This Week in 40K Podcasting – 10/10/2014 – 10/16/2014
The Independent Characters – Episode 111
Highlights: This week the ‘Show of Force’ moves on to cover the ancient Eldar race. They opened up the show by covering some of the feedback from their last show on Mission Design. They moved on to the ‘Work Bench’ where they discussed what they have been up to lately in the hobby and gaming. This included quite a bit of games from Geoff’s Farewell Party (miss you man!). Then, it was on to the main topic of the show: Show of Force: Aspects of the Fallen Empire! They first looked back at some of the older Codices for this army and how the fluff really has not changed much at all over the years. They then moved on to the Eldar race itself from what they are like physically to where they came from, being created by the Old Ones, to their participation in the ‘War of Heaven’ between the Old Ones and the C-Tan, to the fall of their Empire which led to the birth of a Chaos God! They then talked about where the race is currently in the 40K fluff and timeline, and how it is currently structured, including the Aspect Warriors, Exarch, and the mysterious Farseers. They then highlighted some of their favorite units in the army like the War Walker, the Wave Serpent, Warp Spiders, and more! In between, Carl had an interview with Guy Haley, author for the Black Library, and they discussed writing some of the novels that feature the Eldar. In the second half of their coverage of the Eldar, they covered the supplemental material for them, including the Alter of War missions, Apocalypse Warzones, Dataslates, and the official Iyanden Supplement and Forgeworld Support. They also discussed some of their favorite models from the Eldar line, including their overall look and feel of the army. They then covered some of the rules that make this army unique, like the Battle Focus rule. They close out the show with their reason why you would want to play the Eldar in 40K!
Opinion: While I am a huge fan of the history and stories of the Imperium of Man, one the Xenos races that I am most fascinated with the background is the Eldar. So this week’s show was a real treat for me, because I cannot get enough of their background fluff. They guys did an outstanding job covering the race and all of the reasons off of the table that you would want to field this army. Very entertaining show, easily my top pick of the week!
Preferred Enemies – Episode 86 ***Explicit***
Highlights: This week the guys are covering the brand new Dark Eldar Codex! They kick off the show with news which included the new Dark Eldar model releases like the Bomber and the Archon, the 40K LCG by Fantasy Flight Games called ‘40K Conquest’, Death Angel and more! They moved on to their review of the Dark Eldar Codex, starting with the look and feel of the book, the art, they layout, and more. They then moved on to dig into the fluff of the army and what has been expanded upon now with the new Codex. They then covered the Army Wide Special Rules like Combat Drugs and Power from Pain, before moving on to the Warlord Traits. They went on to a tangent about what has been removed, including the big guy himself Asdrubael Vect! They discussed some ideas on how to bring models like this to be brought back into the game. They then moved on to their unit-by-unit review, starting with the HQ units and the Archons, the Court and how they are construction, the Succubus, Lelith, and more. They then moved on to the troop choices of Kabalite Warriors and Wyches, and then they moved on to the Elite choices of like Incubi, Mandrakes, and Grotesques. In the Fast Attacks they covered Beastmasters, Reavers, the Razorwing, and the rest. Then it was on to the Heavy Support choices like the Talos, Ravager, and the new Voidraven Bomber. They also covered the Formations as well. They then discussed a list that they really liked and overall have good things to say about this Codex overall. They closed out the show by discussing their hobby progress.
Opinion: Right out of the gate the guys put a good foot forward for coverage of this new Codex. The Dark Eldar is another race I find quite interesting, and I was hoping for a very detailed review of this new codex. The guys delivered, touching on everything one could hope for. I am also glad to see that the guys and I are on the same page with the removal of Vect, I do not understand that one at all. I cannot recommend this one enough, very good show!
Highlights: This week the guys are joined by Mike Collins from the Wales ETC Team and talking about Old Man Syndrome! They kicked off the show with ‘This Week in Gaming’ where they talked about the game they have been playing lately. This included more preparations for ‘Battle for Salvation’, Dark Eldar rumors, and much more. In the main topic of the show, Jesse brought up an interesting rules question, including units that cannot deploy, what happens to them? They moved on to a conversation about new players coming to 40K and the negativity as of late of 7thEdition and this game overall. Are they, as a cast, falling into an ‘Old Man Syndrome’ where they do not like the changes and what thing back the way they were. They discussed the attendance at major events being down around the world, and how difficult it is to try to understand this game, and how GW is really missing the target on getting new players into the game. They then discussed the addition of Superheavies to the game and how it affected 40K. Next, in ‘List Doctor’, Jesse and Matt breakdown another Space Marine list with Space Wolf allies. They played a game with this list and tried to offer up some suggestions to help improve it. They closed out the show by answering some questions from their Facebook fans!
Jaded Gamercast – 196 ***Explicit***
Highlights: This week the guys continue their review of the Dark Eldar Codex with the ‘List Building’ show! They opened up the show with what they have been doing lately before cover this week’s ‘Model of the Week’, a Fantasy model. They then covered the ‘Weekly Listener Poll’ that asked about Digital Content from GW and if you have switched. It was then on to the main topic of the show, and they first discussed if their view of the book has changed after having the book a week longer. So Nathan started off his list with a Homunculus with some Warriors, Grotesques, Reaver Jetbikes, Razorwings, and some Talos Pain Engines! Nathan then discussed his overall plan for the list and how it will succeed, including abusing the Webway Portal. Lange’s list was quite similar, trying to take all of the units he felt were good in the book, like Warriors, Reaver Jetbikes, Talos, Razorwings, and Mandrakes and Incubi. This moved on to a great conversation about the effectiveness of Flyers in 7th Edition and how much their power level has dropped over the last two editions. They also discussed the Maelstrom Missions and their thoughts how to run the Dark Eldar competitively, along with some tactics to playing them in 7th.
Highlights: This week the boys delve into the mysterious world of the Officio Assassinorum! They opened up the show with what they have been doing lately in the hobby and gaming. This included some fun with audio books. Next, it was on to the main topic of the Officio Assassinorum. They started off with who these guys are and what service they provide for the Imperium. They then discuss where the fit in the grand scheme of the Imperium, including who they are supposed to report to. They then moved on to cover the types of Assassins that were not covered in the recent Data Slate, and how they kill their targets such as the Venenum and their poisoning, the Vanus and their intel gathering, and the Maerorus, assassans who developed illegal xenos hybrids. They then moved on to the more well know assassins from the Dataslate, like the Culexus and the Vindicare, and discussed their background a little further. This included the guys sharing lists where they try to use these lethal killers and some amazing ‘fan fiction’ behind their armies!
Opinion: Always the cherry on top of my weekly review, the Masters of the Forge are really putting out some outstanding material! As with their predecessors, this podcast is quickly becoming my home for 40K lore and fan fiction. There is a really great ‘description’ of what one of the assassins is capable of, and it paints a horrifying picture. A real pleasure to listen to, thank you guys!
Honorable Mentions – All great podcasts that just missed this cut this week, but you should still check them out, in no particular order:
Life After the Cover Save – Episode 120 ***Explicit*** CelestiCon Review including the Team Tournament, Mechanical Warhorse, and more!
Screaming Heretic – Episode 72 ***Explicit*** Dark Eldar, Wappels, Convention life and more!
Forge the Narrative – Episode 68 Dark Eldar
Southern Mississippi Gamers – Episode 14 The Redstone Rumble 2014!
Trapped in the Basement – Episode 26 ***Explicit*** Mercs and the new Dark Eldar Codex
The Wolfkin Podcast – Episode 28 ***Explicit*** Cheesy, Hard hitting armies and why do you hate them?
The 2nd Wave Podcast – Episode 25Death Krops of Krieg
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
