Tau Broadside – A Review

Posted by Phil on May 25, 2013

As a nice contrast, having reviewed the Tau Pathfinders, I thought I’d take a look at a heavy hitter and a staple of every Tau army from its original release – the Broadside.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Broadside is that they’re not a top-heavy, lumbering, plastic and metal turds of misery that crumble beneath their own weight. The other thing you’ll notice is that look nails! More to the point, they actually look like the heavy chassis battle suit that they were always meant to be as lets not forget that the full size rail cannon has to be mounted on a tank.

In the box, as with the Pathfinders, you have two sprues. And unlike the Pathfinders it’s not crammed with bits. It’s crammed with big bits. Notable, lovely big armour plates that reflect the design aesthetic that we should have with the crisis suits but have to go to Forge World to get.

It was absolutely the right decision for Games Workshop to turn these kits plastic. I had 3 of the originals back in the day and I had to repair them before every game and at least once during. And in the end there was so much dried super glue on the weapon mounts it stopped working all together. By the time I sold the army I had given up repairing them and fielded them in broken heaps. A drinks coaster would have been as much use on the board.

I’m also so pleased that the design has been refined. Although shoulder mounted railguns were cool it never struck me as terribly practical as any projectile leaving a weapons surely creates recoil through the displacement of air and the heat that generates. And seeing as the rail weapons companies like General Atomics are developing can hit mach 5, and the railguns on broadsides were strength 10 back in the day I could see the Broadsides flat on their backs, flailing about like a retarded tortoise. The new kit is also massive. Well, compared to the old one so you get quite a pit of bloke for your buck.

There’s other touches too – like the plasma rifles and missile pods have slight design improvements which is good but will overshadow weapons on crisis suits. But, I’ll take it. Especially as the version of the kit holding the heavy railrifle is awesome. It’s s rather Gundam but it’s not a bad jumping off point. The missiles also kinda remind me of Starscream from the Transformers movies. Again, not a bad thing but interesting to see where they’re getting their ideas from.

The kit is rather involved compared to some. Compared to most actually. It’s just as well the Broadside comes with an instruction manual because staring at the sprues without it just made me not want to bother. But I suppose it’s a sign that the designers are pushing the technology hard to get the best kits. So hats off there.

In game terms the Broadside has the potential to dish out some pain but with the reduced strength of 8 compared to the good old days. It can glance armour 14 but it’ll be a token inconvenience compared to other weapons in the game. The single shot means that the heavy railrifle is at its best taking out APCs to force the enemy to walk through the fire poser you send their way or making life unpleasant for Dreadnoughts. And for 65 points, it’s a cheap way of making life unpleasant. Just bear in mind that the Heavy 1 on a BS of 3 means you’ll be relying heavily on the fact it’s twin-linked. But I suppose for 65 points with that kind of stopping power (plus the missile pods/plasma rifles) it’s be a bit much to make it BS4.

The plasma rifles are a welcome addition to the unit upgrade list as it adds just that little bit of umph to its anti-tank capabilities. Again you’re only looking at thwarting smaller vehicles but the edge it gives against medium infantry is invaluable. Especially if you take a unit of them. Although as Broadsides are now relegated to very hard to kill snipers with (extremely) high velocity rifles I’m not sure if a unit is the way to go. I’m tempted to take a couple as separate heavy support choices, stick em in a lovely, thick-walled, building and use them to harass everything with armour value 13 or less whilst a hammerhead blows up the big shit. And for a relatively small outlay of points I think it’d work rather well.

It could explain why the Broadside is strength 5 and it has no shortage of attacks. It rather suggests one should be expecting to have fisticuffs whilst it operates alone. Although with armies in 40k getting faster it’s reasonable to assume that someone will, at some point, try it on. However, with only toughness 4 so it’ll take wounds. It should save most of them but to be honest, if you’ve let your Broadside get into combat then you deserve everything you get. Between plasma rifles and the sexy new missile drones it should be safe from all but the most concerted efforts.

It’s a brilliant kit, if a little fussy to build. It’s a huge improvement on the previous version and it’s kind funny to see the graduation from over-the shoulder to hand-held weapons in the same way as Space Marine devastators. It’s as it should be, it’s a logical evolution. And it looks awesome. More to the point, it looks like a bloody great mech lugging a bloody great gun capable of blowing bloody great holes in things. Used correctly it’ll be an utterly devastating unit in any Tau army.

Tau Broadsides are available from Firestorm Games priced £27.00.

A Short Tau Tactica: Stealth Suits

Posted by reecemjones on May 25, 2013

Hello there. My names Reece and Phil has kindly let me be a contributor to The Shell Case (the poor, poor fool). I’ll mostly talk about topics in the wargaming industry that interest me, along with the odd review, interview or tactica.

To get things off to a flying start, I’m going to post tacticas over the next couple of weeks which look at the usage of one of my favorite armies; the Tau Empire. Each tactica will focus on one unit and how they perform within the framework of a balanced tau force.

The first tactica will look at a unit that may have as well have been invisible (ha) in the last codex and I still think gets over shadowed by the more flashy units: Stealth Suit teams.

XV15 Stealth Armour painted by Dark6LTM of DeviantArt

In the last codex, I can understand why. They were in Elites, when Tau needed Crisis suits to give the army flexibility. Their stealth rules were a bit naff and they seemed a bit too expensive to be worth it, despite being toughness 4 with a 3+ save and a range 18″ strength 5, Ap5 weapon. But this has all changed in the new book for 3 reasons:

1.Improved Rules
We got a glimpse of how the designers were approaching Stealth Suits with the Tau Empire 6th edition FAQ last year, when instead of having the old Night Fighting rules, they were given Stealth and Shrouded for a total of a 4+ cover save even when in the open. This was, much to my joy, carried over to the new codex along with all tau suits having Night Vision as standard. Their Burst Cannons are also now Assault 4. This means that 3 guys are now putting out as many shots as a 12 man fire warrior squad and are more maneuverable and capable of surviving return fire to boot.

2.Simplicity
The tau army is almost spoilt in what to do with many of its units, which can lead to rather unfocused army. Stealth Suit teams don’t have that option. They can take a few fusion guns to allow for tank and monstrous creature killing duty, but they are primarily all about killing infantry. Which is wonderful. The unit doesn’t really require much support either, so you can send them off to complete an objective on the battlefield confident that if you play well they will achieve it. Add Commander Shadowsun (so they can infiltrate) and watch them carry out a few sneaky tank kills followed by annoying the hell out of your opponent for the rest of the game.

Tau Stealth Suit Team painted by Burkhard of dhcwargamesblog

3. Surprise
Most opponents I have played in the past have never encountered Stealth Suits before due to their past unpopularity and certainly aren’t used to lots of units with jetpacks. They also tend to get overlooked on a battlefield when more flashy units are in play like Riptides or Crisis suits.

Use this to your advantage. Keep mobile and near cover, just off of an opponents main path of advance. If your opponent ignores them, then expect a wailing and gnashing of teeth when they suddenly find their important units gunned down and tanks blown up from the rear – because strength 5 rocks! If they choose to target them, a 2+ cover save and 3+ normal should mean they can shrug off the most determined shooting or assault, which means less heading for the rest of your army. Either way you win.

In summary, Tau Stealth suits are a great addition to your army and greatly aid its ability to disrupt and interrupt your opponents plans. They are not an over powered unit, but one I think opponents will underestimate at their peril.

Give them a try sometime and see you soon.

The Tragedy of Ferrus Manus

Posted by Phil on May 23, 2013

When Ferrus Manus awoke to find himself alone amidst the wilds of Medusa he, as one would expect from a child, was scared and confused. However, unlike a normal child, he was scared and confused because he assumed that he was there because he was weak. Unlike many of his brothers, Ferrus did not seek out human contact but instead set about testing himself against the very worst creators Medusa had to offer. Only once he had bested the Great Silver Wyrm, in the process encasing his arms in living metal, did he seek out humanity and set about teaching them engineering and other secrets of technology.

At every turn he set out to assert his superiority. The living metal of his arms made him a warrior without equal and an artisan of extraordinary feats of engineering. Yet for all his efforts Ferrus Manus was never able to create anything of beauty and warmth. He ruled through fear of an unparalleled temper and his creations were cold functional things despite their sophisticated design. Even when the Emperor came to Medusa, Ferrus Manus challenged his authority.

As Manus took his place amongst his brothers he suddenly found himself but one of a flock of luminous beings. Many far more luminous than he. Horus was charismatic, Guilliman wise, Vulkan compassionate, and Dorn an architect without peer. All he had achieved turned to ash and Manus resolved to push him and his newly named legion to the limits to prove their mettle and supreme worth to the Emperor.

It was this crushing sense of inadequacy that would drive him to deliberately restrict the combat doctrine and units available to the Iron Hands to make them stronger, hardier warriors to prove that they were better than any other Legiones Astartes. He also allowed his sons to believe that flesh was weak, allowing a cult of personality to form around himself and his metal arms, the legion seeking to augment themselves at every turn. Unaugmented Legionaires were treated with mistrust within their ranks, it being seen as a slight against the Primarch. The sadistic truth of his actions wouldn’t be realised until after his passing in the Neimerel Scrolls in which he detailed his loathing for his metal arms and the horror with which he beheld the self-mutilation of his sons. The bitter and sad fact was that Manus’ loathing of flesh – particularly that of mortals – was actually the misdirected loathing of his contaminated body.

But he remained silent because Manus was, for all intents and purposes, a psychopath. He was utterly self obsessed, born of a staggering sense of inadequacy and self loathing that led to fury and abuse towards his sons. Failure of ill news was met with tantrums and violence. The successes of his brothers only further fuelled his rage, pushing his sons even harder even at the cost of their lives. Questioning his orders lead to scorn and derision because deep down Manus didn’t trust his instincts. He only new explosive violence that came from fighting the malignant influence of the living metal of his arms.

The only peace he could find, it seemed, was in the company of Fulgrim, the Primarch of the Emperor’s Children. On the surface this pairing seemed an unlikely one but Manus enjoyed Fulgrim’s beatific countenance and poets heart, it salved his tortured soul and helped him channel his energies in forging weapons of sublime beauty and devastating power. But even in these Manus took no pleasure beyond the weapon he crafted for Fulgrim. The hammer Fulgrim forged for him proved to be a psychological anchor for the troubled Primarch often wielding it as much to focus the humanity at his heart rather than channel the cold fury in his arms.

The true tragedy is Ferrus Manus is that he was always on a path to destruction. The rivalry and resentment he haboured for his brothers pushed him to seek out the worst of the fighting. To conquer the unvanquished foe. To prove his worth above all others. It’s entirely possible that when he heard of Horus’ elevation to warmaster his isolation was sealed, every kindness and gesture of fraternity would be met with hostility and derision, hiding the abject sense of failure and irrelevance that lay at his core.

As the years wore on Manus felt his control over the living metal of his arms slipping, pushing him further and further down a dark path that only Fulgrim or the crucible of war could salve. Manus was as doomed to an eternity of bloodshed as Angron unless he could win the battle of wills that he fought every single day against the constant and indelible symbol of his first and greatest failure. It remains to be seen if the Emperor was aware of Manus’ struggle. If he did he gave no indication which only further deepened his sense of isolation and his brothers mistook his profound and enduring depression as moodiness and ill cholor.

When the betrayal came Manus led the merest fraction of his Legion to Istvaan, determined to see the treachery for himself. It was as much about disproving his worst fear – that Fulgrim had become corrupted. If a being as perfect as Fulgrim could fall from grace what hope did he have? This was coupled with the betrayal, not against the Emperor but against him. Fulgrim was the only soul in the galaxy that understood him and even liked him. That Fulgrim should turn from grace was unforgivable to Manus and had he been victorious and slain Fulgrim there’s every chance that the despair that would have taken hold of him would have pushed him into the embrace of the Dark Powers.

It seems that Ferrus Manus was the doomed of the Emperor’s sons. The moment he landed on Medusa he was set on a path that would see him dead at the hands of one of his brothers, it would have just been a question of whose banner that brother rallied to. But tragedy over tragedy is that his passing left his sons pursuing a goal that he abhorred. Their continual augmentation in his name would be the final cut in a tortured soul as he was little more than an abusive father, lost in the shadow cast by his kin, justifying his choices. And with his passing the cycle continues and the Iron Hands embrace ever deeper an ill conceived truth until one day none of their humanity will remain and the legion will cease to exist, and Manus’ failure will be complete.

Tau Pathfinders – A Review

Posted by Phil on May 22, 2013

Those that read my review of Codex Tau Empire back in April will know that I was rather taken with the grey skinned bastards. So much so that I’m doing a little 1,000 point allies force to go with my two companies of Ultramarines. And those that read my review will also remember that I was rather taken with the Pathfinders. So it’s really little wonder then that I’ve got hold of a box and giving them the once over. For the greater good you understand…

Even before I read the Codex I was pleased when I heard that Pathfinders were going to be plastic as even when the Tau were first released the Pathfinders were a useful unit to have on the board, but the fact that they were metal and came in blisters of 3 and units of 6 meant that those that didn’t buy the big army box rather missed out. It was doubly true over the years metal models became increasingly expensive and the use of Pathfinders, especially with the introduction of railrifles, became more important.

The third iteration of the Codex has made at least one unit of Pathfinders a compulsory choice in all but name because they’re so damn good. Their options, especially the pulse accelerator drone (which increase pulse weapon range by 6″) means that although vulnerable in the open, they are a heavy hitting unit that can take on medium infantry as standard and then bring the pain on Terminators and the like with the handy addition of the aforementioned railrifles. To be fair the plastic models aren’t any cheaper than the metal ones were but you do get variety and lots of drones including the fooking massive recon drone. But more on that later.

So what’s in the box? Well two – which seems to be the norm these days – sprues that are crammed full of components.

I do have to hand it to the Games Workshop, although they’ve been pissing gamers off left, right and centre these last few months, they have really upped their game with getting the most out of the plastic. This arguably should make the models cheaper, but as I said – they piss people off. But I digress. The sprues are crammed with bits including some dudey pulse pistols, some pretty decent bare heads – at long bastard last – some spare pulse clips, bonding knives that don’t look lame and some other gubbins. Most importantly, you have enough bits to make a ten Tau squad armed with pulse carbines with bits enough to swap out three with railrifles or ionrifles or a combination of the two. So plenty of ptew ptew for your buck.

Although the fatigues on the legs are a little thin on detail and feel a bit more baggy than a recon unit would probably wear – and the poses are a bit shifty – the rest of the components are ace. The helmets have been refined and have improved comm aerials – just be careful trimming them free. All the weapons are crisp and the separate markerlights allows for the a degree of choice in how you build them. My small force doesn’t have them so the option of not sticking them on is good news for me. Although I suppose if you can be bothered and find magnets small enough you can make them removable.

Truth be told, the quality of the casting of the Pathfinders or the fidelity of the helmet antenna - especially compared to the Fire Warriors – or the quality of the weapons or the cool accessories, or the staggering lack of mould lines don’t steal the show. It’s the drones. They’re awesome. I mean. Awe. Some. The tits. The business. The dog hairy gonads. The recon drone is huge and may as well be Thunderbird 2 for all its whistles and bells including the pokeball grenade dispensers, a burst cannon and some nice detail. Plus the fact that you can mount it on a Devilfish is way cool.

But, importantly, it doesn’t feel like an after thought like accessories and ‘bonus’ often do. The only bummer is that, aside from the recon drone there’s only enough drone domes to make two drones. But if you’re not bothered about giving your fire warriors drones then you can make the set which does give your Pathfinders a pleasant amount of versatility.

The Pathfinder kit is one of the strongest unit boxes Games Workshop have done in a while. The arm poses coupled with enough accessories means that you’re knocking on the door of variety that the Space Marine tactical squad offers. Not quite mind you, but pretty close. But the sheer volume of cool shit makes up for it. And having the railrifles cast in lovely crisp plastic rather than metal just makes them as cool looking as the boltgun.

Throw in the fact that Pathfinders are frigging nails in the game and it’s pretty much an essential purchase if you’re collecting Tau. Unless you take a butt load of flyers, but that’s a story for another day.

Tau Pathfinders are available from Firestorm Games priced £18.

A Reflection on Tau Fire Warriors

Posted by Phil on May 5, 2013

So once again the Tau march across gaming boards around the globe for the greater good of the galaxy. And, as ever, the Fire Caste are at its vanguard, blazing a path through those that will not join in the Tau’s noble undertaking. At its heart are the Fire Warriors, the front line troopers of every Tau military action in its history of expansion.

I thought rather than review the Fire Warriors I would more reflect on them as it’s tough to review a box of toys that’s 13 – I shit thee not – years old and that I owned 4 boxes of. All those many years ago when I was a Games Workshop member of staff during, what I refer to as, the Golden Age.

I can remember first opening up a box and pulling out the sprues which are, by today’s standards, very sparsely laid out. At the time they were so far removed from anything the Games Workshop had done before it was a very exciting time to be in the hobby, let alone for an 18-year-old member of staff who could get it all at a discount.

Compared to the multipart plastic Space Marines that had been released 2 years before they were actually less sophisticated with arguably less variety. But what they were was different. And sci-fi. They were the first models in the 40k Universe that felt near future and more in line with the future path that I would argue humanity is on rather than the grim darkness of the grim dark Imperium of the grim dark future. Grim. Dark. Whereas the Imperial Guard weren’t much more than the army 30 years ago with sci-fi guns, the segmented armour over fatigues of the Tau is far closer to the armour worn by soldiers the world over and the future armour currently being developed.

The Tau also won fame for their unintentional Pokeball style grenades and scanners that looked suspiciously like the ones from Ghostbusters. But I like to think that it was a homage along with the obvious 90′s Manga influences that inspired the Crisis Suits.

I think for many, the appeal of the Tau has been their weaponry; not just in game terms but their aesthetic. They feel a little bit Star Trek: lots of interlocking panels that look like they’re held together with magnets and the rail guns aren’t too far away from the technology being developed in the present.

The sculpting is now a tad dated. The laziness of the detailing on the legs around armour plates is by recent standards quite poor but I suppose one must consider their age in the same way that most Space Marine players forgive the corners cut on the multipart Space Marine legs.

In game terms the Fire Warriors are one of the best troop choices in the game. If not one of the best units overall in the game.

Aside from benefitting from armour that ignores the AP of every basic weapon in the game, they also get a 30 inch range, strength 5, AP 5 basic weapon of their own. In 6th edition this spells untold misery for any army with low armoured vehicles but it actually makes them as good as Space Marines as they gain on the wound roll what they lose on the to hit roll. And all for 9 points each.

Granted that 4+ armour save isn’t as good but the option of taking a couple of shield drones at 12 points each affords the unit a 2 4+ invulnerables at a spread out cost of an extra 2 points per model for a full unit. So 11 points a model, which is still 5 less than a Space Marine. And a Fire Warrior will get the first volley off which will include crippling the Rhinos Space Marine players will take to try to keep their blokes alive for longer.

Although the Tau army only gives you two choices for troops, as choices go it’s a bloody good one. Yes the helmets and legs look a little tired compared to other models in the range – even ones as old – but they’re still pretty cool. And at 9 points a model for a model that can comfortably put a dent in an armour 10 vehicle it really doesn’t get much better.

Tau Fire Warriors are available from Firestorm Games priced £19.80.

Warhammer 40,000: Relic – A Review

Posted by Phil on April 28, 2013

I’m a reviewing machine! Things have been a bit crazy at Shell Case towers these last few weeks but I’ve managed to find some time to clear down the review backlog. And you know what that means: more reviews to come! Huzzah!

This time it’s the turn of Warhammer 40,000: Relic from Fantasy Flight Games.

As it says right on the box, this romp in the 40k Universe uses the Talisman game system. Nay sayers may comment that it’s a bit of a cheat just to reskin another game, but seeing as Talisman – or at least the version I played last in the mists of time – was bloody fantastic I’m really not bothered. And if it works, why wouldn’t you co-opt the mechanic. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and all that.

So what’s in the box? Well Fantasy Flight’s usual forest levelling amounts of card and carboard, a rulebook and some truly awesome playing pieces.

As one would expect from FFG, the production value is exceptionally good. The board is exquisite, as are the cards, counters and character trackers. And the playing pieces have GW casting quality. They all look lovely. Although the little stands are a stupidly tight fit.

However the the cards are really a touch too small. They’re small to save space but that’s only because there’s so many different kinds of cards. Because of this ergonomic design the easiest way of shuffling them is to make a pile and mess them all together. Aside from being annoying, it’ll quickly damage the cards.

And I don’t particularly understand why there’s three Threat decks. Aside from having a stupid – and oft-times misleading – name I question the logic of splitting out the three types of combat as it makes it very easy for players to game to their strengths, actively avoiding the style of combat they’re weakest in and using level ups to augment those attributes having done nothing to hone them.

For example: I used the Ogryn who is the strongest character in the game – yes stronger than the Space Marine – so I simply moved to red threat squares as much as possible to fight strength battles rapidly boosting my stats to the point that within a couple of hours I had maxed out my strength and health stats making me as hard as Ghazghkull Thraka.

I can totally understand why they did it but it has the potential to be abused by any character that has an above average stat in one of the three fields. And because of the point differences in stats the three best characters are the Orgryn, Ratling and Sister of Battle. And some characters turn out to be a bit rubbish. Weirdly the Callidus Assassin being one of them. Granted she has a special rule that gives you extra dice but that’s only really any use against harder targets. In reality she’s gonna get beaten up by the middle of the road enemies a lot.

To be fair, maybe that’s a conscious decision by the writers as part of the fun of Talisman was beating the game with the really shitty characters. But with certain characters not only getting the lion’s share of the cool rules but also having the ability to develop any attributes they want you’d be forgiven for feeling hard done by if you end up with one of the other characters.

Those grumbles aside though, the game works incredibly well. Everything is designed for quick decisions, quick play and quick progression. Which is just as well as the suggested playing time is utter tosh. Lee and I played for three hours and I was just reaching the point where I could attempt the third tier of the board. And that was thanks to so truly jammy missions and level ups on my part to make my Ogryn hench. But to be fair, providing you focus your efforts, you can get your character levelled relatively quickly which does give you quite a sense of achievement until you draw the Keeper of Secrets and it rips your face off.

You progress in Relic by completing missions which range from buying wargear at a specific location to deliberately picking fights with critters harder than you so you. This encourages you to explore the board, acquire equipment and, with it, develop your character and have a blood good chuckle in the process. In exchange for every 3 missions completed you earn Relics – geddit?! – which give your character a significant boost in some way. And only by having Relics are you able to complete the mission card placed in the centre of the board. Although you get to slog your way through a third tier which is just misery. You have to be tooled to the tits to stand any chance of surviving. Although the doom you can bring upon yourself is hilarious in its brutality and reminiscent of the various trials you have to roll for when you get to the middle of the Talisman board.

If I’m honest, the premise is a little flimsy and the volume of cards, counters and special rules you have to contend with meant that during the game we played, we weren’t entirely sure what the point of anything was but we just had to get one with it. Talisman’s objective was the far simpler – albeit less re-playable - goal of killing the dragon. Relic has a range of missions which creates a narrative but the rule book doesn’t really give any indication to that. And considering how excessively wordy it is you’d think they would have found space.

For all that the cards, although small and voluminous, they do serve a strategic purpose, particularly when you consider it’s possible to purchase, as well as find, wargear so augmenting your character is a very possible, and arguable vital, part of the gaming process. Although it does require the trading of influence which isn’t as easy to come by as one would like but it keeps the game balanced.

And encouraging players to level-up and improve their characters with relics and wargear keeps the pace and allows friendly rivalries to evolve between other players. And of course, as you stumble across the big beasties and fail to kill them because you’re too weak and shit, they stay there on the square so the board can quickly fill up with horrors that kick you in the hojos as you pass through. Which, again, can be hilarious for everyone else.

And as some of the cards are required to be placed on specific squares, your opponents can get some nasty surprises. Which is nice. But more than anything, despite Fantasy Flight making the rulebook horribly wooly, it’s a bloody good game. It’s got a nice and simple mechanic which means it’s quick to pick up. 20 minutes after kicking the game off we found our stride and had a huge amount of fun. It isn’t a quick game mind. We had played for 3 hours and still had at least an hour before I would have been in a position to comfortably enter the third tier.

For all my moaning, Relic really is a pretty good game. It’s simple to grasp – despite the iffy rulebook – and therefore simple to play and quick to enjoy. The character progression is nicely done and the character cards and progress trackers are brilliant albeit some of the characters seem a bit broken. It’s also such a pretty game that you’ll take time just to scrutinise the artwork as you land on each square. I’m still not convinced about the three separate Threat decks but it’s not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the game, but it does make the game easier to manipulate.

Relic coin for coin is one of the best board games I’ve played and one of the best value considering it’s a licensed product. It isn’t quick – you’ll need a solid evening or possibly a full day if there’s four of you and a tough mission drawn. But it’s a fun game, it looks great, the playing pieces are awesome and you’ll be with your mates so really I don’t see a problem. And I’m itching to play it again.

Warhammer 40,000 Relic is available from Firestorm Games priced £45.

Codex: Tau Empire – A Review

Posted by Phil on April 24, 2013

It’s that time again boys and girls. So the Tau have had a badly needed shake up and got themselves a couple of new models and a shiny new book for their trouble.

First of all, the cover is absolutely spectacular. It’s quite possibly the coolest we’ve ever seen a crisis suit.

Secondly it’s also the best looking Codex of the new wave. The inlay is made of thicker stock but it’s still a little on the cheap side and the fold out was straight this time, but they’re still a pain in the arse and impossible to keep nice because GW aren’t printing that page on undersized A3. And there’s still bloody typos! It started promisingly enough but the further I got into the book they started cropping up. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times; it’s really very poor form for Games Workshop to charge what they do and not thoroughly check their work.

But anyway, the book is undeniably beautiful and for the first time ever, interesting. I worked for the Games Workshop when the first Tau Codex came out and I blew my lousy keytimer wage on as much Tau stuff that I possibly could. I was swept up in new army fever and before I knew it I had a 3,500 point army – some of it painted – before I realised that the Tau were just a little bit bland. Fantastic army, but I just couldn’t get excited about them and it wasn’t long before they were at the bottom of my considerable stack of figure cases.

So lack lustre was my interest in Tau that I never got around getting the second iteration of the Codex – and the first to be called Tau Empire. Indications are that I haven’t missed much. This new Codex however feels very well-rounded and cohesive. For the first time I feel like that I understand the Tau, their place in the galaxy and their ambitions. And, more importantly, for the first time ever I give a shit.

It’s hard to explain but it’s just interesting. It’s perhaps down to the writing – shoddy proof reading aside – but it’s a surprisingly engaging background. Normally, being a life long Space Marine player, I get mildly indignant when I read in a non-Imperial Codex of the Imperium getting its arse handed to it. With the Tau it didn’t bother me in the slightest. Maybe it’s because the Tau are all so dead huggy about everything. Or maybe it was written without the usual unconscious bias towards the Imperium that Codices usually have.

That said the whole alien auxiliary thing is still massively wooly and I suspect down played because Games Workshop, despite rumours to the contrary, were not updating or releasing any new alien auxiliary units. Which makes me ask the question: why have them at all? The Kroot are fine albeit an acquired taste but the Vespid are shit, being massively overshadowed by the other units available under Fast Attack. And they’re still the only two units in the army and both lack Supporting Fire which is so incredibly handy you’d be mad not to field Tau units. Although is it me or would human auxiliaries make sense? They could have done a conversion kit to Tau-ify Cadian kits. Again, I suppose not worth the investment especially when customers can just buy a box of guard and a box (or two) of Fire Warriors.

The army list itself has had quite a few tweaks with no real additions other than the Riptide. It’s a beast of a model and can pack quite a wallop but be warned, it’s not as tough a nut to crack as it first appears as there’s about fourteen different ways for it to blow itself up. Mainly through the use of Ion weapons which GW have tried hard to make them worth taking with the overcharge function. Unfortunately it’s just not worth it when the standard firing modes are plenty good enough – basically a turbocharged autocannon – and only against horde armies would the overcharge ever be worth it – assuming you don’t blow your own arm off in the process as they Get Hot. And even then poses just too great a risk for the points investment. But despite all that it’s still immensely cool and I’ll probably have to get one just so I can paint it up as Optimus Prime. Because everyone knows Tau are Autobots and Necrons are Decepticons…

But moving on…

There’s now an abundance of Drones, the Tau Empire taking their lead from iPhone ads that must have only just reached their communication network – co-opting as they have Apple’s ethos so they have a Drone for that. This is by no means a grumble on my part as I love Drones. I had to big units in my army of old as between their twin linked carbine and toughness and initiative of 4 they were not only decent at shooting but not bad in a fight either. The variety is sensible and in line with the Tau’s ever-expanding understanding of technology, with certain drones only being available to certain units to augment what would otherwise be a staggering weakness in the theatre of war.

They may, however, have over egged the pudding slightly with Pathfinders, however, because they’re just sick. Awesomely so if you’re a Tau player but so much so that anyone I meet that doesn’t have at least one unit of Pathfinders in their Tau army I will openly mock. And why? Well, for a start they can take Pulse Accelerator Drones increase the range of any pulse weapons by 6″, boosting the carbine range to 24″ which for a strength 5, AP4, assault 2 weapon with Pinning is utterly horrendous. And all for 15 points for the unit. And that’s not including the drones that the Sha’ui can take. Or drones like the Gravity Wave Drone which can slow down an assaulting unit. And if you’re feeling really flush, chuck Darkstrider in there and all you non-vehicle opponents are at -1 toughness. So Space Marines are suddenly being wounded on 2′s from 24″ away with 20 shots from a full squad, a turn. Anything Toughness 3 gets instant killed. Dreadknights and Wraithlords suddenly aren’t so tough any more. Oh yes, Pathfinders are awesome. And that’s without looking at the other handy-dandy stuff like markerlights, rail rifles – which are awesome – and ion rifles – which are kinda awesome but I prefer rail rifles.

But we can’t have it all ways. The rumour that you could take Crisis suits as troop choices was untrue so gamers will be forced to buy either Fire Warriors which are starting to look a little dated with the shonky detailing on most of the legs, and the fairly inflexible poses, or Kroot which force you into a very specific way of playing. All I can see happening, is gamers buying a single Fire Warrior squad and splitting it into two 6 model units and blowing the rest of their points on the cool shit.

Granted, the Tau army list does encourage a mutually supportive structure but when the main troop choice not only lacks modelling options but load out options as well it’s not all that inspiring and your mind turns to ways of making them all but irrelevant – and with Pathfinders being pimp and all the other units in the game being slightly more awesome than they were in the past it’s not hard. But I suppose it comes down to something I’ve noticed with the all the latest army books and codices; Games Workshop want you to buy as much as possible rather than give you the flexibility within units to do some interesting stuff with a simple conversion. So actually however you choose to collect the army you’re either spending loads on Fire Warriors because there’s not much choice, or buying all the other stuff because you’d rather chew off your own arm than field dozens of the dome headed bastards in your force.

It’s a shame as the Fire Warriors as a unit are awesome, especially with the right use of Drones, Fire Cadre and Devilfish and there’s no denying their combat effectiveness, I just wish the sculpting on the legs was better and the arms not annoying. It’s equally disappointing that the Crisis suit kits weren’t redone but I’m just going to head over to Forge World. Yes it means paying a tenner more per suit but they’re just vastly superior kits.

Codex: Tau Empire is in my opinion the strongest codex to date. Aside from the background being brilliant, the army list reflects it faithfully. The greater emphasis on Drones alongside a more robust feel to the Broadside and the improvements with Pathfinders highlighting the new dangers the Tau face beyond their borders. It’s far too special rule heavy though, literally every unit in the book having something that would make their mothers proud of and it doesn’t always feel necessary. It’s just one more thing that’ll start arguments and slow down play until you learn them all. Some, I admit, are completely justified, others not so much.

To be honest I’m totally sold on the Tau. The variety in the army list allows for some fairly unique armies, beyond the stale core force, and, aside from the awesome design, the flyers in the Tau army feel like the serve a purpose as opposed to the Dark Angels one that felt like a bolt on. Presumably so they wouldn’t feel left out in the cold when Codex: Space Marines comes out in a few weeks time.

It’s not a perfect book, or a perfect army – the characters seem too cheap, the Vespid too dear and the hammerhead way too cheap for its destructive potential and again, the sheer volume of special rules makes my mind leak from my ears but, despite, all that, they’re finally an exciting army with real challenge to forming a force as well as a real challenge to use and face on the board.

Codex: Tau Empire is available from Firestorm Games priced £27 and the Tau range is available from £10.80

Mark of Calth Trailer

Posted by Phil on April 19, 2013

The Mark of Calth is available to pre-order on the Black Library website. And in true GW style there’s a pap trailer to go with it. But the book looks and probably will be awesome so they’re forgiven.

Plastic Crack of Choice

Posted by Phil on April 18, 2013

Another guest post from Chris (@Darth_Crumble) who was inspired by a post from a fellow warmonger on their blog. This time Chris muses on his GW hobby or lack thereof and the path it will take…

This post was inspired by this post by Erin, aka @sixeleven, on the difficulty of fully breaking away from Games Workshop:

SixEleven’s Warhammer 40,000 – I Just Can’t Stop Myself

My experience of trying to make a clean break is similar to Erin’s in that I am also haunted my the lure of the GW despite my better judgement. Like him, I feel the lure of the familiar rules, setting and toys. I started really looking at other game systems just under a year ago and I must admit that precious little has appealed to me the way GW – and 40k in particular – have.

I was briefly fascinated by Firestorm Armada and Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games, but after while I lost interest. I think although Spartan Games have a lot going for them they don’t score well enough on the three branches of background, rules and models to hold my interest. Of the two, I think Dysto has the bigger residual appeal and so far I am opting to keep my Britanian fleet with its HMS Warrior-inspired colour scheme.

Likewise, Warmachine and Hordes don’t quite grab me. Partly because there is no one model range that I like enough to collect an army, as and unfortunately I find a lot of the Warjacks and Warbeasts that are the focus of the games to be the least interesting models to me personally.

The only other game that has really grabbed me recently is Warzone Resurrection by Prodos. This is the first game that has grabbed me the way 40k used to. At least partly this is probably due to their similarities, both being 28mm sci-fi battle games set in a dark future. Though WZR is a very different game, not least because it is a D20 based skirmisdh game. Sadly WZR isn’t released until June though.

A lot of my nostalgia for the grim darkness of the 41st millennium is probably due to my continuing to read Black Library novels. I continue to read the Horus Heresy series, as well as Gaunt’s Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain, Space Marine Battles and one day I might get round to reading the Salamander trilogy. To be honest though, I was already steeped in 40k lore and it would no more cease to be part of my mental landscape than Star Wars, Batman, Transformers, Babylon 5 or any of the other fictional universes which I have enjoyed and have influenced me over the years.

It has been nearly six years since I last played 40k. Since then I have made some abortive attempts to collect and paint up news armies though I have never got as far as rolling any dice in anger. This has had a lot to do with the various distractions and other demands on my time the last six, extremely eventful, years.

The other issue has always been resentment of the cost. The thing about GW being not just the price of individual models, but the number you have to buy. I try not to be too irrational about this. I don’t want to be one of those people who object to a business as acting as such. But the question hanging over any transaction involving GW is whether I will get enough enjoyment to justify the cost. Of course a lot of the answer to that question is actually my responsibility to determine, and relates to how I go about my hobby and make the most of it.

I must acknowledge that GW’s behaviour has been pretty questionable, but there are lots of companies whose behaviour I find questionable but which I haven’t found myself feeling the need to boycott them, so that could just be a convenient excuse. Perhaps it’s just that GW’s brand of evil is a particularly cartoonish one, acting more like a parody of an evil organisation than the real thing.

So I have to ask myself whether I am not going back to GW because I genuinely don’t want to or if I am just being stubborn. Any hypothetical return to GW would involve me identifying an army that I genuinely wanted to collect and paint and play with. It would also need to to commit to collecting sensibly. Not buying so much stuff as to overwhelm myself but not dragging my feet either. It would also require me to not procrastinate and manage my time a bit better. Being a husband and father does make genuine demands on my time, but it can also serve as a convenient excuse to not do things sometimes.

I am of course tempted by the Space Marines, perhaps doing the Salamander or Crimson Fist army I’ve always thought of doing – possibly as #forgeworldonly project. I like the Imperial Guard, but that is genuinely an expensive force to collect and I’m not sure the ‘cheap’ all-veteran armies are actually all that viable. I like some of the shiny new Tau stuff, but I’m disappointed the Crisis Suit has not been updated and I have found Fire Warriors very painter-unfriendly in the past. Any army I do pick would need to have a codex up to date for sixth edition, I’m OCD like that.

Thanks to Erin for inspiring me to get this all of my chest. Maybe some of you other #warmongers have had similar thoughts?

Forge World Open Day Snaps

Posted by Phil on April 7, 2013

No I didn’t go, these are shamelessly ripped off from Bell of Lost Souls. Oh and to all the nay sayers, all the information I’m hearing after the day is that there will be a plastic Thunderhawk. Boom.

Anyway, lots of shiny Horus Heresy stuff, including a completely awesome Thousand Sons dreadnought and the Fellglaive. Which I completely want…