Heroes of Armageddon, the home stretch.

I almost don't want to show this picture because of how bad my camera is. I will be taking good shots with my DSLR. But here goes.

I am wrapping up the Land Raider this week, as well as the JP Priest.  This weekend I plan on banging out Corbulo, and next week my terminators will be finished.  I started painting them last night. Got them assembled and based Dragon red.  

It is not as smooth a blend as Mike Cho's Storm Raven, but he is a better painter! :)  Honestly though I like the rough effect. I have not touched the armor on the guns if you are wondering.  I will be pushing out the light highlights on the edges some more, and smoothing out the red transition a bit. Then painting a scroll with "Tycho" and the severed angel wing that serves as the 3rd co. insignia.  

Any way, much to do.  I will be posting a big update on Friday with some fantastic pics of the other guys work. At this point you know the message. DONATE!  Use the link at the top right.  Don't miss out on a chance to win these armies, and help a great cause.

Jawaballs

New Goatboy art!

Thanks goes to Goatboy for doing this fantastic image for me!  

This week on the blog I have a lot of exciting stuff coming up. First of all, the Heroes of Armageddon boys are wrapping up the Blood Angels army. You will see some of the first finished models including a FANTASTIC customized chapter banner done by Ron Saikowski. You should see my land raider, Mike Cho's Storm Raven, and Tim Williamson's Sanguinary Guard all finished.  

The Jawa Nation also picks up speed with over 20 members so far.  Currently we are organizing in the game Rift, you can get a FREE TRIAL HERE. If you hurry you may still be able to get the game for 10 bucks! They were running a special this weekend.  We are on the Shadefallen server, on the Guardian side.  Come meet some new friends and have a fun time! 

The Jawa Nation Logo

Finally more Nova list talk. Last week we had a pretty big discussion about a possible jump pack list. This week we look at options. I will look at the AV 13 wall, as well as revisiting the Quad Land Raider list.  I only have about two weeks to bang out a final list for The Nova and I took a big step last week with you help! That jump pack list looks nasty. But can we do better?  The goal is to get the most competitive 2k list we can, that has at least 4 troops choices, and does not rely on AV 11.  Can we do it?

Any way, the heat is on, the Heroes of Armageddon is soon coming to a close.  I can't wait to see the finished army. You are going to be blown away!

Jawaballs

Now is the time to get into Rift!

Now is the time to join Jawa Nation in Rift!  The guild of players is now up to 21 people and growing strong. Many of which have joined Rift as a pre SWOR launch.  Come join us!

Click HERE NOW. You will get an invite to play a free week of Rift. 

But this weekend they are running a special, you can buy the game for 10 bucks. That is a huge steal considering that I just paid 55 for the collectors edition about 5 days ago.  So GET YOUR FREE WEEK and come join the fun! 

Look for Jawaballs in game.  

We are playing on the Guardian side, on the Shadefallen server.

Jawaballs

Heroes of Armageddon Blood Angels update!

Of course the day I plan on taking update pictures of my Land Raider I forget my project box at home. Oh well. It was not done any way. :)  It will be finished and photographed next Friday.  School is winding down for me, so after next week I will be in full Heroes of Armageddon production!  First up will be a squad of Terminators, then Brother Corbulo. Then it is time for details, details details.  And hopefully I will be able to finish another squad of terminators for a commission client at the same time. Sorry it's taking so long Jason!

So here is what I have for you today.

Joe Johnson chimed in with the first pics of his Death Company.

Joe does not disappoint. These models are NOT easy to paint. Black is the hardest color in the game to make look "right" and plus these models are super detailed. Each one is like a little HQ unit. These are looking good! And of particular note, you will see the Heroes of Armageddon base theme. We went with a grey colored base with some chemical colored highlights.

And here is their ride!

Mike from Santa Cruz has done a fantastic job with painting the black Storm Raven, and behold his extreme attention to the base!  I wonder if he will provide some insight on how he got the effect.  You can probably find more on Santa Cruz Warhammer.

Mike Cho sent me a couple teasers of his Storm Raven:

These are just samples of the beautiful blending he is doing. Look at the extensive attention to detail in the cockpit alone! I can speak from experience that getting the smooth red blend on the front part of the armor is not an easy task. This model is going to be breath taking!

It is going to be an exciting next couple of weeks as all of the Blood Angels painters begin to finish their parts of the project.  Our deadline is coming up in a few weeks.  We will be done by July 4th.  (Mostly.)  Things are ramping up, so get your donations in!  If you are a fan of the Blood Angels, you don't want to miss this army. At the very least get 5 bucks into the pot.  All you need is a dollar and a dream!

Jawaballs

Sometimes you just have to laugh!

I received the following spam mail today:

Dear beloved friend,
 
I know that this letter may be a very big surprise to you, I came across your email contact from my personal search and I instructed the doctor here in this hospital to help me email you and I believe that you will be honest to fulfil my final wish before I will die. I am Madam Gloria Caldwell from LONDON, I am 65 years old, I am deaf and suffering from a long time cancer of the breast, which also affected my brain. From all indication my condition is really deteriorating, and my doctors have courageously advised me that I may not live beyond the next two months, this is because the cancer stage has reached a critical stage. 
 
I was brought up in motherless baby’s home, and was married to my late husband for twenty years without a child. My husband and I are true Christians, but quite unfortunately, he died in a fatal motor accident. Since his death I decided not to re-marry, I sold all my inherited belongings and deposited all the sum of $3.2million dollars with a Bank. 
 
Presently, this money is still in the BANK, and the management just wrote me as the Legitimate beneficiary to come forward to receive the money after keeping it for so long or i issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf since I can not come over as a result of my illness, or they get it confiscated. Presently, I'm with my laptop in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment.
 
I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live. It is my last wish to see that this money is invested in any organization of your choice and distributed each year among the charity organization, the poor and the motherless baby's home where I come from. 
 
I want your good humanitarian, to also use t his money to fund churches, orphanages and widows around. I must let you know that this was a very hard decision, but I had to take a bold step towards this issue because I have no further option. I hope you will help see my last wishes come true. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the BANK. I will also issue you a letter of authority, which will prove that you are the new beneficiary of my funds.

 
Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I stated herein. 
Hope to hear from you soonest. 
waiting your reply

 
yours in Christ,
Mrs Gloria Caldwell

Lol. I can't believe that people fall for this stuff. Sadly they must, otherwise these scumbags would just give up sending these emails! 

Sorry Gloria. I won't be responding. Instead I will make fun of you and your deaf-mute brain cancer ass.  First of all, you write worse than some the 12 year old hoods in my school. And that is bad. I suggest getting a better translator program for whatever language it is that you Somali Pirates speak.  Or learning English. 

But let me ask a few questions! First of all, how did you come up with my name in your "personal search"? You do the gaming community proud to know that you include us in your exhaustive efforts to find the right candidate for your millions.

But also, how the heck do you know that I am the right candidate? You decided from all of the possible candidates that could receive your cash that I was the perfect choice? How? Based on what? The fact that I make videos teaching people how to paint Blood Angels? 

What kind of hosiptal are you in where doctors take time out of their day to help patients write emails? Man that Universal Health Care in the UK is something!  I wish I lived in LONDON.  At least I know where to go to die. I'm sure your courageous doctors were right with their summation that you will be dead in the next two months because your cancer stage has reached it's "critical" stage.  (Sort of like this post)

I have to say that you have me a little confused. How the heck did a motherless baby have a home? But I have to say you did well for yourself! The homeless daughter of a motherless whore, finding some rich dude to marry at 45 and living the good life. You would do Little Orpan Annie proud! But I question the callousness with which you refer to the recent death of your husband of 20 years! I mean, being a true christian you must have loved him right? For you to so matter of factly report on his condition in a horribly ungrammatically correct email to a complete stranger makes me wonder about just what kind of person you are! Especially if you are leaving the honor up to ME to see that your money be given away to churches and babies.  You tart.

And are you daft? You inherited an estate, and sold it off? I guess you really did love that husband!  Man 20 years of lurking just to cash in when he died. You are like Lex Luther! (New Superman Movie reference) 

Now, I am totally confused by an entire paragraph of your letter:

"Presently, this money is still in the BANK, and the management just wrote me as the Legitimate beneficiary to come forward to receive the money after keeping it for so long or i issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf since I can not come over as a result of my illness, or they get it confiscated. Presently, I'm with my laptop in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment."
While England must have great health care, what kind of bank would confiscate your money?  And you are not the legitimate beneficiary, if you deposited the money into the bank, you are the OWNER. It is your money. They are not going to write you a letter threatening to confiscate it. Obviously some one of your stature should have a lawyer that could tell you the same thing, or in fact, write you a will and find you a new beneficiary? And they would definitely not print the fact that you are almost dead of cancer and they are holding it against you! 

I guess I am lucky that despite your loss of vocal prowess, brain function and the ability to hear, your fingers work fine and you have the use of your laptop, otherwise I would never have had the pleasure of reading this.

Thankfully for me, you found me, and were able to type.  I understand that you cannot talk or hear, so of course we will never speak, but I will definitely send you my bank information and social security number right away and be looking for the 3 million bucks deposited shortly.
Thank you.
Honestly guys, if any one is stupid enough to fall for these, they deserve to have their bank accounts emptied.  
Jawaballs

The 2011 Nova Open Jawaballs list!

Maybe.

This is the tentative list I will be bringing to The Nova.

The Venerable Jawaballs Standard Bearer

Astrorath: I know it's spelled wrong, I like calling him Astro.

Sanguinary Priest with JP and PW and melta bomb
Sanguinary Priest with JP, PW and Melta Bomb

Assault Squad x10
Melta x2
PW
Melta Bomb

Assault Squad x10
Melta x2
PW

Assault Squad x10
Melta x2
PW

Asssault Squad x10
Melta x2
PW

Assault Squad x10
Melta x2
PF

Assault Squad x5
PF

Honor Guard x5
PW x2
JPs

Vanguard Vets x6
PF x1
PW x3
Infernus Pistol x1

64 Pissed off, fast moving Blood Angels!

Why?  Well, first of all I wanted to get back to my roots. When I first got into 40k I fell in love with my Black Templars assault squad.  When the BA PDF came out, and I saw they had assault marines as troops, it was a done deal. I had to have them.  My first Blood Angels army was an all assault marine force supported by a couple of Baal Preds and a Vindicator. It was a massive fail though. First of all, the PDF was lacking certain things I needed, like Descent of Angels and Vanguard Vets and most importantly Feel No Pain.

But again why?

Well, as I see the game shift, I see the GKs forcing mech armies off the table. It is not because Psy Cannons and Psy Bolts are all that much better at killing tanks, it is because these options give a Space Marine army the one thing they have never really had, lots and lots of high strength fire power. The fact that it is medium range matters not when they can shrug off shakens and stuns.  Previously this sort of shooty strength was a distinction left to the Eldar and Tau and their obvious limitations.

My one and only encounter with the GKs thus far left me convinced that now is the time to strike with a Blood Angels assault army.  One thing I learned was that GKs are vulnerable to assault.  Most guys are not spending the points on Halbreds, and when confronted with assigning wounds to their precious Psy cannons, or the guys without that are holding force weapons, they will likely let the FW take the save.  When I charged small GK squads with my small assault squads, without power weapons no less, twice they came out victorious.

30 or so Grey Knights facing 68 Blood Angels bristling with power weapons and feel no pain will be hard pressed to survive.

But Jawa, what about the other armies?  Well, I attribute some of my tournament success with my prep. Based on the trends, I show up with armies designed to beat the armies that I think I will likely face. To date it has been Space Marine and IG.  My armies own Space Marine armies (For the most part), and depending on the favor of the gods, can table IG.  But I think that the new GK lists are a bigger threat.  They are going to force some of those IG lists off the table in the early rounds, leaving me less likely to face them.

But is this army weak vs the standard guard net list?  I don't think so!  Descent of Angels is a powerful ability. This many melta guns landing in close proximity to all those melta vets and medusas will deal some serious damage. If I use the angles and cover well, I can minimize return plasma fire and survive his next round of shooting with less than half losses. 30 marines in the back ranks of a guard army is a bad bad thing for guard, especially if I managed to demech them when I landed. Yes there is a little luck involved, but I think I should do well.

Space Marines?  I think I will do just as well as I always have.  You never know.

Dark Eldar? Bring on those paper boats.

Orks? I want a piece of you Dash!

My biggest fear?  Tau.  The fire power they can put down is amazing, and they can slow me down on the assault allowing them to unleash 2 or 3 full rounds of shooting. I don't think I can survive that.  But since Shatter Hands is not playing and he constitutes 33 percent of the Tau players in the world, I think I will be ok.

What are the keys to this list?  Astro.  I need this army to be fearless and him giving the increased chance at Red Thirst is key.  I cant having these big squads running away!  I considered Dante and Mephiston, but Meph is vulnerable to stupid force weapons, and Dante, while awesome, just does not do as much for the army as Astro does.

The Vanguard Vets are the second key.  Heroic Intervention will pull my butt out of the fryer quite a lot.  The biggest problem my first assault army had was those guys who set up as far away from me as they could with nasty shooty stuff, like Oblits. I could not get to them!  The vanguard will be able to get to those Broadsides, and the IG tanks that hurt like hell.

What are my options?

Well I threw in that 6th troops choice who will come in and hold objetives.  I considered using a scouts squad with Homing Beacon instead, but that would mean starting them on the table and suffering at least two full rounds of shooting.  I don't think camo cloaks will save them.  Scout bikers were an option but they cant take a homing beacon! Plus I have never used them and I have to use what I know. I have two months til Nova and need to commit. It's too late to start climbing that learning curve!

I think aside from minor war gear options, I only have two choices:
First, trying to get in a second VV squad.  Dropping the first down to 5 and a couple of power weapons could allow me to turn that 6th troops squad into a VV squad.  Two deep heroic interventions could effectively eliminate some armies completely.  Dameon Green's Space Marine list for example with 3 thunderfire cannons would see it's effectiveness greatly reduced.

Second, more priests is a good thing. I only have two, one attached to a small squad.  More priests would give me a wider FNP area and allow me to spread out more if I need to.  Dropping that troops choice will allow me two more priests.

Third?  Another chaplain.  Litanies of Hate is huge.

Of course, I need to play test this, then build and paint them all.  I am starting from scratch more or less!

What do you guys think?

EDIT: Because I made a points error I had to already drop that 6th troops squad. Forget that part. I added a 2nd priest.

EDIT EDIT: Rather than continually updating the list in the post, look for updates and corrections down in the comments.

Jawaballs

A good message and a sportsmanship question.

Ok, I thought these deserved their own post: 

hi, my name is patrick.  i just wanted to take a minute and thank you and fritz for the excellent videos and content that you have been putting up for years. I'm a marine and i had just gotten back from a tour in iraq over a year ago when i stumbled upon your youtube channel and it instantly peaked my interest and entertained me. i would have to say that your guy's videos really helped me get back to reality and be able to get back to normal life. I have been painting warhammer figures since the days of second edition with the red las guns and all of your exceptional artwork inspired me to get right back into it even more so and develop my skills as a painter. i just started a youtube channel with all my recent work so my brother could watch it from iraq but feel free to check it out and critique me. "drok cola painting"  so thank you again and take care, ooraahh.                                               pat.

Pat, Thank you so much. You honor me.  I have a soft spot for you guys because I know what you give up willingly. I can't think of kinder words some one could have said.  Thank you for being there for us and for coming home safe. You guys are the true Heroes of Armageddon! If I could I would donate to the HoA drawing on your behalf. But it is strictly prohibited. Maybe one of my readers can make a donation in Pats name for a few dollars?  Here is a LINK TO HIS YOUTUBE.

Poor Sports?


"Hey chris, how you doin. Ive been playin your nova open blood angels list for several months now at my local gw. I have been winning left and right, and i have had lots of fun. But a recent game I played was a casual game aganst a guard player with a classic leaf blower list. Through out the game I noticed hos tendency to cheat or purposfully misinterprete the rules. Now it was a non competiive game, but by the end of turn four i was very pissed and fead up with him doin this. we fineshed the game and i fealt cheated out of what 40k is about, having fun. So i was wonder what do you do in those situation that keep you having fun bolth in a competetive and non-competative setting
 
cheers, will"


I will begin by saying that no one is perfect. Even the best of us can have bad games. I have had my share of nasty situations, mostly at the start of my 40k career.  But as I played more, and encountered more and different players of various skills, I got better at being a good sport.  I even won Best Sportsman at the last Battle for Salvation tournament but in the ultimate show of sportsmanship declined the honor so that the youngblood behind me would win the loot. :)

Hell, even now though, if you see me in a game vs Black Matt or Brother Captain James, you will see us devolve to caveman levels at times.  But we enjoy busting each others balls.  We are still friends.

Bottom line here Will is that both you and your opponent are working together to craft a story.  If your opponent makes it unfun for you, it sucks but if you have a choice never play him again.

Every club/store has a couple of "those guys".  You know what I'm talking about, the ones who interrupt every one elses games to share their two cents on how they are playing. Asked for or not. "You are actually playing that wrong, tanks can only move 6" and fire." (Not noticing that it was a Blood Angels fast tank.) Then, there are the rules lawyers. And no, competitive player and rules lawyer are NOT synonymous. A lot of guys forget that. The guys that evoke eye rolling from every one else when they walk in the room.   Call em what you will. Gamer douchebag, jerk, blow hard.

Here is the thing, odds are, they have no idea.

So the first thing you have to do is accept that fact.  The dude you are playing against probably has no idea he is being a douche. I apply this thought process every day when dealing with middle school kids.  I try to look at the world through their eyes. If I can look objectively at where they are coming from, it helps me understand how to deal with them, and accept it. This makes the game go easier for us both.

So lets talk tips:

First of all. Neither of you were playing a "Casual" list. My list was written to win Grand Tournaments, and takes advantage of spamming things that work well. I will be the first to admit, the list is not fair and probably not much fun to play against, especially by some one who plays it well. (You experienced it first hand at Gamesday last year when I was putting it together!) This is expected in GTs, but not in casual store games.  Keep that in mind. I personally won't play one of my GT lists at the casual store unless I have first thoroughly warned my opponent. Even then I would only play the list against an equally hard list.  In a casual setting, it could be called poor sportsmanship to even put that list on the table!  But hey, your opponent was playing an equally hard and nasty list.  So you are excused.

He was a rule interpreter.  There are always dudes who read a rule in a book and think they found a secret nugget.  The truth is, there are very few rules in the game at this point that are left open to interpretation. I can say that 5th ed has been pretty thoroughly banged out. There are still a few that have no resolution though. And if I were playing one of those rules, before the game starts I discuss it with my opponent and ask his opinion while we are both level headed and before the situation arises. The last thing you want to do is spring something on him which will make it look like you are trying to cheat.  A great example of this is the Codex: Space Marine librarian power Gate of Infinity. There is question of whether or not this power can be used in close combat. The truth is that there is NO resolution to this by the rules. There are an equal number of pros as cons.  Even trying to break it down to "Rules as Written" does not resolve it, because they contradict. This rule requires a role off and that should be brought up before the game.

If you have a rule that may need interpretation, discuss it before play begins.  Ask your opponent what he thinks, and if he disagrees, offer to dice it off then live with the result.  If it is a casual game, and he refuses to dice, that is probably an indicator that you should not play him to begin with. Either play a different power, or don't play him at all.

In a casual game, when I get one of these guys, I keep in mind that it is all about having fun.  So I let him do whatever he wants. I will usually offer up the way I think the rule works for a quick discussion, but if he persists or argues, I let him have it.  It's just not worth it!  So what if I lose because of it. It matters not. I have fun regardless, and he is satisfied. Does he learn any thing? Probably not, but it is not my job to change every player I come across. And frankly, most of these guys don't want to change.

I also try to keep a sense of humor.  If things don't go my way, I laugh about it. If things go badly for my opponent, I offer him a high five and an apology. Eye contact, hand shaking and showing empathy are all great ways to break the tension and relax your opponent, making it a better experience for you both.

The simple answer, is don't argue with the dude. You won't change his mind. And he probably enjoys arguing more than playing the game. It is probably fun for him.  If you are not a sociopath then you probably would not enjoy the results. If you start a game with a guy, and he starts being a douche, just accept it, let him do his thing, have fun with him, and never play him again. If every one does that than before long he will spend his afternoons watching every one else play and have fun while he is ignored.

 I can say that these guys are few and far between in the competitive GT scene. Most of them get weeded out and dislike playing in atmospheres where most of the dudes know more than they do and easily prove them wrong with judges support.

Jawaballs

Jawa Nation almost up to 20 members!

Come join us in playing Rift!  CLICK HERE To give Rift a free week trial.  The Jawa Nation is started up and we are playing.  Come join us!  We are on the Guardian side, on the Shadefallen server.

I missed a chance at killing a giant Treant named Gnarladon 

for this screenie!

Don't forget to go join the offical guild roster on the Star Wars page!  

Up this week? More Mail call, and more Heroes of Armageddon WIP.  Oh and list talk for Nova!

More to come...

Jawaballs

NOVA Open Looms!

About two months and counting. That is how long I have to build and paint an army designed to win the Nova Open.  It is my opinion that the army I brought last year will be blasted off the table by the first GK army I face.  So I decided to completely redesign my list, and build and paint an entirely new army.  More on that later.

But one thing can be guaranteed. I am playing Blood Angels.  Yes, I am working on my own GK army, but that will be unveiled some other time.  Definitely not until the busy season is over, after I have finished The Heroes of Armageddon, and some other lingering commissions.

But just what will I bring?  Well, I have two factors to consider. First is the Trios tournament I am entering on that Friday.  As I posted before, I decided not to enter the invitational.  I decided that the rest of the tournament will be stressful enough, I did not need to get in 5 high stress games on Friday too.  More to the point though, I wanted to spend Friday hanging out with Stout Smurf and Fritz!  40k is a social game and the Nova is at the top of the lists of social events.  I want to be social!  I want to drink beers with good people and have fun playing some low stress games.  (Especially since I am bringing my game face for Saturday.)

Danny Internets and Ultrabob at Nova 2010.

Lets get one thing straight Fritz, I am squashing your bugs before they even molt.  Do you expect the Blood Angels to take the field with a bunch of mindless roaches? Let alone the Ultramarines? Do you think they have forgotten Ultramar?  Smurfs dreadnought is decorated with the rotting carcass of one for gods sake.  No sir, Mephiston is calling in Inquisitor Fritz to lead his contingent of The Inquisition to join the might of the Blood Angels and Ultramarines.  :)

The fun of the Nova Trios tournament will be in designing lists that work well together from three fronts.  I have to have a 1k point BA army that compliments both Smurfs marines and Fritz's knights/bugs/space elves. What do we play? Well the war council will convene next week. Then we will get to work building our display which should be awesome, and preparing the troops.

This leads me to talk more about The Nova Open. Perhaps the best part of last year's Nova was the staff. Mike Brandt patrolled the floor, shaking hands and engaging every one in conversation. You felt welcome and cared for. I know this seems silly, but in a day where we have to choose between a dozen GTs to go to, every little bit helps.

Then there is the loot.  I know Wargamescon was pretty loot heavy and I did not make last year, :(, but I have to hand the loot prize to Nova from my experience.  It must have been every half an hour that they were drawing random people to win something. Whether it was a pack of dice, a box set, or a laser pointer.  I think most dudes walked away with something.  I personally was ineligible to win any of the giveaways because I kept winning games, (Something I think Mike should change.) But I still managed to walk away with something by handing Nick Nanavati a 20 for a Razorback he won. (It may have been some one else, can't remember... not important.)

I only had two complaints about last year's Nova.  Mike addressed them both.

1.  The games were held in a separate venue from the hotel and there was no way to get in open games. Guys arrived early and were looking for room to game, and could find none.

Mike fixed this by securing a new venue/hotel that will house all of the players and games.  This new place will have 24/7 gaming.  Brandt correct me if I am wrong.  And I believe that the non stop gaming comes with non stop bar service? Talk about nonstop hangover!  This year, the Nova should set the bar again for competitive, social and fun gaming. Getting every thing under one roof was a big step.

2.  Last year was really just a one day tournament with the top handful of players invited to play in a mini tournament.  This was kind of a long trip for a one day event.

Mike knew this was a problem before the Nova even started, but his hands were tied by contractual issues with the venues.  I felt sorta let down because I went 3-1 on the day, played for a spot in the "finals" but missed the cut by one or two names.  I'm sure I was not the only guy who left on Sunday feeling a little disappointed. (This happened at the Battle for Salvation Nova too by the way.)

But the problem has been solved in spades!  Now, day one is just a seeding day for what will end up being the REAL Nova.  Your record on day one will decide your bracket for day two, then you will end up in a mini  tournament on Day Two vs only guys with like records!  Each of these mini tournaments will have full prize support. What a fantastic resolution! Brandt definitely listens to input.  Of course the 4-0 bracket will be playing for the best prizes and highest honors like Nova Champion. But this format means that even the lowly 0-4 dudes have a chance to leave feeling satisfied and happy with the tournament. They won't be going into day two after a rough first round knowing they just have to take it on the chin.  Believe me, I know how tempting it is to drop out from day two after getting whooped on.

This is likely going to be what I look like at about

9pm on Saturday at The Nova.

For these two improvements, I applaud Mike Brandt and the rest of the Nova crew.  Can't wait to see you all at the Nova!  Oh, and I would love to get in some games vs any one who wants one.  I will be arriving early on Thursday. Thursday night I will be playing in the Whiskey Challenge. On Firday  Fritz, Jim and myself are going for the gold in the trios team tournament. Then after some dinner and a quick nap I will be back at the tables for open games.  Rinse and repeat on both Saturday and Sunday. Then I am leaving Monday morning. (I'm not about to fight that Jersey traffic on the last weekend of the summer!) I suggest to any one else, if you are driving down from the North East, make the reservation for Sunday night too, and be prepared to relax at the pool with us.  Last year it took me 10 hours to drive home to CT on Sunday.  After a long day of gaming on Sunday, believe me, you are going to want to chill instead of sitting in a parking lot on 95.

What else for the summer?  Well this summer I will be at Gamesday Chicago, then the Nova ramps up the fall schedule for me. I will be hitting the Battle for Salvation, and Mechanicon of course, but I also intend on going to Da Boyz and any thing that Mike Clark runs in Media, PA. and I still have not ruled out Wargamescon!  Thanks for the nice Email by the way Jwolf.  I am going to try to start annoying the wife enough so that she sends me away.  :)

Be sure to read about the Nova Open at http://whiskey40k.blogspot.com/

More to come on my plans, lists and strategies for both the Nova and the Trios.

Jawaballs

Heroes of Armageddon work in progress!

Meet Tom Schadle.

Tom is painting THE Hero of Armageddon, Lord Dante, supreme commander of all Imperial forces involved with the Battle for Armageddon.  I guess that makes Tom royalty?  Well, I don't know about that, but I do know what I have seen.  Tom has won well over a dozen Golden Daemons, including the elusive Slayer Sword.  Enough said. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. In no particular order, here is a body of Tom's work, all of these winners of Demons.

I actually borrowed this power sword technique!

Tom was asked by Dave Taylor, another painting legend, to do Dante for our cause and Tom eagerly agreed.  I have not gotten any WIP pics from Tom because he said he will be painting Dante all at once over the course of a weekend. I do know that he will be using the standard Dante model, with a little addition of a winged jump pack.  If you would like to see more of Tom's work check LOOK HERE.

So what else do I have for you?

How bout a WIP update from Tim Williamson from Tau of War who is painting some Sanguinary Guard!

Tim emailed me saying how he thought they were coming out terrible.  I'm glad he was just pulling my leg and being humble. These look fantastic man.  I particularly like the black at the top of the wings.  It is a nice contrast with the gold.  

What else?

How bout Ron Saikowski of From the Warp providing us with yet another awesome banner!  As you know, Blood Angels chapter banners follow a format.  They always have an image of a robed Sanguinius, hold various items that represent the specific battles in which the banner is used.  I asked Ron to create a custom banner, and paint a terminator carrying it into battle.  Here is a sketch of what Ron came up with. Sorry to steal your thunder Ron! How awesome is this?  I get goose bumps when I think about how beautiful this is going to be.

Mike de Boer, mastermind of the entire project, got involved with The Blood Angels army and is painting the Death Company Storm Raven.  I have not gotten any WIP pics from him yet, but he probably put them up on Santa Cruz.  He did send me this:

I know the flyer is in good hands.

Just in: Pics of Mike's Death Company Raven!

Mike Cho has been elusive on sharing update pics with me. I suspect he is waiting to unveil a big bang! Here is a pic I swiped off his blog!

Mike is doing a Furioso Dread, Storm Raven and Assault Squad.  

Yours Truly?

Here are some Land Raider pics! Oh, and for all of you who asked, the resin bas reliefs come from Scibor Miniatures. They look great, and while not the easiest things to work with, can add a nice finishing element to your tank.  

My models are not coming as fast as I hoped. First of all, school ends in 2 weeks and I will have a few weeks before our deadline to get the models done, and 8 hours a day from home with which to do it with no Jawababy running around because he will be at daycare.  :)  But the bigger problem is that my right arm has almost completely broken down! Some days are better than others, and on those days I paint as much as I can, but other days I can't even hold a brush. I have a doctor appointment scheduled for next week. They are saying carpel tunnel. I am only painting 5 termies, corbs a priest and this raider and I have no fear that they will be beautiful. It is just frustrating. Any of you have any insight into this?  My right hand and forarm either go numb, or cramp up with shooting pain.  Bah.  Pain be damned the 9th legion will march. :)

And hey Brad The Spoiler.  I have not forgotten about your Vrock.  I know it has been a while, but you are lined up in my queue to be completed right after the Heroes project and another little commission I have, and before I do my Nova army.  And no charge. I hoped to be done with your model by now. The wings are going to look like the wings on this raider.  (The left side)  

Back to the Heroes project!  I don't know what is next in line to be given away, but last week a beautiful painted model was given out to one lucky winner.  Check out the Heroes Blog for updates!

Coming up next, updates from Joe Johnson, Matt McClannahan and John Dickerman!  

Jawaballs

The Jawa Nation Grows!

I have set up a blog for Jawa Nation!  What is it? This is a guild that I am setting up for the new MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Through their website players have the option of setting up guilds early and hitting the ground running!  Currently, I have the guild registered as a Sith guild doing primarily PvE.  But all of this can be changed.  Those details are not important any way. 

Why join a guild? Well, if you enjoy playing MMORPGs, being part of a guild is a huge help and greatly increases the enjoyment level for all involved. It makes it easier to get groups because you have a ready source of like minded individuals to help with quests and tasks. Plus it helps with establishing friends and communication. While you certainly don't need to be part of any guild to enjoy playing the game, and some of you actually prefer going solo more, in every MMORPG I have ever played, I have had a better experience when part of a guild.  

Why join Jawa Nation?  Well, this is not going to be just a Star Wars guild! This guild will carry over into the new 40k MMORPG that is on it's way as well.  I am launching it as a social group that spans games and genres. 

If you have never played a MMORPG, now is your chance!  This is an exciting time as two games that promise to be monsters in the gaming world loom on the horizon.  

I created a blog for Jawa Nation. You can find it HERE. Go become a follower and keep tabs on this exciting new group as it grows.

To join the Jawa Nation guild, visit the guild site HERE.  

This is gonna be awesome!

Jawaballs

Mail call!

Ok guys, time for some Mail Call:

"Can I fight battles with my own created chapter? or do I have to follow a specific chapter, even though I can paint them how ever I want. I have the New Codex for Space Marines and understand the points, swapping wargear, can only have so many heavy arty, assault troops, Tact. squads, HQ's, elites, stuff like that but when you say one is better at something then the other I'm lost. Wouldn't the make up of your army/points make that distinction, not the chapter? I have made a Chapter called the Blood Marines, and written a brief bio and history of how they formed, but like the ranks, and insignias stuff like that, do they all follow the same format? I have a Terminator Librarian I will use for now as my HQ, but can I give him a name, for instance one that would suit my story line and his role as so and so, Commander of the Blood Marines? I just don't want to do all this and find it's not viable in table top games."


I get questions like this a lot.  And this is pretty confusing to new players just coming into 40k. Here is the answer.  If you want to play Space Marines, you have a few options to what rules you want to use to create your army.  Codex: Space Marines, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Black Templars, Dark Angels and Grey Knights are all "Space Marine" chapters.  It is sort of like the US military. We have the Army and we have the Marines.  They are all military, but don't you dare tell a marine he is in the army! Don't call a Navy Seal a Green Beret.

The generic book is Codex: Space Marines.  The BA, BT, DA and GKs are all specialized chapters.  The difference is that while armies created using rules from Codex: Space Marines are more versatile and have the most amount of options, the other codexs specialize and have restrictions on what they can take in exchange for powerful abilities not available to Codex: Space Marines.  The Blood Angels for example can take Jump Pack Assault Marines as troops.  Dark Angels can take Terminators as troops. Black Templars have special rules that enhance their troops called Vows. Grey Knights specialize against Daemons and have lots of psychic powers.  But all of these chapters give up things that the Codex: Space Marine armies have. C:SM armies have Combat Tactics and other army wide unique special rules not available to the rest of the Marine chapters. C:SM have special gear like Thunderfire Cannons which are very powerful and cool special characters like Vulkan.

So, if you want to play your own army you need to do two things. First, decide on a theme and color scheme for your army.  You have done that.  Second, decide how you want them to play.  Then you pick the codex that best suits your purpose.  If you want to play all of the great Space Marine toys, choose Codex: Space Marine. If you want to play lots and lots of fast moving Assault Marines, play Codex: Blood Angels.  The only rule is that you must pick a codex and follow the rules from that book to create your army.  Color, names, background are all up to you.  But you have to follow Force Org Chart rules from ONE book only.

Blood Angels or Black Templars?

hello mate,
I'm from Manchester in England. your an amazing painter and a awesome player. I have been playing Warhammer 40k for about a week. Two games against my dad, he is Tau and he hasn't been beaten, and I tied with him both times. I used his Ultramarines. And I love Space Marines. But I really want my own army. And I am stuck between choosing Blood Angels and Black Templars. If you have the time could you message me back saying the pro's and con'c of each army.
Thanks jawaballs!

BA or BT? Well, first of all, you need to decide what colors you like. Black or Red. But there is more to it than that. I won't get into the competitive nature of the codex books.  BA have a new codex written for 5th edition. BTs have a 10 year old book designed for what was really a different game.  BT cannot field a tournament competitive army as good as BA.  I'm sure that will be debated, but I need only point to the top ten finishers at all GTs in the US this year and you will see many more BAs than BTs.  


Having said that, both armies focus on assault. They want to get down and dirty.  Both have unique options for troops.  BA can take assault marines with jump packs as troop choices.  BT can take 10 man squads of marines with assault weapons, and compliment them with 10 more scouts, or Neophytes, for huge 20 man squads.  Both armies have powerful characters, though I have to give the edge to the BAs for sheer ferocity with characters like Mephiston.  Both have army wide special rules that make them more powerful. BA can get furious charge, fearless and feel no pain for every marine in the army.  BT can get Preferred Enemy and fearless in close combat and leadership 10 for every marine cheaply.  The two armies are very similar, but very different. 


Part of your decision should be fluff.  What do you like more?  Space Vampires or Crusading "Dark Ages" knights.  They have unique backgrounds and motivations. The chief difference is that the BA were a founding chapter, one of the first 20 or so Space Marine chapters that fought in the Horus Heresy.  The BTs are a Second Founding chapter, actually an off shoot of the Imperial Fists, which was created after the Horus Heresy because the Space Marine Legions were just too large and needed to be broken up.  My advice? Get the books and read them. Pick the one that most appeals to you, and use it.  :)


  

new to BAs

Is a mech BA list viable. With LRs, preds, baals, speeders, and dreads. I was thinkin of doing this plus jump infrantry. would this do well in tournaments.

The answer to this changes every few months. I have been able to stay at the top of the competitive scene because I have been able to adjust my army and reinvent my tactics and list as the trends change.  Grey Knights have introduced a new element to the mix. The short of it is that they will make your tanks less effective, or more accurately, dead hulks. You will do well against other armies, but always run up against that GK wall of psy cannons that will simply demech you.  They don't have the long range, but are now the most devastating medium range army in the game.  

So, yes, your list will be competitive.  Just be ready to change! Take a look to the right of my blog here for samples of my ultra competitive mech lists that have won Grand Tournaments.

Ok time to go! More soon.

Jawaballs