Ish

No, because an Aura is a defined game mechanic. Specifically it is defined as a persistent unit ability that will affect certain models within a given range of the unit with it. This combination of Act of Faith and Stratagem is neither a unit ability nor persistent. It may behave like an Aura, but it isn’t actually an Aura. It quacks like a duck when you squeeze it, but it’s just a rubber ducky, not a mallard. 🦆

Most of you probably saw this already, but figured I’d share anyway. Nothing too unexpected: https://www.warhammer-community.com/faqs/

But, a Stratagem isn’t a Unit Ability...

Because an aura is defined as a unit ability, this isn’t a unit ability, ergo it can’t be an aura. It doesn’t smell like a duck, it doesn’t walk like a duck, and it doesn’t quack like a duck.

It’s not clearly an aura. Aura has a specifically defined meaning, which Pretre has copy-pasted many times now. The common use, dictionary definition, doesn’t matter when the rules give a specific use. Imagine I wrote a contract that said “a Dog is a small furry four-legged carnivorous mammal of the sub-species Felis silvestris catus.” In such cade, it wouldn’t do you any good to argue that dog usually means, well, a dog. GW’s annoying habit of writing in a “conversational” tone makes it harder to recognize when they’re using a term of art... Something I really wish they’d fix.

Anyhow, replace everything I said above about making them out of foam, but a half dozen of those “tree-dee printed” trunks and some smaller trees would make a great Endor-like table.

Cheater! 😆

What sort of trees? Big, giant Forest-Moon of Endor / Elvish Tree City sorts of trees, or just your garden-variety (pun totally intended) average-sized trees? I’ve tried my hand at making average type trees using all sorts of different techniques over the years and, honestly, the amount of time, effort, and materials it takes to get good looking ones just isn’t worth it when you can pick up some Ready Made Woodland Scenics for a couple bucks. Just base them well — using all the normal techniques you do for minis — so they blend into the table. Maybe hit the trucks (if they aren’t evergreens) with some dry brush and/or ink washes to enhance them. For big Endor style trees, the trick is to just do the trunks, let the mind’s eye fill in the tree tops. A 6’ x 4’ table with six to eight big, massive Endor style tree trunks all about 8” to 12” tall (you want them all uniform height) and various diameters from 3” to 5”, with some smaller “normal” size trees and bushes at ground level looks nice and Endor-y. Not my table, but an excellent illustration of how you don’t need much more than a some giant trunks and a few regular trees to imply an Endor-sized forest. Best way to make these is 3” insulation foam, cut into cylinders*, then stacked. Base them on an old CD-ROM, use some carved bits of the off cut foam to make the roots. Cover the whole thing in air-dry clay or spackle, texture this into something bark-like. Paint, wash, dry brush, and add some moss. For Elf Tree Village type trees, follow the same basic process as the Endor trees, only you want to make sure the base has some heft to it — three 1” stacks of 1/2” steel washers inside the bottom foam cylinder should do nicely — then build tree. Once the tree is built, get some bamboo skewers or chopsticks. Drill holes into the foam trunk in a circle around the top. Hot glue the skewers into place. Should give you a sort of + or * shape. Take more bamboo skewers or maybe some basla wood, cut to size, hot glue these as struts between the first bits. Continue until you have a platform... it takes a while. Be patient. Paint, wash, dry brush. Congrats, you have a platform... Build you elf huts and the like on top of that. * I highly recommend a Proxon-like cutting tool.

Hilariously, on the rest of the internet, people are kvetching about how the terrain in this set is useless... 🙄

Sisters’ heavy reliance on bolters, meltas, and flamers (although thematic as heck) does hurt them when it comes to dealing with heavier units... I love them, but they’re still kinda stuck in Second Edition’s “infantry platoon plus maybe a tank” game design, where about the heaviest you’d see on the other side was maybe two or three Leman Russ for the Guard, 5-10 Terminators for the Marines, or a Greater Dæmon for Chaos. In a game where 2-3 superheavy tanks or lightweight Titians isn’t an uncommon add-on to an army with two or three times the manpower you could field back then, well... It just doesn’t seem to work. GW needs to give the Sisters something other than their classic loadout or they need to give them most efficient Stratagems/Acts of Faith for handling the big guys.

I was looking at this model, it seems most of the “newbies guide to airbrushing” sources all agree that gravity feed is better than bottle feed, double action is better than single action, and that you don’t want to start out with one that’s too cheap nor too expensive... This seems like a decent enough starter.

What about a Skyshield Landing Pad?

I think they dropped the 32 mm ones from their line up. The Primaris Inceptors use a new, kinda crescent-shaped flight stem that attaches to a normal black base.

Given how @#$%-ing fragile the Citadel Flight stands are, I wouldn't be surprised if your trade didn't come with any.

Same flight stand used for Land Speeders and Jetbikes.

All that really matters (and it doesn't even matter that much) is that the bases be of the appropriate diameter. Citadel's skimmer bases stems are infamously prone to breakage and a lot of people use third-party alternatives.

I used to have a lot of good results with my Imperial Guard infantry (who were also rather mêlée adverse) by staggering their lines, with a 9.5" gap between the rear rank of the first squad(s) and the front rank of the second squad(s). When incoming enemies would be withing rapid fire's "double tap" range 12" from the first line, they would just be inside single shot range (23.5") of the second line's front rank. When (not if) they broke through the first line and consolidated they'd be ~6.5" away from the second line. If they were suitably weakened, I could hold my ground and double-tap. If they were still strong, I could fall back and still double-tap, but significantly increase their charge distance. Heavy Weapon Teams or other long-range support units would be behind this second line.

”Da Goldtoof,” is a relic in AoS (and the name I gave to my Ardboyz Boss, even before that relic came out.)

Brutal and Cunning: Torkyo Drift. Starring Paul Waaaghker, Dwayne “Da Rok” Waaaghson, and Vin Diesel. No, Vin Diesel doesn’t get a silly, made-up Ork name. The man’s real name is an anagram for “I end lives.” I’m not risking it.

My Imperial Fists are going to love ignoring the benefits of cover. Go figure. 😁

As I said, I’ve only watched the first third of her series. I reserve my right to make a more definitive assessment once I’ve seen all of it.

More seductive teasing.

Capaldi suffered from a lot of the same problems that seemed to plague Colin Baker and Jodi Whittaker: the writers never quite cottoned on to the notion that they weren’t writing for the previous actor to play the Doctor. I’ve only seen to first five or six Whittaker episodes, so this might change, but the writers, directors, and show runner seem to be asking her to do a (bad) Matt Smith impersonation. They had Capaldi do the same, but he seems to have been able to assert himself after his first series and started playing his own Doctor... Unfortunately, poor Pearl Mackie was never given a chance to be anyone other than “Not Clara,” just as Jenna Coleman barely ever got to be anyone other than “Not Amy.” Whittaker is a really good actress (go watch Broadchurch for proof) but I think she’s really being misused as a manic, hyperactive Doctor. I’d like to see her play a more trickster-chessmaster Doctor, a la McCoy.

Always comply with whatever the judge(s) tell you in a competitive environment.

I’ve seen this done with Eldar Jetbikes and even a Vyper... A Repulsor might be a bit too heavy, although given the larger hull, you could probably fit an equally large magnet in it. The thing is, the base for such a model has to contain the electromagnet, itself, which means it’s quite bulky. Makes for a great display piece, but not so good for gaming.