Sin City Dispatch Update: Welcome to the Steel Cage Challenge!

Hey everyone and welcome to another special Dispatch update!

At the end of the last issue, I mentioned that I might be taking part in a list contest related to 40k. Well, we decided on the rules and the Challenge is on! So what exactly is the Challenge?

One of the podcasts that I listen to is 40k Radio. If you play Warhammer 40,000 and you haven't checked them out, you just don't know what you are missing. When they first started, they did what they called the Steel Cage Challenge. The three hosts challenged each other to build, paint, and then play a brand new army against each other. To make things even more interesting, they placed bets on each of the challenges. For the first round, the loser had to wash the winner's car. The second, the loser had to mow the winner's lawn. I thought that this sounded like a lot of fun but I didn't know anyone that was just starting to build an army so nothing came of it.

Well, here we are months later and there are two friends of mine that are just looking to get serious with 40k. Dylan has decided to collect a Tyranid army and Eddie has decided to collect a Chaos Marine army. I actually have three armies sitting around in various stages of generally being unfinished and I made the comment to Dylan that it's too bad that we couldn't do a Challenge since I already at least have things assembled. After talking with Eddie, they both decided that they didn't care and they wanted in on the Challenge, so here we go!

We are doing things a little smaller than they did at 40k Radio, starting with a 500 point block, then expanding to 750 points and finally 1000 points. This is not your typical full 40k army but it will give all of us a strong core to build from.

For each block, we will have a set amount of time to assemble and paint those models. At the end of that time, all three of us with face off against each other to determine the winner for the round. Rinse and repeat three times, and at the end we see who the winner is.

So what's the prize? Well, just bragging rights this time. Depending on how it works out, I might be doing this again in the future since I know of another player who is waiting until the new Space Wolves codex comes out to start working on his army. Of course I think that he is just using that as an excuse because he seems to have a hard time with the whole painted army concept, but I'll give Matt the benefit of the doubt this time.

Well, that's it for this Update, but I want to put up more about the Challenge in the next few updates. I am thinking post our army lists along with our own thoughts as far as our unit choices, along with at least some written Battle Reports to let everyone know how the games go.

Now I have some Orks to paint so until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons.