Martial Law...3 Year Anniversary!

That's right, Martial Law has been around for three years this month! Sometimes it seems like it hasn't been that long and other times it seems much longer. To give a brief history;

Long ago in a northern town known as the Windy City, three competitive gamers gathered together sharing some bitter ale's and some local grub all while the image of the hot Sister of Battle from earlier that day danced thru their heads, they had an idea. Not a new idea, not an idea of significant importance, nothing ground breaking but just a WTF, why not kind of thing. They were members of a gaming club (defunked now) but were looking for a little something more at the time. The discussions continued for weeks until a decision was made and the trio decided to go forward and start their own Club!

A name was chosen and the flood gates opened as they began it recruit their close friends. One member took it upon himself and started a forum for the club members to communicate easier. It also was a blog but they really didn't use that at first. They mostly wanted a way to communicate freely and cumulatively with each other. Logo's were created and voted on. I want to make clear that there is no central authority, no President, everything is discussed and voted on by the club members, different I know but that's just how they roll. Members take it upon themselves to get things done and have created ML logo tactical templates, objective markers, t-shirts, dice, vehicle craters and more. With that Martial Law was born and still kicking today. 

So that's it in a nut shell. Over the years we have continued to expand our membership, started up and expanded our use of the blog by trying to provide some useful content from other sites along with a little original stuff. Members have run tourneys at some of the flgs and even helped with the set up and dismantling of CAGBash. All in all we try to be a positive influence in the community, we have opened up part of our "inner sanctium" lol, aka  forums to the public.  All in all we're just a bunch of regular Joes enjoying the 40K hobby!

Eldar Review...Vypers!

New Eldar Codex Review: Vypers

Is there anything “more” saim-hann then the vyper?

Not according to the fluff, so they will always have a place in my warhost regardless of the rules…
So, I was VERY curious to see what would come about in the new codex.
On a side note for a moment, is my personal take on WHY so much rage against the new codex- we waited SO freakin long for a new ‘dex and what did we get?
And I’m NOT complaining here, I feel like it is a good book.
BUT what we didn’t get was a complete overhaul say like Grey Knights got when they went from Daemonhunters (loved that ‘Dex) to Grey Knights, but rather we got just a copy n’ paste upgrade to sixth edition for Eldar, same thing we got in 4th edition. Nothing much has really changed with Eldar on the design front- and no a flyer and titan don’t count…

While I secretly HOPED the vyper would be fixed…it wasn’t…
It is still overpriced, can get taken out by anything but a grot blaster, and overshadowed by better fast attack units if you are not constrained by fluff.
That said, they did get better, but not directly so, but rather indirectly.
Stat wise they are still AV 10 open topped, 2 HP vehicles- but the weapon options came down in price significantly- and now hitting on a 3+… YUM!
Second to saim-hann, Fritz loves his star cannons, so for five points sign me up! Anytime I can deny a space marine armor save it is a good day. Underslung shuriken cannon upgrade is still mandatory.
Spirit stones on it got better, and holo-fields “fixed” to at least allow an augmented cover save to keep them up a bit longer.

So how have they gotten better?
Well, what happens when we look at the total overall composition of the warhost- sure vypers are still overpriced when examined alone, but now that I no longer need or want a seer council, and jetbikes have come down in points, suddenly I have more points to make it up on the vypers and other toys.
Disclaimer- yes scatter lasers are still better in terms of volume of dice over star cannons…
In support of my jetbikes we have three groups of three vypers coming right at you…
27 Shuriken cannon shots…
18 star cannons shots…
Hitting on a 3+.

Posted by Fritz

Eldar Review...Fire Prism

New Eldar Codex Unit Review: Fire Prism

 
 
I was always a big fan of the fire prism in the previous codex so how does it stack up these days?
 
Does it still have  a place in the warhost?
 
The prism cannon got an upgrade with the ability to fire three different blasts- big, medium and single shot 5/3, 7/2, and 9/1 which could actually be a big deal. Of course it still suffers from the problem of any single big gun model, in that just like the vindicator, once the gun is gone then what? Although this is a rarer occurrence in 6th edition it can happen- but don’t let that take away from the tank and how good it can be.
 
Emphasis on can be.
 
With a 60” range on the prism cannon this tank likes to sit back and shoot, focusing on killing large blobs of troops- which only really works if we can get them out of cover and a reason to bunch up- which ones does through placing objectives out in the open among other things- have  a plan to get the most out of those blasts.
 
Upgrades?
 
As always the shuriken cannon is well worth the points- 24” range which will get you to mid field, and at least some sort of option if the prism cannon is destroyed.
 
Holofields are back to keep it alive and are actually useful, and spirit stones are a must to keep it moving and shooting as much as possible. I’ll miss the old holo-fields which still worked on the 3 HP vehicles, but a bonus to the cover save is still good, and I’ll get over it…
 
All in all, pretty much same as before, so how has the tank gotten better?
 
Grav tank mobility + the lance shot = potential IC or model sniper. Yes, there is look out sir, but fails happen…
 
Crystal targeting matrix could be a help with this, but I’m still on the fence with taking it.
 
Thoughts?
Posted by Fritz

Eldar Review....Avatar

Let’s take a look at the Avatar in the new codex…
 
I’ve been really curious about this guy, and what place he might have in the “new” Eldar since personally he had no place in my previous Eldar lists- if you couldn’t ride a jetbike, you were either Eldrad and another generic seer OR Maugan-Ra. Just how I rolled, and I know many of you have had good success with the Avatar.
SO, being a new ‘dex I need to look at everything from ground zero…
First thing I notice is WS 10 and BS 10 putting him up there with hive tyrants, and slannesh daemon princes- interesting, but the high stats are only good if we can deliver them effective in shooting something that is important to die, or kill off in the assault.
S6 and T6 is “OK”, but I wish it was pumped up a bit higher- fine for bolters, but what about all the plasma out there that will bypass T6? Can’t we get this guy some wraithbone undies to push it up to T8- T8 is something I can get behind! S6, is well S6- good for beating on the little guys, but not so much on the big MC type guys.
Next set of stats is what gets my attention…
5 wounds puts him up there, but why not 6- heck Tyranids get them stock? I 10 and 5 attacks points me in the direction of close combat.
First though is that he is pretty good in terms of being specialized with the skills, and will outclass most of what he goes up against, but for a god of war he is not as tough as I would first like and I wonder how you would protect him on the table to get him into a place where you can use those high front and back end stats…


Let’s look at the wargear and special space elf powers, maybe there is something there?
Awakened gives you a fearless bubble within 12” which hasn’t changed, so does that mean he is a guardian anchor in a foot based list?
Perhaps.

Molten body is fluff only, as the odds of getting hit by a “flame” type weapon are kind of small, and then there are the odds of actually remembering this rule. On that note I personally find soul blaze really annoying, perhaps because I’m always getting hit by it from all the dudes running multiple hell drakes, but then again you are going to soul blaze my guardians and bikes and not the avatar.
The final thing that catches my eye is the inclusion of exarch power which offer some nice options.
All that said, why would I take him and in what kind of list would he fit in?
Obviously no room for him in my Saim-Hann list- everything in that kind of space elf build needs to be fast and capable of keeping up- anybody left behind will quickly be overwhelmed.
This leaves us with a food based list.
I can see him used much like the wraithlords in my foot list- hanging back in the mid field or my deployment zone with the mass of guardians and adding some minor shooting support, until something of my opponent’s breaks through and I have to try and intercept it to stop my guardians from getting thumped.
Works for the wraithlords, but not so much for the avatar- yes the fearless bubble is nice, but go back to WS/BS 10 and the other stats- sitting around babysitting guardians means we paid the points for those stats and are not using them.

I’d want to use the avatar aggressively- getting him up there thumping stuff- but running a single model up won’t work…
So I’m kind of seeing him in a three wraithknight list anchored by large groups of wraithguard- march all that “stuff” forward, and who are you going to shoot at? Something with the “stats” will get through and start cracking heads.
What are you guys seeing with the avatar?


by Fritz

Elder Review....Rangers

Moving on from jetbikes, what should we look at next?

How about rangers and pathfinders?

What place do they have in the new ‘dex?

At first glance not much has changed, at least not as much as jetbikes, and guardians backed with warlocks. Rangers still works as sniper based models, with infiltrate, stealth, and move through cover. The option for the upgraded ranger long rifle was removed, but this was expected as much as we all knew runes of warding would get nerfed…

So my first thought is “ok”, we can make them work, but I’m not happy about the +1 only cover save. Rangers live and die by cover since they only have mesh 5+ armor, and getting a 4+ save is not going to win the battle, especially being a T3 model.

We need that 2+ cover save to even begin thinking of them- so upgrading to pathfinders seems like a must to begin to try and get the 2+ based on terrain.

BUT, to get it you have to pay the Illic tax of +140 points + the pathfinder upgrade points, AND burn an HQ slot just to give my rangers a chance of working on the table.

What?!?

I’m having flashbacks to codex daemonhunters with the inquisitor tax on assassins.

Ok, in fairness we gain sharpshot which I can see having a variety of uses in picking out key elements in your opponent’s army if they come into range, and the working of this do go hand in hand with my harlequins- eliminating parts of the opposing army models that would tie up or be a threat to the harlequins.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

So if you are not going to upgrade the rangers is it worth taking a unit in your army for the snipers?

I’m not that sure honestly- I used to be a big believer in taking even a single group of pathfinders for the sniper ability and the 2+ save to harass your opponent, but now with the additional taxes and HQ slot burn, it just doesn’t sit well with me.

What was GW thinking?

Posted by Fritz

Elder Review...Jetbikes!

 

Ok, so now that the new Eldar codex is here, where to start? So many ideas, thoughts, and possibilities…
Seeing how my love of Eldar is Saim-Hann, let’s start the discussion off with jetbikes…
First though is that essentially jetbikes and rangers will now be the standard stock troops for your craftworld- for jetbikes this is due to the change in shuriken weapons- the bladestorm attribute which means on a “6” they cause a wound at AP 2.
Nice!
Of course the problem of shuriken based weapons still remains in the codex- the fact that it is short ranged and carried by squishy T3 5+ save troops. You have to somehow get up close to blast away, which was always a problem with guardians so they sat back and shot with the weapon platforms.
How can guardians take advantage of the new shuriken catapults…I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s focus on jetbikes.
Jetbikes have the movement ability to get into place to use the new shuriken catapult rules- more then just moving distance- they can go OVER other units, which is important in 6th since more and more players are choking the mid field with huge cheap blob units + fearless tricks to stop you from getting to the back field of the board.
Not a problem with jetbikes…
Take it a step further in that jetbikes enhance the catapults by hitting on a 3+ naturally and twin linking them.
Huge jetbike wolfpacks just got even more deadly, with the ability to threaten any non- vehicle on the table and bring it down with the huge volume of hitting shots and more than a few “6”s sneaking through.
Just as before we also get the +1T and 3+ save giving them (for Eldar) the triple threat of mobility, firepower, and armor saves at T4.
But it gets better once we add the wolf guard…excuse me…warlocks.
Each one is a level one psyker which some interesting powers, and with a first few plays, but still WAY too early to tell, can Fritz dare to say Eldar/Saim-Hann might not need farseer support anymore?
Two goodies from the rite of battle stick out- protection and embolden.
+1 armor save which turns the jetbikes into terminators- T4, 2+ armor save and a cover/jinky save if needed. Did I ever think  would see the day of a 2+ jetbike with rending like catapults, twin linked, and hitting on a 3+.
Debate against the statement that jetbikes aren’t godly now…
But this is the obvious power, we need some tricknology in there and for that I’m looking at embolden/horrify for the -3 LD.
Jetbikes zoom to the back field, high volume of shots against a unit, and force a LD test at -3 to run off the board- I feel like I’m playing my old codex Necrons with a destroyer lord with nightmare shroud.
I will say this as both warning and prophecy- I am, and am going to be coming up with some tricknology exploits and make THEM the focus of my Saim-Hann list…
It’s a good day to have lots of jetbikes…

HEY!!!!!!!!

HoD here with a FYI.....

There is a rumor of this 'old bugger' lurking around here on the forums. You may have come across him on our site or even seen him at local tourneys. Always sporting his 'colors' with every tourney appearance. Some call him the 'old timer' while most know his as.... Yeah that's right Martial Law's very own and first vet.... Warmonger.

Well this fella is runnin' a primer for the up coming Buckeye Battles July 12th. If you haven't gone... great time and you should be. But Buckeye is not the reason for this post.... It's the primer. 1999+1 points with no double force, FW allowed. Location is at the Bookery in Fairborn Ohio on June 22nd. $10 entry fee.

Come on out and throw some dice!

Another GW Video Game

A while back I saw an article about GW getting back into video games. It talked about a joint venture with another company (can't remember who now) collaborating on GW Titans based game. This article is about a new turn based strategy 40k game with Slitherine, LTD. Interested? Read on!


by: farmpunk


I got wind of something interesting. Something I actually hadn't heard about a few weeks ago. Apparently, GW has entered into an agreement with Slitherine, LTD.

to produce a turn-based Strategy game based on Warhammer 40K.

interesting.



Here I had been thinking GW didn't want much to do with using it's IP in different arenas. They didn't seem to be doing much with it after the Dawn of War series, and the Space Marine games. Of course, THQ's bankruptcy probably had more to do with that than GW's wanting a tight reign on it's IP...

so who's Slitherine?

well, they make games like:
Panzer Corps
History: Ice Road Truckers
The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome
Field of Glory - Digital Version

they also apparently produce their own historical miniatures game:
Field of Glory
which is a historical wargame, covering Ancient times to Napoleonic era 

Hmm. so here's the press release on this, from Slitherine:
Armageddon™ invasion starts in 2014
Warhammer® 40,000® turn-based strategy videogame details are disclosed

Slitherine and Games Workshop® are pleased to announce Warhammer® 40,000®: Armageddon™. Having announced an exciting partnership with Games Workshop a few weeks ago, Slitherine are delighted to release further details. Slitherine have acquired the exclusive rights to Games Workshop’s “Battle for Armageddon” setting in order to create a series of amazing multiplatform, turn-based, hex-based games. Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon will make full use of Slitherine's expertise in creating compelling and challenging strategy gaming experiences. The initial game is set during the Second War of Armageddon and players will lead the Imperial forces of the Armageddon Steel Legion and Space Marines® from the Ultramarines, Blood Angels and Salamanders Chapters against Ghazghkull Thraka’s massive Ork Waaagh! invasion through over 30 scenarios, on the hostile terrain of the planet and its gigantic Hive Cities.
"It is very exciting to see a game like this come alive - I just can't wait to play it!", said Iain McNeil, Development Director of the Slitherine Group. "It's been almost 15 years since a turn-based strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe has been released and we think it is now time to deliver that experience to all fans around the world".
“The Battle for Armageddon is a classic event in the lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, having been detailed in games, models and novels over the past 20 years.” said Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing at Games Workshop. “Slitherine's masterful use of their classic digital wargame style applied to this seminal setting will delight fans of both.”

The game is currently in development for PC and iOS and will release in the first quarter of 2014.
Main features of the game include:
The game portrays the Second War for Armageddon™ in great detail, from the initial Ork landings to the final liberation of the planet;
It contains a large branching campaign with 30 major scenarios, plus additional 5 tutorial scenarios that explore the story in detail;
A complex plot, which can develop during a mission, right in the middle of battle, creating an engaging story line with unexpected twists;
Players lead Imperial troops of the Armageddon™ Steel Legion, with supporting assets from a number of Space Marine chapters against the ferocious Orks;
Fight alongside Commissar Yarrik and Commander Dante against the cunning Ork Warboss Ghazghkull Thraka;
Carry over battle-hardened veterans from scenario to scenario, using their experience and upgrading their equipment;
Detailed combat model with terrain, weather and morale effects;
Extensive modding options delivered through a powerful and easy-to-use game editor.
Some numbers:
Over 35 scenarios;
Over 100 unit types, with unique roles, stats and special abilities;
20 different units stats;
A separate set of maps are designed and balanced specifically for multiplayer via Slitherine's PBEM++ system.


and thanks for bringing this to my attention, Tompson.