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!!!