Weight Progress Day 3

Took a step backwards and made some poor decisions yesterday.  Met my buddy at a chinese buffet for dinner and ate too much, albeit more vegetable dishes than I normally would have, so the meal was at least more balanced.  Also, rehydrated significantly more than normal.  I think I'm always close to dehydrated.

Morning, Day 3...
I am at 241.8 lbs. I am up 1.4 lbs since yesterday and up 0.6 lbs since Day 1.

It's amazing how much weight can fluctuate from day to day.

Iron Warriors - Progress!

Super quick post because I'm TIRED and need sleep.  I did a little painting today to try to get a sample Iron Warrior done.  I'm pretty happy with the color scheme.  All I need to do is paint the leather straps holding the combat blade to his backpack and paint his eyes.  I think I'm going to go for a red glow effect.  I'm not entirely sure yet.  I also need to work out what I'm going to do for the should pad legion mark.  I'll probably do either wet transfers (hate these) or freehand (harder).

Here he is...  Iron Warrior Bob, next to one of his lonely, primed black brothers.  The glue on the grass bit hasn't dried yet, so it's still white.  It'll dry clear.

Spartacus + First Day Success

Yesterday was a looooooong day, but a good one.  I closed out the day by playing a couple of rounds of the Spartacus board game.

What a great game!  It has intrigue, betting, backstabbing, lots of dice and miniature combat.  What's not to like.  The last round saw me and my mediocre gladiator being invited to the arena to face off against one of the strongest and fastest gladiators in the game.  Some decent placement, lucky dice rolls and my opponent taking damage in the wrong places saw me through to victory.  Literally everyone in the game had placed max bets against me and lost everything.  It was actually pretty fun.  Nobody was angry, but I can see this game breaking friendships!

The other positive thing that happened is that I got a little bit of extra exercise in that I wouldn't normally have and avoided garbage food on at least three occasions due to trying to eat healthier.

Morning, Day 2...
I am at 240.4lbs.  I am down 0.8lbs since yesterday and 0.8lbs since Day 1.

Personal Accountability

So, this post is a little bit different, but is something that many gamers struggle with.  I'm going to talk about my weight, my lack of exercise and want I'm going to try to do about it.

First off, I'm not a fat guy.  At least, I don't think I am.  I'm definitely BECOMING a fat guy.  I work in a cubicle, mostly inert, from when I wake up until about 5PM each day.  On a good day, I then go and stand next to a gaming table.  Realistically speaking, and left to my own devices, I don't exercise at all in an average week.  All of this contributes to constant weight creep.

I've been thinking about this a lot.  I want to be in better shape, but I just don't seem to have the motivation.  It's like it's always in the back of my mind.  I eat something unhealthy and only THEN think to myself that I shouldn't have eaten it.  The only times I've been successful were times when I made weight loss either into a competition or public via something like an old blog I once updated or Weight Watchers.  I've never eaten healthy for longer than a week though.

So, I've decided to make my struggle somewhat public.  In addition to the four plus hobby posts per week, you'll start to see additional posts about my journey to becoming a better me.  I would say something corny like I'm hoping that I motivate some of you to do the same, but really I'm trying to create a scenario where I feel obligated to post and stop doing unhealthy things because I'm ashamed of myself and don't want to have to write about it.  Once a week, I'll post a summary of my progress, but I'm going to try to write a short post every single day about my eating and exercise.

So...  here goes.

Today I am 6'1" and 241.2 lbs.  The medical community would classify me as Obese.  I need to lose 13.9 lbs to bump down to the Overweight category.  It's going to be a hard day, but I can do this.

So tired...

It's pretty late as I type this up.  I'm just wrapping up an 18 hour day.  Doesn't sound like much, but being mentally engaged for 18 hours straight is exhausting.

My Imperial Assault group met for a couple of missions today.  We had decided to reboot the campaign and let everyone pick new heroes.  I'll definitely say that the Rebels have a serious advantage when they know the mission AND have four very combat oriented heroes.  I was playing the Imperial side and felt almost like conceding a couple of times.  You know it's bad when you still have three or four turns to go and see no path forward whatsoever.  Generating only two threat per turn is barely enough to summon a single Stormtrooper...  and that's assuming that you the heroes leave you with at least one to reinforce.  I'm hoping that the next couple of missions are a little more balanced.

In other news, my Iron Warriors are coming along nicely.  I did some serious sanding and priming and have the army at a stage where I can begin painting soon.

Star Wars Armada - Fire Lane Tactica

Fire Lanes

I feel like this is the easiest objective to deal with in the current meta. This is the best objective in the world, if you’re playing Admiral Ackbar. If you’re not playing Ackbar, it’s a death trap. If you’re choosing your opponent’s objectives, don’t take this one unless you know exactly what you’re doing. And, honestly, even then it might not be enough.

This objective embodies everything good in a mission for Ackbar, ISD lists, or even a VSD and nothing bad. The second player controls the tone and location of the battle. The second player will have a significant points advantage from turn one on. On top of that, the mission is restrictive, so players have to fly extra carefully lest they land on an objective and give the victory token to their opponent.

That said, if you are going to take this objective, Fire Lanes comes in three flavors:

The Ackbar Stack

Literally a stack of three tokens positioned by the second player so his broadsiding Rebel fleet can cruise passed soaking up 45 points a turn. The exact position of the stack shifts a bit depending on the placement of the obstacles and the type of ships in the Rebel fleet, but really it’s the safest bet in the world. The only downside is that most opponents won’t choose the objective because losing 90 to 0 on turn two sucks.

The 1-2 Punch

You set the tokens up with two on one side of the board and the third as far away as possible. This is a risky idea, but I’ve had it really help me in a few games. This configuration is favorable if you’re running two bruisers and one small ship like a Raider and twin ISDs.

The idea is to spread out your opponent’s fleet and hit them in waves. The same issues apply and the savvy Ackbar player will most likely cruise over to collect two tokens a turn, which leaves you free to dedicate a cheap ship to collecting the third token. I find this works best if you’re hoping to kill your opponent’s ships and you’re less concerned about scoring the other two tokens. This objective will let you play a piloting game and hopefully offer up the victory. 

The Spread

The idea is similar to the 1-2 Punch but favors small ship spam lists. The tokens are spread out across the board in a pattern that your ships would normally fly over the course of the game. It’s a tough gamble because Ackbar and ISDs can slash through hitting these targets at range, and you’re giving away at least some of your strategy.

Still, if you’re flying 5 or more ships (like a CR90 SW7 Spam), then you can drive your opponent crazy while they try to simultaneously nail down your ships and shoot the tokens. Meanwhile, you zip around pounding their ships and collecting 45 points a turn.

In terms of upgrades there isn’t much to talk about here. Expanded Munitions can give you the edge for the objective, but I feel like centering your plan around a ten point upgrade is questionable. Besides, your turbo laser spot is better spent on X17, Heavy Turbolaser Turrets, or Turbolaser Reroute Circuits.

If you’re looking to play a particular attack pattern and want to mess with your opponent’s movement, then Pylon Q7 Tractor Beam is a good choice. It can keep ships out of range, force them onto an objective, or simply help keep them in arc. Likewise, the Navigation Officer can help with a yaw or changing speeds at the right moment. Though, again, I feel like a well deployed plan will make these upgrades unnecessary.

In terms of commanders, Ackbar for the dice, and Ozzel for the movement are both good choices. Beyond that this objective doesn’t receive a direct benefit, even from my man Tarkin.

I hope this was somewhat helpful and informative. Until next time... She’s Got Admiral Ackbar Eyes.

Warhammer 30k - Iron Warriors Progress...

I've made pretty good progress on assembling my 30k army.  As I said, I'm going with the Iron Warriors.

I know assembly isn't super exciting stuff, but I just don't seem the have the same amount of time I used to.  Putting together 15 Tactical Marines feels like the most time consuming task in the world.  I honestly feel like the painting is going to go much quicker.

This is the army list for what I have assembled so far.  For those of you who don't know, Erasmus Golg is an Iron Warriors named character who happens to be equipped exactly like the plastic Terminator dude from Betrayal at Calth.  I'll be using the Iron Warriors Rite of War "The Hammer of Olympia".

HQ - Erasmus Golg (175)
HQ - Centurion w/Chaplain Consul and Plasma Pistol (100)

Troops - 15 man Legion Tactical Squad w/additional combat blades and a Power Sword and Artificer Armour for the Sergeant (220)

Non-Compulsory Troops - 5 man Legion Tactical Support Squad w/Meltaguns and an Augury Scanner,  Plasma Pistol, Power Fist and Artificer Armour for the Sergeant (200)

Elites - Contemptor Dreadnought Talon w/either Multi-Melta or Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon and Extra Armour (175 or 190)

Elites - 5 man Tyrant Siege Terminator Squad (295)

Assuming I give the Contemptor the Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon, this comes out to 1,180 points.  I'll probably also give the Contemptor a Carapace-mounted Havoc Launcher, which puts me at 1,195.

I still have 20 basic Marine bodies remaining to assemble.  I'll probably be doing a 5 man Iron Havoc Support Squad, which is an Iron Warriors exclusive heavy weapons team.  I'll also be doing a 10 man Legion Tactical Squad with the last 5 dudes up in the air.  I'll probably make at least two Apothecaries...  one for each Legion Tactical Squad.  I might do a couple of Techmarines too.  It seems like doing Iron Warriors without Techmarines is crazy.

After that, I'll have to plan out my purchases.  I really like the idea of a Legion Medusa or Basilisk, but I don't like the Forgeworld price tag.  Oh well.  Nothing in life is free.

More to come...

Tyrant Siege Terminators Fully Assembled

My Anvil Industry order finally came in!  I'm pretty excited.  I didn't have much hobby time this week, but I definitely wanted to get my Tyrant Siege Terminators fully assembled.  These Iron Warriors dudes are brutal.  All of them have Cyclone Missile Launchers.  The Anvil Industry bits fit perfectly!

I'll be sanding the bases hopefully later tonight and then getting them primed up soon.  I'd like to have at least one fully painted unit done before the end of April.

WTF Microsoft?!?

So, I come home today to find my computer screen looking like this...

Instant panic.  I'm assuming that I've gotten some kind of ransom virus and I'm now boned.  I immediately kill the network and start researching on my phone.

Yeah...

It's a Microsoft software update.  Totally legit.  Dammit Microsoft.  Whoever thought this was a good idea should lose their job.  Seriously.  Much panic happened tonight and now I can't remember what I was going to post.  I'm so irritated.

Dammit.

Star Wars Armada - Contested Outpost Tactica

Contested Outpost

This can be the best objective in the game, because it offers you a plan from the outset, especially if you’re playing Rebels. The major restriction is in ship selection, you really need to make sure you have at least two ships with a command value of three. But that’s more of a boon than a burden depending on the construction of your list.

By selecting this objective you know that you need to center your deployment and at least the first three turns around claiming those points. You should know if you can hold the station, how long you can hold the station, and what your opponent would have to do to take control of the station before the station is on the board.

The major mistake made by players is a lack of three command ships to control the outpost. Two ISDs sounds like enough until Ackbar is on top of you like a feral animal, and you’re coming up short on both dice and command values. When I pick this objective, I typically have a total of nine command in my list (generally as a part of an Ackbar broadside offensive). For the Empire, think of this objective as something specialized to the VSD as it rewards both moving slowly and staying a confined distance. That isn’t to say you won’t have to issue a lot navigation orders to make sure you keep your enemy in your fire arc, but your opponent will have to contend with both superior firepower and a mounting 20 points per turn, which should be enough to force a tactical misstep and give you the upper hand.

This objective is much more effective if you setup in a pattern that forces your opponent to fly through a few obstacles are their way to the party, but it can’t be so crowded that you’re forced out of position. You want to practice your approach distances and speeds so you can deploy at least two setups incase your opponent decides to plunk an obstacle in the same spot you wanted put the space station. While tricky it is an achievable goal. If you look closely some of the obstacles don’t change position between versions of this setup, which affords you a chance to drop the first obstacle without giving away your the overall strategy.

To this end I recommend one of the below setups: 

Angle

The preferred setup for the Rebel Swirl (or the Corellian C), and very easy to setup as your opponent only has two obstacles to block your positioning. The ideas is the position of the station matches the natural angle of the conga line. This setup lets you slide along a clear and easy path while pushing your opponent to do some tricky maneuvers simply to get into range alive.

Line

The idea is to create a line of obstacles to block a convenient route to the station. It’s surprisingly easy to do with three obstacles. I tend to try to build off of one of my opponent’s placements. Done correctly, their ships will only have clean access to the station for two turns.

If you’re Imperials defend one of your two sides. The goal here is not to create a flawless trap to imprison your opponent and render them impotent, but rather to make things slightly more difficult thereby guaranteeing an extra victory token or kill.

In terms of upgrades, the major hero here is the Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams. It’s a somewhat useful grade for slower moving lists, but in this objective it can keep your opponent in a constant state of frustration. At minimum, it’ll force them to set all their command dials to navigate.

The tractor beam gives the added benefit of confounding flankers and rear attacks from CR90s, Raiders, Gladiators, or even MC30c Frigates.

If you’re ship’s top speed is two, you want to consider Engine Techs. They can help make a crucial turn to keep you in range. Honestly, you can save the points by playing with the distances on your dining room table until you’re comfortable eyeballing things.

Commanders

Motti is probably the best choice for the Empire as the classic wave one strategy still holds here. The VSD is a tank piece of equipment and giving them Motti can be close to cruel in a defensive strategy. If you put enough VSDs in range of the station and hunker down your opponent will spend a lot of time grinding into you, hoping all the while they can kill your list before the six turn limit runs out and they suffer a tournament run ending defeat. 

Ackbar likes to use Contested Outpost as a territorial draw against his opponents, similar to Fire Lanes. In a game where a lot of tournaments are decided by one or two points, most players will rush into an Ackbar gunline to stop the second player from soaking up 120 points. As a Rebel player with this objective your goal is to win by an 8 to 2 margin, at least. That works out to 120 points from the objective plus one more dead ship (or ace squadron) than your opponent.

I hope this was fun to read as well as somewhat helpful and informative. Until next time—She’s Got Admiral Ackbar Eyes.