Tau Codex Wishlist

Ok, so it's certainly no secret that my pride and joy army is my Tau Empire. I love the models, the lore and background and the overall feel of the army. I've certainly won my fair share of games with them too, but I believe the army are suffering since coming into 5th edition 40K and certainly struggle to stand up to the latter armies which have had new codices or attention by GW. With armies getting into assault much quicker, having deployment abilities to appear behind enemy lines or outflank and generally harder hitting abilities, the Tau's lack of assault ability and low stats for close combat defence, combined with being locked into combat, it is quite easy to lock down and destroy units. In particular, I feel that Battlesuits suffer and do not convey the image that they should have. Tau are certainly overdue for a good revision and upgrade, so i'm eager for the new codex release. Here's my wishlist to help the blueskins have a better chance:


HQ

Ethereals - abilities and powers increased, give Save, and better Firewarrior honor guard (veteran stats (+1 BS and Ld) and not having to use Troop slot!)

Elites

(new) Battlesuits with better WS and assault based weapons (makes sense when protected in a suit!)

XV25 - Give Battlesuits some support systems hard-wired as standard.  Lower wargear points costs.Allow Crisis Battlesuits two weapon shots per turn, as Multi-tracker
Give battlesuits Hit and Run to allow not be tied up into Close Combat. (Jet pack makes sense, and gives a chance in assault)
Increase max unit size of Crisis Battlesuits to 5.

XV15\XV25 - Lower cost of Stealthsuits.

Decrease chance of spotting to 2D6"

Fast Attack

(new) Jet Bike Squadron (1-4 bikes), Fast Skimmers, armed with Rail Rifles. Disruption Pod and Turbo Boost.

Vespids - add Hit and Run.

Gun Drones - Flechette Discharger or self-destruct facility on Gun Drones hit\destroyed in Close Combat.

Piranha - Piranhas with Fusion Blasters get concentrated power increase when all hit for squadron of 3+

Troops
Kroot -  Make kroot rifle an Assault weapon and new rule to compensate for loss of Fieldcraft
Give Kroot 6+ save for no cost
Better abilities for Shaper for the cost of 21 points!! Add benefit to rest of unit if Shaper is included.
Great Knarloc as an option to Kroot unit, rather than Heavy Support.

(new) Add new troop option (additional alien race)

Fire Warriors - more wargear and options.  The unit is too basic in variance.

Heavy Support

Hammerhead - Choice is 1-3 Hammerheads, a la IG Leman Russ Squadrons
Add other Hammerhead turret options (as per Forge World).
Allow target lock and multi-tracker as standard. wing-mounted weapons fire regardless like drone-intelligence and not included in usual Weapon Strength restrictions.

Sky Rays - Unlimited (or more than 6, at least!) Seeker missiles (makes sense that they would be loaded up from the cargo hull)

Sniper Drone Teams -Move to Elite slot
Sniper Drones dont need coherancy and can operate at x" distance from each other and the Spotter.

Transport

Devilfish - Better weapon options for Devilfish. Devilfish to be Fast. All Devilfish to have Marker Beacons for Deep Strike re-rolls.

GenericTroop\HQ\Elites - More characters for unit types to add unit benefits (e.g. Reknowned Pathfinder Shas'ui etc, to give benefits (as per Telion in SM Scout unit)

See, it's not asking the earth! ;-)  Tau need a good ramp up! 

Armies, Fleets and Crews...oh my!

Onto a prominent hobby and the reason for far too much expenditure and sapping of my time! After a number of changes over time, I now feel completely settled on my choice and collection of armies for the various wargames i'm involved in. Having gone through Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Wood Elves, Ogre Kingdoms, and finally the recently purged Dark Eldar, i'm now feeling clear and focused on my current (and final!) set of armies.

Warhammer Fantasy

Warriors of Chaos - This is my "elite" and "serious" army for Fantasy. I've completed all the models I need for the army, so have a good array of Marauders, Knights, and Chaos Warriors, as well as all the lords and heroes I could ever need. The War Mammoth is by far the most beautiful piece, however and towers above everything else. Nothing is painted yet, but once i'm settled on the method and paint schemes then i'm sure it will be relatively quick to paint up. So not a massive amount of models, but enough to play around decent-sized games...and they look mean as hell :-D

Orcs & Goblins - I've long been interested in this army, despite initially disregarding them as a "comical" aspect of the dark fantasy world of Warhammer. But now i've learnt to embrace the army and find them fun to play with (as a bit of relief from playing Warriors of Chaos, so they're the perfect counterpart). I love the look of the army and the variety of the units in both performance and looks. With the new Arachnarok spider, it really adds more to the Forest Goblins and expands that part of the army well. Some fantastic models throughout and have already painted up a few units, which i'm happy with. of course, this army is much larger than the Chaos army, so will take some time to paint up. I still have a fair few models (mostly metals) which I want to get in to complete the collection.

Warhammer 40,000

Tau Empire - What can I say about my Tau army?! I love this army above all others and it's by far my largest army and has received the most focus, both in painting and gaming. The number of points in total is huge now, even moreso with the addition of my long dreamt of model - the Manta! So I now have every model in the Tau army produced by GW and Forge World and have painted many units over the years. There's still a fair bit to paint but i'm more than comfortable with the tasks and keep focusing on painting units on a regular basis. There's nothing else I need for this army....at least until a revised codex is released (and hopefully more models :-) )

Grey Knights - My latest army! Always loved the old models; the intricate designs and shiny metal look, and the helmets and force weapons which hark back to Chivalric times. The lore behind this army is appealing too and with the release of the new models, it would also satisfy my missing need for a Space Marine army (and also mean I can have a Stormraven Gunship!) This will be an elite army too, so I won't need many models to have a good sized (point-wise) army. They should be quite quick and easy to paint too, just spraying in metal spray and then bringing out the details with gold etc.

Elysians - These are a slow-burner and more of a "collector's" army. Partly as it's a Forge World army, so is expensive, as partly as it's Imperial Guard so takes a lot of models to get a legal, playable army together. The look and feel of the army is just what i'm looking for out of a Guard army; being drop troops and utilising Valkyries (one of my first love's from Forge World). So far i've only build the Command HQ but have a small number of other units waiting to be built. My intension is to build and paint a unit at a time, so as not to be stacked up with loads of daunting models. I've not yet decided upon the colours yet, but it will be a grey\blue scheme.

Lord of the Rings

Harad - My first and only army for LotR. Got a good size army of Haradrim and nothing else to collect despite being tempted by various offshoots such as the Corsairs Far Harad. There are other armies that appear for this system but I don't play the game very often so one army will suffice and I like the look and feel of the Haradrim (besides, they have the Mumak :-D ) Nothing is painted up, but due to the low focus on the army, the simple design and casting of the models and the methods I want to use, it should be relatively quick and easy yo complete. Using mainly just basecoats and washes (perhaps just using the "dip" from Army Painter for a quick job).

Battlefleet Gothic

Tau Fleet - Being a Tau loyalist, this was the obvious choice, and Forge World models are cool! The fleet is complete after I got a couple of extra Protectors, so just need to get it painted up.

Aeronautica Imperialis

Tau Air Cadre - Again, due to my love of Tau, I completed my collection of Tau aircraft, (which also means I have a BFG-scale Manta, AI-scale Manta and 40K-scale Manta), and just have to get them painted. I haven't decided on a colour scheme though, as i'm torn between using the usual ochre to match the rest of my Tau models, or to have a change to a different colour scheme.

Eldar Sky Host - Not done much with these. In fact, they're not even primed, but have a complete Sky Host for a battle. I got these models as I like the Eldar aircraft designs and to add a bit of variety to the game as well as Tau....and they're "Very Fast" manoueverability rating too!


Malifaux

Freikorps - The obvious initial choice which pulled me into this game... Von Schill and his team of Freikorps are all military style with good shooting abilities. The models look great and once I settle on the colours, i'll look forward to getting these finished.

Cult of December - I think it was the snowy scenes and colours that pulled me into these; with the whites and blues really appealing and the magic and wild aspect of the models. I picked up some snowy rock bases too for this crew so they all look pretty amazing and shouldn't take long to paint up. Just waiting for Wyrd Games to release the Snowstorm model and one other (which I can't recall the name of) and it's complete.

Viktorias - Liked the rules for these and the array of great looking models. I also added Rusty Alyce to the crew so may get a Steampunk Abomination to go alongside her. A good hard-hitting assault type of crew.

Dork's Den

I've now completed sorting and arranging the Gaming Room in the house. Being a garage converted into a proper windowed and floored room, it's now all kitted out as I want it. Obviously the bulk of the area is taken up by the 6x4 ft gaming table, which has the Realms of Battle boards laid out (including the new Forge World Imperial title). In one corner is the "hobby desk" which contains the paint station, paints, basing material and stuff. I may just put a couple of shelves above this to better hold stuff like paints. Next to that under the window are four drawer units for various model collections and bits, and across in the other corner is a shelving unit packed full of my complete Tau Empire collection. This was a DIY job, by building a shelving unit and then butchering up a second unit to double the shelving capacity. On the other side of the room is the same type of shelving unit for Warriors of Chaos, Orcs & Goblins and Grey Knights, and next to this is a larger bookcase for all my gaming rulebooks, 40K and Warhammer RPG books and novels. There's also an understairs storage through a door which has shelving for all my Cities of Death and Planetstrike terrain, as well as army cases and other bits. So everything has it's place now and is properly organised. Even got a wall clock and MP3 speaker dock for gaming nights ;-)

Well chuffed!

My new-fangled book reading device thing

Well owning a good many books and being a regular novel reader, I was reluctant to venture down the route of e-books and e-book readers. I always like to hold a book in my hand and thumb through the pages as I read. Anyone who has seen my collection and knows me will be more than aware of how protective I am of my book collection; no damaged covers, creases down the spine or any signs of wear and tear, and all put in the correct order and categories... a bit of OCD showing there ;-) My largest collection (all having been read!) is for Forgotten Realms, which take up a complete bookcase. My Warhammer 40,000 collection is growing more now too, although I have sold some of the less-enjoyable books on ebay to clear up some room. As well as a smattering of other shared-world novels, there are various other novels from other genres and numerous reference books which I have on shelves throughout the house (split into categories in each room, of course!). So, needless to say, i'm a big lover of books! The thought of getting an e-book reader was outrageous, but the more I looked into it and read reviews, the more I was becoming intrigued and convinced. My annual bonus came at just the right time of intrigue, so I bought the 3G Amazon Kindle! Wow! I'm impressed. I now have a lot of my current novels in e-book format, as well as hundreds of other novels that have often caught my eye but never bought the hardcopy and more books that I could read in a lifetime loaded onto the Kindle, and it's taken up only around 30% of the storage capacity!

The screen is very crisp and clear and the lack of backlight makes such a difference. It feels just like reading off an actual physical page. I was also dubious and baffled by the device not having a touch screen, but having now used the navigation buttons, I can see that this way is much better; no finger smears on the screen and little movement to turn pages, with just one hand which would be difficult if it was touch screen. There are a few things i'd like to see improved or added to the device, which being the person that I am, I sent to Amazon's feedback account! Hey if you don't ask, you don't get! Overall i'm very impressed with the device and reading is easier and more seamless now rather than the old hat method of turning pages over in a physical book!

The things nightmares are made of!

So for a number of years now, i've been immersed in the world of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer, through tabletop gaming, novels or even roleplaying games.  Prior to the Games Workshop universes, I was heavily into Forgotten Realms and Dungeons & Dragons.  It therefore goes without saying that i'm partial to a bit of the geek tendancies of gaming ;-)

Anyway, I thought i'd reached the ultimate now with the GW games, and FR\D&D were pretty much buried in regards of keeping tabs on releases and having any active involvement with the game system and worlds (since Wizards of the Coast messed both of these elements up with 4th edition!), so when my old mate Jim mentioned this new game system he had recently been pulled into, entitled Malifaux (by Wyrd Games), I wasn't particularly interested and disregarded it as another of Jim's passing fads!

Ok, the models are great!  Still at 30mm base scale but very well sculpted and detailed!  The world is quite sparse on lore and background, but then I guess the game evolved from just being collectable miniatures and is only very young compared to the other lore-rich worlds i'm involved in.

That aside, the diversity and flavour of the world is second to none!  From the Old West styles, through military squads, Victorians, Show girls to Gremlins, nightmarish creatures and demons and even a little boy with a huge demonic sidekick!  Nothing seems out of place in the world of Malifaux and pretty much anything goes!

The game system is great too, with each player only needing a handful of models to form a "crew", each with a stat card for combat and skills, and the game being played with a "fate deck" where you flip cards against your opponent (similiar to Top Trumps, only a bit more to it), rather than rolling dice.

Needless to say, a mere month or so on from discovering the game and I already have three crews and a few mercenaries!   I've had a handful of games with Jim and thoroughly enjoyed them all!  A great, simple, and atmospheric game which is very quite to get to grips with, cheap to collect and damn addictive! 

Promotion, at last!

So finally after many years, and spanning two companies, I finally managed to shake off the job title of "Senior Analyst Programmer". The role had become less of the "programmer" aspect anyway, with offshoring getting more usage on the development side. After almost three years at HSBC (how time flies!) I applied for a promotional position with the GLEAM development team (or as it's now known, Regulatory, Capital and ALM IT), to work as a Development Specialist on the GLEAM Monthly Risk system. All sounds very interesting and much more organised and a better way of working than I had experienced on the chaotic FTP project in Head Office Systems. Leaving the world of VAT behind, i'm looking forward to getting stuck in and fully involved in this new team and project. A much nicer office too, with bright modern decor and a younger more laid-back team. There are four of us Development Specialists who work pretty much independently, aside from the main development team of Analysts and Developers, with seperate teams for system testing, analysis etc. As well as the title change and promotion, the role is also leaving a lot of my mainframe background behind; much of the system is build on UNIX and using Datastage (as well as DB2), so finally getting into the mid-range aspect. So all in all, some good challenges ahead but looking forward to it and feeling much happier already.

Chamonix and Vallee Blanche: A (board)walk in the park!

Well the boarding in January was so good, that myself and Jimmy just had to go on another one!  This time, to Chamonix.  Accompanying us on this next venture was Chris, Psycho Pete (who I haven't seen for many years!) and Gaz.  On the Sunday, Rob Savage met up with us for a few days for a bit of shreddin' before having to head home.   The appartment wasn't as great, with small, cramped rooms and being self-catered, but what the hell...we were there to board, not lounge around! 

Chamonix had a number of different resorts for us to check out, and whilst the snow conditions weren't that great, there were plenty of good blue and red runs to keep us occupied.  Saying that, the Tuesday was something else entirely!! With the intention of gettin the cable car over past Mont Blanc and to Courmayeur in Italy, we ended up doing one of the most extreme days possible!   Having got to the mid-way point on the cable car, we found out that the second part of the cable car ride was closed!  Therefore, meaning we would waste time heading back.  However, there was an alternative...taking the Vallee Blanche down!  I hadn't really heard of it, myself, but Jim and the gang were going on about it and being an extreme route within the Alps.  It's off-piste of course and dangerous due to the crevasses and glacier which leads down the valley.   The start of the journey said it all; watching skiiers all roped together, wearing crampons and following a guide!  Speaking to a few people as we headed down to the main part where we could clip in, many folk were giving us safety tips and advising to get a guide.  Of course, we knew better! ;-)

And wow, the first part of the journey was fantastic, ploughing through deep, fresh powder...just perfect.  The scenery was amazing too, heading through the mountains and valley of unspoilt snow and clear blue skies.  Stunning!   Some of the slopes were quite steer, and there were a number of cravasses to avoid, before seeing the amazing scale and sight of the glacier, glinting blue in the sun.   After a dicey route to a cliff-side restaurant for lunch, we took an even more dicey traverse across almost bare rock where even the snow couldn't settle.  Needless to say, one slip and it would have been game over!   Eventually we made it onto the flat and the bottom of the valley.  Just us and the clacking of rock falls to be heard.  After a lengthy run, we made it to the end where the ice caves under the glacier were located, before a long ascent up too many steps to the cable car away from it all.  What a journey...something we will always remember.

As well as the resorts of Chamonix, we also managed to get over to Verbier in Switzerland and Courmayeur (eventually) in Italy.   A whiteout tained Verbier a little, but had some good runs, and in contrast the conditions in Courmayeur were great! 

The Monkey Bar ended up getting out custom most nights, especially during happy hour and also had some great meals there.   Still, one of the best was the massive steak up the road.   Follow my lead next time, Chris and stay away from the lasagne! :-)

A great laugh with good company and some excellent boarding again.   Just can't get enough of it!  Roll on next season!

Snowboarding in Morzine & Avoriaz

January - The first of two snowboarding holidays this season! Me, Jimmy Jakes, Snoop, Rob Riddell (headed over from Oz) and Rob C took Morzine\Avoriaz by storm! No dumps for many weeks but the conditions were generally good; although starting to get a bit icy and bare in places towards the end of the week. So we split the week up between shredding up both of the resorts, which were both near enough to the hotel via a short bus ride. Speaking of the hotel (Le Petit Cheval Blanc), it suited perfect! The location was a bit of a trek into Morzine itself for the bars etc (or rather more of a trek on the way back with extra beer inside to carry up the hill!), but the rooms were pretty good and the food was amazing! The usual continental breakfast was nothing to write home about, but the four course evening meal was top notch and had us all raving on about it!

So first to Avoriaz! We tackled quite a few runs, a good mixture of blues and reds, traversing over the French mountains and dipping into a few runs over on the Swiss side. A couple of the stand-out runs being one which we named "Abercrombie", simply because it was easier than trying to pronounce the actual French name which began with "A" and looked similar, which was a good lengthy run starting up at the split between France and Switzerland and running right down to the bottom where the usual lunchtime restaurant cluster was located. This was probably the best overall run, as we attempted it numerous times a day and got the top speeds overall. Proclou was a good varied run, under tunnels, right corners and a good fast run....often to Snoop's annoyance that I sped past him everytime ;-) Rob C hit disaster early on in the holiday though, after a bad landing down a blue run. Well, the landing didn't look too severe, but the extreme bruising all over his lower back was shocking!! Out of action for a few days...bummer!

Morzine was a great resort too, more tree-lined than Avoriaz and some good fast, varied runs. It was in Morzine where we also took the high red down from the top, with Jimmy snapping shots of us all coming down. Although he chose the accident blackspot of the whole resort! The number of people flying off the end and having bad landings was unbelievable. Stretchers were commonplace! We came away reasonably intact though!

So other than the boarding, the nightlife was limited to just a handful of bars, but served the purpose (they sold beer!). The Tuesday night was memorable and one of those times when everyone just clicked and wanted a heavy session! Jodica, the barmaid, was to blame though, with the free shots, which resulted in the standard beer rounds turning into rounds of 7-year Havana Rum! Great night :-)

A damn good week with some top notch boarding and night's out! Great resorts too with some excellent runs...just needed a good powder dump to make it perfect! Even so, i'd put this resort up there with the likes of Three Valleys!