A Poll: YETI Con

Howdy,

Time for a poll of the...well, whatever it is we have here.  ;)

As part of my role here at YTTH, I create the majority of the content.

There are others behind the scenes who have free time to help me, but creating massive amounts of content is not their thing.

That said, we need a clear 'go to' guy--the 'is that your final answer?' guy.

Unless I'm to stop creating the content and brainstorming on all the different things discussed here, odds are very much I need to let someone else run the show at YETI Con.

I'm not a huge fan of this really but a con is it's own beast and believe you me--YTTH is itself it's own beast--really I can't create content and brainstorm stuff up and prep for YETI Con without making myself crazy. So my role would probably be something like head judge or something equally clever. Hell I can bust out the ole Navy command voice if I have to. Tends to scare babies and puppies though. ;)

Anyway, part of me wants to he-man myself into an aneurysm but if the vast majority of the con is going to be made up by me (and a close collaborator) plus, well, Mike's ideas and all of your ideas meshed into something resembling fun...there really isn't any difference between me being #1 and me being #2.

At least, there shouldn't be, but impressions mean a lot. So for those who want to attend, would it make any difference really if I'm not Neo? It's not like the con won't be done the way I want it to be, it's just going to get handled properly rather than the half-assed way I probably would end up doing.

Well, feedback is appreciated so leave some--does it matter?

Thanks! =)

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PAX: Where were you GW?

Email:

Just got done with PAX (Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle)

And thought of you.

Tens of thousands of the hearts and minds of gaming attend, and they
have em on both sides of the coast.

PAX is about Gaming, Geeks and Culture, Video, Tabletop, RPG and Board
Gaming.  Indie and Established.  GW was notably not there and some of
their competitors were.

http://www.google.com/#q=PAX+NEWS&hl=en&source=univ&tbs=nws:1

E.

Reply:

Indeed, not good news for GW to retrench so badly.

I wonder if they've ever had a presence there?

Maybe GW pretending like no other games exist in their stores is why they don't go to events like this?

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Humor from Dash of Paprika...er...Peppermint...ah whatever his name is :p

Stelek:

I thought I'd bring you a bit of humor to lighten up YTTH if you don't mind cross-postings.  I wrote this for Danny Internets at Bald and Screaming.  I thought you'd find it funny. 

http://www.baldandscreaming.com/uncategorized/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-warhammer-40000-champion/

Reply:

Yes you are an odd duck.  lol

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Fantasy: Cheesing Vampires the Right Way - The Battery Pack

Howdy,

So building on my 'Monsters' article, I want to *cough* find a neat way to ownerize people with other lists.

Namely, lists that can power up spells and do so almost endlessly.

I call it 'The Battery Pack'.

Now let's get the rules out of the way.

From the main rulebook FAQ:

Q: Can magical vortex spells be used in such a way that they affect
friendly models? (p31)
A: Yes.

Hey, have a nice day, this is 100% legal.

Everyone is all EMO about Purple Sun Vampire shenanigans.  Like they're the only ones who can fucking do it.  Noobs.

First off, if you don't have low initiative enemies--your 'awesome' tactic is pretty much shit.

What you need to do is give yourself as much combat power as possible, because frankly your army sucks arse.

How are you going to do that?

Simple really.  Use a battery.

What the hell is a battery?

Hey, doofus--Purple Sun is your power source.  Anytime someone dies to it, you gain a power die.  So how do you make sure (as sure as you can at any rate) that you charge things up?

Simple.  You need a battery.  In this case, Zombies.  No, not ZombY's.  Zombies!

You know, the 80 points worth of useless core you need to bring along anyway?

The guys with Initiative 1?  So they die to Purple Sun on a 2+?

Get it now?  See, if you are going to make your army a balanced all-comers list, you need to make sure you can successfully cast spells that do what you want them to--ALL the time, not just some of the time.

If you are facing a high initiative army or someone with a lot of bodies who doesn't care, you don't want your precious combo to suddenly suck ass (like Lycni, Purple Sun Vamps actually DO).

So rather than depending on the ENEMY army, you instead depend on YOUR army to make your army work, which is what you should be doing anyway.

That said, you still want the combo available for when you do face low Init armies.

The right combo.  Lycni is stupid, people.  Anything that can be blocked by Vanguard or Scouts, is fail.  Unless your fucking guy can move through enemy units, and everyone should know by now if they have Scouts they better bring them along.

So let's see how that works:

2500 Pts - Vampire Counts Roster - The Battery Pack

"Bill"
1 Vampire Lord @ 290 pts (General; Vampire; Hand Weapon; Life Leeching; Undead)
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Master of the Black Arts
   1 Life Leeching
   1 6. The Purple Sun of Xerus

"Ted"
1 Vampire Lord @ 335 pts (Vampire; Hand Weapon; Life Leeching; Undead)
   1 Hellsteed (Flyer)
   1 Charmed Shield
   1 Power Scroll
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Ghoulkin
   1 Life Leeching
   1 6. The Purple Sun of Xerus

1 Vampire @ 135 pts (Vampire; Hand Weapon; Wildheart; Undead)
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Wildheart
   1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Vampire @ 135 pts (Vampire; Hand Weapon; Wildheart; Undead)
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Wildheart
   1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Vampire @ 135 pts (Vampire; Hand Weapon; Wildheart; Undead)
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Wildheart
   1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Vampire @ 135 pts (Vampire; Hand Weapon; Wildheart; Undead)
   1 Forbidden Lore
   1 Wildheart
   1 6. Transformation of Kadon

24 Zombie Horde @ 104 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Undead)

24 Zombie Horde @ 104 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Undead)

14 Crypt Ghouls @ 128 pts (Causes Fear; Poisoned Attacks; Undead)
   1 Crypt Ghast

14 Crypt Ghouls @ 128 pts (Causes Fear; Poisoned Attacks; Undead)
   1 Crypt Ghast

14 Crypt Ghouls @ 128 pts (Causes Fear; Poisoned Attacks; Undead)
   1 Crypt Ghast

14 Crypt Ghouls @ 128 pts (Causes Fear; Poisoned Attacks; Undead)
   1 Crypt Ghast

1 Varghulf @ 175 pts (Vampire; Causes Terror; Hatred; Regenerate; Undead)

1 Varghulf @ 175 pts (Vampire; Causes Terror; Hatred; Regenerate; Undead)

10 Skeleton Warriors @ 88 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield; Undead)

10 Skeleton Warriors @ 88 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield; Undead)

10 Skeleton Warriors @ 88 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield; Undead)

Total Roster Cost: 2499

Notes: So let's see then...

2 Varghulfs.  Normally crap, but not in this army.  Oh no.

A Vampire Lord with Hellsteed (you know, so he flies).  Yay so you can FLY OVER AND BEHIND enemy lines, including Scouts and Vanguard units--which stop Lycni Vampires cold.  Stop being dumb!  Remember his name is Ted.

So let's see then:

You have 4 Ghoulkin units, each with a hero-level Vampire who knows Beasts.

You have two Zombie units.

You have two Vampire Lords, and power scroll of cheesemo.

Bill sits back and casts Purple Sun into the Zombies.  Makes for great flank protection (the Zombies AND a Purple Sun?  Hell no lol).

Ted runs forward and zaps the enemy army, or if they are high Init and don't care--he zaps the other Zombie unit.

Obviously, NOT ONE RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER!

Power up the first spell with your magic dice.

Make sure you use as many as you've gotten.  If you get a shit power roll, well you can rework things to get +2 PD for a vampire easily--delete the Ghoulkin, Shield, and Hellsteed and just walk.  Makes your army more reliable, also makes you less threatening.  Plus you'll have Purple Suns rolling around on your side of the battlefield.  lol

So, your first purple sun went off and your power pool filled up--The Battery Pack is working.

Great!

Now use Transformation on another vampire with 6 PD.  You know, the ones that marched forward?   Personally I'd probably do the Great Fire Dragon.  Sure you don't have Tzeentch Wards, but meh you can't have everything.  ;)

Now use Bill, cast Purple Sun again.  Recharge the battery!

Oh, and then do Transformation again.  Remember you have power scroll up, so odds are you'll be taking a hit to the face right after you cast.  ;)

Then do it again.

Hey, cool--now you have 5 monsters in your army, pretty much guaranteed, and all on turn 1.

So, who is dispelling 60 points worth of remains in play?  Not many people.  ;)

You still have things like Standard units to take things, but you can also use the other Death magic on your turn to zap out enemy characters and champions.  Now why would you do that?

So your Dragon + Varghulf charge runs in and fucks shit up?  lol  Don't forget to keep your Varghulf away from any errant Purple Suns.  They die horribly to that shit.  lol  Btw, there's nothing wrong with deleting 1 Ghoul and 1 Skeleton unit, and bringing along a Black Coach for more 'hey it's big and ugly' action.  ;)  It's not like you are going to charge first turn, but it helps.  Hmmm 7 monsters.  I dig it.

Oh yeah, and for whatever it's worth--you still have Invocation of Nehek, so you can recreate blown apart Zombie units to recharge your spells all game.

Yes, it's official--a VC army that doesn't suck.  ;)

Rufus would be pleased.

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Timmah's weekly article

Yep, you read the title correctly. I am going to try and post up an article once a week for your reading pleasure. From now until I get lazy again or Stelek deletes all my posts. (the friendly people over on dakka told me he does that, ironically enough, later that day one of my forum posts got deleted) But that is a story for another time.

So, if you are still reading this, it must mean you must be at least slightly interested in what I am going to write about. Or bored at work with nothing better to do.

I would like to talk about the INAT FAQ today and what a player made FAQ does for the hobby. Please don't turn this into bash on adepticon time, its not, I feel like there are misconceptions as to why some of us don't like it.

So the idea is, if I read correctly, is that the INAT is suppose to make the game flow smoother, balance it and provide a solid rules document for other TO's if they like. However, lets look at what it actually does.

The first, it makes the game flow smoother. I will give it this. Having a nice quick easy reference for a ton of different rules discussions is pretty handy. No more looking up points/counter points, checking the internet on our smart phones, (sucks to be you people with dumb phones) and making sure we have found all relevant rules in the rule book. I know some people don't like it because of its size and seemingly useless answers that anyone could conjure up by knowing the rules. However the simple fact is we have 40+ pages of rules and not everyone has the memories some of us do. Meaning rules get forgotten or 4th ed rules get remembered. Having a nice quick reference show us the error of our ways in a 100 page document is completely fine by me. Actually it could be quite handy.

Unfortunately the 2nd part of what it is trying to accomplish is where it all falls apart. The INAT tries to change rules, either for better balance or for smoother play. "But Timmah, these are good things, balance, smoother play, less rules arguments" Yes, I won't deny that. Unfortunately in this case that is not what we are getting.

First lets talk about changing rules for balance. You have, what, 20 people (none of whom are game designers) sit down and over the course of maybe a month and decide how to resolve balance issues. Really? Do you play hundreds of games across multiple different armies to determine which way is best? Lets see, Blizzard took about 2 years to balance starcraft 2 before it was release, using hundreds of thousands of testers. And when they did finally release it, the game still needed fine tuning. Magic the gathering, who have some of the best designers and balancer's in the business have a ton of people who almost solely work on testing new cards. Across thousands of games over the course of months.

If these companies who have tons of background in balancing and game design take this much time to balance their games, what makes you think you can sit down and do it in a month?

The second problem with this, is that it is causing division in the hobby. Some people latch onto the INAT like its the gospel truth. Meaning they learn all these rule changes as fact yet they aren't actually in the rule book. Meaning when they go to play someone else, they have a very warped idea of what the rules actually are. See the problem is everyone takes what the rulebook says as fact. Where as only a handful take what the INAT says as fact. So you are essentially teaching a portion of the hobby a different game than the rest of us are learning. Meaning you are dividing your area (and any area that takes up the INAT faq) away from the rest of the hobby. Something I honestly don't think you want to do. (if you INAT council members are reading this)

The above problem ties in with my last problem. Some TO's pick up the INAT faq and start using it. So now people start needing to read a 100 page document just to play in their local RTT. I am sure you all know that most people who only attend local RTT's aren't going to do this. So when these people show up and find out 1-2 rules have been changed on them, and they lose because of it, well I would bet they are going to feel like they got gamed a bit. And let me tell you, all it takes is a couple of these instances and the local crowd can start to fall apart.

I understand the INAT is a lot of work and very well intentioned. And I am by no means saying it should be entirely scrapped. As I said in my first paragraph there are a ton of handy answers and easy references to be had in it. The ones that actually say what the rule book says. I am however saying all of the rule changes need to be scrapped. They do nothing but divide the hobby by teaching people different rules than those in the 40k rulebook.

This also would mean getting rid of all the rule changes that are disguised as clarifications.

Player made FAQs are completely fine. Provided they actually describe what the rules say and not use the individuals or groups personal preferences. (I hope Mike doesn't mind me using his FAQ as an example) It was very handy because for every single decision and answer I could pick up the rulebook and show my opponent the relevant rules and say its exactly the same in both places.

Actually when I ran my small (very small, darn people signing up for my tournaments and then not showing) tournament, I pulled in out a couple times, showed people the answer in the FAQ, and then if they still had a problem, I would pull out the rulebook to show them the exact same answer. Meaning anyone who didn't read the FAQ before coming to my tournament wasn't screwed because I pulled a rules switcharoo on him.

So there are my thoughts for the day. Hope you enjoyed the read. And again, please don't turn the comments section into bash INAT or Adepticon, that is not the point of this. (also, no picture, cause stelly will get mad and add one, which always makes me giggle)

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When good tournaments go bad?

Email:

Stelek,

 

I traveled to Lafayette, Indiana to play in a 2000 point doubles tournament September 4th.  I was excited about playing as I was the TO at our latest tournament here in Indianapolis and was missing the competition.  The tournament was being put together by a combination of three different game stores.  I will not post their names at this time until I get some resolution for the debacle that occurred. 

 

There were three games set up where the missions were kept secret until the round actually started. 

 

The scoring went as such:

15 points for a win

10 points for a draw

5 points for a loss

 

Up to 5 bonus points per round.

 

The soft scores which I did not like were as such:

5 points for army composition-rated by your opponent after the game ended

5 points for painting-rated by your opponent after the game ended

3 points for sportsmanship-rated by your opponent after the game ended

 

As I posted on my blog , http://spaguatyrine.blogspot.com ,I was concerned about the army composition before I went because the question that were supposed to be on the score sheet were:

 

Did you have fun against this army?

Where there all large squads?

Where there any cheesy combo's?

Was there any spamming of units?

Some other random questions I cannot recall.

 

The missions were fine and kind of fun as they were different. The first mission was basically get all your non-vehicle units into your opponents deployment zone with spearhead but only a 9" no man's land.  Whoever had the most won.  Pretty simple.

 

The second mission was pitched battle with  4 objectives centered in each quarter but with a 12" contest and hold radius instead of 3".  The 12" was way too much.

 

The third mission was fun with 15 crystals on the board that had to be picked up and that model had to survive the game. Whoever had the most won.

 

My first game was against a salamander's player who had a poor list.  I basically beat him to a pulp because his 2 dreadnoughts scattered on his first turn 10" and 12" away from my vehicles and he couldn't get 800 points of reserves until turn 4 and 5.  I killed everything on the board and waited for his terminator to drop on turn 5 but he quit and said he didn't want to play anymore.  I should have realized then what he would do to screw me.

 

Yes he gave me a zero for army composition, and 2 of 3 for sportsmanship for curbstomping his stupid poor list.  Our lists are as such:

 

My list:

 

Thunderwolf lord
Frost Blade, Runic Armor, Wolf tail talisman, Wolf tooth necklace, storm shield
5 Thunderwolfs
  1 TH/SS
  1 SS/CCW
  1 BP/CCW
  1 Bolter/CCW
  1 BP/CCW and Melta bombs
Rune priest with Jaws and Murderous Hurricane
Rune priest with Jaws and Living Lightning
5 Grey Hunters with Flamer in Razorback with Twin Linked Assault Cannon
5 Grey Hunters with Flamer in Razorback with Twin Linked Assault Cannon
5 Grey Hunters with Meltagun in Rhino-(Rune Priest)
5 Grey Hunters with Meltagun in Rhino-(Rune Priest)
Landspeeder-Typhoon/Missle Launcher
Longfangs with 2 Plasma Cannons and 3 Multi Meltas
W /Razorback w-Lasplas
Longfangs with 2 LasCannons and 3 Missle Launchers
W /Razorback w-Lasplas
1 Predator with heavy bolter sponsons.

His list:

 

Chapter Master-With a lot of gear
Librarian-With a lot of gear
Ironclad in drop pod with 2xkrak missles
Venerable dread in drop pod with plasma cannon
10 man tacsquad in drop pod
5 Terminators with some special weapon who didn't come on the board
10 man tacsquad in Rhino with melta and powerweapon
10 man tacsquad in Rhino with melta and powerfist
10 man tacsquad in Rhino with melta
5 man devestator squad with Razorback

It is not my fault he rolled poorly and had a very subpar list. As a matter of fact he got butchered by his other 2 opponents also.  I might also add he was a local, and didn't hit anyone else with those type of scores.

 

Now I might ask what you would think of my army composition?

 

I also played the TO who was the ringer in the last game. He was in fourth place. Hmmm.  I beat him pretty badly as well.  This is another problem with a TO who has written the missions secretly being a ringer and playing. 

 

All in all it was a good tournament and I had fun until the results were read.

 

The first place winner was the guy who lost his last game to the third place finisher. The reason the 3rd place finisher didn't get first was because his army wasn't painted.  I recieved 2nd with 2 point behind the first player.

 

There should never be a position where two undefeated players get jumped by a player that looses unless both undefeated players get 0 soft scores. Even the first player came up to me and told me I should have won and he was sorry.  This is again another example of how the old way of tournaments and soft scores do not fit how a tournament should be run.

 

I also believe the TO should have said something when my first opponent turned in a zero for army composition score for me.  If the TO writes these 5 questions and looks at my list and gave me a 3 himself, shouldn't that say something?

 

I would like to hear your thoughts, and you may of course use any and all of this email how you see fit.

 

Sincerely,

 

Aaron

 

AKA- spaguatyrine

 

Reply:

Ugh.

Sounds like the old guard are having a field day.

What say?  Is this acceptable because it's "just" a RTT?  Or should all tournaments, of any level, be essentially fair?

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Fantasy: MONSTERS!

So, being a powergaming WAAC dickhead, I decided to break Fantasy and see how many Monsters I can push onto the board.

5 seems a good number. You tell me.

I've only managed to get 4 on the board at a time.

2500 Pts - Daemons of Chaos Roster

1 Great Unclean One @ 535 pts (Flail; General; Level 3 Wizard; Causes Fear; Causes Terror; Daemonic; Immune to Psychology; Large Target; Poisoned Attacks)

1 Herald of Tzeentch @ 140 pts (Hand Weapon; Locus of Tzeentch; Level 2 Wizard; Wildheart; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Master of Sorcery
1 Wildheart
1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Herald of Tzeentch @ 160 pts (Hand Weapon; Locus of Tzeentch; Level 2 Wizard; Wildheart; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Master of Sorcery
1 Winged Horror
1 Wildheart
1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Herald of Tzeentch @ 160 pts (Hand Weapon; Locus of Tzeentch; Level 2 Wizard; Wildheart; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Master of Sorcery
1 Winged Horror
1 Wildheart
1 6. Transformation of Kadon

1 Herald of Tzeentch @ 160 pts (Hand Weapon; Locus of Tzeentch; Level 2 Wizard; Wildheart; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Master of Sorcery
1 Winged Horror
1 Wildheart
1 6. Transformation of Kadon

17 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch @ 231 pts (Hand Weapon; Standard Bearer Std; Daemonic Icons; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Icon of Sorcery
1 1. Flickering Fire of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)
1 4. Gift of Chaos

17 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch @ 231 pts (Hand Weapon; Standard Bearer Std; Daemonic Icons; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Icon of Sorcery
1 1. Flickering Fire of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)
1 4. Gift of Chaos

17 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch @ 231 pts (Hand Weapon; Standard Bearer Std; Daemonic Icons; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Icon of Sorcery
1 1. Flickering Fire of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)
1 4. Gift of Chaos

17 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch @ 231 pts (Hand Weapon; Standard Bearer Std; Daemonic Icons; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology)
1 Icon of Sorcery
1 1. Flickering Fire of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)
1 4. Gift of Chaos

6 Flamers of Tzeentch @ 210 pts (Hand Weapon; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology; Skirmishers)
1 Flames of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)

6 Flamers of Tzeentch @ 210 pts (Hand Weapon; Causes Fear; Daemonic; Flaming Attacks; Immune to Psychology; Skirmishers)
1 Flames of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks)

Total Roster Cost: 2499

Notes: Man that's a lot of fucking Wizards!

How many?

Well, I count...9 of them. Lots of cutesy channeling to be had. ;)

So how DOES this cheesefest work?

Well, you setup normally.

You have a big fatty, 4 units of Horrors with a Locus in each, and 2 units of Flamers.

Now let's talk turkey. Or, bullshit as I like to call it. YMMV.

Yes yes, you can go apeshit on me later.

Let's first create ourselves a monster. Several over the course of the game, actually. Transformation of Kadon. But...but...I can't have 4 casters with the SAME spell! Of course I can. I actually have ALL of the spells from Lore of Beasts, silly. That's what Master of Sorcery does. Remember that Daemonic Gifts are not magic items in the normal sense, so you can duplicate them. Yeah, your Mom says hi. Since I have NO CONTROL over picking my spells, I can duplicate them. L2P people.

So, what kind of monster?

Well, if you want to 'remain' within your unit--you'll create a Feral Manticore, Black Hydra, or Horned Dragon.

Now why on earth would you want to remain with a unit?

Well let's see what that spell says:

Magic items and mundane equipment no longer functions.

Hey, let's read that Daemonic Gifts rule again:

Note that Daemonic Gifts are not magic items and are therefore immune to any spells or abilities that destroy, steal, or otherwise alter the behaviour of magic items.

You still can't cast, sadly.

But...I see items on 3 of those Wizards. Daemonic Gifts. What does Winged Horror do?

Why, it lets you fly.

Fly, Stellie? Yes, fly my friends.

Wait, but if just equipment and shit isn't affected...does that mean Daemon special rules are not negated?

You got it right, man. So if I'm marked with Tzeentch, I have a 4+ Ward Save in my 'new' mode? Come on! Well, Daemon special rules aren't listed as being negated, so yes indeed.

Oh and while NORMAL Monsters created by OTHER wizards don't have magical attacks--this creation DOES. Including ranged attacks. Ranged attacks? You know, any breath weapon you might happen to pick up. Oh and let's not forget, all of your attacks are flaming--so avoid dipshits with 2+ Wards vs Fire! lol

But...it only takes a 20 to dispel it. Yeah, so? It doesn't take much to cast the spell either. IF? Who cares, you have a 4+ Ward Save.

Now why remain with the unit? Simple--you are still a Locus of Tzeentch, so your unit still has a 4+ Ward Save.

Yes, the dickness runs high. Deal with it.

So, why bring along 3 Heralds with flying? Only 1 creature doesn't give you flying naturally, so...explain?

Simple really. Sometimes you can't get a 20+, but you might manage a 16+. Ok, that's not really it. That's just what happens. So, let's look at the two creatures we really want to bust out the monkey for:

First up, is the Hydra. The Hydra, you say?

Yes, it has 5 wounds. More wounds is good.

It also has (drum roll please) a 4+ Scaly Skin save, AND regenerate. Why is regenerate so important? Simple--so you can tell Lore of Light users to piss off.

Oh and you also get a S4 breath weapon. That's magical (bye bye Ethereal and Wood Elf Forest Spirits) AND flaming (bye bye Wood Elf Treemen and Tomb Kings).

Now the balance is, you can't fly. Oh, but I *CAN* fly, my pretty.

*cue evil laughter here*

You cannot disable Daemonic items or abilities with spells, remember?

So your opponent has this to worry about:

There is a flying regenerating beast that if it can't beat you in combat, will simply wipe out a support unit (it does have 7 WS4 S5 attacks after all) or fly behind you and zap you with the breath weapon (which bypasses regeneration because ALL attacks by Tzeentch daemons, both close combat AND ranged, are flaming magic attacks in your ass).

Can you dispel it? Sure. Will it just try again? Yes. Can you reliably beat down a Tzeentch unit with a monster in it? Nope.

Btw, a little humor--you can escape combat by casting this spell if you so choose. Why? Because it says you CAN be placed inside the unit you were in. So I choose NOT to be within the unit, so I place myself outside of it legally (inch away from everyone). The humor is good, no?

You should almost always create the Great Fire Dragon, because:

It has a 2+ Scaly Skin (telling Light Magic to drop dead), a S5 Breath Weapon, and it has 8's for WS, S, T, A, and W. Oh yes, it's a beast allright. Don't forget you have a 4+ Ward Save and the breath weapon on this guy is S5. ;)

The awesome part? If you dispel my beast after I breath weapon you, and I'm still alive and next to you and create myself into another beast--hey, I have a breath weapon again. And shooting is next. Hmmm...the cheese is uber today.

Don't forget in CC, if they don't dispel your beast...you can use the breath weapon to inflict 2D6 automatic hits. More than enough to help you break through enemy formations trying to be smartasses and hold you up. Got 50 zombies, do ya? Here, have two Dragons. Hey, you're an awesome horde unit. Great, all none of you left and time to eat more undead lol. It's all about fun death for the enemy. ;)

So, you roll the low version...you get a flying Hydra. You roll the high version, you get a nasty dragon.

Now let's combine this with the reality that:

A) The GUO is a monster.

B) Any transformed wizard is a monster.

C) When you cast spells from Lore of Beasts and target A or B, you decrease the casting cost by 1.

I shall 'target' the enhanced version of Savage BEast, and give all of my monsters +3 S and +3 attacks. What, I'm a monster, but I'm still a character right? Or am I immune to ALL effects that say 'character' in them? I'll take either interpretation! What about Pann's impenetrable belt? Can I have +3 Toughness on my Hydra and GUO (for T8 and T9 monsters? lol Is that a bolt thrower? Cute!).

How about Wyssans Wildform? T5 and S5 isn't so awesome, right? +1 S and +1 T seems nice.

Oh and let's not forget--for all those lovely Warmachine armies, you can 4+ Ward save all their bullshit...and zap the crap out of them with S10 hits from 4 amber spears a turn--lemme tell you, Ogres LOVE that spell, really they do, especially 4 times a turn, even the S6 D3 version sucks arse. Curse of Anraheir x4 on a Cavalry, Monster or Chariot heavy army? Holy crap is that gay (no offense intended). It just is.

See, it's not hard to cast a big spell and transform, then cast another spell and attack, buff, or debuff from somewhere else.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this article as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Mass whining may now ensue.

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Fantasy...sucks? No, it's you.

Email:

Hey Stelek,

I'm just getting into WFB, and just had a chance to read this. I don't typically visit their site, but a friend of mine asked me what I thought of it.

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/09/wfb-worst-five-items-of-old-world.html

Honestly, I don't know enough about fantasy to even begin to know if he knows what he's talking about, but I was wondering if you could take a look and let us know if mkerr's off base or not. After reading this article, I am quite confused, and hesitant to purchase the beastmen army I've been saving up for. If this is another case of "hey the new edition is out, learn to adapt" could you explain how to counter some of the more devastating combos?

Seriously, if what he says is true, right now I am considering closing my wfb book and shelving it. Mkerr isn't the only one telling unbelievably frightening stories like this about 8th edition. If these claims are true, evaporating a bunker unit would be trivial to any of these combinations.

Thanks Stelek, I know you and your team are busy. I appreciate what you do. I know that you'll give the honest answer even if it is "Yeah gw fucked up and 8th is crap. Don't play it until more codexes come out."

~Drew

Reply:

Well, let's see.

First off, playing Fantasy at 3000 points breaks the game imho, because armies that can field 20 Warmachines aren't fun to play against. Since only half of them can, 'don't go there girlfriend' is my best advice.

So let's see:

1. Dweller's Below. I suppose I'm playing direct damage spells wrong then? I play all direct damage spells, even if not using a template to determine who is hit or not, provide look out sir rolls. Why? Only spells that are direct damage and provide a template (Black Horror, for example) provide a look out sir roll? Why? Isn't it the exact same as a spell with a template? My 'that doesn't make sense' meter wonders exactly what the difference is between these two spells:

I use a 'template' and the unit has 12 guys in a box, so I 'hit' them all.
I don't use a 'template' and the unit has 12 guys in a box, so I 'hit' them all.

Both are direct damage.

I'm not supposed to get a look out sir roll because it doesn't use a template?

All I see in the GW rules regarding this is against ANY spell, be it 'direct damage' or not, if it uses a template you ALWAYS get a look out sir--even if you normally wouldn't (because it's not considered a direct damage spell).

Maybe I'm overthinking the obvious--doesn't direct damage mean it's directed damage? Is my King's English rusty? What's the difference between a DD and a MM (magic missile)? MM's require LOS. Otherwise they are identical.

Caress doesn't provide a look out sir roll because it specifically targets your character, so in the rules you see you can't take one. Everyone sees it coming, including your character--and nobody can do anything about it.

I guess my real problem is the wording of the rules--if direct damage spells can only ever be cast on enemy units, why do half of them pick out characters and not actually effect the unit? Well anyway, if it's not supposed to be this way, then perhaps GW should figure out character assassination spells exist, and a unit pounding spell shouldn't also happen to kill characters.

Note my sympathy for a VC player at 3k points in Ard Boyz is extremely limited. Don't play a shit army against a good one.

In the end though, I think all direct damage spells allow look out sir rolls except those that specifically pick you out.

2. Power Scroll is meant to do this. Anyway, as far as the example given, it's crap.

From the Fantasy FAQ:

Q: If a magical vortex ends its move over a unit it is placed 1"
beyond the unit. If this is also over a unit should it be placed 1"
beyond that unit, repeating the process until it is not touching any
models? When this happens, I assume models between where the
magical vortex ended its move and where the template is placed are
not affected by the spell? (p36)
A: Yes to both questions.

So, you zap the first unit and then your useless vortex teleports itself to the other end of the battle line, doing ZERO damage.

Moving on.

3. Deal with it? I don't think many players realize how destructive Teclis is, nor do they realize that running BIG ASS UNITS into range of enemy spell casters is a SURE WAY TO LOSE FANTASY BATTLES. Suck less. More on this later.

4. Except you can't run both unless you are already running the 'oh I get 12 bolt throwers and 10 stone throwers' version of Gunhammer. Do you really want to play against that? Dude, when shooting phases take 20 minutes...you should play 2500 points. Anything but 3000, for hells sake. GW didn't realize this and they left the Ard Boyz at the lolz power level. Hopefully they'll ramp it down to 2500 next year, or I'll skip the bitchfest yet again. Once you run lower points levels, you can't run this combo.

5. Great, it hurts--so do lots of other spells. Where's the bitching for Demon players against Lore of Light? Banishment with multiple cheap level 1's giving your Animus Speculum +1 strength so you can wound everything in the army on 2+, negate ALL armor saves, and they re-roll their Ward Saves...PLUS you get an extra D6? Hello? Oh, right, everything is mad powered in Fantasy. Too much? Only if you liked the old checkers version of Fantasy, designed entirely to work around +5 static combat resolution and bore the shit out of everyone.

Now what I find amusing is the MOST BROKEN item in Fantasy isn't even touched.

So let's go with my only 'oh no you didn't' item--which only sucks because it's the same army Teclis is in.

My one and only: Banner of the World Dragon.

Wait...I'm immune to spells of all kinds, mine or the enemies.

Hey, if you're going to bitch about Fantasy--at least go to advanced bitching class first.

Drop Purple Sun in front of Teclis unit. Use the large version.

Does it scatter onto me? Don't care.

Does it move onto me? Don't care.

Do you charge me? Die.

If you are going to bitch, find actually broken combos--not just ones you don't like because you can't run your LOL huge horde unit forward and wtfpwn your opponent.

This one is complete bullshit--because not only can you not stop it (Thanks Teclis, you're the man!) but you can't kill Teclis or the BSB with anything but freaking sniper rifle fire. Which the vast majority of armies do not pack.

Now combine with things like:

Pit of Shades. Cast it right on your ass, and who cares if it scatters? I don't.

How about Comet of Casandora? I'll drop it right on Teclis. I'll let you come to me. Come on, charge me. I've got a purple sun ready on the other wizard, and I don't care if comet lands on my face. Oh, going to destroy my magic banner? Bound items are spells, thanks, so you can't 'kill' my item with your item-killers, so fuck off.

Seriously--this is what noobs whine about, so get a clue and play with the big boys. There are WAY better broken ass combos in the game--and this is the only one that irks the shit out of me, because you can't do anything about it except charge in. Oh, you tried to be cute and not land right in the purple sun? Sorry, the rules say you HAVE to get as many guys into base as you can--and yes, Teclis is sitting in the second rank casting willy nilly, and there's nothing you can do about it (direct damage does not require LOS, have a nice day). So charge, align into the purple sun, and kill yourselves.

Anyway, to the original posters email: the bunker units purpose is to hide out of range and zap the shit out of the other guy.

Which means what, oh yeah...all of those spells have a 24" range. In Fantasy, deployment USED to mean very little. Now, it is just as important in Fantasy as it is in 40k. That's where you lose games. Seriously, use missiles and magic missiles with 48" range from the corners to zap those units. He brought 100 fucking temple guard? Fine, did you bring your stone throwers? Oh your army doesn't HAVE stone throwers and your magic is weaksauce?

STOP PLAYING THAT ARMY OR TAKE YOUR ASS BEATINGS LIKE A MAN.

That's my truth for today.

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Drama, The Mailbag, and Fantasy...oh my!

Well time for some emails, some of which may contain drama. Suck it up, interwebs.

Sorry I played a big game of Fantasy early this morning, 5k of Goblins and Beastmen allied against High Elves and Dwarves.

Let's just say Teclis is awe-inspiring by himself. Not so much in 5k.

Oh and we ruled all friendly 'army X' effects just worked on everyone. So the Dwarves were going to run High Elf Cavalry into our face with the Anvil for funsies but it blew itself up. It wasn't even Jimmy. ;)

So let's just say Waaagh + Bestial Surge was alot of humor for us.

How did we do? There was 400 points of Goblin warmachine, the ASF doombull, and Teclis + his Phoenix Guard sitting on the Dwarf Lords oathstone being lame in midfield holding the tower. How'd that happen? We killed his unit of oathbearers with magic + missile fire, so he joined up with Teclis and co. Not sure how else to rule it, so we said go nuts.

It then proceeded to get super buffed by Teclis and destroyed everything we sent at it, except the ASF Doombull. lol He stuffed our last Waaagh sadly, so we didn't get 6 Fanatics to charge through his unit. Stupid 4+ Wards.

Suffice to say, allies in Fantasy is great fun--but my goodness it is not balanced in ANY way. lol

It makes 40k allies look perfect. ;)

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TKE Debate: Sportsmanship

Note: Yay for blogger fail and not publishing this. Thanks Danny!

TKE wrote a essay on his blog.

Go give it a read, comment, and return. Or don't. Up to you. ;)

My reply:

You got it wrong tbh, as you oversimplified the system. Might be my poor grammar skills though. Or Frodo confuzzled me.

As you noted, everyone often gives everyone a normalized score--but you need to remember that some scoring systems, like Adepticons and GW's (which was based off of Adepticon's after years of being superbad), only allow you so much leeway.

Mine allows you no such leeway--I expect you to 'not be a dick'. Anything I could ask of players is subject to interpretation. Simply put, you can be chipmunked.

While you can assume sportsmanship had no bearing, maybe you didn't notice how tight some players scores were. If you get 'max' points in 3 games, that's a 9 point swing. How many top players would win then? If it's across 7 games, that's 21 points. It does add up, how do you know people didn't just subtract the 3 points they felt they could get away with every round without question? Thing is, you don't.

In the format I prefer, it works differently.

In short, everyone always earns X points per round for sportsmanship.

White Pearl gives you more points, and that's all it does.

The Black Pearl isn't compulsory, and all it does is subract points.

So let's say you earn a single point per round normally.

The White Pearl gives you +2 rather than +1.

The Black Pearl gives you 0 rather than +1.

So do the math:

While it's entirely possible someone will earn 4 Black Pearls (and likely a disinvite from future attendance) it's unlikely as it's not required. Most people have to be really pissed off or frustrated to want to give a Black Pearl. Oddly enough, I expect the most Black Pearls will be given to round 4 opponents, by the loser--but we'll see. How about a White Pearl? I had my most favorite game on day 2 at NOVA, when sportsmanship scores aren't really handed out (and won't be under this system). So I'd have to give it to someone on day 1, but I *have* to give it. Odds are if I didn't really enjoy any of my games enough to go 'man you really deserved this white pearl', it's going to be given to someone other than my opponent.

So while they have a nice statistical bump, they are likely to be in the 4-5 point range and thus, it's also insignificant statistically--as intended. See, sportsmanship scores CAN be influential, but when you:

A) Change their weighted value

B) Give everyone a base score for free

C) Limit 'bad' votes to once per 4 games and make it optional

D) Demand everyone be good sports

E) Limit 'good' votes but make it mandatory

You end up with essentially the same system--but gaming it is not possible, because:

1) You don't know where you are seeded.

2) You don't know if table 1 is top table or table 37.

In short, only YOU know how well you did--but in a system that has a 'seed variation' of 3.00, you really can't say where you stand even if you pulled off a perfect game. You can't say 'how many games did you win?' because the answer is likely going to be the same as yours, as that's the whole idea behind seeding systems. lol

The main reason for this is to provide a statistical variation. With the random seeding and table randomization, nobody will know where they are in the schedule in comparison to anyone else. As there will be very little 'time' to talk and the 'seed' scores will not be published--and sportsmanship has less overall weight at YETICon...well, if we expect good behaviour and get it, what can we say about the YETI? Was Danny more or less 'nice' than Jawa? Both seemed to be very good sports to me. Hopefully I can say that, considering I played next to both of them. lol

Anyway, the widest range of points you can see will be:

0-8. Yep, really.

Now if those points are only worth 20% of your non-competitive score, odds are they are even less able to be manipulated. To the point of ridiculousness really in trying to do so.

Which is really what we want.

We still clearly identify great sports.

We can still identify trouble.

All without using an arbitrary system or a 'fixed' yes/no system--we assume you will not be a dick, because frankly we'll kick you out, temp ban you for a year, or permaban you if you are a dick.

As Mike correctly noted, there was a very positive happy feeling at NOVA that I've literally never experienced at ANY GT. Not GW, not Adepticon, no other Indy, no RTT (other than ones I've hosted lol).

I could almost call it Euphoria. Have you experienced Euphoria for 3 frigging days worth of GT play? I never have. I don't see other people calling their time at other events 'shit', you know--for the most part, anyway. I also don't see them calling their chosen event as euphoric. Fun, sure. Euphoria is better than fun, because fun lasts while it's ongoing. Euphoria post-NOVA lasted quite a bit longer than the tournament did. That's saying something, and all because sportsmanship was expected but not guidelined.

See any guidelines? Any 'this is how you should act' yes/no checkmarks?

There is a difference.

Oh and while I'm at it--I don't favor the 'card' system because I don't think much of soccer's 'card' system. It's crap imho. lol

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Fantasy: Running a Bunker

Howdy,

No, no gotchas this time. Hopefully people will start paying more attention though. ;) Remember, feedback and discussion is great. Useless bits without suggestions, really is just the death of me.

This Bunker is built to give you both a CC unit and a bunker.

More on this after the list.
2500 Pts - Beastmen Roster

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

1 Tuskgor Chariot @ 80 pts (Primal Fury; Chariot)
1 Gor Driver (Spear)
1 Bestigor Warrior (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon)
2 Tuskgor

5 Chaos Warhounds @ 30 pts

5 Chaos Warhounds @ 30 pts

1 Great Bray-Shaman @ 275 pts (General; Primal Fury; Level 4 Upgrade; Hand Weapon)
1 Chalice of Dark Rain

1 Slugtongue @ 190 pts (Primal Fury; Hand Weapon; Poisoned Attacks; Regenerate)

1 Doombull @ 336 pts (Hand Weapon; Shield; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Trollhide
1 Dragonbane Gem
1 Potion of Speed
1 Uncanny Senses

1 Gorebull (Battle Standard Bearer) @ 235 pts (Hand Weapon; Battle Standard Bearer; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
1 Gold Sigil Sword
1 Blackened Plate
1 Gouge-Tusks

39 Ungor Herd @ 215 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Shield)
1 Halfhorn (Hand Weapon; Shield)

1 Razorgor Herd @ 55 pts (Causes Fear)

1 Razorgor Herd @ 55 pts (Causes Fear)

5 Centigors @ 135 pts (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon; Light Armour)

5 Centigors @ 135 pts (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon; Light Armour)

10 Ungor Herd @ 56 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Shield)

10 Ungor Herd @ 56 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Shield)

10 Ungor Herd @ 56 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Shield)

Total Roster Cost: 2499

Notes: So, obviously we will be sticking ALL of the characters into this unit.

Slugtongue, the Doombull, the Gorebull BSB, the Great Bray-Shaman (general).

Now that's a big ass unit of Ungors (40 strong) they'll be going in. Is it destined to be a Horde? Only if you want it to be one, it's there to get shot up.

Really? Yes, really. Give it a long tail, meaning...7x6 formation (7 across, 6 deep).

Remember, you are ITP as long as either Bull is alive and in the unit, so the enemy can't panic you.

Each Bull takes 2 spots (really, 4, I know doofusi) in the front rank. At game start, Slugtongue sits in the front rank so you can zap enemies, really on a side is best. Alternatively he can start in a Warhound unit in another spot with better zapping potential, then move to this unit.

Once the game starts, Slugtongue really doesn't "do" anything. You can run a 8x8 unit formation if you want to use him, but the majority of your spell attempts should go into your Great Bray-Shaman. Now you are going to be getting chopped up? Time to put Slugtongue into the front rank and the Shaman in back. Then you can lay the smackdown on people and as long as your Gorebull and Shaman are alive, you have a nice 12" bubble of LD8 with re-rolls.

Considering you'll be aiming to get off Bestial Surge with both Slugtongue and the Bray-Shaman every round possible to get your Chariots closer to the enemy, well at least that's the idea here. ;)

What's nice is, once you realize Slugtongue is your death puppet, what you really want to get off is Savage Dominion on your Bray-Shaman. He's tough, he can handle the feedback damage. It also gives you a nice late-game 'Hello there!' greeting that people can't kill by killing the caster...because he's stuck in the back of the unit. You don't really want a Jabberwocky appearing in your Warmachine gunline when your General is forward trying to stop the Beastmen, but hey that's what happens (everyone knows to summon Jabberwocky, right? lol--only against non-warmachine and heavily armored armies do you want a Ghorgon). Without a general around, Jabberwocky eats crews for breakfast.

In any case, the Doombull and the Gorebull are both scary, for both can frontload a hell of a lot of damage into you and can take a pounding before going down. The dark fire will not avail you. ;)

Note how the Gorebull is 'weak', but essentially protects Slugtongue from flaming damage so he can sit in the front rank being annoying if you want him to. While I normally run Wild on my Bray-Shaman and Slugtongue (so you can cast Bestial Surge twice a turn and move those Chariots up) you can and should mix in Death on Slugtongue so you can perhaps roll up a Purple Sun. Caress and Fate are also very useful as sniping enemy characters out, which is good. Nobody in the army is really good at using Spirit Leech, so don't swap for it.

Anyway since the max save you can get is 1+, both Bulls drop that down to a 4+. Which is good enough, you should be hitting such heavily armored foes with Chariots anyway.

Which you have 8 of.

Everything else that comes in pairs in the army are your outriders, built to sit on the outskirts of your army behind the Chariots and plug in the gaps. If you can get the Centigors into the side of people, you can throw the bunker into battle and chew them up badly (Centigors have 2 S6 attacks each, which is awesome).

The Razorgors have 4 S6 attacks on the charge, and the Warhounds + Razorgors are there to give you screening units and the ability to kill weak units or get extra charges off if someone flees. Just don't park them within 6" of your bunker, they are outriders--too close in, and they don't really do anything for you. They are there to protect your own flanks as much as possible.

I usually sit the Razorgors just inside the general + bsb, and park the Warhounds a bit away in front, angled away from my flanks. Either the Razorgors will eat a secondary charge through, or can counter-charge anyone breaking through the Warhounds.

Now why is the Ungor unit so big? Because you can't really stop warmachines. Chalice works then turns off, and you realize you are going to get shot up badly by template weapons. So you need to be able to take lots of hits and call it a day. The 4+ ward save on the unit versus flaming attacks is so very helpful, especially against Dwarves, Skaven, and Daemons.

Comment away. Less stupid please. ;)

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Yay!

Sweet, more big brother coming to a county near...me?! Oh, goody.

I can't wait to hear the legal arguments for and against this.

No expectation of privacy on the license plate of your car.

What is probable cause to pull me over?

Sigh. Anyone notice the only thing the cops have to say is:

We don't get much crime-busting out of this, but we do scan hundreds of cars per hour, it's not perfect so just like stoplight cameras...it's not about stopping crime, it's about increasing revenue.

Papers please, to a computerized bar code reader.

Ah, the future is both full of humor and darkness.

Well, at least they aren't buying equipment to justify their jobs like Homeland Security is. Oh, right, both are. Ah, my cynicism factor just got a jump.

Time for the gallows humor!

Прошла зима,
настало лето.
Спасибо партии
за это!

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Bretonnia: The Old Ways

Howdy,

So, I've noted the following things when running a Bretonnian army.

You can't beat huge units without killing them.

After you charge, you suck.

Bretonnia doesn't get Chariots.

Bretonnia has one level 4 magic user, so magic for Bretonnia sucks.

Really, just give it up.

So, while there are many choices for Bretonnia, what is the way to really go?

The Old Ways.

What are they?

Lances.

Many Lances.

Think of them like...Darts.

Can you kill something big and scary with Darts?

Not really.

What if you throw lots of darts?

Ah well then, you quite possibly can.

In a world dominated by mass magic and warmachines, how are the Knights to survive?

Why, with many many darts.

No, I don't want to paint it. Just testing this list was annoying as hell.

But I'm sure you guys do. Knight Nuts are Nutty, that's all I can say.

2500 Pts - Bretonnia Roster

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Questing Knights @ 168 pts (Always Strikes Last; Questing Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Paragon (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights of the Realm @ 160 pts (Knight's Vow; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Gallant (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights of the Realm @ 160 pts (Knight's Vow; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Gallant (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights of the Realm @ 160 pts (Knight's Vow; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Gallant (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights of the Realm @ 160 pts (Knight's Vow; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Gallant (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights of the Realm @ 160 pts (Knight's Vow; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Gallant (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

1 Lord @ 137 pts (General; Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour)
1 Warhorse

1 Paladin (Battle Standard Bearer) @ 74 pts (Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Battle Standard Bearer)
1 Warhorse

5 Knights Errant @ 120 pts (Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Cavalier (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights Errant @ 120 pts (Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Cavalier (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights Errant @ 120 pts (Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Cavalier (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

5 Knights Errant @ 120 pts (Knight's Vow; Barding; Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Cavalier (Hand Weapon; Lance; Heavy Armour; Shield)
6 Warhorse

Total Roster Cost: 2499

So, what does what here?

Simple really.

The Knights of the Realm clear out small weak units.

The Knights Errant charge into the front of enemy formations and die bravely.

The Questing Knights get into the sides of enemy formations and lay into the foe with S6 attacks, against which you usually only get a handful of guys to fight back with.

Yep, no banners, magic weapons, virtues, or really anything of any kind. You pray if it will help, then you get up and charge.

I mean...you throw Darts.

It's only 15 Lances. You can take it down! Warm up that Lore of Metal. ;)

You usually get a turn to stop the army. Then large parts of your army start to die. Especially the parts vulnerable to small elite horseborne units. So for most armies, that's most of it.

Good luck!

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Tomb Kings: The Beatstick

Howdy,

Despite the protestations of many TK players, I've discovered their magic is weaksauce. Annoying, but when I can let it go without worry, dude...your magic sucks.

Don't worry, you'll get a shiny new book and rape face, but until then--it's time to put away the magicians, and bust out the combat force.

How's that?

Well, you'll see.

I experimented with Ushabti, their main problem is a simple one--they can't keep up with fast forces.

Rather than the usual 'aha I will march past you then magic into your flank' which does nothing for you but a quick death, you've got to smash face and do it quickly.

This is how.

2500 Pts - Tomb Kings - The Beatstick

1 Icon Bearer (Battle Standard Bearer) @ 152 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Battle Standard Bearer; Undead)
1 Chariot (Undead)
2 Skeletal Steed
1 Icon of Rakaph

1 Tomb King @ 286 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield; Flammable; Undead)
1 Chariot (Undead)
2 Skeletal Steed
1 Spear of Antarhak
1 Collar of Shapesh
1 Ironcurse Icon

12 Chariots @ 580 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Fast Cavalry; Undead)
1 Champion (Hand Weapon; Bow; Spear)
12 Driver (Hand Weapon)
11 Warrior (Hand Weapon; Bow; Spear)
24 Skeletal Steed
1 Ranger's Standard

1 Tomb Swarm @ 45 pts (Poisoned Attacks; Skirmishers; Swarm; Undead)

1 Tomb Scorpion @ 85 pts (Killing Blow; Magic Resistance (1); Poisoned Attacks; Undead)

1 Tomb Scorpion @ 85 pts (Killing Blow; Magic Resistance (1); Poisoned Attacks; Undead)

1 Liche Priest @ 325 pts (Hierophant; Hand Weapon; Undead)
1 Casket of Souls (Causes Terror)
2 Casket Guard (Always Strikes Last; Great Weapon; Light Armour; Undead)
1 Talisman of Preservation

1 Bone Giant @ 220 pts (Extra Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Terror; Extra Attack; Large Target; Undead)

1 Bone Giant @ 220 pts (Extra Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Terror; Extra Attack; Large Target; Undead)

10 Skeleton Warriors @ 90 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Bow; Undead)

10 Skeleton Warriors @ 90 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Bow; Undead)

1 Tomb King @ 318 pts (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Flammable; Undead)
1 Chariot (Undead)
2 Skeletal Steed
1 Sword of Strife
1 Charmed Shield
1 Dragonbane Gem
1 Arabyan Carpet

Total Roster Cost: 2496

Notes: So, Strider and ability to reform for free before charges = how fast? Well, let's say you can't get away and blocking charges is a bitch.

Of course this all presupposes the Arabyan Carpet applies to TK's. I sure hope it does, be silly if not. Hi we're from Arabia, man that carpet is awesome! Oh, we can't use it? Awesomesauce.

Why does he have a Chariot and a fly item? So you have to kill him to stop him. Stop being dumb!

See, you present as many targets that are a pita for Warmachine and Magic heavy armies to stop in a turn, and things go wrong quickly when they can't stop it all.

2 Giants, one TK, a super unit of Chariots, and that stupid Casket of Souls just waiting it's turn for you to fail to stop it. ;)

What? You're running that big stupid unit of 50 zombies? Well, this is for you dumbass. Enjoy watching your unit poof in a round of combat. Don't be dumb, big and stupid is...just stupid.

Oh and why do you have the Tomb Dwellers? Simple--so when someone has 10 Warmachines, you can kill some of them.

The warrior units are there to take potshots, hide, and do little bit make the other guy cranky he can't afford to kill your objective takers.

So what's the point again?

If you can't do a bunker--like TK can't, then ffs attack attack attack!

That's what this list does. See, you keep yourself in single file then reform to the formation size you need...and then blow the crap out of the other guy. If you can't crush something with this, you probably shouldn't be charging in alone. Reform and make way for the Bone Giants. ;)

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Fantasy: Using the Bunker

Howdy,

As I discussed earlier, people will start to learn that their general + bsb in a resilient unit is one of the key portions of Fantasy.

However, what happens when you want to run it--but it's too expensive?

Then you need to invest in cheap units to buffer your bunker.

In short, you need some defensive minefields for the bunker.

Isn't that just the rest of your army?

Normally, yes it is.

Some armies have very expensive but also very suitable bunker style units--by dint of their ability to get a Ward save. Grail Reliquae, Phoenix Guard, etc. Or, they simply have cheapness as their virtue--but you should keep in mind most of those kinds of units (quantity over quality) get hammered by warmachine heavy armies--also because of their lack of a Ward save.

In the end analysis, you really need to think hard if your army needs a bunker, and if it does...can it use the bunker effectively enough or is it just points wasted in the backfield?

As today goes on I'll be giving examples, now I'm going to be nice and start with the subpar armies first, then go to the easy armies.

So don't say I don't do nice things for you.

Oh and while I know many of you Fantasy Experts like to whine, bitch, and moan whenever I talk Fantasy--seriously, get something better to do with yourselves than come here and complain I don't "get" Fantasy.

Like checkers. Go play that in the park. I'll let you know when you can come back inside.

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Fantasy: I only need three

Something I've seen quite a few players forgetting lately is they need to have a minimum of 3 units in their army. No, characters don't count.

However, even among those that DO remember this--they tend to make very questionable design decisions.

"I only need three" is one of them.

So you only plan on running 3 big units or 1 huge unit + 2 minimums, and running them at the foe?

Hey, that's great. Then you play someone who knows what they are doing, and they put your army down.

What you really need is a bunker.

A bunker, you say? Is this Flames of War?

Nopers.

Here is what I see many people doing, which mixed with the above mistakes, is really just bad news.

They don't run a bunker.

Now what, exactly, is a bunker?

Well, a bunker is your General and BSB stuck in a unit that won't go away.

Does this mean a stubborn unit? Well, it can--but only if you are running a CC oriented army with a CC oriented General. Obviously, a Wizard Lord is probably not going to want to see combat.

Since your LD of your unit the General is in does not matter if it's not a CC unit, what you want is a unit that either can afford to take casualties, meaning the models within it are cheap--or you can give the unit some kind of ward save vs missile fire. A skirmishing unit is another option, though generally you'll need to provide cover from enemy fire via your BSB's magic banner.

Now let's be honest--not all Warhammer Fantasy armies are created equal.

So, you may not have access to such a unit. Or you might, but you would never normally stick your general with such a unit. Or you might not have a magic banner to give you 'full' protection like a ward save, and instead have to make do with 'limited' protection like -1 to hit or some such.

Why is a Ward save so important? Simple--magic missiles hurt. Giving yourself items that boost your magic resistance along with a magic banner or status can give you an effective 2+ or 3+ ward save against them.

In short, if you aren't standing up to enemy CC units, then you want your general to provide the LD, and the unit to avoid damage from ranged fire and magic as much as you can.

Then you can have yourself a bunker, a nice safe place to hide within and project your LD bubble with a re-roll. It's a key component of 8th edition that most armies I've seen just throw away on making your biggest unit super duper killy.

Which is fine if you run into big blocks of 'the dumb', something many people take great delight in--and will so long as everyone else is also playing 'the dumb'. Not so fine if you run into advanced armies and experienced players, who use terrain and tactics to rip your big slow piece of crap a new one.

Still not playing with 25% terrain yet? Well, when you do--enjoy your wake up call.

So, once you have your bunker unit--make sure you have a tarpit unit you can put in front of it, and strong flanking units. Especially if you intend to advance into midfield and keep those units around.

As that is what the bunker does best.

If you play an army with a excessively high LD, like Dwarves or High Elves--don't think you can skimp out. You usually have a very thin line, and you definitely don't want someone breaking through it. So invest in a bunker, and you can stuff opponent's with sound tactical use of it.

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Firefall: Tabula Rasa done right?

Man, that's cool.

Watch to the end. It gets cooler. ;)

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Today's Contest

Ah yes, another contest you can't google.

What do the following number and letter combinations have to do with the each other?

Y1063

7th 600

9q49933

Good luck!

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This week in YTTH

Vote for a theme:

Tyranids...
Blitzkrieg...
Fantasy...
Warmachine...

Vote for one! :)

When I wake up I'll go with the flow...

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Yeti Con Needs You!

YTTH and Yeti Con need you! Yes, you! No, not you ... you!

With putting on a big event like this, we're going to need a lot of help. Most people need to be local - but not all. Send an email to john[at]yesthetruthhurts.com with what you're interested in doing. I can promise you will be used, and feel like you've been used when you're done. There is no compensation other than whatever swag we can arrange for our volunteers and the opportunity to be associated with people this cool. No, really.

We're planning this for late June at this time (tentative dates June 24-26), but it could change depending on the venue's commitments. We'll get our deposit in next month and have it locked in. That said, we understand that sometimes life gets in the way, but we would really only like you to sign up to help if you have a reasonable assumption that you will be able to do it. We have had lots of people offer to help that have not been able to do a thing. We hope to avoid this.

Standard Positions needed:
Rules Judges, multiple - must be well-versed in 5th Ed rules and willing to accept bribes.
Paint Judges, multiple - should be able to use a color-wheel and reasonable painting skills.
Door People, multiple - should be able to smile and talk to people without drooling. Handle registration, handing out name badges, swag bags, etc - whatever else is needed.
filled Con Photographer, single - own a DSLR camera and how to operate... should KNOW what DSLR means.
* - all these people will be asked to help with setup and teardown as needed

Extraordinary Positions
filled Sales, single - we're looking for someone that can contact sponsors and get them to pony up. Both Andy and I are personable folks (no, really), but I don't even know where to begin in calling someone up and saying, "Hi, gimme stuff." The more sponsors we get, the more stuff we get to give away.
filled Graphic Artist, single, but maybe more - we need a YetiCon logo, poster, etc. This and the Sales position are our two biggest needs.

Bloggers/Podcasters, as many as want to - we'll have a connection for you, but bring your own gear

Sponsors, as many as possible - if you are someone who sponsors stuff, or feel like you would want to, or know someone who does - contact me and we'll get something set up. The more sponsors we get, the more stuff we get to give away.

We'll probably keep this at/near the top for a little while, and occasionally resurrect it to get more people. Expect it to be updated with more positions as we think of them, and others to get filled.

Comments are great, but only those that send me an email are going to be able to do this. Me, not Andy - he'll never find it. Again, it's john[at]yesthetruthhurts.com.

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