Showing posts with label games workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games workshop. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

40K and Competitiveness

This post started as a review of the Grey Knights and my thoughts on it, as well as my thoughts on the general internet opinion of it. (I apologize in advance, as I've had to rearrange my thoughts after deciding to split it into two posts.) Needless to say, I wouldn't be considered part of the current "popular" view of it. I liked it. Most of the internet - and by that I mean, most of the player base that frequents the internet, which is best described as Mos Eisley Space Port - believes that this Codex is, simply put, bad. But before I address why I like this codex, I think I need to first address the elephant in the internet (clogging those tubes I would imagine).

Where to start?

The 40K blogosphere is ranting about the latest release the Grey Knights, and much of it stems from the lowering of the competitive edge the codex once held.  I know why they think this way and I understand it. For example, the recent Grey Knight codex seems to have two distinct groups that are defined by their reason for their dislike for it. Both groups are unhappy with the codex being stripped of half it's units, the Inquisition and the Assassins, along with two Grey Knight specific characters that had no model, which is completely understandable. Anyone who played a Grey Knight codex army that was pure Inquisition, will find themselves buying a the digital only Inquisition codex. Is this a money grab by GW? Yes and no. GW has ridiculously overcosted eBooks, especially in their iBook format. But it makes sense when one looks at how 7th edition plays with detachments.

When it comes to the Inquisition codex, the lore sections are weak. It is essentially a copy/paste from the old Grey Knight Codex and the Inquisition Illustrated Guide, but for people who lacked either, it was useful. The rules, however, are updated so that if you run an Inquisitor and crew, then now have access to their own detachment, warlord traits, relics and valkyries as dedicated transports, as well the ability to run an inquisitor not as the primary detachment, but still your army's warlord. In my opinion, if you are running an Inquisition list, it is preferable to run it out of the Inquisition codex (surprise!). And, despite what I keep hearing, you can buy it if you don't have an iPad. I bought the "cheaper" epub versions straight from Black Library's site and use it on my Android tablet. Alternatively, you can get a PC epub reader and print it out. I sucks to have to buy another codex, and this hobby is already expensive, but if you play pure Inquisition, then you just saved money, unlike those of us you play both sides combined and need both codices.

The second, and most vocal from what I've seen, groups dislike for the Grey Knight codex and the most the recent codices in general is derived from the competitive nature of the players and their dislike of the way GW is taking 40K, coupled with their view (one that is think is incorrect) that 40K is a competitive game. Warhammer 40,000 is not a competitive game system. Games Workshop has flat out stated that Warhammer, both varieties, is a game for narrative play. It isn't designed to be played competitively - at least not without restrictions and rules placed on it by tournament organizers that realize that - and it shows when someone tries to play it as such. If you want to play a game designed from the concept stage up to be competitive simply look at Privateer Press's Warmachine and Hordes. It's release strategy even emphasizes this with every faction is a system getting updates simultaneously. Unlike Games Workshop which has a staggered release schedule for each faction, which has lead to issues of some factions being updated multiple times before others; for example, Sisters of Battle who haven't had a fully-fledged codex since 3rd edition.

In 7th edition, more narrative elements were added, especially with the ability to make "Unbound" armies, throwing balance right out the window. If you let it. When players play 40K as a narrative game, you avoid the overly unbalanced issues that occur in a tournament setting. You don't see the large, overpowered "Deathstar" units that frequent tournaments that are not fun to play or play against. The game no-longer has that tactical feel to it, that other games retain while being competitive. It becomes a "who's got a bigger stick and swings first" game.

This isn't to say that players who enjoy the competitive style 40K shouldn't. If competitive play is your thing, all the power to you. However, it's hard to justify complaints that a narrative designed game plays poorly in the tournament scene. That's like complaining that the cops and robbers you played as a kid with finger guns isn't competitive.

That being said, it is not impossible to make 40K "competitive" - I used the term loosely - however, it takes a lot of work on the part of the Tournament Organizer, and usually a lot of additional rules and restrictions on what you can and can't bring to the event or how your build your army in an effort to create balance.

The best experience I've had with a tournament is the Astronomi-con event, which has fairly extensive set of guidelines for building a list, but in no way does it detract from the tournament. In fact, the way the entire tournament is set up, with points awarded for thing like theme ("adherence to the background of the 40k universe") and adding things to your list like names and fiction, in addition to each table having it's own scenario - like protecting/raiding a base using kill team rules until the alarm sounds, at which point turn one begins, or random aliens attacking both players - leads to a competitive tournament that includes the narrative elements of the game and it's background, and limits the problems that arise in extremely competitive environments. It also makes for an event that anyone who's played agrees is one of the best 40k experiences you can go to.

A Narrative Campaign Weekend I created
at the release of 5th Edition 40K
I'm not saying GW is perfect. Because God knows they're not. I actually want to get to the Grey Knights review, so I won't even talk about the latest financials or their business model, so I'll just end with this: There are lots of things to gripe about when it comes to Games Workshop and how they do things. That their rules are poor for the tournament scene isn't one of them. If you want to go to tournaments - which I do on occasion too - that's all fine. But don't expect some great balanced competitive environment from a game that isn't intended to be, without changes to format of the game. If that is what you're expecting, I would suggest other games. Go to have fun, and talk and play with people who enjoy the same hobby as you. Make the tournament appeal to to everyone by adding thematic elements, maybe awards for best faction/team, or have secondary goals that are based on each codices lore. Emphasize these positive elements, and not only will it make the tournament better, but help build the community.







A Campaign I created for the release of Apocalypse

*Addendum: As I was finishing up this post, I saw on my Facebook that the Alberta Grand Tournament Circuit is coming to an end, at least temporarily. I don't know the details as to why, but now might be a good time to start a discussion on what can be done to improve the tournament scene in the Alberta community.

Unknown  /  at  8/26/2014 10:24:00 pm  /  No comments

This post started as a review of the Grey Knights and my thoughts on it, as well as my thoughts on the general internet opinion of it. (I apologize in advance, as I've had to rearrange my thoughts after deciding to split it into two posts.) Needless to say, I wouldn't be considered part of the current "popular" view of it. I liked it. Most of the internet - and by that I mean, most of the player base that frequents the internet, which is best described as Mos Eisley Space Port - believes that this Codex is, simply put, bad. But before I address why I like this codex, I think I need to first address the elephant in the internet (clogging those tubes I would imagine).

Where to start?

The 40K blogosphere is ranting about the latest release the Grey Knights, and much of it stems from the lowering of the competitive edge the codex once held.  I know why they think this way and I understand it. For example, the recent Grey Knight codex seems to have two distinct groups that are defined by their reason for their dislike for it. Both groups are unhappy with the codex being stripped of half it's units, the Inquisition and the Assassins, along with two Grey Knight specific characters that had no model, which is completely understandable. Anyone who played a Grey Knight codex army that was pure Inquisition, will find themselves buying a the digital only Inquisition codex. Is this a money grab by GW? Yes and no. GW has ridiculously overcosted eBooks, especially in their iBook format. But it makes sense when one looks at how 7th edition plays with detachments.

When it comes to the Inquisition codex, the lore sections are weak. It is essentially a copy/paste from the old Grey Knight Codex and the Inquisition Illustrated Guide, but for people who lacked either, it was useful. The rules, however, are updated so that if you run an Inquisitor and crew, then now have access to their own detachment, warlord traits, relics and valkyries as dedicated transports, as well the ability to run an inquisitor not as the primary detachment, but still your army's warlord. In my opinion, if you are running an Inquisition list, it is preferable to run it out of the Inquisition codex (surprise!). And, despite what I keep hearing, you can buy it if you don't have an iPad. I bought the "cheaper" epub versions straight from Black Library's site and use it on my Android tablet. Alternatively, you can get a PC epub reader and print it out. I sucks to have to buy another codex, and this hobby is already expensive, but if you play pure Inquisition, then you just saved money, unlike those of us you play both sides combined and need both codices.

The second, and most vocal from what I've seen, groups dislike for the Grey Knight codex and the most the recent codices in general is derived from the competitive nature of the players and their dislike of the way GW is taking 40K, coupled with their view (one that is think is incorrect) that 40K is a competitive game. Warhammer 40,000 is not a competitive game system. Games Workshop has flat out stated that Warhammer, both varieties, is a game for narrative play. It isn't designed to be played competitively - at least not without restrictions and rules placed on it by tournament organizers that realize that - and it shows when someone tries to play it as such. If you want to play a game designed from the concept stage up to be competitive simply look at Privateer Press's Warmachine and Hordes. It's release strategy even emphasizes this with every faction is a system getting updates simultaneously. Unlike Games Workshop which has a staggered release schedule for each faction, which has lead to issues of some factions being updated multiple times before others; for example, Sisters of Battle who haven't had a fully-fledged codex since 3rd edition.

In 7th edition, more narrative elements were added, especially with the ability to make "Unbound" armies, throwing balance right out the window. If you let it. When players play 40K as a narrative game, you avoid the overly unbalanced issues that occur in a tournament setting. You don't see the large, overpowered "Deathstar" units that frequent tournaments that are not fun to play or play against. The game no-longer has that tactical feel to it, that other games retain while being competitive. It becomes a "who's got a bigger stick and swings first" game.

This isn't to say that players who enjoy the competitive style 40K shouldn't. If competitive play is your thing, all the power to you. However, it's hard to justify complaints that a narrative designed game plays poorly in the tournament scene. That's like complaining that the cops and robbers you played as a kid with finger guns isn't competitive.

That being said, it is not impossible to make 40K "competitive" - I used the term loosely - however, it takes a lot of work on the part of the Tournament Organizer, and usually a lot of additional rules and restrictions on what you can and can't bring to the event or how your build your army in an effort to create balance.

The best experience I've had with a tournament is the Astronomi-con event, which has fairly extensive set of guidelines for building a list, but in no way does it detract from the tournament. In fact, the way the entire tournament is set up, with points awarded for thing like theme ("adherence to the background of the 40k universe") and adding things to your list like names and fiction, in addition to each table having it's own scenario - like protecting/raiding a base using kill team rules until the alarm sounds, at which point turn one begins, or random aliens attacking both players - leads to a competitive tournament that includes the narrative elements of the game and it's background, and limits the problems that arise in extremely competitive environments. It also makes for an event that anyone who's played agrees is one of the best 40k experiences you can go to.

A Narrative Campaign Weekend I created
at the release of 5th Edition 40K
I'm not saying GW is perfect. Because God knows they're not. I actually want to get to the Grey Knights review, so I won't even talk about the latest financials or their business model, so I'll just end with this: There are lots of things to gripe about when it comes to Games Workshop and how they do things. That their rules are poor for the tournament scene isn't one of them. If you want to go to tournaments - which I do on occasion too - that's all fine. But don't expect some great balanced competitive environment from a game that isn't intended to be, without changes to format of the game. If that is what you're expecting, I would suggest other games. Go to have fun, and talk and play with people who enjoy the same hobby as you. Make the tournament appeal to to everyone by adding thematic elements, maybe awards for best faction/team, or have secondary goals that are based on each codices lore. Emphasize these positive elements, and not only will it make the tournament better, but help build the community.







A Campaign I created for the release of Apocalypse

*Addendum: As I was finishing up this post, I saw on my Facebook that the Alberta Grand Tournament Circuit is coming to an end, at least temporarily. I don't know the details as to why, but now might be a good time to start a discussion on what can be done to improve the tournament scene in the Alberta community.

Posted in: , , , Read Complete Article»

Friday, 4 July 2014

Tempestus Militarum: A review with 7th Edition in mind


Warhammer 40,000: Militarum Tempestus


*This article I've been trying to write since the book came out due to life, so I apologize for what may seem like a late review (and the long gap between posts). But, me being late with it, actually made things I didn't get the first time through make a lot more sense due to the release of 7th Edition.
Codex: Militarum Tempestus
Well, I’ve had some time now to digest the newest codex out from Games Workshop: the Militarum Tempestus. (Reading is one of the easier things to do with an infant.) To sum up the codex, it is Codex: Storm Troopers. In this latest edition, much like what we have seen for Imperial Guard, the Storm Troopers of the Schola Progena are seeing a name change. Where the Imperial Guard are now the Astra Militarum (“Star Military?” Or rather in proper Latin, since 40K generally makes it up, “Stars of (the) Military”), the Storm Troopers are becoming the Militarum Tempestus (“Military Storm/Weather”, though, I think it is spelt “Tempestas” in proper Latin. I could be wrong.). Personally I like the names, they fit well with the setting’s pseudo-Latin/high-Gothic language. I imagine, though, that Imperial Guard will still be used as the unofficial name, probably both in-universe and out of universe. Like many, I suspect the name changes reflect a need to make them unique, and thus copyrightable.

Model Gallery
The book itself is a nice 72-page hardbound book, much like a standard codex for 6th edition. The lore throughout the book is pretty good. It contains the timeline of events from the Militarum Tempestus’ vantage like most other codices, as well as a section talking about the various regiments of the faction. This section I’m mixed about. I loved the shear amount of lore we got for about 20 different regiments, with a colour scheme for each, though by the end it did seem like variation between them was merely “X is good fight Tyranids, Y is good fighting Dark Eldar.” That’s minor, however. My main issue was it was on 20 pages. Each page, with the exception of the last two, has a few paragraphs and an image of a scion (trooper), with little variation in pose between each page. After 20 pages of this, they then show us 4 more regiments, but in a nicer format of two to a page. I would have much preferred the condensed format, rather than an 8 inch solder every page with text that only fills about a quarter/third of the page. It seemed like needless expansion of the page count. This was especially irritating when the model gallery was so short. I know there aren’t a lot of models for the Militarum Tempestus army, but I really liked more painted models showcasing the individual regiments. 


The new unit entry format.
What stood out for me, when I first got to the army list section, was it's unusual format. Normally, the format is each unit has a page early in the codex which gives all the background surrounding a unit with its special rules and its stat line (and usually a nice piece of art), then at the end of the book a condensed list with points and options. Instead, we get a single page with a large photo of the miniatures themselves with a brief description of the unit above and it's special rules, points and options below. (See left) This I found rather odd when I first saw it.

Then Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition landed.

Warhammer 40k's newest edition changes the way armies can be built. Considerably. While I will cover it more when I get to my 7th Edition review (which I hope doesn't take nearly as long as this one), one of the biggest changes is that there are now two ways to construct an army. The first, Battle-Forged, is pretty much the same as before. You build your army following the Force Organization chart (which is now, getting rather... large), however, you get special bonus rules when you do so and you are allowed to take as many detachments as you wish.

6th Edition's chart by the end...
The second way to build an army is called Unbound. In this method, you simple take what you want, from which ever codices you want (but still abiding by the new ally matrix).

Now, looking back at the Tempestus codex, looking at the layout it makes a lot of sense if anyone can just grab random units for an army. This gives all the information a player would need in one spot, so if they take nothing else from the codex, they don't have to flip pages too much (as they'd still need to read army rules, weapon rules, etc.).

The new Ork codex: That Painboy!
With the Ork codex landing this past week (Saturday), what I was guessing to be true, turns out to be so. The same format is used in the new Ork codex, and with two codices down, one can assume that this is the new format. So far, I like this change. My only issue is the lack of art for each unit. But, that's really a minor issue and only me being nit-picky.

I'm curious to know what everyone else's opinion is of this format? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

The Models

Wow. These are some nice models. The sheer amount of bits and details on the Scion kit is phenomenal. There are over three times the needed heads in this kit, with enough heads to do with helmets or berets on the entire squad. Lots of weapons, with one each of the special weapons. My only complaint is the long coat. As cool as long coats are, they are far more useful when worn and not draped over the armored shoulders of the commander. They way it is modeled, the first time he move with any urgency, the long coat will be in the mud.
My first five Scions built.

The level of detail is very nice, with a decent variability in poses when you mix parts. There is the issue of only one set of arms goes with each hot-shot lasgun, but with planning you can somewhat mitigate that. Overall, I look forward to actually getting around to painting these guys, and even more so, seeing them on the table.

Overall, I really like the codex. It is a nice addition, albeit a small one, to what we can play with on the table. And considering the new rules on allies, this is the perfect addition to anyone Imperial force, especially an Inquisitor or Grey Knight army (or both at the same time!). For me, it adds a nice thematic addition to what I already play.







Unknown  /  at  7/04/2014 09:45:00 am  /  1 comment


Warhammer 40,000: Militarum Tempestus


*This article I've been trying to write since the book came out due to life, so I apologize for what may seem like a late review (and the long gap between posts). But, me being late with it, actually made things I didn't get the first time through make a lot more sense due to the release of 7th Edition.
Codex: Militarum Tempestus
Well, I’ve had some time now to digest the newest codex out from Games Workshop: the Militarum Tempestus. (Reading is one of the easier things to do with an infant.) To sum up the codex, it is Codex: Storm Troopers. In this latest edition, much like what we have seen for Imperial Guard, the Storm Troopers of the Schola Progena are seeing a name change. Where the Imperial Guard are now the Astra Militarum (“Star Military?” Or rather in proper Latin, since 40K generally makes it up, “Stars of (the) Military”), the Storm Troopers are becoming the Militarum Tempestus (“Military Storm/Weather”, though, I think it is spelt “Tempestas” in proper Latin. I could be wrong.). Personally I like the names, they fit well with the setting’s pseudo-Latin/high-Gothic language. I imagine, though, that Imperial Guard will still be used as the unofficial name, probably both in-universe and out of universe. Like many, I suspect the name changes reflect a need to make them unique, and thus copyrightable.

Model Gallery
The book itself is a nice 72-page hardbound book, much like a standard codex for 6th edition. The lore throughout the book is pretty good. It contains the timeline of events from the Militarum Tempestus’ vantage like most other codices, as well as a section talking about the various regiments of the faction. This section I’m mixed about. I loved the shear amount of lore we got for about 20 different regiments, with a colour scheme for each, though by the end it did seem like variation between them was merely “X is good fight Tyranids, Y is good fighting Dark Eldar.” That’s minor, however. My main issue was it was on 20 pages. Each page, with the exception of the last two, has a few paragraphs and an image of a scion (trooper), with little variation in pose between each page. After 20 pages of this, they then show us 4 more regiments, but in a nicer format of two to a page. I would have much preferred the condensed format, rather than an 8 inch solder every page with text that only fills about a quarter/third of the page. It seemed like needless expansion of the page count. This was especially irritating when the model gallery was so short. I know there aren’t a lot of models for the Militarum Tempestus army, but I really liked more painted models showcasing the individual regiments. 


The new unit entry format.
What stood out for me, when I first got to the army list section, was it's unusual format. Normally, the format is each unit has a page early in the codex which gives all the background surrounding a unit with its special rules and its stat line (and usually a nice piece of art), then at the end of the book a condensed list with points and options. Instead, we get a single page with a large photo of the miniatures themselves with a brief description of the unit above and it's special rules, points and options below. (See left) This I found rather odd when I first saw it.

Then Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition landed.

Warhammer 40k's newest edition changes the way armies can be built. Considerably. While I will cover it more when I get to my 7th Edition review (which I hope doesn't take nearly as long as this one), one of the biggest changes is that there are now two ways to construct an army. The first, Battle-Forged, is pretty much the same as before. You build your army following the Force Organization chart (which is now, getting rather... large), however, you get special bonus rules when you do so and you are allowed to take as many detachments as you wish.

6th Edition's chart by the end...
The second way to build an army is called Unbound. In this method, you simple take what you want, from which ever codices you want (but still abiding by the new ally matrix).

Now, looking back at the Tempestus codex, looking at the layout it makes a lot of sense if anyone can just grab random units for an army. This gives all the information a player would need in one spot, so if they take nothing else from the codex, they don't have to flip pages too much (as they'd still need to read army rules, weapon rules, etc.).

The new Ork codex: That Painboy!
With the Ork codex landing this past week (Saturday), what I was guessing to be true, turns out to be so. The same format is used in the new Ork codex, and with two codices down, one can assume that this is the new format. So far, I like this change. My only issue is the lack of art for each unit. But, that's really a minor issue and only me being nit-picky.

I'm curious to know what everyone else's opinion is of this format? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

The Models

Wow. These are some nice models. The sheer amount of bits and details on the Scion kit is phenomenal. There are over three times the needed heads in this kit, with enough heads to do with helmets or berets on the entire squad. Lots of weapons, with one each of the special weapons. My only complaint is the long coat. As cool as long coats are, they are far more useful when worn and not draped over the armored shoulders of the commander. They way it is modeled, the first time he move with any urgency, the long coat will be in the mud.
My first five Scions built.

The level of detail is very nice, with a decent variability in poses when you mix parts. There is the issue of only one set of arms goes with each hot-shot lasgun, but with planning you can somewhat mitigate that. Overall, I look forward to actually getting around to painting these guys, and even more so, seeing them on the table.

Overall, I really like the codex. It is a nice addition, albeit a small one, to what we can play with on the table. And considering the new rules on allies, this is the perfect addition to anyone Imperial force, especially an Inquisitor or Grey Knight army (or both at the same time!). For me, it adds a nice thematic addition to what I already play.







Posted in: , Read Complete Article»

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Still kicking... and screaming

The Long Night
Or more accurately, the long two months.

I know it's been a bit since I last posted, but I have a good reason. On Sunday, March 9, my second child, a boy, was born. It's been a frantic time around my house as we adjust to having an infant in the house once more, this time alongside a toddler. Free time, for both myself and my wife, has also been hampered by the fact that our boy has colic. Any parents out there who've experienced this reading this are probably having flashbacks like a Vietnam vet right now, so if you've yet to experience this phenomena, here's hope you don't have to.

Now, I've had a few opportunities to sit and paint, but I've had lots of time to plan several projects. Of course, my main one right now is getting my Imperial Knight finished. I hoping to get it completed for a painting competition that was being held at my local GW, however, while I was able to get it “finished” by most tournament standards (3 colours, based, etc), it is nowhere complete to my satisfaction.

The Night Watchman

I've written up a bit of back story for him, but I’ll save that for when I get him finished. He's so close... I am still coming up with designs for his shoulders and shins. And I'm still not sold on the heraldry on the shield.

As for other projects, I've been planning out my Dindrenzi fleet and how I want to paint it exactly. I’m still leaning towards Halo's UNSC ships, as they both have the same basic shape (an engine or two around a massive mass-accelerator canon). I recently picked up the newest boxes that arrived at my local gaming store for my fleet: The Carrier Battlegroup and the Heavy Cruiser Battlegroup, along with a blister of escorts.

My collection of ships has grown significantly and I think I'm at a point where the collection is pretty much complete. Here's everything I've got for the Dindrenzi. What do you guys think? Think this is an appropriate size? Are there any ships I should have?

The Fleet


On the Malifaux front, this has been one of the best parts of my limited hobby time. These models are fantastic! They are very dynamic and are amazingly detailed. I originally had picked up a few boxes to start (mostly from the Guild, as I already had picked up the old metal Ortega Family set at a swap meet) and went to town. After doing up the "Guild's Judgement" box with simply some sand and cork, I felt like I should go further with the bases.

The Guild's Judgement
Simple basing. Mostly sand, with the odd bit of cork to add some variation in height. It was while working on this box that I came across my only real issue with the kits: The "fiddly-ness" of some of the models. Lady Justice's sword snapped in my fingers with but the slightest pressure and the Scales had a brazier snap off while I was trying to remove it from the sprue. All in all a fantastic kit.

The Torch and Blade
I started to have fun with the bases here. I had spare balsa wood kicking around in various thicknesses, so I started cutting them to lengths that would fit onto the base to create a wood floor and wood walkway look. I did pull out my plasticard tile sheets part way through doing up this boxes bases, but it saw more use in the next box.


Hired Swords
These were my favourite box so far to put together and base, but also the fiddliest. I feel that my basing was the best with these models, and a good combination all my material. The models themselves also have a fantastic level of detail. The swords, however, drove me insane, especially on Viktoria of the Blood. You have to line up several pieces just right, so that her one arm drawing the katana from her back lines up with the other arm holding the scabbard.

The Thunder (and Company)
I just picked these up yesterday, by happenstance really. I was in my FLGS, Thunderground Comics and Games (you can find the address on the Alberta Community page), and he had just finished pricing out all the boxes he had brought in, of which these were a part of. Needless to say, I snatched them up quick, as I had planned to order them anyway.


On the Warmachine front, while I've been only able to paint a bit, I have been reading. In March, the newest book, Vengeance, was released. I've enjoying the progression of the story so far, and new models presented are looking like they will be fun on the table. In particular, I really want a reliant warjack for my Cygnar. With  both a P+S 17 hammer and POW 13 AOE, for only 8 points, I will probably be fielding at least one of these a lot. In particular with the newest iteration of Coleman Stryker. Speaking of the new Lord General...

Mine arrived this past Wednesday, and he is a very nice model. I'm looking forward to painting him up. He comes with two heads; one with his goggles up and one with his goggles over his eyes. I'm not quite sure which I plan to use yet. As for the Stormclad also in the photo, I have a plan to run the Lord General with two. I realize there is supposedly a plastic version coming out with the parts to also build the Reliant and a third, but... meh.



These also arrived two weeks ago. Boy, have I been waiting a long time for these! I wish I had picked up at least the Retribution journeyman caster as well, and maybe also the Protectorate one as well, but I am extremely happy with these models. A very nice level of detail and fairly easy to assemble. I'll have some more pictures of these in a future post, as I work on them. (Also, anyone else think they might use the coins as feat tokens?)




I also managed to pick up the new Privateer Press Tournament Bag. It holds a decent amount of models, all thinks considered. It comes with four small infantry trays, a medium infantry tray/light warjack/warbeast tray, a large warjack/warbeast tray and a think tray of pluck foam. I picked up a couple extra trays for some flexibility, though I do need to pick up at least one more small infantry tray, as I found I was lacking space for infantry and such. I found this out since I actually got to attend a local tournament this past weekend! I will post on it more in my next post, but suffice to say, not having played in two months, and using a list I theory-crafted in my head, I did reasonably well. This bad, however, worked perfectly as intended. I didn't feel I was hauling around my whole army, just this fairly light bag (compared to my full army bag anyway) and my display tray. I would highly recommend it to any competitive tournament goer. And if you play with colossals and such, the half trays do fit with some room to spare, as I did test it with my Stormwall and Storm Strider trays.

I think that's enough for now.
Next post: My experience at Edmonton Onslaught's Warmahordes tournament this past weekend.
Coming soon: Infinity and my look at the new Militarum Tempestus book and models, as well as the upcoming new edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Let me know what you think below!











Unknown  /  at  4/02/2014 03:52:00 pm  /  No comments

The Long Night
Or more accurately, the long two months.

I know it's been a bit since I last posted, but I have a good reason. On Sunday, March 9, my second child, a boy, was born. It's been a frantic time around my house as we adjust to having an infant in the house once more, this time alongside a toddler. Free time, for both myself and my wife, has also been hampered by the fact that our boy has colic. Any parents out there who've experienced this reading this are probably having flashbacks like a Vietnam vet right now, so if you've yet to experience this phenomena, here's hope you don't have to.

Now, I've had a few opportunities to sit and paint, but I've had lots of time to plan several projects. Of course, my main one right now is getting my Imperial Knight finished. I hoping to get it completed for a painting competition that was being held at my local GW, however, while I was able to get it “finished” by most tournament standards (3 colours, based, etc), it is nowhere complete to my satisfaction.

The Night Watchman

I've written up a bit of back story for him, but I’ll save that for when I get him finished. He's so close... I am still coming up with designs for his shoulders and shins. And I'm still not sold on the heraldry on the shield.

As for other projects, I've been planning out my Dindrenzi fleet and how I want to paint it exactly. I’m still leaning towards Halo's UNSC ships, as they both have the same basic shape (an engine or two around a massive mass-accelerator canon). I recently picked up the newest boxes that arrived at my local gaming store for my fleet: The Carrier Battlegroup and the Heavy Cruiser Battlegroup, along with a blister of escorts.

My collection of ships has grown significantly and I think I'm at a point where the collection is pretty much complete. Here's everything I've got for the Dindrenzi. What do you guys think? Think this is an appropriate size? Are there any ships I should have?

The Fleet


On the Malifaux front, this has been one of the best parts of my limited hobby time. These models are fantastic! They are very dynamic and are amazingly detailed. I originally had picked up a few boxes to start (mostly from the Guild, as I already had picked up the old metal Ortega Family set at a swap meet) and went to town. After doing up the "Guild's Judgement" box with simply some sand and cork, I felt like I should go further with the bases.

The Guild's Judgement
Simple basing. Mostly sand, with the odd bit of cork to add some variation in height. It was while working on this box that I came across my only real issue with the kits: The "fiddly-ness" of some of the models. Lady Justice's sword snapped in my fingers with but the slightest pressure and the Scales had a brazier snap off while I was trying to remove it from the sprue. All in all a fantastic kit.

The Torch and Blade
I started to have fun with the bases here. I had spare balsa wood kicking around in various thicknesses, so I started cutting them to lengths that would fit onto the base to create a wood floor and wood walkway look. I did pull out my plasticard tile sheets part way through doing up this boxes bases, but it saw more use in the next box.


Hired Swords
These were my favourite box so far to put together and base, but also the fiddliest. I feel that my basing was the best with these models, and a good combination all my material. The models themselves also have a fantastic level of detail. The swords, however, drove me insane, especially on Viktoria of the Blood. You have to line up several pieces just right, so that her one arm drawing the katana from her back lines up with the other arm holding the scabbard.

The Thunder (and Company)
I just picked these up yesterday, by happenstance really. I was in my FLGS, Thunderground Comics and Games (you can find the address on the Alberta Community page), and he had just finished pricing out all the boxes he had brought in, of which these were a part of. Needless to say, I snatched them up quick, as I had planned to order them anyway.


On the Warmachine front, while I've been only able to paint a bit, I have been reading. In March, the newest book, Vengeance, was released. I've enjoying the progression of the story so far, and new models presented are looking like they will be fun on the table. In particular, I really want a reliant warjack for my Cygnar. With  both a P+S 17 hammer and POW 13 AOE, for only 8 points, I will probably be fielding at least one of these a lot. In particular with the newest iteration of Coleman Stryker. Speaking of the new Lord General...

Mine arrived this past Wednesday, and he is a very nice model. I'm looking forward to painting him up. He comes with two heads; one with his goggles up and one with his goggles over his eyes. I'm not quite sure which I plan to use yet. As for the Stormclad also in the photo, I have a plan to run the Lord General with two. I realize there is supposedly a plastic version coming out with the parts to also build the Reliant and a third, but... meh.



These also arrived two weeks ago. Boy, have I been waiting a long time for these! I wish I had picked up at least the Retribution journeyman caster as well, and maybe also the Protectorate one as well, but I am extremely happy with these models. A very nice level of detail and fairly easy to assemble. I'll have some more pictures of these in a future post, as I work on them. (Also, anyone else think they might use the coins as feat tokens?)




I also managed to pick up the new Privateer Press Tournament Bag. It holds a decent amount of models, all thinks considered. It comes with four small infantry trays, a medium infantry tray/light warjack/warbeast tray, a large warjack/warbeast tray and a think tray of pluck foam. I picked up a couple extra trays for some flexibility, though I do need to pick up at least one more small infantry tray, as I found I was lacking space for infantry and such. I found this out since I actually got to attend a local tournament this past weekend! I will post on it more in my next post, but suffice to say, not having played in two months, and using a list I theory-crafted in my head, I did reasonably well. This bad, however, worked perfectly as intended. I didn't feel I was hauling around my whole army, just this fairly light bag (compared to my full army bag anyway) and my display tray. I would highly recommend it to any competitive tournament goer. And if you play with colossals and such, the half trays do fit with some room to spare, as I did test it with my Stormwall and Storm Strider trays.

I think that's enough for now.
Next post: My experience at Edmonton Onslaught's Warmahordes tournament this past weekend.
Coming soon: Infinity and my look at the new Militarum Tempestus book and models, as well as the upcoming new edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Let me know what you think below!











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Thursday, 6 March 2014

Grey Knights and Imperial Knights



So for the last week or so, I've been getting ready to prune my Warhammer 40K collection down further. It was a rather large collection spanning my 20 years of playing the game system, as well as my approximately three years as an employee at two GW stores (three if you count the fact that I worked at one when it moved locations). Suffice to say, it needed to be organized down to the armies I most frequently play to give me a) more room for other game systems I was expanding into and b) focus my attention to a smaller subset of unpainted models as my painting time shrank with the approach of my second child (aka future opponent #2. Who, by the way, still isn't here. Much to my wife's chagrin.).

The nice thing about it is, with a little bit of swapping, I was able to get my hands on one of the new Imperial Knight kits. Without the trade, I wouldn't have been able to afford the kit, the price being the only negative to the kit (in Canada it's $170). Other than the cost, it is a very nice kit. All the part fit on three large sprues, something that I was surprised to see. I honestly expected more. They also have a high level of detail. I especially liked the bars for the pilot to climb up to the cockpit.

Leg assembly

Last night, I was able to finish up the building stage of the kit and have it ready to be primed for painting.  I did some simple converting with the legs to get it into a more appealing stance, but nothing too complex (I do that enough to my Crisis Suit!). I liked the idea presented in the White Dwarf last week, and followed suit with building mine in pieces to be painted separately and combined at the end. This will allow me to do some finer brush work with the armour plating.

Dry fit the main assemblies together.

All of the various assemblies.

My hope is to have this done by the end of the month so that I can participate in a painting competition that is being held in Canadian Games Workshop stores. So far, my plan is to paint it up as a Freeblade knight, because the lore behind the Freeblades is too cool to pass up. I was planning on calling him the "Night Watchman," and using a similar iconigraphy that I had planned to use for a Space Marine army a few years ago (the Night Watch chapter, which has a location on the map in the Space Marine codex and a snippet in the old 13th Black Crusade book), but I saw that in the latest White Dwarf one of the studios guys name theirs something similar, which has made me rethink it. However, I'm probably still going to go with the name because I like what I have designed.

The other reason I want to finish it fast, is there is an upcoming tournament in Edmonton, which is one of our larger tournaments; Onslaught. I want to make a list for that based around my Grey Knights.
An older shot of my Grey Knights, in progress.
It won't be the most effective list. Honestly, I don't really plan on winning much. I'm building it for the "Cool" factor. I have a pretty cool display board I made up using one of the tiles from the GW Realm of Battle board, and plan on building a list around the Inquisition. I'm thinking of using either Grey Knights or Space Marines (done as Death Watch) as the primary detachment, with the other being the allied detachment. Add a Imperial Knight through their unique "Imperial Knight detachment" rule and an Inquisitor (possibly with a Valkyrie with (really overcosted) count-as Stormtroopers).

The parts I'd like to add are:
- Death Watch (Space Marine) squad with Librarian in Drop Pod
- Inquisitor in Valkyrie with Acolyte count-as Stormtroopers
- Grey Knights (possible a squad of terminators and a strike squad) - haven't decided on which HQ yet.
- Imperial Knight Errant

Obviously, the Inquisitor would be the warlord. Not great at any one thing, I think it would be lacking in anti-air.
What do you guys think? A bit much? Would you enjoy seeing it across the table?

Unknown  /  at  3/06/2014 12:58:00 pm  /  No comments



So for the last week or so, I've been getting ready to prune my Warhammer 40K collection down further. It was a rather large collection spanning my 20 years of playing the game system, as well as my approximately three years as an employee at two GW stores (three if you count the fact that I worked at one when it moved locations). Suffice to say, it needed to be organized down to the armies I most frequently play to give me a) more room for other game systems I was expanding into and b) focus my attention to a smaller subset of unpainted models as my painting time shrank with the approach of my second child (aka future opponent #2. Who, by the way, still isn't here. Much to my wife's chagrin.).

The nice thing about it is, with a little bit of swapping, I was able to get my hands on one of the new Imperial Knight kits. Without the trade, I wouldn't have been able to afford the kit, the price being the only negative to the kit (in Canada it's $170). Other than the cost, it is a very nice kit. All the part fit on three large sprues, something that I was surprised to see. I honestly expected more. They also have a high level of detail. I especially liked the bars for the pilot to climb up to the cockpit.

Leg assembly

Last night, I was able to finish up the building stage of the kit and have it ready to be primed for painting.  I did some simple converting with the legs to get it into a more appealing stance, but nothing too complex (I do that enough to my Crisis Suit!). I liked the idea presented in the White Dwarf last week, and followed suit with building mine in pieces to be painted separately and combined at the end. This will allow me to do some finer brush work with the armour plating.

Dry fit the main assemblies together.

All of the various assemblies.

My hope is to have this done by the end of the month so that I can participate in a painting competition that is being held in Canadian Games Workshop stores. So far, my plan is to paint it up as a Freeblade knight, because the lore behind the Freeblades is too cool to pass up. I was planning on calling him the "Night Watchman," and using a similar iconigraphy that I had planned to use for a Space Marine army a few years ago (the Night Watch chapter, which has a location on the map in the Space Marine codex and a snippet in the old 13th Black Crusade book), but I saw that in the latest White Dwarf one of the studios guys name theirs something similar, which has made me rethink it. However, I'm probably still going to go with the name because I like what I have designed.

The other reason I want to finish it fast, is there is an upcoming tournament in Edmonton, which is one of our larger tournaments; Onslaught. I want to make a list for that based around my Grey Knights.
An older shot of my Grey Knights, in progress.
It won't be the most effective list. Honestly, I don't really plan on winning much. I'm building it for the "Cool" factor. I have a pretty cool display board I made up using one of the tiles from the GW Realm of Battle board, and plan on building a list around the Inquisition. I'm thinking of using either Grey Knights or Space Marines (done as Death Watch) as the primary detachment, with the other being the allied detachment. Add a Imperial Knight through their unique "Imperial Knight detachment" rule and an Inquisitor (possibly with a Valkyrie with (really overcosted) count-as Stormtroopers).

The parts I'd like to add are:
- Death Watch (Space Marine) squad with Librarian in Drop Pod
- Inquisitor in Valkyrie with Acolyte count-as Stormtroopers
- Grey Knights (possible a squad of terminators and a strike squad) - haven't decided on which HQ yet.
- Imperial Knight Errant

Obviously, the Inquisitor would be the warlord. Not great at any one thing, I think it would be lacking in anti-air.
What do you guys think? A bit much? Would you enjoy seeing it across the table?

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Review: The new White Dwarf and Warhammer: Visions

Tabletop Maneuvers' first product review!

This past Saturday, Games Workshop released its brand new White Dwarf magazine in a new format, alongside a second, new magazine all together, Warhammer: Visions. This new direction ends the previous line of White Dwarf magazines and resets the counters all back to 1 this month.


The New GW Rags

New Beginnings or Hitting the Reset Button


The first of the two magazines, the White Dwarf, carries on the name of the familiar Games Workshop magazine of the past three decades. The difference now is that it’s a smaller, weekly magazine. Running in at 33 pages (not including the cover), it is considerably smaller, and selling for the price of a paint pot (in Canada that’s $5). It feels a bit condensed, which is understandable considering its size, but not in a bad way. It has several of the articles from the old White Dwarf: Jervis Johnson, Paint Splatter, Designers Notes and of course, New Releases. The new releases section is pages 2 to 13, a little over a third of the magazine. It is the usual large photos with close ups and captions (which will be a trend you'll see later in this article). This issue covered the upcoming release of the Dwarves for Warhammer Fantasy. I don't remember if the article "Sprues and Glue" is one that has appeared before, but it has the potential to be an interesting article if taken in the right direction. This issue's article related to how to work with plastic glue, and while most experienced hobbyists will be familiar with this topic, it is useful for new hobbyists.

The article that I was surprised to see was "the Rules." This article, actually had rules for a miniature yet to be released. Full rules; points, special rules, stats. Full rules. I don't think I've seen that done by Games Workshop in a long time. It was definitely nice to see and a step in a good direction.

The physical magazine, in my opinion though, could be improved. It felt, for lack of a better term, cheap. By this I don't mean that the paper quality is low or that the look was lack-luster. The magazine has good quality, heavy paper and the design is the same as the updated look we're used to with recent White Dwarfs. I mean, I feel like the cover is going to come off, as it's held on by two staples, and that with little effort the thing is going to fall apart.

However, overall, the new White Dwarf isn't bad. I'm not sold on paying $5 every week ($260/year vs. $132/year for the old monthly White Dwarf) for a ~35 page magazine. I, like many married hobbyists with children, have an allowance, and I'd prefer to spend it on actual models and paint. So, I might pick this up every once in a while.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words


Warhammer: Visions - Table of Contents

Now, Warhammer: Visions. "Visions" is an apt word.

The new GW monthly magazine is quite the magazine. At 228 pages, it's thick, though its format is smaller than the standard North American magazine size (it's a little larger than the Trade Paperback format). However, it's only $13 (Canadian), which isn't bad given its size. It's also, designwise, very asthetically pleasing. It contains lots of pictures of models, both on the awesome studio tables in dynamic, action-paused style photos and multi-angle, Golden Daemon posed photos. It even contains the highlights of the last Golden Daemon painting competition, whch is always one of my favourite sections in a Games Workshop magazine to look at.

But here in lies the problem: it's a picture book. It's 228 pages of pictures. Text is at a minimum, and it's usually only as captions for the photos. And even then, it's even further limited in that all the text is repeated in three languages: English, French and German. This magazine is clearly designed to be the new global magazine, cutting out regional translations, at least when it comes to Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. It technically even featured a Battle Report. I had issues in the last White Dwarfs, in that they cut so much of the "report" out of the Battle Report that you really couldn't learn from the designers what tactics were or were not useful. They had become Black Library style prose with pictures. Now it's pictures with Black Library style captions.

If you like Tyranids, this issue of Visions is probably for you. It featured about 100 pages of Tyranic photos, most of which was at the beginning in a prettier "catelogue" of new models. The catelogue of new models was the first 71 pages, then it was into the "articles." Army of the Month was next, which I must admit featured a very cool Vampire Counts army, done by two guys for a Battle Brothers event. I believe a few of the units were featured previously, but they had expanded on the army a lot.


An example of Golden Daemon goodness.


After the Army of the Month article came what was probably my favourite section: Parade Ground. This featured entries from the Memphis Golden Daemon. Next came the "Battle Report" (Grey Knights/Eldar vs Chaos Space Marines), followed by Kit Bash. This was a section I enjoyed the addition of previously, but now with the lack of text, explained less and was more just pictures of conversions. This was followed by the familiar Blanchitsu article, which is one that has always driven me nuts, since John Blanche only ever makes Inquisitorial Warbands, with the same models (theres always a Nurgle lord) and in the same colour palette as his art. After Blanche's piece was more pictures of Tyranids, and Paint Splatter which featured even more Tyranids.

So when it comes to Visions, as cool as lots of pictures of models are, it lacked substance. I feel I will rarely be picking this one up, unless it features an army I play prominently. At $13, I was really hoping for something I could spend a night reading, not flipping through it in 30 minutes to an hour, if that. I was distracted by a toddler through most of that time. She, however, loved the magazine! Which might say something...

The Verdict

I can see myself picking up the new weekly White Dwarf once a month or so, depending on the content. It was enjoyable and good for a quick read, though I would like to see more for $5, but considering they need content now for it weekly, instead of monthly, I don't see that happening. With Warhammer: Visions, I will only be picking it up from the look of it when an army I play (Space Marines, Grey Knights, Tau, Empire) is released, as that will probably be when they are featured heavily in the issue. I don't really feel the need to pay that much for a picture book that won't see much use. 

So, now that you know my thoughts, what are yours? Do you guys plan on picking up the new Games Workshop magazines? What do you like or not like about them? Let me know in the comments below.
Unknown  /  at  2/05/2014 11:33:00 pm  /  1 comment

Tabletop Maneuvers' first product review!

This past Saturday, Games Workshop released its brand new White Dwarf magazine in a new format, alongside a second, new magazine all together, Warhammer: Visions. This new direction ends the previous line of White Dwarf magazines and resets the counters all back to 1 this month.


The New GW Rags

New Beginnings or Hitting the Reset Button


The first of the two magazines, the White Dwarf, carries on the name of the familiar Games Workshop magazine of the past three decades. The difference now is that it’s a smaller, weekly magazine. Running in at 33 pages (not including the cover), it is considerably smaller, and selling for the price of a paint pot (in Canada that’s $5). It feels a bit condensed, which is understandable considering its size, but not in a bad way. It has several of the articles from the old White Dwarf: Jervis Johnson, Paint Splatter, Designers Notes and of course, New Releases. The new releases section is pages 2 to 13, a little over a third of the magazine. It is the usual large photos with close ups and captions (which will be a trend you'll see later in this article). This issue covered the upcoming release of the Dwarves for Warhammer Fantasy. I don't remember if the article "Sprues and Glue" is one that has appeared before, but it has the potential to be an interesting article if taken in the right direction. This issue's article related to how to work with plastic glue, and while most experienced hobbyists will be familiar with this topic, it is useful for new hobbyists.

The article that I was surprised to see was "the Rules." This article, actually had rules for a miniature yet to be released. Full rules; points, special rules, stats. Full rules. I don't think I've seen that done by Games Workshop in a long time. It was definitely nice to see and a step in a good direction.

The physical magazine, in my opinion though, could be improved. It felt, for lack of a better term, cheap. By this I don't mean that the paper quality is low or that the look was lack-luster. The magazine has good quality, heavy paper and the design is the same as the updated look we're used to with recent White Dwarfs. I mean, I feel like the cover is going to come off, as it's held on by two staples, and that with little effort the thing is going to fall apart.

However, overall, the new White Dwarf isn't bad. I'm not sold on paying $5 every week ($260/year vs. $132/year for the old monthly White Dwarf) for a ~35 page magazine. I, like many married hobbyists with children, have an allowance, and I'd prefer to spend it on actual models and paint. So, I might pick this up every once in a while.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words


Warhammer: Visions - Table of Contents

Now, Warhammer: Visions. "Visions" is an apt word.

The new GW monthly magazine is quite the magazine. At 228 pages, it's thick, though its format is smaller than the standard North American magazine size (it's a little larger than the Trade Paperback format). However, it's only $13 (Canadian), which isn't bad given its size. It's also, designwise, very asthetically pleasing. It contains lots of pictures of models, both on the awesome studio tables in dynamic, action-paused style photos and multi-angle, Golden Daemon posed photos. It even contains the highlights of the last Golden Daemon painting competition, whch is always one of my favourite sections in a Games Workshop magazine to look at.

But here in lies the problem: it's a picture book. It's 228 pages of pictures. Text is at a minimum, and it's usually only as captions for the photos. And even then, it's even further limited in that all the text is repeated in three languages: English, French and German. This magazine is clearly designed to be the new global magazine, cutting out regional translations, at least when it comes to Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. It technically even featured a Battle Report. I had issues in the last White Dwarfs, in that they cut so much of the "report" out of the Battle Report that you really couldn't learn from the designers what tactics were or were not useful. They had become Black Library style prose with pictures. Now it's pictures with Black Library style captions.

If you like Tyranids, this issue of Visions is probably for you. It featured about 100 pages of Tyranic photos, most of which was at the beginning in a prettier "catelogue" of new models. The catelogue of new models was the first 71 pages, then it was into the "articles." Army of the Month was next, which I must admit featured a very cool Vampire Counts army, done by two guys for a Battle Brothers event. I believe a few of the units were featured previously, but they had expanded on the army a lot.


An example of Golden Daemon goodness.


After the Army of the Month article came what was probably my favourite section: Parade Ground. This featured entries from the Memphis Golden Daemon. Next came the "Battle Report" (Grey Knights/Eldar vs Chaos Space Marines), followed by Kit Bash. This was a section I enjoyed the addition of previously, but now with the lack of text, explained less and was more just pictures of conversions. This was followed by the familiar Blanchitsu article, which is one that has always driven me nuts, since John Blanche only ever makes Inquisitorial Warbands, with the same models (theres always a Nurgle lord) and in the same colour palette as his art. After Blanche's piece was more pictures of Tyranids, and Paint Splatter which featured even more Tyranids.

So when it comes to Visions, as cool as lots of pictures of models are, it lacked substance. I feel I will rarely be picking this one up, unless it features an army I play prominently. At $13, I was really hoping for something I could spend a night reading, not flipping through it in 30 minutes to an hour, if that. I was distracted by a toddler through most of that time. She, however, loved the magazine! Which might say something...

The Verdict

I can see myself picking up the new weekly White Dwarf once a month or so, depending on the content. It was enjoyable and good for a quick read, though I would like to see more for $5, but considering they need content now for it weekly, instead of monthly, I don't see that happening. With Warhammer: Visions, I will only be picking it up from the look of it when an army I play (Space Marines, Grey Knights, Tau, Empire) is released, as that will probably be when they are featured heavily in the issue. I don't really feel the need to pay that much for a picture book that won't see much use. 

So, now that you know my thoughts, what are yours? Do you guys plan on picking up the new Games Workshop magazines? What do you like or not like about them? Let me know in the comments below.

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