I really like the new Fennblade models, and so I've been toying around with what options there are for them. One of the weaknesses I find when I play Trolls is the lack of speed. With limited range options and heavy hitters like Champions being SPD 5 it just feels slow. Especially coming from Cygnar with lots of ranged options and lots of spd 6 choices and various ways to increase it(Piper, eHaley, Kraye, etc.).
However then Fennblades are pretty fast. SPD 6 with reach is a good time. So I've been trying to build some lists based on 20 Fennblades and some Long Riders. (And cursing the fact that Grissel, 20 Fennblades and 3 Long Riders are 351 points)
At 97 for the full unit you can easily afford to bring two, but then question then is, what goes in the rest of the army with them?
In terms of Warlocks it seems to me that Doomshaper is right out, it's not going to be a beast heavy list and then why bring him. Grim probably too, it's not going to shoot a whole lot (Besides I play Cygnar, if I really want a ranged army I'll play them).
I got no experience of Borka what so ever. I've not even seen someone else play him. Grissel seems like an obvious choice, since her abilities benefits infantry, she emphasis speed and she doesn't need a lot of beasts to work. Calandra seems like she could work too. She can go beast heavy but doesn't have to and have pretty good infantry support options. I think Madrak could work, he generally does good with infantry. I don't know if his epic version will be the best, I'd feel bad about not using his elite cadre.
I think Grissel, Madrak and Calandra are the best options, probably in that order too.
But then what beasts do you use?
I could see the Winter Troll being really good in this army, you will have a lot of models advancing quickly and getting in the mix of things and his Animus could cause real problems. An Impaler is always a good beast to bring, and both Grissel and Madrak could have good use out of it's animus too.
An Axer goes well with the speed thing, and could fit in pretty well too I'd imagine. If he had reach he would have been perfect for it.
I'd probably not pick a heavy, too many points I think. But a Slag Troll maybe? I've been very impressed by his performance so far.
I'm thinking one or two lights. Grissel can probably get away with one, Calandra might want three, but I think you could get away with two for her and then just cut yourself when needed.
Solo's.
I think this might be an army where two Fellcallers could fit in well. You got three combat units that can all benefit from the attention of a Fellcaller and if you really want to emphasis the speed getting bogged down in terrain is bad.
Despite no champions I think the Hero is still a good choice. He got two attacks and reach. You miss out on some synergy but he doesn't need the champions to be awesome I think. Never tried the Chronicler, but I don't think he is a good fit, even if chapter 1 and 3 could be pretty cool.
Horthol is a tough choice I think. It really depends on how many Long Riders want and how important they should be. I think ultimately he would be a very good choice for this style of list, but you can do it without him just fine.
Units.
If you are bringing 20 Fennblades and some Long Riders you don't really have too many points left to spend on units.
I think the big question is if you should have a KSB or not. I think it could work as long as you run it in turn one (probably) and you take a big unit and load it up with fury. I'd also bring the UA if I were to bring the KSB. Everything he brings is very useful for this army. On the other hand you don't have so many big high armoured multi-wound models to really benefit from the +2 ARM.
Being a Cygnar player I'm always tempted by the shooty infantry, but you would probably end up getting in your own way a lot of the time.
One unknown to me is the Runeshapers. I don't know if they would be a great utility unit for this army or just end up getting left behind with no real role to fill.
Size of the Long Riders? I think anything will work actually. Obviously at 3 they will have a slightly different role than if you have 5 with Horthol. I think with 3 they will be perfect down a flank, while at 5 they run straight down the table and stomp all over your opponent, flanked by the Fennblades.
Minions?
That's another big question. Swamp Gobbers? I'm a bit worried if they will be able to keep up and still be useful.
Minion Warlocks? I could see Grissel or Madrak running with one of them. My preference is the Dahlia Hallyr, not that I've played with it, but it's the model I like the best (it's in the process of being painted), but I'd guess that Rosh or Wrong Eye could work too.
I think the Feralgeist could be an interesting option. You don't really have the beasts to run it yourself, but if you play against hordes there is probably something tasty to posses, else it's an incorporal model to hold board sections etc.
I probably wouldn't go for any of the units, although Bog Trogs could fit the theme well, I just dont' think you have the points for minion units. And the problem as always is that they miss out on much of the buffing we can do. And yes, I know I just talked about the minion warlocks that are even more points, but they all come with a medium/heavy beast that you might not want to run on your warlock.
Alten Ashley could be interesting to add some ranged punch to the list. As a solo he is more flexible than a unit with getting LoS and might force your opponent to come towards you (if they play Hordes at least).
Saxon Orrik could actually be an interesting option. Trail Blazer could be good, but we do have other options for rough terrain. I feel Pendrake is the worse choice out of him and Saxon for this army, although Dismember could be rude on a unit of Fennblades.
I think Lanyssa Ryssel would be a fairly good choice. Hunter's Mark could be very good, and removing Wings could be crucial. She also gives you a ranged magic attack so you don't have to use your warlock or the KSB to hurt them.
Totem Hunter. Nothing wrong with him in this army. Fast, Killy.
And if you made it this far I've actually made up a list too.
Grissel
Axer
Impaler
2 Fell Callers
Hero
2#10 Fellblades
3 Long Riders
Full unit of KSB+UA
Lanyssa Ryssel
Totem Hunter
Swamp Gobbers
It does have some of the choices I'm unsure about, like the Swamp Gobbers and the KSB, but I think if you work on it they can get into position for an important turn, and they do give you more options. Alternativly it could be quite tempting to take them out and stick another Troll in there, probably a Winter Troll. Or just replace the KSB with Horthol.
Now I just need to wait for them to be released.
Tuesday 11 August 2009
Friday 7 August 2009
Snakes!
I got my Dahlia Hallyr and Skarath today :) Really nice models, except for the weird box(?) that Hallyr comes with. Just trying to decide how to paint Skarath.
I might paint it in a pale green colour, more like he is shown in the PP pictures just a bit greener, not sure how the bluish green will mesh with the 'proper' blue of the trolls.
However it's quite tempting to paint him like an Adder since that's the only (poisonous) snake we get around here.
Like this:
I think it could look pretty good, and it would also tie it in with my trolls with the more leathery colours.
I might paint it in a pale green colour, more like he is shown in the PP pictures just a bit greener, not sure how the bluish green will mesh with the 'proper' blue of the trolls.
However it's quite tempting to paint him like an Adder since that's the only (poisonous) snake we get around here.
Like this:I think it could look pretty good, and it would also tie it in with my trolls with the more leathery colours.Monday 27 July 2009
Fennblades!
Yay, we finally get to see the much awaited Fennblades. And some very lovely models it is indeed. I'm really liking them and can't wait to get my hands on them to paint them. Even more since you get 10 for $50. That's cheap enough that you can actually afford to get the unit, or even two if you fancy. I'd be tempted to get two I have to say, at least if they stay anything like they are in MK II. Cheap, fast, quite hitty all things considered. I could see 20 of them being a good base for an army. I'm really excited about these models, and if we are really lucky they will be the jump off point to plastic Kriel Warriors too. Now all we need is a release date.
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Lots of painted Trolls
As I said I've been painting away on the Trolls for the past couple of weeks. That's actually a really big change for me, usually I only really get motivated to paint if I got a tournament coming up or if I'm just starting on a project. But at the moment I'm just pleased to see the trolls get some colour even if I don't have a 'goal' for when they are to be done.
First up is Calandra. She was one of the things that got me excited about Trolls in Meta and I've been waiting for her to be released. Quite a fun model to paint, very different to the other trolls. She could maybe have done with slightly smaller hands... (Her left hand was a real nightmare to get to stick).I've tried her in a few games too and she is quite fun; letting you play however you like.
Next up is my Axer (he still needs a name). Really pleased with the model actually, although I never seem to be able to get all that much out of him on the tabletop. Lack of practice I guess.
The additional charge distance should be good, I just needs to be a lot better at using it. And hopefully he will have reach in MK II. Looking at the size of his axe, and the size of the Hero's axe he certainly should get it. And if he then keeps Thresher that is going to be awesome. Might make him quite an expensive light though.
And his brother, the Slag Troll. I didn't much liked the way he was painted by PP, he just didn't looked like he belonged in the army then, so he got to be blue like the rest of the trolls. He still sticks out a bit because he is mostly naked but he actually looks like he fit now.
I also did some slight conversion work to bulk out his arms a bit as he suffered really badly from giant hands syndrome. His right arm could probably have used a bit more, but at least I think it's better than the stock model.He also shows my new idea for bases. I'm going to paint the rim two different green colours to show the front arc, I just need to settle on the greens to use. Used Dark Angels/Emerald Green here, where as I tried Reflective Green on Calandra's base.
Been very impressed with him in gameplay too. He does lots and lots of damage to warjacks.
I've posted my Kriel Stone Bearer before, but I redid his skin to match the new way I'm painting it. And I painted a few more from his unit too. The Stone Scribe Elder and a 'grunt'. And I've done a little bit on the rest too. Figured that since these guys will be in every army they would be a good place to start.
I also finally finished the Fell Caller. He have been sitting on my desk being almost done for quite a long while now, so it was about time. He also made me wish Trolls had more soloes. I do like soloes but you don't get that many of them in Hordes (or at least not with Trolls).
Got a couple of minions on there way though. A Feral Geist, Alten Ashley and Dahlia Hallyr and Skarath. I'm especially looking forward to painting Skarath, that's just a great model. Reports on them have been a bit mixed, but I really like there models and I just don't feel the need to get a minion warlock with a beatstick beast. That's what Trolls do!
And finally I just finished one of my Long Riders. It took a bit longer to paint than I anticipated, but I'm hoping I can finish the other two today and have my first completed unit. Thought it would be easier to finish thme since they are only three models, rather than the seven in the KSB unit. They also add some much needed speed to the Troll lineup. I'd actually really like to get Horthol and another two Long Riders, but Horthol is expensive, so I'm thinking I'll wait and see how they look in Mk II before I buy any more. Another idea would be to get another box of Long Riders and then just convert one of them into a Horthol model. Although then I'd still be a dismounted Horthol short.
And a group picture of all the models I've painted recently. Grissel really should have been in it as she is almost done, but she was hiding in the cupboard and I forgot to take a picture of her...
First up is Calandra. She was one of the things that got me excited about Trolls in Meta and I've been waiting for her to be released. Quite a fun model to paint, very different to the other trolls. She could maybe have done with slightly smaller hands... (Her left hand was a real nightmare to get to stick).I've tried her in a few games too and she is quite fun; letting you play however you like.
Next up is my Axer (he still needs a name). Really pleased with the model actually, although I never seem to be able to get all that much out of him on the tabletop. Lack of practice I guess.
The additional charge distance should be good, I just needs to be a lot better at using it. And hopefully he will have reach in MK II. Looking at the size of his axe, and the size of the Hero's axe he certainly should get it. And if he then keeps Thresher that is going to be awesome. Might make him quite an expensive light though.
And his brother, the Slag Troll. I didn't much liked the way he was painted by PP, he just didn't looked like he belonged in the army then, so he got to be blue like the rest of the trolls. He still sticks out a bit because he is mostly naked but he actually looks like he fit now.
I also did some slight conversion work to bulk out his arms a bit as he suffered really badly from giant hands syndrome. His right arm could probably have used a bit more, but at least I think it's better than the stock model.He also shows my new idea for bases. I'm going to paint the rim two different green colours to show the front arc, I just need to settle on the greens to use. Used Dark Angels/Emerald Green here, where as I tried Reflective Green on Calandra's base.
Been very impressed with him in gameplay too. He does lots and lots of damage to warjacks.
I've posted my Kriel Stone Bearer before, but I redid his skin to match the new way I'm painting it. And I painted a few more from his unit too. The Stone Scribe Elder and a 'grunt'. And I've done a little bit on the rest too. Figured that since these guys will be in every army they would be a good place to start.
I also finally finished the Fell Caller. He have been sitting on my desk being almost done for quite a long while now, so it was about time. He also made me wish Trolls had more soloes. I do like soloes but you don't get that many of them in Hordes (or at least not with Trolls).
Got a couple of minions on there way though. A Feral Geist, Alten Ashley and Dahlia Hallyr and Skarath. I'm especially looking forward to painting Skarath, that's just a great model. Reports on them have been a bit mixed, but I really like there models and I just don't feel the need to get a minion warlock with a beatstick beast. That's what Trolls do!
And finally I just finished one of my Long Riders. It took a bit longer to paint than I anticipated, but I'm hoping I can finish the other two today and have my first completed unit. Thought it would be easier to finish thme since they are only three models, rather than the seven in the KSB unit. They also add some much needed speed to the Troll lineup. I'd actually really like to get Horthol and another two Long Riders, but Horthol is expensive, so I'm thinking I'll wait and see how they look in Mk II before I buy any more. Another idea would be to get another box of Long Riders and then just convert one of them into a Horthol model. Although then I'd still be a dismounted Horthol short.
And a group picture of all the models I've painted recently. Grissel really should have been in it as she is almost done, but she was hiding in the cupboard and I forgot to take a picture of her...
Saturday 18 July 2009
It is alive!
Finally got around to update this blog. It's been a combination of not playing Warmachine at all and using my Cygnar for a couple of tournaments (took 3rd at our local one) but I've finally gotten back to Wyrmwall Kriel and been doing some painting the past week or so. So I've now completed an Axer and new comer Calandra and a Slag Troll (pictures to follow tomorrow hopefully).
They will all see action tomorrow, going up against the Legions of the Nightmare Empire. Hopefully the Slag Troll especially should be very handy against all the undeads, and having proxied Calandra once before I'm very much looking forward to using her. Is there anything she can't do?
Calandra will be bringing a Mauler, an Axer, an Impaler and a Slag Troll with her. And to accompany the big beasts will be Champions, Scattergunners, a Kriel Stone and Elder, a Hero, Fell Caller and some Whelps. And some Swamp Gobbers. Very execiting to have a proper game with the Trolls again, although I have actually managed to use them a little bit recently. I've been running demo games at my gaming club the past three weeks or so.
I had Madrak go into overdrive mode in one of them. There was a battleline of 6 Swordknights, Ironclad, Lancer and Stryker fighting champions. Thinking I'd just show what a Warlock can do and that feats can be mean I moved Madrak up to the Swordknights and feated. He then proceeded to kill all the Swordknights, the Lancer and finally ended up right next to Stryker. With just a point of fury left I hit him, boosting damage thinking I could at least give him a scare before he killed Madrak I rolled 18 for damage, killing Stryker in one hit with a point of damage to spare!
That was surprising to say the least. I might have to give Madrak a bit more serious attention. I've not really tried to play a proper beatstick caster yet, although Grissel can beat up people if she needs to.
They will all see action tomorrow, going up against the Legions of the Nightmare Empire. Hopefully the Slag Troll especially should be very handy against all the undeads, and having proxied Calandra once before I'm very much looking forward to using her. Is there anything she can't do?
Calandra will be bringing a Mauler, an Axer, an Impaler and a Slag Troll with her. And to accompany the big beasts will be Champions, Scattergunners, a Kriel Stone and Elder, a Hero, Fell Caller and some Whelps. And some Swamp Gobbers. Very execiting to have a proper game with the Trolls again, although I have actually managed to use them a little bit recently. I've been running demo games at my gaming club the past three weeks or so.
I had Madrak go into overdrive mode in one of them. There was a battleline of 6 Swordknights, Ironclad, Lancer and Stryker fighting champions. Thinking I'd just show what a Warlock can do and that feats can be mean I moved Madrak up to the Swordknights and feated. He then proceeded to kill all the Swordknights, the Lancer and finally ended up right next to Stryker. With just a point of fury left I hit him, boosting damage thinking I could at least give him a scare before he killed Madrak I rolled 18 for damage, killing Stryker in one hit with a point of damage to spare!
That was surprising to say the least. I might have to give Madrak a bit more serious attention. I've not really tried to play a proper beatstick caster yet, although Grissel can beat up people if she needs to.
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Comulus!
Read the scenario...
Fourth game was also against Trolls.
This time it was a Grim list.
Grim
Earthborn
Axer
Impaler
Champions
5 Long Riders
Swamp Gobbers
Pyg Borrowers
Fell Caller
KSB+UA
The scenario was Invasion and I really should have read it more carefully...
He had the Long Riders on my left flank, Champions, KSB and Gobbers in the middle and Grim and all the Beasts on the right flank.
I had the Long Gunners and a Lancer on the left flank, almost all the rest in the middle and the Swordknights and a Stormsmith on the right.
The Long Gunners put some real hurt on the Long Riders, killing one and seriously damaging another. A Time Bomb damage them further and slows them down and Eiryss is just out of charge range. The rest of my stuff moves up field ready to confront the champions and the Sworknights shuffle around to hopefully bait the Earthborn forward, but being able to take it.
And that was the mistake. The Swordknights ended up in a position where the only model completely in my right hand zone was the Stormsmith. Turn 3 Grim moves up, and pops the Stormsmith with Farstrike on him and wins the game. At this point we have killed three models. A Long Rider, eEiryss and the Stormsmith.
Of course I was set up to blow his Long Riders off the table and do the same to him so I'm not complaining. I had the Long Gunners, Black 13th, eHaleys spells, Lancer and Ol' Rowdy (he might have been in range) all set up to do it. Just never got the chance. We were both a bit gutted it ended so quickly but it was my own fault for not playing to the scenario proper.
Lesson learn: Always read the scenario. Twice. And then read it one more time just to be sure.
This time it was a Grim list.
Grim
Earthborn
Axer
Impaler
Champions
5 Long Riders
Swamp Gobbers
Pyg Borrowers
Fell Caller
KSB+UA
The scenario was Invasion and I really should have read it more carefully...
He had the Long Riders on my left flank, Champions, KSB and Gobbers in the middle and Grim and all the Beasts on the right flank.
I had the Long Gunners and a Lancer on the left flank, almost all the rest in the middle and the Swordknights and a Stormsmith on the right.
The Long Gunners put some real hurt on the Long Riders, killing one and seriously damaging another. A Time Bomb damage them further and slows them down and Eiryss is just out of charge range. The rest of my stuff moves up field ready to confront the champions and the Sworknights shuffle around to hopefully bait the Earthborn forward, but being able to take it.
And that was the mistake. The Swordknights ended up in a position where the only model completely in my right hand zone was the Stormsmith. Turn 3 Grim moves up, and pops the Stormsmith with Farstrike on him and wins the game. At this point we have killed three models. A Long Rider, eEiryss and the Stormsmith.
Of course I was set up to blow his Long Riders off the table and do the same to him so I'm not complaining. I had the Long Gunners, Black 13th, eHaleys spells, Lancer and Ol' Rowdy (he might have been in range) all set up to do it. Just never got the chance. We were both a bit gutted it ended so quickly but it was my own fault for not playing to the scenario proper.
Lesson learn: Always read the scenario. Twice. And then read it one more time just to be sure.
Damn tough rolls
Since it's suppose to be a blog about Trolls I thought I'd report on my Troll games over the weekend. Something that should please the Troll players as I lost to both of them!
It's worth mentioning that for these games caster kills doesn't end the games (they give you a tournament point bonus), it's all about the scenario.
Having played Khador (Sorcha) in game one and gotten a draw and Cryx (Goreshade) and winning I was facing a friend in game three using Trolls. Having faced each other twice before I've once defeated him with Irusk and lost once to eMorghoul.
The scenario played was Contested Ground, so 4 12" zones, getting a control point for controlling a zone and winning if you got 5. If time ran out the tie breaker would be most control points.
His list consisted of:
Grissel
Dire Troll Mauler
Axe
Impaler
4 Long Riders
Champions
Hero
Fell Caller
KSB+UA
Feralgeist
Gudrun
The important terrain was a big rocky formation in the middle, a hill on my right flank that housed the Long Gunners, a Stormsmith, Black 13 and Eiryss and a forest in the Troll deployment zone on my left flank.
The game almost fell into 3 sections. On the left flank you had Gudrun, a Stormsmith and the Mechanics who kept themselves busy all game. The Stormsmith eventually died, but that was pretty much it. On the right flank my shooting took out two of the Long Riders, but slightly off positioning on my part saw the remaining two kill the Black 13 and Eiryss and eventually decimate the Long Gunners.
Everything else happened in the middle. I moved up my arc nodes a bit too far on either side of the rocky outcrop and the lancer got swiftly taken out. Although thinking back I think it only actually lost both arms but we both assumed it was disabled from then on. Given the available force that could have pounded it some more without being slowed (like the Mauler) I doubt it made a difference. Thorn played Tag with the Champions until he moved a bit too far and got charged by the Hero who proptly wrecked it. I did get a free shot at Grissel in turn one where she didn't had any fury on her, but when the initial Time Bomb only did a couple of points of damage I just didn't had enough power to kill her.
After Thorn was taken out the Swordknights, Junior (with her hand cannon), eHaley and Ol' Rowdy managed to take down all but one of the Champions and the Hero. Unfortuantly that had set up Rowdy nicely for a crit slam from the Impaler, 6" and right through 3 Swordknights and the Piper! To make matters worse the Axer charged the knocked down Rowdy but didn't disable him.
The Mauler crucially didn't do anything but move into position. It could have trambled some Swordknights but decided to wait.
That proved to be a bad decision as the Swordknights (all three remaining) charged the Mauler. Now both the Axe and Mauler had taken some damage earlier, but my opponent didn't expected both of them to die in a single turn. But Rowdy brained the Axer with his hammer and two Swordknights took down the Mauler!
At this point my opponent had gotten a single control point so was winning the game. I had to clear a zone and the only option I had was the second zone from the left. It only had a single champion, the Fell Caller and a Feral Geist in it. Unfortuantly I didn't had a whole lot to do it with either. And she had to do it in a single turn.
The only thing I had that could kill the Feral Geist was eHaley, but even with movement she was 1.5" out of range with her Arcane Bolt. Still, she could Telekinesis herself so it wasn't impossible. At least not until the Tough Rolls started. Up until this point the Trolls had only passed a single Tough roll. The Champion passed 5 consecutive Tough Rolls, the Fell Caller passed two and I didn't even got a chance to do anything about the Feral Geist. And that was it.
We did have another turn where I yet again failed to claim the zone, although the champion did die. To an Impaler spear trying to knock him into Haley...
Overall lots of fun, lots of killing, if only it wasn't for those damn Tough rolls...
It's worth mentioning that for these games caster kills doesn't end the games (they give you a tournament point bonus), it's all about the scenario.
Having played Khador (Sorcha) in game one and gotten a draw and Cryx (Goreshade) and winning I was facing a friend in game three using Trolls. Having faced each other twice before I've once defeated him with Irusk and lost once to eMorghoul.
The scenario played was Contested Ground, so 4 12" zones, getting a control point for controlling a zone and winning if you got 5. If time ran out the tie breaker would be most control points.
His list consisted of:
Grissel
Dire Troll Mauler
Axe
Impaler
4 Long Riders
Champions
Hero
Fell Caller
KSB+UA
Feralgeist
Gudrun
The important terrain was a big rocky formation in the middle, a hill on my right flank that housed the Long Gunners, a Stormsmith, Black 13 and Eiryss and a forest in the Troll deployment zone on my left flank.
The game almost fell into 3 sections. On the left flank you had Gudrun, a Stormsmith and the Mechanics who kept themselves busy all game. The Stormsmith eventually died, but that was pretty much it. On the right flank my shooting took out two of the Long Riders, but slightly off positioning on my part saw the remaining two kill the Black 13 and Eiryss and eventually decimate the Long Gunners.
Everything else happened in the middle. I moved up my arc nodes a bit too far on either side of the rocky outcrop and the lancer got swiftly taken out. Although thinking back I think it only actually lost both arms but we both assumed it was disabled from then on. Given the available force that could have pounded it some more without being slowed (like the Mauler) I doubt it made a difference. Thorn played Tag with the Champions until he moved a bit too far and got charged by the Hero who proptly wrecked it. I did get a free shot at Grissel in turn one where she didn't had any fury on her, but when the initial Time Bomb only did a couple of points of damage I just didn't had enough power to kill her.
After Thorn was taken out the Swordknights, Junior (with her hand cannon), eHaley and Ol' Rowdy managed to take down all but one of the Champions and the Hero. Unfortuantly that had set up Rowdy nicely for a crit slam from the Impaler, 6" and right through 3 Swordknights and the Piper! To make matters worse the Axer charged the knocked down Rowdy but didn't disable him.
The Mauler crucially didn't do anything but move into position. It could have trambled some Swordknights but decided to wait.
That proved to be a bad decision as the Swordknights (all three remaining) charged the Mauler. Now both the Axe and Mauler had taken some damage earlier, but my opponent didn't expected both of them to die in a single turn. But Rowdy brained the Axer with his hammer and two Swordknights took down the Mauler!
At this point my opponent had gotten a single control point so was winning the game. I had to clear a zone and the only option I had was the second zone from the left. It only had a single champion, the Fell Caller and a Feral Geist in it. Unfortuantly I didn't had a whole lot to do it with either. And she had to do it in a single turn.
The only thing I had that could kill the Feral Geist was eHaley, but even with movement she was 1.5" out of range with her Arcane Bolt. Still, she could Telekinesis herself so it wasn't impossible. At least not until the Tough Rolls started. Up until this point the Trolls had only passed a single Tough roll. The Champion passed 5 consecutive Tough Rolls, the Fell Caller passed two and I didn't even got a chance to do anything about the Feral Geist. And that was it.
We did have another turn where I yet again failed to claim the zone, although the champion did die. To an Impaler spear trying to knock him into Haley...
Overall lots of fun, lots of killing, if only it wasn't for those damn Tough rolls...
Monday 18 May 2009
eHaley returns in victory!
Yes I know, still not trolls but I wanted to post an update on the tournament this weekend.
I had a great time, won two games, drew one and lost two (both to Trolls!). And our team did great too.
The Club Challenge is as the name suggest really a club event with a trophy for the best overall club and a smaller one for the best club in each game system (We had WFB, 40k, WAB, Epic, BB, FoW and WM/H this year). There were three of us playing in the WM/H section and our club (Battle Force Pompey) took the system shield! It was also one of our guys who won it being the only player to win all five games. Well done mate!
We even won one of those nifty GF9 resin terrain pieces (the Menoth one) for our trouble.
I'll post up some reports about the games and then it's back to the Trolls. Playing them really made me want to get my own painted so I can get to use them!
I had a great time, won two games, drew one and lost two (both to Trolls!). And our team did great too.
The Club Challenge is as the name suggest really a club event with a trophy for the best overall club and a smaller one for the best club in each game system (We had WFB, 40k, WAB, Epic, BB, FoW and WM/H this year). There were three of us playing in the WM/H section and our club (Battle Force Pompey) took the system shield! It was also one of our guys who won it being the only player to win all five games. Well done mate!
We even won one of those nifty GF9 resin terrain pieces (the Menoth one) for our trouble.
I'll post up some reports about the games and then it's back to the Trolls. Playing them really made me want to get my own painted so I can get to use them!
Friday 15 May 2009
The Club Challenge is today! Fire up the Jacks and lets go to war!
Damn, another week gone by. I had actually meant to post some thoughts about painted and non-painted armies, especially for tournaments and peoples different background but I guess that will have to wait as the tournament I mentioned, the Club Challenge, starts today! Well, technically it starts tomorrow, but we are going up there today.
Warmachine and Hordes is a new event there and we ended up with 16 players. It's actually a surprisingly even spread of armies. No merc armies but else at least one of everything. The list looks like this:
3 Menoth
2 Khador
2 Cygnar
2 Cryx
2 Legion
2 Circle
2 Trolls
1 Skorne
So looks like there will only be one eMorghoul and two eVlad...
Although to be honest I'm not expecting it to be a whole host of 'typical' tournament lists. Hard lists sure, but not just the most popular tournament build.
As I've said I'll be bringing my Cygnar army (Trolls would have been great but there was no way they could have been painted in time, and you do get points for painting). And eHaley list and a Kraye list. Haley is my girl, I love her background and I like her playstyle. And eHaley is just plain more fun then Haley. She have more tricks and things to do. Not that Haley can't be more than a TB machine, but you kind a feel you have to.
And Kraye because he makes Warjacks fun. Plain and simple.
Anyway, my lists looks like this.
eHaley
Ol' Rowdy
Thorn
Lancer
Squire
Journeyman Warcaster
2 Stormsmiths
Black 13th
4 Mechanics
6 Long Gunners
7 Sword Knights
Sword Knight UA
Rupert the Piper
Epic Eiryss
Kraye
Ol' Rowdy
Thunderhead
Lancer
Sentinel
Squire
Captain Arlan Strangewayes
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormsmith
Stormsmith
Black 13th
6 Field Mechaniks
Epic Eiryss
One interesting thing to notice is that Legends is the book I've drawn most from, followed closely by Prime. Escalation and Apotheosis both gets in there with a couple of choices but there is nothing from Superiority at all. And looking at what we got there I have to admit I don't like very much of it. Even things like the very popular Stormguards (don't like the models, even if I own 8) and Storm Lances (I hate painting cav, always been an infantry person). Don't want to ramble on about that, just thought it was interesting.
Anyway, only gotten in a small number of games with the finished lists and I've never actually played using the scenarioes/rules we will be using (caster kills are not a win condition but gives you 5 points. Winning the scenario gives you 25 and a draw gives you 10) so that is good and proper. Practising for a tournament is almost cheating!
Quite excited about it; I got two goals for the weekend. Aside from having a good time! Finishing in the top half and being top Cygnar. Neither gives me anything but might actually be attainable where as winning or placing probably isn't (I'm under no illusions that my gaming skills are anything more than average).
I'm also counting on this weekend to get me fired up about doing some more painting so I can make a good start on my Trolls next week. Although I do also have an Elf Blood Bowl team I want to paint. But I can probably do one of those in the same time as a couple of Troll models. They do take a long time to paint.
Warmachine and Hordes is a new event there and we ended up with 16 players. It's actually a surprisingly even spread of armies. No merc armies but else at least one of everything. The list looks like this:
3 Menoth
2 Khador
2 Cygnar
2 Cryx
2 Legion
2 Circle
2 Trolls
1 Skorne
So looks like there will only be one eMorghoul and two eVlad...
Although to be honest I'm not expecting it to be a whole host of 'typical' tournament lists. Hard lists sure, but not just the most popular tournament build.
As I've said I'll be bringing my Cygnar army (Trolls would have been great but there was no way they could have been painted in time, and you do get points for painting). And eHaley list and a Kraye list. Haley is my girl, I love her background and I like her playstyle. And eHaley is just plain more fun then Haley. She have more tricks and things to do. Not that Haley can't be more than a TB machine, but you kind a feel you have to.
And Kraye because he makes Warjacks fun. Plain and simple.
Anyway, my lists looks like this.
eHaley
Ol' Rowdy
Thorn
Lancer
Squire
Journeyman Warcaster
2 Stormsmiths
Black 13th
4 Mechanics
6 Long Gunners
7 Sword Knights
Sword Knight UA
Rupert the Piper
Epic Eiryss
Kraye
Ol' Rowdy
Thunderhead
Lancer
Sentinel
Squire
Captain Arlan Strangewayes
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormsmith
Stormsmith
Black 13th
6 Field Mechaniks
Epic Eiryss
One interesting thing to notice is that Legends is the book I've drawn most from, followed closely by Prime. Escalation and Apotheosis both gets in there with a couple of choices but there is nothing from Superiority at all. And looking at what we got there I have to admit I don't like very much of it. Even things like the very popular Stormguards (don't like the models, even if I own 8) and Storm Lances (I hate painting cav, always been an infantry person). Don't want to ramble on about that, just thought it was interesting.
Anyway, only gotten in a small number of games with the finished lists and I've never actually played using the scenarioes/rules we will be using (caster kills are not a win condition but gives you 5 points. Winning the scenario gives you 25 and a draw gives you 10) so that is good and proper. Practising for a tournament is almost cheating!
Quite excited about it; I got two goals for the weekend. Aside from having a good time! Finishing in the top half and being top Cygnar. Neither gives me anything but might actually be attainable where as winning or placing probably isn't (I'm under no illusions that my gaming skills are anything more than average).
I'm also counting on this weekend to get me fired up about doing some more painting so I can make a good start on my Trolls next week. Although I do also have an Elf Blood Bowl team I want to paint. But I can probably do one of those in the same time as a couple of Troll models. They do take a long time to paint.
Friday 8 May 2009
The thunder of heavy feets
I've gotten some reinforcement for my trolls during the last week; not one, but two Dire Troll Maulers!
They should add some heavy firepower to my line of trolls, especially looking forward to using the animus to providing on the spot damage boosting. Also it's just a great model, I really like it. Big, massive and angry!
It's also the only Dire Troll I really like, sadly. I might get the Earthborn, but Mulg doesn't really do it for me and I really don't like the Blitzer. But that's okay with me, there are models in Cygnar I don't like either and I'm not really feeling the loss. Now I just need to get around to paint it.
And that nicely leads into why updates have been a little slow. Got a big tournament coming up next weekend and I'm using my Cygnar there. So they have been getting some playtime. (eHaley ripped Kreoss apart with her spear last week, but he took revenge this week and immolated her to death)
They are also taking up my painting table, 14 models to go...
After that it's back to the Trolls though, as I plan on using them for a tournament next month. Not really had enough practice to give a good showing with them, but I know it will be fun so who cares :)
They should add some heavy firepower to my line of trolls, especially looking forward to using the animus to providing on the spot damage boosting. Also it's just a great model, I really like it. Big, massive and angry!
It's also the only Dire Troll I really like, sadly. I might get the Earthborn, but Mulg doesn't really do it for me and I really don't like the Blitzer. But that's okay with me, there are models in Cygnar I don't like either and I'm not really feeling the loss. Now I just need to get around to paint it.
And that nicely leads into why updates have been a little slow. Got a big tournament coming up next weekend and I'm using my Cygnar there. So they have been getting some playtime. (eHaley ripped Kreoss apart with her spear last week, but he took revenge this week and immolated her to death)
They are also taking up my painting table, 14 models to go...
After that it's back to the Trolls though, as I plan on using them for a tournament next month. Not really had enough practice to give a good showing with them, but I know it will be fun so who cares :)
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Thought for today...
I've been thinking about my game Thursday while at work this week (the beauty of having a job that doesn't require you to think much...), specifically about the Long Riders.
They were deployed on my right flank, opposite the Blood Trackers who had prayed them. They died in turn 2 after having advanced some, but only enough to get into ambuscade range. Originally I wanted to keep them in range of the KSB, but because I needed one of the scribes as a charge target I ended up running them so it was a moot point. But anyway, next time that happens I really should just run them up in the face of them(or charge or slam if I'm close enough). At ARM 18 and with 8 wounds each they take some killing, especially if they are so up in your face you can't charge/ambuscade/other bonus damage.
Obviously it won't work every time but if I had done that the Long Riders probably wouldn't have died, the Blood Trackers would have been disposed of earlier and it would overall have looked much better for me.
It's funny because I do it with my Cygnar all the time. Especially my mechanics, they usually die around turn 2 or 3 because they have run up to engage something.
So lesson to remember, Trolls don't die easily so if something is scary at range, but squishy just run to engage it. If nothing else your stuff is up there and then it's your opponents problem, rather than yours.
As a side note my Mauler is now making his way toward me so looking forward to getting him. I really need to paint more trolls but I got a tournament with Cygnar coming up so maybe I should finish those first... (UK tournaments seems to put a greater emphasis on painting than what I've picked up about the US ones, but that's a topic for another day)
They were deployed on my right flank, opposite the Blood Trackers who had prayed them. They died in turn 2 after having advanced some, but only enough to get into ambuscade range. Originally I wanted to keep them in range of the KSB, but because I needed one of the scribes as a charge target I ended up running them so it was a moot point. But anyway, next time that happens I really should just run them up in the face of them(or charge or slam if I'm close enough). At ARM 18 and with 8 wounds each they take some killing, especially if they are so up in your face you can't charge/ambuscade/other bonus damage.
Obviously it won't work every time but if I had done that the Long Riders probably wouldn't have died, the Blood Trackers would have been disposed of earlier and it would overall have looked much better for me.
It's funny because I do it with my Cygnar all the time. Especially my mechanics, they usually die around turn 2 or 3 because they have run up to engage something.
So lesson to remember, Trolls don't die easily so if something is scary at range, but squishy just run to engage it. If nothing else your stuff is up there and then it's your opponents problem, rather than yours.
As a side note my Mauler is now making his way toward me so looking forward to getting him. I really need to paint more trolls but I got a tournament with Cygnar coming up so maybe I should finish those first... (UK tournaments seems to put a greater emphasis on painting than what I've picked up about the US ones, but that's a topic for another day)
Monday 27 April 2009
Update!
Wow, I left this for a long time. I'd love to say my tardiness was because I've been playtesting Mk II but that is unfortunately not the case :( I've only gotten in a single practice game of that since it's been released. The truth is that I just haven't had time/opportunity to play. A venue move for our club(new venue is awesome btw) and one of my regular opponents just being too busy, not to mention a quick weekend trip back to Denmark have meant I've only gotten in a single real game in the last couple of weeks.
But my Trolls are still undefeated! Grissel against Baldur, and the last champion just managed to bring Baldur down. I was using my newly aquired Long Riders too, but they got ambuscaded into oblivion early on unfortuantly. Still, they are some of the few cavalry models I actually like the models of and can see myself painting (rare indeed!) so I imagine they will see quite a lot of use actually.
It was a bit of a weird game, in that it was the Circle that bricked up and the Trolls that was doing the mobile attacking. I rushed him early forced him to hide behind Megalith and a Worldwarden. Between the two heavies, the Worldwardens animus, Swamp Gobbers putting up clouds and Baldur putting down forests it was difficult to get a coordinated strike on him though. Although Baldur did inadvertedly wander into the open right in front of an Impaler and Grissel. I don't think he had realised just how much that would hurt and Baldur was suddenly left at 4 hp.
Eventually I managed to overwhelm him long enough for that one champion to hit him over the head. Losses was pretty bad though.
I brought:
Grissel
Axe (died)
Impaler
Champions (1 survivor)
Long Riders (dead)
Fell Caller (dead)
KSB+UA (Stone and Elder alive)
He brought:
Baldur (dead)
Megalith
Worldwarden (dead)
Druids (a couple dead)
Sentry Stone (dead)
Blood Trackers (the javelin girls? Anyway, all but one died)
So the trolls took a beating going in, but they can take so much punishment and still keep going! I'm really loving them. So much fun to play with, and so incredibly different to my Cygnar army.
Should have some Swamp Gobbers arriving soon, and I'll probably get Horthol to support the Long Riders. I'm sure they will match the champions well, if they can survive past turn two. But for the first time ever using proper cavalry(Kraye's Jacks doesn't really count) in Warmachine that was okay.
Anyway, work is calling (yay...) might flesh it out into a proper battle report later.
But my Trolls are still undefeated! Grissel against Baldur, and the last champion just managed to bring Baldur down. I was using my newly aquired Long Riders too, but they got ambuscaded into oblivion early on unfortuantly. Still, they are some of the few cavalry models I actually like the models of and can see myself painting (rare indeed!) so I imagine they will see quite a lot of use actually.
It was a bit of a weird game, in that it was the Circle that bricked up and the Trolls that was doing the mobile attacking. I rushed him early forced him to hide behind Megalith and a Worldwarden. Between the two heavies, the Worldwardens animus, Swamp Gobbers putting up clouds and Baldur putting down forests it was difficult to get a coordinated strike on him though. Although Baldur did inadvertedly wander into the open right in front of an Impaler and Grissel. I don't think he had realised just how much that would hurt and Baldur was suddenly left at 4 hp.
Eventually I managed to overwhelm him long enough for that one champion to hit him over the head. Losses was pretty bad though.
I brought:
Grissel
Axe (died)
Impaler
Champions (1 survivor)
Long Riders (dead)
Fell Caller (dead)
KSB+UA (Stone and Elder alive)
He brought:
Baldur (dead)
Megalith
Worldwarden (dead)
Druids (a couple dead)
Sentry Stone (dead)
Blood Trackers (the javelin girls? Anyway, all but one died)
So the trolls took a beating going in, but they can take so much punishment and still keep going! I'm really loving them. So much fun to play with, and so incredibly different to my Cygnar army.
Should have some Swamp Gobbers arriving soon, and I'll probably get Horthol to support the Long Riders. I'm sure they will match the champions well, if they can survive past turn two. But for the first time ever using proper cavalry(Kraye's Jacks doesn't really count) in Warmachine that was okay.
Anyway, work is calling (yay...) might flesh it out into a proper battle report later.
Friday 10 April 2009
I love Scattergunners!
As I mentioned briefly yesterday the Scattergunners really were the stars of the show. Not in that they killed the most things or Doomy or anything but they enabled the others to do so.
I was using
Grissel
Fell Caller
KSB + UA
Champions
Min Scattergunners
2 Impalers
And I was facing
Doomy
Mauler
2 Impalers
Champions
KSB
Fell Caller
Alten Ashley
(Yes, it turns out it's over points. Didn't really matter)
My setup was fairly compact, with the champions next to a ruin, the Scattergunners behind the ruin, the KSB, Fellcaller and Grissel behind the infantry and an Impaler on each flank. I would have concentrated them a bit more if I could but I was setting up first so had to cover both flanks.
His set up was a bit to the left of mine, but almost the same. A line of champions in front, two Impalers to the left of them, Doomy, KSB, Fell Caller and Mauler behind and Alten a bit to the right up front behind a hedge.
Alten managed to kill a Scattergunner behind they blasted him to bits. I didn't wanted him to shoot my Impalers so the one on the right hid behind the ruin while the Scattergunners ran through it with the help of the Fellcaller. In turn two they moved up further and since sprays ignored the concealment and shot him to bits. They also managed to put a bit of damage on the Champions(being barely in range). It also saw some exchange of fire between the Impalers and things but nothing overly important. The two champion units had lined up just over 9" from each other so it was a bit of a stalemate. And that's where the Scattergunners made the difference. In turn 3 they moved up to blast the champions some more, even killing one of them! And then Grissel put Hoof it on them and moved then up to stand there, tempting the champions to engage the annoying Scattergunners.
And my opponent duly took the bait. Admittedly it was only his third hordes game and he said up front that he was puzzled why I had moved the Scattergunners that way. I promised to explain, but not until after his turn. You shouldn't exploit newer players, but as long as you are nice I firmly believe the best way to learn is to actually see it work.
So his Champions and the Mauler engaged. They killed all but one scattergunner who was then blasted apart by the Fellcaller screaming at him(range attacks was hitting all over the place in this game!).
But it did mean my Champions could get the charge on his. Using the +2 strenght from the KSB and Grissels feat I engaged both Impalers and the Champions. Due to bad positioning on my part only the champions made it in. In the end the Imaplers took a bunch of damage and his champions got decimated.
I lost my Fell Caller on his counter attack but essentiall it was a big sprawling melee in the middle with the advantage to me. After then it was just chipping away at things on the edges and slowly walking through his models.
The game ended with Doomy showing that he can hit pretty hard by killing an Impaler (the other got eaten by the Mauler) before getting charged and killed by Grissel. At that stage he had the Mauler, the KSB and one scribe left.
I lost both Impalers, the Scattergunners, a couple of the Scribes and the Fellcaller. Grissel took some damage as well (slams from the Impalers and Doomys feat).
Lessons learned:
Mirror matches are fun!
Second, I love sprays. I was very impressed by the Scattergunners. Killing Alten early saved me a lot of headache, and being able to put a couple of damage points on the champions (yes, I know that was at least partially luck) made all the difference. Not only did it help with taking them down, it also meant they were annoying enough that something had to be done about them.
I'm still liking the Trolls a lot. They really are very different from Cygnar and I'm very much enjoying that. I'm still liking my Swan people, but it's cool to actually have beatdown casters and true heavy infantry (and sprays!).
Oh, and third lesson. Remember what your damn caster does! I only remembered Grissels fellcalls like half the turns in the game. Practice, practice, practice!
I was using
Grissel
Fell Caller
KSB + UA
Champions
Min Scattergunners
2 Impalers
And I was facing
Doomy
Mauler
2 Impalers
Champions
KSB
Fell Caller
Alten Ashley
(Yes, it turns out it's over points. Didn't really matter)
My setup was fairly compact, with the champions next to a ruin, the Scattergunners behind the ruin, the KSB, Fellcaller and Grissel behind the infantry and an Impaler on each flank. I would have concentrated them a bit more if I could but I was setting up first so had to cover both flanks.
His set up was a bit to the left of mine, but almost the same. A line of champions in front, two Impalers to the left of them, Doomy, KSB, Fell Caller and Mauler behind and Alten a bit to the right up front behind a hedge.
Alten managed to kill a Scattergunner behind they blasted him to bits. I didn't wanted him to shoot my Impalers so the one on the right hid behind the ruin while the Scattergunners ran through it with the help of the Fellcaller. In turn two they moved up further and since sprays ignored the concealment and shot him to bits. They also managed to put a bit of damage on the Champions(being barely in range). It also saw some exchange of fire between the Impalers and things but nothing overly important. The two champion units had lined up just over 9" from each other so it was a bit of a stalemate. And that's where the Scattergunners made the difference. In turn 3 they moved up to blast the champions some more, even killing one of them! And then Grissel put Hoof it on them and moved then up to stand there, tempting the champions to engage the annoying Scattergunners.
And my opponent duly took the bait. Admittedly it was only his third hordes game and he said up front that he was puzzled why I had moved the Scattergunners that way. I promised to explain, but not until after his turn. You shouldn't exploit newer players, but as long as you are nice I firmly believe the best way to learn is to actually see it work.
So his Champions and the Mauler engaged. They killed all but one scattergunner who was then blasted apart by the Fellcaller screaming at him(range attacks was hitting all over the place in this game!).
But it did mean my Champions could get the charge on his. Using the +2 strenght from the KSB and Grissels feat I engaged both Impalers and the Champions. Due to bad positioning on my part only the champions made it in. In the end the Imaplers took a bunch of damage and his champions got decimated.
I lost my Fell Caller on his counter attack but essentiall it was a big sprawling melee in the middle with the advantage to me. After then it was just chipping away at things on the edges and slowly walking through his models.
The game ended with Doomy showing that he can hit pretty hard by killing an Impaler (the other got eaten by the Mauler) before getting charged and killed by Grissel. At that stage he had the Mauler, the KSB and one scribe left.
I lost both Impalers, the Scattergunners, a couple of the Scribes and the Fellcaller. Grissel took some damage as well (slams from the Impalers and Doomys feat).
Lessons learned:
Mirror matches are fun!
Second, I love sprays. I was very impressed by the Scattergunners. Killing Alten early saved me a lot of headache, and being able to put a couple of damage points on the champions (yes, I know that was at least partially luck) made all the difference. Not only did it help with taking them down, it also meant they were annoying enough that something had to be done about them.
I'm still liking the Trolls a lot. They really are very different from Cygnar and I'm very much enjoying that. I'm still liking my Swan people, but it's cool to actually have beatdown casters and true heavy infantry (and sprays!).
Oh, and third lesson. Remember what your damn caster does! I only remembered Grissels fellcalls like half the turns in the game. Practice, practice, practice!
Thursday 9 April 2009
Another game
Got in another game with my Trolls tonight. And it was a win for the trolls. Of course it was always going to be a troll win as it was Troll against Troll! Quite interesting really. I was using Grissel and he was using Hoarluk. Having the champions matched up across each other was interesting, but fortuantly I got him to commit by using my Scattergunners as bait. They killed Alten Ashley and put quite a lot of damage on the champions before being eaten. But it was enough as it set up my charge and in the end there was a Mauler and two KSB model left with Grissel herself killing Doomy.
Saturday 4 April 2009
A weight off my shoulders...
There he is, my Kriel Stone Bearer. It's such a neat looking model I just had to paint it. How can you not love a troll carrying a giant rock around?!It's the first infantry model too and so I had to define my kriels colours too. Ended up with a dark green background with a brown and a red stripe. Real easy to paint and looks quite good I think.
He should have reinforcement coming his way soon. Won some Longriders and another Impaler (it was 99p!) off eBay so that should be interesting.
I quite like the Longriders (no idea how they work out in the game though), strange really as I have no intention what so ever of picking up the Cygnar cav. I really don't want to paint them and I sort of feel I got the Jacks anyway. Not so with the Long Riders, but lets see when I actually get them.
Friday 3 April 2009
First game!
I had my first game with my Trolls last night. 500 points against Menoth.
I used Calandra, 2 Impalers, an Axer, a unit of Champions, a Fell Caller and a full unit of KSB with the UA.
On the other side I was facing Reznik, a Castigator, a Repenter, a Revenger, a Choir, Zealots with the Monolith Bearer and a unit of Exemplar Errants.
I had almost completed a battle report when the computer finished an update and restarted so this is going to be the short version.
At the end of the game I had lost a champion and the Fell Caller. He had 3 Choir boys left engaged with an Impaler and the zealots engaged with the axer. The champions barrelled head first into his jack wall, and over two turns killed the Castigator and the Repenter, while an Impaler and the Fell Caller did for the Revenger (the Fell Caller did 11 points of damage on his charge attack ripping of it's shield!).
In the next turn the Fell Caller charged Reznik after the Impalers had thrown some spears at him (but failed to slam him) and did quite a lot of damage, but sadly not enough to kill him.
The champs managed it though. After disposing of the Castigator they slipped through the ranks and engaged Reznik. And that was the end. It did took them two attempts but it was never in doubt.
Calandra was doing Star Crossed for most of the game but I never manage to actually remember to use it's effect! Definently something to remember for furture games. In this case it didn't matter too much as my Trolls was plenty of resilient this game and I got to engage on my terms.
I was really impressed by what the Champions could do and how resilient they were. Nothing new I know, but I've never used them before! I think there is a lot of potential for Calandra, I just need to be better at using her.
I was helped by the Zealots essentially only having a single turn as they were held in reserve and me getting the jump on his jacks.
I think he was used to playing against Cryx and so was hoping for some spells coming his way to propel his jacks forward with Witchmark (or whatever the ability is called).
And for all that Impalers always crits mine got a single crit all game. Against the Errants of all things. I got a couple of shots at Reznik, but no crits :(
But a win is a win and it makes a nice change from my Cygnar. Both in terms of playstyle and in terms of winning!
I used Calandra, 2 Impalers, an Axer, a unit of Champions, a Fell Caller and a full unit of KSB with the UA.
On the other side I was facing Reznik, a Castigator, a Repenter, a Revenger, a Choir, Zealots with the Monolith Bearer and a unit of Exemplar Errants.
I had almost completed a battle report when the computer finished an update and restarted so this is going to be the short version.
At the end of the game I had lost a champion and the Fell Caller. He had 3 Choir boys left engaged with an Impaler and the zealots engaged with the axer. The champions barrelled head first into his jack wall, and over two turns killed the Castigator and the Repenter, while an Impaler and the Fell Caller did for the Revenger (the Fell Caller did 11 points of damage on his charge attack ripping of it's shield!).
In the next turn the Fell Caller charged Reznik after the Impalers had thrown some spears at him (but failed to slam him) and did quite a lot of damage, but sadly not enough to kill him.
The champs managed it though. After disposing of the Castigator they slipped through the ranks and engaged Reznik. And that was the end. It did took them two attempts but it was never in doubt.
Calandra was doing Star Crossed for most of the game but I never manage to actually remember to use it's effect! Definently something to remember for furture games. In this case it didn't matter too much as my Trolls was plenty of resilient this game and I got to engage on my terms.
I was really impressed by what the Champions could do and how resilient they were. Nothing new I know, but I've never used them before! I think there is a lot of potential for Calandra, I just need to be better at using her.
I was helped by the Zealots essentially only having a single turn as they were held in reserve and me getting the jump on his jacks.
I think he was used to playing against Cryx and so was hoping for some spells coming his way to propel his jacks forward with Witchmark (or whatever the ability is called).
And for all that Impalers always crits mine got a single crit all game. Against the Errants of all things. I got a couple of shots at Reznik, but no crits :(
But a win is a win and it makes a nice change from my Cygnar. Both in terms of playstyle and in terms of winning!
Thursday 2 April 2009
Taranis the Impaler
Meet Taranis, the first painted trollblod from Wyrmwall Kriel.
Obviously I still need to do his base and such, but other than that I'm actually quite pleased with how he turned out. With all the leather and stuff it's very easy to make it look samey. I think the few different brown tones I have there does the job well enough though. The armour needs a little more work and I could have done without the chickens on him (fun touch, but I'd rather not have them there) but for a first model I'm pleased.
I think I'll try and name all my beasts, just for fun. Once I've done the base up I'll write his name on it. The name itself I've nicked from a list of Celtic gods. Taranis is a wargod, often depicted with a lightning bolt, and somewhat similar to Tor so the name seems fitting.
Obviously I still need to do his base and such, but other than that I'm actually quite pleased with how he turned out. With all the leather and stuff it's very easy to make it look samey. I think the few different brown tones I have there does the job well enough though. The armour needs a little more work and I could have done without the chickens on him (fun touch, but I'd rather not have them there) but for a first model I'm pleased.
I think I'll try and name all my beasts, just for fun. Once I've done the base up I'll write his name on it. The name itself I've nicked from a list of Celtic gods. Taranis is a wargod, often depicted with a lightning bolt, and somewhat similar to Tor so the name seems fitting.
Why Trolls then?
So why did I get a Troll army when I'm still in the process of doing a Cygnar army?
The obvious answer is to have both a Warmachine and a Hordes faction, but really it's just because Trolls are cool. I've been tempted by them (and Circle) on and off since I really got interested in this game around a year ago. Originally I went with Cygnar because the Ironclad model just looked really cool (and ironically I now never use it...). But then I was listening to the Podthralls review of Metamorphosis and that sold me enough on the trolls to at least want to try them out. Having now read the background for them too they are the faction I like the most in the game. Pushed around and pressured from all sides they are fighting a battle against everyone just to continue to exist as a society.
Contrast to Circle that I liked the idea of too, but having read there fluff I don't think I actually like them that much. There religion just doesn't make much sense to me, and it seems to be a weird mix of interest that's now coming apart at the seams.
Anyway, having read the books I ordered a bunch of models and the Wyrmwall Kriel will see there first proper game tonight! Should be a 500 points affair against something (new guy at the club I think). I should even manage to have a model painted for it too, the first Impaler is almost done, yay! (pictures to follow later hopefully)
The obvious answer is to have both a Warmachine and a Hordes faction, but really it's just because Trolls are cool. I've been tempted by them (and Circle) on and off since I really got interested in this game around a year ago. Originally I went with Cygnar because the Ironclad model just looked really cool (and ironically I now never use it...). But then I was listening to the Podthralls review of Metamorphosis and that sold me enough on the trolls to at least want to try them out. Having now read the background for them too they are the faction I like the most in the game. Pushed around and pressured from all sides they are fighting a battle against everyone just to continue to exist as a society.
Contrast to Circle that I liked the idea of too, but having read there fluff I don't think I actually like them that much. There religion just doesn't make much sense to me, and it seems to be a weird mix of interest that's now coming apart at the seams.
Anyway, having read the books I ordered a bunch of models and the Wyrmwall Kriel will see there first proper game tonight! Should be a 500 points affair against something (new guy at the club I think). I should even manage to have a model painted for it too, the first Impaler is almost done, yay! (pictures to follow later hopefully)
So this is a blog, eh?
First post, heh. Having just bought some Trolls and thus expanded into Hordes (already got a Cygnar army) and seeing someone posting about a handfull of blogs about there own armies I thought maybe it could be an interesting experiment to try. Gives me a place to post random thoughts about Trolls and the game in general, record games and maybe even keep me on track with building/painting the army. Although probably not...
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