Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Evolving Ratkin

Tonight I've got a 2000 point game against Elves and I intend using the following list:
  • Tunnel Slaves Legion
  • Warriors Horde
  • Shock Troops Horde
  • Blight Horde
  • Brutes Horde - Brew of Haste
  • Vermintide Horde
  • Hackpaws Troop
  • 2x Weapon Teams with Storm of Lead
  • Mutant Rat-Fiend
  • Warlock - Inspiring Talisman
  • ASB - War Bow of Kaba
  • Daemonspawn with Fly and Speed
This is the same list I used last Tuesday against Ryan's Undead. While I'm already seeing some changes I would make I'm keen to give it a second run before altering.

The key thing I guess is not to get too set on anything as yet given Uncharted Empires is out in two weeks. Units, stats and point costs could all change even if only incrementally. For instance, I know that the ASB will be given a mount option increasing his manoveurability - 9" move.

One thing I have found with Ratkin lists is that they seem very low utilisers of Magic Artifacts. They don't have the Ranged Attack options that make things like +1 to hit or +1 Piercing so attractive. I have been running numbers on giving Stealthy to my Rat-Fiend or a Death Engine but at 35 points it is not cheap. As an alternative I could look at taking Heal on my Warlock but that devalues his LB(5).

If anyone has bright ideas I'm alway interested to hear. I tend to consider suggestions based on combo of math and tactics.

Monday, November 9, 2015

FOB NZ Kings of War Rankings Launched

With Vermintide on the weekend the official FOB NZ KoW Rankings are "LIVE".


Icons have been issued for Rulebook races and once Uncharted Empires is out we'll get icons up for them (currently text identifiers).


TOs can send me the results after the event for any "open" single player (no doubles/teams) event with 10 or more participants.


All I require are the following:
  • Name
  • Date
  • Number of Rounds
  • Players Ranked in Finishing Order
  • Army Used
Congrats to Ryan Lister - our first #1 Ranked Player

Weekend Update

As per my previous post Saturday was spent at Vermintide playing Kings of War

Yesterday after cleaning up a lot of the hobby stuff scattered around the house I parked myself in front of the cricket and started some work on a terrain project.

Always feel that you get good bang for your buck with terrain and certainly the time spent yesterday yielded positive results. I'm hoping to have the project finished this week and then I'll post some pictures.

Starting to get excited about the release of "Uncharted Empires". Meant to be next week but I'm thinking it will more likely be the end of the month. Keen to pick up digital version when it drops and have preordered hard copy from local Mighty Ape.

Hoping to get a game in tomorrow evening at local Tuesday group.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Vermintide Tourney Report

Yesterday the Warlords and Masterton Marauders put on the one day Vermintide event. In the past this was a WHFB event and was initially scheduled to be a 9th Age this year. However our local community has switched to KoW and so the event changed a month ago.

It was run by Neil Williamson with Peter in tow. Five rounds, scenarios and 1250 points.

I admit I didn't read the Players Pack and didn't pick up that all games were VP based with scenario only counting for 300 points. Silly Pete! This impacted both army selection and mode of play. And yes it came home to roost!

Game One - Rex Foote (Elves) - Invade

Rex's list was probably the strongest at the event - and he had clearly read the pack! He had a Dragon, the Green Lady, two blocks of Shamblers and a Horde of Archers with +1 to hit. I got first turn and pushed army forward to try to win scenario by pinning him in his half. I realised when I read scoring T4 that this was not a smart strategy. Rex tore my distracting units apart and I missed a flank charge on my Daemonspawn. Regardless of this Rex would have won easily but the score would have been a lot closer. 3-17 loss.

Game Two - David Oemecke (Undead) - Dominate

In this game I managed to target his hard hitting units which were dual Werewolf Hordes and Wraith Horde. I did lose my Daemonspawn to a Nerve 8 reroll in fighting the Wraiths who my Blight quickly cleaned up. Made a critical mistake after killing first Werewolves that lost me both my Shock Troops and Brute Hordes. In the end won scenario which gave me 11-9 win.

Game Three - Robert Higgins (Dwarfs) - Pillage

When you populate the lower tables you are punished by having to play Dwarfs! I got Higgins and we had a ding dong battle that I was in control of until we rolled for a 7th turn. He managed a charge with a Badger riding Berzerker Lord into my Daemonspawn, rolled well and I had to make a rerolled Nerve 9 test. Of course I failed both which caused a 640 swing in points. 8-12 Loss

Game Four - Kent Jackson (Undead) - Loot

Started getting the multi charges off in this game. Lost one counter when I forgot about Surge 16 but managed to secure the other two. The first game I kept the Daemonspawn alive which reflected in points. 15-5 win.

Game Five - Jayden (Kingdom of Men) - Kill

Jayden's knights were deployed on my far left and I was happy to keep them out of the game by sacrifing my Hackpaws and eventually my Brutes. Before they went down the Brutes took out one regiment of Spearmen. On my right the Daemonspawn took out the cannon en route to getting in the rear of Jayden's lines. My Blight and Shock Troops were able to pin the front while Daemonspawn hit rears and flanks. Jayden's dice were pretty poor, deserting him at critical times. 19-1 win

Summary

The last two rounds pushed me back up the table and I finished 6th, 15 points behind the winner. Certainly learned a lot particularly about potential for concealed charges and also interpenetration. Still learning the application of the rules and especially the other armies. However I still get surprised. I expect this will go with more game time.

Well done to Ryan Lister who won with his Undead. Second was Rex with the Elves and third Sam Whitt with Twilight Kin.

Big thanks to Neil for running it and all his efforts with terrain. The stuff he's created looks great. And thanks to all my opponents for their patience when I asked questions about their armies - largely "They do what!!!???!!!"

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Easter Eggs - Things I Like About KoW- #3 Time Commitment

Last evening I went along to the gaming group hosted by local Wil Hoverd in his garage. There were six of us there and three tables - all KoW games.

While four of them practised to "wreck face" at the upcoming Vermintide, Ryan and myself had a 2000 point game - my Ratkin versus his Undead.

One of the great things was that I arrived just on 6:30pm and we were finished at 8:15pm after playing 7 turns. This was my sixth game of KoW and I think Ryan has played similar.

That we can play a full game in two hours is a real attraction for me - especially on "school nights". I was home well before 9:00pm in plenty of time to put on my smoking jacket and slippers and have a mug of Bovril before bed.

Obviously a key part of this is the game mechanic structure whereby each of you is in control of your own turn - Move - Ranged - Nerve - Melee - Nerve - Regroup. Even against a backdrop of a new scenario we were both able to progress our turns very quickly. I can only see this improving with more practice.

Already I find that I'm learning my stats - though my Lightning Bolts are 5 not 3 (discovered T5 of my second game with them) and the mental maths is becoming more familiar.

So all in all it is another nice surprise. Faster games with less downtime.

More Good Stuff From Counter Charge Podcast

The three most recent episodes of the Counter Charge podcast have had a wealth of information for Kings of War fans.

Episode Six was a discussion of the fluff of Mantica with guests Greg Smith and Matt Gilbert (from Mantic's design team). This reinforced a lot of the background that you find in the book but also expanded or gave some further insight.

Episodes Seven and Eight were a review of the upcoming Herd list from Uncharted Empires. Again they had expert insight with the list's author, Daniel King leading a panel discussion.

I've been very impressed with the content of the Counter Charge podcast as their key mission is aimed at informing the listener rather than a lot of Wargaming casts who think they are a Hipsters' Comedy Festival.

Looking forward to their upcoming review of Uncharted Empires.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Battle Report - Ratkin v. Empire of Dust

On Sunday after watching Liverpool destroy Chelsea and New Zealand become the first team to retain the Rugby World Cup, I had to move a truck load of garden soil. Having done that the afternoon was free for a game of Kings of War when I got a late call from Lliam.

We had played in the last game of the recent KoW day I had organised at my place. However both of us made significant changes to our lists - in my case I added magic and shooting which I hadn't had before.

My list was:

  • Tunnel Slaves Legion
  • Shock Troops Horde
  • Ratkin Warriors Horde
  • Blight Horde
  • Brutes Horde with Brew of Haste
  • Vermintide Horde
  • Hackpaws Troop
  • 2x Weapons Teams with Storm of Lead
  • Mutant Rat-Fiend
  • Warlock - Inspiring Talisman
  • ASB - Warbow
  • Daemonspawn with Fly

This gave me a chance to get used to using Ranged Attacks and also some more manoveurability with the addition of a flyer.

 

We rolled up Pillage and placed 7 counters. I won the roll for first turn. My plan was simple. Delay on my left and smash the right and centre before sweeping around.

The Daemonspawn and Fiend move forward to get within 12" of the catapult and threaten the unit of chariots and foot pharaoh beside the Sphinx. On my far right my Hackpaws moved close to the second catapult, alone on my extreme right.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Review - Mantic Goblin Fleabags

I decided to purchase some Mantic models to see what they were currently like. In the past I have purchased their Zombies (Great), Skeletons (not so great) and their Werewolves (bloody awful).
For my Ogres and Jack's Goblins we needed Fleabag Riders so I bought a box of 10 from Mighty Ape on a Friday and they were with me after the long weekend.
They come de-sprued in plastic bags. Unfortunately a lot of tabs are left on the models.
You can see the tabs on the models in the photos below. It took me a good 30-60 minutes to remove all the offending bits.
I have obviously been spoiled by GW as I then had to go about the foreign concept of removing mould lines. And there are shitloads.
I reckon I spent almost a couple of hours - the World Cup Third Place game - to get them to a presentable state.
Finally I had to assemble them and let's say I'm not a big fan of restic. A lot of pieces were bent and there are some enormous gaps that require filling.
Overall I wouldn't rush to buy the models again. Nothing against the sculpts - just the material is bloody awful. My preference in future would be to big up alternatives second hand.


The sculps themselves are pretty "meh". There appears to be 2-3 varieties of Fleabag and you get 15 heads and right arms. There is also a small metal command set however I was struggling enough with the material before introducing metal and superglue to the mix.


Rating: 2/5

Fields of Blood 2015 Masters - Initial Invite List

Fantasy (in Order)

James Brown (Current Champ) YES
Kelly Gragg YES
Richard Barby YES
Alan Hughes NO
Sam Whitt YES
Brian Smith YES
John Willenbruch YES
Peter Williamson NO
Glen Tibbles NO
McCrae Louden YES
Richard Holtzhausen NO
Phil Comins YES
Ross Hillier-Jones NO
Tim Joss NO
Phil Wu NO
Neil Williamson NO
Antony Kitson YES
Daniel Street YES

Warhammer 40k (in Order)


Dean Bradley (Current Champ)
Sam Wooding NO
Kyle Gibson NO
Tim Adams YES
Shane Hammond 
Zane Shaskey NO
James Piesse YES
Karn Synder-Bishop
James Stott YES
Chris Ward YES
Andrew Swarbrick
Nic Cochand
Sean Sullivan YES
Glen Burfield YES
Pascal Roggen
James Abbot
Josh Hill NO
Christian Pride YES

Those I have marked (nc) I do not have contact details for. Therefore if know them can you please get them to contact me at peter.dunnnz@gmail.com

Looking to get fields locked in asap to help people make travel plans.

KoW Rules Clarifications from Mantic Rules Committee

One of the Rules Committee posted the following on the Mantic Forum and I thought it was of such interest that I'd post here.


This topic is to point out the common queries that we get that are clearly covered by the rules (though admittedly sometimes you need to piece the logic together with multiple rules). This is a different topic to the FAQ/Errata which covers things that are either incorrect in the rules, or aren't specific/clear enough. This is purely for the questions that come up that are easy to answer with a direct page reference or quote.

Within vs Entirely/Completely Within

If a rule specifically says that a unit must be Entirely or Completely within a certain distance then all of that unit must be within that distance. If it doesn't say Entirely/Completely then if any part of it is within, then the unit is within.

For example, the Indirect rule states
 
"On the other hand, the unit cannot shoot targets that are within 12".

If any part of the target unit is within 12" then it cannot be targeted, even if most of the unit is outside the 12" minimum range.

Compare to the Dominate scenario:
"At the end of the game, add up the cost of all of your units that are entirely within 12" of the centre of the playing area."

This specifically states that the unit must be entirely within, so all of the units base must be within 12" of the centre point.


Nudging units out of the way when charging

You cannot nudge a unit out of the way when charging.

"sometimes a charging unit may end up in contact with both its target and one or more enemy units it has not charged (e.g. when charging a unit that is part of a tight enemy battle line). In this case, you’ll have to nudge these enemy units away to ensure that they are no longer touching."

The nudge specifically takes place after all charge moves have ended. It cannot be done during a charge move. Charging, contacting, nudging and then aligning is not a legal charge move. The nudge can only be done after you've aligned and slide across.

Sliding to the enemies centre point

You do not have to align exactly to the enemies centre point if doing so would overlap another unit:
"Finally, shuffle the chargers sideways until their unit leader point is facing directly opposite the centre of the target unit, or as close as possible to it."

If you can't align with the enemy centre point (say terrain or another unit is blocking you) then you just slide across as far as you possibly can.

Leader Line of Sight & 90 degree arc

When measuring Line of Sight from your unit leader, you are not restricted to a 90 degree arc.
"To determine line of sight, draw an imaginary straight line from the unit leader point to any point of its target’s base. "

This does not have any restriction on an arc.

This is likely confused with the Arc of Sight, not Line of Sight, since the Arc of Sight does have a requirement for a 90 degree arc. They are not the same thing however. The Line of Sight can be in any direction (even, under extreme circumstances, backwards if necessary).

Height 0 & Cover

This is actually being specifically clarified in the upcoming FAQ due to some other bugs, but Height 0 units can still offer cover against ranged attacks. There's no quote here because there's nothing which says that they don't offer cover!

Fearless & Double 6

Fearless units are not Wavered if you roll a double 6 on a nerve test. They ignore all Wavering results:

"Double 6: If you roll double six when testing Nerve and the unit is not Routed, it will still suffer from a result of Wavering."
"Fearless: in any case, they cannot Waver, and will therefore remain Steady until they eventually Rout."
 
They simply ignore the double 6 wavering result in the exact same way as any other wavering result.

Exceptional damage & double 1's

If you roll a double 1 for a nerve test, the unit will always be Steady regardless of how much damage they have taken. Even if they have taken more damage than their Rout nerve limit, they will fight on.
"will always be Steady and fight on, regardless of any modifier."

Nerve isn't a strict measurement of a units damage capacity, but its mental nerve (hence the name!) and willpower. Historically speaking, in regimental warfare it was extremely rare for units to be massacred to the man - they would rout long before a unit had taken severe casualties. KoW is no different in this regard and the double 1 result simply reflects a unit fighting well beyond what would normally be expected.


Surge & Charging

Units with Shambling have a charge range of twice their Speed as normal. The rule specifically states that they can't do an At The Double order, and a Charge is not an At The Double order:
"The unit cannot be ordered ‘At the Double’,"

Counter-Charge & Thunderous Charge

If a unit didn't take any damage from a unit charging it, then it can still counter-charge and use its Thunderous Charge. There's nothing to say that you can't use Thunderous Charge when counter-charging, just that you can't use it while Hindered or Disordered (though it is rare to not be Disordered while Counter-Charging):

"however the unit loses this bonus when Disordered or during Hindered charges".

Flyers, Difficult Terrain & At The Double

Flyers can move out of or over Difficult Terrain & Obstacles while carrying out an At The Double order, but they cannot land on top of or within them.

"Terrain: While moving At The Double, units treat Difficult Terrain as Blocking Terrain instead."


"Fly: The unit can move over anything (blocking terrain, enemy units, friendly units when charging, etc.), but still cannot land on top of them."

Flyers & pivoting


 Flyers can pivot through enemy units and blocking terrain. They must finish their entire movement clear of all blocking features, including units and terrain, but until they've "landed", they can move and pivot freely over any blocking features.

Nimble & 180 degree Pivots

 You can't carry out a single 180 degree pivot if you have the Nimble rule. The Nimble rule specifically states that you can get an additional 90 degree pivot:
 
"The unit can make a single extra pivot of up to 90 degrees around its centre while executing any move order, including a Charge!"

Each pivot must end clear of enemy units (including the 1" gap, except when charging) and blocking terrain. You can't combine both pivots into a single 180 degree pivot, so each separate 90 degree pivot must end clear.