Friday, December 30, 2016

The after picture: XV-15 Stealth Suits (showcase)

Didn't take long, but now the XV-15's are done. I just layered up the Fenris Grey and german grey, then highlighted just like the XV-25's I did.  Not bad for a couple night's work.  They look much better next to the new models now.





..and a quick side-by-side.


I also used Vallejo Surface Primer to prime the rest of the models I have built. That takes a bit of time to cure so I'll be sure to get the airbrush back out when it's their time.

So that's probably it for the year.  Once January starts I'll be working on a model car for a group build on YouTube most of the time. Luckily the Necrons paint up super fast.  The Ghostkeel on the other hand, will be quite tedious..

Monday, December 26, 2016

The before picture: XV-15 Stealth Suits

While I was putting away my XV-25 suits I just finished, I saw these guys in the tray.  After looking at them, I decided to try and update them mainly because they are decent.. just a base and a wash.  A layer and new highlight will bring them up to be the same look as the recent ones. I want to make sure and document the change. 

They will also be re-based in 32mm, and that will allow me to put them on cork so they look closer in size to the 25's.






I also thought about just dumping them in the stripper and staring over as they are metal.  But I don't think I need to go that far with them.  I think layering up the color and then doing the edge work will be enough.  And of course the much-needed varnish.

I'm also working on the Ravenwing bikes and I finished assembly on the 2nd box of Wraiths and pulled the scarabs out of the stripper.  Conoptek harvest fully built!  Nice thing about the Necrons is that they will paint up super fast. 

That's it for the holiday update. I hope everyone had their 40k wishes fulfilled!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Showcase: Tau XV25 Stealth Suits

yay! finally finished these guys.  I've been busy on a model airplane, plus not wanting to do the line highlighting.  But it's over and they came out pretty good.  Also, did you know stealth suits are on 32mm bases now?



Came out great in the end.  I have another unit and a Ghostkeel assembled waiting on primer.

In the meantime I decided on a color for the Necrons..yellow. Looks awesome. Now to order some yellow acrylic rods.  Did you know warriors are also coming on 32mm bases now? I need SOO many of them!  Might break down and buy the 100 for $40 soon-ish.


Next up will first be the rest of the warriors, followed by the 3 Ravenwing bikes.  Once the new year comes around I'll be working on a new model car and deciding on what to paint from there.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Hobby moving slowly but surely...

Over the last couple of weeks I've been slowing working.   Just having fun and doing other things for the holidays and my new upcoming job.

I didn't feel like paining much so I pulled out all the Tau and Necron models I bought last February  and put them all together.  Magnetized everything on the Ghostkeel and I'm deciding on magnetizing the whip coils or not - they are not yet glued on.


I've also got myself some deals from my FLGS. Picked up a set of DV bikes for $10 and then these metal Plaguemarines for just $14.  They will be rebased in 32mm to match my Ork and Chaos armies, and I will repaint the plasma pink.


But when I do paint it's been slow and steady progress on the Stealth Suits. I've just not been very motivated so far.






Right now my previous choices of the next army build might add one more option: Deathguard.  Maybe not a full army, but a more competitive version to supplement with some Orky goodness.  We'll see.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

On to the next project!

After finishing my Fist of Medusa Strike force (which isn't as competitive as I had hoped!) it's time to decide what to work on next.

First option is to move from the Medusa to a strait up Gladius.  It would require a lot more models, and a lot more Evil Sunz Scarlet.  I think that's not the way I want to go.

Second option is to build up the army I put aside for the Iron Hands - Space Wolves. This would mean adding more Wulfen and Thunderwolves to the stuff I already have.  And lots more Drop Pods. 

Third option and probably the easiest to paint is a making a Lion's Blade force to add to my existing Ravenwing...based largely on the winning LVO army from last year.

Fourth option is to build up the models I purchased earlier in the year - Tau and Necrons.  My idea is to run a Conoptek Harvest along side the Tau.

Last night I even created a first draft of the list:

CaD - Farsight Enclaves
HQ: Cadre Fireblade
Troop: XV8, TL Fusion
Troop: XV8, Flamer
Fast: 4 marker drones
Elite: Riptide, EWO
LoW: Stormsurge, EWO, Shield, TL Airburst frag

Optimized Stealth Cadre
3x Ghostkeel, Cyclic Ion Raker, EWO, Target lock, TL Burst cannon
3x Stealth, fusion
3x Stealth, fusion

Canoptek Harvest
Spider
6 Wraiths, whip coils
6 Scarabs

I would have to buy 2 Ghostkeels, the Stormsurge (which I want anyway) and a 2nd box of Wraiths.  Not a lot of boxes but a lot of money!  I'm looking for feedback on how this list would do in current ITC meta...extreme competitiveness.

Getting started on the models I already have!

The 5th option, and probably the one I would want to do most but be the least competitive, is getting Renegade Knights for my Ork army.

So that's where I'm at. I'm going to be working on the stuff I already have while I decide on where to spend money.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Iron Angels at a tournament - Fist of Medusa Strike Force.

Didn't take any pictures today but I went to a 1 day 3 round ITC tournament.  I busted out my second Stormtalon in just one day to get ready.

These 2 things happened:

1. I rolled Veil of Time in every game
2. I went first in every game

Despite that I only went 1-2.

Game 1 vs War Convocation  (scouring)

Pretty straitforward war con list with lots of grav.  after seizing on a 5 because of the knight, rolled up veil and started chomping through the army.  Took the knight down with a combination of drop pod melta and Stormtalons.   Didn't get warlord, but 10-1 win.

Game 2 vs Tau (killpoints)

This was killpoints and he just didn't have that many to give up with a lot of points in a single unit of Ghostkeels and a Stormsurge.

This time I seized on a 4 due to the superheavy and rolling +1 to seize warlord trait.

It took about 4 turns to kill everything I had except the deathstar and in that time I was able to take out the Ghostkeels and 1 Riptide.  He made a bunch of 4+ invuls on the Stormsurge vs grav though for sure.  Ended up running away from me and hiding while getting good malestrom rolls.  Tied on secondary, and I got king of the kill resulting in a 3-7 loss

Game 3 vs Gladius + summoning (emperor's will)

Last game I was getting tired but played it out. He used a librarius conclave to summon a heap of deamons.   He let me go first after bunching up Rhinos in the middle.  The deamons didn't do anything and was used mostly to block movement.  After the first turn he started to split up the transports effectively.  As time was running out the game came down to killing the last 2 regular bikes on my objective while my deathstar held his.  The result was a tie on primary, he took secondary and we both had linebreaker.  Another 3-7 loss.


I'm pretty happy with how everything worked. Considering these were just games #2-4 with the list I still have a lot to figure out, mainly how to deal with more MSU armies. I think concentrating the death star on one flank and literally everything else on another will be something I need to try. 

as a refresher my list was:

Fist of Medusa Strike Force

Core: Battle Demi-Company
Captain: Bike, Artificer armor, Gorgon's Chain, Power fist
Command Squad: Bikes, 4x Storm Shields, Apothecary, 3 power weapons, Thunderhammer, 3 meltabombs
Tactical Squadx5: Melta, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod
Tactical Squadx5: Melta, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod
Tactical Squadx5: Grav Cannon, combi-grav, Rhino
Devastator Squad: 2x Grav Cannon
Bike Squad x4: 2x Grav gun, combi-grav

Command: Librarius Conclave
3x Level 2 Librarian, bikes, 1 with Mindforge Stave

Aux: Raptor Wing
2x Storm Talons, TL Lascannon
Land Speeder, MM, Typhoon Missile

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Dark Angels? What is this??

I had this unit of Assault Marines built up at one time with the goal of painting them to try and sell on ebay.  They've been sitting in my project box for months now, and I finally decided to do something with it.


Lately I've had a wild hair to expand on my Dark Angels a little bit.  Kinda like a less- competitive Marine army to have around for fun.  I have my 15 Black Knights and Sammael.  I also picked up this guy from my FLGS for just $6 and then re-based and varnished him.  This makes just the 2nd model I own I didn't paint myself (the first one being Zhadsnark!).


My goal is to eventually add in the entire contents of Dark Vengeance to the army and maybe a Devastator squad (since I have 2 squads of them unbuilt).  I also want the DV chaos stuff to add to my Chaos army as well so someday I'll get a whole set for myself.  That would put me around 1800pts of DA models.  Could be fun to play.

I did manage to finally get my 2nd Stormtalon so that's my next project to finish up the Fist of Medusa Strike Force.

Friday, November 11, 2016

My top 5 ships we need in Star Trek: Attack Wing

I haven't posted much about Attack Wing but I'm as passionate about it as ever.

Wizkids has postponed most of the new releases and are currently putting out repaints. Which is fine because most of what is being re-released was hard to get for new players.

But anyway, here is my top 5 ships we NEED in Attack Wing.

5. Husnock ship



"With a single thought, Kevin Uxbridge killed the entire Husnock Race (50 billion lives) everywhere in the universe.  Their powerful ships remain."
This is an interesting one because there can't be any crew or captain cards to go with it as the entire race is dead.  But it could be very powerful addition to the independent faction along the lines of the Prometheus or the Scimitar.


4. Tamarian Vessel


The Tamarian vessel with toe-to-toe with the Enterprise D. It should be a very powerful ship and WizKids (well, a proper writer anyway) could have a lot of fun with it putting all the cards in Tamarian.  Another good ship for the Independent faction....or maybe a big release with enough cards for a new faction!!!


3. Alternate Enterprise-D (Yesterday's Enterprise)

This time we move to the Mirror Universe faction and the Enterprise-D from Yesterday's Enterprise.  This should be a much more heavily armed version of the ship, modified for all-out war with the Klingons.  Also have some bad-ass MU faction cards like a killer Picard so that faction can try and catch up.  I should add that this ship IS coming out, as part of an OP event..but it needs to be a retail ship.




2. U.S.S. Enterprise-C





This won't be the most powerful ship in the game, being it's a 20-year old design but it's something fans desperately want.  Also many more cool cards could be made.  The only ship on this list for Federation faction as well.


1. Future Enterprise-D Galaxy-X Class


This is is. This has to be the most powerful ship in the game.  A cloaking device and the phase cannon would put the PWV above anything else..maybe an 8. However adding a new mechanic..such as a 45 degree arc just for the cannon would be quite intriguing. 


That's it. I know some people would like 1 and 2 switched, but this is MY list after all ;)


Sunday, November 6, 2016

Kill Team - Ravenwing

There is some sort of Kill Team campaign put on by GW this month, and my FLGS is running one.

First games were Friday night, and I got in 3 games - 2 normal and 1 of the 4-player scenario in the campaign set.

For ease of math and carrying I just brought 5 Black Knights.  Exactly 200pts. Lots of good shooting, CC and survivability.

I won all 3 games, very easily actually.






For specialist I picked one guy with Sharpshooter (ignore cover), one guy with WS5, and one guy with re-roll to wound in CC.  The leader got FNP (we were able to choose our warlord trait).

Turns out TL plasma with ignore cover is HUGE.

The last game there is one objective in the middle and everyone starts in each corner in a tiny 6" bubble. I just moved right to the objective and sat there.  I gave up linebreaker and warlord, but was the only one on the objective at the end.

The campaign allows you to spend additional points, and I have been able to add another Black Knight (from the Ravenwing Command Squad since I can't take another FA).

I thought I didn't stand much of a chance with only 5 models but with a re-rollable cover save from Ravenwing they are very hard to kill.   Plus they are bikes, so plenty fast enough to get in CC when needed.

Very happy with how everything played out, and having a 2nd night of 40k is always a good thing! 

Friday, November 4, 2016

Iron Angels take the field!

After months of work I finally put the Iron Angels on the table.

Lacking the 2nd Stormtalon I had to pick another aux choice. I went with Iron Guardians, which is a tactical squad and a dreadnought.  Gave the tactical squad grav and a Rhino, and just a base dread a drop pod.  Had enough points for a 4th libby, giving me a bigger bubble of +1 FNP.


First game against a Necron Decurion.  Sure, not an optimized list but still with the Conoptek Harvest.  Also the player is pretty new to the game as well and his dice were very inconsistent (could not hit in CC, but rarely failed a RP lol) and lastly I rolled pretty much perfect powers with null zone and veil of time.

Didn't lose a single model in the deathstar.  Overall the list was very fun to play and had plenty of firepower and psychic dice.  The 2nd Stormtalon should be on it's way soon!

Monday, October 31, 2016

Lighted power generator terrain piece.

To finish off the surprisingly post-heavy October, I have one more bit of work that is all built  and should be getting paint soon.

Came about from a contest/challenge on youtube, using what you had lying around. Based on candy containers and using a lot of left overs from the Helicarrier, I built a power generator kinda from Empire Strikes Back with some LED's.

Not much else to say, here it is:


..and a blurry pick to show off the lighting.


That's it for October, pretty busy around here with an AoS tourny and two Attack Wing OP's under my belt, plus all the Blood Angels I worked on.

Still saving for the Stormtalon, I'm hoping my Dropzone Commander auction will pay for it though.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Quickie: Iron Angels Deathstar

Just a quick post here, while I was putting away the command squad I snapped a pic of the entire deathstar unit.






Captain, command squad and Librarious Conclave. 

Using the Medusa Strike Force, the unit has a 3+ FNP. The command bikes have storm shields for that 3++ as well.  Add in say, invisibility or the re-roll saves power and they are pretty tough. And being on bikes they are hard to ignore.

Just need to save up for another Stormtalon.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Showcase: Iron Angels command squad

After much trial and tribulation, I finally finished my command squad. So happy they are done.





And with the captain:

Now down to a single Stormtalon to finish my list.  Need money first.

I picked up some Black Reach boyz, and I still have my metal nobs to deal with.  More to come!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Battle Report: Age of Sigmar tournament

First I have to say the tournament was a bit of a letdown. There was suppose to be a big wind storm blow through Portland today but it was mostly a dud and it looks like that kept people away. Only 6 out of the 26 that signed up showed up.

We went ahead and played anyway, and it was still totally worth it.

Not to mention how happy I was with the way my army looked!


 
Game 1, mission 1 vs Chaos (mostly Nurgle)

A glotkin, plague drones, some Knights, and other misc gribblies.


The game was to hold objectives one in each deployment zone.  I ran up as Orcs are suppose to do and just got wiped out. However he couldn't get to my objective earning only a minor victory.



Game 2, mission 2 vs Death

Vampire on dragon and lots of crypt ghouls that come in on turn 1.

This was quite a bit of a different mission with earning points for objectives. having many units helped out and despite losing most of my army again I still ended up with a major victory simply by outscoring on the mission.

BTW crypt ghouls are very hard to kill.  But don't do a lot either...



Game 3, mission 6 vs Order

Lots of Elves shooting and a dragon.  So. many. bows.

Another one objective each.  I lost almost all my army with just the doom divers, grots and shaman left.  I did quite a bit more damage though this time mainly with the doom divers able to take out the general on dragon.  He made one mistake leaving his objective, and the game came down to a hawk rider vs my shaman..but he couldn't kill him giving me another major victory.


There was another destruction player, playing Ironjaws with about 15 Gore Gruntas and a Maw Crusha. It looked AWESOME on the table, for sure. But He went 1-2 to me 2-1 netting me the Destruction award.


So I learned A LOT today.

What worked:
1. Goblin netters. Holy crap these are awesome. it's amazing how much a -1 to hit really hurts. I am thinking about how to keep some near every combat, it seems to be the way to go.
2. Boys with shields (kinda).  The boys units with shields were quite a bit more survivable then the unit with 2 choppas.  They just simply get a re-roll in close combat (not shooting though, which they need) and made them fairly hard to kill. Using the Great Waggh! banner gave them the same re-roll 1's that the 2x choppa guys had so I don't see any reason to take 2x choppa guys in the future.  The -1 rend on such basic models is also pretty good.
3. Spider Riders. Still an awesome unit.  I ran them into things that they should have avoided but with Inspiring Presence and Bellowing Tyrant they are quite remarkable ..if used correctly. I was super aggressive and of course have no idea what I'm facing but careful use of these guys is well worth it. They are quite spendy at 80pts per 5 but worth it.
4. Doom Divers. Having more then one is the key, and they are basically twin-linked and when they do hit they do a lot of damage.
5. Destruction abilities.  Another holy crap moment.  Giving units a D6 move in the hero phase plus their normal movement is amazing.  Not only for longer threat range but to re-arrange everything if needed prior to moving.  I took bellowing Tyrant which gives one unit +1 to hit..and it's amazing.
6. Grots.  The massive unit of grots were just so fantastic, so many models that they take forever to chew through and with the netters they don't take anywhere near as much damage as you would think.

What didn't work:
1. boys.  SOOO fragile. And then you combine battle shock losses on top of it and once someone starts concentrating on them, the units just melt away.  They need to be immune to battleshock above 10 models. They also don't hit very hard unless they have buffs on them.
2. Big things. Orruk big things have almost no save so they don't last long.  And they are seriously expensive.


Going forward:
If I spend any effort on this army for future AoS tournaments, I will need to replace the basic boys with something better for the battleline requirements.  I think Ogres are the way to go there.  Also leadbelchers could add some better firepower. Something to consider.

Orruks going to a tournament!

The first post-general's handbook Age of Sigmar tournament is happening tomorrow at my FLGS.

Most of the last week I've spent finishing off the display board.  The snowshoe middle was done and I had to just to everything else.   It took way longer and was much more work then it should have been, mostly from dealing with the foam board warping from the PVA.


Just recycled the frame from my 40k Ork board.

I'm very much limited to the models I have. If I do expand the army I would love to add some Ogres to the list for some better punch in battleline units.

Anyway this is what I'm bringing:

Orruk Battlehost 
Destruction allegiance.

 Leader: Orruk Warboss:  Boss shield, choppa, great waagh! banner
Command trait: bellowing tyrant
Artifact: Talisman of protection

Leader: Orruk Great shaman

Battleline: 30x Orruks: Shield/choppa, Skull icon, drummer

Battleline: 30x Orruks: 2x choppa, skull icon, drummer
Battleline: 40 Grots spears/shields, gong basher, netters, bad moon icon

Behemoth: Mangler Squig

Artillery: doom diver
Artillery: doom diver

Other: Orruk chariot
Other: 20 spider riders, bows, bone drummer, icon

Sideboard:
Behemoth: Arachnarok spider
Artillery: Grot rock thrower
Others: Orruk Charriot

I don't expect to win any games, as the models are woefully under powered compared to other armies.  The whole scene is very new, especially around here. It's almost like a new game in fact..there is no meta yet.

It's also a potluck!  Tis' an amazing day. 

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Next project up: More Iron Angels

I've been really off my hobby game for the last week or so, mainly because I'm lacking any motivation to finish my command squad bikes. I'm already tired of painting BA again, I normally can only take them in small doses but I've been doing a lot. Considering I only have 5 models left too paint it shouldn't be a big deal.  I'm going to be doing just 2 at a time and basically forcing myself. I also need to finish my display board for Saturday. I was hoping to do a frozen river but time and money won't allow it.  Someday.


Also I tried to match the storm shields to my Thunderwolves..and failed miserably...



UGLY BAGS OF MOSTLY WATER!!!  sigh.  Now I can't decide if I want red, black or leadbeltcher.

anyway that's where I'm at. I still need Frostgrave stuff as well.  Hopefully a full day of AoS gaming will solve all my blues...

Sunday, October 9, 2016

My review of Luke Cage.


Several times while watching it I did find myself actually bored, waiting for something to happen. The first half is well paced, but right about the first plot twist it slows way down to more political pandering and manipulation that stuck me as oddly similar to Star Wars Episode 1. It did pick back up again for sure, however I found the climax didn't live up to the hype. It was over very quickly and then moved all the people into position for a possible Season 2.

The acting was superb all around. The characters were well rounded, deep and interesting. The one exception was the star, who shined at times but had trouble relaying the layers of the Cage character. It might have been the writing as well, but sometimes he was fantastic and others he just wasn't believable.

There is, of course, much more to this series. Harlem itself could almost be considered a character. It was more then the backdrop for the story, but was integral to it. The music also was outstanding with a mix of classic and modern R&B and some stellar hip-hop (of which I am not a fan but I enjoyed it). Racial issues were front and center the entire time, both good and bad. They did not sugar coat anything related to black on black crime, but didn't sugar coat race and police issues either. My favorite line came early "Everyone has gun, no one has a father". There were also several jokes about "nothing police fear more then a bulletproof black man." Overall it was very thought provoking.

Lastly the tone of the show was quite a bit different then Jessica Jones or Daredevil, no where near as dark. The action wasn't as brutal as I found in Daredevil (the season 1 hallway fight is the best thing ever in media IMO), and the themes were not as troubling and damaging as Jones. It was quite refreshing and made it no where near as hard to watch as the others.

I have to give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. the pacing in the second have left much to be desired, and it just didn't hold my attention quite as much as the previous Netflix/Marvel series.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Second game of Frostgrave!

Got my second campaign game in tonight. Playing first mission, eclipse from lich lord.
Game went pretty well, I ended up with 4 treasures and a bunch of stuff. Didn't lose anyone during the game, as I gave my Barbarian and Knights +2 move so my opponent just moved his casters off the board as I was running full bore at them. My Soothsayer went from level 1 to level 5 in one go! My dice(die?) were hot getting off 10 spells over the game, plus the 50 bonus XP from the scenario.

I still need my own treasure tokens plus something for my Wizard's eye spells. I have 2 weeks before my next game to figure it out.





Right now I'm working on my Orcs & Goblins display board, which may or may not be ready in time for next weekend..

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

More Frostgrave

I said I wouldn't get any more Reaper Bones minis, but they are just so darn cheap it's hard to get anything else. These were not particularly bad, well worth the $2.50 each.

After my first game I had enough cash to re-hire my injured Thug and add these two Knights to my warband, maxing it out. I also gave each of my casters a healing potion. Not bad!

It does not look like I'm going to get to treasure or Wizard's Eye modeling this week, so I'm going to just print up some tokens for now.






Next game is Friday night and this time I promise to at least take some pictures.  I'll try and arrange a full game battle report sometime. Don't know if I have enough SD card or computer space to do it though.

Taking a bit of a break from 40k painting and I've been working on scale models.  But I'll get to my command squad soon enough.

That's it! laterz!

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Showcase: Blood Angels tactical squad, now with Grav!

I'm one step closer to finishing my Medusa Strike Force, with the completion of the 3rd tactical squad.

This is a grav unit that will be in a Rhino.

I even did up a grav pistol!  Might be a viable alternative to a combi-grav.  Not sure yet.

I only got in one pic before the camera batteries died, and I don't feel like waiting for them to recharge..so this is all you get!



I have my command squad bikes built up and getting ready to prime them. I also have my new warband members to work on before next week.

All that's left to buy for my new list is another Stormtalon.  I don't know when I'll be able to get it.

Busy month, actually posted quite a bit. But tomorrow is Luke Cage so I'll be binging after work the next two days!

Monday, September 26, 2016

First game of Frostgrave!

I was so excited to play that I didn't remember to take even pictures, much less a video. 

It was a pretty dense terrain board, with big buildings in the middle.

I did a split deployment with Kristianna and the archers on one side and Seoni and everyone else on the other. I got first turn.

First thing was to cast +2 fight on my Barbarian in a group activation. My thief moved up next to the first treasure token.  The apprentice cast Wizard's eye on the other side of the table.

I was playing against a witch that summoned up some companions and potions before the game. he also brought treasure closer with telekinesis.

Second turn I put speed on the barbarian, and tried a mind control through the wizard's eye with no luck.

He grabbed a couple treasures, and some wolves appeared near my archers.

Third turn was bad, with my uber barbarian downed with a single poison dart. Despite being Fight +11 with cover, he rolled a 19(+5) to my 22 and the roll was just enough to one-shot him! I was sad.

My thief made off with a treasure and the archers attempted to shoot the new monsters. 

The game went on with me trying to glow, bow and mind control. He killed Kragmar with another poison dart. Even killed one of his own soldiers that was under mind control.

The end was 4 treasures to 2 his favor.  I ended up with 160xp, a Staff +1 fight for my wizard and a staff of casting I sold for 300 gold.  The barbarian is fine, but the thug will need to sit out next game.  For my level bonus I took a bonus to cast mind control.

However I have more then enough gold to fill out my warband. I'm thinking a man-at-arms or a knight..not sure yet.

I didn't really have much strategy coming into the game but now I definitely have a plan going forward.  The goal will be to cast wizard's eyes on the other side of the board and then hide the casters in the back, while my soldiers move up (hopefully) with fight and speed buffs.  My main offensive spell is easily mind control and with line-of-sight coming from the wizard's eyes I think I will be happy with the plan.

So now I need more models to finish off the warband, something for the wizard's eyes and treasure tokens. I will also at least have pictures next time!

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Frostgrave!

It's been a while since a new game grabbed my interested. I tried a bit with Warmachine with it not catching on. Friends keep recommending Malifaux or Infinity and neither one is showing the least bit of excitement.

However Frostgrave is the exact opposite.  I've watched some battle reports and played a demo game.  The ruleset is simple and the games are quick and brutal. I can see a lot of flaws in it, but it's fun enough that they are easily overlooked. 

I'm hoping to get a game in every other week on Friday night. First chance is tomorrow so we'll see if that pans out.

Here is my starting warband, already done and ready to play!  They are Reaper Bones miniatures which means mold lines are just a fact of life. Other then that they are pretty nice. I spent less then a week on these, so don't expect much.

I was also able to get the basic rule book with my bonus Amazon gift cards from work, so right now the investment in this game is very minimal, so if it turns out I don't like it no big loss. 




Seoni the Soothsayer.

Seoni travels to Frostgrave with the singular purpose of increasing her power. Wealth does not mean much, but to her the power of magic is what drives her. She stands out in the wastes of the city with her blond hair and colorful flowing gowns. To the surprise of everyone that encounters her, the cold seems to not affect her in anyway, even walking around barefoot. You could say the cold does not bother her anyway..

Seoni considers herself true neutral. Her powers of foresight greatly influence this, as she sees the possible consequences of her actions before she commits to any single course. As a result she comes across to people as cold and emotionless, yet fair and loyal. It is this commitment to fairness that keeps her warband together.


Kristianna the apprentice.

Kristianna was a skilled warrior long before she met Seoni. She is a grand master with dual blades. Her natural magical abilities to see the future contribute to defeating otherwise more powerful foes, and came under Seoni’s tutelage for mutual benefit.

As a stark contrast to Seoni’s apparent emotionless, Kristianna is filled with wonder and embraces all that life has to give. She is constantly pulling pranks on the warband and fills every camp with laughter and music. Her warmth is nearly matched by her commitment to a moral code of kindness, empathy and justice.


Thund Bloodwrack, the barbarian.

Thund is mighty warrior that lives by the code of honor of his northern tribe. He is bound by blood to Kristianna, as she saved his life as he was beset by a horde of gnolls. Ever since then he has been by her side as aide and advisor, working together with a common goal.

Thund is a barbarian in every sense of the word: loud, hard drinking, strong, competitive and violent. However he interprets everything he sees through his code of honor. He has little respect for anyone that violates it and sometime even buts heads with Seoni herself.


Dub Bullock, Pirate thief.

Dub has joined the warband to become rich. He fancies a life of ease, and seeks an early retirement; preferably to his own island. He constantly talks about how he will build his grand manor with all sorts of hidden passages and traps to keep other thieves at bay. He is a skilled thief but assassination does not sit well with him. He is learning the art of dual wielding from Kristianna.

Dub is the typical anti-hero, a true rouge that usually ends up doing the right thing. To this end he isn’t as rich as one would suspect. Dub and Thund are best friends, and they always have each other’s back in a fight.

Kragmar, Dwarf Thug

Kragmar pretty much keeps to himself. He sleeps and eats alone, and rebukes most attempts at conversation. As such not much is known about his past, except that he will work for whatever he can get.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Buliding an Ork dakka list for ITC

I had not realized that ITC now allows taking two CaDs.  I don't know when that changed, but it allows me try and build a dakka-heavy list.

The biggest roadblock was the fact that both lootas and mek guns are heavy support. Being able to run two cads gives me both ObSec and 6 heavy slots - which is exactly what I need.

I did have to fill out 4 troop slots, so I wanted both hitting power and speed. Mixing up large mobs with Trukk boys was the way to go.

The obvious way to protect the firebase is a Void Shield Generator, especially since ITC is still not using the draft faq's.

Lastly, only bringing 54 boys means I don't have a lot of models. So I decided to back up the boys with some summoned deamons!  Thus two wierdboys.

And finally, the list:

CaD-1
HQ: Warboss: pk, bosspole, 'eavy armor, lucky stikk
HQ: Painboy

Troop: 30 'ard slugga boyz, Nob w/PK&BP
Troop: 10 grots

Heavy: 10 lootas
Heavy: 10 lootas
Heavy: 10 lootas

Fortification: VSG, 2 extra shields, 1 barricade section.

CaD-2
HQ: Wierdboy, level 2
HQ: Wierdboy, level 2

Troop: 12 'ard slugga boys, Nob w/PK&BP, Trukk w/ram
Troop: 12 'ard slugga boys, Nob w/PK&BP, Trukk w/ram

Heavy: 5 Mek Gunz, lobba, 5 ammo runts
Heavy: 2 Mek Gunz, kannon, 2 ammo runts
Heavy: 3 Mek Gunz, KMK, 3 ammo runts

I don't have a lot of stuff to summon, only 10 pink horrors and 19 deamonettes, but that's enough to provide very good support and take pressure off the boyz.

This gives me a strong balance of assaulty, shooty and survivability. I probably can't deal with 4 gattling cannons but I'll give it a try!

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Quick update: More rebasing.

Finished putting my first Blood Angels tactical squad on 32mm bases. I still have not found any resin lava bases I like, so I might have to start learning how to do my own.

I have a lot more then 10 guys in this unit though, so it was more work then it needed to be. But have 4 heavy weapon options and 2 guys with special weapons. 

32mm bases really makes a huge difference for space marines and it's well worth the work. Slowly over time I'm sure I'll get more and more done.

It's also a good way to spend time when watching football games! Go Ducks!







That's it for now, more hobby to come!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Friday, September 9, 2016

Showcase: Blood Angels Stormtalon

Another step to the Medusa Strike Force is done - the first Stormtalon.

Even if the BA supplement coming out is pretty good, I might still want to run a Raptor Wing because it's just pretty darn good.

It's also magnetized, and done differently then I've seen others do it.





Turned out great, love it.  On to the next project!