Hello fellow Warhammer 40k enthusiasts! SaltyJohn here from TFG Radio with my weekly update on the ITC.
Last week I wrote a bit about the top 10 overall and in the Hobby Track and I put out a call for people who are in the top 10 of the hobby track to send me pictures of their armies so I can post them here. So today I want to show off some of the great Hobby Track work we’ve been seeing as well as give you an interview from Shawn Rodriguez. Last week Shawn was in the top 10, this weekend had a lot of movement so he’s dropped to 22nd place which is still a very respectable position. Shawn has been killing it with Necrons so I asked if he would answer some questions and he was gracious enough to agree.
- How long have you been playing 40k? How long have you been playing it competitively? About a year and a half. Only recently got into the competitive scene.
- What got you into the hobby originally? I have always been interested in table top war fakes. I played Star Wars legion since it released. That was a precursor to getting into warhammer.
- What is your favorite part about playing 40k competitively? example: do you enjoy list theory, math hammer, the competition, the camaraderie, your team etc I enjoy a lot of different things about the competitive scene. I like trying to squeeze the most out of my units and trying to get the most out of them point for point that I can.
- If you’re on a team, what role does your team play in your competitive 40k life? Is it a support mechanism, sounding board, just a group of friends? etc. The Salt Hammer team is made up of a good group of people and they are very supportive and try to push you to do better.
- What is your take so far on the ITC and BCP now that it’s several seasons in? I think frontline gaming has done a very good job on taking the reins for the competitive scene in warhammer. Things are looking up for the game as of now.
- How did the pandemic affect your career playing Competitive 40k? Did you do anything during the various periods of closure that you found particularly helpful in preparing to play 40k competitively this season? I actually quit the game in 8th after only a few months of play. Came back on the 9th edition release. The closure of most places really hindered a lot. But TTS was a good way to get games in to help prepare.
- What do you attribute your success so far this season to the most? I think being in a competitive community has really helped me push the limits of my game play. I would have to attribute most of my competitive success to my team and my community for continuing to push me to get better and better. And of course my dice rolling, they help too.
- How do you prepare for events, big and small? Do you have a routine or regimen? Usually before events I try to get at least one or two practice game’s in. Especially if I’m playing a new list.
- What faction do you play? Why? I play necrons as a main faction and just started getting into space wolves. I have always loved the necrons. Their lore is awesome and I love the fact that they can just continue to get up and keep fighting even after you kill them. The theme of the army is just amazing.
- Can you run me through the list you’ve had the most success with, and why it works for you? Currently I’m fiddling with a few new lists. But I have gotten multiple first place rankings with the custom dynasty which is of course as everyone who had played against necrons as of late knows, it’s the pregame 6” move along with everything in my list being obsec and obsec models counting as two units. That coupled with a lot of long range heavy shooting from the doomsday arks and some mid range firepower with a squad of 20 warriors with reapers also a lot of close combat melee threats like the overlord with a relic to make him T6 with 6 wounds and -1 damage warlord trait and a void reaper to ignore any fnp and the big unit of 6 skorpekh destroyers running around with a chronomancer giving them 5+ invulnerable save and re rolling charges and the skorpekh lord with veil to get the warriors in close gives me a lot of board presence. I also have two squads of 3 ophidian destroyers that I can put into deepstrike to help push my board presence even more. I have two squads of cryptothralls that I can pop into strategic reserves if I need to take deploy scramblers as it is really hard to screen out two 32 mil bases. I also take two squads of 5 immortals for capping back objectives. And finally I have the nightbringer running around causing massive amounts of havoc across the battlefield. He is a threat that either needs to be taken out fast. Or ignored and you try to tar pit him. It’s a lot to deal with for any list really. It has proven to be a good list.
Thanks again to Shawn for agreeing to an interview! Next up are some shots of armies from the ITC Hobby Track. There’s some great work in here. First up Sean Nasto!
Last week I also discussed Colin Kay and his very cool Ork army he was playing. I reached out to Colin and he provided me with some great images of his very nice Ork army!
Jeremiah Pitt also agreed to send in some pictures of his absolutely gorgeous Custodes army. I love the bases he used for these, his line work is great and the wings have a very cool blue undertone I wish I had the skill to imitate!
Thanks to everyone who sent in images of your beautiful work. I will try to do this more regularly this year! Make sure your TOs know to send in their Hobby scores from events!
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