2 Weeks

Ok, so I haven't posted in two weeks. Bad sign.

Holidays have been busy, from Christmas parties to holiday shopping. I was supposed to get a game in this past monday, but no luck. Next monday may be shot as well due to the New Year holiday.

Anyways, today being December 26th, I have failed my own goal set to buid paint and bast my Borka & company. But they are further along than before. I plan on working on them once I greenstuff the models I built recently (Earthborn, Trollkin Longriders, Trollkin Champions, Fell Caller) so I am not as worried about them falling apart (especially the Earthborn's skirt and his *GINORMOUS* gaps.)

Monday (er, Tuesday) Morning QB

Ok, going over it in my head, where did I go wrong last night:

1.) I didn't use my cavalry to their best. They were set up far left and could have swept around and flanked, but didn't, instead got caught up with the Raptors
2.) I didn't know the exact rules for light cav which I think would have allowed one of my cav models to survive
3.) I continue to go after the warbeasts and units instead of the warcaster
4.) I didn't commit enough resources to removing the Angelius, I should have left the Seraph with my Winter Troll and attacked Angelius with the Fell Caller, Winter Troll, *and* Borka to make sure that he didn't get back up
5.) I set my


Now, what did I do right?

1.) I remembered to camp some focus in order to perform damage transfers
2.) I remembered my tough rolls
3.) I got my Freezer off on a couple guys, my opponent admitted that this forced a couple of moves which were not intended
4.) I set up the Borka throw and would have gotten it off if the Angelius didn't splatter my Mauler the turn it did

Raptors Light Cav

I think my opponent made a mistake with his Raptors last night as he at one point advanced, took two swings with his melee weapon then retreated as if it were a ride-by attack, however light cavalry cannot make ride-by attacks.
I'll bring this up to him next time he and I talk.

Oh, btw his list as far as I rememeber:
Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
Shredder
Shredder
Seraph
Seraph
Angelius
Shepherd
Raptors (3)

Also wik:
I just found out over on GuruDojo.com that a model can only be slipstreamed once. I need to verify in my Hordes Primal, but I know for sure he opened with Angelius double-slipstreamed.

Also, also wik:
Saeryn cannot "mirror" spell a spell with a range of "self".

Failed Painting Challenge

I have a painting challenge at the Traitor Legion forums to have Borka, Kenny, and the Troll starter box painted and based by Christmas.
I have the blue trolls mostly painted but I do not have Madrak Ironhide painted.

In other news though, I have modeled the following:
Grim Angus
Earthborn Dire Troll
Dire Troll Mauler
Winter Troll
Fell Caller
Trollkin Champions
Trollkin Longriders

Bases are very cinematic with lots of cork and wood chips to simulate rocks and boulders. Pictures forthcoming.

Legion 1, Trolls 0

PLayed my first 500 point game. I think I need to get in a lot more practice with solos and units. I also need more experience with Borka.
In other words I got my ass handed to me :)

List:
Borka Kegslayer
+Pyg Keg Carrier
Dire Troll Mauler
Winter Troll
Fell Caller
Trollkin Champions
Trollkin Longriders

I'll get in a 500 point game next week and learn to play the units (Longriders, Champs) and Fell Caller better.

Didn't get a game in last night, but I *did* get some modeling in...

I now have:
Earthborn Dire Troll - built and attached to his base. Added some chunks of wood chip for additional rocks scattered. Needs ballast and priming
Winter Troll - built and attached to a wood chip base, needs ballast and also some weight on the base to keep him from falling backwards.
Trollkin Longriders (x3) - built, based on wood chip base with other debris.

My biggest issue right now is that I know that I scored the joins to give more grip but I didn't pin *anything*. I'm afraid the models are going to fall to pieces.
I will be greenstuffing almost all of them.

The following greenstuff work needs to be performed:

• Earthborn Dire Troll - greenstuff *every* join. He's a big muther of a model, and needs the support but also he's got monsterous gaps in his chest and waist.
  
• Dire Troll Mauler - the back join as well as where his mohawk joins and both arms.
  
• Winter Troll - with his pose I want to get his arms GS'd but mostly his waist has a big gap that needs filling.
  
• Trollkin Longriders - the yaks all ended up with gaps in their joins. the two longriders (non-kithkar) need to have their weapon arms solidified. shields should gat a bit as well.

Other Modeling
Grim Angus needs a "harpoon" for his left hand gun
2" template for Tether. I have the jeweler's chain and just need a 2" diameter plastic and a small (1/16", 3/32") round dowel, also something to look like a manacle.

Got some modeling done this Saturday @ the War & Pieces Bizaar Bazaar.

Grim Angus - built a base from a wood chip, still needs ballast in the empty areas.
Winter Troll - built and on a wood-chip base. Still needs ballast and greenstuff work.
Dire Troll Mauler - built, greenstuff work is needed
Earthborn Dire Troll - built, MAJOR greenstuff work is needed. I think the rule with metal models (not just PP) the bigger the model, the bigger the gaps.
I also built the yaks for my Trollkin Longriders.

I the past my thought was if I build the models and paint them as I build them I would have a whole army painted. However I think the impetus to build comes from playing. If I don't have an army to play with I don't play and thus I don't build and paint. So I look like I'm building and getting prepped to paint, once I have my stuff built I will assembly-line paint them.
I think this means I'm not going to finish my painting challenge by Christmas...

Guess Who's Back/Borka's Back/Back Again

So, I've been talking to Guy, the Khador player who killed me with Vlad last week. He told me how hard of a game he has against Grimmy. So I'm thinking I'll try out Borka finally.

Thinking of the following lists:

• Borka Kegslayer
  
  • +Pyg Keg Carrier
  
  
• Dire Troll Mauler
  
• Winter Troll
  
• Trollkin Longriders (3)

The other option is to drop the Longriders for a Troll Axer which would have less bodies on the field, but provide a cool animus.
The Longriders, in turn, would allow for a cool (pun intended) area of effect for the Winter Troll's animus.
In writing this post I think that the Longriders is the best choice as it seems to be a better toolbox.

Benefits or Longriders over Axer:

• I get to use a unit!
  
• I get to use Cav!
  
• Speed (I can flank and freeze)
  
• Reach (Axer can Thresher but these guys can reach 2")
  
• Large Base (Winter Troll's animus extends 2" beyond base giving an effective ~28" area* for Freezer)
  
• Slams (I can push people around and [hopefully] knock them down)
  
• Wounds (I *think* they have 8 wounds a piece as opposed to an Axer)

How would this do versus the Vlad list?
Well, Vlad would have Blood of Kings up at all times, which would mean more movement, more hittiness and (i think) more defense. Vlad would *not* have Wind Wall up which would mean he would have (3 or 4?) more Focus per turn to use to smack me around. This will also mean more flak from the Behemoth, however I think I can neuter him (Behemoth) with the slamming Yaks from hell.
Drakhun, well, Drakhun's a pain in the ass. He'll be able to "Drakhun-ball" but thank god he won't be able to get over my Longriders (large bases FTW!) His large number of wounds will be hard to get around. Perhaps I can have the Mauler knock him off his horse and toss him. Once he's dismounted he can be knocked down, so tossing him aside is possible. I can still Borka-Bomb and hopefully get the kill there.
Alten Ashley will be a pain in the ass if I can't get in range picking off whole aspects of my beefy-Trolls.

He also played Irusk in a previous game. Irusk will make a caster kill difficult with his rough-terrain spell as I have nothing to give me the ability to charge through it. Perhaps against Irusk an Axer would be more viable.
In his Irusk list he played Eiryss. I haven't seen Eiryss much and only can think that she's in there for the Phantom Bolt as I think the rest of her bolts are 'jack specific.
The rest of the Irusk list mirrored the Vlad list.
I think the Irusk list would be the harder to take down as I would need to be able to handle the Behemoth, Drakhun *AND* the Inhospitable Ground casting Irusk.

I need to look into whether a Warbeast can Headbutt without a "head weapon".
Also need to know if a model who stands up and forfeits their action if they can cast.

*50mm base = 2" diameter, 2" on either side of the base = 6" diameter, 3" radius. The area of a 3" radius circle = Pi*(3"^2) = Pi*(9) = 3.14*9 = 28.26". However this includes the area of the base. So we would have to figure the "blind spot" of the spell which would be the 2" diameter base. 2" diameter = 1" radius. Area of the 1" radius base would be 3.14". We subtract the 28.26-3.14 to get a 25.12" area of usable board space for the spell. A little more math will show that a model with a large base (50mm) will have a 4.47" frontage and I don't have the patience to figure out the actual area of that.

I was thinking about my games last night on my commute to work...
I think I could have come out better in the game against Guy.

If I had tossed my Axer and/or my Impaler with my Earthborn I could have possibly gotten some more damage on Vlad.

Not sure how I could have done any better agains the Legion army.

Trolls 0, Khador 1, Legion 1

Got two games in last night. Both playing Grim list versus Legion and Khador.

Legion game:
I set up well, I moved decently. But I was out manned. He played:
Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
Seraph
Angelius
Raptors (2 +1)

He had 2 more models on the table than me and with no way to take out multiple models in a turn I couldn't overcome that. I may have over committed my Earthborn as well which didn't end well :) He's beefy, but he's not invincible.

Second game was a rematch against the guy playing Irusk last week.
he played:
Vladimir Tzepesci, Dark Prince of Umbrey
Behemoth
Man-O-War Drakhun (with dismount)
Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter

This one was destined to be a loss. Guy (the player) told me up front he came packing heat against Grim. Vlad's wind wall shut me down the whole game. I couldn't pop a shot at ANYTHING. I ended up over committing my Earthborn again, but Guy was surprised at how far that big fucker can move when properly goaded. I think I played well with the deck stacked so high against me, but in the end he picked me apart and killed each model in turn.

On to the next game :)

Edit: More thoughts about the Khador game

Rematches

I've got a rematch against a Khador player I played last week. Hopefully to the same result :)
If we can get it over and done with quick enough I may be able to pull out another game and get my rematch against the Cygnar player.

Going to be playing my Grim list I played last week. it seems to be a nice toolbox ready for almost any issues.

• Grim can cast Cross Country to avoid rough terrain issues.
  
• He can snipe from 13-17 inches with Headhunter (+ Far Strike).
  
• He can control movement of particularly fast models with Tether.
  
• He can knock down with Mancatcher.
  
• Can "pull" models across rough terrain/woods with Pathfinder
  
• Axer adds 2" to charges and is pretty much a heavy warbeast himself
  
• Earthborn Dire Troll can slingshot with Headhunter and Axer
  
• Also doubles as a nice piece of meat to shield Grim
  
• Impaler adds animus to Grim as necessary
  
• Slams at will
  
• Can handle his own in hand-to-hand combat.

in short I really like this list :)

I modeled Grim the other night, also received all my order from Joel. I need to set up a base for him and drill holes for pins in his feet.
Earthborn should be my next project so I can fill this list out. Then on to the units...

Trolls 1, Khador 0

Finally! I got a win under my belt.

He played:
Kommandant Irusk
Behemoth
Man-O-War Drakhun
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios
(looks like he's 21 points shy)

I played my same Grim list:
Grim Angus
Troll Axer
Troll Impaler
Earthborn Dire Troll

First turn I walked Grim up and sniped Eiryss out of a copse of trees (if I remember correctly, my first kill). One shot, one kill. A few turns of screwing around with the Behemoth and Drakhun jumping (getting tossed) down my throat.
During this time I took a shot at Irusk and popped a huge hole in him. After Drakhun tried to take out my Earthborn I moved Grim to the flank and popped Irusk and finished him off.

That makes me 1 and 3. I think I still need more games under my belt.

What did I do wrong?
1.) I dropped all my fury off of Grim at two points and would not have been able to damage transfer had I been attacked.
2.) I didn't throw Drakhun when I had the chance. I could have possibly knocked the Behemoth down with that.
3.) I didn't know from the get-go what happened when a warbeast who was knocked down and frenzies.

What did I do right?
1.) I kept Grim close to his Earthborn for the most part and kept him in trees and safe.
2.) I didn't keep a one-track mind. I didn't try to only slingshot my Earthborn, I didn't try to tether as my sole means of controlling the board. I used different spells and abilities and came out well.

***EDIT: apparently I didn't account for Drakhun's 20pt dismount, sounds like a gymnastics competition***

Wet Palette

On another note I tried a wet palette and love it.

Ingredients:
Old Plastic container with lid
Paper Towels
Parchment Paper
Water

I took an old plastic container, lined it with paper towels (probably about 1/2" to 3/4" deep).
put enough water in the container to keep the towels wet, but not to flood the container (the parchment is going right over it and your paint goes on the parchment paper, don't want to flood that).
then took a piece of parchment baking paper and cut it to size over it.

what i can do now is mix a paint and let it sit for hours and more and come back and use it and it won't be dried out because as the paint evaporates water it soaks some up through the parchment paper from the wet paper towels.

Update, I got my paints from Joel on Friday ($3 per pot). Yesterday, the wife wasn't feeling 100% so she took it easy while I painted.

Here are pix of painted bases, and preliminary skin. I think I'm going to wash it to help blend the colors more.


Borka and Kenny

Impaler #1 (#2 looks the same)

Axer
Sorry about the shitty pix

Madrak is still primed black, haven't worked on his skin tones yet, was more concerned with the blues I will be painting from now on...

Cygnar Rematch

I've challenged the Cygnar (Haley) player I played last monday to a rematch. I think even with him taking solos I can beat him. I just need a clear shot at Haley when I'm standing still and I know I can do some damage.

I need 17" and a clear line of sight (13" normal, +4 with Impaler's Far Reach animus).

RAT 7 (9 standing still), means I hit Haley on 9/7 (I think she's DEF 16). And the Headhunter should be able to pound her. If she's not accessible, I'm going to see about tossing my Axer or Impaler in her direction.

I know she's going to be Temporal Barrier-ing all over the place, 14" radius of trudging. I need to get through that. As I will not be able to charge through it (unless I can get her 12-14" close without her TB up or I have to shoot her with Impaler and Headhunter.

Two Board Con-Troll Lists

I am working up to a 500 point list and want to be able to play some board control. My sole (personal preference) limitation is no minions. I'm most likely to play Warmachine as much if not more than Hordes.

List 1 - Borka Board ConTroll
490/500

Borka Kegslayer
-Pyg Keg Carrier
Winter Troll
Dire Troll Mauler
Trollkin Longriders (3)
Trollkin Champions
Fell Caller

Basically, freeze models with longriders huge sphere of influence and slaughter with champs. (sorry Not Dice) if the opportunity arises pick up and toss Borka.

List 2 Grim Domination
487/500

Grim Angus
Winter Troll
Earthborn Dire Troll
Troll Axer
Trollkin Longriders (full)

Again, Grim and Winter have Longriders lock down models. Grim snipes, EBDT charges with Axer's animus. Grim can also tether and knock down as necessary. Longriders can knock around models as necessary.

I see both lists as having plenty (imo) of utility and alternate win contingencies. I see the 2nd list as being model-light, but I'm not sure as I've yet to play a 500 point game.

Impasse

Progress since last post:
Painted the bases.

What's holding me up?
1.) I asked Israel to order me some basing materials (because of course he didn't have any). As of Monday night they hadn't been ordered yet.
2.) The paints I want to use i either don't have or are dried out. I'm waiting till I get paid Friday to go to Joel's to stock up.

At this point I think I want to start in on the other models I have in my possession: Grim Angus (I have a cool conversion idea for him I stole from DakkaDakka.com) and 2 Dire Troll Maulers, but I worry that this would distract me from the goal I have set.

Earthborn Slingshot

Thinking today and browsing the PP forums I found and am thinking about the following for my Grim list:
Earthborn Dire Troll - 5" speed base, Elemental Communion (+2" SPD when activation begins within 1" of rough terrain)
Grim Angus - Bait The Line (+2" when charging damaged model)
Troll Axer - Rush (5" Charge distance)

Basically if I start my turn, have my Impaler give Grim Far Reach (effective 17" Headhunter range). Impaler finishes activation, activate Axer, who uses Rush animus on Earthborn Dire Troll, end activation, Grim activates shoots Headhunter @ target model, finishes activation. Earthborn activates within 1" of rough terrain, charges model Grim tagged, now with a 14.5" charge reach.

5"(base) + 5"(Charge/Rush) + 2"(Bait The Line) + 2"(Elemental Communion) + 0.5"(melee range) = 14.5" Effective Threat Range

If the following turn order occurs:
Top Turn 1) Enemy runs forward (48"table - 20" for deployment=28" battlefield length, 10" run = 18" left)
Bottom Turn 1) Trolls advance at full speed or slower (18"-5" advance = 13" left)
Top Turn 2) Enemy runs, walks, or stands still (13" or less)
Bottom Turn 2) Trolls can slingshot Earthborn Dire Troll 14 inches, boost hits and damage with 5 fury stat, hopefully caster kill.

On Hordes...

I like how the army changes dynamics so much with the change of warlock.

That said I'm trying to think of a 350 list for Borka. I guess I never thought that you could double or chain throw a model. i.e. throw Borka from Dire Troll Mauler to Earthborn Dire Troll; then throw Borka from Earthborn @ the intended target. BLAMMO! I know Borka Bombing is not a technique to rely on, but at 350 Tooth & Claw I think it's doable.

Borka Bomb 350 T&C, possible regular list:
Borka Kegslayer
    Kenny, the Pyg Keg Carrier
Dire Troll Mauler
Winter Troll
Trollkin Longriders (min)
(edit: Longriders would not be allowed in a Tooth & Claw list)

Cygnar 1, Trolls 0

Played 350 points tonight versus Cygnar.

He played:
Captain Victoria Haley
   Centurion
   Thorn
Journeyman Warcaster
Gun Mage Captain Adept
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

I played my 350 Grim list:
Grim Angus
Earthborn Dire Troll
Troll Axer
Troll Impaler

I made a LOT of mistakes. My poorest game yet. Or perhaps I'm getting better at realizing what makes a well played game?
Mistakes made:
1.) I played a Tooth and Claw list versus a normal 350 list. There were entirely too many targets.
2.) I placed terrain poorly. I placed two pieces of forest terrain right at my deployment edge. This meant I got into it, but I was pretty well locked in that area. Then I had to run out of the forests at half speed due to Haley's Temporal Barrier and got shot to shit.
3.) I played too defensively. I got into the trees and didn't want to move.

On to the next game with more knowledge under my belt.
“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.” ~Winston Churchill

if you're keeping track I'm currently 0 Wins 3 Losses with my Trolls

Board Con-Troll

So I've been thinking of Grim and his controlling abilities and the synergy that would go along with that.
I would like to see Grim on the board with a Winter Troll and a unit of Champions. This way he could Cast the animus on one champ, the Troll cast it on another champ, locking down an effective 4" frontage 2" deep of enemy models. I would add in an Impaler to increase Grim's reach with his snare gun. I would use Grim's tether to lock down a model not affected by the freezer champions and his knockdown spell for another (I think this would put me at 0 Fury, 3 for WInter Troll anumis, 3 for Knockdown). The Impaler could boost his thrown spear for a 33% chance to knock down another model. That's MINIMUM 2 models knocked down, 1 tethered, and however many in the freezer champs.

The list thus far would be:
Grim Angus
Winter Troll
Troll Impaler
Trollkin Champions

332pts

Maybe add in some sort of damage buff? Pyre Troll or Dire Troll Mauler?
Some sort of nastiness in CC like an Earthborn Dire Troll?
Some sort of Protection for Grim (he's kinda squishy) Troll Bouncer, Krielstone Bearers & Stone Scribes?

Learning the fun of Grim

Looking online I see a bunch of Grim Angus lists and I guess I didn't see him as anything more than a mediocre warlock.

Then I saw a 350pt Tooth and Claw list.

Grim Angus
Earthborn Dire Troll
Troll Axer
Troll Impaler

I love it. I wanna try it as soon as I get my new models in. I think Sunshine will be holding an Escalation league and I think this would rock socks.

Big Order

Sunshine Adventure Games is having a 40% off Black Friday Sale.
I placed a monster order:

Hoarluk Doomshaper
Earthborn Dire Troll
Winter Troll
Fell Caller
Krielstone Bearer and Stone Scribes (5)
Trollkin Champions (5)
Trollkin Long Riders (5)

I will have it on Black Friday or the following Sunday/Monday.

500pts of Borka's Boys

500pt list as it stands:

• Borka Kegslayer


• Kenny, the Pyg Keg Carrier


• Dire Troll Mauler


• Winter Troll


• Trollkin Champions


• Fell Caller


• Krielstone Bearer and Stone Scribes (full)

The idea is to have Winter Troll cast his animus on a champion, then Borka cast it on another champ and freeze anything in the area. Borka's mosh pit will knock your models back, allowing free strikes at all of them and they'll auto hit because you're frozen.
if the space opens up i'll use the Dire Troll to toss Borka over small based models and charge him at your caster for the assassination.

Received Trade Items

I traded using Bartertown last week. Traded my BFG fleet and Assault on Black Reach Mini Rulebook for 2 Dire Troll Maulers and Grim Angus.

I received the items today and the Maulers are missing their tusks and none of the cards were shipped. I'm a bit perturbed. I have PM'd the trader in the hopes there was a mistake. I await his response...

Protectorate 1, Trolls 0

Played a game tonight, troll warpack versus the Menoth battle box.

Lost.
Miserably.

As usual I'm learning from my losses.

Where did I go wrong?

• Didn't use the Impalers to throw their spears. crit slams are badass and can lock down the opponent's army


• Didn't use Madrak's Sure Foot.
  1. against Kreoss' feat (which DESTROYED me) this is a huge help
  2. I didn't realize it would give the DEF bonus.
  
  
• Guided hand, only used it once. Guided hand should be on an impaler as much as possible. crit slams rock socks!!


• When playing vs. Warmachine, don't concern myself with the Jacks unless they're immediately important, make my way to the caster and get him out of the way.

Ok, so on to another game...

Optimus Primed

Ok, so where do I stand?

Borka Kegslayer - Primed
Pyg Keg Carrier - Primed
Madrak Ironhide - Primed
Troll Axer - Primed
Troll Impaler #1 - Primed
Troll Impaler #2 - Primed
Bases for all models - Primed

Looks like I'm ready for paint! (psychologically, this is the hardest part for me)

I will be following the tutorial on Brushthralls.com for my models.

Pictures attached:

A little progress this weekend.
I drilled holes for foot pins in all models for their scenic bases.
I finished basing the scenic bases.
I drilled holes in the bases to accept the pins

Tomorrow I will prime.

Pix, as promised

Corked bases:



Madrak, done:




Axer, done (axe to be painted seperately and attached post-paint):



Impalers, done (quivers to be painted seperately and attached post-paint):

Progress

Got a lot done watching the news tonight...

Madrak has had his gaps greenstuffed
Impaler #1 has had his gaps greenstuffed
Impaler #2 has had his gaps greenstuffed
Axer has had his gaps greenstuffed
All four bases have had cork applied.

Tomorrow night I will prime Borka and set pins in all four models above for their feet.
I will add ballast to the four bases.

Pictures tomorrow.

oh, and I voted for the first African American president.

Madrak & Co.

I got a little more modeling done tonight.

Madrak is complete.
Impaler #1 is complete*
Impaler #2 is complete*
Axer is complete*

Borka's base has been primed.

*Axer and Impalers are having their axe and quivers (respectively) attached after paint.

Tomorrow night should allow for green stuff work to fill gaps and add to some shock absorption.

Got my first game in

Saturday I got my first Troll game in. I played my Trollbloods warpack vs. the Everblight warpack @ War & Pieces.
I don’t remember the game turn for turn, but here’s the breakdown:
He came close with Lylith.
I used my Axer’s animus on my Impaler (who was closer) and charged my Impaler over terrain at Lylith. And missed every…single…swing.
Lylith ran away and I got some nice free swings at her, but not enough to kill her or a beast. She then shot and killed my Impaler (I forgot to roll for Tough, I won’t forget again though!)
Carnivean charged Madrak. Took a small chunk outta him which got scrolled away. I think Lylith took a shot at Madrak too which got transferred.
Madrak takes a swing back at the Carnivean and did a good amount of damage. I drained him of Fury to try to kill the Carnivean in one turn and get it out of Maddy’s face and just couldn’t come up with the dice I needed. All the while my Axer took a Thresher swing at two Shredders in his front arc, destroying one and wounding the other badly.
Maddy takes another bad round to the face which can’t be transferred away due to draining all his fury in his last activation. The Axer bites it and I forget the Tough roll again.
Lone Impaler takes the final swing at the Shredder he’s been dancing with but Maddy’s had it, the Carnivean smacks him once more to put him out (and I forget the tough roll again!) of his misery.

What did I learn?

• Take your Tough roll.


• Remember your abilities; the Carnivean almost got a charge on me because I didn’t know the special ability.


• Take your Tough roll.


• You can’t kill a Carnivean with a lone model in one round without cheating.


• Did you take that Tough roll yet?

Trolls 0, Legion 1

November 1st, Fall Backward, Progress Forward

got a bunch done today with my warpack:

Troll Impalers #1 & 2 is 90% assembled (pins and all), will need some GS work to fill gaps and reinforce.
Left arm still needs attaching, and will leave quiver off until painting is done.



Troll Axer is also 90% assembled, still needs some GS work for gaps and reinforcement. Needs to have axe attached, in Brushtralls.com they didn't paint it with the axe attached either in order to gain access to the whole front, I think I will do the same.



My workspace:

(gee Ray, what's the candle for? well i've found out that if you drill into the candle before you drill into the metal, the wax lubricates the bit for you a bit and cuts a bit easier)

Woot! Got 'Em

Finally received my Trollbloods warpack and Evolution book.

I sat right down and cleaned the models and washed them free of mold release. Probably going to go to War & Pieces tomorrow to work on modeling them.









Step-By-Step
Also tonight I sealed my basing for Borka Kegslayer and the Pyg Keg Carrier.

Sealing is just taking a 65/35 or 70/30 water to white glue mix and spreading it over the base materials to solidify it.

All Your Base...

Worked a little more last night on Borka and Keggy. Their bases have the ballast on them and some cork for rocks. Tonight I'll take a few moments to apply another coat of glue/water to seal them.

Also, I am thinking of magnetizing the bases for two reasons:
1.) As much as I like my Army Transport, it's a pain in the ass to pull foam out to fit a model in, and it's slow as hell putting your models away.
2.) It's cheaper, a pack of 50 magnets is $17, it would cost me 2x that for trays for my army. Add in a $10-$20 metal toolbox and I'm still doing well.
My concern is where to store my dice, measuring tape and rulebooks. Well I guess the dice and tape can be stored in a tray for the toolbox, but the book would have to be carried.

Bork-Bork-Bork

Finished modeling Borka last night, greenstuffed all around his codpiece and "flask" and both arms. He should be pretty solid (until I drop him).

Still unsure how I want to base Borka.

Still waiting for my warpack to arrive. Hopefully today.

Pin Vise With Wax

I tried a new technique in pinning, before I try to drill the piece I drill a hole in a candle. The wax that ends up on the drill bit lubricates the bit and it seems to cut better and faster.

Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced

I worked on Borka some more last night. Pinned and attached both hands and his “flask”.
I would like to base him with a wooden plank floor with two empty bottles, one broken one complete. I would have to do the same with Keggy.

The issue I run into is I don’t want to do the entire army in that fashion and I worry that they won’t look uniform.

Evolution Shipped

I also noticed that Evolution shipped today. Gonna have to figure out a smoothe way to tell the wife how I paid for that...

Borka-Mid Assembly

So I started building Borka last night. I've got Keggy on his base, going to base him tonight. I gotta pick up some static grass for him after painting.

For Borka, I'm trying to pin as much as possible, but there are parts which don't take well to pinning, namely his codpiece ance "kilt" front. I took to scoring the areas with my Xacto to create a better surface to bond to and tonight i'll add in some greenstuff to A.) help the bond and B.) give it a bit of cushion.
I pinned his head (that was scary, i was very concerned I would drill right through his face and *bam* a $25 model down the drain.) But I was careful.
Tonight (if I get time) I will be pinning his hands on and starting his base. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to base him before I attach him to the base. I guess I'll cross that line when I get to it. Also need to pin his mug to his belt.

Oops!

Was browsing online for a good price on Hordes Evolution and found a copy for $22.11 + $3.99 s&h. Was so good i put it in the basket.
Then I tried to remove it from the basket.
And I accidentally bought it.

Oops.

At least @ $26.10 I saved 25% from the retail price...right?

Cleaning Mold Release

Cleaning Mold Release:
3-4 Drops of dishwashing liquid
1-2 cups of warm water
old toothbrush

Just drop the model in the water&dish liquid then as you pull it out give it a quick scrub with the toothbrush to get the crevices. Rinse the model and pat dry with a paper towel and let air dry.

Misspent Saturdays...

Went on a recon mission to Ft. Lauderdale/Davie area yesterday. I was looking for two stores (with a possible third if things didn't turn out right). I checked out The Adventure Game Store and War & Pieces. First stop was War & Pieces, I had emailed them concerning their 40K events and received a fast response from Sandy, one of the owners. So I graced them with my presence first.

Upon entering I was greeted by the guy at the counter, and within 10 seconds of wandering over to the Warmachine/Hordes display I was addressed by a player, "What faction do you play?" (Awesome signs and portents!).

W&P has a HUGE selection of Privateer Press merchandise, almost EVERY blister on their pegboard, all the books in great condition and ready for sale.

Hung out for a bit talked with some of the players and staff then headed to Adventure Game Store.

Adventure was nice, the people were friendly, they were having a 20% off sale on all their Privateer stuff, but it had been picked over, and nothing I wanted at this juncture was available. They *did* have a cool collection of out of print games (GW & MB's Battle Masters, reminded me of HeroQuest days!), but I digress. Table space was limited (perhaps due to the CCG tournament being held, they didn't have any terrain out), but they did have a leader board for Wings of War which I found interesting as I couldn't find a copy of the game on the shelf. All in all, a smaller store, smaller selection, and more dedicated to CCG's. I may return to pick up a board game in the future though.

Then I went back to W&P and watched two games. I watched a beginner game of Khador vs. Skorne. Then a more advanced, tourney-prep game of Cryx vs. Skorne. I got to glean quit a bit of knowledge from the players and met some new people to play with. It seems the Warmachine/Hordes crrew gets quite a bit of playtime there. I look forward to playing.

I also picked up a new model while there. I really wanted to be able to build a model and don't want to wait for my warpack to come. I was torn between three models:

+Dire Troll Mauler
+Hoarluck Doomshaper
+Borka Kegslayer

In the end I decided on Borka, even though I don't have any units as of yet, it will allow me to change the fighting style of the models I get in my warpack. Next model purchase will be one of the following:

+Dire Troll Mauler
+Trollkin Champions
+Krielstone Bearer & Scribes
+Hoarluck Doomshaper

Anyways, I unpacked Borka last night, cleaned what tabs/flash/mold lines there were (very little), dry-fitted him, then put him in a bath to wash any mold release off of him.
He's drying and getting ready to assemble tonight or later this week.

Shipped

Just got the email that my Trollbloods Warpack has shipped! Woot! Should have it (hopefully) by mid-week next week.

Bought - Trollbloods Warpack

Purchased the Trollbloods warpack (Alibris for $32.73, shipped). Should be in my hands by 11/2. Considering picking up the Dire Troll Mauler @ War & Pieces this weekend. We'll see where finances sit.

My intro to the Iron Kingdoms

I've played Games Workshop games for the past 5 years, currently the game no longer excites me and I would like to take up a new game (because I like to blow money like that).

What brought me to Hordes?
I had been involved in a demo about a year ago at my LGS, The Silver Dragon Square and through their forums I had met up with a guy to see a demo of Warmachine. I liked the mechanics, but the models this guy brought didn't strike my fancy at all so I stopped looking into the game.
Fast-forward to about 3-4 months ago and I began listening to the D6 Generation podcast where the hosts frequently talk about playing Warmachine and Hordes. They did one show dedicated to Warmachine and how it works then they recorded a second show dedicated to Hordes and how it worked. I was very interested.
In the past 2 months or so I have also been trying to get my friend Jeremy involved in miniature gaming. He is hesitant due to the amount of work that goes into fielding an army. So I suggested a skirmish-level game. The options I gave him were 40k, Aeronautica Imperialis, Warmachine and Hordes. He chose AI. Anyways, since then, money has been tight for both of us to be able to make the big purchase from Forgeworld for our AI squadrons, so I've delved into Hordes.
Last weekend (10/18) I got to play in a demo of Hordes, and I'm sold. This week I purchased my first warpack and should have it by 11/2.

Which faction are you going to play? Why?
I am planning to play the Trollbloods because I think their models are great looking and I like the "buffing" type spells they use.

Are you considering any other Hordes factions?
I thought about Circle Orboros because I love the warpwolf model, but the majority of the models didn't interest me. Then I played in the demo last weekend and I love the tricky-nature of Kaya. I may be forced to build a Circle army as well.

What about Warmachine? Any reconsidering of that game?
I like the models of some of the factions, and would consider playing that as well, but currently from what I've read and heard the "metagame" of Warmachine is to play troop heavy. For example after the demo game I played last weekend, I watched the beginnind of a 500 point Warmachine game and one player had only 1 warjack in the entire army. While I think this is competitive currently, I don't think this represents the spirit of the game and I would like to be competitive while still maintining the spirit of the game. That said I would get into Khador and Cryx and Pirates if money and time were no object.

Are you a master painter/modeler/sculpter?
No. Not even close, I'll be following online guides from the likes of the Brush Thralls.

Introduction and Mission Statement

Hello,
My name is Ray; I live in Miami, FL; and I'm about to take up the game Hordes. I've played GW games for about 5 years and am no longer excited by them the way I once was.

This blog will serve as a place to show off the work I'm doing, the battles I've fought, and the thoughts I've had about the game itself (Theory-Machine).

Each post will receive one or more tags defining which of those categories it fits into as well as a tag stating the faction(s) to which I am referring in the post.