Presence of Faeit is my weekly editorial. I generally report during the week what is going on, and today is my day to comment on what exactly it is that I am thinking of.
6th Edition Leak:
This has came across as a fake from day one by many people. However there are some details to look at, which give it more validity. First off, what is in it, Evasion, Cover saves, feel no pain, and a lot of other rules in here, have all been rumored to be coming for 6th edition already.
While it is true that someone could have just added in all of what was rumored to be for 6th edition, people smarter than me have placed the file creation sometime last year around May. This is significant, because in June we were receiving very detailed 6th edition rumors, that fall right into line with everything in the leak. Here are some links from last year to look at, and while I have not really gone through them, there are similar rules in these.
http://www.natfka.blogspot.com/2011/06/6th-edition-rules-in-detail.html
http://www.natfka.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-6th-edition-rules.html
So are they real? To be honest we don't really know, nor will we ever really know. I give them a good chance of being real, which is in my book 50/50. Even if they were real, we are looking at a full year of work on a new rule book, so it is sure to look and feel different by then.
Even if it is not real, it is my gut feeling, that this is the direction of warhammer 40k. Inclusion of flyers, super heavies, and more. A more complex game is not necessarily a bad thing, nor does it take longer to play. Streamlining games often turn a dumbed down game, with less tactics and less strategy. World of Warcraft, the latest Dungeon and Dragons are prime examples of this, and while they may be popular, they fall out of favor with me and many of the people that just want more out of their game.
5th edition's complexity came out of a rule set that left us with often poorly written rules. While our codices have gotten better, (excellent in my opinion), the rule set leaves me cringing. If Games Workshop can pull off a 6th edition, with all the trappings we are looking at in this leaked set, I am all for it.
Necrons Second wave
Lets face it, a second wave of Necrons will be all that. The Triarch Stalkers, (my favorite unit in the book), supposedly will be getting a model. Not to mention that the Necron range is nothing short of amazing, and I look forward to giving their new skimmers/ flyers a very close inspection to check out all the fine details. I think everyone is pretty confident that this is coming, but the size of it and which models that could left out I am sure are keeping everyone on edge. Which really brings us to the next subject, Tyranids...
Tyranids
A new wave of Tyranids coming in the second half of February? You bet. This is long awaited, and out of all the rumors, I hope this one has the most truths behind it. I am a tyranid fan, and really want to like the codex and its models. The problems are that the models are non-existant for what I want, and the rules from the codex are rather lackluster.
If you take a magic combination of a new release for tyranid models, and place that alongside a new 6th edition rulebook like what we see with the leak, and this could be the year that Tyranids return to the tabletop. We really need them in the overall game, so this is something I really hope for, stars aligning and all that kind of stuff. Tyranids bring a style of play that no other army really does, and we need them at tournaments to be competitive. Hordes of gaunts and huge monstrous creatures bursting from the ground....... whats not to love.
Tournament Prep
My favorite point level tournament is happening at Knightfall this coming weekend, so you bet I am getting ready for it. I do have a dilemma though, which army to bring.
Now my Dark Eldar are already packed. ( I am going to be moving in a month or so), so they are out. This leaves me with two painted armies, Grey Knights and Imperial Guard. My Grey Knights would require me to paint up 6 or 7 models for the list I would run, while my Imperial Guard are ready to go as always..... well I might paint up one model.
While both lists are ready, I wont be posting them here. What they are though is a strong Purifier list or a Meched up Imperial Guard army. There are benefits to both, and both are fun to play for me, its just a matter of deciding or flipping a coin.