New Years Update

Hey guys, I hope you have been enjoying your Christmas holidays! The recent lack of updates for the blog is due to me having a tiring and busy month so far; I haven't had a proper sleep in so long due to the summer (South Hemisphere) heat and those damned mosquitoes! I'm never a fan of having to make these status updates for the blog as I would much rather be putting a post up every night, but alas, that is truly impossible at the moment. You can expect a continuation of the Ork Tactica - we are now up to Meganobz - soon, that or a review of the upcoming End Times: Thanquol. Whichever comes first will inevitably lead into the other so you can be certain that regular posts will become the norm once more within a week or two. As an aside, how have your holidays been? Was Christmas as fun for you as it was for me? Are you looking forward to the new year - at the time of posting, it was nine hours and twenty-eight minutes to New Years here in Australia - and if so, what are you hoping to achieve hobby-wise? I'll leave it at that and let you go about your day, but please make sure to enjoy yourself and be prepared for 2015!

Orks Tactica - Nobz

'Ello there maties and welcome to the latest addition to my long overdue Ork Tactica series, the full review for the always popular Nobz! This particular breed of Orks has seen a lot of tweaks and changes since its last proper introduction in 4th Edition, most notably the fact that - like with any unit that could move from one Force Organization slot to another - they can no longer be taken as a Troops choice in any regard. While they can obviously still capture and contest objectives like any unit in 7th Edition, not having Objective Secured like actual Troops choices does mean they can be easily bamboozled by common lists such as the Tyranid Skyblight Swarm or any army that features these crucial units en masse. In any case, I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Tankbustas

Greetings fellow greenskins and welcome to this latest entry in my Ork Tactica series, focusing this time on the re-imagined Tankbustas! This is a unit that has undergone significant changes with the 7th Edition codex, skyrocketing into competitive usefulness not only because of their improved capabilities but also because a unit featuring their particular set of skills can make such a huge impact in this more vehicle-heavy 7th Edition meta. One would be hard pressed to find a better Elites choice in the Ork Codex for the points than Tankbustas, providing the army with some sorely needed dedicated anti-tank that is almost as reliable as it gets for greenskins and as devastating as one could hope for. I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Burna Boyz

Greetings my fellow 'umies and welcome to the first of my Ork Tactica Elites articles! The wait has been long with the End Times providing yet another lengthy interlude (damned pointy ears!) but assuming there are no other unforeseen interruptions, this series should be able to continue without pause now right up until completion. As for Burna Boyz - the subject of this particular piece - my opinions are mixed as they tend to be a bit expensive for what they provide, while they fulfill a role that one could argue doesn't really need assistance in an Ork list. This is more than likely due to the resurgence of Tankbustas, but nonetheless I do still see some merit to the inclusion of Burna Boyz in competitive Ork lists.

End Times: Khaine - Alarielle

Greetings fellow warriors of the Asrai, Asur and Druchii; I bid you welcome to my first look at the Everqueen and Chosen of Isha, Alarielle. As the former consort of Tyrion and one of the greatest Elven leaders in their extended history, Alarielle has a lot to live up to if she wants to match the background; her 8th Edition High Elf incarnation definitely satisfied both theme and competitive oriented players alike. I am pleased to report that the End Times versions of Alarielle are similarly impressive, although some of the more significant benefits provided by the High Elf army book variation are sadly unavailable. Still, there is a lot to like here and I am truly glad the rules designers have deigned to make the Everqueen as immensely powerful as she should be by divine right.

End Times: Khaine - Imrik

Greetings fellow wargamers and hobbyists; I welcome you to the second last article in my End Times: Khaine review and discussion! Today I wanted to focus on Imrik of Caledor, a Prince of great standing and power even among the elder regents of Ulthuan. Like Neferata before him, Imrik has returned to Warhammer Fantasy via an End Times book, receiving updated rules in keeping with 8th Edition (and soon to be 9th Edition, I assume) that only serve to highlight just how much we have missed the Dragonlord of Caledor. While many will rightfully look more to Malekith and Alarielle as the leaders of their Elven armies with the Host of the Eternity King, Imrik is nonetheless one of the most capable and proficient fighters in the game right now - few, if any individual opponents could hope to stand against him even for one round of combat! I hope you are enjoying the return of this long lost Elven hero as much as I am!

End Times: Khaine - Tyrion

Among the ancient heroes and warlords of Ulthuan, none have weaved a more tragic tale around themselves as Tyrion. Since birth the twin brother of Teclis has borne the curse of Aenarion as keenly as his physically maligned sibling, manifesting instead as rage and psychotic outbursts. His lineage marked him for a greater purpose regardless of whether he wanted to face it or not, leading to him being hunted by assassins and daemons even as a relative youth. Despite all the odds stacked against him, the young prince quickly established himself as the greatest warrior of Ulthuan and perhaps the most skilled the continent had ever seen, certainly a superior combatant to the far older Witch-King, Malekith. Countless times he traded his blood and rest away to defend his people against the evil constantly plaguing its shores, and even standing tall as a beacon of light to the other Forces of Order throughout the world.

Still, no matter how many victories he sowed or how many champions of destruction he defeated, the black curse of his forebear ever returned to claim Tyrion's waking hours. In End Times: Khaine, the sins of Aenarion finally broke the legendary defender of Ulthuan as he was gripped by despair and rage at the apparent loss of both his wife and daughter; with a ferocity and determination unalike to the noble knight he once was, Tyrion drew forth the twisted Widowmaker and doomed himself to oblivion. To die without the aid of his greatest friends, his own brother and wife, to realize only at the precipice the monster he had become. For one that should have been known as the saviour of all Elves, Tyrion alone was the reaper that slaughtered all before him and almost sealed the annihilation of the species. Even the greatest of heroes can fall into darkness, and nowhere is this more evident than in the heart-breaking tale of a man who was destined to enact the role of Khaine in the retelling of the fabled Rhana Dandra, the Elvish apocalypse, even though he was once the shield that stood alone between his people and their end.

End Times: Khaine - Malekith

There are many tyrants and ne'er do-wells in the world of Warhammer Fantasy, but none with quite as "illustrious" a career of villainy as the Witch King of Naggaroth - Malekith, scorned son of Aenarion and rightful ruler of Ulthuan. It would no doubt have come as a shock to all that Malekith was not the true villain of the Elf-oriented End Times book but instead perhaps their only real hope of survival and unity; truly ironic, seeing as it was Malekith that originally split the Elf race apart thousands of years prior. While the king of all Elves has come to lead them once more through the dark ages of war and strife, the arrogant, cruel Witch King still resides within - even if Malekith functionally is nothing like his prior Dark Elf incarnation!

End Times Armies of Khaine

Greetings my fellow blood-slicked elves and welcome to the first segment of my two-part End Times: Khaine review! The Warhammer world will never be the same and this is most definitely true of the Elves more than any other race in the setting, their fractured history coming full circle and playing host to countless tragedies - the fate of Tyrion in particular to transition from the greatest living elven hero to its' darkest enemy is truly heart-breaking even if you care nothing for the Asur's plight. While I do not wish to cover the new End Times Magic rules just yet as I feel I need significantly more play-tests to get a good feel of such a drastic evolution of a core game mechanic, I am ready to share my thoughts on the Elf-specific changes offered by End Times: Khaine. Please be aware that I will cover the updated character profiles in a second article; with that said, I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Gretchin

Greetings fellow war-gamers and hobbyists; I welcome you to another entry in my Ork Tactica series with Gretchin being the focus for today. These runts are as pitiful in-game as you would expect given their role in Ork society, though truthfully I didn't expect the unit to be so limited with regards to the rules. While they make for a fine scoring unit due to their hilariously low cost per model and claim to Objective Secured in Combined Arms detachments, this review will focus on just why Gretchin are essentially limited solely to performing this one role and why you shouldn't consider them as a replacement to Ork Boyz for any other intended purpose. In any case, I hope you find this article to be useful to your endeavors to smash some heads!

While I might seem negative in my overall view of Gretchin, they are still a great scoring unit and I merely wanted to show how the unit is good purely in that role and no other.

Orks Tactica - Boyz

Greetings my lovelies and welcome to this new entry in my long-awaited Ork Tactica series! There is no doubt in my mind that this is the most significant and important article in this series given that Boyz are the standard for unit pricing across all of Warhammer 40,000, particularly in the case of horde units employed by the Astra Militarum, Tyranids and so on. As one of only two Troops choices in the Ork codex, Boyz are a pivotal aspect of any greenskin army list and are among the game's most well-priced units - even when you consider the drastic changes the Mob Rule special rule saw with the latest codex. I hope you enjoy this article, and be sure to smash some heads!

Ork Tactica - Boss Zagstruk

Greetings fellow hobbyists and war-gamers, I welcome you to the latest addition in my fledgling Ork Tactica series! Today sees the airborne introduction of Boss Zagstruk, a maniacal and - as he likely punishes anyone for admitting to - suicidal Stormboy that leads his mob with a ferocity the like of which possibly no other Ork in the galaxy can emulate. I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Kaptin Badrukk

Hello there everyone and welcome to my latest addition to the newly introduced Ork Tactica series! I am glad to be reviewing the notorious self-styled King of the Freebootaz, Kaptin Badrukk - a Warlord that puts even the venerable Kaptin Bluddflagg to shame, poncy hat and all! While I'm not so much sold on him as a replacement to a standard Ork Warboss built competitively, Badrukk is nonetheless arguably the best of the ranged HQ choices and fits perfectly into an army list featuring numerous gun-toting infantry choices.

My Apologies!

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

I must apologize to everyone who has been patiently awaiting more additions to the Ork Tactica series, something which was already long overdue and needn't suffer from any unnecessary delays. Unfortunately, I fell prey to the latest time-eater from Bioware, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and have been on a gaming binge since the most recent Thursday. It is every bit as good as I hoped it would be and a huge return to form for Bioware after the disappointing Mass Effect 3 (that I still enjoyed, mind) and massive step backward that was Dragon Age 2. Suffice it to say that I will be posting up Ork articles every two days as normal from now on, seeing as my interest in Inquisition slowly wanes now that I have afforded it over fifty hours of my time in the space of four days. I already have several articles all finished up and awaiting approval, meaning I can turn my attention to the awesome looking End Times: Khaine release. I am still massively disappointed that there are no new models in the release as well as no rules to field a true Avatar of Khaine - as impressive as Tyrion is, a true Avatar of the Bloody-Handed God he is not - but otherwise the leaked rules and background should offer very interesting changes to the make-up of all Elven armies. But enough of my ranting, my laziness demands action as punishment and I look forward to continuing the Ork series tonight!

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Ork Tactica - Mad Dok Grotsnik

Greetings fellow greenskins and welcome to my latest zoggin' entry in the Ork Tactica series! My appreciation for support characters in Warhammer 40,000 is likely infamous by now, and it thus comes as no surprise that I am a big fan of the craziest of all Painboys - Mad Dok Grotsnik. Reading about this hilarious characters' exploits is always enjoyable and his in-game capabilities are more than acceptable given his background. I hope you enjoy this article!

Ork Tactica - Painboy

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest addition in my Ork Tactica series! I've been longing to cover Painboys and now that I finally got the chance to do so, I haven't been left disappointed at all. Much like Blood Angel Sanguinary Priests, Painboys are inexpensive Independent Characters that provide Feel No Pain to any unit they join, though unlike the Scions of Baal these mad Orks are proper HQ choices and thus cannot be taken in as plentiful numbers outside of Unbound army lists. They are good characters to employ in an army list that wants all the survivability boosts it can get. I hope you enjoy this article!

Ork Tactica - Meks and Big Meks

Greetings fellow members of the Waaagh! and welcome to my latest Ork Tactica article, featuring the zany but always lovable Meks and Big Meks. These two are similar enough that I decided to review them in the same spot to save both time and space, while both are great choices to include in an Ork army - though obviously a Big Mek is probably the only one you would want if you decide to run without vehicles. I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Weirdboy

Greetings my fellow war-gamers and welcome to my latest entry in the Ork Tactica series! I am pleased to highlight one of the most hilarious Ork characters ever conceived, the Weirdboy, a cheap psyker option that, while limited in terms of psychic powers to choose from, provides some very impressive augmentative abilities to his or her fellow Ork Boyz'. I hope you find this article to be useful to your endeavours to smash some heads and lead an awesome Waaagh!

Orks Tactica - Warboss

Oi, over 'ere boyz! We've gotz' ta kill 'dese 'ere 'umies! Oh zog it, me' Orky brain is 'urting!
Greetings fellow war-gamers and welcome to the long-awaited introduction to my new Ork Tactica series! This has been a long time in the making and I must apologize profusely for the incredible delay between the codex's release date and the start of this new range of articles - you can blame those poncy 'umies for that! I couldn't be more excited to speak about 7th Edition's first fully fledged codex, featuring Lords of War and Formations unlike any of its 6th Edition predecessors. I hope you enjoy this series and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the latest Ork Waaagh! terrorizing your local gaming area! 

End Times Characters and Units Rules Review II

The End Times started off with a bang a few months ago, featuring the cataclysmic return of Nagash, Valten, Neferata, Crom the Conqueror and numerous other heroes of legend, as well as the deaths of famous characters beyond count. Now, they continue with End Times: Glottkin, named for the hulking northmen trio supremely blessed by Grandfather Nurgle and featuring an updated and combined army list aptly named the Legions of Chaos, featuring the hordes of Beastmen, Daemons of Chaos and Warriors of Chaos unified under the will of Archaeon. While this book focuses more on a vanguard force of Archaeon's world-burning force, this is nonetheless a gift for all scions of the Dark Gods; the rules for Chaos Ascendant, Legions of Chaos and the return of Marks of Chaos for Beastmen gives Chaos players more tools to use in their games than ever before. In this review, I have chosen to cover not just the newly introduced characters and units favoured by Nurgle, but also all the many special rules and potential combinations that End Times: Glottkin offers for the servants of Chaos. I hope you enjoy it! Scratch that - Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne! 

End Times Legions of Chaos and the Glottkin

The End Times started off with a bang a few months ago, featuring the cataclysmic return of Nagash, Valten, Neferata, Crom the Conqueror and numerous other heroes of legend, as well as the deaths of famous characters beyond count. Now, they continue with End Times: Glottkin, named for the hulking northmen trio supremely blessed by Grandfather Nurgle and featuring an updated and combined army list aptly named the Legions of Chaos, featuring the hordes of Beastmen, Daemons of Chaos and Warriors of Chaos unified under the will of Archaeon. While this book focuses more on a vanguard force of Archaeon's world-burning force, this is nonetheless a gift for all scions of the Dark Gods; the rules for Chaos Ascendant, Legions of Chaos and the return of Marks of Chaos for Beastmen gives Chaos players more tools to use in their games than ever before. In this review, I have chosen to cover not just the newly introduced characters and units favoured by Nurgle, but also all the many special rules and potential combinations that End Times: Glottkin offers for the servants of Chaos. I hope you enjoy it! Scratch that - Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne! 

Due to excessive length I have chosen to cover the characters and units in a separate article.

Alien: Isolation - Review

Greetings my fellow gamers, friends and family; I welcome you all to my latest video game review, and what a convenient entry given the very spooky holiday that has just gone past. With Halloween just recently gracing our lives, there is no better time than now to publish my review of Creative Assembly's latest high budget exodus from their signature Total War series, Alien: Isolation. While previous efforts such as Viking: Battle for Asgard and Stormrise were either entirely forgettable or downright awful, Alien: Isolation breaks new ground for Creative Assembly and proves that the Total War series is not their only high quality outlet. As their first true attempt at a modern survival horror game, Alien: Isolation ranks as among the genre's best and stands strong even without its' faithful devotion to the source material. While my love of the original Alien - a true masterpiece even despite my general dislike of horror movies - might cloud my judgement in the case of Isolation, I feel it is definitely one of the highest quality games released this year and is a strong competitor for my game of the year vote.

A Quick Update

With the Astra Militarum series all finished up, the Ork Tactica is on the way and I've been preparing it for a while now. Unfortunately, I have also been quite busy in the past week and as such there won't be a post this weekend, but you can expect one on Monday or Tuesday. I have an all-day Warhammer Fantasy: Storm of Magic tournament to attend tomorrow, while also having to pore over the new End Times: Glottkin book. I'll likely do up a tournament report as well as a review of the new rules featured in End Times: Glottkin in the mean-time between now and the first article for the Ork series. Sorry for the "down-time" everyone!

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Rare

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Special

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Manticores and Deathstrikes

Hello there everybody and welcome to the final article in this ridiculously long series known as my Astra Militarum Tactica, a wealth of articles intended to aid you - the players and hobbyists - in making the most of your units and heroes. I can think of no more amusing way to end this lengthy exercise than by reviewing two of the most devastating artillery pieces ever conceived in the Imperium's forces, the Manticore and Deathstrike Missile Launcher. Where the former destroys entire swathes of the enemy army at a time with a split payload causing a huge spread of damage, the latter fires possibly the closest Warhammer 40,000 equivalent to a nuclear warhead - obliterating anything and everything it touches. These two are sadly not as useful in 7th Edition due to a few key rule changes or innate limitations, though they nonetheless provide an Astra Militarum army with some of the most terrifying weapons of war ever seen in Games Workshop's popular science fiction universe.

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Core

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Wyverns

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the second last addition to my seemingly insufferable Astra Militarum Tactica series! Of the handful of new units added in the latest Imperial Guard codex, the Wyvern is by far the most competitive option and has swiftly replaced veteran artillery batteries such as the Griffon and Basilisk as the best artillery tank available to the Imperium's most numerous defenders. There are few units in the game quite as devastating as Wyverns even with the 7th Edition rules ushering in more vehicles than were seen in 6th Edition, and no competitive Astra Militarum list has a place without at least one of these suppression tanks. I hope you enjoy this article!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Basilisk Batteries

Greetings my fans, friends, family and other followers and welcome to the third last addition to my ever-ongoing Astra Militarum Tactica series! As the trend-setters they are, the Astra Militarum are known for having some of the most iconic units in Warhammer 40,000, and truly the Basilisk continues that trend as it is easily the most well know artillery unit in the game. Nothing comes close to the colossal range and incredible firepower offered by a Basilisk (not among "standard" units, anyway) and while it might seem aggressively priced, the reality is that this is more of a niche choice that shines in Apocalypse games or in matches where the game board is well above the average size.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Review

Greetings fellow gamers and welcome to my latest Video Game Review! Today I wanted to bring Monolith's latest work to your attention, and its' name is Shadow of Mordor. Ranking as one of the most popular and well received games so far on the next-generation consoles, Shadow of Mordor provides players with an open-world experience that mixes elements of Batman: Arkham and Assassins Creed, among others, for perhaps the best video-game adaption of Tolkiens' Middle-Earth yet. I hope you enjoy this review!

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Mounts

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Hydra Batteries

Greetings everyone and welcome to one of the last remaining articles in this overlong Astra Militarum Tactica series - we've been going since bloody June and we still have at least another week or so left at this rate! Not only is it time to praise the Emperor for his benevolence but also to give thanks for the skies being so clean and fresh lately, that is if you discount all the burning wreckage constantly descending. About that, Hail Hydra! My puny attempt at a pop culture reference aside, Hydras are probably the iconic anti-air unit and the first ever introduced into Warhammer 40,000 (to my knowledge) with the stated goal of hunting all things airborne. I hope you enjoy this article!

The Home Stretch

Rejoice everyone! The Astra Militarum series is almost finished now that we are into the Heavy Support section, leaving only four articles to be done (I will combine the Manticore and Deathstrike articles). The long-awaited Orks series will be hot on its heels - as much as I wanted to cover Orks at the same time, I've found I become far too engrossed in a particular codex when I am reviewing it to do more than one simultaneously. This isn't so much an issue if I do one Warhammer 40,000 codex and one Warhammer Fantasy army book at the same time as I am split between the two rule systems, but drawing my mind to two different armies in the same system has proven to be oddly taxing for reasons that I find difficult to truly explain.

Regardless, to finally be nearing the completion of a series that started all the way back in the middle of June - as of October 17th the series will have been ongoing for four months! - is making me feel so much better as it means I will soon be able to get back into the swing of things with all the new 7th Edition releases. As to why the Astra Militarum series has taken far longer than any other, the choice to do individual unit reviews like my Tyranid articles coupled with increasingly common delays due to sickness or busy weeks have been the main instigators. Thankfully though I couldn't be in a happier state now as there is plenty to look forward to with Orks, Grey Knights, Space Wolves and now Dark Eldar all awaiting my attention - I'm going to try and further condense these articles as was initially the goal with the Astra Militarum series (though we all know how that ended up). As always though, no promises - but what I can say for sure is that we are now in the home stretch for the 'Hammer of the Emperor'!

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Heroes

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Leman Russ Squadrons

Hello there everyone and welcome to the first of my long awaited Astra Militarum Tactica Heavy Support articles, where I provide in-depth analysis and impressions of the many competitive uses for a given unit. As you might have guessed from the title, today sees my first full review of the most iconic battle tanks ever fielded by the Imperium, the Leman Russes, named in honour of the legendary Space Wolves Primarch himself. Given that there are numerous variants available in the codex, this review will cover each one individually in a manner similar to my Regimental Specialists Tactica where the Best Uses and other applicable tactics are presented in a unit-by-unit format. While this certainly won't be the longest article I have written by any stretch, it will nonetheless be an exhaustive piece and one that I hope you find some helpful advice from. I hope you enjoy it!

Lizardmen - Unit Overview - Lords and Army Special Rules

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Unit Overview series reviewing the ancient guardians of Lustria, the Lizardmen (and Lizardwomen?). This is an army with a lot of variety in play-styles, whether by relying on driving enemies back through masses of hardened Saurus, crushing them under the scales of titanic Stegadons or ambushing them with a thousand poisoned darts from a writhing swarm of Skinks. Even if you are a mighty Oldblood far removed from the mute inexperience of a new spawnling, I hope there is still something useful for you here in this series. Enjoy!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Valkyries and Vendettas

Greetings fellow cadets and welcome to the latest instalment in "Aircraft: How not to crash when a Gargoyle clogs the engine" by yours truly, Colonel Eel. While you are up there amidst the skies of death, just remember one thing; if you are inside a Valkyrie or Vendetta, you will be dying with style! Or was that flying? Anyway, it is really hard to go wrong with these two most common of flyers in the Imperium, even though the <redacted> and the <redacted> from <redacted> are both safer and more effective. Still, I'll leave that up to your Staff Sergeant to decide; let's get started!

Note that this is a review for both Valkyries and Vendettas.

 

Dwarfs - Unit Overview - Rare

Hello there everyone, my name is Learn2Eel and welcome to my newest set of Unit Overview articles focused on the "stunties" - the mighty Dwarfs from the Warhammer Fantasy setting. While much of the background Games Workshop employs is heavily inspired by sources such as Tolkien, their own version of Dwarfs has proven most successful by carving out their own identity and distinct traits. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran when it comes to all things small and bearded, I hope you find this a useful series and hope you enjoy it!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Hellhounds

Howdy howdy ho everyone and welcome to my latest in the long-running Astra Militarum Tactica series! I have eagerly awaited the chance to review some of my favourite tanks employed by Imperial forces, the Hellhounds, and that day has finally come. While each of the three variants is distinct in regards to what their preferred targets are, all of them are almost identical in terms of role and profile that comparing each variant in the one article is not only logical but also sensible. While the incredible points reductions to most Leman Russ variants has in turn reduced the comparative value of the Hellhound tanks, that 7th Edition mostly revolves around mobility and clearing out opposing Objective Secured units gives these fast vehicles a solid place in many competitive army lists. I hope you enjoy this article!

Note that this can be considered a review of each Hellhound variant, including the Hellhound, Bane Wolf and Devil Dog. 

Tactica Astra Militarum - Rough Riders

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel from Imperator Guides and I welcome you to my latest Astra Militarum Tactica article! Today I wanted to focus on Rough Riders, one of the earliest examples of cavalry in Warhammer 40,000 and a throwback to the mounted spear regiments employed by the conquering Mongols of ancient Asia (and yes, they were more famous for their bow riders). While their inherent fragility and hitting power after the charge are questionable traits for a competitive unit, their first round assault capabilities and mobility make them one of the hardest hitting units in the game for their points cost. While they aren't exactly the type of unit you would usually field in an Astra Militarum army list, using them as interdicting squads or as the cheap hunters they are makes them surprisingly worthwhile in lists that propel other mobile threats towards the enemy in numbers.

Dwarfs - Unit Overview - Special

Hello there everyone, my name is Learn2Eel and welcome to my newest set of Unit Overview articles focused on the "stunties" - the mighty Dwarfs from the Warhammer Fantasy setting. While much of the background Games Workshop employs is heavily inspired by sources such as Tolkien, their own version of Dwarfs has proven most successful by carving out their own identity and distinct traits. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran when it comes to all things small and bearded, I hope you find this a useful series and hope you enjoy it!

Dwarfs - Unit Overview - Core

Hello there everyone, my name is Learn2Eel and welcome to my newest set of Unit Overview articles focused on the "stunties" - the mighty Dwarfs from the Warhammer Fantasy setting. While much of the background Games Workshop employs is heavily inspired by sources such as Tolkien, their own version of Dwarfs has proven most successful by carving out their own identity and distinct traits. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran when it comes to all things small and bearded, I hope you find this a useful series and hope you enjoy it!

Total War: Rome II: Emperor Edition - Review

Greetings fellow hobbyists and gamers and welcome to my latest video game review! I am excited to finally articulate my thoughts on even just one game from a strategy battle series that has captivated millions of gamers across the world for almost two decades now, the highly acclaimed Total War series from Creative Assembly. Their latest offering in Rome II had a very rocky beginning when it was released all the way back in late 2013 with an endless supply of glitches or bugs, a wealth of features stripped out from the previous game - Shogun II - and several in-game systems (such as politics) that were either unexplained or had no depth whatsoever. With almost a year having passed since Rome II's initial release, Creative Assembly have completed what many would call a story of redemption; constant patches and bug-fixing have finally culminated into a huge content update and re-branding of the game aptly titled the "Emperor Edition". This is a free update for all Rome II owners and despite merely testing the waters of its scope and size - having invested well over 30 hours into it since the games' re-release as the Emperor Edition, and spending 120 hours on the native version - there is still much for me to articulate about and even more for you to enjoy. I hope you find this an entertaining and useful review!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Sentinels

Greetings everyone and welcome to the latest - and long delayed - installment of my Astra Militarum Tactica series! Though I tend not to employ them as much as I would like to because their rules and place in my particular army lists are sadly limited, Sentinels nonetheless provide some awesome nostalgic value for Star Wars and Imperial Guard fans alike. Aesthetically it is very clear where the inspiration for Sentinels come from, but the model itself mixes that unique World War I theme in typical of the Imperial Guard range to create one heck of an awesome model. As for their in-game usage, Sentinels aren't as generally useful as everyone would like them to be but there is at the very least a niche role they can fill for all kinds of Astra Militarum builds. Whether it is to provide cheap AP2 firepower on a mobile platform or inexpensive Outflanking heavy weapons is really up to you given that both Sentinel variants - Scout and Armoured, respectively - are almost identical in terms of points cost. I hope you enjoy this article!

Note that this can be considered a review for both Armoured Sentinels and Scout Sentinels, as the two are mostly identical outside of one or two differences.

Dwarfs - Unit Overview - Heroes

Hello there everyone, my name is Learn2Eel and welcome to my newest set of Unit Overview articles focused on the "stunties" - the mighty Dwarfs from the Warhammer Fantasy setting. While much of the background Games Workshop employs is heavily inspired by sources such as Tolkien, their own version of Dwarfs has proven most successful by carving out their own identity and distinct traits. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran when it comes to all things small and bearded, I hope you find this a useful series and hope you enjoy it!

Dwarfs - Unit Overview - Lords and Army Special Rules

Hello there everyone, my name is Learn2Eel and welcome to my newest set of Unit Overview articles focused on the "stunties" - the mighty Dwarfs from the Warhammer Fantasy setting. While much of the background Games Workshop employs is heavily inspired by sources such as Tolkien, their own version of Dwarfs has proven most successful by carving out their own identity and distinct traits. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran when it comes to all things small and bearded, I hope you find this a useful series and hope you enjoy it!

300 Posts and 700,000 life-to-date Views!

Hello friends, family and fans; my name is Learn2Eel and I have not one but two special announcements to make today or tonight, based on your time zone. Imperator Guides has been active since February 3, 2013 and has been an amazing experience for myself and its other contributors. The constant support and feedback has been nothing short of astounding and I cannot thank you all enough for what has become one of my main hobbies. As such, I am pleased to announce that not only is this the 300th post (or article) on the Imperator Guides blog, but we have exceeded 700,000 life-to-date views as of September 3, 2014 and at the current rate of average views per day we may very well reach 1,000,000 life-to-date views before the end of this calender year! Editor's Note: Of course, that was before we went down for a week and potentially alienated a big part of our fan-base, but hey, you can't blame the poor little Eel!

This is obviously a fantastic accomplishment for a blog that started out with the support of +Bell of Lost Souls and numerous other bloggers, appearing first as a collection of my old Tactica articles but evolving into one of the biggest blogs dedicated to tactics for Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy. I couldn't be more proud of the work we have done but most of all I cannot stress how grateful I am to all of our amazing fans and co-bloggers who have supported us on this journey. I hope we have many more experiences to share and that our content continues to improve in both quality and quantity - making a post every day is my ideal goal but unfortunately other commitments have made this impossible so far. In any case, I hope you have enjoyed your time with Imperator Guides so far and I hope to share many more articles with you in the future. Thank you again! Eel out.

WH40K Eternal Crusade - Angry Joe Show Pre-Alpha Impressions

Hello there everyone, Learn2Eel here with a quick post that is aimed specifically at Behaviour Interactive's awesome new Warhammer 40,000 MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). One of my favourite video-game channels on Youtube, the Angry Joe Show, has posted an in-depth one hour long look at the huge new game. I am sharing the game not only because Angry Joe recommended everyone to, but also because I am sure a lot of you are also as (or more) excited as I am for this! Please remember that all of the footage you see is from a build of the game barely a few months old, meaning that the game still has at least another year or two of development time to add polish and fix any issues. This should not be considered representative of the final game.

You can view the rest of the AngryJoeShow's fantastic video game and movie reviews at their Youtube channel, the AngryJoeShow. If you are a fan of video games then you will find few reviewers as balanced and humorous in their discussions as Angry Joe!

Thanks guys and I hope you enjoy the video! Let us know in the comments section if you have had any experiences with the big new Warhammer 40,000 game around the block and what you think of it.

Why Imperator Guides Temporarily Shut Down

Hey guys, with the blog now back up and running I am sure there is but one burning question on everyone's minds; what happened for the blog to be shut down in the first place? While I have been sharing updates on our Facebook page and also sought advice on +Bell of Lost Souls, a lot of you are doubtless in the dark about what transpired. With that in mind, here is the rundown;

a) Google's Terms of Service states that links to any malicious content (malware, also commonly known as viruses) in a blog will result in the blog being temporarily shut down until the malicious content (or links to it) is removed.
b) Blogger/Google have an automatic system for scanning links and detecting malware that reported malicious content had been detected in two of my year-old Space Marine articles. The only links in the articles were to pictures taken from Google Search.
c) Even though the pictures themselves were safe, clicking on them could redirect viewers to websites that contained malicious content. While the websites these images linked to (i.e. were sourced from) may not have necessarily contained malicious content when the articles were first posted, evidently malicious content has made its way on to those websites.
d) I do not know which pictures were specifically to blame, but I have since removed all pictures and any possible links from the two offending articles and placed them in "Draft" form - once the all-clear is given, I will re-post them as they are currently: safe and devoid of pictures.
e) I addressed the issue within a few hours of it being brought to my attention, but Google did not immediately re-instate the blog to full activity. This is obviously a warranted precaution and I must express my gratitude for their response, even if all of it was likely handled automatically without user input.

The timing of this situation was unfortunate not only for all the obvious reasons but mostly because the blog reached that amazing 700,000 view milestone only a few days before this occurred. In fact, the night of the blog being taken down was also when I was supposed to post up that "commemorating 300 posts" update! Unfortunate timing indeed, but thankfully it seems like no harm was done and the blog can resume as normal. Rest assured that I am still committed to bringing you tactics articles, video game reviews and other content as normal regardless of what has transpired this past week. I do not in any way want to have viewers' computers infected by malware or "viruses" so if this ever happens again I will be sure to let you all know about it and remove the compromised links where necessary.

All of that aside, I wish to express my gratitude for the continuing support of our fans, friends and family and wish you all a very good day. I am very sorry about what happened and accept full culpability for potentially risking the cyber-safety of any viewers of Imperator Guides. Hopefully this never happens again and we can all move on with what should be an exciting end to the hobby year with more End Times and various Warhammer 40,000 releases still to come. Have yourselves a lovely day! Eel out.

Tactica Astra Militarum - Militarum Tempestus

Hello there friends and welcome to my latest addition to the long running Astra Militarum Tactica series! I am proud to finally review this codex's personal rendition of Stormtroopers, the most elite human soldiers still in the employ of the Imperial Guard. These skilled marksmen are prepared for any challenge that lies before them and have carved their way through the foes of countless battles, earning a fearsome reputation as some of the Emperor's finest warriors. Though they are expensive per model for what is still a Strength and Toughness 3 shooter, they nonetheless prove their worth in much the same way as a squad of Veterans and fill the starring role in an Elites slot otherwise bereft of any truly high-tier competitive choices.

Note: As Militarum Tempestus Command Squads and Scions are virtually identical with only a few differences, this can be considered a review for both units. Specific sections will focus on either unit, but the general points raised apply to both Command Squads and Scions.

End Times Characters and Units Rules Review

The End Times have come and nothing will ever be the same, especially with a host of returning or updated special characters that are each a master of the battlefield in their own way. The Nagash and End Times series has kicked off to a fantastic start and I can't wait for future titles in the series - imagine if Tyrion, driven by grief, is forced to draw the Widowmaker and truly takes up the mantle of Aenarion reborn? - but right now the content in front of us simply amazing. These are some of the strongest characters in the game now and I can't wait to see them take to the fields of war!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Wyrdvane Psykers

Hello there family, friends and fans of Imperator Guides and welcome to our latest addition to the long-running Astra Militarum Tactica series! Psychic squads and characters are amongst the most heavily affected units with the new 7th Edition behind perhaps only Chariots for the sheer breadth of changes wrought, and Wyrdvane Psykers have become a far more important unit as a result. Being able to generate warp charge points is a necessity for any psyker to cast powers - especially against armies with potent psychic defences such as Grey Knights or Chaos Daemons - and Wyrdvane Psykers may have a place if only as a battery to power your Primaris Psykers. I hope you enjoy this article!

Tactica Astra Militarum - Ratlings

Hello there everyone, I am Learn2Eel and I am very happy to bring you the latest installment of my Astra Militarum Tactica series. Today ushers in my review of the appropriately titled Ratlings, models that are as miniature in proportion as they are in....well, the fact that they are "miniature miniatures"! Excuse my poor humour, but this specialist sniper unit is one that is intended more as a squad to spend throw-away points on because of their tiny minimal squad size and relatively inexpensive price per model. They may be vertically challenged but they sure do know how to punch below the table with their always annoying sniper weapons. Will the terrible and obviously unintentional puns continue in my review? Grab a pint and read on to find out; I hope you enjoy it!

We apologize for the discriminatory content of this article. Those responsible have been lynched.

Nagash - The Spoils of War

Hey guys, Learn2Eel here with a more personal update than previously. Today I participated in my local Games Workshop stores' birthday - the staff are awesome and the shop is great! I had a pre-order to claim including the Nagash model, the Limited Edition Nagash and End Times set in addition to the Lore of Undeath Magic Cards. This was all purchased as a result of having stayed up until 4:30am in the early hours of Saturday morning so that I wouldn't miss out, and suffice it to say that I lucked out - heavily!

Nagash Model and Rules Review

Hey guys, Learn2Eel here with an early look at the Nagash model, his prowess on the battlefield and what they could mean for competitive Warhammer Fantasy gaming. This is easily one of Games Workshops' best Warhammer Fantasy releases in the last decade and ranks as one of the most important by far; if the return of Nagash wasn't enough, we also have classic heroes and heroines of all kinds returning to the fray. From Neferata - the original Vampire - to Valten - oft described as Sigmar reborn - the End Times is shaping up to be a truly epic and tumultuous rule-set for Warhammer Fantasy and will surely give it the revamp it needs to gain the popularity it deserves as a game system.

Tactica Astra Militarum - Ogryns and Bullgryns

Greeting ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the latest entry in my Astra Militarum Tactica series! Today is a special day dedicated to all those players that have ever inducted mercenaries or subhumans into the ranks of their Imperial Guard regiments; all may serve the Emperor faithfully even if His blessing is not meant for them! I speak of course of the lovable Ogryns - and the newly formed Bullgryns! - the huge and brutish soldiers in the employ of the Astra Militarum, proving that even those lacking in intelligence can use their strength or other assets for a good cause under an able commanders' leadership. I hope you enjoy this article!