In the Finest Hour Podcast

If you play Warhammer competitively, you will inevitably end up on the wrong end of the nerf bat, an unenviable situation. It can suck a lot to have your favorite unit or army severely hampered by changes to the rules, but the good news is that there are things you can do to cope with the situation and maybe even come out of it the stronger. This week, we talk about what to do when the rules shift beneath your feet- do you stick with the army, try something different, or look to another army entirely? All three are plausible responses, and we explore the pros and cons of each as well as the hosts' personal recommendations for how to handle things.

Although it hasn't gotten quite as much excitement drummed up for it as the Space Marine books, the Necron codex in 9th Edition is no joke- it's taken a number of top tournament spots and we have seen several different builds do well, with more likely undiscovered. So this episode, our hosts take you on a tour of the new Necron book and talk about some of the highlights you should be watching for- units, builds, and combos that stand out as well as ways to combat the list and strengths and challenges you should think about with Necrons. If you like your robots flavored like existential terror and scenery-chewing, this is the episode for you!

3D printing is a technology that has not only made immense strides over the past ten years but is also one that has the potential to completely change the way we look at our hobby in the future. Since both Shaylynn and Ben have significant experience with 3D printing, either professionally or as a hobby, this episode we talk about what 3D printing means for you in terms of making and converting models. We also discuss conversions and tournament policies, and how best to approach those issues if you have an army you're afraid might not be legal- and offer some guidelines on how to ensure you and your opponents both get a good experience from your army conversions. And to round things out, we take a look at where each of the hosts think that 3D printing is going in the near future as well as some thoughts on how the companies, the hobby, and the events we are all a part of might handle those changes.

We- and many other people- have talked a lot about the secondary missions in 9th Edition as well as many of the details of the primary missions, but it's high time we actually buckled down and looked at the core missions themselves and what they may mean for your army. With the objectives and deployments being paired together in specific ways, as well as the unique secondary objective available to each mission, there can be some very big swings in how you want to play each of them; how many objectives to go for, which secondary missions have good synergy, and so on and so forth.

More than any previous edition, 9E is a game of playing to the mission in order to win. In most games, that means trying to score points on the primary mission- but how do you do that? In this episode we talk about how you can gain a significant advantage in the score by "flipping" objectives to your side, including talking about when and where you'll want to do it, the kinds of units that excel at it, alternative strategies for armies that may struggle with the idea, and how to defend your own objectives from the enemy's "flip."

Normally when we talking about improving as a competitive player, we talk about rules interactions, combos, decks, and that sort of thing. But there's another side to competitive play as well- that of the community you play in; after all, a game of 40K played solo is not going to be nearly as exciting! In this episode, we talk about why you should want to improve your community (apart from simple altruism, of course) and how that can benefit you as well as the multitude of ways you can do so. No matter what your skills and situation are, there's something you can contribute to bettering the game we play, whether that's time, expertise, money, or other resources, and it's through the efforts of other people doing the same that we've brought the game as far as we have.

Transports are on the upswing in 9th Edition, with armies from virtually every faction making use of them in a variety of ways. But the rules for transports hardly changed at all from the previous edition, so what is it that is making them so popular? In this episode we talk about how transports are like ogres (they have layers, you see), the surprising variety of ways they can boost your movement, using the hull itself, and ways that your transports can do more than just... transport things.

A little bit of a shorter episode this week, as Ben is occupied with other business so Sean and Shaylynn talk about her Grey Knights army in 9th Edition- where it's been, where it is, and where it's going, as well as how it got there. We discuss the various iterations of her list, the principles they were based on, and why they worked (or didn't) as well as what she learned about the army and the game from each of them.

We've had enough time now to take in the changes and breadth of the new edition, so let's take a moment to examine just what it all means. What sort of armies are we seeing in the new meta? What sort of strategies are they using, and how can those be countered? What sort of features of lists are important in all archetypes, and which ones are more niche? What sort of things should you be scouring your codex to find if you have access to them, and what are more optional? All three hosts give their opinions on the current shape of 9E as well as a short peek at what may be the road ahead.

One of the biggest changes for 9th edition is the introduction of strategic reserves, a concept that will be familiar to players of 7th or prior. Of course, this time around things are significantly different; reserves aren't random but also aren't free, and can enter the battlefield much more flexibly. All of this heralds some extremely significant shifts in how armies play on the tabletop as well as a huge variety of new strategies that you can use to succeed in both the primary and secondary missions. In this episode we take a look at how you can take advantage of these new options as well as some counter-play and the things you need to consider when looking at strategic reserves, both your own and your enemy's.

Those who played many of the alternative formats from last edition, such as ITC, NOVA, Renagade Open, etc, may already be quite familiar with the new system for secondary objectives- but what about the new missions themselves? This episode, we take a good, long look (a touch longer than normal, even!) at these new missions and how they affect gameplay. Which ones are worth taking? Which ones are redundant with each other? Which ones are niche in application? Which ones do the hosts like or dislike? We also discuss what kinds of expectations you should have for scoring them, the risk vs. reward tradeoff of taking certain secondaries, and how to sync your plan for both primary and secondary objectives with each other such that they're not working at cross purposes.

9th Edition has brought with it a whole host of major changes, not the least of which is the changes to how terrain functions. In this episode, our three hosts dig into the new terrain rules in detail- what they do, what they mean for your army, and how they're going to change how you play the game. Whether you're bringing giant, stompy robots or hordes of fragile infantry, you're going to see some major shifts in what terrain means for your army, no matter the format.

9th Ed is here, and we are back! With the combination of rules leaks and the official GW pdf out in the wild, Sean and Shaylynn give their first impressions on the new edition's rules- what's changed, what's important, and some hints of where we think things might be going. We skim the surface lightly on this one, but rest assured- we are going to have a lot to talk about in future episodes discussing more of these things in greater detail. We'll also have another episode coming soon that covers just the mission pack, which we felt was a big enough deal to handle separately.

Some games can be won or lost practically before they even begin- not by the army lists, but in mistakes (or strategic plays) during deployment. Deployment dictates how the whole rest of the game will play out and for the canny player, it offers opportunities to bait the enemy into following your plan even before the first turn happens. In this episode, we talk about some of the common mistakes we see during deployment, as well as ways to avoid them and the big considerations you should be thinking about when putting your units down. Can I get Seized on? Should my units go on the line? Do I concentrate everything in one area, or spread out? What factors during deployment will affect whether I pick first or second turn, and how should my deployments change when doing so? It's a subject with a lot of meat on its bones, and we do our best to dig in deep.

Playing at tournaments is an ideal way to practice and improve your 40K skills, but what about when you're stuck in non-ideal situations? This week our three hosts talk about ways to get better at the game when you don't have that option- for example, if you are confined to your house due to pandemic, locked inside due to murderous clowns, or if it turns out that the floor outside is lava. We talk about deployment practice, studying battle reports, doing your homework, and other fun and interesting things that normal people spend their free time on as well as multitudes of other ways to while away the hours when you have nothing better to do. Stay safe out there, wargamers.

One of the things we take for granted in 40K is the ability to move around the battlefield- you can move your units wherever you'd like, within the limits of their range. Being able to selectively deny the enemy that freedom is a powerful tool, and one that can completely change the course of a game when used right, whether by ensuring control of objectives, denying charges, or keeping the enemy boxed up in their deployment zone. In this episode, we talk about the ways you can block your opponent's movement- what units to use, where and when to do it, and even how to control units with Fly or similar abilities that may seem like these strategies might not work on. And, of course, we also look at ways to counter your opponent's move-blocking, as well as how to use it in phases apart from the movement phase and how it differs from similar strategies such as screening or reserve-blocking.

When we start out playing 40K, most players will experiment a bit before finding a faction they like and settling into that, mostly building armies for that faction, perhaps spiced with a bit of allies. But what about moving beyond your home faction? In this episode, we talk about why expanding your experience with armies outside your norm can not only help you grow your knowledge of the game but also grow as a player and be better-prepared in general.

We also talk about how to choose your new faction, since not all armies are created equal, and how to get the most out of bringing it to events or practice games as well as ways to avoid burnout and tricks for getting the most out of your games.

Let's be frank here: there are some players out there who never really seem to get any better at the game, no matter how much they play or which army they switch to. They're the guys who are constantly complaining about how bad their luck is, how OP everyone else's army is, how they just needed to make one charge, and so on and on and on. These aren't "bad players" because they lack skill at the game, they're bad because they refuse to learn and because they've put up mental blocks for themselves that prevent them from being able to confront their failures.

In this episode, we discuss some of the most common versions of these mental blocks that we see, why they can hold you back in your growth as a competitive player, and how you can learn to move past them. Also featuring special voice appearances from the members of our Patreon group!

40K, like every hobby, is filled with jargon- backfield, alpha strike, WAAC, wysiwyg, mech, soup, etc, etc. Why do we use terms like this- it is just to confuse outsiders to the hobby, or does it serve some real purpose in communication? In this episode, we talk about the reasons jargon exists as well as some of the terminology and shorthand you're likely to encounter in the hobby, touching on a number of the most common ones as well as our mutual (or sometimes not) understandings of their meaning.

We are back! After a bit of a hiatus, Finest Hour is up and recording new episodes again, now with our brand-new cohost Ben Jurek. We dive right back into the thick of things, talking about how to approach a mission pack that you're unfamiliar with- what to look out for before the tournament when writing your list as well as little things to keep an eye on during your games as well as some of the gotchas that we find often ambush players who aren't careful enough.

In the second half of the episode we also talk about the new ITC mission packs for the 2020 season in particular, taking the things we've learned from the first part and applying them specifically to the new missions as well as hitting the highlights of what has changed in the new format and what we think the biggest shifts in the missions will be in terms of affecting the meta.

Joined by special guests Eleanor Byler and Jeffrey Hanson, Shaylynn leads a discussion about the tool of goal making, achieving, and failing process and how it relates to your growth as a 40k player. Using examples and inspiration from outside sources- you get to see more about the struggle of goals and why struggle is necessary and important part of the goal making process. 

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You can find out more about DOTS RPG here.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

The Hunter has, up until now, gotten a very bad rap- possibly because it was in fact a bad vehicle. However, with the update to the Space Marine codex and the addition of many new rules, a lot of possibilities have opened up for it and we're seeing more Marine players look to take advantage of the things the chassis can bring. In this episode, Josh talks about why he chose the Hunter for his list, how it helped him get the 5th place finish, and why other players looking to Space Marines might want to consider using it- because certainly, he's not the only one eyeing the Hunter.

Are allies a good thing, or not? This week on the show, we do something a little different- Shaylynn and Josh go head-to-head in a discussion about how allies affect the game as well as influence GW's game design philosophies, the internal balance of codices, and more. With Sean morderating, both of them stake out a position and go at it, and only one can be victorious! (Just kidding, it's actually very civil and nuanced discussion on the matter.)

After the chaos of the printing presses quiet, there is a held breath as the Chief Librarian opens the New Codex. Once his eyes hit those lofty pages- the meta as we know it begins to stir and shift....

Unlike the pervious episode which was about analyzing a new book, this one is about analyzing the resulting meta shifts in context of this new book. First starting with the inter-faction shifts the book itself causes (such as units getting powered up or down) then onto greater meta implications. 

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You can find out more about DOTS RPG here.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

First episode of its type, Josh and Shaylynn do an application episode where they talk about their latest tournament experiences and how to apply things brought up in previous episodes. Specifically Episode 24: Tournament Tips and Episode 32: Post-Tournament Tactics. This episode does feature both Josh and Shaylynn admitting to errors made in and out of their games, good stories, and answers some very thoughtful Listener (Patreons) Questions about general playing approach and advice. This episode offers a unique view into how the Hosts view tournament experiences personally and how insights can be found, even when you are getting thrashed with a 1-5 record. 

For disclosure purposes- the Tournament Organizer Group Canhammer invited all of In the Finest Hour to attend this event and was extremely accommodating. They were willing to set up a quiet table for Shaylynn (though it was not needed- the presence did a great deal to alleviate pressure). 

Mentioned Links of Importance:

The twitch stream you really, really ought to go view: http://www.twitch.tv/thehonestwargamer

https://www.facebook.com/40kstatscentre/

https://www.facebook.com/thehonestwargamer/

And of course visit our new friends: https://www.facebook.com/DrunkenDreadnoughts/

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Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Starting off our examination of the ETC mission set to give our listeners context for what just went down in Europe and why its so important- we decided to hunker down and focus on the Maelstorm aspect of the missions themselves. Maelstorm has some unique features to be aware of when playing 40k and has a rising popularity. It is a system with faults and strengths and we examine all of it. While Sean was unable to join us this episode, we do feature Jason Byrd- a good friend of the show and Named Pacific Northwest Player. 

You can find out more about DOTS RPG here.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

With all the pom poms and hype- Shaylynn and Josh bring you the Capital City Bloodbath Hottake! Straight out of Ottawa!!

Aforementioned things to look at:
https://thehonestwargamer.com/

https://www.capitalcitybloodbath.com/

https://www.40kstats.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/1024759151051991/

While the smell in the studio is somewhat under control now, this week we talk about the big stink: Plaguebearers! ‘Plaguebearers’ refers to the Chaos Soup list featuring two maximum (or nearly) size units of to protect a castle of psykers and daemons. This list is then seasoned with 800-900ish points of to taste.  

Here we dive into the complex synergies of this list archetype and why it has been so successful for so long. And, as always, we also delve into weakness and how-to-bear-it strategies. Josh Death personally took a version of this list to the top 8 of LVO 2019- and he provides some excellent insight into this list that are not obvious.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

We talk a lot on our show about the importance of information in this game- but how do you actually go about getting that information, and how does it help you? This episode, the hosts break down some of their study techniques and ways to pick up parts of the game without committing to a ten-hour full reading of every codex out there. Not all information is equal, and not all methods of uptaking it are equally effective- and if you're looking to improve, you'll want to do so in the easiest and most effective manner possible rather than struggle-bussing your way through all of the books.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

The tournament is over, the laurels handed out, the victors taken their prizes- but the work of the competitive player has only just begun. In the aftermath of a tournament, there's always a million questions to ask and a million things to improve, but how does one go about doing so in an organized and effective fashion? In this episode, we look at ways to better analyze your performance and the questions you want to be asking yourself, whether you won or lost.

How do you know if your losses were because of bad play or problems in your list? What sort of tools can you bring to put a closer eye to your games and get an accurate sense of what happened during them? How can you correct your mistakes, and how can you avoid making similar ones at future events? Where is the meta going, and is your list prepared to handle that new version? We talk about all of these subjects and more in this new retrospective as the hosts talk about how to win the game that happens after the game.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Eleanor returns!

And with her is the conundrum of running your first event (an RTT) and a total unawareness of the pitfalls and tricks needed to be successful. Thankfully Shaylynn is the Head TO of the Razor Valley Tournament Series out of Corvallis, OR and has already dealt with this conundrum many a time. Knowledge is shared and nuisances are discussed. (Also Shaylynn was super sleepy which is why she gets a tad bit repetitive). 

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Eleanor Byler
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

We get real specific this time as we buckle down and talk about just one singular rule from the core book and its implications- but one that a lot of players misunderstand, and a rule that a lot of people don't take advantage of (or get caught by.) Heroic Intervention is a rule that didn't really exist in previous editions, so even veterans of the game can get caught off guard by it, but at its core it's actually a very simple rule. That doesn't mean it's an unimportant one, however, as it has myriad applications across a variety of different armies.

The hosts talk about the many ways you can use heroic interventions- whether simply joining a combat or bypassing overwatch, or more esoteric applications such as controlling sections of the board, dictating movement, or even escaping from fights you want to avoid. We look at when and how it activates, when to use it and when not to, and even who gets access to it- a broader swath of models than you might think! Even armies like Tau can make good use of heroic interventions, so it's not a topic to be ignored by any general.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

When it comes to horde armies, you're hard-pressed to find one more powerful and influential on the meta these days than Orks. Armed with a plethora of special rules from their many powerful characters (not to mention the many built-in abilities they have), Orks are a threat in all phases of the game and their aggressive pricing along with their excellent stratagems can be a danger to virtually any army in virtually any format.

They are not, however, unbeatable, and this week we take a look at the many factors that make them so strong and how they are likely to be used in a "typical" Ork army as well as what you can do to mitigate them. From baiting stratagems to managing morale to engaging in combat, there are a large number of tricks you can use to make the fight a lot easier; we also talk about the importance of their characters, high-priority secondaries in ITC, and the proper time to call a Waagh at a tournament.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

"Everyone talks about, math, but no one ever seems to do anything about it."

There's a lot of misconceptions about mathhammer that tend to float around, whether it's not understanding how statistics work and how to apply them, or misusing math and statistics beyond their purposes or even simply distrust of the whole idea of using them in the game because "that's not how my dice roll" or "well, might roll less/more than that." So in this episode, we take sometime to clear up a few of these misconceptions.

Of course, if you're math-phobic, you might find this am intimidating topic, but rest assured- you won't get any lectures about exes squared or sums over integers in this podcast; instead, we look at how to apply the math and what it means for you as a general, rather than worrying so much about the practice of it. Indeed, why do out all yourself if you have tools that  can handle the number-crunching for you? As a bonus feature to go with the show, here are a couple of my favorites:

https://www.mathhammer8thed.com/

https://mathhammer.thefieldsofblood.com/

Exhausted Shaylynns are very slow on hottake editing occasionally. This is a view into the on-floor experience of the Gentlemen's GT. This episode was recorded after the ending of the event (again due to tiredness). 

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Exhausted Shaylynns are very slow on hottake editing occasionally. This is a view into the on-floor experience of the Hooded Goblin GT.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

It's not 4th Edition anymore, so missions no longer have a formally-declared "attacker" or "defender", but the struggle is still real- which one are you? Identifying your role during a game is paramount, as it determines whether you need to play aggressively or try to conserve your forces, whether you need to hedge your bets or swing wide, whether you need to aim for the long game or try to blow the opponent out before they can do anything. Misassessing your role can lead to an ignomious defeat, so you want to make sure to know which side of the fence you're on during games.

In this episode, we look at what the attacker and defender roles mean, how to tell which you are, and when the roles can reverse themselves (as well as what to do when that happens.) We talk about the tactical and strategic implications of being on both sides and give some specific examples of different matchups and how to explain each of them within this framework.

Plus, standing in for Josh this episode we have a very special guest, Justin Whitton of the Northwest Mercs. We also have the first of our Patreon-exclusive episodes up, an interview with some TOs with tips for running your first event; this special episode will eventually be posted for public listening, but supporters of the podcast get it ahead of time as a special bonus.

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Winning games is, of course, important if you're playing competitively, but before you get to that stage there's something else that you need to do- finish your games. 8th Edition tends to be significantly slower to play than previous iterations of the game and a lot of players are struggling to complete six turns these days, even to the point that tournaments have had to institute time policies. How do you dodge the enforcement on that sort of thing without finding yourself too rushed and making mistakes? These week, our hosts give you the strategies and tips you need to speed up your games while still maintaining quality play.

We talk about direct physical aids such as time clocks, of course, but also other tools you can use to speed things up such as measuring devices, trays, and more. We also discuss mental tools you can use to speed your play as well as ways to help you allocate the time you have more efficiently. Plus, a few asides on the worst time-wasting habits that we see in tournament players and why you should avoid them at all costs. If you're looking for a timely episode on a timely subject, look no further!

Music: Dankmus
Art: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Big, stompy robots; ever since the edition began, way back when we were still just little bitty babbies playing with the indices, Knights have been a boogeyman for players of all sorts, and following their codex release they have been a legitimate competitor on the tournament scene. But what is it that makes Knights so strong? In this episode, we go over the basics of a Knight army- be it pure Knights or the much more common mixed version that includes support from other Imperial factions. We talk about their options and stratagems that you should be aware of as well as some of the most common variants you'll see and why people run them.

More importantly, though, we talk about the weaknesses of the Knight list and how you can prepare yourself to beat them, focusing especially on their performance in ITC missions. From keeping pace with them on the primary to taking advantage of their tendency to bleed secondary points, we discuss the ways in which you can easily out-score a Knight army and even look to methods to wipe them off the table entirely if the situation permits. Being a hundred feet tall has its advantages, but it does make it miiiiiiiiiighty difficult to reach all the way down to the ground and tag Home Base, after all.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

We'd all rather win games than lose them, but sometimes things don't go as smoothly as we want. So how do you keep in when things start to go south, and how do you recover from mistakes or bad dice? This week In the Finest Hour looks at playing from a losing position and how you can maximize your score as well as your chances of pulling out that victory.

We also look at how to handle bad matchups, risk assessment, how to shift your priorities and playstyle, and more in this underdog episode.

This week we have Shaylynn hosting a very special interview with... Sean? It's a quick look at how the tournament is going and how things are looking for the payers involved.

Going to a tournament can be an intimidating experience, but it doesn't need to be- and whether you're a veteran of dozens of events or someone who is considering making the leap for the very first time, we have some tips for you. Not the usual sort, where we tell you obscure rules or strategies for most effectively taking out your opponent's super-cool flavor-of-the-week army, but things that can help you, the person going to the tournament, be more comfortable and happy over the course of the weekend. Not only will it make you happier with the event as a result, it will help your performance as a whole- after all, if you feel like complete shit you're not going to be playing to your highest standard.

We talk what to bring, what to wear, what to eat, how to talk to people, what to drink (or not to drink), how do avoid hurting yourself more than necessary (even if you're into that), and most importantly of all how to save yourself some dough when making that tournament run. If you've ever considering going to a tournament, this is an episode that you'll most certainly want to give a listen.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

What's the deal, with Flyers? [/Seinfeld] In this first episode of our new series, we take a look at some of the major list archetypes that are in the meta right now and discuss how they function, what makes them strong, where they can fail, and what impact they have on the game. And what better starting point for the game right now than everyone's favorite boogeyman for two full years and running, Flyer Spam?

We get you started with a crash-course in how the flyer list operates, the units it typically fields, and talk about some of the variants of the list that you typically will see. We also discuss the list's challenges in the meta as well as its strengths and look into why flyers benefit so much from many of the quirks of the format. And, of course, we round things out with tips for how to overcome the list if you're struggling to beat it- plus another round of listener questions from our Patrons and announcements about several upcoming tournaments where you can meet us.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

So you've gotten your list together and done a bunch of practice games and taken it to a tournament, but you're not happy with how it's performing. How do you identify the flaws in the army? How do you know when it's the army underperforming, rather than you making mistakes? And even once you've figured out what you're lacking, how do you add those things in without compromising the core functionality of the army? These questions are at the heart of list design, and they're problems that every player grapples with sooner or later- and in this episode, we hope to give you a leg up when confronting them, or at least an arm across.

We talk about the kinds of failings lists can have, discuss how to identify your core concept (and what to do if you don't have one), and elaborate on how each of the hosts follows their list iteration process as well as comparing and contrasting their strategies for army design. We talk about list assemblies and how they can aid your process as well as how to determine when a list is a failure, and why that's not necessarily a bad thing. And, of course, we discuss the two dread symptoms that have been the bane of many a general- It's Only 5 Points disease and Battleforce Syndrome.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Once again the yin-yang duo drives into a hottake where we get to hear the on-site tournament experience of the CTC!

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Shaylynn Allen
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

There is a whole spectrum of skill levels of players who play Warhammer 40K, from ones who have to be reminded how shooting attacks work up to the folks who regularly win Major events. Knowing where you are on the scale is a lot more than just a feather in your cap, though- it can guide the kinds of learning that you need to do to improve your game and give you a more realistic assessment of where your failings lie (as well as how you can overcome them.) However, it isn't always easy to self-assess like that, so in this episode we try to give you a guide to a few ways you might go about making a more-objective guess at where you sit in that spectrum and what kind of players are keeping you company.

Of course, 40K doesn't just have one skill that governs everything you do in the game, so we also spend time talking about the kinds of skills that contribute to your game performance- and some of them may be the sorts of things that you might not even think of as skills, but are still absolutely vital to how you do at tournaments and absolutely trainable. If you are considering the many ways in which you might pay your billz, this episode will have something for you in it.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

The Good Host steps in to take one for the team, inviting Alex (player returning from 5th edition) and Mike (completely new) to ask her all of the hard getting started in present 40k questions. 

This episode is the first in the Cross-Talk series that features the behind-the-scenes thinking our hosts have about list-building, Spring FAQ findings, Codex drops, Meta-analysis, and other such important aspects of the 40k experience that just don't phase neatly into a regular episode. These are generally speaking shorter than our main topics (half an hour to an hour) and will be available to our patreons immediately. These episodes will be made public a month after their patreon air-date. This one is free for all to view so that all listeners can get an understanding of the format and experience and decide if Patreon is the right route for them.

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Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Shaylynn Allen
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

The first thing you probably do at a tournament, after sighing dejectedly at the terrain you'll have to play on once again, is take a look at the army list your opponent hands you- but how much do you actually know about what it says, and which parts of it are important? This week, we take a look at how to understand what's in an opponent's list and what parts of it are going to be critical to the game; we might not be able to help you parse the Full Text Battlescribe Nightmare (no human can, it is a riddle in an enigma in a conundrum), but we can give you some pointers on what the likely candidates for your concern are as well as what kinds of questions you'll want to ask yourself (and your opponent) about what is there. From there, you can build a battle plan and break down what their battle plan is, hopefully with the end goal of coming out of the match victorious.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Shaylynn shunts in to assist Josh with another hottake episode: this time featuring the Dallas GT! 

The aforementioned rising star of 40k is Philip Junghans. Look out for this guy!

Netlisting- it's a subject that evokes a lot of strong feelings from some people, but at the end of the day it's really just one more resource that you have access to when writing an army list. In this episode, we take a look at the pros and cons of using netlists- when they can inspire you and guide your list development, but also when they can limit you and stunt your growth as a player. When should you start using netlists? When should you avoid them? How can you move past netlists, and what sort of players will do best (and worst) with them? Plus, we also talk about customizing netlists, knowing the role of the player (both in achieving success as well as in crafting the list), and why it's not as easy to win a tournament as just picking up Brandon Grant's army and going to town with it.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

With Sean on vacation, it's a struggle between Good and Evil as Josh and Shaylynn take over things for a week with a very special episode. Ridvan (aka Skari of SkaredCast) is on with our special guest in the next installment of the Analyzing Missions series as he talks to us about the European Team Championship format at length. Skari was vice-captain of the Canadian ETC team in 2018 and has been a consistent attendee in previous years, doing his nation proud, and with some help from Josh (who has attended as a freelancer for various teams) the three of them dig into the ins and outs of what is so unique about ETC. Being a team format, there naturally are a lot of differences from the usual style of play- indeed, ETC has developed a meta all its own and one that canny teams have learned to exploit, whether by dictating positions on the team, knowing the terrain, playing to the unusual style of missions that are used for it, or simply by having prior experience with all of these things firsthand. If you're curious about the ETC and what it means for the game as a whole, or are attending a similar event (like ATC or CTC) yourself, you'll want to check this episode out!

Skari's Stuff: SkaredCast

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Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Joshua does the boots on the ground and Shaylynn provides some air-support while Sean is busy getting lost in the webway. 

That's how we do Adepticon Hottakes! Josh shares the latest in 40k gossip as well as setting descriptions so you can have the most informed convention experience should you choose to go at a later date!

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Shaylynn Allen
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

A subject too big to cover just once! This week we revisit tempo and really dig into the subject further- what is tempo, and what does it represent in the game? How do you tell it apart from other gameplay mechanics? Why is it so important to winning? We pick apart the big and the small parts of it and break them down into digestible chunks. We talk about how tempo happens in each of the major phases of the game, starting with your own and proceeding to your opponent's- plus, we talk about negative tempo, how to avoid it, and how to deny your opponent tempo.

 Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Sometimes we like to talk about broad, general subjects- but sometimes, we like to get down to the nitty-gritty. This week on In the Finest Hour, we discuss summoning; coming off the back of an LVO top 8 finish, Josh obviously has a lot to say on the subject, so we dig in deep to the Daemonic Ritual ability and look at it in detail. What the ability does, stratagems that interact with it, units that enhance it, and of course the many units you may want to bring in using it. We talk about why summoning is useful, and what kinds of lists can take advantage of it as well as the things you need to make it work and some of the common pitfalls involved with players who try to incorporate summoning.

Of course, if you're coming from the other side of things, we also talk about the limitations of summoning and ways that you can beat armies that use it as well as how a summoning-focused list can fall apart and common archetypes that give it trouble.

If you haven't yet, also check out our new sponsor, Mindtake Miniatures- the owners are good personal friends of the show and if you're looking to pick up an army on the cheap or have some old minis that you're never going to find a use for, they can help you out with both sales and consignments.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

What's the number-one most important thing to improving your 40K game quickly? No, it's not studying lists, or learning target priority, or move-blocking, or any other game skills- it's getting your sad little self on a team! In this episode, we talk about teams- from tiny little two-person teams that you form to travel to tournaments to the big teams that dominate the ATC and ITC circuts, it's no surprise that all of the very best players in the game are on one. Teams give you access to a wealth of resources that you can't find by yourself, and for the truly competitive player they are an absolute must.

Whether it's about list help, travel plans, forewarnings of meta shifts, practice partners, borrowhammer, or just plain old-fashioned camaraderie, the benefits of a team are many- but we don't just talk about why you'd want to be on a team, we also go into how to get on a team, and if there isn't one in your area, why not form one? Two heads is better than one and three is better than two, so get your act together and get yourself a team.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Mindtaker Miniatures
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

What happens when you accidentally knock two-thirds of the show's hosts into the warp? Aside from assorted cursing in tongues older than mankind itself, you get a 40K Ladies' Night!

Shaylynn Allen, Lady of Titan and The Good Host, takes over the center chair this week and is joined by Eleanor Byler (of Team Doll Wars) and Jessica Bowman (of Team Warhammered ) in a very special episode of In the Finest Hour. All three Ladies delve straight into the social contract- a critical component of the competitive experience that is perhaps the most important thing in keeping players coming back. The three of them get into the details of why such a simple thing can get so complex to deal with, and how it intersects with players' emotions and assumptions as well as how to untangle those connections. The ladies also talk about how to address conflict within your gaming experiences so that everyone can walk away from the table content with the experience and ready for another game.

The second part of the episode shifts gears as the three of them lay out the good, bad, and ugly realities of being a woman wargamer. A vast majority of the time, things are fine and fun- but when the go south they can reach depths both grim and dark. The hosts also give tips for how to better interact with, and better attract, female wargamers to your own community as well as some do's and don'ts of being around them. (Hint: asking whose girlfriend they are right off the bat is not a good start.)

As promised, the mentioned events and links:
Jessica's RTT- Command Zone Games & Hobbies Warhammer 40K Tournament (link)
Eleanor's GT- Clash Of The Titans 40K (link)

Episode Music: Dankmus

Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow

Sponsored by: Vreda Forge

Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/

Directed by: Sean Morgan and Shaylynn Allen

Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

Ask not what your army can do for you, but what you can do for your army. In every game we inevitably end up losing some of our units, but in a lot of cases that's not such a bad thing- and in this episode, we look at the roles that sacrificial units can play in your army and how best to make use of them. We talk about how to get yourself in the right frame of mind so as not to be upset about those losses, ways and reasons to sacrifice something, and the most dreaded and worthless of all phrases: "m a k i n g  y o u r  p o i n t s  b a c k".

From speedbumps to tempo, from objective-holders to shields, and from board control to assassination runs, we cover all of the ways you can make your little spacemans die heroically for you in battle. "Your life is the currency of the Emperor- spend it well."

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Vreda Forge
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

The simplest stratagem in the game, and arguably the most important as well. This time around, we dedicate an entire episode to the humblest of strats in the game and one that everyone has access to. Although it may not seem like much, especially if you haven't played earlier editions of the game, the Command Reroll strat is incredibly important and can be a matter of win-or-lose in innumerable situations. In this episode, we talk about those many uses, how it existence changes the game, and why you need to be thinking about how our when you use this critical stratagem.

We also talk about when not to use it, the math of what portion of an attack sequence you should use it on, how it affects other stratagems, and much more.

Sean and Shaylynn talk LVO 2019. Josh sensibly decided to sleep instead.

Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied.

This episode is all about choosing your targets- what you can afford to ignore and what you can't, what needs to die and what can wait until next turn. While the movement phase might be the phase that can win you the game, that's hard to do unless you're getting rid of the units in the enemy army that can prevent you from winning. And since you can't kill every unit in their army simultaneously (since it's not 7th Ed anymore), that means picking and choosing your targets carefully to get rid of the ones that can do you the most harm.

Over the course of the episode, we talk about getting rid of threats to your threats vs. getting rid of threats to your victory conditions, how your target priority should change over the course of a game, and when you should shift priorities based on bad rolls. We discuss how to deal with reactive stratagems and abilities that your opponent can use against you and how to get around them as well as advice on how to choose the order in which you activate your units, both of which can be critically important in destroying targets effectively. Plus, we cap it all off with a short lesson on knowing your math and overcommitting versus undercommitting- and if you'd rather not do that math yourself, you're in luck, because we have a couple of links created put up by helpful individuals that can do the math for you!

http://www.dice-hammer.com/#!/damage

My preferred calculator for quick-and-dirty stuff. There's some features it's missing (like "rending" style effects), but if you're just running some raw math on things it's handy. This is probably your best bet for comparing options, since it lets you set up multiple "armies" to contrast them.

http://mathhammer.thefieldsofblood.com/

Doesn't let you compare, but provides more in-depth stats on a single unit or weapon. Provides not just the average, but also the distribution on things, which is great for understanding your chances of getting different results.

Episode Music: Dankmus
Icon Artist: Rylan Woodrow
Sponsored by: Vreda Forge
Our Patreon: In the Finest Hour
Website: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/
Directed by: Sean Morgan
Edited by: Shaylynn Allen

There's a lot of talk about 8th Edition being a "horde meta," but what does that actually mean for you as a player? In this episode, we explore the relative strengths of both horde armies and elite armies, and how they each function on the tabletop. From movement to board control to objective-holding, both armies can perform a lot of impressive tricks- but if you're going up against them, you're going to need to fight those strategies very differently.

As usual, we also have a nod to our tempo episode as we consider how to fight each of them as well as more discussion of weapon types and how each of the two armies achieves saturation with its respective profile- all of these separate topics are fundamentally related, as it turns out. Plus, an opportunity to hear about each of the hosts' Closet of Shame.

In every game, at some point, we have to make that fatal decision: do you want the first turn, or the second? Which will benefit your army more? Which is better when it comes to playing the mission? Can you survive letting the other guy get the first hit in, or do you need that edge in firepower and maneuver to make your plan work? This week on the podcast we explore the myriad factors that go into making that decision, including the terrain on your table, the missions (and secondaries) you are playing, your opponent's army, your personal playstyle, and more. We also look at when you should mix up your decisions and how to look at it from the perspective of your opponent and what they want/need out of the matchup.

In this week's episode, we talk about the concept of controlling space on the board, breaking it up into several different forms and discussing how each of them can be used during the game as well as why they're important. Whether you're trying to stop reserves from arriving in your backfield, keep the enemy away from your gunline, or hold the center of the board to score objectives, controlling space on the table is fundamental to the game and it's a strategy that top tournament players use constantly.

As a reminder, this week is your final chance to donate to the CharityHammer marathon stream (CharityHammer.com) to help decide what list(s) Nick Nanavati plays this coming weekend. If you're looking for some great games from top 40K players streaming for two straight days, morning, noon, and night, I highly recommend you check it out. Viewing the stream is free, though we do ask that if you can afford to pitch in even just a few bucks please do so- all proceeds will go directly to Child's Play charities to help out children in hospitals.

As always, you can contact us at inthefinalhour@gmail.com, or send us a message through our Facebook group- we're happy to answer questions, get comments or criticism, take suggestions for future topics you'd like to see, or just talk about Warhammer for a bit. If you've enjoyed the show, please share it with your friends, like our page, or give us a review on your podcast service of choice.

Snowflake Jake has brought us all a wondrous gift on this Snowflake Day, an extra-special start to our new episode series on analyzing and understanding the many different mission formats out there. We're starting with what is the most common format for west coast USA players, the ITC Champions set; we talk about the six primary missions and how they should affect your list-building as well as discussing all eleven secondary missions in detail and which ones you should pick (or avoid) in different situations and lists. Jam-packed full of helpful holiday tips, this is our largest episode yet, so sit yourself 'round the old yule log and have a listen!

This episode also marks the beginning of our Patreon service as well as the attached Discord servers and Facebook group- for a small monthly donation, you can join our growing group of fans and chat personally with them as well as the hosts of the podcast about lists, meta, and more.

Good Host Shaylynn, a woman of her word, has kindly provided the ITC missions vs. deployment maps visual for all to enjoy and learn from: https://www.inthefinesthour.com/blog/itc-championship-missions-vs-deployment-maps. Incidentally, this also links you to our snappy-looking website where you can find a few more gems of Warhammer knowledge. 

Struggling with how to put together a tournament list? Our three hosts talk through the processes they use to formulate a list and the tools they consider critical to succeeding with an army. From single-minded armies that do one thing brutally well to multifaceted generalist lists that bring a tool for every situation, we talk about how you can make your creation come to life.

Playtesting is key to doing well at tournaments, but how do you ensure you're getting the most out of the time you spend there? Our three hosts discuss how they approach the process of playtesting, "hard" vs. "soft" games, and ways to mix things up to make sure you're learning as much as you can from your test games. Thanks to Dankmus for our music, and to Rylan Woodrow for the art.

Codices have been coming out at a pretty breakneck pace this edition, and they're not done yet- this episode, we talk about the process of examining a new book to try and understand how the three of us pick it apart and zero in on the strongest units, stratagems, and other options. Thanks to Dankmus for the music, and Rylan Woodrow for our art. If you enjoyed the episode, please rate/review us on your podcast service of choice and share the episode with your friends.

Have you ever lost a game before it started? You might have! In this episode, Sean, Shay, and Josh talk about how to deploy, how not to deploy, and how to take advantage of your opponent's deployment. If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate/review us or share us with your friends.