What a weekend!  It was more than I could have possibly imagined.  For as long as Nova Open remains, I will make the attempt to attend it.  This tournament is the flag-ship in competitive 40k and it has done a damn good job in maintaining that.  Let's hope that it continues to improve (though, there isn't much on that front!) and be a shining example of what is good in this great game.  I wanted to start my post-Nova discussions with my thoughts on the event itself, with a bit of other stuff thrown in as I think of them.  Battle reports are coming, I promise.  And yes, I will trash myself, don't worry.  ;)

I survived the flights out to Washington DC and back, the Nova Open event, and Hurricane Irene.  So if that was all the weekend turned out to be, I'd have been happy.  But it was so much more than that.  :D

I'll be posting up my thoughts, review, and basically talking about how the event all went down later this evening.  But let me say, thank you to everyone that donated either time, money, or shelter to get me there.  It was AMAZING.  I'm definitely going again next year and you all should do so as well.  Worth every single last penny I spent over there.  Totally worth the lack of sleep to get my army painted and built in time (yes, there is a story there)!  Nova Open was on a completely different level of awesome than any other tournament I've ever been to (which has been a lot, though none recently).  We'll get more into that later.

To start off with, I won't do the battle reports just yet as they'll take some time to compile and I have some other stuff about the weekend that I would like to talk about first.  How the event itself was, basics about how I did and what I thought about my performance, list tweaks, the tournament setup, and even perhaps talk a little bit about everyone I met.

Anyway, I have some stuff I need to do, but rest assured that I'll get a post up for you all by sometime late this evening.  ;)

This will likely be the last time you see me posting until after Nova Open is finished on Monday.  If I get some free-time, I'll get some updates up on the site on how I'm doing.  :)

The painting is coming along.  Got almost all of the vehicles done in speed-mode, however, I'm fairly confident that I'll not finish my bolter initiates in time.  I'm going to have to put my BP/CCW initiates into the list as they are painted.  Which is sad face, as those bolters are one of my few anti-infantry weapons.  But perhaps they'll not just fall over in assault...maybe.  lol!

Anyway, there is a hurricane coming straight for Washington DC, so hopefully it doesn't have an impact on my travel. 

Yes, I'm still alive.  I've been pretty focused on painting, with some email replies in there for spice.  Its obvious to me now that things are going to be getting the cheap paint job for now.  I can't risk not being able to play.  I'll have two "high" quality Razorbacks, as well as a nice looking Emperor's Champion.  The rest of the miniatures are going to be quick jobs.  The vehicles are fairly easy to paint, especially if I eschew the detail work.  The infantry are going to VERY basic, as they take the most time to do, and I want to give myself the opportunity to do them later.  3 color minimum, 3 color minimum!  Oh, and fully based!  lol.  :)

Also keeping me occupied is the handling of my Ebay auctions.  I did pretty well ($215), considering what I was offloading.  Most of it was older metal models, so I was surprised that I A) sold everything and B) made some good money off them.  But the shipping process takes so much time!  Its cutting into painting time (so is work...time for some sick days).  :(

Being so busy with this stuff is somewhat of a blessing, however, as it gives me a good distraction from the real life things going on right now.  Both of which cause great emotional duress.  I really need Nova Open and the "vacation" it provides me.  I just fear coming back...

So, the painting is coming along nicely.  Its very obvious in speed-painting mode, but what can ya do?  Details must be sacrificed for the good of many.  Besides, I can always come back and touch things up (or strip them if need be).  But even speed painting, I wouldn't let myself get super sloppy.  To be honest, I'm actually doing a pretty good job with the paint jobs even with the fast pace.  In less than 24 hrs, I'll likely have painted a Razorback and full 5-man terminator squad from scratch.  Not bad in my opinion.  ;)

In addition, I'm also throwing lots of things on Ebay tonight.  There are quite a few things that I don't really need and you're more than welcome to bid if you so desire.  However, the things I'm selling aren't really...Black Templars oriented (except for a Predator).  Hence why I'm selling them.  :D

Hey there.  Seems like the 40k-Metrics by Nikephoros is catching on pretty fast.  I've seen a very large slew of people using it to grade their lists.  When I asked him to grade mine, I took it as it was and didn't check the numbers myself.  Well, I finally took the time to do it myself and this is what I came up with:

Laeroth            DMS        DMCC        DRPG        DLRPG          Notes

EC                     0.11        2.22         0.00          0.00             Abhor
5 Terminators    3.33        6.25         8.90          2.23             CML Tank Hunters
5 Terminators    3.33        6.25         8.90          2.23             CML Tank Hunters
5 Crusaders       2.33        0.83         4.45          0.56             Las/Plas, Bolters
5 Crusaders       2.33        0.83         4.45          0.56             Las/Plas, Bolters
5 Crusaders       2.33        0.83         4.45          0.56             Las/Plas, Bolters
5 Crusaders       2.33        0.83         4.45          0.56             Las/Plas, Bolters
Razor                0.74        0.00         2.97          0.74             TLLC
Razor                0.74        0.00         2.97          0.74             TLLC
Razor                0.74        0.00         2.97          0.74             TLLC
Razor                0.74        0.00         2.97          0.74             TLLC
Predator            1.48        0.00         6.67          1.11             Auto/Las
Predator            1.48        0.00         6.67          1.11             Auto/Las
Predator            1.48        0.00         6.67          1.11             Auto/Las
Typhoon            1.56        0.00         3.34          0.00             1 CML 1 HB
Typhoon            1.56        0.00         3.34          0.00             1 CML 1 HB
Typhoon            1.56        0.00         3.34          0.00             1 CML 1 HB
Totals:              29.65      18.04       77.47       12.99

So what are you seeing?  There are upgrades in the DMCC, DRPG, and DLRPG stats.  However, there was a slight downgrade to the DMS stat.  Please keep in mind that some of the discrepancies could have been due to how I rounded the numbers.  But it is clear when I was doing the calculations, that there was a little bit of error either on my part or his.  The rounding would not account for as much difference in the two sets of stats as there is.  So there is that.

Nevertheless, the two sets are fairly close in their numbers.  So that makes me happy.  I have a good chunk of DMS and DRPG, which is definitely what I'm looking for in my Nova Open list.  :)

The brutality is back, continuing the theme from the previous article.  One of the most common pieces of advice that I see given to newer and/or learning Black Templars players is that they need to get Assault Terminators ASAP.  That these guys are pretty much the bane of everything in the game and the Emperor himself would fear their power.  Is that your final answer?

*Insert screeching buzzer sound*

I'm sorry, that is not the correct response.  Please try again.

Email:

Laeroth,

I've never posted to your site or anything to that extent before, so allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Marshal Medved, and I am a new player to 40k and this genre of game in general.  One of my coworkers is, in my opinion, an excellent painter (proof: www.thatguyjames.net) and helped push me over the edge into picking up the hobby.  I ultimately decided that Templars were what I wanted to go for.  Something about their story just struck me as fun, so I decided to run with it.  Being a new player, I scanned the web looking for resources and ultimately ended at your site.  I've spent the last week reading through a lot of the material you have and it's been great fun.  You are a great writer and your material is approachable to a new player and from what I've seen in the comments, equally great for vetereans, so excellent work!

In my quest for creating the best list I possibly can for Nova Open, some things have still nagged at me about my current list.  Don't get me wrong, in all of my playtesting, I've yet to lose a game with it (got about 20 games in against various armies).  So the army is good.  But, we're talking about the Nova Open.  There will be pretty much all of the best players in the country there, plus some from other countries around the world.

So am I 100% confident that I can beat a horde-based infantry army with my current list against these players?  No, I'm not.  Thus, I've been trying to find ways to up my anti-infantry potential in the list without sacrificing the core and redundancy of the list.  Let me tell you, its hard.  Very hard.  :O

Anyway, there were some things I was mulling over and one better ones was this list:

HQ:
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, and the Vow: "Abhor the Witch, Destroy the Witch." [110]

Elites:
* Sword Brethren Terminators: 5 Terminators w/ 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 5 Storm Bolters, 5 Power Fists, and Tank-Hunters. [265]
* Sword Brethren Terminators: 5 Terminators w/ 2 Cyclone Missile Launchers, 5 Storm Bolters, 5 Power Fists, and Tank-Hunters. [265]

Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolters, 1 Plasmagun & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Searchlights. [192]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolters, 1 Plasmagun & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Searchlights. [192]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolters, 1 Plasmagun & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Searchlights. [192]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolters, 1 Plasmagun & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Searchlights. [192]

Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]
* Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder w/ 1 Heavy Bolter and 1 Typhoon Missile Launcher. [70]

Heavy Support:
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Side-Sponsons, Hunter-Killer Missile, and Searchlights. [126]
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Side-Sponsons, Hunter-Killer Missile, and Searchlights. [126]
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Heavy Bolter Side-Sponsons, Hunter-Killer Missile, and Searchlights. [126]

Total Points: [1996]

So what has changed?  Well, I lose the threat that my other Predators give me.  Which makes my Typhoons and Razorbacks a big target.  I also lose their tank busting power, which gives my opponent a better shot at getting across the board.  Losing 6 Lascannons is a big deal.  So, did I actually gain anything useful?

You tell me.  Okay, first off, I know the argument about the 110 point AC/HB Predators.  Yes, they are expensive in comparison to Vanilla Marines.  Ignore that and concentrate on what they do well in the list:  kill infantry.  However, they aren't half bad at AV11 suppression with their Autocannons.  Also added is a Hunter-Killer Missile on each Predator to help in the AT role when they are called upon to shoot tanks.  Yes, its one shot and 15 points each.  It also gives me another 11% shot to kill the vehicle. 

So the argument is that these guys will be able to provide me with the needed AI missing from the list, but it comes at the expense of AT.  Do I need the AI badly enough in my other list to warrant the change?  Or should I risk it and hope that all of the high strength weaponry/frag missiles/storm bolters will be enough to stop a horde army?  Let me know what you think.  I'm kind of torn right now and I could use the advice.

So this is what I've been doing.  This Razorback is the only thing I have pictures of at the moment, as I'm painting multiples of them.  Didn't feel that it was necessary to take pictures of the exact same thing.  ;)

As you can see, I am keeping with the solid black with my vehicles.  I'm also painting the details in the theme of my Crusade, using the core of reds for the maltese crosses.  Then all of the chains and crusader seals will be gold.  Finally, any wings that appear will be painted in a dark grey color and subsequently highlighted.  However, these pictures are pre-highlights and washes.  In addition, not all of the details had been painted at this time.

So here is the finished product.  Just like the dreadnought, I like the look of paint chipping better than hard-edge highlights on the vehicle.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find my yellow, so experimented a little bit on my headlights.  It ended up being a purple, with a highlight of a blood red.  As you will notice, the crusade badge is a blood drop with dots around it.  However, the dots are squad identification.  This will be squad #3's razorback.  If there is only a single dot, then it will be squad #1.  Finally, I sprayed the unit with Purity Seal to give it that dusty look.

Remember, that while I want my stuff to look nice, I cannot put in super huge amounts of detail due to the lack of time I have to paint.  Only 21 days to go!  :)

In other news, for some reason, I've somehow forgotten to write the Grey Knights codex review.  So I'll try to get one up within the next few weeks, but remember, painting is my priority.  I also have a few more BT tactical articles planned, so we'll see about getting those up as well. 

I've also been working on the BT 101 guide the past few nights and the first few pages are finished to my satisfaction.  If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them.  The "Building Low-Point BT Armies" page isn't quite finished yet, so bare with me there.  In addition, I'll be changing the list in the first "Building a 5th Edition List" page to something a little more competitive.  I've not really decided which one yet, but it'll likely be either my SW/BT Fusion list or my "Templarbubble".  Perhaps even the PotMS Razor spam list.  I'm trying to have this first list building exercise have a close combat element to it, just like the original was.  Feel free to comment on which you prefer.

Anyway, hope all is well with you guys.  Thank you once more to those of you who have donated to my Nova Open fund.  I very much appreciate it.  I should know in the next couple days if I got my time off and I can buy my plane tickets.  :D