As many of you already know by reading the Site Primer or looking around the site, I play the Dark Eldar as my second army.  And they are coming in November (the 3rd).  That is something most people know by now.

I'm crying a bit on the inside because I can feel my wallet getting significantly lighter.  I've got almost a grand saved so I can buy whatever I want of the range (they all look AMAZING), but I have learned from experience (my Black Templars) that buying all kinds of stuff without painting it is bad.  Still, I'll probably spend a crap load of money.

Based on claims from people who have supposedly seen the full codex, its ridiculously good.  The complete bane of all things Space Marines.  We'll see how this effects my Black Templars army, but if its true, it'll shake up the metagame a bit and that's a good thing.  :)

Here is the list that I've been playing for the past three weeks and I've made a couple tweaks over the course of that time:

HQ:
* Emperor's Champion w/ Black Sword, Bolt Pistol, Armor of Faith, Frag Grenades, and the Vow: "Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds" [140]

Elites:
* 5 Assault Terminators w/ 3 pairs Lightning Claws, 2 Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields & Furious Charge.  Mounted in Land Raider Crusader w/ Multi-Melta, Smoke Launchers,  & Extra Armor.  [483]

Troops:
* Crusader Squad: 7 Initiates w/ 5 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Powerfist; 2 Neophytes w/ 2 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons (Frag Grenades for all).  Mounted in a Rhino w/ Smoke Launchers & Extra Armor. [224]
* Crusader Squad: 8 Initiates w/ 6 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Meltagun & 1 Bolt Pistol and Power Fist; 2 Neophytes w/ 2 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons (Frag Grenades for all).  Mounted in a Rhino w/ Smoke Launchers & Extra Armor. [241]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Flamer & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Search Lights. [192]
* Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates w/ 3 Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, 1 Flamer & 1 Lascannon. Mounted in a Razorback w/ Twin-Linked Lascannons and Search Lights. [192]

Fast Attack:
* Land Speeder: Multi-melta and Heavy Flamer. [75]
* Land Speeder: Multi-melta and Heavy Flamer. [75]

Heavy Support:
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Lascannon Side Sponsons, and Search Lights. [126]
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Lascannon Side Sponsons, and Search Lights. [126]
* Predator Destructor w/ Autocannon, Lascannon Side Sponsons, and Search Lights. [126]

Total Points:  [2000]

Its won all of its battles in that time (7 games) against competitive lists, using the Nova Open mission pack, so I know the games are actually somewhat legit.  The last game was against a Space Wolves player and the only units he killed were the two Land Speeders and the terminator squad (his 410 VP vs my 1635 victory points).  Tied on objectives, so went to victory points, which I had a secure hold on.  I also have the table quarters firmly in control.

There are still a couple concerns with the list, primarily the lack of redundancy for both the close combat-oriented crusader squads and the shooty crusader squads.  Having only two of each presents them as a fairly obvious target from the get go.  However, I've found that the list contains sufficient long-ranged firepower to silence many of my opponent's would be firepower.  Opponent's have had a difficult time dealing with the terminators in the LRC initially as well.  Often I'll stick it in the center of the board as far up as I can, and because I have quite a bit of crippling firepower on my flanks, they usually target those.  That allows me to maneuver where ever needed with the LRC and it has survived all games except one (though the terminators usually die after killing one or two squads).

The list requires lots of finesse, as you cannot win the traditional ways of just bashing your opponent into the ground.  Not enough of either element to accomplish that, so you need to use the opportunities given to you to do well.  But the list gives the CC-oriented units that I love to play with in the Black Templars, as well as giving me the required gunline elements needed to be successful competitively in 5th Edition.

I think the playtesting phase is done, just more games to continue learning the army.  It'll be what I bring to the Misty Mountain Games tournament on the 9th.  ;)

Well, the shout out isn't going as well as I had hoped.  Perhaps someone of my "requirements" for articles or how somewhat stringent I was going to be on quality had something to do with it.  Who knows.

But it has drawn a little bit of interest at least.  I've gotten a few private messages, as well as a few links to search through to find some material.  I was also offered Marshal Wilhelm's codex analysis thread, to which I'll take advantage of, but the things I disagree with I'll make editors notes.

Still, I am relatively disappointed by the lack of community involvement thus far.  If nothing else, I'll continue to run Implausible Nature as I have for the past year...as I have no interest in letting it grow idle.  And when we get a re-release, I will happily update all of the information, even if it means doing it all from scratch.  :)

DasPanzerIstUber gave me the go-ahead to post my shout out for guest authors on B&C.  So expect that in the next couple of days.  Hopefully it'll garner some interest.  :D

Librarium article by uberschveinen -- Link is here

I've not read that article in quite a long time, but took a look at the "updated" version of it tonight.  My advice?  Burn the article from your memories forever.  It should not be up in the tactical resource section of B&C because it's utter crap.  All of its information is still based on 4th Edition theories.  Please heed my advice and do NOT listen to anything listed in that guide.  :(

First off, I've messaged DasPanzerIstUber (B&C moderator for the BT sub-forum) to see if its okay to post a shout out thread on B&C.  I'm not sure about the policies regarding this, and while Brother Loring (another moderator) gave his blessings, I want both to approve my request before I do anything.  This thread will be requesting guest authors for Implausible Nature and see what the interest level is for it.  Obviously, I'm going to have to be pretty stringent on the articles being submitted, as I only want high-quality and relevant information posted here.  The goal is to create a more community-oriented website, but if the cost is a decrease in quality, I won't pay the piper.  So, please know in advance, that I might turn down articles.  It won't be because it's for differing opinions, but rather for poor content.  Please do not take offense to this.  Another option might be to accept everything, then place my notes at the bottom of the article with my opinions on the topic (dissenting or agreement).  Also important is using proper English.  I realize that English is the second language for many players, but if you are having trouble, you might not get your article published if I cannot decipher it enough to edit in proper grammar and spelling.  Besides those things, and I don't think they'll be much of a problem, I think this idea can take off.  :)

Second, most of the updates for this month have been finished this evening.  This semester at school has been extremely busy for me and is well beyond the expected work load by far.  On top of that, I still have to maintain my full time job to pay my bills.  That has pushed by my time line for these updates back quite a bit, as you have noticed.  You might have also noticed my decreased presence on B&C.  This is also a side effect of my work load.  Everything should clear up near the end of the year.

Next, as many of you already know, the Dark Eldar are being released in November.  It has been officially confirmed by Games Workshop and we'll be seeing more stuff at the UK Games Day this weekend.  For those that don't know, I play Dark Eldar as my second army.  Because of this, I'll be concentrating on building the army and learning the new codex when they are re-released.  You'll be seeing quite a few updates on the Dark Eldar here on Implausible Nature starting in November.  My Black Templar army will be placed temporarily on the back burner while this is occurring.  But this does NOT mean I'll discontinue my support of the Black Templars, as they will always be my first love and are why this website exists.  It is part of the reason I want guest authors.  I will continue to put out BT updates and articles as I continue my quest to build a strong BT community.  Just don't expect there to be huge amounts of them for a few months.  Still, I'll do my best to keep the flow of updates even between the two armies.  Fortunately, that is the great thing about having a website over a blog format like many of the other internet personalities.  My website will always have this information available and it is easy to find with simple navigation.  Anyone can randomly find this site and get all the information they need for their interests.  A blog constantly spits out articles on various topics and is very difficult to organize the topics of interest.  You also have to continue producing material for the blog or your readers lose interest.

Lastly, in about 3 weeks (October 9th), there is a LGS tournament.  I'm told that its going to be based on the Nova Open, so I'm extremely excited.  Its been far too long since I've been to a tournament, and a truly competitive one tickles me purple.  I can't wait.  In preparation, I've been play-testing the list found here.  I've since made a couple of tweaks including taking Blessed Armor off the LRC, adding frag grenades to the Crusader Squads, and giving them Power Fists instead of the power weapons.  Its won quite a few games so far and the tweaks have thus far turned out.  I'm slightly concerned that there is not enough redundancy for the CC or Gunline crusader squads against hard tournament lists.  However, there is a strong firepower base with a significant assault force supporting them.  I'll put in a couple more games to make sure everything is going smoothly and I learn the list sufficiently.  Hoping to come home with a tournament win.  ;)

Well, that's it for now.  Enjoy your evening!  By the way, the Kansas City Chiefs are amazing!  Go Chiefs!  :D

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am planning on talking to several prominent Black Templars players from the community and asking them if they'd be willing to contribute to Implausible Nature.  A few people come to mind right away:  Marshal Wilhelm, Messenger of Death, and Brother Loring.  Unfortunately, BroLo has become an author for 3++, so he told me that he'd be unable to contribute much, if at all.  The others, I'm not yet sure about.  MoD has his own blog to worry about, but as far as I know, Wilhelm doesn't have any on the side.

However, these three aren't the only ones out there.  There are obviously a couple more on my mind that I'd like to ask, but I pose a question for you all:  Who would you like as guest authors here?  Do you have a favorite member of the community that you'd like posting stuff to Implausible Nature?

Let me know and I'll see what I can do about getting it done.  :)

What an exciting year it has been!  We've seen the release of several new codices (BA, SW, and Tyranids) since the creation of this website and all of them have provided us with a challenge to overcome with our Black Templars!  But thanks to all of you that have kept the faith and continued the Emperor's Crusade!  The viewership here has grown steadily over this past year and now Implausible Nature easily gets hundreds of hits a day, plus all the emails and surveys I receive!  It is all appreciated and I'll do my best to continue maintaining this valuable resource for all.  :)

I have a few exciting announcements to make.  The first, and most exciting, is that I'm going to start recruiting guest authors for Implausible Nature.  These authors will be prominent players in their respective communities and will submit articles at their leisure about whatever they desire regarding the Black Templars or Dark Eldar. 

Dark Eldar?  What?  Yes, you heard right.  That is part two of my announcement.  As many of my older readers remember, Implausible Nature used to cater to both of my armies:  Black Templars and Dark Eldar.  Early this summer, I decided to split the Dark Eldar off so that the website was easier to follow.  At the advise of many others, I have decided to re-integrate the Dark Eldar back into the website.  Some menus will be move around, so please take a careful look for the information you are looking for.

Lastly, because of the incredibly high demand for it, I'll be doing work on lower points total armies.  This will range from 500-1000 point lists for both armies (Dark Eldar when they are released).  They will talk about how to build these lists, why you are taking what you are, and what to look out for.  Should be an excellent series for newer players!

Also, because of the massive influx of emails the past week (combined with my normal IRL responsibilities), zero work has been done on this month's updates.  I feel terrible about it, but in all honesty, I'll priorize assisting people in a personalize way by answering emails over making my monthly updates.  I can make updates at any time.  Missing the opportunity to help a player in need is something unacceptable in my book!

So here is to another successful year and hopefully a great many more!  :D

Updates are going to be another day or two.  Got caught up in some IRL things.  Things happen, please bare with me.  The Black Templars aren't going anywhere, I promise you.  If there is something critical, you can always email me to speed the process up.  ;)

In other news, originally I had only planned on doing a small article on "Competitive players vs Casual Players", but I think more needs to be said on the topic.  Lots more.  Like, I'll probably have an entire section of the website devoted to competitive gaming.  Not sure where to put it yet, but maybe under something like a site primer or the like.  I'll figure it out, as its exceedingly important to talk about.  Articles like this one, really are counter-productive towards helping heal the community of the wounds of the past.  I started my tirade over on the B&C when I noticed someone getting all "that's not very fluffy" when someone was going to use a particular unit.  Something just kinda snapped and I went on a rant.  You can find that thread here: Fluff vs Practicality.

Which, by the way, you know what is really annoying?  The B&C forums being offline ALL the time recently.  So, I work a lot.  When I'm not working, I'm at class.  So pretty much the only time I'm able to get online to check up on all my stuff (emails, 40k community, etc), is late night.  Well, because the largest center of Black Templars players is on the Bolter and Chainsword forums...THEM BEING DOWN IS BAD.  I can barely get off a reply before they shut the things down.  And its EVERY night.  I'm starting to get more than a little frustrated.  "Thanks for your patience."  I know its not my forum, but still.  You service us, your users.  Get what you need done, and finish it up.  Don't spread it out over every night for the next two years.  :(

September's updates *should* be finished by the end of the weekend.  There has been quite a bit of homework on my end the last week or so, as well as quite the storm brewing in the blogosphere that I'm trying to stay in-touch with.  Regardless, it shouldn't be much longer.  :)