Saturday, I played host to the reschedule of the MOST EPIC DAY IN GAMING *echo..... echo... echo* in my garage and kitchen. Last month, my wife agreed to let me have some people over for an entire day of all things gaming as part of my birthday but sadly, after a few scheduling conflicts and me getting sick, we had to reschedule. Thus arrives Oct 22nd.
Doors opened at 10:30 with most everyone arriving right around 11. We BS'd for a few then started the day off with a game of Cosmic Encounter. For those who haven't had a chance to play this game, I highly recommend it. It's a great, light game with a huge variety of alien races to select so it has a high replay value. Basic key to the game is to get like 8 foreign colonies on other player's planets. Seems easy but near the middle to end, politics start to play a huge factor. In the end, John pulled out the victory in a most convincing manner. I, on the other hand, hardly played into the equation after getting hit pretty hard early on by a Bistro double cross.
Next, I made the now painful mistake (hindsight is always 20/20, lol) of suggesting we break out Talisman to try out the new Dragon expansion Bistro had gotten. HOURS later, Tom had died and gave up and I followed soon after. We had played parts of the game incorrectly (but hey, it was our first time with the expansion) which drew the game out much longer and made it much more difficult. While Chris, Bistro, and John continued to duke it out, Tom & I retired to the garage to play a few games of Quarriors.
First game of Quarriors, Tom took a commanding lead (talking like a 10 point lead here) but somehow, I was able to mount a comeback and steal the win. Game 2 was more competitive but I was able to eek out the victory in that game too. By then, John had died and gave up so he joined us in the garage to watch game 2. Inside, Bistro and Chris decided that killing the Dragon Overlord was just too hard so they went for a last man standing victory condition. I think in the end, Bistro pulled off the win. They, in turn, locked us in the garage for a bit since they got stuck with clean up duty, lol.
John then had to part cause he had a few other stops to make that evening so the rest of us broke out Gears of War for another try at the first scenario. Last time, we had a strong start but got beaten pretty soundly near the end. We were determined to win it this time because we felt that in order to play scenario #2, we had to beat scenario #1. We started out pretty strong. I got hit pretty early and became sort of a lame wheel for the later part of the game but was able to at least seal 3 emergence holes. With Bistro and Chris helping me keep cards in my hands and Tom keeping the locusts off me, we were able to push through with Bistro closing the other 3-4 emergence holes. The end push was pretty sick but Chris broke out an insane chainsaw cutting 3 drones in half with 1 play. The rest fell shortly after and the victory was ours! We didn't even have a single player go down this go round either!
After that, we were all pretty beat. We had been gaming for a little over 12 hours at that point. Part of me wanted to push on but restrained since everyone had a drive home in front of them. All in all, it was an absolute blast having everyone over and playing some of my favorite games. I am eagerly looking forward to the next Epic Day of Gaming!!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Calm Before the Storm
So I sit here planning my next few moves. I will be leaving in a few hours to visit my brother who got me tickets to the Eagles/Redskins game for my birthday so I am super excited (GO EAGLES!!!).
That being said, I have a few projects that I want to get started on when I get back. First off, I want to paint my Lizardmen team. Now that I think I've gotten a good handle on their playstlye and how to use them to almost their full potential, I will be using them as my main team (Sorry Amazons. You girls will be next in line though).
In addition to painting the team, they will require a new dugout. The one for Danzig's Destroyers just won't cut it for these thunder lizards. Course, I have no clue as to where I want to take it. I could go the classic stone & wood approach but part of me wants to make it swampy but that would rquire me to work with resin of which I have no experience with or even how I would be able to incorporate it well enough to do it justice. I hope to have a few plans written out by Monday.
Finally, I want to start work on pitch #2 which I have decided will be a stone dungeon-ish pitch. Course with this pitch, I will remember the appropriate square sizes. I also have plans for a standard testured board with grass patches for pitch #3 (yes, the pitch bug has sunk it's teeth into me hard but that is the reprocussions of the taste of success on the first pitch).
So there you have it. Those are my short into long term plans. Paintng the team should probably take me a few weeks tops just so long as I RnF paint. Dugout will take me some time but the plans should be done by the time I finish the team so I *should* be able to just jump right into it. I might even try ti multi-task and work on the stone pitch as a break from painting/dugout creation.
Stay tuned for more updates as they happen!
That being said, I have a few projects that I want to get started on when I get back. First off, I want to paint my Lizardmen team. Now that I think I've gotten a good handle on their playstlye and how to use them to almost their full potential, I will be using them as my main team (Sorry Amazons. You girls will be next in line though).
In addition to painting the team, they will require a new dugout. The one for Danzig's Destroyers just won't cut it for these thunder lizards. Course, I have no clue as to where I want to take it. I could go the classic stone & wood approach but part of me wants to make it swampy but that would rquire me to work with resin of which I have no experience with or even how I would be able to incorporate it well enough to do it justice. I hope to have a few plans written out by Monday.
Finally, I want to start work on pitch #2 which I have decided will be a stone dungeon-ish pitch. Course with this pitch, I will remember the appropriate square sizes. I also have plans for a standard testured board with grass patches for pitch #3 (yes, the pitch bug has sunk it's teeth into me hard but that is the reprocussions of the taste of success on the first pitch).
So there you have it. Those are my short into long term plans. Paintng the team should probably take me a few weeks tops just so long as I RnF paint. Dugout will take me some time but the plans should be done by the time I finish the team so I *should* be able to just jump right into it. I might even try ti multi-task and work on the stone pitch as a break from painting/dugout creation.
Stay tuned for more updates as they happen!
The Return of Koopa's Troopas!
Sadly, I forgot to take pics (despite setting the camera next to the pitch) but I finally got in a game with the Koopa's Troopas after close to 3 years in hiatus.
They took to the field to line up against my friend's Orcs. He hadn't played in even longer (still uses the 2nd ed roster pad. The little one!) so it was much like a learning game for both of us since it had been ages. I will start by saying I am so glad I had my playbook. My offensive set up didn't work out as well as I had anticipated but my defensive wall prooved to be almost impossible to break through (more on this in a moment).
So I won the coin toss and elected to receive. I lined up to appear to blitz my right sideline but set up my skinks to rush up then shoot left to streak down the hopefully vacated sideline. Sadly, this was not to be. My skinks seemed to have used too much lotion on their skin and had some difficulties picking up the ball. As the Orcs began the push into my half of the field, I was able to get the ball into my skink's hands and, in a fit of insanity, I tried to rush him through an orcish black hole. Apparently 4 dodge rolls is just 1 dodge roll too many and as he was about to break free, Dodge #4 got him and he tripped on a sprinkler (damned Buffalo Wild Wings bartenders!).
This is where some hilarious hijinks ensued. So the ball is right near the sidelines and an orc picks it up. I blitz the orc with a saurus and drop him. The ball bounces out of bounds. The crowd throws it back right to another orc, who tosses it up in the air, which then bounces off a saurus's helmet righ tback to the orc, who tosses it up again, right into the hands of a skink. Luckily, I was able to get that skink out of trouble and, fast forward a turn or two, he streaks into the endzone on turn 8 to end the half.
Half time - Lizardmen 1-0 Orcs
Second half prooves to be my half with the exception of one insane play. I set up my defense in a solid wall with good tackle zones and a strong support. I am playing that he will attempt to run the ball (despite him having a thrower). He has absolutely no luck in breaking my wall and ends up turning over the first few turns due to poor block rolls which most were in my favor. I get a skink into his backfield to pressure the ball which forces his thrower to pick it up and streak down his left sideline. This is where things get really hairy. There is a mass that is literally a checkerboard of orcs, saurus, and skinks on the sideline. Clear on the other side of the field is a Black Orc jumping up and down for the ball. Yes.... He decides to throw the ball. I couldn't find in the rules anything about if you need a roll better than a 6 so we just kept it at a 6 (overall, he needed like an 8-9 to make the pass due to it being a long bomb and being in so many tackle zones). My Skink failed to intercept and *Drum Roll* he rolls a 6 to pass. He had 2 shots with his throw ability but he only needed the one. So the accurate pass streaked right towards his agility 2 Black Orc.... Who catches the damned thing!!!! Luckily, he is slow as molasses.
Seeing his Black Orc within 2 turns of my end zone, I pulled 2 skinks back and streaked them towards the orc. 1 had to Go For It to create a series of tackle zones so the orc would either have to make 1 dodge roll and stall for a turn or take a couple to get closer to the end zone. Either way, it didn't matter because he didn't make the first, tripped over the skink, and fell on his face 3 squares from my end zone.... Man, that was close.
This is where I was tempted yet again to go balls deep and take risks. Initially, I wanted to pick up the ball, hand it off to another skink, who would then run up to hand off to another skink who would then streak towards the end zone. This would put me within like 5-6 squares of scoring (not bad when the ball is almost in my end zone). Instead, I played it safe. I picked up the ball and handed it off once. That skink raced down the now vacated sideline. Fast forward 2 turns and he races in to score since my friend couldn't free up any orcs to get close enough to challenge him.
End result - Lizardmen 2-0 Orcs
We both had a blast and he agreed that it took a lot more thinking than he had originally thought. We also need to work on getting our turns down faster as it took like 3 hours to play (we played with no time limit as it was our first game in awhile on the board). The new pitch worked out really well. The slightly smaller squares didn't really make a factor as my Kroxigor didn't have much issues moving around. It was even suggested that I just re-base him on a smaller base since they take up only 1 square anyways.
They took to the field to line up against my friend's Orcs. He hadn't played in even longer (still uses the 2nd ed roster pad. The little one!) so it was much like a learning game for both of us since it had been ages. I will start by saying I am so glad I had my playbook. My offensive set up didn't work out as well as I had anticipated but my defensive wall prooved to be almost impossible to break through (more on this in a moment).
So I won the coin toss and elected to receive. I lined up to appear to blitz my right sideline but set up my skinks to rush up then shoot left to streak down the hopefully vacated sideline. Sadly, this was not to be. My skinks seemed to have used too much lotion on their skin and had some difficulties picking up the ball. As the Orcs began the push into my half of the field, I was able to get the ball into my skink's hands and, in a fit of insanity, I tried to rush him through an orcish black hole. Apparently 4 dodge rolls is just 1 dodge roll too many and as he was about to break free, Dodge #4 got him and he tripped on a sprinkler (damned Buffalo Wild Wings bartenders!).
This is where some hilarious hijinks ensued. So the ball is right near the sidelines and an orc picks it up. I blitz the orc with a saurus and drop him. The ball bounces out of bounds. The crowd throws it back right to another orc, who tosses it up in the air, which then bounces off a saurus's helmet righ tback to the orc, who tosses it up again, right into the hands of a skink. Luckily, I was able to get that skink out of trouble and, fast forward a turn or two, he streaks into the endzone on turn 8 to end the half.
Half time - Lizardmen 1-0 Orcs
Second half prooves to be my half with the exception of one insane play. I set up my defense in a solid wall with good tackle zones and a strong support. I am playing that he will attempt to run the ball (despite him having a thrower). He has absolutely no luck in breaking my wall and ends up turning over the first few turns due to poor block rolls which most were in my favor. I get a skink into his backfield to pressure the ball which forces his thrower to pick it up and streak down his left sideline. This is where things get really hairy. There is a mass that is literally a checkerboard of orcs, saurus, and skinks on the sideline. Clear on the other side of the field is a Black Orc jumping up and down for the ball. Yes.... He decides to throw the ball. I couldn't find in the rules anything about if you need a roll better than a 6 so we just kept it at a 6 (overall, he needed like an 8-9 to make the pass due to it being a long bomb and being in so many tackle zones). My Skink failed to intercept and *Drum Roll* he rolls a 6 to pass. He had 2 shots with his throw ability but he only needed the one. So the accurate pass streaked right towards his agility 2 Black Orc.... Who catches the damned thing!!!! Luckily, he is slow as molasses.
Seeing his Black Orc within 2 turns of my end zone, I pulled 2 skinks back and streaked them towards the orc. 1 had to Go For It to create a series of tackle zones so the orc would either have to make 1 dodge roll and stall for a turn or take a couple to get closer to the end zone. Either way, it didn't matter because he didn't make the first, tripped over the skink, and fell on his face 3 squares from my end zone.... Man, that was close.
This is where I was tempted yet again to go balls deep and take risks. Initially, I wanted to pick up the ball, hand it off to another skink, who would then run up to hand off to another skink who would then streak towards the end zone. This would put me within like 5-6 squares of scoring (not bad when the ball is almost in my end zone). Instead, I played it safe. I picked up the ball and handed it off once. That skink raced down the now vacated sideline. Fast forward 2 turns and he races in to score since my friend couldn't free up any orcs to get close enough to challenge him.
End result - Lizardmen 2-0 Orcs
We both had a blast and he agreed that it took a lot more thinking than he had originally thought. We also need to work on getting our turns down faster as it took like 3 hours to play (we played with no time limit as it was our first game in awhile on the board). The new pitch worked out really well. The slightly smaller squares didn't really make a factor as my Kroxigor didn't have much issues moving around. It was even suggested that I just re-base him on a smaller base since they take up only 1 square anyways.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Blood on the Pitch!
So I last left off after I had set the foam pitch to dry after I glued it to the hardboard backing. Once dry, I set to basing it with a coat of watered down black paint. Once based coated, I realised that the wedging from the ruler wasn't going to give enough seperation between the squares. So, I hit the interwebs then parted for Home Depot (sonce Lowe's doesn't carry the size I needed). I left HD with 2 bags of 1/16" tile spacers. They might seem small at first but they are as big as you can spare for a project like this. I spent a good part of the evening then on pushing and wedging the spacers into each cross section. I clipped spokes off some so they would fit as end lines and corners. Here is a pic of the board post prime and spacer:
Once that ordeal was done, I went back with the black paint and painted the spacers black while touching up any parts that I might have missed or messed up while adding the spacers. When that was finished, I grabbed a paint brush & a pot of white paint and went to work on painting the pitch lines:
I was finally ready to start flocking this sucker. With my grass selections lined up and my guide next to me, I mixed up my glue mix and set to work. I won't lie. This part really sucked. It took me close to 4 hours to complete. I had to do it all at once since I had mixed up a rather large batch of glue and didn't want to waste it so I popped in my Hobbit audio book and went to work. Here is the pitch before I got to the sidelines and endzones:
Once the sidelines and endzone were done, I went back with the white paint and painted the endzone lines. Here is the pitch after everything is done and it's been given 1 coat of matte sealer:
So now it is complete. It has since gotten 2 more coats of matte sealer. I am debating doing the spray template for endzone and mid field logos but I am scared because I don't want to mess it up as it looks pretty sweet as it is. I might just leave this one be.
Next project: Dugout!
Once that ordeal was done, I went back with the black paint and painted the spacers black while touching up any parts that I might have missed or messed up while adding the spacers. When that was finished, I grabbed a paint brush & a pot of white paint and went to work on painting the pitch lines:
I was finally ready to start flocking this sucker. With my grass selections lined up and my guide next to me, I mixed up my glue mix and set to work. I won't lie. This part really sucked. It took me close to 4 hours to complete. I had to do it all at once since I had mixed up a rather large batch of glue and didn't want to waste it so I popped in my Hobbit audio book and went to work. Here is the pitch before I got to the sidelines and endzones:
Once the sidelines and endzone were done, I went back with the white paint and painted the endzone lines. Here is the pitch after everything is done and it's been given 1 coat of matte sealer:
So now it is complete. It has since gotten 2 more coats of matte sealer. I am debating doing the spray template for endzone and mid field logos but I am scared because I don't want to mess it up as it looks pretty sweet as it is. I might just leave this one be.
Next project: Dugout!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Koopa's Troopas! The quest for a new field
Well, the local Blood Bowl league is now in full swing. Sadly, I can't participate because of conflicting work schedule of the wife (someone has to watch the little egg head, lol) so I was given the opportunity to play "challenger". This means that, when my schedule allows, I can show up and smash heads with guys in the league so they can "attempt" to get some bonuses off me while I bash their heads in *insert evil grin here*. That being said, I decided to dig out my old Lizardmen.
Upon looking at them, their current manager Danzig (formerly manager of the Chaos team "Danzig's Destroyers") just didn't seem to fit the bill. So, I sent him packing back to the Destroyers and began the search for a new manager, new name, and overall a new look for the team. That's when it hit me. These lizards need to be lead by the king lizard. King Koopa himself! So the Koopa's Troopas were born!
Fast forward a few minutes and it was decided that Koopa's Troopas don't play on cardboard. These reptiles are elite! They demmand the finer things in life. Thus, they require a custom pitch! I broke out some graph paper and began to plot how I wanted the field dimensions to look:
I have the basic pitch size with a few minor tweaks. I increased the side lines to 2 squares so figures running down them don't have to fear of falling off the board. The end zones were also increased to 3 squares deep because I plan to add end zone graphics of some sort to them. Next, I took stock of what grass colors I had:
I have Light, Medium, and Dark grass to play with. I decided that instead of a universal spread of grass, I would alternate squares to give it that freshly mowed look. To add to that, I didn't want the typical lines back and forth so I went with a different type of design:
So now I had everything mapped out. Time to start putting things into motion. I hit my garage and grabbed some insulation foam and cut my 30" x 19" board out. I then proceeded to grid the entire board (I didn't really need to grid the sidelines or end zones but all I had was a ruler so I played it safe for accuracy):
Once the lines were drawn out, I ran an exacto knife down each line to deepen the groove. I was careful not to cut the foam too deep. Once the lines were all cut, I pushed my ruler into each groove and rocked it back and forth to widen the gapes between each square to give them more definition:
Next, it was off to the garage to use the bandsaw and cut myself a piece of hardboard to go underneath for added support. Foam won't last long at that size without some form of stury support underneath:
And now, as I sit here typing this, the pitch is in the garage, drying. I laid it out on a few stools and applied woodglue to the back of the foam. The hardboard was then laid on top with a few weights to keep constant pressure to ensure a tight and firm bond. I have found that woodglue works best when gluing foam.
So that is the current status of the Koopa's Troopa's new field. I have a few ideas and templates made up for the center field logo as well as a few other odds and ends. Pics and future work will follow soon as progress happens!
Upon looking at them, their current manager Danzig (formerly manager of the Chaos team "Danzig's Destroyers") just didn't seem to fit the bill. So, I sent him packing back to the Destroyers and began the search for a new manager, new name, and overall a new look for the team. That's when it hit me. These lizards need to be lead by the king lizard. King Koopa himself! So the Koopa's Troopas were born!
Fast forward a few minutes and it was decided that Koopa's Troopas don't play on cardboard. These reptiles are elite! They demmand the finer things in life. Thus, they require a custom pitch! I broke out some graph paper and began to plot how I wanted the field dimensions to look:
I have the basic pitch size with a few minor tweaks. I increased the side lines to 2 squares so figures running down them don't have to fear of falling off the board. The end zones were also increased to 3 squares deep because I plan to add end zone graphics of some sort to them. Next, I took stock of what grass colors I had:
I have Light, Medium, and Dark grass to play with. I decided that instead of a universal spread of grass, I would alternate squares to give it that freshly mowed look. To add to that, I didn't want the typical lines back and forth so I went with a different type of design:
So now I had everything mapped out. Time to start putting things into motion. I hit my garage and grabbed some insulation foam and cut my 30" x 19" board out. I then proceeded to grid the entire board (I didn't really need to grid the sidelines or end zones but all I had was a ruler so I played it safe for accuracy):
Once the lines were drawn out, I ran an exacto knife down each line to deepen the groove. I was careful not to cut the foam too deep. Once the lines were all cut, I pushed my ruler into each groove and rocked it back and forth to widen the gapes between each square to give them more definition:
Next, it was off to the garage to use the bandsaw and cut myself a piece of hardboard to go underneath for added support. Foam won't last long at that size without some form of stury support underneath:
And now, as I sit here typing this, the pitch is in the garage, drying. I laid it out on a few stools and applied woodglue to the back of the foam. The hardboard was then laid on top with a few weights to keep constant pressure to ensure a tight and firm bond. I have found that woodglue works best when gluing foam.
So that is the current status of the Koopa's Troopa's new field. I have a few ideas and templates made up for the center field logo as well as a few other odds and ends. Pics and future work will follow soon as progress happens!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
In It to Win It!
As the seasons turn, as so do my gaming tastes. 40k and Uncharted Seas are the flavor of the day. I recently made an awesome trade via Bartertown where I traded off a chunk of my Hordes Circle of Orboros army for a crap ton of Tyranids. I never really wanted to play Circle in the first place (I had gotten them via another killer deal on Bartertown) so I wasn't too down for getting rid of them. On top of it, I still have enough to play a decent sized game with them. So they aren't all lost. In return, I got plenty of bugs to make my growing horde a happy one. I now have enough gaunts to entertain a horde style army and enough genestealers to go that route as well. New Hive Tyrants give me the flexibility to try alternate builds while new Carnifexes will let me experiment more on their various uses in the latest edition codex.
So far, I've only gotten in a couple of games with the new Tyranid codex but my last game was probably the most enjoyable (even though I got slammed). My Mycetic Spore pods I got from Target (Mega Bloks Dragon Eggs) worked great! They are a perfect size and when they enter the game, their attacks are still useful (so they don't just become pretty pieces of terrain). I forgot various rules which came back to haunt me but overall, I had a lot of fun pitting my bugs against the might of the Orks & Space Marines. At one point, I charged a full unit of Orks with choppas with my Swarmlord and retinue of 2 Tyrant Guard. Naturally, I died but not after about 5 rounds of combat and the addition of 3 Killer Kans entering the fray. I was very impressed!
In other news, I'm starting back up in Uncharted Seas again. With my Ralgard fleet built, I finally got around to priming them. Course, I am the world's worst primer so I had to go back and basically basecoat all the models by hand. But that wasn't all a loss as the paint scheme I found on-line that I really liked calls for a lot of black so having that darker, more uniform coat of black actually works out for me in the end. I get to give them their first test game tonight against the Mac and his Shroud Mages. I will take the time here to flatten my tires and say that I have yet to win a game of Uncharted Seas even though I've played in every game my game group has played in the system, lol. But to even the score, I have followed Colonel Lou and invested in 16-20 Game Science d6's. No longer will my ships die prematurely due to rounded edges and lop sided die!
Anyways, I'll post up some pics of my Ralgard ships once I get down to painting them. I need to get some new brushes this week as I need some fine detail ones for these suckers. I should have some preliminary pics up by the weekend (provided I remember to update). I should also have a bat rep for tonight's battle up later this week. I'll also try to get some game shots as well.
So far, I've only gotten in a couple of games with the new Tyranid codex but my last game was probably the most enjoyable (even though I got slammed). My Mycetic Spore pods I got from Target (Mega Bloks Dragon Eggs) worked great! They are a perfect size and when they enter the game, their attacks are still useful (so they don't just become pretty pieces of terrain). I forgot various rules which came back to haunt me but overall, I had a lot of fun pitting my bugs against the might of the Orks & Space Marines. At one point, I charged a full unit of Orks with choppas with my Swarmlord and retinue of 2 Tyrant Guard. Naturally, I died but not after about 5 rounds of combat and the addition of 3 Killer Kans entering the fray. I was very impressed!
In other news, I'm starting back up in Uncharted Seas again. With my Ralgard fleet built, I finally got around to priming them. Course, I am the world's worst primer so I had to go back and basically basecoat all the models by hand. But that wasn't all a loss as the paint scheme I found on-line that I really liked calls for a lot of black so having that darker, more uniform coat of black actually works out for me in the end. I get to give them their first test game tonight against the Mac and his Shroud Mages. I will take the time here to flatten my tires and say that I have yet to win a game of Uncharted Seas even though I've played in every game my game group has played in the system, lol. But to even the score, I have followed Colonel Lou and invested in 16-20 Game Science d6's. No longer will my ships die prematurely due to rounded edges and lop sided die!
Anyways, I'll post up some pics of my Ralgard ships once I get down to painting them. I need to get some new brushes this week as I need some fine detail ones for these suckers. I should have some preliminary pics up by the weekend (provided I remember to update). I should also have a bat rep for tonight's battle up later this week. I'll also try to get some game shots as well.
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Mansions are Truly MAD!!!
This weekend was home to a monumental moment: I not only actually read and learned how to play one of my boardgames but was able to teach it and run it pretty smoothly! So to set the stage, I had hit up One Eyed Jacques a few weeks prior to view their recent damaged pallet games. I scored a great find in a busted up copy of Mansions of Madness. Box has a nasty hole but with some clear packing tape, I was able to repair the box back to a useable form.
Contents of this game are top notch. The investigator figs are the exact same that Fantasy Flight Games is selling seperately at high prices (although those are pre-painted and these are mono-grey) for Arkham Horror. So getting 6 is a plus. Next are the monsters. You get a great deal of excelently sculpted monsters from Maniacs to Hounds of Tindalos to the likes of Cthonians and Shoggoths (both are pretty darned huge and you get 2 of each!!). Another really impressive addition are the figure stands. To start, the monster stat cards slide into the bases to reveal only the monster's name, horror, and evade stats. When prompted, the Keeper can then look underneath the figure to see it's damage, life, and special attacks. Each monster varies slightly so you never really know which monster you have fielded until you are prompted to. This adds a nice bit of randomness to the game and makes each monster slightly unique. Another nice addition to the base is a little clip where you place numbered wound markers that help keep track of wounds on the monster. Not mind blowing but certainly useful and a welcome addition.
The game board is broken down into a variety of double sided cardboard tiles. So far they seem to be pretty sturdy (no warping or such). Artwork on the tiles is really well done. I was impressed with the level of detail used. When the tiles are all put together, they really put forth the image of a well done game board. The tokens included are much the same in their great detail and material sturdiness.
On to gameplay. The first thing that hit me when reading the rulebook is that the keeper plays much like a Dungeon Master. They carry a lot of the game responsibilities and seem to make most of the game decisions. When an investigator explores a room, the Keeper reads all the cards to them, sets up the puzzles (more on these later), reads flavor text, etc... When combat happens, they flip and read the cards as well. While on that topic, combat is really unique and innovative. Basically, the investigator declares an attack against a monster and nominates what type of weapon they plan to use (ranged, melee, sharp/blunt melee, & hands). The Keeper then goes to the combat deck that matches the monster (Beast, Humanoid, Eldritch). They then flip cards until the top half of the card matches the type of attack the investigator has chosen to use. From there, you get a little bit of flavor text followed by an attribute test the investigator will need to take in order to attack the monster. This is followed by flavor text and results for both Pass and Failed rolls. When a monster attacks, the same method is used except the bottom half of the card is used.
The puzzles were a nice and interesting addition. I like the variance of the puzzles but I feel that it takes too much time to solve the puzzles. During our game, 1 puzzle ate up about 3-4 turns. 1 investigator worked on it while the other two hung close by (harrassed by a Maniac at times). The rules state that the other players cannot interfere or discuss the puzzle. While this makes sense from one standpoint, I agree with one of the players in that the investigators in the same space should be able to discuss the puzzle.
The game it'self ran pretty smoothly. The Investigators were under a time crunch to solve the mystery of the mansion. Their downfall was their lack of attention to the flavor text. Each game has the Keeper answer a few questions that dictate the flow of the scenario. Certain items, puzzles, and other cards are drawn and placed depending on the Keeper's answers as do the encounter card's effects. So as the investigators explore, there will be clues laid out in the flavor text in the items and such that they find that assist them in where they should go next. The addition of trauma and mythos cards add some spontaneous fun to the game but can break up the flow since they can be played at any time during the investigator's turn so I found myself stopping the players sporadically to play these cards.
All in all, I enjoyed the game but that could have been because I was the Keeper so always had a plan with plenty to do. I give the game a tentative 4 out of 5. I really need to play it a few times more as an investigator to really experience the game in it's entirety before I can really give it an accurate rating.
Contents of this game are top notch. The investigator figs are the exact same that Fantasy Flight Games is selling seperately at high prices (although those are pre-painted and these are mono-grey) for Arkham Horror. So getting 6 is a plus. Next are the monsters. You get a great deal of excelently sculpted monsters from Maniacs to Hounds of Tindalos to the likes of Cthonians and Shoggoths (both are pretty darned huge and you get 2 of each!!). Another really impressive addition are the figure stands. To start, the monster stat cards slide into the bases to reveal only the monster's name, horror, and evade stats. When prompted, the Keeper can then look underneath the figure to see it's damage, life, and special attacks. Each monster varies slightly so you never really know which monster you have fielded until you are prompted to. This adds a nice bit of randomness to the game and makes each monster slightly unique. Another nice addition to the base is a little clip where you place numbered wound markers that help keep track of wounds on the monster. Not mind blowing but certainly useful and a welcome addition.
The game board is broken down into a variety of double sided cardboard tiles. So far they seem to be pretty sturdy (no warping or such). Artwork on the tiles is really well done. I was impressed with the level of detail used. When the tiles are all put together, they really put forth the image of a well done game board. The tokens included are much the same in their great detail and material sturdiness.
On to gameplay. The first thing that hit me when reading the rulebook is that the keeper plays much like a Dungeon Master. They carry a lot of the game responsibilities and seem to make most of the game decisions. When an investigator explores a room, the Keeper reads all the cards to them, sets up the puzzles (more on these later), reads flavor text, etc... When combat happens, they flip and read the cards as well. While on that topic, combat is really unique and innovative. Basically, the investigator declares an attack against a monster and nominates what type of weapon they plan to use (ranged, melee, sharp/blunt melee, & hands). The Keeper then goes to the combat deck that matches the monster (Beast, Humanoid, Eldritch). They then flip cards until the top half of the card matches the type of attack the investigator has chosen to use. From there, you get a little bit of flavor text followed by an attribute test the investigator will need to take in order to attack the monster. This is followed by flavor text and results for both Pass and Failed rolls. When a monster attacks, the same method is used except the bottom half of the card is used.
The puzzles were a nice and interesting addition. I like the variance of the puzzles but I feel that it takes too much time to solve the puzzles. During our game, 1 puzzle ate up about 3-4 turns. 1 investigator worked on it while the other two hung close by (harrassed by a Maniac at times). The rules state that the other players cannot interfere or discuss the puzzle. While this makes sense from one standpoint, I agree with one of the players in that the investigators in the same space should be able to discuss the puzzle.
The game it'self ran pretty smoothly. The Investigators were under a time crunch to solve the mystery of the mansion. Their downfall was their lack of attention to the flavor text. Each game has the Keeper answer a few questions that dictate the flow of the scenario. Certain items, puzzles, and other cards are drawn and placed depending on the Keeper's answers as do the encounter card's effects. So as the investigators explore, there will be clues laid out in the flavor text in the items and such that they find that assist them in where they should go next. The addition of trauma and mythos cards add some spontaneous fun to the game but can break up the flow since they can be played at any time during the investigator's turn so I found myself stopping the players sporadically to play these cards.
All in all, I enjoyed the game but that could have been because I was the Keeper so always had a plan with plenty to do. I give the game a tentative 4 out of 5. I really need to play it a few times more as an investigator to really experience the game in it's entirety before I can really give it an accurate rating.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Madden '12 - No Vick?!?!
Well, they finally announced the winner of the cover of Madden '12:
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/feature/madden2012cover?sourceid=cover-vote---brand_wk_madden_phrase_69_generic_espn_google
I will take this moment now to call bullshit. Days prior, Vick was up %60-somthing over this no name. Then surprise surprise Vick is now on the losing end. I blame the exects who feared of a fall out from the Peta-loving, grass between their toes, hippy a-holes if Vick made the cover. So instead of having an actual role model on the cover (and yes, I see Vick as a role model. He is a guy who had everything, made a huge mistake, fell from grace, was crucified and made an example of for all to see, served his time, and then did everything he had to do to work his way back to where he wanted to be without acting as if he was entitled or deserved it. If that's not a story I want my kids to learn, then I don't know what is.). This guy showed that the judicial system works but that a man can still turn his life around if he puts his mind to it. To have this rug pulled from him because of some dog loving, unforgiving hippocrits disgusts me.
Now I never buy the Madden games when they are released because in 7 months, their prices tend to drop dramatically. When it looked like Vick was going to be on the cover, I decided that maybe this year would be the year that I actually get one on release day. But since this BS has happened, I will not be picking up this game. EA will be lucky if I even get it at all now. /rant
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/feature/madden2012cover?sourceid=cover-vote---brand_wk_madden_phrase_69_generic_espn_google
I will take this moment now to call bullshit. Days prior, Vick was up %60-somthing over this no name. Then surprise surprise Vick is now on the losing end. I blame the exects who feared of a fall out from the Peta-loving, grass between their toes, hippy a-holes if Vick made the cover. So instead of having an actual role model on the cover (and yes, I see Vick as a role model. He is a guy who had everything, made a huge mistake, fell from grace, was crucified and made an example of for all to see, served his time, and then did everything he had to do to work his way back to where he wanted to be without acting as if he was entitled or deserved it. If that's not a story I want my kids to learn, then I don't know what is.). This guy showed that the judicial system works but that a man can still turn his life around if he puts his mind to it. To have this rug pulled from him because of some dog loving, unforgiving hippocrits disgusts me.
Now I never buy the Madden games when they are released because in 7 months, their prices tend to drop dramatically. When it looked like Vick was going to be on the cover, I decided that maybe this year would be the year that I actually get one on release day. But since this BS has happened, I will not be picking up this game. EA will be lucky if I even get it at all now. /rant
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Portals & Fatalities
So I walked into Gamestop at 10pm on the nose per the voice message left for me on my cell phone. I had my used copy of Dragon Age: Origins in hand of which I planned to trade in to take advantage of the bonus credit towards my copy of Portal 2. As I approached the counter, I overheard the manager Brandon discussing the finer details of Fatalities. On the back shelf I see a series of massive boxes. As I am being rung up, I inquire as to what they are. "They're the new Kollector's Edition Mortal Kombat" (cause everything in the MK universe is spelled with a "K"!). I get a closer look at it and see a sick pair of bookends which display's Scorpion on one side, spearing Sub-Zero on the other side with his chain harpoon. I was a bit saddened though as I'm a huge Sub-Zero fan but I couldn't dismiss the awesomeness that was this boxed set.
As the night progressed, they announced that they would be raffling off the PS3 copy that was on display. Now, I don't have a PS3 but trading it in towards a 360 version was clearly NOT out of the realm of possibility. Sadly, luck would not smile on me that night so I collected (or should I say "kollected") my copy of Portal 2 and drove home.
When I returned home, Dawn expressed some sadness when she heard that not only was there a new MK game out but that I had actually returned home without it. I would not be getting some lovin' that night, lol. I spent the rest of the evening playing (and fully loving) Portal 2.
Fast forward a few hours and morning arrived. Waiting in the mailbox was a $40 check from my insurance company (reimbursing me for a bill the previous month). As I contemplated this turn of fortune, the little gears began to turn. They didn't have to turn fast (or much for that matter) before I was in the car. I quickly found myself outside the familiar door of Gamestop. I walked in, waited in line, and meekly requested a copy of MK. I need to step aside here. The manager at my local Gamestop, Brandon, has to be one of the nicest and coolest guys around. He is a young guy, married, and with a newborn daughter. He shows great appreciation for his customers and even knows my 4 yr old son's favorite game character (Sonic). So as he rings me up, he slips in a pre-order code for Scorpion's bonus costume. Totally awesome!
As I drive home with a smile on my face, I text my wife (who was working while I took a few days off to decompress from work) and told her I got her a surprise. She replies fully thinking that I had gotten her Magic: The Gathering cards after telling her I was going to get her into the game a few days prior. Taking this, I decided to play off that and quickly wrapped the game in a MTG card box for some Tom Foolery! Needless to say, she was quite surprised and happy when she opened the box to find MK smiling it's gruesome and bloody smile at her.
On to the reviews!
Portal 2 - From taking a gander at the size of the strategy guide on the counter for this game, I knew it had to have more meat than it's predecessor (don't worry, I did not get the guide as I find half the fun is solving the puzzles myself. Much more satisfying that way). I found out that the co-op campaign is totally different from the single player so I am waiting with anticipation for someone on my friend's list to get it so I can experience this jewel (Dawn gets motion sickness from FPS games). Single player starts off throwing you right into the mix. As of writing this, I have finally beaten the game so I won't give away any details. But I will say that the puzzles are much more challenging and I had many head scratching moments. Another pleasant surprise was the addition of an actual story. Yes, we now learn a bit more about the behind the scenes at Aperture Science. The levels are larger and more intricate. The addition of the 2nd type of cube and the 3 different liquids add a lot of variety to problem solving and really stretch your mind. The voice acting was fantastic and the dialog caused many laugh out loud moments. Overall, I give the game 5 out of 5. And this is based soley off the single player so the multiplayer is all gravy bonus.
Mortal Kombat - First thing I noticed when playing this game was "Smoke looks really gay". I'm sorry but the flowing white hair just doesn't do it for me, lol. Aside from that, the kontrols (see what I did there? lol) are more simplified. Fatalities are also easier to pull off. Gone are the 10+ button mashing combos and a prayer that your fatality goes off. Graphics are much improved and move very fluid. Course, MK can't be without it's huge tittied, scantily clad Outworld ladies. Always a plus, lol. Most of the favorites are back with Reptile, Barakka, and Kabal. Some not so favorites in Striker and Jax are there as well. Missing are the likes of Goro (Sheeva is present though) and Mintaro but I had read that the developers wanted bosses to stay as bosses and not as playables. Now comes the play types. Story mode is incredible. I have never experienced such a deep and long story in a MK game. Deception introduced a form of story in a 3rd person exploration with occasional fights and questing. This MK is all fighting but with a variety of cutscenes between each fight that explores and explains much of the MK universe. I know know how and why Sektor and Cyrax are robots and how Mileena came to be. I have dropped many hours into this game and have just reached 50% through the story.
Lets add on to that the challenge tower. 300 different challenges to tackle from simple Test your Might trials to facing a tag team of foes that regenerate. Each fight scores you koins which you can spend in the Krypt (apparently "C"s do not exist!). Here, there are 4 zones, each slammed with between 40-120 unlockables. Here you can find anything from new fatalities to alternate costumes to concept art. Luckily I found a list of what is where on-line so I was able to go right for the new fatalities and costumes. Overall, I give this game 4 out of 5. I base this off the typical longevity of fighting games and how they do tend to lose steam after a bit. But overall, it is well worth it's brand new price tag.
As the night progressed, they announced that they would be raffling off the PS3 copy that was on display. Now, I don't have a PS3 but trading it in towards a 360 version was clearly NOT out of the realm of possibility. Sadly, luck would not smile on me that night so I collected (or should I say "kollected") my copy of Portal 2 and drove home.
When I returned home, Dawn expressed some sadness when she heard that not only was there a new MK game out but that I had actually returned home without it. I would not be getting some lovin' that night, lol. I spent the rest of the evening playing (and fully loving) Portal 2.
Fast forward a few hours and morning arrived. Waiting in the mailbox was a $40 check from my insurance company (reimbursing me for a bill the previous month). As I contemplated this turn of fortune, the little gears began to turn. They didn't have to turn fast (or much for that matter) before I was in the car. I quickly found myself outside the familiar door of Gamestop. I walked in, waited in line, and meekly requested a copy of MK. I need to step aside here. The manager at my local Gamestop, Brandon, has to be one of the nicest and coolest guys around. He is a young guy, married, and with a newborn daughter. He shows great appreciation for his customers and even knows my 4 yr old son's favorite game character (Sonic). So as he rings me up, he slips in a pre-order code for Scorpion's bonus costume. Totally awesome!
As I drive home with a smile on my face, I text my wife (who was working while I took a few days off to decompress from work) and told her I got her a surprise. She replies fully thinking that I had gotten her Magic: The Gathering cards after telling her I was going to get her into the game a few days prior. Taking this, I decided to play off that and quickly wrapped the game in a MTG card box for some Tom Foolery! Needless to say, she was quite surprised and happy when she opened the box to find MK smiling it's gruesome and bloody smile at her.
On to the reviews!
Portal 2 - From taking a gander at the size of the strategy guide on the counter for this game, I knew it had to have more meat than it's predecessor (don't worry, I did not get the guide as I find half the fun is solving the puzzles myself. Much more satisfying that way). I found out that the co-op campaign is totally different from the single player so I am waiting with anticipation for someone on my friend's list to get it so I can experience this jewel (Dawn gets motion sickness from FPS games). Single player starts off throwing you right into the mix. As of writing this, I have finally beaten the game so I won't give away any details. But I will say that the puzzles are much more challenging and I had many head scratching moments. Another pleasant surprise was the addition of an actual story. Yes, we now learn a bit more about the behind the scenes at Aperture Science. The levels are larger and more intricate. The addition of the 2nd type of cube and the 3 different liquids add a lot of variety to problem solving and really stretch your mind. The voice acting was fantastic and the dialog caused many laugh out loud moments. Overall, I give the game 5 out of 5. And this is based soley off the single player so the multiplayer is all gravy bonus.
Mortal Kombat - First thing I noticed when playing this game was "Smoke looks really gay". I'm sorry but the flowing white hair just doesn't do it for me, lol. Aside from that, the kontrols (see what I did there? lol) are more simplified. Fatalities are also easier to pull off. Gone are the 10+ button mashing combos and a prayer that your fatality goes off. Graphics are much improved and move very fluid. Course, MK can't be without it's huge tittied, scantily clad Outworld ladies. Always a plus, lol. Most of the favorites are back with Reptile, Barakka, and Kabal. Some not so favorites in Striker and Jax are there as well. Missing are the likes of Goro (Sheeva is present though) and Mintaro but I had read that the developers wanted bosses to stay as bosses and not as playables. Now comes the play types. Story mode is incredible. I have never experienced such a deep and long story in a MK game. Deception introduced a form of story in a 3rd person exploration with occasional fights and questing. This MK is all fighting but with a variety of cutscenes between each fight that explores and explains much of the MK universe. I know know how and why Sektor and Cyrax are robots and how Mileena came to be. I have dropped many hours into this game and have just reached 50% through the story.
Lets add on to that the challenge tower. 300 different challenges to tackle from simple Test your Might trials to facing a tag team of foes that regenerate. Each fight scores you koins which you can spend in the Krypt (apparently "C"s do not exist!). Here, there are 4 zones, each slammed with between 40-120 unlockables. Here you can find anything from new fatalities to alternate costumes to concept art. Luckily I found a list of what is where on-line so I was able to go right for the new fatalities and costumes. Overall, I give this game 4 out of 5. I base this off the typical longevity of fighting games and how they do tend to lose steam after a bit. But overall, it is well worth it's brand new price tag.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Malifaux and Other Things
It's been awhile so here is a little recap as of late. Dave just brought it to my attention that The Game Vault up in Fredricksburg will be having a Malifaux tournament in mid April. I am debating on whether I want to attend or not. We're still waiting for them to finalize their tournament packet so I think that will be the defining factor for me. It's going to be 25ss but that's all we really know. No word on if we have to stick with set lists for our factions or what. I do plan to take my Kirai Resurrectionist crew though. I plan to keep my model pool pretty simple and stick only to the spirits in her theme so basically Onryo, Seishin, Shikome, and Gaki with Dastue-Ba as back-up.
For model progress, I've finally finished basing 5 Seishin, 4 Gaki, 4 Onryo, 1 Shikome, Ikiryo, Lost Love, Datsue-Ba, and Kirai and primed them all in white. I'm probably going to start with the Onryo first as I think the colors that look best on them will transfer to the rest of the crew. I just need to get some inspiration on a color scheme to go with.
In other news, I recently picked up a decent sized Hordes Legion of Everblight army off a guy from the Stoney Point Refugees. Got it at a great price too! It is missing a few minor parts (like spikes) but at the price I got it, it's something that I can easily deal with. With that army now in my possession, Chris M and I are trying to get in some games now so that he can learn how to play his Khador he bought off another mutual friend of ours. Hopefully we can both get up to speed (since it's been a few years since I last played) in time for the next season of Privateer Press's WarmaHordes league.
I was recently turned on to this fantastic deal, if you are in need of transport for your figures. Wal-Mart has these pistol cases for $10 that are pure gold! It's a nice, hard, GW-style plastic shell. Inside, you have 2 eggfoam sheets for the top and bottom. For your models, there is a sheet of 1 1/2" (roughly) of pluck foam to customize for your figures. I bought one and was able to fit my Everblight army in it with room to spare (Lilith, Strider, Epic Thagrosh, 4 Shredders, 2 Stingers, 1 Seraph, 1 Raek, 2 Carniveans, and 1 Typhon!!). Best bang for your buck!
For model progress, I've finally finished basing 5 Seishin, 4 Gaki, 4 Onryo, 1 Shikome, Ikiryo, Lost Love, Datsue-Ba, and Kirai and primed them all in white. I'm probably going to start with the Onryo first as I think the colors that look best on them will transfer to the rest of the crew. I just need to get some inspiration on a color scheme to go with.
In other news, I recently picked up a decent sized Hordes Legion of Everblight army off a guy from the Stoney Point Refugees. Got it at a great price too! It is missing a few minor parts (like spikes) but at the price I got it, it's something that I can easily deal with. With that army now in my possession, Chris M and I are trying to get in some games now so that he can learn how to play his Khador he bought off another mutual friend of ours. Hopefully we can both get up to speed (since it's been a few years since I last played) in time for the next season of Privateer Press's WarmaHordes league.
I was recently turned on to this fantastic deal, if you are in need of transport for your figures. Wal-Mart has these pistol cases for $10 that are pure gold! It's a nice, hard, GW-style plastic shell. Inside, you have 2 eggfoam sheets for the top and bottom. For your models, there is a sheet of 1 1/2" (roughly) of pluck foam to customize for your figures. I bought one and was able to fit my Everblight army in it with room to spare (Lilith, Strider, Epic Thagrosh, 4 Shredders, 2 Stingers, 1 Seraph, 1 Raek, 2 Carniveans, and 1 Typhon!!). Best bang for your buck!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
RPG Recap Uploaded
I have uploaded the archived recaps of our current RPG adventure (Thanks Tom!!). It's formatting is a little wonky at the moment but I am slowly working on fixing it. When it's done, it should read with the most current recap at the top (currently, it's in sequential order so the most recent is at the bottom). Hope you all enjoy!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Uncharted Seas Campaign to Kick Off
Chris brought to my attention, a set of campaign rules for Uncharted Seas that he found I think via the D6 Generation's podcast. After reading a bit more into the scenarios and such, we decided to give it a go (Campaign Rules link at end of post). So we gathered up all the Uncharted Seas players we knew (for an amazing grand total of 4!!) and are going to give it a go!
So, we have:
Me - Ralgard
Chris - Shroud Mages
Jason - Bone Griffons
Tom - Orc Raiders
The specific scenarios look to me a lot of fun. I had gotten kind of tired of the ones out of the rulebook. Or rather the ONE out of the rulebook since the others don't really work well. 1 works for multiplayer games, 1 is a gimmick scenario (the Gauntlet), and the last one no one will ever play me in it because my ships are too fast (basically you have to transport as much tokens to an island as you can). So every game and thus been a basic Pitched Battle. I have thrown down the challenge gauntlet to Tom so once I am done getting my ass kicked by him, I will post up a batrep and hopefully I would have remembered to take pictures.
Here is the Campaign Rules link:
http://craiggallant.webs.com/uncharteredseas.htm
So, we have:
Me - Ralgard
Chris - Shroud Mages
Jason - Bone Griffons
Tom - Orc Raiders
The specific scenarios look to me a lot of fun. I had gotten kind of tired of the ones out of the rulebook. Or rather the ONE out of the rulebook since the others don't really work well. 1 works for multiplayer games, 1 is a gimmick scenario (the Gauntlet), and the last one no one will ever play me in it because my ships are too fast (basically you have to transport as much tokens to an island as you can). So every game and thus been a basic Pitched Battle. I have thrown down the challenge gauntlet to Tom so once I am done getting my ass kicked by him, I will post up a batrep and hopefully I would have remembered to take pictures.
Here is the Campaign Rules link:
http://craiggallant.webs.com/uncharteredseas.htm
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Every Cowboy Sings a Sad, Sad Song.....
Here is a little write up of a game of Malifaux Chris and I played about a week ago down at A-Games. Chris and I shot down there after work (and the kids were down) to catch up with an old friend, Dave, from OEJ days. We brought our Malifaux stuff in an attempt to get in a game. Sadly, we were barely able to get 3 turns in.
From memory, Chris brought his Guild in the form of Lady Justice, the Scales, an Executioner, a Witchling Stalker, a Death Marshall, a Convict Gunslinger, and this dude with an eagle. I brought McMourning, 4 Canine Remains, a Punk Zombie, a Hanged, and Mortimer the Gravedigger. Scenario was there were 5 TNT bundles strung out across the center line of the table. Chris's forces had to get into btb contact with the bundles and spend a (1) action to activate them. I, in turn, had to keep his forces from lighting the bundles and/or spend a (2) activation to disarm them. In addition, Chris took a couple of bonus schemes. 1 was getting someone into my deployment zone and another was to get his Witchling Stalker killed by McMourning. I only took Bodyguard on McMourning. It is of note here that McMourning had a few points left over that were transfered (along with 1 soul stone from his starting cache) into 6 body part counters.
Game started out as usual. A little positioning to see where our respective forces would rush. Chris stuffed Lady J into a casket as a transport while McMourning killed one of his Canine Remains and summoned a Rogue Necromancy. The bulk of Chris's forces moved towards my right flank while the Death Marshal (with Lady J in his casket) moved down my left side. I moved most of my forces to mirror Chris's while I floated my Hanged over to threaten the Death Marshall. The Hanged's (not sure how you make that word into possessive, lol) ability to hit a model for half it's wounds and eliminate any form of healing makes for a nice threatened bubble around him. Well worth the 8 ss!
As time started to wear on, no bundles had been activated. In an attempt to draw Chris's attention away from the objectives and into old school beat downs, I threw my Punk Zombie at his Convict Gunslinger while racing my Rogue Necromancy around a building and just into 2" melee range of it's claws against his Witchling Stalker (who was creeping up in hopes that McMourning would pop out to pop him). Punk Zombie was unable to engage the Gunslinger after a few rounds were tossed his way but the Rogue Necromancy tore through the Stalker.
Gunslinger and Executioner entered the fray to attack the Rogue Necromancy as I had thought Chris would. Course, I did not think he would dish out as much damage as he did. Between the Executioner, Gunslinger, and the guy with the eagle, he brought the Rogue Necromancy down from 10 wounds to 1. In return though, the Rogue Necromancy did some decent damage to the Executioner.
I brought McMourning from behind the building and attempted to use his thrown Scapel attack. Sadly, I ended up hitting the Necromancy instead. This pushed McMourning into btb with it while killing it at the same time. With a cheated fate and soul stone, McMourning was able to summon another thanks to the pile of body part counters the first one dropped when it died. It was then that Chris called it. Shop was about to get ready to close, no counters were activated, and he f'ing HATES the Rogue Necromancy, lol.
In the end, I won by 6 VP's (keeping McMourning alive and none of the TNT bundles were activated). It was a fun game and I enjoyed finally getting McMourning to do something other than kill his own dogs and summon. Still having trouble with his sidekick though. I took Mortimer this time instead of the usual Sebastian, because Mortimer's Exhume is a little easier to get off and only uses (1) action instead of Sebastian's (2). Sadly, it never went off. Even when I had a low end crow in my hand to cheat the Exhume flip with, I could never get the actual spell off.
Sadly, this would be our last game for a bit because I'm mailing our figure cards off this week for the card redemtion program so we can get the new updated cards. At least it should give me some time to start painting my FSA stuff and get in some Uncharted Seas games.
From memory, Chris brought his Guild in the form of Lady Justice, the Scales, an Executioner, a Witchling Stalker, a Death Marshall, a Convict Gunslinger, and this dude with an eagle. I brought McMourning, 4 Canine Remains, a Punk Zombie, a Hanged, and Mortimer the Gravedigger. Scenario was there were 5 TNT bundles strung out across the center line of the table. Chris's forces had to get into btb contact with the bundles and spend a (1) action to activate them. I, in turn, had to keep his forces from lighting the bundles and/or spend a (2) activation to disarm them. In addition, Chris took a couple of bonus schemes. 1 was getting someone into my deployment zone and another was to get his Witchling Stalker killed by McMourning. I only took Bodyguard on McMourning. It is of note here that McMourning had a few points left over that were transfered (along with 1 soul stone from his starting cache) into 6 body part counters.
Game started out as usual. A little positioning to see where our respective forces would rush. Chris stuffed Lady J into a casket as a transport while McMourning killed one of his Canine Remains and summoned a Rogue Necromancy. The bulk of Chris's forces moved towards my right flank while the Death Marshal (with Lady J in his casket) moved down my left side. I moved most of my forces to mirror Chris's while I floated my Hanged over to threaten the Death Marshall. The Hanged's (not sure how you make that word into possessive, lol) ability to hit a model for half it's wounds and eliminate any form of healing makes for a nice threatened bubble around him. Well worth the 8 ss!
As time started to wear on, no bundles had been activated. In an attempt to draw Chris's attention away from the objectives and into old school beat downs, I threw my Punk Zombie at his Convict Gunslinger while racing my Rogue Necromancy around a building and just into 2" melee range of it's claws against his Witchling Stalker (who was creeping up in hopes that McMourning would pop out to pop him). Punk Zombie was unable to engage the Gunslinger after a few rounds were tossed his way but the Rogue Necromancy tore through the Stalker.
Gunslinger and Executioner entered the fray to attack the Rogue Necromancy as I had thought Chris would. Course, I did not think he would dish out as much damage as he did. Between the Executioner, Gunslinger, and the guy with the eagle, he brought the Rogue Necromancy down from 10 wounds to 1. In return though, the Rogue Necromancy did some decent damage to the Executioner.
I brought McMourning from behind the building and attempted to use his thrown Scapel attack. Sadly, I ended up hitting the Necromancy instead. This pushed McMourning into btb with it while killing it at the same time. With a cheated fate and soul stone, McMourning was able to summon another thanks to the pile of body part counters the first one dropped when it died. It was then that Chris called it. Shop was about to get ready to close, no counters were activated, and he f'ing HATES the Rogue Necromancy, lol.
In the end, I won by 6 VP's (keeping McMourning alive and none of the TNT bundles were activated). It was a fun game and I enjoyed finally getting McMourning to do something other than kill his own dogs and summon. Still having trouble with his sidekick though. I took Mortimer this time instead of the usual Sebastian, because Mortimer's Exhume is a little easier to get off and only uses (1) action instead of Sebastian's (2). Sadly, it never went off. Even when I had a low end crow in my hand to cheat the Exhume flip with, I could never get the actual spell off.
Sadly, this would be our last game for a bit because I'm mailing our figure cards off this week for the card redemtion program so we can get the new updated cards. At least it should give me some time to start painting my FSA stuff and get in some Uncharted Seas games.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Been Awhile
So it's been awhile since my last post. Thaniras Elves are basically completed. All ships (with the exception of 2 assault ships I recently got) are based on plasticard and the Vallejo waves turned out really well. They dulled down quite a bit when I matte sealed the model so with a nice drybrush of white to put caps on the waves, it looks like the ships are cutting through cold, choppy waters. I am pleased with the end result (pics forth coming).
I recently purchased a Ding/Dent deal from One Eyed Jacques for a Relthoza Firestorm Armada fleet. 50% off was too good to pas up, especially when I've really wanted to get a fleet (this particular fleet in fact) for awhile now. As I write this, they are outside drying from their first coat of primer. Funny how it takes a completely different game system to get me painting again after all these years.
Finally, I have the 3rd child to round out my Spartan Games addiction, Dystopian Wars Prussian Empire boxed set on it's way. Well, HOPEFULLY on it's way soon. CCGArmory is dragging their feet on shipping it to me. To tide me over though, I have gotten the Airship built and primed. I need to locate some of my FoW German crosses to festoon my fleet. The airship is just plain gigantic!!
To finish off this post, a friend of mine suggested that I start posting up my game group's RPG recaps here. Would make sense to catalog them for easy reference and flashbacks to good times. So look for those in the coming days/weeks.
I'll have pics of my current projects up probably tomorrow as well.
I recently purchased a Ding/Dent deal from One Eyed Jacques for a Relthoza Firestorm Armada fleet. 50% off was too good to pas up, especially when I've really wanted to get a fleet (this particular fleet in fact) for awhile now. As I write this, they are outside drying from their first coat of primer. Funny how it takes a completely different game system to get me painting again after all these years.
Finally, I have the 3rd child to round out my Spartan Games addiction, Dystopian Wars Prussian Empire boxed set on it's way. Well, HOPEFULLY on it's way soon. CCGArmory is dragging their feet on shipping it to me. To tide me over though, I have gotten the Airship built and primed. I need to locate some of my FoW German crosses to festoon my fleet. The airship is just plain gigantic!!
To finish off this post, a friend of mine suggested that I start posting up my game group's RPG recaps here. Would make sense to catalog them for easy reference and flashbacks to good times. So look for those in the coming days/weeks.
I'll have pics of my current projects up probably tomorrow as well.
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