Happy Thanksgiving!

From my heart to your face, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

On a side note, my friend Reece and co have a Kick Starter project that just completely funded within two days of opening.  Their product is Mega Mat! and it will really make gaming at home a better experience both practically and visually.  I saw the prototypes up close and I actually thought they had re-done the tables in the store before realizing they were the mats.  THATS REAL TALK, SON.

Check them out and help reach their stretch goals.  I personally put in for a future 6'x4' release when (hopefully) they unlock their 'Alpine' mat.  I've always wanted a snow themed table for some reason so this would go a long way in making it happen.  I think the guys are on to something here and I wish them all the luck.

Codex: Coteaz Initial Thoughts

Hello all,

So if the 10 of you who read this blog have been wondering about the sluggish blog posts as of late, the answer can most simply be answered by this....

However, I decided to take a small break from powning newbs to post my initial thoughts on the all digital Codex: Coteaz Inquisition.  I was lucky enough to review a copy of the latest digital offering and yes, the rumors that it would just be a cut and paste of artwork and existing rules were correct. It does have some more in depth information on the different Ordos and the famous Inquisitors throughout the 40k universe though I believe that most of that info/artwork was taken from the 40k role playing game, Dark Heresy.  I could be wrong on that.  While this was an initial disappointment it quickly became apparent that although this was information taken from Codex Grey Knights and Codex: Adepta Sororitas it was an entirely different beast altogether and would make 40k an entirely different game.

 So what's new with the Inquisition?

1.  It's not an allies codex.  Inquisitors and their loyal minions fill an entirely new slot in the force organization chart.  They are now Inquisitorial Allies which do not get in the way of your primary force taking another allied contingent.

2.  Inquisitors have their own allied chart.  They and their minions are battle brothers to all Imperial armies (including the named Inquisitors Coteaz, Karamozov, and Valeria). They are allies of convenience with Eldar and desperate allies with Tau and Dark Eldar. This means that the major draw back from taking these characters as allies from Codex: Grey Knights (i.e. allies of convenience) no longer exists.  There has been a lot of chatter saying that Eldar and Tau armies will be better with Inquisitors but I don't see it.  The Inquisitors can't join their units and they will not benefit from the Inquisitor's psychic abilities.  The only thing I can see is Tau players taking the assaulty Henchmen squads but to be honest they already have such great stuff I can't see them wasting points on the humans.

3.  You can take one or two Inquisitors without anything else as Inquisitional Allies.  That's right, no troop tax to take these helpful characters.  In fact, there are NO troops in Codex: Inquisition.

4. Codex: Inquisition comes with it's own Warlord traits table.  There are three tables depending on which Inquisitor you are taking.  They range from useless to not-that-useless and the Inquisitor must be the warlord for you to choose the tables.  You can make the allied Inquisitor the warlord of your primary army if you so wish.  This is incredibly useful to Imperial Guard armies.

5.  Servo Skulls and Psychotrope Grenades.  You will be hard pressed to find any tournament Imperial army that does not include a cheap Inquisitor with Servo Skulls.  These put the smack down on the scout bike and transport rush armies we've been seeing since the unveiling of Codex: Space Marines.  The GW giveth, and the GW taketh away.  I know for a damn fact that I will not be running any Imperial dedicated assault unit on foot without an Inquisitor with Psychotrope Grenades (see Codex:Inquisition for their cheese ball rules) and I don't care about being 'THAT GUY'.

6.  Priest and Assassins and Crusaders, OH MY.  Yes, Imperial Assassins and Crusaders are just as good as they are in the Grey Knights codex, and with the inclusion of Priests in this codex makes them GODLY.  This is due to their 'War Hymns' special rule that allows the Priests to buff themselves and their unit in a variety of killy ways.  I think GW intended for this rule to work for only one Priest in a unit but due to their usual I DONT GIVE A SHIT attitude they left that part out so as it stands each Priest in the unit can buff it in a different way.

7.  Land Raider and Valkyrie transports.  COOL.  Remember that while your Inquisitor might be battle brothers with your Imperial force they still cannot be in a transport from that detachment.

So what does this all mean?

 It means you will be seeing almost every Imperial and some Eldar tournament armies taking Coteaz or another Inquisitor.  The ability to twin-link your primary units (Prescience), the war gear that they can bring to the table (Servo Skulls/Psychotrope Grenades), and their overall low-costed support capabilities that Inquisitors bring to the table has shaken up the meta.  A lot of people have been complaining about this Codex but in my eyes it will bring more balance to the tables.  The current top tier lists of Eldar, Tau and Chaos Demons are completely over powered in this edition.  They hearken back to the Demon codex in Warhammer Fantasy 7th edition.   Imperial armies just got the reinforcements they've been waiting for.  Time will tell if this shakes up the top table tournament armies or if they will have the reverse outcome of making them stronger.


Now, back to yelling at 10 year-olds and crashing helicopters 10 seconds after lifting off....

The Road to Adepticon 2014: Changes and Challenges

In this scene, an overweight balding man rubs his hands eagerly in front of his computer.  The time is 3:59 pm, the day is Thursday November 14th.  In one minute he will be able to register for the table top mecca Adepticon.  He is ready.  He is signed in and jams the F5 key repeatedly.  His eyes strain as he focuses on the clock on his computer screen.  4PM!  The website crashes.  Thirty minutes and several expletive deleted moments later ,he has his Adepticon weekend pass and his Warhammer 40k Championship ticket. He resumes watching cat videos. End scene.

So that's what happened last Thursday.  Adepticon 40k Championship tickets sold out in less than an hour.  I believe the 40k team tournament sold out in less than 20 minutes.  The whole ordeal was pretty tiresome, to be honest.  If they are going to continue selling their tickets in this manner they will need to completely overhaul their website's capabilities.  I know it will cost them more to get the proper bandwidth (I don't know computer stuff) but if they are going to have this mad rush to get tickets at least be able to support the traffic (is that the right computer talk?).  The hotel for the event already sold out months ago.  At some point the boys are going to need to take their event to the next level and find a bigger venue.  The next step will be getting plane tickets and finalizing my rooming arrangements.  I'm also going to need to find some alternate Friday activities if for some strange reason I don't make the finals (lol) and some things to do on Saturday before my flight out of there.

Anyways, on to the real point of this post.

Unsurprisingly I've changed my list again.  I do that a lot if you're new here.  Same basic premise but some major changes.  With the recent Codex: Inquisition release, the ability to take Inquisitor Coteaz as a battle brother to my Space Marines army without the need for a required Troop choices made me reconsider the way I would use him in my list.  You get all of the benefits of Coteaz without any of the drawbacks from his Grey Knights counterpart (i.e. no battle brothers, have to take a troop choice, etc).

Here is version 2.0 of my 1850 Iron Hands Adepticon army.

Chapter Master - Bike, Artificer Armor, Shield Eternal, Power Fist, Auspex
Librarian - Lv. 2, Bike

Command Squad - Bikes, 3x Grav Guns, Champion, Apothecary (I don't subscribe to the idea that Apothecaries or Champions can take Grav Guns)

Tactical Squad - +5, Plasma Cannon, Plasma  Gun, Rhino
Tactical Squad-  +5, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Scout Squad - Melta Bomb
Scout Squad- 4x Sniper Rifles, Heavy Bolters with Hellfire Rounds

Storm Talon - Skyhammer Missiles

Thunderfire Cannon
Vindicator - Storm Bolter
Devastator Squad - 4x Lascannon

Bastian with Quad Gun

Inquisitorial Detachment

Inquisitor Coteaz


So what do you  guys think?  I should be able to get at least a couple games this week so I should be able to talk about its successes and failures later.

Blood Angels 6th Edition Tips, Tricks, and Winners

Here we are again, another blog post about everyone’s favorite 6th edition whipping boy the Blood Angels.   Like a beaten spouse I find myself returning to my beloved space vampires no matter how many times I get my shit kicked in.  They don’t mean it!  It’s not their fault their units are completely over-costed and under performing.  They’re just having a hard time and I won’t give up on them that easily.  The root problem at this time with the Blood Angels codex is that the units that they share with newer codices such as Codex: Space Marines and Dark Angels are dramatically more expensive than their newer counterparts.   Throw in some inane GW 6th edition updates such as making Commander Dante initiative 1 and Mephiston’s sword AP 3 and the play-ability of the army takes a further plunge down the 6th edition shit hole.

 But all is not lost.  The Blood Angels still have a lot of powerful units and combos that mesh well with the current tournament meta.  The key to winning with the Blood Angels is the play to their strengths.  You have to use their unique units and special rules.  Let’s take a quick look at the units and special rules that make the Blood Angels playable in the current edition.

Assault Squads in Drop Pods - Drop pod armies are all the rage with the recent release of Codex: Space Marines.  Did you know that Blood Angel assault squads get Drop Pods for free?  That’s real talk, son.  Take two special weapons and a storm shield on the sergeant and call it a day.

Baal Predators - What’s not to like about fast AV 13 tanks that spew molten death on any unit unfortunate enough to get in it’s way?  While many people lament the death of vehicles in 6th edition, many armies still struggle with AV 13 or above.  Take away the detrimental glancing chart from the 5th edition and the Baal Predators can continue to shit in your opponents face far longer into the game.  I like the standard load out of the twin-linked assault cannons with heavy bolter sponsons but the case can be made for the Flamestorm Cannon with heavy flamer sponsons.

Death Company - These crazy fuckers can still get the job done.  Throw them in a drop pod with a Chaplain and terrify your opponent.

Mephiston - This guy is still the ultimate bad ass.  An infantry sized monstrous creature, Mephiston can dominate an entire section of the battlefield by just doing what he do.  And what he do ain’t very nice.  He is incredibly fast even without his psychic wings and hits like a ton of bricks.   You really need to use him as a monstrous creature hunter and even with his AP3 sword if a Riptide fails one of his 2+ armor saves Mephiston can instant kill them.  Still good after all these years.

Brother Corbulo - I’ve started putting Brother Corbulo in almost every Blood Angel list that I write.  What he really excels at is being a tank with his 2+ Feel No Pain.  I like putting him in a drop pod with a Sternguard squad or running him with Assault Terminators.  His Far-Seeing Eye ability is also incredibly useful for it’s ability to kind of negate the random shit that can lose you the game.  He also gives any units within 6” Feel No Pain and Furious Charge.

Storm Ravens - Codex: Space Marines and Grey Knights get these but the Blood Angel’s Raven gets Blood Strike missiles which give them a leg up on flyer and vehicle hunting.

Fast Vindicators - Moving 12” and firing the Vindicator Cannon can really put the hurting on unsuspecting chump bitches.  Make sure to take a Storm Bolter and a Hunter Killer Missile to make it harder to take off the big gun.

Dreadnoughts - Blood Angels are the top dog when it comes to the sheer amount of Dreadnoughts they can field.  With the advent of hull points in the 6th edition dreadnoughts are slightly better with their overall damage output.

The trick to winning with the Blood Angels is to play to their strengths and use units that you can’t just get cheaper by playing newer, shinier marine codices.  A lot of people will try and tell you that assault is dead in the 6th edition. While it certainly has become harder to get into actual hand to hand combat, the fact is that the top tier armies at the moment completely break down when you get into them.  You have to over load them with your fast moving, hard hitting units.  Get Mephiston running up a flank while drop pods full of pissed off assault marines drop right into their fucking throats.

Blood Angels in the 6th edition work how they've always worked.  You hit the enemy hard right at the word go and you don’t stop until you've got your boot on their neck.