Avengers Age of Continuing Storylines

Avengers Age of Continuing Storylines

by Tom Garavan

Marvels latest tease, Avengers Age of Ultron, left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth…and no it wasn’t the sour jellies.

Yes it’s got everything we were looking for; action, car chases, Chris Hemsworth, explosions, suspense and oh yeah, Chris Hemsworth.

Let’s start with the main plot. Yes it’s all fun and games until Tony Stark creates a homicidal robot with artificial intelligence, enter Ultron. Main antagonist and voiced by James Spader I have to admit, he was a fantastic character. And yes…that’s basically the story, killer robot wants to kill the Avengers and in so doing wipe out humanity, but much, much more theatrical.

If you’re looking for a superhero fix whilst we eagerly await the Batman V Superman mash-up next year…well this is for you. It’s honestly got everything you need…except any major character development. Yes I know there’s this big thing looking into the secret life of Hawkeye, Black Widow’s next attempt at wooing Banner…look going just by her name I can understand where he’s coming from…then you factor in the assassin…cold hearted killer…yeah.

All these things just felt like filler…we even had the now signature pep talk by Nick Fury…this time in a farmhouse.

To look at this movie honestly, it’s a stop-gap, more-so than any of the others. It’s obvious we’re leading up to a much bigger storyline and this is just clogging that gap with spectacular fights and witty dialogue. It’s plain to see that we’re being lead towards a big finale with Thanos and the Eternity Stones .

However, you’re not going to see this movie for its gripping story…it’s not The Green Mile for plum’s sake! No we’re all going to see this because…let’s be honest, we all know it’s going to be cool. There’s a great feeling when you’re sitting in the cinema and the film gets a laugh out of the entire audience, well this happened on more than one occasion.

For me I’d have to give this film a 7.5/10. It falls short of being spectacular because of its filler-esque-ness…yes I may have made that up, but you know what I mean! It feels overshadowed by something we haven’t even seen yet! By that I mean the ever impending storyline that has been so overarching throughout any Marvel release it currently resembles a pretzel...that's fallen into some sort of folding machine.

I have to say though the character interaction was great. There's a funny scene where Thor and Stark are comparing their other halves. The film is filled with these quirky little moments that give the audience a chuckle! 

I’m actually quite glad that Disney can just throw money at Marvel movies now. Basically they hide all the abominations that were the Spiderman and Fantastic Four movies under massive stacks of cash and concrete.

We all saw how well these movies can turn out in Guardians of the Galaxy and I have high hopes for their future ventures….just hurry up and show us where this story ark is leading! Oh and Star Wars…drown that in money until it makes the 7 year old in me weep with nostalgia…and forget completely about Jar-Jar Binks.

Metal Mondays: A Brief Look at Codex Skitarii:Ruststalkers

As part of Metal Mondays…I thought I’d throw in a little twist. Instead of a music review I thought I’d take a brief peak at the latest release by Games Workshop. The Skitarii! (Technically they’re partly metal so I’m staying on track somewhat)

Now anyone who is involved in the 40k hobby has heard the never-ending churning of the rumour mill that the Adeptus Mechanicus will soon be getting their very own Codex. That may still be somewhere on the horizon but right now we’ve got a nice little taster in the form of the Skitarii.

Released on April 11^th the latest Codex has some fantastic additions not only from a hobby perspective, but also a gaming one. Did I mention that the codex is only €26? At last, a Codex that is a relatively decent price!

Starting from a fluff perspective…I have to say there’s one part that’s stuck in my head ever since I got through the book…giant treadmills. Yes for those of those that have not got a chance to look at the book, or heard of this weird little bit of fluff. The Sydonian Dragoons, (the big bipedal walkers) have an ironstrider engine that allows perpetual motion. The Codex mentions that they “are guided onto industrial treadmills and cog-steps where they pound away in their hundreds”. The fear is that their machine spirit may fade away should they stop in their relentless advance. Let’s just say…for Ironstriders…every day is leg-day.

The book also gives a great insight into the way the Skitarii work. How they thrive to be ever closer to the Machine God. There’s also a nice little map of Mars and the different locations found on it. It has to be said actually that the current artwork Games Workshop’s current codices has to be given a good bit of credit. One thing I really don’t like about the codex however is the complete wave of eavy metal paintjobs featured from….pages 39-54, the majority of which depict the same paint scheme. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s all better than anything I’ll ever paint…but seriously, you could have crept in a few more units of a bit more fluff into this rather than all that. I don’t care if they’re in cool poses, about 5 pages would have done me to be honest.

Now onto the actual gaming perspective. I have to say right now…I literally need a couple of units of Ruststalkers…not only do they look awesome (kind of like a Deadpool-esque vibe) but their rules and stats are pretty sweet. These are going to be the main dudes that I take a peek at today, perhaps more in the future, but I digress. 

We’re looking at 160 points for a 5 man unit with 4/4/4/3/2/4/2/8/4+. Swap out their Transonic Razor and Chordclaw for two Transonic Blades for free. On the turn they charge a unit of 5 will be getting 21 S6 attacks at AP5. However, the Transonic rule states that any Wound rolls of 6 in the first combat are resolved at AP2…it gets better…In any subsequent round of the close combat, all the wounds are resolved at AP2. This is a unit that’s going to hit hard and just keep getting better.

Did I mention there’s a Codex-wide Feel no Pain?

Also the Ruststalkers, Infiltrators, Dragoons and  Ballistarii all have the special rule Dunestrider. This allows a further 3’’ to the maximum move distance for the movement phase, running and yes…charge moves.

The Mindscrambler Grenades they all come with also stop them receiving an initiative penalty for charging through difficult terrain.

They also have access to the Doctrina Imperatives which are army affecting rules that you can use during the movement phase. You can only use each one once, unless otherwise stated but they’re all pretty awesome. They range from giving you +1BS, all the way to +3BS with a -2 to WS until your next turn. These will seriously benefit your shooting. However, they also have assaulting equivalents, with a +1 to WS, a +2WS,-1BS and a +3WS,-2BS. If you can time all these right you’re looking at some pretty cool synergies you can work with. Seriously these dudes are going to unleash hell.

I have to say though what you’ll want to focus on is MEQ. I highly recommend leaving TEQ to your shooting. Yes that have AP2 and S5 after the first round, but TH/SS Terminators are still going to smash these guys apart.

There’s also a formation you can take comprised of 3 units of Ruststalkers and a single unit of Infiltrators. This formation is free and extends the Neurostatic Aura special rule of the Infiltrators to 12’’. This means any enemy unit within that distance subtracts 1 from its WS, BS and Initiative.

Also the formations second special rule allows them to run and charge in the same turn…now do you see why I need a few of these units?! They’re going to add some much needed punch to an Astra Militarum force. However you are looking at a serious points sink at about 680-800 points depending on upgrades for the formation.

Okay I know I primarily focussed on Ruststalkers here but what’s not to love? They’re Deadpool meets the terminator…what’s not to like? On a side not…images of Deadpool film shooting have been popped up online! Check them out if you love a foul mouthed, attention seeking superhero! Otherwise check out the lasts metallic monstrosities that are the Skitarii! For many they’ll be a nice little bolster as an allied detachment (they’re classified under the armies of the Imperium).

However, I see a full force on the horizon one day…I’m just looking for an excuse to buy the Forge World Thanatar Seige-Automata to be honest!

If you’d like more of an insight into the Codex if this waffle filled post has got your interests peaked, fire me a message on Twitter @TGaravan!