Montag, 16. Dezember 2013

Khador 2013 Part 17 - 2013-Wrap-up

'Cause a good wrap is half a song!
It's been some time since my last article, because inspiration has been lacking. So what gives? Well, we've had a little (6 guys) tournament on a recent weekend, which will be my last tournament for 2013. So I figured: What's stopping me from wrapping up the year, do some introspection and reflect on some stuff?

So that's what we'll do tonight. We'll review the following things: My paradox plunge (and the related 'Caster-writeups), the lists I've played with those 'Casters, an overall look at how competitive games went this year, and Greylord Outriders. Because, spoilers, they're legit. And yes, there'll also be a very brief look at my plans for 2014. Enjoy!

Dienstag, 29. Oktober 2013

Halloween Scenario 2013 - Night of the Pumpkin King!

This Halloween's Map!
It's about that time of the year again! Those that follow this blog (i.e. read it) might remember that last year, we presented and played the "Nightmare Tower" scenario (which then aired in M&tM #76, methinks).

This year, we're back for tricks and treats with a scenario featuring another mainstay of Halloween's motives - the pumpkin.

Enjoy!

Montag, 7. Oktober 2013

Khador 2013 Part 16 - Those last points

Surprisingly accurate.
Probably the only thing consistent about list building - and the only thing that equally applies to each and every faction in Warmachine, Hordes, and likely even other games - is that, sooner or later, you'll be faced with a very important question:

"What am I going to get myself for these last points I have left over?"

The actual difficulty in answering that question differs from faction to faction (I'm looking at Minions here), and this article will attempt to take the bull by the horns - we're going to list all 1-,2-,3- and 4-point options Khador has available, comment on their plausability or catches (list-building-wise), and try to arbitrarily rate them as objectively as possible. Enjoy!


Samstag, 7. September 2013

Marth & the Machines #80 - Zerkova Holiday Red Alert Call Double Feature!

This issue - which closes out Season 4 of M&tM - first pits Lady Z versus Lord Commander Coleman Stryker, and then there's a special report about her versus Magnus the Warlord.

Also, has Season 5 spoilers at the very end.

Enjoy!

Samstag, 17. August 2013

Marth & the Machines #79

This issue's battle report is from ClogCon's "Doubles"-Tournament, and pits Team Doom&Gloom against Team Beer Kamikaze!
Afterwards, I'll take you on a trip to Bonn's Cantina Games III WM/H Team tournament, together with Team Marth&the Machines.

Enjoy!

Freitag, 9. August 2013

Marth & the Machines #78 - Caine v. Ravyn

We continue the pseudo-plot around Allister Caine and his gang, and this time he is haunted by lost (as in: ditched) love. Ravyn's back with an attitude and aiming to put him down with authority!
35 points, killing fields, and afterwards, more tournament fails than even you can handle.

Enjoy!

Dienstag, 6. August 2013

Gangs of Immoren!

This is another idea of mine regarding a campaign system for Warmachine/Hordes. It's based on my old Theatre of War system, but resembles a system that is both stripped down, and spiced up. And modified. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Read for yourself, and enjoy!

(note: I'm open to suggestions/ideas/constructive criticism!)

Montag, 5. August 2013

Khador 2013, Part 15 - Mangled Metal

Good Morning, Folks, and welcome back for another issue of "Khador 2013". This time, we're talking in depth about Mangled Metal - metaphorical depth, to be precise, because metal is too hard to get into. ;-)

The results speak for themselves.
This is because I went to attend the Convergence of Cyriss Release Event that took place at my FLGS last Saturday, which just so happens to be a Mangled Metal/Tooth and Claw event. We all know, like, and yet dread this scenario, which both one of the rulebook scenarios and the way the game is introduced to us via the battlebox.

At first, you'll likely be thinking: "Well yeah, it's simple." But I think there is actually a LOT to be said about it - not so much about the scenario, maybe, but about the things surrounding it. Thusly, we'll be talking about Khadorans list building considerations, favourable Khadoran Warcasters, some CoC release event details and considerations, and we're going to attempt an unbiased answer of whether Hordes or Warmachine is better off in this scenario - and by how much.

Enjoy!

Samstag, 27. Juli 2013

Khador 2013 Part 14 - Support Andrej

So, today's issue of Khador 2013 will deal with the prime Khadoran douchebag. No, that is not Queen Vanar. No, it is neither the Greylords that make more fellblades in order for more Doom Reavers. Zerkova's pretty douchy in attitude, but she has been covered. No, the Butcher is not a douche, he's... he's sticking to his ideals even closer than to his enemies. Irusk? I admit he's got attitude, but that's still off.

We're talking Andrej Malakov today. God, how I loathe this character. I still wish PP would've killed him instead of giving him a model. I know that I do not hide my disdain for this guy (much like I didn't do it on Dice Rage Live #11), but sadly, I have to admit, he does give us options. And they're not that bad.

So today we'll take a very very brief look at Andrej's stat card - because the guy likes being looked at, and you should not reinforce bad habits - and we'll go right ahead and look for a few plausible choices for him, which Warjacks to run, which 'Caster to assign to, and Sucker! targets worth the mention.

Enjoy!

Montag, 8. Juli 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 13 "Feats"

I didn't expect this either.
I must admit, I was at a loss for topics to cover. Warcaster reviews, NSA-style, are only fun for a time. Then you'd want something different to spice things up - and to prove you're a good article writer.

After a long pondering, I thought - why don't we talk about Feats this time? You know, those game-state altering abilities that make you spit a thick stream of bile (Temporal Shift, mostly), make you go "Oh... I didn't expect that to work out so strongly" (Death Harvest or Menoth's Wrath), or just simply flip your battle strategy the freaking bird (Landslide or Web of Shadows).

I'll talk about how I classify/categorise feats, and then we'll take a look at Khador's feats accordingly. This article may end up rather short, because I'm not going to explain how to use each feat best. Also, I'm not attempting to "rank" feats according to the "strength" - this is only about grouping them together based on similarities.

And yes, I am going to make you scrounge through your books or cards again - because I'm not going to say who's feat it is, but actually use the name. ;-)

Sonntag, 30. Juni 2013

Bonn's Cantina Games III

Alrighty folks,

today me, Arides, and Chronos went to attend Bonn's Cantina Games III's Warmachine/Hordes tournament as Team "Marth & the Machines". It was a three round event with eight teams total.

For our 'Caster's, we chose Magnus Xp (Bad Seeds) & Gorten (Highborn) [me], Cpt. Darius (Field Test) & Cmd. Adept Nemo [Arides], as well as Irusk & the Butcher [Chronos].

After pairings were announced, each team got to see the other's nifty folder (which the EO's made for us), and then there was a round of betting power tokens. Ten of those were given to each team leader in  the first round, and all those you bet were collected after betting. The winning team would chose a table, one of their players, and a scenario for that table. The other team then announced whom they paired up against that, then proceeded to allocate their remaining players and a scenario each to the other two tables, upon which the other team chose whom they'd send in on that.

I probably did the most sensible thing ever before a tournament, and looked at all the scenarios, contemplating which of our 'Casters were suited best to each. This allowed us - even if we lost the bet - to get exactly the scenarios we wanted. It might get us into sucky matchups, but hey, we did definitely have a scenario angle.

How did it work out?

Montag, 3. Juni 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 9

Last night we had the ninth episode of Dice Rage Live, which might've been the last on a regular schedule. And we were missing Blog, who was on Game Store Duty!

Topics:
• Recent gaming progress
• 5th Anniversary of SteampoweredTV
• How we got into gaming, making videos, and how things unfolded
• L&L spoiler swooning
• Comments (often on painting)
• Announcements

Hidden among that:
• Building a community, Distributors and Game Stores
• Observations on modern social/economic stuff
• And stuff.

Enjoy!

Mittwoch, 29. Mai 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 12 "Oleg Strakhov"


Alrighty then... this time for Khador 2013, we'll be entering completely new areas. That may be kind of a shock for some of you, as we're going to talk about Strakhov, and he's been out... like forever? Ok, it's just FoW: Khador, but I must admit that I have never played him. I don't even own him.

That's seriously tops the last articles craziness! So why am I doing this? Well, in the team tournament end of June, Chronos, our third member, will be featuring both Irusk and Strakhov. And I want something for him that he can read, so I don't have talk all the time. With Irusk, I could bring in my own play experience - with Strakhov, I have none. So I am also doing this to broaden my understanding of the caster, and then extrapolate (or theorymachine) from there. I already have an idea about Eliminators...

So we're going to look at Strakhov's card, closely. Closely enough to discover strengths and weaknesses. And then, we'll once again look at the Khadoran line-up and see whom he jives well with, and who should stay at home. And then we'll try to build an 50 pt list or two. Enjoy!

Dienstag, 28. Mai 2013

Zombie Swamps, first sketches

Thanks to Bill / Terrainaholic for the inspiration!

• One 25 point army, w/o a Warcaster or mercenaries (trying to 
  leave a undead infested swamp) 
• Count Tzepesci (opposing them)
   • Four Spawning Points. They generate d3+2 (or d6?) Risen 
     during each of the Undead player's control phase. Place them 
     within 2" of their respective spawning point. These models 
     act like solos, unless handled via Mob Mind, below.
   • Four Gallows Groves. When using Count Tzepesci's special 
     abilities, the undead player may use them as points of 
     origin.
• Four potential points of exit.
• The escaping player wins when 50% or more of his army leave the 
  table, or Count Tzepesci is slain. The undead player wins if 
  those conditions are not met.

• Preferred Terrain: Hills, Water, Forest, the odd ruin.

Sonntag, 26. Mai 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 11 "Gurvaldt Irusk"

A serious businessman!
Well, it's been some time since the last article in this series. I should mention that, at least from my current viewpoint, it doesn't look like I'll be going to a lot of tournaments this year, but we'll see. The next one coming up are Bonn's 3rd Cantina Games, where I'll be participating as part of a Team - but I won't be playing Khador.

"What?" You may ask, and wonder why I'm now starting to look at Khador again anyway. See, Arides is playing Cygnar. Chronos - who replaces Fiona - plays Khador and Trolls, but his selection of Trolls is not big enough for two 50 point lists. So I switched from Khador to Mercenaries.

In this - and the next - article for Khador 2013, I want to provide you with an in-depth look at the two Casters that Chronos chose for his line-up. First up is the man, the name, the legend - Kommandant Gurvaldt Irusk. Some may think the guy's been done to death, but who knows? We could run into sth.!

Being widely regarded as Khador's strongest 'Caster, I want to look at the why that was the case, also why it still is the case after the advent of colossals. We'll also keep an eye out on things he strongly dislikes. Even though it's probably worth a lifetime-achievement, I also want to indulge into which selections are good with him, and which aren't - or which are surprising, yet not obvious. Lastly, we'll also go into list construction options. Enjoy!

Donnerstag, 23. Mai 2013

DiceRage Live Episode 8

A little late - but just a little.

This time, we were joined by John Christensen AKA MenothJohn (from "Painting with MenothJohn" and Guest/Contributor to a number of Podcasts (such as "Lost Hemisphere")).

Topics?
• A little Q&A
• Trolling, done right!
• Hating on Nascar
• Thunderbirds
• Dissing of Southerners
• CoC
• PP Forum madness

Among all this, several very good gold nuggets of wisdom are hidden, so it pays of to watch it in whole. Enjoy!

Montag, 6. Mai 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 7

Yesterday, we had fun again doing Dice Rage Live, which resulted in a pretty concise episode - with the regular tangentials. But actually - tangents are very important when talking about the math-faction that is the Convergence of Cyriss!

Topics:
- Recent Gaming Adventures
- Convergence of Cyriss Consildated
- Comments
- Playing Epic Haley is...

Mittwoch, 24. April 2013

Marth & the Machines #77 - Gorten v. Ossrum

So, after a long wait, I/we finally finished this battle report! Watch as first, General Ossrum and Gorten Grundback go up against each other in a 50pt battle of "Restoration" (from SR 12 - just a small indicator how long this took), and second, my recap of Bonn's first cantina games! (end of June, there will be the 3rd Cantina games. Just another indicator of how long this took...)

Enjoy!

Samstag, 13. April 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 10 "Zerkova revisited!"

In this article for Khador 2013, I'll revisit the khadoran battlefield reporter, Koldun Kommander Alexandra Zerkova. I know we've dealt with her early on in part 02 of this series, but that was from a wholesale theoretical point of view. Now that I've taken her to ClogCon, which turned out to be my best tournament performance yet, I've got some real experience to add to what I wrote before.

I'll first revisit a few statements I've made, then I'll give you a look at the lists that I took to ClogCon, how the Games went during the Con, and some post-Convention observations/considerations.

Enjoy!

Mittwoch, 10. April 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 5 - NQ 47

While we were on the trip back from ClogCon, Tinman and Blog started the next episode of DiceRage, talking about the contents of No Quarter #47.

Later, Lee joins them, afterwards, Orsus, and near the end, Arides and I do, talking about ClogCon.

Enjoy!

Samstag, 6. April 2013

ClogCon Progress

With Team Marth & the Machines currently at ClogCon in Leiden, I guess this post will have to do to cover all our "achievements":

Blood, Sweat, & Tiers (Fri morning)
Marth - 2/2, ends up 6th (Jay, new record! Won two games in a row!)
Arides - 1/3, ends up 14th

Doubles (Fri evening)
Marth & Fiona AKA "Team Beer Kamikaze" - 0/3
(We ended up dead last, but still had fun even due to very bad matchups. First round against Team "No time for love Dr. Jones" (Ossyan/Haley Xp), second round against Team "Think of sth. funny" (Kromac/Rask), and last round against Team "Rocket" (Magnus/Sorscha Xp) - and that will be batrep'ed, since it's a "fight" between Marth & and the Machines and OrsusZoktavir.

Steamroller (Fri evening)
Arides - 0/3, ended up 14th (Turns out: Sleep deprivation and dehydration hamper your play ;-))

Team Tournament (Sat morning)
This actually was the prime reason we came here with Arides (or rather, it was the reason he came along with Fiona and me), however - Fiona was feeling really bad, and sort-of not up to it. Arides and Me were feeling worn out from that amount of gaming (and staying up 20+ hours straight), too. So we, as a team, minding our teammate's condition (and ours, but her's primarily) reached the decision of not participating.

That may seem ironic, but sometimes situations change in a way that you can no longer conduct the original plan. And I think it shows that we learned sth important about being real team.

Hydra (Sat evening)
Marth - 1/2 (Note: Win was a bye. I used the time to play a game against Fiona)
Arides - 0/3
 We were actually expecting a fourth round (probably pairing Arides vs. me), but the TOs decided that, with a clear top three of players, there wouldn't be one.

Steamroller (Sun morning)
Marth - 2/2, ended up 7th
Arides - 2/2, ended up 8th
Fiona - 0/4, ended up last.

So all in all, it was a very fun and exciting experience, and we'll try to repeat it. A brief summary/discussion can be found here: Dice Rage Live Ep. 5

Montag, 25. März 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 4 - Homebrews

Once again, we recorded an episode of DRL, and this time, we goofed off hard.

Contents:
- Recent Gaming Achievements
- Warmachine Hooligans
- Long Gunner Veterans / Overly Attached Warcaster Attachment
- Trencher Pioneers / Kayazy Posers
- Character Extoller Unit
- Rhupert Carvolo's Marching Band
- Waiting for Beatfreak (with GW policy, Google policy, and BlipTV policy rantings!)

Enjoy!

Montag, 18. März 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 09 "Jamming & Stuff"

It is brutal, but this /is/ how it feels.
This article of Khador 2013 - which is probably going to be my most tactical/strategic one to date -  I'll dedicate to the topic of TarpittingJamming, Pinning, and what I call Declogging - and how to best do it and counteract it in Khador.

   With the new Steamroller 2013 scenarios, a lot of action happens in the middle of the board. To score from objectives, flags or zones, you either have to clear them out, or try to keep the enemy too far away from them in the first place. The middle-of-the-board-factor gives a renewed strength to the first two strategies, since you now do not necessarily have to be ultra-fast to do it properly. Other than that, these strategies have existed before, too.

    Being a linguist, however, I cannot help but point out that there are subtle differences (to me, at least), which mainly manifest in the ability (and necessity) for the unit to not die. In that regard: Tarpitting > Jamming > Pinning.

Sonntag, 17. März 2013

Realigning the CRL look

Just did a small update on the looks of this blog - took stuff that was hidden at the bottom of the page to the right, rearranged the order, and took the Bloglist off (I wasn't following them that closely).

Maybe the glaring lack of followers proves inspiring. ;-)

Samstag, 16. März 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 08 "Kayazy"

I did not choose Kayazy Life - Kayazy Life chose me!
In this article for Khador 2013, I'll look into one of the more annoying units - or rather, model class - from Khador. The Kayazy merchants kings. Or, to be more precise, their gut-stabbin', throat-slittin' thugs. Because that is what they are! They come for you in their Italian/Venecian looking clothing, dancing around, being expert fighters, but remember: They're only the thugs that go kill people on orders, not the actual merchant kings.

So I'll dedicate this article to my ugly looking assassins, their great-looking female coworkers, and my love-hate relationship with them. Because, as much as I want to get away from using them, they keep going coming back to me to usher me back into playing them. Because that is what thugs do, so let's get to it.

I'll look at what Kayazy Khador has access to, what they offer, how we can apply them, how we can do a twist on their numbers, what Four Star options they have, what I'd like to see in the future - and my top 5 Kayazy Songs.

Mittwoch, 13. März 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 07 "T.A.C. Previews"

A different three dwarves.
In this "breaking news" article for Khador 2013, I'm going to highlight something non-Khadoran: the Tactical Arcanist Corps. A mercenary Rhulic unit of three magic users that works for Khador (and Cygnar, bleh), constituted of extremely drilled battle mages from the Brand of Odom. Aside from the fact that they seemingly outshine other options (like the Greylord Ternion, in part), and are a uber addition to Searforge, I'll look into how they'd benefit us, what we can give them (esp. with Valachev), and which caster I think can benefit the most.

Montag, 11. März 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 03

This time, we talk about the latest spoilers for Hordes, and speculate on the few for Warmachine.

And have a lot of quality laughter time with our guest Lee (from TheBleepuppodcast).

Enjoy!

Sonntag, 3. März 2013

Head to Head - Butcher v. Darius

Oldschool Battlereport! Analog aggression on digital media! Recently, the first game was played on my own portable gaming table (which is a wedding gift from my brother). Arides and me both tried out our "Hydra" lists for ClogCon - a fourty point army, and then a selection of six casters. Which one you play will be determined before the game begins. In our case, it turned out that Orsus Zoktavir, the Butcher of Khardov would face Captain Dominik E. Darius. Enjoy!

Montag, 25. Februar 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 2

Yesterday, the second episode of Dice Rage Live was livestreamed. With topics such as:
- Gaming updates
- Discussing other's 50 pt lists
- Recent battles played
- Open discussion with viewer's (cyriss, Beer & Pretzel games, and stuff)

Enjoy!

Montag, 18. Februar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 06 "Which Attachment?"


In this article of Khador 2013, I'll try and answer a quite fundamental question:

Should you rather take the War Dog for your Khadoran Warcaster, or choose the help of the other elvish oddparent, Sylys Wyshnallyr?

Before Warmachine: Wrath, the War Dog was the only Warcaster attachment for Khador there was. But when they released the elf, a slew of options opened up. I will strife to answer the proposed question via the following: A) breaking down the benefits provided by each and B) evaluating them on a 'Caster-by-'Caster basis, stating my observations and recommendations for each 'Caster of the Khadoran Warcaster Corps. Hopefully, afterwards, you'll be having less issues with the question.

Montag, 11. Februar 2013

Dice Rage Live Ep. 1

Yesterday - or, in a way, today, since it crossed midnight over here - there was the first installment of "Dice Rage live", hosted by TinmanXL, and joined by Blog, Orsus, and me. Topics covered:
1) The Factions of Warmachine and Hordes
2) Bog wild speculation/discussion of the Convergence of Cyriss
3) Advice for new players joining the hobby
4) Painting update

Yet basically, we talk about whatever we want. This is the first episode, we had to do some global goofing-off. ;-)

And in between: Technical issues, tangents, and fun!
Enjoy!

Samstag, 9. Februar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 05 "Outrider Spoilers"

GLO Concept Art
So, the Greylord Outriders have been spoiled. With... mixed responses on the web. Which can be easy to understand - but I think it's highly likely that we as Khador players got a skewed look on the game, what we need, and Privateer Press's plan.

Not to put the blame on someone - in all possible objectivity: the GLO are odd. I consider it a given that we will receive other releases which will click nicely with them.

In this article of Khador 2013, let's look at what we got - and what we can get out of them. I'll look at the stats, feasible modes operandi, which 'Casters stand out supporting them, and what lists they fit in well (with a focus on tier lists).

Donnerstag, 7. Februar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 04 "Izak Harkevich"


In this third article for Khador 2013 I'll cover the second caster I choose the Paradox Plunge 2013, Kommander Harkevich, who in all likelihood has the coolest nickname in the Iron Kingdoms: "the Iron Wolf". I love writing his full name onto my army lists, just in case it had the chance to be intimidating. But, in the minds of Khador players, he's considered to be bad - bottom tier, as far as that goes within the ranks of Khador's warcaster line-up. However, he does have things that speak for him: He boosts Khador's Warjacks in a way hitherto unprecedented in Khador and he's got a strong Tier list. (What sets him apart from Zerkova is the lack of a fanclub)

As opposed to last time, I'm going to focus on why I choose him for the plunge, what his strong points are, the things he works well with, the stuff he needs to avoid - and, again, different lists. Shaking the order of questions up to prevent the boreout!

Mittwoch, 23. Januar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 03 "Steamroller 2013"

This article will - as the first of a few - deal with the new Steamroller 2013 paket. As I currently have no playing experience with it, my statements are based on the old 2012 "worldview" - so you'll have to bear with me. That aside, I'm glad it is finally here. So these are my preliminary observations and conclusions:

Samstag, 19. Januar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 02 "Alexandra Zerkova"

In this second article in the Khador 2013 series, I'll want to elaborate on one of the casters I have chosen for the Paradox Pledge 2013 - the "icecream cone warrior", "the new hatness", "Lady Z": Koldun Kommander Alexandra Zerkova. She's, on one hand, argued to be Khador's weakest caster - on the other hand, she's got a huge fanclub that brags about winning with her, appears to be getting better with every new release, and received one of the strongest alternative Tiers to date.

In this article, similar to the last one, I want to try and explain why she is perceived as weak, what her actual playstyle strengths are, the interactions with specific army choices, different lists (and list ideas), and why I chose her for the Plunge, and what my expectations are.

Samstag, 12. Januar 2013

Marth & the Machines #76 - Vladimir v. Gorten & the faded black T-shirt

In this (horribly delayed) issue of Marth & the Machines, we're bringing you a custom scenario tailor-made for Halloween, where Vladimir Tzepesci and Gorten Grundback encounter each other - and the Nightmare Tower. Afterwards, more coverage from last year's tourneys. Enjoy!

Dienstag, 8. Januar 2013

Khador 2013 - Part 01 "Vladimir Tzepesci"

Katrina Relief variant shown.
In this first article for Khador 2013, I want to start looking at the faction's warcasters, and I'll begin with one that I have only recently bought for myself - and who does not get a lot of mention on the forums. Mostly because the consensus is "he makes anything good". That is not as true as it is made to sound. And even if it were - could you really replace any list's caster with Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince, and end up with a better result?

In this first article, I want to explore where that consensus stems from, whether the anticipated answer to above question - No - is correct, and why / where that is the case. I also want to show different yet viable ways of playing him, and what things to watch out for.

Dienstag, 1. Januar 2013

New Year's-Machine

To celebrate 2013, Arides and I have been cooking up a scenario for the event. Progress is slow but steady:

SR 2012, standard deployment (even though radial deployment is in discussion). Spread across the board are an odd number (say, 5) of objectives (firework stashes), following the regular objectives rules (can't be affected throughout round 1 and all that), with two significant differences: a) the card has two sides, b) any model b2b can activate the objective through doing a special action.