Warhammer 40,000 Conquest: The Road to the 19th March 2016

I have chosen to write an article, I know mad right? I haven’t done one in a while and I figured it was simply because I hadn’t been inspired to actually write anything, you may have even noticed a lack of WWE content coming from my cohorts over at SOS also and don’t worry we are looking to resolve this as soon as possible.

I wanted to move back a little with what I write about and this time I will be discussing one of my favourite past times, Warhammer 40,000 Conquest, by Fantasy Flight Games. I first heard about this game shortly after it was actually announced and was straight away on the bandwagon before they even stated a release date. I knew I wanted to play as the sinister Dark Eldar faction, one of my favourite factions in the actual table top game and one of my favourite factions regarding the 40K lore also.

I originally only planned to take the helm of the Chaos and Dark Eldar factions, both I played in the table top game and both have a great lore attached to them. Dark Eldar was my primary focus however I eventually ended up procuring pretty much all the factions for one reason or another and I took a bit of a like to Ragnar Blackmane, the 2^nd Space Marines faction warlord released. I’m not overly familiar with the Space Wolves in the table top game but I found myself thinking about what a cool warlord Blackmane could be. At this time I also found myself watching a lot of videos posted up by the Hive Tyrant on YouTube and wound up watching a video interview with the runner up at the 2015 world championships, who played as Ragnar Blackmane.

I noted his deck list down as it really appealed to me and almost was exactly what I had imagined what I would play in Ragnar with a few certain exceptions. I paid close attention to the interview and made a lot of mental notes on how Seth (2^nd at worlds) felt about how to play the deck, I can’t even lie; I agreed with pretty much everything he said also. I personally feel like Space Marines are one of the few factions that do not require allies to be used as they have so much scope with what they can do in a game and their cards really lend themselves to Blackmane’s ability. I should probably note here what he actually does though:

Ragnar Blackmane:

Faction: Space Marines
Hand Size: 7
Resources: 7
Ability: Reaction: After your warlord commits to a planet with an enemy warlord, deal 2 damage to a target enemy unit at that planet.

Now when you think that there are 2 ways to win a game of conquest, kill your opponent’s warlord or claim 3 planets with the same icon. This ability is spectacular, not only does it target your opponents warlord should you wish, it can also target another army unit at the same planet and that means you can thin your opponents herd before the combat even begins.

Luckily Ragnar’s signature squad also aids in his plan to lynch your opponent’s warlord, as if you chose to you can move any number of the ‘Blackmane’s Sentinels’ from other planets to the planet where your warlord commits to. Not a bad move to make when you want to make that final attack or even scare your opponents warlord away from a planet you want to fulfil your win condition.

If you also look at Ragnar’s signature event card ‘Blackmane's Hunt’ which allows you to recommit your warlord to an adjacent planet after you have committed your warlord. This card can be fantastic in so many ways, from allowing you to successfully hit your opponent’s warlord with your ability if you haven’t committed to the same planet as your opponent. Also allowing you to hit your opponent’s warlord with your ability and then jump to the adjacent planet to conduct a battle there should you have no interest in battling your opponent’s warlord directly that turn.

Looking to the other Space Marine specific cards to see what aids in Blackmane’s Hunt (Yes there is a pun there) we get an automatic include in the form of ‘Drop Pod Assault’ with the wonderful text: “Target a planet where a battle is taking place. Search the top 6 cards of your deck for a [Space Marine] unit with printed cost 3 or lower. Put that unit into play at the targeted planet, and place the remaing cards on the bottom of your deck in any order.” OMG right? So you can drop a potentially nasty unit to a planet where your opponent’s warlord is attempting to battle it out and potentially deal that killing blow to the enemy warlord. If you just look at the options for a cost 3 unit with Space Marines you are looking at some pretty tough hard hitting units straight off the bat:

1.       Blood Angels Veterans (Core Set)

3 ATK and 3HP
While this unit is ready, it gains, “Interrupt: When this unit is assigned damage, prevent 1 of that damage.”

2.       Honoured Librarian (Core Set)

4 ATK and 2HP
Enemy units cannot attack this unit while you control a unit not named “Honored Librarian” at this planet.

3.       White Scars Bikers (Gift of the Ethereals)

2ATK and 3HP
This unit gets +2 ATK while it is at a planet with a warlord.

4.       Veteran Brother Maxos (Core Set)

2ATK and 3HP
Combat Action: Pay the printed cost of a [SPACE MARINE] unit in your hand to put it into play at this planet.

Straight away you have the options of some great hard hitting units that if any were to be dropped at a planet with an enemy warlord could spell certain doom for that warlord. My personal favourite is the ‘White Scars Bikers’, simply because they get that extra attack power when at a planet with a warlord and that’s never a bad thing when you are trying to get into combat with them. However there is something to be said about the ‘Veteran Brother Maxos’ suddenly being dropped in front of an enemy horde, he can then use his ability to drop in more Space Marine units’ from your hand dependant on resources available to you.

‘Veteran Brother Maxos’ also provides you the ability to drop in smaller Space Marine units, possibly drawn through command struggle victories and this could also allow you to throw in some cheap hitters to aid you in your determined victory condition. When using the ‘Drop Pod Assault’ I would always try to drop in a 3 cost unit to maximise the value you are getting from the event itself and would leave dropping in any units such as ‘Tactical Squad Cardinis’ or ‘10^th Company Scout’ to Maxos as this means you can use your resources to buy larger units to begin with.

Other Space Marine faction cards are fantastic such as ‘Crushing Blow’ which allows you to deal 1 point of unpreventable damage when a Space Marine unit successfully deals damage to an enemy unit and this card teamed with your warlord’s ability can lead to some massive damage being thrown at your opponent in short succession, as you can trigger the effect of ‘Crushing Blow’ off your warlords printed ability.

Another card that I find an staple with this warlord when you are attempting to hunt down your opponent’s warlord is the ‘Eager Recruit’, this unit has the AMBUSH keyword allowing you to drop this unit into play during the combat phase and may also turn the tide in a battle where your opponents warlord is present. This unit teamed with the previously mentioned cards can be a sure fire way to beat your opponents warlord by sheer amount of sneak attacks.

One of the other shining stars of this strategy is the ‘Primal Howl’ event card and this cracking card allows you to draw 3 cards when your warlord commits to the same planet as the opposing warlord. Also for an additional boost it also has 2 shield icons it is exceptionally good in this deck when you hoping to be in a position to use this effect as often as possible.

Okay so following this quick brief I will reveal for those who care, the deck list that came 2^nd in the world championship in 2015:

Total Cards: 50

Army Unit (29)
3x 10th Company Scout (Core Set)
4x Blackmane Sentinel (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Blood Angels Veterans (Core Set)
3x Eager Recruit (Core Set)
3x Honored Librarian (Core Set)
3x Rogue Trader (Core Set)
2x Tactical Squad Cardinis (Core Set)
2x Veteran Brother Maxos (Core Set)
3x Void Pirate (Core Set)
3x White Scars Bikers (Gift of the Ethereals)

Attachment (4)

1x Frostfang (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Promotion (Core Set)

Event (16)
2x Blackmane’s Hunt (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Crushing Blow (Gift of the Ethereals)
3x Drop Pod Assault (Core Set)
2x Exterminatus (Core Set)
3x Indomitable (Core Set)
3x Primal Howl (Descendants of Isha)

Support (1)

1x Ragnar’s Warcamp (The Howl of Blackmane)

I actually cannot describe how much I like this deck, I must admit to net decking this to use (much to a friend’s annoyance) and so far I have seen a great deal of success with it. One thing that does strike me about this deck is that it does not include any allied faction cards and this is not a bad thing. I actually share a lot of opinions with Seth when he is discussing this deck with the Hive Tyrant on his YouTube channel.  I am not a big fan of supports so this works perfectly for me, I do feel that adding allies to this deck would weaken one of my major combat tricks, ‘Drop Pod Assault’ and I would say that based on my preferred play style this is a great deck for me.

However, nothing is perfect and as of late I have been looking at ways to alter this deck to keep it as focused but to give it my own personal twist. One card I have considered putting in is ‘Know No Fear’, a deploy action that allows you to move up to 3 Space Marine units from your HQ to separate planets. I LOVE this card, I think when used with your ‘Blackmane’s Sentinels’ it can be a great way of getting those units to your warlords next target planet in a ready state or even  to set the stage for a warlord bloodying that turn. The main question is, what do I take out to replace it?

At first glance I am going to suggest ‘Promotion’, primarily because while I have had a few games with this deck already I have yet to really use this card in any way that could be considered critical to my victory. Putting the extra two command icons onto an army unit is useful in itself but I found that if I think they will be sniped by my opponent’s warlord of if I feel like they will lose the command I do tend to send Ragnar to reinforce, often triggering his ability and / or stealing command.

Another option I was thinking of pulling from this deck is ‘Exterminatus’, this card has also seen little to no play since using this deck and becomes a candidate for removal simply for that fact. However on the flip side of that, when I have been able to put this card into use it has done me a massive service and even possibly helped me pick up the win in the game I played the card.

I am hoping to take this deck to a local store championship late March 2016, so I may test out these different variations to involve ‘Know No Fear’ in the deck as I really believe it could be a positive inclusion in the deck.

I also wanted to look into the units contained within the deck also, now with the release of the Decree of War pack we have seen the release of the ‘Lone Wolf’ a new unit that has the following: ‘Action: Exhaust this unit to move it to a target planet with an enemy warlord and without any units you control.’ With 3 attack value and 3 hit points, this unit has all the potential in the world to fight it out with an enemy warlord for a favourable conclusion. The main question is what do I take out for this card?

I really do not want to be taking out the ‘White Scars Bikers’ as they are a smashing unit when going up against a warlord or even on a planet with your warlord. My first thought was to take out the ‘Blood Angels Veterans’ for the simple reason they have the same stats as the ‘Lone Wolf’ and the later unit providing the bonus of being able to move to another planet to fight your opponents warlord. The negative effect of this swap would be that the veterans are able to negate a point of damage dealt to them when they are ready which can be a life saver in a battle of attrition with other Space Marines or even Ork opponents.

The other readily available option to switch out is the ‘Honoured Librarian’, with 4 attack value this unit is a monster and also the fact it cannot be attacked while you control another unit not named ‘Honoured Librarian’ keeps it safe while you are able to stop your other units being killed, so in a tag team with the for mentioned ‘Blood Angels Veterans’ it can be one hard guy to kill off. However with every strength there is a weakness and this unit is burdened with only 2 hit points, meaning that any opponent playing a lot of Area Effect can cause this unit a lot of trouble and easily remove it before any serious attack can come from it. The ‘Lone Wolf’ however has 3 hit points, giving it a little more survivability in big skirmishes and even when going head to head with a warlord unit.

In review I have even considered switching out the 2 copies of ‘Tactical Squad Cardinis’, with there only being 2 copies in the deck and in my local meta Area Effect sees little play on the whole. However upon thinking back to the few games that I have had with this deck, I must admit that in my first game using this build I played both of them onto my victory condition planet and they actually helped significantly in winning the game. I also started to think that if I took this deck to an event not local to me that I may encounter more low cost builds such as Dark Eldar or Tyranids and I concluded that removing this card would probably cause a detriment further down the line.

Even after reviewing options available from other factions that could be included in this deck, I have yet to really be happy with any of the options available and the closest I have come to including an allied faction would be the Astra Militarium unit ‘Elysian Assault Team’, and simply because I would be able to drop it for free at a planet where I would lose a solider or warrior unit, shockingly quite common in this deck. However as addressed previously in order to include this I would have to decrease the number of Space Marines in the deck, therefore decreasing the odds of getting a unit out when using my ‘Drop Pod Assault’ and this card missing would be devastating during a combat turn when it would be critical for me to hit something.

After careful consideration I decided to make some changes but simply decrease the amount of certain cards and remove one particular unit from the deck. To test the progress of these changes, I am currently noting a game diary with my version of the deck and I hope to see if the changes I have made will actually make a difference to the deck in a positive way. Should this turn out to not be the case I will simply readjust the deck and try again, if everything fails to provide decent results I will simply revert back to the original deck list.

Here is the deck list now that I have made some changes highlighted:

Army Unit (29)

3x 10th Company Scout  (Core Set)
4x Blackmane Sentinel  (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Lone Wolf (Decree of Ruin)
3x Eager Recruit  (Core Set)
3x Honored Librarian  (Core Set)
3x Rogue Trader  (Core Set)
2x Tactical Squad Cardinis  (Core Set)
2x Veteran Brother Maxos  (Core Set)
3x Void Pirate  (Core Set)
3x White Scars Bikers  (Gift of the Ethereals)

Attachment (3)
1x Frostfang  (The Howl of Blackmane)
2x Promotion  (Core Set)

Event (17)

2x Blackmane’s Hunt  (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Crushing Blow  (Gift of the Ethereals)
3x Drop Pod Assault  (Core Set)
1x Exterminatus  (Core Set)
3x Indomitable  (Core Set)
3x Primal Howl  (Descendants of Isha)
2x Know No Fear (Gift of the Ethereals)

Support (1)

1x Ragnar’s Warcamp  (The Howl of Blackmane)

Nothing too drastic changed, I wanted to keep all the cards in there really, but you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs. I really wanted to keep ‘Exterminatus’ in the deck as I love it when your opponent builds up on a planet and you just clear it in one card, so I dropped it to 1 copy as it is very useful still. I also just straight swapped my ‘Blood Angels Veterans’ for the ‘Lone Wolf’.

I took the deck and had a 5 games with it, making changes as I went based on how I felt the deck played with the changes I had made originally and I came to a couple of conclusions as a result of these games. I decided I needed ‘Exterminatus’ more than I needed ‘Know No Fear’, so I decided to only include 1 copy as a backup measure. For the ‘Lone Wolf’ I simply decided against it after replacing the ‘Blood Angels Veterans’ for 4 games, I never managed to use their ability once and I decided to revert back to the veterans, who were far more useful in my 5^th tester game against Eldar.

As a result of these games the deck has changed again and I am hoping that this will  be the final cut of this deck and it lists as follows:

Army Unit (29)

3x 10th Company Scout  (Core Set)
4x Blackmane Sentinel  (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Blood Angels Veterans (Core Set)
3x Eager Recruit  (Core Set)
3x Honored Librarian  (Core Set)
3x Rogue Trader  (Core Set)
2x Tactical Squad Cardinis  (Core Set)
2x Veteran Brother Maxos  (Core Set)
3x Void Pirate  (Core Set)
3x White Scars Bikers  (Gift of the Ethereals)

Attachment (3)
1x Frostfang  (The Howl of Blackmane)
2x Promotion  (Core Set)

Event (17)

2x Blackmane’s Hunt  (The Howl of Blackmane)
3x Crushing Blow  (Gift of the Ethereals)
3x Drop Pod Assault  (Core Set)
2x Exterminatus  (Core Set)
3x Indomitable  (Core Set)
3x Primal Howl  (Descendants of Isha)
1x Know No Fear (Gift of the Ethereals)

Support (1)

1x Ragnar’s Warcamp  (The Howl of Blackmane)

Sadly after a lot of thinking and over planning there is only 1 change to this deck but I feel it will prove to be a good change and will help to get me some solid wins. I will also be keeping a log of how well this version of the deck plays in comparison to the original version of the deck and leading up to our first local tournament I want to make sure I am taking the most optimum version of this build, as I also intend to take this deck to a store championship a bit further away and I have my eyes on the prize (first round by at a regional), so I want to be as competitive as possible really.

For anyone still left at this stage of the article I would like to say thank you for sticking with it, this has been a real unproductive use of my work time so many thanks for indulging me and sticking around. I want to quickly shout out to my team mates over at SOS (@siteofshite) you can also follow me too (@bigboss010) and also recommend checking out The Hive Tyrant (@The_Hive_Tyrant) on YouTube for some Conquest videos and podcasts.

Hopefully I may even try this with other decks that I come up with that I want to expand upon or maybe just write up a tournament report… oooh that could be fun! Well that’s it and thanks for reading.

 I’m Big Boss and I’m out…. Peace!! J

WWE Summerslam 2015 Preview Breakdown

Summerslam 2015 is rapidly approaching and I thought it would be fun to have a quick breakdown of the matches on this year’s card.  A PPV event that feels like a Teddy Long has come back to manage the show. Holla Holla!!! Playa!!!

1.       Kevin Owen’s Vs Cesaro

Wow, anyone remember when Kevin Owens was wrestling John Cena for the US belt, or when he was on NXT as the NXT Champion? Well not anymore, now he is on the lower end of the card wrestling against Cesaro, now don’t get me wrong I love both these guys and really want both of them to rise to the top of the main card. I just can’t see WWE back office letting either of them get to where both of these guys deserve to be, which is a real shame.  Hopefully will get to see some great spots from Cesaro during this match just to wow everyone with his sheer power!

However if you’re asking me for the winner here, it has to be Owens as with the exception of his 1 win over Cena his debut has been a little lacklustre in my opinion.  But should be booking bill good we will see a Kevin Owens win here after what should be in theory a great match.

2.       Fatal 4 Way Tag Team Title Match

Prime Time Players (c) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Lucha Dragons

This should be an interesting tag team match; I’m imagining some high flying antics in this match which again should make for some fun wrestling. Also good to see more tag teams getting some PPV time, may lead to an actual fun / interesting tag team division.  I’ve always enjoyed tag team wrestling so will be cool to see if this match leads to more prominent roles on future WWE shows for the tag team division.

However I’m going to say the Prime Time Players will pick up the win here, good to see a tag team I quite enjoyed when they first formed finally getting some decent exposure. 

3.       Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match

Ryback (c) vs. The Miz vs. The Big Show

The IC title division has become a little stale, it’s a shame Daniel Bryan got injured and needed to vacate the title really. Not a big fan of Ryback or the Miz in all honestly. The Big Show I do like, but if I was booking him I would try to have him as an inbetweener, just knocking out everyone, very similar to Randy Orton’s style.  I imagine this match will be what it is and little else, probably will not be the star of the show in all honestly.

Ryback will no doubt pick up the win here, the IC division needs some stability, so a long term fighting champion may just help get the division back upto to the status it used to be, back when the IC champ was the one putting on the show stealing matches or even the best laid out matches.  That would be living the dream., we will see if Ryback can pull that off.

4.       Stardust & King Barrett vs. Neville & Stephen Amell

I really, really, really hope Amell brings the Arrow gear to the show and wears it during the match that would be EPIC!! This match is going to be junk I would imagine, I’ll predict Neville tagging in Amell just to get the pin fall here. Hopefully though will get to see more and see if Amell has done some wrestling training leading into the match, surely the Arrow can take on the evil plans of Stardust and King Barrett.

Fingers crossed the good guy team here will pick up the win, this match screams “comic book” and as we know the good guys always win in comics...  “You have failed this city!”

5.       What’s left of “THE SHIELD” vs. What’s left of “THE WYATT FAMILY”

Ok, this match feels very 2014 but missing 2 players from the board. Well I’m thinking the team of Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns will be able to overcome the new face of fear Bray Wyatt and his former protégé Luke Harper this time around. Also with Reigns still poised to rocket to the top of the WWE at some stage soon.  I’m hoping 3 / 4 men in this match will become staples of WWEs main event in the future... I hate Roman Reigns (JOKE).

I’d imagine that Reigns will be the one to pick up the win here, I’m also hoping it will be over Harper too and not Wyatt, he has become a bit of a jobber as of late, feels like he needs to actually win a couple of matches to try and get him back over as a legitimate threat and not just a crazy nut case who talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk.

6.       Winner takes all WWE Champion vs. United States Champion

John Cena (c) vs. Seth Rollins (c)

Anyone ever seen Alien Vs Predator???  Remember the tag line???

“WHOEVER WINS... WE LOSE”

Well this is exactly what this match is, If Rollins wins we get our SHIT WWE champion holding both major singles titles in the WWE, since he has been badly booked with 1 belt, how badly would the booking be with 2 of the fuckers.  Also John Cena’s US open challenge has probably been one of the best booking moves in WWE recent history for the stalwart of the WWE roster, all ended in a flash by bad booking.

Then we have John Cena getting yet another WWE title run, that he doesn’t need, that would make the US title be an afterthought again, with Cena obviously focusing on the main title rather than his US open challenge. Plus do we really need another WWE title run with Cena as the champ? NO! NO! NO!

I’m hoping for a no contest here or a DQ of some kind as I would really hate to see these championships unified unless they plan to get rid of the US belt, but highly doubtful.  But as I said, if anyone wins this match, the real losers are us the fans.

7.       Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker

Now this match feels a little desperate to me, we don’t really need this match now do we?

How many times over the last year or so has the Undertaker had a chance to get some level of payback against Lesnar and now he decides to come out of hiding to do it, no sorry I don’t buy it. Yeah Lesnar has been bragging about it but has never really said anything disrespectful about Undertaker.  But this is a big deal with Undertaker not just featuring in a Wrestlemania match this year and getting to feature on this PPV. Then of course Lesnar is on show that is a pretty big deal in itself.  However lets face the facts they needed to keep Lesnar away from the WWE title picture somehow didn’t they!?

Ok, well this match will end simply with Lesnar picking up the big win, Undertaker isn’t going to get revenge and the conqueror will conquer again. Sorry.  This match as cool as it is, does feel a little desperate and forced upon us, it will be a good match I would imagine, hopefully better than their first encounter back at Wrestlemania 30.

As always I’ll be hanging with my main man 12VE-Pac over the Summerslam weekend, so please follow us @bigboss010 and @siteofshite on twitter with the hashtag #DSCSlam.  So I’ll see you then.

I’m Big Boss, I’m out..... Peace.

Warhammer 40,000 Conquest "The Beginning of the Journey"

I wanted to write a piece about something I’m passionate about, however with any original piece comes the questions of topic. Just being passionate about something isn’t always a reason to write about it, what in particular should I write about in the focus of a particular topic? I decided to focus on card games as a broad topic, something I’ve done for many years now and will continue to do for the foreseeable future I would hope. However with so many games that I have played or currently play it’s hard to select just 1 to really focus on, I mean I’ve played Yu-Gi-Oh, Raw Deal, Vs System, Game Of Thrones LCG, Duel Masters and currently Warhammer 40,000 Conquest LCG.

 

 

I’ve decided to go with Conquest, mainly because it’s the most frequently played card game that I currently get involved in. When it was first announced I was rather cautious because despite the fact I am occasionally interested in 40K it doesn’t mean I want to invest in yet another card game. Yet when I asked my “play group” about it there was some real interest in the game, so I came up with a plan to make the game a little cheaper, by dividing up the core set and war packs we could really cut the price of the game. The game has 7 (soon to be 9) factions so could easily be divided up between us and that means the cost of playing would be greatly reduced, something that enticed even the most cautious of us into getting involved. The factions currently are Chaos, Orks, Astra Militarium, Tau, Eldar, Dark Eldar and Space Marines, these factions can also be teamed up based on the alliance wheel, allowing certain armies to team with each other.

The mechanic of the game is very unique, as I mentioned I’ve played a few card games and none have been like conquest and this made for an interesting learning experience. The main idea of the game is to win via 1 of 2 methods, the primary method is to gain control of 3 planets with the same icon, there are 3 different icons and you get 7 planets in the game (randomly selected out of 10 planets) to conquer. The other method is the beat your opponent’s warlord, a character card who is kept separate from the main deck and is charged with “leading” your forces, each faction has a unique warlord in the core set and each faction is getting more with each warlord pack having 1 new warlord in it for a various faction. Each warlord has effectively 2 lives, you need to beat their full power version first (version that has an ability) and then their “bloodied” version after (found by turning the full power warlord over), this version of the warlord loses power and abilities so is generally a little easier to overcome. Beating the warlord is my personal favourite way of winning a game, sometimes you just can’t get the planets so having a character you can bully for the win is quite funny.

One issue I have with the mechanic of the game is that it’s difficult to practice for games outside of playing the game itself because of the random planet allocation each game and the rewards each planet offers for winning the command struggle there or the battle ability triggered for actually wining a battle there. These things make it difficult to know how each game will play out but do add a good layer to the game, it allows for the tide to turn in a game given the right deployment and this just adds to the enjoyment while playing. Also playing against all the factions is a great idea when practicing as you can then adapt your deck for the different play styles your likely to encounter, however you should also still play to the strengths of the deck you’re playing. Each game begins by deciding initiative (who goes first), the deciding initiative changes at the beginning of each game turn giving a back and forth feel between both players,  this can influence your choices for deployment during the game.

I have built 3 decks and the one I use the most is my Dark Eldar deck, lead by the warlord “Packmaster Kith” who has a great ability to call upon token units when she deploys to a planet, this combined with her signature squad who can all call tokens as well, means you can flood the field with token units to help bolster your numbers. The main weakness of this strategy is “area effect” units that can hit every unit on your opponents side of the planet play area, with such weak defence on most DE units, including tokens, with one attack your opponent could clear out most if not all your units at one planet. I’ve had a lot of really good games with the DE, I do however team them with some of their Eldar cousins as allowed by the alliance matrix. This gives me access to the card “DOOM” which is every opponent’s least favourite card and also gives you a minor psychological advantage in games as it allows you to kill off every non unique character in all players HQ area, obviously a big blow hitter for any player. I do use other cards but “DOOM” is definitely the most critical.

Up to this point my tournament experience has been limited having only playing in 1 local store championship at Guys-That-Game in Fenton, when I won 4 and lost 2, of which I am rather proud and played some really tough decks, luckily the 2 guys who beat me were the 2 finalists, one of which wrote a review online and said I was one of his toughest opponents throughout the day, rather happy with that. With the 1^st cycle of warlord packs nearly at an end I’m happy to say I do like where the game is heading, they have given every faction a new warlord and some really cool new cards hinting at what is to come for the factions moving into the next cycle. If you do fancy getting into a new card game, I would highly recommend Conquest, its layered mechanic teamed with a fun play style; Warhammer 40,000 Conquest is a well worth investing in.

You can follow me on twitter @bigboss010 or on instagram @bigbosstp010. You can also follow my good friends over @siteofshite and also subscribe to their YOUTUBE channel – SOSGames. Also check out their Amazon affiliate shop, plus their own SPREADSHIRT shop for Site of Shite themed items plus some new Big Boss items that I will be adding in for me.

 

You can also check out Guys-That-Game on Instagram @guysthatgameuk or on their website www.guysthatgame.co.uk and even on Facebook, www.facebook.com/gtggames

Thanks for reading.

I’ve been Big Boss and I’m out.... Peace.

Brock Lesnar & Roman Reigns Top 5 Important Matches

With Wrestlemania approaching rapidly I figured I would do a piece to lead up to the event, I usually have from favourite matches to favourite Wrestlemanias. This time I wanted to focus on the main event, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match with the Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns challenging the current reigning and defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion The Conqueror, the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar.  ;-)

My focus is going to be mainly on Lesnar as he is the champ after all, I figured I would do a top 5 matches for Lesnar, this obviously includes his original 2002 – 2004 run and his current run too, however to start with there will be a little focus on the challenger and his rise towards the top of the WWE with a top 5 for him too, these matches will be in no particular order and will mainly be Shield matches to be honest.

Big Boss’s - Roman Reigns Top 5

5. Elimination Chamber 2014

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
This match had been built for felt like a decade, we knew these guys had to go to war and they did, oh boy they did. The crowd was more than ready for these guys to face off and with both teams being really over with the crowd and when it all kicked off the crowd were electric. Despite the fact that the Shield lost it did go a long way to making Reigns look good, he did withstand the 3 on 1 onslaught for a bit before being brought down by Bray Wyatt.

4. Summerslam 2014

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton
This of course was Reigns first major singles match at a PPV in WWE and also since the split of the Shield. Orton is such a great performer and could make a broom look good and he continued that with Reigns by doing the job for him in this match, giving Reigns real credibility as he defeated a former WWE champion.

 3. Payback 2014

NO HOLDS BARRED Match Elimination– Evolution vs. The Shield
This was the final match of The Shield, many people saw this as a major win for The Shield as Evolution is one of the biggest factions of all time and to go over 3 MAJOR superstars in such a great match didn’t just push Reigns but Rollins and Ambrose too. This showcased that all 3 members of the Shield were ready for the main even scene in WWE, all getting chance to showcase themselves against 3 of the best of all time.

2. Fastlane 2015

#1 Contenders Match – Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns
Now this wasn’t a match I was looking forward to because I knew Bryan wouldn’t win, now anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big D-Bry fan, but even I wanted him in the main event of Wrestlemania over Reigns. However Bryan did manage to carry Reigns to a solid main event match to get him set for the main event of the big show itself. This match in theory gave Reigns the needed credibility to move onto the Wrestlemania main event after being turned on by the majority of the WWE universe during the Royal Rumble match the month before.

1.       Monday Night Raw April 22^nd 2013
 6-Man Tag Team Match – The Shield vs. Team Hell No & The Undertaker

Now this was a hard choice for me, Team Hell No & Undertaker or Brothers of Destruction & Daniel Bryan, went with the first option, as you can tell and let me tell you it wasn’t easy. Anyway this match gets in the top 5 because this match got the Undertaker in a match that wasn’t at Wrestlemania and also showed how much WWE were commited to making these guys in the Shield seem legitimately tough and dominant by having them go over 3 of the biggest stars in the company one of which is a legend in WWE. Daniel Bryan takes the pin here but still, counts as a victory over the Undertaker at the end of the day.

Ok, now that shows my personal choice for important / top Roman Reigns matches, now in the words of the Blazin Squad, lets “Flip Reverse” it.

WWE Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been a dominant force in everything he has done, from NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling champion to WWE champion all the way to UFC Heavyweight champion.  His initial run as “The Next Big Thing” back in 2002 saw him dominate the top names in the business at that time, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and The Undertaker to name a few. This gave him huge credibility and his awesome displays of power and speed gave him such a unique look with a huge level of mystique as Paul Heyman took the role of voice box for Lesnar to begin with.

So again in no real order my top 5 Brock Lesnar matches.

5. Summerslam 2002

WWE Championship match – The Rock vs Brock Lesnar
Now this match is probably one of my favourite of all time anyway, so obvious it was going to be in this list. Such a great build up and such a great show from both guys to, to the conclusion of Brock Lesnar winning his first WWE title within months of his WWE debut. I would summarise this match for you in two words, “Brock Bottom”.

4. No Mercy 2002

WWE Championship match – Hell In a Cell – Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
If any match solidified Lesnar as the baddest man on the planet, this was the match, both men looked like death after this match and it got extreme to say the least. Of course Lesnar managed to fight off the challenge from the Undertaker to retain the WWE title, ending the show standing on top of the Cell holding up the WWE title, such an amazing visual and showed Lesnar’s rise to the top of the mountain.

3 . Smackdown 2002 (DATE??)

#1 Contenders match- Hulk Hogan vs. Brock Lesnar

This match was just a beatdown by the end of it, this is the first time a Hogan match had been stopped by the ref as Hogan was unable to continue. This then incurred the monsters wrath as he levelled Hogan and then proceeded to wipe Hogan’s blood across his chest, what a visual, nearly as impactful as the end of No Mercy against the Undertaker. He had destroyed Hulkamania, no one in the crowd could believe it and he beat him convincingly too. This was Lesnar’s last stop before Summerslam where he would beat the Rock for the WWE title.

 
2.       Summerslam 2014
WWE World Heavyweight Championship match – John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
Now this match was a beautiful thing to behold, he dominated Cena like no one has ever before and then he won. Cena got two moves in I think and neither could put the monster away. He was fresh from the greatest upset in WWE history and continued the streak with this showcase of just how strong Lesnar is, counting 16 German suplexes throughout the match. It was so dominant a performance from Lesnar that it actually “Broke” our stream of the show!!! Thats power people!!
 
1. Wrestlemania 30
Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker

This is the match that has been the signature match of Lesnar’s since his return, he faced Punk, HHH and Cena but this is the match that has blasted him into space. He actually beat the Undertaker, the crowd were so shocked it was actually unreal and by god whoever bet money on Lesnar to win (Vince Mac ;-D) was laughing all the way to collect his winnings. This match showed Lesnar as an actual monster who could beat even the best in their home turf so this match is without a doubt the #1 most important match of Lesnar’s career

Now over to my tag team partner from SOS, 12ve-PAC for his take on the Brock Lesnar / Roman Reigns star matches. I’m out.... Peace.

BROCK LESNAR!!!!!!

5) Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – Hell in a Cell Match – WWE Championship No Mercy 2002

This match remains to be one of my favourite Hell in a Cell matches ever. The match was a brutal, bloody and physical battle between the old guard and the new breed. Up to this point Brock Lesnar had been tearing through the competition in WWE. Beating the Rock in the same year for the championship. Defeating the undertaker in this match cemented his character into the history of the company. It is one of the most important matches in the history of Brock Lesnar.

4) Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle – WWE Championship WrestleMania XIX 2003

Simply one of the best technical matches that you will ever see in WWE. The build up to this match was fantastic, with momentum swinging back and forth between in the two superstars right up until the main event of WrestleMania 19. By this point, Lesnar had built his reputation as one of the best pure athletes in the company. However he had not come up against someone with a similar background.  

It took one of the most amazing moves in wrestling to put Kurt Angle away. In This match represented passing the torch with both competitors coming from amateur backgrounds. Although Lesnar won the championship the shooting star press, which ear done many times before, had almost knocking out after we landed on his head. He managed to finish the match and continue is domination at the WWE.

3) Brock Lesnar vs John Cena – WWE World Heavyweight Championship SummerSlam 2014

Everyone knew this match was going to be on my list. I mean come on, how can you not be? This match proved but the beast was not just some overnight comeback. There is never been a more dominant display over defending champion, that I can remember, in history of the company. I had the pleasure of watching this match Live on pay-per-view with the DSC.

I can’t remember John Cena even getting a look in during this match. Also Lesnar’s amazing feet of 16 German suplexes in one match was visually, one of the most awesome, things I have ever seen. But it was not only the dominance of the challenger over the champion that made this match good enough to be one of the most important matches in lessons WWE career it was also the start of a new era. This Match was the first major match for the WWE network since WrestleMania and perhaps outshone Daniel Bryan’s win at WrestleMania 30. The beast was back.

2) Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – WrestleMania XXX Beast vs Streak

If we are talking about career defining moments then this match has to be right up there in the list. The only reason it doesn’t make number one is because I believe that my number one choice made Brock Lesnar’s is career.

The streak had become, up to this point, as much of a main event at wrestlemania as the actual main event. In previous years there are even being tournaments to see you would face the Phenom at the event. It was going to need someone or something very powerful to break the streak. Brock Lesnar stepped up to take the challenge and succeeded where 21 times other people had failed.

After an epic match, Brock was the only superstar to beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania and became the one in 21 – 1. This ultimately lead to the match that number three in the list when he regained the WWE World heavyweight Championship and has become one of the most dominant forces in history of the company.

1) Brock Lesnar vs The Rock – SummerSlam 2002 – Undisputed WWE Championship

This simply has to be the match that made the career of Brock Lesnar. having won the King of the Ring (still think this needs to return as a PPV) Lesnar was guaranteed a title shot against the Undisputed Champion and that happened to be the Rock. It was no secret that the rock was leaving the squared circle for awhile and that he was going to Hollywood (which would later turn out to be one of the best characters in recent memory) and so it was time for “The Next Big Thing” to arrive.

With Lesnar booked as the dominant heel and the Rock as the peoples champion this was always going to be, to quote J.R. “a good, old fashioned, barn burner”. It played out exactly as it should have done with Brock Lesnar looking strong and the Rock leading the way. Throughout the match the people turned on the “Peoples Champ” and this took the Rock off his game and allowed Lesnar to hit the F5 for his first ever championship.

Not only was it his first championship Lesnar became the youngest ever WWE champion in the history of the company at the time and he remained dominant until Survivor series that same year as Paul Heyman turned on Brock to cost him the championship with a loss to Big Show.

ROMAN REIGNS:

5) The Shield vs Team Hell No & The Undertaker - 6 Man Tag RAW 22/04/13

A solid match and the first time in a couple of years that The Undertaker had been in action on Raw after his storied and historic Streak match at Wrestlemania. The match was good and all had some high spots, but it was the ending that will stick in my mind. The shield triple powerbombed the Undertake through the announce table. this was the point that I really started to get behind the shield. I mean come one, when was the last time we saw 3 rookies decimate the Undertaker like this.

4) Roman Reigns wins the Rumble - Royal Rumble 2015

After an immense showing at the 2014 Royal Rumble with the crowd behind him and the shield at the time, only to lose out to a returning Batista. He also broke Kane’s 13 year record of most eliminations in one Royal Rumble that year too. Fast forward 1 year and the landscape looks a lot different, the shield are no more and the crowd are firmly behind a new peoples champion in Daniel Bryan.

I have an inkling (literally, I have a wacom inkling!) that this may be as a repercussion of last years event where a part timer, Batista, won the rumble and “People Power” didn’t win the officials over. It also led to CM Punk leaving the company too. So with officials shoving Roman Reigns down our throats every week, the people once again turned on a once fan favourite.

This is one of Reins most important matches. He not only won the Royal Rumble, but he handled the pressure of a fan turn like a pro. He also had the power for WWE fans to call for a boycott of the network because he won the match. Makes me laugh how ridiculous some WWE fans are :) I have been watching a lot of oldskool WWE on the network #9.99, and it never ceases to amuse me when American fans chant USA to get Bret Hart (Canadian) going after a beating! LOL! Get over it and get on with your lives… I like Roman, he’s a tough competitor and with a little mic work he could be the Next, Next Big Thing :)

3) Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan - Fast Lane 2015  #1 Contender match

After the backlash of the Royal Rumble, WWE was wise to cement their decision with a match that would showcase Reigns as a contender for the top spot in the company. Cue a showdown with many peoples pick to win the Rumble in 2015, Daniel Bryan. Looking down the list of matches, almost all of Reigns’ important moments have involved the “yes! Man”.

With Bryan in this match the WWE and Reigns couldn't fail. the match itself was pretty epic and made a great conclusion to the very first Fast Lane PPV. The whole point of the match was to justify Reigns winning the Royal Rumble, as well as suggesting the possibility that he's ready to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Bryan demonstrated that he could dominate and control a match just by using technical skill and submissions, while Reigns demonstrated that he was tough enough to withstand Bryan's submission holds and use force more so than simply countering a move to break out of them (something he might use in his match against Lesnar). The match itself was predictable, and it's clear who McMahon is pushing to be his next top babyface. Bryan carried Reigns into a very good match and it was the best 1 on the whole show.

2) The Shield vs Team Hell No - Extreme Rules 2013 Tag Team Championship

A candidate for match of the night was later outshined by a longer, more hyped match, but the energy of the tag team title match was stirring. The fun that is the chaos of The Shield continued here, with just Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins fighting this time. Both teams showed off great cohesion and chemistry.

While Daniel Bryan held Rollins in the surfboard hold, Kane came in and kicked him. The Shield showed similar moments of great teamwork. Bryan captured Reigns in the No! Lock, a move that caused the big man to be unable to lift his arm or to capitalize on a spear to Kane. Reigns fought through the pain to pick Bryan up in a torture rack hold while Rollins came crashing down with a knee. Like The Shield's WrestleMania 29 match, had this gone on a little longer, it would have even better and earned instant-classic status.

Finally losing the titles gives Kane and Daniel Bryan the opportunity to go their separate ways. Will they part ways amicably or will Kane blame Bryan for being the weak link? Either way, Extreme Rules was the coronation of The Shield, marking their first title wins and giving them something tangible to quantify their dominance.           

1) The Shield vs Team Hell No & Ryback - TLC Match at Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2012

WWE TLC 2012 could be best described as the night when the WWE debut match stole the show. As good as the main event was, this was the match that everyone remembered. Just 1 month prior to this, Roman Reigns arrived on the scene with former ROH Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, former CZW champion Dean Ambrose. thier first (Un)official action cost both John Cena and Ryback the WWE title in a triple threat match against then champion CM Punk. Roman Reigns and the Shield, had arrived with a bang.

This match blew all expectations out of the water and proved that both individually and as a team, the Shield could hang with the stars. Some of the most memorable bumps include Ambrose being chokeslammed onto an open chair, Roman Reigns spearing Kane through the barricade, and Seth Rollins' fall from the ladder through a bunch of tables, which included a whiplash effect, as the table his head landed on didn't break. At no point was this match boring. It had rhythm and different pacing, but not boring. Awesome match, and awesome debut for Reigns and the Shield.

Well that finishes my long overdue contribution to our annual WrestleMania article in association with The Big Boss @bigboss010 also check out Mike Air and myself on Twitter @siteofshite and on our YouTube channel of the same name for PPV prediction videos as we go past 100 subscribers. Thank for taking the time to read my ramblings and keep you shite tight! Follow us on twitter during the show #DSCMania.