Technically it's a post that has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with some GAMING!
Yesterday Mr. Molyneux and I got together - that's right, ON A WEDNESDAY - and played two games of 40k. To close out the Ladder of Iron 2009, we threw down in two 2000 point match-ups.
First off was a Annihilation (Kill Point) mission, featuring my Necrons versus Jeff's Tyranids. The Tin Shooters versus the choppy choppy bugs.
My army:
Necron Lord with Veil of Darkness and Resurrection Orb
4 Pariahs
10 Flayed Ones
10 Warriors
10 Warriors
10 Warriors
10 Warriors
7 Scarab bases
5 Destroyers
5 Destroyers
Tomb Spider with Particle Projector
Tomb Spider with Particle Projector
Goals:
Set up solid shooting base with the Warriors. Have the Pariahs and Scarabs ready for counter-assault and to deter assaults. The Lord takes one unit of Warriors on a Veil of Darkness teleport hop around the board to rapid fire on targets of opportunity and then teleport out when things get messy. The Destroyers are solid mobile firepower - 15 shots at BS 4, STR 5 and AP 4. Keep them flying around and throwing their small bucket of dice at units. Tomb Spiders have some threat ability against the big nasties and can POSSIBLY tie up weak hand-to-hand units for several turns due to their high Toughness.
Jeff's List (as best as I remember it)
Hive Tyrant with Venom Cannon, Bonesword and Lashwhip (upgraded Save)
4 Warriors - 3 Deathspitters, 1 Venom Cannon. 3 with Scything Talons, 1 with Rending Claws (upgraded Strength and Save)
20 Termagaunts with Fleshborers (upgraded Strength)
20 Termagaunts with Fleshborers (upgraded Strength)
20 Termagaunts with Fleshborers, Scuttlers, and Without Number
12 Genestealers (Scuttlers, upgraded saves)
12 Genestealers (Scuttlers, upgraded saves)
Carnifex with Scything Talons and Crushing Claws (upgraded Strength and Save and Wounds)
Carnifex with Barbed Strangler (upgraded Save)
Comments: It was small for a Tyranid list, and very heavy on upgrades. I'm not sure if Jeff is just testing out the waters on the upgrades (he has only played the army a handful of times) or if he had to boost to get to 2000 points. Regardless despite the small number of models it was a very tough army to crack.
Highlights/Lowlights:
1. I was a little too aggressive with my Veil of Darkness, which only landed directly on target ONCE in the 3 or 4 times I used it. Other times it strayed very close to the Carnifexes, who punished me. Still this did pull the Carnifexes away from my shooting base AND thanks to the magic of my Resurrection Orb I was able to We'll Be Back! some of the downed models. Up until the point where my luck faded and I deviated right between the two Carnifexes and the Hive Tyrant. Jeff killed about 5 guys including my Lord, and the rest tried to rout, but got run down.
2. My Flayed Ones Outflanked, but failed to get themselves close enough to the Hive Tyrant like I'd hoped. Even if they weren't able to kill him, I figured they would tie him up for the rest of the game. Sadly they didn't make it, but racing up behind them was one unit of Outflanked Genestealers who ate them as a high-iron lunch.
3. Likewise on my right flank I strayed one of my units of Destroyers too close to table edge and the other Outflanking unit of Genestealers rended right through them.
4. I actually did quite a number on the Termaguants and Genestealers once I could get a shooting bead on them - I wiped them out, and the Without Number unit died TWICE. But the Monstrous Creatures did me in.
5. Pariahs have their uses, but they are SO damned expensive for what they do. They don't get We'll Be Back and they have a barely improved statline. I'll continue to TRY and find a place for them, but having them shoot and charge Termagaunts, while fun, was certainly not worth their investment.
6. Tomb Spiders - actually did surprisingly okay against one Carnifex, delivering a few wounds. (Jeff's bad dice helped) But them only have 2 wounds and a 3+ save is crippling.
7. Big mistake for me - throwing away my Scarabs at Jeff's Tyranid Warriors. I was thinking that they might tie them up for a few rounds and MAYBE even chew through them. This was dumb - the Tyranid Warriors shooting had be almost completely ineffective, but their hand-to-hand ability was more than capable of slicing and dicing the Scarabs. A give-away Kill Point here.
8. This game WOULD NOT END. I think we played a total of 8 turns - we kept rolling for it and getting more turns.
Final Score was 10-7. Tyranids win.
Final stuff on the board:
4 Destroyers
8 Warriors
Hive Tyrant (unwounded)
Carnifex with Barbed Strangler (unwounded)
Carnifex with Scything Talons and Crushing Claws (one wound left)
20 Termagaunts (the Without Number ones, who were on their 3rd respawn)
Game 2!
Tau versus Chaos Space Marines. Mission: Seize Ground, 4 Objectives.
My List:
Shas'O with Cyclic Ionic Blaster, Missile Pod and Multi-Tracker (lets me fire two weapons per turn), plus Iridium Armor (gives 2+ save) and Stimulant Booster (gives Feel No Pain)
3 Crisis Suits with Plasma Gun, Missile Pod and Multi-Tracker
2 Crisis Suits with Plasma Gun, Missile Pod and Multi-Tracker
6 Stealth Suits, one with Fusion Blaster
12 Fire Caste Warriors with Pulse Rifle
12 Fire Caste Warriors with Pulse Rifle
12 Fire Caste Warriors with Pulse Rifle
12 Kroot with 2 Kroot Hounds
5 Pathfinders in Devilfish
5 Pathfinders in Devilfish
2 Piranhas with Decoy Launchers (lets me force enemy to re-roll Glancing Hits)
Hammerhead with Railcannon and SMS
Hammerhead with Railcannon and SMS
2 Broadsides with Twin-Linked Railcannons, SMS, Drone Controllers with 2 Fire Drones
Goals:
Fire Caste Warriors and Broadsides dig in and pour fire on anything and everything that doesn't have Blue skin. (the Kroot had better duck!) The Kroot and Stealthsuits Outflank and force the enemy to either well-protect or come back and re-take any "home" objectives. The Crisis Suits, commander, Pathfinders and Piranhas pick one objective and push the enemy off it.
Jeff's List (as best as I recall)
Daemon Prince of Tzeentch with Bolt of Change
Sorceror of Tzeenth on a Disc of Tzeentch with Bolt Pistol and Force Weapon
Dreadnought with....I'm totally not sure, I never let it shoot!
Sorceror with Bolt of Change with 8 Thousand Sons.
Sorceror with Bolt of Change with 8 Thousand Sons.
Sorceror with Bolt of Change with 8 Thousand Sons.
Defiler with twin-linked Lascannons
3 Obliterators
3 Obliterators
Highlights/Lowlights
1. My Railcannons on the Hammerheads missed almost every freaking shot. They need 3+. I rolled ones and twos. Constantly.
2. Crisis Suits do NOT do well against Thousand Sons. I lost every suit thanks to their AP 3 bolters.
3. On the other hand, Thousand Sons are very expensive but die like a normal Marine against a hail of Pulse Rifle shots.
4. Dreadnoughts and Defilers really aren't found of Railcannons, and my Broadside suits, UNLIKE my Hammerheads, demonstrating their Killing POWER by popping both of them.
5. Sadly BOTH of my Outflanking units showed up on the wrong side and played no further part in the game EXCEPT reinforcing one of the objectives that I already firmly possessed (admittedly, with a non-scoring unit, but STILL)
6. Jeff's Daemon Prince was a tank killing machine despite needing 6's to hit them in hand-to-hand. He ripped open both a Devilfish and a Hammerhead. But then he faced a Fire Caste Warrior firing line (one squad, when he already had 2 wounds, marched up and gave him the other 2. Bye!) and died.
7. Had this game gone one for one more turn I probably could have at least contested one if not eliminate one of Jeff's objectives (one was held by a full squad, but one only had a Sorceror and single Thousand Son alive on it) to take the win. Alas we rolled and it was done after turn 5.
8. FOR THAT MATTER I was marching a unit of Fire Caste Warriors over to the objective but they were too far away to shoot while moving. What I SHOULD have done was stand still, fire, and hopefully from the 10 shots, 5 hit, 3 wound...and maybe kill the two guys. I had raced my Piranhas over there to kill them but they both missed with their Fusion Blasters (It's amazing how inaccurate a 4+ shot can be!) and then the Obliterators smacked them around.
2-2 Tie
Still alive on my side:
6 Stealthsuits
10 Fire Caste Warriors (holding an objective)
10 Fire Caste Warriors
12 Kroot with 2 Kroothounds (holding an objective)
1 Piranha
1 Hammerhead
1 Broadside suit
Still alive on Jeff's side:
Sorceror with 1 Thousand Son (holding an objective)
Sorceror with 8 Thousand Sons (holding an objective)
2 Obliterators
2 Obliterators
Great games. Glad to close out the year with some GAMING!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
It's Just the Hurt I'm Looking For
Some actual gaming played this weekend. Tim came up, and despite him pouring blood and sweat and probably booze into painting my Junkers and Gladiators for Urban War, all I wanted was some AT-43.
It helps that I now have 4 armies for AT-43 and three of them have not seen actual game play.
So I rolled up a mission (#2, Bridgehead) and we threw down. Bridgehead is odd for AT-43 missions in that it uses none of the containers and low walls - the sole piece of terrain for Bridgehead is a hill. I opted for a three-tiered hill that gave us some good cover and Line of Sight blockage.
I used my still-newish Cog box - the only Cog I owned as of yet - so my 2k points were pretty easy.
Tim played his UNA, and remarked quickly that he should have brought more Missile Launchers. The UNA Missile Launchers are the bane of many AFV's existence, and given that I brought a Type 3 AFV in the form of a Vandal, Tim was somewhat concerned.
In the end the Cog proved to be just about as scary as they could be. I lost one squad - the Sharpshooters, largely thanks to me not giving them TAKE COVER orders - but otherwise wiped out the UNA. I did take some damage on my Vandal and my Prowler (type 1 AFV) but as each has AutoRepair I believe they ended the game unscratched.
Tim was thilled about that.
After a fine Indian lunch, we opted for another round. This time I pulled out my Red Blok and rolled up another mission - Landing. We diced off and set me for the Attacker and Tim's UNA as the defenders.
And then I discovered what a bitch of a mission this is. The concept is pretty easy - there are three rows/areas of low walls that have to be seized. Capturing them lets you start raking in both Victory Points and Reinforcement Points. However the Defenders get to start in possession of the walls, basically hunkered down and defying you to take them. I learned a very painful lesson about the struggle of using Red Blok - who is generally a slow juggernaught, not fast and not very adept at long-range attacks - versus dug-in UNA troops who were all too happy to claim multiple objectives for their own Victory and Reinforcement Points. In the end I didn't really have any success - I made a half-hearted attack on the central line but was repulsed in detail. I didn't ever get enough Reinforcement Points to bring on some of my heaviest hitters (a trio of RPG Kollosus) onto the board. I mauled a couple of Tim's things, but not enough to brag about, certainly.
I have some ideas on how to do better the next time we roll up this mission, but I do think it's weighted a little too heavily for the Defender. They start with 25% less points on the board than the Attacker, but they really have good positions and are racking up Victory Points at a furious rate if they are smart. Lacking fast attack troops (something Red Blok is really lacking) you are forced to RUSH your AFVs and soldiers across the field, and then they can't shoot to force the defenders out. Just messy.
Ah well. It was still fun, and I look forward to more AT-43. The recent spate of rumors about the looming death of the game is worrisome but I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about it. Rackham has always been a strange company and if they do transform from a gaming/hobby company to a toy company, what can we really do about it? It's not like voting with our dollars even impacts things.
It helps that I now have 4 armies for AT-43 and three of them have not seen actual game play.
So I rolled up a mission (#2, Bridgehead) and we threw down. Bridgehead is odd for AT-43 missions in that it uses none of the containers and low walls - the sole piece of terrain for Bridgehead is a hill. I opted for a three-tiered hill that gave us some good cover and Line of Sight blockage.
I used my still-newish Cog box - the only Cog I owned as of yet - so my 2k points were pretty easy.
Tim played his UNA, and remarked quickly that he should have brought more Missile Launchers. The UNA Missile Launchers are the bane of many AFV's existence, and given that I brought a Type 3 AFV in the form of a Vandal, Tim was somewhat concerned.
In the end the Cog proved to be just about as scary as they could be. I lost one squad - the Sharpshooters, largely thanks to me not giving them TAKE COVER orders - but otherwise wiped out the UNA. I did take some damage on my Vandal and my Prowler (type 1 AFV) but as each has AutoRepair I believe they ended the game unscratched.
Tim was thilled about that.
After a fine Indian lunch, we opted for another round. This time I pulled out my Red Blok and rolled up another mission - Landing. We diced off and set me for the Attacker and Tim's UNA as the defenders.
And then I discovered what a bitch of a mission this is. The concept is pretty easy - there are three rows/areas of low walls that have to be seized. Capturing them lets you start raking in both Victory Points and Reinforcement Points. However the Defenders get to start in possession of the walls, basically hunkered down and defying you to take them. I learned a very painful lesson about the struggle of using Red Blok - who is generally a slow juggernaught, not fast and not very adept at long-range attacks - versus dug-in UNA troops who were all too happy to claim multiple objectives for their own Victory and Reinforcement Points. In the end I didn't really have any success - I made a half-hearted attack on the central line but was repulsed in detail. I didn't ever get enough Reinforcement Points to bring on some of my heaviest hitters (a trio of RPG Kollosus) onto the board. I mauled a couple of Tim's things, but not enough to brag about, certainly.
I have some ideas on how to do better the next time we roll up this mission, but I do think it's weighted a little too heavily for the Defender. They start with 25% less points on the board than the Attacker, but they really have good positions and are racking up Victory Points at a furious rate if they are smart. Lacking fast attack troops (something Red Blok is really lacking) you are forced to RUSH your AFVs and soldiers across the field, and then they can't shoot to force the defenders out. Just messy.
Ah well. It was still fun, and I look forward to more AT-43. The recent spate of rumors about the looming death of the game is worrisome but I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about it. Rackham has always been a strange company and if they do transform from a gaming/hobby company to a toy company, what can we really do about it? It's not like voting with our dollars even impacts things.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Feverish Ramblings
Well at least I think it's a fever. Could be the body fighting against the fact that it's cold and I've been sitting next to a drafty window for hours.
In any case, a few reports:
1. Played some Warmachine Mark II last Saturday against Tim. Played a 50-point and a 25-point battle, my Menoth versus his Khador. Sadly I lost both largely because I A) overgambled and B) did not realize how long Sorsha's striking range in Mark II is. Furthermore Warcasters seem so much more vulnerable than Warlocks; which is a demonstration of how much more Hordes I play over Warmachine.
2. Acquisitions! Always more frequent than actual playing. Yes, I'm aware that is a bad thing.
As planned in my last posting:
Malifaux
Cult of December box
Space Wolf Codex
Planetstrike Codex
And true to form I've really not fully digested any of them. YAY!
Ordered:
This Quar's War - a game that I really don't have any designs on playing, but I'm impressed with the (surface level) detail about the world and the Quar themselves. (Sadly what I have seen of the game rules from Zombiesmith forum, the game does not really look like my cup of tea)
Lord of the Rings rulebook - the newer (2.0?) hardback rulebook. I have all of the older rules that were included in the various movie books. I can't figure out what is driving my interest in playing LoTR skirmish - particularly after I JUST sold off all of my LoTR minis - but it hasn't gone away yet.
Flames of War: Africa (2nd edition) - to help fill out my Mid-War Brits, this new book has all of the lists and info I need. There's just enough interest in the Disorderlies about Flames of War to keep me inching toward playing it.
Skaven Armybook - while I WANT a Skaven army I know there's no chance I could find someone to paint me one. So this will just be for the reading and reference for crushing them.
Generalized Want:
Monsterpocalpyse- despite not really loving this game the 2-3 times I've played it, I have been craving to play it more! And, of course, that craving to play more is coupled with a craving to buy more. The Monsterpocalypse Now! release is pretty neat - six new factions that can play/interact with the existing six. Very clever way to bring out some new tricks without making people feel their old stuff is worthless. So...I ordered some Planet Eaters that I have been wanting for a while. Sosumi.
In any case, a few reports:
1. Played some Warmachine Mark II last Saturday against Tim. Played a 50-point and a 25-point battle, my Menoth versus his Khador. Sadly I lost both largely because I A) overgambled and B) did not realize how long Sorsha's striking range in Mark II is. Furthermore Warcasters seem so much more vulnerable than Warlocks; which is a demonstration of how much more Hordes I play over Warmachine.
2. Acquisitions! Always more frequent than actual playing. Yes, I'm aware that is a bad thing.
As planned in my last posting:
Malifaux
Cult of December box
Space Wolf Codex
Planetstrike Codex
And true to form I've really not fully digested any of them. YAY!
Ordered:
This Quar's War - a game that I really don't have any designs on playing, but I'm impressed with the (surface level) detail about the world and the Quar themselves. (Sadly what I have seen of the game rules from Zombiesmith forum, the game does not really look like my cup of tea)
Lord of the Rings rulebook - the newer (2.0?) hardback rulebook. I have all of the older rules that were included in the various movie books. I can't figure out what is driving my interest in playing LoTR skirmish - particularly after I JUST sold off all of my LoTR minis - but it hasn't gone away yet.
Flames of War: Africa (2nd edition) - to help fill out my Mid-War Brits, this new book has all of the lists and info I need. There's just enough interest in the Disorderlies about Flames of War to keep me inching toward playing it.
Skaven Armybook - while I WANT a Skaven army I know there's no chance I could find someone to paint me one. So this will just be for the reading and reference for crushing them.
Generalized Want:
Monsterpocalpyse- despite not really loving this game the 2-3 times I've played it, I have been craving to play it more! And, of course, that craving to play more is coupled with a craving to buy more. The Monsterpocalypse Now! release is pretty neat - six new factions that can play/interact with the existing six. Very clever way to bring out some new tricks without making people feel their old stuff is worthless. So...I ordered some Planet Eaters that I have been wanting for a while. Sosumi.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I've Been Awake For....Forever
Sadly have not gotten in any gaming since my two wins with the Ogres. When I've been available, no one else has been; and when I'm unavailable it hardly matters what their availability is...
In the meantime I've done a little more thinning of the herd. The Black Templars are on Ebay and finally selling. The Searforge Commission (Warmachine Dwarven Mercs) are as well and sadly are NOT selling. I have waffled on and off about the Eldar (tried to sell them, couldn't get what I considered to be a reasonable price, decided to keep them) and have fallen back into the "get rid of them" column. I am sitting on the fence about my Hordes Circle collection, since it is huge, but I don't know that I play enough Hordes to justify having two armies for it - which is why I got rid of all save one of my Warmachine armies (had all of them, now only have Menoth)
On the painting side, I'm trying to get my pile of unpainted Chaos Space Marines painted, but it seems that my preferred price per model might be a little on the too cheap side.
Can't win.
Still I do have some Thousand Sons in progress, with the painter who is also working on the Silver Skulls. Very slowly. Musn't complain. There might be progress on my Dark Elf army, maybe, possibly, keeping my fingers crossed painfully.
I've also been struggling with my IT MUST BE MINE!!!! instincts, from the Warmachine Retribution army, to Space Wolves, to even going after new games like Arcane Legions. Sadly I have succumbed to lure of Malifaux, although I can partly blame Jeff for that. I also want to pick up the Space Wolf codex and Planetstrike Codex one of these days.
Presently on my "buy" list:
Space Wolf codex
Planetstrike codex
Malifaux rulebook
Malifaux Cult of December box
Terrain - want to get some more variety of stuff. Including the Planetstrike stuff.
I think that's it for this update.
In the meantime I've done a little more thinning of the herd. The Black Templars are on Ebay and finally selling. The Searforge Commission (Warmachine Dwarven Mercs) are as well and sadly are NOT selling. I have waffled on and off about the Eldar (tried to sell them, couldn't get what I considered to be a reasonable price, decided to keep them) and have fallen back into the "get rid of them" column. I am sitting on the fence about my Hordes Circle collection, since it is huge, but I don't know that I play enough Hordes to justify having two armies for it - which is why I got rid of all save one of my Warmachine armies (had all of them, now only have Menoth)
On the painting side, I'm trying to get my pile of unpainted Chaos Space Marines painted, but it seems that my preferred price per model might be a little on the too cheap side.
Can't win.
Still I do have some Thousand Sons in progress, with the painter who is also working on the Silver Skulls. Very slowly. Musn't complain. There might be progress on my Dark Elf army, maybe, possibly, keeping my fingers crossed painfully.
I've also been struggling with my IT MUST BE MINE!!!! instincts, from the Warmachine Retribution army, to Space Wolves, to even going after new games like Arcane Legions. Sadly I have succumbed to lure of Malifaux, although I can partly blame Jeff for that. I also want to pick up the Space Wolf codex and Planetstrike Codex one of these days.
Presently on my "buy" list:
Space Wolf codex
Planetstrike codex
Malifaux rulebook
Malifaux Cult of December box
Terrain - want to get some more variety of stuff. Including the Planetstrike stuff.
I think that's it for this update.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Another weekend done, but some gaming to show for it.
Played some Warhammer this weekend, with my sadly unpainted Ogre Kingdoms army.
Tyrant (1#, 261 Pts)
1 Tyrant @ 261 Pts
General; Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Luck-Gnoblar (x1); Sword-Gnoblar (x1); Causes Fear
1 Wyrdstone Necklace @ [20] Pts
1 Fistful of Laurels @ [15] Pts
Bruiser (1#, 162 Pts)
1 Bruiser @ 162 Pts
Ogre Club; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Greedy Fist @ [20] Pts
Butcher (1#, 185 Pts)
1 Butcher @ 185 Pts
Hand Weapon; Tooth-Gnoblar (x1); Causes Fear
1 Bloodcleaver @ [25] Pts
1 Halfling Cookbook @ [25] Pts
Bulls (6#, 265 Pts)
5 Bulls @ 265 Pts
Bellower Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Lookout Gnoblar (x1); Ogre Club; Causes Fear
1 Crusher @ [55] Pts
Ogre Club
Bulls (6#, 289 Pts)
5 Bulls @ 289 Pts
Bellower Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Lookout Gnoblar (x1); Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon; Causes Fear
1 Crusher @ [59] Pts
Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon
Ironguts (4#, 257 Pts)
3 Ironguts @ 257 Pts
Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Gutlord @ [68] Pts
Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
1 Cannibal Totem @ [25] Pts
Ironguts (4#, 232 Pts)
3 Ironguts @ 232 Pts
Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Gutlord @ [68] Pts
Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
Leadbelchers (3#, 165 Pts)
3 Leadbelchers @ 165 Pts
Leadbelcher Cannon; Light Armour; Causes Fear
Gorger (1#, 75 Pts)
1 Gorger @ 75 Pts
Causes Fear; Killing Blow; Unbreakable
Maneaters (1#, 86 Pts)
1 Maneaters @ 86 Pts
Cathayan Longsword (x1); Light Armour; Causes Fear; Immune to Psychology; Stubborn
I was actually playing this army specifically because my planned Warriors of Chaos army was missing pieces due to one player not being able to attend (and he had them). Also, I have been strongly considering selling or trading off this army, because I really haven't played it much, and when I have it wasn't terribly successfully.
This weekend's pair of games certainly altered that.
I played against Mike's Dark Elf army that looked something like:
General with magic sword and armor
20 Black Guard
10 Dark Riders
20 Crossbows
20 Crossbows
2 Repeater Bolt Throwers
20 Corsairs, some banner that caused them to Frenzy
2 Mages
Hydra with handlers
10 Harpies
I've only managed to beat Mike in Warhammer on one occasion that I can recall - my Tomb Kings versus his pre-new-Army Book Dark Elves. Every other match-up against him he has tended to smash me. He's very good with this army, having played it for at least 3 editions of Warhammer now, and he knows the rules better than anyone I know (but for all of that, he's not a rules lawyer - he politely and quietly tells you that you're wrong).
So I was not expecting much good from this match. I expected that my ogres would be full of crossbow bolts and magical wounds and probably I would get torn apart by the Hydra for good measure.
Oh how that did not come to pass.
Highlights of the battle:
1. The really pivotal point of the battle was when his Lord & Black Guard unit and Hydra broke and ran down one of my Bull units, on his turn. The Hydra overran and crashed into my Tyrant and Ironguts. His Lord and Black Guard rolled a 2. Then on my turn, my 2nd unit of Ironguts, this one carrying the Butcher along, slammed into the side of the Black Guard. The Black Guard failed to hold and were overrun. The Hydra whiffed on my Tyrant and eventually it too was broken and run down.
2. My Gorger arrived, attracting the attention of one of the Repeater Bolt Throwers. It took two wounds but then charged and crushed the RBT crew. It overran into the Dark Riders, who were also routed but not run down.
3. My biggest mistake was handling the Bruiser and Leadbelcher unit. They raced up and basically became pincushions, panicked, rallied just in time to get steamrolled by the frenzied Corsairs. They really contributed nothing to the battle except distraction at best.
4. Gut Magic might be better at buffing than offense, but Dark Elves don't really love the 2d6 Str 2 hits spell. I eliminated one of the Repeater Bolt Throwers on some good rolls with that spell.
At the end of the game, the Dark Elf army was in tatters, while I still had my Tyrant, Butcher, Gorger, and the remains of two Ironguts units. I also realized about mid-way through the battle that I had not put the Maneater even on the table. Oops.
After a fine Mexican lunch, I faced Jeff's Dwarves. He brought a very unconventional force of:
Thane with various runes of high armor and beatstickness
20 Hammerers
20 Ironbreakers
20 Longbeards
20 Warriors
20 Warriors
20 Miners
Something to that effect. NO Warmachines and NO Thunderers and NO Crossbowmen... we were shocked. Particularly since the last time I faced his Dwarves his Strength 7 or 8 Bolt Throwers were skewering my Ogres in ways too gruesome to describe.
Today was payback!
Sadly I don't remember all that much of the battle. I do know that I was very surprised to see how poorly the Dwarves fared against my Ogre Clubs and Great Weapons - even his Ironbreakers who typically shrug off the Str 4 attacks of my Chaos Warriors died in great numbers when my Ironguts waded in. It didn't hurt that my Butcher was occasionally able to give them +1 Strength. Largely, though, the Dwarven dispel dice shut down my magic.
The pivotal point of this game was when I managed to pursue a unit of unit of Bulls with the Bruiser into the flank of his Hammerers and Thane, who were facing off against my Tyrant and Ironguts. The Tyrant and Thane had been fighting a challenge when suddenly the Hammerers more or less disintegrated and the game past this point was just the Dwarves trying to stay alive.
I am now investigating ways to make the Ogres even more killy.
Tyrant (1#, 261 Pts)
1 Tyrant @ 261 Pts
General; Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Luck-Gnoblar (x1); Sword-Gnoblar (x1); Causes Fear
1 Wyrdstone Necklace @ [20] Pts
1 Fistful of Laurels @ [15] Pts
Bruiser (1#, 162 Pts)
1 Bruiser @ 162 Pts
Ogre Club; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Greedy Fist @ [20] Pts
Butcher (1#, 185 Pts)
1 Butcher @ 185 Pts
Hand Weapon; Tooth-Gnoblar (x1); Causes Fear
1 Bloodcleaver @ [25] Pts
1 Halfling Cookbook @ [25] Pts
Bulls (6#, 265 Pts)
5 Bulls @ 265 Pts
Bellower Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Lookout Gnoblar (x1); Ogre Club; Causes Fear
1 Crusher @ [55] Pts
Ogre Club
Bulls (6#, 289 Pts)
5 Bulls @ 289 Pts
Bellower Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Lookout Gnoblar (x1); Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon; Causes Fear
1 Crusher @ [59] Pts
Ogre Club; Extra Hand Weapon
Ironguts (4#, 257 Pts)
3 Ironguts @ 257 Pts
Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Gutlord @ [68] Pts
Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
1 Cannibal Totem @ [25] Pts
Ironguts (4#, 232 Pts)
3 Ironguts @ 232 Pts
Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Causes Fear
1 Gutlord @ [68] Pts
Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
Leadbelchers (3#, 165 Pts)
3 Leadbelchers @ 165 Pts
Leadbelcher Cannon; Light Armour; Causes Fear
Gorger (1#, 75 Pts)
1 Gorger @ 75 Pts
Causes Fear; Killing Blow; Unbreakable
Maneaters (1#, 86 Pts)
1 Maneaters @ 86 Pts
Cathayan Longsword (x1); Light Armour; Causes Fear; Immune to Psychology; Stubborn
I was actually playing this army specifically because my planned Warriors of Chaos army was missing pieces due to one player not being able to attend (and he had them). Also, I have been strongly considering selling or trading off this army, because I really haven't played it much, and when I have it wasn't terribly successfully.
This weekend's pair of games certainly altered that.
I played against Mike's Dark Elf army that looked something like:
General with magic sword and armor
20 Black Guard
10 Dark Riders
20 Crossbows
20 Crossbows
2 Repeater Bolt Throwers
20 Corsairs, some banner that caused them to Frenzy
2 Mages
Hydra with handlers
10 Harpies
I've only managed to beat Mike in Warhammer on one occasion that I can recall - my Tomb Kings versus his pre-new-Army Book Dark Elves. Every other match-up against him he has tended to smash me. He's very good with this army, having played it for at least 3 editions of Warhammer now, and he knows the rules better than anyone I know (but for all of that, he's not a rules lawyer - he politely and quietly tells you that you're wrong).
So I was not expecting much good from this match. I expected that my ogres would be full of crossbow bolts and magical wounds and probably I would get torn apart by the Hydra for good measure.
Oh how that did not come to pass.
Highlights of the battle:
1. The really pivotal point of the battle was when his Lord & Black Guard unit and Hydra broke and ran down one of my Bull units, on his turn. The Hydra overran and crashed into my Tyrant and Ironguts. His Lord and Black Guard rolled a 2. Then on my turn, my 2nd unit of Ironguts, this one carrying the Butcher along, slammed into the side of the Black Guard. The Black Guard failed to hold and were overrun. The Hydra whiffed on my Tyrant and eventually it too was broken and run down.
2. My Gorger arrived, attracting the attention of one of the Repeater Bolt Throwers. It took two wounds but then charged and crushed the RBT crew. It overran into the Dark Riders, who were also routed but not run down.
3. My biggest mistake was handling the Bruiser and Leadbelcher unit. They raced up and basically became pincushions, panicked, rallied just in time to get steamrolled by the frenzied Corsairs. They really contributed nothing to the battle except distraction at best.
4. Gut Magic might be better at buffing than offense, but Dark Elves don't really love the 2d6 Str 2 hits spell. I eliminated one of the Repeater Bolt Throwers on some good rolls with that spell.
At the end of the game, the Dark Elf army was in tatters, while I still had my Tyrant, Butcher, Gorger, and the remains of two Ironguts units. I also realized about mid-way through the battle that I had not put the Maneater even on the table. Oops.
After a fine Mexican lunch, I faced Jeff's Dwarves. He brought a very unconventional force of:
Thane with various runes of high armor and beatstickness
20 Hammerers
20 Ironbreakers
20 Longbeards
20 Warriors
20 Warriors
20 Miners
Something to that effect. NO Warmachines and NO Thunderers and NO Crossbowmen... we were shocked. Particularly since the last time I faced his Dwarves his Strength 7 or 8 Bolt Throwers were skewering my Ogres in ways too gruesome to describe.
Today was payback!
Sadly I don't remember all that much of the battle. I do know that I was very surprised to see how poorly the Dwarves fared against my Ogre Clubs and Great Weapons - even his Ironbreakers who typically shrug off the Str 4 attacks of my Chaos Warriors died in great numbers when my Ironguts waded in. It didn't hurt that my Butcher was occasionally able to give them +1 Strength. Largely, though, the Dwarven dispel dice shut down my magic.
The pivotal point of this game was when I managed to pursue a unit of unit of Bulls with the Bruiser into the flank of his Hammerers and Thane, who were facing off against my Tyrant and Ironguts. The Tyrant and Thane had been fighting a challenge when suddenly the Hammerers more or less disintegrated and the game past this point was just the Dwarves trying to stay alive.
I am now investigating ways to make the Ogres even more killy.
Monday, October 5, 2009
An actual battle report AND post-game analysis?
There's a first time for everything I suppose.
Since I wrote this up for discussion with Tim, an ex-40k player, and, in fact, the previous owner the Tau army that was played - I decided it would also make for an excellent post to this poor rarely-used site.
So here goes.
Please note that since this did originate as a discussion from someone who doesn't play 40k anymore but is a strong opponent in a variety of other games, some points highlight stuff that Tim might have forgotten about 40k and/or the Tau. And other points are just how we converse.
Met at the Games Workshop Columbia store to play Ryan, a local player who I have actually only played one other game of 40k with - a very embarassing run for my Chaos Marines. We opted this time to play a 1500 point battle, his Red Scorpions versus my Tau.
My list, approximately:
HQ:
Crisis Suit Shas-O with Cyclic Ionic Blaster, Fusion Blaster and Shield Generator
Elites:
2 Crisis Suits with Missile Pods, Plasma Rifles, and Drone Controllers. Each with 2 Gun Drones (so 4 total Gun Drones)
3 Stealth Suits with Burst Cannons
Troops:
3 x 12 Fire Caste Warriors in Devilfish
11 Kroot + 2 Hounds
Heavy Support:
2x Hammerheads with Railcannons, and Smart Missile Systems
Ryan's List:
HQ: Space Marine Chaplain (1#, 115 Pts)
1 Space Marine Chaplain @ 115 Pts
...in Power Armour
1 ...in Power Armour @ [115] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Crozius Arcanum; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Rosarius; Jump Pack
HQ: Space Marine Captain (1#, 130 Pts)
1 Space Marine Captain @ 130 Pts
...in Power Armour
1 ...in Power Armour @ [130] Pts
Frag Grenades; Iron Halo; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasma Pistol (x1); Power Sword (x1)
Troops: Tactical Squad (10#, 195 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 195 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasmagun; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant @ [38] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon
Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 250 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 250 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Flamer; Heavy Bolter; Rhino
1 Sergeant @ [58] Pts
Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Storm Bolter; Power Fist
1 Rhino @ [45] Pts
Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter; Hunter Killer Missile
Troops: Tactical Squad (10#, 200 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 200 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Meltagun; Lascannon
1 Sergeant @ [38] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon
Fast Attack: Assault Squad (10#, 260 Pts)
9 Assault Squad @ 260 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x7); Chainsword (x9); Frag Grenades; Jump Packs; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasma Pistol; Plasma Pistol
1 Jump Packs @ [0] Pts
1 Sergeant @ [68] Pts
Frag Grenades; Jump Packs; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Power Fist; Plasma Pistol
1 Jump Packs @ [0] Pts
Heavy Support: Devastator Squad (10#, 250 Pts)
9 Devastator Squad @ 250 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x5); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Missile Launcher (x2); Plasma Cannon (x2)
1 Sergeant @ [23] Pts
Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Signum; Chainsword
1 Signum @ [0] Pts
Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 Pts)
1 Dreadnought @ 105 Pts
Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter
Total Roster Cost: 1505
(Yes, I allowed his to go 5 points over. I was one point under, and I did note that if he won, I would complain that the 6-point difference was the entire cause for my loss)
We played a 6'x4' table, with the GW rolling terrain table thingy. (I discovered this rolling hill-style is actually a PITA for big plastic models on flying bases, like, oh, say, ALL OF MY TANKS)
Terrain was all buildings, and there were two on my side of the table, three on his.
I rolled up the mission and deployment. Command And Control was the mission - that means D3+2 objectives, and Ryan rolled a 1 so it was 3 - and Dawn of War deployment, which meant that we set up on half and half of the table, but limited to up to 1 HQ and 2 Troops, everything else in reserve.
Ryan placed two of the objectives - one next to my building on my left, and one in his building on my right-hand side. I placed my single objective next to my building on my right. In the beginning of the game, I owned two of the three objectives - interesting choice for him, but I assume he meant to force his way across the field at one or both of mine as well as hold his own.
We had a rules dispute (not an argument at all, just read something differently) about how the 2 Troop choices work - the example in the rulebook SEEMS to say that transports are counted separately, which is NEVER how I/the Disorderlies have played it, but in the interest of moving things along I went with Ryan's interpretation and left the Devilfish for one of my Fire Caste Warriors in reserve while the FCW's themselves started on the board.
So I started on the board with my Kroot (12 Kroot and 2 Hounds) 12 FCWs and my HQ.
Ryan started on the board with four combat squads - two tactical squads broken down into 5-man squads. There was one with Lascannon, one with a Missile Launcher, one with a Plasma Gun and I think one with a Flamer.
I had first turn.
It quickly occurs to me that I don't really have all of the action plotted out from turn to turn. I'll just cover the highlights I guess.
1. Hammerheads - killed a few Marines with their submunition rounds (big template, but not enough to ignore their armor saves) and cratered his Dreadnought - although it took two shots to kill the Dread. They both survived the entire game.
2. Kroot - the Kroot stayed in my right-side building the entire game, shooting mostly at his one combat squad with the Lascannon. I could have been more aggressive with them but largely I suspect they deterred him from launching any assault on that objective, which did earn me the tie.
3. Fire Caste Warriors - The one squad that had started on the board finally died to the last man on turn 5, allowing him to seize the objective they had been guarding. The two other squads I used very aggressively - one of them flew up in their Devilfish to kill his last man on the objective on his side, but who were then mauled (lost 7 of their 12 men) in a round of shooting from his full-strength Devastator Squad and then routed. I didn't pay the points to bond them, so they could not rally - they spent the rest of the game routing back to my table edge. The third squad attacked his two combat squads in his table quarter on my left side, but unfortunately A) had a terrible round of shooting and B) then got assaulted by his full-strength Assault Squad AND Chaplain who arrived just-in-time from reserve to jump on the table and assault them. (I ended up being literally JUST in their range from the board edge - 18") They got absolutely flattened by that assault.
4. Crisis Suit Commander - He picked off a few marines with his Cyclic Ionic Blaster but really I was very afraid to get him dead so he wasn't that effective. He hung with the Kroot all game - again dissuading anything coming over there, but also not helping me WIN per se.
5. Crisis Suits - my one squad really played almost no role. Stuck in reserve, I tried to deep strike them where they would threaten not only the objective on his side of the board but ALSO, hopefully, maul his Devastator Squad which was definitely causing me worry. They scattered onto one of his buildings, which is a Deep Strike Mishap - gotta roll the on table. 1-2, they are DESTROYED, 3-4, opponent places them, 5-6 they go back into Reserve and try and come in again next turn. I rolled a 3. WHEW. Ryan placed them on my leftmost corner, where they did pretty much nothing for the rest of the game. I believe they killed a couple his Assault Marines who were fresh from killing my FCW squad. But that was it. A lot of points, neutralized.
6. Stealth Suits - tried something different with these guys and OUTFLANKED. They got a couple of rounds of shooting on the Devastators and did no casualities. (Ryan's dice where hot in the 2nd half of the game, mine were not). The Devastators then turned the 3 of them into a red mist.
Stuff I think I would do differently:
1. I would probably have swapped the Kroot and one of the FCW squads. Having the FCW squads shooting from the buildings would have been longer range (as it was two of the Kroot never actually got to shoot being over their max range) and better strength guns, so would have forced more saves. 2. Send the Kroot to Outflank and make a play for his objective
3. Send in the 3rd FCW squad to reinforce whatever objective of mine he was pressing on - in this case my left one - instead of going on the attack. If I had just been there to contest my left building, I would have won.
4. NOT have Deep Strike'd the Crisis Suits, instead used them either to support the Kroot attack on his objective or to attack his foreward elements
5. Been a little more aggressive with my commander. I DID pay for the Shield Generator, but never took a single shot on him - yes, the Lascannon could have cratered him, but it also meant that the short range of his guns resulted in him not being very effective.
And if I could change my list for this mission:
1. Dropped most of the Devilfish. I didn't need the mobility.
2. Ran one Hammerhead with an Ion Cannon. Better at picking off Marines.
Regardless of all of this, it was fun and often tense game for us - I do feel like with a few army tweaks and some better decisions this could have been a win for the Tau.
Discussion follows:
TIM:
I'm curious what you would have done differently with the initial Fire Warrior Squad if they had their Devilfish? It seems to me, with no basis in the rules, that a unit's transport is part of the unit. But whatever.
It seems that the Commander was a massive waste. Do you still have the option of giving him a bodyguard as part of the HQ unit choice? If I recall correctly it helped protect him from the stray Las Cannon shot and also gave a pretty effective forward strike force. Then you ca afford be more aggressive with him as the risks go down a bit and the overall fire power of his unit goes up.
It seems like mounting at least one of the Fire Warrior squads in a Devilfish helped out quite a bit. Allowing you to be more aggressive with that combined arms force. Also the Crisis Cuits could have kept up with Devilfish If I remember speed correctly.
The Ion cannon has pretty good utility all around. It won't destroy heavy vehicles but was pretty good against marines, heavier Infantry and light - medium vehicles. If running two Hammerheads 1x Ion Cannon and 1x Rail Gun seems like a reasonable choice, unless facing an IG tank battalion. Then I'm thinking All Railgun and bringing Broadside suits as well.
ME:
Having the initial Devilfish would just meant a few more shots on the board. Really I didn't use my Gun Drones well at all - I meant to have them run solo all the time, and really only did that with one of the three Devilfish. More shots is more shots and I screwed that up.
Yes, I can give him bodyguards, but didn't have the points to do so.
I was aggressive but the left-side attack was semi-pointless - I was being aggressive to scare him and it A) failed and B) had nothing to do with the mission. The units I attacked really had no chance of getting into scoring position anyway so it wasn't smart. The right-side attack had it's heart in the right place but I needed to go all-in on the attack or not bother.
I'm not sure what role a Broadside or two would have played - the only vehicles he had were one Dread and one Rhino. Broadsides are a very expensive way to kill infantry, especially when the infantry is in cover.
TIM:
So you made a poor tactical decision of where to bring your force to bear? What were you hope to accomplish by scaring him off the left side? Put more pressure where the rest of your force was?
Indeed unless they come up with new options for Broadside weaponry they aren't very useful against marines. There just aren't enough really touch targets for them to engage over the course of the game. I brought them up as being useful against armies that use a lot of heavy tanks (like the IG)
ME:
My thinking was that I needed to eliminate his tactical squads so he had no scoring units. But I was focusing on the wrong ones- largely because I THOUGHT I could eliminate the ones that were the more immediate threat. It didn't hurt that I also thought I'd distract him - and I did; the Assault Marines attacking me meant they were pretty much not playing any role in the game that counted - so I guess that was was a mistake on my part that made him screw up too. Go me.
Broadsides do scare Marines that bring Land Raiders. But that's not the usual MO for Marines these days - most of them are either Rhinos or Drop Pods.
TIM:
So does this review of performance mean yo think you need new stuff, or are you happy where you are at?
SIDE NOTE: Tim painted these Tau for me, and we have been discussing him painting more, which is part of larger discussion here.
ME:
ALWAYS NEED NEW STUFF
Actually I want to play a few more games before making a determination. But....how hard where the Kroot to paint? I think I might want to get another two squads of them, at some point, and a unit of Stingwings. I definately felt like I could have used the Stingwings on Saturday, because they are REAL jump troops.
So there's a good bit to chew on here. All from one relatively quick game!
Since I wrote this up for discussion with Tim, an ex-40k player, and, in fact, the previous owner the Tau army that was played - I decided it would also make for an excellent post to this poor rarely-used site.
So here goes.
Please note that since this did originate as a discussion from someone who doesn't play 40k anymore but is a strong opponent in a variety of other games, some points highlight stuff that Tim might have forgotten about 40k and/or the Tau. And other points are just how we converse.
Met at the Games Workshop Columbia store to play Ryan, a local player who I have actually only played one other game of 40k with - a very embarassing run for my Chaos Marines. We opted this time to play a 1500 point battle, his Red Scorpions versus my Tau.
My list, approximately:
HQ:
Crisis Suit Shas-O with Cyclic Ionic Blaster, Fusion Blaster and Shield Generator
Elites:
2 Crisis Suits with Missile Pods, Plasma Rifles, and Drone Controllers. Each with 2 Gun Drones (so 4 total Gun Drones)
3 Stealth Suits with Burst Cannons
Troops:
3 x 12 Fire Caste Warriors in Devilfish
11 Kroot + 2 Hounds
Heavy Support:
2x Hammerheads with Railcannons, and Smart Missile Systems
Ryan's List:
HQ: Space Marine Chaplain (1#, 115 Pts)
1 Space Marine Chaplain @ 115 Pts
...in Power Armour
1 ...in Power Armour @ [115] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Crozius Arcanum; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Rosarius; Jump Pack
HQ: Space Marine Captain (1#, 130 Pts)
1 Space Marine Captain @ 130 Pts
...in Power Armour
1 ...in Power Armour @ [130] Pts
Frag Grenades; Iron Halo; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasma Pistol (x1); Power Sword (x1)
Troops: Tactical Squad (10#, 195 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 195 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasmagun; Missile Launcher
1 Sergeant @ [38] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon
Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 250 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 250 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Flamer; Heavy Bolter; Rhino
1 Sergeant @ [58] Pts
Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Storm Bolter; Power Fist
1 Rhino @ [45] Pts
Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter; Hunter Killer Missile
Troops: Tactical Squad (10#, 200 Pts)
9 Tactical Squad @ 200 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Meltagun; Lascannon
1 Sergeant @ [38] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Weapon
Fast Attack: Assault Squad (10#, 260 Pts)
9 Assault Squad @ 260 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x7); Chainsword (x9); Frag Grenades; Jump Packs; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Plasma Pistol; Plasma Pistol
1 Jump Packs @ [0] Pts
1 Sergeant @ [68] Pts
Frag Grenades; Jump Packs; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Power Fist; Plasma Pistol
1 Jump Packs @ [0] Pts
Heavy Support: Devastator Squad (10#, 250 Pts)
9 Devastator Squad @ 250 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter (x5); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Missile Launcher (x2); Plasma Cannon (x2)
1 Sergeant @ [23] Pts
Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Signum; Chainsword
1 Signum @ [0] Pts
Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 105 Pts)
1 Dreadnought @ 105 Pts
Dreadnought CCW; Multi-Melta; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Storm Bolter
Total Roster Cost: 1505
(Yes, I allowed his to go 5 points over. I was one point under, and I did note that if he won, I would complain that the 6-point difference was the entire cause for my loss)
We played a 6'x4' table, with the GW rolling terrain table thingy. (I discovered this rolling hill-style is actually a PITA for big plastic models on flying bases, like, oh, say, ALL OF MY TANKS)
Terrain was all buildings, and there were two on my side of the table, three on his.
I rolled up the mission and deployment. Command And Control was the mission - that means D3+2 objectives, and Ryan rolled a 1 so it was 3 - and Dawn of War deployment, which meant that we set up on half and half of the table, but limited to up to 1 HQ and 2 Troops, everything else in reserve.
Ryan placed two of the objectives - one next to my building on my left, and one in his building on my right-hand side. I placed my single objective next to my building on my right. In the beginning of the game, I owned two of the three objectives - interesting choice for him, but I assume he meant to force his way across the field at one or both of mine as well as hold his own.
We had a rules dispute (not an argument at all, just read something differently) about how the 2 Troop choices work - the example in the rulebook SEEMS to say that transports are counted separately, which is NEVER how I/the Disorderlies have played it, but in the interest of moving things along I went with Ryan's interpretation and left the Devilfish for one of my Fire Caste Warriors in reserve while the FCW's themselves started on the board.
So I started on the board with my Kroot (12 Kroot and 2 Hounds) 12 FCWs and my HQ.
Ryan started on the board with four combat squads - two tactical squads broken down into 5-man squads. There was one with Lascannon, one with a Missile Launcher, one with a Plasma Gun and I think one with a Flamer.
I had first turn.
It quickly occurs to me that I don't really have all of the action plotted out from turn to turn. I'll just cover the highlights I guess.
1. Hammerheads - killed a few Marines with their submunition rounds (big template, but not enough to ignore their armor saves) and cratered his Dreadnought - although it took two shots to kill the Dread. They both survived the entire game.
2. Kroot - the Kroot stayed in my right-side building the entire game, shooting mostly at his one combat squad with the Lascannon. I could have been more aggressive with them but largely I suspect they deterred him from launching any assault on that objective, which did earn me the tie.
3. Fire Caste Warriors - The one squad that had started on the board finally died to the last man on turn 5, allowing him to seize the objective they had been guarding. The two other squads I used very aggressively - one of them flew up in their Devilfish to kill his last man on the objective on his side, but who were then mauled (lost 7 of their 12 men) in a round of shooting from his full-strength Devastator Squad and then routed. I didn't pay the points to bond them, so they could not rally - they spent the rest of the game routing back to my table edge. The third squad attacked his two combat squads in his table quarter on my left side, but unfortunately A) had a terrible round of shooting and B) then got assaulted by his full-strength Assault Squad AND Chaplain who arrived just-in-time from reserve to jump on the table and assault them. (I ended up being literally JUST in their range from the board edge - 18") They got absolutely flattened by that assault.
4. Crisis Suit Commander - He picked off a few marines with his Cyclic Ionic Blaster but really I was very afraid to get him dead so he wasn't that effective. He hung with the Kroot all game - again dissuading anything coming over there, but also not helping me WIN per se.
5. Crisis Suits - my one squad really played almost no role. Stuck in reserve, I tried to deep strike them where they would threaten not only the objective on his side of the board but ALSO, hopefully, maul his Devastator Squad which was definitely causing me worry. They scattered onto one of his buildings, which is a Deep Strike Mishap - gotta roll the on table. 1-2, they are DESTROYED, 3-4, opponent places them, 5-6 they go back into Reserve and try and come in again next turn. I rolled a 3. WHEW. Ryan placed them on my leftmost corner, where they did pretty much nothing for the rest of the game. I believe they killed a couple his Assault Marines who were fresh from killing my FCW squad. But that was it. A lot of points, neutralized.
6. Stealth Suits - tried something different with these guys and OUTFLANKED. They got a couple of rounds of shooting on the Devastators and did no casualities. (Ryan's dice where hot in the 2nd half of the game, mine were not). The Devastators then turned the 3 of them into a red mist.
Stuff I think I would do differently:
1. I would probably have swapped the Kroot and one of the FCW squads. Having the FCW squads shooting from the buildings would have been longer range (as it was two of the Kroot never actually got to shoot being over their max range) and better strength guns, so would have forced more saves. 2. Send the Kroot to Outflank and make a play for his objective
3. Send in the 3rd FCW squad to reinforce whatever objective of mine he was pressing on - in this case my left one - instead of going on the attack. If I had just been there to contest my left building, I would have won.
4. NOT have Deep Strike'd the Crisis Suits, instead used them either to support the Kroot attack on his objective or to attack his foreward elements
5. Been a little more aggressive with my commander. I DID pay for the Shield Generator, but never took a single shot on him - yes, the Lascannon could have cratered him, but it also meant that the short range of his guns resulted in him not being very effective.
And if I could change my list for this mission:
1. Dropped most of the Devilfish. I didn't need the mobility.
2. Ran one Hammerhead with an Ion Cannon. Better at picking off Marines.
Regardless of all of this, it was fun and often tense game for us - I do feel like with a few army tweaks and some better decisions this could have been a win for the Tau.
Discussion follows:
TIM:
I'm curious what you would have done differently with the initial Fire Warrior Squad if they had their Devilfish? It seems to me, with no basis in the rules, that a unit's transport is part of the unit. But whatever.
It seems that the Commander was a massive waste. Do you still have the option of giving him a bodyguard as part of the HQ unit choice? If I recall correctly it helped protect him from the stray Las Cannon shot and also gave a pretty effective forward strike force. Then you ca afford be more aggressive with him as the risks go down a bit and the overall fire power of his unit goes up.
It seems like mounting at least one of the Fire Warrior squads in a Devilfish helped out quite a bit. Allowing you to be more aggressive with that combined arms force. Also the Crisis Cuits could have kept up with Devilfish If I remember speed correctly.
The Ion cannon has pretty good utility all around. It won't destroy heavy vehicles but was pretty good against marines, heavier Infantry and light - medium vehicles. If running two Hammerheads 1x Ion Cannon and 1x Rail Gun seems like a reasonable choice, unless facing an IG tank battalion. Then I'm thinking All Railgun and bringing Broadside suits as well.
ME:
Having the initial Devilfish would just meant a few more shots on the board. Really I didn't use my Gun Drones well at all - I meant to have them run solo all the time, and really only did that with one of the three Devilfish. More shots is more shots and I screwed that up.
Yes, I can give him bodyguards, but didn't have the points to do so.
I was aggressive but the left-side attack was semi-pointless - I was being aggressive to scare him and it A) failed and B) had nothing to do with the mission. The units I attacked really had no chance of getting into scoring position anyway so it wasn't smart. The right-side attack had it's heart in the right place but I needed to go all-in on the attack or not bother.
I'm not sure what role a Broadside or two would have played - the only vehicles he had were one Dread and one Rhino. Broadsides are a very expensive way to kill infantry, especially when the infantry is in cover.
TIM:
So you made a poor tactical decision of where to bring your force to bear? What were you hope to accomplish by scaring him off the left side? Put more pressure where the rest of your force was?
Indeed unless they come up with new options for Broadside weaponry they aren't very useful against marines. There just aren't enough really touch targets for them to engage over the course of the game. I brought them up as being useful against armies that use a lot of heavy tanks (like the IG)
ME:
My thinking was that I needed to eliminate his tactical squads so he had no scoring units. But I was focusing on the wrong ones- largely because I THOUGHT I could eliminate the ones that were the more immediate threat. It didn't hurt that I also thought I'd distract him - and I did; the Assault Marines attacking me meant they were pretty much not playing any role in the game that counted - so I guess that was was a mistake on my part that made him screw up too. Go me.
Broadsides do scare Marines that bring Land Raiders. But that's not the usual MO for Marines these days - most of them are either Rhinos or Drop Pods.
TIM:
So does this review of performance mean yo think you need new stuff, or are you happy where you are at?
SIDE NOTE: Tim painted these Tau for me, and we have been discussing him painting more, which is part of larger discussion here.
ME:
ALWAYS NEED NEW STUFF
Actually I want to play a few more games before making a determination. But....how hard where the Kroot to paint? I think I might want to get another two squads of them, at some point, and a unit of Stingwings. I definately felt like I could have used the Stingwings on Saturday, because they are REAL jump troops.
So there's a good bit to chew on here. All from one relatively quick game!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
See the Divide
My planned 40k game for tomorrow night has been canceled by the other player and I am annoyed. I was getting all sorts of nasty tricks ready to kill Imperial Guard tanks with my Chaos Marines. It was, I sort of imagine, my revenge shot for the horrific game I had against Imperial Guard in the first round of the 'Ard Boyz. The fact that the player I was supposed to beat on was not that Imperial Guard player, nor is he the sort of caliber of player to be in the 'Ard Boyz - nevertheless my desire for revenge would be slaked upon his undeserving bones.
There are offers of other games but I have not decided if I am at all interested. I was set to play 40k.
Meanwhile the deep rabbit-hole that is Bartertown continues to plague me. Sell one thing, immediately turn that money around on the next shiny thing that passes by. Ah, but THIS shiny thing is SUCH A GOOD DEAL....
meh.
at some point I shall run out of things to sell.
There are offers of other games but I have not decided if I am at all interested. I was set to play 40k.
Meanwhile the deep rabbit-hole that is Bartertown continues to plague me. Sell one thing, immediately turn that money around on the next shiny thing that passes by. Ah, but THIS shiny thing is SUCH A GOOD DEAL....
meh.
at some point I shall run out of things to sell.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Clutch it like a Cornerstone
This blog certainly lives up to the vagaries of its creator and contributor.
So what's happening?
Excellent question. I might deem the end of the summer here a gaming lull, of sorts. I did play a game of 40k a few weeks ago. And two weeks ago I got to actually sit for a demo of Heavy Gear Blitz (I've owned Heavy Gear models for years and years; it was always a case of loving the universe but hating the rules).
Oh, and, I played some Magic: The Gathering, because I'm weak and entirely too curious about this 10th edition they just released.
What's on the plate?
Presently, 40k, Dark Age, AT-43.
40k bounces back and forth for me. Presently I have so much stuff that it's hard for it to ever fall off the radar. I spent several hours yesterday assembling a new Predator and Defiler for my massive Chaos Space Marines force.
Dark Age is presently at a high mark because I'm doing some work with the company. We shall see how long that lasts and if it bears fruit. (so many other ventures have not) Plus I've been on a trading kick and acquired a small St. John force, as well as a new Skarrd force to replace the one I traded off.
AT-43 was recently re-energized with the release of the COG army box and book. I, of course, had to pick up each. Jeff and Tim played AT-43 a few weeks ago - there wasn't time for me to get a game in as well.
I am also trying to organize and improve the terrain at Gaming Mecca. It's always been "largely available but slipshod". I am trying to organize and buff up the options.
I also have the recurring desire to have either a large Mordheim or Necromunda set-up for a long-term campaign. That might make me crazy before long.
So what's happening?
Excellent question. I might deem the end of the summer here a gaming lull, of sorts. I did play a game of 40k a few weeks ago. And two weeks ago I got to actually sit for a demo of Heavy Gear Blitz (I've owned Heavy Gear models for years and years; it was always a case of loving the universe but hating the rules).
Oh, and, I played some Magic: The Gathering, because I'm weak and entirely too curious about this 10th edition they just released.
What's on the plate?
Presently, 40k, Dark Age, AT-43.
40k bounces back and forth for me. Presently I have so much stuff that it's hard for it to ever fall off the radar. I spent several hours yesterday assembling a new Predator and Defiler for my massive Chaos Space Marines force.
Dark Age is presently at a high mark because I'm doing some work with the company. We shall see how long that lasts and if it bears fruit. (so many other ventures have not) Plus I've been on a trading kick and acquired a small St. John force, as well as a new Skarrd force to replace the one I traded off.
AT-43 was recently re-energized with the release of the COG army box and book. I, of course, had to pick up each. Jeff and Tim played AT-43 a few weeks ago - there wasn't time for me to get a game in as well.
I am also trying to organize and improve the terrain at Gaming Mecca. It's always been "largely available but slipshod". I am trying to organize and buff up the options.
I also have the recurring desire to have either a large Mordheim or Necromunda set-up for a long-term campaign. That might make me crazy before long.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Keeping Track of It All
Not that anybody reads this, but for my own sanity, the various projects in process and ongoing and such.
In no particular order:
1. Black Legion - Maurice Painting. 17 figures in progress
2. Silver Skulls - Glenn Painting. 20 figures (two Tactical squads) in progress.
3. Dark Age - presently working trade for:
2 bolas
bone doc
8 buzzblades
Fetish bearer
2 Golabs
2 harpies
Grafter
Kaustic
Raze
Sister of Charity
3 Toxic Mistresses
Father Curwin
Tribal Father SE
Warhead
Chitin
4. Menoth: Jeff painting. In progress: Avatar, Harbinger of Menoth
5. Warriors of Chaos: still being assembled. Need more Marauders on foot.
6. Urban War Gladiators and Junkers: Tim painting. In progress:
6 Auxila
6 Legionaries
1 Legionary Flame Thrower
2 Legionary Chain Gunners
2 Legionary Exo-Suits with Chain Guns
2 Lictors
3Greater Pit Beasts
2 Lesser Pit Beats
1 Taurian Howitzer
8x Secutors
2x Amazonian Decurians
2x Myrmillo
STALLED PROJECTS
Infinity - have PanOceana starter, unpainted. some Haqqislam (300ish points?) unpainted. Combined Army, painted, 300ish points
Rezolution - very sizable CSO and Dravani forces. unpainted.
Hordes: Large Circle of Oroboros force, partly painted.
more to come
In no particular order:
1. Black Legion - Maurice Painting. 17 figures in progress
2. Silver Skulls - Glenn Painting. 20 figures (two Tactical squads) in progress.
3. Dark Age - presently working trade for:
2 bolas
bone doc
8 buzzblades
Fetish bearer
2 Golabs
2 harpies
Grafter
Kaustic
Raze
Sister of Charity
3 Toxic Mistresses
Father Curwin
Tribal Father SE
Warhead
Chitin
4. Menoth: Jeff painting. In progress: Avatar, Harbinger of Menoth
5. Warriors of Chaos: still being assembled. Need more Marauders on foot.
6. Urban War Gladiators and Junkers: Tim painting. In progress:
6 Auxila
6 Legionaries
1 Legionary Flame Thrower
2 Legionary Chain Gunners
2 Legionary Exo-Suits with Chain Guns
2 Lictors
3Greater Pit Beasts
2 Lesser Pit Beats
1 Taurian Howitzer
8x Secutors
2x Amazonian Decurians
2x Myrmillo
STALLED PROJECTS
Infinity - have PanOceana starter, unpainted. some Haqqislam (300ish points?) unpainted. Combined Army, painted, 300ish points
Rezolution - very sizable CSO and Dravani forces. unpainted.
Hordes: Large Circle of Oroboros force, partly painted.
more to come
Monday, February 23, 2009
Actual gaming
Got to play not one but TWO games yesterday.
The first was a large (but not really Apocalypse-scaled) 40k game - 4 players, 3000 points per player. Then to make it really interesting we diced for allies. I picked my Imperial Guard to use, sort of a "last hurrah" for their existing codex, as I don't expect to play with them again until then new Imperial Guard codex is released in May. I ended up paired with Jeff's Emperor's Children-themed Chaos Space Marine army, facing off against Mike's Tyranids and Chris's Orks.
So we have here two shooty-armies against two horde-style armies. Oh boy.
We played a 16'x4' set of tables, with four objectives. We set up baffles for blind deployment - a particular favorite of Jeff's. Predictably the Guard and Chaos armies were set up very quickly; the Horde took a long while, giving Jeff and I time to discuss some minor planned strategy over donuts.
Sadly we were under a time limit - our Tyranid player had to leave by 3:30, so we were only able to get in three turns. During that time, the horde forces surged us hard, but I felt that our guns had been able to hurt them pretty badly. With another turn or two, we might have been able to mount our planned counterattack and seize two of the four objectives pretty handily - but it was not to be and we lost 2-0 on objectives.
Some my army's highlights of the game were:
It was my third outing with the Warriors of Chaos since the new book came out - so far I had one tie (against Wood Elves) and one loss (againt Dark Elves). Jeff played Dwarves - this time a really, really freaking shooty Dwarf army.
However my Chaos Warriors were not to be denied, ending in a handy win for me. Really the man of the match was my Chaos Sorceror, who cast Curse of the Leper onto the Hammerer unit containing Jeff's Thane - and the dwarves were completely unable to rid themselves of this spell. It ended up killing the entire unit - I managed to pick off some of the Hammerers in a long combat with one of my Chaos Warrior units, but overall the spell did them in. Jeff did manage to kill a lot of Warriors and Chaos Marauders with his two Flame Cannons and 40 Crossbows and 20 Thunderers (ow, ow, ow) but when my units made it into melee, it was just a slow grindfest where Chaos was bound and determined to win.
Good games, both.
Coming on Thursday: Urban War against Tim.
The first was a large (but not really Apocalypse-scaled) 40k game - 4 players, 3000 points per player. Then to make it really interesting we diced for allies. I picked my Imperial Guard to use, sort of a "last hurrah" for their existing codex, as I don't expect to play with them again until then new Imperial Guard codex is released in May. I ended up paired with Jeff's Emperor's Children-themed Chaos Space Marine army, facing off against Mike's Tyranids and Chris's Orks.
So we have here two shooty-armies against two horde-style armies. Oh boy.
We played a 16'x4' set of tables, with four objectives. We set up baffles for blind deployment - a particular favorite of Jeff's. Predictably the Guard and Chaos armies were set up very quickly; the Horde took a long while, giving Jeff and I time to discuss some minor planned strategy over donuts.
Sadly we were under a time limit - our Tyranid player had to leave by 3:30, so we were only able to get in three turns. During that time, the horde forces surged us hard, but I felt that our guns had been able to hurt them pretty badly. With another turn or two, we might have been able to mount our planned counterattack and seize two of the four objectives pretty handily - but it was not to be and we lost 2-0 on objectives.
Some my army's highlights of the game were:
- My Lascannon weapon teams first blowing up a [freshly purchased] Ork Battlewagon, and then on the next turn killing the two surviving Meganobs.
- Four infantry squads AND a Leman Russ tank pouring fire on a Carnifex to finally kill it, mere inches from where it was going to crash into my lines.
- Those same infantry squads and a command section raining dealth into a unit of 15 Ork Bikers and finally routing the last three of them after deliviering an enormous hail of fire.
It was my third outing with the Warriors of Chaos since the new book came out - so far I had one tie (against Wood Elves) and one loss (againt Dark Elves). Jeff played Dwarves - this time a really, really freaking shooty Dwarf army.
However my Chaos Warriors were not to be denied, ending in a handy win for me. Really the man of the match was my Chaos Sorceror, who cast Curse of the Leper onto the Hammerer unit containing Jeff's Thane - and the dwarves were completely unable to rid themselves of this spell. It ended up killing the entire unit - I managed to pick off some of the Hammerers in a long combat with one of my Chaos Warrior units, but overall the spell did them in. Jeff did manage to kill a lot of Warriors and Chaos Marauders with his two Flame Cannons and 40 Crossbows and 20 Thunderers (ow, ow, ow) but when my units made it into melee, it was just a slow grindfest where Chaos was bound and determined to win.
Good games, both.
Coming on Thursday: Urban War against Tim.
Monday, February 9, 2009
How It's Going
Played a game last Thursday - Dark Age; 750 points of my Brood army against Tim's new St. Johann army. Tim expected a massacre - it was his second time playing the game, ever, and his first game was a very brutal match against the Skarrd that might have left him with some scars.
It was a massacre, but in unexpected ways - my Brood were absolutely pulped. I am now deathly afraid of St. Johann himself, AND the terribly scary prowess of Strike squads that have been augmented and drugged. Terrifying!
My acquisitions are coming along. In the mail to me presently are a new Dragyri army for Dark Age, as well as a lot more Urban War Viridians and VASA troops - the VASA troops are largely for Tim. I'm waiting on a payment from a Bartertown sale to get myself a mess of Gladiator troops, which honestly was the start of all of my Bartertown finds in the first place. (funny how that works out)
On tap: a 4-player 40k game, 3000 points per player, on Feb 21st. Have not decided which army I am going to dust off yet. My last 40k foray wasn't pretty; so I really need to redeem myself.
It was a massacre, but in unexpected ways - my Brood were absolutely pulped. I am now deathly afraid of St. Johann himself, AND the terribly scary prowess of Strike squads that have been augmented and drugged. Terrifying!
My acquisitions are coming along. In the mail to me presently are a new Dragyri army for Dark Age, as well as a lot more Urban War Viridians and VASA troops - the VASA troops are largely for Tim. I'm waiting on a payment from a Bartertown sale to get myself a mess of Gladiator troops, which honestly was the start of all of my Bartertown finds in the first place. (funny how that works out)
On tap: a 4-player 40k game, 3000 points per player, on Feb 21st. Have not decided which army I am going to dust off yet. My last 40k foray wasn't pretty; so I really need to redeem myself.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Acqusitions, Inc
Sadly one of the things I love nearly as much as playing all of these various and sundry games is acquiring new games, and the stuff you use to play these games. I am a collector, and I know that I enjoy the getting AND the having perhaps a bit too much.
Of late I've been in a heavy acquisition mode for more Urban War miniatures. Oh, it wasn't enough that I couldn't play with my old VOID figures...no, I needed the latest and the greatest of shiny things.
So I scoured the online stores, since Urban War has poor retail penetration. Not great prices. Ebay? Poor selection.
Oh hey here's Bartertown! I haven't visited Bartertown in years and years. I mean YEARS. I think my last tranactions were on there when it was just being run by an Aussie college student whose name I can't recall. It was constantly up and down, I think, because the college he was at didn't really like the traffic he was pulling.
Anyway it appears that Bartertown is the answer to my Urban War yearnings. Sadly mostly for cash, which has me selling other things on Ebay to buy Urban War collections. It's a crazy cycle.
And speaking of cycle, I'm sure by the time I get copious amounts of Urban War models and am prepared for some serious Metropolis (the bigger scale Urban War game) Mercuriality will punch me like a fist to the jaw and I'll move on from this game; probably to a game that I need to start this deranged acquisiton mode all over again for.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Once more with feeling
And I'm doing a GREAT job of updating this with the frequency is rightfully deserves. Those of you expecting journeyman blogger writing levels are in for a painful shock.
Short drop, sudden stop.
Anyway I did some gaming this past Saturday; having something nearly akin to a convention of various games going on. I myself played 40k (lost), learned Alkemy (lost), taught Epic Armageddon (lost) and played Dark Age (and won, breaking the streak!).
Not bad for 7 hours.
The Swingularity needle is presently pointing to a trio of games, fueled in part by my friends and in part by my own inexplicable compass and it's constant teetering. Presently those games are:
Dark Age, where I have now only Brood; having traded my Skarrd to my friend Jeff. Of course no sooner do I do that than make efforts to acquire a nicely painted Dragyri force from Bartertown. I'm really enjoying this game despite its less-than-stellar level of support from its parent company.
Urban War. Largely the fault of Tim but I've dived in head first. We both had figures for Urban War when the game first came out, but somewhere along the way we lost interest in it. Around the end of last year the game sort of popped back on our radar and we have played a few games since. More imporantly has been the rapid acqusition of more models for the game - I've already added about 40 last month and am on track to add 60 or so more models to my collection this month. Madness.
Heavy Gear Blitz. SUCH a dark horse for me. I have always loved the world of Heavy Gear; it has been one of the best fleshed-out universes I've ever seen, and they made the anime conceit of Big Mecha Things work out very well in the canon. But I've never really enjoyed the game itself - I bought a good number of the miniatures a long time ago, got them painted, and then sat down to play with a friend...and found them hard to follow and even painful. Units had to practically standing next to one another to do damage. It just felt wrong and we pretty much boxed it up never to play again. However I've watched as HG: Blitz has come out...and the revised version, HG: Blitz Locked and Loaded, and I'm intrigued. I've been reading the rules and the army lists and trying to figure out what more I might need to make an army to try the game out with....
Short drop, sudden stop.
Anyway I did some gaming this past Saturday; having something nearly akin to a convention of various games going on. I myself played 40k (lost), learned Alkemy (lost), taught Epic Armageddon (lost) and played Dark Age (and won, breaking the streak!).
Not bad for 7 hours.
The Swingularity needle is presently pointing to a trio of games, fueled in part by my friends and in part by my own inexplicable compass and it's constant teetering. Presently those games are:
Dark Age, where I have now only Brood; having traded my Skarrd to my friend Jeff. Of course no sooner do I do that than make efforts to acquire a nicely painted Dragyri force from Bartertown. I'm really enjoying this game despite its less-than-stellar level of support from its parent company.
Urban War. Largely the fault of Tim but I've dived in head first. We both had figures for Urban War when the game first came out, but somewhere along the way we lost interest in it. Around the end of last year the game sort of popped back on our radar and we have played a few games since. More imporantly has been the rapid acqusition of more models for the game - I've already added about 40 last month and am on track to add 60 or so more models to my collection this month. Madness.
Heavy Gear Blitz. SUCH a dark horse for me. I have always loved the world of Heavy Gear; it has been one of the best fleshed-out universes I've ever seen, and they made the anime conceit of Big Mecha Things work out very well in the canon. But I've never really enjoyed the game itself - I bought a good number of the miniatures a long time ago, got them painted, and then sat down to play with a friend...and found them hard to follow and even painful. Units had to practically standing next to one another to do damage. It just felt wrong and we pretty much boxed it up never to play again. However I've watched as HG: Blitz has come out...and the revised version, HG: Blitz Locked and Loaded, and I'm intrigued. I've been reading the rules and the army lists and trying to figure out what more I might need to make an army to try the game out with....
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