Knights: Work in Progress

Slick here again with a few work in progress shots of the first Knight kit I'm assembling. So far the kit goes together really smoothly although there are several tiny bits so it is important to carefully follow the directions. After a few hours the body is assembled. All that's left now will be the weapon arms. I will be going with the battle cannon variant for this first one. More coming soon!

X-Wing: Imperial Aces Preview and Discussion

Imperial Aces for Fantasy Flight Games' X-Wing is set to arrive sometime in March and it's time for Imperial players to get excited! It seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far away that Wave 3 released and the while there have been previews of new ships since then there have not been any releases. This is just what the game needs to get players going again and to shake up the meta.


The box set will bring two custom-painted TIE Interceptors to the table with a host of new pilots and upgrades. Let's dig right in:

Lietenant Lorrir at pilot skill 5 might not always be shooting first but he takes barrel roll to the next level. Tetran Cowall's skill 7 puts him up there with the other super-elite pilots and his ability to k-turn at speeds 1,3, or 5 can set up some nasty surprises, and for just one more point than Lorrir.

Next up, we have the other two pilots. The generic royal guard pilot comes in at an impressive pilot skill 6 and only 22 points! The most elite pilot from this set is Carnor Jax who will want to be up close and personal with enemy ships (preferably out of their firing arc!). He will be able to finish off ships by ignoring focus and evade tokens. The way his ability works means that he essentially debuffs all enemy ships in range 1. Ideally, enemy pilots would end their move close to him, they won't get their focus/evade and then Jax would move close to last with his high pilot skill, hopefully flying out of enemy firing arcs and pouncing on some poor ship.

(All pics from BoardGameGeek)

The upgrades are all very good and will see plenty of use. Royal Guard TIE is a free title which will unlock some more upgrades for any interceptors you give it to. Hull Upgrade is an interesting modification and can really increase the survival chances of TIEs but really any ship. I'd expect this one to see a lot of play. Targeting Computer essentially grants targeting lock to any ship so expect this to pop up on all kinds of Imperial builds. This really gives you some extreme flexibility with Interceptors.

What do you guys think about the Imperial Aces set? How many will most players want to get? If you're mainly a Rebel player, what scares you the most from this new set?

40K: Legion of the Damned Codex Arrives

The Legion of the Damned Codex is out:

From The Black Library:

Appearing from the shifting tides of the Warp, the Legion of the Damned are mysterious bone-adorned Space Marines who arrive unlooked for to aid the servants of the Imperium. No one knows for sure where they come from, but none can doubt the fury with which they fight, or the trail of dead foes they leave in their wake. Tormented by a ghostly past and afflicted by the very power that snatches them from one battlefield to the next, the Legion are truly cursed warriors who, perhaps, seek salvation through the carnage they visit upon the enemies of the Emperor. 

About the Book:

Codex: Legion of the Damned allows you to add Legion of the Damned squads into your Warhammer 40,000 army, or field them as a detachment in their own right. It includes extensive background on the mysterious Legion of the Damned, detailing the times they have appeared to fight alongside the armies of the God-Emperor. Also inside you will find rules for Legion of the Damned units, as well as three new missions, an artefact and Warlord Traits and, all unique to these legendary warriors. 

You can buy it on The Black Library website for $ 16.99 

40K: Knights Rules Update

(Pic from Apocalypse 40K)

Games Workshop is adding a bit more info on top of that found in this week's White Dwarf (via BoLS):


via Jes Bickham (White Dwarf editor)

Some clarification on the rules we presented in White Dwarf today for some folks here: the Imperial Knights don't occupy any force organisation slots, they are not Lords of War, they are an army unto themselves. Something we forgot to say is that all Imperial Knights are scoring units, and if you're playing 3-6 as a primary detachment, pick one as your Warlord.

If this proves true we are looking at an army that fundamentally rebalances 40K and firmly brings superheavies into the regular game. Note, they are NOT Lords of War and what we see here seemingly solves any other issues they would have with being able to compete on the table top as for finishing missions. It'll be really interesting to see what Warlord traits the knights will have access to. Anyone care to speculate?

What do you guys think about knights being firmly in regular 40K? Are we set for another round of internet rage? This will be a very interesting week or two for 40K!

GW Knight Teaser Video

GW posted another of their teaser videos for the upcoming Knights. There really isn't much to see, but we will have to tune in on Feb. 22 to see more:

News: Spartan Games Black Wolf Company

Here is the latest from Spartan Games for Dystopian Legions:

Rapidly gaining infamy throughout the world, the marines who crew the vessels of the Black Wolf are experts in close quarters combat. Armed with rapid firing PP-56 SMG's and shrouded by dense clouds from their smoke grenades, they excel equally at clearing enemy ships of their crew or sweeping trenches of resistance. Led by a battle hardened Petty Officer and given covering fire by a thunderous PP-76 light machine gun, Raiding Parties from the Black Wolf Fleet are a ferocious supplement to a Dystopian Legions force.

FrostyCon: After Action Report 1

Hi all, Slick here. So FrostyCon has come and gone and here is the Imperial Guard list I took with me. I ended up going 2-2 for a solid day. The biggest difficulties unsurprisingly came form Eldar/Tau with their ability to ignore cover which made it much easier to down my fliers. The list handled Necrons and Chaos Space Marines really well though. The Skyshield is an awesome fortification to work with and will frustrate an opponent's shooting. Some fun highlights were sniping Imothek round 1 and Eldrad round 2 with Manticores! Round three my first four shots with Manticores rolled up three tempaltes so that was fun! The codex can still hang with current armies although it is showing its age. Thus far, rumors point to several new kits but it will be interesting to see what guard get to deal with all the threats 6th ed codecies offer.

HQ

Company Command Squad         60 Points

                Autocannon Team          

                Chimera w/flamer         55 Points

Elites

Marbo                                         65 Points

Troops

Platoon Command Squad             40 Points

                2 Grenade Launchers    

Platoon (3 Infantry Squads)         260 Points                          

                3 Lascannons +60

                3 Flamers +15

                Commissar +35

Veteran Squad                                  95 Points

                2 Meltaguns + 1 Flamer

Veteran Squad                                  95 Points

2 Meltaguns + 1 Flamer

Special Weapons Squad                   50 Points

                3 Flamers

Fast Attack

Vendetta                                             130 Points

Vendetta                                             130 Points

Valkyrie                                              130 Points

                Two Multiple Rocket Pods

Heavy Support

Manticore Rocket Launcher        160 Points

                Hull heavy flamer

Manticore Rocket Launcher        160 Points

                Hull  heavy flamer

Fortification

Skyshield Landing Pad                    75 Points

FrostyCon itself was a blast. As a co-ogranizer for the Indiana 40K Championship series, and this being the first full year of the series, and the inaugural FrostyCon, everything went really well. We held the event at Gamerz in Indianapolis, a fantastic store with tons of space, great staff, and really just about everything you'd want in a good game store. We had a little over 30 players for the event which is a good start we can build on. Everyone seemed to have a great time. All my opponents were great fun to play against and it was a good day to learn more about refining my play and the army, although I will hold off on doing anything more with the Guard until the new codex comes out!

Next up is in the Indiana series is TippCon IV, May 31-June 1 in Lafayette, Indiana. It's going to be a weekend packed full of events, and not just for 40K. We will have all of the information up shortly so stay tuned. I will also do a more detailed round-by-round analysis of my games for FrostyCon soon. Comments welcome!