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+++FIRST WEEKLY UPDATE+++
ETL V appears to be an unprecedented success this year! Indeed, by the end of Week 1 we had 309 participants signed-up across all Factions! Can this be even more successful than ETL IV? Time will tell…
And I’m mentioning ETL IV as it was the definitive ETL in terms of rules design. We were fortunate enough that our Hobby did not dramatically change over the last year – but it was enriched with more hobby material and minis, all of which fit easily in the pre-existing rule set. The stability in the hobby also meant that (fortunately) the B&C structure remained broadly the same, which in turn means that there is no shake up in the ETL Factions.
I guess the biggest change in the Hobby was the stand-alone boxed games that followed the “Execution Force” last year with the pinnacle being the “Betrayal at Calth” followed by the fantastically valued Renegade! So reasonably priced generic Marines and cheaper Knights hit the shelves, something that undoubtedly helps ETL as the range of factions that can use them is just too broad. The various Campaing expansion also helped (the new RG Captain and the Wulfen miniatures come to mind). So stable environment and a familiar and tested ruleset makes for the basis of a great event!
Before I move on to the stats of this first week there is something that I really need to get out there: One participant, namely Demonl has pledged a WARLORD TITAN! So I encourage all to support and cheer Demonl irrespective of faction, as having such a majestic model done during the ETL is journey like no other!
Obviously doing any Titan during the ETL is a major achievement so the Inner Circle plans to create the Titan Order of the ETL (an appropriate name will be announced in a future update) with appropriate badges that can be worn by all who have made a Titan during any ETL ever!
SO ALL WHO ARE DOING TITANS THIS YEAR AND ALL WHO HAVE SUCCESFULLY COMPLETED TITANS IN PAST ETLs PLEASE MAKE YOURSELVES KNOWN BY POSTING BELOW!
And at last, on to the weekly stats:
| Faction | Participants | Vows | Points pledged | Completions | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Codex | 48 | 48 | 35,225 | 734 | 1.4% |
| Blood Angels | 32 | 34 | 17,277 | 818 | 4.7% |
| Dark Angels | 38 | 39 | 26,575 | 275 | 1.0% |
| Space Wolves | 43 | 43 | 34,380 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Forces of the Imperium | 25 | 25 | 14,069 | 81 | 0.6% |
| Realm of Chaos | 50 | 50 | 52,018 | 170 | 0.3% |
| Horus Heresy | 73 | 74 | 75,995 | 2,919 | 3.8% |
| TOTAL | 309 | 313 | 255,539 | 4,753 | 1.9% |
And let’s see each Faction one by one:
CODEX
The Codex faction appears reinvigorated this year with a lot of momentum building up. Is it the Angels of Death supplement? Is it the Death form the Skies? Or have we reached the point where enough is enough? Whatever it is, the amount of support this faction is getting is refreshing and certainly makes for a good candidate for the top position. HOWEVER, their average vow, although not small compared to previous ETLs, it remains lower than Chaos and lower than the ETL average. Not by much mind you, this is easily fixed with a few bigger-than-average vows and consistent re-vowing. It’s too early to talk about completion rates yet, but ultimately the completion rate of first vows will be the key.
BLOOD ANGELS
The Blood Angels seem to have a lot of commitment and momentum but unless their recruitment drive is not accelerated they’d be in a significant disadvantage. Last year, in the first week, they had 40 participants already which does not compare favorably with the 32 for this year… Another thing that causes concern is the low average vow. This is the lowest in the ETL and is something that historically plagues the Blood Angels. It seems that no matter how many participants they have, the Blood Angels just don’t vow big! Now there are exceptions of course, but at just north of 500pts the average vow seems to be by far the weakest point at this stage. On the positive side, the BAs have the highest completion rate at this point, and this is encouraging as it will allow for early re-vowing thus increasing the multiplier effect. So keep on recruiting, and hopefully new blood (pun intended) will bring in more points per vow!
DARK ANGELS
Participation levels are not the worst at 38, but they are not the best either. Far from it! So the focus here is to get more brothers on board while at the same time driving the average vow higher – as it is currently materially lower than the ETL average… And if we lose to the Wolves… I don’t think it’ll come to that though, as the recruitment seems to be gaining momentum and hopefully we’ll reach a point by next week where even the top position will be within our sights!
SPACE WOLVES
Well the Wolves are also reinvigorated this year – not least due to the efforts of the notorious Wolf Lord Dantay! The participation levels at the end of the first week, is higher than the total participation they had last year! And not by a little amount either. And true to their ETL legacy, their average vow is effectively the average vow of the event so far – without having the crazy large vows we’ve seen in the HH and Chaos forums. Here’s where continuous recruitment will make a difference. At 43 the Space wolves are behind the Codex, Chaos and of course HH. So keep pushing on the recruitment effort, worry about the points later- at 800pts of average vow you will not be missing any trains…
IMPERIAL FORCES
After a spectacular performance last year, this year the IFOR seems to have lost a lot of momentum. OK, last year there was the release of the the Mechanicum Codices and the amazing new range of miniatures that created a hype so it was natural to have a spike. But it appears the interest has dropped significantly as only 25 participants across all IFOR factions have signed up so far. The average vow is pretty low too so the second Week will be crucial to try to rectify that! I have to point out here that the Sisters are doing an excellent job, with 8 vows so far – so yeah, Go Sisters!
REALM OF CHAOS
Two times Champions going for the hat trick this year! With 50 participants (the second highest in the ETL although pretty close to the Codex and not that far ahead from the SWs) and the highest average vow of the event they seem to be on track to threaten the top. Yes they have significantly lower level of participation vs. the HH but we’ve seen this before, haven’t we? It takes tenacity and consistency to keep pave for the 13 weeks of the event and not to lose steam. In the past you’ve shown you can do it. Is it still the case? We’ll have to see!
HORUS HERESY
Now here we have drama. Just like last year the Horus Heresy faction at 73 participants, is way ahead in participation levels vs. all other factions – even beating their own Week 1 record of last year! They have a huge average vow – only a single Space Marine worth below the Chaos Faction and the completion rate of 3.8% translates to a sizeable amount of 2,919 pts. But we’ve seen this before… And with dramatic results. You see, HH is hugely enthusiastic but the ETL is a 13 Week marathon – not a one-month sprint! So the big question is, can you keep the pace? Can you utilize your immense resources and achieve victory? It will not be easy (as last year proved) but you certainly look like the favorites this year!
AS A LAST POINT I’D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT TWO THINGS:
1. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET SUBMITTED “BEFORE” PICS, WHEN YOU DO TAKE THEM, PLEASE EDIT THEM IN YOUR ORIGINAL VOW POST!
2. PLEASE ALL OF YOU CHECK THE SECOND POST OF YOUR STRATEGIUM TO MAKE SURE YOUR VOW IS CORRECTLY DEPICTED AND LINKED. LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES.
So until next week, keep the new recruits coming!!! 
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