The State of 40k!

Rob speaking,

So its been a while since my last post for Nick, life has been busy, moving house and setting up working from home. I have however still been playing 40k, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. Today I'm wanting to ask a general question, what do you think of the current state of 40k?

With all the Dataslates, Formations, Combined Arms, Detachments and Allies. It's a lot to get your head around, not including Forge World, Lords of War and Super Heavies that are regularly part of the game now.

I cast my mind back to 4^th/5^th Edition with a release every three to six months or so, nothing in between the big releases, things got a little stale, Grey Knights were all over the tournament scene and many people were wishing for quicker releases. But has today's GW release schedule got to much? The competitive player in me says yes, I'm not going to lie, I'm struggling with all the reading as I prepare for Caledoninian 2015 (the biggest 40k event in the UK currently at one hundred and eighty players sold out). I'm just about through reading the Blood Angels book now, but, in reality I'm still trying to work out the Tyranid releases and how they will play and with Necrons due out soon. Tough for the competitive player (or any player) to play an all comers list that has answers to every list in the game.

But the hobbiest and casual gamer in me says this is a super cool period for us 40k players, all these new models, new rules and formations, it's exciting. I mean, I'm looking at the Harlequin rumours, they will be released in the next four to six weeks and I'm wishing this to be true! Something the 4^th/5^th Editions players wanted, myself included. I think this also coincides with the balanced nature of all the books/releases (bar Ad Lance campaign book) which to me, is making the game very enjoyable.

I'm really enjoying the current state of 40k, I think 7^th Edition has been the most fun to date edition for me (played since 3^rd Edition, but mainly 4^th onwards) and I really enjoy the challenge of learning new Codexes and working out how to beat them with my Eldar/Inquisition force!

But what's your take?

Thoughts?

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Getting the most out of Warlord Traits!

Nick speaking,

I don't know about you, but I really think I haven't put enough thought into my Warlord traits so far in 6th Edition. I started off just randomly choosing one of the three categories in my first few games, sometimes I got a useful one, but mostly they were doing nothing. From then on, I got it into my mind that Personal Traits were the best ones for me and just stuck to using them! Now that I am more familiar with how 6th is running, I think it's time for me to really assess the Traits to make sure I am getting the most I can out of them!

First, I want to examine all the traits as a whole to find which category is generally the best one to choose. I want to be in a position where if I am pressed for time and need to quickly choose one, I know which category to run with without having to read them all. After that I am going to have a look at the traits from my specific army's point of view (Necrons, Tyranids, Space Wolves and Eldar) to see if I can find a trait category that will suit them even better.

So let's have a look at the traits and see which category is generally best...    

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Pretty good unless your army has the same leadership value all round
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Could be very useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Very useful for units that don't have it already

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
Useful, especially if you have a foot army that needs to move quickly 

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Very useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Could make a difference

Pretty much a 6/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Only good if your Warlord is defensive and stays in your deployment zone
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Only good if your Warlord is active and likes to attack in your enemies deployment zone

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
I wouldn't recommend anyone changing their army tactics last minute for this one  

4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Always good

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Always good 

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Generally very good when the mission requires scoring units 

An average 3 to 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins, of which you can see before you roll your trait 

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful, but only if you plan to flank

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Very useful, as most of us will reserve at least one thing

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Very useful, as most of us will reserve at least one thing

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced by it. Could be ok under the right circumstances

A average 3/6, but could be a solid 5/6 depending on circumstances!

So after all that, I was choosing the weakest category out of the three, with Command traits coming out on top, Strategic Traits second and my Personal Traits coming in last. Well, from a general point of view anyway! Next then, I want to have a look at the categories for my specific armies...

 NECRONS


COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Useless, as everything is leadership ten anyway
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useful

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
Useful

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Useful

A nice 5/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Useful, unless my Overlord is in a Command Barge!
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Could be useful if I had a Destroyer Lord with Wraiths charging forward!

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Maybe, but probably not 

4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

An average 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Useless, I don't flank

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

An average 3/6, but could be 4/6 depending on circumstances!

It is a close one, depending on circumstances, but the Command Traits for Necrons seems to be the best option overall.

TYRANIDS

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Useless, as you probably will be within Synapse if you are within 12" anyway
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useless, as most have it anyway

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
Most Nids have fleet anyway

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Useful

An average 3/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Maybe, although unlikely
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Furious charge on Nids is always good, unless you've purchased it already

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Nids no longer flank in protest to 6th edition


4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

An solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Nids no longer flank in protest to 6th edition

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

A solid 3/6, but could be 4/6 depending on circumstances!

Again it is close, but my original Personal Traits seem to win for the Nid as the best overall category.

SPACE WOLVES

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Useful
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useful 

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
Useful

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Useful

An amazing 6/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Useless, I have it anyway
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Could be good for a Thunderwolf based Lord

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Can't see it myself


4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

A solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Useless, I have it already

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
I don't really reserve my Wolves

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

An average 3/6 in usefulness!

It is pretty obvious that Command Traits is the way forward for the Wolves

ELDAR (Saim-Hann)

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Useless, as the JetSeer will be pushing forward out of range
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useful

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
I won't be running

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
I don't charge much with my Saim-Hann

A solid 3/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Useless, The JetSeer will not be hanging back
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Useful

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Can't see it myself


4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

A solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Useless, I won't be flanking

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

An average 3/6 in usefulness!

Nothing here that stand out as amazing, but the Personal Traits seem to have the edge over the others for quantity of usefulness

ELDAR (Footdar)

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Useful
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useful

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
Useful

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Useful

An amazing 6/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Useful
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
I doubt I will be there much

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Can't see it myself


4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

A solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful for the War Walkers

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

A solid 4/6 in usefulness!

All three are solid, but the Command Traits win easily.

ELDAR (Mechdar)

COMMAND TRAITS

1 - Friendly units within 12" of the Warlord can use his leadership
Maybe, but only after all the tanks have been destroyed
 
2 - Enemy units within 12" of the Warlord must use their lowest leadership
Useful 

3 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" have move through cover
Useful

4 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" roll an extra dice when they run and use the highest
I won't be running much

5 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" re-roll ones to hit when shooting units 3" from objectives
Useful

6 - Warlord and all friendly units within 12" add one to the charge distance result
Useful

A solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

PERSONAL TRAITS

1 - Warlord and his unit have counter attack whilst in their deployment zone
Useful if my bikes get assaulted
 
2 - Warlord and his unit have furious charge whilst in enemy deployment zone
Unlikely

3 - Warlord and the unit he joins when deployed have outflank
Can't see it myself


4 - Your army gains one victory point for each enemy character slain in a challenge
Useful

5 - Warlord and his unit gain feel no pain whilst within 3" of an objective
Useful

6 - Warlord is a scoring unit even if he is a vehicle
Useful

A solid 4/6 in usefulness! 

STRATEGIC TRAITS

1 - Your units have move through cover and stealth when using ruins
Could be useful if there are any ruins

2 - Can choose to have night fight for the first turn without rolling
Always a good option to have

3 - All flanking units have acute senses whilst your Warlord is alive
I won't be flanking

4 - Can re-roll any reserve rolls whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

5 - Enemy has a minus one modifier to their reserve roll whilst your Warlord is alive
Useful

6 - Redeploy one unit 3D6" or three units D6" of their current position within deployment zone
Sounds useful, but I am not convinced

An solid 4/6 in usefulness!

So it's neck and neck for my Mechdar, although on the face of it, I think the best traits within the categories for them are the Command Traits.

Right, well that was a lot of work, but I think it was worthwhile. I now have a very clear vision of  what trait tables I will be rolling on for each of my armies. Hopefully I will be giving myself the best chance of getting something useful, without having to think about it when it's time to choose the table at the beginning of a game.

Here is the list of my final conclusions

Necrons: Command Traits

Tyranids: Personal Traits

Space Wolves: Command Traits

Eldar (Saim-Hann): Personal Traits

Eldar (Foot and Mech): Command Traits

So what do you think? Have I missed anything? Is there something about the Strategic Traits I haven't taken into account? Am I going about this the right way? Is it worth planning like this? How do you choose your traits?

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Beating Overwatch!

Nick speaking,

In the battle report I just posted up, where I was playing my Nids against Blood Angels. I ended up in a position where I had some Genestealers and a group of Hormagaunts ready to assault some Sternguard. It was at this point in the game that an article I recently read over on Embolden40k popped into my head. His article was about Beating Overwatch as a combat army, and funnily enough he was using Genestealers and Gaunts as an example in it, almost in the same position as I was in.

The point of his tactica was to be prepared for Overwatch, and it was one of those great articles that stuck in my mind and made me think about what I was doing, a big thank you to Rob for sharing his 40k skills with us and bringing his thoughts into my own. So here I am, ready to do my assault and take advantage of what I had learnt. In Rob's example, he was using the Gaunts as the fodder unit to assault first and take the Overwatch hits, with a big brood of Genestealers making their assault move after Overwatch had been resolved on the Gaunts. The Genestealers get to assault the unit without taking any shots, as a unit can only use Overwatch once per unit

My scenario was slightly different as I only had four Genestealers left in my Brood after taking casualties from shooting and my Gaunts were twenty strong with their Scything Talons. I figured the Gaunts would do more damage in their numbers than the Genestealers, so I used the Stealers as the Overwatch Fodder group. In the end I only lost two Stealers from Overwatch and it didn't really make a difference, but if the Sternguard had got lucky and rolled a bucket load of sixes, the best he could have done was kill my almost dead group of Stealers, keeping my Hormagaunt Brood at full strength.

It's fair to say that in reality, Overwatch is nowhere near as scary as it first seemed when 6th Edition hit. I actually like the rule, as it's always nice to have something to do other than remove models in your opponents turn and brings a bit of realism to the game. Of course, if we are able to reduce Overwatch going into our key units, all the better, especially for Nids!

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Fortifications, are they worth it?

Nick speaking,

So we all know the main reason you are now able to purchase your own Fortifications for your army in 6th edition. GW just want to sell more terrain and that's fair enough, they do actually make some cool looking terrain that can easily enhance the look of our battlefields. The question is though, is it worth buying Fortifications for your army? Well, lets have a look at what is on offer and see if we can come to any conclusions...

The first and lowest cost fortification, is the Aegis Defence Line. It is only fifty points for eight pieces of Line, four short and four long sections. The Defence Line is basically a portable barricade that uses the standard barricade characteristics. So, any model in base contact and any models within 2" of them, will gain a 4+ cover save. In addition to this, any unit using the Defence line gains a 2+ cover save if they go to ground and Bikes and Jetbikes assaulting a unit using the Line will have to test for Dangerous terrain. So far, it seems to be the most used fortification that I have seen being played, and I can see why. It's cheap points wise and offers your back field units or weaker units some consistent cover, which could be very useful for those armies that don't get a 3+ armour save as standard.

You can also purchase one of three extras for the Defence Line, including two different Skyfire guns, an Icarus Lascannon for thirty five points and a Quad-gun for fifty points. Or if you don't need Skyfire, you can buy a Comms relay for twenty Points, allowing you to re-roll any reserve rolls. Overall, for just fifty points, or no more than one hundred points, the Aegis Defence line can offer a lot to an army, especially if it's lacking in some areas, like good saves, Skyfire bullets or reserve bonuses.

Next is the Skyshield Landing Pad, which is going to set your army back seventy five points. The Skyshield had two landing pad configurations which can be changed once per turn by a model in base contact with it, as long as the enemy doesn't also have a model in base contact. The configurations are Shielded, giving any units on top a 4++ save against shooting attacks, or Unfurled, where deep strikers, jetbikes and jump infantry etc. do not have to take any dangerous terrain tests for landing on in. Personally, I can't really see the point of spending the extra points on a Landing Pad over having the Aegis Defence Line, apart from maybe giving your long range backfield shooting units some height advantage.

For the same points cost as a Skyshield Pad, you can buy an Imperial Bastion for your army. The Bastion is an armour fourteen Building that comes with four different facing Heavy Bolters, as well as some fire points for any units inside to use, plus you can add any one of the same two guns that are available on the Aegis Defence Line. You can also opt for a Comms Relay if you should so desire. The Bastion also has a roof for a unit to bunker in, so Overall, it can bring a lot to an army that need to hold a decent defencive position.

The last Fortification you can buy comes in at a hefty two hundred and twenty points, The Fortress of Redemption is a set of two armour valued fourteen bunkers and a tower all joined together. One bunker comes with a Missile Silo and the other has a twin linked Skyfire Icarus Lascannon. You are then able to upgrade the Missile Silo to also have a choice of firing a strength eight Krakstorm Missile instead of shooting the strength four Fragstorm, for thirty points. Ten points will buy you four Heavy Bolters, which does seem like a bargain, but with all the extras this Fortress is going to set you back a total of two hundred and sixty points! The Fortress is expensive, but then again it does offer a big area of defencive barricades, with some nice long range fire power.

For me, the best two pieces are the Defence Line and the Bastion. I plan on getting myself a Defence Line at some point, as I think both my Eldar and Nids could make use of it without it being too expensive, points wise. The Bastion is just a bit over the top for me, plus it's not exactly cheap a model to buy, money wise. The Landing pad is interesting, but it seems a bit like something and nothing to me! So what do you make of Fortifications?

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Giving your IC a chance to stay alive!

Nick speaking,

The other day when I was playing a game with my Eldar, I came across something that I have never really thought about before, a way to give your independent character a chance to stay alive, and this is how I came across it...

I was playing an Annihilation mission with my mech Eldar, I had a full unit of Banshees and a Farseer in a Wave Serpent mid-table, backed up by other tanks. Farseer does the usual trick and fortunes the Banshees so they can get out and assault a doomed unit, with the Farseer staying in the Wave Serpent. Banshees do the business in the assault and gradually die over the next turn or so.

Meanwhile, the Farseer's Serpent gets assaulted and destroyed in one of my opponents turns leaving him stranded in the wreckage, ready to give up a kill point! In my turn, I see that I have a Falcon nearby, with five Dire Avengers embarked on it, Farseer moves to the Falcon and embarks, saving his life, and letting me continue to use his powers the rest of the game.

It then struck me that if I had filled up the Falcon with six Dire Avengers, my Farseer would not have been able to embark, and probably would have died the next turn potentially costing me the game! It may not happen very often, but having that chance to save the Farseer has opened a new tactic for me. If you are running a mech army, try not to fill the tank up to full capacity in case you need to rescue an IC!

Maybe this is a tried and tested tactic that everybody knows about already? Maybe it's a useless tactic, as it isn't going to happen very often? Or maybe it's a gem, that is well worth considering, so I thought I would share it with you, just in case, like me, you hadn't thought of it either!

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Horde Blood Angels?

Nick speaking,

The Tyranid Stinger Hormagaunts come on from reserve looking for the rest of the broods. As they enter play they realise something must have gone wrong! All they can see is a massive horde of Blood Angels fronted by Mephiston! Of course they have no choice but to CHARGE!!!!

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