Another year is done – what have I achieved this year on Cadian Shock. Well, a lot! I painted 84 models, played 19 games and had over 250,000 page views on this blog!

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Completed Models in 2019

That is a total of 84 models.

And by points, it is about 2,500 points.

In my 2018 review I had completed 21 models, this year I painted more than 4 times as many models!

Completed Models from Commission Painters

15 Raven Guard Scouts will also be added to my collection from Red Eagle Studio in late 2020 (yes, he is THAT busy). If I can sort out one more Raven Guard HQ then (along with Shrike) I will have myself a Raven Guard Battalion! I also have three walkie things coming to my Raven Guard…

Notable Painting

Painting Arcadia’s cloak was very fun and possibly the best piece of painting I have done ever.

You know, finishing 7 Leman Russ in one batch was also pretty awesome!

Battles of 2019

The following battles took place in 2019, the most recent are at the top of the list.

Wins 7 Losses 10 Draws 2

This is a win rate of 36%. While I do not play to win or win at all costs – it is nice to win…

You can also read my 2018 review. I had a win rate of 47% that year.

Battle Report Gallery

Notable Battles

The best game in terms of the gameplay and the overall look of the battle was my game against Chris’ Ad-Mech using a narrative mission from Vigilus Ablaze.

Finally beating the Death Guard was also a high point!

It is nice to remember…

… where we started from time to time. To see how much we have grown…

Favourite Units of 2019

This was a reader request, the Leman Russ has been my favourite unit this year. I painted 7 in one go and then fielded them in four games I think – I won three of them. They can be just so effective at removing enemy models. Especially when you are not taking on Death Guard with their extra saves.

I have a feeling that his favouritism may switch next year, to the Baneblade…

Fielding infantry has been a lot of fun too. The game where I used 150 was incredible in terms of appearance. I would like to field more in a single game! There are a lot of decisions to be made but it can make parts of the game a lot easier than normal for the Guard – like taking and then holding ground.

The State of 8th

Commenting on the state of 8th Edition 40K was also a reader request. Here goes…

I am Happy

It is in a good place I think, but I am starting to get worried about it.

We are now at a point where some forces need 3 or 4 books to field everything they have to offer. For Guard, you have the Codex and then Vigilus Defiant – for the Specialist Detachments. That is OK, but then if you want to use Assassins properly or Inquisition then you need two other White Dwarf books. And for some places, it is very hard to get those older copies.

Now that Space Marines are getting supplements they need more books too. If this is the way they are going then it could get very interesting for Guard – a supplement per Regiment? Almost certainly not, but it’s a nice wish list item.

So I am OK with where 8th Edition is at present. Where it is going? I do not know and when the new book releases will end? I do not know. I cannot make predictions. I am only worried that the number of books just grows and grows. I don’t want a 9th Edition though – I don’t want it all to be erased and then consolidated back into a new book and everything from 8th to be tossed on the scrap heap.

Ideally, Games Workshop releases new books – but more slowly and keeps the 8th Edition rules. I did enjoy Vigilus Defiant but only because it had Guard rules. I have not bought any of the Psychic Awakening series or Vigilus Ablaze.

So after that ramble, I am happy but a little concerned about the bloat we are seeing. It is not too bad for the Guard so far…

Notable Blog Achievements

This Cadian Shock blog passed 300 articles this year! Read the 300th here. I also tried many new techniques this year.

I also had over 250,000 page views in 2019 – which is pretty incredible! That is an average of 685 a day. In 2018 I just missed my goal, I got 194,500 page views. This was just short of my goal of 200,000 page views. But this year I made it and went well over it.

The most popular article with 9,144 page views was part one of my Getting Started Guide for the Astra Militarum. Having it pinned on The Astra Militarum subreddit I am sure helped there!

I also published 78 articles in 2019, including this one.

I did my first giveaway – Sisters of Battle box. This is now on its way to Charles in France!

YouTube

I started using my Cadian Shock YouTube Channel a lot more this year too.

Some notable mentions for videos that were either popular or I enjoyed doing;

MathHammer 8th Edition App

I published my first-ever app this year and sold over 1,600 units since its launch in mid-September, more info here about MathHammer 8th Edition app for iOS and Android.

Why no Contrast Paint Articles?

So I didn’t board the contrast paint train and I’m not sure that I ever will. Possible unpopular opinion inbound…

I understand that they help people paint their miniatures more quickly and they give a good result for the time taken. And that’s great. I also understand you can do other things with them that people have found out by playing around with them. Eg airbrushing, thin coats, using different undercoats, etc. And that’s great.

But for me, I just don’t like the finish that the way they are meant to be applied gives you. If you want to paint using them, great. But the result just isn’t for me and it doesn’t fit in with the models I already have painted using the regular Games Workshop paints. I also find that models with Contrast Paints look like models with Contrast Paints. They all look similar and with that, you lose something.

I also don’t have the time to test them and do unusual things with them. I may copy someone else’s discovered method if it suits a need. But I haven’t found such a method yet…

Why no Apocolypse Articles?

I didn’t try Apocalypse either. This is due to the cost of entry and also I don’t have enough time to play the 40K games I want to let alone a whole new game within 40K.

If I did pick up Apocalypse then I feel like I’d half-ass it and it’d be a waste of time. Also, no one I currently play against regularly has it or has even mentioned it.

So for the foreseeable future, it looks like I won’t be touching 40K Apocalypse.

Podcast

I was on a podcast too, twice! If you want to hear me talk Narrative Wargaming then check out this episode or this episode.