My Predictions for the Future

The last few weeks have seen some interesting new stuff from GW. They released a long-overdue FAQ for the older Marine books and announced that the Grey Knights will indeed be the next Codex to come out, on the way for an April release. Between this, a few rumors and what's been going on at GW for the last year, I have an interesting picture of 2011/2012.

Let's start with the FAQ's. I think it's great that these armies finally get the new wargear rules and with them a shot at being competative again. This is good. Yes, this should have happened 2 years ago, but better late then never, so I won't complain about that. When I saw this, I did read something else into it though and that is don't expect a DA or BT codex anytime soon.

Next we have the Grey Marines book, following the Power armor/non-power armor pattern again. This I have mixed feelings about for the sole reason that I liked running a squad with my Ultramarines and I won't be able to anymore. Of course I may end up with a GK army some day so I can field my models but that's way down the road.

The other thing I've considered is last years lack of Fantasy releases. They did one army book and the 8th ed rulebook. Now when 40k got its 5th ed book in 2008, GW supported that with 3 Codex releases that year. I can't help but think Fantasy got the shaft, and I hope to see them make it up this year.

So having said all that, here's my predictions....April 2011 will be Grey Knights...yeah we know that. Rumors say this will be followed by Orcs & Goblins. I think we'll see Necrons in the fall...probably around October and likely have another fantasy book (hopefully Tomb Kings, Bretoninas or Ogres) around the same time. There's rumors of some flyer expansion and I don't know if this will be the epuc fail Planetstrike was or the moderate fail Spearhead was but we'll see. I think that's all we see this year. This will be a bit slower release year for financial reasons as we've all seen GW numbers falling and they'll probably pull back production to compensate but also to gear up for 2010 and...

Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition! Yes, I'm calling it now that we will see a new rulebook in 2012. I will also say that I am 100% against it. I think 5th has lots of life left and could easily go another 4-5 years but the evidence is piling. Yes, we were told a while back that there were plans to update every codex before 6th, but that was Alessio Cavatore's plan and he's long gone. Rumor also had it Jervis was against this plan and with Alessio out of GW, Jervis will likely get his way. The semi-update FAQ's support this theory...why give them this equipment so far after the Space Marine codex unless you aren't giving them a book for a while? This is espically true if until more recently you were functioning under the idea that their book is 18 months off or so. Also a 2012 release gives 5th ed a 4 year lifespan. 4th edition had a 4 year lifespan so that's consistant. I see another 40K release next winter followed by another fantasy army in the spring and 6th edition next summer, then of course Codex Space Marines in fall 2012 and GW will coast through to the end of the world.

2010 has Rhino Tracks on it...*

Well here we are. It's 2011 and a new year of gaming and hobby goodness. But how can we know where we're going if we don't look at where we've been. 2010 was a good one hobby-wise...well mostly. Sure, I'm a little late in the "year in review" department, but hey...deal with it. So here we go...2010. Which started with...

January: This was a big one. Tyranid players have been eager for a new book ever since 5th came out and this one was nice. Sure it wasn't the powerhouse that Wolves and IG were but it's a potent book with lots of great new stuff, some redesigned old stuff and the obligitory useless unit (pyrovores I'd say. Here's something that has to get very close to be effective, but it sucks in CC so if you don't kill what you flamed you're boned) It was balanced and it came with some gorgeous new models. The Trygon is an epic plastic beastie, Gargoyles are finally priced so that players without a healthy trust fund can field them. Sure GW continued their new tradition of leaving gaping holes in their new lines with no models or pictures of several popular new units, but overall it was a good month. We also saw the release of the Legion of the Damned models...great figures from a unit that no one uses.

February: We saw what was to be the only Army Book released in 2010 with the Beastmen. More great model kits came with this one bit somehow the rules were a bit lacking. It's not that it's a bad army, it's just a bit bland and not very Beastman-ly. They were an army that didn't see much use in my neck of the woods and it looks like they'll remain that way.

March: March started off with an expansion to 40k with the Battle Missions book...and to it I say meh. Sure it has some fun stuff to play around with, but it was not worth the price tag and anyone with access to Google can find fan-made scenarios similar to those for free. What was nice was the accompanying models. We got a more user-friendly Chimer chassis which also found its way into the Basilisk box, and some plastic walkers. The Ven dread has lots of bits for customization and was a vast improvement over the metal one. The Kans and Deff Dread models are just fantastic in plastic and honestly the only critique I have is the typical GW policy of shorting on weapons for people like me that want 3 Kans with the same weapon but still it was another good job by the GW sculptors.

April: Finally the Blood Angels got their own book...and not a PDF but a real book with pages and paper and everything. The army plays well compared to the fluff and has some character. And the models...just some amazing additions to the line-up. The unfortunate thing is that the Death Company is gorgeous, but the rules that accompany them are somewhat less desirable. Once again, there are missing models with no pictures, but if the flying fry basket is an indicator, they may not have much longer to wait.

May: May was a big LOTR month...so no one cared. When will the contract expire so GW can focus on their real games? We did see some Orc and Goblin models that were good. The Boar Boys had a very dynamic pose and the vomiting River Troll is just perfect.

June: June saw Spearhead...meh again, but at least it was free. It's kind of Apocalypse light, but if I'm running that much armor, why not play Apoc anyway? At the very least it was an excuse to put out a bunch of tank models. IG players got a bunch of new toys and Eldar even got in on the new goodness with an all-plastic Fire Prism (because metal-plastic hybrid models blow) that doubles as their all-new and aparently codex-legal Night Spinner. Not the best unit, since I think Eldar have better uses for their Heavy slots, but still it's nice to see GW remembers back when White dwarf was more then a catalog and Chapter Approved meant something.

July: Here it is...the long-awaited 8th Edition Fantasy ruleset. It's a polarizing book, with quite a few people critizing it. I think it's pretty good myself and honestly I'm more interested in playing 8th then 7th. My Vampires got a huge kick in the crotch, but honestly they needed it. I think maybe they were taken down a bit too far since an army canm't rely on Magic anymore but still I like what's come from 8th. The release was accompanied by...well nothing really. There was a new template set that was meh and a few other play-aid bits and pieces but overall, nothing special came from the book except the massive price tag. This book is my answer to critics saying GW should make full color codexes..."Yeah if you want a $60 codex". They did come out with the magic cards which are pretty handy.

August: Finally Demons get some new models. The Bloodcrushers are great and the Demon Prince is epic...though I can't see how to make it Nurgle-y and besides I like my metal one. Demons now only have one troop left that's metal only. GW's plastic keeps getting better and these kits are great. If I have one complaint it's that I'm not fond of the current Demonettes and the Seekers are just those on lizard-things.

September: Another light month, but we have Island of Blood, the 8th ed starter kit. Like Black Reach before it, we're given 2 decent-sized forces with quality models for the simplified construction they use. Sure, the High Elf army as given isn't legal since you can't fit a Griffin-mounted prince in the points provided, but it's still nice.

October: We had a few more fantasy releases with High Elves getting plastic Special kits. again some nice sculpts, but it looks like GW is going for a new $40+ price point for a mere 10 plastic Special models. The Greatswords started it and the White Lions and Phoenix Guard continued it.

November: Hell froze over. After 12 years the Dark Eldar return. Seems like it was worth the wait as they got some cool new toys. Again it's a mostly balanced book. There are some over-the-top goodies but largely it fits the fluff. DE are fast and hit like a freight train, but their armor is all but non-exsistant and their vehicles have as much armor as your average snowblower. The "glass cannon" is very DE so I was glad to see it come back.

December: GW typically doesn't do much in December and again they've kept to this. The Empire got an upgrade kit and there was some new terrain, but otherwise they ended the year with nothing.

All in all it was a busy year. Fantasy players should feel shafted by only getting one army book and GW can't use the edition as an excuse because 2008 saw 3 codex's and 40k 5th edition. We also have a few dex's this year that showed that GW does indeed remember how to write a book that's balanced. Guess the Wolves and IG will be sitting pretty up there for a while longer. Not to say that Angels and DE aren't up there, but those two are still jacked-up. 2011 is already starting with some new Skaven and the announcement of the Grey Knights. I have a few predictions...

I think we'll see GW all but neglected Fantasy last year aside from the new rulebook and I think they'll make up for it this year. I think we'll have 3 Army Books this year, but only 2 codex's. We know Grey Knights are coming and rumors suggest they will be followed by Orcs & Goblins. I think we'll see another fantasy release in fall and a Codex close to it. Possibly a Tomb Kings and Necron release in September/October and a third army book (Ogres? Bretonians?) late in November or possibly very early in 2012. We ahve still heard of some flyer-based 40K expansion in the summer. Only time will tell, but the next 12 months could be interesting.

*Get it...it's behind us...hence the tracks....Well fine, you come up with something better then "2010 year in review" or some such crap.

My take on the Fry Basket

In the beginning there was a Blood Angel Codex...a real one with pages and a binding and everything...and it was good (for BA players anyway). But as has been the norm for GW recently there were units with no model, no description and no pictures. Ask Tyranid players how that works...that's almost every new unit in their book. It's a modellers dream and nightmare at once. They can do what they want, but have no guidelines...how big is too big? How small is too small? what happens to my scratch-build if GW makes an official model? These were big issues for people who wanted to field this big guy, but GW had a plan...a new model was in the making and a few months this picture was leaked. Yes, the Stormraven was apparently this monstrosity. The Flying Fry Basket in all its glory. I've had time to look at it and consider it and I still am amazed by it. Looks like they got a Thunderhawk and its sister Valkyrie hammered. They had a wild night and nature took its unholy course. Then the Valkyrie drank a lot during the pregnancy and the resultant inbred retarded mutant offspring that this union produced was called "Stormraven".

Then a few weeks ago this second pic surfaced. It looks marginally better and may even be worth the likely $60 price tag. There have been comments that they improved it...that GW made a model look better and even that they listened to the comments after the leaked picture hit, but lets be honest here, huh? This is THE SAME MODEL! Yes it looks better at this angle but it's also missing a few parts. The B-24-esque ball-turret doesn't have the guns or clear parts..the cockpit isn't there and the front weapons haven't been mounted, but it's still the flying fry basket and it's probably coming with the newly announced Grey Knights in April.

Oh yeah, GW announced the Grey Knights are coming in April. Pretty cool that I can cover months-old news and finish with yesterday's announcement, huh?

Helpful Hobby Hints: Primer

A recent check on my hobby stock led me to discover that my supply of GW spray "primer" was running dangerously low. Considering Orkfest is a mere 4 months away and Da' Deathwok Clan is far from being done I needed to find an alernative. The GW stuff was doing an OK job, but like everything else GW makes it is insanely overpriced and I was sure there was an alternative to be found for under their $15 price.

My first step was looking into what my options were and here was where I made my first discovery. What GW sells as "primer", that is what I was told was primer when I ordered it is really just a Chaos Black spraypaint. True primer has a different chemical makeup and does more to keep paint on a model. So not only are they overcharging us, they aren't selling primer. I still love their games, but come on guys...how about a little support?

Anyway after checking some different sources and a few varied recomendations I discovered "Touch and Tone" household spray primer. This appears to be a propriatory product line for the automotive store Autozone. It's available in a gray and a black and only runs $3 a can.

I tried it on a few Black Reach nobs and it's working very well. It coated well and sprayed evenly. So far its provided a better base for painting and using the gray has helped see the defination in the modek better then the GW spray did. The paints going on easier and better so far. It's a good product. The price is right and it does the job well. I haven't tried it on metal yet, but so far so good.

Magic in the (New) Old World

8th Edition has been out for a few months and I've actually gotten a few games in. So far I do like it in general. The game seems to flow better and I can usually get through a 3000 point game in a surprisingly short time. One aspect of the game that's changed significantly is magic. Sure, there are some insane new spells, but it goes beyond that. Magic has changed the way some armies play and has affected every aspect of the game in varied ways.

First magic has become unpredictable. In the old days you built your power dice into your list. Now it's based on a roll of the dice. Now for most armies, this isn't a big deal, but there are a few armies, namely the undead, that rely on their magic. For those armies, life has become a bit of a challenge. When you need a strong magic phase, be ready to roll a small number of dice. My Vampires have seen this costing them dearly on the table. Their units are largely mediocre because they can be replaced with a few spells. Now rolling a 2 for the winds of magic at a key point will cost them the game. Any ability to affect the number of dice will come in handy so Dark Elves, Villitch the Curseling and certain gear have become far more effective in helping you get a strong magic phase off.

Spells have become more potent...or should I say devestating? The low to mid spells are decent and handy but the upper spells become just beastly. Honestly I feel this was why power dice became variable from turn to turn. It balances the spells in the rule book and big spells should be seen as a bonus to fire off instead of something to be counted on. Of course the magic found in army books are a bit different. Army-specific spells are generally not as insanely destructive as the new rulebook spells, but also are easier to cast.

Of course all isn't fire and the death of your foes. Miscasts have changed to become far more dangerous. The spell is guranteed to go off, but you have the potential of paying dearly for it. You can lose spells, wizard levels (even losing the ability to cast at all) and possibly even have your caster explode taking nearby models with him.

Magic is still a powerful aspect of the game, but I don't think building an army around the magic phase would be effective. No one should leave home without a caster or two for defense and the potential to destroy a huge hammer unit if things work out the right way but armies that win with their magic won't be winning often. Some armies have access to some fun tricks to help them maximize the magic phase. Empire wizards can be built cheaply and have access to every school of magic. High Elves have some spells of their own that are force multipliers as well as access to some tricks to affect dice and casting rolls. Chaos Sorcerers are more durable then most to the point that they shouldn't fear combat as much as most casters and Tzeentch makes getting spells off easier. Lizardmen probably have the most going for them with the potential to shrug off a miscast. The best thing is to look at your army and decide where magic can fit best and how many points you want to dedicate toward the dark arts.

Webcasts part 2

A bit back I ran down a few webcasts that I listen to regularly. Since then, I've added a few so they get the same treatment...

The Independent Characters -I just started listening to these guys following the appearance of one of the hosts, Carl, on Imperial Vox Cast. So far I like what I hear. They will analyse strategy and tactics more then just read the codex (like a certain mediocre former show...) and they have a good on-air chemestry. If there's one thing I don't like about them so far its that I can't download the show directly from the Zune Marketplace.

The 11th Company - This one is interesting. The show's format is different from most as it seems to be recorded in pieces during the week and editided together. They combine tactics with interviews, though I usually skip the interviews as they rarely talk to people I care about. It's possible to do a show without mentioning Adepticon every 5 minutes and interviewing everyone from the organizers to the janitor that vaccumed the hall afterward, right? Not that I have anything against Adepticon, but i'm never going to it so I could give a damn and everyone seems obsessed with it. There was the con run by The War Store here in NJ that I could have gone to, but no one seems to be covering that...ok, back to the topic. They just finished doing a ranking and rundown of every army, and while they did get a few things wrong (Space Marines are at very best a mediocre army and definately the weakest 5th ed book) it was a good breakdown. What I found interesting is when they talk about certain tactics. When covering the IG they regarded the Infantry Platoon as something you'll never see, when it is quite the opposite. I thought they got things like that mixed up a lot until I realized that what I was hearing was an insight into a completly different local meta then I was used to. All the other shows I listen to seem to have players similar to my local game scene, but these guys don't. It's pretty interesting to hear about the game from such a different perspective...and if that's their opinion, I'm pretty sure I could destroy them should we ever happen to get a game, but it's cool to hear about the game from a fresh perspective.

Fall to the dark side...

So, now we've addressed an army that's not the best for a rookie, so what's a good one? Simple. Chaos Space Marines. Why? They can do everything, they're fairly simple and straightforward and they will teach a player how to play the game.

First, The CSM dex and the Ork dex are the bar to which other dex's are measured as to quality. I say this for 2 simple reasons. 1 they're balanced and 2. you can easily have a half dozen players all have completely different armies that are all competitive. Orks lose the recommendation just because they're labor-intensive. A new player may be overwhelmed when he asks what he'd need for a 1750 point army and the answer is 160 models. So Chaos it is then. Chaos has the ability to become the army you want it to be. First you can take Marine squads and add marks to give them a bit of a bonus and when you're ready there are cult troops. These are all troops, so you get a scoring unit that does what you like, be it survive, charge, stand and shoot or shoot then assault.

They're readily available, largely plastic and lack massive gaps in their model line that are becoming common in newer armies. New players don't always like the idea of reading about some cool unit only to discover there's no model (and sometimes no picture...) and they have to build one themselves.

Chaos introduces basically everything you need to know to play the game. They don't have any funny rules, but use most of the core rules you'll see. They have monstrous creatures, normal troops, fearless troops, vehicles, transports and just about anything else you'll need to know about. The only things missing are fast, open-topped or skimmer vehicles.

Chaos are more of a jack of all trades then most armies. Their basic troop can hold its own in CC, can bring special or heavy weapons and can take marks to specialize their mission further. Beyond that you have cult units. As a player gets to know himself as a gamer, he will discover what strategies he likes and what works for him. He can then expand with cultists that follow what he wants from the army. This is also an army that can grow with the player. With some armies when the time comes to expand, it's often more of the same thing. That's not a bad thing at all, but if a player has a budding force and wants to experiment, having so many choices gives new opportunities to try things out without completely re-building the army or changing its entire construction.

At the end of the day an army choice is something a gamer has to consider carefully. This is far from a cheap hobby, so its important to pick an army that becomes an investment. Just about any army can be licked up by a rookie and will draw them into the hobby if its right for them (sorry necrons, you still suck). Putting a few hundred bucks into some models means changing your mind completely isn't always an option. Having an army that can change with a player, do so many things and get them into the game is valuable so I usually will point someone to chaos first. Besides, Grandfather Nurgle always needs more children to spread his infectious love.