#superfacts

[collapsedsquid]

One​ possible outcome of the next presidential election is that a Democratic candidate wins a dispute-proof victory and is straightforwardly inaugurated. Another – perfectly likely – is that Trump runs again and is unambiguously re-elected in line with the law, even if most Americans don’t vote for him. But what if he, or a candidate like him, were to cheat, and he and his party threaded the needle to a victory endorsed by the key national institutions? Instead of today’s situation, in which there is a Democratic president and – to use Walter’s terminology – a downgraded superfaction of Trump supporters convinced by the lie that he was defrauded and should have won, you would have a Trump base accepting their champion’s fraudulent victory, and a liberal superfaction aware that the Republican head of state had stolen the presidency, that politicians, bureaucrats and lawyers had seized the apparatus of the American state, and that democracy had been killed. One of the strange things about the reaction to the invasion of the Capitol was how few of those dismayed by it speculated that they might one day long for just such an assault to succeed. Might a different mob storm into Congress to save democracy, rather than attack it? If an autocrat who has stolen an election is about to have his trashing of American democracy hallowed by Congress, all other recourse having failed, shouldn’t Democrats – or democrats, at least – take direct action? Liberal opinion in North America and Western Europe has tended to be gung-ho about pro-democracy protesters storming ruling institutions in other countries, notably Ukraine in 2014. But it’s one thing to imagine, as Walter encourages her readers to do, the gradual spread of white supremacist, anti-government terrorism across America against a democratic framework, until one day the progressive left, and the people of colour she suggests are likely to be targets of violence, arm and organise for self-protection. It’s another to wake up one morning and find that without any bloodshed or violence, without any seeming change in the smooth running of traffic signals and ATMs and supermarkets, without, even, an immediate wave of arrests or a clampdown on free speech, your country is run by somebody who took power illegally. Something must be done! But what, apart from venting on social media? And by whom? Me? In Ukraine, students and the liberal middle class found fighting allies among football ultras, small farmers and extreme nationalists. Such an alliance would be hard to pull together in the Euro-American world. Describing liberal protests against government corruption and malfeasance in Bulgaria in 2013, Ivan Krastev spoke of ‘the frustration of the empowered’ and an urban middle class that ‘risks remaining politically isolated, incapable of reaching out to other social groups’.

[crxdva]

SUPERFACTS!

[theaceofskulls]

I get the urge to feel that because that was my first reaction upon hearing the news.

Especially since AoS regularly does feel like it gets less stuff than 40k. We get 1 novel for every 3 to 5 that 40k seems to get, often get less battleforces and battleboxes than 40k gets, and even our skirmish games seem to get less attention than 40k's Kill Team.

However, this honestly was about the state of 10th edition.

Frankly it's really bad, and I say this as someone who watched people hating 9th edition for almost 2 years solid.

Books coming out with 4 detachments and maybe 2 of them are exciting enough to play (and not guaranteed to be competitive), the amount of armies that are still playing with only one way to play with a year (and a half but only kind of) left in the edition, and a lot of armies frankly having kind of boring playstyle and/or bad internal balance.

It's rough.

Meanwhile AoS 4th has just started its army rollout and we've got both regiments of renown in every battletome so far and 8 of them that are cross superfaction and will be so for the rest of the edition. I honestly expected nothing and was impressed that they actually said "No, regardless of what you play you're getting at least 1 or 2 things to keep things fresh for you". Not to mention this is still on top of the fact that the next year still has all of the retiring factions legal for Matched play.

Usually these kinds of things are reserved for White Dwarf silly articles that you have to play with Legends rules. This feels like the AoS team directly looking at the over 20 factions and letting us know that no one is going to have to wait over 2 years before they get any new toys.

I have some thoughts about addressing internal balance in a few factions for AoS but I think that's better addressed in a balance pass, which is a lot less sexy than the Grotmas releases. I'm also hopeful that this means we can expect to see a few more regiments of renown pop up outside of army books since GW really likes leaving them accessible for everyone.

Contrasting the 40k stuff, Age of Sigmar dropped all of its bonus content in a single day last week and it was honestly hilariously fun.

First up, GW putting out Tournament Legal Cross Faction Allies is just immediately great in my book. Yes, there's a lot to be said about the difficulty of balancing allies/mercenaries in wargames (I still always remember when Star Wars Legion launched a mercenaries faction and accidentally made a single unit into hands down the better pick for your basic troop in 3/4 factions), but it's also very flavorful and I feel like flavor is a large portion of why people play the games they do.

And flavor was the main point of these while trying also to still have a role. I don't think very many of them are the perfect fit for every army but I do think I might see these regiments at several of my local tournaments.

I enjoy how each of them tells a story: The Ossiarchs are here to grab as many bones as they can, the Kharadron "mercenaries" don't even join the battle at the beginning and are there purely to steal your opponent's shiniest treasure, you have a Flesh-eater Cursed Varanguard who will join up with Chaos whenever he can, you've got undead trees that thirst for souls, having Nurglings in your army because 2 of your units are infected by the plague and no one knows which they are, a completely drunk gargant that can't kept his ale down, a rag-tag duo of a troll and a goblin, and Ogroids that didn't fall to Chaos.

Some of them are very clearly better than others. The Ossiarchs and the Ogroids are pretty good picks, while the Flesh-eaters fill out a good cavalry role in a couple of Chaos armies that missing the old alliance rules (and even in those old rules, missing out on their army rules made S2D's stuff a little costly), meanwhile the rest are at least fun even if they're not competitive.

I think the regiments of renown and armies of renown are also a great design decision in AoS to encourage you to try and engage with your army in a different way and make you feel less locked in. 4th launching with more subfactions off the bat was nice (even if several are obviously better than others), but I feel like the AoS team knows that the release schedule can be their greatest enemy for someone feeling locked into a bad army for them and have taken a lot of steps to make sure you're having fun the whole edition long.

[memoriae-lectoris]

In an unstable political climate—such as you would find during a political transition toward or away from democracy—multiple ethnic entrepreneurs often rise up at the same time, provoking and begetting others. They can work together, as when politicians and media pundits espouse the same extremism, or in opposition, using each other’s actions and views as leverage to exacerbate division. The more layers of identity there are to exploit, as in the case of superfactions, the more fraught this division becomes. What often starts as a fringe movement takes on greater and greater momentum as entrepreneurs publicly question a rival faction’s language, history, geography, and religion: A radio interview will lead to speeches that lead to viral social media posts that lead to rallies that lead to clashes on the streets. The fear-mongering rhetoric becomes self-sustaining and circular, as entrepreneurs use the words and actions of their rivals to confirm and inflame the beliefs of their own supporters.

Interestingly, average citizens are often clear-eyed about ethnic entrepreneurs: They know these individuals have their own agenda and are not telling the whole truth. Many Serbs in Krajina did not love Milošević—they didn’t trust him, since they knew he had been a dedicated Communist just a few years earlier. It was clear to them that he was more power-hungry than purist; he had pursued pro-Serbian speeches only after realizing that nationalism was an easy way to secure a political base. But citizens become willing to show support if they feel a mounting threat—to their lives, livelihoods, families, or futures—and Milošević’s rhetoric steadily sowed doubts. […]

If citizens come to believe there is a chance, no matter how small, that the opposition could destroy them, they will turn to a leader who offers them protection, no matter how unscrupulous.

[eternalyardsale]

Other than Batman, what's your favorite Poison Ivy villain?

[maddmannent]

#SuperFacts #MindElevation #EnjoyYourDay (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzs9JGPJvhu/?igshid=9wap9qa8zxcz

[jefe6-blog]

#SuperFacts #ClapBack https://www.instagram.com/p/By8SLV_HEBK/?igshid=eudqusp2lr6y

[moorish-queen]

✊🏽👑🙌🏽🖤💪🏽 #SuperFacts #Moor https://www.instagram.com/p/Byp5mEUFsKgtY3ZkGjay9zLx2ycd2G7rhVmxYQ0/?igshid=bkhcemtcstt1

[philameangrey]

💁🏾‍♂️ i have You like Taraji in "Baby Boy" 🤭🤷🏾‍♂️

[que00769]

#facts #superfacts 💯💯💯💯 https://www.instagram.com/p/Brb7WD4HEznr5g3kWiwGk5PecD0LfsRveae3aQ0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1uw54ui0px8qe

[dpmadukes]

#superfacts #indeed #deserving #patience #relationshipgoals #timingiseverything https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn5AX25hcJCM8HAY5QfOQOl2fzz4-D6CG1AWqE0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mycioxlsy805

[brandvodkasoda]

#Repost @cernovich #SuperFacts (at Washington D.C.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWorOoXr8OW/?utm_medium=tumblr

[dawoud993]

#srt #viper #dodgeviper #srtviper #superfacts #beastmode #mma #boxing #muaythai #jiujitsu #bjj #kickboxing #bootcamp #functionalfitness #fitnessmotivation #doyoueven #bodybuilding #crossfit #squat #deadlift #taekwondo #olimpiclifting #ironaddicts #powerlifting #fitguy #fitbit #beastmodeback #gym #gymlife #fitness

[eternalyardsale]

Would you like some mystery clouds surrounding your body for no forking reason? Sound off in the comments!

[maddmannent]

#Sad #SuperFacts #MindElevation #EnjoyYourDay (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzs8m_FJ5xk/?igshid=kho850ydw03r

[spanky606]

Regrann from @onthisdateinhiphop - S U P E R F A C T S #OnThisDateInHipHop [or slightly yesterday] @LupeFiasco agreed with #K👀nyeWest on the fact that slavery was a choice. But, HOLD YOUR DAMN BRAKES... Notice i say #LupeFiasco not C👀npe Fiasco. — Sidenote: I told you niggas about Yé... Y'all wanted to pass it off as us being "emotional" about his "politics" -- LOL This nigga called the paparazi (#TMZ) on himself. — If you watched his #CThaGod interview, you'll hear him state that he no longer had the plug to the radio and that he mad that he not poppin on radio. Hmmm, are there are a couple rituals #KanyeWest has to go through in order to get the radio plug, denouncing his past views/stances being one of them? 🤔 Because God forbid they have a #Chicago nigga talking #SuperFacts all on the radio. — This is part 1 of a very inciteful 4 part series. It ain't for everybody. But, all my REAL niggas should check them out. I posted on the website. #LinkInBio 👉 @OnThisDateInHipHop 👈 - #regrann