GOLD for Hive Fleet Angrboda in AoP 2023

Though I wasn't able to get my display board finished in time for the international deadline for the online edition of Armies on Parade (honestly, GW, why shift the deadline from end of November to BEGINNING of November???), I DID manage to get it done in time for our local Games Workshop Toronto's Armies on Parade Day (though it was a near thing!).

Games Workshop Inner Circle Championship Report - Xenos Alchemist

Brother Pink and I have whipped up another podcast episode for your enjoyment! This one focuses on my experience of traveling to Games Workshop North America HQ in Dallas, Texas, as one of 5 Inner Circle champions (I was representing Canada).

This episode is going to be a two parter, with us talking about Inner Circle, and the weekend in Dallas, this week. Next week we'll post the second part, where I interview the four other Inner Circle winners.

As always, if you think this podcast sounds good, all credit goes to Brother Pink. The Xenos Alchemist podcast is based on SoundCloud, but we can also be found on Stitcher, Google Play, and iTunes.

If you have any comments on this episode, please leave them in the comments section below.

Thanks, and happy listening!

What is Games Workshop Inner Circle?

UPDATE: Brother Pink and I have since put together a podcast about my experiences in Dallas Texas as the Inner Circle champion for Canada. It gives even more information on what Inner Circle was all about, so you can listen to it here, if you're interested: https://soundcloud.com/xenosalchemist/inner-circle-report-part-1

On Saturday I attended the final judging session of the Games Workshop Inner Circle event, and I'm pleased to report that the Genestealer Cult of the Omega Strain walked away with a GOLD MEDAL!

Receiving my medal from Brando, who might just be my favourite blackshirt.
Don't tell Alphonso.

YAY!

You may have seen the hashtag InnerCircle showing up on your social feeds over the weekend. For anyone outside North America, or those within North America who haven't heard much about this competition, here's the skinny:

Games Workshop's US head office has been running a pilot event called Inner Circle in support of Gathering Storm. It's an army painting competition in much the same vein as Armies on Parade, which happens across the world in October.

However, Inner Circle differs in a couple of ways:

Get. This. (Genestealer Cult Rules)

Kids,

I'm still out in stasisland, but I wanted to make sure no one missed the opportunity to download this new rules set from the Tempus Fugitives for the updcoming Second Tyrannic War Campaign. Sure, they are only house rules, but since I've always been a fan of the Cult, I eagerly collect any and all semi-official Genestealer rules documents.

What's more, in the current age of Games Workshop's Oppressive Online Regime (maybe I'll write more on that later, but it is the prime reason for my existential ennui when it comes to The Hobby these days), I don't doubt The Company will be seeking to get these rules taken down, whether they are for an independent event or not. Thus, you should grab them while they are grab-able.

Here's a link to the event page:
http://tabletopnation.simpletix.com/Event/16/WH40000-Second-Tyrannic-War-18/

Here's a link to the campaign document/experimental ruleset:
http://www.tempusfugitives.co.uk/pdf/40k/2TW%20Pack.pdf

Celebrating WH40K 25 in Ajax

This past Saturday February 25th was Warhammer 40,000's 25th Birthday. To mark the event, Games Workshop released a very expensive anniversary model and some miscellaneous swag. They also host 40k-themed events in all of their hobby centres. As I haven't spent a meaningful amount of time in a Games Workshop store in years, and I generally focus more on converting, kitbashing, and sculpting than on painting and playing, I had written off these 25th anniversary events pretty much right out of the gate.

However, I'm blessed with a friend who is still into the gaming side of things (even if only sporadically), and an other half who is bafflingly interested in anything I sink my time into, regardless of how dorky it may be. So, between the two of them, they convinced me to take a chance on the 25th Anniversary events at a Games Workshop out in Ajax, Ontario, and I was left trying to figure out if I had a legal, painted, 1000pt list of Tyranids at midnight the night before to enter into the Apocalypse battle the next day!

The Art of the V&A: Miniatures & Inspiration

While in London earlier this week, we stopped by the Victoria & Albert Museum near Knightsbridge in London. I'd never been on my previous trips to London, and I'd really been missing out. If anyone is located anywhere near London, I'd recommend heading down soon to check out the very inspiring Power of Making exhibit (pictured above) that is on for a limited time.

Power of Making from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

It's a random collection of fantastic creations by modern artists (from miniature sculptures carved into the lead of pencils to giant, wooden exosuits designed so Steven Hawking could fight crime), and though the exhibition is small, it has an inspiring focus on the act/process of creation, rather than on the finished products themselves. I spent like 40 minutes in the small gallery and came out with a burning urge to MAKE SOMETHING.

While at the V&A, I also stumbled across some mind-numbingly intricate Japanese carvings that I thought bore sharing with folks who appreciate tiny little things. Here's hoping they can provide someone with some inspiration!

Games Day UK 2011

This year I wound up in the UK, within striking distance of Games Day UK, and Games Workshop saw fit to hold the event on my birthday no less! Here's my impressions an photos, only a month late.

The event was a zoo. We had to fight our ways into the Golden Demon cabinets, and once we'd fought our way through those, I wound up feeling a little lost.