Lip Beating - Severius hammers Thagrosh

Where I live the loser of a fight is often described as having "the lips beat off of them". This happened on Saturday night when Kenoth of Menoth brought a dead hard 50 point nSeverius list to the throwdown in St. John's.

His list had 5 jacks (Reckoner, Crusader, 2 x Revengers, and a Repenter) along with full units of Choir, Cleansers and Knights Exemplar, and the usual Menothian suspects.

I had 2 Carniveans, a Seraph, a Nephilim Protector, a Harrier and a Shredder, along with full Legionaires, 3 Warmongers and the War Chief, and 2 Shepherds.

We played ten minute turns. I won the roll off, and it had been so long since that had happened that I had forgotten how to play first, so I passed the first turn to Ken.

What I Did Wrong

Poorly Deployment

My deployment, the supposed reason I went second, was not good. I placed the Legionaires opposite the Knights (and a Paladin of the Wall). This was not the right thing to do. What I should have done was either deploy the Warmongers opposite these laddies of Menoth, or else I should have led everything with the Legionaires with the Warmongers behind them and opposite the Knights as a counter-charge unit. The Knights were a big problem for me and I had to deal with them properly ab initio.

Tactica Idiotas

My tactics were poor. This was displayed in my poor deployment, of course, but also in my decision-making during the game. On my second turn I slammed one Carnivean into a Revenger and Reckoner, knocking both down, and then charged the second Carnivean into the Reckoner after Slipstreaming it. Notionally, there is nothing too, too wrong with this, and neither was vulnerable to charging Knights on Ken's next turn (though there was a Crusader to think about), but throwing both of my heavy hitters into the maws of the enemy was perhaps not so wise. There is no magic to knocking things down any more unless there is a game-changing shooting attack to follow and, as it turned out, I nerfed the Carni's charge damage roll on the Reckoner anyways (I rolled a 1 and a 2 and didn't even bother with the third dice). By the end of Ken's following turn both Carniveans were dead. I got one back on the feat, but it was still very poorly done on my part. Interestingly, I had to actually back both Carniveans into the melees, arse first, which unerringly displayed in a figurative sense the position that I had put both of them, and myself, in with this grand, suicidal gesture.

Emotional Barbeque

I played this game standing up. I need to sit down when I play. I have way more fun and success that way. My dice rolling was absymal. The truth is I have to boost - not to make a 7, but to make a 5. My dice rolling is so crappy that for it to even out I would need to roll 5's and 6's for about the next 107 years, and that's just not going to happen. But I know all this, and my style has evolved over time, subconsciously I think, to take this into account. Here, I got into a fey mood during the game, after rolling shite dice for three rounds straight, so that in the end I just got a little moody, and when I missed my attack roll when charging the Repenter with my Seraph I started to lose interest in the contest. My final play of the game involved rolling a 3 on a Mutagenesis onto a Choirboy (I needed a 5) and I conceded. There is no need of this. I painted 4 Legionaires and a Protector for this game. I have always known that 1) you have to be good to be lucky, and 2) you have to laugh in the face of bad dice. I wasn't good, and so I wasn't lucky. And when I got unlucky, I forgot to laugh and to just have fun and think on how lucky I am to be able to have a game of Hordes every couple of weeks. I'll have to think on this.

Time Mismanagement

I knew I was going to have problems with time when I used all but 1:45 on the first round. I mean, this is not a hugely complex list. Every turn that followed saw me missing the play of a number of models. I missed a Vengeance attack with my Legionaires, and I missed their regular move altogether in the same, or another, turn. I think I played 1 Shepherd once in the last three turns of the game, and I think I played each of the Harrier and the Protector once only as well. Now this is something that I can fix with practice and, probably, with some list management. But it has to be said that I used to be better able to play Hardcore at 750 points with 7 minute turns than I was on Saturday night past at 50 points using 10 minute turns. I think I am getting old. Maybe I need to start at 12 minute turns and then work down from there.

What Ken Did Right

Ken was a fell opponent playing a dead hard list. So, an experienced foe using, with craft, a combination of Eye of Menoth + Choir + Jacks + Ashes to Ashes + dice rolling which invariably succeeded and, more often than not, succeeded with a plentitude of dice in the 4-6 range = a hammering to remember.

El Conclusion

I want a rematch! And, I need to play an army that requires me to roll 4's, not 5's.
I don't care what the faction is. Any suggestions?

Gaming Progress

Von Moltke the Elder said that no plan will survive first contact with the enemy. And so it was. After initially playing 2 or 3 games with Menoth lists (nSeverius and Vindictus), and making the usual renewbie mistakes that have to be expected with a return after long absence to Warmahordes, I decided to play on the more familiar ground of my nThagrosh Legion list.

Successes, albeit successes still riddled with inexcusable errors, have followed with victories in my last three games, one against a 35 point Rhyas list, and two others against the High Reclaimer at 35 and 50 points.

My 35 point list is essentially as follows:

nThagrosh
Carnivean
Seraph
Shredders(x2)
Harrier
Legionaires(x6)
Warmongers(x3)
Warmonger War Chief
Forsaken
Shepherd

My 50 point list grows from that. I added a Carnivean and a Shepherd for the game and thought I had 50 points. Actually it turned out I had 43 points, as I had dropped one Shredder (which brings up the topic, for another time, about playing with point differentials). Let's just say that I get mathematically challenged when tired and rushing through the set up phase.

Anyways, to bring it up to 50 points I will either add a Nephilim Protector or 4 more Legionaires and 2 more Warmongers. All of these miniatures are on the painting table and only the 2 extra Warmongers are in any danger of not being completed this week. I will post pictures in the next few days.

Other thoughts occur to me. The Forsaken remains a profoundly psychological wargaming piece. It attracts significant enemy attention - i.e. focus and fury - and, because of that, it does not often get an effective Blight Shroud attack. Against the High Reclaimer Ashes to Ashes is the death of it. I did keep it back a bit in the Rhyas game and it removed a Raptor with boosted attack and damage rolls, so that is a consideration. But I could have done so much more if I had played it closer to the warbeast/lock scrum in that contest. Otherwise, while 2 Shredders are often said to be better than one, with nThaggie I wonder.

The other gaming I have been doing involves introducing a friendissima to Hordes. This has involved 4 battlebox games, with her playing Lylyth (which I have now painted for her) and associates, and my playing the Morghoul box. A rewarding experience it has been. It is amazing how much one can learn, or confirm, teaching the game to another, and I have grown very keen to play Morghoul again after, maybe, 4-5 years on my various shelves. Of course, I have lost every game, and that is as it should be.

In the last game I wanted to Trample into the Carnivean with my Gladiator as a Shredder was in the way, but my friend entreated me to advise her what to do, having picked up a gleam of wickedness in my eyes I suppose. I had to tell her to move one of her other Shredders into a position in front of the Carnivean that resulted in ending my proposed Trample short of the Carni. We did go through the whys and wherefores of it all, so the next time I shall show no mercy, though no doubt I'll still lose.

I highly recommend teaching the game. People often say that those that can not do, teach, but I think teaching helps with doing. Or something like that.

Painted Khador Army for sale - The Butcher of Khardov

Fullt painted and based Khador army:

Butcher of Khardov
Kodiak
Beserker
Beserker
Uhlans x 3
Greylord Ternion
Iron Fang Pikemen x 10
Iron Fang Pikemen Unit Attachment
Man of War Shocktroopers x 5
Eiryss, Mage Hunter

Here is the Butcher in all his glory:


Here is the full army side on (crappy photo):


Here is the Butcher showing his jacks off:


Here are the Uhlans:



Hre is the Greylord Ternion:


Here are the Iron Fang Pikemen:



So, 47 points, fully painted:

Price at the Warstore for the lot: US$293.00.

The painting of much of this army is excellent (i.e. the Butcher, Kodiak, 3 MOW ST, 6 IFP + UA, Greylord Ternion, Uhlans) painted by Verdigris Zombie on the PP forums. I painted the rest in imitation of the VZ's work, and my stuff only misses his by maybe 5%.

I'll take US$320.00 plus shipping at cost for the lot.

Keir



I'll take

Back from the Desert: Khador action on the road again

I've been completely preoccupied with work for the last month and a half. It's one of those once in a career things, where everything else has to take seat on the side, if not the back. Wargaming ended up in the back. That said, I have wargamed on a couple of occasions in October. The first time I played a Haley army against a Morghoul led Skorne force run by Ken B. (commonly referred to as Kenoth of Menoth or, when playing Puerto Rico, Cornholio). There were no pictures taken but it was one of those games you always remember, filled with courage and event.

The second night of wargaming hapened a weekend later. I played two games, one against the Skorne of Kenoth again (this time with my Vlad list) and then a game between my Butcher list and Jordin's Vayl warband.

In the game against the Skorne I forgot everything I had learned in Haley's triumph of the week before. As well, I am growing increasingly disenchanted with Vlad the Dark Prince in this edition of the game. I actually can't figure out why, but I really like both the Butcher and Sorscha, and I want to return to the Old Witch. Anyways, here is most of my army in deployment (the Widowmakers are on the right flank - a misdeployment as it turned out).


This shows the Skorne force (except for only one merc solo) heading to my left flank, and it wasn't to get away from my snipers).


This is close to the endgame. Basically I ended up feeding my army into a choke point and, quite frankly, that's not my kind of game and it's not my kind of army. If I had IFP or MOW Shocktroopers on the table this kind of attrition battle in a bottleneck would be feasible, I suppose, but I was off my game, I had a thrown together force, and I played like el stupido. I conceded the game to stop the misery for both of us.


My second game was against Vayl. I'd never played against her before (or with her, for that matter). Jordin is a very capable opponent and has played a lot of games with Vayl, but as it turned out he just wasn't aware of the sheer brutality possible with a Butcher led, jack heavy, full throttled, blood frenzied Khador army. Basically I just moved towards him, waiting for him to come into range, and suffered away along the wait. On his first turn he had his Raptors engaging most of my Widowmakers (they were thus done for) and on his second he killed my Manhunter with the Angelius' shooting attack. But in the end, I still had the core of my force, and on the Butcher's feat turn on the first hit with Lola on the Typhon I did 40 points of damage (i.e. 23) and it died as I had damaged it previously with the Wardog. Vayl was dispatched by the Great Bears soon after that. Even then I missed with either 3 or 4 of the Great Bears' six attacks. My rolling had been subpar for the entire night, but you can't blame the dice. Here are the pictures (he had Vayl, Typhon, an Angelius, a Seraph, two Shredders, 3 Raptors and a Foresaken, I had what you see plus the Manhunter (the Widowmaker Marksman is with his cadre and died with them quite nicely). I have to say I learned how to play the Raptors from Jordin, and thanks for that, man.

Painting for Khador - Harlan Versh and his Trusty Rocketeer

Here is the Illuminated One and his trusty sidekick. I just finished these tonight. Harlan Versh is going to be my go-to merc solo for a good while, and I'm going to play a Winterguard army for the next year or so.

Front view:

Rear View:

Painting Khador - Kovnik Joe

I just finished this fellow. My inspiration to add him to my army was Mr. Flanzer's win at GenCon. Paints are GW Foundations, old Citadel metals, Reaper Clear Red, and a few other odds and socks. I have a full painted and based Winterguard unit + UA + 2 Rocketeers. I have one more Rocketeer to finish. I'll spray the entire unit with Testor's Dullcote then, and post a picture of them with the mortars and field gun.

Well, you know Dad, plans can't fight.

So earlier this evening I'm playing a game of Warmachine against Patrick, who will be five next month, and he's just feated with Vlad to move his jacks (Behemoth, Destroyer and Juggernaut) into my grill on his first turn, and I realize that with Engine of Destruction I can charge with Feora, and I decide not to, instead muttering something about my plan for eventual world domination, and Patrick, hearing this, says to me: "Well, you know Dad, plans can't fight." And I stand, amazed, at hearing von Moltke issuing from the tabula rasa of the mind of my 4 year old boy.


By the way, I have to play Feora now as my Kreoss suffered from the fury of Patrick, or to put it as von Moltke would have, "No miniature with rules that upset a young Khardic lad will long survive the first encounter with the boy's main strength."

GenCon Report

So, my plane arrives in Indianapolis at 8:20 AM Central time, Thursday, August 5th, 2010. I am a vegetable, but one capable of panic. I make it to the Convention Center directly from the airport in a taxicab by 9:15. I pick up my badge and ticket package from Will Call after another line up and then try to find the Privateer Press tournament (which has moved from the Wabash).

I find it in time to register and play Rite of Passage. My first game is against Orboros. This picture was taken before the start of my first turn. My army looked nice. I lost. I can't remember why.



This is towards the end of my second game. What fun we had in this game; I was throwing his Thunderhead about (I missed Nemo with it! Gah!) and he was frying me up pretty well.


This is after the first round of the third game. I thought it was sick that I had to play the very winged Legion list I sort of picked Legion in order not to play. It's kind of like circumcision...you're awake and it hurts a lot. Most of his models were somewhat painted.


In this game I lost to a man wearing a kilt. This has happened to men all over the world for many centuries, Highlanders being what they are. There were a few kilts at GenCon this year. No tartan though.


This is the crowd before one of the many doors into the exhibit hall on Friday morning. The picture doesn't do the scene justice.


I have to get one of these forts for the boys. Fantastic. By Conte.


Okay, now we are into the serious worship of minis. Dark Age had their booth with Cool Mini or Not. I think the latter now owns the former. Anyways, these are the Dragyri, which I quite like. I picked some up and am modeling them as I load these photos. We played a test game. A truly excellent small scale skirmish game. Very good mechanics. Nice. I'm in. Totally.


Ah, Kenoth of Menoth loves the Skarrd.


These are the Brood. Yum. We saw the new rule book (sans colour). Excellent looking. I can't wait.


So, Cool Mini or Not also are now producing Gamezone in North America. This is one of the Dark Elven figures. Jaw dropping.


As is this fellow. I have this figure.


And I have this Sandra Garrity sculpt, of a miniature formerly of the now defunct Magnificent Egos line, which Cool Mini or Not appears to possibly own as well. I have to paint this.


This is an original Cool Mini or Not release for Gen Con. It was worth every bit of the $70 they wanted, but I had to eat. And I already had my $70 miniature for the convention, Lord Chompy Bits and Nightmare (see below). By the way, this eagle is huge; that's a 28mm elven figure on its back.


Now this is a new release for Hell Dorado, which is now owned by Cipher Studios. We couldn't get a demo of Hell Dorado despite three visits to the Cipher Studios booth. This figure is called Augustinius Raimond, and I had determined to pick it up before the convention. I looked at it twice or three times in its blister and I thought the detail was soft and the cuts shallow. I didn't buy it.


This is my first Iron Arena game on Friday, against Quinton P. In this first picture my army is approaching the ball of metal death. He shoots my Carnivean to the right, but it has the spell Unnatural Aggression on it.


Here is the result. I was able to advance 6' in my maintenance phase with said Carnivean and charge Karchev. I feated but the winds of stupidity blew into my cranium and I did not cast Manifest Destiny. Karchev had three points left after all was said and done, and I died. Quinton was a good guy.


This is another Iron Arena game on Friday. In this first picture I am in the bunker with most of my army (the deployment rules meant large base models had to start inside). Approaching is a double pronged assault of Khadoran fury.


Here is the picture when I spew out of my hive. This game was another I lost in my assassination run, this time leaving two points on the Butcher. Fun stuff, great table.


Now this picture and the one following are of one of the best wargames I have ever had the pleasure to engage in. Myself and my buddy missed Hardcore on Saturday morning. We were each eating a very fine omellette when it started by my calculations. Never the mind, we decided to play on this exquisite railroad table instead. What a game.


Here is the view from the position of the black robes. Funny, I travelled three thousand miles to play a game against my buddy.



Here is Lord Chompy Bits riding Nightmare. Oh my God, this creation of Wyrd Miniatures for their Malifaux game has to be one of the best miniatures I have ever seen. I am going to convert him into a Khadoran caster for my son. His Feat will be Tantrum, when he will create Nightmare.


Here is the young master, sans Nightmare.


Another view of Nightmare.


And another.


And one final view, complete with a fanatic onlooker.


This is a Wendigo Yeti from Crocodile Games. Superb.


More of the Wendigo. What a painting job. Fine sculpts.


The new Skorne Nihilators from Privateer Press. They actually look better than this.


The new Legion Nephilim Bolt Thrower. Cool paint job.


The new Legion Ravagore. I saw the card. Cool, but I still prefer my Carniveans.


The new Cicle Warpborn Skinwalkers. Nice. And the fellow in the front is another new release, some kind of stoneskin phallus or other if I recall correctly.


The new Skorne Warlock, Dominar Rasheth. My buddy picked up the Skorne army book. Cool warlock.


The new Skorne Ancestral Guardian character solo Hakaar.


The new Skorne Warbeast Titan Sentry. It's contained in Hordes Primal MK II.


The new Skorne Extreme Titan Gladiator warbeast. Huge. Probably unplayable. Marvellous paintjob.


Cryx Warcaster Lich Lord Venethrax. This is long released but I really like the sculpt (very imposing figure) and the painting job.


New Cryx character jack (add-ons for standard Reaper Warjack build).


New Cygnar character jack.


New Khador character jack.


New Menoth character jack.


Cool terrain from Acheson Creations. This would make a great Menoth fort said Kenoth of Menoth. I could only agree, on fear of immolation.


This year I looked at the artist's section in the exhibit hall. I was very impressed, so impressed that I posed for my portrait. It's a reasonable likeness, probably a little understated. And my teddy bear doesn't have a smile.


This piece won the painter's award. I could see it. (Ha Ha).


Kenoth tries for yet another dimension. There's simply no point talking to him, he will not join the real world.


Ex Illis figure. This shows that their plastics can be quite excellent if modelled and painted properly.


This Ex Illis monks are very cool.


The detail on the wings of these Ex Illis angelic warrior types has to be seen to be believed. These sold out almost immediately on Thursday.


This monster works in Ex Illis because their system doesn't rely on basing of individual models. Great price too, less than $50.00.


Here is another one.


Here is my vote for the army of the convention. What a great paintjob, and he was just there playing pick-up games of WFB. Notice the Max Mini helmets on the unit in the front closest to my camera.


There were some nice touches to the army. Here, on the top of the pillar, we see two depraved demonettes (that's redundant) in an embrace.


Here the Lord rides two pony girls.


Here is the pole dancing demonette on the army standard. However, leaving aside these little details, the painting was just amazing. What an achievement.


So here is the last thing I did at GenCon, which was to watch the Privateer Press championship. This is the deployment of the armies, Khador with nSorshca on the left and Cryx with eGoreshade on the right.



The Khador player won with the following 35 point list.

nSorscha
War Dog
Behemoth warjack
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Winterguard Infantry (10)
2 Winterguard Infantry Rocketeers
Winterguard Unit Attachment
Kovnik Joe
Koldun Lord
nEiryss
Widowmaker Marksman
Manhunter

Which just goes to show that it's not the list, it's the player.