Winning games of 40K

[Guest Article by Martijn]

[Editor: we have some Chaos Space Marine units for sale here]

We all like to win our games, this sometimes is harder than it looks and offers many difficulties. In this article I want to help you with some tactics to win your games in the future. These tactics are a guideline, they are not set, and of course can fail too. What I am saying is that I don’t give credit you will only win when you use these tactics. And always remember, having a fun game is more important than winning a game.

When it comes to playing a tournament there are a few things you have to keep in mind before you go there. You have to know the rules (very) well, you have to know your own codex (and you opponent’s too if possible), you need to be able to play at a certain speed to finish the game in the set time and most important you need to have fun in what you do.

While playing a game of 40K there are always a few things you have to keep in mind:

The objective à it’s easy to get carried away killing while you need to claim objectives, be sure that in turn 4 you are in such a position that you can claim them in turn 5, in turn 1-3 you want to focus the most on killing the opponent’s army to have a better chance to claim objectives.

Redundancy à ALWAYS assume you units are not going to do what they are intended for, statistically 2 meltas make a tank go “BOOM”, but since we are not playing statistics but 40K you use at least 3 meltas to kill a tank. That’s why you throw 2 units into the combat instead of 1, to be sure it works.

Fire priority à What is allowed to live for another turn? And what do you need to kill now? This is different per turn, in the first turn you want to shoot at targets you have a good chance of killing in the first turn unless there is something you HAVE to kill at that moment for whatever reason, while in turn 5 you need to clear objectives, be it of units claiming or contesting them because you need to claim to win. If you’re playing kill points kill the thing in his/her army that does the most damage (so he/she can kill less of your units), and afterwards focus on transports and infantry.

Sacrifice à Sometimes you need to sacrifice something to lure your opponent away, positioning a combat squad in such a way that it’s an easy target and you opponent attacks it with a hard unit while you can strike the rest of army pays of.

If you keep this in mind while you are playing, you already have an advantage, because you battle plan will probably be able to sustain more unsuspected things. If you’re assuming that one unit is not going to destroy the tank you won’t encounter any surprises if you only use one and it doesn’t blow. This also means that your plan is more dynamic and you can adept it to unsuspected things. Such as 10 guardsmen surviving a space marine charge and killing 3 of them.

There is no set strategy for 40K, every army has it’s own, even if you change one unit in your army the strategy for it changes, so I will not be able to tell you any strategies, you have to find them out for your own. There are however a few things that work for almost any army, and things you should (almost) always do.

One thing I can advice anyone to do is go second, always go second, so you can counter your opponents deployment and first take a look at his/her battle plan in the first turn. Another good thing to do is creating dilemmas will your opponent shoot the tank or the squad on the objective, when your opponent needs to make choices he/she starts making mistakes or needs to divert attention, which is positive for your game.

At last I will go over a tournament army list and explain the details of it, what it’s pro’s and con’s are and how it is constructed.

The following list is a 1700points Grand Tournament list used by a friend of mine who plays Word Bearer Chaos Marines. [Editor: you can buy this army on commission for $1450 everything included in up to five payments, OR have it done piecemeal at $300 per segment*]

1 Chaos Lord, Daemon weapon, combi melta, melta bombs 140

3 Chaos Terminator, reaper autocannon 125

3 Chaos Terminator, reaper autocannon 125

9 Chaos Space Marines, 2 meltas, chaos Glory. 230

1 Aspiring Champion, power fist. Combi weapon 1 Rhino, Daemonic Possession 55

8 Chaos Space Marines, 1 melta, chaos glory 205

1 Aspiring Champion, power fist. Combi weapon

1 Rhino, Deamonic possession 55

4 Chaos Space Marines, 1 Melta 110

1 Aspiring Champion, combi melta, melta bombs 1 Rhino, Daemonic Possession 55

4 Chaos Space Marines, 1 Melta 110

1 Aspiring Champion, combi melta, melta bombs 1 Rhino, Daemonic Possession 55

1 Predator, autocannon, Lascannon sponsors, 130

1 Defiler, Reaper Autocannon, battlecannon 150

1 Defiler, Reaper Autocannon, battlecannon 150

The basis for this list is redundancy, why have one gun shoot at something when you can have three guns for the target. One misses, one doesn't wound/penetrate and the third kills something, hopefully.

The fire support is mobile, for the most part. The Terminators and defilers walk forward on the sides of the board. A crossfire attempting to get side armour shots. Autocannons against the vehicles, even with the defilers; a battlecannon has only one shot at hitting, penetrating and damage result, a reaper autocannon has two shots, twin linked, giving it a good chance to hit. And you sill roll two dice for penetration, only now they both have a chance to penetrate, though they are lacking 1 strength. So obviously don't use it against armour value 13 or 14. The predator is there to control a fire lane.

The marines are the meat of the force, two units of 10, with 3 meltaguns/combimeltas. These are the work horses. Killing infantry squads and vehicles with AV 13-14. The smaller squads are suicide squads, killing something and getting killed in return. I find it helps that when you have a suicidal situation, you have already decided which unit will take one for the team.

The rhinos are possessed, an expensive upgrade, one I wouldn't really recommend, were it not for the lovely situation that you can always shoot out of the fire point. Not having to get out to fire your meltas means that squad stands a chance not getting charged that turn.

The Chaos Lord is in there because I needed a HQ and a Dark Apostle is quite iconic for the Word Bearers. Is it a heavy hitter? Kind of. Is it worth its points? Probably not.

I hope you liked it and found it useful.

Martijn BTP Correspondent from the Netherlands

With the help of Ben for the army list

*Options:

Save $100 by giving artistic license

Contact bluetablepainting@gmail.com for questions or to make an order. We will paint to specification. We can change armament or tweak the list as well.

Dark Eldar Interview

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Power Core: Alternate Perspective

[Guest Article by Bandemer]

Shawn Gately of BTP fame has proposed the idea of “Power Core” armys. The basic thought is that for 8th edition Warhammer, army's should have the majority of their composition (2000 pts out of 2500) core choices and basic troopers. Like any new idea, we need to play it out plenty of times and respectfully analyze how we think this will work and how it actually plays for varying generals.

Here’s my initial impressions: Mixed feelings.

Armys like Empire, Orcs, Skaven, Beastmen and to a certain extent Lizards, Elves, Bretts, can easily see the benefits of fielding a lot of points of core choices. These armies (in general) lack superior fighting and durability that their elite cousins (including special/rare choices from the same book) dish out. Power core uses the infantry rules to their greatest potential. Hordes can fight in 3 ranks. Also, with step up, slower units get the chance to dish back the hurt and add some causalities on their side for combat resolution. We can shoot in two ranks, doubling shots fired and minimizing frontages; steadfast makes what once used to be mediocre troops actually hold combats with greater potential. Example: Very few “elite” units (say 20 phoenix guard or 20 Warriors of Chaos) would fear negative outcomes for charging into 10 empire halberd state troopers, but increasing their numbers to a horde of 40-50 drastically changes the power that this unit is worth.

Power core is great for cheaper armies because it gives them wiggle room for mistakes. An army of elites can’t risk units as much as say a Skaven or and Orc force. High Elves, Wood Elves, Deamon, and Warriors of Chaos players need to make smart decisions about charging and charging positions against outnumbering armies. One mistake with key units can easily swing into the larger forces favor. (Example: Bloodletters needed to break a unit of orcs and pursuit outside of the arcs of possible flanking forces but because of the avaibility of steadfast, the orcs have a better chance of holding, thus possibly destroying the Bloodletters in combat resolution with flank charges next turn whereas if the same orc player dropped one of his blocks in a sacrifice charge to clear room on the field or simply shave down wounds/redirect a certain unit, the Orcs still have more bodies and units to continue the attack.) Even with lower leadership and random elements like Animosity, having more units than the opponent can be quite the advantage in terms of position and tempo of the game. But like everything in wargaming, there are cons to the pros.

Massed frontage does have its drawbacks. Terrain can cause plenty of issues and causalities (Damn you Blood Forest!) and more inexperienced players may often find their mass of models daunting . “Horde” armies are tricky to deploy and movement can lead to lots of congestion on the battlefield resulting into missed opportunities in the game because of the crowded positioning.

But I want to end my general thoughts on a brighter note. The one really cool thing I see about Power Core builds for Empire, Orcs, and even Warriors of Chaos is the fact that they have units that perform in all phases as core choices. These lists can take archers, cavalry, and differing levels of standard foot infantry at a cheaper rate than special and rare choice units, and being core, there is almost unlimited amount of your build percentage can be dedicated to them. Sadly you are forced to bring at least a Hero level general. What a drag. But having that much flexibility in core choices in key in composing a cohesive fighting force.

On the proposed Wood Elf Power Core Glade Guard: Here it is bluntly. It’s a one trick pony. Gately (the guy who came up with this theory) is using a certain Wood Elf build as the back bone of Power Core. The build is loosely 11 units of 12 archers with Muso along with whatever little goodies you can fit in. WARNING: MATH-HAMMER IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE: That’s 132 shots a turn. That’s a lot of dice. At say, 4+s to hit because of long range, 66 hits against T3 opponents is 33 wounds. Being “generous” I’ll give the pin cushion a 6+ armor save meaning about 27 die a turn. That’s a lot of figs. T4, it only causes 22 wounds with a 6+ armor save kills about 18 or 19 guys. A TURN! That’s like point, click, delete. Of course this isn’t 100% because of dice and game features. Also in favor of the Woodies, units may panic and run off the board after taking friends with them, a game feature which is not indicated by the strict causality equation.

But all an opponent has to do is run up 1 or 2 successful charges with something fast to start chomping away at T3 meat puppets. And you thought cavalry was dead. The WEPC build probably excels in missions like 2 and 3. Because of how most of the units are completely identical, there is less pressure put on deployment order in the line and I’m sure the most inexperienced player that just started yesterday can figure out why a fast gun line that can move and shoot without penalty would love playing with the space in between the starting lines AND the space behind for the elves to retreat. In missions like 4, 5, and 6, Gately’s should really struggle against any balanced force from any army. Because of the lack of standards, to win mission 4, all anyone has to do is pit enough power to murder the Wood elf general. Warmachines and Death magic will ruin the wood elf army in mission 4. Mission 5 is very tricky because of the deployment possibilities. Most armies will want to deploy on the starting line and close in as soon as possible. Taking 3 turns of full shooting will ruin anybodies day, but pushing strong flanks will usually help close in on the elves. And in terms of mission six, because wood elves are a lot more fragile, taking them from the buildings shouldn’t be as tough as other units, but on the same note, they will shoot up the building with the enemy in it, demolishing anything that was garrisoning the building. This game is all about timing, having the right units in place to occupy the building turn 6.

Most builds have multiple answers to attack the line quickly. Because the Wood Elf Power Core build is not meant for melee, choosing successful combat match-ups shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It might take a flyer sac or losing a redirecting unit or two of light cav, but once archer line is hit, the WEPC are taking causalities, panic checks, and fewer shots fired next turn because of held combats. Remember: Friendly units in combat cannot get shot at by the remaining archers so get into combat quickly!

Here’s the list I came up with using the Power Core Theme. I kept in the 11 units of 12 archers and added two characters and two units of Treekin. Note here: 11 units of Glade Guard is a lot of points: 1650/2500 or 66%. But that is still not a whopping 2000 pts of pure core troops. Spellweaver has Hail of Doom and lore of Life to boost up the elves in toughness keeping the units in danger a lot more durable. T5 elves ruin your day. Spellsinger is to combat the oncoming forces use of terrain. The opposing force will take any cover possible to get the neg 1 or neg 2 to shooting. Because they can move forests up to 4 inches, that canhelp negate any modifiers fast cavalry or upcoming forces were taking advantage of in their positioning. Magic is before shooting meaning the Wood elf player doesn’t have to anticipate or predict their opponent’s movements. They can just take the cover right from under them before they start shooting. Treekin are tough. Really tough. I would use them to block the hardest hitting units. The wood elves would probably save them last for alternating deployment to best place the Treekin to intercept on coming pain and to keep the archers alvive and kicking for turns to come. Dryads might have worked just as well as the treekin. They are tougher than elves, cheaper than Treekin, and have more flexibility in the movement phase because of the Skirmisher special rule.

2500 Pts - Wood Elves Roster

Spellweaver (13#, 455 pts)

1 Spellweaver @ 305 pts (General; Level 4 Upgrade; Hand Weapon; Longbow; Lifebloom)

1 The Hunter's Talon

1 Earthing Rod

1 Ironcurse Icon

1 Lifebloom

1 0. Earth Blood

1 1. Awakening of the Wood

1 2. Flesh to Stone

1 3. Throne of Vines

1 4. Sheild of Thorns

1 5. Regrowth

1 6. The Dweller's Below

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Spellsinger (1#, 155 pts)

1 Spellsinger @ 155 pts (Level 2 Upgrade; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

1 Hail of Doom Arrow

1 1. Tree Singing

1 2. Fury of the Forest

1 3. The Hidden Path

1 4. The Twilight Host

1 5. Ariel's Blessing

1 6. The Call of the Hunt

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Glade Guard (12#, 150 pts)

12 Glade Guard @ 150 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon; Longbow)

Tree Kin (3#, 195 pts)

3 Tree Kin @ 195 pts (Causes Fear; Flammable; Scaly Skin)

Tree Kin (3#, 195 pts)

3 Tree Kin @ 195 pts (Causes Fear; Flammable; Scaly Skin)

Validation Report:

Edition: 8th Edition; Game Type: Normal Game; Army Subtype: Wood Elf Army

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Total Roster Cost: 2500

I’ll admit I am not a wood elf player. But I am a regular patron to the Gods of Chaos. This is the list I wrote SPECIFICALLY to annihilate the WEPC list that I came up with. Normally, I wouldnt bring along something this extreme (but it might be fun) to a tournament or even a pick up game. 5 units of Marauder horsemen aren’t necessarily a real problem for the glade guards 1 gazillion shots, but incorporating terrain features and threatening sooner charges makes them a target priority. Even if all 5 Horsemen units die, it allows the rest of my army to waltz up with less possible harm thanks to the distractions. I also field 3 units of Chaos knights, which basically double the speed of chaos warriors (again, trying to get into combats sooner to limit the power of the opposing force.) 1 Unit has the mark of Tzeench given the Blasted Standard which gives the unit a 5+ ward save from shooting and magical missles. Tzeenchs betters your ward save by 1, meaning those knights have 1+ armor followed by 4+ ward. The other knights, like the rest of the army are mark of Nurgle, meaning even at close range the archers are only hitting on 4+. Then theres the 55 chaos warriors with shield and Nurgle. If the whole glade guard force focused on just the warriors, they kill 30 in 6 turns (assuming long range hence S3). Because the knights were very expensive, I decided to drop a lot of special characters or magic users and just play a very aggressive and durable force to go straight up the guts. The general is on a disc so if he sees an excellent chance to snipe out a character or hit an unsuspecting unit, he has more flexibility. But, since he can't join units, He will most likely die from the archers.

2500 Pts - Warriors of Chaos Roster

Exalted Hero (2#, 180 pts)

1 Exalted Hero of Tzeentch @ 180 pts (General; Mark of Tzeentch; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor)

1 Disc of Tzeentch (Flaming Attacks; Causes Fear; Flyer)

1 Sword of Strife

Marauder Horsemen (5#, 95 pts)

5 Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle @ 95 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Fast Cavalry)

5 Warhorse

Marauder Horsemen (5#, 95 pts)

5 Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle @ 95 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Fast Cavalry)

5 Warhorse

Marauder Horsemen (5#, 95 pts)

5 Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle @ 95 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Fast Cavalry)

5 Warhorse

Marauder Horsemen (5#, 95 pts)

5 Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle @ 95 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Fast Cavalry)

5 Warhorse

Marauder Horsemen (5#, 95 pts)

5 Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle @ 95 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Fast Cavalry)

5 Warhorse

Chaos Knights (5#, 300 pts)

5 Chaos Knights of Nurgle @ 300 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield; Causes Fear)

1 Ranger's Standard

5 Chaos Steed

Chaos Knights (5#, 265 pts)

5 Chaos Knights of Nurgle @ 265 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield; Causes Fear)

1 Banner of Swiftness

5 Chaos Steed

Chaos Knights (5#, 280 pts)

5 Chaos Knights of Tzeentch @ 280 pts (Mark of Tzeentch; Standard Bearer Std; Barding; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield; Causes Fear)

1 Blasted Standard

5 Chaos Steed

Chaos Warriors (20#, 380 pts)

19 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle @ 380 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield)

1 Champion of Nurgle (Mark of Nurgle; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield)

Chaos Warriors (20#, 338 pts)

20 Chaos Warriors @ 338 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield)

Chaos Warriors (15#, 282 pts)

15 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle @ 282 pts (Mark of Nurgle; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Chaos Armor; Shield)

Validation Report:

Army Subtype: Chaos Army; Edition: 8th Edition; Game Type: Normal Game

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Total Roster Cost: 2500

Now, this is not saying that the WEPC army is useless. It has weaknesses, but if it is played correctly, it will definitely be a contending force for both casual and tournament environments. Many cunning generals will be able to really maximize the movement and shooting without penalty along with tree singing. The list is really effective when it can pick the important targets to demolish and set up the line to be the most effective in the shooting and phase that still doesn’t necessarily allow for an easy mop up when the enemy finally does make contact. I wouldn’t be surprised if seasoned wood elf players can continue to run away and avoid charges whilst shooting just as effectively. Many people may also be caught off guard in a tournament because of the sheer uniqueness of the build.

Simply put: power core isn’t for every play style or army. It maybe shouldn’t ever be used in the extreme case of 2000/2500 pts. What is for sure is that basic troopers have an upper hand in the game now. We do need to start fielding more basic troopers instead of relying on 1 or 2 super units to win games for us. Also, as a community, the exploration of army writing is a blessing. We no longer have slots. The percentage system really gives more flexibility than limitations for the most part and we need to explore all sorts of different avenues when it comes to army composition. Also, if you enjoy playing “weaker” armies or lists, go for it. It will make you a better general if you have to consider more weaknesses than strengths during your gaming. This wood elf list might at first glance seem all powerful or complete garbage depending on play style and demographics, but it’s up to the commanding player as to actually how effective it will be. I personally can’t wait to see these two armies in action (give me 2 weeks or so to get the game in. Who knows, maybe a video battle report?) I will be tickled pink if my list of ultimate wood elf archer destruction is completely slain by the Woodies.

Bandemer

Scrunts

Don't want to lose this link.

The Importance of Battlefield Terrain

[Guest Article]

After visiting a local tournament I got inspired to write something about terrain, it’s use, what it adds and everything related.

Last week I visited a tournament, and I was shocked by the terrain they had, it was crap to say the least. Only the two top-tables had nice terrain and a Citadel Battleboard. I am not saying that all 50 tables should’ve had a battleboard (although that would’ve been nice), that just is too expensive. But terrain that is broken or worn down so much that you can see the blue or pink of the Styrofoam, that just doesn’t cut it. Especially not when it is the regional championships tournament, which is quite prestigious over here.

Battlefield terrain is something we all encounter, be it at a tournament, on your own shelf, in the local gaming club or in shops, we all see it, use it (I hope) and love it (probably). There are a few things that make battlefield terrain so important with regard to miniature wargames:

It makes the battle look more realistic

It’s nicer than a blank table

The rules for terrain affect the game, in positive and negative ways.

Terrain of course is not essential, but without your games will me much less fun. Terrain adds a certain “dynamic” to the game, it changes battle plans, it can irritate and/or help you. That’s why you never should play without terrain, even if you use books as hills, glasses as rocks and plates as forests, then you have terrain.

The real plus of self-made terrain is that it can complement your army, because a Tomb Kings army with it’s own desert terrain is just cool to see, or an empire army with it’s own settlement, it complements your collection and makes it more than just an army, it adds ”narrative”.

There are a few ways to get realistic terrain, you can make it yourself from scratch, which is very satisfying once you completed something, it’s just like finishing a squad or regiment of your miniatures when you finish that hill or add the last flock to your forest.

You can buy pre-fabricated terrain, Games-Workshop makes some really nice terrain kits, you only need to assemble and paint yourself that can create amazing things (Fortress of Redemption, Witchfate Tor but also Citadel Woods).

And you can commission terrain, this is the easiest option because you only have to do 2 things, 1) decide what you want and commission it, 2) pay for it. And in a few weeks time you will have the most amazing set of terrain to go with your army and use in your battles.

But besides that terrain looks nice and it adds narrative to your games it is also useful in the game itself, because what would be a Tyranid army without cover saves to claim. What would be a game of fantasy without some arcane ruins buffing your mage, or some impassable terrain to chase your enemy into.

So get your hobby spirit up and get to work, be it making your own terrain or commissioning it, either way make sure you have decent terrain to play on.

Martijn BTP correspondent from the Netherlands.

Water Molecule in a Bucket

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Are the numbers right here?
My only objection here is that they say "Obama". Presidents for the last thirty years have pursued the same basic monetary policy. Same shenanigans overall for a hundred years. It's so ingrained that we alive today can't even imagine how it would be without the yoke on. Born into mental slavery.

Hero of the Imperium

This is a limited offer; two slots.

You get a $4,000 credit (yes, four thousand) to be used for painted/finished figures for $2400.

Once you pay, the credit becomes available by by degree each month, starting with the first day after you pay, at the rate of minimum $1000 per month.

It's the ultimate bulk deal.

I personally guarantee to uphold my end of the bargain. I give you my word to act in good faith. No shenanigans.

This is first come, first-served. Please contact me via email at bluetablepainting@gmail.com if interested.

Icing:

• You get free shipping for your projects.
• You get two shots of free shipping for Forge World stuff (we will cover for shipping, but you cover models).
  

Multiple people can get together for one of these, but there needs to be a spokesperson. The other people can get credited whatever the agreed amount is, but I need to deal with just one person. So, if Fred Jones is the spokesperson for the group, he passes along Instructions and sets things up by proxy, and tells me shipping addresses. However, if Fred skips town, other people involved retain their credits as long as this is A) set up beforehand (ie it's agreed who gets what and when), and B) they contact me before the models are shipped. Best to just make sure Fred is someone of impeccable character.

For example: a consortium of four people could go in at $600 each and each get a $1000 credit. It is disbursed at the same rate as for a single person.

There are a few conditions. The credit is can be used for materials (ie the models/kits) but those need to be assembled and painted by BTP as part of the deal (ie you can't just have us mail you kits). Some miniatures lines are not available through this deal (eg Forge World).

If you are dis-satisfied in any way, you agree to notify us and let us make reasonable amends. This deal is subject to our normal Terms of Service in our service guide.

The normal discounts for materials are not cumulative with this credit. You pay 100%. BUT (for those that are doing the math) you get an even better discount of effectively 40% off on your materials (because you paid 60 cents on the dollar for your credit). In other words you will be getting $100 worth of kit for every $60 you paid. This same rationale holds true for armies that we put up for sale at a rate lower than we would normally charge.

You can also send your own models to be painted. You don't need to get them through BTP.

The credit can only be used for commonly available materials (for example: not Forge World).

This special is the best deal offered to date. It is not cumulative with other specials. Exceptions: L2, Tank Factory, and Artistic License (those specials are cumulative with this one). Other specials/deals or whatever work with this one only at BTP's discretion.

BTP can reasonably clarify or amend unclear areas of the deal. There are always little gremlins that get in works. We both agree to be reasonable.

Shawn Gately

PS- I almost called this the "Army of the Month" special!

Green Tiger

Outside the world is turning to the restless and smoky odor of Fall. The leaves are turning yellow on the quaking aspens, and my beloved rain is enveloping the earth.

Of course, I didn't hardly see any of that because I was inside most of the day watching season 3 of 30 Rock on Netflix.

Usual Sunday: hanging out in bed with my wife all morning, the kids filtering in and out. She gets up to make some breakfast. I follow her out because she looks so hot in her "sleeping attire". Then I follow her back in. Breakfast in bed.

Then off to church. Absolutely wonderful to see my fellow humans. Every lesson was uplifting. Should I even try to describe it? My fave is Elders Quorum. Fifteen guys and we can shed the orthodoxy and really talk about things.

Not much more to say than that. The boys are into this certain CCG right now and I bought a shoebox full of them off eBay. Now they are my little house slaves. For $0.40 worth of cards they will clean a room, and be excited about it. Even G. will stay in bed. It's the only thing that's worked. Well, most of the time. The other night he found a green pen and made himself into a "green tiger".

Tamie left for her home town, about an hour's drive from here, to visit relatives. Staying home with all the kids and cleaning the house (well paying the kids in $0.02 cards to do it) is my love gift to her. She loves to visit her relatives.

PS- headaches are all gone. Also, heart stress test results are back from doctor: I am healthy as an ox.

Warriors of Chaos Ready to Paint

Here is an example of an army that is almost ready to paint and dirt cheap on eBay.

You could have it sent directly to the studio for painting. We can add models if needed. The great thing about this lot is that:

A) it is Buy it Now, no bidding.
B) you save a lot on Assembly since a lot of that is done. This is the real sweet spot.
C) free shipping
D) seller has a perfect rating
E) located in US

If you didn't want some of the models we would credit 50% of retail value (of the model itself) and put that towards painting.

Cost for painting is $7.50 per infantry and $14 per cavalry. Count warhounds as infantry of course.

This is a limited offer (just for this particular eBay lot if you buy it). I wouldn't wait around it's a really good deal.

Orcs Incoming

I might be getting in this exquisite Orc army sometime soon. Price tag is $2450.

German games day 2010

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Fan Mail

Got this letter from Matt. I put my own answers and comments in bold.


Hey Shawn! Nice to hear from you again.

I''m not the best painter in the world by far, but I've decided to paint the models i have myself (at least the Skaven ones). I dunno, I just sort of caught the painting bug. I do have some questions. I have never used foundation paints in my painting. Are they overly important? Should I start using them? GW foundation paints? We don't use them, but they do have good opacity. I think they're a good product.

Also, when I check online in the Skaven Tactics Section (Underempire.com), people say it's best to arm your clanrats with handweapons and shields. But when I call into mail order, they're always like : "Spears. Go spears". Don't listen to Mail Order. Go hand weapon and shield. Spears shouldn't cost any extra points because while you gain a benefit you also lose one.

Massive blocks of troops where reccomended, namely about 50 rats a unit, 10 wide thus gaining the Horde bonus. So I was thinking two units of handweapons and one with spears? How large should the plague monk units be? The stormvermin? As you said "30 is the new 20" when it comes to infantry Stormvermin: not so good. Stick with giant hordes. Too bad, Stormvermin are cool models. Mix some spears in, about a third so that you can change your mind later. If you read the rules only the majority (ie 16 out of 30 models) has to have the correct weapon.

Also, what is the average Fantasy points battle you guys play at Bluetable? I heard Gamesworkshop was trying to push games to 3000 points.
Of course they are! 2500 pts is what we play, but I think 3000 is not a bad idea.

Watched your video by the way about how the new rules are affecting the game. Since the emphasis now is on large units of infantry, does that mean small forces of elite troops suffer?
If the elite troops have killy power to make up for it then they are just fine. Like Swordmasters and Chaos Warriors.

Saw some polls on the internet and I know the Internet is not the BEST source of reliable information, but I checked out a few sites and they all had generally the same 'top tier, middle tier, and lower tier' armies. This was the general rankings of the armies under the new rules, from 'best' to 'worst'

1. Dwarfs

2. Skaven

3. Empire

4. Dark Elves

5. Lizardmen

6. High Elves

7. Daemons of Chaos

8. Warriors of Chaos

9. Ogre Kingdoms

10. Vampire Counts

11. Orcs and Golbins

12. Tomb Kings

13. Beastmen

14. Bretonnia

15. Wood Elves


What do you think of this? I know it's not official by any means, but have you noticed any trends at your studio that seem to suggest a 'top tier, middle tier, lower tier' system for the armies? And frankly, i don't care if the Orcs and Goblins are down the list, I'll probably end up getting them anyway.
The jury is still out. People haven't made the extreme versions of those bottom-ranking armies yet (eg my 132 Glade Guard Wood Elves army).

I would move the following up a notch or two: Warriors of Chaos and Orcs and Goblins.

Hope you guys are having fun over there. Looking for a job currently, and once the cash starts coming in, there are a number of armies that I am interested in! lol. For now though, I'm forced to go it alone.

DO MORE FANTASY VIDEOS!!! ;) --------Matt

Reinforced Ram

Though you won't see it for a day or so, I am in the middle of another game of Warhammer Fantasy with John. We're at the end of turn two and it's a real nailbiter. Crazy. We're playing Orcs vs Wood Elves. All 132x Glade Guard are all painted up, as well as the two Treemen (already done). So the next shot is a Treeman Ancient.

I... love.... miniatures battles! I'm like an addict. I just wish I could play more and get more armies. Yum. The only thing missing is to do more 40K. When the Dark Eldar come out next month I think you'll see more of that.

For those just joining the program I have four kids ages 2-11. Two girls and two boys. It is quite a a massive effort to raise four kids, but I find it invigorating. I really like them. All of our kids are turning out quite well. You really only see the baby girl since obviously I need to protect the identity of the older ones as much as possible. I can't believe my eldest is eleven. I feel like I'm in my mid-30s still.

I was watching the X-Files at the office the other day and it occurred to me that show is like soap opera for nerds. I mentioned this to Sarah and she laughed. The very next episode Scully was in a coma and we just practically laughed ourselves out of our chairs.

The last few days I've desperately needed to disengage. I just need a few hours of no stimulation. But this is not forthcoming. Sleep is the closest thing I get. But my dreams are so vivivid and energetic that sometimes I feel like I've been working all night, too. No complaints mind you, so don't slow on the inquiries. I am close to being caught up. Probably by Saturday afternoon. I've been waking up naturally at 5:30am almost every day so I just get to work and hope that I can catch a cat nap. Otherwise I just pass out at 10pm.

At the studio I have hired a new painter. You can't meet this person yet, we are still in the middle of a trial period. I must say, though, that the quality of applicant was through the roof for this round. I really have the cream of the crop, real professionals with art degrees; established artists who could be teaching art. And on top of all that the vibe and work ethic that we look for to make the studio work its magic.

We tried to get a babysitter tonight so we could go out, but no such luck. So we're just hanging out with the family.

I am working on a Warhammer Fantasy Master Army List which will be useable at the studio to make custom army lists. I think it's a great idea and worth trying out.

Gamesday Germany Coverage

Gamesday Germany 2010

Last Sunday was Gamesday Germany 2010, and I visited it with two friends. Since we live in the Netherlands and Gamesday was in Germany (we don’t get one L) we had to get up early for the 2,5 hour drive to Cologne. (2,5 hours is long in the Netherlands, the longest possible drive in the Netherlands is 3,25 hours without traffic jams) Once we arrived at Cologne and had parked the car, well my friend did, I am not allowed to drive yet. We went to the hall, where we had to pay the ridiculously high entry fee of €25,- (Gamesday figure not included, that was €12,50 on itself too).

The hall was quite big, and there a lot of people to see the amazing things that were there. There was something for everyone. We went to Black Library first, where we purchased a lot of books that still need to be released in stores, and we had them signed by Graham McNeill of course (well the books he wrote that is). In the same room were Phil Kelly and Chris Peach. Phil was there to talk about the new Dark Eldar, Chris Peach for general painting advise. I had a chat with both, and although I met Phil Kelly last summer in Warhammer World he did not recognise me.

Forgeworld and WarhammerForge were in the same room to display new and upcoming releases and to talk about them, I had no chance to talk to the man of WarhammerForge, it was too crowded for that. I did get a chance to talk with the Forgeworld sculptor but he did not want to release anything about upcoming releases. He did say that there are more necrons coming out in the near future.

After that we walked around all the display tables of gaming clubs and display cases. It was nice to see what they all made. Then there was made an announcement that Graham McNeil would give an exclusive preview of his book (which we just bought) and have some Q&A in the auditorium, we went there of course and were read a great passage from the novel “God King”. After the lecture there was a presentation of THQ and all their upcoming games.

1. Dawn of War 2: Retribution, a stand-alone expansion, released Q1 of 2011, multiple single-player campaigns with different races for the 1^st time in DOW2
2. Space Marine: a 3^rd person shooter to be released in 2011 no new facts about this.
3. Dark Millenium online: a MMORPG to be released in 2013, by the developers of Darksiders, it looked amazing.

Of course there was Golden Deamon too, but it was way too crowded to get a good look at the miniatures, let alone get a picture.

Since we were in the basement already we thought it was time to go to Forgerworld and do some shopping. Which we did, lot’s of €’s lighter and many resin figures and rulebooks heavier we were satisfied J.

Then we discovered the stand of “Ultramarines” the movie. Which we of course wanted to see, at first I was sceptical but after seeing the presentation I surely want to buy the DVD, and you should so too, because there will be a sequel, and no money was given or will be given to GW, Codex Pictures did it all on their own, and it looked amazing!.

It was a very nice, although expensive day, we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of amazing things. I hope to be able to go there next year too.

Martijn Versteeg

BTP Correspondent from the Netherlands

Deliberate Devaluation

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And for your consideration a very, very dry lecture on economics, but really gets to the bottom of things in terms of an overview. This has to do with you! These guys (economists) are the architects of your reality.

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"The more the State plans, the more planning becomes difficult for the individual." That is a GREAT quote from this video. I have read in a few places now that businesses in general are just frozen in place because they don't know what sweeping changes are going to come out of Washington. I know I am. I'm worried about 2011. I am almost positive (based on what my accountants are telling me) that it will be a terrible year for everyone that works at BTP. Our regulatory burden is going to go through the roof. Resources are going to be displaced from raises for workers and material studio improvements to administrative tasks.
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Or if all that is too dry for you, then try this one:

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Drowning Domino

Interesting article about foreclosure. A good read even if you're not.

Trololololo Cat

Ogre Advice

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I really enjoyed watching the battle between you and your friend John. I'am always interested in how other players play the Ogre army. I like how he ranked up the Leadbelchers, so that there frontage was as small as possible. They are always a pin cushion for my opponent in all my games, esspecially if they have played against them in the past. I will be doing that in future games.

Not really sure if putting Stupidity on his Butcher and Tyrant was the best idea. I find that the difference between having Toughness 5 versus 6 isn't really a big one, but against certain armies it might be worth it. Maybe he figured he should have it against your Treemen. Giving the Slaughtermaster the Blood Cleaver was a very good idea. However, I would have given his Tyrant the Spangleshard. One of the best magic items for a Tyrant IMO. The Great Skull was another good pick. Not sure what other items were given.

I wasn't aware of the rule that if you fill your front rank with a full command unit then you can put characters into the second rank. I am going to double check that, and if its true I may do that in the future as well.

It was nice to see him using a unit of Gnoblars. I think they are under appreciated for what they can bring to the table for 2 points per model, and his cardboard base with sprues holding it together was priceless.

Lore of LIfe is one of the most powerful spell lores, and he brought enough magic to at least give you a run for your money. He should have taken a Feedback Scroll as well as a Dispel Scroll. Feedback Scroll just screams Ogres IMO, and I have killed overconfident spellcasters with it on a few occasions.

Thanks again for the entertaining game!

David


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