The last Gathering Storm book spoilers

This picture has blown up the internet today and rightly so. This is from the March issue of White Dwarf, showing Roboute Guilliman and his sons the Ultramarines fighting alongside Cypher and the Dark Angels against the Thousand Sons.

If this weren't somehow enough to convince you that the Primarch of the Smurfs are back, take a gander at the cover:

So, what does this all mean? Without a doubt it shows you who will be front and center in the Imperial Triumvirate box. As for what this means fluff wise there is no way to tell. One rumor source that faeit 212 puts stock in said this:

"1. the bolt pistol may belong to Cypher 2. three books for gathering storms series 
 3. each book will have a trio of characters
 4. last book is called the rise of legend/Primarch?, which obviously include a Primarch
 5. last trio of characters will be: Grandpa Smurf, Cypher and a Grey Knight Master
 6. then 8th edition
 7. Abaddon is likely to be killed during the last book, possible he is killed by a bolt pistol
 8. dwarf release and gryph hound release should still be there, but the focus is to finish  off gathering storm series and launch 8th edition


 Add on
 40k new edition's content will be much reduced, but still bit longer than AoS rules, around 30 pages, likely release date will be summer. after Book III of the gathering storm."

Its an interesting theory but how much salt comes with this serving? A comment from another 40k Group said something interesting:

"Here's my call. The rumor of Cypher heading off to kill Emperor will happen. The death of the Emperor will send out a psychic backlash across the universe and push the growing Eye of Terror back to negligible size. Ad-Mech will be able to build their own versions of the Necron Pylons to put the Eye in check, however, a new warp hole opens up (I forget the system name, but there was a rumor of a new "Eye" popping up). Roboute Guilliman leads the new Imperium, with his brothers back to aid him. Emperor becomes a literal god, the Starchild, and that's how the Imperium maintains their astropathy systems."

Whatever the case it will be another exciting development in the 40k universe. What do you guys think? Comment below! 

Slow Burn: My Journey into Warhammer - Finale

If you missed it: Part 1 and Part 2

I already knew I wanted to lean towards an Orc (Ork? Orruk?) in Age of Sigmar. It was down to choosing between the Bonesplittaz and the IronJawz. I chose the IronJawz based off that bright-azz yella armor. 😃 (In hindsight, maybe should have went with BoneSplittaz so I could have some archers. Hm.  Damn, you battleline!! HAHA That's another bag of worms!)

After joining the gaming groups on social media, I begin to ask questions and learn some of the war gaming slang and game terms like "4-up save, hero phase, etc. I also got to know some of the guys pretty well even though I had only seen them around the store once or twice. Admittedly, I was a little nervous asking questions and coming into the group at first, but they welcomed me with open arms and plenty of advice. It reminded me of the gaming group social media in Tylertown: Talk trash, crack jokes, talk painting, plan strategy, maybe get angry, and make up later. After learning a good bit, I couldn't wait to get my 440 point, LSU colored, IronJawz army to play a test game. 

A few weeks later, my received my army. Once again, Jim did an outstanding job. 

Once I found some time I caught up with one of the guys in the group, and we played my first game. I was hooked. I enjoyed alot more than 40K Kill Team. I'm not sure if it was just the fantasy theme or the 4 pages of rules as compared to a book, but I loved it. 

A few weeks ago I was able to do another tutorial game and I was even more addicted. Only problem is getting playing time.  Luckily, Top Tier started and escalation league and I'll be able to play every two weeks which work for me since I live so far from Hattiesburg. 

Now I have to ask, why didn't I jump on this earlier. I should have been playing this all these years. Yes, it is expensive. However, for me this is potentially unlimited gameplay. So for me, I plan on building more armies and getting more involved in Warhammer 40K AND AoS. On the downside, I'll be scaling back my video and board game purchases unless it's a big blockbuster hit.

Many thanks to the gaming crews at Now Playing in Tylertown and Top Tier in Hattiesburg. I wouldn't have really explored Warhammer (or write this blog) without you guys.

And before I forget...

WAAAAAAAGH!!!!


You can reach me all over social media and gaming sites:
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White Dwarf read-through notes *Spoilers*

This is an update on the leaks that have hit the internet this week from Feb. 2017's White Dwarf concerning Gathering Storm II. I've read through the entire articles on the fluff and model design, which you can find scans of here.

The flow of the story in Fracture of Biel-Tan will follow Yvraine almost exclusively, from her rebirth in Commorragh as Ynnead's emissary. She is supported by the Visarch, a former Dire Avenger Exarch and teacher of Yvraine from her Craftworld days, who now carries one of the Croneswords. Legend has it that this is one of five relics crafted from the hand Morai-Heg lost to gain wisdom. In fact, the swords that all three models carry in the Eldar Triumvirate box are Croneswords.

Anyway, Yvraine heads next to the Biel-Tan Craftworld to presumably begin the process of bringing Eldar into the Ynnari fold. The details of what happens to the Craftworld aren't mentioned, so you have to buy the book, but an explosion sunders the Craftworld into pieces and the destruction of Biel-Tan's Infinity Circuit causes the manifestation of Ynnead's avatar: The Yncarne. Unlike the Avatar of Khaine, there is only one Yncarne.

The next part of the story takes place on Ulthwe, where Yvraine interrupts the trial of Eldrad Ulthran. The trial is over his actions in bringing this new god into existence of his own accord without any initial support from anyone. I feel it's a little hypocritical considering all the times Eldrad has saved the Eldar race over and over but that's how it goes. Whatever else transpires on Ulthwe Craftworld is also omitted but the White Dwarf article says a near civil war breaks out. That conflict could be the reason for the inclusion of the Black Guardians datasheet in the upcoming book.

After that Yvraine travels to Belial IV, an ancient crone world deep inside the Eye of Terror. Presumably she goes there to recover the last two Crowneswords though the article says she is only partially successful. The story continues on to Craftworld Iyanden where some sort of conflict is underway. It is cryptically mentioned that 'a great hero' dies defending the Craftworld from Chaos. Whether it is Prince Yriel or not is anyone's guess. A hero, or perhaps that same hero, is reborn and the Eldar forces that have been amassed since the beginning of the story head to Klaisus in time to save the remaining defenders of Cadia.

I am very excited to read the story firsthand to fill in all the gaps. One last thing I wanted to mention is the nature of Ynnead and his followers' ability to utilize the energy from spirit stones. At first I felt that this was some kind of vampirism but the write up in White Dwarf puts the spin on it that the souls inside the stones aren't spent at all. In fact, the spirits of the dead are described as having been waiting for this moment for a long time and Yvraine often consults the dead spirits that have united with her much like an Exarch and consult with predecessors. With that information I may have jumped to conclusion that the Yncarne is a sinister entity. Only time will tell though.

Gathering Storm II: Fracture of Biel-Tan will be released on Feb 11th for $50 USA and the Eldar Triumvirate will cost $75. Are you excited? Comment below!

History of...Groundhog Day!

No, this won't be about the awesome Bill Murray movie but this image is!https://amelia4bedelia.wordpress.com/

It's that time of year again, the time where we eagerly anticipate the atmospheric portents from our marmot shaman Punxsutawney Phil. Determined solely on whether said ground dwelling rodent sees its shadow or not, we in the 21st century decide if we will have 6 more weeks of winter.

But why? Where does this tradition come from? And why can't we just ask Jim Cantore instead?

This history of Groundhog Day owes its existence to Candlemas Day, an old Christian tradition where clergy members would bless and distribute candles that parishioners and townsfolk needed for winter. There's also a tradition about pancakes but that's getting off into the weeds and I'll let you Google that one for yourself. Needless to say, this occasion held an importance in marking just how long the bloody cold of medieval winters could take. Several old poems exist on the subject, but this old English song covers the gist:

                                             If Candlemas be fair and bright,
                                             Come, Winter, have another flight;
                                             If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
                                             Go Winter, and come not again.

 German settlers expanded on this tradition in America by selecting a groundhog as an alternate means of predicting the weather. It is believed that this is a carryover from when Romans brought their version of this weather prediction to the Germans, who added that if a hedgehog came out and saw its shadow that THAT would be the meter stick to judge if winter would stick around or not. As there were far more groundhogs than hedgehogs in the Pennsylvanian wilds the mascot choice seems understandable.

So it went for a while, until 1887 when a newspaper editor from Punxsutawney declared Phil the groundhog as America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The fact that said editor was a member a group of groundhog hunters called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club may have played a part. The lore pertaining to Phil is rather interesting, as

"there is only one Phil, and all the other groundhogs are impostors. It is claimed that this one groundhog has lived to make weather prognostications since 1886, sustained by drinks of "groundhog punch" administered at the annual Groundhog Picnic in the summer."

After the prediction is made, Phil speaks to the Club president in 'groundhogese', which only the Club can interpret (one assumes this language is passed from president to president in the most strict and solemn of masonic lodge ceremonies) and that president delivers the news to the world.

So there you have it, the history of Groundhog Day. Now, there is an amazing movie called Groundhog Day that I'm sure many of you have seen. Bill Murray goes to cover the annual event but ends up spending the same day over and over and over until he learns to be less of a jerk. If you haven't seen it, today will probably be the best day to find it on tv.


Here is the clip that references the quote above:

Feel free to comment and don't forget to subscribe to the blog!

Slow Burn: My Journey into Warhammer - Part 2

Where did I leave off? Oh yeah, I didn't know what the heck was going on with my sudden infatuation with all things Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. (Click HERE if you missed Part 1.)

Back in November of 2016, as I was coming from Hattiesburg one night driving into Tylertown, I decided to stop by Now Playing, the gaming store in Tylertown, MS. As I was chopping it up with the owner, he says, "Man, Reggie, you're my type of gamer. You play everything." I said, "You know what? You're right! Everything EXCEPT, tabletop RPGs and Warhammer."

"Well, why no, D&D?", he said.
"I never had a group to teach me or play with. I'd love to learn," I replied.
"OK, we can make that happen here at the store. What you NEED to do, is get on Warhammer."
"Man, that shiznit is high, and I can't paint worth a damn. I don't have time to build and paint. I need the minis ready to hit the table, " I said.
"Jim will paint them for a reasonable price. Plus, I'll knock off a few bucks off a box if you want to get into the game," he said.

I'm pondering now. Should I? Shouldn't I? This would be another game I'm getting into...I know I would want to have a diverse army...diverse means more cash. I have a wife, 2 kids, a wrestling company to think of, and a shiznit load of bills.

"Alright," I said. "Is there a starter box?" Deep down, I'm hoping that it will be so expensive that I can talk myself out of it!

He turns and shows me all of the 40K Start Collecting boxes and boxes for other units...I was overwhelmed. How can a strategy player choose an army that fits his play style when  he doesn't even know the armies other than the Orks and Space Marines! After showing a good variety of factions, I told him, "I've always liked Orks. Orcs in WarCraft and Lord of the Rings, etc. I even have the series of Orcs novels from the UK by Stan Nicholls. (HERE is the wiki for it. It is a very good series. Orcs are the protagonists!) Then he says, "Space Wolves are cool, too!" As he handed me the box, I could see that he was right.

"I tell you what Reggie, why don't you get this Sanctus Reach StormClaw box. It has both of them in there, Orks AND Space Wolves. I'll knock a few bucks off if you want to get it."

How could I pass THAT up?? After talking with Jim on price for painting, I broke down and bought the box and give swiftly handed the box over to Jim. I was all in now. Wait a minute...I have a painter now!! I can do fantasy! Sigmar here I come!!! I was already starting to plot on AoS before I had even played a game of 40K!!

Jim did a great job on the armies:

They started a Kill Team league in December at Now Playing...I participated and had a very good time. Now I need to scratch my fantasy itch. Problem was, nobody, and I meant nobody played Age of Sigmar at Now Playing...

Only one thing left to do.

Head to Hattiesburg and Top Tier.

Part 3 coming soon...

You can reach me all over social media and gaming sites:
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email - krimsynn@gmail.com
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Warhammer rumor teases...the Emperor?

As part of their plan to sow insanity and discord amongst the communities, Games Workshop has released a new close up of some model to be revealed in whole sometime in the future.

I'm calling it: this is one of the seals on the Golden Throne. The next Triumvirate box will have the Emperor standing up from his stasis chair, resplendent in psychic lightening or some other nonsense.

What do you think it is?

Star Trek: Discovery news!

 

 

CBS released a teaser video of Star Trek: Discovery last night to announce the start of production on the new series. Take a look:                                                                                                                    

 

I'm curious to see how this show turns out. It has two major strikes against it in my book. First, it is set a decade before classic Trek so everything will appear to be much more technologically advanced. I had the same problem with Enterprise, to be honest. I'm not really sure what the appeal is in explaining Star Trek history through new shows. For my money, they should skip ahead 200 or so years after Deep Space Nine and do something there with a clean slate.

Second, watching the show will require subscription with CBS' All Access, the network's version of Hulu focusing on their programming and online only original content. The same thing happened with me when Voyager came out. I didn't have UPN so the show just disappeared out of sight, out of mind.

I like Star Trek, though it will always exist as the Riker to Star Wars' Picard, but I don't know if I have it in me to chase it down. That worries me because I'm willing to bet there are lots of people who don't feel like committing to the extra leg work to view the show.

What about you, will you lay down the $6 dollars to Boldly Go?