News, and Rumors.......what exactly are we wating for??

As a huge fan of the Black Templar, and all the rumors swirling around when they're supposed to have a new codex written, I feel the need to talk about all the crap that comes with this.
For me it all began when I noticed all the stuff flying around Bell of Lost Souls, Warseer, and other blogs. To set the record straight, everything is a rumor. Nothing more. And what good does it do us to know the future anyways?? Its not like your gonna have the inside track on an army, and you pull it out at your local hobby shop and no one has seen it. I mean come on.
I truly believe that most of the stuff we hear about is all a load of crap anyways. Some guy wanting attention, making things up. Just recently Ghost21, or whatever from Warseer, confessed to making up the most recent rumors about the Black Templar, and Tau. For what reason, who knows. But I do know that all it did was start a very dynamic conversation with a ton of people chiming in about what they heard, and what this guy saw. I only consider a few sources out there to be truly legit.
All this stuff about land raider spam, some rhino assault vehicle? Man, as far as I'm concerned, all either army is gonna get are some new rules, a few new characters that propose some twists to each game, and thats it. And most of the time when a codex is re-written, you don't even get over half the stuff inside released!! Look at the Tyranids?? Its been what, almost 2 years, and they still don't have all the models for that book.
And now that these recent rumors have been falsified, everything has been tossed back into the fire, and new rumors about Dark Angels being up next......I just sit back and laugh, it goes from one thing to another. Just goes to show you the lack of patience with players out there. So take this and run with it, say what you will.......things won't change.

Black Knight Littleton Event!!

Wow, thought we were all gone eh? The Forgotten Chapter is still here and kickin' it 40k style!! Just life being busy and crazy has kept us all away. Maybe if you guys hit us up at Black Knight Games in Littleton, CO tomorrow for the 40k tournament, we can chat about whats been going on!! Oh and just in case you didnt know, Black Knight is hosting a 40k tournament tomorrow Saturday February 4th, 2012. Instead of paying to play, they ask that you bring a piece of terrain (either handmade or bought) and that will count as your method of payment to play. Please, if your going to bring something handmade at least make it look good. Good "rule of thumb" would be that if its not good enough for your game board, dont bring it! The piece of terrain being brought will be kept by the store so dont bring your favorite terrain piece cause your not getting it back!! Hope to see you all there! Supposed to start around 4pm but call ahead to check availability and everything. Contact info is:
Ph: 303-972-4263

Location: 10171 W Bowles Ave
Littleton, CO 80127

Have fun and hope to see you guys there!! Most of the Forgotten Chapter will be there to talk trash and of course, 40k..

For Love of the Game.....

Well as you can see, its been some time since any of us over here at The Forgotten Chapter have posted anything. Well I can say that for me, I truly apologize. I've recently had my life up-ended and taken a drastic turn. Its taken me a few months to get accustomed to the new life. But I assure you, yes we are alive and well. Some fairing better than others.

But you've got to get your a** up off the ground, wipe the dust off, and keep on tick'n. And thats the focus of my new post. Truly finding love for the game. I can gladly say that in the recent months, I have really taken a new look at the game of Warhammer 40K, and realized a couple things about myself. Now to begin, I want to cover the "Losing Attitude" factor. Losing multiple battles can really have an effect on a players attitude, skill, and just over-all luck. It seems that misery loves company. I know that all too well. You loose one game, you think, "Nah, I'll get'm next time". You loose a couple more in a row, and that guy might start thinking about whether he still wants to play. And after many losses, anyone can find a reason to quit. I thought about it. But you've got to keep telling yourself that its just a game.
I do realize that with some of the new stuff GW is coming out with, things can seem "slightly" (HA!!) unfair, but fear not. I am a true 100% believer that tactics (with some decent dice rolling) will always prevail. But going into anything with a bad attitude, well your prolly gonna come out exactly where you planned. Getting sh*t on......Stay positive, keep rolling those dice, and just relax.

Second I want to cover the concept of "Over Doing It". I love the game of 40K, it allows me to be a big kid for a few hours at a time. Getting to play with some awesome looking space guys kick'n the crap out of some far off alien race, or vice versa. I occasionally play a tournament here and there, would like to start playing more. But no matter how far off the grid I go, to any end of the Earth, I always find some dousch-bag that has a 40K IV hooked up straight to the neck. We all have met this guy, knows all the rules, is never wrong, always has a better story, better army list. Yah, that guy!!
I believe that this person loves to game just like I do, but whoa man!! Take a chill pill and live your life. At the end of every day, ITS STILL JUST A GAME. If you go on some kind of winning streak, NO, Marneus Calgar isn't gonna decend from the heavens and ask you to join him on his conquest for universal peace. Get over it man, your not that cool.

And lastly, I want to talk about finding peace in a game of war. When I'm bored and home alone, I find some kind of tranquility in kick'n back, havin a beer, and reading some fluff. Or maybe thumbing through the old codex a couple times and see'n if I missed something. Maybe writing a new army list. Not one that's designed to be ultra competetive, but something FUN. One of my best friends told me that this game was truly designed to be fun, to tell a story. It was never meant to be played on a competetive level. Just getting together with friends, admiring each others works, and watching an epic battle unfold. Not to come up with some loop-hole army that takes every advantage of the rule book, and putting your opponent at every disadvantage you can think of. That's not fun. Sure you may get the win, but was it fun? Did your opponent have fun? Ask him how his a** feels after kick'n it so hard.

I know, last week I took the worst beating I've ever endured from the new Necrons. The stuff in that book seems way "Over-the-Top" (thank you Sylvester Stallone). But you know what, its been a long time coming for the walking toasters, who use upside-down floating blenders. Yeah, that sh*t is crazy, but it makes for a fun game. Not just the same old, I shoot.....you die, you shoot.....I die battle. But even after having to sit on a donut for a few days, I still had a smile on my face at the end of the game, and told my opponent "Good Game". Cause it is still just a game.

So maybe take this time and really focus on why you play, why you enjoy this game so much.....and maybe you'll find your love for the game.

Talkin Tactics 6- Damn Drop Pods....

So, after an extended hiatus, I decided to finally sit down and put fingers to keyboard for another installment of "Talkin Tactics". Its been a little while since my last post, or any post for us here at the Forgotten Chapter, and I just wanted to say that its not because we have gotten bored the posting or have lost the will or desire, its merely because many of our lives have had huge changes occur in the past couple of months, and those changes have kept us quite preoccupied. But, after having a couple of really fun 2 on 2 games, we at the Forgotten Chapter began to get the "bug" again for writing, especially after it took me an extra ten minutes in deployment just to bubble wrap my imperial guard Leman Russ tanks with a crap load of guardsmen just to keep my friend from being able to drop pod his dreadnought close enough to melta my tanks. After realizing how vulnerable almost any army can be to a drop pod assault, I began to mentally formulate a discussion on the different tactics involved with using drop pods. I have been wanting to write this article for a while now, and that game gave enough spark to finally force my hand to shake with desire to write. But enough about how and why, lets get into the tactics.

Introducing The 403rd "The Forsaken"

Hello All,

This is my first attempt at posting any of my work online, so please excuse the cell phone picture quality. As soon as I get a better camera from the wife I will try and get new photos.

But here is my first completed squad from my Imperial Guard army, the 403rd "The Forsaken."

C&C's are very welcome. I don't claim to be a great painter so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Allow me to Introduce Myself

My name is Imperial General Falcon. I am the newest Chapter Brother to The Forgotten Chapter, however I have known Roll the Dice 22, High Marshal James, and Unlike Crash Zach for a much longer time frame but that is another story. I have been playing 40k for almost a year now-I began last November and have been addicted ever since. I have participated in two tournaments since then; a doubles tourney at Valhalla's in the spring, and most recently the Fiest of Blades at Black Knight Video Games (which is also my home store). The armies I currently run include: The Imperial Fists (a vanilla space marine list), Tau, and the Angels Encarmine (a Blood Angels list). The Imperial Fists are my bread and butter along with my first army. The Tau came second and I compiled an army at the beginning of this summer. In fact this was the army I played in the Fiest of Blades. The Angels Encarmine is my latest army; one which I had wanted to do for a very long time and just recently had the funding to put it all together. Literally the army is still boxed up and on the sprue-I hopefully will have it built and ready for action by this coming weekend. In another post I will further discuss my play styles and strategies that go along with each army (along with pictures of each). This post is an effort to give you somewhat of an introduction and a little background information about myself. One thing I can tell you is that I originally laughed at my chapter brethren for playing a year ago, and now I am obsessed with the game. I cannot get it off of my mind most of the time and find myself at different times of the day reviewing previous games(even if I did not play), how they could have been played differently, how certain events/decisions impacted the overall flow and results of the game. I also consistently try to review the current lists I have for each of my armies and how I could improve them or play them differently. For example I have been carrying my Blood Angels Codex everywhere (like a child with his blanket) reviewing it and learning as much about my new army as possible. I am all about learning/improving and am always looking to grow as not only a player, but as a member of the 40k universe. Any kind of commentary/advice whether it is praise or disgust given to me is greatly appreciated. As far as my 40k future is concerned; who knows! All I know is I am excited for it; excited to play, grow, learn, and become more absorbed in the game! Even though I just finished purchasing my Blood Angels army, I am already considering building a Chaos Space Marines or Space Wolves army at some point in the future. Thanks for taking the time to read my post and please do not ever hesitate to approach me especially if you are looking to get into this game; I understand how difficult it is to become plugged in without someone helping you along (as do my chapter brethren; they were/still are helping me!).

Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher

Check out These Awesome new models from Forgeworld. I know my up and coming Imperial Guard army will eventually have two of the sexy beasts. Forgeworld also posted Experimental Rules and Apoc Rules.

Check It Out: Praetor Armoured Assault Launcher

Stormraven For All?- Army Specific Units

Ah yes, the Stormraven once again. No, I'm not trying to beat the dead horse anymore than it needs to be beaten, but the Stormraven brings up so many good thought provoking issues. The one that comes to mind, was proposed by a member of The Forgotten Chapter in response to a situation that occured to his army at Feast of Blades 2011. He told me that "when" Games Workshop decides to release an FAQ, or some kind of rule that makes the Stormraven able to be used by all space marines, that he would field at least two of them. I responded with the simple word "if." I field two Stormravens in my Grey Knights army, and love using them. My friends therefore hate playing against them, as I am constantly harrassed about how " over the top" their rules are. BUT, they are always quick to point out that they would field them in an instant if they could. Now, Im not trying to be greedy or stingy, and its not that I dont like sharing, but I beleive that the Stormraven should be an army specific unit, in which only certain armies can use it. There are reasons for such an opinion, as I would not say such a thing without doing more than just thumbing my nose. Many things come to mind, but the top three are: variety of play, the "fluff" of the game, and the desire to keep armies "different" by preserving some army specific units and rules. Such things are used to maintain the dreaded F word.... FUN within the game.

6th Edition...... Already?

Its been a little over a year since I first heard rumors about the possibility of 6th edition being only a couple of years off. At first, I just said its someone trying to get out their own cheesy version of what they want to see in the next edition, but as every month has passed, I have seen more and more rumors and possible rule changes posted. Now, before you read any further, this is not going to be a cut and copied post about the latest rumors on what the new rule changes will be. This is a discussion about whether or not the hobby and its fans are ready for 6th edition, and if by releasing this new edition, it will help or hurt the hobby. I will discuss some things to expect, and of course I might go off on some tangents about other things, but for the most part I want to focus on the timing of 6th edition and its potential impact on what we know now about the game.

Its been only three years. Three years and some change to be more innaccurate about the timeline, since we saw 5th edition hit the shelves. There were many changes, some subtle and some quite important (true line of sight...), but ultimately it created more than just new rules, it made it necessary for everyone to once again buy new rule books, as well as forcing Games Workshop to update all of its codexes. More than anything else, all players had to adapt to the new impacts that the rules changes caused to their respective armies. Some armies where not effected (such as Orks) while others where pushed even further into obscurity (Dark Eldar, Grey Knights, Necrons). While I will admit that adapting to new rules adds more fun challenges, it also nullified certain strengths for specific armies. Games Workshop should have updated all of its codexes right away, making sure that all armies got to benefit from the new rule changes immediately. Some armies will undoubtedly get left behind, leading to another lapse in consistency amongst the rules between different codexes from different editions. I think that before a new edition is released, all of the codexes should be brought up to speed, to at least ensure a level of consistency amongst the rules for different armies. I wonder if bringing in a new set of rules in a brand new edition is going to help the hobby, in terms of keeping the game fair and balanced so that all armies have the chance to compete on the tabletop.

Counts-As: is it Good or Evil?

With the national tournament season in full swing, and the Feast of Blades Qualifiers behind us I'm left with one sour note in my otherwise bittersweet song of an experience. No, I'm not sour that I didn't get an invite to the November Invitational and I'm not regretting the army I brought. Out of a long day at Black Knight Games in Littleton, CO, the only thing that has been eating away at the back of my mind is the thought of how people over use Count-As models in their army. Is Counts-As overused in our community?

Since our wonderful 40K community finds it necessary to fill our thoughts with a specific jargin and lingo, lets define what a Counts-As model is. Before I lay my thoughts out on this digital paper, I thought it necessary for everyone to be on the same page in terms of understanding. A count-as model is one that is meant to represent a model that the current Games-Workshop product line does not offer. Typically this is done to represent a unique Independent Character from any given codex or the like.

Tournament Talk...........BOHICA

So I'm not a very seasoned tournament player, but I've learned (in the 3 I've played in)........that in order to be competitive, one must get rid of any fun, balance, and desire that they have for a specific army list.

Running a balanced list makes sense to all of us, but doesn't really hit home at most tournaments. And you can get rid of the fun because it comes to ultra competitive, and you have those people that call every little rule, then scrutinize you for not knowing the rule book, cover to cover. You know, that guy who's played since 1st Edition. His models look somewhat dusty, because the morning of the tournament, he took off the shelf. And he's included in every conversation in the room, because he knows everything about everything 40K related. And forget about running that cool character you like in your codex.......cause unless he's EXTREMELY over the top, and around the points value of say.........300, then he's not gonna match up to that one character who is.....and you'll get squashed.

Now I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a major tournament winner who has ran a balanced army. I play the close-combat heavy, Black Templar, and even I run a balanced list. For, the biggest reason, because I paid for a full codex, and I want to use it all. Not just 3 or 4 pages out of it. And I love the fun in having different attributes to an army. I build balanced lists because I want to challenge myself, and challenge my friends. I don't see any fun in just 2-turning people, walking threw them. When I think about really nasty army lists, I think of "The Drive-by Tau", The Imperial Guardsmen "Leafblower", or "Mech-Vet",............(those damn guardsmen), and almost any Space Marine "3 Land Raiders Down Your Throat".

No!! I wanna go First!!-The Importance of Stealing the Initiative

The Armies are ready to go. Infiltrators have been placed, meat shields have been deployed, the wall of orks are ready, and the basilisks are prepared to unleash an onslought of firepower. BUT, just when your figuring out your first movement and target priority, your opponent rolls one last dice to see if he can steal the initiative. The dice bounces and rolls and finally lands. All six of those pips are staring at you, almost making the shape of a middle finger being held high right at your face. Just when you though you where gonna go first, you have to take the opening volly of fire. So what? Does it really matter if you go first or second? Is it gonna change that much of the game?

Eldar Army For Sale

Hello All, I have my Eldar army for sale. 90% of which is unpainted.

I am asking for $250 for the lot but am willing to entertain offers. I would like to sell it as a whole but am willing to split up for the right price.

Email Unlikecrashzach@gmail.com. I can provide pictures if you need them, the whole army is in new/like new condition. I will accept paypal for out of state/city payment and shipping.

Here is what I have:

-2 Farseer's (1 w/Spear, 1 w/witch blade) (Unpainted)
-6 Warlocks (Unpainted)
-10 Rangers (Unpainted)
-20 Dire Avengers (Has White Primer)
-12 Howling Banshees (1 Exacrch w/Mirror Swords, 1 Exarch w/Executioner) (Unpainted)
-10 Warp Spiders (Unpainted)
-2 Wraithlords (Unpainted)
-1 Falcon (Painted)
-1 Wave Serpeant (Has White Primer)

I have most all of the bits for all of the plastics that I will include as well

Black Knight 2 News- Terrain building July 16th, 2011

So, this is for all the people that live in Colorado. Black Knight 2, located at Bowles and Kipling (same shopping center as Harbor Freight and Jumpstreet) is hosting a terrain building/painting party. This is intended to help bolster the available terrain there at the store, and to increase the amount of terrain needed for The Feast of Blades tournament that they will be holding later in the month. They are gonna supply some foam and paints, but bring anything you would like to make. You can even bring anything that would ork for terrain (old washed cans, packaging foam, etc) will work great. Remember that anything built will be staying in the store for the gaming community to use. So, remember to stop buy and build some terrain, check out the store and chat with the knowledgable employees and maybe buy something. They have a pretty good inventory of 40k stuff and will be getting more soon. PLEASE come by and support your local gaming store!! The Forgotten Chapter will hopefully be stopping by too and may even get a game in while we are there.

Talkin Tactics......"Multiple Combat"

For those of you who have enjoyed the perks of this little baby.....then you'll understand where I'm coming from. I LOVE this rule.......especially when your playing against the "Hammer of the Emperor"........damn those guardsmen..........and they have "several" tanks just lined up along the back side of the board, and you finally get close enough to play "whack-a-mole"!!!

Now this rule can be a bit tricky, but if pulled off, you could have the potential to wipe that smirk off your opponents face with one swift move.

Lets just use a standard Assault Marine Squad as the guinea pig for this one. Starting off with the full 10, after carefully maneuvering yourself across the board, you get close enough to launch an assault. And if you are close enough to have the 6" charge with every model, you can, with some careful placing of your models, try to take down more than one unit. Some Pros......you can tie up more than 1 squad of your enemies, preventing them from doing damage somewhere else. Another is just obvious, killing off more than 1 unit in one turn. Futher making you opponent change their game plan......unless you have 180 greenskin on the board. A BIG con.....and I mean risky, spreading yourself out too thin to tackle the objective at hand. If you throw 10 assault marines into 2 or more units of basic Tyranid gants.........probably not gonna be able to withstand the kickback.

So this move can be risky, but thats the kinda game I personally like to play. To give the perfect example of how this can be an amazing tactic......for my Black Templars, I run a 10 man Assault squad, all with melta bombs, accompanied by my Marshal..........lol, nasty I know. Given the opportunity that I got close enough, I leaped over some cover, my Marshal breaking off the group in the process. And low and behold what lies within only a few inches of all my units. A non-moving Manticore, an immobilised Vindicator, and a 6 man Imperial Guard Command Squad. Now given what we just talked about..........my Marshal breaks off and wipes out the command squad, and I split the attacks of my assault squad, onto the 2 tanks. 5 melta bombs each, auto hit, you can imagine the rest.

Now in this instance, it worked to perfection. But I can tell you from experience......it is VERY risky. Not throwing enough attacks at one particular unit, not having the numbers to survive the defenders reactions. Its a toss up for most players.

So for those of you who live on the "edge", or for those of you with more models than you can count on everyones fingers and toes..........go for it! But if your the new Grey Knights......and you have a small handful of units, this might be something worth thinking about. But either way......just remember that they are just models. You can pick them back up after they die. Its a game, and its suppose to be fun.

"Ebay!? Why not Black Knight?"-Buying Online vs. Buying in Store

So, after converting two more members of The Forgotten Chapter to loyal supporters of our new favorite store (which is Black Knight 2 in Littleton, CO), one chapter member said something that stuck with me. He said that the new place was awesome and that he would totally buy a lot of stuff from there, but he would still try to buy specific things online. I soon had an epiphany ( or the hamster fell off the wheel in my brain) why do we love checking out new stores but still buy stuff online? No great fasting or mythical search across frozen landscapes and over open deserts was needed, as the answer to my question soon came to me in multiple parts. It just so happens that we all like to buy from stores and online, so which one is better? Are there certain things that are better to get in the store than online? Does the difference in price really matter?

Black Knight Games 2 - Green Walls and Stuff

So, on a balmy Sunday afternoon, the day before Independance Day, I found myself in the new Black Knight Games 2 store in Littleton, CO. The store has both tabletop and video game systems and accessories. The shelves still have holes that will definitley get filled, and the green walls will make sure that you dont fall asleep while your opponent takes his sweet time deploying (Just like I am taking my sweet time writing an article on deployment). The "atmosphere" in the store is a good one, and it feels like you can come in there and get a game in without having the store "mosquitos" walk around and criticize everything you do, while failing to understand the importance of deodorant in modern society. The staff seems very nice, and they are willing to bring in ANY items that you want or would like to see. I think that one of the biggest advantages to being an up and coming store is that you have the ability to ask your new customers what they want to see and match your inventory to the needs of your customers. Established stores already have money vested in items on their shelves, and have to maintain certain items until their stock is cleared, which can take a while. New stores have the money, room, and ability to tailor their inventory almost immediatley to the demographic, so dont be afraid to tell the guys at your new store what you want to see, cause it may just come true if enough people agree with your requests.

Red's Corp - Red Scorpions

For all you Red Scorpions lovers (HighMarshalJames) check out this blog. Red's Scorpions are beautiful. I think my favorite part is the battle damage to the vehicles, typically I do not like battle damage since it would not go with fluff (those techmarines like shiny vehicles) but this is very realistic and impressive.

Red's Corp - Red Scorpions

Here is a quick picture from his Blog:

The Casual-Competitive Player

After trolling through my usual places (Warseer, The Back 40K, 3++ is the new black, Bell of Lost Souls just to name a few) I came across a blog post on BoLS about the gamer that is not completely Fluffy but also isn't the hardcore doucher Tournament guy.

Here is the Link to it: The Casual-Competitive Gamer

Here is the post for those to lazy to click the link. I believe everyone at The Forgotten Chapter falls into this new category, granted none of us have won a GT or even a local tournament (granted we have only played in a couple so far) but we are still fairly competitive but typically with beer in hand:

New Chapterhouse Studios Products for June

The infamous Chapterhouse Studios has released a few new kits that are compatible with our favorite 28mm Wargaming company. Our friends the Imperial Guard, Grey Knights, Space Marines, and Dark Angels go some love this month. I am on the fence about a couple of these items but overall I think they will bring a lot of new cool looking armies to the gaming table. These items should be up on the site within the week, so go take a look!!!

Chapterhouse June Releases

The Rapid Reponse Chimera