At present there is a bit of controversy raging on the Face-Twitter because somebody lost a tournament in the UK due to a Sports hit that they took in the final round.
Now either one of two situations occurred. One player was being a prat and was marked down by his opponent or, more sinisterly, the player doing the marking down was doing so to secure an advantage for himself. Now I don’t know the ins-and-outs apart from hearsay on the net but in either case I would think that the Umpire would be able to make a call as to the justifiability of the hit. Especially given that this was occurring on Table One.
The kneejerk reaction from the vocal tournament goers has been to suggest removing sports scoring from future events to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
That logic seems to be all about face – the point of sports scoring is to ensure that a minimum acceptable set of behaviours are adhered to.
The suggested replacement for sports scoring is a yellow card/red card system as per soccer where you receive one warning and then you are ejected from the event.
Now I see numerous problems with such a system:
1. As long as you behave like a choirboy in the other rounds, it gives you free rein to run amok in any one given round. Effectively you have a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
2. In a lot of cases TOs and Umpires are friends of the participants. It takes a very strong individual to put a friendship at risk by expelling somebody from an event.
3. Building on this, the participants are also customers. I can see situations where events risk patronage based on the perceived justice of previous decisions. If you ejected a high profile player (maybe because he was having a bad day) you may find your future events struggling to attract players due to its placement on a “blacklist”.
4. This system is just as open to manipulation as any other sports system. Perhaps a group of players decide they don’t like a player or his attitude then it is possible for collusion to see a player evicted from the event.
Those are just some of the problems off the top of my head. I am willing to bet that if adopted the general level of sportsmanship would deteriorate markedly lowering the average overall enjoyment of events.
I strongly believe that a checklist sports system is the way to go which details expected behaviours with the ability for the player to penalise. However I also believe that if a game is going down that route most TOs and other officials are aware and will watch the protagonists. A good TO should be able from observation and a few questions be able to ascertain if a sports penalty is vindictive. He then can make a call to ignore it and warn the individual who gave it.
The tournament gaming community in most countries is a small enough community for most TOs to be aware of “problem children” and to watch them a little more closely than others. This smallness is magnified by the internet.
Throwing out sports scoring is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It would have enormous adverse consequences.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
New VC Book for Natcon
Just a heads-up for anyone going to NatCon at Easter.
After initially putting a new army cut-off date at 1 January 2012, the Umpire has now shifted that to 1 February 2012. This means that the Vampire Counts will be using the 8th Edition book rather than the 7th .
So no Helm, Drakkenhof or spam casting. But you do get better crumble protection, new units and cheaper skeletons. Your Vampires also get an extra attack.
After initially putting a new army cut-off date at 1 January 2012, the Umpire has now shifted that to 1 February 2012. This means that the Vampire Counts will be using the 8th Edition book rather than the 7th .
So no Helm, Drakkenhof or spam casting. But you do get better crumble protection, new units and cheaper skeletons. Your Vampires also get an extra attack.
News - Overconfident BSB Finds New Ways To Die
Over the weekend I had two great games.
The first was against Sam Whitt’s Orcs & Goblins, using the Equinox comp. This game see-sawed from beginning to end. In the first turn I managed to put a cannonball through Sam’s BO Warboss who was in a unit of 80 Night Goblin archers. He failed his LOS and died. My Maneaters cleared out his warmachines but this was offset by his Savage Orc BOs and a chariot killing two units of Mournfang. I was looking okay until a fanatic went straight through my BSB who had charged the flank of the Savage Orcs.
In the end the game came down to my turn six where I was looking at a small loss. I tried to cast Braingobbler trying to force a Ld 7 Panic Test on the big Night Goblin block with Lvl 4 and BSB in it. Sam saw it coming and stopped it but couldn’t stop the Ironblaster shooting a lone orc shaman causing the panic on the goblins. He dutifully failed the test and re-roll taking 750 points off the table.
Very tight run thing that demonstrated how dicey the Ogres are.
The next morning I had the third battle with Mike King’s Lizards. Mike had dropped the Temple Guard for this one and given his Slaan Lore of Beasts rather than Light. Unfortunately for Mike his Slaan was sucked into the warp Turn One when attempting a magic missile on a lone Sabretusk. To add insult to injury the Sabretusk suffered no wounds as a result of the spell.
This gave me magic dominance however the rest of the game was hard work as my Maneaters were peppered with poisoned shots and were chased around the battlefield. A group of skinks charged my Ironblaster in the rear breaking it. Not content with that they then killed my BSB who had charged out of his unit – I’m sensing a pattern here.
In the end I ground out the win but it was nowhere as easy as I thought it would be after the Frog imploded. It's now 2-1 to the Ogres but the Lizards are back tomorrow for Round 4.
So all in all some good experience with the OKs which has me making some adjustments to the list.
The first was against Sam Whitt’s Orcs & Goblins, using the Equinox comp. This game see-sawed from beginning to end. In the first turn I managed to put a cannonball through Sam’s BO Warboss who was in a unit of 80 Night Goblin archers. He failed his LOS and died. My Maneaters cleared out his warmachines but this was offset by his Savage Orc BOs and a chariot killing two units of Mournfang. I was looking okay until a fanatic went straight through my BSB who had charged the flank of the Savage Orcs.
In the end the game came down to my turn six where I was looking at a small loss. I tried to cast Braingobbler trying to force a Ld 7 Panic Test on the big Night Goblin block with Lvl 4 and BSB in it. Sam saw it coming and stopped it but couldn’t stop the Ironblaster shooting a lone orc shaman causing the panic on the goblins. He dutifully failed the test and re-roll taking 750 points off the table.
Very tight run thing that demonstrated how dicey the Ogres are.
The next morning I had the third battle with Mike King’s Lizards. Mike had dropped the Temple Guard for this one and given his Slaan Lore of Beasts rather than Light. Unfortunately for Mike his Slaan was sucked into the warp Turn One when attempting a magic missile on a lone Sabretusk. To add insult to injury the Sabretusk suffered no wounds as a result of the spell.
This gave me magic dominance however the rest of the game was hard work as my Maneaters were peppered with poisoned shots and were chased around the battlefield. A group of skinks charged my Ironblaster in the rear breaking it. Not content with that they then killed my BSB who had charged out of his unit – I’m sensing a pattern here.
In the end I ground out the win but it was nowhere as easy as I thought it would be after the Frog imploded. It's now 2-1 to the Ogres but the Lizards are back tomorrow for Round 4.
So all in all some good experience with the OKs which has me making some adjustments to the list.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Equinox Comp Released
The TO for Equinox released the Composition pack yesterday. It is very close to the initial indications though there had recently been talk of limiting armies to only two Rare choices.
I’m glad he’s gone with a more standard pack and think that the set of restrictions allows most players and races to put forward a competitive army.
Equinox 2012 Restrictions: (Final)
What we have tried to do and the purpose of the restrictions is to temper slightly and as little as possible the armies in 8th edition. The Pack will try to impose a lite as possible number of restrictions to give all armies a level as possible playing field. With these restrictions we would expect to see a diverse range of armies in attendance at the tournament.
Note: The TO reserves the right to Veto lists deemed to be too offensive.
General Restrictions:
Lizardmen
I’m glad he’s gone with a more standard pack and think that the set of restrictions allows most players and races to put forward a competitive army.
Equinox 2012 Restrictions: (Final)
What we have tried to do and the purpose of the restrictions is to temper slightly and as little as possible the armies in 8th edition. The Pack will try to impose a lite as possible number of restrictions to give all armies a level as possible playing field. With these restrictions we would expect to see a diverse range of armies in attendance at the tournament.
Note: The TO reserves the right to Veto lists deemed to be too offensive.
General Restrictions:
- 2400pt: No special or named characters allowed.
- Only one double rare choice maybe taken.
- Max of 12 power dice or dispel dice may be used, stored or otherwise rolled by each player in each magic phase. The basic premise is that if it looks like a power dice and acts like a power dice it counts as power dice, even if it is called something else. (Once the cap has been reached all dice received from any source will be discarded or disregarded eg: Mushroom dice.)
- Max of +2 power dice or dispel dice may be generated, recovered from storage or otherwise created by each player in each magic phase. Dice generated from channel attempts or one use items are exempt from this restriction. The basic premise is that if it looks like a power dice and acts like a power dice it counts as power dice, even if it is called something else.
- You may have units/abilities that actually would generate more than 2 extra dice, but any excess dice are lost.
- Non-warmachine shooting is limited to 90 shots per turn - count the number of shots, not models. So for example Dark Elf Warriors with repeater crossbows count as 2 shots. Ranked (non-skirmisher) infantry with missile weapons with a range of 12" or less are excluded from this restriction.
- An army may not include more than 2 warmachines of the same type.
- No single non character unit in the army may be over 450 points
- Maximum of three units per army with the “fly” rule.
- An army may have up to 4 war machines and template weapons. Warmachines that use a template count as a single choice in this regard. All template weapons (from magic items, abilities, etc.) count towards this limit, except for spells.
- Characters affected by the following spells that would instantly remove it from the table only take one wound if it would normally benefit from a look out sir roll from being part of a unit. The Dwellers Below and Final Transmutation spells. This does not apply if you are a lone character outside of a unit.
Lizardmen
- Salamanders 0 – 3 models per army.
- Higher State of Consciousness and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
- A maximum of two non character units may be taken with the “ethereal” rule. A Black Coach counts as “ethereal” for the purposes of this rule.
- A maximum of 2 Tomb Banshees and/or Carin Wraith (Character) are allowed in each army (i.e a maximum of one of each or two of one type). If you have taken 2 ethereal non character units as per the restriction above this is limited to 1.
- Cairn Wraiths (unit) are 0 – 6 models per army.
- Hell Pit Abominations & Warp Lighting Cannons are 0-1 unit selection per army.
- Warlock Engineers are 0 – 3 models per army.
- An army can take either a Brass Orb or a Doom Rocket not both.
- The Pendant of Kaleth and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
- Hydras 0 – 1 unit selections per army.
- Steam Tanks are 0 – 1 models per army
- Hell Cannons are 0 – 1 unit selections per army
- No duplication of Daemonic Gifts or Daemonic Icons.
- Icon Bearer may take either Daemonic Gifts or Daemonic Icon
- No further restrictions
- High Elf armies may ignore the “same type” warmachine restriction
- Hellheart cannot be chosen in an army that includes a Greedy Fist.
- Chaos Dwarfs (Throne of Tamurkhan book)
- Tomb Kings
- Bretonnians
- Wood Elves
- Orcs & Goblins
- Beastmen
- Dwarves
Weather Warning - The Ethereal Cloud
With the release of the new Vampire Counts book there has been the inevitable discussion of how the meta game will change. Certainly the previous release, Ogres, changed the meta by significantly improving the viability of a Monstrous Infantry build. Up until then infantry had been the dominant troop type and the tools for dealing with infantry, didn’t necessarily work on Monstrous Infantry.
Along lurches the Vampire Counts and suddenly the new hotness is the “Ethereal Cloud”, an army of Core backed up by as many ethereal models you can fit in. Of course you get the “Sky is Falling Crowd” led by the Warhammer Henny Pennys who populate the internet and tell you how overpowered the build is.
And of course like the story of Henny Penny, it isn’t.
The easiest way to deal with Ethereal units is to have a ready supply of magic attacks. Daemons, Wood Elves and parts of the Warriors of Chaos and Skaven army have this in spades. Remember also that Page 7 of the BRB FAQ tells you that all attacks made by magical items are considered to be magical attacks. This includes attacks made by weapons, armour and banners unless it specifically is excluded in its description.
There are five magic weapons in the Common Magic Items that are 10 points or less so there is considerable opportunity to cheaply outfit a character for the role.
Magic missiles are a great way to deal with an ethereal unit and virtually every army has access to one in its arsenal. The most obvious is the signature Fireball spell that gives you the opportunity to generate up to 3D6 hits. For the points conscious the common Ruby Ring with its bound fireball is also an option.
“Aah, but what if they put 5 ethereal characters in a block of zombies so they can’t be targeted”. Well besides it being a pretty expensive way of generating a limited number of attacks, the unit is very susceptible to warmachines/impact hits. It also provides a very large drag on your Hero allowance reducing the number of casters you can include.
Of all the armies out there, Orcs & Goblins are probably the least suited to dealing with ethereal units. However they still have access to the tools. It probably means they just need to spend less on the toys and commit a part of their points allowance to dealing with ethereals. It doesn’t need to be large but it probably needs to be included in the mix.
So is the sky falling? I personally don’t think it’s even cloudy.
Along lurches the Vampire Counts and suddenly the new hotness is the “Ethereal Cloud”, an army of Core backed up by as many ethereal models you can fit in. Of course you get the “Sky is Falling Crowd” led by the Warhammer Henny Pennys who populate the internet and tell you how overpowered the build is.
And of course like the story of Henny Penny, it isn’t.
The easiest way to deal with Ethereal units is to have a ready supply of magic attacks. Daemons, Wood Elves and parts of the Warriors of Chaos and Skaven army have this in spades. Remember also that Page 7 of the BRB FAQ tells you that all attacks made by magical items are considered to be magical attacks. This includes attacks made by weapons, armour and banners unless it specifically is excluded in its description.
There are five magic weapons in the Common Magic Items that are 10 points or less so there is considerable opportunity to cheaply outfit a character for the role.
Magic missiles are a great way to deal with an ethereal unit and virtually every army has access to one in its arsenal. The most obvious is the signature Fireball spell that gives you the opportunity to generate up to 3D6 hits. For the points conscious the common Ruby Ring with its bound fireball is also an option.
“Aah, but what if they put 5 ethereal characters in a block of zombies so they can’t be targeted”. Well besides it being a pretty expensive way of generating a limited number of attacks, the unit is very susceptible to warmachines/impact hits. It also provides a very large drag on your Hero allowance reducing the number of casters you can include.
Of all the armies out there, Orcs & Goblins are probably the least suited to dealing with ethereal units. However they still have access to the tools. It probably means they just need to spend less on the toys and commit a part of their points allowance to dealing with ethereals. It doesn’t need to be large but it probably needs to be included in the mix.
So is the sky falling? I personally don’t think it’s even cloudy.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
New GW Tower Sighted
Sighted in the upcoming White Dwarf.
Can't say I'm too excited. No idea what the retarded skelly thing on the top is. Or does.
Can't say I'm too excited. No idea what the retarded skelly thing on the top is. Or does.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
My Weekend's Effort
Over the weekend I started put together and started to paint my Wolfrats and managed to get a game in against the new Vampire Counts.
The wolfrats are lovely models and I think that they will paint up well. You get three body variations and five different heads so you can create a wide variety of models. I’ll finish them this week and try to get some photos up.
I played Kent’s VC on Sunday morning and got my first taste of the new book. Kent uses a skeleton based list with three big blocks plus a medium GG unit. He had two ethereal units – wraiths with banshee and a unit of 5 Hexwraiths. I was able to get a flank charge on the hexwraiths and my magic weapons saw them off. Didn’t really see what they can do.
Yesterday afternoon – after cleaning up the Dunn-geon which was looking like a tip – I sat down with two new boxes of the Gale Force Nine “Battlefield in a Box” terrain. I had picked these up late last year at the Warlords’ Call to Arms. Fifteen minutes later I had a modular rocky hill and seven rocky outcrops (impassable terrain) to match my Realm of Battle board.
The “Battlefield in a Box” sets come ready painted and just require static grass. I can’t recommend these terrain pieces highly enough. Looking forward to their new Desert Fantasy Terrain series.
The wolfrats are lovely models and I think that they will paint up well. You get three body variations and five different heads so you can create a wide variety of models. I’ll finish them this week and try to get some photos up.
I played Kent’s VC on Sunday morning and got my first taste of the new book. Kent uses a skeleton based list with three big blocks plus a medium GG unit. He had two ethereal units – wraiths with banshee and a unit of 5 Hexwraiths. I was able to get a flank charge on the hexwraiths and my magic weapons saw them off. Didn’t really see what they can do.
Yesterday afternoon – after cleaning up the Dunn-geon which was looking like a tip – I sat down with two new boxes of the Gale Force Nine “Battlefield in a Box” terrain. I had picked these up late last year at the Warlords’ Call to Arms. Fifteen minutes later I had a modular rocky hill and seven rocky outcrops (impassable terrain) to match my Realm of Battle board.
The “Battlefield in a Box” sets come ready painted and just require static grass. I can’t recommend these terrain pieces highly enough. Looking forward to their new Desert Fantasy Terrain series.
Monday, January 23, 2012
International Variations
With all this discussion recently around composition systems I think that it is quite interesting the move globally to hard cap systems.
The UK and NZ seem to be firmly in that camp - with some NZ events having a TO veto - while Europe has always been that way. From what I understand the US vacillates between no comp and hard comp depending on geography.
The one outlier is Australia. Here they are still largely following the subjective comp route, primarily using panel comp (or in some events peer). I'm not really sure why they are so wedded to the system as I struggle to see any significant benefits over a well thought out hard cap system.
I've just finished marking 60+ lists for Cancon (Australia's biggest event) and certainly it is hard to make a strong case that not using hard caps results in greater list variety. There was only minimal variation between the lists for most of the races.
I expect there will be the usual griping about comp scores post the event. This is just an occupational hazard of a subjective system. The hard cap system mutes this - to an extent - and transfers it to pre the event (with the added advantage of participants having certainty).
The UK and NZ seem to be firmly in that camp - with some NZ events having a TO veto - while Europe has always been that way. From what I understand the US vacillates between no comp and hard comp depending on geography.
The one outlier is Australia. Here they are still largely following the subjective comp route, primarily using panel comp (or in some events peer). I'm not really sure why they are so wedded to the system as I struggle to see any significant benefits over a well thought out hard cap system.
I've just finished marking 60+ lists for Cancon (Australia's biggest event) and certainly it is hard to make a strong case that not using hard caps results in greater list variety. There was only minimal variation between the lists for most of the races.
I expect there will be the usual griping about comp scores post the event. This is just an occupational hazard of a subjective system. The hard cap system mutes this - to an extent - and transfers it to pre the event (with the added advantage of participants having certainty).
SCGT v2.0
The latest iteration of the SCGT pack was released on the weekend. A group of us are giving it a run at HomeCon II in mid-February to see how we like playing under it.
The most interesting things are the inclusion of Special Characters - with a few notable exceptions - and the first restrictions around the new VC book.
While I can quibble around individual cases I think it makes an interesting read.
SCGT Composition Pack 2012 v2.0
The aim of this composition system has only ever been to “take the edge” off of armies and stop some
games becoming non-events due to selections by either player. As with all systems it is not perfect
but has the bonus of being play tested at the biggest tournaments on the circuit over the last 10
months and tweaked accordingly.
General Restrictions
*Apart from Winds of Magic dice an army may only add 2 Power Dice or Dispel Dice to its magic dice
pool in each magic phase (apart from the exceptions below). This includes channelling, so for
example if you channel one dice you can only add one more. Any dice added to the pool, regardless
of source (generated, stolen, stored from previous magic phases, generated by magic items/abilities
to boost spellcasting before or after the casting attempt, produced by spells, lore abilities, and so on)
count. Excess dice are simply discarded and cannot be used in any way (i.e. - they can’t be stored). If
a dice is stolen from the opponent’s pool, but your army has already generated two extra dice, the
dice is removed from the opponent’s pool and then discarded. Any additional dice are lost and cannot
be used. The controlling player chooses which dice are discarded if there is a need to distinguish.
*Dice generated from being in proximity to a “Shard of the Herdstone” do not count as a “power dice”
for the purpose of the dice limit.
*Items that add “D3” power dice are allowed to exceed the dice limit and add the additional dice
should the result of the dice roll grant three extra dice.
*Night Goblin Mushroom D6 do not count as "power dice" as per their Army book.
*Dark Elves may only use a max of 6 dice to cast a spell the same as everyone else. This overrides
the rule in their book.
* Non warmachine shooting is limited to 90 shots per army - count the number of shots, not models.
So for example Dark Elf Warriors with repeater crossbows count as 2 shots. Ranked (non-skirmisher)
infantry with missile weapons with a range of 20" or less are excluded from this restriction. (see note
(i) for additional clarification)
* An army may not include more than 2 warmachines of the same type and no more than 5 in an
army.
* No single non character unit in the army may be over 450 points
* The magic item “Fozzrik’s Folding Fortress” may not be taken.
Notes:
(i) Any model with a fixed maximum amount of shots (read: shooting attacks) counts that
maximum towards the shot cap (i.e blowpipes = 2, RXB = 2, lifetaker = 3) but those
with a random/variable number (treeman, razordon, Hail of doom arrow, flamers, etc)
count as 1, excluding any ranked (non-skimirisher) infantry with missile weapons with a
range of 12” or less from this as per this rulespack.
(ii) Units with that utilise a ranged template or attack (such salamanders) count as 1 shot. Units
with the Breath weapon special rule do not count as a “shot”.
(iii) Do not count the possibility of Tomb Kings being able to fire twice against this shot limit.
For example a Skeleton Bowmen counts as 1 shot, despite the possibly that with magic
he could fire twice.
Race Specific Restrictions:
Lizardmen
*Salamanders 0 – 3 models per army.
*Higher State of Consciousness and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
*Scar Veterans are 0 – 2 models per army.
*Skink Cohorts are 0 – 3 units per army. Cohorts containing Kroxigor do not count towards the cap.
*Only two of the following may be taken per army – Beclaming Cogitation, Cube of Darkness, Dispel
Scroll, Cupped Hands.
Vampire Counts
*Max 3 units/characters with the Ethereal special rule
*Max 10 Hexwraiths per army.
*Max 6 cairn wraiths per army.
*Max 4 units with the ‘fly’ special rule. For clarity, this does not include units with the “hover”.
Skaven
*Hell Pit Abominations and Warp Lighting Cannons are 0-1 unit selection per army.
*A Screaming Bell or Plague Furnace may only be placed in a unit containing no more than 50
models.
*Gutter Runners units are 0 – 2 per army.
*Warlock Engineers are 0 – 3 models per army.
*Skaven Slaves units may only be a maximum of 50 models per unit.
Dark Elves
*The Pendant of Kaleth and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
*Hydras 0 – 1 unit selections per army.
*Max 3 units with the ‘fly’ special rule
Empire
*Steam Tanks are 0 – 1 models per army (and for clarification these do not count as a warmachine for
the composition cap)
*Only two of the following options may be taken per army: Dispel Scroll, Seal of Destruction, Aldreds
Casket of Sorcery and Rod of Power
Warriors of Chaos
*No further restrictions
Daemons of Chaos
*Flamers of Tzeentch 0 – 6 models per army.
*Daemons of Chaos infantry units may only be a maximum of 400 points per unit
*Max 3 units with the ‘fly’ special rule
*The Masque, Skulltaker and the Blue Scribes may not be taken
Tomb Kings
*Only Skeleton Bowmen count towards the shot cap, all other “shots” in the army are excluded when
calculating the army’s total “shots”
*If Queen Khalida is taken the maximum Skeleton Bowmen in any one unit is 50 models
High Elves
*High Elf armies may ignore the “same type” warmachine restriction
*Teclis may not be taken
Ogres
*If the Hellheart is taken then a Dispel Scroll may not be taken in the army.
Bretonnians
*No further restrictions
Wood Elves
*No further restrictions
Orcs & Goblins
*No further restrictions
*Orcs & Goblins ignore all warmachine restrictions imposed by pack (i.e. they can take more than 5
etc)
Beastmen
*If the “Shard of the Herdstone” is taken, you may not take a powerstone.
Chaos Dwarves
*Iron Daemons are 0 - 2 models per army
Dwarves
*No further restrictions
*Thorek may not be taken
SCGT Composition Pack 2012 v2.0
The aim of this composition system has only ever been to “take the edge” off of armies and stop some
games becoming non-events due to selections by either player. As with all systems it is not perfect
but has the bonus of being play tested at the biggest tournaments on the circuit over the last 10
months and tweaked accordingly.
General Restrictions
*Apart from Winds of Magic dice an army may only add 2 Power Dice or Dispel Dice to its magic dice
pool in each magic phase (apart from the exceptions below). This includes channelling, so for
example if you channel one dice you can only add one more. Any dice added to the pool, regardless
of source (generated, stolen, stored from previous magic phases, generated by magic items/abilities
to boost spellcasting before or after the casting attempt, produced by spells, lore abilities, and so on)
count. Excess dice are simply discarded and cannot be used in any way (i.e. - they can’t be stored). If
a dice is stolen from the opponent’s pool, but your army has already generated two extra dice, the
dice is removed from the opponent’s pool and then discarded. Any additional dice are lost and cannot
be used. The controlling player chooses which dice are discarded if there is a need to distinguish.
*Dice generated from being in proximity to a “Shard of the Herdstone” do not count as a “power dice”
for the purpose of the dice limit.
*Items that add “D3” power dice are allowed to exceed the dice limit and add the additional dice
should the result of the dice roll grant three extra dice.
*Night Goblin Mushroom D6 do not count as "power dice" as per their Army book.
*Dark Elves may only use a max of 6 dice to cast a spell the same as everyone else. This overrides
the rule in their book.
* Non warmachine shooting is limited to 90 shots per army - count the number of shots, not models.
So for example Dark Elf Warriors with repeater crossbows count as 2 shots. Ranked (non-skirmisher)
infantry with missile weapons with a range of 20" or less are excluded from this restriction. (see note
(i) for additional clarification)
* An army may not include more than 2 warmachines of the same type and no more than 5 in an
army.
* No single non character unit in the army may be over 450 points
* The magic item “Fozzrik’s Folding Fortress” may not be taken.
Notes:
(i) Any model with a fixed maximum amount of shots (read: shooting attacks) counts that
maximum towards the shot cap (i.e blowpipes = 2, RXB = 2, lifetaker = 3) but those
with a random/variable number (treeman, razordon, Hail of doom arrow, flamers, etc)
count as 1, excluding any ranked (non-skimirisher) infantry with missile weapons with a
range of 12” or less from this as per this rulespack.
(ii) Units with that utilise a ranged template or attack (such salamanders) count as 1 shot. Units
with the Breath weapon special rule do not count as a “shot”.
(iii) Do not count the possibility of Tomb Kings being able to fire twice against this shot limit.
For example a Skeleton Bowmen counts as 1 shot, despite the possibly that with magic
he could fire twice.
Race Specific Restrictions:
Lizardmen
*Salamanders 0 – 3 models per army.
*Higher State of Consciousness and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
*Scar Veterans are 0 – 2 models per army.
*Skink Cohorts are 0 – 3 units per army. Cohorts containing Kroxigor do not count towards the cap.
*Only two of the following may be taken per army – Beclaming Cogitation, Cube of Darkness, Dispel
Scroll, Cupped Hands.
Vampire Counts
*Max 3 units/characters with the Ethereal special rule
*Max 10 Hexwraiths per army.
*Max 6 cairn wraiths per army.
*Max 4 units with the ‘fly’ special rule. For clarity, this does not include units with the “hover”.
Skaven
*Hell Pit Abominations and Warp Lighting Cannons are 0-1 unit selection per army.
*A Screaming Bell or Plague Furnace may only be placed in a unit containing no more than 50
models.
*Gutter Runners units are 0 – 2 per army.
*Warlock Engineers are 0 – 3 models per army.
*Skaven Slaves units may only be a maximum of 50 models per unit.
Dark Elves
*The Pendant of Kaleth and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
*Hydras 0 – 1 unit selections per army.
*Max 3 units with the ‘fly’ special rule
Empire
*Steam Tanks are 0 – 1 models per army (and for clarification these do not count as a warmachine for
the composition cap)
*Only two of the following options may be taken per army: Dispel Scroll, Seal of Destruction, Aldreds
Casket of Sorcery and Rod of Power
Warriors of Chaos
*No further restrictions
Daemons of Chaos
*Flamers of Tzeentch 0 – 6 models per army.
*Daemons of Chaos infantry units may only be a maximum of 400 points per unit
*Max 3 units with the ‘fly’ special rule
*The Masque, Skulltaker and the Blue Scribes may not be taken
Tomb Kings
*Only Skeleton Bowmen count towards the shot cap, all other “shots” in the army are excluded when
calculating the army’s total “shots”
*If Queen Khalida is taken the maximum Skeleton Bowmen in any one unit is 50 models
High Elves
*High Elf armies may ignore the “same type” warmachine restriction
*Teclis may not be taken
Ogres
*If the Hellheart is taken then a Dispel Scroll may not be taken in the army.
Bretonnians
*No further restrictions
Wood Elves
*No further restrictions
Orcs & Goblins
*No further restrictions
*Orcs & Goblins ignore all warmachine restrictions imposed by pack (i.e. they can take more than 5
etc)
Beastmen
*If the “Shard of the Herdstone” is taken, you may not take a powerstone.
Chaos Dwarves
*Iron Daemons are 0 - 2 models per army
Dwarves
*No further restrictions
*Thorek may not be taken
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thundertusk
Here's a couple of pictures of my Thundertusk which is about 90% finished.
Charlie painted the crew and did a beautiful job.
Charlie painted the crew and did a beautiful job.
The mount itself was a joy to paint. I found a step by step on the Ogre Stronghold and it worked really well.
Now to get him to the table.
Friday, January 20, 2012
A Plea to GW
Over the past fortnight a set of files have been floating around the interwebz that many purport to be copies of 6th Edition Warhammer 40k and associated FAQs. These files are very detailed and opinion is divided as to whether they are the real deal. At best I suspect that they are a very early playtest version.
However regardless of whether they are real or not, I’d like to make a plea to Games Workshop.
Please, please, please when to move to release version include pre-measuring in the rules. Yes, 40k is different from Fantasy but I can tell you that 90% of disagreements under 7th Ed Fantasy were over the measurement of distances. With 8th Edition this is gone and generals now concentrate on their battle plan and how that will achieve victory rather than if they have correctly assessed the distance and the micromanagement of wheels etc.
Now before any movement the distance is measured and you have a clear understanding if you are in range or not – shooting, spells, maximum charge distance – and if the move is random what you have to roll before the dice are pitched.
This mechanic has just made the whole came faster, more streamlined and – dare I say it – more enjoyable. It has also evolved the skills needed to be successful away from distance estimator to risk assessor and manager.
So GW, whatever you do – Please allow pre-measuring!
However regardless of whether they are real or not, I’d like to make a plea to Games Workshop.
Please, please, please when to move to release version include pre-measuring in the rules. Yes, 40k is different from Fantasy but I can tell you that 90% of disagreements under 7th Ed Fantasy were over the measurement of distances. With 8th Edition this is gone and generals now concentrate on their battle plan and how that will achieve victory rather than if they have correctly assessed the distance and the micromanagement of wheels etc.
Now before any movement the distance is measured and you have a clear understanding if you are in range or not – shooting, spells, maximum charge distance – and if the move is random what you have to roll before the dice are pitched.
This mechanic has just made the whole came faster, more streamlined and – dare I say it – more enjoyable. It has also evolved the skills needed to be successful away from distance estimator to risk assessor and manager.
So GW, whatever you do – Please allow pre-measuring!
Ogre Character Fitout
During the past week I have had a couple of games with the Ogres against Lizards. Mike King has used a list built around a Light Slaan in Temple Guard, two blocks of Saurus with Scar-Vets on Cold Ones, Ancient Stegadon, three skink and two chameleon skink units and two Salamanders.
As an aside I think Mike is very brave using Slaan/TG without miscast protection. My view is that if you take that setup it pretty much compels you to take “Life” magic.
I found out over the two games that the Light buffs on the Saurus and TG make them a tough proposition for the Ogres. With Focused Rumination Mike was generally able to get at least one, and sometimes two or three, of the Light “Augment” spells.
Due to the WS3 of the Ogres and the Saurus blocks (sometimes buffed to WS10, sometimes -1 to hit, sometimes ASF so re-rolls vs. Ironguts) the combats became very dicey (pun intended) with small deviation from average rolls having marked effect. This made the games a real rollercoaster ride with momentum passing between the two armies several times.
The list I used was essentially the same in both games. I used the Slaughternaster – Bruiser BSB – Firebelly trio in each but varied the fitout of magic/mundane items.
My first character setup was:
Slaughtermaster – Level 4, Great Weapon, 2+ Armour, 4+ Ward, Ironcurse Icon
BSB Bruiser – BSB, 3+ Armour, 5+ Ward, Sword of Striking
Firebelly – Scroll, Potion of Strength, Dragonhelm
I think this kitout is very good and one that I’ll persevere with. It is a very strong combat build with the SM effectively acting as a mini-Tyrant. However it does lack magic defence, something the Slaan was able to exploit with his focused Rumination.
Also I found that I was forgetting to declare the Potion of Strength at the beginning of the turn and saw that as an ongoing risk.
In the second game I used:
Slaughtermaster – Level 4, Fencer’s Blades, Glittering Scales, Dispel Scroll, Opal Amulet
BSB Bruiser – BSB, 3+ Armour, Dragonhelm, Luckstone, Ironcurse Icon, Sword of Striking
Firebelly – Great Weapon, Hellheart
This has a stronger magic defense – though my first attempt at the Hellheart yielded a D6 roll of 1 and failure – while not taking too much away from its combat defensive qualities. I intend to continue to look at differing setups over the coming weeks until I find one I am fully comfortable with.
As an aside I think Mike is very brave using Slaan/TG without miscast protection. My view is that if you take that setup it pretty much compels you to take “Life” magic.
I found out over the two games that the Light buffs on the Saurus and TG make them a tough proposition for the Ogres. With Focused Rumination Mike was generally able to get at least one, and sometimes two or three, of the Light “Augment” spells.
Due to the WS3 of the Ogres and the Saurus blocks (sometimes buffed to WS10, sometimes -1 to hit, sometimes ASF so re-rolls vs. Ironguts) the combats became very dicey (pun intended) with small deviation from average rolls having marked effect. This made the games a real rollercoaster ride with momentum passing between the two armies several times.
The list I used was essentially the same in both games. I used the Slaughternaster – Bruiser BSB – Firebelly trio in each but varied the fitout of magic/mundane items.
My first character setup was:
Slaughtermaster – Level 4, Great Weapon, 2+ Armour, 4+ Ward, Ironcurse Icon
BSB Bruiser – BSB, 3+ Armour, 5+ Ward, Sword of Striking
Firebelly – Scroll, Potion of Strength, Dragonhelm
I think this kitout is very good and one that I’ll persevere with. It is a very strong combat build with the SM effectively acting as a mini-Tyrant. However it does lack magic defence, something the Slaan was able to exploit with his focused Rumination.
Also I found that I was forgetting to declare the Potion of Strength at the beginning of the turn and saw that as an ongoing risk.
In the second game I used:
Slaughtermaster – Level 4, Fencer’s Blades, Glittering Scales, Dispel Scroll, Opal Amulet
BSB Bruiser – BSB, 3+ Armour, Dragonhelm, Luckstone, Ironcurse Icon, Sword of Striking
Firebelly – Great Weapon, Hellheart
This has a stronger magic defense – though my first attempt at the Hellheart yielded a D6 roll of 1 and failure – while not taking too much away from its combat defensive qualities. I intend to continue to look at differing setups over the coming weeks until I find one I am fully comfortable with.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Comp System - SCGT
Continuing our run through various comp system, I have pasted below the South Coast GT comp. This is used at a lot of the bigger UK events - SCGT, Maelstrom's Incursion events - and was put together by Russ Veal, Bryan Carmichael and Dan Heelan.
“SCGT Comp” V1.5
The aim of this composition system has only ever been to “take the edge” off of armies and stop some games becoming non-events due to selections by either player. As with all systems the system is not perfect but has had the bonus of being play tested over the biggest tournaments on the circuit over the last 8 months and tweaked accordingly.
General Restrictions
Apart from Winds of Magic dice and Challenging an army may only add 2 Power Dice or Dispel Dice to its magic dice pool in each magic phase. Any dice added to the pool, regardless of source (generated, stolen, stored from previous magic phases, generated by magic items/abilities to boost spellcasting before or after the casting attempt, produced by spells, lore abilities, and so on) count. Excess dice are simply discarded and cannot be used in any way (i.e. - they can’t be stored). If a dice is stolen from the opponent’s pool, but your army has already generated two extra dice, the dice is removed from the opponent’s pool and then discarded. Any additional dice are lost and cannot be used. The controlling player chooses which dice are discarded if there is a need to distinguish. Night Goblin Mushroom D6 do not count as "power dice" as per their Army book. Dark Elves may only use a max of 6 dice to cast a spell the same as everyone else. This overrides the rule in their book.
Non warmachine shooting is limited to 90 shots per turn - count the number of shots, not models. So for example Dark Elf Warriors with repeater crossbows count as 2 shots. Ranked (non-skirmisher) infantry with missile weapons with a range of 12" or less are excluded from this restriction. (see note (i) for additional clarification)
An army may not include more than 2 warmachines of the same type.
No single non character unit in the army may be over 450 points
Maximum of three units per army with the “fly” rule.
The magic item “Fozzrik’s Folding Fortress” may not be taken.
No special or Named characters may be taken (including unit upgrades)
Characters affected by the following spells that would instantly remove it from the table only take one wound if it would normally benefit from a look out sir roll from being part of a unit. The Dwellers Below and Final Transmutation. This does not apply if you are a lone character outside of a unit.
Notes:
(i) Any model with a fixed maximum amount of shots (read: shooting attacks) counts that maximum towards the shot cap (i.e blowpipes = 2, RXB = 2, lifetaker = 3) but those with a random/variable number (treeman, razordon, Hail of doom arrow, flamers etc) count as 1, excluding any ranked (non-skimirisher) infantry with missile weapons with a range of 12” or less from this as per this rulespack.
(ii) Do not count the possibility of Tomb Kings being able to fire twice against this shot limit. For example a Skeleton Bowmen counts as 1 shot, despite the possibly that with magic he could fire twice.
Race Specific Restrictions:
Lizardmen
* Salamanders 0 – 3 models per army.
* Higher State of Consciousness and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
* Scar Veterans are 0 – 2 models per army.
Skaven
*Hell Pit Abominations and Warp Lighting Cannons are 0-1 unit selection per army.
* Warlock Engineers are 0 – 3 models per army.
Dark Elves
*The Pendant of Kaleth and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
* Hydras 0 – 1 unit selections per army.
Empire
*Steam Tanks are 0 – 1 models per army
Warriors of Chaos
* Hell Cannons are 0 – 1 unit selections per army
Daemons of Chaos
* Flamers of Tzeentch 0 – 6 models per army.
High Elves
*High Elf armies make ignore the “same type” warmachine restriction
It is due for an update soon for the new Vampire Counts book and it will be interesting to see what they do around ethereal units and flyers. Given the large number of units with the potential for "Fly" in the VC list I would expect that there would be calls for some relaxation.
I quite like the system overall and would be very happy to play under it.
What do others think?
“SCGT Comp” V1.5
The aim of this composition system has only ever been to “take the edge” off of armies and stop some games becoming non-events due to selections by either player. As with all systems the system is not perfect but has had the bonus of being play tested over the biggest tournaments on the circuit over the last 8 months and tweaked accordingly.
General Restrictions
Apart from Winds of Magic dice and Challenging an army may only add 2 Power Dice or Dispel Dice to its magic dice pool in each magic phase. Any dice added to the pool, regardless of source (generated, stolen, stored from previous magic phases, generated by magic items/abilities to boost spellcasting before or after the casting attempt, produced by spells, lore abilities, and so on) count. Excess dice are simply discarded and cannot be used in any way (i.e. - they can’t be stored). If a dice is stolen from the opponent’s pool, but your army has already generated two extra dice, the dice is removed from the opponent’s pool and then discarded. Any additional dice are lost and cannot be used. The controlling player chooses which dice are discarded if there is a need to distinguish. Night Goblin Mushroom D6 do not count as "power dice" as per their Army book. Dark Elves may only use a max of 6 dice to cast a spell the same as everyone else. This overrides the rule in their book.
Non warmachine shooting is limited to 90 shots per turn - count the number of shots, not models. So for example Dark Elf Warriors with repeater crossbows count as 2 shots. Ranked (non-skirmisher) infantry with missile weapons with a range of 12" or less are excluded from this restriction. (see note (i) for additional clarification)
An army may not include more than 2 warmachines of the same type.
No single non character unit in the army may be over 450 points
Maximum of three units per army with the “fly” rule.
The magic item “Fozzrik’s Folding Fortress” may not be taken.
No special or Named characters may be taken (including unit upgrades)
Characters affected by the following spells that would instantly remove it from the table only take one wound if it would normally benefit from a look out sir roll from being part of a unit. The Dwellers Below and Final Transmutation. This does not apply if you are a lone character outside of a unit.
Notes:
(i) Any model with a fixed maximum amount of shots (read: shooting attacks) counts that maximum towards the shot cap (i.e blowpipes = 2, RXB = 2, lifetaker = 3) but those with a random/variable number (treeman, razordon, Hail of doom arrow, flamers etc) count as 1, excluding any ranked (non-skimirisher) infantry with missile weapons with a range of 12” or less from this as per this rulespack.
(ii) Do not count the possibility of Tomb Kings being able to fire twice against this shot limit. For example a Skeleton Bowmen counts as 1 shot, despite the possibly that with magic he could fire twice.
Race Specific Restrictions:
Lizardmen
* Salamanders 0 – 3 models per army.
* Higher State of Consciousness and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
* Scar Veterans are 0 – 2 models per army.
Skaven
*Hell Pit Abominations and Warp Lighting Cannons are 0-1 unit selection per army.
* Warlock Engineers are 0 – 3 models per army.
Dark Elves
*The Pendant of Kaleth and the Crown of Command may not be taken on the same model.
* Hydras 0 – 1 unit selections per army.
Empire
*Steam Tanks are 0 – 1 models per army
Warriors of Chaos
* Hell Cannons are 0 – 1 unit selections per army
Daemons of Chaos
* Flamers of Tzeentch 0 – 6 models per army.
High Elves
*High Elf armies make ignore the “same type” warmachine restriction
It is due for an update soon for the new Vampire Counts book and it will be interesting to see what they do around ethereal units and flyers. Given the large number of units with the potential for "Fly" in the VC list I would expect that there would be calls for some relaxation.
I quite like the system overall and would be very happy to play under it.
What do others think?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
To enter or not to enter, that is the question...
I'm in 2 minds, and curious on your opinion. More than anything in this hobby, I have coveted a golden daemon. To me, it would literally mean more than every other achievement combined.
Dirty dirty cheater...
I also am still completely bitter after the last one, that I just feel dirty and annoyed even thinking about it. The fact that GW so blatantly endorse, no... actively REWARD cheating, sullies the whole experience for me.
For those that don't remember, after catching this douchebag: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1143818458 out cheating using a dreadnought he had bought from Bohun over in Poland, GW allowed him to keep the other 2 awards he had purchased, and in the process fucking over a person from each of those categories that rightfully won a bronze but instead are sitting in 4th place.
It's not dissimilar to catching Michael Phelps out drug cheating right after the 100m butterfly, and saying "But you can still keep the other 15 olympic medals, because we don't have piss samples from those races buddy".
It was an analogy folks... not actually a drugcheat!
It's also not like this was on some technicality, GW were covered and entitled within their terms and conditions to disqualify him outright. This meant that they actively decided to reward him with 2 other golden daemons, and unlike other parts of the world where they would issue a lifetime ban, they have said "you're welcome to come back and buy some more next year too son".
This isn't sour grapes, I didn't enter last year due to working ridiculously high hours around that time, and I don't think I would win anything this year if I did enter... but the intention to enter has always historically been my motivation to improve myself. Without it, I find myself caring significantly less - perhaps its letting the cheaters win when they actively kill part of your hobby?
So I'm curious on peoples opinions... Should I enter? Should I not? Why? Why not? Am I justified to still be reasonably outraged and annoyed at this, or should I sack up shut up and get on with it?
- Charlie
Brushes - Part 2
A while ago, I blogged about high-quality brushes. Using a top of the line brush makes a huge difference to your painting quality, and the brushes last longer and keep their point for years, meaning you actually save money in the long run by buying the more expensive brushes.
I'm always on the lookout for cheap prices on these brushes (Raphael 8404s and Winsor & Newton Series 7s). This morning, I came across artsupplies.co.uk, who stock the Winsor & Newton brushes with incredibly cheap prices, and best of all, it's only 5 quid to have them shipped down to us in NZ. It works out at roughly $15 apiece for a couple of brushes, and less if you buy more.
The direct link is here. I would not recommend going any smaller than a Size 0, and a Size 1 is the perfect size for almost all painting except very fine detail. Whatever you do, stay away from the Series 7 Miniature (not on this page, but they sell them as well). They have a smaller well, and therefore don't hold as much paint.
The Raphael 8404s are still available at secretweaponminiatures.com, and will likely run you about $20 each after shipping. Look back to the previous post for a comparison of the two brands, but the basic recommendation is just to pick whichever is cheaper at the time.
For prices this low, nobody really has an excuse not to pick up at least a brush or two to try out. You will definitely not regret it!
I'm always on the lookout for cheap prices on these brushes (Raphael 8404s and Winsor & Newton Series 7s). This morning, I came across artsupplies.co.uk, who stock the Winsor & Newton brushes with incredibly cheap prices, and best of all, it's only 5 quid to have them shipped down to us in NZ. It works out at roughly $15 apiece for a couple of brushes, and less if you buy more.
The direct link is here. I would not recommend going any smaller than a Size 0, and a Size 1 is the perfect size for almost all painting except very fine detail. Whatever you do, stay away from the Series 7 Miniature (not on this page, but they sell them as well). They have a smaller well, and therefore don't hold as much paint.
The Raphael 8404s are still available at secretweaponminiatures.com, and will likely run you about $20 each after shipping. Look back to the previous post for a comparison of the two brands, but the basic recommendation is just to pick whichever is cheaper at the time.
For prices this low, nobody really has an excuse not to pick up at least a brush or two to try out. You will definitely not regret it!
The Sabretusk Saga
As regular readers know, I am tidying up my Ogres for tournament play in 2012. The intention is to alternate between Skaven and Ogre Kingdoms from event to event to give me some flexibility in relation to composition systems and to maintain the interest that using two armies gives me.
To this end I needed to get some Sabretusks painted up given that I never really used a Hunter in the last edition. I had two metal models from the Hunter kit but decided that I wanted at least a couple more for bigger games. I had a GW voucher and used it to purchase the new Finecast pack of Sabretusks (NZ$ 33 for two).
When these arrived from Mail Order the sculpts did not fit together properly (not sure whether miscast or warped), had pieces missing (half a tail) and the underside had numerous air bubbles. I took them back to my local GW store and the Manager was more than happy to return them for replacement.
I went in this week to pick up the new Vampire Counts book and cards and my replacement Sabretusk pack was there. However, the Store Manager took me aside and said that when he had checked them that they had the same problems. As a result he suggested that I was welcome to take a refund.
Having done so I was now looking for new Sabretusks. Painting up the metal ones I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the models so I cast my eye around for alternatives. In a nice coincidence an email from Forgeworld hit my Inbox on Sunday.
As an aside I now own two metal Sabretusks, surplus to requirements. If anyone wants the “superior” metal castings – devoid of Finecast failings – then let me know and we can do a deal.
To this end I needed to get some Sabretusks painted up given that I never really used a Hunter in the last edition. I had two metal models from the Hunter kit but decided that I wanted at least a couple more for bigger games. I had a GW voucher and used it to purchase the new Finecast pack of Sabretusks (NZ$ 33 for two).
When these arrived from Mail Order the sculpts did not fit together properly (not sure whether miscast or warped), had pieces missing (half a tail) and the underside had numerous air bubbles. I took them back to my local GW store and the Manager was more than happy to return them for replacement.
I went in this week to pick up the new Vampire Counts book and cards and my replacement Sabretusk pack was there. However, the Store Manager took me aside and said that when he had checked them that they had the same problems. As a result he suggested that I was welcome to take a refund.
Having done so I was now looking for new Sabretusks. Painting up the metal ones I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the models so I cast my eye around for alternatives. In a nice coincidence an email from Forgeworld hit my Inbox on Sunday.
I am now the proud owner of five Warhammer Forge Skaven Wolfrats. I much prefer the scupt to the GW Sabretusk and think they look sufficient feral to fit the role. Importantly, I have enough confidence in Forgeworld’s product to know that product will meet my quality standards.
As an aside I now own two metal Sabretusks, surplus to requirements. If anyone wants the “superior” metal castings – devoid of Finecast failings – then let me know and we can do a deal.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Pete Comp Flyweight Edition
Over the past couple of weeks there has been increasing discussion about composition systems here in New Zealand. I believe that a hard cap system is the way to go rather than subjective comp. Part of the reason for this is that I believe that GW has done a good job in 8th Edition of levelling the playing field.
So I wondered exactly how light I could get a hard cap system while still maintaining a pretty level field.
Here for your comment (and please I’d love your feedback) is Pete Comp Flyweight Edition:
General Restrictions
• No Special Characters
• Max Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from max of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No unit to have more than 50 models or be greater than 450 points
Army Specific Restrictions
• Daemons of Chaos: Only one unit of Flamers
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
So how does that look? Appreciate all comment and feedback. Let’s try and make it a constructive discussion!
So I wondered exactly how light I could get a hard cap system while still maintaining a pretty level field.
Here for your comment (and please I’d love your feedback) is Pete Comp Flyweight Edition:
General Restrictions
• No Special Characters
• Max Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from max of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No unit to have more than 50 models or be greater than 450 points
Army Specific Restrictions
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
So how does that look? Appreciate all comment and feedback. Let’s try and make it a constructive discussion!
Dates and Venue for 5th Annual New Zealand Masters Confirmed
The date and venue for the 5th Annual New Zealand Masters has been confirmed.
They will be held in Khandallah, Wellington on weekend of 1st/2nd December 2012.
The event will bring together the top ranked players in Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k and Flames of War. Qualification criteria for the 12 participants in each competition are given here
They will be held in Khandallah, Wellington on weekend of 1st/2nd December 2012.
The event will bring together the top ranked players in Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40k and Flames of War. Qualification criteria for the 12 participants in each competition are given here
Sportsmanship, Competitiveness and Gamesmanship
One of the topics I indicated that I was going to post on was Gamesmanship.
Tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region, both Fantasy and 40k, generally include some form of Sportsmanship scoring. Over the past ten years this has evolved from the “Popularity Contest” where you score a mark out of 5 depending on how well you entertained your opponent to the current iteration which is more a checklist of behaviours. The key thing with this is that in this latest system the default score is full marks and a TO will generally check up any dropped points to confirm validity.
The first system was fraught with difficulties and it was obvious some people used it as a method of punishing opponents who beat them. I remember being marked down by one opponent, who was known as the Twin Torpedo (regularly gave out scores of 0/5) because he felt it was ludicrous that Noise Marines could take “Infiltrate” – because they are noisy. Well, that was the excuse he gave anyway!
Anyway with the evolution of Sports scoring to the checklist system, pretty much all the shenanigans of the early system are history. As a TO and a player, you find that when people have to justify giving a negative mark they are pretty careful in giving them out.
In the past three years I believe I have only given out one negative mark for sports – and that was for slow play. The player involved was in a poor position and therefore actively limited the number of turns we got through. I deduct a sports point for slow play – and indicated to the player that I had done it.
So we have moved to a situation where expectations of sports have moved from entertainment to where they now are set up to only punish negative behaviour. It is now possible to be competitive (strive to win) without being unsporting (negative behaviour).
Which brings me on to Gamesmanship.
Tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region, both Fantasy and 40k, generally include some form of Sportsmanship scoring. Over the past ten years this has evolved from the “Popularity Contest” where you score a mark out of 5 depending on how well you entertained your opponent to the current iteration which is more a checklist of behaviours. The key thing with this is that in this latest system the default score is full marks and a TO will generally check up any dropped points to confirm validity.
The first system was fraught with difficulties and it was obvious some people used it as a method of punishing opponents who beat them. I remember being marked down by one opponent, who was known as the Twin Torpedo (regularly gave out scores of 0/5) because he felt it was ludicrous that Noise Marines could take “Infiltrate” – because they are noisy. Well, that was the excuse he gave anyway!
Anyway with the evolution of Sports scoring to the checklist system, pretty much all the shenanigans of the early system are history. As a TO and a player, you find that when people have to justify giving a negative mark they are pretty careful in giving them out.
In the past three years I believe I have only given out one negative mark for sports – and that was for slow play. The player involved was in a poor position and therefore actively limited the number of turns we got through. I deduct a sports point for slow play – and indicated to the player that I had done it.
So we have moved to a situation where expectations of sports have moved from entertainment to where they now are set up to only punish negative behaviour. It is now possible to be competitive (strive to win) without being unsporting (negative behaviour).
Which brings me on to Gamesmanship.
New 40k FAQs
There are a bunch of new 40k FAQs here
Charlie will be happy that he can have two Crypteks in his units.
As a "hater" of Gav Thorpe's Turd (sorry, Codex: Chaos Space Marines), I'm happy to see that two of the only viable "tactics", Lash and Warptime have been nerfed. Hopefully, it will hasten the clamour for a replacement from the hoi polloi.
Charlie will be happy that he can have two Crypteks in his units.
As a "hater" of Gav Thorpe's Turd (sorry, Codex: Chaos Space Marines), I'm happy to see that two of the only viable "tactics", Lash and Warptime have been nerfed. Hopefully, it will hasten the clamour for a replacement from the hoi polloi.
Monday, January 16, 2012
UK Masters 2011!
Hi ho,
just a quick update, the UK Masters were held over the weekend for the year of 2011.
The field had a few interesting inclusions... and some more unoriginal and expected additions, namely almost a third of the field had grey knights! It was however good to see a couple of ork lists kicking along, but ultimately the win went to the player who best adjusted his list to the meta scene, and produced something that could best out manourvre the more foot based armies, produce no expensive point sinks to be eaten by the paladin deathstars, and could chop down the heavily mech forces all while pouring s8 ap2 shots into the paladin wall.
Lists and a break down of player details can be found here: http://skcuzzlebumm.blogspot.com/2012/01/uk-40k-masters-2012-army-lists-and-draw.html#more
The final results were as follows:
1st - James Taylor (Necrons)
2nd - Josh Roberts (Grey Knights)
3rd - Dave Symcox (Imperial Guard)
4th - Courtney Rhodes (Orks)
5th - Alex Harrison (Blood Angels)
6th - Sharan Reddy (Grey Knights)
7th - Garath Donnelly (Grey Knights)
8th - Tim Smith (Grey Knights)
9th - Andy Oakham (Orks)
10th - Nathan Roberts (Dark Eldar)
11th - Paul Burke (Templars)
12th - Neil Kerr (Grey Knights)
13th - Kiran Reddy (Blood Angels)
14th - Rob Sims (Blood Angels)
15th - Gaz Jones (Eldar)
16th - Richard Grint (Guard)
- Charlie
just a quick update, the UK Masters were held over the weekend for the year of 2011.
The field had a few interesting inclusions... and some more unoriginal and expected additions, namely almost a third of the field had grey knights! It was however good to see a couple of ork lists kicking along, but ultimately the win went to the player who best adjusted his list to the meta scene, and produced something that could best out manourvre the more foot based armies, produce no expensive point sinks to be eaten by the paladin deathstars, and could chop down the heavily mech forces all while pouring s8 ap2 shots into the paladin wall.
Lists and a break down of player details can be found here: http://skcuzzlebumm.blogspot.com/2012/01/uk-40k-masters-2012-army-lists-and-draw.html#more
The final results were as follows:
1st - James Taylor (Necrons)
2nd - Josh Roberts (Grey Knights)
3rd - Dave Symcox (Imperial Guard)
4th - Courtney Rhodes (Orks)
5th - Alex Harrison (Blood Angels)
6th - Sharan Reddy (Grey Knights)
7th - Garath Donnelly (Grey Knights)
8th - Tim Smith (Grey Knights)
9th - Andy Oakham (Orks)
10th - Nathan Roberts (Dark Eldar)
11th - Paul Burke (Templars)
12th - Neil Kerr (Grey Knights)
13th - Kiran Reddy (Blood Angels)
14th - Rob Sims (Blood Angels)
15th - Gaz Jones (Eldar)
16th - Richard Grint (Guard)
- Charlie
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Registrations Open For Fields of Blood 2012 - NZGT Warhammer 40k
After its
hiatus for the Rugby World Cup, Fields of Blood – The New Zealand Warhammer 40k
Grand Tournament is back in 2012.
This year
the event will be held at a new venue and an earlier time in the year. The
Players’ Pack is being prepared for distribution in February but tickets ARE
NOW ON SALE.
Here are
the details to whet your appetite:
When:
7/8 July 2012
Where:
Johnsonville, Wellington, New Zealand
Points:
1500
Rounds:
Six Rounds – 3 rounds on each day
Umpire:
Pete Dunn
Scoring:
60% Battle, 20% Painting, 20% Sports
Armies:
Armies must be painted to at least a tabletop standard. That means three
plus colours, highlight or wash and fully based.
Painting:
Checklist scoresheet where all armies painted to at least a tabletop standard
will score 15/20. The extra 5/20 will be awarded for presentation standard that
exceeds tabletop standard.
Sports:
Checklist. Default
score is full points.
Composition: No restrictions.
You may bring any legal army up to 1500 points. There are no restrictions on
Special Characters. “Imperial Armour” units will be at Umpire’s discretion.
Trophies:
1st
Overall
2nd Overall
3rd Overall
Bloodthirster – Highest Gameplay
Harlequin – Best Painted (Players’ Choice)
Living Saint – Best Sport
Best in Race Trophies for Highest Finisher in each race with four or more
competitors
Prizes:
Spot prizes each round
Cost:
$50 (AUD 40) up to 29 February 2012
$60 (AUD 50) from 1 March 2012
Tickets:
Limited to 70 participants
Registration:
Email to fieldsofblood@paradise.net.nz
(I’ll provide you with payment details)
Happy to
take registrations and answer any questions.
Look
forward to seeing you there.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Initial Thoughts on Playing With Ogres
Over the holiday break I picked up my Ogres and have started to play some games with them. I have been using a list that fits Pete-Lite, Runefang V and Equinox Hard Cap comp.
The lists I've used have three characters - Slaughtermaster, Firebelly (or Butcher) and BSB, blocks of Bulls and Ironguts, Mournfang(s), Maneaters, Sabretusks and Ironblaster. I've also tried Leadbelcher unit(s).
During the period I have played nine games - three against Dwarfs and one against each of Daemons, Woodies, High Elves, Empire, Brets and WoC. From this I've managed to settle on a few observations.
MAGIC
A lot of people have gone down the Greedy Fist/Lore of Death route which according to internet wisdom is the way to go. Personally I'm really enjoying the Lore of the Great Maw and think that the buffs it provide really complement the build I'm using. The two standout spells for me are Toothcracker and Trollguts.
RESILIENCE
Ogres really suffer from their lack of armour. Yes, they have three wounds but it doesn't take much to put a unit of three Leadbelchers under pressure. Coupled with low leadership that can be .....problematic. Wherever I can I try to get as much armour as possible. It is surprising how vulnerable your average Irongut is in combat. The key is to ensure that you limit the number of attacks hitting your 5+ save ogres.
WS3
WS3 is a bitch. A real bitch. You get your 19 attacks and think great. And then WS3 kicks in. It generally means only 50% of your attacks are hitting. Suddenly things aren't so great after all.
You still do damage but it always feels better on paper than reality.
However overall the Ogres are a fun army to play.....and I suspect play against. This is because they are a combat army so hopefully you'll be throwing some dice. Or you'll sit their having your eyes picked out by an opponent that doesn't want to engage.
Will they replace my rats? No way....no way at all.
The lists I've used have three characters - Slaughtermaster, Firebelly (or Butcher) and BSB, blocks of Bulls and Ironguts, Mournfang(s), Maneaters, Sabretusks and Ironblaster. I've also tried Leadbelcher unit(s).
During the period I have played nine games - three against Dwarfs and one against each of Daemons, Woodies, High Elves, Empire, Brets and WoC. From this I've managed to settle on a few observations.
MAGIC
A lot of people have gone down the Greedy Fist/Lore of Death route which according to internet wisdom is the way to go. Personally I'm really enjoying the Lore of the Great Maw and think that the buffs it provide really complement the build I'm using. The two standout spells for me are Toothcracker and Trollguts.
RESILIENCE
Ogres really suffer from their lack of armour. Yes, they have three wounds but it doesn't take much to put a unit of three Leadbelchers under pressure. Coupled with low leadership that can be .....problematic. Wherever I can I try to get as much armour as possible. It is surprising how vulnerable your average Irongut is in combat. The key is to ensure that you limit the number of attacks hitting your 5+ save ogres.
WS3
WS3 is a bitch. A real bitch. You get your 19 attacks and think great. And then WS3 kicks in. It generally means only 50% of your attacks are hitting. Suddenly things aren't so great after all.
You still do damage but it always feels better on paper than reality.
However overall the Ogres are a fun army to play.....and I suspect play against. This is because they are a combat army so hopefully you'll be throwing some dice. Or you'll sit their having your eyes picked out by an opponent that doesn't want to engage.
Will they replace my rats? No way....no way at all.
Runefang V - Warhammer Tournament
On the 3rd/4th march, Fields of Blood is hosting it first tournament of the year - Runefang V.
This will be held here in Wellington and is the first Fantasy event for 2012 in the region. The Umpire for this event is Peter Williamsom and while the rest of you have been enjoying your holidays, he has been slaving away on a Players Pack for the event. That can be found here.
All the required information you need to compete at the event can be found in the pack. Headline details are 2400 points, five rounds (three Saturday/two Sunday).
Hope to see you along.
This will be held here in Wellington and is the first Fantasy event for 2012 in the region. The Umpire for this event is Peter Williamsom and while the rest of you have been enjoying your holidays, he has been slaving away on a Players Pack for the event. That can be found here.
All the required information you need to compete at the event can be found in the pack. Headline details are 2400 points, five rounds (three Saturday/two Sunday).
Hope to see you along.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
My 2012 Resolutions/Aspirations
Okay I said I was going to look at my aspirations and resolutions for the year.
Gamer
Finish in Top 5 of New Zealand Fantasy Rankings as at 31 October 2012. I played no tournaments last year – HomeCon I and NZ Masters excluded – and as a result my ranking fell from #1 to Unranked. I’m looking to play at least three events in March/April period (Runefang V, Equinox and NatCon) and that will give me a ranking again.
Play in at least one Campaign Weekend over the course of the year. I’ll likely organise a Fantasy one mid-year but may get inspired to do a 40k one as well.
40k-wise, everything hinges on Chaos Legions for me.
Tournament Organiser
The big one for me is Fields of Blood –The New Zealand Grand Tournament for Warhammer 40k in July. I want to achieve 80 participants so the work needs to start in the next few weeks.
I acting as TO for Runefang V in early March with Peter Williamson running and umpiring the event. also have the second HomeCon in February where fourteen gamers will get together for a five round event.
I’m also looking to run at least one Campaign Weekend for each system over the course of the year.
And in 2012, the New Zealand Masters return to Wellington. I’ll be looking to build on the success of the event over the past four years.
Hobby
Fantasy-wise, I am looking to add units to existing armies as new books are released rather than look to start new armies. The Ogres are finished sans an Ironblaster and the Tomb Kings but for a Herald and Hierotitan. I’ve ordered a Terrorgeist and plastic characters for my VC and will add an Engine, Vargheists, new cavalry and plastic characters when they are released.
This will likely be my pattern going forward. Two of the rumoured upcoming books are armies I don’t own – Dwarfs and Brets – and I’ll resist the urge to build them. Okay, not so hard. This will give me an opportunity to paint the mountain of scenery I have to paint.
40k-wise, I have terrain to do but for me it all hinges as I said on Chaos Legions providing inspiration.
Blog
Continue building the readership base. I’d love to get to 1000 hits per day but that depends not only on me but also on both the subject matter and my fellow contributors. One of the greatest motivating factors is the interaction with other gamers so always keen for people to post comments giving their thoughts on matters raised. I don’t expect people to agree with me and its important that it is a two way street where the outcome is thought-provoking discussion.
Clearly I don’t drink the GW kool-aid but the goal is to be positive where I believe good things are being done and offer alternatives when I think they are on the wrong track.
Hope you’ll continue to follow the blog in 2012.
Gamer
Finish in Top 5 of New Zealand Fantasy Rankings as at 31 October 2012. I played no tournaments last year – HomeCon I and NZ Masters excluded – and as a result my ranking fell from #1 to Unranked. I’m looking to play at least three events in March/April period (Runefang V, Equinox and NatCon) and that will give me a ranking again.
Play in at least one Campaign Weekend over the course of the year. I’ll likely organise a Fantasy one mid-year but may get inspired to do a 40k one as well.
40k-wise, everything hinges on Chaos Legions for me.
Tournament Organiser
The big one for me is Fields of Blood –The New Zealand Grand Tournament for Warhammer 40k in July. I want to achieve 80 participants so the work needs to start in the next few weeks.
I acting as TO for Runefang V in early March with Peter Williamson running and umpiring the event. also have the second HomeCon in February where fourteen gamers will get together for a five round event.
I’m also looking to run at least one Campaign Weekend for each system over the course of the year.
And in 2012, the New Zealand Masters return to Wellington. I’ll be looking to build on the success of the event over the past four years.
Hobby
Fantasy-wise, I am looking to add units to existing armies as new books are released rather than look to start new armies. The Ogres are finished sans an Ironblaster and the Tomb Kings but for a Herald and Hierotitan. I’ve ordered a Terrorgeist and plastic characters for my VC and will add an Engine, Vargheists, new cavalry and plastic characters when they are released.
This will likely be my pattern going forward. Two of the rumoured upcoming books are armies I don’t own – Dwarfs and Brets – and I’ll resist the urge to build them. Okay, not so hard. This will give me an opportunity to paint the mountain of scenery I have to paint.
40k-wise, I have terrain to do but for me it all hinges as I said on Chaos Legions providing inspiration.
Blog
Continue building the readership base. I’d love to get to 1000 hits per day but that depends not only on me but also on both the subject matter and my fellow contributors. One of the greatest motivating factors is the interaction with other gamers so always keen for people to post comments giving their thoughts on matters raised. I don’t expect people to agree with me and its important that it is a two way street where the outcome is thought-provoking discussion.
Clearly I don’t drink the GW kool-aid but the goal is to be positive where I believe good things are being done and offer alternatives when I think they are on the wrong track.
Hope you’ll continue to follow the blog in 2012.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Pete Lite Comp 2012 v1.0
With the advent of 2012 it is timely to update Pete-Lite Comp for recent books.
The changes are very minor - more permissive for Wood Elves and the removal of all specific restrictions on Vampire Counts until we see how the book settles.
I thought about restrictions around Hellheart/Greedy Fist/Lore of Death in Ogre Kingdoms but I am not convinced that that particular combo is all conquering. It is being use at this weekend's UK Masters so it will be interesting to see the upshot. I think it comes with downsides but I'll see if I'm proved wrong. Should it cut a swathe through the UK's top players then it may need to be revisited.
Here are the current restrictions:
General Restrictions
• No Special Characters
• Max Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from max of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have no more than four (4) potential template weapons
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No more than two (2) of any Special choice
• No double Rare choice worth more than 70 points
• Only one item that automatically dispels a spell or potential takes/destroys a spell
Army Specific Restrictions
• Daemons of Chaos: No duplication of Daemonic Gifts
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Lizardmen: Slaan may have maximum two of Focus of Mystery, Becalming Cogitation, Cupped Hands or Focused Rumination
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
• Orcs & Goblins: Maximum of three Mangler Squigs and/or Pump Wagons total
• Wood Elves: May have two units of Waywatchers, ignoring General Restriction
The changes are very minor - more permissive for Wood Elves and the removal of all specific restrictions on Vampire Counts until we see how the book settles.
I thought about restrictions around Hellheart/Greedy Fist/Lore of Death in Ogre Kingdoms but I am not convinced that that particular combo is all conquering. It is being use at this weekend's UK Masters so it will be interesting to see the upshot. I think it comes with downsides but I'll see if I'm proved wrong. Should it cut a swathe through the UK's top players then it may need to be revisited.
Here are the current restrictions:
General Restrictions
• No Special Characters
• Max Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from max of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have no more than four (4) potential template weapons
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No more than two (2) of any Special choice
• No double Rare choice worth more than 70 points
• Only one item that automatically dispels a spell or potential takes/destroys a spell
Army Specific Restrictions
• Daemons of Chaos: No duplication of Daemonic Gifts
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Lizardmen: Slaan may have maximum two of Focus of Mystery, Becalming Cogitation, Cupped Hands or Focused Rumination
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
• Orcs & Goblins: Maximum of three Mangler Squigs and/or Pump Wagons total
• Wood Elves: May have two units of Waywatchers, ignoring General Restriction
Vampire Counts - 2012 Vintage
My White Dwarf arrived yesterday and I managed to have my first good look at the new Vampire Counts. The following comments are based on this cursory investigation but you know what they say about first impressions.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Happy 2012
The blog has been quiet over the past week as the holiday break continued. However the time has not been wasted!
Over the break I have played seven games with the Ogres and a few things are coming clear. I'll be posting my thoughts on the army and where I'm going with it over the next couple of days.
Hobby wise I painted a Thundertusk and an Ironblaster and finished bases and movement trays for the Ogres. I'm now working on a Stonehorn and hopefully that will be finished over the next week. Jack painted five Venoms and a Razorwing and they are looking great. Hopefully we'll see some pictures up soon. And Charlie painted his necron army over the break - the wonders of the airbrush - and that is looking fantastic. Pictures!
So some of the topics I'll be canvassing over the next week:
1. The new Vampires
2. Thoughts on Ogre list development
3. Gamesmanship
4. My 2012 Hobby and Gaming Resolutions
I'm really excited about the new VC and was really disappointed last Thursday when I realized they weren't out until the 14th (for some reason I thought it was the 7th). I have ordered a terrorgheist, cairn wraith and necromancer and once the new models are out I can see some Black Knights, Mortis Engine and Varghiest coming my way.
So 2012 will be a big year for Fields of Blood. There are two events already planned - Runefang V in March and the New Zealand Grand Tournament (40k) in July. Also I'll be running the NZ Masters in December. Thanks for your support and look forward to providing you with continuing hobby comment.
Hobby wise I painted a Thundertusk and an Ironblaster and finished bases and movement trays for the Ogres. I'm now working on a Stonehorn and hopefully that will be finished over the next week. Jack painted five Venoms and a Razorwing and they are looking great. Hopefully we'll see some pictures up soon. And Charlie painted his necron army over the break - the wonders of the airbrush - and that is looking fantastic. Pictures!
So some of the topics I'll be canvassing over the next week:
1. The new Vampires
2. Thoughts on Ogre list development
3. Gamesmanship
4. My 2012 Hobby and Gaming Resolutions
I'm really excited about the new VC and was really disappointed last Thursday when I realized they weren't out until the 14th (for some reason I thought it was the 7th). I have ordered a terrorgheist, cairn wraith and necromancer and once the new models are out I can see some Black Knights, Mortis Engine and Varghiest coming my way.
So 2012 will be a big year for Fields of Blood. There are two events already planned - Runefang V in March and the New Zealand Grand Tournament (40k) in July. Also I'll be running the NZ Masters in December. Thanks for your support and look forward to providing you with continuing hobby comment.
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