The Plan...?

I really like my Tyranids. Call me crazy. Call me stupid. Call me an truly incorrigible asshole (thanks Nurglitch...lol).

I just picked up my SEVENTH Hive Guard in metal, and I was on the lookout for two more.

I have 40 Gargoyles. 40 Genestealers. A Gallon ziplock baggie of Termagants.

I have converted 2 T-Fexes and 2 Tervigons. I made them as big as possible with the pieces I had. I never actually "finished" the Tervigons though, because I just didn't feel up to the challenge of sculpting the egg sac. I kept thinking about it, but never did it.

Well, my initial rage/irritation/dismay aside, this situation might be salvagable. It's really going to take an in-person look at the new kits to see if it's feasible, but at this point it seems possible.

Purchase TWO of the new T-Fex/Tervigon kits. Strip them down to the hubcaps. Rebuild/Upscale all four of my MCs.

It's possible, I think.

Worse... it kind of sounds like fun.

Argh.

New Nid Models... Why Do I Have to Be So Right...?

SO, a little over a year ago, I heard a little rumor that there was going to be a new wave of Tyranid models coming out.

Tervigons, Tyrannofexes, Harpies.

Well, the rumor mill had the basics right, but the timing was WAY off.

But back then, I talked a bit about my concerns about the "official" models being released. I was specifically worried that they would be SUPERGIGANTOHUMONGOUS. Because that would immediately invalidate all Tyranid players who had been playing the game for, oh, the last two years.

I had hoped, nay, prayed, that the models would be of a similar size to the Carnifexes, which were the only kits that players could reasonably base their conversions on for, again, over two years (less at the time, but you get the point).

TWO FUCKING YEARS.

So now we are supposed to cheerfully trot out and spend $200.00 to make our armies legal again, for a codex that for anyone still playing is a labor of love anyways?

Even if the models were being given out free, their increased size just makes them even more fucktartedly difficult to play with. Oops, no more Hive Guard cover wall for you, m'boy.

You want to put me on an Apocalypse base? Fine, give me 8 wounds, +3 to saves versus Jaws of the World Wolf, and Regen for free. Then we'll talk.

I mean, honestly, the idea that Jaws of the World Wolf could swallow a Tervigon when it's bigger than a fucking Land Raider is just stupid. 

Christ on a cracker. Just stupid.

The Nids community, in all honesty, would have been much better off if they hadn't released this kit AT ALL. Just let us have our conversions. We spent enough fucking time on them.

Assholes.

I'm now going to go back to my corner, where I will not be playing, not be painting, and in general not be excited about 40k.

Purgatus Goes to a Tourney... WIth Bugs... Egads! (Abbreviated Batreps)

So, in a VERY last minute change of plans, my wife gave me "the nod" to go to a rogue trader tournament this weekend. I had thought last weekend I might be able to go, then quickly realized I couldn't, then found out Friday night I could... it was crazy, yo.

So anyways, this was a "doubles" tournament, which I really enjoy in general. One can argue about how well the format works at the top levels of competition in terms of balance and fair play (often not well), but it is great fun.

Taking a Break/Taking a Breath

I am succumbing to the temptation to just "wait and see" what the near future brings.

I have been aware of the 6th edition rumors, and the latest release schedule scuttlebutt indicates that Dark Angels may be just around the corner.

I have been playing with my Dark Angels successor chapter (Guardians of the Covenant) for several years now. They have hit the field as Vanilla Marines (Bikes and Terminators/Land Raiders... probably still my favorite army), and as Grey Knights, but sadly never as actual Dark Angels. Largely this is because I just found the codex to be extremely uninteresting, but the fluff and feel, the "theme" of the Dark Angels has always been EXTREMELY interesting.

So instead of committing a bunch of time and effort into building my dudes into Grey Knight wannabes, I'm probably just going to focus any hobby time I get on my Nids, and see how the new codex looks if/when it comes.

And then of course everyone can say what a bandwagoner I am. And I will tell them to fuck off. ;D

Anyways, I understand why GW keeps their release schedule a secret, especially big releases like an edition change. It has a huge impact on people's enthusiasm for the game. Everyone seems to have gone into a holding pattern (online anyways).

We'll just have to see how it all goes.

Just so... tired...

So much going on. First we had the Storm of the Century here in Washington (literally, the once in a hundred year snowstorm), during which I had to take my family to shelter with my parents, then catching up on all the work that needs doing (this is the busiest time of the quarter for me, the three weeks after the end of the fiscal quarter), then also dealing with grad school.

And so it goes.

I was planning on my "big return" to 40k with a doubles tourney coming up next Saturday, but alas my wife has vetoed that in favor of her needing a day off from the kids. Which is fine, but no 40k for me for a while. I do have a Twilight Imperium date set up with some buds next Sunday, so we'll see what comes of that.

Working on my candidacy paper for grad school too. Just... a lot going on.

Anyways, I'm still out here. Somewhere.

LOLOLOLOL

"Q: When working out which targets are visible to a
Chaos Dreadnought suffering from a Fire Frenzy result,
are you limited to those units within the 45 degree line
of sight of its weapons? (p40)
A: Yes."

Oh my god FINALLY.

But how many years did we get to argue about that one before they finally made the (correct) call?

Tyranid FAQ Updated - Shadow in the Warp Fixed

So Tyranids no longer officially have the worst psychic defense in the game (I'm not counting those that have "no" psychic defense).

Shadow in the Warp affects units in transports.

Hurray. How long did it take you to figure that out geniuses?

Lol.

Anyways, I appreciate that they changed it, and that they were willing to reverse a previously made decision. It's a good sign for the hobby.

Also, Primes attached to a unit of Termagants can benefit from the Counter-attack, Toxin Sacs and Adrenal glands from a Tervigon. They can also still die if the Tervigon blows up.

Tyrant Guard attached to a Hive Tyrant count as one kill point. I think most played it that way anyways.

A Halberd in contact with Lashwhips strikes at I3. Again, pretty obvious.

Smoke launchers don't grant cover against Hive Guard (I always gave my opponent cover if they popped smoke, figured it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but no longer).

Assaulting a Venomthrope unit without grenades does NOT make you strike at I1. This is a wonky ruling really, but meh.

Automatic regroup on falling back units in synapse range, nice clarification.

Necrons got their FAQ too, but I haven't looked at them yet. Does it say something that I was more excited to see if they had fixed Nids than to look at the Crons?