The more I read and think about the new Orc & Goblin book the more I think Jeremy Vetock has done a great job. Mr. Vetock copped a load of criticism after the Skaven book but most of this was in relation to the looseness and ambiguity present in the book. I felt he made a real characterful army with the Skaven and there is absolutely no doubt he has done that with the Greenskins.
One of the best tests of how good a book is, is when you go through the various units and determine whether or not you would run the unit in your army. There are 20+ units and 20+ character choices in the new book and there are only a limited number that I think I would run from an “efficiency” point of view:
• Goblin Shamen (the Night Goblin choice is far better – Mushrooms, anyone?)
• Night Goblin Warboss (if my General I’d go with a Goblin Warboss instead)
• Orc Boyz – if you only have room for one unit then use Big Uns instead
• Snotlings – single Trolls do the same job cheaper or you can get wolf Riders for 10 points more
• Giant - Five points cheaper and still a big load of poo!
I can see a place for virtually every other choice though personal preference will result in certain choices over others in a reflection of play style. One unit I am really keen to see how it works is the new Goblin Wolf Chariot unit….the possibility of 3D6+3 Str 5 impact hits plus 9 Goblin attacks (6 @ Str 4 Spears?) and 9 Wolf attacks is pretty mouth watering – all for less than 180 points. Yes, the unit has risks but it looks like it could really do damage to an anvil unit that other O&G units can then exploit.
Squig Hoppers look interesting now, especially with the addition of models that allow you to re-roll your random distance. Effectively they can become the ultimate hit and run unit.
The other thing I really like about the book is the limitation on O&G Magic Items. There has been much gnashing of teeth on this but I still hold the view expressed in the post “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” that restricting army-specific magic items leads to a tighter book. And to be honest if you can’t build some pretty tasty characters and units using the 81 Common Magic Items…..well, you’re not really trying.
I still hold the view that the most common army will be a “Pick’n’Mix” with lots of sub-100 point Rare units but I could be well off the mark. Personally I can’t wait to face them across the table.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wanted to Buy/Trade - Figures/Bits I'm After
Here are some figures that I'm keen to get hold of. If you've got them and can help me out then please let me know on fieldsofblood@paradise.net.nz
Mordheim Figures
Sisters of Sigmar (need about 15 assorted....happy to take any)
Rat Ogre
Possessed Brethren (as many as I can get)
Skaven
Poisoned Wind Globadier Backpacks
Warhammer
Metal Dark Elf Corsairs
Gobbla (that comes with Skarsnik)
Warhammer 40k
4 Kroot
Combi-melta
As I said if you can help let me know.
Mordheim Figures
Sisters of Sigmar (need about 15 assorted....happy to take any)
Rat Ogre
Possessed Brethren (as many as I can get)
Skaven
Poisoned Wind Globadier Backpacks
Warhammer
Metal Dark Elf Corsairs
Gobbla (that comes with Skarsnik)
Warhammer 40k
4 Kroot
Combi-melta
As I said if you can help let me know.
Old Dogs Should Know Old Tricks - 40k Battle Report
On Sunday I had my second game of 40k in eighteen months…..and enjoyed it immensely. My opponent was another returning 40k player, John Tailby. A decade ago John was the King of the Hill, in terms of generalship in New Zealand 40k. I haven’t played 40k seriously since 2006 when I was running my Ulthewe around with the infamous “Seer Village”.
So it really was “Welcome to Jurassic Park” as two crusty old dinosaurs got out their models and pushed them around.
John was using an all foot Iron Hands army while I was using mechanized Death Guard. We played Annihilation with the Spearhead deployment.
The game was interesting because I quickly realized I couldn’t assault John’s position – I lost a Plague Marine squad trying and so I pulled back. John could have sat on his 1-0 lead but pushed forward and going into Turn 5 I was up 5-4 on Kill Points (helped in no small way by the explosion of an immobilized Rhino that wiped out most of a tactical squad).
It was in this last turn my rustiness showed. John had a unit of Assault Terminators bearing down on me the previous turn and rather than pull back I stood and shot. At the end of his Turn 4 he assaulted the unit. Having sacrificed that unit for no purpose, I moved my Daemon Prince into a position to assault even though he had failed his Warptime roll. Suffice to say I ended up losing him as well and the game 5-6.
I really enjoyed the game and in particular I liked the random game length. As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, it is a rule that I think Warhammer Fantasy would really benefit from (not just in Watch Tower games).
So it really was “Welcome to Jurassic Park” as two crusty old dinosaurs got out their models and pushed them around.
John was using an all foot Iron Hands army while I was using mechanized Death Guard. We played Annihilation with the Spearhead deployment.
The game was interesting because I quickly realized I couldn’t assault John’s position – I lost a Plague Marine squad trying and so I pulled back. John could have sat on his 1-0 lead but pushed forward and going into Turn 5 I was up 5-4 on Kill Points (helped in no small way by the explosion of an immobilized Rhino that wiped out most of a tactical squad).
It was in this last turn my rustiness showed. John had a unit of Assault Terminators bearing down on me the previous turn and rather than pull back I stood and shot. At the end of his Turn 4 he assaulted the unit. Having sacrificed that unit for no purpose, I moved my Daemon Prince into a position to assault even though he had failed his Warptime roll. Suffice to say I ended up losing him as well and the game 5-6.
I really enjoyed the game and in particular I liked the random game length. As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, it is a rule that I think Warhammer Fantasy would really benefit from (not just in Watch Tower games).
Friday, March 11, 2011
List Building 101 - Consideration of Unit Choices
In the first post in the List Building 101 I said I felt it was important to know what your play style is and then if you want to be immediately competitive build with that in mind.
So how do you do that? Firstly through army choice and then secondly through unit choice.
Army choice is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re preferred play style is reserved then Bretonnians are probably not your army. Likewise if you are looking for subtle it is going to be hard to find it with Warriors of Chaos.
Once you’ve settled on an army, I think that the best process is to sit down with the army book and go through the list entries unit by unit. Spend some time on this and look at the possible uses for each unit and how they might fit the needs of your style. Key to this is looking at the potential ways the inclusion of characters and magic items (usually banners) may modify their surface characteristics. For instance the inclusion of a magic banner and proximity to a Cauldron of Blood changes the nature of units in a Dark Elf army markedly. Similarly in this brave new world of magic augmentation the functionality of a unit may be changed by the possible selection of one magic lore over another.
Once I’ve gone through this process I’ll generally have three groups – units I’ll definitely include, those I definitely won’t include and a number of possibles. This then gives you a framework on which to build your list.
One thing that is important here are “synergies”. The word is often bandied about in discussions concerning list construction as something you want to achieve. For me synergy is where the outcome of two or more things working together is more than their individual contributions. Good examples are a block of Marauders and a chariot – the chariot joins combat in the second round to add impact hits after the initial onslaught (str bonus, charge bonus etc) has occurred. In my Skaven I see great synergies in using a block of slaves and a Gutter Runner unit in tandem versus elite low Toughness enemy such as Marauders, Swordmasters etc (the slaves engage them in combat and then the Gutter Runners abuse the no randomization rule by shooting into combat with their poisoned slings).
So when considering units always work through how they will operate and whether working in tandem with another unit makes them a better choice.
The next post in the series will focus on what elements you need to cover off in your list construction.
R.I.P. Thomas Henry Dunn 5/09/21-11/03/81 - Missed every day.
So how do you do that? Firstly through army choice and then secondly through unit choice.
Army choice is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re preferred play style is reserved then Bretonnians are probably not your army. Likewise if you are looking for subtle it is going to be hard to find it with Warriors of Chaos.
Once you’ve settled on an army, I think that the best process is to sit down with the army book and go through the list entries unit by unit. Spend some time on this and look at the possible uses for each unit and how they might fit the needs of your style. Key to this is looking at the potential ways the inclusion of characters and magic items (usually banners) may modify their surface characteristics. For instance the inclusion of a magic banner and proximity to a Cauldron of Blood changes the nature of units in a Dark Elf army markedly. Similarly in this brave new world of magic augmentation the functionality of a unit may be changed by the possible selection of one magic lore over another.
Once I’ve gone through this process I’ll generally have three groups – units I’ll definitely include, those I definitely won’t include and a number of possibles. This then gives you a framework on which to build your list.
One thing that is important here are “synergies”. The word is often bandied about in discussions concerning list construction as something you want to achieve. For me synergy is where the outcome of two or more things working together is more than their individual contributions. Good examples are a block of Marauders and a chariot – the chariot joins combat in the second round to add impact hits after the initial onslaught (str bonus, charge bonus etc) has occurred. In my Skaven I see great synergies in using a block of slaves and a Gutter Runner unit in tandem versus elite low Toughness enemy such as Marauders, Swordmasters etc (the slaves engage them in combat and then the Gutter Runners abuse the no randomization rule by shooting into combat with their poisoned slings).
So when considering units always work through how they will operate and whether working in tandem with another unit makes them a better choice.
The next post in the series will focus on what elements you need to cover off in your list construction.
R.I.P. Thomas Henry Dunn 5/09/21-11/03/81 - Missed every day.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Motivating Yourself to Paint
One of the things that always waxes and wanes through the years is my motivation to paint. Sometimes I’m keen and sometimes I think I’d prefer a root canal. In the early days 10-12 years ago I would get up in the morning and do 30 minutes to an hour before I went to work and then 2-3 hours when I got home. Now I struggle to do an hour every couple of nights while at other times I’ll do a couple of hours in an evening. I’m guessing that the underlying reason is I’m getting older but other things must enter into it.
In those first few years everything was new and you saw marked improvement every time you learned a new technique. After awhile though the learning curve starts to flatten and you reach a plateau. Every advance in technique after that is very hard fought and the achievement less and less of an improvement. To move to the next stage you probably have to have talent rather than perseverance.
So what do you do to maintain motivation?
Well here are a few things I think works.
1. Something Different
Every now and then I try and paint something different. Over the past 12 months this has usually been a terrain piece which is sufficiently different from the figures in a Fantasy army to give me a break. Similarly over the last couple of weeks I finished off the figures in my historical Mongol Conquest army, again enough of a difference to be a holiday.
2. Revisit An Old Army
As above, sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Have a look at one of your existing armies and look at adding a new unit to it or replace an existing one. At the moment I am painting the Forgeworld Great Unclean One for my Death Guard army and I have the FW Nurgle Plague Hulk on order. Neither choice is particularly fantastic in a CSM army but they are a million miles away from painting clanrats.
3. Ignore the Meat and Potatoes, Focus on the Dessert
If you have been painting rank and file and the line still to be done stretches to the horizon, then switch to a “treat”. Skaven armies, for example, have warmachines, weapons teams (though perhaps not after yesterday’s bagging), a multitude of characters etc. If you have hit an impasse with lowly unit types then treat yourself by painting one of the “ornaments”.
4. Carrot No Good? Try the Stick!
If treats don’t work then try the stick. Enter a tournament. That gives you a ready made deadline by which you need to finish your painting. You can either put on your big boy pants and do it or suffer the inevitable sense of failure if you don’t. Stories abound of people hurriedly painting their army the night before a tournament to make sure they complete it.
5. Ear Candy
Listen to podcasts while you are painting. The podcasters should be enthusiastic about the hobby and hopefully inspire you to great deeds. I find it less of a chore when I am listening to a podcast when I’m painting.
If all else fails then take a break. Give yourself a few weeks off and vege on the couch watching “old media” or reading a book. Use the time either to take a break from the “hobby” side or do something different like converting models etc.
Happy Painting!
In those first few years everything was new and you saw marked improvement every time you learned a new technique. After awhile though the learning curve starts to flatten and you reach a plateau. Every advance in technique after that is very hard fought and the achievement less and less of an improvement. To move to the next stage you probably have to have talent rather than perseverance.
So what do you do to maintain motivation?
Well here are a few things I think works.
1. Something Different
Every now and then I try and paint something different. Over the past 12 months this has usually been a terrain piece which is sufficiently different from the figures in a Fantasy army to give me a break. Similarly over the last couple of weeks I finished off the figures in my historical Mongol Conquest army, again enough of a difference to be a holiday.
2. Revisit An Old Army
As above, sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Have a look at one of your existing armies and look at adding a new unit to it or replace an existing one. At the moment I am painting the Forgeworld Great Unclean One for my Death Guard army and I have the FW Nurgle Plague Hulk on order. Neither choice is particularly fantastic in a CSM army but they are a million miles away from painting clanrats.
3. Ignore the Meat and Potatoes, Focus on the Dessert
If you have been painting rank and file and the line still to be done stretches to the horizon, then switch to a “treat”. Skaven armies, for example, have warmachines, weapons teams (though perhaps not after yesterday’s bagging), a multitude of characters etc. If you have hit an impasse with lowly unit types then treat yourself by painting one of the “ornaments”.
4. Carrot No Good? Try the Stick!
If treats don’t work then try the stick. Enter a tournament. That gives you a ready made deadline by which you need to finish your painting. You can either put on your big boy pants and do it or suffer the inevitable sense of failure if you don’t. Stories abound of people hurriedly painting their army the night before a tournament to make sure they complete it.
5. Ear Candy
Listen to podcasts while you are painting. The podcasters should be enthusiastic about the hobby and hopefully inspire you to great deeds. I find it less of a chore when I am listening to a podcast when I’m painting.
If all else fails then take a break. Give yourself a few weeks off and vege on the couch watching “old media” or reading a book. Use the time either to take a break from the “hobby” side or do something different like converting models etc.
Happy Painting!
Jumping the Shark?
Sorry GW but the new Nemisis Dreadnaught model looks ridiculous.
Looks like someone spent the winter watching re-runs of Transformers and Iron Man.
I call "Jumping the Shark".
Looks like someone spent the winter watching re-runs of Transformers and Iron Man.
I call "Jumping the Shark".
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Skaven Weapons Teams
One of the most appealing units in the Skaven army book are the weapons teams that you can buy to accompany other choices. Apart from a Warpgrinder to go with gutter Runners all the other options supplement Core selections.
So how good are they?
Rather than write a Tactica for Weapons Teams I’m going to lay out my thoughts on the key underlying rationale for including or excluding them from your army.
Cost/Criteria/Characteristics
The teams range in cost from 55 points through to 75 points and can be bought to supplement another choice. For most teams the required unit is either Stormvermin or Clanrats, the exception being Warpgrinder which can come with Night Runners or Gutter Runners.
The cost may seem cheap but as I’ll highlight later this is a two edged sword. They do have Heavy armour for protection and a 4+ ward if in the vicinity of their parent. That said, they only have one wound. In all seriousness someone needs only to look at them threatening like and they are in trouble.
Offensive Ability
Again their offensive abilities look really good on paper….flamer template, strength 4 shots, impact hits and artillery dice attacks, template that wounds on 5+ etc ….however I have found that the reality does not reflect their promise.
Apart from the Poisoned Wind Mortar the other teams with shooting abilities are Move or Fire. This means they need to be positioned the turn before you use them. Generally this exposes them to a turn of magic and shooting and as I pointed out above their defensive qualities are very poor. On top of this they are very erratic. The Warpfire Thrower can vary by +/- 4” from average result while the Ratling Gun now needs to roll to hit removing its key function [removal of skirmishers] under 7th Edition (oh how it loved Wardancers and Shades).
The PWM offers more potential as it doesn’t need line of sight and it can move and fire. However the potential for self-damage from a misfire is quite damaging when you yourself are running blocks. Still, it probably represents your best offensive option.
The Doomflayer looks good on paper but is very susceptible to match-ups. The D3 impact hits are distributed as shooting which reduces the ability to snipe characters and the ability of characters to make way means that if they have a higher Initiative the Doomflayer will be dead before it gets its other attacks.
Finally, the Warpgrinder. No-one will ever put it with the Gutter Runners as it will only limit their contribution while who ever takes a block of Night Runners? No, really who?
Core Points
I suspect the key reason people take Weapons Tests is to pad out their Core requirement. Generally it takes time to paint a Skaven army and when a Weapons Team (1 model) costs the same points as a unit of Slaves (20+ models) I can understand why we see them on the table. However I suspect as you continue to build and paint your army well I know what I think offers the best value point for point.
Slaves
One function they do have is in the support of Slave units. Because you can shoot into a slave combat with impunity, if you can set up an enemy unit you can drill them with a Ratling Gun. However it is very situational and I think you can achieve the same thing far more reliably with Gutter Runners if the opportunity present.
Redirectors
The Weapons Team can be used as a redirector to set up an enemy unit. However it is an expensive option for the role when a 5-6 ranked units of Slaves costs the same points.
Yes, you may get a Stand and Shoot reaction but you are unlikely to stop a charge.
Points Donators
The biggest downside I see to Weapons Teams is that they present your opponent with a very easy opportunity to harvest points in a game where for most units yielding points has got much tougher. If I was playing Skaven I’d see the inclusion of Weapons Teams as a gift from the Horned Rat. The work to get those points is significantly easier than getting them from a potentially Steadfast ranked unit.
In the UK situation where 100 VPs is a win, I’d be very surprised if you ever saw them at all.
Wrap-Up
So my wrap-up is not going to be a surprise to any of you. Unless you don’t have the necessary core points I don’t think there is a compelling reason to take them versus say a unit of Slaves or even a Level 1 Engineer (similar points). They struggle to harvest points and they give them up easily. I have been using 2-3 teams throughout 2011 and I’m about to give them away. It takes a better player than me to get value out of them.
So how good are they?
Rather than write a Tactica for Weapons Teams I’m going to lay out my thoughts on the key underlying rationale for including or excluding them from your army.
Cost/Criteria/Characteristics
The teams range in cost from 55 points through to 75 points and can be bought to supplement another choice. For most teams the required unit is either Stormvermin or Clanrats, the exception being Warpgrinder which can come with Night Runners or Gutter Runners.
The cost may seem cheap but as I’ll highlight later this is a two edged sword. They do have Heavy armour for protection and a 4+ ward if in the vicinity of their parent. That said, they only have one wound. In all seriousness someone needs only to look at them threatening like and they are in trouble.
Offensive Ability
Again their offensive abilities look really good on paper….flamer template, strength 4 shots, impact hits and artillery dice attacks, template that wounds on 5+ etc ….however I have found that the reality does not reflect their promise.
Apart from the Poisoned Wind Mortar the other teams with shooting abilities are Move or Fire. This means they need to be positioned the turn before you use them. Generally this exposes them to a turn of magic and shooting and as I pointed out above their defensive qualities are very poor. On top of this they are very erratic. The Warpfire Thrower can vary by +/- 4” from average result while the Ratling Gun now needs to roll to hit removing its key function [removal of skirmishers] under 7th Edition (oh how it loved Wardancers and Shades).
The PWM offers more potential as it doesn’t need line of sight and it can move and fire. However the potential for self-damage from a misfire is quite damaging when you yourself are running blocks. Still, it probably represents your best offensive option.
The Doomflayer looks good on paper but is very susceptible to match-ups. The D3 impact hits are distributed as shooting which reduces the ability to snipe characters and the ability of characters to make way means that if they have a higher Initiative the Doomflayer will be dead before it gets its other attacks.
Finally, the Warpgrinder. No-one will ever put it with the Gutter Runners as it will only limit their contribution while who ever takes a block of Night Runners? No, really who?
Core Points
I suspect the key reason people take Weapons Tests is to pad out their Core requirement. Generally it takes time to paint a Skaven army and when a Weapons Team (1 model) costs the same points as a unit of Slaves (20+ models) I can understand why we see them on the table. However I suspect as you continue to build and paint your army well I know what I think offers the best value point for point.
Slaves
One function they do have is in the support of Slave units. Because you can shoot into a slave combat with impunity, if you can set up an enemy unit you can drill them with a Ratling Gun. However it is very situational and I think you can achieve the same thing far more reliably with Gutter Runners if the opportunity present.
Redirectors
The Weapons Team can be used as a redirector to set up an enemy unit. However it is an expensive option for the role when a 5-6 ranked units of Slaves costs the same points.
Yes, you may get a Stand and Shoot reaction but you are unlikely to stop a charge.
Points Donators
The biggest downside I see to Weapons Teams is that they present your opponent with a very easy opportunity to harvest points in a game where for most units yielding points has got much tougher. If I was playing Skaven I’d see the inclusion of Weapons Teams as a gift from the Horned Rat. The work to get those points is significantly easier than getting them from a potentially Steadfast ranked unit.
In the UK situation where 100 VPs is a win, I’d be very surprised if you ever saw them at all.
Wrap-Up
So my wrap-up is not going to be a surprise to any of you. Unless you don’t have the necessary core points I don’t think there is a compelling reason to take them versus say a unit of Slaves or even a Level 1 Engineer (similar points). They struggle to harvest points and they give them up easily. I have been using 2-3 teams throughout 2011 and I’m about to give them away. It takes a better player than me to get value out of them.
Composition and the new Orcs & Goblins
Switch off now if you come from a jurisdiction that doesn’t use Composition rules in tournaments or the whole concept is an anathema to you.
Since the introduction of 8th Edition most areas have played the game straight out of the book…..and rightly slow. It is important to play the rules and give the chance to learn the nuances of the rules before imposing “fixes”. This is never an overnight process despite what some people think.
After a period of time it is possible (with confidence) to isolate some of the aspects that might reduce the opportunity for a fair contest. Again here this has to be done with some context, Games Workshop have a 4-10 year release schedule stretching over three editions so it is a little demanding to expect the power levels of all armies to be comparable.
Post Xmas on this blog, I posted a very little approach to Composition which hopefully addressed a number of the abuses. This looked at the selections that caused the most angst, repetition of some Rare choices, spamming of an efficient Special choice through to the one thing I think is truly broken, the Power Scroll.
One criticism of this approach is that not all units are created equal and there is a big difference between three units of Gutter Runners and three units of Rat Ogres, in terms of efficiency. Under a comprehensive system there will always be units that look unduly penalized but it does stop abuses such as double Hydras, two units of Flamers, two HPAs, three units of Shades etc. However, it also stops things like multiple Eagles, multiple Fiends etc.
Now I have some sympathy regarding Eagles (not so much on the Fiends ) and one amendment suggested (and adopted) was to allow duplicate Rares if they are below a certain points level. The question was where you set that points level. If you set it too low there is no point whereas if you set it two high abuses wriggle under the fence. In the end, for my system, I set it at 80 points).
The restrictions were:
General Restrictions
• Maximum Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from maximum of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have no more than four (4) potential template weapons
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No more than two (2) of any Special choice
• No double Rare choice worth more than 80 points (single 2:1 choices excepted)
• No Power Scroll
Army Specific Restrictions
• Daemons of Chaos: No duplication of Daemonic Gifts
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Lizardmen: Slaan may have maximum two of Focus of Mystery, Becalming Cogitation, Cupped Hands or Focused Rumination
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
• Tomb Kings: No Wizards Hat
• High Elves: Only one of the Book of Hoeth or Banner of Sorcery
• Vampire Counts: Only one Vampire may have the Loremaster ability
In light of the new Orc and Goblin book I think that there is still a case to allow multiple Rares because that section contains a lot of choices that will make the army more viable and these are pointed at sub-100 points. Much as people don’t like to face two Warp Lightning Cannons or two single Salamander units, I can see that facing two of the new improved Doom Divers won’t be fun.
My initial thoughts would be to continue to allow duplicate Rare items but to drop the points threshold to 70 points. This allows people to include multiple re-directors from the Rare section e.g. Trolls, Eagles, Fiends while keeping the system relatively straightforward.
The tournaments I run this year will be using this as the Composition framework
Since the introduction of 8th Edition most areas have played the game straight out of the book…..and rightly slow. It is important to play the rules and give the chance to learn the nuances of the rules before imposing “fixes”. This is never an overnight process despite what some people think.
After a period of time it is possible (with confidence) to isolate some of the aspects that might reduce the opportunity for a fair contest. Again here this has to be done with some context, Games Workshop have a 4-10 year release schedule stretching over three editions so it is a little demanding to expect the power levels of all armies to be comparable.
Post Xmas on this blog, I posted a very little approach to Composition which hopefully addressed a number of the abuses. This looked at the selections that caused the most angst, repetition of some Rare choices, spamming of an efficient Special choice through to the one thing I think is truly broken, the Power Scroll.
One criticism of this approach is that not all units are created equal and there is a big difference between three units of Gutter Runners and three units of Rat Ogres, in terms of efficiency. Under a comprehensive system there will always be units that look unduly penalized but it does stop abuses such as double Hydras, two units of Flamers, two HPAs, three units of Shades etc. However, it also stops things like multiple Eagles, multiple Fiends etc.
Now I have some sympathy regarding Eagles (not so much on the Fiends ) and one amendment suggested (and adopted) was to allow duplicate Rares if they are below a certain points level. The question was where you set that points level. If you set it too low there is no point whereas if you set it two high abuses wriggle under the fence. In the end, for my system, I set it at 80 points).
The restrictions were:
General Restrictions
• Maximum Power Dice usage of 12 in Magic Phase (as distinct from maximum of 12 dice in pool at any time)
• Army to have no more than four (4) potential template weapons
• Army to have a maximum of four (4) warmachines
• No more than two (2) of any Special choice
• No double Rare choice worth more than 80 points (single 2:1 choices excepted)
• No Power Scroll
Army Specific Restrictions
• Daemons of Chaos: No duplication of Daemonic Gifts
• Empire: Steam Tank is classed as Warmachine in terms of General Restrictions
• Lizardmen: Slaan may have maximum two of Focus of Mystery, Becalming Cogitation, Cupped Hands or Focused Rumination
• Skaven: Maximum of three Engineers
• Tomb Kings: No Wizards Hat
• High Elves: Only one of the Book of Hoeth or Banner of Sorcery
• Vampire Counts: Only one Vampire may have the Loremaster ability
In light of the new Orc and Goblin book I think that there is still a case to allow multiple Rares because that section contains a lot of choices that will make the army more viable and these are pointed at sub-100 points. Much as people don’t like to face two Warp Lightning Cannons or two single Salamander units, I can see that facing two of the new improved Doom Divers won’t be fun.
My initial thoughts would be to continue to allow duplicate Rare items but to drop the points threshold to 70 points. This allows people to include multiple re-directors from the Rare section e.g. Trolls, Eagles, Fiends while keeping the system relatively straightforward.
The tournaments I run this year will be using this as the Composition framework
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
First Thoughts on the New Orcs & Goblins
Sat down last night and had my first serious read through the new Orc and Goblin book with a few to seeing what sort of lists it will generate.
My initial thoughts are that we are likely to see “Pick ‘N Mix” armies in the first instance. What I mean by that is I think people will be taking units from across the spectrum of the book rather than following any tight theme.
This means we’ll potentially see a variety of characters rather than just Orcs, just Goblins, just Night Goblins etc. Similarly armies will have a hodge-podge of units from the book to build a list that ticks the boxes on conventional 8th Edition list building.
So things we’ll see:
Single characters built to hold up units similar to the Scar Vets in Lizardmen armies. Boar-mounted, stubborn crown, defensive items.
Single Trolls as cheap redirectors.
Multiple pump wagons
Very few Orc boys….Savage Orcs look a better buy
Night Goblins over other Goblins – nets, fanatics trump skulkers
Giant Spiders only in fluff bunny lists….points better spent elsewhere
Night Goblin Shamans – who doesn’t like free “non” Power Dice
Doom Divers – can I get away with two?
Mangler Squigs
Clearly Rare points are going to be under pressure but you’re definitely going to see 4-5 units all sub-100 points coming from that section.
So there you are…..a Skaven’s thoughts on what the new “black” will be!
My initial thoughts are that we are likely to see “Pick ‘N Mix” armies in the first instance. What I mean by that is I think people will be taking units from across the spectrum of the book rather than following any tight theme.
This means we’ll potentially see a variety of characters rather than just Orcs, just Goblins, just Night Goblins etc. Similarly armies will have a hodge-podge of units from the book to build a list that ticks the boxes on conventional 8th Edition list building.
So things we’ll see:
Single characters built to hold up units similar to the Scar Vets in Lizardmen armies. Boar-mounted, stubborn crown, defensive items.
Single Trolls as cheap redirectors.
Multiple pump wagons
Very few Orc boys….Savage Orcs look a better buy
Night Goblins over other Goblins – nets, fanatics trump skulkers
Giant Spiders only in fluff bunny lists….points better spent elsewhere
Night Goblin Shamans – who doesn’t like free “non” Power Dice
Doom Divers – can I get away with two?
Mangler Squigs
Clearly Rare points are going to be under pressure but you’re definitely going to see 4-5 units all sub-100 points coming from that section.
So there you are…..a Skaven’s thoughts on what the new “black” will be!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Skaven Gutter Runner Units
Just after New Year a package arrived from GWUK (via James Milner, due to GW's new repressive postage) which contained six of the metal assasins. I really dislike the Night Runner plastics and am not two fussed on the Gutter Runner metals so I decided all my Gutter Runners would be the more imposing Assassin figures. Unfortunately there is only two poses - with daggers or with weeping blades and they do no lend themselves to potential conversions. To introduce some variety I decided to include the old and new Deathmaster Snitch figures as "psuedo" leaders.
I really enjoyed painting the figures and though I wish there was greater potential for variety I'm happy with how they came up.
Being skirmishers I need to make special movement trays for them. Unfortunately most manufacturers do them in ranks of five and I wanted mine for the unit of six. In the end I bought a 15 (5x3) skirmish tray from Litko and cut it longitudinally into two 3x2 and one 3x1 (useful for a small units of Wraiths).
In keeping with the rest of my army I used some of the old Lord of the Rings building walls on the edges. This means I can pick up the tray easily and move it where I need it to rain poisoned death. This is especially important for these models as they are metal figures and constant handling is not good for the paintwork.
I really enjoyed painting the figures and though I wish there was greater potential for variety I'm happy with how they came up.
Being skirmishers I need to make special movement trays for them. Unfortunately most manufacturers do them in ranks of five and I wanted mine for the unit of six. In the end I bought a 15 (5x3) skirmish tray from Litko and cut it longitudinally into two 3x2 and one 3x1 (useful for a small units of Wraiths).
In keeping with the rest of my army I used some of the old Lord of the Rings building walls on the edges. This means I can pick up the tray easily and move it where I need it to rain poisoned death. This is especially important for these models as they are metal figures and constant handling is not good for the paintwork.
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