Email in: Necrons list 2000

"Well the much anticapated necron codex has arrived and i think this codex will be a generals codex. I struggled to come up with a balanced list for the crons but here is my outlook so far.

HQ
1 Overlord - pharon, resorb, warscythe -150
1 Overlord - pharon, resorb , warscythe -150

Grey Knights WIP

So I have a one-day tournament I'm heading to this weekend and I'll be bringing an Acolyte based Grey Knight list which I've been trying to playtest the past several weeks. Unfortunately I've gotten two games in, both on Vassal so we'll see how it unfolds. As usual though, I'm not finishing painting *facepalm* so along with the joys of apartment hunting these past weeks, I've been working on polishing off all my Space Marine vehicles (three Dreads and seven Razorbacks in this case) with the Purifiers needing detailing and the GKT simply not being painted... I'll likely borrow someone's painted GKT for this tournament but hopefully the army will all be done by the end of the year.

Don't worry, I too will believe it when I see it. Anyway, here's a WIP picture of my painting desk atm. I'm working on putting all the scratch-build Razorback turrets together which are all magnetised with TL-Flamer, Assault Cannon and Heavy Bolter options and a couple LasPlas - everything one needs! The turrets are quite boxy but they do their function I feel, come off easily to make a Rhino and don't look like complete ass!

Guest Article: Counterpoint to Darkwynn on Necrons

Vanus Temple

Hey guys, General smooth here again. I feel the Necron codex is a fine piece of work by Mr Ward, exactly how good will be revealed in time. However recently an experienced, successful and intelligent Internet personality commented that the Necron codex is …..... well, underwhelming. I'm just a normal bod of little stature in comparison to Darkwyn but I beg to differ!

From reading the comments below his article, Darkwynn's post was not out of the blue. On the contrary it captured the mood of many of you out there and came after the boy of goat's “I'm not feeling it” article. With many of you making the same criticisms as Darkwynn, so let's look at them.

Cadian 122nd asks for help!

I got an e-mail today from Antipope, the author of the Cadian 122nd blog. An article was recently published in a Greek newspaper which...well it wasn't very nice. Antipope explains more:

"Hi there,
I hope this email finds you in good health.

I am sending you this email in order to ask for a favour. Let me explain. If you read here (a post from my blog) you will understand.

In a nutshell, it's a slanding article targeting 40K and the local community published in a major Greek newspaper yesterday. As you realise, Greece is a small country with an even smaller 40K community. Something like that could have a tremendously negative impact to the hobby.

Building a Space Sharks Army

I've gotten rather a large number of emails over the past month or so asking for advice in building a Space Sharks (aka Charcaradon Astra) using Tyrberos, the character out of the second Badab War book. Though I've replied to them individually, I figure I may as well pass along what I've said for others here and give some tips for trying to make the army work. Tyberos is an okay character, but he suffers from some real problems when trying to build a strongly competitive army and is not particularly cheap, either. On the other hand, you get a pretty decent value on him and he does at least open up a unique army for SM, which is more than you can say for a lot of characters.

Space Wolves Codex Review: Part 10 - Conclusion

Space Wolves

This was really one of the most simple codex reviews we've had to do which is particularly odd for such a strong army in this edition. Many people have laid their finger on the crux of this anomly already, so for those of you who haven't seen this it's quite simple - Grey Hunters and Long Fangs are that good. Specifically, they are too good in relation to the other choices available in their respective force organisation slots. Only Predators are really a solid all-round choice which could challenge the Long Fangs but beyond that, not taking Grey Hunters or Long Fangs often begs the question: why not? Taking units such as Blood Claws for example will generally get you laughed at in competitive scenes (for good reason at least!). This can apparently limit the options a player has.

Blood Ravens Charity Project

I saw this over on Santa Cruz Warhammer and thought I'd join in help spreading the word! I'm so nice. This charity project is looking to collect Space Marine models and paint them up in Blood Raven (from the Dawn of War computer game series) chapter colors and raffle off the army for chartiy. The charity in this case is Child's Play.

Anyway, more information about the project can be found at the Blood Raven's blog or Facebook page. You can help out by donating to Child's Play (putting you in the run to win the raffle) and by simply spreading the word! If you want to get more involved, I'm sure the organisation won't mind any extra help - simply contact them through their website.

Tharn Ravagers Tactica

Obsidian Portal

Tharn Ravagers Tactica

Tharn Ravagers are one of two heavy infantry options for Circle Orboros. They are male members of the Tharn race who undergo a transformation into bestial avatars of the Devourer Wurm before entering combat. They have access to minimum and maximum units (4 or 6 models) as well as a unit attachment (the Tharn Ravager Chieftain) and a weapon attachment (the Tharn Ravager Shaman).

Ravagers have several special rules which augment their statistics. Fearless enables them to sustain casualties and stay in combat against Abominations. Pathfinder is a Circle staple ability which enables them to move through rough terrain with ease. Treewalker allows the Ravagers to ignore forests for LOS and to move through models and obstacles while in the forest. Heart Eater allows Ravagers to gain tokens when they kill living models. These tokens can be used similarly to Fury.

Zjoekov's 1750 points list compilation

What I like most about 40k isn't playing, not modelling and especially not painting. No, it's list building. Well at least I spend by far the most time on this aspect of the hobby. Building lists is like solving puzzles for me. I also noticed I actually have been busy making lists for every army over the last years, which lead me to the idea for this post: Giving my idea of a competitive list for each and every army in 40k in 1 post. Maybe some people find it useful or just fun to read, maybe not. I had fun making the lists at least.

Now keep some things in mind: All the lists are 1750 points and are meant for Battlepoints tournaments, not NOVA style tournaments. Many lists might not seem balanced and many probably aren't, but they are (in my opinion) good for having chances at simply winning tournaments, that's my definition of competitive lists nowadays. Until most tournaments start using the NOVA format, I find it of little use to prepare for imaginary settings.

Email in: Bloodhammer army

Jawaballs

"Hey

I was hoping that you could give some feedback on a list which I have been working on. I have contacted you before about an Iron Hands army which you critiqued for me, so thanks for that (unfortunately painting that much black proved my undoing, so its half finished in a box hidden in my cupboard!)

When the Blood angels codex came out I built and painted a 1750 jumper army based around some of your articles but have never had much luck with it on the tabletop unfortunately. The list was:

Email in: 1500pt "Lightning" fast necrons

"Kirby- I have been following your blog for a few weeks and I really wanted your opinion on a necron force I am putting together. I really wanted this force to play completely different from anything and everything I have seen in 40k. It is a lighting quick, delayed alpha strike army that survives through night fight. The list doesn’t suffer from night fight because the heavy hitters big gun doesn’t check for night fight. Everything is designed to synergize with mid-range and extreme speed and safety. Here is the list.

Email in: Shooty Shooty Necrons at 2k

"Hi Kirby,

I'm considering venturing into the cold depths of the tomb worlds for my new army and wanted to know what you thought of the following load out.

HQ Anrakyr with Command Barge 245
Royal Court Harbinger of Despair x2 Solar Pulse Eldritch Lance x2 90
Total 335

Email in: Necrons 2000

"My hope is to control the first turn of the game to get my units into the best positions with all my 24" guns, and get the scarabs and sypders as close or in contact with Mech as possible. Not 100% sure who Orkan hangs out with, maybe drop a Warrior and put him in the ark, or run him with the Royal Court and put one of the Transmog Crypteks with the Warriors.

Emporer's Legion Battle Report - Game 2: Tyranids versus Draigowing

I thought I might finally do these battle reports... despite me being sick during the weekend there are some excellent learning opportunities in the game I wish to take a look at. There is no Game 1 so don't look for it! I got a full point bye meaning I played Draigowing (with nothing but 15x Paladins, Draigo and a Librarian). At this stage I don't remember army lists exactly so they'll be rough guesses. My Tyranid list will be included at the bottom in the comments.

Space Wolves Codex Review: Part 9 - Heavy Support

Tabletop Geeks

Most people forget Space Wolves have actual choices in Heavy Support other than Long Fangs and with the discount Long Fangs get...well it's hard not to see why. Not only are there Long Fangs but the usual Vanilla assortment of Predators, Land Raiders, the Vindicator and Whirlwhind. Yet few see use - why? This post is going to look more at this question rather than reviewing each individual unit as we again reference you to VT2's Space Marine review which covers them all quite nicely.

Email in: Scarab Necrons.

 
"Hey Kirby

Everyone agrees that the Scarabs and Spyders are a great buy for the points but very few have tried to build an army around them.

Here is my attempt

Hordes: Domination My Review

Privateer Press has finally released Domination, the first Hordes expansion book since MKII. This has also caused me to constantly pour over the book constantly trying to figure out every possible combination for each model in the book as well as determine the worth of the book overall.

I have to say that I am really pleased with Privateer Press once again. The book adds a lot to each Hordes faction with two Warlocks, a Character heavy Warbeast as well as well as each faction's new and original Battle Engine. Each faction also received a unique add-on from a unit attachment to a new unit to an additional light Warbeast. Now I will be the first to admit that there are some bad things in this book but I feel that is pretty much expected in any book.

Now let's move onto the meat of the book, shall we?

Comparison: Fortitude vs Living Metal

AbusePuppy has recently taken us through Quantum Shielding and all that it entails for a Necron army (both playing it and playing against it). Of particular note of course is the durability Necron vehicles have with Quantum Shielding and Living Metal. Beyond this, a lot of parallels have been drawn between Living Metal and Grey Knight's Fortitude and for obvious reasons - they both counter suppression. Suppression is a key part of 5th edition as enemy vehicles are so common. It's not that rare to see 10+ vehicles in your opponent's army or 20+ on the table during deployment (even at 1500 points). What Living Metal and Fortitude allow is the respective Necron and Grey Knight armies to care less about suppression for their own army. This is an interesting development if the designers are indeed thinking with 6th edition in mind (I'll believe that when I see it), particularly with Eldar around the corner (remember the good old Spirit Stones?).

Email in: 'A Call to Arms'!

"Hey Kirby,

So, my FLGS runs this thing called 'A Call to Arms'; you have a certain amount of time to buy, build and paint a certain-sized force, and you get slightly more store credit than the cost of entry, with a tournament at the end and a pot divvied up between those who successfully complete the challenge. At the moment they're launching the 40K challenge, which requires a 1250 point army in two months. So I was thinking, how would a Marine army like this handle?

Winning Armies

I've had a while now to think on the Feast of Blades, and I think I'm ready to start writing about it. My body has recovered, the feedback is in, and I've reflected with others. What did work, what didn't and what can be done to make it even bigger and better for our second year. I'll be posting a lot of convention and tournament thoughts, more theory than tabletop practice. As always, I value your comments and opinions.

There was an almost terrifying moment for me this year, as we approached the end of our series. In the semifinal game, Daemons and Tau were both winning on tables 1 and 2 respectively. It really looked like our final was going to be Daemons vs Tau. Luckily, Darkwynn, the eventual tournament champ, managed to scrape out a win against the Tau and advance. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Necrons: Prime Contenders

So I already posted my not-a-review talking over some initial thoughts. Since then, I've spent a lot more time looking at the book, reading other people's ideas, and pondering. I'm still not going to do a review yet because we still don't know how the book really works yet; seriously, folks, stop saying that so-and-so is broken, or worthless, or that the book is useless, or limited, or overpowered, or any of the million other things that the internet has already decided about Necrons. We've barely even scratched the surface of things yet, it's a little early to make wide, sweeping pronouncements.

So here are some wide, sweeping pronouncements.

Email in: 2K Dark Eldar list

Dakka

"Hey Kirby,

I'm stuck on this 2k list at about 80 points shy. Let me know what you think.

Guest Article: Evolving Mathshammer

Warhammer 39,999

Is GW trying to kill Maths?

Some people kill time, some flog a dead horse, I think, I'm not sure, but I think GW are trying to kill maths. We have an increasingly complex matrix of doing damage and the consequences of this damage. The trend is crystallised in the Necron codex for me and this trend is increasingly devaluing my spreadsheet layouts and forcing me to make more judgement calls on my choices. And finally................................... I think I like it!

Quantum Shielding: How Tough is It?

Quantum Shielding is probably making the biggest splash with the new Necron book, and it looks to be an easy way to put a lot of armor on the table and give the enemy problems. However, it's difficult to get a grasp on just how tough it actually makes you, because it ends up being a very complex situation. Having been thinking about it a lot myself recently, I'm gonna try and put down a bunch of my thoughts on the subject and try and sort things out a little.

Rogue Trader Tyranid Army

Good morning everyone!

It's beena while since I picked up my Tyranids and played (I've been playing Space Wolves for a long while now, and have a rogue trader era army now I am painting up as Rainbow Warriors for Tourney use - all models are 1986-1989, mostly '88, I have the Limited Edition first Power Armoured Marine that was released in 1986 in there too it's goonna be rad , I'm even using 2 Zoat Mercenaries as my Thunder Wolf Cavalry!!) but I've recently (well over most of the past year) acquired a significant amount of original release Tyranids, all Rogue Trader era models before 2nd ed releases made the floor. As an aside I've also acquired thanks to a mate in the UK a huge amount of MC's/Tyranid Warriors from 2nd ed which filled out a gap in my collection giving me close on 15,000 points of Nids from all editions (1st edition army, 2nd edition army, 3rd ed+ army - tempting to do each edition in a different hive fleet scheme behemoth/kraken/leviathan in order of age but I dislike the behemoth scheme and red/bone genestealers is just wrong!

I digress!

... fester - who are you again?

Good evening ladies and germs.
Long time no see, and that is how it goes when you have two kids, and no 40k playtime since June.

Anyway, I have been beating away at my Loganwing, and with me running "fester's Xmas Bash" the first weekend of December - a one day 1500pt no comp nova event (4 games), and playing in it as well, the army is coming together.

Today, my Chaos Knights turned up so I could start on the Thunderhoof Cav.

Anyway, onto the gratuitous photos!

A Wilder's Guide to the Circle Battlebox

I've spilled much ink about this topic already in other manuscripts. My writings are my assaults upon the established traditions of other members of our Order. Every stroke of my raven-quill is a sword strike in an eternal campaign against complacency and unfounded bias. In our success we have become lax. This laziness has led us to discard or discount the weapons which are available to us. In the coming days, we will not have the luxury to choose our weapons at will. We will be forced to use those weapons which are readily available. Therefore, it is important that you, the newest members of our order, be well versed in every aspect of our arsenal.

Privateer Press

Battlebox Comparisons

Since the induction of mark 2, there has been a lot of lamentation about Kaya, the Wildborne, and how she was "nerfed". Let's just set that aside now. Mk 2 Kaya is not Mk 1 Kaya. If you expect them to be identical, you will be disappointed. Mk 1 Kaya was broken. This is even more true when you consider what she would have had access to in Mk 2. So let's focus on what we have in her rather than what we don't.

Battlefield 3

= a busy Kirby who doesn't have time for you! Bran's Circle post will be back up at 10pm don't worry and I will be getting to the responses on the 3++con missions - I appreciate all feedback!

Those Necron e-mails are piling up though....

Psycoteaz - Looking Back

One of the most frustrating aspects of any list building exercise is balancing what you like and what you need. The Psycoteaz list concept was looking to balance this by bringing a nice amount of Purifiers, Psyfledreads and melta-options from Henchmen. This provided a particular balanced between Psycannons and melta-weapons to deal with tanks whilst not skimping on anti-infantry potential. The problem with the early iterations of these lists was shoving too many points into Purifiers for no necessary reason (i.e. lots of combat upgrades).

Email in: Hybrid Blood Angels 2500 Pt

"During my wargaming exploits, I have had a hard time nailing down an army list that I like and have an even harder time sticking with a single list for more than a few games. I have the tendency to show up at a game store and have forgotten my list or specific models are at home on the painting desk, or I'm just feeling frisky so I feel the need to throw my previous list out the window and come up with a new one on the fly with minimal thought involved.

Today, I've started the idea of working on ONE list at a certain points value, playing it for no less than 10 games, take notes while playing, and then edit it with optimizations. So here goes; the following is a 2500 point Blood Angel list with combinations of what I've enjoyed running in the past, culminating in a hybrid 'Jumper/Mechanized' attack force, with enough melta and firepower ruin someone's day when their tanks and infantry have been reduced to molten slag.

Eldar Phoenix Lord Review: Irillyth Phoenix Lord of the Shadow Spectres

A quiet weekend on this side I'm afraid. I've been doing some site updates consisting around re-organising the in-site links and adding new pages. Also, most of the e-mails I have in my inbox are Necrons and I don't want to jump into all of them super quickly. I hope you'll be patient in this regard!

So boring stuff out of the way... Forge World has released some new models and rules as it usually does and this includes the Phoenix Lord Irillyth of the Shadow Spectres which were reviewed before. The rules for Irillyth can be found here with pictures of the model as well. Irillyth has the usual Phoenix Lord statline and a hefty cost of 225 points... Let's break it down then.

Second Wave of Dice Arrives

Second wave of dice has arrived. Finally! I'll be packing these up over the coming week and hopefully sending them off by Friday. There are some leftovers but I'll have to check what's what as I don't have my files on me currently. If you're interested in getting some let me know via e-mail!

Sorry for the delay.

Email in: Storm Wardens 1750

"Howzit Kirby! I really love your blog and actually learn a lot from it!

A couple of years ago I quit 40k because I felt the fluff/lore was bland and there was no surprises in store as a whole because of the two inevitable fates of the galaxy (crons kill everything or nids eat everything, NOM[strange because they are among my favorite armies...]). I am very fluffy, but I also like to be competitive as well. I got the new 'crons book as soon as it came out and loved the fluff for Imotekh and the Sautekh dynasty. So with that in mind I tried to make a list that would be able to use the Stormlord's special rules to their full capacity. I also have this thing for using only what models GW currently has, call it... mild OCD.

Meet the Gang! (Ward Eight, Part 1)

Having finished the first few models of my Necromunda gang, Ward Eight, and gotten ahold of a halfway-decent camera to get some pictures with, I think it's high time I finally posted some actual models of mine for people. And thus: an introduction to the members of my gang.

"Why Can't You Just Stop Worrying About Numbers and Have Fun?"

There is a common perception, especially from hobby-centric players, that competitive players don't "enjoy" the game, that somehow we play this game and invest hundreds of hours and similar hundreds (or thousands) of dollars into it and yet, for some reason, we don't enjoy doing so.

"Why don't you just have fun?" these players often ask. "Is there something wrong with them? Do you feel driven by some kind of vicious to put other people down? Are you just a bad person?"

Sometimes the latter parts of the statement are absent or merely implied, but just as often they are outright in their wondering and complaints. What is it about competitive players that prevents us from having fun with this game?

Warhammer 40,000 Mission Design - Table Quarters

So with 3++ con coming up I need to work out the specifics of the missions. Objectives and Kill Points (marginal) are pretty easy as I can use the basic premise that has been established for a while now based on NOVA missions. I want to look at table quarters though which is a throw-back to 3rd/4th edition, specifically the Cleanse mission. Whilst Victory Points and Table Quarters are concepts of editions past, the Table Quarters mission still holds to the primary focus of 5th edition. In this case these are mobility (not being a static, stand and shoot army) and the ability to control midfield. Being able to control the centre of the board allows you to move to any table quarter with ease to ensure you control them all.

WIP Truescale Dakka / Psybolt Dreadnought

MBG here, with a some sweet WIP shots of a Psynought Dred.  My buddy Beef (hold the cheddar) stopped by the other day with a new WIP, a Ravenguard Dakka Dreadnought

He converted this puppy up good, with a bunch of solid true scale aspects, heck you can't even tell those are sentinel legs till you see it from behind.

The model kinda almost reminds me of a Battletech Mech as well. I'm no expert on that game, so I wont even try to name the specific Mech, BUT it's definitely close to one of them.

Guest Article: Warhammer Fantasy Magic Item Review - Part 5

Creaturist

Magic Items Review Part 5: Arcane Items

Arcane Items are strictly Wizards only, so they're much more limited in an army than other types of Magic Items. Arcane Items add an extra level of functionality to a Wizard, mostly boosting their own spellcasting prowess or granting protection from enemy spells. There are some weird choices that are best avoided, and most of these items are also expensive, taking a big chunk of points from your Wizard’s allowance. However, since most Wizards can’t take Magic Armour they can afford to spend a little extra on these items, and usually a Wizard only needs a ward save and a specific Arcane Item to perform well.

A lot of messing around in the errata for this one, the Arcane Items seemed to have caused a rules kerfuffle or two.

Space Wolves Codex Review: Part 8 - Fast Attack

Dakka

Fast Attack for Space Wolves is one of the least used slots (not unusual) but has some excellent choices including the infamous Thunderwolf Cavarly and always useful Land Speeder. Unlike Space Marines however, there is a lack of good bike choices, specifically Attack Bikes. Space Wolves do have the usual Bike and Assault squad choices but they are based on the Blood Claw mould... Anyway, let's dive in.

Fenrisian Wolves -

These guys are often over-looked and many people forget about them. Not hard to understand when they are 8 points base and about the only thing they have going over an Ork Boy is being a beast and thus they have very good mobility. Outside of this you aren't getting a lot of attacks, durability (though 5th edition cover rules help them out obviously), high leadership, good weapons or anything worthwhile really. They rely on units around them to make sure they don't run away (i.e. Thunderwolf Cavalry allow Ld re-rolls much like Saga of Majesty) but themselves aren't bringing anything something else isn't (i.e. Grey Hunters bring torrent attacks in combat).

Crynn's Corner - The Lord Inquisitor

The Lord Inquisitor

So I just wanted to make a little ‘spot’ on this blog for myself which I intend to mainly use as a space to write Warhammer 40k related tactica articles. Occasional I will throw in a personal modelling article or even something miscellaneous that pertains to 40k, which is what I want to quickly discuss today.

Guest Article: Infinity Introduction

 

With a lot of people understandably looking for alternative games to play with Games Workshop doing it's best to piss off Australians (and those Kiwi guys) and having everyone on tetherhooks about 6th edition (please don't suck, please don't suck), we've seen an increased amount of chatter about these altnerative games. One you hear a lot about but isn't covered much in-depth here on 3++ is Infinity. Firstius gives us a brief run-down of what the game is and what it's about so anyone interested can give it a look.

What is infinity?

Infinity is a 28mm sci-fi skirmish miniature game produced by Corvus Belli.

3++ 40k Tournament

 

3++ con is a go lads (and ladettes)! The details are still being ironed out and a player’s pack should be released early December but the green light has been given and since I’m the TO for the 40k side…I get to brag!

Some vaguely specific details. I’m taking over the Warhammer 40,000 part of Clash of the Titans (presenting 3++con) and will only have influence over that aspect of the convention. That being said, there will be a 40k Juinors (I’m not running it), Warhammer Fantasy, Flames of War, Blood Bowl and Lords of the Ring if you are interested in coming for those or there are no more places for 40k.

Email in: Jumpy armies

"Hi,
I am new wh40k player. I've started playing Blood angels (love assault
marines!) and getting some models. Also I was playing with my friend (IG) some 500-1k point games. We settled for a while at 750 point which seems optimal to our posessions of models (too much proxy is troublesome).

I was going against him with
Libby with JP
2x ASM PF double melta
2x sang priest with JP

40k Theory: The Razor's Edge

As some of you (translation: none of you) may be aware, I am a racing cyclist and something of a fitness/nutrition nut.  There is a concept I’ve been thinking about lately from the endurance sports world that crosses over to 40k list building, oddly enough. 

In endurance sports, there is a concept called “the razor’s edge.”  In short, the idea is that in running/cycling/triathlon etc. you want to weigh as little as possible and have the least body fat possible.  Mostly because the less you weigh, the faster you are, especially in areas with hills (or even mountains) because gravity is only second to wind resistance in forces to be overcome.  In the racing world, you measure your watts of power output divided by your weight in kilograms to get a good idea of your relative speed compared to other athletes. 

Enslave and Subjugate - Archnomad's New Skorne

Disclaimer: This is one of those thought process articles I sporadically write. It's a general summary of my thought process whilst I was writing out my current (post Dominion) eMakeda list. Hopefully you'll find it interesting, and if I'm lucky insightful. Cheers. 

So, I dunno if any of you know this, but I played my Skorne at NOVA (and did pretty damn well, also huge thanks to 200ponies for allowing me to even enter). I was using Rasheth T4, which is considered an unconventional or even bad army by a lot of people. I really don't get the Rasheth hate in the WM/H community, he's really a powerhouse. But hey, that's a discussion for another day. Today, I'm going to talk about eMakeda. Specifically, the eMakeda force I'm going to start.

Email in: 2500 DE list

Dakka

"Hello, Kirby, my name is Andrey, and I am a fairly new 40k gamer in Dallas, TX. Not that where I live actually matters, but it does seem like such a nice segway into yet another person asking you to look at their army list. I know that the necrons are out and skyrim is busily downloading as I type these very words, but if you do have some spare time, please take a looksie and tell me what you think. In the UTD scene the usual game is run at 2500 points, partially because its rather epic and fun, but mostly because 'ard boyz is a rather virulent disease. To the point. When the new DE first came out, it only took a mildly intelligent cockroach to look at it and notice that the duke and the baron are pretty cool dudes. I, being a tad smarter the average cockroach, took this idea and made a list out of it, which struggled through various iterations and finally arrived at something rather close to your royalty list. So much for being a unique and special flower (god i hate fight club references). So, the meat:

Space Wolves Codex Review: Part 7 - Troops

Mind of the Daemon

Space Wolves have both a huge boon and a huge disadvantage with their Troops (though many people will hotly deny this). Whilst they have perhaps one of the best all-round units in the Troop section you could possibly ever want...well that's about it. Yes you do get Wolf Guard when you run Logan but Logan is an expensive investment and Wolf Guard are basically a more expensive version of Grey Hunters in most respects and unless you focus completely on their ability to bring mobile heavy weapons to bear in Loganwing, Space Wolves really only have one viable Troop choice. Everyone knows this, knows how those Troops will be used and can thus do something about it. That being said...it's just so damn good that sometimes this doesn't matter.

Warmachine & Hordes - Going Solo: Part 1

Solos are a part of Warmachine and Hordes that are capable of augmenting your army in a plethora of ways. Each faction has access to at least a half a dozen in-faction solos as well as Mercenary and Minion solos which they can hire.

Each faction will use their solos in a different fashion and often times it depends entirely upon the list you are making. Most list I have seen have about two or three solos but there are lists with up to six or seven used at once. Lets take a quick look at the most common solos you will see regardless of faction for Warmachine.

Email in: 1750 GK for review

"vHi Kirby

I've been following your blog for a few weeks now. It's really a goldmine of worthwhile information that's not been polluted by ignorance and hear-say. Awesome! And your website is being spread around Denmark as best I can :)

I've been on a one year hiatus from 40k due to finishing my master thesis. I sold my Plague Marine army (that actually worked well for me without it being a finely tuned army) and are now building a Grey Knights army (and Tau - but GK are first in line!).

Circle Orboros Explained

Circle Orboros Explained
-or-
Why the baby-stealing, human-sacrificing cannibals are the good guys.

An ancient struggle

Before one understands the nature of the Circle Orboros, they must first understand one of the most fundamental rivalries in Caen. When mankind first appeared on Caen, they found themselves exposed to the many predatory animals, driving cold winds, and the scorching sun. It wasn't until they discovered the True Law of Menoth that they were able to establish civilized societies safe from the indignities of nature.

Email in: Battle Reports/Vassal

"Hey, I was reading through some of the old posts (Batreps), and I was curious if there was anyway to watch games being played on Vassal? While I am more or less on the opposite side of the world, i think it would be fun to watch some of the more experienced list builders and what not get some games in. (40k internet celebrity death-match? Haha)

I am still coming along with the Tau, although, I'm hesitant to get my suits (or converted suits as the case may be) all up and running with what I hope will be a tau update soon. Still got plenty of work to be done, and a life to busy to do it. Which leads to a question. Any experience with lists seeking to bring massive amounts of Birdmens? (talking minimum 60+). Flamer Deathrain suits, 88's, pathfinders and Kroot?

Email in: tau help/challenge!

"Kirby- I’m really enjoying your website and your perspectives. I’ve been player Tau for over two years now and I like to check out the internet for help but the idea of asking someone else to help me build a list/ list(s) has never appealed to me but after several months of following your site I’ve really come to enjoy reading the help you give people.

I have a challenge for you. I am a very devout follower of the Great Good (they are the reason I got into 40K and sort of stand for everything I believe in...I’m whacky, I know). In addition to enjoying background, I also enjoy the hobby aspect of 40k and as you look at my list below you’ll notice I have some units (vespid, sniper drone teams) that are not very good on the table, this is because I wanted to own them and paint them.

Email in: Footcrons at 1750

"Hey kirby, big fan of your blog. I've been working on a footcron list for the past 2 days and I'm wondering what you think of it.

Destroyer Lord - 125

9x Immortals w/ Tesla - 153
9x Immortals w/ Tesla - 153
9x Immortals w/ Tesla - 153
9x Immortals w/ Tesla - 153

Email in: Vulkan Bike List-please critique

Dakka

"Hello Kirby,

I really like your blog. it is ful of inspiring tacticas, and isnt full of rubbish like many forums, blogs, etc. I also noticed that you have "Email in" lists, so i thought i would give it a go.

I was wondering if you could critique this list for me, which was inspired by an article you wrote involving the use of both Vulkan and Bikes:

Email in: Necronz

"Hiya kirby, ive had the lovely new codex for a few days now (delivered before release) and ive really been chewing my way through the book... metaphorically speaking.

and i think this is what a well balanced list will look like, as believe it or not, the necrons do have some cheap'ish units now. but bad news, theyre the new models!

anyway the list:

Guest Article: Warhammer Fantasy Magic Item Review - Part 4

Bringer of Victory

Magic Item Review Part 4: Magic Standards

Magic Standards behave a little differently in your army than other types of magic items. Only the battle standard bearer and certain specified units in the army list can take them, and they’re often quite powerful. There’s also the fact that magic standards can be lost to fleeing and other effects, unlike most situations with other magic items.

A battle standard bearer (BSB) can take a standard of any points, even above his normal magic item allowance, but this prohibits him from taking any other magic items. If you do this, it means your BSB is running on mundane equipment and so must rely on the soldiers around him for protection. Give him as much armour as possible, and a hand weapon and shield so that he at least gets a parry save if a ward save is not available from a non-magic item source. The advantage here is that you can move a Magic Standard to any unit the BSB could join, and even do this during a battle. There’s also the usual BSB effects of +1 combat resolution and a 12” Leadership re-roll bubble.

Necrons: Zjoekov's 1750 Av13 spam

Yes, I'm still alive and as Kirby doesn't fire inactive writers I'm even able to write something, yay! So, Necrons, not a surprise. Everybody seems to have ideas and opinions on them and I'm not any different. A lot of focus on Imhotek, other SC's, Scarabs + Spyders, Night fight and Telsa weapons so far. I'm gonna look at another thing possible in the codex: AV13 spam.

I assume everybody knows now what Quantam shielding does, but to be sure: It gives vehicles (who have the upgrade, duh) +2 AV untill they receive their first penetrating hit. +2 AV simply means AV13 as all the vehicles in the Necron codex who have this upgrade are AV11.

Email in: Idea for Black Templars

FTW

" Hello Kirby...

I have email you before about advice and have followed your site for sometime now and enjoy it alot!

The following army list below is a Black Templar Shootie with some bubble wrap concept, I was looking at the BT "Holy Thunder Bubble" and wanted some TH/SS termies to take the heat off the CML Termie squads while putting out some hurt!. I see that 3 rhinoes isn't alot but the enemy would have to focus on just them while termies advance and fire along with the rest of the armour shooting, so I am hoping for the termies to take aggro while troop can atleast get close to objectives while utilizing there two special weapons.

Anyways... let me know what you think.

PS: the Emperor champs vow is the only thing to stop physic attacks... which is alright ?