CK Studios Airbrush Class June 24th 25th

I was fortunate enough to lock in a seat at Caleb and Kat's airbrushing class over the weekend, in Seattle Washington- a father's day present from my wife.

Let me tell you, the class was worth the 200 bucks. In fact, the level of teaching, and catering, I received as a student was far more valuable then the price of admission. I learned so much about my airbrush, about color theory and dynamism when painting minis. Both Caleb and Kat were very patient and giving over the two days- I can't speak highly enough about this class.

I think it is a must take class, for novice to experienced AB painter, and I strongly suggest readers to seek out Caleb and Kat and sign up for a class. The financial investment is a pittance when compared to the training, you will receive, and the friendships that will be forged.

Check out the link to CK Studios, here:
CK Studios

The Independent Characters took the class and covered it in their podcast (along with a nice interview with Caleb and Kat).
IC Podcast 149

If you are curious about airbrushing minis, or, want to improve your airbrush experience I can't recommend CK Studios enough.

Kingdom Death Monster: Card Sleeves

KDM Card Sleeves:

I will be adding to this post as I add pictures of the different Kingdom Death Monster cards in card sleeves.

First up are gear cards. Each card is around 50-51mm square. I tried two different offerings, and, opted with Mage 53x53 premium sleeves (pictured below):

Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5! KICKSTARTED!!

Kingdom Death: Monster is a cooperative board game set in a horrific land where players fight and die together to protect and nurture their fragile settlement from sinister monsters hungry for human flesh and soul...

Help Me Identify This Painted Army

So approximately 4 weeks ago, this gorgeous army was auctioned on Ebay by AA-Games located in the UK. The Ebay seller could not provide me any information as to who this amazing army previously belonged to. Although I managed to win one of the guardian lots, sadly, I did not receive the auction.

I am posting screen caps of the original auctions in the hopes that a reader may recognize this army. I would love the opportunity to pick the brain of the person responsible for painting these models as I want to apply this same paint scheme to my SM army and

Thanks in advance!

Junction: LY 12: Twilight Sword

Our four newest survivors took to the hunt at the beginning of Lantern Year 11, tracking a White Lion. Three of the four warriors lived to return home, the fourth was an unfortunate victim to the monster's playful batting; the monster literally blowing up her head in a visceral explosion!

One beautiful page found in the Kingdom Death: Monster rulebook. The amount of page turning required for the game leaves me feeling dirty after every play session. This book should be a centerpiece on any coffee table, rather than manhandled every game session.

Kingdom Death: The Kingsman

Holy shi-
Up until this nemesis encounter, I felt like I had a grasp on the game's difficulty. This battle was a definite DPS check that I failed miserably. I won't spoil the encounter other than to say that he fully wiped my party with only one wound caused by our team.

Kingdom Death: Monster! NSFW

FYI: I tagged this post with a NSFW b/c some of the book pics I posted from the book.

I have got to say, Adam Poots is such a class act. I purchased a copy of Kingdom Death: Monster. Quite a little investment for a board game, but, when you take into account the figures, the mechanics, and the replay value- well worth the price. I bought it directly through Adam's site, Kingdom Death during the last pre-order wave he opened up.

BOLO: Stolen Sisters of Battle Army!

A local player recently had his army stolen in Tacoma Washington. As they are a distinct looking army, I wanted to share this information in the event any good Samaritans may have information regarding it. 
Here is a link to to the original post and a link to the victim's profile. 

Odds are small, but, you never know. Hopefully, someone may recognize it. 

Kingdom Death Sci-Fi Twilight Knight Still Available: CMON

I see that the KD Sci-Fi Twilight Knight that includes two KD:Monster game cards is going for 30-40 bucks on Ebay: Don't buy it.

CMON still has it in stock for 15 bucks plus shipping- still over 70 units available. Since I'm impatiently waiting the delivery of KD:Monster, I went ahead and scooped a Knight up myself- you should too.
Edit: Kingdom Death: Monster is up for pre-order on Poots website. After shipping (inside US) the game comes to 320.00 bucks- quite a steal to the 400-500 bucks trending on ebay just hours before pre-orders were opened. The investment is heavy (almost an entire army equivalent in most game systems), but, justifiable for the sheer amount of content you receive.Get it while you can!

Cpl. Charles W. "Bill" Bryan, USMC, Killed in Action on Hill 881 South, near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, 20 January, 1968, Posthumously awarded the Navy Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor) for heroism.

Happy Memorial Day to all of our heroes- men and women lost defending our great country.
And to those left to mourn those that made the greatest sacrifice.

2015 Nova Open Changes/Possible ITC Changes

Mike and Co. are working hard to make 40K as fun as possible for the Nova Open. Following are his latest thoughts on rule changes/ FAQs:

http://whiskey40k.blogspot.com/2015/05/advancing-conclusions-gtinvitational.html

Baal Strike Force 1850 List: Updated 01/05/15

Kicking around an 1850 list idea centered around Dante and making assault work with Blood Angel Marines. I would have to rely on model and unit placement to diminish flyer presence, but, I think 50 marine bodies is probably the minimum to accomplish this (especially with the new bases LOL).  I considered Archangels Sanguine Wing which offers around 400 points of free upgrades, but, I don't foresee this formation getting a pass at events b/c of those free points.

This list sacrifices obsec going all in for the formation rules to bolster marines in assault. My goal is to include enough tools to burn down and grind out an opponent's obsec units:

LOW:
Dante
220

HQ:
Priest w/VE, pistol, MB, JP
105

Elite:
Death Company (10) JPs, 2x Fists, 2x PWs, 2x Infernus Pistols
340

CS (5) 1x Power Swords, 1x P Fist, 2x SShields, 1x Melta Gun, MB, JPs
200

Troop:
Tac Squad (10) H Flamer, Flamer, MB, Drop Pod DWML,
210
Tac Squad (10) H Flamer, Flamer, MB, Drop Pod DWML,
210
Scout Squad (10); Shotguns, MB, Power Sword
130

Fast Attack:
Assault Marine (5) melta x2; combi melta, mb
Drop Pod, DWML
135
Assault Marine (5) melta x2; combi melta, mb
Drop Pod, DWML
135
Drop Pod, DWML
50

Heavy Support:
Devastator Squad (5) 4x MMeltas, MB
115


Dante is a LOW, but, he is such a beast now that he is EW and swings at initiative. Dante and Priest ride with Vanguard Vets for a precision drop: The command squad consists of a five man with a couple of stormshields to soak up wounds the turn they arrive. They are also armed with melta combined shooting with Dante to pop transports if needed. I armed the priest with the AP2 power sword relic. AP2 with that high initiative on the charge is freaking scary. Not to mention all vets sans McFister will swing at I5 on the charge giving the vet unit a leg up on the opposition. Ultimately, the command squad is just a delivery system for Dante and Priest so time will tell if divesting the unit of excess equipment is worthwhile.
Death Company are so cool now that they can score and contest. The combination of Rage and Relentless make bolters the default weapon choice in my opinion. I'm starting out light on the power weapons in favor of a couple of infernus pistols, giving the unit a tool against high AV outside of assault. Will see how I like this load out and if I need to tweak it...
Assault Squads; cheap throw-away melta units meant to threaten Knights and high AV tanks. What isn't to like? For a 115 points you get two meltas and a combi! For a 135 you get two meltas and two infernus pistols. I've ran the infernus loadout on an assault sgt (back when you got 1 melta per 5 bodies). It is devastating, but, I'd like to at least start out with the minimum investment on a toss away Sgt. If two meltas and combi don't perform well enough on the table, I'll defer to the gunslinger loadout. I purchased an additional pod to mix things up a bit; I can choose to drop the Dev squad as a melta distraction, or, the scout squad as a backfield distraction. Of course the scouts can just outflank the backfield, which may seem laughable on paper, but, FC combined with Red Thirst will give that unit some teeth.
Tactical squads with H flamer/ flamer combos to burn out any hiding infantry.
All of my drop pods have deathwind missile launchers. Just another annoying way to cause wounds on low armor OBSEC units.Pods give better flexibility allowing me to create threats as well as respond to an opponent's deployment.
------------------------------------------------
Jan 1st 2015
------------------------------------------------
Instead of clogging up the blog with posts to edit this list, I'll just keep updating this specific post. Juggling this list, I've changed it up a bit. It is a two CAD list that combines Baal Strikeforce with an standard CAD for obsec troops. Astorath, Death Company, Scouts, and Assault Squads comprise Baal Strikeforce. Librarian, Tactical Squads, and drop pod make up the standard CAD:

Dante

Astorath

Librarian, Epistolary, JP

Death Company (5); Bolters, Power Fist, Power Axe, JP

Death Company (5); Bolters, Power Fist, Power Axe, JP

Tactical Squad (10); H Flamer, Melta, Combi-Melta, MB, Drop Pod

Tactical Squad (10); H Flamer, Melta, Combi-Melta, MB, Drop Pod

Scout Squad (5); B Pistol, Combat Knife, MB

Scout Squad (5); B Pistol, Combat Knife

Assault Squad (5), Melta Gun x2, Combi-Melta, MB, DP

Assault Squad (5), Melta Gun x2, Combi-Melta, MB, DP

Assault Squad (5), Melta Gun x2, Combi-Melta, MB, DP

Assault Squad (5), Melta Gun x2, Combi-Melta, MB, DP

Drop Pod
1850

Astorath's point reduction in this latest codex makes him a strong consideration if you plan to field DC, as, Astorath is now the only way to get Liturgies of Blood. I played with Astorath in 5th and enjoyed the unit, but, he was pricey back then. I broke up the DC unit from my original list into two distinct harassing units. A 10 man unit of 3+ armor that can't combat squad is a lot of eggs in one basket. As much as I love the idea of a huge mob of DC relentlessly jumping around the battlefield, Its a unit begging to be clobbered by an opponent. Breaking it up into two gives me another target consideration to throw at my opponent (at the expense of an additional kill point). I also slimmed each squad down to one axe and one fist. That gives me punching power to deal with high toughness units, and high AV vehicles.
Scout squads fall into the Baal Strikeforce CAD. Since they are part of the strikeforce, I gave both units combat knives since I'll be hiding them in combat when I'm not hiding them in ruins. The extra drop pod gives me the freedom to surgically drop a unit of scouts where I may need them most: Late game contention, line breaker, or, denying line breaker. My standard CAD will be led by an epistolary Librarian whose job is to buff Dante, and Dante's unit. I gave him a standard staff rather than Gallian's. I will have to play test whether the 10 points is worth scrubbing an HP off a 2HP unit with 3+ save just to reroll a 1. The weapon's strength modifier will allow him to scratch things with his stick. 10 man Tac squads are meant to combat squad (CS) hence each unit's diversified weapons. That gives me a total of 6 obsec units when I include their drop pods. As I mentioned earlier the sole drop pod in this CAD can be utilized by a scout squad when convenient. Finally, I have four melta assault squads that straddle both CADs meant to neutralize Knights, high AV units, and the occasional fortress.

Overall, I think this list flows better than my initial list. It lacks the ability to address flyers directly, and will rely on it's footprint to mitigate flyer presence/performance.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Peace on earth, good will toward man.

Wishlisting Blood Angels

Wishlisting the new Blood Angels, a user on Faeit posted a compilation of codex rumors as follows:
(I will update as more rumors find their way to the internet)

Games Workshop Petition

I'm going to link this petition in case anyone would like to therapeutically comment and attach their names to it.

https://www.change.org/p/games-workshop-limited-refocus-your-business-model-on-the-sale-of-a-game-and-support-of-a-gaming-community-vice-the-pure-sale-of-collectible-miniatures

I think the petition succinctly bullet-points most of the issues that separates Games Workshop from greatness, but, I want to stress the following:

1) Well-written, competitive rules that are diligently and actively maintained. I can forge the narrative with shit rules, but, at least price them accordingly. Right now, rules are priced at a premium. The product does not reflect it's price point.

2) Support FLGS. For the love of Christ, Games Workshop stores fucking suck. One-man stores do not provide a fun place to play games- especially when there are all of these silly rules excluding aftermarket parts and figures. When ONE PERSON operates a store, where all occupants have to step out every time that person needs to 10-100, or take a break- a fun, positive, customer service experience will almost certainly NEVER be met (regardless of how nice and professional your store managers are...and they are very nice, professional people).

When I go into my local store, Olympic Cards and Comics I am greeted with plenty of tables to play, friendly, professional, service. Gabi, OCC owner, strives to keep the environment family and kid friendly which is a plus; the store doesn't stink and is clean. She lets me play with my kit-bashed figures that include non-GW parts- Wow, what a concept! There is also restrooms available for customers, and the store stays open till the last person leaves. The first step to an active gaming community is providing a clean, safe, and fun place to not only purchase merchandise, but, to model, paint, and play with said merchandise as well. Kudos, OCC.

3) After-market bits...c'mon. You slayed all of the competition and you're just going to leave that vacuum? Upcharge for the individual sprues and allow customers to tailor their purchases based on their imagination.

4) Support conventions, RTS, and GTs. There is a community that would love to interact with you, and the benefit would pay off in spades. These events are no longer relegated to highly competitive douchey WAAC players (common Jervis-Lover misconception). There are plenty of events that are offering competitive and narrative events under the same roof and its bringing the community closer together. Bay Area Open, Las Vegas Open, Nova Open, 11th Company, T-SHIFT, Adepticon, PAX West- they all run alternative events along with a 40K grande tournament.

5) Oh shit, sorry to do this to you but; welcome to the digital age and social media. Embrace it. Even forums are a little dated these days when you have twitter, facebook, google circles, etc. Oh, you don't want big, mean internet trolls bullying your pages and posts? Step over to Neverwinter's forums for a lesson in Nazi forum moderation. Their forum mods run such a tight ship that Captain Bligh blush with jealousy. Surprise: the Neverwinter mods work for free. Volunteers that take it upon themselves to tirelessly regulate the NW forums and eradicate any post that even hints at breaking the TOS.

6) Price point. How do you expect to bring in new blood (btw, you need new blood) if you price the majority of your product so high? Your games are fucking nerdy to begin with- how are you going to attract the teenage demographic you have been focused on? Mom and Dad's checkbook only goes so far, and you're competing against a lot of other media entertainment syncs (you may not like it, but, you are competing against video games). You need to figure out how to competitively price your product to attract new blood and hook them in. You need to competitively price your product to combat all of those alternative game companies that you have allowed to grow and bloom in your garden...so many weeds that have taken root over the last 10 years- so many options for a spending conscious consumer to deter them away from your overpriced, big, clunky, shit rules, games.

These days, young people want to compete. Give them clear concise rules to hook them in. Price an entry level set- the price of a video game (40-70 bucks) so that the curious can find out if they like your game or not.

Anyways, check out the petition- there are some very good points. Rant off.

Competitive Blood Angels in 7th Edition 40K

In light of 7th edition, I have been bouncing around ideas for a competitive Blood Angels list. Some of my initial considerations- not all encompassing:
Assault is still weak with regard to jump pack Blood Angels- they're just too expensive and lack oomph.
Psychic powers are a lot less reliable to cast this edition and require a significant amount of point investment to work.
AV 11 is still weak, but, I am interested to test fast Rhinos and Razors. I don't think they will hold up, especially as armies transition to take on high AV.
Object Secured (OBSEC) Land Raiders...

Happy Independence Day!

Take a moment and honor those that have fought and sacrificed for this great Country. Enjoy this holiday, God bless, and be safe.

Team Stomping Grounds: Twitch Channel

TSG has posted video bat-reps of 7th Edition games 40K for anyone interested:

http://www.twitch.tv/sgvideo/profile

Memorial Day

 Happy Memorial Day. God Bless.

7th Edition 40K: Ask Someone with the Book Live!

Kirby, over at 3+ is the New Black got his 7th edition rule book and is answering questions here: http://www.3plusplus.net/2014/05/7th-edition-rulebook-in-hand-live-post/