This Week in 40K Podcasting – 7/20/2012 – 7/26/2012

Welcome to another “This Week in 40K Podcasting,”

Here is this week’s top 5!

The 11th Company – Episode – 127

Highlights:  This week it is another full house with the usual cast of extras on board to discuss more 6^th Edition rules reviews.  The guys open up the show with ‘This Week in Gaming’ where they briefly discuss the latest games they have been playing.  Next, in ‘Pat’s Corner’, Pat has an interview with Christina and they discuss the topic of women in gaming.  Pat then talked to Kevin from the Daemons40K blog and they discussed how the Blood Crusher list is still viable in 6^th Edition.  He then talked to James who is running the ‘Narrative’ Event at this year’s Nova Open and they cover how the event will be run.  Next, Neil and Eric from the Nova Open have a discussion about Necrons in 6^th Edition, specifically talking about their Flyers, how to incorporate them into your lists, and what their current lists look like.  In the community segment, Pat talks to Gary from the blog Faeit212, Steve from ‘BeakieCon 2’ and their 6^th Ed tournament, Hard Knocks Games and their RTT, Goatboy where they talked about Flyers, CSM, and the ATCs, Jessie from Stomping Grounds, and Jim from the blog Sons of Taurus!  He also talked to Matt from HitsOn3s, a new 40K podcast out there.  To close out the show, the guys are briefly joined by Mike Brant as the talked some of the rules debates he is mulling over for the Nova Open FAQ this year.  Then, they continue on with the discussion on 6^th Edition.  They start off with going over Unit Types and how they have changed, starting Bikes and Jet Bikes.  They also discussed Artillery, Beasts, Monstrous Creatures, Flying Monstrous Creatures and more.  They closed out the show with a discussion about weapons in 6^thEdition and how it has changed, including AP on close combat weapons, and answering some rules questions from the listeners.

Opinion:  The most complete and tactical review of 6^th Edition rolled on with another installment, and I love every episode.  Pat’s interview with Christina’s story was heartwarming, inspiring, enlightening, and I really connected with it.  I especially enjoyed Neil and Eric’s Necron segment as we all are still trying to get a handle on this rule set and how great Necrons really are now.  The inadvertent interview with Mike Brandt was awesome and a lot of fun to hear his thoughts on the new edition, as Nova really may set the bar for competitive 6^th Edition.  Overall, my favorite for the week once again, keep it up guys!

Highlights:  This week it is just Jon, Steve and Dagmire and the boys open up the show with the latest news in the world of 40K.  This included new releases from Games Workshop with some Chaos rumors and their thoughts, the latest Forgeworld releases, GW’s new ad agency and the huge Finecast release, and what’s upcoming from the Black Library.  Next, the guys move on to what they have been up to in the hobby and gaming over the last few weeks, and this included detailed reports on how their lists and tactics have changed with 6^th Edition and how well they had performed.   Next, the guys review the new missions and deployments in the game of 40K.  They discuss all of the secondary missions, the special rules, mysterious objectives, and much more!  The guys close out the show with a segment on campaigns!  They discuss setting them up, running them, how to get ready for it, and fun special rules you can add to make them more enjoyable. 

Opinion:  I have to say I am missing the jingles Steve, bring back the jingles guys!  Overall I was quite pleased with this episode, and it was only better with my man Dagmire back in studio!  I truly enjoyed their review of the missions and deployment and I am looking forward to hearing more from the gang.  Great work guys!

Highlights:  This week the guys start off with their 6^th Edition coverage.  After some brief introductions and show news the guys open up the show with their hobby and gaming updates.  This included a ‘dog meets model’ incident that just broke my heart.  Next, the guys discuss the gaming news, which included new releases from several different game systems before discussing the release of 6^th Edition 40K and new digital products from GW.  They also discuss the release of the 6^th Ed FAQs shortly after the sales of the rulebook and the possibilities of Forgeworld becoming tournament legal.  Next was part 1 of their 6th Edition 40K review, and they start off by stating that they will not be able to review it all in one show, and their first impressions of the book.   They move on to talk about the internet’s reaction to the new edition and some of the basic changes that have been made to the game, including random charges, premeasuring, well defined rules and much more.  They move on to discuss the movement phase and how it has made the game much more tactical.  This moved on to a discussion about the shooting phase and focused heavily on the wound allocation process as well as the ‘out of sight’ and ‘out of range rules’.  Next, they move on to discuss the changes made to the assault phase and how the new allocation rules have changed combat, and how the initiative steps can produce quite a few new tactical decisions in army list building.  They then tackle the Moral rules before going to break.  Next, then roll on to discuss the USRs and hit on several of the major changes found here, including how they are worded in regarded to which are transferred to units and which aren’t, Skyfire, ‘And They Shall Know No Fear, Fearless, Fleet, and much, much more!  They move on to discuss close combat weapons, their AP values and some of the special rules that can be a lot of fun.  They close out the review by discussing grenades and the ability to throw them!  They close out the show with a conversation on the older versions of games being released and what is to be done with them, buy them and play them? 

Opinion:  Worlds End never disappoints with a review of a rulebook, and this podcast was no different!  The guys did a great job reviewing 6^th Edition and there is much more to come.  I always find that the Australia mindset to the game is different from how I play here in the US and I picked up some great tips just from their review.  They were not able to finish the review off, and with a new rulebook who can blame them, so I will be eager to listen to the next few episodes from this outstanding podcast!

Highlights:  This week the guys are joined by their full complement of extra hosts Dave, Andy and Mike.  In the ‘Round Up’ the guys discuss what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby, which included their first games in 6^th Edition.  Next up in the news, the guys discuss the latest releases from GW which included new Finecast models, Forgeworld and Aeronautica, and from the Black Library.  They then move on to discuss the rumors that have been floating around out there on the internet, including Chaos Space Marines!  Next, the cast and crew discuss their first impressions of the 6^th Edition rule set and each of them point out things that impacted them the most, including the poorly written rule of ‘Look out, sir!’, Vehicles and Hull Points, Bikes, Overwatch, Fortifications, Allies, and more.  They then move on to look at each of the armies that they play and reflect on the changes 6^th Edition made on their forces.  Next, was their signature Battle Report, their first in 6^th Edition, and they open up with some discussion about the battle itself, including the deployment, mission, the battlefield, army lists and more.  Next was the dramatization of the battle itself, followed up by an after report where they discussed the results of the game.  The gang closes out the show with ‘Rules of Engagement’ where they cover the movement rules in 6^th Edition.    

Opinion:  This week’s show was another one of my favorites for multiple reasons.  First, I was really looking forward to hearing their first impression of 6^th Ed and it really made me think about some rules I thought I knew.  The Battle Report is always the one thing I look forward from this show and it was great to see it migrate over to 6^th Edition.  And finally, Rules of Engagement is back, it was one of my favorite segments in 5^th and back and better than ever in 6^th.  Good work guys!

Highlights:  The main topic for this week’s show is ‘How 6^th Edition changed my army’, the guys each take their turn talking about how the armies the play have been affected by the new 6^th Edition rules.  Kenny was up first, and of course he talked about his beloved Tyranids!  Basically they did not get much better in 6^th as they still have all of the same weaknesses from 5th, and in fact they have lost some things that did help them, like assaulting from outflanking.  This was a pretty in-depth review; however Kenny is not very happy with his poor bugs.  Next, ‘Fu Man Chu’ was up next and he discussed his Tau army and how they have changed.  Mostly, he talked about the wargear removal in the FAQ and how much the Allies rules have helped out this aging army.  Uncle Buck moved on to discuss his Necrons, and how they have now moved into one of the top spots of the tournament codices.  Cory decided to talk about his Blood Angels and how great Death Company is now with the new Rage USR.  They also discussed vehicles and how they have taken a nerf, the Feel No Pain USR changing, and much more!  In their next segment, the guys discuss their thought on how 6^th Edition will affect the tournament scene and how they are run.  This included the added time it will take to play this new system how Kill Points have changes and may not be as awkward as they once were in 5^th, what will missions look like, how with the new deployments affects how tables are set up, and much more!  They close out the show with some bonus content, this time an interview with Joe Cherry, Team America ETC member, at the Alamo GT.  They discuss the ETC and what he is hoping to do there, how excited he is to going and more. 

Opinion:  It is so great that the 28s are back, as each week they put out a high quality show!  I really liked their approach this week, specifically pointing out point to the rules that affected their armies either beneficially or adversely.  While I do not agree with all of their opinions, I did find that their arguments were well thought out and brought up several good rules debates.  The bonus content was a bit hard to hear, but Kenny did attach a warning about that to start.  Overall, it was an interview with an ETC team member and worth suffering through the background noise. 

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

Jaded Gamercast – 86***Explicit*** Kyle joins the crew to talk non-Codex marine armies in 6^thEdition, and had some interviews from Warhammered

El Pee and the Man – Episode 43 ***Explicit*** – The guys are back after a long break and are talking 6^th Edition

Signals from the Frontline***Explicit*** – Chaos Space Marine rumors and a secret special guest appearance

Preferred Enemies – Episode 33 – Continued Review of 6^th Edition rules, Psykers, the FAQs, Allies, Fortifications, Flyers, and more! 

Screaming Heretics – Episode 30 – Gamesday and GenCon prep, Kiss My List, and learning 6^thEdition

Ohiohammer: Second Founding – Episode 9 – Learning 6^th Edition Rules and rules often forgotten.

***Please note that I will be on vacation next week, so no article next week. ***