The Last 2 Months

So 2 months on - where does time go?  So as my last post indicated I was at Moofool at the end of March and  it was a fantastic fun with the guys (and gal's) from Cork and Dublin.  I am definitely looking forward to the next time we can get to do it again.  One good thing is that I have had a little time to mull over the weekend and come up with some thoughts.

On the Sunday I faced Jazz with Razorspam Grey Knights and Mark with Mech Guard.  Both games were great and played in a good spirit!  I eventually placed 5th overall out of the 26 players and I am very happy with the result.  Interestingly enough, a number of other Loganwings have popped up on the Irish tournie scene since taking this down to Moofool and have been very successful... maybe mech isn't king?

Otherwise what have I been up to the last 2 months?  Trying to get a Team South Africa organized for the ETC.  What a ride that has been - a rollercoster of emotion.  The result?  Well we had a team, then we didn't, then we did, then we changed, then we were all good, then we experienced turbulence and now we are in a holding pattern.  Long story short - I have to have a Visa to enter Poland and I won't be able to get one in time, so I won't be going with the team.  That said we have 7 members (3 SA, 4 Cork) who are going to represent Team South Africa.  Hopefully they will do well and that this will be the launch of a yearly Team SA.  I am bleak that I won't be able to make it but hopefully the captain next year will consider me!

Otherwise I have been looking at Flames of War as my alternate game, along with Infinity.  The growing cost and time it takes to play a game of 40k, plus the increased storage space for ever larger models, is precluding me from purchasing many.  As a more casual player I don't often get 3+ hours needed for fun games of 40k - yes they can be over quicker but the social contract involved means that one can't impose tournament conditions on folks that don't enjoy that pressure.  If both players aren't enjoying themselves, then why bother, especially when not at a competitive tournament.

Back to Flames;  I currently own both German and Russian WW2 forces in 20mm scale, which I used to play Rapid Fire with.  Unfortunately, that ruleset didn't play out well on a 6x4 board, so my opportunities to play have been very limited.  So it was with the launch of V3 of FOW and the provision of a free rulebook, by this kind gent (http://dakeryus-blogofwar.blogspot.com/) that I have increasingly become interested in FOW.  That and its following locally has grown, so that games could be had.  Indeed the trend away from GW games is increasingly notable, with FOW, Inifinity and Warmahordes are being played increasingly locally.  So it is that I am interested in starting an American 1944 force, with massed armoured infantry, tank destroyers and lots of cheap disposable Shermans.  It is a force that always caused my German forces problems in Rapid Fire, so it would be nice to be on the other side... that and most folks plumb for the Germans, with their Tigers, Panthers and Panzergrenadiers.

Also played has been Killzone - a much better combat patrol set of rules.  Small, individualized forces with quick games, means that a whole series can be run over one afternoon.  I would recommend that anyone interested in this more skirmish based type of 40k, look at the ruleset, which can be found at this blog - http://www.thecodexproject.com/killzone - with battle reps founds here - http://agentlemansones.blogspot.com/.  One can buy the aids, cards etc but they aren't completely necessary but do add to the game.

Anyway end of wall of text, except to say that the rumoured 5+ cover save for flyers when moving at cruising speed, is not going to be enough to save most of the AV10 flyers out there.  Oh and GW can keep their hardback 6th ed rulebook if it is going to cost more than €55, which is less than double what a new codex costs, so I doubt it will be that "cheap".  Anyways first 6th ed. tournament is NWG at the end of August, so I am sure the "me hearties" would have provided access to the rules by then and hopefully the starter set rulebook will be available in September.  That is if the rules are any good... random psychic powers equals me not taking a rune priest.