Friday, July 29, 2011

My new D&D character.

It has been a little quiet on the blog front, but I have been doing some gaming, if you follow my Twitter feed. A short break from some Warhammer playing comes to an end this weekend when I travel to Toledo, Ohio for a 1500 point tournament at the Toledo Game Room. The rules are simple, no Lords and no Special Characters. I am taking what I think to be a strong Skaven list at that point level, though it is hard to build what I think is a strong Skaven list at sub-2000 points with no Lords.

In my absence from blogging I have been putting time in with my new game, Malifaux. My wife and I started new crews and are waiting for our bases to arrive from Dragonforge. Her Rasputina crew are to be based on ice bases, and my Seamus crew on cobblestone bases. I have also been working on my new character for my upcoming D&D campaign, a Dwarf 'Slayer' (actually the Ranger class) with dual battle axes. I love the character, and he will of course be played like I envision any good Slayer to be, as Gotrek from Gotrek and Felix. Here are some shots of the model.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Malifaux Tournament

Saturday I played in my first ever Malifaux event, a 35ss Scrap with shared strategies. It was meant to be the League season end event, though out of the 16 or so players that participated in the League in some form, only 2 showed up. In the end we had 9 players in the tournament for a disappointing turnout, but a good time regardless. I brought my Perdita crew even though I had only ever finished 2 complete games of Malifaux. I went 0-2 in two games that were both close to going wither way, against 2 crews I hadn't played before. I didn't get to play a third opponent because of a third round bye.

I did win best painted though. There were 3 fully painted armies done at about equal levels. I was the only one with a display board and fully painted / flocked bases. The details gave me the edge in the end, I believe.


My Perdita crew, ready for the tournament.

Amazing display tables provided by twilightemporium.net

Amazing display tables provided by twilightemporium.net

Amazing display tables provided by twilightemporium.net

My first game on the Bayou.

My first opponent. Against me he played The Dreamer.

The other painted army at the tournament.


After the tournament I won a Dead Rider, and started a Seamus crew as my next crew.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Blood in the Sun Tournament report

I am back with Blood in the Sun with tales of triumph and pictures of the carnage that was my first 2 day GT. Over 50 players were at the event and when the dust settled I scored 3rd place on Battle points and 7th place in the Overall Standings. Lets take a look at how things went down.

Starting off Friday night, I decided to play a practice game with Jake Murphy who I met at Adepticon and frequently hit up on Twitter. Jake was playing his Brettonians and we decided to have a tune-up game and a few beers.



This was a great game for me in the grand scheme of things, because I tried a few risks and tactics that almost led to utter catastrophe. My 2 Grey Seers and BSB had both moved into a Slave unit late in the game to avoid a Knight unit, then were caught with an 11" needed roll charge and popped... destroying all 3 characters. The Skaven squeeked by in the end because of the amount of damage my magic had done throughout the game but I definitely would say my success on the weekend was helped by the little scare I had Friday night.

To start off the Tournament itself, I was told by Grant (the organizer) I had drawn his pick to win the entire tournament! As it turns out he could have been right. Alex Nikitenko was a great opponent. He was on table 1 during round 4 of the Adepticon Championships and lost to the Daemon player who won overall. In our game he was playing Orcs and Goblins.



The first scenario was a straight pitched battle. The game was hard fought and the shooting advantage was going his way early. A failed charge by my Abom on my second turn let him get flanked and killed when he was run down, and things were looking grim for the rats. The Foot of Gork had also stomped me into the dust 3 times on the first turn.



Poor maneuvering led my Plague Furnace through the woods after that, reducing it to only 1 wound... but the Orc war machines could never finish it off. Then, a well targeted 13th spell finished off the Savage Orcs holding his army general to put me well ahead. Late in the game another savage beating by the Foot of Gork killed off another unit as well as my second Grey Seer, and I limped to a 11-9 victory.

Game 2 I moved up to table 10 to face Michael Groth's Beastmen. He had a very foot troop heavy list that relied on boosting his hordes and winning through attrition. Our second scenario was more or less a pitched battle as well.



I moved forward and was aggressive with magic early, using Plague and Scorch to hurt his units and panic the ones on the outside edge. The Plague furnace smashed into his 40 man Gor herd and eventually destroyed though unit though I lost almost all of my Monks. It was worth it in the end and as I finished off all of his characters, I kept mine away from trouble to take the big 19-1 win.


IRL Beastman!

Game 3 I played Jeff Heck and Beastmen again, but a much different list. The Gor horde was there, but also included instead of Bestigor were a large Minotaur unit led by a Doombull and Mino BSB, as well as a nice Ghorgon represented by the huge model from Banebeasts.


The scenario was Blood and Glory, and the Beastmen went first, RUSHING across the board. This was definitely a great strategy because I could barely hold him off. He also used a magic item that forced me to roll a 4+ to shoot my cannon, saving his minotaurs. Even when I got my furnace horde into his Gor horde, his Great Shaman irresistably cast Transformation of Khadon and turned into a Great Fire Dragon, eating a good majority of Plague Monks, also rolling double 6 for his breath attack.





I did my best to hold up units and use magic on others, but in the end I kept it close enough that on his 5th turn the game turned for me. The Great Shaman, another Shaman, and a Hero were all that were left of the horde vs a few plague monks and my furnace. Attempting Transformation again, Jeff rolled irresistably and Dimensional Cascaded his Great Shaman and the resulting explosion killed the Shaman and Hero as well, scoring me about 600 points and the victory in my final game of day 1 with 11-9 points.

That night was a blast as I relaxed and did some recording with the Garagehammer crew. I assume it will be on their next episode along with their BitS coverage. The Pointhammered guys were there as well and did some "Cross-Podcast" banter for the show.


Day 2 came after a night of much drinking and Warhammer debauchery. I found out the night before that I would be facing a mostly mono-Khorne Daemon player named Dan Ruud on table 4 again. He also had a Loremaster Tzeentch caster with Haevens magic.



With the scenario being a Meeting Engagement type deployment, I knew I would have 2 hordes of Bloodletters, a Bloodthirster, and a big unit of Flesh Hounds in my face EARLY. LUCKILY I got the first turn. Because he was so eager and deployed on the front line, my opponent left his rear completely open and his lone heavens loremaster hiding behind a building. My Gutter Runners took advantage of this and Scouted behind him and killed him with poison slings on the first turn.




I attacked the right flank hard with my magic, Abomination, and Plague Monks. The Plague Banner is an amazing item and, while they do serious damage back, kills a lot of Bloodletters. A failed 7 inch charge on 3d6 left my HPA to be flanked by the Flesh Hounds, but it smashed them over the course of the game. Early on I sniped the Bloodthirster with my WLC, but my opponent used his BitS re-roll token to pass his ward save and save his life. He was mostly hiding him from then on, but he killed a lone Grey Seer at the end. I was able to pull out a solid victory after killing averything on the table other than his Bloodthister and Bloodcrusher unit. 16-4.

The final game of the tournament I was yet again on table 4 vs Kevin Bruins' High Elves.









Kevin made a fatal error in deployment by leaving his level 4 General and Shadow mage outside of any units, hoping to use 4+ 'Look Out Sir' rolls on them and keep them mobile. I moved forward immediatly with the first turn and vaporized him with the Dreaded 13th spell and left a single Clan Rat in his midst. From there on I moved the furnace forward and controlled the board. He came on late to earn a few points back and held me off from finishing a couple large point units in the end earning me a 15-5 victory and an undefeated record at Blood in the Sun.

It was a great experience but in reflection I think I could have played much better. I didn't pay enough attention to objective points and it cost me dearly. I scored third place on battle points, and if I had payed more attention and scored 5 more objectives throughout the other 4 games of the tournament, I would have won Best General! I did finish 7th overall with poor composition scores, but very good sportsmanship scores. My painting scores were good but nowhere near the top scores. There were some amazing armies.


Final tournament results were Brettonians as Overall Champions, and Beastmen as Best General.

I had a blast and I am looking forward to my next GT: Core Comp in September!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Blood in the Sun quick results

I am back from my weekend in the "Sun" and I have returned undefeated! I went 5-0 this weekend at Blood in the Sun, but too few points were earned to take home the title. More on my games and opponents, as well as the event as a whole later on the blog. I just walked in the door and I need sleep! One thing I will mention is my "strength of schedule" was pretty decent. After each game I will also list my opponents final placing. I played some tough players. I scored 7th overall in the final tally.

Game 1 - Alex Nikitenko (Orcs and Goblins) 11-9 win (8th)

Game 2 - Michael Groth (Beastmen) 19-1 win (30th)

Game 3 - Jeff Heck (Beastmen) 11-9 win (6th)

Game 4 - Dan Ruud (Daemons) 16-4 win (41st)

Game 5 - Kevin Bruins (High Elves) 15-5 win (13th)


Another interesting note... Best Overall was won by Brettonians, Best General was won by Beastmen, and third place was Wood Elves!!!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Blood in the Sun Lineup



Blood in the Sun is THIS WEEKEND. I have been finishing up my movement trays and painting my terrain piece. I have played loads of practice games, and even won a tournament at 2500 points with my Blood in the Sun list (with an extra cannon). But all the prep comes to an end this weekend when I travel to Lake County, IL for the 2 day GT. Lets recap just exactly what is going on this weekend.

Blood in the Sun is a 2 day, 2400 point GT. There are no comp restrictions other than no special characters, but there is comp scoring by players. Battle points are 50% of your score, painting is 20%, comp and sports are both 15%. BITS has been completely sold out for weeks (months?) now. I have been able to view the other participants and scheme for a while... EVERY army will be represented at BITS.

Here is the lineup:

Lizardmen - 6 players
Orcs and Goblins - 6 players
Dark Elves - 5 players
Warriors of Chaos - 5 players
Beastmen - 5 players
Dwarfs - 3 players
Empire - 3 players
Daemons - 2 players
Skaven - 2 players
Brettonians - 2 players
Tomb Kings - 2 players
High Elves - 2 players
Wood Elves - 2 players
Chaos Dwarfs - 2 players
Vampire Counts - 1 player
Ogre Kingdoms - 1 player
Dogs of War - 1 player

WHFB Tournament Sept 3

GLWL Team Challenge Trials !


Overview
The GLWL has challenged IWFB to a club challenge, and to prepare we are throwing a tournament open to everyone! This is a 2000 point Warhammer Fantasy Battles tournament. The tournament will consist of THREE rounds of gaming. Tournament scoring will be based on battle points earned during your games, with victory points used as final tie breakers.

Date
September 3, 2011

Location
Pandemonium, Garden City, Michigan. Pandemonium is located at 1858 Middlebelt, which is 2 blocks south of Ford Road, on the east side of the street. Pandemonium's phone number is (734) 427-2451.

Organizer
Brad Schwandt
rhellion.wh@gmail.com

Tournament Registration / Fee
The maximum size of the event is 30 players. Registration is $10 due on the day of the event. To register for the tournament, email the tournament organizer at rhellion.wh@gmail.com, or sign up at Pandemonium.

Prizes
Awards and/or prizes will be awarded for the top 3 places, as well as for Best Army (painting). All entry fees will be returned as prize support, as well as prize support from the venue!

Materials
Players must bring all materials needed to play including: Dice, measuring device, templates, models, rule books, army books, FAQs, etc. Bring a pen or pencil and a calculator to figure out victory points.

Schedule
(Saturday)
10:30am to 11:00am Registration
11:00am to 1:30pm Round 1
1:30pm to 2:00pm Lunch break, Appearance Judging
2:00pm to 4:30pm Round 2
4:45pm to 7:15pm Round 3
7:15pm to 7:30pm Calculate Final Scores
7:30pm to 7:45pm Awards

Army Lists
You must bring at least FIVE copies of your army list that are clearly legible and lists out all the details of your characters and units. Players must hand one copy into the judges and provide a copy of their list to their opponents at the conclusion of each round. Army Builder printouts are acceptable (but players are responsible for double checking points costs there are sometimes errors in the files especially for newer armies!).

The default in regards to army lists for this tournament is that army lists will be exchanged for review with your opponent after each game (e.g. this is a closed list tournament). If you are using hidden models (e.g. assassins, fanatics, etc) you must include them on your army list, but do not have to assign them to a specific unit on the army list. Prior to the start of each game you must write down which unit the hidden models are assigned to and hand it in to the judges.

Army Requirements and Restrictions
(A) You must use the same army list for each game.
(B) Players may field an army of up to 2,000 points and not a point more! Regardless of size, the armies will use the requirements and allowances for 2,000 point armies (i.e. 25% Core Choices, no more than 25% Lords allowed, etc.)
(C) Armies do not have to be painted (but players are highly encouraged to do so as painting / appearance is an award!)
(D) WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) is in effect. For characters all weapons and armour should be modeled. Units must have a majority of the models making up a unit armed correctly (it is permissible per the main rules to have a minority of the models armed differently).
(E) Remember that for wizards with a choice of magic lores, you must indicate which lore each wizard will be using for the entire tournament on your army list.
(F) Special, Named, or Unique characters ARE allowed.
(G) No other army list composition restrictions. We are playing BY THE BOOK.

Battles
Each participant in the tournament will play three battles. These scenarios will be based out of the 8th Edition rulebook and it is encouraged that players create lists that will be able to run operate within those scenarios. Players may earn up to 20 points each battle, based on a 20-0 scoring system. Scenarios will be rolled for RANDOMLY before each round of play.



Only the following armies are permitted at this tournament. Note that players may only field armies from the current version of each of the Warhammer Army Supplements.

Beastmen
- Warhammer Armies: Beastmen
Bretonnia
- Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia
Daemons of Chaos
- Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos
Dark Elves
- Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves
Dwarfs
- Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs
Empire
- Warhammer Armies: Empire
High Elves
- Warhammer Armies: High Elves
Lizardmen
- Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen
Ogre Kingdoms
- Warhammer Armies: Ogre Kingdoms
Orcs & Goblins
- Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins
Skaven
- Warhammer Armies: Skaven
Tomb Kings
- Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings
Vampire Counts
- Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts
Warriors of Chaos
- Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos
Wood Elves
- Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves

Monday, July 4, 2011

Arcane Ruins

My Blood in the Sun terrain piece is complete. It is more of a quick fill-in to enter into the terrain contest and earn me a re-roll token at the event, but ultimately it is meant to match my Tomb Kings army with an entire Arcane Ruins setup throughout the army. I will probably use it on the display board for the Tomb Kings far down the road.



I ended up going with some advice from Twitter and using a Vermin Brown basecoat, overbrush Tausept Ochre, then drybrush Bleached Bone.

Friday, July 1, 2011

GLWL vs IWFB club challenge

Twitter is a great gaming tool. You can post battle updates, hobby progress, muse about rules, and read everyone else post about the same. Every once and a while you find a game, and this time I found a whole CLUB to challenge. IWFB (Illinois Warhammer Fantasy Battles) had a club challenge fall through against Wisconsin, and posted on Twitter looking for other challengers. I took up the challenge and now we have the GLWL vs IWFB Team Challenge set for October 22, 2011 at the Chicago Battle Bunker.

The rules are: 10 players per team, no duplicate armies, 2000 points. Armies must be painted, but there is no comp in effect. We will be playing the game as written. Matchups and scenarios will be random and not duplicated. Wins are 2 points and ties are 1, and at the end of the day the team with the most points is declared the winner.

We are still filling up team slots, so if you are in the GLWL and you are reading this, send me an email to secure your place on team GLWL. So far this is what we have and what we are facing!

TEAM GLWL
1 Brad Schwandt - Skaven
2 John Williams - Beastmen
3 Eric Stephens - Dark Elves
4 Nik Rodorigo - Vampire Counts
5 Eric Hanson - Bretonians
6 Donnie Goerlitz - Daemons of Chaos
7 Dustin Daman - Dwarfs
8 Mike Hernandez - Lizardmen
9 Michael Warren - Empire
10 Al Zielke - Warriors of Chaos


TEAM IWFB
1. Christopher Walker - whatever is left
2. Jeff Florido - Demons
3. Dennis Gunia - High Elves
4. Alex Gonzalez - Goblins
5. Grant Fetter - Skaven
6. Eduardo Rodriquez - Warriors
7. James Hyde - Lizardmen
8. Robert Klemic - Empire
9. Mike Lagger - Dark Elves
10. Aaron Claessens - Vampire Counts