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.

Releases! Releases everywhere!

Hey All!

A lot going on today, so I will get started quickly for you, no meandering today!

Spartan Games is awesome in that they show you exactly what is going to be released  3 months ahead of time so that you can presumably pick out what you want and prepare to add it to your fleets.

September will have major releases for Dystopian Legions, Dystopian Wars, and Firestorm Armada.  I don't know much about Dystopian Legions besides the fact that it is another infantry based 28mm game (bah!) so I am not that excited. I know a lot of people that will be, but its not for me.

Dystopian Legions is getting the Federated States Sergeant and Specialist, as is the Empire of the Blazing Sun.

Pretty cool looking models, but still not enough to make me interested.

On the flip side, Dystopian Wars is getting the last round of First Wave upgrade boxes:  a Covenant of Antarctica Aerial Support Group, a Republique of France Attack Flotilla, and a Russian Coalition Strike Flotilla.  All three of theses are introducing new models into the line for each core nation.  Plus they look freaking beautiful.

Covenant Aerial Support Group

French Attack Flotilla

Russian Strike Flotilla

I love the French and Covenant models.  The RC is awesome, but so many people play them that it would be a disservice to the other awesome models to take any great interest in them.

Finally, we have the Kedorian Coalition, with some of the biggest models ever made for Firestorm Armada.  I will be getting some of these to supplement my RSN fleet.  They're too awesome not to get.

Kedorian Alliance Fleet

Kedorian Support Fleet

So there you have it folks, all of the Spartan Games September releases!  But there is something else....

New Lizardmen....

Now, I normally try and avoid Games-Workshop Products, but I really do have a soft spot for Fantasy.  It is one of the greatest infantry based tabletops in my opinion, and I try to get my Skaven out on the table as often as I can, unless somebody is up for Firestorm Armada or something along those lines.  These new lizards are badass.  There are resculpted Terradon Riders, which can also make Ripperdactyls, a box with the new Skink Oracle, a box that will make either a Carnosaur with a Sauras Old Blood, or a Troglodon.  Finally, there is the Bastillidon, which can come as a ranged weapon (solar laser beams) or have an Ark that spawns swarms of snakes on its back.  Either way, I have a friend that collects Lizards, so I will have one hell of a time fighting against these new dinos with my Skaven.

So that should be everything for now.  I have to go dust off my Plague monks and roll out another 40 skaven slaves so I can fight off hordes of Lizards, and gather some cash for the inevitable Kedorian purchases, as well as some more Terran reinforcements.  And then there is the matter of Dystopian Wars.....  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes! 

Lizardmen Pre-Order

Spartan Games September Releases

The Dystopian Wars Question

Hey All!

So, as you all know, I have been kicking around the idea of starting some Dystopian Wars.  Not right now mind you, but down the line when I have some more time and money, it is certainly on the list to play.  However, I want to pick the right fleets to start out with...  I want to do something similar to my Firestorm Armada plan - collect two fleets so that I can demo the game to people and have some variety to my playing.

Which leads me to my question... what fleets?  I've narrowed it down to one for certain, but I am not sure about the other.

I am going to collect Republique of France.  They have gorgeous models, an awesome play style with the mid range effectiveness, some of the best air units, FLYING BATTLESHIPS, and other interesting tidbits like that.  Plus I love the look of all of their models.

I mean come on.... thats fantastic looking (and also happens to be the starter box)

What should my other fleet be then?  Well, my thoughts were the following:

Prussians - I love their land and air models, and the no-nonsense approach to their navy models is nice in its own way.  I love that they use Tesla weapons, and that they are renowned for boarding assaults.  However, it is those same Naval vessels that make me think I might get bored with them.  I don't want to get bored painting the ships.  I love their land and air models - they are some of the coolest in the game - but I want to start on the naval side of things.

Covenant of Antarctica - Once again, their models just really get me.  I love the walker models on land (I don't care for EotBS naval stuff, which is why they wont be here on this list even though they have walkers too) and they have some interesting Air choices.  Their naval stuff is pretty cool, with the exception of the frigate, but I would get over that.

Chinese Federation - I know that they are only a naval faction at the moment... But they have awesome models.  I really want to get into the Land and Air portions of the game, and I wont be able to do that with the Chinese, but I still put them in because I could always start a third fleet for land based operations.  For instance - Chinese and French for the naval battles, then French and Prussians for land and air, eventually adding in naval units for the Prussians.... which would probably make more sense if I just added Chinese later, after two main fleets...

Free Australians - Same reason as the Chinese - they have beautiful models, but they are only naval at the moment and that would result in serious problems when I want to add land and air to the game.  Even though I really like their models....

So there you have it.  I am leaning towards either Prussians, even though I might get bored with the Naval vessels, or Chinese, just because their models are so damn cool.  I don't know though... Any help would be much appreciated!

In the meantime, I have a game of Firestorm Armada coming down the pike in the next couple days I think, so that should be awesome!  Look forward to seeing that in the near future... Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes! 

Spartan Games nugget

Hey All!

Quick little piece of info - Spartan Games just updated their bundle sets for Dystopian Wars to include 10 fleets instead of 7.  So now, for almost 15% off normal price, you can get 2 Naval Starter sets from the following list:

Prussian Empire
Empire of the Blazing Sun
Federated States of America
Kingdom of Britannia
Russian Coalition
Republique of France
Covenant of Antarctica
Australia
Chinese Federation
League of Italian States

Here's a little inspiration if you think you might be on the edge for Dystopian Wars...

Roughly $130 buys you that mega-bundle and the rulebook.  Split that with a friend and buy a second rulebook for yourself and you are looking at a total investment of around $75 to start Dystopian Wars - which is a steal, because all of the starter boxes are designed to get you about 700 points worth, and that means you are only 300 points away from a glorious 1000 point fleet... and with land, air, AND sea models at your disposal, its pretty easy to get up to 1500 points... or more.  

So, stoke up your coal engines, push out your guns, and power up the shield generators, because this means all out Victorian Steampunk War at an affordable price.  So, always remember: Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!

FIRESTORM PICTURES AHH

Hey All!  

Something has just shunted into scanner range....

Thats right!  As the title gives away, its time to unveil my two Firestorm Fleets!

Something is spotted...

The fleets have assembled and are bloodied and battered.  First game was against a buddy of mine who borrowed my Terran Fleet and played Starter box games.  The RSN managed to come out on top after 4 turns of bloody action.  My cruisers for RSN are powerhouses.  Definitely some more in my future.  On the Terran side of the game, they have some nasty frigates.  They might only have Fore fixed weapons and torpedoes, but their shields and long range capabilities (for Frigates) was insane.  In the end game, RSN managed to kill 3 frigates, all 3 cruisers, and take a frigate prize.  The Terrans managed to destroy all 6 RSN frigates, and beat on my Cruisers - but not kill any.  Both battleships stayed relatively clear.

Looking forward to more games over the next 3 weeks and getting some Dreadball painted up and played!  Also, it seems that there are some Firestorm Satellites that need painting up, and long range scanners are picking up something big on the horizon...  Until then, Tarum et clama dimit belli canes!