Recorded and Edited a group discussion between Neil and myself and the Gamer's lounge guys.
Edited Neil Kerr's interview, interview deals with his spot on the Scotland ETC team and him playing daemons.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Termagaunt Weapon Upgrade or Downgrade?
Termagants come standard with a Fleshborer for 5 points. They have 3 weapon upgrades, Spinefist at 1 point, Spike Rifle at 1 point and Devourer at 5 points. Two of these, I would argue are really weapon down grades. Let me show you why:
30 Termagaunts shooting MEQ’s with Fleshborers, hit half the time, 15 hits. Toughness 4/Strength 4 they wounds half the time, 7.5 wounds. The average space marine will save 2 out of 3. Average shooting from these Termagaunts will kill 2.5 MEQ.
30 Termagaunts shooting MEQ’s with Spinefists, hit half the time, and reroll their misses, 22.5 hits. Toughness 4/Strength 3 they wounds 1 out of 3 times, 7.5 wounds. The average space marine will save 2 out of 3. Average shooting from these Termagaunts will kill 2.5 MEQ.
As you can see there is no improvement for spending one extra point on Spinefists. The unit did however cost 30 points more over the stock standard 30 man Termagaunts unit.
The only times Spinefists do better are against toughness 3 targets, where best case scenario, your 30 points buy you 1.25 extra kills.
Spike Rifles give you an extra 6” range at the cost of 1 point, and a significant reduction in damage potential, as seen in the chart below:
Devourers, at a cost of 5 points each, will give a significant boost in damage potential, but doubling your squad cost to 300 points, from 150. As seen in the chart below:
Your Devourer squad will outshoot 2 30-man stock Termagaunts, yet I am sure the average Tyranid player would rather have a few less shots and double the wounds.
All in all, I can’t think of any occasion that would warrant using anything but the stock Termagaunt weapons.
Sandbagging a Multi-Assault
It occurred to me that one of the most commonly misunderstood portions of 40K is the multi-assault. It is probably the area where I get the most questions from our podcast either via e-mail or on forums. Mainly, this is because we talk about multi-assaulting so much, but I also get a lot of feedback asking how that is done.
In the near future, I'm going to make a couple of videos to show how multi-assaulting actually works out. Maybe like a multi-assault training video?? In any case, an idea that occurred to me today about multi-assaulting that is definitely worth a quick discuss is "sandbagging" a multi-assault.
Sandbagging in a multi-assault is the idea of using a very powerful assault unit to force morale checks or fearless wounds across MANY other units while taking minimal casualties. In a perfect scenario, it would work like this:
Unit A is a glass cannon unit capable of destroying any and all in an assault but incapable of taking much return fire. (E.g. Harlequins, most demon units, genestealers etc.)
Unit B is a tough as nails unit capable of tarpitting other units in the assault phase. (E.g. Plague Marines, Plague Bearers, Nobz, stuff with a 2+ save)
Units C, D, E, and F are all something fairly wimpy in a HtH, say... Tactical Squads with no power fists? Maybe some normal Sisters? Anything Tau? You get the idea.
Here's how it works.
Step #1: Unit B multi-assaults into units C, D, E, and F at the same time. You would of course require a wide front and have your opponent close together. This works best against armies which naturally stay close together for support like Necrons as a best example.
Step #2: Unit A single assaults into unit C, hopefully at such an angle as to prevent much of Units D, E, and F from putting any models into BtB contact with Unit A.
Step #3: Unit A beats face on unit C, hopefully wiping it completely or as much as possible. Let's pretend all units involved are 10 man squads. Let's say that Unit A completely wipes out Unit C before Unit C gets to swing causing the combined A+B force to now be leading combat by 10. Unit B now swings, dividing attacks against D, E, and F with little effect, maybe killing 1. (A+B = 11, C+D+E+F = 0). Now, D, E, and F all swing back BUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH IN BTB WITH A, MUST ALLOCATE SWINGS TO B. Since B is tough as nails, D, E, and F don't do much damage, maybe 2 wounds to B.
Final Score: A+B = 11 C+D+E+F = 2. A+B wins by a whopping 9 points.
Step #4: D, E, and F who are still mostly intact now must starting taking leadership saves at -9!!!! If they are fearless, D, E, and F will all now take 9 extra wounds!!!! Either way, you have now officially sandbagged an assault.
In the near future, I'm going to make a couple of videos to show how multi-assaulting actually works out. Maybe like a multi-assault training video?? In any case, an idea that occurred to me today about multi-assaulting that is definitely worth a quick discuss is "sandbagging" a multi-assault.
Sandbagging in a multi-assault is the idea of using a very powerful assault unit to force morale checks or fearless wounds across MANY other units while taking minimal casualties. In a perfect scenario, it would work like this:
The Perfect Scenario
Unit A is a glass cannon unit capable of destroying any and all in an assault but incapable of taking much return fire. (E.g. Harlequins, most demon units, genestealers etc.)
Unit B is a tough as nails unit capable of tarpitting other units in the assault phase. (E.g. Plague Marines, Plague Bearers, Nobz, stuff with a 2+ save)
Units C, D, E, and F are all something fairly wimpy in a HtH, say... Tactical Squads with no power fists? Maybe some normal Sisters? Anything Tau? You get the idea.
Here's how it works.
Step #1: Unit B multi-assaults into units C, D, E, and F at the same time. You would of course require a wide front and have your opponent close together. This works best against armies which naturally stay close together for support like Necrons as a best example.
Step #2: Unit A single assaults into unit C, hopefully at such an angle as to prevent much of Units D, E, and F from putting any models into BtB contact with Unit A.
Step #3: Unit A beats face on unit C, hopefully wiping it completely or as much as possible. Let's pretend all units involved are 10 man squads. Let's say that Unit A completely wipes out Unit C before Unit C gets to swing causing the combined A+B force to now be leading combat by 10. Unit B now swings, dividing attacks against D, E, and F with little effect, maybe killing 1. (A+B = 11, C+D+E+F = 0). Now, D, E, and F all swing back BUT BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH IN BTB WITH A, MUST ALLOCATE SWINGS TO B. Since B is tough as nails, D, E, and F don't do much damage, maybe 2 wounds to B.
Final Score: A+B = 11 C+D+E+F = 2. A+B wins by a whopping 9 points.
Step #4: D, E, and F who are still mostly intact now must starting taking leadership saves at -9!!!! If they are fearless, D, E, and F will all now take 9 extra wounds!!!! Either way, you have now officially sandbagged an assault.
Enough with the Perfect Scenario
Stuff is not perfect in 40K! The perfect scenario is what you strive to achieve. More realistically, everything won't come to place like that. The key points to take away are:
1) You can use your own units to "lash" together your opponent's units into a giant multi-assault.
2) You can do very, very bad things to your opponent's units in a multi-assault just because one of your power units got to stomp all over a small fraction of your opponent's units that were part of that assault.
3) Scenarios such as this only occur through smart positioning or forcing your opponent into bad positions.
Last but not least, think about how you can apply this same concept to taking down beefy independent characters! See below.....
Does the independent character or monstrous creature that you need to take down in an assault remind you of this????
What is we applied the principal of Sandbagging a multi-assault by lashing that monstrous creature together into a multi-assault with something much more squishy?
Let's say we want to kill a Tervigon in an assault who is T6 with 6 wounds. The problem is, dealing with his T6 and 3+ save is a pain for all except a Power Fist. So, you get you a 10 man Grey Hunters pack together, take a deep breath, and get ready to get stuck in. BUT WAIT! HOLD THE PHONE! There's a 20 man squad of Termagaunts near that Tervigon! Hmmmmm..... So, you Sandbag the Tervigon.
Step #1: Your Grey Hunters multi-assault such that the Fist ends up on the Tervigon and the majority of the rest of the squad ends up with the Termagaunts.
Step #2: If you got another squad sitting around, assault the Termagaunts. If they have a fist, do the same thing. :P In this case, I'll pretend like you don't.
Resolve the combat. Just making stuff up... let's say your Grey Hunters kill 10 Termagaunts, and the Fist puts 2 wounds on the Tervigon. That's a little above average but not out of the realm of possibility by any means. They return fire. The Tervigon kills 2 Marines, and the Termagaunts kill 1. About average. So, now what happens? You just won combat by 9! And guess what?? Fearless wounds don't have anything to do with the toughness of the model! That Tervigon (who is fearless because of Synapse) now takes an additional 9 wounds, which he will fail 3 of on average meaning you just did 5 wounds to him this combat (almost dead!). Even better, the Termagaunts now take 9 wounds likely killing 7-8 more which means they are just about wiped out as well.
You can negate that high toughness or beast of a character with a sandbagged multi-assault.
1) You can use your own units to "lash" together your opponent's units into a giant multi-assault.
2) You can do very, very bad things to your opponent's units in a multi-assault just because one of your power units got to stomp all over a small fraction of your opponent's units that were part of that assault.
3) Scenarios such as this only occur through smart positioning or forcing your opponent into bad positions.
Last but not least, think about how you can apply this same concept to taking down beefy independent characters! See below.....
Does the independent character or monstrous creature that you need to take down in an assault remind you of this????
What is we applied the principal of Sandbagging a multi-assault by lashing that monstrous creature together into a multi-assault with something much more squishy?
Let's say we want to kill a Tervigon in an assault who is T6 with 6 wounds. The problem is, dealing with his T6 and 3+ save is a pain for all except a Power Fist. So, you get you a 10 man Grey Hunters pack together, take a deep breath, and get ready to get stuck in. BUT WAIT! HOLD THE PHONE! There's a 20 man squad of Termagaunts near that Tervigon! Hmmmmm..... So, you Sandbag the Tervigon.
Step #1: Your Grey Hunters multi-assault such that the Fist ends up on the Tervigon and the majority of the rest of the squad ends up with the Termagaunts.
Step #2: If you got another squad sitting around, assault the Termagaunts. If they have a fist, do the same thing. :P In this case, I'll pretend like you don't.
Resolve the combat. Just making stuff up... let's say your Grey Hunters kill 10 Termagaunts, and the Fist puts 2 wounds on the Tervigon. That's a little above average but not out of the realm of possibility by any means. They return fire. The Tervigon kills 2 Marines, and the Termagaunts kill 1. About average. So, now what happens? You just won combat by 9! And guess what?? Fearless wounds don't have anything to do with the toughness of the model! That Tervigon (who is fearless because of Synapse) now takes an additional 9 wounds, which he will fail 3 of on average meaning you just did 5 wounds to him this combat (almost dead!). Even better, the Termagaunts now take 9 wounds likely killing 7-8 more which means they are just about wiped out as well.
You can negate that high toughness or beast of a character with a sandbagged multi-assault.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday editing
Finished editing Nathan Fluger's interview, it should be present on episode 27 talking about his shooty Orks.
Interviewed Jeff Dunster and his highly unusual penal legion IG army.
We had a round table about comp and the need to fix codex with Bill & Jay from the Gamers Lounge with Neil and Myself.
Interviewed Jeff Dunster and his highly unusual penal legion IG army.
We had a round table about comp and the need to fix codex with Bill & Jay from the Gamers Lounge with Neil and Myself.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Da whistle is gone...
Finally managed to remove an irritating whistle from my interview with Nathan Fluger. Now i can get to the real editing part of it.
Still in Queue:
Rob Harvatt
Big Jim BDJV
The Professor from BattleZone
Blitz from BattleZone
Still in Queue:
Rob Harvatt
Big Jim BDJV
The Professor from BattleZone
Blitz from BattleZone
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Progress for Thursday
Finished both interviews with MJayc50, next up Nathan Fluger. Nathan writes a column for the bloodofkittens.com blog called the ork defense force. He talks about his ork list and his local gaming scene.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Battlezone
I interviewed the gents from battlezone each separate, Blitz and the professor. Check out their podcast at http://www.thebattlezone.libsyn.com/. Their interviews should make the show in a few weeks.
I also interviewed our own MJayC50 from the forums. He is playing for Team Wales. He talks about the Space Wolves he is bringing and also has a rebuttal to an article DarkWynn posted on BOLS.
Finished editing an interview with Mr. Dandy himself, from www.Mrdandy.com, we ordered several battle wolves from him, and decided to talk to him about his process etc.
I also interviewed our own MJayC50 from the forums. He is playing for Team Wales. He talks about the Space Wolves he is bringing and also has a rebuttal to an article DarkWynn posted on BOLS.
Finished editing an interview with Mr. Dandy himself, from www.Mrdandy.com, we ordered several battle wolves from him, and decided to talk to him about his process etc.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Interview Schedule Friday, July 9th
Finished editing the second part of Rob Madeley's interview on his cavalry Daemon list. He, incidentaly, just made 1st in the UK on rankingsHQ. He is still looking for players to play against for his USA tour, coming soon.
I recorded and edited a short interview with Mike Brandt from the Nova open.
Next up:
Rob Harvatt
Nathan Flugger (still looking for a good audio editing program)
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums.
I recorded and edited a short interview with Mike Brandt from the Nova open.
Next up:
Rob Harvatt
Nathan Flugger (still looking for a good audio editing program)
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Finished Rob Madeley interview 1
Finished Rob Madeley's first interview, he is currently ranked #2 in the UK, and is looking to tour the USA and play a 40k game in every state, including Hawaii and Alaska. Currently working on his second interview.
Still in Queue:
Still in Queue:
- Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
- Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
- Nathan Fluger, Orc player on the west coast and contributor to bloodofkittens (http://bloodofkittens.com/)
Finished Nick Rose (Darkwynn) editing
Finished editing Nick Rose (Darkwynn) interview, next up multipart Rob Madeley interview.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Finished Tastytaste interview
I finished editing Tastytaste's interview, it should appear on episode 24. Next up Nick Rose, also known as Darkwynn, contributor for Bols. He is also part of the american team going to the ETC.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Delay in editing
I apologize to the people i have interviewed for the delay in editing. My perfectly healthy newborn son got sick last week, ending in emergency surgery at MUSC (in my opinion the best and most wonderful hospital in the world, long drive though). He is now back and doing fine.
soooo..... back to the grind. First up TastyTaste, then...
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Rob Madeley, Daemon player from UK, planning to tour the USA
Nathan Fluger, Orc player on the west coast and contributor to bloodofkittens (http://bloodofkittens.com/)
soooo..... back to the grind. First up TastyTaste, then...
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Rob Madeley, Daemon player from UK, planning to tour the USA
Nathan Fluger, Orc player on the west coast and contributor to bloodofkittens (http://bloodofkittens.com/)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
editing in progress
Finished editing Chris Dietz' (Xiebelvoule on our forum) interview.
Next one up, Tastytaste.
Next one up, Tastytaste.
Interviewed Nathan Fluger
I interviewed Nathan Fluger, will have to work on audio quality. Nathan contributes to BloodofKittens blog (http://bloodofkittens.com/) under Ork Defense Force. I interviewed him on how he runs his orks, and we talked about some events coming up.
"I know most of y'all aren't any where near Seattle; but on the off chance anyone comes on up that way (and since I'm giving it a shout out on a podcast); here's the site.
http://tshft.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=12
Our next 40k Tournament is Labor Day Weekend (Sept 4 and 5). Next year our 40k events will be part of the Official GT circuit.
Get in touch with Zen if you have any questions!
-fluger"
my editing schedule hasn't changed yet from below ;P, my little snotling is not feeling well, haven't had time to do much editing.
"I know most of y'all aren't any where near Seattle; but on the off chance anyone comes on up that way (and since I'm giving it a shout out on a podcast); here's the site.
http://tshft.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=12
Our next 40k Tournament is Labor Day Weekend (Sept 4 and 5). Next year our 40k events will be part of the Official GT circuit.
Get in touch with Zen if you have any questions!
-fluger"
my editing schedule hasn't changed yet from below ;P, my little snotling is not feeling well, haven't had time to do much editing.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Rob Madeley, tour the USA
I have just interviewed Rob Madeley, the #2 ranked player in the UK. He has an interesting goal, he wants to travel the USA and play a 40k game in each state. The problem is obviously how to get this lined up. I have recorded a short promo, which I have edited and sent to all podcasts i know off.
still working on editing interview with Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule on our forums.
In queue:
Tastytaste from the Bloodofkittens blog http://bloodofkittens.com/
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Rob Madeley, Daemon player from UK, planning to tour the USA
still working on editing interview with Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule on our forums.
In queue:
Tastytaste from the Bloodofkittens blog http://bloodofkittens.com/
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Rob Madeley, Daemon player from UK, planning to tour the USA
Monday, June 21, 2010
Finished Editing interview with Richard Rush from WarpStonePile
I finished editing my interview with Richard Rush from the WarpStonePile blog (Http://www.warpstonepile.blogspot.com). It should be featured on episode #23 which is scheduled to be released on Sunday, June 27th.
Currently working on editing interview with Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule on our forums.
In queue:
Tastytaste from the Bloodofkittens blog http://bloodofkittens.com/
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Currently working on editing interview with Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule on our forums.
In queue:
Tastytaste from the Bloodofkittens blog http://bloodofkittens.com/
Rob Harvatt, Australia Masters Winner
Nick Rose, member of the american team going to the ETC and Darkwynn on Bell of lost souls
Big Jim, BDJV on our forums, and Author of the Galaxy in Flames blog http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/ and regular contributor to the Space Wolves blog http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 18, 2010
Editing, and more editing...
Finally finished Alan Borthwick's interview from Ironhalo.net, i had a lot of connection problems while recording, i lost significant parts of it during the interview, for which i apologize to Alan. The interview appears to skip once in a while. I tried to clean it up as best as i could to make it audible for our listeners. I ended up editing the interview down from two roughly 35 minute sections to one 26 minute section. Next time i just need to reschedule when the internet is not reliable, or try a landline.
Currently editing Richard Rush's interview, author of the (http://warpstonepile.blogspot.com/) Warp Stone Pile blog.
Currently editing Richard Rush's interview, author of the (http://warpstonepile.blogspot.com/) Warp Stone Pile blog.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Interviewing BDJV..
I interviewed Big Jim (BDJV) last night, we talked about his contributions to http://space-wolves-grey.blogspot.com/ and his own blog, http://galaxyinflames.blogspot.com/.
Just finished editing my interview with Ben Mohlie, team captain for the American team going to the ETC.
Currently working on my interview with Alan Borthwick from ironhalo.net in NZ
Interviews waiting to be edited:
Nick Rose
Xiebelvoule
Tastytaste
Rob Harvatt
Richard Rush
Just finished editing my interview with Ben Mohlie, team captain for the American team going to the ETC.
Currently working on my interview with Alan Borthwick from ironhalo.net in NZ
Interviews waiting to be edited:
Nick Rose
Xiebelvoule
Tastytaste
Rob Harvatt
Richard Rush
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Interviewing Captain America...
couldn't resist the pun. I am interviewing the team captain (Ben Mohlie) for the American team going to the European Team Competition tonight. I also have one lined up with Ben Curry from the Baddice Podcast based out of the UK, they are the official podcast for the ETC.
Completed editing Jason Miller's interview. His interview and Richard from DLT's interview should both make it on the show tonight with Andrew Galea's interview from RankingsHQ.
Currently working on editing for:
Tastytaste from Blood of kittens blog interview
Alan Borthwick from IronHalo.net interview (top New Zealand player)
Rob Harvatt interview (He won the Australian Masters)
Richard Rush interview from TheWarpStonePile blog
Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule from our forums interview
Working on setting up the following interviews:
Getting things worked out to interview:
Big Jim
Jeff Dunster
Rob Madaley
David Hill
Neil Kerr
Interviewing Nicholas Rose on Monday.
Completed editing Jason Miller's interview. His interview and Richard from DLT's interview should both make it on the show tonight with Andrew Galea's interview from RankingsHQ.
Currently working on editing for:
Tastytaste from Blood of kittens blog interview
Alan Borthwick from IronHalo.net interview (top New Zealand player)
Rob Harvatt interview (He won the Australian Masters)
Richard Rush interview from TheWarpStonePile blog
Chris Dietz, Xiebelvoule from our forums interview
Working on setting up the following interviews:
Getting things worked out to interview:
Big Jim
Jeff Dunster
Rob Madaley
David Hill
Neil Kerr
Interviewing Nicholas Rose on Monday.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Interviewing Australia and New Zealand
Yesterday i interviewed Richard Rush from the Warpstone Pile blog (Http://warpstonepile.blogspot.com), we talked about hobby stuff, he is also going to be at the Nova Open, and he has a beautifully painted Khornate Chaos Daemon army which is still a WIP but almost complete.
I also interviewed Chris Dietz, he is Xiebelvoule on our forums, we talked about his recent tournament and the Imperial Guard list he ran there.
I talked to Alan Borthwick from New Zealand. Ranked 4th on RankingsHQ.com and best Tau General. We talked about tau and his wife's paint service and model base business (Http://www.ironhalo.net). His interview was a bit of a challenge, lots of dropped packets and bad line quality. I hope the editing will work out. I may have to cal him again to redo small sections.
I interviewed Jason Miller this morning, he is a co-host on ManDollies (http://www.mandollies.net/Mandollies/Blog/Blog.html) a GW based podcast. I again had poor connections, multiple dropped calls, making me think my internet may be at fault..... We talked about his Chaos Space Marine army, the European Team Challenge, and comp scoring.
Finished editing Andrew Galea's interview.
I also interviewed Chris Dietz, he is Xiebelvoule on our forums, we talked about his recent tournament and the Imperial Guard list he ran there.
I talked to Alan Borthwick from New Zealand. Ranked 4th on RankingsHQ.com and best Tau General. We talked about tau and his wife's paint service and model base business (Http://www.ironhalo.net). His interview was a bit of a challenge, lots of dropped packets and bad line quality. I hope the editing will work out. I may have to cal him again to redo small sections.
I interviewed Jason Miller this morning, he is a co-host on ManDollies (http://www.mandollies.net/Mandollies/Blog/Blog.html) a GW based podcast. I again had poor connections, multiple dropped calls, making me think my internet may be at fault..... We talked about his Chaos Space Marine army, the European Team Challenge, and comp scoring.
Finished editing Andrew Galea's interview.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Today's interview(s)
Today i interviewed Rob Harvatt from Australia, ranked 17th on RankingsHQ and the winner of the Australian Masters (invitational tournament of the top 16 players in Australia.
I also got to talk to Andrew Galea , the main person behind RankingsHQ (www.rankingshq.com)
Both fascinating interviews, not looking forward to the editing ;P
Finished Richard from DLT's interview, hope to have that included in this week's show.
I also got to talk to Andrew Galea , the main person behind RankingsHQ (www.rankingshq.com)
Both fascinating interviews, not looking forward to the editing ;P
Finished Richard from DLT's interview, hope to have that included in this week's show.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Interview Schedule this week
Busy week, ironic, since i just started my long summer vacation.
I am still editing Richard's interview (from Dice like thunder), hope to have that done for this week's episode. I also interviewed xiebelvoule from our forums on IG, and Tastytaste from bloodofkittens.com. Hope to also complete edit on those soon.
I am digging in to the ETC (european team championships), i have 5 more interviews scheduled between now and Monday. I think ETC will be a fascinating, from as little as i have read, the format seems very interesting. more to come soon.
I am still editing Richard's interview (from Dice like thunder), hope to have that done for this week's episode. I also interviewed xiebelvoule from our forums on IG, and Tastytaste from bloodofkittens.com. Hope to also complete edit on those soon.
I am digging in to the ETC (european team championships), i have 5 more interviews scheduled between now and Monday. I think ETC will be a fascinating, from as little as i have read, the format seems very interesting. more to come soon.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Nids round table & editing backlog
I finished my part on the Nids round table discussion between Neil, Mortikal and Crovan. Skype / Powergramo seemed to be unusually quirky, maybe i need a new ISP. Neil is now editing his part.
Now that i handed Neil the Goatboy interview and finished the round table piece, it is on to completing the edits for Richard's (from Dice like Thunder fame) interview with him talking about a new campaign/ home brew codex he has been working on.
Now that i handed Neil the Goatboy interview and finished the round table piece, it is on to completing the edits for Richard's (from Dice like Thunder fame) interview with him talking about a new campaign/ home brew codex he has been working on.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Interview with Goatboy
We had some issues with Skype disconnecting, lost small parts of the interview. We also didn't realise till after the fact that Goatboy's mic was picking up him rolling dice till the very end. I apologize for the clicking, it is hard to edit that out without losing parts of the conversation. I completed part 1 in editing, this should make it on this episode. I had difficulties getting Neil in to the interview, so the interview may seem a bit scattered as neil didn't know what we talked about for the first part. All in all, i enjoyed talking to Goatboy, and Mr. Reidy was an interesting person to interview.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Interview with Richard from Dice Like Thunder
I just finished interviewing Richard from Dice Like Thunder http://dicelikethunder.com/. I will start editing as soon as time permits, I hope to finish it in time for Episode 20. As a fellow ex-squid and (if all goes well in the next 12 hours)new father, I really enjoyed talking to him. You will have to put up with little 3 month old gamers in the background, but that is a small price to pay for the time he spent talking to us.
Interview with Goatboy
Currently editing my interview from last week with Goatboy (Thomas Reidy) he is a regular contributor for bell of lost souls http://www.belloflostsouls.net/, he runs a commission painting service http://www.fullofmonkey.com/, and won the blue heath at adepticon. I am looking forward to finishing this in time for Episode 20.
Interviews update
I just finished editing my interview done last week with Mike Brandt from http://whiskey40k.blogspot.com/ and http://novaopen.com/. I really enjoyed talking with him and he impressed us so much with his tournament setup, that 3 of us signed up for his tournament. I am looking forward to meeting people at the nova open, this is Gamers Lounge territory, we will get to visit with Bill and Jay http://gamerslounge.coda.net/
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Keep It Simple, Stupid is a Strategy not a Philosophy
When I was a youngster in high school, I spent a couple of years in a Karate class. I have countless, hilarious, stories about that experience, but suffice it say, I'm not really sure why the instructor we had found himself in po-dunk South Carolina. This guy was the real deal, not just some enthusiast with a black belt. He had a lot of philosophies about fighting. First and foremost, like no other instructor of Karate I have ever seen, he didn't believe in walking away or settling disputes with conversation. (No, I'm not kidding.) His rule was ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK! Indeed, he had wild opinions on other Karate schooling, usually ridiculing the notion that people actually trained for Karate demonstrations with spins, twirls, board breaking, and a host of other very common practices. You see, what was completely missed on him was the idea that Karate itself should be a sport, a sport in which you exercise, show case, and mainly just have a good time. To him, Karate was a primary tool or weapon by which he could hurt people at a whim. (If I'm making him sound a little psycho, it's because he was.) However, think about it. If you were forced into a cage match with a Karate instructor, would you rather face the guy who practices quasi-dance demonstrations for judges or practices only three moves for 30 years so he can perfect his power, form, and destructive capability?
That brings me to my point. When I say he only practiced 3 moves, I'm serious. Technically, it was four moves if you count a roundhouse as more than a front kick! Literally, though, it was three moves. You practiced a front kick, front punch, and mule kick. That's it! For two years I did that! (He did it for 30!) He didn't believe in pads. He didn't believe in pain. He believed in one punch, one disabled opponent, and the way in which he guaranteed that was by absolutely only perfecting three very simple moves by which he could be certain were fast enough, strong enough, and perfect enough to get the job done right. (That job being busting face on anyone that looked at him strangely.)
Countless times I was schooled that you didn't need to know anything else. All that rolling, twirling, and jumping wasn't going to win you a fight. What was going to win you a fight was throwing out a mule kick so fast your opponent can't react to it, connecting to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him, and then, pummeling him mercilessly while he's on the ground. Further, you didn't need to know techniques or Karate to kick someone while he was down.
So, on to 40K. As you'll find, my take on strategy in the game of 40K (in any game really) is to keep it simple, basic, and without gimmicks. Gimmicks don't win games. They might once, but your opponents will get wise to it. Now that the 40K community has grown so large on the internet, there really isn't a gimmick that exists that not everyone hears about the instant someone figures it out.
What is simplicity? Simplicity in my mind follows these principles:
Leave the surprise "chain events" to the card players. What works in 40k, in my opinion, is straight forward, clean, practiced, simple, strategies. It works because it's effective and easy to execute, like a well-timed, well-honed mule kick to the solar plexus. Fight over.
That brings me to my point. When I say he only practiced 3 moves, I'm serious. Technically, it was four moves if you count a roundhouse as more than a front kick! Literally, though, it was three moves. You practiced a front kick, front punch, and mule kick. That's it! For two years I did that! (He did it for 30!) He didn't believe in pads. He didn't believe in pain. He believed in one punch, one disabled opponent, and the way in which he guaranteed that was by absolutely only perfecting three very simple moves by which he could be certain were fast enough, strong enough, and perfect enough to get the job done right. (That job being busting face on anyone that looked at him strangely.)
Countless times I was schooled that you didn't need to know anything else. All that rolling, twirling, and jumping wasn't going to win you a fight. What was going to win you a fight was throwing out a mule kick so fast your opponent can't react to it, connecting to his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him, and then, pummeling him mercilessly while he's on the ground. Further, you didn't need to know techniques or Karate to kick someone while he was down.
"Three european nationals I won with a mule kick!" he would say. "One punch, fight over. We don't practice combinations. We don't practice gimmicks! Our strategy is to attack, one time, very simple, fight over."
So, on to 40K. As you'll find, my take on strategy in the game of 40K (in any game really) is to keep it simple, basic, and without gimmicks. Gimmicks don't win games. They might once, but your opponents will get wise to it. Now that the 40K community has grown so large on the internet, there really isn't a gimmick that exists that not everyone hears about the instant someone figures it out.
What is simplicity? Simplicity in my mind follows these principles:
- Define a clear, easy strategy
- Build redundancy into your list to ensure you can achieve your strategic goals
- Don't rely on pivot points (single points of failure, a GIMMICK)
- Practice that strategy until you have perfected it
"Okay, on turn 1, I'm going to reserve everything. On turn 2, I'll roll to bring this guy in outflank, this guy to deep strike, in combination with this special character, expecting my opponent to move this way, on every 6th minute of next monday... "Simple strategies which have been perfected through practice are what wins the majority of games. (You can't win them all.) They work because they are a finely honed, simple to execute, lack failure points, and are flexible for any situation. Here are a couple of examples:
- Let's consider the infamous "Leaf Blower" for a moment. Here's a simple strategy. I put an inquisitor w/ mystics in a Chimera to curtail deep striking (somewhat of a gimmick), and then, I load down with vehicles with lots of shooting and blow my opponent away (be it with templates or guns). That's it! I line up, take shots, and mow my opponent down. Some people might call this "push button", but the reality is, it's simple perfection. It works because it is simple.
- My favorite, the Orc Horde. Lots of boys and Power Klaws. There isn't much to it. I put up a wall of something (Kanz, Ard Boyz, Battle Wagons, etc.) to provide a cover save for most of my army. I spread out across the board to limit my opponent's movement, and from there, I walk forward... run.... walk forward... WAAAGH!.... assault. Easy. It's effective because it is so simple. It doesn't rely on gimmicks, situations, special characters, certain units, etc.
- Mech-dar. I put a bunch of units in skimmers. I wait in reserve. As I come on, I pick a flank and hammer it. Otherwise, I fly around staying away from my opponent until the last turn at which point I flat out to contest objectives. Easy. That's why it works.
Leave the surprise "chain events" to the card players. What works in 40k, in my opinion, is straight forward, clean, practiced, simple, strategies. It works because it's effective and easy to execute, like a well-timed, well-honed mule kick to the solar plexus. Fight over.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
11th Company blog now open
We at the 11th company podcast have decided to start as blog as well. Not because it is just the 'in thing' to do, but to see if we can get some more listener feed back for our shows. Maybe discuss some topics we would like to cover, explore some more tactics.
Even though some purists among you prefer one-person-blogs, this will mainly remain a team effort among the hosts of the podcast.
Looking forward to comments in the future.
Pat
Even though some purists among you prefer one-person-blogs, this will mainly remain a team effort among the hosts of the podcast.
Looking forward to comments in the future.
Pat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)