Road Trip to Nottingham.

I dragged my unfortunate partner and daughter to Warhammer World today to see how some friends of mine were doing in the 'Doubles' Tournament.....

The event itself has inspired several potential blog articles. At least one of which will be called 'Why scenarios from the Battle Missions book should never be used in a tournament ever'....

As i don't really want to steal my friends thunder in any way, I'll be e-mailing all the pictures I took of his last two games to him so he can turn them into Battle Reports of some kind. I'll settle for posting some slightly blurry, reflection filled pictures of the 'best painted' nominations.

Dark Eldar and Some Dark Eldar?

Dark Eldar and some NOT Dark Eldar...

Imperial Guard and Space Marines.

Orks and Orks.

Dark Eldar and Eldar...Again.....

Imperial Guard and.....Imperial Guard.....

If your first thought is 'why the fuck did most of these people bother to go to a doubles tournament when both team members were using the same codex' then we're on a similar wavelength.....They do look pretty though.....

Mono-Build 40K - Part 1 - A Brief Overview.

A while ago I did a blog article for the House of Paincakes Blog Network asking the question are mono-builds inevitable....

Give that a quick read first and then we'll start......

Done?

Okay then lets start with the fundamentals.

Part of the problem with 'mono-build' codices comes from the fact that 5th Edition has certain design biases that are almost unavoidable. Not convinced...allow me to continue then...

The Big Issue - Mechanisation.

If you can't deal with vehicles then your going to lose. Certain armies are limited in the amount of anti-armour that they can include in their units and others have a similar problem of having to cram all their anti-armour into a single Force Organisation Chart slot. Tyranids have issues with their 'Elite' slots as unlike armies like Marines they can't give effective anti-armour weapons to cheap troop units. Necrons used to have a similar problem but they aren't as bad now as they were previously. The overall effect is to make a certain unit obligatory in a certain 'slot' with no effective alternative being available without reducing your armies effectiveness.

Other Issues.

Certain armies are more commonly seen than others. If you can't kill Marines then your average game is going to be disappointing. This forces the competitive gamer to include in his lists solutions for dealing with common threats (which is obviously quite sensible) but has the same effect of making all armies look the same as edition biases and poor codex design.

Variations of these issues apply to virtually every codex. The ones that only have minor issues can still be used to create a wide variety of viable armies...others not so much...

I'm going to be doing a series of articles over the next week or so on those armies that are unfortunate enough to be planted firmly in the 'mono' category and try to crowbar whatever flexibility into those codices that I can.

First up will be Tyranids ;-)

Forge World Newsletter #297

I kinda like these but they're not exactly going to see any regular use imo.

Forge World Newsletter #297

17/02/12

	Hi there,             We have some amazing additions to our terrain range to tell you about in this week’s newsletter as well as details of a new Warhammer 40,000 experimental rules expansion, available to download now from our website, which allows players to enter the brutal and vicious battlefields of the Zone Mortalis.             Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Complex The cities and starships of the Imperium are often ancient and crumbing edifices, constructed in ages past from prefabricated STC designs from the Dark Age of Technology. In a galaxy beset by war any building or corridor may be pressed into service as a strongpoint. Abrupt corners and shadowed alcoves typify the interior workspaces, while the narrow corridors and indeed larger internal rooms can be sealed off by great plasteel blast doors. The Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Alpha Complex, Beta Complex, Delta Complex and Gamma Complex are each 1' x 1' (300mm x 300mm) tiles that are fully compatible and interchangeable with each other. These detailed hollow resin tiles, designed by Blake Spence, are perfect for playing games using the Zone Mortalis Warhammer 40,000 Expansion rules, a link to which is provided later in this newsletter. The Realm of Battle Zone Mortalis Set contains all four of the individual tiles, allowing for a huge range of possible corridor arrangements covering a total area of 2' x 2' (600mm x 600mm). This new scenery range is infinitely expandable, and we plan to release more tiles and interior scenery pieces in the near future. We will also be releasing two sets of removable blast doors to accompany these new terrain tiles in the next few weeks. These fantastically detailed terrain pieces are available to order now for immediate despatch, and to illustrate the awesomeness of the Zone Mortalis scenery, we’ve recorded a video to give you a closer look at them. Warhammer 40,000 'Zone Mortalis' Expansion Forge World is proud to present a brand new experimental rules expansion, dealing with some of the most savage arenas of combat conceivable in the Warhammer 40,000 universe; the battlefields the Codex Tactica Imperialis refers to as ‘Zone Mortalis’ - the fatal ground. Such areas, be they the contested decks of a void warship, tangled mine works, lightless underhives or sacred catacombs, all have a confluence of factors in common. They are closely confined, provide limited opportunity for ambushes or escape routes, as well as oft-times being treacherous, warp-tainted or toxic beyond the limits of the mortal condition. These rules offer the chance to fight desperate battles of your own on such deadly ground and draw heavily upon the Boarding Assault rules previously published in Imperial Armour Volume 9: The Badab War Part One, and the feedback we have had from players. Zone Mortalis battles are unashamedly fatal and chaotic affairs (as fighting in a collapsing hive city under mass artillery bombardment, or on a burning star vessel in the middle of a space battle ought to be!). Forge World Events News: Forge World Open Day 2012, 1st April, Warhammer World, Nottingham Sunday 1st April will see Forge World and Warhammer Forge abandon our top-secret Manufactorum for our annual Open Day. This year’s event is even bigger and better than ever, as we will be taking over not only the Gaming Hall for our Sales stand but also the GW staff restaurant for our Studio staff and their displays. We’ll be bringing you more details about the event in future newsletters. For now, we can whet your appetite with a few teasers: there will be two brand new participation games and as many of our detailed display boards as we can cram into the Studio area. We also intend to run a ‘Studio Café’ Q&A session in addition to showcasing a vast array of work-in-progress miniatures, future releases and some of the superbly painted models we use in our displays. Our Sales stand will be packed with a huge selection of resin kits, books and modelling supplies, including a veritable cornucopia of pre-release kits that we’ll be announcing in future newsletters. As always the Open Day will be the first chance to purchase our 2012 Event Only models. We’ve designed both a Warhammer Forge model and a Forge World model once again, and while we can’t tell you what they are just yet, suffice to say we think they’re great! AdeptiCon 2012, 19th to 22nd April, Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, Chicago Forge World will again be attending AdeptiCon this year, and we are now accepting reservation orders for this popular event. While we will be bringing a huge selection of our range of books, resin kits and modelling products, placing a reservation order is the best way to ensure that we have exactly what you want packed up and waiting for you at the show. You can either telephone us on 011 44 115 900 4995, or send an e-mail entitled ‘AdeptiCon 2012 Reservation’ to forgeworldreservations@games-workshop.co.uk. We will need your name, a list of the items that you wish to order, and a contact e-mail address for yourself. In the week prior to the event, we will send you a confirmation e-mail containing your order number, details of any items that are unavailable, and a total cost in US$ (less local sales tax) that will be payable at the event. Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

Black Library Newsletter - 23/02/2012

The Black Library Team BlackLibrary.com

You are receiving this email because you signed up to the Black Library newsletter. If you no-longer wish to receive these emails, please send a blank email to leave-113968-7212272.4f906b44b2cf3407df9b38f466158700@lyris.games-workshop.com. To ensure delivery to your inbox please add contact@blacklibrary.com to your address book or safe senders list.    How do I contact Black Library? Either send an email to contact@blacklibrary.com or visit our Contact Us page and will get back to you as soon as possible. You can call us on +44(0)115 9004069, we are open 10am to 4pm UK local time, Monday to Friday but it can get busy in the office so we might not able to answer you! Please check the Freqently Asked Questions on our website, many answers to common queries can be found there.    © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2012. Games Workshop, Black Library, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, the foregoing marks' respective logos and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia / devices / logos / symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units, characters, products, illustrations and images from the Warhammer world and Warhammer 40,000 universe are either ®, ™ and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2012, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. For further information read the Games Workshop IP Policy.   Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2WS. Registered in England and Wales - Company No. 01467092. VAT No. GB 580853421 There are no facilities for customer personal collections of Black Library orders at this address. Please do not attempt to collect an order from Warhammer World as you will not be able to which may cause offence.

Games Workshop Newsletter - 18.02.2012

So Games Workshop have released the inevitable 'Battleforce' for Necrons.

It costs £65 and for that you get 20 Necron Warriors, 5 Immortals/Deathmarks, 5 Canoptek Scarab Swarms and a Ghost/Doomsday Ark.

It's difficult to calculate value for money when the unit sizes differ from the boxes but as 12 Necron Warriors cost £20.50 that works out as £1.71 a Warrior.....

So on that basis you get £34.20 worth of Necron Warriors (which includes your 5 Scarabs as they're on the same sprue's), £20.50 worth of Immortals/Deathmarks and a £31.00 Ghost/Doomsday Ark. That means that your getting £85.70 worth of stuff which is saving you a grand total of £20.70. Of course this is only a bargain if you were actually planning on including all these units in your army anyway...

I'll now hand you back to Games Workshop where they'll make it sound like they're doing you a favour by selling you stuff ;-)

The Games Workshop Newsletter 18.02.2012 In this issue: Awaken your inner machine...

Necron Battleforce available to Advance Order! After more than 60 million years, an ancient race of machines has awoken from their slumber. The Necrons are immortal, soulless warriors; their metal bodies make them virtually invincible as they advance upon their foes with a terrifying inevitability. The new Necron Battleforce contains the core of an army of these alien androids and is perfect for starting a new army or adding to an existing collection. Inside the box are 20 Necron Warriors, 5 Necron Immortals (which can also be assembled as 5 Deathmarks), as well as a Ghost Ark to transport a unit into battle. The Ghost Ark can also be assembled as a Doomsday Ark instead, which makes for a potent Heavy Support choice. The box also comes with 5 bases of Canoptek Scarabs. Head over to games-workshop.com to advance order the Necron Battleforce today. Meanwhile, here are some suggestions for expanding your army of ancient machines. Catacomb Command Barge The Command Barge is a personal transport for your Necron Overlord, the ideal way to get him into battle quickly so he can decapitate foes with his warscythe. Alternatively, you could use the kit to build an Annihilation Barge and use your Necron Overlord on foot. Either way, when your Overlord heads into battle, he will do so with the surety of victory - he has calculated every possible outcome and formulated strategies to ensure that everything goes to plan. If only he could predict your dice rolls... Triarch Praetorians Triarch Praetorians hold a great responsibility - to ensure that the Necron dynasties never fall. When the Necron race turned to hibernation after the War in Heaven, the Triarch Praetorians chose to remain awake. These versatile units are geared up for both mêlée and ranged combat. They rarely join a battle immediately, preferring to hover above the fray on gravity displacement packs before launching themselves right into the heart of your enemy's army. You can also use this kit to build a unit of Lychguard, which are close combat heavies and excel as bodyguards for your Overlord. Necron Monolith Nothing is so emblematic of Necron implacability than the Monolith. Like all Necron constructs, this vehicle is composed of living metal that ripples and flows to repair damage in the blink of an eye. Armed with a particle whip, the Monolith can turn enemy tanks into smouldering wrecks in a split second, or reduce infantrymen into vapour. Its gauss flux arcs are a defence system that can pre-empt even the random movements of panicked foes. Yet the most terrifying of all the Monolith's weapon systems is the dreaded eternity gate... It is for good reason that the Monolith has long been feared on the battlefield. Glue and Paints There's nothing worse than clipping all your miniatures from their sprues only to realise you don't have enough glue to assemble them, so don't forget to top up on the essentials such as glue, a can of Chaos Black Spray, or something to spruce up the bases. If you're looking for a little painting inspiration, don't forget to check out February's White Dwarf, which shows you how to paint an army of Necrons.

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Return from the Wastelands.

I've had a break from blogging for a while due to a combination of boredom with the system, disillusionment with 40K in light of some of the 6th Edition rumours and general laziness. It's difficult to blog about stuff when your doing bugger all to blog about.....

However I'm now a bit more motivated to play games recently, most of the 6th Edition rules rumours appear to be a load of bollocks and.....well I'm still fucking lazy but that can apparently be overcome by use of willpower.

So I've decided to start work again on the Blood Angels army I was fucking about with...unfortunately it was in progress at about the same time that I had my motivational failure which means that elements of it now look like this...

and that my friends is a long way from the army that I need which for those of you who don't remember was the following,

HQ.
Librarian with Shield of Sanguinius and The Blood Lance (100), Combi-Melta (+10)   (110)

TROOPS.
Tactical Squad (90), + 5 Marines (+80)
Combi-Melta (+10), Meltagun (+10), Plasma Cannon (+5)   (195)
Razorback (55), Assault Cannon (+35)   (90)

Tactical Squad (90), + 5 Marines (+80)
Combi-Melta (+10), Meltagun (+10), Plasma Cannon (+5)   (195)
Razorback (55), Assault Cannon (+35)   (90)

Assault Squad (100)
Meltagun (+10)   (110)
Razorback (20), Assault Cannon (+35)   (55)

Assault Squad (100)
Infernus Pistol (+15), Meltagun (+10)   (125)
Razorback (20), Assault Cannon (+35)   (55)

Assault Squad (100)
Infernus Pistol (+15), Meltagun (+10)   (125)
Razorback (20), Assault Cannon (+35)   (55)

Assault Squad (100)
Infernus Pistol (+15), Meltagun (+10)   (125)
Razorback (20), Assault Cannon (+35)   (55)

FAST ATTACK.
Attack Bike Squad (40), Multi-Melta (+10)   (50)

Attack Bike Squad (40), Multi-Melta (+10)   (50)

Baal Predator (115), Heavy Bolter Sponsons (+30)   (145)

HEAVY SUPPORT.
Predator (70), Heavy Bolter Sponsons (+30)   (100)

Predator (70), Lascannon Sponsons (+65)   (135)

Predator (70), Lascannon Sponsons (+65)   (135)

TOTAL - 2000

So I'd built most of the guys, already had the bits for three of the four tanks but had only built one of the seven Assault Cannon turrets that I was going to need. Hopefully I'll put a dent in that lot over the next week or so. I'd have done some today but a Dark Heresy session got in the way, lol.

There were people in these chairs several minutes after this picture was taken...

I'd say 'see you all tomorrow' but I suck at scheduling ;-)