Dawn of War Configuration Woes, and the Solution!

So I decided on a whim to reinstall and begin playing through Dawn of War, Winter Assault, Dark Crusade, and Soulstorm. As my current laptop only packs a measly 8400m GS, I'm not currently in a situation to enjoy the wonders of Dawn of War 2. Anyhow, I ran into a nasty, nasty frustration that only applied to Dawn of War and Winter Assault: they wouldn't run! They gave an error about 'missing spooge driver: ensure directX is properly installed,' or some such nonsense. Let me tell you, I was ticked! So I started cruising around the web, and I found the solution!

A Second Look at Tau Unit Efficiency: Evaluating Seeker Missiles Against Other Options.

As they enter their third sphere of expansion, the Tau Empire has an uphill battle ahead of them. With the introduction of flyers, and the loss of target locks on infantry models, there are now more targets and less ability to allocate the necessary firepower to the highest priority threats. Consequently, there needs to be an evaluation of which weapons on which units are strongest against which types of targets. This article will examine the proposal that seeker missiles be purchased and allocated against flyers, and determine whether they are a worthwhile weapon purchase. This will be determined by determining the glance and wound percentages for the available anti vehicle weapons and examining where seeker missiles fall along the scale. As this is a new edition, perhaps it is time to renew this discussion.

The Tau Answer to Flyers

Hello everyone!

Welcome to 6th! Since the last time I have posted, an edition has both gone (5th) and come into being (6th). 

Also, I'll be starting grad school soon! But enough about real life. I'm here to talk about the thing that others are talking about: Flyers. They are fast, they are dangerous, and they are hard to hit. Namely, they require 6's to hit. However, they are (thus far) av11 or av12 on average and wobble and crash if you can manage to land anything on them. And, without using allies or fortifications, Tau might have a way to combat fliers. 

I am proposing that Seeker Missiles might be the answer. Okay, go ahead and laugh. Do it, it is good for you. Ok, lets go back to thinking about this. I think that they may be the way to not waste tons of firepower while at the same time knocking the birds out of the sky. Alrighty, let's begin. 

Seekers can only be fired by Markerlights, so we'll discuss them first. When packed by moving Pathfinders, they only hit on 6s due to the 'snap fire' rule. So if we hit the flyers with the lights, we aren't losing anything. At 30 inch range, plus 6 inch move, the planes could likely be painted coming or going. Unlike most weapons, moving markerlights do not have any wasted accuracy on fliers.

Now, we will check the Markerlight rules. A token can be expended to fire a Seeker Missile, which is resolved at an assumed ballistic skill of 5. To recap, you shoot the Markerlight which can then trigger another shot at a specified ballistic skill. So, a shooting attack triggers a special ability which is like a shooting attack. But more importantly, its a specified ballistic skill. Why is that important? Because codex trumps rulebook! 

So, there you have it. Markerlights and Seeker missiles might be the ticket to clear out flyers. And the best part is, you don't need any new units! Seeker missiles can just be tacked onto whatever vehicles you are currently using and fired using the Pathfinders you already are using. I'll be trying this tactic out once I can manage to get some games in. Until then, 

Keep it real. 

~ Shas'el Mike

I'm the soulweeper...

Batrep! Angels Encarmine vs Plague Marines 1300pts

Figured it was about time to get a game in, so my buddy and I met over at Comic Asylum in the Richardson, TX area. Unfortunately, it was a Tuesday. And we all know what that means: everyone is ready to go home, so everyone closes shop early. But, gamers can only sometimes be choosers so we decided to make a go of it. To be honest, I don't know why we played at 1300 points, its a weird point level, and any army list likely to come out of it will not be usable anywhere else. But, weird encourages flexibility, so I'm not opposed to it. So, here is my list, and below is his, to the best of my memory:

librarian: jp
x2 sanguinary priests: x1 jp
2x10 assault marines: x2 mg, pf
x7 death company:  th, pw
drop pod (for DC)
3x5 devastators: x3 ml

x2 demon princes: wings, wind of nurgle
2x7 plague marnines: champion, x2 melta
2x rhinos with icons
2x 7 or 8 zombies (counts-as demons, i believe)
greater demon
2x obliterators

Painting Log: To-Do List

Howdy Internet!

I actually am posting! While I have joined the throngs of bloggers who haven't been posting recently, it is hardly due to boredom with 5th edition 40k. Far from it, as I recently have not been able to play enough! I did get in a  game recently, where all went mostly well, which I will be blogging about shortly. But, I have to actually load pictures and create an orderly narrative, which I haven't completed yet. So for now, the painting log!

New Website You Should Visit! Also, a Condenced Rant

Just one of many great trolls...

So one of the websites I visit has a commentator who covers pop music. This week, he covered why Chris Brown is a terrible person, and should be flushed from the music scene. Here is the link. I had no idea that he performed twice at the Grammy's, and it really ticked me off. Additionally, here is a hilarious tumblr account dedicated to trolling the man who has been described as a "WWE Villain." That link is here. So, that is all for now. Short thought of the day: go have some laughs, and do your very best to boycott this human cancer.

~Shas'el Mike

Upcoming Tourney this weekend!

So I haven't posted about it, but I've got a tournament this weekend! It consists of three missions: spearhead with four objectives, pitched battle with capture and control, and dawn of war with victory points. Pretty sure its that combination, if not its some other combination of those three. Oh, and its 5th edition rules (on account of it being 2012). So, now I've got a choice: Play Tau (my first plastic love), or Blood Angels (my second plastic love). On one hand, I like Tau, and I play them most. They're a challenge, and every fight has cinematic potential. On the other hand, my Angels are itching to go, and having a chance to devastate my opponent in the assault phase has me kind of excited. So which did I choose?

A Fantastical Thought

IF:
 
if ghosts are real,
if ghosts consistently generate measurable emf fields,
if the electricity from those fields is the same as conventionally-generated electricity,
if magic is power from an outside source utilized through ritual,
if electricity can be generated from a series of known processes
if magic can generally do the things that electricity can generally be said to do,

THEN:

off-topic, then... Tau vs Drop-Melta and JotWW!

First, the off-topic stuff. I tend to patrol eBay regularly, looking for awesome deals. As a somewhat broke post-college student, I have to stretch every dollar as far as it will go. This weeks deal was a smashed-up Dante, that was mis-labeled. As any Dante fan will tell you, he has an axe with a wicked special rule, and an infernus pistol. (I had to look that up actually, so I guess I have to admit to being a Dante-poser.) However, I did have some leftover Sanguinary Guard bitz, and Death Company bitz... so, I rebuilt him. He's not taller, and he's still metal, but I like to think he looks more awesome! Due to privacy concerns I have used state-of-the-art technology to obscure the photographers identity: 

Life

I was working on a post discussing deployment in a manner that prevents your precious HQ/Elite/Heavy units from being JotWW'd off the board, as well as preventing melta units from dropping inside the 6" range bubble simultaneously. However, real life raised its ugly head, and so that is temporarily being postponed.

link to original source

My grandfather passed away Sunday evening, and I will miss him. God gave him an extra 16 years thanks to a successful heart transplant, consequently he was able to witness both my growth into adulthood, and the first year and a half of my little boy's life. He was a believer, and as a Christian myself, I do believe I will see him again. Between now and then, his absence will be felt by myself and the rest of his family.

Team Tournament!

So, got a couple thoughts for you. There is a chance in my area to attend a 1500-pt team tournament, 750 pts per side. Each one has to bring at least one HQ and at least one troop choice. And, unless the special rule states otherwise, such as ethereals and morale check re-rolls, they apply to your allies army. Well, I own two armies: Tau and Blood Angels. So, I'm going to talk about combining them!

1500 Tau list, now with different Plasma !

New lists! So i've been playing around with my default Tau army list, and poking around the internet. At 1500 points, I want something which can pound the other army into dust, and advance rather than walking back. Its an unusual concept, and will surely throw off any player who plays Tau which run away and hug the edge of the map.

Crisis suits of the Fireknife variety are incredibly expensive, clocking in at 62 points. Especially at lower points, those are points that are easily needed elsewhere. However, as the only source of ap2 non-railgun weaponry usually there is no other choice. But what if there was? And what if it was cheaper? Additionally, what if you could virtually guarantee that every crisis suit wounds what it shoots at? I am suggesting, of course, deathrain suits, paying the points to tack plasma rifles onto broadsides, and running 3x2 of said weapon-bearers-of-doom.