Carnage Asada '24

 

Yes, this is about a month late. Sorry. Life happens. We had our (mostly) annual Carnage Asada Battle & BBQ this past Memorial Day. We always like to try big and/or new things on this day, and this time we went small and new.

Mrs. Blackheart is a professional theatrical carpenter, so she likes building things. She has recently discovered a love for everyone's favorite plastic crack from Denmark. Thus, the idea was formed to host a Star Wars skirmish game using Lego for the minis and scenery. Now to pick some rules.

For a bit now, I've trying out different Skirmish Rules. I love the new version of GW's Kill Team, but it is a very closed system, without any real ability to create new units of your own. One Page Rules' Grimdark Firefight is fun, but I'll get into it in an upcoming post.

I chose Space Weirdos by Garske Games. I had picked it up a while ago, and finally got around to giving it a go. Simple, fast, and a lot of fun. Most importantly for our game, you have to create your own units!  It seemed a natural fit for the event.

I spent a few evenings hunting up the names and generating stats for all the mini figs we chose for the game. We wound up with seven teams to choose from, six Outlaw/Bounty Hunter teams plus a Squad of Stormtroopers.

The battle was a lot of fun. So much fun that I didn't even take any good pictures while it was going on. 

The Handsome Outlaws (Han, Lando, and Chewie) were victorious. The forces of Law and Order (Stormtroopers) were wiped out, and both Jabba's Enforcers and The Operators, were badly mauled in the battle of Mos Eisley's Happy Hour. 

The rules work very well for such a setting, and I shall try for others. I do have a lot of painted Imperial Assault minis that are just sitting in the garage...

Go Roll Some Dice

With Carne Asada and LEGOs

Thunderhawk Stand has a New Home

 

The STL for Mrs. Blackheart's Thunderhawk Stand can now be found at:

https://www.printables.com/model/761250-warhammer-40k-thunderhawk-stand

It's free! So get one now.

*Thunderhawk not included

Let The Robot Make Something

Just Keep an Eye on it

Little Dudes

 

Long ago, Adeptus Titanicus was the first Games Workshop product I ever bought. It was quickly followed up by a purchase of the newly released Space Marine a few weeks later. A grand introduction to the fledgling Warhammer 40K universe. I have purchased and played every version of what has come to be known as Epic Scale ever since. 

I really enjoy the Grimdark at this scale, legions of infantry, companies of tanks, air power, and of course, Titans. It just looks so damn cool on the battlefield. Naturally I took the plunge as soon as the newest version, Legion Imperialis was realised. 

The slightly bigger scale (8mm vs the older not-quite-6mm) give the minis a bit more heft, and maybe a bit easier to paint? I am going to dive right in and start assembling/painting. I guess I should read the rules as well.

Go Roll Some Dice

Really Small Ones

New Year, New Body

 

Famed Necron Overlord Imotekh the Stormlord has already completed his New year's resolution!

His brand new sexy (plastic) body is so much more majestic than his old, shorter, Finecast resin form.  Much sharper details as one would expect, and no more living in dread that the resin will snap, and be nigh impossible to repair. New figure will lead his Phalanxes, Old body goes to the museum shelf! 

I had mentioned that I am doing a Inquisitor versus Necrons narrative campaign. I want it to be Solo/co-op. Yes, that is correct. Much like Blackstone Fortress or some of the newer 40K computer games, I want it to be a heroic co-op adventure in the form of a skirmish game. The players will take the role of Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus and her buddies as they respond to a call from a mining outpost. 

Spoiler: The Ad-Mech have dug up a Necron Tomb. The Necrons woke up grumpy, Ad-Mech are pushy, hijinks and sci-fi violence ensue!

The biggest question is, what system should be used for this? I have started my quest, and have gathered a few different rules sets to audition. This will take a couple of weeks to determine a winner. I'll post with the results in a bit.

Getting In a New Shape Is Easy

If You Don't Have A Permanent Body Anymore

End of the Year

 

Happy New Year! And all that goes with it. Good old end of the year reflecting. I've spent the last few months thinking about the Hobby and what I want to do with it. I'm working very hard on a career change, so I haven't had much energy for hobbying, and this blog has not gotten a whole lot of attention (the Blogger issues a few months ago didn't help) but I have decided to resume posting on a regular schedule for 2024. 

I have a few ideas that I want to do and see how they come out. It should be a fun ride, and having a new project and some self-imposed deadlines will help me get things done. 

For all of you still following along, thank you, and please stick around. I shall kick off the year with a Inquisition vs. Necron narrative campaign. Next week we will talk about finding the right game system for it.   

 

The Emperor Protects

You Still Have to do The Work Though

Space Marine Heroes Found

Hello? It this thing on? Hopefully we will now resume normal posting. 

The Space Marine/Warhammer Heroes line is a Japanese product made under license from GW.  It is what is known as a Gashapon, a blind buy line of toys. Hugely popular in Japan, they come in a all types and sizes. Being made and distributed by a Japanese company, Games Workshop themselves cannot sell them directly. 

The previous series of figures, (Space Marines, Blood Angels, and Plague Marines) were kind of hit and miss to find without spending big bucks on Ebay. They would show up in games stores, comic book shops and even general hobby stores. 

This newest line of minis are structured to be a Kill Team for GW's Kill Team skirmish game and each figure comes with its own stat card. Thankfully in English as well as Japanese. Thoughtfully setup so if you bought a full case of eight figures you would get one each of the seven unique minis, plus one duplicate. 

I really wanted to find a full set for less than the currently crazy eBay prices, but I had no luck.  I needed to go out and find some paint for all my new Tyranids, so I ventured a bit up north to a decent gaming shop. As I was checking out, they had a sealed case of the new Warhammer Heroes just sitting on next to the Pokemon cards next to the register. I tried not to squeal like a fanboy, and cooly picked it up and sat it next to my paints. The cashier told me he had no idea what it was or why they have got it, but sold it to me anyway.

As expected I got one of each of the figs and a spare boltgun dude. The models are push fit with a nicely detailed base. I am well pleased, and will assemble them forthwith!

Go Out Questing

Bring Back a Prize. Hopefully a Good One

 

 

Troubles Upon the Noospheres

 

A rousing battle between the Orks and my newly painted AdMech. It was initially part of an experiment, to compare 9th edition 40K to One Page Rules Grimdark Future using the (mostly) same lists.

Well, due to me being locked out of my blog for five weeks, and the bad timing of 10th edition coming out...we will try this again soon. 

Oh, and of course, Amazon has dropped me as an associate, which is fine, because their new model is really poor for low traffic people like me.

Yes, for five frakking weeks I could not access my blog. Many nearly helpful emails back and forth, until two days ago I was able to rest the password, and all was fine. No explanation offered. I wonder how hard it is to migrate over to my own website?

Expect slightly more content to come!

The Emperor Protects

But Has a Wicked Sense of Humor

Scale Creep: Leviathan Edition

 

They grow up so fast! The Space Marines have slowly been getting bigger over the past three decades. That's fine. An old metal Mk.7 is absolutely tiny compared to a new Guardsmen let alone a Primaris marine. Many (including me) have voiced the opinion that the Terminators were far too small. 

That has finally been addressed. The newest Tactical Dreadnought Armor suits are of goodly size and fine detail. Of course, now all my old, and really old Termies look a bit "Aren't you a little short for the Emperor's elite?" My first gen metal Termies got sent to be Space Hulk figures full time after the plastic ones came out. Now that I have 36 Deathwing Terminators? Hope that a newer and far more awesome Deathwing set never comes out? I'll just wait and see for a bit.

Shooty McRedemptor.  Really the same size, just legs straightened out and posed on a Tactical Rock. I'm certain this will be sold separately, just not sure it will get a new version with a few more options.

The older Carnifex does really bad posture. The Norn Queen is always telling it to stand up straight.

The new Screamer-Killer has listened to her. A little bulkier overall, the standing tall dramatic pose gives it the intimidation factor it deserves. Going to a 90mm base helps as well. I would love an Old One Eye re-done with this kind of extreme posing.

And finally we have the simplest, but very effective re-do. A little taller, more gangly, and more detail.

I hope the Hormagaunt and Genestealer get similar makeovers.  
  
  

Change Never Stops

Nor Should You

Leviathan Obtained

 

Two weeks ago I took the pilgrimage up north to go to my nearest Games Workshop store to pre-order the 10th edition box because I wanted the free stuff! I got there about forty minutes before the store opened and was about 40th in line, with a whole lot more behind me. The line did move slowly, but everyone got an order in. It was actually pleasant to be surrounded by people who are genuinely excited and positive about 40K. 

This morning I returned to pick up my prize and just breezed in a out. The manager had everybody's stuff put together in a bag and ready to hand off. I was very impressed by his efficiency.

The extra goodies that came with buying direct from the GW store are quite nice. Two Kill Team sized boards, and set of counters.

The counters really surprised me. Double sided, clear acrylic with sharp art in a nice metal tin. Well done for a freebie.

Inside the box is of course a mountain of plastic, the huge book, some decals, and a mission deck. The mission deck is also nicely done, tarot card sized and made of really stiff cardstock. 

  

I shall start assembling the figures, and delve into the hefty tome.

The Emperor Protects

But You Still Have To Read The Rules

A Rant (Pt. II)

 

>>>Well, this is a little awkward. I really didn't think GW would be announcing 40K Tenth Edition yesterday. I guessed the teaser was for a relaunch of Space Hulk using the fancy Gallowdark terrain. Oh well. Still possible...

I will give some thoughts on 10th as I get more details. On with the Show!<<<

You have 30+ years of 40K minis but the current edition ruleset doesn't tweak your twinkie? What to do?

A: Make your own ruleset! Well, that is an awful lot of work, so no.

B: Play an older edition! Sure, that does work, it's not like the Ordo Praecepta will show up and stop you. Well probably not, it's not like you can expect what they will do.

 

This big disadvantage of this is no official stats for newer units. So more work.

B2: This does include the last version of 40K Apocalypse, which was a very good ruleset. Shame it didn't really gain any traction.

C: Find some new rules that somebody else made! Yes. Let's do that.

There are only a few candidates for full 40K sized games. The market is skewed towards skirmish sized games at the moment, with many good choices. Which I will get into at a later post.

Wiley Games's well done Fistfull of Lead. It did start out as a skirmish sized game, but the Sci-Fi version Galactic Heroes includes vehicles for much larger battles. Wiley has just recently released a 40K conversion, Codex Galactica. I have not played this yet, but I am in the process of reading the rules.

The other popular ruleset I have played (a lot) is of course, Grimdark Future by One Page Rules.

It has grown a bit past one page in the last few years, but is still a very streamlined system with only a handful of special rules. OPR (One Page Rules) has done all the work in making stats for nearly all of the current 40K units, and is updating them. Just don't expect them to behave exactly like they do in 40K. 

If you are a Patron, you get access to the unit builder so you can add new units, or just re-do a unit that is more pleasing to you. A full review of these rules is just around the corner.

Brand new, and just completed their Kickstarter is Warsurge. It is a universal rulebook, letting you generate stats for all the models in your collection. It is supported by an App. I leaned about it after the Kickstarter had closed, so I didn't get in on it. I am very interested and will look into picking up a set of the rules and report back.

And of course, who knows what 40K Tenth Edition will bring later this year? More of the more, more special rules? Or a house cleaning like 8th (mostly) or something else? I guess we will see, and fairly soon too. I would really love it if 40K went a bit back to basics.

The Emperor Protects

But You Still Have to Do Some Research

A Rant (Pt. I)

 

Since 1990 I have played Warhammer 40,000. I picked up the hardcover Rogue Trader book way back when I was stationed out in South Dakota. Didn't really get into it fully until the famous Red and Yellow books came out.

Those two books helped 40K really turn into a miniatures wargame. And so the whole Warhammer "rules-not-in-one-place" syndrome was born. Not that this was a Games Workshop only problem, far from it. AD&D, Car Wars, Starfleet Battles (worst offender), and Battletech all suffered from this. Game companys are after all, a business. If they don't expand they can't make the sweet cash and will die. Fans of a system want more, and the companies are usually happy to provide. 

Then the Battle Manual basicly redid the shooting and close combat phases completely. It was kinda a beta test for 40K Second edition. It worked splendidly. A far more streamlined system. Let's not talk about the short lived Vehicle Manual...

 

Second Edition arrived and it was Good. All the rules in one glorious box!

The Codexes came out at a slow rate, but had all the info for your army. Sure the rules were still a tad clunky, and the Psychic phase card game was...a thing, but it worked. The special rules were few and mostly army specific.

Third edition changed a few base ideas (like AP) but was the same basic 40K. As more Editions came out, the special rules kept growing and growing. By 7th it was a teetering mass about to collapse under its own weight. 

8th edition base rules were much cleaner (and better in my opinion), but still the amount of army special rules was a bit much. And only got worse. Unless you were playing the same army a lot, the game crawled along  as both side had to keep looking at their Codex, Strategy Cards, and whatever other supplement that supported their force. It was a bit much for not that great a return on play.

And then 9th...Main rules much cleaner, for the most part.

The Codexes. Special rule modified more special rules. I do like some nice "chrome" for the individual armies, but Emperor's teeth, so many! Is not for me. It seems tailored for the competitive play crowd, and that's fine, but like I said not for me, or my small gaming group. Too many fine detail combos and other shenanigans. Plus more Campaign books with more special rules. Yikes.

So I've played a lot less 40K in the past year or so. But I still love the minis, the universe, and rolling dice to decide the fates of toy soldiers. What to do?

Find out next week.

The Emperor Protects

But His Scribes Can Get Out of Hand

Old Lictor Pics

I found these unpublished pictures from a few years ago. Clearly from 1st edition Kill Team, (well not really, that would be from...3th Edition?) Last edition, 2016 maybe? Kill team version are not super clear anymore, if they ever were.

Whatever. It does make me realize the new Kill Team really needs Lictors.

Go Roll Some Dice

And Sneak Up On Some Fools

Where This is Going

 

Blogs are dying. TicTok rules all. Wargamers are weird. Okay, that last one is true, hell, all of them are true. The numbers are down and the end is in sight (again)! What to do?

Recklessly expand! That's what. I've started an Instagram channel for your random hobby picture needs. Cleverly named...Atomicwarlords go there and see. And then I think I shall try a YouTube channel for no good reason. I'm not an attractive 20-something, nor have a really good voice. Or much of an idea what to make videos of, but that won't stop this train. I For this new year I shall try less over-thinking and more doing, no matter how horrible the outcome. 

Failing is Better Than Not Trying

InspiroBot Said So

Another New Year

 

Happy 2023! This far into the future and still no proper robots. Oh well, maybe next year.

The New year. Time to take stock of what worked, what didn't, and the long list of hobby projects that were supposed to happen, but for various reasons, didn't. I got a fair bit of painting done, but really only half of my project list. I didn't play as many games as I wanted to, but life, uh, finds a way...to get in the way. 

I have heard that you should not widely proclaim what you want to do. Something to do with your brain being dumb and giving you an endorphin reward just for talking about the project, which is actually lessing the chance you will do said thing. Also, I have heard by telling people your plans you become accountable and more likely to accomplish the thing.  Also also, didn't George Washington say not to believe all that crap Lincoln said on the internet? 

I think plans are good. It gives you a solid starting point and course of action. Of course plans rarely survive contact with reality, so flexibility is key. 

Here is my plan: Game more. Paint and build more. 

Maybe finally start my long sidelined Genestealer Cult campaign. Add some Primaris to my Dark Angels. Hefty re-re-redo of my Tyranids. Paint the AdMech force that has been primed for a year. Finish up some half done projects so I may proceed forward start to more half-done projects!

Time to get started. Hope you come along for the ride.

Hobby All Year

It's Supposed to be Fun. Mostly.

JoyToy Space Wolves

 

Hope you all had a festive Yule! The JoyToy Space Wolves 1/18th scale action figures have stopped by for a pint (or gallon) of Mjod. 

I was on the fence at first when they first came out, 4.75" tall, nice weapon options, extra hands, all the cool stuff a modern figure has. The Ultramarines are the poster boys for 40K, and that's fine. They look good. So I was just going to admire the Joytoy line from afar.

Then the Space Wolves were announced. Damn. Well, I'll just get one, you know, to put on my desk...

Now I have five, sure, one is a Dreadnought, but still counts a one figure.

Damn, they are cool. Bjorn is HUGE, like he should be. The detail looks like JoyToy took the CAD files and upscaled them. Which totally works. The paint job is very well done, and the poseability is good, but not extreme. For display pieces they are awesome. A bit pricey, but can be found at discount. Recommended if that is your thing.

 

Wolves On The Shelf

I Hope They Don't Make Abbadon

A Quick Message From James

 

I'm impressed. Not only did Games Workshop quickly address issues with the new Leagues of Squats Codex, they copped to not getting it right. 

I have not yet picked up the new Codex (I will) or any of the models (still on the fence) but I have heard the chatter over the Space Dwarfs being somewhat O.P.. This often happens. Then a tournament or three outright banned the new fellas. That was different.

You may or may not think the tourney scene is full of hyper-competitive WAACers who are prone to fits of drama when something upsets their finely balanced plans. I had a few really bad experiences in row before giving it up. It turns out the tourney folk were right about a new army being overpowered. Broken clock being right twice a day and all. 

GW gets a lot of hate, always have. Clearly this is a vocal minority or GW would no longer be in business. I have a few issues with the current state of 40K which I shall talk about soon. But I do feel that GW does care about it's customer base. It is engaged with the player base far more now, and sometimes even takes action on the criticisms. For a huge publicly traded corporation I think GW is doing well with its interaction with a...let's be nice and say, very passionate fan/user base.

At the end of the day most of us are just playing with toy soldiers for fun, and don't have our entire self-worth wrapped up in the outcome of a game that is decided by random dice throws. Which hate me.

Relax, Throw Some Dice

Errata Means Somebody is Paying Attention

    

Neu Kill Team First Thoughts

It took a while, but I have come around to Kill Team 2021. The rulebook is not written the clearest, but after a few games, and a few internet game watches, I am enjoying it a lot.

There are some odd things. The insistence of calling a game turn a "turning point" is the one that bugs me the most for some reason. The colored shapes instead of just inches kind of works, especially when for movement, but is also kinda odd in other places.   

The heart of the game, combat, works really smoothly, both shooting and melee. A new system, not related to any version of 40k, so it does take a game or so to get used to it. The game flows very well, and is engaging for both sides at all times.

We are just diving a little further into the game and exploring the 'extra' stuff: equipment, Tactics, and more. It seems like it all integrates well, but we shall see.

Go Roll Some Dice

Try Something New