Is it hobby season yet?

   I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but GW has been busy lately.  Of course, being an acolyte of the Emprah for so long, feel the need to keep up.  If this were a race, GW just got drafted as a receiver and I got an offer to man the phones.  I've fallen a bit behind...

  I only note this because I have the pressure from a couple of different angles.  My son cannot be more geeked for the new core game and my main hobby buddy is deep in the parsing and analyzing of all the new rules, points, and evolutions that have been released.

  First, the Horus Heresy:  NO!  When I managed the stores in Philly and Jersey, we were already flirting with the idea with events and house rules (that aren't dissimilar to the real game later, coincidentally).  I own ten pounds in weight of pewter Mk 6 marines from Rogue Trader as well as certain old vehicles produced before the time of computers and resin.  I've read most of the novels and steeped myself so far in that universe that I still call today's Chapters "Legions".  I very much dig the universe, but I have two things that will keep me from it:

    First, I don't want to return to the 'old style' of the rules.  I'm very happy not having to remember the WS and Wound tables (not that it was a problem), trace arcs for vehicle facings, and argue over base contact for templates.  I don't miss the old days and very much enjoy the modern iteration of the game.  I don't like the constant adjustments, but that's a discussion for further down.  I like simple and fun and I did not think 7th edition was either.

    More importantly- 

MONEY!

  I'm not poor, but this hobby definitely requires money that I don't have.  I already own almost every unit for every army in 40k, the same for Necromunda, Underworlds, and even Middle Earth SBG!  I have nine editions of books, dice, and play aids stashed or in use.  There's much more, but I don't have the time or interest in boring you (the reader).  As a core game, this Horus Heresy will have books for days, new miniatures kits produced every month for years, and support that sucks up every one of those free dollars.  I've made the mistake of owning everything, meaning that anything new has to be bought just to keep up.  I don't want to add to that cycle an more!

  But damn! do I want that game...

  Secondly- GW has dumped all over my precious 40k!!!  If you read that in a negative connotation, settle down.  They literally spent last week doing a data-dump to update the game.  First came the new points values for everything, then came the balance datasheet to adjust the rules, and finally the newest Chapter Approved dropped on Saturday.  With all these documents, GW changed the game significantly and it impacted me directly.

  (Here's where I'm being a petty baby:)  I had the perfect Eldar army list.  It included everything that I wanted and was very effective on the tabletop.  Most of the models were even painted!  But then the points values came out and made my army list too expensive with every unit getting a points increase.  Then the balance datasheet came out and changed the way a couple of my units were meant to act and made some decisions harder.  Finally, the new Chapter Approved ripped away the starting CP and adapted the secondary objectives and missions so there's more to have to consider.  All of this means I can't figure out an Eldar list now!  This even has me building old-school Shining Spears for a bike-force, but I just can't seem to settle on anything now.  Thanks, GW.

  I also want to take a moment to shout out to all those in the community that DEMAND more attention to the game from GW.  They want constant points-adjustments, tweaks to rules, and even nerf-bat olympics against every new army that comes out.  Because balance or something.  I got into this game as a social activity to share my tactics and modeling hobbies with people.  I dropped out of law school because researching isn't something I wanted to be forced to do.  Now GW is giving these people what they want and I'm stuck spending more time researching than playing.  How dare you?  Please remember this next time you claim that GW doesn't listen to the community and makes unbalanced rules due to incompetence.  

  Well, that's my rant for the week.  It was a busy week in the world of GW and I was definitely paying attention enough to finally have something to say.  Now back to trying to figure out these Eldar...

Battle for the Hive Mind

  First- I know I haven't posted in two weeks.  The only excuse I have is that my family went on vacation and I took the opportunity to spend more time at work.  The business is growing very quickly and that has led to some late nights for me (and the big wigs for sure!).  Well, the family is back and I'm reduced to normal activities, so I suddenly have time again!

  Okay, with that out of the way, let's talk about our favorite game.  The new Tyranid codex was released and has spent the last few weeks at the top of nearly every tournament in the nation.  The army is really powerful, undercosted, and terribly confusing from the layers and layers of special rules and conditions.  While a veteran player may understand it all, it takes a Matrix-minded person to really conquer the ins-and-outs of this force.  My son is neither a veteran or tournie-bro, so he has fallen prey to this confusion.

  This battle took place weeks ago, but I got too busy.  In this case, I'll just include some pics and wax memories at the end... 

  Our armies set up and with the secondary objectives.  I've noted that the secondary for Tyranids are pretty bad.  I played with my Eldar and that army is a close 2nd as far as power level compared to the xenos, but with better objectives and less layers of rules to remember.

  Warp Spiders are rude with their blast weapons that demolish any horde of infantry in front of them.

  For the first time in half-a-dozen games, I actually remembered to use my Banshees.  They definitely did a number to the Genestealers.  Unfortunately, the Broodlord was having none of it and invited all his buddies in to finish off the Exarch.  Her dodginess definitely helped, but it wasn't enough with so many claws coming from so many directions.  

  By the end of the second round, the Eldar had successfully cleared half the battlefield and watched in amusement as the surviving monsters stomped forward to do some damage.   

  The concerted assaults all ended and, when the dust cleared, the 'nids had very little left and the Eldar had lost about half their forces.  But it wouldn't be enough as the pointy-ears controlled almost the whole field and stared down a Maleceptor and a couple gribblies.  

  With a resounding victory in three rounds, it was obvious that my son didn't have a strong grasp of his army and all the special rules.  Here's where things get fun.

  This last weekend, I actually read the book and used his army against his Dark Angel space marines.  This gave me the chance to show him some of the rules he wasn't using.  The first and most important was the Psychic Imperative effect.  Regardless of going first or second, the Tyranids get to choose a special effect and apply it to anyone within 6" of a synapse creature.  The Zoanthrope imperative is the best as it gives all bugs a 5+ invulnerable save (4+ if you're a synapse that doesn't already have it built in).  This would make the army very survivable, even against the world-ending firepower of the Eldar technologies.

  The other special rule that he wasn't sure of was the Synaptic Link range thing.  The ability to 'chain' psychic powers and leader effects is huge and can really impact the battle, as long as you remember to keep all your synapse creatures within 12" of each other and 6" of all the little units.  Suddenly, (unlike space marine aura bubbles), you can buff units all the way across the table and really pick-and-choose where your tactical focus is.  This is a huge and abusive rule that sets the Tyranids apart from everyone else.

  The last rule that he wasn't sure of was how to use the Maleceptor.  The blogosphere has deemed this the most broken model in the whole army and even leaked a 50-pt. increase in cost to try to balance him out.  Why?  Because the monster has the ability to wipe an entire marine unit from the boards with just mortal wounds!  Its psychic powers (and the imperative that allows him to cast and action at the same time) can be very oppresive and the model is not squishy, meaning that it will be around for some time to oppress the enemy with his brain(s).

  Now we have to play a game where he uses the Tyranids with this new understanding of how to use them.  That scares me as my victories have been based on facing a half-power army.  I'm excited to see the results.

  Thanks for keeping up even when I don't.  Happy Gaming!

Primarch of Death

   I'm currently residing at an empty home with no distractions, yet I still almost forgot about the blog!  My family has left for vacation and this gives me all the time I like to get some hobbying done.  I've gotten no hobbying done.

  But my son, being far more industrious than I am sometimes, has spent a few weeks touching up his Lord Mortarion.  Using the airbrush and some putty-based conversion (to replace broken and lost parts), he spruced the model up quite a bit and now has a sexy monster ready to grace the battlefield.  I was so impressed that I waited for him to leave for school one day and I took some pics.

  This was a massive upgrade over the last attempt- this happens after a few years pass and drop that experience and growth.  I'm really proud  and he's looking forward to slapping him down against me.  Mortarion almost fought against my Necrons, but he's being saved for Ultramarines 2.0.  The Plague Wars will never be over!

  Have you been working on anything lately?  Let me know what kind of upgrade work you've slapped down recently in the comments below.

Happy Hobbying!

Hive War over flats!

   The Carrion Queens stumbled upon the patch of buildings during their exploration and decided to adopt it as a hideout.  Unfortunately for the Escher, word travels faster than air in the Underhive and other gangs quickly became interested.  The first to challenge was the Silent Ones.  

  As the silence hung over the territory, it was broken with the shuffle of feet, quiet whistles, and the occasional clank of something being disturbed.  It wasn't long before the crack of an autogun launched the action and the cacophony started.

  The Dark Hand snuck up the stair to take a shot at the opponent standing on a high position and nearly fully exposed.  Unfortunately, Yagoth didn't maintenance the weapon and it misfired and jammed.  This wa not a good start...  From here, the Escher simply advanced with guns blazing.  Ducking and diving, the Delaque were suddenly on the defensive...

  The only response they could muster at the moment was to send Dendrah into the fire to use his suppression guns.  The autopistol didn't register a hit but the hand flamer easily crossed barricades to immolate one of the Eschers.  This broke Jelena's nerve and sent her scurrying for cover and sent a message across the gangs.  Unfortunately, this moment was the only successful one in a short battle.

  Marika, hearing the whine of the passing sniper round just past her ear, leapt forward and overcharged her plasma pistol to disintegrate a trench-coated opponent.  Across the battlefield, Rhosinn charged and chopped down another.  A third Delaque finally passed out from a bleeding injury caused by Olina's bullet-spray and this was enough to prove the loss.  Cxauth called for the retreat and the Silent Ones quit the area quickly and quietly.  

  This was the second battle for the Delaque where the Carrion Queens owned them.  It doesn't seem like the 'diplomatic' faction has the ability to stand up to these animalistic enemies!  While the Sump Dogs are running the Ash Wastes, the Silent Ones are going to have to figure out how to take out these vicious gangs.  

  More than anything, this was an inaugural battle for this newly-painted terrain.  We did it very fast and matched the scheme for all my other stuff.  I really like it and the wife (and daughter, who participated too!) thought that it really added to the immersion.  I agree.  After all, that's the point of good battlefield terrain!  Now to get those Delaque finished painted...

Happy Gaming!