Hello everyone !!
Second review of the week with the Gene Cult codex!

I'd like to review this one starting with a few arts and fluff then I'll do the rules (army rules, Factions rules, unit, stratagem). The book is a hardback 120 pages of pure infestation that comes with a punch sheet of ambush token and a 9" ruler.

Art of the codex

Still a lot more to see in the book!

Fluff

Fluff is around 60 pages of the codex and explores new aspects of the Cult life. What happens when the hive fleet arrives, can different sort of worlds spawn different cults ?. What size, a cult can get to, what happens on Necromunda. It's a really interesting read and if you like 40k fluff it's a very good read.

My favorite part is the description of the contact beetween the hive fleet and the cult ^^

Hot take: After reading the cult fluff, I'd love the cult to be the main force in the fluff and rarify the Tyranids/apocalypse thing

Rules

Army wide powers
"Cult" keyword offer 2 abilities already spoiled by gw :
Unquestioning loyalty and Cult Ambush.

Unquestioning loyalty: models with this rule can take a wound for a nearby cult character on a 4+. Note that one model is slain each time!

Cult Ambush: Huge rule that allows to deep strike any infantry or bike units. You spawn them 9" from an enemy at the end of ANY of your movement phase.
Also instead of deploying a unit, you can instead deploy an ambush marker During the first movement phase of the game, you replace ambush tokens with units. You do it at the start of your movement phase if it's your turn and end of the movement phase if it's an enemy (and he couldn't get closer than 9").
The hidden deployment part is nuts as you can decide who is who, and who is in deepstrike. Basically, the game start is played blind by your opponents.

Detachment special rules

-Brood Brothers.
-Troop get objective secured
-Only one of each character in a single detachment
-Broodlord must be warlords
-Cult creeds : (6)
*+1 charge and run rolls
*reroll hit in melee if charge, charged, or Heroic Intervention.
*halve loss on moral and can shoot if fall back(with -1)
*6+ invul or +1 invul save, also inf move and shoot heavy weapon w/o malus
*+1 save vs rend 0 and bike ignore malus for moving and running.
*+1S +2run rolls (scary pure breed)

Units
Note that IG units don't have the cult keyword but the brood brother one, meaning they don't get the chapter tactics.

QG :
Patriarch: No change
Magus: No change
Primus: No change
Acolyte Iconward: added a reroll 1 for FNP (aberrant)
Abominant: Melee Beast, fnp on 5+, reduce dmg by 1, score 2 hit on 6.
Jackal Alphus: 2+ sniper, +1 to hit marked target effect. Auto include.

Troop :
Acolyte Hybrids: a few weapons change but nothing spectacular.
Hybrids: Lost Heavy weapon team
Brood Brother: IG guard, get the weapons team, don't have a cult bonus but have Unquestioning loyalty.

Elite :
Hybrid Metamorphs: no change but 4 points discount
Aberrants: Super Aberrants every 5 with more attacks and super nasty weapons. fnp +5 and reduce dmg by 1
Genestealer: cheaper
Clamavus: Boost charge roll within 6" (good for ambushing)
Locus: Baddass ninja bodyguard, Heroic inter from 6", always attack first, take dmg from other characters, good melee.
Sanctus: Assassin ninja, 5 attacks 2+ 2 -2 2D and get a 2+ sniper rifle.
Kelermorph: Mc Creed in Cult, shot up to 12 times at 2+ with a s4 -1 d2 pistol, can snipe characters.
Nexos: Gain command points, redeploy unit.
Biophagus: Was already leaked, still, buff aberrant

Woaa this section is super full of choice, keep in mind that you can only one character of each type in one detachment :/

FAST ATTACK:
-Achilles Ridgerunners: Good anti-tank with 1d3 s9 ap3 D6, ignore cover, can get extra range and get a scout move. (75pt) scary when combined with the ambush.
-Bikers: -1 to hit them, each must take 2 different weapons. can get 1 quad every 4 bikes (up to 12 bikes and 3 quads !). Move 14"! feel a bit bland but the models are so good and they can deepstrike ^^
-Sentinels (armoured and scout),
-Leman Russ (multiple canon options)
-Heavy weapons squad (like IG)
-Goliath Rockgrinder No change
-Goliath truck: fewer weapons, cheaper, transport 10 (patriarch count 5^^)
-Chimaera: can only transport brood brother :(

A lot of good choices, multiple points reduction across the board, scary melee potential, lot of mini HQ with a good bonus. Feel like a complex army to play, maximizing the use of all the tools the cult get is going to take some practice.

Discipline
-Mass hypnosis: target unit can't OW, fight last and with -1 to hit.
-mind control, shoot or attack with one enemy model.
-Psy blast: one or 1d3 mortal if you beat LD value.
-Mental onslaught: roll 1d6+ld vs 1d6+ld to inflict 1mw, continue until you fail (ouch)
-psychic stim: run and charge + fight first
-Might from beyond: +1A and 1 for one unit (inf or biker) very good if you equip biker with power pick (s, -2, d3), overkill if you cast it on purestrain ^^

Relics, traits, and stratagems

-Relics :
14 relics. One I like is :
Dagger of swift sacrifice to replace the Sanctus one. Still, 2+ 2+ -2 2D but also inflict 1d3 mortal on a character once he finishes his attack. Note each character hit take 1d3 MW.

Traits :
Generic
-Friendly cult inf and biker can Heroic inter within 6 of this model
- minus 1to hit wl
- Attack and Strength +1 (holy shit patriarch !)
- minus 1 damage on your warlord
- +3" range on aura power
- Always fight first

Cult :
- reroll 1 dice per game + 1d3 CP at start
- reroll 1 to hit while within 6
- Choose one unit at the start, reroll to wound within 6" of a warlord.
- if you roll 6 to wound while within 6" of the warlord -1AP
- +2 to Loyalty roll for saving your warlord! (OMG)
- warlord weapon dmg +1

Stratagem: As usual there is 3 pages of stratagems, here a few examples :

-Meticulous Uprising: Before revealing up to 3 ambush marker move them 12", no closer than 9", only cost 1 (it's crazy)
-Counter Spell: Yea spend 3 cp to counter a stratagem played by the other player (2+) ^^
-Aberrant unit fight again (3cp)

That's is for the Cult codex review. This is a very cool codex, I am not sure where it is going to end on the power scale. But the ambush ability seems to have a very high skill ceiling so. Other than that deepstriking and charging with melee unit is going to work well. Also using ambush marker for perfect positioning of heavy weapon team sound super nasty specialy with the alpha jackal grating +1 to hit ^^

Very cool codex with incredible models so much win in this one!

On pre order today ;)

/Cheers.
Bob.

hello everyone !!
In less than 3 days you'll be able to get Arena for kill Team. It's a new expansion focused on competitive gaming. We'll review this in 3 parts:
the content of the box, the philosophy of the product and lastly, rules. Without further ado let's start :

Content of the box :

The box cost 55£ and include :
-1 rulebook(soft)
- 2 x 22x30” double-sided, folding card gameboards that are used for the missions in this game. So that make 4 maps.
-2 sprues of scenery containing each: 5 doors, 4 barrels, 10 crates, 1 pipe, and 1 cylindrical container.
-2 deck of objectives cards
-12 missions cards (cards version of missions in the Arena rulebook, very handy)
-Tactics cards for 2v2 missions (what more tactics ? Rly?)

Honestly, even if the sceneries sprues are of great quality it's quite expensive for what inside. Yes, there are 2 boards and they are dual faced still it's steep. On the plus side, you need 1 box for 2 players so if you are a club or a group of players you can save some money here. In 2vs2 you need 2 box :/

Nothing bad to say on the stuff inside, it's GW quality, everything is top notch.

Philosophy Of Kill Team Arena

The design intent is competitive gaming ! The set of rules force moving up the field, holding points, assaulting position and so on...It's obvious that kill team focused on only long range shooting or with a very low count of models (while stronger) are going to suffer in this game mode.

Furthermore, the map offers a lot of LOS blocking elements. It's quite easy to move covers from cover and stay out of sight. At best you will be getting obscured target. So all the teams specials abilities that improve obscuring or remove obscuring from target get a lot of values in this Arena (i think)

One other interesting part is the symmetry of all the missions. All maps are 100% symmetric and have the same covers in the same positions. So it's 100% fair games.

The Objectives are multiple in each game and include all component of the game like: ranged and melee take out, holding point, moving fast ...it's really interesting to see the attention they accorded to these and made sure to force interaction between the two players. Lastly, each mission has an optional special objective that can be chosen.

Game duration: all games of Arena last 4 turns! nothing more.it's quite fast if you think about it, each model is going to move 4 times max! I like it a lot as it going to make each decision really important

To sum it up, Arena games are: short, filled with objectives, force you to interact with the other team and require you to have a diverse kill team. At least that is the intent we will see what the meta look like in a few months.

Rules

The good news is no tactics inflation for this game mode (in 1vs1) yea they added nearly nothing (it's not like we needed more ^^). Still, there are a few added rules and some specifics in the missions and boards.

General rules

Wall
You can't ignore wall with any rules. Meaning you can't fly over walls, you can't shoot through wall or melee. Walls also grant obscuring if you can't see 100% of the model

Doors
Cost your movement to open or close, they slide into the wall and you can take MW if you prevent the closing with your base. They can't be attacked

Tactic
There is a new overwatch tactic that allows to shoot during the charge. The intent is to allow the shooting player to wait for the charger to be in LOS before shooting. (1CP)

Boards

Objectives

Missions

Battle Brothers missions

(I'd love to play in a double kill Team tournament)

Conclusion

While I regret that there is no rules on how using the other terrain set or boards in a competitive setting it's a good box.
Very welcome addition to kill team, the intent really reminds me of Shadespire and i am eager to play it more !!

/Cheers.
Bob.

Cult review coming this week end (hopefully )

Hello everyone !!!

I know I am a few days late but our Gloompsite Gitz review is finished (at last)

This book has a lot of stuff and we'll be reviewing it this order: Moonclan, Spiders, and Trolls!

Introduction

This Battletome is 112 pages with hardcover as all Battletome it includes, Fluff, Artworks, Painting and covers a large number of units.
(No FW units).
As usual, you'll be able to select: Traits, relics, Battalion, and differents Battleline units depending on the General. So let's get to it there is a lot to say!

The Bad Moon Rules

The Allegiance Ability is tied to Gloompspite Keyword and has been already spoiled by GW But I'd like to give extra details.

The moon path

The moon starts in one corner (your choice) and moves to the opposite corner. Once it reaches it, the Moon is out for the game.
If 2 players are Gitz only one moon is placed (Roll off to choose). The moon grant bonus if you are wholly within the right table quarter or to the whole table. You get no bonus if you are in the corner.

At the start of each round after the first one, roll a dice: 1 no move, 2-5 = 1 move, 6 = 2 moves.

Bonus

One enemy units affected by the moon take 1d3 Mortal on a 4+

Gloomspite Gitz Wizards under the Bad Moon get +1 to their casting rolls, while all other wizards get -1.

Gloomspite Gitz Generals get an additional command point in each hero phase they’re under the Bad Moon.

Squigs under the Bad Moon can run and charge in the same turn.

Moonclan Grot units re-roll hit rolls of 1.

Spiderfang Grot units deal mortal wounds on a 5+ to hit, rather than a 6+.

Troggoths can re-roll the dice to see if they regenerate wounds, or double the results of their first roll.

PS: It looks strong on the paper but doesn't count too much on it unless you have the Loon King.

The Moonclan

The Moonclan is the main subactions of the book. Even includes another mini faction if you want to play full Squigs (I WANT !). Here some interesting warscrolls :

The Loonking is, of course, the kingpin of the army! His Command abilities grant him a once per game control of the Bad moon to halt it on the center of the table for 2 turns! At a bit more than 200pts, he's good value (decent stats and 2/2 wizards). Also, he benefits from 2 of the moon bonus (extra CP, and +1 spell rolls)

LoonBoss on Mangler Squigs
My Personal favorite !! The LoonBoss on Mangler Squigs is a great model, Crazy amount of damage on a charge, Buff other squig in a huge aura. Must have!
One problem is that it cost 300pts oO

GobbaPalooza
Another interesting choice is the "GobbaPalooza" it's 5 gobs heroes choose as one unit but all actings independently during the game and all have different little powers. (some very good debuff). Leader slots are super tight in a Moonclan army (or spider) and having 5 heroes without using a leader slot is value !

Loon Boss
The standard gob hero is a point of contention in my gaming group ^^, Cost 70 pt :/ shitty stats, 5wounds at 5+, 3 attacks (3+ 3+ -1 1d3). But his command ability looks very promising, Target moon clan grot gets: on an unmodified roll of 6 to wound deal 1 extra mortal wound. Sound great with a huge pack of grot buffed with extra attacks (see after). I imagine at best getting 4 attacks per grot (4+ 4+) and optimistically 30s grot in melee. So 60 hits dealing 10 extra mortal wounds (and a bunch of armor roll for the targets ^^). There is ONE big problem :( the command has to be used at the start of the Melee phase and the target must wholly within 12"(24" if it's the general but it's suicide). it's going to be hard to pull off :/

Sneaky Snufflers A new support units that can add +1 melee attack to one unit. You can stack this buff but target suffers 2d6 MW after the first one ^^. I imagine using stacking it twice on a massive gob unit (where the backline can't reach fight)

Sporesplatta Fanatics Another good inclusion, it's basically fanatics with mushroom&chain. But grant +1 attack to grot and Block Los (1" aura ). The sad part is that they cost a lot of points (120pt for 5 oO)

Rule of thumb for this battletome, everything but battleline feel overpriced.

Hoppers Bounderz at 100pts for 5 the price is steep (up to 15 models) but I find them very good if you can set them up with the sniffler, the manglers command ability and the moon (that grant run and charge)

ps: A battalion allow to reroll random move of Squigs units (massive improvement math-wise)

Moonclan Grotz
Stabba & Shoota didn't change.

MoonClans have a lot of Wizards and they are going to need them! ^^ Multiple spells deals Mortal wounds, some of them are very strong. You are going to need a bunch of those spellcasters if you want to have a chance. Also, there are a few good debuff spells that force a target to fight last (super good !). Very strong stuff!

Traits MoonClans traits are nothing specials because the one carrying them is only a goblin ^^ but I really like "Fight another day" it allows moving 2d6 after attacking in melee with the general^^ very handy on a Loonboss (i a small game)

Relics
Foetids Shaman relic list is "SOLID"

Other relics list are Ok-ish but it doesn't matter as you are going to take Moonface Mommet or Sneaky stealing. Both synergize very well!

Endless Spells
They got 4 of them :

-The "moon" deal Mortal wounds and debuff casting rolls of non-gloomspite wizards. You can really screw a back line of magic users if you use it well. (Auto include)
-Atomic Mushroom: More mortal wounds, Perfect on a big blob of armored infantry ^^
-Spider Tide: Not great but Huge range.
-Spider Cauldron: Great buff, +1 cast and unbind, grant full spell list to the caster (Nearly auto include).

Bonus to cast rolls are very important in the army as you can get a stronger version of the spell when you roll 10+

Badmoon Shrine

It's Free, Respawn shootta & Stabba, and auto pass Morale in a WW 12". Strong but placement rules force a defensive game!

Battalion

Ok but expensive :

-Skulkmob Horde: Once per game a shrine respawn a unit at full force! (160pts)
-Squig rider Stampede! : Reroll random move dices. (140pt)

MoonClan Conclusion

Moonclan characters commands power are limited in use. Squig heroes buff Squigs, non-Squigs buff Moonclan Grotz (a keyword reserved to basic Stabba & shootta). Stacking caster is the intended playstyle i think and could be super fun to play. If you can get all those casts/unbind bonus you are gold !!
Moonclan are fine but expensive points wise (outside of Moonclan Grotz). Squigs army should be super fun to play but horribly random ^^

Let's get to the spiders !!

Spider Clan

If you love spider you'll be satisfied with this part of the book.
In a nutshell, it's a simple army, you get the Moon bonus for your spiders (MW on a 5+hit) buff them with a spell (see after for details) and spam mortal wounds ^^

Still, you need :
The shrine, it's free and auto pass morale around it (12" WW) but the placement rules prevent aggressive play.
The Loonking : Having the moon bonus is VITAL but then you need battle line units :/ as King must be general. Still you can get 3 Squig herds as battleline (for 210pts)

The units selection is a lot smaller than Moonclan and consist only of :
-Arachnarok Spider (Shaman version, Catapult Version, Hunter version, Solo Beat version) :
*Shaman Version *: This one has a spell that double the amount of MW inflicted by a unit. Cast it on a big spider rider unit and profit. That mean getting 2mortal wounds on a 5+ with 2 attacks per spider. The spell last until next hero phase. This is soooo strong !!! Also if you roll 10+ you can buff more than one unit.

*Solo Beast *: Deep striking giant spider fun time for the back line ^^ there is a Battalion improving the charge chance. but they only cost -40 compared to the shaman version so i think i prefer having another slingger.

-ScuttleBoss : 100, Command that reroll charge range (and riders attack). He's the only one that can get Trait. Not super useful.

-Shaman on foot : Yea no spider fang :/ + bad starting spell. But access to spider spells list :

-Spider Rider : Battleline if General is SpiderFang. Fly, shoot, deal mortal wounds, get a discount at full force, awesome. You can make them faster in a rider formation (+2 move). Love them!

Relic : One relic is a must have : units in 12" procc poison on a 5+ ! (Like the Moon bonus)

Quite the limited selection but sound like the scary army of the book! Not sure what is the best build, maybe I'll go Loonking + 3 Squig for battleline, Spider shaman on Giant spider, then double max riders and 2 more shamans I think.

Now that the spiders are done Check some trolls !!!

The TROLLS

Trolls have a Hero that grant other trolls as battleline. So yea you can go Full trolls!

Dankhold/TroggBoss :
Regulard Dank is 10w (4+) and 3 Attacks, boss is 12w / 4 attacks (220/300). You need one boss for having River and Strone Trolls are Battleline.
Both versions have one hit kill power that is interesting.
Nothing else to say about them, Awesome models, Ok stats, big trolls.
Better making unit of 1 to avoid losing one troll on morale test ^^

River trolls :
No change but Battleline if the trolls is a General. (160pts for 3). Vomits is still super sexy! Low Bravery :/

Stone trolls :
Battle line and a 5+ FNP against everything. Deal mortal wounds at range (1d3 MW if you roll less or equal than target models number)! Low Bravery :/

Bravery is a problem as losing extra trolls is going to hurt! Still having multiple small units of stone trolls is a decent ranged threat!

Trait / relics :
One relics grant a 4+ FNP that stop working on a 1. For trait i think i prefer the +2 wounds or +1 bravery aura.

Hi there!

A few weeks back RGG offered to try their new mini holder and after using it for a month, I'd like to do a quick review on the Handle!

Introduction

An image is often better than a thousand words :

The RGG360° is an ergonomic handle with a rotating 360° top. The models are fixed on it with some sort of orange putty. The model I tested is a 3D printed prototype (it's amazing what you can do with a 3D printer these days).

I want to review these aspects of the product: ergonomics, rotating top, the putty, stability.

Let's dive into it then!

The Handle ergonomics

The ergonomics of the handle is really nice and help stabilize hands while painting. It feels like a small skying baton handle.

You just have to place your thumb in the slot and voila! The hold is good and stable. To be fair, It's like the GW handle, you can tuck your thumb under the plateau but the difference is that the larger bottom prevents to reach the same level of comfort/stability. After using it for a month I really prefer this shape of handle and don't feel the same comfort on the GW one.

In Conclusion, I really like the RGG360° comfort and stability for longs painting sessions.

The 360° Top

As seen on the introductory video you can rotate the top of the handle. it works very well, there is enough resistance to prevent unwanted movement* but not too much that you have to use strength to rotate it.

At first, I didn't consider the 360° rotation as an important feature. Taking advantage of it was not easy but after some time it's really handy and would miss it badly!

Conclusion: Unexpected super helpful feature.

* If you paint an heavy metal model the top can rotate alone if you tilt it on a side (super corner case). ex: Painting Boar from guild ball (picture at the bottom)

The Fixing Putty

The top of the handle is covered with orange putty that feels a lot like blue tac or "patafix". It holds models very well, even metal Warjack from Warmachine didn't move.

Using this method of fixation allow the handle top to be thin (around 25 millimeters). The good point is that doesn't prevent painting from under. It's my main gripe with the GW holder. The sheer size of the Claw Mechanism prevents painting from bottom angles.

A few things that I didn't like with the putty: If you use a base with a central slot, putty get stuck in there. You have to press strongly to fix the model and it's bad when the base is already painted. Lastly, with bases a lot larger than the top (40mill and more) having your thumb on the side of the base while painting unfix the model (with a simple lever effect.).

Note: RGG told me that the holder will be shipped with extra putty to refill/change.

Even if at first the putty doesn't look like a great idea, it does the job very well and models don't move at all.

Stability of the handle

With a handle this thin, is stability an issue?

on the 3D printed prototype, it was :(.

While I was painting this metal model :
The handle fell 2 times when I put it back on the desk. Of course, it was user error and the model is big and in metal (a bit bigger than a Stormcast) but I would I have liked a base to slot the hand.

After talking with the RGG team, they told me the finished product has a better weight distribution and only the 3D printed version has this problem. The explanation is: To make the 3D printed prototype they used a lot of milliput at the top and it fucked up the weight distribution. They also assured me that the end product will be super stable. Still, a small base to slot the handle when you put it back would have been awesome.

I installed a small base on my desk (with an old tequila glass) to prevent more fall.

Note: It's impossible to take the handle apart without breaking it.

Conclusion

While the balance problem kind of bother me, the handle is excellent. This is now my default paint handle. I don't reach for the GW or other brands as much as possible.

Totally recommend this handle for any painter !!

https://www.redgrassgames.com/holder/

Don't miss their Kickstarter on the 10 Janvier (i don't have the details and the price yet.)

/Cheers.
Bob.

CU next years !

Hello there !!

Let's talk about "Brushes" !! i wanted to write this one for a while but i didn't had the chance.

I don't know if you remember but a few months back i reviewed the Artis Opus brush Kickstarter. My conclusion back then was : "Very good brush but very small for the size and a few tips problem". While saying this the Artis were my new favorite brushes for blending and highlighting, they allowed me to "Lvl up" my painting.

A few weeks back, the good peoples from RGG sent me their new brushes set for review. I was off course Super hyped to do it as i love the Wet Palette they made last year.

The set

The set is composed of only 2 brushes . One size 2 and one 00. It's advertised you can do everything you need with these 2 brushes, like a pro ^^.
I totally agree with this philosophy and unless you need a super large brush to dry-brush a castle wall or something, you don't need anything more. Let's look at the quality and then at the promise of painting everything with 2 brushes only !

The brushes in details

Prices are around 15€ for a size 2 and 13€ for a 00, it's roughly the same as Artis Opus (per brush). They have the size 2 at 14£ and the 00 at 11£. The RGG brushes are made from natural Kolinsky hair in germany. the ferrule is black and the handle is red. The finished product is a beautiful brush that look high end ! (like it supposed to look for the price $$)

The size 2 is the workhorse of the set, very big, with a huge reservoir and a very pointy tip. he's maybe a bit stiff and you need to compensate for this when 2 brush blending or feathering, that mean you have to incline the brush a bit more. Also at first i had some trouble of paint release but i think it was du to the preserver the brush maker used, after washing the brush with warm water there was no problem anymore. Lastly if you have to much paint in the reservoir it start to deform the tip so even if it's tempting to load the brush big reservoir, show some restraint !. Other than that, this brush is my new stapple, i do everything but the finer details with it and honestly the tip is so crisp that i do eyes with it.

The Size 00 : I usually don't bother with brush under size 0 unless i paint eyes so i wasn't that hyped by a 00. After using it for a while my point of view changed, allow me to explain why. First, the brush tip is perfect and you can trace the most precise line with it, secondly the reservoir is big enough to have paint not drying in 10 seconds. It was quite a good experience to paint with this one. More and more now, when i am on a tricky part of a model i reach to this size 00 as it make my life a lot easier !! I couldn't go back now !

I did this model (from guildball) using these brush, nothing super fancy but the size 00 was super handy in the end ! everything else was handled by the size2

Durability

When testing brushes i tend to treat them roughly to see how they endure a few weeks of bad treatments. I still use Master Cleaner and Preserver but often i don't wash when i stop, or i stuck paint into the ferrule. In this case after 4 weeks of use, the RGG Brushes are still in a ok shape. The size 00 is more fragile and you need to take care of it to keep a perfect tip and hairs. Size 2 seem ok nothing special to say about his toughness this is not an old Raphael but still got a very good durability.

Brushes Top 5

So now that i have used a large number of brush brand i want to share a Top 5 of them. Off course it's only my point of view. And even the 5 is still a super good brush.

Rank 1

RedGrassGames Size 2 and 00 : Yea they are the new top dogs now, you can get them both for less than 30€ and free shipping if you are in Europe. The only problem here is that new painters could need a size 1 as not everyone is confortable painting with a size 2 (even with a super good tip)

Rank 2

Size 2 Artis opus : Very good brush, the tip is a bit weird but does the work. Only needed if you want something smaller than the size 2 from RGG. Artis opus brush are smaller than Raphael or RGG so this size 2 is a size 1.

size comparison :

note : The Raphael on the left is 12 years old i think ^^, the old series from R and W&N were the best. Read the note at the end.

Rank 3

Artis Opus series everything from 1 to - 000, didn't tried their new size 3 & 4 so i can't comment.

Rank 4

Raphael 8404 : used to be my favorite brush, they are still super good but the competition make better products now.

Rank 5

W&N Series 7, the venerable WN. Good brushes but a bit too soft to my liking. Size comparable to Artis Opus.

ps : Old series of W&N and Raphael (8+ years) should be Ranked First without much trouble, but those times are behind us. Now the quality control and hairs used is not as good. I heard multiple explication but i can't confirm or deny these version, i just know that the quality offered by these 2 brands is not as good as before.

Conclusion

Big yes on the RGG brush, If you are in Europe and can get free shipping there is no need to hesitate for the price. These are 1 step ahead of the competitions and if you treat them ok you should be super happy for a long time. The size 00 from RGG is now part of my process and i don't imagine how painting without it.

Still don't forget that the size 2 is huge and could require some adaptation or a size 1 brush (in this case i would advise the Artis Opus size 2 as a supplement.).

Link : https://www.redgrassgames.com/brush/

/Cheers.
Bob.

Hello everyone !!

Details and review of the specialist Detachment from Vigilus Defiant.

Specialist Detachement Rule

The rules for using a specialist detachment are on these 2 photos.

The stratagem allow you to take 2 warlord trait, one for the general and one for a character in the Detachment.

List of Specialist Detachement

Indomitus Crusaders

This one is about the Gulliman Crusade and primaris getting veteran !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

Captain, ancient, lieut, Primaris inceptor and Intercessor qualify for this Detachment

Warlord trait

Extrat chapter tactics once per battle

Relics

Reliquary of Gathalamor : -1 to psychic test in 18" and D3 mortal on a 4+ each time a psycher cast a spell !!!(Holy shit)
Standard of the Ultima FOunding : Primaris ancient only Once per battle RR 1 for hit and wound in a 6" bubble (meh)

Extra stratagem

Veteran : 1cp transform one intercessor unit into veteran (+1ld and A)
Liberators : 1cp hit roll of 6 in melee grant 2 hit.
Bolt rifle become rapid fire 2 for one phase.
Auto bolt auto hit at half range
Stalker become sniper weapon and deal mortal on 6+ to wound.

I find this Detachment quite strong and fix a lot of problem intercessor have.
Just waiting on the Primaris rhino now ...(still far away)

Ultramarines Vitrix guard

Top of the top chosen by Gulliman from 1st comp

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

Captain, ancient, Vanguard, Honour guard, and sternguard are affected.

Warlord trait

Once per battle reroll wound roll in melee made by victrix in 6" of the warlord.

Relics

Soldier blade : s+1 ap4 d2
Standard : +1 ld to Ultra and +1 A to Victrix

Extra stratagem

Strike first (bonker good) : unit just charged by ennemy can fight at the end of the charge phase (3cp)
Fight like demigods : +1 to hit in melee for 1 unit if within 6" of captain.L

Imperial Fiests SiegeBreaker Cohort

Breaking siege IF style !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

Affect : Captains, Centurions, Dread, Vindicators.

Warlord trait

If warlord doesn't move IF in 6" get cover and auto pass morale (LOL so fluffly)

Relics

Eyes : reroll 1 for shooting for Siege Breaker within 6"

Extra stratagem

Seismic Dev : Mortal wound on 6 vs Vehicle and building
Demolition : deal damage against model inside a destroyed building.

Crimson fist Liberator Strike Force

Liberation of Rynn's was hard so they want to help other !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
affect : Primaris char, intercessor, reiver, hellblaster

Warlord trait
Reroll1 within 9" of the warlord

Relics
Big bolt pistol S5 ap-1 D2 pistol 2 hit generate extra attack. (it's actually decent)

Extra stratagem
Heroes : Double hit on 6 during shooting phase (one unit)
Parangons of Dorn : 1cp after being shooted at you can shoot as it was your shooting phase.

Black Templar Sword Brethen

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
High marshall Helbrecht, Emperors champ, Cpatains, Company champ, Veteran.

Warlord trait
+1A and double hit on 6

Relics
Holy Grenade, roll 1d6 every 10 model in the target unit on a 2+ = 1d3 mortal.

Extra stratagem
Fnp 5+ for one unit until end of round.
+1A and reroll wound during one fight phase. (2cp)

Ravenwing Attack Squadron

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Affect Ravenwing units.

Warlord trait
Warlord fight first

Relics
Monster Slayer of Caliban : s+2 ap-3 d3 damage +1to wound monster and vehicle.

Extra stratagem
Swift strike : 2cp Move after fighting.
Signal the attack : +1 to hit if you already wounded the target this phase.

Spaces Wolves Stalker Pack

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
affect : Battle leader, blood claw, reivers.

Warlord trait
+1A on charge

Relics
Power axe : D3 mortal dmg on unmodified 6 to hit.

Extra stratagem
+1 to wound if enemy have been wounded (melee and 2cp)
Charged on 3d6 keep 2 best if you are within 12" of a Stalker pack unit that succeed a charge.

Cybernetica Cohort

Kastelan Robots Maniple !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Affect : Tech priest DOminus, Enginseers, Cyber datasmiths, Kastelan Robots.

Warlord trait
Once per battle repair 1d6 instead of 1d3 (ok.....)

Relics
Change Battle Protocol at start of each movement phase.

Extra stratagem
+3 to charge roll of a kastelan unif if within 3 of the Datasmiths
Kastelan units with Aegis Protocol activated count heavy weapons as assault weapons.

Servitor Maniple

Cyborg zombie spam !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Tech priest DOminus, Enginseers, Servitors, Destroyers, Breachers.

Warlord trait
Rez or heal a Kataphron by saccing a servitors.

Relics
Axe : Mortal wounds on a 6

Extra stratagem
One unit get 5++
+1 to hit roll until end of phase (shooting)

Anointed Throng

Like a SledgeHammer !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
affect : Abominants and Aberrants

Warlord trait
+1 to charge roll if within 6" when the roll is made.

Relics
Bigger sledgehammer

Extra stratagem
When a model is slain in target unit you can pile in and attack !

Deliverance Broodsurge

Mad Max Tentacle Road !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

Affect : Acolyte, Neophyte, Goliath truck

Warlord trait
reroll run and charge while within 6" of the warlord

Relics
Vial of blood : Icon ward only : +1ld and once per battle +2 A and +2S

Extra stratagem
+1 to wound if charged
Reckless manoeuvre : Disembark at the end of the move phase , roll a dice for each model on a 1 you have 1 slain. How come Blood Angels don't get this one ? :(

Windrider Host

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

Affect :skyrunners : Autarch, farseer, warlock, conclave , windriders, Vypers.

Warlord trait
Units within 6 can fallback and charge.

Relics
Replace a witchblade : Damage 3 wound on 2+

Extra stratagem
2cp after fighting one unit can move (and advance )
3cp Pick a farseer, units within 6" gain -1 rend for the shooting phase.

Wraith Host

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
SpiritSeers and Wraith Construct.

Warlord trait
Wraith constructs reroll charge within 6"

Relics
Warp spawn Bane, Damage2 , wound on 2+ ignore invul save from daemons and psycher.

Psychic power
Charge Value 6 , pick a wraith construct unit that gain cover.

Extra stratagem
+1 A for a wraith construct.
2cp : Spirit seer give his 4++ to a wraith construct unit until start of the next turn.

Emperor Blade Assault Company

Lasgun wannabe blood angel !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Astra troopers and Transport.

Warlord trait
Warlord can issue order from inside a vehicle and count being 3" from a Vox.

Relics
3++ save but stop working on first fail.

Extra stratagem
Rapid redeploy : Disembark one unit at the end of the move phase.
Mechanised Fire support : Vehicle within 6" of a charged infantry unit can Overwatch too and hit on 4+

Emperor Wrath Artillery Company

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
affect : Commanders, Masters of Ordnance, Basilisks, Hyrdras, Wyvern

Warlord trait
while within 6" of the warlord, 6+ wound roll increase AP by -1

Relics
Orbital tracker : One unit per turn ignore cover.

Extra stratagem
Suppressive fire : Can't shoot this phase but one ennemy unit can't overwatch and halves move.
Pounding Barrage : Select one unit from this detachment, Shoot twice with one weapon type.

Emperor Conclave Infantry Company

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
affect all sort of troopers and their commander.

Warlord trait
reroll 1 in melee within 6" (WTF)

Relics
Roll 2 dice and pick lowest for LD test, if bearer die one unit within 6" get +1A and auto pass moral.

Extra stratagem
Model slain from target unit can pile in and fight before being removed.
Priest that make a charge move grant +1 charge roll within 12"

Emperor Fist Tank Company

At last Tank spam !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem

affect : Leman russ

Warlord trait
Reroll overwatch for warlord and within 6"

Relics
Hammer of sunderance : Battle canon only : 72" Heavy d6, s8 Ap 2 D3

Extra stratagem
Advance : Shoot twice the turret no matter of fast he moved.
Steel Phalanx : Mortal wound on a tank charge.

Tempetus Drop Force

Hot drop ! (btw what happened to the beta rule about Deep strike ? it's not in the CA 2018)

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Affect : Tempestor : Primes, scions, Command squads, valkyries.

Warlord trait
+1 to hit with ranged weapon if Disembark from Valk and within 6" of warlord.

Relics
Bearer resist psychic power on 2+

Extra stratagem
Precision Drop : Safe Grave chute insertion.
Aerial fire support : Valkyrie overwatch on 4+

Stompa Mob

STOOOOMP !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Affect one Stompa and he Become a Character !

Warlord trait
+1 to hit and wound in fight phase. Or +1 to wound in the shooting phase (hooo no +1 to hit :( )

Relics
5++

Extra stratagem
Stomp stomp Stomp : One enemy unit in melee get 1 mw for each 6+ (roll for each model)
Stompa - Porta 4 CP (yes FOUR) : Deepstrike a stompa ! (haha)

Kult of Speed

Red go faster ! (even if the illustration image in the book show yellow badmoon)

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Affect Speed Freek !

Warlord trait
Auto pass morale within 12"

Relics
Deffkilla Trike only : +1T and 5++ (hey not bad !)

Extra stratagem
TURBO BOOSTA : During an advance double mov instead of rolling ! (2cp)
Consolidate 2d6" instead of 3" (2cp)

Dread Waaagh

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Big mek and all orcs walker (and killa kan too) (no stompa)

Warlord trait
repair one more wound

Relics
Shock attack gun only : 60" heavy 2d6 S2d6 Ap -5 Damage D6. Deal 1d3 mortal if S >= 11

Extra stratagem
Kustom Ammo : Pick an unit, shoot twice with all his weapons.
Mek connections : Extra speshul on a 4+ instead of a 6+

Blitz Brigade

Horde of battlewagon !

Specialist Detachment Stratagem
Warboss, battlewagon and variation.

Warlord trait
While embarked, the warlord grant +1 move and Ere we go

Relics
Pick one enemy unit, re-roll 1 against it during the shooting phase.

Extra stratagem
Double range of the weapons on 1 Battlewagon.
Roll 3 dice for BoneBreaka and keep highest
Hold on boys : 2cp , Embark and Disembark an orc unit from a battle wagon (CANT CHARGE)

Conclusion

Loads of specific detachement, some are very good other are trash tier. I still wonder why we need these formation ?
Stratagem would have been enough...

/Cheers
Bob.

Hello again !!

Chaos knight rules are included in the CA 2018, only 6 pages with 2 full pages image. So there is more of an index thant a mini codex :)

3 knights Chassis

No knight Preceptor :/ but Armiger and Dominus are added !

The Renegade knight

-Normal knight but chaos aligned .
-Can equip dual ranged weapon get access to carapace weapon also.
-Gain 1 attack and +1 WS if you equip 2 melee weapon. (Cool idea !)

Cool stuff !

The Renegade knight Dominus

Take the 2 dominus version into a single one, but sadly you can't mix the weapons.
So it's the Harpon and Conflagration canon or Plasma and Volcano lance.

Renegade Armiger

Very cool addition to the Chaos lineup ! You'll get acces to both version of the Armiger. Sadly like with the dominus you can't mix the weapons so it's : thermal spear + reaper chain sword or Dual auto canon.

Points Unless i am mistaken are aligned with the Imperial one.

Detachement Rules

All fit on 1 page, there is one detachment, one trait, one relic, 2 stratagems.
Bare minium but at least it's not nothing ^^

Lance detachment

Warlord trait

Relic

Stratagems

That's it for the Traitorus knight !

/cheers.
Bob.

Dinner time here and i'll try to do Matched play mission and Vigilus fluff after !

/Cheers.
Bob.

Hello again !!

Second review of the day with "The Eight" it's a 8 man commander detachment included in the CA 2018.

The Eight are the greatest champions of the Farsights Enclaves, led by non other than Commander Farsight himself.
The Eight take to the battlefield as one, a band of fearless warriors piloting some of the most powerful Battle suits the T'au have ever created.

This is a formation of 8 suits (farsight, 6 crisis commander, 1 Broadside, 1 riptide) + 14 drones

Heroes of the enclaves

To me it's the most interesting part of the formation, each one of there is a hero with some cool background. Being able to play a Gundam cast is such a cool idea ! even if i never really like the T'au i want to try this one !

Using the Eigth in battle

-Must use a Super Heavy Auxiliary with -3Cp and no extra signature system.
-Farsight must be commander and get "Hero of the enclave" trait (heroic intervention with 6" range and reroll attck on charge/charge/HI)
-You get 8 models and 14 drones for a bit more than 1100 pts !
-Master of War rule with "Farsight Enclaves" (you can use Kauyon one extra time per battle)
-Sept Tenet : Reroll wound roll of 1 for ranged attack within 6" of the target.
- Savior Protocol : drones can take a wound instead of target (2+)
-Crisis sized suits can Manta strike.

Profiles

1) Farsight : Unchanged from T'Au dex.
2) Brigtsword: Commander equiped with a dual metal that can be used as a melee weapon. -2 distance to charge him
3) Bravestorm : got a 2+/4++ and a 6+fnp
4) Sha'vastos : the one with the puretide chip (one reroll per battle & free CP on a 6+)
5) Arra'Kon : Inflict mortal wound when charged.
6) Torchstar : No Deepstrike bubble (12") and -1 to hit her with ranged attack.
7) Ob Lotai : Reduce dmg taken by one and ignore malus to move and shoot with Heavy weapon.
8) O'Vesa : Normal riptide with ws 6+ (earth cast noob^^) + reroll 1 to shoot and 4+ to avoid MW on nova reactor.

Conclusion

Look like a fun detachement but i am not sure it's going to be effective on the table. I am not sure there is enough shooting for the price but i hope i am wrong !

My only rant could be the display of the rules everything is cramed on 3 pages it's hard to ingest !

/Cheers.
Bob.

Next stop Renegade Knight !

Hello everyone !!

Review of the Sister codex from the CA 2018

Content

This beta codex is included in the Chapter Approved 2018 Edition.
32 pages with fluff, artwork,stratagem, trait, relics and chapter tactics.
They kept the Faith point system even if the point generation is different.

the good news is :

-Can't say too much but it could be the biggest release eveeeeer ! (or as big as the Primaris release)
-I have been told that new range is exciting and not limited to concept already existing.

Rules

All sisters but Celestine and her 2 bodyguards have keywords for the chapter trait.

Shield of Faith

Models with this rule get a 6+ Invul save against melee and range attack and can deny the witch but with only 1d6 (trash unless you have Brazier of eternal flame).
There are 2 way to improve this 6+ with an Aura

-Celestine : grant +1 to invul save for units within 6" (+2 to her bodyguard)
-Canoness warlord trait : grant a 5-6 base invul save for units within 6"

Note : both power are "unit within" and not models or unit wholly within. Also celestine and

-One stratagem (1cp) improved the Shield of faith by +1 to one unit during one battle round (once per battle :/)
-Seraphim Squad get +1 to the shield also

All these max at 3+
Vehicle in SOB army have this rule also. (So Rhine, Exorcist, Immolator)
All priests, Flagellant and penintant don't have this rule.

Maybe the Aura limit is a bit short but i can have a wall of 4++ rhino ^^, a bunch of 3++ Seraphim or even a pack of exorcist with a 4++.

I don't know if it's super strong or not on T3 models but i am sure there are some hope here.

Faith system

Act of Faith are used by Sororitas army by :
-Selecting one unit with this rule (every Sororitas but vehicule.)
-paying 1 faith point.
-rolling a dice and scoring more or less than the difficulty.
-Each AOF can be attempted once per battle round

Faith Points

Faith points generation have been changed.
You start with 3 points + 1 for every 10 models with the rules "Act of Faith".
There are multiple alternate way to generate extra like :
-1 stratagem grant 1 Faith vs 1 cp
-1 stratagem grant 1d3 FP when you loose a character (3 if it's your warlord) you can use this one in reaction of the death of your character.
-1 order conviction grant 1 FP when you loose 1 unit.
-1 order convition grant 1Fp on 4+ if you destroy one ennemy unit.
-1 warlord trait grant 1Fp on a 4+ each turn
-1 relic grant a 5+ refund one FP used to cast an Act of faith.

Ps : Models don't have to be in the same unit to count, characters also count.

Casting Act of Faith

Casting an act of Faith is simple, select one unit with the rule "Act of faith" , pay 1 point of Faith roll a dice.
If you roll more or equal than the required difficulty it's a success.
Note that All AOF are once per battle round success or not.

3 ways to improve the chance of casting it :
-Simulacrum Imperialis : +1 to roll it's an upgrade to SOB (10pt)
-Dialogus 6" Aura : Reroll AOF.
-Chapter trait granting +1 to AOF rolls.

Hardest to cast is 5 easiest is 3. At best you get a +2 and reroll. I really think the chapter trait is nearly auto include.

Acts of Faith

There is 6 of them :

One was already showed by GW
- +3 mov diff 4
- Heal or rez one unit diff 3
- 4+ sv vs mortal diff 3
- +1shooting diff 4
- Double pile in diff 5
- Pass morale diff 3

Nothing over the top appart from the Double pile in. But off course +1 to shoot combined with the stratagem to affect Other sister in 6" could be super nasty.
Ps : Unit affected by the stratagem vessel of the emperor don't need to have act of faith rule. So in theory you could cast the +1hit Act of faith and AE spread it to multiple Exorcist.

Units

Honestly they is not much to say here. It's still the same stuff as before but

QG

-Canoness lead the army, have the captain rule (reroll 1)
-Celestine : Auto include, +1 invul save, rez unit, self rez, 4+ invul, 6 2+ s7 d2 melee attack.
-Missionary : grant +1 A in 6 aura, cancel flee loss on a 4+.

Troop

Classic sister squad : ws 4+, bs 3+, s/t 3 cost 9pt. Same as before. one special, one heavy still limited to melta/flamer/bolt weapons.
Rhino et Immolator get the 6+ inv rule.

Elite

-Geminae : Celestine bodyguard, can take them without her but they now take a slot.
-Repentia : 3+ 3+ fight with an eviscerator (s*2 ap -2 d2) -1 to hit.
-Misstress of repentance : Auto include if you have Repentia, grant them reroll charge, run and hit. Can trigger the 1d3 FP stratagem.
-Celestian squad : Veteran squad gain 1 attack, 1 ld and 3+ 3+. One extra sister can equip a melee weapon and the sarge can equip a pistol. They get a bodyguard rule (2+ transfer a wound from a character)
-Preacher : Aura bot for the +1A in 6"
-Hospitalier : Heal or Rez model.
-Dialogus : reroll AOF within 6, 30 pt is expensive for their stat but you need one or two :/
-Arco Flagellants : still cost the price of a SM, they have 2d3 attack each (3+ s5 -1 D1) . Note : there is a super fluffy stratagem that make each Flagellants attack 6 times each but you have 1/6 chance to die at the end of the phase. (extrimus trigger word !)
-Crusader : 13 pt for a stormshield and a power sword is not bad..but not great. They get AOF and Shield rule but don't have Sororita Keywords...can take a unit of 10, don't take slot if you have a priest and reroll hit on charge/when charged
-Death cult assassin : Reroll hit on charge or when charged. still 4 attacks 3+ s4 -2 d1 attack that reroll on charge for 17pts is ok.

Fast Attack

-Seraphim squad : 3+ 3+ dual bolt pistol. 5+ invul from shield of faith, deep strike. can take 2 pair of flamer or fusion pistols. They are kind of good front liner with a shield combo you get them to 3++ can rez 3 per turn, once charged they can desengage move 12" and shoot again.
Note the flamer pistol are 1d6 shot now. +2pts from the sister
-Dominion squad : Normal sister but they can equip 4 flamer/melta/stormbolter. Vanguard = make an extra move at the start of the game and if embarked the vehicule does it. It combo very well with the immolator as you can move 12 before the game, move 12 first turn and shoot your heavy flamer. Kind of nasty against horde army (you do this after disembarking your sister.) +1points from the sister.

Heavy support

-Exorcist : pew pew pew 1d6 missile s8 ap 4 D6 at 48", they have shield of faith but can't cast AOF, so you need to use the AE stratagem to grant the +1hit.
-Retributor squad : Classical dev squad but can take Heavy flamer.
-Penitent Engine : If you can deliver them they will take out the intended target period. each one have 4 3+ s10 ap 3 d3 attack, they fight twice and they reroll on chargeoO. They are still 7w T6 4+ / fnp 5+ but i am not sure that is enough to cross the battlefield. (100pt)

Order Conviction

6 options, only apply to Order infantry.
-6+ fnp
-gain 1 FP when loose one unit.
- +1 Act of fait rolls. (must have)
-Gain 1 fp when destroy one unit (4+)
- +1 A/S when charging, charged or Heroic inter.
-Overwatch on a 5+ and never loose more than 1 model on a LD test.

Honestly with the Faith rules like this, i don't think you can pick something other than Ebon Chalice (+1 AOF) sad :(

stratagems

4 of them are very good :
Vessel of the emperor will : AE act of faith. (3cp)
Sacred rites : gain 1 FP (1cp)
Martyrdom : 1d3 FP when a character die.
Sacred banner of the millitant order (+1 Shield of faith roll for one battle round) Too bad it's only once.

A few not too bad :
-Extra relics (1/3)
-Purity of fatih : 1cp, roll 1d6 on a 4+ negate the psychic effect.
-Suffer not the witch : reroll failed wound roll against psycher.

Warlord Trait

There is only one : Shield of faith is 5+ while within unit is within 6". Between the Celestine, the priest and this aura, it really feel they want you to make a big blob of sister in the middle

Relics

- Magic mantle : 3++ for a canoness
-Brazier : Friendly order Deny the witch with 2d6 instead of one while within 6 of the bearer. It's funny when your rhino Deny the witch ^^

And that's is all for the Sororita !
Keep in mind it's a Beta Code while we wait for the sisters release this year !!

Conclusion

This betaDex is interesting but i am not sure i like the intended play style (a big blog of inf/vehicule in the aura range).
The intergration of priest and flagellant still feel artificial and i'd love to see more interaction/combo with the sisters.

I know i am late on the schedule (sorry but computer is stuggling since i updated my linux distr) i chain myself to my computer today and write all the review (next is the 8 , then regenage knight, then new mission, then vigilus fluff, then new formation... )

/Cheers.
Bob.

Black stone Fortress Play Test :

Hello everyone !!

Yesterday we played Blackstone Fortress, doing the first mission of the campaign. I say first but all mission are randomized so it's not the same start for everyone. Before saying what i think of the game i am going to do a short review of the material and a quick explaining on how the game works. I'll try to keep it short as a lot of content is already available on the gw community website and on Blackstone fortress website

Content of the box

The box is really heavy for the size. It's jam packed with models, hextiles, cards, books.

The models

9 adventurers models, 2 bad guys sprues with on each : 6 Guardsmen, 2 Urghul, 2 beastmen, 2 drones, 1 CSM, 2 psychers, 2 negavolt cultists, twice ! And 1 Chaos lord sprue (amazing model )
That's a total of 44 models.

The models themselves are all push fit, the quality is awesome. The new CSM lord is incredibly well detailed. My favorite are the new traitors guardsmen, these are incredible good models. The adventurers are also great, the production is of great quality. But that no surprise knowing GW. I'd say it's even getting better as they get experience with push fit release.

Stuff

Books

The box contains 5 booklets full of rules, background and construction guides for the miniatures:

- A 16-page Rules booklet: this walks the player through games of Blackstone Fortress from setup to exploration, with explanations of special rules and a quick reference guide;
- A 16-page Combat booklet: this contains all the rules for resolving combat during games, with easy to follow annotated examples and a quick reference guide;
- A 24-page Precipice booklet: this details the actions that occur between expeditions, with your explorers resting and rejuvenating;
- A 24-page Background booklet: this provides details on the Fortress, the explorers and the hostile forces they face;
- A 16-page booklet of datasheets for using the included miniatures in games of Warhammer 40,000.

Gaming Content

The box also contains everything you need to set up and play a game of Blackstone Fortress, including:

- 40 double-sided board tiles to create the internal labyrinths of the Blackstone Fortress;
- 234 gaming cards;
- 9 Stasis Chambers – safe places for characters to rest between explorations;
- A Databank and a Hidden Vault;
- 70 markers;
- 28 dice.

Honestly everything is perfectly produced.
Included also, large number of plastic zipper bags for storage and game continuation. There are 2 versions of these bag, one for packing (usual transparent bag) and one for each player to store his cards and stuff for the next game (with a cool logo on it)

If you want more details just take a look here :

https://warhammer40000.com/blackstone-fortress/

or

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Warhammer-Quest-Blackstone-Fortress-2018-eng

Rules of the game

You can play with 1 to 5 players, but if you are five (we where 5 yesterday) one of them is going to be the bad guy. The rules are simple and close to silver tower game play.

How do you play

In a nutshell at the start of the game session you assemble a deck of 8 Exploration cards . Then you draw one and resolve it and so on until you bail/escape or die ^^
There is 2 types of exploration cards. Challenge and Combat
Challenge : Challenge are mini games that you resolve by rolling a few dice or something more manual like doing a tower with your dices. Take 5 to 15 minutes to resolves.
Combat : need to set up the map and models for a fight ! Take 35 minutes to 1h to resolve.

After each card resolution you can go home to the precipice to heal and buy stuff.

For more details check the play video with Becca, louise, andy, and Duncan on this website
https://warhammer40000.com/blackstone-fortress/

During a combat it's the same as in silver tower, you roll 4dices minus wounds and use them on actions.

Action resolution is not resolved with standard D6, now you have D6/D8/D12 with specials marking that grant 3 types of result : Nothing, Hit, Crit. It's super simple and effective. Reminded me of the FFG starwars RPG

What did I think of the game

As I said earlier, we played yesterday and we were 5. Off course I took the role of the bad guy to let them experience the PC side of the game.
4 aspects that i want to talk about : Game setting, Game mechanism, Being a player , Being the bad guy.

Setting up the game

The game is not too long to set up, but it's a bit tedious and you need a large table !

Lots of cards deck to arrange. Nothing serious but I think the box miss a plastic cards holder like in a lot of board game. Or an insert to sort cards as it became a bit messy especially when you have like 10 sorts of cards pile around the board.

Something like this would help a lot :

Off course this is not a deal breaker and you can order one in a minute on internet, but it's an aspect of board game making that gw can improve (and should ^^)

Another problem is setting the map after drawing a combat cards from the exploration deck. You have a bunch of double sided hex tiles all connected to form a maze-like combat zone. it's not that easy to do !

that's a bummer that tiles are not numbered and don't have any tag to set them up, you have to do it by eyes by looking at the card. It really slowed down the game, each cards could have a list of the tiles used and their numbers, an orientation mark on each tiles... All these little helpers are not mandatory but lots of really successful board games have them.

Apart from combat map deployment and cards sorting slowing down the game. Everything is well thought and work perfectly with the game.

State of the board when everyone was close to escape after fight number 2. Notice how the Eldar ranger is trying to get some extra loot^^ #Phatloot but #GreviousWound ^^

Mechanisms of the game

A few points :

Actions & actions dice : Like in Silver tower you rolls your action dice at the start of the round and use them to buy actions. If you rolls high you can use stronger options.
For example Ur-025 assault canon shoot once if you use a 1+ dice, twice with a 4+ dice and trice with a 6+ dice. Yesterday there was turn where he had two 6+ dice to use and shoot 6 times 'Dakkkkkkaaa'. Honestly the mechanism is solid, they improved it by making everyone roll at the same time.

Initiative : Another aspect that I really like is that at the start of the round we decide initiative (by shuffling the cards) then players can exchange initiative slot or even try to gambit (by spending a dice ) to swap their place with an enemy. Very fun and strategic.

Destiny dice : Bonus dice that everyone can use. It worked quite well on Silver tower and it's the same here.

Inspiration
If you slay stuff you can gain Inspiration points. Once you have 3 you become inspired. Inspired Explorers are a lot stronger !!. The only one that dont feel a big change is Ur-25 but it's because is already super strong. (but really super strong^^)

Cover Another great and effective mechanism. It simply reduce dice result by one step. It's strong and a really profitable advantage. Hence weapons ignoring cover are strong options to clear blockade (like the flamer on Pious)

Attack dice : excellent innovation by gw there, roll the special dice of the right colour and check result : 0 dot = failure, 1 dot = hit, 2 dots = critical. It's simple and effective ! Making a bunch of attacks for a guards unit is fast and don't slow the game.

The game as a player

The game is intended to be cooperative, so the focus is on the explorers. Everything is made for making you shine. Results spike, allow you to clear big room full of enemies and the defence dice make you quite sturdy especially if you are in cover.

From what the 4 players said, it was a super fun game, everyone made his best to get inspired (like in Shadespire you flip your cards and get better stat), loot clues and archeotech (that are in fact money)

Game balance seemed good but it was hard to threaten Ur-25 and Pious. Pious have a ability to put fire token on the ground and if enemy walk on it they get burned (it's super strong). And the robot is unstoppable ^^

So it's a super success for the player point of view (and it's the most important point !)

The game as the bad guy

As the controller of the inhabitants of the Fortress :

-You have little to no control on what do the NPC
-You have no control on when NPC group activate.
-Playing as the overlord is ok(ish) if it's the first time playing but after that the interest decrease rapidly ^^

Conclusion : Don't play with 5 peoples as the role of the Overlord is not interesting past the first fight.

On the other hand if you play in cooperative mode with no one handling the NPC : The experience work great. The behaviour tables are well made and the NPC pressure the PC effectively. If you are not Ur-25 it's scary to be attacked if you positioned poorly.

Cover mechanism coupled with behaviour table help create fire-fight and it's super fun. Until Pious take his flamer and start burning the world !

PC really need to weight their options as i think the game can be super punishing ^^
Ps : There are also 5, non randomized fight (look hard) that you must beat to win the game !

Finals Words

Blackstone Fortress is an awesome cooperative game, great mix between Board and rpg it's a big Improvement over Silver Tower. Every Explorers look interesting to play and all have multiple tactical choices. Even the Eldar ranger can do more than sniping from afar !!

The part were you buy stuff and plan the next mission is cool too as you can equip your explorer the way you want. Off course you gain power but the Fortress gain access to new villains and you are more and more scared of dying and loosing everything you have accumulated.

I just hope a future addon will add depth to the GM side !
Favorite boxed board game of GW

That's it for the BSF review

/Cheers.
Bob.