The Rise of Bolt Action? GW's Souring Taste

GW's Souring Taste

First, let me say this, GW is a big company and a big company's job is to make money especially when it has as many stock holders as GW has. In this pursuit, once stocks were starting to turn downward due to slacking sales two years ago, GW began the current product blitz that we have been living with ever since. They throw products at us and hope some of them stick and that we will buy them: new codices, supplements, books, models, lords of war, formations, etc. The faucet was opened full bore and the flow hasn't stopped yet.

So many new codices and formations have arrived and in such a short time that it has become a crazy soup we had to swim through to try and remember and to understand all the new rules/models/formations. Of course this appeals to some 40K players and I am happy for them. Then again, there is the others that just gave up trying to keep up.

With so many new models, including Forge World, being released - often with ever increasing price tags, that the game looks almost unrecognizable at times. Don't get me wrong, GW does sell fantastic models, top-notch in the industry today, but $400 for a new Tau super suit? Prices of normal models aren't getting any cheaper either.

Then there is Age of Sigmar. I was stoked for when it at first came out and bought a starter box. Then the AoS model blitz began and the sticker shock hit! Again, the models are AMAZING but five models for the price of a Terminator box? I'm left wondering how in the world any of those newbie wargamers that bought into the starter box would stick with a game that costs about 10 bucks per model? That is insanity.

While I still want to play 40K, (I love my Khorne, Space Wolves and Guard), I have serious doubts as to the future of the game if it continues on this current course. To a layman like me it appears that GW is flooding it's players with too much - too much of everything. When that happens things will eventually hit a critical mass and the whole system will come crashing down. I think I have hit my personal critical mass. GW is starting to taste sour, I have no more desire to be taunted into throwing buckets of money into the newest formation/super model of the month. Nope. No more, I feel dirty and used. Critical mass achieved.

What Can GW Do Differently

Well for starters, if GW would just slow down their crazy release schedule that would make a world of difference. If we saw a new codex every three months I think that would be a great pace for the game. And please, limit those nonsense formations! Back them down, make them fewer, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Rules wise GW could probably do with a much needed rulesbook diet, slim down those rules to a quicker, streamlined format and throw out the clunkier rules that slow down the game. Throwing less dice during the game is a good start. And what about getting rid of that rule where you have to remove the models closest to the shooting unit? It is much more efficient to just pluck out a model instead having to determine which is closest and such.

Oh and the prices. Heh. I understand GW has top quality models and part of the price goes into the making of the model but come on! We all know $10 per model is not realistic. I think as hobby people we will buy those expensive models we want (and we do) but give us time to buy them before throwing at us the very next week even more things we can't live without. We don't want to have to mortgage our houses to hobby with you GW, don't make us feel dirty and used like some crazy crack fiend being led down the path or ruin by a drug pusher.

The Rise of Bolt Action

Don't know if anybody else has noticed in their area or on the interwebs, but it seems to me that Bolt Action is a rising force in the wargaming scene. I think this is because of several factors:

• 40K-like rules. Makes it very easy for 40K players to pick up the game mechanics and this is significant because a fair majority of wargamers are familiar with the 40K system.
• Easy on the wallet. A rulebook, an army book, order dice and a 1000 point army will cost you maybe $225.
• Fewer rules. The game is more streamlined than 40K and cuts down on rule confusion.
• Uses points. From what I understand Bolt Action is the only historical wargame using points to ensure balanced games - or competitive games if that is what you like. Bolt Action lends itself easily to tournament play.
• Huge model selection - Not only are the models much cheaper but they have a vast selection to chose from.
• A shared game turn - Unlike 40K's rigid 'your turn, my turn' mechanic, Bolt Action turns consist of both players randomly activating units with order dice all in the same shared turn. IMHO, this is a more challenging and modern way to play a wargame.
• No gotcha units/formations of the month - You aren't going to be seeing any super models/formations because there weren't any in WWII. Want to see a nazi super robot with a freak'n laser beam on it's head? Nope. Not going to happen.
• Established interwebs community - Bolt Action has been around for about 3-4 years now and it has an established community you can jump right into. Of course it isn't huge like the 40K community but enough is there to keep you informed and entertained.
• It's history - This points mileage might vary for some, but for those that enjoy history, especially WWII, you are in for a treat - Bolt Action will look and feel amazing on the wargaming table.

I'm sure I missed some good points but that is off the top of my head.

Check out this excellent guide if you are interested: Guide to Bolt Action for 40K Players.

Coming Soon in 2016

WOLVES DEN WARGAMING

Wolves Den Wargaming Link

Battle Video Reports and more!

40K Hobby: 40K, Bolt Action and a Cat!

Hobby Progress, The September Edition.

Hmm, been a slow month here on the ACW blog but in the real world lots of things have been getting done though, just not much I wanted to talk about. Personally, I have been pondering the current state of 40K and it's near future. The more I ponder the more I have doubts about it because to my perception 40K as a game has reached a critical mass. The game has changed considerable in just a couple of years and is now bloated with new rules, added complexity, more source books, more models, more formations and the big, shiny gotcha units/formations being introduced all the time. You have to be a danged rules expert just to be competent in a tournament these days with so much information that must be retained. I'm fearful that the entire system is going to collapse upon itself before too long from player fatigue. With such a high learning curve and ever increasingly pricey models, how on earth are new people going to get interested in sticking with this game? 

Anyway, I might write an article about my feelings on this mater later, for now check out this insightful article as it pretty much falls into line with how I have been feeling of late about the state of the 40K as a game.

Don't get me wrong here, I still want to play casual 40K games and I still have plans of bi-weekly video battle reports once the game room is done. I'm just worried about the current trends and I have a bad feeling about the future of this venerable game. I do hope that the feeling is unfounded.

The Road to Glory Narrative Campaign

My Summer 40K League was meant to be a casual gamer's event and it was a success, some people still couldn't help being competitive but we know whom those people are in our club and we expect it so we do not hold it against them because we still like them. Heh.

Next up I am planning a casual narrative campaign to kick off in October. Interest in it is good so I am not complaining. It has me thinking that 40K players are wanting casual events, maybe this is the new trend with players because of all the bloated rules/models nonsense going on that I was talking about?

Check out the beginnings of the campaign here.

40K Hobby Progress

On a happier note, Khorne dawgs! I finished up 10 more dawgs for my Redstone Rumble list. From opening the box to finishing all 10 models it took me about a month - that is super fast for me!

Here is the link to the excellent video tutorial for painting these dawgs. 

So this is what I saw when taking photos of the flesh hounds.
Emilou: "Meow."
Translation: "Daddy, why are you giving those models more attention than me?"

Pay attention to me!

 Bolt Action Hobby Progress

Yes, progress is happening with my American army in Bolt Action. I have the core of my platoon pretty much put together except for the Lieutenant and his attendants.

Let me tell you this, as 40K players we have been spoiled when putting together our infantry models which have only a few parts. These bolt action models have many parts: body, arm options, weapon options, belt accessory parts, backpack options, head options and other accessories. I suppose all these parts is because of historical accuracy, which is a great thing. But sometimes getting those danged arms to fit and glue just right with a weapon can be a real frustrating deal, I had to just walk way a couple of times. Luckily, you get better with it the more models you build.

Personally, I think next year will be a big year for Bolt Action as a game and for my interest in it. Delving into a new hobby is an exciting thing.

Anyone interested in Bolt Action and it's mechanics (it is a lot like 40K but with far, far less clunky rules) check out these Norwegian guys video battle reports at Tabletop Battle and +Tabletopbattle , they will teach you a lot about the game just by watching them play. I enjoy their battle reports so much I decided to support them by becoming a monthly patron.

Please forgive the not so good pics below, I was in a hurry.

First squad

Second squad

Third squad

Sniper team and bazooka team.

40K Rules: ITC Allows Tithe-Summoned Gliding Bloodthirsters

Hells yes.
Just recently Frontline Gaming had their quarterly ITC rules vote where they allow the players to vote for certain rules changes to be implemented or not. Here is the results of the rule that is making Khorne Daemonkin players rejoice:

Question 11

Khorne Daemonkin: Bloodthirster/Daemon Prince summoning, can they choose to swoop or glide when they enter the game from Deep Strike? If they enter the game “flying,” they must wait 2 game turns before they may assault. Allowing them to choose to enter “jumping” means they enter play on the ground, and wait 1 turn to assault.

Note: they must still swoop when entering the game normally from reserves.

And here is the response from Frontline Gaming's Reece about the results:

" This has been a hot button issue, lately and a classic RAW vs. RAI argument (as are all of the remaining issues). I’m happy to see the community choosing to lend a hand to their KDK friends, and go with the RAI interpretation on this one. Again, this to me shows that folks do not vote in their own self interest. Obviously, 66% of all ITC participants are not KDK players, yet that many were willing to vote for a ruling that benefits them. That’s a good thing, IMO, and it means we as a community care more for doing what we think is fair than what may benefit us, personally. KDK players be stoked! In ITC events you can realistically summon your big boys and have then actually participate in the game! "

Get the full article from Frontline Gaming here.

Note: As of writing this article the ITC FAQ has not been officially updated to include the new Bloodthirster summoning rule.

I'm gonna get you sucka'!

What players does it effect?

This effects everybody that plays with the ITC rules/FAQ, and that includes a large amount of players and tournaments. ITC is probably, without much argument, the largest accepted set of standardized tournament rules for 40K players in America. If your local 40K community does not use ITC then I would say to give them a look over, they provide a rock-solid revised rules base that attempts to create a fair and even 7th edition rule set. ITC isn't for everybody, it places limits on list building and nerfs some of the more powerful rules (D weapons and invisibility for example). One of ITC's best features is that they allow the players to vote on rules changes every three months, how cool is that?

Even if you do not use ITC rules you could look at the vote as an indication of how the community generally feels about the issue overall. Granted, not all local metas are going to feel the same but hopefully by seeing this vote result it will help you, and your local community, make a decision on the 'thrister summoning rule if you guys have been on the fence about it.

How does it effect play?
This is a game changer, it makes summoning a Bloodthrister/winged Prince with Blood Tithe a much more palpable option for Khorne players. No longer do you have to wait two turns before the 'thirster/prince can enter assault, but only one! That's huge. Right off the bat a gliding Tithe-summoned 'thrister can immediately be an asset by contesting objectives (since it isn't flying) and can be a huge boon just by forcing your opponent to spend valuable shooting to kill it. Your opponent has exactly one turn to deal with the 'thrister before it starts to touch things and makes them explode!

How does it effect Khorne Daemonkin list building?
With a now immediate effect on the battlefield, the allure of tithe-summoned 'thirsters/winged princes is tempting once again. Khorne players could shift their lists into the direction of farming Blood Tithe so to summon one, two or maybe even three 'thristers in a game and that can be a real game changer. The Blood Host detachment could be given another chance, despite the hated Possessed tax. That Possessed tax may very well be worth the cost of it now as well as the Artefacts; The Blade of Endless Blood and The Axe of Ruin.

Kor'Lath the Axe of Ruin
This artefact has gone from meh to good overnight. The rules for the axe refers to the Blood Tithe table for summoning rules so obviously, an axe summoned 'thrister will be treated as a Tithe-summoned one.

With the immediate threat of a 'thrister attacking only one turn after jumping out of the axe - this artefact should give your opponent pause when dealing with the Lord/Prince wielding it. Think about it, for 50 points your slain HQ transforms into a gliding 'thrister. Next turn it might be down a couple of wounds due to the axe's Caged Fury rule, but still a 'thrister is a demi-god in close combat regardless and he will destroy what he touches. That means your opponent must do his best to deal with the 'thrister so basically he has to deal with TWO HQs, not just one. The amount of diversion this poop-inducing axe born 'thrister can produce is well worth the axe's weight of points (IMHO) because this 'thrister can NOT be ignored for a turn like before.

++++++

40K Hobby Progress: Khorne Daemonkin and Other Hobby Stuffs

Get'n 'er done.
Finally after at least half of a year I've made solid progress on my hobby. Oh, it only took me about one and half months to get ten bloodletters done but progress is progress and I'm happy with the results. Now I've got 20 bloodletters painted for my Khorne army so can't be more happier than that - my army gets more Khorney by the day.

Redstone Rumble list must get done by October.
Yep, updating my Khorne army to this , as explained in my last posting because last year my Redstone list was CSM with Daemon allies but now I am all about the new Khorne codex. So ten new bloodleters done. Check. Now for the rest, heh.

To finish my update this is what is needing to be accomplished:

• Paint Heldrake (Goatboy)
• Assemble & paint six Khorne bikers.
• Buy, assemble & paint 17 flesh hounds.
• Paint wingless Khorne Daemon Prince.
• Optional: assemble (me) & paint three Bloodcrushers (Goatboy)
• Optional: paint Bloodthirster (Goatboy)

As you can see I've got my work still cut out for me and with options in case I want to have those models available for blood tithe summoning.

Wingless Daemon Prince
If I have the blood tithe available early enough in a game I sometimes like to bring in a wingless Prince so to assault the next turn. Of course he will get shot at a lot but that just means more of my other dangerous Khorney stuff doesn't get shot at so win - win.

Anyway, I like to tinker with models since I have tons of chaos bits laying around and so built the prince as you see in the pictures. He was a winged model that was siting around with some ugly neon powder blue half-ass paint job on him. Bought him from ebay last year for a Flying Circus army but that fell through when 7th edition hit. So I threw him into some Simple Green for two weeks, scrubbed off the lose paint and disassembled it.

I added the helm and dangerous looking tentacles to make him look more interesting, he is in beast mode! I think I am going to leave off the giant shoulder pads, thinking this model stands alone without the added distractions of over-sized shoulder boulders. And if anyone seriously claims that the prince is not WYSIWYG without the shoulder pads then I will poop on their heads because they are sh**heads and don't deserve another second of my valuable wargaming fun time.

Oops, I just saw that I forgot to put green stuff in whats left of the wing slots, will get that done before the model is primed. And normally I would send off large models for Goatboy to paint but I'm going to give this Prince a try for myself, it seems like it will be a fun challenge instead of the normal dread I feel when presented with a large model to paint (and paint it well).

The Game Room

Cue the failure music, WAH-WAH-Waaaaaaaaaaaa. Nah, it isn't that bad, just delayed for awhile. You see there is this thing called life and it decided to whammy me with many home repair bills all in a row. That and I've got to get my Redstone list done soon and then there is these other games I want to start investing in. Heh, the life of a gamer.

Actually the making of the game table won't cost me much - it is buying all the terrain for said table that will cost bunches. The whole idea of my game room is to make video battle reports on a biweekly schedule so it has to look good or nobody will want to watch because there is lots of batrep competition out there!

Other Wargaming Hobby Progress, Age of Sigmar

What? There are other games out there besides 40K? *shock*. Well, yeah, there is! Folks, we are living in a golden age of wargaming and there is so much to choose from which means the best eventually rises to the top over time and gets bigger from all the wargaming interest out there in the community right now.

So I split a box of Age of Sigmar with a club mate, of course I got the Chaos half! Those models are OMG beautiful, which is the main reason I bought them. The other reason being is that I wanted to try out this new GW game, it had impressed me with the beautiful models, simple rules and free living document rule set. So far it is a hit with my club, we got over half a dozen people diving into the new boxed set. This is all evidence for my theory that AoS was partially targeting 40K players from the get go - the models are gorgeous and they can all pretty much all be easily meshed into existing 40K armies because they are that accommodating to the look and feel of 40K.

We had a discussion about AoS on my club's last podcast, go give it a listen if you are interested, it is good listening material while you work on your hobby progress. SMG Podcast Episode 24

Even more new games. BOLT ACTION!

Yeah, stoked about this game. I am a long time WWII buff, from as far back when I was a kid watching WWII movies on the TV. The entire war and the historical period surrounding it just fascinates me to this day and I never get tired learning about it. So naturally I have progressed to wanting to play a WWII historical wargame and I have chosen Bolt Action by Warlord Games.. The only other real option would have been Flames of War but that is 15mm based which I don't care for, I like the 28mm heroic models to push around, it feels more real and exciting, and the models are beautiful when painted up well.

For those of you whom do not know, Bolt Action has been around for about three years now and it is gaining popularity. Warlord Games is doing right by this game and they already have a vast and colorful model range and not just for infantry and vehicles but also for terrain. And wow, the terrain! Most of it is from a company called 4Ground and I highly recommend them, such gorgeous terrain and it is affordable and some of it even pre-painted! Sorry, GW, your terrain is good but I'm going with 4Ground, it is even better.

Two more big reasons for wanting to start BA comes from the fact that Warlord Games wants to interact with their gaming community, they listen and give back. Huge props to them for doing this, it is the modern way a gaming company should treat it's customer base. The other reason is that the rules are what I call '40K light'. BA rules really are a compressed and simplified 40K ruleset, probably because one of the game designers was a former GW employee. It flows quickly and intuitively but it doesn't feel like you are giving too much realism away for a smooth flowing rule set. 40K players will recognize and pick up on BA game mechanics super quick.

I highly recommend this game and I have high hopes for it within my club. Can't wait! I will be writing more about Bolt Action in the future.

And you guys?

What are you guys working on? 40K still keeping you occupied or are you branching out to other games also?

All your game are belong to us.

40K Armies: Second Go at a Khorne Daemonkin Tournament Army

Hmm. Seems I have been away from the blog for about a month. Funny, as soon as I declared I was a casual player (mostly) my enjoyment of the game went up but my need to blog about it went down. Hrm, could it be that blogging about casual 40K isn't as entertaining for me? I don't think that is the case but we shall see as time goes by.

Well to kick me out of my blogging rut I am going to post up my new tournament army. Yeah, I know. I'm all casual playing now, but still, a lot of good friends in my club are competitive players and I want to travel to some events and have fun with them - which brings me to the Redstone Rumble 2015 in October. For the past two years that tournament was a blast and full of 40K and friendly fun. OK, so admittedly I am a rather laid-back person and having fun for me is probably a lot lower on the expectation dial than most. Still, fun is fun no matter what your personal tastes are.

A couple of months ago I posted up my Daemonkin tournament list. I have played it (or variations of it) now and then and have gotten a better feel for my army and the codex, but also, a lot has changed in the 40K meta of late. When the codex first came out I think it was a good codex, not great, but it could potentially play a spoiler on top tables at tournaments but probably not win any either. And now fast forward a few months and WHAM! GW is throwing powered up codices at us left and right. Make no mistake, the powered up codex trend is a real thing: Eldar, Skitari, Space Marines, Dark Angels, they are all powered up and making a mockery of the balanced codices that came before. So yeah, Khorne Daemonkin is today what I'd call an OK codex. It isn't going to wow anyone and in a serious tournament atmosphere it won't make it past the middle tables.

So all that being said (I'm not knocking Daemonkin at all, I still love the codex), I'm just being a realist. Anyway, I have been wracking my brain for the past few weeks while trying to put together a list that can compete at the best level that it can so I can have some fun at a competitive event. The list combines some of the best units of the codex and is a fairly balanced take-all-comers list, at least as close as I can get to a balanced list with a pure Khorne Daemonkin army. Heh.

I have spouted flowery girly words for long enough, here is the list already.

KHORNE DAWGAPALOOZA 1850 points

The Apostles of Murder Warband

COMBINED ARMS DETACHMENT: Khorne Daemonkin

HQ

Chaos Lord ( The Reaver Immortal)

- juggernaut, sigil of corruption, power fist, lightning claw, mb, blood-forged armor (relic)

Chaos Lord 

- juggernaut, sigil of corruption, power fist, blade of endless bloodshed (relic)

TROOPS

Bloodletters x8 - blood reaper

Bloodletters x8 - blood reaper

FAST ATTACK

Heldrake - baleflamer

HEAVY SUPPORT

Maulerfiend

Maulerfiend - tendrils

GOREPACK FORMATION

Chaos Marine Bikers x3 - melta-gun x2, melta bomb

Chaos Marine Bikers x3 - melta-gun x2, melta bomb

Flesh Hounds x15

Flesh Hounds x15

Flesh Hounds x7

=1849

Breaking it all down.

So I wanted a kick butt Khorne list but at the same time put some balance in to it and make it versatile because you never know what kind of lists you will be playing against in tournaments, especially in these crazy days of 40K.

Kick Butt Twins

The kick butt comes in the form of the two Chaos Lords. They are both pricey, because of the relics I gave them, but that Blood-forged Armor's Eternal Warrior is something I have been waiting for a long, long time and so worth it. I love Juggerlords and have been playing them for years, the biggest weakness they had with my play style is that they couldn't handle strength 10, I've witnessed too many of my juggerlords get punked by Instant Death - well no more! Now my warlord doesn't have to dodge those tough fights like a damn coward and can now just charge right in and do some major work on some chumps where needed and when needed.

The other juggerlord is carrying the Blade of Endless Bloodshed to get me some more Tithe points - delicious, delicious Blood Tithe! Do note how the Blade can generate a Blood Tithe even in your opponent's assault phase! This lord's job is to get stuck into combat ASAP and start killin' for the Blood God. I originally wanted to give this juggerlord the Axe of Ruin but eh, it is way pricey and in the games I ran the Axe it never came into play - the lord never died so no instant Bloodthirster. I think I would rather play on the side of caution and make sure my points give me something back because getting free Blood Tithe is certainly worth it.

Versatile Troops

I've written an article about Daemonkin Bloodletters and as explained there, I like them. These guys can deep strike where I need them for objective grabs, supporting units or setting up future attacks. Yeah, they are fragile to shooting but I can always summon more, right?

HellTurkey

This guy can be so damn helpful supporting my attack, grabbing late objectives and flaming units that I can't get to with my red tide. Vector striking is a boon, even against flyers, which is a weakness of this list, I really have no other way to fight flyers unless I summon in a Bloodthirster. With so many uses, the HellTurkey is a must include for balanced lists.

The Buster Twins

And yes, I really like Maulerfiends, I auto-include them in all my lists. These guys are really helpful against high armor vehicles, T 5, 2+ armor and Knights. The one-two punch of tendrils and magma-cutters can chop down Knights in one turn - if they survive the Knight's initial melee attacks which they should because of the helpful tendrils. I love 'feinds because they have so many uses and they scare the poop out of your opponents, making them, if nothing else, fire magnets so the rest of your army has a better chance to make it into assault.

Gorepackaplooza

If you play Khorne then you know how much we players like this formation, so useful.

While not the most economic, the required two biker units do bring much needed melta into the list, helping to balance out the list and deal with those pesky knights, armor 2+ and vehicles. Not only that but bikes are premiere objective grabbers - very important in games that use maelstrom objectives and a lot of the tournaments do, all the ones my club runs and plays at certainly do. 

And then there is the Flesh Hounds and we all know how good they can be. I'm running 37 in three packs. The little pack of 7 is a utility unit to run interference, grab objectives or eat overwatch. The other two packs of 15 are the independent character protectors, and arguably one of the best units in the game at doing so. They have one mission - to ram the juggerlords down the enemy's throat. The fact that they have Hammer of Wrath and Preferred Enemy Psykers from the formation is just the icing on the cake.

I have had success with Outflanking my Khorne dawgs and it is always a useful option to have, I like using Outflank when facing a horde wall or a potential crippling alpha strike.

Anybody have anything to contribute to the tweaking of the list? Anybody have experiences with lists like this? I'm eager to hear and to learn.

40K Hobby: Taking a Refreshing Step Back from Competitive Play

Me and 40K Competitiveness are Separated
 Yeah, I've come to the epiphany that to enjoy 40K, to have real unadulterated fun with the game, one does not need to compete. I have been traveling down this road gradually for the past year and have come full circle from wanting to compete in tournaments to now wondering why in the heck does any player have to compete to have fun in this vast and deep hobby? I've not totally abandoned the tournament scene, per say, as I do enjoy a good competitive challenge now and then but for the most part I am personally done with that. And what a refreshing decision it has been. No longer is there a need to spend hours trying to figure out the latest and best tournament list and no longer is there a need to fret needlessly over buying/painting new and better models for an army. Not only that but games are more enjoyable now. I just don't care if a game is lost anymore, fun is now the primary objective. It is a liberating experience.

What happened?
I place the blame squarely on  Gamesworkshop and it's aggressive marketing. Codexes, models, dataslates, source books - they are all being thrown at us at breakneck speed. It is just too much to take in over the course of a year so I just gave up on trying - and boy did that feel good! I don't blame GW for doing what they are doing, they are a company and companies do their best to make money which I suppose this new marketing strategy does for them or they wouldn't be doing it.

I for one don't care about most of what they release anymore unless it has to do with one of the three factions that I play. Tournament players,  on the other hand, have to ingest everything and stay on top of new information or they start to lose the competitive edge.

That is my main reason for no longer caring about competitive 40K, it is no fun to have to cram new information into my skull every freak'n month. Well, that is not the only reason for not caring, I honestly can't say that I enjoyed the frequent negative experiences so often found in the tournament scene. Some people aren't bothered by that but I am - I want to have fun first and foremost.

GW is not in the business for competitive players.
We keep hearing GW say that they are a beer & pretzels model company first and foremost, meaning they do not support competitive play. I am not sure how much revenue they get from tournament folks but I'd imagine it is a lot. However, I'd also imagine that the casual side of the hobby is a lot bigger, which is the reason that GW continues to ignore competitive style play. So why fight it? Kudos to those that put together formats so that tournaments can be played with the current 40K system, it is a lot of hard work and they should be thanked. But from now on it is just casual games for the author (mostly).

Have any of you guys made a similar shift in your hobby? 

I'm curious to learn which way the hobby community is gravitating towards?

++++

40K Hobby: Play Test My Scenarios!

Hey everyone, looks like I am planning a 40K Summer League for my club, South Mississippi Gamers, and in doing so I decided to design some unique scenario missions to keep things interesting instead of the normal cut and dry tournament style missions with little variation. I am trying to keep the league feeling as much as a non-tournament as possible in an attempt to keep things relaxing and casual for the non-competitive players.

These scenarios are borrowed from Frontline Gamings ITC missions, you will recognize the mission format if you are familiar with their stuff. Every mission has a Primary mission worth 4 mission points, a Secondary mission of limited maelstrom objectives worth mission 4 points and three Bonus Missions worth 3 points each. The Primary and Secondary missions give you mission points only if you win them, so you get 4 points or none. However, in the League I decided that ties would split the difference and give each player 2 points each.

If you are interested in trying out some new missions please give these a try because I need feedback! Download them and print them out as you like. Let me know what you think good or bad about them. I am especially interested in knowing if these scenarios are too complex or if something is not well defined. I will welcome all critique for about a month, by then the league should be in full swing.

I am new to using Google Drive for the first time so if there is a problem with viewing or downloading the files then please let me know.

Thanks! And go have some fun playing 40K.

SMG Scenario One

SMG Scenario Two

SMG Scenario Three

++++

40K Video Battle Report: Orks vs. Khorne Daemonkin 2000 pts.

Video Battle Report time!

Orks vs. Khorne Daemonkin

Back on April 2nd, not to long after Daemonkin hit, my club taped a battle report to show the new codex in action. Add in some technical difficulties and a dash of some real life interference and the video editing was not able to be done until just yesterday. Better late than never, right?

If you want to dive right into the battle, here is the link to the page that has the video battle report.

The Lists.

Da Hinkel's ORKS - 2000 points

CAD

Warboss (Warlord) - mega armor, power klaw

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Choppa Boyz x12 - Nob w/ power klaw -------> Ork Trukk

Warbuggy x4 - twin-linked rocket launcha

Warbuggy x4 - twin-linked rocket launcha

Warbuggy x4 - twin-linked rocket launcha

BULLYBOYZ FORMATION

Mega-Nobz x5  -----> Ork Trukk

Mega-Nobz x5  -----> Ork Trukk

Mega-Nobz x5  -----> Ork Trukk

Orkaissar (cheerleader mascot)

Anthony's (Uktena's) KHORNE DAEMONKIN - 2000 points

CAD #1

Chaos Lord of Khorne 

-juggernaut, sigil of corruption, power fist, lightning claw, Blood-Forged Armor (relic)

Khorne Berzerkers x8 - powersword (champion) ----> Chaos Rhino

Chaos Space Marines x8 - melta-gun, lightning claw (champion) ----> Chaos Rhino

Flesh Hounds x10

Flesh Hounds x9

Maulerfiend

Maulerfiend

Maulerfiend - tendrils

CAD #2

Chaos Lord of Khorne 
-juggernaut, sigil of corruption, power fist, Axe of Ruin (relic)

Bloodletters x8 - blood reaper
Chaos Cultists x8

Chaos Spawn x3
Chaos Spawn x3
Chaos Spawn x3

List notes.

These are some some fairly tough lists but not optimized for greatest smash-face effects - we wanted to keep it fluffy somewhats. As you can see my list has some Berzerkers in it which I would never do because they cost to much and for reasons other Chaos players already know about.

The list was a bit of an experiment to run the Blood-forged armor and The Axe Ruin to see how they would do for my Juggerlords. Funny thing, neither relic really came into effect during the game, my Lords breezed through the fight with not much more than maybe a scratch or two at most. So the jury is still out on those relics.

Another thing I wanted to try out is outflanking a Juggerlord with his Khorne dawgs, which I did during the game and I think it was effective. It helped keep them away from a crowded left flank and away from the Ork Mega-nobz. They Outflanked on turn two and on turn three they started rolling up scattered Orks that were left in front of them.

Game strategy.

Hinkel brought a ton of mega-nobz and that got me sweating, I really couldn't handle them in mass and from past games I knew he often would run them together. They are very mobile, all in open-topped trukks (which are also Fast) so they are on the other side of the table and assaulting in one turn, so I knew this was going to be my biggest problem. I figured I needed to know where they would deploy so that I could best deal with them.

Luckily Hinkel rolled to deploy first and I saw that he put all his mega-nobz in the center of his deployment zone, not surprising actually. I figured out a plan to try and bait his mega-nobz into the center of my deployment zone while I maneuver the rest of my army up a flank and move away from the nobz. I was hoping this would buy me some turns before I would have to deal with the nobz or maybe avoid them altogether if I destroy their mobility (trukks).

I deployed some tasty bait in the center of my deployment zone, some Cultists, Spawn and the Chaos Marine unit. The rest of my army set up on the left flank with Bloodletters and a Juggerlord (with dawgs) in Outflank reserves.

Besides avoiding the mega-nobz my plan was to chew up his left flank, go forward there then pivot towards the center and mop up any remaining units gaining as many Blood Tithe points as possible. I was giving up my deployment zone to the mega-nobz, which had the potential danger of coming back to haunt me if the objectives there come up on my Maelstrom cards.

How the game actually played out.

Lo and behold my gambit worked! The mega-nobz barreled right in after my bait and mopped them up which gave me lots of Blood Tithe in return!

On the left flank my army met his Ork wall and we fought it out for a couple of turns before my

Maulerfiends and Juggerlord were able to break through. Behind my flank I had the Berzerkers covering the rear against mega-nobz. His nobz were coming in one squad at a time so I knew I had a chance to take them out. I piled on my two remaining Maulerfiends and Juggerlord against them. I wiped out each mega-nobz unit, about one per turn. Some luck was involved, my tendril Maulerfiend had one Hull Point remaining and went on a rampage squashing mega-nobz left and right and making his Invulnerable saves when needed. He squashed six nobz before the whole affair was over - somewhere in the Warp Khorne was sitting on his skull throne with a gleeful smirk.

I do have to admit, my Maelstrom cards were drawing great all game, giving me the victory even without the secondary missions.

Overall, it was a smashing game, lots of fun to play a massive hand to hand brawl. Blood Tithe did me good, so many units were getting killed I kept racking up the Tithe and getting something every turn, even if it was only Feel No Pain. I had the opportunity to summon a Bloodthirster at least once during the game but I decided against it since all I had left to summon it through was one of the Juggerlords. I figured it was not a good trade, the lords were doing just fine on their own.

Video Battle Report - Orks vs. Khorne Daemonkin - 2000 points

++++