Big Old Grudges Aftermath - Part 5

This is the fifth part of my account of the recent Big Old Grudges tournament. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Round 5: Encirclement (Strategic Locations 4; Baggage Train)
Tim Stewart - Skaven

• Grey Seer (General; Level 4, Elementalism) on Screaming Bell with Warp Condenser
• Plague Priest (Level 1, Battle Magic) on Plague Furnace with Plague Censer, Warpstone Amulet
• Skaven Warlord with Halberd, Heavy Armour, Shield, Skavenbrew
• Skaven Chieftain Battle Standard Bearer with Halberd, Heavy Armour, Shield, Banner of Verminous Scurrying
• Warlock Engineer (Level 1, Elementalism) with Warplock Musket
• 23 Stormvermin with Halberds, Heavy Armour, Shields, Full Command, Grand Banner of Superiority
• Weapon Team (Ratling Gun)
• 24 Clanrats with Light Armour, Shields, Full Command
• Weapon Team (Ratling Gun)
• 24 Clanrats with Light Armour, Shields, Full Command
• Weapon Team (Ratling Gun)
• 10 Giant Rats
• 10 Giant Rats
• 6 Warplock Jezzails
• Doomwheel
• Hell Pit Abomination
• Warp Lightning Cannon

Tim and I had travelled up from Melbourne together, and both of us had looked at some of the lists the night before the tournament and realised that we might have brought spoons to a gun fight. So it seemed inevitable that we would meet sooner or later. As it turned out, it was not on the bottom table as we might have suspected. Tim was on his way down the tables after a strong start, whereas I was working my way up after I struggled early. Happily I hadn't really run into any of those nastier lists on my way here, so things were going OK.

Mine was a pretty basic deployment. Cavalry on the flanks, infantry in the centre, huge lumbering monster aimed to squeeze through the gap next to the tower before the Bulls closed it off. You can't quite see it here, but the Hunter and his Sabretusks were out on my right flank, near the centre of the table.

Big Old Grudges Aftermath - Part 4

This is the fourth part of my account of the recent Big Old Grudges tournament. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Round 4: A Chance Encounter (Baggage Train; Domination)
Geoff Googe – Warriors of Chaos

• Chaos Lord (General) on Gorebeast Chariot with Mark of Nurgle, Great Weapon, Favour of the Gods, Talisman of the Carrion Crow, Potion of Foolhardiness
• Sorcerer Lord (Level 3, Daemonology) with Mark of Nurgle, Spell Familiar, Tome of Spellcraft, Brazen Collar, Favour of the Gods, Enchanting Aura
• Exalted Champion on Chaos Steed with Mark of Nurgle, Great Weapon, Diabolic Splendour, Brazen Collar, Favour of the Gods
• Aspiring Champion Battle Standard Bearer with Mark of Nurgle, Shield, Favour of the Gods, Enhanced Reflexes
• 30 Warriors of Chaos with Mark of Nurgle, Shields, Full Command, War Banner, Enhanced Reflexes
• 9 Marauder Horsemen with Flails, Horsemaster, Unnatural Fortitude, Mark of Chaos Undivided
• 5 Warhounds with Vanguard
• 5 Warhounds with Vanguard
• 7 Chosen Chaos Knights with Mark of Nurgle, Drilled, Full Plate Armour, Lances, Full Command, Totem of Wrath, Dark Hearts
• Spawn of Nurgle (Gerald)
• Spawn of Nurgle (Helga)
• Gigantic Spawn of Chaos (Gunther) – Nurgle

This scenario asked for weird deployment zones in diagonally opposite table corners, with a dead space in the centre. There's meant to be a special feature in the middle, but it was an oversight in the player pack. This picture was after the Warhound units used vanguard. The slightly dark blob in the centre is the Marauder Horsemen on a hill, with the Chaos Knights in front of them.

With the Sorcerer Lord and BSB in there, this unit was worth something close to 1000 points before bonuses. It was also likely to be a hard nut to crack.

Big Old Grudges Aftermath - Part 3

This is the third part of my account of the recent Big Old Grudges tournament. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

We were 2 games into the event, and thus far things were not going especially well. But that was OK, it was a 6 game tournament. Plenty of time to turn things around... right?

Round 3: Close Quarters (Strategic Locations 2; Domination)
Adam Gooley - Beastmen Brayherds, Wild Herd

• Beastlord (General) with Shield, The Black Maul, Slug-skin
• Warhoof with Cavalry Spear, Shield, Ambushers, Full Plate Chaos Armour, Gnarled Hide
• Great Bray-Shaman (Level 4, Daemonology) with Hagtree Fetish
• Bray-Shaman (Level 2, Daemonology) 
• Bray-Shaman (Level 2, Daemonology) with Chalice of Dark Rain
• Bray-Shaman (Level 2, Primal Magic) with Lore Familiar, Scourge of the Burdened
• Primal Warherd (20x Gor with Additional Hand Weapons, 30x Ungor with Thrusting Spears,Shields) with Foe-render (Great weapon), Standard bearer (Totem of Rust) , Musician
• 25 Ungor Herd with Shortbows, Half-horn
• 5 Gor Herd with Additional hand weapons, Ambushers, True-horn (Great weapon)
• 5 Gor Herd with Additional hand weapons, Ambushers, True-horn (Great weapon)
• 12 Gor Herd with Additional hand weapons, Ambushers, True-horn (Great weapon), Standard bearer
• 5 Centigor Herd with Great weapons, Ambushers, Gorehoof, Standard bearer (The Soiled Tapestry)
• Herdstone
• Preyton with Ambushers, Frenzy
• Preyton with Ambushers, Frenzy
• Cygor

Adam's was a weird army. 4 Shamans who would want to stay near the Herdstone, a massive mixed unit of Gor and Ungor, and nearly everything else in the army was deploying in Ambush. This plan was not at all helped by the scenario, which prevented non-flying ambushers from entering from the short board edges. Well, we did realise that before deployment, but he stuck with his plan of keeping things in waiting. It made for a quick deployment.

The Ungor and Primal Warherd deployed on either side of the Herdstone. The Beastlord and BSB went into the big unit, and the Shamans all piled into the Ungor.

Big Old Grudges Aftermath - Part 2

This is the second part of my account of the recent Big Old Grudges tournament. You can find the first part here.

Round 2: Drawn Battlelines (Strategic Locations 3; Baggage Train)
Michael Solari - Kingdom of Bretonnia

• Lady Élisse Duchaard
• Baron on Royal Pegasus, Lance, Shield, The Knight's Vow, Virtue of Heroism
• Duke on Hippogryph, Shield, Virtue of Knightly Temper, General, Barding, Ogre Blade
• Paladin on Barded Pegasus, Lance, Shield, The Knight's Vow, Banner of Chalons, Obsidian Lodestone
• 22 Knights of the Realm on Foot, Shield, Great Weapon, The Knight's Vow, First Knight, Obsidian Lodestone, Standard Bearer, War Banner, Musician
• 12 Mounted Knights of the Realm, The Knight's Vow, First Knight, Obsidian Lodestone, Standard Bearer, Monster Hunter's Tapestry
• 15 Peasant Bowmen, Defensive Stakes
• 15 Peasant Bowmen
• 3 Pegasus Knights, The Knight's Vow, First Knight
• 9 Grail Knights, Grail Guardian, Obsidian Lodestone, Standard Bearer, Banner Of Swirling Wind

This list worried me a bit. There were a couple of characters who could really threaten my Stonehorn, and they flew...

We each lost a unit into reserve. I lost the smaller Mournfang unit, and Michael lost some Peasant Bowmen. Hardly seemed a fair trade... Anyway, I set up fairly warily in terms of the Stonehorn, trying to make sure that he wouldn't just get swept off the table cheaply. I possibly didn't give enough thought to control of the objectives, but I was more concerned about things that might just remove my units.

Big Old Grudges Aftermath - Part 1

Another tournament has been run and won, and as usual I'm here to provide my rundown of how things went for me. No, you can't stop me. And no, you don't have to read it...

Big Old Grudges took the place of what would usually have been the Old World tournament at Cancon. The organisers decided to run it away from the larger convention, at Jolt Games (a nearby game store with the capacity to host the tournament). As someone who travelled up in a group of 10 people to "attend Cancon", only for 2 of us to split off and spend the weekend somewhere... Well, I am opposed to tournament splitting off and running elsewhere. It's been done with other games before (Kings of War has been running offsite for a number of years now, and seems to be doing OK), but realistically those of us who travel to Canberra are often looking to be part of the convention, rather than only being able to drop in for brief appearances.

Having said all that, the venue was large and comfortable, the prize support was significant (one of the benefits of not having to fit under Cancon's umbrella, I think), and everything ran very smoothly. It was surely cooler at Jolt than it was in the big sheds at Cancon, with the weather maxing out at nearly 40 degrees Celsius on the second day.

The tournament was for 2500pt armies, with 6 games over 3 days. It allowed the Renegade rules for Legacy armies, and that (combined with the fact that I'd been meaning to give them some love for a long time) resulted in me deciding to take an Ogre Kingdoms army. Did I give great thought to what I wanted to use in the list? Well no, not really... But this is what I ended up with:

• Tyrant on Stonehorn with Tenderiser, Talisman of Protection
• Slaughtermaster (Level 4, Illusion) with Butcher's Cauldron, Skullplucker, Spangleshard
• Bruiser Battle Standard Bearer with Armour of Meteoric Iron, Great Weapon
• Hunter with Sword of Might, Longstrider, Scout
• 8 Ironguts with Heavy Armour, Great Weapons, Full Command, Look-out Gnoblar
• 8 Ogre Bulls with Light Armour, Ironfists, Full Command, Cannibal Totem
• 4 Sabretusk Pack with Scouts
• 4 Mournfang Cavalry with Heavy Armour, Ironfists, Full Command, Totem of Wrath
• 3 Mournfang Cavalry with Heavy Armour, Ironfists, Full Command

It was not a lot of units, but at least having a couple of large Core units gave me a chance of contesting objectives. I had high hopes for the Tyrant with his Tenderiser catching up to something horrible at some point in the tournament, and also had the potential giggles of the Slaughtermaster always striking first with killing blow, possibly enhanced by Spectral Doppleganger...

Also full disclosure here, when I made the list I had failed to realise that Scouts can't charge in the first turn. I knew that they couldn't do it if they got the first turn in 8th edition, but they took that rule off Vanguard in The Old World (though apparently they added a similar rule back later). I think I just got confused. Consequently I did charge a couple of times in the first turn before someone queried it at dinner that night, and I realised I had been cheating. I can't say massive things came of it, but I apologise to my opponents anyway. Funny that my failure to apply the rules wasn't spotted by anyone until I was discussing my games with someone who wasn't even playing... We're all so clever. Anyway, I definitely won't be making that particular mistake again. I can find a new one. Gotta keep it fresh, you know?

Round 1: King of the Hill (Baggage Train)
Dylan Martin - Dwarf Expeditionary Force

• Burlok Damminson (General)
• Thane on Shieldbearers with Great weapon, Full plate armour, Shield, Master Rune of Smiting
• Thane with Battle Standard (Master Rune of Grungni, Rune of Battle), Great weapon, Full plate armour, Shield, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Passage
• Runesmith with Great weapon, Full plate armour, Shield, Master Rune of Calm, Rune of Passage
• Runesmith with Great weapon, Full plate armour, Shield
• 16 Rangers with Crossbows, Throwing axes, Heavy armour, Great weapons, Shields, Champion, Standard bearer (Rune of Battle)
• 18 Thunderers with Handguns, Heavy armour, Shields, Expeditionary Marksmen, Champion, Standard bearer
• 18 Dwarf Warriors with Heavy armour, Great weapons, Shields, Drilled, Champion, Standard bearer (Master Rune of Hesitation), Musician
• 16 Rangers with Crossbows, Throwing axes, Heavy armour, Great weapons, Shields, Champion, Standard bearer
• Dwarf Cart (Bugman's Cart)
• Bolt Thrower 
• Bolt Thrower
• 1 Gyrocopters (Steam gun)
• 1 Gyrocopters (Steam gun)
• 16 Miners with Great weapons, Heavy armour, Champion, Standard bearer
• 12 Miners with Great weapons, Heavy armour, Champion, Standard bearer
• Doomseeker with Master Rune of Alaric the Mad, Rune of Wrath

This was one of those weird armies where Dylan only setup a fraction of his models before Scouts were placed, and all the Miners were hanging back until later in the game.

Empire Ogre Hobby Update

It's a new year, and very nearly not even the first month in the new year at this point. As usual, time is getting away from me. But that's OK, because I have hobby progress to show you! The annual pilgrimage to Cancon happened on the weekend just past, and whilst I am yet to put together my usual report of the tournament, I can show you the stuff I was rather frantically painting right up to the day before the event. I had decided I wanted to use the tournament as motivation to make some progress on my Ogres, and that's what I have to show now.

First up, I now have a Tyrant on Stonehorn! To my mind, this was an option I very much wanted if I was going to take Ogres to a tournament. He's big and scary. I don't know about competent, but you can't have everything, right?

Having decided that the things I was working on would be in the style of my Empire Ogres (rather than the similar sized force of more traditional Ogres I also have lying around), I needed a suitable rider. The Ogre is a mix of 3D printed bits from Infernal Miniatures (though the shield and pauldrons I sourced from some Bretonnians somewhere, and adjusted them to fit). The hammer is one of my old putty creations.

Late November Slow Grow

Well we're almost a third of the way through December, but I'm finally getting around to a post for November. The month was a bit of a mess in terms of my painting patterns.

First off, I needed to get some final work done on my army before the tournament early in the month. I needed a second set of Handgunner detachments, so decided that I'd essentially paint a "unit" of them with the extra champions I needed to populate the Nuln detachments. I basically grabbed whatever I had already undercoated and ready to go, as well as ensuring I had a couple of Hochland longrifles. Somehow that added up to 13 models...

Already on base adapters, in honour of most of them having been used in the event. The banner has not received any detail yet. I didn't have time to do anything about that. The previous bundle of Handgunners got purple details, so these ones got turquoise to go with the other set of Halberdiers.