Moving to Wordpress

OK, point your browsers to this address:

http://ghettokorestudios.wordpress.com/

As soon as I get Kater on board over there and all the other bells and whistles added to the widgets, all new posts will be at Wordpress.

The Sub-partisans

This is a great f'n idea and a refreshing way to look at Warmachine and Hordes.

From Not Dice's post:

This all kind of started last year when I decided to switch from running an ultra-competitive eLylyth blitz to surprise people at GenCon Hardcore last year to this WTF Ashlynn list that actually turned out to be really boss. I got a lot of shocked looks at the convention when they heard I took Ashlynn to Hardcore. Some people thought I was flat out nuts. Well, I kinda am.

Then someone at the tournament tells me that the format handicaps Trollbloods and that they can't be competitive in HardCore. All that does is just get me to play them. Partially to disprove that kind of garbage, and partly because it's an underdog. Let's face it. We all love underdogs. As I got deeper into the faction, I heard more rumblings from within. Trollbloods need Champs. Kriel Warriors suck. So what does that kind of guff drive me to do? Build lists with Kriel Warriors and no Champs, of course.

At some point I saw my idea catching. A couple of last year's more successful Hardcore players are picking up Trollbloods, one of them just to have a run with the "sucky" faction. One of my locals started building a Xerxis Hardcore list. I see it popping up here and there. People making lists for fun! Not for badass-ness, not for brokenness, not out of any sense of competitive drive. Just because it sounds like a hoot.

I'm in. I've been a part of this group pretty much from the time I started playing Warmachine -- I simply couldn't understand why people said certain models sucked, especially if they never play with them. It's never made sense to me. The Sub-Partisans... yeah, that makes all the sense in the world.

Between this, Mk II and the various painting projects I'm involved in, this is one hell of a time to play Warmachine and Hordes. I like it. A lot.

The times, they are a changin'

OK, here's a heads up:

I'm in the process of getting this happy little blog set up over at Wordpress. I know I toyed with this a few months ago, but I'm really going to do it because I have another blog I'm running and I'm contributing to another on Wordpress. It just makes sense for me to do it.

I suspect that until I get things set up the way I want them at Wordpress, I'll mirror posts at both addresses. I don't think I'll completely kill this one, but there will come a point where the updates won't happen here.

I'll make sure everyone knows when that happens.

~ Jen

March Challenge ~ Skarath WIP

So here's what I've been working on. 

The theme for the LGS painting contest is "It's not easy being green." And I wanted to paint a big, green snake. So here it is. I've been working on it for about a week now, off and on. Mostly off. :P

Basecoat with Necrotite Green, Sulfuric Yellow and Iosan Green.

We attempted to shade the snake with a little Iosan Green and a lot of Mixing Medium. We weren't sure we liked this, so the snake sat. (We, as in the snake and I).

Well, it sat and seasoned, and the shade wash just didn't give me enough to work with to layer. So the parts with Iosan got shaded with Gnarls Green and the Necrotite got hit with Iosan. The only part that worked with the wash was the Sulfuric Yellow bit.

I've got a definite look in mind for this snake -- it won't even be close to the studio art. After I get it finished, I'll post the pic I'm using for inspiration. I hope I can get it close. More importantly, I hope the blending comes out the way I want it to. Lots of layers, very wet brush small strokes. Must be patient with this one, as the final product will be posted at brushthralls.com in addition to the Privateer forums. 

It should be fun. This kind of painting is pretty relaxing. Nevermind the 30 other models I need to get finished... who's bright idea was it to add Bushwhackers to the Challenge??

Cygnus of Awareness Army 1 or Army 2

Well I need help working on lists for the Breast Cancer Brawl. I only want to work one Army list so I need to work it out which way to go. I only want alterations to the list if you think I have a gaping hole in the workings of the list. Yes the lists are supposed to be unfriendly and meant to win, I want to truly kick ass and have a pink army win the brawl, the Championship round needs to be two pink armies going at each other, and currently I know of only two so Jen, we need to whip some ass.

List 1
742pts 26VPS

Coleman Stryker
Ol' Rowdy
Thorn
GMCA
Jr.
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
plus the Dude UA
marshaling Sentinel
Black 13th(I said I wanted a competetive list)
Sword Knights 8 strong
plus UA
Rupert Carvolo

List 2
Captain Allistair Caine
Ol' Rowdy (he is one I am not sure about having, want thoughts on him with eCaine)
Squire
GMCA
Jr,
Hunter assigned
Laddermore
Arcane tempest gun mages
with the Dude UA
marshalling Sentinel
Black 13th
Eiryss, regular, was thinking of the focus campers, if everyone agrees she should be here that means i have to buy and paint her too
Reinholdt

Please let me know, any and all peeps which one would be better off, so I can train with it specifically. Just thought about it, I need to find a pink shirt for the tourney, maybe from RvB the dude its lightish red shirt?

Khador for the Cure

Got some good news tonight: I have a sponsor for my Breast Cancer Brawl army! The good folks at All About Games! are going to donate the models for the army. In return, I paint the army and auction it, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. Additionally, I am going to do my damnedest to run the best/biggest Breast Cancer Brawl event west of the Rockies.

Needless to say, I am very fired up about this. I know it's more than 6 months to BCB, but I want to make it an event that will get folks in from out of town -- which likely means a Saturday tourney instead of a Sunday. I know that Privateer has expressed an interest in providing additional support for these events, but those details haven't been worked out yet.

One thing I'd like to do is center a painting challenge/blog (separate from here) on getting armies ready for BCB. Currently, Scott and I are participating in Band of Bodgers II, which runs from April 1 to July 31. That would give me August and September to get the Khador force painted, unless I made it my BBII army. Must ponder this.

In any event, this was the news I was waiting for. Now to get models in hand and assemble them.

This is the list:

Army Name: Butcher Brawl
Khador
743/750 points, 29 VP, 20 models

Kommander Orsus Zoktavir 78 points, 5 VP
* Beast-09 126 points, 5 VP
* War Dog 18 points, 1 VP

Man-O-War Drakhun (+dismount) 70 points, 2 VP
Great Bears of Gallowswood 76 points, 2 VP
Greylord Ternion 43 points, 2 VP
Koldun Lord 30 points, 1 VP
Man-O-War Kovnik 34 points, 1 VP
* Juggernaut 105 points, 4 VP
4 Man-O-War Shocktroopers 87 points, 3 VP
2x Manhunter 22 points, 1 VP each
Yuri the Axe 32 points, 1 VP

Hey, well.....

So March has come in like a Lion, as far as being healthy. The snow was interesting, but it hadn't slowed me down near as much as catching the crud. My youngest picked up a case of strep, and it looks like after fighting the crud, I may have picked it up. As you might be able to guess, I have been sleeping a lot more than painting. I am glad I went light on models for the painting challenge. The trenchers still need highlights, but I managed to get a few more base coats down on the Cygnar 'jacks. Still haven't touched the Protectorate stuff, but they have been patiently waiting in the case to be finished.

I will write/ post more as I get to it. No promises.

Oh, yeah, the Bastions are f*ing awesome. 2 units for me please.

Cygnus of Awareness

Okay so I got pictures taken, got them uploaded and am editing the rest, but I get to treat everyone to three images. And with these pics everyone sees why I usually have Bobaferret take pics for me.





Color Scheme talk like I mentioned
I went with Cryx bane base and highlights for armor, Bobaferret got me looking into this color and I think it makes a nice rich dark contrast to the light rosy pink that I am going with. My metals will probably be getting a face lift when I get into the store next due to the Trolls armor. And with most of the soldiers will have pink hair. I have to place front edge markers on and I figured to mark the very front with the breast cancer ribbon. Some of the other pics will be with a different base because I had not decided to go with the microart bases when I started.

Rockets' dead glare

So I play-tested a list for Devilsquid on Sunday. And like most games I have against Mike, this one was brutal and bloody and fun -- the way a clash between Cygnar and Madrak's band of freedom fighters should be!

He did his write-up here, and will be by to steal pics to his blog in the next day or so. I'm lagging, so he has no pics. Nyah. That's OK. I stole the lists from his blog. Except I had to correct mine. ;)

Mike's Cygnar Army (499 pts, 16VPs) Siege Brisbane Squire Defender Journeyman Warcaster Reinholdt Sword Knights [8] + UA Trenchers [9] Trencher Grenade Porter

DS Trolls (495 pts, 18 VPs) Madrak Ironhide Troll Axer Troll Impaler Troll Impaler Stone Scribe Chronicler Fell Caller Pyg Bushwackers [6] Kriel Warriors [7] + UA KW Caber Thrower

Round 1

Deployed. First one to murder all the hobbitses wins a prize.

Jen Turn 1

da Axe to Mouf Gang has developed a simple strategy to open a game: RUN. We did, to a certain extent. KWs advanced, Stone Scribe Elder read Chapter 1 on the KWs, Madrak, Impalers and Axer advanced. The Bushwhackers went off running behind Joel L Keep with Juan Cinco in hot pursuit and that was me.

Yeah, the Trolls were kinda close to those damn Trenchers.

Mike Turn 1

The Evil, Hated Sword Knights (unless, of course, I'm running them) ran. Junior advanced, cast Arcane Shield (gasp!) on the SKs. Siege put Explosivo on the Defender. Defender takes aim at Def 13 Pygs, misses and deviates onto nothing. Trenchers move, dig in and throw smoke. Woo.

Round 2

Hasn't anyone told Trenchers that smoking is bad?

Jen Turn 2

The Pygs, eager to prove their worth in battle in the hopes of someday riding on the back of a Dire Troll Blitzer, CRA on the EHSK. First CRA doesn't do enough damage to kill, but the second resolves with an EHSK vaporized into a fine, pink mist. Good Pygs. One Impalers boosts a spear hit to the face of an EHSK, then I roll snakes on damage. Hmmm. Madrak casts Surefoot on the Axer, KWs advance, as does the SSC.

You guys, get the hell out of our valley!

Mike Turn 2

Well, the Trenchers apparently took offense at the Pygs offing some of their Caspian brothers. So they took it out on the Kriel Warriors. Or tried to, rather. It went something like this:

- dead

- miss

- miss

- miss

- dude, that's my armor

- 22 damage to standard bearer's face! Ow. Not tough.

- throw smoke (boo!)

Reinholdt makes the first move in the Siege posse, Squire also stays close. Siege ground pounders something and misses. Reinholdt does his reload trick and Siege tries to put a rocket up someone's hiney and misses. Phew. Defender, taking offense at missing the previous turn, puts a boosted shot into Unnamed Impaler for 8 points of damage. EHSK move to screen Siege, Junior runs.

Round 3

We can smell the stink of Cygnar. Things must die.

Jen Turn 3

Historically, this is where the shit hits the fan when Mike and I play. Sunday was no different, only I didn't expect my own models to turn on me. Smiley, my favorite light warbeast, fails a threshold check with 1 fury. I rolled a 9. He attacks Unnamed Impaler and does 9 points of damage. Wow. Yay me. :rolleyes: Unnamed Impaler says, "Forget this shit, I'm outta here," and advances to take out his frustrations on the Defender. He chucks a spear and does 8 points back to the Defender.

Yup, he axed some questions.

Not wanting to miss out on the action, the Axer charges the Evil Hated Sword Knights and kills one. Juan Cinco, hidden behind Joel L Keep, does War Cry on the Whackers. Inspired and full of themselves, the Pygs advance on the Defender and take aim... they hit and do 8 points of damage to the 2. Of course not to be outdone, Madrak hefts Rathrok and, thanks to Far Strike, flings it at the Defender. He only does 5 points, but it's to column 6. The damage wraps and both arms fall off the Jack! w00t! He ricochets Rathrok into Siege... and misses by 1. KWs advance, the Caber Thrower takes aim at the EHSKs... and misses??? WTF? *sigh*

Fewer Evil Hated Sword Knights, but enough to hurt the Trolls.

Mike Turn 3

And here we learn why Siege is a bad motherfucker.

He pops is feat and Ground Pounders Madrak. Mike rolled well for damage, and with halved armor, there was no way Madrak was taking the hit. He used his scroll, bye-bye damage, none for me thanks. Unnamed Impaler takes it in the face and dies. As does the Stone Scribe Chronicler, who failed his tough roll. Reinholdt reloads Siege, who tries to put a rocket up Madrak's tail pipe -- and misses on a boosted attack roll! He throws Higher Ground on Trenchers and puts Explosivo on Junior. Full of himself, Junior takes aim at a KW. Man, that feat turn shot hurts. A lot. Except when you're tough, bitches!

The Trenchers, in Higher Ground, can see a lot of shit. A lot. Of Kriel Warriors. Four of them CRA on Madrak and Mike rolls boxcars to hit. Madrak takes 5 points. The rest of the Trenchers, packed in like sardines around the Grenade Porter, start lobbing grenades at my Trolls. Bastards and their AOEs.

- not tough, killed

- tough

- miss (leader)

- not tough, killed

- hit, meets armor

- piper lives

- no damage to Smiley

- Standard bearer, no dmg

- miss

Evil Hated Sword Knights charge Madrak and there are still 2 on the Axer. Thank Grimmr they don't get dismember on warlocks. First EHSK does 13 dmg to Axer, second attack does 4. Second EHSK does 2 points, then another 6 for the kill. Against Madrak, the EHSK do:

- 4 points

- miss

--

- miss

- no dmg

--

- miss

- 3 pts

Round 4: The final countdown

Hi, my name is Crusher, and I'll be your murderer today.

Jen Turn 4

Well, we're in deep shit. Madrak up to his armpits with EHSK and then, then Smiley frenzies. Again. With a 9. Again. This time, he goes after a Sword Knight. He should make short work of him. Except for rolling 3 2s for damage. Bugger. Screw him, let's play with Pygs.

Whackers move, can't hit Siege on the CRA. Four of em shoot at EHSK

- hit, no dmg

- dead

- miss

- hit, no dmg

Madrak pops his feat. Crusher. A great name. He's gotta clear out the EHSKs, or it's bad shit.

- dead

- miss (crusher)

- miss

- miss

- miss

- dead

- miss

- dead

I could not get Crusher going with him. SKs are only Def 13. My dices seriously shit the bed on this one. So I switched to my PG dice -- the all blacks with the Privateer Press logo on 'em.

KWs charge -- one into the Trenchers, the others into EHSKs. The charge on the EHSK flag misses. And here's how Crusher got his name.

- 21 dmg to Sgt, dead

- 15 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 18 dmg to Porter, dead

- 16 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 18 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 18 dmg to Trencher, dead

- 12 dmg to Trencher, not dead

Six dudes. He plowed through 6 dudes. Disgusting to say the least, can't wait to try it with Champs with War Cry! Holy crap.

And that's all I can do. 

Take a look at those dice. Those are boxcars. That's bad.

Mike Turn 4

Thankfully, Mike cut to the chase. A turn without Ground Pounder is like a day in March without snow (seriously, the weather here has been really fucking weird). Ground Pounder on Madrak, boosted everything and splat. Game over man, game over.

No, he's not just sleeping.

So, what did we learn from the game today Madrak?

• Madrak's feat is really, really good.
  
• You can survive Siege's feat turn if you remember what your own models do.
• Bushwhackers are way more fun than they should be.
• I suck at tough rolls. Again.
• Do not forsake the Privateer Dice.
• You can do well with Champions, but I miss them when they're not there.
• Mike loves Sword Knights as much as I do and does very well with melee-heavy Cygnar (*sniffle* Grasshopper is all growed up now).
• When they're fully painted, my Trolls will look damned good when they die.

Beefy Angry Trollblood goodness!

That's Horthol. I wants him nao.

Edit to add:

Once a proud chieftain in his own right, Horthol has adapted to the needs of war with good humor and surprising resiliency, taking to the Long Rider saddle as if born to it. Now the bison riders look to him for direction and are ready to follow him unflinchingly wherever the war takes him. Astride his ground-shaking steed with his great hammer in hand he is an unstoppable force. This box contains all the parts necessary to assemble one mounted Horthol, Long Rider Champion and one dismounted Horthol. A player may include one Horthol, Long Rider Champion in his Trollblood horde.

I'm gonna be a poor lil Ferret in June...

But I love you, Privateer Press. I really, really do.

Beefy Exemplar goodness!

That's a Bastion next to a TFG. Beefy Exemplar goodness!

Well, a nice little surprise on the Privateer Press web site this morning. This is what they had to say:

June heralds the first of Privateer Press’s new plastic miniature kits, the Exemplar Bastions. Our new plastic models maintain the excellent detail and quality you’ve come to expect from Privateer Press. These models were designed with the hobbyist in mind, and the high-quality plastic makes assembly and conversion work easier than ever before. Best of all, each Exemplar Bastion kit contains a full five-man unit.

The Exemplar Bastion Unit comes in a box (PIP 32058, MSRP $44.99).

For more information on everything these fantastic new kits hold in store be sure to check out No Quarter Magazine #24 this June, and get ready to lay down the rule of the Lawbringer!

So we have to wait until June. That makes me Sad Panda, but holy shit, do those models look good!

They're worth the wait. I'll be getting at least one box... at $45 a pop, I can afford two. But I don't know how many 1000-point games I'll get in with Protectorate.

Some of you may remember a post made by Matt Wilson back in November. I would challenge any of those naysayers to dare say these models look shit. I mean really, if I didn't know they were plastic, there's no way to tell!

So seriously, naysayers, you've seen what they can do with plastics. STFU or go play Bella Sara.

A tip of the hat to Matt and the crew at Privateer Press. I have yet to be disappointed with any product at this point, something I can't even say about Apple, my most favoritest company in the world (hockey puck mouse, anyone?).

Keep kicking ass and taking names; 2009 is truly epic for those of us who love Warmachine and Hordes. Thank you.

iBodger Army: Madrak Beaters

Army Name: Madrak Beaters
Trollbloods
745/750 points, 24 VP, 26 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

Dire Troll Mauler 111 points, 3 VP
Troll Axer 72 points, 2 VP
Troll Impaler 75 points, 2 VP
2x Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP each
8 Pyg Bushwackers 84 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Hero 38 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Making a hat

Most of this was posted elsewhere, thought I'd share it here.

I played a team game with a couple of my friends last night. I took Madrak, my teammate, Wade, took Doomshaper. Wade's fiance, Haley, took Kromac (the same one that leaped off my painting table) and her teammate, Kater, brought his Searforge. We grabbed a nice table in the back corner of the gaming area, since we were full-up on C2A games last night. The store was pretty crowded, so you had to work to get to where we were. 

Wade and I won the roll and we get deployed. The other team finishes deployment when the stereotypical nerd trundles up to our table. He's wearing gray sweatpants (don't they always?), a t-shirt that's two sizes too small and a jacket of some kind.  

I've seen him before. He just started playing Magic, and often wants to see all of the pre-constructed decks and then wants to know if there are specific cards in the tournament packs. He's a little dense, and more than a little creepy. The unwashed hair and acne do nothing to help his image. Sadly, he wears the card player stereotype very well.  

Anyway, this is what goes down:  

Nerd: [looks at Haley and me] "Hey, you two shouldn't be playing a game. You should be having a cat fight." 

[Haley and I exchange bewildered looks, Wade and Kater can sense trouble] 

Me: "Really? Are you sure about that? I should probably let you know -- I know karate." 

"Uh... " 

"And really, you shouldn't talk shit to people you don't know. You'll end up wearing your nutsack for a hat." 

"Uh... hey, what's this?" [picks up Sentry Stone] 

"Deployed. You also shouldn't pick up shit during people's games." 

"Uh... so what game is this? Warhammer?" 

All of us: "Warmachine and Hordes." 

[Nerd wanders to the next table]  

I would have been able to keep a straight face if not for the fact Haley started cracking up. It's because I told her about this t-shirt the day before, which is sadly sold out. I was gonna buy it when I got home last night.  

Anyway, we all got a good laugh out of it. And the karate line came up a lot last night -- "OK, my Spray Bunny is gonna target the Mauler." Really? Are you sure? He knows karate.  

I would have gone full uber bitch on the nerd if I was at 100%... since I've been fighting what is likely walking pneumonia, I've been a little more mellow. That, and I saw an opportunity to make a funny. :P Frankly, I'm surprised the nerd came up and engaged us -- he must not be afeared of teh wimmins. But really, what would make you tell two females they should be having a cat fight? And seriously, you do not pick up someone's models without permission.

There are days when I wonder how the fuck some people can manage leaving the house and being out in society. Granted, it's better that they get out of their basements (I guess), but seriously. I'm no stranger to working in a game store. Do I really need to attract all of the dorks? And do they always have to be the creepy ones? Haley's had the same problem at Hobbytown, when she was being "assisted" by one of the scarier employees there.

Other people's children. Damn.

March Painting Challenge

I've started a March Challenge thread over on the big board. So if you don't make it over there very often, now I've given you a reason. ;)

iBodger Army: DS Trolls

Army Name: DS Trolls
Trollbloods
495/500 points, 18 VP, 22 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

Troll Axer 72 points, 2 VP
2x Troll Impaler 75 points, 2 VP each
Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP
7 Kriel Warriors 58 points, 2 VP
* Kriel Caber Thrower 12 points, 0 VP
* Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper 21 points, 1 VP
6 Pyg Bushwackers 64 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Edit: Field testing this list for Devilsquid. Not that I play anything like him, but we need to see if the list is viable.

Played in a 2 v 2 tonight -- Trolls vs. Circle and Searforge. While we had some synergy going, in the end, we didn't have an answer for Brun & Lug or the 3 Bokurs. >_<>

OMG Ferret WIP photos!

Yeah. I've gotten out of the habit of doing this. No better time than the present to get back into it.

Started work on the Kilt Lifter on Sunday. Started eMadrak this morning. I'm stalled with the Kilt Lifter because I don't like the green I picked for the gobber. I think I've got it figured out. I would have finished eMadrak tonight, except I want to read some more in Meta before I head to sleep.

Anyway, pics.

Loved this model from the moment I saw it. I think the gobber will end up Traitor Green with Ordic Olive on the highlight. He's too dark.

A shame I'm not painting patterns on the quitari. They're frat boys and therefore should be wearing togas.

This model practically painted itself. Citadel washes on the armor... wow. Totally in love.

Can't believe I've waited so long to paint this model.

With any luck, I'll have both of these and some more WIPs models to show off.

It's nice to be back in the saddle. :)

Scott's March Painting Challenge

OK, here goes:

For the month of March I vow to completely paint:

Gravus (both models)
Vengers (5)

Trenchers (10)
+ UA
+ Grenade Porter (SWA)
Ironclad
Sentinel
Lancer
Hunter
Grenadier

Twenty-five models in all, and much more manageable than last month, though I did get a full unit of Sword Knights done. I will try to keep updates posted fairly regular, as well as pictures of progress. Right now the Trenchers are almost ready for ink wash. The Cygnar models are all commission work, so I have more motivation to finish them, and Gravus and the Vengers have been close to done for over a month.

Gnashing of teeth and Trollbloods

There's quite a bit of whining going on over at the forums about how horrible Trollbloods are and how the faction got screwed in Metamorphosis.

What? Are these people high?

The current whine is that you should stop blaming the player, but blame the model/rules instead.

Wow.  

I'll come right out and say that as a Trollbloods player, I suck. I've said it a lot and I'll keep saying it until I figure out how to play my army. I know it's not the models, I never blame my models. It's my inability to get things to interact at the right time due to not knowing the army or botching order of operations. I know what I want to do, I just haven't played them enough. As long as I learn something from every game I play, I'm happy.  

I don't agree 100% with the rules for any of my factions, but I can work within them. I don't blame Privateer when I lose a game -- "OMG they hatez my army and they borked it so I cant winz." That's complete and utter bull crap. If you can't figure out a rule or a special ability or how a model works, it's you, the player, not the company!  

All of the factions have a learning curve. For some of us, it's a little steeper with Trolls. It took me 10-12 months to fully grasp what my Cygnar can do, but then, I was also learning the rules. Protectorate took less time, mostly because I was used to getting my face punched in with them and knew some of the tricks. With Trolls, I'm learning Hordes for the first time. I know it's going to take time. I guess that's the difference with me and a lot of the other dorks -- I understand there's no easy button, and success will come over time. I'm patient, I'm OK with this. I think of it as lulling my players to sleep... they'll be sorry when I get good with the Trolls. ;)  

I enjoy the TB models, the flavor and the story. I'm not going to come out and say everything is perfect and nothing needs to change. But I'm also not going to come out and say it's all worthless because I'm not very good with the army. Maybe Trolls aren't my style, maybe Hordes isn't my style. But I'm not going to throw in the towel after playing the army for less than 4 months. That's unfair to me as a consumer, and unfair to the Bright Pinks, who will be fully painted by May. :)

March Challenge

Also figured I'd post my March Painting Challenge since it contains my Cygnus of Awareness army.

I want to paint

10 Sword Knights
Stryker
Druid Overseer

12 models, 2 less from last months failure

I might add Epic Kruegar but i need to see the mini, I don't like the studio work, but I might be able to re-work it.

Breast Cancer Brawl, new contender

Well I got the invite and so i figure get the posting part done and then move onto the pictures which I will try and take tomorrow night. I am also contributing for the Breast Cancer Brawl and am going with a pink Cygnar army. Someone in the family is getting the scare and we are waiting for more info(coming at the end of the month) as to how she is doing. So I figured I gotta do something and this seemed like a great idea.

Why Cygnar?? Well Legends releases did it. So I have built a few lists and thought out some ideas of what to do, and as soon as Thorn comes into the FLGS then I will have all of the models I intend to use for the upcoming brawl. Some of them are not assembled because I discovered microarts nifty epicast bases so I am waiting form ore to the hit the store before I assemble them, all they need to get in is one small base blister, one medium base, and two large base blisters, but I need to wait...I hate waiting.

Alright so the mini list, all the ones I plan to use

Casters, not sure which one to use so they will all see trial games
Stryker, assembled
EStryker, aka Darth Stryker, painted
Caine, primed
ECaine, painted
Squire, he's their attachment, painted

Jacks
Ol Rowdy, partially assembled
Centurion, primered
Sentinel, painted
Lancer, primered
Thorn, waiting to buy him

Solos
GMCA, painted
Jr. Alt Sculpt, painted
Reinholdt, unassembled
Rupert Carvolo, unassembled
Laddermore, last minute entry, unassembled
if I get most of this done and have the time I will add Strangeways

Units
Black 13th, painted
Gun Mages with UA, some assembled
Sword Knights with UA, all assembled, troops primered, 5 bases need primer, UA painted

I will cover the color scheme when I post some pictures. Thats it for now from the Cygnus of Awareness.

Foiled again!

Eaten by my own painted models!

That's Warpy and Warpy II, both of whom took huge bites out of Madrak. Warpy finished him off. 

*sigh*

March Challenge

Yup, February was filled with epic fail. I busted ass to get stuff done for Templecon and got home and never recovered. Plus, I've been sick since coming back from Providence. I easily lost a week of painting time from that.

But, it's in the past. Here's what we're looking at for March:

My models:

• eMadrak
  
• Doomshaper
  
• eDoomshaper
  
• Borka + keg carrier
  
• Grissel
  
• Grim Angus
  
• Troll Hero
  
• Kilt Lifter
• Fell Caller ~ Juan Cinco
  
• Brun & Lug
  
• Dahlia & Skarrath (LGS painting contest)

Total: 14

Commissions:

• Steelhead Cavalry [5]
  
• Stannis Brocker
  
• eMagnus
  
• Ayana & Holt conversion
  
• Nightmare (basecoated WIP)
  
• Kruger
  
• Vayl
  
• Saeryn
  
• Rorsch & Brine
  
• Thorn
  
• Exorcist Tank
  

Total: 17

Total models for March: 31

That averages out to a model a day. Notice anything about the list? Only one trooper unit! I do still need to finish the Kriel Warriors, but they'll be "off the books" as it were.

So we'll see. I'm much more excited about this month than last, though Templecon was a blast. I'm essentially clearing the decks of commissions because I've a shit-ton of Trolls to paint for the Invitational -- it's why I'm getting my 'locks all painted. Then it's beasts, units and solos, hopefully done before the Meta releases are in hand. With any luck, I'll have eDoomie in the next week or so. ;) (Pretty please, with sugar on top, Biggie?)

Breast Cancer Awareness Army ~ American Idol style

OK, now that the forums are up, go vote for Devilsquid's next breast cancer awareness army now.

And the bit of info I was holding off on yesterday: Some of you may or may not know that I'm working on a Khador army for breast cancer awareness. Yes, I'm still painting the pink Trolls, but they're a lot of things to me -- fun models and an army I'd really like to get good with. The new models they have in Metamorphosis are pretty f'n sweet.

Orsus might be crazy, but he hates blight.

The Khador is an army I'm not really attached to. I think they'll be fun to paint and play, but Cygnar is my first faction. So, after some thought and exchange of ideas with Devilsquid, I will paint 750 points of Khador, play them in the Breast Cancer Brawl tourney I'll be running in October and then auction them off with 100% of the proceeds going toward breast cancer research or mammograms for low-income women. Who knows. I may even take them to fight at another tournament.

Thankfully, I haven't lost anyone to breast cancer. I know plenty of women who have had it -- my mom is a survivor. And that puts me in the high-risk category, so yes, there is a little bit of self interest here. But really, it's one of those things where there's a high survival rate if it's caught early enough.

In any event, go vote in that thread on the forums. It'll be fun to see which army prevails. I'm donating a painted heavy to whichever army wins.

Breast Cancer Brawl

Well, with the Privateer Press forums down (*sob*), I figured I might as well throw a post up here about a future project.

I don't have a lot of details I can share right now, since all of the organizational stuff is going to take place on the forums, but keep an eye out in this space for more information about my Khador for a Cure army.

I was planning on doing a Warmachine army for breast cancer awareness since the Trolls will be painted by May. And I picked Khador because I like the idea of the Butcher running around and killing things -- all while wearing pink.

What I can tell you is that I will be hosting a Breast Cancer Brawl event in October, and that we're going to do everything we can to get corporate sponsorship so we can make a huge donation for this cause.

Anyway, I'll post a link to the thread in the forums once they're back up (*sniffle*) and I've had time to coordinate with Devilsquid. And I'm hoping for some good news, but I don't want to spill any other details until I get an answer.

Back to waiting for midnight to get here so we can have Metamorphosis!

Revenge of Dangerfish II: Lightning Crashes

Well, I switched out 'locks at the last second -- I ran Doomshaper instead of Madrak.

Key points from today:

1. Two units of Champs rock
   
2. I need to run two Fell Callers
   
3. I need to run two Heroes
   
4. I need to learn how to play with Stormblades and the Stormclad
   
5. Dice that betray you early need to be dealt with early
   
6. Champs need a delivery system
   
7. Ranged attacks are you friend
   
8. Consider taking Swamp Gobbers
   
9. Gatormen are like a 3rd unit of Champs
   
10. Never, ever rely on tough
    

OK, the thing about tough is a no-brainer. I got maybe one roll when I needed it. In any event, Dangerfish played a good game, and it was apparent I was in need of range and a better way to protect Doomshaper. I think the list works would have worked better with Madrak and Cav. But we'll see.

In any event, here are the gory details from today's fight. Things are mostly in order, since I took notes, but I was busy getting my ass kicked and might have missed something. Mike also took pics, and here's his report.

My list:

Doomshaper

Mauler

Mauler

Gatormen [4]

Kriel Stone Bearer [6]

> SS Elder

SS Chronicler

Fell Caller

Champs

Champs

Hero

Mike's list:

Stryker

> Squire

> Lancer

> Centurion

> Stormclad

Stormblades

> UA

Sword Knights

> UA

Black 13th

Yup, everything's all even now.

Mike won the roll and went first.

Mike Turn 1

Focus from Squire

Stormclad moves

Stormblades move

Lancer moves

Centurion moves

Sword Knights move

Black 13th run

Jr moves, Arcane Shield on SKs

Stryker moves, snipes SBs for 7. This was the bane of my existence, and led to my undoing...

OK, this still doesn't look so bad.

Jen Turn 1

Mauler 1 runs

Mauler 2 runs

Doomie casts Fortune on Champs 1 (primer gray)

Gators move and make a swamp

Everyone else moves

We didn't all run, but we advanced. Running might've been better.

M Turn 2

Upkeep Arcane Shield

Upkeep Snipe

focus on Centurion

SB activate: Controlled fire on Mauler 1, hits. Max dmg on roll, 16 points to the 2; body out

- arcs to Champ A for 6 points

- arcs to Champ B for 5 points

Stormclad adv

B13 adv: Return fire order; time to kill some Gators

- Lynch hits, no dmg

- Watts blaze rd on Gator C for 5 dmg

- Ryan LS Gator B

-- no dmg

-- 6 dmg to C; mage storm -- B&C dead, 3 to Bokor, 6 points to A

[We realized that the chain attack can't include an arcane effect a few turns later. No biggie.]

Centurion runs

SK adv

Stryker adv

- arcs Earthquake, Mauler 2 falls down

Yeah, not a good start for the Bright Pinks.

J Turn 2

Gators run at B13

Mauler 2 stands up, puts Rage on Hero

Hero runs

Champs 1 run

Mauler 1 heals for 1, adv

Champs 2 run

KSB adv, Protective Aura

Fell Caller War Cry

Chronicler reads Ch. 1

OK, things are engaged now. Good, right? Not really.

M Turn 3

Upkeep all

B13 activates

- Watts kills Gator A

- Lynch Blaze on Bokor for 1 dmg

- Ryan hits Bokor, no dmg; hits Bokor for 11 points.

Gumbo and boots for all.

Lancer adv, attacks Champ D (yes, that Champ D!) and misses

Cent charges Mauler 2; 11 dmg to the 3

SK charge, engage Hero

- Retaliatory strike kills one SK

- Champ D engaged

- Mauler 2 surrounded by SKs

- Hero dies, not tough

- Champ D takes 3 dmg; 2nd attack misses

- Champ C attacked, not tough

Stormclad charges Champ B

- 7 dmg on charge; 2 dmg from buckler

Stormblades CRA on Mauler 1 for 7 dmg

Jr adv, shoots Champ B and misses

Styker adv, Arcane Shield on SB, pops feat [*sigh*]

Wow. Look at the B13 over there, unscathed.

J Turn 3

Mauler 2 regen for 2

Attacks SK officer; misses 3x

Mauler 1 2-handed throw on Stormclad; throws but no dmg

Chronicler reads Charge of the Trolls on Champs 2

Champs 2 charge SK, kill 2

KSB do Strength aura

Fell Caller does War Cry

Doomie pops feat

- Casts Dissolution; all cmd checks passed

Futility. We can haz it.

M Turn 4

B13 moves

- Watts Blaze Rd Chronicler; tough

- Lynch Blaze Chronicler; not tough

- Ryan shoots Champ2 D, 6 pts of dmg, not tough

Centurion attacks Mauler 2 for 7 dmg; 2nd attack misses

SK shuffle; Maj. adv.; attack Mauler 2

- 3 pts, 4 pts 1 pt

- vs. Champs 2: miss, miss, hit, miss

SB CRA on Mauler 1, dead

Stormclad adv

Jr casts Arcane Shield, takes d3 dmg for each focus spent; takes 5 points and dies! Sucka!

Stryker Arcane Shield, out of Doomy feat range.

Hmm. I have fewer models now.

J Turn 4

War Cry on Champs 2

Champs 2 kill 3 SKs

Champs 1 in on Stormclad

KSB does protective aura

Not a lot of action. Not for me, at least.

M Turn 5

Focus from Squire

Stryker snipes SB for 7

SB CRA on Doomie, 14 dmg

B13 adv

- Watts on Scribe - not tough

- Lynch LS on Doomie, 1 dmg

- Ryan misses 2x on Doomie!

Centurion whaps Champs2 B, not tough

SKs on Champs1 C: no dmg, 1 pt; miss, hit no dmg; hit no dmg, hit 1 pt

Lancer on Champs1 D: hit, 1 pt. Shield misses on snake eyes

Stormclad: back arc on A, 4 dmg; buckler misses

Trust me. It ends badly for the Trolls.

J Turn 5

Fell Caller Juan Cinco charges B13 and kills that dirty Ryan wench

Champs 2 kill 3 SKs

Champs1 D kills Lancer! Yesss!

KSB charge Stormblades [yeah, I know, OK? :P]: miss, miss, dead

Doomie charge [OK, OK] SB Lt.: 12 dmg, night night.

Does Hoarluk Doomshaper look like a bitch? Well, now that you mention it...

M Turn 6

Stormclad attacks KSB, not tough

- attacks Champs: Buckler on Kithkar, nope. Pow 19 sword on Kithkar, tough!

Stryker arcane blast on Doomie, hits, enough to kill... TOUGH!

SBs to the face on Doomie... not tough

It was a fun, brutal game. I think Madrak would've been better, but I do like Doomie. If only I had remembered ALL of his abilities. *sigh* Next time... the Champs will have their revenge.

But you know what? Juan Cinco and Champ D lived! Hah!

* * *

In other news, I took the Amon list against Jeromy in a league game. It was close, but I failed two assassinations and lost -- Allegiants had a chance to end Zaal. Allegiant 1 (Bruce) did his thing and did it well -- he murdered a Cyclops Shaman and when the call came, he booted Zaal in the face. Allegiant 2 (the nameless) couldn't hit shit for two tries and didn't do a lot the time he did hit. They both died.

Amon tried to Sandblast Zaal through Blessing of Vengeance and missed the first time! Hit the second, got the critical slam for 2" -- 3" would've given me an extra die on damage. As it was, jack and shit for dmg.

Ancestral Guardian finished off Amon, who was not tough.

Will retool list with more Castigators, Knights Exemplar and Seneschal. Yeah. Four Castigators, bitches!

Tired nao. Much painting to do this week...

New News

OK, so I have been even more slack in keeping up on here. My bad.

Today I purchased a camera, so I don't have to depend on anyone else taking pictures for me, and I can post works in progress as well. I am just getting used to it, but I figured out the basics and snapped a few pictures.

Supreme Kommandant Irusk, whom I finished shortly after his release:


Let's see how this goes, and as I get more pictures I will post them somewhere-

Scott

iBodger Army: Champs!

Army Name: Champs!
Trollbloods
744 points, 26 VP, 28 models

Chief Madrak Ironhide 64 points, 5 VP

2x Dire Troll Mauler 111 points, 3 VP each
Fell Caller 35 points, 1 VP
3 Gatormen Posse 71 points, 2 VP
6 Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes 50 points, 2 VP
Stone Scribe Elder 18 points, 1 VP
Stone Scribe Chronicler 19 points, 1 VP
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew 15 points, 1 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Champions 106 points, 3 VP
Trollkin Hero 38 points, 1 VP

Sent from my iPod!

Another list

So it was the Champions that got me into Trolls.

Here's another possibility for Sunday's game:

• Chief Madrak Ironhide
  
• Dire Troll Mauler
  
• Fell Caller
  
• Feralgeist
  
• Gatormen [5]
  
• KSB [6]
  
• - Stone Scribe Elder
  
• Champions
  
• Champions
  
• Trollkin Hero
  
• Long Riders [3]
  

Long Riders because they're new and assembled, Gatormen because Kevin's ate Nemo. Extremely light on beasts, which is the major shortcoming of this list, but if I get the troops up in there fast enough, it may not matter.

Actually, I'm lacking the card for the cav, so they're right out. Hmmm....

Will bring Menoth too. That Amon list makes me giggle.

Lists

With the help of iBodger, I've come up with two lists I want to play in the next week. The first is for the Axe to Mouf gang:

Army Name: Beefy!
Trollbloods
750 points, 26 VP, 28 models

• Hoarluk Doomshaper 54 points, 5 VP
  
• Brun Cragback 113 points, 1 VP
  
• -- Lug 0 points, 3 VP
  
• Earthborn Dire Troll 125 points, 3 VP
  
• Troll Bouncer 70 points, 2 VP
  
• 5 Gatormen Posse 111 points, 2 VP
  
• 6 Krielstone Bearer
  

I don't normally throw lists out into the wild for folks to critique, but I'm really curious to see how the Troll list performs. The Gatormen are a nod to Kevin, who used them to turn Nemo into gumbo. Plus, I have the models, might as well use em, right?

But, there are no Champs and not enough solos in the Troll list, so it likely will be changed. Plus, I have the cav assembled. So much I want to run. So sad I'm out of room. :(

And for whatever reason, I'm dying to bust out the Menoth. Maybe it's because I want to bring the crusade to Templecon next year. ;) But I'll probably end up playing Bruce on Tuesday before the Metamorphosis midnight release and I'm not ready for Troll on Troll violence. So I came up with this one:

Army Name: Amon
Protectorate of Menoth
748 points, 29 VP, 25 models

• High Allegiant Amon Ad-Raza 70 points, 5 VP
  
• -- Blessing of Vengeance 88 points, 3 VP
  
• -- 2x Castigator 108 points, 3 VP each
  
• -- 2x Dervish 65 points, 2 VP each
  
• -- Devout 69 points, 2 VP
  
• 2x Allegiant of the Order of the Fist 25 points, 1 VP each
  
• 6 Choir of Menoth 22 points, 2 VP
  
• 6 Choir of Menoth 22 points, 2 VP
  
• High Paladin Dartan Vilmon 38 points, 1 VP
  
• 2x Paladin of the Order of the Wall 19 points, 1 VP each
  
• Wrack 5 points, 0 VP
  

Yes, I like Amon. I don't think he sucks. I think he's a lot of fun to play and there's a very specific order of operations you need to follow with him. I "get" him, and I win with  him. It's just one of those things.

There's a temptation to take the Amon list against Dangerfish on Sunday. I may bring both armies.