Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Eldar vs Dark Eldar
A "Master's Army", huh?
Well, it certainly was a shock to me that my DE were in fact a "master's army"- one for experts in 40K. And here I was, brand new... Ugh! But, I soldiered on, trying me best to figure out the army. Of course, there were many mishaps along the way:
Raiders that could be knocked down by sharpened sticks: that's what my friend Pete said- just about any weapon could knock them down. And they did. Often. Yikes. I had several Raiders when my army was at maximum, and the battlefield was always littered with them by turn 3, whether I was winning or not.
You call this Fleet? In 3rd Edition, a model with fleet could run instead of shoot. Most troops did not have this option, so I thought this would help. Of course, without fail I would role a 1 or 2 for nearly every fleet role. We called them the lawn chair DE, since they seemed more interested in relaxing than fighting.
Gulp. One time, I played against Pete's Nids, and his Red Terror swallowed my Archon. I had a shadowfield and all that. But... gulp. I was dismayed, to say the least. "Do I get a save"? "Nope".
It wasn't always bad times though. Ask my friend Joe about the Crucible of Malediction. I wrecked his Eldar HQs with that. In fact, I won some battles hands down in a glorious way (though I lost much more often than I won). And my Incubi always did well. In fact, I ended up buying the ones with the long-coats from the Vect kit because I liked their look better.
At any rate, I began thinking about another army. It wasn't simply that I was tired of losing- that wasn't the case. But I was looking more into the hobby and the "fluff"... and slowly, insidiously, quietly... Chaos beckoned to me... hahahaha! That is a story for next time.
Raiders that could be knocked down by sharpened sticks: that's what my friend Pete said- just about any weapon could knock them down. And they did. Often. Yikes. I had several Raiders when my army was at maximum, and the battlefield was always littered with them by turn 3, whether I was winning or not.
You call this Fleet? In 3rd Edition, a model with fleet could run instead of shoot. Most troops did not have this option, so I thought this would help. Of course, without fail I would role a 1 or 2 for nearly every fleet role. We called them the lawn chair DE, since they seemed more interested in relaxing than fighting.
Gulp. One time, I played against Pete's Nids, and his Red Terror swallowed my Archon. I had a shadowfield and all that. But... gulp. I was dismayed, to say the least. "Do I get a save"? "Nope".
It wasn't always bad times though. Ask my friend Joe about the Crucible of Malediction. I wrecked his Eldar HQs with that. In fact, I won some battles hands down in a glorious way (though I lost much more often than I won). And my Incubi always did well. In fact, I ended up buying the ones with the long-coats from the Vect kit because I liked their look better.
At any rate, I began thinking about another army. It wasn't simply that I was tired of losing- that wasn't the case. But I was looking more into the hobby and the "fluff"... and slowly, insidiously, quietly... Chaos beckoned to me... hahahaha! That is a story for next time.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Olden Days
When I went to college, my friend Pete introduced me to the Warhammer 40K universe, and I've never looked back. I began seriously playing/collecting in 2000. I decided to go with the Dark Eldar. They were quite new to the game, and they came packed with the starter set if I'm not mistaken. At the time, I really liked the models. The Warriors, Scourges, and Raiders looked really cool and unique. I also liked the idea that they were "evil"- the bad versions of the Eldar.
So, in the summer of 2000, I bought the codex, a battle force, and some other things. I bought them from Wizards of the Coast, which had several locations on Long Island. Getting home, I began assembling them- the warriors were great, though some of the spikey bits for the head tended to slide off. I had an idea for the color scheme, but like a kid in the proverbial candy store, I had a ton of ideas. I decided to experiment with colors- one squad was black and silver (my "cylons"), another was green and black, another purple and gold (my school colors)... finally, I decided to go with red, black, and gold. I thought the red and black was striking, and that the gold broke it up a bit.
Looking back now, the paint scheme was really bad. But, it was a start, and I was happy to get into the hobby. Of course, I began gaming against my friend Pete, who is a Tyranid player. My brother Steve also began to get involved in the hobby, preferring the guns of the Imperial Guard to just about everything else. In playing these opponents, I discovered that I wasn't winning that much. I couldn't quite figure it out- my army kept getting killed. At this point, Pete showed me the line in the book that said the DE was a connoisseurs army- a "master's army"... Ugh. I hadn't realized that when I bought them... now what would I do?
So, in the summer of 2000, I bought the codex, a battle force, and some other things. I bought them from Wizards of the Coast, which had several locations on Long Island. Getting home, I began assembling them- the warriors were great, though some of the spikey bits for the head tended to slide off. I had an idea for the color scheme, but like a kid in the proverbial candy store, I had a ton of ideas. I decided to experiment with colors- one squad was black and silver (my "cylons"), another was green and black, another purple and gold (my school colors)... finally, I decided to go with red, black, and gold. I thought the red and black was striking, and that the gold broke it up a bit.
Looking back now, the paint scheme was really bad. But, it was a start, and I was happy to get into the hobby. Of course, I began gaming against my friend Pete, who is a Tyranid player. My brother Steve also began to get involved in the hobby, preferring the guns of the Imperial Guard to just about everything else. In playing these opponents, I discovered that I wasn't winning that much. I couldn't quite figure it out- my army kept getting killed. At this point, Pete showed me the line in the book that said the DE was a connoisseurs army- a "master's army"... Ugh. I hadn't realized that when I bought them... now what would I do?
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Dark Eldar Nostalgia
I recently played a game with the new Dark Eldar. It was a lot of fun, and is fueling my DE nostalgia. I lost a match against my friend Joe's Eldar, but it was an invaluable learning experience for me.
So, here is another pic of my ancient (and poor) DE paint job from circa 2000...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ye Olde Dark Eldar
Monday, April 4, 2011
About me (Part II)
Well, a bit more about what this blog is about. Since my wife suggested it, I thought it would be a good idea for me to try. It seemed obvious that I should make a blog about my hobbies and interests, and avoid anything work-related or just contentious subjects.
I just updated my profile a bit, so you can see more about me, and some of the things this blog will focus on. I would like to delve a bit into my Warhammer 40K hobby, just to start with, so here we go:
I was first introduced to the hobby in 1997 by my college buddy, Pete. I remember distinctly that he had their miniatures catalogues. They were like magazines at the time (forget the giant minis book of late, and certainly no major internet presence). He had one for 40K and one for fantasy, I do believe. At any rate, he showed me the minis, and told me that he played 40K. His army was Tyranids. I was fascinated by the whole thing; it appealed to my interest in wars and history, that's for sure.
At first, I just dabbled, buying minis that I liked rather than acquiring a whole army. I bought some Nids, some Imperial Guard (Ah... Mordians). I was frustrated because my painting abilities weren't that good, but I really learned the hard way how to paint.
Once the craziness of college subsided, my friend Pete suggested that I get a single army and pursue it. It was 2000 (oh no! Y2K hehe!), and I went to a Wizards of the Coast store (my God! How long it's been since they were around) and decided to buy Dark Eldar! I loved the Raiders, Reaver Jetbikes and the Warriors (Wych models not so much). I had a color scheme planned, and I bought enough to run a small force. I was quite excited that day, not only did I get my first 40K army, I also saw the first X-Men movie that day (at the time it was excellent, though it has been muddied by the lackluster X3 and Wolverine Origins, and, quite frankly, time. Hmm... another blog topic?).
More on my "interesting" experience with the 3rd edition Dark Eldar army later! (Hint: "What do you mean it's a connoisseur's army"?!)
-CHAOS
I just updated my profile a bit, so you can see more about me, and some of the things this blog will focus on. I would like to delve a bit into my Warhammer 40K hobby, just to start with, so here we go:
I was first introduced to the hobby in 1997 by my college buddy, Pete. I remember distinctly that he had their miniatures catalogues. They were like magazines at the time (forget the giant minis book of late, and certainly no major internet presence). He had one for 40K and one for fantasy, I do believe. At any rate, he showed me the minis, and told me that he played 40K. His army was Tyranids. I was fascinated by the whole thing; it appealed to my interest in wars and history, that's for sure.
At first, I just dabbled, buying minis that I liked rather than acquiring a whole army. I bought some Nids, some Imperial Guard (Ah... Mordians). I was frustrated because my painting abilities weren't that good, but I really learned the hard way how to paint.
Once the craziness of college subsided, my friend Pete suggested that I get a single army and pursue it. It was 2000 (oh no! Y2K hehe!), and I went to a Wizards of the Coast store (my God! How long it's been since they were around) and decided to buy Dark Eldar! I loved the Raiders, Reaver Jetbikes and the Warriors (Wych models not so much). I had a color scheme planned, and I bought enough to run a small force. I was quite excited that day, not only did I get my first 40K army, I also saw the first X-Men movie that day (at the time it was excellent, though it has been muddied by the lackluster X3 and Wolverine Origins, and, quite frankly, time. Hmm... another blog topic?).
More on my "interesting" experience with the 3rd edition Dark Eldar army later! (Hint: "What do you mean it's a connoisseur's army"?!)
-CHAOS
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Under Construction
This blog is under construction. It will feature postings about Warhammer 40K, video games, movies, books, and more. Keep watching for more...