I'm not dead yet! Oh yeah, and Happy Thanksgiving

I apologize for the lack of updates in the last four weeks or so, but we are still getting our DSL worked out with the phone company. Currently, I am posting from my parents house as we get together for our regular Thanksgiving Feast. I hope everybody else is having a good time this Holiday Season, and hopefully I will be back to regular posting soon.

As a portrait photographer, our busiest season is from November to December. Normally this is not a problem, but my boss (who was my friend before and got me this job) and I are the only two photographers in the studio now. This means that we have to split 85+ hours a week that the studio remains open between the two of us, with overlaps for peak busy times. So I don't get much time between shifts; usually just enough to sleep for a little while. I hope to get more accomplished after the new year. Call it my New Year's Resolution!

Well, everybody have a nice Turkey Day, and I'll be back as soon as my DSL gets worked out. Expect updates that include pictures of our new cabin.

Until next time,
--FP135

A Goodbye Present

Here is a set of counters I made for Key Buildings Strategems in Cities of Death. From top right reading left, I made counters for the Ammo Store, Command Centre, Fuel Dump, and the Medicae Facility. On the bottom row, I made counters for Power Generator, Sacred Ground, and Observation Point. Print these out and glue them onto pennies or washers to make a quick way to remember what-building-does-what next time you are Cityfighting.

During my self-imposed "vacation" (read: my internet is getting turned off for a few days, possibly weeks) I intend to make up counters for darn near every stratagem that may require one. (Booby traps comes to mind, but I may have to just buck up and model those.)

I hope you enjoy these! I encourage you to get into Cityfights and Planetstrike games, as they will make for interesting and memorable games!

Until next time (for real this time, I swear!),
--FP135

The Beginning of the End

Ok, maybe not that extreme as pictured above, but I am moving to a new house over the weekend. My phone lines are going to be disconnected tomorrow to transfer to the new house by Monday, but it may yet be a week or two before I get the internet back up and working. Don't worry, I'll be sure to give you the tour when we are all settled in! After 150 posts, I am impressed that this blog has survived this long. Sometimes it withered a little, but with a little attention it has always sprang back. Thanks to my loyal readers for sticking by me all this time! I should be returning within a week or two, hopefully with a whole bunch of stuff done to show off!

Until next time (whenever that may be),
--FP135 /signing off
//transmission ends//

Much More Ado About Guardsmen

Simple conversions and wrap-ups for today: Got the last wash on the Griffon I converted from a SM Rhino, and I lengthened the barrel on the LRBT to allow it to double as a Vanquisher if need be.

I've written up a list that is tailor-built to wreck my SM-playing buddy's day. Here's what I got:


HQ
CCS-
Camo Cloaks, 4x Sniper Rifles
90

Troops
Veteran Squad 1-
3 Meltaguns, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber
220

Veteran Squad 2-
2 Plasmaguns, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber
220

Veteran Squad 3-
3 Grenade Launchers, Autocannon team, Demolitions, Chimera w/ Dozerblade, Pintile Stubber, Hull Heavy Flamer
205


Elites
Marbo-
65

Stormtrooper Squad-
1 Plasmagun
100

Fast Attack
Armored Sentinel-
Lascannon, HK Missile
85

Heavy Support
Leman Russ Demolisher-
Lascannon Multi-melta Sponsons Dozer Blade
220

Leman Russ Vanquisher-
Lascannon, Dozer Blade, Heavy Bolters, Pintile Stubber,
205

Griffon Heavy Mortar-
Enclosed Crew
90

Total: 1500

Killpoint Total: 13


I hope he is surprised at this list over the last one I fielded. Its pretty unconventional for me, so we'll see how he reacts next time we get a game in.

I don't exactly know when that will be though. My wife and I bought a new house, and the paperwork finally closed on it today. We move into it Friday, to avoid paying another month's rent at this apartment where we currently reside. Hopefully when the dust settles, my buddy and I will be able to have a bit more breathing room to play some 40k.

Until next time,
--FP135

Let's Talk Tactics: More Cityfighting

I've been having regular games with a player new to the hobby of 40k: My friend of 10+ years and now my newly-promoted manager at work. I got him into playing 40k recently when I gave him a 1500 point Space marine force to call his own (yes it was very generous, but I knew that is the only way I would get him hooked). Now, at least one night a week, we try to get together to have a game. We almost always play Cityfights because it purposefully unbalances the game. If we played the same 3 scenarios out of the standard rulebook, our games would stagnate quickly. To get to the point, my friend has brought a fresh pair of eyes to the cityfighting aspect, and has taught me a few things about successfully navigating the ruins.

The method is there for a reason-
It may seem ridiculous to follow all the rules for deploying a unit at a time, rolls for who chooses stratagems first, and so on. Soon, however, you will find that there a great deal of importance in following those mundane rituals. It is all about either anticipation, if you go first; or reaction, if you are going last. My friend is good at holding his cards close to his chest. I was not exactly thrilled, when declaring the last stratagem, that he declared he was taking Tank Traps. For that game, I was taking a heavily mechanized IG army, so Tank Traps really threw a wrench into my strategy I had been forming. Since he knew we were playing a High Ground mission, he cordoned off the streets leading to the objective building with tank traps so I would be forced to disembark. He was playing footslogging SM, so he had no trouble beating back any attempts on the building that were made by my IG on foot, allowing his squads to secure the building for 5 turns. I only barely forced a draw by bombarding the units into oblivion in the last turn.
If I had been able to react to what he was taking, I might have put a thorn in his side by putting razorwire or other infantry-inhibiting barriers on his side of the board, to counter his limiting of my mobility. Or I could have chosen something like Preliminary Bombardment, which might have either damaged/pinned enough units that I could have secured a foothold before he did.
When deploying, it is imperative to place your units carefully within your quarter. Since your Troops choices deploy first, they are the least able to account for other units you have to deploy. Most of his units that could seriously hurt my transports were in the Elite, Heavy Weapon, or Fast Attack slots. This allowed him to see where my troops were going to be deployed before he chose where to deploy his more specialized units. Luckily, the reverse is the same for me: I was able to see where the bulk of his troops were going to be and I was able to deploy my tank in a position where he could drop some serious hurt on them.
It's a balancing factor (one of few in CoD) to follow the pre-game method. Use your head, and try to force your opponent to go first when possible, so you can better react.