It seems like forever ago already since Panzershrek, yet this time last week I was being dragged down to the Irish Pub just a block from our Palmerston North accommodation. So much has happened since then, both in the business world and the plastic world.
But we are only here to talk about Plasti-crack.....
Since leaving Palmy, things have gotten really full on on the painting table.
I have picked up another commission, well, sort of the end of an old commission so to speak. My tournament partner has decided that it is time his frozen Ogre Khans collection was complete, not just as a single army but in a way that he can take anything off the shelf and put it on the table, and it is painted.
So to kick it off, I have 45 gnoblars to paint with stand out unit fillers. How do we make frozen gnoblars? Well, really they are Eskimos, though politically correct we must call them Inuits, like it is politically correct to call these miniatures cave goblins, but really they are gnoblars......#mindblown
I have also picked up a secret little project that involves a High Elf, an Orc and a Beastmen (no this is not a poor reenactment of the Three Hunters of Middle Earth!).
This little side project has me excited, as it will allow me to explore more techniques, and increase my experience on freehand.
To top it off, my Empire have returned to the painting table (Sound the horns, beat the drums!), as I get working on the army of the Queen of Promissa Terra. As many of you may know, I started this collection back in WHFB, but never really got far with painting it, minus a little bit here and there. It follows in the paint style of the old Altdorf of WHFB, but will not be designed around the typical war-stricken fantasy army.
I am looking forward to posting photos of these many works in progress.
The local scene is about to light up again, as I have opened registrations for the 3rd year running of the Hawkes Bay Regional Championship! This year 9th Age is back in the event as the main stay, and we are working towards involving Flames of War too!
However on the 9th side, it runs as a 3000 pt open list event, with a few list restrictions over the course of five weeks. The first four weeks see you face off in heats against 4 randomly selected opponents. Following this, in a one night event, the top 4 face off in a single death match semi final, followed directly by a death match final! It's intense!
For the past two years, my Empire have succeeded in taking second place. Let us see if this year is their year to shine!
Although I do not wish to go into too much detail on this, I have also opened up registrations for the 4th annual WarBanner event, a multi-platform event held on the 14/15 October.
This year sees the return of Flames of War, who joined the event for the first time last year, The 9th Age, which has became the fantasy tournament after we switched it from WHFB, along with a newcomer, Napoleonics.
As per usual, I am really excited for the weekend, and am working hard to make it as stand out of an event as possible. For more details or to register for any of these tournaments (or the HBRC above), email anempirefallennz@gmail.com
On a final note, before I put the keyboard to rest tonight and get myself lost in reading the mystery that Elon Musk is, it is time to touch on something that I have promised many times before....
.....I am starting a YouTube channel.....
Previously, although inspired, the motivated lacked for me when it came down to the crunch of doing it. Maybe not only that, but a mix of self consciousnesses and perfectionism got in the way.
Recently, I gave a good friend some advice on a written battle report he had created, and pushed him to do them as videos for various reasons. This got us talking further, which reignited my interest in doing it myself.
I have now lined up with him a very awesome and special series of videos that we will be doing post ETC, which gives me the inspiration to commit more.
However, I feel a lot of it will come down to what the community wants. It is all good and well to put in the effort to do this, but is wasted if people do not want it.
So, what would you wish to see? Battle reports from a known NZ player/tournament goer? Pantisodes as the troll-king Malorian once called them, bring a space of addressing recent topics whilst painting? Interviews with NZ and world recognised players? Tactica and Paint tutorials? What would grab your interest? What would make you watch? We all know it has to be a little more then just my good looks and charm right........okay, stomach hurts from too much laughing now.
But please, have your say in the comments! I really want to know.
With that said, it is time to get these weary eyes away from the screen and to the pages.
Until next time, Peace!
Showing posts with label Wargaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wargaming. Show all posts
Saturday, 22 July 2017
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Saying Goodbye and Looking Ahead
Well, that title sounds frighteningly sad. I bet you are all sitting there thinking, how can AEF truely be leaving us? What's happened? How on earth can this be true? What would make him say goodbye to wargaming and leave it all behind??
Well my friends, the answer is quite simple: nothing!
I'm not going anywhere, but I sure as hell got your attention!
However, over the past few weeks I have had to say a few goodbyes. Firstly, I watched as my Tau collection was packaged and shipped to a new and happy owner. This was my final tie to the 40k World, a place which I am unsure if I will go to again, and most definitely not anytime soon.
But the hardest of all, was saying farewell to a collection that was very dear to me...
Twelve years ago, when my uncle drew my attention to the world of miniatures and wargaming, I spent hours rereading the same two white dwarf magazines he had. And one army in particular grabbed my interest of all three Games Workshop worlds. Not only that, my Space Marine loving uncle then went on to buy me my first miniatures from the range. And so, my mighty Dwarf throng begun.
Not only was this collection what got me into wargaming as a whole, a collection I spent many a thousand on and plenty of hours with a brush, but it was also my first tournament army, and the collection that opened my gateway into commission painting. It held the most sentimental value of all the miniatures I have ever owned.
So why say goodbye? Times change. Over the past few months I have gone through a walk of understanding and letting go of sentimental value on all materialist items, and this was the final step in the journey. Since the beginning of 9th Age, my Dwarfs have stayed on the shelf, as my interest in their game mechanics under the rules of the game were not there. I did not like it nor enjoy it in the way I once did. Not only this, but dusty spaces have other priorities to be filled by. And to crate space for new major projects, I needed to clear this place. So alas my stumpy friends, I do bid you a dear farewell, and I hope your new home is one where you will be enjoyed.
*sniffles sniffles* Oh, a tissue? Why thankyou, you shouldn't have....
Okay okay, enough sarcastic sentimental shit. It's getting depressing. Let us look at what is next.....
Firstly, it dawned on me today as I poured probably the hundredth coffee for the day (for perspective, I have only been at work about an hour and half at this point), that Panzersheik is just over a month away! That is crazy!
I pulled out of NiCon this year due to work pressure, meaning that Panzer will be my first tournament back this year, and I have a tonne of catching up to do if I even want a chance of sneaking into Invitationals at year's end! With this in mind, it is time for me to start playtesting a few list ideas I have had up my sleeve, and whipping into shape those extra miniatures needed. As it stands, it looks as though the Beast Herds will be making the tables again, as I attempt to retain my much coveted crown as the top BH player in the country.
On the line of tournaments and events, the WarBanner 4.0 player pack has been released and registrations are open, with the first applicants pouring in! This is fantastic, and I am really looking forward to seeing my baby run in its fourth year.
Alongside this, its drawing close to the time for the annual Hawkes Bay Regional Championship to run for another year, with more information coming very soon!
Well, it is now 8.26pm, and old age seems to be kicking in, and it is time for me to find some much needed beauty sleep.
Until next time my children of darkness....
Peace
Well my friends, the answer is quite simple: nothing!
I'm not going anywhere, but I sure as hell got your attention!
However, over the past few weeks I have had to say a few goodbyes. Firstly, I watched as my Tau collection was packaged and shipped to a new and happy owner. This was my final tie to the 40k World, a place which I am unsure if I will go to again, and most definitely not anytime soon.
But the hardest of all, was saying farewell to a collection that was very dear to me...
Twelve years ago, when my uncle drew my attention to the world of miniatures and wargaming, I spent hours rereading the same two white dwarf magazines he had. And one army in particular grabbed my interest of all three Games Workshop worlds. Not only that, my Space Marine loving uncle then went on to buy me my first miniatures from the range. And so, my mighty Dwarf throng begun.
Not only was this collection what got me into wargaming as a whole, a collection I spent many a thousand on and plenty of hours with a brush, but it was also my first tournament army, and the collection that opened my gateway into commission painting. It held the most sentimental value of all the miniatures I have ever owned.
So why say goodbye? Times change. Over the past few months I have gone through a walk of understanding and letting go of sentimental value on all materialist items, and this was the final step in the journey. Since the beginning of 9th Age, my Dwarfs have stayed on the shelf, as my interest in their game mechanics under the rules of the game were not there. I did not like it nor enjoy it in the way I once did. Not only this, but dusty spaces have other priorities to be filled by. And to crate space for new major projects, I needed to clear this place. So alas my stumpy friends, I do bid you a dear farewell, and I hope your new home is one where you will be enjoyed.
*sniffles sniffles* Oh, a tissue? Why thankyou, you shouldn't have....
Okay okay, enough sarcastic sentimental shit. It's getting depressing. Let us look at what is next.....
Firstly, it dawned on me today as I poured probably the hundredth coffee for the day (for perspective, I have only been at work about an hour and half at this point), that Panzersheik is just over a month away! That is crazy!
I pulled out of NiCon this year due to work pressure, meaning that Panzer will be my first tournament back this year, and I have a tonne of catching up to do if I even want a chance of sneaking into Invitationals at year's end! With this in mind, it is time for me to start playtesting a few list ideas I have had up my sleeve, and whipping into shape those extra miniatures needed. As it stands, it looks as though the Beast Herds will be making the tables again, as I attempt to retain my much coveted crown as the top BH player in the country.
On the line of tournaments and events, the WarBanner 4.0 player pack has been released and registrations are open, with the first applicants pouring in! This is fantastic, and I am really looking forward to seeing my baby run in its fourth year.
Alongside this, its drawing close to the time for the annual Hawkes Bay Regional Championship to run for another year, with more information coming very soon!
Well, it is now 8.26pm, and old age seems to be kicking in, and it is time for me to find some much needed beauty sleep.
Until next time my children of darkness....
Peace
Monday, 31 October 2016
Invitationals & My Dilemma
It is currently 6.30am as I start writing this, with my first hot brew of the day in hand. Why so early you may ask? Well that is a mystery even I want answered after a sleepless night!
In just under four weeks, the physical journey begins again for the final time this year, as we make the drive to Auckland for the first ever New Zealand Invitationals tournament. And with such a long drive, I am glad I have great travel company to go with me!
But the adventure to a tournament is never just the drive there and the weekend whilst away rolling dice and drinking more then planned, but it should be the weeks leading up to an event, as you play around with list ideas and play test your army and tweak the list whilst madly rushing around to finish painting that half a dozen miniatures you need in your list because of those tweaks.
My journey to Invitational almost came to an end before it had really began. With the release of Version 1.2 to the rule set last week, between the change in rules and points itself, along with Invitationals adopting the recommended points level of 4500pts, I was absolutely stumped.
Now, do not get me wrong, I am not complaining one moment about the new rules or recommended points system. I do agree with everything that has changed, but I do believe it is for the betterment of the game as it progresses and comes into its own.
Adopting a new rules system so close to the most prestigious event in the year was not a call I would have wanted to make, and I do not feel it was the right one either. In saying this, it was driven by the competitors for the event, and now as many are in the same boat I was in up until late last night, I think many are regretting that choice.
With the changes, I was finding it almost impossible to create a list that I could easily adapt to the play style, that I had the miniatures for without having to spend excess amounts of money, and the time to paint only a few handfuls of models. Even with the list I finally compiled and am happy with, there is more work to be done.
I argued with the decision to take my WDG (which was the easiest to flip my V1 list into something workable with V1.2), and finally decided against it, as I wasn't enjoying playing the list and it was hugely designed around the way a Path of Magic could influence the list, a Path which now in V1. no longer exists.
I also play tested my new Dread Elves list. I pulled off a major victory with this list, in my first time ever playing Elves, and enjoyed every moment of the game. The synergy of the list worked well, and with change in the Path of Magic used, I feel the list could easily become a standard style list I would take to tournaments. The issue was, I do not have the extra money to drop into getting all the models needed, nor the time to paint an entire army within 3.5 weeks.
The biggest struggle of them all, was a moral struggle. I have played my Beast Herds in every event I have been to since T9A hit the tournament scene, and I love them. But morally, how could I leave t home the army that helped me get to 9th place on the New Zealand rankings? That wouldn't be right!
So I tossed around a few lists, screwed up a lot of paper, and walked away from the list building to relax whist enjoying a cancerous habit. And as my alcohol infused brain was pretending I was being Smaug and blowing smoke, it hit me. And I started mentally drawing a list, watching the mechanics of the list, and seeing what it looked like on the table.
The list is written. My toys are ready.
The Beast Herds have heard the Call. The Blood Hunt is coming to Play.
Run and Hide, Run and Hide. For come the Break of Day,
Blood will run as we catch our Prey.....
In just under four weeks, the physical journey begins again for the final time this year, as we make the drive to Auckland for the first ever New Zealand Invitationals tournament. And with such a long drive, I am glad I have great travel company to go with me!
But the adventure to a tournament is never just the drive there and the weekend whilst away rolling dice and drinking more then planned, but it should be the weeks leading up to an event, as you play around with list ideas and play test your army and tweak the list whilst madly rushing around to finish painting that half a dozen miniatures you need in your list because of those tweaks.
My journey to Invitational almost came to an end before it had really began. With the release of Version 1.2 to the rule set last week, between the change in rules and points itself, along with Invitationals adopting the recommended points level of 4500pts, I was absolutely stumped.
Now, do not get me wrong, I am not complaining one moment about the new rules or recommended points system. I do agree with everything that has changed, but I do believe it is for the betterment of the game as it progresses and comes into its own.
Adopting a new rules system so close to the most prestigious event in the year was not a call I would have wanted to make, and I do not feel it was the right one either. In saying this, it was driven by the competitors for the event, and now as many are in the same boat I was in up until late last night, I think many are regretting that choice.
With the changes, I was finding it almost impossible to create a list that I could easily adapt to the play style, that I had the miniatures for without having to spend excess amounts of money, and the time to paint only a few handfuls of models. Even with the list I finally compiled and am happy with, there is more work to be done.
I argued with the decision to take my WDG (which was the easiest to flip my V1 list into something workable with V1.2), and finally decided against it, as I wasn't enjoying playing the list and it was hugely designed around the way a Path of Magic could influence the list, a Path which now in V1. no longer exists.
I also play tested my new Dread Elves list. I pulled off a major victory with this list, in my first time ever playing Elves, and enjoyed every moment of the game. The synergy of the list worked well, and with change in the Path of Magic used, I feel the list could easily become a standard style list I would take to tournaments. The issue was, I do not have the extra money to drop into getting all the models needed, nor the time to paint an entire army within 3.5 weeks.
The biggest struggle of them all, was a moral struggle. I have played my Beast Herds in every event I have been to since T9A hit the tournament scene, and I love them. But morally, how could I leave t home the army that helped me get to 9th place on the New Zealand rankings? That wouldn't be right!
So I tossed around a few lists, screwed up a lot of paper, and walked away from the list building to relax whist enjoying a cancerous habit. And as my alcohol infused brain was pretending I was being Smaug and blowing smoke, it hit me. And I started mentally drawing a list, watching the mechanics of the list, and seeing what it looked like on the table.
The list is written. My toys are ready.
The Beast Herds have heard the Call. The Blood Hunt is coming to Play.
Run and Hide, Run and Hide. For come the Break of Day,
Blood will run as we catch our Prey.....
Thursday, 29 September 2016
New Zealand Wargaming Awards: The Birth of a New Era
For a long time now I have been thinking about the time and effort that so many unsung heroes in our gaming communities put in to growing the community and providing great support for these communities, along with awesome events and places for people to game.
As someone who has put a fair amount into my local community, along with running events of my own and helping to drive 9th Age on a competitive level in NZ, I have learnt how much hard work is put into this....and I know I do a hell a lot less work at it then many others!
So I decided that it was time that these hard working people were recognised for their contribution to the NZ gaming scene....
....and in comes the first annual New Zealand Wargaming Awards (NZWA)!!!
This will be a People's Choice awards, with the votes fully in your hands! How will it work? Once voting opens, a link to the voting for will be made available on the blog. It will cover areas including game specific tournament organisers, to clubs, regional support and even local hobby stores! You will be able to vote on whatever areas you wish, and then email the form back!
Voting will open November 1st and close on November 30th, with the results being tallied and announced on Saturday 3rd of December.
How will these be announced might you ask? We will hold an online awards night! You will be able to tune in to a Google Hangouts and watch it all unfold, as I host the event with two great guest hosts (this year's have already been invited!).
Award winners will be emailed a signed Award Certificate, which they can do with as they wish.
This is about supporting those who work for us, those who make our gaming community work, and so the more voters the better!
I will post another blog regarding it once voting is open.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Peace!
As someone who has put a fair amount into my local community, along with running events of my own and helping to drive 9th Age on a competitive level in NZ, I have learnt how much hard work is put into this....and I know I do a hell a lot less work at it then many others!
So I decided that it was time that these hard working people were recognised for their contribution to the NZ gaming scene....
....and in comes the first annual New Zealand Wargaming Awards (NZWA)!!!
This will be a People's Choice awards, with the votes fully in your hands! How will it work? Once voting opens, a link to the voting for will be made available on the blog. It will cover areas including game specific tournament organisers, to clubs, regional support and even local hobby stores! You will be able to vote on whatever areas you wish, and then email the form back!
Voting will open November 1st and close on November 30th, with the results being tallied and announced on Saturday 3rd of December.
How will these be announced might you ask? We will hold an online awards night! You will be able to tune in to a Google Hangouts and watch it all unfold, as I host the event with two great guest hosts (this year's have already been invited!).
Award winners will be emailed a signed Award Certificate, which they can do with as they wish.
This is about supporting those who work for us, those who make our gaming community work, and so the more voters the better!
I will post another blog regarding it once voting is open.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Peace!
Sunday, 25 September 2016
GuardCon '16: Thoughts & Review
Good morning,
This past weekend saw the annual GuardCon Event hosted by the Auckland City Guard, which sported a vast number of players over variety of different games.
I attended the 9th Age event, which is my second to last qualifying tournament this year to secure my place at Invitational, and had a blast. It was great to see such interest in the game, with it being the largest T9A tournament in NZ to date.
As far as I am aware, it was also the TO's first time running an event, and its inspirational to see so many new TO's coming through, with both NiCon and Panzershrek earlier in the year being running by competitors who hadn't hosted a tournament before.
I bought out my Beast Herds again, running with the same list that I had taken to a tournament earlier in the year, with the full intention of taking a podium position in a elf heavy tournament. I knew that I was very unlikely to take Best Paint (bringing my streak to an end) with the return of the Master himself, blogger Blame the Dice, but felt that I could land that place in the top three.
So a break down of the games:
Game One (Blame the Dice)
This was the battle of the bloggers, as I grudged Blame the Dice to this match and he readily accepted. And so the Beast Herds took on the Lust Daemons, in what turned out to be quite an interesting battle.
I rushed a flank with monsters and chariots, looking at the Daemon Engine and a small unit of Sirens as easy pickings. Although the I made short work of the Sirens, the Engine turned out to not be as movable as I had first expected, and took two chariots and three monsters to handle (granted, the Engine made some spectaular saves).
Whilst this was happening, my Minotaurs made a long charge bottom of turn one into the main combat brick of Sirens that sported his General, and made very short work of it. To be honest, they took on most of that flank, and met their end after about 6 rounds of combat against his Courtesan (which they managed to get down to two wounds remaining, but wasn't enough even for half points).
My Wildhorns took a triple charge towards the end, as I has mispositioned them, and the Lust Daemons tried to make a comeback (and almost obliterated the unit). However, with some help from the gargoyles, we were able to stand until the end, with the unit surviving the onslaught.
This match was a glorious battle and a load of fun, and was a fantastic way for me to start the tournament, landing me a 16/4 result.
Game Two (A Battle of Grudges)
Game two saw me face off against the player who ended up winning the event, and has taken over the position in NZ as the #1 tournament competitor. He ended the tournament with an outstanding 97/100 possible Battle Points!
There isn't much that I can say about this game, except that I made two mistakes, once in my deployment and the second in going against my plan and better judgement (a plan I had made before even leaving home for the trip). It was a white wash tabling. If I am honest, had I not gone against my plan, I still do not believe I would have won the game, but I may have landed some points on the table as opposed to walking away with 0 points.
Game Three (The TO)
The next game saw me up against the Tournament Organiser and his Saurian Ancients. This match up on paper was probably my most favourable, as it had minimal poison, which is the bane of my army. In saying this, it had two major infantry blocks and an extremely killy lord, so it was still formidable and I did have to be careful with some things I did. However, after being tabled in my previous game, I may have thrown caution to the wind a little, and it paid off. I rushed my army into his, and with so much in his face so fast, there was little he could do to counter it (which is the same with anyone who faces a list that's designed to be in combat by the end of turn one start of turn two). There were some worrying moments, like watching Caimans charge my Gortack, and had they made the 4" charge, would have been able to take my right flank out, however the dice stayed in my favour, and I was able to walk away from this game with a full 20-0, having tabled the lizards. The opponent was definitely an enjoyable guy to play, and I would love to get another game in with him soon, though I think he maybe inclined to bring more poison against me after that match!
Game Four (A Bloodbath)
As we were leaving Saturday, I was informed of my next opponent for the first game of Sunday. I was to take on the Sylvan Elves player I had barely scraped a win against at Panzershrek, and we were to play the same game type and same scenario as we did there. It was the rematch!
This SE player is very skilled, and landed himself 3rd place at GuardCon. He has had a great tournament showing this year, podiuming at the majority of the tournaments he has attended.
After my huge win against the SA in my previous game after playing uber aggressive, I decide to continue with that. My opponent and I deployed on the line, and by the end of turn one, my army was sitting just inches from his combat style SE force. Personally, I believe this is what put him on the back foot.
This game was an absolute bloodbath, with my opponent only having his Shapeshifter lord, his mage and the mage's bunker remaining, whilst I had very little left as well. This was the game where I made a critical error, that ended up costing me 3rd place overall. As opposed to rushing my minotaurs straight over to an objective, I tried to charge with them, which I then failed, and by the time I realised I needed them on the otherside of the board, it was too late. This made my 15/5 victory turn into a 12/8.
This game was the best game I played all weekend, and my opponent is one of the most enjoyable players to game with. I look forward to the next time I see him on the field (maybe Warbanner?).
Game Five (Battle of the Masters)
My final matchup was against another blogger, Elven Glades, who alongside myself is a driving force behind the rankings and invitational tournament for NZ. He bought out his Highborn Elves for the weekend, and this game turned out to be yet another bloodbath.
After chaffing my Minotaurs at the top of the game so that they wandered off onto the other side of the board, my opponents Ancient Dragon, Knights and Phoenix did a solid job of making short work of the rest of my force. With Curse of the Wildwood managing to sneak a few wounds onto the Dragon Lord, my Gortach and Jabberwock made a desperate attempt to finish off the wounded Dragon, but to no avail, with my Jabber being torn to shreds and my Gortach ran away just to become a pincushion. At this stage however, my wayward Minos had returned to the fight, and my opponent threw his Dragon into their flank in a last ditch attempt to save his quickly dying knights. It was here that I had the highlight of my tournament, as I watched a single Mino turn around and slap the Ancient Dragon silly, taking the final two wounds off it.
It was a brilliant game, and a load of fun, and I was able to walk away with a 12/8 victory.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend, and I was very happy winning four out of my five games. I landed myself in 5th place, just a hairbreadth away from 3rd, and my best tournament result yet.
Overall I was happy with the way I played, with only a few errors that cost me, and I feel that I have really grown a strong understand on the synergies and cogs that make both my list and Beast Herds as a whole turn.
At the end of the day, it was my Minotaurs that pulled me through to 5th place, proving at how well they can handle a flank on their own, and in the case of my final game, a whole army apparently.
I am putting away the Herd for this next tournament, as I bring out my Warriors of the Pestilent God to WarBanner (even if they are unpainted/unfinished), and will look and bringing them back out for the Invitational tournament in November, where the top 12 players from across the year battle it out to determine who is NZ's T9A Player of 2016.
Until next time,
Peace!
This past weekend saw the annual GuardCon Event hosted by the Auckland City Guard, which sported a vast number of players over variety of different games.
I attended the 9th Age event, which is my second to last qualifying tournament this year to secure my place at Invitational, and had a blast. It was great to see such interest in the game, with it being the largest T9A tournament in NZ to date.
As far as I am aware, it was also the TO's first time running an event, and its inspirational to see so many new TO's coming through, with both NiCon and Panzershrek earlier in the year being running by competitors who hadn't hosted a tournament before.
I bought out my Beast Herds again, running with the same list that I had taken to a tournament earlier in the year, with the full intention of taking a podium position in a elf heavy tournament. I knew that I was very unlikely to take Best Paint (bringing my streak to an end) with the return of the Master himself, blogger Blame the Dice, but felt that I could land that place in the top three.
So a break down of the games:
Game One (Blame the Dice)
This was the battle of the bloggers, as I grudged Blame the Dice to this match and he readily accepted. And so the Beast Herds took on the Lust Daemons, in what turned out to be quite an interesting battle.
I rushed a flank with monsters and chariots, looking at the Daemon Engine and a small unit of Sirens as easy pickings. Although the I made short work of the Sirens, the Engine turned out to not be as movable as I had first expected, and took two chariots and three monsters to handle (granted, the Engine made some spectaular saves).
Whilst this was happening, my Minotaurs made a long charge bottom of turn one into the main combat brick of Sirens that sported his General, and made very short work of it. To be honest, they took on most of that flank, and met their end after about 6 rounds of combat against his Courtesan (which they managed to get down to two wounds remaining, but wasn't enough even for half points).
My Wildhorns took a triple charge towards the end, as I has mispositioned them, and the Lust Daemons tried to make a comeback (and almost obliterated the unit). However, with some help from the gargoyles, we were able to stand until the end, with the unit surviving the onslaught.
This match was a glorious battle and a load of fun, and was a fantastic way for me to start the tournament, landing me a 16/4 result.
Game Two (A Battle of Grudges)
Game two saw me face off against the player who ended up winning the event, and has taken over the position in NZ as the #1 tournament competitor. He ended the tournament with an outstanding 97/100 possible Battle Points!
There isn't much that I can say about this game, except that I made two mistakes, once in my deployment and the second in going against my plan and better judgement (a plan I had made before even leaving home for the trip). It was a white wash tabling. If I am honest, had I not gone against my plan, I still do not believe I would have won the game, but I may have landed some points on the table as opposed to walking away with 0 points.
Game Three (The TO)
The next game saw me up against the Tournament Organiser and his Saurian Ancients. This match up on paper was probably my most favourable, as it had minimal poison, which is the bane of my army. In saying this, it had two major infantry blocks and an extremely killy lord, so it was still formidable and I did have to be careful with some things I did. However, after being tabled in my previous game, I may have thrown caution to the wind a little, and it paid off. I rushed my army into his, and with so much in his face so fast, there was little he could do to counter it (which is the same with anyone who faces a list that's designed to be in combat by the end of turn one start of turn two). There were some worrying moments, like watching Caimans charge my Gortack, and had they made the 4" charge, would have been able to take my right flank out, however the dice stayed in my favour, and I was able to walk away from this game with a full 20-0, having tabled the lizards. The opponent was definitely an enjoyable guy to play, and I would love to get another game in with him soon, though I think he maybe inclined to bring more poison against me after that match!
Game Four (A Bloodbath)
As we were leaving Saturday, I was informed of my next opponent for the first game of Sunday. I was to take on the Sylvan Elves player I had barely scraped a win against at Panzershrek, and we were to play the same game type and same scenario as we did there. It was the rematch!
This SE player is very skilled, and landed himself 3rd place at GuardCon. He has had a great tournament showing this year, podiuming at the majority of the tournaments he has attended.
After my huge win against the SA in my previous game after playing uber aggressive, I decide to continue with that. My opponent and I deployed on the line, and by the end of turn one, my army was sitting just inches from his combat style SE force. Personally, I believe this is what put him on the back foot.
This game was an absolute bloodbath, with my opponent only having his Shapeshifter lord, his mage and the mage's bunker remaining, whilst I had very little left as well. This was the game where I made a critical error, that ended up costing me 3rd place overall. As opposed to rushing my minotaurs straight over to an objective, I tried to charge with them, which I then failed, and by the time I realised I needed them on the otherside of the board, it was too late. This made my 15/5 victory turn into a 12/8.
This game was the best game I played all weekend, and my opponent is one of the most enjoyable players to game with. I look forward to the next time I see him on the field (maybe Warbanner?).
Game Five (Battle of the Masters)
My final matchup was against another blogger, Elven Glades, who alongside myself is a driving force behind the rankings and invitational tournament for NZ. He bought out his Highborn Elves for the weekend, and this game turned out to be yet another bloodbath.
After chaffing my Minotaurs at the top of the game so that they wandered off onto the other side of the board, my opponents Ancient Dragon, Knights and Phoenix did a solid job of making short work of the rest of my force. With Curse of the Wildwood managing to sneak a few wounds onto the Dragon Lord, my Gortach and Jabberwock made a desperate attempt to finish off the wounded Dragon, but to no avail, with my Jabber being torn to shreds and my Gortach ran away just to become a pincushion. At this stage however, my wayward Minos had returned to the fight, and my opponent threw his Dragon into their flank in a last ditch attempt to save his quickly dying knights. It was here that I had the highlight of my tournament, as I watched a single Mino turn around and slap the Ancient Dragon silly, taking the final two wounds off it.
It was a brilliant game, and a load of fun, and I was able to walk away with a 12/8 victory.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend, and I was very happy winning four out of my five games. I landed myself in 5th place, just a hairbreadth away from 3rd, and my best tournament result yet.
Overall I was happy with the way I played, with only a few errors that cost me, and I feel that I have really grown a strong understand on the synergies and cogs that make both my list and Beast Herds as a whole turn.
At the end of the day, it was my Minotaurs that pulled me through to 5th place, proving at how well they can handle a flank on their own, and in the case of my final game, a whole army apparently.
I am putting away the Herd for this next tournament, as I bring out my Warriors of the Pestilent God to WarBanner (even if they are unpainted/unfinished), and will look and bringing them back out for the Invitational tournament in November, where the top 12 players from across the year battle it out to determine who is NZ's T9A Player of 2016.
Until next time,
Peace!
Monday, 18 July 2016
Hobby Update July 2016
Hello. Yes, I know, I haven't been around. Yes I know I promised a post a few weeks ago, and never did. I've been busy. Life takes time. And so does having heaps of hobby fun!
So first and foremost, Panzershrek! Panzer was held in Palmerston North over the weekend, and this long time running event had a new Tournament Organiser, a huge 9th Age supporter, who pulled off a great weekend for all.
However, my game play was not great. I started the weekend rough, and went down hill from there, making many mistakes and misplaying my army on numerous occasions. If I am honest with you, it would have been one of my worst tournament performances in a while, yet I managed to land my best placing, taking 6th and sitting nice and squarely in the mid-pack. How this happened I guess I will never know.
I did manage however, to pull one thing off. It was close, very very tight on points, but I guess my Blood Hunt Beast Herds army pulled through, yet again......
So first and foremost, Panzershrek! Panzer was held in Palmerston North over the weekend, and this long time running event had a new Tournament Organiser, a huge 9th Age supporter, who pulled off a great weekend for all.
However, my game play was not great. I started the weekend rough, and went down hill from there, making many mistakes and misplaying my army on numerous occasions. If I am honest with you, it would have been one of my worst tournament performances in a while, yet I managed to land my best placing, taking 6th and sitting nice and squarely in the mid-pack. How this happened I guess I will never know.
I did manage however, to pull one thing off. It was close, very very tight on points, but I guess my Blood Hunt Beast Herds army pulled through, yet again......
Yep, that's right. I snuck by taking out Best Paint again, and the votes were extremely close between myself and a beautifully painted Warriors of the Dark Gods army, owned by the player who took out Best Overall.
This puts me at 3 Best Painted and 1 Best Painted Single Character (won by a commission I did) this year.
I guess I found what I am good at!
So speaking of painting, I also have finished doing some. I needed a couple new units for my Beast Herds for Panzer, so it was straight to the painting table. I took a unit of Feral Hounds, which I used the Space Wolves Fenrisan Wolves models for, as they are really great sculpts. I also needed a unit of Gargoyles, so picked up some Kings of War Gargoyle models. I will post photos up of these soon.
On top of my own painting, I picked up a commission, which players at Panzer would have seen. 8 Ogre Tribesmen and a Ogre Shaman, all converted out to be packed full of a Pestillence theme. It was definately a fun commission, and didn't come without its challenges, but I feel I managed to pull it off how I had expected. I will post photos of those soon too!
So next up on the panting station. Well, I have a new commission of about 10 Ogre Tuskor Cavalry to do, which will be a good bit of fun. I also am working on getting my Bronze Legion of Pestillence Warriors of the Dark Gods army ready for Guardcon in September, as I believe they will b seeing the table there. To prepare for that, I need to paint up 8 Knights, 1 Lord on Daemonic Mount, 1 Mounted Sorcerer Lord and 5 War Hounds, along with touching up and finishing off a Chimera and a Mauler Chariot. Lots to do, but plenty of time, and I am looking forward to putting the Beast Herds away for a little while.
But I don't just paint models, I play with them too! Outside of Panzer, the Hawkes Bay Regional Championships have begun, and so far I have played two out of my four Heat matches. I took a suprising 10/10 draw with my Empire against an Ogre Khans opponent, only to be shattered by a 19/1 loss to Undying Dynasties (I guess the skeletons of the Empire are better then the living of the Empire!). This puts me at a very low position, with only 11 points out of a possible 40 half way into the heats, and I really need to pull off two decent sized wins in my next matches if I am to have the chance of proceeding to the next round.
In light of the HBRC, I have decided it is time to start creating my Video Battle Reports. This is something I have wanted to do for a while now, but just haven't had the time, or had too many issues doing. So, I plan to start carving out time to do so, and what better place to start then the HBRC games I play. Its small points, which should make it easier for me to finding my feet in the world of Battle Reporters.
Well its almost midnight, and between more HBRC games and painting tomorrow, I should head off and get some much needed shuteye. May the Gods of the Empire be with me tomorrow and I seek to fend off against the Warriors of the Dark Gods, and the cold-hearted Saurians.
Peace!
Monday, 13 June 2016
Hobby Update June 2016: So What's Next?
Kia Ora,
It feels like ages since I sat down and seriously painted, yet it was only just over a week ago that I finally put down my paintbrush with a completed force ready for NiCon 2016. As I write this, I am looking at my painting station only 5 metres away and thinking I really should get some painting done, however I am nice and warmly wrapped up under blankets trying to defend myself from Winter's frost...
...but anyways. What has happened in the week since NiCon? And what is next?
Well, firstly, lets talk tournaments. I have just confirmed registration to Panzershriek in July, and will be playing in 9th Age. I am excited to get away to another tournament so soon, and to watch the 9th Age tournament scene grow!
We have also confirmed that WarBanner in October will be on the 8-9, and that its main event will be 9th Age!......
.......did you see the key word? Main event....that's right! This year's WarBanner is planned to be able to hold more then just one event. We currently have a high chance of having a Flames of War tournament there, and have a few other game systems we are trying to pull in! If you want to run an event at WarBanner, let me know! The more the merrier!
Regarding future NiCon's, the 2017 event will be held in Auckland, and I have been accepted to run 9th Age there. Furthermore, I managed to secure NiCon making its way to Napier in 2018!!! Yahoooo!
So that's tournaments, what about whats happening locally?
Firstly, we are bringing out T9A Tribal Warfare campaign to an early end, with next Tuesday being its final night. This is due to several reasons, inclusive of people wanting to try new things. The campaign met its goal of bringing players in and helping them learn, so I am happy.
With this in mind, and my impending move to Tauranga, we have decided to bring the Hawkes Bay Regional Championship for 2016 forward, and will begin it in just a few weeks. This will be a 1500pt 9th Age tournament list competition, and is a knock out event. Last year was a great lot of fun, and I have no doubt this year will be too!
So down to the painting station. Between now and Panzershriek, I have to get 10 models painted for my Beast Herds army, as I have decided to bring them back out with some minor tweaks to the list. I have also started to work on my Empire of Sonnstahl army, as it needs some loving, and after playing an EoS army at NiCon, its really made me want to have them ready to take to a tournament.
So that is where I am at, a lot of things coming up in the future, some coming to an end, and even more miniatures to paint!
So for now,
Peace!
It feels like ages since I sat down and seriously painted, yet it was only just over a week ago that I finally put down my paintbrush with a completed force ready for NiCon 2016. As I write this, I am looking at my painting station only 5 metres away and thinking I really should get some painting done, however I am nice and warmly wrapped up under blankets trying to defend myself from Winter's frost...
...but anyways. What has happened in the week since NiCon? And what is next?
Well, firstly, lets talk tournaments. I have just confirmed registration to Panzershriek in July, and will be playing in 9th Age. I am excited to get away to another tournament so soon, and to watch the 9th Age tournament scene grow!
We have also confirmed that WarBanner in October will be on the 8-9, and that its main event will be 9th Age!......
.......did you see the key word? Main event....that's right! This year's WarBanner is planned to be able to hold more then just one event. We currently have a high chance of having a Flames of War tournament there, and have a few other game systems we are trying to pull in! If you want to run an event at WarBanner, let me know! The more the merrier!
Regarding future NiCon's, the 2017 event will be held in Auckland, and I have been accepted to run 9th Age there. Furthermore, I managed to secure NiCon making its way to Napier in 2018!!! Yahoooo!
So that's tournaments, what about whats happening locally?
Firstly, we are bringing out T9A Tribal Warfare campaign to an early end, with next Tuesday being its final night. This is due to several reasons, inclusive of people wanting to try new things. The campaign met its goal of bringing players in and helping them learn, so I am happy.
With this in mind, and my impending move to Tauranga, we have decided to bring the Hawkes Bay Regional Championship for 2016 forward, and will begin it in just a few weeks. This will be a 1500pt 9th Age tournament list competition, and is a knock out event. Last year was a great lot of fun, and I have no doubt this year will be too!
So down to the painting station. Between now and Panzershriek, I have to get 10 models painted for my Beast Herds army, as I have decided to bring them back out with some minor tweaks to the list. I have also started to work on my Empire of Sonnstahl army, as it needs some loving, and after playing an EoS army at NiCon, its really made me want to have them ready to take to a tournament.
So that is where I am at, a lot of things coming up in the future, some coming to an end, and even more miniatures to paint!
So for now,
Peace!
Monday, 23 May 2016
Hobby Update May 2016 (Campaign, Paint, and Sleepless Nights)
It has been a crazy few weeks, and it is only getting more and more crazy!!!
As you know from my other blog posts, we have been running a 1500pt campaign for 9th Age over the past few months, and it has been going really well. However, today is the end of turn 4, and only one game out of the potential 15 have been played! With everyother turn sporting an average of 9 games played, this was a big drop. Why may you ask? Well, 4 out of 5 of us are off to NiCon 2016 to compete in the second NZ 9th Age tournament! Yahoo! Road trip time!!!!!! Because of this, many of us have been playing tournament prep games as we try to work out our lists. We are also taking a break for two weeks, to give everyone more time to focus on NiCon without trying to fit in campaign games too.
Because of this, I won't be doing a post for turn 4, but will add it as a joint blog post with turn 5 once we have completed that turn. But as a little spoiler, this is what the map looks like at the end of this turn.....
Peace!
As you know from my other blog posts, we have been running a 1500pt campaign for 9th Age over the past few months, and it has been going really well. However, today is the end of turn 4, and only one game out of the potential 15 have been played! With everyother turn sporting an average of 9 games played, this was a big drop. Why may you ask? Well, 4 out of 5 of us are off to NiCon 2016 to compete in the second NZ 9th Age tournament! Yahoo! Road trip time!!!!!! Because of this, many of us have been playing tournament prep games as we try to work out our lists. We are also taking a break for two weeks, to give everyone more time to focus on NiCon without trying to fit in campaign games too.
Because of this, I won't be doing a post for turn 4, but will add it as a joint blog post with turn 5 once we have completed that turn. But as a little spoiler, this is what the map looks like at the end of this turn.....
Tribal Warfare Campaign Map at the end of Turn Four
So, you may ask, how has only playing one campaign game and a handful of tournament prep games made the past few weeks extremely busy? Its quite simple really.
Three weeks ago there was very little to no paint on my Beast Herds army. Half of it wasn't even here yet and I was waiting for the orders to arrive. And with only two weeks from now until NiCon 2016, where my Beast Herds are making their tournament début, it has only given me five weeks to paint this 2500pt army from scratch! It has been a lot of very late nights followed by early morning rises to get to work, but progress has been made!
At this point, I have only 3 characters, a gortack, a jabberwock, 20 mongrel raiders and 8 charioteers to paint (the charioteers I need to finish converting too). That may seem like a lot, but in comparison to what I have already completed, it isn't.
I am yet to base any of these miniatures, as I am waiting until my display board for them is ready to base, and I will do it all in one go. I also need to make a lot of scratch built trees for the display and unit fillers, so there is a lot of things left to keep me busy!
Over the weekend of NiCon, I will keep a regular update on the PlagueBearers Facebook page of the team and their game results. You will be able to find this at:
And with that, I now must get back to my paint station, where I shall attempt to start the next series of models! I leave you now with photos of my progress, and what is left.
Peace!
An overview of it all
The unpainted section, minus a mage who is currently soaking in simply green
The painted side of the table..
My Centaur Chieftain, "Philly", sporting his almighty Impaler
The line up of Impact Hits, with three raiding chariots and one razortusk chariot
The Battle Standard
A horde of blood-thirsty Wildhorns
The Giants
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