Another Rut Ploughed Through

If there's one constant theme through my blog it's that I'm an idiot and don't know the game I love all that well.  But if there's another less overt theme it's been an interesting (well interesting to me anyway) chronicle of the ups and downs of my interest in 40K.  I'm never not interested in 40K, but like anybody it waxes and wanes.  At times I'm fired up and it's all I want to think and/or talk about.  At times I just can't muster the energy to do anything with it.

This is natural.  And since this is my blog, and a personal journal of my journey into, and greater understanding of 40K, it's also been a journal of the peaks and valleys of my interest in 40K.

Currently I am on the upswing out of another valley.  You probably noticed the lack of regular updates to the site.  That's a direct result of my valleys.  Happens all the time.  I've been swamped at work, and with the holidays, and while I loves me Space Marine, I've spent more time lately playing DC Universe Online (hey new free MMORPG games are always good).  Plus I took a break from podcasts and was listening to sports talk radio (because hey, my beloved Detroit Lions don't completely suck this year).

A couple weeks ago I dusted off the old podcast app, and started listening to my favorite 40K podcasts again.  And today I'm going to start another lunchtime series of gaming with my buddy Steve.  We should be done with it by next week so I can have a good write up after that.  And as the holidays descend on us, I hope I can find the time in the madness to update the blog.

But lord knows I'm glad to be moving up and out of the valley because it's a lot more fun.

40K's Bad Rep

Normally I don't ape material for this site from the Blogosphere.  The game is big, we all have our take on it, and generally if it's a big enough story I'll have my own opinion about it and will rant and rave on my own.  But every now and then something comes up in a fellow blogger's site that I feel deserves the attention.

Such is the case with the 122nd Cadian's recent run-in with irresponsible journalism and 40K.  He makes some valid points in regards to what the reporter has to say.  I really encourage you to head over and read it.  I myself tread this same path a couple years ago in regards to a blog post that PBS posted about the evils of 40K.  A lot of what I said was in direct response to that post, that no longer exists by the way.  However, I still feel very strongly about a lot of what I said.  And I hate the fact this game we love so much has to deal with uninformed opinions or commentary biased by agendas.  I'm fully aware that we play a niche game that doesn't appeal to everyone, but it isn't a bad game.  And if you're looking for a positive view of the game and the people who play it enjoy the Hammers of War video.

More Gravy for the Gravy God

The Holiday season is about to commence in full with the annual American tradition of sacrificing vestal turkeys on the altar of gluttony and tryptophan naps.  As we prepare for a season of the over the top consumerism, good will, and a momentary break for the war that consumes the grim darkness of the far future, I wanted to say thank you.  Thank you to all of the people who wander to this site and suffer through inconsistent updates and crappy writing.  Thank you for overlooking my bad grammar and spelling, and sharing in the love of this game.  May your bellies be full of food, your stockings full of awesome minis, and may the light of the God Emperor (or the deity of your choice, even the corrupted ones) shine on you this holiday season.

40K Neotube - Fan Made Lord Inquisitor Trailer

So a fan crafted a CGI animated fan film for Warhammer 40,000 called The Lord Inquisitor.

I'll just say this.  After Ultramarines The Movie, I was skeptical that a movie would ever be made that had the epic grand gothic flavor of 40K.  Ultramarines was OK.  It wasn't as great as I'd hoped, but it didn't suck.  It did well enough in all facets to be enjoyable, but didn't stand out enough to lend itself to the greatness I'm sure most 40K fans hoped for.  This guy has animated a movie that looks better than Ultramarines, the scope is much larger, it features vehicles so less walking (badly animated walking at that), this LOOKS like the movie was hoping for when Ultramarines  was announced.  Other than being nowhere near Ultramarines in voice acting (Codex had a great cast put together) this movie looks like pure win to me.

You can learn more about this fan film at its site.

First thoughts on Space Marine

So I know I'm late to the party, but I still plan on doing a full review at some point.  Still after a weekend of playing Exterminatus and single player I can sum up the game thusly:  WOW

Yeah I can't say enough good things about the game.  It's a blast to play, it looks stunning, it incorporates elements of the 40K universe, and Space Marine codex nicely.  On top of that, so far I love the story.  And multiplayer has been a blast.

I'm sure I'll have some beefs about the game after the shiny newness wears off and I've played through the single player and some more multiplayer.  But for now I'm digging the game...a lot...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine

I finally got Space Marine the other day.  Unfortunately it's been taunting me, as I have been unable to install and play it.  But tonight I will.  Tonight there will be war.  So if I don't post much, well between that and NaNoWriMo (yes, I'm tyring my hand at writing a novel in a month) my posts may be sparse for the next few weeks.

In the meantime, enjoy this preview of the Space Marine soundtrack that I've been trying to avoid so I could concentrate on work today.

New Space Marine DLC Announced

THQ has announced a new DLC for Space Marine to be available in December.  This new pack

...will include a new Exterminatus mode called Chaos Unleashed. In this update to the popular co-op mode players will take on the role of Chaos Space Marine as they take the fight to both the Ork horde and Imperial Guard forces. With brand new boss rounds, new co-op arenas and new enemy units like the Imperial Sanctioned Psyker this mode is a must-have for players looking for a new challenge.

As well as the Chaos Unleashed Mode, the Space Marine add-on pack also includes three new multiplayer maps Habs Ablaze, Station Tertius and Aquila Canyon which can be played in all multiplayer game modes. The pack will also include ten new achievements and trophies.

As someone who hasn't gotten Space Marine yet this news is nothing but salt on an open wound.  I plan on getting, and I may be closer to getting it than I thought, but until then this news burns.

You can read the whole announcement at the Space Marine site.

Necrons!

Games Workshop has updated their Advance Orders page with Necron goodies.  I seriously think this is the coolest looking release so far. 

Here are the items I like:

Ghost Ark

Command Barge

 Deathmarks

40K Neotube - Hammers of War

Some film students a SAIT Polytechnic put together a 17 minute documentary about Warhammer 40K.  Specifically it looked at a tournament in Canada, that pitted the forces of the Emperor against the forces of Horus.  It featured footage of the games, and interviews with participants and organizers.

The film is notable for a couple reasons.  First it is completely non-judgmental.  It doesn't put the gamers in a negative light, nor does it react when someone might say something potentially embarrassing.  In fact it shows gamers as well spoken people who play the game as much for the hobby and competitiveness as for the social aspect of the game.

Normally I would embed this movie in this post, but embedding has been disabled so go enjoy the movie.  I found it to be a good piece that really puts gamers and the game we love in a pretty good light.

Battle Report 10/17/00-10/21/11

This.  This is how 40K is supposed to be.  Fun.  Competitive.  Suspenseful.  Intense.  Aggressive.  I've had some good games.  I've had some not so good games.  Never have I had a game that was clearly anyone's to win right up until the end.  This was a game where we each had bad rolls, but the dice were not an issue.  The deciding factors were the strategic and tactical decisions we made, and how we used our forces, not the fickle whims of the dice gods...well except for ONE fickle whim.

My buddy Steve spent the week working the graveyard shift, and was home during the day.  As he lives about 5 minutes from where I work it was another opportunity to get together and game.  These weekly games are quite interesting.  We split the game up into hour long blocks.  Monday is usually setup, with Tuesday - Friday being the actual rolling of dice.  What makes it interesting, is that with the carry over, we spend a lot of time thinking about the game, so we are really prepared for our moves.  Each of us was devising game plans and strategies throughout the week that we would apply with great intent when lunchtime hit.

As is natural for us, Steve played his Blood Ravens, I played my Orks.  We decided to throw a wrinkle into the game by trying out some home-brew Blood Raven rules.  Blood Ravens like their Librarians, but rather than allow them to field a bunch of Librarians, we allowed Steve to upgrade his Tactical Marine Sergeants to be Sgt. Librarians.  They each had access to one Librarian skill, but not the biggies (Gates of Infinity and Vortex of Doom).  Each Sgt. Librarian cost an additional 50 points.  I'm not sure this really played out in this game, but the thinking is that by giving the Sergeants limited Librarian skills it reflects the progression of Space Marines through the ranks of the Librarian heavy Blood Ravens without causing substantial game balance issues.

Another note on our lists.  We went 1500 points, and surprisingly both of us didn't bring any type of Walkers.  Normally Steve has some sort of Dreadnought in his army, and I rarely run without either the Deff Dread and/or Killa Kans.  This was not something that we planned ahead of time, it's just an interesting coincidence.

Hit the jump for the turn by turn recount of the action.

40K Neotube - Order. Unity. Obedience.

Games Workshop has released this teaser of things to come.

More specifically things to come on 10/29/11.

Most specifically Necrons.

40K Neotube - Tau Commander DLC

Awwww yeah, boy!  The developers of Dawn of War II - Retribution have released a Developer Diary announcing a new hero for The Last Stand, the Tau Commander.

Now on the table top I hate the Tau.  Their strengths are the Orks weakness.  Plus they're played by my mortal in-game nemesis, James.  But in The Last Stand?  Not only do I love the idea of seeing a commander for them, but I'm hoping this is the door the Tau need to get into Retribution, proper.

Hit the jump to check out the diary, and see some gameplay footage of the Tau Commander that is literally sopping wet from all the Awesome Sauce it was dipped in.

Is That Wht That Rule Says? - No Retreat!

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  Mostly because after selling my soul to my wife so I could go to the last big game day we had, I've owed her A LOT.  Combine with that the fact I'm a huge Detroit sports fan and I've had a surplus of sports to watch (as of this writing my beloved Tigers are down 3-1 in the ALCS against Texas, my beloved Lions are 5-0 for the first time since '56, and my beloved Red Wings have started the new season), it's made finding time to write...difficult.

As a side note, several of my gaming buddies are going to be really annoyed that I sullied 40K talk with sports.  However last time I checked this was my blog, so suck it Steve and Jason.

Anyway, back to 40K rules, during our last gaming session No Retreat! became an issue.  See I've never claimed to be good at this game, actually if you ask some people I suck.  And that includes the rules.  Some I've misinterpreted and some I've just plain forgotten about.  No Retreat! is one of those rules.  It was one of those situations where the rule wasn't applied one game because I forgot about it, and later the mistake was found and it was applied from that point on.  Needless to say when you don't expect a rule like that it can hurt....a lot.  Then after that, to add insult to injury, I applied the rule wrong to the rest of my games.

Am I an idiot when it comes to the rules?  Yeah.  But that's why I do these articles so other people can correct me, and for making sure anyone who's coming close to my stupidity in the rules (because I don't expect anyone to match my rules retardation) gets the help they need.

Hit the jump for more.

A Recap of a Fun Gaming Weekend

Okay, so here's the thing, we had a lot of stuff going on this weekend:  Two tables, I was broadcasting live, and my rebuild of my Trukk and Deff Dread after they broke in transit, so I did a really bad job taking notes and pictures.  Which is fine, because I lost all my games, and don't mind not reliving the brutality in detail.  I had fun, though, but I pretty much got tabled in all of my games.  I had tried some different builds with my lists, and ran some units I had never run before.  In the end it was fun, I learned a lot, and I didn't walk away from the weekend in a funk like I did last time.

Oh sure, I hate losing to James, but the build he brought against me just kicked my ass, and yes the dice continued to not be my friend, but the dice are not the reason I lost my games.  I'm the reason I lost my games.

Hit the jump and I'll summarize each game, plus discuss some of the ancillary stuff that I enjoyed so much.

broadcasting again

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wh40k-neophyte

Tau v. Orks 1750 pts.

We Are Live At Ustream

We are broadcasting, and getting ready to start a game.  Come on by and check us out.

Reminder: 40K on Ustream Tonight and Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that I will be broadcasting 40K games tonight and tomorrow during my gaming groups big get together.  I was hoping to be in the first game tonight, but tragedy struck today when I was dropping my stuff off at my buddy Steve's at lunch.  I had to make a hard stop, and my little toolbox that had my trukk, warboss, Zagstruk, and Deff Dread slid off the seat, hit the dashboard and dropped to the floor.

The Warboss came off his base, the Deff Dread lost some bits, Zagstruk lost some pieces, and the Trukk came apart.  Also a bunch of magnets came off too.  This just reinforces why I need to get some cases. I'm looking at KR Mutlicase as it fits my budget better.

Game Night and Day

This weekend the gaming group I run with is having an all-to-infrequent game day.  Actually it's a game night and game day.  We will be starting festivities Friday night and continuing our gaming Saturday.  I will be having battle reports next week, but if you want to get a jump on the battles and maybe play a little game of "Wow those guys are idiots" and try to spot the rules we mess up, then check out Ustream.  I have set up a channel and we will be broadcasting games Friday night and Saturday.

This is all experimental, we tried this once before and had audio problems, I have resolved those so we'll see how this works.  If it doesn't work, then I'll have another excuse to use my Fail version of Bob Waaagh!  However, I'm hoping this will be a fun way to interact with anybody who's interested in watching the activities.

When I have an idea of when things will get started I will post it here at the site.

Is That What That Rule Says? - Morale

As I continue to read through the rulebook in preparation for my gaming group's next big game day, I've found that re-reading the rules with actual game play under my belt has given me a far more concrete understanding of them.  Far different from the abstract understanding I had from reading the rules before I played a game.  But I've also found rules I've messed up, normally just messing them up in my memory as we've played.

Today's rule is Taking Morale Checks, hit the jump to see what kind of idiot I am this time.

Is That What That Rule Says?

I make no secret about my ability to mess up a rule.  I know it's because I don't play as often as I like so the rules get used, then sit in my mind unused for months so that when I tap back into those files I find things mixed up, forgotten, or just plain ignored.  Shoot, even studying the rules for a specific unit before I play it can sometimes result in me being stupid and thinking I know the rule only to mess up a stat.  When I mess up a rule and I realize it, I will mention it here.  I get grief for cheating, from James, but this is the same guy who made a blood pact with the dice gods to let him win in exchange for open access to his groinal area.  Believe me, I'd rather be a so-called cheater than a carnal inflatable sex doll for the gods in exchange for some meaningless wins.

That said, I'm going to start a semi-regular feature around here called "Is that What That Rule Says?"  In this feature I will be discussing rules that we (mostly I)have made mistakes interpreting in our group and how that affected the game, and what the actual interpretation should be.  However, I need some help.  I need to know that my revised or corrected interpretation is correct.  So if I mention a rule and how I got it wrong, and how I think it should be played, and that is wrong let me know in the comments.  AND, if anybody has any examples that would fit into this I'd love to hear them and include them in the series.  If you have any examples you are willing to share please email me the rule to 40kneo@gmail.com, how it was interpreted and how it affected your game and I will include it in the series.  And yes, we can make it anonymous if you so desire.

Now hit the jump and check out the first rule I've messed up.

Personal Painting Challenge Wrap Up

After I failed my personal painting challenge, I finished up the Deff Dread, and then decided to take some pictures of what I did complete.  Hit the jump and check out what I did get done, and then take a look at my slowly progressing army.

A warning and a reminder.  Warning, there are a bunch of pictures after the jump so if the page loads slow that's why.  And the reminder: I suck at taking pictures of miniatures, so there's that to deal with too...

Golden Joystick Awards

The Golden Joystick Awards voting is now open.  Dawn of War II: Retribution is one of the games in the Strategy category.  So get to the polls, vote early, and vote often.

Personal Painting Challenge Update #4 - FAIL

Well we saw this coming for quite a while, and it's official, I failed my personal painting challenge.  I really set myself up for this trying to do too much with my normal summer schedule chock full of family stuff, outdoor stuff, work stuff, and drinking stuff (okay that didn't work, I don't just randomly drink stuff, I just find random stuff to do while I drink).  Anyway, add in all of my normal outside summer influences and my already limited free time gets stretched pretty thin.  Knowing this, I probably should have scaled back my ambitious attempt at focusing myself on 40K.  I was working on my Nobz, so I had those to finish, I really wanted to paint my Deff Dread so I put that on my list, and I always need more Ork Boyz painted so I put those on my list.

The Nobz were a treat to paint, but because I magnetized them I had to paint a slew of arms to complete them.  This was fine, but it took longer than I expected.  The Deff Dread was a blast to paint, but for colors I went cheap.  Most of the Dread is black, grey, or metallic.  Splashes of color were mostly reserved for the cabling or details.  However I again magnetized him so all the arms and most of the weapons had to be painted.  Unfortunately timing this weekend got messed up by circumstances in Real Life that curtailed my painting time.  He's almost done, and I can likely have him finished tonight.  His body is all painted except for some minor detail work, attached to the legs, the engines are done and glued on, and really I just have some detail work on the weapons and arms to finish up.  The Ork Boyz were cleaned but I never primered them, and thus didn't even start to paint them.

So while I failed the challenge, the challenge wasn't a failure.  Thanks to this challenge I was able to refocus on 40K, refocus on what made the game fun for me, and refocus on getting my army painted.  I failed at the task I set before myself, and failed my challenge.  But the challenge didn't fail me and I'm more invigorated for 40K than ever before.

Personal Painting Challenge Update #3

When I set up this personal challenge to myself earlier this summer it was an attempt on my part to manifest my re-commitment to 40K and create a challenge to try to fit this into what is always a busy summer schedule for me.  I knew I had put some pretty heady goals for what I was trying to accomplish based on my limited time I could set aside for painting, my penchant for slow as molasses painting even with me dipping, and hard end date of Labor Day.  I'm not throwing in the towel, but the challenge is going to go down to the wire, and hope is fading.

That said, I have made progress.

My Nobz are finished.  I touched up the paint and finished dipping this week.

My Deff Dread is still a work in progress and the painting is coming along.

I have done nothing with the Ork Boyz since getting them ready to be primered.

How can I finish the challenge?  Simply put I need to buckle down and get the Deff Dread done.  IF I can focus on the Deff Dread and get done painting him by the weekend, I have a chance.  Ork Boyz are pretty basic for painting, and with large mobs of them I don't do a lot of detail work.  Yes they look good, but I don't spend the time on them like I do the other models.  I could, if time permits, feasibly get them painted in a weekend.  However it is a holiday weekend, and I am not sure how much time I will actually have.

Its' gonna be close...hopefully I can get them done.

New Email Address

As 40KNeophyte evolves I've decided to help give it its own identity.  It's still my blog, it's still just me writing about 40K from my own perspective, but I've created a separate email specifically for the site.  Behold!  Today I unveil 40kneo@gmail.com, the new official email address of the impressively non-existent 40K Neophyte Empire.

40K Neotube - Space Marine Demo Trailer

The Space Marine Demo is available, and there are some people who want to tell you about what it's like to be a Space Marine.

Hit the Jump to see what they have to say.

Space Marine Demo Available

I spent the weekend camping with my family, so I haven't downloaded it yet, but the Space Marine Demo is now available from Steam.  I am planning on downloading it tonight and playing the $#!* out of it.  You can see the details here, but remember you need to have Steam installed and an account set up to get it and play it.

Battle Report Week of 8/1/11 - 8/5/11

In an attempt to get more playtime in, my buddy Steve and I decided to take full advantage of him working from home for a week to try to get a game in.  It took on a bigger life when his son Connor decided he wanted to play too.  We decided to use a variation on the Cleanse battle scenario from 4th edition, but rather than split the board into 4 quarters, we created an imaginary Y section for the battle.

Hit the jump for Army Lists, pictures, and a breakdown of the awesomeness that was our game.

My Personal Challenge - Update #2

In my quest at trying to find ways to fail, I think I've set up a pretty good method this month.  With two camping trips scheduled in August those weeks tend to be a complete loss for painting progress as we spend our evenings packing the camper, and getting stuff around to go.  Or at least that was the case last week.  I wasn't able to do much of anything because I was either working hard to pack stuff up, or was just too exhausted from work and everything else to focus.

But I did get some stuff done after I got home Sunday.  I glued together some of the pieces of my Deff Dread that I wanted to paint as a whole and primered them.  I've finished painting the arms of the Nobz, and have only some of the boss poles that go with them to finish up.  My Nobz bodies are all at my buddy Steve's house in the middle of a game so when that is finished I will bring them home and finish gluing them together and dip them.

I planned to magnetize and start painting the Deff Dread Wednesday, but ended up getting home late from seeing some family.  My plan is to not do much to recess the magnets, because I'm envisioning the arms looking like they are barely connected...which I think will look very Orky.  I'll have to experiment some.  I'm magnetizing the small arms to make it customizable, and the big arms to avoid breakage in transport when I take it anywhere.

The Ork Boyz have had nothing done with them, because they are currently in the middle of the same game that my Nobz are in.  So I'll clean them up and primer them when I get them back to the house.

40K Neotube: Mini War Gaming's Open (Video) Letter to Games Workshop

I know I am way behind the curve on this video.  Honestly I really hadn't perused much in the way of online 40K videos since I had tabled 40K Neotube as a regular feature.  I pull it out every now and then when a new trailer from Relic comes out, or if something is making the rounds that I happen to see.  But in this case, I didn't see it until this week.  So before I play the video, I want to discuss my thoughts on Games Workshop and the players who play 40K.

The Proxy Conundrum

I realized something as I chronicled my first draw.  It was also the first game I proxied a unit I didn't own.

Proxies are just a part of the game for our group.  We all live very full lives with lots of family activities and other hobbies that pull us in multiple directions.  Combine that with new players, and completely painted pieces are still a bit of a luxury.  We try to reduce the number of proxies, or "counts as" units with each game.  But the reality is, while our armies are looking better they are far from complete.

For me, I've always proxied units that I own.  The proxy wasn't so much an attempt to try something new as it was just a means of getting something on the board.  Normally my proxies represented an item I had that was possibly unopened in the box, not table ready, was at a state of "in progress" that had them in pieces, or were still on the sprue.

It wasn't until I was being regaled with battle reports of other people that I realized they were using their proxies to not only represent units they had, but units they wanted to have or hadn't gotten yet.  Without realizing it I did the same thing, and only after the fact it dawned on me that I had shifted in my behavior.

Now, for the record I own quite a few Ork pieces and am working diligently to get them painted.  So proxying is still primarily a means to get something on the table to represent that which I haven't finished yet.  But as my army grows in completeness, and my acquisitions become less "Oh my god I need more Boyz" to "What don't I have yet that I could really use" I am transitioning my proxy behavior.  I still have units that I run as "counts as" or are shells of their future selves, but now I'm running things I haven't bought yet to either try out, or because I just spent a bunch of money on some other Orks, and some things I want I just can't afford yet.  Right now I'm playing a game during my lunch hours this week where I have 5 Ork Boyz that count as Lootas that I am buying from a friend but haven't been able to meet up to make the transaction, an unpainted Warboss as a Wierdboy because I wanted to try that unit out, and a foam block as a Looted Wagon because after using it in my draw I've decided I like it and plan on converting something (probably Tau) when I save up some more money.

So how does everybody else handle proxies?  Do you set time limits for how long a proxy can be used?  Do you keep it to things you own?  Do you use it to test a unit out before buying it?    Are there restrictions to what units will be allowed to proxy for others?  What I mean by that last question is not so much a grot for Thraka, but I'm thinking do you make HQ proxy for a named or alternate HQ, or troop for troop, and then a similar sized object for vehicles? I'm just really curious how other people and/or gaming groups handle the Proxy Conundrum.

My first Non-Loss

I've mentioned before about the desolate arid isle of emptiness that is my won/loss record.  It's been a bother, but I know some of the issues that have helped exacerbate it (long gaps between playing, poor list design), and have been working to correct those.

So I'm trying to get more gaming in.  It's hard since our gaming group is spread out of southeast Michigan, and Northwest Ohio.  However, I recently took a new job that has me working 5 minutes down the street from my buddy Steve's house.  A couple weeks ago we tried to get a 400 point game in at lunch when he was home for the day.  We actually only got 1 1/2 turns in before I had to get back to work.  Last Friday Steve gets a hold of me and says our buddy Chris is coming over to play 40K with him that weekend and we need to finish up our 400 point game to clear the table.  Now, I had thought we were done and that it had been taken down to protect his board and miniatures (I was using his AoBR Orks) from his cat.  So last Friday I went over to his place and we finished up the game.

I don't have pictures or a turn by turn break down like normal.  The nature of the game (trying to get a quick game in) and the layoff between starting and finishing all killed that.  But I can tell you played a 400 point annihilation game to a draw, and can map out what happened.

The lists were kind of as follows:  Steve had his Librarian with a Scout Unit, tactical marines in a Rhino, and a Sargent.  I had My Big Mek w/KFF, 20 Ork Boyz, Deff Dread (as a troop), and Looted Wagon w/Boomgun.

The game started with my Boomgun destroying Steve's Scouts.  Steve tried to use a psychic power on my Ork Boyz, but thanks to my use of the full 2" unit cohesion he was only able to take out 2 Orks, and then another when he pinned me with his Sargent who was a sniper.  My Boomgun rained death and despair down on his tactical marines, and then my Deff Dread finished up the job with its skorcha and close combat attacks.

Steve was able to eventually get my Ork Boyz in a tight group when he assaulted, and I piled in.  He was unable to hurt any but I put a wound on him.  He failed his morale check, withdrew, regrouped, and dropped a psychic attack on my bunched up Ork Boyz, taking them out with that, his Rhino, and his Sargent.  His tactical Marines also put killed my Big Mek that I had moved into base contact with my Deff Dread to try to negate any future Crew Shaken results.

After the 5th round we had to call it because I had to go get my daughter, but in the end we both took out 2 units.  I was still sitting pretty with my Looted Wagon and Deff Dread who were both ready to take aim on his Librarian (I had already hit him with the Looted Wagon that he saved).  So it's hard to say how the rest of the game would have played out, but at least it wasn't a loss.

It also set up our idea to game at lunch this week.  Steve is working from home so we are going to try to get a 1500 point game in over the course of the week.  That one I am taking pictures and really doing my best to record what happens round by round.

My Personal Challenge - Update #1

I've been working as diligently as time allows on my Ork Challenge.  I always paint in pieces, and then glue together, so I started gluing together my Nobz.  I have some detail work to do, and the shoulder armor pieces need to be painted, but they are coming together quite nicely.  If I can focus on them like I want, I envision having them dipped by the end of the weekend.

The Deff Dread is completely off the sprues and cleaned up.  I'm going to magnetize the Dread so he can be customizable, so I'm looking at possibly gluing some of the bigger pieces together before I paint.  I also need to primer the pieces.

The Ork Boyz are off the sprues, but have not been cleaned yet.  Once I do that, then I'll primer them and begin the assembly line process of painting them before putting them together and dipping.

Self Reflection and the Burning Flame of 40K

I'm not going to lie, I've been in a rut when it comes to 40K lately.  Yes, there is my normal summer malaise where constant family activities and outdoor shenanigans get in the way of my 40K time.  Yes, I've just started working again which has cut into my free time.  But I'm still dealing with this sort of funk in 40K.

I think it started the last gaming party.  I played 2 games and lost them.  One (against Steve) was close, and had the dice rolls gone my way on ending the game I would have won.  The other (against James) was a complete beat down.  I was obliterated, and what few models remained were completely violated in the butt by James' Tau.  I don't play very often, actually quite rarely, and so my handle on strategy, tactics, and list building alwasy seem to loosen between games.  But the fact I have not won a game really started to weigh on me.  I lost both games in what could be (depending on how you look at it) the worst way possible:  So close I could see victory, and so devastatingly bad I should have given up before the first round started.  For me the loss against James was the worst.  I cobbled together a list based on what wasn't being used in my game with Steve, and pretty much put together a list that fed right into James' strengths but had nothing to overcome my weaknesses.  Combine that with an assault that destroyed my entire Nob squad before they could do anything, and yeah I was bitter.

Can you blame me fore bing a little bitter?

So fast forward to last week when I started using my commute to play catch up on my 40K podcasts, and I listened to Episode 30 of The Independent Characters.  Episode 30 featured some great talking points about how to move from being a newb to being a veteran.  Within the overall discussion (which I highly recommend) they had a discussion about what 40K means to you.  The gist of the discussion was you have to understand what you are looking for in the game.  Are you looking for wins?  Are you looking for fun?  Is this a hobby, or a game?  And the light came on.  In the wasteland that is my game record I was losing sight of what 40K means to me.  I mean hell yeah I want to win, and hell yeah I want to kick those squishy fishy Tau in the teeth.  But more importantly, I want to get together with my friends, salivate over each other's paint jobs, listen to the compliments about the few pieces I've painted well, nerd out, and have fun.  Winning is part of that (there is a game to play after all), but 40K is so much more than just a game.  And the hobby encompasses more than just the gaming aspect.

I enjoy painting.  I enjoy the fluff.  I enjoy the discussion and debate about the rules.  And I enjoy writing about it all.  I have my dormant times, I think we all do.  It's just human nature to not be on fire all the time.  We're fickle, and we have other interests and influences that pull us away.  But like any good hobby, it's always there, and we always come back to it.

So I'm putting forth a challenge to myself.  Even with all the distractions that come with summer, by Labor Day I am going to have my customizable magnetized Nobz squad finished.  By Labor Day I'm going to have my customizable magnetized Deff Dread finished.  And by Labor Day I'm going to have another 20 Assault on Black Reach Ork Boyz finished.

I'm going to get some WIP pictures taken and set up something in the sidebar so you can track my progress.  It's going to be tough.  I have 2 camping trips, some family gatherings, and who knows what else on the agenda between now and then, but I have a lot of work that needs to be done, and I need to keep myself focused on more than just my pathetic win/loss record.

I Hate Mornings

For those who are curious why I seem to be even less forthcoming with posts than normal, I'm back to the working world after a 7 month lay off sabbatacal...and back to a commute.  So I'm adjusting back to the grind and it has hurt my 40K time.  I tried to get in a quick 400 point game with my buddy Steve last week at lunch (he lives 5 minutes from where I work and had the day off) but the timing sucked and we only got 1 1/2 rounds in before I had to get back.  We thought we could fnish it up after work, but I had other forces (i.e. the wife) working against me.

Battle Report 6-17-11

I know I published my ignominious defeat first before the larger battle that I started first, but it was a shorter write up, and I really wanted to get that write up done and wash the taste out of my mouth before I got into the meat of my 40K gaming, this 1500 point battle with Steve.

To spice things up we decided to use the Battle Missions book to get a scenario.  We rolled off (1-3 were the Ork, 4-6 were Space Marines) and ended up with the Blitzkrieg Ork scenario, a fast attack favored scenario featuring 3 control points angled across the board.  It started Steve at a severe disadvantage before some surprising twists took the game in a direction we could not have predicted.

Hit the jump for the army lists, and turn by turn action

Fantasy Flight Games Assaults My Wallet Again

Admittedly offering downloadable NPC character sheets based on the Ultramarines movie for free seems to be a toothless assault, but now I'm again assailed by them to spend my non-existent funds on their Deathwatch game.

You can Download Proteus, Verenor, and the Hammer of Macragge for your Deathwatch game.

The download is available as a High Res and Low Res file at the Deathwatch Support Page.

Battle Report 6-18-11

 In a weekend filled with James Bond movie watching and 40K games, the most frustrating part of the entire venture was a quick 500 point battle my buddy James and I decided to do to fill the time. We really didn’t spend much time on the lists, and I will admit I brought ‘Ard Boyz mostly because I had never used them.

See the lists, and gory details after the jump

Army List Week - Fast Attack Friday

My final list of the week might not be legal (my Codex is in the other room, and I'm very lazy).  I'd have to see if either the Warbikers or the Nobz upgraded to warbikes were a troop choice with my HQ.  If not, then I'd have to rework it.  Of course if we allow the illegal 6 Dreadnought army my buddy Steve wants to table, then why not an illegal fast attack army like mine?

The list after the jump

Army List Week - Thraka Mob Thursday

In my quest to find the best army list for this weekend, I have decided to try some named units, and then a sea of green to overwhelm my enemies.

Army List Week - Wacky Wednesday

Today's Army List is an exercise in oddity. My Troop choices are a Nobz unit and a Deff Dread (based on bringing the Warboss and Big Mek, as well as a unit of Grots.  Otherwise it's all speed and mecha for my army.

As far as I know it's legal, and as far as I know, it's insane, but if you think it would work, let me know.

List after the jump.

Army List Week - Battlewagon Tuesday

Today's list comes features a fully armed and operational Battlewagon.  I also took only the Big Mek as my HQ unit, and lots of Boyz.

As always, opinions are always welcome.

Army List Week - Big Mek Monday

My gaming group has been slowly building towards the magical 1500 point army limit.  We've gotten to the 1200 points mark before, but this weekend we are going to try our hands at running a couple different games with each person tabling a 1500 point army.

I've started messing with Army lists.  This list is based on the units I have, proxying only units I haven't started/finished putting together.  So I don't have Lootas, Burnas, or Big Gunz, which is fine, because I haven't even used all the different options I have (such as more boyz, my battlewagon, all my Nobz, etc.).  So this week I'm going to toy with a different army list every day.  I would love to hear back from everybody on what they feel works, or doesn't work.  I'm not sure which armies I'll be up against but I could potentially see Tau, Chaos, Space Marines, Space Wolves, or Sisters of Battle.

Hit the jump to see my first list attempt.

FYI these lists are generated using The Forge, a free army list tool I use because I'm - according to my wife - an unemployed loser with nothing to live for except my little toys...I prefer cheap...)

40K Neophyte is Mobile

Thanks to the latest updates on Blogger, 40K Neophyte is now optimized to be visted on a cell phone.  All the crappy content, now scaled to bore you while you're away from your computer.  Nothing special is needed, just a web ready phone, a decent internet connection, and a willingness to be subjected to my crappy writing while you're on the go.

40K Neotube - Space Marine E3 Trailer

THQ and Relic had a new trailer for Space Marine they debuted at E3 yesterday.

One Word:  Chaos

Yep, up until now it was always Ultramarines vs. Orks.  But this trailer had a good look at some Chaos Marine and Daemon baddies that looked awesome.

Hit the jump to see the trailer.

Announcing My New Blog

Okay guys, I'm not going to start ignoring 40K Neophyte, but I really had an urge to write about something else than just 40K.  So my buddy Steve and I have started a blog about James Bond called Bondtastic 007.

I just posted my first article out there, about a mysterious plane in Nassau that is apparently an abandoned plane from a James Bond movie, and my investigation into what plane from which movie.

So if you like the coolest spy in the history of cool spies, then enjoy Bondtastic 007.

40K Neotube - Kill Team

Kill Team....watch it, play it, love it...  The game is available this summer on XBox360 and Playstation, and will provide access to a free power sword upgrade.  (Sorry been hitting the bottle, and not really in the mood to type).

Summer Is Here

So if my posting rate goes down a bit, it's only because my days are filled with outdoor activities and what not.  I'm still painting my Nobz, and have made them customizable.  So that's taking time too.  I also have another (non 40K) project that I'm trying to get off the ground.  That's taking up a bunch of time too, but hopefully that will get kicked off and going and I can bring some attention back here.

Also, I have some gaming planned for June 17th/18th, so look for a battle report or two to come out of that.

So I'm not officially into my normal summer blog duldrums since I am laid off still and so have more time than usual, but I just figured I'd give fair warning that if I slow down the posts it's only because I'm a fat lazy bastard.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Now Available for Pre-order

I'm not sure when it went available, or when the release date was pushed back to September, but the good news is that the game is now available for pre-order from Steam.  Not only that, but the pre-order includes the game Darksiders, and more importantly the Blood Ravens chapter pack.  I'm not sure how that chapter pack will work, but I'm glad to see it.  For my money the rightful chapter that should be featured in a Relic 40K game should be the Blood Ravens.  Not that the Ultramarines are bad (they are the face of the 40K franchise for Games Workshop), but the Blood Ravens are the face of the 40K franchise in the video game realm.  So huzzah to Relic for making them available for the game.

40K Neotube - My Little Space Marines

I'm not sure how many of you have seen the My Little Pony mashups that have been going around.  Well somebody decided to mash up the trailer for Space Marine with footage from My Little Ponies:  Friendship is Magic.

All I can say is In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only ponies...and friendship..and magic...and war...

Discussing Terrain

I played a round of 40K back on April 9 with some of the guys in my 40K circle, and as is wont for a group of people who are passionate about their hobby we spent quite a bit of time discussing the game after it was done.  Most of our discussion was in chat rooms as we bandied about different ways we would have handled different situations, or bemoaned how the dice were so blatantly in love with James and Connor, among other observations and critiques of the game.  At one point, and I don't have a log of our conversation to remember what exactly I said, I commented that the terrain we placed played right into the strategies employed by James and Connor.  They both had very shooty armies, and with wide open fire lanes and extensive line of sight, it really helped them out.

This really got me thinking about terrain, and the importance of it.  The rules call for 25% of the board having mixed terrain, I think we had about 20% of the board covered last time we played.  Not only that, but the terrain pieces we used were fairly short and unless you were directly behind a piece did not do much to block LOS or give much cover.

This came up again after one of the guys read this blog article on terrain.  Now, normally I'm not one to post to another blog outside of my sidebar links (after all this site pretty much has barely enough room for my hot air), but this guy made some really interesting points.  My favorite notion is the idea of measuring out 25% of the board and filling it with terrain and then placing it around the board.  Our group normally does terrain as part of setup, with each team/player alternating to add terrain until we have coverage we are happy with - Probably around 15-20% of the board.  My thinking is next time we play each team/player alternates placing terrain in the allocated 25%, and then alternates moving the terrain out to fill out the board.

Think about it, non-shooty/assault heavy armies get cover so they aren't so easily destroyed just trying to maneuver to attack, and shooty armies can maximize shooting lanes making enemy units pay dearly for leaving cover.

How do you guys handle terrain?  I'm curious what other ways people utilize terrain, or how other people handle adding terrain to the boards.

I Proclaim My Ork Trukk Complete

I spent a good 20 hours working on my Ork Trukk, and it's finally finished.  I think it came out pretty good, but I'm most pleased with how customizable I made it.  I wanted my Trukk to conform to the WYSIWYG rules, but still allow me to add and remove components to fit it into what points I could allot the Trukk.

I also learned some more and refined my painting/dipping process...which is always a good thing.

Working on the Trukk, I realized the biggest influence on how I painted and pieced it together was the Ramshackle Rule.  It's a special rule for the Orks on how to handle a vehicle destroyed or vehicle explodes hit to the Trukk, and I just wanted the Trukk to look as ramshackle as it could.  Here's what I did to customize the Trukk:

• Added a piece of a rokkit from a stormboy to the back of the trukk (just for cosmetics)
• Magnetized the boarding planks to be removable
• Magnetized the wreckin' ball to be removable
• Magnetized the reinforced ram
• Cybork'd the driver when one of the arms came up missing (I blame my cat)
• Added hooks to the armour plates for easy attachment
• Cut off and reglued the skull on the radiator to make it more crooked
• Misaligned the bars in the cab to make it look more off kilter

The only 2 customizations I made permanent were the red paint job (by the very nature of it) and the stikkbomb chucker (because I forgot it was a customization and so it got pinned to the side of the trukk).  I may go back and change that, but for now I'll leave it as it is.

I have a slew of pictures after the jump, so hit it and enjoy the show.  And of course any feedback (positive or negative) is always appreciated.

FOUND!!

For those who have followed the plight of my family with my missing sister, I have some good news.  She was found alive in Joliet, IL suffering from amnesia, and was identified today.  Police found her, released her photo, and a friend of a friend recognized her from the missing person flyer we had posted on Facebook.

I want to thank everyone for all the kind words and prayers.  And I really want to thank all of you for your patience as I've had other things on my mind than 40K.

We have a lot to work through (the amnesia, her last 3 weeks, why she left in the first place, and the ramifications of her being a missing person), but the biggest concerns have been resolved.  Yes she's alive, and yes we know where she is at now.

I'm Not Ignoring The Blog

Just in case anyone thinks otherwise, I'm not ignoring the blog.  After my visit with family over the Easter weekend I felt good.  The time with family, speaking with investigators, and seeing the Dollar General my Sister was last seen at sort of gave a sense of closure.  Well, not closure, but I have this feeling I will never see my sister again.  I want to know where she is, and I want to know why, how, and what happened.  But I've reached a place where I've accepted that I likely never will.  I'm not giving up, and I'm not giving in...but I have been able to move on.  And so, after I came back from Georgia I needed a bit of time to process everything, and then I started working on my Trukk again.  The cab is done, the bed is done, the front end and the boarding planks are in process.  I can see the finish line.

And so I'm focused on finishing that up so I can post pictures galore, of everything I did with my trukk.  What I did to customize it, and what I did to adapt it so I can equip certain things as needed.  Will I have it done by the end of the week?  I'm not sure, but if I don't post anything next week then I'm making a big push to finish it and blogging will recommence when  I have finished it.

Blog Roll Updates

I'm off to Georgia for Easter weekend.  I need to spend some time with the family, see the area my sister was last seen in, stuff like that.  Not as relaxing a trip as I would like, but it's something.

While I'm gone, take a look to the right, and scroll down.  My "Proud Member of the Following Blog and Wargaming Networks" widget is getting ridiculously long.  I've been added to both the gdmnw blogdex AND the Int'l House of Paincakes Blog Roll.  Both sites are pretty cool, and I recommend checking them out.  I also recommend visiting the other sites in that widget too.

Happy Easter everyone.  Enjoy your time with your families, your ham if you eat it, and use the holiday weekend as an excuse to paint, or game or whatever.

***UPDATED***Dawn of War II: Retribution Roundup - Dark Angel DLC Review, Soundtrack, and Last Standalone

Dark Angel DLC
Monday Relic sent me the code for the Dark Angel DLC.  I hadn't expected it since I won the Retribution Collector's Edition, but had gone ahead and e-mailed about it when I found out a buddy who had purchased the CE had been sent the code.

Beyond the coolness of the surprise in receiving the code, it was an excuse to get back into Retribution that I hadn't done in a couple weeks.

Personally I think they nailed the look really well.  I mean I enjoyed having the Dark Angel color scheme in the game, but this gives them a great visual flavor.  From the winged helmet of the company master, to the robes of the Tactical Marines, to the markings on the vehicles, they really look like the Dark Angels now.  You can see some screen shots of everything after the jump.  What do you guys think?  Does the Dark Angel DLC meet your approval?

Complete Dawn of War II Soundtrack
iTunes currently has the Complete Dawn of War II Soundtrack available for pre-order for $16.  The 35 track collection features songs from Dawn of War II, Chaos Rising, and Retribution and will be released on April 26th.  I have the soundtrack for the original Dawn of War II, so I'm going to beg, borrow, and steal to get the extra music.

Dawn of War II - Retribution - The Last Standalone
April 20th will see the release of Retribution - The Last Standalone.  This $10 package will contain a stand alone version of the upgraded Last Stand from Retribution.  This version will not require or contain any of the single player campaigns or competitive multiplayer from the full Retribution, just the expanded Last Stand with the new items, hero, and map.  The Last Standalone can be upgraded later to the full Retribution at a discounted price.  As of this writing I did not see it available on Steam yet.  You can get Retribution - The Last Standalone from Steam.


Hit the jump for the screenshots.

The Healing Power of Painting

I painted last night.  Worked on the gunner emplacement, bars for the cab, and the big exhaust pipe for my Ork Trukk.  It wasn't much, but for me it was monumental.  All of last week I couldn't focus on painting.  I still have no information on my sister, but for the first time in a week things felt normal...at least for a little while.   I had an hour and a half of zen like seclusion with nothing on my mind except the here and now of each brush stroke, and when I was done I felt better.  Some people pray, some people meditate, and I've done a little of everything...but for me the healing started with my MP3 player, a paint brush, and some red paint.

Missing

When the real world takes a dump on life, sometimes not even the warm and inviting confines of the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war can soothe me.

Such is that time right now.

The woman in that picture is my sister.  Her vehicle was recovered at a Dollar General in Tunnel Hill, Georgia where she was seen on surveillance camera footage in the store.  She has not been heard from since Saturday April 9, and there have been no confirmed sitings of her since the footage.  If anyone has seen her, please do not hesitate to contact one of the numbers listed.  I know this isn't 40K related, and I'm breaking my own rule about this again...but right now I can't focus on my miniatures enough to even clean up or primer them.

Hopefully we find her soon and I can get back to fixating on the minutia of this game I love, and can have the energy and focus I need to enjoy this hobby of mine.  But right now, thanks for indulging me this moment of Real Life Misery in my 40K blog.

Battle Report 4/9/2011

I did a search as I was getting ready to write this battle report up, and the last battle report I published was June of last year.  That means it’s been more than 10 months since I was last able to roll dice in a game of 40K.  That’s a long time.  As much as I love the hobby of 40K, I love the game even more.  Which is why this session of gaming was just what I needed to recharge the batteries and keep me pumped about what I’m doing 40K-wise.

Because it had been so long since I had played a game, and since we were still using proxy units to flesh out our armies, we kept the point total to a reasonably low 500 points.   We were planning to play a 1000 point game as well, but after starting late, and taking a break for supper we decided to play a game of Zombies!!!! instead.  It was cool, but lasted a long time (we finished that game up after a 3 hour marathon session).  Had we known we were going to spend that much time on that game I probably would have voted to play 40K again.

Random rolls teamed myself and Steve up against Steve’s son Connor and James.  We then rolled to get an annihilation game with a spearhead deployment.  Steve and I won initiative, decided to attack first and kept initiative when James and Connor tried to steal it.

A couple caveats.  When it comes to the actual playing of 40K, we are infrequent in our ability to play games, and can be considered relatively new when it comes to actual gameplay.  Second, we had to fudge the list rules because Connor plays the Necrons and it was really hard to have him fit his army into our points limitation and be viable, so we let him take a higher points total with only one troop choice.  We also did not require the Space Marines to take two compulsory troop choices to give them some variety.

Also, to James, Connor, and Steve, if I missed a move forgive me.  I was trying to write down what we were doing and play the game so I was finding myself trying to catch up after the fact.  So if there was a big move I missed then please put it in the comments.

Hit the jump to see the army lists and round by round breakdown.

Some Minor Site Tweaks

In case you guys were paying attention I've tweaked the site this weekend.  Mostly it's just cosmetic, moving stuff around the site.  The biggest thing is I moved my slide show and list of what I have done and what I haven't started to a separate page.  I also created a new tag to better organize all the Dawn of War/II, Space Marine, and Dark Millennium updates in case you guys actually use the nav bar.

Thanks for reading, and if something doesn't work, or look right, please let me know ASAP.

40K Neotube - Space Marine Developer Diary

A Developer Diary for the upcoming 40K console shooter, Space Marine has been posted.  Mostly it's the developers giving the standard lip service to how they feel about the 40K IP (which has been born out in previous Relic games), as well as confirmation that the primary baddies will be the Orks, but it looks like Chaos is there too.  There's also lots of shots of the Space Marines chewing through Orks with chain swords.

I have my druthers about this game, mostly it's 3rd person perspective, and that it's a console game and I don't have a game console.  That said still looks gorgeous and violent, and I will find a way to play it.

Hit the jump to see the video.

Happy Birthday To Me

So I celebrated my birthday with a bunch of purchases and presents and suddenly my backlog of figures to paint is much larger.

That's a set of Killer Kans, a Warbiker Mob, a Big Mek, and a copy of A Thousand Sons.

Work In Progress: Ork Trukk

Last year when I started dipping my Orks I had planned on doing it just for my standard Ork Boyz and then do traditional painting for what I termed the "fun figures" like my Ork Trukk.  Well after looking at my Orks I've decided to dip everything because I'll get a more consistent look to my army.  So since then I've cleaned my Stormboyz off and repainted them, and now I'm on my Ork Trukk.  I've painted and dipped the frame and trukk bed, and I've painted part of the cab.  My daughter is on spring break this week so I'm not sure if my plan to have it done by the end of the week will pan out or not, but we'll see.

I'm pretty happy with it so far.  I think the only area I'm not please with is the tires.  I tried to make the wheels look like a hodgepodge of patched metal and rubber, and it really looked more clownish than I wanted.  I mean I'm no Cool Mini or Not level of painting, but I'm more interested in painting a table top ready army to game with than to be the next Rembrandt of miniature painting.

Also, if the trukk looks bad remember I don't have the best camera and I'm totally blaming it on that and not my measly painting skills.

Hit the jump to see the pictures.

Dawn fo War II - Retribution Dark Angel DLC Announced

THQ Announced today that they will be releasing a DLC Pack for Retribution that features custom Dark Angel units and skins for multiplayer.

The Dark Angels Pack adds the iconic Space Marine chapter to the game with eight unique models for the major multiplayer units as well as new color schemes for the others.  The Force Commander is replaced by a Dark Angels Company Master complete with winged helmet, the Tactical Marine squad all sport the iconic Dark Angels robes.  Additionally, the Scout Squad, Assault Marine Squad and Terminators all receive similar chapter-specific revisions.

I think this is really cool.  If there is one Space Marine chapter I like more than the Blood Ravens, it's the Dark Angels.  Also, it warms the cockles of my heart to know that THQ and Relic have actually started down the DLC road.  I will again say, I hope this ends up with some race specific DLC campaigns made available at some point.  Also, this DLC will cost money, and while some people may have an issue with that (we all love free stuff), and I would have liked a DLC pack like this to be free, if it helps give them the incentive to do other more exhaustive DLC packs then I'm okay with it.

The DLC will be available on April 6 for $7.50