Happy New Year!

I just wanted to say Happy New Year and thank you to all my followers and readers.  It's been a crazy year for me both in the 40k world and the real world.  I began 2011 trying to finish my tyranid army for the ATC in May.

At the same time, I was also preparing for a trip to St. Lucia to marry my soulmate Kristyn.

2011 Invitational, Game #3

Following two major victories with max battle points, I head to the top table to face Trevor's Space Wolves who took down mech Dark Eldar in round #2.  Trevor also took first at the 'Ardboyz semi-finals here in Western New York with his wolves and won the free army.  This was going to be a challenge!

Trevor's list (approx):
Rune priest w/chooser, JoTWW, lightning
Rune priest w/chooser, JoTWW, murderous hurricane
Lone wolf w/ terminator armor, storm shield, chain fist, 1 pet wolf
Lone wolf w/ terminator armor, storm shield, chain fist, 1 pet wolf
Wolf guard x4 w/ power fist x4, combi-melta x2, combi-flamer x2
Grey hunters x8 w/ standard, mark, melta, rhino
Grey hunters x8 w/ standard, mark, melta, rhino
Grey hunters x8 w/ standard, mark, flamer, rhino
Grey hunters x8 w/ standard, mark, flamer, rhino
Thunderwolf x1 w/ shield, fist
Long fangs x6 w/ 3 missiles, 2 lascannons
Long fangs x6 w/ 3 missiles, 2 lascannons

2011 Invitational, Game #2

I had some interesting conversations after round #1 during the lunch breaks.  Only three of us earned full battle points during round #1.  One was Trevor (Space Wolves), a team mate from DaBoyz GT team event who also won Western New York's 'Ardboyz semi-finals.  The other was Allan P who had a Dark Eldar list with several raiders and a couple venoms and ravagers.  I wasn't excited about playing either of them, and luckily I didn't!

Instead, I found myself facing Joe Johnson yet again.  He was a team mate from the ATC and we've played each other a few times.  Joe also took 2nd Renaissance Man at NOVA this year and his "skittles marines"/salamanders have won painting and appearance awards all over the country.  He brought his ATC list minus a few marines so I was intimately familiar with it and how he plays it.  This was probably a bad match for him, playing a drop pod army that needs to get close against a close combat army.

My List:

Hive Tyrant + armored shell, old adversary, hive commander, devourers x2, paroxysm, leech essence
Tyrant Guard x3 + lash whips
Tyranid Prime + boneswords, toxin sacs, regeneration
Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2
Genestealers x20 + broodlord w/talons
Genestealers x8 + toxin sacs
Genestealers x8 + adrenal glands
Gaunts x16 + devourers
Tervigon + catalyst, adrenal glands, toxin sacs

Joe's List (approx):
Vulkan
Master of the Forge
Sternguard x10 + 9 combi-melta, 1 combi-flamer, drop pod
Sternguard x5 + 5 combi-melta, drop pod
Terminators x5 + hammer/shield x5
Tactical Squad x10 + multi-melta, melta, drop pod
Tactical Squad x10 + multi-melta, melta, drop pod
Tactical Squad x10 + multi-melta, melta, drop pod
Ironclad Dread + drop pod

2011 Invitational, Game #1

I'm actually going to do some batreps out of order since I still have five Grey Knight reports recorded, but you guys respond so much more to Tyranid content. 

Millennium Games held its invitational tournament on December 10th, finishing their 2011tournament season.  To earn a spot, you must have placed in the top two in one of their monthly tournaments.  I took best overall twice during the year with my Grey Knights,  but I have been playing them so much that I needed to mix it up.

The format would score table quarters, kill points, and objectives (5 fixed every game) with rotating order or priority with primaries worth 12bps, secondaries worth 6bps, and tertiaries worth 3bps.  Comp was also player scored with 6pts for each "favorite opponent list" votes or 3pts for each "second favorite list" vote.  Painting was worth 3pts/2pts/1pt voted by the players.

Since I have been playing my fluffy Grey Knight army so much, I decided to go back to my roots and put together a "harder" Tyranid list.  I would lose points in the comp and painting departments, but I wanted to max out my battle points.  I weighed the options with my two painted armies and just knew my painted Tyranid collection would handle table quarters and 5 objectives much better.  I took a modified version of my ATC list which ended up being:

Hive Tyrant + armored shell, old adversary, hive commander, devourers x2, paroxysm, leech essence
Tyrant Guard x3 + lash whips
Tyranid Prime + boneswords, toxin sacs, regeneration
Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2
Hive Guard x2
Genestealers x20 + broodlord w/talons
Genestealers x8 + toxin sacs
Genestealers x8 + adrenal glands
Gaunts x16 + devourers
Tervigon + catalyst, adrenal glands, toxin sacs

This Week's Hobby

Well, it's been a crazy week and things won't be calming down for a while.  Last week's two tournaments and painting league kickoff left me with little time to paint or convert.  This week has been all about Christmas, doing shopping, and dealing with the extra work load.

This week wasn't a total loss though as I started playing with some new models for the painting league and the next 250pts of my escalation army.

Acting on a suggestion from my friend Tim, I converted a couple plastic haemonculi so I'm not restricted to the finecast one.

Warhammer Weekend, Part 2

Today was event #3 in my crazy 40k week.  I took my Grey Knights out to Boldo's Armory 15 year anniversary event.  The format was a simple 1250pt event with book missions and no comp.  This was my list:

Hereticus Inquisitor + psyocculum, 3 skulls
Henchmen - 2 plasma cannons, 2 melta guns, jokaero, 2 bare acolytes + Chimera
8 Purifiers + 2 psycannons, 2 halberds, 1 hammer
5 Terminators + Thawn, psycannon, banner, stave, hammer
5 Strike Knights + Razorback + psybolt ammo
NDK + hvy psycannon
Rifleman dread + psybolt ammo

Warhammer Week: Invitational Results (spoiler)

Today was the second event in my 40k triple play week with the Millennium Games Invitational.  This event was invite only, requiring you to place during the 11 monthly tournaments to qualify.  This was the best of the best of our locals and included ETC players Jay W., Shaun K., and famous painter Joe J. (2nd renaissance man, NOVA 2011).  List breakdowns included 2 GK, 2 SW, 2 DE, 2 Nids, 2 BA, 1 Eldar, 1 SM, 2 CSM.

Winter League Mini-Reps, Week #1

I played my 3 league games tonight.  It was good to get out of the house, see familiar faces, and play some non-tournament games where it's OK to lose.  As with trying any army out for the first time, I lost all three games hehe.  I did have fun though. 

It was good to see the difference between grotesques on paper and grotesques on the table.  They weren't quite as resilient as I would have hoped.  T5 and FnP is nice, but a lack of armor, move through cover, and grenades makes them a difficult unit to get value out of.

Anyways, here are some pics from tonight's games.

Winter Painting League, Week #1

Tomorrow begins the first period of Millennium Games 40k winter painting league.

We're allowed the next two weeks to play up to 3 games with a 500pt, fully painted (doesn't need to be based) army and record the results.  Each win/draw/loss is worth points towards a final loot auction once the league finishes at 1850pts.

This week I've been getting everything base coated and batching some shading and highlights.  Here's my first 500pts.  No force org was required for this period, but no HQ, t6, or av13+ is allowed.

All the infantry needs another round of shading and highlighting to match the test grotesque on the right.  I plan on giving everything some freehand work; either tattoos or runes on the armor.  I sculpted and painted guts inside the belly hole where the ogre symbols would have gone.  After the models are sealed, I plan on inserting some water effects to make it look like a portal into their innards.  Here's a closer look at the freehand flickerfield circuitry on the venom.

I may post mini reports on the battles as the league progresses.  Stay tuned for more WIP tutorials.  Haemonculi conversions and scratchbuilt webway portals are on the docket for next period.

Batrep: 1850 Tyranids vs Space Marines

Yes, you read the title correctly.  Next week is "Warhammer Week" for me with the kick off of a winter painting league Tuesday, the Millennium Games Invitational Championships on Saturday, and a 1250pt tournament on Sunday at Boldo's Armory.  The painting league is encouraging people to begin new armies so I will be playing my newly painted Dark Eldar for that.  My compy Grey Knights actually fit well into 1250 as that was also the first tournament level I won with the army.  That leaves the invitational at 1850pts.

DaBoyz GT - Main Event Game #3

After a minor victory in round #1 and a major victory in round #2, I knew I was in in for some tough matches.  As soon as I saw the pairings, my fears were confirmed.  I would be playing one of USA's ETC players, Paul M. and his mech guard.

My list and game #1 can be found HERE.
Game #2 is HERE.

Paul's List (approx, I'm bad with the guard codex):
Commissar
CCS + melta guns, chimera
Stormtroopers + melta guns
PCS + melta guns
Platoon w/ 8(?) lascannon teams, 2 plasma squads, 2 chimeras
Veterans + plasma guns
Vendetta
Valkyrie
Manticore
Hydras x2
Colossus

The mission was "Pokerface".  Six objectives, three evenly spaced 12" up from each long edge.  Each player secretly ranks three of the objectives to be worth 3, 2, and 1 point.  During turn 4, each player reveals their objective rankings.  Primary victory is scoring more total points of objectives you ranked for yourself, secondary is a "poker hand", claiming a pair of objectives worth 3, 2, 1, or a straight of one of each.

Dark Eldar WIP's: Scourges

My adventure with a new army and new painting techniques continues this week with some scourges.  I airbrushed the base colors with these like I did with the grotesque and venom, using it as a glorified primer coat to paint over.  Here's a bit of a step-by-step.

Dark Eldar WIP's

Still chugging along painting 500pts of Dark Eldar for a winter painting league at one of the local shops.  I took a 3 week break from painting after the GT and I really started missing it.  It's becoming very zen to me; painting these little guys is great relaxation after a long day at work and working on the nursery for my son who will arrive in 8 weeks.

I'm still airbrushing a lot and enjoying it immensely.  I wish I would have experimented with it earlier as it would have saved me dozens of hours on my GK army.  This week will serve as a tutorial of sorts of how I've progressed on a venom.

New Adventures: Dark Eldar

Well, I was going to take things easy after DaBoyz GT, but I'm weak when it comes to peer pressure.  Millennium Games is one of our 3 local shops and they're running a Painting Escalation League starting next month.  My original intent was to expand my compy Grey Knight collection so I can make a really hard list.  However, GK fever is peaking around here and 3 out of the 14 at last week's RTT were GK and I know several more stayed home.  To top it off, 3 of my peers who are interested in playing on DaBoyz ATC team are working on GK armies so I figured my best chance is to create a new option for myself.  Plus, I had $75 in store credit burning a hole in my pocket from taking 1st at last week's RTT and a really motivating theme I've been mulling over for a Dark Eldar army.

Something that came up during the appearance judging for DaBoyz GT was conversions.  I received a lot of compliments on my GK army, but when the judge came around I didn't have any conversions in the army.  At the GT, I tied for 4th in appearance and probably would have been in the top 3 with conversions.  I'm always pushing myself on all fronts from hobby to tactics execution so I want an army that has conversions so I can push into the top 3.

I've also been browsing through CMON and some of the inspiring artists there.  I really want to take a break from power armor and force weapons and want some larger surfaces to work on my zenithial highlighting.  Weathering powders really intrigue me also so I'm going to try to work in several new techniques.

DaBoyz GT - Main Event Game #2

My army list and game #1 can be found HERE.

My second opponent of the event was Eric and his CSM.  I was a bit relieved to see a CSM list after a game against GK and knowing that GK and BA were the most popular armies at the event.  However, I'm coming off a minor victory so I know Eric is also and I don't want to underestimate him or the codex.  Coincidentally, Eric got my top vote for favorite opponent as he was really chill and our game was relaxed.  My wife and friend showed up just after we started and were able to sit, chat, and share some beers while we rolled dice and moved our soldiers around.  The whole game was relaxed and enjoyable.

Eric's List (approx):
Daemon Prince + nurgle, wings
Terminators x3 + combi-flamers x3
Dreadnought
Plague Marines on foot + plasmas, fist
Plague Marines + meltas, icon, fist, rhino
Plague Marines + plasmas, icon, fist, rhino
Raptors x5 + meltas
1 Chaos Spawn
Oblits x3
Defiler
Havoks x5 + autocannons x4

Millennium Games: Final Open Tourney of the Year

Tomorrow is the final open tourney at one of the local shops before their invitational finals in December.

The format:  1850pts, no special characters, all units in the codex are 0-1 except troops, 2 dedicated transports max.

DaBoyz GT - Main Event Game #1

My list:

Librarian + shrouding, sanctuary, might of titan, quicksilver, vortex of doom

Hereticus Inquisitor + servo skull, psyocculum

Henchmen - 2 crusaders, 1 assassin, 2 plasma cannons, 1 hvy bolter, 2 melta, 1 jokaero, 2 acolytes

Chimera

Techmarine + psykotroke, rad, blind grenades

10 Strike Knights + 2 psycannons

5 Strike Knights + 2 halberds, 1 hammer, 1 psycannon

Razorback + psybolts

5 Terminators + banner, psycannon, halberd, hammer, stave

Storm Raven + typhoon missiles, lascannons

Nemesis Dreadknight + teleporter, hvy incinerator

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

Necron Reactions

Wow, what a hot topic right now huh?  I think every blogroll around the world right now is dominated by Necron thoughts, reactions, lists, cheering, and crying.  I've already seen a battle report on dakka where "overpowered codex" was used in describing the new Necrons.  I am not going to build a Necron army, but I am happy about the release for several reasons.

Hobby Crossroads

Lately, I have been getting a lot of comments, concerns, and feedback on my recent focus on my Grey Knight hobby army and how it relates to my previous focus on Tyranids.

I'm currently having a lot of fun with Grey Knights, just like I had a lot of fun with Tyranids over the past year.  They're more mobile, survivable, and can actually kill things with shooting.  It's also nice to play an army that doesn't run out of time all the time.  It also won't be the last army I enjoy.  I eagerly await the Tau and Chaos releases and the changes 6th ed will bring.

DaBoyz GT - Team Event Game #3

This team event consisted of 4 players per team with an ETC style pairing system.  Each player must use a different codex and there was no comp for this event.  I didn't get enough practice time with my GK's as I was painting so much so I decided to bring them even though the list was designed for comp.

My list:

Librarian + shrouding, sanctuary, might of titan, quicksilver, warp rift, vortex of doom

Hereticus Inquisitor + servo skull, psyocculum

Henchmen - 2 crusaders, 1 assassin, 2 plasma cannons, 1 hvy bolter, 2 melta, 1 jokaero, 2 acolytes

Chimera

Techmarine + psykotroke, rad, blind grenades

10 Strike Knights + psybolts, 2 psycannons

5 Strike Knights + 2 halberds, 1 hammer, 1 psycannon

Razorback + psybolts

5 Terminators + banner, psycannon, halberd, hammer, stave

Storm Raven + typhoon missiles, lascannons

Nemesis Dreadknight + teleporter, hvy incinerator

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

DaBoyz GT - Team Event Game #2

This team event consisted of 4 players per team with an ETC style pairing system.  Each player must use a different codex and there was no comp for this event.  I didn't get enough practice time with my GK's as I was painting so much so I decided to bring them even though the list was designed for comp.

My list:

Librarian + shrouding, sanctuary, might of titan, quicksilver, warp rift, vortex of doom

Hereticus Inquisitor + servo skull, psyocculum

Henchmen - 2 crusaders, 1 assassin, 2 plasma cannons, 1 hvy bolter, 2 melta, 1 jokaero, 2 acolytes

Chimera

Techmarine + psykotroke, rad, blind grenades

10 Strike Knights + psybolts, 2 psycannons

5 Strike Knights + 2 halberds, 1 hammer, 1 psycannon

Razorback + psybolts

5 Terminators + banner, psycannon, halberd, hammer, stave

Storm Raven + typhoon missiles, lascannons

Nemesis Dreadknight + teleporter, hvy incinerator

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

DaBoyz GT - Team Event Game #1

This team event consisted of 4 players per team with an ETC style pairing system.  Each player must use a different codex and there was no comp for this event.  I didn't get enough practice time with my GK's as I was painting so much so I decided to bring them even though the list was designed for comp.

My list:

Librarian + shrouding, sanctuary, might of titan, quicksilver, warp rift, vortex of doom

Hereticus Inquisitor + servo skull, psyocculum

Henchmen - 2 crusaders, 1 assassin, 2 plasma cannons, 1 hvy bolter, 2 melta, 1 jokaero, 2 acolytes

Chimera

Techmarine + psykotroke, rad, blind grenades

10 Strike Knights + psybolts, 2 psycannons

5 Strike Knights + 2 halberds, 1 hammer, 1 psycannon

Razorback + psybolts

5 Terminators + banner, psycannon, halberd, hammer, stave

Storm Raven + typhoon missiles, lascannons

Nemesis Dreadknight + teleporter, hvy incinerator

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

Dreadnought + autocannons, psybolts

DaBoyz GT - Quick Recap

The event is over and was a success in my opinion.  I got to meet gamers from Texas to Boston and one cool dude who flew in from London for the GT.  It was great to see John, Wyatt, Greg, Nick, and Paul from the ETC team and catch up with them.  Some other bloggers were also present such as Goatboy (BoLS), Stillfrosty (White Scars), and Empchild (Akersminis) and it's always cool to chat it up with other bloggers from around the country.

Long story short, I went 2-2-2 for the weekend.  The actual scores were 20-15, 35-0, 10-10, 10-25, 10-25, 17-17.  My pairings were against Grey Knights, Chaos Marines, Imperial Guard, Grey Knights, Space Marines, and Eldar.  My third and fourth games were against some of the ETC guys, Paul and John and were the toughest games of the weekend.  I'm surprised I got any points at all those games.

The good news is I comped in a 98/110 and 55/70 in painting which put me up to 14th overall out of 92 players.  I did end up winning two awards which were player voted which is cool, 2nd best table (terrain), and 2nd best army theme.  I ended up with two boxes of ruins/terrain, a trygon, and a carnifex.  That's right all you haters, my Nids will get some love soon.

I'll be entering GT recovery mode for a week or so as I avoid even thinking about anything 40k and cleanse myself.  Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes and compliments on the army.  I was extremely happy with my awards.  I built and painted my GK army to fulfill a long time fantasy of playing a future-police army and didn't even think I would be in the running for theme against the caliber of hobbyists that attended.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army *Complete!*

With 2 days left until the GT begins, I've finally put the finishing touches on the army I've been building for this event since May.  This week, I created some smoke clouds to use as wreck markers for my 4 vehicles.  There is actually a flickering LED in the base of each cloud so they look like a burning fire.  They also jazz up my display board a bit.

DaBoyz GT - BoLS Deep

 

Well , GT week has arrived!  The icing on my GT adventure is an interview with Brent and army discussion on Bell of Lost Souls!  Check it out *HERE*.  Jay also answered some questions about the GT and you can see some pics of his famous "creamsicle nids".

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army *sneak preview*

Just a quick update this week.  I was finishing bases until 2am last night for an interview with Brent/BoLS so keep an eye out for that.  I figured I would share the pics I took for the interview with you guys first.  I'll discuss the list and theory later.  Click the pics for larger versions/zoom.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-14 Days

Two weeks from today I will be rolling some dice, moving around some toy soldiers, and enjoying one of the highlights of 2011.  I squeezed in a couple practice games last week and a friend said something interesting to me.  Someone had asked him if I had the army commissioned because it looked so good.  What a compliment huh?

Anyways, this week's GT prep article focuses on painting one model from start to finish so y'all can see how I go about it.

October Blogroll

As most of you know I've been super busy this month with final painting and preparations for DaBoyz GT.  Despite my lack of blog content, the gears are still spinning at full speed.  I just haven't had a moment of free time to sit down and write any theory or tactics articles.

Several of the bloggers I follow are producing articles which verbalize some of the thoughts I've been having recently so I thought I'd highlight them.  Give them a read if you have a chance, it's all good stuff.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-19 Days

 

It's coming down to the wire now with just 19 days until we set up terrain and commence the Team Event  on Friday the 21st, then move on to the 6 game GT on Saturday and Sunday.  We have some tough competition coming up in the form of some current and past ETC members (Greg S., Paul M., Shaun K., Nick R., and Wyatt T.) as well as Goatboy from BoLS and Stillfrosty from the White Scars blog.  There's still room for a lot more with 70 registered and room for 120 so get crackin' and  sign up if you're still on the fence.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-4 Weeks

4 Weeks, eeeeek!

I'm in full panic mode trying to paint every chance I get.  4 weeks is definitely enough time to finish painting the army, but I'm not sure if I can make 2 more tables, a new display board, and flickering smoke plumes.  Oh, and I'm still trying to fit in practice games both at 1850 and 2000 for the GT and Team Event. 

Anyways, on to the models.  This week was henchmen week.  I had to mix it up because I was getting bored of the power armor.  Next week may be transports heh.  Sorry, these don't all have bases yet as I do those in batches.

Jokaero Weaponsmith

Inbox: Ardboyz Results

From Evan:

"I've been following your blog for a bit and I wanted to get your thoughts on the results for the 'Ard boyz semi-finals. From whats been reports, roughly 60% of stores or so, Grey knights have 25 armies that place in the top 3 with guard getting 13 and space wolves getting 9. From most of the talk its seems Grey knights are winning either through the strong lists or that the codex is still new enough that not enough players haven developed effective counters to them. unless I'm mistaken one of your own local stores had a semi final location and I wanted to get your opinion on the following:

What do you think about the Grey Knights dominating the field?

Do you think the power has shifted to Grey knights from space wolves and guard?

How did your local tourney turn out, if you were there? I've heard you have a few solid players with Grey knights so I assume they made a showing at the top 3.

Based off what happened at the semi's, would you say it was skilled/cunning players or those with the most powerful armies that got to the top, as I can guess from your battle reports there are some very strong armies in your area ( Nasty Drop dread BA, Lash+oblit Chaos, Mech Guard). I know you have several big names in the area with 2 ETC members, maybe you could give a rundown of what kind of players won your locations placing, such as what kind of skill level they are, were they playing broken lists, did they get lucky dice/match up, what their semi finals mass/major/minor records were etc.

P.S. I know you're busy prepping for a GT, so if you wanted to make a blog update based on this subject that might make decent filler content.

Thanks, Look forward to hearing your thoughts"

Yes, it Hurts (so bad it gets deleted).

So I don't usually get sucked into blog wars, but this one really irked me today.

 It started here, with Stelek taking shots at the terrain at NOVA 2011:

http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2011/09/nova-open-the-laundry-list/

The gist of it is NOVA 2011 actually had BLoS terrain where it didn't in 2010.  In my opinion, he was butt-hurt over having to play his 85% shooting army differently, but I didn't come out and say it like that.  My comment is #32 in the list.  I said:

"hyv3mynd says:

September 22, 2011 at 2:12 pm

Nothing I’ve seen in any of your NOVA reports looks like more than 25% terrain with a mix of types including BLoS pieces, just like the rulebook recommends. Every table looked balanced to me and fun to play on.
Looking back, just about every report that shows your deployment shows 3 units of long fangs deployed right next to each other. This means if one unit can’t see what they want to shoot, none of them could. Is it the BLoS terrain’s fault that it’s blocking LoS, or the guy who deployed all his missile launchers in one place? That indeed seems to me like a playstyle issue and not a terrain issue.
Didn’t something like 93% of those surveyed respond favorably to the terrain?"

40k - Summer 2011

There are 100 titles I could give this article and none would cover all the bases with just a few words.  I'm writing this all down for several reasons.

The first is that a lot has happened in the 40k community this summer.  People are figuring out Grey Knights and tournament representation has peaked as the "flavor of the month" army.  'Ardboyz and NOVA featured this new codex performing quite well in the competitive community and the aftermath has seen many forums and blogs inundated with heated debates, bitter whining, flame wars, and drama.

The second reason is with 4 weeks left until DaBoyz GT 2011 (click it!), I've switched over from painting individual models to batch painting, and I won't have many new pictures to share of my work on the new army.  No new pictures and no new content gives me big time lazy blogger guilt.  I do appreciate those that still stop by to check the blog in this content drought, and this article has applications to both Tyranid and Grey Knight armies.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-5 Weeks

Let me start off by apologizing for a lack of updates.  As we get closer to DaBoyz GT, things just keep getting crazier and crazier.  On top of a shrinking timeline, last week I got the flu for the first time in 5 years, Millennium Games hosted DaBoyz GT Primer, and this week they're hosting a Kill Team lock-in tournament.  I lost a couple painting days when I had the flu so now I'm trying to squeeze 7 hours of painting into each day around work and my pregnant wife.

Hobby: Tidal Flats Table

My judgement was obviously compromised when I told the guys I could supply 6 tables at our GT this year, along with assembling and painting a new GK army in less than 5 months.  Those of you who know me well know I love every aspect of the hobby from painting to converting, basing, building terrain, and writing scenarios.  Some people have army a.d.d., but my attention issues encompass all aspects of the hobby.  Some days I feel like painting, then I need a break and build some terrain, then I build lists and write for the blog.

This week I was inspired to build terrain.  We've been hitting up the pet stores and hobby shops that have been advertising sales and sending us coupons, so I've built up enough supplies to make 4 new tables.  If you've been reading long, you're familiar with my snow and jungle tables.

Here's the thing about me and terrain.  I want it to look nice while being cheapish to build and functional to play on.  No, I don't have the cash to buy 6-8 boxes of GW ruins at $25 a pop.  There's enough ruined cities out there anyways.  I prefer to create alien planets for my battlescapes.  You know by now my armies are painted with unusual schemes and I like my tables to be unique too.  In the grim dark of the 41st millennium, there is only war, but all wars aren't fought on the same planets and same battlefields every time.  I want my armies to experience the sights and scenes of the planets they conquer.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-7 Weeks

Well... this was one of those "good news, bad news" weeks.

The good news:  We're having a boy!
The bad news:  "Honey, the washing machine is broken and I need to do 4 loads of laundry!"

The good news:  I got a lot of work done on terrain for 2 of the 6 tables I volunteered to provide at this year's GT.
The bad news:  I didn't get as much painting done as I wanted.

Here's what I did accomplish:

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-8 Weeks

Sorry for the lack of updates recently.  I'm literally spending every free minute painting and preparing for DaBoyz GT .  I recently looked over my unpainted models, did some math, and realized I need to finish 3 models per week to get the army done on time.  That's a lot at my pace.  Luckily, the henchmen go a lot faster than the knights with all the white.  I also volunteered to provide 6 tables this year so I need to build 4 more sets of terrain, and I'd like a new display board if that's even possible.

I'm not a fan of batch painting after doing so many tyranids.  I like to paint single models from start to finish now and I tend to get bored easily, so I tend to jump around a lot.  Last week I painted some knights and henchmen so this week I wanted to get some big models out of the way.  I was able to finish my dreadknight and dreadnought.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-9 Weeks

Now with bases!

With just over 2 months to go until DaBoyz GT , I still have a long way to go so I need to get serious about the painting grind.  I also volunteered to provide 6 tables worth of terrain this year so I need a week or so at the end to whip that up.  The good news is I hope to get a hobby/terrain article or two out of the process.

This week has already been a busy one with me, finishing 3 new models and basing 10.

Happy 'ArdBoyz Day!

I know it's lame, but I get excited for tournament days.  I'm lucky to get one game in per week and I thoroughly enjoy it whether I win or lose.  I reckon I've played 100 games since getting back into 40k in March 2010.  One hundred games, each entirely different from each other due to the incalculable combinations of terrain, mission, deployment, opponent's codex and build.  Even playing the same opponent twice in a row and only changing who takes the first turn can create two opposite outcomes. 

Two hundred and fifty hours of sci-fi battles on alien planets and I'm still learning new tricks and ways to avoid tricks on the battlefield.  If I replayed all those games starting at dawn and playing until dusk, it would take three weeks and I have yet to face even half of the popular competitive lists.  I recently faced a Kan Wall for the first time at the ATC.  I faced dual lash for the first time last week.  I still haven't had the pleasure of setting up across from razorwolves, decent of angels, deathwing, draigowing, or venom spam.

I know lack of experience is my biggest weakness as I'm usually able to overcome an opponent if I practice against them enough.  In response, I'm bringing a list that nobody around here has attempted or played against in all likelihood.  I will face opponents who have played ten times longer than I, and try to put them in my shoes and take them out of their comfort zone.

I look forward to tournament day as I would Christmas if it came once a month.  Three games in a row to further increase my library of experience and tactics.  Three chances in a row to meet a new hobbyist, get a rematch with your nemesis, or goof off with a friend when you both end up on the bottom tables.  Last month I missed out on our local tournament so I'm jonesin' for these three games.

The army is packed along with two tables worth of terrain.  Lists are packed in with templates and the codex.  My energy drink is in the fridge and the gas tank is full.  Today will be the second best day of the month.  On the 24th, we find out if we're having a boy or girl!

I hope to post minimal updates through the day either before or after each game, if anyone will be following along.  Wish me luck, as I wish all of you luck on 'ArdBoyz Day!

'Ardboyz Practice Nids vs CSM (Abby)

I had my second and final practice game before this weekend's coming 'ArdBoyz prelims.  KEVIN accepted my challenge and came over to the man-cave toting Abbaddon for a rematch.

Kevin's List (approx):
Abbaddon
6 Terminators + 2x combi-melta, hvy flamer, fist
3 Terminators + 3x combi-melta, fist
Berzerkers x10 + fist, icon
1k Sons x9 + sorc, doom bolt, icon, rhino, combi-flamer
Marines x10 + champ, fist, melta x2, ICG, rhino
Marines x10 + champ, fist, plasma x2, ICG, rhino
Lesser Daemons x10
Havoks x8 + autocannons x3, missile, ICG
Obliterators x3
Land Raider + possession

My List (same as LAST GAME):

Tyrant + armored shell, hive commander, heavy venom cannon, paroxysm, leech essence                                                                             

Tervigon + adrenal glands, toxin sacs, catalyst, cluster spines                       

Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Termagaunts x10

Tervigon + adrenal glands, toxin sacs, catalyst, cluster spines, crushing claws  

Genestealers x5 + toxin sacs, broodlord/scything talons                                                

Genestealers x5 + toxin sacs, broodlord/scything talons                                              

Harpy + tl heavy venom cannons                                                                              

Tyrannofex + rupture cannon, cluster spines, desiccators larvae                              
Tyrannofex + rupture cannon, cluster spines, desiccators larvae                               
 Carnifex + heavy venom cannon

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-12 Weeks

Here are some painting tweaks and WIP's for this week.

I've been spending a lot of time on my Storm Raven.  This is the first vehicle I've painted in 11 years so it's been a (re-)learning experience.  My goal was a blending of a police cruiser and a SWAT truck.  (I know some of the pics are too large for the column, I just wanted the largest size so you can see the detail)

This Week's Inbox

From my friend in the Phillipines:

"Hi

Soon here and i need your advice on this list. Unfortunately i can't change this list anymore so this is what i got. I need your help with the tactics. This is what i brought

Swarmlord

2 Tyrant guard with lash whips 

elites

6 ymgarl genestealers 

3 Hiveguard

2 zoanthropes on spore

troops

10 toxin stealers 

10 toxin stealers 

9 toxin stealers and broodlord with toxin 

15 devilgaunts

tervigon with catalyst toxin and adrenal

hev support

Trygon prime 

I will be against GK, SW, BA, and DE. What can i do against them. Thanks and more power to you site"

Soon~
I like the list even though the someone people will criticize the lack of redundancy.  GK, SW, BA, and DE can be the most difficult pairings for Nids depending how the lists are built so you'll have some very tough games.

'Ardboyz Practice Nids vs (Dual Lash) CSM

I usually have one or two nights a week when the wife works late and I can get a game in after work.  I've been playing and painting the GK's pretty exclusively lately so I wanted some practice games for 'Ardboyz 2011.  I put up a challenge on our *local forum* and Rob accepted within minutes, so I think he wanted a piece of my Nids muahahaha!  I've seen Rob play Nids, DE, CSM, BT, and I know he always brings a tough list so I knew this was going to be good. 

I've been back and forth with my list over the past few weeks and this is what I brainstormed up last night:

Tyrant + armored shell, hive commander, heavy venom cannon, paroxysm, leech essence                                                                             

Tervigon + adrenal glands, toxin sacs, catalyst, cluster spines                       

Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Ymgarl Genestealers x9
Termagaunts x10

Tervigon + adrenal glands, toxin sacs, catalyst, cluster spines, crushing claws  

Genestealers x5 + toxin sacs, broodlord/scything talons                                                

Genestealers x5 + toxin sacs, broodlord/scything talons                                              

Harpy + tl heavy venom cannons                                                                              

Tyrannofex + rupture cannon, cluster spines, desiccators larvae                               Tyrannofex + rupture cannon, cluster spines, desiccators larvae                               Carnifex + heavy venom cannon           

The concept is I deploy a bunch of MC's with long range firepower, the commando stealers ourflank with the troop tervigon, and the ymgarls go dormant.  I hope for some good damage results before the reserves arrive and hopefully get into assault without taking any shooting casualties.  It's only 13kp's for mission #1, I should be able to get at least 6 scoring units for mission #2, and dormant ymgarls are golden in DoW for mission #3.

Taking Tyranids to 'ArdBoyz

Don't worry, they're still my first love and my Grey Knight collection hasn't reached 2500pts yet.  I have been planning out some lists and played one practice game .  Now that the preliminary scenarios are up, I'm having some second thoughts.  Of course, I'm always my own worst enemy when it comes to list building.

Anyways, I was mulling over some MSU-style lists for this year.  The list I took to the ATC was tailored down to 11 base KP's before tervigon spawns as every mission scored KP's.  I didn't do as well as I wanted, and I wanted to try something different, so I designed this list with a full force org chart.  It's not true mech-MSU, but it's a lot of units for our codex to field.

The Parasite of Mortrex
Tervigon + toxins, adrenals, catalyst
Hive Guard x3
Hive Guard x3
Ymgarls x5
Tervigon + toxins, adrenals, catalyst
Termagants x10
Genestealers x9
Genestealers x8
Genestealers x8
Genestealers x8
Gargoyles x10 + adrenals
Raveners x3 + rending
Raveners x3 + rending
Tyrannofex + cannon
Tyrannofex + cannon
Carnifex + devourers x2

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-13 Weeks

Here are some newly painted models for my GT army.  If you've missed out on the beginnings of this project, my archive can be found HERE.

Here's my inquisitor, the secret weapon in my tournament list.  Yes, he's WYSIWYG, no you don't get to see my super secret list yet.

This Week's Inbox: Painting

From Jacob:

"Hello Hyv3mynd!! hey I really love your battle reports really gives me some hope for my tyranids, now recently I've been painting a few of my models as hive fleet kraken, but I wanted a more natural look to them and recently watching Starship troopers at the girlfriends house I really liked the look of the of the flying scarab bugs and I realized thats exactly how yours are painted which I really dig, hope you dont mind me stealing your paint scheme haha, well last night I attempted to paint a Termagaunt in your color scheme, but I dont know if I pulled it off right, would you mind telling me how you did it?"

And Andreas:

"Good evening synaps3

I was just wondering how you achieved the metallic tint to your
miniatures specifically the green areas of the carapace?

Thanks for your time."

I've never taken the time to do a painting tutorial, so here's my chance.

Batrep: 2,000pts Tyranids vs Orks

This was my first practice game with my final ATC list.  I played Shaun, our team captain (also on America's ETC team) and his new Ork army.  We played this game way back on May 1st and I had just finalized my list for the event so I could finish painting the models over the next 3 weeks.

Shaun's List:
Ghazkull
Warboss + klaw, squig, eavy armor, bike
5 meganobz + trukk
15 lootas
10 Kommandos + klaw
25 boyz + klaw, pole
25 boyz + klaw, pole
25 boyz + klaw, pole
25 boyz + klaw, pole
Warbikers x9 + klaw, pole

My list (same as ATC):
Tyrant + as, oa, devsx2

Tyrant Guard x3 + whips

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Hive Guard x3

Hive Guard x3

Genestealers x19

Genestealers x19

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Termagants x10

Tyrannofex + rc, cs, desiccator

We played an ATC format game which included 2 cap'n'contol objectives, 3 seize ground objectives, and kill points.  I pretty much went into this expecting to lose.  Shaun has been playing 10 years longer than I, and I know he's won several GT's over the years and regularly goes to the Ard Boyz semi's.  Orks are also a tough match for Nids in my opinion, often with more bodies on the field and a hidden klaw in every unit.  Ghazkull can also be one of the most difficult characters for us to deal with.  With fleet and a 2+ invuln for two assault phases, he will almost always kill whatever he hits.

Batrep: 2,000pts Tyranids vs Chaos Marines

Here's another game from my unreported archive of battles leading up to the ATC.  This was a practice match vs Kevin's awesomely painted Word Bearers.  This report will have more pics then my recent batreps as we played at my place and didn't have to beat any time limits or finish before the store closed.

My list (same as ATC):

Tyrant + as, oa, devsx2

Tyrant Guard x3 + whips

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Hive Guard x3

Hive Guard x3

Genestealers x19

Genestealers x19

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Termagants x10

Tyrannofex + rc, cs, desiccator

Kevin's List (approx):

Abbaddon

Terminators x4 + combis, hvy flamer, land raider

Berzerkers x8 + champ/fist, rhino

Marines x10 + meltas/fist, ICG, rhino

Marines x10 + meltas/fist, ICG, rhino

Marines x5 + plasma gun, ICG

Defiler

Obliterators x3

Havocs x5 + hvy bolters

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army T-14 Weeks

A quick update with some models I've been working on.  No bases yes as I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with them.  Any advice is welcome.  I want them to look like urban rubble and I picked up some GW ruins to use.  The problem is the collection of ruins I've started to make a full table is stone/marble and the colors are very close to the whites and greys in my marines.  I'd like a little contrast from the colors in the marines to the colors on the bases.


Librarian

I kept the black, white, and silver scheme of my other marines and terminator for this guy.  My justicars have blue cloth so I made the librarian's red.  My normal marines have red weapons so I made his sword blue.  Now he stands out well from the other terminators with the opposing colors.  This is a finecast model with hands swapped to change his standard staff with a force sword from the strike sprue.

 Some details.  Check out the gem on the knee, man I'm proud of that haha!.  All the books and purity seals have freehand script also.

2,000pt RTT Game #3

With two solid wins under my belt, I head to table 1 to face Mike from Buffalo.  The mission was pitched battle with 5 objectives.  Mike's list:

Mephiston
Furioso Librarian + wings
Furioso + talons, drop pod
Furioso + fists, drop pod
2 assault squads in rhinos
Tactical squad + lascannon, rhino
Dread + tl hvy flamer, hvy flamer, drop pod
Dread + lascannon, missile
Devestators + missiles

This was a real nasty list and I think he nearly tabled everyone he's played so far.  I knew I had to stop the furioso with talons as it can pretty much kill everything in my army with some average rolling.  Everything else, including Meph, was going to be secondary.  The other aspect that makes this list nasty is forcing me into a reactionary stance.  His mobility, shooting, and potentially assault components can best me if applied right so I know this is going to be real tough.

Grey Knights: DaBoyz GT 2011 Project Army

This will be my first venture away from Nids since coming back to 40k in the spring of 2010.  I needed to mix things up a bit after a solid year of focusing on Nids and a series of intense tournaments with them.  A friend also personally requested that I build a small army and feature it on the blog to help promote DaBoyz GT 2011.  This is our premier local event here in Rochester, NY.  They've been running this for 5 years or so, and has grown considerably in attendance, bringing in 90 players for the 40k event alone.  We also feature some of the best terrain in the tournament circuit which can be seen HERE and in my 2010 GT Batreps.

This has been a comp event and will continue to be this year.  That combined with Chris's ATC performance where he took Best General with no spam, really inspired me to build a comp-friendly Grey Knight army.  With 3 months to go until the GT, I'm painting like a mad man already.  I really want this army to pull in a lot of painting points.  Not to worry though, I'm still getting games in with the Nids and will take them to the 'Ardboyz prelims this year.  The GK articles will only punctuate my regular Nid batreps and articles.

Without further ado...

... The complete 1850 army with a couple terrain boxes for conversions and basing.  I also grabbed a couple blisters for odds and ends.  This is a picture I took today, but I've actually been playing GK on and off since I returned from the ATC in May.  Our team won several prizes, so I grabbed a Dreadknight there.  I threw down enough to play in a 1250pt event and 1000pt event (used the same models) and took 1st and 3rd in those events.  I rolled the winnings over into more models and with some generous donations from a sponsor, I had enough assembled to play an 1850 list suitable for a comp tournament!

2,000pt RTT Game #2

After a solid win in round #1, I was interested to see who my next opponent would be.  Most of our regular heavy-hitters were absent from this event and there were several news faces to me.  I ended up against someone new who drove in from Buffalo or Erie, I can't remember.  His list was a "Rock" list, which typically don't frighten me, but he's got 2 land raiders which can be tough for Nids.

His list (approx):
Kharn the Betrayer
Lucius the Eternal
Terminators x5 (all champs) + dual lightning claws, icon of S., land raider dedicated
Berzerkers x8 + toys
Plague Marines x5 + toys, rhino
Plague Marines x5 + toys, rhino
Land Raider
Predator + all lascannons
Predator + all lascannons

My list can be found HERE .

This Week's Inbox

From Matthew:

"Hey Hyv3mynd,

I’ve been following your blog since I’ve started playing Warhammer (3 months ago) and it has been a good source of information

After a post that I read on 3++ about Mathhammer I decided I would whip up an excel sheet for Tyranids based on the same options, i.e. Dead marines by shooting (although you can input your own WS, T and Sv).  It took me a few hours, but I think I’ve come up with every possible weapon and biomorph combination (where they will change the results) and how many dead/destroyed per model.

I know you’re more of the feeling that you should play it yourself rather than rely on statistics, so do you have any interest in helping me test this out?  It’s non-macro excel based.

Anyway, let me know,

Nameless"

2,000pt RTT Game #1

Still tapping into my stash of batreps from my ATC preparations.  This tournament was Millennium's monthly even in May.  Travis agreed to bump the points up from 1850 to 2000 so the five of us going down to Tennessee for the ATC the following week would have one last chance to practice.

My list (same as ATC):

Tyrant + as, oa, devsx2

Tyrant Guard x3 + whips

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Hive Guard x3

Hive Guard x3

Genestealers x19

Genestealers x19

Tervigon + ts, ag, cat

Termagants x10

Tyrannofex + rc, cs, desiccator

My first opponent played Witch Hunters:

Cannonness + jump pack and a bunch of wargear

Celestians + flamers and meltas, rhino

3 Sisters Squads with flamers and meltas in rhinos

Seraphim x5

Repentia (or whatever ones have the eviscerators) x15

3 Exorcists

ATC Doubles Game #3

After a draw in Game #1 and a win in Game #2 , Jay and I were in the top 33% and we needed a strong win in round #3.  The bad news is we paired off against brothers with some really nasty shooting armies.  The good news is we got some good terrain (no way, good terrain at a tournament?).  Actually, the terrain was nearly non-existent except 3 BLoS silos dead center that will play a huge part in our strategy.

Our opponent's approx lists:
Blood Angels
Librarian + lance, shield
Scouts + snipers rifles
Assault Squad + razorback, assault cannons
Assault Squad + razorback, assault cannons
Baal Predator + triple flamers
Vindicator
Vindicator

Dark Eldar
Baron Sathonix
Trueborn + splinter cannons, venom with 2 splinter cannons
Trueborn + splinter connons, venom with 2 splinter cannons
Warriors + splinter cannon, raider
Warriors + splinter cannon, raider
Warriors + splinter cannon, raider
Ravager + 3 lances

So we face off against dual shooty lists.  The DE alone has about 11 splinter cannons and 6 lances.  The mission was modified annihilation with bonus points for the most expensive HQ, killing all Elites, Heavies, Fasts, and Troops.  You basically have to table your opponents to score max battlepoints here.  Deployment was Pitched Battle and we won the roll (3 for 3 during the doubles event going first)!

'Ardboyz Practice Nids vs Grey Knights

I've been daydreaming my 'Ardboyz lists for this year and I had a chance for my first practice game this week.  Paul drove up from Geneseo to test out his GK list.  Here's my list, thoughts follow:

Swarmlord
Tyrant Guard x3 + lash whips
Parasite of Mortrex
Ymgarls x9
Ymgarls x9
Zoanthropes x3 + mycetic spore
Genestealers x15
Genestealers x5 + scytals, toxin sacs, broodlord
Termagants x29
Tervigon + toxin sacs, adrenal glands, catalyst
Harpy + tl hvy venom cannon
Gargoyles x20 + toxin sacs, adrenal glands
Trygon + adrenal glands

I know most of you won't like my list, but here's my thoughts anyways.  Alpha-strike is so prevalent these days, I want a list that will allow me to reserve everything if I want.  After getting slapped around by Mephiston at the ATC, I decided I would use the Swarmlord instead of my typical tyrant.  I wanted to also limit the potential damage from JoTWW so I only have 1 low init MC and only 4 MC's out of 100 models in the army.  To maximize FnP and the Swarmlord's blessings, I wanted some really big units so I did the best I can with the models I own.  That's why the genestealer units are funky sizes.  I wanted two respectable units of ymgarls to strike about when the zoans drop.  One big unit of naked stealers for outflanking and one commando squad of 5 with a broodlord and several upgrades.  Some would say it's a hodge-podge and not optimized.  I say it's flexible and the reserve elements should cause enough disruption to throw my opponent's game off.

ATC Doubles Game #2

After a draw in round #1 and in a 3 game format with battlepoints, Jay and I knew we had some serious butt-kicking to do to stay ahead of the pack.  I don't remember the names of the fine chaps we played in round #2, but it was an ugly match for us with them setting up guard and wolves across the table.

Their lists (approx):
Rune Priest + JoTWW and other toys
3 Grey hunter units in rhinos with wolf guard attached and the typical mark, melta, combi, fist, standard
Long Fangs with missiles

CCS + chimera
PBS + chimera
Platoon
Vendetta
Vendetta
Manticore
Hydras x2


Our lists can be found here .

The deployment was spearhead.  The mission was c&c as the primary and table quarters as secondary.  Luckily, we won the roll to go first.  So, we're facing a jaws priest with several mech hunter units all with wolf standards teamed up with a mini leafblower.  Pretty much a tyranid's worst nightmare hehe.

Email Extravaganza!

I had a few extra minutes today to dedicate to the blog, so here comes some emails old and new.  


From Colin "Prot" on The Tyranid Hive:

"Hey,

I don't have an account so I can't comment directly on your blog, but I wanted to drop you a line.

Basically I've joined your kind of 'cause', and I come from a long background in the game.... largely power armoured, and even moderated over at the Bolter and Chainsword.

I just wanted to let you know that I think the blog you've got going is probably the best of its kind, and a very positive influence on Nid players and hobbiests in genral. I for one appreciate the time you're taking to share your experiences with us wether it be in your well written articles, or great batreps.

I definitely feel your good and bad moments with the army because I'm in a similar boat. I've left power armour (Wolves specifically) to persue 'competitve' Nids. I know it's an uphill battle and I have local buddies who gave up on Nids, and warned me against them. Nevertheless I dove into my Hive Fleet Behemoth (Some pics here if you're curious: http://thetyranidhive.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=painting&action=display&thread=33851 )

So I am trying really hard to compete against the likes of tier one lists like Wolves, Blood Angels... a lot of Ork variants, (Kan Wall, Nob Bikes etc), Daemons and probably vanilla marines most often..... It is an uphill battle to be sure. But your blog makes it a little easier.... Thanks for putting in the effort. It's appreciated!

"Prot"

ATC Doubles Game #1

I need to start this one off with an apology.  It's been a week since my last report so I apologize for the wait.  We had two local tournaments this week and I've been busy with assembly, painting, and list building.  Incidentally, I took 1st overall out of 13 last week and 3rd out of 26 this week.  Unfortunately, it wasn't with tyranids!  I apologize for that too.  I've been playing nothing but tyranids for the last year in 1-2 tournaments a month and 1-2 casual games a week.  A breath of fresh air with a new army is good for the brain muscle, especially after playing an army with no vehicles.  I'm going to start blogging the other army's progression soon to help promote DaBoyz GT 2011, our city's annual GT that drew 90 players for 40k alone last year.  Anyways, all of that combined with a baby on the way and Father's Day has put me behind on batreps and email responses.   I'm going to get my butt in gear this week and hope to get back to 3 posts a week.  I still have a bunch of reports to write and I'm still planning on tyranids for 'Ard Boyz this year as well.

On to the report!

Dicehead Seige held a doubles event on the Friday before the ATC main event.  Jay was on my ATC team, so we decided to play nids/nids in the doubles event.  The event followed the Adepticon format with 1,000pts per player.

Jay's List:
Tervigon + ag, ts, cat
Zoanthropes x3
Genestealers x20
Genestealers x14
Genestealers x10

My List:
Tervigon + ag, ts, cat
Hive Guard x3
Hive Guard x3
Genestealers x19
Termagants x10
Tervigon + ts, cat

Combined, we have 6+ scoring units, max elite anti-tank shooting, and 63 genestealers to mop up.  Pretty straight forward.

ATC Game #6 and Results

After some brutal losses last round, we hope for some good pairings in the final game.  I apologize that I cannot remember the club we played in the final round, nor my opponent's name.  They had a dual lash list with 3 dreads, 3 defilers, and 4 rhinos, a kan wall list with 45 lootas, wolves, deathwing, and grey knights.  Wolves were a bad match for me (as usual as every single team had a wolf list with jaws) and several of my team didn't want to play the lash list or kan wall.

We won the roll, they put up the kan wall, so I volunteered to have a go at it.  His list was:
Big mek + kff
Big mek + kff
Lootas x15
Lootas x15
Lootas x15
Deff Dread
Deff Dread
Shoota boyz x20 + big shootas
Shoota boyz x20 + big shootas
Shoota boyz x20 + big shootas
Kanz x3 + rokkits
Kanz x3 + rokkits
Kanz x3 + grotzookas

Balance, Flexibility, and Meta

I don't usually reference or address other blogs in mine, but some things in the blogosphere have been bothering me lately. It was articles on BoLS that got under my skin recently on competitive list trends.  I was further inflamed by articles and comments on other blogs I follow through the day.

There are a lot of people out there that believe in codex "tiers", codex creep, and a changing balance in 40k. People talk about "the big 3" being wolves, angels, and guard.  I've read numerous articles on how these are hard to beat and how GK and future releases will break the game or prove to be impossible to beat with tyranids.

In my opinion, this is all poppycock and it's one of the primary reasons I started this blog.  Now, I've been playing the game for just over a year and I'm still learning daily.  To illustrate my points, I will instead use an ATC teammate.