So the past couple of weeks have been insane with the lead up to NOVA... not to mention the actual convention itself. This was my second NOVA and first as a staffer, and it was even more fun than last year. I played in the Narrative again, and I was really stoked to see that it had almost doubled in size! I had a good run, winning my first three games before losing a very winnable last game. I was a walking zombie at that point and my opponent played a solid game while I made a ton of mistakes. I guess I can't handle late nights as well as I used to. I was actually going for the "Fame" track where your warlord has to achieve specific goals such as killing a unit or holding the relic. Had an unkillable super soldier not popped up on T5 and ran down my leadership 10 stubborn Iridium Commander, I would have been able to add Fame to last year's Infamy. I am really looking forward to next year and plan on actually helping run the Narrative and/or finally playing in the GT.
In addition to NOVA, I have been anxiously awaiting the release of the new Space Marine codex. The old one was really feeling its age with all the new Tau and Eldar running around, and I was holding out hope that a refresh would make the Smurfs more viable. Having downloaded the ebook version (yay to no more Apple monopoly), I am feeling a little underwhelmed. Tacticals got slightly cheaper (flamer/ML and Vet Sarge is same price though), but not enough to offset how fast they die in this edition. Some units like TFCs got some nice buffs and/or got cheaper, but I personally do not see any killer units on par with Riptides, Broadsides, and Wave Serpents. I think the closest is Tiggy (who is now amazing), but nothing else really just jumps out at me. Maybe (probably) I am wrong though. At the very least, the Chapter Tactics should make for fun, fluffy army builds. Personally, I am excited about the Ultramarine characters (and Honor Guard). It will be nice to take the Smurfs for a spin and have some solid, tactical turn-by-turn options. I just hope they don't get relegated to always being allies (Tiggy may become the most popular ally EVER)... I really hope they get a chance to be the Imperium's heroes once again.
