Grail Quest this Weekend!

This weekend is Grail Quest at Atomic Empire in Durham, NC.  This year it is a 6-game 2-day event run by the Bull City Wargaming Podcast's duo of Ben and Tom.  They run my favorite GT, Brawler Bash, in the Spring.

Info for the event is here: http://www.warnc.com/showthread.php?tid=295

While I was away in SC on business a couple of weeks ago I finally got some painting done.  The photos were taken in my hotel room with my IPhone.

I was challenged by Tom Game 1, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we have pushed it forward to Friday if the planets align.  Here is a photo of the model I made of Tom.  It captures that fierce British bravery.  Notice the Red coat and there is a certain stain on the backside.  The base has since been finished with some grass clumps in the cracks along with the white's of his eyes.

 My Keeper of Secrets has finally been highlighted (took me only 6 months).  I also changed out the base since this photo was taken.  I was told my bases were too bland at BB (Thanks Ian), so I bought a bunch from Forgecraft Games.  Eventually I will have a display board that will match, but that will all have to wait until Brawler Bash.  The base type can be seen below (I add some wasteland tufts in the cracks and barren spaces.

Below is a picture of my Slaughterbrute/Mutalith/Skull Cannon/Spined Beast.  I magnetized the heads for some variety (very easy to do with this kit) and the back piece slides in and out perfectly.  This kit is quite impressive.  I originally was going to use this as a Storm of Chaos Great Chaos Spined Beast of Slaanesh, but I like to punish myself by taking inferior builds so I changed it to a Skull Cannon. 

 Finally, I got around to painting my Fiends of Slaanesh.  No photo of them painted though.  These guys are a pain in the royal rear to rank up.  I had to pin them into their bases and mark the bases or else they would never rank up.

I hope you all enjoy these pics and wish me luck.

Ogre for Hire

Here are some pics of my Ogre Mercenary for Mordheim.  He has gotten more action as a Maneater in my Ogre Army over the last 2 years.

He was a fun model to convert up.  I just kept adding trinkets to him.  His right is from the metal Butcher, and his left arm is from an Irongut.  As with all my Ogres, he has blue eyes.  I hope you enjoy.

Some of my Beastmen from way back

 Since I have been in a Mordheim mood, I decided to get out my classic Beastman Warband called the Headhunterz.  They were based on the Town Cryer 7 list (not the Empire in Flames one) and I used them back in a GW campaign over 10+ years ago.  They went 35-0 and the Leader, Grimlock, became King of Mordheim and still lives on in infamy.  You see, whenever I spoke with Grimlock, I used the 3rd person voice of Grimlock the Dinobot from Transformers.  Which sort of sounds like the Incredible Hulk.  "Grimlock, SMASH!"  "Grimlock eat puny human!"  "Grimlock hates the pointy ears!" "Grimlock King of Mordheim!" etc.  This voice really pissed off some of the tight wads who played at GW, and there was quite a high bounty on him.  It was a great warband to play and I have a lot of great memories with them.  These were painted a long time ago and about 5 years ago I did retouch and rebase them.

Grimlock is here on the right, with Char on the left.  Grimlock stats were basically maxed out.  He had the Strongman skill along with the BM skill which allowed him to use a 2-H weapon in each hand.  He had large horns on the charge, and that combined with 4 (5 w/frenzy) attacks made him a real beast.  He got Frenzy since he was only taken Out of Action once, and that gave him a Head Wound.  Grimlock was based on Krasak(sp?) the One Eye with a Minotaur right arm.

 I forgot my Shaman's name (hey its been 10+ years). 

 Here are 2 of my Gor heroes.  Skar and Mar.

I think these were my normal Gors

All my heroes lined up like proper little soldiers.

Finally, here are my Ungor fonder.  My minotaur has disappeared into the bitz box.  My main tactic was to use them as disposable meat shields.  I would move my heroes up with 1 or 2 Ungors with spears.  Hiding if my opponent had lots of shooting.  Then I would charge in with all my Ungors to tie up my opponent.  I never cared if they died, then I would charge in with my heroes to clean house.  If someone charged me, my Ungor would jump out and intercept.

 

Thank you for coming down memory lane with me.

 

The Comet is coming!

As promised here are the remaining models in my Bretonnian Warband.

 Sir Remy

My two Men @ Arms

 Another view of Sir Riker from the last post.  Notice how the field to each of the knights' shields are different.  Also only the questing knight has yellow trim.

My future Hired Swords Elf Ranger and Halfling.

Sir Gaston’s Quest in the Damned City of Mordheim

“Here we go again…” muttered Hugo. 

 

It was one year into a Grail Quest when his master, Sir Gaston de Perdu of Gisoreux, had another dream.  This time it took Hugo and his Lord's retinue to follow a comet towards a damned city to collect some “Wyrdstones” to help find the Grail’s location. That was a fortnight ago and since then Hugo’s little warband had traveled across a semi-hostile country where they were sneered and spat at.  Then, three days ago a group of Highwaymen stole our horses while one of the other squires, Pudge, was on guard duty.  Hugo thought the glorious knights *yawn* were too busy polishing their armor and boots to even notice the horses were in distress.

The last three days have been the worse.  Our fearless leader Sir Gaston, known as “The Lost”, along with his two cousins Sir Remy and Sir Riker, have been pushing the group at breakneck speed to this supposedly mythical den of ferocious beasts to prove their worth.  Hugo knew that he and the other two squires were no better than pack animals to the knights, and the archers took any chance to “disappear” for scout or hunting duty to get away from carrying any extra load.

Hugo should know about arrogance.  He has been Sir Gaston’s poor squire since he was a wee lad.  Gaston was the 7^th son of manor lord, and the 7^th cousin to the Duke.  Hugo had doubts that his father was also his uncle.  Gaston grew up spoiled and naïve to the rigors of the peasants he bullied and looked down upon.  Then when Gaston was of age he headed off to many battles with Hugo by his side.  Gaston’s impetuous wouldn’t have allowed him to survive long if it wasn’t for Hugo having his back.  Scared and loyal, Hugo fought with more courage and honor in those battles than most of the knights in all their heraldry and polished armor.  Gaston received glory and a full knighthood to the Realm. 

When Sir Gaston decided to leave his small manor (mostly to get out of doing any sort of work) and go on his quest, Hugo was dragged along again.  Gaston recruited his cousins Remy and Riker, who were younger than him and had just received their Errantries due to their noble births.  They spend these days during our trek staring admirably at Gaston, believing every tale and tripe that comes out of his mouth.

Now the band is just a day away from this city called Mordheim, or what is left of it.  The stench in the last few hours has gotten worse, and the corpse flies are getting thicker with each league.  The rations are getting very low, and the constant rehashing of old exaggerated stories from the Knights was making him long for his humble home and some warm meat pies.

It was getting dark, and the glow of fires and smoke rising in the distance told them they will be there on the morrow.  Somewhere in the distance the sound of an eerie howl pierced the quiet night.

The knights smiled, praised the Lady, and looked forward to new adventures and glory.  The rest of us sat praying to any god that would listen and just hoping to get through this mess.

 

Our glorious Sir Gaston de Purdu

 His "faithful" squire Hugo

 Sir Riker

Sire Riker's Squire "Pudge"

 Four Bowmen

Sir Remy's Squire Jean-Eric

 

As you can see I decided to paint up something different.  So I took out my old Bretonnian Warband for Mordheim, and put some paint on them. 

 

The pictures were taken with my IPhone since my camera doesn't want to ever hold a charge, so the pics are little washed out with the lighting.

 

The bases are from Secret Weapon, thanks to the Bull City Wargaming Podcast for letting me know about them.  I like using 25mm round bases for skirmish games better than the square bases.  If I ever decide to do a Bretonnian army I would just pop them off the bases.  I prime them grey and do a quick drybrush with Fortress Grey, then I just used a heavy coat of Agrax Earthshade.  I like the heavier coat as I wanted the cobblestones to looked stained, and for the shade to go into the joints.  I finished the bases with Wasteland tufts from Army Painter. 

 

I really enjoy painting small warbands and I have a few more on the block that I will be working on.  There are a few local gamers who play, but I haven't had the time to get over there to play.  Maybe when things settle down I will start my own league *wink wink*

 

I have the warband completed and will post the rest by the end of the week, I promise.  Until then,

Enjoy!

Brawler Bash VI Review

The weekend before last I attended my local GT located at Atomic Empire in Durham, NC.  This GT in the past was part of the Spring Fever Historical Convention, but has gotten so big it needed to break away.  This year BB6 had 68 players attending from as far away as Alberta, Canada and a bunch from the DC/MD area.  I was waiting on uploading pictures, but you all have to wait.

Before the GT I had three objectives for the GT (based on Lance Lagrue’s goals).

1)      Army Objective: I wanted to finish this army to a high standard.  I feel I almost did that.  I started with this army almost a year ago and even through a new army book I was able to get it to a playable level.  It took me up to noon on the Friday before the tournament to finish.  I still need to do some final yellow highlights on the Horrors and the Keeper needs its skin tone highlighted up to the Soul Grinder’s level, but overall I am very happy with how my Furies and Core troops came out.  Before next year I want to rebase them and get a proper display board made to highlight this army.

2)      Game play Objective – Since I had never played a game with daemons in over 10 years, I really just wanted to finish at 2-2-1 or better and not embarrass myself.  For the tournament I went 3-2, but this tournament used the Carnage System so all you did was calculate what you killed.  I came 12^th in Battle Points, 26^th in Painting, 2^nd in Sports, and 8^th Overall.  I got a nice plaque for coming 2^nd in Sports and a $100 gift card to Atomic Empire.  Very pleased!!!  The person I voted for Best Sportsman also beat me out in Sports.  I should learn to tank my fun opponents more J

3)      Personal Objectives – I wanted to just be able to stay calm and focused.  I tend to get nervous playing, and I just wanted to have a fun hobby weekend.  I did not want to get too excited, get caught up in the moment, and start playing stupid.  I felt I stuck to my game plan, stayed focus, but still forgot to use my “Lucky Day” card.  I also made a personal commitment to not groan about a certain army but see it as challenge.

Anyhow, here is the list I brought with thoughts on the unit:
Keeper of Secrets - Level 4 Shadow – Exalted and Lesser Gifts:  I took the Eternal Blade with the +d3 WS, S, & A.  It never disappointed and for 580 points truly was my MVP.
I am not going to change a thing about this Beauty!  The Eternal Blade is just WOW.  7-9 Strength 7-9 attacks hitting on 3’s (with ASF re-rolls most of the time) just shredded my opponents, lords, BSB’s, and large monsters.  He/She/It is unstoppable on the attack and can wipe entire elite units off the board before they even get to attack.  Yes, she is vulnerable to counterattack, but she hits like a ton of bricks.

HoS – BSB Level 1 Shadow, ASF Locus – Greater Gift

I think I am going to drop the BSB and maybe lower the gifts to one Lesser.  BSB re-roll was never used the whole tournament and mostly just gave 100 VP to my opponent.  My plan going into the GT with the Level 1 Shadow mages was to spam Miasma.  I think I would rather have more Daemonettes.  The ASF locus was great and I prayed my opponent would issue a challenge so I could hide her in the back. (+85 points)

HoS – Level 1 Shadow, ASF Locus – Greater Gift:
She had the same problems and benefits as above with the ASF Locus being great and needing to drop down to a Lesser Gift.  I need 1 more Wizard so she will keep the Level 1 Shadow. (+25 points)

HoS (The assassin) – Level 1 Slaanesh, Steed of Slaanesh, Exalted Locus – 2 Lesser Gifts:

When I rolled Multiple Wounds (2) or ASF she did quite well in half her games.  Best highlight was when she killed a Mounted Wight Lord BSB by doing one wound.  Which was multiplied into 2, then after a failed Initiative Test with the Witstealer Sword, took another wound.  I like the Lore of Slaanesh, but overall I think I will drop her and pick up 5 more Seekers to create more mayhem in the backfield. (+225 points)

Two units of 29 Daemonettes:
I had one unit with the +1 M banner and the other with the Flaming Banner.  I never once used the +1 M banner and the Flaming Banner was more of a liability with all the 2++ against Flaming attacks.  Halfway through the tournament I started running one unit 10 wide hoarded and it performed better.  I will drop both banners (+25 points).

10 Pink Horrors:  What a complete waste of point!  They did nothing the entire tournament but maybe divert a unit for a turn.  I could have done that with another unit of furies for 70 points less.  I am not one to complain about units, but their Lore is just horrible, and they just blow.  My original goal was for them to offer some fire support, but that Warpflame rule is so bad!!!!  The Blue Horror rule does absolutely nothing and they get wiped out by everything. (+130 points)

5 Seekers of Slaanesh with Standard – Gleaming Pendant:  They did their job as a delivering system for the Assassin, and a great job going after war machines.  M10 just gets there so quickly that unless you wipe them out right away, they are causing problems.  I am thinking about getting another unit here.  I never used the Pendent, but I see it being useful for 5 points.

2 units of 5 Furies: Did their job well.  I need to get that movement tray magnetized.  If I can scrape together another 60pts for another unit I will.

Hellflayer: What a waste of a great looking model!  I love this model, yet it did 1 wound the entire tournament.  I even charged a lone goblin Hero on a wolf, lost combat, and POPPED.  (+130 points)

3 Fiends of Slaanesh: They did alright.   I think a unit a 6 is ideal, as with 3 they just do not dish out enough attacks.  A unit of four ranked 2x2 should be a nice upgrade if I cannot find the points.  Now they just need to be released in plastic.

Soul Grinder of Slaanesh: No upgrades except for the Big Claw.  I love this guy.  He held up entire units for turns.  T7, 4+, 5++ is amazing.  The large base got in the way sometimes and that is when I wished I had a stone thrower to toss around.  My opponents underestimated how fast it is (M8).

Generalship: I am pleased with how I played this list.  My first game with Daemons on Friday nights against Collins nasty WoC army with a Nurgle DP, Unkillable MoT BSB, 2 Chimeras, you get the picture.  This tournament had 10 other WoC armies with similar builds. 

If I make the drops above to my list it will give me 490 points to play around with.  I am thinking bumping the fiends to 6, adding another Seeker Unit with the Flaming Banner, and adding another small Daemonette Unit or mobile Herald of Slaanesh.  For fun I want to paint up that Exalted Chariot, and I think it is better than people give it credit for.

Reign of Chaos:  For those following the opinions of the “interwebz”.  Do not listen to them.  As you will see in my Battle Reports (Coming Soon!), something “fun for me” was rolled every game.  From wiping out units of High Elves to summoning Bloodletters Turn 1 to harass my opponent from the rear right off the bat.  It was never OTT, and I think it is needed since Daemons suffer a bad case of “Core Tax” from their lists.

I loved how my entire army is so fast that people have to make choices Turn 1 on what to target.  Mostly they targeted the big stuff, but it was the Seekers and Daemonettes arriving Turn 2 that did the damage.  Even when I get into combat, the Daemonettes can hold up combats for quite some time.  Their S3 does not kill a lot, but the sheer number of attacks with ASF re-rolls made sure some wounds got through.  When Mindrazor goes off they just mow down enemy units with ease.  I picked and chose what battles to throw the Keeper into, and when she was committed she just slaughtered everyone.

I was able to summon a unit of Bloodletters Game 4, but how disappointing are they in this book.  Without a Herald, that one attack is nothing, and they become as bad as Horrors pretty quick.  I might go with PB’s if I ever get that roll again.

I have been to several GW GT’s, and a few other Indy GT’s but the Brawler Bash now is the best I have attended.  The live streaming of Table 1, the instance access to the score sheet via your Smartphone, the venue, and the sheer amount of table space make the bash quite an event.  The store is always well stocked and it is rare to find a store where you can just browse blister packs of all the different miniature lines.  The store is very clean and even with 100+ gamers; it never got that “Gamer funk”.  The VIP table 1 was in its own separate room where once the door was closed it was nice and quiet, almost like playing at home.  The terrain for the 40K was very impressive, while the Fantasy side was good.  The table rows were spaced far enough apart that you didn’t play “butt bongos” with the player behind you all game.  Ben and Tom did a fantastic job running the event, and it went very smoothly considering the size.

I always feel I luck out at the Brawler Bash.  In all 5 times previously, I think I have only had 1 or 2 bad opponents.  This year was no different.  I had 5 great opponents, and I did feel that it was hard to rank my opponents at the end.  Rob (HE’s), Chris (VC), Chris (WoC), Gene (O&G), and Jarad (Skaven) were all fun opponents and I would play any one of them again if given the chance.  I voted for Rob as my #1 game as it is always an epic matchup.  My 2-4 were so close I should have just diced them off.  I feel bad because they all should have been marked higher than their final tally.  The 5^th guy was a newer player, and I think because he spoke so softly it was hard to hear him a lot of the times, and his dice were very confusing to read.  At home in a quiet room I would have no problem with them, but the 6’s were in hexagonal shapes, the 5’s were in pentagonal shapes, and the 2’s were two dashes.  It gave me a headachelate in the day in Game 3.

The only negative I could find is I like having 2’ of space between tables.  It allows you space to place your army.  That is a very minor complaint, and didn’t take away from the experience at all.

I plan on getting my Battle Reports in the next post once I download some  photos.

 

Until then, adios!

 

 

 

Clash of the Titans, or in this case Keeper vs Star Dragon Lord

Yours truly will be on TV, well web streaming TV, for the first round of the Brawler Bash this Saturday in Durham, NC http://www.twitch.tv/AtomicEmpire

My epic battle is against a truly dastardly and cunning opponent named Rob Brandon and his Dragon Based High Elves "From the Jaws of Victory" blog http://rotgutmanglers.blogspot.com/

This clash of Titans will be our third meeting in the first round.  We have both won a game so this one is for all the marbles and Bragging Rights.  In all seriousness, I look forward to the battle.  Rob is a great sport, and we both take lists that we enjoy playing.  His High Elves are always one of the top armies represented at any tournament he goes to.

So if you have time, get online and watch my "Ladies" gets pin cushioned by Elven arrows for a turn, then they will dance on the corpses of the those pansy elves!