Karchev The Terrible

Hello all,
 I am excited to begin a series of posts about the main casters that Khador has.  I have used about half and I like them all for different reasons.  I have to say, that Karchev is my current favorite because he is a balls to the wall type of caster.  I used him in a recent 3-player battle and really liked his simplicity and depth.  I am looking forward to using him again.  Here is my current understanding of how Karchev works and what he offers the Khador player.

Gather around, children, and I will tell you the story of one of the Motherland's greatest defenders... Karchev The Terrible.  Gaze at his visage.  Burn his face into your memory. Keep this icon under your pillow.   His image will protect you on those nights when fear grips at your hearts.  

He began his service as a warcaster and revered military leader.  He had an uncanny affinity with those great lumbering hulks called warjacks.  It was during a brutal confrontation with the Cygnaran army that he lost all the forces under his command.  Rather than surrender to sweet death, he pushed himself beyond all limits and slew the hated enemy.  His anger and rage engulfed him and he refused to die.  His body broken and destroyed beyond all repair, Karchev demanded that a warjack body be constructed to allow him to continue his service.  That was well over 100 years ago, children, and still the terrible Karchev protects us.  He is a treasure to our nation.


Feat, Spells, and Weapons
Karchev has a pretty standard Khador type feat which is Total War.  All models in his control area get pathfinder and can charge or make power attacks without spending focus.  Also, at the beginning of their activation, they can change facing which is great for setting up those charge lanes.  This may not seem like much, but given the dearth of focus that he gets, it is crucial.  Paired with his spells it can allow a jack to unleash a beating on an unsuspecting subject.  His spells are geared to giving jacks mobility and firepower.
His own skills are Arcantrik Turbine and Man in the Machine.  Arcantrik Turbine allows him to gain an extra focus or gain +2" movement.  Man in the Machine is a lot of text that boils down to this:  his body can be healed by focus, his machine only by models with the repair skill.  He is a living model, but not a warrior nor a warjack.  He is affected by deep water, just like a warjack.
Tow
The most useful spell is Tow.  This spell allows Karchev to place jacks B2B within his back arc as long as he moved within 2" of the jacks during his movement.   This can really help move those jacks forward quite quickly.  The catch?  Only 3 can be towed.
Unearthly Rage
Unearthly Rage is Karchev's main way of gaining focus efficiency.  Rage allows all of his battlegroup warjacks, in his control area, to gain  boosted melee attack and damage.  In addition they gain the magical weapon trait.  So, for a cost of three, you could boost 3-4-5-? jacks on all attack and damage rolls.  That is incredible!  What's more, you could give two focus to a jack and have them just demolish their opponent with multiple boosted attacks and damage.
Sidearms
This spell is a defensive spell.  Basically it allows models in B2B contact in the control area to gain +1 to defense for each other model in the control group with which they are B2B.  They also avoid knockdown.  This is a great spell for making a brick move with some safety, but the lower defense of most Khador models hardly makes this worth it.  The focus is better spent elsewhere.
Eruption and Ground Zero
These are two AOE spells.  Eruption is a ranged spell that deals a POW14 damage with fire.  In addition there is a cloud effect that damages models entering or ending their move in it.  Ground Zero is a 5"AOE spell that deals a POW 13 damage and pushes the model away from the caster.  Both of these spells are highly situational and cost a lot.  I don't foresee using them too often.
Weapons
Karchev has an open fist and the sword Sunder.  He also has the ranged weapon Fissure.  Sunder is a basic melee weapon at p+s 19.  This will deal a lot of hurt when it hits and coupled with his spells and feat, could well cry the death of anything in his way.  Fissure, on the other hand, is a marvelous weapon.  It has decent p+s (12) but if it hits it knocks down the model. It is a spray so we are usually talking multiple models.  This could set up a painful series of events for your opponent. 

Synergies
Karchev is first and foremost a warjack caster.  No units have particular synergies with him.  So any units taken will just be support for the situation.  That being said, Mechaniks would be useful because they will keep his jacks up and running.  What makes him shine are the jacks that will be unleashed in a hell of fury.


Beast-09
OMG!  With Reach, Thresher, Imprint: Murderous, and Heavy Boiler this beast will roll!  Give it a few focus and unleash your feat and spells and watch it demolish all in its path.
Berserker
This jack will be totally unencumbered with Karchev.  No focus is needed to give it boosted attack and damage, and with Tow you can get them into battle quickly.  Why settle for one B?  Take two or three.  Did I mention chain attack?  Ouch!
Behemoth
OK.  This is amazing.  Two open fists, armor piercing, p+s 12 attacks.  Boosted by Unearthly Rage and can be allocated extra focus for ranged attacks.  Did I mention those same ranged attacks can be made in melee combat?  Did I add that it can make ranged and melee attacks in the same activation.  It may not be very accurate, but who cares.  It is killer!  Can you say, "Time to Die?"  

These seem to me to be the big 3 jacks that gain the most from running with Karchev.  I am looking forward to using him in a 1:1 battle.  That way I can see what he can do when he is totally focused on one enemy.  As always, comments or suggestions about my analysis are welcome!

Wow--- Long Hiatus

OK!  So I have been way out of touch for far too long.  It is not that there haven't been lots of things for me to blog about... I just had little time and I lost my drive to post.  Too much losing made me not so restrained in my discouragement.. but that was then and this is now. 
To kick off my first post in nearly three months, I wanted to talk about my closest game yet in Warmachine.  Steve and I played a game a couple of weeks ago, and it was very close- the way he tells it.  I wasn't so sure, but it did feel great to finally have some impact in the game.  His list was led by the Witch Coven and my list was led by Irusk.

CRYX List
The Witch Coven of Garlghast
- Deathripper
- Deathripper
- Defiler
- Reaper
Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Bile Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Bane Lord Tartarus
Pistol Wraith
Pistol Wraith

KHADOR List
Kommandant Irusk
- Devastator
- War dog
Doom Reavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
- Greylord Escort
Doom Reavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Leader and 4 Grunts)
Man-o-war Kovnik


It started off with me putting down lots of forest terrain.  I don't know what I was even thinking because I had no way of gaining pathfinder through that mess.  My brain was somewhere else.  I definitely need to think about the setup better.  That being said, I did like the fact that we had lots of terrain.  It made for some great tactical decisions.
I really liked the way I chose my forces.  I thought about what I needed, the leader that would help me the most, and what I wanted to accomplish.  My main goal was to learn how to use my units effectively.  I totally got that.  I saw how to maximize them, keep them protected, and unleash them for some pain.  I did need to have some more protection for them, and I needed to pop my feat earlier, but all in all I learned what I set out to learn.
It came down to the final few combatants.  I didn't know how to seal the deal, but I did do more than I have ever done before in a game versus Steve, so that for me is saying a lot.  Maybe next time, I will carve out a victory.  Maybe next week there will be a new type of post.  One where I have vanquished the evil! 
Until then, I will remain restrained.  :)

Khadoran Forces Routed By Stunty Dwarves

Ok, so I started this blog because I lose far more games than I ever win.  And rather than becoming frustrated and stop playing games, I would restrain my discouragement and learn from my mistakes.  Well, this was one of the most discouraging battles I have ever fought.  Sorry about the fuzzy pictures, I forgot my camera so I used my cell phone pics.

Khadoran Forces

•  Forward Kommander Sorscha
•   Beast 09
•   Devestator
•   War Dog
•   Kayazy Assasins (9 + Leader)
•   Kayazy Underboss
•   Winter Guard (9 + Leader)
•   Winter Guard Infantry Officer and Standard
•   Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich

Seaforge Commission Forces

•   Durgen Madhammer
•    Ghordson Driller
•   Wroughthammer Rockram
•   Herne and Jonne
•   Horgenhold Forge Guard (9 + Leader)
•   Ogrun Bokur
•   Ogrun Bokur
•   Thor Steinhammer
•   Ghordson Avalancher

This is how the battle looked at the start

Turn 1

We began by advancing forward.  Seaforge moved first.  Peter moved into some cover and set up his barrage of ranged death.  His total force was set up on the premise that if he could rain death down on my advance, he would be able to destroy me before I could get to him.  Khador moved second.  I activated Sorscha and  I cast Iron Flesh on my WG units.   I ran the WG forward.  Kovnik Joe moved next and  gave a rousing speech that made them fearless and tough.  Courage of the Forefathers!  My assassins advanced on the left flank at a full run, and my jacks moved up.  Beast 09 ran forward and my Devastator (who was bonded to Sorscha) moved as well.  So far so good.  My WG units had a defense of 17 (12 + 3 for iron flesh and +2 for bob and weave from my unit commander).

Turn 2

On turn 2, Peter unleashed some bombarding fire.  It didn't seem to do all that much.  Killed two of my WG units.  He took a couple of pot shots knowing they would miss so that he could get blast damage from the shots.  Some of his units can get three blast shots from one shot.  The luck gods were with him, because each shot he fired scattered in the exact direction he wanted to hit the majority of my figures.  I blame myself for not spreading them out more or double ranking them.  On my turn I ran some more, repositioned my assassins, and again cast Iron Flesh.  I took a shot at his Avalancher, but did minimal damage.   Now we were in his sweet spot.

Turn 3

Peter popped his feat.  His Bombs Away gives every blast attack an extra die on blast attack and damage rolls.  Even with my defense of 17, and tough, my WG unit was decimated along with Kovnik Joe. You see my plan was to get my assassins up close to move through his army to attack his caster.  This was not going to happen, because their defense was simply too light.  And with his Explosivo, and the other multiple ways he can make AOE attacks it was likely he would just wipe them up.  So I changed tactics.  

I repositioned my assassins, and moved Sorscha and my jacks into hopeful striking range.

Turn 4

This was the last turn.  Peter took some shots against my jacks and Sorscha, but their armor was too tough.  He took out 2 assassins and protected his caster.  His last spell on his caster was Inhospitable Ground.  This meant the terrain was rough for me to advance into.  This is where I get screwed up.  Now my options were there, but I couldn't do them in the right order.  I needed to get rid of his guards, but to do that I had to activate my jack and then send Sorscha up to put the final kill.  I couldn't activate my jack to get there without first activating Sorscha to cast a spell that would allow the jack to move far enough.  My assassins could move, but they needed pathfinder, which again meant activating Sorscha first.  It was 12:30, so in the end, I popped my feat, activated Sorscha and charged with her.  I hoped I could get rid of the one blocking model and then do two attacks on his caster.  Well, this was folly.  So Peter won with a well put together force and he used his spells and abilities optimally.

Recap

I am sure there were other strategies I could take to use this force better.  I have never used Sorscha, but I did have a feel for how to use her.  I think the bottom line is that I just suck at tactics.  I just don't get it.  I am a pretty smart person, but unless I can see it and figure it out, or have someone ask/question/show me what I am doing wrong, I won't figure it out.  I can't get it on my own, it seems.  This battle reminded me a lot of AT43 with the indirect fire being the king of the battlefield.  I do like Khador's theme, and the abilities of its casters, I am just not good at making them work against an opponent.  Well, I remain restrained in my discouragement.  

Arcane Legions

A while back, at Prezcon, I tried out a game called Arcane Legions.  It is a miniatures game that takes place in an alternate type universe.  There are three basic factions: The Romans, Chinese, and Egyptians.  While I won't take time to go into the mechanics of the game just yet (I have only played it once and that was back in February) I have started to put the miniatures together.  They are very cool looking.  I especially love the Romans riding the bears into battle.  Once I get the millions (seriously a ton) on figures done and have played a few games, then I will post up a better report.  To give you an idea, here is the link to their website http://arcanelegions.com/ .  Some minis come pre-painted, but the majority come unpainted.

Dude! You are Famous!

Just a shout out to my boi Steve who had his first playtesting credit published this week in an Advanced Squad Leader magazine!  Congrats, dude!  Very cool.

Warmachine (New Minis)

I have been on a buying kick these last two weeks.  For some reason, I have wanted to put together a full fledged, no proxy, army.  I finally got Strakhov and the guard dog primed and ready for painting.  I have cleaned and assembled my Iron Fang Pikemen as well as my Assault Kommandos.  I got the Great Bears ready and my new caster, The Butcher.  I also got one of the plastic jacks kit that lets you make three types of jacks.  I bought magnets so I can swap out the arms, and weapons, etc.  This is the coolest project I have started.  The real challenge is finding someone to play.  Everyone seems real busy with life in general that everyone wants to play but nobody will commit to a time to play.  My glorious force of the motherland may never see the light of day.  Ahh well.

On a fun note, I have joined a competition about playing.  http://boisterous-exuberance.blogspot.com/2010/06/half-year-resolution-progress.html

see the bottom of the post

Pics if I can get all my stuff together this weekend

Manoeuvre

By far, the game I have enjoyed playing the most over the past 2 years is a game called Manoeuvre.  Manoeuvre is a Napoleonics game.  It was designed to be learned quickly and played in under an hour.  The game is absolutely one of my favorites.  In this post, I will try to give the flavor of the game and a rundown of each nation and their strengths.


Size Does Matter
The game is played by two players over a 4 square map.  Each square is divided into a 16 (4x4) grid.  This makes a map that is 8 squares by 8 squares.  The tight nature of the map encourages strategic thinking as well as forcing players into conflict after the first turn or so.  The different map squares sport different kinds of terrain, and this is part of the charm and appeal of the game.  The design allows for infinite replayability.
The pieces are typical cardboard chits, larger than in a wargame, but well suited for play.  Each nation has 8 units representing units that existed at the time.  The units are augmented by a deck of cards that detail the combat capability of the units as well as tactical cards that allow units to heal, move outside of their turn, build defensive groundworks, leaders, ambush, etc.  The mix of cards and abilities are different depending upon each nation and their military skill at the time.  Thus, France and Britain are the best armies of the game and the USA and Austria are the weakest.

The Game is Afoot
A turn consists of discarding cards and refilling your hand to 5, moving one unit, and then attacking with a unit.  Lastly, you may heal a unit or build a redoubt also with the play of a card.  Card management is the crux of the game.  In order to attack, you need to have a card that matches the unit you wish to attack with.  Then the defender has the option of playing a card to add to its defense.  The attacker may then play a leader card to bring in other units adjacent to the defending unit.  Dice are rolled and a simple calculation is used to determine losses.  If the die roll is less than the defense, that attacker takes a loss.  If the die roll is equal to the defense the defender chooses to retreat one space or take a loss.  Twice the defense and the attacker chooses.  Three times the defense and the defender takes a loss and retreats.  Four times the defense and the defender is eliminated.  If there is no retreat, the defender is eliminated.  In order to win you need to eliminate 5 units or get the most victory points at sundown.  Sundown is when both players have exhausted their decks one time.   Each player calculates victory points based on where they are in the opposing side's terrain.  The most vp's wins.

Nations
France- The best army in the game.  France has the highest attack on their cards, and the most maneuverability of any country.  They can make a mistake here and there and still recover from it.
 Britain- England has the best overall attack and defense in the game.  They are a good match for France.  They have excellent leaders and high attack values on their units.
Russia- Great defensive cards.  Russia can let the battle come to them and then stonewall.  A solid counterattack and they can dominate.  (My favorite faction).
Turkey- Lots of cavalry and that means pursuit losses.  Turkey is very agile on the field and can even take down France if they play conservatively enough.  I have won the most with Turkey, I think.
Prussia- An average country that has no real strength in any one area.
Spain- Weak leaders and low values make this a country that could handicap a better player versus a new player.  Spain does have guerrillas which allow it to cancel some tactics.  Very helpful for picking off wounded units.
Austria- Similar to Prussia but not as good.  This country is the weakest.
USA- A bit better than Austria due to its use of ambush.  I still don't think it is very competitive, but it is a fun country to play against.  Very unpredictable.

All in all, this game is a phenomenal game that wargamers and eurogamers both should like.  And you can get it now that it has been reprinted. 
Keep up to date with wargaming news here at my buddy Steve's blog. http://cardboard-warriors.blogspot.com/

Horus Heresy

I have had a chance to play a couple of games of Horus Heresy lately, so here is a review of the game.

Background
Horus Heresy is a big box game published by Fantasy Flight Games.  It makes use of their recent partnership with Games Workshop and is set in the Warhammer 40K universe during the most tumultuous time in mankind's history.  The game itself is a remake of a game published in 1993 by Games Workshop and designed by Jervis Johnson.  This new version has a lot of similarities in theme to the original, but it replaces the chits and hex with area movement and miniatures.  At the start of the game, Terra is besieged by a rebellious leader named Horus and the Emperor must stave off his attacks until reinforcements arrive.  There are lots of marines, tanks, demon hordes, titans, thunderhawks and general mayhem to keep even the bloodthirstiest of us content.
Game Components
As is typical with Fantasy Flight games, the production pieces are fantastic.  The miniatures are sculpted well and give the game a lot of flavor.  One negative I do have with the pieces is the emperor's forces are grey and a few are very difficult to tell apart.  They scream out for a paint job. 
The map is fantastic with 3D terrain built in for spaceports, the palace, fortresses and factories.  It makes the orange landscape look very forbidding.  The map board has a tactical area and a strategic area.  One complaint is that the pieces don't always fit neatly on the board.  This is an annoyance, I agree, but not a big deal.
Game Play
A typical game turn consists of playing action cards to the strategic map or the tactical map.  Each action you take costs time.  The Emperor wants time to move quickly...Horus does not.  If you play a card to the strategic board or activate a card on the strategic board it costs 1 action point (time).  If you play from your hand to the main board it costs the amount listed on the card. 
Combat is handled by using cards.  There are not dice rolled at all.  Each iteration of combat allows the players to play cards based on the round of combat.  1st round is one card.  2nd round is two cards and so on.  There are two victory conditions; control all four space stations or eliminate Horus or the Emperor. 
Evaluation
I like this game a lot.  I have only played the Horus side, and like my blog's name I remain restrained about losing every game.  I really like the way combat works with the cards.  There are a lot of tactical considerations to make about the timing of cards.  The Horus side has a lot of work to do to win.  Everything is stacked against them.  That is not to say that the Emperor has an easy time of it.  At the beginning of the game, some units may betray the Emperor and join the side of chaos.  There is also a lot of strategy that goes into using leaders in combat.  I need a few more games to give a final verdict, but this is a game I would play often enough as it is a quick play (about 2 hours tops)!  I find it engaging and stressful at times, which is the mark of a good game in my book.

Update

Trying to catch up to real time with this blog. It doesn't take long, but it does take me sitting down and getting it out. Sometimes that is harder than it should be. OK. Here goes...
Played Warmachine with Peter last Monday and Tuesday. He ran dwarves against my Khador. I thought it was going to be a toe to toe slugfest. Turns out the dwarves can be rather shooty. He took a shooty army on Monday and just plain outplayed me. On Tuesday I tried some new units; namely the Iron Fang Pikemen. They just plain rock. They are my new favorite unit. My widowmakers owned the field as well. My next game I will be in a much better position to use my forces.. I am excited!
Played Through the Ages on Friday, and won that game. Then we played La Havre and.. well... I like the game a lot, but it is long and a bit unforgiving. On Saturday we played Chaos in the Old World. It is a lot of fun and each faction truly is different. I am looking forward to playing Horus Heresy, that is the next game on the list. Hopefully this will happen on Saturday.
Now that I am caught up, I can begin to post a bit more in depth again.

Warmachine...

Steve and I played our third game of Warmachine last Wed. May 5.  It was a 35 point game.  I was sure of the outcome, but only because I am still learning how to use my army in the best ways possible.  Steve's army consisted of Skarre and an assorted group of units and models that had so much stuff on them it made my head hurt.  What can you do when you can't target a model, can't damage a model, and have the weight of a deathjack breathing down your neck?

I have decided to set mini goals for my games.  My goal for this one was to see how my Assault Kommandos worked and to see what would happen if I changed up my jacks a bit.  I actually learned more about jacks than the Kommandos, but only from watching how my own got wrecked by a combination of solo work and the Deathjack.    I got quite frustrated because the things I thought I could do never worked out.  Most of the time I just had an incomplete understanding of the rules.  I feel a lot more solid on that point, now.

After the game, we posted on the Privateer Press forums to get some ideas for fighting Khador vs. Cryx.  I have to say, that forum is fantastic.  Lots of great ideas and very helpful gamers.  privateer press forums.  Also, Steve should have a writeup of the battle with much more detail.  Steve's Blog.  The pictures below capture the grandeur of my defeat.  I remain restrained in my discouragement.  There is always next time.

Links I Like

Check out these links to the right.  Polyhedral Passion is my other site dedicated to role playing games.  The other two are my buddy Steve's blogs.  They are really great.  He does a good job of updating them with cool new stuff.

Game Days

Wow! Weekend of gaming! Went to Game Days with some of my friends this weekend. Had a fantastic time playing some new games. I would have to say the best new game I played was La Havre (may have to get this one) and the best old game was Descent. Here are some of my random thoughts on the games I played:

DAY 1

War of the Roses- My fav. board game right now. Lost this one, but had a great time doing it. Saw some great strategies from Mark, Jerry, and Peter. Don't get out ahead too far in this one. It is the death knell.

Steam- I do like some train games. This one is fun, but not overly complex. Given the fact that we had some liquid refreshment for lunch, I was not on my A game, but I did try a new strategy and it seemed to work ok. This one was a B for me, at the con.

Race For the Galaxy- Still one of my favorites. Play any time, any place.

Fairy Tale- Another favorite. Very quick and fun. Good draft game.

Washington's War- Jerry and I played this one. Even though we were learning and did a few things wrong, it is a really solid strategy game. Can't wait to try it again.

Bisikle- Peter knows how much I love dexterity games. I have the dexterity of a bull in a china shop. Surprisingly, this game got me. I liked the rolling ball mechanic, the jumps I could never make it over, the curves I flew off the board, etc. I am just not that dexterous. But it was quick and a LOT of FUN! So it didn't matter. A great game.

Factory Manager- OK. Hate this game. I will play it if everyone else wants too, but this was the longest 2 hours. Did my best, but could not wait for it to be over.

DAY 2
Thunderstone- I like this game. The theme is excellent. There is a HUGE random element to the game that can influence the enjoyment level. All in all, a fun game.

Through the Ages- I like this game a lot.  I am willing to invest the 3 hours to play.  That being said, I played poorly.  Dropped out after Jerry decimated my civilization.  Bombed me back to the stone age!

La Havre-  My favorite new boardgame.  A shipping game with building as part of the mechanic.  Liked this one a ton.  I really got into the actions, building, ect.  Like it better than Agricola.  Fun!  One downside, I can see it taking a loooong time if people don't know the cards.  But it still is a fantastic game.

Descent- Jerry, Peter, and I played with another convention goer against a dm.  We lost, but it was very fun.  It took a lot longer than I remembered, but it still was cool.  You need to move fast in that game, cause the longer you take to get through a dungeon, the longer the GM has to kill you.

It was a very fun con.  Top it off with Malafaux miniatures and getting Horus Heresy for 80 bucks and I call it a successful weekend!

War Machine - Cryx vs. Khador

It is an interesting thing, playing miniatures games. In a board game, there are more boundaries, more ways to constrain the play. You know pretty much what to expect and what the choices are. You can predict what your opponent will do, even if only in the broadest sense.
In a miniatures game, the boundaries are there, but they become transparent, because of the myriad of choices you have. It can be an overwhelming thing. That was my experience playing my first non-learning game of war machine. I call it non-learning, although Steve did help me with some strategic pointers early in the game. It was much appreciated, because I was all of the sudden feeling totally overwhelmed and there seemed to be no choice that was optimal.

The Cryx

Asphyxious
3 Nightwretch
Slayer
2 Pistol Wraiths
Skarlock,
min Bane Thralls


Khador

Kommander Strakhov
Beast-09
Devastator
War dog
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Koldun Lord


We advanced toward each other slowly...cautiously
On turn 2 I felt a little pinned in by all the evil around me. I cautiously moved forward. Then on turn three after an attack against Beast 09, I cast superiority on 09 and overrun. This in effect allowed 09 to charge 13" into Asphyxious. He was my hammer. Alas, there was no anvil. I did hurt Gaspy, but after that it was in doubt if I could seal the deal. Asphyxious destroyed 09, which was an acceptable loss considering the amount damage I did. The very next turn, I should have cast the exact same two spells on my Devastator, but I forgot, and a failed charge into his Bane Thralls ended my bid for a win.
All in all I was ecstatic with my performance. I thought I did a good job of managing my forces. I came up with a possible game winning move on my own, which is nothing short of miraculous. Most of all, I had the best experience with a miniatures game of my life. I was feeling the dread and despair, and then the rush of possibilities, which is why we play, isn't it?
Great Game!

WARMACHINE - Learning Game

Steve and I played our first Warmachine game.  He was teaching me the basics.  I have decided to play the Khador faction, which is vaguely Russian, which I love!  Steve is playing Cryx.  We have two other friends that are going to play, also.  Jerry is playing the Cygnar and Peter might be using the mercs.

Here are some pictures from my training game.  Steve cleaned my clock the first game.  Then we switched sides.  He again demolished me with my own forces, but I have a much better feel for the game.  It was a lot of fun, and we are going to play every other week so I can really get the rules and strategies down.

Along with Malifaux, this just might be the miniature game I have been looking for.

New Blog for all things RPG

I have a new blog up that will focus on role playing games.  Right now, we are beginning a D and D campaign. 
Here is the link       http://polyhedralpassion.blogspot.com/

This blog will still focus on gaming and my inability to win at most games.  sigh...

D and D Terrain

Ok, So I have been working on building some dungeon terrain for my friends playing in our D and D Group.  I enjoy building it, but it takes like forever!!!  I have two styles of dungeons I have worked on.  The first up is Chunky Dungeons from World Works games.  I have to say I love this company.  They produce high quality stuff.  That being said, I found this set very hard to use and get "right".  There is a challenge building dungeons that fit the blueprints.  There are also only two size walls, and it would have been great if they could have included more sized walls.  I loved building their other sets that focused on the outdoors.  As my first dungeon build, it feels "wobbly".  I need to get better at making the walls uniform and straight.  So here are some pictures....



I will have more when I complete the other set.

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Prezcon

Just got back from a long weekend of gaming at Prezcon.  It was a great time.  I went with my buddy, Steve, and played a ton of games.  Made it into the finals of the Kingmaker tournament.  Woot!  I got to play some new games like Wellington and Arcane Legions.  Worked all last week to learn the rules to Triumph of Chaos, but when push came to shove, the game just kicked my ass.  It is far more complex than my reading of the rules led me to believe.
Arcane legions was pretty cool.  It reminded me of Battleground with real miniatures.  I like the fact that you can get a playable 3 armies right out of the starter, and you don't have to buy into the madness of collectible games.
Saw my friend Larry at the con.  Larry loves the wargames and he was in heaven with all the gaming goodness.  He wanted to try out Runewars, so we all played on Thursday night.  His buddy Doug liked it, but I don't think it was Larry's cup of tea.
Ran into my friend Rob Olsson.  We played Waterloo, and Wellington.  We tried to play Android, but again my brain was not too happy with all the rules.  I have played this twice, but I couldn't wrap my head around it.  :(  I do like the game.
Wellington was a blast.  I like card driven games in general, but I liked the simplicity and design of this one.
Played Conquest of Paradise with the designer, Kevin, and almost won.  The next day, we played a new prototype game about the war of 1812.  It was cool, with hidden troop strengths, and leader abilities.  The game end is pretty innovative, and I liked the way the game play felt like the time period.  This will be a good seller, I bet. 
And keeping with the theme of my blog, I kept the losing streak alive.  I was glad that I could be the reason others could have a good time and win games.  Seriously, it was one of the best times I have had at a convention.

Rogzor and Mucustos Save The Day

Played in a Monpoc Tournament last night.  It was a double monster tourney.  The first match was against Mucustos and Krakenoctus.  I was running Rogzor and Mucustos.  After a perfect set up to deal 3 damage to each form, I rolled my dice and got exactly one hit.  ONE.  I felt like my buddy Steve when he gets cheated out of a sure thing.  If that wasn't bad enough, It happened two more times in a row.  I received three points of damage for all my troubles and the match was a draw.
      The second match was against Mantacon and Grindix-Birvikaan.  I couldn't get a shot off because Mantacon gives cloak to all other units.  My opponent forgot, however, that Muscustos is a radiation based monster and Mucustos walked right up onto a radioactive tile and threw his insectoid ass into a building.  Killing his alpha form.  I repeated the disgrace by blasting Grindix and beat backing him into a nuclear plant.  After that it was pretty much over.
     The prize was a mega Gakura.  Power to the apes!!!!

Dungeon Stuff

Worked a lot on my dungeon stuff today.  Got most of the walls completed, the floors, doors, props, etc.  Pics coming very soon!

Gakura Saves City From Martian Menace

     Early this evening, our fair city was beset by Martian invaders.  Led by Deimos 9, they threatened to overtake our suburbs and turn our citizens into Martian drones.  Luckily for the people, Gakura came to our defense.  Gakura is one of the leaders of the Empire of the Apes.
     At precisely 7:00 p.m., a fleet of Martian warships was seen on the outskirts of town.  Deimos 9, that long-legged alien invader was close behind.  At first, he tried to demolish a building, but his razor sharp legs just bounced off the sides.  It was then that Gakura answered the call of the local chapter of A.P.E. (Association of Primate Emulators).  He brought with him apes from the empire as well as some Terrasaurs.  From there, it all went downhill for the invaders.  Gakura picked up Deimos 9 and threw him into two buildings.  This was more than 9 could take.  He morphed into his ultra form and tried to recover.  Luckily for the city, he recovered by being bowled into another building.  This put an end to the rampage of the Martians.  Property damage was estimated to be in the millions, but that is a small price to pay for saving countless lives.       
                                                                                                          Reported By: Oran Gutan