a fun game locally, but unfortunately the glaring design flaws still exist outside of our "house rules" environment...  We play mostly Faction or at least Ship pure, so the "Borg All Stars" lists are just not seen here.  Not a lot that can be done against those things really.  Looking over the guy who won the latest big STAW event (Worlds?) list...  Big surprise, a Borg ship with CPT Picard (at a bloody discount, not even paying the cross faction penalty...) supported by an Admiral and Fighters...  So, the collection of the most broken and under costed things wins again.  Meh...  I can see why the game is dying all over the place if those builds are allowed to linger.  Contrast with X-Wing where the annoyingly OP "Phantom" builds just got neutered or at least "adjusted" a bit.  Nothing in X-Wing is completely over the top dominant in the way the things in STAW are.  Just doesn't happen, and when it starts to go that way, i gets adjusted.  Wishing Wizkids would get their act together on STAW.  Oddly, D&D Attack Wing (DnDAW) IS really well balanced and a lot of fun to play...  I am currently running a pair of Good Dragons with Dragon Riders as my force...  Not hugely effective against everything, but nothing that I cannot at least compete against.

On to Eldar hitting this weekend...  Some folks have the book now so "rumors" are not really rumors as such...  Well, crap.  My hope that they would be reined in like every other force thus far seems to be in vain.  Do they lose things?  Yes, the Wave Serpent loses the Shield shot every damn turn they get at the moment...  Assault, 2d6 shots, ONE USE...  So, the days of them driving up and using the WS to shoot armies off the table are gone at least.  But they gained a LOT more.  Jet Bikes now can mount Scatter Lasers in place of the Shuriken Catapult.  ALL OF THEM!!!!  So, a unit of up to 10 of the bastards brings out 40 Str 6 shots at 48" range on a platform that has a jink, 3+ Armor save and can move shoot move?  Well, fuck.  Oh, they are Troops too?  So, GW has decided that this game too must die.  Kind of annoying looking over at my Wood Elves army, knowing that I can re-shelf them without bothering to strip and repaint them.  Maybe Mantic's "Kings of War" game will take off locally..  I happen to have "a few" Fantasy type armies I could play...

Meh, X-wing is going REALLY strong locally, and glad a few others are ramping up a bit...

X-Wing builds evolving...

So, Emon was fun and I like the idea…  Just not sure the Firespray has enough to actually either a) do enough damage to justify the point cost (45-46 points) or b) can survive well enough to actually keep my in the running with “Margin of Victory” becoming a big thing now…  Wound up doing fairly well over the weekend at the “Top Guns” event with the build of Emon in his Firespray and a pair of Hired Guns in Y-Wings (Warthogs with Engine Upgrades).  Wound up 2-1 but with the Firespray dying in every game, my MoV was not so great, putting me to the middle.  Flew well against Alan’s Imperial list, and Emon’s Firespray REALLY does a number against the TIE Interceptor.  Double Stressed Soonter Fel usually dies the next turn, so the Push The Limit (PTL) card that he loves so much is a weak spot with Tactician on the field.  The Firespray usually does no damage with the 3 Dice attack, but the Stress still hits…  And those Y-Wings hit HARD when they get in close.  Game 2 was against a pair of YT-1300’s…  Chewbacca in the Falcon and Lando in another.  I flew pretty poorly against this.  I split up, meeting in the middle while the YT’s simply flew around the edge of the board knowing they had 360° arc, could cover each other and have a ridiculous number of Shields and Hull to punch through.  I should have simply lined up, chosen one and run right at it, incoming fire be damned…  I’d take some damage to be sure, but one YT to deal with is a LOT easier…  Game three was against another Imperial, close game.  Faced a Tie Defender, Decimator and a TIE Advanced I think…  Know it came down to the Decimator with its huge Hull against my last Y-Wing with 2 Hull left…  Got in behind as it flew into the Asteroids and got the kill before it could free itself…  Great game, came down to the last few Hull on each of our last ships… 

Which does point out that the Emon build does REALLY well against “Aces” builds with the few high quality small ships which are otherwise  difficult to deal with…  He simply does not survive well though.  The Firespray is not quite maneuverable or survivable enough to go toe to toe with the other big ships.  Lacking any EPT, I cannot easily modify the movement with PTL or Expert Handling.  Nor does it really put out THAT much damage with only the basic 3 Dice Attack…  Decent, but not great Arcs.  STAW and the Turrets here spoiled me for this…  The Excelsior with essentially a 270° Arc?  Yes, please…  Or Dash with a Mangler?  But an unmodified attack like this is just not enough to threaten either of the big threats…  Unlikely to hit the agile Auto Thruster equipped things nor will it do enough to the really big ships…  Assuming it even hits the Falcon when it is flown with things like C3-P0, Lando, Evade tokens everywhere, etc…  The Y’s are nice, but can be avoided and even set up like this are still flying tanks, and they turn like them…  So, thinking of switching for a bit to an Aggressor…

Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing	18
Autoblaster Turret	2
Unhinged Astromech	1
Engine Upgrade	4
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0
Syndicate Thug — Y-Wing	18
Autoblaster Turret	2
Unhinged Astromech	1
Engine Upgrade	4
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0
IG-88C — Aggressor	36
Expert Handling	2
Advanced Sensors	3
Heavy Laser Cannon	7
Autothrusters	2

If I am reading it right the timing for Expert Handling and the Advanced Sensors works out such that I can take the Barrel Roll, get the Stress token, then do a Green maneuver (which is almost the whole dial really), and clear the Stress…  Or of course a Boost, free Evade, then even something like an S-Turn to bring the HLC to bear…  With the Autothrusters it should be REALLY survivable against things like the Turrets and even Swarms if I can keep my distance…  So, either the pair of Y-Wings or?  Something else for 50 points…

Flying casual and just generally thinking about gaming "stuff"

So, looking like I’ll go to the “Fly Casual” league event at Titan this Sunday…  Looking at flying this Squadron:

Emon Azzameen — Firespray-31	36
Proximity Mines	3
Tactician	2
Seismic Charges	2
Proximity Mines	3
Andrasta	0
Hired Gun — Y-Wing	20
Autoblaster Turret	2
Unhinged Astromech	1
Engine Upgrade	4
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0
Hired Gun — Y-Wing	20
Autoblaster Turret	2
Unhinged Astromech	1
Engine Upgrade	4
BTL-A4 Y-Wing	0

Pretty simple, the “Warthog” Y-Wings fly using their Green 3’s and a Boost action to get as close as they can, hoping for Range 1.  Range 1 they have the 3 Dice Primary Weapon attack and the 2 Dice Auto Blaster…  Now, the AB cannot be dodged by anything, so this is a VERY nice one to track down some of the difficult to hit TIEs and the like…  Emon bombs things and Stress tokens all around…  Fun list, but I suspect it will not be one of the “top tier” lists…  But it will surprise a lot of folks who ignore the slow, poorly armed Y-Wings…

Other gaming…  Well, playing D&D Attack Wing and STAW it looks like…  Liking the Dragons, and they fixed most all of the issues I had with STAW, but too late I fear to save the game locally…  Shame, it is a fun one with reasonable players…   X-Wing has a large group playing locally, hopefully more of the Gopher folks will get (back) into the game… 

40K actually looks to be making a small comeback with leagues and the like at the Gopher…  Still can’t say I have any particular interest though.  Sorry, for the cost of the latest Codex for one army and the DLC/Supplemental Codices I have a pretty solid X-Wing force already.  The pace of releases is SLOW for X-Wing by comparison as well.  Good in some ways, but it does lead to the possibility of stagnation I guess.  With a new third Faction, there seems to be a LOT of new life in the game and of course there are those movies coming up…  But back to 40K…  New armies that have not really existed before are hitting the shelves.  Ad Mech (Adepticus Mechanicus) is the latest…  Looks like it has potential and with the obvious tie in to the Forgeworld Horus Heresy stuff that is EXTREMELY popular…  Not my cup of team, mind, but nice models I guess.  Shame, there were a few now former locals who used to REALLY want to play Ad Mech, but they left the area and/or the game.  I am still finding more stuff in the basement and I am not thrilled with how much 40K stuff I have to be honest…  Heck, between that and the firearms I’d like to get rid of, I could easily afford a nice new(er) bike…  Well once I sell the Magna and then the Silverwing I guess…  Eh, LONG term plans I guess.  Will have to look into an online “garage sale” to sell off things, but as I am not in a hurry, not really looking to just dump them…  Well, except for the Magna…  That I want gone ASAP, but need to get the title straightened out still…