Awesomely Disgusting!

UPDATE: A Meeting Of The Minds

2011-12-31T01:31:00.001-06:00

Well first of all I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! I wish the new year is better than the last.

Hopefully the new year will be more kind to us over here at TEW.

I'd like to let you all know that we are meeting up next week to discuss the show and possibly to arrange a new recording schedule. We will also be taking steps to try to salvage the forums. I know they kind of went to shit but we need to desperately learn how to fully maintain it on our own.

So once again please be patient. Changes are coming in the near future. We will be back better than ever. We are Eternal after all.....

Update: Time To Rethink Things

2011-11-15T01:51:00.000-06:00

Well I'm sure almost all of you have heard what happened over in TEW land. Shit went down and it took quite the toll on me. Those of us that are still talking have decided to take some time off in order to relax, reflect, rethink and regroup. After doing well over 100 episodes of Podcasts, transitioning from DLT to TEW and everything else we've been up to I think it's safe to say that a break is well deserved.

I also needed a break from the hobby as well. I still have stuff I bought at Gencon that I haven't even opened up yet. Life has been busy as hell for me as well. Between wedding preparations, family, friends also getting engaged and work it feels life has been a roller coaster as of late.

So unfortunately don't expect to hear much from me for the next few months. You still might hear me do a cameo or two over on The Screaming Heretics (mostly because I'm over at Joe's with She Swizzy) but that might be it. If I'm compelled I might blog here and there though but that's it for the time being. Rest assured I will be, in one way or another, still a part of TEW. And don't worry, Im already signed up for Adepticon. No way in hell am I missing out on that!

I didn't want to leave everyone in the dark so that's why I decided to post up a quick update.

PS. If anyone decides to play SWTOR, hit me up so we all can pick a server to play on.

GW Price Increases and My Reaction

2011-05-18T01:12:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are C Swizzy's and his alone. They do not reflect the views of TEW in it's entirety.

That's right, I'm not going to BUYcott GW as we have in the past with Planetstrike. As it turns out the term Buycott is the exact opposite of Boycott, as in buying goods from a company in order to show your support. So I would recommend everyone to get their terminology straight...

Now that I got that little PSA out of the way, let's get down to business. GW, unsurprisingly, announced another price hike that goes into effect at the end of May. Yup, it's that time of year again. You can almost set your watch to it. Here's the best link I could find that has a list of the price increases http://www.3sdgames.com/iumaddog/?cat=5. Props to these guys for the info. On average we're looking at a 22% increase.

There is also a list of the new Citadel Finecast prices. For those who don't know, the Finecast stuff is the resin replacement for the old school metal models we all loved or hated. Shockingly enough, they upped the prices on these as well and rumor has it they are direct order only.

On top of all of this "good news" GW decided to screw over the whole southern hemisphere by putting an embargo on retailers selling and shipping GW product down there. I have already heard the rantings from the Aussies and a certain someone in Asia is already planning to make one last bulk purchase before this goes into effect. It appears that GW is trying their hardest to exploit the conversion rate of foreign currencies. This is such a great way to treat your customers....

So let's get this straight. A few months ago GW stated that their sales were down. What's the best way to increase sales? Apparently it's by increasing prices, again....

I seriously have had enough. I'm done. My Astral Claws project is on hold, if not axed all together. I'll probably make a squad or two from bits I have but that might be it. I hope (but doubt at the same time) that when my Templars get a new book, I'll be able to use my old BT stuff, but then again look at the Grey Knights book. A lot of the old figs the old school GK players had can't really be used as much as they were in the past.

I hereby vow that I will NEVER buy from a GW store again. I am officially boycotting GW but there are stipulations. I will still continue to support Black Library as much as humanly possible and I will leave open the option of dabbling in some Forgeworld from time to time.

Now I know some of you will say that Privateer Press isn't that much cheaper and you might be right to some extent. I still believe that it's a better bargain because of the support that PP delivers and due to a lower model count, you can get away without buying as much in order to get into Warmachine/Hordes. I still believe you can get a decent 25 point army for right around $100. Malifaux and most of the games put out by Spartan can be started up for just under $100 and this includes a decent sized tournament ready army, not just a beginner army.

I've just had enough of GW's oppression and I'm going to let my wallet do the talking from here on out. I know I'm not the only one who will be doing this, and if you feel as I do, I encourage you to do the same. E Bay is always an option if you just can't pry yourself away from 40K or Fantasy.

I made a prediciton last year that GW will go under in 5 years. We're one year in and I think they're making excellent progress. I even made a wager with Carl from the Independent Characters about this. So Carl, you better start getting sized up for that Sister of Battle costume! LOL

Off To Adepticon!!

2011-03-31T12:37:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! Packing has begun (and God do I hate to pack) and last minute plans are being made. We have our Dan Abnet interview lined up for later today and I'm sure we will already be running into you guys later tonight. I'm bringing some of my Khador (with not as much as I wanted painted) and 1850 points worth of Black Templars. Due to space issues I can only bring the list I was going to use for the GT that I backed out of.

Hope to see ya there!

KR Multicase Review

2011-03-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

So my KR multicase FINALLY came in today. Considering I ordered the thing the last week of February, I'm not too happy with the shipping time. I understand it's international shipping so that might be the main reason for the delay but I still find it hard to swallow to wait a month for a simple box with foam in it to arrive.

First off the price is right. $38.99 which includes shipping is pretty nice. The box I ordered (just the simple card stock one) had a tray for 6 Heavy Warjacks and 3 trays for small based Warmachine models (18 per tray).

Likes: I like how to foam is soft so it won't scuff up and rub off the paint on the models. It's also pretty pliable so I was easily able to fit a medium base model (The Butcher) into a spot meant for a small based model. Models with what I call "pointy stuff" like Doomreavers and Pikemen fit in pretty well too. The slots are deep enough to accommodate the "point stuff" so they don't protrude out to much and there's enough space in between slots to let the pikes that the Pikemen have sit on.

Dislikes: I really don't like the backing of the trays. It's just about as soft as the rest of the foam on the trays. Considering the vast majority of Warmachine models are metal, they are already starting to sag through the bottom. I don't know how long the backing is going to be able to hold up to the weight of these models. The other thing I didn't like was the tray for the Heavy Warjacks was waaay too big. I easily had about 4 inches of wasted depth in each slot I had to make by plucking foam. Granted I think it's deep enough to easily fit a Khador Gun Carriage but if someone is just lugging around jacks, there's a lot of wasted space.

So overall I don't know what to think. The smaller based stuff fits really nice but the wasted space for the Heavy Jacks isn't cool in my book. I also mortified of the backings of the trays falling apart sooner than later. It's a good price for a decent sized case that will easily tote a 35 to 50 point army but I don't see myself using it as my main means of transportation.

Stay tuned for a review of the Warmachine Battlefoam case I ordered. Hopefully that'll arrive before Adepticon.

Incoming: Grey Templars?!

2011-03-09T12:16:00.000-06:00

Before I get started, I do not reflect the views of TEW in it's entirety. It is well known that I am very opinionated and slightly biased, so take this with a grain of salt if need be...

So GW dropped pics of the upcoming Grey Knights on their website today. After waiting 5 minutes for the pages to load on their extremely poorly written webpage, I was not impressed. The Dreadknight straight up looks like the robot that Ripley used in "Aliens". The Grey Knights themselves honestly look like Black Templars with Storm Bolters and different shoulder pads. They look so close to Templars that I swear they took the heads and cloaks straight off the Black Templars upgrade sprue.

I can barely tell that the Terminators (shown above) are in Terminator armor.

Lord Draigo (pictured above) looks decent, but once again I can't help but think Templar when I see him.

In my honest opinion, it looks like GW kitbashed their own stuff in order to make the GKs. I guess you start to run out of ideas when half of your armies are Space Marines. I just can't wait for the Black Templars to come out and have people say they look like Grey Knights with different bits...

Now add the rumors that the Codex was changed by the accounting department, GW retweeting people who are drooling over them left and right and the fact that GW posted 3 articles about the GKs in under an hour (one which still will not load properly), this reeks of desperation. Is GW this desperate for sales? What a let down.

At least there's Khador...

First Khador WIP Pics

2011-02-23T18:20:00.000-06:00

Well I'm posting these up a day late but I guess that's better than never. I don't know how to use She-Swizzy's awesome DSLR I got her for Xmas so I had to resort to my shitty cell phone camera.


I'm the Juggernaut Bitch!

This is the best pic out of 10 that I've taken.

I'm some what sticking to the traditional Khador color scheme and why not? It's an AWESOME paint scheme but I will try to add a little more black here and there.

So far I've been loving the P3 paints. Their red is outstanding and blows GW's Blood Red out of the water. So far I only have the paints in the Khador painting set but I hope to expand.

I'm sure my future figs will look better, these were the test dummies.

What do you think?

Warmachine Battle Engines, Maybe Not So Broken?

2011-02-16T13:42:00.000-06:00

There's a nice pic to show the size of the new Battle Engines coming out for Warmachine. Now when I first heard about the battle engines I didn't know what to think. Part of me thought that PP was going the route of Apoc and part of me thought that PP was going to begin to introduce vehicles into the game. I would have been ok with the engines used in a Apoc style game but if PP decided to go the vehicle route ala GW, I would have been pretty mad. I've seen enough of vehicles in 40K and I don't want to see another game system go that route.

Apparently I was wrong on both accounts. Rumors that I've been hearing (that are pretty reliable) stated that the Khador Battle Engine will be FA:2. For newbies that means you can take up to 2 of them. It is also said that it'll cost about 9 points, so roughly the same as a Warjack. This means a few things right off the bat. First they can be used in normal sized games. If you want to be the jag off that puts 2 of these into their 25 point list, feel free, but you'll be gimping yourself severely. These are HUGE units that everyone can see and pull LOS to because of the enormous base. You're also playing on a 4 x 4 board which means your opponent should have no problem getting to the thing pretty quickly. Also with the thing only costing 9 points that tells me that they are not going to be game breaking. If anyone can correctly balance a new unit type into a game, it's PP.

So I'm pretty excited now after hearing about the rumored FA and points cost. I wonder if I can make some Budweiser barrels and fit them on the carriage somehow....

A Step In The Right Direction

2011-01-12T14:49:00.000-06:00

You've heard us gripe about GW not progressing the story line multiple times on the show. Instead of beating a dead horse I instead decided to look on the brighter side. I decided to look at the current fluff that's out there and just read into it more. Coincidentally, Forge World released Imperial Armor 9 which is all about the Badab War.

Granted, I don't own it (yet) and all I've seen was while I was browsing through Dave's copy, but OMG Forge World, you did one hell of a job. Committing two books to the biggest Inter-Astartes conflict since the Horus Hersey means there's a TON of fluff and content to make any 40K player water at the mouth. Face it, the Horus Heresy was the biggest event in 40k cannon. I feel that the Badab War is like a modern, mini Horus Heresy and hopefully a sign of things to come in the future of 40K.

I've been searching and reading countless articles on the internet about the Badab War and I just get more and more interested. I even got a great idea to start another army, The Astral Claws. Now trust me, I'm not going to use ideas that don't make sense and use a Codex I've been using for the past year with this army... I have some really good and original ideas that are really making my creative side come out. I plan on making the army flexible enough where they can use which ever Space Marines Codex I plan to use, but also to where they can also be Chaos Space Marines. After all, we all know the Astral Claws turn into the Red Corsairs. I'll keep you guys updated on my progress with this army, but I don't think I'll be starting it right away.

So basically the point I'm trying to make is if GW isn't going to progress the story line, at least go more in depth with the fluff you have out now. 2 Imperial Armor books for 1 conflict is a great step in the right direction.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It's that time of year to eat copious amounts of turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatos, kapusta (if you're part of the Swizzy household), pecan pie and whatever else tickles your fancy. Don't forget watching football while trying to not fall into a food coma, lol.

But the real reason for Thanksgiving is to think about what you are thankful for. I for one am thankful for my girlfriend, brother, parents, family, friends, coworkers and my job. I'm also thankful for all the fans out there that listen to the show or read our blogs. It really makes me feel fuzzy inside knowing that people like and appreciate what we do just for fun.

So from me and the rest of The Eternal Warrior's Crew, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Unit of the Week:Warmachine MkII Rulebook

2010-11-18T13:55:00.000-06:00

Wait a second, a rule book isn't a unit!

I know, I know but hear me out on this.

So GW came out with a new FAQ for 40k, (available here) and it kind of got me going a little. Let me bring your attention to the very first sentence "Although we strive to ensure that our books are perfect, sometimes mistakes do creep in". And then there's 6 pages of amendments, clarifications and errata. So I read all 6 pages and it really affirmed my belief that 5th edition 40K is very flawed. The rules are way too broad and general, not enough specifics. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate GW attempting to fix their mistakes, but there's just too much to fix at times...

So after reading the FAQ, I picked up my Warmachine Prime MKII book and gave it a quick glancing. Comparing 5th edition to MKII is like comparing day and night. You are very very hard pressed to find a vague rule description in MKII, in fact at times the rules are overly wordy and complex. Do I find that annoying at times, yes, but at lease I know all bases are covered. Privateer Press has also put out FAQs, but nowhere near as bing as that 6 page monster that GW just put out.

So do yourself a favor, pick up a copy of MKII and see what a well written rule set is like.

Unit of the Week: Dark Eldar Voidraven Bomber

2010-11-11T15:15:00.000-06:00

C Swizzy here with another weekly installment of the Unit of the Week. No, I'm not talking about the Batwing, I'm talking about the Voidraven Bomber. On a side note since there is no GW model for the Voidraven, this Revel Batwing model does the job for only $25 or so, so have at it! Mad props go out to Frosty from The Warhammer Forum http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/index.php who uncovered this gem.

I'll be up front with you guys, I'm not too familiar with the Dark Eldar codex but honestly none of us are. I skimmed through the book and I did find many things to be DISGUSTING but the Voidraven jumped out at me.

Basic cost is 145 and it's a Heavy Support. Front armor 11 so it is kind of paper thin but you can take Night Shields and Flicker Fields for 10 points each which will definitely help out with your survivability. The other thing that will help out with that armor 11 is the fact that the Voidraven is supersonic, which means you can turbo boots 36 inches. In other words this thing is fast fast FAST. Oh, it also deep strikes so this thing can almost do it all.

Weapon load out is where this thing shines. You get 2 Void Lances which are Str9 Lances. That extra point of Str help out a ton, especially if you're playing that jag off Black Templars player that has Blessed Hull (negates lance) on all of his Land Raiders... lol. Now you only need 3's to glance and 4's to penetrate, or if you are playing said jag off, you will actually pen on 6's. Add in the fact that the Voidraven has the Arial Assault rule, you can fire both of these off at cruising speed.

The Void Mine is my personal favorite though. Basically you can drop a mine over any unit you fly over, keeping in mind this vehicle is beyond fast so you can almost pick out whatever you want. The mine is also a Str9 lance but there is some scatter and it is a small blast so it can scatter off if you roll bad. With Arial Assault you can fly over a tank, drop a mine and still fire your Lances off if you only moved at cruising speed. Need to get out of harms way? Well now you can, and pop a tank all in the same movement!

The Voidraven can also take 4 different types of missiles. The Monoscythe is Str6 AP5 Large blast. Pretty good for horde hunting. The Necrotoxin Missile is Str X AP 5 with Poison 2+, large blast and pinning. A large blast wounding everything on a 2+ is pretty nasty and is basically effective against everything, especially high toughness units like Plague Marines. The Implosion Missile forces whatever you hit to make a characteristic test against their number of wounds (base, not current) and if they fail they die instantly. Cover and Invuln saves still apply though. The last missile we have is the Shatterfield Missile. This bad boy is Str7 AP - large blast that you get to reroll wounds with. Keep in mind all of these Missiles are one shot, so you only get one chance to bring the pain with each one. You can take up to 4 Missiles and you can mix and match between the 4 different types. I personally would like to go with 2 Shatterfield, 1 Necrotoxin and 1 Implosion just to get a nice balance and be ready for almost anything, but that gets expensive. All missiles are 10 points except for the Shatterfield which is 30.

My idea load out would be Flickershields, 1 Shatterfield Missile, 1 Necrotoxin Missile and 1 Implosion Missile bringing the total up to 205. Kind of pricey but it can handle almost anything and should be able to survive if you're good with positioning.

All in all this is a pretty damn good unit that will only run you about $25 or so. If I was playing Dark Eldar I'd always run 2 of them, because we all know that I think more than 2 is spam.

Early Call of Duty: Black Ops review

2010-11-11T13:55:00.000-06:00

So I was one of the 5 something million that bought Call of Duty: Black Ops when it first came out. I have not done a lot of multiplayer yet because I am one of those people who has to finish the campaign first. So I'm gonna give a quick review of the campaign.

First of, the game does not take place in the modern era like some (including myself) assumed. The setting is in the 60s, Cold War era, which I found to actually be as interesting if not more so than the modern ear. The storyline is give and take. The missions of the game are basically flashbacks that the main character has while he is being interrogated/tortured by an unknown person. You do quite a bit of jumping around in the world, Cuba, Laos, Russia, you get to see quite a bit. Is the story line as good at Modern Warfare 2? In my opinion, no. The storyline gets a bit boring and predictable after a while.

My other complaint about the campaign is there are too many vehicle events. Not only do you have to man a turrent like you did in other COD games, but now you also have to drive the vehicles as well. The controls for that suck, like almost as bad a Halo vehicle controls. You also have to run and make these long ass jumps in some levels. I thought I was played a FPS, not a platformer guys...

So in summary I give the campaign a B-. From what I've played of multiplayer already, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving it an A

The Eternal Warriors

2010-11-05T13:19:00.000-05:00

So we recorded our first episode last night and it felt really good to finally get it done. It's been quite the roller coaster ride since DLT ended. Between picking a new name, getting a website and Libsyn account going and all that, it's been a pretty hectic few weeks.

Episode 1 should be out sometime on Sunday. It will be on iTunes, of course.

Just steer your browsers over to http://theeternalwarriors.com/?feed=rss2 and feel free to add it to you RSS feed.

Not only will the episodes be on the RSS feed but we will also be posting new blog posts on a regular basis. My day is Thursdays and the rest of the guys (along with a few guest writers) will be posting stuff up on a regular basis as well. You can expect a new post almost every day.

Don't worry though, I will still have blog posts that will be specific to my personal blog.

So check it out, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Unit of the Week: Black Templars Dreadnought

2010-11-04T15:14:00.000-05:00

C Swizzy here and I'm going to start the Unit of Week, normally posted up on Thursdays. I will be going over 40K as well as Warmachine units over here.

So lets's get started with the Black Templars Dreadnought. I am not going to touch on the regular 5th Edition Space Marines Codex, or the Space Wolves, Blood Angels, etc. All of these books have different variations of the Dreadnought, but the Black Templars one is in my opinion the most versatile (and also the one I know the best).

For starters, base is 105 Points and it comes with the Assault Cannon and Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (DCCW) with a Storm Bolter. Ok so that's basically the same as almost every other Dreadnought. You can also change the Storm Bolter to a Heavy Flamer, and you can also take out the Assault Cannon and add a Twin Linked LasCannon. You can also remove the DCCW and replace it with a Missile Launcher. Nothing new here.

Here's where things change. The one vow that almost every Black Templars takes with their Emperor's Champion is "Accept any Challenge, No Matter the Odds". This gives all infantry units Preferred Enemy (rerolling to hit in assault) The last line of this rule states that it also aplies to Dreadnoughts. Rerolling to hit with a Dreadnought in Assault is nothing to over look. Rerolling some Str 10 attacks if you have the DCCW is pretty freaking AWESOME.

Now for 20 points you can upgrade to a Venerable Dreadnought. The Black Templars version of Venerable still give you the option to make your opponent reroll a penetrating hit roll, but it does more than that as well. You can also take a Veteran skill for 10 additional points. The only 2 options are Furious Charge and Tank Hunters.

Lets touch Furious Charge first. The only benefit I see from it is the +1 to Initiative. If you have the DCCW your already at Str 10 so the +1 Str doesn't apply. The +1 to Initiative might be useful against high initiative units (Eldar, Dark Eldar, Noise Marines, etc..) but I think if you go the veteran skill route your better off with the other option...

Which is Tank Hunters. Oh the joys of having an old codex! So Tank Hunters basically give you a +1 to your roll against vehicles. So against vehicles your Assault Cannon is now Str 7, Missile Launcher is Str 9 (krak missiles) and that Twin Linked LasCannon is Str 10!!!! Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the only Str 10 LasCannon in the game.

Personally I always take Venerable with Tank Hunters. If you have a fire support Dreadnought (Las and Missile) it costs 160 points which gets you Venerable, Tank Hunter, TL LasCannon and a Missile Launcher. Granted you can only shoot at 1 unit with this Dread, but it sure does bring the pain with a Str 10 and Str 9 shot against vehicles. I also take Venerable with Tank Hunters with the standard load out.

As for the best uses for the Black Templars Dreadnought there are 2 ways I normally use it. The first is the Fire Support role with all the goodies I just mentioned. It's mobile, hard to take down, and can still hold it's own in Assault. The second is the standard load out with Venerable, Tank Hunters and a drop pod (or as Rich and I call it, the DDASS). 4 Str 7 rending shots is nothing to scoff at and the Venerable will make it that much harder to kill you. You can also exploit the Black Templar Drop Pod rule that allows for the Drop Pod to shoot the turn it comes in by taking a Deathwind Missile Launcher. That's a lot of firepower that originates from basically any spot that you choose.

So moral of the story is Old Codexes still have a few tricks up their sleeves!

Adepticon 2011 Registration Begins!

2010-10-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

So registration has already begun for the most bad ass Con in the world! Just head over to www.adepticon.org and get signed up! Yours truly has already registered and signed up for the 40K GT which I will be bringing my Black Templars to. I previously stated I will only be playing my Templars up until Adepticon because I want to be the highest ranked Black Templars player there.

I also signed up for the Killzone event on Sunday. If you don't know what Killzone is, it's a homebrew rule set made by the infamous Big Jim (aka BDJV) and all the info you need about it is over at www.galaxyinflames.blogspot.com. It is quite the awesome ruleset for some skirmish action. I'm also contemplating giving my Eldar another whirl in combat patrol which will probably end up being on Saturday. Also look for the She-Swizzy to make her combat patrol debut during Adepticon 2011 as well :D

I really wanted to sign up for a Warmachine tournament (and get my ass smoked in the process) but the Hardcore tournament interferes with the 40K GT. There is however a nice Tier 1 25 point tournament on Saturday but it starts at 11pm and ends at 7am Sunday which might interfere with any social get togethers me and the boys will probably have planned for that night. So I guess I'll have to settle for some pick up games. Wiggles, this means you!

So get signed up and prepare for the time of your life!

See ya there!!

The End of DLT

2010-10-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

A sudden issue has crept up and forced us to no longer produce DLT. This was completely unplanned, unexpected and unavoidable. There is no in-fighting between current cast members and we are all still very good friends. We realized it was time to start a new podcast that incorporates the lessons learned by the hosts while working on DLT.

In early November, we will be starting a new podcast called The Eternal Warriors. As you can imagine, it will be a podcast about Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and all things awesome! The current cast of Dice Like Thunder will return and what would have been Ep 106 of DLT will instead be Ep 1 of The Eternal Warriors. Old episodes and materials of Dice Like Thunder will be available for a short period of time. When they get removed, it will be permanent!

We can not adequately express what the fans of DLT mean to us. Over the course of 2 years, you are what has driven us to continue making DLT episodes, home brew material and explore hobby communities outside of our own. For 105 episodes, you have been incredible and we want to thank you one last time while under the DLT name.

In the next few weeks, check us out at our new home: The Eternal Warriors!

New Blog Tearing Up the Internets!

2010-10-20T00:52:00.000-05:00

My good friend Dave (you might know him from Dice Like Thunder or the local Chicago tournament circuit) has just started up his own blog. It is the last refuge for 40k and all things AWESOME! He just got it up and running but trust me, in due time his blog will be one of the best.

So go ahead and check him out at http://ultramarfort.blogspot.com

Roll up your sleeves and help a brutha out!

2010-10-19T03:15:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine and one of the pillars of the 40K blogging/podcasting world, Big Jim of www.galaxyinflames.blogspot.com (aka BDJV on almost every message forum) had a terrible thing happen to him today. Some jag off broke into his car and stole his Chaos Space Marines army, most notably his Soul Reapers.

I would be devastated and probably on a rampage if this ever happened to me. The AWESOME people over at The Independent Characters have started a thread hoping that people can help out Big Jim. Myself and She Swizzy have already pledged a donation, I would hope that some of you out there in internet land could do the same. We're a tight nit community, so let's help each other out :D

BTW here's the URL for the thread on the ICs forums http://www.theindependentcharacters.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=706

Lazorback that I just painted up

2010-10-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

I really need to stop taking photos with my phone because as you can see the quality is not so good. Now I just need to find time to paint up the second one.

KILLZONE!!!!!

2010-10-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not talking about the first person shooter that's on the PS3.

I'm talking about my buddy Big Jim's homebrew rule set. I have read through the rules but have not been able to play a game yet. In all honesty, I LOVE the rule set. It's a very very very good skirmish game, better than combat patrol in my opinion.

So do yourself a favor, head over to galaxyinflames.blogspot.com and check it out!

1850 Black Templars "Give em Hell Hellbrecht!" List

2010-10-07T01:26:00.002-05:00

This is the list I made for Adepticon 2009 but I never got into the GT to actually run it. I however did table Karrick with it :twisted:

HQ
High Marshal Helbrecht
Artificer Armor
Sword of the High Marshals
Combi-Melta Gun
Bionics
Iron Halo
Crusader Seals
Frag and Krak Grenades
10 Initiate Retinue
6 with Chainsword and Bolt Pistol
1 Flamer
1 Apothecary
Fighting Company Champion
Power Weapon and Combat Shield/Bolt Pistol
Sergeant
5 Neophyte Retinue
4 with Sword and Bolt Pistol
1 Fighting Company Standard Bearer
1 Land Raider Crusader
Power of the Machine Spirit
Extra Armor
Smoke Launchers
Furious Charge for all
TOTAL = 751

Emperor's Champion
"Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds"
TOTAL = 140

Troops
Crusader Squad "Catharsis"
9 Initiates
9 with Bolt Pistol and Chain Sword
Rhino
Smoke Launchers
Extra Armor
TOTAL = 202

Crusader Squad " Purgation"
5 Initiates
3 with Bolt Pistol and Chain Sword
1 Power Fist and Bolt Pistol
1 Flamer
5 Neophytes
Rhino
Smoke Launchers
Extra Armor
TOTAL = 209

Crusader Squad "Absolution"
5 Initiates
3 with Bolters
1 MultiMelta
1 Plasma Gun
TOTAL = 96

Heavy Support
1 Vindicator "Smite"
TOTAL = 125

Fast Attack
1 Landspeeder
MultiMelta
Heavy Flamer
1 Landspeeder
MultiMelta
Heavy Flamer
TOTAL = 150

Elite
1 Dreadnought "Swylyn"
Venerable
Furious Charge
MultiMelta
Drop Pod
TOTAL = 175

Keep in mind that Hellbrecht's retinue acts like an old school retinue, as in you have to kill 15 dudes in order to get to him. I realize that Hellbrecht's unit costs a shit load of points, but it excels at stompin fools!

What do you think?

1750 Black Templars Razorback-ish List

2010-10-07T01:02:00.000-05:00

So I decided to experiment with Razorbacks.

HQ
Emperor's Champion
Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds
TOTAL (140)

Castellan
Iron Halo
Lightening Claw
Terminator Honors
Holy Orb of Antioch
Combi Melta
Frag Grenades
Melta Bombs
TOTAL (161)

Elites
7 Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad
5 Twin Lightening Claws
2 Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield
Furious Charge for Unit
Land Raider Crusader
Smoke Launchers
TOTAL (569)

Venerable Dreadnought
Tank Hunter
Twin Linked LasCannon
Missle Launcher
TOTAL (165)

Fast Attack
5 Initiate Bikers
2 Melta Guns
1 Power Weapon
TOTAL (190)

Troops
5 Initiates, 1 Neophyte
LasCannon
Razorback
Twin Linked LasCannon
Extra Armor
TOTAL (200)

5 Initiates, 1 Neophyte
LasCannon
Razorback
Twin Linked LasCannon
Extra Armor
TOTAL (200)

5 Initiates
Frag Grenades
Melta Gun
Drop Pod
TOTAL (125)

I only threw 2 of them in there because I refuse to take more than 2 of the exact same thing in a list. The troops with the razorbacks will deploy outside so I can get some LasCannon action going from the first turn. Bikes will screen for the LRC. The Venerable Dread should be pretty awesome, with tank hunters I'll have a twin linked LasCannon at Str 10 against vehicles and a Str 9 Missile Launcher. Castellan goes in the drop pod. I only put it in there because it fit within the points limit and it'll probably be the only thing to take an objective on the opposite side of the table.

What do you think?

1750 Black Templar Bike-ish List

2010-10-07T00:56:00.000-05:00

It's a Bike-ish list because I really don't throw too many bikes into the mix.

HQ
Emperor's Champion
Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds
TOTAL (140)

Master of Sanctity
Crozuis Arcanum, Rosarius
Bolt Pistol
Terminator Honors
Power Fist
Frag Grenades
Holy Orb of Antioch
TOTAL (161)

Elites
7 Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad
5 Twin Lightening Claws
2 Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield
Furious Charge for Unit
Land Raider Crusader
Smoke Launchers
TOTAL (569)

Fast Attack
3 Initiate Bikers
2 Melta Guns
1 Power Weapon
TOTAL (126)

3 Initiate Bikers
2 Melta Guns
TOTAL (116)

Heavy Support
Vidicator
POMS
Dozer Blade
TOTAL (160)

Troops
9 Initiates
Frag Grenades
Power Fist
Melta Gun
Rhino
Extra Amor
Smoke
TOTAL (236)

8 Initiates, 2 Neophytes
Frag Grenades
Power Fist
Melta Gun
Rhino
Extra Amor
Smoke
TOTAL (241)

Bikes are pretty much throw away units that hopefully can pop a tank or two. They will also try to screen the advance of the LRC, POMS Vindicator and Rhinos. MoS goes in the LRC with the Terminators and will probably split off and assault something else because 5 PF attacks on the charge is pretty brutal. What do you think?

Opportunity's knocking on the door GW...

2010-09-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

So Halo Reach is out for the XBox 360 and has made about $200 Million in revenue since being released last week. For those who aren't familiar with Halo, it revolves around Space Marines, one in particular (Master Chief). Halo Reach is a prequel with many Master Chiefs running around. Kids love Master Chief, they also love Space Marines...

You know that Dark Eldar codex that's coming out November? Don't believe it until it's in your hands. GW might just want to try to leech some business off of this Halo Reach stuff. The Space Marine codex did come out around the time that Halo 3 came out after all....

/sarcasm off

Forces of Warmachine: Khador

2010-08-27T00:45:00.000-05:00

So I finally got my Khador book and while I haven't read all of it yet, I can tell you it's awesome. The fluff is AWESOME. The rules section gives rules for every unit that currently has a model (no Stormraven BS here guys). It's full color but it costs $35. You really don't need it, you can just buy your faction deck for about $15 but I wanted all the fluff and Tier Lists. For those who don't know what Tier Lists are, they are PP's way of catering to the fluff player while still keeping them competitive. Every Warcaster has Tier Lists. The Tier list reflects what forces normally go into battle with said Warcaster. When all prerequisites for the list are covered, your whole army gets a bonus. The Tiers also ramp up from 1 to 4.

So granted this book costs a little bit more than a GW codex, but it's full color, provides fluff that actually progresses the storyline in Warmachine, gives fluff lists that give you bonus and has rules for all models that are currently out.

GW will you please get a clue?

September White Dwarf and some Dark Eldar news

2010-08-27T00:38:00.000-05:00

So I actually received the September White Dwarf before it hit the shelves (first time ever during my subscription that I'm starting to regret).

On the cover, Isle of Blood. No surprise here since it's the new kid on the block. There's a LOT of Fantasy stuff here, including a battle report with Mr Ivory Tower himself, Jervis Johnson.

As for 40K in this issue, well there's some left overs from last issue in reference to Demons. Then there's some ask 'Eavy Metal pages where they show off a few painting tips (I dig). Then there's a 2 page add for Imperial Guard vehicles (really guys, do you just want us all to play the same army?). Then a few pages about paint schemes with designs for IG vehicles.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I personally give it a 5. Not enough 40K, but Fantasy stuff is decent, but more of the same old shit.

As to the Dark Eldar news. The back page that tells you what's in store for next month (which will be October) mentions NOTHING about Dark Eldar. So expect a November or December release (I'm thinking March, but that's just me). You heard it here first... ( I think ).

Back from Vacation

2010-08-16T17:46:00.000-05:00

Still recovering from vacation (Las Vegas). It might be quite some time before I get back into the blogging swing of things, but when I do I'll make sure it's good shit :D

I want this for my Birthday sooooo bad

2010-08-02T04:24:00.000-05:00

Thought I was going to bring Warmachine up again huh? Well while I also want a Khador Plastic Starter Box, I really want one of these Caestus Assault Rams as well. Look at the thing, IT'S DISGUSTING!!!

Rules for this bad boy are right here

Now imagine this, 10 Black Templar Sword Brethren Assault Terminators with Twin Lightening Claws and Furious Charge assaulting out of this bad boy. Look at the top of my blog to see my thoughts about that.. LOL. I really can't think of any units that can live up to 40 Str 5 Init 5 reroll to hit and wound power weapon attacks. Now give them Thunder Hammers have them assault the row of Chimeras that Mech Guard like to showcase.... The ideas of things my Templars could do with this thing are almost limitless. I'm not even going to touch how badass ramming with this thing is, ask anyone who has played against my Eldar, I ram A LOT!

As for the critics that say this thing is ugly, keep it mind it's a Space Marine vehicle, they are built with function over form. A vehicle meant to ram other vehicle's isn't going to look pretty. I have a feeling that if I get one I'm going to have to put the Waste Management logo on it somewhere, LOL.

Forgeworld, you are the shit. Just 1 vehicle has renewed my interest in 40k, specifically with my Templars. Now I just hope I can get some good games in with this thing before my codex gets updated.

So She-Swizzy, if you're reading this, I don't think I could have dropped a bigger hint, LOL.

And the Surprise Package Is....

2010-07-30T15:00:00.044-05:00

Yes, that is a Plastic Khador Heavy Warjack Box that I scored off of Ebay. But wait, there's more! The box actually contains 2 Plastic Warjack kits!

Here are the contents

The box contained what is pictured above x 2. For those that are not familiar with PP, those cards are the rules, stat lines and damage boxes for the Jacks that could be made.

The nice thing is that the only thing different between the 4 Jacks are the arms, so this is just begging to be magnetized (which unfortunately I suck at). The arms for each Jack are separate assemblies that attach to the shoulder. I also like how the bits are not on the sprue, and upon closer inspection there isn't too much flash or mold lines to remove.

The plastic appears to be a cross between GW's plastic and Forgeworld's resin. I thought it was going to be more along the lines of Forgeworld, but I was pleasantly surprised, it's about a 50 50 mix.

I paid $40 shipped on EBay for 2 Jack kits crammed into 1 box. Retail for one of these bad boys is $35 USD. Even at retail price it's a good deal. GWs Dreadnoughts go from $43 to $45 USD and while they're nice, I personally think that Warjacks just look cooler and have a bit more personality. I also personally feel that being able to make 4 different Jacks out of one box (with said magnetizing) AND have the rules for them is a better value.

So now I need to figure out how to magnetize these bad boys and figure out a paint scheme. I'm open to any hints or suggestions :D

Look what came in the mail!

2010-07-29T14:19:00.000-05:00

I'll leave it up to you guys to guess what's inside :D

Trying something new, sort of...

2010-07-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well first off I'd like to apologize for not posting for quite some time. I've been taking a break from 40K because, well I needed it. I just got off the phone with Tricky Dick and we are doing something different tomorrow. We are going to write each others lists. I did this a while ago with Mack, and it was really really fun. So in this case, Rich will be writing my 1750 Eldar list and I will be writing his 1750 Space Marines list. I'm not sure if I'm going to just go vanilla or go with either the Wolves or Blood Anuses, but things should be interesting. We figured that by doing this we can keep things fresh and interesting because most of us have been playing variations of the same list as of late.

Stay tuned for a battle report on the show and also on this blog!

Hyper List!

2010-07-21T01:11:00.000-05:00

For those that don't know, the hyperlist idea is basically building your list 4th Edition Style. 4th Edition lists consisted of minimal troop selections and a lot of heavy hitting units. I figured since both of my armies are 4th edition codexes (Black Templars and Eldar), I would give this a shot. So here is my initial 1750 point Eldar hyperlist.

HQ
Eldrad
TOTAL = 210

Farseer
Runes of Witnessing
Doom

TOTAL = 90

Troops

Rangers x 5
TOTAL = 95

Rangers x 5
TOTAL = 95

Elites

Harlequin Troupe x10
8 Kisses
2 fusion Pistols
Wave Serpent
TL Scatter Lasers
Spirit Stones
TOTAL = 365

Fire Dragons x5
TOTAL = 80

Striking Scorpions x 10
Exarch
Scorpion Claw
Shadowstrike
Wave Serpent
TL EML
Spirit Stones
TOTAL = 335

Heavy Support

Nightspinner
Spirit Stones
TOTAL = 125

Falcon
EML
Holofields
TOTAL = 170

War Walkers x 3
Scatter Laser Scatter Laser
Scatter Laser Scatter Laser
Scatter Laser EML
TOTAL = 185

I used normal Rangers because I just plan on putting them in reserve and possibly outflank with them in order to grab objectives. Hopefully the rest of the army keeps enough of my opponents army in check so the Rangers can just run over to an objective (with Move Through Cover helping out quite a bit) and go to ground for a +2 save. Otherwise the idea is to doom as much stuff as I can and destroy it with either focus fire from the tanks or the Harlis and Scorps shredding stuff in assault. The Scorps Wave Serpent and the War Walkers are being outflanked as well in order to make bring on the heat from multiple directions.

I also have a 2000 Point variation of this list that involves the Rangers being in Wave Serpents that Outflank as well and an Autarch that gives me a +1 to my reserves roll. That list will be a pure "hold everything in reserve" list.

Think I'm Burning Out

2010-07-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

So I woke up today and reflected upon yesterdays recording session we did for the show and I think I'm burning out on 40K. Now don't get me wrong, I still had fun playing with my Eldar last night, but once again it was against Marines and Marines (even though they were both different flavors of marines). Maybe it's the fact that 60% of the armies in 40K are either some type of Marines or Imperial Guard. Things start to get a bit redundant when the majority of the armies are in one way or the other very similar.

Going on to recording, segment 2 was about the Assault phase. Once again a good chunk of the conversation was about Marines and Guard. How the fuck does Guard get brought up in Assault when they really don't have any assault units? People in the chat on Ustream were getting bored about hearing more Guard talk, especially when the topic is about something Guard sucks at and I felt the same way they did. I tried my best to divert the conversation away from Guard in order to keep things more interesting but it kept on being brought up again. I was shocked that Dan did not bring up Tyranids more because, well, they are an assault based army! Overall I was kind of ticked off which is partially why I was so adamant about saying that Assault Marines are not the best assault unit in the game (point for point).

I'm not trying to bitch about the show here, I love doing the show. It's just that over all I think I am burned out on 40K. I am so looking forward to our non 40K game night that is coming up in the next few weeks and am also looking forward to taking a week off from recording. I need a break....

Flames of War Early War Announced / Variety is the Spice of Life

2010-07-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

So if you listen to Dice Like Thunder (if you don't, give it a shot) you might have heard about Skrivus trying out Flames of War. Honestly I want to try it out as well but I want to be true to my roots and be the Polish. I know we got our asses handed to us but I think it would be interesting and very entertaining to win a game with them, even if it is just one. Well I guess Battlefront heard my wishes and decided to throw the Polish in the game in their early war setting. I believe it's due out in August sometime and I haven't seen any models for the Polish yet but I will be waiting impatiently till this is released. I'm sure the Poles will have some horses, but when you look at the table of contents they list an Armored Train, what's up with that? Sounds interesting...

Since I'm speaking of Fow, early this year at Adepticon I saw a ton of people playing FoW, they almost had a larger turn out than Fantasy players. The thing I noticed with the FoW crowd is that they tend to be a bit older, but they are more than willing to bend over backwards explaining the rules and factions and missions. I was out on a smoke break and I ended up having a half hour discussion about FoW and the guys I was talking to were pretty awesome. So from what I've seen I can see that FoW players are mellower and extremely friendly. Now granted I know there are some of the hardcore Historical buffs that will tell you that those certain units never fought together and all that jazz, but I can appreciate hearing that because I am a HUGE history buff.

So I guess there is now a 3rd game system I'm wanting to try out. Having 2 (possibly 3) 40K armies is more than enough for one game system. I think there's nothing wrong with playing multiple systems. If anything it prevents you from burning out because you are not playing the same game every week.

So any of you play FoW? How many different systems do you play? Let us know!

1750 Eldar Seer Council List

2010-07-09T14:19:00.000-05:00

This is what I'm bringing to the Bunker today. Since everyone is making 1750 lists, here's mine.

1750 Eldar Seer Council Tournament List

HQ
Jetbike Seer Council
Farseer = 55
Runes of Warding = 15
Spirit Stones = 20
Eldar Jetbike = 30
Doom = 25
Fortune = 30
TOTAL = 175

6 Warlocks on Jetbikes = 270
1 with Witchblade and Enchance = 15
1 with Witchblade and Destructor = 10
1 with Witchblade and Destructor = 10
1 with Singing Spear and Destructor = 13
1 with Singing Spear and Destructor = 13
1 with Singing Spear and Embolden = 9
TOTAL = 340
TOTAL = 515

TROOPS

5 Rangers = 95

10 Dire Avengers = 120
Exarch = 12
Bladestorm = 15
Wave Serpent = 90
TL Scatter Lasers = 25
Spirit Stones = 10
TOTAL = 272

10 Dire Avengers = 120
Exarch = 12
Bladestorm = 15
Wave Serpent = 90
TL Scatter Lasers = 25
Spirit Stones = 10
Shuriken Cannon = 10
TOTAL = 282

ELITES

6 Fire Dragons = 96

HEAVY SUPPORT

Falcon = 115
Holo Fields = 35
Spirit Stones = 10
Shuriken Cannon = 5
TOTAL = 165

Night Spinner = 115
Spirit Stones = 10
Star Engines = 15
TOTAL = 140

3 War Walkers = 90
Scatter Laser Scatter Laser = 30
Scatter Laser Scatter Laser = 30
Scatter Laser EML = 35
TOTAL = 185

So obviously the Fire Dragons go inside the falcon. The Rangers will infiltrate and be set up as bait, Night Spinner will sit back and slow down my opponent, everything else is fast enough to set the stage for the Seer Council to melt faces. Walkers will probably out flank in order to keep bring the heat from multiple directions. Also put Star Engines on the Night Spinner in order to get 36" to contest an objective at the end of the game. It might not look that great on paper, but if I plan my movements out well enough, I should be able to handle most anything.

What do you think?

Initial Night Spinner Tactica

2010-07-02T13:32:00.000-05:00

Why is this an Initial Tactica? Because I've only used it once in a game. I know it's not a good idea to post a Tactica on a unit you've only used once, but hear me out. The game in where I used the Night Spinner was an epiphany, it really opened up my eyes. I feel that with GW just giving one new unit to the Eldar, they have been updated and have a better chance against the big boys (Guard, BAs, SWs). After using the Night Spinner, my mind has been working overtime thinking of new ways to use this awesomely versatile tank.

First off it's Barage, so you don't need LOS. It has a range of 12-72" and with this vehicle being a Fast Skimmer, you can reach out and touch who ever you want. Str 6 with Rending Large Blast is more powerful than you think. I know there's no AP on the weapon but so what. Most of the time you will be rolling 2s to wound infantry and the random Rend thrown in there is pretty sweet as well. I feel that the kicker to this weapon is against vehicles. Str 6 Rending on Side Armor is nothing to scoff at. This weapon will reliably pop open transports. If you're going up against an army with some vehicle squadrons (I'm looking at you Guard), even better because you only need an Immobilized in order to get a kill.

The Spinner Weapon's base stats on it's own is nice but the Monofilament Web is the real star of the show when it comes to the Night Spinner. Anything getting hit with the large template has to make a Difficult AND Dangerous terrain check next time they move for any reason. Re read that last sentence and let it sink in for a bit. Giving an ability that slows down your opponent to the fastest army in the game is such a huge advantage it's not even funny. This makes Eldar even faster then before because of the Difficult and Dangerous terrain checks your opponent needs to make. By being even faster than you opponent, you open up a brand new book of tactics involving setting up your opponent by out maneuvering him/her. Being able to slow down that 30 Boy Ork mob by just an inch could give you another round of uncontested shooting or a chance to get that Wave Serpent moved over to a flank.

Maneuvering is one advantage, but making your opponent make those Difficult and Dangerous terrain checks is huge. Your opponent might only fail one or two Dangerous Terrain checks for infantry units but think of it as a free kill. Your weapon is supposed to do the killing, anything else you get from the Web is a bonus when it comes to Infantry. Now even if that unit has to fall back they still have to make those Dangerous terrain checks, so if your opponent makes a really bad roll, you might get lucky and wipe that unit out.

The Web rule against vehicles is the true strength of the Night Spinner. Immobilizing a vehicle can really put a damper on things. Keep in mind the rule states anything HIT with the Web has to make the terrain checks, you don't need to wound or glance or pen. I have been thinking of using this to my advantage against Mech Guard. They tend to clump up their tanks real close to one another so I would be able to get multiple tanks with one Night Spinner hit. It's also good for high AV tanks. For example you have a Land Raider that you know is going to be rammed down your throat. If you hit it with the Spinner and it fails it's Difficult Terrain, it's Immobilized, and we all know that a Immobilized LR is a huge blow to it's owner. Now if there's a squadron of vehicles (Killa Kans or Leman Russes), you will destroy a vehicle if any of them get Immobilized.

You get all of this versatility for only 115 points! I think GW has done an amazing job with adding this tank to the Eldar arsenal and I honestly feel that just adding one unit makes a huge difference to an army. Please GW, do this with other armies.

So what are your thoughts? Any tips or tricks you can think of? Are you one of people out there thinking this tank is overprice, or overpowered? Sound off and let us know!

Change: What GW Can Do to Improve

2010-06-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

Change, something that Presidents Clinton and Obama have preached about. Change is also what you have in your pocket after purchasing something with cash. This post will be about both types of change and how one type of change will effect the other type of change for GW.

The first item on the docket for change is fluff. While GW's fluff is nice and all, it has become somewhat stale the past few years. I understand that the 41st millennium is grimdark and all that but there has to be some type of major event going on to shake things up just a bit. GW could introduce something as minor as a Global type campaign (ie Medusa V or Eye of Terror) or something major, lets say a schism between the various Space Marine chapters or a rogue Inquisitor losing it and virus bombing a major planet (let's say Ultramar or Cadia). How about an Eldar craftworld suddenly showing up in the Sol System or a Tyranid hive fleet doing the same? How about some fluff written by some Black Library authors? I honestly feel that introducing a story arc along these lines of this will greatly increase people's interest in the game. It will make things more exciting and give GW a chance to trickle in new campaign books and units that everyone will be interested in. Also, if these story arcs work their way into 6th Edition, people will be extremely excited, and a lot of old retired players might come running back.

The second item on the docket for change is their schedule for releasing new models. Currently you have to wait for the codex to come out, then wait half a year to get units that are in the book that do not yet have a model (The Stormraven is a prime example). Some of you might say "well it gives us a change to kit bash and make our own". I understand this and I 100% support people to make their own, but what if the size or base you are using are totally off? I think GW should either state in the codex what type of base all of their models are on or take a page for Warmachine and include the rules in the box when the model comes out. By this I mean only have rules for units you have models for in the codex and introduce new units later on with the rules in the box. Granted if GW did this, no one would currently know anything about the Stormraven but consider this. The BA codex is out for 6 months, sales for the codex and troops have slowed down, when all of a sudden BOOM, here comes the Stormraven with the rules inside the box. People would flip out and interest in BAs would shoot right back up. If GW were to do this, they could also give old armies a little band-aid in order to keep them fresh and competitive until their new codex comes out. What if the Necrons got another troop choice that didn't fold in assault or what if Demon Hunters got access to a cheap transport? A small simple addition of 1 unit could make a huge difference to an army. I personally think that the Night Spinner helps keep Eldar fresh and give them a nice little boost to hold them over till their new codex.

The third and final item on the docket is support. GWs customer service when it comes to sales is top notch. GW takes care of you when an item you bought is defective. The support I'm talking about is on the rules side of things. Not to sound like a broken record but take a page from Warmachine and have a way for players to have their rules questions answered. Whether it be a message forum, email or even old fashioned snail mail. You can even publish randoms rules questions and answers in White Dwarf. Another change that would be nice is attempt to do more play testing for new rule books or codexes. Maybe even involve a few gaming clubs in the play testing (after signing NDAs of course). Changes like this will make GW's customer base feel that GW cares about their customers (a feeling that has been lacking as of late).

Now you might ask how will these type of changes put more change in GWs pockets? Easy, almost every idea I put forth will increase sales for GW. New story arcs and fluff (with the possibility of a campaign) will boost sales for new books and new models introduced here and there. Also the possibility of bringing backsomeone who stopped playing will be huge. Packaging the rules with new models for either new armies or old will increase interest in all armies, not just the flavor of the month, which will increase sales across the board. Having a Q and A column in White Dwarf will increase subscriptions. Making your customers feel like they are appreciated will keep them happy and make them buy more of your product.

Sometimes you have a give a little to get a lot back. Risks have to be taken because you miss 100% of the shots you don't attempt. Doings things just because "that's how we've always done it" is not the way to keep your business afloat.

Any changes you think GW should make or is business as usual the way you think GW should continue to conduct business? Are my changes stupid ideas or do they actually make sense? Am I just wishing GW to be more like Privateer Press? Sound off and let us know!

Order of Operations, or How Do You Write Your List?

2010-06-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

List writing, probably the most important part of 40K. Without a list you simply can not play a game of 40K. Now I'm not going to talk about min maxing vs themed fluffly lists, I wanna talk about how you make a list, not what type.

Where do you create your lists? Are you the type that sits down and uses the old school pen and paper or are you the type that uses Armybuilder? I am the type that uses the basic text editor on my Mac. I just sit back, put on some tunes, light up a cig and get to work. I have contemplated getting Armybuilder but it's not available for Mac and I don't want to have to use my netbook all the time to make lists. I also wouldn't be able to use Armybuilder with home brew codexes.

Now that we have the setup out of the way, let's get to the main point of the article. In what order do you write your list? I mean specifically is there a specific order you write your list? For about 95% of my lists I always start out with my HQs. I think this might be a force of habit because I'm a Black Templar player and it's mandatory to have The Emperor's Champion in any list over 700 points. Even when I'm making an Eldar list I normally start with the HQ choice. I tend to use Eldrad a lot and when I do I center the whole list around him because he is such an effective HQ choice. Now if I go with an Autarch, I'll still put him in first because odds are if I'm running one, I'm playing the reserves game. If I'm running a Seer Council I'll put them in first because they are the primary focus of the list, everything else supports them. Even if I'm running multiple HQs, I still normally put them in first. I'll throw a Chaplain in a LRC with a squad of 10 Initiates and 5 Neophytes so that way the whole squad will be rerolling to hit on the charge (Neophytes don't benefit from the EC's preferred enemy vow). Depending on the situation, I'll split the Chaplain off from the squad when they disembark from the LRC in order to take something else out (Leman Russ Squadrons hate my Power Fist Chaplain).

I think the only time I don't base a list around my HQ choice is when I'm running a LRC full of Furious Charge BT Terminators with Twin Lightening Claws. They are such an effective hammer unit I have to be able to use them to their full potential, so everything else in the list supports them.

I don't think I have ever really made a list where I put down my troops first. I have heard of a lot of people doing so but I guess I'm just different in that regard. Maybe there is still a portion of 4th Edition inside of me that refuses to let go.

So share you thoughts or techniques with us. Do you write lists in the same manner as I do? Am I totally missing the boat by not starting out with troops? How do you get in the zone to write lists? Does anyone start out their list with Fast Attack or Heavy Support?

Thank God My Prediction Was Spot On!

2010-06-10T13:05:00.001-05:00

OMFG I WAS RIGHT, HAWKS WIN IT IN 6!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the best radio call in Blackhawks History...

To show you how emotional of a moment this is, look at this video with my child hood hockey hero Jeremy Roenick

Granted I was not the kid he was talking about but I was 12 at the time and crushed when the Hawks were swept in 1992. In a way I felt that JR was talking to me and it hit me hard deep down inside and almost made me cry. This shows you how difficult it is to win the Stanley Cup, and it's no joke when people say it is the most prestigious and difficult trophy to win in all of sports.

To the Blackhawks, Thank you sooo much. I was there through thick and thin, when tickets were only $8 and there were only 5000 people in the stands, on a good night. I will be at the parade tomorrow celebrating my ass off!!!

I thought nothing could beat the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005, guess I was wrong.

Enough is Enough!

2010-06-08T02:33:00.002-05:00

/rant on

For those that don't know, Games Workshop has just jacked up their prices in the US and the rest of the world (again). I could not find a list of official prices but this is the best I could find http://cavgames.posterous.com/games-workshop-40k-price-increase-05-31-2010.

Now a few things stand out to me. $90 for Assault on Blackreach?! I understand that it is a very good deal and you get a lot for the price, but isn't this supposed to be the set that get people into the game? This is now a 50% price increase from the original price of $60.

Onto the next thing that stands out, the price increase for Codexes. Keep this in mind, when you purchase AoBR you still need to buy a Codex in order to get all of the rules you will need for either Space Marines or Orks. Keep in mind the Space Marines Codex is still $30, but now with the price increase the Orks Codex is $29. Last time I checked the Space Marines Codex is almost twice as big as the Orks Codex, so what's their rational behind this?

Moving on, now let's say that you did the smart thing and split AoBR with a friend and you are borrowing a Codex from a friend of yours that is already in the hobby. What's the next step? Upgrading your army. Well the costs of each unit on average has been increased by $3. Ok that's not too bad but let's say you want to get a Land Raider or Battlewagon. Well the price of both just increased to $62! That's insane! My GF (who is currently building up her Chaos Space Marines) has been eying a Land Raider for quite some time. Now with this price increase she's not so keen on the idea of buying one now. I guess her Chaos Space Marines are going to be using a stolen Black Templars Land Raider for the time being...

The point I'm trying to make is that I honestly feel that the new price increases are crippling. They are crippling for players who:

want to get into the game for the very first time
have just started and want to flesh out their first army
would like to get a few odds and ends to complete their army
were considering starting a new army

The new player looking to start for the very first time might consider this already expensive hobby to be too expensive for their budget, and I wouldn't blame them. I'm glad I started when I did. The player that just started might not be able to afford to expand their armies to the sizes they originally dreamed of. Now the player who just needs a few odds and ends might just cut their projects short. I wanted 2 more Land Raiders to complete my Black Templar fighting company but at $62 a pop I'm thinking otherwise. Finally the player who wanted to start a new army (which is boku bucks for GW) might price things together and be turned off by the higher prices.

Now I understand that times are tough for GW and they are looking to make a bit of profit by increasing prices, but I know a lot of players who are getting sick and tired of this. I believe that just the huge price increase of AoBR will end up hurting GW in the long run because I believe that the $90 price tag will turn off a lot of people. I also find it ironic but very GW-ish to introduce Spearhead (which specializes in tanks) and at the same time jack up the prices on tanks, especially the new ones.

Taking what I said in my FLGS post and what I've just ranted about, GW is starting to earn a top spot on my shit list. As I have predicted on an earlier episode of Dice Like Thunder, I honestly believe that GW has about 5 years left before they go under. They still haven't recovered from the blunder known as Lord of the Rings and now they're trying to plug that hole, much like BP.

Both companies are British, coincidence? Sadly, I think not...

The other thing GW needs to worry about is people going elsewhere to satisfy their plastic/metal model habit. Most will go to EBay (I know I have recently and have saved a shit load of money), some will go to online retailers (The Broken Forge, The War Store, FRP Games, shit even Amazon has some good prices) and a few might even jump ship to another gaming system. Personally, Warmachine is looking pretty interesting to me and I feel their prices are more reasonable (full color rule books that update all the armies at once? sweeeeet!).

All in all, I really think that enough is enough! What are your thoughts on this matter? Am I on crack? Is there something I'm not seeing? Do you think GW's price increase will fail like Top Kill? Are you planning on taking your business elsewhere? Do you also think that GW's future is GRIMDARK? Feel free to comment away.

/rant off

Support your local FLGS, but what if you really don't have one?

2010-06-03T11:43:00.002-05:00

FLGS = Friendly Local Gaming Store. Most of us have a flgs that we frequent every week or so. Now I am a big supporter of small businesses so I avidly support the local flgs (in my case, Leisure Hours Hobby Shop). The problem is, Leisure Hours does not have any space at all for gaming. I've talked to the owner about it and he shot down the idea, which is kind of depressing. So instead I go out to the famed Chicago Battle Bunker with the rest of the DLT guys.

The Bunker is nice and all but I'm really starting to get tired of it. It has now become a spot where suburban parents think they can drop their kids of for a few hours (if not the whole day) while they go fool around with their personal trainers or Mailman or whatever. We were also told that we would have access to the annex of the Bunker because of our gaming club, which at time was was awesome. These days we are basically having to pull teeth in order to get to the annex we were promised access to. There has been times that we were told to play in the main room because (paraphrased)your armies are painted and we would like new customers to see painted armies which would hopefully boost sales. Are we a marketing ploy for GW? No. Do we get a discount if you are using MY army to try to boost sales? No. All in all I am getting sick and tired of the Bunker.

As I said earlier, I am a big supporter of small businesses. The GW Battle Bunker is not a small business. Now, I have heard stories of independently owned gaming stores that are as big as the Bunker, stock every gaming system (not just GW), have tons of tables to play on, give discounts to regular customers and are open till the wee hours of the morning. I honestly don't think a store like this exists in the Chicagoland area. I have heard of Games Plus and Black Sun games, but they're at least an hour drive from my house, if not longer. I am greatly disappointed that the third largest city in the US doesn't have big independently owned flgs's.

If such a store existed in my area, I would do all that I could to support it because I know a store owner would appreciate the support and he would return the favor. GW just wants my money, that's all they care about. Because of this, GW has lost a huge chunk of my business to Leisure Hours and The Broken Forge. I still buy the random product at the Bunker because I do believe in buying where you play, but no where near as much as I have in the past. Now let's say I want to give another gaming system a try, if it's not GW I can't play it at the Bunker. Fuck that.

So how is the flgs's in your area? Do you even have one or does GW have a monopoly in your market? Do you support your flgs? If you don't have one, which online site do you use? How can I remedy my problem, start my own store with the guys? Feel free to speak your mind.

What's this Warmachine thing all about?

2010-05-31T03:46:00.002-05:00

So I'm listening to The War Banner podcast (hi Phil and Mike!) and theyre talking about Warmachine. They basically did the beginers guide to the game and I have to say I'm kinda interested. Anyone out there play Warmachine? Did you like it? How does it compare to 40K?

BTW I'm posting this from my Droid (best phone ever!) so I hope this turns out ok...

A Change of Pace or How to rid your reliance on the +3 Save

2010-05-29T17:37:00.001-05:00

So my buddy Rich (or Tricky Dick if you listen to DLT) has a problem. I think he finally realized that he is burnt out on Space Marines. I would be too if that's all I played since 3rd Edition (not counting his stint in the Navy). Granted he switches things up and plays Chaos Space Marines and Necrons but in my book they are all the same type of army. I kind of know where he's coming from because my main army is Black Templars and I get burnt out with them as well from time to time.

The thing that these armies have in common is the awesome +3 armor save. Marines and their equivalents (necrons and other MEQs) are all tough as nails because of toughness 4 and armor save of +3. They also have a high ballistic skill of 4. I know almost all of you already know this but when you compare those stats to other non MEQ armies, their stats are pretty damn good.

I feel that people who only play MEQs rely on those stats too much and it kind of becomes a crutch. When said person goes up against an army that is built around solely killing MEQs, they become lost and helpless in a way. Their safety net is taken away from them because a good MEQ killing list does whatever it can to strip away the +3 save.

This is why I am a huge supporter of having a second army. Not just any kind of second army (I'm sorry but Blood Angels or Space Wolves don't count if you are already playing Vanilla Marines) but a non MEQ army, preferably Xenos. This is what I did by going with Eldar as my second army. Something that is totally different from what you normally play. I had a hard (but fun) time learning how to play an army that was toughness 3 and did not have +3 armor saves. It's a fact that if you try to play Eldar in the same manner you place Space Marines you will get your ass handed to you. I eventually learned the tricks of playing Eldar and I loved it because it was so different from my Templars. I was no longer burnt out and when I eventually went back to playing with my Templars I honestly felt like I became a much better player. I knew first hand how it feels not to have power armor to rely upon so I had to make smart tactical decisions and learn how to deploy and move and use cover. The jumping back and forth between my two armies is what keeps me fresh and eager to always want to play 40K.

So if Rich or anyone that is in his predicament is reading this, give a second army a whirl. Be warned, there is a high learning curve when you switch from MEQs to Xenos, but it is greatly rewarding. It will make you a better player in the long run and will prevent you from being burning out. I also hear the new Tyranid Codex is just begging for someone to figure out the hidden gems that are inside so give that a shot! (I honestly believe it is not as underpowered as everyone makes it out to be, but that's another topic).

So what's your second army, or what do you plan on using as a second army? Were you in the same predicament as Rich? How did you get out of your slump? Share your thoughts :D

Prime Advice

2010-05-26T01:49:00.002-05:00

Primers. Interesting topic amongst some people. Some people don't use primer, some people swear by certain types of primer. Some people are sheep and just use what GW throws in front of you (I was one of those sheep for a long time) and others swear by Army Painter. Some people airbrush, some people put it on with a brush.

Now I mentioned I used to be one of the GW sheep, I actually was for about 2 years. I elected to pay up to $15 a can for primer. Now don't get me wrong, GW's black spray primer is the shit! I had used a lot of it for my Black Templars. It was so good, the primer actually doubled as my primary color. Then I moved on to Eldar and experimented with their white primer. In my opinion, GW's white primer is crap. You need to shake the thing for what seems like an hour in order for it to come out of the can decently, and I still have problems with it being too dusty and flakey. I don't want to be paying $15 for a can of shitty primer.

So I did what any pissed off gamer does, hit up the internet. I read an article on Hogs of War (http://www.thehogsofwar.com/2010/03/cheap-and-effective-non-gw-white-primer.html) and decided to give this Rustoleum a shot.

First off, the can nearly exploded when I did my first spray. Paint shot out the top of the can and caked my hand in white primer. I'm pasty white enough being Polish and all, so right away I got a bad feeling about it. I continued anyways hoping that maybe it was just a bad can. So I sprayed a spare fig I had lying around and gave it the standard 15 minutes I normaly give my figs to dry before flipping them over to prime the other side. I went to touch the fig and it was still wet and sticky. So I checked up on it every hour. It took 24 hours for it to dry to a point that I could work with it, AND IT WAS STILL STICKY! Sorry Hogs of War, but this primer is crap.

So I continued my search on the internet and found someone on some random board praising the Color Place spray paint you can get at Walmart for $.96. Yes that ninety six cents.

So I picked up a can and tried it out and a random Nob I had lying around (Erin just got a Blackreach set for the Marines to convert to Chaos). It dried in like 10 minutes and came out of the can perfectly. It's not dusty and flakey like the GW stuff. Here's a pic of what this Nob looks like:

As you can see it turned out pretty freaking nice. It takes paint really nicely too. Here's a pick of a nob that I also primed with the Color Place and did a quick speed painting job on (that's ground for a future article)

So, what do you use for primer?

Let's Go Hawks

2010-05-25T01:40:00.002-05:00

So it ends up being Blackhawks vs Flyers for the Stanley Cup. Let me get this out of the way, I FUCKING HATE THE FLYERS!!!! I don't know what it is about them but I just can't fucking stand them. I noticed today that the Flyers Captain Mike Richards touched the Prince of Wales Trophy.

Common hockey folk lore stated that to touch either the Campbell or Wales trophy is a curse because the only trophy a hockey player wants to touch is the Stanley Cup. Now I know that Sidney Crosby touched the trophy last year, but that's Sidney Crosby. Sid is well on his way to becoming a legend. Now Mike Richards on the other hand, he's an over rated hack.

Johnny Toews on the other hand, he's a REAL captain and also well on his way to becoming a hall of famer. He also has class and respect for the game and it's traditions.

So I'm really hoping that the curse returns after making an exception for Sid.

Hawks in 6 is my prediction.

C Swizzy

Props to Lord Hannu

2010-05-25T00:40:00.003-05:00

I'd like to give mad props to Lord Hannu. He is the artist for the Black Templar's Chaplain pic I'm using on my blog. I looked around for a pic for my site that would live up to the name, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Check out this dude's work at http://lordhannu.deviantart.com/ He also has an amazing Dark Angels pic up as well.

C Swizzy

How does this work? LOL

2010-05-23T02:46:00.000-05:00

Well after listing to the Gamer's Lounge (Hi Bill and Jay!), I decided to experiment with this whole blogging thing.

What am I going to be posting here? I have no idea but I'm sure some of it will be AWESOME and some of it will be DISGUSTING! I'll probably use this as a log for current projects I'm working on (maybe even a little tid bit about the secret one I'm busting my ass off on now), a lot of venting or ranting I would assume and possibly some calling out. I will try to focus on just 40k but I will probably touch on other things like console and PC/Mac games, some sports, some music, some tech talk, a little bit of politics and maybe some firearms talk. I'm mostly doing this for me, I have no plans on competing with the other "big boy" blogs out there.

So feel free to follow me or subscribe to my RSS feed (wow, I feel important now!) and please mind the dust because this will be a perpetual work in progress.

C Swizzy