Why 6th Edition allies are Infinitely good.

Hi everyone,

It's been ages since I've blogged and I'm a bit out of the loop with respect to the hobby. Hopefully I can start to rectify that soon and get painting, collecting and playing more. I've skimmed through the 6th edition rules but haven't really figured out the new edition or played it yet. I am excited about the soon-to-come boxed set that will offer me some Dark Angels love. Hopefully the models are a step up over the, already good, Black Reach ones as that would make the set just incredible.

One thing that everyone is talking about and I want to join in on is allies. At first, perhaps because I've been reading the interwebs too much and been exposed to competitive gaming that way, I thought about how it would be used for power gaming. I can shore up my weaknesses by stuffing in a bit of this or that as I need and then win some more games.

I don't think I was thinking normally and it took me a moment to see how great the Allies section is.



What's a huge problem with starting a new game system?

You don't want to invest in something that you're not if you'll be able to play. What is the local scene like for Warmahordes/Infinity/Malifaux/Dystopian Wars/Flames of War etc. etc. etc.? Will I have a chance to use my models or will they just be display pieces? What if the interest dies down around me?

This is where allies come in.

I play Dark Angels, Deathwing to be precise. I like the terminators but I'm getting a bit tired of painting bone white armour. I need a change.

Enter my Grey Knight allies lead by this Inquisitor.

Now I know that he's an Infinity model and will be very playable if and when I find the local scene for this game, but right away he jumps out as just an awesomely badass Inquisitor. Power sword, combi-flamer, psychotrope grenades (because....random fun) and a mean attitude. 

Where would an inquisitor be without his loyal henchmen. In this case a group of seriously tough hombres decked out in power armour, sporting storm bolters and power swords. Conveniently enough they represent a starter set for Infinity too....how about that? ;-)

Last but by no means least is a model of a rather kickass lady who I think will make a great representation of Inquisitor Valeria on the tabletop. She's got a funky blade, a cool gun I can play as a graviton pistol and a whole heap more dynamism than you see in a lot of GW figures.

Thanks in large part to Tim over at the Tau of War, I've taken up an interest in Infinity that was spurred more when I saw the local shop's stock of starter boxes and so on. I am a little hesitant though since I've not really built a gaming network for 40k and so I don't know how much I can play Infinity here.

What 6th edition will allow me to do though is to get these great models, enjoy painting them, and be able to use them in 40k even if I lack Infinity partners. Now if that isn't a win win situation, then you really can't be pleased ;-)

All the best to everyone,

Pete

PS: I'm aware that I'll need to take a troops unit for it to be a legal allies choice, unless my opponents consent to just an HQ plus retinue. If that is so I'll drop in a PAGK squad (I have some old metals) or assemble five of the metal terminators I have. Ironically, sticking to the FOC rules in this case makes my fun, fluffy addition of Inq+Retinue a bit more punchy with another powerful terminator/marine unit.