This Week in 40K Podcasting – 07/05/2013 – 07/11/2013

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

Here is this week’s top 5!

Deepstrike Radio – Episode 61

Highlights:  This week the guys are back and talking Tau in a two part series!  They opened up the show with what they have been doing lately in the hobby and gaming.  They then moved on to the ‘News’ segment, and covered the digital releases of Codices, Apocalypse Second Edition and the new models and terrain kits, the latest from Forgeworld and the Black Library.  Next, in the ‘The Librarius’ the guys dig deep into the backstory and history of the Tau Empire.  They first started off with an overview of the Tau, including their technology and their philosophy of ‘The Greater Good’.  They then discussed the discovery of the Tau by the Imperium and how they evolved into the race we know now in such a short period of time.  They discussed the different Castes and their roles in Tau society, the appearance of the Ethereals and how they united the race, how the Tau expanded into the Galaxy, and some of the Septs and their stories.  They also discussed some of the races the Tau has assimilated into the Empire, like Kroot, Vespids, Demiurg, and more.  They then moved on to discuss some of the main Tau Special Characters such as Puretide, Farsight, and Shadowsun, and their expanding of the Empire, such as the Damocles Crusade and other major battles.  They then moved on to talk about how the Tau are organized and how they fight on the battlefield.  They closed out the show with the ‘Briefing Room’ where they answered questions from their fans, and this included topics like ‘is Eldrad dead or not?’ a live action 40K movie, and much more!    

Opinion:  Once again an outstanding show from the DSR crew.  Seeing that I am a recent Tau convert and have only just started getting into the army, this was just fascinating to listen to.  To get the backstory of this great army in the level of detail that the DSR gang has always done was really a treat this week.  My top pick for the week, easily!

The 11th Company – Episode 167 ***Explicit*** 

Highlights:  I missed this show from last week so it will make an appearance here for this week’s review.  The guys opened up the show as usual with ‘This Week in Gaming’ where they discussed the games they have been playing.  This included an RTT that Neil recently attended, which Pat took first place in, and Mike Brandt discussing his charity event.  Next, in ‘Pat’s Corner’, Pat interviewed Matt DeFranza who took best overall at the Killadelphia Open GT and they discussed the Eldar list he took and how they have changed since then.  They discussed how the Eldar Codex has improved and his opinions on what’s good out of that book.  Next, Pat talked to Brinnley, a top South African player and they discussed the economy of playing in South Africa and his Blood Angels.  Next, Neil led a discussion about ‘Finishing games on time’ and what it takes to do this in a competitive environment.  They discussed some easy techniques on how to speed up your game.  This included ideas such as printed cards for psychic powers/gifts, moving your models faster, planning ahead for your next move, and much more.  This then moved on to a discussion about ‘6^th Edition: A Year in Review’, where the boys looked back at how the Edition is doing right now.  In the community segment we heard from the Michigan GT, Scott from the Second Wave podcast, ‘H2Lat40K.blogspot.com’, Chandler from Feast of Blades and much more!  They closed out the show as they usually do, with questions from their Facebook fans! 

Opinion:  This week the guys checked in with another good show.  I really enjoyed the interview with DeFranza, however the interview with Brinnley was really quite interesting.  I really had never thought how the skyrocketing prices of GW models could possible effect the meta in other countries, but clearly it has.  And I highly recommend the segment on how to speed up your play, even for the experienced players.  They were a lot of good tips in here.  Great show guys!

The Heroic 28s – Episode 70

Highlights:  This week the guys started their two part series on Codex Dark Angels!  They opened up the show with the return of some long lost cast members like Noobie Nate and Chem-Dog Cory!  They then had some announcements before moving on to what they have been up to lately in gaming and the hobby.  Next, the boys moved on to part one of their review of Codex Dark Angels, starting with their one-word thoughts on the book.  They then moved on to discuss the special rules of the army, such as Combat Squads and Inner Circle.  They then moved on to the Warlord Traits available within this book.  They move on to discuss the HQ choices, starting with the generic Company Master and moved on to Belial, Sammmael, and much more.  They then moved on to Chaplins, Librarians, Asmodai, the Command Squads and much more, plus the Psychic Powers!  After a break, the guys discussed the Troop Choices avaialbe, either as stock choices or as add in from an HQ choice.  So they discussed the standard Tactical Marines and Scouts, but also Deathwing and Ravenwing!  

Opinion:  Oh, the poor Dark Angels Codex, how the Heldrake killed thee.  I remember being excited about this release until that Heldrake FAQ that squashed it.  That being said, the guys did a great job going over the book.  It reminded me if not for that blasted beast, this really would be one of the top armies in the game.  The guys, as I have become accustom to, did a very complete job of detailing this book, and I look forward to part two.  Thanks guys!

The Second Founding – Episode 34

Highlights:  This week the guys opened up the show with a few announcements and thanks before moving on to talk about what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  This included some Noob-stomping and some Combat Patrol.  Next, the boys sit down to discuss the release of Apocalypse Second Edition.  They start off by talking about why they are not so excited about this release, considering how often it would get played.  They also discussed the model releases and what they hoped to see as opposed to what actually came out for this release.  This also hit on the topic of how much fun, or not fun, are Apocalypse events.  Who really plays Apoc anyway?  They then offered up some suggestion for making Apocalypse games more manageable and attractive for people to play. 

Opinion:  I am glad to hear that I am not the only one out there that is not excited by this Apocalypse release at all.  In all of the years I have been playing 40K I have never played a single game of Apoc, and even if I had, it would have been so infrequent that I do not know I’d buy anything to play it.  Apoc has always been in that ‘should I buy a new army or one model that I’ll only ever field one a year at best’ game to me, so this release is lost on me  I do like how the guys managed to talk themselves into playing a game, but still very meh feel for it.  Thanks for the look at the release guys.

Forge the Narrative – Episode 18

Highlights:  This week Paul, Kenny, Goatboy, Rob and Travis sit down to discuss the new Apocalypse and Tau Supplement releases.  They opened up by discussing ‘SpikyCon’ and how that event went and how well they did there.  Paul and Kenny ended up face off against each other in round two, and they discussed their game and fun with Daemons.  They also talked some about the rumors on the upcoming Space Marine Codex and what they would like to see in it.  They then moved on to talk about the Apocalypse Release and some of the models on this release.  They then went off the rails a bit with some competitive build discussions and a few tactical discussions. 

Opinion:  This was an short but interesting episode this week.  First, it was full of top caliber tournament players, and of course Goatboy!  I do wish they had gone a bit more into detail on ‘SpikyCon’, thing like what lists they took, more on how they did, things like that.  And it did see to the end it sort just meandered off on to several different topics on hopes for new releases.  A little more detail and a little more direction and this would have been great, but still good none the less.

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***  News, Rumors, New Releases, Lists Reviews, and much more!

Skaredcast – Episode 53  Warlord Traits Part 4 – Tau

Jaded Gamercast – 134 ***Explicit***  Finecast still not good, the Apoc Releases, and much more!

40K Radio – Episode 63  Apocalypse Release, Reese from Frontline Gaming and Teras from Geek Nation Tours

Death or Glory – Episode 16  Eldar Codex Review Part 2

The Deployment Zone – Episode 39  Dark Hersey

6s2Hit – Episode 35Starting a new army