Podcast I: The Inaugural Podcast

Tune in to hear just how goofy we all sound as myself, Godfrey, and Heretic shoot the breeze about 40k!

Coming Back from the Brink, pt. 16: The Other HQ

Credit to Adam Smith

Greetings Gentlereaders,

It's been quite a while since I touched this series, primarily because of the losing streak I'd been on, but also because I really didn't want to touch this unit.  I need to finish this review series before the new codex creeps up on us.  Whether or not the codex will actually drop this time as it didn't when it was rumored as the last codex of 2011 or not won't be sure until we get some pictures of the book, but I'm hoping it won't be too long until I have to relearn my favorite army and re-start this series.  Hopefully it will be more illuminating then.

I finally saw an ethereal fielded a couple weeks ago and thought this would be the perfect time to try to tackle a unit that I can only say is akin to the lone wolf, important in life and death.  Let's take a look at the ethereals and Aun'va.

New Project

The Warp holds many promises...
If you dare take them

Greetings Gentlereaders,

I apologize for our inactivity over the last week, but the astropathic array at our fortress-monastery has been rather inconsistent.  They kept screaming about daemons coming and what not, but Brother Lemmicus went in and beat them until they got back to work, so we're back.

Corvus, Godfrey and I have been discussing the site over the past few weeks and are considering expanding our offerings to you.  Specifically, since we have been spending most of our 40k time discussing the game rather than playing it, we are considering producing a podcast.  We're still coming up with ideas for topics and haven't decided how often we would post the episodes, or how long they would be.  I wanted to put this idea out to you all because a podcast, or blog, that doesn't please its readers isn't much of a podcast.

Would you be interested in listening to the three of us, possibly also Ishmael discuss various topics about 40k?  How much time per week would you be willing to listen a podcast?  What types of things would you like to hear about?  Would you be interested in a weekly, biweekly, or semi-weekly podcast?

Stuck in the Middle?

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Sadly, I cannot bring you a report about the planned Valentine's Day face-off between myself and Warmaster Havok.  It was going to be a game to test our Tau armies against each other, but the Warmaster was busy paying homage to Slaanesh so we'll have to reschedule.  In lieu of that, I thought I'd ask a question of whose answer I am unsure, namely does midrange shooting (strength 5-8 w/o special rules) have a place in your anti-tank game plan?

Shot through the Heart

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Today is a day much celebrated or despised, depending on your point of view.  Whether you're in a relationship or not; whether you choose to celebrate Singles Awareness Day or not; whether you care or not, we can all celebrate the cheap candy that is coming back to stores near you tomorrow.  I wish you all luck in your ventures and hope I am able to claim the same.  Feel free to brag, complain or talk about who has your heart in the comments.  Happy Valentine's Day from Rites of Battle.

The Tomb World Awakens: 101

Jolly good show getting here, gents!

Ah, welcome again to this chapter, a most sinister one indeed. This time, you'll see the largest of weapons available to most any arsenal, fearsome sights to behold which will strike terror into the heart of our foes.

Our series has at long last found itself in the Heavy Support section of the codex. When the codex first came out, there were many gripes about Ward being incapable of writing reliable anti tank into any part of a codex except the heavy support slot. As we delve into our review, we'll at least touch on a few of these quibbles, given that the codex was written with a foot in both editions. So for all of you big gun fans out there, here comes the heavy support!

Rumor Mill: The Beat Goes On

Greeting Gentlereaders,

It seems the internet has heard me, read my last post and wants to troll me because the rumors are hitting fast and furious about tau.  Again, more playtest rumors from Faeit 212, this time covering almost entirely different units, with more on Gurren Lagan and the Kroot monstrous creature, the Knarloc.  I'll provide my commentary after the break and would love to hear from you folks also.

Fblthp

Of the codex and YOUR LIFE!

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Over the weekend, while I was sleeping after writing my last article the universe heard me say I hadn't heard new tau rumors for almost a year.  The universe is not happy with me right now so she decided to invalidate my statement by releasing three rumor batches since then, two of them to day.  I'll be paraphrasing most of them and providing commentary on them.  Be aware these are still playtesting rumors, so Corvus and I peg the codex as releasing around June, so I may not be able to play it against him, sigh.  Thanks to Faeit 212 and BoLS for their releases, rumors after the break.

Welcome to Harfleur

In fierce tempest is he coming, in thunder and in earthquake

Greeting Gentlereaders,

Despite my own first impression, that was not me on Godfrey's last article cover.  The article may have been inspired by my recent gaming troubles, as I've been having a rough patch of gaming recently.  I recapped this last time, but I wanted to give you an update on how it was going.  I've had the chance to test out an allied Imperial Guard list, but not anything else.  I've spent most of my time allocated to 40k discussing what I see as the plight of tau with Godfrey and Corvus.  We've delved into the possibilities of different allies and Godfrey has delved into how we respond to failure from our rolls, but I need to delve into my own mind also.

Dice Psychology 101

Hello everyone, I thought I'd speak to something that seems to come up quite frequently in the 40k discussions at our local venue.  The matter of dice, but more specifically the effects of bad dice.  No one, not even the player who is on the better end of the result likes a game where nothing goes right for one of the players.  No matter how you slice it the game comes down to dice rolls.  These effects can be effected by playing smart, but the basic truth is there is always a chance, slim as it may be that all your dice just come up 1's.

So why is this...?  Well I will not stand here and make a claim that I have unlocked some form of latent psychic powers that allow me to always roll well... nor do I know of any real hard science that allows for a person's mind to emphasize a roll... or at least not directly.  While I don't know how to make dice roll the exact way I wish... there is something I have found that comes into play when playing that involves both dice, and psychology.  That is very simply knowing how to react in a given situation that will allow for bad dice to not take such a harsh toll when they come about.