Sunday 23 July 2017

#93: How to be a legend for the ages, and conquer your foes...

Amid the absolute hysteria of 40k, something happened. On the bottom shelf of the new release section of the local store, tucked in beside boxes upon boxes of Easy to Build Plague Marines, sat a brand spanking new book, simply titled "Path to Glory".

Path to Glory is not a new concept. We've recognised it as a loose (and if we're honest, more than a little unbalanced between different battle tomes and races) way to play a story-driven campaign that follows two or more Heroes of the realms as they rally a mighty host to their banner and clash in titanic duals with other generals. It's been floating on the fringes of the Age of Sigmar for some time, with different resources and books adding more elements, but we finally have a wholistic, well-rounded format contained in one book.

Now, the first thing that leaps out to me while reading this is that it is most definitely not for everyone. I think it takes a certain kind of player to fully embrace the narrative, and put themselves in the shoes of their chosen Hero. Don't get me wrong, theres definitely still that competitive aspect; no one enjoys their rise to glory by getting their teeth kicked down their throats. Needless to say, that does not inspire confidence in the masses. But I couldn't quite put my finger on where this book lay in the landscape of tabletop wargaming. It wasn't a game type that encouraged matches that leave you with internal bleeding from the beating you received, but at the same time, it wasn't totally about telling a story at the expense of a gameplay.

Then it dawned on me, in a moment of clarity and perception. This is the playbook for Tale of Four Gamers! The more I thought about it, the more it made perfect sense what this book is designed for and what its purpose is. It's a resource to be used by a handful of mates to grow their armies, play through scenarios and work toward a final goal in a very flexible and diverse campaign system.

Let's talk about the campaign system first. Its beauty is in its simplicity; every win you receive, you gain Glory points, while every loss earns you only one Glory point. You also get to add a Follower (essentially just a new unit) to your army. You can spend more Glory points to recruit more powerful Followers to your army. And how do you win? Well, the aim is to recruit a certain number of Followers or to accrue a certain number of Glory points, then bag yourself a final victory to claim ultimate ascension to the throne! What this allows you to do is not directly compete with your opponents over the same goal. If you can't seem to get a win and you're getting absolutely clobbered by your mates, you can choose to pour all of your resources into growing your fledgeling force into a war host, hit that elusive threshold and go in hot for a single win to pip your opponents at the post.

Alternatively, if you're the type to trample your opponents into the dirt, you can bank all of your Glory points in an attempt to be the most infamous conquerer in the realms!

So, now we know how to win the campaign. Next question is… How do we get there.

Well, as is familiar to us now, the Path to Glory is built upon charts. To start your war band, you pick your general; each character has an estimated power that is reflected in how many starting Follower rolls you get. A Skaven Warlord, for example, gets 4 Follower rolls, while a Lord-Celestant on a Stardrake (yes, that is a legitimate option) starts with absolutely no friends. You then choose where to spend your Follower rolls, whether on Retinues (run-of-the-mill units commonly seen in the army), Elite Retinues (much more powerful units that cost either two Follower rolls or a Follower roll and a Glory Point… decisions must be made!) as well as Heroes and depending on race, things like Behemoths and Skyvessels.

Flicking across each race's charts, it all seems on an even keel. Coming from a Matched Play perspective, it took me a while to get out of the points mindset, as that only led to me noticing disparities in power. But I think that's where I was missing the point of the whole book. It's got nothing to do with points. It's great to see that different charts require different costs to roll upon. Three Gryph-Hounds is not seen as equal to two Fulminators, and rightly so. This book is not perfectly balanced, but it is governed by the Rule of Cool, and there is something refreshing and exhilarating about that.

Every Start Collecting box also has rules as a pre made starting war band. Now, I know what you're thinking…

"But Gabe, Start Collecting boxes are all great value, but they sure aren't equals on the table!"

And in that, you are completely correct, my dear reader. To compensate for this, weaker SC boxes gain a free "Reward" (essentially an Artefact, special rule or stat buff that can be applied to a unit or hero for the rest of the campaign to represent their experience, renown or martial prowess) to give them the edge; it should be said that some of the Rewards are exceedingly powerful. Don't believe me? Have a little peak at "Adepts of the Hidden Path".

On the other side of the coin, more powerful Start Collecting boxes (such as Beastclaw Raiders, those frosty brutes!) have had the goal posts moved, needing two more Glory points than other war bands would usually need before they can make a dash for the finish line.

All in all, this is pretty much Tale of Four Gamers in a single book. I think it works ideally with four to six players, with the time frame being entirely up to the participants.

It should also be noted that this book contains seven Battle Plans, that all focus on some really great situations. Beast's Lair is a particularly cool scenario, that basically throws a spanner in the works, as war bands not only need to combat each other, but also survive the onslaught from a roaming Monster that rampages across the table at will!

It's a good resource all in all. It may not be for everyone, but it definitely scratches that Narrative itch, and gives you some fantastic new ways to play and battle plans to navigate. The price point is a wee nudge above that of the General's Handbook, but I don't regret my purchase at all.

Have you picked up the book? If so, what did you think? It's so good to be getting some Age of Sigmar love amongst the 40k fever!

Thanks for reading, as always
Gabe


Sunday 16 July 2017

#92: Viral Sensation...

Let's talk about Death Guard.

Mortarion's minions have long been a staple in the ranks of Chaos Marine players, and has garnered a die-hard following, and we're gonna look at why.

To truly understand the love that Chaos players have for Nurgle's favoured sons, we have to go all the way back to 3rd Edition 40k (an edition from an age before a lot of us got into the game at all). In that glorious age, chaos players were gifted with the Chaos Marine Codex against which all to follow would be compared to. It was revolutionary for its time, with rules and war gear specific to each of the original nine traitor legions. Iron Warriors had access to the then-incredibly brutal Basilisk, Khorne Daemon Princes were almost guaranteed Turn One charges, the list goes on. Sounds powerful, right?

It was! It was the vessel through which Chaos Marines ascended to complete domination of the game, so much so that it was partly responsible for the swift introduction of Fourth Edition, and a dial down of Chaos. From this massive high, Traitor Marines plummeted off the top tier, thanks to a combination of bland codexes and editions that favoured assault armies less and less. This left CSM players in a very tricky place, as they were naturally drawn toward "Min-Maxing" (the concept of taking the most points-efficient compulsory units to leave as many points left over to spend on "Best in Slot" powerhouse units.  In this time, Plague Marines naturally climbed to the top of the ladder when it came to boots on the ground; they were tough as nails, had good options, high toughness, Feel No Pain (in some iterations) as well as the option to double up on weapons such as Plasma Guns with next to no real risk.

That's not to say that other Legions didn't get a look in, but one reason that Death Guard claimed top spot was that not only were they great in game, they were dripping (literally… Gross!) with character. Where some legions were only denoted by the colour of their armour, when you saw a Death Guard army, you knew exactly where its allegiance lay. The iconic green with flashes of gore, pus and sores would always stand out. From the bloated infantry to the dilapidated, rusting vehicles and decaying monsters, they were distinct in their origin.

Slowly, they began to grow some traction within the community as well as the design team. The Typhus model is iconic, and the Nurgle Daemon Prince released in the first wave of the Medusa V campaign still stands tall amongst the greatest chaos models ever made.

They continued their domination (maybe not in the game overall, but certainly within Chaos) into the 6th/7th Edition Codex, where Plague Marines were oft overlooked for the more affordable Cultists, but Nurgle Bikers and Nurgle Spawn formed the foundation of some very scary and extremely difficult to kill Death Stars in the Age of Deathstardom.

This strength and durability was only compounded and intensified by the release of the short-lived glory that was Traitor Legions Supplement.

And that leads us to the present time, mere weeks after 8th Edition has dropped, launching the ever-present and stubborn Death Guard, an army that refused to be held down by the rules and the meta, once again into ascencion to the forefront of Chaos players' minds; and they are recruiting new followers every day!

This new wave of Death Guard models is out of control. For years and years (and I do not exaggerate at all!), people have been crying out for plastic Plague Marines to replace the ageing metal/plastic then fine cast/plastic Seven Man kit. And they have not been disappointed. We haven't even seen the multi-part kit yet, but the Easy to Build and Dark Imperium models are on a completely different level! The detail is absurd, from divets and rust spots on the armour, to slugs, tentacles and entrails bursting forth from the damaged Mk3 armour (a mark of armour iconic to the Death Guard).

And that's just the rank and file. The Lord of Contagion in his archaic suit of Cataphractii armour to the ominous, floating disease machine that is the Foetid Bloat-Drone, and the lumbering Noxious Blightbringer are all amazing models, not to mention the many maniacal sculpts of Poxwalkers.

One model that I disliked when I first saw it is the Malignant Plaguecaster. That was until I assembled and painted it, and now it is easily one of my favourites.

And this is all just from the starter kit. We've seen teases of the multi-part Plague Marines, a kit that makes massive corrupted Terminators (or their infected equivalent), one of the coolest looking artillery vehicles ever gifted upon Chaos, and of course, the big man himself.

The Daemon Primarch, Mortarion.

To say that I'm excited about Death Guard is an understatement of biblical proportions. For the longest time, I had packs of Death Guard upgrade kits from Forgeworld, just waiting for the right time to make a Death Guard army; and well… I don't think anyone can fault me for saying that now is the time. With my Grey Knights approaching the level where I can play any sized game with painted models, I've been diverting a small portion of my allocated painting time to the Sons of Mortarion.

And before anyone goes and accuses me of "Band-wagoning", I'd like to take the time to politely tell you that that would be 100% true. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Nurgle armies (see Daemons of Nurgle and Clan Pestilens), as well as Chaos in general, so it didn't take much to convince myself to dive in head first.

But now that I've decided to go for it, I feel like the release will take an absolute eternity to arrive.

What do you think of the Death Guard? Will you be joining the ranks of Nurgle? If not, how are you planning on taking down the pestilent hordes of Pox Walkers shambling in your direction?

Thanks for reading, as always.

Gabriel

Sunday 2 July 2017

#91: Tournament Preparation - Brisbane City GT

With BCGT fast approaching, and being an event that the Rune Axe is pretty involved in, I thought it would be a good idea to run through my list and show you what I'm planning on putting on the table. I'm not usually one to keep my list a secret; some people like to play their cards close to their chest leading into tournaments, and that's totally ok. But I've been sitting on this list, and its burning a hole in my head to share with you! So, let's not waste anymore time…

Having my Bloodbound fully painted, and various Khorne Daemon units in different stages of completion, it was an easy choice. I was comfortable with the army and how it plays, I know the triggers and mechanics and I know what it can and can't do on the table.

Not only that, but in the clamour and chaos of packing and moving house, its one of the few armies that isn't packed away in a box. So here it is.

2000 Points
Blades of Khorne Allegiance

Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster (General)
Command Ability: Slaughterborn (Re-roll To Hit in combat)
Artefact: The Crimson Crown (6" bubble of "every 6 to hit generates an extra attack for Khorne Daemons)

Bloodstoker
Artefact: Talisman of Burning Blood (8" bubble of +1" to Runs and Charges)

Gore Pilgrims (Warscroll Battalion)

Bloodsecrator
Artefact: The Brazen Rune (2+ save against wounds or mortal wounds caused by spells, can be destroyed to auto-unbind a spell on the battlefield)

Slaughterpriest
Prayer: Bronzed Flesh (+1 to save)

Slaughterpriest
Prayer: Killing Frenzy (+1 to Hit)

10 Blood Warriors

10 Blood Warriors

10 Blood Reavers

10 Blood Reavers

Murderhost (Warscroll Battalion)

Skullmaster, Herald of Khorne

30 Bloodletters

10 Bloodletters

10 Bloodletters

There you have it. That is exactly 2000 points, and I've managed to fit a TON of bodies into the army. Thanks to Gore Pilgrims and Murderhost (how could you look past these two criminally good formations), I not only get three artefacts from the juicy list of murder-tools, but it brings my army to four deployment drops. This means that unless I'm facing an extremely low drop (or even one-drop) armies, I'll be getting first turn. And this is where things get violent.

You've probably already worked out the "big play" of this army. Despite the distinct absence of Sayl the Faithless (I really didn't want to break Allegiance), the army slingshots the 30-strong Bloodletter unit into the biggest, scariest threat in my opponent's army and kicks it in the balls, causing as much damage as possible before its inevitable demise. So, how do I do that without Sayl? Let's break it down.

The Murderhost is the first piece of the puzzle. After deployment, but before turn one, all units from the Murderhost within 8" of the Skullmaster (including the Skullmaster himself) can move 2d6. This on its own is a huge tactical tool. It lets my assault army get up the board faster, as well as allowing me to push up onto objectives before the game even really begins. But, for now, lets focus on my Letter Bomb. 30 Bloodletters are now 2D6" closer to the enemy. Next, my Bloodstoker whips them into a frenzy, adding 3" to both their run and their charge distance. By doubling down on the ability, the Talisman of Burning Blood adds an additional 1" to Run and potentially the charge as well.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Bloodthirster. His command ability not only adds ANOTHER 1" to both the run and charge rolls of a selected unit, but (and this is the golden goose) also allows that unit to Run and Charge in the same turn.

All of a sudden, that 30-man Bloodletter unit is Murderhosting 2D6", moving 5", running 5+D6" and charging 4-5+2D6". Minimum threat range is 19" (with ALL the 1's), and a potential threat range of 45". Turn one charges are going to be a very common occurrence with this unit!

Then, to add to the brutality, they will typically be in range of the 30" Portal of Skulls thanks to Gore Pilgrims, as well as possibly the blessing of Killing Frenzy for +1 to Hit, bring that Mortal Wound trigger down to a 4+!!

This is, of course, all based on my four drops securing me first turn. This will not always happen, and in that case, my opponent is going to be forced to deal with the Bloodletters in their droves, or risk copping some serious damage. Pretty confident, aren't I. But you know the saying…

Something about "best laid plans" and "surviving contact with the enemy"?

In a perfect world, this army operates on a brutal level, with Blood Warriors, Letters and a flippin' Bloodthirster forming a second wave of murderous aggression to back up the Letter Bomb. In the real world, I'm aware that my opponent is going to do everything in his or her power to stop me doing what I want to do. And while, my army has a lot of buffs, synergies and redundancies, it is far from unbeatable.

I think the match ups I will really struggle with are armies with long-range, high quality damage output. Skyfires, Kurnoth Hunters, Longstrike Raptors and Warp Lightning Cannons (to name a few) will all give me serious heartache with their ability to delete key components to my combos with horrifying ease. This was evident in a practice game I played against Waystone Pathfinders, where a two-drop army got the jump on me and obliterated my Thirster before he could scratch, essentially crippling my main combo. Gnarlroot Wargrove (while thankfully being very rare in my local scene) will cause absolute mayhem with their single drop.

On the other side of the coin, I think there are a few scenarios that play heavily into my favour. Three Places of Power is a great scenario for me, as 5 of my 6 Heroes are very mobile and vary in tenacity. Priests have a whopping six wounds each, and the Skullmaster is no push over either.

The other thing I love about this list is just how many models I'm putting on the table! I'm also very at peace with the fact that every single element in my army is totally and completely expendable and disposable for the sake of the scenario.

It's been a few weeks since I've played Sigmar, but I'm really looking forward to this event. My goal for the day is to finish in the top half of the player pool, which I think is achievable if I use my head and don't get too into the spirit of the army (CHARGE!).

What are you running? If you're in Brisbane, I encourage you to come along to BCGT!

Thanks for reading,
Gabe