Stormraven Woes

I really loved the fact that the Stormraven was limited in availability to Grey Knights and Blood Angels. I am not surprised or overly disappointed. The feeling is more akin to being forced to share your favorite toy with another child.

In the long run, I hope that the change allows our imperial forces to establish dominance over the forces of chaos.

I am curious if this was something in the planning for a long time, or if it is a reaction to the gaming reality called "Helldrake does want helldrake wants"?

Happy gaming, my friends.

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the best in the New Year.

I also want to apologize for the long gap between posts. I went into Thanksgiving working on some Dark Vengeance Terminators. They were to become the next installment in my little Angry Marine force. During that weekend, I became sick. After the sickness, I have been unable to find motivation for painting.

This may be attributed to a few sources.

First, Advent is particularly busy season of the year for me with regard to work.

Second, Advent and Christmastide are great seasons for enjoying the blessings of your children. I have enjoyed this time with my children, and I have relived the joy of the season in their eyes this year.

Last, I have struggled to find an identity for my Angels Sanguine in 6th edition. I have become trapped between my love for jump pack assaults and a desire to embrace shooting in this favorable environment.

As I already have more than enough models completely painted to carry on gaming regardless of the lack or progression painting, I have played a couple or three games over the last month.

Please accept my apologies.

Blessings and best wishes in the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I realize this holiday observance is American. If you are not American, just bear with me for a second here.

A small group of people left their homes and country to settle in a foreign land. They were not prepared for the ruggedness of this 'new' land. They would not have survived had not the native people come to their aid. In the first Thanksgiving, they give thanks to God for this mark of divine providence and share a meal with those native people to say, "thank you."

It remains true today that sharing a meal is the highest form of hospitality and the best way build friendship. So, it is good that we continue this practice. We all have much for which to be thankful.

I am excited for the opportunity to share a bountiful meal with others and return thanks to God for the marks of divine providence in my life.

40k Gamer's Edition 6th Edition Arrived

I am pretty excited as I am now digesting the new rules for myself. I wanted to share an thought that I have had early in my reading.

I think that the new rules will speed up game play. "How?" you may ask. Well, we are all familiar with the fact that game play speeds up as games move into the later turns. Why does this happen? Because we have been removing models on both sides as casualties. Fewer models on the table means faster game play.

I believe that 6th edition, being a deadlier gaming environment, will remove models faster and reach the quickened late game pace earlier. All of this entails our having become very familiar with the rules and comfortable with them.

Time will tell. I am off to read more . . .

Advance Order Placed: More Waiting

I placed an advance order with GW this morning. Now I only have to wait for its arrival.

I ordered the Gamer's Edition: Rulebook, Munitorum Dice, and Leather Bag.
Also, I ordered the Psychic Powers.

Let the waiting commence!

6th Edition Release Date!

I believe this is a clear indication that 40k 6th edition will be here on June 23. That is only 2 weeks away!

I can't wait to get started with it.

New Birth Announcment: Daughter #3 Has Arrived

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce the birth of my newest daughter.

She is a very healthy 7lbs and 6 oz and 21 inches (about the average threat range for Mephiston!). She arrived yesterday at 0831 local time here in Bella Napoli.

Mama is recovering rapidly, and I am a very proud papa!

A New Look Here at Pitched Battle

I have been sick the last few days, and I have not felt like doing much of anything. However, I did decide the change the look of the blog a bit. Let me know what you think. Everything is pretty much in the same place.

I am still trying to decide whether I like the particular color scheme and such. I do like having the picture in the background.

On the Work Desk

I just received a shipment from GW in the mail today. As many of you may remember, I also received a shipment last week. I did finish the Furioso Dreadnought. However, I have a lot of work left ahead of me. I suppose this is all good news. The following is the line up:

-3 Predator Tanks to paint: I magnetized the sponsons for either Heavy Bolters or Lascannons. Also, I have two turrets for each tank: One Twin-Linked Assault Cannon Baal Type and One Autocannon Predator Type.
-1 Plastic package of 5 Assault Terminators
-1 Land Raider Crusader
-3 Land Raiders, godhammer
-Mephiston
-I am still in the middle of converting some Marines over to Missile Launcher Devastators.
-I am still in the middle of painting the Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Vanguard Veteran Squad.
-I have a Chaplain with magnetized Backpack and Jump packs primed and waiting for paint.
-I am in the middle of painting a Leman Russ Battle Tank.
-Also, I have an attack bike that is in various stages of painting.
-I always need to make more terrain.

There is plenty for me to do!

A Game Tomorrow

I have done it. I have a game scheduled tomorrow. However, it is an introductory game. I will be introducing two friends to Warhammer 40k. I have talked about it a bit at work, and they are interested.

So, I am working up a 1000 point list from my Angels Sanguine and from my old Imperial Guard. I am trying to keep things simple in hopes that I can focus on teaching them the basic rules. I don't want things to get crazy with special circumstances. It should be a lot of fun.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone out in the 40k blogosphere. We had wonderful time worshiping at the Chapel this morning. After that, I watched my daughters open all of their presents. We have had a wonderful time together as a family.

I plan to get some painting done over the next few days as I am off from work.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and may you experience the true richness of this joyous time.

It Worked: I am Back in Action

Galaxy in Flames was a great read. But more importantly, this read had the important side effect for which I had hoped. It has brought me out of the shell of disgust back to our beloved hobby.

I am in the market for a new table/desk to set up my 40k work/paint station. On a side note, my old table now hosts an herb garden on the larger of our two balconies. I will buy a table tomorrow and get all my paints set up.

Also, I ordered a copy of the Blood Angels Codex. I am going to finish painting some of the Marines I have while I wait for the Codex to arrive. I have to spend some time figuring out the changes from the last time I played before I start spending any money on models.

I looked on the internet and found some independent retailers here just North of Bella Napoli. Hopefully, I will be able to scare up a game before too much time passes.

Tragedy Causes A Long Absence

It has been a while, roughly 18 months (I think?). Let me explain what happened:

We moved to Italy, and I was awaiting the arrival of all our stuff in a giant shipment. When it arrived, I was looking for all my models and hobby stuff. Everything arrived except for my tanks. I was blown away. Every single tank that I own Space Marine and Imperial Guard was not in the shipment. I had some folks back home check into whether they could have been left behind. I searched to through everything here. We had put nothing in long term storage.

No, someone who works for the moving company decided they wanted my tanks. My rhinos, landraider, leman russes, devastators, baneblade, basilisk, griffon. Every single tank.

As a result, I was devastated. I did not want to see my armies. They have been sitting in their travel boxes. I haven't modeled anything. I haven't painted, and I haven't played since this tragic loss.

In an attempt to raise my 40k spirits, I bought Galaxy in Flames from Black Library. We shall see if helps me come back to the game.

An Explanation of My Absence . . .

I apologize to anyone and everyone who reads or follows my blog for the silence over the last several months. Please allow me to explain:

I have been commissioned an officer in the United States Navy, a Chaplain to be more specific. I spent the majority of 2009 working and applying to receive this commission. I was commissioned on 14 DEC 09. As a result, I have been in the training pipeline since 02 JAN 10. Most of that time, I was restricted from internet access. Furthermore, anytime that I did have access to the internet, I had no time for our beloved hobby.

Nevertheless, I deeply apologize for not making an announcement before the long period of silence.

On that note, does anyone know any good places to play 40k in Italy? I will be here for the next 3 years . . .

Aftermath Campaign

I joined the Aftermath Campaign. I am linking it up here. Go and check it out.

The concept behind this campaign is really cool. It takes the form of an online forum, and narrates a monumental war in the Aftermath Sector between the Forces of Order and the Forces of Disorder. It gives the players an opportunity to take part in a larger narrative than just the game you are playing on the table. However, you continue to play your regular games with your registered army. Then, you post a battle report. Each win that you post contributes to the story of the conflict in the Aftermath Sector.

It is great fun all around. I recommend that you check into it. Especially if you are loyal to the Emperor and want to dispatch traitors and evil xenos.

Game Scheduled!!!!

After nearly a month of frustration, I have scheduled a game for tomorrow morning. Everyone in our small gaming group has been busy with real life for the past 6 weeks or more.

Personally, game night was overcome by my oldest daughter's birthday. A couple of weeks later, my wife's birthday. Don't misunderstand me, I hold these yearly events to be more important than my bi-weekly game of 40k. That explains why I observed the birthdays instead of playing. For others in the group, it was different things. However, I am going to play tomorrow.

The game will be an 1850 point battle between Silchias Ruin's Eldar and my Angels Sanguine.

A trip to a Games Workshop Store

Sadly, I must say that this weekends scheduled game of 40k did not materialize. As Friday dawned, I was receiving telephone calls from 2 of our players who had to back out because of last minute family matters.

Well, you cannot blame a guy for keeping his priorities straight and taking care of his family before his hobby. I applaud them in fact. So, I decided to spend time with my family Friday evening.

However, I am happy to report that I was able to make a trip to the closest Games Workshop retail store. It took just under 2 hours of driving to reach the store.

No, I did not drive 2 hours just to visit the store. My wife's sewing machine had malfunctioned, and the warranty required that we take it to a certain repair shop. That repair shop was a half-hour's drive from the store. So, we made a day of it.

Well, the store was fun. I endured an friendly argument with one of the GW staff, as he tried to tell me that I could spend points somewhere better than Dante. He was dead wrong. They tried to sell me a Space Wolves codex. Furthermore, they could not believe that I shelved my Imperial Guard army just as the new codex had come out.

Some mysteries are never solved, I suppose.

James Bond Marathon

My wife and I have been on a bit of a James Bond Marathon. Yesterday, we watched "Live and Let Die" and "Moonraker." Today we are currently watching "For Your Eyes Only." We have plans to watch "Octopussy" later this evening.

Are you a James Bond fan? If so, who do you think is the best James Bond?

All the movies we are currently watching are films starring Roger Moore. He was an excellent James Bond: Stately, handsome, and masterful tongue-in-cheek. However, if I had to choose, I would choose Sean Connery. My wife would like to vote for Pierce Brosnan.

A Scheduled Game

It has been 4 weeks since my last game. Although I have a grand reason for being off the table the last few weeks, I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to go to war.

Our entire gaming group will be available for this weekends game. The match-ups will feature the Black Templars vs. Tau and Eldar vs. Blood Angels (unless I am mistaken or something changes).

Since the games are coming up. I have been working on a little more terrain to finish out our woodland table.

I have made several bases of wooded area terrain. Also, I have been working on a series of pieces styrofoam hills. They are made as modular pieces. So each level of the hill is a separate piece, but they may be stacked on top of one another to make a taller hill or mountain. There are six pieces to the modular hill terrain.

I hope to have it all finished in time for the games on Friday evening.

Our urban/ruined city table has sufficient terrain. We combine terrain that I have made and/or painted with terrain that High Marshal Hunter made/and or painted.

As usual, I will take the camera in order to write a battle report with pictures.

Currently, I believe that I will play with the 2 Attack Bikes in my list. I believe that they need another game or two before I make a final judgment on whether they belong in the list or not.

The Un-rant

I, like most of the rest of you, read a lot from the other blogs in the 40k blogosphere. Occasionally, I even venture onto a forum or two. One thing that really strikes me is the high volume of complaining. It seems as though everyone is complaining about something in the world of 40k.

Some are complaining about space marines. Others complain about the balance of the game. People complain about the rules. Some complain about the authors of the codex from which they play. Still others complain because they have received no new codex in years and years. Some are complaining about the ones they rolled in their last game.

Am I the only person who is content with the 40k gaming environment as it is? Am I the only person who thinks that GW does a pretty good job of keeping the game interesting, balanced, and fun? Am I the only person who believes that dice really do roll randomly? Am I the only person who is happy for my opponent when he beats me, thinking that everyone needs a win sometime?

Why do 40kers complain so much? Perhaps there are plenty more of you out there who are like me. I guess the old adage is right: "The squeaky wheel gets the kick." The rest of us will just feel overwhelmed by the complainers, because they are so busy trying to be heard.

I have played this game since 2nd edition, but I do not complain about the various things that have happened to and in the game since that time. I just model and play. I will always try my hardest to win within the confines of the currently governing rules. I will also have fun doing it.

So here is to those of you out there who enjoy the game without complaining.

Salute!!