Trollbloods Steamroller Success

I recently took my Trollbloods force to a local Steamroller, and managed to win the event. I was really pleased with the success, as I have a fairly competitive meta here in the Western PA, Eastern OH, Northern WV area. I was lucky and faced one newer player, but still had to push through two tougher ones on my way to the win. It was a three round event, with strength of schedule as first tiebreak and control points second.

Here are the two lists that I brought. Certainly nothing absurdly special with them.

I’ve seen lots of variations in the Doomshaper2 list that are close–I like the Trollkin Warders personally, but others can vary on the sort of defensive package they give to the old man Troll. As for the Grissel2 list, I’m hardly sold on it as an approach. I tested it exactly once after painting her up, so it was much more theory than practice.

However, because the event had no Divide and Conquer restrictions, I simply ended up playing Doomshaper3 in all three matches. Only in the third match, against Skarre1, did I find myself thinking that maybe Grissel2 would have been better. But Doomy2 proved able to exploit my opponent’s moves well enough that I managed the win.

I took the Armory as my objective in both, as this list has some severe problems with incorporeal troops–and we have a player who frequents the locale of this store who had been prepping games with a many-incorporeals Ghost Fleet list recently. Being able to hand out magic weapon didn’t come up in any of my games, but it would have been handy if I needed it.

Game One was against Larry IV’s Circle Orboros list, helmed by Kaya3. His other list was Kromac2, and I recognized that both had enough meat and enough transfers to likely survive Grissel2 assassination attempts. So Doomy2 it was. Kaya3 took an aggressive stance with her beasts and stones, which would be a good plan against many forces–but Doomshaper2 can get his Warbeasts WAY further than people expect. Mulg was able to crash up into his Warbeasts and take one out and a stone. Rok came up on the other side and mulched a full unit of Skinwalkers, leaving his force in a vice between them–with two other heavies trailing. He was unable to clear either Mulg or Rok, and that meant that they slowly caved in the sides and ended up taking out Kaya3.

Second game was against Dave’s Oracles theme list led by Absylonia2. I had never played Dave before, so it was great to meet a new player–and he’s an amazingly interesting guy. Looking at his options, again there was no way that Grissel2 could get the assassination done. Plus, Doomshaper2 has good ways to make warbeast-heavy lists have to play conservatively. So it was Doomy2 again. Thanks to Doomy’s Agitation, I was able to get the game to the point where Absylonia2 felt she needed to go for objective. That meant I could take a shot at killing her. I took two free strikes (from a Neraph and a Nyss Sorceress on Hellion) on Mulg, but had pre-placed a whelp just in case adjacent to his landing zone. I got lucky with the damage done to him, and he was able to reach Abby2 on Feat turn–and Mulg was able to finish her off. Dave was a great opponent, and I felt like I managed to eke out a lucky win against him. Next time I definitely will not be that lucky. (note that I forgot to take a picture with Mulg standing there before I packed up, so the above shot is just Dave’s great-painted Abby2 and company).

My third game was against Ian’s Cryx force. I last played Ian in a tournament at the end of Mark II, also facing Skarre1 then (that time I was fielding my Cryx). It was fun to revisit our old clash. As I said above, I thought about Grissel2 as I would have on-paper liked her into this list more. But the threat of Gaspy3 as his other list led me to think that I’d need the caster who could power thru a Gaspy3 Feat turn on damage if I needed to. He ended up dropping Skarre1, so the battle was on. I got lucky in the way that he spaced his jam unit, allowing Rok to just start chain-killing them right down the line. He then counter-charged his two Seethers into Rok. A spawned whelp from the damage let me repair the branch that I lost from their attack, and go right into killing the pair of Seethers and even getting up to damage Deathjack. More importantly, though, the counter charge left a straight path for Mulg to reach Skarre1. Again, the distance the “slow” Trolls can get on Feat turn can really surprise opponents. Mulg finished it off with ease, and that left me in the top spot for the tourney.

Overall I had a really fun time with the tourney, but I’m going to take it for what it is. Doomy2 definitely is a “fool me once” kind of Warlock. Once people know how he runs and what he can do, they can better space and obstruct and really limit his game. I’m definitely inclined to keep fielding him, but I recognize I’ve got to get to the point where my other lists are able to do heavy lifting too. That said, it was good to get a tournament win and I’m looking forward to testing my Trollbloods mettle in the future.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

273/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 64 (Win/Loss 45/19/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

12 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2, Helynna, Stryker2, Craye, Venethrax, Kaya3, Absylonia2, Skarre1) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Protectorate of Menoth:

3 Wins (Kaelyssa, Magnus2, Skarre1) / 7 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov, Kryssa, Fiona, Gaspy3)

Convergence of Cyriss:

9 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten, Kaelyssa, Vayl2, Gaspy1) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

Warders gonna Ward

Another two weeks, another load of painting and games put in. As always, I’ll start with the painting. Finished a new Warlock, Grissel2, and a unit of Trollkin Warders to accompany her. Plus I also completed a Trollkin Sorcerer (getting ready to face Ghost Fleets in my local meta).

I like her as an assassination threat, and for what she can enable for infantry. Maybe it’s my experience with Amon, but handing out Parry can be pretty solid for loads of tricksy play.

This unit turned out really well. I’m quite pleased with the result. Ton of work in, but good payoff in the end product.

Hehe, this guy looks so silly. My friend Dan always says “hey can you read this to me” about another player’s Trollkin Sorcerer, as they printed the text on the outside of the scroll. I was careful to put the runes inside–so he was the one reading it.

In addition to all the Trollbloods painting, I also finished some Convergence of Cyriss pieces in my slow build toward that force: A Cipher and an Optifex Directive.

I swear those arms look like rockets–but he shoots from the face-gun. What a silly faction.

I really liked these guys, and I’m feeling like some of the more characterful infantry of the faction are going to be my painting draw. Next up, I’m leaning toward some Clockwork Angels or some Eradicators.

While I painted some Convergence, gaming has been entirely Trollbloods these past couple of weeks. I’m definitely feeling the groove of Trolls–which is good, given our upcoming summer campaign that is Trollbloods-focused.

First game was against Steve’s Retribution, and my frequent nemesis Helynna. She is a thoroughly solid Warcaster, and he always pilots her well. I was able to leverage Grissel2’s assassination threat to finally finish her off. Being able to free up the Pyg Bushwhackers without need of their expensive UA (thanks to her Dash spell) is a huge boost to them and their ability to put some steady damage on assassination targets.

Next I faced Andy’s Cyngar, led by Caine2. I wanted to get a shot of how cool he looks, because Andy did a great job with the conversion and the paint scheme. Caine managed to inflict enough damage on himself that I finished him off through the course of an extended game with my Madrak2 force. I mucked at least one thing up (Blood Fury is warrior model/unit), but it was somewhat inconsequential. I’ve been thinking of Madrak2 in Band of Heroes theme as a good answer to some concerns in my meta, so I wanted to get some reps with him. Great game full of Trolls beating on stuff and my opponent coming up short on rolls other than with his Warcaster–I’m looking forward to the rematch as Andy is always a great player.

More Madrak2 versus Cyngar, this time against Mike’s beautifully painted force. I included this picture because the model just looked so good. Madrak2 would go on to take a free strike from this guy, walk around, and smack Craye to death (he’s just out of the shot). Was a good game, and Mike had the upper hand in attrition–but got a little too close with Craye, who could have been far further back.

My final game was against Charles’ Cryx. We continued with our on-again, off-again narrative campaign that he’s constructed, reaching the conclusion this time. The vault had been opened by the Skorne, though in the process Morghoul had been felled. Yet, other powers were interested in what emerged. My Trollbloods, led by Grim2, got to the ruin first. Grim found a strange shade lurking there, and he managed to use his magical force to bind the creature. A good thing, as it attempted to possess him!

A battle ensued as Lich Lord Venethrax also came seeking the power revealed from the opened ruin. Grim had to try and get the bound spirit, with its escaping energy, back to the Kriel where Doomshaper was waiting with the ritual to truly set the creature at rest. That meant his force had to sell themselves dearly in the process of delaying Venethrax’s advance. Grim managed to escape as the Trolls held on just long enough. The Trollkin Scouts managed to charge Venethrax alongside a Stone Scribe Chronicler–however his defensive abilities caused their thrown axes to miss horribly and fell allies (a Storm Troll that was assisting). Their assault blunted, it was all they could do to simply die under Venethrax’s blade while allowing Grim to make good his escape.

As always, a great set of games. Especially the story campaign I informally did with Charles. That was a fun way to motivate our games together. I normally game on Thursdays, but Charles can really only get Sunday games in–so we agreed that doing a little story would keep our games fresh despite playing each other alternate weeks. I would definitely recommend that approach for anyone who has a limited set of opponents. Having the routine special scenarios that told a small story made it lots of fun. I can’t wait for the next one!

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

273/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 61 (Win/Loss 42/19/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

9 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2, Helynna, Stryker2, Craye, Venethrax) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Protectorate of Menoth:

3 Wins (Kaelyssa, Magnus2, Skarre1) / 7 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov, Kryssa, Fiona, Gaspy3)

Convergence of Cyriss:

9 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten, Kaelyssa, Vayl2, Gaspy1) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

March of the Kriels Summer 2017

Campaign Rules

The March of the Kriels is an open event that will run at Drawbridge Games during Summer 2017 until it is completed (estimated 12 weeks). The campaign fits with the current Privateer Press fluff, focusing on a mass exodus of the more major Trollbloods Kriels moving southward to Tolok Fortress in the Jungles of Alchiere. The campaign is designed for people to play different points levels but still participate, whether one game or many.

The goal is simple: to see which Trollbloods Kriel arrives at the Fortress first. We’ll be tracking the progress of each Kriel–as represented by their leader Warlock–as they make the journey through the various environs in the massive exodus. Trollbloods players will be able to progress their forces as they choose by playing and winning games. Opposition players will be able to prevent progress by continuing to foil the Trollbloods advance.

The campaign map will be a 12-foot long banner that gets hung at Drawbridge, which will feature each of the 12 steps along the way. As Trollbloods win games, they will move one space. If they lose on scenario, they stay put, and a loss by assassination moves them back a space. Think the Mountain Climber game from the Price is Right for the feel of how this will go. Each Thursday at 10pm the results will be tallied, and the markers moved.

The first part of the Journey features some treacherous mountains and hills punctuated by enemy strongholds.

The second part of the Journey starts pleasant enough, but soon sees the Trollbloods winding their way through the Bloodstone Desert.

The third part of the Journey sees the Trollbloods cross into Alchiere, and finally reach Tolok Fortress.

This is a great opportunity to start up a Trollbloods army if you haven’t, or play against one of our Trollbloods players. A few forces can also ally with a Troll Kriel if they choose: Khador and Mercenaries can choose to have their games contribute to the Trollbloods’ cause. However, given that these are allies not the Kriels themselves, it takes two declared “ally wins” to move a given Warlock’s Kriel one step forward on the map. And all the other forces, plus these if they’re feeling belligerent, get to strive to slow the Trolls by defeating their forces along the way of the journey.

While most of the Trollbloods Kriels are making the journey in the fluff, a couple of Warlocks are notably absent from the progress (Borka and Horgle). Thus, we’ll be tracking the advances of only those Warlocks who are on the path.

Participating Kriels: Calandra, Grim, Grissel, Doomshaper, Gunnbjorn, Madrak, Jarl, and Ragnor. (Note: it was unclear if Ragnor or Jarl were actually on the path in the fluff, but to allow more options, particularly to new Trollbloods players, we figured we’d let players field them)

We’re hoping that the fun of telling the story will be a big part of why people participate in this mad race for the end. Trollbloods players (or people starting Trollbloods) can jockey for their preferred Warlock’s success. Meanwhile, everyone can play spoiler and obstacle. The campaign will kick off on June 8th with a quick IKRPG scenario that sets up the events, followed by the inaugural games.

However, we also know that campaign rewards are a great way to get games moving–so check the section below for the great prizes that Drawbridge is making available to players.

Campaign Rewards

There will be an entry fee for the Campaign of $10 to cover the production costs for the map and combine with the prize support generously offered by Drawbridge games to enable the following rewards. As always, players do need to be Gatecrasher members.

Adversary incentives: We wanted to make sure that there were ample opponents for the Trollbloods players to face. Thus, participating players can rack up “Adversary” points. They accumulate with a point per game played against a Trollbloods player (25 points or more), or 1/2 a point for a Battle Box game (0 points). At 10 points, the player wins a new Warcaster or Warlock. Upon entering the league, the player will list what Warcasters or Warlocks they have for their adversary force–when they hit 10 points, they’ll receive a free surprise Warcaster or Warlock that they don’t yet have for that force. At 16 points, the player will receive an additional surprise Privateer Press official item that matches their preferred Adversary force. We’re estimating the campaign pace as more than 10 weeks, so even players who only get in a single game per week can still make the initial mark. Finally, adversary struggles and success will be featured in the campaign reporting as the story of the journey gets told.

Trollbloods players incentives: Just like adversary points, players can rack up “Kriel” points. They accumulate at the same rate, and yield the same rewards. Thus, a really ambitious player can get themselves a Troll Warlock and one other Warcaster/Warlock for the adversary force that they fielded! Trollbloods players also will receive the free surprise official Privateer Press item we’re arranging to mark their participation in the event. And finally, the progress of the Trollbloods players will be tracked and reported, with a feature on each Trollbloods player and their progress.

Tristan and Tournament

So I started this week by reading the great new novel set in the Iron Kingdoms: Godless, by Orrin Grey. It tells the story of Sovereign Tristan Durant (Durant2), and it’s a great piece of fiction that focuses on the Protectorate. I got so wrapped up in the story that I thought: I’ve got to paint this model. I had picked him up a long time ago (yay for friends who went to GenCon 2016), so it was good to paint him up to get him onto the table.

Sovereign Tristan Durant. I’m pleased with the look of him, as I am with all of my Protectorate. He’s an intriguing Warcaster, so I was pumped to get him onto the field of battle.

I also finished up Eyriss1 this week, as I needed her for my Kreoss1 that I’m working on. His Feat enables assassinations. If Eyriss1 can then get a shot on the knocked-down Warcaster or Warlock, then it’s surely game over.

First up, I got in a couple of games with Sovereign Tristan Durant to see if I wanted to run him in the upcoming Steamroller tournament.

His first outing as a painted Warcaster was against Ryan’s Cryx and Asphyxious3. In the battle of Warjacks, the fight goes to the squad that can gain souls/focus for Focus spent by models. Tristan got a little too close to Gaspy3, and paid for it with a nasty melee loss. It was certainly a fun game, as Ryan is a great opponent, but Tristan hit the dirt hard.

My second test of Tristan Durant2 was against Savage’s Mercenaries led by Fiona the Black. Again, I am blessed to be in a fun meta with such great players. This was a great slug-fest. He finally managed to finish off Tristan with a few shots and a spell from his Warcaster. Was super-fun and I learned a lot about my list. Durant2 can be defensive if he’s camping enough, but he’s still vulnerable in ways as his survivability tends to come from what surrounds him.

These games convinced me that I was nowhere near ready for a tournament with Durant2. I like what he does, but finding a way to not be punished due to the slow speed seems critical. So for the tournament, I took my Kreoss1 list (now with the finished Eyriss1). I planned to play it for most match-ups, except those where I felt like there was some manner of assassination vector. I decided to pair him with Feora2. I like her abilities somewhat, and with the right support she can be definitely defensive. She at least seemed like a good look into infantry lists or lists that would be safe from Kreoss1’s knockdown shenanigans.

So what did I face in all three games? Two lists that were safe from knockdown shenanigans and one that was infantry-heavy. I ended up dropping Feora2 all three games. Which was hardly my plan nor my preferred option. Still, she worked okay in a few matches. I’ll discuss each below in slightly more depth.

First game I was paired against Charles’ Kryssa list. I had to drop Feora2 because I knew he would be taking this option full of battle engines and serpentine models (maybe four models can be knocked down in the whole force?). I bumbled more than a few things in the game and he very effectively picked apart my force. I scared him with a Flame Step assassination attempt, but Feora2 didn’t have the focus nor the dice to finish his Warlock off, and I was crushed in return.

Second game I laughed because I got paired against Savage. His first question: “did you bring Durant2?” Nope! With two lists that carried more muscle than Kreoss1’s list and ways to avoid knockdown in both, it had to be Feora2 again. This one went much the same as the last one, if not even worse. I was jammed into my initial spot and coping with the fast loss of my stuff. All I could do was light most of his force on fire and then watch him take out my models. With pretty much only Feora2 left, I had to use a desperation play–Flame Step and then try to spell Magnus2 to death. Luckily he had left Magnus2 without Focus, spending it to help take out my collossal with Calamity. I managed to hit with the spells and flamethrower, and that spelled the end of Magnus2.

Third game was against Bill’s Cryx army. It was the new Ghost Fleet theme list with Skarre1 as the Warcaster. Because of the numbers and the incorporeal volume, I figured that the Judicator getting magic weapon from the Armory objective would have to be my play. Turned out that I had all the wrong tools except for Feora2. He did a great job dismantling my army. But Feora2 is just hard to kill–and she managed to set up in a spot of danger that still had a threat on Skarre1.

Bill brought his whole force against Feora2, and totally should have killed her. His dice went completely sour on him, which is saying something under Skarre’s dark guidance. Feora2 managed to survive two warjacks and about six ghost pirates. Then it was a simple flame step, charge, and kill Skarre1 in melee.

I ended 2-1 for the Tournament, which I was very pleased about. That record left me in the top half of finishers, which seemed great to me given that I was stuck playing Feora2 in all three matches. All-in-all a good event and a good learning experience with my Protectorate.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

223/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 57 (Win/Loss 38/19/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

5 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Convergence of Cyriss:

9 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten, Kaelyssa, Vayl2, Gaspy1) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Protectorate of Menoth:

3 Wins (Kaelyssa, Magnus2, Skarre1) / 7 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov, Kryssa, Fiona, Gaspy3)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

Axis of Evil

Flip flop, flip flop. Back to fooling with some Convergence. I managed to paint a bit more for the force, so I took a new Warcaster for a test-spin. Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer. Haven’t finished his paint job yet, so no photos of him. But here’s what I did get done:

Two of the light vectors: a Galvanizer and a Diffuser. These are fun little models, but I’m still somewhat iffy on my paint scheme with them. Dunno, just seems bland–which leads to me always drifting to other models.

I played three games trying out Axis, and found him to be a fairly enjoyable Warcaster. I like control casters a lot, and I think he has enough control between his Feat and the Razor Wall, that he can get the job done.

My first game with Axis was against Steve’s Retribution, a frequent foe of mine. He gave a good try on killing Axis with a ranged assassination, but the shield guard ability of the servitors in the theme list, along with Axis’ high armor, kept him from being killed. He returned the favor by crashing into her lines and starting the attrition struggle. It ended when she was trapped by the killbox and my models, and couldn’t escape the advance range of the Iron Aggression Inverter.

Played my second game with Axis against Ryan’s Legion of Everblight force and Vayl2. I was able to close the gap on his infantry with the Transfinite Emergence Projector, and the Feat plus some counter-charging warjacks kept his force from getting meaningfully engaged. With attrition well on my side, he had to take the shot at spell assassination on my Warcaster. It wasn’t a particularly good look to begin with given what I was camping, but it got extra awful as he rolled some misses with spells. Axis waded in and killed Vayl2 himself after weathering the storm.

My third Axis outing was against a new person in our area, Kyle. He’s getting back into the game after having played in Mark II, and he ran Cryx with Gaspy1 and all the banes. I felt bad, because that’s a dream match-up for Axis’ feat plus Razor Wall. He had to try his feat to get some breathing room, but it didn’t do enough work to buy him an opening. My warjacks cleared the path over two turns, and finally the Inverter got in on his Warcaster and finished the game. He was a fun opponent to play, and he suffered thru the rough treatment of Axis’ control game with aplomb.

All-in-all I enjoyed Axis hitting the table. Whether I’m really into Convergence for the long term remains to be seen. Something about painting them is just slow with me, and no matter how well I’m doing with games, I tend to be a complete hobbyist–and draw passion from painting models I’m going to field. We’ll see going forward!

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

210/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 52 (Win/Loss 36/16/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

5 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Convergence of Cyriss:

9 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten, Kaelyssa, Vayl2, Gaspy1) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Protectorate of Menoth:

1 Win (Kaelyssa) / 4 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

The Behemoth Approaches

Don’t worry, frequent readers–I’m not starting another Warmachine faction and painting a big nasty for Khador. Rather, this is the inital set-up for my new 40k project. With the new rules coming out for 8th edition 40k, and the promise that starting a small new team for Shadow War holds, it’s time to explore some Genestealer Cult.

I’m envisioning them as a preparatory force, hiding and making way for the arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth to a system. There’s a little note in the fluff about the second spot the Hive Fleet struck and consumed: Occulus. The 5th edition codex has the following mention: “Occulus was a moon-sized observator station caught in Behemoth’s path as it pushed onwards past Tyran. The station was a bio-artefact claimed by the Imperium nine thousand years earlier and was devoured, along with its crew.”

I figure that a bio-artefact would be a popular mining spot in addition to the Observator station–to research the artefact and what resources it might provide. In some way (I’ll determine later) a Genestealer Cult could have formed on the planet, and been a part of the lure of the fleet to the system. With splinter cults on a variety of other planets in the system (to represent the other types of battles/foes they may face), it is a fun way to origin my force. At least that’s my starting notion about the force.

In deference to the picture above, I wanted to work on painting the different generations first to get my sense of how they would look. And I wanted them to be of the strain that would lure Behemoth, so figured the distinctive red chitin with blue plates look from that Hive Fleet. This is my first shot at the different generations (akin to the art above).

I’m pleased with how they turned out, and they’re going to look really good as groups I think. For a special added bonus, the guy on the far right is in the colors of the Macragge planetary defense force that my good gaming buddy Justin painted up as allies for his extensive Ultramarines force. I figure that clashes against him made sense, which is why I chose the Hive Fleet Behemoth look in the first place.

Now that I’ve got the colors down, my first stop is to get a full group painted up for Shadow War: Armageddon. That way I can get some games in while still working on the basic building blocks of my force.

Harbinger of Menoth

Ah, the complicated existence of someone who cannot settle in and paint just one type of model over and over. Just as I’m getting started with Convergence of Cyriss, I start to feel like I want to paint something else. Of course, that means my plan to play only one Warmachine faction and one Hordes faction in 2017 has been long-since lost (this week’s games makes 3 different Warmachine factions and two Hordes).

I figured that if I wanted a change in painting I’d better do something worth my time. So I finally painted up a model that’s been intimidating me for a while: The Harbinger of Menoth. I assembled her last September or October, and got some initial colors on to her model before I stopped. It was time to get going and get her completed. That led to even more model completion from amid some of the Protectorate stuff I have acquired.

I’m pretty pleased with how the model turned out. I honestly like the scheme for the penitents who are towing her along maybe more than Harbinger–I definitely need to complete my Choir and add some Zealots and the Covenant to my painting queue. That said, I also like how Harbinger turned out. The red armor is something that I’m really getting comfortable with, and I think it works well on the tabletop.

I also painted up a Mercenary model: Rhupert Carvolo, the Piper of Ord. As I will never, ever play Cygnar, he really is only for my Protectorate force. So I made sure that some elements of his clothes and armor matched with the look of my Protectorate force. But I still wanted him to be a bit different, so I made the odd orange color that I use for occasional sashes on Protectorate models the dominant color on him. It also gave me a chance to explore some rudimentary plaid patterns on the bag pipes.

On the gaming side of things, well… if I’ve got new models painted I want to play them. So out came my Protectorate for a few games–all using Harbinger as my Warcaster.

First up, a match against Ryan’s classic-scheme Skorne, led by Makeda1. This game would have ended in a win for me, but it was his first time fielding Molik Karn and he messed up a bit of the order of activation in going for the long-distance kill run. I was happy to let Ryan sort it out, and Molik did indeed finish off the Harbinger. Was a fun game, and taught me that I need more bodies in the force. Even if I’m planning on only using Martyrdom on a few, I need to have that stand-off space in the army.

Second game I played against Larry’s Cryx, led by Deneghra1. The bulk of the force was two units of Satyxis Raiders and a unit of Satyxis Witches. It was a fun game, it was a curious puzzle for how engagement would go for both of us. I ended up losing thanks in large part to feedback damage from the Raiders’ whips. I definitely need to be ready for that in future games, and have more of an answer for infantry than I did. Of course, I also forgot to set my unit of Flamebringers on the table, and that really hurt my ability to be anti-infantry. Hopefully I can get a rematch in sometime against this force, as I think I’d like to see how I can go about the puzzle of stopping all those high-defense models a second time.

My third game was against Steve’s Retribution, led by Kaelyssa. This was an odd battle–his warjacks were definitely ahead in attrition, but they were all clusters on one end of the battlefield–while the critical action was taking place elsewhere. Eventually the Flamebringers closed their way in on Kaelyssa and managed to kill her in a round of swirling melee.

Followed those games with a game against Dan’s Retribution of Scyrah. Was glad to see him back into the hobby after a break, but less glad to see the one Mage Hunter Assassin that managed to slip past my back line. I presumed it would go for support staff, as I had 15 hit points and only 2 damage on Harbinger. But he went for her instead, cranked the damage roll, and killed her in a single hit. Bad risk-taking on my part to be sure. Still a very fun game, as Harbinger’s feat and Protectorate shenanigans posed a tough puzzle for his infantry-heavy force.

Next took my Protectorate against a newer player in our meta–yet another Andy. He’s working on a Cygnar force, but also had some Khador. He took Kozlov, and as Harbinger is kind of wonky for newer players to face, I took Feora2. While the first-starting Redeemer did amazing work, and she had a silly amount of focus on her feat turn, she couldn’t pull off a personal assassination. Kozlov’s defense gets powerfully high with any sort of buff to increase it, and my dice went cold in the game. Feora2 suffered a Juggernaut to the back as a result of the failed assassination run, and that was that.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

199/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 49 (Win/Loss 33/16/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Protectorate of Menoth:

1 Win (Kaelyssa) / 4 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov)

Trollbloods:

5 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Convergence of Cyriss:

6 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

Shadow War: Armageddon

I’m a rather infrequent Warhammer 40k player, but I have a Tau army that I’ve been monkeying with painting amidst all the Warmachine/Hordes and Bolt Action in my painting queue. With the release of the new Necromunda rules, I mean Shadow War: Armageddon rules, I wanted to get a team finished up and ready for some games.

Given that this rule set really is just a return to Necromunda, I wanted to give my Tau the right feel for wars in the Hive stacks. Thus, I had to ensure that they had the proper mohawks to fit in with the local gangs.

I figured that the Water Caste must have studied up on Hive Gang operations before committing the team, and recognized that many Hive Gangs in Necromunda (their study site) used raised tufts of hair down the centers of their heads to identify themselves. Given that the Tau would certainly want to be culturally respectful, they had to don such garb themselves.

Here’s the full force for the game. It’s the Pathfinders with mohawks, plus the Recon Drone, a Juvie Tau armed with only a combat knife (my Tau dock worker), and the Tau local operations translator human that I’ve used before.

Little Skorne and Trolls / Lots of Lucant

This has been one of those two-week cycles where I ended up playing three different factions. I definitely need to get focused, but of course, instead I’m all over the place. I did get a bit of painting done, so that before the games:

Conservator for my Convergence of Cyriss force. Definitely a pain to paint, as the little flying hover base is bothersome at best. Still, I’m pleased with the results.

On the game front, I got in a game with my Skorne (Morghoul2), a game with my Trollbloods (Hunters Grim), and three games with my Convergence of Cyriss. I’ll describe each in turn.

First off, I faced Michael’s amazingly painted Trollbloods army. I’ve been running a fair amount of Immortals with Zaal2, and I wanted to see if other warlocks might work with them–so I experimented with Morghoul2, as his Feat plus Mortality could make make Immortals survivable against infantry and hit like a truck against anything they target.

We played the Entrenched scenario from Steamroller 2016, and things went a bit more pear-shaped than I wanted them to. I was making great progress on my opponent’s zone, but his heavy Warbeasts on my right flank were chewing their way to my Warlock faster than I wanted to see. It soon became clear that he was going to clear my zone and start scoring faster than I could his.

Recognizing I needed to do something, I set up Morghoul2 to get a chance to go in for the kill on Horgle2. When I tried it, Horgle2 only had a single transfer. Yet still I came up just short–two hit points. With Morghoul2 bloodied and out of Fury, Horgle2 returned the favor and finished off my Warlock with his flaming weapons.

Having just played against Trollbloods, I was suddenly itching to field my own. They’ve been on a bit of a vacation along with my Protectorate of Menoth recently. So I swapped Grim2 into a list that I had been working on with Jarl, and gave him a whirl.

I faced off against a different Michael, but again with a beautifully painted force–this time Circle Orboros led by Kaya2. The battle was pretty close at the end–I took a chance on assassination using Grim2’s Feat turn, and came up just short. I got lucky with Grim2’s distance keeping him safe, so while Michael did a great job caving in two heavies on my right flank, I had a few ranged models left with enough attacks on the Warlock to get her in the second time around. Mage Sight is a great tool against Circle, so I had a list advantage at the start. A great game against an always-fun opponent!

So while I’m a Hordes player at heart, I still have been fiddling with a variety of Warmachine lists. I’m liking what Lucant does with Convergence, even if the models are a bit less interesting to paint. I snuck in three games with them to get in more practice. All three times were the same Lucant list that I had some success with in the Appalachian Cup qualifier I attended.

First I faced Steve’s Retribution army, headed by Helynna. Both lists proved to be quite sturdy, but I managed to push my way to 5 to 3 victory in the Take and Hold scenario.

Second game was against Ryan’s Skorne, led by Makeda1. This battle was much more iffy, as I wasn’t exactly trading well against her forces. I saw an opening, so I used a Cipher to do a Slam power attack–that got a Cyclops to fly over Makeda1 and knock her down (with it dying in the process). I was able to fuel a Galvanizer to move in and finish her off. A close battle and lots of fun!

Final game was against Rico’s Rhulic Mercenaries force. He took his Earthbreaker and Siege Crawler, with ample gun bunnies and some Ogryn Assault Corps. It was a tough test of the Lucant-in-theme’s shooting defenses, but I managed to weather the storm and eventually trade heavies to get the Earthbreaker off the table. Lucant won by assassination the turn after.

All-in-all a good set of games. I’m blessed to have a great meta where four different shops have open Warmachine and Hordes gaming space.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

181/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 44 (Win/Loss 32/12/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Convergence of Cyriss:

6 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Trollbloods:

5 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

Steam for the Steamroller

So I’m just starting out with some Convergence of Cyriss. What better place to practice than a Steamroller? Answer: plenty. This week I attended a qualifier for the Appalachian Cup tournament and finished Fifth overall with my Convergence. I also got in a healthy amount of painting and a quick game with my Skorne as well.

First, as always, is the painting:

Corollary. The essential piece of Convergence technology. And an amazing puzzle to be solved while playing. Getting it in the right spot to start AND end your turns for maximum focus efficiency is a definite art form. And I’m just starting out.

The Convergence theme list Destruction Initiative is all the rage, so I had to get some servitors ready to go with it. Above are my first finished ones: two groups of Reflex Servitors. Little mechanical land mines waiting to blow up enemy infantry.

For the Steamroller, I managed to get enough silver base coat onto everything to make it at least passably appealing, and broke my general rule of “play it painted”. I went down to Morgantown, WV for a qualifier for the Appalachian Cup, and had a great time. I played two new people, one person I haven’t faced since Mark II, and a player I’ve run into in fun games as well as tourney games in the past. I brought two lists, a Lucant list in theme and a Sytherion list with some infantry. If you’re the one person that actually follows my blog, you’ll know that I’ve at least played Lucant once before–but I’ve never had Syntherion hit the table. With the requirement of fielding each list at least once in the tourney, I was surprised to finish where I did. My only loss was with that Syntherion list of untested awfulness (tho I lost more to the quality play of my opponent to be sure). I’ll share my Father Lucant list below, as that was the only list that’s worth sharing:

Convergence of Cyriss – Lucant
Theme: Destruction Initiative
4 / 4 Free Cards 75 / 75 Army
Bunker – Steamroller Objective

Father Lucant, The Divinity Architect – WJ: +28
– Corollary – PC: 6 (Battlegroup Points Used: 6)
– Inverter – PC: 15 (Battlegroup Points Used: 15)
– Cipher – PC: 16 (Battlegroup Points Used: 7)
– Cipher – PC: 16
– Conservator – PC: 12
– Diffuser – PC: 6
– Galvanizer – PC: 5

Transfinite Emergence Projector – PC: 19
– Permutation Servitors

Reflex Servitors – 3 Reflex Servitors: 0
Reflex Servitors – 3 Reflex Servitors: 0
Attunement Servitors – 3 Attunement Servitors: 0
Attunement Servitors – 3 Attunement Servitors: 0

Optifex Directive – Leader & 2 Grunts: 4
Optifex Directive – Leader & 2 Grunts: 4

THEME: Destruction Initiative
—
GENERATED : 04/04/2017 14:15:08
BUILD ID : 2038.17-03-15

My first game, I squared off against Andrew M’s Maddox list in theme. The cool thing about these qualifiers is that lists are submitted in advance, and pairings for the first round are made public. Andrew had a Sloan list as well as Maddox, and given my Lucant list I had a pretty good idea that that’s what I had to drop no matter what–but that he would know that and likely drop Maddox. I was correct, and we faced off. Attrition was mixed for both of us, but my servitors slowed him down a bit. He had an opening to have both of his heavies beat back into Lucant, so he went for it. The first was stopped with Watcher, but the second did get there. Lucant got lucky on damage rolls and I was able to survive the attempt and go on to win. It was a great game, and Andrew was definitely the most fun opponent I’ve played in quite some time. Was a great game, and it was for sure luck that got me thru–a bit higher on his final roll and Lucant would have been dirt.

Second game I faced Rob’s Helynna list, that featured three Manticores. Syntherion was my drop as there were too many weapon masters on his side of the table for Lucant’s warjack-heavy list. I made a bunch of mistakes in the game that didn’t help me any, but Rob was also clearly in better positions and able to dictate the flow of the game. It was fun, but I definitely need to get some practice in with Syntherion before fielding him again. With a loss, but not locked in a later round, I proceeded onward.

Third game was against Josh’s Haley2 list (again, choosing his not-Sloan drop due to Lucant being a likely drop from me). It went much like my first game against Cygnar. Good opponent, fun match up, got to the point where he went for it on Lucant and came up short. At that point, with Haley’s feat gone, he was going to lose his Stormclad to Lucant and there were three Convergence heavies positioned to charge the Stormwall–not to mention Haley2 standing far too close to Warjacks for comfort. Ended with a win for me.

My fourth game I faced Larry IV’s Minions. He had Rask and Barnabas, and he saw clearly that I was likely to drop Lucant. With all those steady models, Rask seemed like the effective choice. We had a good match, maneuvering around the central zone of the Pit scenario. We traded turns of denying the other person scoring, and reached a 2-2 tie in scenario points. The firepower of the Transfinite Emergence Projector began to weigh on his gatormen, however. I managed to get to the point where I could take out the warbeasts that weren’t on full Fury, and then shoot the TEP into Rask to end the game with a pair of sprays.

Overall I was really pleased with my performance, as 5th place is about the best I’ve ever done in a Steamroller this size. Best part was all four of my opponents were great people, and that always makes gaming all the more fun.

The day after the Steamroller, I nabbed one more game with my buddy Charles, continuing our campaign story.

Morghoul1 had been dispatched by Zaal1 after discovering four ruins of power, and tasked with opening them. Grayle, who had faced Zaal1 in the past, showed up again to try and stop him. While I managed to unlock enough ruins during the game to progress the story scenario in favor of Skorne, Morghoul1 himself was felled by Grayle after my assassination attempt came up short. I managed to get behind him, but that still wasn’t enough to end his attack. I should have known that Morghoul1 was a little feeble as an assassin, and put Admonition on myself to move away when he turned to face me. But I went for it greedily with buying additional attacks. Double-strike is so tempting with him, but P+S 9 is just feeble. The only thing close were some paingivers, as my Bronzeback was still a turn away from getting into the fray. Grayle turned around and manged to eat thru my single transfer and finish Morghoul1 off with little problem.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

169/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 39 (Win/Loss 28/11/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 3 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

Trollbloods:

4 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

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