Rumor Mill: Dark Angel Playtest Units

Greetings Gentlereaders,

I'm taking a short break from Back from the Brink because of my coursework, so I'll just be reposting and commenting on some of the latest rumors floating around the aether about 40k.  Today's entry is about the Dark Angels and their iconic Ravenwing and Deathwing.  I've always been a fan of the Dark Angels because of their theme of intrigue and secrecy, all of which revolves around their hunt for the fallen.  Be warned these could be nothing like what comes out as these are early playtests of these rules.  Rumors after the break, anything in red is pure speculation.  Credit to Natfka at Faeit 212.

Boltguns & Brushstrokes- Painting Cloth

Howdy Trukkers!

For this installment of Boltguns & Brushstrokes, we’re going to look at painting cloth effects. This has a very simple initial setup, following a three-step layering process that creates shading and a highlight by following the contours of the model.  You can stop at that point, as you will have an effect that’s fit for the tabletop. Or, you can continue on and challenge yourself, and create a convincing effect with only a little more work.

Getting convincing cloth effects is an exercise in blending and the application of glazes. To do cloth effects truly well, you must be able to blend. The most important thing to remember with blending is that you’re not actually mixing paint on the model. It’s really a bit of a misnomer—blending is actually spreading the paint too thin on the model. Think of it as putting a square of butter in the center of a large slice of bread. You then take the knife, and spread it away from the center. The most butter will still be in the center, and less will be further away from the center, but still be there from being spread. It’s the same basic idea with blending—you start by placing a line of paint at the highlight point, and then draw it out until you can’t see any paint at all. It creates a gradient effect. Ideally, you use a clean, sharp brush and glaze medium to draw the paint out, but any brush you normally paint with and water will do.

We'll be demonstrating using an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor.

AP 2: Where does it belong?

 Greetings and hello!

It has been quite some time, and then some since I last had a spare moment in which to add to the collective knowledge of Rites of Battle and the 40k community.  But in that time away, I have had a relatively new way to experience the game.  As I said before I haven't had much spare time recently, and so not only have I not been able to write about 40k, but I also haven't had much time to spend playing the game either.

Now while this might seem like a poor way to consider one as getting to add to the knowledge pool, hear me out.  Usually I am able to spend a much large amount of time within the culture, and so my views tend to follow a certain line of thinking.  Having had a fair amount of time now to think about the game from an "outside-looking in" approach, it's given me a chance to stop and think.  One of the revelations I came to was on AP 2, and just where it belongs.

If we stop and really think about AP 2, and why everyone has made a massive push for it, we might be able to recognize some fallacies, which plague our community since the coming of 6th edition.  Obviously there have been some pretty heavy changes which have come about in terms of just how useful certain wargear items can be.  Power weapons no longer pierce 2+ saves, and generally speaking 2+ just got really good across the board.  Because there is less of an answer to stopping the 2+ armor units once they get to you, it has become common place to see people grasping for a way around that.

Boltguns & Brushstrokes - Painting Faces

Howdy trukkers!

I’ve seen a lot of tournament armies over the years. And an alarming number of them aren’t painted. When I’ve asked people why they don’t paint their armies, I get two answers. One is that they simply don’t have time. And that’s something there’s not really a fix for.  The other, and far more common one I hear, is that people don’t feel like they’re good at painting, so they simply don’t do it. And that’s something we CAN fix. Each week, I’m going to post a hobby article geared towards getting fast, quality results using only basic techniques.

This week, I’m going to focus on skin tones and faces. This is something that a lot of hobbyists struggle with because it involves very fine detail and shading and subtle color transitions to get a realistic effect.

I use Reaper Master Series (RMS) paints with a few Games Workshop (GW) and Vallejo Model Color (VMC) paints thrown in. There’s a handy conversion guide for the colors you can use here-

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Range_Compatibility_Chart

The most important thing with paint is not to focus on the  name—a lot of guides say you need a specific branded color—like you MUST use Ultramarines Blue on Ultramarines, etc. But the actual color of the paint is what really matters, so eyeballing something comparable is a far better bet if you don’t have the actual color any guide, whether it be from me, Games Workshop, Privateer Press, or someone else on the internet calls for.

A new contributor!

Hello Wartrukkers!

I'm new to contributing to this blog, but I've been around, lurking in the Eye of Terror, waiting for a good time to strike...err..get more involved. Most of you know me as the tournament organizer in Bloomington, but for those of you who don't...well, that's where you're most likely going to run into me! I've been involved in the hobby for about 15 years, and have sort of done it all at this point. I've been a serious tournament player, and won a great deal of events. I've won an honorable mention in Golden Daemon. But I've found that casual gaming is much more my thing, so most of my games these days are pickup games and things with the local escalation league, which we run to introduce new players to the game and encourage a casual gaming group. Ultimately, though, I paint a whole heck of a lot more than I play these days-- and the fruits of that are what I'm going to bring to those of you who read this blog. Expect to see a hobby article from me at least weekly!

-The Son of Horus

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.12: In Plain Sight

Greetings Gentlereaders!

From Epic Duck Studios

Today we're going to try to look at one of the sneakiest units in the Tau Empire and one that got a stealth buff.  That's right we're talking about stealth suits, also known as the other elites choice.  This team is rather versatile for it's limited options of weapons and high points cost.  If for no other reason, stealth suits deserve a once-over because of how badly they performed in fifth edition and the changes they've received.  Personally, I owe you all an unveiling of this topic that snuck by me when I said I would discuss battlesuits.  As I'm sure you are all tiring of my puns, let's dive into this topic.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.11: Devilishly Fishy

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we're going to discuss the only transport vehicle available to the Tau Empire.  I've been on both sides of using this unit at different times and am still unsure about whether to use it my army.  It's been the key to one of Tau's classic tactics and its most sure way to bring fire warriors to an objective, but the changes to vehicles, scoring and rapid fire weapons have changed how fire warriors interact with their transport.  Have they left the devilfish high and dry?

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.10: Shoot Tau Thrill

Play to Kill

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today, we're going to talk about the main battle  tank of the Tau army, the Hammerhead gunship.  Specifically, I'll be breaking down the ion cannon vs. the railgun option  I have never run an ionhead, but sixth edition has inspired me to look into more options.  Let's take a look at this awe-inspiring tank and how it may find a new niche in Tau.

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.9: That's a Hull of a Trick

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we're talking about the most aptly named unit in the Tau Empire.  The piranha mimics its namesake in being a small, fast little blighter who will chew things to the bone.  These were some of my favorite units in the tail end of fifth edition and had amazing utility when they hit the field so I was less displeased with paying more for a less destructive landspeeder.  I am going to argue that the piranha has become less specialized in sixth edition, and has found a different niche to fill in the Tau army.

September 15th Tourney Report

I know this report is a few weeks late, especially considering that our friends over at TheBack40k have already gotten their report up, but better late than never! I will also apologize for lack of interesting pictures. That aside, let the battle (reports) begin!

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.8: Tanks a Lot!

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we'll dive into the motor pool of the Tau Empire and see what gold we can separate from te dross.  I'm not sure how much comparison there can be between Tau vehicles and non-Tau vehicles as far as points-efficiency is concerned as I've not heard of a good way to understand GW's way of writing units, but I'll do the best I can.  This will end up another multiparter, but I try not to write anything not worth reading and hope we can all learn something from this series.  On with the show!

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.7: Where do We Go Now? (Sweet Child)

Where to fit in?

Greetings Gentlereaders!

The time has come to wrap up my essay on crisis suits.  I hope you've enjoyed the first two parts explaining what weapons the battlesuits of Tau can take and how they can combine their weapons an support systems to create different niches for crisis suits to fill.  Today, we'll look at the bigger picture and must ask if crisis suits still have a place in a competitive Tau army.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt. 6: Thinking Through the Crisis

Crisis: "A stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or worse, is determined"
--Dictionary.com

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Today I invite you all to consider the usefulness and archetypes of the iconic crisis suits in the Tau army in 6th edition.  Last time I discussed all of the different weapons available to battlesuits besides the special issue weapons.  Today, I want to get into how these weapons can be combined to get you out of your own crisis.  All Tau jargon will be explained.