Well I have been remiss in keeping this updated. So a quick cut scene of my hobby lately. I went to the tournament I had been prepping for and I did ok. My first game was against another skaven player, and he was fairly new. Unfortunately the game ended turn 4, if it had gone on I'm fairly sure I would have won as I had most of his army on the run. As it was though the game ended in a draw. As a side not it was the first draw I've had in 8th.
My second game is probably the strangest game I have played in 8th, I lost 5 turns and pulled a victory. At the top of turn 5 I had my Hell Pit Abomination and 2 units of 6 Gutter Runners left on the table. He had his General, BSB and their 7 man Ogre Bus; and his Butcher and his 4 Ogres; a unit of gnoblars, 1 Gorger, and 2 Sabertusks. HPA charged the general's unit, won combat and ran down the general BSB, and unit on Turn 5, 1 unit of GR lost combat to the Sabertusks and got ran down, the other unit moved as far from anything as possible. His turn 5 was spent preparing some charges turn 6. My turn 6 I charged the Butcher with the HPA needing 13 inches and got it. HPA eats that unit. I end up winning by like less than 20 points.
Game 3 is Wacthtower against dwarves. Let me tell you, this scenario is hard on skaven. Any unit in the tower loses strength in numbers, which means we are stubborn on a 7. Not terrible if the BSB is nearby. But if he get's sniped on turn 2 by a cannonball, it makes holding the tower hard. The tower started in possesion, he wrested it from me turn 2, I get it back turn 4, lose it in turn 6, game ends in his possesion. All in all I thought the game was a nice balance.
So for the past month I have been rallying my gamer friends to do a blood in the badlands campaign, and using it as a impetus to get our crap painted. I've been delaying posting anything until I can put up some pictures, but my camera is disagreeing with me. And I can't afford a new one. But things are coming along, and I made a new realization in my hobby the other day. I need constant inspiration in my hobby. The Blood in the Badlands book has inspired my gaming aspect and my firends basing he is doing on his dwarves has reinvigorated me on my skaven. I promise some pictures soon.
Till then,
DIE MAN-THINGS!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Paint your army b@#%h!
A friend of mine has been very blah about the hobby recently. When he and I got into the discussion about why, he had a few reasons. They struck me so much that almost 5 days later I am still thinking about them. So I figured if they interest me this much, they might interest you.
His first concern was that he feels the local community is too formulaic. I'm not sure I completely agree with this, but the store we used to frequent alot has become a bit of a breeding ground for tournament players and lists. Now, some of you will notice that I am preping for a tournament at the moment. In truth I have run tournaments in the past. But it shouldn't dominate your hobby. If fact it shouldn't really be that big a focus on your hobby. Competitive play like tournaments have a place, but if they are the end all and be all of your hobby, I feel sorry for you. He is one of the better players so he feels the game has become stagnant and he knows how to handle most of the armies he will face. Like I said I'm not sure I agree that it's the same game over and over... but has had a bad stretch of opponents that are all very similar.
But then the conversation swung around to the topic of him being a hobby snob. His term I swear. What he means by this is simple, he is a fairly high level painter and converter. My current Hell Pit Abomination is his conversion. He said in this conversation that he hates fielding his army against unpainted models. The snob part came next and I'm paraphrasing, "Why should I deign to put my models on the table if you can't be bothered to paint yours?" At first I thought he was being a bit harsh. I mean not everyon can paint to his degree. I can't... yet. But as the conversation progress I came to realize it wasn't that they had to painted to competition levels, but he just doesn't like seeing unpainted models on the table.
He and I both used to work for GW, and while I didn't play back in the days of unpainted armies could not be played in the shop, he did. And you know what he was on the opposite side of this argument back then. And not because he didn't paint his models, but because he thought it was standoffish. The change in policy was designed to make the game accessible to new players. And while it does accomplish that, it allows people to be lazy.
And that is the problem. Gamers are lazy. Give them a chance to do less effort to play and they will, most of them at least. So now we live in the advent of the grey soldier syndrome. The unpainted realm. I have exactly 1 fully painted army of the 3 I own. I'm just as guilty. And you know why that army is painted? 'Cause it had to be to enter an event in my shop. 3000 points painted in 2 weeks.... of Skaven.
People will say they can't paint, or don't have the time, or what ever.... you know what? Bullshit. To the point of not enough time all I can say is 3000 points of Skaven with no bell or plague furnace, and only 1 WLC and 1 Abomination. In 2 weeks. While working full time. If you are motivated you will find the time. To the part about not being able to paint... again BULLSHIT! One of my favorite customers when I worked at GW was a guy with a severe deformity. He was born with only one arm past his elbow and hands missing fingers and only a surgically made thumb. He was at the old GW Academy every week, and within 2 months had 500 points painted. One arm, missing fingers, and one thumb. Tell me again why you can't paint?
It cheapens everyone's hobby when you refuse to participate in one third of it. It doesn't take that much to get an army painted and on the table. Especially now. Base coat and wash. Anyone can be taught how to do that. I'm currently repainting my Skaven as part of this quest to become a better hobbiest. Partly because I love the newer models, and partly because I know I am capable of better than what I did in those 2 weeks. In the end a game played between 2 fully painted armies is beutiful to behold, and as hobbyists we need to strive to make that happen as much as possible.
I'll get off my soap box now.
His first concern was that he feels the local community is too formulaic. I'm not sure I completely agree with this, but the store we used to frequent alot has become a bit of a breeding ground for tournament players and lists. Now, some of you will notice that I am preping for a tournament at the moment. In truth I have run tournaments in the past. But it shouldn't dominate your hobby. If fact it shouldn't really be that big a focus on your hobby. Competitive play like tournaments have a place, but if they are the end all and be all of your hobby, I feel sorry for you. He is one of the better players so he feels the game has become stagnant and he knows how to handle most of the armies he will face. Like I said I'm not sure I agree that it's the same game over and over... but has had a bad stretch of opponents that are all very similar.
But then the conversation swung around to the topic of him being a hobby snob. His term I swear. What he means by this is simple, he is a fairly high level painter and converter. My current Hell Pit Abomination is his conversion. He said in this conversation that he hates fielding his army against unpainted models. The snob part came next and I'm paraphrasing, "Why should I deign to put my models on the table if you can't be bothered to paint yours?" At first I thought he was being a bit harsh. I mean not everyon can paint to his degree. I can't... yet. But as the conversation progress I came to realize it wasn't that they had to painted to competition levels, but he just doesn't like seeing unpainted models on the table.
He and I both used to work for GW, and while I didn't play back in the days of unpainted armies could not be played in the shop, he did. And you know what he was on the opposite side of this argument back then. And not because he didn't paint his models, but because he thought it was standoffish. The change in policy was designed to make the game accessible to new players. And while it does accomplish that, it allows people to be lazy.
And that is the problem. Gamers are lazy. Give them a chance to do less effort to play and they will, most of them at least. So now we live in the advent of the grey soldier syndrome. The unpainted realm. I have exactly 1 fully painted army of the 3 I own. I'm just as guilty. And you know why that army is painted? 'Cause it had to be to enter an event in my shop. 3000 points painted in 2 weeks.... of Skaven.
People will say they can't paint, or don't have the time, or what ever.... you know what? Bullshit. To the point of not enough time all I can say is 3000 points of Skaven with no bell or plague furnace, and only 1 WLC and 1 Abomination. In 2 weeks. While working full time. If you are motivated you will find the time. To the part about not being able to paint... again BULLSHIT! One of my favorite customers when I worked at GW was a guy with a severe deformity. He was born with only one arm past his elbow and hands missing fingers and only a surgically made thumb. He was at the old GW Academy every week, and within 2 months had 500 points painted. One arm, missing fingers, and one thumb. Tell me again why you can't paint?
It cheapens everyone's hobby when you refuse to participate in one third of it. It doesn't take that much to get an army painted and on the table. Especially now. Base coat and wash. Anyone can be taught how to do that. I'm currently repainting my Skaven as part of this quest to become a better hobbiest. Partly because I love the newer models, and partly because I know I am capable of better than what I did in those 2 weeks. In the end a game played between 2 fully painted armies is beutiful to behold, and as hobbyists we need to strive to make that happen as much as possible.
I'll get off my soap box now.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Finally some games....
So it's been about a week since my last update. Mainly that is because there wasn't anything to update, until now. My regular opponent, Shawn, asked if I wanted to enter a local tournament with him on Dec 17, and with my new goal of improving my game in mind, I agreed.
The tournament is going to be a 2000 point tournament, and my desired list was 2500, so I went to the underempire.net forums for some advice. Great site by the way, with a phenominal article about competitive list building. I recommend the reading for any skaven player. After reading the article I came to 2 decisions. I didn't have enough models on the table, and I am not strong enough with my big hitters. I will address the second point first.
My big hitters were Stormvermin and Rat Ogres. There were two reasons for this. First, I think Stormvermin are great for thier cost, and second I really want Rat Ogres to work. I tend to do this at times, take a unit that most people think is weak and find a use for it. While a noble goal, sometimes I try the wrong peg in the wrong whole. I think Rat Ogres have a place, but not as hammers I suspect.
Now after reading the forums, I decided to take my favorite model out of mothballs. Early in the life of the Skaven book a friend converted a beautiful Hell Pit Abomination, so I supplanted the Rat Ogres with him, here on called Precious.
Shawn and I played a series of games this weekend, aimed at getting practice with our intended lists.
My 2000 point list looks like this.
Grey Seer
Talisman of Preservation
Staff of Sorcery
Chieftain
BSB
Enchanted Shield
Talisman of Endurance
Warlock Engineer
Level 1
Skavenbrew
40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command
40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command
50 Skavenslaves
Musician
30 Stormvermin w/ Shields
Full Command
Banner of the Under Empire
6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings
6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings
Hell Pit Abomination
Warp Lighting Cannon
Warp Lighting Cannon
I took this list against Shawn's Deamons. Shawn doesn't run a beat your face in list, he has the old Deamonettes and loves the models, so his lists tend ot focus on Slaanesh. Initially he was running a Level 2 Deamon Prince and a Level 2 Herald of Tzeentch with winged horror, for 2 mobile spell casters.
In Game 1, we got battle for the pass. The last time Shawn's Deamons and my Skaven played this scenarios he clobbered me, so I knew this would be a good test. Now, you may notice the 2 units of Gutter Runners in this list, well they proved thier worth by turn 3, 18" Poisoned Multi-Shots (2) took out the Deamon Prince. 108 points to 400ish. I scouted them behind his lines 12" away from the DP. Shawn moved first, I marched after and shot 12 shots at him, doing 2 wounds. Turn 2 Shawn got the DP in combat with the stormvermin (more on them later) which broke ran taking BSB and WE with them, and the DP followed into the board edge, and because I had howling warpgate up, he had to stop (cannot leave long board edge unless you fly, and howling warpgate prevents that). The Gutter Runners then moved range and did the remaining wound killing the DP and Shawn's General. Definitly a win. I won the game turn 5, as Shawn had nothing left, and I had Precious, a Death Frenzied Slave unit, both Clanrat units, a WLC, and my Grey Seer, left on the table.
Game 2 was Blood and Glory. Shawn had 5 pionts, 2 for his General, 1 for his Bloodletter Standard, 1 for his Deamonette Standard, and 1 in his unit of 6 Seekers. Bottom of turn 1, I killed his general with a WLC doing 6 wounds, and Prceious killing the Seekers outright. I win, as Shawn is down to 2 Break Points.
Between Game 2 and 3, Shawn and I have some conversations about his list. The units in question are his Herald of Tzeentch and the 6 seekers. In any game that revolves around banners, they are an easy target. The herald of Tzeetch has nowhere to hide as there are no other Tzeentch units on the table. Taking my advice, he drops both units, and 2 Nurgling swarms (nasty buggers those), and adds a herald of Slaanesh to the Deamonettes (ASF I6, hurts) and 15 Plaguebearers with Full Command. Game 3 goes in Shawns favor as I make a deployment mistake which makes me misuse one of my units.
Ok so the Game 3 mistake and on Stormvermin. I designed this list for the stormvermin to get ot the flank of my enemy. To do this I will tie up a unit with clanrats or slaves. In game 3 the Stormvermin were in the center of my line (because I made a mistake and put them there). This forced me to use them in a way I didn't design them for, and guess what they failed. In game 1, I had them on the extreme flank, and Shawn used his superior movement and the terrain on the table to isolate them, and again they died. So I need to work on opening deployment for them.
I think I did a good job prioritising my targets, and keeping Precious alive (which was a concern with a Tzeentchian mage on the table). I hope to get a few more games in before the Tourney.
The tournament is going to be a 2000 point tournament, and my desired list was 2500, so I went to the underempire.net forums for some advice. Great site by the way, with a phenominal article about competitive list building. I recommend the reading for any skaven player. After reading the article I came to 2 decisions. I didn't have enough models on the table, and I am not strong enough with my big hitters. I will address the second point first.
My big hitters were Stormvermin and Rat Ogres. There were two reasons for this. First, I think Stormvermin are great for thier cost, and second I really want Rat Ogres to work. I tend to do this at times, take a unit that most people think is weak and find a use for it. While a noble goal, sometimes I try the wrong peg in the wrong whole. I think Rat Ogres have a place, but not as hammers I suspect.
Now after reading the forums, I decided to take my favorite model out of mothballs. Early in the life of the Skaven book a friend converted a beautiful Hell Pit Abomination, so I supplanted the Rat Ogres with him, here on called Precious.
Shawn and I played a series of games this weekend, aimed at getting practice with our intended lists.
My 2000 point list looks like this.
Grey Seer
Talisman of Preservation
Staff of Sorcery
Chieftain
BSB
Enchanted Shield
Talisman of Endurance
Warlock Engineer
Level 1
Skavenbrew
40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command
40 Clanrats w/ Shields
Full Command
50 Skavenslaves
Musician
30 Stormvermin w/ Shields
Full Command
Banner of the Under Empire
6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings
6 Gutter Runners
Poisoned Attacks
Slings
Hell Pit Abomination
Warp Lighting Cannon
Warp Lighting Cannon
I took this list against Shawn's Deamons. Shawn doesn't run a beat your face in list, he has the old Deamonettes and loves the models, so his lists tend ot focus on Slaanesh. Initially he was running a Level 2 Deamon Prince and a Level 2 Herald of Tzeentch with winged horror, for 2 mobile spell casters.
In Game 1, we got battle for the pass. The last time Shawn's Deamons and my Skaven played this scenarios he clobbered me, so I knew this would be a good test. Now, you may notice the 2 units of Gutter Runners in this list, well they proved thier worth by turn 3, 18" Poisoned Multi-Shots (2) took out the Deamon Prince. 108 points to 400ish. I scouted them behind his lines 12" away from the DP. Shawn moved first, I marched after and shot 12 shots at him, doing 2 wounds. Turn 2 Shawn got the DP in combat with the stormvermin (more on them later) which broke ran taking BSB and WE with them, and the DP followed into the board edge, and because I had howling warpgate up, he had to stop (cannot leave long board edge unless you fly, and howling warpgate prevents that). The Gutter Runners then moved range and did the remaining wound killing the DP and Shawn's General. Definitly a win. I won the game turn 5, as Shawn had nothing left, and I had Precious, a Death Frenzied Slave unit, both Clanrat units, a WLC, and my Grey Seer, left on the table.
Game 2 was Blood and Glory. Shawn had 5 pionts, 2 for his General, 1 for his Bloodletter Standard, 1 for his Deamonette Standard, and 1 in his unit of 6 Seekers. Bottom of turn 1, I killed his general with a WLC doing 6 wounds, and Prceious killing the Seekers outright. I win, as Shawn is down to 2 Break Points.
Between Game 2 and 3, Shawn and I have some conversations about his list. The units in question are his Herald of Tzeentch and the 6 seekers. In any game that revolves around banners, they are an easy target. The herald of Tzeetch has nowhere to hide as there are no other Tzeentch units on the table. Taking my advice, he drops both units, and 2 Nurgling swarms (nasty buggers those), and adds a herald of Slaanesh to the Deamonettes (ASF I6, hurts) and 15 Plaguebearers with Full Command. Game 3 goes in Shawns favor as I make a deployment mistake which makes me misuse one of my units.
Ok so the Game 3 mistake and on Stormvermin. I designed this list for the stormvermin to get ot the flank of my enemy. To do this I will tie up a unit with clanrats or slaves. In game 3 the Stormvermin were in the center of my line (because I made a mistake and put them there). This forced me to use them in a way I didn't design them for, and guess what they failed. In game 1, I had them on the extreme flank, and Shawn used his superior movement and the terrain on the table to isolate them, and again they died. So I need to work on opening deployment for them.
I think I did a good job prioritising my targets, and keeping Precious alive (which was a concern with a Tzeentchian mage on the table). I hope to get a few more games in before the Tourney.
Monday, November 7, 2011
So I have settled on a list, it is slightly varied from the well-rounded one last posted.
2500 Pts - Skaven Roster
2500 Pts - Skaven Roster
Grey Seer (1#, 335 pts)
1 Grey Seer, 335 pts (Hand Weapon)
1 Warpstone Tokens
1 Staff of Sorcery
1 Warpstone Tokens
1 Talisman of Preservation
Warlord (2#, 223 pts)
1 Warlord, 223 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Shield)
1 War-Litter
1 Warlock-Augmented Weapon
1 Armour of Destiny
Chieftain (1#, 117 pts)
1 Chieftain (Battle Standard Bearer), 117 pts (Hand Weapon;
Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard Bearer)
1 Talisman of Endurance
1 Poisoned Attacks
Assassin (1#, 153 pts)
1 Assassin, 153 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Tail Weapon
Clanrats (27#, 141.5 pts)
26 Clanrats, 141.5 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Clanrats (27#, 155 pts)
26 Clanrats, 155 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)
1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)
Stormvermin (24#, 242 pts)
23 Stormvermin, 242 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Fangleader (Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour;
Shield)
1 Banner of the Under-Empire
Night Runners (17#, 180 pts)
15 Night Runners, 180 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
1 Nightleader (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
1 Warp-Grinder Weapon Team (Warp-Grinder; Hand Weapon;
Heavy Armour)
Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)
Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)
Warplock Jezzails (10#, 210 pts)
9 Warplock Jezzails, 210 pts (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)
1 Sharpshooter (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)
Rat Ogres (10#, 287 pts)
5 Rat Ogres, 287 pts (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy;
Stomp)
4 Packmaster (Hand Weapon; Whip; Light Armour)
1 Master-Bred Rat Ogre (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
Gutter Runners (10#, 182 pts)
9 Gutter Runners, 182 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts; Skirmishers)
1 Deathrunner (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks)
Warp-Lightning Cannon (1#, 90 pts)
1 Warp-Lightning Cannon, 90 pts
1 Engineer & Crew
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 558 (0 - 625)
Points of Heroes: 270 (0 - 625)
Points of Core: 902.5 (625 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 679 (0 - 1250)
Points of Rare: 90 (0 - 625)
Total Roster Cost: 2499.5
Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com
I own most of this and I'm aquiring alot of it in the very near future. Next up assembly, and scheduling some games.
2500 Pts - Skaven Roster
Grey Seer (1#, 335 pts)
1 Grey Seer, 335 pts (Hand Weapon)
1 Warpstone Tokens
1 Staff of Sorcery
1 Warpstone Tokens
1 Talisman of Preservation
Warlord (2#, 223 pts)
1 Warlord, 223 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Shield)
1 War-Litter
1 Warlock-Augmented Weapon
1 Armour of Destiny
Chieftain (1#, 117 pts)
1 Chieftain (Battle Standard Bearer), 117 pts (Hand Weapon;
Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard Bearer)
1 Talisman of Endurance
1 Poisoned Attacks
Assassin (1#, 153 pts)
1 Assassin, 153 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Tail Weapon
Clanrats (27#, 141.5 pts)
26 Clanrats, 141.5 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Clanrats (27#, 155 pts)
26 Clanrats, 155 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)
1 Clawleader (Hand Weapon; Spear; Light Armour; Shield)
Stormvermin (24#, 242 pts)
23 Stormvermin, 242 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std;
Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour; Shield)
1 Fangleader (Hand Weapon; Halberd; Heavy Armour;
Shield)
1 Banner of the Under-Empire
Night Runners (17#, 180 pts)
15 Night Runners, 180 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
1 Nightleader (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack)
1 Warp-Grinder Weapon Team (Warp-Grinder; Hand Weapon;
Heavy Armour)
Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)
Skavenslaves (45#, 92 pts)
45 Skavenslaves, 92 pts (Musician Mus; Hand Weapon)
Warplock Jezzails (10#, 210 pts)
9 Warplock Jezzails, 210 pts (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)
1 Sharpshooter (Hand Weapon; Warplock Jezzail)
Rat Ogres (10#, 287 pts)
5 Rat Ogres, 287 pts (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy;
Stomp)
4 Packmaster (Hand Weapon; Whip; Light Armour)
1 Master-Bred Rat Ogre (Beserk Rage; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
Gutter Runners (10#, 182 pts)
9 Gutter Runners, 182 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Poisoned Attacks; Scouts; Skirmishers)
1 Deathrunner (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon;
Throwing Star; Extra Attack; Poisoned Attacks)
Warp-Lightning Cannon (1#, 90 pts)
1 Warp-Lightning Cannon, 90 pts
1 Engineer & Crew
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 558 (0 - 625)
Points of Heroes: 270 (0 - 625)
Points of Core: 902.5 (625 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 679 (0 - 1250)
Points of Rare: 90 (0 - 625)
Total Roster Cost: 2499.5
Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com
I own most of this and I'm aquiring alot of it in the very near future. Next up assembly, and scheduling some games.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
List Choices
Ok, so I have narrowed down my list options to 2 lists.
Both have there own theme, though one is much more obvious then the other. The first one offers a bit more balance. By balance I mean has a decent showing in all phases of the turn. It also does not use any special chracters, which means it will be more accepted in competitive play. It's draw back is that it does not use the units that I am most interested in. The list is also, purposefully not a win at all costs lists. I want to become a better general, not the best list writer. So without futher ado, the first list followed by commentary on unit choices.
Warlord Queaker
Warlord (223pts)
-Warlitter
-Warlock-Augmented Weapon
-Armor of Destiny
-Shield
Grey Seer Tretch
Grey Seer (335pts)
-Staff of Sorcery
-Talisman of Preservation
-Warpstone Token
Chieftain Reek
-Chieftain (102pts)
-BSB
-Warpstone Armor
-Shield
Assassin Sqeelch
-Assassin (170pts)
-Weeping Blade
-Portents of Verminous Doom
Reek's Guard
30 Clan Rats (170pts)
-Full Command
-Shields
-Spears
Tretch's Guard
30 Clan Rats (155pts)
-Full Command
-Shields
Queaker's Guard
26 Stormvermin (273pts)
-Full Command
-Champion has Poisoned Attacks
-Banner of the Under Empire
-Shields
Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Sqeelch's Rats
20 Night Runners (148pts)
-Nightleader
Sqeelch's Secret Weapon
-Warpgrinder (60pts)
Sqeelch's Elite
10 Gutter Runners (182pts)
-Poison Attacks
-Death Runner
Clan Marksmen
10 Warplock Jezzails(210)
-Sharpshoot Team
The Brutes
6 Rat Ogres (279pts)
4 Packamsters
-Master Bred Rat Ogre
Engineer Grall's Death Ray
1 Warplightning Cannon (90pts)
Ok so I plan to use the 50 slaves and clanrats to tarpit as needed. The night runners (with attached Warpgrinder) and gutter runners are on warmachine and line disruption duty. The Jezzails and Cannon are to take out the scariest thing on the field (high armor or high toughness). The Stormvermin are my anvil unit, and the Rat Ogres my flanker.
List two has the pros of strong theme and uses my favorite units and models. It's cons are it is not as balanced, it has a special character, and it may not be tactically as sound. Also I only one 3 units in the entire list so it requires alot more purchases. But here it is:
Lord Skrolk (470pts)
Chieftain Retch
Chieftain (152pts)
-BSB
-Sacred Banner of the Horned Rat
-Shield
Plague Priest Pustuul
Plague Priest (351pts)
-Level 2
-Plague Censer
-Talisman of ------- (5+ WS, can't remeber name)
-Poisoned Attacks
-Plague Furnace
Retch's Devotee's
42 Plague Monks (349pts)
-Full Command
-Plague Banner
Retch's Guard
25 Stormvermin (240pts)
-Full Command
-Storm Banner
Test Subjects
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Believers in the Great Pox
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter
Bringers of the Holy Illness
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter
Deliverer of the Great Rot
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)
Flinger of Goo
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)
Skrolk goes into the PM unit, wich will deploy with 2 models to each side of the Furnace giving a frontage of 7. The slaves and PM tarpit, the Censer Bearers flank and eat stuff, and the Stormvermin provide a -1 leadership bonus to all enemy units in 12", messing with som ebrea tests hopefully.
So which would you choose?
Both have there own theme, though one is much more obvious then the other. The first one offers a bit more balance. By balance I mean has a decent showing in all phases of the turn. It also does not use any special chracters, which means it will be more accepted in competitive play. It's draw back is that it does not use the units that I am most interested in. The list is also, purposefully not a win at all costs lists. I want to become a better general, not the best list writer. So without futher ado, the first list followed by commentary on unit choices.
Warlord Queaker
Warlord (223pts)
-Warlitter
-Warlock-Augmented Weapon
-Armor of Destiny
-Shield
Grey Seer Tretch
Grey Seer (335pts)
-Staff of Sorcery
-Talisman of Preservation
-Warpstone Token
Chieftain Reek
-Chieftain (102pts)
-BSB
-Warpstone Armor
-Shield
Assassin Sqeelch
-Assassin (170pts)
-Weeping Blade
-Portents of Verminous Doom
Reek's Guard
30 Clan Rats (170pts)
-Full Command
-Shields
-Spears
Tretch's Guard
30 Clan Rats (155pts)
-Full Command
-Shields
Queaker's Guard
26 Stormvermin (273pts)
-Full Command
-Champion has Poisoned Attacks
-Banner of the Under Empire
-Shields
Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Sqeelch's Rats
20 Night Runners (148pts)
-Nightleader
Sqeelch's Secret Weapon
-Warpgrinder (60pts)
Sqeelch's Elite
10 Gutter Runners (182pts)
-Poison Attacks
-Death Runner
Clan Marksmen
10 Warplock Jezzails(210)
-Sharpshoot Team
The Brutes
6 Rat Ogres (279pts)
4 Packamsters
-Master Bred Rat Ogre
Engineer Grall's Death Ray
1 Warplightning Cannon (90pts)
Ok so I plan to use the 50 slaves and clanrats to tarpit as needed. The night runners (with attached Warpgrinder) and gutter runners are on warmachine and line disruption duty. The Jezzails and Cannon are to take out the scariest thing on the field (high armor or high toughness). The Stormvermin are my anvil unit, and the Rat Ogres my flanker.
List two has the pros of strong theme and uses my favorite units and models. It's cons are it is not as balanced, it has a special character, and it may not be tactically as sound. Also I only one 3 units in the entire list so it requires alot more purchases. But here it is:
Lord Skrolk (470pts)
Chieftain Retch
Chieftain (152pts)
-BSB
-Sacred Banner of the Horned Rat
-Shield
Plague Priest Pustuul
Plague Priest (351pts)
-Level 2
-Plague Censer
-Talisman of ------- (5+ WS, can't remeber name)
-Poisoned Attacks
-Plague Furnace
Retch's Devotee's
42 Plague Monks (349pts)
-Full Command
-Plague Banner
Retch's Guard
25 Stormvermin (240pts)
-Full Command
-Storm Banner
Test Subjects
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Emergency Rations
50 Skavenslaves (102pts)
-Musician
Believers in the Great Pox
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter
Bringers of the Holy Illness
16 Plague Censer Bearers (269pts)
-Plague Chanter
Deliverer of the Great Rot
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)
Flinger of Goo
1 Plagueclaw Catapult (100pts)
Skrolk goes into the PM unit, wich will deploy with 2 models to each side of the Furnace giving a frontage of 7. The slaves and PM tarpit, the Censer Bearers flank and eat stuff, and the Stormvermin provide a -1 leadership bonus to all enemy units in 12", messing with som ebrea tests hopefully.
So which would you choose?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The beginning of the end...
Ok that might be a bit much, but it fits the purpose of this blog. I have been inspired by another blog that I found. Company of the Damned found here.
So a litle about me and the reason I am starting this. I have a fairly regular gaming group, but we seem to flounder a bit when it comes to doing anything other than playing random pick-up games. I have been playing Warhammer, 40k, and LOTR/WOTR for about 6 years, and I have decided that I want to hone my hobby skills. Like I said I was inspired by the Company of the Damned blog, so I am going to chronicle my trek to become a more complete hobbyist.
First up, I need to hone my gaming skills. Used to be that I was a pretty descent player. I ran High Elves before ASF, and was pretty descent. On three different occasions I was contending for top army in the store. Then came a day that will live in infamy. I stopped having fun. There was something about the army and it's tactics that I just didn't like. It took a few conversations but ultimately it came down to this, I couldn't deal with the small size. My play style and HE just wern't a good fit. I loved the theme, and imagery of the army, but on the table I was just not feeling them.
So a change was born, I re-examined my army choices and I desided on Skaven (again before the new book). They were footsloggers, a horde, disposeable, and not afraid to run from a fight. Exactly the opposite of my HE which were cav, damn expensive, small, and couldn't afford to run away. I became descent with the Skaven, and felt reborn when I didn't care if a unit died or not. Then the new book came out, and I think I got lazy. Fights that used to be a struggle became easier once Skaven were given a beefy army list to use. In conjunction with that I started playing less due to life.
Now I want to be competetive again, so I'm going to write an army list and train my skills in using it. No more "let's try this" shenanigans util I feel like I know my list inside and out. It's emabarassing to me now that I don't know my own rules. I need that fixed.
Second, I want to paint an army I can be proud of. Confession time, I paid someone else to paint my HE (back when I thought I had money). I have 3000 points of Skaven painted, but I litterally painted it in 7 days (Last minute decision to enter a tournament). You can imagine what they look like. So one I settle on a point value, I'm thinking 2500, I will paint the entire thing. And this time in more than 7 days.
And lastly, I'm going to go to a tournament (don't know which one yet), and I will be competitive. I don't expect to win, but I don't want to be at the bottom either. My major tournament experience was with my High Elves at the last GW run Balitore GT. I didn't win a game until the last round, and niether had my opponent. (A lot of things go into that story, but that story will wait.)
So until next time...
So a litle about me and the reason I am starting this. I have a fairly regular gaming group, but we seem to flounder a bit when it comes to doing anything other than playing random pick-up games. I have been playing Warhammer, 40k, and LOTR/WOTR for about 6 years, and I have decided that I want to hone my hobby skills. Like I said I was inspired by the Company of the Damned blog, so I am going to chronicle my trek to become a more complete hobbyist.
First up, I need to hone my gaming skills. Used to be that I was a pretty descent player. I ran High Elves before ASF, and was pretty descent. On three different occasions I was contending for top army in the store. Then came a day that will live in infamy. I stopped having fun. There was something about the army and it's tactics that I just didn't like. It took a few conversations but ultimately it came down to this, I couldn't deal with the small size. My play style and HE just wern't a good fit. I loved the theme, and imagery of the army, but on the table I was just not feeling them.
So a change was born, I re-examined my army choices and I desided on Skaven (again before the new book). They were footsloggers, a horde, disposeable, and not afraid to run from a fight. Exactly the opposite of my HE which were cav, damn expensive, small, and couldn't afford to run away. I became descent with the Skaven, and felt reborn when I didn't care if a unit died or not. Then the new book came out, and I think I got lazy. Fights that used to be a struggle became easier once Skaven were given a beefy army list to use. In conjunction with that I started playing less due to life.
Now I want to be competetive again, so I'm going to write an army list and train my skills in using it. No more "let's try this" shenanigans util I feel like I know my list inside and out. It's emabarassing to me now that I don't know my own rules. I need that fixed.
Second, I want to paint an army I can be proud of. Confession time, I paid someone else to paint my HE (back when I thought I had money). I have 3000 points of Skaven painted, but I litterally painted it in 7 days (Last minute decision to enter a tournament). You can imagine what they look like. So one I settle on a point value, I'm thinking 2500, I will paint the entire thing. And this time in more than 7 days.
And lastly, I'm going to go to a tournament (don't know which one yet), and I will be competitive. I don't expect to win, but I don't want to be at the bottom either. My major tournament experience was with my High Elves at the last GW run Balitore GT. I didn't win a game until the last round, and niether had my opponent. (A lot of things go into that story, but that story will wait.)
So until next time...
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