40K and Competitiveness

This post started as a review of the Grey Knights and my thoughts on it, as well as my thoughts on the general internet opinion of it. (I apologize in advance, as I've had to rearrange my thoughts after deciding to split it into two posts.) Needless to say, I wouldn't be considered part of the current "popular" view of it. I liked it. Most of the internet - and by that I mean, most of the player base that frequents the internet, which is best described as Mos Eisley Space Port - believes that this Codex is, simply put, bad. But before I address why I like this codex, I think I need to first address the elephant in the internet (clogging those tubes I would imagine).

Where to start?

The 40K blogosphere is ranting about the latest release the Grey Knights, and much of it stems from the lowering of the competitive edge the codex once held.  I know why they think this way and I understand it. For example, the recent Grey Knight codex seems to have two distinct groups that are defined by their reason for their dislike for it. Both groups are unhappy with the codex being stripped of half it's units, the Inquisition and the Assassins, along with two Grey Knight specific characters that had no model, which is completely understandable. Anyone who played a Grey Knight codex army that was pure Inquisition, will find themselves buying a the digital only Inquisition codex. Is this a money grab by GW? Yes and no. GW has ridiculously overcosted eBooks, especially in their iBook format. But it makes sense when one looks at how 7th edition plays with detachments.

When it comes to the Inquisition codex, the lore sections are weak. It is essentially a copy/paste from the old Grey Knight Codex and the Inquisition Illustrated Guide, but for people who lacked either, it was useful. The rules, however, are updated so that if you run an Inquisitor and crew, then now have access to their own detachment, warlord traits, relics and valkyries as dedicated transports, as well the ability to run an inquisitor not as the primary detachment, but still your army's warlord. In my opinion, if you are running an Inquisition list, it is preferable to run it out of the Inquisition codex (surprise!). And, despite what I keep hearing, you can buy it if you don't have an iPad. I bought the "cheaper" epub versions straight from Black Library's site and use it on my Android tablet. Alternatively, you can get a PC epub reader and print it out. I sucks to have to buy another codex, and this hobby is already expensive, but if you play pure Inquisition, then you just saved money, unlike those of us you play both sides combined and need both codices.

The second, and most vocal from what I've seen, groups dislike for the Grey Knight codex and the most the recent codices in general is derived from the competitive nature of the players and their dislike of the way GW is taking 40K, coupled with their view (one that is think is incorrect) that 40K is a competitive game. Warhammer 40,000 is not a competitive game system. Games Workshop has flat out stated that Warhammer, both varieties, is a game for narrative play. It isn't designed to be played competitively - at least not without restrictions and rules placed on it by tournament organizers that realize that - and it shows when someone tries to play it as such. If you want to play a game designed from the concept stage up to be competitive simply look at Privateer Press's Warmachine and Hordes. It's release strategy even emphasizes this with every faction is a system getting updates simultaneously. Unlike Games Workshop which has a staggered release schedule for each faction, which has lead to issues of some factions being updated multiple times before others; for example, Sisters of Battle who haven't had a fully-fledged codex since 3rd edition.

In 7th edition, more narrative elements were added, especially with the ability to make "Unbound" armies, throwing balance right out the window. If you let it. When players play 40K as a narrative game, you avoid the overly unbalanced issues that occur in a tournament setting. You don't see the large, overpowered "Deathstar" units that frequent tournaments that are not fun to play or play against. The game no-longer has that tactical feel to it, that other games retain while being competitive. It becomes a "who's got a bigger stick and swings first" game.

This isn't to say that players who enjoy the competitive style 40K shouldn't. If competitive play is your thing, all the power to you. However, it's hard to justify complaints that a narrative designed game plays poorly in the tournament scene. That's like complaining that the cops and robbers you played as a kid with finger guns isn't competitive.

That being said, it is not impossible to make 40K "competitive" - I used the term loosely - however, it takes a lot of work on the part of the Tournament Organizer, and usually a lot of additional rules and restrictions on what you can and can't bring to the event or how your build your army in an effort to create balance.

The best experience I've had with a tournament is the Astronomi-con event, which has fairly extensive set of guidelines for building a list, but in no way does it detract from the tournament. In fact, the way the entire tournament is set up, with points awarded for thing like theme ("adherence to the background of the 40k universe") and adding things to your list like names and fiction, in addition to each table having it's own scenario - like protecting/raiding a base using kill team rules until the alarm sounds, at which point turn one begins, or random aliens attacking both players - leads to a competitive tournament that includes the narrative elements of the game and it's background, and limits the problems that arise in extremely competitive environments. It also makes for an event that anyone who's played agrees is one of the best 40k experiences you can go to.

A Narrative Campaign Weekend I created
at the release of 5th Edition 40K

I'm not saying GW is perfect. Because God knows they're not. I actually want to get to the Grey Knights review, so I won't even talk about the latest financials or their business model, so I'll just end with this: There are lots of things to gripe about when it comes to Games Workshop and how they do things. That their rules are poor for the tournament scene isn't one of them. If you want to go to tournaments - which I do on occasion too - that's all fine. But don't expect some great balanced competitive environment from a game that isn't intended to be, without changes to format of the game. If that is what you're expecting, I would suggest other games. Go to have fun, and talk and play with people who enjoy the same hobby as you. Make the tournament appeal to to everyone by adding thematic elements, maybe awards for best faction/team, or have secondary goals that are based on each codices lore. Emphasize these positive elements, and not only will it make the tournament better, but help build the community.

Or run/play in campaign events. Those are a blast! I should run another one of those some time...

A Campaign I created for the release of Apocalypse

*Addendum: As I was finishing up this post, I saw on my Facebook that the Alberta Grand Tournament Circuit is coming to an end, at least temporarily. I don't know the details as to why, but now might be a good time to start a discussion on what can be done to improve the tournament scene in the Alberta community.

As I walk into INFINITY

For those who many not have heard of the game, Infinity is a tabletop miniature wargame from Spain that started almost 10 years. I had seen the models back then (even picked up a couple to paint), but I never really went anywhere with it. Mostly because I knew of no one else who played. Advance to 2014, and now I know several people playing the game, and it has quite the following around the world. 

One of the two buildings for the apartment complex.

It has an intriguing setting too, especially to those who like high technology run amok, AIs that seem bent on control of the human population, dirty politicking from a future version of the UN, evil corporations, outcasts on the edge of society, cyberpunk hackers, colonial rebels, aliens and starships. Infinity is a curious blend of tropes ranging from movies like Bladerunner and Minority Report all the way to video games like Mass Effect and Titanfall, to anime like Patlabor and Ghost in the Shell (and many others). And it pulls it off pretty well. The art through out the books is manga in style, but the miniatures are much more realistically proportioned, albeit keeping some of the esthetics (like cat-girls... I'm looking at you Bakunin). 

Backside of Police Precinct.

Gaming-wise it has the sense to do it differently. Casting off the shackles of the six sided dice, the game is played, rather simply I might add, with a 20-sided dice. To determine if an action is a success, simply roll a D20, add/subtract modifiers and compare to the ability. If you are less than or equal to it, you succeed. If you roll higher than it, you fail. Each turn is completed by issuing "orders" to models, which generally is a movement and an action (but there are a few more complex orders). The number of orders a player gets is equal to the number of models in the force. These orders are then expended one by one, however, you don't have to use one order on each model. If you want, you can not issue orders to some of your models to give other models additional orders. Once you reach zero orders, the turn goes to your opponent.

Front of Police Precinct.
With Parking below.

What I really like about the system, is that it requires a lot of varied scenery. Dense tables are good in this game. This is due to weapons having ranges more realisitic to what one would expect a ballistic round or blast of energy to travel. Long firing lanes make for difficult movement, as your model runs from cover to cover (the game actually recommends "scatter terrain," ie. cars, sidewalk benches, street planters, etc), much like a soldier would do in real life. A well placed sniper can make for a bad day for an opposing force if there is little to no cover for your models.

As a fan of mecha, I also like the inclusion of battlesuits and fight robots in the setting. Most factions have access to their own variant of the mecha, with Ariadna being the most obvious exception, but they get giant werewolves in return. Sounds like a fair trade off, in my opinion. The two alien races, the Combined Army and the Tohaa, also have their own flavour of big armoured model, with the Ralcho and Gorgos, respectively.

The factions themselves are also quite unique. Each has its place in the universe and, again, has a unique feel each stemming from how they left Earth. The main human factions are PanOceania, Yu Jing, Ariadna, Haqqislam, Nomads and Mercenaries, with ALEPH being part of the Human Sphere, but separate. There are also two alien factions, mentioned earlier, the Combined Army and the Tohaa. 

Titanfall's Angel City - for inspiration

I'm currently working on a Nomad force, centered around Corregidor. The faction plays well with me attaching to the underdog. But where I'm really having fun is building scenery. Since this game like gobs of scenery, I've been building up futuristic buildings, taking inspiration from the cities in Titanfall. The WIP buildings you see through out this article are the buildings I've been working on with various thickness' and styles of plasticard.

More inspiration

I have a couple plans for how to do holographic banners and ad-boards, like much of the art depicts and various companies making terrain for Infinity include, using clear polystyrene and clear paint with stencils. We'll see how that pans out. I've got a few other plans for table pieces, such as markets, a large warehouse and even roof-top gardens! 

I hope to have considerably more pics for this project in my next Infinity post (not sure when...). But in the mean time:

Design sketches

More design sketches

Apartment complex on left, precinct on right

Tempestus Militarum: A review with 7th Edition in mind

Warhammer 40,000: Militarum Tempestus

*This article I've been trying to write since the book came out due to life, so I apologize for what may seem like a late review (and the long gap between posts). But, me being late with it, actually made things I didn't get the first time through make a lot more sense due to the release of 7th Edition.

Codex: Militarum Tempestus

Well, I’ve had some time now to digest the newest codex out from Games Workshop: the Militarum Tempestus. (Reading is one of the easier things to do with an infant.) To sum up the codex, it is Codex: Storm Troopers. In this latest edition, much like what we have seen for Imperial Guard, the Storm Troopers of the Schola Progena are seeing a name change. Where the Imperial Guard are now the Astra Militarum (“Star Military?” Or rather in proper Latin, since 40K generally makes it up, “Stars of (the) Military”), the Storm Troopers are becoming the Militarum Tempestus (“Military Storm/Weather”, though, I think it is spelt “Tempestas” in proper Latin. I could be wrong.). Personally I like the names, they fit well with the setting’s pseudo-Latin/high-Gothic language. I imagine, though, that Imperial Guard will still be used as the unofficial name, probably both in-universe and out of universe. Like many, I suspect the name changes reflect a need to make them unique, and thus copyrightable.

Model Gallery

The book itself is a nice 72-page hardbound book, much like a standard codex for 6^th edition. The lore throughout the book is pretty good. It contains the timeline of events from the Militarum Tempestus’ vantage like most other codices, as well as a section talking about the various regiments of the faction. This section I’m mixed about. I loved the shear amount of lore we got for about 20 different regiments, with a colour scheme for each, though by the end it did seem like variation between them was merely “X is good fight Tyranids, Y is good fighting Dark Eldar.” That’s minor, however. My main issue was it was on 20 pages. Each page, with the exception of the last two, has a few paragraphs and an image of a scion (trooper), with little variation in pose between each page. After 20 pages of this, they then show us 4 more regiments, but in a nicer format of two to a page. I would have much preferred the condensed format, rather than an 8 inch solder every page with text that only fills about a quarter/third of the page. It seemed like needless expansion of the page count. This was especially irritating when the model gallery was so short. I know there aren’t a lot of models for the Militarum Tempestus army, but I really liked more painted models showcasing the individual regiments. 

The new unit entry format.

What stood out for me, when I first got to the army list section, was it's unusual format. Normally, the format is each unit has a page early in the codex which gives all the background surrounding a unit with its special rules and its stat line (and usually a nice piece of art), then at the end of the book a condensed list with points and options. Instead, we get a single page with a large photo of the miniatures themselves with a brief description of the unit above and it's special rules, points and options below. (See left) This I found rather odd when I first saw it.

Then Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition landed.

Warhammer 40k's newest edition changes the way armies can be built. Considerably. While I will cover it more when I get to my 7th Edition review (which I hope doesn't take nearly as long as this one), one of the biggest changes is that there are now two ways to construct an army. The first, Battle-Forged, is pretty much the same as before. You build your army following the Force Organization chart (which is now, getting rather... large), however, you get special bonus rules when you do so and you are allowed to take as many detachments as you wish.

6th Edition's chart by the end...

The second way to build an army is called Unbound. In this method, you simple take what you want, from which ever codices you want (but still abiding by the new ally matrix).

Now, looking back at the Tempestus codex, looking at the layout it makes a lot of sense if anyone can just grab random units for an army. This gives all the information a player would need in one spot, so if they take nothing else from the codex, they don't have to flip pages too much (as they'd still need to read army rules, weapon rules, etc.).

The new Ork codex: That Painboy!

With the Ork codex landing this past week (Saturday), what I was guessing to be true, turns out to be so. The same format is used in the new Ork codex, and with two codices down, one can assume that this is the new format. So far, I like this change. My only issue is the lack of art for each unit. But, that's really a minor issue and only me being nit-picky.

I'm curious to know what everyone else's opinion is of this format? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

The Models

Wow. These are some nice models. The sheer amount of bits and details on the Scion kit is phenomenal. There are over three times the needed heads in this kit, with enough heads to do with helmets or berets on the entire squad. Lots of weapons, with one each of the special weapons. My only complaint is the long coat. As cool as long coats are, they are far more useful when worn and not draped over the armored shoulders of the commander. They way it is modeled, the first time he move with any urgency, the long coat will be in the mud.

My first five Scions built.

The level of detail is very nice, with a decent variability in poses when you mix parts. There is the issue of only one set of arms goes with each hot-shot lasgun, but with planning you can somewhat mitigate that. Overall, I look forward to actually getting around to painting these guys, and even more so, seeing them on the table.

Overall, I really like the codex. It is a nice addition, albeit a small one, to what we can play with on the table. And considering the new rules on allies, this is the perfect addition to anyone Imperial force, especially an Inquisitor or Grey Knight army (or both at the same time!). For me, it adds a nice thematic addition to what I already play.

Still kicking... and screaming

The Long Night

Or more accurately, the long two months.

I know it's been a bit since I last posted, but I have a good reason. On Sunday, March 9, my second child, a boy, was born. It's been a frantic time around my house as we adjust to having an infant in the house once more, this time alongside a toddler. Free time, for both myself and my wife, has also been hampered by the fact that our boy has colic. Any parents out there who've experienced this reading this are probably having flashbacks like a Vietnam vet right now, so if you've yet to experience this phenomena, here's hope you don't have to.

Now, I've had a few opportunities to sit and paint, but I've had lots of time to plan several projects. Of course, my main one right now is getting my Imperial Knight finished. I hoping to get it completed for a painting competition that was being held at my local GW, however, while I was able to get it “finished” by most tournament standards (3 colours, based, etc), it is nowhere complete to my satisfaction.

The Night Watchman

I've written up a bit of back story for him, but I’ll save that for when I get him finished. He's so close... I am still coming up with designs for his shoulders and shins. And I'm still not sold on the heraldry on the shield.

As for other projects, I've been planning out my Dindrenzi fleet and how I want to paint it exactly. I’m still leaning towards Halo's UNSC ships, as they both have the same basic shape (an engine or two around a massive mass-accelerator canon). I recently picked up the newest boxes that arrived at my local gaming store for my fleet: The Carrier Battlegroup and the Heavy Cruiser Battlegroup, along with a blister of escorts.

My collection of ships has grown significantly and I think I'm at a point where the collection is pretty much complete. Here's everything I've got for the Dindrenzi. What do you guys think? Think this is an appropriate size? Are there any ships I should have?

The Fleet

On the Malifaux front, this has been one of the best parts of my limited hobby time. These models are fantastic! They are very dynamic and are amazingly detailed. I originally had picked up a few boxes to start (mostly from the Guild, as I already had picked up the old metal Ortega Family set at a swap meet) and went to town. After doing up the "Guild's Judgement" box with simply some sand and cork, I felt like I should go further with the bases.

The Guild's Judgement
Simple basing. Mostly sand, with the odd bit of cork to add some variation in height. It was while working on this box that I came across my only real issue with the kits: The "fiddly-ness" of some of the models. Lady Justice's sword snapped in my fingers with but the slightest pressure and the Scales had a brazier snap off while I was trying to remove it from the sprue. All in all a fantastic kit.

The Torch and Blade
I started to have fun with the bases here. I had spare balsa wood kicking around in various thicknesses, so I started cutting them to lengths that would fit onto the base to create a wood floor and wood walkway look. I did pull out my plasticard tile sheets part way through doing up this boxes bases, but it saw more use in the next box.


Hired Swords
These were my favourite box so far to put together and base, but also the fiddliest. I feel that my basing was the best with these models, and a good combination all my material. The models themselves also have a fantastic level of detail. The swords, however, drove me insane, especially on Viktoria of the Blood. You have to line up several pieces just right, so that her one arm drawing the katana from her back lines up with the other arm holding the scabbard.

The Thunder (and Company)
I just picked these up yesterday, by happenstance really. I was in my FLGS, Thunderground Comics and Games (you can find the address on the Alberta Community page), and he had just finished pricing out all the boxes he had brought in, of which these were a part of. Needless to say, I snatched them up quick, as I had planned to order them anyway.


On the Warmachine front, while I've been only able to paint a bit, I have been reading. In March, the newest book, Vengeance, was released. I've enjoying the progression of the story so far, and new models presented are looking like they will be fun on the table. In particular, I really want a reliant warjack for my Cygnar. With  both a P+S 17 hammer and POW 13 AOE, for only 8 points, I will probably be fielding at least one of these a lot. In particular with the newest iteration of Coleman Stryker. Speaking of the new Lord General...

Mine arrived this past Wednesday, and he is a very nice model. I'm looking forward to painting him up. He comes with two heads; one with his goggles up and one with his goggles over his eyes. I'm not quite sure which I plan to use yet. As for the Stormclad also in the photo, I have a plan to run the Lord General with two. I realize there is supposedly a plastic version coming out with the parts to also build the Reliant and a third, but... meh.



These also arrived two weeks ago. Boy, have I been waiting a long time for these! I wish I had picked up at least the Retribution journeyman caster as well, and maybe also the Protectorate one as well, but I am extremely happy with these models. A very nice level of detail and fairly easy to assemble. I'll have some more pictures of these in a future post, as I work on them. (Also, anyone else think they might use the coins as feat tokens?)

I also managed to pick up the new Privateer Press Tournament Bag. It holds a decent amount of models, all thinks considered. It comes with four small infantry trays, a medium infantry tray/light warjack/warbeast tray, a large warjack/warbeast tray and a think tray of pluck foam. I picked up a couple extra trays for some flexibility, though I do need to pick up at least one more small infantry tray, as I found I was lacking space for infantry and such. I found this out since I actually got to attend a local tournament this past weekend! I will post on it more in my next post, but suffice to say, not having played in two months, and using a list I theory-crafted in my head, I did reasonably well. This bad, however, worked perfectly as intended. I didn't feel I was hauling around my whole army, just this fairly light bag (compared to my full army bag anyway) and my display tray. I would highly recommend it to any competitive tournament goer. And if you play with colossals and such, the half trays do fit with some room to spare, as I did test it with my Stormwall and Storm Strider trays.

I think that's enough for now.
Next post: My experience at Edmonton Onslaught's Warmahordes tournament this past weekend.
Coming soon: Infinity and my look at the new Militarum Tempestus book and models, as well as the upcoming new edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Let me know what you think below!

Grey Knights and Imperial Knights

So for the last week or so, I've been getting ready to prune my Warhammer 40K collection down further. It was a rather large collection spanning my 20 years of playing the game system, as well as my approximately three years as an employee at two GW stores (three if you count the fact that I worked at one when it moved locations). Suffice to say, it needed to be organized down to the armies I most frequently play to give me a) more room for other game systems I was expanding into and b) focus my attention to a smaller subset of unpainted models as my painting time shrank with the approach of my second child (aka future opponent #2. Who, by the way, still isn't here. Much to my wife's chagrin.).

The nice thing about it is, with a little bit of swapping, I was able to get my hands on one of the new Imperial Knight kits. Without the trade, I wouldn't have been able to afford the kit, the price being the only negative to the kit (in Canada it's $170). Other than the cost, it is a very nice kit. All the part fit on three large sprues, something that I was surprised to see. I honestly expected more. They also have a high level of detail. I especially liked the bars for the pilot to climb up to the cockpit.

Leg assembly

Last night, I was able to finish up the building stage of the kit and have it ready to be primed for painting.  I did some simple converting with the legs to get it into a more appealing stance, but nothing too complex (I do that enough to my Crisis Suit!). I liked the idea presented in the White Dwarf last week, and followed suit with building mine in pieces to be painted separately and combined at the end. This will allow me to do some finer brush work with the armour plating.

Dry fit the main assemblies together.

All of the various assemblies.

My hope is to have this done by the end of the month so that I can participate in a painting competition that is being held in Canadian Games Workshop stores. So far, my plan is to paint it up as a Freeblade knight, because the lore behind the Freeblades is too cool to pass up. I was planning on calling him the "Night Watchman," and using a similar iconigraphy that I had planned to use for a Space Marine army a few years ago (the Night Watch chapter, which has a location on the map in the Space Marine codex and a snippet in the old 13th Black Crusade book), but I saw that in the latest White Dwarf one of the studios guys name theirs something similar, which has made me rethink it. However, I'm probably still going to go with the name because I like what I have designed.

The other reason I want to finish it fast, is there is an upcoming tournament in Edmonton, which is one of our larger tournaments; Onslaught. I want to make a list for that based around my Grey Knights.

An older shot of my Grey Knights, in progress.

It won't be the most effective list. Honestly, I don't really plan on winning much. I'm building it for the "Cool" factor. I have a pretty cool display board I made up using one of the tiles from the GW Realm of Battle board, and plan on building a list around the Inquisition. I'm thinking of using either Grey Knights or Space Marines (done as Death Watch) as the primary detachment, with the other being the allied detachment. Add a Imperial Knight through their unique "Imperial Knight detachment" rule and an Inquisitor (possibly with a Valkyrie with (really overcosted) count-as Stormtroopers).

The parts I'd like to add are:
- Death Watch (Space Marine) squad with Librarian in Drop Pod
- Inquisitor in Valkyrie with Acolyte count-as Stormtroopers
- Grey Knights (possible a squad of terminators and a strike squad) - haven't decided on which HQ yet.
- Imperial Knight Errant

Obviously, the Inquisitor would be the warlord. Not great at any one thing, I think it would be lacking in anti-air.
What do you guys think? A bit much? Would you enjoy seeing it across the table?

Warmachine Campaign - The Heart of Thornwood

So I had a couple of the guys over the other night for gaming. We had been discussing doing a campaign in WarmaHordes for a while. I have a Mighty Empires tile set I painted up from when I used to work at the one of the GW's in town, and it seems like a waste to not use it again. It even works in an abstract way as the Thornwood with the Black River running up the right hand side into the lakes of the region.

While gaming and building we chatted about how we would work it. By the end of the night we had a decent set of rules to start from, with a few areas left to ponder about further. I think the Hordes special rule needs something more, but that's just me.

But, I'd like to hear what you guys think. Do you guys and gals have an suggestions? Comments? Issues?
Let me know below!

My Mighty Empires tile set, which hangs on the wall next to my gaming table.

The Rules (Thus far):

Campaign Turn Phases

1. Planning

2. Movement

3. Battle

4. Resolve

5. Claim

6. Build

7. Draw

Basics

- Each player selects three casters to count as their generals. These casters cannot be different versions of the same caster (ie. one casters cannot be Captain Victoria Haley and another Major Victoria Haley).

- Each player plays one game each campaign turn against one of the other campaign players. 

- Armies move D3 tiles during the movement phase of the campaign.

The Tiles

- The map were uses hexagonal tiles, so every tile is adjacent to six other tiles. This arrangement of seven tiles (the centre tile and its six adjacent tiles) are called "the flower." So where you see this, it is referring to this tile arrangement.
- Players begin the campaign with a "flower" arrangement of tiles in corner of the map with the "Fortified Encampment building on it. This building also counts as the players headquarters.
- For our purposes we used Games Workshops Mightly Empires set, however, any hexagonal map would do, even a hand drawn one.
- Tiles are captured by a player if that player has an army on that tile at the claim phase of the game.
- Each Tile can only have one building on built on it.

Buildings

- Only one building may be built per turn, during the build phase of the campaign. 

- Each building grants the controlling player a particular bonus, and each building can only be activated once per turn. Buildings are activated through ability cards.

- A building cannot be built adjacent to another friendly building. A building may be built adjacent to another building if that building is owned by another player (however, this is not without risk).

- If a tile is captured by a player from another player who had built a building on it, the new owner of the tile may choose to either keep the building or raze it, removing it from the tile. Faction buildings are automatically removed when an opposing player captures a tile. 

- Building cannot be built on mountain tiles.

Ability Cards

- Ability cards allow a player to activate a single building during the planning phase of the campaign. To activate a building, the player discards a card from their hand.

- Each player gains one (1) card during the draw phase of the campaign. A player gains an additional card if they win their game during the battle phase. 

- The maximum hand size for any player is 5. 

Special Rules

Warmachine Factions - Special Building: Train Stations

- Train stations count as adjacent for the purposes of movement. Train stations can only be used if the tiles between the stations are owned by the player, or the two players agree that movement can occur (otherwise the train would be intercepted by the opposing player). 

Hordes Factions - Affinity to Nature

- Hordes armies may build on mountain tiles.

Common Buildings

- Stables: Reduces the PC of cavalry units/models by one (1) to a minimum of one when building your army list this turn.

- Barracks: Reduces the PC of infantry units/models by one (1) to a minimum of one when building your army list this turn.

- Warjack Repair Station -  Reduces the PC of a single warjack by one (1) when building your army list this turn. A warjack can only be affected by one repair station per campaign turn.

- Taming Grounds - Reduces the PC of a single warbeast by one (1) when building your army list this turn. A warbeast can only be affected by one taming ground per campaign turn.

- Arcane Nexus: Only one nexus can be built by a player. Grants the player's warcaster/warlock the following special rule:
Arcane Attunement: Once per game, all spells/animus' cast by this warcaster/warlocks (or by warbeasts in its battlegroup) have their cost reduced by one to a minimum of one. 

- Fortified Encampment: Buildings may be build adjacent to the encampment and may ignore other buildings if they are also adjacent to the same encampment. 

Faction Buildings

- Coming soon...

Trying out new things

I hope everyone had a good long weekend (at least for those of you in North America). I had a very good weekend, which will probably be one of the last I can play away from home in a bit, as my wife is about to "pop" with our second child. And I admit, I'm a little late on this post, as it has been very busy in the hustle and bustle leading up to his arrival.

On the long weekend, though, I got a night and an afternoon of gaming, each time trying out casters I don't usually use. Friday night, after being issued a challenge from a friend who wanted to see a Cygnar melee list, I wrote up a small list with eStryker. Monday afternoon, I was over at a friend's place where I played two 50 point games with a Kara Sloan Trencher list. Both were interesting. For the first list, it was 25 points a person and it was a team game. Now, while I wanted the two Legion players to team up, we did it randomly, and the Legion players were on opposite sides with myself (playing Cygnar) and our fourth friend playing Trollbloods.

My teammate Legion player, played with Lylyth (Shadow of Everblight), while my opponents played with Jarl Skuld and Thagrosh (the Messiah). It led to some interesting rounds of combat. Jarl magic bullet'ed poor Lylyth to death through her warbeasts early on, which lead Lord Commander Stryker to attempt to tank both our opponents. He almost got an early charge off on Jarl using his Velocity spell to move him forward 2" per focus, however, I forgot that Skaldi had counter-charge. Thus, the moment I moved forward, he charged me. But, he was in range of Ol'Rowdy's counter-charge, so I charged
him back. This lead to a Stryker ultimately smashing Skaldi and then popping his feat to move himself back and advance his army up to provide him cover. The next turn, Jarl killed Lylyth, but it left him exposed to another charge from Stryker. This time it was successful; the Lord Commander took his head clean off with a nice bonus 11 strength from Overload. Thagrosh then charged Stryker taking him to his last health box.

And this is why I really enjoy Warmachine. You can end up with nail-biters like this. Stryker just has to kill him this round, with no use of his Overload. And I almost succeeded. Stryker brought Thagrosh down to HIS LAST BOX. And then Thagrosh poked Stryker and it was game.

On the Monday, a friend hosted a "WarmaHordapalooza" at his place. I brought out a Kara Sloan list using all trenchers that I had been mulling over over the course of the weekend. The only trencher models I own I didn't get into the list were the commandos and Jonas (since I didn't have a merc unit). It wasn't a bad list, but I did see it's flaws.

I got two games that day. The first game was against Legion. It started out very good for me, however, I found out the trencher range isn't the greatest if you don't kill things. It was almost a win for Cygnar on Kara's feat turn, with so much being shot down range and clearing decent lines of sight thanks to Taryn. Unfortunately, his caster survived the barrage of lead (his warbeasts, however, is another story). Once again it was Thagrosh who struck down my caster is a blaze of glory, after I attempted to get shot him (and having my trenchers throw grenades at the backs of other trenchers just outside Thagrosh's reach so that the blast killed my trenchers in his engagement zone, so I didn't have to deal with the defense bonus of him being in combat). Sadly, it failed and I hadn't planned my line of fire correctly. So Thagrosh simply charged with his reach and smited down Kara where she stood.

My second game was against Circle. This game went much better for me. Having learned what works and doesn't in my first game, I stayed strictly within what I knew worked. My cannon, hunter, minuteman andd Kara focused on taking down the Wolddwardens and Megalith, and Baldur, with the aid of Lady Aiyana, Holt and Taryn, while the rest my army dealt with the rest of his. And it work the way I planned. Turn two I had everything of mine (and he was in a position favorable to what I wanted). Kara popped her feat and she and her battlegroup unleashed hell on one of the Woldwardens and Megalith, enough to destroy both and still have enough shots to continue through into Baldur. The rest the army took out a good chunk of his druids and the UA to one of his unit of stones. On his turn, he came out swinging, taking out my stormcaller, some of the trenchers and punching my minuteman into the ground. Kara, with the help of Aiyana and the Hunter that Baldur fell.

Overall, with both games I learned a bit more about casters I don't usually play. I'm definitely playing more eStryker. And Kara seems to need a bit of finesse, and careful planning to execute properly (and the list I had wasn't great against higher armour things). I've been thinking of trying out a suggestion I've seen quite a few times as a way to prep for tournaments and using eStryker as part of it. The plan is to select three casters and play the crap out of just them, each time using different things, testing and refining the lists. This is also so those three casters are understood fullyand are used when it comes to multiple list style tournaments. Caine is a my favourite personality within Cygnar (especially after reading his book from Skull Island Expeditions), and I just have to decide whether I want to use pCaine (support) or eCaine (assassination). Something to think about on my end.


On a side note, I've been distracted with trying to finish off some 40K armies. As a preview of my next post here's what I've been working on.

Grey Knight Brotherhood Champion test conversion

Also in the News: UPDATE FOR WAR ROOM!
I'm still going through it, testing it's new features. The topic of a future post maybe?