Swan Song

I got in my first Mark III games the other day, playing a pair of games against Tom’s Cygnar forces, as well as my final Mark 2 games against Andy’s and Ryan’s Legion of Everblight forces. However, before I get into any of that, time for painting progress.

Troll Impaler ready to help complete my Battlegroup Box. All that’s left is to paint Ragnor when I pick him up on the 29th.

First up, my last three games of Mark II, and the culminating games of our Spring Carnage at the Confluence campaign.

First I brought my Doomshaper2 Tier 4 list and clashed with Ryan’s Vayl2 army, playing a special mission of them trying to recover an Athanc within a ruin. The Blighted Nyss made a run for it, but an Earthborn Dire Troll got up to Vayl2 and ended her chances at getting into the ruin.

The second game was the same mission, and I fielded the same force. This time Thagrosh made an attempt at getting into the vault, and he was successful thanks to Andy’s good general skills.

The third game I switched up casters to Grissel but happened to face off against Ryan’s Vayl2 once more. This time I was on a rescue mission for a lost Khador Kovnik officer. While I got close to saving him from the building, I was not counting on Vayl2 herself shooting her way to victory rather than spells (under Grissel’s Cacophony fell call). She shot free a couple of critical models, which opened up a perfectly-lined throw attack that knocked down Grissel and let a Scythean right up to her. Needless to say, the captured Kovnik remained unsaved.

As I said above, this week I also got a chance to get in my first two Mark III games. I was very excited to play them, as I really like the changes to the rules system. There are some ups and downs for certain models (poor Troll Impaler, completed just in time for me to think “why would I field you now?”), and there’s plenty of salt out there on the internet about which factions gained and which factions lost in the switch to Mark III. I figure that until the meta forms, and people start to work out what clicks in each faction, it’s time to spend less time worrying and more time getting in practice games. So I cruised over to my friend Tom’s place and we got in a set of clashes.

Of course the first warlock I tried in Mark III was Void Seer Mordikaar. He’s probably my favorite caster in the game, so I wanted to see how he fared in the new edition. I was a little worried about some changes (I understand his Hollow spell not having tough, as the point is to get the souls, but I thought I would miss it). Tom is just starting, so we played to a pretty odd points value (46). I fielded something pretty similar to what I’d normally field with him: Bronzeback, Gladiator, and Cyclops Brute for my battlegroup, plus a Scarab Pack to see how they’re doing in the new edition, with Beast Handlers, Bloodrunners, a Feralgeist, and two Void Spirits to round things out.

Tom’s force is pretty Warjack-heavy, and led by Commander Coleman Stryker. It’s the classic Battle Box, plus a Stormclad, Squire, and a unit of Long Gunners with Officer and Standard. Additionally, I love the green Cygnar look Tom is using on his models. Definitely striking for the Swans.

Initial impressions of Mark III from the game: Scarab Swarms still suck. Well, they unfairly had to face off against a Stormclad so they were going to get pulped no matter what. And my dice still betray me: the Bronzeback is a heck of a beater, except when rolling nothing but 4’s on two dice. However, the game plays clean and despite having to confirm abilities constantly, plays as quick as Mark II (so once I get rolling with my Skorne it should be even faster).

The first match against Tom I won thanks to a trampling Titan Gladiator that bowled over Stryker and damaged him, leaving him easy pickings for a Cyclops Brute to finish off on the ground. As always, playing against Stryker is an exercise in patience: his feat turn is time to throw, knockdown, and jam–all the more so when he’s going to be even more Warjack heavy due to big battlegroup sizes in Mark III.

For the second game, I wanted to try out Master Ascetic Naaresh. I painted him up right at the end of my time playing Skorne in Mark II, and he impressed me then in those initial games. He looks even better now–the question is what list to put with him. I wanted to give a more shooting-heavy look, but still needed to crack Cygnar armor, so I went with much the same troops and slightly different beasts package: swapping in a Titan Cannoneer, an Aradus Sentinel, and an Agonizer to debuff strength when things got into melee.

The battle went fairly well at first, as I was able to wipe out the Long Gunners with a far-charging, Cyclone-using Naaresh and pulling my battlegroup far to one side. Two sets of trees helped me bottleneck, and while I lost some stuff to get that positioning, I was feeling pretty good about it: he had used his feat, so I could back up and damage his jacks enough as they approached, then hope to survive the initial assault (thanks to the Agonizer).

However, sometimes the gods of dice are cruel. Naaresh needed to make a charge past the Ironclad. I had high defense, plenty of fury, and ample Blood Tokens increasing my armor thanks to some whipping by the Beast Handlers. Even if I took a hit, it was going to be fine and my plan would cut his force in half. What I missed, was critical knockdown on the Quake Hammer. And of course, two 6’s on the free strike. That made it all over but the crying. Naaresh survived the assault from the Ironclad, Stormclad, and Lancer–because he’s tough as hell and sitting on six transfers lets that happen. But it left me denuded with only a single warbeast remaining (with no fury). Getting the fury from dead warbeasts helped, but not enough. Naaresh got into Stryker’s face, but he lacked the fury and support from beasts to get the job done, and I was smushed the following turn.

All-in-all a great end to Mark II and a great beginning to Mark III. For now, my focus will be on Skorne in Mark III as I want to get them down pat. My Cryx and Trollbloods are fun, but they’ll get to wait just a bit as I’m buying in to make Skorne my faction to “master” first.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

194/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 49 (Win/Loss: 28/21/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2, Stryker)/ 6 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2, Stryker)

Trollbloods:

11 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2 x3, Lylyth x2, Kaya, Skarre, Thagrosh, Asphyxious3) / 11 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas, Ashlynn x2, Twins Saeryn and Rhyas, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Vayl2)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 4 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3, Stryker)

40K: Protest

Part three of a continuing project log of my 40k Tau army and their efforts to retain control of the United Systems of Atreidia, against the gradual uprising posed by my buddy Enrico’s Terran, Chaos, and Genestealer Cult forces. Check out part one and part two if you’re inclined.

The Story So Far:

To say that the rhetoric among the citizens of Atreidia was getting violent would be an understatement. Groups of Terran citizens took to the streets to protest Tau occupation, Tau taxation, and Tau development policies. Again, the segments of the city that were in process of being rebuilt after a massive acid typhoon were where the sentiment was strongest, as off-world xenos laborers were being shipped in to take many construction jobs. The Tau tried to explain that the Vespid workers they were employing could better handle the conditions of acid residue labor, but it fell on deaf ears. One popular voice demanded that the Vespid pay for their work privilege, and pay for a full protective shieldwall on that side of town themselves.

That sparked a march in the sector, which drew a variety of people interested in the proceedings. While some were the most virulent of anti-Tau proponents, many others were simply lured in by economic crisis or the sheer charisma of the organizers.

Trouble began when an off-duty Tau Fire Caste Warrior showed up at the protest. Unarmored and unarmed, he nonetheless began yelling back at the crowd and preventing their marching. The situation turned ugly quick, with cries about freedom of speech clashing with his own shouts about how good the Terrans have things under Tau guidance and they should all just go home. It was then that someone in the crowd threw a rock, striking the arguing Tau in the head and knocking him out cold.

Tau military units had been monitoring the protest, suspecting that additional infiltrators from the desert group that was organizing resistance were among them. When a Tau was injured by the crowd, the forces responded with an attempt to disperse the masses. Their DS8 Tactical Support Turrets had been loaded with gas shells, which would launch a ultimately harmless but quite unpleasant plant pollen into the crowds. The stinging itch was calculated to disperse the protesters without causing undue harm. And thus, they fired on the crowd.

It was the organized munitions launching into the group that finally turned outrage into pure hatred. The entire crowd surged with a wave of anger. It was the moment that the demagogue amid the crowd was waiting for. He and his followers were in tune with that anger, and savored the crackling energy it released into the air. The ritual sigils from ancient Terran myth that they had smeared on themselves using the blood of desert bovines began to hum with power. In seconds, they were reborn. The demagogue’s robes tore free, and strange brass armor began to grow from his skin. Around him, the faithful were sprouting all manner of change–their muscles enlarging with madness and strange growths protruding from their bodies. They had become possessed by the spirits of pure anger.

With horrifying confidence, the new form of the demagogue waved an arcane pattern in the air, and two pools of energy formed on the city streets. Striding from one nearby were a cadre of strange, armed and armored figured, their armor colored blood red. The far one shimmered and beings exited as well, but the distance of their arrival and strange, cloven-footed forms had trouble being recorded on Tau viewscreens.

With screams of panic, the protesters abandoned their signs and fled for their lives. Judging the new arrivals to be a threat, simply because of their mad dash at the Tau lines, the Tau security forces opened fire. The fleeing protesters were struck by errant bullets from the Tau, but those protesters that neared any of the new arrivals’ positions met and equally grisly fate as they lashed out indiscriminately at all life near them.

The Tau used what redeploying methods they could to buy more time against the onslaught–the Breacher team that took cover in their Devilfish emerged again to deliver a close proximity burst at the armored foes. Yet their numbers were small, and the Devilfish and Piranha that were helping patrol the sector didn’t carry the kind of ordinance needed to repel such desperate foes.

The distant creatures that had arrived finally made it to the Tau lines, and the Ethereal Commander Lisbet W’ren looked on at the strange alien race that seemed to be working with these Terrans. They had cruel hooves for feet, strange elongated heads, red blistered skin, and carried wicked blackish swords. Ethereal Commander Lisbet had never seen such creatures, despite contributing to over thirteen colonization missions personally. Their deadly strikes made short work of the nearby drones.

Pressed between the jaws of two forces, Commander Lisbet tried a desperate gamble. She rushed forward to try and stop the threat of the warped demagogue with her own honor blade. While she managed to fend him off for a bit, his deadly strength proved too much for her under-armored form. She fled on foot, with small drops of blue blood littering the path she took as she ran. She glanced back, seeing that every one of her Fire Warriors had fallen in brave service–only the crews of the vehicles had survived besides herself.

As the Tau fled, the demagogue climbed up a structure. The portable microphone and amplifier he had been using when in the crowd was now strangely fused to his new body. He lifted the skull-shaped microphone to his mouth, and his shout reverberated around the entire sector. “I am Olim Yia, prophet of what is to come. Join us Terrans. Resist the Tau and embrace what is fundamental to your nature, what ancient power runs in your blood. Embrace your true Terran feelings of hatred and anger. The Tau do not understand them with their alien fishbrains. It’s what sets us apart, and through our natures we can become strong. Join me, join us, join the great spirit of Khorne that lurks in every Terran’s soul. You can feel him there, calling you even now. Give in, and we can ‘Make Atreidia Great Again!'”

Thus was born the first of the revealed prophets, Olim Yia, the Maw of Rage.

Tau Project Log

Like I mentioned last time, my goal was to at least have a force org chart filled. So a Breacher Squad, an Ethereal, a Piranha, and two DS8 turrets were what I focused on to get there. A very small force (around 450 points) but still enough for a regular game.

The Tau Ethereal I added is a resin model from Wargame Exclusive, a company from the Ukraine (at least that’s where it was shipped from) that does creative sculpts of various models in the 40k universe that don’t have models created by GW (such as Tau models with some persona and character to them, including female Tau). I really liked a number of their models, and while some are a little cheesecake, I figured that the diversity in the model would look really nice amidst the army–and I think it came together nicely.

Finally, I’m really proud of the look of the Tau Piranha that I finished up, so I couldn’t resist a close up (there wasn’t one in the “footage”, as it mostly swooped around and missed its shots).

For the battle itself, we used a limited number of turns plus HQ kill as the deciding factor. In addition, we built up rules for the fleeing members of the demonstration group: missed ranged hits by Tau would potentially kill them, while missed melee strikes from Khorne models may kill them. Whichever side killed the most civilians would get the worse of things in the “press”–and sadly the Tau missed more shots and thus contributed to more injured or dead overall.

Skirmish and Tourney

These past two weeks have been somewhat busy, but I managed to get in one Campaign game versus Andy’s Saeryn and Rhyas list, as well as heading to the final Tier 4 Tournament Steamroller for Mark II event this past Saturday. As always, first up is the painting I accomplished.

Mulg the Ancient. Just in time to hit the table for the last few Mark II games.

Completing Mulg brings me to 189 points painted this year. Which is over half way to my goal of 366! However, I’m probably going to change the goal. Given that Mark III is imminent (I already have the War Room decks, and the rules PDF), and it changes the points costs, I’ve been thinking of how to handle it. Given that many things are roughly 1.5 times more points than they were, I was thinking of moving my personal goal to 500 points in a year, and just keep counting with new point values. We’ll see though.

The other big thing on the painting side was that my Trollbloods army won the Best Painted Award at the Tier 4 End of Mark II Tournament.

The nifty trophy, provided by the good folks at SCG Hobby.

The award-winning armies: A Borka Drunk and Disorderly Tier 4 list and a Doomshaper2 Unbridled Fury Tier 4 list. The Borka list is pretty much everything shown but the two Blitzers, Mulg, and Doomy2. Gotta love Doomy2’s “nothing but heavy warbeasts” style.

As for games at the tournament, I won one and lost two. I managed to assassinate Asphyxious3 thanks to some long-distance heroics by Mulg. As for my losses, they were totally on me. In both cases I bumbled positioning on my warlocks and had insufficient protection versus melee threats with deep range projection. Still, faced three really fun opponents so it was quite a good time.

First match against Larry’s Mercenaries and Ashlynn. The list was pretty similar to Savage’s list that I faced a few weeks ago. This time it wasn’t even close, as Borka’s faithful keg carrier was just short of giving him the drink he needed, which lead to a quick and efficient pummeling on him by my opponent’s colossal in melee thanks to heightened speed from the caster. Just plain ouch.

The second battle was against Andrew’s Asphyxious3, and I fielded my Doomy2 list as I wasn’t going to out-troop a heavy recursion Cryx list.

I mostly got lucky due to the Sepulcher failing a charge, letting the combination of two Dire Trolls and two Champions smoothly finish it off. That left just enough gap that Gaspy3 had to get up and get aggressive to try and win, which let Mulg pull off a long-shot mashing.

My third game faced me against Butcher3’s tier 4 list, a fairly warjack-heavy force with the gun carriage. I pretty much had to go for my Doomy2 list, as Mulg’s anti-magic animus would be my only method of staying alive long enough to potentially retaliate.

Sadly, it was not enough. Doomy2 got just a little too close from a very distant Grolar. With Silence of Death on it, it managed to pummel him into smithereens. I had hoped for a critical slam on Mulg’s protective fit (he had Wild Aggression up, it was quite possible), but alas: it wasn’t meant to be. The good news was that my opponent, Justin, is always fun to face off against and his Khador always look so nice (of course, the one unpainted model in his force is the one that sealed the deal on Doomy2).

Overall it was a fun tournament, and I’m glad that I attended. A good last hurrah for the Mark II rules and the Tier 4 lists, plus good opponents and a recognition of the work I’ve put in on painting my models, made a great day.

As I said above, I also squeezed in a game for the Trollbloods vs. Khador campaign we’ve got going at Drawbridge Games. It pitted my Borka Tier 4 Drunk and Disorderly list against Andy’s Twins of Everblight, Saeryn and Rhyas list.

I had good early success versus his warbeasts, getting ahead in the battle of attrition. The Earthborn survived the Scythean’s assault with all aspects intact, and messed him up pretty well with a throw against a nearby wall.

Rhyas was the part of the equation that was tough. While Mosh Pitt did lead to her getting knocked down and getting some swings from Trolls, she survived t0 continue pushing the attack.

It was Andy’s ambushers that really carried the game for him in the end. Despite the pressure from my units I was getting on his casters, they managed to survive thanks to their defensive stats and abilities. That left Borka out in center, and prey to the ambush. The Blighblades and a unit of Bog Trogs swooped in, enclosed Borka so he couldn’t stumble away, and assassinated him. Another victory for glorious Legion of Everblight.

Another great week of gaming, with a lot of diversity in foe but also challenging opponents. Just the way I like it.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

189/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 44 (Win/Loss: 26/18/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

10 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2 x2, Lylyth x2, Kaya, Skarre, Thagrosh, Asphyxious3) / 9 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas, Ashlynn x2, Twins Saeryn and Rhyas, Butcher3)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 4 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3, Stryker)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2)/ 5 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2)

40K: Entrances

Part two of a continuing project log of my 40k Tau army and their efforts to retain control of the United Systems of Atreidia, against the gradual uprising posed by my buddy Enrico’s Terran, Chaos, and Genestealer Cult forces. Check out part one here if you’re inclined.

The Story So Far:

Unrest is up in the United Systems of Atreidia, complicated by economic downturn. In particular, the dust wastes that lie between the three main cities on the central planet have suffered a severe reduction in arability. Tau scientists have pointed out that the actions of the Terran in the wastes, particularly carbon-based fuel usage, has increased this effect, the Terrans insist on denying their culpability. Instead, streams of wastelanders are seeking entrance to the city looking for better work. Yet not all wastelanders have pure intentions.

The lines grew long at checkpoint 72-R. Security was tight, as the local populace of the city was still resenting the unfortunate events of a week prior. The Shas’ui of the Strike Squad that patrolled this city entrance swapped out his Gun Drones for a more peaceful Shield Drone in hopes of quelling the concerns of the populace. He watched from a vantage point in an abandoned construction project as a group of wastelanders approached the city seeking entry.

The two Tau Fire Warriors stationed at the entrance stopped the head of the column, two men in heavy robes leading a large and over-burdened pack animal. The Tau were allowing entry in orderly fashion, but demanded that all weapons and contraband items be confiscated upon entry.

Little did they know that the two pilgrim leaders, and the group of wastelanders that followed them, were coming to join up with resistance elements inside the city. A new story was spreading about human resistance. Some viewed it as one grand old movement opposing the Tau order, while others talked of divisions and factions within the group. Needless to say, their rhetoric was clearly in opposition to the Tau arrival. In fact, recently they were publicizing the fact that a high-ranking Tau Water Caste official had been transmitting classified transmissions over a private Comms relay server. These transmissions were intercepted by the Terran leaders, and were rumored to contain sensitive cost-benefit analysis of Tau Gun Drone usage: how many civilians were tolerable losses given the benefits of automated defense.¹

Given the charged tension, the demands of the Tau border security to surrender all weapons struck the match. When the Tau denied entrance and insisted on starting a scan protocol for weaponry, one of the wastelanders knew that their armaments–designed to help arm Terran resistance agents in the city–would be confiscated. Thus, he decided to attack, and began firing his autopistol wildly toward the Tau.

The squad manning the border checkpoint was supported by a Devilfish personnel carrier, which immediately began scanning the crowd for threats. Very quickly the call sounded over the Tau communication systems: “There’s a bomb! One of them has a bomb!” The Shas’ui trained his markerlight at the pack animal, presuming the weapon was large and carried on its back. The Devilfish scrambled its Gun Drones and moved to block the roadway. Nearby Terran repair workers watched everything unfold with shocked disbelief. Even though the wastelanders had shot first, seeing Gun Drones moving and firing at Terrans incensed the passers-by.

The calculation to take out the bovine was a mistake on the Tau’s part, as they underestimated the fervor of the Terrans who opposed them. With a cry, one of the two hooded pilgrims ran forward and produced a demolition charge from under his robes. He threw it onto the Devilfish, but it bounced back toward him before detonating: killing him instantly, but still managing to damage the Tau vehicle.

The Tau at the checkpoint were easily overpowered by gunfire from the wastelanders and attacks from incensed Terran civilians. Only the crew of the Devilfish managed to continue the fight. It tank shocked its way out of the streets and into the wasteland for more room to maneuver. Wastelander, cultist, and angry citizen alike scattered and then renewed their assault on the craft. They charged it, attempting to blast it open with whatever they could–including all manner of repair tools supplied by the work crews that rose to violence. In another Tau miscalculation of necessary use of force and the value of automated systems, the flechette discharger housed on the Devilfish began spraying the attackers with flying metal spurs, injuring and killing many of them who assaulted it.

One lone workman, grabbing a child and dragging them along from the scene, fled from the carnage dished out by both sides. The streets ran red and blue with blood from both races. As the worker fled, he heard a blast in the distance. A lucky shot to the rear of the tank from a flamethrower managed to destroy the Tau craft. It would take hours before the Tau could secure the entrance point, and another two waves of anti-Tau wastelanders and their armaments would make their way into the city in the meantime.

In the aftermath, the Tau treated the clean-up as another instance of shovel-ready projects to employ the Terrans of the city. This was a critical mistake, not only for shoving the death toll in the Terrans’ faces. Also because the Tau missed a critical clue as to the nature of their foe. The pilgrim leader who didn’t throw the demo charge, lay dead on the pavement with a pulse rifle shot to his head. Yet as the workmen pulled his corpse away, his right arm was exposed–a strange, pincer-like claw was at the end of his hand, while the strange red symbol that was spreading through the resistance movement was worn on a lanyard around his neck. Things were brewing, both in the wasteland and the city, and the Tau remained unaware.

¹ Thanks to GeorgeJetson of the Advanced Tau Tactica forums for the idea on this!

Tau Project Log

Slowly but surely I’m painting up more stuff for these games. This week I finished a Devilfish and a Shield Drone. I wanted to get a vehicle completed, as I wanted to make sure the color scheme worked okay at that larger scale. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The next battle I’ll actually have a regular force organization chart filled!

For this battle, we again used the Combat Patrol Rules where each model is independent. The wastelanders outside and the cultists inside were all unmarked Chaos Cultists. One of the two pilgrims was also equipped with a Demolition Charge. Again, the groups of citizen workers would start attacking the Tau if they made a leadership test by their groups. We also recognized that the Devilfish was pretty impervious, so we made a special rule for the scenario that both cultists and workmen could harm it in melee with an attack roll of 6, followed by a damage roll of 6, representing bringing work-designed rather than weapon-designed tools, or crude wasteland bombs, to bear on the Devilfish. It also made for a reason to attempt to charge the vehicle, and try to live through the deadly flechettes. As I said just above, next week will be the first battle we do where both sides have a somewhat regular command structure (HQ and two Troops plus FOC elements).

One last note and spoiler. Rico started out working on expanding his excellent Khorne Daemonkin army as a part of this story. However, we’re both old (oooooold) 40k players, and he dug out on idea from an ancient compendium: the original compilation of the rules for Genestealers. I didn’t realize this, but they were divided between Genestealer Invasion Force and Genestealer Cult. And the “Cult” part was an actual Chaos Cult that they used to advance their power. All those classic photos of the Genestealer Cult with the two custom limos, if you look close you see the symbols of Khorne and a Daemonsword and everything. Thus, Rico wanted to do an homage to that force, and add the Genestealer Cult as allies to his Khorne Daemonkin forces. It sounds amazing, and it’s all the funnier for the campaign as it represents a diverse faction for satire: are the demagogues that lead them actually believers in the principles of Khorne? Or are they merely running under that banner for their own ends?

Flash of Death

As always, more games during the week so another update. First the painting, then the three games.

Mark III of Warmachine and Hordes is on the horizon, and that means a new battle box and a new Journeyman league. While I’m loving my Trollbloods lately, I think that I’m going to head back to Cryx for the start of Mark III. That means that wanted to finish up the pieces for the new battlegroup box, so I painted up a Slayer and a Deathripper. When I started Cryx, I started in with an alternate starter (Asphyxious), so I needed to get the Slayer done. And another Deathripper never hurts.

This week I got in three games, two for the Carnage at the Confluence Campaign that we’re doing at Drawbridge Games, and one with a good buddy of mine Tom who’s just starting up with the hobby.

I played Ryan in my first game of the day, bringing a Doomshaper2 list with two Dire Troll Blitzers, a Troll Bouncer, Champions, and Scouts. I faced off against Lylyth, commanding a Carnivean, Scythean, and a Shredder, plus Blighted Ogrun Warspears with UA and Striders with UA. Representing the earthworks the Trollbloods have been building in the campaign, the board was littered with trenches.

Ryan’s Legion inflicted some nasty attacks on my forces, but Lylyth’s range got stretched thin. The Scythean also got a horrible case of “miss every roll ever” disease when trying to finish off the Trollkin Scouts, which helped a lot. Doomy2’s feat turn got me up into her face past her beasts, which meant the next turn the two Dire Troll Blitzers were able to roll in and finish her off.

Second game I was again in the bunker, this time with Jarl Skuld against Kevin’s Thagrosh. I decided to try an infantry-heavy list, so ran only a Troll Axer and a Swap Troll as my beasts, plus Trollkin Scouts, Trollkin Fennblades, and Pyg Bushwhackers.

I pretty much just fed my troops into the meat grinder, slowly shaving away hit points on his heavy beasts. I didn’t want to kill them because of Thagrosh’s feat, so the lack of heavy-hitting power was tolerable. Because the mission forced Thagrosh to make his way into the trench on my side of the board, turning the board into lines of slow-slog progress through tough troops paid off, and Thagrosh ended the game short of getting into the bunker.

As I mentioned above, the third game I got in against Tom’s Cygnar force. It was a starter box game, and I knew that Tom had played against Hordes before so I thought I would bring my Cryx to give him a Warmachine foe to face. Thus, it was Deneghra’s battle box that hit the table. It was a great-looking game, as I love Tom’s green color scheme for his Cygnar.

While I got a lot of attacks in, it wasn’t quite enough. The Slayer and some Venom-baths just couldn’t quite seal the deal on Stryker when I went for assassination. I should have sacrificed an arc node to get a deep Crippling Grasp up on Stryker in a prior turn. Alas, his defense and poor rolls combined to leave me just short. And with that, his Lancer finished Deneghra off with ease the turn after. It was a really fun battle, and very close–a slightly better attack roll with a second Slayer fist or with a second Venom and I would have had the win.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

177/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 40 (Win/Loss: 25/15/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

9 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2 x2, Lylyth x2, Kaya, Skarre, Thagrosh) / 7 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas, Ashlynn)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 4 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3, Stryker)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2)/ 5 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2)

40k: First Spark

Part one of a continuing project log of my 40k Tau army and their efforts to retain control of the United Systems of Atreidia, against the gradual uprising posed by my buddy Enrico’s Terran and Chaos forces.

The Story So Far:

Some people ask what the spark was that started the Atreidia revolt. Certainly the initial seeds were planted eleven cycles ago when the Tau first arrived and made their compacts with the system to provide technology and improvements in exchange for military presence in their expansion. However, a much closer flash point moment happened recently when a Tau Fire Caste patrol got into trouble, and one death led to many more.

Tau patrol 271-R was working with a local Terran interpreter to help root out some local gang activity. The Shas’ui was assigned four other Fire Warriors to the patrol, along with two Gun Drones for security and monitoring purposes. At a busy intersection in the part of the city where an acid typhoon had rotted away some buildings, creating the perfect slum conditions where gangs could hide, they conducted their interviews of the working people who passed through the area.

Sadly, a young child and his sister were out in the street nearby. According to eyewitness accounts, the boy had a small street cleaning device and was attempting to scrape a subsistence wage through community beautification “shovel-ready” projects. A passing Tau Drone registered the cleaning device incorrectly, and security protocols were initiated incorrectly. Security film footage later released on the Atreidia News Network shows the Drone bleating a warning out twice, but the noise of the cleaning device may have made the child miss the warning. As the child turned toward the Drone, the hostility matrix was triggered and the Drone fired. The child died instantly, with his sister watching on and mother nearby.

The Shas’ui recognized the malfunction of the Drone, and endeavored to apologize to the mother and child and promise both improved revision of the Drone protocol as well as full restitution from the Tau government for both loss of life and grieving. The mother, a poor scrap-cleaner from the ruined area, was inconsolable. Also, the excessively legalistic way of the Tau language was poorly translated by the fresh Terran interpreter, making the mother wail all the more.

A group of local laborers were nearby and not only saw the shooting but also heard the mother’s crying. This particular group had recently been threatened with reduced work hours at the manufactorium where they worked because a contingent of Vespid workers, who needed less sleep cycles, were inbound from the neighboring system–which made them all the more incensed at the Tau and the young child’s death. One of their number started the chaos by approaching the Terran interpreter and starting a shoving match with him.

Meanwhile, one of the Terrans-first hate groups that had organized as a gang was nearby. Their leaders had been preaching a story of anger and rage against the Tau, and this armed group was ready to act. The shoving match, and seeing the Tau Drones responding with further security protocol warnings, gave them the opening they needed to embrace their anger and attack.

The rest of Tau patrol 271-R was trying to get back to their Shas’ui when the armed gang of angered citizens struck. Opening up with shotguns and autoguns, bullets flew at the outnumbered Tau patrol. The Fire Warriors’ instincts kicked in, and their return fire with pulse rifles hit with deadly accuracy against the unarmored rabble. The noise of shooting and the sight of Tau firing their weapons at Terrans caused the situation to escalate quickly. One of the Tau was killed by a gout of fire from a flamer carried by one of the gang members.

The group of Terran workers turned into an angry mob instantly. The Terran interpreter was beaten senseless at their hands. They seemed enraged at his collaboration with the xenos who had killed the child, and now were firing on people they took as citizens.

It devolved into chaos in the streets, with the sheer numbers of Terran citizens being too much for the small patrol of Tau to handle. With wrenches, tools, and servo-assisted work fists, the Fire Warriors were beaten and killed by the rampaging mob. With the images broadcasted on the news network across the system, resentment and anger began building among the populace. Meanwhile, the Tau had lost five Fire Warriors themselves, and had a brewing bout of anti-colonial resistance on their hands.

Looking back at all the bloodshed and war that came through the Atredian campaign, this little moment of spark was what set everything in motion in the years to come.

Tau Project Log

In addition to finishing the Terran interpreter model (seen in pictures above), I settled on a color scheme for my Tau and got a first unit of Troops finished up. Five members of a Fire Warrior Strike Squad, with two Gun Drones. The Shas’ui has a Pulse Carbine with markerlight and target lock. I’m pretty happy with the color scheme, inspired somewhat by the N’dras paint color suggestion GW had on the back of the Stealth Suit box. It was just enough to run our small mission above.

The mission was pretty simple, and used classic Combat Patrol rules where each model activated independently. For the interpreter and the Terrans, we used the stats of Chaos Cultists but armed only with hand weapons. Working people were weapon skill 2 however, and the few children models (manufactorium apprentices) were additionally strength 2 and toughness 2. The gangers were simply Chaos Cultists unmarked. We placed the citizens in groups around the board, and each group did leadership tests to “hear” the situation, and would activate accordingly. The Tau waited to fire weapons or fight until the Terrans acted first, and the Shas’ui spent time using leadership tests to try and order the bereaved woman and her child to flee the area of danger when things started to get out of hand.

The Pig’s Name is “Oinky”

Another Thursday night campaign night and some more games and additions to my force. On the painting side, I added some Trollkin Scouts to my army. That finishes up a complete Borka Drunk and Disorderly Tier 4 all the way up to 50 points, which I’m really proud about.

Here are the offending Trollkin Scouts, complete with hog underarm, tooth and tail trophies, spyglass, moonshine mug, and of course: whelp banjo player. This was the most complex Trollblood unit I’ve painted in terms of everything going on with them, so it was a lot of fun to work on even though it took a bit of time.

This week of the Carnage at the Confluence Campaign we had a special treat: Ryan ran an Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying game that featured many of the league players running a single Legion of Everblight character on a special mission to capture enemy officers. However, before that happened, Ryan and I snuck in a quick game as well. We played 35 points game against Vayl2, again running my Borka Drunk and Disorderly Tier 4 list. At 35 points, that’s Borka, Earthborn, two Winter Trolls (with tier discount), max Champions with Skaldi, Trollkin Scouts, Stone Scribe Chronicler, and a set of Troll Whelps.

Ryan’s growing Legion of Everblight force was commanded by Vayl2, and featured a Carnivean, a Scythean, a Shredder, a full unit of Warspears plus their Chieftan, and a Beast Mistress with three additional Shredders. We faced off and I got the first turn, so my forces rushed forward to contest the zones.

The newly-painted Trollkin Scouts performed admirably, as they can hit pretty well with their gang ability, and under Borka’s Mosh Pit spell effect, that makes their strikes all the more destructive.

Borka did as Borka does, managing to survive a frontal assault from a Carnivean as a trap to lure the nastiest heavy close to my lines. Once the rest of his force finished off all of Vayl’s beasts, Vayl had no choice but try and spell-blast her way to victory, but came up short. Borka wandered up and finished Vayl off with a few melee strikes. A fun game as always against a great opponent.

The win today brought me to dead even in my Trollbloods games. I’m still learning the ropes with the force, but playing Borka consistently has helped me a lot. I just saw that the new ADR was released for the next season, and-of course-Borka isn’t on it. So I’ll have to paint up some other casters or practice more Grissel to get myself ready to go forward in Mark III.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

167/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 38 (Win/Loss: 23/15/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

7 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2 x2, Lylyth, Kaya, Skarre) / 7 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas, Ashlynn)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 3 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2)/ 5 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2)

Beer Tier

I got in three games this week with my Trollbloods, as I continue practicing with them. And first up, a whole heap of Trollbloods painting I managed to finish:

Skaldi Bonehammer and a Stone Scribe Chronicler. I forgot to finish the base of the Stone Scribe in this shot, and I did a few more highlights on his face, but they’re basically finished. I’m very pleased with how Skaldi turned out.

Also finished a unit of Trollkin Champions to go along with Skaldi. I’m really liking the mostly dark armor with mixed lighter bits. Felt like they have a nasty look to them that way.

And finally, I finished a second unit of Troll Whelps. That makes two blocks of five total, so I’ve got about as much fury management as I can possibly fit in (it also helps me toward a different tier list goal).

On the gaming side, this week I got in two games for the campaign at Drawbridge, and then on Sunday I nabbed a game at Legions with a friendly Mercenaries player.

The first Thursday game was against Terry’s Cryx, led by Skarre. The game was 35 points, and I fielded by Borka Drunk and Disorderly tier in the game. We played Outflank, the Steamroller scenario with the two big circular zones. Because there were two big obstructions (two houses) that kind of split the board (in the pic above you can see the gap between the zones), the game ran pretty fast… I managed to clear the zone on the side I went for first, so I got a lead in scenario points and the Cryx couldn’t keep up. A fun game, as Terry is a great player to play against–especially because he has some amazingly gorgeous paint jobs (the image above doesn’t do them justice).

The second Thursday game I got in a smaller points match-up (25) against Roger’s great fox-colored Circle Orboros army. I ran Grissel just for a change of pace. I managed to survive a pretty nasty assassination run from Kaya and a Feral Warpwolf, thanks to good old Tough. Then Grissel finished the job herself the following turn. Definitely a fun match-up.

For the game on Sunday, I brought my 50 point Borka Drunk and Disorderly tier 4 list. Almost completely painted–just needed a bit more work and touching up of the Trollkin Scouts. I faced off against my opponent Savage’s Ashlynn Mercenaries list that was a Galleon and stacked with Gun Mages and other shooting threats. I managed to weather the storm of her feat turn fairly well, and the grind got to the point where Borka’s sheer defensiveness was becoming a problem. My opponent went for the assassination, managing to get the pieces in place to “lock” Borka down and not stumble away. Ashlynn did her best to kill him personally, but came up just short. And then the Freezer animus from a nearby Winter Troll left her stationary. It looked like Borka and crew would easily finish her off, but one activation remained. Savage took a shot with his Mule Warjack, targeting his own caster in the back. He managed to hit her (stationary and back strike but in combat), and the shot didn’t kill her. But the AOE damage rolled just enough to finish Borka off and a Tough roll didn’t save him. It was a great game, and the way he won the game was super-memorable. I was laughing pretty hard at the absurdity of it. Great fun.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

162/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 37 (Win/Loss: 22/15/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

6 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2, Lylyth, Kaya, Skarre) / 7 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas, Ashlynn)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 3 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2)/ 5 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2)

Kriel at War

We just finished week one of the Carnage at the Confluence campaign at Drawbridge Games–check out all the progress and story here.

This post focuses on my games in the campaign, but of course first is my painting progress:

I finished a minimum unit of Trollkin Fennblades. Painting units is always the big challenge in Warmachine and Hordes, so I’m proud of getting them done. They add 5 more points to my painted model total.

I also finished the Drummer model of the Fennblades Officer and Drummer unit attachment. I’ll give myself half points for him (+1), as the Fennblade Officer was one of the first models I painted up to test my Trollbloods scheme (in November!).

I also completed a Troll Axer, for another six points painted. I’m really pleased with how he turned out. Despite all my Trollbloods play, I have never fielded this model until today. Odd, given how much I use my Titan Gladiator to pass out the Rush animus to my Skorne forces.

Given that it was the first week of the campaign, games were simply bring and battle with rolled Steamroller scenarios. I faced off against three different Legion players over two days: Rico’s force led by Rhyas, Ryan’s force led by Vayl2, and Brandon’s force led by Lylyth.

The more I play Madrak2, the more I believe I simply do not get him as a caster. I had a good game against Rico, clearing a lot of his stuff and playing defensive to try and get points. But eventually he whittled through my defenses enough to get to Madrak, finishing him with a Scythean. I think I need to run him with troop spam, and just get right up into my opponent’s face and dare them to take him out. Dunno, not my style.

I played my second game against Ryan’s Vayl2 force, which he is doing in a great blue color with some yellow/orange elements. It really pops nicely on the table. For this game I fielded Jarl Skuld, who is much more my style than Madrak2. He plays cautiously, takes out selected pieces to enable a favorable match up to end the game. I finished Vayl2 off with some heroics from Janissa Stonetide’s Rock Hammer spell and Jarl finishing the knocked-down Vayl2 with a charge.

The next day I snuck in a game against Brandon’s Lylyth force. We took our time, as he is a Cygnar player who is just starting to explore Hordes and Legion of Everblight through the campaign. I took Borka, who proved to be too much for the Carnivean to handle. His high defense when he puts Iron Flesh on himself, and then becomes Stumbling Drunk, is just too good. The one shining moment for Legion was when a Shredder’s attack caused Borka to stumble directly backward toward my table edge, leaving the Carnivean out of melee and with a perfect shot down the line of my Troll Bouncer and the full group of Fennblades. While I took some pretty brutal casualties from that, the Earthborn on the opposite side finally made range on Lylyth and finished her off.

Overall a great set of games and good opponents. So far so good with the campaign, and if nothing else lots of people are playing new armies because of it.

366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):

145/366

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2016: 34 (Win/Loss: 20/14/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Trollbloods:

4 Wins (Karchev x2, Vayl2, Lylyth) / 6 Losses (Adeptis Rahn, Kromac, Caine2, Borka2, Kaya, Rhyas)

Cryx:

4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 3 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3)

Skorne:

12 Wins (Butcher x2, Deneghra, Shae, Sorscha2, Feora2, Severius, Skarre x2, Kreoss2, Borka, Kaya2)/ 5 Losses (Rask, Xerxis, Butcher3, Thagrosh, Zerkova2)

40k: Make Atreidia Great Again

So a good friend of mine, Rico, and I are long-time 40k players. And while I’m very excited about Warmachine and Hordes recently, both of us have been discussing a want to fiddle with some 40k as well. So we decided to effectively do a two person, story-driven campaign to motivate both of us to paint up a full army for 40k. When we play, we usually end up talking politics, so we thought: why not something political? So, here is the official beginning of our campaign.

The story so far:

For eleven cycles now, the three-planet system of Atreidia has seen some great changes. Consisting of three planetoids in close orbit together around a sun, the peoples of Atreidia were long ago human colonists from Terra. Yet the activity of the Maelstrom separated them from the Imperium of Man for millenia, and the small size of their planetoids meant that Imperial exploration of the Ultima Segmentum only stopped briefly at their system to reinstate rule of the Emperor, installing a planetary governor, then moving on. At that point, the Atreidians had developed rudimentary space travel of their own, and had colonized the two near planetoids as well as Atreidus Prime–calling themselves the United Systems of Atreidia (USA).

Imperial star charts map the United Systems of Atreidia where the green N’dras sept marker rests in the lower right.

Then eleven cycles ago, the Tau arrived. They first came with a Water Caste ambassador and a small retinue, then with only slightly more force. The population, far from Imperial center and even farther from concern, was quickly brought under Tau rule as they were unable to organize even passing defense. And while some citizens have come to embrace the Tau philosophy and system of rule, others resent the imposition on their rights and freedoms. New taxation provided many services that the human population lacked in the past, but the arrival of the Tau and other immigrant races from their Empire also spread a great deal of xenophobia and mistrust. As discord became more widespread, violence followed. And in the wake of that, the Tau increased their security presence in the system.

Now, a movement has started underground to violently resist the Tau oppression. Rumors tell of a charismatic, angry leader that is spreading the word of a new set of goals and leadership for the people of the United Systems of Atreidia. The slogan “Make Atreidia Great Again” has been appearing on graffiti across the planets. Those who are closer to the movement speak of the quasi-religious overtones being adopted by the human resistance. They speak of something buried in the race-memory of man and of ancient practices that are unique to mankind’s culture and unknown by the Tau. The more citizens connect with these ideas, the more unbridled rage and anger seems to suffuse their speeches and their actions. To identify each other, adherents have been crafting symbols of their affiliation: small wooden or brass carvings dyed red.

With this level of unrest, it’s only a matter of time until war sparks in the streets and full revolt happens across the United Systems of Atreidia. Will the promises of better life through cooperation and governmental action win, or will the raw fury of unbridled nationalism and chaotic rebellion triumph?

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