Well, that escalated quickly

So I was at a local game store picking up June's White Dwarf when I was approached by a fellow gamer who asked me what I thought of the new Eldar Wraithknight. ''Impressive," I said, being a person seeking to revitalize my Ulthwe army.

Mr. gamer then launches into a tirade about how he will use three to destroy all that oppose him. I nod and get into line to make my purchase and escape. Now gamer #2 enters the one sided conversation and decries the Wraithknight as totally overpowered and will ruin the game. This is still seven days before the Codex will be released, so it's stats and how it will really do on the field are yet to be seen.

Facts aside, these are good points. A near Titan level unit as a regular heavy choice. Scary. But will it be the auto-win unit? I somehow don't think so. No more than a Blood Angles army made of deep striking Land raiders. Good once, but then you are just a expensive one trick pony vulnerable to melta weapons.

Regardless of how the Wraithknight performs it is a good looking model and I suspect I will wind up with two in my house; one in black and bone for me and a red and black for Mrs. Blackheart.

I do think 40K is moving a bit further toward being a shooting heavy game. For me the real test will be how they handle the Tyranids and Orks.

The Emperor Protects

He just needs to provide a plastic Reaver Titan

Rock, Paper, Power Fist

We have all seen the growth of 40K cosplay and have noticed the increasing skill level. The You Tubes are packed with (mostly) awesome efforts. Check out this Imperial Fists Terminator for example. 

But this guy, he just nails it. The fully articulated power fist is a hell of a thing.

The video itself is not great but has some funny moments, like his interaction with the convention folk, and the annoyed looks he gets from a few 40K players as he walks into the gaming room, and power fist massage? probably not the best idea.

The Emperor Protects

Even cosplayers.

Quick Tau Picts

And ready for battle.

I managed to force some painting time into my overloaded schedule and I am happy with the result. I've said it before, I'm a gamer, not a painter. It only took three tries to find the right paints I used on the rest of my Tau army. I should have written that down somewhere. I have a battle against Matt's Tyranids later tonight so I will get to try out the Riptide for the first time.

Now with 85% less chance of ankle snapping.

I assembled the lone Broadside I was able to get, and sadly, I really like it. Now I need two more. The kit went together really smooth. I am a little sad that unlike the Riptide, there is really only one pose. I can live with that. Twin plasma rilfes or smart missile system, three head choices, a few different antennae/sensor thingies, a shoulder-mounted seeker missile, and two drones of three types give the kit plenty of options.
The new Broadside has a heavier feel to it, like it is a dedicated heavy unit and not just a normal Crisis suit with heavy weapons added. It is a great update to Tau the line.
Next up, battle report, Tau vs. Tyranids.

For the Greater Good

With Greater Battle Armor

Tau, Gundam style

Say 'ello to my big friend.

Like so many others in our little hobby, I love killer mecha. Which is one of the reasons the Tau and their anime inspired battlesuits appealed to me. I got my hands on a XV104 Riptide on Saturday. And it is a really nice kit. Easy to build with lots of options. It looks great and is quite big.

That's him officer, the one in the middle.

 I like the Riptide's name in different langues on the side of the box. XV104 Cataclismo has such a nice ring to it. After reading the New Codex I was torn on which weapon I would equip the Riptide with. So, I though, what would a crazy person do? Magnets! My first foray into the rare earth madness.

It was a pain, but well worth it. Fun fact, when working with powerful really small magnets, try to avoid mounting them close together. Like I did. Eventually. Taking a cue from Matt (whose magnetic insanity we will uncover later) marking one side with a red sharpie really helped, because those little bastards love to flip over at the worst time.
Time to go build the new Broadside suit. Without main weapon swapping.

The Emperor Protects

Just not from magnets