I want to switch my list up a bit to include more infantry and be less jack reliant. Unfortunately I'm using all the infantry I have except for a unit of Winter Guard Infantry. I was initially underwhelmed by the unit, but after having read around some I'm itching to give them a shot. The only issue is I want to field them with the UA and Kovnik Joe, and perhaps some Rocketeers too. I don't have any of those parts, so I haven't made a list with them yet. I decided to fiddle with Forward Kommander a bit and see what I could come up with. I found that I have most of the makings for a pSorscha tier list, so I figured one up to see what I'd need for it and this is what I came up with.
pSorscha + 5
Kodiak - 8
Destroyer - 9
Wardog - 1
Min Battle Mechanics - 2 *
Widowmakers - 4
Full Winter Guard Infantry - 6
Winter Guard UA - 2
2 Rocketeers - 2 *
2 Winter Guard Mortars - 6
Kovnik Joe - free for tier 2 *
This list gets me to tier 2 and thus a free Kovnik Joe. I'm torn on the last point between what I have now and maxing out either the Rocketeers to 3 or the Battle Mechanics. That will be a decision to come though, as I'll have to get 5 blisters to do this list as it is (the starred entries) and I want to get Strakhov as well. I plan to chip away at it over the coming month or so, especially as I still have plenty of stuff to be painted as it is. I'll also need to order a scope for a Mortar spotter since I'll be running a pair. Or maybe just the one plus a Widowmaker Marksman and either another Rocketeer or full Mechanics. But that option would need more new models still. The UA and Kovnik Joe (and Strakhov) are at the top of the list in any case.
Got a bit of painting done today, but nowhere near what I wanted to. I made some progress on the Widowmakers and have a Mortar unit at about 35%. The wardog is still waiting to be glued together and based. Broke out the camera again today to try out macro mode, but it still wouldn't focus on a mini. I'd rather wait on photos than put up a bunch of blurry ones, so that's on the future list as well.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Khadoran Machine Rolls On
Had another game with EV this afternoon and scored another rousing victory, though this one was much closer than the last. I used the same list as last time with two exceptions: I ran pVlad instead of pSorscha and I marshaled the Destroyer instead of the Kodiak. EV played Cryx and a list that I'll attempt to recreate as best I can. He had a lot more models this time, many of which I was unfamiliar with and/or that died before I got a handle on what they did.
pAsphyxious
Cankerworm
3 of the little bonejacks, not sure which ones but I think one of each
Mechanithralls with Necrosurgeon and 2 Brute Thralls
Bile Thralls
Necrotech
2 Pistol Wraiths
Machine Wraith
Skarlock (I think)
I was surprised at his lack of a heavy jack, though I see now that the Cankerworm filled that role fairly well. One of my biggest concerns about Cryx when I started learning the game (all of a month ago) was Incorporeal models. I hadn't faced any until today, when I was staring down three of them. It turns out that I didn't have to worry so much, mostly thanks to the Ternions. The Greylords were definitely the men of the match for me, taking out both Pistol Wraiths, the majority of the Mechanithralls, the Necrosurgeon, and did a couple wounds on the Brute Thralls. I hadn't had the opportunity to use a spray template before today, despite hearing good things about them. Turns out they are, in fact, worth their weight in gold. There was a smallish building in the middle of the board, which EV filled with the Cankerworm and Pistol Wraiths, leaving them nice and bunched up for the Ternion's magic shotguns of doom. After cleaning house, the next turn saw them swing around the house to hose the Mechanithralls, with one Greylord taking out 4 of them and the Necrosurgeon with a single shot. Brutal.
Attrition was higher this time around. I lost the Juggernaut (again), Ternions, Manhunter (also again) and 3 of 4 Widowmakers. My two remaining 'jacks were at about 50%, one flank had nothing but the Mortar holding it down, and Vlad ended the game well ahead of the rest of his troops. It didn't matter, though, as I got to engage his cruise-missile mode and do an assassination run. Asphyxious got too close to my line, so I dropped a mortar on his head then popped Vlad's feat, Boundless Charge to get over terrain, Blood of Kings and went to town. After playing Sorscha with her modest melee abilities I was very happy with the result.
I was also happy with the Mortar in this game. After it hit exactly nothing in the last game, it managed to kill things with both direct hits and fortunate scatters. The shell to the face of the Lich worked very well as Vlad arrived with less punch than I'd wanted, after having to Boundless Charge over terrain, but I'd forgotten that I'd softened the Lich up a little earlier in the turn. I was amazed that the Mortar managed to hit a caster with no help, just a clutch roll. In the end I think Vlad did enough damage to get the job done on his own, but the margin was too close as it was. Still, a victory is a victory and I have a pair now in as many games. You can't ask for much more than that.
On the painting front, nothing is happening. I got started on assembling the war puppy, but I'm debating how to put it together. The middle is hollow with each side having half the body, in an L shape sort of deal. It's an odd way to make a figure and something I've never really seen before. I ran a pin through the middle to connect the halves, but as of now it's only glued into one side. I think I'll green stuff it around the pin while also gluing around the edges of the body. I'm very worried that it won't hold, but the PP forums tell me it will, so we'll see how it goes. I hope to get assembly on it done tomorrow, or at least advanced more than it is now, along with more general painting. I also hope to get some pictures taken tomorrow. I had previously decided to base coat everything and then go back and do highlights and shading, though now I'm leaning back towards doing a test model where I try and figure out wet blending. I ordered some card sleeves from my FLGS that will hopefully come in tomorrow, and I want to pick up Strakhov while I'm there. Maybe the Winterguard UA and Kovnik Joe. And the Butcher. And and and. Funny how I came back to gaming with the intention of painting first and gaming a distant second, but now I'm right back at painting to game, and painting half-assed at that. Still, I hold out hope that this time I'll actually go back to models and finish them up. Time will tell.
pAsphyxious
Cankerworm
3 of the little bonejacks, not sure which ones but I think one of each
Mechanithralls with Necrosurgeon and 2 Brute Thralls
Bile Thralls
Necrotech
2 Pistol Wraiths
Machine Wraith
Skarlock (I think)
I was surprised at his lack of a heavy jack, though I see now that the Cankerworm filled that role fairly well. One of my biggest concerns about Cryx when I started learning the game (all of a month ago) was Incorporeal models. I hadn't faced any until today, when I was staring down three of them. It turns out that I didn't have to worry so much, mostly thanks to the Ternions. The Greylords were definitely the men of the match for me, taking out both Pistol Wraiths, the majority of the Mechanithralls, the Necrosurgeon, and did a couple wounds on the Brute Thralls. I hadn't had the opportunity to use a spray template before today, despite hearing good things about them. Turns out they are, in fact, worth their weight in gold. There was a smallish building in the middle of the board, which EV filled with the Cankerworm and Pistol Wraiths, leaving them nice and bunched up for the Ternion's magic shotguns of doom. After cleaning house, the next turn saw them swing around the house to hose the Mechanithralls, with one Greylord taking out 4 of them and the Necrosurgeon with a single shot. Brutal.
Attrition was higher this time around. I lost the Juggernaut (again), Ternions, Manhunter (also again) and 3 of 4 Widowmakers. My two remaining 'jacks were at about 50%, one flank had nothing but the Mortar holding it down, and Vlad ended the game well ahead of the rest of his troops. It didn't matter, though, as I got to engage his cruise-missile mode and do an assassination run. Asphyxious got too close to my line, so I dropped a mortar on his head then popped Vlad's feat, Boundless Charge to get over terrain, Blood of Kings and went to town. After playing Sorscha with her modest melee abilities I was very happy with the result.
I was also happy with the Mortar in this game. After it hit exactly nothing in the last game, it managed to kill things with both direct hits and fortunate scatters. The shell to the face of the Lich worked very well as Vlad arrived with less punch than I'd wanted, after having to Boundless Charge over terrain, but I'd forgotten that I'd softened the Lich up a little earlier in the turn. I was amazed that the Mortar managed to hit a caster with no help, just a clutch roll. In the end I think Vlad did enough damage to get the job done on his own, but the margin was too close as it was. Still, a victory is a victory and I have a pair now in as many games. You can't ask for much more than that.
On the painting front, nothing is happening. I got started on assembling the war puppy, but I'm debating how to put it together. The middle is hollow with each side having half the body, in an L shape sort of deal. It's an odd way to make a figure and something I've never really seen before. I ran a pin through the middle to connect the halves, but as of now it's only glued into one side. I think I'll green stuff it around the pin while also gluing around the edges of the body. I'm very worried that it won't hold, but the PP forums tell me it will, so we'll see how it goes. I hope to get assembly on it done tomorrow, or at least advanced more than it is now, along with more general painting. I also hope to get some pictures taken tomorrow. I had previously decided to base coat everything and then go back and do highlights and shading, though now I'm leaning back towards doing a test model where I try and figure out wet blending. I ordered some card sleeves from my FLGS that will hopefully come in tomorrow, and I want to pick up Strakhov while I'm there. Maybe the Winterguard UA and Kovnik Joe. And the Butcher. And and and. Funny how I came back to gaming with the intention of painting first and gaming a distant second, but now I'm right back at painting to game, and painting half-assed at that. Still, I hold out hope that this time I'll actually go back to models and finish them up. Time will tell.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Victory for the Motherland
Played my first non-battle box game last night against Etna's Vassal, the man who bears some responsibility for my return to wargaming in general and Warmachine in particular. I was concerned going in on two fronts: first because it was my first game with infantry, and second because he was playing Skorne and I had never faced a Hordes army before. It turns out I didn't need to be concerned as I won handily, losing only a Juggernaut and a Manhuntress. Army lists were as follows.
The Valiant Armies of Khador
PSorscha
Juggernaut
Destroyer
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Winter Guard Mortar
Manhuntress
Man O War Kovnik
Kodiak (marshaled by the Kovnik)
The Scurrilous Armies of Skorne
Archdomina Makeda
Titan Gladiator
Cyclops Savage
Cyclops Brute
Praetorian Swordsmen
Cataphract Centrati
Paingivers
Agonizer
That's my best guess at his list going by what I remember and the PP Skorne gallery page. I was initially dismayed at the amount of infantry EV was fielding. Infantry was, as noted, a big concern of mine going in and I was worried about being swamped. It turns out that I did end up swamped by infantry and it wasn't such a bad thing, though that owes as much to EV's poor dice rolling (consecutive rolls: 3, 2, 2, 2 on 2d6) as it does to solid Khadoran armor plating. In the end I think the game turned on a couple events. One, his Titan came up a couple inches short of charging my Destroyer, which led to my Greylords freezing it in place and the Destroyer following up with liberal amounts of axe to mouth. Second was the aforementioned poor dice rolling, where 5 charging swordsmen left the Kovnik standing with 1 unmarked box, and another 4 swordsmen scratching the paint a little on my Kodiak.
EV surrendered after the death of two of his three warbeasts with his warlock exposed, staring down the barrel of Sorscha's feat and an angry Destroyer fingering it's axe and eyeing the locks mouth. I learned a lot about how fury works and I think I have a firm grasp on the mechanics of it now. He had a lot of models still in the game and I was less convinced he was screwed than he was, but we were under something akin to time restraints and he was in store for some serious axe to mouth action, so it probably would have worked out as he expected anyway.
I was very pleased with the Kovnik/Kodiak pairing. It was my first time using either one and they worked together as well as I had hoped they would. The Kovnik's Drive ability seems tailored to the Kodiak's method of assualt, allowing me to boost the initial attacks and also the throw attack with his 'jack marshal bonus. Unfortunately I couldn't manage a 7 on 3 dice to land the throw, but it was glorious when it worked in my mind. I was underwhelmed by the Widowmakers, though they played a big role in taking down the Titan. I was downright disappointed in the mortar, which has been highly touted all across the interwebs but failed to do anything at all to any target it happened to hit.
Though it wasn't as complete a victory as I would have liked, a win is a win. I'm 1-0 for the Motherland, so no visits from the Butcher just yet. I may try out Vlad in my next game as I've only used Sorscha to this point and I want to get a feel for what other casters are like. I may also swap out the mortar, though I'm not sure what I'd do with the points just yet.
On the painting front things are not progressing as quickly as I had hoped. School has interposed itself between myself and my hobbies once again, so painting time has been scarce. I've been enjoying OwlandMoonGuy's blog over at bolterandchainsword.com, especially how he tracks his painting progress. Since I haven't gotten a camera together for pictures yet, text will have to do. In rough order of priority, the status of my projects is thus:
Sorscha - 65% done
Manhunter - 75%
Destroyer - 45%
Juggernaut - 20%
Widowmakers - 5%
Ternions - based and primed
Mortar - 10%
Winter Guard Infantry - primed, needs basing
When I got the bulk of my Khadorans from EV he had already painted a Kodiak, Devastator and Vlad, so those are finished. I also picked up a wardog yesterday and am fixated on painting it up like a friend's English Bulldog, so that will probably shoot to the top of the priority list once I get it assembled and based. As of now it sits in the blister though.
Post #2 complete, one more than I'd realistically thought I'd get done. Hopefully next time I'll have pictures up and running.
The Valiant Armies of Khador
PSorscha
Juggernaut
Destroyer
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Winter Guard Mortar
Manhuntress
Man O War Kovnik
Kodiak (marshaled by the Kovnik)
The Scurrilous Armies of Skorne
Archdomina Makeda
Titan Gladiator
Cyclops Savage
Cyclops Brute
Praetorian Swordsmen
Cataphract Centrati
Paingivers
Agonizer
That's my best guess at his list going by what I remember and the PP Skorne gallery page. I was initially dismayed at the amount of infantry EV was fielding. Infantry was, as noted, a big concern of mine going in and I was worried about being swamped. It turns out that I did end up swamped by infantry and it wasn't such a bad thing, though that owes as much to EV's poor dice rolling (consecutive rolls: 3, 2, 2, 2 on 2d6) as it does to solid Khadoran armor plating. In the end I think the game turned on a couple events. One, his Titan came up a couple inches short of charging my Destroyer, which led to my Greylords freezing it in place and the Destroyer following up with liberal amounts of axe to mouth. Second was the aforementioned poor dice rolling, where 5 charging swordsmen left the Kovnik standing with 1 unmarked box, and another 4 swordsmen scratching the paint a little on my Kodiak.
EV surrendered after the death of two of his three warbeasts with his warlock exposed, staring down the barrel of Sorscha's feat and an angry Destroyer fingering it's axe and eyeing the locks mouth. I learned a lot about how fury works and I think I have a firm grasp on the mechanics of it now. He had a lot of models still in the game and I was less convinced he was screwed than he was, but we were under something akin to time restraints and he was in store for some serious axe to mouth action, so it probably would have worked out as he expected anyway.
I was very pleased with the Kovnik/Kodiak pairing. It was my first time using either one and they worked together as well as I had hoped they would. The Kovnik's Drive ability seems tailored to the Kodiak's method of assualt, allowing me to boost the initial attacks and also the throw attack with his 'jack marshal bonus. Unfortunately I couldn't manage a 7 on 3 dice to land the throw, but it was glorious when it worked in my mind. I was underwhelmed by the Widowmakers, though they played a big role in taking down the Titan. I was downright disappointed in the mortar, which has been highly touted all across the interwebs but failed to do anything at all to any target it happened to hit.
Though it wasn't as complete a victory as I would have liked, a win is a win. I'm 1-0 for the Motherland, so no visits from the Butcher just yet. I may try out Vlad in my next game as I've only used Sorscha to this point and I want to get a feel for what other casters are like. I may also swap out the mortar, though I'm not sure what I'd do with the points just yet.
On the painting front things are not progressing as quickly as I had hoped. School has interposed itself between myself and my hobbies once again, so painting time has been scarce. I've been enjoying OwlandMoonGuy's blog over at bolterandchainsword.com, especially how he tracks his painting progress. Since I haven't gotten a camera together for pictures yet, text will have to do. In rough order of priority, the status of my projects is thus:
Sorscha - 65% done
Manhunter - 75%
Destroyer - 45%
Juggernaut - 20%
Widowmakers - 5%
Ternions - based and primed
Mortar - 10%
Winter Guard Infantry - primed, needs basing
When I got the bulk of my Khadorans from EV he had already painted a Kodiak, Devastator and Vlad, so those are finished. I also picked up a wardog yesterday and am fixated on painting it up like a friend's English Bulldog, so that will probably shoot to the top of the priority list once I get it assembled and based. As of now it sits in the blister though.
Post #2 complete, one more than I'd realistically thought I'd get done. Hopefully next time I'll have pictures up and running.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
It begins again
Since I've taken up wargaming again, why not add blogging to it? I plan to blog here about my gaming and painting exploits. With some luck I'll actually do it too. Full intro post to come, while painting stuff will have to wait 'til I take some pictures.
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