40k 7th Edition Final Thoughts

After my full blown rant the other day about some of the highlights of the new edition of 40k, many a blog has posted their thoughts having had the book over the weekend. I've read these with interest as often the same rule change/addition will elicit opposing emotions amongst gamers.

There seems to be a general agreement that 7th Edition is actually v6.5 done properly. The rules certainly seem to be clearer and I've read some high praise from trusted sources on this aspect. This is great to hear as too often rulebooks can be vague or provoke obvious questions that aren't answered.

I find it very interesting too that people are already talking about ignoring/changing rules in the new edition in order to make the game more balanced. Unbound lists, Warp Charges and individual Psychic powers in particular have been highlighted as things that have to change or be ignored in order keep the playing field relatively balanced. This was quite significant I thought.

First of all, gamers changing a brand new set of rules voluntarily is surely really bad from the publishers perspective. Does it not indicate that those rules/powers in particular were so unbalanced that people could see it straight away, often before actually playing. Surely this indicates that there was precious little (serious) play testing done before the rules were published?

Secondly, it was quite heartening to see people wanting to alter these rules, rather than abuse them. Of course there will be those folks who feel the need to take advantage, but as one gamer put it… it's about fun being had on both sides of the table. It was great to see bloggers stating outright that things are a little too open and volutarily reel things in.

This time out the rules come as three books rather than one giant tome. I have mixed feeling about this. The last time this was done was 2nd Edition and I wasn't a fan. One of the three books was always missing and it is the only edition that I no longer have as a consequence. At least this time out it comes in a nice slip case, so the books have a home. I also wonder if GW have shot themselves in the foot a little here from a sales perspective. The standalone rulebook for 7th is great for people who don't want to lug a massive hardback with them when they game. However, having a single massive book created a market for people buying the starter box (Dark Vengeanace, etc.) purely for the small A5 rulebook, often selling the models that accompany it. Will those individuals feel the need to buy the starter box now that the main rulebook is more mobile? Time will tell.

So, am I likely to buy it?

I can't say either way at the moment. I would be happy to see this edition of 40k pass me by, much like 6th Ed did. However, with the imminent release of the Ork codex, and more importantly the new Gorkanaut and Morkanaut models, Bull will almost certainly want to let his Orkiness run free again for a while… and it's only right. Do we play a game using the universally-agreed broken 6th Edition or do we splash out on 7th? That's a question for another time but I'm a little more intrigued to look at these rules than I was a fortnight ago!

4 Days and Counting…

I've been preparing for this week for eight months now, but it doesn't seem to matter. In four days' time we will be moving house. The prospect of having to get everything out in a few hours is madness to me – up to this point I've only ever lived in rented accommodation so could take my time over the course of a week to move.

What makes this even more interesting is that I seem to have more hobby stuff than ever before, despite ebay sales and just giving stuff away. The image at the top shows just my official figure cases. These contain 40k space marine, eldar and four chaos marine armies as well as some fantasy chaos and my Malifaux collection. Of course this doesn't include any vehicles, monstrous creatures or super heavies. It doesn't include any of the three Warmachine/Hordes forces I have or my Blood Bowl models. I also have a collection of X-Wing which have their own case now, which means it will survive the journey.

Then of course we have boxes of unpainted models. I'm discovering things I didn't realise I still had, things I thought I'd sold. Where does it end? My wife wonders the same thing.

Then we have the books. Oh my word!

There is over a decade of Games Workshop publications, most of which have gone to charity (or to be recycled). I have codexes and Forgeworld books covering at least four editions of 40k.

Don't forget White Dwarf! I have almost every edition going back to 1990 – that takes up three plastic storage boxes and weighs a tonne.

Since my move away from all things GW, back in 2010, I now have a host of rulebooks and support material from a dozen other companies (and models to match of course!). I also have a couple of home-made gaming boards to transport this time around as well.

I always thought I had a handle on my hobby. I thought that I was curbing things and was a shadow of the former hobby geek from my early 30s. Not so it seems if volume is a judge of anything.

At least in the new place I'll have a garage as well as an attic. Or does this mean I'll just accumulate even more!…or bigger stuff!… or both!

I do get the opportunity to organise everything once we get to the new house. I'm pitching for a display cabinet for some of my models but not sure the wife is onboard with that one – out of sight out of mind is her motto where the hobby is concerned… and who can blame her with all this gear!

The New 40k Free For All…

My very first gaming experiences were thanks to Warhammer 40k. It was the imagery and background that drew me in first of all. Like so many other gamers, the Space Marines just pushed my buttons. I loved the concept, the models… just perfect.

Years later I eventually got to play a game, and I was hooked. The gaming became an obsession and after my first tournament there was no looking back. I had five years of thrills, highs, lows and shiny model addiction. During the many tournaments I got to play in, I saw regular examples of individuals who will twist the rules and codex lists to the extreme in order to win. I've also seen plain-as-day cheating and it was this that ultimately led to me retiring from competitions.

Don't get me wrong, I've played some amazing games in tournaments too. I've met some amazing individuals and some very 'fair' gamers who had no interest in cheating. There were a lot of ups to the plethora of downs. I even managed to win a bit of silverware here and there.

Nearly ten years later and my cynicism for everything 40k-related couldn't be worse. I've seen the company that sold the game evolve into something akin to a drug dealer. From a gaming perspective, the product is ropey at best. The rules have been broken for a long time, each new codex ramping up the power factor so that gamers felt the need to switch allegiances and buy the latest model just to compete. Each new edition has been a band-aid to an amputated limb, but up until the end of 5th I was neck deep in it that it didn't seem so bad.

I wasn't terribly impressed with 6th Edition. It brought elements of Apocalypse gaming to the regular table and the points creep for models meant you had to buy more for a standard game. It was all starting to get a bit corporate and the quality of the gaming experience seemed secondary.

Then they drop the bomb that, just two years later, 7th edition is coming out. This screams of "we need a cash injection" and I object to it. They've been pumping out the codexes for the last 18 months at a phenomenal rate, none of which seemed to be anything special (aside from having a huge model added to the lists). It just seems to me that, while other companies are spending time producing innovative and more exciting rulesets, 40k gets re-issued again and again with a couple of tweaks and a shiny new cover. Of course the price goes up each year (or maybe the print quality goes down).

They even killed White Dwarf, a publication with so much history and significance it deserved better. Anyone viewing the new look, weekly version of WD will see something that was put together in Microsoft Word with less graphic design skill and attention to detail than my 68 year old mum applies to her church newsletter (I kid you not). It's a disgrace and after the mistake of downloading the first edition, I will not buy another. Don't even get me started on the diabolical proofreading done by the company overall, it's been bad for years – especially for such premium products.

If it wasn't for the fact that the company continues to produce some pretty fine models, I think they would have disappeared off the face of the earth by now. The models are truly superb (for the most part) and the fact that most of them are plastic is a major bonus in my eyes. Alas, again, they insist on taking the piss by increasing the prices of these models to loan-shark levels.

But back to 40k. The free for all started with the allies rule in 6th edition: Why stick to one army or one codex? Take multiple mini-armies, getting the best out of more than one codex to help you win. The latest evidence for 7th Edition highlights the new 'Unbound' rule as a major selling point. What is 'Unbound' you ask? You get to field whatever models you like. No more "1x HQ and 2x Troops minimum" or sticking to a Force Organisation chart. Field whatever you like!

The masses have been cheering at this new found freedom and what a breath of fresh air it brings. I'm sorry, I just don't see it. How can having no structure in creating an army be a good thing? In friendly games (where gamers have a bit of sensible and balanced creativity) you've always been able to do what you like – it's up to you how you play your games, it's just a bit of fun. In tournaments, I don't see how letting people take whatever they like is promoting fair and balanced play. You may get a bonus for sticking to a Force Organisation structure but big whoop – crap covered in diamonds is still crap.

This seems like the next step in the company's plan to let anything go so that you buy lots of everything. Once again, the gaming experience has escalated to the next level where the lines between 40k and Apocalypse have blurred even more and the whole thing is becoming a mess. This begs the question, where do you go with 8th Edition, once it's a complete free for all?

I gave up my support of 40k some time ago, as you may be able to tell. This latest re-issue has proved me right to do so (in my head at least). I'm struggling to take anything positive from it. There are far more interesting and innovative gaming companies trying new things out there, who are far more worthy of my support and money. I still have my 40k armies, all 6 of them. I will go back to painting my Nurgle and will play 40k now again again against Bull. I just refuse to be a mug, following the Pied Piper of Nottingham blindly when there are better quality rules and more fun games out there.

Images from Deviantart

Saxon Hovel Part 2

Almost a month ago I showed the progressed of my Saxon Hovel kit – my first foray into laser cut terrain. It all went together very easily and within 24 hours was ready to go (above). Unfortunately I struggle with 'off the shelf', so had to add my own touches to it.

I had seen some fantastic 'improvements' to the very same kit at Evil Giraffe's blog so decided I would follow suit and do something similar.

The first, and obvious addition was to add balsa wood in place of the laser etched beams and supports. As fiddly as this was at times, it has definitely made an instant improvement and the whole thing feels more three dimensional already.

Hindsight being the wonderful thing that it is, I would do this stage slightly differently next time. I added the balsa to the wall and roof sections separately. Unfortunately it meant that the uprights weren't quite in the same place and the curves didn't quite match either. In future I would cut lengths of balsa to cover both parts, trim and fix them at the same time.

Next I added some liquid greenstuff to the walls. By stippling it quite heavily you can get a nice texture addition. How effective this has been won't become apparent until the paint is on and the drybrushing begins.

After that the focus moved to the interior. I stuck down the fire pit then added a couple of twigs and some sand to make it look like the remains of a fire – but what to do with the floor. I bought a pack of Sainsburys basic toothbrushes – 18p for 2 – and cut the bristles off them. I them scattered these around the inside floor and secured them with PVA. I then watered down some red oxide and coated the floor liberally to seal everything in and add texture to the exposed floor. Next time I'll do this the other way around I think.

All that's left to do now is conjure up a replacement balsa wood door as the laser cut one looks odd next to the balsa beams. Then it's on to the paint!!

Blood Bowl Team Developments

After the weekend's win against the South Coast Saurus, my Dark Elves – the Darkblades – are looking in pretty rosy shape.

Our damaged hero Adin Heartrender returns after his trauma against Bull's Skaven. He's lost a point of movement which, as my leading scorer, is a bitter blow and may ultimately see him retire prematurely. However, in his absence other members of the team have stepped up and have a similar SPP count.

Number 10, Torel Dragonclaw, stood up to be counted in the game against the Skaven just after Heartrender's injury and had an awesome second half. He didn't have quite the same impact in the Saurus game, although his Guard skill did make him a pain in the backside for the dinos, and cause him to be a bit of a target.

I also managed to get some points on number 8 Blitzer, Kirzir Deathreaver. With MVP, he now has a new skill, completing the initial upgrade of all my Blitzers. They feel a bit more solid now. Heartrender's injury is a concern, but with a move of 6 he's still reasonably mobile, just not likely to be scoring as much I think.

I think the surprise in the roster is number 3 Lineman, Atal Starslayer. With two touchdowns and a casualty he's close to his second skill. Block was invaluable against the Saurus on at least a couple of occasions, so a second will make him rather invaluable.

The biggest buzz for me was finally getting my Runner a few genuine points instead of cheeky single point passes. Rakiri Razorwing managed to get her touchdown (running the length of the pitch almost) and also managed to get a casualty which was a bonus. She also managed to roll 10 for her skills and got a Move bonus. At move 8 she is now on a par with those pesky Skaven Gutter Runners.

Looking at the roster, and to the next game, we have quite a few changes. As well as being back to full Blitzer numbers and a speedy Runner, we have a new addition. I had been saving my money for a couple of games now and have managed to finally purchase a Witch Elf. This opens up a whole new angle for the team, and learning curve for me. As a consequence my team value has ballooned a little but I'm still a good 100k behind the Orks. I will also only have a single journeyman next game – I still didn't make it through the Saurus game without losing a player to injury!

The league is unchanged after the weekend's result. The Darkblades have a few more points, but league positions stay the same.

Roll on Michael's next game against the untested Pro Elves!

Blood Bowl is back!

An impromptu visit to Awdry Towers yesterday (after being in hospital this last week) saw Mr Awdry's South Coast Saurus flex their muscles against my Darkblades. This was great preparation for their upcoming game against Bull's Celestial Unicorns. Poor Bull hasn't had a game of Blood Bowl for months now, but the Saurus coach wanted to see how Elves played, having only faced Nurgle so far.

The Darkblades team did have a higher Team Value than the Saurus, so Michael took a Wizard and a Bloodweiser babe to compensate. He decided not to spend any of his cash prior to the game, so still only had two re-rolls and no Apothecary. Of course he was also missing the Kroxigor and a Saurus from the previous game, so was definitely underpowered. He did have six Skinks though, which gave him options.

The game didn't start too well for the Dark Elves. Despite having +1 FAME, I managed to lose the roll for Throw A Rock on the Kick-Off Table. Consequently one of my Linemen ended up KO'd. It could have been much worse, but I was down a man before we'd even kicked off!

The first half was definitely something reminiscent of It's A Knockout, from back in the day. I was Kicking to the dinos, by turn two a second Lineman was KO and the Saurus had the ball well within my half. Alas the Skinks were relatively unprotected and were being Blitzed. Similarly as soon as I picked up the ball a Saurus would Blitz my ball carrier, and so the half continued. Nobody could keep hold of the ball longer than a turn!

At one point I managed to scoop the ball up – within a few squares of my own endzone and tried to make my escape. Alas Michael decided to use his Wizard (in the hope of having the ball land in an advantageous position so he could score). Instead the ball bounced out of play and was thrown clear across the field.

I'd managed to get the ball back towards the halfway line with my Runner before she tripped over her own feet and ended up KO as well. Another hit or two later and the loose ball bounced onto the head of a nearby Blitzer before landing in the middle of a group of players from both sides. I managed to push a skink out of the way, grab the ball and skip a few squares into the Saurus half of the pitch. The bigger dinos were spread all around the pitch and the skinks didn't have the strength to seriously challenge the ball carrier. Michael tried his best to bog down the Lineman in tackle zones, but with a few models to support and some lucky rolls I just did enough to skip away into the end zone.

Saurus 0 – 1 Darkblades

With only one turn left in the half there was little Michael could do but try and inflict more damage.


++ HALF TIME ++

The second half started badly for Michael. Again, Throw A Rock came up on the Kick-Off Table and a dice roll later his Saurus in the middle of the line was on his back.

I had positioned all my Blitzers on the weaker side of the Saurus line and took the ball in that direction. The rest of my team risked life and limb, throwing themselves towards the other big dinos to tie them up. Before long I had broken through the line and my Runner was heading towards the endzone. Again the skinks did what they could to slow her down, but my Blitzers were in support and the second Darkblade touchdown came quickly.

Saurus 0 – 2 Darkblades

Michael decided to try his refused flank tactic from the first game. Alas this time he was facing the much faster Elves, plus the Kick-Off Table thwarted his efforts before he had the chance to try. A Blitz event game my team a free turn and I charged my team through, behind all the big Saurus. The two lonely Skinks at the back of the field had FIVE Darkblades bearing down on them, with no support in sight.

The wheels well and truly fell off the Saurus game as the first hit he attempted came up double Both Down. No re-rolls left. Turnover. A blitz and a cheeky pass later and the Dark Elves were in again.

Saurus 0 – 3 Darkblades

I knew that I had been riding my luck, putting Strength 3 Elves up against Strength 4 Saurus all afternoon. I had got away with murder up to this point, but in the closing moments of the game, Michael's only option was to try and get some Casualty points. The dice finally came good for him – bit late though. A hit on a Lineman saw his armour finally crack and he was KILLED. Luckily for me I still had use of my Apothecary and the re-roll gave him a Miss Next Game result instead. Still, Michael got the points he was looking for and the game ended.

++ FULL TIME ++

Saurus 0 – 3 Darkblades

Great game and Mr Awdry is a superb host as always. I think he was unlucky with his dice on the day – they would just not go his way, even when he tried a foul with a -3 armour bonus he didn't roll enough. He will freely admit that he spread his big guys too much in the first half and, despite coming within a few squares of scoring on a couple of occasions, his skinks didn't have the support they needed to get the ball over the line. He was of course down a couple of big guys but he does have a couple of skills now and has time to mull over his spending options before facing Bull's Pro Elves.

Time Flies… Paint Table Saturday Again!

I started my new job this week, so the the days have flown by and we're back to Saturday again already – superb!

There hasn't been a lot of progress during the week, but last weekend I had a dedicated hobby day to myself and got quite a bit done.

To start with the models for my new project saw a bit more paint…

This fine fellow got his cloak painted and some of his gear a bit of colour. I'm taking my time with this guy as it's quite a nice sculpt (even if it is finecast).

His companion saw a bit of cloak action too, not to mention some armour.

There were also some additions to the ranks (even though I've only finished painting one model so far!)

This burly bloke is going to look fantastic when finished. A Hasslefree sculpt called Ferrus, he will be seeing a bit of converting before he's ready for paint – a simple weapon swap.

The next two crossbow crusaders were put to the dremel. They had lovely flowing locks, which just wouldn't do in such a disciplined group. They were shaved mercilessly and I will be adding some greenstuff mail to replace the missing hair.

I'd also been threatening to add some balsa to my lovely Saxon Hovel to make it a little more three dimensional. Well, I stumbled across a sheet the perfect depth earlier in the day and set to bolstering my latest piece of terrain. I just need to do the same for the roof section, add a little texture here and there, then we're good to go with a re-paint!

And finally, I got some time to work on my gaming board!!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing – I went about this the wrong way, but have created a clearing in the middle of the board with exits at either side (hence the eye shape). I've added a bit more height with the addition of some foam, but at present it's too high. Lots more work to do, but all very exciting.

However, the activity will be scaled back in the coming few weeks as we're finally moving house at the end of the month. Once we're in, I'll have a garage to myself so things can get proper rowdy!

Enjoy your weekends!

For more Paint Table Saturday action, visit Sofie's Paint Blog.

Paint Table Saturday: 3rd May

This is my first Paint Table Saturday contribution, which is really rather sad. For someone who prides himself on nicely painted models, I haven't painted anything in what seems forever. In reality I did paint some Nurgle Blood Bowl a few weeks ago, but nothing quite as dedicated as this.

So here is my makeshift painting table – trying not to spill paint on my keyboard. I've got a handful of models from my new side project currently being looked at. You will have already seen the initial progress on both the Forest Rangers and the Crusaders on Foot – now we actually have some colour!

The first couple of Crusaders have now had some more colour added from my previous post. I used my lovely P3 Coal Black, mixed with Army Painter Matt Black as the basis for the clothes, helmets and shield. This has a couple of crude highlights by adding Grey to the mix. Their skin had my classic GW treatment – basecoat of Vermin Brown followed by a couple of highlights adding Bleached Bone to the mix. A final highlight of pure BB finished it off. It still needs a wash to blend it all together but not too shabby so far. Leggings have had a basecoat of P3 Cryx Bane Base – a lovely green/grey – but that's about it.

The first couple of Rangers have had a remarkable amount of attention so far on their cloaks alone. I've had real fun getting my mojo back with several layers of very thin paint, followed by a wash to knock things back and start the process again.

I started with a Loren Forest/Matt Black mix, followed by a few thin layers of pure Loren Forest. A wash of Athonian Camoshade later, I went back to the Loren Forest before moving on to Army Painter's Army Green as highlights.

Happy with these first two 'test' cloaks I moved on to something a little different. This mysterious maiden is having the similar treatment to the Rangers, but I'm trying to be a lot more subtle with my highlights. At the moment I'm about halfway – it looks good to the naked eye but doesn't show up so well on the phone camera.

I've also dug out my gaming board from the attic – who knows what madness may ensue this afternoon!

For more painting table goodness, visit Sofie's Paint Blog.

Crusaders On Foot

I had been looking for these at Salute but couldn't get them so placed my order with Perry Miniatures as soon as I got home.

The models themselves are pretty good; minor mould lines but a fair amount of flash in enclosed spaces (armpits and gaps between sword and body). I haven't worked a lot in metal recently so it was something of a nostalgic treat to have an afternoon of cleaning and filing metal figures.

In order to limit the number of sets I had to buy, a conversion or two was required – trading spears for swords. I also stuck the shields on straight away (which I know some of you will consider heresy).

The bases got similar treatment to the Forest Rangers. I added green stuff to hide the slot in the base and add a bit of texture on the surface. I then doused the base in red oxide paste – I'm really liking this stuff.

I do have a few more of these to build, but I need to do some more serious converting to get them where I need them to be – some of these soldiers are far too casually dressed.

Taking advantage of some lovely weather this week, I got both these models and the rangers undercoated – I supplemented a black spray with a brush of Army Painter Matt Black, which is amazing and covers a multitude of sins in one coat.

Timely spraying indeed as the weather is somewhat wet today so I decided to –wait for it – get the paints out and pick up a brush.

Needless to say not a lot got done before 9am, but at least we have the beginnings of colour (even if I did spend a day trying to cover up the bare metal, only to paint metal colour over the top!).

It will be very tempting to push these guys to one side in favour of the character models on the painting table, but I must resist.

I have booked in a hobby day on Saturday – praise Bank Holiday weekends! – so will hopefully have some progress to show next week. I may even dig out my gaming board if I'm feeling brave…