A huge help to your humble correspondent, a noob, is the point-and-click list-building program called Army Builder. Not only does it help you keep track of the points as you are putting your list together but also keeps track of the unit statistics and prints out a list specific quick reference sheet that they call "footnotes."
Look towards the bottom and you can see the psychic powers, special rules, unit types, wargear, and weapons associated with the troops I have added to my Ultramarines List. The program also tells you what page you can find the rule on in the rule book or Codex for clarification.
I know the program is $39.99 and I'm never one to tell someone how to spend their money. But I justify it like this - in the three months or so I have been involved in 40K program must have saved me 5 hours of list building, tinkering, and "hand-writing it out" time. My free time is worth more then eight dollars an hour.
The Stout Smurf
Have you tried playing around with some of the other functions?
ReplyDeleteIf you right click on the name you can edit it, so instead of SM Chaplain, you can name him "Chaplain Zippo" or "Boffo the Mighty" for the ironclad and so on.
I find it helps to make your army more memorable(especialy at tournys) when you opponent sees that you have made your army your own.
I have thought about purchasing this program. When I was learning my codex I was happy to NOT have it as I was forced to re-look up things and reference. Kind of like having to look up a word with a dictionary instead of being told how to spell it.
ReplyDeleteNow, I can build most of my list (which I do in excel) without even looking at my codex.
But yes from what I see here could be a good purchase I mean we pay just as much for 5 models (assault squad) why not invest in something that will ultimately save time.
I love AB too. My only gripe is I havent found a good way to post it blogspot.
ReplyDeleteSerws - I hadn't thought of it that way.
ReplyDeleteGornall - I know, I had to put those crappy scans up.
The best part of Army builder is that it makes going to big tournaments easier. Both for the event organizers and your opponents. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jawa. It really makes tournament much easier. I played from 1998 till last year without AB. I picked it up and realized my folly in not doing it sooner. I still use my codex for list building but no more scribbles and crossing off units. Good money spent in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually fairly easy to get your army list in post-able form, although they hide it pretty well. Go to the function to check for/download updates (it's in the upper-right corner). There is a PDF plug-in available in that list, which allows you to save your army list as a nice, universally-used PDF.
ReplyDelete