Hey folks!
Scores from the Nova Open are filtering in. I finished 4th in the competitive bracket, and 33rd Overall. Much of that “overall” ranking was due to receiving 43% of available painting points, which stunned me. My army has never looked as good as it does now, and I was fully expecting to be 70-85% of points.
The two major “paint” categories were “Best Painted model” and “best converted model.” While everything in my army is definitely tabletop quality (with my ravagers being on the lower end due to recoat touchups and magnetic issues), I don’t have anything that really stands out as an exceptional painted model or an exceptional converted model. All of my beasts are converted…but they are functional conversions. Necron scarabs in the DE color scheme with bladed wings attached, LOTR Wargs with Tyranid scything talons attached for khymerae….
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Dash at the Nova Open: Tournament Review
Hey folks!
I just got back home from the Nova Open...I am one tired mofo. This blog post is for my thoughts on the tournament.
Venue:
The Whiskey Challenge, Invitational, and Nova Open were all at the Hyatt in D.C. There was a convenient shuttle from the airport to the hotel and check-in was easy. In terms of the tournament area, it was quite spacious and the hotel kept water coolers and cups available constantly. In terms of the hotel....it left quite something to be desired, and I hope Mike will pick a different hotel (like the Holiday Inn across the street) next year. Rooms had open shower stalls - no doors or curtains, just a half-glass panel, so that when you showered, water splashed out into the bathroom, and exiting the shower was deadly unless you put a towel down on the floor (there were no bath mats). On top of that, the shower-heads were awful. They were top-down "rain only" shower-heads, which is my least favorite shower mode. Rooms didn't have free internet, which is something I expect from any hotel I stay in, and at $10 per day for internet that was slower than dial-up, web-pages would time-out trying to load. My wife and I did watch "X-Men: First Class" Sunday night for the low-price of $17 on T.V. with a strict warning that there was no preview period, no refunds, and if we accidentally changed the channel, experienced a power-outage, or turned the T.V. off, we were out of luck. Room service was $37 for a small, undercooked poor quality steak and a glass of water, and the hotel nickel and dimed patrons EVERYWHERE. No microwaves in the room, no fridge either. The lights in our bathroom were shorted out, and kept flickering in and out, maintenance never made it up to replace them....
I just got back home from the Nova Open...I am one tired mofo. This blog post is for my thoughts on the tournament.
Venue:
The Whiskey Challenge, Invitational, and Nova Open were all at the Hyatt in D.C. There was a convenient shuttle from the airport to the hotel and check-in was easy. In terms of the tournament area, it was quite spacious and the hotel kept water coolers and cups available constantly. In terms of the hotel....it left quite something to be desired, and I hope Mike will pick a different hotel (like the Holiday Inn across the street) next year. Rooms had open shower stalls - no doors or curtains, just a half-glass panel, so that when you showered, water splashed out into the bathroom, and exiting the shower was deadly unless you put a towel down on the floor (there were no bath mats). On top of that, the shower-heads were awful. They were top-down "rain only" shower-heads, which is my least favorite shower mode. Rooms didn't have free internet, which is something I expect from any hotel I stay in, and at $10 per day for internet that was slower than dial-up, web-pages would time-out trying to load. My wife and I did watch "X-Men: First Class" Sunday night for the low-price of $17 on T.V. with a strict warning that there was no preview period, no refunds, and if we accidentally changed the channel, experienced a power-outage, or turned the T.V. off, we were out of luck. Room service was $37 for a small, undercooked poor quality steak and a glass of water, and the hotel nickel and dimed patrons EVERYWHERE. No microwaves in the room, no fridge either. The lights in our bathroom were shorted out, and kept flickering in and out, maintenance never made it up to replace them....
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Nova Open Live!
All bloggers, forum posters, etc., please repost this and keep it "alive" all over ... you can tune into the NOVA Open Live Feed starting tomorrow at around 6:00PM, and it'll be "up" for the majority of the Open thereafter, including the Whiskey Challenges on Thursday night, Invitational all day Friday, and the Open on Sat and Sun.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-11th-company
Dash and I will both be participating in the Whiskey Challenges on Thursday and the Invitational on Friday. And we'll see how our quest for the top tables goes during the Open.
Nova is gonna be a good time again this year!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Nova: The Countdown!
I'm not dead! I'm really not. Sorry everybody but I was out of town last week for work and painting like a son of a bitch so there wasn't whole lot of blogging going on.
Well with just 2 days till I fly to DC I figured I'd throw out what the weekend is going to look like for me. Lets get started:
On Thursday the wifey and I fly out early and land in the early afternoon local time. We'll head over to the hotel and get all checked-in and set up. Then I'll be looking for my fellow writer and taking a bit of a look around. I'll shoot down to the mixer for a few drinks and some mingling with some fellow gamers. After that I'm not sure if I actually have an opponent for the Whiskey Challenge so I'm open if pesople wanna knock a game out we can totally do it or maybe Mike will post who I'm playing on here.
Well with just 2 days till I fly to DC I figured I'd throw out what the weekend is going to look like for me. Lets get started:
On Thursday the wifey and I fly out early and land in the early afternoon local time. We'll head over to the hotel and get all checked-in and set up. Then I'll be looking for my fellow writer and taking a bit of a look around. I'll shoot down to the mixer for a few drinks and some mingling with some fellow gamers. After that I'm not sure if I actually have an opponent for the Whiskey Challenge so I'm open if pesople wanna knock a game out we can totally do it or maybe Mike will post who I'm playing on here.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
'Ard Boyz Semi-Finals aka: Screw this shit!
The last couple years have seen a definitive decline of the quality of ‘Ard Boyz, which was had a tenuous claim to any sort of quality in the first place. Prize support has gone down and down, while costs have gone up and up.
Hosting locations are fewer, the missions…while never very good or balanced have gotten worse…and now we don’t even get them on the traditional ‘Ard Boyz stationary. Talk about a dump.
I elected to participate in the preliminary round of ‘Ard Boyz solely to get a bit of practice in before the Nova Open. Attending ‘Ard Boyz required a 2.5 hour drive to my nearest store…and having acquired my pass to the semi-finals, I look to my accumulated experience and seriously wonder if I should even contemplate going.
Hosting locations are fewer, the missions…while never very good or balanced have gotten worse…and now we don’t even get them on the traditional ‘Ard Boyz stationary. Talk about a dump.
I elected to participate in the preliminary round of ‘Ard Boyz solely to get a bit of practice in before the Nova Open. Attending ‘Ard Boyz required a 2.5 hour drive to my nearest store…and having acquired my pass to the semi-finals, I look to my accumulated experience and seriously wonder if I should even contemplate going.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Dark Eldar for the Nova Events!
Hey folks!
The Nova Invitational and the Nova Open approach, and with army lists coming due, I decided it was time to think about what to do. The Nova Invitational is a one day, 5 round event at 1750 points, followed by two more days of the Nova Open at 2,000 points.
My traditional Dark Eldar army doesn’t much change – my 2,000 point army roughly looks like this:
HQ: Baron Sathonyx
HQ: Haemonculi
Troop1-5: 5x Warriors, Blaster, Dual Splinter Cannon Venom
Troop6: 9x Wyches, Haywire Grenades, Raider
Elite1-3: 4x Trueborn with blasters, Dual Splinter Cannon Venom
Fast: Beast Unit
Heavy 1-3: Ravagers
The Nova Invitational and the Nova Open approach, and with army lists coming due, I decided it was time to think about what to do. The Nova Invitational is a one day, 5 round event at 1750 points, followed by two more days of the Nova Open at 2,000 points.
My traditional Dark Eldar army doesn’t much change – my 2,000 point army roughly looks like this:
HQ: Baron Sathonyx
HQ: Haemonculi
Troop1-5: 5x Warriors, Blaster, Dual Splinter Cannon Venom
Troop6: 9x Wyches, Haywire Grenades, Raider
Elite1-3: 4x Trueborn with blasters, Dual Splinter Cannon Venom
Fast: Beast Unit
Heavy 1-3: Ravagers
Friday, August 12, 2011
List Help: Ard Boyz Dark Eldar
Hey Dash/Hulk/or anyone else...
I kinda have the same problem with Dash here has DE doesn't scale really well at 2.5k level while maintaining some coherency and redundancy. But I will say this… I’m going to build Vect with is ride as this is really the only point level I think Vect would work. Let me know what you think:
The Love Bird List (2500pt)
HQ: Vect + Dias of Destruction
HQ: Lady Malys
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 9x Wyches + a Hekatrix, Agonizer, Haywire Grenades, Shardnet and Impaler, in a Raider with a Flickerfield, Shock Prow, and Grisly Trophies
Troop: 7x Wyches + a Hekatrix Agonizer, Haywire Grenades, Shardnet and Impaler (to go with Vect & Malys in Dias of Destruction)
I kinda have the same problem with Dash here has DE doesn't scale really well at 2.5k level while maintaining some coherency and redundancy. But I will say this… I’m going to build Vect with is ride as this is really the only point level I think Vect would work. Let me know what you think:
The Love Bird List (2500pt)
HQ: Vect + Dias of Destruction
HQ: Lady Malys
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 5x Warriors with Blaster in a Venom with Dual Splinter Cannons
Troop: 9x Wyches + a Hekatrix, Agonizer, Haywire Grenades, Shardnet and Impaler, in a Raider with a Flickerfield, Shock Prow, and Grisly Trophies
Troop: 7x Wyches + a Hekatrix Agonizer, Haywire Grenades, Shardnet and Impaler (to go with Vect & Malys in Dias of Destruction)
'Ard Boyz for Dashofpepper
Hey folks!
Tomorrow is going to be an interesting experience. As you probably know, I'm a big fan of efficiency. I'm a systems engineer, process engineer, industrial engineer...different parts of the military and civilian world call it different things, but it all boils down to efficiency. That includes my hobby. All my hobbies in fact. When I'm at home, I'm often playing 2-3 video games at the same time on my computer (Flash games at Kongregate type of thing), while watching a movie with my wife.
But that's tangential to this: Hulksmash and I don't always agree on everything, but we have always agreed that Dark Eldar don't belong in 2,500 points. And yet...here I sit with a 2,500 point Dark Eldar list in hand, regretting having made it, and knowing that I'm going to be miserable playing it because of it's inherent inefficiencies, but with no better alternative. I had four choices:
Tomorrow is going to be an interesting experience. As you probably know, I'm a big fan of efficiency. I'm a systems engineer, process engineer, industrial engineer...different parts of the military and civilian world call it different things, but it all boils down to efficiency. That includes my hobby. All my hobbies in fact. When I'm at home, I'm often playing 2-3 video games at the same time on my computer (Flash games at Kongregate type of thing), while watching a movie with my wife.
But that's tangential to this: Hulksmash and I don't always agree on everything, but we have always agreed that Dark Eldar don't belong in 2,500 points. And yet...here I sit with a 2,500 point Dark Eldar list in hand, regretting having made it, and knowing that I'm going to be miserable playing it because of it's inherent inefficiencies, but with no better alternative. I had four choices:
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Ard Boyz - Nid List
So I'm thinking about Ard Boyz this weekend and in my usual style I haven't decided what I'm taking yet. Here's a quicky list I was thinking about. It's an expansion on my Adepticon List and I think it could hang pretty well.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Damn You Internet & ADD!
I think I may have talked myself into a hole with my throw down to use Bugs for the Nova. There are a couple of reasons for it so let me illuminate you onto the issues I'm currently having fufilling my statement on what I'm going to run for Nova.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Nova Invitational Tyranids Take #3 - Big Bugs!
Welcome to the big bug rodeo. At 1750 there is a lot of nasty you can build around T6 creatures. This is a tweak on the last list. Enough talk, here we go:
Nova Invitational Nids - 1,500pt Upgrade
I recently (using the term loosely) ran a 1,500pt list at a RTT over in La Crosse. It was a pretty nasty list in the sense that it had 40 T6 wounds which is pretty overwhelming at that point level. It repaid me by going 3-0 and only 1 objective short of a perfect score. So if it worked then why couldn't I just upgrade it and run it at 1.75k? This accidentally loosely ties in with Dash's article from Saturday.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Dashofpepper Strategeries: On Changing Point Levels
One of the great things about co-authoring with Hulksmash is that we bring such different perspectives to the table on so many issues. This particular issue is something we’ve chatted about from time to time, and our opinions differ.
In short, if I pick an army…take Orks for example, my 1500, 1750, 1850, 2000, and 2500 lists all follow the same theme. I might even call them modular. If I want to bump from 1850 to 2000, I can add another unit of XXX. If I need to drop from 1850 to 1500, I can cut a unit of YYY. I play Battlewagon Orks led by Ghazghkull Thraka – and at every point level…that theme is readily apparent - a solid army core of my theme with modular additions and subtractions based on point level.
Hulksmash on the other hand subscribes to the theory that an army’s playstyle changes at point levels. Tyranids at 1500 are different than Tyranids at 2000. To some extent, I agree…my Necron theme works at 2,000 points – but I can’t keep the theme below 2,000 points, so I would have to change it. So I don’t play Necrons below 2,000 points. =p
In short, if I pick an army…take Orks for example, my 1500, 1750, 1850, 2000, and 2500 lists all follow the same theme. I might even call them modular. If I want to bump from 1850 to 2000, I can add another unit of XXX. If I need to drop from 1850 to 1500, I can cut a unit of YYY. I play Battlewagon Orks led by Ghazghkull Thraka – and at every point level…that theme is readily apparent - a solid army core of my theme with modular additions and subtractions based on point level.
Hulksmash on the other hand subscribes to the theory that an army’s playstyle changes at point levels. Tyranids at 1500 are different than Tyranids at 2000. To some extent, I agree…my Necron theme works at 2,000 points – but I can’t keep the theme below 2,000 points, so I would have to change it. So I don’t play Necrons below 2,000 points. =p
Nova Invitational Nids - 1st Try
Well as you know from my article on Thursday I'm going to be running Tyranids in the Nova Invitational as well as the Open. I figured I'd share the first of my thoughts with you guys on what I'm thinking of running for the Invitational.
The Invitational is a little weird in that first off I never play 1750. Add into it that 1750 is weird since I can't seem to find a happy balance between T6 and small gribblies. That being said here is my first attempt. It has the advantage of including my Parasite which would double as my "Converted" model for the painting score.
The Invitational is a little weird in that first off I never play 1750. Add into it that 1750 is weird since I can't seem to find a happy balance between T6 and small gribblies. That being said here is my first attempt. It has the advantage of including my Parasite which would double as my "Converted" model for the painting score.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Nova Invitational & Open: My Mind is Made Up!
So I generally don't do this but balance in 40k is apparently one of my touch points for my hobby. I was at work yesterday and came across this in my blog reading:
http://theback40k.blogspot.com/2011/08/is-it-time-to-worry-yet.html
Long story short it's a bit of a rant about the state of 40k and how imbalanced it is. It highlights Tyranids as one of the poorest codexes of 5th edition outside of the New Sisters WD book that isn't even out yet. It also claims there is a single workable army list which is beyond false. But since the whole article is pretty much predicated upon a single guys local meta and his personal experiences it's easy enough to dismiss. That said it helped me reach a conclusion.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
FANTASY!!!!
That said my second favorite (maybe tied for favorite) Warhammer Fantasy army is about to get it's newest codex release. OGRES!!!!!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Return of the Professional 40k Gamer!
Hey folks!
Having been catapulted back into the #1 ranked position, I wanted to take this opportunity to shamelessly soapbox the rigorous daily routines that all the elite gamers engage in. In my last article and routine outline, I talked about unit flash cards, drills, META-honing, internet searches, multi-table simultaneous gaming…
In this article, I wanted to explain the true secret behind a successful gamer: I call it the “Futuristic Action Gaming Simulation.” The key to success with any unit on the tabletop is to truly understand what it is like to BE that unit. How can you truly understand the potency of a Space Marine if you’ve never stood in the shoes of a genetically engineered super-human with massive weaponry? How can you truly understand the terror that a Dark Eldar wych can inspire if you’ve never stripped almost naked and tortured someone to death? Or of a chaos marine if you’ve never mutilated yourself and engaged in every excess imaginable?
Having been catapulted back into the #1 ranked position, I wanted to take this opportunity to shamelessly soapbox the rigorous daily routines that all the elite gamers engage in. In my last article and routine outline, I talked about unit flash cards, drills, META-honing, internet searches, multi-table simultaneous gaming…
In this article, I wanted to explain the true secret behind a successful gamer: I call it the “Futuristic Action Gaming Simulation.” The key to success with any unit on the tabletop is to truly understand what it is like to BE that unit. How can you truly understand the potency of a Space Marine if you’ve never stood in the shoes of a genetically engineered super-human with massive weaponry? How can you truly understand the terror that a Dark Eldar wych can inspire if you’ve never stripped almost naked and tortured someone to death? Or of a chaos marine if you’ve never mutilated yourself and engaged in every excess imaginable?
Monday, August 1, 2011
Damn You Yermom! 2k Nids for Nova
First off, sorry! Work has been crazy and I've barely had time to type a thing. Hopefully I'm a little more consistant again.
So that bastard Nick (Yermom) put up a post the other day on Nids and the possibility of bringing them to Nova. You can find it here: http://thebrownpaintbrush.blogspot.com/2011/07/tyranids-are-retuning-to-nova.html
Anyway this made me start thinking. I'm playing in what is likely to be a very intense and draining ( in a good way) tournament on Friday with the Nova Invitational. So my initial reaction was just to bring my trusted Space Wolves for the big 2-day event as they are so on auto-pilot that I actually have more time to think about things that come out of left field with them and otherwise they'll require much, much less thinking than some of the lists I've been toying with. Enter Nick. I've officially offered to bring my Nids if he does. Why? Because it'll be a grand time. Last year Nick and I both played daemons and finished 3-1 on day one but his massacres got him into day two where my squeeks weren't enough. It'd be interesting to see if we could do better with Nids.
So that bastard Nick (Yermom) put up a post the other day on Nids and the possibility of bringing them to Nova. You can find it here: http://thebrownpaintbrush.blogspot.com/2011/07/tyranids-are-retuning-to-nova.html
Anyway this made me start thinking. I'm playing in what is likely to be a very intense and draining ( in a good way) tournament on Friday with the Nova Invitational. So my initial reaction was just to bring my trusted Space Wolves for the big 2-day event as they are so on auto-pilot that I actually have more time to think about things that come out of left field with them and otherwise they'll require much, much less thinking than some of the lists I've been toying with. Enter Nick. I've officially offered to bring my Nids if he does. Why? Because it'll be a grand time. Last year Nick and I both played daemons and finished 3-1 on day one but his massacres got him into day two where my squeeks weren't enough. It'd be interesting to see if we could do better with Nids.
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