DE: Extending Threat With Obsidian Rose

Looks like meat is back on the menu boys!

One of the ways we're going to min-max my Black Heart Kabal list is to explore other Obsessions.  I've already got myself a rock solid list, the only thing I'm going to do now extending the threat range.  We just have to make sure we have enough units in a detachment to buy enough dedicated transports and the right mix of Obsessions.

What I'm going to do is turn the majority of my Blasters and Kabalite troops into Obsidian Rose.  This gives them 6" more range on all their weapons; which gives them 24" Blasters and 30"/15" Rapid-fire Splinter Rifles.  After, I'm going to stuff as many of them as I can into Black Heart Raiders so the 6+++ makes them harder to kill.  I can do this because all our transports have the Drukhari keyword and no Obsession specific ties.  This allows me to mix and match our Obsessions to get the most out of our units.

Quick note:
In case you're wondering, I think Flayed Skulls' extra 3" movement can be nice for more Wych-oriented lists using Raiders as the delivery mechanism.  Just keep in mind that not every Obsession works with others.  It just happens to be that Obsidian Rose and Black Heart's bonuses work simultaneously, without conflict and in perfect concert with one another.  It's a match made in hell.

Don't fret guys, this is very much with the fluff and it looks like it's intended.  We're supposed to be able to mix and match different Kabals, Cults and Covens to make a better army.  I think, if I'm to be completely honest, that people are just so used to Dark Eldar being a punching bags of the fucking game that all of a sudden, everything is question when we're suddenly powerful.  While I can see crap like the infinite CP loop and Agents of Vect not requiring Black Heart units as a problem, this is something I see as intended.  Just think of it as bribes and deals being struck before the battle.

Anyways, I didn't mean to rant.  This is what the updated list looks like:

1999 // 8 CP
Obsidian Rose Battalion +3 CP

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster, PGL = 94
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster, PGL = 94

TROOP:
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114
10x Warriors, 2x Blaster, Dark Lance = 114

+++

Black Heart Spearhead +1 CP

HQ:
Archon, Agonizer, Blaster = 91
Warlord: Cunning, Living Muse

TROOP:
7x Warriors, Blaster = 59

PARTY BUS:
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85
Raider, Dark Lance = 85

HEAVY:
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125
Ravager, 3x Dinsintegrators = 125

+++

Black Heart Air Wing +1 CP

FLYER:
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135
Razorwing, 2x Dinsintegrators = 135

Stalk thy enemy.  Slay thy enemy.

Increasing overall threat range is exactly what we want as a shooty army.  It gives greater distance between our fragile units and our enemies, and allows us to easily threaten even the most heavily armored units in much greater volume.  Extra range allows us to set the tempo of the game and control our opponents through the use of kiting and forcing desperate situations.  With Strategems such as Fire and Fade, you'll be able to pull off some amazing circumstances that your opponents will surely loathe you for.

Let's take a closer look at our Firepower with respect to Range:

15 Disintegrators at BS3+ at 36"+ range
9 Dark Lances at BS3+ with 4 of these shooting from 42" range
9 Blasters at BS3+ with 8 of these shooting from 24"+ range
3 Blasters at BS2+ with 2 of these shooting from 24"+ range
3 Razorwing Missiles at BS3+ at 48"+ range
41 Splinter Rifles at BS3+ with 28 of these shooting from 30" range, 15" Rapid-fire

The pluses at the end of the range represent all the unaccounted movement.  As you can see here, extending the range of our weapons is primarily to benefit the multiple Blasters I have in each unit.  If you think about it:  Moving a Raider within 24" of something pretty much turns the thing into a Ravager with Dark Lances.  You get the extra S8 AP-4 D6 damage shots at full ballistic skill and if you have Archons nearby to give re-rolls, all the better.  The one thing I want you guys to take away from all this is that extra range is always good for a shooty army.  You want to be able to control the battlefield with your movement and through sheer firepower.  The extra threat range gives us the ability to control virtually any engagement as long as it's favorable for us.  This is control at its absolute finest.

I hereby decree this list as the Kabal of the Black Rose using the units that I've selected.

What The Heck Is Going On?

So, at this point, I'm a week late for a new episode. Don't fear, a new one is coming. Probably next week. I recognize that I've skipped weeks before and haven't ever said why, except perhaps in passing. Normally, it's because I'm off performing my two weeks of annual training for the National Guard. But not this time.

It's like this. I need to get my life to a better place. Mainly with my health, but also my relationship with my wife and kids. I have high blood glucose and I need to get it under control. I've drastically altered my diet and am exercising more. That means earlier mornings, which require earlier nights. That means less time for recording and editing and everything else that goes into making the podcast.

If you're reading this, I assume you're a regular listener. For that I thank you. I owe you quite a bit. For example, I owe you more and better content. It's coming. Exactly what form that is, I don't know.

But back to my main point.

I'm exercising more, eating better, working harder on my Cub Scout commitments (I'm Cub Master for the Pack my son is in), working harder in my National Guard posting (Senior Platoon Trainer NCO for Officer Candidate School), and wanting to do more "hobby stuff." All of this takes time. Unfortunately, all of these things take a higher priority than simply banging out a podcast when it comes due.

Now, there is some cross-pollination in there. It's especially evident when it comes to my National Guard pursuits and my hobby. For example, Henry Hyde will be publishing an article I wrote as a direct result of my recent military education. Additionally, I'll be writing about my experience in planning a staff ride for the Officer Candidates. More on that later. Furthermore, I'm planning more articles for Henry.

As for the hobby stuff, I want to spend more time with my kids. Luckily, they both want to paint figures with me and play more games. Anticipate that generating more content for the podcast and maybe more blog posts here. For example, the projects I'm actively pursuing include:
- A semi-secret Seven-Years War project
- My son's 40k Orks
- A Full Thrust project using Halo ships
- A microarmor game I'm developing with my brother Chris
- Rommel in 3mm
- The Commands & Colors Epic Fantasy (not BattleLore) project (and I might have a writing partner for this one now)
- The space station project I talked about previously for sci-fi skirmish (possibly Oldhammerish)

Lots of other stuff is ruminating as well. What can I say, I'm a gaming magpie from way back. In the meantime, I'm trying to read more history, historical fiction, self-help, US Army doctrine publications and even the occasional hobby magazine!

I'm a busy guy. Part of this little pause has been taken up with some thought, soul searching, prioritizing, planning, and figuring what the hell I'm doing next. Part of that is going to take me becoming more personally disciplined in how I go about things. I've never scheduled "free time" before, but I might have to start.

We're all busy. So, I hope you can understand why I might be late with the podcast. I hope you'll forgive me. One of these days, you might even think what I produce was worth what you paid for it.

That is all.

Diversifying When The Show Is S&#$ (Tradecraft)

The game trade has recently become, what's the technical term? Right, a shit show. So you naturally want to diversify into new product lines. I highly recommend this, provided you can find the right mix. Most veteran store owners will tell you, that mix is a struggle. It's not that we can't sell comics, toys, pop culture, or pop tarts, it's that getting those new lines to reasonable performance levels can be difficult.

Diversification depends on the kind of store you run. If the word "gamer" appears in your store title, we can assume you're likely to run a business that appeals primarily to hardcore hobbyists. However, if you've spent the extra money to build a store that appeals to the general public, you've got more options.

Even with a family friendly specialty shop, there is still the issue of location. My store is family friendly, but I have close to zero foot traffic. There are reasons to go there, as in it's a destination store with geeky stuff nearby, but there's nobody walking by.

I spent $20,000 on toys when I moved to my larger location because my competitor had a lot of toys and I needed new, diversified inventory when I doubled my retail space. Toys seemed safe. Boy was I wrong. This was a disaster, not because toys were bad, but because I had no foot traffic. My selection was just alright, not enough for my business to become a toy destination, especially when there were plenty of better options. I also misunderstood the nature of the toy market, which relies on a lot of volume to move low cost items, often stocked in depth. I would have a wall of board games in single quantities next to a wall of toys that only made sense stocked six deep. Toys were not for my store. Neither were comics, and a bunch of other things I tried.

Sending back a pallet of Melissa and Doug

What worked for me was gradually trying new lines, more in the category of gamer adjacent. What do my existing customers want to buy? What do they already buy from other people? What adds value to their lives rather than just idiotic add on purchases like wax candy lips? We dabbled a bit with Funko Pops. We tried pop culture items from distributors with limited success. We tried novelty candy and glow in the dark pirate figures. Eventually we found a few companies that made pop culture items, often things I would never have considered. For example, as our store has become more diverse, we've found success selling pop culture purses, scarves, jewelry and the like. Women were rare in the store, ten years ago, but the hobby has changed as has our store. I delegate these new categories to younger managers who know what's going on.

You want to ease into new waters, testing them out, learning what people want and adjusting to new problems, like loss control. We had homeless people who would wander into the store and flat out steal things, just walking away with pop culture wallets and hats. A lot of things we've learned need to go in display cases, for example. Suddenly we have things everyone wants, stuff that will sell on a blanket in front of a train station. It's a weird feeling.

The easiest form of diversification by far, is diversification of supplier. We make a point of backing a variety of Kickstarter games with retailer tiers. These games differentiate the store and although it took years to dial in what works and what doesn't, they've tended to be profitable. Likewise, there are many direct only publishers and suppliers that are worth pursuing, many of whom will be at the GAMA Trade Show in a couple weeks. We order direct for dice, dice bags, classic games, jigsaw puzzles, marbles, and even ice cream.  Hasbro mass market games sell well when we can get them. They didn't sell ten years ago, but with the demise of Toys R Us and a larger segment of the population playing games, there's newfound crossover back to the games of our youth.

Some diversification advice:

1. Examine your specific set of circumstances rather than following what others do.
2. Avoid declining markets (comics, Funko POPs, for example).
3. Find things that add value for your existing customers.
4. Ask around to see what people are interested in. Frisbee golf? Airsoft? 
5. Look for gamer adjacent products before striking out into new areas.
6. Find publishers who don't directly compete with you. I backed a Kickstarter today that offered me exclusive sale of their game!*  *except at conventions, on their website, in contests, at the BGG store...
7. Look for favorable terms, margins, or net priced items with flexibility.
8. Test the waters with minimum orders but remember to follow up quickly so you don't lose momentum.
9. Test the limits of your concessions with additional snacks, coolers full of drinks, and potentially hot food options.
10. Consider a long term investment, like diversifying into a coffee bar or real estate or anything else.