Totally Shameless Plug

Are you tired of your battlefields looking pedestrian? Are you embarrassed by the fact that when a vehicle leaves a nice lovely crater on the table there is no visual indication that this crater used to be the armoured chassis of a transport, infantry fighting vehicle or battle tank?  Do you feel it is immersion breaking that the craters left by the spiralling Stormravens is the exact same as that left by detonating Dreadnoughts?

Well, assistance is at hand!

[NoVa FAQ] Dear Mike...Part 2 (99 Problems Continues)

I figured since I did some ad hoc socialising (not to be confused with ad hoc socialism, another of my hobbies) last night instead of returning and continuing my article on the NoVa FAQ, it was fairer to simply start afresh with a new article, since it's more difficult for people returning to know if it's been updated yet.

So, here we go:

To Whom It May Concern...

I have, as I've already mentioned, entered this year's HoP Idol over at House of Paincakes - the voting isn't open yet, but if any of you read my Challenge One article  and feel that it deserves a vote to keep me in the competition, I'd be very grateful.

To those interested by the article itself, I will indeed be following up to show the process by which my opinion of 6th has changed, in as far as it has.

Keeping me in the contest is a good way to keep me motivated and writing btw. ;-)

Hahaha, thanks.

Looking Forwards, Not Backwards, Sideways, not Forwards, and ever Twirling, Twirling, Twirling Towards Victory...

Well, as I may have mentioned previously (pretty sure I have, a couple times) I'm going to Arkham Gaming Centre to participate in another Tournament on the 19/20th of next month.  This gives me a little time to edit my list down from 2k to the 1850 I require...but I'm kinda stumped.

I want to retain the core of 3 AutoLas Predators, the 4 Las/Plas Razors with 2 Libbies and 2 Priests..but I can't field the 6 Speeders and the Flamerback I usually round it out with.

So, while I have a few ideas, I'm opening it up to suggestions from the Gallery... any ideas guys?

Laxity, oh laxity, how lovely are your branches aka Mini-rant 1 (As in, a miniature rant, not a rant about miniatures...)

Only in this Hobby would I need to make that distinction...

Anyway.

There is a terrible and ugly practise that continues unabated within our game, because people simply don't like to criticise it.  Perhaps because they've done it themselves once or twice.  Perhaps, because they can't all be me, and carry ludicrous amounts of stuff to Tournaments - I take enough Templates for both players, and a third and fourth large blast.  I usually take 2 tape measures and 6 dice cubes.  I take 3 or 4 Codexes to speed up checking if/when someone is wrong about their own stuff, or I think they're wrong and they're not.  I usually have my laptop, replete with all the FAQs, including the ones I've printed out and in my bag with other paraphernalia.

Boring/Stagnant? Eye of Isha, what are you talking about?

Now, I know that I've been somewhat remiss in my contributions lately, and perhaps this has added to the overall feeling of malaise and disinterest that seems to be seeping throughout the interwebs.

I also keep tweeting about my adventures in learning Dystopian Wars, so for those of you who follow me in that medium perhaps it appears that my love for GW's primary system is as in decline as many others express theirs to be.

This is simply not the case.

Yes, I am blatantly cashing in on the fact that Necron pictures have been leaked!

Huh? What?  That's correct, a plethora of pictures have been leaked today by the good lads over at http://www.beastsofwar.com/ and clicking that link will reveal all that they have to you, as it did to me, assuming you haven't already seen them.

Open it in another browser though, cos I'm not done talking.

Ad Update

Well, I've had no negative feedback, and in fact nothing but support from the Community regarding the prospect of adding Ads to the site.

As a result, I have already made overtures in applying for Wayland Games affiliate program, and Google AdSense.

A Question, Dear Readers...

I have noticed, in recent times, a greater and greater number of blogs have succumbed to the penchant for Advertising.  Some, such as The Back 40k, have stubbornly resisted this trend, and I would kind of like to stand firm with them in that camp...but the reality is, that's got a much larger and broader range of authors to make the blog more of a pastime than a serious endeavour.

Basset Hounds, Flugdar and Sparks of Creativity

Hey there again,


It's been a while...

It won’t come as much of a shocker, but I love all things bright and beautiful of the spelfey flavour, their aesthetic, background, playstyle and the entire concept behind them sits with me happily. I say this even if one of the two spelfy codexes is severely lacking despite featuring some amazing models (I <3 The Wraithlord Kit. Wünderbar) and the concept behind individual specialised parts working together to completely dismember armies. 


I am, of course writing about the Craftworld Eldar codex, a book from which competitive players have coaxed some ‘effective’ army builds for 5th Edition allowing them to (dice abiding) happily play in games with more recent, shinier codexes and maybe win.

Let's Get Specifical.

Righty-o, time to discuss the ETC rules again.

As you may know, I am going to Dominion Day IV in Ballymena this forthcoming weekend (note to self - pay for ticket!) and have been reading the ETC rulespack in preparation.  I know in advance a bunch of it I won't agree with (lol) and don't want caught unaware by some horseshit (no offence, but SOME of it plainly is.)

Looking Forward...(Ultramarines Movie Review?)

This is NOT a review.  Just curious as to whether or not GW is still spamming.  lol
I haven't seen it yet, mostly because I won't pay or watch a crappy online copy. They have earned the right to be seen on DVD, just not mine.

There are a couple articles I have planned, but sadly I may be incommunicado for a couple days/a week/a couple weeks while I get Internets sorted for new digs.  Heh.  Digs.  Like I was a Diglett. 

Level of Response

One thing I find very difficult dealing with people on the Internet I don't know, is how far to take my responses.

My Steel Legion entry - yes, Fluff Oriented first of all!

Steel Legion:

First, a couple points: 

• I chose not to use Vendettas/Valkyries, because they seemed too rare even for a Steel Legion. For me, they don't quite fit, good as they are.  It hurts the competitiveness of the list, but I had more fun writing it without.
  I chose to omit any unit that couldn't get a Transport, because that's what Steel Legion is about.  Back in the day (ie, a decade ago) you could buy them especially for units such as HWS who didn't have the option, but, since that is no longer legal, I simply left them out.  The exception is a single SWS squad, who ride with their Company Commissar in his bizarrely Dedicated Transport.
  I mostly decided to stick to the preferred weaponry, but within reason - Melta is somewhat necessary.
  Artillery and Lumbering Behemoths seemed radically out of character for a rapid response Mechanised Force, so with no option to put other stuff in Heavy Support, I was forced to take a lot of Hydras, as the only vehicles that even seem like ones that could maintain the pace (and be somewhat necessary, in the Ash Wastes!)
  I also refrained from any Spearhead or Apocalypse units - partly because I feel it better to get into Apoc at around 5k, partly because I have never played, nor really intend to play, Spearhead...and partly because the points costs for these were not handy to me at the time of writing.  Plus, I needed a couple of different units to make the varied points cost levels.

Quick Mention -

Those of you that don't already know, Dave Taylor is running a Competition HERE, and it involves writing a Steel Legion army list for 1500, 1750, 1850 and 3k points.

Interlude: Chaos Space Marine Thoughts for Black Matt (of the Black Legion Blog)

Black Matt asked for help, with regards to his last available attempt to get a Golden Ticket for Vegas next year. 

Since playing CSM is his forte, of sorts...certainly what he's known for, I thought, if I was going to help, that would be the way to do it.  While he has other beautifully painted models, he himself says that playing an outdated and mid-tier Codex is his best bet of victory, so who am I to criticise that?  I still play best with Eldar, whatever I might prefer...(debatably, I actually play better with Orks.  The Internet wouldn't agree though, and I cba with all that noise...)

Hello, Joe!

Thud, my e-friend and fellow MWFTW author, wrote an article, below.  My IRL friend and gaming buddy Joe, aka Death Korps of War, wrote an essay in the comment section, that I considered copy/pasting, but decided it wouldn't hurt you to reread Thud's article in concert with this.  :p

This is my response to said comments (apologies for order, I scrolled up from the bottom of the thread.)

The dreaded 13th Spell of Dwellers Purple Suns Miasma!

Or a more fitting title.... Magic and 8th Edition Warhammer.

For the last two months I have been slowly returning to Warhammer. Like a few of you out there I decided to return to the Warhammer world with the release of 8th edition. (yes, TKE I am still lurking about, in fact Mr. Kirby and I will be doing *CENSORED BY ORDER OF THE INQUISITION* hopefully by end of October-December.. stay tuned).

The first things I hit literally however when returning to 8th edition is what a mixed up place the Internet is for somebody attempting to find out basic information to design lists. I don't consider myself a top tourney player by any hope and means of a definition, but the old man still likes to be competitive and hopes he learns from the games and blogs he reads, primarily this, kirby, YTTH and sometimes Dethrons. But I walked into a maelstrom of activity and lists and advice about 8th edition and had to learn very quickly to filter the crap that is out there and then begin a process of building an army. (my choice was Dark Elves by the way TKE... and yes its painted, and yes I will post some pics so you can take a look and yes they are my own sexy dark elf wizards in the pic above... do you like them TKE?... they tell me that you think about them late at night when your alone dreaming of being a swooping hawk...)

Iamaddj/Kirby/Mkerr Triple Snowmobile!11 Rawr!

MKerr, of Chainfist and BoLS fame, put up the following article, which is a response to Kirby's article, which is a response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Premier of Iran, informing those of us in the Western World that, while the Russians power up a nuclear plant in his country, he has decided that Wound Allocation is a more important topic (perhaps just trying to divert attention?) and is in fact a rule that is so inherently wrong as to be virtually cheating.  No, I'm not sure how you can get cheating from playing by the rules either.  

To be fair, I think this is more the failure of the English language than anything else, as there isn't really a word to define the intellectual dishonesty of talking advantage of loopholes in an unsportsmanlike fashion without resorting to such a loaded word.  Some of us, in fact, are more than a little annoyed with the flagrant and widespread use of the word across the Blogosphere and forums, to the point where they attack the use of the term itself.  Personally, I would like to see some sort of distinction drawn between "cheating" (inadvertently playing the game wrong in a way that benefits one player or the other unfairly - usually through ignorance or failure at Reading Comprehension) and "Cheating" (intentionally garnering some sort of tangible in-game advantage by bending to a ludicrous extent, or outright breaking, the rules of the game.  An example would be moving from front of base to back of base, an especial bugbear of mine.) - Note how this follows my own attempts to foster a division between the use in common wargaming parlance of the terms "competitive" and "Competitive".  The former is something that can be used to describe any lose attempt, desire or ambition to win on the part of one or more participants (eg, an event that includes games will ALWAYS be 'competitive' because the aim of the Tournament is to win.)  The latter refers to the more specific times when the competitors are ACTIVELY engaged in the process of trying to win - rather than perhaps seeing it as an unfortunate consequence of playing a table-top wargame, the players craft lists, tactics and playstyles with the singular purpose of competing in and winning games of toy soldiers, and thus having fun, primarily through the satisfaction of overcoming a challenging opponent.  

It shouldn't need to be pointed out, but if I get any BoLS migrants commenting as a result of this article it is perhaps inevitable that the cry of 'WAAC' will come up.  While I plan to discuss later in the week (or the one after) topics that lend themselves better into a description of WAAC and the unpleasantness associated with this divisive phraseology, I cannot simply let the comment sit, either.  Essentially, it suffices for now to say that being Competitive includes the desire to compete, to pit yourself against the best and to overcome them in a fair and even fight.  Since the concepts aligned with the 'WAAC Gamers' the internet hates so much are not compatible with the idea of fair and honest competition, these players can never truly be referred to as "Competitive".

Well, that's the lengthy editorialising out of the way.

House of PAIN (Cakes)

What? What is that funky new logo on the left? The one that takes you on a journey across the interwebs when you click it, to a land of magical fun and fluffy bunnies*?

That, dear sirs and possibly madam, is a link to a brand spanking new Blog Network, set up by everyone's favourite FNIFer, and his compadre, the most Industrious of bloggers around**.

Go, check out the Vision (no, not the Avenger), read, sample, enjoy, return after bookmarking it, wonder what articles I have half-baked for my whirlwind of a return.

For those of you that care enough, I get the boat back to Norn Iron at 8PM tomorrow, which is in roughly 30 and a half hours.  EXCITING! I plan to use most of my travel time beginning/working on the Triple-Snowmobile I promised, and I still have 2/3 of an article I promised Danny DaVinci ages ago to finish.  I also have an article on this week's (yeah, okay, LAST week...) major topic of choice, Competitive and Hobbyist Gamers.  But, it IS only 1 1/2 paragraphs in...so plenty still to do there. :-/

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* - Not to be confused with Fluff Bunnies, Muff Bunnies, or Snuff Bunnies.

** - By NOW I surely don't need to link Dethtron and Lauby, do I?