Square Pegs
It’s important to appreciate people for who they are, and not nag them for their faults.
Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative.
Reflecting Pool
Last night and this morning there was a ton of projects to get out in time for Christmas. It was the most monumental ship-out in the history of the company. But we’re past that.
BTP is woefully underbooked for January. This is not due to lack of projects necessarily. It’s because the studio is pumping like an eight-piston engine. It’s outstanding. So we’re standing by to get it done.
The quality of work has never been better. In the heart of every artist is a desire to please the client, to make something that will be loved. The crew is dedicated, without ego, and with a good will.
In other news, my mom is in town for the week. That’s a blast from the past. She hasn’t been out for four years. We’ve gone to Oregon almost every year, but not vice versa. The whole family headed up north to Salt Lake. We dropped mom off at the genealogical library. The family then headed to the zoo. Ah, the zoo in winter. And what could make that better? Trying to take a family photo in front of the zebras. The fun of ice cold weather combined with the fun of trying to get all the kids to look in the same direction.
I was a complete bear the entire trip. I don’t travel well. The farther away from home I get, the more antsy I become. It’s a great bit of consternation to poor Tamie, who hopes to travel in our old age. My idea of a good time is to order a pizza. Oh, sure, I love short range trips, perhaps to a neighboring city, but there’s no place like home. You might call me “indoorsy”.
The cavemen didn’t come down out of the mountains and build all these houses so I could go camping. I respect their memory by eating in front of the TV.
Willow travels well, and will watch the trees slide by on the window for hours. She has started making this really cute baby dinosaur noise and will smile broadly when I call back to her in the same tone. Tamie bought me this lumberjack type jacket and Willow just loves to ride inside of it, facing me, but with head turned so just her eyes are peeping out above the flannel. Today I noticed that she has two upper front teeth budding. No wonder she’s been tearing through her food so rapidly. She’s voracious. She downed half a spinach omelet and a fist-sized pod of hash-browns left over from breakfast while we were on the road.
Anyway, the whole trip was a fiasco. Downtown Salt Lake was crowded to the gills. Even after finding a parking spot (the lots were full) we couldn’t find a restaurant without at least an hour wait, this with four young kids in tow, all hungry, needing to take a whiz. There was this gal selling candy canes for “donations” which I thought was a pretty sweet racket; all nice and legal, cash only. I like that about a zillion times more than panhandling which seems so dubious and parasitic.
At temple square two sister missionaries (mongolian?) happened by and I said (rather loudly) “you guys are RADIANT!” but from the curious looks on their faces I think they thought I had shouted an insult. Temple Square was an absolute paradise. I highly recommend, especially during Christmas-time, but go on a week day when it’s not so crowded.
We ended up driving ten miles south, packed like sardines in the car, to Draper and eating at Chuck-a-rama all you can eat buffet. Comfort food as far as the eye could see. Yum. Though I think the bus-guy misunderstood me when he asked if there was something he could get us and I responded “yes, a vomit spoon and a bucket.” I meant that the food was so good I could go for another round.
At last we reached home and I was able to have a glass of milk and put on my pajamas.
At this moment it’s 3am and I’m up, feeling rested. My 10-year-old daughter is up with me watching Fraggle Rock.
Upcoming Bio-Weapons
I nicked this list of rumored bio-weapons off of BOLS. I’m looking forward to the Tyranids. We’re going to be very busy! Tyranids are a strength of our studio. Tyranids are my second-favorite army (first is Eldar).
Back in 1997 I started playing 40K. I ran an RPG and every week two of my players would take off to play a game at Fitz’s house. There were no game shops at that time. I bought some Eldar Aspect Warriors from a friend for $40. My first painting attempts were pathetic beyond belief. After building an Eldar force I turned to Tyranids. I didn’t know the first thing about Assembly. I tried to glue them together with hardware store epoxy glue (which has to dry overnight).
RANGED WEAPONS
Venom Cannon
R:36 S:6 AP:4 Assault 1 Blast
-1 modifier on the vehicle damage chart
Heavy Venom Cannon
R:48 S:9 AP:4 Assault 1 Blast
-1 modifier on the vehicle damage chart
Barbed Strangler
R:24 S:4 AP:6 Assault 1 Large Blast
Stranglethorn Cannon
R:36 S:6 AP:4 Assault 1 Large Blast
Spinefist
R:18 S:4 AP:5 Assault X
(X= bearer’s number of attacks), twin-linked
Fleshborer
R:18 S:4 AP:5 Assault 1
Sting Blaster
R:12 S:5 AP- Assault 1
Spike Blaster
R:18 S:5 AP:5 Assault 4
Texorin Bug
3 fire modes, may be fired additionally to all other weapons
-Template S:* AP- Assault 1, wounds on 2+ vs. non-vehicles
-Template S:5 AP:5 Assault 1
-Template S:3 AP:6 Assault 1, Rending
Death Blaster
R:18 S:5 AP:5 explosive
BIOMORPHS
Toxin Sacs
ALL units may buy these. Grants Poison attacks (4+)
Adrenal Gland
ALL units may buy these. Grants Furious Charge
Spore Launcher
Big bugs only. Grants Frag granades
Injectors
To-wound rolls of 6 cause the loss of all wounds instead of one
Flesh Hooks
R:6 S:5 AP- Assault 2
Toxic Blood
When the model loses a wound in assault the model causing the wound must pass an I check or lose a wound with no armor save allowed. Vehicles suffer a glancing hit on a 4+
Toxic Miasma
Enemy models in assault range pass a T check or lose one wound with normal armor saves allowed
Lashwhips
All enemy models in assault are reduced to I:1
Chitin Upgrades
From 6+ Armor save to 2+, with several variants
Boneswords
A model suffering a wound tot he weapon must pass an Ld test or is killed outright. If the bearer has a pair of Boneswords the Ld test is made on 3D6.
Scything Talons
Reroll to-hit rolls of 1 in assault, models with a pair of talons reroll all failed to-hit rolls
Rending Claws
Grant Rending USR in assault
Crushing Claws
Model I is lowered to 1, +D3 Attacks
Regeneration
At the start of each turn the model regains a lost wound on a 6
Wings
Model counts as Jump Infantry
Excerpt from End the Fed
The entire operation of the Fed (-eral Reserve) is based on an immoral principle. Congress contributes to the immorality by permitting the process to continue without any true oversight. The immorality associated with money is as much about omission as commission.
Members of Congress, when they knowingly endorse this system of fraud because of the benefits they receive, commit an immoral act. Financing spending in an irresponsible manner, through Fed action or future debt burdens, provides immediate political benefits to politicians.
Congress, though, is a reflection of the people. If the problem was seen as a moral problem and the people were to demand morality in money from their representatives in government, the process would end. But the people endorse the system because they have requested and expect government to provide benefits that can’t be provided any other way. Transferring wealth is limited when taxes and borrowing are the only tools the politicians can use. Printing money is required.
Comment: I like that this is traced back to the People. It’s a thought that has been occurring to me with increasing frequency.
Hell Pit Abomination
Going rate for this bad boy is $250– that’s everything included (model, assembly, conversions and painting). I have one more on hand, actually being converted in anticipation of a buyer. I can order more and get them in process whenever you’re ready.
Plague Skaven
Got a Plague-themed Skaven army coming off the line tomorrow. Here are WIP pics.
Want your own fun and competitive Skaven army? Pick what you want a la carte
Or get a…
TURBO! Skaven Army
1500 pts for $1150 (deposit of $550 pulls the trigger)
2000 pts for $1450 (deposit of $700 pulls the trigger)
2500 pts for $1750 (deposit of $850 pulls the trigger)
Go for a L2/4 split and get it for less:
1500 pts for $950 (deposit of $450 pulls the trigger)
2000 pts for $1250 (deposit of $650 pulls the trigger)
2500 pts for $1450 (deposit of $750 pulls the trigger)
Rand Paul Money Bomb TODAY!
I just donated to Rand Paul’s campaign in Kentucky. www.randpaul2010.com
“Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree.” –Thomas Jefferson to Littleton Waller Tazewell, 1805.
Charred Corpses as far as the Eye Can See
Yesterday, a local guy came down to the studio with his High Elf army and played against my Tzeentch Daemons at 2500 pts. I shot a Notrep (with turn summaries but no action) which I hope to edit within the week. It was a relatively close game.
High Elves are one of the top 50% armies out there. They have strengths in close combat, shooting, and magic. Very strong all around. High Elves can cast Drain Magic which makes all casting rolls three points more difficult which can really put a wet blanket on Tzeentch magic. That’s fair, of course, because the High Elves are staring down up to twelve dispel dice every turn. No need to take dispel scrolls if you’ve got eighteen levels of wizards on the table!
Let me first make some comments on my army. You’ve all seen my list.
Physically, it’s a great army to make because it can be made mostly with eight Spawn kits and a lot of green stuff and Tyranid leftovers (though you do need to burn gaunt bodies). Taking into consideration Labor for conversions it’s actually one of the most expensive type of armies that we do, but for the person who has time and not money it would be very economical. It breaks 3000 pts pretty easy once you get two Lords of Change in there.
Tzeentch Daemons are tough. Even though they only have Toughness 3, their 5+ ward save can make high strength items (such as chariot impact hits and war machines) just bounce off. On the net I’d say the ward save is as good as a 3+ regular save. The Pink Horrors then are amazingly resilient. I usually run two blocks of thirty and two blocks of ten. That’s eighty Horrors. On average there are only 15-30 dead Horrors at the end of any given game. And half of those are usually to combat resolution.
I run the main two blocks at thirty. They require at least 26 Horrors to count as a Level 3 wizard. One change I’m thinking of making is to add a few Horrors just so they can suffer a few more casualties and still be blasting out Bolt of Change (12+ to cast, 2d6 S D6+4 hits– this will evaporate most enemies, and two of them will destroy even giant dragonlord riders). At Level three the three spells they get are Flickering Fire of Tzeentch (4+ cast magic missile), Gift of Chaos (a 12″ radius wave that burns all enemy units), and Bolt of Change (see above). Notice that two of these are magic missiles and so are negated in close combat. It’s the Gift of Chaos that gives this army its strength in the late game:
The only way to beat this army is to run right up the middle and try and rip the Horrors to pieces. Unfortunately, once you do that, they Horrors start in with the Gift of Chaos– waves and waves of magical flame that wear down enemy units.
The other way to give your Horrors a boost in combat is with the Banner of Change (L3 bound spell does 3d6 S3 hits). This is a good use of 25 points as it makes the unit dangerous once it is in close combat. I give it to the ten-man units as well as they are more likely to be dealing with lighter flanking units. Another note about the banner is that the unit can charge, then use the banner in the magic phase. This means that a smaller, lighter unit can potentially be evaporated before the close combat phase.
I’ve also had the ten-man units hold off much larger threats even though they lose the combat, just by not being completely destroyed.
I don’t run Horror champions. The army doesn’t work that way (ie the army doesn’t win by killing things with lots of attacks). Though I may start running them in the units with the Heralds (the two larger units) to protect them in challenges.
Once in close combat, once the enemy line closes, the Banner of Change and Gift of Chaos (12″ wave) are the next phase.
What I dread are large blocks of infantry that can beat my units of Horrors and make them blow up from combat resolution.
The Changeling (a Horror upgrade that can switch almost any stat with an enemy) is a great defender against very strong enemy characters; another line of defense for the late game. I had him knock out Grimgor. I put him in the unit with the Herald BSB as protection.
Another thing I dread is that my opponent will allocate attacks against the Heralds. They are T3, two wounds, and even with a 4+ ward save they die pretty quick. This trims down the magic phase. You got to kill the wizards!
I’ve also been experimenting with the BSB carrying the Great Icon of Despair (-2 Leadership to enemy units within 12″ for 75 pts). The problem here is that I usually forget it, but it can be a game-changer in the late game. It can also prevent an opponent from charging your units (by failing a Fear check) which is a perfect alignment with the needs of the army. On top of that, it can mean death when the Lord of Change flies around back and starts causing Terror checks.
The Lord of Change can be a close combat monster, and with high wounds can break a ranked unit if in the flank. But be careful when you charge in because the Lord of Change is only Ld8 and can be destroyed by losing combat if it jumps into a losing battle. I’ve found he’s much more useful as a spellcaster and threatening smaller units and causing Terror. I run him with Will of Tzeentch (re-roll one die per turn) which is absolutely invaluable since it can prevent miscasts. As for a secondary power, I don’t know what is best.
On the four spellcasters (heralds x3 and Lord of Change) I give each of them Flames of Tzeentch (a shooting attack, d6 S4 shots). This adds to the ranged firepower of the army, and is a second line of defense, to mop up weakened units after the magic phase. That’s what I’m doing now.
Master of Sorcery (25 pts, gives all spells from a lore of choice) is a great strength since you can tailor your list against problems you may face. But you don’t always need it. The Tzeentch spells are unusually strong as it is. It’s a great list.
And now back to the game…
First off, Josh is a delightful opponent; knows the rules, but not rules-lawyery, cheerful, great sportsmanship, plays for fun but isn’t a push-over. I am very, very much looking forward to playing against him again.
The High Elf army I played against was something like this:
Lord on Star Dragon
2x Mages
2x units spearmen (meat shields for Mages)
2x units fourteen swordmasters (run seven wide– one with power dice banner, and one with magic resistance banner)
1x unit twenty phoenix guard
2x lion chariots
2x repeater bolt throwers
His Lord on Dragon had something that gave both him and his mount immunity to Flaming Attacks. Everything in my army has Flaming Attacks. We were running it that the spells weren’t flaming. But the question remains: if the Herald has Flaming Attacks, does that make his spells Flaming. This would mean that my opponent’s dragon lord would have been un-beatable. Of course he died in the end by bouncing off a unit of Horrors and getting run down by the Herald on Disc.
I think this army would be death for Wood Elf armies (they can shoot any direction).
Lion chariots are strong. In a pair coming down the flank they present a huge problem. I recommend. Maybe even better than fast cavalry and the usual harassers.
Lore of Light has some good spells against Daemons.
Rand Paul Money Bomb Tomorrow!
I gotta tell you… when I think of the however remote possibility that Rand Paul might run for president (or Ron Paul himself!) my heart starts racing. I would just be beyond excited. I’ll definitely be chipping in for the money bomb tomorrow. What follows is a letter from Ron Paul.
Dear Friend of Liberty,
My son Rand has the status quo running scared in his race for Kentucky Senate. First, he outraised his opponent. Next, Rand took the lead in the polls. And now, the party insiders are scrambling.
We just found out that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has formed a joint fundraising committee to support Rand’s opponent. These party bosses are desperate to keep Rand out of the Senate because they know he will fight against the big government, high taxes and out of control spending that they helped create. Rand can win, but he needs your help.
On Wednesday December 16th, the grassroots are holding a Money Bomb for Rand. This date is of course the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party and the day we made history together by raising $6 million in one day. Please visit www.RandPaul2010.com and consider contributing whatever you are able. Every single contribution will help.
This situation reminds me of my return to Congress in 1996. A host of big name national Republicans did not want me back and came into my district to campaign for my opponent. But, with hard work and real grassroots support, I was able to win and come to Washington to fight for Liberty.
We can achieve the same type of victory for Rand if we all come together!
Again, I hope you can participate in Rand’s Money Bomb on December 16th at www.RandPaul2010.com
In Liberty,
Ron Paul
And Another Thing
Remember, the trade-in program is still running: 20% cash or 40% trade (credit for service).
If you have in the past purchased an army from BTP, I will credit you in trade at 50% of what you paid.
Other specials: Pandora, Turbo, Tank Factory, L2, Bulk Deal, and so forth. Getting started now (ie ordering materials either through us or yourself) will set it up just right for getting it done first thing in January.
I recommend the Turbo Army special. It’s a good one.
This is all good until December 30. Probably past that.
Another good thing about BTP: We’re in Utah which means about two day shipping to anywhere in the US.