Introduction? Nah, let the bitching begin.

Because, see- Introductions are a thing for people who don't know each other, right? I for my part am pretty sure that if you're reading this (and I'm thankful that you do, don't get me wrong), you know me from one of the message boards I'm posting at. This is fine, but makes any kind of further sweet talking unnecessary, so let's get right to the beef, and to what you expect from a blog in general. A little bit of personal ranting.

n3v4r forg3t!

So, Forgeworld unveiling their upcoming Badab War book is not exactly breaking news. Guess you heard it all. Also, being here, you most likely know that Star Phantoms are my current 40k army, crafted after BOLS' Badab War Minidex, and George Millers color scheme / chapter insignia. My only playable, all-painted 40k army, no point in denying. (Let me clarify: I've had plenty of armies for different systems in the last 12 years of tabletop gaming, but I tend to sell my stuff to fund new toys, or food and booze. At least the unpainted stuff, making it "most of my former projects".) Boy, did I fall into love with that paint scheme, and the little non-canon fluff we got on them. Let me get you a piccie.

The few, the proud, the... mine

So, it figures that I'm happy about my niche army getting some official attention, right? Everyone is, after all. People kinda assume I'm all looking forward to it (happened multiple times by now), and I can't blame them for that. But I'm not that enthusiastic, to be honest.

To put it simply, it would be hell of a coincidence if FWs upcoming chapter colors and logo would be anywhere close to the BOLS stuff. So it basically invalidates my work from a canon viewpoint. No big deal, yeah, I know, it's not like they will take my army and physically smash it, or forbid me to keep calling them “Star Phantoms”. For the most part, people I game with won’t notice, anyway, because most local kids don’t buy FW or read english language websites and/or books. Finally, I’ve picked this chapter mainly because I love the color combination and symbol, so, it’s all good, right? Nobody will care, why should I?

I guess my tiny little bit of butthurt stems from the fact that I’m kind of a fluff junkie, and never was in this position before. Canon moving on and biting me in the ass. Normally, the 40k universe offers enough room to do your own thing, but two Space Marine Chapters with the same name are quite a stretch, and I love the general idea of the Badab War. Totally a reason to look forward to FWs effort on that, but here I am, feeling sorry for myself instead because nobody who cares for the more obscure fluff will instantly recognize my army as ‘valid’ Star Phantoms anymore. Except they were not, ever. Because collectively making up fluff on the internet doesn’t make it more official. It was just a nice feeling, I suppose, to do something obscure, yet accepted- like jumping on George Miller’s pretty-colored bandwagon.

Anyway- of course, it remains to be seen what FW does with the Phantoms. Best case for me? They don’t give my chapter of choice too much attention and stick to some extra fluff and a few background pictures, where they’re pretty close to my scheme, making it all quick and painless. But I won’t insist on my slight nerd rage, and I’ll most likely give it a shot, curious about the question what kind of flavor they’ll think up for them. I might even try to find some middle ground between my current interpretation of the chapter and what they cook up. However it will work out, I’ll keep you updated. My Freeboota pal Starminer made a good suggestion to get around the color scheme problem and even the symbol: Campaign badges/special paintjobs. Totally FWs thing, after all. Only thing I don’t like about that idea yet is that I don’t believe in not displaying the actual chapter symbol. But I’ll find a way.

You see, even I, myself, am not too sure how I feel about it. Only thing I can definitely tell you is that I’m not as enthusiastic as I should. I guess that’s how fans of the Star Wars Expanded Universe must have felt when the prequels came around the corner and invalidated what they believed to know before. What’s confusing me is that I now understand that feeling hell of a lot better- something I made fun of once. You live and learn, I guess.

Ever experienced something similar? If so, tell me about it.

Ithmaril, out.

Seeing this preview, I might just commit the worst heresy and turn them into Astral Claws. ;)