Thursday 20 January 2022

Chapter Approved: War Zone Nachmund



Hello everyone, 

We’ve been lucky enough to have the new Chapter Approved books sent to us by Games Workshop! 

So I’ll be doing a review of both the new mission pack and the updated points values. 

First of all I am of the opinion that these books should be digital and therefore free of charge as they are essentially a patch for the game. 

At the very least the updated points should be free like the balance slate is, especially when these will fluctuate during the now seasons of the game. 

I think going digital would also allow them to release up to date and precise points that reflect the armies current balance level. Working on balance six months in advance due to the book needing to be sent to the printers is a poor way of delivering game balance in my opinion. 

However, it may be that the current situation with shipping around the world has forced their hand in getting it printed locally which would help with this issue. 

On a positive note I am still very happy with their decision to do more regular updates to the game as game balance for me is very important and a great game will always attract more business for Games Workshop. 

So let’s move on to the actual contents! 





Matched Play

There is a very big change in direction in the new book which will effect both casual and competitive gamers.




 
In my understanding the page above has now put a stop to the use of soup armies that include multiple sub-factions. This means taking two patrols for example will no longer allow you to take Bad Moons and Goffs in the same army. 

This is a pretty huge change for the competitive scene as armies like Orks were using this to great effect. I was certainly someone looking at eventually including some Goffs or Death Skulls in my army. 

The positives to this change are that it will certainly help the game developers improve the balance of the game. With less variables to consider in a faction, it’ll be easier to play test and improve the internal and external balance of a book. 

The negatives are that it will no doubt quite significantly reduce the Orks effectiveness in games. Which is a shame as I think they were in great place overall.

The other downside from a hobby point of view is that I would have been very tempted to do a patrol of Goffs which is a small enough project for me to green light rather than starting an entirely new Ork army which now won’t happen. 

The next big change is that armies can now only have three units with the same Datasheet in their army. This does exclude units with the troops or dedicated transport keywords. 





I think this is a great change as it will just somewhat limit people spamming one particularly powerful unit throughout their army. While allowing three of that unit will still give people enough freedom if they want a specific play style. I’d go as far as saying only two of the same unit would be a good thing too. 


Nachmund Secondary Objectives

Now onto secondary objectives, there has been some changes here too. We now have more faction specific secondaries which could be quite impactful for some armies. The Ork specific secondaries aren’t good but hopefully it will be a different story for other factions. 

You now also can’t take two faction specific secondaries, you can now only take one faction specific one and two from chapter approved. I think this is likely to only really effect space marines players though. 





It’s hard to say whether this is a good secondary or not for the Guard, it’s quite a big ask to destroy three units in a turn for any army consistently through out a game to earn 3 points per turn. Especially for guard where you may manage this in turns one or two whilst shooting. However, it is at the end of the battle round and not just your turn so you could still score unit kills in your opponents turn. 

Overall though I’m not sure this will be taken by guard players, as you need an opponent with lots of small units to expect to achieve this without tabling your opponent but you could maybe get to 8 or 9 points so there is some potential there.





An interesting one for the Chaos Space Marines here. Destroying one unit that’s within range of an objective is doable for sure. However, taking one or more objectives from your opponent each turn could be difficult to achieve, as you’re relying on taking objectives from your opponent every turn to score. 

So I think this is a fairly big ask compared to engage on all fronts or stranglehold where it’s a lot easier to score. It’s certainly possible though in the hands of a good player who can plan ahead and has the flexibility to take an objective each turn. 





Probably more impactful is ROD or the new acronym being RND! Not quite as catchy for sure! 

Now units that aren’t troops or are below 6 models are going to potentially suffer due to the roll that has to now take place. 

It makes Stormboyz for Orks less effective as there’s a chance you won’t score if the unit is depleted. We may just see units of six from now on though. 

I still think this is a great secondary though for most armies. It’s still the pick of the bunch with engage, stranglehold or assassinate for me. 

However, there is a small change for engage now as it can only be achieved by a unit of 3 or more, a vehicle or a monster. So no more running a single character into a quarter for engage anymore! 


Strike Force Missions 
 
Incursion missions are in here too but I don’t play at 1000 points so I can’t say much on them! 

There are nine strike force missions, two are already on the Warhammer Community site. There are some nice changes with the missions, as they are more dynamic and exciting. They’ve also changed the primary points to four which is good as it means you can’t max out after three turns, so you have to be thinking about holding the primary objectives over four or five turns. Which I think will also encourage more of a fight in games rather than hiding on objectives and doing secondaries. 

Interesting rules on the mission below with regards to losing your CP bonus. I can’t really see many armies being affected by this in the first turn, but it’s something to think about. Especially as if you lose your warlord during the game you won’t get a CP each turn. 





This is an interesting mission with two primary objectives and I really like the fact that you lose victory points if you don’t hold your own objectives in your deployment zone! 

It should really put emphasis on holding your home objectives whilst also having units to go and stop your opponent holding theirs. It will be a five point swing if they don’t hold theirs, as you will then gain their primary points and they will lose a point too for losing their deployment zone objective. 

The missions in general are very good and this one is quite an exciting challenge. 

Points! 

I’m usually very excited by points changes but I have to say there aren’t that many this time around which is a shame when there’s a clearly a lot of balancing to do within the game. 

Let’s talk about some of the important changes.




For Space Marines the ever present Redemptor Dreadnought has gone up 10 points as has the Primaris Chaplain on bike. The Storm Speeders have all come down 10. The Gladiator variants also all went down 15 points. 

Grey Knights, both variants of the Dread Knights went up 10 points and you can’t take five now! Which is a definitely a good thing! 

For sisters Morvenn Vahl went up by 15 points which is another one you could see coming. 

Custodes you’ve already got new points! After about a week! Strange move but I imagine it’s because the book was delayed. Valerian down 10, free Misericordias and Allarus Custodians down by 5 is a big buff for them. 

Chaos Space Marines are 12 points now but I doubt they’ll be at all viable without an extra wound and other improvements. Obliterators did come down 10 points though which is nice. 

Necrons have had lot of changes which is great in some respects but I would say they aren’t on units you would probably take. 





The Silent King down 30, the Monolith 30 and Tesseract Vault 50! Big changes but again I doubt you’ll see them. 

Orks have had a bit rough time, I am biased but the Kill Rig and Squig Buggies up 20 is big and the Beastboss on Squigasaur going up 30 is a lot. He is very good but that’s the core of Ork armies that were in a pretty good place. 

The good news is Meganobz are down 5, as are Killa Kans and the battlewagons are down 15. Which includes the Kannon Wagon from Forgeworld which I personally rate. 

Finally the Hive Guard for the Tyranids have gone up by five points which I think is a good move. 

Conclusion

Obviously we’ve been sent this by Games Workshop which we’re very lucky to receive, however, as I mentioned earlier these books should really be digital and free as a regular patch to the game. Have them as part of the app subscription and you’ve got the app generating more income. 

I just think this method of delivering points changes is far too slow, so having the points changes as a part of the balance data slate would be a great idea. Hopefully it’s a cheap set of books at the very least. 

On the positive side, I think regular updates are brilliant for the game and the new missions and secondaries are great. Just make them digital and make Bad Moons great again is all I ask! 

Thanks for reading,

Aveinus Kaane 

Friday 10 December 2021

Space Marine 2 - New Primaris Assault Marines?

 Hi all


On my 5000th viewing of the official preview trailer for Space Marine 2 it dawned, it dawned upon me that our man Titus did a death from above on some 'nids.

Seeing as there are no units out currently, in the Primaris range, that can wield a chainsword and a jump pack, I decided to take a closer look!




As you can see from these pictures, they are obviously not the old MK7 jump pack - nor any of the preceding or proceeding designs. It looks a bit like the Inceptor jump pack - it has the balancing fins - but it is far more slim and it isn't built into the shoulders and collar of the armour.

Could we be looking at a new Primaris Assault unit??

I would love to hear your thoughts so please comment below what you think!

Til next time!

Kaelo

Space Marine 2 Trailer



In the 28 years since I started playing Warhammer it has been inevitable that there would be breaks as exams, employment and just general life got in the way of my escapism. There was always something that dragged me back - the stunning Eldar artwork for a new codex in 1998, the release of Lord of the Rings models a few years later and the amazing release of Space Marine on PS3 (heralding the end to the last break I had in the hobby).



I loved the feel of Space Marine, it was like Gears of War but in a (subjectively) way cooler universe. The hordes of Orks and the challenge of Chaos marines created a beautiful dynamic which helped capture what it felt like to be a Space Marine. I spent many, many hours playing the multiplayer with my brother Drake (from Battle Bunnies and Titan Owners Club) and a couple of friends from work at the time who were gamers but not tabletop gamers. Needless to say they both play Warhammer now lol.


So, naturally, last nights announcement has me positively giddy with the prospect of playing as Titus again and I can’t wait to see some more of the details. The small gameplay teaser suggests it is more of the same that we all loved from the first outing - except against hordes of ravening Tyranids. This is something I definitely want to be covering here and I can’t wait to get a few more details later today!!


Here is a link to the official trailer:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TgxVQRTXtz0


And stay tuned to https://www.warhammer-community.com today as they are having another two Space Marine 2 articles go up throughout the day.




Until next time, stay fluffy!


Kaelo

Sunday 31 October 2021

Kaelo Rylanus - Hobby Update

Hi all

As I said in the last post, we are getting back to a bit of normality now with the studio nearly being finished. We have been moving bits around this weekend and started the foundations of the first table. Here is a bit of a sneak peak of the studio:




We are currently sourcing a few cameras so that we will be able to start expanding our coverage to live videos and YouTube content. Very exciting!

I am going to try to start a regular hobby update at least once a week to keep myself motivated over the winter months. I am currently finishing a few projects including a Thousand Sons cult, an Ultramarine detachment and 2000pts of Custodes. I will share some progress and fluff in my new series of articles.

I also have 4 copies of the Black Templar box set to use for my next project - my own chapter creation - the Ultima Templars. I will have a short piece of fiction soon to share about the chapters creation and roll within the Dark Imperium.



Really looking to get going and we have some projects we can’t discuss too so don’t forget to follow us as we start going forward!

Stay fluffy

Kaelo!

Friday 29 October 2021

Lord-Commander Bastian Carthalos - Review

Hi everybody

Today I wanted to take a look at a model that GW has recently sent us to review - Bastian Carthalos!

This model was previewed a few months back and is absolutely incredible. 













He was an absolute dream to put together and GW seem to have perfected invisible seams in cloak creases as you can see below:












The scenic base is nicely detailed too:


One thing I was particularly keen on, was to see how he would fit alongside Guilliman as a potential Vulkan proxy. Here is the answer:





Sadly, not too well. As Vulkan was actually taller than Guilliman then I don’t see this working unfortunately.

Still, with a big preview coming this weekend who knows?! There could be a Primarch coming right around the corner!

Finally, I wanted to give our readers a bit of a reason as to why we have been fairly quiet of late:

Most of our readers found us through event coverage and news, something which has been massively affected by Covid. Coupled with a hectic real life as people made up for lost time during Lockdowns 1, 2 and 3 in the UK - between our 5 authors we have seen 2 engagements, 1 wedding, numerous puppies and kittens being rescued, 3 house moves etc etc. However, following discussions we had as a blog earlier in the year we have decided to move into YouTube videos and expand our Facebook and Instagram presences. We have even had a studio converted which we will be able to have some awesome battles on in the coming weeks/months. 

Basically, we are back and we have some great content to start sharing and hopefully get back to our pre-covid output.

As always drop me a message here or my Instagram if you want a chat or have any questions!

Stay fluffy!

Kaelo!


Tuesday 5 October 2021

Ork Codex Review: Part 2


Hello everyone, 

It’s time for part 2, where we’ll take a look at the Warlord Traits, Relics, Psychic Powers, Datasheets and Points. 



Warlord Traits 

A major boon in this new codex is the strength of Ork characters, particularly Warbosses. Combining them with Traits like Ard as Nails for a minus 1 to wound aura means you can make some really survivable characters especially combined with some of the Relics on offer.





Brutal but Kunnin is the obvious pick for an offensive character but I do also like Big Gob. Pushing that +1 to hit aura out to 9 inches could be really effective in some builds, with lots of core or character units nearby. 


Relics 


There are some excellent relics in this book, I would personally combine a relic or warlord trait that grants  an improved invulnerable save with something strong in combat. 

As you can see below Supa Cybork body is amazing for this role, combined with Brutal but Cunning and you’ve got a great combination. 





Da Killa Klaw is also a really nasty relic which you could combine with Da Best Armour Teeth Can Buy for that +3 save and +4 invulnerable save on your Bad Moon character. 


Power of the Waaagh! 


I think here you have to be looking towards the classics of Da Jump and Warpath for the movement it gives you for playing the game and for the extra attacks. I favour Da Jump as I like it’s flexibility for throwing a late game Warboss or Boy unit across the board from their hiding place. 





Looking at Fists of Gork though, I’d be very tempted to take this and use it on the Beastboss on Squigsaur. What a monster he’d be! 


Datasheets


There’s a fair bit more to talk about here but we’ll mention some of the big changes. 

Dakka weapons have changed to the two values as you can read below, I think this is a way of reducing those re rolls that slowed down playing with orks so much. 

My Bad Moons do miss the rerolling ones but having played a few games now, I do think it was better to move away from this. Bad Moons certainly do benefit from the extra 6 inch range, meaning they’re more likely to be in half range for those extra shots. 





Ramshackle is obviously a strong ability for vehicles making them a lot more durable than the old ramshackle rule. 

One thing that is a shame are the changes to mob rule, even with T5 Ork boys still die fairly easily to small arms fire, I often take at least 20 casualties on a 30 Ork unit in the first turn if I fail their charge. This means morale will always be an issue for any big units now and so Insane Courage is the only way to keep them around for 2 CP. 

However, I do like this tactic as it is a great way of hemming your opponent in on their first turn and potentially denying them an objective with a charge. Even though you’re losing most of a big unit if you fail the charge, they still have a tactical use and with insane courage they will stick around into turn 2. It can also be a great distraction piece to help the rest of your army advance unscathed. 


Calling a Waaagh! 


Calling a Waaagh has now disappeared from the Warboss datasheet and into its own rules section. 





These are just once per battle abilities but will certainly pack a punch if chosen in the right turn. This will take some planning to have as many Ork core or character units getting into combat on the same turn but you’d expect turn 2 and 3 to be the best turns to use it in. 


Datasheets 


Obviously there is far too many units to look over on a here but we’ll look at a few of my favourites. 





An excellent choice in an aggressive army, movement 10, it’s getting up the board pretty quick if he runs on turn one. Having an inbuilt -1 damage rule is also amazing so picking a trait or relic that would grant an improved invulnerable would make him a brilliant hammer unit. 

Da jump some Snagga boys up the board with him and you’ve got a powerful combination of threats.





Their older sculpts are now terrible but they’re pretty easy to kitbash if you use Burna Boyz or Lootas. 

They seem like a mixed bag but D3 Rokkit shots on a unit of ten is a lot of shots. They’re hitting on fours against vehicles now and as Bad Moons they’ve got that 6 inch range buff and can use Showin Off. 

The only question is how to deploy them, Trukk or Tellyporta? 





Next up Warbikers, a great unit in the new book. Just 25 points for 3 wounds and a built in rule of -1 to hit against ranged attacks! A bargain I think and it’s why I’m now painting up nine! 

Great for objective or aggressive play I think they’re a must include for most Ork lists. 

Finally you’ll all know about the Rukkatrukk Squigbuggies by now so another great unit is the Dakkajet. 





At just 120 points with six supa-shootas, it’s a brilliant distraction piece and if it’s ignored it will do plenty of damage within 18 inches. 

At six shots on each supa-shoota at strength 6 and -1 rend you’ve got a powerful asset for targeting infantry or elite units. 

It’s movement also gives them nowhere to hide on turn 1 as well. It’s an auto include for me but it always dies early, but in doing so it takes a lot of heat off of my other advancing units. 


Points 


Finally points wise I think they’ve done fairly well, the buggies are all cheap enough to be very useable now, the scrapjet gets a lot done for 90 points. The Rukkatrukk Squigbuggy also comes in at 90 points and with nitro squigs it still only reaches 115 points. 145 for the Best boss on Squigasaur is also a steal. 

The unfortunate part is that the Morkanaut has gone up significantly to 380 due to having more wounds, however I don’t think it will see play anymore due to its increase. Without sparkly bits it’s just not good enough to make the cut. 


Conclusion 


Its a great book with lots of options for any kind of player. It’s also strong enough to compete without being obnoxious like the Mechanicus and Drukari books. 

My only complaint is the one I mentioned about Ghazghkull earlier in the review but I’m really enjoying the list building process. I’ll be working on Warbikes and then some buggies to make my list more aggressive. 

Long term though if I go to events I’d probably be looking towards Goffs for a powerful Ork list, there’s no denying they have the best allegiance abilities in the book bar the objective play that Deathskulls provide. 

Motivating myself to paint said bikes is proving difficult though! 

Thanks again for reading and to Games Workshop for sending us a copy of the book. 


Aveinus Kaane 

Monday 4 October 2021

Ork Codex Review: Part 1


Hello everyone, 

Apologies for the delay on this review, I’ve had some issues with the desktop version of blogger not spacing the posts properly and turning all of my text into code! 

But it’s here after long last the Ork codex for 9th edition! 



I must say I wasn’t a fan of how Games Workshop originally released this in the Beast Snagga box set which seemed unfair to those of us who couldn’t get the box or just didn’t want it. This is all forgotten now though as we’ve all had a chance to see and get hold of the new rules and models. 

So let’s get on with the review! 





As usual there’s tonnes of great artwork and lore in the book. Those of you that are buying the book for this won’t need to read this review so let’s just get straight to my thoughts on the rules and my favourite parts of the book. 

Ork Clans

So we can’t talk about them all until we start doing video reviews in the future but for now let’s look at the glorious Bad Moons which are my clan! 





So I think it’s fair to say they aren’t the best of the clans but certainly not the worst. The Warlord Trait, will be handy for a second Warboss and the Stratagem if used correctly is one of the most powerful in the book for 1 CP. 

Using it on Tankbustas or Warbikers will be a powerful buff with those sixes generating not just more attacks but extra hits!

The actual clan traits are lacklustre however, the extra range certainly helps Dakka weapons or Kustom Mega Kannons but the extra rend on sixes will make little difference unless you’re taking shoota boyz. 

Goffs are likely the best clan with the exploding sixes to hit in combat and strength five is very powerful! 

There is however the option to take Goffs in a separate detachment, so we’ll take a look at it next. 


Ork Detachments 


Interestingly Ork detachments are back to being an important part of army list building, I think we’ll be seeing other clans featuring regularly, however, I think they will most importantly be used to provide more fast attack slots or in particular more Warbosses to your army. 

Orks seem to be quite heavily reliant on Warbosses now because they pack a mighty punch and are harder to kill than in the previous edition. 

This is because as you can see below you can now only include one Warboss in each detachment. 





Multiple patrols could now be the go too for Ork players if you’re wanting a Beast Boss on Squigasaur and a Deffa Killa Wartrike in your army. 

The one major thing I do have to moan about is taking Ghazghkull Thraka in anything other than a Goff army.  I agree he should be at his best in a Goff army but having him turn off your armies access to clan stratagems in particular is an awful rule. 

Ghaz is a beautiful model and I have him painted up in yellow armour, but now he turns off my access to the Showing Off clan stratagem for the rest of the army! He should only have access to Goff abilities but making him so he nullifies your clan stratagem for anything other than Goffs is rubbish! 

Rant over! 


Specialist Mobs


So specialist mobs are back again after their debut in psychic awakening, they’re something you can take one of per detachment. This again may lead players into having multiple detachments again as you can take something like Trukk Boyz twice in your army for that movement shenanigans below. 





Big Krumpaz is something I can also see being useful on a more Mek themed Ork army, getting +1 to hit on a Morkanaut, Gorkanaut, Meganobz or Deff Dread unit could be quite powerful. Particularly negating some of the issues the Gorkanaut could have with losing wounds and dropping down its damage tiering. 

This however, does again turn off your clan traits, which is again something I’m not a huge fan of but I can see how it could make Goff units very powerful. These specialist mobs could therefore see use in non Goff armies as they won’t be going without the Goff close combat abilities. 

Trukk Boyz will surely see a lot of play though, Meganobz as Trukk Boyz could also see some use. Using them to exploit the enemies lines and take a vulnerable objective or to at least stop them scoring on it could be crucial for securing a points lead early on. 


Kustom Jobs


Another new section for the book, although I doubt these will play such a crucial role in list design. They add some nice options but are possibly more of an option for casual games. 

They also can’t be taken on units who are in specialist mobs. 





Nitro Squigs seems to be the pick of the bunch though, adding +1 to wound on the squig launcha is excellent.


Stratagems 


Another area with big changes in the new book. Orks have lost some of their very best stratagems and gained some very average ones. Losing Green Tide was expected though as gaining another 30 T5 Boyz for 3 CP would have been far too good. 





Another favourite of mine is Careen for some orky fun, which allows a vehicle to travel a further six inches if it explodes for 1 CP. A potential clutch move in a game to destroy some damaged enemy units! 

I do however, think the way to use Orks now will be to invest CP pregame. Extra patrols for Warbosses and then using the Stratagems above to provide them with some of the excellent Warlord Traits and Relics.

We’ll take a look at them in part 2!

Thanks for reading, 

Aveinus Kaane