What a good night on Tuesday! This was a double-header that saw mixed fortunes.
First of all, was a game of Warmachine against Carlos and his Cryx. We agreed on 35 points so I used the same Severius list (with just a small change) I’ve been using for a couple of weeks now.
Severius
Vanquisher
Blessing of Vengeance
Exemplar Errants (full strength)
Zealots (full strength and Monolith Bearer)
Choir (full strength)
Reclaimer
Exemplar Seneschal
Gorman di Wulfe (in place of a Vassal - Gorman would accompany the Zealots and aid them with his Rust and Black Oil grenades.)
Carlos fielded:
Pirate Queen Skarre Warcaster
Corruptor - Helljack
Seether - Helljack
10 Satyxis Raiders + Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
10 Mechanithralls
Skarlock Thrall
Warwitch Siren
Pistol Wraith
Necrotech
Scrap Thralls
I’m writing this a week after, so you won’t actually get a blow-by-blow account of the proceedings, but I’ll try to lay down the main flow of the game. I think that because of the way the terrain was set-up, Carlos’ force ended up in a bottleneck between patches of wooded terrain (which was good for me). I got my Errants to outflank him with Advanced Deploy which worked to a degree until I had to call them back to help protect Severius. Pretty much everything in my force performed well with the exception of Gorman. In Gorman’s defence, he did tie up the Necrotech plus I left him behind the Zealots which left out of range for the game. It might be a little easier for me to list the achievements unit by unit from here on in.
Severius: Performed well and managed to pop his feat at a crucial time (Skarre had been able to generate a horrid amount of Focus). He also utilised his BoV well, using it’s channelling bonus on Ashes to Ashes (I hit the first target, a Satyxis Raider, (now pow 13 because of the BoV’s bonus and Eye of Menoth) and then rolled a 6. All but one of the remaining Raiders survived their own pow 13 hits.) and being in the right place at the right time to channel Immolation a couple of times on Skarre.
BoV: Used it’s Bushwhack Imprint and Defensive Strike ability well when the Satyxis raiders charged.
Vanquisher: Strode forward and got in the way of the Helljacks coming towards it. It’s Flame Belcher was also effective against the Mechanithralls before it got taken down.
Errants: Advance Deployed on my right flank to pick off the Scrap Thralls with their Crossbows. Ran back to take on one of the Helljacks and stop it from charging Severius.
Choir: Very solid as they sang their songs of Prayer and kept giving my warjacks their buffs.
Zealots and Monolith Bearer: There will never ever be a reason NOT to take Zealots to the battlefield. As usual, they proved themselves taking out the Mechanithralls and putting a huge dent on one of the Helljacks (I can’t remember which one, they both had claws and were scary). The Monolith Bearer squeezed off his mini feat at probably the right time.
Reclaimer: Collected the souls of the Errants and Zealots that did die and ably gave them to my ‘jacks.
Exemplar Seneschal: Stayed behind everyone until the right moment where he took out one of the Helljacks in spectacular style. With all of his benefits (+2 for two or more Errants dying in his Cmd range, + 1 from Eye of Menoth, Weapon Master and his charge) the Seneschal boxed his opponent with 4d6+14 followed by 3d6+14 which was followed by his Smite chain attack for 2d6+14. Smite then knocked the Helljack back into Skarre, knocking her down. This made it easy for Severius to Channel Immolation through the BoV.
I was pleased how everything came together and pleased that I had worked on my forces synergies. I was caught unaware by Carlos’ tactic of Skarre bolting forward to cast Backlash (Warcaster suffers one point of damage when Warjacks in his/her battle group suffer damage) on BoV, and then getting the Satyxis Raiders to charge it. As the Raiders have Backlash on their whips, Severius was suffering two points of damage each time the BoV was hit. Severius took a lot of damage before I could shake off the raiders. Also I didn’t like the way Skarre was able to generate lots of Focus with Ritual Sacrifice which Carlos used to good effect. The Pistol Thrall scared me enough to take Gorman away from the Zealots and let them engage each other. All in all, I thought that this was a very good game and that both of us learnt a few tricks for our respective forces.
The second part of the night saw my Ratskin gang take on big scary Spiders in their campaign action. After last week shameful attempt at exploring, they were ready to give it another go. Again, the objective was to kill 10 big scary spiders and then I would gain another territory (of which I am losing at a steady rate to the house gangs). Things started off well with the gang starting in groups of 3-4 attempting to use numbers in their favour. I think I got first blood, but then the kill ratio was quite even. Eventually the spiders upped their killing and caused me to bottle after I had killed seven of the arachnids. So no territory for me, but I did collect a decent bounty for each of the spiders killed. However, this bonanza of credits was spent on replacing the two Ratskins who had rolled a ‘Dead’ result on the Serious Injuries Chart (and this is despite Ratskins being Resilient).
So I now go into the next campaign turn making a third attempt at driving out the spiders.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Monday, 17 May 2010
Phase in / painted up.
I just received my OOP Necrons today. Thank you Maelstrom Games! 20 Warriors, 3 Destroyers, 5 Immortals, 7 Scarabs and a Lord (this put a serious dent in this month’s finances – I had already spent my £50-60 that I allow myself). I will try and post some pics along side my the newer models. These models more or less came out when me and my friend ‘took a breather’ from the hobby and did a little growing up (and at that time I was strictly a Dark Angels man), which is why I don’t have any in my collection (not even the one GW attached to the front of White Dwarf). When I saw them on evilBay I knew I must have them, but really didn’t think it through. I don’t think that they’ll give me the impetus to play 40k a bit more as I’m thoroughly into Warmachine right now and would like to get the odd game of Infinity and/or Malifaux.
These Necrons actually came to me painted which is nice because, as I’ve said before, I hate painting (I really do). This little lot pushed my army up to 6792 points all in. I’m probably not going to play an Apocalypse game anytime soon, but it’s nice to have a large collection.
I did manage to sit down and paint for a few hours either side of the Grand Prix yesterday which I was quite surprised at. I put the finishing touches to my Menoth Choir and Vanquisher. They look like they’ve been painted by an elephant (I don’t care – they will certainly be eligible for tourneys that require painted minis), but at least they are out of the way. All of my ‘jacks are done (except for my Blessing of Vengeance) as well as my Zealots, Severius and Kreoss. I still have to finish my Monolith Bearer, Errants, Deliverers, Flameguard and Seneschal, while I need to make a start on various solos and ‘casters. Once that’s done, I’ll think about painting my Infinity and Malifaux stuff.
These Necrons actually came to me painted which is nice because, as I’ve said before, I hate painting (I really do). This little lot pushed my army up to 6792 points all in. I’m probably not going to play an Apocalypse game anytime soon, but it’s nice to have a large collection.
I did manage to sit down and paint for a few hours either side of the Grand Prix yesterday which I was quite surprised at. I put the finishing touches to my Menoth Choir and Vanquisher. They look like they’ve been painted by an elephant (I don’t care – they will certainly be eligible for tourneys that require painted minis), but at least they are out of the way. All of my ‘jacks are done (except for my Blessing of Vengeance) as well as my Zealots, Severius and Kreoss. I still have to finish my Monolith Bearer, Errants, Deliverers, Flameguard and Seneschal, while I need to make a start on various solos and ‘casters. Once that’s done, I’ll think about painting my Infinity and Malifaux stuff.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Famous quote.
"In Khador there are no cakes, only ice creams made from manly tears and profiteroles made from the sadness of grieving families." Gringo.
I was laughing so hard, my wife thought I was having an anuerism.
I was laughing so hard, my wife thought I was having an anuerism.
My Menoth future
I am quite happy with my Menoth force currently and I have a fairly solid plan of what I wish to add in the future. At least I did until the forces of Menoth book came out. I’ve looked at it, especially the tiered lists for each warcaster, and found myself changing my mind.
I think I will continue with next months plan and get both the Temple Flameguard and new Exemplar Errant unit attachments along with a Castigator. But after that, I was looking at either getting the Exemplar Bastions or Cinerators. Instead, I might get another unit of Zealots due to my purchase of Vindictus and the High Reclaimer this month. They both seem to work best with plenty of infantry (Vindictus especially because of his feat).
I may also look to get another unit of Exemplar Errants. I have found them to be quite useful and will look to be even more useful with their new unit attachment and Seneschal. I do like the idea of an all Exemplar force led by Kreoss.
Before MKII, I was thinking about pairing a Castigator with a unit of Flameguard Cleansers as they could be used as ‘holy hand grenades’ which is seemed just as much fun as Zealots’ grenades all deviating wildly (I do find it fun in a way that is full of character).
I also wanted to get a few Mercenary solos, which I have done by ‘hiring’ Gorman di Wulfe, Doc Killingsworth, Rhupert Carvolo and (when he arrives) Orin Midwinter. I would love to hide Gorman amongst the Zealots. In my last game, I got the Zealots to charge a heavy warjack, and they actually gave it quite a bit of pain. With Gorman in tow, they can take advantage of his Black Oil grenade and let fly with plenty of firebomb goodness. I haven’t had the chance to use Rhupert yet, but I am aware of what he can do. But I am now a little disappointed with Killingsworth under MKII. Under MKI, he would have been a great solo to follow my warcaster around and grant Tough and have the opportunity to heal d6 points of damage. Now it seems that he can only provide these services to Faction models. So he may have to wait until I get the urge to start a Mercenary force or I might just sell him on.
In the far future (or at least before the end of the year), I would really like to start a Skorne force for Hordes. I want something that would be a complete contrast from Menoth, and maybe Skorne will fit in with that. I do like the big Titan warbeasts. Also, they are red and gold which are the same colour as my Menoth (I don't like the idea of Menoth White which is in all the fluff). Additionally, red and gold(en yellow) is the colour of my Praetorian Imperial guard. Maybe I can do my Dwarf throng in red and gold. Why don't I repaint my Necrons red and... no! Forget it! They were hard enough to paint as it was hard enough - one sprayed coat of Boltgun Metal, one cup of tea, one sprayed coat of Devlan Mud wash, another cup of tea, and then find something else to do until I can be bothered to do the details.
Distractions aside, I’ve come up against Hordes armies a few times before and enjoyed the look of them. I remember playing a game against Skorne last year and just almost soiled myself when I saw what I was up against. But I really should put this plan to the back of my mind. As I have several other gaming interests all on the go.
I think I will continue with next months plan and get both the Temple Flameguard and new Exemplar Errant unit attachments along with a Castigator. But after that, I was looking at either getting the Exemplar Bastions or Cinerators. Instead, I might get another unit of Zealots due to my purchase of Vindictus and the High Reclaimer this month. They both seem to work best with plenty of infantry (Vindictus especially because of his feat).
I may also look to get another unit of Exemplar Errants. I have found them to be quite useful and will look to be even more useful with their new unit attachment and Seneschal. I do like the idea of an all Exemplar force led by Kreoss.
Before MKII, I was thinking about pairing a Castigator with a unit of Flameguard Cleansers as they could be used as ‘holy hand grenades’ which is seemed just as much fun as Zealots’ grenades all deviating wildly (I do find it fun in a way that is full of character).
I also wanted to get a few Mercenary solos, which I have done by ‘hiring’ Gorman di Wulfe, Doc Killingsworth, Rhupert Carvolo and (when he arrives) Orin Midwinter. I would love to hide Gorman amongst the Zealots. In my last game, I got the Zealots to charge a heavy warjack, and they actually gave it quite a bit of pain. With Gorman in tow, they can take advantage of his Black Oil grenade and let fly with plenty of firebomb goodness. I haven’t had the chance to use Rhupert yet, but I am aware of what he can do. But I am now a little disappointed with Killingsworth under MKII. Under MKI, he would have been a great solo to follow my warcaster around and grant Tough and have the opportunity to heal d6 points of damage. Now it seems that he can only provide these services to Faction models. So he may have to wait until I get the urge to start a Mercenary force or I might just sell him on.
In the far future (or at least before the end of the year), I would really like to start a Skorne force for Hordes. I want something that would be a complete contrast from Menoth, and maybe Skorne will fit in with that. I do like the big Titan warbeasts. Also, they are red and gold which are the same colour as my Menoth (I don't like the idea of Menoth White which is in all the fluff). Additionally, red and gold(en yellow) is the colour of my Praetorian Imperial guard. Maybe I can do my Dwarf throng in red and gold. Why don't I repaint my Necrons red and... no! Forget it! They were hard enough to paint as it was hard enough - one sprayed coat of Boltgun Metal, one cup of tea, one sprayed coat of Devlan Mud wash, another cup of tea, and then find something else to do until I can be bothered to do the details.
Distractions aside, I’ve come up against Hordes armies a few times before and enjoyed the look of them. I remember playing a game against Skorne last year and just almost soiled myself when I saw what I was up against. But I really should put this plan to the back of my mind. As I have several other gaming interests all on the go.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Minor hit and major miss.
Well, last night was fun.
First up was a game against a newcomer to Warmachine.
Mark fielded a Khador force with the Butcher at it's head. He also took the very immense looking Behemoth, a unit of Assault Kommandos and a unit of Man-o-war Shocktroopers.
I took Severius along with the Blessing of Vengeance and a Vanquisher. This was supplemented by full-strength Choir, Exemplar Errants and Zealot (with Monolith Bearer of course) units. And following these were an Exemplar Seneschal, a Reclaimer and a Vassal. The game was a bit one-sided as Mark didn’t use all of his point allocation and I didn’t realise this at all (not being entirely familiar with Khador troops). So I won’t really chalk this up as a win, but I will take heart from the fact that I started to remember the order in which I should activate models.
The game itself saw the Zealots reform well causing heavy damage on the Behemoth and then dying in order to become souls for the Reclaimer. The Errants protected my flank by taking out the Assault Kommandos (this could have been a lot tougher if Mark and I remembered that they were entitled to another attack each). But the Kommandos did enough to make sure the Errants stayed away from the main fight. The Vanquisher, aided by the Vassal made good progress on the Shocktroopers. Also, while engaged by the Behemoth at the end of the game, the Blessing of Menoth was not properly utilised. It did use it’s Bushwhack Imprint to Repel the Behemoth, leaving it open to a very effective Exemplar Seneschal (who himself caused a lot of damage). One thing about the Blessing I forgot to use was it’s affinity with Severius. Once in the game, I could have got a +2 bonus to damage with a channelled spell (this would be added to the +2 given by the Choir’s Battle hymn and +1 for Severius’ Eye f Menoth spell – a total of +5), Immolation would have finished off Behemoth leaving the Seneschal to take down the Butcher.
Speaking with Mark after the game, he definitely wants to take a cheaper heavy ‘jack (Kodiak for example) next time. He would also like to have been more offensive with the Shocktroopers (they could have put a dent or three in my Vanquisher) and Kommandos. Also, remembering to take the full allocation of points (the additional 11 points could have yielded another ’jack and maybe another unit) would have changed the whole complexion of the game.
But we will have a rematch in a couple of weeks to make it right. We probably want to look at having a 50 point game, in which I would probably take the same list and add another ‘jack and a solo or two.
The second part of the night saw me play my Necromunda campaign action. As the last exploration action was quite successful, I went for another one. This time I had to face giant spiders. All I had to do was kill 10 of the aforementioned creepy-crawlies. The spiders took the first turn and charged towards my Ratskins, leaving me to set most of them up on Overwatch. Second turn saw the Spiders charge. They took down three of my guys after everyone on Overwatch failed to cause a wound. I did manage to beat one of the spiders in combat leaving me with 9 more to go. The start of my turn saw me fail quite a few panic tests giving me a bottle roll, which I failed after coming up with a double 6! GAME OVER.
This was, to say the least, a very horrible way to finish the game. It’s like making my Necrons phase out after turn three. This was totally unacceptable, and the Ratskins will have to try harder next time.
Next time a the club I have a 35 point Warmachine game against Carlos who is also just starting out with the vile Cryx. I am looking forward to this as it will give me more practice with pSeverius. I want to use one specific warcaster for some time before trying someone else (I don’t know who will be next out of pKreoss, pFeora, the High Reclaimer and Vindictus). And having taken an extra two minutes (!!!) to look at the Forces of Menoth book, I think I can field some tiered armies currently which will make things a touch more thematic.
First up was a game against a newcomer to Warmachine.
Mark fielded a Khador force with the Butcher at it's head. He also took the very immense looking Behemoth, a unit of Assault Kommandos and a unit of Man-o-war Shocktroopers.
I took Severius along with the Blessing of Vengeance and a Vanquisher. This was supplemented by full-strength Choir, Exemplar Errants and Zealot (with Monolith Bearer of course) units. And following these were an Exemplar Seneschal, a Reclaimer and a Vassal. The game was a bit one-sided as Mark didn’t use all of his point allocation and I didn’t realise this at all (not being entirely familiar with Khador troops). So I won’t really chalk this up as a win, but I will take heart from the fact that I started to remember the order in which I should activate models.
The game itself saw the Zealots reform well causing heavy damage on the Behemoth and then dying in order to become souls for the Reclaimer. The Errants protected my flank by taking out the Assault Kommandos (this could have been a lot tougher if Mark and I remembered that they were entitled to another attack each). But the Kommandos did enough to make sure the Errants stayed away from the main fight. The Vanquisher, aided by the Vassal made good progress on the Shocktroopers. Also, while engaged by the Behemoth at the end of the game, the Blessing of Menoth was not properly utilised. It did use it’s Bushwhack Imprint to Repel the Behemoth, leaving it open to a very effective Exemplar Seneschal (who himself caused a lot of damage). One thing about the Blessing I forgot to use was it’s affinity with Severius. Once in the game, I could have got a +2 bonus to damage with a channelled spell (this would be added to the +2 given by the Choir’s Battle hymn and +1 for Severius’ Eye f Menoth spell – a total of +5), Immolation would have finished off Behemoth leaving the Seneschal to take down the Butcher.
Speaking with Mark after the game, he definitely wants to take a cheaper heavy ‘jack (Kodiak for example) next time. He would also like to have been more offensive with the Shocktroopers (they could have put a dent or three in my Vanquisher) and Kommandos. Also, remembering to take the full allocation of points (the additional 11 points could have yielded another ’jack and maybe another unit) would have changed the whole complexion of the game.
But we will have a rematch in a couple of weeks to make it right. We probably want to look at having a 50 point game, in which I would probably take the same list and add another ‘jack and a solo or two.
The second part of the night saw me play my Necromunda campaign action. As the last exploration action was quite successful, I went for another one. This time I had to face giant spiders. All I had to do was kill 10 of the aforementioned creepy-crawlies. The spiders took the first turn and charged towards my Ratskins, leaving me to set most of them up on Overwatch. Second turn saw the Spiders charge. They took down three of my guys after everyone on Overwatch failed to cause a wound. I did manage to beat one of the spiders in combat leaving me with 9 more to go. The start of my turn saw me fail quite a few panic tests giving me a bottle roll, which I failed after coming up with a double 6! GAME OVER.
This was, to say the least, a very horrible way to finish the game. It’s like making my Necrons phase out after turn three. This was totally unacceptable, and the Ratskins will have to try harder next time.
Next time a the club I have a 35 point Warmachine game against Carlos who is also just starting out with the vile Cryx. I am looking forward to this as it will give me more practice with pSeverius. I want to use one specific warcaster for some time before trying someone else (I don’t know who will be next out of pKreoss, pFeora, the High Reclaimer and Vindictus). And having taken an extra two minutes (!!!) to look at the Forces of Menoth book, I think I can field some tiered armies currently which will make things a touch more thematic.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
False hopes / new additions.
Nope! It is not a case of new venue, new luck! I rocked up to the club to play some Warmachine and got my Menoth butt handed to me (by a guy called Jeremy and his Khador) in the first session, and then suitably squished in the second after some hot Menoth on Menoth action (thanks Nat). I will make a couple of excuses in my defence, however. These were my first games under the MKII rules and I was getting myself all muddled up. Also, I still haven't sat down and read/studied/absorbed the rules (quelle surprise as my wife would say). Yes, these are rubbish excuses! they shouldn't even be excuses. I knew I should have just sat down Sunday morning, ignored the cat and the aforementioned wife, and forced myself to do something about it. Instead, I found myself gorging myself on some Monday Night Raw and Smackdown from a couple of weeks ago.
Still, I'm going to try again tonight. I'll be playing a new guy to the club, and indeed Warmachine itself. This means it won't be a competitive game which is good as I don't do competition very well. I just like to turn up and have a drink and roll my uncooperative dice.
Gaming aside, I have made quite a few additions to my various forces:
MonPoc: I have purchased another monster (Rakadon) and lots of grunts for my Terrasaurs/Empire of the Apes force. I have nearly enough of each model released so far so I have a lot to choose from the next time I play. All before the next block of releases for the game.
Warmachine: I bought Vindictus, the Blessing of Menoth, Dartan Vilmon, The High Reclaimer (this should have been Orin Midwinter), Gorman di Wolfe, Doc Killingsworth and the Temple Flameguard unit attachment.
40k: I don't have a particular need to add to my Dark Angels or Necrons (especially with GW's future price increases), but when I saw some OOP Necrons I snapped them up. I got a Necron Lord, seven Scarabs, 20 Warriors, 5 Immortals and 3 Destroyers. ALL OLD SKOOL!!!
Malifaux: for some unknown reason, I took advantage of Tor Gaming’s clearance on their Malifaux mini’s. I bought a shed load of Outcasts, much more than I need to start.
All in all I have spent way too much on models and I'm going to take forever painting (thankfully the old style Necrons are already painted). The only thing I didn't buy was luck...
Still, I'm going to try again tonight. I'll be playing a new guy to the club, and indeed Warmachine itself. This means it won't be a competitive game which is good as I don't do competition very well. I just like to turn up and have a drink and roll my uncooperative dice.
Gaming aside, I have made quite a few additions to my various forces:
MonPoc: I have purchased another monster (Rakadon) and lots of grunts for my Terrasaurs/Empire of the Apes force. I have nearly enough of each model released so far so I have a lot to choose from the next time I play. All before the next block of releases for the game.
Warmachine: I bought Vindictus, the Blessing of Menoth, Dartan Vilmon, The High Reclaimer (this should have been Orin Midwinter), Gorman di Wolfe, Doc Killingsworth and the Temple Flameguard unit attachment.
40k: I don't have a particular need to add to my Dark Angels or Necrons (especially with GW's future price increases), but when I saw some OOP Necrons I snapped them up. I got a Necron Lord, seven Scarabs, 20 Warriors, 5 Immortals and 3 Destroyers. ALL OLD SKOOL!!!
Malifaux: for some unknown reason, I took advantage of Tor Gaming’s clearance on their Malifaux mini’s. I bought a shed load of Outcasts, much more than I need to start.
All in all I have spent way too much on models and I'm going to take forever painting (thankfully the old style Necrons are already painted). The only thing I didn't buy was luck...
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