Space Wolves Codex Review - Part 1: Introduction

Lounge

It's been quite a while since the Space Wolves codex has come out yet it is still considered one of the premier armies on the tabletop - does its codex stack up however? In short - yes. Whilst there are some less flexible choices in key departments (i.e. Troops) compared to other army books, the Space Wolves codex still gives players a fair amount of choice. In this codex review we're going to look at the highs and lows of that choice pool and as ever, take a look at how the units perform, interact with each other, good load-outs, etc. We've covered some of the major constructs of the codex in the Armies in 5th series and as ever, the codex review aims to supplement that series rather than replace it.

Email in: A codex marine player on a budget

MWG

"Hello Kirb&co!

I've been playing 40k for a while now but mostly low point games (1000-1500) due to my small model collection. Now I'm trying to scale up to 1750 points but I need to plan very carefully because money is an issue. I'm thinking about running some sort of 'thunderbubble' list (the article seems to be down by the way), unfortunately I'm not able to run MSU, again because of money issues. SO with that being said lest's get to it, here's what I thought for a list (the units marked with an asterisk are the ones I actually own). Note that this is the end of my collection, as you can probably tell I'm building from the AOBR set (so there's a captain too). My aim is to get the best out of what I already have without having to spend too much on extra stuff.

Menoth Introduction Part 3: Units Part 1

Dakka

This is another Guest post by Wild taking an introductory look at Menoth - this time we're looking at some of the units!


Menoth Units - Part 1

The Protectorate of Menoth's units can be generally classified as one of three categories: Exemplars, Flameguard, and Zealots. Exemplars are your elite heavy infantry, and generally the slowest of the faction, matching the speed of the Warjacks. They can hit like a truck with weapon master swords, and have some kind of magical weapon. Flameguard models are faster with better defense, but sacrifice armor and overall individual hitting power compared to the Exemplars. The Zealots are your standard citizens, lacking any military training with below par statlines. However do not write them off as useless, as there's more bodies than the others on average. Then there's the Idrian Skirmishers, which really only have one unit, but provide an interesting toolbox not seen in the others.

Email in: more dark eldar grotesque attempts

Four Color Figures

"It's me again! So I have most definitely figured out that Grotesques just really don't have a place in a 1000 point list, but I've continued to work on and test 1500/2000 iterations. Right now I'm still running with Succubus escorts for the Grotesques, but since I like redundancy and try to run two squads of them if I can, I've been experimenting with replacing a Succubus with Urien Rakarth and buying the strength upgrade. This increases expense, but makes the Grotesques less afraid of certain threads (still got munched by a lightning claw Terminator counter-charge... but it was worth it). 

Email in: 1750 DE Mounted list.

40konline

"Hey Kirby

Thought I'd run by my 1750 list I made for the Dark Eldar by you. I'll put the list up then explain how I imagine this going:

Archon: clone field, power weapon, agoniser = 100
Incubi x 4 = 88
Venom: Splinter cannon = 65

Email in: Tyranids with Military Precision

Hello Kirby!

I have been a long time reader of your blog but this is the first time I have sent a list in for advice. I played fantasy for about three years and have made the jump to 40K. I played Space Marines for awhile but EVERYONE plays them. I have now jumped on the Nid-train (or Nid-crash if you listen to Warseer). I haven't played a game with them yet, but have been watching your Battle Reports. Here is my 1500 point list:

HQ-
Swarmlord
Tyrant Guard w/Lash whip

Elites-
2 x Hive Guard
2 x Hive Guard
Deathleaper

Troops-
10 x Termagaunt
10 x Termagaunt
Tervigon w/Catalyst
Tervigon w/Catalyst
25 x Hormagaunts

Heavy-
Trygon
Biovore

Total - 1500
MC - 4
Infantry - 52 Infantry

My plan is that at this level, 4 MCs will be difficult to bring down. Also, I think the Hormagaunts with Swarmlord buff and catalyst will be good, especially if I can get of paroxysm on the enemy unit (but then again that is probably true for anything). I see the major weakness of this army being shooting. I have deathleaper to show up and try to focus on killing enemy support units (devastator squads) and nerf librarians so I have a better chance of getting off my psychic powers. Oh and I love the swarmlord and think that at this points level, he should be able to dominate in close combat. Any suggestions would be great.


-Mike

Necron First Wave available

So Necrons have finally been posted on the Games Workshop official site for advance order despite many webstores such as Wayland having them up for weeks and most companies like SpikeyBits with official release information, pictures, etc. Crazy way of doing things Games Workshop...

Anyway, you can check out their pre-order page here which also includes a bunch of Finecast models for other armies - most notably the Aspect Warriors for Eldar and several characters for other armies. Here's a bit of what we have to deal with here in Australia. The prices for all of the Aspects Warriors: $63 AUD which is currently on parity with the US dollar. Monolith? $110 AUD. Sammael - you know, one guy on a jetbike? $83. And they wonder why people are upset when we can still get these models 50% off overseas *sigh*.

Anyway, they released a rather cool video as well to show off the new models. If only they could be was business savy as they are creative...

Email in: Imperial Guard 1,750

Dakka

"Hey Kirby,

For my revised IG list at 1750 I'm considering 3x manticores for my heavy support, but I wonder if is be better dropping one for either a pair of hydras or an additional 3 chimeras for mech saturation, what do you think? I find it hard to gauge whether I have enough mech on the field given most people around here don't run all that much. Also, should I take a 3rd vet squad over the second 20man stubborn unit? I'm not sure if 30xman would be a better investment. Lastly, ACs or meltas in the combined squad(s)?

The chimeras can be assigned anywhere, but I think I prefer vets in chim over vendettas so they aren't targetted as much. Any other comments welcome!

Guest Article: Warhammer Fantasy Magical Item Review Part 2: Magic Armor

Common Magic Items Part 2: Magic Armour

Hey folks, Scuzgob here again with Part 2 of the Magic Items Review. Enjoy!

Armour of Destiny, Armour of Fortune, Gambler’s Armour


This trio of magic heavy armour grants the wearer a ward save, 4+, 5+ and 6+ respectively. Accordingly, they are 5 points more expensive than their Talisman counterparts, for two reasons. The first being the obvious one: they also give your character heavy armour, handy for the few characters that cannot take this option for whatever reason. The second, better reason is that taking one of these magic armours will leave your Talisman slot free, letting you take another helpful item like the Dawnstone or one of the Obsidian Trio.

Focus vs Fury And How They Relate To Warmachine and Hordes

Warmachine and Hordes are two games made by Privateer Press which use the same overall format but with a few key differences. Having talked to many new players over the past few years, many ask "What is the difference between Warmachine and Hordes?" I have two answers for this. The first is simple - Warmachine is giant robots smashing stuff and Hordes is giant monsters smashing stuff. While that gives a very general answer and it's good for helping someone decide which game they find more appealing, it doesn't explain the rule differences between the two which are more in-depth. This leads us to the second answer - Warmachine uses the focus mechanic and Hordes the fury mechanic. Both of these control how their respective Warcasters and Warlocks operate, particularly with their Warjacks and Warbeasts, and can lead to very different gamestyles.

Email in: Dark eldar list

Dakka

"hello kirby, 

I've started reading your posts in the last few months and found that you have good advice followed up with logical explanations. I've got a 1500 pt dark eldar list i have been working on, i wanted a mech army after playing nids for the last 1.5 years.

Hordes: The Factions

As I'm sure many of you noticed I wrote an article on the various factions of Warmachine and promised to write one for Hordes. Since all of the comments and reviews were positive I decided I have enough self confidence to write my follow up piece. Hordes uses the same system as Warmachine but with a few differences. Warbest use the Fury system instead of focus and have access to spells called an animus that their Warlock can use. Overall with the way the Fury system works, Hordes needs more Beasts than Warmachine needs Jacks. This is the major difference between the two but I will have a piece on Focus vs Fury as well as Warmachine vs Hordes soon. As promised here is the general overview of all of the various Hordes factions for your enjoyment.

Fallacy 40k - Finesse armies/units

Okay I stole this idea from OrdoBob so credit must go to him as my muse (though the concept of the article ended up being a bit different than our discussion). One thing which has always bugged me is people claiming armies are 'finesse armies.' Most notably this in reference to armies such as Dark Eldar and Eldar but you'll often see it tossed about for specific units as well. More often than not, it's just a smokescreen which can say any number of things. This sort of phrase is very similar to phrases such as "it works for me" and "you're just not using it right." Whilst these can certainly be true (stop driving your Chimeras backwards), it's more often a misnomer the speaker is just not willing to accept. In this regard we see the finesse army thrown around as though it requires a delicate touch to use which requires a completely different set of principles from other armies to work effectively. Walk through this smokescreen and you see it's generally not true.

Email in: 40k/Space Wolf Novice

Adam Wilson

"Hey Kirby/Will

I know you probably get lots of emails like this and actually a lot of them probably start like this as well...

Anyhow to make it a short story I played 40k back in school when Tau first came out (2001???) however as it was taking away from my not very large disposable income at the time I ditched it. Lately I've been reading a lot of blogs and wanting to get back into the game and found a local gaming group.

I decided to start a Space Wolves army and without a list in mind bought 3 grey hunter boxes, 3 razorbacks a rhino and 2 dev squads(and a few extra ML's) as these seemed like sound investments. Now I have formulated a list (3 actually however they are just step ups 1000-1500-2000) and was wondering if possible you could have a look over it and give me any hints/tips as I don't have much spare time and putting together and painting the list I have made will take the best part of the next 6 months as is. Without further ado.

New Author - Crynn

Hey guys,

I’m Crynn – Chris, either is fine.

Firstly I’d like to thank Kirby for letting me contribute to this blog. Secondly I’d like to thank all those regular readers who come on the chatbawks and keep me entertained through my work breaks.

So a little about me for those very few who may actually give a fiddle. I’m Australian, 25, I work for a government organisation as a researcher but on the weekends I work as a singer and a topless barman at hen’s nights. I know none of that really goes together at all but hey, life would be boring if I did the same thing every day.

Flamestorm Blood Angels...WIP

Long-winded Introduction

Quick note - this is a rather lengthy article as many List Building ones are, I've done some sub-headings if you'd like to skip to specific sections.

You know what I'm tired of? Listening to whining about Grey Knights - most especially when I pull my boys in baby blue with magenta trim out. It's annoying - lack of easy melta outside of Henchmen is annoying guys okay? Add in I just can't get a 1750 list I'm really super happy with atm and I've decided to move my 40k painting to an old project I haven't touched for a while...Flamestorm Blood Angels! With the demise of Immolator spam from Witchunters thanks to the crap that is Cruddance, Blood Angels are really the only army which can do this style of play well - no more lamenting having more bodies, meltaguns, vehicles and ranged firepower from the Sisters list!

GWvsJohn talks Roleplaying

As the great Stepen Lynch once said, "I've got my twelve sided dice and I'm ready to roll." Like many of you I imagine, I found the recent post on the fluffier side of the 41st millennium to be inspiring. Coupled with the excellent new 40k RPGs over the past few years, there can be only one... conclusion. It's time to roleplay.

Obviously the ideal way to play would be live, around a table. For many of us with jobs and wives and maybe even children (the horror) this really isn't possible. After that would be live online, either voice or text based. Again, with jobs and the fact that the 3++ community is worldwide, this isn't really possible. That leaves only one option, the last resort for a desperate roleplayer, a play-by-post game.

To get to the point, I'd like to put together a play-by-post or play-by-email (or use a google group which combines both) game using one of the new 40k RPGs. Who is with me?

Warmachine: The Factions

I enjoy spending my time chatting with everyone on the 3++ chat box on and several times I've noticed chatters talking about how they aren't sure what faction to pick or what each faction does as a whole. Using my amazing psychic powers I took a hint and decided writing an article about the factions and how to pick which one you like would be a good idea. (See what I did there?)

Now the first thing I always tell players when they want to start up is to go with what you like. If you look at a Cygnar Warjack and think its the coolest thing in existance then go for it. If you like the look of Khadors infantry then start up Khador. Play something you think is cool and will be proud to assemble and paint.

Mephiston & Grey Knights

Dakka

Can the Lord of Death strike fear into this new foe?

So I frequently hear about how Mephiston is just not what he used to be in an all comers list thanks to the abundance of new GK (Grey Knight) armies floating around. I have used Mephiston extensively in my competitive Blood Angels list since their codex came out and have had great success with him against a wide variety of armies and lists and I personally feel (and you are going to gawk when I say this) he is a largely misunderstood and miss used character. Now there have been many articles on the ‘Lord of Death’ but I am going to focus on adapting Mephiston to strike fear into the imperium’s golden boys and whether it can be done at all.

Email in: 1800 Tournament List for Critique

GMM Studios

"Having engaged in some interesting discussions with Mr Taak around Space Wolf lists I'd be interested to know your thoughts on the below for an upcoming tournament. It'll be good to know if I'm on the right track. The tournaments designed to limit spam so there's a limit on no more than two of the same unit other than troops.

Guest Article: Warhammer Fantasy Magical Item Review - Part 1

Common Magic Items Review 1: Magic Weapons

Hey folks, I’m known as Scuzgob in the comments here, and I’ve been playing Warhammer Fantasy for about six years. 8th edition brought a lot of new things to the game, but one of these things doesn’t seem to be discussed as much as the other new additions to the game. I’m talking about the massive expansion to the common magic items list. As these items can be used in practically every army in the game (except Daemons of Chaos and Dwarfs) I thought it would be a good idea to review them, how they work, and how they fit into your army best. This is the first in a short series of articles, starting with the Magic Weapons section. So, without further delay...

Welcome to.... 3plusplus.net!

So the move has been made, 3++ is now on its own domain! No longer do we have the unwieldy .blogspot address we had before but have upgraded to our own URL by 'popular' demand. All the backlinks on the actual website have been updated so there should be no issues there and the old address should re-direct to 3plusplus.net relatively quickly though linking to it directly will load it faster. Load times seem the same for the new URL as well which is good.

Anyway this is the obligatory post asking everyone to update their links in their signatures, on their websites, etc. to link to the new website. Blogrolls, etc. should update appropriately though I'm not sure but again linking directly is faster!

All for now since I was doing this most of the day but enjoy the shiny new address ;).

GWvsJohn talks Chaos: Noise Marines

Ruinous Powers

Our uncompromising march through the tolerable options in Codex: Chaos Space Marines continues with a popular, but often misunderstood choice, the Noise Marines. The Emperor's Children are one of the coolest legions. Noise Marines have awesome fluff. They have traditionally had cool minis. Overall, there are a lot of reasons to like the noise boys. However, there are just as many reasons to dislike them. The Noise Marines might be the perfect example of why the Chaos Space Marines not only need a new codex, they need an entire redesign.

Theme Lists and How To Use Them - pButcher

Theme lists are in my opinion one of the most interesting aspect of the games Warmachine and Hordes. Each list is broken into tiers which offer separate benefits but require you to meet the specifications of the previous tier. Often times they have very strict requirements that are not worth the bonuses that they grant but a great many are worthwhile and even preferred because of what they offer.

Now when you are making your list and deciding if you want to use a theme list or not, you have to determine if you gain more by using the theme list or by running your warcaster/warlock as you normally would in faction. Unfortunately, most themed lists can only be made effective at 50 points or higher due to the restictions involved. Lets look at pButchers Theme list shall we?

Email in: Chaos space marines MSU

"Well Kirby, I'm working on my CSM army, I also like blood angels and vanilla marines, but there's nothing quite like the traitor legions. There is no emperor !!!!

Anyways, i'm halfway through painting a box of csm and plague marines, and have come up with this list, See, I want to play chaos space marines and not chaos daemon princes...

so without further ado (@1500p)

Guest Article: Dark Millennium

I'm running a bit ragged this weekend so I'm posting a little background post in relation to the 40k hobby and why a certain person might enjoy and play it. This was done by our lovely regular FeralJim. Enjoy!

It's the background fluff that I love about 40k. The beautiful, gothic imagery in the books. The riveting descriptions of alien life and planets. The dark, intricate atmosphere that Games Workshop's writers have worked to create.

It's all fantastic, brilliant stuff.

But you see, I’ve been slipping. The last couple months have seen me slow down almost all of my hobbying to a stop and I understand why.

Email in: Dark Eldar at 2000pts

Totengräber's Workpläce

"Hey Kirby,
Been reading your blog for a bit now and your advice seems to click with me better then any of the other blogs I read. I was wondering if you would mind commenting on this list:

Lady Malys
Duke Sliscus

Email in: Tyranids, Drowning in a Sea of Bandwagons

Greetings Kirby,

I am a 40K player located in Southern California and I would first like to say I have been reading your blog for ~4 months and have found it really quite informative and interesting. Well time to get to the point. I have been playing around with the Tyranids Codex for about 2 months now after playing Tau and Dark Angels. I found a pretty interesting list concept and after playing a couple games against the local Dark Eldar and Grey Knight players(Out of ~30 people at my FLGS 12 play GK 6 play DE....Grrrr I6 Halberds) it has had some really interesting games. I would really love to get some feed back on this list. My question to you is this....do you think this is a good way for Tyranids to go? What would you add or subtract?

Draxos, That New Guy

Hello guys,

My name is Draxos and I have been "brought on" by Sir Biscut. I won't mention the blackmail or anything like that. Haha. Funnily enough the afore mentioned Sir Biscut and I already knew each other when he mentioned on the PP forums that 3++ was looking for a Warmachine/Hordes writer. I shot him a message and we convinced bribed Kirby to let me on the team.

Now on to the point of my ramblings, having been brought on as an author for the Privateer Press crowds I intend on writing a plethora of articles in relation to the various factions and how they work, as well as how to use themed lists and to see if they are really worthwhile. I am of course willing to take suggestions on my articles and would love to get your guys feedback. You can reach me at my email or just leave some comments.

Counts-As Iron Hands Idea

Hey pinkies. So I had a cool counts as idea about using Iron Hands with the Space Wolf Codex and specifically using Chumby's Loganwing list or some variation of it.

The rationale: Iron Hands don't have terminator squads but rather have termi sarges leading marines. So Wolf Guard with a terminator WG are perfect for this.

The SM codex further doesn't really do justice to the Iron Hands. Am I supposed to take A MotF with 6 dreads? Iron Hands fluffwise don't have a billion dreadies, only really their Iron Fathers get the full treatment and become Dreadies. Hence, I can add Bjorn in some games so as to represent the HQ dread that Iron Hands would have.

In terms of modelling, I had a few ideas too. The Thunderwolf Cav in the list will remain. I was thinking of using the Ironhood Brethren tracked guys as the body of the TWC conversion then adding a marine torso and lots of bionics and servo arms to taste.

Warmachine Battlebox arrives...

So after many weeks of waiting, the battlebox finally arrived from Wayland! Unfortunately my order was short a Vassal of Menoth (not included in the battlebox but part of my order) but at least the Choir of Menoth arrived. The issue here was it was marked as sent! Hopefully this will be resolved soon. Anyway, once I get down to working with these guys I'll do a full review on the battlebox and hopefully Vince will give his impressions as well. For now, let's see what it includes.

The box itself is pretty neat with some nice visuals on both the front and back. When we open it we get a diluge of little baggies filled with plastic as well as a bunch of other goodies. Not only do you get the models but:

Email in: Grey Knight AcoSpam/AV11 Flood

Mercer

"Hey, I've become increasingly likely to check out your blog for advice over that of internet forums, and I was wondering what you thought of this list that I put together. Normally I run Draigowing, so this is really different and I'm curious to see if it would work. I can get Razorbacks wholesale, so I could put this list together for a moderately cheap cost if you think it would work.

Dark Eldar - Defensive to Aggressive

Following on from the article last night regarding Dark Eldar, we're going to look at two examples of a mixed strategy for Dark Eldar. We'll be using my Dark Eldar list from 2000 points and playing against a list which it can outrange (Purifier spam) and a list which it has no hope of outranging (Thunderbubble). We're going to assume Dark Eldar won the first turn for both games and the same board will be used with the same deployment. Normally one wouldn't use the same deployment obviously but it works okay in both cases and minimises the variables we need to discuss. Both games are going to be Seize Ground with five objectives spread evenly (so a mix of NOVA and normal missions).

Game 1 is against a Purifier list which the Internet thinks is all the rage and simply trashes Dark Eldar. It's Crowe, Vindicare Assassin, 4x6x Purifiers w/2x Psycannons, Hammer, 3x Halberds, Psyback, 2x5x Purifiers w/2x Psycannons, Hammer, 2x Halberds, Psyback, 3x Psyfledread. Personally this is a pretty blah list as you're making the little units of Purifiers attempt to do everything but it does bring a lot of firepower to bear which threatens everything Dark Eldar have. See here for a Grey Knight and Dark Eldar comparison.

Deployment

So you want to be a soviet?

So, you want to be a soviet do you? Sound good does it? A communist state? In that there is no state. Or classes. Joining a vanguard party to lead your motherland to the way it should have been since the beginning? Feasting on hardy Khadoran turnips, and wielding the mighty hammer of the proletariat in one hand, and the noble sickle of the people in the other? It sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it's not. It's a hard life, full of cold, snow, bitterness, iron, and miniscule threat ranges.

So, in case you haven't guessed already, this is an article about marxist politics Khadoran armies. Khador are a powerful army, one of the hardest hitting armies in the game when they put their mind to it, and arguably the most resilient force in the WM/H. No army in the game can take a punch like khadorans when they put their mind to it. Not even trolls or Menoth.

Email in: Ork lotza dreads

Modelsnottoys

"Hey Kirby,

Been trying to nail down a decent Ork list for my next army. I like the idea of running alot of deff dreads and killa kans. so heres what ive worked up

Warmachine: Keepin' the 'Jacks Alive

I've been playing Warmachine for a little over a year now, and I've taught more than a few people how to play the game. It's interesting to me, because I see people make the same mistakes over and over. I'm only just really starting to understand a lot of the higher-level strategies, so seeing these newbie mistakes really helps spotlight some of the more difficult aspects of the game; tactics-wise.

One of these issues is simply keeping your warjacks alive. It's more difficult than you think, simply because all your tactical instincts will be yelling at you to do the exact opposite of what you should.

Take a look at a warjack's statline and you'll be impressed: they boast the highest ARM, the most health, and the highest damage output in the game. Thinking of them as tanks isn't that far off- they just tend to be melee-oriented instead of ranged. Because they can use focus, they can buy additional attacks, and they can boost attack and damage rolls, they are some of the most accurate as well as heavy-hitting models out there.

Dark Eldar - Aggressive or Defensive?

Rant in E Minor

Dark Eldar are the best non-Imperial army out there currently. There's not much competition so they shouldn't feel super chuffed about this but they are an excellent army despite their reliance on suppress fire (which can hurt against Grey Knights and the Necron rumors for example). However, I seem to always see them advocated in one of two ways: hyper aggressive or hyper defensive where you sit back and shoot, shoot, shoot. Both of these strategies have their places which we will talk about shortly but they generally should not be the only way you play them every game, regardless of opponent. A good list is going to be flexible and not be forced to play the same way every game. By having choices you can adapt your army to your opponent's and operate under a battleplan of maximum efficiency. This isn't to say you react to your opponent but rather you have more choices as a general. A good general then makes the right choices.

Email in: Blood Angels 2000pt list for your advice

Dakka

"Kirby hello,

I'm putting together an all-comers Blood Angels army with what I have on hand, so here's what I came up with:

Evaluating a Codex

One of the things that is always popular is talking about a new codex when it comes out; everyone weighs in with their opinions of things, saying which units are bad, which units are good, what the builds are going to look like, etc, etc. Unsurprisingly, it is the opinions of the more-respected members of the community that usually get the most attention, but nearly everyone likes to get their two cents in, and certainly I am no exception to this, as I've been on both sides of that particular fence. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong, and in the end, only time will tell, but I think it's important to have an understanding of the underlying systems for assessing a new book when it comes out. Too often, the internet gets worked up about some minor point or another of a new codex, completely ignoring other factors that make that irrelevant (e.g. the Mawloc or Dreadknight.)

Comparison: Games Workshop & Privateer Press

I'm going to pre-face this by telling everyone to be nice in the comments. Don't flame and don't be fanbois/fangirls - this is an objective post and nothing is going to be gained by whining about companies or flaming each other.

With that out of the way... This post is going to look at some of the good and bad points of both companies in a comparison. Puppy has already done this alone with Games Workshop. As we move towards 2012 there is a massive disparity in terms of what each company does well. Whilst their gaming systems are very different in terms of size and scope, they are some of the largest tabletop wargames out there. Combined with the Privateer Press' founders seemingly basing their company off what many believe Games Workshop does poorly, it's only natural to see such comparisons made (and knowing the Internet and people in general - the flaming and fanism [<-- new word]).

Email in: Mech BA - Thoughts?

B&C

"Hey Kirbs,

You might recall a few weeks ago I emailed you regarding a DoA list. Anyways, during a moment of clarity (or stupidity you choose) I decided to magnetize my jump packs /w regular backpacks so I could use em as either jump marines or reg. assault marines. I'd like to put a Mech BA list together to change things up a bit. What are your thoughts on these (2 Versions)?

Email in: Grey Knights henchmen squad: Chimera or Razorback?

Warseer

"Kirby,

Long time follower of the blog it is the best of its kind. I am currently stationed in Afghanistan and unfortunatly seperated from my toy soldiers. This however does not stop my list building! Before I deployed I was playing a very mixed daemonhunters force using mostly my old models with the new dex. I had come to find that the psybolt razorback was much more reliabe then chimeras, but both have pros and cons depending on what is inside. Using cheap 3 man warriors squads was great but it left me feeling bored. So I decided to make my troop choices more than just a transport, I wanted squads with teeth. This is roughly the list I came up with:

Necron Rule Rumors...

They don't have we'll be back for no reason...

3++ normally doesn't jump on the rumors bandwagon because it doesn't serve much purpose until we actually see the final rules...see the hoopla generated regarding 2+/2++/FNP/W2 Paladins (how'd they turn out?) and the Necron gun of "I can hit every similar model in your whole army." However, I'm tired tonight so no post of insightfulness for you :P. Here are the latest Necron rumors (courtesy of Dakka) to go with the awesome pictures we saw over the weekend.

Email in: Aggressive Space Wolf list 2000 points

CMON

"Hiya Kirby!

Been reading your blog for awhile now, and had an idea for a Space Wolves army I haven't seen. I was thinking of ways to fit some WolfGaurd Terminators and Thunder Wolves into a list and this is what I came up with. I thought terminators DSing with pods was a way to replace Wolf Scouts, and a good way to put a bit of early pressure on an enemy. Drop pods hit the dirt Terminators force the enemy to react, and this will help funnel them into my Thunderwolves and Grey hunters zooming across the field (hopefully). The Vindicator is good at dictating enemy deployment to a degree, so could help the terminators have a decent landing zone, or can fire into the clump of units fleeing or pursuing my Terminators. Looks like a fun list, and might even work! (Maybe?)

"Stubborn is better than Fearless!"

No, it isn't.

Let's get this straight: the No Retreat rule is punishing, yes. Especially in multiple combats its effects are rather ridiculous. Magnifying this is the fact that ATSKNF makes a large percentage of the armies in the game immune to being swept from losing combat, which is nominally the thing that makes combat resolution so punishing. It still is reasonably dangerous to anything but Terminators, but not nearly to the degree that No Retreat on low-save models is.

That still doesn't make Fearless worse than Stubborn.

Space Wolves - Asking the Questions That Matter In List Design, Part 2

Note: I use a lot of very dominant wording in my articles, as ever these articles reflect my own views of the game just as every author out there does through their own work. There is no right or wrong way to play, there are better ways and there are alternative ways to achieve the same goal. If you have issue with how I am presenting the articles, man up and look past the wording to the core concepts being communicated and extrapolate them to your own game. Note 2: Some people demanded a better scale of picture of me, hence this one from 3.5 years ago with me slouching in front of a tank of some sort at paintball.

Email in: triple-raider, sort of

CMON

"Hello Kirby

Well, okay it's not tripple-raider per se, but that's because I don't have a third 'Raider.
Regardless, it does have 2 Land Raiders and a Storm Raven, so it's gimmicky still in that sense of 'hope they can't kill three heavy vehicles.' I know that these lists don't work very well, and Blood Angels particularly have a problem with them as their support(ie. rhinos) are more expensive, but what the hell I have the models so I should probably use them somehow outside of Apocalypse.

It's a bit of a jumble, mostly as I only have 10 Assault Marines sans jump packs, but this is what I have so far:

Webhosting

Okay so with the final dice orders hopefully being sent off shortly (I believe the dice should arrive at my place in a couple of weeks), it's time to finally get down to getting some hosting for 3++ to take it off the blogspot servers. The question is - what URL? 3++isthenewblack isn't going to work because of the pluses and 3isthenewblack just doesn't have the ring to it now does it. Anyway the floors are open for suggestions whilst myself and fester work behind the scenes to get what we need. The one thought we had was something like www.thepinkarmy.com/net depending upon what was available. Like or no?

Anyway, suggestions go people!

Email in: Failtastic Chaos Lists!

Black Matt

"Hey Kirby, wondering if I could pick your brain. I'm tinkering with the current C:CSM codex, for no other reason than masochistic joy I suppose, and I'm trying to put together a competitive 2k list. I'm trying to avoid Plague Marines and Demon Princes, because one of my buddies plays a nurgle-army and I hate copy-catting. So I've come up with the following two lists. The first one seems to play like a Tau bastard. only instead of staying far away and shooting, you stay close and shoot, praying that the rhinos/land raiders will keep you from being assaulted. Its stacked with melta and other shooty goodness, just no solid CC ability. The second list is an armored-column type list, with a bit more ability in the CC department. Which would you consider superior? Also, any way you would change the better one? Raptors are a little expensive, but if they run behind the rhinos they can get close enough to tie up bubble-wrap. Also, at 2k I didnt know what else to do with the points. Thanks for the help!

New Necron Photos

From Beasts of War we've got some new Necrons! I haven't really paid much attention to the rumors coming out as some of them have just been downright stupid (i.e. Scarabs draining AV of vehicles, one gun hitting every similar model in an entire army, etc.) though the rest of them seem relatively solid, particularly the statlines.. Before that though, let's look at some preview pictures of the shiny new models Necrons are getting (again courtesy of Beast of War).

eFeora 35 points

So still waiting on our two-player battlebox to arrive...but I've got pretty much everything else I want for my Menoth minus a couple jacks (Blessing of Vengeance, Avatar of Menoth) and casters (pSevvy) as well as the usual assortment of Mercenaries (but screw them). Besides that though, I've played a couple games with our lovely SirBiscuit and done a lot of fiddling with what I'd like to start building up experience with to obviously hit tournaments ASAP.

With Steamroller style tournaments (which the local tournament seems to run on) I would need two lists I'm proficient with which cover each other's weaknesses as well as possible but am obviously going to start with just one. Any recommendations in a caster which is a good counter-point to what I'm about to post would be appreciated though!

Sisters of Battle Codex Review: Part 9 - Summary & List Building

Kovski

And thus we reach the end of this very...enlightening journey. There's no doubt about it, the Sisters codex has lost some punch, flavor and all round flexibility with the White Dwarf 'codex' replacement. That being said, there is still light at the end of tunnel and they still have some units and combinations other armies would die for. Scouting meltaguns in a transport with a twin-linked multi-melta, Celestian who just keeps coming back, Death Cult Assasins with five attacks on the charge and FNP. It kind of ends there but still, there are some things to smile about and it's not like the whole codex is made up of Vanguard Veterans which have to take two stormshields each (...).

Email in: Help Expand Dark Eldar Please

"Hi Kirby,

I've Recently Been Buying up more Dark Eldar to Expand my 500 Point List and I was wondering if I could get some advice on this 1500 List to make it alittle more Smooth n Competitve.

Lilith

x3 Haemonculus
Liquifier gun

4 trueborn
4 blasters, Venom

British ETC Team Sign-up

As requested by Meg (aka Alex aka Killswitch) this has been posted in regards to the British ETC team and how to potentially become a part of it. They are trying for as much transparency as possible so BrotherLoring can focus all his anger on other teams ;). Meg promised me a Dark Eldar army to do this so if I don't get one I will give someone a hug if they remove him from the team.

Hi Everyone,

The interest for the ETC in the UK has been growing so much recently, with coverage on Rankings HQ, 40kuk and 11th Company, as well as general discussion on the forums and at tournaments, more and more people are aware of what the ETC is, and the best thing is more and more people want to get involved.
This year I have the great honour of being Captain for the English 40k team. In this thread I want to just go into a bit of detail how to apply for the English team, as well as what is expected from an ETC player.

The event this year is in Poland on the weekend 18/19 August 2012.