Random Review: Titan Games & Hobbies

Occasionally I'll go into a game store I haven't been in and feel compelled to say something about it. There's a few I've checked out once or twice and been really put off. There's a few I have yet to check out, and there's a few I have nothing to say anything about. Like any good consumer with friends who are also consumers, this post isn't to rip apart anyone's business, or fluff it up beyond what it is. The impressions here are solely to help you determine whether or not you want to game here... and if anyone from this store in question sees the blog, maybe you can take something away from it!

"Eye of the Storm" New Edition Launch Tournament - 6/14

Technical Details

Location: Games and Stuff, Glen Burnie, MD
Date: June 14th, 2014
Entry Fee: $10
Prize Support: 150% of entries collected redistributed as prize support amongst first, second, best painted single unit, and a consolation prize given to the lowest scoring participant. Prizes in the form of store credit from Games and Stuff (on a gift card.)

Registration: 10:30 am
First Round: 11:00 am
Round Length: 2 hours
Rounds: 3
Pairings: Swiss style (You will be paired against opponents with similar rankings as often as possible.)

Player slots available: 16
Reserve a slot by posting your list ahead of time. We usually have the capacity for 4 or more walk-ins.

Army Composition & Allowed Rules

The tournament will use the latest edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rules published May 2014. Participants will construct armies using the rules outlined in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. An army must be no greater than 1500 points in size. Players may construct either unbound or battleforged armies. The player must play the same army in each round of the event.

Players should have a printed, legible copy of their army list available for every opponent. Preferably, you should bring five copies to every tournament you attend (as is tradition,) one for the T.O., one for yourself, and one for each opponent to analyze after their games for future reference. Making five copies of your list is up to you, but you will need at least one available.

For this event, the Stronghold Assault and Escalation books will not be allowed.

All printed codexes currently available for purchase through Games Workshop are considered 'legal' for this event. Dataslates, Digital Editions, and Formations are allowed. If it is found that any digital rules are in any way faulty, forged, or incorrect by the player's knowledge or not, the player will be disqualified -- so be very careful to make sure you have the REAL rules!

Painting/Modelling Requirements & Painting Competition

There is no painting requirement for this event. All models must be fully assembled and on appropriate sized bases. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, usually for older models that did not come with current bases (such as 2nd edition items with square bases.)

After the 2nd round all participants are free to place one unit from their army to be judged by all in a painting competition. The winner, voted by participants, will receive a prize in store credit.

Proxy/Counts-as Models

Using models on a counts-as basis is OK as long as the opponent can clearly identify and accept what is being represented. If you are in doubt, contact the T.O. ahead of time (through facebook or here) to verify if your models will be OK with participants.

Missions

Rounds 1 and 2 will be Eternal War missions revealed at the start of each round. Round 3 will be a Maelstrom of War mission revealed at the start of the round. Players can find these missions in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

Bladestorm League Recap

 The first Bladestorm tournament came and went with a 1000 point limit and a prize for Best Painted. The award, voted by all participants, went to this Daemon Prince converted from bits ripped from a Tomb Kings monstrous creature. The base I believe is by Secret Weapon Miniatures. There were more entries though, and more painting progress that didn't show at the 1000 point event. On the right is a half-finished Daemon Prince from another participant.

Building the "Imperial Sector" Cities of Death Terrain

After my surgery last December, I had a lot of time to go ahead and catch up on the many Games Workshop products that I had been putting off for... years. Imperial Sector is something I had bought while playing 5th edition regularly at the Games Workshop Battle Bunker in Glen Burnie. Purchased around '08, I've had this thing sitting around for nearly five years with only one building started.

Two 1000 point lists -- Initial Impressions

So, the Bladestorm League has recently grown from 500 points to 1000 points, doubling the cap and allowing for a lot more customization of armies. The Planetary Empires rules also grant some additional point bonuses, but for week one all of the bonuses were waived by the participants.

The first list I tried out was a Blood Angels mixed army. It actually plays similar to Eldar with a Librarian taking Prescience and essentially 'guiding' some guys. There is some heavy support in there for Big Guns Never Tire, but no Fast Attack. It can provide a pretty hefty amount of scoring units, though, and most of them, if not all, will have Feel No Pain.

Battleforce Recon Tournament Results

As expected, the competitive nature of the tournament made some new lists appear, with threats that you wouldn't necessarily call 'casual.' Nurgle CSM bikers, a Helldrake, and a Flying Hive Tyrant all found their way onto the field -- but who fared the best is actually somewhat surprising.

October Planetary Empires Campaign

In October our league will be doing a Planetary Empires mega-map campaign. Games and Stuff happens to have a set of tiles laying around, as well as mighty empires tiles, and I do as well! Another member may also be using his tiles to make an approx. 192 tile map for the friendly local game store, making an impressive map that will span the many environments the game boards have to offer.