Army Updating – Embracing Change

Army Updating – Embracing Change

                It is always difficult to embrace change, especially when you have become very used to performing tasks a specific way.  When the 8th edition of Warhammer Fantasy came out back in July of 2010, many players were upset because they were forced to adapt their armies and play styles to a new format.  The game changed on a scale that required a hard reboot on how many people not only built their armies but also how they played the game.  The idea of Multiple Small Unit (MSU) armies went the way of the dodo and the era of large units and destructive magic began.  As I had just gotten back into Fantasy about a year and a half before 8^th edition had come out, I only had one army to really update and that was my Wood Elves.  When I made the decision to update the army, I had to look at how the new game system operated, what rules directly impacted my army the most and most importantly what tools I would need in order to survive in the new “age” of Warhammer Fantasy.  The fortunate part of updating at the beginning of the new edition was that I was able to embrace the new edition with open arms because I knew a new army book was not coming out soon and I would be able to play with the army for a long time.  I also was aware that all of my old tactics would not be useful and as a result be providing a disadvantage to me rather than help me be successful.

                So for my Wood Elf army I capitalized on Mobility, Focused Firepower and Assassination as my primary objectives for building the army.  I was able to break down how I felt the game would flow and make tactics and decisions about the army that created positive results and I was able to use units that the “current meta” or “tournament” scene did not find useful.  There were many of our gaming clubs however that did not embrace the new edition and struggled with realigning their tactics to work with the new rule set.  Some of those players quit, took breaks from playing or struggled through the edition until they figured out what worked for them.  Therein lays the issue that many gamers face, a lot of people like making “a list” that they use over and over.  Gamers prefer what is familiar and as a result will seek to use that which is familiar in their gaming.  Many struggle for a while when a new book or edition comes out because they are forced to reprogram their mind as to how the unit works in the new book from the old book.

                With the release of 6^th edition Warhammer 40,000 in June 2012, I was faced with a similar dilemma.  I had been playing 40k 5^th edition so much with the same “lists” for my Eldar and Black Templars that most games were almost auto-pilot in some regards.  However in 6^th edition, Games Workshop completely changed the way the game system worked.  In 5^th edition the Assault phase was king, and armies that brought units that could unleash a hellstorm of attacks in close combat were devastating.  You could blast your transports forward at full tilt and if they survived the next turn because they weren’t Destroyed or Exploded, you could disembark your death squad and assault the hell out of your opponent.  Now in 6^th edition, the game is far more shooting oriented.  Assault armies have been nullified and the day of the bolt-gun has dawned and the day of the chainsword has set.  An incredible amount of army configurations were nullified when 6^th edition came out, especially with the advent of Allies and Fortifications.  So with all the changes to transports, shooting, assaults, the reimplementation of overwatch, flyers, pre-measuring and Look out Sirs, the additional confounding issue that I ran into was that two of my armies were getting updated within a few months of each other.

                 With all of these compounding changes and rules, I began to struggle with trying to build the “list” to use in this new edition.  I then ran into the additional issue with the release of the Escalation and Stronghold Assault rule sets.  It became painfully apparent that the days of having “one list to rule them all” were long over.  Keep in mind that until my children were born I was pretty keen on being a competitive player in both Fantasy and 40k.  As my children reached their delivery date, I began to slowly back away from that mentality as my free time to spend playing in tournaments was severely impacted.  There are now far too many variables and options to make a viable and competitive all comers list that you could participate with in a tournament.  The advent of D weapons in standardized game play and the Forge World becoming official.  Games Workshop suddenly began inundating the market with options and rules for everyone and marked all of these options as “Official”. 

                 So with all these new options and accessible rules, I still struggled trying to come up with a list that I felt was “right”. 

                 It has been pointed out to me that once I have decided upon a theme that is loosely or tightly based off what I feel is fluff that I will put arbitrary restrictions on myself on what I feel “fits” the way a specific chapter, craftworld or army should be played and what units it should contain. 

                 Despite my own self imposed restrictions which tend to be more of a hindrance than helpful, I am faced with updating two armies I have owned for a very long time; my Black Templars and my Ulthwe` Eldar.  I played both of these armies as assault armies in 5^th edition, so when the new codices were released I realized that the days of ramming it up the center and assaulting with a hammer were over.  The reason is mainly because these days everyone and their mother bring more than enough firepower to deal with a unit or two breaching their perimeter.  Tactics and strategies I once used are now no longer viable.  What is a player to do in an edition where his army book and rule set have changed within six months of each other?  An additional conundrum is what is a player to do when new rules have been implemented that change the entire face of the battlefield?

                The answer is simple in this respect.  It took me a few weeks to figure out what I wanted to do mainly because I have always built a list first then built the army after.  Any small tactical changes which required units being swapped out was always done in the initial stages as to now waste money or time.  Now I have to throw all of that methodology out and adopt the new practice of building units that I am familiar with or like and making a list when the game is decided upon.  It is entirely possible that in a week I could be invited to play a 2,000 point game of 40k, a 1500 point game of 40k, a 2.5k game of 40k with Lord of War allowances and a 2000 point game with Stronghold Assault rules.    A single list isn’t going to be very effective in all those games but having units that I like and know how to use is. 

 

So enter the age of the collection lists and bid a fond farewell to the days of the static all comers list used in every game.  Enter the age of lists that will have more guns than blades and where the battlefield and battleforce are equally dynamic.  Enter the age of spending more time creating a unit with a story and then fleshing out that story every time you play.  Lastly, enter the age were its finally possible to build a narrative and create a fun and exciting game.

While this issue isn’t as prevalent in Warhammer Fantasy 8^th edition, I still have a Wood Elf army that will need to be updated in 2014 which I am both excited and dreading!

 

Armies on the Update Docket:
1. Ulthwe` Eldar – I want to create a themed Ulthwe` Strike Force that I can sub out options and maintain the Guardian and Seer Council theme.

2.  Black Templars – I want to build a narrative crusade full of characters, knights and zealots who are still determined to bring the Emperor’s wrath by bolter and chainsword.

3.  Wood Elves – this army will be getting updated sometime this year.  I can only pray that they do a good job with the book and do not unintentionally make most of its builds impossible to play successfully.

So I’ll wrap up this long winded whine with the realization that I have become more casual than competitive and honestly, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.  That is not to say that whatever lists I use are not going to be efficient and cock-punching but I can guarantee they will be fluffy themed and fun too!

Hopefully, this year will be filled with interesting and fun hobby updates as I build my armies.

Black Templar Command Squad Assembled.

With the release of the new FAQ update for the Black Templars, I've decided to finally assemble a Command Squad to accompany my Marshal in larger point games.  Also, I've had a Black Templar Upgrade Pack sitting around in my closet for over a year and I felt it was a good time to go ahead and use it.  I still need to assemble a Rhino for the unit but that is low on the priority list at the moment.

Also, I would like to blame the book Helsreach for making the desire to field a Command Squad with the army almost feel as if it was mandatory!  If you have not read this novel I really recommend it.  Aaron Demski-Bowden does an amazing job of portraying the mentality and overall feel for the Black Templar army.  Subtle things like always referring to them as knights or other chapters as "Lesser chapters" really makes you feel that the Black Templars are the greatest chapter of them all.
There is also an passage in the book that sums up the army perfectly  "My tabard, the white of sun-bleached bone, offers a stark contrast to the blacker than black plate beneath.  The heraldic cross stands proud on my chest, where Astartes of lesser Chapters wear the Emperor's aquilla.  We do not wear His symbol.  We are his symbol."

I should have this squad painted probably in the next few months, I've got 2000 points of Beastmen to churn through first =).

So in closing, "For Dorn and the Emperor!"

2010 'Ard Boyz Tournament May 16th.

The Ard Boyz tournament has come and gone.  I have to say that out of the three battles, I really enjoyed my second one the most.  I'm not going to bother posting the bat reps mainly because after 3 2500 point battles it just gets kinda hard to remember everything I did every round so I'll just sum it up here.
Game 1 - Ulthwe` Eldar vs. Black Templars = Ulthwe` Win
Game 2 - Ulthwe` Eldar vs. Sisters of Battle = Draw
Game 3 - Ulthwe` Eldar vs. Space Wolves = Loss

There were three big failings in this tournament that I will comment on. 
1. Mission Types - The first mission type was straight up Victory points and that was fine.  The second mission was not well done since every battle in the second mission was a DRAW.  The third mission was a complete piece of shit - everything that moves over 6" counts as 3 kill points.  Oh really?  Gee that means my army is 45 god damn kill points?  Awesome, thanks GW.  The only army that had more kill points than I did was the opponent I fought in the 2nd round who had 51.  I was not pleased with these missions, I was hoping for more objective style missions or perhaps missions that involved something other than "hey let's kill all your shit".
2.  Quality of Player - There were some big douche bags in this tournament.  The person running the tournament was awesome.  He did a great job of being fun and fair but the douche count was super high.  This really isn't something that can be helped since assclowns will flock to these types of events in hopes of boosting their shitty self-esteem using miniatures as proxy.
3.  My list - I should have said screw fluff and gone full Assbeatery.  I should have dropped my Guardians, taken a unit of Pathfinders and Wraithguard as my 2 Troop selections and thrown a full unit of Banshees, Fire Dragons and an Eldrad toting Seer Council down my opponents throat with Maugen Ra and 3 units of Dark Reapers hailing death from the backfield while my full unit of Harlequins danced their dance of death at anyone foolish enough to get close.  I will say however, kicking as much ass as I did against a Wolfwing-Missile Launcher-Logan Grimnar-Foehammer army with Guardians, felt good. Real good.  If I decide to compete again in 'Ard Boyz - Fluff is gonna go bye bye and me disallowing you armor saves is coming in full force.  Douche list? Yes plz.

Here are some pictures of the Tournament, primarily deployment and some battle pics.  Of the games played, the Sisters of Battle was the most fun.  I kept chiming in after every transport blow up "MORE SISTERS??" They would NOT go away.  I swear he had 5000 of them.  Crazy battle nuns. 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I have a game against Ogres Wednesday and we'll see how I do with my new Wood Elf list.  There will be blood, oh yes buckets of it.

Banners, Battles and Building... oh my!

This update pretty much is a collection of 4 posts that I have been meaning to do one at a time but ended up running short on time.  So without much further ado, the update!

'Ard Boyz 2250 Preparation Battle for May Tournament.

Aubrey wanted to test out her 2250 Necron list for 'Ard Boyz and being the kind and friendly person that I am, I decided to let her test her mettle against the ceramite armor of the Emporer's favorite Space Marine Chapter - The Black Templars.  After Roy and Shawn suckered me into getting into this money-sink..er I mean hobby and I collected my Ulthwe` Eldar army, I wanted to play Space Marines.  Roy mentioned that Black Templars not only wore black armor but were an assault based chapter.  I was sold!  So...allow me to narrate the battle.

Game 1 - Necrons vs. Black Templars.
Pitched Battle Deployment, Annihilation

 I went first during this battle and with standard Black Templar tactics, went barreling forward with everything I had in order to smash into her line.  She had a curious deployment in which she castled up everything into one corner.  This ultimately proved to be her undoing...

So Turn 1 movement

More of Turn 1, Aubrey's C'tan gets popped by a barrage of Las Cannon fire (teehee) while she assaults my bike squad with her Wraiths.

This is the scene at the top of Turn 2, she's already lost 2 squads of Necron Warriors, 1 squad of Destroyers, her Necron Lord was popped by Lascannon shots and both Monoliths have been Wrecked.
Her turn she managed to take out 3 out of 5 Terminators and 3/4th's of my Assault based Initiate squads with her rapid fire Gauss Rifles.  Things are looking ...grim.




Turn 3 ended up with the Necrons being tabled when the other 2 bike squads slammed into her flank and the rest of my melee squads sliced and dice through her Necron Warriors with their power weapons.

Resolution:
Helbrecht's IX Legion, The Black Company - 13
Aubrey's Necron's - 1 (she killed a Rhino)

MVP's - Marshall Siegfried - 11 body count, Sir Bautch the Emporer's Champion - 8 body count, Chaplain D'Morte of the Emporer's Holy Fist - 9 body count.  Safe to say the leaders of the Sword Brethern did a damn nice job this game.

After looking at our battle, I sat down and tried to figure out why after turn 2 the game became a total route.  I decided that castling up like the way she did against an assault based army instead of setting up a gun line with her monoliths shielding her C'tan was not the best of ideas.  If she had used her Monoliths (or just taken 1) to shield the C'tan and put her Necron Lord in a squad I think she would have had a larger margin of success against my Black Templars.

Now for Sir Bautch's Theme Song - sung at every battle!

Sir Bautch.....SIR BAUTCH!
Sir Bautch.....SIR BAUTCH!
Eyes of the Hawk, Ears of the Wolf!
Sir Bautch.....SIR BAUTCH!
Sir Bautch.....SIR BAUTCH!
Strength of the Bear, SPEED OF THE PUMA!
SIR BAUTCH!

Battle no.2  - The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren vs. DINO-MITE - 1500 points.

I played a second game that evening against Mike's Lizardman army.  Mike is slowly building to 2250 and since we are both relatively new to Fantasy we enjoy the smaller point games til we get the full swing of things.

Mike reaffirming that I am in fact awesome.

This game went a little bit faster than my game with Aubrey.  Mike was plagued with bad Stupidity roles on his key units (his General with his saurus unit and his Cold Ones calvary).  The game ended up being a Massacre (a total victory) for me and I have to say the dice just said no that game to Mike.  There really wasn't anything he could have done that would have changed the outcome.  Sometimes the dice just say NOPE!

I recently decided that I wanted to have some customized Wild Riders for my Wood Elf army.  Primarily because I decided that I hadn't spent enough money on a single unit and I needed to ensure that I had hit the ridiculous level for this army.  I didn't really care for the horses that the Wild Riders come modeled with so I decided that by using Privateer Press's Raptor units I would be able to have Wood Elves on Stags...AWESOME RIGHT??
Anyway here are some pictures of the assembly process as well as some WIP's thus far.

Here I have drilled a hole in the bottom of the Wild Rider torso's and put in a pin to be fitted to their mount.  Wait a sec....John pinned something? No, seriously John pinned something and didn't have the pin vice spear into his hand causing a fountain of blood to cover everything like a Khornite orgy?
I then did a quick measure and figured out how much of a torso I would need to green stuff in order to make the rider fit properly on his mount without having a heinous gap.

As you can see here it worked out fairly well, I'm not the best person at molding green stuff but this was definitely a great way to get better at it.

For those of you who are not the best at pinning yet want to use a very strong bond, I would like to throw out this trick to you.  I like to use a very thing piece of tissue or toilet paper and put glue on each side of it.  I then push the pieces together and the paper adheres to each side of the model forming a solid and complete bond.  Sometimes the bond is so solid you have to pry it apart with a tool, other times it's just a little stronger than your standard super glue bond.  Either way it's worked out very well for me and so I thought I'd share that with you all.  The excess paper is easily trimmed off since it's dry and brittle minutes after you glue and it also fills in the gaps rather nicely!

Wild Riders all primed up along with Morghur (Beastman army Special character).

Wild Rider torso testing out the new Liquitex flo-aid that I purchased a few days prior.  It lays down a pretty smooth coat with the darker paints but the lighter shades it makes the paint a little too thin.
I've been using a 1to 10 ratio on it using distilled water.  I guess the trick is to get used to it and from there I'm sure I'll have better results.

Not to be confused with the feminine product flow-aids....ahem....moving along now....

Stage by stage on the Wild Riders
1. Black Primer
2. Beastial Brown basecoat
3. Elf Flesh on top of the Beastial Brown
4. Ogryn Flesh wash on the Elf Flesh.

I am so glad I remembered to actually start lowest to highest unlike last time.  The picture was taken when the wash was still wet on the right, after it dried it looked a lot better and had really shaded the Elf flesh well.


And lastly, I had wanted to use a Battle Standard Bearer for my Wood Elf army.  Rerolling break tests is kinda big when you have multiple combats going on withing inches of each other.  So I figured why not try to make your own banner?
I will just throw the pics of what I have done so far in a smaller format that you can kinda figure out what I did step by step.   It looks kinda wonky and I may just end up getting the actual Battle Standard Bearer model later but we'll roll with this for now.

Hope you all enjoyed this post, it's insanely long and I apologize for that.  Next go around I'll just do multiple smaller updates!