Malifaux Tales - The Arcanist Rasputina

I don't even play Malifaux and I found this video inspirational.  I can't imagine what people who place the game think of it.

Scrum's Painting Challenge II - Week 2

All of Week 1 submissions were posted on the Blog hosting this challenge

http://www.trollbloodscrum.com/2012...eek-1.html

Week 2 submission:

Keggy is a caster attachement that allows the caster the "Top off" ability giving him free fury and the "Stumbling Drunk" ability allowing him to be immune to knock down and gains a free D3 movement in a random direction whenever someone hits him.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Eat your fill of turkey/ham and all the various sides of stuffing you to the size of a Skorne Titan. Then back to the tables of war with you.

Hordes Trollbloods Starter box

So after taking my photo of Skaldi for the Scrum Painting Challenge I figured might as well take photos of more Trollbloods I have painted up.  My first ever purchase of Hordes was the stereotypical Battlebox.

Giving me my first caster Madrak who's base I built up so that his head was at the proper size volume for a medium base.  I did this to the Troll warbeasts as well but after doing it was rather "meh" about the whole making them the size of their volume as the game seems simple in it's design of large base blocks smaller base, and not the need for true line of sight like I need in 40K.

 

Also came the twin Impalers, which is really my only beef with this battle box as unlike Warmachine where you can have redundancy in warjacks of the same type.  In hordes you need variety of warbeasts to give your caster variety of spells.  2 Impalers is a bit WTF as I have never used more then one in a game, nor do I see any Trollblood Community lists on the PP site having more then one impaler.  Since I have two though I felt the need to separate them visually.   So we have one with his "last spear shot" no caddy on the back with more.  An the other with his "I already threw it, and now I am getting another" look to him through some shaving of joints and reposing.  The later is the one seeing the table more then the former (he only has one spear shot after all).  Most of the time I find I take an Impaler for Far Strike and also to function as my transfer target for my warcaster.

 

Next up is my first and probably favorite beat stick.  Thresher is so nice and I decided since he has probably applied the axe to many an armored Banethrall or Skorne Cyclope that it needed to be dinged up and missing some pieces.  Even in it's ruined form you can see he loves to swing it, as can be witnessed on that twisted grin on his face.

Workbench
10 Fennblades
Storm Troll
5 Champions
Janessia
Runebearer
Grim Angus
Borka & Keggy

Scrum's Painting Challenge II - Week 1

Here is my week one submission for the Troll Scrum Painting Competition II:

Celebration Gone Wrong
One night after a long fought battle in the defense of the Kriel's from the flea ridden Skorne. Borka gathered his kin to celebrate their victory in true Trollkin fashion. The fire was stoked up to the height of a Dire Troll Mauler, as pygmies and whelps scuttled about rolling together some logs for drums and jugs for tunes. As the makeshift music began to play the trolls became delighted with festivities as stories of the battle took place and laughter at the expense of their defeated enemies, but something was missing. Clearly there was no drink. Several trollkins called out "Drink! Drink! Drink" as they slammed their fists on any object that would make noise without breaking under the weight of their fists. Skaldi smirked and went to his supplies, moments later stepping back into the celebration with a rather large keg on his shoulders. "If it be drinks ye be wanting, then it be drinks ye be having!" as he set the keg down and the tap began to flow.

Northern Virginia Independent Retailers

A listing of shops in my area that I posted on our forums but figured others in the blogsphere might use the information too so...here you go.

Game Parlor
13936 Metrotech Drive
Chantilly, VA 20151
Phone: (703) 803-3114
http://www.gameparlor.com/http://ww...arlor.com/

Game Systems Supported:Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes, Maulifux (limited), Flames of War (limited), Dystopian Wars (limited)

Eagle and Empire
1520 Belle View Blvd
Alexandria, VA 22307
(703) 550-6124
http://eagleandempire.net/http://ea...mpire.net/
Game Systems Supported:
Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes (limited), Maulifux (limited), Flames of War (limited)

Comics and Gaming
7556 Gardmer Park Drive                         10385 Main Street
Gainesville, VA 20155                 &          Fairfax, VA 22030
571-248-6722                                            703-865-8110
http://www.comics-gaming.com/http:/...aming.com/

Game Systems Supported:Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes, X-Wing

Victory Comics
Victory Comics Group, Inc
586 S. Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 241-9393
http://www.victorycomics.com/http:/...omics.com/

Game Systems Supported:
Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes (limited), Maulifux, Flames of War (limited), BattleFoam bags

Huzzah Gaming
Huzzah Hobbies
44927 George Washington Blvd, Suite 165
Ashburn, VA 20147
(703) 466-0460
http://www.huzzahhobbies.com/

Game Systems Supported:
Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes, Maulifux, Flames of War, X-Wing, BattleFoam bags, Some hobby supplies

Game Vault-
6328 Five Mile Centre Park, Suite 414
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
540-785-GAME (4263)
http://www.thegamevault.net/http://...vault.net/

Game Systems Supported:
Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Warmachine/Hordes, Maulifux, Dystopian Wars, Resin Bases, BattleFoam bags, X-Wing, Hobby supplies


Leesburg Hobbies & Collectibles -  
9 West Market Street
Leesburg, VA 20176
703-779-8600
http://www.leesburghobbies.com/index.html/

Game Systems Supported:
Flames of War, Warmachine/Hordes, Army Transport bags, Paint & Hobby supplies

How is that a bad thing?

Lately I have stepped into the realm of other wargaming games. I started looking around and reading up on other rule sets and giving other games a chance. Maulifux, Infinity, Warpath to name a few, and though some of them have nice models and rule sets.  After some demos either their play style or new rules design didn't sit well with me resulting in none of them called to me.  Then I tried a game that I had won a battle box a while ago and never did anything with, Warmachine. I had a demo game done at a local hobby store (by local I mean an hour and a half away) and I had fun. This games rule set wasn't that much of a stretch from what I knew. The models have a movement value (WHFB-esk), a shooting skill RAT (BS), a melee skill MAT (WS) and the dmg mechanic was a strength of an attack versus the defense of the model. Things were diced out on 6's and all was well, however with other games there are charts and graphs, this is pure math. # - # = score needed. Even more so it has its mechanic driven around 2d6 as the main not 1d6. For anyone who know statistics this makes dice roll probability that much more controlled, aka there are less chances to be completely blown and fall on your face with more averages to roll mid grade.

Then the game takes a turn for the interesting. You have a limited resource (focus/fury) that allows you to augment your statistical averages by rolling an additional d6. My mind was blown, no longer does this game enter the realm of "bad dice". Yes it still can happen, but the player now has a resource to control said rolls better than in other games. No longer will a player be forced to accept a lose because the dice failed him, if you absolutely need it you can augment it. On the flip side it is a limited resource and you can't augment it willy nilly, you have to choose the right time to do it. To add to this the company that makes the game takes the time to balance it out so no faction is "the lame duck", their release schedule is yearly and each faction is guaranteed to see something new every year and the release of new models does not out date older ones. Price per package is on pare with GW, but since the game needs fewer models to play your points to dollars ratio is much easier on the wallet.

So I take this game and i show it to one of my friends and he buys in. We both agree to pick up a starter army or two so we others in the league can give it a try no money down. An we play some games at the shop so people can see. An we hit a brick wall for acceptance. The game has a tight rules set, is one of if not the second runner up to Games Workshop in organized play and we get no bites. Statements such as "models are to expensive", to "there are to many special rules to remember" are made (all of which is extremely ironic to hear as they are in the process of playing 40k when they are made.) An then I heard one comment that i could not deny. "It's like playing Magic the Gathering", to which you know what...that one is dead on. It is like MTG. There are cards with preset abilities, defenses and special rules per model. The game is very synergy based were you can't have one model just punching an armies face in (even the biggest model can be taken down), you need 5 models who all do something to each other to make the killing blow. And there is a finite win goal of killing the warcaster (aka the 20hp of the MTG player) to win. I can't argue that point. However I will provide the counterpoint. Magic the gathering has been running near flawless game system going on 20 years, it is played the world over in competitive markets and venues and no matter what color you play, or play style you play, everyone has a far shake. Yes Warmachine "is" like Magic the Gathering...and how is that a bad thing?