This Week in 40K Podcasting – 10/05/2012 – 10/11/2012

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

Here is this week’s top 5!

The Independent Characters – Episode 63

Highlights: This week’s show is the first in a two part series on the Horus Hersey: Book 1 Betrayal! They open up the show with some announcements before moving on to the ‘Work Bench’ where the guys discuss their latest gaming and hobby progress. This included Carl’s experience with his new Chaos Codex and the models he recently purchased and assembled and the LAtCS Golden Ticket event! In the next segment, the guys dive into the much anticipated Horus Hersey: Book 1. They first cover the book itself, the price, the quality of the book and its contents, and more. They move on to discuss the story of this amazing book, starting with the events leading up to the start of the Hersey! This started off with a history lesson on the rise of the Emperor, where he came from and his unification of Terra. They move on to talk about the genus of the Astartes, their Legions, and his Crusade to reunite all of humanity under one banner, his! This moved on to the Emperor’s creation of the Primarch and the ruinous powers of Chaos scattering them across the galaxy and their rediscovery throughout the Crusade. They then discuss how Horus became the Warmaster and the reactions of the other Primarchs and the Emperor withdrawing from the Crusade. They them move on to the fall of Horus to the powers of Chaos and his plan to kill the Emperor and rule the Imperium, which first started with a brutal purge of all loyalist within their ranks on Istvaan III. In the second segment, the guys cover the campaign system found in the for the purge on Istvaan III, and this included the scope of the campaign, the armies and lists permitted in the campaign, and how the campaign rules work. They then move on to discuss the six different missions included to play the campaign with and their place in the campaign and they overall story of the battle. They close out the show with a review of some of the color pallets found for each of the armies.

Opinion: This was easily my favorite podcast of the week, and with good reason, a detailed review of the Forgeworld Horus Hersey Book One: Betrayal! I personally have waited for something official like this for a long time, and despite the obscene cost Forgeworld is asking for this book, I fully intend to cough up the cash and get this one. In no small part tot he outstanding review that the Independent Characters have done here. I really can not wait until the second part! IF you even have a passing interesting in this book, I highly recommend this podcast!

The Heroic 28s – Episode 47

Highlights: This week the guys finish of their two part series on Codex Blood Angels. They open up the show with some discussion about terrain at a tournament and it’s functionality on the board. Next up it was back to the review of Codex Blood Angel, and they open up with a review of the dedicated transports like the fast Rhino and Razorback plus the deep striking Land Raider and the drop pod. Next up were the Elite choices, starting with Terminators and moving on to Tech Marines, Sternguard Veterans, Sanguinary Priests, Chaplains, Sanguinary Guard, and the awesome Furioso Dreadnaught! Next up were the Fast Attack slots, which are mostly copy and paste out of Codex Space Marines save for the Vanguard Veterans and the Baal Predator. They then move on to the Heavy Support choices, which are also about the same for Codex Space Marines, starting with the Dreadnaught, and moving on to the Fast Vindicator and the awesome Stormraven Gunship. To close out the show, the guys discuss some of the more common tactics for Blood Angels, starting with the way they were played during 5^thwith all of the transports, to what they are evolving to now in 6^thEdition.

Opinion: Continuing with their exemplary podcasts as of late, the Heroic 28s punch in with yet another great Codex review. The guys did a great job covering the Blood Angels codex and its functionality in 6^th edition. It was great to hear from a current BA player and hearing his thought on how to run them in this edition. I have to say though, I am looking forward to the next two weeks even more, as I am a huge Necron fan and really looking forward to what they have to say! Great work guys!

40K Radio – Episode 49 ***Explicit***

Highlights: This week, the guys open up the show with some announcement before moving on to what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby. This included their experience at DuelCon last week and a big ‘thank you’ to Reese and the Frontline Gaming boys who ran such an awesome event! Next up was the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment where the guys answer questions from their forum members, some of these were 40K related but most were not. Next, the guys move on to the News and Rumors section, where they cover the latest from the Black Library, Forgeworld and the Horus Hersey Book and models, the new Chaos Space Marine Codex and models, and much more! Up next in the ‘Black Library Corner’, Rik covers the collection of short stories called ‘Shadows of Treachery’. Then, it was back to ‘40K Tactica’ and this week the guys do a review of DuelCon: this was an overall review of the tournament scene and the armies that performed the best there. This focused mostly on the brutal Necron Air Force list and how well it performed! They also did a review of the ‘Narrative’ event that Kyle and Rik ran at DuelCon. Next up in the ‘Crosshairs’ was the meat of the show, the guy’s review of Codex Chaos Space Marines! They open up with their quick impressions of the codex before moving on to all of the Special Rules for the army. They then move on to a quick overview of each and every unit in the code and point out some of their favorites! They also do a great review of each of the Special Characters and new Psychic Powers in the Codex. They close out the show with an interview with a member of their forum, and attendee of DuelCon, ‘Speepy’ who manufactures aluminum flight stands that do not break!

Opinion: The great shows just keep on coming from the 40K Radio guys, and this one was another example of why I am loving 40K Radio! First up was a a great review of DualCon, both from the competitive and narrative side of the event. Reese has really set him self on top of the heap for running top notched events, I hope I can experience one for myself. But the jewel of this week was the boys look and the new Chaos Space Marine codex. Just perfect for anyone looking to get to know this new army. I do have to mention that the volume was really low on the interview with ‘Speepy’, and un-listenable for me, I literally could not get the volume on my mp3 player high enough to hear it. But, aside from that, a great show.

Hitting on 3s – Episode 8 ***Explicit*** 

Highlights: This week the gang opened up the show with what they have been doing lately in the hobby and gaming. Next, the guys have an in-depth review of the new Chaos Space Marine Codex! They open up with their first impression of the changes this codex has brought before moving on to how they feel this Codex will perform. They then move on to briefly discuss the wargear and the Warlord Traits. They then look at some of the units in the book, starting with the Warpsmith, Chaos Lords and Sorcerers, some of the Special Characters and the customization you can do to your army. In the next segment, the guys discussed resin casting and molding! They open up talking about sculpting your model, bit, or base and what to use to make a good silicon mold of. They move on to talk about what to use to make your casts out of, like casting plastic, and offer up some great safety tips for using these chemicals. In the next segment, the guys hit on a few topics, starting with using fortifications in 6^th Edition. They discuss each of the available fortifications from the main rulebook, hitting on their rules and battlefield applications. They move on to talk about the ‘Go-To’ units in each of their armies, the units that they include in every army list they make. They then discussed the idea of a Digital 40K game, working similar to how Magic Online works now, where you purchased digital models that you could exchange for real models. The guys closed out the show with a discussion about the latest Black Library books they have been reading, covering the Word Bearers Omnibus by Anthony Reynolds, Titanicus by Dan Abnett, Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter, and much, much more!

Opinion: This is the first week the guys have made the top 5, and for a good reason, this was the first show that they have released that was completely dedicated to 40K. Fair warning, the guys can be a bit offensive, almost making the Life After the Cover Save guys look tame (not an easy task), but there is some quality 40K talk in there as well, and quite a few laughs! I completely enjoyed this show from beginning to end, great work! I hope to see more like this one from you guys!

Preferred Enemies – Episode 38 ***Explicit***

Highlights: This week the guys review the new Chaos Space Marine Codex! First, they give a once over of the book itself, including the hardback and full color art. They move on to talk about Special Rules for the army, including Champion of Chaos, the Chaos Boon table, their own Warlord Traits and more! They then move on to a brief unit-by-unit review, starting with the generic HQ choices and moving on to the Marks and their effect on the unit that takes them. They then move on to talk briefly about each unit in the codex, making sure to point out major differences from the previous Codex and then focusing on the new shiny toys of the book. They took their time to go over the Helldrake and the Hellbrute in great detail before moving on to talk about the Special Characters in the book. They then take the time to go over the war gear available in the codex, the icons, the upgrades, artifacts, and more. They close out the segment with their feelings on the codex overall and how they feel it will fit into 6^th Edition. They close out the show with their hobby progress report, where they talked about what they have been up to in the hobby.

Opinion: This was a preety good overview of the Chaos Space Marine codex. It is showing like this one that I recommend for anyone looking to learn about the new hotness that is CSM! The boys did a great job with their short format covering the book briefly. I am sure we will be hearing a lot more from them on this topic.

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

Imperial Vox Cast – Episode 63 ***Explicit***  Review of the LAtCS Golden Ticket event and an interview with Reese from Frontline Gaming on Forgeworld at the GT level!

The Deployment Zone – Episode 23 ***Explicit***  This was my first listen to this podcast, and it was pretty good! Interview with Mark form Second Founding, New White Dwarf, CSM review, Back-to-Back releases from GW, and they cover a lot of other non-40K games as well!

Signals from the Frontline ***Explicit***  First impression of the Chaos Codex, Tau Rumors, and more!

Skared – Episode 15  Chaos Codex impressions, Web Comics, gaming with a family, and more!

Life After the Cover Save – Episode 56 ***Explicit***  The LAtCS Golden Ticket event!

Jaded Gamercast – Episode 97 ***Explicit***  Tau in 6^thEdition and a wrap up of the Black Library Expo!