Remember the Book (and movie) the Hunt for Red October? It brought into more common the term "pulling a crazy Ivan", to put a definition on something a submarine captain would do to shake up would-be pursuers. It would possibly confuse or drive the opposing boat commander crazy, not knowing anything other than that a Crazy Ivan maneuver would occur at some point, and you never knew when. The not knowing the intent or when it would occur would keep the situation tense and alert.
Well, now that we have 7th Edition 40K out, I can see one chapter of the rule book that certainly has Jervis Johnson's stamp on it. And anytime we see something crazy happen in the 40K rules, I'd propose we call it a Crazy Jervis. So...Reecius at Frontline - if you happen to read this blog...use that term in a podcast as a code that you have been here!
So what does this "crazy Jervis" consist of? It is something that seems to be driving the blogosphere crazy concerning 40K - you know what it is! Its everything stuffed between pages 116 and 122 of the rule book! Every pod cast I listen to seems to be shocked and awed and puzzled over the maneuver. Here is Jervis at his best...I've read his writings elsewhere and I'm personally not too surprised! If you skim through this section you get the impression (as I keep hearing) that this section is a wreck - and tournament organizers (like Reecius) are going crazy trying to figure it out our interpret this section of the book to make some sort of sense of it all.
Lets go back to the sub hunt. You may be overthinking the situation.
In reality - the MOST important sentence is in BOLD on page 116. Players must agree to how they are going to select their armies, and if any restrictions apply to the number and type of models they can use.
If I was a tournament organizer...I'd read that sentence AGAIN.
Reecius. NOVA Guys. Local players at Crossroads! Guess what? You can set the restrictions you want based on any definition you want. Stop overthinking! The rest of the text in the section does set some boundaries...but it also foretell the future! GW is predicting that their future books or supplements can contain force org variations - and they tell you the format that they will be presented in!
So, in this section, the permutations under that bold sentence are endless. If I wanted to play a game and my opponent agreed to NO POINT RESTRICTIONS, but required a HQ, 4 troops, and 4 heavies per side, we can decide to do that! If we decide to play a game with 1500 points, one COD, and no allies or fortifications or formations or other CODs, we can do that! If Reecius wants to hold an event that requires 1850 points, restrictions to certain Superheavy units, no fortifications, and two or fewer sources, he can do it! No guilt, no issues! Its all cool!
So why is this all getting people all crazy? The most important thing to remember is that "agreement" between the players as to the format of the game is implied.
In my local gaming, I was asked about a format for an upcoming league match. I asked for 1500 points, a primary detachment that met the COD requirement, and then was open to allies, formations, whatever, and my opponent agreed! So in that regard, we have a valid game! Of course I might have only a single COD of the Space Marine Faction, and he shows up with a AM COD, Knight, and inquisition allies, but, hey! We set the requirements and then met them they way we wanted to!
Now, in Tournaments, where you have a TO who sets and organizes the event, in GW's format should set the parameters for the event in terms of point restrictions (or not), army list restrictions (or not), allowable source (or not), in advance, so a player can prepare for the event. The rule set implies you can set the parameters any way you want. It implies the attendee agrees to the parameters you set!
So is this all driving you crazy? Yep, GW pulled a Crazy Jervis on everyone with 7th Edition, and then they sailed off in the direction they have been sailing. Instead of getting all nuts over that maneuver, you need to see it for what it is, adjust accordingly, and game on!
Am still looking to get a bunch of league games in this week. All I ask is that if my opponents are going to want to do something we have not agreed to in advance, that they can sit and allow me to either change my army list to adjust reasonably to their parameters, or they change their list to some parameter more reasonable and agreeable to both. Of course, the more hopeful thing would be for the neutral league organizer to set better parameters for us all to follow, but right now we are pretty much allowed to do whatever we want! The rule is there are no rules? Nope, go back to page 116....
All for now, going to be a busy week and I can't wait to see the new Ork codex!!!! Cant wait to see what the next Crazy Jervis will be.
...sonar to comm...we have a contact...wait...its...
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
3rd Company Experiencing 7th - Its a Tough Universe!
Captain Fabian and Chief Librarian Tigurius leaned forward towards each other, the tactical table between them. Their faces were grim as they considered the facts before them. Ever since being assigned to the Halo Stars region of space, all news was grim. Overall, they remained optimistic. Grimly optimistic.
Yep, 7th edition is here and 3rd Company (and their support - the 555th Cadian Regiment), are adapting to the challenge.
3rd Company had been in a mere two game in 7th - way less than I'd hoped, but I'm trying to catch up with as many as 4 games coming in the next two weeks. Maybe more if I'm lucky. Right now, time is at a premium.
My first 7th Edition Game was at 1500 Points, my opponent brought a Knight and such. We beat ourselves to a pulp and at the end the game was a draw. In this game I tried to kill of a Knight, and of course came up short. I thought about the list and renewed on my education against the new "Super heavies" out there. I think we had played one of the "local" missions from Creative Twilight.
10 Days later we went at it again. This time for points in a "State 40K League". We got together on a Saturday morning. It ended up as one of the longest 40K games I'd played in a while, caused by 7 turns and having to look up all sorts of rules changes. But 3rd Company got the win, even though it was a very difficult time of it. My opponent got his first loss in the League. This time we'd rolled up on the Eternal War missions - and randomly got the RELIC mission. I think the final score was 3-1. Neither of us had the relic at the end, as my two remaining troop models were hiding behind some terrain to seal the point for linebreaker, and all of my opponent's infantry models were eliminated.
I spent time this week working on a Stormtalon, some terrain for the home table, and toughing up some paint on some older models. I tried a technique using blue painters tape to help do checkerboard patterns in vehicles, which worked pretty well.
Fathers day was pretty cool - my youngest Son had sent me a Taurox kit AND the Space Marines x-box game! Sweet!
Now for a last tip - because you guys know I also am into craft / microbrew beer sampling - try the APP for your phone called Untappd. Details are at:
https://untappd.com/
It lets you keep track of what you drink, where to get great beers, what your friends have been tasting, and you can earn BADGES just for achieving certain drink tasting beering happy metrics! Get it on your smartphone and give it a try!
Check back soon for hopefully MORE 40K goodness!
Yep, 7th edition is here and 3rd Company (and their support - the 555th Cadian Regiment), are adapting to the challenge.
3rd Company had been in a mere two game in 7th - way less than I'd hoped, but I'm trying to catch up with as many as 4 games coming in the next two weeks. Maybe more if I'm lucky. Right now, time is at a premium.
My first 7th Edition Game was at 1500 Points, my opponent brought a Knight and such. We beat ourselves to a pulp and at the end the game was a draw. In this game I tried to kill of a Knight, and of course came up short. I thought about the list and renewed on my education against the new "Super heavies" out there. I think we had played one of the "local" missions from Creative Twilight.
10 Days later we went at it again. This time for points in a "State 40K League". We got together on a Saturday morning. It ended up as one of the longest 40K games I'd played in a while, caused by 7 turns and having to look up all sorts of rules changes. But 3rd Company got the win, even though it was a very difficult time of it. My opponent got his first loss in the League. This time we'd rolled up on the Eternal War missions - and randomly got the RELIC mission. I think the final score was 3-1. Neither of us had the relic at the end, as my two remaining troop models were hiding behind some terrain to seal the point for linebreaker, and all of my opponent's infantry models were eliminated.
I spent time this week working on a Stormtalon, some terrain for the home table, and toughing up some paint on some older models. I tried a technique using blue painters tape to help do checkerboard patterns in vehicles, which worked pretty well.
Fathers day was pretty cool - my youngest Son had sent me a Taurox kit AND the Space Marines x-box game! Sweet!
Now for a last tip - because you guys know I also am into craft / microbrew beer sampling - try the APP for your phone called Untappd. Details are at:
https://untappd.com/
It lets you keep track of what you drink, where to get great beers, what your friends have been tasting, and you can earn BADGES just for achieving certain drink tasting beering happy metrics! Get it on your smartphone and give it a try!
Check back soon for hopefully MORE 40K goodness!
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