ETC 2012

So this week bought us the ETC lists and breakdown for this years Tournament, to be held in Poland.
The lists can be found here available for download in PDF.

First thoughts (for those new to the ETC) are they would be a great source for learning more about the meta from different regions, however, that is, untill you read the fine print, and discover they are all based on the abomination that is ETC restrictions.

This is not Warhammer 8th edition. It is more like version 7.5, the hangover edition (that never was or should be). But that is another story...

The breakdown is as follows:

27 – Skaven
25 – Empire
25 – Dark Elves
23 – Vampire Counts
21 – Daemons of Chaos
21 – Dwarfs
20 – Ogre Kingdoms
19 – Lizardmen
19 – Warriors of Chaos
17 – High Elves
12 – Orcs & Goblins
11 – Chaos Dwarfs
10 – Bretonnians
7 – Tomb Kings
4 – Wood Elves
3 – Beastmen

So we see the usual suspects heading the numbers up, despite the nerfing's. I find it good to see Empire numbers on the ascent with thier recent new book, and also interesting to see the VC are still popular despite the new book! 11 Chaos Dwarf armies are making thier first appearence at the ETC, complete with one list not sporting a Ka'Daai, destroyer of toys! Yes you heard correct. Someone is taking Chaos Dwarfs without the nastiest monster in warhammer... Brain fart or sublime tactician....?

At the other end of the scale, we see a few die hards working beastmen into the team strategy. And despite the bonus 200 points, only 7 people cut the grade with our resplendent Tomb Kings. Oh how I wish I could take an extra 200 points in tournaments in NZ. But then again, the ETC hamstrings the army with retarded restrictions such as limiting BS based shooting to 45 shots, and 5 dice max casting. When will they learn? One look at the international news section tells us... never...

A little closer look into some of the TK lists:

The Motherland

Russ Veal, Tomb Kings
Liche High Priest: General, Army Hierophant, Lvl 4, Nekharia, Earthing Rod, Dragonbane Gem, 240
Liche High Priest: Lvl 4, Light, Dispel Scroll, 235
10 Skeleton Bowmen: Musician, 70
10 Skeleton Bowmen: Musician, 70
10 Skeleton Bowmen: Musician, 70
5 Skeleton Horse Archers: 70
5 Skeleton Horse Archers: 70
5 Skeleton Chariots: Musician, Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame, 305
5 Necropolis Knights: Musician, 335
5 Necropolis Knights: Musician, 335
1 Tomb Scorpion: 85
1 Tomb Scorpion: 85
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
1 Necrosphinx: 225
1 Necrosphinx: 225
Total: 2600

I notice Russ is taking dual Necrosphinx action and can only assume its for some character assasination! The regular dual Necroknights turn up in his list (supported by a L4 Light Liche) although reduced to units of 5 this time (he normally sports 6), and is that 10 man archer units I see??? =P In this case Its most likley for bunkers for the casters though.
Oh Russ, where the hell is the casket?

Chocolate Danish

Troels Hugo Cederholm, Tomb Kings
Tomb King: general, light armour, Warrior Bane, 175
Liche High Priest: hierophant, Lvl 4, Nehekhara, Sceptre of Stability, 225
Liche Priest: Lvl 2, death, Scroll of Shielding, 120
Liche Priest: Lvl 2, death, Dispel Scroll, 130
12 Skeleton Archers: 72
12 Skeleton Archers: 72
39 Skeleton Warriors: Musician, Champion, 176
10 Skeleton Warriors: 40
10 Skeleton Warriors: 40
5 Skeleton Horse Archers: 70
5 Skeleton Horsemen: 60
5 Skeleton Horsemen: 60
5 Skeleton Horsemen: 60
8 Ushabti: great bow, 400
8 Ushabti: musician, great bow, 410
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
1 Hierotitan: 175
1 Casket of Souls: 135
Total: 2600

I spot a current trend at the moment in the form of Ushabti with bows, or Bowshabti. This unit more than any, was one often overlooked when the book was released. Im tempted to participate in this trend myself, but not at $34 a model!

The Flying Dutchmen

Richard de Swaaf, Tomb Kings
Liche High Priest: Hierophant, lvl 4, Nehekhara, Sceptre of Stability, Talisman of Preservation, 270
Liche High Priest: General, lvl 4, Death, Dispel Scroll, Opal Amulet, 250
35 Skeleton Archers: musician, 220
10 Skeleton Archers: 60
4 Skeleton Chariots: 220
4 Skeleton Chariots: 220
3 Carrion: 72
3 Carrion: 72
3 Carrion: 72
1 Warsphinx: Fiery Roar, 230
1 Warsphinx: 210
1 Warsphinx: 210
1 Hierotitan: 175
1 Casket of Souls:135
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
1 Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
Total: 2596

Wait what? Warsphinx without fiery roar??? I know its hard to make cuts when your up near the limit but really, kittys without bad breath are just puppies! Someones been eating to many brownies? Nice to see a L4 Death Liche in the mix though... mmm Death magic....

Hot Potato

Ivan Magowan Tomb Kings
Liche High Priest: General, Light, Lvl4, Dispel scroll 235
Liche High Priest: Hierophant, Nehekhara, Obsidian Lodestone, Lvl4 255
Liche Priest: Light, 70
Liche Priest: Light, 70
Liche Priest: Light, 70
Liche Priest: Light, 70
20 Skeleton Archers: Musican 130
20 Skeleton Archers: Musican 130
3 Skeleton Chariots: Standard Bearer, Banner of Eternal Flame 185pts
5 Skeleton Horsemen: Champion 70
5 Skeleton Horsemen: Champion 70
16 Skeleton Warriors: Champion, Musician 84
5 Necropolis Knights: Musican 335
5 Necropolis Knights: Musican 325
Casket of Souls: 135
Hierotitan: 175
Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
Screaming Skull Catapult: 90
Total 2599

Love it. Light spam! L1 light Priests with an avearge caster level of 3 (thanks to the hierotitan) means 1 dice'n Shems all day long

I find it good to see other parts of the world have been trying and suceeding with similar ideas I have had. Theres even a double casket list in the mix, something I have playtested with success so far. There seams to be a few common trends occuring, namely defensive builds based around Bowshabti, and all rounders/offence based around the dual 5-6 strong necroknights (supported by a L4 light liche). Coomon theme. Scatterpults. We still do have the best ones in the game!

Where is the bloody Tomb Guard!!!!!!

Despite my ramblings I wish Team NZ all the best in their campaign in Poland this year. Any result is fine, as long as its higher than those bloody Auzzies! =P

New Forgeworld Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaurs

Spotted in forge worlds open day in Spain are these three new Chaos Dwarf Bull Centaurs. I have to say I'm impressed at how dynamic FW have managed to make a Dwarf. Who'd thought? They are reportedly on the 50x75mm bases just like the Empire Chochobo riders.

I foresee a dozen of these in my collection upon release...

Review - The Rack

Of late I had been following Back 2 Base-ix on facebook as they built up for the launch of their new hobby desk organising system, The Rack. Its safe to say I was suitably impressed by the previews to purchase a small set on launch.

Back 2 Base-ix offer the system in Acrylic with a large selection of colours, ranging from solid black and whites to transparent floresent greens and yellows, or in plain MDF for the more price conscious. The coloured options allow you to mix any two colours to make up the components if desired.

I went for the acrylic version, ordering a set with black base and clear shelves, mainly to not obscure any colours on the shelves and to help give a strong contrast to the colours with the black base.

This was not my first purchase from Back 2 Base-ix having used them frequently for their excellent deals on MDF movement trays. I've conveted over most of my forces to the Mag-Flex sets which included flexible metal sheets and magnets for a very reasonable price. Infact these guys seam to go out of their way to please their customers, to the point I made a simple inquiry on facebook and they responded within a day by having a product on their website ready to order.

The package arrived in good time (It only had to come from Adelaide, Australia) and was well sealed costing about $25 for courier. Far more reasonable that the rort we get taxed for American shipping.

Items came all bubble wrapped. The flatmate will be kept well amused...

Each piece is individually sealed with all components 

All the parts laid out. Each piece of acrylic has a protective film on both sides that needs to be pealed off. Pictured here on the right is parts with the film removed, and to the left with the film still on. I found the clear acrylic to be the most difficult, as one side was frosted film and the other clear. It was very difficult to get the clear film started to peal, however once started was easy to get off. I pre assembled all the screw and washer sets and put the magnets aside.

Back 2 Base-ix have made you-tube videos for all the racks assembly, making it very simple to assemble. i watched a few of them before I ordered which helped make my purchase decision, but did not use them for assembly as the process was very straight forward.

Assembly is very straight forward, requiring only a small phillips head screw driver and your fingers. The system uses a series of screws, nuts and washers for assembly. I tried using a spanner to tighten the nuts on the screws at first, however it is to easy to overtighten them and break the plastic. I recommend using fingures to hold the nuts whilest carfully tighteing the screws in place. The system itself is a bit fiddly and would have liked to see some sort of snap lock or clip system.

Pictured here is the first shelf assembled. You need to remove all the protective film first before final assembly or you will be left with bits of film around all the screws and fittings. Each shelf has a set of locator lugs on the frame to keep it in place for the screws. I found all parts lined up perfectly and had no spacing issues.

Below are pictures of each shelf going on. I went bottom up as the screws are partially hidden byt the next shel up as you build.

The top shelf in this section is dedicated to being a paint brush holder. I found the pre-drilled holes to small for the majority of my brushes, only fitting my Raphael Miniture series. This is however resolved on the larger straight section (not pictured) with drawers. I would have liked to see and option to choose hole diameter as not even the GW brushes will fit.

Little rubber feet are supplied which help give clearence to the screws protruding on the bottom and stop the item from slipping around on your desk.

Conclusion:

Customer service: 10
Very fast response times, nothing seams to be a problem. Friendly approach to all. Custom requests are met without issue.
Packaging/Shipping: 9
Well packaged, the pictures say all. Protecive film is a pain to get off when it is clear. Fast delivery time.
Quality: 10
Lasercut acrylic fits perfect every time. All parts supplied. Magnets to join adjacent sections together great idea. Great colour selection (acrylic only)
Assembly: 7
Step by step videos make life simple. Locator lugs on parts make assembly easy. Screw/nut assembly fiddly and prone to cracking the joints if over tightened or miss-aligned. As mentioned a clip system might be more desirable.
Price: 7
Price can add up quickly, especially if you have a large paint selection. Each section is from $30-$50+ each (NZD), and i would expect most people would purchase about 3 sections to meet their needs. Means less plastic krak! MDF gives a more price conceious option however (but not as shiney). Frieght very was reasonable. Would be nice to see a package deal for sets (which I hear they are looking at already).

Overall: 8.6/10
A great product overall, has helped turn my desk from the warzone it was into a organised work factory. Now all I need is more racks to shelve the rest of my paints as I dont even have half of my paints displayed...



The finished product, complete with mess



6th Edition 40k FAQ's are up

True to form, GW have released the FAQ's for the latest edition of 40k in very short order.
After a brief glance over them they cover most of the holes that where expected with the new edition, in that each individual codex special rules where bought up to date the the new rule set. There are still a few question marks and clarfications needed however, and once again it would be great for active feedback to take place with regards to FAQ's. Alas, this has not been so for a while now.... Peddling backwards anyone?

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=1000018&pIndex=1&aId=3400019&multiPageMode=true&start=2

My necron force looks to see an expansion again soon, adding more of the units that I like now that I have seen the new rules and can see my list becoming legal. Some things I noticed:

• Whip coils now nerf Grey Knight Halberds, but roll off vs Tyranid lash whips
• Night Scythes are not transports, and have thier own ruleset. They can move between 18" and 36" and still deploy thier troop cargo! If they travel over 24", the troops may only snap fire. What I would like to know is, can they charge after disembarking? Its not a transport, but uses the word disembark, and uses the base as an access point. Charging from a Night Scythe would be epic, especially after moving 36"...
• The Catacomb Command Barge becomes a Chariot, which makes the unit better in some ways, however we loose out on movement range. In 5th, we could travel 24" and make a sweeping attack, and I believe in 6th we can only do this form of attack in the movement phase, thus range is reduced to 12". On top of this, the amazing warscythe has been nerfed, and we no longer get 2D6 ap, and instead get a re-eoll of the 1D6 ap. Its ap 1 now though, but no longer can we harm armour 14...

What I take from all this though, is my beloved Tomb Kings in space have, IMO, become the most mobile and flexable force in the game as it stands. It also, become possibly the only army that can start fully in reserve!

The reserves rule states, that half your army (rounding up) can start the game in reserve. It also states, that units that must be deployed in reserve are ignored (ie fliers in this case). Units with dedicated transports count as one unit for the purposes of reserves. thus, by taking 1 HQ, and mounting all the rest of my forces in Night Scythes, plus adding in a few Doom Scythes for good measure, can I then start the game entirly in reserve.

The list Im looking at is as follows:

HQ
Vargard Obyron
Nercon Lord, Orb, Warscythe, mindshackle scarabs
Cryptek, Lance, Solar pulse

Elite
8 Lychguard, Sword and Board
Nightscythe

Troop
7 Warriors
Nightscythe
x5

Heavy
Doomscythe
x3

Yes, 9 Scythes! and hopefully I should dominate the skies.
Nemesor Zahndrekh has sent Obyron down to the planet surface to secure a drop zone for some contraption whilest Zahndrekh waits in the ship orbiting the planet.
We all know how effective 3 twin link tesla destructors where previously, I can only imagine 9 of them to be the bane of any mech list out there...