Ravenwing Combinations

7th edition is all about the combinations so what's best for Ravenwing ?

I've already posted my initial army list. I will be playing a pure biker army and see how that unfolds first. I don't think Ravenwing lends itself well to a Death Star style which equates to more biker units plus one of the inherent strengths of Ravenwing versus White Scars is the former has more biker units to choose which is very interesting.

So back to the question... I'm thinking one to two Imperial Knights is an excellent choice for the combination as bikes and Knights can match each others' speed - basically your classic hammer and anvil. I see Imperial Knights as being more fragile now with the boosts to the eldar Wraithknight. It's a very risky situation to assault the Wraithknight with an Imperial Knight - I've seen one Wraightknight take down three Imperial Knights the first three turns of a game... Ouch !

To me the optimal build is a Knight with two ranged weapon systems versus the ever ubiquitous chain sword. Ravenwing lack long range fire power plus the real strength of any Imperial Knight is their stomp attacks. The Melta Cannon is the better choice versus the Battle Cannon as S8 is not very good versus armor plus the S9 AP1 forces the 2+ save to either jink or rely upon an invulnerable save.

The bikes should act as a vanguard pushing up aggressively ahead of the Knight preventing the enemy from drawing ideal positions to shoot or assault it. The Imperial Knight can assault once the bikes lock down enemy units in melee then hit and run away. This is a tactic that can be repeated several times over the course of a game... It's very basic and reliable due to the inherent speed of these units.

I'm sure there are other great combinations as well but this one seems so obvious I thought I'd touch on it first.

Thoughts on Ravenwing

I have just purchased all the kits I need to build my new army. If you know me you know I like my bikes. One of my favorite biker units was Storm Claw bikers from back in the day of the 13th Company. I have played Ravenwing before too. Space Marine bikers are the best they've ever been in sixth and seventh edition. There is something for everyone - you've just got to find it.

I posted my initial list a few days ago and that's what I'll be starting with to learn the new army. It's not a Death Star army nor how I believe the army is intended to be played. A Death Star Space Marine biker unit can roll up on any unit in the game and completely obliterate it in one turn of melee except for Decurion which takes two turns and that is not bad all things considered.

First Starting Bikes
I had a really hard time when I first started playing bikes again and at one point was considering dropping out of the hobby. My advice if you want to play a biker army and be competitive go to tournaments that are anywhere from 750 - 1250 points... You have to bring pretty much a bare bones army without a lot of bling and it will force you to learn the basic mechanics of building and playing bikes. That was how I figured it out and then things started turning up roses.

Eldar Wannabees
I find it amusing eldar players are now going the biker route with Wraightknights for support - it's heavy handed to say the least with spamming scatter lasers but we just have to suck it up. In juxtaposition not everyone jumped on White Scars band wagon when the sixth edition Space Marine codex dropped and it didn't really seem to catch on fire until after Steve Sisk won the BAO last year. For sure biker armies were popular before that point in time but in my opinion they were only considered top tier until after the 2014 BAO.

The Khan and Guns
To me Khan is really not worth it and with Ravenwing you don't have to dump 150 points on a middling HQ (Khan) to scout. The major advantage of White Scars have over Black Knights is the command squad because of access to stormshields and grav guns. The stormshields are always there for you which alleviates the need upon relying on psychic powers. Grav guns outclass both meltaguns and plasmaguns. Grav guns on a biker platform have the most shots...

Four grav guns = 12 shots (AP2) - 18" range /salvo
Four meltaguns = 4 shots (AP1) - 12" range /one shot
Four plasmaguns = 8 shots (AP2) - Up to 24" range /rapid fire

Four S8 shots versus a Wraithknight cannot kill it with one volley assuming it has its full six wounds. Eight S7 shots are really going to struggle wounding on a 5+. Grav guns wound 3+ and meltaguns wound on 4+. You don't even need to do the math... It's just that simple.

It's not like biker armies were never competitive before - I remember distinctly when everyone was crying rivers of salty tears about Nob bikers and jetseer council was a thing with the Baron back in sixth edition... Good riddance to the Baron !!!

Librarius Conclave
So let's talk about Ravenwing and the Librarius Conclave... I think two Librarians is really all you need. Three with all bikes and level 2 psychic mastery comes up to 345 points which is a heck of a lot for three models and to be honest I don't think it's worth it. I know from experience casting successfully on 3+ is really darn good and two Librarians are so optimal for the points. Combine them with Sammeal and a Black Knight command squad - you've got everything you need - it's not a true Death Star but you'll be very successful casting the powers you need most with the least amount of dice... It really doesn't get much better than that even compared versus daemons, eldar and Grey Knights.

Would you like more tactics about Ravenwing?

My Facebook Page - Terminus Est

Wow it's really starting to take off now...

https://www.facebook.com/Terminus6Est?fref=photo

First Crack at the New Ravenwing... Go !!!

FA: Ravenwing Bike Squad (205)
5x Biker - 2x Grav Gun - Melta Bombs
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta

75 + 50 + 20 + 5 = 150
50 + 5 = 55

FA: Ravenwing Bike Squad (205)
5x Biker - 2x Grav Gun - Melta Bombs
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta

FA: Ravenwing Bike Squad (205)
5x Biker - 2x Grav Gun - Melta Bombs
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta

FA: Ravenwing Black Knights (245)
6x Black Knight - Melta Bombs

FA: Ravenwing Black Knights (245)
6x Black Knight - Melta Bombs

sub total = 1105

HQ: Sammael (200)

Ravenwing Command Squad (265)
4x Black Knight - Sacred Standard
Apothecary
200 + 35 + 30

1105
0220
0266 +
1491

Librarius Conclave [White Scars]
3x (Librarian - Bike - Melta Bombs - Mastery Level 2)
3x (65 + 5 + 20) = 3x90 = 270

1491
0270 +
1761

First place with BikeStar • Multi-Tie

My BikeStar came in first place at a local RTT via a three way tie... Kind of funny.

Three of us finished 2-1 and nobody went 3-0.

First round was versus Salamanders... Easy win. Took out the Imperial Knight in the first round of close combat - S10 is where it's at ! Managed to concuss it with grav fire on Overwatch - I had up Foredboding (full ballistic skill on Overwatch) and Prescience for twin linking the command squad's grav guns.

Second round barely lost to a Necron Decurion army...dice were atrocious. Got a bit overly aggressive then rolled five 1s in a row to lose my Chapter Master, then again to lose my Wolf Lord.

Third and final round was versus another Decution and ended with a big win.

We were playing the ATC missions to practice for July in Chattanooga.

Casual versus Competitive

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post much lately - it's been a very busy week heading into July and the ATC is right around the corner. I think the game and how we play it is changing. I see more and more players shifting towards a casual attitude about the game with all the crazy things happening and the rapid release of new rules which seems to be occurring on a weekly basis. It's all about formations now and their crazy rules. I'm still a big fan of the CAD (combined arms detachment) and think objective secured is still a big deal.

No matter what anyone might tell most everybody likes to win but it's not as big a deal for some as opposed to others and that's a dividing line which as I said seems to be shifting more towards a casual attitude and that's okay. It's next to impossible for everyone to keep up with all the new rules so we must be more accepting of what we don't know - it's just the way it is now and in that regard it looks like GW is winning their war versus competitive gaming and lack of support for tournaments. I'm not here to say it's necessarily a bad thing - just simply making some observations where the state of the game and hobby seem to be headed.

Lately I've been seeing a steady decline in the number of players attending local tournaments - partly I think it's due to a few really nasty armies most feel they have no chance to beat... Flyrant spam is one of those right up they on top of the list and it just seems like if you tailor your list to deal with it you're going to have problems with the other nasty lists. I'm predicting Tau, which is supposedly the next new codex to release, will spell the end of Flyrant spam and good riddance. I play a competitive army so I can't knock others too much but mine does have some inherent weaknesses that can be exploited. Flyrant spam is an anti meta army - most players aren't taking much in the way of anti air plus Tyranids have access to cheap troops that don't give up any victory points. We will have to wait and see if the Tau has anything to say about this soon.

All in all it's a good time right now if you play 40k but I'd love to see the tournament scene begin to grow again. I remember back in the days of fourth and fifth edition walking into a hobby shop to see over 20 players ready to roll dice... The good old days for me.

Deathwing and Ravenwing Formations plus Lords of War

Lord Smashfacker (Thunderwolf Lord)

Dark Angels - the real deal...

DW knights got even better with ap3 maces rather than ap4? Middle finger to any other space marine player.

Deathwing rule replaces Inner Circle, grants Fearless and Hatred (CSM).

DW Knights maces of absolution now AP3, Smite is now basically a Smash attack: trade all attacks for one Sx2 AP2 attack, chosen per model, not limited use.

DW Assault is a formation rule, everything Deep Strikes in on choice of turn 2, 3, or 4 - includes Ven Dreads in Pods.

Summoned to War is a detachment rule, all units in detachment must start in Deep Strike reserve, if army has a RW Attack Squadron or Strike Force you basically choose the results of Reserve Rolls for the detachment.

Summon the DW: Formation rule, models in the formation are basically 12" teleport homers for DW units.

Ravenwing rule allows models to reroll failed Jink saves.

Speed of the Raven detachment rule: On first tirn (or second if units in reserves), units that turbo-boost or Flat Out count as Jinking but aren't forced to Snap Shot the following turn.

Ravenwing grenade launcher radshell is no longer -1T but the to-wound of 6 causes two wounds.

Sammael in Sabreclaw gets a D3+1 S4 AP2 hits sweep attack.

Land Speeder Vengeance plasma battery is now 36".

Dark Shroud's Icon of Old Caliban is Fear and Stealth to DA units within 6" and no prevents Overwatch when those units start the Assault phase with 6" of it.

Psychic Powers:

Primaris - Mind Worm - WC1 focussed witch fire, 12" S6 AP2 Assault 1, Ignores Cover, if model takes an unsaved wound then -3 BS/WS/I/Ld for rest of game

1 - Seed of Fear - WC1 Maledication affecting all enemy units within 9", they take Morale, Pinning, and Fear on 3d6

2 - Righteous Repugnance - WC1 Blessing 24" grants unit Rage

3 - Aversion - WC1 Malediction 24" unit may only fire Snap Shots

4 - Malestrom of Misery - WC2 witchfire 24" S1 AP2 Assault 1 Blast always wounds on 4+

5 - Trephination - WC2 18" focussed witchfire - affected model rolls 2d6+2-Ld and takes that many wounds with no armor or cover saves

6 - Mind Wipe - WC3 24" malediction - target unit is WS1/BS1 until end of their next turn, when they have to take a Ld test, if failed effect is permanent

Admech - Skitarri - Knight War Convocation Army List

Use the formation from White Dwarf.

Skyhammer Annilihation Force Part 2

This new formation is all the rage on the internet now but to be honest I'm wondering if it's really all that OP. Sure the grav devs can be quite nasty versus certain units but even being able to charge the turn the assault Marines deep strike isn't what I'd consider a real gamer winner as they are just assault Marines. So basically you can have a maximum of eight grav devs popping out of the sky on turn 1 or 2 and they are relentless. I watched a video batrep where the really nice Admech formation with some drop pods via Blood Angels made mincemeat out of them in short order. I don't think the Skyhammer formation would have much of an impact versus Necrons. Basically the counter tactic is to bubble wrap or keep your best units vulnerable to grav in reserves. If eldar go first all they have to do is jink. The Admech formation from White Dwarf is really a lot better - for example a 1750 point list can easily take up to 500 points of free wargear plus they have their rules bonuses as well.

I'd much rather invest the points in grav cents - they lost nothing.

Martian Ironearth

Hi everyone !!! It's your friendly neighborhood Black Blow Fly swinging by for another dose of hard core 40k enthusiasm !!!

I am primarily a tactical writer. You can think of this as my advice in a tactical manner how to enjoy the game and when I say tactical I mean strategic thinking to have fun not focused on winning. It's fun to win but there are many great aspects to the game such as the fantastic background, modeling and painting. In my opinion why waste your time focused on hating ? If you hate on GW and 40k it just behooves yourself to find something else to spend your precious free time. If you do something you love you'll be a much happier person in general.

If you know me then you know I love all things power armor. That said there are some xenos races I like too such as Dark Eldar, Necrons, Orks and Tyranids. I believe any army can be really strong on a competitive level, not just the EZ win armies like Eldar and Space Marines. The Tyranid fifth edition codex is right up there for all time worst but I did okay with it. If you're willing to put your heart and soul into an army it can be whatever you want... It really can and an army doesn't necessarily have to be the most competitive to be a lot of fun - it's all about what you really want but then again you need to spend the time to discover what you really want. For example I prefer not to play internet meta lists but then again if others enjoy them it's all win.

You can choose who you play and to a certain extent the game is a social contract. That said we must understand what the person on the other side of the table wants - it can't be all about you. I remember not too long ago I was very close to quitting the hobby then I had a game where my opponent helped me with the rules and truly wanted me to have a good time. It completely changed my aspect on the game and drew me back into the game. Obviously in my mind these are the types of people you want to hang out with when spending time on the hobby.

So I want to talk a bit about a new technical paint from GW... Martian Ironearth. It's an amazing color straight out of the pot and has me believing GW really wants to be the number table top hobby company. In many ways they are. They tell us they don't really care much about competitive play and encourage us to forge narratives. I'm a competitive player at heart and always will be - it's my nature but I also like to build armies with lots of unique conversions and paint them to the best of my ability. Small elite armies are optimal for me since every model can be heavily converted and I can spend lots of time painting them. We are what we are. Going back to what I said above my advice is to find like minded individuals and spend your time with them.

So back to Martian Ironearth... It really looks like a landscape from Mars which to me is simply amazing. Slather it on a big base, let it dry then dry brush with a bright orange and finally a light red wash... Really easy to do and looks quite awesome in my opinion. I learned to take my time painting and to enjoy it. Painting can be a form of mediation in which you are focused and it shuts off your mind from all those things you don't want to have to think about for awhile. It's never been easier to paint now with the wide range GW has to offer. You're really missing out if you've never done some putty work with green stuff.

If you like to model I highly recommend looking into third party companies such as Dragon Forge, puppetswar and Secret Weapon Miniatures (SWM). Try it, you just might like it. I love Forgeworld too because they are the high end in my opinion of the hobby. If you like Space Marines I want to tell you their 30k Horus Heresy range is beside itself. The rules are air tight and every army is really good... Think about it for a moment - it's much easier to balance the game for Space Marines versus Space Marines - it's a good time for sure.

In conclusion I still like a competitive game but I respect casual gaming. In truth most people are somewhere in between these two states and over time if you stick with the hobby you'll gravitate towards one end of the spectrum.

So in closing I ask what do you enjoy the most about the hobby and what keeps you in the game? We all know WAAC players like to borrow other people's armies - they can't ever be bothered to lift a brush - wow they are really missing out on so many of the good things this game has to offer... I really feel for them too.

The new BikeStar

I'm going to take a break from playing White Scars after Texas WarGamesCon this weekend. That said there is an even more Killy BikeStar now...

Iron Hands Supplement:
Chapter Master - Gorgon Chains - Artificer Armor - Power Fist - Lightning Claw - Auspex
Command Squad - Bikes - 5x Stormshield - 3x Grav Gun - 2x Thunderhammer - 3x Meltabombs

Librarian Conclave:
3x Librarian (all Level 2) - 3x Bike - 3x Force Axe - 3x Meltabombs

Blood Angels:
Sanguinary Priest - Bike - Valor's Edge

Librarians roll on Telepathy and Biomancy looking for Endurance and Invisibility.

Chapter Master has 2+ FNP with Endurance up and running.

Most unkillable unit in the game now.

Skyhammer Annihilation Force

Only available via direct web order from GW.

2x Assault Squad
2x Assault Squad

Restrictions:
Each Devastator Squad must take a drop pod as a dedicated transport. Each Assault Squad must be equipped with jump packs.

Special Rules:
— Rapid Deployment:
Choose whether the entire formation will arrive during the first or second turn. The entire Skyhammer Annihilation Force automatically arrives on the turn you choose (1st or 2nd), no reserve rolls are required. Ignore the formations drop pods for the purposes of the drop pod assault special rule.

— First Fire, then Blades:
On the turn the formation arrives from Deep Strike Reserve, the Devastator Squads in the Skyhammer Annihilation Force have the relentless special rule and the Assault Squads can charge even though they arrived from reserves that turn.

— Suppressing FIre:
A unit targeted by the Skyhammer Annihiliation Force's Devastator Squad in the shooting phase must take a Morale test at the end of the phase. If the test is failed the unit does not fall back, but must immediately go to ground. If the test is passed the unit is unable to fire overwatch for the rest of the turn.

— Leave No Survivors:
Assault Squads in the Skyhammer Annihilation force can use their jump packs in both the shooting phase and the assault phase. If an assault squad from the Skyhammer Annihilation Force charges a unit that has Gone to Ground as a result of the Suppressive Fire special rule that Assault Squad can re-roll failted to hit and to wound rolls in the ensuing assault phase.

The Space Marine Dreadnaught

The new codex is available for purchase tomorrow - very exciting. If you've been following the internet you know it's probably going to be the best ever Space Marine codex and that's saying a lot. My favorite was the fourth edition by Grahsm McNeil... God bless him !!! space Marines lost nothing and gained so much. Thank you GW for all the love... It will be appreciated until the end of time.

I am going to be doing a series of tactical reviews about basic units such as scouts and dreadnaught. Everybody knows how good are scouts and now they are BS4-WS4 again as it should be - a big screw to all the haters. I feel really bad for all the armies that got the screw like my beloved Blood Angels and the Orks. It is what it is though and we have to just make the best of it. If you love Space Marines it's like winning big at Los Vegas - cherish it.

I think people play the dreadnaught wrong. It's primary function is in melee. If you're foot slogging it or dropping it in a pod it will never reach its true potential. Dreadnaughts should be attached to the grapple on a Stormraven and this is something only Space Marines, Blood Angels and Grey Knights can do. With the new rules for monstrous creatures they have a real problem versus the basic dreadnaught. The Iron Clad is an amazing specimen of a dreadnaught with AV13 on the front and sides of the chassis. Blood Angels and Space Wolves have highly specialized Dreadnaughts that excel in melee... The Furioso is one of the best with stock power fists.

It's time to re examine the worth of the dreadnaught and work them into our army lists. The dreadnaught can be the 500 pound gorilla no one knows how to handle. I'm not saying they will be big again but they could be for sure. Get them into combat and they can overpower most enemy units. Even the ever ubiquitous Riptide doesn't want to fight them and that says a lot. The nerf to Smash in seventh edition is what brought them back in a big way so take advantage.

How to Win the ATC

Introduction
I have to first say my personal track record at ATC is quite atrocious - over the past two years I've managed to win a total of two games. Two years ago I won my last game - last year I won my first game... That's it. That's a whole lot of losing for sure. Sometimes I have to ask myself why would I even want to go back again and re subject myself to the torture and humiliation. I could go into detail why my track record in Tennessee is less than stellar to say the least but I'll spare everyone. Having lost so much though and considering myself a competitive player that is a lot of experience at losing - something I'm not used to at that level. So I ask myself is it possible to draw from it collectively and improve. I think the answer is yes and I'll provide my thoughts on what it takes to win big as a team at the ATC.

How It Works
First let me say that the ATC is by far the most competitive tournament I've ever experienced... It's down right brutal at an epic level. Each team consists of five players. Each round your team faces off against another team in a series of five one on one games played simultaneously. First the two captains take turns pairing off their team mates against each players from the your opponents' teams. Basically it is an exercise in rock-paper-scissors and you can easily find yourself up against an opponent with army that is the complete antithesis of yours - believe me when I say it happens. It's really hard to design a take all comers list these days so you better be ready. Last year after winning my first game I was seized on twice in a row by first the top ranked Daemon player then again by the top ranked Tau player. I learned the hard way to be prepared to get seized on in a hard way and this is one of the most unforgiving tournaments to have it happen... It literally took the wind right out of my sails.

The Format
The format for designing your army is quite restrictive which naturally lends itself well to certain types of armies over others and this year is even more so than last year. For example the only Lords of War allowed are from codices. Now couple this with each faction only being able to fielded by one player per team - this significantly intensifies the potential for mismatches. I expect to see lots of teams with one player bringing three or more Wraithknights. Last year serpent spam and Adlance was very popular. Obviously not everyone can counter these types of armies so the matchups are extremely important. Also Forgeworld is banned so that's one less thing to help you mitigate these types of factors and situations.

There are three basic missions which are all multi objective which I really like a lot. I do think the ATC missions are some of the best designed missions in the country. This helps a lot for everyone and can level the playing field to a certain extent but it's still really hard. If you're not properly prepared it's going to be a long weekend.

How to Win as a Team
As I said above the ATC is basically the ultimate Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) tournament in the country due to how the match ups are determined. It's possible for one to two players per team to get a great matchup every round but it's also possible for one to two players to get a horrible matchup each round as well. Based upon my experience I think you want to concentrate on the Rock-Paper-Scissors aspect of the tournament and go all out in this regard when designing your own army. Like I said it's really hard to design a truly TAC army in the current meta but the match ups can offset this shortcoming. Armies that might not do so well at other major events can shine here due to how the match ups are determined.

Of course you need to practice enough that you are ultimately familiar with the three missions and know how to score as many points possible each round. Even if you lose a game you can still score significant points which is huge. Don't go into it expecting to win every game... With five players per team every point adds up at the end.

You can also practice too much - the danger here is it will never be the same as the actual event which could lead to a false sense of security just prior to the event. You want to bring an army that you're really excited to play. While you should be intimately familiar with your own army and how it performs against the entire gambit the excitement level can really help you keep your head in every game at the ATC. I know that's probably counter intuitive but based upon my own experience it's quite telling.

Many of the teams that won first place in the past were composed of players from across the country and this is truly significant. If you go you'll see most all the top players around the country all gathered together in one building which is quite amazing. Like I said it's the most competitive event in the country. A team needs to have the right chemistry so they can all work together as a true team each and every round. If one player is always getting the best match up each round it will ultimately work against the overall synergy of the team and it is a team event at the end of each day. It's all about the team as a whole. Everybody should be willing to face off against a tougher match up rather than always looking for their own best match up and I think it's a common mistake.

Go in at the beginning knowing you will probably lose a game to reduce the pressure on yourself. Look at each game objectively as possible - at the beginning of each game determine which objectives you are most likely to score and focus on them.

Conclusion
You want to have fun... Remember it's a vacation ! The less pressure you feel the less likely you are to make mistakes. Enjoy every game if possible. It's okay to lose and you can still score some points for your team each and every round. Don't obsess about always getting a RPS match that's in your favor and know that sometimes you are going to get a brutal matchup. Be prepared for the worst... It happens. At the end of the second day you want to walk away with a good overall feeling. You and your team can be the masters of their own fate. My goal this year is simply to score as many points possible for my team... My own W-L record means nothing to me.

New boots for Space Marines

I haven't had much time to post on my blog due to real life. I always tell people your blog is the most important thing for hobby. Podcasts I guess are okay - to be honest I never listen to them. You need to write about things that excite you. I know people like my tactical articles. I have quite a few lined up as I'll be playing in Texas WarGamesCon (WGC) and the American Team Championship (ATC) this summer. WGC is right around the corner now and I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Reecius and his crew from FLG. He is my favorite TO by far. I have my armies ready to go and I'm pretty much done play testing now. I think some people play test too much. I have had two horrid years going into my third year at ATC but I think this year I can do better - solid team and I have no great expectations - just going to hang out with some of the best players across the country and have fun.

I'm very excited about the new Spsce Marine codex ! From what I've seen so far GW did a good job and possibly this one will be even better than the current codex. If you love grav this is your codex - you can spam grav weapons to your heart's content. The little things like Marneus Calgar striking at initiative and being able to choose his warlord trait are nice touches. I think the game needs Space Marines to remain competitive to keep the game balanced. I'd love to see new Salamander drop pod armies torching eldar jetbike armies with squads dropping down with multiple templates roasting them alive... It will help keep the meta legit.

It's an awesome time if you like to play Space Marines !

New Space Marine Chapter Tactics

To be honest I'm glad they didn't completely revamp the codex because I think it's very balanced.

Chaos Knight Cometh soon ...

Looks pretty awesome to me ... about fucking time !!!

D Hammer

Let's take a look at the current state of the game and ask the question:

Is 40k still a tactical based game?

I would say overall the answer is no. The game is more than ever based upon designing your army to utterly crush your opponents. A little bit of thought goes into deployment and movement but mostly now the game revolves around throwing as much dice as possible at the enemy using wargear and psychic buffs to further strengthen your kill ratio. It's all about how many dice you can throw.

There is the rumor Captain Lysander will have D attacks with his thunderhammer when the new Space Marine codex drops which is yet another sign where the game is headed. D will continue to play a larger roll in the game and there's no recourse around it.

I do remember a time when tactics was the king... The good old days.

New Grav Devastators

Long War Video Batrep - BikeStar vs. Chaos

A special guest appearance...

LONG WAR VIDEO BATREP

New Space Marine Formations

The Power of Positive Thinking • Bringing the Hobby Back

The power of positive thinking !!!

Positive thinking is so strong ! It's been said laughter is the best medicine. I know whenever I laugh I feel great.

Surround yourself with positive people. It's all about being with people you enjoy.

This post is about bringing back our hobby. The national 40k scene is all about competition now. I'm not gonna lie - I'm definitely a competitive player but I understand why we need to focus on the hobby again now.

There's lots of great things GW is doing. There are so many options for what you can use to design your armies. I want to build new armies that are centered around theme. Back in fifth edition I built a Grey Knight - Necron army... I caught a lot of grief for it. No matter how fun and how tactical the army was I learned a lesson. We see a lot of crazy armies like that now at the big tournaments and though they do well in terms of W-L I think most people don't really like them much.

All that said I'm not into enforcing composition. Rewarding players for building beautiful themed armies is what will bring the hobby back again. Do you remember going to RTTs and there was well over 20 players attending ? I do !

I feel we are finally at a cusp where the hobby can flourish again. It's an exciting time and I want to be a part of it.

Last Ride of the BikeStar • Texas WarGamesCon

Hi all !

With the new codex right around the corner this will be my last opportunity to play my favorite army at a competitive event. More details to follow soon.


Here is my list...

White Scars CAD

Chapter Master
Bike - Artificer Armor - Auspex - Power Fist - Shield Eternal

Librarian
Level 2 Psychic Mastery - Telepathy
Bike - Force Axe - Meltabombs

Command Squad
Bikes - 4x Stormshield - 4x Meltabombs - 4x Grav Gun - Thunderhammer
Apothecary

5x Biker
2x Grav Gun
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta
Sergeant
Combi-Grav - Meltabombs

5x Biker
2x Grav Gun
Attack Bike - Multi-Melta
Sergeant
Combi-Grav - Meltabombs

Space Wolves Champions of Fenris

Wolf Lord
Thunderwolf Mount - Runic Armor - Stormshield - Thunderhammer

Rune Priest
Level 2 Psychic Mastery - Divination
Bike - Force Axe - Meltabombs

Iron Priest
Thunderwolf Mount - Cyberwolf

Iron Priest
Bike - Cyberwolf

9x Grey Hunter
2x Meltagun - 9x Chainsword
Wolfguard
Stormshield - Power Fist Drop Pod

++ BeakyCon5 News Flash ++ Prize Support

This year we will be handing out the most prize support ever !!! We are running fund raisers to help. This year we will hand out four fat mats from Frontline Games and some very plush Forgeworld gift certificates plus lots of other really awesome goodies.

The dice have been a big success with some orders from United Kingdom !

There will be some really awesome swag bags too with merchandise from companies like Dragon Forge and Secret Weapon Miniatures plus other great companies - maybe even some good old Bsttlefoam.

Here is the address for Darkside Comics is as follows:

935 N Beneva Rd #902, Sarasota, FL 34232

We are working on getting a discount at a nice hotel close to the shop. Darkside Comics is conveniently located right off I-75. It's easy if you're coming up through alligator alley from south Florida or down from the St. Pete-Tampa area.

Thanks to everyone who have registered. We really appreciate all the support !!! This will be the best year ever.

Interrogator Chaplain • new picture