Daemonic Civil War!

Tuesday I wandered down the Dudley Darklords club after arranging a game against Luke, who is one of the local guys who plays there regularly. I took a scaled down version of my Warrington List, while Luke took a slightly modified version of the Heat One winning list (which you can read all about HERE and I do recomend it as it's done by everybodies favourite Warhammer Playing Austrailian, Bobo!). Now I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to win the game but I wasn't expecting the white washing I got!

The problems Luke's list presented were a Siren Song Herald being backed up by a Bloodthirster, The Masque, and a Khorne BSB Herald on a Jugger with the -2 Ld Banner. This basicly means that Luke can control the game by using Siren Song to pull in units which end up getting drawn into combat with the Bloodthirster, smashed to bits and then having to take a break test with an extra -3 to -5 to the test! Nasty enough, but chuck in my inability to roll dice (apart from Magic like getting Irresistible Force twice!) and it's no wonder that I lost.

My Dead Pile

My Expression after the game

Although there is lots of things I can try and blame, I think quite simply not knowing how to deal with the Characters in this list lost me the game. I think next time I should be more aggressive as Luke did seem a little unsure how to deal with my Character set up and I need to take out The Masque and BSB as soon as possible.

On another un-wargaming note, I gave Blood on Tuesday. Please visit http://www.blood.co.uk to find out where you can give a donation. Also remember it's generaly a pain free process, helps somebody who needs it, plus you get some biscuts at the end!

 

The Vow - Picking the Weapon

Feeling a lot better but still bunged up and still got loads of work floating around. Anyway, I've had a semi productive week. Firstly, I went up to Maelstrom Games on Monday with my mate Chris, as I wanted some toys and Chris has never seen the place. We both enjoyed it and we also took our WFB armies with us to play a game on the lovely tables in the shop. We both took our 2250 lists, with me using my Warrington Daemons and Chris using a Dwarf list. We decided to have a go at one of the GW GT Scenarios ending up picking Dawn Attack (the random deployment one). Chris gets fairly good rolls for his units and ends up with a deployment he wants while my army ends up a bit scattered, and Chris gets even luckier and wins the first turn which he takes. Expecting things to get down the drain, I brace myself for a round of plummeting war machine shots (Chris had two grudge throwers) and some how I get through the turn with a loss of three flesh hounds. Then Chris decides to use his Anvil and it promptly blows up and pretty much gives me the game. I then proceed to table Chris apart from one lone Dwarf model. It was a good game and I was happy I won, but we both agreed that never of us really learnt anything.


Anyway this Vow thingie. After deciding that I wanted to get a trophy, I needed to pick an army to use. Firstly I looked at Lizardmen but I found the list a bit samey and dull. Next I looked at VC and very nearly started an army of them because I found them interesting and different. But after some chats with Chris and giving into my temptations I'm going to go with Dark Elves. The main reasons for picking Dark Elves are:

• It's a very good army book with lots of options
• The models are nice
• The book is so good it will help me get up to the higher tables where I can play better players than me and learn new tricks

So yes it's a little bit of bandwagon jumping but I think it will help me so much over the coming year to succeed in my vow, as well as me learning a lot and improving to become a better player.

Work and Flu :(

There is going to be a sligh delay in my update about The Vow, mainly because I have flu like symptoms, don't feel too good, and a bit snowed under with work.

Plus note is that the Screaming Bell / Plague Funace is up for advanced order on the GW Site!

The Vow

Sounds rather dramatic but it's a bit of harmless fun, I promise. Okay a bit of background first. The Vow stems from two topics of thought from last week.

Thought One comes from when me and my Wife were watching the Pride of Britain awards last week and she was taking the mickey out of me for only having one award (Sportsmanship trophy from the WPS Club Challenge a couple of years ago) and lots of people being able to beat me at Wargaming (the subject of my Nan pops up when she played me once when I was 11 at 40k and she beat me).

Thought Two comes from me and a few mates preparing ourselves for the Sheffield Slaughter in Jan next year. Me and Chris are well up for this event as it looks a load of fun and both me and Chris want to attend more events next year and we would like our other mate, Stevyn to come. Now Stevyn has been going on for a bit now saying how he doesn’t understand why people take lots of skirmishers, shooting and big beasties, when they should be taking blocks of infantry. So we ask if he would like to go to the Sheffield Slaughter with us, where the rules have been designed to encourage lots of infantry blocks and limit shooting and big beasties. At the moment, Stevyn has decided not to come to Sheffield because he doesn’t like the rules and he doesn’t think that he would have his Dark Elves finished in time.


So by putting these ‘thoughts’ together I have come up with my fun project for the next year or so. The Vow is basically going to be me, doing my best to get at least one Trophy next year as well as painting a brand new army in time for Sheffield. I want a trophy because I want to raise my game in WFB and a new army because I want to be able to taunt Stevyn (in a fun way), that I finished two armies before he has even done his Dark Elves (considering he also has more free time than me!). So….

“I Vow to have a Trophy from a Warhammer Tournament by the end of 2010”

I’ll whack an update later on this week about the army I’ve chosen and why. See you soon!

More Rats of Doom!

On Thursday I got to see the new Skaven Plastics up close and personal and I can say that they are very nice. The Clan Rats are now one piece apart from right arms (for hand weapons or spears) and shields, so from a modeling point of view Skaven players have lost some flexibilty for assembling but gained a unit which is quite easy to assemble. The Doomwheel is a multi part plastic kit which looks very nice and has lots of conversion possiblities.

It also looks like I'm going to be doing Skaven because I quite like the models and my wife has been egging me on saying I should get them (it's true!). She's even brought me a box of Plague Monks to get me started (which may be renforced with some mates later today as I have to go past my local shop!).

On another note, pictures and rumours about the book has started popping up on the net. I haven't been paying the rumours too much attention as I want to enjoy reading the book when it pops out, but it looks like nobody is really crying about them being too hard or too soft yet. Picture wise, the Screaming Bell and Plague Furnace have popped up on the net. Thanks to nhohn from The Warhammer Forum (in this thread) has posted the following pictures....

The Plague Furnace

The Screaming Bell

So the Skaven book doesn't sound like it'll be in the same League as Dark Elves, Daemons of Chaos, Vampire Counts, and Lizardmen (I count them up with the big three), but it does sound like a fun book.

SKAVEN!!!

Nothing but a chitter for months that Skaven were being released and then GW release a horde of Vermintide by adding the New Skaven Releases for Advance Order!

As you can see from the lovely new model for Queek above (as well as the rest of the stuff on the GW site), they look fantastic and I'm really happy I waited for the new models as I've wanted an army of Skaven for a while now. Only downside is I would like to use them for some events I've got planned for the next few months, so I think it's unlikely that I'll be able to assemble an army of them on time (without resorting to Dip). It's safe to say that I'll be having the new army book when it comes out as well as asking for a few boxes for Christmas if I'm good.

Howling Wolves and Squats

I think this blog needs a bit of 40K love as I've been harping on a lot about WFB recently. Codex Space Wolves hits the stores tomorrow, along with some new metal character models and plastic kits to let you assemble an army of giant howling armoured barbarians with guns. I saw some of the plastics a few weeks ago in the flesh and they are very nice. I should be picking up a copy of the codex tomorrow as it gets me up early to avoid the rush at the local shopping centre, and I can mow the grass for hopefully the last time this year! I should put a review up in a few days minus the grass cutting. If you need to know what's coming out, check out this page on the GW site.

On a more important note, who remembers the Squats? Because if you do, you might be interested in getting this tongue in cheek model...


I personally love it. The only way you can get one is with a White Dwarf Subscription but more details will be available in November.

Battle Diary - Daemons of Poo!

I've just finished my game I had scheduled tonight against Chris and I thought I would keep a semi-regular Battle Diary thing. Partially because it's a nice entry and partially because I'm not quite ready for bed at the moment!

One of my main weaknesses is that I just don't play enough games and I'm not the sort of person who sits down and picks things up naturally for wargames (although strangely I can do this with computers which is great for work). So a pre new years resolution is to game more. Tonight I decided to try some different units out to see what they can do, as well as just playing some warhammer. The list I took is as follows..

Bloodthirster with 3+ Save, +1S and Flaming Attack with re-roll hits
Tzeentch Herald with Flames and Chariot
Tzeentch Herald with Flames and Chariot
Nurgle Herald
17 Plaguebearers with full command and standard of re-rolling wounds
13 Horrors
13 Horrors
5 Furies
5 Flesh Hounds
5 Flesh Hounds
5 Flamers
1 Fiend

Chris took roughly the following...

Runelord on Anvil with funky runes (dispel scroll and something which adds +2 to dispel)
BSB with Runic Standard of +1 to dispel
Dragon Slayer
10 Thunderers
10 Thunderers
10 Longbeards
10 Warriors
Grudgethrower with Flaming hits
2 Bolt Throwers
Slayers (can't remember how many but 12ish)
Miners
Organ Gun
Gyrocopter

Now I'm not going to go into a turn by turn report but I will highlight some things and my thoughts. Firstly the terrain scattered in such a way (we used the WPS Terrain rules) that one half the board length ways had all the terrain (lots of buildings), while the other half had a hill and swamp. Chris won the roll to pick sides and chose the side with buildings to deny me all the cover. We rolled for who got first turn and I chose to go first.

My basic plan was to shove the Bloodthirster down a flank with lots of cover while the other fast stuff went down the other and they would meet in the middle. So my Thirster goes RRAAAWWWGGHHH! and hurtles down the flank and ends up chasing a Gyrocopter off the board. Turns later he comes back on and is placed in a position to start smashing stuff but expecting to take a couple of wounds from shooting. All the Dwarfen war machines cause a wound but the Thunderers manage to kill him thanks to a Flurry of sixes for Chris and a Flurry of ones for me!

On the other side of the board my fast attack force fares a little better but is all killed. The Fiend is killed by a Bolter and Thunderers, and the Chariots attempt to shoot up some stuff with magic and flames only to be handbaged by a counter charged by Anviled Warriors and later the miners once Chris remembered he had them. The Flesh Hounds end up in the Slayers guarding the Anvil and die eventually due to a long 7 round combat. The rest of my army is picked off by shooting and Anvil counter charges and Chris gets a Massacre!

Lessons Learned are....

• Daemons do not equal an instant win!
• I'm starting to think more about my turn and what I want to do rather than randomly doing stuff.

I still need to play more but I do feel I'm doing better than what I would be as I'm looking more at what I'm doing. I just need to learn how to look a couple of turns ahead and I might start winning games. My army needs to be tweaked as I felt it didn't have much synergy, but Dwarfs are a bit oddball to play because they can deflate the magic phase as well as having a strong shooting phase. I'm going to try and play Stevyn next and his Dark Elves or maybe go to the local club and get a game!

Heelanhammer Shoutout

I'm just off to play a game of WFB in a bit with my Chaos Daemons against Chris's Dwarfs (I'm going to give the Bloodthirster a go in some proxy action!), I thought I would give a quick shoutout to Heelanhammer.

Like Podhammer and Bad Dice, Heelanhammer is a Warhammer Fantasy Podcast but in my own humble opinion it beats both with a big beat stick. Dan and Wayne are easy to listen to on the ears and while they can ramble on about off topic stuff, it still keeps on track by being about the hobby. Also slap on a big dollop of hobby related stuff (they give advice about how to paint good) and it's a really good podcast. So if you like WFB podcasts, download Heelanhammer and give it a listen.

Also for those folks who haven't been to the GW site for a while, it's worth visiting to have a look at the Astronomican. Basically the Astronomican is a kind of blog site where the guys at GW put up info about any new articles added to the site, as well as pictures about new models coming out or really cool pictures taken of things people have sent in.