6/29/2013

Firestorm Update

Hey All!

Just a quick update on my firestorm projects.  I've officially finished painting my Terran Fleet that I have here with me. I will post pictures tomorrow of the completed fleet, but its looking nice.  Then again anything looks better than an undaunted army or Fleet.  Next part of the project is to wash up my RSN and prime them up for painting.  I'll have one last Terran ship to take care of this week - a MkII Carrier for some added support to the fleet.  

The first RSN ships that are getting painted up will probably be my Destroyer squadron, then the Frigates.  Mostly because neither of them fit on their flight stands properly without glue, and I'd like to paint them up first before gluing then on.  Anywho, until then...

6/27/2013

The collector in me...

Hey all! 

So, even at college orientation (WAR DAMN EAGLE), I can't resist the urge to collect something for my fledgling fleets back home.  And so $20 later I have a Terran MkII Carrier that will be waiting for me when I get home.  I consider it a reward to painting the rest of the Terran Fleet and making it to college.  :) haha, anywho, until next time...

6/26/2013

Wargames Factory

Hey All!

Quick message today about a great place to buy models.  Wargames factory does 28mm historicals, and a few sci Fi and fantasy kits, for dirt cheap.  $20 for around 30 models is usually their price.  Excellent models and great price.  They even make a battalion box of 15mm Germans that would go lovely with a flames of war force.  For $20.  Hop to it amigos!  

6/25/2013

Firestorm Armada!

Hey All!

Just wanted to let you guys know that I got my first purchases in for Firestorm Armada!  My Terran starter box has arrived and so have my RSN Destroyers, as well as the rulebook and Comms Satellites.  After I got done squealing with joy, I promptly built the starter fleet and started to paint them.  I've already completed the Frigates and the battleship, leaving only the Cruiser squadron.







Cannot wait to get some games in, or for my RSN fleet to get here.  It's going to be absolutely fantastic, and my amigo can't wait to get his Dindrenzi Fleet built and painted up.  

The models were a bit of a pain to clean up, but they painted up nice and were nicely detailed.  

TIP:  Make sure you wash resin models before you paint, because otherwise they don't hold paint. I've read horror stories on too many places that tell about beautiful paint jobs chipping off thanks to not washing models before hand.

6/20/2013

Dreadball Unboxing

Hey All!

Just wanted to take the time to show you a little something that I got on vacation!  First, let me go on and tell you that Armchair Adventurer in Honolulu, Hawaii is one of the best gaming stores I have ever been in, and that - if you get the chance - you should visit the store.  The Mad Dragon - what the owner calls himself because of the sheer volume of stock he has - would be happy to see you!

Ok, on to business.  So, I have always had a slight love affair with sports games, mostly because I can picture an absolutely fantastic game of Blood Bowl... But alas, Blood Bowl is dying.  So, who comes along?  Plucky Mantic Games of course!  And they have made a winning product this time.

The box set comes with 2 full teams of 10 models each - Marauders (Orcs) and Humans - as well as a deck of 54 game cards, the game board, a referee model, 2 ball models, the full rulebook, hex bases, cardboard tokens, and a roster pad.

After reading through their Kickstarter and the rules, as well as a fair amount of research and thought, I think that - should my first few games prove fun and I get a league going in college this fall - I will be investing in both a Forge Fathers Team and either a Robots team or a future released Teratons team.  For the near future though, I have a feeling that I will be sticking to my Orx and Humans.  Anyway, enough banter!  You want to see an unboxing!

The Box!

The Rulebook, nice paper, well designed book.
 Honestly the rules of this game are fantastically simple.  I love it, and I am going to enjoy playing this game again and again until I am blue in the face, and then play some more because it really is just that awesome.

The Board itself, complete with visitor and home sides

Counters, dice, and roster sheets

Sorry for poor quality, will take better shots beginning of
next week, seeing as I'm still on vacation and dont want
to loose any of the bits and pieces before I get home.
So there you have it.  Not really an indepth opening.  The book and the paper products look fantastic, I can't wait to rip into those models and my Firestorm Armada stuff on Monday, but until then I have to stick with the internet and trying to figure out paint schemes for all of these new figures.  And on that, I'll see you next time, but until then Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

6/18/2013

Update

Hey all!

Just wanted to give you a quick update on whats going on here.  Mostly the following emails:

"Your purchase X has been delivered!"

"Your purchase Y is on route!"

"Your purchase Z should be there on Thursday!"

Lots of exciting stuff coming down the pike finally.  However, I have other exciting stuff going on at the moment, so I actually wont be able to see any of my Firestorm stuff until Monday unfortunately.  However, my family and I are currently on vacation, so it isn't all bad ;)

I am trying to get over to the local store sometime in the following couple days - something of a tradition in all of my travels - and I will probably purchase something to help out the local gaming community.  The store here mostly supports Flames of War, which is something I have been looking at getting into for a while now, but they might also be selling Dreadball.

This means that I might be making some purchases if we go to the store here.  I will let you all know about my adventures to the local store if it happens, but until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

6/17/2013

DREADBALL

Hey All!

Just wanted to tell you all about an awesome game from Mantic Games called Dreadball!


If you are at all familiar with the Games-Workshop product Blood Bowl, you've got the basic idea.  A bloody and ridiculous sports board game that uses miniatures that you paint and build.

Run human run!
Heres a synopsis:

Dreadball is set within Mantic Games "Warpath" universe, where the various races collect to watch the spectacular and gruesome games of Dreadball - which resembles football and rugby all mixed together.
The game box itself features the fearsome Marauders (Mantics Orcs) against the Corporation's team (sorta like Marines in Space).  It comes with a board to play on, and all the cards and dice that you will need in order to play.  The game is fast paced and ridiculous, but really makes for a good way for people to get into the tabletop realm if they have never played any game before, because it combines the miniatures and dice of a wargame with the conventional board and play style of a board game.  The investment for buying the full box set is $65.  However, if you have a player you are teaching, they can buy a complete team for about $20, and there are currently 8 teams available, so they wont be lacking for options.  If they do get one of the 4 "second season" teams, they will have to get the "Second Season" Rulebook - for $15.  So, for a price of $30 on average, a completely new tabletop gamer will be born into the game.

Why introduce people to tabletop gaming through Dreadball?

I have read enough accounts about how Bloodbowl was everyone first love affair with tabletops in the 80s and 90s to know that sports games grab everyone from the get go.  And what more is Dreadball than a better, cheaper, and more loved by its company Blood Bowl?  Dreadball gets people wet in the way of models and painting, yet it keeps it relatively simple with the fact that you really only need about 10 models per side.  Then you get eveything else you need in the box.  Compared to other hobbies, this seems like the perfect stepping stone into the world of wargaming, with Warpath being the next logical step after Dreadball, launching their fights from the arena to the battlefield in the same fictional universe.  Plus the models themselves are absolutely gorgeous, and would make fine places to start learning how to paint and model.

Look at them... Awesome!
Plus look at how much S**t you get in the box!!  Thats fantastic!

Board, dice, cards, counters, rules, and theres even some models!
I really have an inkling to get this game, and love every second of it.  And, if you have the same inkling, I would suggest you do the same.  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!


6/16/2013

A Firestorm Update

Hey All!

So, as you can probably guess after reading my blog for sometime now, I'm totally nuts for Firestorm Armada.  I have a lovely RSN Fleet in the works, riding at about 800 points.

However, due to the nature of eBay, the prospect of becoming a Spartan Vanguard, and just my sheer magpie like nature, I now have a fledgling Terran fleet in bound...

Not really too big a fan of some of their models, but the starter box was almost half off the regular price and with free shipping.  Call me a woman, but I like good sales like that.  So, I have a second fleet, and for a fraction of the price.  Now I can teach people how to play Firestorm and offer demo games, as well as become a Spartan Vanguard - yay for 20% off! - and hopefully get some epic stuff going on with this game.  I really cannot wait now.


And now I have an excuse to get some of the glorious Tarakian models as well, plus paint a fleet these wonderful colors above.... or some variation.  Anyway, stuff should start rolling in by the end of this week/beginning of next, so until then Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

The Beauty - or the Beast?

Hey all!

I'm here to talk about something we all know about - the glory that is eBay.  I love that site!  It's fantastic, lets you get what you want for usually a fraction of the price.  I just found some amazing deals that I might have to jump on... mostly a Terran Starter Set for Firestorm Armada for half price.  Now, most of you out there will be thinking "golly jee!  that sounds like a deal, the internet is a warm and fuzzy place!"

Then you spend 4 times as much money on stuff than you would have if you had just paid full price for the one thing you wanted.  I could easily go on eBay and buy that Terran fleet... and then another chunk of change for a Dystopian Wars starter fleet.  Oh what that?  MERCS for 25% off?  Well of course I'll take three!  Oh my goodness!  Flames of War for 5% off?!  What a deal!

*poof!*

No mas dinero.

I love eBay.....

But I really hate it sometimes.

6/15/2013

FINALLY!

Hey all!

Just wanted to say that my Firestorm Armada stuff is FINALLY shipping.  I have my RSN starter fleet, 4 Destroyers, the game cards, and some satellite terrain finally headed this direction.  Which means that I will need to make some asteroids shortly, and get some models painted.

But, I am seriously excited for this game, and I almost want to spend more money and buy a second starter box - just so I can have the option of teaching people how to play.  Relthoza look fantastic....

Anyway, I'll post some pictures when I get them.  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

6/14/2013

MERCS

Hey all!

Tonight were going to be talking about the next game on the platter after I work some magic on Firestorm.  Don't get me wrong, I cannot get enough of that game.  With all the exploding dice, gorgeous models, boarding parties.... *ahem* However, with college on the horizon, and Games-Workshop jacking up their prices, it is safe to say that I need to find another game to bring to the uneducated masses of students who squabble over Xbox One vs PS4 besides Firestorm Armada (there are weird people who want actual infantry on the table)

Enter the MERCS.


Thats right.  Military Economic Reconnoissance Counter Security, MERCS for short.  This is a game designed to be the ultimate fast paced, exciting, and over the top manga style action.  In fact, most of the artwork for the game is manga-ish...

See what I mean?
I love this style for the game, as it adds a lot of character.  It is even reflected over to the models themselves, but we can get to that later.  

MERCS is a D10 based system, where squads of 5-8 men descend into covert operations against each other on tight, claustrophobic tables.  Forget the 4x4, we're talking in the 2x2 and 2x3 range here folks. It also forgoes the industry standard tape measure and templates as the go to tools for getting your plastic warriors into combat.  No, this game is all about the stat cards being multi-purpose, and they do get a lot of use in the game.

Backstory:

So, this is going to be a Spark Notes version of the story of MERCS, but it gets the point across.  America is a dying bread, falling behind economically to the rest of the world thanks to an intrusive government and cheap foreign labor.  Feeling left out of the world, America lifts the flood gates on monopolies, and this eventually leads to a world dominated by MegaCorps, where national borders have been dissolved in order to make profit.  This eventually leads to the construction of MERCS in order for MegaCorps to fight each other in secret, while a group of freed citizens try to topple the economic powerhouses through terrorism.  Thats pretty much it in a nutshell.  Countries try to compete economically and cause themselves to get extinct because of it and companies now fight shadow wars.

Models/Faction:

While this game seems to lack the variety of models and sculpts of other games, it makes up for it by having solid rules, that are balanced, and the factions are quite well developed to have different feels to them.

CCC


The Beginning faction.  Based in good ole America, CCC is a mega steel company in the game.  This leads them to have excellent armor, and - being good ole Americans - they have access to some solid firepower.  This is the faction for beginners.  And they have the pyro character.  Which is awesome.

FCC


The Free Corporate Control is a group of terrorists who believe that the MegaCons should be torn down and destroyed.  They are the rebels, and the mercenaries.  They will not stop until their secret agendas are completed.  They are an interesting choice in that they have the ability to field other MegaCons MERCS in their army.

ISS


  
 The super troopers of the game, with redeployment options, and the threatening lightning gun.  They are based on an underwater MegaCon from the Greek Isles.  They also enjoy a good batch of olives and feta cheese.

Keizai Waza 


Keizai Waza is the MegaCorp based in the Far East.  They are the transformer ninjas of the game.  Their fluff states that they have continued to follow a strict code of honor, even into the future and as MERCS, and that they have adopted technology that the other MegaCorps have deemed too destructive and dangerous - Nuclear power.  Awesome models and background makes this one of the most popular factions in the game.

KemVar

KemVar is a group of South American companies that have joined together to become the leading giant in energy production.  They also support some of the stealthiest units and parkoring assassins to bulster their ranks in the game.  This faction is also known to have very few models, but big bonuses on the fronts of surprise and equipment bonuses.

sefadu


sefadu is the African company of the game, backed by the power and money of the CCC, they are a growing power to be watched and wary of.  They feature thematic units that represent African culture in their faction, such as the spear the leader carries to war.  They are extremely agile and the fasted faction in the game, but they sacrifice armor for this mobility.  Compare them to the Eldar of 40k, or an all cavalry High Elves army in fantasy - but about $300 cheaper.

Texico


Texico is the weakest faction in the fluff of the story, on the very edge of foreclosure as they try to take back their only major source of income - the Panama Canal.  As you can see from the models, they are extremely cowboy and mexican feeling, with influences from ancient Central American culture evident in the club weapons.  However, Texico's most known model is the Marshall with his dual revolvers.  Texico is a very unit based faction instead of a model based army.  They must all function together or falter together.

USCR 


Good ole Russia, always has to have the biggest and heaviest units in the game.  They feature the biggest MERC in the game with the Behemoth - a model feared by all of the factions in the game and in the fluff.  The Russians are a powerful force in the world of MERCS, with complete freedom being allowed to all of the citizens, but they choose to live as one.  This creates a bit of a mind melt to the other MegaCorps, but no matter - they are all much more worried about getting squashed into paste by their massive MERCS than the social-economic path the USCR follows.

Closing Thoughts:

Now that you have seen all of the factions and have a little bit of a better understanding of the game and its background, hopefully you too will be ready to suit up and begin your MERCS collection today.  I know I have a box of Texico and a box of Russians in my future.  The rules are a free download on their site, as well as more in-depth looks at all of the factions and the models.  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

MERCS Homepage http://mercsminis.com/







6/13/2013

Another Gem of the Internet

Hey all!

Found another tabletop on my nightly scour of the internet.  A little game called Urban War, created by Urban Mammoth.  Apparently it is very popular with European gamers, although not so much here in the states, which is a crying shame!  I'm here to try and tell you about it...

Looks pretty menacing huh?
Now, I know with games like Infinity, Warhammer 40k, Dark Potential, and a slew of other Sci-fi Skirmish games, something would really have to stand out about this one to make you buy into it right?

Game Play

Urban War is very fast paced.  Using small bands of soldiers, most games will be over between 30-90 minutes.  The game uses D10, and a system of alternating activations to portray combat in the ruined city of Iskandria.  The rules are made for small and fast games, so complexity is dropped in order to achieve something that is easy to learn but hard to master.

Models

 As you can see from a selection of the models, they have a slightly silly appearance, but all in the name of the game.  There are currently 8 factions:

Junkers - Space Romans
Gladiators - uh...
Koralon - Space snake people
Syntha - Robot Cyborg people
Triads - Japanese gangsters... in space!
VASA - Norse police and angels
Viridians - *see Death Korps of Krieg
Neo-Iskandrians - Original Cylon look


Overall, the models arent going to contend with Infinity, but they do have a lot of character, and they are excellent looking when painted up, so they aren't to be scoffed at.

Price

So, you're probably thinking "this is a pretty average looking game"  Well, let me introduce you to the price.  $40 buys you a starter kit.  Quick Rules are free, $10 gets you a pdf of the full rulebook.  OR, $80 gets you a full 300 point force, and another $10 gets you the pdf rulebook.  A tabletop army and rules to play with them for under $100.  Crazy!

Other Info

So, if skirmish games aren't your style, you can always buy into Metropolis: Battle-force, the big brother of Urban War.  Same factions, just more units and squads on the table.  How is that for value?  2 games in one practically!


Plans finally Decided!

Hey all!

So, since I'll be off to college soon, I am trying to figure out what games to start up or bring with me to college to get people into tabletop gaming and have other people to play.  This is one of the reasons I am starting Firestorm Armada... one of many reasons....















*ahem* after all that ship soft porn... the Game is fantastic and the models are great, but you can have two fleets (or 3 or 4...) for dirt cheap!  Which means I can demo it for people, and they can buy into it and have their own fleets.  So here is my devious plan to have two games that people will be willing to buy into...

1) By the end of August I would like to have 2 Firestorm Armada Fleets - RSN are on the way, and Relthoza are super tempting....

2) Buy MERCS - the cheapest, coolest, funnest looking game I've seen.  1 box and you really are done, plus the rulebook.  It has an awesome back story, the models are a little less detailed than Infinity's models, but more detailed then Games-Workshop in my opinion.  The game play focuses around D10 and using the stat cards as measuring tapes.  I'll post a full review of the game next.

So, for about $200, I can have a second Firestorm Armada Fleet (plus a Dreadnought), the MERCS rulebook, AND 2 STARTER BOXES (Russia and Central America).  Personally, I think that is the biggest deal you can find.  For a combined price of like $300, I have x2 800 point fleets in Firestorm Armada, the rulebook, terrain, and I could have the MERCS rulebook, and 2 forces (MERCS is based around 5-8 man teams, each box comes with 6).  Literally about $150 buys you 2 armies and a rulebook for these games folks.  $150 buys you the Fantasy rulebook, a codex, and a hero character at GW.

A little piece of my mind...

Hey all!

Just wanted to share something I found while doing my nightly blog stroll.  Frontline Gamer wrote an article almost 2 years ago describing almost exactly how I feel now.  That is, that Games-Workshop is going a direction that a lot of us gamers don't particularly care for.  However, they are not the only company anymore - they laid the ground work yes - but they are no longer the only company, and infact there are hundreds of companies out there that probably make a game that you will enjoy more than your current Warhammer 40k or Warhammer Fantasy games.  And there are literally games for every possible desire out there....

Anyway, here is a link to the article for your reading pleasure.  Hope you all enjoy, and leave some comments about other games you are trying, heck leave comments about your games-workshop games you are making at the moment.  Lemme hear em!

http://thefrontlinegamer.blogspot.com/2011/12/golden-age-of-gaming.html?showComment=1371105291508#c7480350604373535372

Until next time, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

6/12/2013

Second Firestorm Fleet!

Hey all!

So I went ahead and decided that the best way to proceed after I complete my Rense System Navy fleet is to buy into a second fleet so that I can apply for my Spartan Vanguard position.  Now comes another decision - which fleet?!

I have narrowed it down to 4 possibilities:

Terran Alliance w/ Tarakian Allies:  I like the idea of having a two race fleet, and the Tarakins are a complete go ahead as the choice for allies.  As for the core fleet, I think the terrans will do.  I don't particularly like that they have seemingly no variety between the ships, and that they are blocky looking, but the idea of adding in Tarakians is too good to pass up.

Kurak Alliance Fleet:  I love the different fleet styles in the alliance... but the price point is a little high for me.  The idea of the fleet is great.  Plus I also have an alliance support fleet, and I really don't want to be "that guy" that only collects the alliance fleets, so these probably take the bottom rung.

Relthoza:  These guys are awesome, and I really like their rules and play style - reminds me of Romulans.  Cloaks and then wreck havoc.  The models are really cool too.  Only qualm I have with them is that they are the same side of the conflict as my RSN.  I don't know if I want to try and strain relations on the Zenian League side of the conflict.

Directorate:  Same basic idea along the Relthoza lines.  Models and style are great, the rules and fluff are fantastic, buuuuut they are Zenian League, so I don't know if I want to go with the same side of the conflict.  We'll see though.

Current standings are as follows:

Relthoza
Terrans/Tarakians
Directorate
Kurak Alliance Support Fleet


Sexy Relthozan Fleet
Terrans and Tarakians...

Or...

Dystopian Wars Prussian Naval Battle Group & Armored Battle Group
or
Prussian Naval Battle Group & Teutonic Battle Group
or...
Prussian Naval Battle Group & Support Flotilla


Sooooo Tempting

6/11/2013

Projects and Plans

So with my Firestorm Fleet of Rense System Naval vessels inbound, I can't help but take the time to think about other projects I have going, and what I might want to work on or begin with the completion of various other projects.

Taking top priority right now is in fact the building, priming, and painting of the RSN fleet.  Beyond that I have several options.

1. Skaven - there are always skaven slaves to be painted, and monsters to be finished for the rats.
2. High Elves - I have over 100 models left to paint and base for my pointy eared cavalry army.
3. Terrain for Firestorm - need to build some asteroids and paint up the satellites I ordered.
4. Sedition Wars - I love these models, they just always get put on the back burner :(

Projects that I would like to start:

- I would love to become a Spartan Vanguard member.  In order to do that, you need to have 2 well painted fleets so you can demo the game to people.  I am thinking that this would also be the perfect excuse to start collecting a Relthoza or Terran Fleet, plus add to the local wargaming community with a new game.
- On the same note as Firestorm, I have a desire to play Spartan Studio's Firestorm: Planetfall.  10mm sci-fi action sounds ridiculously cool, plus the models are gorgeous.  However, they don't sell starter boxes anymore, so it would be cost effective to play another game like...
- Dystopian Wars!  I could swing either the two naval group set for myself and start Prussians and Empire of the Blazing Sun (or the land groups for that matter).  Or I could really buff up a Prussian naval group with the starter box and one of the support flotillas that are coming out.
- Dystopian (LAND) Wars!  As surely as the naval game is amazing looking, the two army land battle group bundle sounds awesome as well - to get my Prussian and Empire of the Blazing Sun on.
- Infinity is also a very tempting game to start out, with ALEPH calling my name.  The models are truly fantastic and the rules are actually really cool.  This might happen.
- American Civil War Historical game using Black Powder rules.  Its a mouthful to say, but when you can buy a complete Confederate army and a complete Union army for $20 on amazon, it is really tempting.  Plus I would like to get into some historical gaming, and this might be the way.
- Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander has honestly been making me all hot and bothered for about a year now.  The game looks absolutely fantastic, the models are great, the terrain is wonderful, and it would just be right in the world if I could start some Shaltari and rip open a can of whoop ass on some humans.
- and finally, the option I should probably take, and save money up to buy into one of the AH-MAZING kickstarter projects that will be coming out this year; namely All Quiet on the Martian Front, Wild West Exodus, and WarZone Resurrection.  All of those games look like a lot of fun, but aren't going to be in full production for quite some time yet.  I would really love to get my hands on some of the All Quiet stuff, but until then I will probably succumb to one of the other temptations... Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!


Arrow and Plague

This is an account of the first battle against the Wood Elves, and a narrative battle report of the mighty Skaven of Clan Frost Tail!  Enjoy....

The Skaven at War...
Malkk looked through the snow fall coming down and shivered.  The war with the lizards had cost him dearly, and he had to promise half of his next warpstone haul for the slaves and clanrats he hired from other Warlord clans.  They began their march north through the frozen wastes around the secret caves into the Underempire, towards the Chaos wastes in an attempt to gain some of the promised warpstone to pay off the incredible debt that he had created.  Malkk spotted a large tower to the north, along a frozen river surrounded by dark snow covered forest.  He could feel something radiating from he tower, and he could only hope that it would be something to help him crawl and scratch his way out of debt, or at least hire an assassin to kill off his debtors.  
Within the hour, his entire army had assembled along the road to the tower, and were within a few miles of the structure.  Malkk was beginning to feel a nagging sense of being watched.  He did not like the feeling.....
........ The ratmen were moving into the trap with perfect predictability.  They had moved along the path towards the great Tower of Gru’masha like so many before them, drawn in by greed and lust for power.  They advanced with complete enthusiasm, and did not even attempt to cover their approach in any way.  The Spellsingers nodded to their warriors silently, sending in the first wave of warriors.  The rats would pay for their incursion into the forest....
.... Malkk knew that something was wrong, but it wasn’t until the sound of galloping hooves reached his ear that he knew he’d been right.  The plague priest looked across the battlefield and saw the cavalry charging.  Two columns of cavalry advanced along the left flank of his army, spears glittering in the snow fall and sunlight.  Movement across the river caught Malkk’s eye, and he caught a flash of what looked like hooded figures rushing through the forest.  Malkk knew that there was no fleeing from this fight, no matter how much he wanted to, and squeaked out a command for his warriors to attack.  
The Wood Elves of Ariel Lorthen were fast on the attack, with units of Glade Riders advancing at max speed towards the exposed flank of the ratmen.  A quick order and some much needed whipping saw a pack of giant rats shoved in the direction of the incoming cavalry.  They launched a vicious charge against the agile horsemen, and through luck managed to down a few of the riders in a horrible wave of puss covered teeth.  The riders struck back, killing the packmaster outright, which only succeeded in stirring the rats into a great frenzy.  They launched themselves again at the Glade Riders, and managed to envelope the tiny unit of warriors in a clash of rat on horse and teeth on steel.  This diversion gave a regiment of Clanrats time to reform and prepare themselves for an attack that would never come from a second unit of Glade Riders, as the warpfire thrower spat green flaming death at the unit that prepared to charge them.  Volley upon volley of arrows rained down upon the slaves and plague monks, but Malkk’s threats of doom and destruction kept them in line.  
Malkk looked at the trees as they picked themselves up and slowly move forward towards the ratmen.  brought into lurching life by the wizards of the Wood Elves.  Malkk was not amused by this parlor trick of a spell, and launched himself into an incantation of plague.  The power of the Great Horned Rat was coursing through him, but in a freak occurrence, Malkk lost his concentration as an arrow whizzed into a plague monk on his left, and he mispronounced a single word.  His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.  A great tear in reality opened up with a great crash and devoured plague monk after plague monk.  Malkk threw himself to the ground and pleaded with the Great Horned Rat for forgiveness, and - feeling the energy of his dented and rusty foul pendant drain - breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up and dusted himself off.  The battle was going in the favor of the Wood Elves now, as they held fast across the bridge in the face of catapult fire, mortar fire, and slings from the slaves as they rushed forward.  Malkk knew that something needed to change and quickly......
...... The Spellsingers communed silently through the forest, observing the battle as it progressed.  They had struck several blows on the rats, but not nearly enough to break them.  The Glade Riders had retreated in the face of the warpfire, and they had only struck minimal casualties on the rats for the loss of life they had just suffered.  The trees were coming alive and aiding the warriors of the glade with whatever they could muster, but it did not seem to be enough.  Something had to be done to press the advantage they had over the bewildered army of rats after the explosion of their wizard.....
....... Malkk goaded the Slaves on and demanded that they make it into the battle.  Little did Malkk know that there was an extra warrior amongst the ranks of his slaves.  Vassk Squeal-Stab was an assassin of Clan Eshin, but he had trained in the far west, in secret enclaves under the Dark Elves cities and realms.  He had returned to Skavenblight and been ordered to hunt down the fugitive Malkk by his debtors.  He had witnessed the Plague Priests defeat at the hands of the Lizardmen, but watched in astonishment as he crawled out of a creator the size of a watchtower.  He had stayed his blade at that time in sheer respect for the survival instinct of the Priest.  Now he would continue to stay his blade until the Priest proved that he was incapable of producing results.  He marched in the ranks of the Skavenslaves in an attempt to remain as far away from the plague priest as possible, but still in the realm of observing him.  He was amazed by this plague priest, and his uncanny ability to survive the worst of disasters and still continue to keep his head about him where other lesser rats would have fled.  It was interesting to see a brave rat, but sooner or later Vassk would have to kill him.  However, it might be later if he kept this string of bravery up.  But all of that would have to wait as the Slaves finally got the courage up to run across the bridge in a wave of mutilated flesh and matted fur.  They charged right into the ranks of a unit of massive forest spirits - known as Dryads.  They clashed into each other with an explosion of sound.  Vassk launched himself into the fray, spinning and flourishing with a flurry of movements, hacking and slashing, parrying, poisoning, cutting, ripping, tearing, and gouging his way through the Dryads.  Before he could blink twice, he was alone in the midst of the Dryad regiments - the Skaven Slaves having all died in the first few moments of the combat.  Vassk could here the sounds of a pack of giant rats entering the fray, but he couldn’t tell where they were, so he simply kept on the attack against the seemingly endless horde of Dryads......
...... Malkk shook his head at the Slaves valiant effort to do something useful.  They had bought him time to bring the rest of the army back into formation and prepare to take them across the bridge into the fray.  However, Malkk was determined to soften up some of the opposition before he launched himself into an attack.  Malkk closed his eyes and tried to concentrate.  He began the incantations.  He opened his eyes, green witch fire pouring out.  With rage pouring through him and the energies of the Great Horned Rat coursing through his veins, Malkk let loose a mighty blast from his staff......
...... The Spellsingers both collapsed for a moment under the amount of magical discharge emanating from the Skaven Sorcerer.  Then they saw what the spell was capable of.  All throughout the ranks of the Wood Elves, there were casualties, as soldiers and Dryad alike fell to the ground with puss oozing from every opening, and black sores appearing almost instantaneously from the plague that the wizard had unleashed.  The Spellsinger looked at her sister, and with horror realized that she had fallen to her knees, blood dripping from both ears, and her eyes turning a dark yellow.  “Sister...” she gasped as she slumped over, her life giving out under the sorcerous magics of the Skaven wizard.  The remaining Spellsinger turned in anger, but quickly regained her composure.  She was in a better place now, we must save what we can, she thought.........
........ Malkk cackled with glee as he glutted on the magical powers he had just unleashed.  With great pleasure he watched as the remaining Wood Elves slunk back into the dark forest from whence they came, and rallied his remaining rats to push on towards the wizard’s tower and claim his prize.  Many rats had died today, but many more could be bought with the spoils of his adventures.  Malkk allowed himself a rare snaggle-toothed smile under his puss and dirt encrusted robes......

....... Vasst wiped the blood from his twin blades and sheathed them, observing the carnage around him.  Nothing but dying green lights and broken branches surrounded him, but he felt no pride or pleasure, he simply nodded, and moved into one of the regiments of Clanrats marching past him.  He had work to do still..........

New Game inbound!

Hey all!

Just wanted to take the time to tell you all about an excellent new game that I will be playing with my friend the Critz here in the next few weeks:  Firestorm Armada by Spartan Games.


FIRE EVERYTHING!!!

A game of fast paced, destructive, and awesome Spaceship combat.  After several read throughs of the rules (which are available as a PDF on their website) and watching several battlereports, I cannot wait to get my hands on the models and play some games!  I'll give a basic run down on some of the major parts of it.

Backstory:

This game has an excellent fluff to it.  A bunch of humans spread out, the outer planets fell left out of the core worlds in politics and government, they rebel, and badaboom you get the two main factions: the Dindrenzi Federation and the Terran Alliance.  The game itself takes place with a giant war breaking out on the borders of these two powerhouses, dragging all of their allies into the war as well.  On one side you get the Zenian League - a power hungry group gathered under the Dindrenzi to include spiderlike aliens called the Relthoza and a conglomerate of supercompanies called the Directorate.  Against these forces you have the Kurak Alliance made up of the Terrans, lizard-like Sorylians, and the Aquans (who have suspiciously Calamari looking ships).

Models:

Painting and assembly required.

Dindrenzi Ship
 As you can see, the models for Firestorm Armada are quite fantastic. The majority of ships are approximately 3 inches long, with the longest being almost 6 inches long.  Spartan games continues to increase their reputation for making high quality models with their fleets.  Models are cast in either resin or metal.  I really love the look of the different fleets, with the exception of the terrans, but that is a personal bias.

My fleet will be RSN - Rense System Navy - which is actually a support fleet to the Dindrenzi.  My friend will be playing as the Dindrenzi themselves, and is extremely excited to begin.
Directorate Ships

Sorylian Ships





































Game Play:

The mechanics of the game are great.  They utilize the Spartan Games exploding dice mechanic, where 6's are counted as 2 hits and allow you to roll another dice, which could potentially lead to ridiculous amounts of damage depending on your luck.  The rules are simple but allow for tactical flexibility with different tactics including boarding, tactical withdraws, linking fire with ships in squadron, and much more.  I love the rules, and will post links to the Spartan Games page to download the rules, as well as links to a battle report or two to help see the game in action.

Cost:

This is the important factor for me.  I want to be able to enjoy games and still afford to eat at the end of the month.  This is one of the reasons I don't buy GW anymore even though they have great games.  Firestorm Armada is great because the models are so much cheaper in comparison to other companies.  You can buy a starter fleet, which comes with a whooping 6 frigates, 3 Cruisers, a battleship, lamented tokens, stat cards, and flight bases for $70 on their website, or cheaper on third party sites like amazon.  However, the real kicker is the Spartan Games MegaBundle set.  Want 2 box sets for you and your friend? $60 per person.  Want FOUR box sets?  $49 per person.  The Spartan MegaBundles really aim to help people play and get there armies going.  And then, with additions to your fleets, your looking at spending around $20-25 on most additions - carriers being the exception and pushing $30.  However, compare this to Games-Workshop's policy of 90% of their boxes being a standard $35, and their big kits ranging from $60-115, and you've got a deal breaker.

Support:

This game is growing everyday.  But at the same time you can literally go onto the forums at Spartan games and talk to the design team.  You can find people constantly buying into the game, and there are big names in the tabletop gaming world that are starting to adopt the game - Miniwargaming being one of the biggest.  It is growing everyday and will only continue to do so as time goes on.

Overall:

Overall I cannot wait to sink my modeling teeth into this game.  Having played tabletops for almost a decade, it is really going to be nice to get away from "The Giants" and Warmachine and play something that is a really awesome concept, with fantastic models, and a great and growing community.  I hope to see more of you playing Firestorm Armada in the future!  I know that we will be posting pictures and even video up on the blog here of our experiences with Firestorm in the coming weeks and months.  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

Links:
Firestorm Armada Rules Download - http://www.spartangames.co.uk/resources/downloads
Battlereport - http://youtu.be/cZAWaeBfvRA
General Information - http://www.spartangames.co.uk/products/firestorm-armada
Great Firestorm Armada Site - http://theblackocean.com/

The RSN cometh...

A nice fleet someone is working on...
Never forget!  Never Surrender!

Activate Fold-Space Drive.... See you on the other side



6/08/2013

The Importance of Painting

Hey all!

We all have seen tabletops that are almost completely barren looking - even in the heat of battle.  What I mean is, we all have seen games that have no terrain, a few primed models, and one or two painted models a side, while the rest fight as an unrecognizable blob on the table.

I know this because I have been there.  When you play the hobbies, you want to PLAY.  You want to be knee deep in the action, rolling dice and getting as much play time in as possible.  However, I am a true believer in the power of painted models, and fully decked out tables.  Most of us don't have time to lavish details on the hilt of an ax of one dwarf warrior who is probably going to die tripping over a log in a forest.  If you do have the time and patience to do that, I envy you.

Most of us want an army that looks reasonably well painted, and follows the 3 foot rule.  If a P-51 mustang looks like a P-51 mustang at 3 feet, your home free.  You don't need to paint super detailed.  In my gaming group alone, there is a player who I respect greatly.  He plays Wood Elves in Warhammer Fantasy, and has a fairly sizable collection that does generally well on the tabletop.  However, in the coarse of 8 months, he has managed to paint a single model.  This is because he suffers from "Perfectionist's Paralysis" as I call it.  His models must be perfect and detailed, right down to the individual locks of hair on their head.

My point of this ramble is, don't settle for having a grey blob army, and don't get "Perfectionist's Paralysis."  Paint your models quickly and get them on the table!  It looks so much better and gets the juices flowing a little bit more when your model that you DID lavish with detail because it is a centerpiece model obliterates through your enemies painted flank and drives his army into a state of panic.  So below I will put some links to youtube channels and websites that I think offer some great advice and wonderful tips on painting quickly but retaining some of the models details to make them look great on the table.

Great articles on painting pretty much anything (also has a great youtube channel!):
http://itslikewatchingpaintdry.blogspot.com/

Blue Table Painting has some excellent painting tutorials:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bluetablepainting/videos?view=1&flow=grid

Awesome Paint Job shows you some good stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/user/awesomepaintjob/videos?flow=grid&view=1

One of my new favorites (probably has to do with the Firestorm Armada stuff):
http://www.youtube.com/user/GirlPainting/videos?view=0&flow=grid

There are about a million more, but these are some of the major ones I can think of.  They have great stuff and can give you some inspiration!  As always, remember to paint those models, roll those 6's - unless its moral checks - and Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

More Skaven

Hey all!  Just wanted to post some pictures of my pride and joy - Clan Frost Tail, led by the cowardly and omnipotent Plague Priest Malkk.

The Clan in its full splendor, with bound monsters

Part of a regiment of Clanrats
The Devious and maniacal Malkk

Plague Furnace pushed by....
......Full compliment of 40 Plague Monks
A cheery Poisoned Wind Mortar
The army gets fielded against the main Warhammer Fantasy players in my gaming group, The CEO and his Lizardmen and The Critz and his Wood Elves.  Clan Frost Tail has marched against The Empire before, as well as Daemons of Nurgle and Warriors of Chaos (also Nurgle).

The army is usually something like this:

Plague Priest on Furnace
Warlock Engineer Cheese
BSB

60 Slaves
2 regiments of 30 Clanrats with weapon teams (PWM and Ratling gun)
2 Regiments of 15 Giant rats

40 Plague Monks
9 Gutter Runners w/ slings and poison

Hellpit
Catapult

Usually works pretty well.  I have 40 stormvermin, but I dont get to run them very often because of points restrictions in our games we play.  Usually 1500-1750 points.  Anyway, thats all till next time. Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!