The Eternal Warriors

It only took us 3 years to get to 50! lol

This episode, Dan, C-Swizzy, John, and Dave talk about Dreadball, Star Wars X-Wing, and primarily Adepticon.  Dan discusses the pain of being tabled in 10 minutes in Warhammer 40k.  C-Swizzy relishes in his massive tournament victory in Malifaux, while Dave rambles in a long winded battle report about his Blood Bowl tournament. Also we discuss Mantic Games’ direction with newer games as well as their kickstarter project, Dead Zone.

LISTEN!

Well, Episode 39 took a couple weeks, but here we are with a couple interesting new contests and interviews! We also have a very positive review of a new Happy Seppuku product, their “Sewers and Grates” press mold. There will be a more in depth review in the future, but this episode kinda gives the gist of my (positive) opinion of them.

First off, the contests, the first being hosted by me, The Baron:

Chris West of 2 Ton Miniatures was nice enough to paint my spare Nightmare Edition Lady Justice box set, (adding some Secret Weapon corpse field resin bases), and we’re going to be giving the set away for free! You can have an entire starting Malifaux army for the cost of nothing.

Well, nothing but a story. I want to hear your gamer story. Could be happy or sad, funny or terrifying, just something interesting. Send it to thebaron@theeternalwarriors.com or post it on the forums or facebook page under our appropriate contest header, and we’ll decide which one we like best. The winner gets their story read on the show AND gets the box set. The deadline for this contest is July 4th.

The second contest is Dan’s pet, and the rules are thus:

Make us laugh! Post on our facebook any funny jokes, demotivational pictures, etc that you find amusing and involve the gaming culture, and click Like for the ones you like. Enough likes gets you some really awesome resin bases from James of War Gamma. They’re great pieces from a great company. The deadline for that one is Dan’s birthday, June 24th.

Aside from contests, we’re also featuring two interviews. The first is Chris West of the aforementioned 2 Ton Studios about what it’s like being a professional painter. Here at TEW we have to highly recommend him, as I have seen his work and it is simply top notch. His work is cheap, professional, and quick. Seriously, the dude has some skills.

After that is an interview with Lathan of Burn In Designs. He’s an ubernerd and friend of the show, so being able to sit down with him is always a pleasure. If you need custom laser cut work done, he’s the man for the job.

You can find Chris and 2 Ton Studios at:

http://2tonstudios.blogspot.com/

You can find Lathan and Burn In Designs at:

http://www.facebook.com/BurnInDesigns

or

http://burnindesigns.blogspot.com/

You can also see the Wargamma bases we’re giving out at his site: http://www.mrdandy.com/wargamma/

Listen to Episode 39 here!

Have a great one everybody, and may Zalgo be with you.

~The Baron

Well, Episode 32 is here, a long time coming!

In it we discuss what we’ve been up to since the hiatus, shooting the breeze with Roy from The Screaming Heretics and special guest Carl. We are switching to a shorter format starting with this episode, let us know on the forums what you think of it!

Image a detail of “Phoenix Orb,” painted by Patrick McEvoy.

Click to Stream!

Progress is being made as we speak. The Forums, as we all know, kind of went to shit. I have fixed the problem but by doing so I had to nuke almost every single post on the boards. There was just waaaaaaaaaaay too much to prune through so I had to access the “Football” and nuke everything. By doing so I was able to keep the same format we have all grown to love though. All of your accounts should be still there though. I (C Swizzy) also have all admin rights to just about everything now so any future problems should be able to be taken care of in a timely manner.

We should be set to record in a few weeks, and we’re pretty excited about it!

Thanks for waiting out the storm, good things are coming down the tubes!

-C Swizzy

Well first of all I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! I wish the new year is better than the last.

Hopefully the new year will be more kind to us over here at TEW.

I’d like to let you all know that we are meeting up next week to discuss the show and possibly to arrange a new recording schedule. We will also be taking steps to try to salvage the forums. I know they kind of went to shit but we need to desperately learn how to fully maintain it on our own.

So once again please be patient. Changes are coming in the near future. We will be back better than ever. We are Eternal after all…..

The Chicago area has 10 different Games Workshop stores and another 10+ large independent hobby stores with open wargaming tables that are all less than a 1 hour drive from one another.  In addition there are dozens of smaller game/comic/book stores spread though out the area that cater to Magic, board games and other smaller independent games.   A google search for “Games Workshop” in the Chicago area will yield 44 different locations.  On top of that we’re hosting Games Day and have the multi-day mega gamer party known as Adepticon.  Within a few hours drive are at least 6 other medium sized cons this year and the biggest gamer orgasm on the planet known as GenCon.  We have a very large and active wargaming community with numerous events every single weekend of the year.  When it comes to gaming opportunities I can safely say that we in the Chicago area are spoiled rotten.

I’m not bragging, I’m telling you this because I appreciate what I have available to me.  Not for one minute do I take it for granted.  It takes a huge  commitment on the part of the gaming community to create, maintain and grow what we now have.  Part of this appreciation is to acknowledge that not everyone is as blessed with gaming opportunities as we are in Chicago.

One of the best things about being a part of this podcast is talking to people from across the world.  Ask me about the gaming opportunities in Columbia, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa and the Saudi Arabia. I’ve spoken to all locations.  Some are large and healthy and some are just two guys with a single starter box.

Even in the US where GW has a large presence the gaming can be spread pretty thin.  Ask Chris about the gaming community in Montana, he met him at Adepticon last year.  Ask the hosts of the 11th Company podcast how large their local gaming community is.  If it was any smaller the 11th Company would be the gaming community.

So how does their small game community effect me?  To be honest, it doesn’t.  Like I said earlier, we here in Chicago are spoiled rotten with opportunity.  But just because we live a privileged existence doesn’t mean we have to act that way.  Chris and I are well aware that we have it good and others don’t.  That’s why we have always been quick to help out a fellow gamer.  That’s why we promote gaming cons we’ll never go to, a painting service we’ve never used, or help publicize a local club we don’t belong to.

And that is why we were quick to come to the defense of a gaming community under threat in Australia and New Zealand.  We both looked over the facts and the facts are true.  People who play 40K and Fantasy in Australia and New Zealand are being overcharged between 65% and 75% by GW.  Their only outlet to buy GW models for a similar price that everyone else in the world pays is to go on-line.  In June that option will be shut down.

At that point a few people will pay full price but many more will stop playing the game.  That by itself is normal, people stop playing this game all the time.  Some come back and others sell their models on ebay.  For a gaming community to stay the same size they need to recruit new players every year to replace the ones who quit.  What do you think will happen if more people quit because they can’t afford to stay in the hobby and less people join because they can’t afford to buy into the hobby.  Seriously people, you don’t need to be a genius to figure this one out.

Has the GW wargaming community been on the decline?  Yes it has.  The proof is clear if you just look.  What happened to the Imperial Truth Podcast?  Why is Podhammer talking about giving up GW games?  Why has the Gamer’s Lounge stopped covering 40K?  Where is Phil Johnson and his Warbanner podcast?  Why did we stop being 100% 40K?  What about Bell of Lost Souls, they used to be 100% 40K also.  Warseer and DakkaDakka forums never used to have a Warmachine or Malifaux section but now they do.

What about Games Workshop the company.  I’ve always said that when a company has bad morale the good people leave because they can and the bad people stay because they have no choice.  Where is Steve Jackson working now?  Where is Rick Priestly, Jervis Johnson, or Alessio Cavatore?  They all left.  Is there something they know that we don’t?

But back to my original point.  Chicago has 10 Games Workshop stores because it has a strong wargamer community to back them up.  Sydney Australia has 13 and it’s wargaming community is under threat.  What do you expect Chris and I to do?  Will we sit and selfishly watch a great wargaming community die because it’s inconvenient to help out.?  No, we’re going to stick our necks out on the line for people we don’t know because it’s the right thing to do.

Cons.  I love them.  It doesn’t matter if they’re a pure gamer con like Adepticon or a fluffy “see and be seen/buyer” con like Comic Con.  They’re all awesome to attend. While I can rant on and on about how great they are let me focus on one small part of cons, Cosplay.

No, I don’t Cosplay.  It’s just not my thing to do.  The sight of me in a Batman costume would look pretty damn absurd so I’ll spare you the indignity of witnessing it. Yet despite the fact that I don’t participate in cosplay I freely admit that Cosplay is one of my favorite parts of a con.  I’ll also admit that it also tends to attract a bit of weirdness but that’s part of the fun too.

Before I get further into the topic let me give you the definition of Cosplay.

“Cosplay, short for “costume play” is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea.”

I’m sure you’ve seen people doing it.  Halloween isn’t generally considered Cosplay but it technically does count.  Con Cosplay is entirely different in its theme and sophistication.  Major cons like Comic Con is where you see hundred (if not thousands) of people who are serious into cosplay gather in one location.  They are there to perform, to see and be seen and for people like you and me to appreciate the work they and others put into their costume and performance.  They love the attention and wouldn’t do cosplay if we ignored them.  My role in con cosplay is as the appreciative audience.  With a camera in hand I’ll happily play my part.  Before taking a picture I always ask.  After taking the picture I always say thank you.  More often than not I’ll also spend a moment or two to chat about the costume.  If I have someone with me to take the picture I’ll pose with them and I’ve never been declined.

Games Day, GenCon, Comic Con, Adepticon.  They all have had their cosplayers in attendance.  For some the cosplay is limited to a few brave souls while for other cons it’s the non-cosplayers who can become a minority.

Adepticon might have only a few out of the 1,500+ who show up and those are primarily limited to booth babes and the random gamers going for extra points in the team competition.  Adepticon doesn’t promote it and those who do show up in costume are doing on their own.

In the middle would be Games Day where GW has used a contest in an attempt to get people to show up in costume.  So despite Games Day being primarily a “gamer con” a limited number of cosplayers have shown up and put on a good show.  In a good year I’d expect to see between 20 and 30 people in some sort of costume.

At the other end of the spectrum are the beasts known as Comic Con and GenCon.  While the purpose and origin of the cons are entirely different the cosplay culture is remarkably the same.  It is here at these cons that you will see cosplay in its true form and numbers.  This past weekend Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) hosted many hundreds if not thousands of cosplayers.  I saw it all from the uncomplicated to the over the top extravagant.

Star Wars is always a crowd pleaser not just for the legion of Storm Troopers…….

…… but also the guy in a Wookie suit and stilts who towered over the rest of the crowd.

And yes, the R2D2 was a costume with someone in it.

And who doesn’t still have a thing for Slave Girl Princess Leia.

There were also some uncomplicated costumes.  Some like this zombie hunters who required little more than a sign and a bit of stagecraft.

Seeing that it was Comic con there had to be more than a few comic book heroes and villains.  Marvel  Vrs DC?

Others, like these girls, left me speechless.  I admit that girls like this are the reason I go to cons in the first place.

This one was my favorite of the entire con.  Drop dead sexy with a charming attitude and a beautiful sense of humor to match.  Cosplayers don’t get any more perfect than her.

Then again there were these two who shattered any preconceived notions of who can cosplay and who cannot.  Being a bit overweight didn’t stop this “The Coon” from South Park.  A good sense of humor trumped his enlarged waistline.

And then there is this girl.  I won’t explain it.  Take a good look and see if you can figure out why she impressed the shit out of me.  I give her major props for having a good sense of humor and going as a zombie.

The end.

He sucks.

No I’m not kidding, he really does suck.  Yes I know he’s got a lot of good stats like a strength 10 gun with a 48 inch range, a 2+ save, 6 wounds and can shoot 3 different guns at the same time but that still doesn’t make up for the huge amount of suckyness that he is.

His first disappointment is the point cost.  At a base 250 points with no upgrades he will probably be the most expensive model on the table.  But let’s face it, nobody ever runs him base with no upgrades.  The acid spray is a nice weapon but with an AP of only 4 it’s not nearly enough to justify his huge point investment.  So most people will give it either the Fleshborer Hive or the Rupture Cannon.  Both raise his point cost and are good weapons but are they worth it?  I’d have to say no.  Both weapons are handicapped with a very poor ballistic skill of 3.  Think about it, this is a creature whose sole purpose in life is to shoot yet it can’t hit a anything with more skill than a guardsmen can with a lasgun.  The 2 shot Rupture Cannon is it’s most feared weapon but with BS3 it’s only going to hit an average of 6 times a game.  When it does hit it’s AP4 isn’t enough to break through marine armor or penetrate vehicle armor like an AP1 gun can.

The Fleshborer hive is another fine weapon that comes up short due to the T-fex’s poor BS3.  It is scoring an average of 10 hits.  Compare that to a Carnifex with 2 sets of Twin-Linked Devourers with Brainleech Worms (Dakkafex).  While the ballistic skill is the same the Dakkafex’s guns are twin linked and strength 6 instead of the t-fex’s strength 4.  The Dakkafex will score 9 hits at longer range and can threaten a wider range of targets.  Light armor will be shredded by 9 ST6 hits while it can survive 10 ST4 hits easily.

That last detail also highlights another weakness of the T-fex.  His lack of a clear battle field role.  Is he supposed to kill infantry of destroy vehicles?  The Dakkafex can take on both due to his high strength weapon with a crap ton of attacks.  As stated the T-fex is a poor choice to take out vehicles.  While the gun is strong it can’t hit very well.  In addition using it wastes the other 2 weapons that are primarily short ranged anti-infantry guns.  So is it an infantry killer?  Yes but only if you get it right into your opponent’s face.  The only way that will happen is if your opponents infantry sit down and wait 4 rounds for the T-fex to show up in template range.  If they do that then you better be careful, they’re probably packing a powerfist and enough plasma and melta to burn the T-fex’s heart out.

With a weapon skill of 3, 3 attacks and an initiative of 1 he’s not going to win very many close combat’s.  So the temptation to keep him back in your deployment zone shooting his long range guns is tempting but a waste of his capability.  He won’t kill nearly enough to be worth his steep point cost.  If you send him forward to kill infantry up close then you’re risking him being beaten to a pulp by powerfists or roasted by plasma and melta.

All this being said, I’m still using him.  Yes I think he sucks, yes I think he costs far too many point, doesn’t have a real battlefield role, is easily countered by simple tactics and GW doesn’t have an official model to represent him.  But I said I was giving him a try so I’ve got a few more games with this lemon before I try something new.