#78: Catch My Disease...

Tonight's post is going to be a little bit of a check-in, so to speak, on the resolutions that I laid down to myself leading into the new year. There were to focus on two armies (Grand Alliance Death and Chaos Space Marines) for the first six months of the year. And, well...

The Word Bearers got some much needed attention, with most of my time spent going back over my old paint job and improving it. I got a little over 1000 points table ready, and then got distracted. But are we really surprised at this point? I find that if I set myself long term goals, I seem to find every obstacle or distraction and plough headlong into it at terminal velocity. While this tends to be frustrating for myself at times, it has not been in vain. 

I am mere models away from completely finishing my Bloodbound army! This is largely to blame for losing motivation with my Word Bearers, as there is only room for one red plate-armoured force on my painting desk at any one time. And on this occasion, the Crimson Crusade won out! 

When I finish the last few models of my army, I'll be doing a full showcase of the army in all its furious splendour, but I'm sure I'll add to it here and there in the future as different strategies and combos present themselves!

As for Death; I love the Death range, but I was on a roll with Khorne, and I didn't want to break my painting groove on an army that is actually getting large enough to take to big tournaments and still have options. I was keen to get Khorne done to a certain points level, so that I could focus on my next project without the urgency of needing a finished army by a certain event or deadline. 

And while the logical choice would be to leap back into Death, and give it a red hot go, my attention span doesn't operate on logic... Not one bit. 

While GA Death is a force to be reckoned with, many of the subfactions simply aren't filled out enough to be the foundation of a whole army, with some exceptions of course (FEC, Soulblight, and Nighthaunt being the only subs with enough options to be legal and effective).

I decided to have a quick meander through the App, looking for a fun, themed army that wouldn't break the bank. I would have loved to do Fyreslayers, but this was before the points adjustment, and they were a little outside the price range I was aiming to spend on the army as a whole. Someday, my red-bearded, half dressed (on a good day... Yikes) friends...

Digging through Battletomes, I came across one that was not even on my radar! 

Clan Pestilens.

These rabid, deranged evangelical rats had their own book!? That release had completely slipped past me! With very little hesitation, I dived in. I already own a significant Skaven army from 8th Edition  so I dug through the collection, scavenging (Skavenging?) any Pestilens models I could find. This ended up being a Verminlord Corruptor, a Plague Priest and a regiment of Plague Monks. It was a start...

Next time I had the chance, I picked up the Pestilens Start Collecting Box to really kick this operation off! My collection is quickly growing and I can't wait to put it on the table! The one thing I wanted with this project, however, was a start and finish line. I wanted the army to be 2000 points and not a body more. Something I can plug and play at an event, or keep in a case for social games and battle reports. So I went to work on a list. 

First thing was first. I absolutely had to have a Corruptor. I already had the model, and he makes a great centrepiece for the army! While he is not the beast in combat that his Verminlord brothers are, he makes up for it by being a very solid support character, with buffs and spells galore and the combat potential to mop up after the main hordes of robed maniacs. 

Next was a Congregation of Filth, giving me a Plague Furnace (a second, amazing centrepiece) and three big units of Plague Monks with which to flood my enemies with infectious zealotry. 

Plagueclaw Catapults look amazing on paper, and after using an army with no shooting at all, I couldn't resist picking up three of them and a Plague Priest to fill the requirements needed for the Foulrain Congregation. This gives me the ability to nuke large units in my enemy's force to establish myself with the numerical advantage. 

With the few points left, I invested in ten Plague Censor Bearers, to tackle heavily armoured does, and a second Plague Priest to give me ad other hero and a few more prayers. 

After finalising the list and sneaking in under 2000 points, I was pleasantly surprised to realise that I had at least one of every Pestilens unit available! Fantastic! 

So, with the army list done, and half of the models in my possession already, the real question was... Would this army actually work? 

It's biggest shortcoming (which is painfully obvious) is the almost complete lack of saves on my infantry. I know that I'll be losing bodies in droves, but there are certain mechanics that punish my enemies for killing en masse, such as piling in as they die, and causing mortal wounds when struck down. 

Prayers and buffs are a huge part of making the army work. Command groups in Plague Monks, Priests and the Corruptor have tons of bonuses to hand out, and I think that managing these abilities will be one of the bigger challenges in learning how to use this army. There seem to be plenty of ways to dish out mortal wounds through different abilities, and prayers, while reliable to a degree, are crucial to use successfully at the right time. 

The Catapults are ruthless, having immense range, not needing line of sight, great rend and hitting harder the bigger its target is. I'm really looking forward to using these war machines and actually participating in the shooting phase!

The other great thing about this army is that thanks to my two battalions, I get a total of three Artefacts, as well as my army being a measly five deployment drops! I'm genuinely considering taking three Crowns of Conquest (unless player packs ban multiple artefacts), which will give added protection to the hordes that will inevitably die in droves. I'll probably also take Cunning Deceiver as my command trait, to give me a little more survivability early-game. Lord of War is my go to, but I have re-rolls and buffs enough to counteract taking a different Trait, I think. 

I know one thing... After I finish this army, I'll never want to paint a robe ever again.

Are there any experienced players that use this rather uncommon armies? If so, any tips for a new general?

Thanks for reading. 

Gabe

#77: The Gold Standard...

When a new Battletome drops upon the Age of Sigmar scene, we have come to expect great things. Gone are the days of Battletomes being books about background and lore with the Warscrolls printed in the back and that would be that. Sylvaneth, BoneSplittaz, Disciples of Tzeentch have all set the bar high, and it looked like the trend was set. 

Well, not if Stormcast had anything to do with it!

The new Stormcast Eternals Battletome is absolutely jammed with content! It took the Sylvaneth/DoT level of detail and cranked it up to eleven. Not only has it rolled together Stormcast Eternals and the Extremis Chamber into one book, but it has added a ton of new warscrolls from the Auxilary Chamber in the form of the Vanguard range that is currently in the middle of dropping. 

To top it off, there are tons of new Warscroll Battalions as well as "super-battalions" for each of the main Chambers, giving them unique play styles and differentiating them from each other in ways a little more complex than simply colour scheme and perhaps in the lore. Now, if you play Celestial Vindicators (which is totally not a side project that I'm working on... Cough), they have a set of restrictions and rewards that are decidedly skewed to play a certain way. 

And I don't see that as a bad thing at all. It gives the Stormcast (which I always viewed as a bit faceless and lacking personality) a lot of character and theme, even from force to force. There is definitely a big focus on characters in these mega formations, with Vindicators needing at least six characters, with at least two of them being Knight-Heraldors. This tax is offset by the fact that Vindicator Heraldors gain bonuses that make them far more effective on the table. 

Looking past the new Chamber formations, there are plenty of new Warscroll Battalions for both new and old models! These range from impenetrable shield walls to long-ranged death dealers (but more on them later!). 

Stormcast are also the first to receive an absolute ton of options when it comes to artefacts and the likes. They have a table for weapons, talismans AND armour as well as magical standards and tables involving mounts. Like I said, jam packed!

The new Vanguard kits are exceptional, both in design and on the table. My personal favourites are Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows. These marksmen fill the same battlefield role as Jezzails, giving Stormcast a brutally efficient way to dispatch of any pesky characters or cripple Behemoths from a comfortable 30" away. They only get stronger in their formation with the Aetherwing spotters. 

There are definitely more avenues to playing Stormcast now. Astral Compasses, Scions of the Storm and many other combos will surely become pillars of dominance upon which Stormcast players build a victorious Chamber. Gone are the days of Warrior Brotherhood and Vexilor Bomb being to go to choices.

Speaking of, it is worth addressing what has become a talking point since the release, and that is the change to the Knight Vexilor's Pennant of the Stormbringer. Long has this mechanic been used to instakill half a flank with a full strength team of Paladins, but the ruling has changed from 3" away from the enemy (all but ensuring inevitable doom) to 9" away. A charge is still possible, but it is no longer a near-guarantee. Some people online have been very upset by this. But I have to say, it's a rule that needed changing. 

In my opinion, some people lent far too heavily upon this mechanic to win them games. The loss of this isn't really that bad when you consider the plethora of movement and redeployment mechanics available to Stormcast now! One flick-through of the book makes this evidently clear! 

That's not to say Vexilors are in any way redundant. This ability still allows you to claim far-off objectives, insert powerful units to threaten weak points later in the game, or even to throw up a protective screen unit to save a hero or monster from an undesirable combat. Not to mention that he has had a sixty-point cost reduction and can carry one of your brand new magic banners into combat, all of which have significant use! 

All in all, this has been a solid release. The models are fantastic, the rules are solid, but not so strong that they are stupidly over the top (at least at first glance...), and I think it is another great addition to the game. 

There are some who are disappointed that Stormcast got another update before other factions received any, and to this I say I am neither surprised, not upset. Stormcast are the poster boys of Age of Sigmar as Space Marines are to 40k. They have the largest range, the newest models, and they are only really establishing themselves at the forefront after being the new kids on the block with a point to prove. 

I know that it may feel like some other factions are not feeling the love, but trust me when I say that every race will (in due time) receive their moment in the sun! Of that I am sure. 

What are your favourite parts of the new book? Is this release enough to draw you into a new project involving Stormcast?

Thanks for reading, 

Gabe

#76: Age of Sigmar Battle Report - 1500pts Khorne Bloodbound vs. Flesh Eater Courts vs. Beastclaw Raiders vs. Wanderers

Well, the day had come. Blood would be spilt. Skulls would be claimed. And only one army could stand victorious! 

Before we go any further, details for the scenario can be found in the Feb 2017 issue of White Dwarf. Details of the armies fielded can be found on the RAW Facebook Page. Let's get into it!

We each rolled off to pick corners, and I was first to drop. With no real idea of who would be in what corner, I chose the deployment with a Realmgate (which would prove to be a regrettable mistake, but more on that later...)

Crushers fronted one edge of my deployment, while my unit of Reavers screened my characters and heavy hitters on the other edge. I was careful to park my Wrathmongers in a line behind the Reavers to give them another attack. The Bloodstoker positioned himself behind the Crushers while both Bloodsecrators deployed close to the front corner. 

Facing my Reaver flank was a horrifying force of bloody cannibals. The Ghoul King atop his dragon would pose a serious threat, as would the massive unit of Crypt Flayers. He left two Vargulf Courtiers in summoning reserve.

In the far corner, a veritable host of Wanderers; rank after rank of artful warriors prepared to unleash long-ranged death.

On my Crusher flank, the towering Beastclaw Raiders formed up to storm across the table. 

An interesting mechanic was realised and agreed upon by all players regarding priority. We would roll off each time it was time for another player to have their turn, so you never really knew when your next turn was. The other element we agreed upon was that if you won priority at any stage, you could hand it to another player who handy activated that turn already. 

This is exactly what happened to me. Flesh Eater Courts won priority, which was great because any advance by them would bring them into charge range of me. But alas, priority was handed to me in an act of Undead treachery, leaving me with very few options. My Crushers decided aggression was the best course of action (What Would Khorne Do?). My Crushers pushed into the woods to improve their armour save, and my Reavers shuffled forward, tempting a long charge from the ghouls. In a moment of stupidity, I failed to plant my banners, but my big play was a unit of Blood Warriors rushing through the Realmgate...

...and bursting through on what I thought was an unprotected flank. This turned out to be a horrible idea. One Blood Warrior was lost on the way, presumably popping out of a Realmgate in another battlefield completely. Then, naturally being the type to charge in, I unwittingly drew a total of six Mournfang and three Yhetees into the fray with predictable results.

Yep. I had kicked the hornets nest. 

Retribution was swift and bloody. Yhetees attacked from the very same Realmgate I had just used, attacking my Heroes, which, let's be honest, didn't go well for them. What really hurt was the Stonehorn and Mournfang slamming into my Crushers and dishing out some serious hurt!

Wanderers began their advance, loosing arrows while their cavalry rushed forward to keep their enemies on the back foot. 

Flesh Eater Courts, the only force not yet activated, did the unthinkable and managed to pull a double turn, launching a relentless assault. 

Fortunately, the screen of Reavers protected my important elements, and they served their purpose, despite getting  slaughtered. 

It was my turn again, and I wasted no time in retaliating. I dropped both Totems, and my Bloodstoker whipped the Mighty Lord of Khorne into a frenzy! While my Wrathmongers and Blood Warriors charged headlong into the Flayers, the Lord raced around the back of the melee and launched himself into a duel with the Ghoul King atop his rotting mount! I did everything I could to stack bonuses on my general, and it paid off! He activated first, and while he was only able to sneak a single wound through...

...and while fully empowered by Khorne, his Axe tore a hole in reality that shredded the Ghoul King's very soul! This was a crippling blow for Flesh Eater Courts for several reasons! Not only had he lost his wizard, and a huge force on the table in the form of a Zombie Dragon, but also the ability to summon his Vargulf Courtiers and replenish units. That's not to say all of my problems were solved...

There was still the matter of Crypt Flayers that tore four Wrathmongers to shreds with next to no repercussions. I was quickly running out of bodies...

The Wanderers continued their advance, causing wounds left, right and centre. They had gone largely unnoticed in the game so far, and had the good fortune to have lost next to no bodies! They would be an absolute force to be reckoned with late game!

Backing it up with a second turn, the Wanderers set their sights squarely on the Beastclaw Raiders, who had been focusing exclusively on grinding down the doomed Crushers in the woods. 

Never shying away from a fight, Sisters of the Thorn sprinted across the board and into combat with the already wounded Thundertusk!

It was at this point of the game that myself and the FEC realised that if we had any hope of surviving until the end of the game, let alone win, we didn't have to so much "join forces" as avoid the inevitable mutually assured destruction if we continued the bloody conflict. 

As it were, I took the noble (and possibly least Khorne-like action in history) by retreating from the Flayer combat in an effort to keep my two Bloodsecrators alive! The last remaining Wrathmonger stood sentry beside my right hand Secrator, while the Blood Warriors raced to form a protective screen between my left-hand Secrator and the looming threat of Beastclaw. The Mighty Lord had other plans! 

With his adrenalin pumping and fresh off the kill of the Ghoul King, he was keen to continue his slaughter spree. While he did a significant amount of damage, the roll for the Reality Splitting Axe was cocked, saving the Ogre hero's life. In return, the monster trampled the chaos lord into the ground without a moments hesitation. 

Beastclaw made their next big move, launching his Mournfang toward the advancing Wanderers (despite one dying for charging over the Deadly hill), while his wounded Thundertusk limped into the middle tile hoping to claim it and put as much distance between it and the aelven longbows! This left the unimpeded (if a little damaged) Stonehorn to go to work on the survivors of my once glorious crusade. 

The charge was not kind, and I lost four Blood Warriors as well as the Bloodsecrator they were guarding (very poorly, it would seem). This left me with a grand total of six models on the board. In a scenario where wound counts control table tiles, things were looking dire.

Honouring our pact, the Flayers chose to spare the lives of my exposed heroes and prepared to traverse the Realmgate to slaughter the Wanderers, who were quickly occupying table quarters with overwhelming numbers. 

Efficiency was paramount for the Wanderers, who (with a little help from their bowmen) laid low the Mournfang, while the last of the Sisters of the Thorn that had been relentlessly harassing the Thundertusk were crushed beneath its cumbersome hoofs. It was at this point that I realised that the Beastclaw were almost in a worse position than me. Between his two remaining models, he had a grand total of four wounds left on the board! Perhaps his tiles were for the taking if I could bring one of the beasts down!

I knew that if I didn't want to get tabled, I would have to scrape every advantage I could. This meant retreating with my Blood Warriors (Khorne would have been displeased, as were several comical spectators of the game), and counter-charging with my Wrathmonger. The reason for this is that I left my Warriors in combat, he could attack them and kill them. By only giving him one target, he ran the risk of attacking himself in a fit of rage if he killed the flail-wielding berserker. 

I backed it up with a double turn for the last turn of the game, taking another wound off the Stonehorn, who bit the bullet and killed the Wrathmonger. Thankfully for him, I rolled like trash and failed to do a single wound with all of the monster's profiles. Two damage was all I needed... Two.

The Blood Warriors, having been whipped by the Bloodstoker, charged in and made short work of the Thundertusk, who to be fair was already on his deathbed! 

Beastclaw went next, looking to secure at least one table quarter, and chose to charge both the warriors and the Bloodstoker, and it paid off. The Blood Warriors died instantly, and the Stoker was left on a single wound, handing control of the tile to the Frostlord on two wounds. This conflict was down to the wire. 

Flesh Eater Courts took the second last player turn of the game, and started by barrelling through the Realmgate to slaughter as many Wanderers as they could and hopefully claim the Beastclaw deployment tile for Death. They certainly kicked some ass, but had they done enough? The thirty Ghouls in their deployment zone made their play, spreading out to three tiles, overwhelming my five-wound Bloodsecrator to claim my home tile. 

As the lights faded on this titanic clash, the Wanderers executed the final step in their perfect plan! They made short work of dispatching the Crypt Horrors, and made use of their long strides to claim back the tile between them and the Flesh Eater Courts, outnumbering the Ghouls easily. The final score was...

Wanderers - 3 tiles

Flesh Eater Courts - 2 tiles

Beastclaw Raiders - 1 tile

Khorne Bloodbound - a big ol' zero

What a game! Full of massive moments and hilarious rolls, it was a conflict to remember! The highlight for me was, without doubt, instakilling the Ghoul King off a scratch from the Axe. But all in all, it was a highly enjoyable game against three great Generals. I was pleasantly surprised that it only took us two and a half hours from start to finish! 

Where did I go wrong? I think the Realmgate in my backfield was a result of poor deployment zone choice. It gave me a threat range far greater, but when I did use it, I used it poorly. Perhaps if I had charged a single unit instead of accidentally charging three, I would have made more of an impact and caused Beastclaw to backtrack and deal with them before launching an all out assault. I think if I wanted to really go for it, perhaps I should have put more than one unit through the gate. And forgetting to drop my Totems turn one came back to haunt me! 

Beastclaw didn't really make any significant mistakes. I think they were victims of being stuck between a hyper-aggressive combat army and an adept shooting army. If the big unit of Mournfang had stayed in support of the monsters in assaulting my deployment, I have no doubt I would have been tabled in turn three. But thanks to some bad advice (primarily from me), he redirected his efforts against an almost full-strength Aelf force with predictable results! 

Flesh Eater Courts... What can I say. He got downright unlucky. Having his very expensive general get K.O.'d by a 140 point combat character was painfully unfortunate. This crippled his offensive, as he had no way to bring his two Vargulfs onto the table late game to contest vital tiles. That said, if they had started on the board, I wouldn't have been able to withstand his assault. I only got out alive at all from some well-timed peace talks! 

That left Wanderers. They had the advantage of being the only non-combat army with a shred of shooting! I think what saved a lot of Aelf lives earlier in the game was thanks to me and my ultra aggressive stance. This naturally drew a lot of murderous attention, which can be seen on the scoreboard. By the time attention was turned to the Aelven host, it was too late! The other three armies had been so badly damaged, that they couldn't sink their teeth in with any conviction. That's not to take credit away from the Wanderers. The reason that they won is because they were always playing the mission. From the start, they were focussed completely on gaining ground and claiming land, advancing upon the armies that were drawn into the conflict in my table corner!

Well played by all, and a well deserved win by Gammie and his Wanderers. It was a hilarious game, and one I would gladly play again! Next time, I would probably add in some secret objectives or something of the likes to add another aspect to the game. As we played it, it was straight out of White Dwarf where wounds were King, naturally turning the whole affair into a bloodbath of violence and murder!

This has been by far the biggest battle report I've hosted and it was an absolute pleasure! Let me know if you're keen for a game. I'm always happy to throw some dice. 

Thanks for reading,

Gabe

 

#75: The Brisbane Revolution....

If you live in south-east Queensland, and you play Age of Sigmar, you are part of one of the fastest-developing, most directional community in wargaming that I have seen in a long time! I will go out and say it...

Brisbane is going through a revolution, where the whole dynamic of the Age of Sigmar community is shifting; focusing. 

For me, the release of the GHB and Matched Play changed the game completely. It changed from a very fluid, organic (some would say dysfunctional) gaming experience into one with structure, form and purpose. Competitiveness had returned, no longer in the form of who owned the craziest models, but in the form of who could craft a cohesive force and then back it up by having great tactical acumen and strategic instincts after the dice started rolling. 

This on its own changed the whole feel and, to my pleasant surprise, not in a bad way. 

With this wave of competition came tournaments. I've said before and I'll say again, that the tournaments run by two of Brisbane's Warhammer Stores (Capalaba and Brisbane City stores, to be precise) in cooperation have been among the best events I have had the privilege of attending. These events on their own developed a great following in a gentlemanly atmosphere. 

Shortly after, came the Redland City Grand Tournament, which was wildly successful! 

Last year was pretty solid as far as tournaments go. But let me tell you...

You ain't seen nothing yet!

2017 will hands down be the biggest year of tournaments in our part of the world since Age of Sigmar was born! Not only are Alistair and Blake continuing their highly successful chain of events, Redland City GT will once again be held, as well as two other large events nursing onto the scene in style! BrisCon (a Heralds of War event) and Brisbane City Grand Tournament. Excitingly enough, The Rune Axe Wargaming will actually be a sponsor of the Brisbane City GT, so I'm very much looking forward to that! Both should be fantastic events!

But among the most exciting things to arrive on the AOS tournament scene  is easily the introduction of Australian National Rankings! This scratches that itch to know just how good you are at the game compared to the rest of the country! Not only that, but at the end of each Tournament season, the best sixteen players in the country will be invited to Australian Masters, a tournament to truly determine who is the best of the best in our fine country's wargaming community! This is all being spearheaded by the Heralds of War Podcast.  

What a time to be alive. 

It looks like an exciting few months ahead, as I'm in the process of planning out my Tournament Route. I'm by no means expecting to make Masters, but I'm interested to see where I can rank at the end of the season, and of course, set the bar for myself in coming years!

Hopefully, you too will do the same and join me in the battle for nationwide supremacy! 

Speaking of which, in the not-too-distant future, I'll be doing an interview with the player currently ranked #1 in Australia to pick his brains about how to challenge the best to become the best, as well as his advice on army construction, tactics and the ever-evolving state of this game we all love! Keep an eye out for it; it should be a great opportunity!

As always, thanks for reading,

Gabe