Some Vampire Counts Info

Taken from Hero's Gaming Blog, here is some info from latest White Dwarf:


Lore of the Vampires

Signature Spell is definitely Invocation of Nehek - on the most fundamental level it can restore "D6 + caster's Wizard level" of Wounds to friendly Undead unit within 6". Boosted version has 12" range, as well as 18" ones.

Other spells includes Raise Dead, Vanhel's Danse Macabre, Curse of Years, Gaze of Nagash, and Wind of Death

Lore attribute: When the spell from the Lore of the Vampires is succefully casted, the wizard or any undead models within 12" restores 1 wound.


Rules tidbits:

All Vampire has rule called "Hunger" - You get to roll a D6 when the vampire kills one or more models in combat, on a 6 you recovers one wound. (Vlad with Blood Drinker pass the roll on 4+)

Also Vampire, including vampiric creatures "such as" Varghulf and Vargheist, can march. So Vargheist will be able to move 20" per turn almost all the time. (not sure if Varghulf can also fly)

Vampiric Powers: (not all of them, just those mentioned in WD)

Flying Horror - give the vampire ability to fly (unsure)
Dread Knight - ability to boost WS (don't know how - but a Vampire Llord with Dread Knight has WS of 9)
Quickblood - gains ASF
Master of the Black Arts - get to re-roll one D6 for the Winds of Magic.
Dark Acolyte - add D3 to the total number of models raised by Nehek.
Red Fury - should be about the same. (unsure)

New units:

Coven Throne

• Basically a chariot mount for your Lord.
• Is a Large target with S5 T5 5W and 5+ save.
• has Spectral Steed rules (can move 8"), Undead, Vampiric, ASF (only for Handmaiden who has 2 S5 Attacks)
• has Random Attacks (2D6) at S3 from the spirit horde.
• Has Ward Save of 4+
• Battle of Wills (before the first enemy rolls to hit against the character or the Throne, both player roll a D6 and add their LD value. Has effects based on the difference of the score) * no effect (0 or less)
  * suffer -1WS/BS
  * the enemy must re-roll successful To Hits
  * each model in the enemy unit strike each other (only 1 attack per model)
• Has Bound Spell (lvl3) allowing the Throne (and all of its crew) to re-roll either To Hit or To Wound rolls.

Mortis Engine

• Is a Rare Choice
• Same stats as for the Throne (S5 T5 W5 Sv5+)
• has 2D6 attacks at S3 from the spirit horde
• Undead, Terror, Spectral Steed, and Regeneration
• can make Ghostly Howl attack.
• can take upgrade, allowing any wizards casting spell from the Lore of the Vampires to get +2 to their casting attempt. (ANY) miscast wizards rolls twice on the table and have the opponent choose the result)
• The Reliquary (at the start of your turn, roll 2D6 and add the current turn number - until the start of its next turn, all friendly Undead units within this number of range gains +1 bonus to their Regeneration, 6+ if they don't have any, to a maximum of 4+. Also, all enemy units within this range suffers D6 hits at the strength equal to the turn number.
• • Also has some penalties if removed from play - by damaging every units within a random range at the strength equal to the current turn number)

Master Necromancer - New Lord choice (ie. better Necromancer)

Banshees and Cairn Wraith are now Hero

Hexwraiths (Special) - Fast Cavalry with Ethereal (yes!) that can inflict automatic S5 hits on unit that it moved through.

Vargheist (Special) - Flying Monstrous Infantry that has Fly, Frenzy, and 3A.

Crypt Horrors (Special) - Monstrous Infantry unit with M6 S4 T5 I2 W3 A3, has Poisoned Attacks, Regeneration 5+, and Undead.

New Vampire Counts Sighted

So Vampires confirmed for January 2012. Here are the White Dwarf picture:

COVEN THRONE

MORTIS ENGINE

VARGHEISTS

CRYPT HORRORS

Plastic WIGHT KING

BLACK KNIGHTS

HEXWRAITHS

Finecast KRELL and ISABELLA

BOOK and MAGIC CARDS

There's some interesting stuff here. Not sure on some of it but likely the fact there is variety.

Brickbats & Bouquets

The other day I gave a runthrough of Games Workshop's individual products this year focusing on models and the like. Today I want to focus on three specific releases and give my opinion of whether they worked or didn't work (for me).

So I have two brickbats and one bouquet to give out. I'll start with the negatives and finish with the positive.


Miss #1 - Dreadfleet 

This was 2011's mystery box - though to be fair everything is a mystery these days. The models included in the game were lovely although I wonder how many sets will actually get painted. However I believe that this missed on two fronts.

Firstly, it was a different scale game so that there was little chance for cross over into the wider Warhammer world. But more importantly it was a closed-in system with set scenarios and GW clearly stating that they planned no expansions. This really limited its appeal for the wider Warhammer audience. If it had been designed for expansions for race-specific fleets like Man O'War then I'm sure it would have had wider appeal.

 As it is I walked into my local GW the other day and was not surprised to see at least a dozen copies still on the shelves. I'm sure there are plenty more in the warehouses. The price point didn't help but the release was a clear miss on a number of levels.

Miss #2 - Storm of Magic 

Well I called this early and I was so right. The whole concept was a marketing ploy from the outset. Purely designed to sell some random monster kits the expansion for Warhammer crashed and burned on release. I am actually yet to met a single person who I am aware of having played the game.

The game reeked of "Apocalypse - for - Warhammer" and was aimed squarely at the GW Shop market. Big spells, big monsters, little thought.

For all that I don't think GW actually dedicated a lot of resources at the game so not much wasted. If I'm wrong and they did then it certainly doesn't show. If it isn't already it will be a distant memory in six months a bit like Planetary Strike for 40k.


Hit #1 - 8th Edition Warhammer Army Books

It is almost scary how successfully GW have hit the nail on the head with their three army books released in 2011. There was a seven month wait from the release of the new edition until Orcs & Goblins was released but it was well worth the wait.

Followed up by Tomb Kings and Ogre Kingdoms the new books have leveled the playing field in the Warhammer World, building on the work done by the base rules. The power level of the various armies has flattened considerably. I'm desperately keen for this to continue with the upcoming VC book. The other thing is the increased number of viable options in each list means that there is greater variety in the lists we are seeing on the table. More than anything this has continued to enhance the game.

I have regularly espoused my few that the new balance is a factor of the move to an extensive list of Common Magic Items backed up by a small list of race-specific items. This has introduced increased balance into the game. So for me this HIT more than offsets any negatives. It is a significant enhancement to a CORE game so is more far-reaching in its influence than the other two which are frankly, sideshows. 

Whatever you do GW, don't blow this new balance in 2012.

Last Day of "Work"

Today is my last day of work for the year. I’m hoping to get some significant hobby done over the sixteen days I have off.


So what are the priorities?
1. Finish basing for Tomb Kings

2. Tidy up rest of TK army

3. Paint Tomb Herald

4. Paint Ironblasters, Thundertusk and Stonehorn

5. More movement trays for the Ogres

6. Turn Conflix buildings into terrain

Now if I get those done I’ll be very happy.

I’m also hoping to get a few games in. Jack is back from Auckland tomorrow and Tom is showing renewed interest in his Wood Elves. Hopefully we can disappear downstairs for a few hours every now and then for a game.

Tane is bringing his Dwarfs around earlier next week so my Ogres can have some fun stomping them. If any other gamers are around over the period drop me a line and we can organise some games.

My take on GW's 2011

Here's my review of the GW year, in exactly the same format: 40k model, Fantasy Model, Scenery and Product

40k Model

Well, not too hard to pick here, given my bias.  The new range of Dark Eldar we saw earlier this year was fantastic, and by far the standout piece was the Dark Eldar Razorwing Jetfighter.  In my opinion one of the best vehicle kits GW have ever produced.  It's beautiful, sleek look really captures the feel of the army, and actually makes taking three Ravagers a hard choice, as good as they are!  I'm absolutely itching to paint mine.

Runner up here is the Venom (sense the theme?), which is just as beautiful as the Razorwing

In terms of the worst model, I have to give it to the dreadknight as well.  Just ridiculous.  Nothing more needs to be said.  Closely behind are the Stormraven, which looks just as silly (although the Chapterhouse kit makes it look much better than a flying brick), and the Grotesques, only because there is a single pose, and it's a bad one.

Fantasy Model

I too found this one hard to pick.  There were a lot of solid models put out this year, but nothing too draw-doppingly amazing.  In the end, I went for the plastic Vampire Counts Necromancer released as part of the Storm of Magic.  Partly because I love the model, in no small part due to the slayer sword-winning entry at GDUK this year (shown below), and also because I think the plastic character releases are a fantastic idea, and I hope they continue.

Not far behind is the Arachnarok, which I loved painting, and it looks really good on the table.  The Firebelly might also have been up there, but Charlie's now ruined that model for me forever ;)

I have three picks for the bottom.  The first is the finecast Cold One, released for SOM.  Seriously GW, $33 for something we already have in plastic?  Next up is the Necropolis Knights, just because I find the snake-surfing concept ridiculous.  It's a real shame the Stalkers are no good, because they look far, far better.  And my actual pick for the worst model is the SOM Manticore, which is just poor all around.

Scenery

Having not seen any of the kits released this year, I'm just going to have to go on pictures and hearsay, in which case the Skullvane Mansk is by far the most impressive.  It also looks like it will do a fair bit of LoS blocking too, which is awesome.

The Garden of Moor is the other headline piece, but not having seen it yet in person, it doesn't have the same wow factor as the Mansk.

Not any really poor pieces, bu the Fulcrums copped a bit of flak for big skulls everywhere, which I can understand.

Product

I'm going to go with Liquid Green Stuff here.  It really reduces the hassle of gap filling and allows the salvaging of awful finecast models with a bit of effort.  Also, when you're filing it back, it seems to stick to the model more than regular Green Stuff, which again saves hassle.

I also love the hardback books, but I want to see them for 40k too.  Also, I'm one of the monkeys that skips straight to the rules, so some of the beauty is lost on me.

Worst product of the year is Finecast, hands down.  I only needed a couple of hours to decide that it's far worse than metal or plastic. The detail may be slightly crisper, but that comes at the expense of overall quality and structural strength.  I hope they get their act together and start producing some models without flaws, because otherwise you're paying more for a lesser product made of cheaper material.

Reading the Tea Leaves

I received an email yesterday from Maelstrom Games announcing that they were once again stocking Battlefront’s Flames of War range.


If you remember there was a rather public bust-up earlier in the year where a series of communications showed up on the net that demonstrated the acrimony between the parties.

Now a number of Battlefront’s senior managers are friends of mine so I’m not exactly an impartial observer. To be clear I haven’t communicated with them at all on this matter. However I thought the email from Maelstrom was magnanimous in that they indicated they had apologised and hoped that the whole incident could be put behind the parties.

This is great news for the hobby. Maelstrom are/were one of the biggest internet retailers in the world while Battlefront produce the premier WW2 game and models.

It did get me thinking though. I started wondering whether the change in attitude by Maelstrom was a consequence of the move by Games Workshop to prohibit export of their product by them (and others) outside the EU. They would have now had six months of the new regime and you can’t help but feel that their business has been significantly impacted by the change in their supply arrangements. Speak to any tournament gamer in the Southern Hemisphere and all were sourcing their GW minis from Maelstrom (or equivalent).

Having invested in a new venue, warehouse etc you can’t help but draw the conclusion that not stocking Battlefront followed by the introduction of GW’s “Prohibition Era” may have been a bridge too far for the company.

All supposition but I can’t help thinking that 2011 wasn’t as stellar on the sales front for Maelstrom as they had initially planned.

My First Finecast Experience

Over the Masters weekend, Dad brought me up the Finecast Haemonculus that I ordered it 6 months ago, and which had only just shown up (thanks Maelstrom...).  Looking over the clampack, I was very impressed.  The model itself is fantastic, and there appeared to be a very high level of detail in the cast with no visible faults.

I cracked it open the day after the weekend, and found I was sorely mistaken.  There were air bubbles all over the model, some of them quite large.  Luckily, none of the front of the model (what I had been seeing through the clear plastic) was damaged.  Having already used some of Dad's about a month ago, I quickly rushed to the FLGS and picked up some Liquid Green Stuff to help me fix up the model.

Here's some pictures of the faults.  It's mostly just air bubbles, which required multiple layers of Liquid Green Stuff to fill up, but using this was much easier than regular Green Stuff.  Big thumbs up to GW for an amazing product!

A couple of big bubbles here

Plenty of bubbles on this bit too

By far the worst bit was how the model sat on its base.  It had been cast badly, and was on a massive lean.  I had to cut and re-pin the bottom part back on, and sculpt to fill the resulting gap.  The model stands straight up now though!

The gap after reattaching

A bad photo of the resculpting needed

And here's a blurry pic of some of the filling I had to do on the back half of the model.

Luckily, the finished model had little to no flaws on the front half

One labour of love later: the assembled Haemonculus

Here's the sad bit.  As good as the Liquid Green Stuff was at filling the bubbles and other faults, it still took me three nights to clean and assemble this one figure.  I'm not looking forward to repeating this when my Wracks eventually arrive (7 months and counting, thanks again Maelstrom!).  Despite this, I'm very happy with the how the model has turned out, and can't wait to paint him.  I'm just disappointed it was so much extra effort over a plastic or metal model, and costs a lot more too.

Of course, maybe if I'd used the Flash Brush and Mouldline Scraping Tool from the Citadel Clean-up Kit I wouldn't have had so much trouble... ;)

2012 - The Year of Ratties, Fatties and Boners

With 2011 coming to a close I’m about to end my self-imposed hiatus from the tournament game. Moving into 2012 I’m looking to start playing events again having already signed up for Equinox and intending to play both Runefang and NatCon.


With this in mind I’ve been (slowly) painting up the various pieces I have outstanding for a number of armies.

First love, Skaven have seen some new Clanrats added and also two new Abominations purchased (Bane Legion’s Flint-Fang and Forgeworld’s Brood Horror). I’ve also purchased a swathe of Rat Ogres and I have some Weapons Teams. Over the next few months I hope to finish them giving me 6000+ points of tournament ready rats.

Second off the rank are my Ogres. I’ve added all the new characters, the new Monsters, new artillery and have just purchased three new Forgeworld Rhinox Riders. Once finished this again will give me about 6000 points of Ogres.

Finally, the Tomb Kings. As regular readers will be aware I have finished two Sphinxes, heaps of Archers and the Necropolis Knights over the last few months. I’m looking to tidy up the rest of the existing army and finish the Herald I need.

So the upshot of this is that I intend having three ready to use armies for next year which I can tailor to particular situations. Hard to see the skaven being replaced as main army but sure it will help to mix it up. On top of this I have a long term project to add more units to my Empire and add the new Vampire Count units as they are released in support of the book.

Venom-Spam at the Masters - Day 2

Game 4: Hagen Kerr.  Seize Ground (5), Pitched Battle.

I was not at all confident going into this game, seeing as Hagen had one of the two armies at the event that was the rock to my scissors.  I should mention that at this point the TO’s decided everyone should in fact be playing the same mission (although they were still being decided randomly), and fortunately they didn’t roll up Kill Points, which would have left me to sink without a trace.

Also luckily for me is that Hagen’s list was far from an optimal carpark guard list, with a lack of Hydras and Vendettas when compared to the normal stuff that you only see overseas (and in Charlie’s house too I might add!).

Hagen had:

Company Command, Lascannon, Kitchen Sink in Chimera

Company Command, 3x Meltaguns

10x Psykers in Chimera

Platoon Command, 4x Flamer in Chimera

Infantry Squad, Flamer, Autocannon in Chimera

Infantry Squad, Flamer, Autocannon in Chimera

Infantry Squad, Flamer, Autocannon, Commissar

Heavy Weapons Squad, Autocannons

Penal Legion Squad

Veteran Squad, 3x Meltaguns, Demolitions

Valkyrie, Rocket Pods

Vendetta, Heavy Bolter sponsons

Hydra

Hydra

Manticore

With the mission being objectives, I decided right from the get go that my only goal would be to kill his scoring units, since if I could get all of them, my worst result would be a draw.  Again, I won the roll for first turn, and set up for a very focussed round of shooting, getting a lot of the units out of Venoms for some blaster action.  I needed to get rid of the psykers, as they could deal with the beasts, but could only immobilise their ride.  I was also able to shake both flyers and the Venoms wiped out the HWS. 

GW 2012 - The Anticipation Builds

Having reviewed the Best and Worst of Games Workshop in 2011, I thought I’d give you my take on what I view are the most anticipated releases of 2012.

Codex: Chaos Legions

Now it may come as a surprise but I’m not the biggest fan of the piece of crap that Gav Thorpe wrote and called the “Codex: Chaos Space Marines - 4th Edition”. This “codex” was singularly the main reason I stepped back from playing 40k. it is a classic case of letting loose a giant vampire squid to wrap itself around a large part of the hobby and then allow it to relentlessly jam its blood funnel into anything that smells like fun or depth. “Hey, let’s take your nine Legions and make them Chaos Liquorice Allsorts Renegades! These nine separate armies, each with their own unique characteristics are soooooo confusing!”

So for me the news that May/June sees the release of a rumoured Chaos Legions book is the most exciting news since the Codex:CSM Third Printing (the one that let Power Fists strike at Initiative if you had a Doom Siren). I personally couldn’t give a rat’s arse if the army is roadkill as long as they give the nine Legions back their unique characteristics. Hell, I’d even be “the” Baby Seal.

However I don’t think the book will be roadkill. There was a time that CSM were GW’s biggest seller after Space Marines – and almost as big as the entirety of Warhammer Fantasy. The market is there to be tapped and hopefully the current restraining order on Thorpe continues. Let Phil Kelly write it. Hell, let Jeremy Vetock! But whatever you do make sure it has character.

Given its release date it will give an early loom at 6th Edition thinking as well.

Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts

The first of the Big Three (Daemons, Dark Elves and VC) to get the 8th Edition treatment. These three books were the pinnacle of power creep in 7th Edition and nothing afterwards had anything like the power AND consistency to dominate podiums.

The first three 8th Edition books have seen a new balance return to the game – though Ogres have changed the meta. They appear more internally balanced as well as balanced against each other. I previously said that I believe that the major reason for this is the reduction in the number of unique Magic Items. To date the three books have gone 8-8-10. I hope the VC stay in single figures even if they are the more powerful items. My view it has been far easier to balance the books without having to factor in a multitude of specific items. It also reduces the need for multipage FAQs.

I’d like to see both zombies and skeletons get a role in the new book. Ghouls are default Core and you rarely see anything else. Other than that anything that makes the choice of optimal army a crapshoot i.e. there is no one or two netlists.

This is the first release of 2012, out in January. Rumours are that Empire and Dwarfs (Yawn) are to follow.

Warhammer 40k 6th Edition

To me there is a massive gap back to here. Most people who play 5th Edition like it. I’m sure I’d be happy to play it if my Legions were back. However the rumours are that July/August sees the new edition. So what would I like to see – other than the banning of Imperial Guard?

The first thing would be pre-measuring of everything. It has been a huge success in 8th Edition Fantasy removing 90% of all conflict. I’d hate to go back to a game where the ability to tell the difference between 11.9” and 12.1” was a defining skill.

Secondly, do something with the victory conditions so that the premise is not that “elite” troops fight to defend “core” troops. It is just wrong. Yes, make Troops important but not to the point whereby in some armies they are issued with deckchairs.

Sort out the missions and if possible give a mechanism in the book to define degree of victory. It might not be Victory Points but for those who like to keep score there should be some mechanism.


For me the first two releases are head and shoulders more important to my gaming than the third. Other people’s mileage may vary.