6th Edition Shennanigans

Hello all,

So it has been a while since any update has been done here. I wanted to reassure everyone that this is not for a lack of work on hobbies but rather time to post. I will try and make a better effort to post in the near future.

To begin with 6th Edition has hit the shelves for 40k in July and the game has again changed in my opinion for the better. There are a few areas that I have been scratching my head over but overall I am impressed and quite entertained with the new rules. It appears that the majority of the armies got a sizeable boost to their competiveness while scaling back some armies which were full of "win" at the end of 5th.

I have managed to play a couple of games so far with 2 victories thus far. As far as my Tyranids are concerned the new rules have helped them compete again. Making tanks more vulnerable, longer assault ranges, stronger monstrous creatures, psychic powers and the removal of fearless wounds have all contributed to the bugs being more effective. Some drawbacks include not being able to assault when outflanking. weaker cover saves, Tyranid lack of allies & fortifications, inability to deal with flyers and the introduction of overwatch.

For B, the Craftworld Eldar got some boosts and hits as well and considering they are using a 4th edition codex it is rumored their update could be in early 2013 after Chaos & Dark Angels.

For Eldar Dire Avengers, Guardians, Rangers, and 10 man Wraithguard squads are your best bet as I have seen Eldar players play 2-3 Dire Avenger squads with 2-3 Guardian squads for troops with the occasional Ranger unit. Since most missions are objective based having lots of scoring units is a must.

Eldar with their psychic powers are king as they have access to the Divination discipline which is arguably the best out of the five available disciplines (only Imp. Guard, Dark Angels and Grey Knights also have access here). Eldar psychic defense is unrivaled even by Space Puppies or Bugz (3D6 on Ld tests board wide = win). Seer Councils will now become much more common and Eldrad is just insane.

With shooting being king in this addition some assault units have been shelved. Banshees are fairly ineffective now (AP 3 power weapons, can't assault out of a Wave Serpent on the same turn when they disembark and fairly weak) but Harlequins (insane cover saves, wound allocation and ally rules) and Striking Scorpions (improved cover saves, fleet not as necessary, lots of attacks, better armor, infiltrate) are pretty nice. Warp Spiders (AP - weapons don't suffer vs. Vehicles) and even Shining Spears (Hit and Run = awesome, Jetbikes are op with 36" turbo-boost and assault turn move of 2D6", +4 'jink' save from shooting which is improved to 3+ with Skilled Rider) are up but Swooping Hawks are still worthless (aside from having Haywire Gernades which are much better in 6th).

I foresee Support Weapon Platforms making a comeback as Artillery are now considering T:7 W:2 Sv:3+ units each. Stick them in cover and they will be hard to remove. Wraithlords will be nice as effective gun platforms rather than assault beasts while Wraithguard in my opinion are best as a 10 man squad Troop choice outfitted with a Warlock and a Farseer nearby.

The vehicles in 6th have become both weaker due to the introduction of hull points (similar to wounds) but have also become stronger by being able to shoot more often (Snap shots even when moving fast). All Eldar vehicles gain a 4+ jink save if they move 6" or more and benefit from a less scary damage table. Falcons have reemerged in 6th as the go to tank with weight of fire, transport capacity, and less need for vehicle upgrades (more later). Fire Prisms/Nightspinners are in my opinion better than 5th as it is more difficult to destroy their primary weapon and therefore make them ineffective. Glancing hits no longer just stun or shake the vehicle so they can fire at full effectiveness in your turn. However if a penetrating hit is scored watch out, as AP 1&2 weapons get +2&+1 respectively to the damage roll. Holofields and spirit stones are no longer a must buy but are still worth considering. Vypers despite having only 2 hull points each have become a bit better under 6th in squads of 2-3. Wave Serpents are no longer super amazing but are a decent transport/fire support tank. The inability to contest objectives on the last turn and loss of same turn assaults after disembarking have hurt this tank considerably.

Overall Eldar are slightly better off and have some nice allies (Tau & Dark Eldar) which they can use to supplement their current weaknesses until a codex is released.

As for J and his Necrons... I am just disgusted. Necrons were the final 5th edition codex and were definately written with 6th edition in mind. Necrons are all about shooting and their gauss and tesla weapons are terrifying to behold.

Necrons might not be able to access psychic powers but that is a minor drawback considering their boosts in 6th. As one of the only armies which have access to the new "flyer" units, Necrons have a current strength in being able to field an all flyer list.

Doom Scythes and Night Scythes are just amazing in 6th until other armies are able to counter flyers through the use of fortifications, other flyers, and skyfire weapons.

The lowly warrior can cause glancing hits against all armor types on a penetrating roll of 6 and therefore can easily dispatch any vehicle to come into range. Not too mention rapid fire weapons (Bolters, Gauss Rifles, Tau Pulse Rifles) now can move and still double tap (fire twice up to half the gun's max range) resulting in 40 shots for a maxed out warrior squad if their target is 12" away. This makes assaulting this unit very scary due to the overwatch rules.

Scarbs, Wraiths, Warriors, Barges, Scythes all got substantial boosts with the rest of the army still getting help.

I hope to be able to play some more games and get the most out of this edition. Until then good luck out there!

New Nid Models Confirmed!... and Space Puppies too...

So it has finally arrived! The models that tyranid players needed when the codex originally dropped. (facepalm) If only GW had the wisdom to release the models in with a well written codex they might have seen a wider range in armies used at tournaments besides MEQ or IG.

Enough ranting... Overall I am pleased with the models look and feel. Thank god the Tervigon and Tyrannofex are a dual kit. If they had released a separate kit for that I would be dissapointed. It's too bad that my conversions now finally have been replaced by licensed GW products.

The Plastic Flyrant is a great addition and a welcome one too. Sad that my Flyrant (pewter) is still in construction and is a project for the ages. With the release of the plastic kit, I am unsure whether or not my time converting a new one will be time well spent.

BONESWORD/LASHWHIP KITS! These are so late in arriving it's not even funny. I instead had to purchase an extra Venomthrope to salvage enough lashwhips for my Warriors, and the boneswords I snagged from an independent sculptor.

Lastly the plastic Swarmlord/Tyrant kit is a long time coming. That being said I am a bit disappointed with the Swarmlord model. I think that my conversion or similar conversions using the classic boneswords are better.

Anyways... anyone else have some thoughts??

Hobby Update

Alas the past year many things have happened in our lives. Weddings, deployments, new puppies, etc. That being said I thought it would be smart to bring back a quick update on my hobby frivolities.

1) Tyranids - I have done some painting on the bugs over the past few months. I finished base coating all the models I have assembled, as well as completing my Tervigon, Tyrannofex, a group of Raveners, a Mawloc, and now I'm finishing up my Swarmlord. Next up will be to finish some Termagants and Hormagaunts.

2) Rohirrim - I have almost completely finished painting all my LOTR figs. I have about 20 figs left mostly characters that I will rarely use (Boromir, Gandalf, etc.) That means in the past year I have painted roughly 80 figs.

3) Wood Elves - I have started putting the finishing touches on my converted Treekin unit. I have 3 finished now with a plan for 3 more. I also pulled out my converted Treeman which is in the early stages of construction.

4) Eldar - I pulled out my casting gear and have begun to setup for my first casting of the custom bases that I constructed.

Cheers!