So, the other night, we were playing city fight because, well because I've pretty much built a city and so there's really no reason not to have a Cities of Death game.
In any case, as you all may know, COD is a bit unfair for certain armies, namely the IG because they all of a sudden get good saves where they didn't have them before. That is not the point of this post.
I, Monstro, was fighting the IG and playing my Eldar as is my want these days, and I chose the Sewer rat stratagem. Here's the kicker. Dire Avengers, blade storm, pretty much deep striking without deviation. That's...ummm....not fair.
Now, I'm not saying that the tactic skews the battle a bit. I'm saying that it is absolutly cheating. Like playing with loaded dice really.
What made matters worse is that they popped up in a building that I had bought the Ammo Dump stratagem for and they could re-roll misses.
So, for those of you not paying attention, that's 32 shuriken catapult shots (w/ an 18" range for the Dire Avengers) that can re-roll misses. They already have a BS of 4. The exarch has a 5. I hit an Ogryn squad with 30 shots one round, and destroyed an entire 10 man fire squad two rounds later (who happened to have a 4+ invulnerable).
Cheating.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Two BIG tips
So, I'm crazy in the middle of making about a million things. Seriously.
I've basically figured out how to make monoliths. I'm going to sell them as Necron buildings, but they look like Monoliths. In addition to that, I made a series of Necron powerplants from the Dawn of War game, as well as a greater summoning tower from the same. I've painted up about four necron spires which I routinely sell on Ebay...and that's just the Necrons.
For some strange reason, mainly because I'm not doing this to pay to eat, the pressure is off. As a result I have, and I'm not kidding on this, about thirty irons in the fire. I will share more when the time comes.
Until then, I would like to point out something. I have long believed that whatever GW says you should do in order to make something is a load of crap. Always. I believe I stand vindicated now. I decided to buy some Miliput (Green stuff) to use, and well, a situation came up where Miliput as it is described by GW seemed the obvious solution to my problem. So I used it.
That shit is horrible. Actually, its worse than that. It's useless. And when it dries it will screw up whatever piece you were attempting to reinforce before it falls off of whatever thing it was supposed to adhere to. It is neither an adhesive nor a very good putty whatever. You can buy air dry clay that works twice as well. Or if you really feel the need for something that dries to the durability of porcelain, may I recommend a trip to Home Depot. Look for stuff to stick Kitchen tile down to counters. That shit's awesome and comes in gallon bucket for about three bucks. If you are actually attempting to make things out of miliput--may I recommend sculpy or...geez anything else; that shit sucks, is I guess what I'm saying.
Meanwhile, a long time ago I recommended the plastic that people put in ceiling lights in offices instead of Plasti-card. This is because plasticard is about $8 per square foot and the sheet plastic for the light fixtures is about $3 for 6 square feet. The only problem was how to cut it. I tried an electric knife (shattered), a dremel cutting wheel (melted the plastic to the wheel), the actual tool you're supposed to use (useless and only cut in straight lines after breaking your arm). Solution: scissors.
You're welcome!
I've basically figured out how to make monoliths. I'm going to sell them as Necron buildings, but they look like Monoliths. In addition to that, I made a series of Necron powerplants from the Dawn of War game, as well as a greater summoning tower from the same. I've painted up about four necron spires which I routinely sell on Ebay...and that's just the Necrons.
For some strange reason, mainly because I'm not doing this to pay to eat, the pressure is off. As a result I have, and I'm not kidding on this, about thirty irons in the fire. I will share more when the time comes.
Until then, I would like to point out something. I have long believed that whatever GW says you should do in order to make something is a load of crap. Always. I believe I stand vindicated now. I decided to buy some Miliput (Green stuff) to use, and well, a situation came up where Miliput as it is described by GW seemed the obvious solution to my problem. So I used it.
That shit is horrible. Actually, its worse than that. It's useless. And when it dries it will screw up whatever piece you were attempting to reinforce before it falls off of whatever thing it was supposed to adhere to. It is neither an adhesive nor a very good putty whatever. You can buy air dry clay that works twice as well. Or if you really feel the need for something that dries to the durability of porcelain, may I recommend a trip to Home Depot. Look for stuff to stick Kitchen tile down to counters. That shit's awesome and comes in gallon bucket for about three bucks. If you are actually attempting to make things out of miliput--may I recommend sculpy or...geez anything else; that shit sucks, is I guess what I'm saying.
Meanwhile, a long time ago I recommended the plastic that people put in ceiling lights in offices instead of Plasti-card. This is because plasticard is about $8 per square foot and the sheet plastic for the light fixtures is about $3 for 6 square feet. The only problem was how to cut it. I tried an electric knife (shattered), a dremel cutting wheel (melted the plastic to the wheel), the actual tool you're supposed to use (useless and only cut in straight lines after breaking your arm). Solution: scissors.
You're welcome!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Eldar Codex: A re-review
So, I've been playing Eldar since the new codex came out.
First off, Harlequins are just ridiculously bad ass. It is as simple as that. I'm not sure why anyone would ever buy Striking Scorpions instead, and I'm damn confused as to why anyone is still buying the Howling Banshees. I think if you're going to buy the Howling Banshees, buy the phoenix lord to go along, but that's beside the point, which is simply: Harlequins are bad ass.
They took down the star cannon, the bright lance, and the vehicles (no more combat crystal). Okay, that's true. The first two problems with the eldar army are negligible next to the third. If you don't have vehicles, you don't worry about star cannons and bright lances. They made some strange rule in case you're playing two fire prisms, but who in the hell is playing two fire prisms? So, basically, the guardians got taken down a peg, but that's okay, because the Guardians can now have two fields of fire open for one weapon at the same time. Read the rules closely. It's nice.
Keep in mind, I have 15 jet bikes. They gave the jet bikes a major bump. They are sooo hot as to make Swooping Hawks even less desirable, and yes, they still get a move during their assault phase, fire or no, so something still has that Combat Crystal-esque tactic. I love the bikes.
Also, dire avengers, which used to suck are now so tactically powerful as to make any drawbacks one sees in the guardians to be negligible.
Wraithlords and Avatars, not that they needed it, are bumped. In fact, though I play Eldar, I would list the Avatar as a kind of cheating miniature (much like the Chaos Lord, Tau Crisis suits, the entire Dark Eldar army, etc.--every army has a little cheat, so don't get on your high horses, non-Eldar players). It's the point cost. It's so low! I have played about four battles with my eldar now, and have still yet to buy the farseer.
The problem, and I mentioned this before I think, is that the book is divided in two. All the necessary rules are in the front, and all the stats are in the back. That's so fucking stupid as to make me want to slap GW employees (harder than I normally want to slap them). Why in the fuck did they do that! Oh wait, I know. It's to make pirated PDF versions prohibitive. Great GW, I bought your book and it's a pain in the ass for me too!
Finally, and I can't stress this enough, Harlequins kick ass!
By the way, last tuesday, a half strength squad of Dire Avengers (3), plus a full squad of Howling banshees (4+exarch) killed a fully decked/four wound/monstrous creature Chaos Lord. It was so very sweet that I didn't even care when that same squad got mowed down by one of three pie plates the Iron Warriors (cheat army) decided to bring to the battlefield.
First off, Harlequins are just ridiculously bad ass. It is as simple as that. I'm not sure why anyone would ever buy Striking Scorpions instead, and I'm damn confused as to why anyone is still buying the Howling Banshees. I think if you're going to buy the Howling Banshees, buy the phoenix lord to go along, but that's beside the point, which is simply: Harlequins are bad ass.
They took down the star cannon, the bright lance, and the vehicles (no more combat crystal). Okay, that's true. The first two problems with the eldar army are negligible next to the third. If you don't have vehicles, you don't worry about star cannons and bright lances. They made some strange rule in case you're playing two fire prisms, but who in the hell is playing two fire prisms? So, basically, the guardians got taken down a peg, but that's okay, because the Guardians can now have two fields of fire open for one weapon at the same time. Read the rules closely. It's nice.
Keep in mind, I have 15 jet bikes. They gave the jet bikes a major bump. They are sooo hot as to make Swooping Hawks even less desirable, and yes, they still get a move during their assault phase, fire or no, so something still has that Combat Crystal-esque tactic. I love the bikes.
Also, dire avengers, which used to suck are now so tactically powerful as to make any drawbacks one sees in the guardians to be negligible.
Wraithlords and Avatars, not that they needed it, are bumped. In fact, though I play Eldar, I would list the Avatar as a kind of cheating miniature (much like the Chaos Lord, Tau Crisis suits, the entire Dark Eldar army, etc.--every army has a little cheat, so don't get on your high horses, non-Eldar players). It's the point cost. It's so low! I have played about four battles with my eldar now, and have still yet to buy the farseer.
The problem, and I mentioned this before I think, is that the book is divided in two. All the necessary rules are in the front, and all the stats are in the back. That's so fucking stupid as to make me want to slap GW employees (harder than I normally want to slap them). Why in the fuck did they do that! Oh wait, I know. It's to make pirated PDF versions prohibitive. Great GW, I bought your book and it's a pain in the ass for me too!
Finally, and I can't stress this enough, Harlequins kick ass!
By the way, last tuesday, a half strength squad of Dire Avengers (3), plus a full squad of Howling banshees (4+exarch) killed a fully decked/four wound/monstrous creature Chaos Lord. It was so very sweet that I didn't even care when that same squad got mowed down by one of three pie plates the Iron Warriors (cheat army) decided to bring to the battlefield.
Hills re-revisited: It begins
Man, I hate hills. No seriously. As a terrain designer, I suppose I should love hills--the challenge that they represent, the ease with which one can make an okay looking hill, the zen of trying to improve the hills design, but I don't like hills and here's why.
Any time you put a hill on the battlefield, you run into problems. No amount of rule stipulation on the part of Games Workshop has managed to shore up this mess. Honestly, the people I play with now just turn to me and ask with every squad that fires, "Can I see that guy and does he get cover?" I mean seriously, how hard is it to say "things that are X" tall are level 2, and things that are Y" tall are level 3." What I've tried to do here is make hills more reasonable for game play to clear up the confusion.
By the way, if you are part of my game group, READ THIS!!! I'm tired of making terrain that I don't want to set on the table because nobody knows what to do with it. It's a hill, for Pete's sake! It shouldn't complicate game play for longer than a moment.
Any time you put a hill on the battlefield, you run into problems. No amount of rule stipulation on the part of Games Workshop has managed to shore up this mess. Honestly, the people I play with now just turn to me and ask with every squad that fires, "Can I see that guy and does he get cover?" I mean seriously, how hard is it to say "things that are X" tall are level 2, and things that are Y" tall are level 3." What I've tried to do here is make hills more reasonable for game play to clear up the confusion.
By the way, if you are part of my game group, READ THIS!!! I'm tired of making terrain that I don't want to set on the table because nobody knows what to do with it. It's a hill, for Pete's sake! It shouldn't complicate game play for longer than a moment.
Hills re-revisited: The Basics
The Basics:
A hill is any piece of terrain that a miniature can stand on top of. A hill may have other characteristics—a bunker is, for instance, a hill for miniatures standing on top of it.
Hills have three levels of height. These height levels do not directly correspond to the height levels of figures (a level 3 hill is not the same height as a level 3 miniature). Hills allow figures on top of them to ignore terrain equal to or lower than the hill’s height, bearing in mind that no vantage point will allow a model to ignore level 3 terrain. Enemy models attempting to draw a line of sight to a model on a hill may ignore all terrain features of equal to or lower than the height of the hill. Models on top of hills do not gain cover from the hill itself though they may gain cover due to bluffs, canyons, or area terrain on top of the hill.
A hill is any piece of terrain that a miniature can stand on top of. A hill may have other characteristics—a bunker is, for instance, a hill for miniatures standing on top of it.
Hills have three levels of height. These height levels do not directly correspond to the height levels of figures (a level 3 hill is not the same height as a level 3 miniature). Hills allow figures on top of them to ignore terrain equal to or lower than the hill’s height, bearing in mind that no vantage point will allow a model to ignore level 3 terrain. Enemy models attempting to draw a line of sight to a model on a hill may ignore all terrain features of equal to or lower than the height of the hill. Models on top of hills do not gain cover from the hill itself though they may gain cover due to bluffs, canyons, or area terrain on top of the hill.
hills cont'd: some strangeness
A hill’s height remains constant and is not relative. In other words, a level 2 hill is still level 2 even to models standing on top of level 1 hills. It is level 2 even to height level 3 models. So, a level 2 hill blocks LOS between 2 level 2 models even if both figures are standing on level 1 hills.
Standing on top of a level 3 hill, because it does not allow you to look over level 3 terrain, confers no real height advantage over a level 2 hill. However, as a level 3 hill it will block LOS against everything not on it (including figures on a level 2 portion of that same hill). In a worse case scenario, one might imagine a 3 step hill with a defiler on the level 2 area attempting to fire upon a Land Raider also on that same level 2 but with a level 3 step between the two models. Despite the gigantic nature of both these vehicles, and despite their elevated position, the level 3 rise between the two figures will block LOS.
As height level 3 figures already ignore level 2 terrain for purposes of LOS, and level 1 terrain for both LOS and cover saves, this size model gains no advantage on a level 1 hill. On a level 2 hill, these models ignore the cover save conferred by level 2 cover as well as the hull down that tanks get behind level 2 terrain. …But the same is true of any size model on a level 2 hill.
Standing on top of a level 3 hill, because it does not allow you to look over level 3 terrain, confers no real height advantage over a level 2 hill. However, as a level 3 hill it will block LOS against everything not on it (including figures on a level 2 portion of that same hill). In a worse case scenario, one might imagine a 3 step hill with a defiler on the level 2 area attempting to fire upon a Land Raider also on that same level 2 but with a level 3 step between the two models. Despite the gigantic nature of both these vehicles, and despite their elevated position, the level 3 rise between the two figures will block LOS.
As height level 3 figures already ignore level 2 terrain for purposes of LOS, and level 1 terrain for both LOS and cover saves, this size model gains no advantage on a level 1 hill. On a level 2 hill, these models ignore the cover save conferred by level 2 cover as well as the hull down that tanks get behind level 2 terrain. …But the same is true of any size model on a level 2 hill.
hills cont'd: commentary on the strangeness
At first these situations seem counter-intuitive, but correct modeling can make such rules more realistic. As level one does not block LOS between level 2 combatants, it must be shorter than level 2 models; less than 1 ½ inch aught to do it. Level 2 blocks LOS between level 2 models but not level 3, which means 1 ½”-2”. Level 3 must be modeled that LOS must be blocked between two dreadnoughts both standing on level 2 hill. Optimally, this would mean that level 3 should be about 5” tall.
The problem seems to be the grey area between level 2 and 3: 2”-5”. I am inclined to split the difference and make level 2 go from 1 ½”-2 ½” and make level 3 any height greater than 2 ½” with an optimal modeling height of 5”. If one imagines then that level one equals up to 1 ½” with an optimal height of 1”, level 2 between 1 ½”-2 ½” with an optimum of 2” and that level 3 is 2 ½” and up with an optimum of 5”, the board becomes remarkably self evident in regards to what blocks what for everything except the largest of tanks.
The problem seems to be the grey area between level 2 and 3: 2”-5”. I am inclined to split the difference and make level 2 go from 1 ½”-2 ½” and make level 3 any height greater than 2 ½” with an optimal modeling height of 5”. If one imagines then that level one equals up to 1 ½” with an optimal height of 1”, level 2 between 1 ½”-2 ½” with an optimum of 2” and that level 3 is 2 ½” and up with an optimum of 5”, the board becomes remarkably self evident in regards to what blocks what for everything except the largest of tanks.
optional rule for hills: hull down: Duck and Cover
As the rules stand now, level 2 and 3 hills do exactly the same thing: they allow you to ignore level 2 terrain. Because of this, there is no reason to climb to the top of level 3 hills.
To simulate the increased height advantage, assume that a hill does not negate area terrain cover’s cover save for cover equal to the height of the hill. The hill will still allow firers to ignore terrain of any depth as far as LOS is concerned. Therefore, a figure on a level 2 hill would still be able to see over level 2 terrain and ignore its capacity to grant a cover save unless figures are actually imbedded inside level 2 area terrain. In such a case, they get a cover save, but can be fired at no matter how deeply they are imbedded.
With this rule in effect, level 3 terrain would allow a figure to ignore area 2 cover terrain.
To simulate the increased height advantage, assume that a hill does not negate area terrain cover’s cover save for cover equal to the height of the hill. The hill will still allow firers to ignore terrain of any depth as far as LOS is concerned. Therefore, a figure on a level 2 hill would still be able to see over level 2 terrain and ignore its capacity to grant a cover save unless figures are actually imbedded inside level 2 area terrain. In such a case, they get a cover save, but can be fired at no matter how deeply they are imbedded.
With this rule in effect, level 3 terrain would allow a figure to ignore area 2 cover terrain.
optional rule for hills: hull down
One other way to increase the virility of firers on level three terrain is to allow such firers, and only such firers, to ignore level 2 terrain against level 3 enemies. Thus, enemy tanks attacked by fire from a level 3 hill (and not on a level 2 or 3 hill) would not be able to claim the condition of “hull down.”
optional rule for hills: canopy
Most terrain is “open topped” some terrain, however, is not. In such cases, terrain may have different “game heights” in regards to what it blocks for LOS and when it will provide cover. Terrain with a roof, for instance, counts as level 3 for cover saves, but may be only level 1 or 2 to block LOS depending on the size of the building. This terrain cannot block LOS regardless of depth to enemies that are higher than its “LOS size”. For instance, a bunker that is level 2 in height has a roof. Enemies that take higher ground cannot ignore the cover save afforded the bunker by taking a position on a level 2 hill, though they can ignore its ability to block their LOS. If the bunker is large, and there is more than 6” between the target and its attacker on the hill, the attacker may still draw line of sight to the enemy as he is shooting down and not horizontally, through the terrain.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Eldar Codex: A Review
Keep in mind. The Eldar collection I inherited began around the time that the Harlequin boxed set came out. This was before Avatars (well, harlequin sergeants were called Avatars), this was before Dark Eldar. Hell, this was before aspect warriors. Since then it has grown. I have probably 80 or so Guardians. 3 Wraithlords (one harlequin), 4 vypers, fourteen jet bikes.
I have Nuadhu. Who in the world has Nuadhu? Just me, right?
So, my read of the new Eldar Codex is probably a lot different than other peoples...and that's good I think. Let me try this another way, between Howling Banshees and Striking Scorpions, you would have been a fool to pick the banshees, and realistically, you would have been better off putting your points into a seer council. Between Guardians and rangers, that was a toss up, but they were both better than dire avengers. Dark Reapers were nice, but better than a fire prism or a falcon with a combat crystal? No way. Bikes were useless. Even the special wild riders from the craftworld codex. They were too expensive and they didn't do anything. The Phoenix Lords weren't worth the points, and the Avatar was worth the points even if he never did anything. In other words, while the Eldar codex had grown over the years to encompass a large array of models, half the book would have been a mistake to use. Eldar have a plan for victory--that plan did not include Swooping Hawks. Nice models. Great chance to really show off your painting skills, but actually putting Swooping Hawks on the table was a big f'ing mistake.
Now, from what I understand, the big news behind the codex is the inclusion of this new HQ choice: The Autarch. Okay. I'm not against that. That's nice. I'll probably never use him since the Eldar have ten or so HQ choices already. I suppose if I run out of points, I could put in an Autarch, but I don't really need a cheapie HQ for my Saim Hann force. Plus, given WYSIWYG, I can already see that people will expect me to have twenty versions of this guy so that I can play every Autarch combination. So...I'll convert, but I'm not going to be going crazy on this.
The big news for me is that the codex seems to have brought back to life the troop choices that had fallen into ill repute. Swooping Hawks and Howling Banshees, Jet Bikes and Dire Avengers are all worth buying again. The bad news is that Eldar vehicles aren't nearly as kick butt as they once were, but let's face it, that combat crystal on all the vyper combination was...how should I say this...unfair (and not just in the 40k in 40 minutes games where it wasn't unfair but rather cheating). The best part is that GW didn't cheap out on this. Their solution to the "fix the Eldar" dilemma is ingenious in its simplicity. Half the Exarch powers now extend out to the squad. Wow! That's a good idea. It's great. Oh, and give everybody Fleet of Foot. That was the stupidest crap I'd ever heard of in my life. Half the army could fleet of foot, unless they had an exarch; that was dumb.
But I think the single most worthwhile thing they could have done in the new book (besides making War Walkers worth buying again...thank you GW) was that they brought back the Harlequins. They even made them an interesting troop choice. They aren't the "unofficial Harlequins from GW's site, but for that we should be thankful, I have a feeling that these harlequins will hold their own. My only complaint is that they took out the Solitaire, but I'm sure the Solitaire will make an appearance soon enough.
Problems? Yeah. The way the book is set up there's kind of like this doubling up thing. Under each troop choice is this intricate list of what everything does and then the second half of the book features the point cost of those same items. That's kind of dumb. Just put the PV down with the troops. Last night I was reading the Striking Scorpions entry and was tricked into believing that they didn't have shuriken pistols anymore. Because the weapon wasn't new it wasn't explained along with the striking scorpions; I had to go to the back of the book to look at the "real" army list to see that they were still using two hand to hand weapons at the same time.
My other complaint centers around GW's ever shrinking photo gallery in these codexes. With the number of painters out there, it seems ridicolous that I can't get more than one picture of a Fire Dragon and no pictures of guardians from Saim Hann (the craftworld I play). I realize that most of Saim Hann is flying around and all, but to have that same tired old picture from the old Eldar codex and the old Craftworld Eldar codex...well, I want to see some new stuff. When you pay $20, I think you can ask for some full color glossys.
All in all though, I think that this is a wonderful incarnation of one of the classic 40k armies. I realize that Eldar players are not as common as Necron or Marine players, but as the army has been around for awhile, it has accumulated a lot of different figures to account for, and so I can appreciate the complexity that goes into making rules for the Eldar.
On a final note, this has little to do with the codex itself, but the hot new figures for the eldar are NOT the Autarch. What GW has done with the always ugly Wraithlord and the war walkers is absolutely amazing and I recommend hitting a store just to see these figures.
I have Nuadhu. Who in the world has Nuadhu? Just me, right?
So, my read of the new Eldar Codex is probably a lot different than other peoples...and that's good I think. Let me try this another way, between Howling Banshees and Striking Scorpions, you would have been a fool to pick the banshees, and realistically, you would have been better off putting your points into a seer council. Between Guardians and rangers, that was a toss up, but they were both better than dire avengers. Dark Reapers were nice, but better than a fire prism or a falcon with a combat crystal? No way. Bikes were useless. Even the special wild riders from the craftworld codex. They were too expensive and they didn't do anything. The Phoenix Lords weren't worth the points, and the Avatar was worth the points even if he never did anything. In other words, while the Eldar codex had grown over the years to encompass a large array of models, half the book would have been a mistake to use. Eldar have a plan for victory--that plan did not include Swooping Hawks. Nice models. Great chance to really show off your painting skills, but actually putting Swooping Hawks on the table was a big f'ing mistake.
Now, from what I understand, the big news behind the codex is the inclusion of this new HQ choice: The Autarch. Okay. I'm not against that. That's nice. I'll probably never use him since the Eldar have ten or so HQ choices already. I suppose if I run out of points, I could put in an Autarch, but I don't really need a cheapie HQ for my Saim Hann force. Plus, given WYSIWYG, I can already see that people will expect me to have twenty versions of this guy so that I can play every Autarch combination. So...I'll convert, but I'm not going to be going crazy on this.
The big news for me is that the codex seems to have brought back to life the troop choices that had fallen into ill repute. Swooping Hawks and Howling Banshees, Jet Bikes and Dire Avengers are all worth buying again. The bad news is that Eldar vehicles aren't nearly as kick butt as they once were, but let's face it, that combat crystal on all the vyper combination was...how should I say this...unfair (and not just in the 40k in 40 minutes games where it wasn't unfair but rather cheating). The best part is that GW didn't cheap out on this. Their solution to the "fix the Eldar" dilemma is ingenious in its simplicity. Half the Exarch powers now extend out to the squad. Wow! That's a good idea. It's great. Oh, and give everybody Fleet of Foot. That was the stupidest crap I'd ever heard of in my life. Half the army could fleet of foot, unless they had an exarch; that was dumb.
But I think the single most worthwhile thing they could have done in the new book (besides making War Walkers worth buying again...thank you GW) was that they brought back the Harlequins. They even made them an interesting troop choice. They aren't the "unofficial Harlequins from GW's site, but for that we should be thankful, I have a feeling that these harlequins will hold their own. My only complaint is that they took out the Solitaire, but I'm sure the Solitaire will make an appearance soon enough.
Problems? Yeah. The way the book is set up there's kind of like this doubling up thing. Under each troop choice is this intricate list of what everything does and then the second half of the book features the point cost of those same items. That's kind of dumb. Just put the PV down with the troops. Last night I was reading the Striking Scorpions entry and was tricked into believing that they didn't have shuriken pistols anymore. Because the weapon wasn't new it wasn't explained along with the striking scorpions; I had to go to the back of the book to look at the "real" army list to see that they were still using two hand to hand weapons at the same time.
My other complaint centers around GW's ever shrinking photo gallery in these codexes. With the number of painters out there, it seems ridicolous that I can't get more than one picture of a Fire Dragon and no pictures of guardians from Saim Hann (the craftworld I play). I realize that most of Saim Hann is flying around and all, but to have that same tired old picture from the old Eldar codex and the old Craftworld Eldar codex...well, I want to see some new stuff. When you pay $20, I think you can ask for some full color glossys.
All in all though, I think that this is a wonderful incarnation of one of the classic 40k armies. I realize that Eldar players are not as common as Necron or Marine players, but as the army has been around for awhile, it has accumulated a lot of different figures to account for, and so I can appreciate the complexity that goes into making rules for the Eldar.
On a final note, this has little to do with the codex itself, but the hot new figures for the eldar are NOT the Autarch. What GW has done with the always ugly Wraithlord and the war walkers is absolutely amazing and I recommend hitting a store just to see these figures.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Slow month for 40k
Jeez, it's been a while. Well, ebay's been flopping, or not flopping depending on how much money I guess I want to make. The problem with ebay is that you really know the ammount of time you put into something and you put it up to sell. Past that point, it wouldn't be so bad, but they let you know how many people are "watching" the item and so as a seller, you know that there's interest. If the item doesn't sell past that point, you know that your prices are too high, but then, I'm not about to drop my prices just because...some of this stuff takes quite a bit of time and effort. In other words, I make this pact with myself to not sell out by selling low, and then... well...and then I have an attic filled with scenery that I need to do something with.
At that point, I should update my bargain bin, but things have been hectic around here. I hope to get pictures up this weekend.
On the playing front, not much to report. Our spot has had major surgery (the ceiling was coming down) which meant not much playing for a few weeks (and a number of comments from the landlord who simply cannot wrap his head around miniaturized wargames). We've supplemented with guitar hero to pass the time and are now, nearly, back on course.
Back on course, by the way, means that I can bring back the scenery that's worth playing on. Last week we did manage to get in a game played almost exclusively on unpainted, unworked out scenery. There was one hill that looked like a hill. Two forests that didn't have any trees. Six or seven little hills made out of green styrofoam that looked like...green styrofoam, and a pink building frame for the center to the table. Oh yeah, and an obligatory terrain bit from Battle for Macragge. We played carnage with four 40k in 40 minutes armies, and no one won because, well...we forget to make the half strength morale checks. My army, though, was last to reach the point where they could not claim the center of the table and I learned a really important lesson: I hate the dark eldar.
Seriously, a raider with a disentegrator, a splinter cannon, and 10 guys inside all rapid firing--what kind of bullshit is that?!?
But, as per usual, the genestealers (which I was playing) did pretty well, managing, in one turn to dessimate an entire squad of grey knights without taking a single casualty. I like to only play Tyranids once in a while so that I don't spoil my fun with too much of a good thing.
In any case, supposedly the week after Thanksgiving is the grand re-opening of Chris's attic and at that time I plan on putting up a new battle report. I am gearing up because we plan on innaugerating the new attic with a city fight board, and well, I want to do this right. I should be putting some pictures up soon under coming attraction, but I'm not sure how forthcoming they will be. After all, we've cleared the attic. No reason to take crappy scenery back out of the box when I can replace it.
Chris is telling me that there may be a big con at Stoneybrook that he wants me to go in on with him. Supposedly one of his WOW guild members runs the show which guarantees us super top secret backstage passes. In any case, I don't think they'll have too much complaint when I show up ready with an Ice World to run some 40k games.
I plan on writing more later about molding techniques so watch for those, but I think that belongs in its own post and not in an update.
At that point, I should update my bargain bin, but things have been hectic around here. I hope to get pictures up this weekend.
On the playing front, not much to report. Our spot has had major surgery (the ceiling was coming down) which meant not much playing for a few weeks (and a number of comments from the landlord who simply cannot wrap his head around miniaturized wargames). We've supplemented with guitar hero to pass the time and are now, nearly, back on course.
Back on course, by the way, means that I can bring back the scenery that's worth playing on. Last week we did manage to get in a game played almost exclusively on unpainted, unworked out scenery. There was one hill that looked like a hill. Two forests that didn't have any trees. Six or seven little hills made out of green styrofoam that looked like...green styrofoam, and a pink building frame for the center to the table. Oh yeah, and an obligatory terrain bit from Battle for Macragge. We played carnage with four 40k in 40 minutes armies, and no one won because, well...we forget to make the half strength morale checks. My army, though, was last to reach the point where they could not claim the center of the table and I learned a really important lesson: I hate the dark eldar.
Seriously, a raider with a disentegrator, a splinter cannon, and 10 guys inside all rapid firing--what kind of bullshit is that?!?
But, as per usual, the genestealers (which I was playing) did pretty well, managing, in one turn to dessimate an entire squad of grey knights without taking a single casualty. I like to only play Tyranids once in a while so that I don't spoil my fun with too much of a good thing.
In any case, supposedly the week after Thanksgiving is the grand re-opening of Chris's attic and at that time I plan on putting up a new battle report. I am gearing up because we plan on innaugerating the new attic with a city fight board, and well, I want to do this right. I should be putting some pictures up soon under coming attraction, but I'm not sure how forthcoming they will be. After all, we've cleared the attic. No reason to take crappy scenery back out of the box when I can replace it.
Chris is telling me that there may be a big con at Stoneybrook that he wants me to go in on with him. Supposedly one of his WOW guild members runs the show which guarantees us super top secret backstage passes. In any case, I don't think they'll have too much complaint when I show up ready with an Ice World to run some 40k games.
I plan on writing more later about molding techniques so watch for those, but I think that belongs in its own post and not in an update.
Monday, October 23, 2006
My special place
I'd like everyone to know that I, Monstro, have a special place. It's the place where I put scenery bits that I plan to use within the next twenty four hours, like that second floor to the bombed out building that fit perfectly and that I lost in my special place for nearly 2 weeks, or the sidewalks that I plan to mold from some child's toy that are perfectly detailed and to scale, there in my special place now too, wherever that is...
You see, what I do is I look through my bits and I say, "Grip tape, this will be perfect for the fences that I'm about to make." And then I move the grip tape to my special place and lose it.
Of course, since I'm a scenery designer, that means that half the crap I own was bought at a dollar store, a clearance bin, a yard sale (tag sale for you New Englanders), or browsing through the Final Cut, Big Lots, Walmart, or Home Depot. In short, half of the things that make it into my special place are things that I can't just go out and buy again. The Bit Bin on my website is an attempt to not have a special place, but let's face it, it's incomplete: I have five other boxes filled with stuff that have yet to be catalogued. Not to mention two little bookshelves covered with bits, pieces, chemicals, clay, rocks, flock, and paints that I'll never get to.
I write this here as advice to fellow scenery designers. DON'T HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE. It's just somewhere where you can conveniently lose things for weeks on end. Leave that important bit in with the general mass of crap you've collected. Yes, it will take more digging to get to it, but damned, you'll be able to find it without having to tear your house apart. Or you'll go out and buy a suitable standing part, which is right when you find the original, and now there's no damn continuity between your pieces!
Man, those sidewalk things were sweet. I'll never find them again.
You see, what I do is I look through my bits and I say, "Grip tape, this will be perfect for the fences that I'm about to make." And then I move the grip tape to my special place and lose it.
Of course, since I'm a scenery designer, that means that half the crap I own was bought at a dollar store, a clearance bin, a yard sale (tag sale for you New Englanders), or browsing through the Final Cut, Big Lots, Walmart, or Home Depot. In short, half of the things that make it into my special place are things that I can't just go out and buy again. The Bit Bin on my website is an attempt to not have a special place, but let's face it, it's incomplete: I have five other boxes filled with stuff that have yet to be catalogued. Not to mention two little bookshelves covered with bits, pieces, chemicals, clay, rocks, flock, and paints that I'll never get to.
I write this here as advice to fellow scenery designers. DON'T HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE. It's just somewhere where you can conveniently lose things for weeks on end. Leave that important bit in with the general mass of crap you've collected. Yes, it will take more digging to get to it, but damned, you'll be able to find it without having to tear your house apart. Or you'll go out and buy a suitable standing part, which is right when you find the original, and now there's no damn continuity between your pieces!
Man, those sidewalk things were sweet. I'll never find them again.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Monstro: Not Quite Beta Material
So, recently I've been told that my blog is too old school to allow commentary from new school hep cats. In other words, it's not beta. So, I decided to rectify that situation by becoming beta. Good news! I am now beta. Isn't that awesome. Bad news. My blogs aren't.
You see when I log in as Beta Monstro, it asks me whether or not I want to make a blog. It does not give me the option of transferring over the blog. According to blogger.com, as time goes on they will be asking more and more blogs to move over to the beta format. They just haven't asked me yet.
Obviously I could open up yet another blog called Gretchin Rock! or some shit like that, but man, I've got links going back and forth from my site. That sounds like an incredible nightmare.
Of course, this does make me feel a little better. I think I've received three comments on my blog total, and one was quite clearly a mass mailer. On my website, my guest sign in book is pitiful. Maybe I should run a bulletin board? By the way, anyone out there know how to run a bulletin board?
The idea that there are thousands of Warhammer junkies out there who would just love to comment on my blog is, I think, inticing, but my general attitude is: "how the hell would they find me?" I have a vision of how this thing sort of works and it involves using ebay as advertisement for my website, and from there, maybe they find my blog. Or the opposite, maybe people who look for 40k websites will find "The Empire of Mankind" and move from there to my website. I did not expect, however, to get anything going until I started putting crap up on ebay again.
Well, last week the website got 71 unique hits. Eleven of whom stuck around for more than twenty minutes. Where are these people coming from? Well, glad you like what you see, tell friends. I will attempt to put up more stuff on the bargain bin shortly.
As for people who'd like to comment, man, I'm trying. I really am. I have a minor in computer science. I have worked as a webmaster. I can obviously design a web page. But I know nothing about how computers work. If there is some "interesting" feature that I should be using, forget it. I'm a busy man, or I'm not a smart man; take your pick. But if I can't figure out how to get frinds on my IM account, I sure as hell can't get my blog turned beta until they make it some sort of push button operation.
There's always anonymous posting. I would love to publish even anonymous posts so long as they're not rudeness or open hostility.
You see when I log in as Beta Monstro, it asks me whether or not I want to make a blog. It does not give me the option of transferring over the blog. According to blogger.com, as time goes on they will be asking more and more blogs to move over to the beta format. They just haven't asked me yet.
Obviously I could open up yet another blog called Gretchin Rock! or some shit like that, but man, I've got links going back and forth from my site. That sounds like an incredible nightmare.
Of course, this does make me feel a little better. I think I've received three comments on my blog total, and one was quite clearly a mass mailer. On my website, my guest sign in book is pitiful. Maybe I should run a bulletin board? By the way, anyone out there know how to run a bulletin board?
The idea that there are thousands of Warhammer junkies out there who would just love to comment on my blog is, I think, inticing, but my general attitude is: "how the hell would they find me?" I have a vision of how this thing sort of works and it involves using ebay as advertisement for my website, and from there, maybe they find my blog. Or the opposite, maybe people who look for 40k websites will find "The Empire of Mankind" and move from there to my website. I did not expect, however, to get anything going until I started putting crap up on ebay again.
Well, last week the website got 71 unique hits. Eleven of whom stuck around for more than twenty minutes. Where are these people coming from? Well, glad you like what you see, tell friends. I will attempt to put up more stuff on the bargain bin shortly.
As for people who'd like to comment, man, I'm trying. I really am. I have a minor in computer science. I have worked as a webmaster. I can obviously design a web page. But I know nothing about how computers work. If there is some "interesting" feature that I should be using, forget it. I'm a busy man, or I'm not a smart man; take your pick. But if I can't figure out how to get frinds on my IM account, I sure as hell can't get my blog turned beta until they make it some sort of push button operation.
There's always anonymous posting. I would love to publish even anonymous posts so long as they're not rudeness or open hostility.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Space Marine Tactical and the las cannon option
Again, this is based primarilly on my playing space marines in the most recent battle, but I'm not quite sure that the las-cannon option for the space marine tactical squad is the best option available.
With a devastator squad, it seems to me, you know what you're doing. You put them in the corner of the board and there they sit. They fire. They don't fire. Either way, you know they are where they're supposed to be.
The problem with the tactical squad armed with the las-cannon is that you're inclined to sit them back like a devastator squad and let all the regular marines sit around doing nothing the enitre battle. That's a lot of people getting nothing done so that you can fire 1 measley las-cannon shot a round. Enhhhh... I'm just not sure it's worth it. Keep in mind, the standard of the tac squad is the sergeant with a really mean hand to hand weapon. So, you have a squad sitting at the edge of the board which will never get into hand to hand armed with a sergeant with master crafted power claws or something like that. That, or you make a squad with a las cannon and you put them in close so the sergeant can attack shit and the las cannon never fires.
I think the heavy weapon in the tac squad sort of has to be viewed as the thing you use if there's no reason to move. The problem is, when that weapon's a las-cannon, you kind of invent reasons not to move.
Obviously, all this is a thing of personal preference, but this is, I think the reason I suck with tactical marines but I love playing Thousand Sons. There's no reason the Thousand Sons shouldn't keep moving forward. After all, they want you in rapid fire range and their sergeant is an absolute bad ass. There's never the whole, "but then I'm wasting a las-cannon shot" to screw up your game.
With a devastator squad, it seems to me, you know what you're doing. You put them in the corner of the board and there they sit. They fire. They don't fire. Either way, you know they are where they're supposed to be.
The problem with the tactical squad armed with the las-cannon is that you're inclined to sit them back like a devastator squad and let all the regular marines sit around doing nothing the enitre battle. That's a lot of people getting nothing done so that you can fire 1 measley las-cannon shot a round. Enhhhh... I'm just not sure it's worth it. Keep in mind, the standard of the tac squad is the sergeant with a really mean hand to hand weapon. So, you have a squad sitting at the edge of the board which will never get into hand to hand armed with a sergeant with master crafted power claws or something like that. That, or you make a squad with a las cannon and you put them in close so the sergeant can attack shit and the las cannon never fires.
I think the heavy weapon in the tac squad sort of has to be viewed as the thing you use if there's no reason to move. The problem is, when that weapon's a las-cannon, you kind of invent reasons not to move.
Obviously, all this is a thing of personal preference, but this is, I think the reason I suck with tactical marines but I love playing Thousand Sons. There's no reason the Thousand Sons shouldn't keep moving forward. After all, they want you in rapid fire range and their sergeant is an absolute bad ass. There's never the whole, "but then I'm wasting a las-cannon shot" to screw up your game.
Marine Snipers
If you read my recent battle report, you'll notice my use of marine snipers. I don't know. The juries still out.
I've noticed that GW has this habit of making a weapon that's almost okay. Hits always on a 2+ (cool). Wounds always on a 4+ (cool). Full armor save (nearly useless). The same is said of nearly every harlequin weapon available, ultimately making that army not worth playing. I don't know. I haven't seen the new Eldar codex so I dont' know if Harlequins are in it whether they've been improved or what, but as it stands now, you either take the target's toughness out of the equation or their armor out of the equation, but never both. Some weapons should have that capacity. Without such potential, harlequins kind of suck.
As for the marine sniper rifle, who exactly is it good against? Eldar Wraithlords? Tyranids? Anyone else. I mean, a bolter against most infantry grant a better to "wound roll" and have a better capacity to ignore armor saves. Plus you get two shots at close range. Like I said, the jury is still out.
Two things, I think, keep the marine sniper squad in the game. Well...three unofficially. The unooffical "third reason" is that I have about sixty space marine scouts and I want to play them as a "10th company army." With that many scouts, you kind of hope you can pull their cool force--the sniper rifle--out of the pit of uselessness.
The second reason not to immediately abandon the sniper rifle is its ability to kill low armor vehicles. It's alright at killing walkers, sentinals, and all manner of hover vehicles. I know what you're saying: "no it's not very good. It has to roll a 10 minimum on two dice." Well, yeah, but a whole squad with those weapons gives you a pretty good shot that someone will roll a 10 or higher.
This brings up the third advantage, and one that I keep forgetting. Scouts have inflitrate. The real trick then is to make a scout assault squad and send it forward, but there's another advantage to having infiltrate beyond being able to get as close to the enemy as possible. Infiltrate allows a squad like snipers to set up with a clear shot at whoever they're mission is to take out that battle. They don't have to get close, and they shouldn't; that's not the point. But you can set them so that they are perfectly positioned, after everyone has deployed, to have an open shot at the speeder or whatever.
I just wish they could insta-kill. That would make them loads better.
I've noticed that GW has this habit of making a weapon that's almost okay. Hits always on a 2+ (cool). Wounds always on a 4+ (cool). Full armor save (nearly useless). The same is said of nearly every harlequin weapon available, ultimately making that army not worth playing. I don't know. I haven't seen the new Eldar codex so I dont' know if Harlequins are in it whether they've been improved or what, but as it stands now, you either take the target's toughness out of the equation or their armor out of the equation, but never both. Some weapons should have that capacity. Without such potential, harlequins kind of suck.
As for the marine sniper rifle, who exactly is it good against? Eldar Wraithlords? Tyranids? Anyone else. I mean, a bolter against most infantry grant a better to "wound roll" and have a better capacity to ignore armor saves. Plus you get two shots at close range. Like I said, the jury is still out.
Two things, I think, keep the marine sniper squad in the game. Well...three unofficially. The unooffical "third reason" is that I have about sixty space marine scouts and I want to play them as a "10th company army." With that many scouts, you kind of hope you can pull their cool force--the sniper rifle--out of the pit of uselessness.
The second reason not to immediately abandon the sniper rifle is its ability to kill low armor vehicles. It's alright at killing walkers, sentinals, and all manner of hover vehicles. I know what you're saying: "no it's not very good. It has to roll a 10 minimum on two dice." Well, yeah, but a whole squad with those weapons gives you a pretty good shot that someone will roll a 10 or higher.
This brings up the third advantage, and one that I keep forgetting. Scouts have inflitrate. The real trick then is to make a scout assault squad and send it forward, but there's another advantage to having infiltrate beyond being able to get as close to the enemy as possible. Infiltrate allows a squad like snipers to set up with a clear shot at whoever they're mission is to take out that battle. They don't have to get close, and they shouldn't; that's not the point. But you can set them so that they are perfectly positioned, after everyone has deployed, to have an open shot at the speeder or whatever.
I just wish they could insta-kill. That would make them loads better.
Battle Report updated
I have officially put up a battle report on my site. Chris and I play against one another. I'm playing Ultramarines (which is my main army which I never get to play) and Chris is playing Daemonhunters. Wee Fun!
It's pretty much win-win for the Emperor.
It's pretty much win-win for the Emperor.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
new stuff for dead worlds
I suppose it's not too hard to figure out that I really like Ice Worlds. The problem with ice world is that, in 40k, they're just worlds that are white rather than green (or brown). I think that's...nice. I mean, I like the aesthetic, but...can I get some more, I suppose is what I'm asking. I mean the idea behind an alien ice battle is troops popping out from under the ice and losing your dreadnought in a fozen lake and giant geo-thermal vents, and that damn monster that grabs Luke and hangs him in this cave. That's an ice battle!
So, two things. First of all, up on my website, monstromakes.com, I now have rules for using Stratagems to spice up your ice world games (including a couple of new stratagems). My list of new stratagems is growing, but I've decided to put them out a bit at a time as a teaser.
But not teaser on point two. I've put up the basics for how to make snow and ice effects for ice world scenery. I got tired of answering all the damn emails one at a time. I figure, if you read those directions and want to make the ice world scenery then chances are, you aren't rushing to me to buy scenery anyway. On the other hand, if you look at the directions and think, "oh, I'm never going to do that," maybe you'll be more willing to buy the scenery from me. So, yes, that's kind of a trade secret, but not one that, if leeked to the world, will put me out of business.
So, two things. First of all, up on my website, monstromakes.com, I now have rules for using Stratagems to spice up your ice world games (including a couple of new stratagems). My list of new stratagems is growing, but I've decided to put them out a bit at a time as a teaser.
But not teaser on point two. I've put up the basics for how to make snow and ice effects for ice world scenery. I got tired of answering all the damn emails one at a time. I figure, if you read those directions and want to make the ice world scenery then chances are, you aren't rushing to me to buy scenery anyway. On the other hand, if you look at the directions and think, "oh, I'm never going to do that," maybe you'll be more willing to buy the scenery from me. So, yes, that's kind of a trade secret, but not one that, if leeked to the world, will put me out of business.
Monday, October 09, 2006
3 Way
Heh...heh...heh... I said three way.
Hey all, I put up scenario rules for a three way battle up on my website. I say this because I know that three way scnerios are a rarity. I will be playtesting it tomorrow at which time I will be shilacked as normal. I'm hoping that at that time (cross your fingers), I will have a battle report to put up.
Wish me and the Ultramarines luck so that my foes (who will most probably be IG and Daemonhunters) will fall by the forces of the emperor.
Hey all, I put up scenario rules for a three way battle up on my website. I say this because I know that three way scnerios are a rarity. I will be playtesting it tomorrow at which time I will be shilacked as normal. I'm hoping that at that time (cross your fingers), I will have a battle report to put up.
Wish me and the Ultramarines luck so that my foes (who will most probably be IG and Daemonhunters) will fall by the forces of the emperor.
negative cover
This is a reprint from my website:
As of now, there are a few ways to define cover: height, cover save, difficult ground, area, passable/impassible, dangerous, etc. All of these are well and fine, and I would even say the more variance you put into your cover rules the more dynamic the game will be. Let's face it, your 1000 point Necron list doesn't really change much from week to week, but the board does.
That being said, I would like to add another terrain characteristic that I'm pretty much stealing whole sale from Dawn of War: negative cover. Negative cover means that an area of the board is more dangerous than just being out in the open. Maybe there are things nearby that might explode if shot (making that position intensely dangerous) or perhaps moving or "getting down" is an impossibility. In D.O.W., negative cover is generally applied to any water areas. I especially like this because the rules concerning water, standing or otherwise, seem to me to be remarkably inadequate. Most people say that water is impassible terrain, be it stream or ocean.
What negative cover does in terms of game mechanics is that it allows opponents to re-roll misses during their shooting phase. Thus, it isn't that the water is impassible, exactly...it's just that you don't want to be caught in it!
Two special concerns for negative cover (over and above the enemy re-rolling misses in their fire phase). First off all, if the enemy re-rolls misses those hits must be allocated to troops that are actually in the negative cover. This is different than the general cover idea of majority rule. Some members of the squad can be in negative cover, while others may be out of negative cover (or even in cover! In which case majority rule, and the troops that are in negative cover get a cover save).
Lastly, as far as hand to hand is concerned. Negative cover still counts as cover. Troops without special equipment charging a unit in negative cover will attack last.
As of now, there are a few ways to define cover: height, cover save, difficult ground, area, passable/impassible, dangerous, etc. All of these are well and fine, and I would even say the more variance you put into your cover rules the more dynamic the game will be. Let's face it, your 1000 point Necron list doesn't really change much from week to week, but the board does.
That being said, I would like to add another terrain characteristic that I'm pretty much stealing whole sale from Dawn of War: negative cover. Negative cover means that an area of the board is more dangerous than just being out in the open. Maybe there are things nearby that might explode if shot (making that position intensely dangerous) or perhaps moving or "getting down" is an impossibility. In D.O.W., negative cover is generally applied to any water areas. I especially like this because the rules concerning water, standing or otherwise, seem to me to be remarkably inadequate. Most people say that water is impassible terrain, be it stream or ocean.
What negative cover does in terms of game mechanics is that it allows opponents to re-roll misses during their shooting phase. Thus, it isn't that the water is impassible, exactly...it's just that you don't want to be caught in it!
Two special concerns for negative cover (over and above the enemy re-rolling misses in their fire phase). First off all, if the enemy re-rolls misses those hits must be allocated to troops that are actually in the negative cover. This is different than the general cover idea of majority rule. Some members of the squad can be in negative cover, while others may be out of negative cover (or even in cover! In which case majority rule, and the troops that are in negative cover get a cover save).
Lastly, as far as hand to hand is concerned. Negative cover still counts as cover. Troops without special equipment charging a unit in negative cover will attack last.
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