40K Neophyte

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noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:32:00 +0000

masterminis.net - where we learn to be a better painter!: Win a signed copy of Forge World's Angron! (englis...: Hello everybody! If you are already a subscriber to this blog, and want to find out how to win your copy of Angron, you have come to...

BBC Celebrates 40K's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:55:00 +0000

I know I'm late to the party on this. However I just found it, and since I liked it I wanted to post about it.

BBC featured a video and article about 40K on their site that depicted 40K in a fairly honest and non-exploitative manner. I was very impressed, and I highly encourage you to check them out.

Battle Report 3/6-3/14

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Having fallen off the 40K wagon for a bit, I really needed something to get me going again. Thankfully featured opponent and good friend Steve changed schedules and is home at lunch. So we decided to get a good 1500 point game in to prep us for an upcoming game day with our gaming group.

The battle was well contested, and while the dice did not help Steve in most of the game, they abandoned me at the end enough to turn the tables on me.

Hit the jump to see how it all played out.

Scenario: Seize Ground
Deployment: Dawn of War
Armies: Steve's Blood Ravens vs. my Orks

Steve: Blood Raven Space Marines - 1500 Points
HQ - Librarian in Power Armor - 150 pts
HQ - Chaplain in Terminator Armor - 135 pts
Elite - Legion of the Damned Squad w/Sergeant - 165 pts
Elite - Terminator Assault Squad w/Sergeant and Land Raider Crusader - 460 pts
Troops - Tactical Squad w/Sergeant and Rhino - 210 pts
Troops - Scout Squad w/Sergeant - 80 pts
Heavy - Thunderfire Cannon w/Techmarine Gunner - 100 pts
Heavy - Predator w/Brother-Sergeant Chronus - 200 pts

Me: Orks - 1500 Points
HQ - Warboss w/Power Klaw - 95 pts
Elite - Lootas - 150pts
Troops - Nobz w/Painboy and Trukk - 480 pts
Troops - Ork Boyz w/Nob with Power Klaw - 215 pts
Troops - Ork Boyz w/2 Big Shootas - 130 pts
Troops - Gretchin - 15 pts
Fast Attack - Stormboyz w/Boss Zagstruk - 145 pts
Heavy - Killa Kans w/Rokkit Launchas - 150 pts
Heavy - Killa Kans w/Big Shootas - 120 pts

Deployment
Steve won initiative and deployed his Land Raider with Terminators, his Thunderfire Cannon, and his Librarian. He kept his Legion of the Damned Squad in reserve. I deployed my Lootas and Killa Kans with Rokkit Launchas, keeping my Storyboyz in reserve. All other units were brought on from the table edge in Turn 1.

Turn 1
Steve moved his Predator in from the edge and immobilized a Killa Kan with Rokkit Launcha. His Land Raider then moved into range and shot at those Killa Kans, but was unable to do any damage. His Terminators assaulted my Kans out of the Land Raider. He tried to fire on my Lootas with his Thunderfire Cannon, but was too far away to get to them with night fighting. The Rhino with Tactical Marines moved in but was unable to do any damage firing.

Look at all those Orks waiting to kill soft 'umies

My Lootas fired on the Scouts wiping the entire squad except for the Sergeant. The Shoota Boyz moved onto the table and eviscerated the Scout Sergeant in a hail of gun fire that in hindsight was brutal overkill. The Killa Kans with Big Shootas moved in off the edge, as did my Slugga/Choppa Boyz, and Gretchin who all ran, as well as my Trukk with Nobz and Warboss.

Although I like this view of them better...

Assault on the Kans was interesting as Steve had forgotten to equip a chain fist, and of course Kans have a horrible WS thanks to the Grots inside them. My Kans were able to take out one of the Terminators in the first turn.

What we have here is a bunch of fraidy cat Space Marines avoiding actual conflict

Turn 2
Steve deep struck his Legion of the Damned. He fired on and took out 6 of my Lootas, but was too far away to assault them. Steve's Predator shot at my Trukk, killing the Big Shoota. The Thunderfire Cannon took out 4 Slugga/Choppa Boyz. It also hit the Trukk with an errant shot, but failed to damage it. The Land Raider took out another 5 Slugga/Choppa Boyz, and the Melta Gun stunned the Trukk. The Librarian took out 2 more Lootas leaving 2 remaining. The Rhino took out another Loota, leaving one last. The Tactical Marines deployed and shot at the Shoota Boyz. He scored 5 wounds, but I made a cover save.

Bloodiest game of peak-a-boo ever

Killa Kans with Shootas shot at the Legion and took out one. My Lootas shot at the Legion and took out two more, and the Shoota Boyz finished them off. The Slugga/Choppa Boyz ran ahead, as did the Grots. My Stormboyz failed to come in from reserve this round.

The Kans and Terminators continued to be stuck in assault. Steve took out one of the Kans, but I failed to take out another Terminator.

Turn 3
Steve shot at the Trukk but failed to do any damage to it. The side bolters from the Predator took out one of the Ork Boyz. The Librarian used Vortex of Doom on the Nobz and Warboss. The Warboss was lost as were 4 Nobz. The Trukk was also shook. The Thunderfire Cannon wounded another Ork Boy, and put a wound on one of the remaining Nobz. Steve took out another Shoota Boy with the Tactical Marines, and the Terminators finished off the last Killa Kan which resulted in an explosion that wounded another Ork Boy.

One of the rare times Steve's Chaplain has ever lasted, let alone been productive

Shootas shot at the Tactical Marines and took one out. The Nobz and Warboss deployed from the Trukk and shot at the Tactical Marines, but failed to hit. In retaliation for the beat down put on the Nobz by the Librarian, the remaining Loota shot at the Librarian and wounded him. The Shoota Kans tried to finish off the Librarian but were unable to get a wound on him. The Grots shot at the Tactical Marines, and while they hit with 75% of the shots there were no wounds that resulted from it.

Turn 4
Losses continued to mount for the Ork Boyz when the Land Raider unleashed everything on them. The Terminators shot at the Nobz and failed to do any damage, but then assaulted them. The Predator took out the last of the Ork boyz, and the Nobz lost assault and broke (although they did take out a Terminator). The Thunderfire Cannon had a good round of firing against the Shoota Boyz and got 8 kills.

Can you find the Ork Boy proxied as a Loota?

The Shoota Boyz shot at the Tactical Marines and took out one. The Stormboyz came in from reserve, deep struck within range of the Tactical Marines and assaulted them killing off 4 of the Tactical Marines. 2 Stormboyz were lost in the initial assault before hand to hand even began. THe Tactical Marines failed morale and fell back. The remaining Loota shot at the Rhino, but was unable to damage it. The Shoota Kans got the last wound on the Librarian. The Grots moved and then ran because nothing was in range.

Turn 5
The Tactical Marines recovered and shot at the Stormboyz killing Zagstrukk. Steve tank shocked the remaining Kans with his Rhino, but in a Death or Glory I stunned the Rhino. The Thunderfire cannon shot at the Nobz. One Nob was lost, but so was a Terminator in an errant shot. The Terminators then shot at the Nobz (doing no damage) and re-assaulted them (as I didn't run very far). The 5 little Grots met the big bad Land Raider and the Land Raider won. However in the rolls for wounding Steve rolled 3 ones....unfortunately there were still more shots than Grots and they all died.

I was this close to a victory...

My Shoota Kans moved closer to the flag by the bastion. The Trukk tank shocked the Terminators who attempted but failed a Death or Glory which resulted in the loss of a Thunder Hammer Termie. The Nob from the Ork Boyz had survived and ran off the edge of the board. I moved my Shoota Boyz towards the closest control point, then tried to run the last 3 inches needed to get within range, but rolled a 1 for the run.

Turn 6
The Thunderfire Cannon shot at the Shoota Kans with a ground shaking hit, no damage but hit right on the farthest Kan from the flag. Predator shot at the Shoota Boyz, took out 2 Boyz which was enough to force me to make a morale check which I failed and proceeded to run away from the flag.

The Kans were able to move within the 3 inches of the flag despite the shot from the Cannon, and futiley fired on the Tactical Marines. The remaining Loota took out another Tactical Marine.

Instead, this deadlock of Marines and Kans gave us an unsatisfying draw.

The game ended at the end of Turn 6 in a tie. I had no troops left that could take a point (Shoota Boyz were less than half strength so couldn't recover), and Steve's remaining troops were holding a flag I contested. Not a lot was left on the board, but had we gone to turn seven I think it would have been an interesting look to see what might have happened. Still, my dice rolls were a lot better than normal, and Steve's rolls were pretty crappy. However when the game was on the line the dice seemed to go sour and Steve's rose to the occasion...except at the end when I was able to move the Kans within range of the flag.

This was also the first time that Steve's Thunderfire Cannon remained unmolested throughout the entire game, but the Legion of the Damned and Scouts were quick casualties that hurt him. I, on the other hand, am falling in love with the Kans. I am becoming very much a fan of Ork Shooting. Oh yeah, the BS sucks. But if you have a squad of 20 Shoota Boyz with 18 with 2 S4 shots at 24" and then 2 Big Shootas, that's a lot of dice. So having a squad of 3 Kans with Big Shootas is huge. Getting 9 shots with a Strength 5 gun with a 36" range and a BS of 3 (versus the usual Orky 2) can be damaging, but for my money the most effective unit the Orks can bring is the Lootas. Strength 7 gun, 48" 1-3 shots per turn. I can take out a transport or walker, with those guys. Very deadly.

This was also a good prelude of things to come with a big game day with our group on the horizon.

My Unannounced, Unintended, Unfortunate Sabbatical is Over

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:29:00 +0000

So yeah , I've spent some time away from the blog. It was unintended. However events overtook me, real life over took me, and both pushed me into a wall that resulted in very little 40K, and absolutely no writing.

But it's over, I played a game of 40K recently and am working on a battle report, and as spring draws ever closer I find myself shaking off the duldrums of winter and the rubble of the wall. I have models to paint, armies to fight, and a Tau opponent who deserves to lose to me at some point...someday. Anyway, for those of you who occasionally visited the site, updates will start happening again...on some schedule (I'm not sure what, but there will be some sort of schedule).

New Space Marine DLC Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:53:00 +0000

THQ announced today a new DLC coming to Space Marine. This new DLC will feature a new game mode called Dreadnought which

adds a new multiplayer mode called Dreadnought Assault where both teams battle to capture a central location on the map and the winners spawn a player controlled Dreadnought. The Dreadnought is armed with an Assault Cannon / Auto Cannon, a Meltagun and a Power Fist / Power Claw and must capture points across the map to score points for their team. Once the Dreadnought is destroyed a new spawn point will appear.

The Dreadnought DLC also includes three new multiplayer maps Desolation, Dome Mechanicus and Chem Refinery, as well as new achievements / trophies and has a suggested cost of 800 Microsoft Points / US$9.99.

Click through the link to read all about the DLC that is slated for release January 25, 2012.

40K FAQ Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

So a bunch of FAQs got updated by GW this month. And by a bunch I mean everything but Cities of Death, Planetstrike, Black Templar and Tau got some sort of update. You can see all the FAQs here.

It is an Honor to Have This Warboss in My Army

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Look at my website banner. See that really awesome Warboss? The one that's the best looking miniature in my army? The one painted by my buddy Steve? Yeah well now, go buy the Cool Mini Or Not 2010 Annual that was just released. Because that Warboss, the one painted by my buddy Steve, is on page 101. So buy it, and look at Steve's stuff at CMON, and then vote for his stuff.

Another Rut Ploughed Through

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:55:00 +0000

If there's one constant theme through my blog it's that I'm an idiot and don't know the game I love all that well. But if there's another less overt theme it's been an interesting (well interesting to me anyway) chronicle of the ups and downs of my interest in 40K. I'm never not interested in 40K, but like anybody it waxes and wanes. At times I'm fired up and it's all I want to think and/or talk about. At times I just can't muster the energy to do anything with it.

This is natural. And since this is my blog, and a personal journal of my journey into, and greater understanding of 40K, it's also been a journal of the peaks and valleys of my interest in 40K.

Currently I am on the upswing out of another valley. You probably noticed the lack of regular updates to the site. That's a direct result of my valleys. Happens all the time. I've been swamped at work, and with the holidays, and while I loves me Space Marine, I've spent more time lately playing DC Universe Online (hey new free MMORPG games are always good). Plus I took a break from podcasts and was listening to sports talk radio (because hey, my beloved Detroit Lions don't completely suck this year).

A couple weeks ago I dusted off the old podcast app, and started listening to my favorite 40K podcasts again. And today I'm going to start another lunchtime series of gaming with my buddy Steve. We should be done with it by next week so I can have a good write up after that. And as the holidays descend on us, I hope I can find the time in the madness to update the blog.

But lord knows I'm glad to be moving up and out of the valley because it's a lot more fun.

40K's Bad Rep

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Normally I don't ape material for this site from the Blogosphere. The game is big, we all have our take on it, and generally if it's a big enough story I'll have my own opinion about it and will rant and rave on my own. But every now and then something comes up in a fellow blogger's site that I feel deserves the attention.

Such is the case with the 122nd Cadian's recent run-in with irresponsible journalism and 40K. He makes some valid points in regards to what the reporter has to say. I really encourage you to head over and read it. I myself tread this same path a couple years ago in regards to a blog post that PBS posted about the evils of 40K. A lot of what I said was in direct response to that post, that no longer exists by the way. However, I still feel very strongly about a lot of what I said. And I hate the fact this game we love so much has to deal with uninformed opinions or commentary biased by agendas. I'm fully aware that we play a niche game that doesn't appeal to everyone, but it isn't a bad game. And if you're looking for a positive view of the game and the people who play it enjoy the Hammers of War video.

More Gravy for the Gravy God

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:20:00 +0000

The Holiday season is about to commence in full with the annual American tradition of sacrificing vestal turkeys on the altar of gluttony and tryptophan naps. As we prepare for a season of the over the top consumerism, good will, and a momentary break for the war that consumes the grim darkness of the far future, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you to all of the people who wander to this site and suffer through inconsistent updates and crappy writing. Thank you for overlooking my bad grammar and spelling, and sharing in the love of this game. May your bellies be full of food, your stockings full of awesome minis, and may the light of the God Emperor (or the deity of your choice, even the corrupted ones) shine on you this holiday season.

40K Neotube - Fan Made Lord Inquisitor Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:55:00 +0000

So a fan crafted a CGI animated fan film for Warhammer 40,000 called The Lord Inquisitor.

I'll just say this. After Ultramarines The Movie, I was skeptical that a movie would ever be made that had the epic grand gothic flavor of 40K. Ultramarines was OK. It wasn't as great as I'd hoped, but it didn't suck. It did well enough in all facets to be enjoyable, but didn't stand out enough to lend itself to the greatness I'm sure most 40K fans hoped for. This guy has animated a movie that looks better than Ultramarines, the scope is much larger, it features vehicles so less walking (badly animated walking at that), this LOOKS like the movie was hoping for when Ultramarines was announced. Other than being nowhere near Ultramarines in voice acting (Codex had a great cast put together) this movie looks like pure win to me.

You can learn more about this fan film at its site.

First thoughts on Space Marine

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:55:00 +0000

So I know I'm late to the party, but I still plan on doing a full review at some point. Still after a weekend of playing Exterminatus and single player I can sum up the game thusly: WOW

Yeah I can't say enough good things about the game. It's a blast to play, it looks stunning, it incorporates elements of the 40K universe, and Space Marine codex nicely. On top of that, so far I love the story. And multiplayer has been a blast.

I'm sure I'll have some beefs about the game after the shiny newness wears off and I've played through the single player and some more multiplayer. But for now I'm digging the game...a lot...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:55:00 +0000

I finally got Space Marine the other day. Unfortunately it's been taunting me, as I have been unable to install and play it. But tonight I will. Tonight there will be war. So if I don't post much, well between that and NaNoWriMo (yes, I'm tyring my hand at writing a novel in a month) my posts may be sparse for the next few weeks.

In the meantime, enjoy this preview of the Space Marine soundtrack that I've been trying to avoid so I could concentrate on work today.

New Space Marine DLC Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 20:22:00 +0000

THQ has announced a new DLC for Space Marine to be available in December. This new pack

...will include a new Exterminatus mode called Chaos Unleashed. In this update to the popular co-op mode players will take on the role of Chaos Space Marine as they take the fight to both the Ork horde and Imperial Guard forces. With brand new boss rounds, new co-op arenas and new enemy units like the Imperial Sanctioned Psyker this mode is a must-have for players looking for a new challenge.

As well as the Chaos Unleashed Mode, the Space Marine add-on pack also includes three new multiplayer maps Habs Ablaze, Station Tertius and Aquila Canyon which can be played in all multiplayer game modes. The pack will also include ten new achievements and trophies.

As someone who hasn't gotten Space Marine yet this news is nothing but salt on an open wound. I plan on getting, and I may be closer to getting it than I thought, but until then this news burns.

You can read the whole announcement at the Space Marine site.

Necrons!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:29:00 +0000

Games Workshop has updated their Advance Orders page with Necron goodies. I seriously think this is the coolest looking release so far.

Here are the items I like:

Ghost Ark

Command Barge

Deathmarks

40K Neotube - Hammers of War

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:37:00 +0000

Some film students a SAIT Polytechnic put together a 17 minute documentary about Warhammer 40K. Specifically it looked at a tournament in Canada, that pitted the forces of the Emperor against the forces of Horus. It featured footage of the games, and interviews with participants and organizers.

The film is notable for a couple reasons. First it is completely non-judgmental. It doesn't put the gamers in a negative light, nor does it react when someone might say something potentially embarrassing. In fact it shows gamers as well spoken people who play the game as much for the hobby and competitiveness as for the social aspect of the game.

Normally I would embed this movie in this post, but embedding has been disabled so go enjoy the movie. I found it to be a good piece that really puts gamers and the game we love in a pretty good light.

Battle Report 10/17/00-10/21/11

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +0000

This. This is how 40K is supposed to be. Fun. Competitive. Suspenseful. Intense. Aggressive. I've had some good games. I've had some not so good games. Never have I had a game that was clearly anyone's to win right up until the end. This was a game where we each had bad rolls, but the dice were not an issue. The deciding factors were the strategic and tactical decisions we made, and how we used our forces, not the fickle whims of the dice gods...well except for ONE fickle whim.

My buddy Steve spent the week working the graveyard shift, and was home during the day. As he lives about 5 minutes from where I work it was another opportunity to get together and game. These weekly games are quite interesting. We split the game up into hour long blocks. Monday is usually setup, with Tuesday - Friday being the actual rolling of dice. What makes it interesting, is that with the carry over, we spend a lot of time thinking about the game, so we are really prepared for our moves. Each of us was devising game plans and strategies throughout the week that we would apply with great intent when lunchtime hit.

As is natural for us, Steve played his Blood Ravens, I played my Orks. We decided to throw a wrinkle into the game by trying out some home-brew Blood Raven rules. Blood Ravens like their Librarians, but rather than allow them to field a bunch of Librarians, we allowed Steve to upgrade his Tactical Marine Sergeants to be Sgt. Librarians. They each had access to one Librarian skill, but not the biggies (Gates of Infinity and Vortex of Doom). Each Sgt. Librarian cost an additional 50 points. I'm not sure this really played out in this game, but the thinking is that by giving the Sergeants limited Librarian skills it reflects the progression of Space Marines through the ranks of the Librarian heavy Blood Ravens without causing substantial game balance issues.

Another note on our lists. We went 1500 points, and surprisingly both of us didn't bring any type of Walkers. Normally Steve has some sort of Dreadnought in his army, and I rarely run without either the Deff Dread and/or Killa Kans. This was not something that we planned ahead of time, it's just an interesting coincidence.

Hit the jump for the turn by turn recount of the action.

Scenario: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Armies: Steve's Blood Ravens v. my Orks

Steve: Blood Raven Space Marines - 1500 Points
HQ - Librarian in Terminator Armor - 175 pts
Elite - Terminator Assault Squad w/Sergeant & Land Raider w/Chronus - 550 pts
Heavy - Thunderfire Cannon w/Techmarine Gunner - 100 pts
Troops - Scout squad w/Sergeant Telion - 135 pts
Troops - Tactical Squad w/Sgt. Librarian & Rhino - 270 pts
Troops - Tactical Squad w/Sgt. Librarian & Rhino - 270 pts

Me: Orks - 1500 Points
HQ - Warboss w/bosspole - 95 pts
Elites - 10 Lootas - 150
Troops - 10 Nobz (w/PKs & Big Choopas) w/Painboy, Waaagh! Banner & Trukk - 495
Troops - 20 Shoota Boyz w/Nob, Big Shootas, & Battlewagon - 330
Troops - 30 Slugga/Choppa Boyz w/Nob - 220
Fast Attack - 3 Deffkoptas - 210

Looks like that flyer missed the landing platform....by a lot...

We decided with the Sgt. Librarian trial we would use a standard mission and deployment from the 5th Edition 40K rulebook rather than trying something from the Battle Mission book or a 4th edition mission/deployment. We rolled and ended up with the aforementioned Capture and Control mission with the Pitched Battle deployment. I won initiative, deployed first, Steve followed (neither of us kept anything in reserve), and when he didn't steal initiative the game was afoot.

And in this corner we have some trees behind Ork barricades...okay yeah

the imperial outpust on the plateau was the coolest part of the terrain.

Since we did all the setup and deployments Monday, I spent that evening going over my rulebook, and discovered why I've heard several people go nuts about how good the Deffkoptas are. I did not realize until I was studying up on the special rules of my units that I could move them 24 inches in the scout move by combining the Turbo Boost and Scout special rules. So I did just that, which set the tone for the game.

My half of the board, as always my Orks are strung out beyond where the camera can see.

Turn 1
By moving my Deffkoptas so far in the scout move, I was able to move them within shooting range of the Thunderfire cannon. I decided to run my mob of 30 boyz across the board towards my capture point, and moved my Trukk and Battlewagons forward. What happened next is the best round of shooting I have ever had. It started out with my Koptas immobilizing the Thunderfire cannon. I was hoping to destroy it outright because I was afraid of what it would do to my Loots bunched up on the top of the building they were in. I then immobilized one of Steve's Rhinos with the Big Shoota on my Trukk, and the Lootas wrecked the other Rhino. My Battlewagon then immobilized the Land Raider. In the first turn I had effectively turned Steve's army into a foot slogging army with no mech to speak of. I tried to assault Steve's Thunderfire Cannon with my Deffkoptas but I was between a half an inch to an inch too far away.

Steve's half of the board, or as it was called after my first turn of shooting: parking area A

Steve was not a happy camper when his turn started. He deployed his Tactical Marines out of his wrecked Rhino and his Terminators out of the immobilized Land Raider. He made the first unsuccessful attempt to restart the immobilized Rhino (he never did restart the thing). Steve was able to use Gates of Infinity to get his Librarian and Terminators behind my Battlewagon before dropping a Vortex of Doom on it. The Battlewagon was destroyed and I lost a couple Orks in the resulting explosion, and the squad failed it's leadership test and was pinned. Steve unleashed his Land Raider's guns on my Orks and took out some more. He shot at the tower my Lootas were in and shook it, but then dropped 3 of the 4 Thunderfire Cannon blasts right on top of the Lootas and left a bloody mess on top of the tower. Steve then hit the Trukk with a destroyed roll. I got a Kareen! on the Ramshackle table (first time I think I've ever gotten that). I ran my Trukk really close to Steve's Tactical Squad and took out one of his Marines, while I lost 1 Nob and wounded another in the resulting explosion. He shot at the Nobz with his Tactical Marines and took out 2 more Nobz. His Scouts wounded 2 Orks, and Telion targeted the Nob with the Ork Boyz, and wounded him once. The Boyz passed the pinning test.

And Parking Area B

In assault Steve attacked my Shoota Boyz around the Battlewagon with his Terminators. He was able to assault without engaging the Nob with the PK. He easily won that assault and I failed the initiative and started to fall back. Steve wiped the squad on a sweeping advance, but even if he hadn't I was well below 50% and would not have been able to regroup anyway. Steve assaulted my Nobz with his Tactical Marines. I wiped the entire squad without taking a wound. What he did hit with I was able to shrug off because of Feel No Pain.

Turn 2
I shot at and destroyed the Thunderfire Cannon, and then assaulted the Techmarine and defeated them. I ran the Nobz toward the Bastion with Steve's objective marker in it. Across the board my Ork Boyz continued their run towards my objective marker.

What we have here is a failure...

...to inflict any wounds on my Nobz

Steve tried to get his Terminators closer to my mob of 30 Ork Boyz to keep them from getting to my objective. Unfortunately his Gates of Infinity was slightly off. He also tried to drop a vortex of doom on the Orks, but it scattered off to miss them. He deployed his other Tactical Marines and fired at my Deffkoptas and killed one leaving another with one wound.

Turn 3
I called Waagh! this round so I could move and run my Nobz and Warboss to get close enough for me to assault the Bastion. The assault shook the Bastion keeping his Scouts out of the mix. Across the board I continued to run my Ork Boyz towards my control point. My biggest mistake was not moving my Deffkoptas. I can't really remember what my thinking was going into the round, but in the end by not moving them they were too close to his Tactical Marines when the shooting failed, I decided to take a chance and assaulted the Tactical Marines so I could take advantage of the Furious Charge! rules. Unfortunately the equipped buzzsaw made my initiative 1 and the Koptas died before being able to do anything. Actually I had 3 wounds left, and that's what Steve got after saves were made.

These Shoota Boyz didn't do much but die. At least the Battlewagon (can't you tell that's a Battlewagon?) took care of the Land Raider.

Steve decided to use Gates of Infinity to move his Terminators close enough to assault my Ork Boyz and keep them from massing around the control point (by this time I had 1 or 2 Ork Boyz within 3"). He had earlier failed a Perils of the Warp test (I'm thinking in Turn 2 but it might have been Turn 1). Either way, Steve failed his test and the Librarian died. So Steve moved his 6 inches and was close enough to get 1 of the Terminators to assault 1 of my Ork Boyz. Steve was pretty inconsolable at this point for having wasted his Librarian's last wound on an unnecessary Gates of Infinity. I tried to comfort him with the knowledge that had he not tried the Gates of Infinity he would have failed the roll on the sure to come Vortex of Doom, but that didn't seem to help much. In the assault we both missed with our attacks, but the damage was done, Steve had effectively pulled me off the control point. The Tactical Marines moved closer to my Nobz and fired at them with the flamer. He took out 1 Nob, the rest again shrugged off the wounds either with their invuln save or the Feel No Pain rule.

I keep trying to get out, and they keep pulling me back in. Oh wait, let's Orkify that Godfather quote.

"I keeps tryin' ta get to da control point, but the pink 'umies in their armor dat keeps us from squishin' dem

keeps pullin' us offa da point and back into da fight."

Turn 4
Steve had me pinned between his Bastion with his Scouts and his Tactical Marines. I was really worried about this because if I went after one the other would have a shot at me. But then I remembered the Warboss was independent so I split the Nobz off from the Warboss and went after the Tactical Marines leaving my Warboss to work on the Bastion. The Warboss shook it again, keeping his scouts out of the mix. My Nobz assaulted Steve's Tactical Marines and again I wiped them out, and consolidated back towards the Bastion. The Assault with the Ork Boyz continued, and Steve won that part of the turn by 5 wounds so my Orks were being sliced through easily (which I knew would happen).

The Nobz were caught between a rock and a hard place, or as they'd put it

"...a buncha squishy 'umies and a 'ard building that we like ta shake."

Steve had a shot on one of my Nobz from his immobilized Land Raider. He hit, but I made the cover save. The assault continued with my Ork Boyz continuing to lose numbers.

Turn 5
My Warboss and Nobz Destroyed the Bastion, bringing it down. Steve lost all but 1 Scout in the explosion. My Ork Boys were wiped by his Terminators, but I was able to take 2 of the Termies with me.

Even though it looks like that Scout is trying to get a shot on the Nobz, he was actually

trying to recreate the scene from "Teen Wolf" (the original Michael J. Fox movie for all you kids) where

Fox's character "surfs" on the top of a running van.

Steve's remaining scout recovered and moved into the Land Raider, while his Terminators ran towards my Nobz and Warboss.

And here comes the Termies

Turn 6
With Steve's Terminators coming towards me I split my Warboss off from the Nobz and assaulted the Termies. I took out 2 of the last 3 Termies. Steve failed Morale and fell back. I moved my Warboss underneath the landing platform.

And there go the Termies

Steve deployed his Scout out of the Land Raider and moved it into 3 inches of the control point. His last Terminator regrouped and assaulted my Warboss finishing him off.

"Shhhh. Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting Wawboss. Hehehheheh."

And that was it. The one fickle whim of the dice gods was achieved that game. The game ended at Turn 6 with the supposed auto-tie mission resulting in a tie.

Probably our most cinematic battle, The wounded Warboss against the lone Terminator.

I had several thoughts on the game. First of all, my next purchase will be a Painboy. I was proxying him to see if I liked him, and holy crap. My Nobz not only lasted longer, they lasted the entire game and were a key unit for my army. The Deffkoptas were also much more effective for me this game. They have normally been nothing but bullet sponges for me, but this time they took out Steve's Thunderfire Cannon. I also loved having the Lootas in the building. The last few times I had tried to have them in a Battlewagon, but that didn't work out so well. This time they died quickly, but they wrecked a Rhino.

We are both crammed up against that wall to get in the 3" radius to get control of the point.

Steve's Librarian and Thunderfire Cannon continue to be pains in my neck. Thankfully they bowed out early enough in the game to give me a chance. Unfortunately the Sgt. Librarians were not really tested because their abilities really didn't have a chance to do anything.

As the game ended Steve's remaining units were an immobilized Rhino, an immobilized Land Raider,

One Termie off under the platform, and that last little scout tucked up tight against the wall.

The biggest rule we messed up was Sweeping Advance. There were three instances and two different mess ups. The first was by not paying attention to the fact that it says some types of Armor disallow the Sweeping Advance. So Steve had looked at his Terminators in the codex, but not the Terminator armor. Both times really didn't have much impact because both squads were well below 50% and were not going to be able to regroup. The final mess up was when I failed to even attempt a Sweeping advance on his last Terminator. In the end it didn't have much impact other than giving us a great cinematic moment when they battled underneath the landing platform. However had we gone to a 7th turn it could have been huge. Assuming I had won the sweeping advance, my Warboss would have moved back towards the Bastion. I could have then tried to get him around to assault the Scout. Yes he would have likely died when the Battlewagon shot at him, but if I could have taken out the Scout then the game would have been a win for me. Of course this is all theoretical, since Turn 7 never happened.

As the game ended, my remaining unit was these last 3 Nobz and a wounded Painboy.

Speaking of winning, this is the 2nd game I've played Steve where if it had ended at Turn 5 I would have won. This time at the end of Turn 5, my Nobz (which were a troop choice) were the only scoring unit within 3 inches of Steve's control point.

With all that said, and even with the resulting tie, this was the hardest fought game I've played. We were aggressive. So many times the game turned not on a dice roll but on decisions we both made concerning how we would react to how the game played out. By far, this was the funnest game of 40K I have ever played. And, after not faring so well in our last big game day, even though I got a tie I feel much better about my army. Unlike the tabling at the hands of the Grey Knights I didn't know, or at the hands of the Chaos Marines because Jason had a great game, or at the hands of the Tau because James is a %&#*($# piece of @*%#&*(% on a %%&*(@! sheep %&%&*(@ with a %#^(*&$#(@ pig in a %*(#)$#)! and of course the anal beads too.

40K Neotube - Order. Unity. Obedience.

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Games Workshop has released this teaser of things to come.

More specifically things to come on 10/29/11.

Most specifically Necrons.

40K Neotube - Tau Commander DLC

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Awwww yeah, boy! The developers of Dawn of War II - Retribution have released a Developer Diary announcing a new hero for The Last Stand, the Tau Commander.

Now on the table top I hate the Tau. Their strengths are the Orks weakness. Plus they're played by my mortal in-game nemesis, James. But in The Last Stand? Not only do I love the idea of seeing a commander for them, but I'm hoping this is the door the Tau need to get into Retribution, proper.

Hit the jump to check out the diary, and see some gameplay footage of the Tau Commander that is literally sopping wet from all the Awesome Sauce it was dipped in.

Is That Wht That Rule Says? - No Retreat!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:30:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've updated the blog. Mostly because after selling my soul to my wife so I could go to the last big game day we had, I've owed her A LOT. Combine with that the fact I'm a huge Detroit sports fan and I've had a surplus of sports to watch (as of this writing my beloved Tigers are down 3-1 in the ALCS against Texas, my beloved Lions are 5-0 for the first time since '56, and my beloved Red Wings have started the new season), it's made finding time to write...difficult.

As a side note, several of my gaming buddies are going to be really annoyed that I sullied 40K talk with sports. However last time I checked this was my blog, so suck it Steve and Jason.

Anyway, back to 40K rules, during our last gaming session No Retreat! became an issue. See I've never claimed to be good at this game, actually if you ask some people I suck. And that includes the rules. Some I've misinterpreted and some I've just plain forgotten about. No Retreat! is one of those rules. It was one of those situations where the rule wasn't applied one game because I forgot about it, and later the mistake was found and it was applied from that point on. Needless to say when you don't expect a rule like that it can hurt....a lot. Then after that, to add insult to injury, I applied the rule wrong to the rest of my games.

Am I an idiot when it comes to the rules? Yeah. But that's why I do these articles so other people can correct me, and for making sure anyone who's coming close to my stupidity in the rules (because I don't expect anyone to match my rules retardation) gets the help they need.

Hit the jump for more.

Reminder, the bold emphasis is by me, any italics are directly from the book.

What the rule says:

Warhammer 40K Rulebook, p.44
It's not uncommon for units to be immune to Morale checks for losing an assault, or to automatically pass them for some reason (they may have the 'fearless' special rule, be subject to a vow or some other special rule)...
These units do not take Morale checks and will never fall back. Instead, these units suffer a number of wounds equal to the number their side has lost the combat by (allocated as normal).
All types of saving throws, except for cover saves, can be taken against these wounds.

How I've messed it up: Well first of all I wasn't always applying this rule. Not for wanting to cheat (although as an Ork player it was beneficial to me), but because I just really forgot about it. Also when I did apply the rule I was taking a number of wounds equal to what I took in combat, and not saving against the wounds.

How this affected my games: Obviously if I'm not applying this rule then I'm gaining an advantage in numbers (I have played games where we both have fearless and didn't apply this rule, so in those instances it was a wash). But then I've also punished myself by taking too many wounds, or not taking the saves I'm eligible for. In those instances I hurt my forces, and chances, possibly more than I helped myself by not applying the rule.

How I should have played it: Obviously I need to apply these wounds when I lose assault. But beyond that I need to make sure I only apply the wounds equal to how much I lost combat by. And then I need to save against those wounds. As an Ork, these saves aren't the best, but occasionally I can roll a 6 when I need it.

So, am I right in how I'm interpreting the rule after re-reading it? I'm pretty sure this is the case, but I just want to make sure. I've checked the FAQ and nothing is listed there (not that I expected there to be), but please let me know if I'm totally screwing something up.

A Recap of a Fun Gaming Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Okay, so here's the thing, we had a lot of stuff going on this weekend: Two tables, I was broadcasting live, and my rebuild of my Trukk and Deff Dread after they broke in transit, so I did a really bad job taking notes and pictures. Which is fine, because I lost all my games, and don't mind not reliving the brutality in detail. I had fun, though, but I pretty much got tabled in all of my games. I had tried some different builds with my lists, and ran some units I had never run before. In the end it was fun, I learned a lot, and I didn't walk away from the weekend in a funk like I did last time.

Oh sure, I hate losing to James, but the build he brought against me just kicked my ass, and yes the dice continued to not be my friend, but the dice are not the reason I lost my games. I'm the reason I lost my games.

Hit the jump and I'll summarize each game, plus discuss some of the ancillary stuff that I enjoyed so much.

I had 3 lists I made for the weekend ranging in point totals from 200 to 1500 to 1750. I never used the 200 point list, but it was used by our friend Mike who was introduced to the game this weekend.

200 Points (Kill Team)
Troops - Shoota Ork Boyz - 78 pts
Elite - Lootas - 75 pts
Fast Attack - Deff Kopta - 45 pts

1500 Points
HQ - Warboss - 95 pts
HQ - Big Mek w/SAG - 95 pts
Troops - Nobz w/Trukk - 415 pts
Troops - Boyz w/Nob - 215 pts
Troops - Shoota Boyz - 195 pts
Troops - Deff Dread - 95 pts
Elite - Lootas - 75 pts
Heavy - Battlewagon - 180 pts
Heavy - Killer Kans - 135 pts

1750 Points
HQ - Ghazghkull Thraka - 225 pts
HQ - Big Mek w/KFF - 85 pts
Elite - Lootas - 150 pts
Elite - Kommandos w/Boss Snikrot - 215 pts
Troops - Nobz w/Trukk - 415 pts
Troops - Shoota Boyz - 230 pts
Fast Attack - Deffkoptas - 225 pts

First up I played Jason and his Chaos Space Marines. Our lists were 1500 points, it was a Seize the Ground mission with five objectives, and we used a Pitched Battle Deployment. I deployed first, placing a mob of boyz on each side of the board. I had the Nobz in a trukk with the Warboss, and Lootas in a Battlewagon. I had 3 Kans and a Deff Dread, and the Big Mek had a Shokk Attack Gun. Things started well, but Jason effectively swung away from my mob of shoota boyz, and focused on my middle ground and slugga/choppa boyz. I took out some non-scoring units, but in the end he was able to take out all of my scoring units I had while he still had one, and after the 5th round what I had left wasn't able to contest because they were either too far from any of the objectives or immobilized, so we called it.

Next I played James in a 1750 list. This list total I mixed things up, but it didn't really play out the way I would have liked. Part of the problem was James built a list of Tau that had Orks as preferred enemy. So he got to re-roll all of his assaults. Initially he forgot to do it, but once he remembered the rout was on. The game was an annihilation game with a Dawn of War deployment. We both forgot about Night Fighting, well until James remembered it as I was destroying his Devilfish with my Deffkoptas. So when I rolled a 3 for my range that effectively ruined that shooting, and then the 'koptas were taken out by James and they never really did anything after that aborted shot in Turn 1. My Kommandos with Snikrot were effective, but with all of the armour saves that James had going on, he was able to tarpit them from running rampant behind his lines. I also brought Thraka who did his share of damage, but the Nobz were innefective. I had them in a trukk, and 6 of them were wounded when he blew it up, leaving the Nobz too far away to do anything, except be shot at.

Finally I played Marc and his Grey Knights. I hate the Grey Knights. Their 6 initiative, and 2+ armor saves made them pretty difficult to go against. Combine that with pretty much no knowledge of how they worked (I was on the other table playing other people every time Marc played) and I started in a hole. I had the same list I used against James so it really fit right into his strengths since my list had only 1 mob of boyz, so I wasn't able to overwhelm him. It was another annihilation game, only this time we had a spearhead deployment. He kept most of his stuff to deep strike, my only reserve was Snikrot and the Kommandos. Things started out okay, but fell apart quickly. My Nobz in a trukk were again easy pickings. When the trukk got a Kerunch on the Ramshackle table I was happy not to take any damage, but I had them piled up outside the trukk, and learned the agony of heavy flamers. I had never faced them, so I had no idea that there was a 12 inch reach for the template. So that saw a lot of boyz, and the Nobz suffer painful defeats. The Nobz actually failed their Ld save and ran off the table. But that was something I faced a lot, failing my Ld saves when I needed them. My Kommandos failed on an assault and were cut down by a sweeping advance, and my boyz suffered major losses thanks to Fearless. In the end he took out my last unit in turn 5, and thus the game was over. My only kills were 1 guy with a tank shock by my Battlewagon with a Deff Rolla, and two guys that failed perils of the warp rolls and their resulting saves. Both were in assault, so I claim those deaths as kills for me.

So what did I learn? Well I like the Lootas, but I'm not sold on having them in the Battlewagon. James was scared to death of my battlewagon so targeted it into oblivion, and Marc was able to negate it's effectiveness by dropping his Deathknight behind it keeping it moving which kept the Lootas from shooting. The Lootas are great, and I love them, but I'm going to just place them and let them shoot rather than move in the Battlewagon. The Battlewagon I'll probably just load a 20 boyz shoota squad in and let them drive around and shoot. A lot. The Deffkoptas were okay, but my best round was negated with some bad luck. Thraka was fun, but he costs so much I doubt I'll take him unless I'm running a 2000 point or higher list. I like the Shoota boyz, but in my game against Jason he used terrain to effectively keep them from shooting him. I think the next army list I try will have 3 squads of boyz, and a warboss, and then from there I'll add things as I see fit. I also need to figure how to get my Nobz into action faster. They are super powerful, and the 'Eavy Armour helps, but the trukk is a tasty target, and lately I seem to roll more Kabooms than Kerrunches on the Ramshackle list. Also, I'm no fan of the Shokk Attack gun. It's very Orky in the way it looks and works, but more often than not it was an ineffective gun that hurt me more than Jason. The KFF is a far better tool, which I had heard but having experienced it I now understand why.

Outside of the games, the weekend was fun. Yes there was a lot of nerding out, but we had a fairly good group dynamic, we were able to introduce the game to a new player, Mike. He liked the Orks, but not the numbers for Orks. He played them and Grey Knights in a couple learning games and I think he had fun and would be a great addition to our gaming group. We also had a good vibe for the hobby side of things. We talked rules, but we also talked painting. Steve worked on modelling and painting, Chris worked on modelling, I put together the stuff that broke in transit, and we all enjoyed seeing each others paint jobs. I know I came away recharged and ready to get back into painting (I hadn't done a thing since finishing up my Deff Dread), and I know several other people felt the same.

Broadcasting the games worked really well, but recording was a different beast. We had a couple people come watch the game between myself and Jason Friday night. One of them was Chris who couldn't make it until Saturday so it gave him a way to be a part of the group, and to provide direction on some rules we had questions about. I was recording the game between James and myself, but a windows update was messing with my laptop and it crashed so it was only about half of my ignominious defeat not the end that is recorded for posterity's sake. I also started to record the Blood Ravens vs. Space Wolves game that was epic, but we broke for dinner and so most of the recording was while we were upstairs eating. And I had to leave before that game was done, which sucks, because it was an epic game.

I did have a friend, Dave, who came out to the streaming and hated it. He's quite the negative person, and spent most of his evening Friday while watching the stream littering my Google+ account with very sarcastic comments. I found them funny (I know what kind of douche my buddy can be), but when I regaled the group with his commentary they didn't enjoy it. That's the thing with 40K streaming. There's a lot of slow time to the game (at least when we play), and so it's not the most fast paced watching. So for someone like my buddy who came into it looking less for what 40K is and more for ways to insult and berate us the broadcast fulfilled his needs. But then again, we had a guy who was prepping for a tournament the next day come out and watch us and enjoyed the broadcast. And for my buddy Chris it was more entertaining than a podcast. What I'm trying to say is, that for the right audience I was pleased with how it worked, and how our broadcast was a benefit. Unfortunately for some people, like Dave, it was nothing but a chance to harass nerds for being nerds. Do I mind? No. But is my friend a troglodyte? Yes.

Other than that, it was a great weekend. Honestly the big problem with weekends like this is how it reinforces how little we get to play in between them. Honestly I need to win the lottery so I can open a gaming store and have a built in excuse to play 40K at work...all the time.

broadcasting again

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:08:00 +0000

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wh40k-neophyte

Tau v. Orks 1750 pts.

We Are Live At Ustream

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:29:00 +0000

We are broadcasting, and getting ready to start a game. Come on by and check us out.

Reminder: 40K on Ustream Tonight and Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Just a quick reminder that I will be broadcasting 40K games tonight and tomorrow during my gaming groups big get together. I was hoping to be in the first game tonight, but tragedy struck today when I was dropping my stuff off at my buddy Steve's at lunch. I had to make a hard stop, and my little toolbox that had my trukk, warboss, Zagstruk, and Deff Dread slid off the seat, hit the dashboard and dropped to the floor.

The Warboss came off his base, the Deff Dread lost some bits, Zagstruk lost some pieces, and the Trukk came apart. Also a bunch of magnets came off too. This just reinforces why I need to get some cases. I'm looking at KR Mutlicase as it fits my budget better.

Game Night and Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:27:00 +0000

This weekend the gaming group I run with is having an all-to-infrequent game day. Actually it's a game night and game day. We will be starting festivities Friday night and continuing our gaming Saturday. I will be having battle reports next week, but if you want to get a jump on the battles and maybe play a little game of "Wow those guys are idiots" and try to spot the rules we mess up, then check out Ustream. I have set up a channel and we will be broadcasting games Friday night and Saturday.

This is all experimental, we tried this once before and had audio problems, I have resolved those so we'll see how this works. If it doesn't work, then I'll have another excuse to use my Fail version of Bob Waaagh! However, I'm hoping this will be a fun way to interact with anybody who's interested in watching the activities.

When I have an idea of when things will get started I will post it here at the site.