Brawl in the Fall Recap

Gather 'round friends, 'cuz its time for a tournament recap.  This weekend me and the rest of the Team Zero comp 'B' team traveled down to sunny Clovis California to take part in the annual rogue trader tournament, Brawl in the Fall.  Image the delight of the tournament organizers when instead of Reece, Frankie, Dan and Grant they get the slovenly Pascal, Jeremy, Keno, and Jason.  The frightful foursome (porn title patent pending) Oops!

Did you know that Fresno had a bad part of town?  I do now!  Not wanting to wake up at 5 am to make the 3 hour drive to Clovis yours truly had the bright idea to simply google 'Motel 6 Fresno' and make a reservation for the first motel to pop up.  I knew I made a huge mistake when we pull into the motel at 10 pm Friday night and it is literally ringed by prostitutes and semi-trucks.  Needless to say we slept with one eye opened and were up and out of there as soon as the sun rose.  Also, there was a tweeker with a pit bull knocking on our door trying to sell us a bag of priceless gold coins he found in a Crown Royal bag.  THAT HAPPENED TO ME.

On to the tournament!

So here is the basics for the Brawl in the Fall tournament.  It is a  one day 1750 point, 3 round tournament using the Bay Area Open mission format.  If you are interested in running a tournament using this format or just curious about what the hell I'm talking about, you can find the info here.  Let me just say that I LOVE this tournament.  It is capped at around 40 players and draws great locals and out-of-towners alike.  Some of the Sacramento crew like the lovely Liz Foster and the guy with the mowhawk haircut came down as well as some people from as far as Bakersfield.  I really encourage anyone who can to attend this tournament at least once.  Here is their info if you are interested.

Before we get to my opponents, let's go over my list for the Brawl

Jason Butler Raw Dogger
Iron Hands 1750

(Self Portrait)

LIST
Chapter Master - Terminator Armor, Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal
Terminator Assault Squad - 4x Thunder Hammer +Storm Shield 1x Lightning Claw, Land Raider Crusader
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Scout Squad- +1, Melta Bomb, 1x Sniper Rifle
Storm Talon- Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missles
Land Speeder x2, Typhoon Missile Launchers
Devastator Squad- +3, 4x Missile Launchers
Whirlwind

A fairly basic Space Marine list.  I wanted to try out the Iron Hands' chapter tactics (6+ Feel No Pain, It Will Not Die on vehicles and characters).  I'm not really impressed with those and in the future will most likely run the army as Ultramarines for the greater versatility.

GAME 1  Primary- Purge the Alien  Secondary - The Scouring 
 Result = Win

Opponent: Grant (lives near Yosemite)
Army: Dark Angels

List:  Grant didn't have an extra army list so this is from memory.

Sammael- On the jet bike thing.
Librarian- Powerfield
Ravenwing Command Squad- Apothecary, Banner, Champion
Dreadnought- Twin Linked Lascannons
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Dark Shroud
Whirlwind
Whirlwind
Devestator Squad- 4x Lascannons

Thoughts:  This game was tough and went down to the last turn.  I had actually thought I lost this game due to Grant getting some last turn kill points but it turned out that I had one more than he did when the game ended.  I forgot how good that 5+ feel no pain is on that damned Command Squad as when it came down to the assault with my Terminators and Chapter Master and his Command Squad he could not stop rolling 5+ feel no pain to thunder hammer wounds.  Oh well.  I really liked his army.  A mix of fast moving, hard hitting bike squads and artillery and lascannons from the back field.  Also, he yelled 'Khan!!!11!!' whenever something bad happened and that ALWAYS scores bonus points in my book.  Thanks, Grant!

GAME 2 Primary- Emperors Will Secondary- Big Guns Never Tire
Result= Loss!

Opponent: Joe (redacted)
Army: Eldar

List
Farseer- Jetbike,
Fire Dragons- Wave Serpent
Dire Avengers- Exarch, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Scatter Laser, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Bright Lance
Jetbike Squadron
Warp Spiders- Exarch
Swooping Hawks- Exarch
Fire Prism
War Walkers x2
War Walker x1

Thoughts:  I knew this was going to be an uphill battle going into this game.  Eldar are a nightmare and this list is exactly what I am afraid of.  Serpent Shields that ignore cover and do d6+1 hits demolish my Rhinos, Whilwind and Speeders.  They out range me and and can hit me from anywhere on the board.  The Bright Lances also make short work of my Land Raider, leaving my assault Terminators to hoof it towards their (fast moving) lines, only to be rended to death by their basic troops (who I can't catch).  The game would have been over sooner had there not been a giant line of sight blocking piece of terrain in the middle of the table that I hid behind.

GAME 3 Primary-Table Quarters! Secondary- Purge the Alien
Result: Win!

Opponent: Matt Majchen
Army: Space Wolves

List
Rune Priest- Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Jaws
Rune Priest- Jaws, Murderous Hurricane
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Meltabombs
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Power Fist
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers

Thoughts: I have a LOT of respect for the 5th edition Space Wolves horde lists.  That many armor 3 bodies on the table is going to be trouble for anyone to deal with.  Me and Matt talked a lot about his list during the game and we agreed that he is really struggling with anti-air.  If he goes against a 2 or 3 Helldrake list he will be losing 2-3 units per turn.  A great opponent, major balls for taking this list, and a nice guy overall.  Cheers, Matt!

So that's it.  Another Brawl has come and gone and once again, I had an EXCELLENT time.  Overall, I am happy with my list and barring the Chapter Tactics I most likely won't be changing anything in it for some time to come.  The next big tournament will be Adepticon in April.  This will be 1850 so I will most likely add a Thunder Fire Cannon into the mix and call it a day.  Thanks for reading!

Beasts of War Waylaid! Comikaze Cancelled! Alliteration Abounds!

Hello all,

Apologies for not writing for so long, but I honestly just had nothing to say.  They say the key to creating a lasting blog with hundreds of followers is to post consistently and often.  That's probably right.  Anyways, here are some things that happened this week in wargaming that I cared about.

Comikaze Cancelled

After two strong years, the love child of cosplay and 40k has come to an end.  I've gone to both of the previous Comikaze tournaments and had been planning on attending this year as well so I was pretty bummed when the news dropped that the event was being cancelled.  I believe the cap was going to be 64 players, and since not even half of the spots had been filled by last week, the convention organizers decided it was not worth the hassle and cancelled the tournament outright.  It seems strange that they wouldn't even give Reece and the guys at Frontline Gaming the last few weeks (3 weeks) to get sales up.  You can read about it on Dakka here.   It seems to me that they already had another act lined up for the floor space and gave Frontline an impossible target, knowing that they wouldn't be able to sell the tickets in time.  A bum deal all around.  It really was a fun event and drew a TREMENDOUS amount of curious convention goers to the gaming area to see what all these fat guys were doing with their little army men.  Games Workshop could learn a thing or two about marketing from Reece and the guys at Frontline Gaming.

Beasts of War Waylaid

Yesterday, the premier tabletop wargaming news and preview site announced that due to legal pressure from Games Workshop they would be ceasing their partnership with Wayland Games.  You can watch the youtube announcement here.   The quick and dirty is that Games Workshop was not happy with Beasts of War for previewing their model kits and talking about upcoming model releases.  Games Workshop, through roundabout means, continuously sent Beasts of War cease and desist letters which were for the most part largely ignored.  Games Workshop craftily went after Beast of War's partner and financier Wayland Games, and threatened to block their distribution account.  Wayland games wisely took the high road and cut Beasts of War loose.  The worst part about watching that video is Warren's complete disbelief that Games Workshop would do this to him.  While they will be leaving to continue to produce (and fund) the show on their own, it most likely will be a slow and painful death for Beasts of War.  That's business, bitch!

Non-Taudar Dominance?  BULLSHIT

So we had two large-ish tournaments go down in the last week or two and SURPRISE two non-Taudar armies came out on top.  The Golden Throne tournament (Southwest) saw a strong Space Marine showing with a White Scars army come out on top.  I'm not too surprised about White Scars being the front runners of the Space Marines codex, as they are extremely fast and hard hitting.  I still think that  more people should take three Hell-Drakes but that's just me.  At Battle Foam's Duel Con in Mesa, Arizona we saw Daemon dominance on the top tables.  From what I hear the amount of line of site blocking terrain and the crazy amount of Screamer Stars spelled the doom for point and click shooting armies.  Personally I think the people who take the Screamer Stars are just as bad as those people taking the Riptides with characters, etc.

So that's it!  Next week I'll try and get a couple posts in.  I've just finished the heresy novella Mark of Calth that I want to talk about and I'll go over my list for the upcoming Brawl in the Fall.  Peace!

New Space Marine Codex in THREE...TWO...MEH

Used with permission from Jervis

Hello everyone!  I'm back from my wargaming and blogging hiatus (my real world job got INTENSE!!11!) and Jesus tap dancing Christ wouldn't you know it a fucking codex gets released.   Not just any codex, mind you, but the codex for the army that started it all for our socially awkward hobby, The Space Marines.   I've been a Space Marine player since back in the 4th edition and like most other people in this hobby I have been growing sick and tired of my Marines collecting dust on my hobby shelves.  They definitely needed a shot in the arm and I was REALLY excited that they were finally being updated for the 6th edition.  Last Friday I made sure to get out of work early enough to get to my local store, Frontline Gaming, so that I could get my hands on this 400 page monster.  I sped home like a fat guy with a rapidly cooling bucket of KFC chicken and did a 360 into my covered parking spot.  After kicking in the front door I threw the cat out the got' dang window (I didn't have time for her shit) and popped open the codex.

After a few hours of reading and re-reading the unit entries and staring at all of the shiny new toys and pictures it occurred to me.  The codex was about as MEH as the last but cost around double the price.  THANKS, OBAMA.  The economy!  The new codex didn't even remotely fix the issues the Marines are having on the tabletop in the 6th edition.  Mainly the obsolescence of the 3+ armor save and the complete erosion of cover.   Ironically, this new codex has actually made their own units WORSE.  While it's very cool that they got the Dark Angels points reductions ,they unfortunately followed the Dark Angel's tactics of getting Hell Draked, Blade Stormed, and Riptided off of the top 10 tournament tables.  As stated above, one of the new shinies that the Space Marines received was the Grav Gun.  A weapon that wounds against the target's armor save and automatically immobilizes vehicles on a penetration roll of a 6.  Are people still bringing terminators or Land Raiders?  Not now they aren't!  A lot of people are saying how great the new anti-flyer tanks are.  REALLY?  You basically have a quad gun on an armor 12 tank that does not have Interceptor.  NICE ONE.  Oh they missile launching tank that has one shot and if you miss you have the potential to hit the target at a later time (that is, if they don't elect to just go off the table).  AWESOME.

The sad fact is that this codex fails to address the current issues with Warhammer 40k 6th edition.  Armor 3 no longer matters.  With so many weapons that are not only AP 2-3 but also ignore cover Space Marines are essentially obsolete.  This codex has no way to effectively deal with the 2 Hell Drake, 2 Riptide, 6+ Wave Serpent tournament lists that you are seeing on the tables.  Not to mention what Demons are capable of.  So while it is cool that the codex gives us an Eternal Warrior storm shield and a flaming sword that is strength 7 AP 2, I believe in the next few months when we see the results of the next large tournaments we will see that the codex (while adding to the variety of the 40k universe) did little to change the current Tau/Eldar/Demon dominance.

Something's Stirring in the Jungle

No, that title's not a euphemism I use when asking my fiance to have 'relations' , though it most likely will be from now on.  I'm actually going to give Warhammer Fantasy a start again, which I even find surprising.  Let me throw it down for you.  Two years ago I was still plugging along with 8th edition Fantasy while just getting back into 40k. I had just found a new gaming group in the East Bay, and being new to the area found myself really enjoying their laid back attitude towards the game.  Then I played in my first competitive Fantasy tournament and got tabled by a 14 year old Skaven player in two turns.  Into the closet went my Dwarves and they stayed there for a year before I sold them to buy a gun line Imperial Guard army (because that was totally unique in the 5th edition).

Honesty, I haven't given Warhammer Fantasy more than a thought since then.  Sure, I would see the Fantasy gamers now and again at tournaments and stuff but the old feelings of the overpowered nature of the magic phase for certain armies and the ability to throw a ton of dice to remove entire units (Teclis and Slann come to mind) really turned me off the game.  However, new codicies began to come out and I would hear more and more about the balancing of the 8th edition.  Then, Reece Robbins at Frontline gaming announced a Fantasy escalation league designed to get people slowly into the game.  You can check out the details here.  The long and short of the league is that we will begin at 500 points.  Your models must be painted and you must play a certain amount of games in the allotted time.  Perfect for people just getting into the game (or back into the game!).  Lucky enough for me, I came into a good amount of Lizardmen models about a year ago and lo and behold a new Lizardmen codex just gets released.  Talk about fortuitous kick to the nuts! (If you like that sort of thing).  I just picked up the new codex and a couple models from Frontline after work today and I'm already thinking about lists and nut kicking combos!  We'll see how I balance this with my 40k duties, especially with the new Space Marine codex coming out.  I'll also try and post progress shots of my first 500 points.  So that's it, you can get back to looking at pictures of cats or Japanese nut kicking porn (If you like that sort of thing).

Rawdogger on the Radio?

So my friend Carl asked me to come down to Yahoo headquarters and participate in his podcast, The Independent Characters, this past weekend.  I've been a fan of his podcast since I began really participating in the hobby back when I was living in Korea, so to get this chance to participate really meant a lot to me.  Check it out!

http://theindependentcharacters.com/blog/?p=3085

Blood Angels (Don’t) Suck? How to Use Blood Angels in 6th Edition 40K

Hello all,

 I’m back from my blogging hiatus to drop some knowledge into your eye holes regarding everyone’s favorite 6th edition red headed step child *whew*, the Blood Angels.  No matter how much I try to build and use armies with updated codices I find myself consistently being drawn back to the armored VAMPIIIIRES IN SPAAAAAAAACE *cough* *cough*.  I’m not particularly fond of getting my ass handed to me and I don’t necessarily have a secret WIN button for the little blood suckers, so why is it that I find myself sitting in front of my television night after night writing army lists for the Blood Angels?  It’s most likely stubbornness more than anything else.  I've spent more time and money than I’m willing to admit building and painting my Blood Angels models over the past 3 years and seeing them becoming more and more obsolete as the 6th edition behemoth chugs along makes me see red (wakka wakka!).

Last weekend I took my Blood Angels to a local Grand Tournament, the Golden Throne.  I put together what I THOUGHT was a competitive list and promptly got Bladestormed, Hell Draked, and Riptide(d) off the tables.  It was fairly embarrassing.  Looking at the 6th edition codices that have come out thus far it is easy to see why Blood Angels have suffered the nerf hammer more than most.  Cheap plasma and armor ignoring weapons have made life difficult for your average Space Marine.  More infuriating is that the only Marine codex to come out in the 6th edition, the Dark Angels, have a lot the same units at a fraction of the point cost that the Blood Angels pay.  Throw in Games Workshop’s need to completely neuter assault in the 6th edition and a Furious Charge/Feel No Pain nerf and baby, you have yourself a red armored shit stew!  Yet still I find myself believing that the Blood Angels still have what it takes to be a top tournament army.  Here are a few units that I believe still have what it takes in the current AP2 cover ignoring 6th edition.

Mephiston, the mother fucking LORD OF DEATH - Mephiston got a lot of flack in the transition to 6th edition, and with good reason.  His sword magically became AP 3 and the lack of invulnerable save made him a prime target for AP1 Storm Guardians (like 6 points?).  Also, strength 7 weapons seem to be handed out with every movie ticket.  Despite all of this, I believe that he does have his uses and still causes MAJOR stress on the part of your opponent.  A lot of players will dramatically alter their deployment to stay away from him and that can set you up for a good game.  He can still lay the smack down with a base strength 6 which can be increased to strength 10 with the use of his psychic power, the Sanguine Sword.  I primarily use him as a monster hunter but watch out because he is still only AP3 with his sword so Riptides should only be assaulted if entirely necessary.  He is also quite fast with a jump pack psychic power (Wings of Sanguinius) and a base Fleet, which means he’ll normally getting into assault turn 2.  At the Golden Throne tournament I had him run up to a Wraith Lord and pummel it, then move on to an Avatar and bitch slap it to death.  At 250 points Mephiston should only be taken in high point cost games.  Say what you will about the Lord of Death, but he keeps his pimp hand strong.

Sternguard Veteran Squad - This isn't really fair because this unit is also good in the Codex: Space Marines codex but they are still a must have in the 6th edition Blood Angels.  What’s not to like about these guys?  In an edition dominated by high toughness monsters and mobs of cheap troops hiding in cover, Hellfire Rounds (wound on a 2+) and Dragonfire Bolts (ignore cover) are the FUCKIN TITS.  Put these guys in a drop pod with a priest (I like Brother Corbulo for his 2+ Feel No Pain wound tank ability) and watch your opponent cry as his models melt off the table.

Terminator Assault Squads - The ol’ beat stick is still beatin (dick).   You can’t go wrong with these guys.  Put them in a Land Raider with a priest and a Librarian (Divination) and point them at the thing you want to die.  These guys are good in all Marine codices but whatever,  ITS HAMMER TIME, BITCH.

Death Company - Yes, I am aware that this unit does not score and yes I am aware that they cost 20 points per model.  I am also aware that your squad just shit their pants and died.  DEAL WITH IT.  Throw these guys in a drop pod with a Chaplain and a power weapon and power fist and watch your opponent scramble to deal with them.  Oh and guess what?  They’re Relentless.  Take bolters for maximum death.  Each model has 5 strength 5 attacks on the charge (Rage) and with the Chaplain they re-roll all hits and wounds.  Remember that power sword and power fist?  You can’t challenge them away.  CYA.

Assault Squads - No, I’m not talking about Assault Marines with jump packs.  Don’t take those.  In a world dominated by weapons that are AP3 they won’t last long no matter how many Feel No Pains you have.  What you SHOULD be doing is taking advantage of their cheap pimp wagons and sitting backfield until the Short Bus Dragons get taken out.  My favorite builds are the 5 mans with a meltagun and power ax (yes, you need to be able to kill stuff) riding in a Razorback with Twin-Linked Lascannons.  Which brings us to…

Razorbacks - Did you know that Blood Angel transports are fast?  Did you know that Fast Vehicles can move 12” and still fire a weapon at full ballistic skill?  Now you know.  Assault Marine Squads have a built in 35 point discount on any transports they take.  DEAL BREAKER.

Predators - I’ll cover all the predators variants here.  Look, the ability to move 6” and fire all of your weapons at full ballistic skill has won me more games than I care to admit.  Being able to re-position your auto cannons/lascannons to get that perfect kill shot is worth the higher point cost you’re paying above the Dark Angels.

Baal Predators - GET SHIT DONE.  These guys are my go to with the Blood Angels at the moment.  AV 13 fast vehicles that also have the ability to Scout (Outflank)?  I’ll take three please.  I normally take the Assault Canons / Heavy Bolters combo and they can REALLY lay down covering fire.  The best thing about these guys is their ability to Outflank.  They can come in from behind you opponent and blast the living SHIT out of a tank or a wimpy back field scoring unit.  WILL BUY AGAIN.

So that’s it.  In my current opinion, the way to build a decent Blood Angels army is to mix the fast Razorback scoring units with beater units such as the Assault Terminators in Land Raiders.  I would start by using the 500 points necessary to get the terminators and their pimp mobile and then get as many Razorback Assault Marine units and Baal Predators you can afford. If you are planning on going to a tournament that allows Forgeworld or is 2000 points double Force Organization.....good luck. Thoughts?

How Dark Angels will Shoot your Nuts Off!

Hello all!  Sorry for the long delay, I’ve had life things happening recently and haven’t had a lot of time to game or write about gaming, but I think the 8 of you who actually read this rag will hopefully forgive me.  In fact, to make it up to you all I’m prepared to send you a nice cash reward for continuing to read my blog. Just send me your bank account and pin number and I’ll deposit the reward in a timely manner.

 ANYWAYS


Today I wanted to talk about running a shooting based Dark Angels army.  Since 6th edition began I can say with certainty that my primary army has been Dark Angels.  I, like most of the online community, at first felt that the 6th edition Dark Angels were a bit meh and didn’t really sync well with the other 6th edition (hardcover) codices.  They don’t have a lot of anti-air, which is pretty crucial in a world of Hell-Turkeys and Flying Croissanwhiches.  What they do have in their OWN fliers are overcosted and underperforming, in my opinion.  It’s not that they are bad, per se, its just that there are units in other codices that do the same thing for a lot less points.  While the Dark Angels certainly have a lot going for them in terms of elite assault units, you have to understand that 6th edition does not cater well to them.  Have you actually tried to run dedicated assault units in a competitive tournament setting?  You will be blasted off the table by turn 3 and left wondering where it all went wrong.  Why did your cat bite you in the toe when you were putting on your socks?  Was it because your girlfriend left you when she found out you were wanking it to My Little Pony fan porn?  I don’t know, I can’t answer that.  All I know is that while the Dark Angels codex certainly has some cool looking and themed units, their point costs are just too high in an edition dominated by low costing, high power outputting units (Tau, Eldar, etc).

I was ready to throw in the towel with the Dark Angels, to be perfectly honest, until I started realizing the point decreases in units that I had previously been overlooking.  Old stand by units like the Whirlwind and Predators were point costed much lower than any previous iteration of Space Marine codex.  It soon became evident that I had been getting distracted by the new shiny Terminator suits and lighting fast motorcycles while overlooking the REAL gems of the Dark Angels codex, the DAKKA.  GIMME DAKKA!

Here are some examples of units that I have been using almost exclusively in the past couple weeks.  After I will show you a shooty list that I think really has a shot in competitive play.

· Whirlwinds – These guys took a significant point reduction and have gotten even BETTER in the 6th edition due to how great barrage now is.  The ability to demolish backfield wimpy units and negate cover saves has won me more games than I care to admit.
· Predators – Again we have a significant point reduction.  I have always been a fan of these, what with and AV of 13 and the ability to shoot 2 strength 7 AP 4 Autocannon and two strength 9 AP 2 Lascannon shots a turn you can really put the hurtin’ on some Wraithknight or Riptide ass.
· Land Speeder Typhoons – I sound like a broken record but again the point reduction really has these guys as a must take.  Put them near a Librarian with Divination/Preciensce and you twin link their missile launchers and heavy bolters.  WINNING.
· Dark Shroud – Ok, this isn’t really a shooting unit but it will keep those shooting units alive longer with the ability to give Stealth to any unit within 12”.  If you are running your gunline behind and Aegis (as you should) that is a lot of AV 13 tanks with a 3+ cover save.
· Dreadnaughts – These guys can come CHEAP for a ton of Dakka.  Personal favorite is the Twin Linked Autocannons but the Missile Launcher/Lascannon is also fairly devastating (and expensive!).
· Tactical Squads – I have been putting these guys in Razorbacks to defend against Hell Turkeys and they're fairly reasonable price wise.  Just give them a special weapon and run the Razorback with Assault Cannon or Lascannon turrets.  Really fast scoring units are great.

So here's the current 1850 list I'm running.

Dark Angels 1850 - Space Marine Allies

HQ
Librarian (Lv.1) Divination

TROOPS
5 man Tactical Squad with Meltagun, Razorback with Twin Linked Assault Cannons
5 man Tactical Squad with Meltagun, Razorback with Twin Linked Assault Cannons
5 man Tactical Squad with Flamer, Razorback with Twin Linked Lascannons

FAST ATTACK
2x Landspeeder Typhoon
Darkshroud

HEAVY SUPPORT
Predator with Autocannon and Lascannon sponsons
Predator with Autocannon and Lascannon sponsons
Whirlwind

ELITES
Dreadnaught with Twin Linked Assault Cannons

Allied Space Marines
Librarian (Lv.1) Null Zone and Gate of Infinity

10 man Scout Squad

Storm Talon with twin linked Assault Cannons and Skyhammer Missiles

Thunderfire Cannon

So, what do you guys think?

GW Trend toward Direct Sales??

It's more likely than you may think.  Today news from Spikey Bitz (I add the Z because the Z makes it sexier) that the Wave Serpent from the Eldar Codex has gone out of print and will now be a direct order item.

Stolen from freshcoastgaming.blogspot,com

So what does this mean?  Coming from a retail background myself it would make financial sense for Games Workshop to gauge the popularity of specific units from new codex releases (i.e. what they are running low on stock in) and then go direct to the customer for beefier margins.  Look at it this way.  You produce a large brown phallic shaped object, we'll call it a Bildo.  It costs you $5 to make the veiny oblong and you decide it should retail for $20.  In order to reach a wider audience and ultimately sell more Bildos you allow independent retailers to buy the sweaty tube for $12, which they can then resell for $20.  Hey, you made a $7 dollar profit on the Bildo and didn't have to worry about logistics.  That Bildo is getting pretty popular!  You can't produce enough of them to keep up with the Bildo orders coming in from those independent retailers.  Wait a minute.  You know that people are literally throwing money at those independent retailers for your Bildo.   Why shouldn't they be throwing their money directly at you?  Screw those independent retailers.  Sure they give you free advertising and provide a place for your patrons to try out their new Bildos with their male friends, but fuck those guys! You can get a larger $15 dollar profit on those Bildos when you sell them directly, and you KNOW that it is hugely popular with tons of guys.  Hey!  Why not retail those Bildos for $22?  It's not so much that people will notice too much, and its not like those guys aren't going to buy and enjoy their Bildos so it's a win win.  AND SCENE.

You kind of get it.  Games Workshop is beginning their slow cut out of the independent retailer.  The way that they look at it, in the bizaro Games Workshop way of looking at things, is that they do not need the independent stockists any longer.  Mark my words.  It began with the slow closure of Battle Bunkers around the United States.  They know that they do not need to provide a gaming space to sell their products.  In fact, it might be detrimental to sales to offer gaming spaces in their shops.  Games Workshop is finally coming around to the fact that the demand for their products is such that they do not necessarily need a middle man to facilitate sales of these products.  These game stores will continue to have tables available to drive sales of other tabletop games, and with the large US tournament scene Games Workshop knows that there will be events to showcase the hobby.  I believe we will see this happening SLOWLY, with more and more hot selling items going to direct only sales.  This does leave the door wide open to second party game companies such as Privateer Press to make headway into the game stores and facilitate events but they have a LONG way to go.  Games Workshop is such fixture in the table top gaming community that Warhammer is almost a verb in the way that Google is.  It will be an interesting year and I for one, with many friends who make their living off of selling Games Workshop products, hope that Games Workshop takes a big step back and remember just who made this hobby what it was.  It isn't their pushy one man stores with the 10 year old brats whining to their mothers about what to buy them.  It's not their shitty website offering bundle deals that are more expensive than buying the products individually.  One click deal?  Thanks, assholes.  The thing that gets people into the hobby are the friendly local game stores.  The place where you walk in and SURPRISE, people are playing and talking about Warhammer.  The place where the owner knows your name and is GENUINELY happy to see you.  The place that runs tournaments because it's FUN.  That is what drives sales.  THAT is what creates excitement. Not bullshit bundle deals.  Not NEVER giving discounts.

So I will wait and see what the future of Games Workshop's relationship with the independent retailers holds.  In the meantime, I'll be visiting and purchasing the models that I love from my local game stores.  Because they sparked my love for the hobby and you know what?  I like being around them.

Happy 4th of July

I'll be spending this rare day off like everyone else i.e. eating too much BBQ and moving as little as possible. 'MERICA!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Space Marine Player in 6th Edition

I've been playing Space Marines for about as long as I've been playing 40k (around 15 years if you want to know).  Throughout all those long years wasting my hard earned money I've played all flavor of Marines; from the over-zealous Black Templars to the emo rocker Blood Angels.  Throughout the 4th and 5th edition Space Marines enjoyed a fairly consistent power level ranging from mid to top tier tournament placings.  Sure they got lots of flak from the online community for having a better than average stat level and getting the lion's share of GW attention and why not?  Space Marines are essentially the bread winning member of the household and are about as iconic to Warhammer 40k as you can get.  Honestly, if I read one more asshole on BOLS comment about a Space Marine release with 'SPEZ MARINZ' I would shit my pants.  And not in a good way!

Having become tired of the repetitive nature of the 5th edition tournament scene (Space Wolves or Grey Knights for the win? Yes) I had taken a break towards the end of it's life cycle.  After learning that the 6th edition was coming out and the promise of endless army composition and combinations due to the ally system, I took my marines out of the closet and prepared for battle.  At first, things didn't change much.  My Space Marines were holding steady and in many ways seemed to have gotten better with the changes to 6th edition.  Their rapid firing bolters gained range and their basic troop's abilities to take and hold objectives was game winning in an objective dominated game system. I was happy.  Then the sky darkened.....

I looked up into the air and beheld the fall of an empire.  A beast which breathed fires hot enough to melt through power armor like a hot knife through dog shit.  Cover could not protect me.  I tried to be sneaky and run behind the great behemoth as it flew overhead, but was dismayed to learn that it could also breath the fire out of its asshole.  Whole squads of my beloved Space Marines where annihilated by the hellfire of the Helldrake.  Chaos Space Marines were released and the Emperor wept.  With no viable way to shoot it down, I turned to twin linked weapons with the hope that THEY may fell this foul beast.  It worked. That is, until they decided to take 3.....

My beloved Astartes were reinforced by the valiant Dark Angels.  Surely GW would give us some tool to fell these great Dragon Turky beasts (which were soon joined by flying Croissant-like things) and we would no longer rely on our puny Imperial Guard allies.  This was not to be.  We received Flakk missiles that cost 25 points and were strength 7.  You could certainly take 4 of them in a Devastator Squad, but that would just ensure the Hell Drake knew which unit to fry first.

When Chaos Demons were released I truly learned how weak the Space Marines were in combat.  It took the Demon players about 10 seconds to learn that multiple large units of fast moving rending units would make mince meat out of Space Marine units twice their point cost.  My Assault Marines gather dust.  The basic Herald could annihilate an entire squad themselves.  The only defense against the initiative 6 rending machines was to hold in cover and take the charge, hopefully killing a couple of them before they get into you turn 2-3.  Flying units laugh at our unreliable anti-air abilities.

The Tau Empire got a much needed release and the 40k community learned what it is to play a shooting game without any cover saves.  The plethora of high strength plasma and missile shots ensure that our 3+ cover save is obsolete.  Even the basic strength 5 pulse rifle wounds our hardy Space Marines on a roll of a 3.  Yes, you get an armor save but how many 1s and 2s will you roll on 12-15 dice?  Want to deep strike those Terminators?  Army wide interceptor will ensure that you'll lose 220-260 points in no time!

The sneaky Eldar were next.  Army wide rending once again makes our armor save obsolete.  Eldar special move run shoot rule makes sure you'll be outmaneuvered and shot to pieces in short order.  Surprise surprise, Eldar have a plethora of cover ignoring weaponry.

So where are we now as Space Marine players?  It's certainly not any easy road to the top tournament tables at the moment.  The plethora of high strength low AP weapons is exasperating as is the increasing amount of cover ignoring weaponry.  We DO have some good things going for us at the moment. The great thing about the Dark Angels 6th edition codex is that we see the point costs for future Space Marine units.  Surprise surprise, the things that I list below as being GOOD mostly happen to be the things that got cheaper.

• Land Speeder Typhoon Squadrons.  Especially near a psycher that can Prescience them to gain Twin-Linked.  These guys are now auto include for me and the amount of damage (especially twin linked) that they can put out is staggering.
• Librarians.  These are a great primary or secondary HQ, especially for their abilities in buffing your other units.
• Whirlwinds.  Barrage weapons have gotten really good in 6th edition and the once 'useless' Whirlwind is now a much feared unit for the Space Marines.
• Thunder Hammer Storm Shield Terminators remain to be boss.  The Invulnerable 3+ save goes a LONG way in the Strength 7 AP 2 ignore cover world of 6th edition.  Blood Angels can get Feel No Pain to make them even more survivable.
• Bikes.  Toughness 5 fast moving units are nothing to sneeze at.  Unfortunately the Helldrake will kill an entire unit fairly quickly.  Dark Angels is really the way to run them since they can be scoring, but Blood Angels can get Feel No Pain.  
• Null Zone still rocks face.  Oh, please re-roll those invulnerable saves Demons.
• Thunderfire Cannons.  Again, taking away cover saves is pretty rad in 6th edition.  Put THEM on the receiving end for once.

So, what do you guys think?  Can Space Marines (and their variants) survive 6th edition tournaments without allies?  What are some other great units to take?