Stelek Wrote An Interesting List... For Orks

 Stelek writes a lot of interesting lists, to be fair. But this one stuck in my craw and won't come loose.

Linkie.

Why do I find this so interesting? Well, for one thing, it introduces a whole new generation of gamers to the wonders of the Nob Biker squad. Are they really any different/better than they were before? No, but you know, they are a pretty fun unit and for people who don't know how to deal with them they can be a pain in the arse.

Running A Tourney - A How To

Well, I am WAY behind on my emails. But I promised Karvala I would respond to his first. So here goes:

Hi there,


I've been following your posts for a while, first on YTTH, and now on your own blog, and have been impressed with both the content you have delivered, and the tone you deliver it with.


Anyway, enough throwing compliments at you, on to why I'm writing.

The Zoanthrope Blues

So as I'm sure you are aware that I'm painting my Nids in a brown/red/black scheme. Sandwyrm explained that this is what is called an analogous harmony, because all of my colors are very close to each other on the color wheel. They are also all very aggressive colors and so I hope that they convey an emotion, that emotion being anger and aggression.

By the way, if you haven't read SandWyrm's excellent series on color theory, you are really missing out. It will change the way you plan and paint your armies, guaranteed. Read it. 

Hobby Day... Want to Have Nids Ready for Next RTT

Yeah, I was kind of bummed that I've been lazy about painting for, well really for the last several months. I have a commission project I need to make progress on, my Nids to finish, my Grey Knights to finish... really too much to do.

I need to get the Nids finished up to at least the minimum standard - get the base colors on, get them washed and based, and at least be respectable looking so I can start taking them to RTTs.

Took 2nd at RTT

*Yawn* I'm sleepy. Going to keep this short and sweet. Tournament was at 1850. Took my Wolves because my Nids aren't fully painted yet but quite honestly think I would have had more fun and probably done just as well (if not better) with my Nids. My list was pretty close to my GT list but I replaced Njal with a regular Terminator Rune Priest with Living Lighting and Murderous Hurricane and a Chooser. (See SinSynn, no Jaws!)

Game one: Horde Orks with Kans and Deffkoptas and a single Battlewagon.  4th Ed. Table Quarters. Victory with full bonus points. Murderous Hurricane was... murder. Against 30 man Boy squads it's pretty brutal.

2500 Point Nids - *Insert Swarmlord Here*

So yeah, this is just the 2500 point scale-up of my 2k list. And I get to use my awesome Hive Tyrant of awesome. 

Swarmlord, Tyrant Guard x 2, Lashwhips
Prime, Lashwhip/Bonesword

Hive Guard x 3
Hive Guard x 3
Zoanthrope x 3, Mycetic Spore

Tervigon, Catalyst, Onslaught, Adrenals, Toxins
Tervigon, Catalyst, Onslaught, Adrenals, Toxins
Termagants x 10
Termagants x 10
Genestealers x 15
Genestealers x 15

Tyrannofex, Rupture, Dessicator, Cluster
Tyrannofex, Rupture, Dessicator, Cluster

2495  Points

Some subtle changes from the 2k list, along with the addition of the Swarmlord beater/support unit. Main changes are dropping toxins and going with the larger units on the Genestealers (more firepower at 2.5k means more bodies are a better bet, methinks). Also, giving preferred enemy to 45 attacks just strikes me as... obnoxious. And hilarious.

The Swarmlord reserve bonus combined with the loss of the twin Primes means that the Zoeys get to ride in a pod rather than hoof it. The Prime will attach to the Deathstar. This means I get to use Onslaught on the twin Hive Guard squads if necessary. Just some subtle little changes when going to 2.5k.

Tyranids Tournament List - The Final Version (For Now, Probably, Maybe, Till I Change it...)

 

It's Facebook Official. I "like" this army. We are "in a relationship." It's going into the Army Lists section.

Most of you have seen this but I've been testing this list quite a bit and I think it's pretty damned solid.

While there are still parts of me which think that "quantity over quality" is better, I've stuck with the 12 Genestealers with toxins as opposed to the 15 Genestealers without toxins. It's really a toss-up, but for now this is what I'm going with.

That is such a minor quibble though, the main army is very solidly in place and has survived (and won) games against quite a variety of opponents at this point, INCLUDING dual Land Raiders! (If you didn't follow the saga of my GT then... well go look it up I don't feel like Hyperlinking everything right now).

Playing Catch-up

Got pretty damned sick as a result of my travels. Apparently I have been sick for 3 months now, and every time I get "better" it's just going into recession or something, and then it comes back again.

Anyways, the doctor found fluid in my lungs and had me do a chest x-ray and I'm on a TWENTY day anti-biotics regimen now. Blech.

Anyways, I'm REALLY behind on emails, and for that I apologize. There are quite a few people who have written asking for list advice, running a tourney advice, and a few other things. Since I'm out sick, I might be able to get to some of that stuff soon.

I am working on writing up my batrep from last week. It's tough because my memories have faded a bit, but I will do my best and then Euclid can correct any errors I make.

Thanks for your patience. And a big happy Birthday to SinSynn.

Glad to have you around, ya lug.

And... I'm Back

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm not dead, I was on a business trip this whole last week.

I did get in a game of 40k with my buddy who had moved out to North Carolina. Details to follow.

In the meantime, just giving a quick hello. Lots to do after being away from home for over a week and returning home to find our living room filled with new baby furniture that I now need to clear out space for...

Gaming Night! (Nids vs Chaos + Circle vs. Menoth)

So kind of a perfect gaming night really. Got a game of 40k AND a game of Hordes. How's THAT for a balanced gaming diet?!

40k Game was against Chaos Space Marines. He had 2 Daemon Princes with wings, 6 ten man CSM squads with special weapons and Lascannons (on foot) and 3 Tri-Las Predators with Daemonic Possession.

Making Fluffy Armies is About Telling A Story

Gmort had a guest author who provided his thoughts on making a fluffy force without sacrificing effectiveness. His thoughts are pretty solid and worth a read. Essentially his point is that just because the fluff says that a certain type of force "won't have a lot of unit X" doesn't mean you should have NONE of unit X."

Hobby, Nids thoughts, etc.

So, I have a bunch of photos I need to take of my Hordes models. I have been doing construction on my Nids and working on my Guard as well. Blogger has been down for a few days now, so sorry about the lack of posts.

I am heading to North Carolina this whole week for work, so the weekend might be pretty busy getting ready for the trip. I will try and get another game in with my Nids, I've really been enjoying this list and aside from very small tweaks I think I'm pretty well settled on this as my "final" 2k list.

Hey... Blogger's Back!

Neato. We now resume your regularly scheduled program.

Tyranids Versus Blood Angels 2k

Ok, well I got another game in versus Blood Angels. This time it was against a different player, the Best Overall winner from the tournament I had hosted.

My list, for reference:

Prime, Regen, Lash/BS, Scy Tal
Prime, Regen, Lash/BS, Rend Claw

This Day is Like, Totally Metal.

Listening to Dethklok, Amon Amarth, Lamb of God even some old White Zombie.

Just in that kind of mood.

A Way For 6th to Help Nids, and a Question on Hive Guard

Ok, I'm just going to throw this out there because I have been thinking about it for a while.

A simple change to the base rules that would go far to promoting Nids as a competitive army. They might still have issues with anti-tank, but at least their anti-infantry elements would be on par for a "good" assault army.

Make the Move Through Cover USR allow the unit to ignore the initiative reducing effects of charging into cover. It's a change to the core rules that would really help this army.

2k Nids versus Blood Angels... You Asked, I Deliver

Well, I got a good opportunity to take my list for a test drive. Chappy was gracious enough to lend me two Zoanthropes so that I could be WYIWYG. My list, for reference:

Tyranid Prime, Regeneration, LW/BS, Scything Talons
Tyranid Prime, Regeneration, LW/BS, Rending Claws

Zoanthropes x 2
Hive Guard x 2
Hive Guard x 2

A Bit of Hobby... Genestealers

Tonight: repurposing ten Space Hulk genestealers, putting them on round bases and cleaning them up for painting.

I need 30 total to run the 2k list I've been wanting to try out. I think I posted this before but here it is again for reference.

Last Weekend... The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Part the Second

 

Image via Flickr.

Alright, time to make good on my promise to finish my description of this tumultuous weekend of gaming.

It’s got drama, it’s got suspense. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry.

The first part I discussed “the bad” wherein I screwed up and it cost me some moolah and a few reputation points.

Next, let’s discuss the “ugly” and then I’ll finish up with the “good.”

One of my tournament players had brought a 57 Jokaero and Coteaz list to play.

May Day...

...will have a whole new meaning for me now.

God bless the analysts and operators who made this happen, and the leaders who had the balls to give the go ahead.

I hope those Special Forces guys took the time to carve the initials of a victim on every bullet before they left to send Bin Laden to hell.

What a Weekend... (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Pt 1).

What an amazing movie. That reminds me, when is True Grit out on DVD...?

Man, I've got lots to talk about. Let's start at the beginning.

This weekend I ran a Rogue Trader Tournament. We had a pretty small turnout but honestly that just made it really easy for me so no complaints on that front.

The last tournament I had taken far too long in determining the winners of the tournament. This was almost entirely because of the extremely labor intensive process of manually inputting the Sportsmanship scores for each player.