Product Review - Large Pine Wood (Battlefront)

One of the great new features of 8th Edition Warhammer is how much better battlefields look. With the change to terrain rules, there is now no real obstacle (no pun intended) to have a battlefied covered in great looking terrain.

At the recent NatCon I received a prize of Battlefront's "Battlefield in a Box" terrain. In this case it was their "Large Pine Wood". The great thing about these sets are that they are suitable for 15mm right through to 28mm wargaming.



The box came with 5 trees on approximately 40mm plastic bases, a tree stump on the same sized base as well as two outline "wood" bases. Included in the box was a small bag of static grass to finish off the bases. This again is smart thinking by Battlefront because it gives you the option to use an alternative static grass to match the colour of your table top.

The effort required to get these ready for tabletop is literally 5 minutes and they provide both a great looking feature of one that has plenty of in-game convenience. The one alteration I intend making is to fit rare earth magnets to the bases and base board. This will ensure that the trees are easily knocked over and go in their original position (TLOS driven).

They are also very reasonably priced at around USD 25 from an online seller such as Maelstrom Games.

A big thumbs up to Battlefront!!!!

The 1" Rule

Having played a few games of 8th now, I certainly am a supporter of the new pre-measuring regime. It removes so much of the potential for niggle in the game.

I believe the major remaining source of conflict surrounds the new 1" rule. The rule requires that a unit is always at least 1" away from friend or foe except when you are charging.

The rule is very clear but do people see it being rigidly enforced in their games, particularly in tournament games? Personally I intend deploying/moving my units so that they are 2" away from each other (I play Skaven so this does have a marked impact e.g. the reliance on General's Ld, BSB etc). However am I wrong to expect opponent's to also adhere to it?

I can see situations where on Turn 4 my opponent wants to make a maneuver which contravenes this rule and takes exception to be being "anal" about adherence to it.

My current thinking is that this is an issue that needs to be clearly discussed at the outset of the game.

Just to show that this is potentially an issue, here is a link to a thread I posted on Warhammer.org.uk:

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=74087

As you can see respondants are split on exactly how they will play it - spectrum covers "Ignore It" to "Insist on It".

All I can say is that you and your opponent should discuss it prior to deployment, especially early in 8th until etiquette emerges

The Horde

Played against the "horde" yesterday and my experiences back up my initial thoughts.

To generate 50 models, shortcuts need to be taken - usually in the form of protection. This leaves them very susceptible to shooting and magic.

They are also vulnerable to a unit that can hit them on a restricted frontage with higher initiative.

In yesterday's game a Furnace with Monk on each side hit them on the charge. This restricted the attacks of the GW Khorne Marauders to 30 attacks. As some had to be put on the Champion and others on the Furnace there was only limited numbers that could hit the PM unit. My Skaven didn't roll particularly well but the Horde was still on Snake Eyes to hold in combat.

Yes it could go deeper but that tends to go against why you are using it in the first place.

Personally I hold with the view I expressed in an earlier post. The Horde is one of the new shiny toys in 8th and it will get a run early in the ruleset when people don't know how to handle it. Over time people will work up their tactics and it will become less come.

I think blocks no larger than 30-35 will become the norm.

GW Drops The Ball

After all the good work GW has done with 8th Edition they dropped a big one with the pdf updates for the existing army books.

One shining characteristic of the new rules is the fantastic job Mat Ward has done in providing clarity. Great use of diagrams backed up by clear unambiguous text throughout the book makes it a pleasure to read and the game easy to play.

But why oh why didn't that rigor continue over to the pdfs GW released on Friday.

I can take the change in stats and also the 180 degree turns in rulings but there is no real excuse for the contradictory language that been seen in some of the pdfs. In some cases these are critical to how an item or an army plays.

Two examples:

1) The Ring of Hotek - the errata and FAQ ruling are contradictory. Nobody is now sure whether it only works if the Ring is within 12'" of the caster or whether it continues to work as in 7th

2) Strength in Numbers/Steadfast - Are Rats steadfast on the generals Ld + SIN? Most people believe they know the intent of this rule but others are equally vehement in their interpretation. Potentially army-breaking and it could have been avoided with a little care.

I could go on - the stupid Wardancer ruling re dances etc.

It looks like GW rushed these through in an afternoon to be honest. And it could have been avoided by canvasing their playtest group.

The good news is that GW are looking like releasing v1.1 later this week. Well their response is admirable it could have been unnecessary with a little effort

8th Edition - First Games

Over the weekend I was running Maelstrom VII for Warhammer 40k but took the opportunity to play my first couple of games of 8th Edition.

On Saturday I played Tom's Daemons with a very 7th Edn Skaven list, while on Sunday Gordon brought along his Bretonnians. The list I used on Sunday was very much an 8th Edn list - 5 characters, 4 Rares.

The new rules were very easy to pick up and use. While I'm sure we played some things wrong, all three of us got a good feel for how the mechanisms worked.

I was very surprised how important the new Steadfast rule proved to be. Skavenslave units were able to hold up many their points worth of Flesh Hounds (Tom had two units of 6) allowing the Skaven army to whittle away the rest of the Daemons.

As we all knew Magic is much more fickle - but you don't realise how much until you have actually played it. In both games my Seer used the Plague deck and was able to get off some nice spells. Miscasts were common but I have quickly learned a few tricks to minimise the negative effects. I lost a Mage (not the Seer) but it was not catastrophic.

Both my opponents used Lore of Life and I can tell you that deck is going to get very old, very quick. The Life Attribute Lifebloom is a fantastic bonus to what is a very strong lore - Flesh to Stone, Throne of Vines and Regrowth are all great spells but you have the cheap to cast Awakening of the Wood to tap into the Lore Attribute. As I said I see the Lore of Life being very popular - excellent for Daemons (via a Tz Herald with Mastery of Sorcery)on soooo many levels

One of the biggest changes to the game is one that has drawn only minimal comment - no points unless unit is destroyed. In the second game I chose not to commit my HPA after he took five wounds from a Trebuchet. This meant that I denied Gordon any points for the beastie.

Having now played 8th I am very keen to start developing strategy and tactics with my 8th Edn Skaven.

I can say with confidence I've played my last game of Warhammer 7th!

List Composition at the Birth of 8th Edn

Reading the new rules over the past few days I'm of the opinion that we'll see three extreme builds being trialled in the first few months of 8th Edn.

The first is the "big infantry block" build. This will comprise one of two builds. Either taking advantage of the new "Horde" rule - the best two being Chaos Marauders with Great Weapons or Dark Elf Spearmen - or adding more bodies to elite infantry units. The key with the bigger infantry builds is that they must have a degree of offense to be successful. Work the numbers on a block of Khorne Marauders and you'll see numbers plus a high number of Str 5 attacks makes them very potent.

The second build will concentrate on the new Magic rules. It will be focused on getting off one of the new mega-spells. So we'll see cheap suicidal casters throwing 6 dice in the hope that they'll get a game changer off. Hopefully tournaments will enforce selection of lore at the time of list submission otherwise the ability to tailor is too strong.

The final "extreme" build will be the warmachine build. With the shift to percentages I think that we'll see people who can trying to max out on warmachine. Dwarfs already do but Orcs and Goblins can now run 6 cheap chukkas, 2 Doom Divers and 2 Lobbas. With the removal of partials I think that this will prove too attractive to some - so expect to see more warmachines.

So what does this mean?

In the interim you'll need to build your lists to counter/neutralise these threats. However I do think over the next 3-4 months we will see a move back to the combined arms approach as people's "8th Ed" tactics develop. The rock/scissors/paper nature of the extreme builds will see them fall by the wayside. At that point the real 8th Edn meta-game will begin.

Maelstrom VII Warhammer 40k Tournament

The first weekend in July I am running Maelstrom VII for Warhammer 40k.

The purpose of the tournament is twofold; Firstly, it is to offer the local gaming community another year of what has been a very popular gaming event. This year the event has sold out attracting the full 30 participants. There are a mix of local and out of town gamers but of real note is the quality of the field. Around 80% of last year's NZ Masters field will be there so the event will be very competitive. The second reason is to trial a number of the scoring mechanisms, missions etc that I will be using for this year's Fields of Blood in September.

I am trialling a couple of new missions at the event. This gives me the opportunity to get feedback and iron out any flaws for future tournaments. The guys playing are very savvy and I know I'll get a heads-up should there be any conflicts, contradictions or anything that just plain doesn't work. In addition, I have introduced some new Special Rules into missions I've used before to mix things up a bit.

I have overhauled the Bonus Point scheme that I have been using for the past two-three years. My Gameplay scoring is 10 points for a win, 5 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss. On top of this there have been 5 standard actions that earn bonus points e.g. kill most expensive unit etc. I've done away with this and introduced Secret Mission cards (my inspiration being GWUK's Fantasy GT). Each player is issued with six Secret Mission cards at the beginning of the event. Each has a specific task on it e.g. Kill opposing HQ; Hold Terrain Feature in Deployment Zone etc. At the start of each game you select a mission as does your opponent. Neither of you know what the other's mission is. At the end of the game you reveal your secret mission. If you achieve yours while denying your opponent his then you get 5 bonus points; If you get yours and your opponent gets his then you get 2 bonus points each; and if you fail to achieve yours then you receive no bonus points.

The twist is that you surrender each card after it is played so you have a reducing number of options as the tournament progresses. This ups the meta-game somewhat. You can use easy to achieve missions to deny specific opponents/armies etc bonus points for instance or you can choose Special Missions that complement the main missions. I'm fascinated to see how it turns out and how the players utilise another tool in their arsenal.

For the first time I am allowing Grudge Matches in the First Round. But again there is a twist. Usually these are used to bunny hunt but at Maelstrom you can only challenge a player who is "better" than you. This is determined by utilising the rankings on www.rankingshq.com

Looking forward to the event and seeing how the players enjoy it.

Where to the Ratmen?

So what is the way forward for the Skaven, given the introduction of 8th Edition?

Well I'm not sure. Not very helpful but at least honest. I don't think Skaven will suffer much under the new rules but I do think that quite a few of the weaker armies will be strengthened - especially Orcs and Goblins, Ogres and Dwarfs. Empire and High Elves are being tipped as new stars - we'll see.

Initially my list won't change markedly from what I'm currently running:

Seer
Engineer
Priest on Furnace
BSB

2x Clanrats
4x Slaves
3x Giant Rats
2 Swarms

1x Plague Monks
2x PCBs
1x Gutter Runners

Doomwheel
Warp Lightning Cannon

With greater freedom in choices I can see myself adding at least one more Rare. This will be a Plague Claw Catapult given my lack of shooting and the likelihood of big infantry blocks.

The Giant Rats may go - a lot depends on the deployment rules for 8th. Also one unit of PCBs may be for the chop. We'll see.

I'm thinking games will be going to 2400 points as standard, so that may give some scope for new units.

In the next few days I'll post some pictures of the new units I've been painting.

8th Edition Advances

So 8th Edition is almost here. I've ordered my copy from GW UK and I'm hoping that it arrives on or before the 10th of July.

Two months ago I was totally unexcited about the new edition. I guess this was due in part to the fact that I've got to a stage whereby I think I'm competent in 7th Ed and didn't want all the effort that went into that to be for naught. The early oil on the new rules didn't really inspire me either - I was dreading the dumbing-down that I felt 5th Ed 40k had experienced.

However about a month ago my feelings turned 180 degrees. Why? Well I think I realised that the new edition is the opportunity to have some new fun! Things will change. Certainly what worked well in 7th won't necessarily work the same in 8th but that's the nature of progress. Will Warhammer 8th be an evolutionary blind alley? Perhaps...but I don't think so.

The skill set changes from one where spatial awareness was paramount to one where risk management is the new king. There is less certainty in the game - due to variable charges, the removal of US, the magic system etc. But because of this you'll need to plan a bit differently. The good players will be those who can assess risks and make decisions based on that assessment. However they will need to factor in the randomness that has been introduced into the mechanics and have some form of Plan B, mitigation strategy, backup - call it what you will.

I haven't played a game yet but I am looking forward to the journey*

* To quote disgraced All Black coach John Mitchell

Necromancy

So this blog has been dead for the past year. Now's the time for some necromancy!!!!

It is an exciting time in the hobby. Warhammer 8th Edition is just around the corner - less than a month away. A new edition of Warhammer Ancient Battles has been released and the rulebook arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

I'm running Fields of Blood Warhammer 40k again this year and it has retained its spot as NZ's premier 40k event.

There is an increasing number of podcasts on the scene, some good, some not so good and I am a pretty avid listener - kills the time painting and modeling.

I've been involved in RankingsHQ as the New Zealand administrator for the site.

So there is heaps to discuss - and I'm keen to record my opinion on all these things. If you find my musings interesting then please let me know by posting a comment.