Auto Response: Critic X, Insert Y

I haven't been in the mood to post, lately, but I'm seasoned enough at this blogging thing not to sweat it too much.  You've all seen the, "Sorry I've been away," blog posts - heck, I've written more than a few over the years - but it occurred to me this morning...

...I ain't all that sorry!  Hugs and gropings all around, though.

It's not that I don't love this medium; I do.  But sometimes real life takes a toll on hobby time.  When my hobby time gets thin, I can either cut writing or cut painting or cut playing.  With blogging, I can cut  one of the latter two - painting or playing - and still have something to write about.

But not both.  When I have to choose one outlet, the last I'll give up is playing.  

Interestingly, as I wrote that I realized I almost typed 'painting.'  I had to reconsider.  While I spend vastly more time painting than either of the other two Activities of Daily Hobbying, or ADH's, playing is the most important.  It's where I socialize with my friends and hang out at a place that's neither work nor home.  There's something about the store that relaxes me.

And my job is very, very stressful!  I'm sure you all feel that way, but Brent's job has got to be up there.  Still, the acute unit of a psyche ward has taught him a thing or two about dealing with Un-Fans and other critics, so there you go.

Jawaballs!  Where was I?  Never mind.  

Lately I've just worried about getting in the weekly Bell of Lost Souls articles.  My last one was interesting, but there was a comment by a reader that I responded to.  At first, I thought he was a bit Trollish, but then he used the word 'cogent' so he automatically doesn't qualify.  Trolls, oh Faithful Reader, are concerned with many things, but brevity and concise thought aren't among their qualities.  

Nor mine, really.  Here was my response, but it could be the auto response for any article.

So don't read them.
I'm not being hateful; I couldn't be more serious. I get that some people don't like my style - that's okay. But I write about a wide range of hobby related topics and, like it or not, the numbers don't lie. And frankly, I draw numbers.
I love comments, and they can really drive a thread count if there is good debate. But the real figure we all look at is page views and time spent per page. Meaning the number of people who read an article versus the number of people who comment is staggering.
On Bell, we write with an eye to both audiences, but there are well known blogs that have removed comments completely, for a variety of good reasons I won't go into here. Blood of Kittens comes to mind.
Which isn't to say I haven't written crap articles! After 129 on Bell alone, it happens. You go through slumps, or get scattered approaching a deadline - that kind of thing. This article, however, isn't one of those. It's fine. The point isn't even cleverly concealed! Still, I get if you don't like it, that's okay. Regardless, I appreciate comments, I always read them, and they do influence what and how I write!

What's really left to say?

Regarding 40K Releases and Multiple Armies

(Here's my thoughts regarding the recent spate of quick releases for 40K.  I left it as a comment on BoLS, but I'm going to avoid the impulse to dress it up.)

I suspect Games Workshop has been stalling releases a bit, waiting for some of the pending legislation to work its way through the courts; Chapterhouse being perhaps the largest example.
From what I can tell - and of course, this isn't an expert opinion by any stretch - GW may lose out their claim of IP on any model that isn't already in production in some way. Perhaps they slowed down their production toward the end of 5th with the expectation that books and a full range of miniatures needed to be released at one time?
Ah well. I'm really enjoying the releases, but this definitely heralds the age of collecting an army or two, not ranges, and certainly not every army! It's too expensive for the average gamer to own and support more than a few anymore.
Pick your favorite!

Of course, time is also an investment!  Here's all the stuff for my stalled out Bugs! army.  I'll get around to it one of these days, but it's just a huge project to tackle.

Miniatures from Other Ranges

Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on a commission army, but my head is in a couple other places besides.

One: Infinity models!  I've got 7 painted and 6 in the works.  It's nice to have a project you can take from start to finish in with so few models...

...problem alert!  Corvus Belli has a HUGE range of Haqqislam miniatures, and admittedly I have a real plastic and metal addiction problem.  My goal, moving forward, is to limit my sickness to one army in a particular range.

With Infinity, the aforementioned Haqqis.  With Warmachine, the Protectorate; with Hordes, the Circle.  Though admittedly I include Mercenaries and Minions in the Privateer Press range, allowing myself some wiggle room for manic-purchasing.

With Confrontation - forget about it!  Every weekend we break out that dead game has me cruising Ebay looking for long OOP models.  That I never get a chance to use.  *sigh*

Which brings me to my second thought; using models across systems.  I've picked up the following models to use in my Inquisitor's Warband, hopefully giving it some additional character.  (Keep in mind, I haven't painted mine - these are downloads from the respective publisher's site.)

I've picked up some lady-friends for my Psyker Pimp.  I guess he's withholding toys for tots, or something.

This dude screams, "Badass!"  Not sure why he screams it, but there you go.

This model I converted to use as a Xenos Inquisitor.  He looked suitably different from existing models while still maintaining a certain stature.  Naturally, this one required some conversion work.

Anyway, that's where my head is at, as I finish up the Tim That Can's daemons this week.  Thoughts?

Choices, Collections, and Naughty Places

The Emperor Protects!

As long as you've invested in the right wargear, including your basic munitions manual and uplifting primer.

Lately, I've been sort of wishing the Emperor would set up a Forge World America: have you scoped the prices on the new Horus Heresy book?

It's big.  Like Titan naughty-places big.

$114 bucks.  And totally worth it, darn it all.  Speaking of worth it...

It's exciting to be a collector these days.  In fact, it's these thoughts that led to the Terrible Tuesday article, The Science of (too much!) Choice.  Why, you ask?  Simply put, I look around my game room and there's too much to work on.  I don't mind taking the long view, but even I'm thinking it's time to pair down.

That seems to be catching.  The Mighty Mighty Carlos brought his Dark Eldar to the store Friday and traded for Little Barrera's Imperial Guard.

Collection for collection - a straight trade - both admitting they will never really work on X when Y is available.

I'm in the same boat; too many interests and not enough time.  Right now I'm thinking I'll collect a few 'main' armies that host a number of 'side' armies.  Basically, big armies with allied contingents.  To make it work will require pitiless choices...

(That screams 'To Be Continued'...)

Gone! A Month of Sundays

I'm alive, I suppose.

It's been almost a month since I've posted here.  I'm enough of a Blogger veteran to know it's best not to start and stop in fits...

...since I didn't have the energy to blog regularly it was best to avoid it entirely.

(Meaning, yeah, he'll be blogging regularly again.  You've been warned.)

It wasn't just Strictly Average, but Bell, too.  I've been as regular as a laxative for years now, but then I look up and I've missed three of four Terrible Tuesday articles!

It's not just an online presence.  I've barely stepped foot into my game room.  The contents of the new Dark Vengeance box sit untouched on the desk!

Yeah, I stole this image - what of it? :)

So what gives?

(They don't care; I don't care.  I'm editing four paragraphs of Brent's blather - you'd thank me for it.)

And that's what's been going on!  I'm starting to feel human again, thanks for asking.

I finally received the replacement parts for my airbrush.  The little-teensy-tiny-piece-of-crap washer went missing; turns out, it blocked air back-channeling into the paint.  Without it, the thing just didn't work.

Ordered two of those bad boys!

I also tried to upgrade the airbrush for wider sprays.  The one I purchased came with a '1' set, for pencil-thin lines.  I purchased everything for a '3'... except one little cylindrical thing that fits inside the contraption that screws onto the front.  Thing.

See how technical this all gets?

Now I have to order that, but pish and tosh - I HAVE AN AIRBRUSH AGAIN!

Seriously, you just can't move backwards.  Yours truly is a far cry from an expert, but an airbrush is the single greatest thing ever.  It's like air, or food.  Can't go without it.

Okay.

I think I'm going to brave the game room now and the game store later...

Finally! Finished Grey Knight Commission

The title says it all; this is the first commission work I've taken on that involved painting a complete army.  It's fair to say it became somewhat laborious; the scheme I chose was designed for a tabletop level of quality, but when the second owner wanted a higher level, it actually worked against me.

Still, no regrets; I learned more about speed painting and pitfalls and pricing and time management and whew! loads of other stuff that it was well worth it.

Here is the LINK for the Bell of Lost Souls Article.  Here is the LINK for the first batch of completed models (remember to hit 'more' for the actual pictures).

On Tyranids for 6th Edition 40K

Bugs!

The Black Blowfly or the Big Black Fiend - Steve! - wrote an article on Bell this morning outlining his thoughts on Tyranids.  Check it out - here's the LINK.

Anyway, it prompted me to jot down some of my thoughts, which I'll apply to my Bugs! army.  I enjoy Necrons, but for a variety of reasons I'm pulling out Sisters of Battle and Bugs! to work on over the next year.  Not sure which will become my primary tournament army just yet, but I'm on record saying Tyranids are going to be brutal in 6th Edition...

Contemplating the Wargames Con Team Tourney

Next week already?

*sigh*

I feel almost criminally guilty.  My primary tournament this year the team tournament, and Goatboy is responsible for all the work!  It makes sense, to keep the look of the armies consistent, but there you go.  All in all though, it's probably a good thing.  All my painting time has been toward the Grey Knight commission...

...which I mentioned in my weekly Terrible Tuesday offering on Bell of Lost Souls.  If you haven't read it yet, here's the link.

* * * 

Speaking of Adepticon, I have two options:  1) try to play in Saturday's 40K Championships or 2) play pickup games against other players for video battle reports for Bell.  The first is only really a problem because, assuming I made it to the finals again this year, I wouldn't be able to finish the games on Sunday.  That's when my plane leaves.  The latter is a fun option, assuming I can get some decent games in.

What's your take?

* * * 

Most of my prep is aimed firmly at Wargames Con.  I'm teaming with the Card Pimp in Question and playing practice games against the Mighty Mighty Carlos and Gauthic, who are also making the trip down this year.  We've gone back and forth with lists and ideas, and it really isn't evident which direction any of us are going to take.

Adepticon 2011, Game 1

Although I like Gauthic's most recent take (he'd previously been using Chaos Space Marines), in support of the Imperial Guard!  He sent the following list via email.

(Bet he wasn't expecting Brent to drop it in the Strictly Average wading pool.)

Eldrad 210
x3 Guardians on Jetbike w Shuriken Cannon 76
x3 Guardians on Jetbike w Shuriken Cannon 76
x3 Guardians on Jetbike w Shuriken Cannon 76
x3 War Walker with double Scatter Laser 180
x3 War Walker with double Scatter Laser 180
Fire Prism 125

Again, you have to look at this in regards to its role with the Imperial Guard.  By memory, the Mighty Mighty Carlos has:

Command w Plasma in a Chimera
Veterans w Plasma in a Chimera
Veterans w Plasma in a Chimera
Veterans w Melta in a Chimera
Unit (?) with Shotguns in a Chimera
Vendetta
Vendetta

The unit of shotguns is transported in one of the Vendettas for capturing forward objectives.  Carlos' first army used two Colossi instead of the Vendettas... frankly, I think one of each is more flexible.

Adepticon 2011, Game 2

So Gauthic's army plugs some obvious holes.  Eldrad is boss, and either you know what he's capable of or you don't, and the War Walkers are very useful - like a street sweeper!  You might as well stand on the table with a broom, especially with Guide and Doom.  And of course Eldrad can support both, while providing psychic defense.  Tricksy, he.

The Guardians are purely a reserve for late game capture / contest of objectives - vital, in tournaments, which tend to feature these in every mission.  Personally, I'd reserve them every game then race them around for a 3+ save until they're needed.  To that end, I'd ditch the Cannon and spend the points elsewhere.

Speaking of, "One of these things does not belong here, one of these things is different!"

Can you see it, children?  I knew you could!  What's with the Fire Prism?

Looking at both lists as a whole, it seems out of place.  The one obvious area of improvement is to add a squad (of ablative wounds) for Eldrad.  Here are some options...

5 Pathfinders, 120
14 Storm Guardians w Flamers, 124
7 Dire Avengers w Exarch w Shimmershield and Defend, 126

You could drop the Cannons from the three squads of Jetbikes for an additional two Dire Avengers.  Speaking of, I prefer the Power Weapon and Shimmershield w Defend over the double Shuriken Catapults w Blade Storm option in this case, given the role of the unit is primarily defensive.

* * * 

The big, obvious weakness of these two armies is close assault, to which I say, "Okay."  I don't come from the camp that believes one team has to concentrate on shooting and the other close assault.  Personally, I tend to include a counter-attack unit - something with which to take on units in my line - but it's not the only way to go...

Adepticon 2011, Game 3

...since sometimes the best way to deal with an over-expensive rock unit is to isolate its combat potential.  Usually, this means feeding / avoiding / blocking it.  That's an article in itself, but most of you are familiar with the concept.

Still, another good route for the Fire Prism's points is to plug this gap.  We look to the Elite's section:

7 Harlequins, 126
7 Banshees / Scorpions, 112

The latter doesn't fit quite as neatly, so you'd need to drop some Cannons and / or play with the options.    There are a number of things you could do.

* * * 

So, examining these options, which is 'best?'  I can't answer that, since the conversation would no doubt spiral into an argument over what best means.  Leaving all that aside, here's what I'd do.

5 Harlequins w two Kisses plus a Death Jester for 126.

That's 1000 points exactly, and you have a unit that can truly support Eldrad and provide decent counter-attack options.  And shoot a Shuriken Cannon, just 'cause!

Adepticon 2011, Game 4; with this win, I went 4-0 and into the finals!

Thoughts?  Comments?  And so on?

40K Physics: The Rhino Conundrum, a Corollary

Um.  Yeah.

Suppose I'd better explain the title.

(And be warned, this so-called 'article' - and the term is used only loosely here - wanders more than even the normal offering from Brent's Empty Digital Headache.)

Lately I've been working on a series of articles: first up is Daemons 2012, looking at evolving the list to face today's modern armies; then, following Brian's suggestion and our mutual aid society for Adepticon, I started work on the Generalist Necron Reviews.

(Brian:  It would have been easier to suggest a list, I know!)

The Daemons articles made fairly good progress, the ultimate goal being fine-tuning them and shipping them off to Kirby to complete a long-delayed promise.

(Kirby:  The dice are awesome!  Now I need some Kirby objective markers...)

(Sigh.)

Necrons Generalist Review Part II

Picking up where we left off last time...

So my man Nick (his mother named him Darkwynn, but that's because he's a superhero in his spare time) isn't so fond of Necrons.  In the comments, he double-downed on his opinion:

Necrons Generalist Review Part I

I got all hot and heavy over the Necrons not too long back, even picking up Gauthic's old army in trade for Tau.

(Speaking of, Gauthic old chum, 4-weeks is an eternity in blogging... how about an update?)

I built up a list though numerous practice games, but set them aside a couple months ago... and not because it wasn't going well, 'cause it was!  Seriously, the Necrons have everything I like about an army.

Mixed arms approach?  Check! 

Solid troops?  Check! 

Tactical options?  Check! 

Solid strategy?  Check! 

Counter-attack options?  Check! 

Not MEQ?  Check check check!

Gentleman's Ones and Strictly Average: Which B..?

You know how it's the simplest questions that are the hardest to answer?  Just such a question has become  a topic of conversation with Brian, the Gentlemen in Question behind the Read Up To Keep Up Blog, A Gentlemen's Ones.

You're probably familiar!

Since this series promises to lead right up to and through Adepticon, let's set up a standard opening with hyperlinks.  That's a very bloggie, forumy thing to do, right?

*and key music*  

Terrible Tuesday Addendum (Plus Orks)

I see you!

Okay, I've been having way too much fun with this little tool.

(Heh!)

Necrons: Competitive or Crap, Part II

I posted my current 'competitive' list yesterday, and I got to test it against the Client Pimp in Question.

First, the comments!

Tao, from Tides of Madness, noted:

Convert one of your Particle beamers to a Gloom Prism on your Spyders. This will give you a 4+ Null to any force jibbing on the unit and also give you wound allocation (Beamer, Gloom, Naked)

With the 15 points you get from the conversion give yourself a 3 Whipcoil and 1 Partical Caster. This gives you 3 Whips and for better lack of terms 2 red shirts from wound allocation. In practice i find 3 whip coils has been the lowest amount to spread Inn 1 across the unit with the placement (alternating Whips).

With this change two of your units get wound allocation for some increased survivablity, and your spiders (who lack an invul) get force jibb protection.

Happy Xenos New Year!

I hope everyone made it home safely last night... and are paying for a night of drunken debauchery with extra special New Year's Day hangovers!

Nothing wrong with that - just feels like it!

Anyway, from a hobby standpoint 2012 feels like the year of excess.  My game room is practically overflowing with armies... too many, in fact.  I have almost everything I've ever wanted - all those models I could never afford when I was younger, I own.

Lord - now what to do with them all?

Whelpslayer! (Talking Points Runner-Up)

So a close 2nd to General Smooth's winning article showcased in my Terrible Tuesday Bell of Lost Soul's post is this entry by Panzar.  He's writing a new blog called Whelpslayer, so check it out.

Before we get there... did any of you notice the opening pic?

That moment was from a game against the Master Manipulator (every store needs one) last weekend.  I thought my Brotherhood 1st and 10th was going to run away with the game, but it all seemed to turn when God provided all the intervention my esteemed opponent needed... 

Click the pic for a link to MM(esno)'s site! Without further ado... from Panzar: 

Post 600: Thanks, and have some Bugs!

I've stared at a blank page trying to decide how to frame this not-so historical post.  After beating my head and countless rewrites, I'll just say this:

Thank you for reading, past, present or future.

Grey, white, and evil.

Thanks for comments, positive and negative - 'cause I read  and appreciate them all.  Regardless.

Necrons and the New Competitive

I've been excited - impressed even - with the Necron Codex since its release...

...but as always, I seem to disagree with the prevailing opinions available online.

...

I know, I know!  

It's an easy statement to make - since you can find anything online to support a premise that broad - but some of those opinions are from worthy sources, such as my friend Darkwynn.  Last I read, he contends the 'Crons aren't going to be (and I wish I had the exact quote, so this is paraphrasing) Top Tier.

And he's probably right in a very broad sense.  They won't knock Imperial Guard, Space Wolves, and Grey Knights off their perch... but do they have to?

As the Blood Angels.  As the Dark Eldar.  Hell, ask the Black Templars!

Or ask Daemons.  

Apathy, My Apathy

*sigh*

I'm feeling very French today.

*le sigh*

Apathy.  Uh.

You know, I've never really understood the moods the Master Manipulator (every store needs one) and Little Barrera go through with miniature games - over the past few decades, I'm almost always interested.

Not so much, since Feast.  It's a combination of things, including the weather change and a busy work schedule.

I've tried to fight it.  Let's see what I've been (forcing) working on:

Hard Boyz Round One, Game Two

Yes, yes, yes - I'm perfectly aware that I've not been updating Strictly Average enough... but have you listened to the weather? The heat wave over the midwest is unreal, and my place of residence in North Texas is breaking all manner of records. Between that and working double duty at the hospital, I've been flat worn out.

 Which isn't to say I haven't been working on stuff; rather, I just haven't been blogging about it yet! I've got a ton of material, just waiting to use. For now, let's roll in to a quick battle report.

Pretty awesome, right?  Game two was against Vulcan marines.  Objectives were the key, and my opponent's army is a good counter to my bad intentions.  He has the Godhammer hang out in the center, where it'll be a lot of work to break through AV 14, and his two Iron Clads can hold my army up for days if I don't deal with them carefully.