Game 1 vs Dwarfs

** Static **

<<< The picture appears, a very scantily dressed female dark elf is standing in the mist of what appears to be a blizzard. She seems to not care about the cold as she scowls at the camera. >>>

She says, “Get that camera working or I will have your head on a pike!” then her rant continues, “I will use your head as a….” Then she pauses, “Oh we are live?” She turns on the charm and clicks into a professional tone. “Up next on Magic Mirror TV and I am Nytalla on scene outside the locker room, we have a live post game interview with the Orc coach of the Mork’s Mangler's with their coach Gon’ Madden. Coach, tell us about your feelings of the game…”

Gon’ Madden looks at camera trying to be serious as half naked  orcs run past the camera cheering and whipping one another with towels; the coach glares at them and says, “Getz in da’ showerz, ya gitz smellz like a dwarf’s arze!” The orcs quickly disappear and you can hear running water in the background.

The coach clears his throat, “First, I wouldz likez to thankz all da fans that attended our first game despite the cold. We hadz about five thousand to da dwarves three thousand, course you couldn’t tellz dat as they are so small and looks like der standz wuz empty.” He laughs a little.

Nytalla directs the coach a little, “Tell us about the game itself…” Moving the mic back towards the coach.

Gon’ Madden smirks, “Well, Mork blessed uz with a guddin game, couldn’t ask for a better first game. Wez had mayhem, crumpin’ and such, oh yea, we scored also!” After a moment of amusement he continues, “Doz bluez and whitez Smurfs was eatin’ da ground morez thanz dey was playin’ da game.” Then continues, “We putz about three of em’ on da bench by da endz of the game. One of dem even had a fractured skull…guess we went easy on dem dis time. I wuz proud of my Black Orcs and Blitzer’s on der fine work in benching some of da team.. Snaggletooth even made surez we got a point for da win at da end of the second alf’.”

The reporter continues her interview, “what about your choice for MVP Gon’?”

Gon’ Madden glares at the reporter, “Whut? Baconz da’ linemanz deserved it!”

Nytalla counters, “But he wuz thrown out of the game for fouling.”

Gon’ Madden continues, “Oh dat, he had gumption. I respectz a player that can give da ref da’ finger for makin’ da call as he left da field. Sides, dem dwarves wuz fouln’ all overz and even had the Commish on deir sideline givin’ dem some secretz playz and such! When I called the ref on it, he jus looked at mez and said, dat is da guy that payez em’ and to slag off.” The coach nods to someone off camera.

The next question is asked, “So, what can you say about the Turtles and their game?”

The coach ponders, “Dey iz tough, ard as nails to keep down. Dat Blitzer on der team could toss a meanz skin also and dat funny aird’ guy caught goodin also. Guess being unda’ground beat’n rocks makes ya good at sumptin.”

Nytalla continues, “Thanks coach, anything else…”

Gon’ Madden says, “Nah, I think I am aboutz to go celebratez with da boyz and get annuder gold toof to my collection….”

Nytalla is handed a slip of paper, then reads, “This just in, breaking news. The head referee was just found dead in the refuse pile out back of the stadium. Officials say he died from multiple blunt force trauma. His money pouch was missing along with a single gold tooth ripped from his mouth….guess someone didn’t like his call…and now the weather…”

Translation:

Great game with Pete and the Dwarfs! We rolled a 12 for a snowstorm which affected passing and GFI in our game. Twice we rolled on kick off result of the cheering fans with Pete claiming a bonus reroll each half. He had 3k of fans and I got 5k with the +1 Fan Factor. We ended the game on the 8^th turn of the second half with a score 1 to 0 in the orcs favor.

I had some amazing dice rolls including putting two dwarfs on the bench and getting a fractured skull on one (-1 AV to a slayer to AV 7!) and knocking another one out another two. I only had one on the bench and that was my linemen that fouled out and earned the MVP. Guess the coach liked his attitude.

To add mayhem to the game we had souvenir balls on the field and sprinklers going off as well as a pie to the face of a dwarf player. This just added to the comedy of the game.

Pete got one completion with a Runner and a MVP for his Blitzer. My MVP went to the linemen as I said. Also, one Blitzer got a TD and one got one casualty. Another Black Orc claimed the second casualty; sadly the last casualty was thanks to the crowd ripping a dwarf apart when he flew into the crowd after a Black Orc clobbered him.

I have until the 15^th to finish my last game and things are looking rough between my wedding anniversary and wife’s birthday weekends along with some travel to Orlando for work on a backlog project may cause some problems. This game is also against the Skaven that are light on armor but fast as hell. Defense is going to be key here.

For my second two week block I am facing Lizardmen and Ogres! Two veteran coaches also at that. This is going to be another rough run to take down an experienced (played last season) Ogres and the ugly nature of the Lizardmen on top of that.

New Web Comic Found: Larry the Leadhead

First, from their website, this sums up a gamer to me if ever!

Here is the link to the web comic:
http://www.larryleadhead.org/index.html

Overall, this is a great strip. Short and to the point and covers several games from historical to GW stuff. It pokes fun at spouses/girlfriends, our hobby, game companies and more. Very class act comic series!

I think I am getting old….

 

While skimming around other blogs today I saw a review on a wild west miniature game. Then I noticed it was a “Warhammer Historical” game. I have always looked at the books but never got very serious simply because the population of players isn’t very high around here.

http://www.warhammer-historical.com

After skimming over the line of historicals, I find myself interested in the Gladiator and Wild West books. These have always been interesting parts of history for me outside the World Wars and Medieval times. I was tempted to rustle me up the Wild West books and give it a try.

Here is the blog I saw the review on:

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com/2011/09/legends-of-old-west.html

I have manged to get copies of the books to start reading the game rules and such. The book layout is very nice with lots of artwork and
the rules seem simple enough. If you have ever played 40k or Fantasy you already understand some of the game already, at least the charts and concepts. If you have ever played Mordheim, Gorkamorka or Necromunda you have the other foot in the grave already to loving this game. The concepts are almost identical with some small changes so old players from any of those three systems will adapt VERY quickly.

My quick skim of the Internet found several 25-28-32mmmm models that would work and are priced better that GW’s stuff. The base cost for this hobby will be very low maybe $100-$200 tops and I can have several posse options. A player just wanting a single gang can get one together for about $20-$40 depending on what you want. Scenery can be as cheap or as expensive as you want. They have everything from paper scenery, precut wood kits and resin sets. The last two can get rather expensive quickly and I am going the cheaper route of building my own I think. What is nice again is your only using a 4x4 or 3x3 for most games.

So far, after looking around I am thinking an Outlaw gang (that can double as Comancheros with a few model swaps), Banditos, Lawmen and one other to start with. I have always had a soft spot for the Escher from Necromunda and may end up getting some female models to adapt to one posse or another. What is sad is this is just the tip of the types of groups you can play as the Frontier expansion allows you to play Texas Rangers, US Calvary and Infantry, Native American Tribes of all types and Buffalo Soldiers. The second book for the Alamo didn't excite me at first as it gets into larger scale fights but the back had a nice surprise for smaller games offering more new factions such as Mountain Men, Banditos and the Comancheros. One of the last books I have yet to get also has a Chinese Tong gang that sounds interesting.

What else is nice is that you can play campaign style games as well as one off games for something different in gaming. The scenarios are mission based and not like your standard shoot'em up 40k or hack-n-slash of Fantasy. I figure this is why I always enjoyed games like Necroumunda, Gorkamorka and Mordheim was because you had to think more and plan for the next game. In a standard 40k or Fantasy, you just put your crap out, finish and reset with the same army or change to a new one. In games like this, they get hurt, gain experience and can even die making it more dynamic.

This also takes me back to my childhood where I would watch old western series like the Lone Ranger and the Cisco Kid among other shows alongside great western movies that cast great actors like John "Duke" Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Lee Van Clease to name a few of the greats. The idea of playing a game in that time period could be interesting and worth a try.

Warhammer Fortune Cookie Wisdom

The other day I got Chinese food for dinner and opened my usual fortune cookies that come with the meal to amuse myself and ponder the wisdom contained inside. One had an interesting thought, “Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting their own battle too.”

This pearl of wisdom is talking about that everyone has their own demons and issues in their life going on and that we should remember to be kind to one another. In Warhammer this can also apply as well when we play. We pick up the dice and push toy soldiers around to relax and have fun, to escape the real world for a few hours to bring some center back to our chaotic lives.

I am a person of human observation, I always have been. Back in college I enjoyed taking Psychology courses to understand people better in any vocation as well as life in general, many of them gave me great insight into human nature and those on the other side of the table. There have been times that I have played a game and had that black cloud over me or my opponent on the other side of the table. I am sure that some may noticed mine at times and I am sure people may or may not be aware of their own shadow that covers their nature when they game.

We all have some strife going on in our lives from work stress, economy, illness, loved ones, life and death among many things. This hobby is intended to be therapy for our soul, yet sometimes we loose sight of that passion for the game. We often try to force the square peg into the round hole when we play a game or tournament event. Often we forget to talk to the other player or laugh when something goes wrong with the dice. Instead we focus on rules; our discussions with the other player are direct, blunt and often about rules discussions or downright arguments. When the dice don’t roll well, we get pissed off and annoyed at them or the game itself. Perhaps karma is talking to us through the dice.

Even at our work spot for our hobby we sometimes chain you to the table instead of wanting to be there. The same could be said about a gaming table.  It no longer is enjoyable if we make it an “obligation” to do something.

What can you do about it? Decide if life is going to control you or if you will control life. My martial arts instructor back when I was young had a saying “leave your troubles at the door, focus on why you are here and pick up your worries on the way out the door.” Focus is the meaning to his wisdom on this. No matter what you have going on in life, don’t take it to the table. We all have battles to deal with; just this one should be about toy soldiers and dice, not our personal life bleeding over to the other side of the table.

Master what does this mean? Simple Grasshopper….

Is this easier said than done? I would say yes, but perhaps by taking this to the table we can see it much easier than before and better enjoy our hobby and those around us will also enjoy the hobby if we can keep our mindset in a different light. Our hobby is our balance in life, mak it so.

Blood Bowl Kickoff!

We had our kick off event for Blood Bowl on Thursday. Overall, we had a great turnout of 8 out of the 10 league players in attendance. Everyone got at least one game in (I got two in with the same opponent) and we enjoyed some pizza thanks to our organizer.

Both of my games were against Patrick. I find it amusing that since I have grown older how many people have Patrick in their first or middle name that play various games. To me, it is almost like something in the personality of the name that draws us to gaming of one sort or another. As I grew up, I never hardly knew of another Patrick, much less a gamer until I was in college and my gaming community grew from a small local gaming group to sci-fi conventions and several LGS.

 Patrick and I have both been with the league since the start 2 seasons ago. This now being our third season, not only that this is our largest season with 10 players and the longest run. Amazing enough, we managed to finish two games while everyone else was only able to finish one game. Granted 2 players was green and 1 was not very experienced either. We hoped to get another match with another team but once we saw the time factor Patrick suggested we throw down again so he can get some revenge.

Game 1 was just brutal to the Slann by my Orks. I put 3 Slann team models in the Dead and Injured (DAI) and another 3 or so in the KO’ed box. I had one Blitzer in the DAI box when the game was over. First half, I took the kick and he tried to do a short kick to the line in hopes of grabbing the ball on a turnover. I plowed down his line and created a cage from hell. Most of the first half was him beating on the cage trying to do something. Meanwhile I am bashing away and slowly grinding his team away. I rode the clock down and scored. Second round was just as ugly, both of his KO’ed players failed to recover. It was another grind as I blocked his progress and was able to get the ball. Again with another cage I made it down to the end of the field with one turn left. What made the second half bad for him was that our league is allowing free game cards to make the game a bit more interesting. So, I threw spiked ball and sprinklers out causing a -1 to pass, catch and such with the ball and also he could be stabbed if he failed a pick up roll.

Game 2 was a total fluke, a pitch invasion stuns about half my team. I was able to keep the Slann from getting very far and ended up chasing him down the field and trying to keep him out of his end zone once most of my team recovered. The second half was pretty much the same game with him making a second TD after I did a turnover. I was able to beat down his team on the second half to score at least once to make the loss not so terrible.

Wow, Slann are SICK! +2 jumping all over the place with no penalty, yes please! So, you can get some models where you can support the rest of the team and just maul someone with assisted blocks! He could be a rough opponent later in the season as I am note slated to play him until last. He is my final opponent near the end of the league.

The store owner tossed out some prizes that night. I won most points scored (we counted only one game as everyone finished one)  I rolled off against another player that had two from his game. I was shooting for just conversion but we dolled out prizes so everyone could get something if possible.  With my prize money I picked up a Scraplauncher/Ironblaster kit to add to my building Ogre army. It was a good night for everyone and we all had a blast!

We even talked about making a “road trip” to a major tournament or even perhaps setup a “Lustria Bowl” here in Florida.

Here is my pairings for each round of the league (2 games per month block, adjusted slightly for holidays):

First Round: Tenacious Turtles (Dwarf) & Warpstone Wierdos (Skaven)

Second Round: It's a Glandular Problem! (Nurgle) & Adam (Skaven)

Third Round: Naggaroth Raiders (Dark Elf)  & Body Snatchers (Undead)

Fourth Round: Great Maw Murderfaces (Ogres) & Nick (Unkown)

Fifth Round: Mossylog Pollywogs (Slann) & Squickbowl Championships  

So, this works out to one fast and one tough team for the first 4 rounds. What is good and bad is 3 out of the 4 opponents are newer. I plan to play by the book and I will help them along, but I don’t plan to give them an easy win. The last is the Commish (League Organizer) which will be a tough game. I am only glad I get him early before the team has the chance to go mutation crazy. I would hate to see him with claws all over his team!

Third and Fourth rounds are going to be tough, one new (but seasoned) player and 3 seasoned players. Most will have at least 4 games under them in SPP so these games will be tough. When I hit the finish line another veteran is going to be in my face with a built up team, I fear the Slann once they are beefed up some with SPP! Going to be an interesting season!

Up Next!

It has been a lazy weekend for me, well busy with housework and cooking mostly in between slapping some models together. My motivation for blogging has waned a bit as it is an utter pain in the ass to get my laptop from my wife. I really have to get her laptop fixed or replaced. Not that I mind her using my laptop but she is on it constantly and I feel that I have to ask her for it all the time among other things. Sure, I have a desktop but it is outdated and slow compared to the newer laptop. Things are easier to blog about with the laptop.

• Short Stories (multiple). Teased about this last time and was delayed.
• Update on the WIP gaming board Lee has been painting for a friend. Been sitting on this post for over a week.
• Opening game night for Blood Bowl, game report and thoughts from last Thursday.
• Review of the Ironblaster/Scraplauncher model. Assembly advice and pictures.
• Ogre Army building update.
• Ogre Kingdoms review and thoughts.

Hobby Rundown

Well, I am a looking at my four month hobby plan for the holiday season. With my wife’s birthday, wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving and Xmas along with a Weird Al concert among other things is going to be a roller coaster mixed with work and other obligations is going to make for one hell of a next 4 months. I am going to blink and things are going to fly by!

September has already a Team Tournament on the plate. This one should be an interesting event as it will be a random pairing this time. My friend wasn’t as enthused about going to this one, but the food we have while we are in Sarasota is worth the trip. We both agree it can be interesting to get a random team-mate but you could end up with a one of the less than preferred players (aka douche bag) in the area if they show. We all know them, I suspect turnout of these power gaming players will be low as they won’t be playing with their buddies this time around and building nasty combos with armies. Plus Ard Boyz is next week so that keeps some from attending two gaming weekends in a row.

Next up is Blood Bowl League, at least 8 games over the next 4 months, this looks to be expanding to a few more games as our league has almost doubled in size. Two games a month will not be hard but with the holidays in the mix, that is about the max any sane person could do during these time. This is season three and this year is taking on a new team for me by playing the Orcs. The undead has been a long time favorite but it was time to hang up the spiked boots and try something else. This year is looking amazing as we may have to extend the league some and we have some new faces appearing. Blood Bowl is one of those games I enjoy playing every now and then and the league really gives you that opportunity.

Last, I may try for an 1850 event. This may be pushing it as this would be my “third” entry fee event for the month. Still, I am only playing in one next month in October due to my wedding anniversary and my wife’s birthday. Plus I have Blood Bowl going on and open gaming. Weird Al is on tour and will be in our town in October along with a planned trip to the Epcot Food and Wine festival at Disney to celebrate another year together with my wife. Be it tough times and good times, we have always been there for one another and this is a well deserved outing.

October is packed as I said. Epcot Food and Wine Festival, Weird Al, my wife’s birthday, at least two Blood Bowl League games leave not much else to do for the month. Checking the local stores, one store has an event that I could attend that is a small 1k point 40k event. This offers an interesting and refreshing change from the typical bash of 1850pts that tourneys are typical of.

November is another month of crazy options. At least one tournament for 40k is in the wings. If that falls through then I may plan a Fantasy tournament. It has been a long time since I played Fantasy on a regular basis and I am just getting back into the current edition with just a few games under my belt.

The jewel of this month is on November 19^th we will be hosting Toys for Tots, Warhammer 40k Kill Team event at the store. James has been great in supporting local events and prizes will be award out during this hobby event. I also hope to have a “Bad Santa” raffle with some giveaway goodies. I sent out requests last week to several companies asking if they would sponsor some swag to add to the Bad Santa raffle. At this point I have received one “no thanks” direct from GW. A few “will forward for review” and one reply with questions about the event. Still, it is only a week out so far and I perhaps expect the generous nature of people to shine for something like this. Sometimes, my faith in humanity is perhaps a bit high these days though. I plan to make the best of what I can with what I have, that is how I was taught as a kid and it has always served me well as a philosophy. The real winners here is the kids I hope and that everyone has a good time. The idea of having the event with some food from the local Cuban place next door is very exciting and I hope it comes together. I am sure I will be posting more about this later.

December is going to be crazy! I plan to make at least the team tournament again this month that one store holds on a quarterly basis. There is two open tournaments for the rest of the month, one is a LGS that I tend to frequent, Anthem and would love to finally attend another tournament without something getting in the way. In the past it was Ard Boyz or some other special Event that has caused me to make way for other more important things. Blood Bowl will be going strong with 2 games again for the month and holidays are going to make this a busy month.

2012 is on the horizon already little that we know it. Part of me is getting the urge to travel a bit for some major gaming events. I miss Necronomicon that we had here in Florida and I really enjoyed Games Day when it was in Atlanta. That said, Chris and I have wanted for the past 2 years to go to Canada for a major tournament there. I also found a local event where I grew up that could be interesting. Not your major tournament by a long shot, but has an interesting twist. Plus, it is local boys near where I grew up, so that is hard to say no to. Games Day is also appealing, sure it is a GW fest but could be a blast to go up a few days and then enjoy the city with the wife after being a geek for a day. Also, Blood Bowl has some national tournaments in the US. I have been thinking of seeing if our league would like to “road trip” one at some point. Perhaps the Chaos Cup next fall!

Speaking of fall, I need to organize another Cabanahammer since we will be having cool weather again in Florida! Always nice to toss some meat on the grill, eat some food, throw some dice and chill out by the pool with some friends.

Already my Xmas list is filling up with Ogre Kingdom and Necron goodies, an Airbrush and a good compressor along with some DVD sets. Ugh!

Ogre Kingdoms Review (my point of view)

I am still pouring over the Ogre book but I figure I would toss out a army book review to those that are interested in reading more insight about the book from those that already own it.

Lords:

Greasus Goldtooth: For 545 points he isn’t all that impressive when it comes to stats when you compare him to a Tyrant. Down two movement points, up one toughness, extra wound, slower imitative and down 2 attacks does not create a good start to selling this guy. “Everyone has their price” could be useful depending on what army you’re up against. Many would just laugh or take this ability in stride. Hoardmaster lets him work like a beefed up BSB able to auto rally and gives the bonus. His magic items are great but again are they worth those point investment? Unit immune to psychology and a 4+ ward save? All hits in combat (outside of impact and stomps) are at STR 10 and d3 wounds each. Plus, they didn’t allow him Ogre Charge (yet they mention the rule in the Sceptre of the Titans rules. I doubt you will see this bad boy on the table very often, except by players that just really want to throw him out for a good laugh. Being a slower model he will bog down a unit and cause yet another disadvantage.

Skrag the Slaughterer: Well, unless you’re a Gorger fan, there isn’t really a great spot to work this high priced Slaughtermaster in. Ok, he has Frenzy (which can be a bane as well as a blessing), Immune to Poison (ok that is good), Killing Blow (ok) and Terror (not what it used to be). Again, doubt you will see big boy on the table often.

Tyrant: Bubba here will be the popular #2 choice to any Ogre list, perhaps #1 if magic isn’t on your priority list. He is the Swiss army knife choice of the Ogre list when it comes to combos. I expect to see some interesting mixes over the next few months!

Slaughtermaster: I can now have them as a General? Better magic? Yes please, I would take at least one! This guy will be the cornerstone of most lists from here on. Lv 4 will give you the metagame of +2 to casting and dispel attempts. Magic could be a deadly foe to an Ogre list and wise players will be ready for it.

Heroes:

Golgfag Maneater: First I have to say his model is perhaps the worst of the Ogre Kingdom line. What do you get for 260 points? An overpriced Maneater with beefed up stats! Sure you get 20-120 points in free magic items, BUT you are technically already paying for it, the only nice perk is you get to pick before the game. Golgfag’s Maneaters rule isn’t anything special and sucks really, your dictated to take that and limits your choices for any other Maneater units you would want to take. Perhaps if they changed it to may include in addition to as bonus abilities or not count to those on the chart somehow. You may see him in some “fun lists” to have a good laugh.

Bragg the Gutsman: An overpriced Bruiser, what he offers isn’t enough to justify his price. Great looking model and will be used as something else in the army instead.

Bruiser: The Battle Standard Bearer is a must for any army. Don’t leave home without it! A second Bruiser could provide a support function as needed if you’re savvy with a good build for them.

Hunter: Better weapons and can ride a Stonehorn than the old Hunter from prior. Still, he is a tough sell against the other choices of Heroes in the book. Plus, the Stonehorn would eat up a chunk of your points and only would be useful in lists over 2500k where you have room to use up more points and add other goodies to the rare slots.

Butcher: A good support mage to the Slaughtermaster, expect to see either him or a Firebelly in every list as a second caster.

Firebelly: Flaming attacks, Fire Breath, 4+ ward vs. fire and Lore of fire for 20 more points than a Butcher? Yes please! Not to mention a beautiful model! Expect to see this guy pop up in lists all over. I suspect plugged into a secondary unit of Ogres as an IC for them.

Troops:

Ogres: Cheaper now, free light armor is the only major change. Now you can have more in your army! Well, at least a few more.

Ironguts: For 13 more points you get heavy armor and a great weapon, which totals 13 points and is the same throughout the book. So the choice is do you want armor or not? Great weapons or extra weapon/iron fist instead?

Gnoblars: Cheap! Annoying to put the 2.5 point cost in as that makes list building a pain. Always take Trappers! 25 points and forces a unit to make dangerous terrain checks? Yes please! Roles you will see here is bait, flank protection and screens for the rest of the army.

Special Units:

Leadbealchers: Expect to see at least one per OK army from now on with 24” and STR 4 with AP and Multiple Shots (d6). Slow to fire your only disadvantage? You ignore modifiers for moving/shooting and multiple shots! So, only a few modifiers affect your shooting!

Maneaters: Did they improve? Hell yea! Again, these units should be a common unit in most OK builds from now on. Sucks to have lost the Cathayan Longsword but life goes on. Now your able to pick skills for them makes the unit very versatile for any army style.

Sabretusk Pack: Cheap in cost for single unit hunters. Keep them around to snag skirmish units up and war machines. Pair one up with a Hunter and you have another Vanguard unit. Depending on how you kit the Hunter out, you could sit in cover and use the vulture or bolt thrower to shoot or just perhaps sneak forward to take out small units in the back.

Yhetees: For 44 points I would rather take more Ironguts. Their only advantage is speed and a tad stronger than an ogre. Even the “Aura of Frost” rule does little to increase their value as a viable choice.

Gorgers: Slightly buff ogres that can Ambush. These guys could be useful in sneaking into the back field and taking out artillery and weak units. They are also insanely expensive and have no armor to protect them for a single turn before they can raise hell. Not a great choice IMO.

Mournfang Cavalry: This is by far the one single unit to give an honest appraisal on. Why? They are fast, tough, can have a 2+ save and offers up some great options. Yet they are expensive at 60 points a pop (in retrospect this is the cost of 2 ogres, looking at the Ogre and Mournfang they match up pretty well). Still, if you take 2 or 3, take one loss and your rolling against a LD 7. Could put a banner of Discipline in there for an 8, still not that solid. You could keep them near your BSB and General, but then you are at a loss to not take advantage of their speed. Solution is to take at least 4-6, but then you get a pretty sizeable price tag in the exchange. 360 points base for 6, you could have purchased a 12 Ogre Unit or two 6 man blocks when you put it into perspective. Sadly, they didn’t allow Tyrants or Bruisers the option to take a Mournfang as a mount. That would have solved several issues.

Rare:

Gnoblar Scraplauncher: Moving to the rare slot really hurts this guy. Plus with the changes in 8^th on stone throwers leaves it a little to be desired. Add in the cost and it moves to the bottom of the list quickly.

Ironblaster: A very popular golden boy that will grace many lists IMO. This is cannon that Nuln would be jealous of! Chariot, Armor 4+, Move and Fire Cannon, Volley of Cannonballs, 36” range, STR 10 and d6 wounds or STR 10 GRAPESHOT. OUCH!!!!! I would take two please!

Giant: Now that the broken rule is gone, the Giant has stepped up to a decent status again. The only problem is he is going to have to content with an Ironblaster (cheaper) or the two big boys (Stonehorn and Thundertusk) that for a mere 50 points get some serious perks compared to the Giant. You may see the token giant appear in a game, I plan to toss one in mine! I own one and think it would be a nice model on the table.

Stonehorn and Thundertusk: I am going to lump these two into the same review for one simple reason. They are both just about the same. The Stonehorn is your basher and the Thundertusk is more of a shooting means with some nasty close combat thrown in. Really, your choice will be down to taste or perhaps some players may take one of both or two of one! The Stonehorn is without a doubt the better of the two with their ability to charge doing 3d3+3 possible impact hits! Natural armor of 4+ and reduced damage to multiple wounds makes this guy a brick to fight. The Thundertusk is a support monster able to shoot the frost/ice shooting attack allows the riders to shoot as well or can carry a Hunter instead. Plus you have the numbing chill within 6” to force any enemy model with 6” to strike last. That can put some fear into a player if they know about it or one hell of a shock when you tell them this after they charge your Thundertusk. In any case, both are excellent choices and we will see some of these beasties appear on the table!

Darkside Team Tournament: Random Pairings

Chris and I loaded up the car and headed town to Sarasota to play at the Darkside Team tournament. This round was “random pairing” which means players are drawn by lottery and paired up in teams instead of drawing up your own themed list with someone you know.

After our breakfast at Yoders (Amish place), we popped into the store and was disappointed that the turnout was low. When we started we only had 6 teams, so that would fill 3 tables only. Usually, a team event draws about 8-10 teams. Two players (a father and son) were late to the store and were paired up to keep things simple for the event. The other 6 of us was paired up and worked out like this:

Team 1: Grey Knights and Orks (Aaron and I)

Team 2: IG and Witchunters

Team 3: Space Wolves and Grey Knights (Inquisition themed)

Team 4: Orks and Grey Knights (Father and Son that was late)

Aaron could not have hoped for a better pairing. He had I think 12 models in total in his list. Drago, Techmarine and a full unit of Paladins (complex unit) that cost over 800 points!

My list was pretty simple:

Warboss on bike, Klaw, Cybork and Bosspole

14 Kommandos and Snikrot, 2 burnas

3 Units of 30 Boyz, 3 rocket launchers, Nob with Klaw and Bosspole, one had eavy armor

2 Killer Kans with extra armor, one had a scorcha and the other had a big shoota

Aaron, the Grey Knight Grand Master

Game 1 vs Space Wolves and Grey Knights (Inquisition)

Our first match was the toughest of the event as we had to square off against Patrick and Chris. The biggest laugh was that my friend Chris ended up with someone still by the name of Patrick as his partner and that Patrick had traveled to the event with Aaron.

Chris (left) and Patrick (right) prepare to start their first turn.

Chris had: Long Fangs (5 missiles), 5 Thunder Wolves (mostly complex, Storm Shield and Power Fist), 3 Rhinos with Grey Hunters (melta and power weapon) (2 was 9 man and 1 8 man squad), Rune Priest (living lighting and something else), 3 Wolf Guard with power fists and combi-meltas.

Patrick had: Land Raider, 3 Henchmen squads (mixed, mostly Crusaders and assassins, add meltas also), Chimera (hull heavy flamer), Stormraven (multimelta and lascannons) and a Vindicare.

The mission was Dawn of War with Kill Points. We won the roll and opted to go first taking the side of the table with the best benefit. One of the ruins was reinforced by the Techmarine and Drago gave the Paladins the perk to reroll 1’s on “to wound”. We setup the Grey Knights to the front with Drago, I had a unit of Boyz in cover just off to the side. Aaron had his techmarine ready to walk in on turn one along with my two units of boyz and the Killer Kans. The Warboss joined the Kommandos.

They choose to bring everything on in turn 1 and not deploy any units. Only the Thunderwolf Calvary was kept in actual reserve. They failed to seize.

Techmarine appears runs to join the unit of Grey Knights. My boyz stay in the reinforced building, the other two squads walk in behind the Grey Knights. We figured 2+ cover for him plus some inv saves of 5+ and I would get 4+ between him and cover. The other squad benefits the building that is reinforced for a nice 3+ cover save. The Kans pop out near the building, we run some and finish our first turn.

They roll in after some debate, one Chimera and Grey Hunters to our left heading for the boyz in the reinforced building. The Land Raider goes center with the Vindicare and the Long Fangs move into cover on the left side to support the chimera and rhino. The other two rhinos linger to the right and the Stormraven blasts ahead full tilt.

This was the classic game of foot vs mechanized. We had the advantage in kill points as I had only 6 and Aaron had only 3! Chris with his Space Wolves alone had 9 in total and I think the Grey Knights had 6-7 at least.

Some early shooting removed the heavy flamer from the Chimera and we intimidated their transports back. This gave me time to walk the boyz to the middle of the board and launch 6 rockets each turn with the 4 psycannons. We racked up an impressive toll blowing up the Stormraven, a Chimera, and Rhino, shooting down a Grey Hunter and Henchmen squad in shooting along. Also, the Vindicare was shot down by the Grey Knights after the Kommandos failed to finish him.

The Kommandos and Warboss were able to do a multi charge to the Long Fangs and Vindicare on turn 2. The Long Fangs died quickly and the Assassin saved all the 4+’s required against the Klaw. Next turn we beat on him more, but FNP saved him when I reminded him to roll! Again he kept the Klaw out of harms way and the Henchmen the Land Raider wiped out the Warboss and Kommandos left. While they gave up 2 kill points they kept the Vindicare tied up, killed the Long Fangs and forced the Land Raider to disembark the Henchmen to save the Vindicare and remove the threat of the Warboss on the bike. In retrospect, I would have rather sent the Warboss into the Land Raider and multi charged the Vindicare chomp him apart with all the other Kommandos. The Land Raider was more annoying than the Long Fangs could have been IMO.

Cortez and crew had balls of steel as they ran towards two killer cans. Three melta shots later he rolled two lucky pens and two 6’s to blow them up. I just needed one to get close and kill Cortez and then wipe the squad out. Still, they earned their keep distracting and intimidating.

We made it to turn 6 and the dice said no more! The tally was 3 for them (Kans+Warboss+Kommandos) and we had 7 in total. We managed to finish: Long Fangs, Grey Hunters, Rhino, Chimera, a Henchmen Squad, Stormraven and Vindicare.

Some shots from the game:

Top of turn 2 for us, the refused flank of infantry advances slowly.

The warboss beats on the Vindicare with a Kommando, the henchemen are about to charge.

WIPEOUT Warboss!

Sea of Green with Silver in the lead!

Henchmen and Grey Hunters have lost their ride!

We used the buldings to keep most of our units safe from being shot.

The judge says this tournament will be round robin as we have only 3 teams for each of us to play unless we want to replay the same team a second time otherwise.

Game 2 vs Witchunters and IG

Angus (left) and Andrew (right)

 Andrew - Witchunters: Lord with small retinue in Land Raider (lots of power weapons) (had psychic power also), 3 Storm Trooper squads in Rhinos, Cellexus Assassin and Orbital bombardment.

Angus - IG: 2 Leman Russ tanks with Lascannons, Shraken with command squad, 1 unit of vets with 3 meltas, 2 platoons with squads merged and a lascannon heavy weapons team. Some commissars were mixed in the squads to keep them in line.

This was an ugly game on a city table, so lots of cover for everyone. We had 5 objectives scattered about the table. Again, we won the dice off and took first turn. We tried to give them the emptiest side to the table we could.

Aaron got this reroll 1 option again and reinforced one of the builds that had an objective in it. The plan was simple for us. Snikrot, Warboss and Kommandos disrupt the back side of the table, the Grey Knights press to the other center objective. Two mobs hold each of the two objectives near us in buildings and give support fire with the last mob of boyz to take the one on the bridge.

This game went as predicted; we did have a few close calls in the game including a fluke with the Kommandos and Warboss. I fired the burnas and shot a few pistols at the large block of troops on one objective and hitting some of the command squad. I then was ready to multi assault. Sadly, the flamers worked TOO well and I wasn’t able to multi assault like I wanted to. Facing Shraken’s boys, Vets with shotguns and meltas and a command squad to boot, most of the kommandos was dead leaving me Snikrot, Warboss and a few kommandos. I was able to deprive Shraken from getting in and his assault allowed the Warboss to get into HTH with Snikrot. The Orks tore up both the Vets and Command Squad leaving me Snikrot, the Warboss and a single burna. My next turn involved the boss heading back to the Leman Russ tanks and Snikrot with the lone burna heading to the 5 guard on the objective next to a heavy weapons team. I burned put 3 wounds on the heavy weapons team, most of the survivors (one or two was left). Snikrot and the burna chased the fleeing lascannon squad and finished it off. The Warboss popped one tank and ripped the turret off another on the last round. Snikrot died with his lone Kommando to Shraken but the damage had been done by that mob. 1 Leman dead, 1 missing the main cannon, 1 dead vet squad, 1 dead platoon HQ, 1 heavy weapons team and about 95% of a merged platoon squad. They earned their teeth for the day!

Aaron was stuck right in with the other tar trap, if he didn’t break Drago off we would have had that objective as well.

When the game was called on the last turn, we had 3 objectives to their 1 with one contested. My mob of boyz had ripped up two squads of Storm Troopers and a Land Raider in a brilliant multi charge again. The remaining squad of storm troops and the trio of rhinos would not have survived another round.

Again the Kans caught the worst of it and didn’t get much game time. One was blown up and the other immobile with no ability to shoot anything in range.

A few random shots of the game:

One objective!

Pile in boyz! Objective two taken!

IG and Witchunter discus what to do.

Hey Bozz! Is dis what you want?

Storming the Stormtroopers! Another objective for the orks!

Grey Knights kicking ass!

Warboss raising hell!

Game 3 vs Orks and Grey Knights

Last round was against the father and son team again. The son had an illegal list with two HQs but we let it slide. It was the dad’s second tournament and the son’s first. Neither of us was bothered by the illegal list as the error was not intentional and they was not trying to cheat. They was there to learn the game, play the game and have fun!

Anthony and Ron

Orks: Mek, Warboss (klaws and mek had a KFF), 3 mobz of boyz with rockets (only 1 had a nob with klaw), 10 Stormboyz with Nob and Loota Squad (10).

Grey Knights: Vindicare again, the shooty style Grey Knight Squad with astral aim, a terminator squad of Paladins with Drago and a Dreadknight.

We had spearhead this time with Kill Points. They failed the size after we won the dice off and picked our side. Most of the table was an open fantasy table.

The game didn’t go very fast and we finished only two turns. We did spend some time trying to teach the game to them and help them along. They was build for close combat mostly, we was built for shooting and beat them soundly. I only lost the Kommandos and Warboss again and most of their army was decimated.

Random shots of the game:

Da Boyz en mass!

Grey Knights plow down an Ork Unit! The enemy one!

Near the end of the game, things are about to end as time is about to be called.

First place went to Aaron and I. Chris and Patrick took second behind us. The father and son took 3^rd by a small margin (2 points).

Commentary about the event:

I liked the concept of mixed pairings for the most part. The only issue I could see with this type of event is if you get matched with a douche bag. Do you have the right to request a new pairing or at least tell the judge in advance anyone but X? I would say yes you have the right, this is about having fun after all!

The low turnout was a disappointment but again I suspect (and I heard) the following:

1)      Someone complained the limited FOC would not give them a playable list. This is from a Dark Eldar player. I laughed at this comment quietly, you could very easy make a list from the FOC that could be ugly. He just wanted a more tooled up list that he could not take. All I can say is “your tears of pain sustain me.”

2)      That leads to cheese combo lists. Many players like team events as they can pair up two armies to work off one another and create really stupid tricks and combos. So, random pairing actually forces you to make a generic list instead of a tailored one without cheese. The games then go to luck and the generals more than the lists to carry the game.

3) Ard Boyz is next week. Two weekend tournaments in a row aren’t possible for several players. My wife gets a bit fussy when I go two weekends in a row and I have to make a good case to go two weekend

Hobby Rundown

Well, I am a looking at my four month hobby plan for the holiday season. With my wife’s birthday, wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving and Xmas along with a Weird Al concert among other things is going to be a roller coaster mixed with work and other obligations is going to make for one hell of a next 4 months. I am going to blink and things are going to fly by!

September has already a Team Tournament has already passed. This one was an interesting event as it was a random pairing this time. My friend wasn’t as enthused about going to this one, but the food we have while we are in Sarasota is worth the trip. We both agree it can be interesting to get a random team-mate but you could end up with a one of the less than preferred players (aka douche bag) in the area if they show. We all know them, I suspect turnout was low due to those of the power gaming variety was not attending as they won’t be playing with their buddies this time around and building nasty combos with armies. Plus Ard Boyz is next week so that keeps some from attending two gaming weekends in a row. Still, it was their loss for missing a fun event, I think the next random pairing will go over better than this time. People don't like change or to try something new.

Next up is Blood Bowl League, at least 8 games over the next 4 months, this looks to be expanding to a few more games as our league has almost doubled in size. Two games a month will not be hard but with the holidays in the mix, that is about the max any sane person could do during these time. This is season three and this year is taking on a new team for me by playing the Orcs. The undead has been a long time favorite but it was time to hang up the spiked boots and try something else. This year is looking amazing as we may have to extend the league some and we have some new faces appearing. Blood Bowl is one of those games I enjoy playing every now and then and the league really gives you that opportunity.

Last, I may try for an 1850 event. This may be pushing it as this would be my “third” entry fee event for the month. Still, I am only playing in one next month in October due to my wedding anniversary and my wife’s birthday. Plus I have Blood Bowl going on and open gaming. Weird Al is on tour and will be in our town in October along with a planned trip to the Epcot Food and Wine festival at Disney to celebrate another year together with my wife. Be it tough times and good times, we have always been there for one another and this is a well deserved outing.

October is packed as I said. Epcot Food and Wine Festival, Weird Al, my wife’s birthday, at least two Blood Bowl League games leave not much else to do for the month. Checking the local stores, one store has an event that I could attend that is a small 1k point 40k event. This offers an interesting and refreshing change from the typical bash of 1850pts that tourneys are typical of.

November is another month of crazy options. At least one tournament for 40k is in the wings. If that falls through then I may plan a Fantasy tournament. It has been a long time since I played Fantasy on a regular basis and I am just getting back into the current edition with just a few games under my belt.

The jewel of this month is on November 19^th we will be hosting Toys for Tots, Warhammer 40k Kill Team event at the store. James has been great in supporting local events and prizes will be award out during this hobby event. I also hope to have a “Bad Santa” raffle with some giveaway goodies. I sent out requests last week to several companies asking if they would sponsor some swag to add to the Bad Santa raffle. At this point I have received one “no thanks” direct from GW. A few “will forward for review” and one reply with questions about the event. Still, it is only a week out so far and I perhaps expect the generous nature of people to shine for something like this. Sometimes, my faith in humanity is perhaps a bit high these days though. I plan to make the best of what I can with what I have, that is how I was taught as a kid and it has always served me well as a philosophy. The real winners here is the kids I hope and that everyone has a good time. The idea of having the event with some food from the local Cuban place next door is very exciting and I hope it comes together. I am sure I will be posting more about this later.

December is going to be crazy! I plan to make at least the team tournament again this month that one store holds on a quarterly basis. There is two open tournaments for the rest of the month, one is a LGS that I tend to frequent, Anthem and would love to finally attend another tournament without something getting in the way. In the past it was Ard Boyz or some other special Event that has caused me to make way for other more important things. Blood Bowl will be going strong with 2 games again for the month and holidays are going to make this a busy month.

2012 is on the horizon already little that we know it. Part of me is getting the urge to travel a bit for some major gaming events. I miss Necronomicon that we had here in Florida and I really enjoyed Games Day when it was in Atlanta. That said, Chris and I have wanted for the past 2 years to go to Canada for a major tournament there. I also found a local event where I grew up that could be interesting. Not your major tournament by a long shot, but has an interesting twist. Plus, it is local boys near where I grew up, so that is hard to say no to. Games Day is also appealing, sure it is a GW fest but could be a blast to go up a few days and then enjoy the city with the wife after being a geek for a day. Also, Blood Bowl has some national tournaments in the US. I have been thinking of seeing if our league would like to “road trip” one at some point. Perhaps the Chaos Cup next fall!

Speaking of fall, I need to organize another Cabanahammer since we will be having cool weather again in Florida! Always nice to toss some meat on the grill, eat some food, throw some dice and chill out by the pool with some friends.

Already my Xmas list is filling up with Ogre Kingdom and Necron goodies, an Airbrush and a good compressor along with some DVD sets. Ugh!

In GW News

The second part of the Sister’s of Battle Codex is out in White Dwarf! Someone gave me a copy of the PDF floating around to read about the changes. A bit of old news, but here is some thoughts....

Much like how the Blood Angels PDF was, there was nothing of real substance until the codex hits. When the new codex hits, it will be full of different changes, new miniatures and new units among other things and no where close to the actual PDF version. This is just to give you an idea of directions that the new codex is going to go much like the Blood Angels one prior.

Some noted items in the PDF:

1)      Fast Attack choices came out the queen of the mini-dex. Why? Seraphim dropped in points. Dominion Squads get the scout rule. Yes please, I will take 3 units with Immolators with 4 melta guns.

2)      GW dropped “fast” from Immolators. Guess they felt it was too sick to drive 12” and still blast a TL multi-melta or heavy flamer.

3)      Uriah Jacobs will be in every SOB list to get the Faith Point reroll.

4)      Faith points are not scaled to game sizes. A bad call by GW. I suspect they will tackle this during the new codex.

5)      Repentia can now steal rides so they may be useful now.

6)      Immolators got TL heavy bolters with Inferno rounds. So, twin linked to hit and reroll to wound. Nice and free upgrade.

In other news….

GW has posted several New Releases!

Fantasy:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440005a&rootCatGameStyle=wh

40k:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440161a&rootCatGameStyle=

In review the Lhamaean is going to be a big seller for GW. It is a great looking model, from what I hear filled with options. Many people have talked about using her as Lady M or a female Archon(ess) from the Dark Eldar Codex. This may perhaps be the next "female commissar" that GW that was one of the most popular IG models ever!

The Sslyth is just an amazing model.  Sadly, the court is not a practical unit for competitive games. I see this guy making an infrequent appearance in tournament games but the typical gaming night he will be hanging around. As a reptile owner (Ball Python), I want to buy at least one to paint up. Maybe try to work him into the Inquisitorial warband (they are mercenaries after all!).

At first glance the Lizardman Oldblood looks great then after you study him for a moment, It is a model that is too busy visually for me. They did a great job, I just don’t really like it.

I really like the plastic Nurgle Lord they made. A simple model but has some excellent conversion oppertunities. A quick head swap, remove the axe head and add a scythe to the end with some extra haft added and I may have a new Death Guard HQ. He could then be either a Chaos Sorcerer or Lord with the mark of Nurgle! I already have a nice metal figure converted so this would make a nice secondary option.

Fantasy Ogre Kingdoms Book:

Picked this book up over the weekend from some prize earnings from a tournament. Despite my gripe of the $40+ price tag it was a well done book! I hope to toss out an "offical" review from my POV as a player that is returning to Fantasy after taking off last edition and waiting until the current one had time to settle. It is my goal to give a fresh review that won't be the same'ole that you see around the internet.

The Black Box is unveiled!

GW also teased these pictures, which gives some credit to the rumors of a Fantasy Ship style game that will be the new Black Box like how Space Hulk was. Check the link below and go to the bottom of the page, the teaser is right there!

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=18200002a