Headswap for cinerators

I had a huge inspiration (lost one of the heads) and decided to swap heads for my cinerators! Here is a picture:

http://s1123.photobucket.com/albums/l559/WalzMaster/Figuja/?action=view&current=P1060810.jpg

I couldn't post the picture straight at the blog, because the size of the picture would screw everything up. :P

So I got the two-player box. It's very nice, but these models seem to have quite a lot of mold lines to remove. It's not the worst I've seen in models, but definitely in the worse part.

However, the models themselves are great! Cinerators are damn cool.

Currently I'm completely swamped under school, painting, assembling and other stuff... So much to do, so little time! I'm quite satisfied of the headswaps, hopefully I'll get to painting these guys soon!

It's time for some random thoughts!

These days I get to play Warmachine regularly, which is awesome. So, after bunch of games, It's time to write random thoughts and experiences!

On Cryx: This is the faction that gives me the most struggle. I play Menoth myself and seems that my lists and style just don't keep up with the movement shenanigans, tricks and alpha strike that Cryx brings. I need a LOT more practise against Cryx to keep up with their trickery. :P I've only played against eGhaspy and pDeneghra, as these are the casters that two local Cryx players use. It's a welcome challenge however. I'm going to try out Redeemer and Sunburst to bring me more ranged threat, so they won't be able to just dance around the board so freely!

And I learned the hard way that you should NOT forget slams, those chickens can do it from miles away! :D

On hordes: I'm hoping to get more experience of hordes. I've read the rulebook couple of times, but haven't managed to play against hordes more than a couple times. There are only two guys who play hordes locally and I have matched against just one of them! I feel that Menoth has great tools against hordes, but we'll see in the future. ;)

On Menoth: There are FOUR Menoth players, including me. That's quite ridiculous when you consider that there are just barely over ten players here! :D Swore in the beginning that I would not succumb to faction add, but seems that I'll have to. U know, to reduce mirror matches. ;)

On pFeora: This girl has seen a lot of play time recently. She is a good caster, but I'm going to move away for a while. She gives barely anything to either 'Jacks or infantry, she is a focus hog and has only one buff! One powerful babe, but I always feel that she leaves rest of my army hanging. I've had about an equal amount of flame thrower and melee assassinations with her, which was a little surprising. Two fully boosted flamers on a spd 8 (eod cast) caster is a powerful thing. One thing I don't like is the unpredictability of her feat. It can be devastating against infantry heavy lists, but you just can't depend on it to damage anything you want. I like the pKreoss and pSeverius feats more, they are so easily controlled.

I have eFeora coming in the mail and I'm quite excited to try her out. She seems like a proper 'Jack caster and those extra inches on Menoth heavies seem quite ridiculous! :)

On pKreoss: I have the old metal model and I'm waiting for the new plastic one, before this old fella gets some more board time. Dw, Lamentation and the feat are just awesome.

On Reckoner: Awesome 'Jack. It's gun is quite nasty with choir. Boostable pow 15 is nothing to sneeze at. I've pulled off some funny things with assault and even without it rng 12 is great! Add in p+s 17 reach weapon, spd 5 and a good special ability, you end up with a good and versatile 'Jack! For me it has been pretty much the only model with a high range shooting attack. I'm looking forward to trying out Redeemer and Sunburst with pKreoss/pSeverius/eFeora and show those damn heretics that we can shoot back! :)

I have been pushing back buying a Vanquisher, when I heard that it's included in the two-player box. I'll get my box next week and then it's time to burn some shit! :D

On Crusader: One of my "default" 'jacks. He has been in almost every one of my lists. Slow as hell, but hits VERY hard. Couple of times I have loaded him full of focus and charged an enemy heavy, just to see it wreck the enemy before using more than one focus! P+S 20 (with choir) is just ridiculous! I usually hang him close to my caster, to protect him. Then in the late game he charges in and destroys anything he wants. He might be good with eFeora, for that extra speed.

That's all I have to say tonight, I might continue this tomorrow. Now it's time to sleep.

Update: Added a couple lines of text after a good night of sleep.

Terrain, terrain, terrain, all over my apartment

I've been working at some terrain lately. I host some games at the cellar of my building, so I was suddenly hit with a need for four tables. I'm almost finished with three forests and here is picture of them!

I will add some more flock to the trees, but otherwise these are ready. I'm not 100 % satisfied of how they look, but considering how quick they were to make, I'm happy! When I get rest of the terrain and boards ready, this blog will see some better pictures of them, so prepare for that! ;)

Also got a package from mail. It contained a lot of terrain from Games Workshop.

Now I have the Chapel, Temple of Skulls, Walls and Fences and Garden of Morr boxes. I finished putting them together and now they are waiting for a black primer. It's really nice terrain, but the garden and chapel have just ridiculous amount of skulls in them. I know it's a cemetery, but come on! :)

Overall, I'm really pleased with the Citadel terrain. I definitely will buy some more when a suitable sale becomes available. :)

The minor negative side is that there is some fiddling to get those buildings together without gaps. I'll might have to get my green stuff out, but I have a feeling that laziness will win. :P

Oh yeah, it's only a week before next round of the league! We will have timed turns next time and I'll have to finish the scenario list next week. I'm really excited to try out my pFeora list!

Video review of the Grand Scrutator!

So, i've been trying out some simple video editing lately and decided to do my next piece of Thoughts about Protectorate as a video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHi5mqAJOw

So it's a review of our favourite old man, Grand Scrutator Severius. I go through his stats, abilites and so forth, to give a feel of what he is like. It's not about how "tournament effective" he is, it's about what he is like, what he can do and basic tips about how to use him.

Although I think he is good caster for a tournament. :)

Memory list for Menoth (+ WM in general)

I played couple games today. First one I won and second I lost. Both were great games, but I learned more from the loss than from the win. That's how it is usually. Few of my mistakes were forgetting and not thinking through some things, but I lost because of my tactical choices, not forgetfulness. Still I thought it would be a good thing to write down a memory list for the future. ;)

1. For Menoths sake, remember his eye! That +1 can be critical!
2. Remember to plan your activation order so that your support pieces can be utilised. Activating 'jacks before choir sings battle hymn is a bad mistake, but easy one to happen in the heat of battle.
3. Wrecked 'Jacks leave wreck markers! Those ARE going to hamper your movement in the future, so include that in your plans! /Edit: They also provide cover! (Thanks Pseudok!)
4. You can still shoot with destroyed arm systems. You just roll one dice to hit and damage.
5. Remember that you have an array of power attacks for your 'Jacks, especially those with open fists. This brings a lot of versatility.
6. Never forget the scenario objectives!
7. Remember damage types and models immunities, both yours and the opponents.

Those are the ones that I can think up with this sitting, if you have something to add, post a comment! I'm going to update this list when new things come up. It might just help me to remember these better.

I feel that my game is getting better and steadier all the time, but I still have so much to learn about this game. That's what makes it interesting. :)

First round of SteamLeague!

Text translated to English: "SteamLeague of Oulu"

So first round is over! It was a really nice gaming night. My board projects are unfinished, so I borrowed a board and some terrain from Hannu and Seraphi. Thanks guys! I plan to finish four boards next month and that should be enough for our gaming nights. I did not remember to take pictures this month, but I'll have to take some next time!

I learned few things. First, we need some kind of time limit for our rounds. Some of us took way too long time for our rounds. A lot of jokes about that were directed towards one player. He admittedly took a long time, but so took almost every one of us. So let's face it guys, we were all to blame for the fact that our two 10 point games took all day! :D

So for my personal gaming experiences, here is the list I played with:

pSeverius -6
Crusader 6
Revenger 6
Repenter 4

It is quite basic and worked quite nice. I won both games, but felt that both of those caster kills would have been much more reliable with just one or two more focus. I desperately need wracks and hierophant for future. Lack of choir was also a bummer, but I really could not fit them here. Feat of Severius is awesome. In both games it let me take a superior position without the fear of his caster and jacks retaliating effectively. Neither of those victories came easily, but the feat was a big part of both victories.

Like I said before, I need some caster support pieces to my next list. I tend to run Severius with quite many jacks and always feel like I have one or two focus too little. It also makes those crazy assassination runs with Revenger so much more likely to pull through. I've never felt so starved for focus with Kreoss or Feora

Here are the results for the first round:

(Games, Wins, Losses, Draws, Win Percentage)

Fitim:     G2, W2, L0, D0, WP 100%
Walz:      G2, W2, L0, D0, WP 100%
Hannu:    G2, W0, L0, D2, WP 50%
Tanan:    G1, W0, L0, D1, WP 50%
Antti:      G2, W0, L1, D1, WP 25%
Seraphi:  G2, W0, L2, D0, WP 0%
Niko:      G1, W0, L1, D0, WP 0%


First draw was because a player made an honest mistake with his list and took few too many points. We changed his close victory to a draw because of that. He was really honest with it and told me immediately when he noticed. Second draw was because we ran out of time and they agreed for a draw. Like I said, we need some kind of timed turns. :P

There are two players who have only one game, Tanan played on the first round but had to leave before the second. Niko took his place with borrowed Cygnar from Seraphi.

It was a great night, but I'm looking forward to playing with bigger lists. 10 points is very small, it's hard to fit anything. :) Next month is 15 points, I better start to paint figures!

Scenario: Arcane Ruins

I had an idea for a scenario and decided to post it. It's likely not a final version, but you get the idea. It's a relaxed and pretty random scenario, so it might not be a best fit for competitive play.

Scenario: Arcane Ruins

When making scenery, place three arcane ruins within 4 inches of the center line of the board and with at least 12 inches between the ruins. You can also deploy woods or buildings instead of ruins.

You control a arcane ruin if your model ends it activation within the scenery piece or within 2 inches of a building or a ruin that cannot be moved into. Model that flees, has lower cmd than 3, inert warjacks, wild beasts and incorporeal models cannot hold objectives. Model contests an objective, if it is within a forest or within 2 inches of a building or a ruin that cannot be moved into. If there is a enemy model contesting the objective, neither of you gain control. You remain in control of the point even if you move out of the scenery piece, until your opponent contests or captures it.

In the maintenance phase, after allocating focus, roll d3 for each objective you control. This is the amount of Arcane Rage tokens you can then allocate to units, warjacks/warbeasts, warcasters/warlocks or solos. No unit/model can have more than three arcane tokens. In the next turn, before allocating focus, remove every arcane rage token you allocated last turn. Unit gets a bonus depending of the number of tokens it has. Note that these are not cumulative. For example, if you allocate three tokens to a unit, it gets only the third bonus, not all of them.

1 token: 1+ str, mat, rat and ranged damage rolls. -1 def
2 tokens: 2+ str, mat, rat and ranged damage rolls. -1 def and -1 arm
3 tokens: 2+ str, mat, rat and ranged damage rolls, +1 spd, -2 def and -1 arm. Warjacks may charge for free and units get fearless. Warcasters get +2 rng for spells and may once in turn cast one spell for one less focus.

You can win this scenario by caster kill. Starting from the first players third turn, player can also win by controlling all of the objectives in the end of his turn.