The Quest for Foam

One of the disadvantages of having the best weather in the world is inability to get good insulation foam. I have been practically told that I am insane when I have asked for it at Home Depot or other home improvement places.

I have only found it successfully at one place but the price seemed sorta high and it was pretty thick.

BUT there is some hope. After posting on BoLS' new form I was pointed to these guys:
http://www.bobsfoam.com/ and I think I might drop em an email for pricing today. In the past I had heard of them before but was told that it burnt down. Luckily it seems to be safe and still in business.

Mecha-Nids

The coolest part of the 40k hobby for me is seeing what other people are doing. The new MechaNid pics from BoLScon are just awesome and I am just blown away by every picture I see. I have seen a couple here and there but if anyone sees anything else or if this dude has a blog let me know so that I can give more credit where credit is do.

Idea for GW/ForgeWorld

Now I know there is no way anyone at these companies will read this but I figured I would post it.

Why doesn't ForgeWorld do a Miniature series of all the Primarchs?

It really makes sense especially with how much they have flushed out the world with the Horus Heresy books. There would be tons of business for this and it would be awesome to see some great Primarch Daemon Princes and Primarchs in Terminator armor.

The Mini in the pic is from: HERE an awesome collection of insanely painted minis.

Sisters or CSMs

I think I am going to have to go with my girls, between the 2 lists that I am throwing around. I know that CSMs are the Uber and the lash can be really brutal but the girls have some great options at 1k. 3 Rhinos pack with girls with flamers and meltas is really kick ass and the Exorcist in the back field bring some justice is hard to beat. I dont think I have to worry about low model count armies but I will have to worry about hordes for sure. But hopefully the flamers and tanks will protect my girls. I just wish I could find a way to squeeze in a Callidus since that could be devestating at low points.

Dont know if I will be able to do the tourney and I sorta doubt it but at least I can make believe :).

CSM 1K list

Thinking about the 1k Tourney got me pondering a CSM list and what would be the most nasty list to throw out there.

HQ: 2 CSM Sorcerers with Lash

Troops: 2/6 man CSM squads with Melta in Rhino with Combi-Meltas

Elite: 1 Chosen 5 Man Squad in Rhino with 3 Meltas and 1 Flamer

Heavy: 2/2Obliterator Squads

Run the Sorcerers with the CSM rhinos and use the lash to create targets for the Oblits. Then have the Chosen as the finisher.

Don't know if it has enough units in it and might get overrunned by hordes but it might be cool.

Revised Sisters 1k list

After pondering who my opponents might be in a 1k tourney I decided to revise my list.

New List
Canoness with Celes Retinue in Immolator EA with TLHvy Flam. 1 Hvy Flamer and 1 melta in Retinue and an Enviserator/Bolt Pistol/Book for Canoness

3 Rhinos EA/Smoke with Girls 1 Vet Sup with Bolter 1 Hvy Flamer 1 Melta

1 Exorcist EA

Rounds out perfectly to 1k and should be a pretty good list. I know it could handle those evil Lash DP or Nob Biker list maybe, but would get it handed it it by IG I fear.

Btw: That pic is for you Dan to get you all hot and bothered in your Male only work environment.

Inquisitors

This is the part of the Inquisition Codexs that makes me sad.

After reading the Eisenhorn books, Emperor's Mercy and starting in on the Ravenor books, I have to say they need to make Inquisitors effective ICs. I have been liking them quite a bit in my army for the Psychic hood but why do their units have to blow so severely. The Acolyte, Penitent, Warrior and especially the Sage are just weaksauce in the extreme. The Acolyte is supposed to be an Inquisitor in training and he does nothing but take a shot for his boss or try some random fruitiness with a Mancatcher. The Penitent has a great save but come on lets throw in some abilities that you can buy. Having Distaff Penitents would be awesome. The Warrior is just paltry. In the books these dudes dominate even CSMs, they should at least have different archetypes like sniper, CCers(Deathcult Assassins), and Vet Guard(Marbo). The Sage is really the worst. What does having a Sage have to do with your BS? They should at least give an Inquisitor access to some new abilities or something.

Granted, I did like having an Inquisitor in a Land Raider for my last 1850 game even though it was insanely expensive and the Hood was awesome for me. But man they need to bring them in line with other ICs and the ass kicking we all know they should be doing.

Units of Suckage

Thinking more about changes that would be cool for Witchhunters in a new Codex and I started thinking about units that just suck in the Codex. I know everyone has some stinkers but these are a special breed.

The Acro-Flagellants: First off this unit is an awesome mini and has great character in the game. On many levels I think it is very cool and it was one of the first miniatures I grabbed when making an army. I loved painting him and have even been thinking of throwing them in some Simple Green so that I can do them again because my skills have improved over the 2 years.

But: These units are ultra expensive and just end up falling flat when I field them. The D6 rolls can be cool but killing your own units that cost as much as a CSM terminator is not. The cost is outta hand for these; 35 points and it really needs to be brought into line with the newer codexs.

To fix this unit: If you want to give them random death they should at least cost the same a Possessed CSM at 26 points. That still is pretty high since they can easily kill themselves but at that level I might think of throwing them in for character.

Also why is a Priest needed? When I have encountered these in the Black Library books the Inquisitors seem to have access to these with out a priest. The Priest is an ok unit but sorta sucks when mixed with Sisters due to the Holy Rage stuff.

Needless to say I love this model and love the lore behind it. I would really like find a way to field it competitively and hopefully it will be addressed in a new codex. I would also love to see what GW mini sculptors would do with this piece in a new model.

What would I want in a new Codex for Witchhunters

I have been thinking about this recently since I have been playing Sisters again and have some more experience with one of the new generation Codexs (CSMs). So this got me thinking about what would be cool for a new WitchHunters Codex.

Sisters are not a crippled army in 5th edition. Of course there are some costs imbalances and such but they are not unplayable. There are a couple things though that are needed for them and that I would love to see in a new Codex.

New Acts of Faith: I would keep the system even though you are limited by the number of faith points but I think its fun in a way. The one act that could be cool is granting "Blessed Ammo" to the squad. Other than that I think the mechanics are pretty cool. I could also see having an Act that grants Eternal Warrior an IC for a turn just so your Canoness cant get one shotted.

Unit costs: Overall they aren't bad now. Maybe bring the Rhinos in line with the SM and CSM rhinos so make them cost 35. Also maybe bring down the costs of meltas, storm bolters and flamers in line with the SM costs just cause they are pretty pricey. The Repentia's and Penitents could use some cost adjustments as well since right now they are pretty much worthless. Actually those units IMHO need complete rewrites or should be tossed out the airlock.

New HQs: I would love to see new named IC's for the Sisters. Why not have a named Sister that is the master of Seraphim and makes your Seraphims troops or something. Or a Living Saint that allows you to add in Fanatics to your troop list for next to nothing. I could see some awesome possibilities there that could be really cool. There are also some great opportunities that they could do with Inquisitors but they are too many to get into here.

Fast Attackers: Seraphim are pretty cool how they are done today and I don't know if they need many changes. Dominions for sure need some help. Why not make them Outflankers., There are tons of units out there that can outflank and I cant see why they cant not be the Sister's Chosen.

Troops: I really dont see too many problems for Sisters. Of course the Rhino costs need to be adjusted but they are pretty cool right now and have some great abilities. Inquistor Stormtroopers on the other hand seem worthless to me. Why would you get them when you can get a Sister for 1 more point and she has a Bolter and Power Armor. The only reason that I can think of is to use a smaller Stormtrooper squad to throw into an Immolator and then make it a scoring unit.

Elites: Celestines should have the ability to get Blessed Ammo for all their guns. They should be the Sister's Sternguard. It makes total sense and they should also have more than 2 special weapons. They arent a scoring unit and are supposed to be the Uber Sisters. Assassins I wouldnt change much except maybe give them some sorta frag grenade just so that they can charge guys in cover. Repentia's are the unit that really needs help. I don't really know what you could do for these girls except maybe cut down the costs and let them spend faith points. That way they would be a lot more brutal and would have some numbers to absorb all the fire

Heavies: Reducing the costs on Retributors would make them way cooler. Having the MMeltas cost 25 and Hvy Bolters cost 15 just blows. They are not a cost effective unit compared to an Exorcist at all. Immolators are sort of a lame Hvy choice but I have seen some crazy list Spamming with Immolators so I could see how they can be pretty sick. For the Exorcists I think they got it dead on and would hate to see it nerfed. I think they should make the missiles "blessed" to deny cover but all my friends would really hate them even more.

I know its a pipedream these days but I would love to see an Inquistion Codex with all three Ordos combined. It would be pretty awesome to see all the Orders Militant completely modelled out and I think would bring a lot of people to a very underused army.

Sisters HQ

Been thinking a lot about how to configure my Canoness,

The 2 options that I am thinking about are the Flying Nun or the Immolator Canoness .

The Flying Nun: She can be pretty awesome but you gotta run some Seraphim with her to give her some support. For 151 points you can give her a Jump Pack, Blessed Weapon, Inferno Pistol, Frag grenades, the Cloak (2+armor),

Mantle(insta death saver) and a Book(morale saver). She can be pretty effective at blowing up tanks and hitting weaker units. I think she needs a Seraphim squad to help screen her advance before she goes off hunting but I guess you could run her solo if needed. She is one of my favorite units and I like to use her a lot. I gotta post a pic of my custom mini that I put together and its one of my favorites

Immolator Cannoness: I have been running this recently and really like it. I threw an Canoness into an Immolator with a Celestine Retinue. Outfit her with an Eviscerator, Book and Plasma Pistol for 90 points and give the Retinue a Hvy Flamer, Melta and a vet superior with a Eviscerator. I also put the TL MultiMelta on the Immolator just to add in a little extra Firepower. Its a nice little unit and can be pretty tough. Since the size is small you can make all your saves invulnerable pretty easily and with 2 Eviserators dish out some damage. I especially like having the 3+ to hit with the Celestines on the CC.

I would love to get some input if anyone catches a glimpse of this post and hear what works for other players. There are not too many Sisters players in my area so hearing any new ideas or opinions really helps. I am starting to think that the Girls are pretty competitive in 5th edition and are a stronger mechanized army than people think.

1000 points Sisters

There is an upcoming Tourney at Game Kastle for 1000 points and I am starting to ponder what I would field for my girls. I think at the lower numbers Sisters are pretty effective since they can put out a lot of bolter fire and have some great heavy weapons. Unfortunatley I wont be able to make the tourney but I might be able to help buds out with practice games.

Here is the list

Canoness with Blessed Weapon Book and Bolt Pistol and a Celestine Retinue Melta/MMelta in an Immolator with EA/Smoke and TL Heavy Flamer

3 Battle Sisters Squads on Foot with 1 melta and 1 flamer

1 Retributor Sister Squad with 2 Hvy Bolters and an Immolator with a MMelta EA/Smoke

1 Exorcist

I wonder if 1 Exorcist is enough since it isnt too much Firepower but I think it will have to do, That Retributor squad might be a wee bit expensive but having 2 immolators might be nice.

Started Ravenor

Started in on Ravenor for the last couple nights. I haven't had a chance to fully dive in yet so I have just scratched the surface. Hopefully tonight I can get a chance to really get plowing into the book. My only worry is that I might be getting close to a little bit of Black Library burn out. I should probably take a Black Library break after I finish this one and read some new books just so that I avoid a complete burn out.

Sisters Night out

Here are my girls fighting off the Hand of DOOM.

This was my third game of the night. After 2 games against CSMs I got to do another go against Ryan's Seer council. I think I am starting to get the handle on them and now understand how they work. For me that always takes a couple games to understand a new unit and know how to handle it. I think the saying "You can only hope to contain them" is true with the Seer Council" and if you can survive a charge, a unit can hold them down for a long time. It was alsoan interesting night since the CSMs I played were my own minis being played by someone else. After some aggressive arm twisting by himself I suspect that we may have another CSM player now in our group. I always love the logic of "If I don't spend the $300 right now on these mini's, I will only have to spend it later." I have talked myself into many questionable purchases with that logic in my time so who am I to judge.

Overall the night was typical for Sisters. Exorcists did really well and I am starting to think they are potentially the best tank buster in the game. D6 AP1 STR 8 shots is just devastating for Eldar and most Imperium tanks and if you are rolling well can just be crushing. But the rest of my army as usual had some problems. The Battle Squads did OK and got some good kills but I only had 3 squads which isnt enough. Another surprise for the night was that my Immolator really earned her spot in my list that night. With the TwinLinked Multimelta she killed a good number of tanks and really put out some good damage. She was able to roll around under the radar since people generally shot at my Land Raider or Exorcists all night. The Callidus Assassin did earn her points back in the first 2 games by killing Obliterator squads but she chundered in the 3rd game by getting whipped by Pathfinders. If they ever redo the Inquisition Codexes I really hope that at least they give Assassins Frag Grenades or something so that they can charge into cover.

Fun night as always and hopefully the trend continues of getting in regular games.

Is this dude an ORK ?

The first time I heard someone speaking like this I was in London and it was pretty awesome. I love the Cockney Slang and even though it sounds a little crazy to the American ear and this guy's videos are a little disturbing I think its really cool. I would hate to see Linguistic styles like this disappear and my California Hollywood English take over the world.

But this has gotta be Ork or maybe the hive gang guys from Vervunhive in the Gaunt books.

Finished up Emperor's Mercy

Just finished Emperor's Mercy last night and have to say it was a little below average.

The overall story arc was pretty cool and I liked how he thought through the battle scenes and such. But the characters felt really flat and sort of fell short for me. I hate to say it but the female characters were written really poorly, especially Celemine. He needed to provide a lot more depth there and he really provided no push for motivation or depth of character. How many times do you gotta hear about the beautiful, powerful, kick ass woman that really has no motivation or reason for being there besides to say she is hot and kicks ass.

Also the main character Roth starts out strong then really doesn't make much progress. It is Henry Zou's first novel and he for sure did a better job than I could but I think I will pass on his next stuff. There is just so much better Sci-fi out there right now to read.

Inquistion/Sisters List for Friday Take 2

I decided to roll in the Callidus since she is super cool. I know she won't be too brutal with everyone being in tanks these days but maybe she can have some fun with stuff the Exorcists has popped out.

HQ: Canoness (7#, 289 Pts)

Book of St. Lucius; Frag Grenades; Bolt Pistol (x1); Blessed Weapon

1 Blessed Weapon

4 Celestian Retinue

Bolter (x2); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer

1 Immolator @ [85] Pts

Twin Linked MultiMelta

1 Veteran Sister Superior

Bolt Pistol (x1); Eviscerator

HQ: Inquisitor Lord (5#, 378 Pts)

Psychic Hood; Close Combat Weapon (x1); Plasma Pistol (x1); Mount in Land Raider

1 Land Raider

Power of the Machine Spirit; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Twin Linked Lascannon; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Warrior

Gun Servitor; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Heavy Bolter (x1); Targeter

1 Penitent

Close Combat Weapon

1 Penitent

Close Combat Weapon

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino @ [58] Pts

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [40] Pts

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [40] Pts

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [40] Pts

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 135 Pts)

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 135 Pts)

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 135 Pts)

Elite: Assassin Operative (1#, 120 Pts)

Callidus Assassin; C'tan Phase Sword; Neural Shredder; Poison Blades; Polymorphine; A Word in Your Ear; Jump Back

Total Roster Cost: 1849

Inquistion/Sisters List for Friday

Getting ready for another little 1850 battle night and I am thinking of rolling out a little Sister's action and in honor of all the books I have been reading I want to bring an Inquisitor to the party.

Here is the list I am thinking of:

HQ: Canoness (7#, 297 Pts)

1 Canoness

Book of St. Lucius; Frag Grenades; Bolt Pistol (x1); Blessed Weapon; Add Celestian Retinue

1 Blessed Weapon @ [30] Pts

4 Celestian Retinue @ [215] Pts

Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer

1 Immolator @ [93] Pts

Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked MultiMelta

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [48] Pts

Bolt Pistol (x1); Eviscerator

HQ: Inquisitor Lord (5#, 373 Pts)

1 Inquisitor Lord

Psychic Hood; Close Combat Weapon (x1); Plasma Pistol (x1); Mount in Land Raider

1 Land Raider @ [258] Pts

Power of the Machine Spirit; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Twin Linked Lascannon; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Penitent

1 Penitent

1 Warrior

Veteran Guardsman; Targeter; Plasmagun (x1)

Troops: Inquisitorial Stormtroopers (6#, 106 Pts)

5 Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

Frag Grenades; Targeter; Plasmagun (x2)

1 Veteran Stormtrooper @ [36] Pts

Frag Grenade (Squad); Close Combat Weapon (x1); Plasma Pistol (x1)

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

9 Battle Sisters Squad

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino @ [58] Pts

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [40] Pts

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

9 Battle Sisters Squad

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino @ [58] Pts

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior @ [40] Pts

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Troops: Battle Sisters Squad (11#, 219 Pts)

9 Battle Sisters Squad

Bolter (x7); Meltagun (x1); Heavy Flamer; Mount in Rhino

1 Rhino @ [58] Pts

Storm Bolter; Extra Armor; Smoke Launchers

1 Veteran Sister Superior

Book of St. Lucius; Bolt Pistol (x1); Combi-Flamer

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 138 Pts) Smoke Launchers

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 138 Pts) Smoke Launchers

Heavy Support: Exorcist (1#, 138 Pts)Smoke Launchers

Total Roster Cost: 1847

I have some concerns about this list. Only 3 Battle Sister Squads but the Storm Troopers are a scoring unit and I figure a LR sitting on an objective isn't bad. Some of my friends would have a heart attacks over how many KP this list is but its how Sister's roll. Also I wouldn't mind getting a Callidus in there just for fun but I would have to drop an Exorcist for that which could really hurt me. The big fear I have with this list is the general uberness of CSM/Space Marines just rocking my poor girls or Orks just dominating me with numbers and bikes. I think this list could definitely outshoot any other army and with a little luck take out any armor.

Regardless it should be fun and will be way different than the CSMs I have been rolling with. Hopefully "The Emperor Protects" and my girls win the day.

Finished Legion and on to some Inquistion books

I really enjoyed Legion. What I have come to expect from Abnett; it was a fun, fast and a great read. The best part about Dan Abnett's books is that he consistantly adds to the 40k universe in ways that makes you want to play more. Every book that I have read has made me want to build an army to go along with it, even though I can't afford it right now. I have seriously thought about building up an IG, Iron Snakes and now Alpha Legion army just to go along with the books. Luckily I already had an Inquistion army or I would of thought to build those as well.

Great book but I wouldn't call it my favorite Abnett book. In no means is that a put down its just that some of the others are really good. My only disappointment was that I thought the ending sort of cut off pretty abruptly and I would of like to have seen more ends wrapped up. I know its moving forward with the Horus Heresy books and maybe he will return to the Legion but it would be cool for more closure.

I was able to pick up the Ravenor Omnibus this weekend as well as Emperor's Mercy from Henry Zou. I started Emperor's Mercy first because I want to try out a new author and I am excited that its about Ordo Hereticus, finally the order that I have minis for :).

The Ravenor one looks really great and I can't wait to dive in. I think Emperor's Mercy will go fast so I should be plowing through that one soon.

40k as a gateway to great Sci-fi

I bet a lot of people that play 40k and are into the universe read a lot of Sci-fi already but I figured I would write up a little guide to some good sci-fi books from the perspective of Warhammer 40k. I have been a pretty avid reader of Science Fiction books for almost 20 years and can hopefully steer some new readers into some good directions just so that they can avoid some of the general CRAP that I have suffered through that afflicts the general SCI FI book population.

Top Books:

Dune series of books from Frank Herbert: These are perhaps some of the best Science Fiction books ever written and the 40k universe borrows heavily from them. Both take a long epic perspective to time, the human race and explore thoroughly the destructiveness of our own nature. I would completely avoid the books written by his son and Kevin J. Anderson because they are horrible. I pretty much read them all except the last 2 because I am such a huge fan of the original series but I hate to say it that they are complete crap. It’s hard to imagine that something could diminish original work but these books do since they weave in horrible plot lines and excuses into the original books. The first Dune book should be required reading for anyone even remotely interested in SCI-FI and I can't recommend it enough.

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card: The first and second Ender's Games books plus the Bean books are great reads. Orson Scott Card is a great writer who in a lot of ways predicted technology and social trends that we take for granted today (like blogging). The books are quick reads and he has a great grasp for multi cultural relationships. I am a little fearful of the movie that is supposedly in production since the mass market has seemed to think of these books as the Harry Potter of Science Fiction. That could be disastrous if they tried to push it in that direction and really ruin some of the overall themes in the books.

The Uplift Novels by David Brin: The 2nd and 3rd book in this series is fantastic. Startide Rising and the The Uplift War both give a really cool perspective on how humanity would deal with a completely hostile universe. Personally I found the idea of uplifting animals to be pretty interesting but I could see how some people could feel that it’s sorta cartoonish. The overall cool theme is very similar to 40k in that; Humans can be extremely hostile and violent if they feel threatened, and if we do explode upon the universe we could be an extreme threat to most sentient life out there. It is a bummer that David Brin has sorta left this universe and isn't writing these books anymore. Also the second Uplift Trilogy is OK and does sorta suck since it got really sentimental and pretty cheesy with the children in it. I would of rather he went more the Military Sci-fi route than how he did in those books.

A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge: These are really cool books and have some great perspectives on possible Xeno civilizations and cultures. I really enjoyed both of them quite a bit and can’t say enough positive about Vernor Vinge. The Eisenhorn books really reminded me of these books for some reason and these are both super fast and entertaining reads. I really hope that Vernor Vinge goes back to this universe and also think these could make a great series on T.V. if someone had the guts to really stick to the books.

Just so that I don’t end up writing an epic post I am gonna cut it off here. I will try and post up some more info on authors that I think would be cool to check out like China Melville, George R.R. Martin, Alistair Reynolds, John Scalzi, David Simmons, Peter Hamilton, Isaac Asimov and Octavia Butler. Also please leave comments if there are some other books that you think might lend well for 40k players or if you disagree/agree with my suggestions.