For non video game fans this week is just another week. For those of us who love video games this week is one of the best! E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo) showcases the newest video games for the upcoming year. Here is my good, bad, and ugly from the show so far.
Oh! Make sure you check out www.ign.com, www.gameinformer.com, www.gamespot.com, and www.kotaku.com for coverage of the E3 event from different perspectives.
The Good:
Super Mario 3D Land for Wii U. This game is one part Super Mario 3D Land from the 3DS (a great game!) that adds elements of Super Mario 2 (i.e. players can play as Toad, Princess Peach, and Luigi) as well as Mario. Up to 4 players can play at once! My wife and I will be playing this!
Donkey Kong Country: Tropic Freeze- This is a Wii U sequel to the Wii platformer Donkey Kong Country Returns. I love side scrolling games, and this one looks like a trip that really shakes up the formula for side scrolling games. This game also has in person multiplayer so my wife and I will be playing this one this holiday season as well.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds- This is a direct sequel to A Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past which is one of my favorite games of all time. This is enough to justify a purchase but it also seems to be an old fashioned top down adventure game with a bunch of new features.
Playstation 4's Price and lack of online DRM. Playstation 4 will not need to be online all the time, it will not require a daily check in, and is a full $100.00 cheaper then Xbox One. I would buy one but there are not any games that I want in the launch window. Still, when I do upgrade it will be to PS4.
Final Fantasy XV: I have always been a fan of what I saw for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but the game never came out and info became scarce. It turns out that Versus XIII has in fact become Final Fantasy XV, so that is exciting to me.
The Bad:
When the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was released for the Game Cube data miners discovered the game had code for two unfinished dungeons. I was hoping that Nintendo would announce that these dungeons would be finished and included in the new remake, but alas they didn't. Sad face!
No Star Fox, or Metroid. I'm sad for this, but then I ask myself: "How many games can I play at once?" If everything comes out all at once then I won't be able to enjoy all of them. Now I still have games to look forward to!
No Dragon Quest VII remake announced for US release. Guess I'll have to hope, or learn Japanese...
The Ugly:
Microsoft Xbox One
So let me get this straight, I have to pay a hundred dollars more for a console I don't actually own, with features I don't actually want with games that Microsoft gets to tell me what to do with? I don't think so!
They didn't show a single game that was exclusive to the Xbox that I was interested in. Sorry Xbox, but you don't offer anything I want.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Crazy Gamer's Final Draft Warhammer Fantasy Tournament list
This weekend marks the big Warhammer Fantasy Tournament. Here is my list!
2500pts- Empire
General of the Empire: General, full plate armor, shield, lance, Charmed Shield, barded warhorse- 140pts
Good leader, below average fighter, but his Hold the Line special rule (his unit takes leadership tests of 3d6 and picks the two lowest) is too good to pass up.
Battle Wizard Lord: Dispel Scroll, Lore of Life- 190pts
A cheap and effective battle wizard, the spell Lifeblood, will be the lifeblood for keeping my infantry alive.
Witch Hunter: light armor, great weapon, brace of pistols- 60pts
Captain of the Empire- full plate armor, shield, lance, battle standard bearer, barded warhorse- 116pts
Keeps the lads in the fight. No thrills.
Captain of the Empire: full plate armor, shield, pistol, Talisman of Endurance, Sword of Might- 123pts
Acts as a second general for the foot soldiers. He also has hold the line and his high initiative will help the always striking last greatswords early in combats.
Battle Wizard: Scroll of Shielding, lore of light- 80pts
Spells have extra oomph against undead and daemons.
10 Empire Knights, full command- 250pts
6 Empire Knights, full command- 162pts
6 Empire Knights, champion, and musician- 152pts
Together these are the "door," that will be slammed on the enemy. Foot troops thin the enemy down and these guys clean up.
16 Imperial Crossbowmen, marksman, detachment of 8 handgunners- 226pts
30 Greatswords, full command, Banner of Discipline, detachment 16 spearmen, detachment 15 swordsmen- 587pts
The anvil as the greatswords and its detachments are stubborn at leadership 9 with the "hold the line," rule allowing me throw away the highest dice in a leadership test. They go after the biggest nastiest unit the enemy has and hold them in place for the cavalry to arrive.
8 Pistoliers, marksman, musician, repeater pistol- 174pts
These guys sneak around the flank and pummel anything in their way with hot lead. They don't shoot very well, but 18 strength 4 armor piercing shots are hard to argue with. It is important to note that these guys are the only unit in the Empire list that are both highly mobile and hard hitting shooters.
Luminark of Hysh- 120pts
Every army should have one of these! I haven't seen too many of these on the field though I don't know why, it gives a 6+ ward save to everything within six inches and it adds one dice to your dispel pool. Oh and let's us not forget that it can fire a strength 8 bolt of light that shoots like a cannon and rerolls failed wounds against the forces of darkness oh and does d6 wounds! Come here Mr. Bloodthirster, I've got a little present for you!
Great Cannon- 120pts
This thing loves monstrous infantry and monstrous cavalry. One of them accounted for 6 ogres, and 10 ogre thunderers in one game (who made the bad decision to occupy a building).
2500pts.
Check out pictures on Sunday!
2500pts- Empire
General of the Empire: General, full plate armor, shield, lance, Charmed Shield, barded warhorse- 140pts
Good leader, below average fighter, but his Hold the Line special rule (his unit takes leadership tests of 3d6 and picks the two lowest) is too good to pass up.
Battle Wizard Lord: Dispel Scroll, Lore of Life- 190pts
A cheap and effective battle wizard, the spell Lifeblood, will be the lifeblood for keeping my infantry alive.
Witch Hunter: light armor, great weapon, brace of pistols- 60pts
Captain of the Empire- full plate armor, shield, lance, battle standard bearer, barded warhorse- 116pts
Keeps the lads in the fight. No thrills.
Captain of the Empire: full plate armor, shield, pistol, Talisman of Endurance, Sword of Might- 123pts
Acts as a second general for the foot soldiers. He also has hold the line and his high initiative will help the always striking last greatswords early in combats.
Battle Wizard: Scroll of Shielding, lore of light- 80pts
Spells have extra oomph against undead and daemons.
10 Empire Knights, full command- 250pts
6 Empire Knights, full command- 162pts
6 Empire Knights, champion, and musician- 152pts
Together these are the "door," that will be slammed on the enemy. Foot troops thin the enemy down and these guys clean up.
16 Imperial Crossbowmen, marksman, detachment of 8 handgunners- 226pts
30 Greatswords, full command, Banner of Discipline, detachment 16 spearmen, detachment 15 swordsmen- 587pts
The anvil as the greatswords and its detachments are stubborn at leadership 9 with the "hold the line," rule allowing me throw away the highest dice in a leadership test. They go after the biggest nastiest unit the enemy has and hold them in place for the cavalry to arrive.
8 Pistoliers, marksman, musician, repeater pistol- 174pts
These guys sneak around the flank and pummel anything in their way with hot lead. They don't shoot very well, but 18 strength 4 armor piercing shots are hard to argue with. It is important to note that these guys are the only unit in the Empire list that are both highly mobile and hard hitting shooters.
Luminark of Hysh- 120pts
Every army should have one of these! I haven't seen too many of these on the field though I don't know why, it gives a 6+ ward save to everything within six inches and it adds one dice to your dispel pool. Oh and let's us not forget that it can fire a strength 8 bolt of light that shoots like a cannon and rerolls failed wounds against the forces of darkness oh and does d6 wounds! Come here Mr. Bloodthirster, I've got a little present for you!
Great Cannon- 120pts
This thing loves monstrous infantry and monstrous cavalry. One of them accounted for 6 ogres, and 10 ogre thunderers in one game (who made the bad decision to occupy a building).
2500pts.
Check out pictures on Sunday!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Warhammer 40,000: One name, many games
Crazy Gamer here.
How are you, my readers, doing today? Hopefully you are on your way to a happy weekend! Where I am it will be over 110 degrees this weekend, I hope it's cooler where you are!
I've been playing Warhammer 40,000 for a long time. How long? Long enough to have played all six editions of Warhammer 40,000. I started, way back in 1993 which for astute observers places my career firmly in the 40k 2nd edition era. You are correct sir! However, as an adult, and who is something of a historian of the game, I have played games of Rogue trader.
As I read blog posts around the internet, and having listened to countless gamers all over the United States for decades I am amazed at people's perceptions of the different editions of Warhammer 40k. When it comes right down to it, I've heard countless positive and negative viewpoints of every edition.
This blog will not be me telling why everyone else is wrong and I am right. I will just give my opinion having played every edition. Up front I will say I have enjoyed aspects of every edition and have not liked elements of every edition.
Without further ado:
Crazy Gamer's least favorite edition:
2nd Edition
Even though it was the first edition that I played, it is my least favorite edition by a large margin. 2nd edition 40k was a skirmish level game meaning that most armies tended to be 40 models or less. Even though this was the case the rules made the game play so slowly you really had to dedicate a whole day to play a 1500pt game.
The rules also included a large amount of abstraction that frequently lead to arguments. I've seen several games devolve into fist fights and they were all games of 2nd edition.
It wasn't all bad though. 2nd edition had a huge range of wargear that hasn't been equaled since. I also preferred the expanded characteristics of this era to the more truncated ones in 3rd-5th edition. This is changing now with 6th edition however.
Biggest change between editions:
3rd edition
Some players have been complaining that the change between 5th and 6th edition was too big, but it has nothing on the change between second and third edition.
3rd edition changed fundamental game mechanics, such as how close combat was fought, completely revamped all vehicles, and even changed the scope of the game going from a skirmish game to a battle game.
3rd edition probably went too far in simplifying the rules and speeding up the game but this was the edition that I probably played more than any other and I remember it fondly. Perfect? Absolutely not, but a good time. Probably the fastest playing edition.
Did things really change?
4th and 5th editions
These two editions had the least changes between them. The biggest change was the addition of "true line of sight," which is a game mechanic that I've never cared for. These editions are also the editions that saw the rise of tournament play and the dreaded "WAAC," gamer (win at all costs).
Crazy Gamers favorite edition
6th edition
As a rule set, this current edition is the best, in my opinion. This isn't to say that all the army books mesh well with 6th edition (I'm looking at you Necrons!) but overall it mixes the larger amount of war gear and expanded profiles from 2nd edition with the streamlined battle system of the more modern editions.
Now, if Games Workshop will just be sold to someone who will take its miniature lines in a good direction then I have very high hopes for Warhammer 6th edition.
How are you, my readers, doing today? Hopefully you are on your way to a happy weekend! Where I am it will be over 110 degrees this weekend, I hope it's cooler where you are!
I've been playing Warhammer 40,000 for a long time. How long? Long enough to have played all six editions of Warhammer 40,000. I started, way back in 1993 which for astute observers places my career firmly in the 40k 2nd edition era. You are correct sir! However, as an adult, and who is something of a historian of the game, I have played games of Rogue trader.
As I read blog posts around the internet, and having listened to countless gamers all over the United States for decades I am amazed at people's perceptions of the different editions of Warhammer 40k. When it comes right down to it, I've heard countless positive and negative viewpoints of every edition.
This blog will not be me telling why everyone else is wrong and I am right. I will just give my opinion having played every edition. Up front I will say I have enjoyed aspects of every edition and have not liked elements of every edition.
Without further ado:
Crazy Gamer's least favorite edition:
2nd Edition
Even though it was the first edition that I played, it is my least favorite edition by a large margin. 2nd edition 40k was a skirmish level game meaning that most armies tended to be 40 models or less. Even though this was the case the rules made the game play so slowly you really had to dedicate a whole day to play a 1500pt game.
The rules also included a large amount of abstraction that frequently lead to arguments. I've seen several games devolve into fist fights and they were all games of 2nd edition.
It wasn't all bad though. 2nd edition had a huge range of wargear that hasn't been equaled since. I also preferred the expanded characteristics of this era to the more truncated ones in 3rd-5th edition. This is changing now with 6th edition however.
Biggest change between editions:
3rd edition
Some players have been complaining that the change between 5th and 6th edition was too big, but it has nothing on the change between second and third edition.
3rd edition changed fundamental game mechanics, such as how close combat was fought, completely revamped all vehicles, and even changed the scope of the game going from a skirmish game to a battle game.
3rd edition probably went too far in simplifying the rules and speeding up the game but this was the edition that I probably played more than any other and I remember it fondly. Perfect? Absolutely not, but a good time. Probably the fastest playing edition.
Did things really change?
4th and 5th editions
Crazy Gamers favorite edition
6th edition
Now, if Games Workshop will just be sold to someone who will take its miniature lines in a good direction then I have very high hopes for Warhammer 6th edition.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Crazy Gamer's official Xbox One stance
Hello all. Today I will give you my opinion on the...
Specs:
The specs of the system seem powerful...though no game was shown that really showcased the systems power.
I for one care more about what developers are able to do with artificial intelligence and user interfaces. I want organic dialogue that changes based on how I want to play my character. I hope one day that conversation trees are replaced with something more natural. I also hope user interfaces become less heavy handed. Maybe this generation will offer that? We will see.
The controller:
I like the controller, I think I prefer it to the Playstation 4's controller. I will withhold my final judgment until I can actually handle them.
The new Kinect:
I was unimpressed with the original Kinect. On the surface it could be interesting, but the Kinect was never used in a good way. The only game that I thought used the Kinect in a good way was Mass Effect 3 where you could give vocal commands to your companion characters and could use your voice to change weapon load outs. This was limited a bit too much by the technology at the time but maybe this new Kinect will allow developers the ability to better integrate these features into games and to design new uses.
However...
My overactive imagination takes over. Suddenly I meet George Orwell in a café.
"So Crazy Gamer," he asks "Tell me about the future."
"Well George, we have a lot of cool things now. We have cars that can run on electricity, we have the internet which is a bunch of computers connected together to create this online space we can all use. Have you ever heard of videogames George?"
"Well... no Crazy Gamer I've never heard of those. What are they?"
"Well there is this new Xbox One game system and it has this Kinect device that has a bunch of cameras that watch what you do, for the game. And, remember that internet that I explained before, well the Kinect can transmit your data to the internet for anyone you want to view."
"That sounds awful! The government can't use this internet can they?"
"Of course they can George."
"So they could see what you're doing in your house?"
"I guess, but Microsoft promises I can tell the Kinect to not listen to me."
"So Crazy Gamer, you're telling me that now Big Brother really can be watching?
"I don't think so, my big brother has a Playstation."
"Take me back to my time please. And may God have mercy on your soul."
Anyway, I know I'm overreacting but I can't help but find the idea of a device that can watch and listen to everything I do and upload it to the internet unpalatable. Microsoft assures us that we can decided just how much it can listen to and watch but what happens when a suspected terrorist, or a person that is suspected in a crime have an X Box One? Will it be legal to get a warrant to be able to watch people? Can Microsoft override our privacy settings? How secure is Microsoft's servers in the first place? Could they be hacked by a third party? These are troubling ideas, and might be a deal breaker.
Xbox Live, Xbox TV, etc, etc
I don't want to pay for an additional online service. Sorry Microsoft.
I couldn't care less about the Xbox television connection (I have satellite, which may or may not be able to take advantage of these features) or any of the other "awesome," social features.
Xbox One needing to connect to the internet.
This is another feature that shouldn't bother me, but does. I have a fairly stable broadband internet connection and I don't buy a lot of used games. Still, I feel that I should be able to do whatever the hell I want with the stuff I buy. Microsoft assures us that the Xbox One only needs to connect to the internet once a day and that this is going to allow us access to all kinds of cool things, but it just smacks of them wanting to control how I use my Xbox,which begs the question, is it my product at all? If I have to pay $400.00 dollars or more it damn well outta be! However I really don't think Microsoft agrees and that's a problem, at least for me.
The Games
I have no idea as no pure Xbox One next gen only games were shown. We saw some games, but these games are also coming out on the current generation consoles. New features are promised, but nothing was shown. Microsoft is promising 15 new games, but outside of Forza, and Halo, and Oblivion, nothing was shown and none of those franchises interest me.
My verdict:
Barring a massive influx of cool RPG's only available on Xbox One, the Crazy Gamer says- thanks but no thanks Microsoft.
The specs of the system seem powerful...though no game was shown that really showcased the systems power.
I for one care more about what developers are able to do with artificial intelligence and user interfaces. I want organic dialogue that changes based on how I want to play my character. I hope one day that conversation trees are replaced with something more natural. I also hope user interfaces become less heavy handed. Maybe this generation will offer that? We will see.
The controller:
The new Kinect:
I was unimpressed with the original Kinect. On the surface it could be interesting, but the Kinect was never used in a good way. The only game that I thought used the Kinect in a good way was Mass Effect 3 where you could give vocal commands to your companion characters and could use your voice to change weapon load outs. This was limited a bit too much by the technology at the time but maybe this new Kinect will allow developers the ability to better integrate these features into games and to design new uses.
However...
My overactive imagination takes over. Suddenly I meet George Orwell in a café.
"So Crazy Gamer," he asks "Tell me about the future."
"Well George, we have a lot of cool things now. We have cars that can run on electricity, we have the internet which is a bunch of computers connected together to create this online space we can all use. Have you ever heard of videogames George?"
"Well... no Crazy Gamer I've never heard of those. What are they?"
"Well there is this new Xbox One game system and it has this Kinect device that has a bunch of cameras that watch what you do, for the game. And, remember that internet that I explained before, well the Kinect can transmit your data to the internet for anyone you want to view."
"That sounds awful! The government can't use this internet can they?"
"Of course they can George."
"So they could see what you're doing in your house?"
"I guess, but Microsoft promises I can tell the Kinect to not listen to me."
"So Crazy Gamer, you're telling me that now Big Brother really can be watching?
"I don't think so, my big brother has a Playstation."
"Take me back to my time please. And may God have mercy on your soul."
Anyway, I know I'm overreacting but I can't help but find the idea of a device that can watch and listen to everything I do and upload it to the internet unpalatable. Microsoft assures us that we can decided just how much it can listen to and watch but what happens when a suspected terrorist, or a person that is suspected in a crime have an X Box One? Will it be legal to get a warrant to be able to watch people? Can Microsoft override our privacy settings? How secure is Microsoft's servers in the first place? Could they be hacked by a third party? These are troubling ideas, and might be a deal breaker.
Xbox Live, Xbox TV, etc, etc
I don't want to pay for an additional online service. Sorry Microsoft.
I couldn't care less about the Xbox television connection (I have satellite, which may or may not be able to take advantage of these features) or any of the other "awesome," social features.
Xbox One needing to connect to the internet.
This is another feature that shouldn't bother me, but does. I have a fairly stable broadband internet connection and I don't buy a lot of used games. Still, I feel that I should be able to do whatever the hell I want with the stuff I buy. Microsoft assures us that the Xbox One only needs to connect to the internet once a day and that this is going to allow us access to all kinds of cool things, but it just smacks of them wanting to control how I use my Xbox,which begs the question, is it my product at all? If I have to pay $400.00 dollars or more it damn well outta be! However I really don't think Microsoft agrees and that's a problem, at least for me.
The Games
I have no idea as no pure Xbox One next gen only games were shown. We saw some games, but these games are also coming out on the current generation consoles. New features are promised, but nothing was shown. Microsoft is promising 15 new games, but outside of Forza, and Halo, and Oblivion, nothing was shown and none of those franchises interest me.
My verdict:
Barring a massive influx of cool RPG's only available on Xbox One, the Crazy Gamer says- thanks but no thanks Microsoft.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Crazy Gamer becomes the Crazy Historian
I apologize that today's post is not gaming related. Once upon a time the Crazy Gamer studied a lot of history and occasionally my love of history overwhelms my better judgment and so I post something like this.
Don't worry though game lovers, I have three Warhammer articles and three video game articles in the works (you'll never guess my take on the Xbox 1) but those are for a later day.
Today is about history!
I live in the United States of America. Like all countries the world over the US has its share of problems and I am going to type about two. The first problem is this countries crumbling infrastructure. We have unsafe bridges, bad roads, dams that are at their structural limits, to say nothing of the fact that their are many buildings both public and private that are way below modern code. Why isn't anything done about it? It's easy, there isn't any money, and sadly that isn't going to change anytime soon.
Another problem the US has, and we aren't the only country that has this problem, are banks that are too large to fail. This, of course, isn't what our government says about banks, but it certainly is what our government's actions are making clear.
About now you may be asking, "What do these two things have to do with each other, and why are you bringing them up?"
Let me explain. While reading, think about how our country could be very different today if but for one thing.
If you asked the average American they would not be aware that once we had a national bank (well we had two actually but this blog is about the second bank) called the Bank of the United States. It was the repository of all government funds and it was responsible for collecting money and paying debts for and to the United States. Could you imagine how much easier to figure out where tax payer money went to if there was only one place that was responsible for paying the governments debts?
Still, this isn't what I wanted to talk about. A guy by the name of Henry Clay (a member of the House of Representatives when he proposed this, but at other times he was a Senator, and the Secretary of State) who was a Democratic Republican (nope, I didn't make a mistake that was a party. I'm going to giggle at right and left wing nuts trying to decide if they should hate Clay or like him based on his party).
Anyway, he proposed that a special fund be created from the interest earned on the money kept in the bank (billions of dollars in todays money) be used solely for the purpose of internal national improvements. Pretty cool huh? Imagine every year hundreds of millions of dollars for internal improvements on the items listed above and none of it would need to come from the national or state budget! Alas it was not to be. James Monroe vetoed that plan even though he did agree to the Bank of the United States. Jackson would kill the bank in the 1830's, and here we are today, we have private banks that are a law unto themselves and we have no money to fix the infrastructure of our country. If only things could have been different...
Don't worry though game lovers, I have three Warhammer articles and three video game articles in the works (you'll never guess my take on the Xbox 1) but those are for a later day.
Today is about history!
I live in the United States of America. Like all countries the world over the US has its share of problems and I am going to type about two. The first problem is this countries crumbling infrastructure. We have unsafe bridges, bad roads, dams that are at their structural limits, to say nothing of the fact that their are many buildings both public and private that are way below modern code. Why isn't anything done about it? It's easy, there isn't any money, and sadly that isn't going to change anytime soon.
Another problem the US has, and we aren't the only country that has this problem, are banks that are too large to fail. This, of course, isn't what our government says about banks, but it certainly is what our government's actions are making clear.
About now you may be asking, "What do these two things have to do with each other, and why are you bringing them up?"
Let me explain. While reading, think about how our country could be very different today if but for one thing.
If you asked the average American they would not be aware that once we had a national bank (well we had two actually but this blog is about the second bank) called the Bank of the United States. It was the repository of all government funds and it was responsible for collecting money and paying debts for and to the United States. Could you imagine how much easier to figure out where tax payer money went to if there was only one place that was responsible for paying the governments debts?
Still, this isn't what I wanted to talk about. A guy by the name of Henry Clay (a member of the House of Representatives when he proposed this, but at other times he was a Senator, and the Secretary of State) who was a Democratic Republican (nope, I didn't make a mistake that was a party. I'm going to giggle at right and left wing nuts trying to decide if they should hate Clay or like him based on his party).
Anyway, he proposed that a special fund be created from the interest earned on the money kept in the bank (billions of dollars in todays money) be used solely for the purpose of internal national improvements. Pretty cool huh? Imagine every year hundreds of millions of dollars for internal improvements on the items listed above and none of it would need to come from the national or state budget! Alas it was not to be. James Monroe vetoed that plan even though he did agree to the Bank of the United States. Jackson would kill the bank in the 1830's, and here we are today, we have private banks that are a law unto themselves and we have no money to fix the infrastructure of our country. If only things could have been different...
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Crazy Gamer goes to the Tournament- the list
A few days ago I told you how I go about getting ready for a Warhammer tournament.
Today I will discuss two characters that I will be using and why I have decided to include them in my list (which still isn't finalized).
Here are two heroes that my list will include
Witch Hunter- 50pts
Brace of pistols +5pts
Great Sword +5pts
Why a Witch Hunter? Easy... because they're cool!
Kinda like a kick ass pilgrim! If you don't think that's cool then you need to have your head examined!
In game terms a witch hunter has below average stats, but he has two things that make him great. First he can accuse an enemy character of being a witch. The witch hunter then gains the killing blow special rule against that character with both his shooting and close combat attacks. He also can shoot at this character as if the witch hunter had the sniper rule. Will he get lucky and knock off your 600pt chaos lord? Probably not, but just the fact that he can will give some opponents pause and in my book that is worth 60pts.
His second rule is even more important. The witch hunter comes with a handy magic resistance of two. In the magic happy world of 8th edition this can really help a low toughness unit (which is all of the Empire units) survive and when combined with my next character can make a unit almost invincible.
Battle Wizard- 2nd magic level- 100pts
Scroll of shielding 15pts
This little wizard will use the lore of life and can use the scroll of shielding to give the witch hunter's unit a 2+ ward save! Hopefully I can use this when a high powered spell is coming my way to avoid most (if not all) of the damage the spell will cause.
I really like to use the lore of life to increase the survivability of my units. A unit of spearmen at toughness 3 and a 5+ armor save isn't going to scare anyone. That same unit with a toughness of five (due to flesh to stone) and a 5+ regeneration save (due to earthblood) can hold up the scariest monster or fighting character for a long time.
The other characters...
Not decided yet. Check back!
Today I will discuss two characters that I will be using and why I have decided to include them in my list (which still isn't finalized).
Here are two heroes that my list will include
Witch Hunter- 50pts
Brace of pistols +5pts
Great Sword +5pts
Why a Witch Hunter? Easy... because they're cool!
In game terms a witch hunter has below average stats, but he has two things that make him great. First he can accuse an enemy character of being a witch. The witch hunter then gains the killing blow special rule against that character with both his shooting and close combat attacks. He also can shoot at this character as if the witch hunter had the sniper rule. Will he get lucky and knock off your 600pt chaos lord? Probably not, but just the fact that he can will give some opponents pause and in my book that is worth 60pts.
His second rule is even more important. The witch hunter comes with a handy magic resistance of two. In the magic happy world of 8th edition this can really help a low toughness unit (which is all of the Empire units) survive and when combined with my next character can make a unit almost invincible.
Battle Wizard- 2nd magic level- 100pts
Scroll of shielding 15pts
This little wizard will use the lore of life and can use the scroll of shielding to give the witch hunter's unit a 2+ ward save! Hopefully I can use this when a high powered spell is coming my way to avoid most (if not all) of the damage the spell will cause.
I really like to use the lore of life to increase the survivability of my units. A unit of spearmen at toughness 3 and a 5+ armor save isn't going to scare anyone. That same unit with a toughness of five (due to flesh to stone) and a 5+ regeneration save (due to earthblood) can hold up the scariest monster or fighting character for a long time.
The other characters...
Not decided yet. Check back!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Crazy Gamer Goes to the Tournament
Today I thought I would discuss how the Crazy Gamer goes about getting ready for a tournament. Cool huh? I thought that you would agree.
The tournament is a Warhammer Fantasy tournament, typical local fair at 2500pts. In my dreams I would play High Elves, but seeing as I don't have a single model painted and the tournament is in less than 30 days my practical side must kick in. As usual then, I will play my tried and true Empire army.
About now you are probably assuming that I am lining up my hardest hitting list. Wrong! You silly people! I'm the crazy gamer remember. Here is how I will go about creating a tournament list.
1. I don't use hordes.
2. I won't use a large unit for the sole reason of having that unit be steadfast.
3. I won't use any popular gimmick.
4. I will rely on unpopular units and characters.
So what does this mean for the Empire?
I will not use any huge units of halberdiers. In fact I won't use any unit with more than 30 models.
I will use one artillery piece max.
I won't use any special characters (not that the Empire's list has any great special characters).
I will rely on things like huntsmen, swordsmen, regular knights (not inner circle, Reiksguard, Demi- Gryph or other popular types). I will also not use a 4th level battle wizard lord.
Now, I will point out that I haven't yet decided on my final list but I will post it when it is decided.
Why do I go about designing lists this way? Well the answer is simple. I want to win because I played a better game than my opponent, not because I designed a better list or exploited a silly loophole. I would rather lose than win using a gimmick. Have I lost to gimmick lists? You bet I have, but guess what? Those gimmick lists have weaknesses and I will find them and use every single one against them.
If you are reading this and think I'm crazy, try winning with good tactics, take your lumps and learn how to play a mistake free game and you will be surprised how successful you can be.
On a side note, I've been playing Empire now for almost a decade and my army has never been made obsolete by changes in rules or changes in army books. I don't fear the day that huge units of cheap infantry are no longer so good.
The tournament is a Warhammer Fantasy tournament, typical local fair at 2500pts. In my dreams I would play High Elves, but seeing as I don't have a single model painted and the tournament is in less than 30 days my practical side must kick in. As usual then, I will play my tried and true Empire army.
About now you are probably assuming that I am lining up my hardest hitting list. Wrong! You silly people! I'm the crazy gamer remember. Here is how I will go about creating a tournament list.
1. I don't use hordes.
2. I won't use a large unit for the sole reason of having that unit be steadfast.
3. I won't use any popular gimmick.
4. I will rely on unpopular units and characters.
So what does this mean for the Empire?
I will not use any huge units of halberdiers. In fact I won't use any unit with more than 30 models.
I will use one artillery piece max.
I won't use any special characters (not that the Empire's list has any great special characters).
I will rely on things like huntsmen, swordsmen, regular knights (not inner circle, Reiksguard, Demi- Gryph or other popular types). I will also not use a 4th level battle wizard lord.
Now, I will point out that I haven't yet decided on my final list but I will post it when it is decided.
Why do I go about designing lists this way? Well the answer is simple. I want to win because I played a better game than my opponent, not because I designed a better list or exploited a silly loophole. I would rather lose than win using a gimmick. Have I lost to gimmick lists? You bet I have, but guess what? Those gimmick lists have weaknesses and I will find them and use every single one against them.
If you are reading this and think I'm crazy, try winning with good tactics, take your lumps and learn how to play a mistake free game and you will be surprised how successful you can be.
On a side note, I've been playing Empire now for almost a decade and my army has never been made obsolete by changes in rules or changes in army books. I don't fear the day that huge units of cheap infantry are no longer so good.
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