Outside the Hive

   I'm late, but I'm just looking for something to post about this week.  While I'm hobbying on my new gang and getting massacred by my wife and son, news came out about the next era in the Necromunda world and I became excited.  So I had to, late or not, rant in a post about it.

  Since '95, I've been a big fan of the world of the Underhive.  The universe is so unique to yet part of the grimdark of the 41st millenium.  I fell out of it when I went off to college (the first of many times) and stuck with 40k when I returned.  That meant the Underhive took a back seat until 2019, when the new edition came out.  This last year has seen Necromunda return to eminence, and how there's a newer new edition coming.  And this one is based outside the Underhive!

  At some point in the early 2000's, GW released unofficial rules for playing in the Ash Wastes outside the hive city.  It was neat insofar as it included the Gorkamorka-concept vehicles and bikes, but the models were atrocious and this wasn't really what Necromunda was about.  These rules weren't enough to draw me back to the game of gang warfare, but that's different now.  

  You see, the old rules for Necromunda were really about sneaking and snapping shots in the crowded confines of the manufactorum sectors of the Underhive.  The rules were really focused on cover, hiding, overwatching dashing figures, and opposed roll-offs.  This made open-table gaming clunky and unbalanced, with Gorkamorka barely overcoming these pitfalls with the focus on vehicles and speed.  The new rules for Necromunda focus on action management, min-maxing modifiers, and upgrades, shifting that clunkiness out.  In other words, I think this is going to work very well! 

  I'm really excited for some more unique models- those raiders are awesome!  I always like the concepts of civilian- or unregulated-fighters in the grimdark where conscription is almost a best-case scenario.  And riding those giant flea-things?!?  YESSSS!  I'm not looking to make Chaos cultists or anything like the 40k community is surely foaming at the mouth for; I just want that same uniqueness that Necromunda is really leaning into.  Each of the major gangs is totally unique from each other (even the wargear autoguns and lasguns are no longer 'universal' options!), the cultist gangs are unique (minus the 40k models ported over), and now these models continue that trend.

  I'm even more excited about the terrain- not everything is a ruined Administratum!  We always think of the massive, gothic structures dominated the grimdark, but a million worlds and a score of millennia should lead to a lot of variety in human construction.  Add the variety of environments and we should see the oppressive gothic style of old rarely.  This sand-people-style terrain (thanks Star Wars!) is totally unique and, of course, amazing.  I look forward to grabbing a couple of sets just like I did for SW:A.  

  The only issue that I have is the new set coming with more Orlocks.  I already have two gang boxes for them and wasn't really planning on expanding much more than that.  But this seems to be less of an issue when we look and see that there are new dice in the box (likely necessary for the vehicles and mounts) and a big rulebook.  I'm hoping this rulebook is just the same rulebook as the Underhive one plus the riding rules; I can't imagine this is a 3rd edition and replaces the current one (which has already been expanded).  So getting more models I already own alongside new rules and dice isn't such a big deal.

  In fact, I expect the box to be $400...  and I STILL plan to buy it!  (Please GW, don't make this box that expensive...)  If you're a Star Wars Legion player, this might draw you into the grimdark.  As a 40k and Necromunda player, I'm really geeked to bridge that gap and get my battles outside the Underhive on!  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Until then- Happy Gaming!  

Muscles vs. Shades rematch

   My buddy came down from out-of-state for one of his twice-annual visits and I, of course, strong-armed him into another game.  While our wives ignored us and chatted all night, we rehashed our rivalry in the Underhive.  

  If you kept up with the blog this far, you'll remember the last battle, you'll remember that my buddy lost at the last minute with the last guy.  He was still bitter, so it was time for the Ironlords and Sump Dogs to have another go.  With the terrain set and the gangs hiding amongst the gantries and frames, it was time for revenge to be delivered...

  After encountering each other and diving for cover, the advance started on each side.  The Orlocks spread out and immediately started ascending and diving for the best firing positions in cover.  The Goliaths, on the other hand, stayed together and slowly advanced, wary from the last painful encounter.

  With some keyhole aiming, the crack of lasguns and booms of stub cannons began echoing around the battlefield.  Unfortunately, the meathead Ironlords were smart enough to keep their heads down and suffered very little.  In fact, the most extreme outcome of all the Orlock shooting was simply making some Goliaths duck and bleed a little.  

  It only took minutes for the two gangs to close the distance while avoiding fire, and this resulted in a 'killing field' being established.  But the Sump Dogs were too confident and failed to do anything meaningful, giving the Ironlords the chance to charge the truckers.

    Rocky, the leader of the Sump Dogs, thought himself invincible to the Goliath's efforts.  He was wrong as Korg, the enemy champion, casually strode up and eviscerated him on the stairs.  The rest of the gang looked on in horror as this was the first time they'd witnessed their fearless leader going down so easily.  Maybe the Goliaths were more motivated by revenge than they thought... 

  Returning the favor, the entire gang of Orlocks emptied their magazines into the opponents, but it was nothing to their pain threshold and maniacal need for vengeance.  Dusting themselves off and howling as they advanced, it was a 'fish-in-a-barrel' situation that resulted in the majority of the Orlocks being eliminated in record time.  

  The battle took a long time to end, even as the Sump Dogs were obviously outmatched early in the game.  But they are known for their bravery and passed their Bottle Tests round after round.  The battle final ended when the last surviving Orlock fled for his life and the Goliaths also failed and started to file away.  The only Ironlords to die were a couple of 'snipers' that got too excited and fell to their deaths from five stories high!  The Sump Dogs definitely suffered worse.

  This was a blast of a battle, even being on the receiving end of the butt-kicking.  Not failing Bottle Tests when a smart leader would have voluntarily left made the frustration to the victor worth it.  Unfortunately, I won't get my rematch for many more months.  I just hope the Ironlords don't call the Enforcers next time...

  Happy Gaming!

GW's brainwashing!

   I had an epiphany the other day.  This realization was a brutal one that left me with a smile of annoyance.  After all, I realized that I've been brainwashed and it was so subtle that I didn't even notice.  My favorite company (with huge bias) has effectively used behavior modification techniques to train me.  Let me explain.

  You see, the new Eldar have been released and I just happen to be a collector of the pointy-ears.  Like almost all the armies, I feel compelled to 'keep up' by buying at least the new rules (codex and cards) every time GW pulls an update.  Every once-in-a-while, I might even buy some new models!  But there's a limit- the price.

  I used to be able to buy a space marine Tactical Squad for $24.99 back when I put on the power armor.  I watched the prices go up and up and up until 7th edition, where that same Tactical Squad (now with new groin-towels!) now cost $42.99.  And then came Primaris.  And then the other armies.

  Since I own almost every army, I have to buy stuff almost every month.  But that price limit tends to keep me generally in check.  When I look at the price of things now, it's easy for me to talk myself out of buying it, especially if I already own the older (smaller) version of whatever it is.  This applies especially to my Eldar army, where I own three of everything produced for that army since 1992.  And one of my favorite models in that collection is the Avatar of Khaine.  

  Have you seen that new model!  Wow!!!  Even the Forgewold version of the model isn't as cool as the new one.  But I don't want to buy it.  My self-imposed limit is wholly based on the price.  For a model that large and detailed, it was going to cost between $140 and 175.  I don't have that kind of money anymore and I can't justify buying a single plastic model that I already own a version of for that kind of money.  

  But wait!  The price for the new Avatar isn't $140?!  It's only $100!?!  Wait now...

  This is how well GW has brainwashed me- the price was too high at my assumption.  Who would pay that much for a single model that might see the tabletop three total times?  On the other hand, with the typical prices for GW's products, this suddenly seems cheap by the real price!  GW taught me that a c-note is reasonable and affordable... for a toy.

  There was a point in time that I would buy everything that GW produced.  Then I became more responsible and stopped spending so much.  When it costs almost $1000 just to start a good army, the prices became unjustified.  But that Avatar only being $100?  Why do I feel like that's a good price?  GW has normalized their prestige-pricing strategy so much that now I can be tricked into thinking that a nickel's worth of plastic is a great deal for only entire two days' work.

  Has GW gotten you too?  Have you been tricked by GW into thinking the prices aren't that bad?  Are there units that you wish would get the Avatar treatment?  Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Gaming!  

Welcome back, Eldar!

   It's finally happened- I got my wife to play something other than her Sisters!  For years I've tried to convince her to try a different army as this provides perspective that can help with her normal force.  After all, it's hard to consider the uniqueness and power of a single army when you never experience another.

  She chose the Necrons... of course she did!  We planned for an Incursion game (1,000 points) so that she only had to learn the stats and rules for a couple of units.  And we know that I'm a fan of the smaller games, even if I never get to play them.  After a quick review, she built her army list and I was proud.  Just based off the 'what looks cool' rule, her choices were rather good.  Tons of choppy-choppy on a small board?  How did she know!?!

  I decided that the War in Heaven had to get its due, plus the new Eldar codex came out.  With the retirement of my T'au due to overperforming, it was time to give the next xenos in line their go at battle.  I chose my old theme of Iyanden-style with a little support from Reapers.  Tons of guns versus blades for days!   

  I don't remember the name of the mission as I don't have practice with the Incursion scenarios, but I do remember that there were six objective markers.  The shocking part, to me, was the size of the board.  At half the size of a standard 2,000 point game, there seemed to be very little room to maneuver on this board size.  This made terrain even more important as one good round of shooting could result in an army being wiped out.  Block that line-of-sight to have a game.

  The game started with the Necrons clanking forward and the Eldar shuffling up or taking shots downrange.  Unfortunately, it resulted in the Immortals suffering and little in trade from the space elves...

  Round 2 was absolutely brutal as these two ancient enemies unleashed their powers.  The Necrons had long forgotten how adept the Eldar are at reading their movements and committed just to see their enemies respond perfectly.  With pinpoint accuracy, Immortals and Destroyers were immediately annihilated from shuriken and wraithcannon.  After the fusillade, the ghosts charged in and chopped down the survivors.  Even the Necron warlord found himself facing a massive Wraithlord!

  While the Eldar were ruthlessly effective with their shooting, the Necrons weren't going to be defeated by their foe so easily.  Trading robot for pointy-ear, Immortals and Scarabs swarmed Guardians and eventually pushed through to steal the objective.  The Necrons paid dearly on that side, but objective points matter.

  Meanwhile, the Destroyer Lord laughed mechanically as the Wraithlord struggled to get through his phase-shifting shield, only to gleefully dice up the construct and begin to move toward the Guardians standing on the other objective.  Shuriken storm from those Guardians ended the warlord, but it was still sweet to chop down the big baddie in front of them.

  In a last-ditch effort, the surviving Necrons camped their characters on their objective points and sent the Wraiths forward.  Their last protocol was to hunt down the glowing leaders of the Eldar and so they stalked the ruins until they found and killed the Spiritseer leading the ghosts.  With the loss of most of the ghost units and now their commander, the Eldar decided to quit the battlefield and minimize losses...

  The game ended with an Eldar victory by points, but it was just great putting the new Eldar on the tabletop AND seeing my wife try out a new army.  She noted that it wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be and she found it easy to remember the rules and stats.  The entire game just became more accessible to her, and that perspective change is something I was hoping for.  While she didn't get to really take advantage of the Necrons' abilities, she enjoyed playing a different army and actually likes the cute robot guys.  Of course.

  I found the Eldar to be awesome!  While an Incursion game isn't exactly scaled properly, it was still really cool to feel those new abilities.  Battle Focus is pretty strong, especially on those Guardians that spent 2 command points every round to shoot and dance around.  But the real surprise to me was the Wraithguard.  Their longer range and devastating guns make their offensive output ridiculous, and then you add the 3 wounds, toughness 6, and 2+ armor save (with Protect from the Spiritseer) and a FnP (with Fortune from the Farseer).  Add some Battle Focus from the warlord and those units can be oppressive.  They may be dead, but they aren't useless!

Happy Gaming!