Kickstarter - Deadzone

The current hot property up on Kickstarter at the moment (in the gaming section at least) is a new skirmish scale miniatures game from Mantic Games called Deadzone. As I'm considering getting into this a bit, I thought I'd write up a post with the duel goals of working it through for myself, and giving it a bit of exposure to people I know who might be interested.

For those that haven't been following Mantic Games, they are a mid sized gaming company based in Nottingham that started life producing 28mm fantasy miniatures. Initially sold as generic low cost, decent quality sculpts for use in other *coughGW* games, they have expanded with their own fantasy IP (Kings of War) and a Sci-Fi Ip (Warpath). Last year they had an extremely successful Kickstarter for their Sci-Fi Bloodbowl-esque football game while continuing to release models for both IP lines.

I've had my eye on what Mantic have been doing since their initial releases, but never had a reason to buy into their main miniatures game. I passed on Deadball when they Kickstartered it last year, as I am not that interested in a Sci-Fi football game. However, given its success, and Deadzone appealing more, I'm looking to back this project.

Deadzone is based in their Warpath world, alongside their main wargame and Dreadball. Where the wargame is closer is scope to Warhammer 40K, Deadzone is a small scale skirmish game played on a 2'x2' board.

Alien artefacts are infecting humans with a genetic plague that mutates them into monsters hell bent on spreading the contagion further. When an area becomes infected, it becomes a quarantined area, a Deadzone. For those brave, or stupid, enough to enter a Deadzone, it offers a wealth of abandoned technology and riches. However, linger too long and you may find yourself overcome by the Plague.

Currently there are 4 factions available for the game, mainly based off of existing factions in the Warpath world.

The Enforcers



The elite military of the ruling Corporations. These well equipped humans are sent into Deadzones to recover important technology, information or any other assets their paymasters want. Of the 4 factions, they are the best armed and armoured, representing the best the Corporation has to offer. They prefer to engage at range, although they can deploy specialist close combat units if necessary. Extremely good mobility as the Enforcer armour has a built in jump pack, making it easy for them to traverse the battlefield.

The Plague



The unfortunate victims of the alien virus, these mutated monsters live for nothing but spreading their contagion as far as they can. Those that are infected directly become hulking close combat monsters, while those 2 generations removed still have enough control to wield scavenged weapons. Most of the units are close combat troops, with some ranged support.

The Rebels



Fighting against the “utopian” society of the Corporation are a rag tag band of aliens. Forced into Deadzones to scavenge for supplies, the Rebels may not be the best equipped, but they have a wide range of interesting troops instead. While Humans make up the bulk of the force, specialist aliens and high tech drones help plug the gaps and bring the Rebels up to match the other forces.

The Marauders



Once the shock troops of the Corporation, these Orx are now mercenaries looking for a quick score, and a good fight. Armed with big guns, and even bigger Ripper suits, the Orx are easily a match for The Plague. These are not big stupid Orks that you might find in other settings. Orx are cunning, tactical and able to use technology. Don’t underestimate them.

I’ve got to say, I can’t quite make up my mind which factions I like the best! Each is flavourful, with some great sculpts. I would be made even worse if they were to introduce their 2 other Warpath factions the Forgefathers (Dwarfs in Space) and the Veer-myn (Skaven in Space) as they are both interesting looking as well.

 

Gameplay wise, currently the Alpha rules are available to view and to try out. They are an interesting mix of board game and skirmish game rules that looks to create a game that is simple to play, but still has tactical depth.

One of the key board game concepts used is in movement. The play area is divided into 3"x3" squares, and models will move a number (normally 1) square per move action. This cuts out one of the more time consuming aspect of a skirmish game. Still, cover and positioning within the squares are an important part of the rules, maintaining the tactical elements of a skirmish game.

The dice mechanic uses D8’s which is an unusual choice, but makes sense when you read the designer’s blog on the subject (http://quirkworthy.com/ well worth a look). It also uses the system Mantic developed for Dreadball, meaning it has had plenty of play testing.

An additional element is the ability to play Battle Cards on models during play to give bonuses or penalties. Each faction will come with its own faction deck, and each card will have 2 possible effects. This adds more depth to a simple mechanic, and can give you the edge in a tough fight.

Games will have faction specific objectives that will determine success, meaning that you don’t necessarily have to kill your opponent to win. This will mean that factions such as the Rebels that may have a technological disadvantage against the Enforcers can still play a balanced game. I like objective based games, I found Warmachine to be a better game when we added scenarios into our play, so I can only see this as a good thing.

Finally, I can’t not mention the scenery they have produced for the game. With a snap-fit system that will allow you to put the panels up in any configuration you like, and then change it, it means you have some many options for your game board.

We are expecting a big update today (Wednesday 6th May) with more information about the terrain, as well as terrain only pledges and add-ons. I can see this being very popular, as it can be used in a number of big Sci-Fi settings with very little adaption.

So, why am I getting in on another Kickstarter, I’m sure you are all thinking. Well, there are a few extremely good reasons:

1. Game Play – I really like the look of the rules, and I’ve been looking for a gate-way game that I can demo to people easily.

2. Models – There  are some amazing looking models already done, and I’m a sucker for a painting project. Take a look at the WIP Marauder Ripper Suit!

3. Value for Money – The Strike Team Pledge is already worth twice as much as it started with, and with not being even over half way through the Kickstarter it will rise further. I simply can’t look away from that sort of saving.

4. I’m an addict.

If you are looking for a new Sci-Fi game, you can’t go wrong backing a Mantic game.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/deadzone-the-sci-fi-miniatures-board-game

Easter Warmahordes - The Armies

A new year, and a new set of Bank Holidays for playing Warmahordes over!

This year, we move up from 15pts to 25pts, and also start using the Steamroller 2013 scenarios rather than the ones in the core book.
To ease us in, we are only going to use 4 of the scenarios, Destruction, Incursion, Outflank and Process of Elimination. We’ll also be aiming for a 2 list format with character restrictions. No timed turns though, we aren’t quite ready for that!

We are now only a week away, so I thought I'd talk a bit about what I considered taking, to give an idea behind my list building.
Firstly, I want to take as much painted models as possible, so that practically that limits it to either Skorne or Cryx. I simply don't have the amount painted to manage one 25pt list for either Menoth or Legion, although Menoth isn't far off.

My 4 opponents are going to be Cygnar, Menoth, Retribution and Circle. I know pretty much what the Retribution player will be taking, as I help with his lists, but I'm going to try not to have that effect my decisions too much.
First up, lets look at my Skorne options. I only have 3 Skorne Warlocks, and as 2 of them are already painted, that narrows down my choice quite nicely.

List 1
Master Tormentor Morghoul
* Cyclops Brute
* Cyclops Savage
* Bronzeback Titan
* Titan Gladiator
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Agonizer
This is a nice beast heavy list, that should be able to wreck most things it comes up against. Downside, it have very little defensive abilities, depending on body mass alone to survive. An option is to drop the Cyclops Savage for some solos that may help, a Willbreaker, Master Tormenter and some Swamp Gobbers being my choices.With 3 of the 4 opponents being able to play a reasonable ranged list I may not make it to the zones before loosing something though.

List 2
Tyrant Xerxis
* Basilisk Krea
* Titan Gladiator
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt)
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer
Here I’m attempting a Xerxis block, but I can’t seem to fit in everything I want. Note, no Beast Handlers, as I can’t afford them, and a heavy warbeast. Ironically, I don’t feel that I’d need them if I had a light warbeast, such as a Savage. Anyway, the plan is to slowly advance the 16 DEF, 24 ARM Cetrati up the field and see what can actually do anything to them. Good against ranged lists, but lacking in overall pace as everything would be stuck at the speed of the Cetrati.

Some interesting options, and certainly I like both lists. However, these two lists have a couple of big painting projects in, and I simply don't have enough time to complete them. If I'm to Play It Painted, as is my plan, then Skorne are off the table.

I have much more to choose from in Cryx, and much more painted, making list construction a bit more varied.

List 1
Warwitch Deneghra
* Deathripper
* Skarlock Thrall
Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Bane Thrall Officer & Standard
Bane Lord Tartarus
<9pt Focus Efficient Heavy>
+2pt Solo

This list is fun and uses many of the units I love in Cryx. Most of the list is Stealthed, meaning I should be able to advance reasonably safely, I have a heavy of some description (usually Seether) for heavy lifting duties, and weapon master infantry to make people cry. I have 2pts left for a solo, either Gorman (for even more debuffs), War Witch Siren (because) or a Bloat Thrall (for some range, and pie plates). Not yet sold on which to take yet.

List 2
Skarre, Queen of the Broken Coast
* Deathripper
* Deathjack
Satyxis Raiders (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
Pistol Wraith
Pistol Wraith
Satyxis Raider Captain

I love the synergy of this list! The Satyxis package is strong in most lists, but the additional Inspiration from Skarre tops it off. Pistol Wraiths and Black Spot go together amazingly, and Deathjack loves Seas of Fate, and acts as a bit of a Scarlock. I did consider swapping out the Deathripper for a Stalker, but the ability to throw Black Spot or Perdition at further range is too useful.

List 3
Asphyxious the Hellbringer
* Cankerworm
Mechanithralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Necrosurgeon & 3 Stitch Thralls
Revenant Crew (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Satyxis Raiders (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
Captain Rengrave
Satyxis Raider Captain
Warwitch Siren 

A bit of a mixed list, but I just want to give Gaspy3 a shot. Cankerworm is a must, as with Gaspy he punches well above his weight. Satyxis love Ashen Veil, and a load of infantry to annoy the opponent. Not as tested as the other two lists though, and Gaspy3 would be a brand new caster to try.

Well, that's what I'm thinking, I'll report back once I've played a few games.

Kickstarter: Wild West Exodus

I'm not a newcomer to Kickstarter, having backed 16 projects over the last year, however I don't quite get into the spirit of the projects, usually keeping my involvement to myself. Which really isn't the point at all, as most of these projects depend on their backers to create a buzz to bring in more backers.

To be fair, I'm usually backing successful projects, and I'm only interested in a basic pledge and really don't mind about additional stretch goals. However, I'm supporting one at the moment that I'm keen to see do better, so here is my contribution.

Wild West Exodus is a Sci-Fi/Steampunk skirmish game set in an alternate wild west. I'll be honest, this isn't a unique selling point, as their are a number of takes on the wild west, however the look of the models has me more than anything. Created by a new company called Outlaw Miniatures, they are currently looking for money to get their vision off the ground.

Kickstarter Link

Exact world details are a little sparse, but it seems that the world is being controlled by a mysterious Dark Council, and science and technology are advancing rapidly, in some cases surpassing our current technology. Along side shamanic Native Americans, are Cyborg Union officers and steam powered battle vehicles. The setting is promised to be expanded in the rule book, as well as built upon in an on going comic series.

The models are being 3D sculpted, and if they match their concept art they are going to be detailed and dynamic.

Currently there are 4 factions, although more will hopefully appear as we hit more stretch goals.

Enlightened: A group of scientists, corrupted by unseen forces to create machines of death and destruction. They had me at Giant Steampunk Spider!

Union: Representing America is the recently victorious Union army, made up of both natural soldiers, and cybernetically enhanced officers. I’m looking forward to seeing Abe Lincon leading a force of soldiers against my reanimated minions.

Outlaws: No good Wild West setting is complete without those that don’t play by the rules. Featuring the famous outlaws of the day, these men (and women) are dedicated to surviving by any means.

Warrior Nation: The native population of North America have allied together and are drawing on ancient spiritual power to fight back against the white man’s desecration of their home.

The rules are currently being worked on, and a version is available on the Outlaw site. They have industry guru Alessio Cavatore working with them on the rules, and a Beta set are promised not long after the Kickstarter finishes. From a read through, the rules have promise.

On the Kickstarter front, they have already passed their initial goal, and are steadily heading towards the $200K mark. With 20 days to go, and many more stretch goals on offer, the resulting rewards should be well worth it. The high level rewards are clocking in at over twice the pledge in value, and hopefully will increase towards the end.

For my sins, I’m splitting a Replusive pledge with friends to get some small forces for fun skirmish games. However, I’m been tempted by the awesome Micro Art Studio buildings that are also being offered, and am likely to end up with a number for use as both WWX and Warmahordes terrain.

They are promising delivery of the models in September, although I am being realistic and won’t be surprised if I don’t get mine until November. However, regardless of when I do, I’ll throw up a review.

Looking Ahead–Tabletop Gaming

An attempt at a new start, I'm going to look forward into the new year and talk about some of the things that spark my interest. First up, gaming, primarily tabletop RPGs and war games

Top of my list has to be the new releases from Privateer Press. March sees the anticipated release of Gargantuans source book, where Hordes finally receive their furious counterparts to the Colossals. The previews are looking amazing, I can't wait for an excuse to buy a Mammoth and Archangel. The book promises to bring the Hordes factions closer in model choice to their Warmachine counterparts, and of course move the story forward

Coming next year as well will come further sourcebooks for the Iron Kingdoms RPG and a selection of novels set in the world. I’m a little nervous about the novels, as they are not written by regular PP fluff writers, but I hold out hope. If these go well, we might finally get the fiction anthology from the old rule books that people have been asking for.

2013 looks ready to see the return of a number of new editions of classic RPG lines. Onyx Path prepare to bring back Exalted in a brand new edition. I'm a long standing Exalted fan, but found 2nd edition just a little too broken for my liking. With an overhaul of the mechanics, this promises to be a new start for this game line.

The third 20th Anniversary deluxe edition of Classic World Of Darkness game lines will be Mage, and Vampire and Werewolf will all see further source books released to support their Anniversary editions. I’ve got my Werewolf Deluxe edition sorted, and will be backing Mage for the complete set. Not sure how many of the source books I’ll get, as like most people I have a large supporting collection already.

I’m also frustrated that most of these books will only be available on PoD via DrivethruRPG. While I understand the logic behind why they are publishing this way, I would like to support my LGS by buying from a shop.

Catalyst Labs promise us 5th Edition Shadowrun to celebrate the world surviving the end of the Mayan calendar. Shadowrun was my first RPG, but I have been disappointed with recent editions, or just maybe it's lost it's magic now we've caught up with the future. I'll keep an eye on this one, but it won't be on my purchase on release list.

Games Workshop continue their relentless release schedule as normal. While I'm out of the game, so to speak, I look forward to the pending Dark Angels release. I may even break my embargo on GW products to pick up a few of the models to include in my rather large and dust gathering army. If the rumour mill is correct 2013 will also see a plethora of new Tau releases, thus potentially being an expensive year!

Moving to a less mainstream game, we have been promised new releases to support Dropzone Commander. At the moment I am finding it tough to advance my forces with the limited selection of models available at the moment. Hopefully these releases will give me the tools I feel I need.

DropZone Commander Miniature Review

Since being premièred at Salute 2012, Hawk Wargames DropZone Commander has been an eagerly awaited release. We have been teased with gorgeous images of the units but now we have them in our hands!!

The pre-orders for DzC came during a self imposed spending freeze on gaming, however I justified a small purchase of some mini’s for “review purposes”. So, I suppose I’d better do a review.

I purchased 3 models, a Jaguar Warstrider from the Shaltari faction, and a pair of Hyperion Heavy Walkers and a Neptune Medium Dropship from the PHR. Given I'm likely to go either with Shaltari or PHR when I invest in an army, I picked things that the starter sets didn't include, but seemed useful in the long run. Without a look at the army building rules, I was shooting in the dark, but I think I've succeded.

Here they are in their blister packs. Packaging is decent, with enough foam packaging to avoid the parts rattling around too much, while the blister pack itself is a pretty standard clamshell design. Down side of these packs were the lack of identifying markings on the outside of the pack. I would expect that retail packages will come with a sticker somewhere on the outside to inform the customer what they are picking up, otherwise I can see new players picking up the wrong blisters.

Lets take a look at what you get in each blister.

Jaguar Warstrider

Hyperion Heavy Walkers

Neptune Dropship

The first thing you notice when you've got the parts in hand is the detail. It is amazingly detailed, exactly as the preview pictures on the website show. Companies sell us on resin minatures because of the detail it offers, but they rarely produce models that take advantage of it. Hawk Wargames, however, have show what can be achieved with resin minatures! They are so detailed I'm almost scared to undercoat them in case I loose some of it.

The new widget that comes with the Neptune Dropship is a great idea, making transport of the air models so much easier.

Taking a closer look, there are some obvious flashing that needed to be removed, but very few mould lines. Having worked with other companies resin/plastic resin models, I'm very impressed with how this formula handles. The flashing was easily removed with either a side cutter or knife, with no cracking, and it was all located in flat areas so no detail was lost. Mould lines were easily filed away, as were the odd blemish. The underside of the Jaguar's "head" hadn't quite come out as crisp as the rest of it, but nothing a small drill didn't rectify. Across the 3 models I found only 3 air bubbles, that will easily be cleaned up with some liquid green stuff.

Games Workshop take note, this is how you ship resin models. Perhaps you should ask Hawk Wargames for some tips?

The miniatures went together beautifully, with only super glue needed to bond the pieces together securely. If anything, it was a little too quick to bond as you get next to no time to tweak the positioning of legs. However, we shouldn't complain, then these models shouldn't need any pinning at all.

Jaguar Warstrider

Neptune Medium Dropship

Hyperion Heavy Walkers

I've been waiting eagerly for these miniatures, and I have not been disappointed. If the rest of the range is this good, then we are in for a real treat. I cannot wait to get painting these, although first I need to decide on a paint scheme.

My only regret, I didn't pre-order the rule book at the same time. However, I know a few people with one, so I'm hoping to nab a look at one in the near future. When I have, expect a review of the rules.

Harbringer of Menoth

Its been nearly a month since I posted I had made a start on my Harbringer of Menoth. Well, I'm happy to announce I've finally finished her!!

 Appologies for the poor background, I need to get a better photographing setup for this sort of thing.

I've been working on her to the exclusion of everything else, but its still taken me a while to get it finished to a level I'm happy with. I've previously had problems painting my Menoth as I've not been able to get the hang of painting the white on armour plates. Cloth I don't find as bad, but I've never quite known how to apply the shades to armour plates. I'm very pleased how the armour on her has come out, and hope I can apply that to the warjacks I've got waiting.

Next step for the Menoth army is the horde of Zealots and the Warjacks. Of those, I think the Warjacks are going to cause me the most problems. I've painted and stripped my Crusader about 4 times now, but I'm hoping a new take on painting white will help now.

Warmahordes Info from Lock and Load

In Britain we are celebrating our monarch's diamond jubilee with a 4 day weekend and rain!

However, over in America, Privateer Press is hosting their gaming convention Lock and Load, where they are letting out a lot of cool information regarding their up coming releases for Warmachine and Hordes.

Can you guess where I'd rather be?

Anyway, I've been searching the internet for all the little titbits of information I can that is getting onto the net, and more importantly pictures of the pretties to buy. I won't be posting any specific rules, as I'm not interested in the specifics until I get my rule book, but I might make some comments based on some things I've read.

Obviously, I'm not at LnL myself, so none of these photo's or video's are my own. I'll try and credit the source where possible, but please accept my apologies if I make a mistake or leave a credit out.

Anyway, onwards!!

Colossals - The Book
LnL attendees were lucky to get access to a swath of pre-releases, including the Colossals book. We now have a decent idea of the contents of the book, and I'm quite happy with what's on offer. Each faction gets a new warcaster (Epic3 Nemo, Asphyxious, Vlad, Kreoss; Epic2 Vyros and a new Mercenary Dwarf), their faction Colossal and we get a write up for Epic Alexia. As well as the write ups, we also get a comprehensive painting guide for large models, the full and updated rules for Unbound, as well as a truck load of fluff!

While this release sees a significant reduction in the number of models, this is a decision PP took to help with the play test of Colossals, as well as allow Hordes to catch up with the options available. I applaud their decision, as does my wallet! I've got a massive list of things I want as it is, this way I might actually make a dent in it.

Cryx

Asphyxious and Vociferon

With the Kraken already spoiled, its is Gaspy3 who I was particularly looking forward to seeing, and he doesn't disappoint.

Kreoss Banner

Not only does he get an upgrade, he gets a minion to go around with him!

As a future release we've been promised Bane Cavalry. I've not been a fan of the Soul Hunter miniatures, but I've a big fan of Bane's so am hoping for some nice cavalry soon.

Menoth
Unfortunately it seems like Menoth once again gets the short end of the stick when it comes to previews. It seems that their Colossal or Warcaster models wasn't for show at the show, and I'm not sure if they appear in the book. However, I have found this picture of Kreoss3. There are implications that Menoth will get some light cavelry in the future, however no concept art to be found.

Cygnar
Not many previews for Cygnar, mainly because both of their models were on sale! However in the staff panel they talked about light cavalry for Warmachine factions, and Cygnar's are going to be Gun Mages.

Khador

Epic 3 Vlad

Similarly to Cygnar, most of Khador's releases for Colossals were on sale at LnL. I did find this nice photo of Vlad3 though (from Lost Hemisphere).

Staff panel talked about Greylord Outriders the Khadoran light cavalry unit, as well as an Iron Fang Kovnik solo.



Retribution
The Hyperion, in a half painted state. I like the look of it, and am looking forward to seeing the fully painted version. In the staff panel were some concept art for a new unit that Eiryss3 will be the unit attachment for. Sounds intriguing.

Gargantuans

The next Hordes book will be a full release book, including a load of new shiney stuff! Predicted release date in 2013, but I imagine we'll have model releases before then.

To the right, you can see the concept art for the Legion's Archangel!!
There are also photo's of the model being worked on, and it looks amazing. Thankfully I have a Legion force so I don't have to come up with a poor excuse to buy one.
Legion also have to look forward to the first 120mm based warlock as Llyth3 will be mounted on a sleigh.

The staff panel talked about a new idea, Warlock units. Both Skorne and Trollbloods get an Epic3 Warlock with a couple of friends along to help. Circle look to get Morvahna on a goat.

Concept art for the Skorne and Circle warlocks were shown in the staff panel. It looks like the Skorne Mamoth is more like a massive Titan with a couple of cannons on its back. I like the sound of that.

There is lots more stuff out there, but rather than copy other people's work, I'll post some links.

http://losthemisphere.com/blog/21781 - The guy's at Lost Hemisphere have recorded the staff panel and put it online. Well worth a look, as it includes the slideshow as well as info on Level 7.
http://losthemisphere.com/blog/21690 - Lost Hemisphere again, but they've got a nice selection of photo's from the 'con.
http://nqmagazine.wordpress.com/ - The official No Quarter Blog. Some more great pictures, as well as info on the tournaments that occurred.

What's on the Painting Table

Post Warmahordes weekend, I've not got anything that must be painted quickly, so I'm back to my hap-hazard style of painting. However, I thought that if I tried to keep track of it, I might get stuff finished rather than end up with masses of stuff nearly finished.

• Skorne Beast Handlers and Cyclops Brute - These guys were almost finished when I decide to take Cryx for the weekend. They just need finishing touches and they are good to go.
• Harbringer - With some effort I have put together my Harbringer of Menoth. A wonderful model, that has some really evil joints on it. So far I've put down the first layer of paint, but need to invest in some new detail brushes before I continue.
• Bases - If you might have noticed in my pictures, I'm not at all good at basing my models. Its always something I've intended to do, but kept forgetting. Given I have a bucket load of basing materials that I've accumulated over the years, I really have no excuse. So, I'm going to go back and base all my models. At the moment I have a few test ones, which hopefully will lead to a fully based army.
• Captain Rengrave - He was started back when I was painting the rest of the Revenant Crew, but as I wasn't expecting to field them he took a back seat. 
• Lylyth - Again, finishing touches more than anything. 

That's what I can remember!

Hopefully I can also try and avoid buying much before the next Warmahordes weekend in August. I'm going to allow myself the next Warmachine expansion book, and painting supplies, but otherwise see how I go.

I'll edit this with some pictures later, posting at work so no camera or miniatures to hand !

 

And here they are. Harby has a base coat of paint on, and more importantly she's together. Pinned all over the place, and hopefully won't come apart while I'm painting it.





My attempts at basing. They look good, but I have a couple of issues in that a) I didn't use enough PVA and b) I need to adjust the positioning. Overall thought, I'm satisfied, and so will work on the rest at some point.

Post May Warmahordes Review

Last weekend was a bank holiday, and more importantly it was a Warmahordes Weekend.

In the end I took this list:

Iron Lich Asphyxious
* Cankerworm
* Nightwretch
* Skarlock Thrall
Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Mechanithralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Necrosurgeon & 3 Stitch Thralls

This was my first games with Asphyxious, and I came away from the day having won 2, lost 1. However many mistakes were made by all, including many misjudged distances and once or twice even forgetting to allocate focus.

If I run this force again, I think I'll switch casters and take Denny again. It will mean switching the Cankerworm for another Nightwretch, but more Arc Nodes are never a bad thing. While a fully focused Cankerworm did make mincemeat of the heavy jacks it came into contact with, I found myself missing Denny's debuff's, and her feat is so much more awesome.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the games played, and hope to get a few practise ones in before the next Warmahordes weekend at the end of August.

Battle Overview
This is all coming from my memory as I didn't take any notes. If I make any mistakes, those that were there can correct me.

The playing area was 4'x4', with a modest amount of terrain added in the form of a couple of small hills, tree areas and a couple of walls. The placement of the 2 areas on trees on the mid line basically created 3 corridors of clear terrain for units to pass through, unless they wanted to deal with the rough terrain penalties.

Game 1 vs Retribution
First game was against my brother's Retribution force, made up of Mage Hunters and a light and heavy jack. I ended up splitting my forces, sending my Bane Thralls down the middle with the Skarlock, and the remainder of my force going to the left. The Cankerworm advanced deployed and using its Affinity with Gaspy managed to get itself in the woods in the middle by the end of my first turn.
Alan ended up sending his caster, Ghost Sniper and light jack to deal with the Bane Thralls, and while the Bane's never made it into combat, they did tie up those 3 units for quite a while. While that was going on, my Cankerworm made very short work of his heavy jack, and my Mechanithralls pummelled the Mage Hunter squad with steam powered fists.
The game almost slipped away from me when a number of mistakes came back to haunt me. Due to a missunderstanding of the charge rules, I ended up never putting my Cankerworm in base-to-base contact with its targets. That meant that I never used its salvage ability, to steal the shiny Retribution weapons. By the closing stages of the game, my only ranged abilities were Gaspy's spells, and with no cover available from either terrain or hiding behind his own units (damn being a medium base) I went into the last turn of the game on 1 health point. Thankfully I managed to unleash a volley of Hellfires, popped my feat and repeated until I won.

Game 2 vs Cygnar
A highly melee focused force vs a jack heavy ranged force. This one didn't at all go to plan, and I'll be working on some counters for future engagements.
Again I went with a split deployment, but this time put my Mechthralls down the middle and took the Banes to the right. The Cankerworm moved up fast, but after seeing what it could do, my opponent decided to try and take it out with some AoE effects. The only thing threatening me to the right was a Hunter, with the 2 heavy jacks and Warcaster facing off against the Mechthralls. While I dispatched the Hunter and stole its gun, poor positioning on my part put Gaspy in LoS to a Charger and Brisbane with no camped focus. He didn't last very long.
I'm going to need to look at ways of dealing with ranged heavy forces. I think I was a little too cautious to start with, Cryx is quite fast and needs its speed to get into combat fast.

Game 3 vs Circle
My first game against a Hordes force, and in a previous battle he'd made mincemeat of the Cgynar force, so I wasn't keen to go head to head with the entire force. Packing a heavy warbeast, light warbeast and a 5 man medium based infantry unit and a bucket load of movement tricks, this one was interesting.
In what turned out to be a theme of the weekend, I deployed in a split fashion again with my mechthralls in the centre, and everything else to the right. After seeing his speed the last few battles, I didn't push the Cankerworm too far ahead. I managed to get a hit on his heavy warbeast with Hellfire and sent it running, leaving only the light and infantry really as a threat. I left the Mechanithralls to die at the hands of the infantry and concentrated on working my way around the forest to deal with the light and warcaster. While the light warbeast died to a combined assault to the Bane Thralls and Cankerworm, I almost lost the whole thing when I forgot the caster had Pathfinder and what I thought was a safe position turned out not to be. The dice gods smiled on me though as I weathered a hail of magic attacks on low health, and importantly with a speed reduction. Unable to charge, I had to resort to Hellfire + feat in an attempt to get the kill. However the dice gods withdrew their favour and I left my opponent on 1 health! Surprisingly they didn't push for the kill, instead decided to withdraw, at which point I gained the upper hand and finished things with an arc'd Hellfire.

I had 3 very different battles, in each both myself and my opponent made mistakes that would come back to haunt us later in the game. We all were having problems judging ranges, leaving a couple of warjacks/beasts stranded after a failed charge, or a critical spell being just out of range.

I'm looking forward to our next wargaming weekend. Hopefully before then I can get some practise in against my brother using a few variations of my list. I'd also like to break out the Skorne, as I like how they play and Titans are awesome!!

Random Miniatures Post

I find it very easy to get distracted by all the shiny miniatures that are out there. As my wife can attest, I have many boxes of unpainted lead that I've bought in the past on a whim. At the moment I'm trying very hard to only buy and then paint, miniatures I'm going to use. This is why I'm mainly painting Warmachine and Hordes stuff, but I have just bought some Dinosaurs for an upcoming D&D game I'm playing in.

Warmachine - First Games

Over the bank holiday weekend I had the opportunity to get some Warmachine games in. All of us are novices to the game, despite my knowledge of the setting I've only ever played 1 game under the Mark I rules! So it was back to basics, learning by making mistakes (and boy did we make them!).

Review: Warmachine Wrath

Wrath is the first expansion book for Mark II Warmachine. Following the same format as previous expansion books (Escalation, Apotheosis, Superiority & Legends) Wrath contains new units for all of the factions, as well as fiction that moves the setting forward.

Introduced in Wrath is a new unit type, the Battle Engine! Large based models, that come with powerful abilities, these units should change the way you play your force.

Modelling Warmachines

I started a post talking about how to build warjacks and warbeasts, and paint them, and realised I'd created a massively boring post. So I deleted it and took another tack.

Instead of me just telling you about what's available and the theory behind building, I'm going to show you. So be prepared to watch in amazement as I build the Cryx DEATHJACK!