Wednesday 29 April 2015

Back on the Wagon


No trip to General Kas' fortress dwelling would be complete without a large haul of stuff to paint to take home. So I've got plenty to keep me more than busy for the long, slow trek to WoffBoot X, and here is the first of it as I try to break out of the hobby slump a fully gluttonous weekend engendered.

Back to the Dark Elves first, then, and here's some long awaited podiums for the ladies to gyrate on.


Sunday 26 April 2015

Woffboot IX: The Generals: Stylus

Battle reports done, it's time for my own reflections on WoffBoot IX.


Saturday 25 April 2015

The Kinslaying: Wood Elves vs Host of the Eternity King

Round 4: versus Host of the Eternity King

My final battle of the WoffBoot was an elven civil war between my Wood Elves and a HotEK list of mostly Dark Elves, supported by a Frostheart and led by Allarielle, Incarnate of Life.


It was commanded by Kasfunatu, who I am very good at losing to in these tournaments, but I went in confident that I had a plan. Unfortunately, I don't think it was a good plan.

Armies

Host of the Eternity King

A Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report between Wood Elves and Host of the Eternity King.
  • Alarielle, Incarnate of Life
  • SorceressLv 1 Shadow, Dispel Scroll, Ironcurse Icon, dark steed
  • 14 x Darkshards
    Full command, Flaming Banner, shields
  • 9 x Dark Riders
    Musician, Repeater crossbows, shields
  • 5 x Doomfire Warlocks
  • 1 x Frostheart Phoenix
  • 1 x War Hydra

Friday 24 April 2015

Fear Not, Till Birnam Wood Do Come: Wood Elves vs Warriors of Chaos

Round 3: versus Warriors of Chaos

Game 3 saw me face off my old SkypeBoot sparring partner Kraken, with the added virtue of both of us being in the same room.

Usually when my Wood Elves face his Warriors of Chaos, he result is an arrow-filled heap of carnage, but with a fast army led by Archaon, I knew I was in for a game.


I was expecting a good game, and was not about to be disappointed. It proved to be the kind of game that gets you hooked on Warhammer: six action-packed turns of changing fortunes and improbable dice rolls.

On more than one occasion I found myself running to the gamers in the adjoining room, not for rules queries, but just to shout, 'can you believe this just happened?'

Armies

Warriors of Chaos

A Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report between Wood Elves and Warriors of Chaos

  • Archaon, The EverchosenLore of Metal
  • Exalted Champion (BSB)
    Mark of Nurgle, Halberd, Scaly Skin and Hideous Visage
  • 14 x Warriors of Chaos
    Shields, Full Command, Mark of Nurgle
  • 1 x Chaos Chariot
    Mark of Khorne
  • 5 x Marauder Horsemen
    Full Command, Mark of Slaanesh, Shields, Throwing Axes, Spears
  • 5 x Chaos Knights
    Full Command, The Swords of Chaos, Ensorcelled Weapons

Thursday 23 April 2015

Pass The Cheese: Wood Elves vs Skaven

Round 2: versus Skaven

This was actually versus United Legions of the Everchosen (to gain Reign of Chaos effects - I wasn't exaggerating about the cheese), but was, in reality, an all-ratmen army with a Verminlord special character.



Facing a big horde of low-toughness critters, I went into this battle with a confidence that reflected my ignorance of the Skaven army book.

Armies

The Grand Legion of the Everchosen - Skaven

The Abomination is a proxy Verminlord
The Rat Ogres are proxy Stormfiends
The Jezzail is a proxy Ratling Gun
The Skullcannon is a proxy Warp Lightning Cannon
The Clanrats are proxy Stormvermin
The Warlord, to be fair, is a Warlord.

  • Warlord
  • Verminlord Deceiver
  • Chieftain (BSB)
  • Warlock Engineer
  • 37 x Stormvermin
  • 1 x Ratling Gun
  • 1 x Warp Lightning Cannon
  • 3 x Stormfiends

Wednesday 22 April 2015

And The Greatest Of These Is Charioty: Wood Elves vs Tomb Kings

As the dust settles on WoffBoot IX, it's time for the general thoughts of the generals. While I'll be adding my own naval-gazing in due time, I'll first post all the battle reports.

Not only did I remember to take photos for every battle (a rarity), but I also had the advantage of a long and delayed train journey home, which meant I could write them all up from fresh memory.

Round 1: versus Tomb Kings


Armies


Tomb Kings


  • Tomb Prince
  • Liche Priest
  • 19 x Skeleton Archers
  • 5 x Skeleton Chariots
  • 3 x Necropolis Knights
  • 1 x Khemrian Warsphinx
  • 1 x Casket of Souls

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Woffboot IX: The Generals: Kraken


Yes! Actual physical attendance was achieved, after a three-year absence. That is such a result for me that my actual placement in the tournament felt entirely secondary. Which was pretty apt, given that I came second.

As my army returns to its Swedish locker, having survived a two-way battering from Ryanair with only minor fractures, I shall record my post-match analysis and thoughts. No big battle write-ups for two reasons:


  • I didn't take any photos or notes, so it's all a bit blurry
  • I took Archaon, and writing any sort of narrative based on him is just going to be lousy fanfic. There'd be a bit where he makes out with Alarielle, for example, and nobody wants to read my take on that. As I know from countless rejection letters. 

Sunday 19 April 2015

Woffboot IX: The Generals: Kasfunatu

Kasfunatu 

Woffboot IX is officially over, and the last general has left.

I wanted to reflect on the armies and battles from the weekend, and provide some thoughts/commentary/log for posterity.

Ultimately I had two convincing wins, one reasonable loss and one crushing defeat; resulting in 3rd place overall.



Saturday 18 April 2015

WoffBoot IX

“Do not let us be ... hasty”
Vs Sk
Vs CW
Vs HotEK
Vs WE
Vs TK
TOTAL
-
9
19188
54
11
-
15
614
46
1
5
-
17
19
42
2
14
3
-
12
31
12
6
1
8
-
27

Wednesday 15 April 2015

The Caddies of Kurnos

In previous editions, there was one overwhelming reason to take a Wood Elf hero: you needed someone to haul around the Hail of Doom Arrow.

Now, marvellously, there is a second reason: Glade Captains/Lords are the only models who get to shoot the Talon of Kurnos at the start of a battle and plink a wound off an enemy character before anything else begins.

(I've had better luck with the Talon of Kurnos than with the Hail of Doom Arrow, so I'm very much in favour of it. Mind you, I've had better luck with the National Lottery than with the Hail of Doom Arrow, so the bar isn't set high)

Without further ado - here are the Glade Captains!

Warhammer Fantasy Battle - Wood Elf Glade Captain
From the Timotei Kindred

Tuesday 14 April 2015

A Dram Afore Ye Go

Determined to leave behind a clean painting tray before I depart for the 'Boot on Friday, I really started regretting half-starting a bunch of things all at once when the Reaper box arrived and I was totally over excited.

But! I am nothing if not relentless with my painting. And there were a couple of essentials I needed to get done for the armies I'm handing over on arrival, so there was nothing to be done but spend my weekend evenings crouched furiously over the brushes.

In no particular order, and without a massive barrage of painting guides, here are the fruits of that cramped labour.

A Celtic Standing Stone, front and back, useful for scatter terrain:



Monday 13 April 2015

Here be Dragons


The terrain I posted a week or so ago finished with a vaguely concealed promise to paint up some dragons, so that the dreary ruined castles had something chirpy to brighten them up a bit. 

So here's a Black Dragon, obviously. 

Thursday 9 April 2015

The Last Round: Dwarves vs Warriors of Chaos

Prologue

A Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report between Dwarves and Warriors of Chaos.

Josef Bugman looked around the abandoned brewhouse with an apprising eye: the pipes were in disrepair and the vats cracked by the recent attack, but the kettle was sound, the cellars intact and the water up here was good. With enough time, he could cook up a decent little beer. But time was something he no longer had. None of them did.

"Last round, lads! Get it while you can." his sergeant, Snorri Budweiserson, was serving out the company's tankard on a long trestle table. Mugs of beer on one end, rows of throwing axes on the other. He wondered which would run out first.

Bugman accepted the mug and quaffed down a mouthful of Old Legend. Snorri did the same and they both let out long, contemplative belches.

"Don't seem right to me, chief," Snorri began. "Hunting the Kazaki'dum is one thing, but why do we have to put ourselves in the middle of this fight?"

"The end is coming," said Bugman, the ale lending him farsight. "All we can do is join one fight or another."

"But why risk our lives for a tanglebeard like Stonehammer?" Snorri insisted. "We know the Kazaki'dum are being led by the survivor of Gallery #114. I heard rumour that it was no accident. They say that Stonehammer deliberately sealed the tunnel because of an argument with this Phlothos. He condemned sixteen dwarves to their deaths just to settle a feud."

"So they do say," said Bugman, walking slowly to the stone window frame. There was movement along the north end of the pass: a great horde of Kazaki'dum, accompanied by their monsters and war engines. Battle was about to be joined.

"So if this Phlothos wants revenge, I'd say Helgvist has it coming."

Bugman lined up his crossbow bolts, one after another, in a row on the window still. A huge, diseased monster on decaying leathery wings had just flapped to the front of the army and bellowed out a challenge in broken Khazalid.

"We all got it coming, laddie."


The Legend Reaches Its Height!
It's All-Skype Fight Night!

Tonight we conclude the campaign that began last October. What began as "hey, how about we write this battle as a narrative?" has blossomed, pustule-like, into a seven-part tragic odyssey of Phlothos Orgmeier, champion of Nurgle, as he defies every race in the Warhammer world to stop him.

I, Stylus, will be fielding Dwarves as the final gatekeeper to his quest.

And I, Kraken, will bring Phlothos to his final resting place, amongst the legends in the hearts and minds of a thousand a select few readers.

Totting up the points over the last six battles, it seems that I need a very solid win to come out triumphant. Tough, but not impossible...

We're playing by our usual house rules (although refinements to the magic system are moot, as you will see), but have ramped up the scale to a finale-shattering 2,000pts. We'll be using boasts, and also the addition of 'anti-boasts' to encourage both warlords to finish this in the proper style.
  • Dwarf anti-boast: -100VPs if Phothos is targeted by any war machine
  • Warriors of Chaos anti-boast: -100VPs if Helgvist (or his unit) is targeted by magic

Prepare to strike out the grudge!

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Phlologue


Night.

The bulwarks of Clan Garn's Hearthold didn't look quite as Phlothos remembered. Perhaps it was the passage of time, the inevitable creep of stonesplitting ivy and lichen that had eroded the features of the embossed guardians. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks.

Perhaps it was the gaping holes where his sorcerers had conjured rains of sour venom, leaving nothing but dead earth and burnt stone.

Monday 6 April 2015

Shieldbearers: To You, To Me, To You

In the new (and somewhat humourless) fluff, a Dwarf Lord's shieldbearers are noble and loyal retainers, entrusted with a great and solemn honour.

Personally, I've always liked the idea of a couple of Chuckle Brothers trying to shift a piano.

A Dwarf Shieldbearer conversion for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
To You, To Me... and so on until it ceases to be funny.

Saturday 4 April 2015

EXT: Pic'n'Mix Gothic Architecture

Step inside, step inside

Here's all that scenery I promised!

Friday 3 April 2015

Woffboot IX... two weeks and counting

With the End Times charging on apace, we've had a bit of a ReBoot of the WoffBoot, and have come up with some tournament amendments.

... or you could just use the back of an envelope.

Everything below is an update from the previous post(s):

Thursday 2 April 2015

And now SAGA!

And so, on the 19th day of Einmánuður, Kraken and I departed from the true path and took a voyage into historical skirmish.

(On the downside: you get fewer Mutalith Vortex Beasts. On the upside: it's a lot harder for the creators to flush the entire fluff into a warp portal - not without some serious historiography at least)

What had caught my eye was SAGA, a Viking age skirmish game from Gripping Beasts. The basic rulebook incorporates everything from the Lindisfarne massacre to the Battle of Hastings, allowing you to play Vikings, Anglo-Danes, Welsh (yay!) or Normans. There are also expansion packs that add Irish, Anglo-Saxons, Scots etc.

SAGA historical skirmish game
I don't know why the whole word is upper case.
I think you have to shout it.