Latest Terrain Piece From Tabletop World

Tabletop World in Croatia have released their latest terrain piece, the Coaching Inn.

I've ordered a copy and it should arrive any day now.

My intention is to have it painted in time for Runefang VII in April

Ruination Results

Ruination - 4000 points of Mayhem - was played on the weekend. Four rounds using Battleline and Blood & Glory scenarios.

Here are the results:

Tom and Raymond fought out a tough 10-10 in the last round while Jeff - strangely avoiding all the Dwarfs - was fast-finishing in 3rd.

Mike King picked up Best Sport.

Thanks to Jeff for umpiring and to all the players for making it a great gaming weekend.

EDIT: Apparently the result of Hagen vs Stuart was not entered and so their point totals are incorrect. Hagen scored 38 points placing him 11th while Stuart totalled 22 points (unchanged placing)

Ruination 4000 Lists Released

......and it looks like I have brought a small scritchy paw to a gunfight.

You can check out the lists here

Toughest lists are Hugh Dixon's High Elves, Joel van de Ven-Long's Empire and my pick Raymond Dick's Dark Elves.

Two of the three Dwarfs have brought the most unimaginative lists possible.

And a chocolate fish to the man who has to play 4 Lizards

ETC 2014 Comp Pack - Draft 2

The Army Restrictions Committee (AR.Com) have released the second draft of their comp for ETC 2014.

I thought a few readers might be interested in what they are coming up with.

A copy of it is posted here

As always observations welcome in the Comments section

Seerlord Morskitta's Urban Assault Vehicle - The Ruination 4000

Here's my list for Ruination:

Seerlord Morskitta - Screaming Bell, Skalm, Dragonbane Gem Earthing Rod

Chieftain - BSB, Standard of Discipline
Plague Priest - Level 1, Plague Furnace, Flail, Scrying Stone, Ironcurse Icon
Assassin - Weeping Blades, Potion of Strength
Engineer - Level 2, Doomrocket, Warp Condensor
Engineer - Level 1, Dispel Scroll
Engineer - Brass Orb
Engineer

40 Slaves - Full Command
40 Slaves - Full Command
40 Slaves - Full Command
40 Clanrats - Full Command, Shields - Ratling Gun
29 Stormvermin - Full Command, Storm Banner
29 Stormvermin - Full Command
2 Rat Swarms
2 Rat Swarms
2 Rat Swarms

34 Plague Monks - Full Command, Banner of Dripping Death
9 Gutter Runners - Poison, Slings
9 Gutter Runners - Poison, Slings
5 Poison Wind Globadiers
5 Poison Wind Globadiers

Warp Lightning Cannon
Warp Lightning Cannon
Plagueclaw Ratapult
Plagueclaw Ratapult
Doomwheel
Hell Pit Abomination

So seven infantry blocks, 4 warmachines, sprinkling of chaff and a bag of tricks a weasel would be proud of.

Fields of Blood 2013 Awards - Part II

So Part I covered the GW releases for the year, Part II will cover the remainder of the Warhammer Fantasy field.

Best Kickstarter - 2013 was really the year of the Kickstarter and there were a number of great to not so great ones. The two I single out for praise were the Secret Weapons Miniatures "Tablescapes" and the one that gets my vote Mierce Miniatures Darklands. Rising from the ashes of Maelstrom Games this Kickstarter gave discounted access to the existing Bane Legions range but also provided investment for a bunch of new sculpts.

Best Local Tournament - Ok, I'm biased but I believe that the NZ Team Championships were the tournament highlight of the year. Not only did it attract most of the top tournament gamers but it also introduced team tournaments to a lot of the locals. It is no surprise that the 2014 event sold out six months prior to the event.

Best Non-FOB Tournament - Given my best event was an FOB organised event I thought I'd award another event the seal of approval. The event I enjoyed most was the NiCon Fantasy Event in Napier in June. Away from home, a good though small field and well run by Jeff Kent. It gets my vote ahead of Panzerschreck.

Best Blog of the Year - By far the best was Raffazza Time by Raf Harbinson in London. Always insightful and thought-provoking it was great to see some in-depth comment on the game, tactics and list design.

Best Local Blog of the Year - I have to give this to Tim Joss's Plastic Krak. Tim always had early access to pictures of upcoming releases and for this alone was invaluable. Mixed in were some good insights on the game and his list design.

Best Podcast of the Year - While the quantity of Warhammer Podcasts increased over the course of the year, I'm not sure that the quality did. All too often the end results had poor production quality, were woefully unstructured or strayed way off topic and suffered from "And then I rolled a 6" syndrome. Two I did find really good were "Pointhammered" and "Skull Bros Awesome" and in general I enjoyed the US-based casts more than those frome other parts of the world. However overall my vote goes to Bad Dice Daily which was consistently good, varied in content and tight with its production values.

Most Influential Rule of the Year - the introduction of Mark of Nurgle being -1 to Hit. First Daemon Prince, Gorebeast Chariots and then GUO, Plaguebearers, Drones and especially Beasts of Nurgle infested our tables.

Best Painted Army - the best painted army I saw this year was Graeme Fry's High Elves. Technically these were top notch and while they have been on the scene for a couple of years they are still the benchmark.

Best Presented Army - Skitterleap this year saw the proliferation of display boards - it's a wonder what one point on your painting score can generate. Those that were there saw a significant uplift in the presentation standard of armies. Head and shoulders above any was Charlie Lloyd's Dark Elves complete with their own Dark Tower.

Most Innovative Player - An easy one this - Peter Williamson. He always came up with interesting lists that generated power through synergy. A lot of people dismissed his lists as weak but generally because they become focused on netlists and any deviation takes them out of their comfort zone.

Worst Gaming Accessory - Pink dice with white pips. Two podcasts released them this year - Bad Dice and Black Sun - and both sets of dice were a nightmare to play against. The colour combination didn't work. Sorry.

Best Gaming Accessory - the iPad. Especially with GW, Quartermaster and Army Builder all releasing apps. I know have lists, rules, army books and FAQs at the swipe of the finger. It is such a shame GW do not release their Army Books and Rules in iPad format here in NZ. A UK iTunes account is a must to maximise the potential.

Best New Tournament Player in 2013 - again I think this one is relatively clearcut - Jeff Kent. Jeff arrived in February and was very unlucky to eventually miss the Masters. He won his first event in Tauranga with a Lizardmen Skink Cloud and is now working on a fourth army, Dark Elves.

Fields of Blood 2013 Awards - GW Edition

It is the time of the year to do a wrapup of the year that was so without any further ado, here are my awards for 2013 - in no particular order. This first section will look at GW Fantasy releases.

Best  Infantry Model - in 2012 it was the Nurgle Chaos Lord and this year for me it clearly was Skink Priest. What a fantastic model and no wonder so many Golden Daemon painters chose it.

Worst Infantry Model - there can only be one winner this year and that is the Loremaster of Hoeth. Whoever thought it would be good to have a Swordmaster running while projecting a squid from his hand.....well, you got it wrong. Everything about this model looks wrong. Please don't do it again.

Best Warhammer Unit Models - for me these were the Plague Drones. A brand new unit and a truly inspired design. I painted up six of these models and they were a real pleasure to paint. Something GW hadn't done before and they added to the spectacle of the Daemon army. I don't think that the website paintjob does them justice.

Worst Warhammer Unit Models - there weren't any stinkers this year and so it was hard to come up with something for this. In the end I was picky. The new Dark Elf Executioners are a step back from the exquisite metal models of the previous edition. There's something about the pose that represents an opportunity lost. This may well be a function of the need to produce dual kits.

Best Warhammer Single (Non-Infantry) Model - a little bit of a cheat here as it was released at the backend of 2012. Nothing came close to the absolutely stunning Slaaneshi Chariots. Again a real triumph of design and a new take when they could have taken safe option (see entry above).

Worst Warhammer Single (Non-Infantry) Model - and from the sublime to the ridiculous. In 2012 it was the Warshrine but in 2013 there can be only one winner. The Skullcannon of Khorne. What Were They Thinking! Not only does it look out of place in the Old World its overall design is ghastly. The only redeeming feature is you can make it up as a Blood Throne....oh wait.

Best Warhammer Monster - for me there were no standout Monsters in 2013. Certainly nothing like the Araknarok Spider which is still GW's best. Probably the best was the Carnosaur which scores points for irs impressive size and the added extras you get with the kit.

Worst Warhammer Monster - This is my first tie and I can't really split what are two absolute stinkers. What is it about the Chaos Wastes that compels you to put your foot on a rock and punch your fist in the air (like you don't care). Chaos Lords do it. And now monsters do it.

So it's a tie between the Slaughterbrute and Throgg. Though looking at them together I'm now pretty sure that Throgg is slightly more dire. And at least you see him on the table.

Best Army Book - we were spoiled this year with five releases. Four were good releases in my eyes. The Lizardmen book tidied up a lot of 7th Ed hangovers but really suffered from a lack of Core choices. If anything it reinforced the netlist Skink Cloud build and introduced another underpointed Special Character, Pseudo Echo. The Daemons book had more possibilities than a bag full of weasels (though Beasts of Nurgle are 20 points undercosted IMO), while the High Elf book propelled them from also-ran to a very strong contender. But for me the Best Warhammer Army Book is the last released Dark Elves. It removed the 7th Ed hangovers AND gave a book with diversity and good internal/external balance. Warlocks are probably 5 points undercosted but although we have had three months the Net is no closer to publishing its list.

Worst Warhammer Army Book - Having mentioned the other four books, it is no surprise as to what I see as the weakest release. And when I say weakest I mean in terms of balance and mechanics because on-table the book has been a powerhouse. What were they thinking with making Chariots Core? Or including the updated 3rd Eye? Also Throgg as a Special Character that transfers Trolls to Core was particularly brainless. It is a real shame for what is one of the most characterful armies - Warriors of Chaos.

So that's my take on the GW releases for WHFB. Love to know your thoughts.

ETC Hammer Time & Scenarios

Over the holiday break I've been playing a few games of ETChammer to get used to the various changes in the core mechanics - Magic, LOS and VPs. Can generally say that that the changes aren't as huge as I thought they would be and require adjustments in play rather than a rethinking of the game.

The most radical thing is playing "Battleline" continuously. I can see this getting old very quickly. The scenarios bring something to the game and I always find it slightly humourous the thought that to be serious you shouldn't play them. I understand that at the ETC (with its multitude of variables) but not in singles games where they bring and added challenge to the table.

It does seem to be a very "English" thing as well. The UK tournaments - especially at the top end - seem to eskew them as the have the potential to be "unbalanced and ruin the game". All I can say to that is....nonsense. The rulebook scenarios force you to make concessions in your list, plan your composition and have a plan where you can accommodate what life throws at you. If this means, for instance, that Brets might need a unit of Men At Arms, then so be it.

So it was with some bemusement that I listened to a UK podcast review of 2013 where they bemoaned the lack of infantry in the game. Perhaps if they included scenarios in the event they organise they might see some different behaviour.Perhaps if they played Blood & Glory there might be a need for banners perhaps? Or Watchtower you might need that infantry block?

NZTC Timetable

EDIT: I have had a request to start 30 minutes earlier on the Sunday to help with flights out of the Capital. So to that end the Sunday timetable will be moved forward on the Sunday starting at 8.00am.

However I would caution against booking flights leaving before 7.30pm as we can not guarantee it will run to time (2013 did) and take no responsibility for you making your flights.

I've been asked to post the timetable for the NZTC so people can make their travel bookings.

Saturday March 1

8:00-8:30 am - Registration

8:30-8:45am - Round One Matchups

8:45-11:15am - Round One

11:15-11:45am - Lunch

11:45am-12:00pm - Round Two Matchups

12.00-2:30pm - Round Two

2:30-3:00pm - Tiffin

3:00-3:15pm - Round Three Matchups

3:15-5:45pm - Round Three

Sunday March 2 

8:30-8:45am - Round Four Matchups

8:45-11:15am - Round Four

11:15-11:45am - Lunch

11:45am-12:00pm - Round Five Matchups

12.00-2:30pm - Round Five

2:30-3:00pm - Tiffin

3:00-3:15pm - Round Six Matchups

3:15-5:45pm - Round Six

6.00-6:15pm - Prizegiving

So for those working on transport out of Wellington Airport on the Sunday evening, you should look to book flights departing from 7:30pm (Airport Check-In 7:00pm).

Warhammer Expansion - Triumph & Treachery

Another parcel arrived yesterday as well. This was from Element Games in the UK via Youshop (thanks to NZ Post, great to see my tax dollars put to good use). The service delivers GW product for less than 74% NZRRP, a not insignificant discount.

The box contained two sets of Dark Elf Warlocks, some Greenstuff, paints.....and the Warhammer Expansion "Triumph & Treachery".

Now I'm not a big fan of the last Fantasy expansion "Storm of Magic" mainly because it reminded me of "Apocalypse" for the Old World. However, the latest release "Triumph & Treachery" really piqued my interest. Why? Well, it offers an opportunity to play multiplayer games.

In 2011 I organised a Karak Eight Peaks event at Call to Arms which saw teams of Goblins, Dwarfs and Skaven battle for control of the ancient fortress. It culminated in a three player game (one army for each race) set in the K8P Throne Room. I played against Sam Whitt and Peter williamson and it was a total blast. All I remember were the pleas for help, double dealing and oathbreaking - and that was just the Dwarfs!

The opportunity to have up to  five player games sounds really appealing and something I'd like to try during 2014.

New Ratty Dice Bag

Yesterday was the first post after Xmas and as well as a box of supplies from Element Games via Youshop in the UK (thanks NZ Post - my tax dollars put to good use), I received another parcel.

A lot of people on the UK tournament scene are aware of "The Dice Bag Lady". Annie Norman is one of the rare females that plays tournament warhammer and has a unique Chaos Gnomes army made of alternative models. She also has a unique sideline - she produces hand-made "dice" bags.

A couple of months ago I contacted her to see if she could make a suitably "ratty" one for Seerlord Morskitta's Uber-Army. She asked me various questions about colour, design etc. And here's the finished article:

It is hand-crocheted with drawstring and its own unique "Skaven" patch made from felt. The colours match those of my army.

You can check out more of Annie's Dice Bags on www.facebook.com/TheDiceBagLady or contact her on
makemeadicebag[AT]gmail.com

NZTC - The List of Teams & Team Members

There has been a request from Team DILF as to who they are likely to be playing at NZTC.

After 15 training camps so far they are narrowing down their choice of armies to 8 and hope to use this further knowledge to get it to 7 by the end of January. Actually Team Captain James Brown has instructed the NZTC organisers to only accept any team lists from him. And we are to alert him immediately should any one of them try to submit a list....or show independent thought!

So here are your teams:

#1 - The von Trapp Family

• Jack Dunn (c)
• Tom Dunn
• Joe Dixon
• Pete Dunn

#2 - Team DILF

• James Brown (c)
• John Willenbruch
• Antony Kitson
• Glen Tibbles

#3 - Shirts Off!

• Sam Whitt 
• James Milner (c)
• Ben Wadsworth
• Mal Patel

#4 - The Wolfpack

• Dan Butler (c)
• Ross Hillier-Jones
• Jeff Kent
• Locky Reid

#5 - Southern Raiders

• Basil Moskovis (c)
• Damon Quaid
• Rhys Hodgson 
• Darren Urquhart

#6 - Stonefalls Massive

• Joel van de Ven-Long (c)
• Glen Burfield
• Ryan Lister
• Wil Hoverd

#7 - Beauty & the Beasts

• Sam Campbell 
• Fern Campbell
• Hamish Gordon
• Nic Jebson (c)

#8 - Grumpy Old Men

• Raymond Dick (c)
• Mike King
• Reid Pittams
• Paul Davison

#9 - Legion of Doom

• David Oemecke
• Hermann van Krandenberg
• Luc van Kradenberg
• Rex Foote

#10 - The Nice Team

• James Millington
• Bo Patterson
• Dave Appleby
• Tane Woodley

#11 - The Bucketheads

• John Murrie (c)
• Adam Richards
• Brendon Johnston
• Regan Ridge

#12 - The League of Extraordinary Nerdymen

• Paul Clarke (c)
• TBC
• TBC
• TBC

#13 - The Philosopher's Stone

• Nick Munn (c)
• Phil Wu
• Paul Dalton
• James Cardno

#14 - Redheaded Stepchildren

• Tim Joss (c)
• Rory Finnemore
• Hagen Kerr
• Neil Williamson

#15 - Team Victoria

• Greg Greenfield (c)
• Nick Hoen
• Jabe Brown
• Ben Leopold

#16 - Team Australia

• Tim Stewart (c)
• Mark Skilton
• Sam Morgan
• Lachy Mulcahy

So those are the teams as I currently have them plus name where I was given them or my own substitutes. Please let me know if team composition has changed or team name is different.

NZTC 2014 - Updated Players' Pack

An updated Players'Pack for the NZTC can be found here

It has up to date information re Umpire and the intention to create a Tournament FAQ for the event.

First Tentative Steps Towards The ETC

This weekend I am looking to play my first games under the ETC rules. NZ ETC veteran Mal Patel will be in Wellington and a few of us are getting together to play some games with the first draft of the 2014 comp.

I'm going to run some Skaven around - probably in the guise of "Furry Dwarfs" - a list built around ranged attack but sans Bell. Looking to use two Seers and see how they work in today's meta. I expect the list runs the risk of being run over but small steps.....

The key thing is is to get my head around the rule changes - Line of Sight system, 5 Die Casting Limits, Half Points for Fleeing/Depleted Units and Multiple LOS for insta-kill spells.

Skaven at the Masters

This weekend I attended the NZ Masters in Hamilton. This was the sixth running of the event and my fourth appearance (I qualified for the first two but ended up umpiring the event). The field for this weekend’s event was the best ranked of any of the six tournaments so far – ten of the Top 12, last year’s winner and #15.

When I saw the field I tried to work out what the make up of race selection for the field would be. The only surprises (for me) were Locky (I didn't know what he’d take), James Brown (I thought he’d take Ogres) and Rory (I thought Vampires). I was pleasantly surprised when I got these incorrect (vampires being a hard match for the two armies I was considering).

My initial selection was the Daemons I've been using recently but I shelved them when I considered the potential for cannons and poison. That proved a good choice and so I fell back on Skaven, generally my army of choice.

The list I took was modified to reflect what I thought I would be facing and I likened it to a Swiss army Knife with a tool for every job.

Seer – General, Bell, Earthing Rod, Skalm, Dragonbane Gem

Chieftain – BSB, Standard of Discipline

Engineer – Level 2, Doomrocket, Condenser

Engineer – Level 1, Ruby Ring, Dispel Scroll

Engineer – Brass Orb

Assassin – Weeping Blades, Potion of Strength

30 Clanrats – Full command

22 Stormvermin – Muso, Standard, Storm Banner

40 Slaves – Champ, Muso

40 Slaves – Muso

40 Slaves – Muso

6 Gutter Runners – Slings, Poison

6 Gutter Runners – Slings, Poison

Doomwheel

Hellpit Abomination

Warplightning Cannon

The list has more toys than I’d normally like – I've never been a big user of the Orb – but it gave me an option in most circumstances. Critically it gave points up sparingly and was risk averse in that I took the Rod over my more usual Power Scroll.

So how did it go?

NZ Masters 2013 - WHFB Results

The 6th Annual NZ Masters were run in Hamilton over the weekend. Six rounds with 2400 point armies using rulebook scenarios.

The results were as follows:

 *Unfortunately Ross was taken ill after Round 4 and did not play the final two rounds

Best Sport: Richard Barby

Best Painted: Sam Whitt

Here also is the breakdown of the highest scorers Day One and Day Two

Thanks to Rob Shirley and his team for organising the event.

"RUINATION" - Warfare On Another Level

"RUINATION" is a Warhammer Fantasy event to be held in Wellington on 18/19 January 2014.

RUINATION 2014

However this is something different from the norm with 4000 point armies battling it out. Big armies, big tables, great terrain - RUINATION is a hobby event aimed at ensuring all participants have a fun weekend.

You can download the Players Pack here

"So What Army Are You Collecting"

We've possibly all heard that question before - certainly if we've ever been into a GW Hobby Centre.

Well now I can give you the tool to answer the question. Listening to a recent Garagehammer episode they made mention of an online quiz that lets you determine which army best suits you. You can find it here

Now it is a little old - ok very old, it refers to Hordes of Chaos - but gives you the info you desire through a series of - often leading - questions.

Here is the result of my responses:

Chaos Dwarfs

95%

Skaven

90%

Orcs and Goblins

70%

Dogs of War

60%

Lizardmen

55%

The Empire

55%

Beasts of Chaos

55%

Dark Elves

55%

Tomb Kings

45%

Wood Elves

45%

Bretonnia

45%

Vampire Counts

45%

Hordes of Chaos

35%

Ogre Kingdoms

25%

Dwarfs

20%

High elves

20%

The higher the %, the better suited they are to you.

Given that Chaos Dwarfs aren't a real book then the results are probably not too surprising. Still it points me in the direction of what I should collect next.

Post up what army it thinks you should collect.

Yankee Doodle Dandy - The US FAQ

The US are having their first Masters this year.

The scoring system sounds like a trainwreck - five rounds unbridled Swedish Comp with your comp score counting as sixth game - but I suspect that's what you get with 5 different regions trying to settle on a system.

However they have also developed an "American FAQ" to address grey areas in the game. Again this is probably needed given the different communities.

You can read the FAQ here

I've only given it a brief perusal but it seems a pretty solid document. I've noticed at least one answer that is incorrect so I'll give it a more thorough reading over the next few days.

Special Character Poll Results

Yesterday I posted up a poll to see what locals thought on the inclusion of Special Characters in the FOB-Lite Comp System.

Over the intervening twenty four hour period 21 people posted a preference in the Comments section. The results can be summarised thus:

Ban Special Characters Outright - 7 votes

Allow All Special Characters with No Restrictions - 7 votes

Allow Special Characters but with some Specific Bans/Restrictions - 7 votes

I can't say I'm surprised. I did not expect there to be universal agreement. It is interesting just how distributed the responses were. The evenness of the outcome in relation to the spectrum of options shows how divergent people's opinions are on the subject.

Currently the FOB-Lite Comp System steers a path along the middle ground allowing virtually all Special Characters but with some specific restrictions and nothing in the survey response suggests to me that it should steer away from that course.

Obviously that is the course with most grey areas as it is not as objective as banning or allowing them all. I can still see some unhappy people as their particular favourite or nemesis has  restrictions placed or removed from them.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. It was an interesting exercise.