Gaming 2023

Final Fantasy XI

Mario Party Superstars

Hyper Light Drifter

Achron

Desynced

Burnout Paradise

Wipeout HD

Starfield

Dirt 5

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Blood Bowl III

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

Fall Guys

This was a year dominated by my return to FFXI. Apart from that, most games here only got a single short session or two. I don't feel like I've played enough from 2023 to nominate a GOTY, but of the newer games I've played like Rogue Trader over Starfield so far.

I don't have anything upcoming in 2024 that I'm especially hyped to play. I'll probably just dip into things in the backlog, mainly.

Reading 2023

The Successors: A Space Marine Anthology
The Trial of the Mantis Warriors

The Fields of Abundance

The Shel'tain Affair

Garro: Knight of Grey

Arks of Omen: Abaddon

The End and the Death Vol. 1

Arks of Omen: Angron

White Dwarf 476

Dawn of Fire: The Iron Kingdom

Kin

White Dwarf 477

The Emperor's Gift

The Emperor Expects

White Dwarf 478

Dawn of Fire: The Martyr's Tomb

The Wolf's Hour

White Dwarf 479

Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader

The Last Wall

Primacy

Light of a Crystal Sun

A Memory of Tharsis

White Dwarf 480

Fabius Bile: Manflayer

The End and the Death Vol. 2

Genefather

Throneworld

Visage

The Long Promise

Dawn of Fire: Sea of Souls

Gruntwork

White Dwarf 481

The Nine

The Last Loyalist

White Dwarf 482

Echoes of the Long War

Again, a whole lot of Black Library (Warhammer) fiction. I guess I get all my non-fiction needs from news articles, social media, and podcasts. I do want to read more history books, though. I've got several I've been meaning to get to, or slowly progressing through.

Ironjawz vs Sylvaneth 05/14/23

 I'm officially playing Age of Sigmar now, too! I got my first game in against James, who was gracious enough to walk me through the basics, as I had shown up with some models with some paint on them, but not having read much in the way of rules. 

This was the kickoff of the slow-grow AoS league at my local Warhammer store, using some campaign rules that have come out in recent months' White Dwarf issues. It's called Da Great Stomp!!! or perhaps some less Orruk-y equivalent. 

I have long been an admirer from afar of the Ironjawz model range, and I had even bought a few of the kits that were just waiting around to be worked through. I had some nebulout plans for the future, but when I heard about the upcoming campaign which was very Orruk-centric but without any Orruk players, and the games for which I could likely make most weeks, I knew I had to rise to the occasion. So, I quickly chose a 500 point force from what I owned, got that built and primed, and even got some green on the skin of a few of the models.

For the game, since it was the beginning of the campaign, 500 points was the intended size. James has a force of Sylvaneth that he was able to whittle down to appx 500 points to give me a learning game, and both of us a campaign scoring game. 

Being deep into the hobby for a few years now, I'd learned a little about AoS rules through osmosis, and being familiar with other GW games like 40K, Heresy, Blood Bowl, and Titanicus. James was very good about walking me through the AoS turn sequence, and letting me know the little differences in things like unit coherency, fighting and engagement ranges, and such from other GW games.

We played a very simple 'kill 'em all' battle, without using any Battleplan as laid out in any rules anywhere. His Sylvaneth were able to strike and fade, making it hard for me to hit back when they hit me, but I did get my boys in to a good scrap a time or two, and that was fun.

In the end, my Megaboss made a long charge into some Kurnoth Hunters and was able to take down one or two before being killed himself. I was left with only Morgok, of Morgok's Krushas, who rushed at the enemy general, a Branchwych. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and my Ironjawz were wiped out. 

       

This was a fun game, though, and I'm looking forward to playing a lot more in the next several weeks.

Grey Knights vs Talons of the Emperor 04/21/23

 I hadn't ever played Grey Knights up at the store before, and I wanted to get in a game there with the current Codex before the advent of 10th edition, as with my previous game with the Astra Militarum.

I found myself facing Custodes Jonathan, as he goes by on Discord. We'd played before, when it was a Custodes mirror match. 

This was a hard fought one, without a doubt. Grey Knights are definitely capable of downing Custodians, but his two big dreadnoughts and the presence of the Sisters of Silence combined with Custodes' natural affinity for slicing through Astartes stacked the odds against me in a big way.

It was a good smash-up of a training exercise, though. Surely these two paragons of the Emperor's Glory would never actually come to blows, right? Right?

Adeptus Titanicus Demos

 After the excitement of Adepticon, I wanted to bring some of the joy of Adeptus Titanicus back to my local scene, so I asked the store manager of the local Warhammer Store if I could run some demo games sometime. He obliged by suggesting a day and then posting about it on Facebook beforehand to draw in more interest.

I got to the store that Saturday morning and set up a small board with just a couple of Titans on either side in an approximately balanced approach. I also set up a few other Titans and all my terminals and such to show people what the game is all about and how it looks and works. 

I ended up demonstrating the game through a few turns to a few different people, had a good time doing it, and hopefully got a few more people interested in playing a game that seems curiously underplayed, though many espouse its greatness. I did meet a couple of potential future opponents, as well, whenever I can potentially set up a game again.

Astra Militarum vs Goff Orks 04/07/23

 Knowing since Adepticon that the 10th edition of 40K is on its way, I resolved to get in a few games of 9th with factions I hadn't played much outside of my own house, and in this case, with a Codes I bought but hadn't played at all.

I resolved to take 1000 points filled with as many tanks and mechanised infantry as I could. 

The opponent was playing Goffs, and while they're overpowering in close combat to my mere Guardsmen...

the sheer brute force of four Leman Russ battle tanks proved too much for them to handle. 

So much armor on such a small battlefield at 1000 points probably didn't make for the most enjoyable game for my opponent, in hindsight, but he seemed to be having a good time nonetheless. I just wanted to run a tank squadron, really. if we were to re-rack I'd probably limit myself to two Russes, and fill in the remainder of the points with more infantry.

Adepticon 2023

 

"Come to Adepticon this year, and you can stay at my place," Dave said. Reader, I had to take him up on it.

Adepticon is the annual wargames convention in the Chicagoland area, and probably the largest Warhammer-centric event worldwide each year. There is a merchant hall, there are preview events, gaming tournaments, and lots of enthusiasm for the hobby on display.

Aside from just enjoying the trip, food, time spent with friends, and general vibes, Dave and I participated in the Adeptus Titanicus event, the Siege of Valia-Maximal run by the Graying Legion game club, which I gather is based on the East Coast. Above you can see the campaign map, which all of the action in the 3-day event was based off of.

Dave and I only played in the first two days of the event, which consisted of a singles day, then a doubles day. I played three games solo vs a single opponent on day one, then Dave and I teamed up to take on two other teams on day two. 

Each game was more fun than the last, culminating with a couple of real great battles on day two. I won't try to annotate any of the few images here, but they were all lots of fun.

I can remember playing against Legio Mortis, Mordaxis, Lania Skara, Vulpa, and another that may have been Crucius.

I won one game in the singles event, and we lost both in the doubles, but they were both good contests. Titanicus is, as they say, the best game GW makes.

Dave actually won an award, which we surmised was 'fan favorite army' sort of thing, since apparently there was another that was 'best painted.' His Titans do look amazing, though, so well earned!

Talons of the Emperor vs Tau Empire 02/10/2023

 This game was such a blowout that I don't really even want to recount it. These pics are in no particular order.

My force was mercilessly leaf-blown off the table by a triple-commander Tau list at 1,000 points.

Doesn't seem right, does it? Three tooled-up commanders at 1,000 points?

I guess that's one thing to keep in mind in games like this. Consider how the game will play out for your opponent. Particularly when it's not a particularly competitive environment. 

Like say, a casual Friday afternoon game at a store not known for it's hardcore crowd.

Not that I'm bitter. I probably tend too much toward the narrative or rule-of-cool skew when it comes to list building. I'm used to losing on account of it.

I should have required more terrain, and any at all to block line of sight for this game.

Another area I've been deficient playing with Custodes... their 2+ armor save and 4+ invulnerable save make them tough, but far from invincible.

And the low model count per unit make it so that games can snowball against you once you start losing models here and there.

I probably lean too hard into Sisters of Silence in my lists, but they're very cool models.

I think I'll remove the Vigilators squad until such time as I can give them a transport to take up the board.

I've already drafted another list for next time, and it'll include a buffed up Venerable Contemptor.

Adeptus Custodes Mirror Match 01/27/23

Last week I got in my third game out with my Adeptus Custodes, or Talons of the Emperor as they are more properly known when in concert with the Anathema Psykana, or Sisters of Silence. 

This was also my first game against another force of Custodes.

We played at 1,000 points, generating a mission from my Tempest of War deck.

His army was much heavier than mine, with both a Contemptor-Achillus and a Telemon Heavy Dreadnought. Against this I had the dubious advantage of more models.

We both had Blade Champions, but where mine was my Warlord, he actually had a Shield-Captain in Allarus armor as his Warlord.

I ended up being outdone on objective play by just a little, but then also down on kill points.

His indominable dreadnoughts didn't help my cause much, either.

While my Custodians and Sisters did put in a decent showing, we were definitely outclassed here.

I knew this was likely going in, so why didn't I at least bring along my Venerable Contemptor dreadnought?

I guess the allure of an infantry-skewed list was just too much to resist.

It was a good looking game, at least.

Talons of the Emperor vs Deathwatch 01/06/23

I got in another game with my Talons of the Emperor force, their second time out, versus Deathwatch this time. 

This is a player I've played against a time or two before, and the same army as he had once when I had my White Scars, though he brought different units this time.

For my part, I had just added a newly painted Blade Champion to the list:

Blade Champion

Aleya

Custodian Guard with Spears x3

''

Prosecutors x5

Allarus Terminators x3

Venerable Contemtor Dreadnought

Vigilators x5

Witchseekers x5

This all came to 1000 points on the nose.

My opponent had roughly:

Primaris Lieutenant in Reiver Armour

Deathwatch veterans x5 --missile launchers

Deathwatch veterans x5 --plasma guns

Invictor Warsuit

Gladiator Lancer

Land Raider Redeemer

I completely forgot to take any pictures for the first turn or two, but my opponent went first, and drove his Land Raider up to my lines and promptly roasted several of my Sisters of Silence. He also picked off a Custodian Guard or two in that first turn before I could do anything.

In my turn I moved a lot of stuff up toward the offending Land Raider and after firing off some potshots to little effect, charged it and brought it down in combat, forcing the Veterans inside with their missile launchers to hop out. Unfortunately none died in the emergency disembarkation.

On the other side of the battlefield I had a squad of Custodian Guard and the Allarus Terminators moving toward the Gladiator and Invictor, though they got reduced to about half strength on the way.

Eventually I mopped up, mostly in combat, the veterans with the missiles and their Terminator-armored leader, and turned my attentions over to the side of the board with the Gladiator tank and Invictor warsuit.

Along the way, my Contemptor took some shots at the veterans with plasma guns that had deep struck into my deployment zone, but did nothing. More of them died to their plasma guns overcharging and exploading then I killed, in the end, though all did die.

I misunderstood a fight order rule and that may have ended up letting my Blade Champion and Custodian with spear kill his Invictor when that wouldn't have been possible. Oops! Well, to make up for it, I gave him first turn even though I'd won the roll off...

In the end it came down to his Gladiator on a single wound being his only model left. I had my Blade Champion, single Custodian, Aleya, and a single Vigilator remaining, and the edge in Victory Points from playing the objectives all game, as well.

This was a mission generated from the Open War deck where there were three objectives to control and one at random would end up being worth more VP each round. The deployment zones were two triangles that met in the middle of the board from each long edge, and the twist this game was that Aura abilities would only go out to 2" (from 6" in most cases).

What did we learn?

Even Custodes should deploy behind some cover.

Autocannons are hateful to play against with Custodes.

Sisters of Silence die like Guardsmen despite the better armor save.

The 4+ save against mortal wounds from the Emperor's Chosen Shield Host rule is maybe even better than the free reroll it also grants.

Arcane Genetic Alchemy (can't be wounded on anything less than a 4) is well worth the 1 CP to protect your high-investment golden guys.

My Vigilators at least could probably use a Rhino.

2022 Reading

White Dwarf 467
Prophecy of the Wolf

Codex: Necrons

Severed

White Dwarf 468

Codex: Astra Militarum

White Dwarf 469

Codex: Craftworlds

Mark of Faith

Wolf King

War Zone Nachmund: Vigilus Alone

Wolves of Fenris

Battle of the Fang

The Hunt for Magnus

White Dwarf 470

Fist of the Imperium

Sigismund: The Eternal Crusader

Dawn of Fire: Throne of Light

The Divine Instrument

White Dwarf 471

Sanguine

War Zone Nachmund: Rift War

Vaults of Terra: The Hollow Mountain

The Librarian’s Acolyte

Fearful Symmetries

The Brightest and Best

A Small Cog

White Dwarf 472

Cthonia’s Reckoning

Watchers of the Throne: The Regent’s Shadow

The Caligari Archivum: Burden

I am Slaughter

Vaults of Terra: The Dark City

The Siege of Terra: Echoes of Eternity

Fabius Bile: Primogenitor

Fire & Blood

Predator, Prey 

White Dwarf 473

Prodigal

The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal

The Iron Without

Renegades: Harrowmaster

Prince of Blood

The Path Unclear

White Dwarf 474

Fabius Bile: Clonelord

Confession of Pain

Aria Arcana

White Dwarf 475

And so another year of tons and tons of Black Library (Warhammer) fiction draws to an end. I did also plow through GRRM's Fire & Blood, which I highly enjoyed.

Book of the Year has to go to The Siege of Terra: Echoes of Eternity, hands down. 

I'll give my Honorable Mention status to both Fire & Blood and Watchers of the Throne: The Regent's Shadow, which stuck with me in the time since reading it more than most of these.

2022 Game Tracking

Halo Infinite
Necromunda: Underhive Wars

The Horus Heresy: Battle of Tallarn

Stephen's Sausage Roll
Assassin's Creed Origins

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

The Shrouded Isle

Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon

Elite Dangerous

Total War: Warhammer III

Battle Brothers

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

The Horus Heresy: Legions

Forza Horizon 5

Fortnite

Spelunky 2

Horizon Chase Turbo

Yakuza 3 Remastered

Warhammer 40:000 Battlesector

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Diablo Immortal

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall Unity

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

VVVVVV

Unity of Command

Hundred Days

Shootas, Blood, & Teef

Devil Daggers

Gloomhaven

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

Mass Effect

Final Fantasy XI

So these are the games I played in 2022? A meager lot. How many of these were released in 2022? Maybe three?

Diablo Immortal

Total War: Warhammer III
Shootas, Blood & Teef

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

On doing the research, these four games were released this year. Err, last year. I'm going to award GOTY to the one I played the most, then. 

GOTY 2022 -- Total War: Warhammer III. 

Second place goes to the one I liked best of the rest.

Runner-up -- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

Not to cast any shade on the titles above, but I've been sort of  "out of the game" this year--last year. I hope something comes along in 2023 that gets me more excited for digital gaming.