Saturday 15 November 2014

Conquest Basic Faction Overview


I've been playing Conquest on and off for a few weeks now. Losing mostly, but that's because my opponents have bought more than one starter and at the moment I can't afford to do so. Even so I am finding it a very entertaining game although I wish I could get my head around exactly what I need to do with each faction to win. This is my thoughts on the factions available right now.

Space Marines.
I love Space Marines in 40K and always have so I have been trying to get these to work more than any other faction. On paper they seem quite strong and the area effect mechanic that some have is really good. Some units seem a little over costed though but I have that issue with most of FFG's card games.
Space Marines seem to be the faction to go all out on securing the three planets first and foremost. Hard hitting enough to snatch one early on and force your opponent to catch up.

Astra Millitarum Imperial Guard.
Sorry, not calling them Astra Millitarum. They are the Imperial Guard. At first glance this faction looks good but in truth they seem weak in actual play. So much so that I've used them as allies in my Space Marine deck because I don't think they'll work as the primary for now.
Lots of cheap-ish units that allow you to deploy over multiple planets thus allowing you the chance to secure resources before trying to snatch planets from your opponent.

Eldar.
As in the war game the Eldar faction is a little too good though not broken. A mix of handy units though low in wounds as it should be. Eldar seem more driven to wasting your war lord than winning through planets which I find irksome. If I remember right they are also the only faction that can easily return cards from the discard which gives them a big advantage.
Eldar are able to go straight for the Planet win or play the long game gathering resources. My experience is that they tend to just go for your war lord and win that way though. Boring.

Dark Eldar.
I haven't played this faction yet but have played against it many times. This faction isn't very strong at the moment but it can be very infuriating. They exhaust (tap) units and reduce attack values until your forces are worthless. As I say, it makes playing against them just frustrating and boring to play against. They do work well as an ally for the Eldar making them even worse.
I'm sure exactly how Dark Eldar should be played. I am guessing they go for the long game or the war lord kill same as the craftworld Eldar.

Orks.
The Ork faction is an odd one. By looks of it your units should get themselves wounded and then run roughshod over everything your opponent has. My experience is that they get to do it once and then get killed off meaning that you have to play things in waves almost. At the moment I am more likely to play them as allies to Chaos or the Imperial Guard.
Orks are like Space Marines in that they are probably best played to snatch the first planet as quickly as possible and force your opponent to catch up.

Chaos.
Chaos seems to be to be the strongest faction in the game right now. A mix of very hard units and some extremely powerful combos involving daemons should see them smash through any non-Chaos opponent. They are another faction that I really don't want to play against until I can get some more cards or another starter. It may well be that if my regular foes were using one starter that Chaos might not be so bad.
The Chaos faction seems to have the ability to go for the first planet win, capture resources and focus on the enemy war lord making it difficult to handle them.

Tau.
I quite like Tau from playing them in a couple games. They seem comparable to Space Marines but with more shooting and less area effect cards. They really need a second starter though to get the important cards. I've seen them played with some effect as allies to Eldar and Space Marines so maybe for now that is the way to play them.
Tau look like they are better at securing resources first and foremost before trying to grab planets. With enough resources they should be able to plonk down their big units and annoying cards and win.

Now to wait for the first set of expansions and the arrival of the Necrons and Tyranids.

Wednesday 22 October 2014

40K Conquest



I've started playing the new living card game from Fantasy Flight Games based on 40K called Conquest.

Like pretty much everything FFG puts out it is good quality, reused artwork and comes with more tokens and playing chits than you can shake a force weapon at. However, unlike most of their games, Conquest isn't unnecessarily complex. In fact it is quite the opposite, being easy to learn and the playing time is about half an hour based upon the games I've played thus far. It seems to be based in part on the old Warhammer 40K card game by Sabretooth Games but simplified and more player friendly.

The idea of the game is to capture the planets of the Traxis sector by winning command struggles (resources and cards basically) and by capturing the first planet. There are ten planets presently but you only ever play the first seven randomly drawn from the deck. Each planet has one, two or three coloured icons, and victory is determined by being the player who captures three planets with matching coloured icons.

In the starter box there are several factions: space marines, imperial guard, chaos, orks, eldar, dark eldar and tau empire. In a future expansion necrons and tyranids will be added to the roster.

So far I think the game has good potential and as a LCG you don't need to be chasing down boosters for the rare cards. Each month sees a 60 card pack released so that everyone has the same cards and the same pool to draw upon.

At present I have only the one starter though I think as usual for an LCG you really want two just to get the extra cards. As I have been playing against opponents with two or three starters I have not done very well at all outside of the first few games. At the moment I am trying a space marine deck with imperial guard allies. They seem good at dealing damage but not so good in winning me the command struggle so I tend not to be able to play my more expensive cards and units.

I know I'm not so good at explaining games like this so here is the tutorial video. Enjoy.


Thursday 4 September 2014

7th ed - first thoughts


Last night I had my first game of 7th edition against my friend Jon. Two space marine armies both fairly basic (Ultramarines vs Iron Hands) just to get my head around how things now play. We didn't manage a full game due to time constraints but we managed four or five rounds I think.

So for the most part I thought it was ok. Perhaps having a few months break from the game did me good though I am still not sure that I am going to buy into it again. Cost, time and personal niggles will probably prevent that for the time being.

So what didn't I like? Lets start there.

Psychic tests. This now plays like the magic phase of Warhammer Fantasy. I much preferred it as it was under the previous edition. Not a major grumble but a game change that I can't see the reason for doing unless both games are becoming much closer systems.

That is it. I am sure that somewhere there is something that never cropped up but other than the psychic system no complaints.

What stood out as being a big thumbs up?

Mission objectives. Initially I was a little ambivalent about this. Oh yes, another gimmick. But in fairness I have to agree with Jon that they made the game more interesting and less about just blasting the opponent into little bits. I don't think it will stop people doing that. It is still a very competitive game after all but if you can nudge players into playing my objectives then I this gets a thumbs up from me.

We shall see whether it pulls me back or not though I did flick through the space marine codex before bed last night and pondered it.

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Update

I haven't been around for a good while. Real life has taken a real pain in the backside turn this year and events have eaten up a lot of the time I'd normally post on here.

Basically at the moment I am on a hiatus from 40K. A mixture of prices, cashflow and a general dislike of the new edition have driven me from the game so I am taking an extended break for the time being.

Friday 21 February 2014

Codex Tyranid Traits

 

 
 
 

Add caption







League update


The club's 2014 40K league kicked off last week. All games are 1300pts but you can change your list (fixed codex) knowing the mission and opposing codex in advance. Makes for a far better game.

Colin G:                  Farsight Enclave.
Simon B:                Grey Knights.
Richard M:             Eldar.
Benjo G:                 Blood Angels.
Jon Q:                     Orks.
Ian T:                      Tau Empire.
Dan D:                    Dark Eldar.
Joel T:                     Tyranids.
Brian W:                 Eldar.

The current scoreboard after the first two weeks is as follows:

1st place - Richard M, Jon Q, and Dan D.
2nd place - Simon B and Brian B.
3rd place - Colin G, Benjo G, Ian T and Joel T.

I had the bye on round 1 so more time to build my Farsight forces. So far my money is on Jon and his greenskins to win though Richard will give him a run for his money I think. I am very surprised at Joel's loss with tyranids but I put it down to a new codex which needs getting used to. I fully expect to come last but that is fine by me.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Attack Wing


I've really gotten myself into the Star Trek Attack Wing miniatures game at the moment. 40K is taking a little bit of a break though I'm not going away (still have a load of trait cards to do). Rather than use this blog I've made one for ST:AW for those interested. You can find it here.

Thursday 13 February 2014

Internet Forums


Why are internet gaming forums so crap? They are either really busy but full of pointless and uninteresting topics or they should be that busy but are dead and largely unused? Either that or no one responds to your posts or comments.

It seems to be an issue regardless of whether or not it's wargaming, roleplaying or cardgaming.

Saturday 1 February 2014

Star Wars vs Star Trek

For a while now I've been playing the X-Wing miniatures game from Fantasy Flight. It is a really cool game with hardly any issues to spoil play. It's bloody expensive though which is what initially put me off the game. At £12 for a single ship I find it hard to justify a lot of purchases. But once I tried it I enjoyed it and splashed out. Then I got a tad burnt out of the game because I was playing it a lot and because when trying to organise mini-events I got hardly anyone turn up. Bummed me out a bit on the game.

Then one of the semi-regular club members bought into the Star Trek Attack Wing game. It's basically the same game published by WizKids and licensed from Fantasy Flight. It has a few small tweaks such as ship turning arcs since it deals with big capitol ships rather than fighter craft. I'm also a lot more of a Trekkie than I am a fan of Star Wars so I have bought reasonably heavily into this.

The problem is that I am finding that I want to play Star Trek more than I do Star Wars these days. I'm a tad bored of Star Wars. Not bored in a never want to play it or sell my collection sort of thing, just not presently desiring the game right now. I think part of it is also that in Trek there are several factions to keep it interesting but X-Wing is firmly Imperial vs Rebel Alliance. FFG have said that they are not doing any other factions even though I am sure Republic and Separatist factions are wanted by players.

You can tell that I am more into the Trek game because I am already trying to work on a campaign system, something that I pondered for X-Wing but cast aside.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Codex : Space Marines review


I've played a fair few games under this new codex and finally I feel that I have a reasonable handle on it now. This here is my review. I'm not going to worry about the fluff as I think I can assume we all know it.

The Adeptus Astartes special rules.
The Combat Squads special rule is still in and I still find it a weak option. Don't do it. I hear arguments that it lets a squad hold two objectives rather than one, and that is worth doing it. I disagree. All this does is allow your small squad to die easier to shooting and assault as your opponent will have weight of dice. It just means your squad will die quicker and sooner. Combat Squad, don't do it.

The Warlord Traits seem fairly average. Only Angel of Death stands out as being really worth it. None of them are bad options but personally I would rather stick to those from the core rulebook than use these.

A new twist introduced in this book are the chapter tactics. Much like the special characters of the last book this codex gives you new abilities based upon your chapter or it's founding chapter. Some are better than others. The Ultramarines CT have never come up in one of my games (my marines are UM successors) so pointless but free. Iron Hands on the other hand is awesome, and I am very tempted to change my primary to an IH and use my UM successors as allies.

Allies I heard you say? Yep. You can ally two space marine chapters providing they have different chapter tactics. I like this a lot.

Chapter Relics are a bit of a joke in this book. They are either too expensive and will never see use or they have a drawback that means they won't ever see use. Allow me to point you to The Burning Blade. The BB is a +3 str, AP 2 melee weapon with blind and incandescent. Looks good so far, but incandescent means that when used in melee there is a chance that the model carrying it takes a S4 AP2 hit. So, I can have a basically a +3st relic blade but it hurts me on a roll of a 1? That can stay in the book. I don't see me use any of these.

HQ: Special Characters.
The special characters are quite nice but for the most part I still think they are over costed when compared to a generic HQ option. The main exception to that is Tigurius who is a real monster with his Master Psyker ability pretty much guaranteeing his choice of psychic powers before a game.

Special characters are now tied to their chapter or founding chapter so you won't find Tigurius in a Salamanders or White Scars list, for example. I like this as it does help make sure that chapters are fielded with more fluff.

HQ:
Chapter masters and captains are good options. I prefer the captain at the moment over the master personally. Still no terminator bodyguards though which is disappointing. They used to have these a long time ago and I would like to see them return.

The Librarian has become a firm favourite under this codex. I don't like that we don't get the divination discipline. I'd happily swap out biomancy which I don't think is in keeping with space marines anyway.

Chaplains seem ok though I've never been a big fan of them. Only played one once under this codex and he did ok. I'd rather stick to a captain or librarian now though.

The Master of the Forge is still in and seems to be the same as in the previous codex. Only tried a couple times and will probably keep for odd occasions rather than be a common addition.

Troops.
The Tactical squad is still the main stay of the space marines and with the addition of grav weapons have become a little better in my eyes. Still no chainsword as standard or as an option which what I am still waiting for. Come on GW, these guys need these to be worthwhile in close combat!

Scouts are still handy and I think an addition of a squad is worth while in every game. Cheaper than they were is a bonus. Scouts are the only option where I think combat squading isn't such a bad idea but only to offer sniper support in different corners of the table.

If you are playing as Black Templars then you have the option of taking a Crusader Squad, which is basically your old troop choice from when they had a codex. I don't see the point since you can now take a regular tactical squad which as far as I can see is better than this.

Dedicated Transports.
The Rhino... AKA automatic "first blood" VP to your opponent. I really want to use these but they are so easy to crump that you are just giving your opponent a free VP. Tough call.

The Razorback has gone up in points when pretty much everything else in the book dropped points. I've heard it suggested that it was because tournament players spammed them but that is no reason to make them more expensive. GW, you want people buying your models right?

Drop Pod's are the choice where I have a love/hate relationship. I can't deny how good they are on paper and when other people play them but for me they seem a waste of time. You need to spam them it seems to make it worth while.

The Land Speeder Storm has now become a dedicated transport option for scout squads. Nice idea but I don't rate them.

Elites.
Vanguard Veterans have been brought over to the Elites sections with a slight points dip. I like them but I find I want to field other options more. If playing a really high point game then these guys come into their own. I really want to field a full squad with jump packs, grav-pistols and storm shields and have them waltz through the enemy.

Sternguard are still too expensive in my opinion. They need to be brought down in line with tactical squads. It seems, much like with the HQs, that points have been added to their cost to represent the corner of the FoC they come from. I don't like that.

Dreadnoughts are another option I want to like but get destroyed far too easily. I still hold to the idea that they should be monstrous creatures just like wraithlords and dreadknights. At least Venerable has dropped enough points that it is worth considering.

Ironclad Dreadnoughts...don't know. Never felt right using them last codex when there are terminators which can do the job.

Legion of the Damned. I still like these guys but they are another unit which are expensive and thus I look elsewhere. Not to say they haven't done well.

The basic Terminator squad... I am trying to reuse these and I do like them but they just die far too easily usually to small arms fire. For the points you pay I want them to last a lot longer and get a chance to do their job.

Assault Terminators are still my favourite Elites option even with the unnecessary points increase to thunder hammers and storm shields. Thumbs up.

The Assault Centurions are a new unit and quite frankly I think they are utterly pointless. When you have assault terminators why on earth do you need these? No invulnerable and can't really fit in any vehicles due to being very bulky. Don't bother.

Fast Attack.
Assault Squads, I like them but I want them as a troops choice not a fast attack. Blood Angels them as troops so why not the rest of us?

Land Speeders are an option I don't see used very often any more. I certainly haven't field them since mid-5th edition. I think with the addition of flyer's to 6th edition that these units have been left on the shelf.

The Stormtalon has finally made the proper codex. I am a fan of this unit but only when loaded up as an anti-infantry aircraft.

Bike, Assault Bike and Scout Bikes are options I really want to get around to using again. So far bikes haven't done me well and they keep driving off the table edge.

Heavy Support.
I still find Devastator Squads too expensive. I like them but there are other options that I think warrant more attention from other slots of the FoC. Having these is a boost to the Black Templars as they can now take them where as before they didn't really have much option for a heavy weapon squad.

Another new unit is the Centurion Devastators. I really want to like these but they don't play as well as I hoped they would. They really need an invulnerable save, even just a 6+ as well. I need to try them out a few more times.

The Thunderfire Cannon is an option I really want to try. I didn't under 5th because I couldn't put the awful metal model together without lacerating my fingers. Now we have a resin version I may well give it a go as it is a great option.

The usual HS options of Predator, Whirlwind, and Vindicator are still here. Every so often I do dig these out and give them a try but they just don't survive long enough. It is a real complaint for me that vehicles don't survive long enough any more.

The Hunter and the Stalker are new anti-air units. On paper I don't think they are great. Although 70 and 75 points respectively, they just aren't as good as the Aegis Defence Line with quad autocannon. I'd take that any day over these two.

The three Land Raider variants are still in and are the only vehicle options I think in this book have any chance of surviving a battle. The Redeemer is still my favoured choice out of the three.

Lastly, we have the Stormraven finally in the proper codex. Another big thumbs up though I have yet to build and use mine. I did proxy one or two games and was pleased with it.

----

My overall thoughts are that we have a better codex than last time but only because the points reductions allow for the possibility of an extra squad or two that we didn't have last time. That is a good boost. But I am still going to grumble though because we are still lacking reasonable close combat (tactical squads *need* chainswords as standard), and we don't have any means of delivering long range firepower (the Eldar Wraithknight screws us in this regard). I still think every other army out there out manoeuvres, out shoots and out assaults us. The codex still feels like a beginners book. Get new players into the game, let them see how crap the book is and then they spend their money on other "better" armies.

At least it is better than what we space marine players have had previously.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Tumbleweeds



I can't believe that it has been two months since I last posted here. Real life issues and a bit of a downer on 40K has caused that. Real life is still a pain in the backside but slowly the love of 40K is returning mainly due to organising the 2014 40K league.

The Primarchs club has been a bit quiet in recent months as we have lost players. One moved down under, and a couple others have decided that they want to play something else (Drop Zone Commander) which needs more time and space. This time the league has 9 players including myself and that seems about right. It is set to start mid-February and run for three months. Feels about right. More details closer to the time.

The open-ended Midas Crusade has reached it's year 1 anniversary and so far it has been a real blat for me in recanting the battles and I hope it is something that will continue for many years to come. I opened it up to a couple friends outside of our regular group and every so often when they manage to fit a game in I've included their results. Keeps things interesting.

Lastly I have decided that I really do need another army to prevent me getting fed up of losing with my space marines. I had wanted to do Demiurg but since that fell through with the new Tau codex I have decided to go Farsight Enclave since no one else plays them. I just need to get them built and at least a start on painting them before the new league begins.

Speaking of codexes, I am well behind on my reviews so I shall endeavour to get them done over the next week or so.

Thanks for hanging around during my break.