Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Battlefoam!

I am packing my army up for Adepticon tonight, in my new Battlefoam P.A.C.K. 1520 XL! I picked it up last month from my FLGS, but had to order the Fantasy specific foam to put inside it from BF directly. I just wanted to put up a couple of photos and give my impressions.



Packed and ready to go! I got some GREAT advice before buying my foam. DON'T buy the Skaven set from Battlefoam. The 92 Troop pice will not hold models well. I went with the 72 Troop trays and they were perfect. They hold a TON of models. The Skaven special tray to hold the Bell, Furnace, and 2 Doomwheels (mine holds 2 Abominations) is an excellent buy. Well worth it. I also picked up one Dark Elf Spearmen tray to hold my 1 unit of Clanrats with spears, a Weapon Team tray that actually holds my Stormvermin and only a couple teams instead of its intended use, and a Clan Moulder tray that I use for my Rat Ogres and Characters.

It is a very pricey system, but it is well worth it after I have the finished product in my posession, ready to be loaded into the car for Adepticon. I also bought a Battlefoam XBoard Display Board with the foam. I have it painted up and it fits perfectly into the 1520 XL too, in the side pouches! I will post pictures with my army at Adepticon.

I will be at Adepticon Thursday to hang out and register. Friday I am playing in the Big Brawl, Saturday in the Fantasy Championships, and Sunday I am possibly playing in the Fantasy Team Tournament. If anyone is looking for a last minute partner, I am bringing a 1000 point list!

For updates at the convention live, follow me on Twitter @Rhellion

If you see me there, I will be wearing my Winter Classic Detroit Red Wings hat!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Road to Adepticon - Primer BatRep

Adepticon is quickly approaching, my army is painted, and my Battlefoam will be here this week! I will be all set when I get my XBoard display board painted up. I have one last practice game against Dark Elves scheduled for this weekend against the player who won my Cold War tournament. I promised pics and a battle report of the weekend's Adepticon Primer, so here it is.

My Army:


Game 1 vs Dwarfs. Meeting Engagement.

My opponent set up first, and rolled poorly for reserve troops, and left his Hammerers, Anvil of Doom, and Organ Gun off the table. He also had a large unit of Longbeard Rangers, so his only deployment was in a small area of the board. I was able to aggressively deploy and get to him quickly.


I stole the initiative and moved up quickly. On the second turn I  had the Gutter Runners charge the closest catapult, and the Organ Gun after it moved on the board. My Slaves came on from my board to block the Longbeards, but it was unnecessary as shooting and magic decimated them down to two troops. Once the Hellpit got into the lines, and the Gutter Runners took out all of the war machines, all that was left standing was the Anvil of Doom. The Hellpit was MVP after wiping out thew Warriors and overrunning into the Hammerers with my Storm Vermin, also wiping them out.

Win 20-6

Game 2 Beastmen. Dawn Attack.

My deployment was horrible as my entire army was split into the left and right flanks. My opponent had almost all of his in the center with his Herd Stone and level 4 Death Shaman, and three level 1 Shadow Shaman with the signature spell to debuff me. I maneuvered my Grey Seer and Clan Rats around the right with the Plague furnace, as my Hellpit and Slaves moved from the left towards the main beastmen line.


After taking out the enemy BSB with a single round of WLC firing, I focused on redirecting minotaurs. It was unsuccessful as they did eventually hit my lines, but the Hellpit and Furnace had been doing good work behind them. Late in the game my opponent fled his Bestigors from a Slave charge that he was sure would also bring the Hellpit into combat. His flee move brought him within range and sight of my Grey Seer, who finished the unit with the 13th spell. His General and BSB now gone, it was left to the cleanup... though my Grey Seer died in the end to minotaurs. MVP goes to the Power Scroll, and 13th Spell.

Win 20-5

Game 3 Lizardmen. Blood and Glory.

Game 3 was against my driving buddy for a few tournaments now, and the winner of Best General at the Fall Classic, Mike H. Mike had a Shadow Slaan, Engine of the Gods, Temple Guard, 2 blocks of Saurus, double Salamanders, and double chameleon skinks. After he set his first unit I decided to castle on the opposite corner and make him come to me. Hopefully I could focus on one Saurus unit at a time this way and get some good shots on his Steg.


And that I did, when the first turn my WLC put two wounds on his steg and shot the Priest and engine off. Also first turn I rolled TWO separate 4's on the miscast table. One was a cupped hands miscast, graciously given to me by my opponent. The second was a 3 dice cast of Warp Lightning. My Grey Seer survived his 50% chance of vaporization on both rolls. Then my army went on a tear. The Warp Lightning Cannons finished off the Stegadon and took out Mike's Temple Guard, with the help of a natural 29 on the 13th Spell (no IF). The next turns had more Warp Lightning and the 13th spell (this time with power scroll) dropping the SLaan's new bunker to 5 Saurus. I finally shot the doom rocket into it, finished the last 5, and my opponent's army broke at 3 fortitude. MVP was the Warp Lightning Cannons.

Win 19-6.


Solid performance. I had at least one great game in each of the three phases to really give me some confidence going into Adepticon. I am not 100% sure on the survivability of my Grey Seer, but that is the risk I have to take at 2200 points with only a Grey Seer as General guaranteed to explode at least once per game.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Road to Adepticon - Primer Victory

 Yesterday was the Adepticon Primer Tournament for the Warhammer Fantasy Championships. The Fantasy Championships is a 4 game, single day tournament set at 2200 points with little to no restrictions, the only main restriction being no special characters. At the event I had three good games against Dwarfs, then Beastmen, and finally Lizardmen to take home the 1st place Overall win and really give me some confidence in my list going into Adepticon. If you are interested, have a look at the list, and please leave feedback. I will try to get battle reports of the days games up asap.



Grey Seer, Level 4 (3 Ruin, 1 Plague), Talisman of Preservation, Power Scroll

Plague Priest, Level 1 Plague, Plague Furnace, Dispel Scroll
Chieftain, BSB, Shield, Dragon Helm, Opal Amulet
Warlock Engineer, Doomrocket

30 Storm Vermin, Fang Leader, Musician, Standard, Storm Banner
30 Clan Rats, Claw Leader, Musician, Standard
40 Slaves, Musician
39 Slaves, Musician

30 Plague Monks, Bringer, Musician, Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame
5 Gutter Runners, Slings, Poisoned Attacks
5 Gutter Runners, Slings, Poisoned Attacks

Hell Pit Abomination, Warp Spikes
Warp Lightning Cannon
Warp Lightning Cannon

Saturday, March 19, 2011

2011 'Ard Boyz scenarios


This year's 'Ard Boyz scenarios have been released, and I have to say, this one is going to be bloody. With 2 of the 3 scenarios being Meeting Engagements, I am REALLY thinking about taking the Orcs and getting stuck into it FAST.

http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1730396a_Fantasy_Ard_Boyz_2011_Prelim_Scenarios.pdf

Scenario 1. "Eyz Don't See So Good!" Meeting Engagement. The scenario special rules limit all range to the distance rolled on an artillery die x3.

Scenario 2. "Da Blood Soaked Choppa". Battle line. One unit gets buffed with +1 Strength and Attack, but gives up extra battle points.

Scenario 3. "The End Times". Meeting Engagement. A table is rolled on every turn that can decimate units by dealing d6 wounds to every unit on the table. Other results include game-wide frenzy, movement restriction, shooting restriction, automatic channeling, and buffed generals.

All three scenarios really look to be great for Orcs and Goblins, though I would probably have to limit my Rare choices and really maximize on blocks of troops. The third scenario would hurt Mangler Squigs and Pump Wagons, but bith Meeting Engagements mean for fast and bloody combat. A large unit of Black Orcs buffed with the Blood Soaked Choppa? Yes please.

On the contrary, if I choose Skaven I see myself taking 3 Hell Pit Abominations. Meeting Engagements mean getting them stuck in quickly, and penalties to shooting and gun lines all over the place increase survivability. I am only worried about them taking wounds in the third scenario, but that would happen to the Orc monsters as well.

This is going to be fun!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Road to Adepticon - Big Brawl list

Friday night is the face-smashing tune-up for Saturday's Warhammer Fantasy Championships, in the form of the Big Brawl. I had plenty of 'Ard Boyz experience with 8th Edition rules in all three rounds last year. The Big Brawl is basically 'Ard Boyz, although now there are no Grand Army rules or Special Characters for me to worry about. I think that is definitely an advantage for my list that is very similar to my 'Ard Boyz lists from last year that faced off against a lot of special characters. Here is the list, let me know what you think.

As always, critiques welcome.

Grey Seer (G), lvl 4 ruin, d3 warpstone, screaming bell, dispel scroll
Grey Seer, lvl 4 plague, d3 warpstone, power scroll
740 Lord

Plague Priest, lvl 1 plague, plague furnace, ironcurse icon
Chieftain, bsb, shield, halberd, standard of discipline
Warlock Engineer, doomrocket
409 Hero

25 Storm Vermin, musician, standard, storm banner
40 Clan Rats, command, shields
30 Clan Rats, command, shields
40 Slaves, musician
40 Slaves, musician
759 Core

30 Plague Monks, command, banner of eternal flame
5 Gutter Runners, poison, slings
5 Gutter Runners, poison, slings
425 Special

Hell Pit Abomination, warp spikes
Hell Pit Abomination
Warp Lightning Cannon
Warp Lightning Cannon
665 Rare

2998 Total

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Road to Adepticon - Hobby Update

Adepticon is closing in, and I need to finish my army! Well, it's not too far off but does need to be finished for this weekend's Adepticon Primer Tournament at J&L Games in St. Johns. Really all that is left is finishing my Warp Lightning Cannons and my display board. The WLC's were minimally painted previously. Tonight I worked on washing them, getting some detail and highlighting, and painting the crew separately. I have a Battlefoam XBoard display board coming with the rest of the foam for my new 1520 XL Battlefoam case. BUT, I am pretty sure it won't arrive in time for this weekend's tourney. So I went out and bought a cork board at Target, and picked up some textured "stone" spray paint. It actually matches my bases quite well. I will be adding a lot of static grass.

On the Ork and Goblin front I have been stripping Orcs, assembling some more Black Orcs, working on my Arachnarok, and getting my Mangler Squig pieces together. I used a Great Cave Squig mount and Gobblo for the Mangler Squigs. The Arachnarok BASE is horribly warped. I am going to try and fix it myself so I don't have to wait on one getting shipped to me.

Here we are with some pics... Adepticon is in 16 days!

WIP Skaven WLC's. Need some highlights to be finished.

Display board's textured paint drying. Simple board while I wait on the XBoard.

Terrible Arachnarok base.

Incoming Mangler Squigs!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

2500 point NEW Orc and Goblin list



I picked up the new Orc and Goblin book last week and I must be going insane, because I am starting another horde army. We'll see how long this new obsession lasts but for right now I am loving the idea of painting up an O&G force! Take a look at my preliminary incarnation and let me know what you think.

Black Orc Warboss, talisman of preservation, dragonhelm, crown of command
Night Goblin Great Shaman, talisman of endurance, dispel scroll
Black Orc Big Boss, bsb, armor of destiny
30 Orc Boy Big'Uns, full command, additional hand weapons, banner of eternal flame
30 Night Goblins, full command, netters, spears, 3 fanatics
25 Black Orcs, full command, banner of discipline
10 Forest Goblin Spider Riders, standard, musician, shortbows
Spear Chukka
Spear Chukka
Pump Wagon, spikey roller
Pump Wagon, spikey roller
Mangler Squigs
Mangler Squigs
Doom Diver
Arachnarok

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Hell Pit Abomination (# 3)

So here we go. I picked up a new Hell Pit Abomination kit at my own tournament in January, and I decided I wanted to use THAT model at Adepticon. So last night I painted it. Here are some of the WIP and final shots. It is heavy on the wash, but the majority of my army is. That is the way I like my Skaven!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Adepticon WFB Primer

With the support of J&L Miniatures, everyone is invited to a Warhammer Fantasy Tournament.

It will match the format for Adepticon as closely as possible to help prepare those of us wanting to practice for the big one in Chicago.

Below are the details:


WHERE: J&L Miniatures in St. Johns, MI.

WHEN: Sunday, March 20th

COST: $10 entry Fee, payable to J&L Miniatures at sign-up. Tim, owner of J&L, is providing generous prize support for this event.

FORMAT: I will run 3 rounds (not 4 like adepticon), with 2.5 hours per round to match adepticon.

SCHEDULE:
8:30 to 9:30 Check-in, Table Assignments.
Game 1: 9:30 to 12 Noon
Lunch and paint judging: Noon to 1PM
Game 2: 1PM to 3:30PM
Break: 3:30 to 3:45PM
Game 3: 3:45 to 6:15PM
6:30 Awards

RULES:
Here is the Adepticon ruleset and scoring format:
http://www.adepticon.org/11rules/2011wfbchamp.pdf

I'll prepare a draft of the scenarios and gently revise the rules linked above to reflect scoring for 3 rounds rather than the 4 scheduled for Adepticon. Brad has gotten good info on the scenarios to get me started preparing this week. I will likely revise the prizes awarded also as compared to the larger scale event, with details TBD shortly.

ORGANIZER: John Williams Cell: 248-622-0186 johnphilipw@live.com.

SIGN-UPS:
Please e-mail me at johnphilipw@live.com to reserve your spot.
only 16 slots are available, so reserve your spot soon.

FURTHER DETAILS:
I'll follow up with further details by Wednesday, March 2nd.

Thanks, John