Tamwulf

I see that unpainted models are allowed, which is cool and will help to get more people to play in the tournament. But I feel like something should be done to encourage painting, and not just an award because let's face it, not everyone is great at painting (I'm certainly not!), but I do like to paint. One of the really cool ideas to encourage painting with an actual game impact I have seen lately is that all painted models gain Hatred: Unpainted Models. (recently seen in the big 30K Mega Battle in October). Just as an idea to encourage those who paint, but will never win a painting competition.

I only have about 1000 points of Ironjawz, but I'd love to get a game or two in before Sunday's tournament at Borderland Games down south.

Is the Kill Team stuff still happening today (Tuesday, 13th Sept) at Mythic Realms? What time will people be there?

I'd have loved a physical version of the Red Thirst! But that would have required some editing, copy proofing, lay out, etc. etc. Much easier to just adjust a couple lines of code and squish three eBooks together*. It would be worth it simply for having the Codex, Baal, and Angel's Blade all in one eBook. I wish they had done this for the Tau and Space Wolves from earlier this year instead of just re-releasing them as a bundle of eBooks. The price point of $29 is WAY better then the $70 for the BA Collection. It's great to see GW publishing eBooks like this.

*as a software engineer, I know it's more than a couple lines of code, but still far easier to make an eBook then having to layout an entire new physical book. Digital publishing is a fascinating art that GW has only begun to scratch. Their physical books are a direct copy and paste of the digital version. If you notice the layout of a digital codex and compare it to the physical one, the margins are all the same, nothing is more than 1 "page" in size, etc. etc. Pretty neat all the stuff they cram into the digital versions though. But they really need to work on some kind of data compression algorithm and their memory management. Several hundred MB's and processor cycles for a multimedia file is just lazy programming.  

Citation needed.

Multiple sources at Bell of Lost Souls, 4Chan, B&C, Frontline Gaming, Natfka, Spikey Bits, and Dakka Dakka have all pointed to a new edition coming. It's not a matter of if, but when. And they all agree that it will be something like AoS, but not exactly like AoS. Considering the secrecy and how quickly GW threw out 7th ed, is it really that big of a stretch to see them announcing on the pre-orders page "Introducing the Age of the Emperor! A whole new way to play Warhammer 40K! Coming next week..."

Skepticism is alive and well of course, and they are just rumors. And some people won't believe it until they have the 4 page rule book in their hands, downloaded for free from the GW website. For me, after playing 40K since 1990/RT days, looking around at the trends in the gaming industry, the new direction GW seems to be going- these rumors seem entirely plausible along with the idea of Codex books going away and being replaced by campaign box sets/books. I could be 100% wrong. Or I could be partially right. /shrug the only thing that matters is that change is coming, and we can embrace it, or become like the players that still play 40K RT edition, or Warhammer Fantasy "9th edition".

So, did the rules change from the last time we got them?

Is it worth the $10?  

I asked about the rules, nobody responded.

 

The chirping went silent, then, too.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Did the rules change?" The last official rules for Kill Team by GW was in December of 2013? So 6th edition? Comparing the two, the FO and basic rules didn't change, but the rules for the Specialists changed, and the codex exemptions changed. I only glanced at the missions, and they looked about the same. What the new Kill Team has in it is about a five page discussion on campaigns, tournaments, multiplayer, and home brewed missions. And there are some new datasheets in it specifically for Kill Team.

Is it worth $10? Considering how expensive GW is these days, yeah, $10 is a bargain, especially if you plan on playing in a Kill Team campaign for a couple months at the local FLGS. You'll get more out of it then what you put in it. Do you really need it? As long as one person has a copy in your FLGS Kill Team group you should be OK.

Keep in mind, this is a skirmish version of the game. A true skirmish version that uses only a handful of models (at least 5 and as many as you can fit into a 200 point list). It is a completely different way of playing a regular game of 40K. If you don't like these rules, I'd suggest looking at the Heralds of Ruin fan based Kill Team rules for 40K. They have a Facebook page and a very detailed and comprehensive ruleset for their version of Kill Team. It's basically a different game. Much more involved and detailed then these rules.

Poking around on the interwebz and it looks like Angel's Blade is nothing more than a campaign book that re-hashes units from the BA Codex and introduces new artifacts and formations.

I have a feeling that this is the future of releases for 40K. No more codex books. Just campaign books with the models/units used during that campaign. No more codex power creep or using a codex 1-2 editions behind the current edition. The ability to introduce new models and units for an army without having to rewrite the entire codex (see Tau and the Ghostkeel or the Space Wolves and the Wulfen). For GW, it will be a win-win. Give the players new models, units, formations, and rules scattered across a multitude of books forcing players to purchase multiple books if they want a "complete" collection. Oh, and maybe once every couple of years, release a compendium of an army (with new stuff in it of course). It's almost like they are borrowing from the Privateer Press play book.

The coming Sigmafication of 40K in 8th Edition will open this door wide. It's already happening in AoS. Look at the Stormcast Eternals. Multiple books to collect the whole army. At least the stats are available online for free, and they have been publishing them in White Dwarf (another cross over marketing ploy to get you to purchase White Dwarf). We're starting to see this in the Chaos Space Marines and even Deamons...

I must applaud GW for this latest marketing strategy. Well done, GW! Well done.

There was an old Citadel Journal back when GW was more interested in games and such that contained rules for a Genestealer Cult. It was pretty entertaining, and not really competitive. They had an Armored Limousine that Genestealers could ride around in, and I want to say about a half dozen unit entries. The rules on Infestation of a Hive was pretty entertaining too.  

Sadly, I don't see this happening unless they bring back Necromunda.

I would agree on the face of it that FW Legion Termy's are bad. Except they trade Deepstrike for Implacable Advance (where they are a scoring unit if troops are counted as a scoring unit). They also have access to the cheap but good Land Raider Phobos. Or they can use a Dreadclaw Drop Pod as a Dedicated Transport. And they get the choice of regular Termy Armor, Tartaros pattern (can make sweeping advances), or Cataphractii pattern (Can't run or Overwatch, but have a 4++). There are also a few other variants as well in the specific legions (Sons of Horus and Justerian, and Death Guard with special Cataphractii). There is a Rite of War all Legions can take that give Terminators Deepstrike too.

In 30K, Terminators are worth it. In 40K... not so much. Chaplains have been watered down and neutered so much that there really isn't any reason to take one outside of a BA list with Death Company, unless you just really want a cheap independent character with a power weapon and 4++. Giving a Chaplain Termy armor for +30 points makes no sense either- he loses his bolt pistol, grenades, can't sweeping advance, and gains relentless, a Storm Bolter, and a 2+ armor save. Bleh.

Unless you are running a theme list (Ultramarines First Company, Dark Angels Death Wing, etc.), Terminators just are not worth the points in general. There are far better choices in the C:SM.

Full up codex? I doubt it. A new box campaign set? Probably.

You're paying an extra 7 points/model for Special Issue ammunition, increased Leadership, and access to combi-meltas/combi-grav, and one of only two squads that can take Heavy Flamers.

Take 10 of them in a Drop Pod, give 8 of them Combi-Meltas and 2 Heavy Flamers, have them drop in, break them up into Combat Squads, and kill any two vehicles in your opponent's deployment zone, or kill any unit they want on the first turn of the game. And they will be resilient thanks to that extra point of Leadership, ATSKNF, and the d3 Overwatch auto hits from the Heavy Flamers at S5. At most, they have just destroyed a prime target and will continue to do so until your opponent deals with them. At the very least, you have a HUGE threat sitting behind your opponent and he has to deal with it, meaning he can't move towards objectives or assault the rest of your army. 

I don't think I'd ever run a "Plain-Jane" Sternguard squad without combi-melta on foot or in a Rhino. I mean you could, but they would be just Space Marines with some fancy shots that would probably get shot to death before really doing anything. If that's the way you are running them, then yeah, they will be very lackluster for the points. The Special Issue ammo is awesome against Xeno's, but if you face a lot of MEQ, not so much. If you know you are going up against MEQ, then Combi-Grav is worth every point.

The new wargear options and formations will make or break this.

There will be no Sternguard for the BA- they have the Sanguinary Guard and Death Company. No formation will help Dreadnoughts- it's a rules problem (Hull Points and glances on an AV12 model and the walker rules in general). If they give the BA Grav, then they need to take away Inferno pistols. Centurians? Yuck.

I'd like to see the Death Company get some love, and from what I've read so far on the interwebz, they will.

Just moved to the area (Vancouver), and planning to play in this event! Either Sigmarines or Ironjaws...

Splinx that would be awesome! I live literally 2 blocks away from Mythic Realms (I just moved here). Got anymore details about this yet? What nights, how long, etc. etc.? I just picked up the Deathwatch Codex and would love to run those guys... Or Harlequins. Or maybe Tau... damn, I have too many armies... LOL

Threejacks- The Kill team Force Organization is 2 Troops, 1 elite, and 1 fast attack, no vehicles with ARM >33 (front+side+rear), no 2+ saves, no model with more than 3 wounds. You have to have at least 4 models- one your leader (not an HQ choice), and 3 Specialists. Those 4 models have some special options and charts they get to roll on.