This Week in 40K Podcasting – 02/14/2013 – 02/20/2014

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

Here is this week’s top 5!

Highlights:  This week the guys are back with part two of their Codex Tyranid review.  After leading in with some announcements the guys opened up the show with a discussion about the Swedish Comp System.  They describe what it is, what it is intended to do, and how well it works or doesn’t work.  They then moved on to the second part of their Codex Tyranid review, starting with the Elite Choices of the Hive Guard, Lictors, Zoanthropes, Vemonthropes, the Haruspex and the Pyrovore (still sucks).  They move on to the Fast Attack Choices starting with the Shrikes, and moving on to Raveners, Gargoyles, Spore Mines, Harpies, and Hive Crones.  They then covered the Heavy Support choices of the Carnifex, Biovores, Trygon/Primes, the awesome Mawloc, Exocrines, and the Tyrannofex.  They closed out the show buy discussing the strategies and builds that they have come up to use with this book. 

Opinion:  Easily one of the best reviews of the new Tyranid Codex.  It wasn’t all doom and gloom and it wasn’t all sunshine either.  We’ll call it partly cloudy!  The guys did a really good job going over the high and low points of this book and it has been one of my favorite reviews.  I also liked the discussion on the Swedish Comp system, I just wish they had given a bit more detail on the points.  Overall though, my favorite of the week!

Highlights:  This week the boys dive into the LOV and the Polish Tournament scene.  They opened up the show with Operation Codex and this time BJ and Franco look the Heavy Support section of the Tyranids!  This included the Carnifex, the Biovore, the Trygon/Prime, the awesome Mawloc, Exocrine, and the Tyrannofex!  Next, BJ had an interview with Pavel to discuss the Polish tournament scene and the Polish 40K Podcast that he runs.  Pavel talked about the turnouts for their events, what the meta is like there (no big surprises), and how their ETC team is chosen.  Then, in the ‘Tournament Report’ where Dave and Franco discussed the top 8 list from the recent Las Vegas Open 2014!  They first discussed the rules adjustments the LVO made to the 2+ re-rollable save.  They then take a look at those big 8 lists, noting the absence of Tau in the lists, and why that might be.  They then run down each of the top 8 lists, starting with the 8^th place finished and working up to Alex Fennel’s 1^st place list. 

Opinion:  This was a good show top to bottom, starting with a great look at the hotly contested Heavy Support choices of the ‘Nids.  I really liked hearing from Pavel and seeing what 40K is like in Poland.  This really showed how global our community really is.  And the look at the top 8 lists of the LVO was really interest, and my favorite part of the show. 

Highlights:  This week the guys are joined by Alan ‘Pajama Pants’ Barjramovic and they discussed the Las Vegas Open 2014!  Alan discussed how visually beautiful the tables and terrain were at the event and how the Mega Mats were rocking it!  Alan then discussed the Beast-Star list he took to the event, his top 8 finish, and his battle with the overall winner Alex Fennel.  They then moved on to discuss a White Scar list submitted by a listener and give their honest evaluations on this list.  Alan then talked about his ETC experience and what it is like to be on that team and his preparations, and the ATC as well.  Alan also talked about his Forgeworld Blood Angels list and how it operates.  This moved on to a discussion about what they would like to see in a new Blood Angels Codex.   They closed out the show with some loose discussion about the current state of 40K and the push for Deathstars. 

Opinion:  I really enjoyed hearing from Alan as his name has been other there for years on the competitive circuits.  The show did take some twists and turns in multiple directions, but overall all good 40K content.  Check it out. 

Screaming Heretic – Episode 54 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week the gang opened up the show with some thanks and announcements before moving on to hobby and gaming updates!  Then, Jen lead the ‘Girl on Gaming’ segment where she discussed booking for GenCon 2014 and ‘Bulling’.  Lesson for all of us, be respectful of other people guys!  Next it was on to the news and first up were the latest waves of GW, Forgeworld, and Black Library releases.  This included Kharn, rumors of the Imperial Guard and Space Marine name change, Imperial Knights and much more.  Then, the cast did a review of the latest kits from PoweredPlay, who makes lighting kits for your 40K models!  Next up was some Warmachine talk, if you’re interested in that game, which included one of the best 40K Tournament stories I’ve ever heard. 

Opinion:  One of my favorite 40K podcasts overall, this week’s show was mostly 40K, just the way I like it.  My favorite segment of this show was the editorial on ‘Bulling’.  This was a real serious moment in the show and as a parent of four beautiful children, I can relate to this topic.  Great topic guys!

Highlights:  This week the guys opened up the show with what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  They then moved on to the news where they covered the latest from the Black Library, Forgeworld, and the Imperial Knights which as soon to be releases!  They also covered their famous rumors which included a true 7^thEdition, IG, Orks, and much, much more.  Up next was the ‘Crosshairs’ where the guys looked at 6^th Edition as a whole and if it is broken or not.  They laid a lot of the blame for a lot of the ‘brokenness’ it the game can be attributed to trying to play a tournament game with a game that is not designed for it.  Then, it was on to ‘30K’ where they reviewed the new Horus Hersey: Betrayal!  This week they covered the HQ choices like the Legion Praetors and the Rites of War!   They also moved on to the Centurions, the Forgelord, the Special Characters and much more!  Next, Romeo had an interview with John Hayden out of Wargames Factory and they discussed how he got into the miniatures industry, more about his company, and what it take to make miniatures.  They closed out the show with ‘Outside the Box’ they discussed the game ‘Freebooters Fate’ and a look at the movie ‘Captain Philips’.    

Opinion:  I am not sure how to take this show to be honest, and I am referring mostly to the ‘Crosshairs’ segment of the show.  On one hand I can see some of their points, but I really felt like that were blaming anyone who took tried to play the game competitively for the problems in 40K, and not the company who wrote the rules allowing broken situations to happen in their game and not caring.  It felt like they did this show with the GW IP hammer held over their heads!  And this from a podcast who will be pushing their own tournament here real soon, so this smacked of hypocrisy to me.  You listen for yourself and be the judge.

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*** General Gaming News, Rumors, List Reviews, Tactics, and Rants!

Skaredcast – Episode 77 And in-depth look at Tyrnaids

Jaded Gamercast – Episode 165 ***Explicit*** Dwarves Armybook Review

Combat Phase – Episode 38 Mutant Chronicles RPG and other RPGs

Trapped in the Basement – Episode 19 ***Explicit*** 40K Rumors and what they’ve been up to

Life After the Cover Save – Episode 98 ***Explicit*** Review of the LVO Part 1 featuring Dawson from IVC, Reece from Frontline Gaming, the winner of the Wooden Spoon, and Alex Fennel the overall winner!