I had a marvelous weekend playing at the US Open Warhammer 40k tournament! I met so many cool players, made new friends, and saw some amazing models. I went 5-3 and placed 69th. (I know, I know...) GW knows how to put on a show and this is maybe the best tournament I've ever been to - sorry LVO. The staff were great, well run, little delays, YouTube famous players, and the most amazing swagbag and prize support I've ever seen! My only regret is waiting too long to buy the the Gigantic Squigoth and it was sold out at the store. On the tabletop, I scored wins against Space Wolves, Necrons, Tau (my friend Gabe,) Harlequins, and Custodes.  I lost to Tyranids (by inches!), a mirror match Deathwing, and Ultramarines. My favorite game has to be with Jimmy and his Ultramarines. We pushed our armies and generals to the center of the table and threw down. I killed Roboute Guilliman, Tigurius, a Chaplain, a Techmarine, and three Redemptor Dreadnoughts - and still lost! Jimmy is a fantas

  This lad has been waiting decades to be painted up for ORKtber! 

I just finished this Redemptor Dreadnought for my custom Space Wolf Great company. Any suggestions for a name? I was thinking, "the Howl" or "Ghost Wolves." It was the first time used only oils to shade and I think it's an improvement for me. Like most models, I spot all of the flaws I missed as soon as I post the photo here...

The BDS kind of feels like a first date... lots of expectations, nothing really happens, and everyone wishes it went a little differently. Yar.

I've been putting my Space Wolves through the paces, trying to fine tune them for tournament play, perhaps taking them to the 40k US Open in Kansas City or the LVO. I've been using the successor chapter tactics of Warded and Whirlwind of Rage instead of the basic Wolf chapter tactics. With so many psychic armies, along with Necrons and Sisters who hand out mortal wounds like Halloween candy, the 5+ has helped so much. Plus, exploding 6s in hand to hand is massive, when combined with the +1 to wound strat. Though, I do miss Murderfang since you can't take him in successor armies. He may be the most killy model in the army - mostly because he catches everyone off guard with the volume of attacks.  I never noticed it much with my Dark Angels, but the Wolves really feel the crunch from the fewer CPs in Nephilim missions. The DA have two decent strats but there's a lot more that I would like to use with the dog boys.  We'll see how the rumored updated data slate changes

I've never been a big fan of the Tau in Warhammer 40,000. Their play style and models at fine, almost Skaven-esque, but the fluff just never fit with the rest of the grimdark universe.  For me, 40k is just fantasy tropes in the far future, or heavily Gothic satire stolen from other sci-fi properties. While the Tau do have some of the real world politics folded into a recognizable sci-fi IP, it just feels shoe horned in. It's so transparently a grab a the Gundam modeler's cash that it's a real turn off for me.  However... While chatting with my local gaming group, the Sunday Morning Fight Club, I admitted that I would play an all Kroot list, so I wish listed this army. Army Faction: T'au Empire - Game Mode: Grand Tournament - Army Size: Strike Force BATTALION DETACHMENT - Faction: T'au Empire - Sub-faction: Dal’yth Sept HQ Kroot Shaper (25) - Warlord - Traits: Pack Leader (Aura) - Stratagems: Warlord Trait Kroot Shaper (25) Troops Kroot Carnivores (