I will say that there’s some luck involved, though. There’s some absolutely lousy rolling on both sides, but particularly on the Chaos side. Had the dice been more favorable to Krox’s opponent, he would have been in a much better position to overrun Krox’s positions. It’s a very hard-fought battle, though, for both sides, and I’m definitely leaning towards agreeing with Krox in the Null Deployment v. Alpha Strike debate.

• Get in at least two games a month. Right now, I’m averaging around a game every two months. I need to flip that around. Part of it will be clearing out blocks of my own time (such as putting down the Xbox controller from time to time), part of it will be trying to get games in with friends, and part of it will be going out and seeking games with other local playgroups. Sadly, KC doesn’t have a Battle Bunker, or even a GW store, but there are plenty of Friendly Local Game Stores where games of 40k can be had.
• Paint at least 3000 points of minis. I’ve got around 1000-1500 points of Tau minis remaining to paint in various stages of completion. Beyond that, I have my 1500-point Khorne CSM army. I’d like to get both completely painted by year’s end. I figure I can do 300 points a month, with two months off to cover some slacking time. I’m also considering keeping a tally of minis painted, similar to lone pilgrim‘s painting points. I think it’ll help keep me accountable and motivated.
• Get a second Chaos Space Marine army together. I’ve only assembled less than half of my Chaos collection. I still have more than enough minis (minus a few Rhinos) to make a second solid Chaos Marine force. I’m thinking Black Legion, since I have Abaddon, some Terminators, 3 Obliterators, and a bunch of generic CSMs that would look great in black and gold.
• Set up my own gaming table. Right now, I have no space to play at home. I have to play at shops, or at my friend Dennis’s house. I’d like to have my own playspace, with my own table and terrain. Of course, that ties into one of my non-40k resolutions: move into a new, bigger house. We aimed for 2009 and failed, but 2010 looks to be the year we make it happen.
• Make blog posts more frequently. If I can do the four things above, this one should work itself out.
• Be more active in the online 40k community. I have accounts on various 40k-related forums, but I rarely post on any of them. I might not be able to keep track of all of them equally, but I’d like to at least become a regular poster on a couple of them. Just like with the blog posts, if I can keep active in the hobby, I should have no lack of subject for posting.

So, there’s my plans for 2010. When the end of the year comes around again, we’ll see how I did!

I’d like to get the Raptors done, as well as getting the rest of my 1000-point Khorne army based, by the weekend. It’s fall now, and before long it will be too cold outside to prime minis. I have to prime soon, or otherwise I’ll be left with bare metal and plastic until spring. Priming inside is a no-go; my wife is too sensitive to the fumes from spray paint to even use the garage. I’ve heard good things about priming with gesso, though, so that’s a possibility for the winter. I think that for my Chaos armies, I’m going to go with grey rubble with the occasional shard of blood-red crystal poking out. I’ve wanted to do some crystals on a base ever since I saw this beautiful Eldar jetbike, and my Chaos Space Marines give me a perfect opportunity to try it out.

I’m also hoping to get back onto my painting schedule this week or next; I have a Hammerhead waiting for some fresh paint!

Well, folks, the sky is not falling. The end is not nigh.

How do I know this? Because I’ve witnessed this particular kind of temporary panic before. It’s a regular occurrence in the collectible card game world. Any time a new expansion comes out, or a new faction/deck type wins a major tournament, the same conversations take place. Are people flocking to this new deck type? Are there any “real” players of that faction/deck left? Are the cards in the latest set overpowered or underpowered? If they’re overpowered, why do the designers want to destroy the game so much? Is there any point in playing anymore? Sometimes, it can get pretty nasty. Insults will be thrown around, people will quit the game, and it will seem that all hell is breaking loose. Eventually, though, cooler heads prevail, everything settles back down, and people get on with rethinking strategies and playing the game again. 40K isn’t that different. You’ve got new armies (or revisions of older ones) that come in and upset the current tournament balance. You’ve got players who jump from one netlist to another because they want to win. You’ve got the players who change what they’re playing just because they’re tired of their old armies just aren’t performing at the same level as they once did. It’s unsurprising that the same discussions take place here.

With that in mind, here are a few points to help you keep your head while those about you are losing theirs:

1. The metagame is a constantly-shifting thing at all scales – local, regional, national, and international. Power lists will come and power lists will go. Often, what happens is that the environment isn’t ready for a new addition, because it’s never had to be. During that period of growing pains, it’s likely that the big new thing will dominate. Over time, though, players will adjust their strategies and tactics to deal with the new threat – whether it’s a new codex on the market, or just a new player at your local store – and learn to co-exist along with it… just in time for the next new thing.
2. Design philosophies change. Armies designed for 5th Edition seem to be dominating right now, especially when compared to those armies with 3rd and earlier 4th edition codexes. I’m not so much convinced that this is power creep so much as it is a rethinking in how the armies are built. The downside is that older armies are falling a bit to the wayside, just because they were designed with a different mindset and for a different environment. The upside is that as these armies are revisited, they’ll be brought into line with the new way of thinking (and from the sound of things, GW has a five-year plan that includes all currently available armies getting updated codexes).
3. People are going to play what they are going to play; don’t let that faze you. There will always be players who want to play the winning army du jour, especially in the competitive world of tournament play. For such players, it’s the win that’s paramount, rather than what they were playing to achieve it. That doesn’t mean that all players playing that army are that way, or that it’s even a bad way of approaching the game. It’s just how they play. If you have an army that you like, don’t feel pressured to jump to the latest codex if it’s not for you. That said, if what you have isn’t working for you, or if you’re just bored and looking for something different, don’t be afraid to try out something different. Trying to draw lines between bandwagonners and “true believers” is a fruitless effort, so just stick to your guns, play what you want to play, and enjoy yourself.

In the end, the landscape of the game may change, but the game, and the hobby around it, will survive. Change is often an uncomfortable process, but it’s also important for growth; a stagnant environment is a dead one. It’s true for CCGs, and it’s just as true for miniature wargaming. Just remember to play what you want to play how you want to play it, and to have a good time doing it, because that’s what really matters in the end.

• Tau Empire: Tactics
• Tau Vehicles Stage-by-Stage Assembly and Painting
• Tau Empire: Fire Warrior Stage-by-Stage Painting

It’s been a while since there’s been much attention paid to the Tau by GW, so it’s been refreshing to see these articles. They’re not perfect, though: on page 2 of the tactics article, Fire Warriors are said to have Str 5 AP 4 guns. You be the judge: harmless typo, wishful thinking, or a hint of things to come?

Also, be sure not to miss the blog entries introducing the articles here, here, and here – there are some good pictures of nicely-painted Tau armies/models to admire.

I seem to have overcome my modeling/painting burnout, though. Two of my friends have decided to get into the Warhammer 40k habit in the last month, and helping them get started has reignited my interest. It’s a wonder what having motivated friends does for one’s own motivation. In the past two weeks, I’ve been working on finishing up my HQ unit and expanding my army list to 1500 points. I should be able to do 2000 points as well without too much trouble, but beyond that I’m going to have to go buy things.

I’ll post pictures this weekend of the progress on my HQ, along with another overview of my army, along with a couple of army lists.