This Week in 40K Podcasting – 5/17/2012 – 5/24/2012

Welcome to another “This Week in 40K Podcasting,”  Here is this week’s top 5!

The Independent Characters – Episode 53 

Highlights:  This week, Carl, Geoff, and Zach open up their show with ‘the Workbench’ where they discuss the hobby and gaming progress they have accomplished in the past week.  Then, the guys take a look at the historic campaigned that Games Workshop has run over the years in 40K.  They open up discussing the ‘Armageddon’ campaign, how it was run, how games were turned in, and what the end result of this campaign was.  Next, they give an in-detail review of the ‘Eye of Terror’ campaign, and how amazing this campaign really was, and the outcome with Eldrad’s death.  They close it out with a discussion about ‘the Fall of Medusa V’, starting with the back story of the campaign and how it was run by GW.  Next, the gang discusses the campaign that he plans to run for his local gaming group and what they plan to do this summer.  To close out the show, Zach leads a ‘Rites of Battle’ segment and they break down the concepts of Maintenance of Aim, Target Priority, and Concentration of Force on how to win games of 40K.  They also look at the Adepticon second round game between Reese Robbins and Paul Murphy as a good example of these methods.  They also have a bonus Forbidden Lore Segment, where they review the Black Library book ‘Legion of the Damned’ by Rob Sanders. 

Opinion:  This was really a great topic for the show this week, one in which I had no experience with prior to this, official GW Campaigns!  I missed all of them in my 40K career, so to hear about the details and how they were run at the time was amazing!  The ‘Rites of Battle’ segment was also awesome, hitting on some key concepts to improving your play to the next level.  Overall, my favorite podcast this week!

Deepstrike Radio – Episode 37 

Highlights:  This week the cast is missing Jim, get well soon man!  Chase and Chris open up the show with what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  This moved on to the latest news and third party product releases.  Then, in the ‘Librarius’, the guys look into the back story of the Saim-Hann Eldar.  They discuss how the Craftworld came into the modern game and the basic nature of this Jetbike and speed centered Creaftworld.  Next up in the ‘Armory’, Chris builds a 1000 point Saim-Hann Jetbike themed Eldar list, and Chase rolls out a 1750 point list Jetbike Seer Council list.  Then, in the ‘Hobby Trenches’, the boys discuss working with and building Finecast and Resin models.  This includes cutting and filing the models, washing and painting the model, and most importantly striping the models.  They close out the show in ‘the Briefing Room’, where they discussed commonly misinterpreted rules from 5^thEdition and the FAQs that fixed them.  This included rules that are points of contention like Player/Game Turns, Rerolling Rerolls, Dreadnaughts in a Stormraven, and much more! 

Opinion:  I really enjoyed this week’s show as it hit on every aspect of the game and the hobby.  This week was a great combination of Eldar army fluff, hobby advice on working with Finecast models (included some needed stripping methods which I needed), and a review of some contentions rules at the tail end of 5^th Edition.  It had everything I have come to expect from this great podcast!  Check it out!

Turn-8 – Episode 20 

Highlights:  This week marks the show’s 1st anniversary to celebrate they pepper the show with some funny out takes over the last year.  Congratulations to the boys for a year of podcasting.  The guys are joined by Andy and Mike in their new format and they open up the show with what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  Then, in ‘This random time period in 40K’, the guys discuss the latest news and new releases from GW, Forgeworld, and the Black Library before moving on to discuss the latest rumors out on the web.  Next up was a new segment called ‘Turn 8 Tactica’, where this week the guys discuss Pyskers their effect on the game.  They give some examples of the most common Psykers and their powers, Special Characters and what they bring to the table, and some tactics and wargear used to help battle against Psykers.  Next up was their signature ‘Battle Report’, and this time we have part 1 of a three part mini-series.  This Battle was between the White Scars and Eldar, and they cover the mission, the terrain, and the army lists used in this battle.  Then was their dramatization of the battle between these great armies, followed up by the Stratagem section, where they discuss the outcome of the battle.  To close out the show, the guys review the Brave New Worlds 1500 point Escalation Finale Tournament that Bill and Mike recently attended.  They review their games and the outcome of the event itself. 

Opinion:  I first want to congratulate the guys on one year of podcasting!  In the past year this has easily been one of my favorite new shows, and I have loved all 20 episodes!  Thank you gang!  As for this week’s show, it was great.  I have to say the collection of all of the outtakes had me laughing out loud at my desk!  Their first try at a tactics section was pretty good, and I look forward to hearing their take on 6^th Edition here soon.  And I got my wish for the Battle Report this week as we get to hear a multi-part dramatization, which was great! 

 The 11th Company – Episode 118 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week the guys are fresh back from their XCon RTT, and they found Steve lost in the Warp.  In ‘This Week in Gaming’ they discuss their experience running the RTT and they played a bit they recorded at the event which included rules questions asked of the organizers.  Then, in ‘Pat’s Corner’, Pat has an interview with Goatboy and they discuss his experience at Adepticon this year with his Daemons.  Next, Pat continued his talked with Stelek on the terrain at the Nova Open this year and the importance of competitive gaming.  Then, Eric is back with Tactical Terrain and he has part 2 of his analysis of the Night Fighting Special rule and the Dawn of War deployment.  He also talked about building terrain and lighting to simulate fighting at night.  In the community segment, Pat talked to Chandler from Feast of Blades, Tablewar, and Celesticon.  They close out the show with the finale of the ‘Guillermo’ Kill Point Denial discussion where Neil and the gang talked about the Draigowing list and Speed/Objective denial units to seal the win.  They also try to build a Codex Space Marine denial list.

Opinion:  This was a good show this week, full of what I expect from the 11^th Company, great 40K content!  Pats interviews with Stelek and Goatboys were top notch, and I have to say I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Stelek had to say.  Eric’s terrain piece was quite entertaining, and the closing of the Guillermo segment was a great way to close out the show.  Nice job guys!

Imperial Vox Cast – Episode 76 ***Explicit***

Highlights:   The theme for this week’s show is Underdog Armies and their place in the current meta of 40K.  This week, Bill, Dawson and Mike open up the show with what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  Up next, the guys discuss the Underdog Armies of 40K.  They open up by identifying what armies are in fact the Underdogs, or less then optimal, in the game today.  Those armies who do not have the power that they once did and those who have the most trouble facing off against the more powerful armies like Grey Knights.  They then give some sound tactical ideas and advice for helping armies like Daemons, Sisters of Battle, Tyranids, Tau and Chaos Space Marines prepare to face off against Grey Knights and other top-tier armies in a tournament. 

Opinion:  I really like the topic for this week’s show.  All too often you hear about the top tier armies on the web, and how to beat face with them. Not many take the effort to look at some of these less then powerful armies and give out a few good ideas to help battle and stay in the game.  Nice work guys, I really enjoyed this one!

Honorable Mentions – All great podcasts that just missed this cut this week, but you should still check them out, in no particular order:

Signals from the Frontline Upcoming Releases, 6th Ed rumors and more!

Tyrant’s Due – Episode24 ***Explicit*** News & Rumors, Zone Mortalis, reviews of Monstrous Arcanum and IA Master Class Vol 2, and goodbye 5^thEdition

Jaded Gamercast – Episode 79 ***Explicit*** Orks with 6^thEdition rumors, WHFB Lizardmen vs. Daemons, and Finecast follies!

40K Radio – Episode 40 New Releases, Reese Robbins, new GW Paints, Eldar Tactica, Legion of the Damned, and is the internet killing the Tournament scene? 

The Eternal Warriors – Episode 39 ***Explicit*** Floor-pocalypse Battle, Bloodbowl, Third Party Products and Adepticon Interviews

40K Warcasting – Episode 49 News, Rumors, Ork List review, Dark Eldar and Terminators