Mini Takes Podcast

In the grimdarkness of the far future, there is only war. The overall plot for the lore of Warhammer 40,000 has hardly advanced after decades. Why has the story not advanced? This week Shane and Austin take a look at the lore and discuss why the stagnation of the lore is a key element of creating a tabletop wargame sandbox setting. If you had to move the plot along, what would you do? Check out ou...

This week Shane and Austin get in the Christmas spirit. They are presenting a top 3 list of potential gift ideas for the Warhammer 40K players in your life. They'll break down what's hot this season from gaming, apparel, and collectables. Let us know below what you've got on your list this season. Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

With the rise of sports betting apps  and the ease of gambling, Shane and Austin ask could gambling come to Warhammer? Warhammer 40k already has massive tournaments with hundreds of players, what if people could put money on the outcome. Are the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings setting their sight on the tabletop? This week the Fanatics discuss this hypothetical situation and how it might impact th...

Warhammer fans are eating good. So much cool stuff got revealed during the Warhammer Preview and Shane and Austin are here to talk about it. From Warhammer Quest: Darkwater, to new Grand Cathay, 500 Worlds, and new characters for 40K there’s so much to discuss! Let us know below what you're most excited for! Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

Hey there, Football Fans! The newest season of Blood Bowl has recently released and this week Shane and Austin are breaking down why you HAVE to try this game. Blood Bowl Season 3 is a great place for the game to be with many fixes to the previous edition and new features that help get the action going on the field. With the arrival of the Tomb Kings and Bretonnians to modern Blood Bowl, it’s goin...

This week we turn to the friendly local game store and discuss what our favorite features are in a successful game shop. We’ll cover both wishlisting and good business sense. It’s important to have a fantastic place to play our games at. Let us know below what features are important to you when it comes to FLGs.   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

Remember when the Imperial Guard used to be fun? 40KFanatics remembers… this week Shane and Austin discuss the Astra Militarum and how they have suffered under 10th edition. From regimental overload to free wargear and loss of flavor, our favorite conscripts are having a rough time. Let us known below what you think. Have GW fumbled their handling of the Guard in 10th edition?  

After tackling the AP problem in Warhammer 40K, Shane and Austin turn their attention this week to the prevalence of re-rolls in 10th edition and how much of a problem it’s causing. What do you think? Are re-rolls a major issue for the game?   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

As the year begins to wind down, it’s time again for another round of Christmas Battleforce Boxes for Warhammer 40K. This week Shane and Austin are going through this years Battleforce Boxes and reviewing their contents. From Space Marines, to Krieg, Tau, and others… we’re getting some good stuff this holiday season. Which box are you hoping to get? Let us know below!   Check out our Discord! http...

“Big guns never tire” has never been more true than lately in the past couple editions. It feels like every weapon has AP nowadays and it’s making the game a bit too deadly it feels like. This week Shane and Austin discuss AP and what could be done to tone it down. Does it need toned down? Let us know below!   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

The time has finally come. After a year of waiting for the Kickstarter to ship, Austin has gotten his stinking paws upon The Roleplaying Game of the Planet of the Apes. This exciting new RPG allows players to experience a future where humanity has found themselves at the bottom of the simian hierarchy as seen in the beloved 60's and 70's film series. Shane and Austin got a chance to play the game...

The wheel of time keeps on turning. If you’ve been around Warhammer for awhile you know what we’re talking about. Every three years GW feels the need to shake things up and release a new edition. Why is this? Is it healthy for the game? Do players enjoy it? We answer all these and other questions as we analyze the topic this week in the seeming waning period of 10th edition 40K. Check out our Disc...

The morale system in Warhammer 40K just doesn’t seem to work edition after edition. We’ve seen it change a few times over the years and now we’re stuck with battle-shock. Is there a better solution to portraying moral in Warhammmer? Pulling from earlier editions and other games, we explore how to build a better morale system for Warhammer 40,000. Did we just build a better Battle-shock system? Lis...

This week Shane brings on a special guest to the show. Local competitive organizer Dallas comes on to discuss what 40K armies need fixing in the current meta. What armies do you think need tweaking?   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

This week Shane and Austin discuss what they’d like to see in 11th edition. What would you like to see or not see?

This week Shane and Austin travel over to the specialist games side of Games Workshop and discuss why players of the mainline Warhammer games (40K and Age of Sigmar) should give Horus Heresy, Old World, ect a chance. What Specialist games do you enjoy from Games Workshop?

This week Austin returns to the show to discuss with Shane the pain that is moving into a house and how much trouble a pile of shame can bring to it. We’ll go over how you can better manage your pile of shame and how to let go when you need to. Have you ever dealt with a pile of shame? Let us know below!   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

With Austin busy moving, Shane kicks it old school and discusses with you, the viewer, how tabletop wargames and Warhammer have changed over the years. With the influx of new generations of gamers we have seen a rise in competitive gaming and an “E-Sports” mentality. Where did this come from? How has the hobby changed since you started? Let us know below! Check out our Discord! https://discord.com...

This week Shane and Austin look at 6 interesting data sheets based on their lore and abilities.

As the controversy around Horus Heresy 3.0 continues, GW has announced that Legacies of the Age of Darkness pdf rules will be legal at all official narrative events. A key thing to point out is that it’s up to organizers discretion to allow the rules at tournaments. Are Legacies actually just a corporate speak variation on Warhammer Legends? Will you be able to play with your toys forever? Find ou...

NEA Game Fest 2025 has finally happened and Austin his here this week to discuss with Shane all the events he took part in and what the experience was like this year at its new location. NEA Game Fest is an annual local tabletop convention hosted in Jonesboro, Arkansas with multiple days of RPGs, board games, and miniature tournaments. What tabletop conversations have you attended? Check out our D...

The Big Summer Preview has happened and so much cool stuff was shown off. From Space Marines to Votann and even Chaos Dwarfs (or should we say Duardin?), it's been a blast seeing all the new models. Shane and Austin are here to go over everything unveiled and give you their thoughts on it all. What are you most excited for?  Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

This week Shane and Austin travel to the 30th Millennium to discuss the new edition of The Horus Heresy. Fans of the game are complaining of the dumbing down of the game and the “40kification” of it. We go over some of these grievances and give our thoughts on it. What do you think? Is the new edition for the worse?   Check out our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/qGVFHmafqp

When is your miniature fully painted? This is the question that Shane and Austin discuss on this week’s episode. Is there a set guideline for when to put down your paint brush or is it a bit more subjective than that? We'll go over painting guidelines, personal anecdotes, and just general artistic theory. Let us know below, when are you for sure finished with your projects?

This week on RPG Tavern Shane runs through what he believes are the top 3 worst mistakes you can make as a DM in a campaign.