Just horribly busy. Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've just been swamped and haven't had much hobby time at all. Perhaps once the holidays are over, I'll be able to get into the swing of things.
There has been some movement. My wife secured me an organizer unit that is basically a wooden version of the plastic container I bought a few months ago. She even supplied me with the plastic bins to go in it. The plan is to put as much as the rank and file models into those bins and store them in my hobby garage area. That will allow my vast shelf space in my office to be used for large models that don't fit in nicely.
Also on the docket is a purchase for a large amount of magnets so that I can put it on all of my figs. Which is a lot. So that will be done in stages. First up will be the fantasy armies that I use for Kings of War. After that, I'll start on my 40K armies.
Oh, I did buy the new starter for Gates of Antares. Been reading the book some...but again, not a whole lot of time towards it. So no review in the near future I'm afraid. But down the line somewhere...I can see that.
I almost played in a flames of war tournament, but my wife scheduled an out of town trip on the same weekend.
I'm also still awaiting my abyssal army from Mantic. Getting pretty near the end of November and no word yet. They need to get in gear.
I will say that I've been playing Vermintide on my PC quite a bit. That is very time consuming. We are talking about 30 minutes for a single run, with maybe a 60-70% chance of success. Fun game, but they need a lot of work on reward balancing. Still, it is fun to play with my friends, so that will stay on the radar for a while.
Star Wars battlefront is out, and I have played a few games, but quite frankly, I'm a bit tired. I need to be on my A game to play that and right now, I'm somewhere on the E to F level.
Mostly that is due to the weather. You see it is cold outside...which means it is colder inside. Which means one of my cats is constantly sleeping on me at night because she refuses to keep her sweaters on. So I don't sleep as well. Darn cat.
And that is basically it. I did try to get some friends together for D&D about a month or two ago, but just couldn't grab enough of them. I really miss that game. Maybe one day.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
King of War, that's me baby!
So I forced myself to hit game night this week to help support the KoW movement in my area. My dwarfs were already packed up, so a quick visit to easy army builder, and I had a 1000pt dwarf army all worked out. Grabbed some dice and a tape measure, and I was good to go.
My opponent was also a new KoW player, just learning the game, and he threw down with some goblins. Talk about your classic match up. We were both using GW models, so it really looked familiar on the table.
Neither of us were rocking any magic items in our lists. I brought:
War smith
horde of ironclads
regiment ironguard
troop of xbows
troop of rifles
cannon
iron behemoth
He brought:
king of chariot
shaman
regiment of sharpsticks
regiment of spitters x2
regiment of fleabag sniffs
regiment of trolls
sharpstick thrower x2
slasher
I was quite outnumbered and more than a bit worried. We rolled up the Loot mission, and luckily I got to go first. For the most part, I ran as fast as I could towards the loot counters. Terrain slowed some of my marches though. Cannon shot missed. (I'll say now we screwed up and added a -1 penalty for long range)
His turn, he did some shooting, putting a marker here or there, but otherwise, just moved up as well. (Also, no pics again, sorry...was more concerned with playing than with photographing)
My ironwatch moved up to threaten two counters, while my ironguard moved up across from his trolls and sharpsticks. My iron behemoth hung back a little and belched on the trolls for a few hits. My other shooting was concentrated on his slasher and I actually waivered it.
His trolls charged my ironguard and his sharpsticks were just in the flank and hit them as well. Now my behemoth was close enough to block the slide move. But a look at the rules showed us an unclear answer, so we pushed the behemoth back to allow the sharpsticks to get in the slide, he gains the first loot counter with that charge as well. His king on chariot charged my horde of ironclads. Shooting went towards the cannon. He rolls a 10 which would route my cannon, but my war smith was there so he had to roll again...and another 10 pops up. Ugh! My ironguard though stood like a boss against his trolls and sharpsticks, as did the horde vs his king.
My behemoth was looking down the flank of his sharpsticks and just rolled over them, taking the loot counter from them. My guard crashed into the trolls, sending them on their way as well. The horde countered into the king and barely did anything. With my cannon gone, the slasher was in range of my xbows and his fleabags had taken a loot counter behind it. My warsmith tried to shoot the slasher but missed, so I had no choice but to shoot it with the xbows sending it off thankfully. My rifles were in poor position on the left side now that combat was engaged, so they started to shift towards center.
His king bounds in to smack my horde around some more, and his fleabags turn around with the loot counter and start making their way back to his board edge. His shooting didn't do too much, nor his wizard.
My guard charged a spitter regiment and sent them packing while the behemoth swung around with the hopes of eventually hitting the fleabags. My horde again hit the king, putting some wounds on him and waivering him. My warsmith moved up to get just in range of the fleabags, hit them once, and then waivered them! My xbows whiffed and the rifles moved to support the horde.
He moved his king back to hopefully get a TC charge against my horde, and give his throwers a chance to do some real damage. His other spitters fired on the guard doing nothing. His wizard, now blocking the center loot counter from my horde, blasted them, but they stayed put despite the large bolts sticking out of them now.
My guard had a long charge on his king, so they took it, slamming into his flank and crushing him. The behemoth moved up and flamed the fleabags, but they hung in. The horde charged the wizard, but only did two wounds, leaving him standing there.
He shot into my horde, getting them up to 12 wounds, but still they stayed. His fleabags moved away, but the loot counter slowed them down.
Last turn, I had to kill his wizard to claim the center loot, or route the fleabags to remove his loot counter. I shot the fleabags with everything I could, but they did not route. So now it was up to the horde...charging into the lone wizard, smashing him with 5 wounds, and then rolling a paltry 3 for the nerve test, one less than I needed to route him. The wizard held back the tide of ironclads and kept them from the loot.
His last turn could not see him gain another counter, so he focused firing on my horde and finally dispersed the dwarfs. Game ended in a tie.
All in all, a great game. Right down to the wire. Two dice rolls that go my way, and its victory for the dwarfs. But alas, the sneaky goblins hold on, battered, but still kicking.
We did screw up a few times, but for the most part, played the game correctly. We discovered the long range penalty goof about half way through the game. The one piece we are still mulling over is when do you nudge other units to make room for charges. The printed rules and FAQs are not real clear. The mods on the forums are very direct with their opinions, but they really need to update the FAQ to match it.
Had a great game though. Was very fun. Reminds me of when I started playing Warhammer. My gaming group is starting a league next week. So hopefully will draw in even more players. Now I just gotta decide on which army to bring. Till next time.
My opponent was also a new KoW player, just learning the game, and he threw down with some goblins. Talk about your classic match up. We were both using GW models, so it really looked familiar on the table.
Neither of us were rocking any magic items in our lists. I brought:
War smith
horde of ironclads
regiment ironguard
troop of xbows
troop of rifles
cannon
iron behemoth
He brought:
king of chariot
shaman
regiment of sharpsticks
regiment of spitters x2
regiment of fleabag sniffs
regiment of trolls
sharpstick thrower x2
slasher
I was quite outnumbered and more than a bit worried. We rolled up the Loot mission, and luckily I got to go first. For the most part, I ran as fast as I could towards the loot counters. Terrain slowed some of my marches though. Cannon shot missed. (I'll say now we screwed up and added a -1 penalty for long range)
His turn, he did some shooting, putting a marker here or there, but otherwise, just moved up as well. (Also, no pics again, sorry...was more concerned with playing than with photographing)
My ironwatch moved up to threaten two counters, while my ironguard moved up across from his trolls and sharpsticks. My iron behemoth hung back a little and belched on the trolls for a few hits. My other shooting was concentrated on his slasher and I actually waivered it.
His trolls charged my ironguard and his sharpsticks were just in the flank and hit them as well. Now my behemoth was close enough to block the slide move. But a look at the rules showed us an unclear answer, so we pushed the behemoth back to allow the sharpsticks to get in the slide, he gains the first loot counter with that charge as well. His king on chariot charged my horde of ironclads. Shooting went towards the cannon. He rolls a 10 which would route my cannon, but my war smith was there so he had to roll again...and another 10 pops up. Ugh! My ironguard though stood like a boss against his trolls and sharpsticks, as did the horde vs his king.
My behemoth was looking down the flank of his sharpsticks and just rolled over them, taking the loot counter from them. My guard crashed into the trolls, sending them on their way as well. The horde countered into the king and barely did anything. With my cannon gone, the slasher was in range of my xbows and his fleabags had taken a loot counter behind it. My warsmith tried to shoot the slasher but missed, so I had no choice but to shoot it with the xbows sending it off thankfully. My rifles were in poor position on the left side now that combat was engaged, so they started to shift towards center.
His king bounds in to smack my horde around some more, and his fleabags turn around with the loot counter and start making their way back to his board edge. His shooting didn't do too much, nor his wizard.
My guard charged a spitter regiment and sent them packing while the behemoth swung around with the hopes of eventually hitting the fleabags. My horde again hit the king, putting some wounds on him and waivering him. My warsmith moved up to get just in range of the fleabags, hit them once, and then waivered them! My xbows whiffed and the rifles moved to support the horde.
He moved his king back to hopefully get a TC charge against my horde, and give his throwers a chance to do some real damage. His other spitters fired on the guard doing nothing. His wizard, now blocking the center loot counter from my horde, blasted them, but they stayed put despite the large bolts sticking out of them now.
My guard had a long charge on his king, so they took it, slamming into his flank and crushing him. The behemoth moved up and flamed the fleabags, but they hung in. The horde charged the wizard, but only did two wounds, leaving him standing there.
He shot into my horde, getting them up to 12 wounds, but still they stayed. His fleabags moved away, but the loot counter slowed them down.
Last turn, I had to kill his wizard to claim the center loot, or route the fleabags to remove his loot counter. I shot the fleabags with everything I could, but they did not route. So now it was up to the horde...charging into the lone wizard, smashing him with 5 wounds, and then rolling a paltry 3 for the nerve test, one less than I needed to route him. The wizard held back the tide of ironclads and kept them from the loot.
His last turn could not see him gain another counter, so he focused firing on my horde and finally dispersed the dwarfs. Game ended in a tie.
All in all, a great game. Right down to the wire. Two dice rolls that go my way, and its victory for the dwarfs. But alas, the sneaky goblins hold on, battered, but still kicking.
We did screw up a few times, but for the most part, played the game correctly. We discovered the long range penalty goof about half way through the game. The one piece we are still mulling over is when do you nudge other units to make room for charges. The printed rules and FAQs are not real clear. The mods on the forums are very direct with their opinions, but they really need to update the FAQ to match it.
Had a great game though. Was very fun. Reminds me of when I started playing Warhammer. My gaming group is starting a league next week. So hopefully will draw in even more players. Now I just gotta decide on which army to bring. Till next time.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Did you see that warpstorm?
So yeah, hit a rough patch there. It is not quite done yet I'm afraid, so we'll just have to play things by ear for a while. That being said, I have actually been doing some stuff. One of these years I may even photograph what I'm doing.
So lets recap shall we:
1) still doing the D&D Encounters. I did have to skip one week due to the rough patch, but otherwise have been going steadily. In fact, the last time was quite enjoyable. Mr. Brag about My Character wasn't there and wow, what a difference did that make. Other people could actually talk and joke a little. Also, there was a father/son combo at the table. That was really nice too. I think D&D is a great family game. I've always enjoyed playing with my kids. I just wish I could get my wife to try it. Oh well. Oh, and I even painted a model for it. I decided to switch my character around (which you can do in Encounters) and decided the table needed to be graced with a fully painted model. It isn't golden deamon worthy by any means, but it is far better than the pre-painted ones that most people seem to use. Sometimes it makes me want to bust out some of my old Ral Partha lead minis. So listen up gamers, take some pride and buy a good model for your character, and paint it up right and proper.
2) I've been keeping an eye on the new 40K Tau releases popping out. Some really pretty stuff. Too bad I'd need to take out a loan to get any of it. Also, GW sells out of the Tau battleline terrain set before it even releases?!? Whose stupid idea was that GW? Brand new product, and you don't even have enough stock to make it to release?? Your models are pretty, but your business actions make me want to kill you. You guys are giving lawyers a run for their money.
3) Alright, I'll be honest....I've also been playing Neverwinter this past weekend. They had this small event where it was really easy to get XP for your characters, so I made sure a few of them reached level 60. I could have been painting or some such....I know....but I really like the game, and it was fun. Although I did burn out on it a bit...so it is taking a trunk seat for a while.
4) Malifaux - that is right...Malifaux. Some friends of mine have dove in after the death of WFB. I let one of them run me through a teaching game. I've looked at the factions and models...but so far have avoided making an actual purchase. Seems interesting....jury is still out though.
5) How could I almost forget, Star Wars Battlefront Beta! Hell yeah! Huge SW nerd here....I cursed up a storm playing that game. Very fun and frustrating. About what you would expect. I've already pre-ordered it....so the wife is going to get some ear-plugs when it comes out.
So I've been gaming...in one way or another..which is good. But I have these thoughts running through my head pretty much all the time now on various topics. Here's another list:
1) Death of Warhammer - still boggles me. And is really impacting my desire to work on my Empire army. I do have KoW that I can use the models with...but right now KoW needs work to gain a better foothold in the local scene. And I'm not up for that right now.
2) Planetfall - I really need to get back to painting up my starter set. I really liked the game when I read it, and played a test game. I also really like Spartan games. There is also a Firestorm Armada player base, so maybe I can do some demo games for that group once I'm ready.
3) Slipping into the third slot is Bolt Action! I'm a huge fan of WWII games and this one seems to be the perfect one to scratch my 28mm itch. I really want to work on my Brits, but I really only have standard infantry and a couple of vehicles. I don't own any support weapons for them. I do for my Germans...but again...want to do Brits. It makes me wonder if my motivation is tied to the fact that I need to make purchases? Wouldn't that be awful?
4) 40K has reared its ugly head recently. Here is the thing with 40K..it was my first real mini wargame. And it has great background...and it is so easy to imagine battles and such. The reality though is that I'm quite intimidated to play it now with all the changes it has been through. Remember, old man here. That and that GW is a giant cock-sucking company makes it hard for me to commit time to it. But there still is this draw to it.
5) Which leads me to Gates of Antares. I just pre-ordered the starter set for this game. It is based on Bolt Action rule set which I really like, but is d10 instead of d6 based which seems interesting. And since it is Sci-Fi, I could maybe use my 40K armies to play this. But we have to wait a little while until it is released.
6) And rounding out the group is Warpath. I had originally been all excited for this kickstarter. But Mantic made some odd choices that really closed the door quickly on this. First off, no Marauders (their version of orks). How can you skip one of your base armies?? And honestly, the kits and such just didn't excite me. I think the two player starter combo was great....fantastic value, best of all the options. But getting that would require me to invest more..which I'm just not ready to do. So I passed this time around.
So there you have it folks. So much going on, but none of it ever seems like enough. Until next time.
So lets recap shall we:
1) still doing the D&D Encounters. I did have to skip one week due to the rough patch, but otherwise have been going steadily. In fact, the last time was quite enjoyable. Mr. Brag about My Character wasn't there and wow, what a difference did that make. Other people could actually talk and joke a little. Also, there was a father/son combo at the table. That was really nice too. I think D&D is a great family game. I've always enjoyed playing with my kids. I just wish I could get my wife to try it. Oh well. Oh, and I even painted a model for it. I decided to switch my character around (which you can do in Encounters) and decided the table needed to be graced with a fully painted model. It isn't golden deamon worthy by any means, but it is far better than the pre-painted ones that most people seem to use. Sometimes it makes me want to bust out some of my old Ral Partha lead minis. So listen up gamers, take some pride and buy a good model for your character, and paint it up right and proper.
2) I've been keeping an eye on the new 40K Tau releases popping out. Some really pretty stuff. Too bad I'd need to take out a loan to get any of it. Also, GW sells out of the Tau battleline terrain set before it even releases?!? Whose stupid idea was that GW? Brand new product, and you don't even have enough stock to make it to release?? Your models are pretty, but your business actions make me want to kill you. You guys are giving lawyers a run for their money.
3) Alright, I'll be honest....I've also been playing Neverwinter this past weekend. They had this small event where it was really easy to get XP for your characters, so I made sure a few of them reached level 60. I could have been painting or some such....I know....but I really like the game, and it was fun. Although I did burn out on it a bit...so it is taking a trunk seat for a while.
4) Malifaux - that is right...Malifaux. Some friends of mine have dove in after the death of WFB. I let one of them run me through a teaching game. I've looked at the factions and models...but so far have avoided making an actual purchase. Seems interesting....jury is still out though.
5) How could I almost forget, Star Wars Battlefront Beta! Hell yeah! Huge SW nerd here....I cursed up a storm playing that game. Very fun and frustrating. About what you would expect. I've already pre-ordered it....so the wife is going to get some ear-plugs when it comes out.
So I've been gaming...in one way or another..which is good. But I have these thoughts running through my head pretty much all the time now on various topics. Here's another list:
1) Death of Warhammer - still boggles me. And is really impacting my desire to work on my Empire army. I do have KoW that I can use the models with...but right now KoW needs work to gain a better foothold in the local scene. And I'm not up for that right now.
2) Planetfall - I really need to get back to painting up my starter set. I really liked the game when I read it, and played a test game. I also really like Spartan games. There is also a Firestorm Armada player base, so maybe I can do some demo games for that group once I'm ready.
3) Slipping into the third slot is Bolt Action! I'm a huge fan of WWII games and this one seems to be the perfect one to scratch my 28mm itch. I really want to work on my Brits, but I really only have standard infantry and a couple of vehicles. I don't own any support weapons for them. I do for my Germans...but again...want to do Brits. It makes me wonder if my motivation is tied to the fact that I need to make purchases? Wouldn't that be awful?
4) 40K has reared its ugly head recently. Here is the thing with 40K..it was my first real mini wargame. And it has great background...and it is so easy to imagine battles and such. The reality though is that I'm quite intimidated to play it now with all the changes it has been through. Remember, old man here. That and that GW is a giant cock-sucking company makes it hard for me to commit time to it. But there still is this draw to it.
5) Which leads me to Gates of Antares. I just pre-ordered the starter set for this game. It is based on Bolt Action rule set which I really like, but is d10 instead of d6 based which seems interesting. And since it is Sci-Fi, I could maybe use my 40K armies to play this. But we have to wait a little while until it is released.
6) And rounding out the group is Warpath. I had originally been all excited for this kickstarter. But Mantic made some odd choices that really closed the door quickly on this. First off, no Marauders (their version of orks). How can you skip one of your base armies?? And honestly, the kits and such just didn't excite me. I think the two player starter combo was great....fantastic value, best of all the options. But getting that would require me to invest more..which I'm just not ready to do. So I passed this time around.
So there you have it folks. So much going on, but none of it ever seems like enough. Until next time.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Where did September go?
Wow, October already. Who knew? Anyways, what the heck have I been up to? Well, lots of talking mostly. I have continued to go to the D&D encounters games. However, I was forced to sit at a different table these last two times and my enjoyment was greatly diminished. You see, there were one of "those" guys sitting at the table. You know the type, the one that constantly brags about his character and then tries to make a joke at the end of every sentence the DM completes. Yeah, I had to put up with one of those guys for two different nights. Ugh. The up side, is that it made me reach out to some friends of mine to form up my own group again. The group is as yet still unformed due to minimum numbers not yet reached, but there is hope.
Also, I have been working on some models. There is a Flames of War tournament in November that I am considering going to, but it required models I did not yet own or that were still in blisters. So yesterday I busted out the clippers and superglue, and went to town. I got two challengers built and three universal carriers done. I then primed them all in Firefly green from Army Painter.
Not only that, but I also recently purchased a new plastic tank kit from Warlord for my Bolt Action British. I got the super sexy Cromwell tank. That was also assembled and primed. That was a nice kit. The instructions took a little bit of translating, but overall, were sufficient. Had I thought to take pics, I could have shared them...maybe next time.
So if I did everything right, I now have all of the models I need for the FoW tournament in November, assembled and primed. Also, I have a functional model to use in Bolt Action.
If we can remember properly, I was supposed to be focusing my efforts on getting my new Empire army done. So how is that going? you may ask...well not great. I have procured pretty much everything that I want. In fact, I have one last trade on the books to complete, and then I'm probably done. I did prime two models to see how they end up looking painted. However, I've been slack and haven't gotten any farther with those two.
I will say I'm really surprised that the local WFB community has pretty much given up on that game completely. In fact, I am just surprised that I'm not really seeing any support for 8th at all on the web. People are either abandoning it completely, or trying to fix the whole shebang. I think both of those options are silly. Why not just fix the last two armies that didn't get a book, and focus on Swedish Comp to help keep it all friendly and balanced? But basically, I get the feeling that I will be hard pressed to find an 8th edition opponent any time soon. That really saddens me. Why let GW kill off a great game and replace it with PoS....sorry..I mean AoS?
Lets face it, PoS...I mean AoS, is a model line, nothing more. I can't even read posts about it without cringing. All the while, 8th edition is still there. You still have the rules, the books, the models. And unlike other edition changes, you don't have something that is replacing it.
I'm all happy for KoW, because it is a good game, but it also isn't WFB. WFB does offer a different experience. My Empire army will work with KoW, but I also got a whole bunch of the models because of how they play in WFB. I want to play that army in WFB. Am I the only one?
Also, I have been working on some models. There is a Flames of War tournament in November that I am considering going to, but it required models I did not yet own or that were still in blisters. So yesterday I busted out the clippers and superglue, and went to town. I got two challengers built and three universal carriers done. I then primed them all in Firefly green from Army Painter.
Not only that, but I also recently purchased a new plastic tank kit from Warlord for my Bolt Action British. I got the super sexy Cromwell tank. That was also assembled and primed. That was a nice kit. The instructions took a little bit of translating, but overall, were sufficient. Had I thought to take pics, I could have shared them...maybe next time.
So if I did everything right, I now have all of the models I need for the FoW tournament in November, assembled and primed. Also, I have a functional model to use in Bolt Action.
If we can remember properly, I was supposed to be focusing my efforts on getting my new Empire army done. So how is that going? you may ask...well not great. I have procured pretty much everything that I want. In fact, I have one last trade on the books to complete, and then I'm probably done. I did prime two models to see how they end up looking painted. However, I've been slack and haven't gotten any farther with those two.
I will say I'm really surprised that the local WFB community has pretty much given up on that game completely. In fact, I am just surprised that I'm not really seeing any support for 8th at all on the web. People are either abandoning it completely, or trying to fix the whole shebang. I think both of those options are silly. Why not just fix the last two armies that didn't get a book, and focus on Swedish Comp to help keep it all friendly and balanced? But basically, I get the feeling that I will be hard pressed to find an 8th edition opponent any time soon. That really saddens me. Why let GW kill off a great game and replace it with PoS....sorry..I mean AoS?
Lets face it, PoS...I mean AoS, is a model line, nothing more. I can't even read posts about it without cringing. All the while, 8th edition is still there. You still have the rules, the books, the models. And unlike other edition changes, you don't have something that is replacing it.
I'm all happy for KoW, because it is a good game, but it also isn't WFB. WFB does offer a different experience. My Empire army will work with KoW, but I also got a whole bunch of the models because of how they play in WFB. I want to play that army in WFB. Am I the only one?
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Remember remember the 17th of September...
So I was feeling a little poetic today with the title, sue me.
Hello sports fans, we are back again for another random post from the depths of my gaming life.
So last night I partook in a D&D encounters event at a local LGS. This was not my first time. I actually was there years ago when they first started encounters. It was really quite something actually. I would take my daughter with me and that first season was really something special. That first season our table had the same players and DM every night.
Now it is years later, and I am trying to go again. The original LGS where I went is so popular, that unless you can get there two hours early, you can't get a spot at the table. Which is kind of a bummer. So when a new store offered it, I finally decided to give it a go again.
Let me tell you right off, that apparently I am now the 'old man' at the table. This is really disheartening and quite a surprise to me. I get that I'm 44, but I never really thought of myself like that. When I was in college, the creepy old guy that was still playing was that age. And here I am, sitting at the table, and the DM calls me "sir." I mean really, part of me wanted to excuse myself from the table, apologize for being there, and leave abashed.
I've always had problems thinking of myself as my actual age. Perhaps that had something to do with being the youngest in my family. I don't know, but there is a huge part of me that still thinks I'm in my twenties...early thirties tops. And here I am looking around the table and realizing that I'm the oldest one there. It was a little off-putting to be quite honest.
But stubbornly I stayed, and I had a good time. This latest season is quite a bit different from past ones, and the players at the table (all adults) did more roleplaying than I expected. I'm actually looking forward to going back and playing with them again. Despite all this war gaming stuff I post about, D&D will always be my favorite game.
Hello sports fans, we are back again for another random post from the depths of my gaming life.
So last night I partook in a D&D encounters event at a local LGS. This was not my first time. I actually was there years ago when they first started encounters. It was really quite something actually. I would take my daughter with me and that first season was really something special. That first season our table had the same players and DM every night.
Now it is years later, and I am trying to go again. The original LGS where I went is so popular, that unless you can get there two hours early, you can't get a spot at the table. Which is kind of a bummer. So when a new store offered it, I finally decided to give it a go again.
Let me tell you right off, that apparently I am now the 'old man' at the table. This is really disheartening and quite a surprise to me. I get that I'm 44, but I never really thought of myself like that. When I was in college, the creepy old guy that was still playing was that age. And here I am, sitting at the table, and the DM calls me "sir." I mean really, part of me wanted to excuse myself from the table, apologize for being there, and leave abashed.
I've always had problems thinking of myself as my actual age. Perhaps that had something to do with being the youngest in my family. I don't know, but there is a huge part of me that still thinks I'm in my twenties...early thirties tops. And here I am looking around the table and realizing that I'm the oldest one there. It was a little off-putting to be quite honest.
But stubbornly I stayed, and I had a good time. This latest season is quite a bit different from past ones, and the players at the table (all adults) did more roleplaying than I expected. I'm actually looking forward to going back and playing with them again. Despite all this war gaming stuff I post about, D&D will always be my favorite game.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Shogun Miniatures
Hello Sports Fans,
So as part of my commitment to playing Kings of War, I finally ordered a large set of movement trays from Shogun Miniatures (Link). I learned about them a few years ago actually, but never pulled the trigger. They make these metal trays that have curved edges on three sides. Since Kings of War has set unit sizes, it made sense to invest finally. I ordered a large number of varying tray sizes and a set of 20mm square magnetic bases.
Well yesterday my order finally came in. I am not disappointed. It took about 10 days from payment to delivery, exactly as Andrew from Shogun predicted. Now the average price worked out to be around $2.30 a tray. But as I said, it was a large order, a total of 45 trays in all. That is not too bad. And I know what you are thinking, "Damn Brother G., that is a lot of trays." It is, and truthfully they aren't all for me, just most of them. :) But if you are going to buy metal trays, you might as well get a lot for what you need.
Remember, I have lots of armies, and plan is to magnetize them, and then store them on the trays within plastic bins. So there is a method to this madness.
Anyways, back to the trays. Pics will be coming later today, I just forgot to take them before I left home this morning.
This is what $80ish gets you in trays
Some close ups.
Comparison with my old trays.
So the trays came in two types of metal. I'm assuming that the depth somehow determines which steel to use. I kind of like the dark grey steel better. Seems like I won't have to paint it ahead of time as it will sort of just blend in as opposed to the reflective steel. The trays are firm, not bendy at all. I have no concerns as to whether they will do well with plastic or metal minis on them.
I loaded one up with the magnetic bases that I had ordered. The dimensions are spot on. These things are going to make my life so much easier. As to the bases I ordered, they look pretty good. They are completely square cut, so no sloped edges like GW bases. I think that will give the unit a nice cohesive look without those gaps you typically see. The thickness is just under the lip of the trays. So I figure after putting on basing material and flocking, they should pop out just over the lip. I bought these for a bunch of ungors I just got that didn't come with bases. Those are light plastic models so I think these will work well for them.
All in all, I am very happy. I would recommend these to anyone wanting to invest in trays. As to the magnetic bases, I think they will work well with plastic minis. I am not too sure how they would do with heavy models or a large base since they aren't that thick.
Till next time...
So as part of my commitment to playing Kings of War, I finally ordered a large set of movement trays from Shogun Miniatures (Link). I learned about them a few years ago actually, but never pulled the trigger. They make these metal trays that have curved edges on three sides. Since Kings of War has set unit sizes, it made sense to invest finally. I ordered a large number of varying tray sizes and a set of 20mm square magnetic bases.
Well yesterday my order finally came in. I am not disappointed. It took about 10 days from payment to delivery, exactly as Andrew from Shogun predicted. Now the average price worked out to be around $2.30 a tray. But as I said, it was a large order, a total of 45 trays in all. That is not too bad. And I know what you are thinking, "Damn Brother G., that is a lot of trays." It is, and truthfully they aren't all for me, just most of them. :) But if you are going to buy metal trays, you might as well get a lot for what you need.
Remember, I have lots of armies, and plan is to magnetize them, and then store them on the trays within plastic bins. So there is a method to this madness.
Anyways, back to the trays. Pics will be coming later today, I just forgot to take them before I left home this morning.
So the trays came in two types of metal. I'm assuming that the depth somehow determines which steel to use. I kind of like the dark grey steel better. Seems like I won't have to paint it ahead of time as it will sort of just blend in as opposed to the reflective steel. The trays are firm, not bendy at all. I have no concerns as to whether they will do well with plastic or metal minis on them.
I loaded one up with the magnetic bases that I had ordered. The dimensions are spot on. These things are going to make my life so much easier. As to the bases I ordered, they look pretty good. They are completely square cut, so no sloped edges like GW bases. I think that will give the unit a nice cohesive look without those gaps you typically see. The thickness is just under the lip of the trays. So I figure after putting on basing material and flocking, they should pop out just over the lip. I bought these for a bunch of ungors I just got that didn't come with bases. Those are light plastic models so I think these will work well for them.
All in all, I am very happy. I would recommend these to anyone wanting to invest in trays. As to the magnetic bases, I think they will work well with plastic minis. I am not too sure how they would do with heavy models or a large base since they aren't that thick.
Till next time...
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Need to get priming
So it is now September and that means my priming days are going to be few and far between. However, this week in the lovely PacNW, we are supposed to be hitting the 80's which is about near perfect for priming models. If I don't get some done, then I'm going to be stuck with painting projects that aren't what I'm focused on.
So today I will be priming two models when I get home. I'm going to grab two free company models to use as test subjects. My empire army is going to be purple and yellow. However, I don't want a dark purple or a bright yellow, so I'm going to go with a more mustard/desert yellow and a lighter purple. The reason being is that both shade much better than the standard color. I'm all about dipping or keeping things to a simple wash.
Call me lazy, but I just don't have time to do blending. So if I can get a good effect with a base coat and a wash/dip, then that is what I'll go for. Besides, I can try to detail it up afterwards a little too.
So this week, my goal is to prime and paint two empire free company models. One based purple, and the other yellow, but otherwise they will be getting the same color treatment. I'm expecting that the yellow primer will work better because it will get covered by the purple paint much easier than trying to cover purple with yellow.
So here we have the two primed models. In sunlight, they don't look too bad. However my fear is that the purple is too dark for what I want, and the desert yellow just isn't quite yellow enough. However, we will paint them up and see how it looks.
I do have an airbrush and have yet to bust it out. So if the easy can primer fails, well I guess I'll have to give it a go. That seems scary to me. I will have to reach out to other local airbuurshers to see if someone is willing to hold my hand. :)
So look for another update later this week with progress pics of the models. Also, if I'm really lucky, I'll get in another game of Kings of War and put up another battle report.
So today I will be priming two models when I get home. I'm going to grab two free company models to use as test subjects. My empire army is going to be purple and yellow. However, I don't want a dark purple or a bright yellow, so I'm going to go with a more mustard/desert yellow and a lighter purple. The reason being is that both shade much better than the standard color. I'm all about dipping or keeping things to a simple wash.
Call me lazy, but I just don't have time to do blending. So if I can get a good effect with a base coat and a wash/dip, then that is what I'll go for. Besides, I can try to detail it up afterwards a little too.
So this week, my goal is to prime and paint two empire free company models. One based purple, and the other yellow, but otherwise they will be getting the same color treatment. I'm expecting that the yellow primer will work better because it will get covered by the purple paint much easier than trying to cover purple with yellow.
I do have an airbrush and have yet to bust it out. So if the easy can primer fails, well I guess I'll have to give it a go. That seems scary to me. I will have to reach out to other local airbuurshers to see if someone is willing to hold my hand. :)
So look for another update later this week with progress pics of the models. Also, if I'm really lucky, I'll get in another game of Kings of War and put up another battle report.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Smart shopping or signs of a problem?
So not too long ago, I talked about this great deal on a starter Empire army I had acquired. I was really proud of that purchase. It was a bit heavy on the shooty side, but honestly, I could play a 2K game with it. Well time has gone by and I thought I'd give you a small progress report.
Obviously, there were lots of things I could get for the army still. I had this nice little plan laid out. I was going to pick up a unit of knights. That would be eight models in the current box set. Now I already owned a mounted Luthor Huss model, so I'd need one more to fill the unit up to a full 10 man unit. So during the OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge - google it) I got the opportunity to buy the Empire General box set (makes a mounted and foot character). Also ended up getting a sweet deal on a Steam Tank. So lets say at this point, I've dropped $140. Still, an amazing deal for the army.
But see I really love models. I love cool models. And the Empire has cool models...cool models that I did not own yet. So I started to scour the interwebs for deals. And luck was not mine to have, i.e. the models I wanted were expensive and I couldn't justify getting them.
Then a fateful day at my LGS, and lo and behold, they had a copy of the Empire starter army. It was the box set that GW released when the 8th edition book came out. So it had lots of the new toys basically. It has the new griffon model, one of those wizard wagons, the new character combo, an engineer, and new great swords. At retail though it was sitting at $240. I'm not sure if it was just due to its age and GW's lovely pricing policies, but somehow this box was a bit of a bargain (it was cheaper than buying everything separately). My conundrum though was that it was $240. So once again I scoured the interwebs for a copy for sale at discount...and once again Lady Luck passed me by. Now realize also the pressure that during all of this, the great Age of Sigmar upheaval was happening. Who knew what models would continue on from GW?
So faced with the prospect of possibly not getting these models for who knows how long, or at what prices, I bit the bullet and bought the box set at retail. Glad to support my LGS, but not so glad to pay retail for a GW product. I hate doing that.
Okay, so now my Empire army just got a solid boost. I got a swordsmen regiment, knights, greatswords, some more shooting, and some great centerpieces with the griffon and wizard wagon. And I got it all for under $400. Life looked good. In fact, the only thing I was planning to expand was the greatsword unit, as the box only came with 10 guys.
Here is where my disease really rears its ugly head. This weekend I have a friend who is selling his empire stuff. He has greatswords. I have an opportunity to help my friend out, and get the models I want, and at a fair price. Lady Luck has arrived! But then there, on Ordo's bartertown forum...an empire army is for sale. Assembled, all new plastics, primed but no paint. Sure, it has lots of stuff I don't need, but it does have some stuff I want. Also, now that I'm playing KoW, it will give me lots of options. I could have several horde level units now. And then the killer, the price is only $275 shipped, with foam. We are talking less than $2 a model, every model (cav, characters, steam tank, warmachines...). It was my kryptonite. Great models, amazing deal.....how could I resist?
Well I couldn't. It took me all of about 4 hours of mulling it over and the seller tossing in some free company guys for me to pull the trigger. So here I sit, with now a substantial Empire army (300ish models), and a hole in the wallet to the amount of $655.
I have to admit, that looking at that total makes my chest tighten up a bit. I just blew over $600 on plastic soldiers in the span of two months. I also went for a reasonable painting project (100ish models), to an absolute bear of a project.
Now once I get all of my models together, I will sit down and see what I can cut out from that mound. Hopefully I can trade/sell off what I don't need and bring that total down just a little. Because if I don't, then I'll really know the answer to the above question and I'm not sure what I'd do then.
Till next time.
Obviously, there were lots of things I could get for the army still. I had this nice little plan laid out. I was going to pick up a unit of knights. That would be eight models in the current box set. Now I already owned a mounted Luthor Huss model, so I'd need one more to fill the unit up to a full 10 man unit. So during the OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge - google it) I got the opportunity to buy the Empire General box set (makes a mounted and foot character). Also ended up getting a sweet deal on a Steam Tank. So lets say at this point, I've dropped $140. Still, an amazing deal for the army.
But see I really love models. I love cool models. And the Empire has cool models...cool models that I did not own yet. So I started to scour the interwebs for deals. And luck was not mine to have, i.e. the models I wanted were expensive and I couldn't justify getting them.
Then a fateful day at my LGS, and lo and behold, they had a copy of the Empire starter army. It was the box set that GW released when the 8th edition book came out. So it had lots of the new toys basically. It has the new griffon model, one of those wizard wagons, the new character combo, an engineer, and new great swords. At retail though it was sitting at $240. I'm not sure if it was just due to its age and GW's lovely pricing policies, but somehow this box was a bit of a bargain (it was cheaper than buying everything separately). My conundrum though was that it was $240. So once again I scoured the interwebs for a copy for sale at discount...and once again Lady Luck passed me by. Now realize also the pressure that during all of this, the great Age of Sigmar upheaval was happening. Who knew what models would continue on from GW?
So faced with the prospect of possibly not getting these models for who knows how long, or at what prices, I bit the bullet and bought the box set at retail. Glad to support my LGS, but not so glad to pay retail for a GW product. I hate doing that.
Okay, so now my Empire army just got a solid boost. I got a swordsmen regiment, knights, greatswords, some more shooting, and some great centerpieces with the griffon and wizard wagon. And I got it all for under $400. Life looked good. In fact, the only thing I was planning to expand was the greatsword unit, as the box only came with 10 guys.
Here is where my disease really rears its ugly head. This weekend I have a friend who is selling his empire stuff. He has greatswords. I have an opportunity to help my friend out, and get the models I want, and at a fair price. Lady Luck has arrived! But then there, on Ordo's bartertown forum...an empire army is for sale. Assembled, all new plastics, primed but no paint. Sure, it has lots of stuff I don't need, but it does have some stuff I want. Also, now that I'm playing KoW, it will give me lots of options. I could have several horde level units now. And then the killer, the price is only $275 shipped, with foam. We are talking less than $2 a model, every model (cav, characters, steam tank, warmachines...). It was my kryptonite. Great models, amazing deal.....how could I resist?
Well I couldn't. It took me all of about 4 hours of mulling it over and the seller tossing in some free company guys for me to pull the trigger. So here I sit, with now a substantial Empire army (300ish models), and a hole in the wallet to the amount of $655.
I have to admit, that looking at that total makes my chest tighten up a bit. I just blew over $600 on plastic soldiers in the span of two months. I also went for a reasonable painting project (100ish models), to an absolute bear of a project.
Now once I get all of my models together, I will sit down and see what I can cut out from that mound. Hopefully I can trade/sell off what I don't need and bring that total down just a little. Because if I don't, then I'll really know the answer to the above question and I'm not sure what I'd do then.
Till next time.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Back in the saddle
Hail and well met!
Hmmmm flashback to Everyquest days. Hail! heh...I remember the first time logging on with my human mage. Some guy was trying to talk to me and I hadn't figured out that "enter" opened the chat window. :) Good times.
So, back to the now....and a strong need to focus. Darn Kings of War keeps tempting me with all these new lists. You see I have a beastman army for WFB that I have actually never played. And now Mantic has this Herd list that keeps calling to me. Stupid gamer ADD.
Well I'm not falling for it, do you hear me? Nope, I'm going to stay on the path of my new Empire army. In fact, I'm hoping to pick up a few more units this weekend as a friend of mine is selling off his models. I really don't have too much left to get. In terms of WFB, I have more than enough, but strangely, KoW seems to require a little more still. Those darn horde formations just need so many models. Yeah I know I could use filler pieces, but I'd rather have the rank and file troops. Just my own preference.
Oh, and I finally ordered some movement trays for Shogun Miniatures. These are nice little metal trays with flanged edges on three sides. Plus I've ordered some of their magnetic bases to try out too. You see I much prefer to build a unit and then keep it on its movement tray instead of packing it away in foam. At the craft store Michaels, they have this great plastic storage system. It is a stand with six bays, and each bay comes with a clear plastic case about four inches high. In fact, in that battle report I recently posted, I was able to fit my entire army into one case. Some of the really tall models had to be put on the side, but for the vast majority of them, they were fine to stand upright on the tray. And since the case is enclosed, no dust! I just slide it back into the bay and yadda yadda yadda, army is put away. The whole thing costs around $80 to $100, but you can typically find a sale or coupon for Michaels which cuts its price dramatically. I'm going to get more as I get movement trays for all my armies and magnetize them. Currently, I have four fantasy forces in the bays and two flames of war armies. For the flames of war troops, I fill the bottom of the tray with stands, and then I put a foam layer down and then repeat. I put my entire eastern front Italian army in that way.
So where was I? Oh yeah, my empire army. So I'm refocusing back on them. I've got lots of models now, and quite a few that need assembly, so that is going to take off soon. I need to prime up a few test models for painting. All in all, I'm pretty excited about it.
Till next time....
Hmmmm flashback to Everyquest days. Hail! heh...I remember the first time logging on with my human mage. Some guy was trying to talk to me and I hadn't figured out that "enter" opened the chat window. :) Good times.
So, back to the now....and a strong need to focus. Darn Kings of War keeps tempting me with all these new lists. You see I have a beastman army for WFB that I have actually never played. And now Mantic has this Herd list that keeps calling to me. Stupid gamer ADD.
Well I'm not falling for it, do you hear me? Nope, I'm going to stay on the path of my new Empire army. In fact, I'm hoping to pick up a few more units this weekend as a friend of mine is selling off his models. I really don't have too much left to get. In terms of WFB, I have more than enough, but strangely, KoW seems to require a little more still. Those darn horde formations just need so many models. Yeah I know I could use filler pieces, but I'd rather have the rank and file troops. Just my own preference.
Oh, and I finally ordered some movement trays for Shogun Miniatures. These are nice little metal trays with flanged edges on three sides. Plus I've ordered some of their magnetic bases to try out too. You see I much prefer to build a unit and then keep it on its movement tray instead of packing it away in foam. At the craft store Michaels, they have this great plastic storage system. It is a stand with six bays, and each bay comes with a clear plastic case about four inches high. In fact, in that battle report I recently posted, I was able to fit my entire army into one case. Some of the really tall models had to be put on the side, but for the vast majority of them, they were fine to stand upright on the tray. And since the case is enclosed, no dust! I just slide it back into the bay and yadda yadda yadda, army is put away. The whole thing costs around $80 to $100, but you can typically find a sale or coupon for Michaels which cuts its price dramatically. I'm going to get more as I get movement trays for all my armies and magnetize them. Currently, I have four fantasy forces in the bays and two flames of war armies. For the flames of war troops, I fill the bottom of the tray with stands, and then I put a foam layer down and then repeat. I put my entire eastern front Italian army in that way.
So where was I? Oh yeah, my empire army. So I'm refocusing back on them. I've got lots of models now, and quite a few that need assembly, so that is going to take off soon. I need to prime up a few test models for painting. All in all, I'm pretty excited about it.
Till next time....
Thursday, August 20, 2015
KoW Battle Report - Undead Vs Kingdom of Men 2000pts
Welcome back Sports Fans,
So yesterday, I got my first taste of a big game of Kings of War. My friend Nathan and I threw down the gauntlet for our first 2nd edition game. I had mistakenly thought that Nathan had been playing with his brothers, but instead, they had only ran through some specific scenarios, instead of playing a full game.
So here we were, with our first game of the new edition. Cherries were popped. I was running Undead, mostly because the army was still on movement trays and it took the least amount of work to get ready. Nathan fielded a Kingdom of Men army, represented by his awesome looking Bretonnians.
My forces (bottom of pic) reading left to right: Soul Reaver Cav troop with pathfinder item, skeleton spear regiment, catapult, liche king, revenant reg with stealth item, necro with heal, zombie horde with +1 hit item, BSB, skeleton regiment, necro with bane change, ghouls, werewolf horde with phalanx item, and vamp on dragon with +1 armor item. Every unit that could have the rat upgrade did except for the skeletons without spears.
Nathan's forces (top), reading left to right as best as I can remember: Knight reg with pathfinder, three archer troops with a spearmen horde behind with +1 to hit, mounted wizard with wind, archer horde with jar, mounted BSB, two catapults, mounted general behind tower with +1armor, spearmen horde with CS(1), archer troop with a foot wizard with lighting behind, and a knight regiment with elite.
Nathan won the rolls for board side, and first turn (bastard). Pic above shows table from his side.
End to turn 1: he moved some stuff, and his trebuchets both hit my catapult and sent it back to the afterlife. He also put a wound on the zombie horde and two on the werewolves.
End of Turn 2: I moved some stuff up, surged a few units, and my werewolves were in charge range of his knights.
End of turn 3: He moved up some more, shot me a bit here and there, both trebs missed (as I foretold) and his right side knights backed up. Our left side knights were doing the "just out of range dance"
End of turn 4: I made a huge goof here and thought I could surge my vamps into his knights. We had actually gone through the combat and I had even routed his knights...and then had to take it all back as I realized my mistake. I was able to take out two of his archer troops and then threaten the third. However, the resulting free pivot for my revenants was done after I thought his knights were gone, and I forgot to reposition them once they were back on the field.
End of Turn 5: His left side knights charge the flank of the revenants but fail to route them. His left horde of spears and general hit the zombies, but fail to route them. His right side knights continue their retreat dance. But he shifts his archers over to help.
End of Turn 6: The revs and spear skels charge his knights while my soul reavers reposition for a charge. My zombies countercharge and my skels charge his general. Not wanting his right side archers to block a charge, I take the risk to hit them with the werewolves, positioning my general to breath attack his knights. No routes occured.
End of turn 7: His knights charge the revs, but rolls snake eyes on the route. His spear horde and general sends the zombies off, and his archer troop charges the skeletons. His knights charge the werewolves and then proceeds to roll an 11 which is just enough to route them! My inspiring vamp is too far away.
End of turn 8: I triple charge his knights, but the reaver rear charge was enough to do it on their own and his knights route. My skeletons counter charge his archers and route them. My ghouls flank charge his other horde and the vamp on dragon hits them in the front. Good damage was done, but they hold.
End of Turn 9: I forgot to take a picture here, but his left side horde hits the revenants, and again rolls snake eyes! His trebs don't hit anything else the whole game (as I predicted). He was pin cushioning my liche king, but regen saved him over and over again. His right side horde counter charges the ghouls and routes them.
End of turn 10: My left side forces slam into his horde and route them. My dragon positions to flame his right side horde, but fails to route.
At this point, we had to call the game. Current score: Undead - 760, Kingdom of Men - 655.
Result - Tie.
All in all, it was a very smooth game. The only major hiccup we had was when I tried to surge the reavers. Other than that, the only thing we needed to catch was pivot limits for characters. We did have a few LoS cover questions pop up. I will post on the Mantic forums to get some answers there. But for the most part, the game went well and quick. With only one turn left for each of us, I could see him sending off the revenants with bow shots. They had more damage done to them than Nerve and only were there by the grace of snake eyes. I am not sure if I could get any more points out. My dragon might be able to reach his trebs, but I think my left side forces were too far from anything else. So I think a tie would have taken place anyways.
Till next time.
So yesterday, I got my first taste of a big game of Kings of War. My friend Nathan and I threw down the gauntlet for our first 2nd edition game. I had mistakenly thought that Nathan had been playing with his brothers, but instead, they had only ran through some specific scenarios, instead of playing a full game.
So here we were, with our first game of the new edition. Cherries were popped. I was running Undead, mostly because the army was still on movement trays and it took the least amount of work to get ready. Nathan fielded a Kingdom of Men army, represented by his awesome looking Bretonnians.
My forces (bottom of pic) reading left to right: Soul Reaver Cav troop with pathfinder item, skeleton spear regiment, catapult, liche king, revenant reg with stealth item, necro with heal, zombie horde with +1 hit item, BSB, skeleton regiment, necro with bane change, ghouls, werewolf horde with phalanx item, and vamp on dragon with +1 armor item. Every unit that could have the rat upgrade did except for the skeletons without spears.
Nathan's forces (top), reading left to right as best as I can remember: Knight reg with pathfinder, three archer troops with a spearmen horde behind with +1 to hit, mounted wizard with wind, archer horde with jar, mounted BSB, two catapults, mounted general behind tower with +1armor, spearmen horde with CS(1), archer troop with a foot wizard with lighting behind, and a knight regiment with elite.
End to turn 1: he moved some stuff, and his trebuchets both hit my catapult and sent it back to the afterlife. He also put a wound on the zombie horde and two on the werewolves.
End of Turn 2: I moved some stuff up, surged a few units, and my werewolves were in charge range of his knights.
End of turn 3: He moved up some more, shot me a bit here and there, both trebs missed (as I foretold) and his right side knights backed up. Our left side knights were doing the "just out of range dance"
End of turn 4: I made a huge goof here and thought I could surge my vamps into his knights. We had actually gone through the combat and I had even routed his knights...and then had to take it all back as I realized my mistake. I was able to take out two of his archer troops and then threaten the third. However, the resulting free pivot for my revenants was done after I thought his knights were gone, and I forgot to reposition them once they were back on the field.
End of Turn 5: His left side knights charge the flank of the revenants but fail to route them. His left horde of spears and general hit the zombies, but fail to route them. His right side knights continue their retreat dance. But he shifts his archers over to help.
End of Turn 6: The revs and spear skels charge his knights while my soul reavers reposition for a charge. My zombies countercharge and my skels charge his general. Not wanting his right side archers to block a charge, I take the risk to hit them with the werewolves, positioning my general to breath attack his knights. No routes occured.
End of turn 7: His knights charge the revs, but rolls snake eyes on the route. His spear horde and general sends the zombies off, and his archer troop charges the skeletons. His knights charge the werewolves and then proceeds to roll an 11 which is just enough to route them! My inspiring vamp is too far away.
End of turn 8: I triple charge his knights, but the reaver rear charge was enough to do it on their own and his knights route. My skeletons counter charge his archers and route them. My ghouls flank charge his other horde and the vamp on dragon hits them in the front. Good damage was done, but they hold.
End of Turn 9: I forgot to take a picture here, but his left side horde hits the revenants, and again rolls snake eyes! His trebs don't hit anything else the whole game (as I predicted). He was pin cushioning my liche king, but regen saved him over and over again. His right side horde counter charges the ghouls and routes them.
End of turn 10: My left side forces slam into his horde and route them. My dragon positions to flame his right side horde, but fails to route.
At this point, we had to call the game. Current score: Undead - 760, Kingdom of Men - 655.
Result - Tie.
All in all, it was a very smooth game. The only major hiccup we had was when I tried to surge the reavers. Other than that, the only thing we needed to catch was pivot limits for characters. We did have a few LoS cover questions pop up. I will post on the Mantic forums to get some answers there. But for the most part, the game went well and quick. With only one turn left for each of us, I could see him sending off the revenants with bow shots. They had more damage done to them than Nerve and only were there by the grace of snake eyes. I am not sure if I could get any more points out. My dragon might be able to reach his trebs, but I think my left side forces were too far from anything else. So I think a tie would have taken place anyways.
Till next time.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Kings of War tonight
Hello Sports Fans,
So I am finally back from vacation and getting ready to hop back into the thick of it. Tonight I meet a friend on the field of KoW. Nathan is an experienced WFB player and though it pains me to say it, a fairly bright sort, even moreso than me. :(
However, I have somehow kept an edge on him when playing fantasy games. He kicks the holy crap out of me in 40K though. He has been trying out KoW 2 since the fall of Fantasy Battles. At this point, he probably has more experience with actually KoW2 games than I do. However, I have full confidence in my luck that it will carry the day and let me win regardless of how much better of a general he is than I. :)
On the building front, not much has been done. Mostly because I have been out of town. I did put in quite a bit of time building movement trays though. I was using the GW custom trays and then using a adhesive magnetic card to go on top. For the most part it works well, even with models not yet magnetized.
What I have been doing lately is adding to my collection. That seems to be a step that is always in my hobby process. Recently I just picked up some warmaster models. First off, I love Warmaster as a game. Probably the best game GW has ever produced. Second, I think I will be able to use Warmaster models to play KoW2. Think of the armies you could array on a standard table using that scale? Gives me goosebumps. Sure, the base dimensions don't quite work out, but I think it can work for the most part with just minor tweaking. Also, I've doubled my Empire army with a major purchase and had added to my beastmen as well.
Painting wise, I've done just a little work on my Planetfall models. I should be able to find some time this weekend to finish up a few and then can post pics.
For the most part, I'm at peace with my hobby. I'm enjoying it again, which is its main purpose to begin with. There are a few ripples on the water though and for once, it isn't my fault. Many of my friends who were WFB players are trying to find a new hobby game. The problem is that they are all picking different ones. Some are indeed trying KoW2, but some are switching over to skirmish games as well. On the one hand, it is great to see people branch out, but on the other hand, I don't own those games...and now I'm being tempted to buy in so that I can play too. Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a gamer.
Well, that is all for now. See you guys next time.
So I am finally back from vacation and getting ready to hop back into the thick of it. Tonight I meet a friend on the field of KoW. Nathan is an experienced WFB player and though it pains me to say it, a fairly bright sort, even moreso than me. :(
However, I have somehow kept an edge on him when playing fantasy games. He kicks the holy crap out of me in 40K though. He has been trying out KoW 2 since the fall of Fantasy Battles. At this point, he probably has more experience with actually KoW2 games than I do. However, I have full confidence in my luck that it will carry the day and let me win regardless of how much better of a general he is than I. :)
On the building front, not much has been done. Mostly because I have been out of town. I did put in quite a bit of time building movement trays though. I was using the GW custom trays and then using a adhesive magnetic card to go on top. For the most part it works well, even with models not yet magnetized.
What I have been doing lately is adding to my collection. That seems to be a step that is always in my hobby process. Recently I just picked up some warmaster models. First off, I love Warmaster as a game. Probably the best game GW has ever produced. Second, I think I will be able to use Warmaster models to play KoW2. Think of the armies you could array on a standard table using that scale? Gives me goosebumps. Sure, the base dimensions don't quite work out, but I think it can work for the most part with just minor tweaking. Also, I've doubled my Empire army with a major purchase and had added to my beastmen as well.
Painting wise, I've done just a little work on my Planetfall models. I should be able to find some time this weekend to finish up a few and then can post pics.
For the most part, I'm at peace with my hobby. I'm enjoying it again, which is its main purpose to begin with. There are a few ripples on the water though and for once, it isn't my fault. Many of my friends who were WFB players are trying to find a new hobby game. The problem is that they are all picking different ones. Some are indeed trying KoW2, but some are switching over to skirmish games as well. On the one hand, it is great to see people branch out, but on the other hand, I don't own those games...and now I'm being tempted to buy in so that I can play too. Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a gamer.
Well, that is all for now. See you guys next time.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Flashback!
So here's a little something I wrote about 6 years ago.
Witch Hunters by Brother Glacius
So, here we are at the dreaded crossroads of GW hobbies once again. This is a place every GW gamer eventually finds themselves. The big question of course is, do I start a new army? To the right of you, your last army that could use a new unit or two. To the left, that army still in blisters and boxes that you were really excited about for a good month, but then lost interest. Straight ahead, fueled by the propaganda giant that is GW, is the prospect of a new army. If you are like me, most of the time when you find yourself standing in this place, you choose the fourth option…and that’s to turn around and go hide under your bed for a while. But no…sometimes you have to move on.
Being an avid Warhammer Fantasy player for some time, my dark future side was getting a little dusty. A break from the swords and sorcery was needed. An lo, out there on the horizon, a new Codex was calling…Witch Hunters….Witch Hunters…and it was much louder than the little voice off to the left saying “what about the Tau you wanted to start…” which was quickly silenced with a quick bolter round. Foul blasphemous alien scum. The Righteous fury of the faithful will not be silenced. Run and hide heretic, for your doom stalks you.
And so, with a quick check to the bank account, a purchase was made! I was hoping to buy the new codex…but the foul winds of retail did not blow in my favor…out of stock! One movie later, with even more grim determination, I strode back into the store with one burning question on my mind…”have you got anything for Witch Hunters?” And yes! They did. A quick swipe with the plastic and I was the proud owner of a Sisters of Battle Squad. Personally, I think your bank card should get shaved down a little each time its swiped so you have an idea that your money is going away. But it really didn’t matter…new figures were mine!
Sisters of Battle Squad – 10 figures including Sister Superior and two special weapon sisters. Retail price $35.00. You know, I remember a time when I could buy a GW product without wincing…
All metal figures, no duplicate poses. Sweet. I’m pretty impressed with this squad. All the figures look great.
Now the die is cast…you can’t just buy one squad. See, that’s the real trap of GW. If you can stick to getting the Codex first…you should. The reason being is that you can always justify your purchase by saying you just want to know your enemy. But buying figs…that’s the death knell of your will power. So here I am with my first step to a new army for 40K, a step I have not taken in quite a long time (but what about the Ta...BANG!)
So I welcome you to join me on this journey down the dark path that is GW. Traveler beware.
Part 2: Army Design
So, there I am, staring Witch Hunters in the cover…what to do, what to do? I needed a theme for my army. I had to come up with an idea that the force would be built around. I knew I wanted an Inquisitor Lord. After about three days of on and off thinking…finally came up with Nostramus, Inquisitor Nostramus. I like it. But what kind of man is Nostramus? Immediately the thought of him using the sisters for his own ends popped into my head. He liked them because they were competent and fanatical…a rare mix. Even better, he could control them. So right there, I knew the army was going to have Sisters in it, but not as the main theme for the army. No, the Inquisitor was in charge, and he used his men to achieve his ends…no matter the cost. Throw away Sisters doesn’t seem right.
Thus, you’d think Imperial guard might be a good element to add to the army. Yes and no. On the one hand, they are cheap…and plentiful. However, they are rather soft and squishy. Nostramus doesn’t like soft and squishy…besides, guard are too easily swayed by the heretic. No, only inquisition storm troopers would satisfy his needs. And before I knew it…I had my first 500pts planned out.
Inquisitor Lord and Retinue………………………………………………………200pts.
Sisters of Battle squad…………………………………………………………….150pts.
Storm Troopers……………………………………………………………………150pts.
To make it easy on me, I decided to equip the troops just like they come in the box. Saves me a bit of cash since I don’t need to buy additional figures too. For the inquisitor, all but one of the figures will be used. Not bad. $105.00 though for three $35 box sets. Ouch. Again with the wincing. But for now, we just have the sisters and the other two will wait until they are done painted.
Now originally, I had wanted transports for these units, but two things stopped that idea. One, I didn’t have the points. I would need at least another 170pts to transport all three groups. Two, it is even more money. Wince. Transports aren’t cheap to buy. And worst of all, they don’t sell a Sisters of Battle Rhino kit. I want my Sisters to travel in style, and I’m not about to buy overpriced bits from Forgeworld either. So for now, transports are out, and footslogging is in.
So at this point, we have a plan. We have an army. And we even have some figures. We also have a promise to the wife-unit that we won’t buy any new figures until we paint the ones we have. So it’s on to painting the sisters! Up next, how I decided on the color scheme and the step-by-step painting process.
Part 3: Painting Sisters
Welcome back gentle readers. Today we look at the incredibly detailed and scientific process of how I choose the color scheme for my Sisters of Battle figures. First step, attach the color wheel to the dartboard…okay…just kidding. Actually, the first thing I did was look at the White Dwarf articles on the Witch Hunters and then at the painting section of the Witch Hunter Codex. GW’s web page on the army had some painting tips there too. Now some of you sharp people might be saying, “I thought he didn’t buy the Codex?” Well I didn’t, but I did borrow one, so there.
Anyways, so now I’m looking at the official paint schemes for the sisters. I really don’t want to copy simply what GW has already done. Its not that they don’t look good, but I like to be a little original. However, I don’t want them looking silly either. Gold armor at first really appealed to me. But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that was being a bit too high and mighty. A whole unit with gold armor? What makes them so special? Could I justify that over a whole army? No way. But I do like gold…so it will stay on as a trim.
So we are back to square one…what color for the armor? Well, after looking back and forth at models and schemes, I finally settled on one I saw in the Codex. In the back of the book, they have a special character done in red armor, with gold trim, and white cloth. Wow, what a great look. The red is nice and flashy and really stands out. The gold gives it that oomph that says, “We have style”. And the white cloth really contrasts very well and helps to give it the clean and virtuous look. And with that, I have my color scheme.
Going back to the codex, I notice the Order of the Bloody Rose is pretty close in colors. They have the red armor, but use black for their cloth and gold for the trim. Fairly darn close to what I want. A quick read into the background for the Order is done. Not bad at all. I like my armies to fit into the current history of the universe. So making my Sisters an offshoot of the Bloody Rose sounds good.
So I grabbed my trusty can of black spray primer and set for the outdoors with my sisters in a big cardboard tray/box type thingy. Now personally, I think I over-prime. I like every inch of that figure to be coated. So after about an hour’s time, I had all 10 sisters and their backpacks primed black. I chose black because its 40K, and things tend to be dark. Also, I’m not a great shader. Dry brushing is my friend. I know lots of the painting snobs look down at dry brushing, but I don’t’ care. If it looks good to me, then I’m happy. And really, that’s all that should matter, unless you want that Best Painted Trophy.
A day or so later, I talked to an excellent painter about my sisters and the color scheme I wanted to do. His advice was to prime them red. Crap. So I’m not re-priming my figures. However, as I’ll have to do other sisters down the line, I’ll probably give it a go then. Pics of the lovely ladies in black are soon to follow.
Part 4: A Bump in the Road
Hmmmmm finding time to paint amongst all my slacking is proving to be quite difficult. I have started on a figure though. I tried to go thru and put down the red on the armor sections. Now maybe it’s just me, but I’m finding it kind of difficult to nail down the sections I need to paint red. Which means I’m actually going to grab the codex and look at the painting section. Also, an issue of WD had a good article on painting sisters, which I will look over. I’m more of a visual learner, so having reference materials is a great way to keep me focused.
I also need a new Inquisitor name. As fate, and GW’s odd pricing policy goes, I didn’t get the Inquisitor boxed set. I was able to pick up similar figs in blisters for much cheaper. So I did. But that has now left me with a slightly smaller retinue, but most importantly, a female Inquisitor. As cool as Nostramus is, it doesn’t fit a female model. This may seem like a minor thing, but it can actually be very important. For me, a big part of an army is the inspiration for it. The connection I feel with the army directly affects how much I want to play it. Which in turn, affects how much I want to paint it.
So now I have a female inquisitor. I had always thought of Nostramus as a guy’s guy. While he respected what the Sisters of Battle could do…he always thought less of them simply due to the fact that they were women. Well, that would hardly stay true for a female inquisitor. But first things first…a name. I like my names to be inspired as well. Right off the bat, looking at the figure, we have kind of a 19th century thing going on. Big hair, regal manor…I’m thinking Russian nobility. A quick google search brings me to a web site with the 90 most common Russian female names. Three pages later, we have it: Nadezhda – pronounced Nah-Deyz-da. Inquisitor Nadezhda…ooooo sends shivers down my spine just saying it. Now for her, she sees the Sisters of Battle as an image of strength for women. Men have their uses, but if you want a job done, then a woman is called for. There is no room for weakness in her army. She is cold, hard…Russian.
And just like that, the whole theme of my army has changed. Where once we had a hard inquisitor that was going to rely on storm troopers and simply use the sisters, we now have one that relies on the strength of the sisters to win the day. This really won’t affect the first 500pts for my army. However, it will impact the units I select further on. For instance, now it seems fitting to have a unit of Sisters Repentia in the force. Where Nostramus wouldn’t really care about the fate of a sister that had fallen from grace, Nadezhda does, and thus ensures that those sisters have a chance to redeem themselves in battle.
This will also mean adding more specialized sister units to the roster and most likely, SoB vehicles as well. Since I didn’t have huge plans drawn out for my army yet, a change like this isn’t too much of a big deal. There were certain units I had already decided that I wanted in the army, regardless of theme. But now what this change in theme does, is allow me to use different auxiliary units to fit the new concept. Army composition is a tricky thing. Not only does an army need to fit your play style, but it should also fit your visualization for it. I think its very critical to know what you want your army to look like, and have it fit your play style. As I said before, the greater the connection you make with your army, the more enthused you will be to paint it, and play it.
Painting pics soon…I promise.
Yeah, nothing has really changed has it?
Witch Hunters by Brother Glacius
So, here we are at the dreaded crossroads of GW hobbies once again. This is a place every GW gamer eventually finds themselves. The big question of course is, do I start a new army? To the right of you, your last army that could use a new unit or two. To the left, that army still in blisters and boxes that you were really excited about for a good month, but then lost interest. Straight ahead, fueled by the propaganda giant that is GW, is the prospect of a new army. If you are like me, most of the time when you find yourself standing in this place, you choose the fourth option…and that’s to turn around and go hide under your bed for a while. But no…sometimes you have to move on.
Being an avid Warhammer Fantasy player for some time, my dark future side was getting a little dusty. A break from the swords and sorcery was needed. An lo, out there on the horizon, a new Codex was calling…Witch Hunters….Witch Hunters…and it was much louder than the little voice off to the left saying “what about the Tau you wanted to start…” which was quickly silenced with a quick bolter round. Foul blasphemous alien scum. The Righteous fury of the faithful will not be silenced. Run and hide heretic, for your doom stalks you.
And so, with a quick check to the bank account, a purchase was made! I was hoping to buy the new codex…but the foul winds of retail did not blow in my favor…out of stock! One movie later, with even more grim determination, I strode back into the store with one burning question on my mind…”have you got anything for Witch Hunters?” And yes! They did. A quick swipe with the plastic and I was the proud owner of a Sisters of Battle Squad. Personally, I think your bank card should get shaved down a little each time its swiped so you have an idea that your money is going away. But it really didn’t matter…new figures were mine!
Sisters of Battle Squad – 10 figures including Sister Superior and two special weapon sisters. Retail price $35.00. You know, I remember a time when I could buy a GW product without wincing…
All metal figures, no duplicate poses. Sweet. I’m pretty impressed with this squad. All the figures look great.
Now the die is cast…you can’t just buy one squad. See, that’s the real trap of GW. If you can stick to getting the Codex first…you should. The reason being is that you can always justify your purchase by saying you just want to know your enemy. But buying figs…that’s the death knell of your will power. So here I am with my first step to a new army for 40K, a step I have not taken in quite a long time (but what about the Ta...BANG!)
So I welcome you to join me on this journey down the dark path that is GW. Traveler beware.
Part 2: Army Design
So, there I am, staring Witch Hunters in the cover…what to do, what to do? I needed a theme for my army. I had to come up with an idea that the force would be built around. I knew I wanted an Inquisitor Lord. After about three days of on and off thinking…finally came up with Nostramus, Inquisitor Nostramus. I like it. But what kind of man is Nostramus? Immediately the thought of him using the sisters for his own ends popped into my head. He liked them because they were competent and fanatical…a rare mix. Even better, he could control them. So right there, I knew the army was going to have Sisters in it, but not as the main theme for the army. No, the Inquisitor was in charge, and he used his men to achieve his ends…no matter the cost. Throw away Sisters doesn’t seem right.
Thus, you’d think Imperial guard might be a good element to add to the army. Yes and no. On the one hand, they are cheap…and plentiful. However, they are rather soft and squishy. Nostramus doesn’t like soft and squishy…besides, guard are too easily swayed by the heretic. No, only inquisition storm troopers would satisfy his needs. And before I knew it…I had my first 500pts planned out.
Inquisitor Lord and Retinue………………………………………………………200pts.
Sisters of Battle squad…………………………………………………………….150pts.
Storm Troopers……………………………………………………………………150pts.
To make it easy on me, I decided to equip the troops just like they come in the box. Saves me a bit of cash since I don’t need to buy additional figures too. For the inquisitor, all but one of the figures will be used. Not bad. $105.00 though for three $35 box sets. Ouch. Again with the wincing. But for now, we just have the sisters and the other two will wait until they are done painted.
Now originally, I had wanted transports for these units, but two things stopped that idea. One, I didn’t have the points. I would need at least another 170pts to transport all three groups. Two, it is even more money. Wince. Transports aren’t cheap to buy. And worst of all, they don’t sell a Sisters of Battle Rhino kit. I want my Sisters to travel in style, and I’m not about to buy overpriced bits from Forgeworld either. So for now, transports are out, and footslogging is in.
So at this point, we have a plan. We have an army. And we even have some figures. We also have a promise to the wife-unit that we won’t buy any new figures until we paint the ones we have. So it’s on to painting the sisters! Up next, how I decided on the color scheme and the step-by-step painting process.
Part 3: Painting Sisters
Welcome back gentle readers. Today we look at the incredibly detailed and scientific process of how I choose the color scheme for my Sisters of Battle figures. First step, attach the color wheel to the dartboard…okay…just kidding. Actually, the first thing I did was look at the White Dwarf articles on the Witch Hunters and then at the painting section of the Witch Hunter Codex. GW’s web page on the army had some painting tips there too. Now some of you sharp people might be saying, “I thought he didn’t buy the Codex?” Well I didn’t, but I did borrow one, so there.
Anyways, so now I’m looking at the official paint schemes for the sisters. I really don’t want to copy simply what GW has already done. Its not that they don’t look good, but I like to be a little original. However, I don’t want them looking silly either. Gold armor at first really appealed to me. But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that was being a bit too high and mighty. A whole unit with gold armor? What makes them so special? Could I justify that over a whole army? No way. But I do like gold…so it will stay on as a trim.
So we are back to square one…what color for the armor? Well, after looking back and forth at models and schemes, I finally settled on one I saw in the Codex. In the back of the book, they have a special character done in red armor, with gold trim, and white cloth. Wow, what a great look. The red is nice and flashy and really stands out. The gold gives it that oomph that says, “We have style”. And the white cloth really contrasts very well and helps to give it the clean and virtuous look. And with that, I have my color scheme.
Going back to the codex, I notice the Order of the Bloody Rose is pretty close in colors. They have the red armor, but use black for their cloth and gold for the trim. Fairly darn close to what I want. A quick read into the background for the Order is done. Not bad at all. I like my armies to fit into the current history of the universe. So making my Sisters an offshoot of the Bloody Rose sounds good.
So I grabbed my trusty can of black spray primer and set for the outdoors with my sisters in a big cardboard tray/box type thingy. Now personally, I think I over-prime. I like every inch of that figure to be coated. So after about an hour’s time, I had all 10 sisters and their backpacks primed black. I chose black because its 40K, and things tend to be dark. Also, I’m not a great shader. Dry brushing is my friend. I know lots of the painting snobs look down at dry brushing, but I don’t’ care. If it looks good to me, then I’m happy. And really, that’s all that should matter, unless you want that Best Painted Trophy.
A day or so later, I talked to an excellent painter about my sisters and the color scheme I wanted to do. His advice was to prime them red. Crap. So I’m not re-priming my figures. However, as I’ll have to do other sisters down the line, I’ll probably give it a go then. Pics of the lovely ladies in black are soon to follow.
Part 4: A Bump in the Road
Hmmmmm finding time to paint amongst all my slacking is proving to be quite difficult. I have started on a figure though. I tried to go thru and put down the red on the armor sections. Now maybe it’s just me, but I’m finding it kind of difficult to nail down the sections I need to paint red. Which means I’m actually going to grab the codex and look at the painting section. Also, an issue of WD had a good article on painting sisters, which I will look over. I’m more of a visual learner, so having reference materials is a great way to keep me focused.
I also need a new Inquisitor name. As fate, and GW’s odd pricing policy goes, I didn’t get the Inquisitor boxed set. I was able to pick up similar figs in blisters for much cheaper. So I did. But that has now left me with a slightly smaller retinue, but most importantly, a female Inquisitor. As cool as Nostramus is, it doesn’t fit a female model. This may seem like a minor thing, but it can actually be very important. For me, a big part of an army is the inspiration for it. The connection I feel with the army directly affects how much I want to play it. Which in turn, affects how much I want to paint it.
So now I have a female inquisitor. I had always thought of Nostramus as a guy’s guy. While he respected what the Sisters of Battle could do…he always thought less of them simply due to the fact that they were women. Well, that would hardly stay true for a female inquisitor. But first things first…a name. I like my names to be inspired as well. Right off the bat, looking at the figure, we have kind of a 19th century thing going on. Big hair, regal manor…I’m thinking Russian nobility. A quick google search brings me to a web site with the 90 most common Russian female names. Three pages later, we have it: Nadezhda – pronounced Nah-Deyz-da. Inquisitor Nadezhda…ooooo sends shivers down my spine just saying it. Now for her, she sees the Sisters of Battle as an image of strength for women. Men have their uses, but if you want a job done, then a woman is called for. There is no room for weakness in her army. She is cold, hard…Russian.
And just like that, the whole theme of my army has changed. Where once we had a hard inquisitor that was going to rely on storm troopers and simply use the sisters, we now have one that relies on the strength of the sisters to win the day. This really won’t affect the first 500pts for my army. However, it will impact the units I select further on. For instance, now it seems fitting to have a unit of Sisters Repentia in the force. Where Nostramus wouldn’t really care about the fate of a sister that had fallen from grace, Nadezhda does, and thus ensures that those sisters have a chance to redeem themselves in battle.
This will also mean adding more specialized sister units to the roster and most likely, SoB vehicles as well. Since I didn’t have huge plans drawn out for my army yet, a change like this isn’t too much of a big deal. There were certain units I had already decided that I wanted in the army, regardless of theme. But now what this change in theme does, is allow me to use different auxiliary units to fit the new concept. Army composition is a tricky thing. Not only does an army need to fit your play style, but it should also fit your visualization for it. I think its very critical to know what you want your army to look like, and have it fit your play style. As I said before, the greater the connection you make with your army, the more enthused you will be to paint it, and play it.
Painting pics soon…I promise.
Yeah, nothing has really changed has it?
Monday, July 27, 2015
Call to arms in Ostermark!
As I stated last time, I was able to get a small Empire army for a very good price. That has then led me down the road to collecting more models so that I can expand my options. Also, I have to say, I really like the Empire. I think it is a good solid army with lots of ways to build it.
As such, I have decided to make it my next tournament ready army. I'm going to be focusing my attention on building, painting, and playing the Empire. I've decided to build an Ostermark army. These poor guys are just under Kislev and just over Sylvania. So they have to be the most battle-hardened troops in the whole Empire. Also, the paint scheme of purple and yellow seems fairly interesting to me. I'm going to go for more deluded shades, and will probably spend quite a lot of time finding just the right colors to use.
Should be an interesting project for me. I was very lucky in that my local store still had the latest empire boxed army in their inventory. I was able to snag all of the latest plastics in one shot, and got to support my favorite store to boot. The only thing I really have left to buy/trade for will be more plastic greatswords, and some wizard options.
Also, I have a slew of games to use these guys in. I can play warhammer 8th edition, kings of war, or even age of sigmar. That should help keep me focused on working on these guys and getting them ready. Now when I say tournament ready, what I really mean is OFCC ready. The OFCC is an event that I helped start with my club many years ago as a way for gamers to bring armies they really wanted to bring, with the focus on fun instead of winning. It has grown quite a bit and morphed from time to time, but is still, at its heart, an event as opposed to a typical tournament. This year's event just wrapped up, so I basically have a year to get this done.
My big challenge is how do I make the bases? You see I'd really like to make stand out bases for this army. However, that really isn't my forte. Plus, that means taking everyone that is currently built and getting them off of their bases. Still...if I can think of something, I just have to do it...you know..expand my hobby skills. :)
As such, I have decided to make it my next tournament ready army. I'm going to be focusing my attention on building, painting, and playing the Empire. I've decided to build an Ostermark army. These poor guys are just under Kislev and just over Sylvania. So they have to be the most battle-hardened troops in the whole Empire. Also, the paint scheme of purple and yellow seems fairly interesting to me. I'm going to go for more deluded shades, and will probably spend quite a lot of time finding just the right colors to use.
Should be an interesting project for me. I was very lucky in that my local store still had the latest empire boxed army in their inventory. I was able to snag all of the latest plastics in one shot, and got to support my favorite store to boot. The only thing I really have left to buy/trade for will be more plastic greatswords, and some wizard options.
Also, I have a slew of games to use these guys in. I can play warhammer 8th edition, kings of war, or even age of sigmar. That should help keep me focused on working on these guys and getting them ready. Now when I say tournament ready, what I really mean is OFCC ready. The OFCC is an event that I helped start with my club many years ago as a way for gamers to bring armies they really wanted to bring, with the focus on fun instead of winning. It has grown quite a bit and morphed from time to time, but is still, at its heart, an event as opposed to a typical tournament. This year's event just wrapped up, so I basically have a year to get this done.
My big challenge is how do I make the bases? You see I'd really like to make stand out bases for this army. However, that really isn't my forte. Plus, that means taking everyone that is currently built and getting them off of their bases. Still...if I can think of something, I just have to do it...you know..expand my hobby skills. :)
Friday, July 24, 2015
July has been really hot
Global warming...that's right, its real, and its here. Sheesh. Since when does my part of the country hit 100 degrees on multiple days? Ugh. My poor AC unit has been working overtime.
So besides that, what's been going on? Well, I've done some progress on my Planetfall models. Nothing new has been completed yet, but I am getting closer. I should probably take the next cool day and prime some new models while I'm at it, just to be able to work on the next thing. That is how close I am....kind of exciting.
As far as playing, well that hasn't gone so well. My schedule just hasn't worked out for me to get in games with the rest of the community around here. However, I am hoping to do some Kings of War v2 soon. I may even toss down for some AoS.
Where the world shifted to the left quite a bit was my building schedule. I had originally planned to put together my militarum tempestus stuff. However, this small part of my brain which doesn't normally speak up, decided to send the thought through my head that I have too much stuff. Turns out it was right. So I'm currently selling a small portion of my collection. And the first thing that hit the door was my MT models. I just didn't have enough to build an army with it and while it would be fine as a allied detachment, I have plenty of full armies that need assembling.
Now of course, in typical fashion however, I was presented with a sweet deal on some empire models. Now I had owned empire many many moons ago when they had that Middenheim box army. I should never have sold that.
But I did....but now I had an opportunity to pick up close to a 2000pt army, new models, assembled...pretty cheap. Even came with the book. Now I've really liked the Empire army since 8th came out...I thought was was well done....not a top tier army, but a good middle ground army with lots of interesting builds. So while I ditched one army....I have acquired another. And since it is a fantasy army...I'm probably going to expand it out and end up with close to 3000+ points. It isn't hard to do really.
Plus, I can use it for KoW, so that's another reason I don't mind owning more fantasy armies. :)
I did decide to sell off my deadzone stuff. Ever since the kickstarter, it has just been sitting there. So might as well let someone else have it. Plus it is funding my Empire expansion :)
So besides that, what's been going on? Well, I've done some progress on my Planetfall models. Nothing new has been completed yet, but I am getting closer. I should probably take the next cool day and prime some new models while I'm at it, just to be able to work on the next thing. That is how close I am....kind of exciting.
As far as playing, well that hasn't gone so well. My schedule just hasn't worked out for me to get in games with the rest of the community around here. However, I am hoping to do some Kings of War v2 soon. I may even toss down for some AoS.
Where the world shifted to the left quite a bit was my building schedule. I had originally planned to put together my militarum tempestus stuff. However, this small part of my brain which doesn't normally speak up, decided to send the thought through my head that I have too much stuff. Turns out it was right. So I'm currently selling a small portion of my collection. And the first thing that hit the door was my MT models. I just didn't have enough to build an army with it and while it would be fine as a allied detachment, I have plenty of full armies that need assembling.
Now of course, in typical fashion however, I was presented with a sweet deal on some empire models. Now I had owned empire many many moons ago when they had that Middenheim box army. I should never have sold that.
But I did....but now I had an opportunity to pick up close to a 2000pt army, new models, assembled...pretty cheap. Even came with the book. Now I've really liked the Empire army since 8th came out...I thought was was well done....not a top tier army, but a good middle ground army with lots of interesting builds. So while I ditched one army....I have acquired another. And since it is a fantasy army...I'm probably going to expand it out and end up with close to 3000+ points. It isn't hard to do really.
Plus, I can use it for KoW, so that's another reason I don't mind owning more fantasy armies. :)
I did decide to sell off my deadzone stuff. Ever since the kickstarter, it has just been sitting there. So might as well let someone else have it. Plus it is funding my Empire expansion :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Age of Sigmar
Hey peoples,
So this post is going to be a little different. Today I want to share my thoughts on the latest release by Games Workshop, the new Age of Sigmar game. First off, I need to throw down a little background for myself.
I started playing Rogue Trader way back in the late 80's. During that time, I saw that GW had a fantasy game, and it looked interesting. But it also looked like a ton of models, so I didn't get into it. Fast forward several years and fourth edition. One of my college buddies started playing this game, and told me I should give it a try (1994?ish). I picked up the undead book because the thought of playing a necromancer summoning the dead seemed really cool. However, I didn't understand the rules when I looked over the book, and thinking that they were similar to 2nd ed 40K, I passed on them, and instead got drawn in by the super cool looking wood elf dragon that had just been released (still have that model).
From there I began my descent into Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Over the years, my collection has grown quite a bit. Where once I had a small wood elf army, now I own six large armies, and have bought and sold several throughout the years. In the late 90's, I really got into it, pulling several new friends into the game, running events at local game stores, and eventually going to Grand Tournaments. It was my favorite game.
Something happened though during 7th edition that took the game off of its pedestal. Part of it was the popularity of the game, and the big push into competitive gaming. The other part was me being too competitive and no longer playing for fun, but to win. Eventually it got to the point where I just needed to stop. Since then I have played from time to time, keeping up with the armies that I own and trying to find fun in the game again. 8th edition is okay. I'm not thrilled with some of the meta out there, and I don't care for the magic so much (needs some tweaking), but all in all, a good game.
Just recently GW released the End Times, and at first, I thought it was the greatest thing. I loved the Nagash book. A combined undead army and an interesting story line was just perfect. However, as the rest of the books came out, it got more and more clear that something was up. I really hated how much the good armies were getting trounced and I kept waiting for the balance to settle in.
At the end, I was extremely upset. They had taken this world that I had invested myself in for the last 20 years and literally blew it up. Already I have not been a fan of GW's policies over the years...and now they dared to ruin the very game I loved. So yeah, AoS was not received with open arms.
But here it is, and while the cement hasn't dried just yet, it looks like the time of Fantasy Battle has indeed come to its bitter end. No more rank and file...no 9th edition. What we have is Age of Sigmar.
Sigmar is the epitome of my love/hate relationship with GW. On the one hand, I hate the loss of rank and file, but I do love the dynamic posing of the round bases. I hate the total lack of point values for models, but find most of the unit rules to be intriguing. The fact that the rules are free is great. However, the silly rules for the existing models is a slap to the face. As I look at the game and see the plan that GW has laid out for it, it makes me want to go "that's cool" and then kick them in the nuts.
Even though I know that GW did not make the game for me...it still hurts. I do try to be objective about it. GW is trying to re-energize fantasy. But you know, that isn't even right. They really aren't trying to fix fantasy. They are simply trying to capitalize on their previous fantasy IP, and launch a new product to sell to new players. I am not their target audience.
How is this talking about Age of Sigmar exactly? Well, its simply hard for me to separate how I feel about GW, and how I feel about the game. The game is simple. Take that as a positive or a negative. The rules for units are free and there are some interesting things in there. I am mostly a VC player, and I really liked the stuff I saw. That being said, the rules that the "war scrolls" sit upon are, in my opinion, too basic. I think GW could have easily included an "Advanced Ruleset" in the AoS starter to fix some of the glaring issues. I mean this company has been producing these games for almost 30 years. AoS just falls too short. Combine that with the knowledge that my current collections are going to be obsolete soon, it makes it really hard to support this game. And since GW isn't talking about the future, we are left to speculate if this is it, or with AoS evolve into something more.
What this adds up to for me, is that GW has had its chance. I want to support a company that wants to support me. GW simply doesn't do that. Their actions make me feel like they don't care about me at all. And no amount of shiny new models is going to change that. For plenty of people, it does, and they will keep on going supporting GW. Luckily for me, there are lots of other games out there.
So bottom line, AoS isn't for me. I will probably give it a run or two just to say that I have. But it doesn't fill the gaping hole left by WFB.
So this post is going to be a little different. Today I want to share my thoughts on the latest release by Games Workshop, the new Age of Sigmar game. First off, I need to throw down a little background for myself.
I started playing Rogue Trader way back in the late 80's. During that time, I saw that GW had a fantasy game, and it looked interesting. But it also looked like a ton of models, so I didn't get into it. Fast forward several years and fourth edition. One of my college buddies started playing this game, and told me I should give it a try (1994?ish). I picked up the undead book because the thought of playing a necromancer summoning the dead seemed really cool. However, I didn't understand the rules when I looked over the book, and thinking that they were similar to 2nd ed 40K, I passed on them, and instead got drawn in by the super cool looking wood elf dragon that had just been released (still have that model).
From there I began my descent into Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Over the years, my collection has grown quite a bit. Where once I had a small wood elf army, now I own six large armies, and have bought and sold several throughout the years. In the late 90's, I really got into it, pulling several new friends into the game, running events at local game stores, and eventually going to Grand Tournaments. It was my favorite game.
Something happened though during 7th edition that took the game off of its pedestal. Part of it was the popularity of the game, and the big push into competitive gaming. The other part was me being too competitive and no longer playing for fun, but to win. Eventually it got to the point where I just needed to stop. Since then I have played from time to time, keeping up with the armies that I own and trying to find fun in the game again. 8th edition is okay. I'm not thrilled with some of the meta out there, and I don't care for the magic so much (needs some tweaking), but all in all, a good game.
Just recently GW released the End Times, and at first, I thought it was the greatest thing. I loved the Nagash book. A combined undead army and an interesting story line was just perfect. However, as the rest of the books came out, it got more and more clear that something was up. I really hated how much the good armies were getting trounced and I kept waiting for the balance to settle in.
At the end, I was extremely upset. They had taken this world that I had invested myself in for the last 20 years and literally blew it up. Already I have not been a fan of GW's policies over the years...and now they dared to ruin the very game I loved. So yeah, AoS was not received with open arms.
But here it is, and while the cement hasn't dried just yet, it looks like the time of Fantasy Battle has indeed come to its bitter end. No more rank and file...no 9th edition. What we have is Age of Sigmar.
Sigmar is the epitome of my love/hate relationship with GW. On the one hand, I hate the loss of rank and file, but I do love the dynamic posing of the round bases. I hate the total lack of point values for models, but find most of the unit rules to be intriguing. The fact that the rules are free is great. However, the silly rules for the existing models is a slap to the face. As I look at the game and see the plan that GW has laid out for it, it makes me want to go "that's cool" and then kick them in the nuts.
Even though I know that GW did not make the game for me...it still hurts. I do try to be objective about it. GW is trying to re-energize fantasy. But you know, that isn't even right. They really aren't trying to fix fantasy. They are simply trying to capitalize on their previous fantasy IP, and launch a new product to sell to new players. I am not their target audience.
How is this talking about Age of Sigmar exactly? Well, its simply hard for me to separate how I feel about GW, and how I feel about the game. The game is simple. Take that as a positive or a negative. The rules for units are free and there are some interesting things in there. I am mostly a VC player, and I really liked the stuff I saw. That being said, the rules that the "war scrolls" sit upon are, in my opinion, too basic. I think GW could have easily included an "Advanced Ruleset" in the AoS starter to fix some of the glaring issues. I mean this company has been producing these games for almost 30 years. AoS just falls too short. Combine that with the knowledge that my current collections are going to be obsolete soon, it makes it really hard to support this game. And since GW isn't talking about the future, we are left to speculate if this is it, or with AoS evolve into something more.
What this adds up to for me, is that GW has had its chance. I want to support a company that wants to support me. GW simply doesn't do that. Their actions make me feel like they don't care about me at all. And no amount of shiny new models is going to change that. For plenty of people, it does, and they will keep on going supporting GW. Luckily for me, there are lots of other games out there.
So bottom line, AoS isn't for me. I will probably give it a run or two just to say that I have. But it doesn't fill the gaping hole left by WFB.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Progress
Hello sports fans,
So I've been working on finding the fun in gaming again and have actually kept to the plan for the most part. I went to my LGS and got in a game of Flames of War. I brought my German DAK force and played against a US rifle army. I need to really read the 3rd edition rules again and many things have changed from last I played. My mini book is falling apart so I need to get that rebound...or just bust out the large book. It was fun though...I still hate those damn teleporting M10s of super cheese, but I'll live with it. :)
Also, I've been getting in some painting. I'm currently working on my Firestorm Planetfall models from the starter set. I've only gotten in a few hours here and there, but it is work, and it was nice. I have all my models and gear in a nice little carry tray. When I have time, I bring it out to the table and get to work. I might only get a few colors on in a single sitting, but it is progress and I'm enjoying it. In fact I can't wait to get the models done. It is so weird. Instead of feeling this need to finish the models, this new tact of just painting when I feel like it is actually creating a sense of anticipation for when the model is done. I like it.
Now the one piece I haven't really done is assembly. I did purchase a few models towards my Militarum Tempestus force. However, after looking at the codex and such...I think I am going to shelf that project for the time being. I think if I am going to work on a force, I'd like to work on something that is a little more complete. I traded/sold all my old DA and Salamander forces in order to get Space Wolf models. I even got a few things already painted. I think with the other models I got from that battle box that GW released, it will be a fun force to put together. I really like the SW models. They have a lot of individuality for being a marine army. So I think I'm going to take an inventory of what I have for the Space Wolves and then come up with a build plan.
So all in all, a good start. I'm enjoying my stuff and not stressing out over anything.
So I've been working on finding the fun in gaming again and have actually kept to the plan for the most part. I went to my LGS and got in a game of Flames of War. I brought my German DAK force and played against a US rifle army. I need to really read the 3rd edition rules again and many things have changed from last I played. My mini book is falling apart so I need to get that rebound...or just bust out the large book. It was fun though...I still hate those damn teleporting M10s of super cheese, but I'll live with it. :)
Also, I've been getting in some painting. I'm currently working on my Firestorm Planetfall models from the starter set. I've only gotten in a few hours here and there, but it is work, and it was nice. I have all my models and gear in a nice little carry tray. When I have time, I bring it out to the table and get to work. I might only get a few colors on in a single sitting, but it is progress and I'm enjoying it. In fact I can't wait to get the models done. It is so weird. Instead of feeling this need to finish the models, this new tact of just painting when I feel like it is actually creating a sense of anticipation for when the model is done. I like it.
Now the one piece I haven't really done is assembly. I did purchase a few models towards my Militarum Tempestus force. However, after looking at the codex and such...I think I am going to shelf that project for the time being. I think if I am going to work on a force, I'd like to work on something that is a little more complete. I traded/sold all my old DA and Salamander forces in order to get Space Wolf models. I even got a few things already painted. I think with the other models I got from that battle box that GW released, it will be a fun force to put together. I really like the SW models. They have a lot of individuality for being a marine army. So I think I'm going to take an inventory of what I have for the Space Wolves and then come up with a build plan.
So all in all, a good start. I'm enjoying my stuff and not stressing out over anything.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The slate and how to clean it
So once again life has led me to re-evaluate my gaming outlook. Apparently I am just not getting it right. How can I tell? Well the total lack of follow-through is a big hint, and just a general lack of sustained enthusiasm. I used to attribute this to gamer ADD. But perhaps taking a more honest look at myself, it isn't the ability to hold focus that is the problem, it is the loss of joy in gaming as a whole.
My whole outlook is dooming my gaming. There once was a time where I built and played armies because something about them touched me. It appealed to me and my imagination on some level. It was fun just to put the models on the table.
Now, I'm somewhat obsessed with ensuring a good time while playing. Armies have to be fair, game systems need to be balanced....yada yada yada. Basically, there has to be this perfect storm of conditions in order for gaming to be fun. WTF? right? I mean, that is just the more ridiculous thing I have ever heard...and yet, that is exactly what I do. I have been on this search for this perfect game to make sure that I will have fun every time I play it. Guess what me...it doesn't exist.
So I need to go back and clean the slate. I need to get rid of all these silly notions on what should be, and try to capture that basic interest in the games themselves. What makes games fun? Playing them. Duh.
I need to just play. Forget about winning. Forget about probabilities. Stop worrying so damn much. Just build models that you like, paint them in a way that makes me happy, and put them on the god damn table! Roll some dice and enjoy the ride. I have enough stress in my life without making my hobby add to it. But that is exactly what I have done.
I have a few ideas about this slate and what should start going on it. First off, a return to my favorite game, Flames of War. FoW never disappointed me. I love my armies. So I'm going to start playing it again. I'm going to pull out my favorite armies for it and give it another go.
I'm also going to keep painting my Planetfall stuff. That stuff is ready, and it shouldn't take me too long.
I'm also going to start assembling a 40K force too. I have these models I really like, and I'm going to build them to make me happy.
If things go to plan, I'll be playing FoW, painting Planetfall, and building 40K. I'll be engaged in every aspect of the hobby, but with no real deadline or stress to get things done. I can just do it, and hopefully enjoy it.
My whole outlook is dooming my gaming. There once was a time where I built and played armies because something about them touched me. It appealed to me and my imagination on some level. It was fun just to put the models on the table.
Now, I'm somewhat obsessed with ensuring a good time while playing. Armies have to be fair, game systems need to be balanced....yada yada yada. Basically, there has to be this perfect storm of conditions in order for gaming to be fun. WTF? right? I mean, that is just the more ridiculous thing I have ever heard...and yet, that is exactly what I do. I have been on this search for this perfect game to make sure that I will have fun every time I play it. Guess what me...it doesn't exist.
So I need to go back and clean the slate. I need to get rid of all these silly notions on what should be, and try to capture that basic interest in the games themselves. What makes games fun? Playing them. Duh.
I need to just play. Forget about winning. Forget about probabilities. Stop worrying so damn much. Just build models that you like, paint them in a way that makes me happy, and put them on the god damn table! Roll some dice and enjoy the ride. I have enough stress in my life without making my hobby add to it. But that is exactly what I have done.
I have a few ideas about this slate and what should start going on it. First off, a return to my favorite game, Flames of War. FoW never disappointed me. I love my armies. So I'm going to start playing it again. I'm going to pull out my favorite armies for it and give it another go.
I'm also going to keep painting my Planetfall stuff. That stuff is ready, and it shouldn't take me too long.
I'm also going to start assembling a 40K force too. I have these models I really like, and I'm going to build them to make me happy.
If things go to plan, I'll be playing FoW, painting Planetfall, and building 40K. I'll be engaged in every aspect of the hobby, but with no real deadline or stress to get things done. I can just do it, and hopefully enjoy it.
Friday, May 8, 2015
I am a really big slacker
So yeah, goal? what goal? Where's that edit button? Did I say last week? I meant this week....err no...I mean next week...yes, that's it....next week I'll paint my models.
Oy.
So then what have I been up to? Well, I did get in another game of Kings of War this past week. I brought out my elves to face off against some undead in a 1500pt learning game for a friend of mine. He ended up winning by about 120pts or so (over what he needed to get a win). We did make some minor mistakes, but for the most part, the game went very smoothly for a learning game.
We used the latest (v2.4) of the beta army lists for the game. So far, I think the tweaking is going very well. They have really nerfed shooting. So much so, I'm wondering how much it will be worth even having it in lists. For example, in my elf list, I had one archer troop and two bolt throwers. My opponent had nothing but hordes and characters...so I really had no good targets to go after (characters hid mostly). They did get lucky (both good and bad luck) during the game. But really, I could have used those points better taking a bigger cav unit, or more forest shamblers.
Plus, I want it on record that they are making a big mistake with Large Infantry and Large Cav. You see, for every other unit type, you have Troop, Regiment, Horde, and then Legion sizes (not all get these, but these are the four that exist). Now, Regiment is 2x the size of Troop...but done through depth, ie additional ranks. Horde introduces 2x by doubling the frontage. Legion then adds more, but does so through depth again. Frontage is a pretty major factor in this game. It determines how many units can charge you, and how you maneuver.
Well, Large Inf and Large Cav don't follow those rules. Why??? beats me. I've brought it up on the forums, but was shot down because the rules are now in stone. Basically, those units only have Regiment, Horde, and Legion. But Hordes are 2x Regiments with depth (ie ranks) instead of by frontage like the other units. Thus, Hordes for LI and LC get all the benefits of being a horde (stats and army selection bonuses), but get to keep the same frontage as a regiment. That is a big balance mistake in my mind. You just removed a fairly major disadvantage to those types of units. And there really is no reason for it. I don't see why these can't be changed in the army lists. Does it kill the game? No. But armies that can take advantage of this, will perform better on the field than they should. You heard it here first. :)
Oh, and in other news I am going to go shoot my rifle for the first time this weekend. Pretty excited about it. I'll try to take some pics. Well, until next time.
Oy.
So then what have I been up to? Well, I did get in another game of Kings of War this past week. I brought out my elves to face off against some undead in a 1500pt learning game for a friend of mine. He ended up winning by about 120pts or so (over what he needed to get a win). We did make some minor mistakes, but for the most part, the game went very smoothly for a learning game.
We used the latest (v2.4) of the beta army lists for the game. So far, I think the tweaking is going very well. They have really nerfed shooting. So much so, I'm wondering how much it will be worth even having it in lists. For example, in my elf list, I had one archer troop and two bolt throwers. My opponent had nothing but hordes and characters...so I really had no good targets to go after (characters hid mostly). They did get lucky (both good and bad luck) during the game. But really, I could have used those points better taking a bigger cav unit, or more forest shamblers.
Plus, I want it on record that they are making a big mistake with Large Infantry and Large Cav. You see, for every other unit type, you have Troop, Regiment, Horde, and then Legion sizes (not all get these, but these are the four that exist). Now, Regiment is 2x the size of Troop...but done through depth, ie additional ranks. Horde introduces 2x by doubling the frontage. Legion then adds more, but does so through depth again. Frontage is a pretty major factor in this game. It determines how many units can charge you, and how you maneuver.
Well, Large Inf and Large Cav don't follow those rules. Why??? beats me. I've brought it up on the forums, but was shot down because the rules are now in stone. Basically, those units only have Regiment, Horde, and Legion. But Hordes are 2x Regiments with depth (ie ranks) instead of by frontage like the other units. Thus, Hordes for LI and LC get all the benefits of being a horde (stats and army selection bonuses), but get to keep the same frontage as a regiment. That is a big balance mistake in my mind. You just removed a fairly major disadvantage to those types of units. And there really is no reason for it. I don't see why these can't be changed in the army lists. Does it kill the game? No. But armies that can take advantage of this, will perform better on the field than they should. You heard it here first. :)
Oh, and in other news I am going to go shoot my rifle for the first time this weekend. Pretty excited about it. I'll try to take some pics. Well, until next time.
Monday, April 27, 2015
The distractions continue
First off, I'm still here. I'm still a gamer, and at some point, I will get back to painting my Planetfall models. The poor little guys keep looking up at me from my desk going "paint me....paint me...."
But I've been distracted lately. First and foremost, I started a new hobby these last few weeks...historical gun collecting. Let me tell you, there is a lot to learn. So for the past few weeks, I've been scouring the web for info so that I can make the best purchases possible. It has been really interesting. I've learned all about corrosive ammo for instance, and what a counter-bored barrel means. It has all been very fascinating. And then the best part is, I'll eventually get to shoot these guns! Just to be clear, I'm all about killing paper targets...but that is about it.
So, this past week has all been about getting my first rifle. As I said, tons of research online, looking for the best deals, and finally, making the purchase. I can now say that I'm a proud owner of a Russian 1891 Mosin Nagant rifle. It was made in 1922 and was at one point, captured by the Finnish army and stamped for their use.
I used to be a big flames of war player. I still own many armies for that game and it is probably my all time favorite. The historical aspect of it was just so interesting. I also got into Bolt Action a little too. So to now own a piece of that history....it is quite something.
However, for the time being, I'm done. I live on a gamer budget. Buying a rifle pretty much wiped me out. And I won't be able to go shooting for a couple of weeks...so that means I can get back to my models. So with that said, I will make a goal of finishing the two Planetfall models that are currently on my desk by Friday. I think that is reasonable and attainable. Lets see how much of a slacker I turn out to be.
But I've been distracted lately. First and foremost, I started a new hobby these last few weeks...historical gun collecting. Let me tell you, there is a lot to learn. So for the past few weeks, I've been scouring the web for info so that I can make the best purchases possible. It has been really interesting. I've learned all about corrosive ammo for instance, and what a counter-bored barrel means. It has all been very fascinating. And then the best part is, I'll eventually get to shoot these guns! Just to be clear, I'm all about killing paper targets...but that is about it.
So, this past week has all been about getting my first rifle. As I said, tons of research online, looking for the best deals, and finally, making the purchase. I can now say that I'm a proud owner of a Russian 1891 Mosin Nagant rifle. It was made in 1922 and was at one point, captured by the Finnish army and stamped for their use.
I used to be a big flames of war player. I still own many armies for that game and it is probably my all time favorite. The historical aspect of it was just so interesting. I also got into Bolt Action a little too. So to now own a piece of that history....it is quite something.
However, for the time being, I'm done. I live on a gamer budget. Buying a rifle pretty much wiped me out. And I won't be able to go shooting for a couple of weeks...so that means I can get back to my models. So with that said, I will make a goal of finishing the two Planetfall models that are currently on my desk by Friday. I think that is reasonable and attainable. Lets see how much of a slacker I turn out to be.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Little break from Planetfall
So this week I did try to get back to painting. I started on my second medium tank for the Aquans, plus I threw down some more paint at the Directorate buggy. Progress is slow, but I hope to finish up the buggy this week and post up pics. It is turning out okay. What a big difference a nice wash will do.
Most of my time was gearing up for some of Mantic's Kings of War. I own lots of GW armies. And Warhammer Fantasy Battle was my favorite game of them all. But lately, GW has decided to bend the players over and it has gotten so bad that I've walked away from the game.
Enter Kings of War. Lets me still use my awesome models and I don't have to try to figure out this month's meta. Version 2 is currently in Beta, so we decided to try out the new rules and army lists.
We were hoping to draw in some more players from our game club, so I came prepared for Sunday's game night with three armies. My buddy Robert though was the only one to show, and he brought his Kingdom of Men army (empire).
With version one, I've played undead mostly and gave the elves a try. I packed up both of those and then brought an orc army (using my beastmen figs). Just recently, Mantic announced that they are going to release a book with a bunch of army lists to cover armies that are not in their lore, but are made by other companies. Basically, they are tossing a big :P at GW who is rumored to be letting several armies go from the Fantasy line.
As an owner of a beastmen army, one of the only armies not to get an 8th edition book, I am quite pleased with this. I really have no interest in the mess that will be 9th edition from Games Workshop, and will be quite happy to use my models playing Kings of War.
We played 1000pt games and each one took about 90 minutes to complete. Not too bad. Robert's army had 9 units, and almost 100 models. My orcs took the field first at just over 50 models (I took a giant and a big unit of trolls) and were promptly tabled. They didn't perform poor by any means, its just that KoW orcs are a little tactically limited in my opinion. They have almost no shooting or magic to help them. Kind of a big hole in my opinion.
In the second game, I brought out the undead (I don't think Robert wanted to face my elven shooting). This match ended in a tie, but probably should have gone to the undead. The nerve tests (leadership) went in favor of the KoM most of the game. In fact, the whole game changed when I failed to route one of his units. I had done enough damage where any roll would route them...but I rolled snake eyes which let them stay regardless. That left my poor undead open to a flank charge which spelled their doom.
Overall though, very fun, very quick, and it still felt like playing a war game. In fact, it felt more like playing warhammer back when I played 5th edition. Kings of War is like WFB without the crazy. And for this old man, that is just fine.
If you haven't given KoW a try, there is no reason not to. The current V1 rules are up for download, and even the beta rules can be found if you look at the blog posts. Gotta love a company that gives out free rules and army lists. :) Suck it GW.
Most of my time was gearing up for some of Mantic's Kings of War. I own lots of GW armies. And Warhammer Fantasy Battle was my favorite game of them all. But lately, GW has decided to bend the players over and it has gotten so bad that I've walked away from the game.
Enter Kings of War. Lets me still use my awesome models and I don't have to try to figure out this month's meta. Version 2 is currently in Beta, so we decided to try out the new rules and army lists.
We were hoping to draw in some more players from our game club, so I came prepared for Sunday's game night with three armies. My buddy Robert though was the only one to show, and he brought his Kingdom of Men army (empire).
With version one, I've played undead mostly and gave the elves a try. I packed up both of those and then brought an orc army (using my beastmen figs). Just recently, Mantic announced that they are going to release a book with a bunch of army lists to cover armies that are not in their lore, but are made by other companies. Basically, they are tossing a big :P at GW who is rumored to be letting several armies go from the Fantasy line.
As an owner of a beastmen army, one of the only armies not to get an 8th edition book, I am quite pleased with this. I really have no interest in the mess that will be 9th edition from Games Workshop, and will be quite happy to use my models playing Kings of War.
We played 1000pt games and each one took about 90 minutes to complete. Not too bad. Robert's army had 9 units, and almost 100 models. My orcs took the field first at just over 50 models (I took a giant and a big unit of trolls) and were promptly tabled. They didn't perform poor by any means, its just that KoW orcs are a little tactically limited in my opinion. They have almost no shooting or magic to help them. Kind of a big hole in my opinion.
In the second game, I brought out the undead (I don't think Robert wanted to face my elven shooting). This match ended in a tie, but probably should have gone to the undead. The nerve tests (leadership) went in favor of the KoM most of the game. In fact, the whole game changed when I failed to route one of his units. I had done enough damage where any roll would route them...but I rolled snake eyes which let them stay regardless. That left my poor undead open to a flank charge which spelled their doom.
Overall though, very fun, very quick, and it still felt like playing a war game. In fact, it felt more like playing warhammer back when I played 5th edition. Kings of War is like WFB without the crazy. And for this old man, that is just fine.
If you haven't given KoW a try, there is no reason not to. The current V1 rules are up for download, and even the beta rules can be found if you look at the blog posts. Gotta love a company that gives out free rules and army lists. :) Suck it GW.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Creative slump
I'm pretty happy with how the aquans are turning out. I've got five tanks done so far and I think they look pretty damn cool. Plus, they have been fairly easy to paint so far, so that always help. The larger models are more difficult though due to the larger flat areas where drybrushing doesn't work so well.
I also tried to start on a directorate model. Here, I'm having a much harder time. I just don't know where to go with it. I have a buggy that I've primed red. I've picked out some parts for silver paint (the weapon systems and hub caps) and I've blackened the tires. I've also put on the first coat on the base (needs another). But I'm a little stumped on how to make it better.
I think my next steps will be as follows:
1) 2nd coat on the base.
2) strong tone ink the whole model and base.
3) careful drybrush of red color over model to rehighlight areas
4) careful drybrush the tires with desert color to give dusty look.
5) finish base
6) add some detailing
I've got to do something with it. Once I'm done though, it will be back to the aquans to finish up the mediums...and then start on the heavy.
I also tried to start on a directorate model. Here, I'm having a much harder time. I just don't know where to go with it. I have a buggy that I've primed red. I've picked out some parts for silver paint (the weapon systems and hub caps) and I've blackened the tires. I've also put on the first coat on the base (needs another). But I'm a little stumped on how to make it better.
I think my next steps will be as follows:
1) 2nd coat on the base.
2) strong tone ink the whole model and base.
3) careful drybrush of red color over model to rehighlight areas
4) careful drybrush the tires with desert color to give dusty look.
5) finish base
6) add some detailing
I've got to do something with it. Once I'm done though, it will be back to the aquans to finish up the mediums...and then start on the heavy.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Time to get back to the Base-ics
Okay, so I was asked how I do my bases. Warning, this post is very picture heavy.
First off, I start with a coat of Desert Yellow in spray primer form.
Then I do a wash using Strong Tone (from the bottle as opposed from the can).
Next up, a drybrush of Vellejo's Iraqui Sand:
Then I use some watered down Elmers Glue and a brush to apply it. Then I dip it into my flock bucket.
Then I go picking through my woodland scenics bags and pull out some desert brush and green brush pieces to superglue to the base.
Then I finally glued on the finish model...which is a bit of a shame as it covers almost the whole base and all that work. :)
This was my first medium tank to finish and I think it turned out okay. It also matches pretty well with the recon tanks I did earlier.
Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.
First off, I start with a coat of Desert Yellow in spray primer form.
Then I do a wash using Strong Tone (from the bottle as opposed from the can).
Next up, a drybrush of Vellejo's Iraqui Sand:
Then I use some watered down Elmers Glue and a brush to apply it. Then I dip it into my flock bucket.
Then I go picking through my woodland scenics bags and pull out some desert brush and green brush pieces to superglue to the base.
Then I finally glued on the finish model...which is a bit of a shame as it covers almost the whole base and all that work. :)
This was my first medium tank to finish and I think it turned out okay. It also matches pretty well with the recon tanks I did earlier.
Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Aquan Mediums and the start of the Directorate
So yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, so I went outside and setup my priming bench. First up was the four medium skimmers for the aquans. That new wolf blue primer from Army Painter is just great. Didn't take much at all to get solid coats over the whole model.
Then I pulled out the Directorate recon buggies and a few of their medium vehicles. For these I decided to go with Bright Red from Army Painter. I know this may seem like a bold choice, but actually it comes out pretty well. I've used it before with my Dystopian Wars Blazing Sun forces.
I just need to decide upon some other colors for it. Obviously I can't go with the wooden plank look. :)
However, I have used this color for my 40K Tau as well. Which apparently I have never taken a finished photo of. Hmmmm. Anyways, maybe we'll see some photos after this weekend.
Then I pulled out the Directorate recon buggies and a few of their medium vehicles. For these I decided to go with Bright Red from Army Painter. I know this may seem like a bold choice, but actually it comes out pretty well. I've used it before with my Dystopian Wars Blazing Sun forces.
I just need to decide upon some other colors for it. Obviously I can't go with the wooden plank look. :)
However, I have used this color for my 40K Tau as well. Which apparently I have never taken a finished photo of. Hmmmm. Anyways, maybe we'll see some photos after this weekend.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
He has friends
So I finished off the whole unit today. Pretty happy with how it turned out. I was expecting them to be lighter in color...but eh...I'm not complaining.
Now on to the next unit. :)
Now on to the next unit. :)
Saturday, March 21, 2015
We have Aquan sightings...
So just a quick little update. I have finished an aquan recon tank! Okay, so it isn't a whole lot, but it is something. And actually, I have two of them done. But just pics of the first one. So here it is...what do you think?
I'll try to take a few more..maybe on actual terrain or something. Like an action shot. If the weather holds, I may prime more.
I'll try to take a few more..maybe on actual terrain or something. Like an action shot. If the weather holds, I may prime more.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Quick Planetfall Update
Hello Gentle Readers,
So I made a little bit of progress on my Aquans yesterday. I have washed all of the models (just to make sure any molding residue is off) and then I busted out the color primers.
The bases got a nice coat of Desert Yellow by Army Painter. I love that color and it works great for bases. I'll most likely hit it with a very light drybrush of a slighly lighter color (or just mix a bit of white in with the desert yellow paint), and then go over with one of their washes. I also have some desert foam tufts that I can glue down to give it some foliage. Really easy and always looks nice (well at least on my FoW bases).
Oh oh oh...an idea just hit me. See normally I use Vallejo pumice on my FoW bases in order to hide the raised infantry. I could easily use that stuff on these bases just to give them a few spots of minor elevation. The texture shouldn't look too out of place either. Awe-sommmmmmmmmme.
Okay...so after the bases, I took out my little recon skimmers and hit them with with wolf grey primer from AP. I recently got myself a small Space Wolf force for 40K, so this way this can will perform double duty. It is a really nice blue/gray color. Somewhat dark, but not so dark that an ink won't pick out the recesses. My next step is applying the Ash Grey color to the models. I haven't decided if I want to drybrush this on, or try to hand paint the panels. There are lots of little panels on these models. Since Ash Grey is so light, I'm leaning towards drybrushing because it is safer, and I can still paint over it with any other color.
At this rate, I should have some good progress pics to show you by the weekend. :)
So I made a little bit of progress on my Aquans yesterday. I have washed all of the models (just to make sure any molding residue is off) and then I busted out the color primers.
The bases got a nice coat of Desert Yellow by Army Painter. I love that color and it works great for bases. I'll most likely hit it with a very light drybrush of a slighly lighter color (or just mix a bit of white in with the desert yellow paint), and then go over with one of their washes. I also have some desert foam tufts that I can glue down to give it some foliage. Really easy and always looks nice (well at least on my FoW bases).
Oh oh oh...an idea just hit me. See normally I use Vallejo pumice on my FoW bases in order to hide the raised infantry. I could easily use that stuff on these bases just to give them a few spots of minor elevation. The texture shouldn't look too out of place either. Awe-sommmmmmmmmme.
Okay...so after the bases, I took out my little recon skimmers and hit them with with wolf grey primer from AP. I recently got myself a small Space Wolf force for 40K, so this way this can will perform double duty. It is a really nice blue/gray color. Somewhat dark, but not so dark that an ink won't pick out the recesses. My next step is applying the Ash Grey color to the models. I haven't decided if I want to drybrush this on, or try to hand paint the panels. There are lots of little panels on these models. Since Ash Grey is so light, I'm leaning towards drybrushing because it is safer, and I can still paint over it with any other color.
At this rate, I should have some good progress pics to show you by the weekend. :)
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Plans within plans
So I went to my favorite LGS to buy the Relthozan Core Helix so I could get started on my bugs! But alas, I was foiled when my favorite LGS did not have said Core Helix. So instead I walked out with some color primer and a nice blue ink.
So I have a plan. The plan is to prime the vehicles with the new spray primer (wolf grey). I will prime the bases with another color primer (desert yellow). I will then ink the vehicles with the new blue ink, and then I will either drybrush Ash Grey over the top half...or I'll try to carefully paint the panels with the Ash Grey. By the way, these are all Army Painter colors.
I'm still debating on using orange for the energy colors, or something else...like light blue or light green? The end result, will be spaceships with a light top half, a darker bottom half, a nice bluish detail lining...and then some other color effect for the energy. All of this over desert style bases.
The bases will be inked with my standard brown ink, and then I have various desert-ish flocking to sprinkle about. I think it will look nice and be pretty easy to do.
Fairly excited about this. The models aren't many...they aren't overly large...so it should be possible to do most of them over a weekend as long as the priming can get done.
I also need to bust out my Dystopian Wars models to check the armored bases sizes that came with them. If they are the same, then I can safely order some Dystopian Armored Clash foam trays from Battlefoam which will work with my Planetfall guys.
It would be fantastic if I could get my aquans all painted up before my Relthoza arrive.
Which, by the way, I'm going to keep the desert base theme with them as well, but was going to do a light green as the base for them. Have to see what Army Painter has and if I like it or not. Just need to figure out what the other colors to compliment would be. Hmmmmmmm....
Well till next time...with some WIP pics if you are lucky and I'm not lazy :)
So I have a plan. The plan is to prime the vehicles with the new spray primer (wolf grey). I will prime the bases with another color primer (desert yellow). I will then ink the vehicles with the new blue ink, and then I will either drybrush Ash Grey over the top half...or I'll try to carefully paint the panels with the Ash Grey. By the way, these are all Army Painter colors.
I'm still debating on using orange for the energy colors, or something else...like light blue or light green? The end result, will be spaceships with a light top half, a darker bottom half, a nice bluish detail lining...and then some other color effect for the energy. All of this over desert style bases.
The bases will be inked with my standard brown ink, and then I have various desert-ish flocking to sprinkle about. I think it will look nice and be pretty easy to do.
Fairly excited about this. The models aren't many...they aren't overly large...so it should be possible to do most of them over a weekend as long as the priming can get done.
I also need to bust out my Dystopian Wars models to check the armored bases sizes that came with them. If they are the same, then I can safely order some Dystopian Armored Clash foam trays from Battlefoam which will work with my Planetfall guys.
It would be fantastic if I could get my aquans all painted up before my Relthoza arrive.
Which, by the way, I'm going to keep the desert base theme with them as well, but was going to do a light green as the base for them. Have to see what Army Painter has and if I like it or not. Just need to figure out what the other colors to compliment would be. Hmmmmmmm....
Well till next time...with some WIP pics if you are lucky and I'm not lazy :)
Monday, March 16, 2015
Planetfall Game One
So this weekend, my friend Robert and I busted out my two player box set and gave Planetfall a spin. I had spent the last week watching various battle reports and reading the rules and forums. So I felt pretty comfortable with skipping straight to battle 4 in the campaign book. I packed up my warmaster terrain and some FoW card buildings (I haven't put together the spartan pieces yet) and off I went.
Robert owns a directorate fleet for FA, so he got that army...and I played the Aquans. I also own some aquan ships for FA, but haven't used them at all. Now our original plan was to play at our club's meeting space...but alas, it was closed that night for some reason...so we headed down to the best LGS in Portland instead (shout out to Guardian Games!). They had some open tables, so I got setting up right away until Robert got there.
As this was a learning game, we knew it was going to take longer than normal to play. Even so though, we got through a full game round in under an hour. That really impressed me. And unfortunately, we did have to flip through the book quite a bit. For instance, I never found where moving Flat Out prevented you from shooting. It wasn't in the flat out area of the rules, and I didn't see it in the shooting rules. (I did find it later that night, it was mentioned one place at the very start of the shooting rules). So I'm going to have to reread the rules quite a few times I think to make sure I get it all down.
That being said, the flow of the game was great. I thought it went really smoothly. Thanks to my warmaster terrain, our table actually looked quite nice with a couple of hills and several forests scattered about. The FoW buildings didn't look too out of place either. Most of the games I have watched, only had the spartan buildings on the table for shot blockers. The woods and hills really made a difference. For instance, our infantry and recon units could not shoot through woods, but the armored units could. Not only that, but the Directorate's wheeled vehicles didn't care too much for all those trees but my aquan hover vehicles zoomed right through them.
I learned some valuable lessons about sky-dropping units. Plus I need to review the rules a bit more on that area because I think we did something wrong (CQB-wise). However, even with that, things went well for the most part.
I am definitely going to be investing more into this game. I really like the 10mm scale. I love how the tabled looked with the terrain on it too. I have a feeling this is going to be my go-to Spartan game.
Oh, we had to cut the game short due to the store closing earlier than expected. As it was, the Directorate was winning 11 to 15.
Robert owns a directorate fleet for FA, so he got that army...and I played the Aquans. I also own some aquan ships for FA, but haven't used them at all. Now our original plan was to play at our club's meeting space...but alas, it was closed that night for some reason...so we headed down to the best LGS in Portland instead (shout out to Guardian Games!). They had some open tables, so I got setting up right away until Robert got there.
As this was a learning game, we knew it was going to take longer than normal to play. Even so though, we got through a full game round in under an hour. That really impressed me. And unfortunately, we did have to flip through the book quite a bit. For instance, I never found where moving Flat Out prevented you from shooting. It wasn't in the flat out area of the rules, and I didn't see it in the shooting rules. (I did find it later that night, it was mentioned one place at the very start of the shooting rules). So I'm going to have to reread the rules quite a few times I think to make sure I get it all down.
That being said, the flow of the game was great. I thought it went really smoothly. Thanks to my warmaster terrain, our table actually looked quite nice with a couple of hills and several forests scattered about. The FoW buildings didn't look too out of place either. Most of the games I have watched, only had the spartan buildings on the table for shot blockers. The woods and hills really made a difference. For instance, our infantry and recon units could not shoot through woods, but the armored units could. Not only that, but the Directorate's wheeled vehicles didn't care too much for all those trees but my aquan hover vehicles zoomed right through them.
I learned some valuable lessons about sky-dropping units. Plus I need to review the rules a bit more on that area because I think we did something wrong (CQB-wise). However, even with that, things went well for the most part.
I am definitely going to be investing more into this game. I really like the 10mm scale. I love how the tabled looked with the terrain on it too. I have a feeling this is going to be my go-to Spartan game.
Oh, we had to cut the game short due to the store closing earlier than expected. As it was, the Directorate was winning 11 to 15.
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