Slow, quiet progress

It's been a long time since I posted a hobby update (over a year, it seems), so here is a bit of a catch-up.

First of all, I spent a fair bit of time painting battlemechs and tanks for games of Alpha Strike with friends. I probably did more than I needed to, but that doesn't mean I'm done (you probably know that about me by now)...

My current Steiner force, painted in dribs and drabs across the last year. I've shown some of the tanks previously, but there's well over a battalion of stuff all told. It's not well balanced in terms of the mechs I got finished. I need to add some more light and medium mechs, maybe some infantry or battle armour...

It hasn't all been mechs and tanks, of course. I played in 2 Warhammer: The Old World on either side of Christmas, and needed to paint things to get my armies ready for both of those events. Firstly for Axemaster, there were various gaps that needed to be plugged...

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 6

This is the final part of my Cancon report. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Game 6 - Command & Control
Callum Borthwick - Ogre Kingdoms

• Tyrant on Thundertusk with Deathcheater, Ironfist, Light Armour, Tenderiser, Talisman Of Protection
• Slaughtermaster (Level 4, Battle Magic) with Deathcheater, Grut’s Sickle
• Bruiser with Battle Standard (Bull Standard), Deathcheater, Light Armour
• 20 Gnoblar Fighters
• 6 Ironguts with Great Weapons, Heavy Armour, Full Command, Veteran, The Blazing Banner
• 6 Ogre Bulls with Ironfists, Light Armour, Full Command, Cannibal Totem
• Ironblaster 
• 4 Maneaters with Light Armour, Full Command, Immune to Psychology, Poisoned Attacks
• 4 Mournfang Cavalry with Light Armour, Ironfists, Full Command
• 3 Yhetees with Greyback, Scouts

These Titan Forge Ogres are very nice. That is a Tyrant on a Thundertusk. Naturally it scuttles sideways (he's facing the camera)

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 5

This is the fourth part of my Cancon report. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Game 5 - Mountain Pass
Chris Ashton-Jones - Orc and Goblin Tribes

• Goblin Oddnob (Level 4, Waaagh! Magic) on Arachnarok Spider with Talisman of Protection, Lore Familiar
• Goblin Oddnob (Level 3, Waaagh! Magic) on Arachnarok Spider with Spidersilk Lobber
• Goblin Warboss on Gigantic Spider with Light Armour, Backstabbers Blade, Da Thinkin’ Orc’s ‘At, Charmed Shield
• 12 Goblins with Short Bows, Boss, Skirmishers
• 12 Goblins with Short Bows, Boss, Skirmishers
• 5 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Musician, Boss
• 5 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Musician, Boss
• 5 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Musician, Boss
• 5 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Musician, Boss
• 12 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Full Command, Spider Banner 
• 12 Spider Riders with Cavalry Spears, Shields, Light Armour, Short Bows, Full Command
• Arachnarok Spider with Spidersilk Lobber -345pts

Wow, what a list. All Goblins - all Forest Goblins, even (technically the infantry were not, but clearly they would have been, had that been an option). It made for a very narrow selection of troops with a terribly low Leadership. It looked great, though. I told Chris that I loved his army, but I thought he was very brave...

All the spiders, all the time!

Man, look at that thing! That's the Oddnob who was leading the army.

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 4

This is the fourth part of my Cancon report. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Game 4 - Meeting Engagement
Troy Kent - Orc & Goblin Tribes, Nomadic Waaagh!

• Black Orc Warboss on War Boar with Full plate armour, Trollhide Trousers, Da Choppiest Choppa, 'Eadbuttin' 'At
• Black Orc Bigboss on War Boar with Battle Standard (The Big Red Raggedy Flag), Full plate armour, Trollhide Trousers, Great weapon
• Kiknik Toofsnatcha on Chompa with Da Boss's Trophy Rack, Da Skull Smasha, Cavalry spear, Shield, Light armour
• Orc Weirdnob (Level 4, Waaagh! Magic) on Wyvern with Talisman of Protection, Idol Of Gork, Ruby Ring of Ruin
• Goblin Bigboss on Giant Wolf with Cavalry spear, Light armour, Shield, Wollopa's One Hit Wunda, Potion of Foolhardiness
• Goblin Oddgit (Level 2, Elementalism) on Giant Wolf with Idol of Mork
• 14 Goblin Wolf Riders with Shields, Cavalry spears, Light armour, Close Order, Full Command, Da Spider Banner
• 3 Goblin Wolf Chariots
• Goblin Wolf Chariots
• Goblin Wolf Chariots
• 5 Goblin Wolf Riders with Shortbows
• Black Orc Boar Chariot with Additional hand weapons
• 13 Orc Boar Boys with Cavalry spears, Heavy armour, Shields, Big 'Uns, Vanguard, Boss (Da Thinkin' Orc's 'At), Standard bearer (Da Banner of Butchery)
• Orc Boar Chariot
• Black Orc Boar Chariot with Additional hand weapons

Meeting Engagement meant diagonal deployment zones only 12" apart, and rolling to see which units would start as reserves that only arrived from Turn 2 onward. My Bloodletters and a unit of Furies started off the table. Troy lost his Boar Boy unit and one of his Black Orc Chariots. By the time you include the Wolf Riders with 2 characters who were already voluntarily ambushing, he was very thin on the ground.

I deployed aggressively. I figured it would be worth it, if I got the first turn. Troy's characters were all floating loose up the back, without a unit to deploy in.

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 3

This is the third part of my Cancon report. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.

Game 3 - Flank Attack
Koen Garlick-Trease - Tomb Kings of Khemri (Mortuary Cult)

• High Priest (Level 4, Necromancy) with Hand Weapon
• High Priest (Level 4, Elementalism) with Hand Weapon, Amulet of the Serpent
• Arch Necrotect with Hand Weapon, Light Armour, Whip
• Mortuary Priest (Level 2, Elementalism) with Hand Weapon, Battle Standard Bearer
• 39 Skeleton Archers with Hand Weapons, Warbows, Master of Arrows
• 5 Skeleton Horse Archer with, Hand Weapons, Warbows
• 5 Skeleton Horse Archer with, Hand Weapons, Warbows
• 8 Skeleton Skirmisher with Hand Weapons
• 4 Tomb Swarms
• 6 Ushabti with Hand Weapons, Heavy Armour, Greatbows
• Tomb Scorpion with Ambushers, The Terrors Below
• Tomb Scorpion
• 5 Venerable Ushabti with Hand Weapons, Heavy Armour, Ritual Blades
• 5 Venerable Ushabti with Hand Weapons, Heavy Armour, Ritual Blades
• Casket of Souls
• Necrosphinx

Man, that was a lot of magic. 10 spells plus the casket, and the ability to boost the casting values on his spells by harvesting the swarms (I found out how that worked as we went along)... I was a bit worried about how this would go. Mercifully it wasn't as bad as it might have been, given Koen was more interested in using the casket for the Light of Protection than the Light of Death.

Man, that is a bunker. All of the characters were piled into the big Skeleton Archer unit, which of course meant they'd be firing poisoned arrows thanks to the Amulet of the Serpent. The Venerable Ushabti went on either side in slightly jammed formations (I don't think Koen fully realised how awkward it would be to get them out of those shapes without advancing).

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 2

This is the second part of my Cancon report. You can find the first part here.

Game 2 - Break Point
Nick Kylling - Warriors of Chaos

• Chaos Lord with Full plate armour, Shield, Chaos Steed, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Ogre Blade, 2x Favour of the Gods, Enchanting Aura
• Sorcerer Lord (Level 4, Battle Magic) with Heavy armour, Chaos Steed, Mark of Tzeentch, Spell Familiar, Infernal Puppet, Ruby Ring of Ruin
• Sorcerer Lord (Level 4, Daemonology) with Heavy armour, Chaos Steed, Mark of Tzeentch, Rod Of The Damned, Lore Familiar
• Aspiring Champion (Battle Standard Bearer) with Lance, Heavy armour, Shield, Chaos Steed, War Banner, Favour of the Gods
• 10 Chaos Knights with Lances, Shields, Heavy armour, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Full Command, Banner of the Dark Powers
• 7 Chaos Knights with Lances, Shields, Heavy armour, Mark of Tzeentch, Champion
• 5 Chaos Warhounds
• 6 Chosen Chaos Knights with Lances, Shields, Full plate armour, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Drilled, Standard Bearer, Champion with Brazen Collar
• Dragon Ogre with Great weapon, Heavy armour
• Dragon Ogre with Great weapon, Heavy armour
• Dragon Ogre with Great weapon, Heavy armour
• Gigantic Spawn of Nurgle

So I was only one game into the tournament, and I was already too high up on the tables. Nick had devised a far more competent list than mine, and it didn't look like a great match-up for my army. The Bloodthirster was still scary and the Daemon Prince was good at armoured targets, but my units... Also Nick's army was absolutely loaded with anti-magic tricks, so that was likely to interfere with anything I might be able to do there. I celebrated this by rolling the worst spells I possibly could for my backup wizard, and off we went.

There are so many points in that unit. The Chaos Lord, one of the Sorcerer Lords and the BSB are all jammed in there. I wasn't sure what I could do about that, with the Chaos Lord having the Ogre Blade and an aura that would make the Bloodthirster strike last.

Cancon 2025 Aftermath - Part 1

A Bloodthirster went to Cancon, and met many interesting people. There were few survivors. Cancon this year involved a 6 game Warhammer: The Old World tournament spread across 3 rather warm days in Canberra. I took Daemons of Chaos, having dabbled previously at Axemaster with Dwarfs. This is my story...

My Army (2389 points)

• Bloodthirster of Khorne with Armour Of Khorne, Bloodflail
• Daemon Prince (Level 4, Daemonology) with Æther Blade, Twin Heads, Heavy Armour, Fly
• Herald of Khorne on Juggernaut with Hellblade, Light Armour, Daemonic Locus,
• 16 Bloodletters of Khorne with Full Command
• 7 Chaos Furies of Khorne
• 7 Chaos Furies of Khorne
• 5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne with Vanguard
• 4 Bloodcrushers Of Khorne with Full Command
• 4 Fiends of Slaanesh
• 3 Flamers of Tzeentch with Exalted Flamer (Level 3, Daemonology)

I chose a daemon army for a number of reasons. I had trouble getting through my games at Axemaster, and an army that can't break from combat and can't even choose to flee from charges felt like it might be quicker to play. I had also come to the conclusion that a Bloodthirster might be one of the few things that could really scare huge models like lords on dragons (whilst being nowhere near as tough in return), so that seemed like it might be a fun place to start. 

One of the things I took away from Axemaster was that it is extremely easy to get pushed around by your opponent's magic, especially when they take a whole lot of it. When my Dwarfs had a single level 1 dispeller, I had pretty much no chance of stopping anything. My Daemon army was determined to stand up better in that regard. I had a level 4 wizard in the Daemon Prince (even though that felt like a lot of character points alongside the Bloodthirster), and I was somehow able to get a backup level 3 (in case the Daemon Prince was indisposed) in the form of the heavily upgraded Flamer champion. I wasn't sure this was really a good idea (I still am not sure), but it gave me the giggles, so I went with it.

My army was fast, especially when you consider the Furies and Fleshhounds could all vanguard before the game. The Bloodletters would likely get left behind and probably wouldn't offer much in the games, but frankly I wanted to include some infantry (and some of the proper core warriors that belonged to my nominal "core" Chaos God). No, infantry are not great in The Old World. People would likely shy away from them. All the more reason to take them. (I am very contrary, and like making life hard for myself). 

Did I think this army could win a tournament? Realistically probably not, and my one practice game that I found time for in between painting sessions certainly did not bode well. This didn't really bother me. Hopefully I'd just have some fun waving a Bloodthirster around.

Game 1 - Open Battle
Michael Marston - Wood Elf Realms

• Glade Lord on Forest Dragon with Great Weapon, Armour of Silvered Steel, Talisman Of Protection, An Annoyance of Netlings, A Befuddlement of Mischiefs
• Glade Captain Battle Standard Bearer (War Banner) on Great Stag with Great Weapon, Helm of the Hunt, Shield
• Spellsinger (Level 2, Battle Magic) on Elven Steed with Lore Familiar
• Spellweaver (Level 4, Battle Magic) on Warhawk with Oaken Stave, Ruby Ring of Ruin
• 8 Deepwood Scouts with Musician, Hagbane Tips
• 8 Deepwood Scouts with Musician, Hagbane Tips
• 5 Glade Guard with Hagbane Tips
• 5 Glade Guard with Hagbane Tips
• 5 Glade Riders with Musician, Reserve Move, Hagbane Tips
• 5 Glade Riders with Musician, Reserve Move, Hagbane Tips
• 5 Sisters Of The Thorn with Full Command
• 3 Tree Kin
• 7 Wardancers with Bladesinger, Additional Hand Weapons
• 5 Wild Riders with Shields, Wild Hunter, Standard Bearer, Banner of the Hunter King

Wow, straight off the bat I had run into a dragon! I guess I would get to find out pretty early whether a Bloodthirster really could kill a dragon. This tournament was being played without the latest errata (which had been released only a couple of weeks beforehand), so the Sisters of the Thorn were still choosing their spell. I guess the plan was to get 3 copies of Pillar of Fire, which he did.

The battlefield once deployment was completed and my units had vanguarded. Michael elected not to scout forward with his Deepwood Scout units, instead putting them over on my left.

Axemaster 2023 Aftermath - Part 1

Well, I have survived another 6th edition Warhammer Fantasy tournament. We decided to resurrect our local tournament Axemaster after maybe a 7 year gap, running it using 6th edition because that seems to be where most of the enthusiasm is at present. I've posted my slightly dubious list previously, but here it is again for reference:

• Tyrant with Heavy Armour, Luck Gnoblar, Tenderiser, Wyrdstone Necklace
• Bruiser with Battle Standard, Heavy Armour, Luck Gnoblar, Sword of Might, Talisman of Protection
• Butcher with 2 Dispel Scrolls
• 6 Ogre Bulls with Light Armour, Iron Fists, Standard Bearer, Crusher
• 3 Ironguts with Standard Bearer, Look-Out Gnoblar, Great Weapons, Heavy Armour
• 3 Ironguts with Great Weapons, Heavy Armour
• 2 Leadbelchers with Light Armour
• 20 Ricco's Republican Guard (Regiment of Renown)
• 10 Braganza's Besiegers (Regiment of Renown)
• 6 Voland's Venators (Regiment of Renown)
• 1 Bull Rhinox Rider with Heavy Armour, Iron Fist

I was focusing on it more as an opportunity to use stuff like Dogs of War, and trying not to think too hard about how my games would likely go... Well, now we can find out how big a mistake that was.

Shattered Dreams and Hopes Lost

My last post described the rules we would be using for a moderately large game last weekend. The intent was to try to break the pattern that we commonly see in multiplayer games, when the larger game turns into several smaller parallel one-on-one games with little interaction between them. Well we tried things out, and this is how they went.

This was never intended to be a really fancy report and I was playing at the same time as taking pictures, so the presentation is not all it could have been (some of the photos are really blurry). Oh well.

We played with about 17,000 points per side, with each player commanding a little over 6,000 points. It was all kind of thrown together with the models that I already had at my place, so the composition of the armies might not have been all that it could have been.

Armies 
High Elves (Empire West)

• Prince on Star Dragon with Shield; Armour of Destiny; Star Lance
• Teclis (Lore of High Magic)
• Archmage (Level 4, Lore of Death)
• Annointed of Asuryan
• Noble with Battle Standard; Halberd; Armour of Caledor
• 50 First Spearmen with Full Command
• 40 Lothern Seaguard with Full Command
• 15 Silver Helms with Shields; Full Command
• 12 Archers with Standard; Musician
• 12 Archers with Standard; Musician
• 15 Dragon Princes of Caledor with Full Command
• 40 Swordmasters of Hoeth with Full Command; Razor Standard
• 30 White Lions of Chrace with Full Command; Gleaming Pendant
• 40 Phoenix Guard with Full Command
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Frostheart Phoenix

Empire Centre

• General on Imperial Griffon with Great Weapon; Full Plate Armor; Talisman of Endurance; Dragonhelm
• Balthasar Gelt
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Life)
• Captain with Battle Standard; Barded Warhorse; Full Plate Armor; Shield; Sword of Might; Dawn Stone
• Warrior Priest with Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
• 30 Knightly Orders with Great Weapons; Full Command
• 16 Reiksguard Knights with Full Command; Banner of Swiftness
• 60 Greatswords with Full Command
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 40 Swordsmen with Full Command
• 5 Demigryph Knights with Full Command
• 20 Handgunners with Standard; Musician
• Great Cannon
• Helblaster Volley Gun
• Celestial Hurricanum
• Steam Tank

Empire East

• Arch Lector on War Altar with Armour of Destiny; Mace of Helstrum
• General on Imperial Griffon with Great Weapon; Full Plate Armor; White Cloak of Ulric
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Heavens)
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Light)
• Captain with Battle Standard; Barded Warhorse; Full Plate Armor; Shield; Opal Amulet; Sword of Anti-Heroes
• Warrior Priest with Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
• Master Engineer
• 30 Knights of the Inner Circle with Full Command; Steel Standard
• 30 Knightly Orders with Full Command
• 60 Flagellants
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 40 Spearmen with Full Command
• 20 Handgunners with Standard; Musician
• 16 Crossbowmen with Standard; Musician
• 16 Crossbowmen with Standard; Musician
• 5 Demigryph Knights with Full Command
• 40 Greatswords with Full Command
• 5 Outriders with Sharpshooter
• Great Cannon
• Great Cannon
• Helblaster Volley Gun

Chaos West

• Daemon Prince of Khorne with Chaos Armour; Daemonic Flight; Exalted Gift (+3 Strength)
• Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury with Greater Gift (+2 Strength?); Greater Gift (+1 Toughness)
• Keeper of Secrets (Level 4, Lore of Slaanesh) with Greater Gift (+2 Attacks); Greater Gift (something)
• Herald of Slaanesh with Battle Standard; Greater Locus of Swiftness; Greater Gift (2+ Armour)
• Herald of Nurgle with Lesser Locus of Virulence; Greater Gift (Fencer's Blades)
• Karanak
• 30 Daemonettes of Slaanesh with Full Command
• 20 Bloodletters of Khorne with Full Command
• 40 Plaguebearers of Nurgle with Full Command
• 10 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch
• 6 Beasts of Nurgle
• 6 Fiends of Slaanesh
• 23 Flesh Hounds of Khorne
• 4 Bloodcrushers of Khorne
• 5 Seekers of Slaanesh
• Soul Grinder of Slaanesh with Daemonbone Claw; Phlegm Bombardment

Chaos Centre

• Belakor 
• Chaos Lord of Tzeentch on Daemonic Mount with Barding; Shield; Hellfire Sword; Talisman of Endurance
• Sorcerer Lord of Tzeentch (Level 4, Lore of Fire (yes I know)) on Disc of Tzeentch with Talisman of Preservation, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Scaled Skin
• Exalted Hero of Tzeentch with Battle Standard; Shield; Barded Chaos Steed; Dawn Stone; Sword of Might
• 30 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch with Halberds; Shields; Full Command
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Khorne with Shields; Full Command
• 25 Chaos Warriors with Halberds; Full Command
• 40 Chaos Marauders of Slaanesh with Flails; Full Command
• 20 Chaos Knights of Tzeentch with Ensorcelled Weapons; Full Command
• 12 Chaos Knights with Ensorcelled Weapons; Full Command
• 8 Dragon Ogres with Great Weapons; Light Armour
• Hellcannon

Chaos East

• Galrauch, The Great Drake
• Great Bray-Shaman (Level 4, Lore of Beasts)
• Wargor with Battle Standard; Great Weapon; Trollhide Armour
• 50 Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh with Halberds; Full Command; Banner of Swiftness
• 40 Gor Herd  with 2ndWeapon; Full Command
• 3 Chaos Chariots (operating as a single regiment to keep things tidy)
• 28 Chosen with Great Weapons; Shields; Full Command
• 10 Chaos Ogres of Slaanesh with Great Weapons; Heavy Armour; Full Command
• 1 Doombull with Great Weapon; Armour of Destiny; Gnarled Hide
• 11 Minotaurs  with Great Weapons; Light Armour; Full Command
• Dragon Ogre Shaggoth with Great Weapon; Light Armour
• Dragon Ogre Shaggoth with Great Weapon; Light Armour
• 10 Chaos Knights of Slaanesh with Lances; Full Command

Deployment
There was some debate over how best to handle deployment. In the end it was a roll-off. The losing side had to deploy one of its 3 contingents first. Then the winning side had to deploy 2 of theirs, then the losing side had to deploy both of their remaining contingents before the winners placed their 1 remaining force. In this case the Empire won the roll-off, so the last thing deployed was the Empire centre (me).

The forces lined up along the table. The circles show the area of the rifts if they are opened (control comes from unengaged units standing on the marker in the centre at the start of their turn).

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 7

This is the final part of my Cancon report. You can find the previous game here.

Game 8 - Battle Line
Sarah Mathews, Wood Elves

• Glade Lord on Forest Dragon with Armour of Silvered Steel, Talisman of Preservation, Ironcurse Icon, Starfire Shafts, Asrai Spear, Asrai Longbow
• The Sisters of Twilight on Ceithin-Har (Forest Dragon)
• 6 Glade Riders with Musician, Standard Bearer, Spears, Longbows, Starfire Shafts
• 6 Glade Riders with Musician, Standard Bearer, Spears, Longbows, Hagbane Tips
• 6 Glade Riders with Musician, Standard Bearer, Spears, Longbows, Hagbane Tips
• 6 Glade Riders with Musician, Standard Bearer, Spears, Longbows, Trueflight Arrows
• 6 Wild Riders with Standard, Banner of Swiftness
• 6 Wild Riders with Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame
• 6 Wild Riders with Standard
• 3 Warhawk Riders
• Great Eagle

Swedish Score: 14.7

Wood Elves. Wood Elves with no glade guard and no magic. Oh, and 2 dragons! How awesome is that? Of course, this meant another list with no BSB and (in this case) no magic at all. I guess when you’re spending all your character allowance on a couple of big monsters, sacrifices have to be made…

No dragons for the first 2 days, and then 3 in the final 2 games?

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 6

This is a continuation of my Cancon report. You can find the previous game here.

Game 7 - Battle for the Pass
Dustin Flack, Dark Elves

• Dreadlord on Black Dragon with Armour of Destiny, Other Trickster's Shard, Seadragon Cloak, Shield, Lance
• Master on Dark Steed with Black Dragon Egg, Heavy Armour, Seadragon Cloak, Shield, Lance, Brace of Repeater Handbows
• Master on Cold One with Potion of Strength, Luck Stone, Heavy Armour, Seadragon Cloak, Halberd
• Sorceress (Level 2, Lore of Metal) on Dark Steed
• Assassin with Sword of Anti-Heroes, Charmed Shield, Dark Venom
• 5 Dark Riders with Repeater Crossbows, Shields
• 9 Dark Riders with Repeater Crossbows, Shields, Full Command
• 28 Dreadspears with Full Command, Banner of Swiftness
• 6 Cold One Knights with standard, Musician, Gleaming Pendant
• Hydra with Fiery Breath
• Reaper Bolt Thrower
• Reaper Bolt Thrower
• Reaper Bolt Thrower
• 5 Warlocks

Swedish Comp: 13.5

It’s a brave man that will go into a tournament without a BSB (unless you’re talking undead or something). In Dustin’s case I gather this was largely a comp-driven decision, but an army with little magic and no battle standard is likely to have a hard time of things.

This game felt like one I should be able to win, provided I could keep the keeper from dying. Thus far this had proven difficult, but I needed to preserve the points if possible.

Deployment and vanguards. There is a hydra there somewhere. See if you can spot him...

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 5

This is a continuation of my Cancon report. You can find the previous game here.

Game 6 - Battle Line
Alex Thompson, Dwarfs

• Runesmith with Gromril Armour, Shield, Rune of Stone, 2 Runes of Spellbreaking
• Runesmith with Gromril Armour, Shield, Rune of Stone, 2 Runes of Spellbreaking, Rune of the Furnace
• Thane BSB with Gromril Armour, Shield, Master Rune of Grungni, 2 Runes of Slowness
• Master Engineer
• 28 Longbeards with Standard, Old Guard, Rune of Stoicism
• 13 Quarrellers with Great Weapons
• 23 Hammerers with Standard, Keeper of the Gate
• Cannon with Rune of Forging
• Grudge Thrower with Rune of Accuracy, Rune of Forging
• Gyrocopter with Steam Gun
• Gyrocopter with Brimstone Gun
• 18 Irondrakes with Full Command, 2 Runes of Slowness
• Organ Gun with Rune of Accuracy

Swedish Comp: 13.8

Dwarfs! Everyone loves dwarfs! Well actually, it seems like dwarfs love dwarfs and nobody else does. Anyway, this looked like a pretty traditional dwarf list with multiple runed-up war machines, a lot of anti-magic and Runes of Slowness galore to buy a bit more time for shooting before the combat blocks engaged.

With our respective lists, this game was always going to be a question of whether I could rush the line before the artillery cleaned me up. I had some small hope of improving matters with the soul grinder’s stone thrower and Pit of Shades, but with Alex having the equivalent of two Destroy Scrolls up his sleeve, it was unlikely I would get a chance with anything less than irresistible force.

Dwarf deployment, with another gyrocopter off to the right out of picture.

My deployment, after vanguards.

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 4

This is a continuation of my Cancon report. You can find the previous game here.

Game 4 - Battle Line
Karl Anderson, Orcs and Goblins

• Orc Great Shaman (Level 3) with Earthing Rod, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Talisman of Preservation
• Orc Shaman (Level 1) with Feedback Scroll
• Night Goblin Big Boss BSB with great weapon, Talisman of Endurance
• Night Goblin Big Boss with great weapon, Obsidian Lodestone
• Night Goblin Big Boss with great weapon, Dragonbane Gem
• 40 Night Goblins with shields, spears, full command, Netters 2 Fanatics
• 18 Savage Orc Big 'Uns with additional hand weapons, full command
• 5 Goblin Wolf Riders with spears, shields, musician
• 5 Goblin Wolf Riders with spears, shields, musician
• 18 Black Orcs with shields, full command, Standard of Discipline
• 1 Goblin Wolf Chariot
• 1 Goblin Wolf Chariot
• Orc Boar Chariot
• Orc Boar Chariot
• 2 Snotlings
• 2 Snotlings
• Goblin Rock Lobber
• Snotling Pump Wagon with Spiky Roller, Giant Explodin' Spores
• Snotling Pump Wagon with Spiky Roller, Giant Explodin' Spores
• Doom Diver Catapult
• Doom Diver Catapult
• Mangler Squig
• Mangler Squig

Swedish Comp: 15

I had come out of day 1 with only a single win, so I was hoping to improve on that. I generally like to at least “break even” no matter what list I’m messing about with and this was by no means the worst I’ve had…

Karl had a traditional orc gun line (when did gun lines become the standard way to play orcs? The world has gone mad). It was a bit of a concern for my keeper, especially when backed up by Foot of Gork. On the bright side, there was not a whole ton of combat staying power, so I might be OK if I could weather the storm.

Deployment, after some wolf riders used vanguard to move up on my flank.

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 3

This is a continuation of my Cancon report. You can find the previous game here.

Game 3 - Meeting Engagement
Michael Clarke, High Elves

• Prince on barded steed with Dragon Armour, Charmed Shield, Dawnstone, Giant Blade
• Archmage (Level 4, Lore of Metal) with Obsidian Lodestone
• Noble BSB on barded steed with Dragon Armour, Ogre Blade, Enchanted shield
• Mage (Level 2, Lore of Beasts) on barded steed with Ruby Rung, Dragonbane Gem
• 27 Archers with full command
• 12 Silver Helms with shields, full command
• 6 Dragon Princes with full command
• 14 Phoenix Guard with full command
• Lothern Skycutter
• 10 Sisters of Avelorn
• Great Eagle
• Great Eagle
• Bolt Thrower
• Bolt Thrower

Swedish Comp: 14.6

Michael seemed pleased to see me. Apparently he’s been waiting for his revenge ever since Kurt Helborg rolled a 12 to run down his fleeing archmage a couple of years ago…

The scenario was Meeting Engagement, and I won the roll-off to set up first. Only my daemonettes started off the table, which wasn’t too bad. My herald lurked near some other infantry and waited for her friends to arrive. I put the keeper, beasts and soul grinder over on my deep flank, in an aggressive position.

Deployment. I put my stuff down first, with the herald alone behind the bloodletters.

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 2

This is part 2 of my report of Cancon 2015. You can find part 1 here.

Game 2 - Battle Line
Ashley Ellis, High Elves

• Archmage (Level 4, Lore of Metal) with Talisman of Preservation
• Prince on barded steed with Armour of Destiny, Ogre Blade, Shield
• Mage (Level 2, High Magic) on barded steed with Golden Crown of Atrazar
• Noble BSB on barded steed with Dragon Armour, Star Lance, Enchanted Shield
• 5 Ellyrian Reavers with spears, musician
• 5 Ellyrian Reavers with spears, musician
• 15 Lothern Sea Guard with shields, full command
• 8 Silver Helms with shields, full command
• 6 Dragon Princes of Caledor with musician
• 6 Dragon Princes of Caledor with musician
• 14 Sword Masters of Hoeth with standard bearer, musician
• 12 White Lions of Chrace with full command, Gleaming Pennant
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower

Swedish Comp: 14.5

Ashley had gone for an MSU-style High Elf list. The level 4 having metal magic worked well for me (my army lacked much in the way of armour, so some of the spells like Searing Doom were not much good), but there was still enough of a ranged threat there to concern some of my units. Fortunately he kind of messed up his deployment a bit and didn’t leave enough room for the bolt throwers, so they were hindered a little.

My deployment, anchored by a water bottle in the centre. The river was a toxic ooze, or whatever it's called - the one that is dangerous and gives poison attacks.

Cancon 2015 Report - Part 1

It’s been a few weeks now, but I may finally have time to do a Cancon report. Better late than never, right?

It was a long time ago that I posted my list, so here it is again to refresh your memory:

• Keeper of Secrets (Level 4, Lore of Shadow) with 2 Greater Gifts
• Herald of Slaanesh with Battle Standard; Greater Locus of Swiftness, Lesser Gift
• 23 Daemonettes of Slaanesh with Full Command
• 18 Bloodletters of Khorne with Full Command, Banner of Swiftness
• 10 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (Level 1, Lore of Tzeentch)
• 5 Seekers of Slaanesh
• 6 Fiends of Slaanesh
• 2 Beasts of Nurgle (in 1 unit)
• Soul Grinder of Slaanesh with Daemonbone Claw, Phlegm Bombardment

Swedish Comp: 14.7

Daemons are really not my thing, but it was something different and I felt like I could throw in whatever I liked without Swedish Comp taking a huge steaming dump on my hopes and dreams, so I was happy enough.

I’m afraid I forgot my camera on day 1, so had to make do with my mobile phone. Sorry for the rubbish photos...

Game 1 - Dawn Attack
Nathan Goodchild, Vampire Counts

• Vampire Lord (Level 1, Lore of Vampires) on Zombie Dragon with Charmed Shield, Talisman of Preservation, Ogre Blade, Potion of Foolhardiness, Quickblood, heavy armour
• Necromancer (Level 2, Lore of Vampires) with Dispel Scroll
• Necromancer (Level 1, Lore of Vampires) with Scroll of Shielding, Ruby Ring of Ruin
• Tomb Banshee
• 5 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf
• 5 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf
• 5 Dire Wolves with Doom Wolf
• 30 Crypt Ghouls with Crypt Ghast
• 20 Zombies with musician, standard bearer
• 20 Zombies with musician, standard bearer
• 8 Hexwraiths
• 2 Fell Bats
• 2 Fell Bats
• Varghulf
• Varghulf
• Terrorgheist

Swedish Comp: 15.5

The first game was a grudge match, with Nathan looking for revenge after my narrow escape in the final round of Rumble in the Bronx. Both of us were using completely different lists here, with Nathan bravely fielding a zombie dragon in a good show of contempt for conventional wisdom.

It would be fair to say that I didn’t really know what I was doing going into this game. I had played a single practice game with my list, and it had given me a slightly narrow view of how to use my army. Of course, Nathan was using a borrowed army too (he was using Roy Diprose’s beautiful undead orcs). So no excuses.

Most of Nathan's deployment, with the zombie dragon on the wrong side from the rest of the army. The arachnarok is a terrorgheist. The long row of ghostly blue dogs is the hexwraiths.

The Battle of Heffengen - Part 6

This post is the final part of the report on the Battle of Heffengen. You can read part 5 here.

Chaos Turn 6

Chaos Final Turn

The Empire army had been pushed back. It was time for the Chaos forces to land a decisive blow.

The steam tank finds itself fighting both skullcrushers and blood knights

The Battle of Heffengen - Part 5

This post is part 5 of the report on the Battle of Heffengen. You can read part 4 here.

Apologies if the photos are starting to get worse. As evening fell and the light deteriorated a bit, it got harder to take decent shots without a flash.

Chaos Turn 5

Chaos Turn 5. The comet finally arrives!

The Battle of Heffengen - Part 4

This post is part 4 of the report on the Battle of Heffengen. You can read part 3 here.

Chaos Turn 4
Walach Harkon's Blood Dragons

• Wal Walach Harkon
• Ter1 Terrorgheist
• Ter2 Terrorgheist
• Ter3 Terrorgheist
• Ter4 Terrorgheist
• BK1 7 Blood Knights
• BK2 5 Blood Knights
• BK3 5 Blood Knights
• Blk1 15 Black Knights
• Blk2 10 Black Knights
• Blk3 10 Black Knights
• BC Black Coach
• Vg1 Varghulf
• Vg2 Varghulf
• Geist1 8 Vargheists
• Geist2 7 Vargheists

Chaos Turn 4. The Blood Dragons arrive.

The Battle of Heffengen - Part 3

This post is part 3 of the report on the Battle of Heffengen. You can read part 2 here.

As noted at the end of the notes for turn 2, a decision was made at the start of turn 3 that from turn 4 onward, the Chaos players would be permitted to target Karl Franz with shooting attacks. The decision seemed logical as the reason I gave for protecting him was that Gurug’ath wanted the satisfaction of killing him personally, and Gurug’ath was long gone. Also, the great and glorious Emperor looked set to not move for the entire game, and I figured it might encourage him to get a bit more involved.

To cushion the blow a bit, we decided that units wishing to shoot at him had to pass a Ld test first, as they struggled to overcome their standing orders.

Chaos Turn 3

Chaos turn 3.