Warmachine Bracket Final Four and [Spoiler] The Championship

The final four would all be good picks for my next army. As a consolation prize to the losers, I will start buying a few of their models to practice on while I paint the winner. There are two matches to resolve before the championship. Here is a look at round three:

Match #1 Gators v. Mercs
This is pretty tough call. Here are the advantages for Gators:
Close Combat. They are a dedicated close combat fighting force with some ambush options.
Cool Characters. I like all the warlocks, the Ironback Spitter, and Wrongeye.
Underdogs. I think most of the local guys would consider an all Gator force to be underpowered. This will force me to focus on good tactics.

And here are the advantages for Mercs:
Lots of Jacks. There is a wide variety of models for this army and can be fielded along other armies as well
Flexibility. Similar to the first, the army allows a wide range of play styles.

The Gators' main disadvantage is the small number of models available. Since the army I am making will be about 35 points, I will have to buy duplicate models or do some heavy converting.

The Mercs main disadvantage is that I just don't find them to be as cool as the Gators.

Win: Gators

Match #1 is Trollbloods v. Skorne
Here are my thoughts on the Trollbloods: They will be fun to paint and model. They have a wide range and can be done well in many different color schemes. They have a neat look and a variety of casters. I like the big Dire Trolls and would have to get several of them.

For the Skorne, they have a more limited color pallette, but a wider variety of creatures. The army has some nice "gotcha" abilities backed up with tough combat capability.

I have seen Skorne played, but not the Trollbloods. I have looked at both rulebooks and seen all the miniatures. The main advantage that Skorne has is in the variety of their warbeasts. Trolls will have to wait for another tournament. Win: Skorne.

And now, The Championship Match!

Sorry if this is short, but I have already listed my likes and dislikes ad nauseum. I would be happy with either of these armies, but right now Skorne just has a stronger stable of models. If Privateer releases a new Blackhide Wrastler in the next month or two I will probably change my mind, but what they have out now just can't beat all the stuff from Skorne. Plus, I love playing bad guys.

Win: Skorne!

Stay tuned for my next bracket, when I choose my first warlock...

Cheers,

Maniple

Warmachine Brackets Round 2

After yesterday's throwdown, 8 teams emerged victorious. This round will be a little tougher, since now many of my favorites are going to have to fall. Here are the current standings:

Gators v. Dwarves
Cygnar v. Mercs

and

Trollbloods v. Legion
Pirates v. Skorne

Match 1: Gators vs. Dwarves. This is a very tricky match. First let it be said that the old GW maxim is true "Dwarves are best." Over the years I have collected a lot of dwarves for various game systems and I even have a bunch of 40K Squats sitting on my painting bench. The Warmachine dwarves have a good look and look to be pretty tough, as is the norm with this race across all systems. I really like the Brun and Lug models, but none of the casters really trip my trigger. Also, the slow speed of the dwarves will really frustrate me over the course of a game. Access to lots of heavy Merc 'jacks is still pretty cool and their ability to shoot will be a benefit in the local metagame.
On the other hand, the gators have a lot going for them. I have never played an army of gatormen before and the idea is pretty appealing. I really like the look of some of the models and the warlocks especially. They have a variety of abilities from buff to debuff and area denial. I could also supplement the force with some Farrow (I think) if I wanted some variety. I don't yet have a dedicated close combat force and this one would be fun to play. The biggest weakness is in the selection of models. Privateer has been great about releasing lots of models pretty quickly, but I think the army still needs a few more to round out the heavies and the troops.
All in all I think the unique flavor of the Blindwater Congregation will win out. Win: Gators

Match 2: Cygnar v. Mercenaries
This one is actually pretty easy. Cygnar is well represented in our local gaming group and I can always borrow some models if I want to play them. Mercs are a bit more rare and they offer a lot of variety, allowing me to pick up units here and there and even use them alongside some other armies. Win: Mercs

Match 3: Trollbloods v. Legion
In the last round I listed my likes and dislikes of these two factions. Both have an interesting play style and are not present in our local community. I am going purely on looks for this one. While I like many of the Legion casters, some of the beasts leave me feeling a little "meh." On the other hand, the Trollbloods have a lot of character and  I think it would be fun to try and paint some tartan. Win: Trollbloods

Match 4: Pirates v. Skorne
It would be fun to do a Pirate army. I have tinkered with building some ships in the past for Warhammer and it would give me an excuse to make up some sweet dockside terrain. I like the idea of playing a swift raiding force with some unique abilities, although I already have that with one of my Cryx armies. The Skorne have a neat look, but I can't seem to get too excited about the warlocks. They have some sweet abilities, but I haven't found one I really like the looks of. On the other hand, I love all the different beasts that are available. The new heavy flying beast is particularly cool. Even if I never played a game with them, I wouldn't mind having a full collection of the beasts standing on a piece of terrain on my bookshelf. While I like some of the Pirate character models, the Skorne beasts are just too cool. Win: Skorne

Whew! There was some bloodshed behind the scenes on that round. Now we are down to the final four:

Gators v. Mercs

and

Trollbloods v. Skorne

Hordes has made a pretty good showing here, mainly because I already have several Warmachine armies and I want to branch out. In my next installment, I will resolve the final four and the championship.

-Maniple

Warmachine Brackets

One of my buddies has a bracketing system for determining his next Warmachine/Hordes faction. I asked him to put one together for me so I can start planning my next one. He sent me an extensive questionnaire on my play style, likes, and dislikes and compiled the results. What follows are my musings on his picks and my decision making process as I work through the bracket. Here we go.

Round One:
There should be some pretty easy picks here, as many of the factions I already own are here and can be eliminated swiftly.

The first match is between Dwarves and Farrow. I have played several games against Farrow and I like their play style. They have some nice combos and a they can be deadly. I have not played with or against any Dwarves, but they do have a wide selection of models that I like and I would have access to all the Mercenary warjacks, which are pretty sweet. The main benefit to playing the Dwarves is that I would be the only one with these units and it would be a good deal different from my other bands. My brother already has a ton of farrow, so I am going with the Dwarves on this match.

The second match is between Menoth and Cygnar. These are both pretty well represented among the local gaming community. I like Menoth's ability to thwart your plans and lay down lots of templates and flame. They have several casters I like and the rest of the line is pretty solid. This army seems to suffer a bit at range, but Warmachine is often decided in close combat anyway. Cygnar offers a different play style, with the ability to focus on range, close, or even combined arms. While all the major factions have plastic kits for their main warjacks, I feel that the Cygnar box truly gives you the ability to put together three very different 'jacks. The flexibility of Cygnar and their overall look will tip the balance in their favor. Win: Cygnar.

The third match is between Mercs and Circle. I love my Circle, but I already have this faction and the goal is to get something new. Win: Mercs.

The fourth match is a bye for Gators. They are heavily favored to win.

On the other side of the bracket we start with another bye for the Trollbloods. They have a pretty good shot as well, since I like their models. We will see.

The sixth match is between Retribution and Legion. This is a tough one. My brother has both of these factions as well and they both have a unique aesthetic. One of the things I like about Privateer is that they have broken out of some of the old fantasy tropes and created something new. Blind half-dragons and mecha-driving elves is not something we see a lot of outside of 40k. Both have a nice set of abilities and would be fun to play. Legion is going to push ahead here with its close combat punch and Lovecraftian imagery. Win: Legion.

The seventh match is between Pirates and Khador. Another easy one. I already have a bunch of Khador and the pirates are cool. Win: Pirates.

The final match is between Cryx and Skorne. I already have two Cryx armies. Win: Skorne.

So heading into round two we will have:

Gators v. Dwarves
Cygnar v. Mercs

and

Trollbloods v. Legion
Pirates v. Skorne

Tune in later for the thrilling results!

Painting 300 models in 3 months

"I hereby pledge that I will not buy anything else until I finish painting what I already have." Have you ever said this?

My goal this semester is to get several hundred models painted. I have a great number of things started, but very little finished. I spent the first week back at school organizing my collection, assembling all of my new stuff, and getting a coat of primer on them. One big victory I had was cleaning up my Gundrian Fuseliers.

They were one of the first armies I ever started, but I quickly stopped working on them for a variety of reasons. My initial collection was too small to make a platoon, the conversions were overly complex, and the color scheme I started with was ugly. With a fresh look at the army list, I fixed up some of their weapons and cleaned up the paint scheme. I chose something simple and took a day to finish them off. After a long day of painting, I had a fresh platoon and command squad. With them finished, it may be a while before I return to them with new units.


Secondly, I put some work into another set of conversions that my brother had started on some years ago. They were assembled under the previous guard codex where a unit could be given a doctrine that allowed them to be fielded with CCW and laspistol. As a result, they have a rather eclectic collection of wargear. I decided to consolidate the special weapons they did have into a veteran squad and several penal legion squads. Again I opted for a simple paint scheme and finished up the veteran squad in an afternoon.

Finally, I worked on some character models and completely finished a new Commisar Lord for my Cadians.

What next? Quite a bit. Here is the list that I will be working on over the coming months.

40K:
12 Cadian troopers
25 Vanirmen
18 Miscellaneous Marines
3 Sisters of Battle
40 Squats (Old School- thanks, Tyler)
1 Valkyrie
1Baneblade
1 Battlefleet Gothic Cruiser
A handful of characters and objectives

Dystopian Wars:
Brittania Land Fleet
Brittania Ship Fleet



Hordes:
Finish up my Warband
2 War wolves
3 Warpborn Skinwalkers
2 units of Shifting Stones with UA


Warmachine:
A bunch of Cryx troops
Cryx characters
Sorcha
2 'Jacks
3 Man-O-War
Man-O-War Drakhun


Malifaux:
Epic Teddy
Miss Demeanor
December Crew add-ons
Rezzer dogs
Hoffman Crew
Dead Justice Crew
Tons of Puppets

This works out to about 282 models, not counting the 44 done so far this semester. Can I do it? How well can I make them look in a hurry?

If I get these done to an acceptable standard, my next step will be to go back next semester and add another layer of detail. Stay tuned.

-Maniple

My 25 Point Circle of Orboros List

When I started my new army I took several steps before even buying the miniatures. The first thing I did was look at a lot of the available army books. Each army has its own theme and style. I knew I wanted a Hordes army since I already have a bunch of Warmachine guys. I settles on The Circle of Orboros, chiefly because I like the look of many of the models and the wolf theme went particularly well with my wardrobe (I own several T-shirts with wolves on them).

I like the idea of playing "sleeper" armies. These are armies that do not at first appear to be very effective. Usually they involve a new kind of tactic or fly in the face of what most other people are playing. It can be easy to just pick the caster who is biggest and baddest, but I love the moments when I pull out a win against a "top tier" opponent with a lightweight army. Theme is also important to me. The Circle army has lists that allow lots of constructs, lots of werewolves, and lots of ancient forest spirits. Cassius was my first pick for a warlock. Cassius is a druid that functions as the mouthpiece for Wurmwood, an ancient and blood-thirsty tree. I did some research online about his tactics. while many people agreed that he has some nice abilities, he can be hard to win with, does not play well for beginners, and would best function as a second caster in larger battles. Perfect!

To guard him I wanted some beasts that would offer defense and offense. For defense I went with a woldwarden. These guys have tons of wounds, high armor, and the ability to cast some of Cassius's spells. The Warpwolf Stalker can do a ton of damage, has reach with his sword, and can use his natural abilities to hit and run. My next pick was a group of Reeves. These guys are infantry models with crossbows. They can shoot through cover with no line of sight penalties and can die easily in order to fuel some of Wurmwood's abilities. Finally I went with The Lord of the Feast. He is a close-combat monster tooled up to destroy other units and can pose a threat to the opponent's backfield.

I purchased the models at a local gameshop that usually gives a nice discount. I bought all the models at once so that I could paint them all at the same time. When I got the models home I took them out of the packaging and cleaned them up. I used a razor blade (box-cutter) to scrape off any mold lines and a small file to smooth them down. I also washed them in the sink with some soap and water. This removes any chemical residue from the casting process. Before I glued the models together I did some work on thier bases. I used white glue and sand to give the bases some texture. I also set in some little squares of wood that would look like old paving stones when painted up. I wanted the group to look like they were advancing through some old ruins, long overgrown by the forest.

I used two different products to glue the models together. I have always found this to be the trickiest part of the process, especially when dealing with metal. I used super glue and 2-part epoxy. The super glue works fine if the part you are gluing is not heavy. I put glue on both services, making sure that the pieces were clean and flat where they joined. Then I sprayed them with some super glue accelerant (you can get this at the hobby shop). It sets immediately and makes a strong bond.

For the bigger, heavier parts, I used 2-part epoxy. The epoxy is stronger than super glue, but takes about 3-5 minutes to set firm. When I use epoxy I usually also pin the joint. To do this get a small hand drill called a "pin-vice," drill a hole in both parts, then use a small piece of wire to hold the two bits together. Along with the epoxy, this will form a bond that will not break easily.

Once all the pieces are together, glue them to their bases and get ready for the next step. Now it is time to prime. Various hobby companies make spray primer for your models. Get a nice can and take your models outside to paint them. Be sure to put your models in some sort of secure carrying tray before heading out. I can't tell you how many models have fallen to the ground while heading out to the patio. Be careful! Follow the directions on the can and give your models several light coats of paint. Let them dry between coats and turn them over so that you can reach all the parts of the model. Don't skimp on paint and try to keep out of the wind. Also, paint from the bottom of the can might give bad results. You may end up with the dreaded "Powder Paint" effect if you are not careful. Once you get back inside you can touch up any missed areas with watered-down black hobby paint.

In my next post I will go over some basic painting techniques. This is what my army looks like with just the base colors painted on. From here I will need to layer the paint, do some shading, and finish with a nice highlight.


Now get out and get going on your new army!


-Maniple

Hordesmachine Tournament List

Our group is trying to get a few new players in the game. We have started a little competiton in order to get them up to speed as quickly as possible. A player can bring any faction from Warmachine or Hordes, building a legal 25 point (plus caster allowance) list. Here are the ways you earn tournament points (75 possible):

Army List. 25 Points possible

• 5 points for bringing a Caster or Warlock
• 5 points for bringing at least 1 Heavy Jack or Heavy Warbeast
• 5 points for bringing at least one Unit of Troops
• 5 points for bringing at least one Solo
• 5 points if you stick to your caster's tier list

Painting: 25 points possible

• 5 points if all models are primed
• 5 points if all models have some kind of decorated base.
• 5 points if all models have three colors on them (primer does not count)
• 5 points if all models have some degree of highlighting or shading
• 5/3/1 points for the top three tournament favorites as voted on by the players.

5 Tournament Games: 25 points max.

• 5 points for a Win
• 3 points for a Draw
• 1 point for a Loss

If you show up with a painted, tier friendly army and at least draw all your games you will earn 60 points. Win a few and get some extra painting points for the win! Here are my final thoughts:

• Army size is limited to 25 points plus caster bonus.
• Max points you can earn in the tourney is 75.
• Everyone who pitches in $15 to the prize pool will be eligible for prizes.
• Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place These will probably be gift certificates to a hobby store.