This Week in 40K Podcasting – 06/28/2013 – 07/04/2013

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

Here is this week’s top 5!

The 11th Company – Episode 166 

Highlights:  This week the boys are finally back and with a massive 4+ hour show, focusing a lot on the Killadelphia Open GT 2013, which I was lucky enough to attend!  They opened up the show as usual with ‘This Week in Gamming’, which included Alan’s first game with the new Eldar book and how awesome Wave Serpents are now.  Next, Neil and Pat briefly discussed their Killadelphia Open experience.  This included Neil’s software running the event, some of the timing issues that happened on day two, and a discussion on competitive 40K and skills you need to complete games quickly.  Then, the boys discussed the 1850 lists that they brought to the event, Pat with Daemons and Neil with Tau/Space Wolves and a brief overview of their games.  Next, Pat interviews each of his opponents at the event, which included me (for those who want to hear my nasally voice!), Opy from the Turn 8 podcast.  Next, in ‘Pat’s Corner’, Pat interviewed Andrew Gonyo who too first place at the Killadelphia Open.  They discussed his Tau list and how well it had performed at the event.  They also discussed a bit about his preferences on competitive events.  Pat then talked to Nick Nanavati who took second at the Killadelphia Open and they discussed his Daemons/CMS list and how it took him to second place at the GT.  Pat then talked to Werner Born who was in the top 8 at Killadelphia with his Necrons with Tau allies.  Next, Neil led a discussion about playing 40K at the competitive level.  This included ‘what ethical responsibility do you have to insure your opponent is playing by the rules?’  Neil and the guys gave some examples of ethical decisions they have had to make in competitive events, and how those decisions affected the win or loss of a game.  They also discussed at what point something becomes cheats as opposed to capitalizing on mistakes.  After the community segment, where we heard from the blog ‘Lesser of All Evils’ where they discussed ‘win-at-all-cost players vs. fluff-at-all-cost’, Tim from the Bug Eaters GT, Mike Brandt from the Nova Open, and more.  They closed out the show with their Q&A segment where they answer questions from their Facebook fans!

Opinion:  This one took some time to get out, however it was completely worth the wait.  First, I want to send a big thanks to Pat, Neil, the Turn 8 guys, and the Stomping grounds crew for an amazing event.  I posted video battle reports up on my You Tube page, check them out.  This episode had everything as far as I am concerned, since I was locked in mid-table obscurity I did not get to see much of what was going on the top tables, so it was great to hear from Neil’s perspective.  Then, Pat kills it with great interviews with Andrew and Nick.  And the tips for the competitive player were just outstanding.  I cannot recommend this one enough, my top pick for the week!   

The Heroic 28s – Episode 69

Highlights:  This week the boys conclude their review of Codex Tau!  They opened up the show with some announcements before discussing the bizarre incident with DSR and ‘Christina Campbell’ and their thoughts on the matter.  They then moved on to discuss the Battlefoam vs. Blood of Kitten incident, which has since been resolved.  Next, the guys moved on to part two of their Codex Tau review, starting with the Elites and the Crisis Suits!  They also took some time here to discuss some of the Tau weaponry and what it can do on the table.  They also hit on the Stealth Team, and the awesome Riptide!  Next, they moved on to the Fast Attack choices, starting with an explanation of Markerlights and how they work.  They then moved through the units in this section, including Pathfinders, Drone Squads, Piranhas, the new flyers, and much more!  They moved on to the Heavy Support, starting with the Hammerhead Gunship and its upgrade character, and moved on to Sniper Drone Team, the Sky Ray, and of course the awesome Broadsides!  They closed out the show with some list building ideas, some common units you will see on the table, and some ideas on how to combat the Tau threat. 

Opinion:  Part two of the guy’s coverage of Codex Tau was just outstanding.  Kenny and Uncle Buck topped off their review with some great tips and tactics on this new powerhouse army just now hitting the tournament scene.  As usual, the two part review is one of the most complete looks at the new book, which as a new Tau player I found invaluable.  Outstanding work guys!

40K Global – Episode 81 ***Explicit*** 

Highlights:  This week’s show was a much more manageable bite of only two and a half hours long, well appreciated on a holiday shortened week!  They opened up the show with ‘Operation Codex’ and with a different take this time around.  BJ and Dave discussed their three favorite units in 40K and some crushing tactics to these units.  This included units like the Vendetta, Kroot, the Riptide, the Wave Serpent, the Heldrake, and the Daemon Prince!  This included a ton of tactics for using these very deadly units in 40K!  They then flipped the conversation to discuss some of the best ‘underused’ units in the games, things like Obliterators, Biovores!  Next, in the ‘Evolution’ segment, Dave leads a discussion all about ‘Board Control’.  He defined the idea of Board Control and how it is used to win games in 6^th Edition.  He discussed the importance of Line of Sight, Terrain, and much more!  They closed out the show with BJ interviewing James Karch how took third at June Judgment with his Space Wolves.  They discussed the list that he ran and how the drop pod Wolves list performed at the event. 

Opinion:  This week we were treated with a new look at Operation Codex as the guys game out some great tactical information on their favorite units in 40K today.  I especially liked the ‘Board Control’ segment, as there are some details to winning game of 40K that a lot of us often forget, and this pointed all of them out.  Quite an impressive show, I really enjoyed this one. 

Preferred Enemies – Episode 55 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week the boys dove into the Iyanden Supplement to Codex Eldar!  They opened up the show with the ‘News’ segment, which included the new Apocalypse Release and the GW vs. Chapterhouse lawsuit.  They then moved on to discuss the new Iyanden Codex Supplement.  They touched on the baseline story of the Iyanden and the artwork and photos found in the book before moving on to the crunch, which consisted of two pages of actual rules. They talked some about the Psychic Powers and the new Warlord Traits.  They also discussed some of the rules and the new missions found in this book.  They closed out the show with a brief overview of a recent tournament the guys attended. 

Opinion:  I was really looking forward to how the guys would review this supplement.  The problem, of course, with this book is that there is so little rules available here.  But the ones that are there definitely change how the Eldar can be played and give me hopes for more supplements; maybe some Hive Fleet supplements GW?  This one often hit on a few other armies and how they play as well, but overall I was quite pleased with this one.  Good show gang!

The Overlords – Episode 130 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week it was just Jon and Jason running the show and they opened up the show with the news where they discussed the new Apocalypse release, including the books and the new models.  They moved on to discuss what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  Next up, Jason had an interview with Ed and Blake from Life After the Cover Save to discuss the new Eldar Codex.  First, for the record, the LAtCS episode that covered the Eldar Codex was number three on my list, please see the following link, and I do love the show guys!  Next, they got down to the business of discussing the new Eldar.  They talked about the changes to the book, how Battle Focus has redefined the army, and much more.  They also discussed the armies that the boys play and how they have expanded their forces and some off topic things as well.  Next, Jon and Jason moved on to a hobby segment where they discussed gluing plastic models and the best product to use for this process.  This ran the range from plastic glues, super glue, accelerators, pinning and much more.  They closed out the show with a Black Library book review of the book ‘Blood of Asaheim’ by Chris Wraight.

Opinion:  I was really a bit disappointed that the cast was so slim for this show; however Jon and Jason did a great job on the show.  I loved the interview with the LAtCS guys, but the real gem in this show was the info on glues.  If you’re new to the hobby, this one segment can save you quite a few future headaches.  Nice work guys, tell Steve he needs to make a guest appearance, we miss him! 

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 ***Explicit***  BOA Tournament format, army list review, Anime Expo, news, new releases, and of course Apocalypse! 

Skaredcast – Episode 52 Warlord triats part 3 and a review of the July White Dwarf. 

Jaded Gamercast – 133 ***Explicit*** News, the new Apocalypse Models, and of course the new Apocalypse book/editions. 

6s2Hit – 34 ***Explicit*** Terrain making and setup

Boltgun Battle Brothers – Episode 11 ***Explicit*** Army in a weekend

Forge the Narrative – Episode 17 Interviews with Jawaballs and Goatboy plus Apoc talk

Angels of Death – Episode 18 ***Explicit*** Eldar Codex Review and Apoc Rumors

Life After the Cover Save – Episode 75 ***Explicit*** Campos’ Eldar Batlleforce Breakdown, the Big Cat is back for a segment, and