The Southlander Issue 08 by the Southlander

The Southlander

Issue 08 May 2009

Tactica Imperial Guard Kronikalz Book Review Take a look inside.

The South African Fanzine for

Games

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

In this issue The Content Editorials - Page.02 News and Releases - Page.03 The Fractured Archives Kronikalz Part 3 - Page.04 Death World - Page.06 Primarch Chibi - Page.07 Warhammer 40k The Way of the Water Warrior - Page.08 The New Imperial Guard - Page.14

The Team Nic “The Emperor of Chaos” Kirsten Lord Commissar (Editor) Simon “sie42” Strehler Techpriest Enginseer (Layout and Design) Jan “The Penitent Crusader” Slazus Regimental Advisor (Lead Contributor) Jo "elitist" Kirsten Primaris Pysker (Sub Editor) Primarch Chibi Mascot

Clubs and Stores in the Southlands Warzone Uncovered - Page.14 Club Listings - Page.19

Links

Futures - Page.20

Special Thanks Nuhan Yssel (Cover artist) Nick Taliakis Thys van Zyl Donovan Sherriffs

Download the Southlander at http://the-southlander.deviantart.com Official GW and Supporting Companies http://www.games-workshop.com http://www.forgeworld.co.uk http://www.blacklibrary.com http://www.specialist-games.com http://www.warhammer-historical.com http://www.fantasyflightgames.com Support and Contributors http://www.warhammergenerals.co.za

Submissions To submit photos, articles, letters and advertisements, mail them to [email protected] All photos must be in .jpeg format. All text submissions should be in either .txt or .doc format. Clearly state the game system covered in your article (i.e. Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, Mordheim etc.). Clearly state the title of your article. Clearly state the category of your article (i.e. Battle Report, Army List, Rules etc). Page.01

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

Editorials The Dirge Caster

Tactica article, by far the longest, and most informative article we’ve had so far.

What a month! Talk about hectic! With so many public holidays and so little work days, we can be thankful that we received anything this month! Everybody was just so busy at work that they hardly had time to check their emails.

On my side of things, I have started a rather extensive conversion, for a display piece, that will hopefully feature in these very pages. It’s taking an age though.

Anyways, so the new Imperial Guard was released and I got my eyes on the Codex. Man, how I wish I had Imperial Guard right now… Really awesome stuff.

Sister Dialogus

Until then, enjoy this one. - Simon

Hope you enjoy yet another skeleton issue of the Southlander! - Nic

And to help you sleep... What an issue! Yes, upon first inspection it is quite a lot short, but if you take a look at the wealth of knowledge within, and the depth of insight and creativity, you’ll realise this issue is quite simply stunning...

Firstly – to everybody out there who has ever struggled with a subject during any kind of study activity, and, more importantly, to those who still are – my sincerest sympathy! I am a linguist, and I'm currently taking lessons in programming; I've never been so frightened and clueless in my entire life! (A very humbling experience...) Well, glad I could get that off my chest. And, gladly, I found a remedy! Well, it doesn't help me to learn to program, but is makes me feel better. (Grin.) Yes, you guessed it, indulging in Warhammer! Reading codices, doing work for the Southlander, fantasizing about my soon to arrive army – I guess I'm a full fledged geek now, ey? To my fellow geeks – happy gaming!

- Jo

But seriously now, many congratulations to our dear cover artist, I think this is the coolest cover we’ve had to date. And then there’s the

++ SIGNAL:...ESTABLISHED...++ ++TEXT ONLY:++ Greetings fellow readers and gamers. +(SUFFIECENT)+ April has been more like a holiday for everyone with its long weekends. Long weekend or not, it was a very demanding month. Hopefully things would stabilise a bit with the new month. Sacrifices have got to be made, but that is how it goes. For now, I present to you Part 3 of “Kronikals at Da Weedy Grot”. Enjoy and take care. ++ SIGNAL:...SECEDE... ++ ++ ORELLA CLOSING COMMINICATION ++

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

News and Releases And the winner is... - Donovan Sherriffs A big hearty congratulations to you sir, for being the only one who believed that this compo was legit and worth taking part in. Donovan managed to guess most correctly the rank and role of each of the Space Marines represented below. Granted, it wasn’t very hard, and his competition was ... shall we say, lacking; never the less, he struck up the courage to type a simple e-mail, and claimed the spot of the first Southlander Competition winner ever! That could have been YOU dear reader! Be on the look out for future competitions! (the correct answers were: Captain, Chaplain, Assault Marine, Sternguard Vetran and Terminator.)

New Releases Games Workshop May 2 Codex: Imperial Guard Imperial Guard Valkyrie Imperial Guard Sentinel Imperial Guard Cadian Command Squad Imperial Guard Catachan Command Squad Imperial Guard Ratlings Imperial Guard Primaris Psyker

May 16 Imperial Guard Cadian Battleforce Imperial Guard Catachan Battleforce Imperial Guard Lord Commissar Imperial Guard Regimental Advisors

The Black Library May The Battle for Skull Pass Heroes of the Space Marines Knight of the Realm The Grey Knights Omnibus

Forge World May

Tournament Calendar Upcoming Fantasy Tournaments: Free State Fantasy Regionals - BF - 27-28 Jun ’09 * 2nd Cape Regional - CT - 27-28 Jun ’09 * ICON - JHB 10 -12 Jul ’09 * Upcoming 40k Tournaments: 3rd Cape Regional - CT - 18-19 Jul ’09 * ICON - JHB 10 -12 Jul ’09 * Dragonfire Bigun - CT - 8-10 August 2009 * means it counts towards national ranking. See www.warhammergenerals.co.za for more information.

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Khorne Blood Slaughterer Khorne Daemon Prince And Herald Nurgle Blight Drone

Too see more information on new releases, head over to www.games-workshop.com

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

The Fractured Archives Kronikalz at da Weedy Grot Part 3 - The Penitent Crusader - Jan "The Penitent Crusader" Slazus The Southlands. Some say it is the furthest one can be from whilst still be in civilisation, whilst others say you already long passed the border into the wilderness. A land full of wonder and potential, yet unknown and dangerous for the unwary. This is the kind of place where myth and legend still lives, yet the modern age does have a foothold in this primitive-like world. A world where both stone and technology co-exists. The story thus far: With the arrival of a new patron at Da Weedy Grot, a Space Marine, known there as “the Emperor of Chaos”, things got out of hand with a formally declared duel against him, turning into a free for all bar fight. It was only until Crusader was hit by a stray shot during the brawl that the non-duellists fled in fear of their lives. Fearing his own safety, the traveller prepared to take his leave, but before he could, his path was cut off by the victorious marine, making his way to his table. This is where our story continues. Part 3 – The Emperor of Chaos Pressurised gasses escaped with a loud hiss as the Space Marine removed his helmet. As the air vapours cleared form the marine’s face, a surprisingly normal human voice spoke, “Greetings, Crusady-One.” “Greeting to you as well, Furry-One”, came the response from Crusader. Still trying to find his feet, the traveller was even more surprised to see the features of the marine. Apart from the bulky power armour, he appears to be very human, unlike the stories he had heard of the enhanced super human soldiers. Military-style short cut black hair and a full facial beard also neatly cut short so that it would not cause much discomfort whilst wearing the closely fit armoured helmet. “What is that?” Emperor asked, pointing a casual thumb at the traveller on the floor. “A new visitor.” “Is he, now?”, Emperor said whilst lowering himself up close to the traveller to get a better look. The traveller did not meet his gaze, fearing that the huge hulk would take offence if he stared. “Kind of jumpy, isn’t he?”, Emperor remarked with a smirk, lifting his gaze to Crusader. “You and I tend to make people react like that.” “True.” Emperor replied, turning his gaze back to the traveller. This time he met the marine’s gaze. Unlike Crusader, his eyes appeared to be made of dark ice which made his blood freeze. “Come on ‘Jumpy’.” Emperor spoke as he rose to his full height. Before the traveller could react, the marine grabbed him by the back of his collar and firmly, yet gently pulled him up and placed him onto a chair next to the table. As the traveller unwillingly took his seat, the marine lifted his hand in signal for the bartender. “I’z comin, I’z comin!”,came an answer from the ork as he disappeared through the entrance of the back store behind the serving counter. An inhuman-grunt came from the back and Claw reappeared again, carrying something that is evidently very heavy. As he made his way from out behind the counter, cursing in orkish under his breath, the traveller noticed it to be a rectangular block of stone. Grey in colour, carved runes on the sides barely visible, the edges worn smooth from years of use, and a large iron ring dangling on either side of the block, more likely for the use of carrying the heavy stone by less strong carriers, but Claw, although showing some discomfort due to the stones awkward shape, showed no real strain in carrying it. He placed it down with a gentle thud behind Emperor. Slowly rising, dusting himself, he spoke, “No more favaz!”

Then he turned back and angrily continued muttering about how he has to clean up the mess. “Oi, ye gitz! Come’er or I’z give ye a thump!”, Claw shouted as he came to the serving counter. Almost from everywhere, small orkiod Gretchen emerged from their hiding places. No matter how hard Claw tried, he was unable to get rid of the infestation of menacing creatures, so he decided to make use of them with the more simple tasks. That was however no guarantee that things would work out as intended, but at least it kept them from breaking down the place. At the very least they where more welcomed than rats, and apparently more tasty as well, according to Claw. Apart from the noise from the chattering Gretchen cleaning the inn and dragging the unconscious or wounded outside for medical attention, a deathly silence started to form around the table where the only patrons sat. The human traveller, a newcomer to the inn, the mysterious robed figure known as the Penitent Crusader, and lastly, the newly joined Space Marine known as the Emperor of Chaos, casually sliding the brought stone with an ear bleeding stone-on-stone screech into position and taking his seat at the table. Due to their size, a Space Marine would break any other chair in the inn. However, Claw do keep a few stone and large tree stump seats specially for the patrons of larger stature, but the iron ringed, rune covered stone block was for those of great importance, or, to be more precise, if you were able to beat the previously appointed owner in a fight, as according to Ork-tradition. Still unsure what to do next, the traveller kept staring into his still half full tankard of fungus beer. He did not even want to dare excuse himself from this strange company. Yet, despite his initial fears, he did not sense any immediate harm would come to him from the two respected patrons. As a glint from one of the rubies on Emperor’s large golden tankard caught his eye, he finally got a good overall view of the space marine. The armour was a dark grey in colour and a grey fur wolf pelt was draped over the bulky shoulders. Apart from that, there was no other visual distinction as to the marine’s affiliation, especially when being know as the “Emperor of Chaos”, one would think that he would at least have some cult markings of the sort upon his person. A sudden chill ran down his spine. He thought it was just his imagination, but when he looked again, he saw fine ice crystals forming at the armour joints. As the armoured arm lifted the tankard, there was no mistaking the visible cold mist drifting from the gauntlet. He jumped from the noise of Claw breaking down one of the irreparable wooden chairs and throwing it in the large spit roast fire place to the one side of the room, still muttering away. The growing fire brought a welcoming warm glow to the corner table. “You wanted to know?”, it came unexpectedly from Crusader. “Know?”, the traveller asked unsure. “My acquaintance with Emperor”, he continued. “Yes, yes of course. Please forgive me.” Sitting back into his chair, folding his arms, Crusader spoke, “Well, I think it be best to allow my friend to tell that story.” Placing down his tankard and wiping green foam from his lips, Emperor gave a sinister grin, revealing two large beastly fangs glistening pearl white. “Our life story, Crusady-One? Very well, as you wish.” Leaning back onto his stone seat, Emperor folded is arms in a very disturbingly similar manner as Crusader did earlier. Slightly tilting his head upwards in deep thought for a short pause. “Well”, he began “I was always a lone wolf of the sort, managing on my own without the need for unnecessary socialisation. However, I am very protective over those who are worthy of my time. Crusady-One and I attended the same educational institute in our youth, but we did not really take note of one another since he was two years my senior and our activities did not really make us cross one another’s path that often. However, our parents knew one another, so it was during one of their social events which I had to accompany that we formally met. You were actually doing something

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

at the time which caught my attention, weren’t you?”, Emperor asked, lowering his gaze onto Crusader with a raised eyebrow. “Indeed.” Crusader replied, also in deep thought of the matter. “I do believe I was conducting experimental flights with a paper model aircraft of my own design. You actually walked up to me and asked about my design. It was actually the honeycombed night camouflage decoration from the Great War that actually caught your eye.” “Yes, yes I do believe you're right. But any how, it was by accident that our paths crossed and discovered that we shared very similar interests. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we were friends.” Leaning over to the side, Crusader picked up the goblet from the floor and stood up from his seat. “I do not know about you guys, but I am going to fetch myself a refreshment, especially after my nasty spill. How about you?” An eager nod came from Emperor with a wide fang-grin, lifting his tankard whilst the traveller only stared down into his. “I’ll get you a fresh one as well”, Crusader told the traveller whilst taking the golden tankard from Emperor. “Something a little less green perhaps?” “Yes please”, the traveller replied before he could think. “Er, if that would not be too much trouble”, he quickly added. Only a nod came in response from the robed figure. As Crusader made his way from behind the table, the traveller could make out the unmistakable silhouette and muffled noises of a heavily armed and armoured person. However, with the robe still firmly covering Crusader’s person from the neck down, there is no way to confirm his suspicion. He also then noticed the seat on which Crusader sat was a high back chair carved from a single solid tree trunk. The curvy patters and overall design of the carved chair gave the impression that it was made by an Elf-like culture, quite unlike the blocky Dwarf-like designs that he noticed on the golden tankard and stone seat . When Crusader was about halfway across the room, the traveller leaned ever slightly towards Emperor and asked in a hushed tone, “May I be as bold to ask just what he actually is?” “Crusady-One?” “Yes. I can guess more or less understand sir’s character, being an Imperial Space Marine, but…” He was interrupted by a laugh from Emperor. An armoured open hand struck him from behind right between the shoulder blades. Although the strike did not cause much pain, the sheer physical force caught the travel totally unaware, driving him forward and striking his forehead on the tabletop with a loud bump, narrowly missing the tankard from being imbedded in his skull. Quickly bringing himself upright in his seat, holding his bruised forehead with one hand, he gave a shocked, questioning glace to Emperor, still chuckling. “Imperial Space Marine. Good one”, he said. “Sorry to disappoint you little one, but my allegiance is my own. True, I may have been a loyalist once when I was an apprentice under Crusader’s guidance, but that was long ago.” “Apprentice?”, the traveller asked, completely forgetting his injury. “He was your teacher?” “Mentor to be more precise, but teacher none the less. We both are adventurous individuals. Although there are some subtle differences to our personal interests, we still have a lot in common. It was he who introduced me to this world. A world where both fantasy and science exist. A world where the imaginable is possible. A world of creation, tactics and mostly… warfare. He was the one who taught me of being a Space Marine. And for a time, as student and teacher, we explored the universe. However, it was when our paths split apart that things changed. Since he had other responsibilities as to myself, we could no longer continue the studies together. So I continued on my own, learning whatever I could of this world. It was during this time apart that I discovered the Chaos Powers. I was never one to blindly follow a doctrine, whether it was from the ‘Forces of Good’ or ‘Forces of Evil’. However, there was great power in embracing Chaos. So that was how I finally distinguished myself within this world. The student finally surpassed the teacher, creating my own Space Marine force, not loyal to

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any faction, conquering the universe. As my knowledge grew, so did my empire. It was several years before I crossed paths again with Crusader. Despite my clear defection from the Forces of Good, we had no real desire to face one another in true open combat. To be quite frank, there was never a reason. He too is not one to blindly follow the crowd, but his indifference is a bit more subtle than mine. Despite the power I had gained, we where still equally matched. Sure, we had a few ‘wargames’ with each other, more interested to see how the other would act as oppose to who would be victorious. However, in an unarmed fight, I believe he would be more than capable of ripping out my fangs with his bare hands.” A visible shiver all the sudden came from Emperor, clearly disturbed about the thought of it, rubbing the corner of his mouth as if he had a toothache. “To be honest”, he continued, “He would even rip out my heart and eat it whilst it is still beating.” The traveller turned white with that statement. “You’re kidding, right?”, he asked with a nervous chuckle. “I may joke about certain things little one, but not when it comes to one who earned my respect and trust.”, Emperor replied with an icy stare. “I’m sorry”, the traveller quickly replied. “I did not mean to be insulting.” “You better. I’ve killed people for lesser insults.” All the sudden it started to get colder all around him. With each breath ghostly white visible, the traveller also noticed ice starting to form in his tankard. He was starting to wonder if it was Emperor who is manipulating the room’s temperature, for ever since he came, the inn started to get peculiarly colder. It may be close to autumn, but such sudden temperature drops, especially with a large roaring fire in the same room, was unnatural. “Truly. I apologise.” he said again, staring down to the floor in shame. “No offence taken, little one.” Daring to look up, the traveller noticed a sly smile upon Emperor’s bearded face. Warmth gradually started full the room again. “Now then, where was I? Oh yes, my newly created force. Although Crusader has a superior knowledge of martial arts, I have a better working knowledge of battlefield tactics. Whenever we met on the field, he knew as well as I did that I was more experienced in commanding an army. Inexperienced he may be, he is no coward. Every time when you think that you have him on the run, he all of a sudden make a stand and shoot you in the face at point-blank range. We both had our victories and defeats. However, like I said, we are actually more interested in the battle itself as to the outcome. Of course, after establishing my force, I wanted to expand my influence a bit more than only to just warfare. That is how I have conceived ‘The Southlander’. It was an idea I shared with Crusader and a few others as a meeting point for all of the Southlands to come together and to do the things they like most about this world of fantasy and science. Originally, it was only supposed to be a mere electronical data point, but instead it evolved into something more. That is how ‘Da Weedy Grot’ came to be. There was so much more than only just war, even though mostly everything revolves around it. The sheer satisfaction to see a newcomer taking his first command of a force. Seeing commanders trying something different or new, learning from mistakes, improving command and finally building his or her own battle force. The thoughts and opinions of other fellow commanders. Talking about the changing times and its affection on the current way of war. Sharing knowledge and experience,… the list just goes on and on.” All the sudden a silhouette came up from behind the traveller’s right hand side, causing his heart to miss a few beats. To be continued in Part 4. - Jan

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

Death World Book Review - Nic “The Emperor of Chaos” Kirsten Death World By Steve Lyons

The Catachan jungle fighters of the Imperial Guard are an elite regiment, that specializes in destroying the Emperor’s foes on the most dangerous worlds of the Imperium. Their training is really put to the test when a squad is sent to the death world of Rogar III in response to an ork incursion. But as well as dealing with the greenskinned orks they must do battle with the planet itself and the mysterious figures that stalk them across the deadly terrain. - The Black Library In conjunction to the release of the new Codex: Imperial Guard, I decided to do a review on one of the best Imperial Guard based novels from Black Library I have read so far. This book is action packed from start to finish! Lyons does not waste time with lengthy pages of detail, and yet you never miss a single bit of the story. Very well written, easy to read and follow. The story takes the term “survival of the fittest” to the extreme, but that does not deter our hardened boys from Catachan! They only feel at home when everything from the flowers and bugs to the planet itself tries to kill them in every way possibly imaginable! I recommend this book to any and all fans of the Catachans and Imperial Guard, as well as fans of popular fiction such as Rambo and Mission Vietnam. So grab your lasgun and kit and get ready to fight more than just your enemies for your life! Can you survive this? - Nic

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

The Adventures of Primarch Chibi Just the other day I was skimming through the streets of Warhammerville, in my extra cool Land Speeder, on my way to the best kuier place in the world, some of you might even know it by now, Da Weedy Grot. That’s when I noticed that there was some sort of commotion going on in the street in front of the Da Weedy Grot. As you all know, us Space Marines aren’t afraid of nothing, so I put the pedal to the metal so I could get there faster, to see what’s going on. On arrival, I saw there was this huge crowd standing next to the street and everybody was cheering and stuff. When I got out of my extra cool Land Speeder, I saw a few of my best buddies, including old Claw, standing there looking at one of the vehicles on display in the street. So I walked over to them and asked what was going on. Claw then told me there was this competition going on to see who had the coolest ride in town and then later there were going to be races to see who’s was the fastest. Now everybody knows my extra cool Land Speeder has to be the coolest ride ever, so I decided to enter her into the competition. I went over to the entry desk, but I had to nearly climb onto the table to enter my extra cool Land Speeder. Luckily for me I am a charmer and the hot Eldar chick fell hard for me and let me enter for free and stuff. After getting her number, I got back to my extra cool Land Speeder to see Claw busy working on her! Of all the bad ideas you could have, messing with a Space Marine’s ride has to be the worst. Luckily Claw is a buddy and when I got closer he tuned me that he was busy putting some very special modifications on her to make her even more cool and fast! Now you all know that Orks believe that red painted rides go faster than others, I swear it’s the truth! By the time Claw was finished with her she was gleaming apple red and sporting a few extra improvised rocket engines. She looked a lot cooler than she used to. And mind you, she already was the coolest ride before that. So anyways, the competition was kind of dull and stuff. There were several Imperial Guardsmen with heated up Chimeras, Eldar with modified Vipers, a few Orks with customised buggies and even a few horsemen on display. Everybody knows my extra super cool Land Speeder is the coolest ride ever, so I wasn’t even upset when they gave the prize to one of the Chimeras. I can’t always win now can I? Next up was the racing and stuff and before long I had to face off with the same Guardsman who won

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the coolest ride prize with his heated up Chimera. Obviously everybody was cheering for me and I kind of felt sorry for the poor guy. Now Claw put in a big red button that he told me to push when I wanted the rockets to start and when the flag went down I pushed it. You will never believe how fast I pulled away there. It took me something like two minutes to get back up in my seat and take control again so I could start up her original engines. I don’t know what that Guardsman did to his Chimera, but it was starting to catch up and I had to be quick if I wanted to win the race. That’s when I started to hear this rattle noise that wasn’t there before. Now you all know us Space Marines have these super strong senses and stuff, so I was able to figure out it came from the throttle control stick. While I was trying to figure out what was going on, I broke it off! In my defence, us Space Marines are super strong, you know? Luckily for me that caused my extra super cool Land Speeder to go faster and faster, and I was able to outride the Chimera. The only problem was that I couldn’t stop without the throttle control thingy. I did win that race. Or so they tell me. Apparently I went so fast that I passed out from too high Gs or some such thing. The best part was that they had to send all the Chimeras after me to get my extra super cool Land Speeder back as it had to run out of fuel to stop. Was fun watching them trying to drag it from the swamp all day, while I was busy watching and drinking cold fungus beer. Heeheehee…

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

The Way of the Water Warrior – A Tactica - Silent Requiem edited by Severian The main feature of this article is a tactica written by Silent Requiem (aka Taurean Drayak) and posted on The Bolter and Chainsword forums. The tactica entails more than advice on the use of one specific army but encompasses a certain philosophy with regard to battle and more specifically tabletop battles that bear consideration. Whether you agree with it or not, it should get you thinking. The tactica is also somewhat unusual in that it was written with the Grey Knights in mind. These Daemon Hunters don’t enjoy a lot of support these days despite the awesome range of models. I, however, have a soft spot for them, and you will note that despite the tactica being written during the 4th edition, it has been updated where the author considered it necessary to be relevant under the 5th edition of the rules. I have edited the tactica as I saw fit in order to render it down to an easier format for publishing. Should this in any way detract from the original work I tender in advance my apologies to both the author as well as any reader. The original thread on Bolter & Chainsword may be viewed at - Way of the Water Warrior Without further ado then, I’ll let Silent Requiem state his case: - Thys van Zyl (Severian) This tactica contains my thoughts on warfare, 40k, Grey Knights, and a number of other things. It is looooong. I hope that you get as much out of reading it as I did out of writing it. - Silent Requiem

Introduction First off, who am I, and why the hell should I be writing a tactica? Well, the first question can be answered simply (for our purposes at least), by quoting myself in another thread: QUOTE I'm mostly a lurker here, so forgive me if I feel the need to establish my credentials. In my most recent gaming period, Jan 06-July 06, I played 4-5 games a week, take all comers, with my pure Grey Knights list. The gaming group consisted of 30ish players, with about 5 being hard core tournament players. That's about 140 games. I lost 2.

You don't spend 7 months as the top player in a group like that without facing tooled out lists designed specifically to take you down. It didn't matter. My two losses were suffered in the middle of my final law exams, and were utterly stupid mistakes on my part. As to why I am writing this, I received a PM regarding my army list. Here is my response: QUOTE Greetings, I have tried to answer your email several times, but each time I have been dissatisfied with my work. It is not simply enough to give you my list, as this would be of no true value. Several people at my local club have gone out and purchased identical armies to mine after seeing me play, but have had no success. It is necessary to understand the list, and thus far I have not been able to communicate that understanding adequately. Realizing this, I am prepared to set about writing a tactica on the subject, but as I feel it will be necessary to teach tactics from the ground up, it may take me a while to prepare. When it is finished, I will message you a copy, and post it on the forum. Grey Knight Disclaimer Let me make very clear my feelings on Grey Knights from the outset: Anyone playing pure Grey Knights (and to a lesser extent, Daemon Hunters) should know that they are going into battle with a self inflicted handicap. Anyone not comfortable with that, should find another army. Edition Disclaimer This tactica was written in 4th edition, and as such some of the specific applications of the principles discussed may have changed (the principles themselves are less vulnerable to changes between editions). I endeavour to keep this work up to date, but I may miss things, so keep an eye out for suggestions that no longer apply. The discussion with regard to the elemental armies is a universal one applicable to all armies in the 40K universe and in my opinion has the author provided us with a guideline to classify (to a certain extent) our armies and thereby be given a clearer idea what they can do well, should do and how (in broad strokes) this may be brought about. - Severian

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

Combat and the Four Elements Each of the four elements represents a style/philosophy of approaching combat. Few people or armies are simply an expression of one pure element, as nothing in life is that simple. However, understanding yourself in terms of these elements is useful, as playing an army that reflects your way of thinking makes the process more enjoyable (and more successful). It can also help you to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a player.

Earth overview: An Earth army wins by outlasting its

opponent, and is characterized by its resilience and staying power. This means that good Earth armies tend to have high model counts and/or resilient troops. Movement phase: For reasons given below, Earth armies are usually firepower based, and movement precludes the firing of heavy weapons. Thus, Earth armies do not usually invest much in mobility. Moreover, Earth troops often benefit (directly or just generally) from being in proximity to each other, so high movement, which serves only to separate the unit from the whole, is to be actively discouraged. However, this often means that Earth armies surrender the initiative to the enemy, and it is this phase that will usually defeat an Earth army. Shooting Phase: The rules of 40k mean that Earth armies are almost always firepower based; cover adds resilience in a shooting war, but means little in protracted close combat, and ranged weapons allow a concentration of force despite the army's size and sluggishness, whereas in assault those numbers cannot be brought effectively to bear. This is the phase in which an Earth army tries to win the war.

Assault phase: This is where most Fire armies try to win. Ideally, their specialist troops empty their kill zone before the enemy can strike back, avoiding the protracted fights that often show up the lack of resilience that characterises many Fire armies. Example: An all Genestealer army. Personal Comment: I dislike Fire armies as the play style tends to be very one track. It also requires a certain flair that I lack. Note that the changes in 5th edition have made Sisters of Battle a very viable Fire army. They buck the trend by being shooting based, and highly tactical. For those drawn to the Fire paradigm, they are worth checking out.

Air overview: An air army wants to out manoeuvre its

opponent, and is characterised by high mobility. Good Air armies are very fast, often at the expense of numbers. Movement phase: This is the bit where Air armies try to win. They get to choose where and when they hit you, and will choose a time and place that limits any counter attack. Shooting phase: Unlike Fire and Earth, there is no strong tendency for Air to go shooting or assault, as both are well represented. Good Air armies do tend to specialise in one or the other, however. Assault phase: As above. Example: Ravenwing.

Assault Phase: Although not geared for assault, Earth armies are by no means pushovers. High numbers of resilient troops (often receiving the charge in cover) mean that Earth armies can often grind their opponents down over time.

Personal Comment: Played Air for a long time. Very intellectual style and Air vs. Air battles are some of the most impressive to watch. Table size and the tactical scale of 40k limit the style greatly, however.

Example: An infantry heavy marine army with Purity Above All and hidden power fists.

Water overview: Unlike the other elements, Water fights

This reference is now out of date. A similar example would be Necrons. Highly durable, with special rules that make them hard to kill, and a strong (though not the strongest) shooting phase. Personal Comment: I dislike Earth armies as I find the play style dull. Undeniably effective however.

Fire overview: A Fire army wants to overwhelm its opponents, and is characterised by its specialisation. Good Fire armies often have high model counts and use specialist troops.

Movement phase: Fire armies, for reasons given below, tend to be assault armies. This means that they have a vested interest in getting to the enemy fast, so Fire armies often have good mobility, though not on the level of an Air army. This is where Fire armies may lose, as their specialist troops must survive in enough numbers that they can overwhelm the enemy in assault. Shooting phase: There is one shooting phase (that you can use) for every two assault phases. This means that it is easier to overwhelm an opponent with assault superiority than fire superiority. Moreover, assault tends to be a more "one on one" affair than shooting wars, and the specialist nature of fire troops really shines when compared model for model with other armies. Thus most Fire armies will focus on assault, and because of their troops' specialist nature, shooting will be weak, or non-existent.

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reactively, responding to the plan of the enemy. Whereas the other elements try to dominate a particular phase, and "inflict" their plan upon the enemy, Water has no plan other than to defeat the enemy's plan. Good Water armies use well rounded, generalist troops. I could go through the phases, but there is no point, as a Water army requires an opponent in order to truly define itself. Example: Deathwing. Personal Comment: This is the type of force this tactica will consider. So why play the Water way? For me there are two reasons, one simple, and one complex. The simple answer is that it is the only style that does not become 'same-ish'. With the other styles you know roughly, before you see the table, or know what army you are facing, what your plan is. In fact, it goes deeper than that. You're locked in. Any deviation from your overall plan weakens your force. Playing your berserkers against the all stealer army? Neither of you really has the option of any tactic but all out assault. Hope you were in the mood for a meat grinder.

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A Water army, on the other hand, has no plan until it sees its enemy. And each game is different, depending on the details of your opponent. If you fight the same guy over and over, this won't help, but in a decent sized club, this can keep your interest alive.

PAGK. That said, I can't seem to run one, and have not felt too punished by psychic powers.

The more difficult answer is that I am a very 'problem -> solution' type person. Take my painting for example. I have never, EVER, amounted to anything as an artist when presented with a blank canvas, a clean sheet of paper, or a lump of clay. I simply have no idea what to do. But put me in front of a mini, and everything changes. So many problems suddenly arise, needing answers. Colour matches, shading and light sources, fluff accuracy, and more. I can take weeks to painstakingly paint a single trooper. In short, once I am given a context, my artistic side really blossoms.

The Shrouding: A much maligned rule, this is one of my favourites. People complain that it doesn't let you get close enough to make a foot assault viable, and they are right. However, that is not the purpose of the rule, and the view taken above is one very much in keeping with someone on the Fire path, not the Water path. What shrouding DOES do is allow a psycannon to fire at extreme range with less than a 50% chance of the enemy returning fire. This is nice. But what is even nicer, is that it allows your troops to engage forward and flanking elements of your opponent’s army (with stormbolters) without fear of effective retaliation from the rear elements. And where are the guys with the big heavy weapons usually kept? That's right. The rear.

This is true of my martial arts and my war-gaming. I have a hard time formulating battle plans, but when you try something, my brain goes into overdrive, trying to figure out how to stop you.

Rights of Exorcism: Yawn. Not only are daemons fairly uncommon (in my experience), but this rule is so hit and miss that you cannot build a strategy around it.

I suspect I'm not alone in that. I think there are others out there just like me. So this tactica is for the Water Warriors out there. As previously indicated, this tactica deals primarily with Grey Knights. Due to constraints with regards to space, the discussion in this issue will be limited to the special rules as well as the various units available to a Grey Knights General and the balance of the tactica will be dealt with in a later edition. - Severian

Grey Knight Special Rules Fearless: This is a fantastic rule in a reactive army, because we depend on absolute precision and control. This rule means we can depend on our troops. Deep Strike: To be covered under the unit descriptions. True Grit: Another fantastic rule, not because it gives us an obscene number of attacks (which it doesn't, and it ought to), but because it liberates us from the need to charge the enemy. Although there are many situations in which it is beneficial to deny the enemy the charge (such as when they have furious charge), there are just as many times where the decision is less clear cut. Often, WHERE the combat happens in relation to terrain, objectives, and other units is of incredible importance. By falling back and then receiving the charge we may have blocked an important LOS, or lured the enemy away from an objective or supporting units. While all this can still be done by a unit without true grit, this rule reduces the otherwise high cost of certain tactical decisions. Aegis: Honestly, this one is disappointing. All the nastiest Psychic powers are buffs directed at a players' own troops (like Fortune) or are unaffected by this rule (Thousand Sons). All in all, I'd have preferred a free psychic hood. Note that, with the new Chaos Codex, Aegis is now fully effective against Chaos powers that target our troops. Psychic powers are getting progressively stronger, however, and it is definitely worth trying to fit a psychic hood into your list, both to catch the 'Fortune' type spells, and so that you can test with ld 10 against damage spells, rather than the lower ld of your

Daemonic Infestation: Overkill. The reason GK actually suck against daemons. One of the worst games I ever played was recon against a Daemonette heavy army. It is important to note that the rule does not seem to say that the 'new' daemons are not worth any victory points, despite not being able to claim objectives. Thus I have seen GK armies wiped out to the last man but still win by victorious slaughter. It would seem that with the new Chaos and Daemons codex that this rule affects almost nothing, as the units listed largely don't exist any more. Well, there are the GK rules. I'll refer back to them from time to time, but I suspect they will feature more heavily when I tie all this information together and lay out strategies. Now, onto the units. I would now like to apply this reactive philosophy to the Grey Knights, evaluating each unit in turn. For each unit, therefore, we must ask ourselves the following questions: How does it perform in the movement phase? How does it perform in the shooting phase? How does it perform in the assault phase? Are there any significant special rules not mentioned above that add utility? Do these answers tend to force the unit into a particular role? Overall, is it worth the points? After promising the units, I’m actually going to discus psychic powers first, as both our HQ choices are psykers. I’m going to look at these powers from a “take all comers” list, and so I won’t even bother with the daemon specific powers, which I have never seen anyone take. You will see that our powers pale in comparison with the 4th edition powers, but they are still worth reflecting on. Note that some of these powers no longer have any effect with the advent of the new Daemons rules/codex. Hammerhand: A nice little power that adds a great deal of utility, as it gives a number of essentially powerfist attacks at initiative against vehicles. While it can be used against non-vehicles, generally speaking an S6 power weapon is better, unless you are hoping to instant kill a T4 multi wound character. In that case the GM will still be better off using his force weapon, and, as we shall see, the BC is likely to be dead before he can swing.

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Scourging: Nice, but inferior to a psycannon. The range is too short for real utility, as anything you shoot at is either going to charge you or rapid fire you next turn. I also dislike the variable number of shots.

price tag, however, the BC’s weakness is not too hard to overlook. Incidentally, in this role, master-crafting the psycannon is often worthwhile. Again, note the IC targeting changes in 5th edition.

Holocaust: Notice that you don’t have to be in assault to use this power. Nice, but most effective only on lightly armoured horde armies. Still, it is extra oomph in assault, and that can’t be a bad thing.

Cost effective: Very. The BC can easily make his points felt by either vehicle or troop hunting. Cheap enough to risk in a Deepstrike.

Word of the Emperor: Pointless. Elite assault troop almost by definition come with high leadership. If, like the Necrons, we had an assortment of ways to attack non-daemonic leadership, this could be interesting. But we don’t. After consideration of the pros and cons of the various options available any budding general must at some stage get to the meat and bones of the endeavour – the units on the table. What to take and what to leave …

Personal comment: Although I prefer my Avatars to be big and beefy, the humble BC is one of the most lethal models I field. A solid Deepstrike can really turn the tide on those Air armies, and BC has contributed heavily to many of my victories. As a side note, many opponents are surprised to learn that he only has one wound, and so sometimes avoid him more than necessary. I don't have enough games of 5th to properly evaluate the position, but I think that it shifts the balance slightly in favour of the GM, if you can afford him.

Grand Master

- Severian

HQ Brother-Captain Movement phase: Standard infantry movement, BUT the BC loses absolutely nothing by moving, as the terminator armour allows him to fire even heavy weapons at full effect on the move. The cost is the lack of a sweeping advance. The BC can also Deepstrike in any game. This is not uncommon in a GK army, but what is uncommon is that the BC is cheap enough to risk, coming to less than 100 points with a psycannon. Shooting phase: The GK standard, but what a standard! Double the firepower of a marine in an assault weapon no less. But an easy upgrade is the psycannon, turning him into a highly mobile, untargetable (thanks to IC status) devastator marine, capable of shredding infantry and light to medium vehicles. Note that outside the Tau, I can’t think of an HQ that can pack more firepower. Since 5th edition, targeting of IC's has changed, and it is no longer possible to become untargetable. Wound allocation rules make it difficult to hide a 1 wound character in a squad. All in all, the BC has become far more vulnerable to shooting in 5th edition. Assault phase: Let’s be honest, for an IC, the BC is a poor combatant. With 1 wound and an average stat line, he can be taken out by a fairly determined guardsman with a wiffle bat. There is almost always something better for this guy to be doing. 5th edition assault rules may have added a layer of protection when the BC is in a squad. I will review this after further games. Special rules: The BC can wear a psychic hood. Although very overcosted, with the rise of 4th edition psychic powers, this may become increasingly effective, and meshes well with a “hang back and shoot” approach. Role: As we have seen, the BC favours a ranged approach, where IC status works for, rather than against, him. However, assault is always an option, and combined with hammerhand and Deepstrike, the BC can make an effective, if fragile, vehicle hunter. Given the low

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Movement phase: See Brother-Captain. Shooting phase: Like the BC, but better. No need to master-craft this psycannon. Given the more “up close and personal” approach of the GM, however, Scourging may be more cost effective. I tend not to like that power, however. Assault phase: With decent wounds and initiative, the GM is solid in assault, and by dropping the stormbolter for a power weapon he can reach a truly staggering number of attacks on the charge. Master-craft his NFW and with some planning he can reliably clear his kill zone, avoiding hidden powerfists, making him an effective MEQ hunter. His NFW also makes him a potential monster/character hunter, though be warned, he does not have the initiative to deal with a number of the most dangerous assault units and IC’s. Hammerhand adds versatility, as it does with the BC, and Holocaust adds some swarm killing power. An important 5th edition change is the meshing of force weapons and the instant death rules. With our old codex, the GM still uses the old force weapon rules, which means that he can still use the force weapon on models with the eternal warrior rule. Special rules: As with BC. However, a psychic hood is arguably more at risk on a GM. No longer the case in 5th edition. Role: The GM does not, prima facie, get forced into one role, until you compare it to the BC. For a whopping 80ish points (more than double the cost of a BC), you get a stack of upgrades, but most are devoted to assault. Therefore, if you are not planning on an assault role, you are probably better off with the humble BC. What the GM does really well is fire support from just behind the front line, and then a counter charge. As noted though, there are still a number of things that a GM doesn’t want to meet in assault (like genestealers). 3 wounds are no more useful in a shooting role as well. Genestealers are still bad news, though. Cost effective: Debatable. He starts off expensive, and it quickly gets worse. You can spend as much on him as a

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Daemon Prince but get something arguably less survivable. When he works, he works great. When he doesn’t, you’ve blown 200ish points. It's not really his fault, though. Librarians and force weapons were all over priced in 3rd edition, and so when the combined Inquisition codex comes out in a few years expect to see a price drop. Personal comment: Love the idea, but it doesn’t translate into game play well. As much as I want him to work, I feel that the BC is a better buy. The GM is really more for pure DH play rather than pure GK. I have found myself leaning slightly more towards the GM in 5th. Still experimenting.

Elites Grey Knight Terminators (GKT) (or Retinue) Movement phase: Standard GK movement, with optional Deepstrike. Terminator armour is good for heavy weapons fire, bad for sweeping advances. Very solid. Shooting phase: Again, GK standard, but with the option of up to two psycannons, which benefit enormously from the TDA. If you love psycannons, this is the ideal platform. By hanging/ falling back to maximise shrouding, and constantly moving to limit LOS, most armies have no effective response to a small squad harassing their lines.

Shooting phase: The very excellent Grey Knight standard. The heavy weapons options are not as impressive without the terminator armour, however. I dislike both choices, as incinerators are very situational, and psycannons are a disincentive to move, despite their assault mode, which I dislike. I like to take psycannon bolts on the justicar though, as he can keep the NFW, and throw out some AP4 goodness at the squad's optimal range, even on the move. I would really love this to be an alternative upgrade to the special weapon troopers, as I’d max it out. Assault phase: Better than your standard marines, no doubt, but when equal points and a hidden powerfist are involved it will be a close thing. These guys just don’t have enough attacks to really obliterate MEQs in assault unless they have been softened up first. Special rules: None. WARNING: When taken as a fast attack choice these guys are no longer scoring, thanks to 5th edition rules. Role: Excellent generalists, but the upgrade options can be used to make them too shooty, which they just won’t do as well as other units of their cost (like devastator marines). A small squad with psycannons could Deepstrike to hit armour I suppose, but that is too risky for my tastes. Cost effective: Yes, but only if you keep casualties to a minimum. Nearly twice as expensive, but no more survivable than normal marines.

Assault phase: Utterly fantastic. High strength power weapons, with a free upgrade to thunderhammers. What’s not to love? Their only weakness is against high initiative foes, but the army in general suffers from that. Holocaust adds a little more punch in assault, but I find the risks too high, despite never having suffered them.

Personal comments: GW did a great job of making TDA-light with these guys, they just didn’t give us sufficient ability to customise them. Great basic troop units.

Special Rules: Just Holocaust, mentioned above.

Purgation Squad

Role: Nothing forced on us really. GKTs are some of the best troops in the game. They do everything well.

Movement phase: GK standard.

Cost effective: Absolutely. Just make sure you find them appropriate targets. They don’t have the raw number of attacks to deal with hordes (without Holocaust) so that 20 strong squad of conscripts will get some lucky shots in. They are hurt by not being scoring units in 5th edition, however. Personal comment: I have yet to play a game where I felt I had too many of these guys. They also rock at Space Hulk. The impact of 5th edition scoring unit rules has hurt terminators badly. However, I do feel that many players focus too much on troop choices now. While redundancy is good, GKT still bring a lot to the table.

Troops/Fast Attack Power Armoured Grey Knights (PAGK) Movement phase: Grey Knight standard, which is the same as heavy infantry generally. The fast attack choice may also Deepstrike, though unless they are targeting a teleport homer, the cost seems too high to risk.

Heavy Support

Shooting phase: GK standard, but with upgrades to more shooty at the expense of movement and assault. Assault: See PAGK. Special Rules: None. Role: Really shooty. Cost effective: See PAGK. Personal comments: In case you didn’t guess from my lack of detail, I hate these guys. If you play GK, then you have NINE other force organisation slots that can ONLY be filled with guys just like this. There are better things to spend your precious heavy support slots on. Now that vehicles are tougher, these guys are even more of a waste of a heavy slot. Not just in terms of what you could field instead, but in terms of the kind of firepower you need to bring to the table to deal with the 3 LRCs that BT player brought with him.

Orbital strike Not a unit exactly, the orbital strike is an interesting idea. It should be retargetable, however (you could make a radio link piece of wargear or some such), as it is too limited right now.

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For GKs, who are outnumbered all the time anyway, we cannot afford to purchase “units” that don’t put bodies on the table and can’t be controlled. Remember that the ideas of flexibility and control are central to a Water strategy, and the Orbital strike has neither.

Grey Knights Dreadnought

Personal comment: If you do use Land Raiders, never use less than two. Saturation principles mean that more Land Raiders mean more survivability for each hull. Extra armour and smoke should be considered standard.

Assault: Outstanding. With the exception of rending, there is not much this behemoth fears.

When I first wrote this tactica back in 4th edition, GHLR (Godhammer Land Raiders) were very tricky to use, as they were very fragile for their points. I was told that they were underpowered before people played me, and overpowered after people played me. In truth, I simply used a build that people had chosen not to prepare for. All that has changed with 5th edition. GHLR and their variants are now the premier tank in the game. This doesn't mean that you MUST take one, but it does mean that you MUST prepare to face multiples of them on a regular basis. Don't expect dreads to do that.

Special rules: Does NOT have shrouding.

Land Raider Crusader

Role: Can be over upgraded into a pure shooting role. It makes me sad when this happens.

Movement phase: Vehicle standard.

Cost effective: Yes, but like all vehicles, it melts under antitank fire.

Shooting phase: Good. Very focused on anti-infantry, but with a strong anti armour component. The sponson weapons are somewhat wasted in their position, however.

Movement phase: GK standard. Shooting phase: Outstanding. Upgrades allow for any range and role. Ranged specialisation can be purchased at the expense of assault.

Personal comments: Although I don’t use these much, it’s not because they aren’t fantastic units. Their ideal role in my mind is with an assault cannon on the flanks, supporting a squad of PAGK. With tougher vehicles, and amended rending rules, the only proper role for these guys now involves a lascannon.

Land Raider Movement phase: Vehicle standard. Shooting phase: Really good. Excellent range, good variety of weapons. The long range on the sponsons allow you to really use terrain to block LOS, as all you need is the sponson peaking out to fire. They also are the strongest anti armour platform that GK can field. Assault phase: N/A. Special rules: Transport. Adds to the movement of other units (and in the case of a Land Raider, protects them). Machine spirit. Allows for increased firepower on the move. Role: A very versatile platform able to engage at any range. Cost effective: Ah, the age old question, for which GK have a unique answer. A LR costs as much as ten PAGK. If by putting them in a LR they don’t die when they otherwise would have, the Raider just paid for itself. That's before they wipe out those obliterators/terminators/predators/etc. I find these to be very worthwhile.

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Assault phase: N/A. Special rules: Transport. Adds to the movement of other units (and in the case of a Land Raider, protects them). Machine spirit. Allows for increased firepower on the move. Machine Spirit has been confirmed by the 5th edition FAQ. About time. Role: The shorter range of the weapons means that the Crusader will run the full gambit of antitank measures. As such it is less survivable than the regular Raider, and so more devoted to transport, having less success in a harassment role. Cost effective: See Land Raider. Personal comment: This is a Fire vehicle, not a Water one. I don’t like them. In order to make this tactica both easier to digest s well as publish is it necessary to stop here and to continue with the balance of the tactica in the next issue of The Southlander. In the meantime, consider wisely the elements and the use of your force grasshopper so that you may master the Way of the Water Warrior. - Severian

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The Hammer of the Emperor will hit harder than ever before! - Nic “The Emperor of Chaos” Kirsten Wow! What a Codex! That was my first thought when I finished reading it the first time. As a matter of fact, the wow just grew louder every time I read it after that! The biggest problem I have with this Codex is, I have no idea where to start ranting and raving about how awesome it is!

Firstly and probably most importantly, the whole structure of Imperial Guard as we knew it, has changed. Command Platoons were replaced by Command Squads, Infantry Platoons has changed dramatically, and the addition to some awesome new units is bound to make any Imperial Commander’s mouth water. Infantry Platoons can now contain anything between 25 and 148 models, ranging from 130 points minimum, up to a whopping 2135 points! And that is for a SINGLE Troops Choice! These include the Command Squad, 2-5 Infantry Squads, 0-5 Heavy Weapons Squads, 0-2 Special Weapons Squads and 0-1 Conscripts Squad! Another nasty surprise is the ability to field up to 9 tanks in your army. Yes, you saw correctly. 1-3 Leman Russes for a SINGLE Heavy Support Choice! Nearly all vehicles can now be fielded in squadrons of 1-3! A few new things I have to mention would be: A Lord Commissar, Primaris Psyker, Psyker Battle Squad, Penal Legion Squad, 3 variants of Hellhound, 2 variants of Valkyrie, 7 variants of Leman Russ, Hydra Flak Batteries, Manticore Rocket Launchers, Deathstrike Missile Launchers (yes, like the ones in Epic!), and 11 old and new Unique Characters! The addition to Special Orders to boost your units’ combat effectiveness is bound to be a major pain to the enemies of the Imperium. Some making their shooting more effective, while others stop them from falling back or going to ground. Grab your vox and start shouting orders! I can go on and on about how awesome the new Codex: Imperial Guard is, but then I would spoil all the surprises… So what are you waiting for? GET THE CODEX, TROOPER! - Nic

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Clubs and Stores in the Southlands WARZONE – UNCOVERED - By Nick Taliakis The Warzone club has had a long and, dare I say it illustrious run. The name Warzone was “stolen” from the original Gauteng store by that name. The store was part owned By Adrian Texeira, who remains to this day a well known and respected gamer in South Africa.

For a number of years, the Warzone club was simply an offshoot of Wizards in Edenvale and ran out of one of the many empty stores in that centre… But it all changed in 2004. That was the year that Michael Williams – fresh up from Natal – asked the then store manager Dan if he could run the 40K league. This was not unusual, as each year 40K and Fantasy had a “convener” that in essence organised and ran the league.

2004 would be different however, as Mike, wily campaigner that he was (is), decided that he wanted to do much more than simply run the league. He envisaged the creation of a powerful club that would be able to host a number of in-house tournaments as well as a large tournament the likes of ICON.

At that time the Gauteng tournaments were as follows: UPCON (University of Pretoria), ICON, and Battle of the Big Guns (run by Esswex). Mike spoke to a number of players about his ambitions, and his enthusiasm was so contagious that I was immediately on-board, and before long we were convinced that to do the thing properly we needed a committee. Next thing we knew, 5 fledgling committee members were meeting over beers – Luigi Zampieri, Mike Williams, Nick Taliakis, Ronald Grobler and Sarel Greyling. Other than Mike, Ronald was on-board because of his encyclopaedic knowledge of the game. Sarel because of his organizational skills and the fact that he was a partner in a cabinet making company – and we knew we wanted many more tables if our initial vision was to be realized. Nick for his guru-like marketing and advertising skills and Luigi because of his incredible attention to detail. The one trait that was shared equally amongst the group was a vision of what makes up a successful club. The first thing we decided on, was a Club Constitution – which has served us brilliantly and nobly all these years. Next we assigned specific tasks to each committee member so that each had a clearly defined role, and we

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then chose our first chairman – Mike Williams. Before long we approached the 40K players (remember that we saw ourselves as a 40K club) and suggested that for an annual fee of R200 for working stiffs, R100 for students and R50 for scholars the committee would organise a gaming experience par-excellence. This was immediately followed up by a club card which also entitled the holder to a 5% discount from Wizards.

We embarked on a three-fold plan: Increase membership numbers (so that we had the cash we needed to make things happen). Improve the gaming room by painting it, adding posters and the like, by making more tables and adding high quality scenery (something we are particularly proud of – no club in South Africa and few around the world unless they are GW owned have anything like the volume or quality of scenery we have). Develop a number of exciting tournaments that carried prize support so that a significant amount of the members’ fees were returned to them as prizes and develop WARCON - our very own regional tournament. Right from the start we thought big. For Warcon, we hired the Bedfordview Community Hall. Organised our wives to prepare everything from breakfast to lunch for both days. Rented space to suppliers such as Wizards, Battle Planet and Wiz-Kids and charged a small entry fee to casual visitors.

We also went out in the early hours of the morning and erected posters in a 5km radius from the venue. Most of us weren’t worried about the fact that they were erected illegally as all the contact details on the posters were Mike’s, and if anyone got arrested, the rest of us: “knew nothing…” Warcon was the proving ground for our tournament caveat: Organisers cannot also be players. All too often we had seen how badly tournaments were run when the organizers insisted on playing as well. This philosophy, more than anything, ensured that Warcon was a huge success. The revenue from renting space allowed prizes to be massive by the standards at the time and we were able to make a significant profit close to R7,000 that swelled the club coffers significantly and enabled us to continue our growth spurt. WARZONE was on the map and our membership in 40K players alone was over 35. Our 2004 budget was (about) R14,500 and it seemed that we had cash to spare. 2005 saw the same committee voted in unanimously and Mike got his second (and final) year as chairman as per our constitution that chairmen may only serve 2 terms. Our membership and club fees grew marginally, but as we had carried over unused funds from 2004 we were in Page.16

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continuation of the fine work, and although there was a small decline in members – Emigration, wives and jobs…, our activities and tournaments meant that we had more and more non-members turning-up at our in-house tournaments. Warcon was viewed by anyone who participated in it the best Regional qualifier in SA. Sadly, over this time the Esswex club imploded (for a number of reasons) but through its ashes, 3+ was born led by Peter van Dyk and we (Warzone) were proud to be in a position to help them with gaming tables so that they could get up and going. To this day Warzone and 3+ enjoy a deep respect for each other both individually and collectively and many a happy hour of eating, drinking and general merriment has been and will continue to be shared between the two clubs. a powerful position which we used to launch into even bigger and better in-house tournaments. Prize support grew, but more than that, we started recruiting noncommittee members to run or support the running of events. We developed a system whereby each tournament required, amongst other - the following: Committee approval Budget approval Extra/specialized scenery approval and purchase, building etc… Advertising and communication support (generally from Luigi) Two members/people to run it (the Primary organiser and judge etc. and a second, who generally captured results, ran the admin including entry fees from non-members and generally supported the TO) We developed this to such a fine state, that since then each new committee is able to define all annual tournaments and their details within weeks of our AGM. Furthermore, all our tournaments, big or small, are run according to these principles and it ensures that PLAYERS have a good time. 2006 saw major changes to the committee, but the constitution and sense of burgeoning tradition ensured a

By 2007 the incumbent committee ably led by none other than Adrian Texeira started noticing some concerning issues arising from the possible sale and or closure of Wizards. This would have left Warzone high and dry without a home and of further concern was the possible attachment of our tables, scenery and all the rest. Enter Club member Fabio Costa volunteered to buy a house in Kensington (next to Bedfordview and not too far from Edenvale) for the express purpose of running the Warzone club as well as opening a small but adequate GW store through a deal with Battle Planet. The 2007 committee polled, obtained agreement and facilitated the difficult upheaval in terms of the venue change… And what a change it has been. We now have our own canteen that serves an ala-carte menu “of note” from breakfast to burgers and everything in-between. You can get almost anything to drink (nuff said on that) and if there’s anything you want from GW that isn’t immediately available, Fabio orders it and you can generally expect to receive it within a couple of weeks. Sadly, we lost some members along the way (mostly from the Far East Rand) who felt that the new venue was further to travel than they wished to go. There has also been the usual attrition of old players and the joining of new. During 2007 the Fantasy and 40K sides joined into one unified club so that currently there are

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representatives of both systems on the committee. Current membership is about 45 but this excludes the young-bloods which Fabio hosts on their own day. The Club is open every Wednesday night – till late, and Saturday – till the last lot go home which is often also late since much battle talk of the: might have; could have; didn’t variety is discussed. The venue is often open on Sundays, and on other days by arrangement.

Warzone also produces an annual T-Shirt which the members eagerly anticipate. Every year has seen some form of give-away at the AGM and primary recruitment drive. From Giant purple pens in 2005 to elegant branded pens in 2009. As I write this, we have completed a number of new terrain pieces making up a space port, Fuel processing plant, agrisector and giant 2’ wide and 6’ long bridge for our apocalypse size tournament “The Big One” Saturday 19th of April (about 60,000 points in total). Lastly, and most importantly, are the club members in general (whether they are committee members or not) and the attitude that has developed and has been fostered over the last 6 years – “ask not what your club can do for you,… but what you can do for your club”. Sounds silly, doesn’t it, but it’s a surprisingly powerful maxim that ensures that we do things better than anyone else… If you don’t believe me come round for a visit. I’ll even buy you a drink – perhaps I’ll even try claim it against the budget which this year stands at a whopping R28,000….. and don’t worry, we know just how to spend it! We hope to see you all soon at WarZone for a game….

The Venue which Fabio called “Warfair” (kinda confusing isn’t it) is utilised by a number of other clubs on “off” days, including, amongst others, a Chess club, Magic and a GO club. My abiding belief that throwing a piece of polystyrene on the table and calling it terrain… significantly detracts from the immersive enjoyment of playing on a themed table that has its own background and history has led not only to the creation of excellent terrain but to the building of 5 themed tables. Three of these are modular in sections of 3’ X 2’ and the individual pieces have been carefully constructed so that multiple configurations are possible, making each table versatile and exciting as there’s always a configuration one has not played before.

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

Club Listings

Durban War Games Club The DWGC is arguably the oldest war gaming club in the country. We play Warhammer 40K & Fantasy as well as Historical games covering all periods from Ancients to Modern. There are also regular board games and role play. Join us at the Westville Library every second Sunday and every Thursday Evening. Contact Colin for more details at [email protected], Tel 082 563 4775 Attention all War Gamers in Centurion/Pretoria!! We play Fantasy and 40K (Some Warmachine some times) on Thursday evenings from 18:00 as well as every second Saturday from 9:30 at my place. 7 Vlakvoëljie, Rooihuiskraal, Centurion. You can contact Jaap on cell - 084 505 9941 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

3+ Wargaming Club – Rooseveldt Park Playing 40k & Fantasy along with other sundry game systems (mordheim, BFG and various boardgames) Playing on Saturdays between 11h00 & 18h00 and Wednesdays between 17h00 & 22h00 Located at the Rooseveldt Park Bowls Club, Milner Avenue, Rooseveldt Park (Near Northcliff Corner Shopping Centre) Call Peter van Dyk on 082-555-9611, email: [email protected] or Jan du Toit on 076-050-9010 Warzone at WARFAIR WARFAIR is a dedicated gaming venue. There are various clubs which call WARFAIR their home, including Warzone (fantasy and 40K club, mainly, but also BFG and blood bowl). Warzone meets on Wednesday nights from 6 pm 'till late and on Saturdays from 9 am 'till late. WARFAIR also has a Junior 40K club that meets one Sunday a month, ages from 7 years old, to 13 years old. The other clubs at WARFAIR are on a Thursday night playing Chess and Go, Friday night playing Magic the Gathering and one Sunday a month playing Board games. WARFAIR is at no. 35 Langermann Drive, Kensington, Johannesburg. Contact Fabio on 082-431-2242 or e-mail him at [email protected] Dragons Den

East London Strategy Gaming We are a non-profit gaming club that caters for Warhammer Fantasy, 40k and Magic the Gathering gamers in East London We gather almost every Sunday at the Beacon Bay Library from 1pm to 6pm. All are welcome. Contact us at [email protected]

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Wed-Sun 9:30 to 17:30 33 Voster Ave Glenanda Johannesburg (South) Shop stocks a wide range of GW products as well as various boxed board games. Gaming Club that plays Fantasy, 40K, MtG and LoTR. We also play many various boxed board games, when they have been organized in advance. Contact Hannes at 083 244 0530

The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

Futures Coming in Issue 08.... The Big One Tournament Kronikalz 4

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The Southlander - Issue.08 - May.2009

40k, Adeptus Astartes, Battlefleet Gothic, Black Flame, Black Library, the Black Library logo, BL Publishing, Blood Angels, Bloodquest, Blood Bowl, the Blood Bowl logo, The Blood Bowl Spike Device, Cadian, Catachan, Chaos, the Chaos device, the Chaos logo, Citadel, Citadel Device, Cityfight, City of the Damned, Codex, Daemonhunters, Dark Angels, Darkblade, Dark Eldar, Dark Future, Dawn of War, the Double-Headed/Imperial Eagle device, ‘Eavy Metal, Eldar, Eldar symbol devices, Epic, Eye of Terror, Fanatic, the Fanatic logo, the Fanatic II logo, Fire Warrior, the Fire Warrior logo, Forge World, Games Workshop, Games Workshop logo, Genestealer, Golden Demon, Gorkamorka, Great Unclean One, GW, GWI, the GWI logo, the Hammer of Sigmar logo, Horned Rat logo, Inferno, Inquisitor, the Inquisitor logo, the Inquisitor device, Inquisitor: Conspiracies, Keeper of Secrets, Khemri, Khorne, the Khorne logo, Kroot, Lord of Change, Marauder, Mordheim, the Mordheim logo, Necromunda, Necromunda stencil logo, Necromunda Plate logo, Necron, Nurgle, the Nurgle logo, Ork, Ork skull devices, Sisters of Battle, Skaven, the Skaven symbol devices, Slaanesh, the Slaanesh logo, Space Hulk, Space Marine, Space Marine chapters, Space Marine chapter logos, Talisman, Tau, the Tau caste designations, Tomb Kings, Trio of Warriors, Twin Tailed Comet Logo, Tyranid, Tyrannid, Tzeentch, the Tzeentch logo, Ultramarines, Warhammer, Warhammer Historical, Warhammer Online, Warhammer 40k Device, Warhammer World logo, Warmaster, White Dwarf, the White Dwarf logo, and all associated marks, names, races, race insignia, characters, vehicles, locations, units, illustrations and images from the Blood Bowl game, the Warhammer world, the Talisman world, and the Warhammer 40,000 universe are either ®, TM and/or © Copyright Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2008, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. Used without permission. No challenge to their status intended. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.

All articles, photographs, and designs contained in this document remain the property and responsibility of their creators. The Southlander Magazine takes no responsibility for misuse or illegal reproduction of materials, and will cooperate fully to resolve any issues. This fanzine is not for resale. This fanzine is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.

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