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.
Wednesday, January 12
Sunday, January 2
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.
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.
Thursday, December 30
Further Hardcore List Discussion
I feel the need to further describe the list I'm planning to take for Templecon's Hardcore. This is also more of a way for me to identify weaknesses and how to tactically plan my kills.
The list that I will be trying tonight is:
The list that I will be trying tonight is:
Losing Steam
I'm losing steam over the Venators. I finished the main armor, now working on the gold trim. The armor/trim I have found to always be the hardest part for me. Not in terms of painting, but more akin to "I don't wanna do it". Part of the reason is I just noted that some of the primer spray paint gummed up in areas by the trim/armor. I want to avoid stripping paint, but I may have no choice on some. Hopefully I can hide it.
I'll gun for them to be done by Friday, instead of today as I had hoped.
I did base all the completed models though, so now everything that had been painted is absolutely complete except for sealing the models.
So goal for the weekend:
Finish Venators, including Catapult crew.
Xerxis
Bronzeback
Cannoneer
***********************
Since I brought up the topic of the spray paint gumming up, I figured I would discuss briefly priming models. I use several different kind of spray paints (not intentional), gesso, and paint.
Spray Paints
Testors Spray Paint - easy to find, sprays fairly well. I usually use their grey when I want a subdued tone - mostly for when I was painting Iyanden Eldar back in my WH: 40k days. It applies fairly evenly and clumps only in the worst of weather. Prices have risen, but Amazon shows $5.19 a can.
Armory Spray Paints - This is what I used after I stopped using Testor's (simply due to laziness). It's not cheap by any means, but I had been buying in bulk orders from the War Store, so I just threw in a couple of cans. Originally, the spray paint worked wonderfully. However, I have noticed now that most of the time the paint clumps at the slightest mention of humidity. Which is no good, since I live in Dallas now. As such, I have two or three cans left over, ready to be used, which I only use as emergency cans when I need it primed. Flow is choppy and it sprays more like flakes. War Store prices a can at $5.95 - I'm not sure what Miniature Market's prices are.
P3 Primers - I have only used the white and only one can, so my experience is limited. But I did want to note that I did get a fairly consistant flow and application was even. I like the nozzle - the nozzle actually makes a vertical spray instead of conical, which reduces the area of overspray. Additionally, if you line models up, you can get more in the spray area (two to three if you line them up vertically). It worked well for me. The only setback? Price per can is $9.99 ($7.99 on War Store). I did get to cover a lot of models, but at that price point I might switch over to air brushing.
Army Painter Base Primer - This spray paint is phenomenal. I have sprayed models in my garage with the door open when it was raining. The paint applies very evenly, although you do need to be aware of overspray. Additionally, it keeps the detail nearly pristine (again with overspray). I also find that I can spray more models with this paint - I have stretched a can to cover nearly 60 to 100 models without clumping or gumming. Drawback? Price and overspray issues. This primer is easier to overspray with and standard pricing comes in at $18.99 a can! $18.99! However, the War Store sells it at $8.99 now, $1 more than P3 Primer.
Gesso
I have just jumped on board with the Gesso priming and I have two - Bob's and another brand. Gesso works wonderfully during the days that it's raining or I just have one or two models to prime. I typically use Bob's - the application was much better. However, I just had an experience where I lost a lot of detail. It's really easy to over-apply the stuff since you want to avoid pincushon effects. The other draw back is the amount of brushing that I have to perform, so I typically try not to do bulk batches. It's a little more tedious, but there's been plenty of times when I could not use spray paints.
Paint
I also use watered-down black paint from time to time. Usually it's in conjunciton with spray primers or gesso. It works well, but it's more tedious than gesso. Gesso is forgiving if you overapply a little - usually that's what you want to do. Paint is not and you lose a lot more detail. Because of this issue, I find that I have to brush more than gesso, which consumes probably ten more minutes.
I'll take pictures of the different primers and their effects.
I'll gun for them to be done by Friday, instead of today as I had hoped.
I did base all the completed models though, so now everything that had been painted is absolutely complete except for sealing the models.
So goal for the weekend:
Finish Venators, including Catapult crew.
Xerxis
Bronzeback
Cannoneer
***********************
Since I brought up the topic of the spray paint gumming up, I figured I would discuss briefly priming models. I use several different kind of spray paints (not intentional), gesso, and paint.
Spray Paints
Testors Spray Paint - easy to find, sprays fairly well. I usually use their grey when I want a subdued tone - mostly for when I was painting Iyanden Eldar back in my WH: 40k days. It applies fairly evenly and clumps only in the worst of weather. Prices have risen, but Amazon shows $5.19 a can.
Armory Spray Paints - This is what I used after I stopped using Testor's (simply due to laziness). It's not cheap by any means, but I had been buying in bulk orders from the War Store, so I just threw in a couple of cans. Originally, the spray paint worked wonderfully. However, I have noticed now that most of the time the paint clumps at the slightest mention of humidity. Which is no good, since I live in Dallas now. As such, I have two or three cans left over, ready to be used, which I only use as emergency cans when I need it primed. Flow is choppy and it sprays more like flakes. War Store prices a can at $5.95 - I'm not sure what Miniature Market's prices are.
P3 Primers - I have only used the white and only one can, so my experience is limited. But I did want to note that I did get a fairly consistant flow and application was even. I like the nozzle - the nozzle actually makes a vertical spray instead of conical, which reduces the area of overspray. Additionally, if you line models up, you can get more in the spray area (two to three if you line them up vertically). It worked well for me. The only setback? Price per can is $9.99 ($7.99 on War Store). I did get to cover a lot of models, but at that price point I might switch over to air brushing.
Army Painter Base Primer - This spray paint is phenomenal. I have sprayed models in my garage with the door open when it was raining. The paint applies very evenly, although you do need to be aware of overspray. Additionally, it keeps the detail nearly pristine (again with overspray). I also find that I can spray more models with this paint - I have stretched a can to cover nearly 60 to 100 models without clumping or gumming. Drawback? Price and overspray issues. This primer is easier to overspray with and standard pricing comes in at $18.99 a can! $18.99! However, the War Store sells it at $8.99 now, $1 more than P3 Primer.
Gesso
I have just jumped on board with the Gesso priming and I have two - Bob's and another brand. Gesso works wonderfully during the days that it's raining or I just have one or two models to prime. I typically use Bob's - the application was much better. However, I just had an experience where I lost a lot of detail. It's really easy to over-apply the stuff since you want to avoid pincushon effects. The other draw back is the amount of brushing that I have to perform, so I typically try not to do bulk batches. It's a little more tedious, but there's been plenty of times when I could not use spray paints.
Paint
I also use watered-down black paint from time to time. Usually it's in conjunciton with spray primers or gesso. It works well, but it's more tedious than gesso. Gesso is forgiving if you overapply a little - usually that's what you want to do. Paint is not and you lose a lot more detail. Because of this issue, I find that I have to brush more than gesso, which consumes probably ten more minutes.
I'll take pictures of the different primers and their effects.
Thursday, December 23
Well it's been months, so....
Due to personal life issues, including but not limited to, being married, moving half way across the United States, and several business trips & other guests coming to visit my wife and I, I have been mostly out of the loop. I was able to attend Gencon for a day (which I will never do again) and I was able to find several stores to play at with a thriving community. Perhaps the saddest scenario was when one of the stores, with a budding new Warmahordes community, closed down abruptly. There was also a tinge of burnout.
However, I now find myself suddenly traveling from Texas to RI for Templecon. This late in the game, most of the events are full so we will play by ear. However, most of the events do not interest me so I challenged myself to compete in the EXTREME HARDCORE. Which means I need to get off my ass and paint.
Having gravitated away from Cryx over the last year, I find myself with Mercenaries or Skorne. I'm sticking with Skorne and I'm looking to run this:
Xerxis T4
-Gladiator
-Sentry
-Cannoneer
-Bronzeback
Min Paingivers
Max Cetrati
Min Arcuarii
Tyrant Commander
Max Reivers + UA
Catapult
2x Flayer Cannon
I have a few points left over and I can toy around with adding a second unit of min Arcuarii & fill out the Paingivers or fill out the Arcuarii to max and take either a 2nd Tyrant or 2nd Catapult. I suspect that I'm not going to win many games, especially those with high attrition. I did have trouble with Shae, although the Venators helped tremendously (and thus the Flayer). Incorporeal models are going to be a pain and Circle might be a hassle without Vorkesh (yes I am looking forward to the Cetrartii UA).
Therefore, while my goal is always to win, realistically its how many models I can bring down and how fast I can get the kill. The AD weapon crew and the reform & extended range of the venators I think is going to help this one out (especially with a Tyrant's +2" to move). A well placed slam or throw from the Bronzeback or Gladiator will go a long way too. Drag is going to be especially important, to draw LOS. Because of these different factors, I am leaning towards either the 2nd unit of Arcuarii or 2nd Catapult.
Of course, if I find people to donate models, I might do Zaal's Tier list of Immortal/AG of doom.
However, I now find myself suddenly traveling from Texas to RI for Templecon. This late in the game, most of the events are full so we will play by ear. However, most of the events do not interest me so I challenged myself to compete in the EXTREME HARDCORE. Which means I need to get off my ass and paint.
Having gravitated away from Cryx over the last year, I find myself with Mercenaries or Skorne. I'm sticking with Skorne and I'm looking to run this:
Xerxis T4
-Gladiator
-Sentry
-Cannoneer
-Bronzeback
Min Paingivers
Max Cetrati
Min Arcuarii
Tyrant Commander
Max Reivers + UA
Catapult
2x Flayer Cannon
I have a few points left over and I can toy around with adding a second unit of min Arcuarii & fill out the Paingivers or fill out the Arcuarii to max and take either a 2nd Tyrant or 2nd Catapult. I suspect that I'm not going to win many games, especially those with high attrition. I did have trouble with Shae, although the Venators helped tremendously (and thus the Flayer). Incorporeal models are going to be a pain and Circle might be a hassle without Vorkesh (yes I am looking forward to the Cetrartii UA).
Therefore, while my goal is always to win, realistically its how many models I can bring down and how fast I can get the kill. The AD weapon crew and the reform & extended range of the venators I think is going to help this one out (especially with a Tyrant's +2" to move). A well placed slam or throw from the Bronzeback or Gladiator will go a long way too. Drag is going to be especially important, to draw LOS. Because of these different factors, I am leaning towards either the 2nd unit of Arcuarii or 2nd Catapult.
Of course, if I find people to donate models, I might do Zaal's Tier list of Immortal/AG of doom.
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