Weekly Update #1

Hey All!

As promised, here is the very first weekly update I have for you!  I spent this morning enjoying a little quiet in my dorm and took advantage of that to get some hobby work done for this weekends festivities at Treefort Games in Fayetteville, GA.

Here are some shots of what I've completed so far:

 I purchased some Aegis R&Ds a while back, but never really got around to getting them ready with all of the college madness starting.  So here they are, all built and washed, ready for some priming and painting!  These are definitely high on the priority list because of this weekend, but not as high as my Cerberus...

I have wanted to build this thing since I ordered it in July!  I love the look almost as much as I like my RSN cruisers in general.  They are the powerhouses of my fleet, and I can't wait for this guy to get some paint on him and bring some pain to my opponents.  Hopefully anyway...

And then there is this lovely bunch.  I know that there has been a new wave of Shroud Mages released and that I have the Mk I box set for them, but I really like their look a lot.  I honestly cannot wait to try this system out and get stuck in with my Mages.  They were great to put together, and really my only complaint about any of the models - including the Destroyer blister I bought to add some punch to the frigates - are the frigate models and their lack of scale on the turrets.  They're huge for those little ships!  Aside from that though, everything is awesome looking on them.  I have to say that my favorite models of the bunch that I have so far are probably the destroyers.  I like their slightly higher prow rams and just their whole profile, although the Mk I battleship is awesome looking too.  So are the cruisers... Heck everything is good looking!

Cannot wait to go to Treefort this Sunday and get some games in for the first time in probably a month or so.  Bringing a friend along to try and introduce him to the world of Tabletop wargaming, so hopefully that goes well.  Also, I am thinking about ways to get a Dreadball group going within my group of friends here, seeing as Season 3 is about to come out and that game is always awesome looking.  Anywho, until next time, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

Intro to Weekly Updates

Hey All!

So, in an effort to keep this blog alive and kicking, and still have fresh material, I am going to try and make a commitment to post something once a week.  I have just started college at Auburn University, so it will probably take some adjusting, but rest assured faithful readers, that I will have something up every week - probably on Wednesdays from now on.

So, to start out this tradition, here is a brief update on everything that has been going on hobby wise for myself recently.

I ventured over to Fayetteville, Georgia, this past Sunday to get some insight into my "local" hobby store:  Treefort Games.  I have never been to a finer establishment, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone that is in the Atlanta area and has their models on them.  They are only open weekends during the fall and winter - college students are their main source of income - but they have a little bit of everything:  Spartan Games, Games-Workshop, MTG, Warlord Games, Privateer Press, and more.  Plus more board games than you could shake a stick at.  They have something like 15 tables to play on, personal booths for RPG groups, painting tables, hundreds of terrain pieces.  It is an excellent place to call your wargaming home, and I am more than willing to drive the hour and a half to get their from the prettiest village on the plains.

While I was there, I ran into not one but three Spartan Vanguards, and was swept up in a flurry of excitement.  So much so that I ended up agreeing to go back this coming Sunday and enjoy a few games of Firestorm Armada with the local player base.  And then this happened:

So I may have been so swept up into the flurry of Spartan Games rah-rah-rah that I purchased the old Shroud Mages starter box and a blister of Destroyers for them as well.  It was marked down a little, so it rounded up to about $40, so I was extremely happy.  So now I will have my mighty Shroud Mages in addition to the Terrans and RSN for Firestorm.  It is a good day for naval battle systems!

Also, on some rumors and announced awesomes from Spartan Games - Firestorm Armada and Planetfall are getting new rulebooks and new models for everyone!  We're talking a nice new rulebook, faction sourcebooks for the Zenian League and Kurak Alliance, and redone models for all the peoples!

On top of that, Firestorm Planetfall will also be getting a rulebook, alliance books, and models for all 6 core factions!  Thats enough to make me want to save some cash money back even!

And on the rumor mill, it is said from several gentlemen that Uncharted Seas is also due for a new rulebook and models to come out as well, which can only be good news now that my Dark Ironclads will be rolling into service this Wednesday probably.  Good times to be a Spartan Games supporter, as they prepare to launch themselves into a new whirlwind of releases!

On other games fronts, Space Marines are coming out next month, so we all get to see the ugly blue ducklings everywhere for the rest of the edition.

Other news from the fronts is pretty sparse.  New stuff everywhere for all games.  An awesome 2-player starter box for Dropzone Commander has been announced, but with Spartan Games Firestorm Planetfall inbound, it might be hard to break loyalty.  I'll have to compare prices for the games when the FS:P stuff comes out.

Warlord Games has dropped some new Hail Caesar kits and some new Bolt Action stuff, and that's pretty much everything I have for you today guys.  I will definitely get some pictures up of my Cerberus Heavy Cruiser and Terran R&D cruisers when I get them painted up - hopefully - on Wednesday.  And the Shroud Mages will definitely be getting put together on Wednesday as well.  Lots to do on Wednesday to get ready for Sunday!  And on top of everything I have classes (except Wednesdays) and a football game on Saturday!  So, until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes! 

Updates and a Battle Report

Hey All!

Sorry for the long drought between posts, but I assure you I am still tabletop gaming.  In fact, over the past two days, I have gotten in a rather large game of Firestorm Armada and a game of Power Grid.

First things first, I have to apologize for no pictures.  Both games happened to be pick up games that we not arranged prior, so I didn't take any pictures.  If you are allergic to long blocks of text, I will give a short and sweet replay, with a narrative battle report following.

RSN Forces (Inferno Fleet):
commanded by myself (sinscaptain)

Spectre Battleship (Battlecruiser really)
- x4 Interceptors flying CAP
x3 Spook Cruisers
x2 Phoenix Destroyers
x2 Phoenix Destroyers
x3 Bulwark Frigates
x3 Bulwark Frigates

Terran Alliance (Strike Fleet Templar)
commanded by my friend The CEO

Razorthorn Battleship
Ares MkII Carrier
- x6 Bombers
- x6 Assaulters
x3 Sentinel Cruisers
x4 Pilgrim Frigates
x2 Pilgrim Frigates

Battlefield was open except for 4 gun platforms ringing 3 torpedo satellites.  We made a simple rule where if you got within 4" of a satellite you controlled it.  This was to level the playing field a little bit because of any points difference.  We hadn't calculated points wanting to just throw down and get playing, so we used these platforms to offer an advantage.  They proved helpful, but not obnoxiously so.

Deployment - The RSN left to right: Spooks, Spectre, Destroyers, Frigates, Destroyers, Frigates.
The Terrans right to left:  Frigates, Cruisers, Frigates, Battleship, Carrier.

Game:

The game went surprisingly smooth at first.  The Spooks managed to ping some damage on the Carrier, and then the frigates all sped forward to try and get some of the satellites.  My Destroyers opened up on frigates and whipped them off the map.  Then his battleship moved up and scored a few points on my Spooks, but was cautious because of how badly they had hurt him in the past.  Then I moved up more destroyers and pegged him for a few points, and started to really hurt his Carrier.  I threw my battleship at it, and for the rest of the game I shot as much as I could spare at the carrier with one hull point on it.  I couldn't manage to kill it all game.  I focused so much on it that he got off a full salvo from his broadsides on his own cruisers against my frigates - crushing a squadron - and then AGAIN against my destroyers.  The highlight of the game was probably right about here, where a rolling broadside completely blew up a destroyer.  That was bad enough, but the explosion from her sister ship gutted the other destroyer with double crits - both of them decompressions in a fit of bad luck.  The game pretty much went down hill from there.  I ended up taking him down to 85-90% of his original fleet strength while he crushed most of my fleet, save the battleship once again, and a single destroyer.