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  • It just occurred to me that there are two codicies in the current edition of 40k that I’m actually happy with. Oddly enough, they’re the two armies I play most often. Now, you might think that it’s no coincidence that I like the book for the two armies I play; in fact, you might assume that I play them because I like the books. Not so. I’ve actually been playing these two particular armies since the days of 3rd edition (or, in the case of Tyranids, 2nd), and just happen to like both of the books. But I digress… I...

    The Only Two Good Codicies of 5th Edition

    Posted on September 19, 2011 | 24 Comments
    It just occurred to me that there are two codicies in the current edition of 40k that I’m actually happy with. Oddly enough, they’re the two armies I play most often. Now, you might think that it’s no coincidence that I like the book for the two armies I play; in fact, you might assume that I play them because I like the books. Not so. I’ve actually been playing these two particular armies since the days of 3rd edition (or, in the case of Tyranids, 2nd), and just happen to like both of the books. But I digress… I...

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  • Our most recent poll tried to determine whether 40k (and other games) are cyclical in your area. For the record, the poll was asking if it was CYCLICAL (as in, does it follow cycles?), and not  CYNICAL (but thanks to Da Masta Cheef over at “Da Long Wayz Dezert Group” for the laugh on that one). This poll had significantly lower reponse that previous polls.  I could chalk that up to lack of interest in the topic, or perhaps it was confusingly worded (Cynical… hrmpf!).  I really think the lack of responses boils down to the fact that the blog...

    Poll Results: Is 40k Cyclical?

    Posted on September 16, 2011 | 2 Comments
    Our most recent poll tried to determine whether 40k (and other games) are cyclical in your area. For the record, the poll was asking if it was CYCLICAL (as in, does it follow cycles?), and not  CYNICAL (but thanks to Da Masta Cheef over at “Da Long Wayz Dezert Group” for the laugh on that one). This poll had significantly lower reponse that previous polls.  I could chalk that up to lack of interest in the topic, or perhaps it was confusingly worded (Cynical… hrmpf!).  I really think the lack of responses boils down to the fact that the blog...

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  • In our second game of the vacillite campaign, it didn’t look good for the Xenos players as we were almost completely tabled.  Luckily, we  were able to hold the Infirmary and thereby bring a few key units back to life at the end of the game in order to give them veteran abilities. If you’re already lost, I suggest you check out this earlier post on using veteran abilities in Apolcaypse games.  Once you get caught up, below is a list of the units that “survived” the battle and what abilities they received: Imperial Team (two abilities earned for each): Cole’s Grey...

    Veterans for the Vacillite Campaign

    Posted on September 14, 2011 | 4 Comments
    In our second game of the vacillite campaign, it didn’t look good for the Xenos players as we were almost completely tabled.  Luckily, we  were able to hold the Infirmary and thereby bring a few key units back to life at the end of the game in order to give them veteran abilities. If you’re already lost, I suggest you check out this earlier post on using veteran abilities in Apolcaypse games.  Once you get caught up, below is a list of the units that “survived” the battle and what abilities they received: Imperial Team (two abilities earned for each): Cole’s Grey...

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  • So, I’ve been working on some Imperial Guard to go with my Ultramarines, and decided to paint them in a similar scheme and dub them the Ultramar Planetary Defense Force (PDF).  Earlier, I’d managed to get them assembled and slap enough bone colored paint on them to pass any GW painting standard (three color minimum!).  I’d also claimed that I was going to move on to painting their armor next, which turned out to be a lie. Well, not entirely.  If you look at the left side of the picture, you can see that I did actually start painting their...

    Ultramar PDF – Status Update

    Posted on September 12, 2011 | 7 Comments
    So, I’ve been working on some Imperial Guard to go with my Ultramarines, and decided to paint them in a similar scheme and dub them the Ultramar Planetary Defense Force (PDF).  Earlier, I’d managed to get them assembled and slap enough bone colored paint on them to pass any GW painting standard (three color minimum!).  I’d also claimed that I was going to move on to painting their armor next, which turned out to be a lie. Well, not entirely.  If you look at the left side of the picture, you can see that I did actually start painting their...

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  • The inspiration for this week’s poll comes from a random thought that I had about thematic games.  A problem with our recuring Apoc “campaigns” is how to tie each game together to be more than just a loose grouping of games.  The other issue I have in coming up with a narative is trying to make logical teams out of the armies that are brought to our games.   For instance, in a typical game, we have: Space Wolves / Blood Angels Blood Angels Tyranids (multiple) Imperial Guard Orks Space Marines (vanilla) Tau Then there are a couple of us that...

    New Poll: Playing with armies that are built for you?

    Posted on September 9, 2011 | 5 Comments
    The inspiration for this week’s poll comes from a random thought that I had about thematic games.  A problem with our recuring Apoc “campaigns” is how to tie each game together to be more than just a loose grouping of games.  The other issue I have in coming up with a narative is trying to make logical teams out of the armies that are brought to our games.   For instance, in a typical game, we have: Space Wolves / Blood Angels Blood Angels Tyranids (multiple) Imperial Guard Orks Space Marines (vanilla) Tau Then there are a couple of us that...

    Continue Reading...

  • I made a comittment to try to host three Apoc games per year, and in an attempt to keep them interesting, I’ve taken to calling each year a campaign.  Since we have relatively few games to base each campaign off of, I’ve been looking for ways to tie them together a little better.  First, I included things like story arc (for instance in the Vacillite Campaign, the arc revolves around discovery and collection of a mysterious new mineral).  Another thing I’ve started to work into the theme is that of veteran abilities. Luckily, GW has already laid the ground work...

    Veteran Abilities in Apocalypse

    Posted on September 7, 2011 | 8 Comments
    I made a comittment to try to host three Apoc games per year, and in an attempt to keep them interesting, I’ve taken to calling each year a campaign.  Since we have relatively few games to base each campaign off of, I’ve been looking for ways to tie them together a little better.  First, I included things like story arc (for instance in the Vacillite Campaign, the arc revolves around discovery and collection of a mysterious new mineral).  Another thing I’ve started to work into the theme is that of veteran abilities. Luckily, GW has already laid the ground work...

    Continue Reading...

  • Years ago, I used to have a regular game day scheduled with a friend of mine.  Each Sunday, one of us would go to the other’s house and we’d throw down on various games.  Originally, it had started out as a weekly 40k game, but it eventually evolved into any game that sounded like fun (and even some that didn’t).  I’m happy to announce that we’ve started this tradition up again, and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten to try out a bunch of new board/card games.  I thought I’d share my opinions of those games with you...

    Weekly Board Games!

    Posted on September 5, 2011 | 6 Comments
    Years ago, I used to have a regular game day scheduled with a friend of mine.  Each Sunday, one of us would go to the other’s house and we’d throw down on various games.  Originally, it had started out as a weekly 40k game, but it eventually evolved into any game that sounded like fun (and even some that didn’t).  I’m happy to announce that we’ve started this tradition up again, and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten to try out a bunch of new board/card games.  I thought I’d share my opinions of those games with you...

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  • A year ago I’d posted an entry on the Imperial Guard “weapon teams” that I’d painted up.  Of course, I use the term very loosely, as really I was just painting the weapons and the bases for those teams, and I’d even alluded to the fact that I wouldn’t be painting the guardsman until sometime in 2012. Well, 2012 hasn’t yet arrived, so I guess I’m actually working on these guys ahead of schedule!  The off-handed prediction that I’d be painting them by 2012 was really optimistic—given my propensity for procrastination, but recently I found myself cleaning up some Imperial bits...

    Ultramar’s Planetary Defense Force

    Posted on September 2, 2011 | 7 Comments
    A year ago I’d posted an entry on the Imperial Guard “weapon teams” that I’d painted up.  Of course, I use the term very loosely, as really I was just painting the weapons and the bases for those teams, and I’d even alluded to the fact that I wouldn’t be painting the guardsman until sometime in 2012. Well, 2012 hasn’t yet arrived, so I guess I’m actually working on these guys ahead of schedule!  The off-handed prediction that I’d be painting them by 2012 was really optimistic—given my propensity for procrastination, but recently I found myself cleaning up some Imperial bits...

    Continue Reading...

  • What?  You didn’t know there was a problem with Accelerate Deployment?  I suspect that might be due to the fact that you probably don’t know what I’m referring to. Accelerated deployment is a term that I came up with to help expedite Apocalypse games in general.  Specifically, I was referring to deployment for a four sided Apoc game (see complete rules description here), which by using default methods for deployment, allowed for a savings of up to 100 minutes for just deployment.  The pertinent rules are as follows: Teams can bid between 0 and 20 minutes for deployment.  Ties will...

    The Problem With Accelerated Deployment

    Posted on August 31, 2011 | 3 Comments
    What?  You didn’t know there was a problem with Accelerate Deployment?  I suspect that might be due to the fact that you probably don’t know what I’m referring to. Accelerated deployment is a term that I came up with to help expedite Apocalypse games in general.  Specifically, I was referring to deployment for a four sided Apoc game (see complete rules description here), which by using default methods for deployment, allowed for a savings of up to 100 minutes for just deployment.  The pertinent rules are as follows: Teams can bid between 0 and 20 minutes for deployment.  Ties will...

    Continue Reading...

  • I’ve been toying around with the idea of time management with Apocalypse games for some time, ever since the first Apocalypse event I attended locally, wherein they set an arbitrary time limit on phases (I believe of 20 minutes).  It seemed pretty obvious that imposed time limits helped provide structure to a pretty chaotic environment, and helped keep things progressing throughout the day.  The sticking point is that players seemed to lack a sense of urgency, which resulted in a great game lasting a measley 3-4 turns.  Without committing to a multi-day affair, it’s nigh impossible to get a full game...

    Apocalypse: Right on Time

    Posted on August 29, 2011 | 4 Comments
    I’ve been toying around with the idea of time management with Apocalypse games for some time, ever since the first Apocalypse event I attended locally, wherein they set an arbitrary time limit on phases (I believe of 20 minutes).  It seemed pretty obvious that imposed time limits helped provide structure to a pretty chaotic environment, and helped keep things progressing throughout the day.  The sticking point is that players seemed to lack a sense of urgency, which resulted in a great game lasting a measley 3-4 turns.  Without committing to a multi-day affair, it’s nigh impossible to get a full game...

    Continue Reading...

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