Posts tagged Collecting
I’m Getting Octimised!
Sep 22nd
Eighth edition has been out for long enough now that we’ve had a decent chance to see it in action, argue over the new rules and shake out all of those Seventh edition holdovers that we kept for a while – I can’t be the only one who said ‘I’m sure it’s a rule, let me just look for it’ when adjusting to the new system. So now I’m looking at my collection of miniatures and figuring out how to convert my Seventh edition armies built around Seventh edition restrictions and taking advantage of Seventh edition rules into shiny and new Eighth edition forces… I’m Octimising.
I have three armies (well, two and a half if I’m honest); my Dwarfs which were my welcome back to the hobby after a break, my Daemons which I built specifically for the 2009 ETC and my Chaos Warriors which are in the process of being finished for the autumn tournament season. Three very different armies that have been affected in very different ways by the new rules. Because I almost exclusively play in tournaments I have to build them as all-comers lists, not for me the luxury of being able to tune the armies for a particular set of opponents! Let’s take a look at how I’m modifying these three forces to bring them up to date.
Mad, Me?
Sep 11th
When I signed up to the forum Nigel asked me if I would be willing to the odd blog, after the clarification that whatever I wrote would be the ramblings of a madman I got the go ahead. Now anyone can claim to be mad so I feel I should possibly state my credentials. Last year I took part in the ETC for the 40K Team Northern Ireland, after a fantastic experience I found that this year I would try out for the Fantasy team, now this is the part that proves I am mad, I have only ever played 1 game of 7th before, so I will be going to Gorey with little or no experience to begin my qualification period.
To that end I will be using this side blog to chart my experiences and the ups and downs as I travel the long and difficult route, that may God willing take me to Geneva and the biggest tournament in the world. So with 4 weeks to go till the tournament I have painted one giant rat unit completely and almost have 96 clanrats upto a 3 colour minimum. Hmmm I think it is going to be a while before I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Whos the Mad one now? ….Oh wait its still me.
From here to Gorey Part I
Aug 24th
The NWG tournament is now only seven weeks away (at time of writing) so it’s time to get to work on updating my army to 8th edition standard. I have two painted armies, and of the two I think that the Dark Elves will require less work to get up to standard by then.
I decided to start by reminding myself of the figures available to me. I currently have painted
- Dreadlord on Dragon
- Dreadlord/Noble on Dark Steed
- BSB Noble on Dark Steed
- Sorceress on Dark Steed
- Sorceress on foot
- 20 Spearmen with Full Command
- 12 Crossbowmen with Standard Bearer and Musician
- 5 Dark Riders with Musician (x3)
- 14 Black Guard with Full Command
- 12 Shades
- War Hydra
- 2 Reaper Bolt Throwers
Unfortunately it would seem that many of these figures are not as useful as they were previously. The characters on the Dark Steeds will no longer get “Look Out Sir” rolls, and the Dragon is now considerably easier to kill than before. Shades are less flexible than before and the Dark Riders can no longer negate enemy rank bonus.
On the plus side, the Spearmen are even better than before, although I think 20 won’t be enough. I’ll definately be expanding this unit, 40 figures minimum and possibly more. The Crossbowmen still look good and I might include more of these in the army also. The Black Guard are no longer the uber-unit they once were, with a limit of twenty per unit and casualties inflicted no longer reducing the number of attacks they will take in return, plus they are still quite vulnerable to shooting. Still vicious killers however.
As for the rare choices, both should remain in the list. The Reapers are still flexible and the Hydra’s still able to kick out a lot of killing power. Shades might have a place as a mobile firepower unit, but I’m not sure if they will be worth their points cost. As for the Dark Riders, I think I might still have a role for them to play. Playtesting will be required.
Finally for now, I think I would like to experiment with a Supreme Sorceress this edition. I never used an offensive magic phase during seventh edition, playing Dwarfs as my main army and when fielding Dark Elves I usually used a Scroll caddy and the Ring of Hotek for a defensive magic phase. I will experiment with different Lores of Magic in practive games before making a decision on which one I will select for the tournament. A second Sorceress for a little support will probably join her and possibly give a different lore option. I think I will need a new BSB on foot and maybe try out Assassins (something I have yet to try out).
I plan to write a Part II soon, after I draft an army list and get painting.
So much to do, so little time.
Aug 20th
Wargames really are a wonderful thing. In particular, what I really like is that there’s always something new, whether a new army to collect, new rulebooks to explore, experimenting with a new painting technique, trying out some new tactics for your army or a new player who’s appeared at your club to get to know. There’s always more to do.
So much to do, in fact. There’s never enough time to get everything done.
Now is actually a very interesting time to be involved. Recent years have provided us with plenty of new releases and there’s always something for everyone.
The classic Warhammer game has recently seen the release of it’s 8th edition rulebook. Warhammer : Islands of Blood is soon to follow in September. The new boxed game features some fantastic new miniatures, and the new rules should require players to rethink their army compositions to fit better with the new rules. The only question is whether to start of a new army or upgrade your current army to fit into the new rules and army compositions.
Of course, we also can’t ignore the futuristic cousin, Warhammer 40,000. While the current ruleset is not new, there’s always a new Codex just around the corner, and of course, new models to go with it.
For the historical buffs among you, a relatively recent release was the 2nd edition of the Warhammer Ancient Battles ruleset. I got my hands on the book recently, it’s very nicely put together. The game has diverged in rules from it’s Fantasy counterpart, but most long term Warhammer players will see rules from previous editions still present in the historical rules.
Privateer Press fans are certainly having a busy year. The release of Warmachine : Prime MKII has been well recieved and all of the Forces of Warmachine books are now available. Hot on the heels of all this is the upcoming release of HORDES : Primal MKII as well as the series of Forces of HORDES books due for each faction, as well as the first chance for HORDES players to use an all Minion force (along the lines of the all Mercenary armies from Warmachine.)
The new kid on the wargames block in the last year has been the skirmish game Malifaux. I don’t know a huge amount about Malifaux as I’ve resisted buying it so far, it seems to be proving rather popular among those who have collected factions, and the miniatures are really excellent. Time will tell.
But which one to choose. Should I add to my Dark Elves and Dwarfs, or start a High Elf army? Finish my Flesh Tearers or mech up my existing Crimson Fists army? Paint a Roman force for WAB? Continue with my Protectorate of Menoth force or break out the Skorne figures in the box for the HORDES release? Start playing Specialist Games again? Try Malifaux? The choices are endless.
So much to do, so little time.
