Saturday 25 April 2009
Thursday 23 April 2009
Work is a time sink
I bought a few miniatures today, but I have had no time to do anything related to them for almost a week now. On the weekend I want to assemble the Covenant and convert my Bane Knight. We'll see how that pans out, seeing as how my wife is due to give birth any time now.
Saturday 18 April 2009
A good opponent makes for a good game
I played at one of the local game stores yesterday that I have never played any games at before and I have lived here for four years. I have been meaning to go along to Warmachine Friday for at least 18 months, but many things have gotten in the way.
I played a guy who used Epic Haley with a pretty balanced force. Ironclad, Thorn, Hunter, Lancer, Sword Knights and Stormguard; he also had some buff solos. I had a Castigator, a Guardian and a devout, aklong with TFG and attachment, Choir, Knights Exemplar, a Seneschal and Vilmon.
It was a good game that came right down to the wire in the end. In turn 4 he had a go at assassinating Severius, but I got lucky (The defensive strike of the Devout also helped) and he came out almost unscathed. I advanced the Guardian out of combat (took almost no damage from the free strikes) and killed the Stormguard that was screening Haley. I then Immolated her twice with boosted damage for a measly total of 10 damage. I was a bit miffed about my crap damage rolls; one good boosted roll could have outright killed her and two on average rolls definitely should have killed her. Luckily though my second Immolation had set her on fire and with an average roll I could kill her with the flames at the start of the next round.
It was the only really tense moment for me because the game was in the balance. If the flames went out then Severius would die from the Hunter and the Lancer, if they kept burning there was a good chance I could kill her. As Menoth would have it the flames kept burning and the damage killed her and i won the game.
The thing that made the game good though was my opponent. He played well, but he was fair and in no way overly competitive. There was hardly any stress despite the balls to the wall aspect of rounds three and four and it was fun. My other regular opponents are also good like this (I don't want to say that this is new for me) as well, but I never know what to expect when I play a stranger in a shop. the fact that he was well mannered and comported himself very honourably during the game allowed me to relax and exorcise the competitive jerk from my own self.
I played a guy who used Epic Haley with a pretty balanced force. Ironclad, Thorn, Hunter, Lancer, Sword Knights and Stormguard; he also had some buff solos. I had a Castigator, a Guardian and a devout, aklong with TFG and attachment, Choir, Knights Exemplar, a Seneschal and Vilmon.
It was a good game that came right down to the wire in the end. In turn 4 he had a go at assassinating Severius, but I got lucky (The defensive strike of the Devout also helped) and he came out almost unscathed. I advanced the Guardian out of combat (took almost no damage from the free strikes) and killed the Stormguard that was screening Haley. I then Immolated her twice with boosted damage for a measly total of 10 damage. I was a bit miffed about my crap damage rolls; one good boosted roll could have outright killed her and two on average rolls definitely should have killed her. Luckily though my second Immolation had set her on fire and with an average roll I could kill her with the flames at the start of the next round.
It was the only really tense moment for me because the game was in the balance. If the flames went out then Severius would die from the Hunter and the Lancer, if they kept burning there was a good chance I could kill her. As Menoth would have it the flames kept burning and the damage killed her and i won the game.
The thing that made the game good though was my opponent. He played well, but he was fair and in no way overly competitive. There was hardly any stress despite the balls to the wall aspect of rounds three and four and it was fun. My other regular opponents are also good like this (I don't want to say that this is new for me) as well, but I never know what to expect when I play a stranger in a shop. the fact that he was well mannered and comported himself very honourably during the game allowed me to relax and exorcise the competitive jerk from my own self.
Friday 17 April 2009
Severius vs. Epic Asphyxious
I played against Mike's Cryx again last night and was defeated. After my initial shock at how powerful Bile Thralls, Bane Knights and Death Knell are, I decided to post a Battle report.
Round 1
We both moved forward toward each other. I formed up properly around the Temple Flame Guard (TFG) and Mike seemed to be a bit muddled up as he dashed forward in a mob. We both put down buffs and that was about it.
Round 2
Cryx turn:
-The Satyxis raiders charged my Jack wall on the left side of the field. They hit and damaged the castigator and the Revenger, taking out the castigator's left arm; each time they damaged, they also did a point of feedback to Severius.
-Asphxyious cast death knell through his arc node and killed 7 of the TFG and the standard bearer and the officer. They were in shield wall and had protection of menoth, but it seemed to not matter at all. Makes me wonder if there is a use for stuff with shield wall now as there are so many ways around it.
-The Bane Knights moved up nearer the Raiders, while on the right flank the Mechanithralls moved up to totally get in the way and tie up my Seneschal and Dervish. The rest of his army advance a little and that was it.
Menoth turn:
-Upkept Vision on Severious and Eye of Menoth overall.
-I moved Severius up behind the devout and cast Ahes to Ashes, killing 4 Bane Knights.
-The Reclaimer handed two focus to the castigator, who then moved forward a used combustion to kill 6 of the Satyxis Raiders.
-The Revenger stabbed the last raider that opened a trample lane toward the Satyxis Sea Witch, which the Avatar then used very well.
-The Avatar squashed the remaining witches as he ran over the top of them toward the Sea Witch who also died. He had focus left so he made a sword attack and killed a Bane knight that happened to be there and then Activated Menoth's Gaze.
-The Seneschal ran around the edge of the Mechanithralls (surviving the free strikes) and killed the Necrosurgeon.
-The Knights Exemplar move forward to form an extra screen around Severius in case the Devout isn't enough.
Round 3
Cryx turn:
-Asphyxious used his feat and brought back to 'life' all the Bane Knights I had killed and a bunch of Raiders as well.
-The bile Thralls move forward and one of them purges, killing a couple of Mechanithralls and all of my Knights Exemplar. The rest of the bile thralls shot at Severius and the Devout. One of them did more damage to Severius. At the time I thought this was ridiculously overpowered, but that was mainly because it is the second time in a row the Knights exemplar have been wiped out by one attack, before they had done anything. maybe I will stop using them so much.
-The Detahripper then slammed into the devout, knocking Severius down and leaving him open to the Bane Knight that was out of the range of Menoth's Gaze.
-The Bane Knight killed Severious and so my jack heavy army was rendered useless.
I think there are two reasons I lost:
1. I underestimated my opponents. It was only the fourth or fifth time I had faced Cryx
and I didn't know their models well enough to combat them properly.
2. I didn't play Severius defensively enough. I directly used ashes to ashes (he was that close to the front line) rather than channeling it.
What have I learnt?
Severius is an excellent caster and if I had used the arc node I really think I would have won the game. I was slaughtering him and apart from a Seether and some solos, he really didn't have much left, whereas I still had four jacks. maybe even 5 if the Avatar could have survived all those Bane Knights. So I will use Severius again today and use him properly.
Round 1
We both moved forward toward each other. I formed up properly around the Temple Flame Guard (TFG) and Mike seemed to be a bit muddled up as he dashed forward in a mob. We both put down buffs and that was about it.
Round 2
Cryx turn:
-The Satyxis raiders charged my Jack wall on the left side of the field. They hit and damaged the castigator and the Revenger, taking out the castigator's left arm; each time they damaged, they also did a point of feedback to Severius.
-Asphxyious cast death knell through his arc node and killed 7 of the TFG and the standard bearer and the officer. They were in shield wall and had protection of menoth, but it seemed to not matter at all. Makes me wonder if there is a use for stuff with shield wall now as there are so many ways around it.
-The Bane Knights moved up nearer the Raiders, while on the right flank the Mechanithralls moved up to totally get in the way and tie up my Seneschal and Dervish. The rest of his army advance a little and that was it.
Menoth turn:
-Upkept Vision on Severious and Eye of Menoth overall.
-I moved Severius up behind the devout and cast Ahes to Ashes, killing 4 Bane Knights.
-The Reclaimer handed two focus to the castigator, who then moved forward a used combustion to kill 6 of the Satyxis Raiders.
-The Revenger stabbed the last raider that opened a trample lane toward the Satyxis Sea Witch, which the Avatar then used very well.
-The Avatar squashed the remaining witches as he ran over the top of them toward the Sea Witch who also died. He had focus left so he made a sword attack and killed a Bane knight that happened to be there and then Activated Menoth's Gaze.
-The Seneschal ran around the edge of the Mechanithralls (surviving the free strikes) and killed the Necrosurgeon.
-The Knights Exemplar move forward to form an extra screen around Severius in case the Devout isn't enough.
Round 3
Cryx turn:
-Asphyxious used his feat and brought back to 'life' all the Bane Knights I had killed and a bunch of Raiders as well.
-The bile Thralls move forward and one of them purges, killing a couple of Mechanithralls and all of my Knights Exemplar. The rest of the bile thralls shot at Severius and the Devout. One of them did more damage to Severius. At the time I thought this was ridiculously overpowered, but that was mainly because it is the second time in a row the Knights exemplar have been wiped out by one attack, before they had done anything. maybe I will stop using them so much.
-The Detahripper then slammed into the devout, knocking Severius down and leaving him open to the Bane Knight that was out of the range of Menoth's Gaze.
-The Bane Knight killed Severious and so my jack heavy army was rendered useless.
I think there are two reasons I lost:
1. I underestimated my opponents. It was only the fourth or fifth time I had faced Cryx
and I didn't know their models well enough to combat them properly.
2. I didn't play Severius defensively enough. I directly used ashes to ashes (he was that close to the front line) rather than channeling it.
What have I learnt?
Severius is an excellent caster and if I had used the arc node I really think I would have won the game. I was slaughtering him and apart from a Seether and some solos, he really didn't have much left, whereas I still had four jacks. maybe even 5 if the Avatar could have survived all those Bane Knights. So I will use Severius again today and use him properly.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Privateer models: Beauty and the Beast
I have to say that part of the reason that I play privateer games is because I was attracted by the look of the Warmachine minis. The Jacks looked awesome to my uninitiated eye back in 2006. The level of quality that is presented by a well finished Warmachine figure is second to none. There are figures that are as good, but there are none (imho) better. Having said all that, they can be a real pain in the arse to put together.
I started playing Warhammer in 1987 and then moved on to 40k and a few other miniature based wargames, but I never really had trouble putting the minis together and I would never have had to pin any of them. Warmachine has really introduced me to a new level of preparation for painting. I now have to pin a lot, which is a skill I only recently (the last few years) had to learn and I also resort to green stuff a lot as well; my mind boggled at how much green stuff I used on my castigator.
The miniature assembly is the only thing that really bugs me about the game. I don't want a drop in the quality of the sculpts, but it is asking a bit much when I have to pin a 28mm miniature in more than one or two places. Now let me present to you Gravus:
If I am lucky I will get away with three pins, but it might be prudent to pin his head as well, so that will be four. I'm sure the shoulder pad and the base don't require pinning, but you can never be too careful.
Well with that rant over I can get back to play testing Mk 2. I have a 50 pt game on Thursday night and I think there may be a spot for me on Friday at one of the local stores.
I started playing Warhammer in 1987 and then moved on to 40k and a few other miniature based wargames, but I never really had trouble putting the minis together and I would never have had to pin any of them. Warmachine has really introduced me to a new level of preparation for painting. I now have to pin a lot, which is a skill I only recently (the last few years) had to learn and I also resort to green stuff a lot as well; my mind boggled at how much green stuff I used on my castigator.
The miniature assembly is the only thing that really bugs me about the game. I don't want a drop in the quality of the sculpts, but it is asking a bit much when I have to pin a 28mm miniature in more than one or two places. Now let me present to you Gravus:
If I am lucky I will get away with three pins, but it might be prudent to pin his head as well, so that will be four. I'm sure the shoulder pad and the base don't require pinning, but you can never be too careful.
Well with that rant over I can get back to play testing Mk 2. I have a 50 pt game on Thursday night and I think there may be a spot for me on Friday at one of the local stores.
Monday 13 April 2009
Mk 2 thoughts and clour schemes
I have read through some of the posts other players have written (on the forums and on blogs) about the Mark 2 rules and am impressed by the level of thought that has gone into a lot of it; I'm not counting the people that are crying because their favourite, broken, MK 1 game killer has been tamed by the nerf bat.
My own experiences were mostly fun games against friends or friends of friends and there was never any upset or über competitiveness. I played a few tournament games, but that was not the norm for me, so my in depth understanding of the intricacies of Mk 1 are not as in depth as much of what I have been reading. The switch to Mk 2 for me has been easy; I had no favourite broken thing (except possibly Vilmon) to mourn.
After saying all that I will present my findings as I find them. I played on Thursday against Cryx and Mike took a bunch of stuff he never used to take, which is a good thing. I will list a few of my thoughts about various units:
Harrower:
I had never seen one fielded before and if it sucked before it doesn't now. It charged my Knights Exemplar unit and killed all of them with thresher. My Castigator took it out, but it was close.
Castigator:
I only bought it a week ago, so I had never used it before and was very happy with the results. The combustion attack with a 2" area attack wiped out almost a whole unit of mechanithralls in one go. When the necromancer chick (don't know her name) brought them back to life in the next turn, the Castigator did it again and this time killed the necromancer.
Revenger:
Still a solid light warjack. Dished up a Thresher and some of the Mechanithralls. I am happy with it and would use it again.
The Choir:
I think I like the way the choir works better now than before. I like the way the power works from each member of the choir rather than from the priest leading them. I think it means that one choir might be enough in future.
The Reclaimer:
Being able to give three focus to one Warjack is more useful than being able to spread them around. The soulstorm is also excellent, but I never got to test it out as i didn't realise he had it until it was too late.
Painting thoughts
How important is a colour scheme across the whole army? I ask because I tire of my blue and red scheme. I dropped the blue on my knights and I dropped the red on Feorra, but overall my army is blue and red. I mention this because I am contemplating painting my Avatar differently.
I managed to finish Vilmon and my Seneschal yeterday and got a lot done on the Reclaimer as well.
My own experiences were mostly fun games against friends or friends of friends and there was never any upset or über competitiveness. I played a few tournament games, but that was not the norm for me, so my in depth understanding of the intricacies of Mk 1 are not as in depth as much of what I have been reading. The switch to Mk 2 for me has been easy; I had no favourite broken thing (except possibly Vilmon) to mourn.
After saying all that I will present my findings as I find them. I played on Thursday against Cryx and Mike took a bunch of stuff he never used to take, which is a good thing. I will list a few of my thoughts about various units:
Harrower:
I had never seen one fielded before and if it sucked before it doesn't now. It charged my Knights Exemplar unit and killed all of them with thresher. My Castigator took it out, but it was close.
Castigator:
I only bought it a week ago, so I had never used it before and was very happy with the results. The combustion attack with a 2" area attack wiped out almost a whole unit of mechanithralls in one go. When the necromancer chick (don't know her name) brought them back to life in the next turn, the Castigator did it again and this time killed the necromancer.
Revenger:
Still a solid light warjack. Dished up a Thresher and some of the Mechanithralls. I am happy with it and would use it again.
The Choir:
I think I like the way the choir works better now than before. I like the way the power works from each member of the choir rather than from the priest leading them. I think it means that one choir might be enough in future.
The Reclaimer:
Being able to give three focus to one Warjack is more useful than being able to spread them around. The soulstorm is also excellent, but I never got to test it out as i didn't realise he had it until it was too late.
Painting thoughts
How important is a colour scheme across the whole army? I ask because I tire of my blue and red scheme. I dropped the blue on my knights and I dropped the red on Feorra, but overall my army is blue and red. I mention this because I am contemplating painting my Avatar differently.
I managed to finish Vilmon and my Seneschal yeterday and got a lot done on the Reclaimer as well.
Thursday 9 April 2009
Castigator completed in time to castigate
I finished my Casty this afternoon and am pretty happy with the result, especially since I departed from a technique I have been using for a long time. The difference was that I didn't ink the non metallic colours. I know its not that huge a thing to do differently, but I always (on key miniatures) use ink to provide a level of shade. I still inked the metallics though because they look flat without it and I am not good enough to do NMM.
Here he is from the side view. The only thing I don't like about the job is the pose he is in. The look I was going for was the scrapper throwing caution to the wind and diving into melee, but instead I got something else that could be called where are my keys?
I also did a lot more on the base than I normally do and I am happy with it for a first attempt, but I think in future I want my cobbles or flagstones to look more 3D. I think I have to rethink how basing is done. I might dig up a youtube vid of that prolific Canadian (I think he is the Kamloopian or something) model making guy. He has heaps of shows about miniatures and how to do stuff and he does it in real time, which means that while you might have to wade through 45 minutes to see a technique fully exploited, you get to see how it is done.
Last I have a picture of Rez and his Casty. I think Rez looks pretty proud of the little fella all grown up.
Next on the agenda (I have another week off work) is my Exempar Seneschal and my Reclaimer.
Here he is from the side view. The only thing I don't like about the job is the pose he is in. The look I was going for was the scrapper throwing caution to the wind and diving into melee, but instead I got something else that could be called where are my keys?
I also did a lot more on the base than I normally do and I am happy with it for a first attempt, but I think in future I want my cobbles or flagstones to look more 3D. I think I have to rethink how basing is done. I might dig up a youtube vid of that prolific Canadian (I think he is the Kamloopian or something) model making guy. He has heaps of shows about miniatures and how to do stuff and he does it in real time, which means that while you might have to wade through 45 minutes to see a technique fully exploited, you get to see how it is done.
Last I have a picture of Rez and his Casty. I think Rez looks pretty proud of the little fella all grown up.
Next on the agenda (I have another week off work) is my Exempar Seneschal and my Reclaimer.
Wednesday 8 April 2009
High Executioner Reznik has an offer for you
Here is Reznik after I finished him (I think I posted photos of him then) and then finished him again. I have gone back to the old blue and red colour scheme that I departed from with the exemplars; I replaced the blue with black.
Here he is from the other side with his Eddie Izzard inspired scroll of doom.
Here he is from the other side with his Eddie Izzard inspired scroll of doom.
Castigator
I am trying out the Mark II rules tomorrow night, so it seems like a good opportunity to get my Casti painted. So here 'he' is with most of his base colours on.
I am thinking of trying a new technique, which actually means, not doing something I normally do. If it works I will be happy to mention it. If it doesn't I will pretend I never didn't do it.
I am thinking of trying a new technique, which actually means, not doing something I normally do. If it works I will be happy to mention it. If it doesn't I will pretend I never didn't do it.
Monday 6 April 2009
Rebasing
I went back over all my Menoth miniatures and fixed up their bases. For the most part they were just sanded and then painted brown; if they were lucky there may have been a little rock there as well. I decided to add a little bit of dried up looking grass to most of the bases to give them a better look. I am happy with the result.
I also bought the new Green Ronin game: Song of Ice and Fire Role Playing. I mentioned that I already played it using the free dowloadable version a while ago. I am glad I bought the book, because while I won't play the game in its entirety, i will definitely use the mechanics for other games I plan to run.
I also bought the new Green Ronin game: Song of Ice and Fire Role Playing. I mentioned that I already played it using the free dowloadable version a while ago. I am glad I bought the book, because while I won't play the game in its entirety, i will definitely use the mechanics for other games I plan to run.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Spending spree
I bought a whole bunch of Menoth stuff from my LGS yesterday.
I am moving to China in a few months and want to make sure I have stuff to paint. This will keep me busy for a little while at least.
I am moving to China in a few months and want to make sure I have stuff to paint. This will keep me busy for a little while at least.
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