Every once in a while wargamers that keep their eyes open will stumble upon a bargain. I happen to have had that moment some days ago. While I say bargain, it was also a bit of a sad story. Without going into much detail, a lovely lady had some warhammer laying around and needed to get rid of it. Problem was: she did not know how much value there was in the box. So I drove by and helped her to determine the value for placing it on marktplaats (our national form of ebay).
We dug trough 3 big boxes of high elves, some of them not even out of the original box! She also had the island of blood starter set, a LOT of paint (mind you, a beginner with over 40 jars is pretty rare I'd say) and a number of other stuff.
Since I already had enough elves I was not interested in the HE, but the skaven did attract me somewhat. Apart from a very poor undercoat job on the general (much to thick!) and the poison wind team all the other skaven members where still in a sprue. I told her I was interested in the skaven, some never-user GW pliers and some paints. Because I helped her out so much I could take all that home for 30 euros! Not a bad deal at all, I'd say.
So, does that mean I will be playing skaven? Nope, at least it is not my intention to start a WHFB skaven army, but it is really nice to paint something else than ogre's and mantic elves every once in a while, and the skaven are just full of detail and fluff!
Furthermore, it is great to have some models to test new techniques and paints on, without having to worry about army composition and colour scheme's and whatnot.
So, that is exactly what I did, and the results can be seen below. Mind you, this is severe work in progress!
First up:
The leader of the bunch. A very striking model, but unfortunately undercoated with a gigantic layer of white. Like someone held a bottle of skull white upside down all over this guy. Fortunately I had my trustworthy sephia wash with me. In order to find all the details once again, I almost completely dipped the general in and miraculously some details became visible.
Next up:
A warpfire thrower team. Already assembled but with a much nicer coat this time, so I could easily undercoat the mini black without loosing any detail.
After that:
Some small rats. There were some more, but these 2 stood out. The one on the right because he is actually armed with something to push rat ogre's forward which seemed very cool. The other armed with a simple spear. I tried some new colour combinations on these guys and am pretty please with the result so far.
Then:
Since we need something to actually push on, here's a rat ogre! There were 2 of these guys in the package and I don't know yet how to finish them, but I like where it's going so far.
Last:
But certainly not least! My personal favorite of the bunch, the Warplock engineer! Very nice model, striking pose and such a blast to paint!
Now, onto more painting! Perhaps we will seem these guys on the battlefield someday. Or ... lurking the streets of mordheim, that is only if I find a warband with Clan Skyre theme instead of those dreaded assassins!
By the way: Pictures made with a lousy mobile phone camera, so excuse the quality!
Some gamers playing mostly Mordheim. We build terrain and paint mini's. At the moment we start looking out for playing with the larger armies. Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th edition is beckoning!
7.26.2014
7.25.2014
Painting OOP dwarves
Got me a
set of OOP metal dwarfs from fellow #warmonger @Woutertje_l. It is nice to
exchange some old models lying around now and then. I happen to find an old
Rhino he was happy with. In this way these miniatures get some paint and
playing time, who otherwise were left in the dark in some storage box waiting
for better times.
Ok, back to
the dwarfs, some very nice old marauder dwarfs, but also a set of metal
Ironbreakers there! I love the models that were there before the new plastic
kit and already had a set of 10 painted. When playing I mostly added dwarf
warriors to the ironbreaker unit to proxy a larger unit but now I can really
field big Ironbreaker units! Woohoo!
Started
painting some dwarfs from the sit just one by one. When looking at the OOP
dwarfs the models are characters in themselves although being for example just
dwarf warriors. Therefore it is nice to just pick a model and start painting.
One of the first ones is this piraty wooden legged dwarf with the crossbow
strapped to his back. I found this the ideal model for playing in Mordheim
warband but also at the front of a Dwarf warrior unit. Started painting him and
actually quite quickly this lad was done only missing his shield and a matching
base to the rest of my dwarfs (stone tiles cast with hirst arts moulds).
The finished
result is something that looks like the following.
7.21.2014
Miniswap 2014
Something
as the miniswap 2014 is stuff that gives me something new to paint and to
break existing paint structures. I am busy painting away at Ogres for some time
now and before that it were dwarves for years. The occasional other model comes
by, but it is difficult to paint something completely different since it will
not fit your army or game system you are working with. The miniswap is the
ideal event to do just that and even have it a bit of a surprise to see what
model it will be.
A painting
challange for myself is nice but is also very interesting to see what your
“opponent” will paint and how he paints it. What is his choice for paint scheme
and how will his paint techniques work out.
All in all
a great event to participate in. For me I sent in an Ogre Butcher. It was an
old model I had lying around for some time now, it came from a collection I
bought in 1 go and needed to be repainted. I stripped the paint and sent in the
model. I am paired with @NigelSBartlett and he sent me an Eldar Farseer. It
couldn’t be a model farther away from my safe paint environment of Ogres and
Dwarfs. Not only another army but also another game entirely (still GW though).
I painted some tyranids maybe 15 years ago but that was it for me painting
Warhammer 40K stuff. The Eldar are something I’ve played against, but that was
also 15 years ago and the closest I got to the elder. Now I was holding a
farseer! Great model, nice and sleek, Elfy (also big contrast with my Ogres and
Dwarfs).
Now is the
time to come up with a paint scheme. I actually did some research on Eldar in
general, color schemes and craftworlds. In the end I settled for blue/turquoise
with white and brass accents. The cloak is something screaming for a nice
painting on it, so I will have a go at painting a nice big wave on it with a
small wave trail along the edges.
Plan in
place, start painting! Progress was a bit slow due to some holidays here and
there, but suffice to say I finished the Farseer. A nice paint project and in
the end the base gave me to most problems, creative wise. It is a readymade
base that comes with the model. Discussed with Nigel that snow fits the army.
Therefore a stone to be painted and some snow to be added but nothing much more
then that really. I must say with the white snow and the white in the model it
fits the complete picture nicely.
7.13.2014
Just in time StuGs
Finished just before leaving for a holliday trip, these Flames of War StuGs are my first air brushed models. I camouflaged the more or less acceptable camouflage with mud and some snow, in line with my Waffen SS panzergrenadiers..
Feedback is welcome, holliday even more :-)
Feedback is welcome, holliday even more :-)
6.23.2014
BTB: Avalanche
BTB: Avalanche
In previous
posts on Mordheim I mentioned the fact that we started a new Border Town Burning
campaign. In the posts it is not recognizable as such so we added the BTB
prefix here. I believe the tagging is still correct. Next to posting on BTB
campaign games the score board on this blog is restored and no w reflects the current
status of all participating warbands for the new campaign.
This weekend
we played with 5 participants and of course this situation was not accounted
for. We already played 5 player multi battle for the campaign, but always
multiplayer battles is not really in keeping with the BTB campaign set. We have
to address the available scenario here and there. In order to this we split up
in a 2- and a 3-player battle. I ended up with the 2-player battle and our
scenario was rolled: Avalanche. The other 3 rolled the Manhunt(?) scenario that
by chance can be played multiplayer quit easily. We installed on 1 big table and split up the
scenery and started playing.
With the
table split in 2, this left us with a smaller playing area than usual. Not too
bad and with a small adaption to the advancement of the avalanche (1D6 inch iso
2D6 inch) this was a really cool and enjoyable scenario. We built up scenery
with a lot of snowcovered pine trees and some ruins to the side reflecting the
mountainous area of the northern wastes. After a lot of city battles this was a
nice change for once.
As said I
played against only the 1 opponent and this was our much respected Carnival of
Chaos player with “Papa Noigal's fingers”. Both warbands are at the opposite ends of the
spectrum for experience. Pappa Noigal and its followers only just started and
my Marienburg Mercenaries were battle hardened for a long time. This resulted
in a big underdog position for Carnivale. It’s good to see that system working
for once. In the end it gained Pappa Noigal a lot of experience and a big step
to catch up with some of the longer playing warbands in this campaign.
The scenery
set up gave a good feeling of winter and the avalanche started to advance and
the game commenced! My strategy was to delay some of the Carnivale members with
a sacrificial ninja gnoblar to get them all covered under the avalanche.
However the game thought otherwise . The avalanche only progressed relatively
slowly and I got a lot more warband members cought up in hand2hand combat. The
marksman in my band was trying to get a good position in the woods to start
sniping of rival warband members, taking care not to come too close to an edge.
With his blackpowder weapon he might trigger an extra avalanche or two and
these are unpredictable! In the end the marksmen didn’t fire a shot the entire
game: aarrgh! He moved and moved and moved out of the way of the moving
avalanche and then saw all his targets move behind some snowcovered trees or
buildings walls. His game was only to keep the Carnivale moving I suppose.
The dwarfs
in my warband were moving slowly out of the range of the moving avalanche only
just outrunning the thing. They didn’t get much fighting either.
The Ogre
bodyguard however was getting caught up in huge fight and was only relieved
from the pressure when the mercenary captain joined the fray with his brace of
duelling pistols. Luckily no extra avalanche was triggered by shooting his guns
and the Ogre finished the resulting fighters. OK, he had a little help from my
witch that after some tries cast “The dust of the blind” on one of the
Strongmans that are part of the Carnivale.
The ogre
remained caught in battle with a small Nurgling that for 3 turns kept the Ogre
busy. The rest of the Carnivale warband was now thinned down a bit an route
tests started. Pappa Noigal was cold as ice and didn’t budge but in the saw a
wall of snow and ice coming his way and thought better of the situation,
fleeing the field, leaving the victory to the Marienburgers.
In the end
I think both sides gained a lot from this battle result. The Carnivale gaining
4 extra experience points per surviving warband member (in the end all but one
survived!) and progressed nicely with new skills and characteristics increases.
My Marienburgers gained an extra campaign point, they tried poisoning some of
Pappa Noigal’s fingers but these nurgle powers prevented poisoning just as
easy. There was a chance of getting more CP’s but this is nice for now,
increased some characteristics here and there as well so all in all the
Marienburgers did good.
Actually
the best of this Avalanche scenario was the scenario. We really had the feel of
the setting in the snow with an avalanche approaching, getting out of the way
of all the snow and ice and trying to trap the opponent in the mounds of snow
with the occasional fight. The fact my marksman didn’t get a shot fired was due
to the fact he had to move to keep in front of the snow and everyone else
moving as well. He needed to be able to predict moves and find a good sniper
spot but didn’t get a chance in all the fray. We really got a feel for the
border town burning setting. Exploring in the end left us with all kinds of
borderland equipment found.
Let me
finish by saying it was a great game.
5.12.2014
6 player Mordheim
Our gaming Group
consists of about 8 people playing several different gaming systems. We started
with the border town burning campaign and most gaming nights a max. Of 4 people
can attend the gaming session. No problem since the campaign system provides
the right mechanism to cope with this. However the other night a total of 6
players applied and actually turned up for gaming night! Now what! Multiplayer
scenario’s are cool but 6-player is taking long turns and how do they all
interact? Headaches all over the places.
Fortunately mister Akrimpen and I were running our weekly km’s and during these
runs we come up with the best game systems you can dream of. Usually we forget
them when finished running (probably only during the runners high you can conceive
these brilliant ideas) but now we noted them down and confused our fellow
gamers with this system.
The system
The 6-way Mordheim system is loosely based on the Triumph&Treachery ruleset for WHFB. We came up with a turn system based on playing cards. Each turn the cards define an alliance and a turn sequence. A set of 6 cards is needed with the suits defining the alliance (2 of each) and the numbers define the turn sequence. Each suite has a high and a low number (for example: 6 Clubs and Ace Clubs, 5 harts and 2 harts, etc.). Highest number goes first and then along the numbers.
First turn: the cards are dealt randomly. After the first turn the player who went last (the Ace) gets the 6 cards and may choose the first card, then the player before him, etc. Now you can choose/guess your alliance but also determine the order of play (when you want your warband to have its turn). At the start of the turn all cards are revealed and the alliances are shown. If for some reason you are in H2H combat with your alliance partner at the start of the H2H combat phase the members are set 1 inch apart.
The 6-way Mordheim system is loosely based on the Triumph&Treachery ruleset for WHFB. We came up with a turn system based on playing cards. Each turn the cards define an alliance and a turn sequence. A set of 6 cards is needed with the suits defining the alliance (2 of each) and the numbers define the turn sequence. Each suite has a high and a low number (for example: 6 Clubs and Ace Clubs, 5 harts and 2 harts, etc.). Highest number goes first and then along the numbers.
First turn: the cards are dealt randomly. After the first turn the player who went last (the Ace) gets the 6 cards and may choose the first card, then the player before him, etc. Now you can choose/guess your alliance but also determine the order of play (when you want your warband to have its turn). At the start of the turn all cards are revealed and the alliances are shown. If for some reason you are in H2H combat with your alliance partner at the start of the H2H combat phase the members are set 1 inch apart.
Our
scenario was fairly simple: 1 artefact in the middle and all warbands equal
distances from the centre in 12 inch bubbles at the edge of the field. A more
or less city playing field with a big plaza in the centre (lots of room for the
big battle. Preferable a plaza with 4 entry gates and further fenced off.
Goal of the scenario is to get the artefact off the table. Only a hero can pick up the artefact standing next to it for 1 turn. If multiple heroes stand next to the artefact for 1 turn and you want to make a move first do a strength check to see if you can take the artefact and run. If not, you remain standing.
The rest of the battlefield has 6 weirdstone shards to pick. Just moving aside a shard, you can pick it up and continue your move.
Goal of the scenario is to get the artefact off the table. Only a hero can pick up the artefact standing next to it for 1 turn. If multiple heroes stand next to the artefact for 1 turn and you want to make a move first do a strength check to see if you can take the artefact and run. If not, you remain standing.
The rest of the battlefield has 6 weirdstone shards to pick. Just moving aside a shard, you can pick it up and continue your move.
Win
conditions the usual (winning leader +1XP, surviving hero + 1XP, +1 CP playing the scenario, etc.) but we
added the following conditions:
+1 CP
winning warband alliance (both allied warbands get this even if 1 warband member
got the artefact, this makes working together more interesting)
Battlereport
So far the scenario!
Now for the batllereport, did it all go as planned and how good was this
system!??
The 6
warbands were: Marienburg mercenaries, Beastmen, Carnival of chaos, Marauder
horsemen, Ogres and Witchhunters.
The game
started of with the beastmen running towards the artefact and the beastman
shaman actually flying its first turn and landing on the artefact. A quick
start here! The other warbands moved tactically towards the middle. Immediately
it was clear the Ogres were more going for the weirdstone and the Marauders
leaving their spawn alone to hunt Mercenaries.
The next turn the beastmen were shot at heavily, taking some losses and the shaman was taken out, no direct retreat move with the artefact here. The mercenaries positioned themselves with shooters in a tower and they let a hired Ogre bodyguard make a run for the artefact. Meanwhile the beastmen were picked of by the carnival of chaos, while withchunters were stalking some Ogres.
Next turns made it clear that the Ogres were only leaving with weirdstone if they were lucky and in their haste of retreating one Ogre fell of a ledge tripping his foot and crashing down heavily taking it out of action. Marauder horsemen were not faring too greatly being heavily outnumbered here. Only 3 on horse entered the fray letting the Spawn take on a Dwarf warrior.
At this point route tests were taking its toll and the playing field rapidly became more empty. The Ogre stood its ground and was apparently scary enough to start walking with the artefact. By now turn 6 arrived and the scenario ended, letting the Marienburgers have the victory and the artefact.
The next turn the beastmen were shot at heavily, taking some losses and the shaman was taken out, no direct retreat move with the artefact here. The mercenaries positioned themselves with shooters in a tower and they let a hired Ogre bodyguard make a run for the artefact. Meanwhile the beastmen were picked of by the carnival of chaos, while withchunters were stalking some Ogres.
Next turns made it clear that the Ogres were only leaving with weirdstone if they were lucky and in their haste of retreating one Ogre fell of a ledge tripping his foot and crashing down heavily taking it out of action. Marauder horsemen were not faring too greatly being heavily outnumbered here. Only 3 on horse entered the fray letting the Spawn take on a Dwarf warrior.
At this point route tests were taking its toll and the playing field rapidly became more empty. The Ogre stood its ground and was apparently scary enough to start walking with the artefact. By now turn 6 arrived and the scenario ended, letting the Marienburgers have the victory and the artefact.
Awesome
game in retrospect. The game system with the cards worked like a charm and all
players were busy scheming to go first or last and plotting alliances they
(might) get each turn. This time we played without weather rules and random
events (BTB ruleset) since with 6 players the turns were already long enough.
We had good fun and a lot of game in games were played (some going for
weirdstone, some fighting out personal vendettas and some going for the
artefact). Good clean fun I’d say.
4.17.2014
Battle report WHBF dwarfs vs Daemons 2000 pts
Note up front: pictures to be added!
With the
new dwarf army book out, I was dying to play a game with the new rules.
Recently I acquired some extra dwarfs as well and it was time to give them some
action after playing lots of games with the Ogres. Also playing a lot of
Mordheim and even Flames of War lately so WHFB was a while ago (I’m still
trying to convince everyone to play a game of triumph and treachery, but no
success to date).
We fielded
2000 pts against each other and my armylist was mostly shooting with an anvil
of longbeards. War machine wise I fielde a cannon, grudgethrower and an organ
gun. For the rest 3 blocks of 10 thunderers (because I love the models and the
fluff over quarelers) and a block of 40 longbeards. This was topped of with a
lord on shieldbearers, a thane BSB (strollaz rune) and a master engineer to
help shooting with the war machines.
The
scenario rolled was Dawn attack and with a lot of rolling it was defined where
our units would land on the battlefield. Of course this was not a preferred
scenario, but it was how the dice rolled. My block of longbeards ended all the
way to my right side and the rest ended left or in the middle. Very nice, since
my opponents daemons ended on his right side (my left) setting our main forces
as far apart as possible. Very nice when you can vanguard with your big block
of dwarfs en nothing is there to vanguard towards! Argl! Bad start deployment
wise.
Start of
the game, I shuffled here and there, mostly positioning my shooters and war
machines (pivot here and there). Now my main phase: shooting! First shot with
my cannon, direct to the great unclean one in order to knock off some wounds. A
nice hit, a nice wound and now d6 for the amount of wounds: 6! BLAM! Not saved,
great unclean one: DEAD! WOOHOO! What a start of the game for the dwarfs. The
canon is known to be the ultimate sniper and I proved this to be very right
indeed.
The rest of
the game for my dwarfs was mostly trying to shoot off the oncoming plaguebearer
squads. Thunderers doing some of the work but not that fast and a tower got in
the way. The grudgethrower managed to do mostly nothing and the organ gun was
somewhat useful (at least lots of shots were fired each turn). I also had a
gyrocopter flying around but the brimstone gun I found not that good an
investment and I didn’t get (forgot) to drop some bombs, better luck next time
here. The warmachines got swarmed over and killed by loads of fury’s. That was
one of the weak parts of my army, I didn’t get to protect the warmachines that
good. Part of the scenario and setting up, but also some bad tactics on my
side.
During the
game my huge block of longbeards and characters managed to shuffle their way to
the centre but when turn 6 arrived managed to NOT get into a single combat! How
nice. By loosing all the warmachines to fury’s and not being able to shoot of
enough plaguebearers the end of the game was a draw, VP wise. Still it was a
good game, a fun game and it was nice to see the new dwarf rules in effect.
Overall I’d
say the new dwarf army book gives a new feel for playing dwarfs. A tendancy
with new armybooks is that new = overpowered compared to “old” other armybooks,
this is not the case for us. Only played one game, sure, but I’d say the feel
for the dwarfs is balanced and inkeeping with 8th ed WHFB.
Furthermore I have 10 irondrakes waiting to be finished with paint and they
must get some action soon. Very curious to see how these new guns play out.
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