6th Edition

So, 6th edition came out roughly two weeks ago; I probably could be more disappointed in it, but I am not sure how.  I am not being sarcastic.

I remember back in the 90's when I first started playing 40k.  It was second edition, I was a teenager, and I was getting my ass KICKED at 40k.  Despite this, I still enjoyed the game, the rules in second edition were very complex, very convoluted, and generally different from any other game I had played. (Which at this point in my life was RIFTS, Shadowrun, AD&D, Magic: The Gathering, and possibly others that I cannot recall)
Third edition came out in the late 90's.  I embraced it.  For those of you unfamiliar it was a complete revamp of the entire rules and codex system.  Every codex was invalidated, overnight.  I played a lot of games in 3rd edition, I started winning tournaments (local tournaments, not anything national or spectacular).  The internet provided a medium to reach out to other gamers that enjoyed 40k.  I met many others and began to travel to play 40k. (nothing out of my time zone)
Fourth came, for most of it I was in college I backed off and played casually for most of it.  I began to slip back into competition.


Then Fifth edition came.

Fifth edition came out at a perfect time in my life, I was relatively free of any major life expectations.  I graduated college, I had a job.  I was reminded why I had stuck by 40k for all these years.  I play 40k as a competitive game.  I find joy in competing.  I took my hobby to another level.  I played often, against good opponents.  I began to seriously travel to play 40k. (we are talking thousands of dollars last year alone, in travel)  I have met and befriended around 30 people that when I go to a big 40k convention, I expect to see. 

I play 40k competitively.  I understand that the designers of the game did not intend for it to be played that way.  To this I say, "It is my game, I can play it how I damn well please".  I love this game.

So, 6th edition.  I will break it down.  Lots of second edition 40k and 8th edition fantasy rules lazily mashed together with fliers thrown in.  This book is not worth the $70+ price tag.  When reading it, I noticed something that I had not seen before from any other rules set. (By this point in my life, I have played a LOT of different games)
The writer(s) f this book felt the need to interject their feelings on HOW I should play their game.  If you have a copy, I suggest looking under the "forging a narrative" boxes.  So, a narrative game bereft of competition, where it doesn't matter who wins and loses?  Fine, nothing wrong with that.  And I mean that.  I play a game like that, D&D 3.5 edition. (A game where it is literally impossible to win and impossible to lose, because there are no opposing players.)

Games Workshop the past couple of years has made some strange moves.  They gradually replaced all of their hobby staff with salesmen.  Once upon a time I could go into a GW store and get actual, relevant, tactical advice.  I cold get painting advice.  I could get conversion or terrain making advice.  I could order bits (pieces of any model that GW made).
Now when I walk into a GW store, I get salesmen, who do not know shit about the product they are selling.
GW got rid of their national tournament circuits. One was "Ard Boyz", which I was glad to see go.  The other was "Throne of Skulls", which (despite GWs last presentation) was a TON of fun.

The message I am receiving here is that competitive, tournament level, players are not welcome in this hobby.

Well Chaps, message fucking received.

Without heavy edits, this edition is unplayable as a competitive game (in my opinion, others opinions may differ)
Although I will challenge you guys to find a tournament that uses the ENTIRE 6th edition rules set.  I can list five right now that won't.

So, a couple questions, that you, the casual reader may have. (Notice I have not even talked about the 6th edition rules themselves, as I consider them shitty and irrelevant)

Q: Are you ragequitting?
A: No.  I would really like to thought.  I will admit there is a big part of me that wants nothing more than to Ebay his collection in a profanity-ridden tirade.

Q: Why not?
A: Because of all the people I have met while enjoying something that I loved.  I value those relationships because those people and I have common ground.  If I Ragequit, I never see them again.  I would list all of  them here, individually, but it would seem more like name-dropping.

Q: So, you mentioned that you are fine with 40k being a narrative non-competitive game, will you be playing it?
A: For the most part, no.  I will do a game here and there, I may even play in some narrative events.  (It is the same to me as 8th edition fantasy)  I already play a narrative game, it is called D&D, and it is orders of magnitude better than any game GW makes.  But it is not a game I can play competitively, due to the nature of the game (outlined previous).

Q: You said you were "disappointed" you sound more rage-y, which is it?
A: I am disappointed that for $70+ dollars all we could get is this shoddy copy-paste job from 5th edition (Some paragraphs are fucking verbatim!), 8th edition fantasy ("well if we call 'impact hits' 'hammerstrike', or something else fucking stupid, no one will notice".  "We should also port over the lores of magic so we can sell cards!! Moar BEERPRETZELS!!"), and Planetstrike/Apocalypse ("We need allies and flyers so the greybeards stop bitching about their rogue-trader models being unusable")
[Authors note: See, all of that and no profanity! ]

Q: Will you be looking for another competitive game to play?
A: Yep.  The search begins.  It will not be Warmahordes.


If anyone has any more questions, I will be glad to field them.

-Michael E. Somerville

Kill Zone

Killzone is a fan-made 40k supplement, currently on its third iteration.
http://www.thecodexproject.com/killzone

There are two (or more) documents that define how lists are built and how the game is played.
There are a TON of composition rules in Killzone (presumably for balance), but they seem counter-intuitive and sometimes raise more questions than they answer.

An example: An Imperial Guard Kill Team can have a maximum of 2 Heavy Weapons Teams. Ok, no problem. BUT, where do I pull them from? My choices.
-2 Infantry guardsmen (from an Infantry squad) 10 points+weapon.
-2 Veteran guardsmen (from a Veteran squad) 14 points+weapon.
-Heavy Weapons Team (from a Heavy Weapons squad) 20+weapon.
*Admittedly, the costs for teams are different, but if I can get a BS 4 autocannon for 24 points and a BS3 autocannon for 25 points, something is wrong.

Also, the "Theme lists" are not viable. There exists a theme called "brutes" or something that lets you take all of your choices as 3 wound models. (The example they give is a kill team of all Ogryns) BUT, you still must abide by other rules. Each Ogryn has a Ripper Gun, an Assault 3 weapon. So, taking more than 3 Assault 3 weapons is a violation, immediately invalidating an all-ogryn army, which is what they used as an example! Ye gods.

I played two games with a friend. In each game, neither the Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary objectives mattered, one of us had been tabled by the time turn 4 came around.

My review. Not balanced. Not incredibly fun.
While I am not a big fan 0f home-brew rules, it is apparent that a lot of work went into this, but it still falls short in many ways.

If anyone has had a different experience, I would love to hear about it.

-Mike

Tournament Report: 3/17/12

I went to a local tournament on Saturday. It was held at the Battle Bunker in Bowie, MD.
The tournament was a 3-round, 32 player, 1500 point, Battle Points tournament.

(Quick Note: I do not like Battle Point tournaments, as they reward "seal-clubbing". I will not elaborate on this point in this post.)

Each Mission had a Primary Objective (Worth 10 Battle Points[BPs]), a Secondary Objective (worth 6 BPs), and a Tertiary Objective (worth 4 BPs). It is possible to Draw on Objectives, in that case each player receives half points for each objective tied.

Anyways, as a departure from my regular 1500 point army (Imperial Guard) I took the Sisters of Battle. My list:

Saint Celestine, Hieromartyr of the Palatine Crusade 115
10 Battle Sisters w/Multi-Melta, Meltagun 145
Rhino w/Dozer Blade 40
10 Battle Sisters w/Multi-Melta, Meltagun 145
Rhino w/Dozer Blade 40
10 Battle Sisters w/Multi-Melta, Meltagun 145
Rhino w/Dozer Blade 40
10 Battle Sisters w/2 Flamers 135
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns 90
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Melta, Dozer Blade 85
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns 90
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Melta, Dozer Blade 85
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns 90
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Melta, Dozer Blade 85
5 Retributors w/4 Heavy Bolters 85
5 Retributors w/4 Heavy Bolters 85

4 Scoring Units
16 Kill Points


Round 1:
Opponent: Michael Pease, Necrons

Imotek, the Stormlord 225
Catacomb Command Barge 80
Harbinger of Despair w/Nightmare Shroud, Veil of Darkness 70
Necron Lord w/Mindshackle Scarabs, Resurrection Orb, Warscythe 60

Necron Overlord w/Mindshackle Scarabs, Phaeron, Resurrection Orb, Warscythe 165
Harbinger of the Storm w/Ether Crystal, Lightning Field
Necron Lord w/Mindshackle Scarabs, Resurrection Orb, Warscythe

5 Lychguard 200
5 Necron Immortals 85
10 Necron Warriors 130
5 Necron Warriors 65
5 Canoptek Scarabs 75
Doomsday Ark 175

The Mission: Hidden Treasure (Pitched Battle)
A Tournament Staffer placed 6 "face down" random objectives numbered (we assumed) 1-6.
Every time a scoring unit reached one, they could forgo shooting and assaulting to "claim it".
1-2 "Real" Objective*
3-4 Discarded
5-6 Booby Trap: Unit takes d6 Ap:- wounds, then discard.

*Scoring units take these with them, cannot embark in transports, and lose the objective if they fall back.

Primary: Control more "real" objectives than your opponent.
Secondary: Have more of your units within 6" of your opponents board edge than they have in yours.
Tertiary: More "real" objectives must in your deployment zone than the opponent has in theirs.

The Game: Mike won the roll-of and deployed first. He chose the edge he was on (giving him 1 objective in is deployment zone, 2 in mine, and 3 we would fight over.) he deployed basically across his board edge. I refused flank on my right side (away from the Scarabs).
I scouted my Dominions forward.

Imotek opened by Shaking a Rhino, Killing a Sister, removing the Gun off of an Immolator, and Immobilizing another. Ouch. He then claimed the only objective in his deployment zone, It was number 1, a "real" objective.

On my turn 1, I moved forward since it was Night Fight. I nuked some Lychguard. My sisters on foot claimed an objective (number 3, discard). On Mike's turn two, Night Fight ended. He shook some more vehicles and destroyed my third Immolator with Scarabs.
With Night Fight gone, I began shooting his units off of the board. I had more units than he did and was able to win a war of attrition. The game ended with Mike losing all units in Turn 7.
I got the Primary and Secondary, but since there was an unclaimed objective in Mike's deployment zone and I had to grab mine in midfield, he got Tertiary.
me: 16 Mike:4

Round 2:
Opponent: Aramis, Imperial Guard (I played Aramis in Round 1 at Blobs park 2011)

Company Command Squad w/3 Meltaguns, Astropath
Chimera w/Heavy Flamer
Guardsman Marbo
Platoon Command Squad w/4 Flamers
Chimera w/Heavy Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Plasma Gun, Commissar
Infantry squad w/Plasma Gun
Platoon Command Squad w/Al'rahem, 3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Heavy Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Meltagun
Chimera w/Heavy Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Meltagun
Chimera w/Heavy Flamer
Vendetta
Vendetta
Manticore
Manticore

Mission: Return to the Eye (Dawn of War)
(We alternate placing 5 objective Markers, I try to place them midfield, but end up with 3 in my deployment zone)
Primary: Control More Objectives
Secondary: Kill Points
Tertiary: At least one HQ must survive the Battle

The Game: Aramis got deployment zone and first turn. He chose the side with 2 objectives, giving me 3. He reserved everything. The vendettas and Al'rahem would outflank. Marbo would "appear". The rest would come in starting turn 2.
I deployed a unit and Celestine on the board. I chose to outflank the Dominions.

On Aramis' turn 1, he does nothing. On Mine I move on my three Rhino Squads and Smoke them. I fly then run celestine deep into Aramis' deployment zone.
(I forgot to move on my Retributors, oops.)
On Aramis' turn everything but the Manticores arrive. All outflankers come in on my right. Al'Rahem near my board edge, Vendettas near his. Nothing dies to them.
The platoon uses "First Rank Fire...Second Rank Fire" and kills Celestine (by me failing 3 2+ armor saves.)
On my turn, all of my Dominions arrive.
The Dominions destroy a Vendetta, Al'Rahems Chimera (pinning them) and another Chimera in his Platoon (pinning them as well).
My Rhinos advance to midfield, giving my Multi-meltas full board control.

After this turn, the rout was on. The game went to turn 7, but Aramis had very little left.
Me: 20 Aramis: 0

Round 3:
Opponent: Grant Modderman, Orks
Mad Dok Grotsnik
Big Mek w/Custom Force Field, Bosspole, Cybork Body
15 Kommandos w/Snikrot
5 Kommandos w/2 Rokkit Launchas, Nob, Power Klaw
10 Ork Boyz w/Rokkit Launcha
Trukk w/Rokkit Launcha
10 Ork Boyz w/Rokkit Launcha
Trukk w/Rokkit Launcha
10 Ork Boyz w/Rokkit Launcha
Trukk w/Rokkit Launcha
10 Ork Boyz w/Rokkit Launcha
Trukk w/Rokkit Launcha
Deff Kopta w/Twin-Linked Rokkit Launcha
Deff Kopta w/Twin-Linked Rokkit Launcha
Looted Wagon w/Boom Gun, Ard Case
Looted Wagon w/Boom Gun, Ard Case
Looted Wagon w/Boom Gun, Ard Case

Mission: Onward to Victory! (Spearhead)
Primary: Victory Points
Secondary: Have more units in your opponents deployment zone than they have in yours.
Tertiary: Keep track of the number of times each player forces the other to make a Morale test from shooting. The player that causes the most wins (Obliterated units do not take these tests.)

I won the roll to go first and deployed in a wedge around the center of the board. I kept my foot unit in reserves. Grant deployed his trukk wall in the same manner, Trukks in front, Looted wagons right behind, Mek trukk in back. (Everything faced sideways to give cover to all vehicles). Grant would outflank both Kommando Squads, and both Deff Koptas.

I scouted forward and began killing vehicles. I only killed one on turn 1 as Grant made a good amount of saves. Grant disembarked a squad and started shooting my units. (although he did not assault) I got in his deployment zone and started applying melta hits to tanks. Once the Meks trukk went down, there were two vehicles left. The Deff Koptas came on, but then died, doing little. The Kommandos came on, missed with shooting, then died to Heavy Bolter fire.

At the end of the game, there were 5 kommandos and Mad Dok Grotsnik left. (they themselves scored about 400 of Grants 600 VP's)
I won Primary and Secondary, but we tied on Tertiary (as I was obliterating units, and not breaking them, mostly.)
Me: 18 Grant: 2

At the end I won "Best General". I got a pretty big prize package (GW product)
Not a bad tournament. (I thought I would go 0-3 and stated as much many times.)

Celestine died 4 times, but finished every game alive. She killed a TON of Infantry. (40+ models)

I was extremely pleased with the Dominions. The Battle Sister squads did not do much. But they really weren't supposed to. Despite this, I still do not believe that the sisters are a good codex.

-Mike

Looking forward.

So, 6th edition is right around the corner. It could arrive as early as June 2012, by some accounts.

I am unlikely to make any changes to my competitive armies in the interim. There is no sense changing things up or buying new models when a new edition could be drastically different. In fact, if you look through the changes in editions since 3rd, you can see a trend of "mech is strong" followed by "vehicles are deathtraps", followed by "mech is strong". So no new changes on that front.

I have some tournaments coming up. I have a 1500 point non-competitive "tournament" coming up on the 17th. I have decided to bring my sisters as it gives me an excuse to paint the unpainted models and turn my Twin-Heavy Flamer Immolators into Twin-Multi-Melta Immolators. (Ignoring the fact that Immolators are overcosted for no apparent reason)

There is a chance that I will be attending WargamesCon (aka BolsCon) in June. I will be at the NOVAOpen as an assistant in running the event. I received an invite to Throne of Skulls 2012 in Memphis, although I do not know when this is taking place. (In 2011 it was in early June)

So, not a ton going on in the "competitive gaming" front. I have turned my attention to more casual projects. I recently started looking into the mission "Kill Team" out of the horribly uncompetitive "Battle Missions" supplement. I have decided to get into this as a distraction to my looming fears about 6th edition. (I will post more about my endeavors with Kill Team later)

I am wholeheartedly worried that GW will do to 6th Edition 40k what they to the newest edition of Fantasy; Try to shoehorn "fun" into the game in terms of random effects. A game can be fun without a random hill or forest nuking one of my units, or making one stupidly powerful for no reason. I am also worried that (with "Jervis the meek" at the helm) 40k will turn into a game that simply takes too long to play in a competitive environment. I for one, certainly do not want to spend 4-5 hours playing a single game of 40k. Over-complicated rules are something that slows down the game, I do not want this.

That was a bit of a mini-rant I guess.

-Mike

The Indy Open: Non-40k thoughts.

I wanted to give some feedback on the non-40k aspects of attending the Indy Open.

Venue: The tournament was held in the local American Legion in Indianapolis. The place was pretty spacious and we had our own side-door to enter the facility. The American Legion bar-room was also open to us. [Editors note: drinks are very cheap at an American Legion]

Food: Aaron brought in an outside caterer (the same one who had done his wedding), it was an excellent and non-costly idea. There were also non-gaming table set up in the back as a place to eat. All in all, very well thought out.

Lodging: I stayed at the comfort Inn (about 2 miles from the tournament location). It was very clean and smelled nice. Not "didn't smell bad", but actually "smelled nice". The breakfast they served in the mornings was also quite excellent. If I am ever in Indianapolis again, I will choose the Comfort Inn (near the airport).

Travel: Originally, I was going to hitch a ride with a friend who has relatives in the Indianapolis Area. He got sick. I decided to do the drive on my own. It is 550 miles (+/- a few) from my house to the American Legion. The initial drive out there was awesome. I left a little before 7am on Friday morning, the drive was peaceful and scenic. The drive home was not as awesome.
Knowing that I had to make the drive back (only 2 days later) loomed over me the entire time I was in Indianapolis. I actually dropped before my last game in order to leave at noon so that I could arrive home as soon as humanly possible. Making the drive myself was definitely a mistake. Once I was out of contention for "Best General" it was all I really thought about.

Prizes: The Indy Open had some nice prize support, the table was pretty stocked with new releases. I did notice that we did not get a "Swag bag". I was not too put off by it. I guess since they used the NOVA format, I just expected one. Maybe I am getting too spoiled as a tournament player, lol.

Criticism: I was not a huge fan of the "Modified Capture and Control". I felt like it placed too much emphasis on the center objective and armies that are great at holding midfield (Wolves, Grey Knights) would have an advantage.
The time thing was odd. We were told "you WILL have enough time to finish a game", but I was told "dice down" after my movement phase. Then my opponent took a full turn. I felt a little surprised by it.
There was a disparity of terrain between boards. Some boards had way more terrain than others. Some boards even had trenches that criss-crossed the entire board. I do not know if these were played as difficult, but if so, would have given non-skimmer vehicles a problem.

All in all, I enjoyed this event, I will definitely try to return. It was great to meet new people. It was also great to see old friends from across the country.

-Mike

The Indy Open: Battle Reports

The Indy Open has ended, I am back in my home state of Maryland.

I went 3-1 on day 1, putting me out of contention for Best General (and a ticket to the NOVA invitational). I was already out of the running for renaissance man, because I am not a good painter or modeller.
The above, coupled with a poor nights sleep led me to leave early on day 2. I did play one game on day 2 (half-assed) and lost. The prospect of a 10 hour drive was really all I could think about. (More on this later)

So, I played 5 games (or so). In a tournament environment, you really do not have time to pen a battle report (for time constraints) so I will give a general outline of what transpired, as well as an army list.

First, what I took to the Indy Open.

Company Command Squad w/3 Plasma Guns, Officer of the Fleet
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Veteran Squad w/3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Veteran Squad w/3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Platoon Command Squad w/3 Flamers
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Autocannon, Flamer
Chimera
Infantry Squad w/Autocannon, Flamer
Chimera
Infantry Squad w/Autocannon, Flamer
Chimera
Infantry Squad w/Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Flamer
Special Weapons Squad w/3 Meltaguns
Valkyrie w/Multiple Rocket Pods
Vendetta
Vendetta
Leman Russ Demolisher w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Manticore w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Manticore w/Hull Heavy Flamer

Round 1: John Loy, Sisters of Battle

Uriah Jacobus
Battle Conclave w/4 Crusaders, 4 Death Cult Assassins
Rhino w/Serarchlight, Dozer Blade
Arch-Confessor Kyrinov
Battle Conclave w/3 Crusaders, 4 Death Cult Assassins
10 Sisters w/Power Weapon, Heavy Flamer, Meltagun
Rhino w/Searchlight, Dozer Blade
10 Sisters w/Power Weapon, Heavy Flamer, Meltagun
Rhino w/Searchlight, Dozer Blade
12 Sisters w/Power Weapon, Multi-Melta
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns, Combi-Melta
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Meltas, Searchlight
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns, Meltabombs
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Meltas, Searchlight
5 Dominions w/2 Meltaguns, Meltabombs
Immolator w/Twin-Linked Multi-Meltas, Searchlight
10 Retributors w/4 Heavy Bolters, Simulacrum, Storm Bolter
Exorcist
Exorcist

We played a Pitched Battle (Seize Ground, Kill Points, Table Quarters)
I won to go first and deployed. I kept the 2 Infantry Squads w/Flamers in reserve.
Jon Deployed everything except the dominions (all 3 would outflank) across his board edge.
His Infantry squad on foot were deployed to take advantage of Kyrinovs fearless bubble.

Turn one I silence his exorcists and begin destroying Rhinos. All his ranged anti-tank is now gone. (save for the Retributors and a Multi-Melta). My Officer of the Fleet kept Jon's dominions off the board until turn 5. Even then, they did not come in on the side he really wanted (at this point most of my army was midfield) A quick game and decisive victory.

Round 2: Alan Campos, Chaos Space Marines

Kharn the Betrayer
Chaos Sorcerer w/Wings, Mark of Slaanesh, Lash of Submission
Summoned Greater Daemon
8 Berzerkers w/Aspiring Champion, Powerfist
Rhino
8 Berzerkers w/Aspiring Champion, Powerfist
Rhino
8 Berzerkers w/Aspiring Champion, Powerfist
Rhino
10 Chaos Space Mariens w/2 Meltaguns, Icon of Chaos Glory, Aspiring Champion
Rhino
8 Raptors w/2 Meltaguns, Icon of Khorne, Aspiring Champion, Pair of Lightning Claws
2 Obliterators
Obliterator
5 Chaos Havoks w/4 Missile Launchers

We played a Dawn of War (Table Quarters, Seize Ground, Kill Points) Alan is more of a modeller/painter than actual player. I deployed first; I placed a single Infantry Flamer squad in the center of the board. Alan placed a Rhino full of berzerkers 18" away.

I moved everything else on turn 1 and stunned his Rhino. He moved his army on (save the Greater Daemon) and shook a Vendetta and Immobilized the Valkyrie. During the course of the game, I moved a Chimera wall towards the Rhino wall he had built. I destroyed all the Rhinos and he got out and charged the Chimeras. He killed two of three chimeras in assault, but was left in the open. After that, I was able to destroy two squads a turn using sacrificial units as assault "speed bumps". Alan conceded defeat in turn 4 or 5 (I cannot recall).

Round 3: Brett Perkins, Imperial Guard

Company Command Squad w/4 Meltaguns, Officer of the Fleet
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Company Command Squad w/4 Meltaguns
9 Psyker Battle Squad (8 Psykers, 1 Overseer)
Chimera
10 Veterans w/Demolitions
10 Veterans w/3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
10 Veterans w/3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Platoon Command Squad w/4 Flamers
Infantry Squad w/Lascannon, Commissar, Power Weapon
Infantry Squad w/Lascannon
Infantry Squad w/Lascannon
Vendetta
Vendetta
Vendetta
Leman Russ Demolisher
2 Hydra Flak Tanks
Manticore w/Hull Heavy Flamer

We played a Spearhead (Capture and Control w/an extra objective in center, Kill Points Table Quarters)

I take first turn and set up all of my army except the Infantry Squads. Brett deployed his Infantry platoon (2 squads plus commissar, single squad alone ) his Manticore, his Hydras, and his Company Command in the Chimera. His Vendettas would outflank and the rest of his army (Meltavets, PBS, and Demolisher) would enter on his board edge.

This game was quite close, quite tense, and long. We both played well, only a few mistakes, but we ran out of time. (Kinda) He played his last turn (turn 5) as if the game was ending but we had time left, so I wanted to play another turn and he did not. So, I called a judge over and he said we should keep playing (we had 14 minutes left and I was confident that I could finish) we argued about it for another few minutes and Brett went back and made some moves to account for the turn going on. I begin my turn 6, in a pretty good position, as Brett had few things left. 7 minutes later, as I was about to begin my shooting phase, judge said "dice down". Then Brett took a full turn. (as I had gone first). Brett was able to contest the two objectives I had held, and knock me off of the third. In retrospect, I should have played my turn 5 like the game was going to end, but I thought I had more time. (I could have better used my chimera to block access to the objective). So, I ended with a loss. The game was tense, but Brett was fair and there were definitely no hard feelings (as Brett would end up playing in the finals).

I do hate to finish a game like that. (either win or lose) I though the time rules were rather odd. Our arguing about a next turn cut into my turn, so I had to do a "dice down" before I was able to do any damage to Brett. (I had felt confident about my chances to pull a win, but it was by no means guaranteed)
On the other hand, if I had successfully argued for another turn and won, how would Brett have felt? Food for thought. Also, neither of us played slow, but there were some rules questions in early turns that involved us (and the head judge) having to look through the rulebook, which took time away from dice-rolling.

Round 4: Dustin Sanders, Dark Eldar

Baron Sathonyx
Haemonculus
3 Trueborn w/3 Blasters
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
3 Trueborn w/3 Blasters
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
20 Hellions w/Helliarch, Power Weapon
5 Warriors w/Blaster
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
5 Warriors w/Blaster
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
5 Warriors w/Blaster
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
5 Warriors w/Blaster
Venom w/Splinter Cannon, Grisly Trophies
Beast Pack w/5 Beastmasters, 6 Razorwing Flocks, 10 Khymerae.
Ravager w/Flickerfield
Ravager w/Flickerfield
Voidraven Bomber w/Flickerfield, Implosion Missile

We played a Dawn of War (Kill Points, Table Quarters, Seize Ground)

I deployed first, nothing. Dustin deployed his Hellions w/Baron in the center of the board in area terrain. The important thing is that they did not begin with a pain token. I moved everything on turn 1, spotlit the Hellions and unleashed an entire armies worth of firepower into them. Tons died, break test was failed, they would not be returning to the table.
After this, Dustin did not feel like playing anymore and called it.
(His reasons were the same as my own, as we had both just been knocked out of contention)
We both just went around and watched games, which is a ton of fun, and stress-free.
That was the end of day 1.

I did not sleep well that night because of kids running around the hotel I was staying at at 2am, and someones alarm clock going off for hours. On day two I decided I would play one game, then dip out for the 10 hour drive back to MD.

Round 5: Anthony Pazera, Grey Knights

Castellan Crowe
10 Purifiers w/4 Psycannons, 5 Halberds, Daemonhammer
10 Purifiers w/4 Psycannons, 5 Halberds, Daemonhammer
10 Purifiers w/4 Psycannons, 5 Halberds, Daemonhammer
10 Grey Knights Strike Squad w/2 Psycannons, Daemonhammer
10 Interceptor Squads w/2 Psycannons, 5 Daemonhammers
Dreadnought w/2 Twin-Linked Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought w/2 Twin-Linked Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought w/2 Twin-Linked Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo

We played a Pitched Battle (Table Quarters, Kill Points, Seize Ground)

I assumed that Anthony would be Deep Striking Combat squads into my side armor, so I let him go first. My mistake was that I thought Purifiers could Deep Strike. I was wrong.
So, he set up everything, I set up everything. We traded fire for 6 turns. I was not aggressive, I played lazy, I was really just focused on driving and calculating how many hours of sleep I would get if I left at certain times. In the late game, Anthony rolled damn well making 24 of 27 3+ saves in turn 5. He then made 5 of 7 3+ saves in Turn 6. (The fact that I only did 7 wounds is hilariously bad)
We tied on Table Quarters. I had killed Crowe, a purifier squad, the interceptor squad, and two dreadnoughts. I had lost far more (most of my Vehicles, only 2 Infantry Squads) and lost on kill points.
Anthony was fun, the game was actually close, we spent most of the time talking about cases and other stuff. Very enjoyable.

So, at the end I went "3"-2, not great, but not unexpected as I had not played since Battle for Salvation back in October. I definitely need to practice more and play some games against some skilled Necron players.

Thanks to all my opponents, all of you were great. (yes, even Brett, despite us having a tense game, Brett was cool)

-Mike

The Indy Open: Day 1

At the end of day 1, I end up 3-1.
I am a little tired and will likely not blog more until I return to my home state of MD.

-Mike

Off to the Indy Open

It is 6:51 am and I am leaving to make the nine and a half hour drive to Indianapolis.

More to come.

-Mike

Upcoming Tournament: The Indy Open

This afternoon I signed up for the Indy Open, which takes place next weekend in Indianapolis.
It is a NOVA style tournament and a qualifier for the NOVA invitational.

I plan on taking my Laptop with me and will hopefully be able to blog between days.

So, more to come.

-Mike

N00b-Hammer?

A while ago, I was fortunate to win two Storm Ravens by winning a 40k league. Recently, I have begun to assemble them to clear some space in my "box of unopened 40k kits".

I also watched a 40k game yesterday that was played at the local GW store. It was Necrons vs. Blood Angels. One player had 10 or so Death Company w/Lemartes, and a Death Company Dreadnought, in a Storm Raven. This is sometimes referred to on the internet as a n00b-hammer.

A n00b-hammer is a unit or list either played by n00b or designed to thrash n00bs.

Similar units include Nob Bikers, Land Raider borne Terminator units, Thunderwolf cavalry w/accompanying kitted-out Thunderwolf lords, and other such nonsense that may crush an unskilled player, but will not cause even a bead of sweat to a skilled 40k player.

(I have played against many things like this in tournaments, and I surprise many opponents by sweeping the floor with them and their "deathstar" units)

Now that we have defined what I mean by the term, is there any way that these units could be used effectively.

Take the following list.

Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius, Unleash Rage

10 Tactical Marines w/Lascannon, Flamer, Combi-Melta
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade
10 Tactical Marines w/Lascannon, Flamer, Combi-Melta
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade
10 Death Company w/2 Infernus Pistols
Death Company Dreadnought w/Blood Talons

Furioso Dreadnought
5 Assault Terminators w/4 Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield

Stormraven Gunship w/Multi-Melta, Hurricane Bolters
Stormraven Gunship w/Multi-Melta, Hurricane Bolters

2000 points

I will be honest, if I am playing my Guard Army and I see this set up across from me, I am not going to be concerned, let alone worried. Same feeling if I am playing Space Wolves (with Long Fangs) or Grey Knights (with Psyflemen).

So. Clearly, the above is not going to frighten a hardened, competitive tournament veteran.

However, I really want to see and test if a list like this can work using conventional tactics (like reserves, move blocking, etc...).

I will ponder on this. If anyone has any ideas, please comment away.

-Mike

Razorspam; The last gasp?

The Blood Angels have one last advantage that, in my opinion, still make them a competitive codex.
The ability to get a Fast, Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma gun toting, Razorback...for quite cheap.
The last two articles, saw me write about how I feel that the advantages of the Blood Angels have been nullified by the Grey Knights ( a popular army) and some FAQ's, specifically that IC's
(Priests) can move other models out of the way to get into B2B contact.

I believe that they (the Blood Angels Codex) only has one useful build left, and here it is.

Blood Angels Razorspam: 2000 points

Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius, Fear of the Darkness
Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius, Fear of the Darkness
10 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Flamer
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
10 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Flamer
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Devastators w/4 Missile Launchers
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Devastators w/4 Missile Launchers
Razorback w/Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Devastators w/4 Missile Launchers

This is close to something that Stelek put up a while back. I didn't really love his version as he had a random sanguinary priest floating around. I will endeavor to playtest this list a bit and post the results.

-Mike

Grey Knights make Blood Angels less competitive?

Over on his Blog Blackmoor is pondering the superiority of Grey Knights over Space Wolves. The discussion is actually quite informative.
This, and a sentence in my previous article, cause me to hypothesize that Grey Knights may have unseated the Space Wolves for the title of "Best 40k codex".

This, however, is about how (in my opinion) the Grey Knights codex curbstomps the Blood Angels codex by nullifying nearly all of the advantages that the Blood Angels have.

First, let's outline the advantages of the Blood Angels codex.

• The ability to get "Feel no Pain" (FNP) on most any infantry/bike unit, through the use of Sanguinary Priests.
• The ability to get "Furious Charge" on most any model through the use of the Red Thirst or Sanguinary Priests.
• The ability to re-roll reserve rolls and minimize Deep Strike deviations with "Descent of Angels"
• Fast Vehicles

The Grey Knight codex has specific rules and unit types that make a mockery of most of the aforementioned abilities. I will outline them below.

• FNP is mitigated in close combat by the fact that EVERY Grey Knight (except Crowe) has a power weapon. FNP is mitigated in shooting by the fact that the Grey Knight "Psyfleman" (a dreadnought equipped with two twin-linked autocannons and Psibolt ammo) fires S8 shots, that ignore FNP for every Blood Angel except Mephiston.
• Furious Charge is mitigated by the fact that every Grey Knight can take a halberd and suddenly strike before any non-HQ furious charging Blood Angel. What is worse is that even if they strike simultaneously, the Power Weapon and +1 S from hammerhand are likely to keep the odds uneven... If that were not bad enough, Death Cult assassins destroy Marines (of any kind) on the charge.
• Deep Striking is not a good mechanic in 40k to begin with. The "Warp Quake" power that comes stock on Strike and Interceptor squads, makes this ability laughably more useless.
• Fast Vehicles are still something that the Blood Angels do fairly well, and the Grey Knights have no specific tricks to counter.
• I just want to add that Mephiston dies like a little girl to Grey Knights. Sure, he will charge and likely kill a unit. The counter-charge puts him down to I1, where he will likely get beaten to death. (unless you can hood hammerhand/Force Weapon acitivation, in which case you will semi-likely get beaten to death)
  

So, I think I have made a strong case that Grey Knights specifically counter most of the special rules of Blood Angels, but lets look a bit deeper.

Blood Angels have two Troops Choices, Assault Squads and Tactical Squads. (But wait we have Scouts, Death Company, and Death Company Dreadnoughts!!!! Which all suck.) Grey Knights have either Terminators, Purifiers, Strike Squads, or Henchmen. I will not be covering Henchmen lists, they vary too much for me to analyze them without resorting to sweeping generalities. Here I think is the big issue.

Blood Angel Assault squads cannot out-assault Grey Knights. Blood Angel Tactical Squads cannot out-shoot Grey Knights.

Well. Shit.

So, in conclusion, Grey Knights have inherent abilities/rules/wargear that remove most of the Blood Angels' strengths. Basic Blood Angel Troops cannot stand up to Grey Knight Purifiers, Terminators, or Strike Squads. Therefore, balanced Blood Angels lists are at a severe disadvantage when facing a balanced (or any) Grey Knight list.

-Mike

Charge!?

There might be some way to insert an interrobang, but I have not yet found it, and would have liked to have it in this title.

I made a close combat list, Blood Angels. Here is what I came up with.

HQ
Mephiston
TR
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Lightning Claw
Rhino w/Dozer Blade
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Lightning Claw
Rhino w/Dozer Blade
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon
Rhino w/Dozer Blade
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon
Rhino w/Dozer Blade
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Infernus Pistol, Power Weapon
Rhino w/Dozer Blade
10 Tactical Marines w/Meltagun, Lascannon
Razorback w/Twin-Linked Lascannon, Dozer Blade
2 Sanguinary Priests w/2 Lightning Claws, 2 Combi-Meltas
Furioso Librarian w/Wings, Shield
Furioso Librarian w/Wings, Shield
2 Attack Bikes w/2 Multi-Meltas
2 Attack Bikes w/2 Multi-Meltas

So, the idea is to have a fast, mobile, short ranged fire/assault capability.
(Lately I have been playing a LOT of firepower armies and really wanted something different)

So, obvious weaknesses.

• No real ranged anti-tank to speak of.
  
• Can this army still deal with similar close combat unit, (Death Cult assassins, Dark Eldar, Daemons) or against dedicated close combat units (TH&SS Termies)? Probably not in a straight, fair fight.
• I have mobility, but I can be de-meched on First turn. Hopefully I have enough vehicles to survive that. What I cannot survive is being out maneuvered. I fear Dark Eldar will be able to take an awesome toll on me, so I kind of fear them. I have not really played against a lot of Dark Eldar; Something I should remedy.
  

For a CC list, I am actually not that strong in Close Combat. I feel Grey Knights, with their myriad of tricks will mess me up before I get to swing. (For those that do not know, the Grey Knights codex is almost a perfect counter for the BA codex as it removes all of their strengths, I should touch upon this.)

-Mike

I'm your Huckleberry.

Ok. So. A new round of FAQ's hit the net yesterday (Check GW's site if you have not seen them).
I also ran into a friend at the local GW store; I am going to start going there on Mondays to get in some casual practice games, which I sorely need. (My last game was at BFS back in October 11)

Since that time, Necrons have been released and a new round of FAQ's have been issued.

How will, I, as a tournament player, change up my game?

Let's go about hammering out a list. I shall choose Mech Blood Angels.

Now. I want a list that is aggressive; My Guard are pretty passive in play and I want to change it up. I mainly play in NOVA style missions, so I will focus on having a good number of scoring units and not giving up easy kill points, while maintaining mobility.
I also need to be able to take out lots of vehicles in the AV11 - AV13 range.
(Necrons let you "spam" AV13, which is new)
Basically, I need either S9+, 2d6, or AP:1 on any weapons that can be seen as Anti-tank.
To me, Missile Launchers just don't cut it anymore.

Let's start with an HQ: Librarian (powers to be chosen later): 100 points

Next, I really want 6 scoring units.
10 Tactical Marines w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Combi-Melta
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight: 291
Let's grab two of these. They will always be split into combat squads. (Per the FAQ, this is less dangerous.)
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight: 166
We will take three of these! (and a fourth if we have points)

Let's then grab 2 Predator Destructors w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, and a Dozer Blade: 140

We will add 2 Baal Predators with FlameStorm Cannons and Dozer Blade: 120

Adding this up: 1700 Not bad. Let's keep adding stuff.
Another 5-man Assault Scoring unit and a unit of two Attack Bikes w/Multi-Meltas gets us to 1966. Let's give an Infernus Pistol to two of the Assault Squads: 1996
With the last 4 points, we can put searchlights on the remaining four vehicles.

Our list looks like this

Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius, The Sanguine Sword
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Infernus Pistol
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
5 Assault Marines w/Meltagun, Infernus Pistol
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
10 Tactical Marines w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Combi-Melta
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
10 Tactical Marines w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Combi-Melta
Razorback w/Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasma Gun, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
Baal Predator w/Flamestorm Cannon, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
Baal Predator w/Flamestorm Cannon, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
2 Attack Bikes w/2 Multi-Meltas
Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Dozer Blade, Searchlight
Predator w/Autocannon, Lascannon Sponsons, Dozer Blade, Searchlight

So, to summarize.
12 Lascannons, 12 Melta-Weapons to compete against Vehicles.
8 Scoring Units, 20 Kill Points.
Dozer Blades to maintain reliable Mobility.

I will try this out next Monday and see if it can accomplish what I want it to do.

-Mike