Heresy in the Library - Wolf King

Greetings good people and welcome back! Trooper here with another installment of "Heresy in the Library", where I review Black Library publications and let you, the reader at the other end of the data-slate, know how it is! Up for review is the new Horus Heresy novella Wolf King. In the aftermath of the disastrous engagement with the Alpha Legion and with no help coming from the nearby White Scars Legion, the Vlka Fenryka flee into a nearby nebula. Leman Russ is distant and it falls to his sons to lead the remnants of the VIth Legion out and back to Terra.

Podcast #14 - The Rumors of the Dark City, and X-Wing!

Who says Tuesday can't be a good day?  For today Rites of Battle gives you another Podcast!

Hey folks, join Havok and myself for a look into some thoughts on the dark denizens of the Webway, as well as some of the rumored happenings for the coming months in the Grim Dark. With all of the changes to the core game rules, there might just be a place for the Dark Eldar as new ground rules for army updates like unique new units, Maelstrom cards, formations, potent relics, and warlord traits are added to their now aged codex.

But we have more in store for you than simply 40k. I managed to get my first game of X-Wing in, and I'll let you know what I thought of the whole thing.  We have been really enjoying a chance at branching out into new and more diverse game systems to cover here on Rites.  So much so, that a new Lexicanum may be brought on soon.  But more on that another time.

For now, enjoy the cast!

Cheers!

The Wolves of Fenris

Hey there everyone, and welcome to Rites of Battle.  Today's article actually comes from a request from T.J. Hubbard asking if I could look into one of his favorite armies in 40k, The Space Wolves.  While the topic itself if fairly broad, I've decided to hone in on a few basic elements which make up the army, and go from there.  For me this is an interesting chance to review the army in a broad sense, as it has been one of those armies I really wish I played for a variety of reasons, but just never have, and more or less probably never will.  For a while they were everywhere, and I just didn't care to be another one of the wolfen ranks for variety's sake, but even now that those days are past I already have a marine army, and there are several other armies I'd want before the old pups.

That said, the Wolves have all but disappeared from the 40k scene, and I really can't understand why.  Given the current state of the game, to me these guys are a perfect fit for the direction the game seems to have gone, and have honestly held up in their age far better than most of their Astartes Brethren had before their updates.  But, lets get into some of the finer points that make up the Lupine Sons of Russ.

Heresy in the Library - Hunter's Moon

Hello there! Alpharius (Trooper is my cover name) here reporting for Heresy in the Library, where I review Black Library productions and give you, the reader, insight into what is coming out. Up for review this time is my first tackle at Black Library audio productions, the new Horus Heresy audio drama "Hunter's Moon". In it we will find Space Wolves, normal folk caught up in the Heresy, and Alpharius. Spoiler alert, EVERYONE is Alpharius. So sit back, grab some amasec, and enjoy!

Hobby Table VIII

Well met noble readers, and welcome back to the Hobby Table.  Today's article was inspired by a somewhat spur of the moment decision on my part, and really features something I love about the hobby; the ability to use the models and the rules as jumping off points for your own ideas.  While I was meandering through the halls at work today I found myself returning again and again to a movie I watched last night, and couldn't help but draw ideas on how to re-create the feeling I got from the film on the tabletop.  So if you fancy a look at some of the ideas I've had so far, then read on as I try to capture the feeling of the film.

New Wolf & Tyranids to be Released

List to the prices for New Models

These new models look pretty darned good.  I did like the design similarities between the new big baddy creatures of the Nids to the Herophant Bio-Titan.

Though, these models would have been nice a year ago... you know, before everyone already built there own.  If G.W. would put half the energy into putting out models more expeditiously as they do shutting down 3rd party model makers covering their gaps, we might have a lot more diversity in the hobby and on the table top.

Why Space Wolves are good for the game

Certain armies get a lot of flack for their new codices breaking with fluff or having absurdly many "good" units without any "bad" units. Whether units are inherently good or bad is a topic for another time, but I would like to address my favorite whipping boys for being too good, the Space Wolves. There are a lot of reasons for why this is, but I'd like to address just a few and propose why they aren't so bad as you might think and may actually be a good thing for the game.


First the lightning rod himself, the rune priest. Space wolves have historically been known as the chapter that has the second most hatred of psykers, right after black templar. They've always had their rune priests and they've always been psykers, but with the 5th edition codex they've become arguably the best psykers and that shocks some people. These rune priests strike a fine balance between offensive and support psykers, have reliable psychic stop and are priced in line with librarians. In a codex where melee characters can run into the price range of land raiders, being able to select a character who can contribute to the army relatively cheaply is a relief of pressure on building a list. He brings the ability to bring close or long range fire support, buff and debuff spells and an alternative to the focused mindset of melee stomping characters.

The issue of Wolves' hatred of psychers, specifically sorcerers, is the hang up for most people. Some people accept the GW explanation that goes along the lines of "rune priests are shamans, not sorcerers so it's cool," some don't. I think it was a necessary decision to give people a reason to bring rune priests when they simply don't stack up to the melee prowess of their comrades. But why is he good for the game? To me he is the marine psyker simplified: able to buff, debuff and contribute to the damage output of the army and having a simple version of psychic stop. Some people can argue that psychic stop doesn't need to be simplified, but for new players the rules we take for granted are daunting. Let them have some breaks so they can focus on thinking about the game rather than the rules.


Next another point of "ridiculousness," the grey hunters. These are the space wolf troops you've probably seen if you've played against wolves. They come with the standard tactical layout plus a ccw, trade combat tactics for counter attack and have no sergeant, so they are leadership 8 for one point less than a tactical marine. For that one point reduction, you get an extra attack in close combat and the possibility (72%) to double tap your boltguns (and possibly plasma) and then get the same number of close combat attacks that you would if you had fired your bolt pistols and assaulted. This allows space wolf players to have more flexibility in their tactical choices without leaving them in a very bad situation.

The idea that these are your "tactical" marines is one of the causes of discontent over the codex. These are not tactical marines. Tactical marines focus on nothing and diversify, able to bring a heavy weapon, special weapon and a sergeant with a special combat weapon. Grey hunters do not have access to heavy weapons and their ability to take a second weapon (for free) is offset by their inability to utilize a transport if they want a sergeant equivalent. While they can take close combat special abilities (PW, PF or Mark of the Wulfen), each of these is on a model with one attack base and the lack of a sergeant keeps the squad at leadership eight. While this is low for marines, it is pretty average for the game.

These are only some of the points of contention over this codex, but thinking about the codex in the whole of 40k. This codex is versatile and forgiving, almost to a fault. It simplifies 40k and makes it easier to learn and win with while learning. This is good for beginners. Go back and read that last sentence before you start flaming. The codex is good for beginners, not only good for beginners [Tasteless comment retracted], but it gives beginners a more gradual learning curve, allowing for them to win while they are learning to play. Winning is what we call in teaching "a positive reinforcer," meaning it makes people want to repeat an action that led to the reinforcement. New players wanting to play more 40k helps bring them into the game more. That is good for the rest of us by giving us more people to play against.

Thoughts? Comments?