With the advent of the Hordes MkII Field Test, once everyone was done crashing the test servers, we’ve all managed to get our grubby little mitts on the prospective changes to Warmachine’s feral counterpart. While the WMHC2 is on the verge of completion and I’m about to get all giddy with Retribution models, I thought I’d take a moment to look at the changes that may be happening to my beloved Ta-Ta Kriel.

Take note:
• I’m not the world’s foremost Trollblood player, nor have I even played with all of the models available to the Trollbloods, so in this series I’ll be looking specifically at models that have featured in the Ta-Ta Kriel’s climb to 750pts.
• Retribution are becoming my focus in preparation for Templecon2010, so these articles are based on impressions and theorymachine rather than hardcore testing. I will be trying the MkII Ta-Ta’s out, but they will not be the only models I field for the next few weeks.
• These articles are not gospel. There is no substitute for actually picking up the models and trying them for yourself, seeing if you can figure them out in MkII. Try them, test them, submit feedback. If you don’t submit feedback in a polite, reasonable manner, then you have no grounds for complaint if nothing gets changed from the Field Test to the actual release.

That said, let’s start at the top, with my warlock of choice. I started playing Grim Angus  for one simple reason: He doesn’t brick.

Every time I go surfing through general Trollblood startegy threads there’s talk of the brick, the need to box up around the Krielstone, maximising synergies and overlapping buffs and all that jazz. Grim, however, doesn’t play that game. He doesn’t need to get stuck in, down and dirty, to be effective. He prefers to sit back, Headhunter levelled and making a mockery of the opponent’s attempts to get out of the line of fire. Since he isn’t a focal point of buffs for his troops, they’re free to spread out, to cover a wider threat area.

Of all the Trollblood warlocks, Grim is the least attrition based, and the most focussed on board control and assassination. Ignoring the fluff, this is what I really enjoyed about him, what distinguished him from my experiences with the Protectorate and their overlapping buffs. He plays a ranged game that’s a very different to the other warlock’s buff, debuff and attrition styles. It’s almost like he’s a solo (albeit a powerful one) who just happens to have an army formed around him, which befits his fluff background.

So… how does the Field Test compare to the Grim I’ve been playing with? Let’s work through the Field Test card.

The stat line’s identical. Same across the board, from Speed to Fury to number of health boxes. No worries there; he’s just as accurate, he’s just as hard (or easy, depending on your point of view) to kill. Okay.

MkI Feat: Spread The Net
An uber version of his tether gun (which has also changed, but we’ll get to that), and a focal point of his board control capacity. Pick a spot in his control area, and every opposing model (also in his control area) is effectively tethered to that point. Plant the centre of of the net under a specific model, and that model simply cannot move at all, and everything else under the effect has to pivot on that point. This could royally screw with a large portion of the opposing army, and was both offensive and defensive – it hampered the opponent’s ability to charge and engage your shooters, and it also gave you one more round of shooting, as well as letting you steal the initiative and charge them while their mobility is hamstrung.

MkII Feat: Spread The Net
DEF debuff to all opposing models in his control area, along with a SPD debuff and denial of special attacks. This is a completely different animal. It doesn’t stop your opponent running, it doesn’t stop your opponent advancing. It slows them down – and of course, the SPD debuff means your opponent cannot charge, but it won’t stop them moving forward to engage you. This means you can no longer reliably get in that extra round of shooting.

However, the DEF debuff means that if you activate Grim first and pop the feat, everything else in your army is going to be a lot more successful hitting. This is a big deal in a faction that doesn’t have a heck of a lot to counter high DEF. Shutting down special attacks, we’ll have to see just how much of an impact that has.

The Change
The feat is, I feel, less defensive since it neither stops them running to engage, nor guarantees an additional turn to have the opponent under the guns… but the tradeoff (-3 SPD instead of tethering) in exchange for control-area-wide debuff? That has huge offensive implications. All of a sudden the Impalers will be hitting more, the Champs will be carving stuff up more effectively, heck – bring on the Scattergunners. The debuff also means that your ranged warbeasts won’t be needing to boost to hit as often, meaning that fury can be used more freely for regeneration and animi. Since it doesn’t need to boost to hit as often, that Pyg Ace can boost damage rolls instead.

The Verdict
I approve of this change. I liked the old feat, and I will certainly miss the certainties it provided, but anything that makes my shooting more effective gets my approval. Heck, on an average unboosted roll Grim will be hitting DEF17 on his feat turn unless the target’s in that magic window outside of his control range, while still in Headhunter’s range. Works for me.

MkI Abilities: Alchemical Goggles, Crack Shot, Eagle Eye, Pathfinder, Tough, Trailblazer
Grim ignores screening, forests, camouflage, cloud effects, concealment, invisibility and stealth when drawing LOS. He’s tough, he moves unhindered through terrain, and he helps nearby buddies get through terrain too. His ability to move wherever he needs to, and then fire a slug at the opposing model (almost) regardless of their efforts to hide are a real part of the appeal of the character.

MkII Abilities: Pathfinder, Tough, Hunter
Grim ignores forests, concealment and cover when drawing LOS. He’s tough, and moves unhindered through terrain. The essence of the MkI ability list is there, but…

The Change
Grim’s a lot cleaner now. Combining Alchemical Goggles, Crack Shot and Eagle Eye under the single ability Hunter goes a long way to simplifying the card, making it more accessible and reducing the need for cataract surgery. Screening’s gone from the game, so that’s irrelevent, but no longer being able to ignore cloud effects, stealth and invisibility? Okay, now that sucks. Grim doesn’t like getting too close to the enemy; in fact, he has essentially no melee utility at all, yet he now has no means of dealing with stealthy targets without putting himself right in the danger zone (ie, within 5″ of the target). Yes, he has a spell that negates Stealth (we’ll get to that in a bit), but he still has to be within 5″ to hit the target with it in the first place, and no means to channel. Oh, and cloud effects and invisibility (is that still in the game?) completely stymie him.

The loss of Trailblazer is a little sucky, since it goes a long way towards helping his forces get around mobility issues, but there are other sources of Pathfinder, and not helping his pals fits in with the lonewolf bounty hunter concept, so I’m okay with that.

The Verdict
This is harder to swallow. I’m all for simplification, for getting rid of the need for a bajillion lines of teeny tiny lines of text on the card, and I like the consolidation of abilities across the board – making a more generic Hunter ability that can be shared across more models – but if the entire point of the concept is that you can’t hide from him, why can you now hide from him? Stealthy models are now the bane of Grim’s existence. If Grim had any melee utility, this wouldn’t be as big a deal – he’d be able to risk getting close enough target the stealthy models – but as it stands, if he’s close enough to shoot them, he’s close enough to be engaged and beaten into a pulp. He can’t even rely on his feat or tether gun to hold them back anymore. I’ll accept cloud effects blocking his LOS, but in my opinion Grim needs to be able to circumvent Stealth.

MkI Weapons
Headhunter’s a long range rifle that baits the target, the cumbersome Tether Gun chains an opposing model to a point within 2″, and there’s a rudimentary blade on the back of the rifle.

MkII Weapons
Headhunter’s a long range rifle that baits the target, but packing a magic bullet. The Tether gun is still cumbersome, but knocks down when it hits. The blade’s still a rudimentary blade, nothing to write home about.

The Change
Stat lines are identical. Long range rifle, short range tether gun, and a blade on the end of the rifle. Bait The Line on Headhunter has been slightly reworded to account for the introduction of battlegroups, but is functionally the same. The only notable differences are that Headhunter’s ranged attack is now magical, and the change to the tether gun. The Magic Weapon thing reflects the generic across-the-board change to ensure that pretty much every warcaster and warlock has access to a magic attack of some sort, while the change to the tether gun is in line with the change to Grim’s feat, in that he’s lost the ability to pin opposing models in place. I have to wonder how that was so abusive that it needed to be completely stripped.

The Verdict
I’m of mixed feelings about the changes to Grim’s weapons. Headhunter I agree with – it was farcicle how incorporeal models made such a mockery of every army that wasn’t packing magical weapons. The tether gun’s the issue. The change is in line with making Grim more offensive, but again, Grim can’t handle himself defensively, so the ability to completely deny the opponent the chance to advance on him – at the expense of his offensive capability, I’ll point out – was huge. Now he still loses offensive capability to use the tether gun, but it causes knockdown – which warlocks, warcasters, warjacks and warbeasts can just shake off.

On the one hand, the tether gun can now open up LOS to models behind the target (what I used to use Mantrap for) and ensure that subsequent melee attackers will auto-hit, but with the general weakening of the utility of knockdown effects, I feel that the tether gun is significantly inferior under Mk II. Playtesting may prove me wrong, but that’s my immediate feeling.

MkI Spells
Cross Country – grants Pathfinder and the ability to ignore forests in terms of LOS.
Mantrap – POW13, decent range, knocks down if it damages.
Lock The Target – Decent range, upkeep. Debuffs DEF, nukes Camouflage, Incorporeal, Invisibility, Stealth, Concealment, Cloud Effects. Oh, and they can’t hide in forests either.
Return Fire – Every time an opponent misses with a melee or ranged attack, you get to attack back.

MkII Spells
Cross Country – grants Pathfinder and ability to ignore forests, concealment and cover.
Lock The Target – POW 10, decent range, if it damages the model can’t run, charge, or be placed for one round.
Marked For Death – Mid range, DEF debuff, nukes Stealth and Incorporal. Friendlies can target the victom regardless of LOS.
Return Fire – After an opponent makes an attack, hit or miss, you get to attack back and then it expires.

The Change
This is a little contentious. Cross Country stole some of the abilities of the original Lock The Target, but Grim’s army is still stymied by Stealth and Cloud Effects. The downside is that since the extra visibility is tied up in a friendly upkeep, you can’t split the effect by giving a friendly MkI Cross Country and a different enemy MkI Lock The Target. So on the one hand you have a more effective Cross Country (only needing to cast a single spell – so using less fury – to ignore concealment, etc), but on the other hand you lose the ability to circumvent Stealth in that same package.

You CAN get around Stealth if you use Marked For Death, but it’s shorter range than the old Lock The Target, so once again Grim’s closer to the danger zone. The real benefit of Marked For Death is that your other models can target the victim without LOS, simulating Phantom Hunter and the like. Bring on the Impalers tossing spears through buildings. The 8″ range sucks and cries out for a means to channel, but *if* you can get it on a target, then the shootier aspects of a Grim list should come to the fore.

The change to Return Fire evinces mixed emotions. I thoroughly applaud that it triggers regardless of whether the attack hits or misses, since having an ability that relies solely on your opponent screwing up a dice roll sucks (Hello, MkI Dervish), but with it expiring after a single use I won’t get to see Grim killing Caine when he misses Grim twice in a row. Having it remain in play for the round would be broken, especially since the Return Fire attack doesn’t even need to target the attacking model (thus allowing you to remove unactivated models), but I really will miss the look on Spud’s face when he realises I just killed his shooty warcaster and thus won the game, in the middle of his own turn.

Oh, and Grim’s only spell that does damage, does POW10 instead of POW13. Granted, he should be shooting rather than trying to zap opponents, but that still sucks, especially when the spell’s effect is contingent on the target being damaged. The ancillary effect is weaker (though admittedly, you can’t shake it off) as well, making me wonder if I’ll bother with the spell at all.

The Verdict
I like the upgraded Cross Country, I approve of the upgraded Return Fire (since my only objection is pretty much sentimental). I mourn the loss of POW and effectiveness from Mantrap to the new Lock The Target (that’s going to be confusing, since MkI Lock The Target became Marked For Death), and the loss of range with the move to Marked For Death, but the potential is there for Marked For Death to be an awesome assassination tool, especially if Grim somehow gets his hands on a means to channel it as a workaround for the shorter range.

Overview
Grim maintains a lot of the flavour of his old self – he’s still a sniper, still hates melee, and still gets to hamper opposing mobility… but he doesn’t hamper as well as he used to, in exchange for having a little more interaction with his own army. Under MkI he’s a one-man-show that just happens to have some abilities that coincidentally help his army. In MkII he’s notably less effective by himself, but has a few more tricks to help his pals.

Grim is still Grim – the flavour hasn’t been stripped from him, things have just been shuffled around a bit, and if anything he’s more offensive than he used to be (with the exception of the reduced POW on Mantrap/Lock The Target). Across the board I either approve outright of the changes (cos you just know PP needs my approval…) or I’ll nod in acceptance, but for my money he needs to get those alchemical goggles working properly. Let cloud effects block his LOS, but restore the ability for Grim himself to see through Stealth. I’m a little hung up on that, I guess.

The lack of a means to deal with Stealth at range is very rough for a warlock that really cannot afford to get too close to the enemy; this means that Grim’s going to be reliant more on his troops, so it’s a good thing his feat interacts with them a little more, and Marked For Death (if he ever pulls it off) could mean a world a hurt for the target as the Impalers and the like start targetting regardless of intervening models and terrain.

Overall, I liked the old Grim, but I like the new one too, with the exception of the stealth issue.

Thirteen Questions with PPS_MOD:Polar Bear

1 Where are you now?
At *expletive deleted* work.

2 Can you describe, in haiku, the rapture in your soul when you bought Brun & Lug?
Lemon, lemon, bear
The *maul* is good, but no tea
Lug is now here. Squee!

3 Which warcaster or warlock has performed worst for you?
That would have to be… hmm… probably … gosh… uh… how about… Vlad. I tried to play him without using BoK or Wind Wall or limited S&P and it just never worked.

4 1001 uses for a Soulless. What’s numer 328?
Road cones for driving tests.

5 Scaramouche, Scaramouche, do you do the fandango?
Thunderbolts and lightning! Very, very frightening!

6 Which model are you proudest of?
Painting-wise? I think the best paintjob I’ve put on a fig (and thus proudest of) is probably my eButcher.

7 Lost Hemisphere: Lost Blog, Misdirected Blog, or Blog Most Likely To Sue Googlemaps After Ending Up In Jersey?
Truck tire. *nods sagely*

8 Why does Cygnar have such an aversion to pointy swords?
Well, I can’t think of anyone that really likes being run through…

9 A train leaves Caspia at 10:20 AM. It is pulling six cars – two with passengers, one with luggage and assorted freight, three with inert warjacks. Given decent weather conditions, Hoarluk being preoccupied elsewhere, and an adequate supply of coal, do more passengers order the fish, or the chicken?
I think the answer is 37, but I’m doing the math in my head and may have missed a square root or something.

10 Okay, so you shot the Sheriff… but if you didn’t shoot the Deputy, who did?
Probably Devilsquid. It seems like something he’d do.

11 Stop! Hammertime! Durgen vs Siege vs Horthol vs Hammersmith. Go!
Gotta be Siege.

12 Can I have a cookie? Or maybe a plushie?
Sure. *hands over a cookie and a Dervish plushie*

13 You made the list of people to be harassed thanks to BobaFerret. I think it’s only fair that you be allowed to call her names in public. What’s your first option?
She the Brun to my Lug.

Heroclix is the game that made me a tabletop gamer.Without question.

Sure, I had played Magic before. Had several decks, as I would imagine most geeks my age would. It was a fine game, to be sure, but the cash investment and the cut-throat nature of competitive play ensured I would pretty much never actually take my casual enjoyment of the game to the next level. And so the status quo continued – I’d buy a theme deck or a booster now and then, but that was about the extent of my analog gaming.

That all changed when I visited the local comic book shop one day and inquired about the odd little superhero figures littering the front counter of the store.  I was dimly aware of the game, but had never really put any thought (or money) into it. That was soon to change. The game, as was explained to me, was pretty simple – each figure had a dial on its base that represented its statistics and super powers. A dice roll added to an attack value compared to a defense value determined if an attack landed, every point of damage caused the dial to be “clicked” that number of spaces…it all seemed perfectly sensible. So I bought the Marvel Universe Starter Set (for a clearance price of $5, I believe!) and the girlfriend and I sat down to play it.

Within days, I was already at the store scouring the bins for figures of characters I wanted to play, buying boosters, and looking into playing in the tournaments. The game had its hooks into me, and deep – being able to field teams of characters I loved reading about in a tactical strategy game (three of my favorite words) with easy-to-understand rules and an element of chance that kept those with the most expendable income from dominating with particular team builds was very enticing. The fact that it combined those strategy game elements with the ability to make collecting little plastic superheroes somewhat more socially acceptable ensured that I was in for the long haul. I played (and normally lost) in tournaments, checked the Wizkids website religiously, and was a regular participant on the message boards.

Then, for some reason, my interest in the game waned. I’m not sure why. Very likely it was financial in nature, but I wasn’t really playing any other games at the time save for a brief dabbling in Magic again. Perhaps it was due to the actual complexity of the game – I began to realize as I played that the rules were far more intricate than I had previously believed, and in fact learned that I was playing much of the game wrong. I got out of the game after the release of Secret Invasion, my attention pulled elsewhere by other games and responsibilities.

Around that time, the hammer dropped and Wizkids was disbanded by its parent company, Topps, who arguably had no business running a gaming company. Heroclix was effectively canceled after the release of the Batman-themed Arkham Asylum set in late 2008. This news put me further off returning to the game – after all, my superhero gaming itch was comfortably being scratched by the VS system, a game that clearly had a bright future and an established company behind it. Miniature gaming? That was covered by Star Wars Miniatures, which I got into on a whim. Clearly, there was no need for me to come back to Heroclix.

Meanwhile, though, actions were being taken behind the scenes to ensure that Heroclix would return. I’ll spare you the details in this post, though there’s a really good writeup here. Long story short, entertainment collectibles company NECA snapped up all the Wizkids assets and decided to put out the long-dormant Hammer of Thor set for which most of the playtesting and design had already been done, as well as any future Heroclix sets. The old designers were re-hired and set back to work. And, still frustrated with the death of VS System and growing bored with the occasionally stale Star Wars Miniatures (seriously, how many Obi-Wan Kenobis do we need?), the chance that an old favorite might be coming back was enough to get me to start playing again.

So what is it about the game that’s still engaging after all this time? A few things:

• Dynamism – Heroclix is a game that is dynamic in virtually every regard. The ever-changing dials and the different powers and stats they present continually alter the game situation and create new opportunities and challenges at every turn. Your strategy must continually adapt to the situation – if Superman loses his Hypersonic Speed ability to run up, hit someone, and run away, what do you do with him? The addition of Special Powers to the game, which combined existing powers and abilities to create even more comic-accurate figures and occasionally provide game-changing options, only sweetened the deal. Compare this to something like the Wizards of the Coast miniatures games, where a character will always have a 15 attack and 22 defense regardless of how much damage they have taken. In Heroclix, your actions have tangible consequences, and the game changes depending on how you choose to play.
• Comics, man – Setting this game in the realm of superhero comics ensures that there will never be a lack of characters to create or games to play. The Marvel, DC, and indie universes create a sort of infinite playground that keeps things fresh and interesting. The sculpts on the figures are big, bright, colorful, and occasionally gorgeous, as well, with several poses ripped straight from iconic panels and covers. In short, if you like superhero comics, there’s a significant chance you will like this game as well. 
• Affordability – The crash in the Heroclix market post-cancellation definitely made catching up with past sets and filling out collections much easier on the wallet, but the game was never terribly expensive. Boosters generally sell for $8-$12 depending on the set and the retailer, compared to $15-20 for other games. Fielding a team of your favorites won’t put you in the poorhouse for the most part – Super Rare and Chase figures can often command a premium, but generally there are lower-cost, more easily-attainable versions of those characters to use. Unless you’re really hung up on playing the Earth-2 version of Superman that fetches $70+, you can find a cheaper version of Superman from an older set that works just as well for less than a tenth of that price. Moreover, if you buy a “brick” of ten boosters sealed together from your retailer of choice, Wizkids throws in a special exclusive bonus figure to sweeten the deal. Most online retailers also sell very useful figures and popular characters for less money than you’d spend on a cup of coffee.



• Accessibility - As mentioned, the rules of the game are pretty complex. However, the game is designed in such a way that it can be played at whatever level you like, though such modifications are generally done on an individual level. Want to ignore elevation rules? Go for it. Something doesn’t make sense in terms of the flavor of the game? Change it. Granted, tournament and competitive play is very strictly by-the-book, but if you want, the game can be adapted to make it simpler to play with significant others, friends, or children who may not be power gamers (Wizkids did this themselves with the Batman Alpha set, which reused old sculpts and made the rules less complex…reaction was mixed, but the fact that the figures were fully compatible with the main game helped a bit). This is really important, because as a result of its subject matter, Heroclix is a game that has lots of “gee-whiz” to it, from the enormous convention-exclusive figures of characters like Fin Fang Foom, the Spectre, and Galactus to some gorgeous sculpts and concepts. People who might not be interested in a game like this otherwise might want to jump in because one of their favorite characters is in the game and they want to build a team for them. The ubiquity of comic book characters in modern popular culture makes Heroclix more accessible in terms of content than other games, and the scalable difficulty level can help encourage newbies or casual players to stick with the game. 

I plan to write some stuff about Heroclix for the Hemisphere for a while – tournament reports, team suggestions, reviews of new sets, etc. I had originally hoped to start with a review of the new Hammer of Thor set, but unfortunately my brick of boosters was delayed a week so I don’t have any to actually talk about right now, much less play games with to test out. So stay tuned for that, and hopefully some of you will join me in rekindling an old flame.

Next Time: Hammer of Thor, the most metal Heroclix set ever made

-Bryan Carr is the creator and coordinator of the Geekspeak Network, an assemblage of totally bitchin’ podcasts that can be found here. His primary problem with Heroclix is that we have yet to get a proper Nextwave team.

All images courtesy the fine folks at HCRealms, and their fantastic and free time-destroying “Units” section.

Apologies to all, but I listed the incorrect pairings for the Round Three Betting post.

Round three’s matches are in fact:

Doomshaper vs Irusk
Durgen vs Morghoul
Grim vs Kraye

Should you wish to alter your picks, please do so in the corrected original post here.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

In all the hubbub of the Hordes Mk II release (and yes, I do have the pdfs and will be writing on them once I’ve had a good perusal), it’s important to remember the finer things in life. A good home cooked meal, a loved-one’s embrace, and this…

Once again it took a while to get this together so if you need a refresher on my lists you can find them in the post labelled “Idrians, Show me Watcha Got!” Sorry in advance for the following wall of text. This was the first 750 tourney at the LGS and here is how I fared…

Game 1

First game was against a Jason (Gorilla) Bick and we were playing in the Moshpit. He was playing his Kraye list…

Army: Kraye
Faction: Cygnar
Army Points: 749/750
Victory Points: 24

Captain Jeremiah Kraye
Defender
Ironclad
Hunter
Sentinel
Squire
Captain Arlan Strangewayes
Gun Mage Captain Adept
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormsmith
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
Alexia Ciannor
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

I’m pretty sure his alt list was exactly the same except with Alten instead of Eiryss so I knew which list he was using against me! The usual Cygnar crew was here like the Squire, Junior, B13 along with Kraye’s favourites the Sentinel and Hunter. The defender was for long range sniping and the Ironclad gives me the only melee threat to his mostly ranged army. Alexia was a strange inclusion since he was pretty troop light but I more than made up for it with both my lists. I decided to use the eSevvy list to get a feel for him (since this was my first game with him EVER) and there weren’t any Cryx players here so I was planning to use this list all day.

The game started out well with Anastacia doing her job and getting me first turn. So I deployed Sevvy in the middle with Zealots on his left with Vilmon and A+H and TFG on the right with Rupert. Terrain was pretty much symmetrical with a forest in the middle and a house and hill on each side so I wasn’t too worried about where I deployed my troops. Arcnode was right at ESevvy’s side and the support crew were behind them, pretty simple setup. Anastacia was deployed way up front right in the middle close to some forests to secure that spot for the Idrians. Kraye deployed most of his jacks up the middle with himself with the B13 facing off against the TFG and the various solos matching up there as well. Alexia was deployed facing Vilmon and the Zealots. With my AD put the Idrians in the forest with Anastacia and Eiryss not too far away. With his AD he put his Eiryss and Hunter with his B13, GMCA and Stormsmith making for a very scary ranged force.

First turn shenanigans with the Idrians as usual, with them shooting into the deployment zone. Unfortunately Kraye was hiding behind the defender and Ironclad so I couldn’t get a shot at him and I was hunting the Sentinel but the shots didn’t do any significant damage. Idrians got the usual Intercept; Go to Ground, Holy Ward and Courage of Faith first turn so they were in a pretty good spot. I forgot my Advance move with Anastacia so I couldn’t get the secret first turn but thats life. Everyone else ran into position with Vilmon running straight at Alexia, Zealots moving as a screen in front of Sevvy and TFG moving forward to create a formidable screen and to hopefully clog the Moshpit for a fast scenario win. A+H move up and just go invisible. I think I forgot to activate Eiryss…

His first turn was spent trying to hit the Idrians a couple times but after seeing them at defense 22 against ranged he refocused efforts on trying to get a better position. He gave the Ironclad focus and moved into combat with Anastacia, exactly what I wanted! I got intercept to trigger and charged his Ironclad, unfortunately I could only get 3 into melee with him and the rest could only reach Arlan who was hacked to pieces. The rest were out of range for anything else so they ran up the left side closer to Alexia since his force repositioned behind his ranged element. With one big hammer swing Anastacia was smushed and the Ironclad did its job. Since the Idrians lost their cover he was now able to shoot 2 of them dead with his ranged element, defense 16 is just really tough to crack! Hunter wanted to shoot at BoV but the choir said no dice so the Hunter spared BoV for another day.

My second turn involved trying to figure out what to do with Idrians that were partly engaged, this is not where they want to be! First thing TFG ran to engage most of the ranged element, Zealots moved into the Moshpit and Vilmon ran to engage some of the Risen. Alexia was too far away to get into melee so I was confident Vilmon could survive this. He was also close enough to the Idrians to lend them his CMD just in case they needed it. Idrians got the Assault and Battery order, taking some potshots at the Sentinel and Kraye but not doing much and then charging the defender and Ironclad. Waterfalling Idrians hurt! But they would have hurt more if I remembered all their bonuses. With 2 Man CMAS on the charge with Prey I should have been doing 16+3D6, but I forgot one of the bonuses and only did 14+3D6 against the Ironclad. This was enough to take it out so I changed my prey to the defender and started smacking it around as well. Sevvy moved in behind the Zealots and BoV ran to get closer to the action. A+H move up and go invisible. Eiryss disrupted the Sentinel but her position was compromised and I realized, oh yea, Kraye can just give it boosted attack rolls…ooops.

His next turn he started to slaughter some troops like there was no tomorrow! His B13 used gunfighter to take out 4 TFG, while Eiryss and the rest of the ranged unit killed another 3. With Courage of Faith up they passed their command check and managed to take out Ryan, lucky me! Kraye managed to shoot down an Idrian and Eiryss while the Sentinel took out another 2 Idrians. The Hunter was furious for not being able to shoot BoV again so he let loose on a lowly Idrian and then moved into the Moshpit with the Zealots, those lights really do dance under Kraye’s control! Alexia sacrificed some undead to get Vilmon out of melee and then went for a spell against him. He barely survived but was in her charge range so she was in trouble.

On my third turn I really wanted to take out the Hunter for a scenario win but the only thing in range of it were my Zealots who were partially engaged by it. I decided to just move them all right in with it popping greater destiny and trying box the Hunter in for the game, going for an assassination with the Idrians eventually. Vilmon charged Alexia and there weren’t enough risen to keep her alive, ending that battle. Idrians finished off the Defender and Sentinel this turn and the rest positioned to put more pressure on Kraye, their new prey! This is the turn I feated and could only take 3 models… the GMCA, Stormsmith and Journeyman. Journeyman took some swings at Kraye but didn’t do much damage, and then the Stormsmith tried to zap the journeyman but didn’t do enough damage. The GMCA went into melee with the Journeyman and didn’t do much either. So much for a feat against an army of jacks and character solos! TFG took out Lynch and BoV just continued to shuffle around the field looking for targets. A+H move up and go invisible…see a trend?

With his options limited he moved Kraye behind his remaining forces and took out another Idrian. The Watts killed another Flameguard while Eiryss hunted down another Idrian along with the Stormsmith as well. His Hunter stayed strong in the Moshpit staring down the Zealots angrily.

With my fourth turn I knew time was running down so I tried to end it quickly. BoV ran into position and finally did something, letting Sevvy Arc his mini Ashes to Ashes at the Stormsmith and taking it out along with the Journeyman and GMCA. With arcane shield gone A+H move up and Aiyana harms Kraye and Holt lets loose two shots that ding him up a bit. The Idrians got the Assault and Battery order and managed to take Kraye out!

First game with Idrians went alright, they really need to stay on the move and can’t get bogged down in melee. Their board control was seen from the first turn though,  as his whole force stayed in his deployment zone or just outside of it most of the game. Kraye’s lights are pretty annoying, ignoring freestrikes and light cav move is just insane with the Hunter and Sentinel, definitely something to always consider in games against Kraye. eSevvy didn’t get to do much this game, most of the heavy lifting was done by the Idrians, but Holy ward puts their defense right where it needs to be for a unit like them, the anti-magic was just gravy this game. TFG and Zealots did their job clogging things up and BoV was there when I needed him. Good first game with eSevvy and the Idrians, now on to game 2!

Game 2

Second game was against Ken (CygnarWarlord) Sieffert with the Destruction scenario. Not the best for eSevvy but I will make do. Heres the list he chose…

Army: eVlad
Faction: Khador
Army Points: 749/750
Victory Points: 29

Vladimir Tzepesci, Dark Champion
Beast-09
Drago
Man-o-War Drakhun
Manhunter
Manhunter
Yuri the Axe
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Greylord Ternion
Man-o-War Shocktroopers (5)
Widowmakers
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Yep, the dreaded eVlad that everyone hears horror stories about. I haven’t played against eVlad yet but I know what hes capable of and will hopefully be able to avoid his superman troops. From the looks of his list the only real options he has for feat targets are his Manhunter, the Shocktroopers and of course the Drakhun. I picked the eSevvy list again and hope to survive his feat turn to turn his troops against him.  A solid list with a lot of melee beat down I had to worry about.

Same setup as last game, with the Zealots and Vilmon on one side and the TFG and Rupert on the other. BoV was setup with Sevvy in the middle with support. I got first turn with Anastacia again and got a good position to make sure the Idrians couldn’t be ignored. He couldn’t AD his Widowmakers or any of his Manhunters where he wanted so he put them just outside of Anastacia’s “no AD” bubble and was content with that Great bears lined up against the TFG, Drago and Drakhun up against the Zealots and Vilmon and Beast with Irusk, MoWST and Greylords up the middle.

This game is where I really saw the power of the Idrians. Prey was Widowmakers so I moved up, shot them to death, Prey on Eiryss, shot her to death, Prey on Manhunter, put some shots into Drago since the Manhunter has stealth. Not bad for a first turn. I then gave them the intercept order and they used go to ground. Everything else ran up into position for next turn. Sevvy put up Courage of Faith as usual and Holy Ward on the Idrians. A+H move up and go invisible. Eiryss ran up the side as a flanker and Anastacia learned the secret from eVlad but not for long…

Beast was given two focus and that was more than enough to boost lots of attack dice and obliterate Anastacia. Then this is where the fun begins…he charged his Manhunter into the Idrians… intercept! He only engaged two of them so the rest of the unit is free to move where they want. Since the prey is within 10 inches they get to move an additional two inches when they activate. (I just realized now that it’s only during their ACTIVATION do they get the additional two inches so I apologize Ken). Two of them countercharged the Manhunter while 4 of them charged Drago and 2 of them charge the Drakhun. The Chieftain and Huntsman run around to protect themselves from any enemy attacks. It only took one of two Idrians to kill the Manhunter, Prey on Drago, 4 Idrians killed Drago, Prey on Drakhun, 2 of them killed him (no dismount). Wow, so they just absolutely destroyed 1/3 of his army on HIS turn. We are both shocked at this but the game must continue. I moved Prey onto the MoWST and let him continue his turn. He ended up moving the shock troopers away from the Idrians moving towards the middle of my army. The rest of his army ran up and the Greylords concealed most of his army in blizzards.

With my second turn Vlad was in the way of the second destruction point so I decided to ignore scenario and go for another assassination at this point. I moved the Idrians around the back of his MoWs and took some shots and ordered them to intercept again. BoV ran forward allowing Sevvy to cast Fear of God on the Great Bears, denying them any charge. With that the TFG moved close enough to ensure a charge next turn but just out of advancement for the Great Bears. The Zealots ran up behind BoV and the Vassal was just too far to enliven him. I should have enlivened first but I just forgot with all the other stuff going on. Vilmon used IW and ran to give the Idrians the extra command and to threaten the MoWs. A+H move up and go invisible and Eiryss continues to move around the tabletop.

His third turn was the feat turn and the moment we were waiting for. He activated Vlad and targeted his Manhunter and 4/5 Shocktroopers for the feat. Vlad then retreated back into safety. His Shocktroopers then went in and obliterated the BoV and half the unit of zealots as well. His Manhunter moved into my ranks of TFG and killed 3 of them, challenging the rest to try and kill him. Greylords advance in front of Vlad as a meat shield and beast comes in and threshes most of the remainder of the Zealots. Wow, so there are about 3 zealots between Sevvy and Beast with 5 MoWs…ESevvy’s turn

It’s my turn to play with his new toys so I feat back, taking all his super troopers and then Sevvy wisely moves back and to the side, trying to avoid any repercussion. I move the Manhunter into melee with Vlad hoping to end it right away…pre-emptive strike, smokes the Manhunter. Well so much for that idea. One moves in and smacks Beast twice… still standing, another moves in and smacks Beast another two times and takes him down. So that takes care of that threat. One moves into combat with the lone MoW and kills him, now that the Idrians Prey is dead they Prey on the Greylords. Last MoWST who is the leader runs in the totally opposite direction. With a speed of 7 during feat turn that takes care of the MoWs for at least 1 turn. Just in case Vilmon imperviously runs into the two closest to eSevvy engaging them and making them sitting ducks. TFG move in and tie up the Great bears, killing one of them in the process and putting the other two on fire. Idrians advance and take out the Greylords, Prey on Vlad! Eiryss runs to the back of Vlad setting up for next turn and A+H move up and go invisible. Vlad is surrounded by some very potent threats.

The Great Bears manage to kill 4 TFG and Vlad shuffles around to find cover, waiting for eSevvy to man up and come for the kill himself! MoWs move to attempt to regain formation with their Kapitan.

Eiryss tries to shoot Vlad but misses, Aiyana hits with Harm and Holt hits one of his shots doing insignificant damage. Once again the Idrians do the heavy lifting and take him out after getting the Assault and Battery order.

I now know why the Idrians get their praise from the collective Menoth community, Hunt, Intercept, swordmaster and CMA are brutal together. Brutal charge and Assault and Battery add some serious insult to injury and coordination just makes it that much easier. Go to Ground gives them a round of immunity to blast which is their only weakness in their MKI form. These guys are monsters! Now I know that without that +2 movement I wouldn’t have reached Drago or the Drakhun, so things would have gone much differently. I probably wouldn’t have intercepted yet and let his Manhunter kill 1 or 2 Idrians.

I can still see why they get their rap though, these guys require finesse to play correctly but when they work do they eve work! It’s hard to gauge how well everyone else did but Vilmon did his job, BoV only channelled one spell again but it was important. A+H placed harm where it needed to be and Eiryss provided pressure where it was needed. Zealots and TFG were meat shields again but that was their job. eVlad’s feat was certainly deadly but I had enough meat in front of my caster to survive. On to the final round!

Game 3

Last game was against Derrick (Moonova) Gibson and the scenario was Process of elimination. We were both running eSevvy all day and decided to use our alt lists for this match. This could have been trouble with this being my first time running eKreoss but thems the breaks. His list was as follows

Army: 750 game 3
Faction: Protectorate of Menoth
Army Points: 746/750
Victory Points: 27

Harbinger of Menoth
Avatar of Menoth
Hierophant
Covenant of Menoth
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon
Paladin of the Order of the Wall
Wrack
Choir of Menoth (6)
Exemplar Bastions (5)
Knights Exemplar
Visgoth Juviah Rhoven and Honor Guard
Anastasia di Bray
Doc Killingsworth
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios
First Mate Hawk
Rupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord

Harby list with Bastions, Vilmon and friends with lots of KE goodness. I sorely outnumbered him in this contest with 5 full units but with Harby and lots of immunity to knock down this was going to be interesting. Oh ya and the Avatar has a huge stick, don`t you forget it!

Once again I got first turn but this time without Anastasia’s help. I basically just deployed same as always except this time with KE up the middle instead of BoV and support. He lined up his Bastions against the KE and his KE against the TFG. AD had my KEE up the middle and Idrians up the left side against Vilmon and friends… bad idea! I`ll explain later on…

So with first turn I did my normal advance with the Idrians but he knew my trick so I had nobody in range to shoot first turn. I still dug in and intercepted for good measure. Everyone else ran with Kreoss putting Sacrosanct on the Zealots running towards Harby and Inviolable resolve on the KEE advancing on the Avatar and various solos. Eiryss moved along the left flank with the Idrians running up the side. A+H advance and go invisible.

His first turn had most of his stuff advancing towards my lines with Vilmon tying up most of the Idrian unit but allowing me to intercept and get the Pally but missing Hawk. His KE were in a tough position for me to get at and his Avatar was looking squarely at the KE very angrily. Bastions and Rhoven advance as a huge block of heavy exemplars with Rupert in between the KE and Bastions. Oh and he popped feat.

My turn involved surrounding Idrians forming a triangle around Vilmon with the rest trying to get to Harby but they were too scared to look at her. I positioned the KE in two rows to minimize casualties from an Avatar charge and the KEE ran to put some pressure on Harby and the left flank, they were also too scared to look directly at her. TFG got March from Rupert and some of them charged the Bastions, but they all survived with damage spreading and Martyrdom. Zealots advanced and went in greater destiny to make the Avatar choose between invincible zealots or KE. A+H advance and go invisible.

His Second turn had Vilmon killing 2 Idrians and continuing to keep another 2 tied down in melee. Avatar slaughtered 3 KE and sat there staring at Kreoss, looking at his next target. Bastions and Rhoven and crew took out half the TFG with the help from Rupert but they still have the standard so they are ok. Rhoven’s bodyguards also killed and 2 Errants while Eiryss took care of two of them in melee. Harby continues to do her shenanigans with Hawk killing some more Idrians including the Guide and Chieftain which was a pretty big loss to me. His KE help with the killing of more TFG.

This turn I had to do something because my right flank with going down pretty fast. Kreoss advanced and popped his feat and used the slamming spell on himself and slammed the Avatar away. The Zealots pinged some damage off of it and the 3 KE moved in and finally took off the sword arm which was worrying me. Idrians danced around but couldn’t get to Harby and their shooting continued to miss her. KEE take out Eiryss and put some damage on Rhoven and crew. The TFG autohit but only manage to kill one Bastion after lots of damage spreading and Martyrdoms. The zealots were in a good position to take a shot at Harby the next turn.

Derrick’s third turn is where the game was decided. His Bastions and KE killed the rest of the TFG and started to move through the terrain they were in. Vilmon cleared the rest of the Idrians in his way and was ready to move towards the KE. Heres where it gets interesting, Harby sees that Kreoss is focusless and moves in to try and seal the deal. Tremor of faith, he hits and boosts damage. Rolls a 12! Kreoss is knocked down and takes 8 damage. 10 hit points left. Cataclysm autohits at pow 15. He boosts and needs an 11 to kill…rolls a 9! Kreoss is left with 2 hit points left and no more threats in range.

Needless to say the zealots bombed Harby to death and that was game. Wow I didn’t expect Harby to close in like that but it made for a tight match!

Derrick and I both agreed I misused the Idrians this game. I should have put them up front and center, making my opponent deal with them as opposed to a flank against Vilmon who would render them useless. The Zealots carried more of the weight this game being generally annoying and holding the middle with the KE very well. The TFG were fodder as were the KEE but I had enough infantry in this list to spare a unit or two. eKreoss’ feat is absolutely brutal. Get enough weaponmasters into contact with anyone and they will go down!

Summary

Intercept is such a brutal order to play against, I am glad they got rid of it in MKII because I know if I was staring down the Idrians parked just outside my deployment zone it would not be a fun match to try and win. eSevvy covers up their weakness perfectly and makes them the ultimate AD unit in scenario play. Idrians also allow the Menites to get first strike, which is why they are so deadly in this army. With a powerful one-two punch and the ability to control the table so early on, they really do complete a very scary Menoth arsenal. They also add another powerful mini feat in Go-to-Ground adding to the likes of Greater Destiny and Iron Zeal as powerful defensive measures.

I actually played my Menoth properly this tournament, thats good because Templecon isn’t too far away and I really can’t afford to make any mistakes in a big time tournament setting like that. Next up… MM/T&C tournament prep and battle report!

This is it, your final chance to garner points and extract moolah from my wallet! Make your picks, and don’t forget – everything’s worth more points for this last round! Want me to buy you a blister? Choose wisely!

Doomie’s Detachment vs Irusk’s Ironfangs

Durgen’s Dastards vs Morghoul’s Malevolence

Grim Tidings vs Confederated States of Cygnar

You get 5 pts for each correct pick, and a bonus 3 pts each time you correctly predicts the winner’s VP total. That’s a potential 21 pts you can earn, enough to put *anyone* in first place!

You have until noon, Sunday Nov 29, to post your picks in the comments below. Battle reports begin Monday Nov 30!

Thirteen Questions with PPS_MOD: Bobaferret

1. Where are you now?
Right here.

2. It’s common knowledge that you play far too many factions. How long before you throw your hands in the air, yell “Screw it!” and just start mixing them all up? Stryker controlling a Hydra and a Reckoner, supported by Bile Thralls and a unit of Pyg Burrowers, amiright?
See, you’re wrong there. I don’t have any Cryx. Retribution is the main WM faction right now and Trolls are the main for Hordes. But I am tempted to run a Frankenstein/anything goes tourney.

3. What’s your general opinion of using a product designed to provide a better polish on flooring, to paint little metal dudes?
Oh, I think it’s great. Technically, I don’t use it to paint. I use it with inks and washes.

4. How do you like me now? Now that I’m on my way? Do you still think I’m crazy, standing here today?
Meh. Not really a Toby Keith fan.

5. If you could be any one Iron Kingdoms entity, regardless of gender, species or shape, which would you choose?
I’d have to pick dragon. No one messes with dragons in the IK and lives.

6. Just how badly DID your crew kick the Jersey SOB’s in fundraising for BCB? Do you put this down to the awesomeness of the Bright Pinks, regardless of whether or not they participated? If the event had been focused on Prostate and Colon Cancer instead, would you have played the Muddy Browns?
We didn’t just double them up, we quadrupled them! NJ raised $1,036, which is fantastic. We raised $4,300, which we’re extremely proud of, especially since it was our first time running the event. It’s also the biggest WM/H tourney our store has had and was probably the biggest Privateer event in Idaho.

As for the Bright Pinks, some of them ended up helping other Trollblood armies, but I don’t think they were the key to raising as much money as we did. I attribute that to having a fantastic LGS and some of the most generous players anywhere.

7. Lost Hemisphere: Hunkiest Blog, Funkiest Blog, or Blog Most Likely To Do The Hustle?
Given your ’80s references, Blog Most Likely to do the Hustle

8. What are you going to do with all of your Mk I cards once we take the full leap headfirst into Mk II?
Put them in a box.

9. Why did the Incy Wincy Spider climb up the waterspout?
The eensy, weensy spider climbed up the water spout to find original concept art by Chris Walton. And then it bought him drinks. The end.

10. Just so I can feel better about my own collection, how many points of Warmachine/Hordes models DO you own?
Just for you, I added things up in iBodger. I’m at 24,000+ points with about 850 models. We won’t discuss the painted/unpainted status of any of it. But in descending order it’s Cygnar (3,000+ points in ‘jacks), Protectorate,Trolls, Retribution, Mercs, Legion, Circle. Or something. Feel better now?

11. Eyepatch Fight! Champion Kithkar vs Widowmaker Kapitan vs Magnus vs Vyros
Kithkar, Vyros. Vyros wins because Jyren is cool.

12. Templecon 2010… Lost Hemisphere’s King of the Mountain Special Edition. You, me, Paul and John – the current writers – throwing down. Which faction?
Retribution.

13. Which other Press Ganger should I subject to the torture of 13 questions?
Devilsquid.

On to the third and final portion of my intial impressions of Malifaux: the fluff, the art, the models. Every game is made up of several aspects – the system and rules are but a fragment of what makes a game successful, as far as I’m concerned. A notable portion is setting flavour, an area where Privateer Press excels. I frequently find my thoughts wrapped up in the Iron Kingdoms, the interaction between nations, the characters and politics and social state of the game world. Can Malifaux suck me in in a similar fashion?

Well, no. Not to the same extent.

I enjoy the steampunk facets, I enjoy the wild frontier feel, but I’m just not into the horror aspects. This is strictly a personal thing, so if you’re cool with the gothic side of things, than two thumbs up for you – it’s just not so much my bag, baby. That’s not to say that I dislike the setting, but while the vast majority of the Iron Kingdoms fluff sucks me in like something that sucks people in, I’m ony drawn to about half of the Malifaux setting, so it’s not likely to stir in me the rampant fanaticism I feel for the Iron Kingdoms.

So let’s take a look at what we actually have in the rulebook in terms of fiction and art, and then move on to the models themselves. Fair warning, spoiler alert.

The fiction in the Malifaux rulebook both wins and loses.

On the one hand, it walks you through almost all of the crew Masters, introducing them and giving you a glimpse of their personalities and motivations. It sets up a number of the Masters as they lead into the “current” timeline.

Example 1 – McMourning starts as the official coroner, interacting with Sonia Criid and Lady Justice despite his affiliation with the Resurrectionists (clearly, Lady Justice’s preternatural awareness doesn’t include “Detect Evil”), and only as the fic develops does he break out, shoot a cop, and vanish into the sewers with his assistant as the head to their secret lair.

Example 2 – Rasputina is acting solo initially, but Ramos brings her into the Arcanist fold while she’s following Tomber’s journal

Example 3 – Viktoria meets her doppelganger – the Neverborn that becomes the second Viktoria – while on the run with Alyce from Pandora and Baby Kade

Okay, that’s all pretty cool. Seamus reminds me a lot of the Joker as he happily blows up buildings while looking to reclaim Molly Squiddpidge (best name for a focal minor character ever), Zoraida manipulates events as expected. The three Neverborn Masters even form the classic Maiden, Mother and Crone trio for a Witch coven (Pandora, Lilith, Zoraida respectively). Nicely done… but there are holes.

The biggest hole as far as I’m concerned – and I freely confess I may have misunderstood the conclusion and that I’m personally invested in this since Rasputina is my Master of choice – is that if all of Rasputina’s power comes from the cannibal spirit December who was imprisoned in Kythera, directly tied into the source of necromantic energy that was allowing the Resurrectionists to do what they do… now that December was been released from Kythera and subsequently killed by Viktoria, where is Rasputina getting her power now? If Molly was correct, and breaking the prison will shut off the source of necromantic energy, how are the Resurrectionists practicing their craft?

But Seriously, Rasputina - she heads up the Cult of December crew, she communes with December and he gives her snowstorms and the like, but the final fic instalment directly refers to the corpse of December being stolen away on a canoe. Sure, we’re talking a gameworld where Resurrectionists bring people back to life, but December’s not exactly “people”.

Hands down the coolest thing about the fic is the little pics of voodoo dolls peppered throughout. Most of the Master models are depicted as voodoo dolls; the McMourning one’s brilliant, in contrast to his art at the start of the Resurrectionist section. No offense to the artists, but that splash page just doesn’t seem up to par with a lot of the other art, or even his own portrait on page 12 of the book.

It may be that I’m spoiled by art from Chris Walton, Andrea Uderzo and the like, but with the exception of the voodoo dolls (which, again, are freakin’ awesome both in concept and execution), but I find the rest of the art in the book solid, but not in the same calibre. As always, this is a personal interpretation – what appeals to me won’t necesarilly appeal to you, and vice versa – so use your own judgement.

Now, the models….

This is a real mixed bag for me.

On the plus side, the Death Marshals are freakin’ awesome as they sling with coffins around. I really like Rasputina’s model. The Ortegas are cool, I love the lizard dudes that follow Zoraida around, and despite my general distaste for the concept, Baby Kade is a creepily well executed model.

On the negative, what the smeg is with the Flesh Construct? It’s a Frankenstein’s Monster kinda deal, where did McMourning find something with a lower jaw that size? Still with McMourning’s crew, the Nurses? They’re not going to fool anyone into thinking they’re regular morgue employees in those costumes, so that angles out; nor are they particularly horrific. Instead, they look like they’ve raided the adult section of a costume store. The sculpts are decent, I grant you that, but they look like “specialty” members of Seamus’ Rotten Belles more than morgue employees.

Sigh. This is pretty much the standard for any miniature-producing company, I guess, some of the models are excellent and strike a chord, others just miss the plate entirely. Privateer’s not exempt from this of course, but that’s part of making sure your product is appealing to a reasonable spread of potential customers.

As for the models I specifically own – Rasputina, her Ice Golem, three Ice Gamin and the Wendigo…

Mould lines? Almost nonexistent. Damn, but that’s well done. I’m a very lazy modeller, I often don’t even bother to clean them off, I freely admit that – but in this case, I simply didn’t mean to.

Flash, however… Rasputina’s hands? I’m not sure where the fingers are delineated versus folded over flash, and I had difficulty getting in there to try and fold any flash back to carve off. Each of the Gamin’s little pointy fingers? I had to trim flash of every bloody finger and toe.

The Ice Golem, once you cut off the channel plugs, there’s no easy fit for the arms. There’s chunks carved out of the torso where the arms are clearly meant to fit in, but the only vaguely solid fits I got were when I rotated the arms so it almost looks like my giant icy turret of destruction is pleading for some more gruel in the orphanage. “Please, sir, may I have some more?”. True, this could be a reflection of my mediocre modelling skills more than a design flaw, but these aren’t particularly complicated models. I can assemble a Reckoner and a Dire Troll Blitzer, for cryin’ out loud, I shouldn’t be having trouble with a four piece Ice Golem.

My only other complaint with the models is that the metal seems soft. I don’t know if I got a softer-than-usual batch with my Gamin – Tina and the Golem were fine – but the three Gamin, spindly as they are, bend with anything even vaguely approaching pressure.

In the end, many of the the Malifaux models are really quite nice. Detail’s smooth (if shallow on some pieces – one gamer mistakenly thought his flat-faced Gamin were miscasts due to the lack of evident features), and many of the figures look like they’re more suited to display pieces than shoving around a tabletop. I really quite enjoyed painting Rasputina as a palette cleanser before moving on to more Warmachine/Hordes stuff.

In the end…

It’s a fun system, and a pleasant diversion. It doesn’t take as much painting to get into as starting a Warmachine faction, so less time required to get everything up to speed, but conversely it requires a lot more terrain. It’s innovative, it’s different, it’s worth a look. I look forward to dabbling with it in the months to come.

by Kyle “X” Stratford

First up is the Driller. Durgen was having difficulty flexing his mechanical muscle. In my past games with the Rockram as my one and only jack I was afraid of putting it out in front and having it get smashed before I could do anything with it. But by keeping the Rockram safe in the back ranks I was limiting its usefulness by blocking charge lanes and just getting in its way with other models. With two heavy’s I’ll be much more comfortable knowing that whatever happens one of my Jacks should be able to beat the pulp out of something. The Driller can really take down a heavy target if it can hit with it’s grip attack which then allows all drill attacks against the same target to hit automatically. That would be really nasty.

Next is some ranged units. The game against Jason really showed Durgen that he needed some kind of reliable ranged weaponry. Durgen’s shots can all be really useful, having used all three succuessfully in that particular game but once used Durgen’s cannon is only really useful as a flower pot. For help in the ranged department Durgen has hired the merc team of Herne and Jonne. With decent range and power Herne and Jonne are a decent unit to make up for Durgen’s limited ranged offensive abilities. With multiple Aoe’s they can maybe take out some infantry with a couple of lucky deviations. With Jonne aiming and Herne’s gunner skill, Jonne can have a decent chance of hitting most targets, with pretty good range and damage.

In addition to Herne and Jonne, Durgen has called on his old contacts in the Highshield Guncorps. Stat wise the High shield aren’t much better at ranged combat than the sea dogs. They have an extra two inches of range but that only puts them at ten still not a long distance unit. They do have a lot more survivability than the pirates with their higher armour and shield wall order. The benefit to a +1 shot while in shield wall is a must as they are not great shots haveing a base rat score of only 4. This unit of Highshields has worked with Durgen a number of times in the past so they all know to wear their helmets, and are dressed accordingly, except for the new guy. He’ll learn quickly. Their shields are still off because of the already mentioned real life intervening. I guess that makes them the ‘High’ guncorps. Not necesarily a bad thing when working with Durgen.

And finally the last mini added to the list is another Pirate rifleman. With eleven points left over there wasn’t anything else I could take to fill up the space. The pirate rifleman was very useful in my game against Jason and with two I’ll be able to make some combined ranged attacks at up to 14 inches. Nice.

So that is it for my 750 point Warmahordes challenge list. Now on to the final match.

Pts VPs
Durgen Madhammer 66 – 5
Wroughthammer 117 – 3
Ghordson Driller 112 – 3
Sea Dogs (10) 95 – 2
Sea Dog Rifleman (2) 22 – 0
High Shield (10) 85 – 2
Herne and Jonne 42 – 2
Dirty Meg 23 – 1
Buccaneer 61 – 2
Bosun Grogspar 26 – 1
First Mate Hawk 30 – 1
Thor Steinhammer 26 – 1
Lord Rockbottom 21 – 1
Bloody Bradigan 24 – 1
750 – 25

Thirteen Questions with Haight

1 Where are you now?
I’m in my studio room. Which also functions as my office and game room.

2 500pt Mangled Metal/Tooth & Claw. What do you field?
Tough choice. I’m still a big fan of The Best Goddamn Mangled Metal Lists Ever, Period, particularly in MK1. Though i’m a full blooded daisy eating elf player now, i’d probably still go with Haley. At 500 points, i’d take the thunderhead, thorn, and rowdy for sure. For the last jack i am not sure, and i may downgrade one of the characters to make room for a better jack.

I don’t play MK1 with the Ret.

3 Which warcaster or warlock do you hate the most?
Mark 1 ? Epic Vlad. Not because he’s “broken”, but just because a single mistake against him can equate to a lost game. He has a very unforgiving curve to opponent’s, and a feat that makes mistakes easy to capitalize on. When I see Evlad across the table, I know I’m in a position where I must play a perfect game, or expect to lose.

4 How often do people misspell your name?
I’m lucky that I have a pretty short, and pretty distinctive handle on here. Now what people do all the time is butcher the pronunciation! It’s pronounced “hate”, but I’ve heard all sorts of nonsense chopping it up into hard syllables, pronouncing it with odd manners of far east accents – you name it.

5 If you liked it so much, why didn’t you put a ring on it?
Why put a ring on it when you can taxidermy it?

6 We’ve got Woldwyrds, Woldwardens and Woldwatchers – what’s your idea for a new double-W Wold?
Wold-Wolf. Baldur comes back from a near death experience, has a heart to heart hug and cry with Kaya, and then inspiration strikes. Wolves rock, Wolds rock – together they can form Voltron. That’s the Circle’s next character beast. Believe it.

7 Lost Hemisphere: One Blog, Two Blog, Red Blog, Blue Blog?
Blue Blog. Definitely Blue Blog. Anyone who says Red Blog is a terrorist who hates our freedom.

8 Voltron’s entering Monsterpocalypse next year; which faction would you align him with in Warmachine/Hordes?
Tough to say. He’s robotic and futuristic…. well… in a seventies glimpse of the future… so i’m tempted to say the Retribution. However, they’re all about anthropamorphic lions conjoining to form a big robotic bad ass, so they might be up circles alley. Really, it’s quite tough to say.

If i had to, though, i’d say toss up between the Retribution and Circle.

9 What about the vehicle/spaceship Voltron?
I have no idea.

10 101 uses for a Rockram. What’s number 76?
Ramming Rocks.

11 Podfight! Iron Agenda vs Focus & Fury vs Guts & Gears vs Boosted Damage. All four crews playing Beach Volleyball in inappropriate swimwear. Go!
I have no idea who would win – I don’t listen to any podcasts regularly. Near as I can tell they’re all really well done, and have great things to offer. I’m usually just so busy that when I find 20 free minutes, I spend it painting or gaming instead of listening to the “radio” about gaming. What i should do is get off my butt, download them, and listen to them in my car…

12 Aside from Dire Troll Dental Hygienist, what’s the worst career in the Iron Kingdoms?
Toruk’s hemorrhoid cleanser. It has ruined greater men than you or I.

13 Which question from an earlier “Where are they now” do you wish I’d asked you?
Wouldn’t you like to know? OH SNAP.

by Jason “Gorilla” Bick

“Well, Major, let’s go inspect the troops and then get out there and find some trolls.” Kraye swings his boots down from the desk and stands up.

“Remember your place in this detail, Captain. You’re my Support, not my Commander.” The Major states with a scowl, brushes the dirt off his desk and walks out into the corridor.

Kraye smiles and rubs his chin, “Dang these nobles can be arrogant, I’ll have to remember to watch myself out there with this one especially.”
He follows out of the room and heads down into the courtyard where the detachment and its warjacks wait, eager to hit the trail.

First up in the inspection is a trusty mainstay off the Cygnaran Armory, a Centurion. A large and tough ‘jack with Reach and an amazing shield. No Charges or Slams from the Trolls! WooHoo! A great addition indeed. If he crits with that spear, subsequent attacks auto hit. Slow for a Cygnar Jack, but can be sped up with the help of Arlen Strangewayes, gets +2 to attack rolls on the charge being heavy Cavalry with Kraye and can get dismember from Pendrake to really put a hurt on whatever heavy comes his way. Watch out Bradley, a Cent is coming…

Next up is Pendrake and his crew. Pendrake himself is a great support solo when dealing with any Hordes Army. His abilities enable him to make a warbeast stationary and give a nearby friendly pointers on how to slice and dice it up with ease. Arlen Strangewayes can help keep my heavies in the fight longer as well as giving one an increased attack range and a free charge. The Gun Mage Captain Adept, Cooter, is around to hang out with his good friends, the Dukes, and show them that he’s no slouch when it comes to dealing some serious hurt with his Mage Locks, sure Bo, Luke and Daisy work great as a team, but he can work alone. Last but not least is Rupert Carvolo, the Piper, a very popular favourite when it comes to Mercenaries most armies need to hire. Giving a unit either Tough and Fearless, +1 Def, or Pathfinder is really handy if there is a lot of terrain between you and the enemy.

The Unit that Rupert is here to help out? Sword Knights. An amazing beatstick of a unit. Good movement, Good Mat, 2 attacks each, with the UA they get dismantle and when fighting alongside a Jack they get Flank! Gotta love 5D6 on the charge and 4D6 for a second attack. Fantastic!! With Rupert increasing their mobility the twelve Knights in this unit can bring some serious pain and stick around to finish the job if there aren’t enough in the fight to do it the first time. Too bad they’re not as good in MkII, I’ll still play them though because they’ll be fully painted.

I’m ready to take on some Trolls!!

Conferated States of Cygnar 750 List
Captain Jeremiah Kraye
Hunter
Centurion
Defender
Captain Arlen Strangewayes
Gun Mage Captain Adept, Cooter
Lt Daniel Hollister, Journeyman Warcaster
Professor Viktor Pendrake
Rupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Black 13th, Bo Luke and Daisy Duke
Sword Knights with Major and Standard Bearer

24 Models, 23 Victory Points, 745pts of build.

One thing that struck me about Malifaux, much like Warmachine & Hordes, is there’s no strict “good guy”. Sure, there’s someone nominally on the side of truth, justice, and the Malifauxian way, but in many ways they’re just as dodgy or corrupt or generally bastardish as the guys they’re opposing - they’re just less blatant about it.

The Factions

There are four main factions, and within each there’s three subsets or themes, so much as with our more familiar Privateer products, you’ve can mix and match within your faction or you can go with a specific character’s personal thematic. There’s also a merc faction; some of the mercs are probably actually the closest to good guys we’re going to see, but there’s downright evil mercs too, so it’s balanced out.

Faction: The Guild
The Guild are the ones in charge. They’re the government, they’re the police, they’re the establishment. They’re also corrupt and despite any misconceptions to the contrary, those in power really care a lot less about the populace than they do about ensuring that soulstone gets mined and refined and shipped and lining their own pockets. There are three masters for Guild crews, and interestingly enough they actually match up thematically against the other three factions.

- Lady Justice leads her Death Marshals against the Resurrectionists
- Sonia Criid leads her Witch Hunters against the Arcanists
- Perdita Ortega leads the Ortega family against the Neverborn

These guys have some of the coolest models, in my book. The Death Marshals carry coffins and use them as weapons, for cryin’ out loud. They look bloody awesome… and yes, I did notice that all three Guild masters are female, and two of them apparently don’t need push-up bras.

If you want to draw WM parallels, I’m told Lady Justice fights kinda like the Butcher. For little to no effort she’s flipping three cards for damage, and choosing the highest – greatly increasing her chances of causing severe damage. In comparison, Sonia’s crew is Menite in flavour – lots of fire from Sonia, and a bunch of “your can’t cast spells” on both her and the Witchlings. I haven’t spent too much time analysing the lists, so can’t go into any real detail about the Ortegas other than that they look pretty shooty.

Faction: Resurrectionists
There’s a big source of necromantic energy in Malifaux, apparently, and so you’ve got enough people making zombies and the like to justify an entire faction of them. As with the Guild, each has their own flavour, so while you can mix and match zombie types across the three masters, there’s thematic joy in sticking with their themes.

- McMourning, the mad mortician, likes to get all Dr Frankensteiny
- Nicodem, the undertaker, gets to raise samurai punk zombies
- Seamus, the… um… Mad Hatter? Has a bevy of undead former courtesans

This is one of the two factions that really didn’t appeal to me, since I’m not in to the horror genre at all, but the concept of running a crew of zombie hookers, who all still can apparently lure, distract and entice opposing models to their doom, is pretty unique in the miniatures gaming world. If I was to play a Resurrectionist crew, I’d likely lean towards Nicodem if only for the samurai zombies.

Faction: Arcanists
Possibly the broadest category, these are for lack of a better term those practicing magic in Malifaux. Yes, every model has “spells”, but these are the ones the Witch Hunters are chasing down. I like that of the three masters available to them, the Arcanists have the most diverse lot in terms of thematics. This is the faction I’m playing, and as with everyone else, they’ve all got their own motives.

- Marcus, the beastmaster, with his shapeshifting sidekick and feral beasties
- Ramos, the steampunk sorceror, has all sorts of robotic goodies
- Rasputina, the ice queen, unleashes wintery doom on her foes

Ramos is fascinating in that he’s the head of the Miners and Steamfitters Union, championing the cause of the common man in the face of the government, while he’s also the head of organised crime in Malifaux. He makes big spidery constructs, and is the most definitively steampunk of all the faction masters. He’s simultaneously a good guy looking out for the miners et al, a bad guy with his criminal ties, and a renegade with his sorcerous experiments. Personally, I’m playing Rasputina, because the model amused the heck out of me and she has giant ice constructs walking around and smashing things for her. I don’t play Khador, but I’ve always liked the ice theme, so she’s a good fit for me.

Faction: Neverborn
These are the pre-existing residents of Malifaux’s world, lurking in the shadows et al and terrorising the humans that have come through the breach. They’re malevolent, destructive, and generally downright unpleasant. They seem to drawn in large part from humanity’s fears and nightmares, splashed with a dash of myth and legend.

- Lilith, the mother of monsters, unleashes her demonic nephilim to destroy all
- Pandora, she of the box, preys on emotions, fears and sorrows
- Zoraida, the hag, is a swampy voodoo Baba Yaga

This is the one faction that I have the least desire to play. A faction based around dreams and nightmares should definitely be creepy as all heck, but the idea of playing with evil, carving-knife-wielding babies just makes me uncomfortable. It’s a personal thing. That said, Zoraida’s lizard dudes and swamp golem thingie look very funky… but what can I say, I just don’t want to have to paint saggy, nekkid boobies.

Faction: Outcasts
This is the merc faction, so there’s a real hodge-podge of models and abilities therein, the only defined theme being Gremlin Master Som’er Teeth and his hillbilly redneck hick gremlins and their warpigs. Still, there are three Masters in the Outcast ranks

- Leveticus, the steampunk necormancer, lets you mix and match undead, constructs, etc
- Som’er Teeth Jones, the overweight gremlin, will be a favourite due to quirkiness
- Viktoria, the blademistress, actually has a “twin” so you get to double-dip on her niftiness

There’s not a heck of a lot to be said about mercs, other than that they have some of the coolest minis in the game, and the sheer concept of a Hog Whisperer amuses the snot out of me.

Addendum to Pt 1:
Apparently Goldstep wants me to elaborate on how to actually win the game

Well, it’s down to VPs. Every model is worth X VPs, the scenario may have VP conditions, and further VPs can be earned by achieving your chosen objectives. At the end of the game, regardless of whether your Master got fed to a Hoarcat or not, if you have the most VPs you win. 

Ah, but what’s to stop your opponent just houndign you, turn after turn, until he’s the sole survivor? The game has a defined finish. After 6 turns, you flip a card. If it’s a 10 or more, game’s over – count the VPs and declare a winner. 9 or less, have another turn.

If the game didn’t end, at the end of turn 7, flip another – 9 or more, it’s over. Turn 8, 8  or more and you’re done. You get the idea. There is no “play until you’ve massacred your opponent completely”.

I’ll take this moment as well to tip a hat to the engagement setup rules.

It’s neat that while you’re randomly assigned a scenario (strategy), you get to choose your own minor objectives (schemes). You can somewhat tune your list for this, especially since you’re supposed to determine the strategy and schemes prior to choosing your models.

Mixing it up, you don’t always set up on opposite sides of the board. Sometimes you set up on corners – it’s determined by the cards, of course. Then, the cards choose the locale of your skirmish – Downtown, Bogs, Ruins, Quarantine Zone, etc. Each of these has suggested terrain pieces, and more significantly, a chart of global effects.

Me, I love global effects – they’re part of what make the CTA and Summer Rampage so much fun, with an external factor helping or hindering every game you play. It just adds so much… flavour.

So yeah, that game you’re about to play at the Bayou’s Edge? Suddenly gets hit with Torrential Rains (interferes with charging). Or maybe there’s a Hanging Tree (scares the willies out of anyone near it), or a Campsite (a 2×2″ section where you can discard a card from your hand to draw another, as you loot the site).

To be continued

by Ken “CygnarWarlord” Sieffert

Uhlan Kapitan Stradov reigned his in mount near Kommandant Irusk’s. “Sir, we have encountered what is left of Kommander Zerkova’s forces. It looks like the trolls did a fair bit of damage.”

Irusk’s ageless face showed neither like or dislike of this news. Many years on the field of battle had taught him to accept loss as an opportunity to snatch victory later. “Have Zerkova’s litter brought to me as soon as she is able to present herself.” The Kapitan snapped a salute and wheeled his horse about leaving Irusk with his thoughts. He unrolled a map tube and laid it out across the pommel of his saddle. He traced his lean fingers across the velum finally stopping to point at a valley about ten leagues from his current position. He pondered the layout of the field of battle in his mind. He played out scenario after scenario. Of course, he had many battle reports of the way the trolls fought.

However, the trolls seemed to fight unpredictably with seemingly unorganized leadership. What they lacked in leadership they more than made up for in savagery. Raising his eyes from the map he saw Zerkova approach with her head bowed in shame. Her remaining forces trailed after her bandaged and wounded. She herself wore her arm in a sling, a testament of a leader willing to lead in battle but lacking in the experience to know when discretion was the better part of valour.

Zerkova’s horse sidled beside Irusk’s. She nodded her head as way of salute in lieu of her bloodied arm. She began ashamedly, “Kommandant. I have failed our Empress and you. I led my forces into a position that I could not defend and suffered defeat as a result.” A little colour returned to her face as anger swept over it. She seethed, “Those animals are now tearing apart that temple and probably lack the minds to know the import of what they desecrate.” Irusk raised an eyebrow at her emotional outburst. Zerkova continued, “Sir, grant me enough forces to go back and secure that temple. I’m fit for battle and will die doing the Empress’ bidding.”

Irusk shifted his eyes towards the wounded men marching in the opposite position of his own. “My dear Aleksandra. You are indeed worthy of the uniform but need to learn patience is a warrior’s greatest asset. You let your personal desires control your actions. You use the name of our Empress as your banner but seek artifacts and ancient knowledge that you barely understand. I understand your zeal but we need to be focused on the greater prize. Learn that men and machine are our tools. Learn to use those tools to achieve greater victory. Do not sacrifice them for the unknown.” He paused to let his Zerkova ponder his words. “Aleksandra, you will rise from your own ashes. Of that I have no doubt. However, for now, return to Korsk. Nurse your wounds. Document your experiences. Analyze those experiences and ultimately learn from your own mistakes.” He again looked at the map then carefully rolled it up once more. “You heal. I’ve got to explain to these trolls that they should not dare disrespect the power of our Motherland.” He nodded in quiet respect of his pupil and wheeled about.

Raising his clear voice in the cold autumn morning he called out, “Men, we go to fight an unpredictable enemy. Remember your training. Remember your brothers and they will provide you with strength. For our Empress and the Motherland!” All around him shouts of patriotism resounded off into the distant woods and low lying hills.

Irusk’s Ironfangs

For this time around I’ve moved away from my Greylord deepfreeze list. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think I could field any point value of Khador without at least one unit of Greylords and this army is no exception. My choice for warcaster this time around was Kommandant Irusk. I particularly like Irusk’s back story and his fighting style. I love intelligent commanders in games and in fiction. I also don’t mind fielding large amounts of troops and this of course plays into Irusk’s strengths. His ability to manipulate the battlefield through his Inhospitable Ground spell is a game breaker in some scenarios. On top, Superiority is one of the greatest warjack boosting spells in the game granting no knock down, +2 move, +2 def and +2 mat. This spell on Beast-09 is pure awesome. He can make average troops great and make devastating troops obscene. His feat creates a better hitting, hard hitting punch with the potential to survive any counterattack the following turn.

My painting challenge was to complete a full unit of Ironfang Uhlans. Five mounts and five riders is a daunting task and this competition gave me an opportunity to get them the heck off my painting table. The sixth mount I had to paint belonged to Kovnik Markov to give my Uhlans that extra little bit of oomph and fearless. The seventh mount belongs to the Drakhun. My force is mobile, fast (Khador fast?) and damaging. Seven horses on the field just looks impressive if nothing else.

To continue, I am fielding a full unit -1 of Ironfang Pikemen plus Unit Attachment. Hard hitting, shield walled troops are always a bonus. To finish off my Pikemen, I am using a unit that used to be Pikemen. Of course, I’m referring to the Great Bears. These guys are my crutch and the crutch of nearly every Khador player since they came out. These guys hit as hard as warjacks and with a few lucky rolls don’t die or even fall down for that matter when on the receiving end of a beating.

The last parts of my army are my ponderously slow Man-o-Wars. However, shield walled Armour 21, 8 wound models are nothing to scoff at. As body guards you can’t do much better. They also sit on objectives quite well. A unit of Greylord Ternion rounds out my list to give me a little screening, the potential to freeze and some nice spray templates on units that get a little too close.

My dear Lost, many among you partake of the joy of the printed funnybook, and share my esoteric fondness of d-list characters. While some many not recognise my avatar as being that most maligned of d-listers Wilbur Day, a.k.a. Stilt-Man, I’m sure you mourned on some level his passing due to a rocket-propelled explosive to the crotch in the early days of Marvel’s Civil War event.

This morning, while munching my breakfast cereal and waiting for the sun to rise high enough for me to take picks of the models I finished last night, I can across the below thanks to Brian Hughes @ Again With The Comics, from Amazing Spider-Man #611.

… I’m not sure I can even think of the right words here.