I'm still around and very happy that you are as well! Work has been my main focus and I've finally narrowed down to only one job, where I've been promoted and have taken on responsibilities. Luckily, I actually have a job that I can't 'take home', so I have plenty of time over the weekends to actually hobby and play. I have been.
I've gotten a ton of miniatures painted (but obviously not all that I've planned to) and I've played plenty of games. As is the cycle, this year is the "Year of the Xenos" for me and I've almost worked through the cycle. The year continued the domination of the Necrons until I finally had to retire them out of respect for my son's and wife's desire to play a fair game. I switched to the Orks and that provided for some close battles that saw the greenskins narrowly crush the Imperials repeatedly. Once they were retired, I brought out the Tau...
The Tau were my focus for some time. The models have always been cool but their game rules were never aligned (too powerful or completely useless). I even busted out the old airbrush to try some neat things. The first few games with the Tau were extremely bad- the xenos couldn't compete against Dark Angels, Death Guard, or Sisters in any way. With some hardcore adjustments and min-max paradigm in the army list, I was able to finally make the Tau viable. But it was a struggle that required an effective 'alpha-strike' and that was too conditional. In this case, I retired the Tau out of respect for my own desire for a fair game. I'll be curious when the Tau update finally comes around.
By now, we all should know that the Orks are getting their update finally. I was planning on maybe trying the pointy-eared Eldar by now, but the greenskins are finally getting their codex and even some new models. I have way too many unbuilt Ork models (including a half-dozen artillery pieces and as many Meganobz) and the chance to put them out again is tempting. But the codex isn't released yet other then the limited one from the box set, so I've had to make due for a little bit. And therein comes the current projects.
My Ultramarines have seen battle against the Dark Angels in a simple bid to have some 'old-marine vs. old-marine' style game. It's interesting because neither army sucks yet they are so different in their tactics even with near unique army lists. There'll be a few more games of that because, well, they're just really fun! It felt really good- almost nostalgic and comfortable after decades!
In addition, the Underhive has seen the launching of a campaign between the Escher, Goliath, and Orlock gangs. The tunnels have echoed with screams and gunfire lately and it's been bloody. Interestingly, it's the timing of the Orks release in 40k that may be impacting some of the goings-on in Necromunda...
If you can't tell, I'm really excited about continuing my Year of the Xenos and using the Orks. The blogosphere has pretty much revealed everything there is to know but I'm reserved until the actual codex is released. The Snagga-boyz may be pretty cool, but my Bad Moonz are sounding pretty strong still and I do like the dakka! That being said, Gazhkull has been built and waiting for a bit now...
As always- Happy Gaming!
