The Fickle Tide

I don't have an outline in my head for this post. It is going to be a stream of consciousness rant about the online 40k community.

There has been buzz about Necron for the last 4 years at least. During this time and especially in the last year, the new of a new metal-zombie release was greeted with enthusiasm and excitement. there was wild speculation and rumormongering. Folks talked about how cool the new army would be and how hard they were going to be to beat.

Then the codex is released and all that changes for some reason.

The tone in the articles (and here I am primarily thinking of the flaccid BOLS) change from that of exuberance to ennui and disappointment. The immediate response is to declare seemingly overpowered units as "broken" (I really dislike that word) and seemingly bland units as worthless. This is before many of them have even played a game.

It seems to me that these people are their own victims. Almost nothing can live up to the hype and expectations that were generated. The sad part is, the same people that write about their disappointment in the finished product, were the same raising the expectations.

I am annoyed by this but mostly it makes me sad. Can't people be happy that this army is getting an update after over a decade. It seems that people should be happy for what they get rather than complaining that it did not meet their unreasonable expectations.


As a bit of a sidebar, there is another annoying trend with new codices and that is the intentional "breaking" by list building. Net lists bug me. Mostly it is the idiotic names they give them (e.g. Razorspan, DoA, Nidzilla, etc). The names are used from site to site with no clear definition of what they mean. Nidzilla might mean "all monstrous creatures" to one person but "at least three Carnifexes" to another and yet they both use the same word. It's poor communication at best and idiocy at worst.

Some people like netlists and they have their reasons. I don't and my reasons are simple. A good general can beat an evenly matches opponent. A great one can pull off a victory when outnumbered and outgunned. assuming that there is a "best possible army" in every codex, the general that wins with that army is not the equal of the general that can win with an inferior list.

Of course actual generals want the best men and equipment they can find and more often than not but they do the best with what they are given. A hero overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve victory while a bully uses overwhelming force against an inferior opponent.

I am not saying that we should seek to handicap ourselves on the table top but I play this game to have fun and not to win all the time. I expect an entertaining game against a challenging and skilled opponent. I would rather play against someone with a beautifully painted army full of life,  background and fluff than a grey or primed army that was taken because it is the "best." At that point you may as well not even buy the minis and play with scraps of paper.

Finished - Catacomb Command Barge: Mine and Their's

Necrons coming along.I am loving this Catacomb Command Barge. It is a great mini and devastating on the battlefield.

On the table now - Lots going on

I've been blogfading and that's not cool, yo. Part of the reason was that my computer tried to blow up but really, I've not had much time for the hobby. I am dating a new and awesome girl (well, new since July) and girls have a habit of taking up your time. That time was hobby time and TMM can't keep you warm at night.

Right now I am working on 5 Sang guard for the blood Angelse and the planned Dante+SG army. That has kind of stalled out and I've lost interest in it. It is still on the table but may go into a baggie soon.

Also on the table are some Necrons. I painted some rusty Necrons up early last year and have about 1500 or so points under the old rules. Under the new rules I have about the same though everything has changed. I know there is an Embargo on, but I bought the Catacomb Command Barge to give me two different HQ options. If I did not do that, my only HQ dould have been the Destroyer Lord and I like choices.

I'm also finishing 5 DC models. they are just waiting on shoulderpads. then I'll have to paint backpacks and jump packs for all these assholes. I hate it when I have to paint 30 backpacks at a go. Feels like wasting time.

I've also been playing Dawn of War II. As a result of the a fore mentioned computer explosion, I was forced to buy a new graphics card. That upgrade allowed me to run DoWII. It is ok. the random weapon drops and character building are interesting. It is a departure from DOWI, that's for sure.

As far as things I want to write, I want to write more about my Grey Knights. I've gotten lost in the history stuff. While I love doing the reseach and learining about my boys, it is growing out of control into these epic posts that eat up a bunch of time and don't have any real benefit. I may focus on my guys and ignore the history. 

I also want to write about the new hotness before they become the old busted. I want to write about the changes to the rules and fluff regarding the metal zombies. I also want to fucking play with them. I have not had a game sine Tony wiped the board with me. that was months ago. 

I am also gettin ready to start a Deathwatch RPG soon. Likely dice will roll in Jan but there is a lot of prep work to do. I need to type up notes about what it means to play a Space Marine and how that differs from playing a human. I may as well post those notes here. I also want to write a getting started adventure and do some character sketches. that will help me get a grip on the game.

After over a decade...

Got my Necron codex yesterday. Need to get back in the habit of updating this blog and will when the computer is fixed.
Want to write about the change in attitude when new codexes come out, old vs new Necrons and a painting article on how I paint metal.