Tag: Tau

Stuck In A Rut

By

On 12th September 2023

In Blog

So I am in the middle of a doctor imposed period of rest and relaxation, not that I can do that much more, and I don’t think I have achieved any of what I was expected to do.

Its been four weeks of the six I was told to take, and I am struggling to center myself and sort out the things I am meant to do, and I think I need to sit and sort that out in the next two weeks.

So I am setting myself some targets over the next couple of weeks, lets say three weeks.

  • Finish Bayonetta
  • Get my studio into a constant state of tidiness
  • Sort out my desk (Its a huge mess)
  • Film a Battle Report
  • Cook something
  • Finish a book
  • Sort out my 3D Printer
  • Paint that Lascannon Squad for the Death Guard you forgot you needed

So here is what I need to do

Finish Bayonetta

Just sit and play on my Steam Deck for at least 30 minutes a day

Get My Studio into a Constant State of Tidiness

The big things are to get some stuff into the eaves, clean up the bookcase and take some old Codexes and rulebooks to a charity shop.

I also need to put this unexpected terrain into a box, so a trip to ASDA or Ikea is needed (so I need to ask Lindsay for help, or perhaps Paul) and put the new PLEX server in its permanent home, which may also involve setting up a KDM using a Pi.

Sort Out My Desk

Linked to the above but its a bit of an issue with the left side being a huge issue

Film a Battle Report

I think I have a workflow figured out, so I am gonna try and do this next week, and perhaps do an overview of one or two of my armies.

Cook Something

I have been struggling so much with the electric hobs, so on Sunday, I am going to cook a meal for the otters.

Finish a Book

The brain damage is an issue here, causing concentration to really suck, but I just need to sit down and read, force myself if I have to.

Sort Out My 3D Printer

I have yet to use it since I moved here, and its been over a year!

Paint that Lascannon Squad for the Death Guard You Forgot You Needed

I forgot I didn’t have a Lascannon squad for my Death Guard and I put it in a list, so yeah, I need to build one, I have the marines, just need to buy the weapons on pay day!

I know I will need the assistance of Lindsay and Megan, but I am gonna really try to sort this out

What I Am Modelling

I started out with the Praetor for the Death Guard I got a few months ago

Then it was a pair of Azyrite Fountains I got from Stormbringer

Then I painted the Azrakh the Annihilator model I got from Warhammer+

Then I painted a T’au Strike Team

Along with an Ethereal

And a Cadre Fireblade

Plus six Shield Drones and a pair of Marker Drones!

After that it was some Mandrakes for my Drukhari

So what’s up next?

  1. Imperial Fists Lascannon Squad x 10 & Evander Garrius
  2. Gardus Steel Soul
  3. Blood Angels Infiltrators x 10
  4. Blood Ravens Ballistis Dreadnought
  5. Ork Boyz x 10
  6. Ultramarines Apothecaries x 2
  7. Marshcrawlla Sloggoth
  8. Dialogus
  9. Imperial Fists Rotor Cannon Squad x 10
  10. Death Guard Land Raider Spartan

What I Am Reading

I finished The Great Clans of Rokugan Volume 2 which was a good listen.

And I listened to The Rapture by Joseph Lidster, and I forgot the mad lads at Big Finish did an audio in which the 7th Doctor went clubbing with Tony Blackburn in Ibiza.

I am currently listening to Blood of Iax by Robbie MacNiven.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

I had a game of Horus Heresy vs Graham on Tuesday at Durham Raiders.

We played a 3500pts game using a Siege of Cthonia mission, and needless to say, of course Graham won!

What Video Games I Am Playing

A bit more Starfield is getting played and I am making progress on the main storyline,

And I am playing a bit more of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun on stream

And a couple of session of Assassin’s Creed Revelations.

I am also playing a bit of Bayonetta on the Steam Deck, and wow, I forgot what a horny game this was!

What I Am Creating

We got the latest episode of Edge of Empire published, thanks to an improved workflow on my end.

What I Am Spending

I bought Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth for Steam, its been on my wishlist for a while and it was £1.69 so why not!

I Wish the Weather Would Make Its Mind Up

By

On 15th August 2023

In Blog

Its consistently hot, I am spending most of my time sweating hard!

In my studio its really hard due to being in an attic with a ton of tech and the weather keeps raining hard, so I can’t even have the window open to relive myself with some fresh air and have to have two fans on all the time!

I can’t wait for the coolness of autumn!

What I Am Modelling

I started off with a Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun for my Ork, really lovely model to stand beside my resin one.

And I also painted up a Deffkilla Wartrike for the Orks as well, a really really fun model!

Followed by a trip of Canoptek Wraiths for the Necrons

And a Hexmark Destroyer for them too

After that I moved onto a T’au Stealth Team for my Tau Sept army

After that I finished off some Firestrike Servo Turrets for the Ultramarines which have been sitting on my desk for a while.

And finally I finished some more Gutrippas for the Oruuks!

So whats coming up next?

  1. Illuminor Sezras
  2. Elathain’s Soulraid
  3. Tzaangors x 6
  4. Ultramarines Sternguard Veterans x 5 & Victrix Honour Guard x 4
  5. T’au Fire Warriors x 10
  6. Termagants with Spine Fists x 20
  7. Stormstrike Charriot
  8. Blood Ravens Terminators x 5 & Terminator Captain
  9. Mandrakes x 5
  10. Ultramarines Ballistus Dreadnought

What I Am Reading

I finished The Martyrs Tomb by Marc Collins, which was a fun story, felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the series, but still good.

I then listened to Spare Parts by Marc Platt, a fantastic Doctor Who audio drama about the genesis of the Cybermen, and is one the best stories that Big Finish have done.

I am slowly making my way through Secrets in Scarlet, slowly but surely.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

I played Blood Bowl on Saturday, against Black Orcs, and yeah, I lost, and lost a couple of players 🙁

What Video Games I Am Playing

Back to Control Ultimate, and I started on The Foundation!

But this is the last gameplay I will have as a crash corrupted my save and there is no way to recover it 🙁

So I am done with it for the foreseeable future.

I Did as a result start on Assassin’s Creed Revelations on Monday.

I also finished Disney’s Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, the last boss was fiendishly difficult, but it was a fun little game overall.

What I Am Creating

The latest episode of Edge of Empire is out, and on YouTube and iTunes now!

What I Am Spending

A few more games were added to the library, starting with Bully, cause it was 99p, plus I got Quake Live and Crumble in a £1 mystery bundle on Fanatical!

I got a couple of bundles, first off Humble Choice, which got me

I also got a Train Simulator Classic Bundle from Fanatical which got me the base game and 17 pieces of DLC!

I also picked up in the QuakeCon sale

And a I picked up very cheaply, Kerbal Space Program, Lamentum, Dust to the End, Steamworld Dig and American Truck Simulator

Christmas!

By

On 30th December 2022

In Blog

Well Christmas happened, and I spent most of it ill, which wasn’t fun.

This cold/flu is kicking my arse and I just can’t shake it, it’s got my sleep cycle all to pot and taking away any pep I have.

Anyway I did enjoy Christmas, me and Lindsay went to Paul’s for Christmas dinner which was lovely.

Present wise, Megan got me a Lord Veritant for my Stormcast Eternals and Lindsay got me some Death Maidens and Wyld Runners for my Escher gang. I also got some tools off Paul which will come in lots of help, alongside a £15 Xbox voucher.

But alas most of it was spent dying in bed 🙁

What I Am Modelling

First up I painted up a Scout Squad for my Imperial Fists.

I then painted the T’au Cris Suit Team, and a Commander, all armed with lots of Plasma.

So what’s up next?

  1. Imperial Fists Contemptor Dreadnought
  2. Ultramarines Intercessors x 5
  3. Silver Tower Heroes
  4. Blood Angels Repulsor
  5. Templar Brethren x 10 & Sigismund
  6. Hobgrot Slittaz x 20
  7. Leagues of Votann Kâhl and Einhyr Champion
  8. The Crimson Court
  9. Ultramaines Lieutenants x 8
  10. Battle Sisters Squad x 10

What I Am Reading

I published a review of Shadow Avengers by Carrie Harris that you can read here.

I also consumed Planet Havoc by Tim Waggoner in more or less a single session, really really good book, my review is here.

I then started on Sword of the White Horse by Elsa Sjunneson, an Assassins Creed novel, and I demolished that as well, the review is here.

I then read some short stories starting with Harrowhand by Evan Dicken, which was a fun little story.

I then turned to Warhammer Horror and read Pain Engine by Chris Thursten which was a little predictable but still very creepy.

After that I hit up Somewhere Sister by Jeremy Lambert, which was fairly unsettling.

Next up was The Fields of Abundance by David Annandale, which was a lot of fun!

Then I read The Stacks by Chris Winterton which was quite scary and horrific!

Moving on, I read Sacred Hate by David Annandale, a fantastic little Word Bearers story, for a Legion I love so much!

After than It Bleeds by David Guymer was an interesting little story, very interesting World Eaters story that shows how hate can consume you and turn you into that which you loath.

Then it was A More Perfect Union by Rich McCormick, which was an interesting Emperors Childrens short.

Then it was The Shel’Tain Affair by Jude Reid, which was a really good story!

After that I started a full book with The Siege of X-41 by Tristan Palmgren, which I got finished fairly quickly, review coming next week.

Then I moved on to Stars & Stripes by Sean Grigsby and Stewart Hotson, review coming next week!

And then I started on Age of the Undead by C. L.Werner.

What I Am Creating

The final (probably) Edge of Empire episode of our 6th year was published and we delved into the Liber Imperium.

What I Am Winning

I won a copy of Warhammer 40,000 Darktide for Steam which was cool, alas I already owned it, so I gifted it to a member of the Edge of Empire Listeners Community in a contest of my own!

I also won a copy of Night of the Scissors on Steam too, which was really cool.

I also won a code for Cubic Parking for PS4, but the code was for Japan (sad face, make sure to read T&Cs) but I have a friend in Japan so the code was passed to her.

To continue the prize winning, I won a Steam code for Euro Truck Simulator 2.

Continuing a great streak, I won ForeVR Cornhole for my Meta Quest!

I also won a Flexipot BS9 chair on Twitter which turned up on Thursday.

What I Am Spending

I did but myself the final Far Cry 6 DLC, Lost Between Worlds for the Xbox.

And I also bought Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition in the Steam sale.

An Exceptional Swimmer

By

On 22nd March 2022

In Blog

So I am gonna write about something, controversial, well I don’t think it’s controversial personally.

I want to write about the US swimmer Lia Thomas, whom you may have seen featured in hate filed articles arguing that as a biological male, she has no right to compete against cis women.

I saw a meme that made a big deal about the fact that in the 2020-21 season, she ranked 462nd amongst males.

But you see that got me wondering, she had to be on oestrogen for a full 12 months before she could compete as a woman. So that means in the 2020-21 season she was competing against cis men whilst on oestrogen.

Oestrogens biggest impact on a person assigned male at birth, is the extremely quick reduction in muscle mass, it drops off you very quickly.

What this means is that you have a denser bone structure that you need to work harder to make work, so against cis men, and even against cis women, you would find yourself at a disadvantage.

So how did Lia perform in the last season she competed in, prior to oestrogen treatment.

Well the answer is available for all to see, she was in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle events, number 1, not simply good, she was the best amongst men in the entire US.

Her times when she swam before her transition were exceptional, I mean they were incredible.

She was an exceptional swimmer when competing as a man, and is an exceptional swimmer when competing as a woman.

What this says to me is that it’s not about her being a mediocre man who changed sex to win medal, but that she is simply a good swimmer no matter how she competes.

It reminded me of a US army study that looked at trans women in training. After being on oestrogen, they did have an advantage over the average cis woman, 12% to be precise.

However, the average elite level female runner is 29% better than the average cis woman, and none of the studies participants even reached that level.

Now I conceded, the research done into trans woman’s participation in sport is limited, and the conclusions are not quite conclusive either way.

But so far the evidence suggests that trans women are less likely to be as good as other cis athletes in their ability level.

But contrary to what people say, trans women aren’t dominating woman’s sport, far from it.

Lia Thomas is simply an exceptionally good swimmer, she has demonstrated it in both gender categories by dominating them.

So frankly I think it’s more likely that like Michael Phelps, she may have genetic differences that simply make her better at swimming.

What I Am Modelling

I painted the Pathfinder Team for my T’au Empire.

After that I finished Darkstrider.

A Thermo-Exchanger Shrine got bought earlier in the week and painted up on Sunday night to add to the Company of Legends terrain.

After this I competed a unit of Deathmarks for my Necrons.

I then turned my attention to the Skitarii Rangers that I needed for a battle report.

Currently on my painting desk are some Primaris Suppressors for the Ultramarines.

So what’s coming up next week?

  1. Ork Kommandos Kill Team x 12
  2. Corpse Grinder Cult x 15
  3. Blood Bowl Referees x 2
  4. Blood Angels Primaris Lieutenant, Librarian in Phobos Armour & Assault Intercessors x 8
  5. Orruk Weirdnob Shaman
  6. Death Korps of Krieg Medusa x 2
  7. Morg n Thorg
  8. T’au Breacher Squad x 10
  9. Fafnir Rann
  10. Ork Terrain

What I Am Reading

I published my review of School of X which you can read here.

And I also finished To Chart the Clouds by Evan Dicken, a review of which you will find here.

I am currently reading Reign of the Devourer by David Annandale.

What Video Games Am I Playing

Not much, but I did play Horizon Zero Dawn for a couple of hours on stream on Thursday.

https://youtu.be/ZhuDqER_R7A

Other than that it’s mostly been Halo Infinite, been playing Ranked Area games to get an achievement.

And some Forza Horizon 5 here and there.

What I Am Creating

I published the issue 20 Imperium Battle Report.

What I Am Spending

I did grab a Thermo-Exchanger Shrine to add to one of the Company of Legends table, one of the Sector Mechanicum probably.

I bought the Itch.io Ukraine bundle, it’s an awful lot of stuff, but the donation is the best but about that.

To help with the vlogging for Company of Legends I grabbed a Mini LED video light.

I wanted the one recommended by Randomfrankp, but that particular model isn’t available in the UK, so I grabbed this one as it’s pretty much the same thing.

Hello Enterprise

By

On 16th March 2022

In Blog

We finally got a new car, a year after we initially ordered one, and it’s a bit of a tale.

We first ordered a Vauxhall Combo Life Diesel in March 2021, we were told a six month wait due to chip shortages.

I was told that the car was built, it just needed chips a few weeks later.

In October I chased it up, oh the chip shortage means it will be March or May when it’s ready.

So anyway, I was browsing the Vauxhall website to check some details about the car only to notice, it was no longer listed, turns out that model was discontinued in September, before I last spoke to them.

So I called them on Wednesday, and was told that the order would still be honoured, sometime in the next 12 to 24 months!!!

So we said we would select an alternative and were assured that we would have to wait no longer than 12 weeks, maybe a few more depending on trim.

Checking the website, that actually said 19 weeks, so we were already a bit suspicious of their promises.

On Thursday me and Megan decided to make some backup plans in case the Mokka we were looking at, didn’t work out, and we decided to give Hyundai a call.

They told us if we were okay to have it in white, we could have a Ioniq Electric, in 4 days time as it had literally just been delivered from the factory to go in general sale.

And even if we wanted another colour, they said it was just a 6 week wait, 8 depending on sea conditions to get another car. Unlike the ICE versions, it’s not subject to the same chip issues as it uses a pair of SoCs like many other electric cars to control everything that other cars have over 100 chips control.

So we rushed up, and spoke with the salesman, Matt, who was a great guy, and he showed us round the one in the showroom, let us sit in the actual car we would be driving away, although it was totally covered in protective plastic, and then it’s a test drive.

Okay, it ain’t the worlds most exciting car to look at, or drive, but it’s economical, it’s a nice drive and it has air conditioning that isn’t winding the window down!

So we did all the paperwork, paid the £199 advance fee, and arranged to pick it up on Tuesday. Motability need 4 days to set up the agreement with the DWP, start the insurance and send the PIN number.

In the meantime the dealers got it fully detailed and charged up, and although we already have a home charging point, it’s not a type 2 port so will need to be replaced, but that’s covered under the Motability scheme.

Given that it’s white and fancy, the girls have decided that it will be called Enterprise, cause as you probably know, we are massive Trekkies.

What I Am Modelling

I started by finishing up the four Zone Mortalis tiles I bought last week.

I then painted a couple of Canoptek Constructs for my Necrons, a Canoptek Spyder and a Canoptek Doomstalker.

And followed a Trio of T’au Crisis Suits, armed with Flamers.

I started on an Ultramarines Intercessor Squad and Redemptor Dreadnought on stream yesterday night.

So what’s coming up for me next week?

  1. T’au Pathfinder Team x 10
  2. Ork Kommandoes Kill Team x 12
  3. Corpse Grinder Cult x 15
  4. Blood Bowl Referees x 2
  5. Blood Angels Assault Intercessors x 8, Primaris Lieutenant & Librarian in Phobos Armour
  6. Skitarii Rangers x 10
  7. Orruk Weirdnob Shaman
  8. Death Korps of Krieg Medusa x 3
  9. Morg n’ Thorg
  10. T’au Breacher Team x 10

What I Am Reading

School of X was finished today and a review should be published tomorrow.

What Video Games Am I Playing

For my relaxing game, I have been playing Townscaper, which really is very very chilled out, I think I am done with it now as I have 100% of the achievements.

I have been playing some Forza Horizon 5 most days, which is lots of fun, and the occasional match of Halo Infinite.

I am doing okay with Far Cry 3, but after the girls watched me skin a tapier, I am banned from playing it when they are in the room!

What Tabletop Games Am I Playing

Sadly none 🙁

What I Am Creating

The next two battle reports from the Imperium series were published, issues 17, 18 and 19.

And the Company of Legends list episode was published on Edge of Empire!

What Am I Backing

No active projects, but the Doubleclicks Greatest Hits album has been delivered from Rawr! Velociraptor!

What Am I Spending

I picked up Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarock for the Xbox, although I imagine it will be some time until I get to play it.

I also bought some terrain on eBay, specifically a set of Thermo Pipes and a Thermo-Exchanger Shrine to add to my Imperium table.

I also picked up the two store birthday models that I ordered a couple of weeks ago.

Go Big Or Go Home!

By

On 20th February 2017

In Blog

Late last year I decided that the squad of Tau Fire Warriors I got with the Kill Team boxset was an ideal excuse to start a small Tau army, no more than say 1500pts just for fun.

Yeah all that stuff I purchased last year, well I put it all on a chair whilst I was sorting out the studio and the idea of getting a small army went out the window at some point and this is what I have ended up with!

Not shown are two loose Devilfish I got off eBay, the squad of Fire Warriors I got with Kill Team or the extra Broadside that came in my Battleforce.

This will be a project for later this year I think!

Christmas Report

By

On 28th December 2016

In Blog

Well Christmas came and has now gone, and I had a nice few days. This year instead of going away, Megan’s family stayed up north, so me and Lindsay got to spend the day with them. 
We did the traditional Botterill thing of waking up and having bacon and mushroom stotties, although a lot earlier than usual, 7am to be exact! And then we opened our presents. I was a bit worried about what I got Megan and Lindsay, but they both loved what they got, so that made me happy.

I got some quite cool things, a pack of Wulfen for my Space Wolves and some Haemotrope Reactors as well as a Stormsurge, Pandemic – Reign of Cthulhu, Fallout 4, Ghostbusters (2016) on Blu-Ray, some drill bits for the drill I got for my birthday and an amazing pair of Joker Converse High Tops!

We then travelled down to Megan’s parents where we had a lovely dinner of beef and turkey, piled high, not quite as high as my Nana’s, but pretty high. In the afternoon we played some games and watched a bit of TV, then had a tea of party food, including some low sugar cakes and gingerbread that Megan made especially for me.

When we got back home that night, we had left the wrapping paper on the floor, purposefully, so we sprinkled some pellets in it and let Gandalf dive into it and make a mess like he loves to do!

Boxing Day I spent in the house on my own, which gave me a bit of time to just chill out in my own, and with that time I did a of reading, and some painting.

All in all a really nice Christmas, different from the Christmas that I have developed over the years with Lindsay, but sometimes it’s nice to mix it up a bit, and I have promised the Ruffell’s a Botterill Christmas next time they stay up north for the 25th December.

What I am Modelling

Still working hard on the Word Bearers, but I need to really get my arse into gear if I am to have all 3500 points read for the 22nd January.

Over the past week I have finished up a Praetor for the list, it’s the event only mini, which I picked up at Warhammer Fest, armed with a Combi-Volkite and a Thunderhammer. Absolutely love this model and feel like it’s full of character. I have the same one painted up for my Ultramarines and am tempted to get another to paint up for Space Wolves.

I also painted up a squad of Cataphractii Terminators for which is used a few bits form the Special Weapons Upgrade Kit, specifically the Reaper Autocannon and the Power Maul. I didn’t think that the Power Sword really suited the Word Bearers whereas the Maul really did. The model was inspired by a piece of artwork that SN Battle Reports have been using for their Horus Heresy event, it really captures what I wanted to express with my model and I hope you can see that.

Then there is the lone MKIII Marine with a Meltagun. One of the things I want to do with the Word Bearers is to use them as Chaos Space Marines for 40k, but I can’t simply plop my Legion Veteran Squad in as a squad of Chaos Marines, sadly they can’t take two heavy weapons. So that’s what this guy is for, he will substitute for one of the Missile Launcher Marines to give me a 10 man squad of Chaos Space Marine armed with a Missile Launcher and a Meltagun.

On Boxing Day, I was left to my own devices as Megan and Lindsay were off elsewhere and I was able to paint up a Spartan Assault Tank and a plastic Contemptor Dreadnought armed with a Kheres Assault Cannon. I also built and primed a squad of Ashen Circle which I shall begin painting tomorrow.

What I am Reading

In audiobooks I listed to Perpetual, a story by Dan Annett which formed part of the Black Library advent calendar subscription. I really enjoyed it, was nice to catch up with some characters who are off on one of these side missions which will probably not finish up until the Siege of Terra. I did have one issue with it, and that was that the actor voicing Ollanius Persson seemed a little too old. The artwork of him from Know No Fear shows a man of middle age appearance but still quite vigorous, and his voice actor in the audiobook of that story I think captured him perfectly, whereas in this one he is just a tad too old, more like Robert De Niro, old and retired but still with it, than Liam Neeson, if that makes an sense.

I also listened to Children of Sicarus in which we got a bit of historic information about the home world of the Word Bearers and a bit of character building for Kor Phaeron. We also were introduced to the first Kairic Adept in the 30/40K lore which makes me wonder if they will be introduced when GW get round to do some more Tzeentch models for the game. We got to see what a self-serving got Kor Phaeron truly is, how he puts himself ahead of everything, even the will of the Gods he claims to serve.

A criticism would be that it describes M’Kar as a member of the Gal Virbak, when I just listen to the story of his assent to the ranks of the Daemon Princes in The Mark of Calth, and he is quite well established as such in the rest of the lore, typical GW not keeping tack of its own more I suppose, LOL!

I got finished reading Sons of the Forge, and overall, I didn’t enjoy it all that much, it was very jumpy and filled with plot holes and dead ends, which is a sad thing to say because it had lots of potential.

I then moved on to a few of the recent shorts that were released during the Advent event, The Painted Count, Exocytosis and The Last Son of Prospero, all of which I enjoyed a lot. But Last Son of Prospero was a tad weird, it’s an interesting ending and I am wondering where they are going to go with it, but it does seem to have undermined all that had been built up around this character up to this point.

What I am Playing

On Christmas Day, I played a couple of games with Megan’s mum and sister along with Lindsay and Megan. We started off with Joking Hazard, we played to 5 points and Lindsay won it, was a lot of fun and we made some very funny comics. We then played a game of Timeline British History, which I had gotten Megan for Christmas, and Lindsay won that, after declaring at the beginning of the game that she wouldn’t win because she is rubbish at British history!

Durham Raiders had an all day gaming session today, but sadly I was unable to make it until much later on, by the time I arrived most people were either leaving or had just started another game, so I sat with Aidan whilst he was building his Sylvaneth for the slow build Age of Sigmar and I built the Genestealers from Lost Patrol. 

But after I had done that Phil and Gareth had finished their games of Age of Sigmar and The Horus Heresy, so we played a game of Gorechosen with Christopher. I had not played Gorechosen up until this point, although I had always wanted to pay a game, and it was really really good. I even won, but very early in the game I took a real beating from Gareth’s character until he and Phil realised that Christopher hadn’t taken a single wound, and they then ganged up on him! It’s a really brutal game and I had a lot of fun, so much so that I intend to get a copy at some point, as much for the minis as for the game itself. 

What I am Backing

A Bahá’í friend Jody Cooper is running a Kickstarter to fund a concept album of songs he wants to produce, it’s called Serenades and Odes to a Cracked World. He is a rather talented musician so I suggest you check it out.

What I am Spending

Well all the Christmas presents I needed to buy were bought, so I treated myself, I did some demo work last month at the Newcastle Film and Comic Con, so with my pay for it, I got the Tau Empire Targeted Reconnaissance Cadre battleforce box set, a Tidewall Rampart and Stormcloud Attack. With my normal hobby budget I bought a Ghostkeel and a Broadside. So I probably spent a bit much on the hobby this month than I should have done considering my backlog of projects.

I also got a killer deal on an old box set, the Blood Tide of Khorne from my FLGS, they found it at the back of the storage area, it had arrived damaged and unsellable a few years ago when it was sent in by Games Workshop, and they were sent a replacement, so I was given it for a steal, the only real damage I could find was to the box, the sprues themselves are in perfect order, so I snapped up the offer, and this will form part of my slow build Age of Sigmar Khorne army.

Kill Team

By

On 17th September 2016

In Reviews

img_8384After a summer filled with releases for Age of Signar it’s nice to get back to 40k, and following Death Masque we get the return of the popular Kill Team game.

My first forays in the 40k universe were with games of Necromunda, I had a force of Enforcers lead by the corrupt Sargent Hill who liked to go into combat with a shield and power maul. The thing I liked about the game was that it was easy to start and quick to get on the table fully painted (though in my case quite poorly) and I enjoyed some awesome games with my Enforcers, small games in which every figure counted.
Kill Team is kind of like that in that you get a small squad of 200pts, which allows you to buy, 0-2 Troops, 0-1 Elites, 0-1 Fast Attack. There are a few more selection rules, namely that you need at least four infantry models, nothing with more than 3 wounds or hull points, no vehicles with a combined AV of 33, no flyers and no 2+ saves.
img_8385With a force selected using this rules, you then can play as a small band of troops doing quite cool cinematic missions lead by your heroic leader. This is a fast easy way to try 40k and may be a cool way to try out a new faction without investing a huge ton of money on a whole army only to find out you dislike it.
The rules have been released on Black Library, fully updated for 7th edition for the low price of £6.99 as an ePub, or if you bought the 6th edition version, it’s a free update. For those on iOS there is also an enhanced version for £7.99.
img_8387The box set I am reviewing comes with these rules in a handy booklet, and you get a an excellent two player set which also includes a full copy of the 40k rules with a Raven Guard cover, along with a set of Space Marines Tactical Squad and a set of Tau Fire Warriors, and you get all of that for £40. And that is excellent value, its about the price of a decent board game these days and is perfect for starting out with 40k and you don’t fancy the Dark Angels or Chaos Space Marines offered in the Dark Vengeance box. The only things you don’t get are dice or templates, but in fairness these are easily acquired elsewhere.
So getting back to the game, when you build your army there is one thing you should bear in mind, and that is that when you add dudes to your team, although they may act as individuals in the game, you still buy them as a unit, so if you only want say 4 Space Marines, you still pay the price for 5 of them, so mixing and matching units can get quite hard.
img_8388The model with the highest leadership becomes your team leader and gets what is in effect a mini Warlord trait, which is chosen exactly the same way, by rolling a D6. You can then nominate three non-vehicle models to be specialists, and you can pick from one of five categories, Combat (melee orientated), Weapon (shooting orientated), Dirty Fighter (dirty tricks), Indomitable (making the model a bit special), or Guerrilla (movement orientated). When you pick your specialist you then get to given them a special rule from the category, for example in the Raven Guard kill team data sheet included in the rule book, a model armed with a Missile Launcher, is an Indomitable Specialist and gets the Relentless Special Rule, meaning he can fire that Missile Launcher on the move. Now you only get one of each speciality so no giving yourself multiple versions of the same specialist.
The book also contains six special Kill Team missions which are played on a 4’x4′ board. The missions do have slightly different rules to standard games, for example, transports can carry multiple units, because each model is a unit all of its own. And some codexs get a tweak too, for example, Chaos Daemons don’t use the Warp Storm or Daemonic Instability rules, but they do get fearless instead.
img_8389There is a nice mix of mission in there, objective missions, assassination missions, get into your opponents deployment zone, but they are all quite fun and short in length, so you can easily play a couple of games in a single session.
The book then looks at what the next steps in Kill Team could be, for example it suggests tournaments, linked games, and multiplayer games. So you can see Kill Team offers plenty of scope beyond whats in the box.
Finally the book contains Data Sheets fro two pre-built Kill Teams built from the kits in the box, one a Raven Guard squad, and the other, a team of Tau Fire Warriors complete with Drones. This is a cool template to use, but does somewhat take away from the fun of building your own Kill Team, but for people new to 40k, they are perfect.
So whats my final opinion on Kill Team, well its good, its very good, its an excellent kitchen table/beer and pretzels wargame, its dirty and quick to play. But, and its a big but, like with all Games Workshop wargames, it all depends on the players, in the hands of most of the players I know, it will be fine and fun, but in the hands of the WAAC players, it will be broken very easily,  for example, taking an Eldar Hornet, which is perfectly acceptable for use in Kill Team.#
Its a great game, just be wary of who you play with!

8/10

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