Comp and Swiss

Like many of you I am a big fan of the idea of win/loss tournaments. The premise behind this scoring methodology is that players shouldn't be penalised for winning close games against highly skilled opponents. In a battle points tournament the luck of the draw is vital, as getting assigned a weak opponent allows you to race ahead in points 20 - 0 or similar.

The win/loss system cares only whether you won or lost - but hang on a sec, that's not entirely true is it? Some kind of points measure is still recorded, for the purpose of determining the next round's pairings using the Swiss system.

A Time of Reflection

    This fella above is my rough skeleton for the Squad Smackdown prize. Look out for further updates over the next few weeks as he gets assembled and painted. I'll be going for a sandy arena style base, with judicious application of blood, and green stuffed internal organs :)  
(Battle Bunker Aki suggested he should be wielding a knife, as part of the story of dismemberment being told; I can see his point...)

Things have been a little bit quiet over here on A Plague Spreads recently. I've suffered from a nasty case of blog burn-out after having made it through the grueling Squad Smackdown series of posts. With my precious little free time it was a lot to take on and I needed a break from the blog afterwards. Dont panic though, because here I am again, re-energized and with a tonne of ideas for new posts. Expect content on the following:

• Some innovative scoring ideas that could be incorporated into existing frameworks
• An in-depth look at Terminators across all the codices (this was inspired by The Independent Characters)
• Trying my bit to help change the Games Workshop corporate mindset
• Flames of War

In addition, I'm looking forward to writing a new series of posts subtitled "Crunching Fluff". The premise is to take a fluffy list and optimise it - without tarnishing the original theme. I can come up with themes on my own, but if you have a list that needs it's fluff crunched then please email me - I'll be happy to help!

Space "Knights" for Warpath

So I have read the Warpath rules several times and I like the simplicity of having two rolls for combat. Speeding up the game is great - it might even be possible to play an entire game with my wife before she looses interest! I still don't like the idea of having a counter for each units current Nerve. I'd prefer removing models as a mechanism to record the losses, but I guess I'll have to suck it and see...

This list covers most of the standard Space MarineKnight models. It is built as a heroic army and the prices are high, but in reality I haven't the slightest idea how to price Warpath units :) So any feedback on the pricing would be very valuable. Giving Elite to all the units might be over the top, or it might be a stroke of genius. Anyway please let me know what you think!

Space Knights (0.1)

40k Battle Tactics: The Art of the Multi Assault

*** DISCLAIMER ***
Like all my 40k Tactics that I blog, it is important that you read the rule book yourself, I will make some basic assumptions on your knowledge, so please don't just try and do something and then quote this blog, make sure you understand it and can justify it with the rule book references.
*** END DISCLAIMER ***

If you play with us on a Wednesday night down at the Battle Bunker, or have been around combat orientated players, you would have heard many people call for another person's opinion on whether or not someone could do a multi charge that they were trying to do. So I thought that it was about time that someone explained each of the rules that you need to follow in order to be able to create a multi combat, and I will start by just going over these points, then give examples on when you can or can't do it. All relevant material is on page 34 of the 40k rules, unless specified.

I am going to start this tactic with explaining the rules of moving assaulting models in detail, then show 2 examples of almost the exact same scenario, and why one failed to multi assault and the other succeeded.

Squad Smackdown: Aftermath and Winner?

Well *phew*, I made it through the flurry of dice rolling and posting that was the Squad Smackdown. There were some bloodthirsty battles and a few suprising results, topped off with a titanic struggle between Ork Boyz and Space Wold Grey Hunters in the final battle for the title. My favourite matches were:

• Orks vs Eldar: How close this came to being an early upset against the eventual winners.
• Tau vs Grey Knights: As a Tau player, I can't resist seeing the Kroot get some love.
• Orks vs Grey Hunters: The final was an uphill battle for the Space Wolves but they flexed their muscle and fought bravely until the end, showing what a force the Grey Hunters squad can be.

So what about the bets that were laid. Well, as no-one picked the Orks, it will have to fall to the Space Wolf voters - Warflake and An Enemy. However, without a way to choose between them, here is my proposition: both can email to me (see the site banner for details) an infantry squad of up to 200 points in value - other than Boyz or Grey Hunters. The squad must come from either the Space Wolf or Ork codices but any FOC slot is OK. I'll fight them together and the winner gets the prize (which will be a suitably victorious Ork Boy).

Squad Smackdown: Space Wolves vs Orks: GRAND FINAL!

Don't know what is going on? Click here.

The gates open!

Squad Smackdown - Orks vs Genestealers

Don't know what is going on? Click here.

The tension in the air has been steadily growing, and now on the eve of the final match you could cut it with a knife - and I can assure you that the contestants here are about to do just that! At the Squad Smackdown stadium today we present for you a huge semi-final match-up between 11 ferocious Genestealers and a huge squad of 30 Orks.

Can these elite Tyranids kill enough Orks to survive the backlash? Ad both units has access to Fleet we ruled that there is no advantage to go first.

The gates open!

Squad Smackdown: Space Wolves vs Tau

Don't know what is going on? Click here.

 

OK everybody it's semi-final time and what a match-up we have for you here tonight! The drunken might of Fenris against the stoic team-oriented Tau alliance. 10 bloodthirsty Space Wolf Grey Hunters ready to test their mettle against 20 Kroot and their 10 pet hounds. Elite vs Horde. Good luck to both squads, it looks like we are about to begin...

No advantage for assault is awarded to either squad, so it's a 50/50 chance for either to go first. As the Kroot have no armour, we can disregard the Grey Hunte power weapons for the purposes of this assault.

The gates open!

DOs and DON'TS of the GW Australia Boycott

A thread came up on WargamerAU recently with someone asking where they should buy their models now that the overseas stores have locked us away from fair pricing. The discussion devolved into a more general discussion about what we should be doing about buying models in general. I made a post that seemed to resonate with a few other posters, so I thought I'd repost it here for the blogging crew to ponder:

DON'T buy from GW
DON'T buy GW models from your FLGS
DO support your local FLGS by buying non-GW products. Now is the time to replace your green sheet and books with proper terrain. Or get into Flames of War.
DO buy second hand rather than new. Sell those minis you will never finish, so that others can avoid buying GW too.
DON'T introduce others to the GW hobby. Point them to other systems.

DON'T be afraid to flex our collective consumer muscle.

Squad Smackdown: Space Wolves Get Another Chance!

This post concerns a protest raised on yesterday's match.
Thanks to the latest Space Wolves FAQ, Grey Hunters DO get the bonus attack from Counterattack. The Squad Smackdown council decided to reroll the extra attacks and see if they caused a difference. So that's 8 extra attacks, with the Wolf banner in effect. They managed 6 hits after rerolling two ones, the wound with every hit! The Wyches fail four more saves - so they lost 5 in total this round of combat.

So they lost the combat by 3... they flee but are not caught. However they then fail the roll to rally with box cars, so the battle is won by the Grey Hunters squad! What a turn-around!

Aftermath: Controversy indeed as we head into the Semi-finals. The council has spoken however. So the Imperium represent in the final four!

The remaining four squads are:

• Grey Hunters
• Kroot
• Genestealers
• Ork Boyz

See you in the semis!