Design Studio: Lost and the Damned

This is it! After so much time and so many promises, the Lost and the Damned book is now out! This is the first draft of our final copy, that happens to be fairly awesome

This copy is a massive collaboration, and thus a large amount of praise must be given to Chaosgerbil from the Bell of Lost Souls Lounge - without him, the format would be drastically different!

So, this is the first draft!

LINK: http://www.2shared.com/file/7435547/f9635b11/codex-latd-10.html

Pages: 12
Contents:
- A majorly large, almost fully filled, Lost and the Damned army list
- Really, that's it. This is being updated constantly and will be finished soon enough.

Duel Off: Building a Better Guard

Take two Imperial Guard players. Add a challenge - who can build the better list? Then season with an onsite poll. What do you get? Our first Duel Off, where Herald of Nurgle and General Storm battle each other to see who can make the better list...

It's so big that we've even given it a new tag - Duel Off, and Herald vs Storm.
General Storm - For the Honour of Cadia!
For my list, I chose to take a classic Cadian list. AKA: it's a list that should be able to hold it's own against whatever list my opponent throws at me. The point of a Cadian list is to be balanced, so goddamn it i'll balance it out!
Obviously a must have is a Company Command Squad for Cadia, so mine will have Ursaker Creed and his old friend Jarran Kell. This means i've got some major order presence. I'm then adding a pair of Bodyguards...

Company Command Squad - Ursarker Creed and Jarran Kell. 2 Bodyguards, and Master of the Fleet
Veterans - Vox Caster, Heavy Weapon Team (Heavy Bolter)
Primaris Psyker - No Additional Upgrades

Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad - Standard, Vox Caster, and Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Missile Launchers
Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad - Standard, Vox Caster, and Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Lascannons
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters
Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad - Standard, Vox Caster, and Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Missile Launchers
Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad - Standard, Vox Caster, and Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Infantry Squad with Vox Caster, Grenade Launcher
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Lascannons
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters

Hellhound with Heavy Bolter
Hellhound with Heavy Bolter

Leman Russ Exterminator with Heavy Bolter
Leman Russ Battle Tank with Heavy Bolter
Leman Russ Punisher with Lascannon

Literally, this list is filled with Anti Horde and Anti Everything else. It doesn't use many elite units, but does use tanks where appropriate...

Duel Off: Building a Better Guard

Take two Imperial Guard players. Add a challenge - who can build the better list? Then season with an onsite poll. What do you get? Our first Duel Off, where Herald of Nurgle and General Storm battle each other to see who can make the better list...

It's so big that we've even given it a new tag - Duel Off, and Herald vs Storm.

Herald of Nurgle - Like the Wind, Comrade!
I already know Storm is taking a 'Balanced' list he tells me. That means that i've got to think about something to deal with that... i'm going to take a mixed list with the main intention of charging them. Also known as the Strakenwind of Russilla... I mean Valhalla.
Company Command Squad - Colonel Iron Hand Straken, Astropath
Veterans - Heavy Flamer, Company Standard, Grenade Launcher
Lord Commissar with Carapace Armour and Power Weapon

Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad with Commander Chenkov, Standard, and Vox
Infantry Squad with Grenade Launcher, Vox, and Sergeant (Bolt Pistol)
Infantry Squad with Grenade Launcher, Vox, and Sergeant (Bolt Pistol)
20 Conscripts with 'Send in the Next Wave'
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters
Heavy Weapon Team with 3 Heavy Bolters
Infantry Platoon.
Command Squad with Captain Al'Rahem, Standard, and Vox
Infantry Squad with Grenade Launcher, Vox, and Sergeant (Power Weapon)
Infantry Squad with Grenade Launcher, Vox, and Sergeant (Power Weapon)
Infantry Squad with Grenade Launcher, Vox, and Sergeant (Power Weapon)
Special Weapon Team with 3 Flamers
Special Weapon Team with 3 Flamers
20 Conscripts with 'Send in the Next Wave'
Veteran Squad with Sergeant (Power Fist), 2 Flamers, 2 Grenade Launcher, and Vox. Has the Grenadier doctrine
Veteran Squad with Stone Tooth Harker and 2 Flamers.

Devildog with Heavy Bolter
Devildog with Heavy Bolter
Banewolf with Heavy Flamer

Leman Russ Demolisher with Lascannon
Leman Russ Punisher with Plasma Cannon

This is basically a mixed force - I have loads of models, loads of tanks, and loads of fun!

Design Studio: Ring of Terrors

Another gem from the past, Ring of Terrors is a system that allows you to commit to Character Bashes with some additional awesome features such as Veteran Skills and a new turn sequence!

This is actually one of our more successful drafts...

LINK: http://www.2shared.com/file/7355299/3c7fdbc6/Rings.html

Pages: 8
Contents:
- Fully fledged ruleset, perfect for your character bashes!
- 5 Planets (all with different rules) as well as 5 different Scenarios as well! These are able to be used in any combination
- Full campaign route, including Rings upgrades and some veteran upgrades!
Developed by:
- Battlefleet Chaotic

This is near the end of our mini Design Studio updates... the next will be our actual spectacle. Guess who?

Review: Space Hulk

Let's summarise the post already: SPACE HULK IS AWESOME!

Today, my local GW opened up their copy of the game, and let me tell you that it is easily worth it. There's a single red sprue - containing ALL of the Space Marine Terminators. That might sound like they're not detailled, but this contains 11 Terminators (including a captain and librarian). These are obviously all uniquely modelled, and even get named at the end of the Mission book

The other 3 sprues (I think) contain the Genestealers. The Objectives (the mech thing, the dead marine, and artefact) are all on one of the sprues, along with the Broodlord and some awesomely posed 'stealers. The other 2 sprues are identical, so you get a pair of genestealers bursting through the floor, for example

The mission book contains a fairly large amount of missions - these start small with small amounts of blips per turn, and then increase in awesome 'till you have to take down a Broodlord and loads more Genies

But the game? The store began by demonstrating Mission 9 - aka: get across a labyrinth of tunnels to escape. All of the marines bar the Captain (aka: Power Sword + Bolter) and 1 other terminator are involved. These are split into 3 waves, and a wave comes in each turn on a 4+ (command points may modify this). This means that the Marien player has a load of guys moving on fairly close to eachother if lucky. Game obviously ends immediately if all the marines are removed

There are 2 blips placed per turn

In my game, I was playing Tyranids with 1 other partner - who left early on, but was fairly successful with Blips thankfully =P. I was playing initially 2 people, and then they were joined by 3 more. This meant both teams didn't need much time per turn. Each controlled a wave, plus me and my Nid buddy happened to half the board (for control) and take a Blip each. I focussed on filling the lower area of the board with Stealers for the first few turns, and moving them to block off any corridors. My buddy swarmed too - aiming to rip apart the upper corridors while the Mariens were still entering. Both of us had little success at first, but the thing is that Space Hulk is a battle of time... and time is always on the Tyranid's side

Anyway, here's some highlights:
- The Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield guy was DEADLY! Literally he tore through more stealers than actually come in the box (always in groups of 10, of course) and took advantage of the Guard order and his shield (though for the first few turns of combat we did forget that the Shield only works at the front and possibly side - this meant nothing as we still failed!)
- I rolled a Triple 6 in combat against the Librarian, and he needed to use his last 4 Psi-Points to guard it. I still had an attack left over... I then promptly rolled low, and well died.
- Literally 2 dozen blips in the lower levels, all of either 2 or 3. Dammit that the marines never got there in the end!
- I guess the last one was the Assault Cannon termie. Turn 1, he has Overwatch on the guy. There's 3 blips nearby. He's facing in the right direction. Space Marine Turn 2, he turns in the other direction (expecting me to move the 3 stealers up there, instead of the blips.) I promptly use one of the blips (only 1 Stealer) to rip him apart. THE ASSAULT CANNON NEVER FIRES IN THE WHOLE GAME!!!
- The Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield guy above dying in the end to about 20 stealers going all the way to his position. He dies right next to the Dead Space Marine places there for climactic-ness.

Well, Space Hulk Review?
FIVE OUT OF FIVE AND THEN SOME!

Herald Highlight: Building the Perfect Guard

When I heard about Storm's Imperial Guard codex coming a week early, I immediately requested a read of it. After this, I chose to create a wish list on the GW website. Enough of that though, it's time to build the perfect guard
All Guard players will have a different approach. This can be exemplified by the various forces available to them:

The Cadian Way

Cadia is pretty much the jack of all trades -

shown by the characters that are available. Pask gives you a Tank presence, Bastonne shows off your hardcore veterans, and the Lovable Creed (and or Kell) shows your command presence

ADD: A good mix of troops and tanks - they are designed to work TOGETHER

LOSE: Stuff which will use up your orders. They will serve you the best in the Cadian army

The Tallarn Way

The Imperial Guard codex is perfectly clear on what the two focuses of Tallarn Desert Raiders are... you need to have Al'Rahem outflanking with a fully buffed up platoon, and a load of Tanks supporting them

ADD: Al'Rahem with an Armoured Company, with full Leman Russ support. Add Sentinels for more scouting support

LOSE: Anything which costs too much points, you need to focus your strategy dude!

The Catachan Way

Catachan enjoys the art of the charge and the sabotage, shown off by their three characters - Harker will make your Veterans deadly, Marbo is the best single model alive, and Straken turns your docile guard force into the Hidden BEAST!

ADD: Veterans and Assault Specialised Units

LOSE: Slow units of any sort - you need to be fast in order to advance with Straken's 'Furious-Counter Aura'

The Russian I mean Valhallan Way

Let's put it simply - Chenkov shows that the way of Valhalla is the reckless horde. Nuff Said

ADD: LOADS of Cheap Infantry Platoons and other hordes

LOSE: Expensive tanks or useless elites - they're used in the mission AFTER, of course

Well, this covers the ways of each of the various mainstream forces that are readily available in both stores and codexes. So... how do I build my army?

I chose to follow my usual Valhallan approach. To do this, I build a solid core of about 3 infantry platoons - 1 is an Armoured Company containing Chenkov, and the other two are heavily built Conscript squads (50 man ones)

The HQ is of course a Company Command Squad - a pair of them - which both have a Fleet Officer and Master of Ordnance. I have some Hellhounds (and variants) as Fast Attacks, and some Artillery in Heavy Support to cover the fire. That works rather well...

~ As you were! This is another post on the route to our 100th!

Design Studio: Meka-Thunda-Runna

An ancient ruleset from a time long gone (January pre-5th Ed), Meka Thunda Runa is a game of racing, where you can take a set of figures from literally anywhere and take part in either a preset campaign or your own stuff
To put it simply... racey fast fast.

The link is here: http://www.2shared.com/file/7355291/32a453f4/Meka_Thunda_Runna.html

Pages: 5
Content:
- Full ruleset for the game!
- A Practice Campaign of 5 pieces - which may either be used or adapted for your needs
- Small set of additional scenarios
- Additional content to customize YOR RUNNA!


Developed By:
- Battlefleet Chaotic

Battlefleet Chaotic 100th Post - countdown!!!

Since it's start on Herald of Nurgle's kitchen table, Battlefleet chaotic has expanded and now reaches it's 100th post!

This is 94, by the way... ooh! It's so awesome!

I can't wait for the 100th update!

~ Really should be Herald who posts this, but i've not updated for a while...

Herald Highlight: I Have to Apologise.

I've not been able to post that much recently, and I have to apologise. Soon enough, I will have a new trove of content to post about.

A feature that will be replacing this Herald Highlight of ours will be the Design Studio, which is where we will regularly add some new drafts of codexes and mini rulesets. You've seen the trial through Spinner's End: A Planetary Empires redux that is actually in the middle of usage now. I might even find a camera to post some pics of it...

Soon we'll also have two additional rulesets being added into it!
- Rings of Terror: Remember those Character Bashes? This is an unofficial awesome set for it!
- Meka-Thunda-Runna: Want to race multiple vehicle types? This is another set for it....

So! Sorry but we're trying...

Planetary Empires redux: Initial Testing

The campaign that my campaign ruleset (see Design Studio: Planetary Empires) was created for has begun, and already some errors have been noted. If any readers could add some comments to said topic, that would be appreciated - I need to have them now rather than later.

A few shortcomings have been realised though - firstly the campaign trail, and empire points for various things. These will be published in a Quick Play FAQ soon enough (next Saturday at the latest.)

In addition, a few quick campaign rules will be added to the site alongside this Quick Play FAQ. For example, a mission set and some Generic Merits (for Empire Point bonuses!)

A final thing though - I've got a pair of WIP Rulesets that are being entered into the Heresy Online competition with Wayland Games =). These will be previewed next week

~ If you've found @BFCNurgle on Twitter, you'll find some tips on our "Lost and the Damned" release which is sooner than you'd think. We've also got some Necrons too - not until LatD though

Tactica: Outdated Armies

I've noticed recently that there are large amounts of people who complain about their armies - often in strange ways that make little sense to me. This tactica is going out to address that complaining

You've all seen it. That it being the new player, who has just purchased an army (perhaps Dark Angels or Necrons) and happens to have lost many games. They complain, and they rant, and then they look at Space Marines.

Are they incorrect to do so? Surely it is an evolution of the game that the weaker players are removed from the armies, leaving only those worthy to do Khaines/the Emperors/the Gods/the Greater Goods work? Or is that just unwanted - aside from those people who want cheap armies on E Bay!

All armies have their bonuses and all armies have their failures. That is something a player realises early on - and what is usually identified as the parable of the Best Army by others. However, what could the advantages of an army which has not been updated for edition(s) be? There are three ones which have to be noticed:

1. Power Creep/Power Seep: These codexes have not been altered to fit into the current game. For example, Necrons in 4th edition were the bane of so many armies that it wasn't even funny, and since they were not PSed, they remained a good army. Chaos Space Marines on the other hand WERE updated from pretty much the same position, and PSed down a notch or four. However, then there is the example of Dark Eldar who are in great need of a PC.
2. Old Dog, New Tricks: These codexes still technically utilise old rules, and some can be deadly. For example, is it Mandrakes who have the old version of Feel No Pain? Then there is Space Wolves - using the old True Grit rules with their bolters still.
3. Bufftastic: This is one which will be erased soon enough. Imperial Guard used to have this - the Bufftastic advantage means that the force has many MANY addons. For example, Doctrines allowed for a min-max or optimised list, but this was taken away. Nuff Said

Then again, people usually focus on the bad points of an old codex, which again I have noticed three main points of:

1. Golden Oldie: The old codex will have been built for a different metagame and a different system. For example, Necrons had those Gauss weapons because they needed some Anti Tank support (due to lack of Meltas), and now that even THAT advantage has been taken they are screwed!
2. Support: Again, this feels rather obvious. The older the codex is, the less likely they are to be played. The less likely they are to be played, the less chance that GW will release some models for them. It's a cycle, I tells ya! Heck, the older a codex is will also play upon the chance of being updated - paradox, eh?
3. Point Costs: As time has gone on, GW has gone from giving higher costs than necessary to lower ones - this is due to their new corporate goals. The lower the cost, the more models sold. The More Models sold, the more likely they are to be played. The more likely they are to be played, the greater chance that GW will release some models/rules for them. It's another insane paradox!

So hold your heads high. Persuade your friends to buy some of those old Warriors - even if only to be converted into standard Eldar. If a market forms, then GW WILL release them. Remember that they are a company, and a company builds on their profits!

Design Studio: Planetary Empires

Over the last few weeks, BFC has been working to bring forth the first draft of our personal Campaign ruleset which is based around Planetary Empires. This is the fruit of that labour

LINK: http://www.2shared.com/file/7229672/18d3711/Campaign_Rules.html

This is obviously a first edition, so it's unfinished and will be updated. It starts in the vein of a campaign maker - much like the GW version - but then goes into a bit more detail with custom missions and the like

Pages: 41
Content:
- 15 Custom Missions, from Planetstrike and Apocalypse, as well as a new edition of Cities of Death
- 3 Sets of Unique stratagems, for each race in the 41st millenium
- Set of example new tiles for your Planetary Empires campaign
- Racial traits for each force - including new rules for each important character in the system!
- Special Events for your campaign - ranging from the Counter Event to Mass Sanguination!
Developed By:
- Battlefleet Chaotic
- A Few Playtesters and Assistants (kthx)

~ Well, we promised you a set of rules... but we didn't think that they'd be for Planetary Empires! Look out for the Necrons and Lost and the Damned in the next Design Studio topics

Space Hulk is Coming!

After many months of predicting and rumours, GW has finally confirmed the release of Space Hulk.

In addition, rumours have started about March 2010 being Blood Angels.

Finally, next year apparently has September 2010 being Tyranids.

Reviewing Planetary Empires

Today I was surprised to find a copy of Planetary Empires waiting for me in a storage room, after I had obviously forgotten to collect it or something. Main part of that surprise was how I had cancelled my order for it anyway - seeing as I had found somewhere that had it stocked 10 days earlier than usual.

Planetary Empires is the revamped version of Mighty Empires for Warhammer 40k. It is a long hinted at product, supposedly ready for release far earlier than 2009 (apparently it was ready for the original PS spot in 2008). People already suspected there to be this kit due to GW's practice of reusing ideas and sprues - added to the fact that a hex based mold is easily reproduced anyway.

The kit contains the following items:
- Planetary Empires rulebook: This may look like a big one that's good value and filled with rules, but it's actually just 9 versions of the same one. AKA: we couldn't be bothered to produce more than one version. See later on for a small summary of the small ruleset.
- 48 hexagonal tiles: This is where the pricetag comes from. The set is 6 sprues of these tiles, which also happen to be fully compatible with the previously released Mighty Empires... minus the part where the tiles can come out again. Prepare to see your previous ME tiles, which were so perfect, mutilated in the name of the other Hammers...
- Accessories: Also known as? The Manufactorums, Power Generators, and Command Bastions. These apparently confer additional rules in whatever campaign games you take part in, however you should look at the summary... awfully done by GW.
- 96 Banners!: Hoorah! More badly made snappy snappies.

Ruleset Summary
Also known as the most important section of any review. What does this campaign ruleset give the common player? Nothing much.

The set contains more a list of guidelines than a full ruleset - something to be changed soon enough - and should not be used as the basis for your entire campaign. More as guidelines... guide lines. GW may have released an incredibly awesome and well made (for once) product, but the rules for the product are rather suckish

The fate of the campaign is judged by the value of the upgrades controlled by a player - these are unique for each race. There's one problem though.
If a Space Marine and Ork player both have a single one of each upgrade, the Marine is winning
Each race gains different values... and thus each race has a different maximum point total if they have the same amount of each. This is why i'm scrapping that system for Spinner's End.

Final Rating
If you want the tiles, get it. If you want the campaign, don't.

GW has done a nice set of tiles - i'm considering a third box to the two I already have for this purpose - but the rules leave a lot to be desired. I rate this as a 4/5 for that exact reason.