My new direction

I have been looking for another game to supliment my tabletop gaming. 40k is fun but I have been playing it exclusively for almost 5 years now. So I decided that I will give this a try.



Firestorm Armada, a (relatively) new game from the young guys over at Spartan Games. I did some research on what game to switch to and thisa one seemed to have great reviews. I ordered the rulebook from them on sunday last week and it got here late afternoon today friday. SO far from what I have seen skiming through it the game is streamlined in such a way that a 40ker like me will love it.
This is the only game in space I have seen where I can pick up 30 dice at a time and roll them for attacks. (the ork in me is smileing)
I dont know what faction Im going to choose yet but they include the templates and "cut out fleets" for you to try a few games with.
So Im gonna go bury myself in a new ruleset.
If you need me Ill be in the "office"

is cover useless?

"Yeah I can see your terminator."
"what how?"
"I can see his face through this ruin through the window in that building and over those bushes"
"Jesus H Christ you cant be serious!"
"Yep I am and the rules say that I can shoot you"

That was the scene in one of my last games of 40k. Right before I had an entire squad of terminators wiped from a single demolisher shell. It looks like the overlords of 40k have decided that there is no such thing as cover in 40k. My squad had just deep stroked in and there was 2 ruined buildings and a modular piece of woods between them and the tank.
Well after I got down to a models eye view It appeared that he was right. In a shot that I compare to threading a needle with a howitzer. he rolled a hit and therefore I did not even get the cover save since the gurus at GW have decreed that the blast is coming from the center of the template. (that I was gleefully reminded of as the Imperial player rolled to wound)

This leaves me with one question. What has become of this game?

In a world where you have to have terrain consisting of six inch high walls to claim cover from or just accept that you can be blasted by any weapon the enemy has at any time regardless of how probable the shot may be. I just don't get it.
No wonder the guard is a top tier team. With unhindered lines of sight and weapons that have me taking my army off the board in hundred point chunks I can see that I will never have a chance of beating them in this version of the game. Unless I take the equally cheesy codexes and just appear right next to them with a melta gun or 3. (blood angels I'm looking at you)

Now not all cover is useless I understand. There is still those patches of bushes that my initiative 7 dark eldar arcon cant seem to untangle himself from until he gets beat on by a initiative 2 Necron warrior. (another real story from the front) and the single stick that if you hug it tight enough you get an amazing 50% chance of survival. But I digress.

I miss the old cover rules GW please for 40k MVI please bring them back, my chapter master is tired of me loosing the entire first company every time I take the field.

2011 ETC qualifiers

So I have been over at the bell of lost souls and have seen that they have posted an ad hoc article and qualifying requirements for the ETC teams representing america.
Now I don't know if I am in the small percentage of players that dont exactly have hundreds or thousands of dollars laying around to make the trips to these events but c'mon.
I live in SW Florida and I love 40k. Im not saying that I am up there in the ranks of the best 40k players in america but I hold my own, and I know there are members of their playing circles that the guys at my FLGS that can play at their level or higher. One of their contributers and ETC veteran Darkwyn and I started 40k together and regularly played against each other when he was a prisoner of this great state that I live in. Now I havent played with him since he moved out to texas but if you are reading this Darkwyn (who am I kidding?) you need to come back here to reconnect with your 40k roots. I swear we have calmed down and there have not been any firearms on the tables since 2002 I swear. Well loaded that is.
What I am trying to say is that you cant judge the best of the gaming community by having the qualifiers so few and far away from each other. The closest to me is texas over 1000 miles away. Im sorry that I do not have the job or personal life that allows me to dump a few hundred bucks into a flight over there just so I can have a chance to play in their tournoment to have the opportunity to go to switzerland and play for america this fine country that I love. (remember to vote tomorrow kids)
This is turning into a rant quuick I see well let me turn it back.
What I am trying to say is that you cant find the best in 40k from 4 tournoments. You cant really find the best player in a game that is so dependant on dice rolls either. I suggest that if you really want to find the best players in america you have to make a BCS style poll with FLGS owners or tournoment organizers calling in scores and rankings. Give each of the different type of events a different percentage in the standing making a gamesday or convention worth more than a local tourney but make it country wide.
Actualy on second thought...
Another way to go is to just go round up the guys with the finacial backing to go over there then open up the list createing to american players so we can all feel like we have contributed.

Well thats my 2 cents and in my small secluded corner of the interwebz that and a buck oh five will get you a cheeseburger.