“Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.” – Army Builder

by Rich K.

I know many of you out there saw rumors floating around that Lone Wolf, the folks who make Army Builder, are currently being legally B-slapped by GW.  That said, Loan Wolf has posted at least two 6th edition updates since its release!  The updates include the 6th ed MRB adjustments (USRs, fortifications, Warlord Traits, etc.), the WD Daemon and Storm Talon updates (among others), and the ability to generate multiple armies on a single sheet (aka Allies).

Unfortunately, it seems that due to the legal issues mentioned above, Lone Wolf has had to remove much of the convenient rules text included in the lists it generates.  The specifics of each rule has been replaced with page number references likely in an attempt to avoid getting sued.   Not as easy to use, but as long as they stay out of trouble and keep their wonderful product going, I can live with it.

Now, my auto-update license has expired so I had to manually download the 6th edition updates.  Once the file was downloaded to an appropriate folder, a simple double-click started the process and everything happened without a hitch.

Screen grab of Army Builder

In poking around the newly updated Army Builder I accidentally discovered some handy features (new or just new to me).

Output Roster Summary

I’m not sure how long this feature has been available, but the Roster Summary is pretty handy.  You can generate versions of your list in Print, Plain Text, HTML, BBCode, and Wikitext.  The list below was a Plain Text output of a recent list of mine.  Pretty handy for a blogger like me, eh?

1501 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster

Total Roster Cost: 1501

HQ: Daemon Prince (1#, 150 pts)
   1 Daemon Prince, 150 pts = (base cost 110 + Wings 20 + Mark of Nurgle 20)

Elite: Chaos Terminators (5#, 190 pts)
   1 Chaos Terminators, 0 pts
      1 Chaos Terminators, 30 pts
      1 Chaos Terminators, 45 pts = (base cost 30) + Chainfist x1 15
      1 Chaos Terminators, 30 pts
      1 Chaos Terminators, 55 pts = (base cost 30) + Reaper Autocannon x1 25
      1 Chaos Terminators, 30 pts 

Troops: Thousand Sons (9#, 274 pts)
   8 Thousand Sons, 184 pts = 8 * 23
      1 Aspiring Sorcerer, 90 pts = (base cost 60 + Wind of Chaos 30)

Troops: Plague Marines (6#, 193 pts)
   5 Plague Marines, 130 pts = 5 * 23 (base cost 23) + Flamer x1 5 + Meltagun x1 10
      1 Plague Champion, 63 pts = (base cost 38 + Power Fist 25)

Heavy Support: Obliterator Cult (3#, 225 pts)
   3 Obliterator Cult, 225 pts = 3 * 75

Heavy Support: Chaos Defiler (1#, 150 pts)
   1 Chaos Defiler, 150 pts

Troops: Nurglings (3#, 39 pts)
   3 Nurglings (Troops) [cd], 39 pts = 3 * 13

HQ: Herald of Tzeentch (1#, 130 pts)
   1 Herald of Tzeentch (HQ) [cd], 130 pts = (base cost 50) + DGT: Master of Sorcery 5 + rDGT: Bolt of Tzeentch 30 + rDG: Breath of Chaos 30 + DS: Chariot of Tzeentch 15

Fast Attack: Screamers of Tzeentch (6#, 150 pts)
   6 Screamers of Tzeentch (Fast) [cd], 150 pts = 6 * 25

Validation Report:
1. Chaos Legions: Chaos Marines; c-1. File Version: 1.06 For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; b-1. Roster Options: Named or Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission; b-2.

Levels of Alliance: Battle Brothers

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Composition Report:
HQ: 1 (1 - 2)
Elite: 1 (0 - 3)
Troops: 2 (2 - 6)
Fast: 0 (0 - 3)
Heavy: 2 (0 - 3)
Fort: 0 (0 - 1)

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

Below is a sample of the the same list in printed format.  Apparently, you can also output in pdf format, though I've had no reason to.

Notes For Units

One other feature that I found handy was that you can attach notes to your units (see the bottom of the Chariot of Tzeentch entry on the first page, above).  These notes are also included on the printed list in case you need a reminder that Tzeentch Chariots swap the native Independent Character rule for Furious Charge (in the last game I played I wrongly used the chariot as an IC and deep struck it with my Screamers).  The reminder that “Furious Charge replaces Ind Char” is now printed clearly on my list.

Allies

Previously, I was creating two separate lists when trying to incorporate allies.  This was a PITA.  During my poking around the software (for some reason they don’t have a button marked “ALLIES” in plain text, they have a button with a flag on it) I accidentally discovered the option.  It works pretty good, but I only see Battle Brothers listed.  I suppose it will take some time for them to add all of the types of allies.

Review?

I really didn’t intend this post as a review, but it seems to have drifted that direction.  It’s a great product that I thought went the way of the Dodo.  Considering the rumors, I figured you all might want to know that they are still alive and kicking… and keeping their product up to date.