The flu seems to be moving around my workplace like the plague, and of course, I caught it.  After barely surviving my shift last night (I was literally dead), I slept for the majority of today and I'm still not up to par yet.  As such, you may not see anything from me while I'm recovering from this nasty bug...  :(

For those that sent me emails the past couple days, I'll try and return them as soon as I'm

In our first two parts of this series, we looked into the changes to the Typhoon-Pattern Land Speeder and the Cyclone Missile Launchers.  Then we examined how they interacted with our armies, why they were such meaningful changes in the new FAQ, and how we could go about using them in our lists.  Today, I'm going to look at the next meaningful change in our codex:  the update to the storm shields.

Standard disclaimers are applicable here.

The topic of this blog post references a post made by a newer Black Templars player on B&C (we'll call him P), who is attempting to help a brand new player with his army.  I initially replied by offering up Implausible Nature as a resource, noting that it was teaching competitiveness and it might not be for him, but that it still might provide useful information to him as a player.  In addition, I invited the new player to ask any further questions he may have, as most players are more than willing to assist in that respect.

Shortly after I made my comments in the thread, P made his reply, and it started off so great.  He provided his opinions based on his experiences.  Then he attacked me.  Fortunately, I got a screen-shot before he edited his post to a slightly nicer version.

Really?  Do you need to do that?  Everyone knows I play competitively.  But what I do is not bad.  I am not damaging to the community, and I don't take the fun out of the game.  I simply interpret the game differently than you and I enjoy it, as do a great many others.  That doesn't make it wrong.  It is just different from you.  Who are you to tell me what is fluffy for my own #%&@ army?

My priority in the 40k hobby is, first and foremost, to have fun.  If I didn't, I'd not be here.  Yes, I try my best to win.  Do I need to win?  No.  I love a hard fought battle, but I won't get all bent out of shape if I lose.  And I certainly do not go out of my way to crush new players, simply out of the desire to win.  In fact, I spend a great deal of time teaching players how to become better.  What do you think the whole point of this website is for?!?

Don't stick me in the stereotype when you obviously have spent zero time trying to understand my motives.  If you don't like what I say here, or don't agree with it, that's fine.  I don't force my ideas down people's throats.  Simply walk away.  I have no "agenda" other than my desire to teach people.  I gain nothing for doing this, other than the satisfaction of knowing I helped someone out.  There is no money, no real power, no stampeding herds of beautiful women.  I run Implausible Nature because I enjoy helping others.  That's it.

To me, it seems like you are the one who is afraid to step outside of the box.  I have never criticized someone's desire to build armies based on the BT background (or their armies period).  Ever.  I am perfectly happy to see players using armies simply because they enjoy how they look on the battlefield.  I totally respect that.  When I object, it is when some of those players tell me that these armies are competitive and fine-tuned tournament lists.  At that point, I have to show why they are not (though some are), as that is part of the mission statement of Implausible Nature.  It is not me attacking those players in any way, shape, or form.

In addition, I have never stated that I refuse to play "fluffy" armies.  I have SEVERAL listed here on the website.  What do you want from me?  I really frustrates me that because I have a single gunline army, everyone focuses on that, and paints me as some bad guy.

What.  The.  Hell.  Is.  That?

Is that what we want to be teaching new players in the game?  Come on now.  Grow up.  Things like these are derisive to the hobby.  Learn to see things from other players prospective.  I respect my fellow gamers, no matter where their play-style lies.  I expect the same from others.

/rant

Time to start throwing down your armies to practice!  You can find the Mission Pack Primer (its still in play-test mode) here.  Leave feedback in that thread if you find anything worth mentioning.

I already got a couple test games in on Mission #1 and it looks to be biased towards CC-oriented armies, especially if facing shooty-style armies.  You can find my thoughts on that in the comment section on MVB's blog (click the above link).

Now get playing!

For those of you whom are also bloggers, you know that websites/blogs constantly are in a state of evolution.  Whether its simply for aesthetic purposes, streamlining the flow of information, or attempt to improve the influx of readers, there are changes that occur over time.

I'm no stranger to this need to improve and freshen things up.  As such, you randomly see changes happen to Implausible Nature.  Many of which, I don't really talk about as they are simple changes.  Others are more drastic, so I'll usually mention them briefly here.  Today is one of those days.

Over the past few years, Implausible Nature has steadily grown in both content and viewers.  What started as my own personal site to throw down tactical information and show off my army (getting there!), has grown into something so much more.

I want to thank everyone that reads IN.  Whether or not you agree with what I say, you all are the reason I've continued my quest to excellence.  I'm getting hundreds of unique hits a day (close to a thousand) and it is still growing.  That is very impressive considering I specialize in Black Templars information.

I appreciate every single, last one of you.  It takes courage to step out of your protective bubble to see what its like on the outside.  There is something very respectable about taking a look at another's perspective and weighing in on it objectively.  While I cannot please everyone, nor can I cater to every player's needs, I do my best.  I am not perfect and I'm not always right.  This is a learning process for me as well.  What I've tried to do here is show everyone what I've learned so far over my Warhammer 40k career and maybe help some of my fellow players improve their game.

For my supporters, thank you.  I've grown somewhat into a mini-internet celebrity (no where near Stelek, Kirby, or Fritz status yet) over the past year or so, and because of this, I've gained quite a few critics during that time.  For one reason or another, I can do no right.  When my name is mentioned, threads die.  What I put forth my opinion, I'm that guy that everyone ignores because I'm not afraid of stating my opinion quite bluntly.  I suppose its not unexpected, but it does disappoint me.  I'm not in it for the glory or the power.  All I want to do is help my fellow players get the most out of their armies.

I've tried to stay as level-headed as I can while conducting my online "business", but when my brethren vehemently disagree with me a slew of topics, its gets frustrating.  Even if I thoroughly explain myself in explicit detail, some simply cannot agree to disagree in the face of logic.  I don't want to force anyone into playing the game my way, but when they refuse to see things from my perspective, it is only detrimental to our community. 

You cannot know how pleasing it is for me to see the results of my labors.  I get a steady flow of emails that speak of improved game-play based on what the person learned here.  I see a growing number of players turn around and start teaching other players things that they claim to have read here as well.  It proves that, while I may be a little abrasive to some, Implausible Nature is an effective method of delivering relevant information about the Black Templars to those that care to look for it. 

To be honest, when I first published this website, I was going to be happy if I helped even one player improve their game.  I never expected to gain such a positive reaction from so many players.  So those that continue to point people my way, even if you disagree with some of the things that I talk about, I cannot really show my appreciation enough.  Its players like you that are the true driving force behind our community.  You have my gratitude and respect.  In return, I'll strive to continue putting out excellent information for everyone.

Now, let's get back to cleansing the Universe of the Xenos, Heretic, and the Witch!  For the Emperor!  :D

So as the title says, I recently purchased a new webcam.  One of the reasons I did so, was that I wanted to be able to talk into a camera at will, without having to sit there and type everything up.  I also wanted a good, solid camera for future battle reports since my last video turned out like crap.  :( 

So I made a "test" video that basically talked about that desire.  I'm not in it for the glory, or anything like that, but I think it'll give the tactics talk a little bit of a different dimension when you see the guy behind them.  You can check it out by clicking "Read More".  ;)

This time, we're going to do an analysis on the errata to Cyclone Missile Launchers.  I won't say that the first part was a smashing success with my readers, but...hey.  Its a worthwhile exercise to do.  If nothing else, it gives actual analysis on our FAQ; where others simply looked at it and screamed in happiness like silly Justin Bieber fanbois.  ;)

Once more, I have to put a disclaimer on here.  Everything you will read is obviously from my perspective:  a competitive Black Templars player.  I build armies with maximum efficiency in mind and am loathe to use sub-optimal units.  What that being said, I'll give you what I think about things straight up, blunt, and with no-holds barred.  As it should be, in my opinion.  You don't learn how to play 40k competitively by holding hands and living in La-La Land.  Just sayin'.  :)

As we all know by now, the BT got a slight update with their new FAQ.  I talked about the changes in my blog post here.  What I didn't really go into was how these changes affect our armies.  While most changes we can take in stride as they don't influence our lists much (i.e. smoke launchers), some provide fundamental changes to our codex that need to be examined.  Only then can we decide how to go about changing our lists, if its necessary.

About 7 months ago, MVB put out the results for Nova Open and showed the army breakdowns for the participants.  What I saw shocked me.  There was only ONE Black Templars player that went to Nova!  That is unacceptable and was ultimately what forced me to decide to go with the Black Templars at the Nova Open 2011.

Anyway, the Black Templar player went 1-3 on Day One, leaving him eliminated from Day Two games.  As I'm a curious sorta guy, I wanted to know the list that person brought to the table for a couple of reasons.  First, I wanted to see if the list was competitive or not.  Second, I wanted to know if it was one of my lists running around in.  And third, I simply wanted to get a feel for what people felt was tournament-worthy unit choices for the Black Templars.  MVB was kind enough to get me that person's list, so without further adieu, here it is: