SouthCon 2013

So SouthCon is almost upon us. I consider it my 'local' event and one that I have had good success at in past years. I am taking a Chaos Dwarf list using the ETC restrictions.

1	Sorcerer Prophet (265), Bale Taurus (225), Level 4 upgrade (35), Charmed Shield (5), Earthing Rod (25), Talesman of Preservation (45), General, Lore of Hashut	600
1	Bull Centaur Taur'ruk (155), Sword of Might (20), Enchanted Shield (5), Dawnstone (25)	205
1	Hobgoblin Khan (40), Wolf (12), Spear (4), Light armour (2), Dragonbane Gem (5)	63
1	Hobgoblin Khan (40), Wolf (12), Spear (4)	56
1	Daemonsmith Sorcerer (95), Dispel Scroll (25), Lore of Fire	120
30	Infernal Guard (12), Champion (10), Musician (10), Standard Bearer (10), Gleaming Penant (5), Naptha Bomb (5)	402
20	Hobgoblins (40, Bows (1), Musician (4), Standard Bearer (8)	112
20	Hobgoblins (40, Bows (1), Musician (4), Standard Bearer (8)	112
1	Magma Cannon	145
3	Bull Centaurs Renders (40), Shields (5), Musician (5), Champion (10)	150
1	Hellcannon	210
1	K'daai Destroyer	325
	TOTAL POINTS	2500

Key differences are the extra 100 points (this tourney is 2500) and the additional banners on the Hobgoblins (Southcon has scenarios). The big gamble for me here is only 2 war machines, thanks to retarded ETC restrictions... 

I hope to make up for this by having 3 Monsters in the list, and the Taur'ruk. A nice little build that Sam gave me. 

First game is against Raymond whom is running a WOC list with 2 regenerating chimeras and a 1+ 3++ reroll L4 caster. A rather nasty list that mine is not well suited to combat. 

I will post updates over the weekend

Forgeworld New Releases

The last of the previewed Necrons from Fall of Orpheus has been released

In the ages-old Necron panoplies of war, the Canoptek Tomb Sentinel is all but unique. One of the last war machines designed by the Cryptek master-artificer Toholk the Blinded, at the Silent King’s command it was given over to the Praetorians for wider dissemination across the Necron dynasties before the Great Sleep. 

Both guardian and aggressor, the Tomb Sentinel is a heavily modified variant of the insectile Tomb Stalker, which forgoes that device’s hellish close combat ability and instead mounts an Exile cannon, a powerful weapon which blasts objects out of existence, casting them into other dimensional realms beyond the material universe. Phasing through the paltry defences of lesser races like a phantom, the Canoptek Tomb Sentinel can deploy this terrible device into the close confines of an enemy stronghold with devastating effects. 

 The Canoptek Tomb Sentinel is a detailed multi-part resin kit designed by Will Hayes which offers a wealth of dynamic modelling opportunities, much like the Tomb Stalker. This model is available to pre-order nowfor despatch from Friday 31st May. 


I only hope FW will do some characters and upgrade kits to customize/build the different Cryptek variants...

Horus Heresy Upcoming Releases

After the recent Horus Heresy Weekender there has been a massive dump of new rumours, pictures and information about the next and upcoming Horus Heresy Books.

We now know the following:

The HH books will be released in trilogy's, with the first trilogy centring around the Isstvaan Campaign.
Book 1: Betrayal
Book 2: The Drop Site Massacre
Book 3: Part 2 of Istvaan V and the battle of Phall

Book 2 includes: Due in a few months
Iron hands
Salamanders
Word Bearers
Night Lords

Book 3 includes: Due end of year
IMPERIAL FISTS!
Raven Guard
Iron Warriors
Alpha Legion

Expect more Primarchs
More tanks
More legion Special Units

Whats the next Trilogy???
Book 1 Prospero (So presumably Space Puppys and 1001 sons)
Book 2 Calth (Smurfs? more world eaters/bearers?)
Book 3 Signus (Blood Angels & maybe Daemons?)

Dudes that burn a civilization to the ground

Emperors Children Termi varient

 Nuff said

 First iteration of the evolution of Noise marines... Pete will buy over 9000 of these

New Legion tanks. Me likely!

Apparently has many weapons variations. Looks like twin link Autocannon here

 New Drop pod (ship) that can move after it lands and causes impact damage

 Mechanicum Dreadnoughts... Must resist...

 Not a chance. 3 will do right?

 Loving the Mechanicum love!

 Apparently we will see more Titan varieties

 Erebus is done.

But he is awaiting best buddy Kor Phaeron for the large scenic base (like Abbadon & Loken)

1101100011001100010101

Exterminate!

Yo yo dis iz ma drop pod, it go drop like dis yo.

The Emperors Courtyard

And last but not least, Another Fulgrim. He looks a bit different than the other leaked images

Eldar Rumours

I have not blogged much on the Eldar rumours mainly because my usual lines of information have not given up any rumours, but it appears that some pictures have been leaked (presumably from the WD)

Looks pretty legit. New Eldar Codex cover art. Nice

New Riptide equivalent for the Eldar. Looks like those rumours where true as well. Word on the street there is a shooty version (pictured) and a close combat variant... 

The picture looks odd for the new Eldar walker. The reflections on the ground in front are not something I remember seeing, however the amazingly bad backdrop is! Disco throwback anyone?

Tablescapes - Success!

In the wee hours of this morning (well at least local time) Secret Weapons Miniatures Kickstarter campaign came to a wildly successful close 

As you can see from the above graph the last few hours smashed all estimates in what has apparently become common place in popular Kickstarters.

I pledged for a 4x8' table (32 1x1' tiles) of the Ruined Temple theme. It was the one that grabbed me the most that could be used for both WHFB and 30k

And after seeing some renders for the Rolling Fields theme I am tempted to get a 4x6' table of them as well.

If you missed out of these or just did not have the finds to commit they will all be available to the general public at the end of the year (think November) providing there are no hick ups in the tooling and distribution of the backers tiles.

Its going to be great coming back from Europe to some great new tables. 

Latest Releases from Forgeworld

We all seen this from the pictures taken at FW open-day

Night Goblin Squig Gobba!

The Squig Gobba, as it is known by the common soldiery of the Empire, is a fearsome sight amongst the Orc & Goblin hordes. Dragged and prodded onto the battlefield by its malevolent Night Goblin tenders, it is a huge beast with an oversized gaping maw, a set of extremely powerful lungs and a ravenous appetite to rival even that of a Troll! With the Squig Gobba heavily chained into position to prevent it bounding off after the first tasty morsel it spies, its tenders start dragging lesser squigs from the cages surrounding them as battle is joined, slicking these vicious beasts with foul-tasting noxious liquids. This not only renders the creatures senseless for a short time, but also prevents the Squig Gobba from immediately swallowing them as the stunned squigs are unceremoniously stuffed into its jaws! 

Soon the Squig Gobba’s mouth will be full to bursting point, with thick globs of frothing acidic saliva dribbling constantly forth. Then it is only a matter of time before one of two things happen: either the Squig Gobba will vomit forth its mouthful of now monumentally furious lesser kin, causing chaos and panic on a grand (and thoroughly disgusting) scale amongst the enemy army’s ranks; or the great beast itself will explode in a blazing fireball, as the Night Goblin ‘concoctions’ that the squigs were coated in react spectacularly with the Squig Gobba’s stomach juices.

The Night Goblin Squig Gobba is a multi-part resin kit designed by Keith Robertson. This improbable war ‘machine’ is packed with detail, from the terrified squig being lifted into the maw of the Squig Gobba, and the variously panicked and angry munitions being spat into the air, to the cruel and sneaky Night Goblin tenders themselves. This fantastic kit is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 31st May, and you can download a set of experimental rules for this model here.

It includes some rather characterful Night Goblins

There are some rather entertain rules attached to this model. Its a Monster & a war machine? can potentially have 8 wounds and generates squig dice which are rolled each turn to determine what its shooting attack does and how many shots it get. 

High Elves - Winners and Losers

So by now most people are sick to death of all the High Elves 'discussion'

Safe to say that it is very opinionated, so to add some further wood to the fire, here is my take on some of the units...

I'll start with what I think are the winners.

High Elves Core: Simply because the book now offers more options in core than previous, this is an improvement. Its not based on points cost or anything of the like, the simple truth is a High Elves player can now bring to the party several new combinations and themes based purely of Reavers and Silverhelms making core.

Dragon Princes: A small price drop combined with gaining Ithilmar barding gives High Elves a 9" base move heavy cav! Fastest in the game. Combine that with the 2 attacks they have, huge banner allowance, magic weapon for the champion and throw in the 6+ ward to synergise with magic lore, this unit gains a lot. They still retain re-rolls to hit helping avoid the rubber lance syndrome, the only let down being st3. But then again they are not a unit designed for protracted combats. Hammer unit if I ever seen one.

Archers: With martial prowess allowing three ranks of shooting and them getting a discount for their long bows these guys are the clear winner. The fact they can fight just as well as spearmen is defining. They are winners because they get a 1 point discount compared to all the other core options. Elves are 6 (approx) points in this book, and longbows are 3 points, yet these guys come in at 10! BS4 st3 30" range shooting for 10 points is ok. 9 points Yes please!

Archmages: Special mention here. A decent price drop, +1 to cast high magic, ability to choose between 9 different lores and some rather good arcane items (here's looking at you 1+ book of Hoeth) make these guys great value. 

Characters: In general huge boost here. From price drops to mount options, everything got better. And we can't not mention the new character options which will bring some interesting builds/options to the table. A clear winner overall for the book here.

Losers!

Spearmen: Still over costed but only by a fraction. This is mainly because, although they are ASF WS4 etc they still only bring St3 t3 to the table. 5+ save dosn't cut it when you are investing 9 points a model. They are however the only core unit that can have a magical banner. Basically I think the base cost of an Elf should have been 5 points, or the spears should be free. Currently (based on spearmen) an elf costs roughly 6 points assuming light armour is worth 1.

Seaguard: Still stuck in between trying to be useful and trying to do to much. These guys are over costed by 1-2 points IMO. At 12 points (with shields) they work out to be 10 points without the bow (as bows are worth 2). We can already buy 9 point spearmen which leads me to... If the basic Elf has a cost of 6 points, add 2 for the bow, 1 for light armour, 1 for shield and 1 for spear we get 11. So why the extra point over and above other normal Elfs GW???

Swordmasters of Hoeth; Another design failure here IMO. GW gave them light sabres but stopped short of allowing them to use them in combat. They suffered the loss of re-rolls to hit but droppedin points to compensate. They also don't get much advantage out of Martial Prowess since you only get 1 supporting attack. These guys would have been made better if they got a -1 to hit, or a 4+ parry save in combat to represent their unequalled abilities. Alas they loose more than they gain. 

The Middle Ground

Dragons: Whilst not being a loser in this book they are not a clear winner either. Dragons still bring a lot of 'punch' to any High Elves list however to achieve that punch you need to go the full monty and get a star dragon, so you can kiss good bye 600 odd points. The sun dragon just dosn't stack up against the new value of 150 points a griffon, let alone the closely priced Phoenix options (although they cannot be mounted by 'normal' characters). Moon dragons don't offer much more than what a Phoenix can offer for a lot more. Typical of new books the old dragon kit is not the new phoenix kit. This is rules driving sales!

White Lion Chariots: They are good, but not great, and will probably be left on the shelf in the most part. They have marginally greater damage output than a WoC Chariot but nowhere near the survivability as them for similar points, but tote stubborn which will be largely useless as they wont survive a combat long enough to make use of the rule. Design failure here. Unit could have done with an extra point of toughness or a price drop of about 20 points.

Phoenix Guard: While not great they are still good. I mean 4+ ward for 15 points. Still good value. Still only T3/St3. 

The new stuff

Loremaster of Hoeth: Now this is the star of the new book to me. A great concept and well executed IMO. On face value it looks like they have put a lot of thought into its power level, cutting it back to a level 2, giving access at 8 signature spells, and making him semi viable in combat. What amuses me most is some people are crying fowl and saying this dude is undercosted! If anything this guy is a little to cheap. 8 Spells...8! Some people just have their head in the clouds I think

And that leads me into Lothern Skycutters: Another unique concept from GW. 10 points for effort, however I think they missed the boat a little with this one. Flying chariots (despite what people think of the model, I rather like it) if well executed would have been amazing, but I can't help but think they got this one a little off side. Don't get me wrong, I think it is well priced for what it is capable of doing (as a concept) by the rules let it down a little. Flying is great, but chariots are not able to march, thus it misses a lot potential (look to see if 9th edition changes this). Mounting a bolt thrower on it is also a great concept that falls short on the execution. Strength 5 D3 wounds is fine, but the fact it suffers movement penalties for moving and shooting for a weapon that is designed to move and shoot is poor design. If this had BS5 and/or no move and shoot penalties it would be perfect. If it was able to march it would be amazing, if not a little under costed. 

Phoenīcēs: These guys are the stars. Options for unit assist/quazi buff types (frost) and damage/rank and file killing (fire) allow a lot of flexibility in the book. A multitude of special rules I wont dwell here as these guys have been done to death (and rebirth) elsewhere.

Overall the book will be a victim of its own success. The internal balance is so good it has most veteran High Elves players confused as to what is the next 'net list'... There are a lot of hard choices to be made and it will be a while before we see a common list played. The external balancing is a bit off with (my prediction) the power level eventually settling in the upper 1/3 of the books. Don't get me wrong, the book is a good one, but its definitely not the next 'Ogres' or 'WoC', despite the ramblings of Daemon players everywhere. (If Daemon players can't figure out how to beat High Elves with the BotWD, well theres no helping you. Seriously its not that bad!).

Conclusion

The new book definitely is a big boost to the ailing 7th edition volume. High Elf players everywhere should be rejoicing in jubilation as the book moves solidly into mid upper tier. This is backed up by all the 'bandwagoners' that can be seen scrambling to get some new filth on the table. Alas, there are still several mentally retarded people out there that don't think the new book is 'good'. These are the die hard fanboys stuck in a 4th/5th edition mindset. Can't see the forest for the trees. Doomed to fail.

Watch out for some of the WHFB veterans picking up High Elves as these guys, with their fresh eyes will be pushing the book to the limits. 

Then there are the powerplays. It seams like only yesterday we got the new WoC filth. Oh wait, it was just yesterday! Are High Elves the new WoC? Hell no. But the book is still damn good.

Tablescapes - by Secret Weapon Minatures

Secret Weapon Miniatures has just passed the $200,000 mark on its Kickstarter campaign, unlocking the rolling fields tile set!

This is the first 'fantasy' themed tile set in the range that SWM is hoping to produce and its unlocking will hopefully spell an increase in pledges to unlock the next set of 16 unique tiles, 'Ruined Temple', which just so happens to be the main set I am after

With under 1 week to go the goal is $280,000. At $190 USD for a 4x6 table the pricing is rather sharp. You get 24 1' by 1' tiles of which up to 16 are unique (depending on theme).

As an intermediate step SWM has a display board of the 'Ruined Temple' theme unlocked at $240,000 mark.

If you are interested in a modular gaming table or just a 2'x2' display board, go check them here

New FW Necron Pylons available for pre order

Forgeworld is marching on with the Fall of Orpheus book and this time around we have the other two sentry pylon gun options

Death Ray Pylon

 The stasis-tombs of the Necrons are vast and shadowy edifices, and many an Imperial Explorator expedition has made planetfall on a dead world only to vanish without trace; slain at the hands of the unliving guardian-constructs that watch over their slumbering masters. 

Among these defences are automated weapons platforms of strange design known as Pylons. Some of these are huge, cyclopean constructs, but Imperial tactical logisticians have codified smaller, tactical variants as Sentry Pylons. These powerful devices are arcs of glittering metal equipped with a weapons array that can strike with power so great as to be almost beyond comprehension. Some are outfitted with Death Rays, thermal energy weapons of extraordinary power, able to burn through infantry and armour with ease. 

Model designed by Stuart Williamson, the Sentry Pylon with Death Ray is a multi-part resin kit that stands almost 6" (150mm) tall and is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 10th May.

Heat Cannon Pylon

The stasis-tombs of the Necrons are vast and shadowy edifices, and many an Imperial Explorator expedition has made planetfall on a dead world only to vanish without trace; slain at the hands of the unliving guardian-constructs that watch over their slumbering masters. 

Among these defences are automated weapons platforms of strange design known as Pylons. Some of these are huge, cyclopean constructs, but Imperial tactical logisticians have codified smaller, tactical variants as Sentry Pylons. These powerful devices are arcs of glittering metal equipped with a weapons array that can strike with power so great as to be almost beyond comprehension. Some are outfitted with Heat Cannons, thermal energy weapons of extraordinary power, able to burn through infantry and armour with ease. 

Model designed by Stuart Williamson, the Sentry Pylon with Heat Cannon is a multi-part resin kit that stands almost 6" (150mm) tall and is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 10th May.

I'm hoping we will see some Necron Infantry like the Lychguard varients in the book next...

First look - Fulgrim

The Black Library is advertising its May 18th/19th Horus Heresy Weekender and giving attendees the first chance to pick up their very own Fulgrim model!

Yes we heard about it at the Forgeworld open day but we never go to see it, so here he is:

The Krak Report - April edition

Hello from the future! So to try something new I am going to write 'The Krak Report'. Hopefully (time dependant) it will become a regular monthly article recapping some key events and news in the wargaming world that sparked my interest, here at the bottom of the world!

Tau Release

So the month started with Games Workshop releasing the new range of Tau. Not being a huge 
fan of the Tau there was an interesting array of new models following GW's standard release format of a Plastic big gribbly, some middle sized duders, an infantry sized unit and a plastic character + a small range of finecast specials. The army needed a shot in the arm and the local 40k fanboys are all jumping on the bandwagon. I played a game against them using my Necrons and wrecked some hobby. Its ok when its 40k!

High Elves Pre Release and Rumours/Leaks

Last month seen the High Elves release get some traction. Not only did we get a nice little easter egg when a North American GW store leaked the following pictures

GW then managed to top this effort by giving us a complete preview of all the special rules and units on the iBook store! Safe to say this created a lot of content on the interwebs! We even managed to get the WD leaked almost a week earlier than normal. Lets hope it roles like this in the future...

Full details of the rules roundup for High Elves can be found here: http://plastickrak.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/high-elves-army-book-leak-from-ibook.html

Secret Weapon Tablescapes Kickstarter Campaign

Secret Weapon Miniatures launched their Kickstarter campaign for their new range 'Tablescapes', a huge array of 12"x12" tiles so that you can make your very own unique table for wargaming. 

Not only was it funded on the first day, the campaign is still going with several more stretch goals to unlock. Its currently sitting at about $175k with no signs of slowing down. If your in the market for a landscape to wage war over, be if Fantasy, Scifi, or Historical, you can't go past these. They feature up to 1" raised/depressed features and are fully textured injection moulded plastic, and the selection currently available allows huge potential for never fighting the same battle twice! I'm currently pledged for two 4x6' tables and if they unlock the 'Ruined Temple' theme, no doubt I will be in for another! The 'trenchworks' theme will be one of a kind when unlocked!

You can find the link to the kickstarter campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1084069684/tablescapes-by-secret-weapon-miniatures
It still has a little under two weeks to go with delivery in October. The big factor here is that international delivery is basically FREE! Secret Weapon is now also offering a 20% discount to backers of the kickstarter. All you need to do is pledge additional $$$ and get great discounts on their usual range! check it out now.

Mantic and the Copy Cat Brigade

While I am on it Mantic Games also launched another Kickstarter, this time for their Deadzone game, which is basically a rip off of GW's Necromunda of old. Their campaign was funded within 33 minutes of going live. Details can be found here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/deadzone-the-sci-fi-miniatures-board-game/?ref=kicktraq

Mantic, can you please come up with something original instead of just copying Games Workshops games? Its popular enough but not my cup of tea. Each to there own I guess.

WHFB Tournament Roundup

Runefang was held in Wellington on the 27th & 28th with a field of 28. I didn't make this one thanks to air fairs being over $700! Congratulations go to Pete for proving once again that Skaven is the most broken book in 8th! David Appleby helped prove this point by coming in third with the rats as well. Sam Whitt managed a healthy podium (1st one ever?) but still managed to be the bridesmaid. Full results can be found here: http://www.thefieldsofblood.com/2013/04/runefang-vi-results.html

Adepticon!

The good ol' US of A held the annual Adepticon in Lombard Illinois this year. And what a feast for everyone in the tabletop gaming world. We had amazing paint jobs from single miniatures right through to complete armies, new products released or previewed to the market, and even drama on table one! (WHFB) The twitteratzi was in full swing providing commentary to the masses and video/pictures coming out from the event inspired us all. This is a must attend event for any gamer and there is now talk of us Kiwis coming over next year to invade stateside with our particular brand of hobby! You have been warned...

Hobby Corner

April seen me get some hobby mojo back! 
It started with a huge clean up of the mess that is my man cave. New shelves and a lot of new storage containers enabled me to finally see my desk again. Off to the stationary shop to pick up an A2 size cutting mat and what a difference!
Then with all the talk of High Elves I dragged out the old pointy ears and started cleaning them up. I use to run an all cavalry army back in the day and if rumours remain true this will be viable again! I now have dozens of Seaguard, Dragon Princes, Chariots and characters all cleaned up and ready for undercoating. Lets see if they can get further than a base coat!
Not only that I learnt how to paint yellow! Often reported as the most difficult colour to paint and get right, I am very pleased with how my first batch of Imperial Fists turned out. Now to finish them and base them up. Easier said than done for me...

A huge order of Forgeworld stuff turned up on my doorstep last month to add to my Imperial Fists collection, including 20 Devastators, 10 more Tactial Marines, a Land Raider Proteus and a Storm Eagle. That should keep me busy over the winter months and keep up with the Field of Blood Tale of X Heresy Gamers Pete is running... although I notice with the exchange rate the 20 pack of Terminators sneaks in under the $400 mark...

I also worked some more on my Chaos Dwarfs in preparation for the ETC later this year. I still have a long way to go and its likely the list will change but at least my warmachine's crew are well underway. I started building a Hellcannon in finecast. The cast is good and no issues so far, but wow it requires a lot of cleaning! Now to try and finish them... I have a tendency not to do that...

Tweet Tweet

I joined Twitter! There has been a rather profound community developing on there and it appears to have continental appeal, particularly in the UK. I'm only ankle deep so far but living at the bottom of the world it looks like a great way to stay involved. You can find me by searching Jossy@plastic_krak on twitter

Parting Shot

I have just picked up a new camera with a fancy Macro that can go down to 30mm, so I now have no excuse to start posting some pictures of my mundane efforts at the hobby. Hopefully this will get me motivate to finish projects more!