Things have spiraled out of control

I was pricing Apothecary bits this morning, and the cheapest place I found them after a casual search?

Games-workshop.com

I can buy a RARE OOP APOTHERCARY (poor spelling intentional) from GW for $11.50 + tax. Or I can spend $3.00 more for one I'd have to soak in Simple Green for three months to get all the smick off it.

When did it come to this? :)

What's Ruining My Hobby Today: Blood Bowl

It's 43 days until Adepticon.

My army isn't painted, and neither is my display board. Why?

Friggin' Blood Bowl on the PC. I'll admit, it's addictive. I'd forgotten how much I'd liked the game, and having access to all the teams, all the time, without painting them up is too easy to pass up.

I realize I'm late on this train, but I want to put my voice out there as a proponent of this title. I haven't played the real-time mode. Why would I? The translation from board game to PC is seamless, and the ability to organize matches anytime I want is the bee's knees.

If you were on the fence about this game before, buy it.

Convention Mania

This Twilight Fan is the Avatar of "Convention Mania."

I just realized that I really will be at three cons this year.

Adepticon, Gencon Indy, and the Nova Open, which went from tourney to con in a year's time.

In addition, the Inner Circle's Sausage Fest -complete with actual sausage, and not just the implied kind- is coming up soon, in just 20 days, in-fact. I've got a few other trips planned as well, mostly camping trips. This May-June, I'll be camping three weekends straight, with the last weekend being a hike on the Appalachian trail.

All that, and I've got 15 credits, and I have to find a (better) part time job. There's a ton of work to do, but I can't wait to start.

25th Anniversary Battletech Boxed set

Part of me can't help but feel nostalgic.

The printing proofs for the new Battletech intro set are in the hands of the publishers, and are (possibly) soon to be approved. They mentioned being in the company's warehouse in February.

For those who have forgotten what a Thor and a Loki look like, take a gander at these preview pics from October 2009. I love 'em. Hopefully, they go the plastic route with all the Omnimechs. It's far more profitable that way, in my humble opinion.

Bat Rep - New Deathwing vs. Nurgle Daemons

A friend of mine is attempting to enter the tournament scene, and -fortuitously for him- he runs a Deathwing army. I figured that the Adepticon Primer 40k Championship Primer Mission 1 would be a good start for him, and I was itching to try the new format myself.

In 1750, he was running:
1750 Pts - Dark Angels Roster

Total Roster Cost: 1715

HQ: Belial, Master of the Deathwing (1#, 130 pts)
1 Belial, Master of the Deathwing, 130 pts

HQ: Interrogator-Chaplain (1#, 145 pts)
1 Interrogator-Chaplain, 0 pts
1 ...in Terminator Armour, 145 pts

Troops: Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 265 pts)
4 Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad, 222 pts = 4 * 43 (base cost 43) + Cyclone Missile Launcher 20 + Apothecary 30
1 Sergeant, 43 pts

5 * Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 235 pts)
4 Deathwing Terminator Squad, 192 pts = 4 * 43 (base cost 43) + Cyclone Missile Launcher 20
1 Sergeant, 43 pts

I had my Daemons with me, and decided to see how it would all work out.

Total Roster Cost: 1749

HQ: Epidemius (1#, 110 pts)
1 Epidemius, 110 pts

HQ: Great Unclean One (1#, 160 pts)
1 Great Unclean One, 160 pts

Troops: Plaguebearers of Nurgle (20#, 325 pts)
20 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, 325 pts = 20 * 15 (base cost 15) + DG: Chaos Icon x1 25

Troops: Plaguebearers of Nurgle (8#, 145 pts)
8 Plaguebearers of Nurgle, 145 pts = 8 * 15 (base cost 15) + DG: Chaos Icon x1 25

Troops: Nurglings (7#, 91 pts)
7 Nurglings, 91 pts = 7 * 13

Troops: Nurglings (7#, 91 pts)
7 Nurglings, 91 pts = 7 * 13

Troops: Nurglings (7#, 91 pts)
7 Nurglings, 91 pts = 7 * 13

Troops: Nurglings (7#, 91 pts)
7 Nurglings, 91 pts = 7 * 13

Heavy Support: Daemon Prince of Chaos (1#, 235 pts)
1 Daemon Prince of Chaos, 235 pts = (base cost 80) + DG: Daemonic Flight 60 + DG: Iron Hide 30 + MC: Mark of Nurgle 30 + DGN: Cloud of Flies 5 + DGN: Noxious Touch 10 + rDG: Daemonic Gaze 20

Heavy Support: Daemon Prince of Chaos (1#, 235 pts)
1 Daemon Prince of Chaos, 235 pts = (base cost 80) + DG: Daemonic Flight 60 + DG: Iron Hide 30 + MC: Mark of Nurgle 30 + DGN: Cloud of Flies 5 + DGN: Noxious Touch 10 + rDG: Daemonic Gaze 20

Heavy Support: Daemon Prince of Chaos (1#, 175 pts)
1 Daemon Prince of Chaos, 175 pts = (base cost 80) + DG: Iron Hide 30 + MC: Mark of Nurgle 30 + DGN: Cloud of Flies 5 + DGN: Noxious Touch 10 + rDG: Daemonic Gaze 20

The mission set up was a pitched battle (which since we were both deep-striking, we ignored) that contained three separate sub-missions.

1. Annihilation, ie, Kill Points.
2. Killing the costliest unit.
3. Three objective markers- one in the center, and two placed in each deployment zone, by your opponent.

We rolled off, and he gave me first turn, which would allow him to take the last objective run. We also set up a 2 hour time limit, to give him a better feel for the time limits tournament games require.

I get first turn, and he's held everything in reserve to DS. I roll, and I get my favored wave: Epidemius with his small body guard, the two flying princes, and two squads of nurglings. E and his boys drop on "my side" near my objective, and the two nurgling squads drop near there, and the princes drop near the table center, behind the central building. Having nothing to shoot, and nothing to do, the various parties run and spread out.

His largest point squad drops near his objective (a mishap occurred and I placed them there in a crater, hoping for some dangerous terrain rolls, but got nothing), and Deathwing squad materialized near mine. He looked like he'd scatter off the board, but he was able to place all of them quite easily, with a good quarter inch to spare on the backside. Another squad dropped right of center after their scatter, placing them within easy reach of one of my daemon princes next turn. Sadly, the Deathwing's combined fire and my poor rolls stripped the Daemon Prince of all but one wound, and sent a few plaguebearers back to the warp.

When my turn came around, all my nurglings came in, but the Great Unclean One and the walking prince failed to show. My wounded prince flew toward the closest squad, ready to put the hurt on the 5++ save Death Wing. He took one down with his Daemonic Gaze, and looked like he was going to tear them a new one in CC, but Brad made all his saves, and the Daemon Prince was soon powerfisted into a greasy stain. This trend would continue all night. The Deathwing squad down south was tied up over a series of 6 rounds of combat with 14 bases of nurglings, and ended up losing only three models to the snotty buggers.

The center objective was contested by nurglings and the twenty man plague bearers, and that had a DSing deathwing tossed into that. Slowly, over time, they too were whittled down, but a last man stood to contest it, and also to deny me a kill point. When time was called on the end of the fourth turn, I had yet to kill an entire unit, and I had just finished killing 11 models (a key point of the game). Had we continued at that point, all my models would wound on 2+ poisoned attacks, allowing my nurglings to have a much greater effect on the outcome. Alas, it was not to be, and Brad beat me on two missions to none.

1850 Tournament List - The Valhallan 42nd

1850 Pts - 5th Edition Roster - 42nd Valhallan Imperial Guard - Matt Stanley

Total Roster Cost: 1850

HQ: Company Command Squad (6#, 150 pts)
4 Company Command Squad, 69 pts = 4 * 6 (base cost 6) + Plasmagun x3 45
1 Company Commander, 26 pts
1 Chimera, 55 pts

Elite: Ratling Squad (6#, 60 pts)
6 Ratling Squad, 60 pts = 6 * 10

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (10#, 155 pts)
8 Psyker Battle Squad, 80 pts = 8 * 10
1 Overseer, 20 pts
1 Chimera, 55 pts

Troops: Infantry Platoon (37#, 375 pts)
1 Infantry Platoon, 0 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad, 44 pts = 4 * 6 (base cost 6) + Flamer x4 20
1 Platoon Commander, 6 pts
1 Chimera, 55 pts

7 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Plasmagun x1 15
1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
1 Commissar, 45 pts = (base cost 35 + Power Weapon 10)
1 Sergeant, 5 pts

7 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Plasmagun x1 15
1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
1 Sergeant, 5 pts

7 Infantry Squad, 50 pts = 7 * 5 (base cost 5) + Plasmagun x1 15
1 Heavy Weapons Team, 20 pts = (base cost 10 + Autocannon 10)
1 Sergeant, 5 pts

Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 155 pts)
9 Veteran Squad, 93 pts = 9 * 7 (base cost 7) + Meltagun x3 30
1 Veteran Sergeant, 7 pts
1 Chimera, 55 pts

Troops: Veteran Squad (10#, 115 pts)
9 Veteran Squad, 108 pts = 9 * 7 (base cost 7) + Plasmagun x3 45
1 Veteran Sergeant, 7 pts

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)
1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron, 0 pts
1 Vendetta, 130 pts

Fast Attack: Hellhound Squadron (1#, 120 pts)
1 Hellhound Squadron, 0 pts
1 Devil Dog, 120 pts

Heavy Support: Manticore Rocket Launcher (1#, 160 pts)
1 Manticore Rocket Launcher, 160 pts

Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery (2#, 280 pts)
1 Ordnance Battery, 0 pts
1 Medusa, 140 pts = (base cost 135) + Medusa w/Bastion-breacher Shells 5
1 Medusa, 140 pts = (base cost 135) + Medusa w/Bastion-breacher Shells 5

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 150 pts)
1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery, 0 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank, 75 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank, 75 pts

There's just a ton of hurt going down-field, and the Ratlings help to keep unwanted scouters from reaching me too soon. I can blob my squads to provide L9 anti-transport fire, and plasma punishes anyone who gets close. I have no psy defense, though, and drop armies cause massive problems, so I might not bring this out this tournament season.

I do love them, though.

New Bases For Fantasy

In this post, I mentioned the 40k bases I sell, but since I was getting into fantasy, I wanted to have bases for that as well.

I have those for sale as well, in 40mm, 25mm, and 20mm scale, in a Broken Temple Style as you can see below.

,

I'm selling 20mm bases at 10 for $4.00, 25mm at 8 for $4.00, and 40mm at 4 for $4.00. As always, shipping is a flat $4.95, no matter what size order you make, and you get a 10% discount for all orders over $100 prior to shipping.