Allies of Inconvenience- Episode 24: Blood of Baal and Ritual of the Damned

Join us this month and Evan, Chris and Jason discuss their recent hobby progress and games played and then launch into reviews of the most recent Psychic Awakening Books- Blood of Baal and Ritual of the Damned- all containing 4 factions that we all collectively play!

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00:00 Intro
01:52 Hobby Progress & Games Played
32:32 Blood of Baal Review
1:05:42 Ritual of the Damned Dark Angel Discussion
1:25:24 Ritual of the Damned Grey Knights Discussion

Songs and Soundclips
Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag
Kaap mere- Bugotak
Clip 1- Newline Cinema The Hobbit
Clip 2- Warhammer TV Pointy Aelves
Clip 3- Warhammer TV Ritual of the Damned
Clip 4- The Lord Inquisitor Grey Knight Teaser by Warpgazer/Erasmus Brosdau

GW Meet the Studio Q&A Session at NOVA 2019

This last weekend I managed to get to the NOVA Open for one day. In the past I've gone for the whole experience, but just couldn't squeeze it in this year. So instead I picked one event, the Adeptus Titanicus Princeps Formal, went for the Vendors (read- Toledo Game Room) and played a few fun games. And then for $5 I was able to register for what was an interesting two hours... I'll talk about the AT games another time, but I want to delve into those two hours I and a handful of others spent doing a Q&A with Pete Foley (GW Studio Manager) and Robbin Cruddace (GW 40k lead and 8th Edition Author).

I didn't take notes (wish I had, but I didn't know this was going to be Q&A going into it so I had nothing to write with) so this will be very much stream of conscious and just based on memory, no particular order.

First, I ask specifically about Forge World and Death Korps of Krieg specifically, indices and warhammer legends and if we are going to see all the index move to WL or with FW coming into the fold are we going to see a codex, or are we going to see the same Imperial armour format of the past.

They said that the FW indices will continue to be useable for the foreseeable future and not going to legends. They are not sure yet (or not ready to reveal) how they are going to fully integrate the FW stuff and particularly DKK, since they are a full range and popular, but they are working on it and want to keep them in the main game.

Building on that, I asked if they will be moving the datasheets currently in errata documents that are only Power Level, such as the Tallarn Mukalli, to Warhammer Legends. Pete basically said yes in that he had me clarify I meant the units in the errata and that they are aware that even if units can't be used competitively that people want points for them.

Someone followed this up with a question about missing characters. They asked for an example and Chaplain Xavier of the Salamanders was given. It seemed they hadn't thought about that but they liked the idea.

Pete Foley said very specifically that there is a 40k App coming. He felt bad that he announced it two and a half years ago at the first community preview at Adepticon when they announced 8th (which I was at too). Basically he/they just weren't aware how hard it is to make an app and how long it takes. The app is apparently decently far along and looking amazing, but there is no current timeline for when it will release, but he said it will be awesome once here.

There was discussion about how they do playtesting now, and how it is more comprehensive than ever, and how sometimes it can make participating in events awkward. Apparently it was very difficult for them to relearn 7th after they had been playing numerous iterations of 8th during the Adepticon Team Tournament before 8th released, and numerous mistakes like premeasuring in 7th, were made.

I asked about model design and why there had been a shift to mutlipart kits cut in such a way that each model was essentially single posed. I said I loved how detailed they were and how they hid the mold lines, but miss the customizable approach of older kits. Pete said that they are experimenting on finding that happy medium, they are aware of how it swung a little too far to the "single pose" and never kits are getting better about that. I also gave an idea about future Primaris Intercessor upgrade kits having chapter specific Shin bits. Old SMs had so many cool shin designs towards the end, and new primaris have nothing, despite the shin being a separate bit for the unit.

Someone asked if the priority/double turn system from AoS would ever come into 40k. The answer was essentially a big NO. They said they have experimented with it, but beyond it being controversial in AoS STILL, it is a cornerstone mechanic of that game, and bringing it into 40k just makes 40k feel like AoS, so it will never be implemented just to keep that comfortable separation if nothing else. This was all part of a larger discussion on game design and if Robbin ever plays/takes mechanic ideas from games outside of GW. Basically they then discussed how they do learn from what is and isn't popular, how small and tight the Nottingham wargames community is, and how they are sure that other companies are definitely learning from them, so why should they not do the same.

At one point I think there was a slip up on their part and they mentioned Tau are coming next year, so be on the look out for that.

With that, it was asked to Robbin why Tau Commanders are still 0-1 per detachment. They gave reason for why they first did it (unlike other characters that buff units, they buffed units AND were AMAZING at shooting). They acknowledged this was a decision made pre-rule of 3, but then doubled down on the fact that it supports the fluff more this way and didn't think there was a problem with the current restriction still being in place. However, if people really want commanders to come back, they just need to see that demand. This whole thing is what lead to "The Eight" being made for matched play, basically allowing people to once again field numerous shooty Tau characters.

The system for how they are doing sisters (previewing models, doing a beta codex, etc. etc.) is a test. They currently have no plans to do this for other future releases, but if Sisters turns out to be one of the biggest releases ever, then there is a chance this could become the way more releases are done in the future.

When looking at nerfing things like the Castellan, they really do try and look at what impact that will have on the meta and what will be coming back. Specifically with the Castellan then were aware how essentially one model removed and entire set of models from the game--- Vehicles. Latest example is now the Calladius.

I asked if we could possibly get blank template copies of "datasheets" for alot of their little games, like Gorechosen, silver tower. etc etc, so we could keep the games going after they are discontinues. Pete seemed to like this idea.

For the most part, model design precedes everything else in the process of making a new unit. There will be high level ideas for the studio to work with, particularly when creating a new faction (EG the new bonereapeers for AoS), then they make models, then rules and story. Rarely does it go the other way (Severina Raine was on example of the other way. Story came first then they decided to do a model.)

The reason they now own up to all their leaks is kinda twofold
1- They studio has a lot more control over the process under Rountree than they did under Kirby.
2- They can control the message. People shouldn' t learn of a new blurry Magnus online from a 3rd party where GW can't completely control that message and what the fans are seeing.

One person asked about getting more Asian representation into AoS to Pete, saying he loved Cathay and Nippon in the old world and Scars in 40k.

Pete has seen what the Art Department is cooking up for the Eisenhorn TV show that they have in the works. All concept level right now. For the Amazon Middle Earth/Lord of the Rings TV series, there are still lots of discussions between lawyers as to who has the license and if GW is part of this new deal or not.

Last question I asked was what to get at Bugman's at WHW. Pete said a burger. Robbin said The English Breakfast.

That's all I remember for now. If I remember more I will come back and add some to this post.

Allies of Inconvenience BONUS: 2019 Roadshow Special Part 2- 8th Edition Things to Come

Join Chris and I as we journey to Adepticon in part two of our Road Show special, where we cover some Blood Angels lore and talk about what we hope to see or believe needs to be released moving forward with 8th Edition 40k.

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Songs and Soundclips
Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag

Allies of Inconvenience: Episode 17- Assassins and Soup

First episode of 2019! We start off as usual with hobby progress (to include some talk about the Lucius Pattern Drop Pod and Coastal Wargaming Group!) For our first segment, we heavily talk about the upcoming White Dwarf Assassin release and how we see them being employed by the savvy Imperial General. Our second segment we discuss what the difference between "Allies" and "Soup" is before closing off with some discussion of... a less than spectacular Forge World model.

And apologies for the Audio Quality this time. We were in a rush.

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00:00 Intro
01:52 Hobby Progress
19:32 Imperial Assassins Release
52:16 What is Soup?
1:12:05 Bonus Forgeworld Review...

Songs and Soundclips
Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag
Kaap mere- Bugotak
Clip 1- Warhammer TV
Clip 2- Thor Ragnarok
Clip 3- Code Ment

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 4- LoW, Dedicated Transport and Closing Thoughts

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Four below goes into the Lord of War and Dedicated Transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Two covered Fast Attacks. Part Three discussed the Heavy Support Choices.

Coronus Grav-Carrier

Well for starters, it is better than the Land Raider for what it does (Deliver infantry to the enemy lines), though not as tough. But you don’t need it to be as tough (besides it has that 2” buffer from Gravitic Backwash). You need it to live into turn 2 or 3 and deliver its cargo. And this transport can and will do that.

What makes it better?  Simple the fact it is cheaper and faster. Sure the Land Raider is still by far deadlier. But the point of these vehicles is to transport something even deadlier inside. And seeing how the Coronus can transport that unit faster, and isn’t as large of a points sink, it just strikes me as being the better of the two options for this job.

To me the obvious choices to transport are Pythirite Spears or Wardens. Terminators as well if you couldn’t (or didn’t want to) deep strike the. IMO Allarus actually, seeing as Aquilon with Firepikes are Deep Striking gods of gold now.

The weapon is the same lackluster and non-sensical Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon found on the Pallas. Really really  falling short of the dual Twin-Las of the Godhammer, and as I said in Part 2, the Burst mode really should be Heavy 12 or more. The lack of firepower causes some hesitation for me to taking one.

However, what really stops me from taking one is I just don’t think it is needed. Custodes work very much like a Hammer and Anvil IMO. Jetbikes, Grav Tanks, Jump Infantry and Deep Striking are all HAMMERS. The rest of the list is an Anvil. All a Coronus does is make your Anvil mobile. And if you really need to do that, you could with deep striking and spend your precious points on something far more lethal.

Orion Assault Dropship

Probably one of the Toughest Flyers in the game. Really a solid choice, but something you very carefully have to consider taking and have a plan how to use it, and importantly, how to use your army when it dies.

Must better than the Land Raider for what it does. For one, it has some okay firepower (though 2 Caladius would still be more for a little less points). The Blaze cannon is strong, but capping at 3 damage really limits it. It really should be 2d3 or d6 IMO.

This is also amazingly fast. The problem there being you will quickly outrun all your support characters, so just be ready to deal with rolling snake eyes on the To Hit of the blaze cannons, as well sacrificing transport space for a few characters to join your embarked assault force.

The ability to transport a Dreadnought is really nice, and makes the standard contemptor much more viable IMO. Other candidates for transport are the same as I mentioned above for the Coronus, plus a shield captain or Trajann and/or Vexilla of some sort. If you aren’t bringing a Dreadnought inside the Orion, I would highly recommend filling three of the spots with a basic troop squad. This allows you to deliver an assault force that can continue to me mobile, while leaving behind a tough as nails troop squad to hold what ever objective you storm.

But just like the Coronus, I’m not convinced on this big boy. I mean, it is super fluff and you should take it if you want to. Not a bad move. BUT It is 448 points. That is nearly ¼ of a 2k army. And in a small model count army, that really REALLY eats into your body count and ability to have board control. It is the reason why the land raider was balked at when the codex dropped. It is just wicked expensive. And on top of that, you are likely putting another 300-500 points inside of it. You are easily end up with over half your army in one drop. So sure, that can help you go first but… if you get seized on, there are armies that can take this down in a turn. And even if you don’t get seized on, don’t be surprised if this big scary monster that cannot hide and everything will have LOS too gets shot by literally every unit in your opponent’s army until it is dead. And that is another downside to its cost. If you lose it early on in your game, that is ¼ of your army gone in one blow. And with its low damage weaponry, it is likely it will not ever earn its points back in lethality. You have to just hope the act of being a taxi was worth it.

Furthermore, just like the Coronus, it is really for transporting around Anvils when you already have plenty of hammers you can swing. It just isn’t NEEDED in the army. There are many more optimal choices, both in and out of the codex.

Closing Thoughts on the Beta

Overall I am quite happy with the second Custodes beta. Only disappointment not mentioned is that there was one close combat dread in the previous beta that did not make this one. Would have been nice to see another new model drop. But such is life.

"Don't listed to her, she gives bad advice."

The biggest winners of this Beta are the Caladius w/ Accelerator Cannon, Aquilon Terminators w/ Firepikes and Solerite Guantlets, Achillus Dreadnought and finally Agamatus Custodes w/ Las-Pulsers. Solid choices all of them, and they all have their place in the Army and do their prescribed job well.

Pretty much everything else is decent (still Custodes afterall) but just not optimal. If you are playing garagehammer or wanting to bring the boys in gold but no jetbikes, this new Beta really does a great job providing new options and some depth to an otherwise limited codex army.


That is it for part four! Tell us what you think in the comments below and make sure to check out all our Custodes content.

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 3- The Heavy Support

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Three below will discuss the Heavy Support Choices.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Two covered Fast Attacks. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Caladius Grav Tank

This is another great choice in the Beta IMO. Last time I did a lot of comparison of it to the Pallas Grav-Attack, and really it just out shines the Pallas in every way. Yes it is twice the points, but it outshines TWO Pallas at the same points cost. It has one more T,  nearly double the range with the Accelerator Cannon, more firepower at a higher quality, and degrades at essentially the same point you would lose one complete Pallas (7 T7 wounds vice 8 T6 wounds).

To me the no brainer load out is the Twin Iliastus Accelerator Cannon. Its like a better battle cannon. Add to this its suped up Twin Heavy Bolter (Twin Lastrum Bolt Cannon), and you have a solid support platform. Power of the Machine Spirit means this can stay mobile and be useful, running it in support of jetbikes. Alternatively, with its range it can sit back near an objective with a foot captain nearby and maybe some Sagittarum or a Telemon and just pour on some fire.

But there is another load out... and I would never ever use it. The Twin Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon is MORE POINTS than the Accelerator and just A LOT WORSE. What I really don't get is why the TWIN HEAVY version has as many beam shots and LESS RANGE than the Telemon's Arachnus Storm Cannon. I guess it still has double the burst, but just no range. But even double the burst doesn't matter because for 80 points I get TWO Telemon Storm cannons, vice 100 points for one on the Caladius. So for less points, you get more beam shots, same amount of burst, and less range. It just doesn't make sense. To further complicate it, the Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon on the Pallas has the same number of Beam shots, but half the burst shots? Why? At least their ranges agree.

There is just no world in where you should take the Heavy Blaze over the Accelerator Cannon, especially when compared to the Telemon.

One thing I've liked to do with this is the Overwatch stratagem, blast people away, and then watch them fail the charge because they had to subtract 2 inches from their roll. It is just brutal to see. And then you zoom away next turn and make them wonder why they even tried.

The one thing I wish this had was T8, but it is still good without it, and not a bad anti-armour option at its price point.

I really REALLY wish FW sold the turrets to these tanks as upgrades. I wouldn't mind having both turrets for three of these tanks, but I really don't want 6 hulls to do it.

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought

A true Star of the Custodes Army. While this did get worse from the last Beta, it went down in points and lost the one per army limit, so overall win for the unit on its own. In context of the Army though, he definitely lost ground to the Caladius. A solid all-rounder, but expensive to say the least.

I am note sure what load out I'd take on the Telemon TBH. Magnets for the win there I guess. As discussed above, its Arachnus Storm Cannon is just superior to what you get on the Caladius or the Pallas, so if you want that weapon role in your army, this is the platform for it. If you double down on them, for only 62 more points than a Accelerator Caladius, you get more range, more shots, T8 and a 2+/4+ with a 6+ FNP. You loose speed and PotMS, but you have the range, so not entirely needed.

The Accelerator is decent. Better on the Caladius (a flip there), but much more affordable as a weapon. I wouldn't double up on these, but if you want an all rounder Telemon, one with a Casestus isn't terrible. The Caestus is nice, because it really puts this into the range of killing Knights in combat, especially if you take two and deep strike. I just wish to save points I could take Lastrum Storm Bolters in lieu of the Plasma Projectors. Not that the Projectors are bad, but 30 points for two 8" range weapons isn't that impressive to me. At least they are 2d3 instead of d6 shots. Really, every flamer weapon in the game should move towards that shaped distribution.

What is really nice about it, unlike its Leviathan cousins, is it is ALWAYS base 4 attacks. Makes even a dual shooty version able to handle being assaulted. The fact that Caestus add attacks is just gravy.

Sagittarum Custodes

I want to like these guys more. But they suffer in the same way the Pyrithite and Adrasite Spears do. They are more foot custodes when I've already had to spend 500 points on other foot custodes. If you are open to allies, you may be better served taking some primaris marines instead.

But the unit isn't bad per se. A tad expensive, but the fact they are assault weapons is nice, as it allows the squad to remain mobile. Add to that the dual profile and ability to shoot both (albeit at minus one to hit) and you have a decent little fire support squad good at taking out all forms of infantry. That objective just outside your deployment zone? They are perfect to go grab it turn one or two and defend it the rest of the game.

This is probably the one squad of Custodes I'd forgo misericordia on. Maybe take one just so they have some AP when they get charged, but ideally there is some things nearby that can come support, like a shield captain or dreadnought. Or Jetbikes than can race back.

I think this squad would have been more interesting and useful as a troop choice with some sort of restriction. Maybe 1 per custodian guard squad or min squad size of 5 instead of 3 (making it a tough choice from a points perspective) or both? But honestly, at 165 for 3 of them in the HS spot, I am more likely to spring for other units. They'd aren't terrible, but like everything in Custodes you are faced with the question- why take them when you can take more Jetbikes?

The real lamentable thing- in 30k this squad has ANOTHER heavy weapon option. And FW still hasn't made that part... I'm afraid we will get finalized 40k rules for this AND THEN that weapon will come out.

That is it for part three! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss the Lord of War and Dedicated Transport, as well as some closing thoughts in Part Four!

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 2- The Fast Attacks

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part Two below will discuss the Fast Attack Choices.

Part One covered the Elites Choices. Part Three will cover Heavy Support. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Agamatus Custodes

I love what these guys bring to the table. If you liked playing Jetbikes, they are an auto-include IMO. Replace 3 of your Dawneagles with these Gyrfalcons (the actual name of the bikes them selves. The unit is Agamatus where the ones in the Codex are Vertus Praetors) and you are set.

These guys bring some potent anti-vehicle potential to the list with their Twin-Las Pulsars. This is the standout weapon, though it pushes each bike up to the 120 point range. But that is fine IMO for what you are getting. The S8 is a key feature here, as it means your aren't having to roll 5 ups to damage most vehicles like you did with the lances on your Dawneagles. It is also tremendously more firepower than the Melta missile with 2d3 shots, so not having the reroll to wound melta rule comes out in the wash. And it is way more points efficient than the melta missile. Really, if you mixed those into your bike force before, just run Agamatus with Las-pulsars now.

As for the other options, I at first thought the Lastrum Bolt Cannon was pretty meh... but then I realized it is 36". That is an incredible threat range for suped up heavy bolters. If you don't have the points for Las-Pulsars on all your bikes, this is the choice I'd take. It puts the bike on cost parity with your Dawneagles, and can just be used for targets of oppotunity around the board. Sure, the Hurricane Bolters of the Dawneagles are far more devastating up close, but when you have to sprint for a far objective turn 5, this guy will still have range on enemy units your Vertus Praetors just won't have.

As for the Adrathic Devastator... I just don't get why you would settle for this when you have twin-las pulsar as an option. Sure it is a lot cheaper... but it is short range and does mortal wounds to yourself. Just like I talked about how the Adrasite Spears in Part One were essentially worse Plasma Guns, this is a worse Plasma Cannon. Why didn't they just give Custodes a Plasma Cannon instead (from a fluff perspective). To make it even worse here, it is a Heavy Weapon on something ALWAYS MOVING, meaning you get -1 to hit. That means for the purposes of dealing mortal wounds to yourself, 2's count as 1's, and not even a Shield Captain Reroll will protect you from that like it would on other units. It just makes this weapon a hard pass for me.

To top this unit off though, THEY STILL HAVE LANCES!  In combat they are just as good as Vertus Praetors! Just a great threat all around.

The most comparable unit to these guys is the Pallas Grav-Attack, but we will get to that below.

Ventatari Custodians

I'm trying to figure out what the point of these guys are. In an Army with Jetbikes and 2+ save, 3+ save jump infantry just seems weird. Sure they come natural with Deep Strike, but there are better deep strike options in the army *cough cough AQUILON cough*. They just strike me as a unit made for people who just don't want to take bikes after one too many times of someone complaining about Custodes bikes.

FLY MY PRETTIES!

If you are going to take Venatari, start with the Kinetic Destroyer and Tarsus Buckler. This is possibly the most impressive pistol in all of 40k. Not only does the Combo look cool, but it can do some nice damage... more than heavy bolters actually. The buckler itself is pretty neat with the "ignore -1 AP" mechanic. It makes them as tough as any other Custodes unit against all -1 AP weaponry.

But if I was your opponent and knew that, all than means is I would shoot them with AP 0 or AP -2 Weapons.

Now I wouldn't use the Lance unless I had a Squad over 6. Once I had 6 pistols and bucklers, all the rest would have lances. Sure it is less shooting, and can't shoot in combat, but it is much better in combat than the buckler. And as a Custodes Jump unit, you really don't want these guys bogged down in successive rounds of combat, which is what you would need for the pistol to really be of use there. There are much better choices for tying up hordes in combat than these guys. Like all Jump Troops, they are for lightning strikes... which Jetbikes still do so much better. At 62 to 66 points a pop, I just don't see why you would take them over bikes or something like Sagittarum.

Pallas Grav Attack

A whole lot of people are ranting a raving about the Pallas. It does seem attractive at first I will admit. Only 100 points for what seems like a nice anti-tank weapon and a vehicle profile that doesn't degrade, all with Power of the Machine Spirit to boot.

But really, the only reason I see to take one (other than they do look neat) is if you are at 1900 points and saying "I don't know what else I can fit in".

First of all, lets compare to the Agamatus above. With no rerolls other than what the Pallas Arachnus Blaze cannon naturally has, a Agamatus will wound a T8 vehicle an average of 1.3 times compared to the Pallas' .9.  Really the S7 just does this weapon no favours. And that's without rerolls. Keeping in mind the bikes likely have a shield captain nearby, their performance only goes up. And their potential MAXIMUM is far greater.

On top of that, the Pallas has no presence in the assault phase, where as the Agamatus is brining 4 Lance attacks. And that is really going to be just about as effective as the Pallas's shooting attack against a T8 vehicle.

I could maybe see more use out of this if the Burst mode was heavy 12 (like it is on the Caladius, I'll talk more on this disparity in my next post, because we need to tie the Telemon in for that as well) or something, but at heavy 6, I just would rather really on other weapons and units for horde thinning.

"But this is a vehicle with 8 wounds. The Agamatus only have 4!" True. But this only will ever have a 3+/5+. The Agamatus have a 2+/4+. And they are the same toughness. It really makes them just about as hard to kill.

The other unit to compare the Pallas to is the Caladius. I know we haven't covered that here yet, but it is necessary to discuss. Too many people are thinking about taking 2 or more Pallas IMO. Take a Caladius with the Accelerator Cannon instead. For basically the same points (200 for two Pallas, 210 for one Caladius) you get more and better firepower at greater range and one more toughness, which make up for being 2 net wounds less.

"But the Caladius Degrades" you say. Yes. After 7 wounds. Where as with two T6 Pallas, I'd loose HALF my firepower after taking 8 wounds. I'd rather take the degradation. The only advantage I see two Pallas having over a Caladius is they can split their fire and/or be in two different locations.

Really these other choices are just no-brainers to me over the Pallas. Like I said, if you only have 100 to like 125 points left, sure, take a Pallas. It isn't terrible and it will do some work for you. Send it off to support half your Dawneagles. But that is really all it is good for IMO.


That is it for part two! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss Heavy Support in Part Three!

Custodes Beta Rules Review: Part 1- The Elites

Over the next few days I will be breaking down the Adeptus Custodes Beta Rules for Warhammer 40k that were released last month. You can download them here (for free) if you haven't had the chance to check them out yet.

Part One below will discuss the Elites Choices.

Part Two will be about the Fast Attack. Part Three will cover Heavy Support. Part Four will go into their Lord of War and Dedicated transport, as well as closing thoughts on the Beta rules.

Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought

Other than the fact I think this is the cooler looking for the two Custodes Contemptors, I prefer the Achillus on paper to the Galatus (we will get to him next). The Dreadspear is just a beast of a weapon, and at the cost of 1CP, you can get this guy  DS in imminent threat range. Have him deep strike with some terminators or land near some bikes, and your opponent will have a hard time what to prioritize if you fail to make the charge out of DS. But burning a CP on rerolls to ensure that charge is worth it, because the dreadspear really will wreck things. Hunt LoW or other vehicles with this guy. BIG threat to Armigers, and a threat still to other Knights.

For his other wargear I would pass on the Incinerators. They are great anti-horde, but really they just serve as overwatch protection on this dread, and hopefully you are not often putting it in a place where you are faced with this guy being bogged down. As I said above, set up to target big scary things. If you have the points though, the Adrathic Destructors are promising and can really ramp up the damage output the dread has. The risk of mortal wounds does stink, but if you can have a Shield captain nearby (remember those bikes and terminators that should be on hand in support) then if becomes a minute worry. And even if you take 1 wound from your own shooting, it is tough enough that it should survive another turn with 9 wounds left.

Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought

This unit is just does not have enough offensive power to see much use IMO. It is really really defensive. In an army were almost everything is a 2+/3+, 2+/4+ or 2+/5+… why do you need something this defensive?

The first real unfortunate thing is the 8’ range of its weapon. It makes the DS less viable. Now if you are running an Orion Dropship, it would probably be worth having this be the dread that rides on it. The other thing is it is S7 on its sword. Really? Couldn’t have at least been +1 S to make it S8? S7 means Space Marines are wounded on 3+ and most vehicles on a 5+. For a CC dread that’s just not impressive. A normal Astartes dread does more at that price point.

Essentially it suffers from being an armoured tortoise in an army of snapping turtles. While a Galatus would be a tough nut to crack, it has none of the bite of other Custodes units, all of which are touch as nails themselves.

Maybe if you regularly play against horde/swarm armies it would be useful, but in general, I’d give it a pass.

Aquilon Custodians

These guys are one of the stars of the new Beta rules, almost eclipsing Allarus all together. Allarus still have their uses, but you have to really plan your army and game plan around them and the strategems they have to make them work over their Aquilon brothers.

These guys are a great addition to any Custodes army. The first and most obvious configuration is Infernus Firepike + Solerite power gauntlet (and add a misericordia). 3d6 12” auto-hitting superheavy flamers! Yes please! And getting that in only 3 guys, you have a small footprint you can DS into a lot of places if you opponent is not careful. I foresee a lot of Warlords being toasted off the table in the future. The Guantlets are great too. S10 attacks, AP-4, d3 Damage each. Just sheer brutality.  Obviously the hope is to make the charge on the DS, but these guys are all so tough that they should weather any shooting the next turn (2+/4+, T5, 4 wounds each!) and really will make your opponent think about charging them or not with their firepikes.

Their other weapons just don’t stand out as much. First of all I’d probably always leave the Adrathic Destructors at home unless I was always DS them with a SC. The risk of Mortal wounds to them is too much IMO at the 20 point price point, especially when the flame is already cheaper. Their Storm Bolters are just economical enough to be worth it possibly. Its really a hard sell over the firepike, but when strapped for points, swapping 1 out of 3 pikes out wouldn’t be that bad. Take all your wounds on this guy first. As for the talons, I really don’t see why you would ever take them over the gauntlets. Rule of Cool only really, the reroll to wound just doesn’t balance out with the sheer ability to wound + damage output of the Solerite Guantlet.

Speaking of reroll to wound, I would really consider supporting these guys with Trajann Deep Striking. Auto-hitting Flamers + RR 1’s to wound, plus RR hits and wounds of 1 in combat. You just make this unit brutally efficient.

The only drawback of the Aquilon is the fact they are sold with their weapons. HH Terminators have always been sold torso and weapons separate. It really stinks for these guys, because the idea configuration of Gauntlet + Pike mean you are either buying 2 sets of terminators (one for the pike and one for the gauntlet) or shaving claws off of fists in the Pike set. And having paid FW money, and the fact these are still beta rules, I would be really hesitant to do that.

Custodian Guard with Adrasite and Pyrithite Spears

First I’ll talk about the squad… and then about how the spears really should have just been wargear.

So it is basically normal foot custodes with either a gets hot plasma gun or a melta gun. The Pyrithite is the better option FOR THIS SQUAD IMO. Most of the time your shield captains will be too busy baby sitting other units. Having them sit neat a foot squad with only 3 x 18” shots to protect them against mortal wounds is a waste. But without him, those mortal wounds just stink.

For all their superior tech, why do they essentially just have worse plasma guns on their spears. They’d be better mounting a Plasma Pistol to the end of them IMO. At least then they wouldn’t risk death every time they shoot, only when the REALLY needed too.

The Pyrithite is good if used right. If you are bound and determined to field an Orion Drop ship, these are prime candidates to go inside. You can also spend 1CP to DS them, but I’d only do that if you were taking a larger squad or had a lot of CP.

There are a few things hold this squad back IMO. One they are elites. I get why in the way they structured the beta list, but there are other choices I’d rather take. Two, it would have been nice if they had the option to include a Sentinel Blade and Storm Shield. They are Custodian Guard after all. I’d be fine with the unit and their place in elites if they had this one option added.

But honestly I had hoped these weapons would be wargear. I think Wardens could greatly benefit from them and Foot Shield Captains would be a lot more useful and interesting. Obviously it would be great to have them in Troop Custodian Guard Squads, and I really don’t think it would be game breaking either, as we are talking assault 1 weapons with only up to an 18” range. And pricey ones at that.

With a pure Custodes list already having to invest around 500 points for min foot troops, buying more of them with a low volume of fire just isn’t really appealing to me personally.

That is it for part one! Tell us what you think in the comments below and come back for tomorrow where we discuss Fast Attack in Part Two!

Allies of Inconvenience: Episode 16- Chapter Approved, Terrain and Tomfoolery

Come Join the Allies of Inconvenience Crew as we close out 2018! We start off as usual with hobby progress (I think our shortest yet) before launching into Chapter Approved discussion! We then move onto Terrain releases, Fortifications and the place of useable faction terrain in 40k and as compared to Age of Sigmar... and then slowly get derailed into just general hobby blabber, rants and "Tomfoolery"

So check out our final Season 2 episode before we start off with Season 3 in 2019!

Listen/Subscribe on iTunes 
Listen/Subscribe on Spotify
Listen/Subscribe on Google Play
Listen/Subscribe on Stitcher

00:00 Intro
01:47 Hobby Progress
44:05 Terrain and General Discussion

Songs and Soundclips
Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag
Kaap mere- Bugotak
Clip 1, 2, 3 - Ghazghkull Thraka

A Modest Proposal - Tau

Discordian here! I have a couple of modest changes that I think would benefit Tau.

Interesting ideas that will probably never happen.

1. Kroot

Kroot are relatively okay. I feel like their only real problem is that Fire Warriors are just to cheap.

But I would really like a way to field a pure Kroot Detachment. Something like the following.

     War Shaman: In a Detachment that only includes units with the KROOT Keyword, Kroot Shapers        become a HQ choice instead of Elite.

2. Rail Weapons

I like Rail weapons. They look cool and they're the OG Tau heavy weapon, but they're just not performing anymore.

I'm going to put aside my frustration that both Riptides and Storm-surges never got options to take them, and focus on the guns that exist.

Make them all a little more expensive, stay with me here..... and make them all rapid fire rapid fire. It would allow mobility and increase the fire potential, without being to close to ion weapons in function. Boom.... followed by a additionally boom then I guess.

3. Vehicles

Vehicles should be able to take wargear. Its not like they'd be free, and this game naturally penalizes expensive vehicles so it balances out.

Plus this would actually be a great help to Rail weapons because it would mean Hammerheads could move and shoot normally, assuming they don't magically change into rapid fire weapons.

I would also like a diminished form of Savior Protocols to work on Vehicles, or as a compromise allow you to swap out their gun drones for shield drones which can be sacrificed.

4. Crisis Suits

Crisis suits are a Tau unit that have just been slowly made more and more useless. They are just to expensive these days for what they bring.

They need to come down in points or be made BS 3+ naturally. With an additional change to be units of 1-9 and a special rule like the following:

      Special Operators: If a unit of Crisis Suits contains 3 or more non-drone models, that unit can be        taken as a Troops choice.

I'm assuming Chapter approved is going to just drop the points, but I desperately want them to be more then that unit that just isn't a Commander in some way.

5. Commanders

Before we talk about how commanders should change, I want to bring up one thing. The special matched play Tau commander rule should NOT go away. And that's because there are in fact 5 different commander units, and that's not even counting special characters.

Unless GW does something about consolidating those units into less units with more upgrades, the rule of three just doesn't work here. Because they're all just Bs 2+ special weapon platforms with a couple of odds and ends thrown in.

So instead lets swap some things and balance some others.

Weapons for commanders should just be more expensive. If it works for Guard it can work for Tau.

Commander XV8 should loses Irdium Armour and Commander in XV85, the so called "Enforcer" gains Iridium Armour stock. Congratulations, now there is a legitimate difference between those two units.

Coldstar change to BS 3+. I'd like them to be planes, or some kind of "Flying Monstrous Creature", because that would cooler than the aggressive hoping they do now. But as long as they stay HQs... actually that's it. Just drop the commander part. Make them a specialized unit that is a plane, or an elite. Their BS drops and your HQs are no longer throw away suicide units. We're done here.

Vigilus Defiant Campaign Book- Trailer Faction Reveals and War of Beasts?

In case you haven't seen it, here is the trailer for the new Vigilus Defiant Campaign Book

Now I did a bunch of freeze framing to try and decipher some of the content. Mostly looking for a new Primarch myself (I didn't see one) BUT there are some cool tidbits to be gleaned. It looks like every faction will be represented in the book. I didn't see ever one, but it was such a diverse cross section I think it is safe to assume everyone is included vice leaving one or two factions out.

I'll post all the screen shots below, but here is some info gleaned. This is just focusing on the Forces section in the back of the book, not all the fluff at the beginning.

• New Stratagems and Missions
• ALOT of Ork Stuff
• Stompa Mobs
• Multiple Clans
• Mek Forces
• Speed Freeks
• Genestealer Cults- they had the only page where I thought I saw wargear and point
• Imperial Fists
• Crimson Fists
• Sons of the Phoenix
• 2 or 3 Other Primaris Chapters
• Dark Angels
• Ultramarines (Obviously)
• Necrons - and a mention of the War of Beasts?
• Knights
• Astra Militarum
• Adeptus Mechanicus
• Militarum Tempestus
• Adeptus Sororitas
• Various Chaos Forces

Stompa Mobs and GSC points/wargear

Better GSC Shot

Vaious Ork Clan Symbols

Speed Freaks

Mek Forces

Imp Fists and Crimson Fists

"Forces of the Crimson Fists" and a Primaris Chapter

2 More Primaris Chapters

Sons of the Phoenix and Ad Mech

Force of the Dark Angels

Ad Mech and Militarum Tempestus

Astra Militarum and Sororitas

Sororitas and Knights

Force of the Dark Gods? Chaos...

"Necrons Phase in the War of Beasts"

Stratagems

A Modest Proposal - Grey Knights

I have a couple of modest proposals to put forth for the Silver Tin-Cans of Daemon-Hate. 

Interesting possible changes, that probably won't happen.

1. Psychic

This is a place that has a lot of potential for GK. It's one of the areas they just should be better at, but the rules of 8th edition kinda forced them into just being bad smiters.
A simple idea is that they just have more tables. Picking up SM's Liberius Table and dropping it into GK isn't to tall of a order.


But a more interesting option is to expand how their current table works. Something similar to the Eldar Runes of Battle table, that cool dual power system GW came up with, that hasn't been replicated once.

Sanctic Table (Modified):

1. Purge Soul (As is, but enemy unit has -1 to cast until next friendly psychic phase) / 

    Reinforce Soul (Ignore Morale, unit has +1 to deny until next friendly psychic phase)

2. Gate of Infinity / 

    Wall of Infinity (Cast on a friendly unit, when charged treated as 2" further away).

3. Hammerhand / 

    Bladehand (Unit gains +1 Attack)

4. Sanctuary /

    Desecration (Enemy unit within 12" has -1 to saves)

5. Astral Aim /

    Astral Reach (Add 6" to range of weapons)

6. Vortex of Doom / 

    Might of Doom (target self, to-wound rolls of 6+ in close combat cause 1 Mortal wound)

Other than that really anything could help. Characters having normal smite, units can swap smite for Hammerhand, or GK can have multiple castings of the same power but each iteration has -1 to cast.

2. Deep Strike

We're kind of in a weird place right now. BIG FAQ 2 dropped a bomb on how reserves work, and GK definitely felt it. They're a assault army with mostly 24" range guns. But I do see a chance to balance the game with tactical options.

A lot of armies including GK have a stratagem that lets you deep-strike a unit/or units. What if those Strats were expanded to also allow turn-one reserves. Then there'd be a cost associated with turn-1 sucker punches.

Alternatively, a good fix would be to change a GK warlord trait (which they have many bad ones) to allow a certain number of units for turn 1 arrival.

3. Wargear

GK melee weapons need a re-work, and lot of it comes down to point costs. Units in general should get a little cheaper, but the melee weapons should actually have differing point costs.


Gk guns also need a complete overhaul. They need to come down or be changed to Assault weapons. In a strike squad it just doesn't make sense to give up a CCW and a Storm Bolter for the privilege of spending more points. You can't use incinerators out of deep-strike and being heavy makes the others cost prohibitive.

Honestly I'd like see Psycannon changed to Rapid Fire 2 and the Psilencer just be assault. But I'd settle on them dropping in points.

4. Mordrak

This is just a personal gripe of mine. Mordrak should get rules again. He's a magic Space knight with a retinue of imaginary friends (who happen to be terminators).

Even I'm not sure why my name had to be Voldus

5. Units
A big part of why Gk suck right now isn't because they don't have units, it's that a lot of their units are terrible and/or actively competing with each other with little gain.

5a. GK in Terminator Armour
Ideally points across the board should drop a little, a big part of why terminators are expensive is because they have natural deep-strike, which no longer works turn one so maybe that should factor into their points cost.

I'd argue that Paladins could get away with being bumped to tough 5 and gain the ability to cast two powers. They are naturally/unnaturally/mary-sue (would that be Joe-Smith or something?) superior beings that can fight Daemon princes in their underwear.

5b. GK in Power Armour
Attacks. Strikes, or least Purifiers, should just get +1 attack to their stat line. They are just to ridiculously expensive to have a Tactical squad stat-line.

Purifiers should drop to 3-10 squad sizes, just like paladins (They're are literally only 44 of them in existence). They don't have "Brotherhood of Psykers" so they are limited by the smite +1 per casting. Its just a simple change that lets you fill out points better and have slightly more units.

Interceptors are just more expensive Strikes that move faster. You can't make them cheaper without creating a superior option. So instead of making them cheaper just give them something that makes them different. They're playing it loose with phasing in and out of reality, give them a -1 to hit or a rule that lets them teleport close enough to enemy units to use incinerators but forbids them from charging.

Purgation squads are a tricky thing, if the guns got better/cheaper they'd probably be good as is. But a simple addition for them would be the ability to always cast Astral Aim on themselves, even if someone has already cast it.

5c. Dreadknights

Either make their guns assault or give them relentless. A big reason why Grand Master DK replaced them is they highlighted exactly why DKs became bad and presented a immediate replacement unit. They just need to hit more with their expensive war-gear while on the move.

A cute trick would be to make the GMDK only buff DKs, maybe even giving a relentless aura.