Random Repaint & Battlefield Roles

First off, let me start by saying "oops". Turns out the decals on the shoulders of your units do more than simply designate units... The offending minis, pictured to the left, have been fixed. I didn't take a picture yet, but now they have moons where the stars were.

Now, that said, how 'bout some more AoS? Today will be my first time fielding a "pure" Stormcast Eternal army. I have been reading up on Stormcast tactics, and the interwebz seem to agree that the Sigmarines are best in an MSU (multiple small unit) configuration. To that end, I starting putting together a new, more swarmy, version of my old list. PPC comp system, of course, as the General's Handbook won't be out for another few weeks.

I won't go into the gory details, just an overview.

After Demitra's thorough whupping administration laid upon the backsides of my Vindicators, I have not only studied the rules and the FAQ, but also some strategy articles discussing formations, model roles on the battlefield, and weapon loadouts. 5 models seems to be the ideal size for most Stormcast units. Their characters are capable of several roles at a time- buffer, fighter, sniper, etc. Because of that, a Stormcast player can get away with bringing less characters than most armies.

Weapon loadouts are another thing. Decimators should all have axes. All of them, all of the time. with their excellent reach and crazy ability to get an attack for every enemy within 2", they should capitalize on crowd control. Leave the scary things to the other paladins.

Judicators are wonderful. They have good range, and their arrows hit pretty hard. The crossbows... Situational at best. I can see them trailing some Protectors as crowd control, but unless they are shooting into an ongoing combat, they are most likely going to get eaten.

Damn you, Liberators! I know you have SOME function!

I'm positive Liberators have uses, but I'm not seeing them. They're not good bait, they don't crank out a ton of damage, and they're not super durable. I wish I could see their appeal. I guess twin hammers and a Prime with a Great hammer might work as a "swap out" or "temporary tarpit" unit, so I'll keep trying with them.

The heroes are mostly pretty good.

I have some severe hesitancy about the Knight-Azyros. Unless you build your army around his Lightning Strike tweak, he will light up an enemy unit for a very brief period before his swift, brutal death.

The Lord Relictor only really seems to shine in the presence of a Dracoth rider or a Star Drake, both of which will leave him in the dust.

Finally, the Lord Castellant. Oh, how I want to like you! Oh, how the FAQ religated you to the blackest depths of my figure case! Now that you make saves, regenerate wounds, then apply damage, you end up in the "Relictor Zone". Cool on paper, in practice, however, meh or worse.

Everyone else in the books have some great abilities. Personally, with my "go get 'em" style of play, a Lord-Celestant on foot handing out +1 to hit the enemies of the God-King (especially when backed up by an Amber Wizard for OMG levels of brutality) is a no-brainer in terms of being my General.

Knight-Heraldors? If you don't see the amazing control potential for these guys... Well, think hard. Yoinking units out of the wrong fight and sending them running toward a new threat is brilliant. Better yet, a Star Drake moving flat out (fly + run), unleashing its breath weapon (it's an ability, not an attack), and then charging? Squeeeee!!!

Any way, my head is a-swirlin' with thoughts, and I have a game tonight, so time to start narrowing down my options into an army list.

Until next time, when I'll have minis to show off!

Thoughts of Sigmar

I really believed this.

So, Age of Sigmar is about to get a points system- an official one, where GW has playtested the rules and values associated as well as gotten input from, and changed things based on the input of, tournament organizers. I am thrilled.

Until now I have been trying the game out, and it is a pretty slick system. I've picked up some ideas, some tactics (it matters which models you use and how you deploy / move them). The PPC system seems pretty good. It too is community tested, and seems balanced enough. The games I have lost have been due to poor tactics on my part. I have discovered this by watching tactics articles online that show how to utilize things like the pile-in move to your advantage. I have read articles on which weapons work best on which model, and why (This concerns me a bit, but I see uses for all the kit Stormcast have). The game has some combos, and they all help out, but none are game breaking.

That said, I am worried.

My worry is, of course, about an "official" set of points. While I look forward to (and have ordered) a copy of the General's Handbook, I worry about things slipping through playtesting cracks. Rules don't get truly checked out until they're released "into the wild", where gamers hell-bent on breaking them look for any playtesting "oopsie" they can find, and pounce on it. Power gamers, and I feel I can call them out as I once was one, are going to sit down, grab a calculator, and crunch the numbers to come up with the best bang for the point. While no system is perfect (looking for that is a fool's errand, as I have mentioned before), some systems are better than others. Only a select few people have seen the actual system, so what do I know?

This is... a thing?

...Then a picture got leaked. Supposedly it is a picture of the new points system for Age of Sigmar. Looking at it, which you can do as well if you gaze to the right, there are some questions right off the bat. The "Min" and "Max" columns are pretty straightforward. You can take from (Min) to (Max) models in a unit. No surprise there.

Next you have the point costs themselves. The values seem a bit high for a per-model value. Word is games are still 2,000 point affairs, and High Elf archers are clocking in at a double-digit cost. What that is can't really be determined unfortunately. So, is this a "per grouping" cost? Say, for X points you get Y models?

Finally, the names of things. There are no "Lizardmen" (second purple header), there are "Seraphon". There are no "Elves", there are "Aelves". There are no "Ogres", there are "Ogors". Seems odd to me that GW would miss that. Then again, there are a bunch of legacy unit names there. Teclis, High Elf Archers, The Shadow King... This could be some of the point values for the old lists. The models not in the Grand Alliance books.

If only the picture weren't so blurry! That, however, is the way of hoax postings on the internet. Make something up, take a really bad picture of it, throw it to the drooling masses, and lulz as the masses go wild.

As you can most likely tell from my tone, I don't believe that the above image actually is legit. As a person that loves skepticism, I attempt to use it as often as possible in my life. I have chosen to deploy that tool here, so I shall go with my old mantra; "I'll believe it when I see it". When I'm holding the actual published book, am leafing through it, and find this chart, I will believe. Until then, it's just a blurry picture of...

Something.

Nothing other than that.

Blurry thing that doesn't exist plays AoS using blurry point values that are just as fake.

I've Been Pretty Bad at This Blogging Thing Recently...

Etna does not approve of my neglect.

Once again, not dead, busy.

I just moved house from Fairfax to Manassas. For those who don't know, I basically moved further away from Washington, DC down I-66 (renowned as having some of the worst traffic in the United States) in order to save money on rent. Northern Virginia has some of the worst over-inflated rent in the nation, and I had the misfortune to be born there...

That said, I have been playing some Age of Sigmar against Demitra. His blog is dead, so I'm not linking to it any more. I have discovered one thing- swarms in AoS are deadly. Seriously, even the most pathetic Free Peoples units can decimate you with barely a thought.

The fact that he won't re-base his minis (a decision I begrudgingly respect) doesn't help. Those 20mm bases get a lot more spears / halberds in range than you would expect.

After having the "Age of Balance" system accidentally broken over my head (40 Daemonettes wins games) we switched to the PPC system. The fact that it's in Battlescribe certainly helps, as I can fiddle with lists at lunch.

I have, despite myself, fallen in love with the Stormcast Eternals. The "Sigmarines" have kind of cliche' fluff, but they're just fantasy Space Marines, so I find it funny that people will rag on Stormcast fluff, imagery, and rules while they paint up their eight billionth Space Marine. Get a grip, guys. Stormcast are fantasy Space Marines. That's their deal. So, what?

Rant abated, here is my progress.

Lightning hammers go BOOM!

First up, a squad! these are three of the starter set Retributors, with two of the normal boxed minis atted in. Yes, the minis should have tassels on their helmets. I was not paying attention. The Decimators I'm making should have heads that I'll swap out from another kit. In fact, I have a fair few Stormcast on the way.

My sword! It squiggles!!!

Next up, my Lord Celestant. His head is from the Retributor box, and his sword is from the long since discontinued Mordheim weapon frame.The rest is, obviously, a Lord Relictor. He turned out prety OK.

Lastly, the actual Lord Relictor. I decided to go with a more "40k-ish" look to him, painting him up in Chaplain colors. The teal on his shoulders, along with the limited color palette, connect him visually to the rest of the army.

I intend to get some battle reports in soon. My new game room is a bit cramped, but it is mine, and I can do whatever I want with the space. Sometimes moving to a smaller town farther away from the action adds benefits (for instance, more space).

Hobby Nirvana.

Until next time, I leave you with a shot of my new hobby area. new desk, computer readily at hand, baby fan to keep cool, Oh, and also an awesome speaker system (not pictured) for podcasts and music.

Here's hoping I post again in the next month. 2016 has been a rough year for this blog.

Casting The Storm- Epically

 

As promised, my Knight Venator. I couldn't get the white wings to look right, so I tried purple, which became pink as I highlighted, so now I have the above result. I don't really mind the outcome.

My Canadian mail order arrived as well. Above are the results of the assembly, including a pair of conversions. Unfortunately I forgot to take separate pictures of them, so I'll throw some up ASAP. You may have noticed some little dudes in the top right corner as well...

 Yep, my lazy butt finally got around to starting the process of painting my Epic Dark Eldar. These minis look good as bare metal, but only improve with a lick or two of paint. Links and closeups will be added later.

That's it for now. Hopefully more and better content coming soon.

Vindicating Things... Celestially

So, I found a guy getting rid of two sets of Stormcast Eternal minis from the Age of Sigmar starter online. I kinda broke down and bought them, seeing as they were a great deal and I would like to paint some. Now they are winging their way here from the Great White North, and due to arrive next Wednesday. As you may have gleaned from the above title and picture, I plan on going with the Celestial Vindicators colors. I have already acquired my first mini, a Knight-Venator, which is painted up and in my display case. I'm a real fan of the mini, and he was the determining factor as to weather or not I would get more of them. Turns out I did.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures yet (I'm posting this on lunch while at work), but I will soon.

Unfortunately the Daemons have entered limbo until I can save up enough dough for an airbrush. There are so many I'm kind of loathe to paint them via bristle brush.

Wait a minute... What's with the Wych up there? Stay tuned to find out!