Allies, Fluff & It's Cinematic

Reader's beware: not a happy post :P!

It's Cinematic. Forging a narrative. It's the 6th edition catch phrases and of course we love applying them to everything. Want to know what it's best applied to? Allies. The universe we all love and enjoy is bloody vast. We've all read lots of fluff background, books, stories, etc. and we've seen lots of crazy combinations. Off the top of my head I can remember Eldar & Imperial Guard allying, Space Marines & Tau, Blood Angels & Necrons, etc. I can remember Grey Knights allying with anything. And then killing them once their task is done.

The New Tervigon...Impact?

So with the new Tervigon (and T-Fex, Swarmlord and bits for a Harpy) finally landing, the major question in everyone's mind is what is going to happen to the old models and how is TLoS and cover going to interact with these models, in the future 6th edition rules and ultimately the viability of Tyranids on the whole.

Personally, and this is both as a gamer and as a newly blooded TO, old Tervigon & Tyrannofex conversions are fine - as long as they are reasonable. And by reasonable I mean anything based off something Carnifex sized - it was one of the biggest models back then and it's basic construct was and still is, pretty similar to the artwork we had of the Tervigon and T-Fex. I believe any TO who goes against this...well, shame on them - particularly if it's GW sponsored. We've heard from them for years about how they are a modelling company yet they dick around arguing legal terms with fans trying to help other fans out whilst making a little bit of money and fail to produce models which are a big part of an army (including Thunderwolves from Space Wolves). There's protecting your IP and then there's being, whatever colorful word you'd like to call Games Workshop currently.

Games Workshop: Rights and Wrongs

This is not a battlefield, this is a cake.

Sometimes, I just feel like alternating between scathing criticism of the game company I love and gushing praise for the rules that I put my every effort into tearing open to expose the pulsating, disgusting, flawed guts of. That's normal, right? Well I sure as hell hope so, because here it comes.

"That isn't fluffy for your army."

This is one of the worst things you can hear from someone else in the game (aside from "You're cheating" or some of the strings of obscenities) because it's not just rude, presumptuous, and self-righteous, it's also outright wrong.

There is no "right" fluff for an army. A lot of people get up in arms about things like being able to field a ton of Purifiers or having Grey Knights and Daemonhosts in the same army, but I think that's very wrongheaded and harms the hobby as a whole. Maybe my Purifiers or Daemonhosts represent something else; or maybe my GK are part of a secret order of Purifiers that keeps itself hidden from the rest of the Imperium and thus aren't part of the small contingent that is name in the GK codex. Or maybe I just want to play some damn Purifiers and stop having a hissy fit, you big babby.

Working on Grey Knights...

I know the vast majority of you are tired of Grey Knights just like everyone else who is complaining about bandwagon jumpers. I'll point out it's not exactly new and every time a properly released army is re-done, lots of people jump onto the new codex. It's how Games Workshop stays afloat through the year and whether or not people are jumping onto the new codex because they like the models, have played the army for years, are just getting into the game based on it or are looking for the 'next best thing' doesn't really matter, they are playing it and you'll play that army a lot over the next several months until the next army book drops. It's not new, yes it's annoying - particularly with Draigowing seeming to be 'the thing.' It's particularly annoying lately since Games Workshop has released a lot of new Marine books, updated the two others and completely screwed up one of the most notable Xenos books, Tyranids.

Arête (Swearing Ahead!)

Warning - large ego ahead. The sensitive may be offended ^^. Bite me, Kirbs. (He's right though.) Always is.

“I’d really like to start writing again.” I told a guy at my local club. “I just haven’t been into 40k as much as I was lately, and I don’t think I feel comfortable writing about Warmachine until I feel like I at least have some expertise with it, maybe in a couple months.”

He scoffed. “I’ve been playing for years and I wouldn’t call myself an ‘expert’. This game is too complicated, and there are too many surprises and rules for anyone to call themselves an expert.”

I have a talent.

I am superb at games. Not just tabletop games, but board games, and video games- anything that you could reasonably call a game I have always excelled at. I would never claim this is because I am smarter than others, or because I am somehow innately “better”. I’m just wired for it. I read a rule once and it’s there in my mind for good. Playing games is more than just winning for me; it goes beyond competition and friendship. I have struggled a long time trying to find an explanation for exactly why.

Dealing with Bullshit

A large part of WarmaHordes that differs from 40k/Fantasy is the prevalence of power combos. Lash of Submission and Obliterators are one of the primary examples from 40k. A decent power and a great unit used in combination can lead to an even greater result than either used in isolation. This sort of thing is much more common and every faction has access to differing amounts of what I affectionately call "Bullshit". The definition of Bullshit can vary from person to person, but usually it consists of multiple parts working together to not only have a synergistic effect, but to have an effect to such an extent that it usually elicits rage, whining, or even complete surprise from an opponent. If you pull off something and your opponent's response is something like this.....

OMG UR RUINING THE GAME FOR ME!!one!!1

I know, I'm doing it on purpose!

Ruining the game? Seriously? Unless someone is sneaking into your room and smashing your models or rewriting your codex to suck (sorry, SoB), they aren't "ruining the game" for you, you're ruining it for yourself. Other people are doing what's fun for them; if you can't deal with that, it is your problem, not theirs.

"You're just playing the latest, strongest army!"

Well, for one Kirb has already laid some pretty good evidence on the table that newest does not equal best. But I find this particularly hilarious when it refers to something like a player picking up BA or SW these days. Erm, "newest"? The codex is more than two years old. Get over your damn self and let people play counts-as if they want to.

Comp Failure - DaBoyz GT

I'm going to link it. You're going to break it.

Your minimum score MUST be 30 or it's not allowed and then the judges can tack on further points if they wish. This score will comprise over 25% (26.7%) of your total score for the tournament.

Now the missions...

Mission 1 - Kill Points with a special rule where you basically cast the Eldar psychic power Doom on any unit for the whole game...this helps MSU as they don't care if one of their squad dies and MSU is something you've tried to kick in the balls with your crappy comp. It's 2 KP though so yay! Objectives for secondary but player placed and I'm not sure how many there are.

Forumitis special edition: "The bandwagon!"

A special episode of forumitis, largely brought into existence by this: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2011/07/editorial-bandwagon-armies.html

When everybody got Iphone4's, did you rage about bandwagoning, holding aloft your original Iphone from 2007 to the heavens, or did you whine, loudly accusing everybody of being idiots, while proudly picking your old Nokia with black-and-white monitor from your pocket, ranting like a crazy person to 'the new kids' that as long as you know how to use it properly, you don't need all this new, cutting-edge tech, internet access, or even color displays?

Forumitis: "Warmachine is the second coming of Jesus."

Why I don't like warmachine, by VT2.

-

I don't like the tiers system. I don't like the way characters work, and I hate the mechanics. This means the game's a tedius exercise in annonyance and boredom for me.

If you're a non-believer, like I am, I'll need to explain these 'characters' and 'tiers,' and 'mechanics.'
Warmachine is centered around uber-mega heroes, who aren't uber, or that heroic - in fact, they're quite, quite bland, and on their own, they're little more than magic machineguns. Some are regular machineguns, and a few, unlucky bastards want to hit people with their gunblades.

Beating a dead horse - Purifiers in combat

Goatboy

I'm going to give some examples here because BoLS (I know right?) still think these guys are the best thing since sliced bread and that Grey Knights are still good in combat in general. Before we get started, yes Death Cult Assasins and Paladins are awesome but they do have drawbacks. Paladins are bloody expensive so you'd expect them to maul in combat (and GKT to a lesser but still effective extent). They do have a serious weakness to mass S8 firepower or combat attacks (i.e. other Terminators) which needs to be considered but are otherwise very scary with WS5, good defenses (T4/W2/2+/5++ or 4++) and a decent number of attacks. Any army which cannot put in a bunch of S8 firepower at once though is going to find these units very hard to deal with. DCA on the other hand are pretty cheap, strike hard and fast and are going to tear a hole in most units. However, they die to a stiff breeze (bolters!) due to T3/5++ and have no frag grenades. This makes them a great counter-assault unit but without a Land Raider, limits their offensive application.

Lords of Terra Mission Analysis

*exhales* this post isn't going to be pleasant. Send all young children away as I am dispensing with the fudgemuffin copyright and going full out! I'll probably swear once... Edit: I swore more than that. This post isn't just ranting I do analyse the missions and suggest changes but my gears were ground and angrypants Kirby came forth!

Okay so last year we went to Lords of Terra since it is a huge gathering of nerds for Australia (100+) and is decently local. It's a comped tourney (so fail) but it was good to get five games in against some new people. There were of course some major issues (my Tyranids getting 40% painting for example when half painted armies or armies with thick paint and no detailing scored higher; comp scores being...just bad with bad armies getting poor comp and decent armies getting good comp, etc.) but hey, I enjoyed myself and was going to enjoy going back there to play five more games, have a good time and ignore all the bullshit Australian gamers think is necessary to play 40k properly. 

Then I saw the missions (scroll down to end of first post).

An open letter to Games Workshop - Embargo on shipping overseas from the UK

I normally hate these type of posts and avoid writing them like the plague. Most of these type of articles just end up complete whining or asshatery (though I did love SandWyrm's) which isn't really necessary but what has happened recently has lead me to write this. Before we get to the letter though some information. Games Workshop has changed their terms and conditions for stores in the United Kingdom to only allow shipping to countries within the European Union and other parts of Europe. They have increased their prices again come June and have announced the released of resin and mixed resin/plastic sets instead of metals with an approximate increase of 2.5-25% depending upon the set. None of these sets are new but rather re-casts. 


Letter time!

To Games Workshop,

Why? No seriously, why? I'm sure the excuse of cutting off Australasia and other countries (Canada, India, Korea, South American countries, etc.) to benefit the independent and GW store sales in Australia sounded good but unless you cut the prices here to not be a ridiculous 200% higher price than overseas, it's not going to happen. Let's look at this logically. You've stopped us from buying from stores like Maelstrom and Wayland with an embargo agreement in your Terms and Conditions (remember globalisation? how's that going btw?). Does this mean we are going to now buy at RRP in Australia or other countries? No.

Dan rants- Grey Knights, what they are, and what they aren't.

First things first kids - stop with the tears, GK's aren't the end-game for 40k. They all have force weapons, oh noes, world implodes.
Now that I'm past that bugbear, lets have a look at some misconceptions that I thought were obvious in the GK codex.

Lie Number 1: GK's all have power weapons, therefore are all assault troops of AWESOME!

Wrong. GK's do all have power weapons. That doesn't mean all GK's are dedicated assault units. GK's, in general, are NOT an assault army. DCA are about the only thing in the list that functions purely as an assault unit, with DK's a passable second. Paladins, Purifiers, Grey Knights, and the like, are NOT assault units.

Paladins are WS5, with 2 attacks, and 2 wounds, I hear you cry! They also only have a 5+ invo. Dedicated units of CC troops will still tear them to shreds, although wound abuse can do a passable job of keeping you alive. TH/SS terminators make you cry, as they do everyone else, in assaults. (But you are still better than they are, for other reasons. More on this later.)

Okay, what about Purifiers! Surely they are better, you can spam I6 halberds! No, still not an assault unit. They are still -just- marines. Torrenting or power weapons from invulnerable or fast troops still smash them. Sure, you can do some damage and smash units which can't beat Marines in combat but you're not a CC unit.

GKSS and Interceptors are not assault units either. They just aren't.

Freaking hardware problems....

So, on the htc at the moment, my pc has finally died, been having problems with it for a while. However, snazzy new laptop this week. Sadly, this means I couldn't record a podcast this week. If obtaining the laptop goes smoothly we should have it up and running next week, same time.

However, I'm just gonna say now I've got a pair of co-hosts. TheLieutenant and Clayman. Hope you guys don't struggle with the accent.

<3

What about Goatboy? 

P.S. It's Kirbeh's birfday today.

Our Stupid Community

Let's tell a story of 2 hobbies. Fair warning: it's long, but I hope enjoyable.

Before I really got into 40k, airsoft was my hobby of choice. Most every weekend, my buddies and I would head up to the mountains, play some, get dinner and hang out. Unlike most of my buddies, however, I took our hobby a step further. I started looking online, researching tactics, and figuring out the guns and mods that best suited my play style. After a year or so of posting on a forum, people noticed I put forth good opinions and I did my best to help the community. I became a mod, and suddenly found myself trying to manage over 20,000 people.

This was an excellent experience for me. The forum had an excellent staff, and I think I learned more about dealing with people and community building during this time than any other in my life. With their guidance, and my own efforts, I quickly became one of the favorite moderators. I eventually took my authority further, helped senior members write articles, and helped reorganize the forum structure.

Eventually, the owner of the forum went a kind of crazy, and the whole staff left amidst the falling out. I worked with several to establish a new forum, helped to give it a good start, and then gradually lost interest. I had left high school, I was working and going to college, and I just didn't have days to spend up in the mountains anymore.

40k fit my needs nicely. I had plenty of small pockets of time to paint, and though I didn't really make it to the FLGS that much, I still had plenty of games against new friends at home. (The glory that is FloorDK!) Of course, the first place I started looking for information was on forums.

Daemonhunters into grey knights: special inquisitor edition

If you thought the first one was short, here's something even shorter. Were I an artsy person, I'd claim that the shortness and emptiness is merely a reflection of the current demonhunters codex, but since I'm clearly above such things, I will not.

No, really.

It's been established that grey knights themselves are, well, bad, but there's more to the book, isn't there?
After all, it's called 'codex: demonhunters,' and has Coteaz with his hammer on the cover. So, yes - inquisition.

Yeah, yeah, yeah - you could do inquisitor-styled badassery. At least, you should be able to, right? Well, not quite.
There's stormtroopers, elite inquisitors, assassins, up to one lord inquisitor, chimeras, rhinos, orbital strikes, and demonhosts to pick from.
Yes, three of those eight are elites.
Yes, two of them are transports, only available to three of the entries.
No, you've never seen a demonhost, assassins other than callidus', or orbital strikes actually used.
Good going, team Gav!

Incoming Rant: I apologise in advance

There are very few things that get me infuriated in the world of 40k. Several of my recent comments in threads here, here and here have been a little bit ranty and for that I apologise. Well, sort of anyway. What do all of the linked threads have in common? They're about 'count-as' armies. In reality, my infuriation has very little to do with 'count-as' armies specifically, but more about 'fun'. Hopefully I'll link the two through my ramblings.

*If you're not interested in my 'about me', skip to the next red bit down below*

I'll start with a little bit of an introduction as I don't have one here on 3++ yet. I'm in my mid-twenties and have been interested in 40k for over 15 years. I didn't play/paint/collect for a significant part of that (~10 years), but have always kept in touch with GW stuff.

Archnomad's Podcast Greenlit.

s

So, wonderful people of 3++, Kirbio has greenlit me doing a weekly podcast. Now, this article's here to discuss a few things. First off, it needs a name. Kirby's suggestion was... awful, and I'm not going to even repeat it here. So if you fancy yourself witty, go for it.

Second is the topic. As it's me, it's going to be tactics. Tactics for what, I'm not sure. It'll probably be a look at good tactics, commonly used bad ones, keeping your eyes on the prize (guilty of not doing this) and suchlike. Y'know, tactics. Strategies. However, I would like an indicator as to what level. 3++ is usually pretty basic, and personally I'd like to go far more in depth, but hey, it's for you guys to decide (mostly).

Also of note, MWC has offered to take part in this with me, and do a bit of fluff banter with me at the end. Hopefully, if he's still game, we'll think of some really cool scenarios, stories, what ifs and whatnot, and discuss them. I'd also like a name for this little tidbit as well, if at all possible. Fluff corner? Bah, sounds tacky. But anyway, this should hopefully be some pretty interesting stuff. "The Star Child disproved", "Is Cegorach the Deceiver", "Who was Sebastian Thor?". They're just a few things off the tod. We could also do stuff like "How cool is Eisenhorn?". Whatever, you know.