Baby steps

Somehow it's been over a month since my last post. I've barely left the house during that time, but somehow my days feel busier than ever. This probably has something to do with the builders who are working on our garage, cutting a door through right next to the painting table, and generally covering everything in dust.

The general chaos has obviously affected my painting progress as well. I've managed to (literally) blow the dust off a few things, but really my achievements over this time have been limited.

I did finally get around to trying to tidy up the paint on the wolfybirbs, who have sat in their mostly-finished state since Cancon. I figured now I should really take their picture before hiding them in a cabinet, where they will hopefully not gather too much more dust.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 6

This is the final part of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament that was held as part of Cancon 2020. You can find the previous part of the report here, or go back to the first part here.

Game 6 - Control
Jeff Traish - Forces of the Abyss

• Horde of Abyssal Ghouls
• Regiment of Abyssal Ghouls
• Regiment of Abyssal Ghouls
• Horde of Molochs with Blade of Slashing
• Horde of Molochs with Mace of Crushing
• Abyssal Fiend
• Manifestation of Ba'el
• Abyssal Warlock
• Abyssal Warlock
• Abyssal Warlock
• Horde of Lesser Obsidian Golems (Abyssal Dwarf allies)
• Horde of Lesser Obsidian Golems (Abyssal Dwarf allies)
• Hexcaster with Weakness (Abyssal Dwarf allies)

Well, I had done it again. After my "correction" game dropped me back into the middle tables, I had won two more games and now I found myself on what was probably one of the top 3. I think I was in 5th place coming into the final round. Not really where I had intended to be. And now I was to play Jeff, a man who had actually played more than 2 games of 3rd edition before the tournament, and who clearly knew what he was doing. I resolved that I would try not to throw this game away. Try to focus and play tighter. Well, it was not a bad resolution...

One of the Lesser Obsidian Golem units went hard on the flank, with the Fiend lurking right behind them. I wasn't sure where to put the Halflings, so planted them in the corner where they could sit all game and hopefully contest or control that table segment. This was dumb, of course. I should have put them nearer the join of 2 segments, where they could shift about as needed. This occurred to me just after I declared they were sorted.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 5

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament at Cancon 2020. You can find the previous part here, or go right back to the start with the first part here.

Game 5 - Push
Angriartists - Goblins

• Troll Horde
• Troll Horde
• Troll Horde
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• Troop of Mincer Mob
• King on Chariot with Piercing Arrow
• King with Jareth's Pendant (gives him a Headstrong aura)
• Mincer
• Mincer
• War Trombone

OK, so... This list confused me a lot. I admit I had never really read up on what a Goblin Mincer did, and now I was paying the price. I stole my opponent's army list so that I could make sure I understood what I was up against during deployment. Aris explained the general concept of the list as the Mincers being the anvil, and the Trolls the hammer. That made sense. The Mincers are not quick, but they're Defence 6+ from the front. Of course, if they got a clean charge on you, you might know about that too...

What the hell am I looking at? I immediately had guilt about the pile of unpainted pump wagons at home.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 4

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament that was held as part of Cancon. You can find the previous part of the report here.

So we were onto Day 2 of the tournament, and after the savaging I had taken in Game 3, I was hoping I would be back into a realm of relative safety on the tables. But then I arrived at my table, and this is what I found...

What the hell? We didn't sign up for this!

Turns out the tanks belonged to the 40K player at the other table. Probably for the best, really...

Game 4 - Plunder
Daniel Harwood - Ogres

• Horde of Ogre Warriors with Mead of Madness, Crocodog
• Horde of Ogre Warriors with Brew of Haste, Crocodog
• Horde of Ogre Warriors with Crocodog
• Horde of Ogre Warriors with Crocodog
• Horde of Ogre Warriors with Crocodog
• Red Goblin Blaster
• Red Goblin Blaster
• Berserker Bully
• Berserker Bully
• Grokagamok
• Ogre Warlock with Drain Life
• Ogre Warlord on Chariot with Blade of Slashing

OK, that looks more like a Kings of War list. I admit I was concerned when I saw 2 Blasters in the list. I really had no ranged attacks or expendable elements with which to remove them. Then I discovered they don't blow up like they used to, and have to charge to hurt me. Well, that changes things...

So many Ogre Warriors. I mean, I get it. They're a solid unit. But I was glad none of them were Siegebreakers instead. One of those units had Mead of Madness and the Berserker Bully (character closest to the rock) came with Wild Charge. Otherwise that was a wall of Speed 6, so I had the upper hand in terms of dictating terms.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 3

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament that was held as part of Cancon. You can find the previous part of the report here.

Game 3 - Invade

Adam Storey - Undead

• Horde of Revenants with Fire-Oil, Undead Giant Rats
• Horde of Revenants with Brew of Strength, Undead Giant Rats
• Horde of Wights with Mead of Madness
• Horde of Wights with Brew of Sharpness
• Horde of Zombie Trolls
• Troop of Wraiths
• Troop of Wraiths
• Cursed Pharaoh with Wings of Honeymaze
• Mhorgoth the Mandatory
• Necromancer with Inspiring Talisman, Drain Life, Surge

I was a bit worried that I was heading for the wrong end of the tournament after 2 wins. I knew I was due for a correction. Well... 

These things (the Zombie Trolls) were just gross. A lot of Adam's models are 3D printed, and he'd managed to complete these ones with bloody streaks as they dragged themselves across the ground... Eww. Anyway, they were hard on my left flank. Next to them were the Revenants, and behind them sat one of the Wight units.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 2

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament that was held as part of Cancon. You can find the previous part of the report here.

Game 2 - Raze
Brent Rabid - Dwarfs

• Horde of Ironclad with Throwing Mastiff, Hammer of Measured Force
• Regiment of Shieldbreakers with Throwing Mastiff
• Regiment of Shieldbreakers with Throwing Mastiff
• Horde of Earth Elementals
• Horde of Earth Elementals
• Regiment of Berserker Brock Riders with Brew of Sharpness
• Regiment of Mastiff Hunting Pack
• Dwarf Lord on Large Beast
• Berserker Lord on Brock with Blade of the Beast Slayer
• Steel Juggernaut
• Steel Juggernaut
• Stone Priest with Bane Chant

Brent's army was not what you normally expect to see in Dwarf force. No artillery. There was only a small amount of mobile shooting. And no Herneas. I'm so glad he's been retired off to a separate list...

Anyway, I liked Brent's list, but based on my own limited experience I was worried he would suffer for a lack of control over the engagements without much shooting or foot speed. I guess we would see...

That is a pretty compact deployment.

Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 1

So after all the fuss about raging bushfires, damaging hail and the various other signs of the apocalypse that have been this Australian summer, the trip to Cancon ended up going pretty smoothly. The weather was relatively mild (especially compared to last year, which basically had me trying to play game 3 curled up the fetal position), there was little to no smoke whilst we were up there, and the long drive was uneventful. Of course Canberra was on fire the day before we arrived, and again immediately after we left. It was good of the fires to pause so we could all attend a convention and play with toy soldiers...

I survived the tournament, and somehow took over 300 photos on my phone. I'm sure I'll be able to weed my way through them to keep these posts manageable, but it seems like one game per post will be the way to go.

I posted previously about my list, but here it is again for convenience:

League of Rhordia (2000 points)

• Horde of Honour Guard with Indomitable Will
• Horde of Honour Guard with Indomitable Will
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Halfling Archers
• Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
• Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
• Baron on Aralez
• Mammoth

(I warn you now that the Dukes on Ancient Winged Aralez are likely to be referred to as "birbs" for much of the report, as that is how we were talking about them all weekend. I can't get it out of my head. I'm sorry...)

I didn't quite get everything finished before the tournament, but my efforts the night before the event ensured the halflings were at least not obviously incomplete. That was about the best that could be hoped for. Anyway, on with the report!

Game 1 - Smoke and Mirrors

Tim Stewart - Kingdoms of Men

• Horde of Polearms with Indomitable Will
• Horde of Polearms with Indomitable Will
• Horde of Polearms with Indomitable Will
• Regiment of Polearms
• Troop of Knights
• Mammoth
• Mammoth
• Giant
• General on Winged Beast
• General on Winged Beast
• Army Standard Bearer with Lute of Insatiable Darkness
• Hero on Pegasus with Indomitable Will

For once I know exactly what was in my opponent's list, because I printed it myself. And they're my models. Tim was in fact the only practice game I played with my army before the event, so it was a little funny to find ourselves matched up again in the first round.

Ah, this won't be confusing at all... Look how samey it all looks! You can see the hidden objective markers scattered all over the place. It's an interesting scenario. Each player only knows the value of the tokens that they placed on the other half of the field (they vary from 2 down to dummies with 0), and each player reveals one at the end of each turn.

Time is running out

In the proud tradition of tournament preparation, I am running out of time in the lead-up to Cancon. The tournament starts on the 25th, and we'll be driving up the day before. That's 10 days from now, which would be a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, I'll be away on a separate trip immediately before that. So realistically my last chance to get any tournament preparation will be this coming Friday - 3 days away.

Friday is also the deadline for lists to be submitted, so I guess I will have a final chance to assess what I have left to do and adjust my plans accordingly. In the meantime, this is what I'm planning on taking...

League of Rhordia (2000 points)

• Horde of Honour Guard with Indomitable Will
• Horde of Honour Guard with Indomitable Will
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Knights
• Regiment of Halfling Archers
• Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
• Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
• Baron on Aralez
• Mammoth

So that's it, I have a list. The downside is that I currently only have 8 painted Halflings. That's 12 short. I've started work on another 10, but they have a long way to go. At least they're short...

The other problem is that I don't currently have proper models for Ancient Winged Aralez. I could cheat and use griffons, but I'd have to rebase a pair of them onto correct bases, and it would be cheating. I need some proper winged doggies. So that's my main focus right now.

I had 2 partly assembled Thunderwolves that I bought second-hand years ago at Cancon. So I set about turning those into the models I needed.

The wings for this one were printed for me. I think they're from some sort of flying lion from the Titan-Forge Patreon.

Cancon 2018 Aftermath - Part 4

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Clash of Kings tournament at Cancon 2018. You can find the previous part here.

Game 4: Push
Ed Hamacek, League of Rhordia

I still hadn't won a game, but I guess at least I had no longer lost all of them either. I had points on the board. Surely the only way was up now.

Ed's list made me nervous. A wall of Knights and Honour Guard, and 3 Volley Guns to boot. I knew how tough this list would be - I had used a slightly less focused version of it at a previous Cancon. After the horrors of the War Trombones in the first game, I was really worried about letting the Volley Guns rule the field. And with 24" range, they really could control a large area. I decided once again that the key might be to rush them. 

Ed had stacked most of his stuff in the centre or over on the other flank, so that pair of Volley Guns was relatively exposed. I Vanguarded as far as I could with the Forest Shamblers. Honestly, it was dumb. I should have hung back in the trees and then advanced into the field to hop from cover to cover. I don't know what I thought I was going to do. Surge? What if I didn't get the first turn?

Cancon 2016 KoW Aftermath - Part 3

This is the final part of my tournament account. You can find the previous part here.

Game 5: Loot!
Lockjaw, Kingdoms of Men

• Berserker Horde - Pathfinder
• Berserker Horde - Fire Oil
• Berserker Regiment
• Berserker Regiment
• Beast of War - Ballista
• Beast of War - Ballista
• Siege Artillery
• Siege Artillery
• Ogre Shooter Horde - +1 to hit
• Wizard on Pegasus - Inspiring
• Wizard on Pegasus
• Wizard on Pegasus
• Army Standard on Horse - Boomstick

Coming into this game I was on 2 wins and 2 losses. I'm afraid at this point my photo-taking broke down entirely. I was aware of having already failed at it in my previous games, so I decided to give up and focus on playing my games instead. I've patched together something approximating the battlefield so you can get a handle on what I'm talking about, but from now on you're on your own. Best of luck to you...

This was the table and deployment. More or less. The little compasses are the loot markers.

Cancon 2016 KoW Aftermath - Part 2

This is part 2 of my tournament account. You can find part 1 here.

Game 3: Dominate!
Clint Richards, Twilight Kin

• Dark Lord on Dragon with Ensorcelled Armour
• Dark Lord with Blade of Beast Slayer
• Wiz with Fireball, Bane Chant and amulet
• Dark Knight Reg with Blessing of the Gods
• Dark Knight Reg with Potion of Caterpillar
• Reaper Guard with blade of Slashing
• Reaper Guard with Brew of Haste
• Reaper Guard with Fire Oil
• Hydra
• Gargoyles
• Spear Horde with Brew of Strength

I had never played against Twilight Kin before, but they were similar enough to Elves that I had some idea of how to approach things. This game turned out to be my favourite game of KoW so far, and I really wished I had been taking photos toward the end. Oh well. I have consoled myself by trying to reconstruct the game using Battle Chronicler. At least then you might be able to follow what I'm talking about. The description (such as I remember things) is in the captions.

Deployment: I didn't get to choose table sides, but this was the side I would have gone for. I put the Volley Guns in a defensive position behind the water, overlooking the central control area. It then became something of an arms race on my right flank as we tried to out-flank each other.

Cancon 2016 KoW Aftermath - Part 1

Cancon is over for another year and I've now had about a week to recover from the trip. As usual I will give a bit of a run-down of my time at the event, but this time it will be a little bit different. My preparation for this tournament was not the best. I put minimal effort into creating my army list, packed at the last minute, and headed off to Canberra. It was only once I had arrived in Canberra that I realised that I had not actually brought everything I had packed with me. I had left a bag behind. The bag contained my rule books, dice, tape measures, some of my movement trays, the paints I was going to finish off my bases with, and also my camera. The night before the tournament I was using a kitchen knife to cut the lid of a pizza box into makeshift movement trays.

In the end my situation was not as severe as it might have been. After laughing at my situation Nick reached out to some of the Canberra locals and a couple of them arrived with some proper movement trays, which worked a whole lot better than the pizza ones would have. People loaned me a copy of the rulebook and Uncharted Empires, I found a spare tape measure in my car, and I bought some dice from one of the stalls at the event. So I was more or less back on track, but the only camera I had was the one on my phone, which still seems to be less than ideal for taking photos of games. I fiddled with it for a bit, but pretty quickly abandoned it as a forlorn effort. I decided to just focus on playing the games and enjoying myself. So this will not be a detailed run-down packed with details and photos.

My army list is below. It is notable for its almost complete lack of magic items. The Duke on the Ancient Winged Aralez should really have had something, most likely 6+ defence. The horde units are also all pretty powerful and would benefit greatly from an item to boost their speed or grant them Pathfinder. Oh well, I wanted to jam lots of things into the list and this was how it panned out:

• Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
• Baron on Aralez
• Wizard on Horse with Bane-chant, Inspiring Talisman
• Halfling Master Engineer
• Horde of Honour Guard with Dwarven Ale
• Horde of Honour Guard
• Horde of Dogs of War
• Regiment of Household Knights
• Regiment of City Militia
• Halfling Volley Gun
• Halfling Volley Gun
• Halfling Iron Beast

Game 1 - Kill!
Jeff Galea, Elves

• Dragon Kindred Lord with Medallion of Life
• Green Lady
• Mage with Bane-chant, Inspiring Talisman
• Horde of Kindred Tallspears
• Horde of Kindred Archers with Heart Piercing
• Regiment of Stormwind Cavalry with Brew of Courage
• Horde of Drakon Riders with Dwarven Ale
• Horde of Chariots with Caterpillar Potion
• Bolt Thrower

So I turned up at the first round without having actually played a game with Rhordia, and with my head muddled about with a combination of KoW and Warhammer rules after playing the latter far more recently than the former. Fortunately the first round was a simple scenario - Kill! That would help me muddle through.

Basing versatility

It has been a pretty quiet holiday period for me in terms of hobby activity. There has been a lot of other stuff going on and it's seen me either too busy or too tired to sit down and try to do anything productive. However next weekend is Cancon, and having committed a long time ago to going, I finally need to start paying attention and work out what needs to be done.

I've made the trip up to Canberra for Cancon maybe 15 times in the past, and every single time I have played Warhammer Fantasy. That is not really an option this time, with the choice coming down to either 9th Age or Kings of War for those who were looking for a game of that type. I chose Kings of War, put in my registration, and then gave it no further thought. It's only now that I've really started considering what army to take. I couldn't really pick something requiring a lot of preparation, so I've settled for something different that still uses what I have already available - League of Rhordia.

Unfortunately I am decidedly weak on the Halfling front, so my army will really just be making use of the human choices in the list so I can use some of my Empire stuff that doesn't get a run in the Kingdoms of Men. Exciting stuff like Wolfygryphs and Volley Guns and Steam Tanks...

Anyway, with this in mind I managed to get myself to sit down and finish my unit of Republican Guard, so I now have the 40 models I need to field a horde of Dogs of War in the Rhordia list. They're funny - pikemen so heavily armoured they waddle along at the speed of Dwarves. I also needed to do some work on my Wolfygryphs, because they're on 50x75mm Warhammer Monstrous Cavalry bases, which is not right for use in Kings of War (they should be on 50x50mm). So some re-basing was required.

Bases! As usual I cheated as much as possible and asked Pete to 3D print me what I needed. But wait, you can't fit Demigryphs on those...