INAT, WTF?

  The INAT, which is a set of so called rules clarifications are a bit of a joke. In many instances, the writers ignore the main rule book in several instances... here is an example.

◊GK.54A.01 – Q: Do all of the wounds caused by an Independent Character or Dreadknight with an ‘active’ Nemesis Force Weapon inflict ‘Instant Death’ (or is only a single wounded enemy model affected as with standard Force Weapons)? A: Yes, once an IC/Dreadknight ‘activates’ his Nemesis Force Weapon all wounds inflicted by him for the phase inflict ‘Instant Death’ [clarification].

Another instance of screwing up the basic rules...

GK.37G.01 – Q: If a unit without Personal Teleporters disembarks using ‘Shadow Skies’, scatters and ends up actually landing in difficult/dangerous terrain, do they take two dangerous terrain tests or just one? A: Two. First when the unit scatters and again when the surviving models are actually placed into the difficult/dangerous terrain [clarification]. Ref: BA.38J.01, IG.56C.01 

..since you are only ever required to take one dangerous terrain test in a single phase.  A few of the writers play Tyranids so it would only be fitting if they did what they could to make their own army better, right? Here is an example...

GK.54E.01 – Q: Based on GW’s official Grey Knight & Tyranid FAQs can you please clarify what happens in combat when a model armed with a Nemesis Force Halberd and a model with a Tyranid Lash Whip are in base contact with each other? A: The Lash Whip’s Initiative reduction takes precedence over the Halberd’s +2 Initiative bonus [clarification].

This contradicts their 'clarification' for the psychotroke grenade result that reduces models to initiative 1....

GK.60F.04 – Q: If a model suffering from the Psychotroke Grenade ‘The world is spinning’ result has a rule that boosts their Initiative, how is this resolved? A: ‘The world is spinning’ reduces a model’s Initiative before any other modifiers in the Assault phase are applied. So, for example, an assaulting model with ‘Furious Charge’ would strike at I2 and an Eldar Banshee would still have I10 in the first round of an assault [clarification].
There are many more dumb rulings in the INAT that you may be able to find, I'm just done going through it for now. Post up more inconsistencies and errors if you find them!

Conversions in DISMAY! TERD-O-FEX!

 Welcome to a new segment called 'Conversions in dismay'. It is basically 'Armies in dismay' for single model conversions or unit conversions. No models will be posted that I even think that the owner didn't put forth some effort. This is only for those terrible conversions that are made by die hard competitive blowhards with zero respect for the hobby aspect of the game. As is the tradition with the 'dismay' articles, we'll start with something by the scourge of the interwebz.... Stelek!
  To begin his conversion he took a Carnifex! Then he cut off the tip of the gun and glued on the tip of a bigger gun! Then he said 'DONE"!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! He even used the wrong sized base!

Adepticon Primer Battle Report: Blood Angels vs. Orkwisition!

 At the Adepticon primer held at FTW games last weekend, my first match up was versus a Blood Angels army that was something like this...

Sanguinor
Mephiston

Priest, Jump pack, power weapon, infernus pistol x 3

10 assault marines, Power fist, 2 meltas, infernus pistol on sgt x 4

My list, using my orkwisition.....

Libby, shroud, vortex, might
Coteaz

Techmarine, rad psychotroke grenades x 2

9 Death cult assassins, assault cannon razorback, psybolts x 2
3 acolytes, assault cannon razorback, psybolts x 2

Dreadknight, personal teleporter
Land Raider Crusader x2

The mission was killpoints(not good for me), table quarters, and HQ closest to the center. Deployment was spearhead and I won the roll to go first so I set up as far forward as I could, with the two land raiders full of assassins and characters in the center, flanked by the razorbacks and the dreadknight just behind.

He deployed in a line across his deployment zone with all his units about 7 inches back so I couldn't assault cannon him on turn 1.

TURN 1: I move forward with everything cautiosly about 6 inches, except for the dreadknight who moved '12 to behind a building in the center of the board. No shooting. He then shuffles his stuff to the side.

At this point, I'm thinking it's going to be a standoff for the whole game since his 2d6 melta range is '18 and my charge range is '21(about).....

TURN 2: I shuffle a bit forward, trying to guess between '18 and  '21 from him and fire assault cannons, downing 2 marines. yay. He responds by moving one unit towards the center to lure me out of my land raiders, then proceeds to place his unitsa little farther back.

TURN 3: I knowingly take the bait with my dreadknight and fly towards him while the rest of my army sits and shoots to little avail. During the assault phase The dreadknight charged in killing 3 and taking a wound to a power fist. They hold. On his turn he moves Mephiston up to help out his boys in killing the dreadknight and moves sanguinor just up behind to grant them all the +1 attack. Mephiston then charges in and wounds the dreadknight twice (his powers were hooded, including the force weapon) and the dreadknight responds by wounding mephiston twice. The dreadknight then dies to combat res....boo. He consolidates '3 back and tries to surround mephiston but lacks the room.

TURN 4: Both Land raiders come screaming up around the center building and dropping their compliments next to the unit, sanguinor and mephiston, they then pop smoke. I skip shooting and get right to business. The unit with techmarine and coteaz hits the assault marines and mephiston, while the unit with the libby and techmarine hit the unit and sanguinor. The only model I move into base to base with the sanguinor was the techmarine. Combat finds mephiston and all the assault marines dead. The sanguinor then slays the hapless techmarine. Both my units pile into the sanguinor. His turn he is in a conundrum. He decides to move two units to one side of the sanguinor to see if they can kill one assassin unit in hand to hand. He moves his only other unit at a land raider. with 3 meltas in 2d6 range. During his shooting I use 'the shrouding' and so he pens the land raider 3 times, but I make all my 3+ cover saves. He then charges into one assassin unit with both his assault marines. Before the marines get to go, the sanguinor and all but one marine and priest die to the assassins. Those two die to combat resolution. I then consolidate 1' away from his last unit that tried to mleta my land raider.

TURN 5: Knowing his assault marines are about to be violated and his army tabled, he concedes.
It was a great game and he was a great opponent. Can't wait till out next game!

Assaults, grenades, and you.

 A quick bit of rules knowledge for some who may not know...
 When a unit of yours is getting shot and you think I'm going to be assaulted anyway, hold the phone. If the charging unit lacks frag grenades -or- you have defensive grenades, that might be a bad move. If an assaulting unit lacks frag grenades but charges a unit in cover, they will strike at their own initiative because the asssaulted unit is 'not set to receive the charge'. Defensive grenades also don't work if the unit equipped with them has gone to ground.

Zombie IG- First unit complete!

Here it is.... Veteran squad one.

Zombie Guard- Update!

  As promised, here are the first of my zombie IG. 7 Veterans and a heavy weapons team.... only one shy of my first full veteran unit! Let me know ways you think I could improve on them!

Imperial Guard 'ard boyz....

  In my opinion, Imperial Guard is still the best army out there. Here is a list of what I consider to be one of the best IG 'ard boyz lists I've made....

Command squad, 2 plasma, lascannon, chimera
Command squad, 2 plasma, lascannon, chimera

8 battle psykers, overseer, chimera
8 battle psykers, overseer, chimera
8 battle psykers, overseer, chimera

Veterans, 3 meltas, lascannon, chimera
Veterans, 3 meltas, lascannon, chimera
Veterans, 3 meltas, lascannon, chimera
Veterans, 3 plasma, lascannon, chimera
Veterans, 3 plasma, lascannon, chimera
Infnatry platoon-
  -Platton command, 4 flamers, chimera
  -2 squads

3 Hydras
Leman Russ executioner, plasma cannon side sponsons
Manticore

Lots of instant death weapons to deal with paladins, and enough shooting to beat any army at range. This is the list I'm aiming for with my zombie guard. The platoon is there only to bubble wrap the chimeras and buy them an extra turn vs. assault armies.

Armies in Dismay!... RATS!

  Welcome to 'Armies in Dismay', where I post pictures of terribly painted, or unpainted armies at Grand Tournaments and National events that are suppose to have an enforced painting requirement. I will not post armies that look mediocre simply because the owner lacks the skill or experience, as I used to be in that boat, but only armies that look bad simply because they were rushed for the tournament or obviously lazy. I hope this article ultimately encourages people to try harder.
  Today we have a janky Skaven army I had to play against at last year's Adepticon in Chicago! He uses cat toys for hellpit abominations and pocket lint for basing! -and, for the record.... the third pic is supposed to be slaves and the last pic is a warp lightning cannon I think.

Independent characters and units....

  Some people (mostly ork players) like to get Independent character rules wrong regarding joining and leaving units.
  It is common for some players to attach Ghazghkull to a unit of 30 boys... which in turn causes the entire unit to suffer from slow and purposeful. Those players often then declare that Ghazghkull is leaving the unit to trudge ahead. Let's say for instance that he moves '4. They then take the boy unit he was with and moves them up '6 and re-attaches Ghaz to them. This is not legal....
  An independent character only counts as having left a unit if he is out of coherency with it at the END of the movement phase, so he can't leave the unit and rejoin it in the same turn.
  This also means that should you join a normal infantry IC to a squad of jump troops, the jump troops may only move a max of '6 in the same turn the IC left.
  Some people also have a tendency to 'say' an IC has left a unit, but if he ends his move within '2 of another unit, he's a part of it regardless of the intentions of the controlling player.
  Anotherpoint to remember is that if you have an IC as part of a heavy weapons squad and then move him out of of the unit, the heavy weapons team still counts as having moved and so can't fire.
  These are just some things to remember, especially at tournements, where Ghaz getting across the board one turn sooner can be huge.

Chaos Dreadnoughts... worth it?

  So are chaos dreadnoughts worth it? In short, yes. Now they are. I liked them before but nevr truly thought they were worth it due to the fire frenzy. The latest FAQ has made fire frenzy advantageous, though.

  Before the last FAQ, when the dreadnought fire frenzied it shot at the closest unit it could see. It used the walker rules of pivoting in the shooting phase so it could fire all the way around itself. Now, though it's arc is only 45 degrees. This means that a dreadnought with a plasma cannon will now get two shots at the nearest unit it can see, which, if you are a reasonably competant player should only ever be the enemy. It is particularly useful if you have lash. 

  In my opinion, Lash and chaos dreads were made for each other, especially now. If you fire frenzy, great! Two plasma cannon shots at whatever I lash in front of him. If he Rages, great! I'll lash something towards him!

  at 120pts for a chaos dread with a plasma cannon and extra armour... yes please.

Did you know? Blast weapons-

  Most people I know play blast weapons incorrectly. Most people say I want to fire the missile at that unit using frag and then they measure and find that the unit is just within range so they place the template at the front of the unit. This is wrong.

  Blast templates are placed prior to ANY measuring range. You then measure and if the center of the blast is outside the range of the weapon it is an automatic miss. This also applies when using a Grek Knight heavy incinerator or a hellhound inferno cannon. You place the flame template, then measure to make sure the small end is within '12.

Armies in Dismay!

  Welcome to 'Armies in Dismay', where I post pictures of terribly painted, or unpainted armies at Grand Tournaments and National events that are suppose to have an enforced painting requirement. I will not post armies that look mediocre simply because the owner lacks the skill or experience, as I used to be in that boat, but only armies that look bad simply because they were rushed for the tournament or obviously lazy. I hope this article ultimately encourages people to try harder.

First up is Stelek's Space Wolves from NOVA open! Primed white, washed blue, and not based. Sounds like the kind of army everyone wants to play, doesn't it! ;P

Black Templars- still one of the best!

  With the release of the most recent FAQ, Black Templars have become quite the force to be reckoned with. Since their storm shields now offer a 3++ save all the time rather than the 4++ in close combat they used to, they are indeed excellent.

  The best thing, however they have to offer is army wide preferred enemy and furious charge terminators. Throw a unit of 7 and the Emporer's Champ in a crusader and you have a threat to nearly anything that moves, with 28 S5 I5 attacks re-rolling to hit and wound. Seems good, right?

  The other thing you get is all the goodies that come with an old codex, the big one's being- power of the machine spirit on Vindicators, 5 man marine squads with lasannon plasma gun, and best of all, dozer blades on your land raider. That's right. It's the one army where that rotted wood fence won't be immobilizing your land raider. Blessed hull is pretty good but too expensive for all comers lists....

  To show how nasty they can be, here is a quick army that's pretty damn good.

Emporers Champ, Accept any challenge.... (army wide preferred enemy)

7 Assault terminators, lightning claws, furious charge
-Land Raider crusader, dozer blade, smoke

7 Assault terminators, thunder hammers
-Land Raider crusader, dozer blade, smoke

5 Crusaders, lascannon, plasma gun X4

Vindicator, power of the machine spirit
Vindicator, power of the machine spirit

4 small troops to hold objectives is it's only weakness, but if your concerned about that, you can always drop a vindicator for two more Crusader squads. Thoughts?