The king is dead. Long live the king.

Good bye my favorite edition.

Today we all say goodbye to 5th edition 40K. This was my favorite edition so far. I wanted to say a few good byes to the stuff I'll miss. This coming from all the way back from 4th through 5th, and I know some of this stuff may be in the new edition.

6th edition, the non-truths

Let us take a quick moment to look at what was confirmed true and looks to be false.  These are the few that I was told about and found very unbelievable, but the masses thought differently.

·         The leaked PDF ,which was confirmed false, had many believers that is was the true 6^th

·         Move, Assault, Shoot (who really truly believed this?)

·         Psychic Phase (once again rumored for another new edition as it always is)

·         Assault after Deep Strike

·         Multiple levels of Feel No Pain, Instant Death and Eternal Warrior

·         Movement= foot 6”, cavalry 7”, bikes 8” and charge is double the movement range

·         Percentages used to build your army like fantasy

·         Pistol weapon strength used as close combat attack

·         Rapid fire weapons have 2 shots if move or 2 shots at half range

Necron Codex final grade

After a fair amount of time, I’m done with the Necron Codex and what is my final opinion? It is pretty average. Only average you say? Why? I’ll be using a +,-, and 0 grading system ( the 0  will be the neutral )

Background

This was greatly expanded for better or worse. The Necrons are no longer mindless killbots, well not all of them anyway. There are now personalities in the world of walking metal killers. They are all part of varying Dynasties and Tom Worlds. Does this really matter to me? Nope. I look at my army as a mindless force of T-800’s and friends. I don’t like robots with personas, well aside from Bender, while others might. The background is a solid 0.

Zombocalypse?

The news stories continue to pile up. In just a few weeks time we have five different stories all dealing with drugged up a-holes attacking people (and on dog). The press says "bath salts" and K-2 are at the heart of these stories. Could it be more than that?

Necron HQ review, last and most expensive choice

The super strategist Why then does he have so many random dice roll rules?

Imotekh is known to be a great strategist, perhaps the most accomplished in the galaxy, and is said to have never been defeated in battle (since I have never used him on the tabletop). He has put down a civil war on his Tomb World; forced all other Necrons to stop infighting, has campaigns that encompass entire star systems, and has waged wars in whole sectors of space.


In battle, Imotekh is known to use terror as a weapon against his foes. He channels electrical storms to destroy and frighten armies and can even blanket the battlefield in eternal night. When it comes to fighting, Imotekh leads his from the front and challenges enemy commanders to duels. These are honorable duels and of course the enemy takes that into consideration. Imotekh never kills a defeated foe. Instead he maims them or leaves them wounded. This way they suffer from the humiliation of defeat. Yeah, a real genius move there, since the 40K universe is full of unbelievable bastards who would never do the same, and will only seek revenge.

A non 6th edition post

Yeah there are a few posts out that are not about 6th edition.
This picture is hardly anywhere, but it show the last two Necron models in the range. Holy crap! the entire Necron range is soon to be complete, and within 6-7 months of the codex release. How is this possible? Also why have they not done this with every codex prior?

It is blurry, but there are the last two HQ choices. They look descent, but I think they are drek when it comes to rules. This is not uncommon to have a descent to stellar model and crummy rules for the game. I am suprised they didn't make an empowered Orikan model.

Necron HQ review, the Bodyguard

Vargard Obyron serves as the personal bodyguard to Nemesor Zahndrekh. Unlike his master, he is well aware of the reality of his existence. He has long since abandoned attempts to awaken Zahndrekh to the real universe. He takes care of all the loose ends that his master’s eccentricities leave. He is incredibly loyal, willing to give his life for Zahndrekh’s if and when needed.

or sadly this is what jumped into my brain when I wrote this.............

My Bodyguard (1980)
Adam Baldwin as Vargard Obyron!
Chris Makepeace as Nemesor Zahndrekh?

Necron HQ review, the crazy old man

Nemesor Zahndrekh is the ruler of the Necron Overlord of the Sautekh Dynasty on the planet of Gidrim. This used to mean something as this Dynasty was once a really big deal. Then it was time of the great transference and then sleepy time for the Necrons. Eventually, the world of Gidrim awoke and Zahndrekh decided to start his conquests over again. However, this once uber-leader didn’t quite awake properly. He has a sort of Necron dementia. He doesn’t see the world as he should. Instead he sees only the world of the pre-Necron. He doesn’t fight humans, orks or bugs; instead he fights the ancient and still fleshy Necrontyr. He has gone from a superior general to Grandpa Simpson, all befuddled and ranting about wearing onions on his belt.

olé!

What is really going on when Zahndrekh is battling an Eldar menace.

Necron HQ review, The Traveler has come!

Anrakyr, The Traveler, is a Necron Overlord that formally ruled of the world of Pyrrhia. Unlike other Necrons, he awoke with his faculties intact. He decided to reunite the fallen Necron Dynasties. He grabbed some guys, left his Tomb World zoomed off into the stars with the purpose of reunification and.....wiping out all foreign invaders who occupy any Tomb Worlds. Some Necron leaders see Anrakyr as this great guy, a savior and liberator of their race. Others see him as a brigand or a simple threat. He sounds all bad ass doesn't he. I guess he is like a Necron revenge filled pirate or viking.

Since there is no pic  or model I looked up this schmuck from Star Trek Next Gen. I hated this character, but he was the "Traveler." Thank you Google Image search! He is pretty much as  lame as Anrakyr though.

40K- ramblings on "the newest version of change!"

I guess I’ll officially jump on a wagon of musicians. It is becoming ever so popular to list the hopes and dreams of the new mystery edition of 40K. Supposedly, the rumors are true and all that. I have finally seen many of these rumors, since I cannot look at a website nowadays and not see a list of 6^th edition rumors. I have read a few and then stopped once I realized what I was doing. I died a little after the fact and dismissed them. Sadly, this is what the next few weeks will bring as 5^th edition ends and 6^th edition prepares for release.

Where I started this journey, in 3rd.

We all should know every 4+ years this game, and many others, poop out a new edition. Why? Well sales duh! That is really about it. Don't get me wrong here, I'm fine with a new edition, but to think it is anything more than a business move is silly. Sure it might be a new edition for needed rules changes, exposition changes, etc., but we all know it is a monetary issue. In the pre-interweb days it was difficult to get the tweaks,  Q and A, buffs and de-buffs to a game out to the masses. Now it is pathetically simple to do that. So, is a new edition very 4+ years needed for game enhancement? Not really.


This is why a new edition of 40K is coming out for money first and everything else second. It is the old adage of not growing your dying and all that, but let us call a spade a spade here. The company needs fresh bodies and more capital and a new edition should do both. Well they hope.

Tomb Blades 99% done

Big suprise I decided on the gauss blasters for  my Tomb Blades. The extra shots within 12" and the AP value were the deciding factors.

Now much like the rest of my recent painted robots, I need to base them. I think I finally found something more tedious than power armor backpack painting.....basing. It is just so damn messy.

Hockey & Thrones

These came just a bit late for wear this year. We ordered these Game of Thrones hockey jerseys earlier in the year. It took a bit longer to get than expected, but it was completely worth the wait.

This guy/site Dave's Geeky Hockey is where we purchased these. He does other geek/nerdery based hockey jerseys as well. These are limited number runs, so if you find one you like jump on it before it is gone. They do take a while to get to you so if gifting, plan ahead of time. Pricing isn't terrible, especially for since these are all special order. You can get anything for a name, number, captain and alternate patches. I'll buy from him again, in the event he designs something else I just have to have.

Necron HQ review, The Infinite-ly useless

Trazyn, the Infinite, is an ancient Overlord. He is known as a chronicler of history and a preserver of rare antiquities. He is known to be quite the hoarder. Trazyn is also unlikely to explore the galaxy himself but his desire to gather more stuff forces him to go out from him cluttered basement and into the stars. He wouldn’t risk the chance to miss that one item that will complete his set of rare Imperial trading cards or Eldar Precious Moment figurines. However, he is known to often send substitutes of himself to do his work for him to save him the hassle. If these surrogates die, no big, he just downloads into another if it will get him those last three Pokemon cards, that monkey's paw or the lost ATARI 2600  E.T. game cartridges he needs.


"I sell forbidden objects from places men fear to tread... I also sell frozen yogurt, which I call "frogurt!"



Prometheus

Until Sunday this was the only movie called Prometheus that I had watched, Prometheus...what I remember.
By the gods I miss The Critic!

First Off
Prometheus is….not a direct sequel to Alien. There is no planet LV 426. There is no ending that leads to Ripley and her space faring band. This is about as much a prequel to Alien as Phantom Menace is to New Hope.

Now with that out of the way….I really dug 99% of Prometheus.

The Jist

Ancient civilizations on Earth all have this nifty star map. This location could be the answer to the ultimate question. Scientists figure where map leads. Mess of science folks and a robot follow map. Then hilarity ensues with alien planet, a ship, goop, robot shenanigans, flame throwers, dead stuff, and giant albino muscley humanoids.  This is a extremely broad synopsis of the movie, but it pretty close to the story.

After 300 hours of E3 coverage......



After digesting three days worth of E3 coverage, mostly via G4, I am very unimpressed. There was very little that left me wanting more. Hell, there was only one game that intrigued me.  It was a very sad showing from my point of view.

The Pre-Sequels

It seemed every game demo, hands on or first look was a sequel or worse a prequel. Now I don’t hate all sequels, but most are unnecessary. If your game is engaging enough to warrant a sequel then cool. If not, then stop it. Better yet, go the Final Fantasy route and give it the same name, terminology, but make it a different game. Do we really need another Halo? Are the trials of some faceless dude that interesting? Hasn’t the world seen enough of the Umbrella Corporation? I guess not since Resident Evil 6 is on the way. Do we need another installment of (insert over the top fighting game title here)?  Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, Borderlands 2, Grand Theft Auto 5, another (insert war, battle, medal or duty here) with whatever number, Hitman whatever number this will be, Dead Space 3, (random driving game with speed, motor or sports here) with or without a number, I could keep going. It isn’t that I hate sequels. I love the Dynasty Warriors games, and those are the same button mashers every time and I hate myself for loving them. I found the Mass Effect games awesome! I have punched through three Diablo games. So, it isn’t a hate of sequels, it is just a giant disappointment for the slew of sequel releases that are mostly unnecessary and all over E3 this year.

Barge of annihilation 99% done

Well now all that is left is to flock and add some dirt/grass to a few places on the vehicle.
Supposed to have that came from beneath the earth look, but just a little.

C'tan built my hot rod
Its a love affair
Mainly the C'tan and my hot rod

So far this might be my favorite model of the new line. I really dig the look of a floating gun platform for some reason.

Drop pod army dream

The Star Phantoms broadly conform to the standards laid down in the Codex Astartes, but has displayed a marked preference for first strike tactics, exemplified by drop pod assaults. The Chapter also seemed to prefer long ranged bombardment using heavy weaponry over the chaos of melee, though is capable of the latter when tactically expedient to do so. For the battle-brother of the Chapter no one mode of combat holds more glory than the other; all that matters is that their enemy is disposed of.
The Chapter's armory maintains an abundance of Plasma and Melta-based weaponry, and indeed it is a mark of honor among the Chapter's leaders to go into battle using a combi-plasma or combi-melta wrought by the Chapter's Techmarines.

That was all extracted from the Forge World Badbab War Book. I thought they would make a great fully drop pod army. Sure there is some stuff about heavy weapons in there, but nuts to that. I'm going all pods all the time! Plus they have a nice Star Wars Stormtrooper look, which isn't a terrible aesthetic either.

New White Dwarf non-review

I walked away from the G.W. publication of choice a few years ago. We know what is and some of us even remember what it used to be.

However, this month I was going to actually break my White Dwarf fast and grab the newest issue. The new skimmers (of FLYERS as everyone calls them) intrigue me. I mean there will be background, rules and lots of pretty pictures of these new units. Plus I wanted to see if they were just skimmers or flyers as the internet has said were coming with the rumored to be newest edition.