New Warhammer 40K Film anticipated for 2014

                If you’re anything like me you latch onto and absorb anything in the Warhammer 40,000 Universe, including the rather awful Ultramarines animated 40K film that was produced by Games Workshop in 2010. Unfortunately, that was seventy minutes that I will never be able to get back.

                There is hope, however, and a fan project has surfaced promising redemption in the eyes of 40K fans. Are the fans going to finally receive a movie that they deserve? After watching the trailer, I don’t believe we have ever seen a fan project quite like this before.

                The Lord Inquisitor is an animated film and brainchild of Erasmus Brosdau originally released as a teaser trailer back in 2011. This trailer generated such a positive response that what was suppose to be an eight-minute clip has now ballooned out to a full 40-minute feature with help from a team that includes Warhammer 40K authors and employees of Crytek and Ubisoft.

                I have included the most recent trailer that was produced in 2012 below for your enjoyment, and you can follow the progress of the upcoming film by checking out the official site.

Kroot Carnivore Squads: Are they still viable in the 6th Edition Tau Codex?

"They are fierce indeed these Kroot, and savage. I look upon them and tremble at their ferocity. I can only hope that when the enemy sees them they tremble as I do."

— Por'Vre'Tau'Cho - Water Caste Envoy to Sy'l'Kell prior to the ambush of the 17th Brimlock Dragons

                 Let’s start by examining how the Kroot have changed in the Tau Empire 6^th Edition Codex. They begin with dropping the Kroot cost of 1 point per model, and followed through with taking away Strength 4 and 1 Attack.  The recent Codex has also granted the Kroot a 6+ armour save without having to pay for the ridiculously expensive Kroot Shaper, and thankfully they gave the Kroot Rifle AP 5 in close combat.

                Their abilities of Stealth and Move Through Cover maintain the theme that these troops are the scouts and skirmishers of your army, and as such their role hasn’t entirely changed in your Cadre. You can multiply the effectiveness of this role for +1 point per model with Sniper Rounds, giving them the Sniper and Rending special rules which will force your opponent’s vehicles, characters, monstrous creatures, and other heavy targets to respect their distance (or risk getting wounded on a 4+).

                The Acute Sense in Kroot Hounds will make their Outflank role viable with more reliable tactical precision and it’s strongly recommended that any army planning on using Outflank take at least one Kroot Hound.

                While the Krootox has lost a wound, it now has a 6 Toughness, meaning that it can soak some fire and likely be around to return it. The 48” Strength 7 AP 4 Kroot Gun allows them to move and shoot at 48” or double the volley at an impressive 24” (which ironically is the same range as the rest of your Kroot). It is also important to note that taking the Krootox no longer prevents your Kroot from using the Infiltrate special rule. With a Krootox or two in your Carnivore Squad they can effectively counter your competition’s lightly armoured vehicles.

                You’ll read a lot on the Internet whether or not the Kroot Carnivore Squads are worth it, especially now that 6th Edition allows for you to take Allied Armies such as Orks to fill their role. In my personal opinion, however, the Kroot have only gotten better in 6th Edition.

Tau Empire 6th Edition Codex: First-Thoughts and Must-Haves

It has been over two months since the Tau Empire Codex for 6^th Edition was released, and I've been able to play approximately four games with the new rules. The following post will illustrate some of the strengths I have noticed with the Tau Empire's new Codex.

1) Disruption Pods - With the Jink special rule for Skimmers our vehicles are capable of a 4+ Cover Save with this support system. This is almost a must in 6^th Edition where glancing hits are the primary reason most vehicles are destroyed.

2) XV104 Riptide Battlesuit - You shouldn't leave home without this model. While it is a pricey addition to your Cadre in both points and monetary value, the Nova Reactor with an Ion Accelerator will make short work of a majority of the heavy infantry that can be deployed against you, as well as provide sufficient support to your XV88 Broadsides in establishing heavy weapon superiority. Throw Interceptor and Skyfire on the XV104 and you have a decent counter for units utilizing the Deepstriking and Flier special rules.

3) Twin-Linking and Dual Weapons - The 6^th Edition Tau Empire Codex removed the requirement that dual weapons automatically become twin-linked, this means you can now equip and fire the same gun twice independently rather than rerolling failed hits on a single gun. The best part is for an additional 5 points per weapon you can make your favorite reaper twin-linked! This provides a multitude of configurations and options for our XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Teams, as well as allowing the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Commander to be deployed with dual twin-linking weapons that can be fired in the same turn.

4) Drones - While we still can use Drones for ablative wounds, we must be more cautious in the positioning of these models relative to the unit we are going to receive fire from. 6^th Edition clearly states that the closest models must be removed when receiving casualties, so make certain to place the Drones between you and the enemy and beware of Deepstriking units.

5) Fusion Blaster - The Tau Empire now has the best melta weapon in the game due to it offering an additional 6" over the competition in terms of range. This means while most armies are gaining their melta bonus within 6" of enemy models, the Tau Empire are making use of it within 9".

6) Pulse Rifles - Our Fire Warriors are now even more lethal, while most armies must close to 12" in order to make use of Rapid Fire, our Pulse Rifle equipped Fire Warrior Teams are capable of unleashing double their volley at only 15" due to its impressive 30" range!

7) Snap Fire - In 6^th Edition the Fire Warrior Team's best friend is Snap Fire. As the enemy closes you should give up ground in order to stay out of their assault range. The best way I've used this is when deploying multiple Fire Warrior Teams. Let your back firing line fire at full Ballistic Skill while allowing your front line to fall back using Snap Fire.

I hope these musings provide better insight on how you play your 6^th Edition Tau Empire. Do you have something to add? Is there something that I’ve overlooked? Your comments, as always, are welcomed and appreciated.

For the Greater Good!

Rules, huh, yeah...What are they good for?: Introduction

Absolutely nothing?  Probably not.

Rules are an interesting conundrum.  We have them in life, sometimes for safety, others times to prevent people overstepping their bounds and treading in someone else’s world.  We have them in games we play as well.  Things are a bit different in the games though.  In games rules are generally set up to promote fairness among the players.  This is an artificial equilibrium brought about by the game itself.  This even playing field isn't found in much the world beyond the game.  It's almost as if we manufacture the equality in the game as a form of relief from the imbalances of the world.  A shield or respite from the rest of our lives if you will.

Game rules can be simple or they can be extremely complex.  They can be as unassuming as “No peeking while you are counting” in hide and go seek.  They can be so complicated or contentious that they require one or more appointed neutral parties to adjudicate their application and make rulings on hotly contested differences of opinion.

Since this is a Warhammer 40K blog we can all probably safely assume that I am talking about the rules in that game.  The rules in 40K fall somewhere between the two examples I have listed above.  Actually they probably fall closer to the complicated extreme.  There is the main rule-book, and then there are the individual army codexes, and on top of that there are various additional game supplements and White Dwarf articles to contend with.  Most people can’t really afford to find a neutral third party who knows all of the game rules flawlessly to watch over their games.  There are tournaments, and usually the tournament organizers are or provide judges along with a list of rulings on popularly debated rules.  Even there the judges are hotly sought after and kept running all day.  And at the end of the tournament they are probably the least liked person there by a large number of people.  Talk about a thankless job.

What about the friendly game though?  What about a few buddies getting together to play the game.  Maybe they don’t know all the main rules.  Maybe they are just starting out and don’t even know their own army very well.  I am sure we have all been there, maybe at multiple points in our gaming life.  You are just there to have fun, what do you do if there is a rules question or even a debate?

The BRB (Big Rule Book) talks quite a bit about this kind if thing.  It mentions the spirit of the game.  It talks about dicing off to resolve the dispute.  I like the concept of the spirit of the game, unfortunately the spirit seems to be the first thing to go when your favorite plastic soldier is about to get killed by that grossly overpowered weapon.  Dicing off can work in the moment but it always seems to leave a bad taste in my mouth, no matter if I win or lose the die roll.

What is the best way to handle the rule arguments that crop up from time to time?  How do we work through problems, have fun, and still remain friends at the end of a game?  These are the things I will talk about in my next few articles.