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.

New year update (everything is on fire)

So we're into a new year, and the blog is not yet dead! I know better than to make bold new year resolutions, but things are still ticking along.

The Goblin campaign has resulted in me getting a moderate amount of painting done, which is an improvement on how things were going beforehand. I posted previously about the first batch of squigs I got done. I then had to try to rush through another group and some handlers before the report in which I needed them. The squigs are basically done apart from static grass, but the handlers range from being about 80% done (the ones I needed for the game) through to 50% or less. Who know when I will actually get around to finishing these guys, or the remaining pile of partly painted squigs and mountain of undercoated squig hoppers...

Squigs, handlers and random assorted things in various states of completion. The pile of night goblins  behind the squigs was actually started for the campaign battle before I realised I was being too ambitious and cut them from the queue.

The Gob-off Interlude 2 - Mork save us!

The holiday period and Cancon preparations have kind of put our Gob-off on hold, but here is a bit of an explanation of what happened to Mush and Room after our last game...

Mush drifted. He didn't know for how long. He felt nothing. He could see nothing. And yet, somehow, everything felt kind of... green.

The Gob-Off: Chapter 2

This is a continuation of our Goblin Warhammer campaign. You can find the previous part here...

After his plans were stymied by his chance encounter with Skuzzbutt's ladz, Mush was determined to get revenge. But first, he needed to ensure he had the upper hand. The few squigs he had brought previously had nearly single-handedly destroyed Skuzzbutt's forces, so it was clear that he needed more. Da Weird Toof Tribe had a lot more. It was time to go and "borrow" some...

Mush and Room crept along the dark tunnel at the head of the column, trying not to make too much noise. Surprise was important for this mission. If da Weird Toofs knew they were coming, the caves would soon be filled with the gnashing teeth of angry squigs. And that would be bad.

Behind them, the rest of the tribe sneaked as best they could. Rattles and clunks rang out regularly as the tips of their spears scraped the low roof of the tunnel. Worse was the occasional booming yawn from one of the idiot trolls that they had decided to bring along. The trolls were shambling at the rear of the pack, prodded along by the spears of a team of goblins. 

Stupid Trolls. What a bunch of muppets...

A loud crack echoed down the passage as one of the trolls walked face-first into a low part of the ceiling. Mush winced at the noise. He had thought that the resilience of the trolls might be handy in the coming raid, but in hindsight maybe they were not well suited to the task at hand. They were slowing things down, they were hard work, and it seemed likely that they were going to alert the enemy to their approach.


As if to confirm his worst fears, the troll shook its head in surprise and then roared in anger at the rock on front of it. It took a step back and then smashed its face into the rock again, pulverising its own nose and smashing a large chunk from the low-hanging section of ceiling. It dropped to the floor with a crash, the sounds echoing deafeningly down the tunnel. 

Mush groaned and put his face in his hand. This was not starting well. 

*****

Weirdo, heroic leader of da Weird Toof Tribe, wandered through the darkness of the cave looking for handy things to collect. In his hand he carried his custom handbag squig. He loved his handbag. He took it everywhere.

The various huddled groups of night goblins watched him passing nervously, clutching their prized possessions close to them lest they catch Weirdo's eye. They all knew about his "shopping trips," and they all knew that anything he grabbed would never be seen again.

Weirdo muttered to himself and his handbag as he shuffled along, giving occasional exclamations as he found something of interest. A particularly smooth and shiny stone, a broken sword handle, and a slow-moving and unfortunate Snotling were all snatched up and stuffed into the mouth of his handbag. He giggled as he stored each item. He loved collecting. His handbag was never full. No item was too big. Of course, he had never managed to get anything back out again (he had made the mistake of trying early on, and had nearly lost a hand in the process), but he liked knowing it was all in there.

The usual snarling and snapping filled the air as he passed the squig pens. He gave them a wide berth, knowing that anything worth picking up over there had already been eaten. Something caught his toe as he went, and he stooped to brush away the loose dirt. Beneath he found some sort of runic Dwarf talisman. "Ooooh," he squealed as he snatched it up. He could feel the power of the thing humming through his filthy hand. Glancing around to ensure nobody else in the tribe had spotted it, he hastily stuffed it into the mouth of his handbag for safekeeping.

He shuffled on toward the broken gates of the ancient Dwarf hold, he suddenly halted his search. Strange echoes came from the passages beyond the gates. Someone was coming. Weirdo wondered if they had anything worth storing...

Da Rules
This is the sort of game you can only really do as part of a campaign. The armies are intentionally slightly uneven in terms of points (but maybe not strength). The board would be challenging to maneuver on, with some allowances made for things like random moves (things steer a bit as required).

Mush and Room had a clear objective - they needed to kill the enemy general (Weirdo). If they could do this, they could take charge of the tribe and the Squigs would be theirs.

Weirdo's objective was more traditional - try to kill all the enemy. Oh, and don't die. Mainly don't die...

Da Armies

Mush and Room's Sneaky Raiders (1200 points) - Tim

• Mush - Night Goblin Shaman (Level 2) with Talisman of Protection, Vindictive Glare, Itchy Nuisance
• Room - Night Goblin Big Boss with Battle Standard, Light Armour, Shrieking Blade
• Max Club - Night Goblin Big Boss with Berserker Sword/Club, Potion of Foolhardiness
• 24 Night Goblins with Spears, Shields, Full Command, Netters, 2 Fanatics
• 24 Night Goblins with Spears, Shields, Full Command, Netters, 1 Fanatic
• 24 Night Goblins with Spears, Shields, Full Command, Netters, 1 Fanatic
• 24 Night Goblins with Short Bows, Full Command, 1 Fanatic
• 24 Night Goblins with Short Bows, Full Command, 1 Fanatic
• 6 Squig Hoppers



Max Club got a promotion!

• 3 Trolls

This game was going to be a bit unusual. It would be played on the club's cave boards, making movement a bit different. It was also going to put a lot of squigs on one side, which promised to be potentially devastating for the raiders. We decided to give Tim an a bit of a points boost to try to compensate. Hopefully between the slightly larger units, the fanatics and the netters, it would be enough to make for an even fight...

Note that although we promoted Max Club to a Big Boss, we decided that he was a lunatic and not in contention to lead the army. So Mush remained in charge despite his inferior leadership, in direct contravention of the rules. So there!

Da Weird Toof Tribe (1000 points) - Owen

• Weirdo - Night Goblin Warboss with Great Weapon, Talisman of Protection
• Hoppo - Night Goblin Big Boss on Great Cave Squig with Spear
• 25 Night Goblins with Hand Weapons, Shields, Full Command
• 20 Night Goblins with Hand Weapons, Shields, Boss, Musician
• 20 Night Goblins with Short Bows, Boss, Musician
• Squig Herd with 10 Squigs, 5 Handlers
• Squig Herd with 10 Squigs, 5 Handlers
• Squig Herd with 10 Squigs, 5 Handlers
• 8 Squig Hoppers
• Troll
• Troll
• Mangler Squig
• Mangler Squig

Both sides had trolls, but both sides had little to no leadership. Owen stepped in to control of the defenders. I figured that made more sense than me doing it, given this army had nothing to do with Skuzzbutt.

The Gob-off: Interlude

While I busily try to get stuff painted and we work out when the next game in our Goblin campaign (you can find part 1 here) will take place...

Skuzzbutt stalked back and forth in the living room of the broken down building that served as his headquarters. Around him sat his lieutenants, perched on whatever broken furniture they could find. The shaman Ballitch squatted in the corner, gibbering to himself as he often did. Skuzzbutt tried to ignore him and focus on the problem at hand.

"Da problem is da squigs," he told the room yet again. "Dey is dead chompy."

The assembled goblins obligingly muttered their agreement again. Razzie, who was wrapped almost head to toe in dirty rags that served as makeshift bandages, shifted uncomfortably at the memory of just how chompy the squigs had been.

"Wot iz we gonna do?" wailed Idjit, not for the first time. An odd, rather pathetic little goblin, Idjit was not the most clever of the assembled group. Nor was he much of a fighter. But he seemed to be uncommonly lucky, and had by sheer longevity managed to make it into Skuzzbutt's inner council. Not that he added much, now that he was there.

"We needz spears. Long pointy ones!" proclaimed Skuzzbutt. "We need to be able to stick dem squigs before dey get close enough to give us da chomp!"

There was some murmuring of agreement at the obvious wisdom of this plan, and Skuzzbutt was filled with pride at his own cleverness. His military genius was unmatched, and their victory would be assured...

This glorious train of thought was derailed by Idjit, who had a slightly perplexed expression. "Errr, boss..."

Skuzzbutt rounded on him, annoyed at the interruption. "Wot, Idjit?" The already small goblin seemed to sink even further down on his broken stool under the weight of his boss' displeasure. He spoke hesitantly.

"Dem spears, boss. I don't fink it will work."

"Why not? Iz simple fizziks. We reach dem before dey reach us," snapped Skuzzbutt. He shouldn't have been surprised that Idjit would be the one that failed to grasp his plan, but it was nevertheless frustrating. He was always annoying.

"Well yer, boss. Nah boss. Da problem is inishutive, boss," the little goblin whined. "Dey chomp before we can stabs dem."

Skuzzbutt stared at him for a moment. What was he gibbering about? It was obvious he didn't understand the simple plan. The reach of a spear far exceeded the bite of a squig. He glanced about the room, and could see that nobody else had a clue what Idjit was on about either. Ballitch hiccupped, and toppled over in his little corner. Idjit continued to look concerned, but flinched as though he was about to be struck every time Skuzzbutt glared his way. The impudent little runt. There was no point explaining it to him again.

"Shaddup Idjit," he snapped. "I want youz all to go make some long pointy spears so da ladz can practice. Now!"

*****

"Squigs," muttered Mush as he and his brother staggered back toward the camp. "We needz more squigs!"

"Yer," nodded Room agreeably as he limped alongside, using his shattered banner pole as a walking stick. "But where do we find more squigs? Most of 'em got stabbed by dem uvver gobbos."

"Dat's easy," snorted Mush. "We steal 'em from da Weird Toof tribe. Dey gotz heaps of 'em"

"Yer," agreed Room again. "But... dey live deep unnerground innit? How we gonna get 'em?"

Mush looked at him like he was an idiot. "We attack 'em in da cave where dey live, dummy."

Room looked uneasy. "But... itz real dark down der," he whined. "An itz full o squigs!"

Mush turned and whacked his brother over the ear, making him cower and take a couple of steps away to safety. "Dark!" shouted Mush incredulously. "What sort of night goblin iz you? Dark is home!" He gestured around at the surrounding trees, their shadows lengthening as the sun's last light crept away. "Out here under dat 'uge sky! Dis is da scary place!"

Room glanced around, sniffing. "I kinda like it out here," he muttered defensively. 

Mush stared at him for a moment, blinked hard as though he was seeing his brother for the first time, then turned and stormed off on the path toward camp. "Lez go get dem squigs!"


You can find the next part of the campaign here...

Painted Squigs and Being Patient

I've made some progress on painting some of those new squigs that I recently purchased. I'm trying to get all 30 of the normal squigs done before moving onto the hoppers, but I ended up breaking them into 2 logical groups based on colour. The first group is here, and they're your more common red and orange sort of colour scheme. The second batch will be blue and purple. This gives me 2 relatively distinct units, but they should still look OK mixed together. In the past I've fallen into the trap of painting squigs in every colour under the rainbow, and they really are a mess. I'll have to go back and look at those later. I think a more restricted palette will be more effective.

Anyway, here is the first batch of squigs...

Aren't they handsome? The modern plastics really do hold some of the character of the older metal range.