Another Empire in Flames

Despite having made resolutions not to enter too many tournaments this year, it doesn't mean I'll be steering clear of them entirely. Empire in Flames is one of the annual events that we host at the club, and it's coming up in less than 2 weeks. I was uncertain about entering, however I was kind of talked into it by Nick. He was very tricksy, and basically got me to think about it as a modelling project. This was far more appealing than entering it competitively, so it got my attention.

The reason EiF presents opportunities from a modelling perspective is that it's trying something a bit different this year. Instead of regular armies of about 2400 points, players will be bringing 2000 points, of which 500 points are an allied force. So it's 1500 points from the main list and 500 points from another army. In effect the 500 point army is a force in its own right, so much adhere to all the usual restrictions (must have a general, minimum 25% core, minimum of 3 non-character units, etc). This makes things a bit rigid, as you're effectively cutting the 500 points up into at least 4 bits (a character and 3 or more units). I was finding the idea of that a bit off-putting – you're basically being forced to use the 500 points to field some chaff, which didn't really appeal to me.

As I say however, Nick managed to talk me around. He got me excited by the thought of fielding an Empire army with Ogre allies – specifically, Empire Ogres dressed the same as their Empire allies. I have always stated that one of the end goals of my Ogre unit filler project was to have enough of them to be able to pull them out of the Empire units and field them as a themed Ogre Kingdoms army in their own right. Well, EiF has basically become a step toward that eventual goal.

Part of this motivation came from talk around themed Mournfang cavalry – something I have always kind of pictured as a long-term project, but never actually made any progress on. I don't really like the Mournfang models. Actually, I think they're pretty good apart from the mounts having tiny bums and the saddles sitting several kilometres above said non-existent bums. I think they look silly. I always pictured my Ogres sitting on wolves. I know, that's not surprising, right? I seem to have a thing for wolves. More specifically, I wanted Ogres in full plate riding armoured wolves the size of Mournfangs. That's not so much to ask, right?

Apparently just thinking of these things doesn't make them appear, however. Eventually in the midst of these conversations with Nick, I snapped and ordered some Mournfang models. I figured they would give me a basis for conversion as well as plenty of Ogre-ish bits. Hopefully with enough green stuff and dedication, I could convert the models to my specifications. The order turned up late last week, and I have already started glueing the models together.

None of this actually committed me to entering EiF, however I figured it would be a good motivational tool if I actually entered the tournament. So eventually, after making an army that I discarded as being too competitive, I scrambled together a list late last night (yesterday was the deadline), and sent it off. So now I am committed. The list I sent in is as follows:

1500pts: Empire

Arch Lector on War Altar with Armour of Destiny, Sword of Might, Shield = 324

Captain of the Empire on Barded Steed with Battle Standard, Full Plate Armour, Shield, Talisman of Endurance, Biting Blade = 149

Battle Wizard (Level 2, Lore of Light) with Dispel Scroll = 125

40 Halberdiers with Full Command = 270

Detachment of 6 Archers = 42

9 Knights with Standard, Musician, Great Weapons = 218

4 Demigryph Knights with Standard, Musician, Lances, Shields = 252

Great Cannon = 120

TOTAL = 1500

500pts Allies: Ogre Kingdoms

Bruiser with Heavy Armour, Charmed Shield, Great Weapon = 125

3 Ironguts = 129

3 Mournfang Cavalry with Heavy Armour, Iron Fists, Standard, Gleaming Pendant = 225

1 Sabretusk = 21

TOTAL = 500

My initial list had more cavalry and a Steam Tank in place of the Great Cannon, but it was looking a bit tough. And it would have meant there were no Halberdiers to match the Ironguts (who will be Ogre Halberdiers). So a bit of chopping and changing gave me what you see above.

This guy is the sum total of my painted Ogre contingent thus far. The list was too tight to fit the Ogre Swordsmen in. Yay for forward planning...

In terms of preparation, I have less than 2 weeks to get the army ready. The Empire contingent is good to go, which makes things easier. Unfortunately my Ogres are less well prepared. In fact, the only model in that list that I currently have painted is a single Halberdier/Irongut. Over the last couple of weeks I have managed to model up 2 more, however they are yet to see any basing material or undercoat. The Mournfangs are in far worse shape, as they're basically just the plastic mounts with butchered saddles (I took to them with a pair of clippers straight away). They have a long way to go. The Sabretusk will probably be a Fenrisian Wolf with minimal modifications, so that's not so hard. Not sure what I'm going to do about a Bruiser, though...

Hey, 2 weeks 11 days is plenty of time, right? Ah man, I think I'm giving myself headaches again...