Good day, fellow wolves in sheep’s clothing! Today I’m going to address a few of the points that were brought up by commentators on my piece about the suckitude of Tactical Squads. I don’t address every single thing that was discussed up but I tried to cover what I felt needed more indepth analysis. I may revisit this topic again sometime in the future, though. Without further adieus:
Buff Auras
Many peeps have brought up the fact that Marines have awesome buff auras available to them and that leaving them out of the equation in my article was distorting reality. Normally that would be a valid point, but it leaves out the fact that I did not take into account any sort of buff for the Guardsmen (such as FRFSF, Yarrick’s aura, Cadian doctrine, etc) either. In any case, I went back and did the math, and I have some bad news for you if you thought Captains/Lieutenants were going to save the day…
December 6th, 2017 by NeilPhillips Necromunda. NeilPhillips. New Releases. Review 14114 22 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F12%2Fnecromunda-good-bad-ugly%2F Necromunda%3A+The+Good%2C+the+Bad+and+the+Ugly 2017-12-06+11%3A00%3A48 NeilPhillips http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14114
Neil here again. No maths today, but a review of my favourite game of all time, Necromunda!
I started in 1996, or maybe 97, with my Escher gang. During the last 15 years since the last official update, I’ve just kept on playing. I’ve played dozens of campaigns, I’ve owned almost every gang at some point (although I’m currently down to just Escher, Van Saar and Ratskins). Like many groups, we play with a kludged together amalgamation of house rules and the best bits from every rulebook from over the years. We’ve played with all sorts of variant rules, custom gangs, custom scenarios, arbitrator & map campaigns. I’ve read the fiction, I’ve played every scenario I can get my hands on (I think my favourite was the one where your dudes go out on little boats to harvest gemstone eyes from giant spiders). I even have all the magazines! I was super excited about Shadow War: Armageddon, and I’ve played it extensively – in fact, I haven’t played 40k in months, only SWA. (And we’ve started mashing SWA up with old Necromunda gangs, too).
December 5th, 2017 by Kirby 8th Edition. Dark Angels. FAQ. Grey Knights. New Releases. Tyranids 14111 20 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F12%2Ftyranids-grey-knights-faq-dark-angels-chapter-focus%2F Tyranids+and+Grey+Knights+FAQ+%2F+Dark+Angels+Chapter+Focus 2017-12-05+12%3A40%3A35 Kirby http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14111
GK and Tyranid FAQs dropped. Grey Knights is very basic with just a slight change to Psychic Channelling while the Tyranid FAQ has a few more tidbits. Most importantly, they did not answer the Overrun / Adrenaline Surge question. Otherwise, a few clarifications such as adding Hive Fleet to Spores and confirming multiple movements in a phase. Oddly, they say Onslaught does not overrule Metabolic Overdrive but also do not mention Opportunistic Advance. Frustrating. Lictor Pheromone Trail ends up being obsolete as they clarify that wherever you set up the unit that is where the unit must come in. Likely an oversight (particularly given to actually put anything in as reinforcements, they have to be put in a locale!?) but standard rules looping conundrums for GW. If this remains that way, Lictors are largely useless though the Deathleaper still has interesting qualities…
December 4th, 2017 by Desc440 8th Edition. Astra Militarum. Desc440. Imperial Guard. Mathammer. Rant. Space Marines. Warhammer 40k 14092 148 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F12%2Fmathammer-why-tactical-squads-and-a-lot-of-elite-infantry-generally-suck%2F Mathammer%3A+Why+Tactical+Squads+%28and+a+Lot+of+Elite+Infantry%2C+Generally%29+Suck 2017-12-03+13%3A49%3A57 Desc440 http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14092
Good day, fellow apex predators! Today I do a bit of math-hammering to figure out why it is that my Tactical Squads perform so poorly on the tabletop. While I am using Tactical Marines in my calculations, I believe much of what I’m about to write could hold true for a lot of elite infantry units.
If you’ve read my last post, you will already know I’m in a bit of a sour mood lately as far as 40k is concerned. Aside from the issues I brought up in that maudlin essay, one thing that has bugged me a lot is how badly the infantry in my army (Space Marines, in case you weren’t tracking) has been performing – and Tactical Squads chief amongst those.
Now, don’t get me wrong: not ALL Marine infantry sucks. Scouts, for example, are a great unit – though even then, the reason they are good has a lot more to do with the impact they have over your overall survivability (by denying a huge amount of real estate for enemy Deep Strikers) than with any other intrinsic qualities the unit possesses.
November 29th, 2017 by Desc440 8th Edition. Desc440. Rant. Warhammer 40k 14059 169 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Frant-whine-8th-edition-aint-no-fun-to-me%2F Rant%2FWhine%3A+8th+Edition+Ain%27t+No+Fun+%28To+Me%29 2017-11-28+16%3A34%3A13 Desc440 http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14059
Good day, dear reader. I come to you today after a long posting hiatus with sadness in my heart. Indeed, I am coming to the brutal conclusion that my days of playing 40k may be over, as I just don’t find it fun in its current iteration.
This revelation comes on the heels of the latest tournament I attended (Powerfists & Psykers 9, organized by the awesome Canhammer team). While I have to credit my opponents for being very cool and nice to chat with, I still have to say I did not enjoy myself much, if at all. I ended up with 2 losses and a win, but all three games were extremely lopsided: I got tabled in both losses and I tabled my opponent in my win. All 3 games were pretty much decided by turn 2, and the rest of the turns were just me or them running through the motions.
November 28th, 2017 by Kirby 8th Edition. Blood Angels. New Releases. Primaris Space marines 14054 14 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Fchapter-preview-blood-angels%2F Chapter+Preview+-+Blood+Angels 2017-11-27+21%3A30%3A21 Kirby http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14054
Blood Angels is out to pre-order later this week so Warhammer Community has started its previews. We already know that BA are getting Primaris Marines (along with all the other Marine toys such as Flyers and different Terminator armors) – not a big deal until they started getting price drops every time a new document was released (we will be looking at the shortly).
November 26th, 2017 by Matt-Shadowlord 8th Edition. Astra Militarum. Chapter Approved. Imperial Guard. New Releases 14023 69 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Fchapter-approved-points-change-impact-imperial-guard-astra-militarum%2F Chapter+Approved%3A+Points+change+Impact+on+Imperial+Guard+-+Astra+Militarum 2017-11-25+23%3A00%3A36 Matt-Shadowlord http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D14023
The units and gear affected by Chapter Approved changes are spread across various books, so I have attempted to compile them into one easy to read table that shows the before and after impact of the new changes.
There are two pieces of good news for Guard players. The first is that you are now off the hook; enough units have been hit with tweaks and points increases that your wins are going to be harder to come by, and you are going to have to work harder to claim each victory. This isn’t sarcasm either; personally I find it liberating when army building is more challenging and opponents less likely to blame your codex for their losses.
November 25th, 2017 by Kirby 8th Edition. Chapter Approved. New Releases 13994 132 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Fchapter-approved-points-leak%2F Chapter+Approved+Points+Leak 2017-11-25+01%3A04%3A52 Kirby http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D13994
Points pictures are here! Let’s take a quick look, impacts at bottom of post.
So the points rumors floating around seem to be accurate. So major changes… (updating as I go; updated with clearer pictures ):
- Stormraven up 20 points;
- Exorcist down 25 points;
- Celestine up 50 points but her babies are down 25 points each (so whole unit is the same price);
- Repressors are base 91 points (so up 20 points);
- AdMech have some points decreases – Breachers / Destroyers down 5, Priests down 1, Dominus down 10, Enginseer down 5, Infiltrators down 2, Rangers down 1 and Vanguard down 1;
- Cawl went down 10 points (despite Warhammer Community saying he went up…);
- Conscripts are up 1 point – I think that ends that yes?;
- Manticore is up 10 points;
- Primaris Psykers are up 10 points (still dirt cheap);
- Astropath up 15;
November 24th, 2017 by Kirby 8th Edition. Adepta Sorotias. Chapter Approved. Dark Eldar. Death Guard. Drukhari. Genestealer Cults. Harlequins. Imperial Knights. Necrons. New Releases. Orks. Sisters of Battle. Space Marines. Space Wolves. Tau. Thousand Sons 13990 69 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Fchapter-approved-rumors%2F Chapter+Approved+-+Rumors 2017-11-24+11%3A00%3A10 Kirby http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D13990
The CA rumors have been swirling for a while now and we finally have some confirmation as Warhammer Community has released some tidbits. You can check the listed points changes and for the armies who not have a codex, their Warlord Trait, Relic and Stratagems on offer on the Facebook page (give it a like if you have not already; it’s a new one along with a new group page ). Quickly running through the changes and their potential impact (I will consider each of these as factual currently but please take with salt until actually seen). There has also been some chatter on changing how detachments from other armies work – how though, we are not sure yet but this could drastically change army make up. Read more »
November 22nd, 2017 by Kirby 8th Edition. Behemoth. Gorgon. Hydra. Jormungandr. Kraken. Kronos. Leviathan. Tyranids 13978 10 Comments » http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F2017%2F11%2Ftyranid-codex-review-part-1-hive-fleets%2F Tyranid+Codex+Review+-+Part+1%3A+Hive+Fleets 2017-11-21+14%3A25%3A02 Kirby http%3A%2F%2Fwww.3plusplus.net%2F%3Fp%3D13978
One of the most convoluted parts of 8th edition army building with new books so far has been keeping in mind specific stratagems, trait bonuses and warlord traits for each <insert special collection of war dollies organisational description>. What I have found quite beneficial is to list them with each other and then take a look.