Like any other gamer, I play in a few different systems. Actually, it's only since I've been attending Charing Cross Gaming Club that I have branched out into other systems. Before, I was just loyal to 40K with my Dark Angels and Necrons. But now, I play Warmachine with my Menoth, Monsterpocalypse with my Terrasaurs and Empire of the Apes. In the past, I have also collected Fantasy Dwarfs and Warriors and Daemons of Chaos, but those flirtations never became any thing.
Until now! I managed to get rid of my Chaos horde (all those Warriors, Knights and Horrors) but for some reason kept my Dwarfs. I have seen an opportunity to make my Army of Smaller Persons into an actually legal force. I have never played Fantasy. I had no inclination to play Fantasy. So why did I agree to take on even more Beardy Midgets? I have trouble remembering the rules for 40k and Warmachine. I've just started to take MonPoc a bit more seriously and also don't want to lose touch with Necromunda. So why do I have the urge to start playing with Dwarfs?
I guess I have all of next year...
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Necrons vs Orks (Planetary Empires) - 17/11/09
After a long absence flirting with various Privateer Press games, I dusted off my Rusty Ruiners (not sure that’s a good word/name) and got back into 40k. As mentioned previously, I signed myself up to take part in a Planetary Empires campaign down at Charing Cross Gaming Club. I had chosen to challenge Paul (EdSmahsa) and his Ork army. Before the game, Paul had gone through what bonuses I could get for holding certain tiles on our map. I was holding a Hive City and other bits, I would be receiving + 150 points to add to my army, a bonus for my reserve rolls, and a chance to give up to three of my units special abilities.
Unsure of the make-up of Paul force, I took the following:
Necron Lord with Resurrection Orb and Destroyer Body.
3 x Wraiths
6 x Immortals
14 x Warriors
13 x Warriors
13 x Warriors
4 x Destroyers
3 x Destroyers
3 x Heavy Destroyers
2 x Tomb Spyders
I felt fairly confident with this list as I had a shooty core of Warriors and Immortals, and then my Destroyer Flying Circus to move around and cause a bit of trouble. That was until I saw what Paul was taking! Paul hasn’t mailed me his list yet, but from what I can remember there were:
Four trukks full of Boyz
Four Bike including big boss guy (forget his name)
Shokk Attakk Gun plus lots of Gretchin.
Snikrot.
We rolled for deployment (Spearhead), mission (thingy kill points thingy) and set-up (Paul won and I couldn’t seize the initiative either). The Trukks and bike all set-up in a line almost at the edge of their deployment zone, making sure that at least one Trukk was looking to try and out flank me. The Shokk Attak Gun stayed back but it was close enough to threaten me from the start. Snikrot stayed back in reserve.
I set up two small cores of firepower (one of two units of Warriors and the other with the Immortals and remaining Warriors) in the centre of my zone, while the Wraiths looked to cover my left flank and my Flying Circus to go out to my right.
TURN 1
Paul made a general (and scary) advance towards my front line. One Trukk went to hunt my Wraiths and another went to hold up any potential Destroyer advance. There was some cannon fire from the Trukks but with very little effect. The Shokk Attak gun surprised everyone with an accurate shot, but gave no surprises when my Warriors shook it off.
I decided that my core units were not going to move at all and just sit and fire. The Wraiths took cover from the oncoming Trukk on my left flank. The Destroyers moved out and poured fire into first immediately into the first visible Trukk (which subsequently blew up and killed half the Boyz onboard) and then into the bikes (causing a miserly single wound). Their shooting could have had a calming effect on me by being a tad more effective. As it were, it was down to the massed fire power of my Warriors and Immortals. Combined they managed to disable a single Trukk and take out the weapons on another. No comfort to be had there either.
TURN 2
Paul was forced into disembarking two of his Trukks, but didn’t mind as they were pretty much in charge range. Which is what they did. 24 Boyz charged directly into the centre of my force. The Trukk on my left advanced and unloaded, while the ejected Boyz on my right charged the Destroyers. The bikes also made a charge on my Immortals. A little bit of shooting saw the Shokk Attak gun surprise again. This was also an accurate, but ineffectual shot. The large mob of 24 Boyz decided to shoot before they engaged. This had managed to put some of my tin pots on their backs temporarily. Combat came along and hurt me very much. My Wraiths 3+ Invulnerable saves were no match for 11 Boyz, not including the Nob (44 attacks!). To my right, the six Boyz who were thrown from their destroyed Trukk charged the first unit of Destroyers and took down two. The bikers charged into the Immortals with devastating results. Not one of the Elites were left standing. Then came the big one Pauls two units of Boyz charged forward as one. They targeted my Warrior unit. Paul and I decided to treat this as one big combat. 24 of his Boyz vs 14 of my Warriors. We worked out that without the Nobs, Paul would roll a hefty 88 attack dice. I can’t remember how many of my trashcans fell but it was about a quarter of them. Naturally they just wanted to rest a little.
My turn was fairly easy. No Wraiths on my left. My Immortals gone. My Warrior core engaged. All that I could do before resuming combat was to move and fire upon Paul’s bikerz. My Destroyers managed to whittle the Speedfreeks down to the Nob and one other. My Destroyer unit that was engaged got cut down which unfortunately meant the those six Boyz would be able to charge next turn and cause more havoc. My only hope would be for my Warriors brave warriors to allow themselves to be killed which could possibly set-up a kill-box allowing my two remaining units of Warriors to catch the Orks in a deadly cross-fire. Sadly this didn’t happen due to a good saving throw and a Tomb Spyder nearby. Only half of the unit now remained.
TURN 3
This turn like last turn saw Paul fail his reserves roll which meant that Snikrot could not come in and damage my fire base. Paul then looked to cause more mayhem with his bikes as they charged into my Destroyers with his Power claw wielding Nob taking a couple down. The Boyz in the middle finally took down the Necron roadblock only to look down more than two down Gauss Flayer barrels. On my right, Paul’s ‘Destroyer-Hunter’ Boyz engaged another unit (this time my Heavy Destroyers) with good effect. None were left standing/hovering.
My turn was looking very bleak indeed. With most of my Flying Circus down and out and my Wraiths and Immortals dead as well, outcome of the fight would come down to how long 26 Warriors and a Tomb Spyder could hold out against a practically unscathed Ork horde. The shooting phase was over pretty quickly as I only had a total of 52 to hit rolls to make. The C’Tan were not smiling on me as most of the shots bounced off of the Orky armour plating (!?!?). But several Greenskins DID die, but not enough to cause a Panic test in either mob. This left the last of my Destroyers to fight off their opponents. They proved that they are not combat specialists and were torn apart. There also was the last charge of my Necron Lord against the Warboss on his bike. He managed to wound the big guy, but was then lost the last of his own wounds.
ORK WIN
As it was nearing closing time at the club, we had to wind our game up here. Which I was quite thankful for as I didn’t want it to be a complete massacre. Paul getting the first turn was my downall. He was able to get all of his Boyz in and do what they do best and chop enemies to pieces. I was also thankful for not facing Snikrot. While never coming up against him before, I know that Snikrot can be quite a painful fellow. If I had first turn I would have properly set up a kill zone to trap the Orks, probably making it easier for me. My Wraiths didn’t have the chance to be as effective as the last time I used them. The Flying Circus would have tried to take down the Trukks before they reached me, causing the Greenskins to come to me on foot. Thay also could have zoomed around and been a general nuisance.
A heavy loss for me allowed Paul to try and take one of my territories on the map, which he did successfully. I now have to make this up against some one else. The bright side of this battle was the fact that my Metal-heads did not phase out. Could this be the start of a good habit.
Unsure of the make-up of Paul force, I took the following:
Necron Lord with Resurrection Orb and Destroyer Body.
3 x Wraiths
6 x Immortals
14 x Warriors
13 x Warriors
13 x Warriors
4 x Destroyers
3 x Destroyers
3 x Heavy Destroyers
2 x Tomb Spyders
I felt fairly confident with this list as I had a shooty core of Warriors and Immortals, and then my Destroyer Flying Circus to move around and cause a bit of trouble. That was until I saw what Paul was taking! Paul hasn’t mailed me his list yet, but from what I can remember there were:
Four trukks full of Boyz
Four Bike including big boss guy (forget his name)
Shokk Attakk Gun plus lots of Gretchin.
Snikrot.
We rolled for deployment (Spearhead), mission (thingy kill points thingy) and set-up (Paul won and I couldn’t seize the initiative either). The Trukks and bike all set-up in a line almost at the edge of their deployment zone, making sure that at least one Trukk was looking to try and out flank me. The Shokk Attak Gun stayed back but it was close enough to threaten me from the start. Snikrot stayed back in reserve.
I set up two small cores of firepower (one of two units of Warriors and the other with the Immortals and remaining Warriors) in the centre of my zone, while the Wraiths looked to cover my left flank and my Flying Circus to go out to my right.
TURN 1
Paul made a general (and scary) advance towards my front line. One Trukk went to hunt my Wraiths and another went to hold up any potential Destroyer advance. There was some cannon fire from the Trukks but with very little effect. The Shokk Attak gun surprised everyone with an accurate shot, but gave no surprises when my Warriors shook it off.
I decided that my core units were not going to move at all and just sit and fire. The Wraiths took cover from the oncoming Trukk on my left flank. The Destroyers moved out and poured fire into first immediately into the first visible Trukk (which subsequently blew up and killed half the Boyz onboard) and then into the bikes (causing a miserly single wound). Their shooting could have had a calming effect on me by being a tad more effective. As it were, it was down to the massed fire power of my Warriors and Immortals. Combined they managed to disable a single Trukk and take out the weapons on another. No comfort to be had there either.
TURN 2
Paul was forced into disembarking two of his Trukks, but didn’t mind as they were pretty much in charge range. Which is what they did. 24 Boyz charged directly into the centre of my force. The Trukk on my left advanced and unloaded, while the ejected Boyz on my right charged the Destroyers. The bikes also made a charge on my Immortals. A little bit of shooting saw the Shokk Attak gun surprise again. This was also an accurate, but ineffectual shot. The large mob of 24 Boyz decided to shoot before they engaged. This had managed to put some of my tin pots on their backs temporarily. Combat came along and hurt me very much. My Wraiths 3+ Invulnerable saves were no match for 11 Boyz, not including the Nob (44 attacks!). To my right, the six Boyz who were thrown from their destroyed Trukk charged the first unit of Destroyers and took down two. The bikers charged into the Immortals with devastating results. Not one of the Elites were left standing. Then came the big one Pauls two units of Boyz charged forward as one. They targeted my Warrior unit. Paul and I decided to treat this as one big combat. 24 of his Boyz vs 14 of my Warriors. We worked out that without the Nobs, Paul would roll a hefty 88 attack dice. I can’t remember how many of my trashcans fell but it was about a quarter of them. Naturally they just wanted to rest a little.
My turn was fairly easy. No Wraiths on my left. My Immortals gone. My Warrior core engaged. All that I could do before resuming combat was to move and fire upon Paul’s bikerz. My Destroyers managed to whittle the Speedfreeks down to the Nob and one other. My Destroyer unit that was engaged got cut down which unfortunately meant the those six Boyz would be able to charge next turn and cause more havoc. My only hope would be for my Warriors brave warriors to allow themselves to be killed which could possibly set-up a kill-box allowing my two remaining units of Warriors to catch the Orks in a deadly cross-fire. Sadly this didn’t happen due to a good saving throw and a Tomb Spyder nearby. Only half of the unit now remained.
TURN 3
This turn like last turn saw Paul fail his reserves roll which meant that Snikrot could not come in and damage my fire base. Paul then looked to cause more mayhem with his bikes as they charged into my Destroyers with his Power claw wielding Nob taking a couple down. The Boyz in the middle finally took down the Necron roadblock only to look down more than two down Gauss Flayer barrels. On my right, Paul’s ‘Destroyer-Hunter’ Boyz engaged another unit (this time my Heavy Destroyers) with good effect. None were left standing/hovering.
My turn was looking very bleak indeed. With most of my Flying Circus down and out and my Wraiths and Immortals dead as well, outcome of the fight would come down to how long 26 Warriors and a Tomb Spyder could hold out against a practically unscathed Ork horde. The shooting phase was over pretty quickly as I only had a total of 52 to hit rolls to make. The C’Tan were not smiling on me as most of the shots bounced off of the Orky armour plating (!?!?). But several Greenskins DID die, but not enough to cause a Panic test in either mob. This left the last of my Destroyers to fight off their opponents. They proved that they are not combat specialists and were torn apart. There also was the last charge of my Necron Lord against the Warboss on his bike. He managed to wound the big guy, but was then lost the last of his own wounds.
ORK WIN
As it was nearing closing time at the club, we had to wind our game up here. Which I was quite thankful for as I didn’t want it to be a complete massacre. Paul getting the first turn was my downall. He was able to get all of his Boyz in and do what they do best and chop enemies to pieces. I was also thankful for not facing Snikrot. While never coming up against him before, I know that Snikrot can be quite a painful fellow. If I had first turn I would have properly set up a kill zone to trap the Orks, probably making it easier for me. My Wraiths didn’t have the chance to be as effective as the last time I used them. The Flying Circus would have tried to take down the Trukks before they reached me, causing the Greenskins to come to me on foot. Thay also could have zoomed around and been a general nuisance.
A heavy loss for me allowed Paul to try and take one of my territories on the map, which he did successfully. I now have to make this up against some one else. The bright side of this battle was the fact that my Metal-heads did not phase out. Could this be the start of a good habit.
Friday, 13 November 2009
My Dark Angels and my Imperial Guard.
Dark Angels were not my first love when I started war gaming. In fact I was attracted to the Space Wolves. I loved Space Wolves Grey. I loved that they were crazy, bloodthirsty Nordic-style warriors. Some of the first miniatures I bought were Njal Stormcaller, the Iron Priest and Ragnar Blackmane. I painted them badly, and thought this would be a good start.
Now a dozen or so years later, I have realised that they wouldn’t be good for me. It's probably because I lost these guys. The Dark Angels became my chapter of choice. For me, Azrael just looked a bit cooler, especially when he was depicted in a diorama featured in White Dwarf a long time ago. Also, I liked the way that they are based on a knightly order and that they had a lengthy initiation process.
Today, my little green guys are sitting in boxes simply gathering dust. Like a lot of other DA players, I think that the new Codex Space Marines made them weaker. This is probably the main reason that I started my Necron side project last year. I have heard talk from someone at the club that the Dark Angels (and indeed the Blood Angels) would get a makeover. If that’s the case, then I will certainly look to get the duster out.
I have amassed quite a large force over the years with the army standing at 10810 points (11260 if you add Legendary units for Apocalypse games). Out of this lot,I can field a whole battle company (without transports), which I have used in the only Apocalypse battle I played so far. I won’t be adding to this anytime in the near future unless I see a decent deal.
Another army that I am currently neglecting is my Imperial Guard force. The reason behind this is that they will consist of only Mordian Iron Guard and Praetorians (with a few old style Stormtroopers (the static ones with the berets)). There are a few different paint schemes amongst the force as I lost most of them, bought new ones and then painted the differently, and then found the older ones. I thought this would be nice as it would reflect the idea that several Imperial guard armies who have suffered great numbers of casualties, would all be thrown in together and form a new Legion. Although in this case, all troops are fiercely loyal to their home force that they refused to wear a new coloured uniform (besides trying to refit a whole army at the other end of the galaxy is simply not going to happen). As these types of Guard are not made any more, I can’t really add to them. Last month, I brought some old Mordians and Stormtroopers from a guy at the Cross Gaming Club which has now made my force just about legal under the new edition Codex. I haven’t updated my spreadsheet for my Guard, but I think they would stand at a little over 2000 points. Suitable enough to get bossed around by my Dark Angels. I could start using my Guard in games, but seeing as I will not be buying new models I think they will become a little stale because they will not be as flexible as either my Necrons or Dark Angels. However, they are biding their time…
Now a dozen or so years later, I have realised that they wouldn’t be good for me. It's probably because I lost these guys. The Dark Angels became my chapter of choice. For me, Azrael just looked a bit cooler, especially when he was depicted in a diorama featured in White Dwarf a long time ago. Also, I liked the way that they are based on a knightly order and that they had a lengthy initiation process.
Today, my little green guys are sitting in boxes simply gathering dust. Like a lot of other DA players, I think that the new Codex Space Marines made them weaker. This is probably the main reason that I started my Necron side project last year. I have heard talk from someone at the club that the Dark Angels (and indeed the Blood Angels) would get a makeover. If that’s the case, then I will certainly look to get the duster out.
I have amassed quite a large force over the years with the army standing at 10810 points (11260 if you add Legendary units for Apocalypse games). Out of this lot,I can field a whole battle company (without transports), which I have used in the only Apocalypse battle I played so far. I won’t be adding to this anytime in the near future unless I see a decent deal.
Another army that I am currently neglecting is my Imperial Guard force. The reason behind this is that they will consist of only Mordian Iron Guard and Praetorians (with a few old style Stormtroopers (the static ones with the berets)). There are a few different paint schemes amongst the force as I lost most of them, bought new ones and then painted the differently, and then found the older ones. I thought this would be nice as it would reflect the idea that several Imperial guard armies who have suffered great numbers of casualties, would all be thrown in together and form a new Legion. Although in this case, all troops are fiercely loyal to their home force that they refused to wear a new coloured uniform (besides trying to refit a whole army at the other end of the galaxy is simply not going to happen). As these types of Guard are not made any more, I can’t really add to them. Last month, I brought some old Mordians and Stormtroopers from a guy at the Cross Gaming Club which has now made my force just about legal under the new edition Codex. I haven’t updated my spreadsheet for my Guard, but I think they would stand at a little over 2000 points. Suitable enough to get bossed around by my Dark Angels. I could start using my Guard in games, but seeing as I will not be buying new models I think they will become a little stale because they will not be as flexible as either my Necrons or Dark Angels. However, they are biding their time…
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Why do things happen at the same time?
I ask this because there is going to be a Necromunda campaign going on at the club. Seeing as I have committed myself to the Planetary Empires campaign, I don’t think I’ll have the time take part. I would have loved to taken my Van Saar gang along.
Hallow’d Way’s Reservoir Frogs were an unlucky gang, losing most of the time to their only opponents at the time. Due to a lack of interest in fighting from other gangs in the area, they took it as a sign to retire. Now there is talk of a comeback and potential participation in a campaign. Youngsters have now taken up the names of these legendary (useless) gang members, and hope to do Mr Brown, Mr White, etc, proud.
Knowing my luck, they will perform just as badly as their predecessors (and my Necrons, and my Menoth, and my…), but there’s no harm in trying.
Hallow’d Way’s Reservoir Frogs were an unlucky gang, losing most of the time to their only opponents at the time. Due to a lack of interest in fighting from other gangs in the area, they took it as a sign to retire. Now there is talk of a comeback and potential participation in a campaign. Youngsters have now taken up the names of these legendary (useless) gang members, and hope to do Mr Brown, Mr White, etc, proud.
Knowing my luck, they will perform just as badly as their predecessors (and my Necrons, and my Menoth, and my…), but there’s no harm in trying.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Necrons are GO!
After giving all of my attention to Warmachine for the past few months, I have decide to go back to playing 40k for a while. I have decided to keep my Dark Angels boxed up as they (and I) are waiting for a new Codex or an update at the very least. According to various forums, the Necrons are also waiting for a new Codex. But, for me, they are still current enough to still be fun. According to my spreadsheet, they now stand at a total of 5104 points (thanks to a recent acquisition of three Tomb Spyders and 5 Immortals from). I think that would be enough for me to be flexible in picking smaller lists, although you can never have enough Warriors. I still plan on adding at least a full unit roughly every month as long as I’m not distracted by another Privateer Press games system.
At my local gaming club, there is going to be Planetary Empires campaign run by EdSmasha and his Orks and I have put my metal minions forward for this. It would be good to finally get a game against EdSmasha, as our last two games have been cancelled due to illness and then childbirth. In additional to myself and EdSmasha, there will be four other players (including Nick the Dark Eldar player who tore my trashcans a new a-hole a few months ago (please see previous posts)). There will be a nice mix of armies in this campaign with some Eldar, Ultramarines and Tyranids completing our sextuplet of participants.
I am quite excited about this new campaign, but I’m up against some really good players. That, coupled with my bad dice and luck, should mean that I would be better off sticking to Dawn of War on my PC. But I shall turn up with a fully painted army (thank the C’Tan for spray paint!), which is something I cannot do with any other army for any other game (even my Van Saar Necromunda gang is incomplete). And, as ever, I will also turn up in the hope of gaining a victory.
At my local gaming club, there is going to be Planetary Empires campaign run by EdSmasha and his Orks and I have put my metal minions forward for this. It would be good to finally get a game against EdSmasha, as our last two games have been cancelled due to illness and then childbirth. In additional to myself and EdSmasha, there will be four other players (including Nick the Dark Eldar player who tore my trashcans a new a-hole a few months ago (please see previous posts)). There will be a nice mix of armies in this campaign with some Eldar, Ultramarines and Tyranids completing our sextuplet of participants.
I am quite excited about this new campaign, but I’m up against some really good players. That, coupled with my bad dice and luck, should mean that I would be better off sticking to Dawn of War on my PC. But I shall turn up with a fully painted army (thank the C’Tan for spray paint!), which is something I cannot do with any other army for any other game (even my Van Saar Necromunda gang is incomplete). And, as ever, I will also turn up in the hope of gaining a victory.
Monsterpocalypse? Yes please!
I've decided that the Cross Gaming Club is a dangerous place for me. Since I have started to attend, I have been roped into Warmachine/Hordes and now Monsterpocalypse. I was just happy building up my Necron army, awaiting the new Codex that's supposed to be coming out next year (also waiting to see if they give the Dark Angels an updated Codex as well). If I built them up to say 10,000 points, I, then at that point, might have actually started to read the Warhammer rules and then made my Dwarf army legal. I'm now safely hooked on WM/Hordes (although taking a break after the Riots and a C2A league at the club) and have now turned my greedy eyes on plastic monsters. The idea that there is a game that plays exactly like an old monster movie is just too much to resist. I've watched games where monsters throw each other and stomp and rampage through built up cities.
As the Monpoc scene was gradually gathering new players just like Katamari Damacy, a guy called Carlos decided to purchase the Series 4: Monsterpocalypse Now! Mega Kit and get people involved. Also he needed 5 additional people to cover the cost, I helpfully put my name forward. Once it was agreed who was taking which faction (I chose Empire of the Apes), we all got together after London Riots and shared out the Mega Kit. Because no-one knows what is in each box, we had to swap our goodies until we got what we wanted. It is a nice idea to do this, but I had reservations about this because you can't choose what you get. But having to swap means that you will most likely meet another gamer and end up playing after you trade. After divvying up all of the monstrous goodies, I had to rush home as I had something planned with my Princess at home. From what I heard, the rest of the Mega Kit Shareholders had pretty decent games.
I had to wait for the following Wednesday in order to get my first game. Instead of playing on club night (Tuesday) I met Carlos in a pub in Marylebone to go through the finer points of Monpoc. Carlos used his one of his new monsters from the Mega Kit (UberCorps Gorghadratron) while I used the Terrasaurs Terra Khan (whom I picked up in a box of Series 1 Monpoc stuff on evilBay). I probably should have used one of the monsters from the Mega Kit (King Kondo or Gakura), but somehow felt that a rampaging dino would have been better. It was to work out how things should work like how many units you can spawn, how to balance the Action Dice between monster and units, which buildings to stomp all over, etc. Even though it was just a friendly, I still ended up on the losing side despite being in a pub called the Perseverance (my secondary school motto being Persevere (I forget how to spell the Latin version) which I thought was a good sign). It was my first full game and I didn't know much of what all the various symols mean and how that could affect my play. A good idea would be to actually pick up, and read, a rulebook. I don't think I've ever sat down and immersed myself in any set of rules (I thaven't even read the Monpoc, Warmachine or 5th ed 40k rulebooks!) as I think it's best to learn by playing. But as I have a bad memory, I get confused and ended up losing. Which is something I should remedy as soon as possible.
As the Monpoc scene was gradually gathering new players just like Katamari Damacy, a guy called Carlos decided to purchase the Series 4: Monsterpocalypse Now! Mega Kit and get people involved. Also he needed 5 additional people to cover the cost, I helpfully put my name forward. Once it was agreed who was taking which faction (I chose Empire of the Apes), we all got together after London Riots and shared out the Mega Kit. Because no-one knows what is in each box, we had to swap our goodies until we got what we wanted. It is a nice idea to do this, but I had reservations about this because you can't choose what you get. But having to swap means that you will most likely meet another gamer and end up playing after you trade. After divvying up all of the monstrous goodies, I had to rush home as I had something planned with my Princess at home. From what I heard, the rest of the Mega Kit Shareholders had pretty decent games.
I had to wait for the following Wednesday in order to get my first game. Instead of playing on club night (Tuesday) I met Carlos in a pub in Marylebone to go through the finer points of Monpoc. Carlos used his one of his new monsters from the Mega Kit (UberCorps Gorghadratron) while I used the Terrasaurs Terra Khan (whom I picked up in a box of Series 1 Monpoc stuff on evilBay). I probably should have used one of the monsters from the Mega Kit (King Kondo or Gakura), but somehow felt that a rampaging dino would have been better. It was to work out how things should work like how many units you can spawn, how to balance the Action Dice between monster and units, which buildings to stomp all over, etc. Even though it was just a friendly, I still ended up on the losing side despite being in a pub called the Perseverance (my secondary school motto being Persevere (I forget how to spell the Latin version) which I thought was a good sign). It was my first full game and I didn't know much of what all the various symols mean and how that could affect my play. A good idea would be to actually pick up, and read, a rulebook. I don't think I've ever sat down and immersed myself in any set of rules (I thaven't even read the Monpoc, Warmachine or 5th ed 40k rulebooks!) as I think it's best to learn by playing. But as I have a bad memory, I get confused and ended up losing. Which is something I should remedy as soon as possible.
London Riots
Sunday, November 1st - Tanelorn Wargames Club, Wanstead.
Woke up bright and early for my first Warmachine/Hordes tourney (not counting Charing Cross Crush which was squeezed into half an evening). Living some way aways from Wanstead, I had plenty of time during the bus/DLR/Tube ride to psych myself up for my first win. I stepped out at Wanstead Tube a little early so I decided to walk to the venue. After what seemed like a minute, a very light shower turned into a heavy shower. All my good thoughts went down the drain at that point, not a good sign. I arrived at the venue very much soaked. Everything I wore was totally drenched. Thankfully my t-shirt was only about 20 percent wet. And this was only 0940 in the morning. I had to spend the rest of the day playing with wet feet. With all the greeting and rules laid out by Tanelorn's John Snape, we got down to the gaming.
The day was pretty hectic and I didn't take any notes (also have a shit memory) so there won't be much detail.
The rules stated that we had to pick a 450 point list without a Warcaster/Warlock. Instead, we had to take three warcasters/warlocks and rolled ramdomly for each game.
My list consisted of:
Feora, Kreoss and Severius
Crusader, Devout and Revenger
Exemplar Seneschal
Zealots (full strength plus Monolith Bearer) and Exemplars Errant (x7).
My tactics throughout the day was for the Errants to try and outflank whenever possible, while the warjacks, caster and Seneschal would advance behind the Zealots. I stuck to this plan pretty rigidly for most of the day, which was good as it meant that I didn't listen to the voice that wanted to live dangerously.
My first game was against a guy called Jay and his Skorne.
This was a pretty frustrating game as Jay for the most part used a spell (I forget what it was called) on his troops which meant that when if my attacks against them missed, they could move for free without backstrike. I could hardly scratch anything. Jay bided his time and certainly made his move on Feora. Loss!
Next up was against a guy called Jon and his Asphixious-led Cryx.
This was bad. No good memories from this game at all. All my 'jacks were taken out by two units of Drudgers (?) with the scary ability Headbutt. This left Severius particularly vulnerable when surrouned by these aforementioned units. Loss!
Following this, was a game against Richard and his Legion.
This was a fun game against a fun player. My Revenger got chewed apart my two Shredders in an extremely slow manner and didn't really hit back hard enough. Seneschal took a Hydra down to a single point only to be smooshed by the said beast when it was fully healed. Feora went in to show how it was really done but was then let down by her troops when they couldn't stop her from dying. Loss!
Last game of the day was against another Jon (who beat me in three turns the week before last) and another Asphixious-led Cryx force.
Jon's Zombie pirates threw me off-guard. My Zealots were pretty much taken apart. Seneschal made good progress on a Leviathan leaving it only able to attack with it's tusks. Time was called before Asphixious could take advantage of his good position and kill Feora. Draw!
Still no win! I had a lot of fun but still no win. Overall, I wasn't generally happy with my gameplay. My Zealots proved why you shouldn't leave home without them. At times they caused quite a bit of damage to the enemy, and thankfully not much to themselves this time. I don't think I used my Errants as best I could. They were victims of hit and run attacks by Richard's Legion, torn apart by Jon's (last game) Cryx and left dumbfounded by Jay's Skorne. Special mention goes to the Seneschal. He had Feora's Ignite on him for three of the games and was pretty dangerous. Causing 4d6+13 damage on his first hit, 3d6+13 on his second and then 2d6+13 on his chain attack, he dealt a fair bit of death. Feora also proved to be a combat machine with Engine of Destruction. I didn't utilise my 'jacks much all day, I was pretty conservative with them. But the worst performer out of the lot was Kreoss! He never deigned to show his face even once.
This day left me pretty much exhausted. This seemed to be a fairly laid back tourney, so I would have to pull myself together if I want to attend something a bit bigger. But thats something to think about in 2010 as I'm going to go back to 40k and play with my equally unlucky Necrons.
Woke up bright and early for my first Warmachine/Hordes tourney (not counting Charing Cross Crush which was squeezed into half an evening). Living some way aways from Wanstead, I had plenty of time during the bus/DLR/Tube ride to psych myself up for my first win. I stepped out at Wanstead Tube a little early so I decided to walk to the venue. After what seemed like a minute, a very light shower turned into a heavy shower. All my good thoughts went down the drain at that point, not a good sign. I arrived at the venue very much soaked. Everything I wore was totally drenched. Thankfully my t-shirt was only about 20 percent wet. And this was only 0940 in the morning. I had to spend the rest of the day playing with wet feet. With all the greeting and rules laid out by Tanelorn's John Snape, we got down to the gaming.
The day was pretty hectic and I didn't take any notes (also have a shit memory) so there won't be much detail.
The rules stated that we had to pick a 450 point list without a Warcaster/Warlock. Instead, we had to take three warcasters/warlocks and rolled ramdomly for each game.
My list consisted of:
Feora, Kreoss and Severius
Crusader, Devout and Revenger
Exemplar Seneschal
Zealots (full strength plus Monolith Bearer) and Exemplars Errant (x7).
My tactics throughout the day was for the Errants to try and outflank whenever possible, while the warjacks, caster and Seneschal would advance behind the Zealots. I stuck to this plan pretty rigidly for most of the day, which was good as it meant that I didn't listen to the voice that wanted to live dangerously.
My first game was against a guy called Jay and his Skorne.
This was a pretty frustrating game as Jay for the most part used a spell (I forget what it was called) on his troops which meant that when if my attacks against them missed, they could move for free without backstrike. I could hardly scratch anything. Jay bided his time and certainly made his move on Feora. Loss!
Next up was against a guy called Jon and his Asphixious-led Cryx.
This was bad. No good memories from this game at all. All my 'jacks were taken out by two units of Drudgers (?) with the scary ability Headbutt. This left Severius particularly vulnerable when surrouned by these aforementioned units. Loss!
Following this, was a game against Richard and his Legion.
This was a fun game against a fun player. My Revenger got chewed apart my two Shredders in an extremely slow manner and didn't really hit back hard enough. Seneschal took a Hydra down to a single point only to be smooshed by the said beast when it was fully healed. Feora went in to show how it was really done but was then let down by her troops when they couldn't stop her from dying. Loss!
Last game of the day was against another Jon (who beat me in three turns the week before last) and another Asphixious-led Cryx force.
Jon's Zombie pirates threw me off-guard. My Zealots were pretty much taken apart. Seneschal made good progress on a Leviathan leaving it only able to attack with it's tusks. Time was called before Asphixious could take advantage of his good position and kill Feora. Draw!
Still no win! I had a lot of fun but still no win. Overall, I wasn't generally happy with my gameplay. My Zealots proved why you shouldn't leave home without them. At times they caused quite a bit of damage to the enemy, and thankfully not much to themselves this time. I don't think I used my Errants as best I could. They were victims of hit and run attacks by Richard's Legion, torn apart by Jon's (last game) Cryx and left dumbfounded by Jay's Skorne. Special mention goes to the Seneschal. He had Feora's Ignite on him for three of the games and was pretty dangerous. Causing 4d6+13 damage on his first hit, 3d6+13 on his second and then 2d6+13 on his chain attack, he dealt a fair bit of death. Feora also proved to be a combat machine with Engine of Destruction. I didn't utilise my 'jacks much all day, I was pretty conservative with them. But the worst performer out of the lot was Kreoss! He never deigned to show his face even once.
This day left me pretty much exhausted. This seemed to be a fairly laid back tourney, so I would have to pull myself together if I want to attend something a bit bigger. But thats something to think about in 2010 as I'm going to go back to 40k and play with my equally unlucky Necrons.
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