23 Nov 2016

Genestealer Cult - Unit Review

Greetings! With Thousand Sons on the horizon I've had little focus on the Genestealer Cult review, especially now that official images of those incredible models have been released to the public. However, I quickly realised that that getting this review done before any future rules leaks would be the ideal outcome, especially given that there's little chance I'll devote time to any faction other than Chaos once the Sons of Magnus arrive in stores.


29 Jun 2016

Codex Tau - XV95 Ghostkeels

Greetings all and welcome to the second unit analysis in my 7th Edition Tau review; the imposing Ghostkeels set a new standard for covert warfare operations with their nigh invulnerability to enemy gunfire and swift, hard-hitting strikes. I hope you enjoy this article!

14 Jun 2016

Codex Skitarii - Formations and Detachments

Greetings all and welcome to the final, short entry in my Codex: Skitarii Tactica series, this time focusing on their associated Formations and Detachments to which they have plenty in the context of a limited roster. These are all fairly useful in their own rights for standard sized games with one glaring exception, something that can't be said for some codices. I hope you enjoy this article!


10 Jun 2016

Legion Review - Sons of Horus

Greetings fellow wargamers and welcome to the third entry in my Legion Review series for the Horus Heresy gaming system! Whether you align with the God Emperor or Horus Lupercal, one cannot deny the precision, ferocity and battle strength of the Sons of Horus - once honored as the Luna Wolves and among the greatest of all Space Marine Legions. Though their fall was meteoric, they remained masters of the art of war even in service to the Ruinous Powers and would prove ever more fanatical and aggressive as the Heresy drew to its inevitable climax. I hope you enjoy this article!

7 Jun 2016

Next 30K Legion Review Results

Hey guys, just a quick update here on the poll I ran yesterday to determine which 30K Legion I review next. Counting votes from all sources - messages, comments and the poll itself - the joint winners are Alpha Legion, Night Lords and Sons of Horus. This means those three will all be reviewed before I cover any other Legion and repeat the voting process, but to determine the order in which I analyze each one I consulted the dice deities for a final verdict. Using the twelve dice I keep on my desk at all times, I ruled that each Legion would have their own dice numbers - one and two for the Alpha Legion, three and four for the Night Lords, and five and six for the Sons of Horus - and rolled the twelve dice three times in the interest of fairness. The results are as follows;

Alpha Legion - 1 + 4 + 1 = 6
Night Lords - 5 + 2 + 7 = 14
Sons of Horus - 6 + 6 + 4 = 16

The Sons of Horus are the winners!

This means that the order of reviews will be as follows; Sons of Horus first, Night Lords second and Alpha Legion third. I'll get to work immediately on the tactical analyses and would like to again offer my thanks to you for your participation in determining my future work. Happy hunting all!


6 Jun 2016

Codex Skitarii - Onager Dunecrawlers

Greetings fellow wargamers and welcome to one of the last entries in my Skitarii Tactica series, this time homing in on the ever powerful Onager Dunecrawlers - one of the signature Skitarii units and popular ally of friendly Imperial forces. I hope you enjoy this article!

Community Poll - Which Legion Should I Review Next?

Hey guys, this will be a short one. I'm seeking suggestions as to what 30K Legion I should analyze next and I think I'm going to make this fan-driven selection of what armies I cover next a regular fixture of the blog. All Legions are available except for those without full rules - including characters and unique units - meaning that Thousand Sons, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Dark Angels and White Scars are unavailable for review. Note also that Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors have already been covered. If you wish to vote, simply click on the link below and enter your vote or post your vote in the comment section below. Cheers!

http://www.strawpoll.me/10410026

4 Jun 2016

Orks Tactica - Stompa

Howdy everyone and welcome to the final entry in my yearly-installment Ork Tactica series! Stompas are big, buff and brutal - what more could you want? More articles of course!

Writing has been difficult lately as seems to be more and more the case over the past year. It almost goes without saying that I am rather irritated with this inability to produce regular content but I'm still committed to putting up more articles as always. 

13 May 2016

Codex Skitarii - Ironstrider Ballistarii

Greetings fellow wargamers to my analysis of the Ironstrider Ballistarii from Codex Skitarii! These war machines are to Sydonian Dragoons what Devastators are to Assault Marines; they trade close combat brutality for precise strikes from afar and are truly capable of surprising opponents. I hope you enjoy this article!

8 May 2016

Dawn of War 3 Theories and Notes

Hey guys, I'm sure all of you have heard the news by now but for those that haven't, go check out the Dawn of War Youtube channel for the greatly anticipated announcement of Dawn of War 3! Now, it's an amazing CGI trailer that reveals a few important tidbits about what will feature in the game itself but ultimately I'm taking more interest in what the trailer doesn't display up front - what is purposefully being hidden from us. I hope you enjoy this article!

If you don't want to sift through all of this, my theory - one that I'm now all but certain in - is that the Necrons will be a secret faction in the game. 

6 May 2016

The Iron Circle Mini-Review

Hey everyone, I've just finished writing up the unit analysis for the as-yet unreleased Iron Circle - the giant robotic retinue of Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors - and decided that the entry was large enough to justify its own breathing room rather than acting as a stealth addition to a months-old piece. I can see this unit becoming very popular based on their looks and intimidation factor alone as doubtless every Iron Warriors player will want to add them to their model collection, but be warned - they aren't quite as scary in practice as their stature would imply. I hope you enjoy this article!



Editors' Note - This is a review of a Horus Heresy unit and thus it is written mostly in the context of gaming in the Age of Darkness rather than Warhammer 40,000.

5 May 2016

Warhammer 40,000 FAQ Main Points

Hey guys, got a quick little update; the FAQ drafts for the Warhammer 40,000 core rulebook (not the codices) are up now on their Facebook page! I made some quick impressions for these and my gut reactions, excuse the bad grammar and overuse of capitalization - I'm very tired and excitable at the time of writing! These are my biggest take-aways from the FAQ....some are truly ground-shaking. Witchfires that have no profile hit automatically - this most prominently includes Psychic Shriek. Flying Monstrous Creatures and all Gargantuan Creatures can't claim cover by simply standing in terrain. Units can only use a single Grenade in the Assault Phase just like the Shooting Phase. The debate about Gargantuan Creatures firing two or more weapons has finally been settled - they shoot all of them, not just two (the common sense ruling thankfully - no offence to those that believed otherwise but how on earth did you honestly think that the Stormsurge was given eight weapons and intended only to use two at a time?) Tau Battlesuits now benefit from their Multi-Trackers when firing Overwatch. Skyfiring Blast and Template weapons can hit Zooming Flyers and Swooping Flying Monstrous Creatures. Solo models can charge multiple units at the same time as a disordered charge. Special rules that specify "the unit" now affect attached Independent Characters. The dreaded "1+ Feel No Pain" is no more. Battle Brothers can't deploy inside of each others' transports. I think I can say this with all honesty; the landscape of 7th Edition has been irrevocably changed, and this is just the beginning as we still don't have the army-specific updates. I am very interested in reading your reactions to the FAQ and the changes/clarifications they have made, there's too much to take in right now but I'm definitely going to be debating these for a while to come. Have at it and thank you for reading my incoherent ramblings!

Editors' Note: Apologies for the text format, copy-pasting from Facebook does not work well apparently. Damned text backgrounds.

3 May 2016

Codex Skitarii - Sydonian Dragoons

Howdy there folks and welcome to another entry in my Codex Skitarii Tactica series! While they've drawn many parallels to a particular bipedal machine from another science fiction setting, Sydonian Dragoons and Ironstrider Ballistarii are undeniably the Adeptus Mechanicus successors to the beloved Astra Militarum Sentinel cohorts, functioning as lightly armored walkers designed for scouting the battlefield and harassing enemy positions. I hope you enjoy this analysis of the first of those two Skitarii vehicles!

1 May 2016

Codex Skitarii - Sicarian Infiltrators

In the long awaited sequel to the fourth entry in the franchise, the hero rises again to confront the same villain in a visually stunning clash of epic proportions.....oh, sorry, that's my plug for a clowny movie starring shape-shifting robots. Speaking of machines, here's a new Skitarii review for you; I hope you enjoy it!

27 Apr 2016

Progress Report

Hey guys, it's been a while so I'll keep this short and sweet. The reason behind the lack of updates has mostly just been evaluating what to do with the blog as several factors beyond my control are making it difficult to achieve progress. I've had to halt my 30K Legion reviews until the updated Crusade army books are released with all their respective changes so that I don't end up drastically changing older articles (from what minor leaks we got, both my Imperial Fist and Iron Warriors reviews will need big re-writes). Age of Sigmar content was planned but is now on the back-burner with that new three ways to play system probably invalidating anything I would have been working on, meaning I'll be waiting a few months until that release before I get stuck in with army reviews and gameplay break-downs. However, my inclination is that the core rules for Age of Sigmar will not change meaning I can still do some general tips and tricks articles if you should so desire. I've been on an Age of Sigmar rush lately and I'm eager to share at least some of those experiences and give you my general (mostly positive) thoughts on the game system. Additionally, I got wound up on my 40K reviews because of one simple word; supplements. Buying codices to review them is one thing and something I am comfortable with as I tend to play the role of "rules encyclopedia" at any gaming store I visit to help settle rules disputes, but keeping up with all of the supplements, campaign books and data-slates is just not worth it from a financial perspective as I am still fundamentally a model/gaming driven hobbyist. This means that my 7th Edition reviews will always feel incomplete to me - no matter how much I exhaust the core source material - when all those extra rules are hiding away in other tomes; it is frankly maddening. I'll work around it where possible but just be aware that I likely won't be covering too many non-codex rule collections in the future; one I definitely will get to eventually is Angels of Death so don't fret on that front!

From what I can gather I just need to write a Stompa review for Orks and they'll be sorted (finally), then I've got some Tau and Adeptus Mechanicus entries to sort through but for the most part I've already got a good frame-work to go off with those as I'm overly familiar with both factions anyway. From there, Dark Angels, Wulfen, Harlequins, Imperial/Renegade (yay!) Knights and Khorne Daemonkin look to be the only groups that need to be covered before I'm up to date with main-line 40K releases (on the topic of Dark Angels, as I've clarified earlier that won't be a full codex review given the shared unit entries between the various Adeptus Astartes books but it will cover everything unique to the 1st Legion). I have considered doing a Stormcast Eternal break-down based on my now extensive experience playing both with and against them, even if it runs contrary to what I wrote above about Age of Sigmar reviews. I think I honestly could cover all of the armies if I run out of 40K content to produce because frankly I want to focus on what makes units tick and the tricks you can pull similar to my Space Marine Character articles, meaning they could stay relevant regardless of the introduction of a points system - however, it isn't the main priority at the moment. What has been irritating me for a few months now is that what I'm really into at the moment - Horus Heresy and Age of Sigmar - are topics I will struggle to give due justice given the impending changes to both looming over the horizon, and I guess that could be described as the main reason behind my absence, but I'm feeling better with the mess of releases flooding my review pile and I'll endeavor to get regular content out again soon. Cheers everyone for reading my inane ramblings and have a nice day!

Orks Tactica - Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka

Greetings fellow wargamers and welcome to one of the last entries in my Ork Tactica series, focusing this time on the mighty Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka! Though his actual competitive worth is questionable nowadays due to some unnecessary changes he received and other supporting meta-game related factors, he is still a cunning beast with colossal strength. I hope you enjoy this article!

Apologies for the absence, I wasn't happy with this article so just fair warning on that front. 

21 Mar 2016

Codex Tau - Breacher Teams

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the second entry in my 7th Edition Tau Tactica series, this time focusing on the alternative Fire Warrior unit that have been aptly named as the Breacher Teams. I hope you enjoy the article!

16 Mar 2016

Codex Skitarii - Sicarian Ruststalkers

Greetings fellow minions of the Adeptus Mechanicus and welcome to another entry in my Codex Skitarii series, this time analyzing the frightening Sicarian Ruststalkers. Though they are a melee unit that theoretically has lots of things going in their favor, in practice they are actually a rather difficult squad to utilize effectively because of their fragility and high cost - think of them as cyborg Harlequins and you would be on the right track. I hope you enjoy this article!


14 Mar 2016

Codex Skitarii - Vanguard and Rangers

Greetings all and welcome to the first unit overview for my Skitarii Tactica series, first introducing the deadly duo of Skitarii Vanguard and Skitarii Rangers. These are the basic infantry of the Adeptus Mechanicus' forces and are surprisingly volatile for anything that is unlucky enough to be in their sights. I hope you enjoy this article!


12 Mar 2016

Orks Tactica - Flash Gitz

Greetins' me fellow Orks, me name be Kaptin Eelubber an' 'dis be me Waaagh! Pathetic attention-grabbing humor aside, this is my take on the not-pirate Flash Gitz and what they are capable of. I hope you enjoy this article!

10 Mar 2016

Codex Tau - Update Analysis

Greetings all and welcome to the first part of my new Tau Codex Tactica series, kicking off with a look at all the changes made to the 6th Edition codex that birthed the current iteration. I hope you enjoy this article!

8 Mar 2016

Orks Tactica - Lootas

Greetings fellow hobbyists and welcome to another entry in my Ork Tactica series, this time discussing the merits of Lootas. Possibly the true cause for the "Dakka" phenomenon, Lootas are a ridiculously efficient ranged unit that are known and feared by players of all persuasions. I hope you enjoy this article!

6 Mar 2016

Codex Skitarii Wargear Summary

Hello there ladies and gentlemen and welcome the third addition in my Codex Skitarii review and the final look at what could be seen as the background or details supplementing the full unit profiles themselves. The Skitarii bring many unique rules to the game in the form of their wargear and as such I felt some a basic explanation and some impressions of each choice were necessary for the full series. I hope you enjoy the article!

4 Mar 2016

Codex Skitarii Weapons Summary

Greetings all and welcome to the second entry in my Codex Skitarii review series, with this summary article covering the multitude of weapons available to the scions of the Adeptus Mechanicus. I hope you enjoy the article!

2 Mar 2016

Orks Tactica - Morkanaut

Greetings all and welcome to the latest entry in my Orks Tactica series, this time focusing on the second of two Ork super-walkers, the Morkanaut. I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Gorkanaut

Greetings all and welcome to the latest entry in my Orks Tactica series, this time focusing on the first of two Ork super-walkers, the Gorkanaut. I hope you enjoy this article!

Orks Tactica - Killa Kanz

Greetings all and welcome to the latest entry in my Orks Tactica series, this time focusing on the walking death machines known as Killa Kanz. I hope you enjoy the article!

29 Feb 2016

Orks Tactica - Deff Dread

Greetings fellow Ork players (or rivals) and welcome to the latest entry in my Ork Tactica series! I'm covering the venerable (no pun intended) Deff Dreads today, some of the cheapest walkers in the game that are surprisingly deadly in the art of assault as befits their place in the greenskin hordes. I hope you enjoy this article!


25 Feb 2016

Genestealer Cult Leaked Rules Preview

Good day (or night) to you and welcome to my very first preview of the (spoiler alert - if you do not presently know of the leaked rules and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading) re-imagined Genestealer Cult rules! Before we begin, I would like to point out that this is not a proper review and should not be taken as such; it is an assessment of the information given to us from the two leaked images displaying part of the Patriarch profile and the entirety of the Acolyte Hybrids profile. We do not know a lot of details such as the minimum requirements to field a Genestealer Cult detachment, the price point of the Patriarch or other HQ choice (if any exist) for the faction, whether the Favored Disciples are a unique unit and so on. In any case, I hope you enjoy the article!


24 Feb 2016

Codex Skitarii Rules Summary

Commence transmission. The Machineel has transcribed the visions blessed unto him by the Omnissiah. The God Machines stir. The enemies of Mars visit eradication on our worlds. It is time. Execute Reclamation Protocols. Awaken the Skitarii. Close transmission.

22 Feb 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Marneus Calgar

Greetings all and welcome to the final entry in my Space Marine Tactica series and, by the Emperor, I'll be damned if I have to write more about Warhammer 40,000-era Space Marines in the near future (don't tell him about the Dark Angels, ahem). It'll be nice to clear my head with some interesting xenos and...mechanical...codices, but for now all I can really say is that, character-wise, I feel I have saved the best for last. I've yet to review Marneus Calgar in any capacity for the current codex and I'm truly glad I had a chance to formulate a proper article as I believe that the Paragon of Ultramar is befitting of his title as the God of War. I hope you enjoy the article!

Tactica Space Marines - Chaplain Grimaldus

Greetings fellow hobbyists and wargamers, I welcome you to the second last addition to my Space Marine Tactica series and hope that you are having a lovely day bringing righteous vengeance to the sworn enemies of the Emperor! As you may have guessed by the introductory sentence (or the title, but don't mention it to the guy who wrote this, he's daft) this will be the review of none other than Merek Grimaldus, one of the most honored and respected warriors among the Black Templars. I hope you enjoy this article!

Tactica Space Marines - The Emperors' Champion

Hello there everyone and welcome to the third last entry in my seemingly never-ending Space Marine Tactica series, this time covering the glorious warrior that is the Emperors' Champion. There are few Space Marines more skilled in the art of the duel than this particular character and I'm glad that he offers Black Templar players a budget beat-stick and alternative to the other special characters. I hope you enjoy the article!

Impatience

You've probably noticed that it has been rather dry around these parts for a while as I explained a few months back, and that's about to change for a short time at least. A huge part of why it is taking me so long to get through the Space Marine and Ork reviews is my antipathy towards them; they've been dragging on so long that I get tired and bored just thinking about them. I want to get on with other reviews and find a format that's right for me so that I can get up to date for the first time in well over a year and provide you with articles centered around updated or new armies in their respective release weeks. Seems a tall order given the current situation, no? Well, here's the rub. I'm done with Space Marines and I'm going to be giving Dark Angels the cold shoulder until every other current codex as of the time of writing has been covered, if only because I've had to review the same large selection of units repeatedly since 7th Edition debuted back in mid 2014. Don't worry fans of the 1st Legion, you'll get your due well before this year is out. That brings me back to my main point and why I'm creating this little stub update....I've already posted up the Helbrecht review for the Space Marine series, but that's not all for tonight. No sir. No ma'am. It took a great deal of impromptu effort but the Space Marine Tactica series is officially complete! Have fun!

21 Feb 2016

Tactica Space Marines - High Marshall Helbrecht

To the Emperor, reverence. To the Imperium, glory. To the Black Templars, fear. Perhaps the most terrifying of all the Adeptus Astartes are the Black Templars, a Chapter only in name that is beyond the creed of mere humans and answers only to their own pious blood-lust. Matching even the infamous World Eaters for sheer ferocity and tempered by an unparalleled dedication to the God Emperor, the Black Templars are a leviathan beast tamed and directed by their greatest leader, the High Marshall himself; Helbrecht. I hope you enjoy this review of the legendary crusader!

16 Feb 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Pedro Kantor

Howdy there fine folks and welcome to another entry in my Space Marine Tactica character review series! Pedro Kantor ranks as one of the courageous and valorous heroes of the Imperium given that he has reforged a broken Chapter into one of the most staunch and successful sects of the Adeptus Astartes. I hope you enjoy this article!


11 Feb 2016

Orks Tactica - Battlewagon

Howdy there my fellow greenskins and welcome to another addition in my Ork Tactica series! Today I'll be homing in on the awesome Battlewagons, some of the most iconic and frightening transports to face in Warhammer 40,000. I hope you enjoy this article!

7 Feb 2016

Updates to Existing Legion Reviews

Hey guys, this is just a quick update regarding my Horus Heresy Legion Reviews and the new updates being released for each Legion in the updated Crusade Army List books. Basically, certain elements of my Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists reviews will be made redundant once the new rules release and will have to be further updated to reflect the probable inclusion of new options such as the Iron Circle. I'll make sure to do those updates when possible but in the mean-time there are still lots of other codex reviews to get through so stay tuned!

6 Feb 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Captain Lysander

Welcome ladies and gentleman to another entry in my Space Marine Tactica character review series, with the focus of this particular authoring being one of the most legendary icons of heroism and resolve among the Imperial Fists, Captain Darnath Lysander, the commander of the Chapters' 1st Company. I hope you enjoy the article!


2 Feb 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Shadow Captain Shrike

Greetings my fellow wargamers and welcome to my review of the infamous Shadow Captain Shrike, one of the Raven Guards' greatest living warriors and, per the events of an ongoing campaign book, their newest <redacted>. I hope you enjoy this article!



30 Jan 2016

Legion Review - Imperial Fists

Greetings all and welcome to the second Legion Review in my Horus Heresy Tactica series! This is a special occasion as I am covering the hated rivals turned enemies of the Iron Warriors, the righteous and stubborn Imperial Fists. I hope you enjoy this comprehensive look at the 7th Legion!


As I now have access to the latest rules for all current Legions, this post has now been updated with all relevant changes! What should be noted is that the Imperial Fists' Legion special rules were moderately toned down, though they still rank as one of the stronger forces in the Horus Heresy because they can still fulfill any army build or unit role well. 

28 Jan 2016

Orks Tactica - Mek Gunz

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another entry in my Ork Tactica series! The massive changes to artillery units wrought by 6th Edition gave Mek Gunz and its rivals from other codices a new lease on life, with the Orks getting arguably the most points efficient and variable version of the unit type. I hope you enjoy this article!


25 Jan 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Vulkan He'stan

Howdy there folks and welcome to another individual character review in my Space Marine Tactica series! Given the honorable role of Forgefather for the Salamanders and charged with seeking out ancient relics crafted by the Primarch his name is derived from, Vulkan He'stan is a powerful all-rounder that has long been one of the most popular characters in the Space Marine codex. I hope you enjoy this article!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, this was supposed to be uploaded nearly a week ago but my internet cut out for several days after a black-out for my local area. Sorry for the delay!

18 Jan 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Detachments and Formations

Greetings my fellow war-gamers and welcome to the final entry into my Space Marine Overview series! The last topic we have ahead of us comprises the various detachments and formations available to Space Marines in their current codex, and I think it goes without saying that the Adeptus Astartes most certainly did not get the shaft in this area. I hope you enjoy the article!

12 Jan 2016

Tactica Space Marines - Kor'sarro Khan

Greetings my fellow wargamers and welcome to another individual character review in my Space Marine Tactica series! Today marks the first article to not specifically deal with the Ultramarines, instead giving an incredible White Scars character his due; Kor'sarro Khan, the Master of the Hunt. I hope you enjoy this compact look at one of the Knights of Chogoris!


8 Jan 2016

Legion Review - Iron Warriors

I extend a warm welcome to all you loyalists and traitors, noble warriors all, for the beginning of a new era of Eelific tactica - the Horus Heresy is here! There's no better time to jump into the even more grim darkness of Warhammer 30,000 than now due to the release of Betrayal at Calth, the reveal of Corvus Corax (Primarch of the Raven Guard) and the impending hammer blow that will be rules for another three whole Legions. I've wanted to cover 30K since late 2012 when Forge World first unveiled its' awesome game system, but time and a lack of actual in-game experience culled any notion of in-depth tactical reviews....spoiler alert; until now (dun-dun-dunnnn!). There's lots to get through with reviews of the core army list broken up into different Force Organization slots as well as the merits of units in both 30K and 40K gaming, but for now, I'd like to start off with the specific rules for each of the 18 Legions featured in the Horus Heresy. I hope you enjoy this foray into an Age of Darkness!


As I now have access to the latest rules for all current Legions, this post has now been updated with all relevant changes, including an analysis of the Iron Circle!

5 Jan 2016

Orks Tactica - Warbuggies

Greetings fellow greenskin aficionados and welcome to yet another entry in my Ork Tactica series! This will be the final review for the Fast Attack section and will deal specifically with the Warbuggy, one of the more unusual and rarely seen Ork units. I hope you enjoy this article!

2 Jan 2016

Orks Tactica - Warbikers

Greetings you snotlings and welcome to the second last entry of my speedy gubbinz' section for the Ork Tactica series! Today I'll be focusing on possibly my favorite Ork unit - the Warbikers - who truly make their mark on the Ork faction edition after edition and codex after codex. I hope you enjoy this article!