Maul at the Mall: Orks or Dark Eldar???

Wow, crazy A two weeks. Good news is, I got a computer out of the deal. You know what that means? I'm not trying to write blogs and other crap at Tech labs. Glorious. Which means we should be seeing much more activity on the blog.

Anyhow, Here is the thing. My big big event that I go to every year is Maul in the Mall, put on by Dicehead games in Cleveland TN. In short it is an awesome annual tourney that brings in some great players a beautiful armies. Every year I come back, look at my army list and say to myself, " Wow, I'm doing it all wrong!" Which, if you want to get better, is a great thing. That being the case, I don't know which army to play. I'm happy with my orks. I mean solid. I won my first tourney with them a few months back. I don't lose often with them. I feel like I got it perfectly the way I want. I look back and compare my army to the one I ran last year and it insanely better. Of course, I do see it's weaknesses and the list is far from unbeatable

Now enter the new army: My Dark Eldar. They are quick, lean, mean, and ....fragile. I've had amazing, well, luck with them. I picked them up and viola!!! I'm good with them. The flicker fields, they love me. I've been very successful with them. I've also had the the army absolutely dominated is certain instances, which scares me. I also realize I'm gonna make more mistakes with the DE. Also, if you go second and get stuck against a shooty army on a side with no terrian, your done.

Also, the missions are, well, squirrelly. The signature mission of the Maul basically has everything, but HQ respawns and outflanks each turn. Yeah, different right. I really want to play the army I think will play best with the missions.Check them out: Here it is

What these missions tend to do to the normal tournament players.

.


Ok, here are the two lists. Ok, Old hotness, V.S. New Hotness

DA Redtoofs

HQ:
Ghazkull

Big Mek-KFF
Cybork
(I usually equip him better, but I want his klaw to respawn in the Maul mission, so I put it in the Nob squad

Elites:

15 lootas
15 lootas

Troops:

10 nobs
7 w/ sluggas, choppas
1 w/ power klaw
1 w/ power klaw, Waaagh Banner, Bosspole
painboy
Cybork bodies
Stickbombs
-Battlewagon
Deffrolla
Red Paint
2 Big Shootas

17 boys
nob w/ Power Klaw, bosspole

17 boys
nob w/ Power Klaw, bosspole

10 Grots

Fast Attack

1 Deffcopta w/ Rokkits and Buzzsaw

1 Deffcopta w/ Rokkits and Buzzsaw
(Note: I usually have these in one squad, but want to be able to quickly complete the second objective in mall rats mission)

Heavy Support

2 X Battlewagon w/ Deffrolla, red paint, 2 big shootas


The New Hotness: The Kabal of the Awesomesauce

HQ:

Vect

Elites

4 Wracks (Vect Mobile)
Venom w/ splinter cannon

4 Trueborn w/ 4 blasters
Haywire Grenades
Venom w/ splinter cannon

4 Trueborn w/ 4 blasters
Haywire Grenades
Venom w/ splinter cannon

Troops

2X 10 Wyches
       Haywire Genades
       2 Hydra Gautlets
       Hetrix w/ Agoniser
       Raider w/ Dis. Cannon

3X 9 Warriors
      Blaster
      Raider w/ Dis. Cannon
      Flicker field

Fast Attack: None

Heavy:

3 X  Ravangers w/ Darklances
        Flicker field

So, there you go. I complex question but a simple answer. What do you think? Orks or Dark Eldar?

The Infamous Gaming Drought

 Hi everyone, welcome back. Today I want to discuss the serious effects of not properly hydrating yourself with an adequate amount of gaming, yes that's right, gaming drought. As I am currently going through a gaming drought, this makes me an expert on the subject.

Definition: Gaming Drought(GD)- increased period of time for a war-gamer to go without war-gaming resulting in negative effects, including paralysis and even death( just kidding).

Symptoms:
Detailed Theory Hammer: Most people know Theory Hammer is useful in list building, but is otherwise useless. Gamers experiencing drought tend to attempt to play 40k completely in there head, trying to fulfill there need completely mentally, worse than a 12-year old who just discovered boobs. This symptom greatly hinders a gamers actual competitive ability.

Don't mistake constipation for concentration!

Spontaneous Dice Rolling: "Oh, look! 3 random dice!" ...3 hours later...." where am I? What was I doing?" Sound familiar? Spontaneous Dice rolling happens to many GD sufferers. The luck ones have wives to yell at them to tell them they are making too much noise, but others roll dice constantly, not even knowing why or what they are rolling for. They just know this action brings joy somehow, but can't seem to get it to work this time.

Model Selling Syndrome(MSS)- People with MSS often find themselves thinking things like " Why do I need 8- 40k armies?" or " I never play Fantasy anymore, why do I need this High Elves army?" or " These Flashgits and Stompa are doing nothing for me here on my shelf." or "I'm never gonna play or paint with all of this." While absolutely every one of the above statements is probably true,....well... that's not the point. The point is you bought everything you got because you wanted it. And selling models sucks( look forward to a future post entitled: "Why I Hate Selling Models!!"). You don't get near the value out of them that you put into them, and it turns you off to the idea of playing the army, or even that game in the future. MSS is one of the worst symptoms of GD. Of course MSS is also caused by MGS, Married Gamer Sydrome, but that's a different article.

"All I need now is my Titan Legion and I'll be set! No, my third mortgage should about cover it!

Lack of Painting Motivation: Nothing gets you motivated to paint like going to a big tournament. Likewise, a month without gaming will completely take your motivation to paint. Why paint it?

Other Symptoms. Moodiness, Irritability, Lack of Sleep,Nausea, Indigestion, Depression, Thoughts of Suicide, Heart-failure,inability to have a 'you-know', Oily Discharge, Heartburn, Sunburn, Spontaneous Combustion, Random detaching of limbs, and wax-like discharge from ears, and NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST!!!!



You sure you can't fit a game in?


Causes: Life mostly: Moving, School, Graduating, Finding a Job, Spending time with family, Lack of Money, Childern being born (congrats Randel!!!)  I'm a firm believer that little plastic men come last in life, but one must take time to enjoy little things in life as well.

What about the war-gaming hobby makes it so addicting? Why do we just feel we have to get a game in?There are many great things about the hobby, and I think that all of them comprise the answer. The answer is that the hobby is so engrossing.  From painting, to playing, when immersed in the hobby, we think of little else. Not the wife, school, family, job, or whatever. This gives us a break from the everyday grind. We mere humans need breaks like these in order to feel refreshed so we can approach the rest of our lives focused and ready to do well. So take it from me, take the the time, and go play!
What are some good ways ya'll find to squeeze a game in?

Anti- Grey Knight Tatica: Quick and Dirty!!!



Don't let its looks fool you, THAT BABY IS MEAN!!!

 Hi everyone!!! Welcome back! Today I'm going to do a little short and sweet GK tactica. I plan on doing some more articles for army specific tactica. Many of you may not know this, but during my hiatus I actually bought some GK models and planned on playing for a long time to come. Sadly, the GW price hikes put a sour taste in my mouth and I simply had to let them go. It really is a shame. I loved the codex the army. They play really well. I say this just to let you know, I've done my homework on them and even played a few games. Without further ado:

The Good News: I think most marine armies are going to have trouble with them. Why? Because Gk troops shoot like hell and still have power weapons to boot. Generally GK troops can put other power armored troops to shame. Ya they are more expensive, but having troops that can actually do something is a plus. (Unless you’re grots, then it's ok). Of course to us xenos folk, they are still marines, and that is where we beat them.
Strengths:
Tons and Tons of Anti-Infantry firepower, I mean seriously LOTS!!!
Generally you’re looking at the entire army having S5, power weapon attacks that often hit at I6. Gross.
HQ can carry rad grenades that reduce your toughness and even cause your own models to attack themselves.
Entire army has force weapons
Every unit has great psychic powers that can potentially win them the game
Warp Quake: I don't call broken, often. Never in fact. But this is.
Things that absolutely rape daemons and psykers

Weaknesses:
Expensive, very very expensive
Relatively low weapon skills, with 4 on most and 5 only on the uber expensive
Low number of attacks, most only have one with the best only having two
Difficulty with heavy armor. Most Gk armies will struggle with AV 13 or 14
Most guns in army 24" range

General Advice:
Look for Holes:  Building Balanced GK army is tough. It is very easy to take too many shiny toys and that leaves GK armies underperforming in one area or the other. Find the weakness and take advantage of it.

Psychic Limitations: Most Grey knight squads can only cast one psychic phase per turn and activating force weapons counts as using a psychic power. This means while GK have many tools at their disposal, they can only use one at a time. During an assault, most if not all power must be cast before ANY blows are struck, including yours.  Plan for this during game play to truly gage a squad’s capability

Assault Them, Especially in numbers: Gk may look scary in assault but due to their WS4 and low number of attacks they are often underwhelming in assault. However they are much scarier at range. Assaulting them keeps you safe from taking 20 X S5, or 4 X S6 flamers to the face. That’s a good thing.

Find the HQ and the RAD grenades: Having an HQ attach to a squad greatly bolsters a squads ability to do damage in assault, allot due to fact that it allows the squad to effectively cast two powers a phase, since the squad can 'piggy-back' on an HQ hammer hand. Couple this with Rad Grenades and you can very well fine which squad your opponent is planning on getting into combat.

Over-extension and counter attack:  They vehicles that GK can move and assault out of are Stormravens and Land Raiders. What does this mean? Well they want a nasty assault unit they need a nasty squad, with a nasty HQ, with a nasty transport, that usually all totals around 600 to 700 pts. This usually means there is never more than one and the most assault support said squad is going to get is a Dreadknight. With that many points in a unit, it can't just sit back. It will very often over extend itself. Many players are turning to the Modarak squad for in-your-face-ness, but I still feel this is often and overextension. Be pre-pared and be able to bring down the weight of your army if it over extends.

Death stars: Take a Deathstar, something mean, something quick. Now, don't try to take out his death star, Cuz you'll probably lose that fight. Try to put it into the rest of his army. This will take out his fire base which is very important if you are troop based like nids or orks.

Plan for the Dreadknight: I know it's gotten some crap because of the model, but competitive players who are looking to add speed, firepower, and assault capabilities in a durable package simply won't be able to pass it up. Have something in your list that can handle it.

Plan for the Shunt: Dreadknights and Interceptors have the ability to move 30" once per game.  Plan ahead and don't forget about it.

Don't Deepstrike Anything!!!: Seriously. Nothing. Warp quake has absoutlely ruined the concept of deepstriking. If you can't, not deepstrike it, take it outta the list.

Well there you have it. What are some ways not discussed here that you are finding to take these shiny marines down? Tune in next time as I attempt the monumental task of writing a very hard article: Anti-GK tactica: Tyranids!!!

Necron Rumor Reactions

Been waiting month for an excuse to use this one

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another exciting installment of Tainted by Xenos. Today we will be discussing everyone favorite cypt crawlers the necrons. The interwebz has seen an influx of necron rumours and I would like to post them here, along with my own reactions. One thing that needs to be noted is that these are just rumours. As such, detailed synopsis is quite pointless. My opinions are as concrete as said rumors and could be easily changed with great understand of the actual rules. The original rumors come from the ever-benevolent yakface over at DAKKADAKKA.com and can be found here. His words are in white, with mine in green. Enjoy!:

Hello everyone,

I have gotten my hands on some fairly solid Necron rumors. I say they are fairly solid because the source I got them from has proved reliable in the past, however the rumors themselves are indeed 2nd hand (I didn't see the codex myself), and therefore I can't personally verify any of this. That also means if you have any more questions on anything I (probably) won't be able to provide you with any more details (as I don't have them).

Anyway here goes:


1) No surprise here, but Necrons are still essentially Tomb Kings in space fluff wise. A shift in fluff is now that all of the higher up necrons are intelligent while the lower level ones are still basically automatons. I guess that's roughly the same as it used to be, but apparently there is more emphasis in the sentience of the higher Necrons now (hence the named Lords).


2) C'Tan are still in the codex...sort of. They have been moved to the Elites section and are now a single unit choice, but with variable upgrade powers you can take.
Hmmm. This one is a tad strange. I love the idea game wise. Three c'tan along with some of the other rumoured MCs not in the elite slot could be awesome, allowing an all MC cronzilla list. The weird part is how the fluff is gonna work. Other rumours have suggested that in the codex, c'tan would simply be lords that have somehow been instilled with the "Essence of the C'tan" much like in the Dawn of War video games. This would also allow for Forge World to create large C'tan sculpts for Apoc that would represent the actual gods, making them much stronger and inline with fluff. Time will tell, but I like it.

3) We'll be Back is no longer called that and it is NOT Feel No Pain. Basically it is a 5+ bonus save similar to Feel No Pain, but doesn't get cancelled out by double strength, AP1/2, etc. In addition, this save is made at the END of the phase after morale tests are taken. If the unit is wiped out or is falling back at the end of the phase, then the save cannot be used. So as an opponent, if you manage to wipe the unit out or make them fall back, then you prevent any Necrons from getting back up...unless the unit has something called the 'ever-living' rule, in which case it gets to attempt this save even if the unit is wiped out.

Whether this works or not will depend completely on the accuracy on the rumor translation. If it happens at the "end of the phase" does that mean it happens at the end of every phase? That would make it much harder wipe out a unit if I got my WBB roll 4-6 times a game turn. Couple that with not being ignored and this version is much better than the current 4+. Ever-living rule? Yes, please!4) Gauss Weaponry does NOT have rending. It retains the 'auto-glance' on a penetration roll of a '6' rule, but apparently otherwise has lost the 'auto-wound' on a roll of a '6' regardless of Toughness that it used to have. The Gauss Cannon is now apparently Assault 2 & AP3 (I'm assuming the Strength is still 6). The Gaus Flux Arc on the Monolith no longer automatically hits every unit within range, instead each one fires separately and can hit four different targets.
BOOOOOO! I hate all of these. HATE!!! This means basically our status as the best vehicle killers in the game is not coming back. It means we are still gonna have problems with heavy infantry. Destroyers aren't going to be able to be taken in mass anymore, because they aren't gonna be as viable against vehicles because we lose a shot. And lets be honest, anti- heavy infantry really needs to be AP 2 to kill termies and ignore FNP, otherwise you still need something to fulfill that roll. As far as the monolith, I love the death blossom and will be very sad to see it go.

5) Phase out is gone.
Hallelujah !!

6) Destroyers now count as jump infantry and there is a new Fast Attack Jetbike unit called Tomb Blades.
Ok, so now my Destroyers can't even turbo-boost. One of there best abilities is the ability to relocate quickly/ run away. Seems destroyers have been Carnifexed( ie. very good in the last 'dex, so are nerfed badly so you need to replace them in your armies). You certainly don't need all 15 of the models you currently have. Tomb Blades might be cool though.


7) Immortals are now a Troops choice. Pariahs are gone. Flayed Ones are Elites.
Immortals as troops are great and I will expound on this later. Pariahs gone?: Now I've had the handle Pariah Stevo since I was in high school so this ones kinda personal. Honestly I don't buy it. Pariahs have a significant amount of back store. The story line of DOW: Dark Crusade was based around a pariah. Not only that, pariahs are seen throughout Necron artwork, and we know how GW likes to recycle artwork. Pariah were always that unit that everyone loved, but just were not up to par in games terms. I think everyone expected them to be the Bad-A s of this dex and get a brand new plastic kit. To get rid of them would be just... stupid. Even if they are shafted as a unit, they will appear elsewhere as a special character or something. I half expect Cypteks (see below) to renamed pariahs. Like I said, I just hope yakface is wrong on this one. As far as flayed ones, in their rules I see no reason why they shouldn't be troops. In the book "Hellforged" from the Black Library, flayed ones basically hide out in dead bodies and ambush people. Maybe we got some cool new ambush rules similar to Ygmarls. Of course, maybe they got nerfed like Mandrakes, who knows.


8) There are indeed 6 named characters (although I have no more info on them). There is also a Necron Overlord and a bodyguard unit called Crypteks. Crypteks can be split off before the game to lead units of Necrons, very similar to Wolf Guard in the Space Wolves codex. Crypteks can take a bunch of different technology upgrades, so there is kind of a way now to have personalized squad leaders in a Necron army.
Cypteks sound cool. I hope this is something I can do without using a special character. I love how special characters are worth a darn, but I hate when they seem competitively mandatory. (ie Ghazkull) For any of you not familiar with Warmachine, Cryx have a unit called Necrotechs, and now Necrons have a unit called Crypteks. effed up, ain't it?
9) They army is much more mobile now in general.(Ya!) They have several units of jump troops, and 2 new transport vehicles. 1 transport can carry 15 necrons while another can carry 10. Jump pack units count as 2 models and jetbikes count as 5. The one that holds 10 is able to recover casualties to a unit (although can't take it beyond its starting strength). Necron vehicles besides the monolith are open-topped skimmers. However they have something called 'Quantum shielding' which gives their front & side armor +2 until the vehicle takes its first glance/pen, at which point it loses the shielding. One of these two transports (not sure which one) is apparently a personal transport for the Lord (and his retinue).
Sounds cool. They definitely are changing the way the army works.

10) There are six new vehicles in the codex (including the two transports mentioned above). Two of which seem to be based around this old Jes Goodwin design: http://storage.canalblog.com/29/28/731795/53057637.jpg
six? I doubt it. That's a crap-ton. Even if we get two kits that make 3 variants that is a ton of  new vehicles and kits.


11) In general Necrons have a lot more long ranged fire support. There is also a new weapon type called Tesla weapons. These weapons, on a roll of '6' to hit automatically cause two more hits. The biggest version of the Tesla weapons has a chance of hitting all other units close to the target; both friend and foe. One of the new vehicles carries the doomsday cannon: 72" S9 AP1 Heavy 1 large blast. BS4.
sounds awesome

12) In the Elites section there is a big new walker. It has a heat ray that that is either a melta or flamer depending on what you want to do. Any unit hit by this vehicle is marked (as in: laser targeted), which means that all other necrons count as being twin-linked for shooting at the marked enemy unit that turn.
Necron Tau dread? wtf? sounds cool


13) Necron Warriors have the same basic stat line they had before except they now have a 4+ save. Now before you go crazy, also note that their points cost is 12 points, which is a 1/3 price drop (down from 18 points). That means you get 1/3 more Warrior models in the army for the same amount of points...it also makes losing an entire unit due to sweeping advance, not nearly as painful.

I know a lot of cynical people will hate this and accuse GW from simply making the change to sell more Warrior models, and you could be right. But personally I was always hoping they were going to make Necron Warriors not quite as tough and dump the points cost on them, so you could really take a ton of them...given in my mind they are supposed to be more like a shambling horde of undead robots than some sort of small elite force of super-warriors (but that could just be me).

So this change alone totally changes the army from out of the 'MEQ' umbrella and makes their base statline unique in the game (which is good, IMHO).
Ok, here I have a problem. Not because of the 4+ save. With a 6pt. drop in price I can accept and even like that. My problem is that they didn't fix anything else wrong with them. In 3rd and 4th edition warriors were durable, could drop vehicles, and more importantly had high leadership and numbers that let them hang in assaults. In 5th, the game mechanics changed that took away their ability to kill vehicles effectively and to hang at all in assault. Instead of trying to restore how they once were it's like GW thought "They suck and they are expensive. Let's make them cheaper! It doesn't matter that they still stuck, heck, let's make'm suck more?" I like the idea of the robot horde. I used to run 40 to 60 warrior in a 2000pt list. The problem is with the current rule set, mass infantry won't work if you can be caught in a sweeping advance. Just ask any Guard player. When was the last time you saw big IG blob squads in competitive play? How bought with no special or heavy weapons? Thought so. If this holds true, it will be a tragedy. Warriors suck right now, a cheap cost doesn't change that at all.
14) Immortals have lost their T5 (down to T4), but keep their 3+ save. However, their points cost has dropped to 17 pts a model, which is an 11 point drop (more than 1/3 a drop from the previous cost of 28 pts)!
And here in lies our redemption!!! I propose a question: Why take warriors at all? Immortals are troops now. Let's compare new immortals to old warriors. Stat lines are exactly the same. Instead of a S4 rapid fire weapon I would have a S5 24" assault 2 weapons and New Immortal are a point cheaper. Now let's compare new immortals with new warriors. For 5pts you get a 3+ save and a way way better gun. I think 4 X 10 Immortals at 170pts each is amazing. It's like having the firepower of PAGK for half the points and being just as durable. The bad news: I own about 100 warrior models and Immortals are probably gonna cost about $33 for 5. Hmmm that's 246 dollar just for troops, about the cost of and entire Warmach.... ok, ok, I'll stop.

15) All units in the army benefit from the new WBB rule, not just the units that were formerly classified as 'Necrons' in the current codex (even Scarabs!). So although you're only getting a 5+ save in many cases, you're still getting it on some of the more expensive stuff in the army as well (and there are some pricey new units to counterbalance the relatively cheap Warriors and Immortals). Also the vehicle that can add models back into the unit is also able to use this ability on any unit.
Hmmm. Vehicle that adds models back into the unit? Someones been reading the Cryx rules. All of the excellent upgrades to WBB are making that 5+ look not so bad.

15) Rez Orb is still in the game and boosts the new WBB rule to a 4+ instead of a 5+, but only affects the unit it is in. I have a strong suspicion that this is an upgrade that Crypteks can take (I'll confirm if I find out), so I'd imagine you can get quite a few units in the game getting the 4+ bonus save if you want to pay the points to take them for your Crypteks and then split those Crypteks off to lead units.
Dude, Sweeeet
16) Veil of Darkness is now definitely something Crypteks can take (so you can have a bunch of 'em in the army), but it no longer allows a unit to be pulled out of combat (and neither does the Monolith), except in the case of the Veil carried by one of the named Lords.
BOOOOOO!!!! Teleporting out of combat is like, my favorite thing ever. That makes me sad. My 4th edition army was completely based off of teleport out of combat. Sad Panda.



17) In the new fluff it sounds like the C'Tan were mainly killed off by the Necrons (or something like that), so the C'Tan that you field in the game are just remaining shards of their power. They're naturally still a really mean Monstrous Creature who rocks in combat, but you can also purchase a bunch of different abilities. These abilities are in line with a lot of the things we've seen in the last few codecies, things like: messing around with Deep Striking enemy units, making enemies moving through terrain differently, and allowing the Necron player to change some of his deployment, etc. So it sounds like you have a lot of different options with the C'Tan that really mess with the enemy army and/or supplement your own. And they are not one per army (so you can have 3 if you want to use up all your Elites on them, although it sounds like the other Elites choices are pretty awesome as well).
C'tan killed off by necrons? that makes no sense. This dex is really starting to look like Ward wrote it. I mean, that just sounds stupid. I do love the thought of fielding 3 of them though.


18) Some of those six new vehicles include flyers (not sure how many), which can move at cruising speed and fire all their weapons.
Nice. I hope GW decides in 6th edition to let everything move 12" and fire all their weapons, as anything worth a damn has some way of ignoring the shooting rules.


19) Besides a few units that are Fearless (Wraiths, Tomb Spyders and Scarabs), the army doesn't have any sort of blanket immunity to morale. They are still Ld10, but obviously we know that still leaves them very vulnerable to being run down in combat, and it looks like that will remain a big Achilles heel.
It's like GW nerfed necrons and then decided that they liked it. W.T.F.?

20) Scarabs sound great. They are cheap, have the new WBB rule, move like beasts and have an ability that erodes enemy armor when they get into combat with it. Any non-vehicle model they wound, but don't kill, has its armor save turned to a dash (i.e. nothing) for the rest of the game. If they hit a vehicle, on a 4+ the vehicle loses a point of armor value on ALL facings, and if any facing is reduced to zero, then the vehicle is destroyed (I'm not sure if this ability kicks in for each hit they get on the vehicle, or just once no matter how many hits they cause). There are some items in the army that also have a similar ability to erode armor, including one of the C'Tan powers.

So it sounds like Scarabs may play a major role in most Necron armies!
These rumors are awesome. I love scarabs. They have a very unique feel in the 40k universes. Making them beast is amazing. I wonder about the mechanics of the armor eroding rule. I seems a little trite as well as difficult to actual make balanced. If it were me, I would have just gave them stock disruption fields and made them rending, but that's just me.

21) Overall, CC is definitely still the weak point of the army, but it looks like they've got a lot of different places they can take special rules to slow down or screw with approaching enemy, including some of the C'Tan powers, but also some of the different gear they can take. But they also have some different potential counter-assault units, which mainly come out of the Elites section (besides the new Walker, the C'Tan and the flayed ones in Elites there are 3 OTHER brand new units in there as well, for a grand total of 6 Elites choices). The Flayed ones are, being consistent, cheaper than they were and now have 3 Attacks base (but their save is now 4+ as with standard Warriors). One of the other new Elite units is also CC oriented, but is very pricey points wise (but is S5/T5/3+save). This unit can wield a Warscythe, but they are not called Pariahs (no idea if that's what Pariahs have 'turned into' or not).

We definitely need more CC. Strange how they made a unit similar to pariahs, but they are not. I really gotta see more on these to form any real opinion.

Another new Elites choice is a sniper style unit that can Deep Strike into play normally or it can choose to immediately Deep Strike immediately after the opponent brings an enemy unit on from Reserves, and they have some nasty additional damage ability against one nominated unit...obviously we need more info to know how useful this will really be, but the concept of countering an opponent's Reserve deployment immediately sounds interesting at least.
Hmmmm. sounds interesting.
The last new Elites choice is an Elite Jump Infantry unit with very close range shooting and some decent CC ability (and are also S5/T5/3+save).
Jump pack, not-pariah-pariahs!!!! yeah!!!


22) Fast Attack has 4 choices...Wraiths, Tomb Blades (jetbikes), Scarabs & Destroyers.


And that's it! Kind of all over the place and certainly not a full snapshot of the codex, but a lot of these things are completely opposite from many of the other rumors I've seen out there.

There you have it. Like I said, I'm very concerned about the fact the army seems like it's gonna play more like 5th edition necrons that 4th. I just don't know if i like it, because I've grown to hate the way necrons play now. Even so. I'm very optimistic about the new units and everything the codex will bring. Have at it guys, what do you like or dis-like about these new rumors?

Back in Action!!!! and Letters to GW

Sometimes, it's worth the wait.

Hi everyone!!!! Welcome back to Tainted by Xenos!!! Thanks for bearing with me over the past month. Look forward to more insight and colorful commentary from your friendly neighborhood Stevo!!!
I wish my first post back were more cheerful. As you all know by now, GW has introduced another price hike. We once again must each personally decide if we like our "cigarettes" enough to let "Bubba G-dub" have his way with our proverbial pie hole. Kirby from 3++ is the new black has created an open letter and asked other to post it on their blogs. He also encourages everyone to create their own and contact GW, as do I. I have posted a copy my letter to GW as well as Kirby's. Together we can do something, apart, nothing will change. If not now, when?

My Letter:

To Whom it May Concern:
                       I wanted to write you to express my concern and disappointment over the new price  increases, beginning May 28th. Firstly, I would like to express how much I love the products your company makes, and have collected thousands of dollars worth of product over the course of the past 8 years. I have large High elves, Necron, Ork, and new Dark Eldar collections and have a small start on a new Grey Knight army.
       As stated earlier, I am very disappointed with the new price hikes. I am usually the type of customer that defends your high prices, simply citing your beautiful models and superior products. Sadly, I can do this no longer. Some of the new price hikes are simply absurd. Specifically 20% increases on Tyranid blisters, Dark Eldar wyches and warriors, and a starter set that has doubled in price over the course of 2 years, just to name a few. Not to mention price hikes on space marine kits.
            I realize Gamesworkshop is a business, and I don't fault you for trying to make money, but I feel that your are abusing my loyalty and the loyalty of other customers. This newest price increase is blatant price gouging.
            It is apparent your prices are not based on manufacturing or material costs, but based simply on supply-demand economics and what you think loyal costumers will pay. This type of business model does not reward costumer loyalty, but punishes it. It has become clear that there is only one way I can affect your decisions and that is to stop buying your products. I will not continue to collect Grey Knight miniatures, and will sell the models I currently have. I will not buy any of the new Dark Eldar models currently on advanced order. I will not buy any new Necron models rumored to be released in October. I want to make it clear, you have lost $600 to $1000 of revenue on me alone.
        I do not write this letter in anger, but with sadness. I would love to continue to buy your products, ignoring the above facts. However, I realize that every time I buy your products, I feel cheated, abused, and simply stupid for doing so. I will take the money I planned on buying your products with and start collecting Warmachine models from Privateer Press. After 8 years of buying nothing but Gamesworkshop products, I feel I owe it to myself to try something from a company that seems to care more about customer satisfaction and loyalty.
                  I hope Games Workshop will adopt more competitive pricing and stop taking its customer base for granted. As stated, I am a huge fan of your company and look forward to a time I can feel good about purchasing your products again.
                                           Sincerely,
                                                           Steven Oakes,
                                                  8 year GW customer

Kirby's letter:

I normally hate these type of posts and avoid writing them like the plague. Most of these type of articles just end up complete whining or asshatery (though I did love SandWyrm's)which isn't really necessary but what has happened recently has lead me to write this. Before we get to the letter though some information. Games Workshop has changed their terms and conditions for stores in the United Kingdom to only allow shipping to countries within the European Union and other parts of Europe. They have increased their prices again come June and have announced the released of resin and mixed resin/plastic sets instead of metals with an approximate increase of 2.5-25% depending upon the set. None of these sets are new but rather re-casts. 


Letter time!

To Games Workshop,

Why? No seriously, why? I'm sure the excuse of cutting off Australasia and other countries (Canada, India, Korea, South American countries, etc.) to benefit the independent and GW store sales in Australia sounded good but unless you cut the prices here to not be a ridiculous 200% higher price than overseas, it's not going to happen. Let's look at this logically. You've stopped us from buying from stores like Maelstrom and Wayland with an embargo agreement in your Terms and Conditions (remember globalisation? how's that going btw?). Does this mean we are going to now buy at RRP in Australia or other countries? No.



There are other outlets overseas we can buy from which are still much cheaper (hi America), other companies which you cannot touch without raising a helluva lot of crap (hi ebay) and people who are willing to ship to us overseas (hello family and friends) without the 200% tax. We won't be getting as huge a discount as before but it's much better than buying here at RRP. The other option is of course going to be quitting which I imagine some people are going to do. Check out this thread on WargamerAU

Now I'm all for one in supporting the locals. I buy all my products such as spray paint, paints, plasticard, magnets, drills + bits, modelling putty, brushes, etc. from Australia. As an aside, do you actually stock good quality merchandise for all of those options? I don't see you selling plasticard, magnets, good sized drillbits, custom bases, etc. I'd be happy to pay a 5-10% premium on these objects compared to other stores to support your business but then again, I don't really want to support your business currently do I? The point of any business is to make a profit but the problem with your business model is you do not do this whilst concurrently supporting your customer base. We don't ask for much but a short list would look like...

• not raising prices every year, without fail, regardless of the economic situation or inflation rates
• basing prices around the world upon exchange rates (I wouldn't be averse to paying 20% more in Australia compared to the UK or America locally but I am adverse to paying twice as much) - there are circumstances in each country that make operating there more or less expensive but you need a base retail price for your product which is then translated by exchange rates at a given time (i.e. quarterly) rather than a price set many, many years ago. It's part of being in a global market.
• regular and quick FAQs - you've done a fantastic job IMO of creating some pretty balanced books for 5th edition, fix the grey areas quickly.
• official erratas - man up and admit you've made mistakes (hi Tyranids) and work on erratas that are official and re-print the books with these amendments. Admitting a mistake and fixing it isn't a problem and I'd applaud you for it. Ignoring a problem is.
• fix Fantasy - you did it with 40k, why go backwards with Fantasy?
• don't think your customer base is moronic - the resin re-cast to be cheaper than metals whilst hiking prices, not fooling anyone.

Ultimately people in Australia and other countries go overseas for their Games Workshop products for a reason: it's significantly cheaper (I.e. half price). What motivation is there to therefore buy from our locals when you aren't treating your customers with loyalty and support? People will walk away and your bottom line will hurt. A simple solution: care about your customers. Change the Australian (and other countries) prices so they are at least similar to the UK and US. This doesn't have to be the exact same price but some parity would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a quick example. If you could buy a similar product for $45 compared to $150, what would you do? How about if the product was the exact same but if you ordered it overseas it was $80 compared to $150 by the time it reached your door step? I'm pretty sure you'd want to take the cheaper option correct? For you as a company, you make your profit margin through the reseller regardless of where it is purchased. You may make more money off a direct sale at an Australian store compared to an Internet sale from the UK but you have already achieved the profit margin from the Internet sale already. The Australian stores may be hurting but this is down to the initial price you have set, not market trends. Simply put, you are alienating customers from a large and developing market.

I and many of the readers here obviously enjoy your game. We've played it through thick and thin (4th edition...) or come back thanks to an improvement game balance (5th edition) and don't want to leave. We will though sooner or later if you keep piling on idiotic choices on us. Other companies like Privateer Press did very well in the early to mid-2000s for a reason and people will migrate to other gaming systems if you continue to mistreat them and their loyalty.

As it stands I question why you do the things you do. Raising prices every year annoys me but I cannot complain too loudly as your products are a luxury item but you do not provide excellent customer service one usually expects with such goods. I certainly find minimal fault with your staff or when your product is damaged/faulty but your overarching business model seems counter-intuitive to maintaining a customer base. Even if you are getting a large amount of new customers imagine how much better off your company would be if you had maintained a significant portion of your repeat customers. The model you are running currently to me does not seem sustainable as your turnover rate in customers is just too high. I applaud your efforts in making 40k 5th edition a more competitive game but what you've done to Fantasy 8th edition doesn't bode well for the future.

Please, look to satisfy both the shareholders and the customer rather than just the former.

Kirby.

P.S. Anyone who agrees with this, I would greatly appreciate this being re-posted on your blog so we might actually garner GW's attention and hopefully move forward together. That is the ultimate goal, I want Games Workshop to succeed as a company so I can continue to enjoy the gaming systems I do but to do that, Games Workshop must look at altering their business model in the long run to maintain a steady customer base.

So, what do ya'll think? Is it time for a revolution or should we stop getting upset over something we can't change? Are you mad enough at GW to stop buying their products?

Blog Hiatus

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm gonna have to take a break from the blog. Sadly I've got alot going on and I gotta prioritize. I should be back to the blog in a month of two after the bussyness has died down, and hopefully I've graduated school and  have found a job. Be sure to check out IIWPA, were you should be able to catch me in a video battle report or two. Thankyou for following me, and I hope to be back at it very soon. I want to be very clear, This is not a goodbye, just a Seeya later.

It Came from Below, and it smells AWFUL!!!

It is offical! Hivefleet Shitthebed is on it's way from the deep, darkness of the Eastern Fringe!(a.k.a. Crossville, TN) For those of you not privy to the intricacies of 40k lore, 'shitthebed' is a low gothic insult synonomous to excessive facial hair and a smell worse than death. Who is the progenator of this new xenos threat you ask? The answer will probably suprise, nah!, shock you. The creator is none other than The Griz from ifitwearspowerarmor.blogspot.com.
Not only has Griz played almost every 3+ army under the sun, but his first army was Ultramarines so I grew up hearing some pretty powerful bug hate. We have had several conversations about how he could never play bugs....ever!
So what is the lesson for today, class? No matter how hard you try to fight it, the taint will catch up to you. One day you'll look around and you will realize that no matter the color or flavor, razorback spam is still razorback spam and ten marines in rhinos are still the same 10 marines in rhinos you've been playing with since you started playing 40k. You will get a thirst for something new, a way to re-invent the game you love. Thats why I play the armies I play. When I start a new army, I wanna start the whole of 40k fresh. That is why I play xenos, and that is why you will too. When you get that feeling, that is when you know, you've been Tainted by Xenos!
Everyone head over to IIWPA and congratulate The Griz on joining our illustrious brotherhood!!! The Griz has inspired me to write some articles about why it is so great to play Xenos as well as a comparison to help people decide which Xenos army they might play next. What made you pick a Xenos army over Space Marines? Why do you love playing your Xenos army? Is it the style, models, playstyle, or a combination of things?

Knowing is Half the Battle, Part 2 of 4: Know Thyself!

Hello again. Today we are conutinuing our series on knowing what you need to know to be competitive in 40k. Last time we focused knowing the rules, a basic but important step. Today we will focus on knowing everything there is to know about your army.

Read your codex: Many of todays armies are built on synergy. You have to know what your army can do. If your army is losing a lot, it is probably missing something. Your codex should have something to fill that gap. This is also relevant when a new army is released. A good list is built to fight all comers so a new army release will usually cause you to shift your list. Example: Say you field two or three units of nobs in an ork list, which is currently pretty powerful. With grey knights coming out however, most units in the dex can kill a unit of nobs in one assault, no problem, and in many cases for cheaper points. Thats a very bad thing. The ork player has to change his list if he wants to remain a contender.

Know your army's rules: once your army is set, know how it works. All of it. Special rules, stats, weapons... everything.  You cannot play tactically if your too busy trying to remember how your army works. I've been struggling with this with my Dark Eldar. I keep forgeting to focus on getting pain tokens. So study your army. Know your special rules, verbatim.

Don't assume things. Question wheter a rule works the way you say it should work. I'm always surprised at how biased most people are during rules disputes. Example: many people tryed to say pain token USR's applied to beasts in beastmasters squads. Reading the codex it is obviously not true. Another Example: Deffrollas. Before they where FAQed, most people, as well as tournament organizers decided they didn't work against vehicles. Their only justification?: it would be too powerful. Funny how no one is saying that about the 30" scouting jumppack dread knight.Hmmm...?

I digress. The point is, know your rule, don't think you know it. Know your rules well enough to where you can argue and support why it works the way it does. If it is a grey area, search internet forums to see what others have said. If it is still a grey area, call event orginizers and get a rules call BEFORE the tournement. As a rules judge myself, I can assure I would rather have a few days to research a question as opposed to making it on the fly.

Read the FAQ: in tournaments the FAQ is just as valid as the codex, read it and know it as such. If the INAT FAQ is used, the same goes for it( stupid INAT). Also, print off a copy and keep it with your stuff( in fact, I recommend having every FAQ with you) Example: I went to a tourney a couple of weeks after the old marines got their big update. A friend was on the table beside me playing Black templar. The BT player had no idea about the FAQ. This guy was fuming by the time the game was over. Imagine playing a game where your codex is wrong and your opponent is the only one who knows what your rules are. Akwaaard!

Know your strengths and weekness: Every army has its strengths and weaknesses. Know what yours are. Dark Eldar are great against are great against nids, but can struggle against IG. Nids are great against non-mechanized assault armies like DOA blood angels, but struggle against shooty mechanizes lists. Your strengths and weakness will be specific to your army accordind to how you built it. Try to think about what your army will struggle against. Use this knowledge during games to identify threats and take them out accordingly as well as building stronger, more balanced lists.

That's it for today. Next time, will leave the basics behind as we get more indepth tatica in Part 3: Know Thy Foe!
What are some things you do to identify weaknesses in your lists? What do you do to prevent yourself from misinterpreting your codex? Have you ever misinterpreted a rule, only to have it corrected during gameplay by your opponent?

Knowing is Half the Battle!!! Part 1 of 4: Know ThyRules!!!

Wow. Sorry for the long dead period. To make a long story short: Mid-terms, Spring Break, Last-minute 13.5 hour drive to Naples, FL, Second degree sunburn, PC burned out, Now have crappy rent-a-mac from School that won't play flash:( , It's a Mac! :'''''( , joined and helped start Unbroken Gaming Club, currently handling t-shirt orders, car is leaking oil, won the Bash at the Barn tournament with my Orks( Waaagh!!!), just pledged to finish 2000pts of DE in 2 months, taxes and fafsa still not done, and i still need a job!!! Anyhow back to the action.

Today I want to start a 4 part series based on what I think is a major reason people do badly in competive play. Most people are pretty competent individuals. So why do some people constantly win top tournements, while other, equally competent players never seem to hit their stride. The answer: MISTAKES!!! How do we prevent ourselves from making mistakes? By become Knowlegable about the game we play. There are many different aspects to this. Today we will cover the first aspect. Know ThyRules!!!

Know the basic rules: This is one of those things you shouldn't think you would have to mention, but it is often overlooked, especially with "veteran" gamers. Many so-called vets fail to really learn the new rules after a new edition releases and often confuse rules between editions.  Do you remember the first time you played a game of chess and someone castled their king? How about taking a pawn en passant?

The Wookie let's Chuck Norris win.

A player must ask himself, 'How do I expect to master a game I do not know the rules of?'
When my brother-in-law first started playing, he lost alot.  He has always played his tau really well, but his tactics are very min-maxed. He would always try some caculated gamble only to realize too late that the rule didn't work quite like he thought. This would often result in a game losing failure. Being knowlegable about the rules is the only way to make tatical desicions on the fly and come out on top.

"What do you mean,  'The popular vote doesn't count'"

Examples: Do you still have to make last man standing checks? What happens if a squads transport is destroyed and they can't disembark out of the exit points? If a squad deep strikes into a multi-floored ruin, where is it placed? Can a vehicle drive through a ruin? Do jump infantry squads take dangerous terrian tests when leaving difficult terrain. How fast is cruising speed? Can you make saves off dangerous terrian tests. Can fearless models fail leadership tests?  I think you got the hint. If you don't know any of the above questions, look them up. One of the biggest weaknesses most players have is that they would rather ask 'that rules guy' or post a rules question on a forum instead of looking it up. Sadly, " That's what it said on Warseer" doesn't hold up well in a rules argument at a tournament. Don't be afraid to crack open the BBOR. You might learn something. Another way to familiarize yourself with the rules is to surf online rules forums for other peoples rules questions.

That's it for now. What are some ways you find to keep up-to-date and fresh on the rules? Tune in next time for Part 2: Know Thyself!!!

Modeling the Duke

Today we will look at a step by step on how I converted my own Duke Sliscus. He is a really cool charater and I think the dual swords are kick ass. I'll just warn you, this post is long and pic heavy. Feel free to skip to the end for some more shots of the finished model. If you still with me, I'm gonna get right into it
                                
What you need:     Dark Elf Lokhir Fellheart Model
                             2 X Power Sword from the Wych Kit
                             1 Splinter Pistol bit from Warrior Kit
                             1 Head from the Warrior kit
                             1 Blast pistol bit from the Warrior Kit.
Step 1: Take off the Head

Now, i suppose if you wanted to, you could keep the head. It doesn't look bad. I find the biggest mistake people make in converting is keeping the small things because they can. The kraken helm is a major part of the Fellheart Model. If you want a  Duke model and not a "Lokhir model your using as the Duke" then head has got to go. This is actually one of the most annoying parts of the conversion, especial if your using a hobbydrill and sprue cutters. Just be patient and it should go fine.I left the very bottom tendrils of the helm and I wand to paint them to look like clasps for the cape.

Step 2: The Head

I really love the head I used. I had it on my archon before I started using Vect. It just has a sort of ninja look. It also goes with the fluff that he does not like to share the air with lesser species. You must cut the head to fit the cut made for the body. After that you simply glue the head to the body. This is what mine looked like.

Step 3: The Left Arm

The left army on th body is molded on. You could just alter the knife the the sword, but i wanted to duke to have Dark Eldar gauntlets  to distinguish him as an Dark Eldar instead of fantasy elf. You can easily cut off the left arm up to the cape. Sadly I forgot to get a pic at this point. Sorry.

The left arm bit is easily fixed. Just cut the arm off just above the glove end.

Before

After

Step 4:  Now the right arm is a little more tricky. The body needs no work but the right arm sword will be tricky since the arm bit is left-handed.  You could just use the Lokhir arm and sword, but it just wouldn't look right. To me, twin blades means identical twin blades. Also, this conversion really needs a lot of Dark Eldar cues to pull it into the 41st millennia. 

First you take the Splinter pistol bit, and the second Wych sword bit. Now you want to cut the splinter pistol off the arm. Make sure to do this delicately and try to remove the trigger guard from around the finger.Later you will need to cut the arm off just above the gauntlet, but for now leave it on so you can get a good handle on the bit. Then you want to cut the top of the sword of just about the hand, but below the hand guard. Make sure to hang on to the hand bit, as you will need it in order to use the sword hand on the new arm. 

Then just glue them together. I recommend you use Plasti-Zap or some other form of plastic cement. These parts are too small to pin and super glue just won't cut if for a robust model. After that, clip the pistol handle off the new arm. Then cut the sword handle off the old arm and glue it on to the new arm.

Now all you do is cut the arm of just about the gauntlet and that arm is ready to go.

Step 5. Blast pistol:  As the Duke already has his hands full, the best way to model his blast pistol is to have it hanging from his belt. Take the blast pistol bit and cut off the arm. If you are careful you can cut the hand away leaving a reasonable handle behind. This will mostly be hidden so it doesn't have to be perfect. You may even have to trim the handle and bit to get it to fit well. Next simply glue the blast pistol to his side like so.

Step 6: Glue on the arms and Presto! you are read to take the Duke to battle! Here are some more pictures of the finished product.

So what do y'all think? Do you like or dislike it? What particular parts do you like or what could I do to make it look better? Comment and criticisms are appreciated.

BUY A @#%!&! CASE ALREADY!!

I know this hobby can be quite expensive and we all cut corners when we can, but a good figure case is like car insurance. Sure, it may feel like you don't need it and it is a waste of money, but once you have it you feel protected. And when something goes wrong and you don't have it, you really feel the sting.

When I first started, i was hell bent on not spending too much money. I played necrons so I only had to buy two colors of paint, Mithril Silver and Boltgun Metal. For the longest time I refused to buy Snot Green to add a little color, Refused.

It was the same for miniture storage. At first I used an old tool box my dad had. Of course, everytime i went somewhere I broke models. And everytime I had to glue them back together and it was very frustrating. When I finally did buy a case, I bought the cheapest thing I could find: a Reaper Mini Case. Full of foam $50 Bucks. After about six month, the low quality foam started falling out, i knew I made a mistake. After that I when back to caring things in tackle boxes. It was so frustrating. I finally realized that I had spent $100 and  countless hours and loads of frustration instead of getting what I needed the first time.

So I finally after years of frustration, i broke down and bought the biggest Sabol Army Case they make, and I am telling you it revolutionized the hobby for me. My army is always ready to go. I don't have to worry what is broke in my army. It is absolutely amazing.

So I get my brand new dark eldar and what do I do? I go out and buy foam immediately, right? I mean, I've learned my lesson, right? WRONG!!!

I keep saying to my self I'll buy it later and look what happens. I break vital bits on 2 -$50 models.  This is what i like to call a 'Stupid Tax'- you were stupid, now you must pay for it.

Anyhow, the moral of today's story is, Go buy a good quality case to keep you minis in. Get either a Battlefoam or a Sabol. Battlefoam is the best. Sabol is cheaper, but high quality and you won't be dissapointed with it. In the long run it will save you, time, money, and whole lot of heart ache. See ya'll next time. I'm off to order some foam.

ALIEN ASSAULT!!!!

As a new member of the FTW Bloggers Group, I was browsing through some of the great bloggers featured and came across a great article on Stillfrosty Conversions about Alien Assault. Alien Assault(or AA) is freeware strategy game made my TearDown. AA is about "orbital marines" that board "abandoned space ships" completing mission why fighting four limbed alien creatures know as "The Swarm." By now I hope this storyline is beginning sound familiar. This game is a computer adaptation of the ol' board game we all know and love. In fact, though my experience with the board game is limited, I believe the game play is the exact same.

The game has been out for over a year now, but since I haven't heard of it till now, i figured I would help get the word out. I have spent hours today playing the tutorial mission and it has been an absolute blast. Head on over to TearDown's Website and check it out. What do you got to lose, it's free!

'Saturday Gaming Results' and 'Stevo likes 'em naked'

The Battle Barn is having a whopping, humongous, 2500pts. tournament in March.  This will be the biggest tournament, points-wise, that I have ever played in. It's actually quite daunting. Each round will have a 3 hour time limit, meaning by days end, we should see about eleven hours of gaming. uhhhh!

About now is the time that everyone starts building test lists and practicing for the big event. I got to play test everything my list today against my good friend The Griz, and got to try out my new unit that I always wanted to try, The 'Naked' Nob unit. First I will give you my list:

   

   HQ   

 Thrakka   

 Big Mek -Kustom Force field, Power Klaw, Cybork Body 

   ELITES   

 15 Lootas   

 15 Lootas   

 10 Nobs    -       Waaagh!! Banner, Painboy, Power Klaw ,Stikkbombz 

                  Battlewagon-       Deffrolla ,Red Paint ,2 X Big Shoota, Amour Plates 

 TROOPS 

   7 Nobs Bikers- Cybork Bodies, 4 Power Klaws,  2 Big Choppas ,Painboy 2, Combi-Skorchas,  2 bosspoles,  Waaagh!!! Banner   

 18 orks nob Pk Bosspole   

 18 orks nob Pk Bosspole   

 11 grots   

 FAST ATTACK  

 2 Deffkoptas-  2 TL Rokkit Launcha,       2 Buzzsaws   

 HEAVY SUPPORT   

BattleWagon- Deffrolla,  2 Big Shootas ,Red Paint  

 BattleWagon- Deffrolla, 2 Big Shootas, Red Paint     

            Total-2499

The Result of the game was a solid ork win. We played  pitched battle, Sieze Ground (5 objectives). We called the game at the bottom of the 5th turn because Griz only had 3 models left on the board and I easily held two objectives. Don't be fooled by the end of the match results though, the battle was very close. Had a few key rolls went different, the game could have easily went the other way. One of the many highlights of the game was Thrakka. After calling the Waaagh! and killing a Death Company Dred, he was counter charged by The Sanguinor, a Libriain, the Super captain, and 20 Assault marines and didn't take a single wound!!! Waaagh!!! baby. Waaagh!!!

But the Real reason  for this post was to talk about my new favorite unit...

THE 'NAKED' NOBS!!!

Now to be honest, I had my doubts. The concept of running Naked Nobs is not that you run them with absolutely nothing, but that you run them with the bare essentials, usually painboy, bosspole, waaagh banner, and 1 PK. This way you get a powerful unit at a bargain price The counter strategy to this is running Nobs uber decked out with different equipment in order to take advantage of wound allocation. The Nob biker unit list above is a great example of this strategy. Of course, the down side to this strategy is that things get expensive quickly. For a comparison, the nob biker unit runs about 560pts, where as, the 'Naked' Nobs come in at aprox.280pts.   

Like I said, I had my doubts. I've got my codex pretty well figured out, and I am, by nature, resistant to change. I had to remind myself that this is a horrible mind-set for a gamer to have and after a friend reminded me about 'Naked Nobs', i figuired it was time I gave them a try. I actually expected to play a couple of games with them, get mad, and put them back on my  shelf. The results......

They did AMAZING!!!!. Them and the attached big Mek killed the following, in order......

10 man Death Company

Master of the Reclusiarch

10 man Assault Squad

The Sanguinor

And politely walked a 6 man Assault Squad off the back edge for the win.

And the crazy thing is, I lost maybe half of them. Holy Crap, where have you been all my life? I'm so impressed with this unit that I'm gonna try to squeeze it into my normal 2000pts.  Now I many be jumping the gun a bit, and they may do horrible, but for now. They are here to stay.