Warhammer 40K: 8000 per side...

This past weekend I joined the Mighty Mighty Carlos, the Hoff, and Doug in an underground bunker (no kidding) to play a massive Chaos Vs Imperial 16K slugfest.  It was glorious.

There was no rhyme or reason, it wasn't a tournament or any sort of tournament preparation, it wasn't competitive and it took all freakin' day... but the day passed quickly in a whirlwind of models, dice, and beer.  It was fun for fun's sake, and it restored some flagging passion for the hobby.  I highly recommend it.

What follows is a general pictorial.  I've enlarged the pictures you may be interested in taking a closer look at, or you can roll through them quickly and breeze off to another part of the Blogosphere.

The Imperial line with four fortifications.  The Mighty Mighty Carlos played an entire battle company of Dark Angels, and Doug played Guard with Allied Blood Angels.

The Hoff and I were tripping over ourselves in the deployment zone.  It's fair to say a goodly chunk of the army remained in reserves.  We have very little shooting to speak of, having both opted (independently) to unleash close combat hell on the Imperials.

I took four Greater Daemons and five Daemon Princes.  I couldn't start the game Zooming, so I hid on the left flank.    My army was intended to be entirely Khorne, but after discussion we wanted to make sure all four powers were represented.  My army was mostly Khorne, with a few heavy Tzeentch and Slaanesh heavy hitters thrown in, but the Hoff absolutely flooded the field with Zombies.  Typhus hung out with his retinue of Plague Marines.  His Daemons mostly represented Slaanesh.

The extreme left flank.  There's a building in the Imperial deployment zone I intend to use as cover to avoid getting shot out of the air.

The game is well advanced.  This mass of white marines is Doug's Death Company.  Read that again.

The housekeeping was pretty ridiculous.  Psychic powers...

This is the bottom of two.

The Bloodthirster versus Mephiston!  I thought the Collar of Khorne would defend me from his Force Weapon, but after reading the rules it looked like these two would kill each other on Initiative 10.  Then Mephiston rolled 11 to activate his Force Weapon, and only the 'Thirster was left standing...

Yeah.

At this point, Chaos has stormed the board, but casualties on both sides were fairly ridiculous.

The Hoff took Warp Talons.  As he kept reminding us.  I guess it was his nod to fair play or something!

The right flank was firmly in our evil grasp...

At this point, Daemons have swarmed the fortifications - I don't think we actually took a swing at the building, though I intended to try Smashing it.

This is what the Imperials were faced with.  Chaos numbers were telling.  There was I think 140 Zombies alone.

And that's that.  It only went to Turn 4, but by that point it was fairly obvious Chaos had won the day... and everyone was ready to call it a day.  Good fun.

Warhammer, and a Question or Two

In order to avoid 40K burnout right before the tournament season, a few of us got in some Warhammer games this past weekend.

It's been a long time since we've busted out this game, so me and Little Barrera kicked off a 1K game.  My one Bray Shaman wasn't nearly magicky enough to slow down the Necromancer and Vampire's constant stream of summoned corpses, so the units were quite large by the time my little beasties got there.

Evil Homer: Something Wicked This Way Comes, Part I

So, Evil Homer is back after a long hiatus. What does a fanged-cartoon character who is sometimes evil-funny and sometimes evil-scary do in his spare time? You're going to find out... and it will blow you away. Seriously!  It's that epic.  Follow along over the next several Tuesdays as Evil Homer shows you a glimpse in to the mind of a madman.

Every obsession has a beginning. My newest obsession started with hate.

Sometimes you hate a model so much you just can't bring yourself to put it on the table. That's me. I hate the GW Plaguebearers. I play Deamons in both systems. That's a problem no matter how you slice it.

Learning Warhammer

At the FLGS, we're all learning how to play Warhammer Fantasy by participating in an army build project similar to the one we did for 40K.

Okay, so there are some obvious differences.  For one, 40K is the primary game at the store; we all play it, some of us at a pretty high level.  Better have the goods to back up the statement, yes?  We knew what we were doing there, but this is a different animal. 

CliffNotes: Brent yaks briefly about some thoughts on learning a new system.

Video Battle Report: Tomb Kings vs Skaven

Here's a first for Strictly Average, a Video Battle Report for Warhammer Fantasy.  This game pits my Tomb Kings against Sam-I-Am and his Skaven.

We're still fairly new to Warhammer at the local game store, so forgive the unpainted miniatures and any mistakes we may have made.

Let me know what you think.

Tomb Kings

I don't think I'm going to resist being able to build and play Tomb Kings in our local Warhammer Build Event.

CliffNotes: A picture of my Tomb Prince and Hierophant.

(An older paint job, but I doubt I'll change it, other than to perhaps add hieroglyphics on the robe or something.)

What Will Characters Look Like...

...in Warhammer 8th Edition? I ask this question as I continue my study of the bible, not to be confused with the Bible...  We get the point - move on.

CliffNotes: a short post, foreshadowing a discussion point to be explored over the next few months.

The Little Barrera Beatdown...

...is what it sounds like; his Vampire Counts beat me up good.

Again.  Here's me walking into the maw...

Review: Warhammer Templates and Tools

Okay, folks, let's take a brief look at the goodies you MUST can purchase to supplement your games of Warhammer 8th Edition.

CliffNotes: we're going to look at or talk about the templates, the Engineer's Kit, the tokens - 3 different packs, there - as well as the dice and the card packs.

Before we get there, I just have to say something about the book.  I love it.  I really do - it's like my Warhammer Bible bible.  I like the feel of it, the weight, the formatting and the content - everything - and I didn't think I would.  As far as I'm concerned, it's a must have... but I didn't feel that way at first.  Frankly, I purchased it because I 'had' to, since I simply couldn't wait until the boxed set.  Evil Homer was telling anyone who'd listen that he'd never purchase the thing, and I think he was the first to do so.  For whatever reason, GW hit a home run with this book.  Trust me, if you haven't purchased it, you're going to want to.

I'm not usually mushy about my gaming products, but the reason I'm excited about these products is the topnotch combination of form and function.  I enjoy the weight and the texture, the art is elegant and appropriate, and each product serves a purpose and does it well.


Let's look at some pretty pictures...

Warhammer: Beastmen Vs Vampire Counts

Well, other than my attempt to save the world with my article, It's Not a Rodney King World, things have been a bit slow here at Strictly Average.  I've been working on my series over at Blood of Kittens called On Blogging, the first of which published last week and the second of which is in TastyTaste's hot little hands.  The third and fourth installments are actually already written, I'm just waiting for the questionnaires to return.

Beastmen vs. Orcs

After a few weeks of games where we just put the new system through its paces, we've now reached a point of familiarity and are able to tighten up our tactics, able to play to win!

Still, and I've said this several times, though many great analysts out there have made some comments and predictions, everybody is still a long way from understanding how the game will ultimately shake out.  What's that mean?  It means we're a long way from canned armies, from knowing what's 'best.'  It's a fun time to be playing Warhammer!

Frankly, I'm not sure I'll see another holiday from the normal like this for many years to come.  GW managed to turn the paradigm on its head and shake everyone up.  Not easy to do.

Moving on, here's a game between my Beastmen and the Master Manipulator (every store needs one)'s Orcs and Goblins.

Beastmen vs Skaven: Down 'n Dirty

I got to play some Warhammer last night and some Warhammer today and some more Warhammer today... it's a glut I tell you, a glut!


My army today was much, much better than the cra... *SELF-EDIT*

What was that?

Holy Cra... *SELF-EDIT*

Bull Sh... *SELF-EDIT*

F... *SELF-EDIT*  (I didn't get that far with that one.)

Okay, I see where this is going.  I don't want to see what happens after the red warning, so let's move on.

How Do the FAQ's Affect Me?

Quick post, and I'll probably post over it later with a battle report, Beastmen vs Vampire Counts.

(Reminder: check out Blood of Kittens for Part I of On Blogging.)

So as everyone is aware the FAQ's are out.  I'm not going to comment on those for armies I don't use - I'll leave that to others.  I play Beastmen and Tomb Kings, so let's take a brief look for initial thoughts.


Beastmen

You'd better believe I'm going to have a scouting chariot.  I'm going to love my scouting chariot.  I'm going to hug it and squeeze it and call it George.

Warhammer 8th: Still in the Kiddy Pool

Good little article on Bell today, posted by HERO.  Yet another author who ain't me - it's a kick in the groin I tell you!  Since I'm busy today with finishing up the article for BoK, not to mention having to work this afternoon, I've decided to steal my comment and re-post it here.  How's that for lazy?

 From Little Barrera's army...

Warhammer: Moving Skirmishers

So, moving skirmishers is a bit different.  It seems needlessly complicated, but that's probably because it's new.  We're using the cork to illustrate the movement.

Beastmen Lords and Heroes...

...and a Shaggoth that won't stop hanging around.

(Before we get started, make sure you check out Blood of Kittens today for the real story of Hard Boyz 2009.)

(Also, if you're not reading Lauby Industries, start checking it out!  I owe him a link or three for all the help he's given me with my Not-So-Secret-BoLSCon-Oops-WarGamesCon-Army.)

On Beastmen: Final Day...

... for awhile.  I actually have blogs in the can on this subject, but I'm skipping ahead, for no apparent reason.

These images come from my game with Big Whit, everyone's brother from another mother (assuming she smothered you in her covers until you spluttered and muttered, or something like that), a buddy of mine. 

(What?  My friends are ruthless; show no weakness.)

We played what will be my final game of Warhammer Fantasy until the new edition... 'cause basically there's no reason to relearn a game that's changing.  Still, I've been thinking a lot about Beastmen, and Fantasy, and how I want to approach the game in a competitive way when it's finally reintroduced hereabouts.

This was Turn One... and how do you like them apples?  Bestial Surge is very, very nice.  Big Whit found out he was way too close to the line.  But I'm showing you the picture to illustrate my thinking here.  Basically, screening is my friend; I'm not going to be afraid to double or triple up.  Before with Beastmen, I spread out, trying to limit the damage failed Leadership would do.  Screw that - it'll happen, but I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot with a poor setup.

Not that I think this one was great, but it's a start.  Everyone within range of the General and Battle Standard Bearer and my screening/diverting units out front.

If this sounds like Fantasy 101 and you're thinking, "Man, this is basic shit, dude," I'm here to tell you you're right.  Warhammer isn't my game.  I hope to get better though.

Anyway, I put a 10-strong unit of Gors and two 5-strong Warhounds in Ambush, though in hindsight the Warhounds are necessary to my setup - they're much better at the screening and diverting I need than the Gors...

...like so.  This unit of Warhounds peeled off to divert Kurt Helbourgh's (is that his name?) entire advance.  That 400+ character and the 200+ unit of Knights finished off this 30pt unit, but then ended up aiming in the wrong direction.

Again, basic stuff, but you can see how far away he is from the action.  My plan is to build my army around a few metric tons of dog meat, so hopefully 8th edition won't have the Fantasy version of kill points.

That's all I've got - Brent

On Beastmen: Day 1

I'm not going to spend a ton of space on this blog reflecting on Warhammer as a game.  First, I'm not qualified.  Believe me when I tell you, I'm not that great at what I consider a very subtle game.  Second, and most important, we all know the new version is on the horizon. 

But I've never let inferior posts stop me, and there's a reason this blog isn't called Totally Awesome.  So I've got some meandering thoughts to share this week.  Note: I said some of this back in November, after the release of the book... but let's face it, 10x as many people read these posts now.  Chances are, you're one of the newer folks.  As a Catholic, I happen to know God appreciates your support of this blog.  Really!

So in regarding the new Beastmen Army Book back in October/November, my first thought was, "Where's the Shaggoth?"  I can't tell you how annoyed I am, still, that GW doesn't consider this unit beastly enough.  I still carry it around in my army case, but I'm really not sure what to do with it.  Can I proxy it for something, like a Giant?  Better, perhaps, would be a Ghorgon - an axe isn't a far cry from cleaver-limbs.  Still, a proxy is a proxy, and a proxy is a problem.

Counts As = Okay.  Proxy = Problem. 

Then of course there is my Pestigors.  I loved this unit... now it not only no longer exists, Marks as a whole aren't an option.  Still, at least I can use these models in my army.  In fact, I have a box and some blisters of the Khornegors which I purchased on the cheap; they were sitting in my store's clearance bin for a long time, but I couldn't use two units of Beastigors with Marks in the same army.  Now that these models are just Beastigors, there was no reason not to get them.  The new models are great, but I'm a big believer of getting the discounts when you can.  That doesn't happen to me often, since I also believe in supporting your FLGS, and that's the only place I buy. 

Moving on, my vague intention is to give the Khoregors the Banner of Outrage and the Pestigors the Manbane Stadard.  The former makes the unit automatically pass its Primal Fury checks and the latter reduces the leadership of units within 6" by 1.  Both are useful and both are characterful tributes to what the units used to be.

More to the point, I won't have to purchase the new models - though I may, eventually; they're that cool - because they take up Special slots.  Considering my army is built around 12 Minotaurs, my options for those slots is limited.

To Be Continued...