Upcoming North Carolina Tournaments





Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Help Me Define an Imperial Fists List


I'm looking to finish painting my Imperial Fists pretty soon, and was hoping to get some feedback on what you consider to be the units that would iconically fill out the army.  Here's what I have done, or will have done soon:

Lysander
Ten Terminators
Two Tactical Squads
Dreadnought
Land Raider Crusader

So I've got about 500 points left to paint up.  I'm thinking maybe some Sternguard and a Vindicator, but I'm very interested in options.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Nahimana - Beastlord



I ordered this model for my Beastmen the other day.  I'm hoping to turn her into my Beastlord General.  I am concerned that she'll be too small, but I wanted something a little different for the General's Model.  She'll have to go by the name "Gortia Gorson" to be Gorish enough. 

The Beast Lord and Wargor models from GW are great, and I own them, but I don't see them as different enough from the everyday Bestigor to mark them easily as a character.  For the same reasons, I use a Lug and Snapjaw (a polar bear and an alligator) as my Minotaur heroes, and Wrong Eye (another gator) as a shaman.  They are something different and mean in a Beastman army, and I like the idea of having all kinds of Beasts around. 

So I'm hoping for good things from the Gortia Gorson, er...Nahimana model.  I'll probably put her on some cork to give her some height, and we'll see what I can do with that off hand as well. 

Imperial Fists Dreadnought, Work in Progress

The very first model I bought when I started back up with Games Workshop a few years ago was the plastic Dreadnought kit.  Stompy death robots are really what got me excited about things again.  Oddly, after assembly, this guy sat on my shelf for a long time (and maybe went to a few games unpainted), but for some reason, I never painted him until now.  In a spur of the moment decision the other day, while sitting around during a dull patch of work, I decided to make him an Imperial Fist.  And now he is Honored Brother Leon.  He doesn't have his nifty Imperial Fist logos just yet, but otherwise he's looking pretty spiff.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Forge World Raven Guard



Raven Guard were my first SM army, my first completely painted SM force, and are still the coolest chapter, in my very humble opinion.  I am so very excited to see the first of the new Raven Guard stuff from Forge World, which (once it comes out), I'll be picking up along with the Raven Guard Dread.  I love this new Captain model!

Vacation Time! And Free Warhammer Online!



On Wednesday morning, I'm headed down to Florida for a few days to relax and soak up some sun.  There'll be no real internet access there, so it may be that on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday those other guys listed on the right will put something up.  We shall see! 

I tried Warhammer Online a bit when it came out, but it didn't grab me (and having come from the demon that is WoW, I'm not really into the idea of a big MMO anymore anyway.  I do like the idea of any sort of Warhammer video game, though, and I might give this another (free) try.  Since they are giving away an "Endless Free Trial" for download, I figure this might be a good time.

http://www.warhammeronline.com/trial/

Cheers!

Friday, March 26, 2010

The Green Stuff Banner Tutorial

The other day, I read this excellent tutorial by danjones87 on Librarium Online.  It's so good that I plan on using it myself, and wanted to share it with you.  So without further ado:

The Green Stuff Banner Tutorial

Banners are always a focal point in any army, large surfaces that are the best places to show of painting skills. For this reason its not always the best option to use the precast ones provided, you cant have evey banner looking the same, its just not natural! For this reason, its about time we went our own way, make the banner yourself!

In this tutorial I will produce a nice raggedy banner to fit with my Black Guard Campaign army.
Planning is VERY important in this process, even more so with banners for fantasy models. First off I mocked up a paper banner, tacked it to the banner pole and then placed it in the unit. From this I can see the space I have to add ripples and curves caused by wind etc. You will need the mock up later on, so dont bin it.




As you can guess with this being in the middle of a rank infantry unit, there is little space to play with, some examples later show what can be done with more space.

What will you need?
As you can see, I have used some Green Stuff (this was rather obvious), talc (any kind of old man drying talc will sufice), a 'rolling pin substitute' (I used my cutting knife handle) and a SMOOTH surface. The smooth surface is very important (I used the other side of my cutting matt) as if you roll the green stuff onto any lumps or bumps this will impair the final result. I also used a single pointed sculpting tool, a sharpe knife and a metal ruler before curing, after curing I used some ZAP super thin glue.



Lets get on with it.
OK, before mixing green stuff ensure the area for working is clean. Then apply the talc. Dont be afraid to cover the whole area in talc, the more the safer!

The talc stops the Greenstuff from sticking to it when you apply pressure.
Rub the talc into the surface. It is critical that the greenstuff does not stick half way through, otherwise you will need to start again.

Dont forget to talc up the rolling pin. Just as important as the matt. its good to keep adding a bit of talc to the tool all the way through.


Mix the greenstuff and pop it into the middle of the talc zone and roll it around to pick up some talc. Then begin to roll out. You may need to apply a bit of pressure at first, but the thinner it gets the less pressure required, it can cause havoc!

I find the best way of rolling this out is to keep turning and flipping the greenstuff, this way it is less likely to stick to the matt or the tool. Remember after each flip to rub a bit of talc into the piece.


After a short while you will have a really thin piece of greenstuff. Its possible to get it that thin you can see through it! Paper thin is fine.


Roll out the mock up and compare to the green stuff sheet.

Then CAREFULLY(!!!!!) cut out.


After this I made the banner raggedy. If you want a nice neat banner then ignore this bit. I mae the banner all ripped up by gentley teasing away chunks of the bottom of the banner. As the greenstuff hasnt cured yet it will stiff be soft and will stretch in places. If this looks like it may cause a problem, rub it with your finger an it will slowly go back into shape.


Once you are happy, leave the banner over night to cure properly


After this I simpley neatened the banner with a knife and stuck to the banner pole with a small amount of glue.

To add curves and waves to the banner I used the super thin super glue, this also gets rid of any small giner prints and other defects. I add a small amount at a time to a small strip, hold in position with fingers or tweasers (dont stick them to the banner!) then move onto the next section once dry. By doing this you can add subtle or dramatic curves and waves.

The final piece



Here are the other, more dramatic banners.









Enjoy!

Dan

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Ortegas Go 2-0!


You know why I had to pick up the Ortega clan?  They fit in the greatest genre ever:  the post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror fantasy western.  It's what's making them so very delicious.

The other night, we had a chance to take on Tim and his Rasputina box.  Rasputina looks like a female pimp from the 70's, complete with top hat and fur jacket, and has a bunch of ice monstery folk with her.  I was feeling good, because cowboys with guns are not afraid of 70's pimps.  I'm pretty sure on that.

Tim did some interesting things, like raising a bunch of terrain, blocking a lot of my shooting with "White Out" and killing Papa Loco at range (which took Santiago down as well).  I used Nino and Perditia to do what I specialize in, which is moving fast and shooting things in the face.  Even with all her soul stones to protect her, Rasputina went down to Perditia's overwhelming shooting.  Nino picked off the little ice monsters, and in the end, Tim called the game with his big Ice Monster remaining, along with Francisco and Nino.

What I'm liking about the Ortegas is the absolute speed they bring to the table.  They are, to quote my opponent, "immediately up in your grill", and their shooting can be devastating.  Plus, your opponent has to focus on Papa Nino, or he's bringing them some big nasty explosions, which is no good for any kind of bad guy.

So yeah, Malifaux is pretty fun, and a great side game to Warhammer Fantasy.

Bonus! Enjoy the post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror fantasy western goodness!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Get Your Models Painted!


I paint fast, and I paint pretty well (at least to my eye, most days).  Despite not having a whole lot of free time, I manage to get projects done.  So for all of you stuck in procrastination land, fielding wave after wave of gray plastic miniatures, here's ten tips I used to get my models painted efficiently.

1.  Set time aside for painting.  Even if it's only ten minutes in a day, just setting aside a few minutes to get that first base coat of paint down on some models makes all the difference.

2.  Don't be afraid to make mistakes.  You shouldn't be working towards steely eyed, no quarter perfection on your first pass.  You can go back and fix things later.   That being said....

3.  Don't be intentionally sloppy, either.  Paint whatever part you're working on, and move on.  Don't hose down the model with paint.

4.  Have your paints ready.  I believe in the wet palette, which is a popular and approved way of working quickly with paints.  I also believe in pre-watering my paints in the jar, which is frowned upon by a lot of people.  It works for me (as long as I'm careful to not accidentally make a wash) and allows for quick access to lots of colors.

5.  Use washes.  Nothing makes a good model great in record time like using washes.  Instead of using six layers of paint to shade and highlight one of your six hundred rank and file models, try hitting it with a wash and then highlighting.

6.  Have brushes for every job.  I've got the general big three, and their names are Big, Medium, and Tiny.  One does the base coating, the next the general work, and the third the very fine details.

7.  Work in tens.  For your rank and file, use groups of five to ten (depending on your taste) to get things done.  One goblin at a time won't cut it for getting your army painted on the table.  Doing eighty at once may burn you out.  Small groups allow for progress while giving a good sense of accomplishment.

8.  Distract yourself.  Listen to music, or have a movie on, or try a new podcast.  Let your mind wander and you'll be amazed at the work your hands get done.

9.  Have your tools organized and cleaned.  Don't put yourself in a situation where in order to get any painting done, you have to look for your brushes and paints, etc. for half an hour.  Organize a bit, man!

10.  Have fun!  The day that the hobby becomes a chore, you need to pull back.  Relax, have fun, and make painting something you're having a great time trying to improve in. 

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Malifaux - The Painted Ortegas

I'm a pretty fast painter (and sometimes a pretty decent painter) when I put my mind to it.  Last Friday, I was stuck between projects, and ended up just painting the entire Ortega clan for Malifaux (minus Perditia, who I had already finished).  So here they are, in all there crazy cowboy glory.   I'll take 'em for a spin tonight and see who they end up rustlin'. 

Francisco:


Papa Loco:


Nino:


Santiago:


Gunslingers are the coolest.  True story.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Brawler Bash Battle Reports from Erik Lindley, Player's Choice Winner

Hold on to your hats, folks!  We've got a long set of battle reports, but boy are they worth it.  These were written by our friend Erik Lindley, who won Player's Choice at Brawler Bash!

I finally finished my bat rep from the Bash. I thought I would put it here also in case you local folks wanted to read it(originally posted on IWFB and the Daemonic Legion). If you were at the BB, I am sure you had a good time. If you didn't make this one, you should come next year!

Brawler Bash III 2010

There are very few GT's in the south east. So few in fact, that we had to start one locally just to have one within 200 miles. The Brawler Bash in Raleigh, NC has been growing for 3 years. This year there were 38 players. It has a very talented pool of participants and one of the best scenario systems that exists. The venue is a clean Hilton hotel with good access to all the things gamers want (mostly decent bars, fast food, other hotels, etc...)

My list:
Keeper of Secrets- Lvl 2 wiz+ Spirit Swallower (every wound caused in combat heals a wound-up to starting value)
1-Herald of Slaan in a chariot+ Ether blade (no AS)+ Lvl 1 wiz
1-Herald of Slaan on Steed (in big 'nette unit) + Lvl 1 wiz
1- Herald of Slaan on foot (in small 'nette unit)
28 Daemonettes with full cmd
18 Daemonettes with full cmd
18 Bloodletters with full cmd
6 Seekers of Slaan with full cmd
1- Fiend of Slaan
1- Fiend of Slaan
6 power dice, 5 dispel
It comped at a 3008 (15) in WPS scoring. This tourney was heavily weighted to high comp. It effected your match-ups in the first 2 rounds and also how many battle points you got for wins/draw/loss.

The list is very effective, but it does lack a lot of the nasty combos that make DoC so darned tough. It is very fast and compact. It could even be called resilient (5+ wards on everything) but not if you saw how I roll wards tongue.gif
user posted image
user posted image

More picts of the army can be seen here:
http://z7.invisionfree.com/wyrmling_x/inde...?showtopic=7102


On to the games!


Game 1: Andrew Weber O&G
Andrew drove down from Ottawa Canada. He is a friend of mine and a super swell guy. I was super excited about playing him. We have talked a lot about warhammer, but never played. He has several fantastically painted armies, but chose to bring his O&G. We grudge matched each other which was a tough road for his 4400 comped O&G vs. my 3008 WPS Daemons (The Bash comp bracketed for the first 2 rounds), but Andrew wouldn't have it any other way!
We had a board that was peppered by small pieces of impassable terrain- a lot of it. There were a few open spots and the board did look very nice, but it definitely put the screws to our movement. He deployed heavily on his right flank and I did as well. That left us on opposite ends of the board, but no worries-our fast stuff will meet quickly anyways :>

His army from memory:
BlkO gen on foot.
Blk O BSB on Chariot
Goblin Shaman Lvl2
Orc Shaman Lvl 2
Big unit of BlkOrcs (28)
Unit of Orc Boys
Unit of Boar Boyz
2 units of Arrow Boyz
Unit of night goblins (3 fanatics)
Giant
2 bolt throwers

Turn 1:
I go first. Mostly everything moves forward or towards his lines. Kos moves up a flank along with the chariot. I try to get into range to spam the stupid spell (stupid and greenskins is like PB&J!), but failed on all my casting rolls (3 tries at 5+ on 2 dice) All game I think I got off one stupid spell that stuck and it was never failed so I won't mention it again. [ Magic wasn't integral to my battle plan with this army build, which was good as generally, I got very little of it off. :> ]

There was some maneuvering here and there. We both did a decent job of getting where we wanted to be. Animosity didn't really hamper Andrew too much that I can remember.

There was a pivotal point in the early turns where my keeper and chariot overran into his giant (his boar boys fled a charge and I EitW) Giants are weird, whacky things those giants... The KoS must have took a shine to him though, since he was very reluctant to kill it. It lasted through 3 combat phases with the KoS and the Chariot herald! It got thump with a club twice and on the second time I failed the initiative test! So Andrew rolls up a nice even 10 wounds on his 2d6. It is all riding on the ward save... a 6! KoS is safe and giant is dead soon after. We both laughed, we cried, it was better than "Cats."

If big nasty fails that ward then the game changes drastically. With the giant out of the way and his left flank in full retreat, all that was left to do was feed his general's unit a juicy unit of 'nettes with herald (which he gobbled up happily) and try to secure bonus points.
Win to the DoC. I finished with max bonus battle points for a total of 12
After battle thoughts: Andrew beat me in deployment for sure. I think he had a tight rein on his main troop blocks to protect from terror. He kept them close to the general until the right time. He had a few chances to kill the KoS (bolt throwers also) and nearly did it, but it just wasn't to be. The win was very one sided at the end, but the game as a whole was a close one that could have gone either way. Excellent game!

Side note: We had a friendly wager on this game. For 1 month after the tourney Andrew has to sign any post he makes in a WFB related forum as:
-andrew (I lost the right to capitalize my name in a game of WFB)
(to be a little more even I spotted him 300 VP for purposes of the bet-but if it ended in a draw, we both suffered the consequences)

Game 2: Lance Lagroue -Bretonnians
Lance predicted that we would meet in round 2 of the tourney. He turned out right and we threw down. Lance and I play fairly frequently, so I knew we would have a good game and whoever won would have to earn it.
His army was (from memory)
Lord kitted out to kill large targets (no way my KoS is getting near that thing)
1 scroll caddy
3 heros- 1 was BSB- all had magic weapons
5 lances of knights (7-9) with all but one lance being Errants
1 unit of 3 peg knights
1 unit 5 grail knights
1 unit fast cav, 1 unit of bowmen (10) , and 2 units of Men at arms

I deployed heavily to my right flank while he deployed fairly evenly across the board. His general's unit was opposite my KoS on the right flank. I did have the small unit of nettes with non-magic herald on foot on the extreme left flank. That unit (along with the no AS chariot herald for most of the game) held a stalemate on that side of the board with his BSB's unit and the fast cav/archers. The real game happened in the middle and right flank.

Turn 1:
I get to go first and I make a bold move with the Keeper. I move him up 20" and tuck him into some cover that shields him from charge arc of the general's units. I am march blocked and in a dangerous position, but he is now hemmed up as well. I can also threaten terror and throw my stupid spells from this position.

We entered into a maneuver and counter maneuver contest because of our fast elements. Neither person could get the edge they felt they needed to commit to the battle. It finally broke free with a charge by the Brets into the big 'nette unit on the far right (combo charge of grails and General's unit) and the central bloodletter unit by a hero lance and Men at arms (unfortunately the MaAs failed the fear test and stranded the knights). Those two units held and allowed a vicious Deamon counter charge series in my turn that saw the chariot smash the flank of the MaA and overrun into the Knights/bloodletter combat. The KoS went into the flank of the Grails and cleaned them up (challenge was ongoing elsewhere in the combat-so that option wasn't open to them) That round of combat saw all those Bret units destroyed and run down. The loss of those units was too much. Those combats could have gone much better for Lance than they did, lots of failed wards.

Win to the Daemons.

After battle thoughts: This game was decided on movement, plain and simple. We had two of the fastest armies in WFB and our first combat was bottom of turn 3. I decided early that I wasn't going to risk anything needlessly. I had units that Lance couldn't blow through (statistically :>) in one turn- we both knew that. Same was true of his units for me. My lack of high strength attacks and his ward made it unlikely that I could break him on the charge either. The effect was we both set our countercharges/traps and tricks and waited. All the while we were attempting to force targets of opportunity for soft points in case it devolved into a draw scenario. What a great game. It could have gone either way.


Round 3 Brian Griffen- Dark Elves
It turned out to be Brian Griffen and his Dark elves. I have always wanted to play Brian, but we hadn't gotten the chance up until now. His army:
Master (gen) steed+crimson death
Hag+cauldron BSB
2 x lvl2 sorceresses 2 scrolls total
2x 23 spearmen
3x Dark riders with mus and x-bows
18 Black guard with ASF banner
5 shades
2x Bolt throwers
Hydra

I am sitting at 2 wins and decent battle points. I knew that there were no more comp bandings for games 3 through 5. I knew that I would be facing a tough opponent. I was not disappointed! I was excited to learn I was playing Brian Griffen and his Dark Elves. I was NOT excited to find out that we were playing on the river table (the entire table is bi-sected by a large river- the river has 3 crossing points). Gahh! I knew that while Brian’s list was not abusive in the shooting phase, he had more than enough to punish me severely while I crossed that heinous landscape.

As a side note- the fact that I had resigned myself to a loss took a lot of pressure off and allowed me to settle down to have a good enjoyable game of warhammer. I am sure that helped. tongue.gif
For deployment we both deployed very heavy on my right flank. He split his bolters to opposite ends of the board. Brian had dark riders and shades on the light left flank. I had one fiend and the unit of Seekers threatening that flank. My plan was to send in the solo fiend to be shot and sacrificed to hold those units up and leave the reaper stranded with nothing good to shoot at.

Turn 1:
Brian’s heavy deployment in the right corner would end up working against him. I got first turn and moved everything up across the board. Now my KoS, chariot, and large unit of ‘nettes with mounted herald were threatening his black guard unit. That BG unit was in front of everything else and sort of bottling up some of his other support units. Because of the scenario card I played, a few of his units had moved forward 3” before the game. One of those units was the bolt thrower that could have drawn LOS to the Keeper. That earned me 1 free turn without getting bolted to death :>

Turn 1 of the DE’s went well on the right flank, but poorly on the left flank. His bolt thrower and dark riders failed to kill my single fiend who was lined up to take out the bolt thrower next turn. On the flip side Brian got off a devastating black horror spell on the large ‘nette unit. It hit 29 models! I was semi-fortunate when only 7 or 8 ended up dying. That, along with his concentrated shooting took out a large chunk of the 30 strong ‘nettes.

T2 I declare a combo charge into the BG unit. Keeper, chariot and mounted herald out of the ‘nettes all go into the front of the BG’s. My single fiend on the left eats his lone bolter on that side and overruns off the table. My single fiend on the right flank charges a dark riders unit near the table edge. It breaks them and pursues them off the table. In the center, my characters start chewing on his BG unit. I get rid of his general with the Keeper, fail to kill the sorceress in the unit and do enough wounds to easily win combat. The BG are stubborn of course, so go nowhere.

T2 for the DE’s stats off with a failed terror test on the spearmen near the BG combat. They did roll really low for the flee though and stayed on the table (to rally next turn). He moves up his hydra and blow flame on the remaining big unit of ‘nettes. Through magic, shooting and flaming, the 30 man unit of ‘nettes is now a 7 man unit of ‘nettes. Magic ceases to do all that much, a random MM here and there. I won’t speak of it any more. In combat, more BG die. I fail to kill the Sorceress in the BG unit with the Keeper’s 6 attacks! (Brian had the 5+ ward save from the cauldron on that unit tongue.gif) Somewhere during this melee the Herald on Steed of Slaanesh is killed. BG lose combat again but make the test. They made every test they needed to take. I ultimately end up taking 2 or three more combat rounds to kill them to a man.

On DoC T3 I decide to cross the river in the center with the 18 ‘nette unit with herald to engage his waiting spear block #2 and shade unit. I also decided to move my seekers unit over to the lightly defended left flank since the demise of his blot thrower made travelling that way much safer tongue.gif I finished off his sorceress in the BG unit and finish the unit off. I charged the hydra with my near dead unit of ‘nettes. I moved up my bloodletters behind the nettes to either fight it when the ‘nettes died or move towards the x-bow DE’s that were shooting my units to ribbons. The hydra killed all but one or 2 ‘nettes (after combat res).

T3 for the DE went something like this: He maneuvered his spearmen unit in the middle to intercept my ‘nette unit+ herald at the bridge crossing. He shot that unit with his shades and my bloodletters with his x-bows. The Hydra killed the remaining ‘nettes and sat around waiting for the bloodletter charge that was coming. The spearmen that rallied got into position to support the hydra in that coming battle.

DoC T4 I charged the hydra with the bloodletter unit that is now down to around half strength due to magic and shooting. I charge the spearmen unit in the middle with the center ‘nette unit+ herald. I charge the chariot herald into the CoB. I move the seekers and single fiend to threaten the unit of shades and a unit of DR. The fiend on the right side sets up to charge the remaining bolter. I move the Keeper to the hill to see the cauldron, the rear of the hydra and the spearmen. In combat the hydra kills a few bloodletters, but loses combat, fails the break test and runs. I pursue, but don’t catch it, but do run into the waiting spearmen. The hydra stays on the board. The chariot gets challenged by the hag on the CoB and sits in combat with it for 3 combat rounds. The center ‘nettes break the spearmen on the charge and catch them on the pursuit.

DE Turn 4: The shades and DR kill 4 of the seekers with missle fire. The spearman block holds against the bloodletters. The x-bows+ remaining sorceress go stupid because of a spell I got off on them earlier. The CoB lasts one more round in combat with the chariot herald. The hydra fails to rally and runs off the board.

DoC T5 I combo charged the remaining DR unit with the 3 remaining seekers and the fiend. The Dark Riders fled the charge and I redirected into the rear of the X-bows with the fiend. I charged the rear of the spearmen unit with the Keeper. The center ‘nette unit turned around to get shot by the shades. In combat the chariot herald killed the BSB death hag on the CoB. The remaining hag broke from combat and the chariot overran into the flank of the X-bows. The keeper and the Bloodletters cleaned up the spearmen block, running them down. I wiffed all my attacks against the X-bows and the Sorceress. The sorceress kills the chariot out from under the herald, but I still win combat, the DE’s hold.

DE T5 and beyond: The shades shoot up the remaining seekers. Then they slink away to live another day. The sorceress dies a horrible death by the herald on foot patrol. I have control of the board. I can’t remember if the x-bows actually held and survived, or if they died in combat. Either way it was clear that the Daemons had won the game. WOW
I ended up getting a few bonus points from that game and finished the day with 30 battle points (out of a possible 36)

After game comments: I did not expect to win that game. Had a few rolls early on gone a little differently it still might not have been. Brian’s deployment really hurt him on the heavy flank. The BG held really well, but nothing could get to the aid of that unit in time. It was a very fun game. When he got off that T1 Black horror I just figured that was how the game was going to go :>

I wasn't at the top in battle points, but I was close. I knew with soft scores added in that I had a shot at winning the whole shebang. It would all depend on my next 2 games!


Andrew, my wife Denise, my brother Kevin and I ended up hooking up with Ben Tuite and crew for drinks and dinner at the Carolina Ale house. The beer was expensive, but good as was the food. We had a very relaxing evening and even managed to get back to the hotel at a respectable 10 p.m. The rooms at the Hyatt place where we were staying were very nice. They had a great set-up for hanging out with a separate “living room” area with a sectional couch and refrigerator. After an hour or so of talking we called it a night and hit the rack.

I woke up early and met Andrew and Kevin for breakfast down in the hotel lobby. We talked about strategy and engineers (the building kind, not the train driving ones tongue.gif) that are missing pinky fingers… you had to have been there :>
I get to the venue about 30 minutes before go time and talk to some of the guys. Rob Canterman tells me that his mission is to destroy the hopes of his next two opponents! (all in good fun of course). Guess who his next opp was? Yeppers, me!

Rob Canterman’s VC (from memory)
General Vamp with 18” charge, nightshroud and magic ability, also was stupid and had red fury with sword of might?
Vamp with master of sorcery and the helm on nightmare
Wight BSB with Regen banner
Vamp with magic on steed.
Big unit of ghouls
Big unit of Skels
Big unit of Zombies
Unit of Black knights
Unit of fell bats
2 units of dire wolves
Black coach

Rob and I have played before. I met him at the first Brawler Bash. Our games are always fun. I knew that this one would be no different. I settled down to have a good time. We were on table “2” Table “1” to my right was Alex S. and his O&G vs. Chaves and his TK. Table “3” to my left was Jason Conca and his Kholek army vs. Collins “the Kid” Mullins and his Teclis army. Jason is a large man and Collins is a slight, young man. Their game was very interesting and I kept looking over, but mostly to make sure that Jason didn’t eat Collins! I would have liked to watch both games in their entirety because they both looked very interesting. I was surprised (and happy) to see an O&G army at the top table. That is surely a testament to the player as much as the comp/scoring system the Bash used.

I could talk about this game in a turn by turn format, but truthfully it was decided early on with very little maneuvering, so I’ll just abbreviate the narrative a little.
We both deployed heavy on the left flank. I had the unit of seekers and a fiend on the right to threaten while he had his 2 units of dire wolves, fell bats and the coach there. Everything else was squared up against each other in the middle and left flank.
Rob got the first turn. He was a gentleman and warned me before the game that the ghoul unit could move after deployment and the Gen could charge 18” so watch out for a T1 charge. He did just that and solo charged my single fiend. The gen broke through and was behind my lines. On my turn I maneuvered a little and dispelled Curse of years on the big ‘nette unit. He got Curse of years off on that unit 3 times. I was able to dispel it in MY turn each time, but it cost me most of my power dice each turn. My magic was inconsequential for the game, his magic was devastating.

I thought about being coy and playing shifty for a possible draw, but the truth was it would be tough to pull one since he was dominant at range(magic) and had me beat in deployment and equal in maneuver elements. Soooo I decided to go all in :> I forced the big battle for the game right off the bat. I charged the KoS and the big ‘nette unit into the front of the ghouls (containing the BSB and support Vamp). I charged the Bloodletters into the flank of that same unit. I charged a unit of dire wolves with the seekers. I charged the black knights in the flank with the chariot herald. This is gonna’ be great right? Carnage galore right? Not so much tongue.gif The chariot herald had to go through about 1” of woods to complete the flank charge on the BK’s- roll up the damage to chariot and it kills the chariot out from under her-failed charge. KoS+Nettes+bloodletters fail to do much more than kill the champion in their combat. The power of the regen banner was far too great for me to overcome. That means they are exposed to multiple counter charges in the next turn with no support in sight. The Seekers did punch through the dire wolves and got a decent overrun, but magic in the coming turns assured that he got his coach into their flank ending their escapade.
Could it have gone differently? Sure it could have, but it wasn’t a good plan to start with. With that round in the bag the game was done and all Rob had to do was sweep up the pieces. Full win to the VC and no bonus points at all to DoC.

After battle thoughts: Well, Rob beat me in deployment then he out played me. I had a really silly plan that vastly underestimated the regen banner. If I got a do over, I would play much more conservatively and try to take out points with the mobile elements instead of supporting my troop blocks. I should have left them to their fate. It would still have relied on rolling the bones to get good combats, but probably would have ended better for me in the end. This army build really struggles with tourney hard VC.
So I end up with “0” points going into game 5. That dropped me considerably in the standings, but it also took the pressure off. :> I would be matched up with Dan Rothrock and his ogres for game 5!


I had already had 4 great opponents during this tourney. I have NEVER had a 5 game tournament where all 5 opps were fun to play. Dan Rothrock walked up to the table and I immediately knew that I was in for a first-5 fun opponents at a tourney!

Two other things make this game extra nice from the get go:
1- Dan’s ogres are easy on the eyes and
2- The table we played on had more space around it than any of the other tables. That was a serious bonus because some of the tables were pretty cramped.

Dan’s army (from memory-I could be wrong on some of this-I didn’t fight a lot of his army)
Tyrant- Greedy fist, greyback pelt and a big name (maybe longstrider?) maybe magic weapon?
Butcher- 2 dispel scrolls
Maybe 2 other bruisers?
Unit of 2 Bull Rhinox
Scrap Launcher
Unit of 3 Leadbelchers
1 unit of gnoblars
Slave Giant
2 units of 4 Iron Guts
2 or 3 units of Bulls

I hate to be anticlimactic, but there wasn’t a lot of excitement in this game to report. While Dan and I had a pleasant game, it was clear from the beginning that we would be playing for points.

The board had a lot of terrain on it, mostly woods. There was also a hill and small stream on my board edge. He deployed heavy on the left flank and I deployed heavy in the middle and on the right flank. I played the card that gave me bonus points for holding terrain features (there were many to choose from) and for having units in the enemy deployment zone at the end of the game. Dan played the card that gave him bonus points for keeping his most expensive AND his least expensive unit alive. To that end he hid the gnoblars behind terrain in his corner and only used the Rhinox riders to threaten-never committed them to battle.

I had the seekers and a solo fiend to threaten the left flank. He had a unit of bulls and a unit of ironguts behind them holding that table area. We had a standoff on that flank the entire game so I won’t mention that side again. **No units on that flank were harmed during the filming of this batrep tongue.gif

The real game happened in the middle of the table and the right flank. There was an open slot about 2 feet wide in the middle of the table.

Honestly, I can’t remember who got first turn (I think it was Dan), but I moved my entire army up and towards his left flank position. I moved the casters close enough to throw the stupidity spell on a few units. No combats at first. I did get the stupidity spell off on the scraplauncher who was Ld6 with no general anywhere near. He dispelled some, but saved his 2 scrolls for later in the game.

I had so much speed that I was able to pretty much choose where the battles were fought. The KoS and the fiend combo charged a unit of bulls then overran. The iron guts were lined up to get a nice flank charge on the KoS when he overran , but I was able to move the solo fiend in the way so that he had to charge the fiend and overrun into the front of the KoS. By the time that combat happened between the IG’s and the KoS I was able to bring up the bloodletters who charged the scraplauncher killed it and overran into the KoS/IG combat. They predictably broke and the Bloodletters held while the KoS ran off the table (saving him from the leadbelchers that were poised to shoot him) The lead belchers shot the bloodletters and then fled the charge.

During this right flank action the middle saw a standoff between the big ‘nette unit , smaller ‘nette unit and the chariot herald vs. a bull unit, giant and the leadB’s (also the Rhinox riders early on). Once the right flank broke, I committed to the combat around turn 4 or 5. By this time Dan had pulled his Rhinox riders back to his left flank. After I took care of the bull unit, I was able to move my troops up unmolested to take a few terrain features. A turn 6 charge on the giant got my small ‘nette unit into Dan’s deployment zone. Along with the KoS who just menaced the rest of the game once he came back on the table.

Our game kind of just coasted to a close. I think it was around turn 2 that we both realized that this game wasn’t going to be all that exciting. We both apologized to the other person and went about our business :>
In the end, I ate enough of his soft points to secure the win. I also was able to get all 5 bonus battle points for the scenario. That gave me the max 12 points for the game. I finished the tournament with 42 total battle points (out of a possible 60) and very respectable 4-1 record.

After battle thoughts: Well, Dan played it extremely conservative. He told me early on that he didn’t think he had anything that could deal with some of my units. Personally, I was very concerned about the Rhinox riders and the highly mobile, wizard level eating Tyrant slinking around. I wasn’t taking many chances on my end either. I had very little reason to really. There were enough points available on the right flank to secure the win without risking the majority of my army. I was also able to accomplish all my bonus points without demolishing his army, so I was happy :> Daemons are a tough draw for ogres no matter how you slice it.

We never found out what would have happened if we had committed to an all out brawl… the world may never know tongue.gif

Wrap up:
I knew I was up in the top 5-10 in terms of battle points. I also knew that my soft scores were pretty good. It wasn’t totally out of the question that I might be in the race for overall.
The winners were announced starting with Whipping boy (I can’t remember who won this one) and Best Sport (Ian Holland). They then went on to Best painted (won by our Canadian friend Andrew Weber with his amazing O&G). They then moved on to Player’s Choice and called my name! Of course, I knew that since I had won the PC award that I had missed the Overall (At the BB you can only win one major award), but I was ok with that. Denise and I were very happy and proud to win the PC award this year. There were several inspiring armies in attendance. That was our 2nd Player’s Choice award at the Brawler Bash. Best General was Alex Chaves with his TK and the Overall grand champ was Eoin Wheelan with his very pretty Slaanesh DoC. I ended up 5 points behind Eoin in second place overall.

I don’t have a problem with WPS comp, even though it is extremely harsh to DoC. I think that it did its job of encouraging varied army builds and books. I was wrong in my pre-GT prediction that an army that was in the 3k+ range would win it all. Eoin’s DoC scored 2012, but it was beautifully painted and he got several favorite player votes. Those things added in to his overall win. What you did see was 2 O&G, TK, Ogres, Brets, and 2 WoC (NON- gateway FTW) in the top 10. The army spread for the tournament as a whole was very wide as well:
6 DE, 6 WoC, 4 TK, 3 DoC, 3, VC, 3 Brets, 3 Lizzie, 3 O&G, 2 Dwarf, 2 WE, 2 OK, 1 Skaven
It was a nice change from the same old builds and combos you see repeated over and over in the overwhelming majority of GT’s. I do hope that special characters are not allowed next year. I wish they could be, but they are too random in their power level. Some are fine, but others are totally bent.


It was an awesome tournament. There was nice growth from the year before (24 to 38 players). The venue was clean and well staffed. There were some really talented players all over the place and spread through the comp brackets. For such a modest player count the competition was stiff. A great way to spend a weekend! All things considered, this was probably the most enjoyable GT I have ever participated in. I enjoyed seeing new faces and meeting lots of new folks. I also enjoyed seeing the folks I already knew. Andrew enjoyed the tournament so much that he vowed to bring back more of his countrymen with him when he returns.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Music to Paint By - The Section Quartet

Usually I use Pandora to paint with (profile name:  bptuite1 if you're interested).  After this randomly popped up, I'm considering using the band's CD full time for painting.  Check it out!

Tale of Painters for March (Month 7)

Vroom!  The Tale of Painters deadline for this month came and went, and so I had some entries.  Last month I painted (for ToP):

One Lysander of the Imperial Fists
One Khador Marauder
Lug and Brun Cragback for the Trollbloods
Ten Ungors for Beastmen (and Lug the Minotaur)
Fifteen Dark Elf Executioners

Pictures of all the craziness!