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.

OMFG - A win!

I played my first game with Trolls in well over a month. And I won! Holy crap! A win!

I took Doomshaper, Mauler, Champions, Hero x2, Fell Caller, Impaler, Stone Scribe Chronicler against Tony and his Cryx. Never faced Mortenebra before, but new she could do scary stuff.

I managed to wreck the Deathjack with the Mauler and Champs on Turn 2. Turn 3, they destroyed the Harrower. Turn 4, Champ D made 2 tough rolls to save me from a scenario loss. And in Turn 4, Champs C and D killed Morte.

Wasn't expecting the win, I never do when I run my Trolls. I've got a game with Dangerfish set for Sunday... we'll see how that goes.

That bad thing? I really, really want to paint Trolls now! *sigh* So much to do for the February Challenge. :(

Gloves off...

Let's make something very clear: I'm posting this as a Warmachine player, not in my capacity as a member of the Press Gang. I want this to be perfectly clear, because some of what I'm going to write in my own blog -- if posted in the forums -- would likely raise my warning level and possibly cause me to lose posting privileges.

Having said that.

[rant]

I love the idea of Warmachine Mk II. I didn't think I would. I like my WM/H the way they are, why change a good thing? When Privateer Press announced how they were making the change, it all made sense. They're not doing it faction by faction, they're doing it all at once. No lag, no gaps where one army is stupidly overpowered, or your army is woefully underpowered. Across the board, changes to point cost. I like this.

Apparently, not all forum denizens enjoy change. The gloom and doom is clouding the horizon. Everyone is worried about losing something. Hell, I am too. But you know what? It's about give and take. If you want to get more use out of that Stormclad, then something else is going to give. It's about balance, not which faction can have the most uber-broken combo ever.

Privateer Press is giving us a gift. They're making our game better. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the world where no matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you try, it's not good enough. They'll always find something wrong, they'll tell you how they can do it better.

Fine, whiny, bitching gamer population. You fix the game. You make it better. You prove to me that you know better than the good folks at Privateer Press that you, living in your grandma's basement, wearing your Spider-man Underoos, can fix their game. Do it, nerd. Prove to me you can.

What's that? You can't do it? What's the matter? You can play TheoryMachine all day and bitch about how horrible the game is, but you can't balance and play test? You don't have a year to work on this project because it'll cut into your video game time or your tentacle-rape anime? That's a damn shame. I guess we'll have to let the experts do it. Why don't you get the fuck out of the basement and get a job? 

I'm tired of gamers who think they know better. I'm tired of gamers who complain about how every model sucks except Unit X, and you're stupid if you don't take 10 of them. Do these people ever fucking play? I can't imagine they'd have time put models on the board, let alone paint them with all the bitching going on. I mean really, if everything sucks and you've only got a few models to choose from, how the fuck can you build an army? I'm not even going to get into how uncomfortable it must be to try and game with all that sand in your mangina. 

Seriously.

Then there are the people who are all, "OMG my books are teh worthlezz nao." Really? Really? Are you fucking sure about that? Because Mk II means the books will turn to dust the second the new rules come out in 2010. Because with a book, you can't go back and read something again and again. Because buying books is the most cost prohibitive part of the game. JTFC. Books are references. They're a snapshot of a specific moment in time. They're a permanent record. Mk II will not change this. The ink in Remix is not going to vaporize and Apotheosis is not going to spontaneously combust. (Though the thought is amusing.)

And then there's the argument about needing to get new cards. Well, I guess this could be optional -- if you didn't want to play the game. I've got 6 factions now. I'm not looking forward to it. But you know what, no one is going to hold a gun to my head and say "YOU MUST BUY ALL THE FACTION DECKS NAO." I bought the first decks, then multiples of the Mk II decks. You space these things out, folks. It's simple. You've already got the models. Buying decks is easy.

Am I nervous about Mk II? Sure. But I'm willing to give it a chance. I want to see what they have in store for my armies. I want to play with the new rules and give feedback as needed. Give and take, folks. Give and take.

More importantly, I want there to still be a game called Warmachine and new models to play with and new books to read. I want my game to survive. It's my hobby, it's a small source of income and most importantly, it's brought me together with people I never would have met otherwise. I mean really, would I go out of my way to meet Devilsquid just out of the blue? (I kid. He's a great guy and a close friend). Why else would I fly to Providence, RI to game? Seriously, the friends I've made through WM/H are outstanding, and I'm trying to figure out how to get to conventions so I can spend more time with them. That's the impact this game has had on me.

Maybe that's because I can see the big picture. I can see that change, while sometimes scary, is a good thing. Maybe it's because I'm willing to give things a chance before immediately assuming they'll be ruined forever. Ruined forever means no more Warmachine.

Fuck the naysayers. They can wallow in their bitterness and despair. I can't wait until we prove them wrong.

And to paraphrase: Shut the fuck up and wait until you see what they can do before you decide they're going down in flames.

[/rant]

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to put on my Press Ganger hat and promote the game I love.

Call to Arms Kickoff

Ran my first tournament of 2009, and I'm pleased to say it was a success. We had 17 players show up and 3 no-shows. Things can only get bigger from here!

Tourney pics here: http://gallery.me.com/bobaferret#100034

First: Zo Cserna (Circle)
Second: Nick Cottrell (Cryx)
Third: Nick Staggs (Cygnar)

Best of Faction
Cygnar - Nick Staggs
Menoth - Scott Kidwell
Khador - Trever Browne
Cryx - Nick Cottrell
Mercs - Wade Venerdi
Trolls - Tanner Lauerman
Circle - Zo Cserna
Skorne - Trent Bates
Legion - Janos Cserna

Zo's list

• eKaya 
  
• Woldwarden 
  
• Warpwolf 
  
• Warpwolf 
  
• Woldwyrd 
  
• Sentry Stone 
  
• Sentry Stone 
  
• Shifting Stones 
  
• Shifting Stones 
  
• Druids 
  
• - UA 
  
• Gudrun 
  
• Bonegrinders 
  

Nick C's list

• Terminus 
  
• Seether 
  
• Nightmare 
  
• Skarlock 
  
• Withershadow Combine 
  
• Mechanithralls (10) 
  
• - Brute Thrall 
  
• Mechanithralls (10) 
  
• - Brute Thrall 
  
• Revenant cannon crew 
  
• Revenant cannon crew 
  
• Bloat Thrall 
  

Nick S's Lists 

List 1

• eNemo 
  
• Squire 
  
• Thunderhead (bonded) 
  
• Ol Rowdy 
  
• Lancer 
  
• Stormguard (10) 
  
• JWC 
  
• Stormsmith x3 
  
• Strangeways 
  
• Piper 
  
• Eiryss 
  
• Aiyanna & Holt 

List 2

• eCaine 
  
• Squire 
  
• Centurion 
  
• JWC 
  
• Sword Knights (9) 
  
• - UA 
  
• Maj. Kate 
  
• Black 13th 
  
• ATGM 
  
• - Officer 
  
• ATGM 
  
• Anastasia diBray
  

Warmachine Mk II

So today, it was announced my beloved Warmachine will be getting an overhaul in 2010.

Hell, here's the press release from the web site:

FULL METAL COMBAT, MK II

PRIVATEER PRESS ANNOUNCES NEW EDITIONS OF WARMACHINE AND HORDES

Seattle WA. February 9, 2009—Privateer Press, Inc. is proud to announce the new Mk II edition rules for its WARMACHINE and HORDES tabletop games.

“In the past six years of WARMACHINE, the game has grown rapidly, and we feel the time has come to reevaluate and retool in preparation for the upcoming years of full metal combat. We have chosen to tighten the bolts on both the general game rules and the individual model rules to make every model as compelling as possible and to perfect the WARMACHINE experience,” stated Jason Soles, Privateer Press lead developer.

The public will get their first look at the WARMACHINE Mk II rules in April through an open field test, allowing players to become familiar with the changes while providing feedback that will assist Privateer Press in making final adjustments to WARMACHINE Mk II before going to press.

The WARMACHINE: Prime Mk II rulebook will be released to the public in early 2010. The new edition of HORDES will follow later in the year. All tournaments, leagues, and release events that make up Privateer Press organized play will adopt the new edition on its release.

More information regarding the WARMACHINE Mk II rules will be announced as it becomes available. This and other news items can be found at www.privateerpress.com and in the pages of No Quarter Magazine.

This is some pretty exciting stuff. I can't wait until April, and I'm really hoping that the Press Gang will get an early look at this before the trial.

I haven't really had problems with the game as-is, but I know this will make it easier to handle rules and will hopefully reduce the amount of rules loop-hole douchebaggery and meta gaming. I hope.

But yeah. I like it. A lot.

WarmaHordes Challenge!

Do it now!

Gdaybloke asked me to remind folks that there's a challenge going on over at LostHemisphere where you can win free stuff! All you have to do is make some picks on who you think will win.

Here's the link from the Privateer Press forums.

I was too slow to get a pick in -- recovering from Templecon, the flu and running a tourney today are all to blame. But next week, I'm in!

Templecon: More pics!

Almost forgot. I linked em from the forums, but not everyone goes there...

Templecon 2009 on my Flickr account.

Templecon: Battle reports

I'll be honest. I had too much fun to take notes on all four of my games. In the first game against DS, I was really enjoying the game, the trash talk and my opponent. So, I have no notes on that. But, I do have a few pics:

I won the roll and went first. I was pretty aggressive will my units because I wanted to dictate what the Steelheads did. Little did I know the cav would smash in Nemo's face. :P

Devilsquid and his custom Brocker jersey. Pretty cool stuff.

750 points: Cygnar vs. Trollbloods

For my game against Kevin, I have this:

Epic Doomshaper. Yeah, he's going to be a lot of fun.

I won the roll and went first, which was as theme this weekend for once. All it meant was that my dude got eaten faster.

This was before the Great Bitin' Off Headz event of 2009. The Earthborn over there was bonded to eDoomy and proceed to heal from killing SGs and then threw the bodies at Rowdy. Much hilarity.

Yup, they're still standing...

Kevin's list:

• Epic Doomshaper
  
• Mauler
  
• Mauler
  
• Earthborn (bonded)
  
• Earthborn 
  
• Kriel stone bearer [6]
  
• Gatormen [5]
  
• Feralgeist
  
• Swamp Gobbers
  

My list:

• Epic Nemo
  
• Squire
  
• Thorn
  
• Ol Rowdy 
  
• Thunderhead
  
• GMCA
  
• JWC
  
• Ogrun Bokur
  
• Reinholdt
  
• Rupert
  
• Stormsmith x3
  
• Stormguard [10]
  

Key points in this game: A Dire Troll Mauler charging Nemo from 20" away, Stormguard being thrown at Ol Rowdy, eNemo surviving having a Mauler thrown at his head, eNemo popping his feat and killing a Mauler twice, only to be eaten by Gatormen... It was great fun, I wish I could remember more of the particulars. Yeah, I suck. :P

1000 points: Cygnar vs Steelheads

The epic battle takes place!

There were a lot of damn models on both sides of the board. And I've actually got a partial battle report for this one. I'm going from memory and what I can make out from the pic for DS' list.

Devilsquid's list:

• Ashlynn
  
• - Vanguard
  
• Bart
  
• - Nomad
  
• - Nomad
  
• eEiryss
  
• Rupert
  
• Stannis (duh)
  
• Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
  
• Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
  
• Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
  
• Steelhead Halberdiers [10]
  
• Steelhead Cav [3]
  
• Steelhead Cav [3]
  

My list:

• Ashlynn
  
• - Vanguard
  
• eCaine
  
• - Squire
  
• eEiryss
  
• GMCA
  
• GMCA
  
• JWC
  
• JWC
  
• - Hammersmith
  
• Ogrun Bokur
  
• Ogrun Bokur
  
• Reinholdt
  
• Rupert
  
• ATGM
  
• - Officer
  
• -- Sentinel
  
• ATGM
  
• - Officer
  
• -- Sentinel
  

I won the roll and went first.

BF Turn 1:

Run just about everyone

Arcane shield on eCaine

True Shot

Dirge of Mists on ATGM 2

Quicken on ATGM 2

Feint on Vanguard

Arcane Shield on Ashlynn

DS Turn 1:

Steelies 1 run

Nomad 1 runs

Nomad 2 runs

Vanguard adv

Cav 1 runs

Steelies 2 run into forest

Steelies 3 run

Steelies 4 run

Cav 2 runs

Stannis runs

Piper plays Heroic call on unit of Steelies

BF Turn 2:

10 Steelies in various units die; blondie makes 5 tough rolls. *sigh*

DS Turn 2:

ATGM 1 Lt dead

Dude dead

Junior w/Hammersmith takes a shot in the face from Stannis

GMCA dies from Vanguard gun shield, of all things...

eEiryss dies

GMCA dies

ATGM 2 dies

Ashlynn feat

Bart feat

No, this is not looking good at this point...

BF Turn 3:

Drop True Shot

Ashlynn feat

eCaine feat

eCaine fails assassination run on Ashlynn

ATGM 1 still engaged by Steelies, stay put and are KD and murdered

DS Turn 3:

Dude 2 is killed while holding control point

Cav makes a run at control point for the win

I think there was stuff that happened on the other part of the board, but I don't remember -- I was too pissed off at dropping True Shot, which would have allowed me to get shots in on Ashlynn, who had Quicken up. Nothing like missing 9 times to bolster that self-esteem.

Still, it was a fun game and I'm looking forward to a rematch. :) I had the right list to face the Steelies, just didn't play it well. Then again, I didn't play test it either. But hey, it was Devilsquid's first 1000-pointer, and I don't mind the loss at all.

500 points: Cygnar vs. Searforge

Or, hey, my army is fully painted!

Biggie's list:

• Madhammer
  
• - Blaster
  
• High Shield Gun Corps [6]
  
• Forgeguard [7]
  
• Thor
  
• - Gunner
  
• Gudrun the Wanderer
  
• - Ogrun Bokur
  
• Brun & Lug

My list:

• Nemo
  
• - Squire
  
• - Thorn
  
• GMCA
  
• JWC
  
• Stormguard [7]
  
• Stormguard [7]
  
• Sword Knights [8]
  
• - UA

I won the roll and went first.

BF Turn 1:

GMCA adv, shoots Bokur with Blaze round for 6 points of dmg

Run Thorn toward hill with High Shields

Arc boosted Chain Lightning onto HS, kill 5. They pass cmd ck.

Yo-yo Thorn out of harm's way.

B Turn 1:

Forgeguard adv

Thor attempts drive on Gunner, fails

Madhammer puts Bump & Grind on Blaster

BF Turn 2:

SG unit F (left flank) move

Thorn runs

Nemo arcs CL on Forgeguard, kills one

Nemo arcs CL on Forgeguard, kills one more

Thorn yo-yo

SKs charge Forgeguard, Blaster

GMCA does 6 points of dmg to Brun

SG unit Y (right flank) advances to screen Nemo

B Turn 2:

FG kill 3 SKs

Thor succeeds with Tune-up drive

Blaster misses SK Maj. with a an 11

Brun adv, shoots GMCA and misses

Lug adv

Durgen pops feat, hits SKs with Blast Back

Spray Bunny shoots SKs -- miss, miss, hit, miss

BF Turn 3:

GMCA stands still, shoots & kills Brun

Thorn runs into melee with Blaster

SK charge, Major wrecks jack on two hits, thanks to Flank and Dismantle

SKs kill no Forgeguard

Junior misses shot on Gudrun

SG unit Y charges Gudrun, can't hit on the charge

SG unit F runs to screen Nemo

B Turn 3

Lug frenzies

- 4 points to Thorn

- 2nd claw misses, Thorn disengages (I love that!)

Madhammer adv

- Ground Zero

- Concussion on Nemo

- Scree on SG unit F

- Shell Shock on Thorn

Nemo gets a crapton of energy tokens

BF Turn 4:

Thorn adv to engage Lug

SK attack Madhammer, left with 4 health

SG F adv

SG Y attack Gudrun

Nemo up to ARM 27 between focus and AS

B Turn 4:

Frenzied Lug destroys Thorn

Gudrun kills another SG

Forgeguard adv, enage SG F

HS shoot SG

Durgen Primes Forgeguard

BF Turn 5:

SG attack Primed FG, killing half with melee, half with electro-leap

GMCA shoots Durgen with Blaze round, 2 health left

Nemo steps up, casts boosted Ball Lighting on Durgen, does 11 dmg for the win

I really think I'm most comfortable playing either version of Nemo. I can't help it, I like the old man. But I'm going to take a real close look at Durgen. I like what Biggie did with him and I think he'd be fun to try out.

OK, that's enough writing for one night!

Templecon: The recap

Biggie and me on the last day of Templecon.

So Templecon was my first gaming convention. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was only going to really "know" one person there, and that was through a few phone calls, some texts and PMs on the forums.

I had nothing to worry about.

The cool thing about the Press Gang is that we really are like a family. It was nice to be able to put faces to names and talk to these folks in person. Prior to TC, several of us linked up through Facebook, so I had a head start on knowing what folks like CptCaine and Z looked like. Some people had pic of themselves in their profiles, so that was easy too. And at 6-foot-6, there was no missing Devilsquid. No, the Steelhead Halberdiers didn't make the trip to the airport. :P

Thursday night, I met the roomies -- Tamwulf, Rawtooth and DS. Rawtooth, DS and I grabbed dinner at this Mongolian BBQ place called Fire & Ice a little bit from the hotel. Great food, a freezing walk, but a great time. I don't remember much else since the last sleep I had gotten was Tuesday night. I think we finally crashed out around 2 and were up again at 5 to set up the ballroom.

Stubbs made terrain pieces for all of us. Devilsquid's had a squid in the pond! Very cool stuff.

Set up went pretty quick. The terrain boards were great and the terrain pieces made for a great gaming experience. Then it was off to the PG breakfast. We had a great time meeting and greeting. Then it was time to register for the con and do my volunteer shift.

I think Friday was when DS and I played our 500-point game, the one where Nemo tried to stop a cav charge with his face. I also got in my 750 with Kevin and will try to recall enough details to fake a battle report.

Saturday, my volunteer shift was 8 a.m. to noon, and I ended up helping out with Hardcore registration and sorting sheets for Kevin. It was a neat event to watch, but not something I think I'll do anytime soon. DS and I played the dreaded 1000-point game, which I lost on scenario (must upkeep True Shot, dammit!!). But it was a great time. I think we grabbed bar food for dinner, but I'm not sure.

Sunday was an easy day. No volunteer shifts until tear down, I think I slept until 7 or 8. 12 hours of sleep over 3 days, not bad, right? Spent most of the time watching games and hanging out with the crew. I ended up playing Biggie, which was great fun. And I won! What are the odds?

Kevin, CptCaine, GodimusPryme, Rawtooth, Devilsquid, me, Biggie.

After the con was over, a bunch of us went out for dinner and had a great time. Long live the Suffering Bastard! Damn, that was a good drink.

Monday was a catch-up on sleep day. Killed some time, then went to the airport. And that was that. 

In addition to a ton of T-shirts -- Midnight Madness, Support Devilsquid for a Steelhead Warcaster, a Biggie rules shirt and a PG shirt from DS -- I ended up with a few birthday gifts from DS:

Now I'm a real Cygnar player! Yay!

Pink dice and a bag that will be used for my Troll dice.

I have never had as much fun playing Warmachine as I did Templecon weekend. Sure, I didn't get many games in, but honestly, I was there for the people. The trash talk from the forums carried over into the games with DS, which was entertaining, and against Kevin, I don't know if there could have been more shit thrown in that game -- mostly my SGs getting their heads bitten off and thrown into other SGs in the unit! Against Biggie, it was a close-fought battle and a ton of fun.

I will be going back to Templecon in 2010. Hell, we're already talking about keeping the same rooming arrangements! It was a great time and I'll go as often as finances allow. Even if I can't make it every year, I've made some lasting friendships, which is worth more to me than winning games. 

Catching up: Screw you, United Airlines...

I should've paid the extra $60 to fly out on Southwest. I could have checked a bag with no extra charge and they would've given me a snack. And, most importantly, I would not have had to endure the flight from Boise to Chicago in a tiny-ass plane.

The annoyance started with my e-ticket check-in, where they try and get you to upgrade. And I can see why, given how small the plane was. But it was something like an additional $300 to give you the amount of room Southwest does to start with. 

The annoyance grew exponentially when I was told my army bag would have to ride in the hold because it wouldn't fit in the overhead. WTF kind of plane was I getting on? And so my mostly painted minis rode underneath, with the only noticeable casualty being Thorn's spear. Should've pinned it anyway, but still. Fuckers.

We were offered only beverages for a 3-hour-plus flight. Snacks were an option for the ride from Chicago to Providence, but they wanted to charge you for it. As if it wasn't bad enough I paid $3 for a Cliff Bar at O'Hare so I didn't pass out from hunger. The cabin crew on both flights was less than impressive. Seriously, if you don't like your job, find something else to do. I solved most of this by plugging into the iPod and attempting to pass out. Even with no sleep Wednesday night, I couldn't do it. I was too amped to sleep and so I mostly rested.

Flying back to Boise was relatively OK. I was asleep before we left the ground in Providence but was greatly annoyed when we were in a holding pattern over Chicago for for about 20 minutes. Then the pilot told us we might need to be diverted? Whuh? I don't think so. We did land at ORD as planned, though a little late. Then it was the sprint from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, complete with fully loaded backpack and army transport. I was not amused.

I get to my connecting flight just as my group is being boarded and get herded onto another tiny-ass plane (two seats, an aisle, then two seats) that was full for the trip BOI. What the hell? Why would so many people want to go to Idaho??

It was the same drill. Beverages and then a charge for anything snackish. They wanted to charge $6 for a beer. Uh, no. It was cramped, but my seatmate was pretty nice. She had been on the flight out with me. Again, I was passed out before we left the ground.

It was nice to get back into Boise. But this has taught me that I will avoid UA like the plague. The service they give you for the money isn't worth it, and they don't even seem like they're having a good time. I'm not saying they need to be all goofy and shit, but hell, don't suck the life out of what is already a shitty experience.

I'm so glad I'm flying Southwest to the Invitational in May.

Heading back from Templecon. Waiting

Heading back from Templecon. Waiting for flight from ORD to BOI to roll out. Let me say I'm still displeased with UA. Rant tk.

And now we face The Quartermaster!

1k insanity - and so it begins

Fwd: Hardcore Saturday

This is the start of the insanity known as hardcore. There are an overwhelming number of Cryx players, followed by Menoth and Cygnar.All in all, Warmachine is represented in much greater force than Hordes with a total of 50 players on the floor.

Kevin just gave the briefing & they're getting ready to roll. Glad I'm not playing in this -- not fully painted and not wanting to deal with the amount of ass-hattery involved. I wouldn't mind running one if there's enough interest.

Still going to try and get the 1k game in; things are way insane here in the ballroom.

Oh. Got to face eDoomshaper last night. Think of him as Nemo for Trolls. His feat is gross -- very similar to Vlad's in that the beasts get to move *fast*. The bonded beast gets to do power attacks like normal attacks. This will mean a list with many beasts with the ability to do two-handed throws.

I really thought my eNemo list was outclassed last night -- especially after Rowdy got thrown at the Thunderhead. But it wasn't that bad since he didn't go far.

Will write more at some point. Been asked to take pics.

For some reason the text didn't come over with that pic. Stupid technology.

Hardcore Saturday

Eat electric ... whuh?

The Electric Blues take the field and draw first blood vs the dirty Steelheads. 500 points, now I eat a charge. Many bad things.

Edit: The game ended with Nemo stopping a Steelhead cav charge with his face. We will seek revenge in the dreaded 1000-point game, maybe later today.

Setting up

Terrain tables set up.

Awake and...

Pay no attention to the time stamp ok this message -- tis a figment of
your imagination. Only up this early because we have to set up the
gaming area. Then it'll be time for breakfast, which my stomach says
will be a good thing.

Hotel is nice though quite frigid near the lobby. The room is way nice
& will have to take some pics. The shower is amazing and it was
difficult to step out.

Army mostly survived intact. Rowdy was popped of his epic base and
Thorn's spear was pretty bent. I have a rant about United Airlines but
I'll get to that I'm a bit.

And for the record, I'm still damn tired. I guess I'll take 4 hours of
sleep over none. :P

Sent from my iPod - live @ Templecon!

Waiting...

Trip through security was uneventful. No hassles over army case
(yay!), we all just sounded like cattle being loaded onto a truck --
just with less mooing.

A few more minutes and we're on the plane. And I think they're gonna
try and make me stow my army. Off to discuss that. Not happening if I
can help it, bastards.

Sent from my iPod - live @ Templecon!

Sleep? Whuh?

So I'm still up.

I know, I'm a tard. But at 3:15 a.m. when I was finished with packing and re-foaming and the changing of the cat boxes, it seemed stupid to try and sleep. So I tried to nap on the couch. And, as every cat owner knows, "nap" is cat-speak for "I must stand on you and stomp your internal organs into goo." Which is exactly what Cassie did. I figured, WTF, I can sleep on the plane. I'm sipping a rather horrid tasting Red Bull and will head to the airport when Scott gets here. I have room in my backpack, the majority of my army is tucked away safely in my SS Designs case (I love this thing) and then it's go-time.

I think the thing I'm most excited about is getting to meet these folks who have become like family. Sure, it's cliche, but we're very well taken care of, and I can't think of another company I'd want to volunteer for. Besides, Warmachine takes up a lot of my time. Not so much the playing, but painting, discussing, organizing... it's a ton of fun and it will be awesome to put human beings with screen names.

At least in most cases. ;)

T'was the Night Before Templecon...

And I won't be fully painted.

But that's OK. Everything except Nikolai has some paint on it. I'd rather not rush him, since I'd like for him to make it into NQ. I will still take Thunderhead Mk II to show him off, as well as my mostly painted new Reinholdt (yellow is much brighter than the one I painted nearly 4 years ago).

So, now I'm off to re-foam, pack and tidy up the house. I'm still tired from staying up and painting last night and I'm up at 5 a.m. to get ready and head to the airport. Color me excited.

I'll be updating here throughout the weekend as I find wi-fi access. I'll probably send pics of anything interesting from my phone if there's no free internet around.

"Real" photos will probably end up on my Flickr account and any video will go to youtube. I think.

Scott's February Challenge

OK, so here goes. Posted on the Privateer Forums for the painting challenge, might as well post here and keep track of what I am doing.

Gravus (2)
Vengers (5)
Idrians + UA (12)
Aiyana & Holt (2)
Eiryss (2; both versions)
eEiryss (1)

and the Cygnar Commission work:

Sword Knights (10)
Trenchers + UA & SWA (13)

To my credit or dementia, most of these have been base coated, some have even been inked. The goal with the Protectorate models is to have them done by the 15th of the month so I can go fully painted into a 750 point Steamroller tournament. Kenny's Cygnar is going to be my break in between my own models, or maybe I bust them out and try to get more done. Not likely with 47 models on the docket. I will post pictures as I get things done, and hopefully get better at updating my progress.

February Challenge ~ Day 1

Or "How I stopped worrying and learned to hate the Halberdiers."

Got all 10 of these suckers painted in 5.5 hour last night after the Super Bowl. I was pretty happy. It was a long time in the painting chair, but I wanted them out of the way so I can focus the models I want done for Templecon.

I kept track of my progress when I was painting the Steelheads, just because I was curious to see how much time I was spending on the various parts of the models. All times noted in 24-hour time.

2236 - Start painting Steelhead Halberdiers. The intent is to stay put until they're painted. Starting after 10 p.m. may be a mistake.

Assembled and primed courtesy of Scott.

I should note at this point that these are the single most annoying models to assemble. If they weren't my models, the would have been Airborne Halberdiers. I got three dudes assembled, plus the leader. Too many fiddly bits. But they painted up amazingly fast.

2317 - Finish up with Chainmail basecoat. Hooray for metallics.
2352 - Finish up with Dwarf Bronze. It's a nice Merc color.
0018 - Finish up with Pig Iron. Successfully thwart several attempts by felines to halp me paint. Canine looks depressed. Male feline picks on canine. Female feline sleeps until male feline picks on her.

Yes, metallics paint up very, very quickly. We like this. A lot.

0030 - Finish up with Exile Blue. All Steelhead Halberdiers can sleep in comfort with a nice, scratchy blue blanky.
0102 - Finish up with Traitor Green. I haven't used this color much, but will be using it more and more I think.
0148 - Finish up leather bits with Bloodstone. There were a lot of leather bits. Too many leather bits. That part where I said they paint fast did not apply to anything requiring leather. Ugh.
0201 - Done with Bootstrap Leather for their gloves. I was going to paint them metallic, but that didn't make sense for gloves. They wouldn't have gauntlets, they'd have gloves. So gloves they got.

Hey look! Basecoated except for skin.

~ break ~

I took the opportunity to download and install the most recent version of iBodger, which kicks amazing amounts of ass. And I wandered the forums and got back to painting at 0231.

0250 - Finished with magical Armour Wash.
0258 - Quick run with Citadel Thraka Green Wash over the Traitor Green bits.
0315 - Finished with faces, hair and eyes. I would say at this point that I don't recommend painting eyes after 3 a.m. Out of 6 dudes with faces, I only had to redo 2 sets of eyes. Not bad. But still difficult to keep hand steady at that hour.

One last stat: I got through 92 songs on a 100-song genius playlist. Pretty scary.



And there they are. And there was much rejoicing.

Another test

So it looks like I can text a picture to my email account and forward the whole thing here with text. Interesting.

January Challenge ~ The End

I got the Stormguard done in time... you'll have to take my word for it until I get the pics taken and posted. So, that leaves me at 53/69 or 76.8% complete. I'm not going to call it a total failure; if we were grading on a curve, I'm sure I'd be in the low B range, definitely a C and passing.

Still, 53 models in a month is A LOT. I would've gotten it all done if I had managed my time better, and hadn't gotten sick. I think 40 models/month is reasonable, will focus on that for March.

I still have a shit-ton of stuff to paint by Wednesday. I've got Wade's 10 Steelhead Halberdiers (grrrrrrrrr... love the abilities, hate assembling the bastards) and about 30 more models to be fully painted for TC. We'll see what gets done. I'm close on both units of ATGMs and my 3 Stormsmiths. The jacks will take the most time; Rowdy and Thunderhead Mk II take priority, then it's the Vanguard and 2 Sentinels.

In any event, I have to get up way to f'n early to be at work, so I'll end here.