This Week in 40K Podcasting – 07/25/2014 – 07/31/2014

Welcome to another installment of “This Week in 40K Podcasting,”  Here is this week’s top 5!

The 11th Company – Episode 203

Highlights:  This week it was more Ork talk plus Feast of Blades and NOVA Open!  They opened up the show with what they have been doing lately in gaming and the hobby.  This included appearance by Mike Brandt from the NOVA Open, Chandler from the Feast of Blades, and some ATC discussion about Necrons, Imperial Knights, and their performances at the event!  Neil detailed out the games that he played at the ATC and how he spent most of the weekend playing Eldar Serpent spam.  Next, Chandler discussed this year’s Feast of Blades and how things will be different this year.  He talked about the Open and the Invitational formats, and how they will be exercising some rights to clear out list they feel do not belong in the Open event.  He also talked more about the event, the venue, the accommodations, and much more.  Then, it was back to the Ork Codex review where they picked up where they left off, with Warbuggies, and moved on to cover Mek Guns, Battle Wagons, Def Dreads,  the massive Gorkanaut and much more!  They then moved on to the Lords of War, like the Stompa and good old Gaz, and the formations found in this book!  They then discussed their thoughts on the book, their disappointments with it, and some of the best they can muster for good list ideas from it.  They closed out the show by answering questions from their Facebook fans! 

Opinion:  This week’s show was yet another outstanding example of why I love this show!  This week we got to hear from not one but two major TOs and hear what they have going on for their great events.  They then finished off their full coverage of the Ork Codex, of which I highly recommend as one of the best that I have heard.  Overall, easy my top pick for the week!  Great job guys!

Preferred Enemies – Episode 81 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  This week the cast dove deep into the Sanctus Reach box set and new campaign!  They kicked off the show with the news where they covered the new Realm of Battle Board, the leaked Space Wolf information and the Stormwolf/Stormfang, some of the new rumored rules that come with these Flyers, and much more!  They moved on to their main topic, the first two parts to the Sanctus Reach campaign setting that GW has released.  This is their first effort in this arena for some time, so this was really exciting new!  They cover the price, size, look and feel of this book, which included the awesome art and photos, and more.  They then moved on to the crunch of the book, where they discussed the missions included in this book, the inclusion of the Planetstrike rules, and their theories of future campaign books.  They moved on to talk about some of the new rule found in the missions, and the new formations and what they do, and how it really feels like Apocalypse has been rolled into standard 40K.  They also discussed the contents of the Stromclaw box set and how these are standard kits and not the snap-fit ones from boxed sets in the past.  This included some outstanding paperwork, datasheets, and full points costs, which really helped make this a good box set.  It needs template in their opinion, but beyond that, a good set.  They also discussed its place as a starter set and some of the future set we may see.  They closed out the show by discussing their hobby progress and some of the games they have been playing lately. 

Opinion:  Coming in at a very close second this week, the boys cover something that not many shows are covering.  The contents of the Stormclaw box set and its place among starter sets I found to be a very fascinating subject.  It is a shame that this was a limited run, as this one sounds like a set I would like to get a hold of.  Great work guys!

Jaded Gamercast – Episode 186 ***Explicit*** 

Highlights:  The boys this kicked off this week’s show with what they have been up to in the hobby and gaming.  They then moved on to the weekly listener poll which revolved around Star Trek Attack Wing and the joys of Faction pure builds.  Next, it was on to model of the week, which was the new Flyer for the Space Wolves, the Stormfang and Skywolf Gunships!  Needless to say, but they were not too happy with the tiny wings on this model and the idea of Ice Lasers!  But they review some of the new weapons that have been added and what they do in the game, the carrying capacity of this assault flyer, and much more!  They moved on to their main topic of the show, ‘Starter Kits and their value’!  This started off by looking at GW products and how they used to be very flexible with what they could do with them and now with sets like Stormclaw and the Dark Vengeance they really have become quite restrictive.  They moved on to compare these starter kits to other games and how they do their starter kits, do they come with terrain, do they come down with the full rules, etc.  They closed out the show with the Weekly Listener poll for nest week. 

Opinion:  This week the guys looked at the concept of the Starter Set overall, starting with 40K, obviously, but then comparing it to other games and how they measure up.  This was really a very interesting topic and one I had not put too much thought into until now.  Very good show guys!

Forge the Narrative – Episode 60 

Highlights:  This week the boys are joined by Kirk, the captain of the winning ATC team!  Kirk talked about their experience last year and how it had changed this year.  He discussed how the team was made up this year, what armies they decided to bring and what their plan was going into the event.  Kirk then discussed their list construction ideas and how they put the team together to get big wins and defend with efficiency.  They discussed in detail, their thought process that the ability to take a loss for the team to come out on top.  They then moved on to talk about their next big event that they will be attending, which is the Summer Seasonal.  They then moved on to talk about some of the top performing lists at the ATC and what 7^th Edition looks like early on competitively.  They discussed how the more point efficient lists seems to be what will dominate 7^thedition, but they also included conversation about the lists that scare them in 7^th like the Transcendent C’Tan list, Green Tide, and daemon factory. 

Opinion:  I was really excited for this week’s show and to hear all about the guy’s experience at the ATCs!  Kirk was a great addition to the cast and hear all of their plans going ino this event was amazing.  Who know it took THAT kind of prep work to be ready for this team centered event?  I also really liked their commentary on the state of the competitive game and the lists that concerned them. 

The Screaming Heretic – Episode 67 ***Explicit***

Highlights:  The cast rejoined by Jen (we missed you!) and they kicked off the show with what they have been up to lately in the hobby and gaming.  This included some X-Wing discussion (welcome to the club guys!) and a lot of models painted.  They then moved on to the news where they covered Space Wolf releases, Forgeworld with some Salamanders and Iron Hands releases, and much more.  They moved on to discussed the competitive tournament scene and how the big events are trying to react to this new edition of the game that is not designed to be played competitively.  They moved on to talk about some spaceship rule sets and which the like and this, of course, included X-Wing being the awesome game that it is!  Next came an interview with the legendary Dave Taylor of Dave Taylor Miniatures and they discussed the NOVA Open Charity events he is a big part of.  Next came an interview with Shelly Harper from ConQuest Adventure Journal and they discussed her new Kickstarter and this amazing Con product!  In the second segment they had a quick hobby segment on Raphael Hobby brushes before moving on to their tips for GenCon this year.  They gave out some great suggestions on what to try and how to survive and prosper at GenCon!  Jen then led a conversation on Cosplay preparations for big conventions! 

Opinion:  So this week the gang had a lot of great content!  The interview with Dave Taylor was really something else, and the ConQuest Journal is a really interesting product.  The gem here was all of the advice for preparing for GenCon.  I have never been there, but I feel ready to tackle it once I do go.  Great show gang!

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!

Wolfkin Podcast – Episode 18 ***Explicit*** Games played, New Space Wolfs, Pros and Cons of Army of the Month, and more!

Life After the Cover Save – Episode 113 ***Explicit***  Eternal Crusade interviews!

X-Wing Podcasts – And if you’re looking for a few good X-Wing Podcasts, please check these guys out!

The Kessel Run Brought you by the Heroic 28s!

NOVA Squadron Radio Your home for tactical X-Wing discussion!

Scum and Villainy The Team Covenant X-Wing Podcast

The X-Wing Podcast Ben Curry & Ben Johnson’s UK Show