Out and About and a Little Taste to Come

With Gencon over, I have been feeling the Warmachine burn out. I wish I could say that I have been forcing myself to attend game days here locally and grind it out, but luckily (and unfortunately) the fall always picks up in terms of travel. So, instead of feeling less excited about Warmachine & Hordes, I ended up flying out to Seattle and Austin and I will find myself in San Diego this week. Coupled with various business meetings here locally, I am now excited again to get into the mix.

It also helps that our community has doubled in size and that given the size and new league formats, I am running two leagues side-by-side. And to prevent future burn out, I have returned back to Skorne, much like what Mike has done as well (that should explain the lack of Mercenary related-posts by him). Unfortunately, my travel to San Diego will prevent me from sharing in the near future, so I leave you with this tidbit.

GenCon Reporting - too many months later

I really have not had the time to post, so I apologize. This post will be about my Gencon Hardcore tournament experience. I actually took Bad Seeds to Hardcore. The list was:

The reinforcements arrived!

Just a quick teaser, because I can. Look what I got today:


Now to get that puzzle that Alexia is assembled. Updates to follow.

2nd Growth League - Bad Seeds

Well, back on the Magnus the Warlord kick, thanks to the NQ posting an alternative theme list for eMagnus, called Bad Seeds. Since I'm running a slow grow leage (June - 15 pts, July - 25 pts, August 35 pts), I am taking advantage of the league and playing another new challenging list. Due unfortunate luck and the duties of being a pressganger and honoring demos when needed, today happened to be the very first day I was able to play my 15 pt list this month. (I know, right? But that's what happens when your community balloons from 10 regulars to 24 regulars in a span of 3 weeks.)

Al's Thoughts on Wrath

Is it sad for me to say that while I am pleased with the new releases, nothing is a must have in my playbook? Maybe it's because I'm on an eMagnus kick with Bad Seeds. Don't get me wrong - I am very pleased with the releases and I am very willing to argue, nay beatdown, any naysayers who think that Khador got the best sliced bread.

Initial Wrath Reaction

So Wrath happened and pretty much everybody is quite happy with it. For Mercs it brings a bunch of great toys to play around with and ultimately making the faction as a whole a lot stronger. Let us have a look at the releases for Mercs:

Hey everybody, my name is Mike and I am the new kid on the block. I stem from the same “stable” as Al, the NJ SOBs in Somerville, NJ and play Warmachine/Hordes since around November ’09 with some
breaks in between. While I was very loyal to the Skorne Empire for the longest time, they are taking a
short break of conquering and torturing, so I decided to freelance a bit in the off-time. This resulted in
me starting to play Mercs, which I intended to be a slow-grow entrance into a new faction. Well, couple
weeks and a lot of money later, I have a big part of the Merc range in my possession and love the life
of sell-swords. After perusing through the faction book, I decided to play some Ashlynn at first as she
looked fun, and I love weapon masters. Her spell list seemed solid and ‘tricksy’, something that I was
direly missing with my Skorne, who prefer the Axe-to-the-Face technique of warfare, and if that fails,
they bring a bigger (or faster) axe. Here is the list I was using for my first couple of games:

Ashlynn d'Elyse (*6pts)
* Nomad (6pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer (2pts)
* * Mule (8pts)
Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist (2pts)
Harlan Versh (2pts)
Lanyssa Ryssyll, Nyss Sorceress (2pts)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2pts)

After playing a few games, I enjoy the Mercs a lot. It is a huge change of pace from Skorne and
learning all the little pieces that Mercs have is a welcome challenge. Gone are the days of Gladiator,
Bronzeback, Marketh, and Paingiver Beasthandlers and the remaining 15 points that I could fit. Building
lists in Mercs allows for great customization due to the countless solos that add flavor to your army and
can make a huge change in how you will play. Ashlynn in particular is very interesting as all the Critical-
Hit effect that were a nice thing to have, now become a constant reality. Having 4d6 to hit allows you to
pick a Crit very often, which changes your Feat turn a lot from what a normal turn would look like.
Suddenly the entire army is potentially knocked down and thrown around and gives you a lot more
control of the battlefield. I particularly love the Forgeguard, that already hurts a lot, adding Critical Smite
just makes them obnoxious and requires your opponent to be very careful what they put in front of
their ‘Jack as Gaspy learned last game.

The Mule is another star of this list, with the Gunmages he’ll have a 16” range on his shot, which
around turn 2-3 should allow you to hit in the center of the army. Gunmages go without saying as their
variety of shots, combined with True Sight adds a crazy control piece in their corridor and with the Mule

that is even better. Silent stars are Lanyssa Ryssyll (her parents clearly wanted to save on letters) and
Harlan Versh. While they are not totally brutal, they allow for interactions that wouldn’t work otherwise,
plus I cannot wait to destroy Legion player’s eyeless sight and pathfinder. I am sure they won’t know
what to do. “Oh you’re hiding a Ravagore in the forest? Well, have fun getting him out”

That’s it for me. I am really looking forward to Wrath and what it will bring us. I would love some
Crit-solos for Ashlynn, but just Damiano will be enough to get excited, especially that we didn’t see what
his ‘Jack brings yet, and I expect grand things of it. See you until next time.

Malarowski

Welcome Malarowski!

I want to welcome Malarowski as a new author to the blog. Coincidentally, he is another Skorne/Merc player - just like me! Although I had nothing to do with pressganging him into playing Mercs. Welcome!

NJ Civil War - Southern Theater - Game 1 & Game 2

So nearly a week later and I'm finally reporting my results on the tournament at All Things Fun in West Berlin, NJ. There was a record number of players (41 players in total, encompassing NJ SOBs, ATF local crowd, PA guys, and I believe some DC Big Guns). Faction spread as follows:
Cygnar - 1, Cryx - 8, Khador - 6, Menoth - 5, Retribution - 2, Mercenaries 2
Circle - 7, Legion - 2, Skorne - 4, Trolls - 4, Minions - 0

What to paint next...

Poll is nearly done, but I'm sitting on some spare time today and tomorrow. It's too humid to prime (although I can use gesso). I have Steelheads in the works and I should work on some ATGMs or at least wrap up that Vanguard.

Lack of motivation is killer. That and the fact that I have no idea how this poll is going to end. 23 hours left folks and it still is neck and neck, with Cryx paving the way.

Gah, I might have to throw in an order for two Scavengers now.

Quick little league updates

Well, the Gunslinger Growth League ended on this past Saturday, 3/19. The awards went to:
Ben Johnston - Conqueror and League Winner (52 pts!)
Dale - Master Painter. The only player to have 100% painted, and his first in seven years of playing.

Unfortunately no one wins General, since only Ben J. got one scenario win. Pyrrhic victory on my part I believe, since I did get my player base to try scenarios actually!

And look, Mercs are beating Cryx in the polls. Two days left of voting.

Update on NZ Quake Dice

Just a quick update on the NZ Christchurch Quake Dice, from PG_Izza:

Well the response to my Quake Dice idea has been amazing! The first batch of 100 sets has sold out, and they havent even arrived yet! I will be ordering another 100 sets, and maybe even more if there is demand.

What does that mean for you, the gamer? It's a limited run so contact Izza fast to help out!

Well, Now I'm Confounded - Mercs or Cryx

So the worst thing someone well meshed in this game can do is read the Cryx Privateer Press forums. It is nearly as bad as others, but for all its merits, the amount of whining that occurs and model bashing is atrocious. And for me, it challenges me to find uses for models people disdain. Merc forums - almost never a problem! Probably just the poor Talon.

So this leads up to the leaked information on the Scavenger. A lot of naysayers (even without testing the model). However, because of the usual naysayers, I have every intention in making this model work and I have been thinking for a few nights now how to.

Q&A Session II

Another Q&A time. I might have to move away from Blogger.com because it does not allow replies to comments (just more comments...).

Are you painting up new models for the league or are you using your existing Merc collection?

3 Posts in a Day? - NZ Quake Charity Dice

This is from PG_Izza on the WM/H forums:

This seems kinda lame now after the tsunami in Japan, but its something I've been working on for a couple of weeks...


As you may know, Christchurch, New Zealand was hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on 22nd Feb, causing substantial damage and some loss of life.
I live 2 hours drive away, but for 8 years Christchurch was home. My wife is from Christchurch, all her family live there and we have alot of friends who also live there.
Christchurch is where I started my interest in wargaming, and is very close to my heart.

NJ Civil War- Southern Theater

Q&A time. Michael posted this question back on my thoughts about Epic Morghoul.

What are you brining to Jersey in two weeks? Any plans yet?

Week 3 Growth League - 35 Points Epic Magnus

We just wrapped up Week 3 with 35 points and I got to play a couple of games. Before you ask, Week 2 was a 25 pt Death Race tournament using league lists. As TO, I did not get to play, but I built my list should anyone else have a bye.

Week 1 Growth League - Epic Magnus

A while back I discussed Magnus the Warlord for the growth league I am currently running. Well, the first week of 15 points has passed and the results are in.

Some Thoughts on eMorghoul, Lord Assassin

Saturday's tournament was a blast. I went 1-2, mostly due to my own game play errors and epic dice failure (notably in Game 2, where my opponent's dice seized up as well and the game ended two seconds before time was called - I think we had 7-8 rounds by that point). The tournament was 35 pt SR 2011 with league unit rules in effect. I, taking my Skorne, do not own Karax nor plan on it. I see them as a very limited use and for the same points, Praetorian Swordsmen are better.

But this post is not about how Swordsmen are better than Karax. It is about eMorghoul, who I used in the last two games, my two losses.

I'm crying Zaal's Tiers

The correct title should read I'm Crying Zaal's Tiers (and non-theme eMakeda too), but the pun would be lost. It is quite a busy month and half. Area 51 is hosting a 2nd Tues of the month tournament (fast play, 25-35 pts only). And now there is a 35 point SR 2011 up in Plano that I must focus my attention on.

I'll keep on playing Skorne for now, although I'm half-tempted to try to assemble the Mercs I'll be using for NJ Civil War (South) theater, when I'm back in NJ.

Update on the Tournament

So I brought Rasheth since the last I checked I saw the poll was 3 to 2 (that was 5 PM CST, although I have no idea why the poll stayed open until 6 PM CST - my error).

The list was:
Rasheth
-Drake
-2x Gladiator
-Bronzeback
Max PGBH

Magnus the Warlord - A Return to Blog Principles?

Well, Rasheth is winning, and there was a desperate plea for the Bronzeback, so I will amend my list.

A while ago, back in the days of Mk I, I started this blog to raise awareness of various issues and causes. The start was water scarcity/quality in the world and I was using eMagnus to do so. Then Mk II came along and totally threw my list into the trash heap. So I'm sitting on a lot of models, unfinished and unpainted that are waiting to be dug out - and part of me wants to continue with the color scheme and finish the army.

25 Points?

So there's a sort of impromptu 25 pt tournament using the League scenarios & maps. I'm unsure if it is one list or two lists, but I intend to take a break from the competitive play (from Hardcore practice to a 35 pt tournament this weekend I intend to win). So lo and behold, I decided to go for something semi-workable but would be really fun for me.

Upcoming Events at Gunslinger

I am getting the ball rolling over at Gunslinger Games, a newly opened game store here in Dallas. There is a pre-existing community of players for WM/Hordes, but the median experience level is around new-ish.The players are still developing a comprehensive of the rules and are just starting to understand with subtle appreciation of a second warlock/warcaster or certain unique abilities. I want to continue promoting this without the backdrop of worrying about the map play this time around.

Instead I am running a Growth league.

Where to Go From Here

I spent the better part of the weekend taking a nice hard look at my Skorne army and analyzing the warlocks I would love to consistantly play and what kind of force composition I would love to try with them. This reflection came about from 10 hours spent in Dallas - Lovefield Airport on Friday, Feb 4th as well as in the evening, as I lay in bed, trying not to think how disappointed I was with the city of Dallas, on a whole, for my botched attempt to get myself into Providence, RI for Templecon.

I own all the warlocks except Primal Makeda, who I just never really got into. I aim to play Mordikaar and Zaal more now and I am now rounding out my finesse with epic Makeda. My playstyle is such that I enjoy fielding units/models that are normally considered subpar and finding competitive "niches" for them, balanced with general utility for all-comers lists. Unfortunately this means my woefully inadequate Skorne army needs to be broadened.

To give some background, I either gave away, sold, or trashed most of my Skorne models during the move from New Jersey to Texas. When I unpacked and catalogued the model count, I was left with an 8-man unit of Venator Reivers, min Ferox unit, two Void Spirits, two Extollers, an Agonizer, three Ancestral Guardians, min Pain Givers, and most of the warlocks. I had every warbeast except the Worm. I also had a quite a few minion units - seven Farrow Brigands, min Gatormen, Orin Midwinter, Saxon Orrick, Swamp Gobbers and a Totem Hunter. Despite the limitations, I was able to coble a pretty effective pMorghoul list, which tied for first once (with Apollo's pMorghoul) and won the Hordes Mk II release tournament.

I then jumped onto the Xerxis wagon. I have tried Xerxis' tier list which provided me with an appreciation for the Titan Sentry and the Skorne Catapult. I was really gung-ho about the Flayer Cannon, but now in practice, I find it suffers a similar fate as the Cygnar Trencher Chain Gun. Also, once you get out of the mentality that Arcuarii are ranged models first, the price point for them is pretty amazing given their combat prowress and stats. The more I played Cetrati, the more I dislike them. Xerxis himself continues to be a favorite of mine and with his abilities I still see potential for him in Hardcore formats. I probably would not try his tier list again on a National Setting (although I did never get to try it out).

So now, having finished Xerxis, I am looking hard at eMakeda and Zaal. I'm thinking with eMakeda a min unit of Bloodrunners might be very effective, especially on an early feat turn. A Drake paired with a Gladiator gives me a surprising amount of speed and ranged spray. PGBH's are not necessary and I might just take a min unit. Min unit of Reivers with the UA gives me decent ranged firepower. Marketh is almost not necessary with her. Sure Leash is great not to upkeep, but he's back far enough that I don't need him. I actually approve of an Extoller and Hakaar. Saxon Orrik OR Tyrant Commander rounds out the list for Pathfinder and Orin Midwinter for anti-magic support. I have to play around with what I want at 35 and 50. At 50, I might a full unit of Ferox with Rhadeem for crazy threat ranges, replace the Bloodrunners with Nihilators, throw in a second Drake and maybe take Immortals.

Zaal on the other hand I am looking at Tiers again. I also feel that the much maligned Ancestral Guardian does work especially well for Zaal. Discounting his transfer ability to them, Zaal can also spend a fury to give each AG, including Hakaar, a soul token. I'm looking at Immortals and a cheap living unit (I'm thinking Karax). Where I get flustered with Zaal is in picking the right beasts. Part of me wants to take a Savage for the good old days, part of me wants a Sentry, and part of me wants Molik Karn. I have time to try them all fortunately. It does mean though that asides my recent Immortal acquisition that I will need to pick up Bloodrunners, rebuy Nihilators (since I sold my unopened box), and find Rhadeem. Oh, and a second Drake. Which is unfortunate, since I really don't want to spend more money.

Anyone want Cryx? I'm looking for Skorne. :)

Finally finished & Final Musings

I am finally done with the army, based, sealed and front arcs marked. I took some pictures (not great since I'm no photographer) which I'll post later today. I was actually done back on Monday. I did get a little lazy and not bother finishing the Cetrati - instead I'll use a max unit of Arcuarii.

Stoopid Venators

Well, maybe more like stoopid Armory Black Primer. After finishing the black armor, I began working on my Reivers + UA's gold trim when I noticed that the trim, on all the models sprayed with Armory, had clumped and completed disrupted the trim area's. It didn't clump into the black armor areas - no that would have been too simple and I would have caught it. So now I have dunked the models and stripped their paint. Back to square one.

On the plus side, I finished one unit of Arcuarii - I'm going to have to borrow the second unit I think. I have also finished the Paingiver Beast Handlers, Tyrant Commander, and most of my warbeasts. And a few odd models here and there (a Thrullg, Totem Hunter, and Rorsh & Brine). Oh, and an Ancestral Guardian.

I'll have pictures up this weekend. Been too busy with everything else.

Forces of Minions & Thoughts on Thornfall Alliance

I finally was able to pick up the Forces Book: Minions...up in NJ. Apparently my LGS in Plano has not wanted to get the new releases in since late November, but that is a gripe for another day. I immediately flipped to the tiers to review what was already spoiled for Carver and Arkadius, then reviewed the units and fluff.

The tiers and pact benefits excited mixed emotions from me. I enjoy the AD Farrow units for the pact - this greatly improves the benefit of the Razorback artillery. I think that the loss of AD when taking the tiers is greatly underestimated in my opinion. Sure we can look at Carver's and say, "But I get a lot more Brigands!" but in the end, it is about getting the alpha strike first. The pact being able to clear out the opponent's AD units and models first, then being able to get a jump on the heavier (and slower) part of the army in my eyes is the benefit of the pact.

However, for Carver's tier some items should not be ignored. 4/7 Brigands is huge and the FA: U means I can take cheap min units. It's almost like Mechanithrall cheap good. Carver immediately pushes this into ungodly good with the CRA benefits to the Brigands. Cheap CRA units? That can make both ranged and melee/Dig In actions? Yes please. Only one Brigand unit or Razorback unit gets AD (I would pick the Razorback) so kind of meh and the advance move for the T4 benefit gives me a little bit more of a jump for my SPD 4 beasts.

Something I think is overlooked in the tier is the point reductions for warbeasts controlled by Rorsh. Definitely risky, but I think the right combination could pay dividends. Reserving R&B as a 2nd or 3rd wave to get awesome assassination vectors means that they may not be doing a whole lot immediately. Why not give Rorsh a gun boar or two then? The Gun Boar's animus greatly helps Rorsh (using dynamite on the opponent's turn!) and it's not fury intensive or control-range restrictive as using a War Hog. It also alleviates fury management issues with Carver. I will have to try it out further, but I'm enjoying the idea of this one. It probably would not work in a 35pt list, but at 50 the idea merits further research.

Arkadius plays much differently. The advance deploying warbeasts reversing the loss of the AD units, although I don't like the idea of dropping certain ones. Point reduction in the War Hogs and huge alpha strike potential is immediately clear, but there is a lack of support overall from the rest of the army. This is one where I would have liked the Razorback ADing as well. Rorsh & Brine do not bring anything immediate to Arkadius and for dealing with pesky solos I would like to have Alten, Orrick, or Pendrake. I think Arkadius definitely brings something quite different to the table though. He might be the better caster to take for the pact than tier, if you can swallow the points.

I'll experiment further - hopefully I can borrow some models and see what exactly what is needed to purchase.

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years everyone, even though it is technically the 2nd of Jan now...

I have abandoned the Reivers and UA for now in favor of completing a Bronzeback and nearly finishing both a Cannoneer and Xerxis. I'm not particularly content with how the gold trim is turning out on Xerxis, but I'll figure it out. I have found, for the most part, that most of the painting techniques in the back of the various Forces books have helped, to a certain extent. I'm tinkering with my own paint scheme for the Skorne, but in general the techniques give me an idea of how to approach different color layouts.

I have ordered both Army Primer and P3 Primer, so I am hoping to do a side-by-side pic comparison of the two types of gesso, Armory Spray Primer, Army Primer, and P3 Primer. I am also going to be experimenting with the dipping painting technique, first on some Cygnar that I have then later on the Farrow. Hopefully I can get pictures up of the dipping. I should soon have pictures of my completed Skorne list for hardcore too. It looks like I'm just fine tuning 8 points worth of models now.

Speaking of the Farrow, I do have a strong desire to play the pigs. I love the look of the gators more, but I am drawn to armies/models that are not used as often, since Mk I. Back in Mk I, my favorite go to caster was Epic Deneghra, before the whole Overlord + Withershadow Combine twist was out. I also enjoyed Epic Goreshade as well. I am dropping my Cryx in favor of Mercenaries for Warmachine (I have found Mercs to be a little more wild and fun) and that includes, for now, the Minions. So Farrow are a logical choice.

If only the War Pig was a tad cheaper....

Anyway, on the to do list will be the min Arcuarii, a 2nd unit of min Cetrati (I prefer buying two min units over maxing out one - it's cheaper and I will probably never play with two max units of any kind). Need to finish the Reivers and Catapult and once the Flayer is out, two Flayers. I might have a second Catapult as well, depending how next week goes. It is highly likely that I will sprinkle some more beasts into the mix - I may just finish the remaining three Gladiators I own.