Doh! Missed Tournament

So I overslept and missed today's 2K tournament at the FLGS.  Oh well, not a big deal.

Must have needed the sleep.

(It is a big deal, and you didn't need it that much - who you fooling?  You're irked at your lovely, already-longsuffering wife for failing to reset the alarm when she left.  Admit it!)

My fault.

(...)

Anyway, I'm off to hang out anyway, but here's the list I was going to take:

Why Isn't the Matte Spray... Matte?

This is a cry for help...

HELP!

• Problem:  Shiny
• Solution:  Matte Spray

So what isn't it working?

40K Physics: The Rhino Conundrum, a Corollary

Um.  Yeah.

Suppose I'd better explain the title.

(And be warned, this so-called 'article' - and the term is used only loosely here - wanders more than even the normal offering from Brent's Empty Digital Headache.)

Lately I've been working on a series of articles: first up is Daemons 2012, looking at evolving the list to face today's modern armies; then, following Brian's suggestion and our mutual aid society for Adepticon, I started work on the Generalist Necron Reviews.

(Brian:  It would have been easier to suggest a list, I know!)

The Daemons articles made fairly good progress, the ultimate goal being fine-tuning them and shipping them off to Kirby to complete a long-delayed promise.

(Kirby:  The dice are awesome!  Now I need some Kirby objective markers...)

(Sigh.)

Necrons Generalist Review Part II

Picking up where we left off last time...

So my man Nick (his mother named him Darkwynn, but that's because he's a superhero in his spare time) isn't so fond of Necrons.  In the comments, he double-downed on his opinion:

Necrons Generalist Review Part I

I got all hot and heavy over the Necrons not too long back, even picking up Gauthic's old army in trade for Tau.

(Speaking of, Gauthic old chum, 4-weeks is an eternity in blogging... how about an update?)

I built up a list though numerous practice games, but set them aside a couple months ago... and not because it wasn't going well, 'cause it was!  Seriously, the Necrons have everything I like about an army.

Mixed arms approach?  Check! 

Solid troops?  Check! 

Tactical options?  Check! 

Solid strategy?  Check! 

Counter-attack options?  Check! 

Not MEQ?  Check check check!

Picture-Palooza: Tournaments Past

Happy Terrible Tuesday!  This week's Bell article is:

Brent: Deathstars in Warhammer 40K

Which, naturally enough, deals with deathstar units in Warhammer 40K.  And... that's about as wordy as I can be, today.  I'm off to work, but I'll leave you with some pictures from tournaments past...

GW Video: 145? (No idea!)

Okay, so this video was released on GW's What's New Today blog...  and frankly I have no idea what the *SELF-EDIT* it means.  Take a gander:

Any ideas?  Anyone?

Gentleman's Ones and Strictly Average: Which B..?

You know how it's the simplest questions that are the hardest to answer?  Just such a question has become  a topic of conversation with Brian, the Gentlemen in Question behind the Read Up To Keep Up Blog, A Gentlemen's Ones.

You're probably familiar!

Since this series promises to lead right up to and through Adepticon, let's set up a standard opening with hyperlinks.  That's a very bloggie, forumy thing to do, right?

*and key music*  

Comments Come Lately: Overused and Underwhelmed

So here are the rules for Comments Come Lately... well, not so much 'rules' as a set of loose guidelines.  That can change.  As the spirit moves me.

Let's move on.  Here it is, from Tuesday's Bell post titled:

Brent: Whatcha Think About Rankings HQ?

In it, I referred to a type of Big Red article we bemoan behind the scenes; it goes something like this:

Author X spends time writing article > Big Red spends time writing article
Author X's page views and comments < Big Red's page views and comments

Daemons 2012 Part IV

After much conversation and not a small bit of stalling, Part IV presents the Strictly Average Daemons 2012 list.

If you're at all interested in the subject, feel free to check out:

Can Daemons Be Updated for 2012??

Daemons 2012 Part II

Daemons 2012 Part III

And from Bell of Lost Souls, the articles that kicked off the Terrible Tuesday series, the Daemonic Primers:

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/08/40k-schoolboys-daemonic-primer.html

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/08/40k-middle-schoolboys-daemonic-primer.html

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/08/40k-its-high-school-all-over-again.html

Here's the list; standard caveats apply.

After much consideration, I kept the Skulltaker, largely for his ability against Grey Knights... and that's the toughest matchup for this list...

...with the possible exception of street-sweeper Dark Eldar builds.  The latter is why the Hounds are in groups of eight and there is an extra Crusher, instead of a more MSU approach with groups of five or something.

I love Breath on Heralds of Tzeentch, but with only two and the need to optimize where possible, it doesn't seem viable here.

A possible improvement is including Screamers; you'd have to make those changes I decried two paragraphs ago, but it's possible to fit two groups of three or one of six - something like that.  I don't know that its better, since I don't have much experience with Screamers, but AV 14 has always been the big weakness of Daemons.  With that in mind, it's important to note the Heralds of Khorne are a big part of the anti-mech in this list, due to Furious Charge and Rending.

Another reason for the Skulltaker, 4+ Rending is the bomb!

(But will he build this list?)

I just had a stray thought... am I actually going to build this?  Maybe.  I want to upgrade my army with new models for the Fiends and Horrors, largely because, as the workhorse army of the Strictly Average collection, my painting scores have suffered mightily on the Indy Scene.

Who doesn't love Barney?  Don't answer that...

Adepticon 2011 is a good example of that.  Even with the top battle points finish, the painting score sunk my overall.  Frankly, that's fair; the Fiends have never received more than a basic scheme, and the Horrors are all over the place.  I have the models to update both and add the Crushers.

It's a matter of time and will.

Thoughts?

Daemons 2012 Part III

So what about the Fateweaver?  My view is, "I'm not a fan... but..!"

Let's just get that out of the way now.

* * * 

As most of my longtime readers know, "I'm not a fan."  Since taking on Daemons due to the machinations of Evil Homer in Exile and the Master Manipulator (every store needs one), I've had a few rules of thumb - developed due to hard experience - that served me well...

1. Bolt is a requirement
2. Fiends do the heavy lifting
3. Soul Grinders are a red herring
4. Fateweaver is too inconsistent

My motto is Competitive is Consistent.  I'm not out to win a game - my goal is to win four in a row.

Or more.

* * * 

Interestingly, it's one of those things I have a hard time explaining to the Client Pimp in Question, our local young prodigy-in-training.  There's a world of difference in my standard game and my wanna-win game... but in most of my standard games I'm exploring an idea or concept to test its validity.

Some of that's for this blog or that - such as trying out the Soul Grinders in our last local tournament - but most of it is working out strategies for 'wanna-win' games.  Not that I'm throwing games, but I'm not so invested that I care whether I win or lose.

The Client Pimp..?  He's in a different place.  I'd wager he knows exactly how many games he's won or lost, against whom, and if those were inside a tournament or not!

It's a phase; most of us have been there.  For my part, I no longer have anything to prove.  Frankly, it's the same for most of us at the FLGS...

...sadly, we're most of us firmly in middle age!

(Speak for yourself.)

All that said, that habit of mine has bitten me in the butt on more than one occasion, where I was sort of lackadaisical with a tournament list and was frustrated after getting blown off the board.  On one occasion, the Bugs! were swept by Evil Homer in Exile's Dark Eldar with nary a fight.  On another, more recently, I suffered through a last round matchup against Little Barrera.

And his Dark Eldar.  

* * * 

My thinking on this almost exactly matches Hulk's; check out this post from They Shall Know Know Fear.  He's also exploring Daemons at the moment, just like me and just like Goatboy.   Remember to check out the other blogs in the Read Up To Keep Up roll!

* * * 

"I'm not a fan... but..!"  So ol' Kairos the Fateweaver doesn't pass my primary test for tournament-list inclusion.  He's simply not reliable...

...over four games!  He can be incredible; of that, there's no doubt.  The Fate-Crusher build is rightly feared; if Kairos and the Crushers get the appropriate wave on the board, and if Kairos avoids too many leadership tests, then certainly this is a combo that can roll the board with anyone!

Lot of 'ifs' though.

From Wargamer Hub

In one-third of the games you won't get the Wave you want.  In four games, you have a very strong chance of losing Kairos to a failed Leadership test - and I've had Darkwynn actually run the math on that one!

But!  As a Codex gets older it requires aggressive play, sound strategy, sharp tactics, and a perfectly optimized army list to seize victory for itself.

More than anything, though, you'll need aggressive play:  take the initiative early and force your opponent to play the game on different terms!

As much as it pains me to say this, Kairos can be a route to all of this, making him - in my humble opinion - a more valid choice now than even a year or two ago.  Back then, balance and sharp play yielded better results.  Some of those tools are just no longer available.

(Bye-bye, Daemon Prince of Tzeentch!  I loved you long time I did!)

* * * 

Let's explore a list; is there something else beyond the Standard Fate-Crusher?  A Hybrid Build?

I'll leave it to you to decide whether this is an effective option or not, but personally I prefer it to the current Fate-Crusher ideal of three units of Juggernauts - largely due to the speed of the Fiends and their ability to nail down units from a distance and destroy multiple tanks on the charge.

I prefer the cheaper Herald in the Daemons 2012 list I developed - and will publish tomorrow - but the Skulltaker is almost a design requirement here.

Why?

Think anti-GK's and you'll follow the train of thought.  Dark Excommunication removes Gifts, but the Skulltaker's Rending isn't one, meaning even if he loses his Power Weapon he can still rend out Grey Knights with a 4+.  With less in our toolbox, he's more important in this build.

That's the thought, anyway.  I'd probably drop Skulltaker with the Hounds and the Herald of Khorne with the Crushers, but you can certainly double-up either way if the table dictates it.

Thoughts?

A Bit of Nothing: D&D Duo

Blah blah blah.  Blah blah.  Skyrim.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah.  Blah.  Blah blah popcorn blah!  Blah blah blah!

Daemons 2012 Part II

Click for the link!

Know this, up front: I'm a long way from there with these ideas.  Consider this a work in progress at best.

But it's good.

* * *

So Goat called yesterday and we got in a conversation about Daemons.  He had some interesting ideas I hadn't thought of - and I'm not sure how!  How did I overlook it for so long?  It's so simple!

Why not drop the Herald of Khorne with a unit of Flesh Hounds?

Darn it all!

What, you aren't following?

Okay, a Herald of Khorne can be a monster close combat threshing machine.  The problem has always been the delivery system.

The first step is Chariot or Jugger... and there is only one good answer.  No, it's not 'chariot.'

A Bit of Nothing: D&D Orc and 40K Space Marine

Okay, okay!  Skyrim isn't the only thing keeping me from blogging duties.

It isn't even the biggest reason.  Work has been particularly draining lately.  You may or may not know what I do for a living - if you listen to OffTopical, it's easy to guess - but suffice it to say bad days are bad.

Job security.

Anyway, by the time this posts my day-late weekly article for Bell will have hit, so I figured I'd drop a few pics and call it a night.

I wanted to paint minis for the current D&D game.  My gaming group is small, being three of the four members of OffTopical...