Secret Plans begin...

BFC is currently embarking on a venture which should prove rather... profitable..

You'll have to wait, though. #

Design Studio: Chaos Legions preview

Over the previous weeks, we've been pondering which army to do next in Design Studio. It's become obvious which one deserves it...

Chaos Space Marines.

With the re-addition of Space Wolves to the metagame, Chaos seem to have gone downhill. It's not that they're weak, it's just that other armies are Strong. Chaos can hold their own, but at the same time they're vulnerable.

Enter Codex Chaos Legions.

This is a fully all consuming list for Chaos, which allows each of the 9 legions to feel useful again. Utilise your cheap troops to accomplish great things, and expect there to be blood.

Here's a few of the Psychic Powers which will make Tzeentch feared for its Sorcery again:
Iridescent Blaze of Tzeentch Enemy Movement
Declare at the end of your turn that you are using this power – it begins to take effect for your opponent’s next player turn. Select a single enemy unit – this unit may not move, and immediately takes d6 Strength 5 AP – hits, which cause Pinning. The unit may move as normal in further phases.

Ahriman’s Gift of Tzeentch Enemy Turn
This power may be used whenever a Sorcerer of Tzeentch is within Line of Sight to a Psyker who has successfully used a Psychic Power. Each player rolls a d6. If the Tzeentch player beats the opposing player’s roll, then the Sorcerer who used the power will become a Chaos Spawn under your Opponent’s control.

Creeping Pestilence of Nurgle Assault
Use this at the beginning of your Assault Phase. All Nurgle units within 12 inches of the Sorcerer will charge 6+d6 inches this turn. In the next player turn, all enemy units within 12 inches of where this Psychic Power was used will charge 6-d6 inches next turn, and may not Run.

Absolute Justice of Slaanesh Shooting
Select a single unit within 18 inches of the Sorcerer using this psychic power. It immediately moves 18-2d6 inches straight towards the Sorcerer, and gains the Rage special rule. Then the unit must make a Pinning and Dangerous Terrain test at the end of this player turn.

Diabolic Grace Movement
The character – and any unit they may be attached to – gains the Fleet of Foot special rule for this turn. In addition, they will ignore any Difficult Terrain (and similar effects) for this Movement Phase – though Dangerous Terrain will still hurt on a 1.

One Step Back to One Step Forward (Warptime) Assault
Use this power at the beginning of any Assault Phase. For that phase, all un-successful rolls to hit or wound which that Sorcerer makes may be re-rolled.

Hurricane: Space Wolves

I sit now with a copy of the new Space Wolves codex and a crate filled with Pepsi. General Storm is grinning as he imagines the sort of bet i'm going to make. Guess what I say?
"I'll drink a single Pepsi... for each part of the list you've made that I CAN'T defeat with my Chaos list"

The grinning stopped.

Face it people, Space Wolves are perfectly balanced, and i'll tell you how I learned this: my local store has this cost efficent Wolf army, which has so far defeated everyone who has tried to destroy it. Amongst the kill count at the moment is a large Ork army, a Leman Russ horde list, and a Marine list.

I brought a tiny Slaaneshi (i'll be piling on the bile soon enough to wash myself of this sin, Papa) CSM army... and won. Lash + Term Champs with Twin LC? Priceless.

Space Wolves are annoying when compared to Space Marines of any type which have come before them, but one thing which needs to be noted is the fact that they are an ELITE FORCE. Cheap squads deployed to take squads out of the game are better when you play against them - try using Combined Squads to force Wolf Guard to stay still in order to wipe out the horde. Maybe you should also look at some things to draw units away - Lash of Submission on a Blood Claw Pack is fairly effective, no?

Your goal is to keep them at arms reach - if they hit your lines, they'll likely wipe out your squads. Stay elusive and stay in the game, as they say in Dodgeball.

This means that Mech armies, Eldar Bikes, and Blood Angels are ALL fairly awesome choices when battling Space Wolves.

It also means... Black Templars, Orks (outside of Biker horde), MEq, and static armies will die horribly to the Sons of Fenris.

Remember this... and remember the metagame: Horde < Mech < Elite < Horde. Guess what? SPACE WOLVES ARE ELITE. Bring enough bodies and they will fall. Expect loads of Blood Claw lists as well.

Hurricane dismissed...

ARMY LIST: Warriors of the Storm

Space Wolves Advance Orders are now UP on the Games Workshop website, so I have decided to make up a list in order to test out the list.

When I first looked at the codex, it looked exactly like how everyone else felt it was - Broken beyond Belief. However, then I noticed that actually the codex is only broken INDIVIDUALLY - it requires lots of points to make it effective. Therefore, this is my list.

HQ
Space Wolves can take a maximum of 4 HQ choices - this is from Wolf Lords, Wolf Guard Battle Leaders (which are OLD Captains - 2 wounds etc), Rune Priests (meh. not too bad), and Wolf Priests (THESE are awful.)
I have chosen:
- Njal Stormcaller with Runic Terminator Armour - 270
- Wolf Lord with Saga of the Warrior Born, Terminator Armour, and Two Wolf Claws - 195

Elites
Space Wolves have a lot of options here. Wolf Guard, Dreadnoughts, Venerable Dreadnoughts, Lone Wolves, and Wolf Guard Terminators (as part of WG.) This makes it fairly difficult to pick them - you may want to choose 2 units of Wolf Guard, one for Sergeants and one for actual unit. Logan Grimnir is ungodly for WG - they become Troops only.
- 10 Wolf Guard with 4 Power Weapon/Bolt Pistol, 2 Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield, 2 Power Fist/Bolt Pistol, 2 Twin Wolf Claws, and 1 Terminator Armour - 385
- 5 Wolf Guard Terminators with 1 Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield, 1 Frost Blade/Storm Bolter, 1 Assault Cannon/Power Fist, 1 Power Weapon/Storm Bolter, and 1 Twin Wolf Claws - 250

Troops
These are just basic choices. No sergeants are innately possible. However, I can detach Wolf Guard (any type) and add them to any unit! W00t! Therefore, the Blood Claws will have a Wolf Guard with Twin Wolf Claws, and the Grey Hunters will have a Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield attached.
- 15 Blood Claws with 2 Flamers, and 1 Power Weapon - 240
- 15 Blood Claws with 2 Flamers, and 1 Power Weapon - 240
- 10 Grey Hunters with 1 Plasma Gun, 1 Flamer, 1 Wolf Standard, 1 Power Weapon, and 1 Mark of the Wulfen - 200

Fast Attack
This is simple - Blood Claws with Packs, Blood Claws with Bikes, Land Speeders, Attack Bikes, Wolves, or WOLF CAVALRY. WOLF CAVALRY. I mean, what the hell?
- 5 Skyclaws (Blood Claw Packs) with 1 Mark of the Wulfen and 1 Power Weapon - 120
- 10 Fenrisian Wolves - 80
- 10 Fenrisian Wolves - 80

Heavy Support
This is quite obvious. THERE IS NO SPECIAL LAND RAIDER. You get all the tanks of Codex Space Marines (yes. Redeemers...) as well as Long Fangs...
- 6 Long Fangs including Pack Leader, with 3 Heavy Bolters and 2 Plasma Cannons. Pack Leader has Power Fist - 155

TOTAL POINTS: 2205
TOTAL MODELS: 88
OBJ UNITS: 3 Scoring, 6 Contest, 2 Nothing (Wolves never score/contest)
KILL POINTS: 11

WE ARE THE WARRIORS

We are the fighters, fighting the war

(We are the fighters, fighting the war)

Fear our strength and fear our power

(We are the fighters, fighting the war)

Never give up, never surrender

(Fear our strength and fear our power)

Never look back, not a single step

(Never give up, never surrender)

We are the warriors, fighting the fight

(Never look back, not a single step)

We're back onto a temporary hiatus - Battlefleet Chaotic will be returning with regular content at the beginning of October. We're gearing up a few Design Studios and Herald Highlights to fill the void - sorry till then.

Tactica: Space Hulk Survival Guide

This is the indefinite guide to how you may succeed at Space Hulk, based upon personal experience...

Play the Factors in Your Head
When playing a game of Space Hulk, there are many factors which must be considered. These are either:
- Blip Factor: What is on that blip will change your strategy, and thus you must learn to fear the blip.
- Marine Factor: A reasonable mission becomes difficult with a lack of marines, and a difficult mission becomes reasonable with a large amount of marines.
- Stealer Factor: While the Blips are one thing, Stealers are another thing entirely. Knowing your enemy means that you know far more what you need to do to overcome them. THAT'S why this is a factor
- Mission Factor: Whether it's blowing up all of the blips or destroying corrupted data in a couple of rooms, the mission will change your plans, and your plans may change the mission!

Play the Opponent, Not the Board
Let's put it simply, marines, you are here to accomplish a mission and you are here to beat your opponent. DON'T let the board play with you, and remember that open doors are usually more useful than closed ones. If you can wreck a door, wreck it. If you can kill something, kill it! You don't want to leave your opponent a single moment to regroup, so unfortunately the board has to take a load of hits to make sure of that!
Genestealer players, this is the same really. Take advantage of your board layout - for example, if you have a spawn point right next to the opponent, then you take advantage of that spawn. But if you have a spawn point next to the objective... you take advantage of that one instead. There's a hierarchy in Space Hulk - the spawns that are useful now, and the spawns which are useful later.

Play the Worst Case Scenario
In all cases, you play as if the worst case will occur. For example, play as if each blip is 3, and play as if the Space Marines will be able to destroy you at any time. In other words, never play a game halfhearted - it gets you nowhere! You need to make everything count!

Cheating is Good on the Last Turn
Remember how using more command points than you have is a bad thing that will mean you automatically lose at the end of the Genestealer next turn? Well, this is overturned if you win the game in the turn that the points are overused. This means of course that you can use unlimited amounts in a 'Last Stand' or 'Do and Die' scenario - remember and use! This may be a dirty tactic, but these are the Angels... of Death.

Tactical Manoeuvre
Use your resources wisely. For example, Stealer players, you could use those Blips of '1' to make your opponent leave somewhere guarded (for a pincer movement, I guess). You could use Blips of '3' when you know that large hordes are required. Think ahead, think about the greater campaign.
If a Storm Shield guy goes near a full hive, he's doing his job. If an Chainfist guy is going through the Blocked Door area, he's doing his job. If the Lightning Claws are not going to the opponents heart... he's not doing his job.

Life is ONLY cheap if you're a Stealer
Unlike normal games, Space Marine Terminators are not a commodity. For example, you cannot rely on unlimited ammo, especially for the Assault Cannon. You cannot rely on your opponent's hordes running out (unless the mission says so)
Then, remember that tip above... Think ahead, think about the greater campaign. That guy might not be that awesome, but if his presence would stop a Spawn Point from being activated, then he's doing his job! The sacrfice of one might be necessary, but if he saves many then his sacrfice is all well and good!

A few final tips
- Never engage a Broodlord in combat - your number one method, if forced to, is either an Assault Cannon or a Librarian IN COMBAT. Usually, your strategy is STALL, NOT ENGAGE
- Everything on a chart is vital. Memorise it to make your turn last less time
- Everything on a command chart is vital. Use Psi-Points sparingly, and use Command Points when totally necessary
- Command Points may be used in the Stealer turn, to un-jam guns or stop bad rolls, so TAKE ADVANTAGE
- Statuses are perfect. Guard makes a combat guy even harder. Overwatch makes that strongpoint even harder
- 3 Minutes is often too long for a team of more than one. Therefore, use a stopwatch! For each additional person, the timer lasts for half the duration... or 1:30 for 2, 0:45 for 3, and 0:22 for 4 or more...

~ That's a Space Hulk tactica! Soon enough there'll be some Design Studio rules for some additional races in the game, increasing the awesomeness!

Design Studio: Quick Play Empires

The long awaited Quick Play 'Spinners End' pack is now out. This is a reference sheet for the larger 'Spinners End' ruleset, which includes the upgrade costs as well as a fast Campaign Turn. It also has some other additional content

LINK: http://www.2shared.com/file/7598726/a83c0bb6/campaign_summary_sheet.html

Pages: X
Contents:
- Upgrade Costs for the Spinners End campaign
- A quick campaign turn
- More rules for extra tiles or defences
- Sneak preview of some... later editions

Remember that the Spinners End scenario is a full ruleset to be used in conjunction with the Planetary Empires boxset!

Enjoy yourselves! =)

Herald Highlight: Design Studio Progress

This highlight, there is someone different talking to all of y'all. This guest article is being written by someone different... Aun'Byr.

Hi, i'm Aun'Byr. You may remember me from back in the old days when I was the guy running the good old store. This is still the case, however, i'm also the Chaotic Crewbie who pioneered the latest releases of the Design Studio, and also the guy who'll be bringing a few of our near additions such as the BattleBar or Battlefleet Shirts.

Over the next few months, and just in time for christmas, I will be making the inventory. For example:

1. The Site is set to have a revamp on it's first birthday, in November
2. We'll be adding a set of innovations such as MOAR TWEETING, and things such as the pre mentioned BattleBar...
3. We have some CafePress items such as shirts, Flips, and caps! Vote the top 3 things you'd want in this very topic!

Essentially, we plan to give Chaotic a money flow to make it viable. Fun for me, fun for you. Regularly there will be some offers run through with Herald Highlights, so regulars will get some benefits...

That was Aun'Byr, everyone! Wait for some signs of his work in our Twitter pages!

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