40K - Warpstorm X Registrations

I have added the registrations for Warpstorm X to the "Events Registration" tab below the banner.

You can see a list of who is signed up for the event.

Appears that there are a few washed out old has-beens (in some cases never-were) trying to recapture past glories).

If you are keen to attend you better be quick, there's only two places left.

40K - The Importance of Fluff

The last few months have reinforced to me just how important "fluff" is for my wargaming.

What is "fluff"? Effectively, it is the backstory to the game you are playing. It is the reason your army gets up in the morning and goes to battle. While it has no impact once you start playing the game, for me at least it influence everything up to there.

This is some Grade A Fluff 

Background

While I started in Historicals, much of my wargaming has been in the science fiction and fantasy genres. I played 40k exclusively for 5 or so years until the release of the Thorpe Betrayal. At that time I jumped across to Fantasy and played WHFB until GW blew up the world in 2015. After that I played Kings of War until mid this year when "new" 40k dropped.

And this has been as much a "fluff" journey as a gaming journey. I initially walked away from playing 40k because GW wound back the backstory for a lot of armies to a generic "one size fits all". This was most evident in Chaos (where the Legions disappeared to be replaced by Renegades) but also occurred for Eldar (no Craftworlds) and Orks (no Clans). Yes you could make armies but they were watered down versions of what we had had and weren't supported by the rules (specialisation in list construction and diversity based on established fluff).

For the next 8 years I played WHFB and developed a swathe of armies supported by the rich backstory. In particular, the Skaven captured my imagination and Seerlord Morskitta hit the battlefield. I loved the background and really enjoyed the End Times story - well the first four books anyway. The last book was a "Super Friends" X-Men type comic which ended with them blowing up the Old World.

The last couple of years I have been playing Mantic's Kings of War. We have Mantica and 21 factions/races but it is chronically underdeveloped. Now this is only to be expected - GW has had 30 years plus to develop their worlds - but generally Mantic have ignored this aspect of their game. They are currently running a global campaign but I think it is too little, too late.

As it stands, I love KoW the game but have no investment in the Mantic world. Therefore my rats are not really Ratkin but Skaven in an inferior world. I have no investment in the story and I know a lot of people globally feel the same.

Games like The Ninth Age suffer the same problem as to my mind does Age of Sigmar (where a new setting is being developed). However while AoS has the resources of GW to build their new setting, other games will struggle like KoW has struggled.

Back to 40K

The last few months have been an eye-openner for me. I have stayed in touch with the 40k world through the Horus Heresy novels but picking up first Traitor Legions then new 40k has been fantastic. 

I can read well developed sourcebooks backed up with 40k novels. And rather than generic these can be very specific. So I have devoured the Night Lords Omnibus, Fabius Bile and Lucius novels and these have inspired me while I build and paint my armies. Suddenly I'm invested again.

I'm constantly finding little nuggets where the established backstory is being fleshed out and this is driving how I am looking at my army and what units I want to bring to the table. Currently I'm reading the Codex:CSM and the content is making me excited for the upcoming Eldar Craftworld codex and that of the Tyranids.

Now fluff doesn't mean much to a lot of people but for me it is a key plank of the hobby. Nobody does it better than GW and encoutering it again is like catching up with an old friend.

40K - Warpstorm X Places Available

My understanding is that an extra two tables have been added for Warpstorm X and that there are two places available after the waiting list is satisfied.

If you are interested in playing at Warpstorm then you need to contact the TO Hagen Kerr asap. He can be contacted here

40K - Line of Sight

One of the rules that I have found the most contentious in the newest Warhammer 40k edition is Line of Sight - or to put it more accurately Target Visibility.

Over the years Games Workshop have used many different line of sight rules, depending on how they wanted terrain played. We have had True Line of Sight, Area Terrain etc. Also there have been qualifiers in the rules, most importantly that wings, claws, swords etc don't count.

This set of rules is the most permissive yet. They are True Line of Sight with no qualifiers.

You find the targeting rules under the "Shooting Phase" rules, "2. Choose Targets":

"In order to target a enemy unit, a model from that unit must be within the range of the weapon being used and be visible to the shooting model. If unsure, stoop down and get a look from behind the shooting model to see if any part of the target is visible."

There are no qualifiers, no exclusions, nada. If you can see a claw, a weapon, a sniper scope then the model is visible.

Obviously this is different from the past and requires a shift in mindset for players....especially those of us returning from older versions (anything from v1 to v7). This is a massive can of worms.

Firstly, there will be different interpretations of what is visible. However by the rules 1% is enough. This will lead to some awkward conversations. Not just at tournaments but also in casual games. I intend asking opponents before a casual game if they intend playing RAW (Rules as Written) and then playing as per their choice. In tournaments, unless the TO makes a ruling, the safest line is to play RAW. This means that if you have a rifle barrel poking out I can see your infantryman, if you have a tank track poking out you can fire all weapons etc.

Personally I think this is poor and lazy rules writing and an awful mechanic but if you want short, concise rules you get abstraction.

The second set of worms, is known as "Modelling for Advantage" e.g. the crawling/kneeling close combat Wraithlord, superstructures on shooty vehicles etc. I'm hoping TOs will stop any silliness that develops around this. However there is another downside. In tournament play you'll see less cool centrepiece models. For example I have a cool FW Great Unclean One that I'm very proud of. However he is three times the size of the GW GUO model. As such, in competitive play, I known I'm hamstringing myself taking him. I do, well because of the "Rule-of-Cool" but it is a major disadvantage.

I'm hoping GW revisits their LoS/Target Visibility rules but in the interim we just have to play with what we've got!

40K - Miramar Freebooters on Warhammer Community Page

I was looking at the Warhammer Community page the other day and there was an article on setting up a games club. When I delved into it the article was written by one of the people (james) who set up the Miramar Freebooters.

Great to see a local club getting some exposure.

Looks like they have a great venue and it's filling a real niche within the community. Nice to see a club in Wellington's south-eastern suburbs.

You can see the article here

40K - Emperor’s Children Dice

Given my homecoming to 40k and more importantly, the removal of the taint of the Thorpe Failure, I thought that I would get some dice for my Emperor’s Children.

Recently Ex-KoW RC Supremo blogged about a company that he had been using to produce custom dice. I found the necessary non-copyrighted image on the net and send it off to the die-maker, Counterattack Bases in the UK.

Today my bag of 30 dice arrived.

The dice are 16mm purple pearlescent with gold pips. As with all civilised people know, the symbol is on the "6". In fact you'd have to be a hedgehog with breasts to put symbols on the "1".

The symbol is the EC Legion symbol from the time of the Cthonian Failure. From order to delivery was a month and the cost worked out at USD 1.90 per die including postage.

Here are the details of Counterattack Bases if you want to get your own army dice made.

FOB Rankings - NZ 40K Rankings Updated for DonkeyCon

The Fields of Blood 40k Rankings have been updated for the recent DonkeyCon event. This was a three round tournament and was won by Vinnie Purcell using Chaos Space Marines. Vinnie is now firmly established in the Top 12 and looms odds on for a Masters berth.

It looks like you'll need at least 200 points to make the Top 12 (automatic Masters invites) so the next few events are crucial.

Warpstorm, for instance, has 92 points on offer for the winner so we can expect some movement in the ratings post that event. There are four of the Top 12 participating and 5-6 more of the Top 25 on the hunt for points.

The 10th NZ Masters are on the first weekend in December in Wellington. The "season" closes on October 31 with invites going out the first week of November.

Any TOs out there get your results in!

Hobby Update

The last couple of weeks have seen me working on my Emperor’s Children army, getting it 8th Ed compliant.

 I’ve signed up for a local tournament at the end of next month to give me the impetus to get the army finished. The event is now full which shows the demand that the new Warhammer 40k has engendered. This, despite a mission and scoring structure that looks like a demonstration for the dangers of dyslexia. The truism “KISS” is a truism for a reason.

For me this has meant I am trying to build my 2000-2500 point army and then I’ll select 1500 points from it. I’ve finished a unit of Close Combat Noise Marines and I am about halfway through painting my Terminator unit. After reading the Fabius Bile and Lucius books I bought a box of Raptor/Warp talons and have assembled those. They will be my next painting chore.

I also had to rebase all my power armoured infantry to the correct bases. They were on 40mm resins mainly for balance reasons. I’ve had to make some new bases as I couldn’t source suitable resin bases in the right size.

The final things to do will be to finish my Sonic Dreadnaughts and some Daemonettes.

Looking forward to trying it out on the table.

KOW - Vermintide on November 4

Neil Williamson is running Vermintide, a one day KOW event at Warlords on the first weekend in November.

It is a five round affair using 1400 point armies. However it has a novel twist. You only use your own army once. After the first round you will use an opponent's army.

This let's you prove just how good you are!

You can download the Players Pack here

KOW - NZ Rankings Updated

The NZ KOW Rankings have been updated to reflect the results of the last Warlords Super Series events.

The next event is the Auckland event being run on the North Shore in late October.y understanding is that will be the final event of the tournament season.

Remember the NZ Masters are being held on the first weekend of December here in Wellington.

KOW - WSS Spring Photos

On Saturday we had the last of the Warlords Super Series here in Wellington.

I managed to snap some pics of the early action.

Neil Williamson's Trident Realms Up Against Josh Barton's Orcs

Seth Cook's Orcs had a narrow loss to Ian Dixon's Ogres

The Orc Fightwagons spent most of the early game back in their own corner.

On the other flank the Ogres pushed aggressively into the Orcs.

Neil's Kraken in amongst the Orc lines. He got into the flank of the Ax Horde here

Ryan Lister's Undead take on Kent Jackson's newly finished Trident Realms

The Lower Abyssals of Lliam Munro are assisted by a Chroneas as they advance towards the Elf lines. Lliam lost this game but went on to win the event.

KOW - WSS Spring Results

Yesterday we had the final of the four event Warlords Super Series, Spring at Khandallah in Wellington.

The event attracted 8 participant including new arrival in the country, Seth Cook from Atlanta, USA. Seth travelled down 2 hours hours for the event which was greatly appreciated.

Here are the results:

This was Lliam's first event win so congratulations. He and Josh played in the last round with Lliam prevailing. What was interesting is that every player won and lost at least one game - so hardly fought.

The other standout was Seth winning Best Sport by achieving best opponent votes from each of his four games. Fantastic effort and great reflection on the man.

So the series is now finished for 2017 and the winners of the four events were:

Summer - Pete Dunn (The Herd)

Autumn - Pete Dunn (The Herd)

Winter - Rob Higgins (Orcs)

Spring - Lliam Munro (Forces of the Abyss)

Thanks to all that participated through the year.

KOW - Warlords Super Series "Spring" Lists

This weekend is the last of the 2017 WSS events. It has attracted 8 players with Orcs and Trident Realms proving popular.

You can see the list here

This is the first appearance on the local tournament scene of recent import from the USA, Seth Cook. Looking forward to welcoming him to New Zealand and hearing his thoughts on different playstyles.

Weekly Hobby Update

The past week has been very stop-start. I have been looking at the Emperor's Children models that I've wanted to finish and have procrastinated until Friday evening. I managed to get a start on them....about my fourth start....which meant I lightly airbrushed over what I had done. Spent Saturday afternoon and then bits of Sunday and they weren't progressing. Finally got over the hump last evening and they are starting to come right.

I expect to finish them this week and then I can (re)start my Terminators. They also got new airbrush coats as I wasn't happy with the colour.

Next weekend is Warlords Super Series - Spring and I am umpiring. This is the last event I am running this year (apart from Masters). I have received all but one list and will post later today.

I have also been reading Black Library books. Finished Fabius Bile and now working my way through Lucius. Picking up snippets of new EC lore as I read them (e.g. how the Emperor's Children got their name).

Finally, I pre-ordered my Death Guard purchases at GW Lower Hutt on Saturday. Congratulations to Luke on the store's 7th Birthday.

Bigger than Wargaming - Brave Hugo

Most Wellington 40k tournament players know Aaron Twose. He has been attending events for over 10 years and is always a great and fun opponent.

Aaron's three year old son, Hugo suffers from cerebral palsy. I personally can't think just how bad that must be for his parents, as well as himself. You can read a recent article that appeared in The Dominion Post here.

At the recent Maelstrom event run by Hagen Kerr, the attendees were able to raise money to go towards getting treatment for Hugo. This was a wonderful initiative and I know was greatly appreciated by Aaron.

Coming up over the next few months will be more fundraising events aiming to raise the necessary money to get Hugo the further treatment to make his life easier.

One of these is something that all 40kers can get behind....a fundraiser featuring the new Star Wars movie. It would be great if the Wellington wargaming community could get behind this en masse.

I'll post details nearer the time but as they say in politics "Let's Do This"

EDIT: Aaron has provided the two dates for movie nights - 17th & 19th December.

Please mark these in your diaries wargamers. I'll let you know when tickets are available.