Whoa, GW, Whoa!!!

  Slow down, GW, slow down...

  I am one of those people that actually enjoyed the rapid release schedule of the codices since 6th edition.  I'm not happy with the potential damage it can do to my wallet, but I am happy that I have to wait only weeks at the most for a new book.  There were some reasons why:

  First, I thought this would actually balance the game a little.  If each book is getting next to NO playtesting time, universally, then we shouldn't see the power creep that we're all used to.  After all, Space Marines are the typical enemy in the studio's office- meaning they get TONS of playtest time, and armies like the Dark Eldar are little more than money-grabs and so get tested two or three times.  Which army is better?  Yeah, go Marines!
  That should be easier to deal with while GW is pumping out armies so fast that they can only play two or three games with any of the armies.  Of course, that assumes that the same team is working on all the codices and that there is a basic equation for points and every army has a 'foundation' rules set that is amended, not just created...  Those assumptions are all incorrect, but one can hope!

  Second, it finally acquiesces to the vocal minority of gamers out there that honestly believe that bitching is part of the hobby.  I HATE going into my LGS because of one individual- a Tyranid player, that bitches for years now that his army never gets any love and Marines got flyers before they got their more common flyers!  Yes, I've heard that every single time I've walked into that store until I stopped going last year.  I honestly don't care.  I have almost every army and have been buying stuff for this game when my army was the worst version in its own codex (remember when painting your Space Marines blue was a terrible idea?)!
  With every army getting a new book and a new 'big thing' every couple of years, these whiners have no reason to whine.  But of course, they just shift over to whining about how GW ruined the rules for Flying Monstrous Creatures and destroyed any chance that they'd buy a Flyrant or other 'nidzilla option.  So the gamers that whined that their army never got any love now complain that they don't get enough love.  They've never played Dark Angels...

  Finally, I thought the rapid release schedule would mean a resurgence of gaming as people would a)want the new stuff and b)not have time to 'cheeze' it out.  After a year of gaming in 4th edition, it turned out that 'spamming' was the way to go.  After a year of gaming in 5th edition, it became obvious that the 'parking lot' and 'meltaspam' were the keys.  After a year of gaming in 6th edition, THE NEW 7TH EDITION WAS RELEASED!  In 6th, we saw the return of MSU, the return of 'Death Star', and the return of the 'parking lot'.  In other words, the changes were based on the newest codex.
  This excited me because it should have created a less-but-more balanced world.  Dark Eldar should not be able to beat Marines, but Marines should not be able to beat Eldar, which should not be able to beat Orks, which should not be able to beat Chaos, which should not be able to beat Tau, which should not be able to beat Guard, and so on.  The Orks were the MSU-busters (something the Eldar were taking too much advantage of), while the Tau were Horde-busters.  There should never be a game like Chess that isn't called Chess, so the ability to pump out a codex that pares against the previous codex in only a few weeks is refreshing.

  But now I have to join the whining.  I wasn't upset when my new edition of the core rules was updated only a year later.  I wasn't upset when my beautiful Imperial Knights book was made inaccurate after only a couple of weeks.  I wasn't even upset when my Escalation and Stronghold Assault books were made obsolete within a couple of months.  But I am upset about Eldar.

  I'm upset because of everything I listed above.  I'm upset because Eldar were already considered to be the 'top' army since 5th edition (and way more so in 7th).  I'm upset because their codex was done after Chaos Marines (which have a couple of GREAT supplements), Dark Angels (GW loves picking on the guys wearing dresses), Daemons (but Daemon-kin rules!), and Tau (which are redonk in this edition!).  Orks Dark Eldar, Space Marines, Astra Militarum, and the other colours have been redone since.  And Eldar are still, as a codex, better than all of them.  Chaos Marines could use an update (although I think the codex is better than people give it credit for, and I'm a WB player, the worst choice in the whole book) while Dark Angels are just terrible.  Where's their love?

  So let me get this straight- I spend hundreds on books that are obsoleted almost immediately?  And then the armies are redone so quickly that I spend hundreds more a as a 'veteran' just to keep up?  And now I find out that the order of books being released is not logical or rational in any way!?  Eldar don't need the love but get it.  The rumours are also indicating that Space Marines get an update later this year (I'm hoping they mean Dark Angels or I'm gonna flip), and the Imperial Knights as well!  So now even my supplemental supplements (like the Imperial Knights codex) aren't safe!  And so I'm upset.

  Let's add a little salt to the wound- I have the codex for Assassins.  I love that book (all 6 pages of it) and can't wait to use it.  It's not available as hard-print, forcing me to depend on my computer for the rules.  But GW can't leave anything alone, so they've decided to release a board game with Assassins later this year (it looks cool too!).  The models are pretty good (certainly better than the 1992 models that have held well for decades), and the 40k rules are already leaking as GW plans on making this a 40k supplement as well.  The rules are the same as currently exist in the digital codex.  But somehow, someway, I know that that new expansion (be in a WD article or another supplemental supplement) will somehow obsolete my old rules and maybe even the models (or not, GW's not that bad, usually).  It's the principle at this point-

  Is GW just out to get my money or are they trying to upset me?  I already own enough models to start a mortgage on a house, and I already have all the rules since 3rd edition, what else is there?  I'm gonna need GW to slow their roll just a bit and add some sort of logic to their decision.  I know that GW is a 'miniatures company', not a 'game company' (which is true, even if the community seems to think their interpretation of it is far more accurate than the company itself), but I don't need miniatures- I need game pieces!  I can play almost any army in the game, but I'd like to know that I'm not throwing money away trying to do that.  I don't need any more Eldar codices (I have 5 or 6 so far, with the next one only days away).  There will come a point where I'm not going to buy another one ever again.  And that applies to everything else in the game (another $50 Knight codex may lead to a long drive and a loud office, just sayin'...).  If you want me to enjoy your product, GW, slow down.  Just... slow down.

  Let me know if I'm being crazy here or if you agree.  In the meantime, Happy Gaming!

We finally got back to DnD!

  Hey, it's not like I set this group up at the beginning of the year or anything.  But between various job duties for my buddies and my own extenuating circumstances, it took months and months to get this going.  But we were able get together finally and play the first session.

  We're using 5th edition rules, because they're cool.  Admittedly, I need to reread and reread again everything because I'm still calling for skill checks that haven't existed since '98.  But I'm a role-playing DM, so the rules can work however I need.  More imporantly, I had to set up the area and make it comfortable for everyone.  

Ah, a DnD table with plenty of room, always a complaint...

My little area, complete with dice and NPC mins and the write-up and...  Still lots of room!

 Now these guys are about 'new' to my DMing.  One guy has never played a pencil-and-paper RPG, another hasn't played since 1980, and the third is new to 5th edition.  My fourth guy has been totally busy, so I had to adjust and write an adventure for these three.  It was awesome.

I changed their faces to protect the identities of those involved.  Plus, I found the paint program on my reader!!!

  The end of the session saw them all involved and waiting for the next step, and we had to close it down because it was late.  Luckily, I had written the end point for this session into the adventure already, and the session took a bit longer just because everyone was so 'new'.  

  Next session sees them delve into their first dungeon and truly begin the epic quest I have them on right now.  Maybe there'll be details to come, but we'll have to see.  Stay tuned!

  Have y'all been role-playing at all?  I'm only just getting back into it since 2006 myself and it's FUN!  Happy Gaming!

Red vs. Blue

  It was time!  My constant opponent and gaming buddy picked up the Daemonkin codex and we decided to play a game with it.  I abandoned my Orks so he would have some kind of challenge, and I looked forward to this.  Plus, it would be the first 2,000 point game that we've played in a while.

  First, the table:  Let me tell you, I spent a couple of hours just staring at it.  Having everything with colour on it (if not fully pointed) made the battlefield look so much nicer.  I enlisted my wife to help with the craters, and my buddy even noted that they looked good.  I passed the compliment on to the wife, and continued to admire even as we played.  Painted terrain matter!!!  

  I actually felt really good about my army list.  I still do and want to use it again.  But it's a really simple alliance between the primary Ultramarines and the allied Grey Knights.  I even brought a fortification just because...

-HQ- Captain of doom with Artificer Armour, Eternal Shield, and Burning Blade, leading a Command Squad with the Champ, Apothecary, Company Std with Pwr Swd, dude with Power Fist, and dude with Meltagun coming out of a Rhino.  This squad was meant to punch some 'zerkers in the face and cause a headache for any big things.  

-Troops- 2 Tactical squads, one with Pwr Fist, Flamer, and Hvy Bolter and the other with Pwr Swd, Plasma Pistol, Plasma Gun, and Missile Launcher coming out of Rhinos.  I wanted to use Rhinos because Bloodletters have another layer of crap to get through and I can react to his craziness.  

-Heavy- Devastator squad with 2 Plasma Cannons and 2 Hvy Bolters, to kill marines and cultists alike, and a Thunderfire Cannon- I've never used one before and I hear they're great at killing Daemons...

-Fast- Stormtalon, to take down his stupid Hellturkey.

-Fortification- Aegis Line with Quad-gun, again to take down that stupid Hellturkey

-HQ A- Grand Master with Cuiriass of Sacrifice, Shard of Solonar, and Warding Stave- his job was to tie up the big things and 'thump' them so the Grey Knights could soul-zap them before dying in the second round...

-Troop A- 5 Terminators with 3 Halberds and a Hvy Incinerator, to zap big things and fry little things

-Heavy A- Dreadknight with full kit- bring that Bloodthirster on!!!

That battlefield with models on it...

My deployment.  The Aegis Line was a bit of a pain...

His deployment.  Wait, where's the Bloodthirster?

This doesn't look good!  The sky is red!

  I brought stuff to kill things that my buddy didn't bring, which really hampered the army.  I wanted to go second, but my buddy made me go first, and I didn't have too much to do.  I moved around a bit, took some shots (and realized that the Thunderfire Cannon is actually really good!) and killed about a half-dozen 'zerkers.  But I didn't have much to try to pull of just yet.

  He ran his force up, including the Maulerfiend on my left flank and his Daemon Prince on the right flank.  No shooting saw me worry little and suffer no losses.  Great first turn?

  I tried to Deep Strike my Grey Knights behind his Daemon Prince.  That Daemon Prince was very wisely guarded by a 'blanket' of 16 'zerkers, which meant that I needed my Tactical Squad and Dreadknight to break it.  My buddy's not a bad player, and makes me work for it.  Sadly, the Grey Knights scattered to the back corner of the table, allowing the target to just wander off unmolested.  So I used Gate of Infinity, only to mishap (trying to land on top of my own dudes!) and go back into reserves.  No worries, I'll have the Dreadknight go kill stuff.  This is where Khorne took notice of the battle, however...

  My freshly arrived Stormtalon took some shots at the Maulerfiend careening at my gunline, only to put a single hull point of damage.  That happens.  But it spelled doom for the left flank.  A Devastator Squad and a Thunderfire against that?!  Behind a defensive line that it crawls right over?!?!  Yeah, not so good for that side...  But no worries, I still have a Dreadknight!

  So the Tac squad opens up with their bolters at the 'zerkers.  With a roll of 16 dice, I get three hits.  THREE!  They do wound, though, so they were serious hits.  One 'zerker falls, and the Dreadknight suddenly needs to get involved.  With creative placement of the Incinerator template, he's able to fry another two 'zerkers, which gives him just enough room to charge.  That Daemon Prince sees the tall exosuit light up the blade and dash right at him.

  The Daemon Prince grabbed the Terminator in the middle of the suit mid-strike, brought the Axe of Ruin down with three hard chops, two of which simply sliced the champion in half.  Without time for even a scream, the Daemon Prince had dispatched the biggest threat.  Just to drive it all home, the 'zerkers charged the squad, now completely unsupported, and managed to kill the guys in only two rounds (the second was overkill as four were left, and the Daemon Prince wanted to get some kills too).  The Maulerfiend took a Krak Grenade to the face before chopping down a Devastator, but that was the last stand for the Ultramarines.

  The azure Captain, seeing he and a Thunderfire were about to face down almost 48 'zerkers, a Daemon Prince, a Maulerfiend, and a squad of Possessed on their own, took the codex training of 'discretionary valour' and quit the battlefield.  More importantly, my gaming buddy broke character and actually suggested that the game end.  He likes to play to the end, and even he could see that it was the end.  That's bad dice.

  I'm so sad about this battle because I didn't get to fight the things I wanted to fight.  His Daemon Prince had the ability to ignore my Force weapons (Eternal Warrior on the Blood-forged Armour), but that's cool.  Besides, he pays for it.  Unfortunately, that was the only Daemon that his army included (the Maulerfiend and the Possessed don't worry about the Force power), so that meant that my Grey Knights were utterly nullified.  Well played, buddy.  Well played.  But I'm most upset about the dice.  This could have been a good battle if I had rolled well on the right flank.  The poor Deep Strike (in an already tenuous position) followed by the epic failure of the Tac marines followed by the punking of the Dreadknight... that was fast.

  The adjustment to this army for next time we play (and assuming he doesn't change it up too much) is dropping the Aegis Line and adding a Librarian to the Command Squad.  More psychic stuff against Khorne can't possibly fail, right?

  Sorry for the lack of pics, but the battle happened that fast.  It was just that kind of a game.  Next time, though.  Next time.  Happy Gaming!

Mo money, mo money, mo money!!!

  On top of all my other gaming addictions, like Wizkids stuff and Infinity, I still have to keep up with 40k.  As it turns out, GW knows this all too well and they continue to abuse me.  Am I upset?  Nope, not at all.  I chose to adopt this hobby and now I have to suffer...

  40k has been my game since DnD started to wane and since before college destroyed all my gaming habits.  I even worked for the Emprah for a while and was the champion of 40k we were supposed to be.  But even I have my focuses.  My main army always was and will always be the Ultramarines- paragons of order and competence, noble integrity and unshakeable honour.  My second army was, and will apparently always be, my Eldar.  I've not mastered the Eldar in any way whatsoever, but I definitely do dig them for some strange reason.  But I'm an Elf fan in DnD, so I guess it makes sense.

  And then what do I find out?  Apparently, GW is going to release new Eldar and Ultramarine stuff here soon!  Check out the pics of apparent new releases just in the next week or so:

Allegedly as large as the SM codex and maybe addressing the different craftworlds...

We were tricked a decade ago, but maybe this is real now?

Finally!  I HATE converting these!  That's why I only have one right now...

Nice model!  But I already made my own, so I'm fine, I guess...

   Admittedly, these pictures have been on the interwebs for a moment and these may even be released by the time you read this, but it still means that I have to buy a ton of new stuff very suddenly.  Darn you, GW!!!

Then we get to the Ultramarines.  Later this year, FW will be releasing the Battle For Calth book and the decals alone look awesome, much less the amazing models.  Then the rumour is that GW is going to be releasing a new Marine codex this year, which means that I may have to keep an eye out for that.  Does that mean I'm going to be spending money on more marine stuff (considering I already own too much that I don't even use)?

  Yep.  And they know it.  Well played, GW, well played!