Khador Update & Last Post of 2009

I've been given a painted War Dog for Xmas from my good friend Ken and show it here with a Devastator I've just finished (for the second time). First, the War Dog. Ken gave three of his friends painted miniatures this year. If you visit Geektactica you will see a Viktor Pendrake he painted up for Jason and an Epic Deneghra he painted for Mark. These are all princely gifts and I will be using mine faithfully henceforth, including at GenCon in August, 2010, God willing. The pictures show Ken's craft well. Thanks Ken. You're a hard act to follow.

About the Devastator, a combination of a Testors Dullcote failure and a fall from a 4 foot ledge created a perfect storm for this miniature. I didn't strip it. I probably should have, but I thought that 10 - 15 coats of diluted red along with some coats of Reaper Clear Red would fix the painting. To an extent it has. To an extent it hasn't. It is alright fine, as my Nanny used to say. I'm done with it.


The latest iteration of my Vlad list follows below. I have probably two or three gaming days between now and GenCon. That's just the way it is for me living in the wargaming boonies as I do. I'm assuming Hardcore at GenCon will be at the 35 point level.

Army Points: 35

Name Cost
Vladimir Tzepesci, Dark Prince of Umbrey -5
War Dog 1
Drago 8
Juggernaut 7
Destroyer 9
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios 3
Battle Mechaniks (Full) 3
Great Bears of Gallowswood 5
Widowmakers 4

I'm finishing Drago now, have started to build my extreme Jugger, and await the arrival of the extreme Destroyer from Washington state (which is why I am going with those two jacks in my list to accompany Drago).

My number one resolution for 2010 is to buy no miniature this year! This will be a first for me since I started this hobby in June of 1996. As a matter of fact, I ordered my final miniature of 2009 late last night with a purchase of the new Skarre 2009 sculpt from Privateer Press. I call that going out on a high note!

Happy New Year!

Khador Victrix!

This weekend I travelled 700 kilometers, mainly amidst darkness, rain, fog and assorted incidents of misery and terror, to attend a 6 player tournament in St. John's. Of course, this sort of journey makes perfect sense to any wargamer.

My list was as follows:

Vlad the Dark Prince of Umbrey
Juggernaut
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Man of War Drakhun without dismount
Man of War Kovnik
Man of War Kovnik
Kayazy Assassins (6)
Assassin Underboss
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Meckaniks (4)
Manhunter

My pictures were not amongst my finer efforts of that kind. The first three below show Vlad's struggle with Asphyxious after two rounds of battle. Note in particular the placement of both Asphyxious and the Drakhun. In the third turn, Asphyxious came out and triggered the countercharge. But I whiffed on the damage roll and only did 13 points of damage on him.


In this picture you will notice the Widowmakers on the edge of the woods at the top. They have just taken out the only Cryx arc node on straight damage rolls with the help of Vlad's Signs and Portents. This was to severely limit the Cryx ability to interfere with the Khadoran plans. At 6 points each for the BoneJacks under Mark II the field has certainly changed for Cryx players. I would still think two of them are going to be required for casters like Gaspy, Dennie, the Coven and Skarre but that's just my opinion. The Widowmakers and Eyriss are always going to be able to lay the hurt on Cryx arcing from now on.



In this picture Vlad has charged up (using Boundless Charge) to get some cover from the BoneJack which had just run at the Widowmakers. As it turned out Vlad's impact on the battle was over.
This is where the battle was decided. The Assassins have lost stealth in Mark II so they need either cover or low MAT enemies to safely move across the battlefield into their threat range. A unit of Mechanithralls is perfectly suited for such a role. At MAT 4, they can only hit Assassins in melee on a roll of 12 (unless somehow aided by spells or other abilities). I believe the Cryx player rolled either 14 or 16 attacks here and missed every one.
Then, Asphyxious moved up, feated, killed 3 warriors, and then teleported back behind the Mechanithralls to get some healing from the NecroSurgeon. Then, the Assassin Underboss did his Killstrike mini-feat. Asphyxious died. Marc is a fell Cryx player. All I can say for sure is that nothing I did in this game will ever work against him again. Ever.

This is the second game against a Cygnar force led by Captain Stryker. In this picture both of my Kovniks have just been knocked down.

Practically speaking, the scenario conditions required that I destroy these two Cygnar jacks in the third round of the battle, as that would give me control of the 10" diameter area - surrounding the medal on the table - that they were located in.
The destruction of the two jacks is accomplished by Vlad's Signs and Portents used to buff shooting attacks from the Kovniks and melee attacks from the Great Bears, the Assassins, and the Juggernaut.
The final game was against a Trollblood force led by Madrak. The first two shots are views of the battlefield after turn 1. Madrak had a Mauler, an Axer, and a Pyre Troll. There was a unit of Champions, a Fell Caller, a unit of Pygs, and that particularly annoying solo - the Totem Hunter - that always ends up taking a few of my heads.


Now, this shot shows the location where, effectively, the battle was decided. I charged the Drakhun onto the Mauler. Basically, the Drakhun was killed by the Mauler and Madrak, who jumped over the wall to get at it. This allowed Vlad to use Boundless Charge and charge Madrak with 5 focus to spare. Madrak had only one fury, and thus with his scroll could only tranfer one lot of damage and ignore one lot. Before charging him I took a point off of him with a sniper shot, and I think 2-3 points with an AxeCannon shot from one of my Kovniks. I killed him on my last attack.

This is Vlad after Madrak's body was hauled off by his trusty Mauler. (In other words I screwed up the photo of the pivotal engagement.)
These are the rankings after the tournament. A win on Scenario condition got 1 point, a caster kill was worth 1, and VPs were calculated in the event of a tie. I had 4 points, from meeting 2 Scenario conditions plus 2 caster kills, in three games.


Thoughts on the Day

Vlad has been modified quite significantly in MK II, possibly more than most other Warcasters. His feat is restricted now to jacks in his battlegroup, rendering jack marshalling a non-issue for him. His Signs and Portents and Blood of Kings are both up to 4 points, making it impossible for him to cast both in the same turn. However, he can now cast Boundless Charge on himself during his activation. This is a huge benefit. I really liked Vlad before and I like him even better now. It's easy to complain that he's been nerfed, but I think he's as powerful as he could be while retaining game balance. Signs and Portents is one of the most powerful spells in the game. When cast to assist shooting and melee attacks from 3-4 units there is very little that can survive the onslaught that follows.

Kayazy Assassins

How do you say Awesome! in Khardic? This unit killed Asphyxious in game one, helped kill an Ironclad in Game two, and killed a Totem Hunter and a Fell Caller in game three, before mixing it up with the Champions until the big boys showed up. The Underboss is a must-have. Losing Stealth appears to be a drag but at Defence 14/Defence 16 to melee attacks the trick is to use the enemy units as cover.

Great Bears of Gallowswood

OMFG! These guys are giant killers. I will never play a Khador force without them again. They killed 3 out of 5 Troll Champions in one turn. Three Axe attacks finished off an Ironclad after it lost some points to a couple of AxeCannon shots and two Assassins. They have Tough. They can't be knocked down if Kolsk is still alive. They have 360 degree vision if Yaroslav is alive. Volkov gives them a charge with Pathfinder. They are death incarnate. I love them.

Man of War Drakhun

The Drak has lost the multiple attacks (Flying Steel). That said, his Dismount only costs 1 point. That's the best deal a Khador player can get. I didn't have a dismount this time. Doh! That will not happen again. I think it's a must have unit for my style of play. It's not for everyone, but it attracts way more attention than it deserves, and it deserves a shagging lot of attention.

Greylord Ternion

The Blizzard spell was woeful for me all day, and in my game aginst JET's Caine list later that night I cast Blizzard twice on Vlad and both attempts missed as I rolled over 7 on each. While typical for that whole day, it didn't matter much earlier. It cost me the game against Caine. I'm not convinced these guys are first-stringers for me anymore. I think Ice Cage is still a very powerful spell that could well make them worth their points, but I just can't get them up the table fast enough to use it. I think I'm going to try the Koldun Lord instead of these guys. Okay, I/we was/were wrong about how the Ternion works in MK II. The Blizzards work automatically. This changes the landscape significantly for this unit. While pricey, the ability to automatically gain another +2 DEF against shooting attacks for Khador models trying to come to grips with the enemy makes this unit very attractive. The only issue then is simply keeping up with the models sought to be protected.

Widowmakers

Still a must-have unit. With Signs and Portents you could well disable an aggressively played arc node on turn two every time. I can't see playing without them.

Man of War Kovnik

I really love these guys. I like to play with two. They are like offensive linemen. Most people don't notice them but they keep the QB from getting sacked and, occasionally, they get the big play in.

Meckaniks

I won't be taking these guys again. My list doesn't really need support the way I play it and I won't be jack marshalling again with Vlad given the change to Forced March.

Manhunter

I still haven't figured out how to play this guy properly. This is after 4 years of trying. I think I'm going to look at another option.

Juggernaut

Great jack. I didn't get one critical with it all day, which was a bit of a drag, and I have decided to finish painting up Drago for this list.

Postscript

My final game that night at JET's house against his Lieutenant Caine list. This is a picture of the Cygnar battleline. A good game that I lost to a good man.

X Carpasia - Painted Gripping Beast EIR

This unit is the latest addition to my Early Imperial Roman army. I purchased these figures in 2002 I think. I have a long painting cue. The shield transfers are by Little Big Man Studios and are of the usual amazing character. I like this centurion pose. All of the soldiers in this veteran legion are wearing mail. Here is the complete unit of 24. In behind is a GB sculpt of a dismounted Caesar instructing a Foundry sculpt of a Primus Pila.

New Project-Oldest Minis; Airfix 1/32 WW2 Germans

These are amongst the first miniatures I ever had. Alright, they are toy soldiers. I found them, and a horde of their fellows, after they had been in storage for over 20 years. These are Airfix 1/32 Germans. I bought them in Drogheda, Ireland in 1973. I've got a couple of young boys now, and I thought I'd paint these up for them. I didn't take the mold lines off, and the painting is basic black undercoat, one coat of colour, a coat or two of Future over that, all followed by a coat of brush-on matt varnish. I like them.
These are the entire horde of plastic toy soldiers, including the ones since painted in the picture above (the Germans are blue). You can see a Timpo Crusader footman on the top. There is a Timpo horse, sans barding, visible there as well, and there are many more Timpos below the surface. I purchased those one at a time in London, England in the year 1969. My father used to take me down to a toy-store/newsagent on England's Lane, Camben Town, early every Saturday morning and I'd get one knight and my brother would choose a Beano or some other comic of the time. Fine memories. I had to clean these. The smell of them was appalling, unwashed as they were for near 40 years.

October Painting Projects - Khador, Cryx and EIR

This latest addition to my Khador force is a unit of elite Empress Guard Shocktroopers. I'm just making that up naturally, but the idea is that I'll join these with Beast 09 and some other elite jacks, solos and troops under the command of eIrusk. The red connects these to the rest of my Khador force, while the light green denotes their excellence.

These Mechanithralls are my first painting project for my newest Warmachine army, the dreaded forces of Cryx. Next is a Seether.

Finally, a unit of 12 Early Imperial Roman cataphracts based for Warhammer Ancient battles. The figures are by Wargames Foundry. The kontos are from Gripping Beast and may well be an OOP code now. I did ask that they be cast for me probably about 4-5 years ago. The Beastie boys have always been good like that.

MKII Khador Update

This is one of those guilty WIP posts. The last 4 weeks have been the busiest of my career, which is not quite what I had in mind when I moved jobs in an attempt to try and get my life in balance with my work. I have been attempting, fitfully, to spend a little time at the hobby, directed towards my MK II Vlad list for GenCon 2010.

Plan A for that list involves Drago. I had to rebuild this model due to my initial poor planning on the fit. Again. It's a sweet miniature.

Plan B is a Beserker, one of two I'm going to need. The other is coming from BrookHurst Hobbies in the next week or so.

This isn't Plan C. I'm painting these MOW Shocktroopers because I like them and I had planned (in the MKI days) to do an eIrusk MOW list. These will be finished in the same scheme as Beast-09, so I'll be raising the green up quite a bit.

As for the GenCon MK II list, it will be Vlad, Drago and a Wardog, a MOW Kovnik with 2 Beserkers, and a Koldun Lord with 2 Juggernauts. This assumes that 35 point lists will be the level set by PP for HardCore at GenCon.

As for Vlad, I fully understand why PP changed him, raising the costs of casting both Blood of Kings and Signs and Portents to 4 focus each. It has to do with his feat and how well he runs jacks, which in MK II means he's much more of a go-to guy for Khador - and threat against everyone else - than he was in MK I.

I also appreciate PP making available the final MK II rules and card stats as free downloads. Thanks.

To war! To war!

Space Hulk!

There is so little happening from a hobby perspective in my life right now, leaving aside the usual imaginings of any committed wargamer, that I have just got to post last night's introduction to GW's latest regurgitation, the 3rd edition of Space Hulk. In short, nice components, nice gaming miniatures, and simple rules which I learnt the essentials of in about 3 minutes.

The first mission in the rules provided in the box is Suicide Run. A Space Marine terminator squad has to destroy a control room to prevent the Tyranid genestealers on the space hulk from exiting it via functioning lifeboats located on same that are controlled from that room. The room can only be destroyed by the flamer armed terminator. The Marine player has to accomplish this or fail. Killing the flamer dude is a win for the tyranid player.

This first picture shows the gameboard after turn 2. There are four genestealer blip markers on the board, one being hidden behind the door at 12:00 o'clock. The Terminator sergeant is leading the way. He is dead hard, but genestealers are dangerous critters in their own right. The rearmost terminator is on overwatch to deal with trouble from behind, the worst kind.In the next picture, the stealers are revealed. The tyranid player did not move blip markers again for the rest of the mission.
In this next picture you will note the absence of the Sergeant. Yes, torn to little pieces after his pistol jammed. One of the great risks for a Marine player is a jammed storm bolter on overwatch as it does lead to unpleasantness. One of the main effects of the death of the Sergeant was to expose his companion bearing the Flamer to unwanted attentions as can be seen below.
The Flamer Marine was able to ward off the genestealers for a while, but on his last firing he was unable to kill the closest of three genestealers he shot at (he rolled a 1 on his to wound roll) which allowed the confrontation below to occur. Genestealers get three attack dice againt the one attack back of this particular Marine. Victory to the Cult!


Final thoughts: this is a very well produced game. It has to be said that this particular mission was not particularly riveting from a gaming perspective. As well, I am in my 5th decade on this planet and I did not play first edition Space Hulk back in the day (25 or so years ago). So I don't have the nostalgia that playing it in my late teens/early twenties would bring to the table today, and I guess it just wasn't that exciting from a gaming perspective. I don't mean to damn it with faint praise. I'll pick the game up if there are any copies left in the MSRP range and it's not too much trouble, but if I can't get it I won't lose any sleep. I am going to paint up a couple of squads of my OOP Deathwing terminators for the next time I play against my friend.