Norse vs. Daemons of Chaos

Yesterday I played my first game with my Norse army un-proxied.  I have gotten quite bit assembled now, so I was able to put together 2400 points to field against some filthy daemons.  Although it has been a long time since I played my other two practice games using proxy models for my Norse, I looked back at my previous post to refine my army list.  I also added some new units to try out, but still have not tried everything I would like to.

Another thing I did to prepare for playing with the Norse army again, was to make some helper tokens for their special abilities.  I made tokens for these three things:

• Berserkergang frenzy for the turn
• Seer/Vitki prophesizing unit buffs
• Skald songs unit buffs.

In my prior games, I found it difficult to keep track of all the buffs that were active on my units, so this was a must to be able to play the army again without my head spinning.  They helped a ton.  Unfortunately though, I completely forgot about the counter-charge ability, and didn't use it once this whole game!  I'll have to think up some aide to help me remember that one too.

Here's what I brought to the battle and the bonuses garnered by what I equipped them with:

• King - +1 Attack, 4+ Ward Save
• Seer - Level 2, Dispel Scroll, D3 bonus dice, but take a wound if fail toughness test.
• Skald - Battle Standard, 3+ Scaly Skin, 5+ Ward Save
• Skald - Extra Hand Weapon
• Jarl - Mounted on Fenrir Wolf, +1 toughness and Strength 3 breath attack
• 24x Huscarl - Razor Standard
• 38x Maraders - Great Weapons
• 10x Hunters
• 30x Marauders - Extra Hand Weapon
• 3x Valkyries
• 5x Giant Wolves
• 5x Giant Wolves
• Ice Drake

The first turn mainly consisted of me misusing my faster units.  I have not used fast redirectors much, which is the role filled by the wolves, so I ended up not using them as well as I could have.  The hunters and valkyries that I put to one side to deal with a unit of flesh hounds unfortunately did not fare well.  They could have done better if I played it a little differently.  Unfortunately for valkyries, their ethereal ability is worthless against an army full of magical daemons!  Not to mention flesh hounds are just deadly.

My ice drake ended up getting tied up with 3 fiends of Slannesh early too, so the rest of the battle consisted of a few big melee brawls of infantry in the middle of the table.  One unit I was interested in seeing perform was my jarl on fenrir wolf in the unit of marauders with extra hand weapon.  I set up the jarl with a magic item called the buckle of hagmar that gives him a breath weapon, and the fenrir wolf also has his own breath weapon, so I figured this would be pretty devastating to let loose in the first round of combat.  I charged them into a unit of daemonettes to find out.  The wolf's breath weapon was terrible against the deamonettes because it wounds when the model hit fails an initiative test, and the daemonettes are very high initiative.  Huh.  Didn't think of that.  So that was not as great as it could have been, but they did eventually take out the daemonette unit.

Magic went pretty bad, hopefully I can fit a higher level wizard into my next list.  I don't think I got a single spell off, even though I had a fireball with a tzeentch sorcerers name on it.  The huscarl unit with my king, battle standard bearer, and wizard in it ended up fighting two units of bloodletters in the front, and they fought very well I thought, but after my king died to a killing blow (bloodletters are awesome), the unit was doomed.  But just to make sure, my opponent brought the Bloodthirster of Khorne around into their flank.

In the end, the Norse suffered a minor loss, and I got to try some new things.  Good game!

OFCC Around the Corner

Each year during the summer, Ordo Fanaticus hosts a huge 2 day Warhammer Fantasy tournament called the OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge).  It is a fun, laid back event where you bring a team of at least 4 people and achieve or fail to achieve various accolades together.  Last year, the Order of the Black Sheep attended for the first time, and were the only 5 people there from the Salem area.  This year, Salem's ranks are bolstered by another member to the Black Sheep team, plus two other teams with players from Salem.

Me at OFCC 2011, getting ready to roll tons of 6's! (more pics from Blustorm)

The Order of the Black Sheep has returning members, Ben (playing Warriors of Chaos again), Chris (playing Daemons again), Eli (playing High Elves again), Josh (Playing his new Vampire Counts army), Paul (playing Lizardmen again), and a new team member John (playing a Dark Elf army).  Teams "Put a Skull On It", and "Mongering Mongrels" are new to the OFCC this year and bringing some Salem players too.  I'm glad we've got more local players participating, it would be great to see it grow even more in the coming years.

You can find more details about the tournament format here.  If you're not coming this year, I encourage you to start planning and working on an army for next year.  It is the ultimate in west coast Warhammer in my opinion.  If only we had more events like this...

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic, the new massively multiplayer online game is a (somewhat cartoony) theatrical masterpiece melded into a standard MMO engine.  While they have done something unique and wonderful, the underlying game is not much different from most other popular MMOGs.  Is following the formula good or bad?  Depends on the judge of course.  For me, I like sandbox environments and unique game mechanics, so I'm not too thrilled about that part.

Making a game that is so focused on telling a compelling story seems like a waste of a persistent online world.  I would like to see an MMOG made that takes advantage of the medium in a powerful way, but still remains a game.  The cool thing about having a virtual world that grows is the ability for players to make a mark in it.  Why do most games have some magical trading post where everything in the world is searchable?  Why can't players make stores that other players could visit?  Why do most games have no way for the players to modify the landscape in areas by constructing buildings, or strip mining, or planting crops?  Why are there no consequences?  If I die, I can just magically come back to the same place with nothing lost.  If I fail a quest, I don't get berated by the quest giver, I just go back in time and try it again.  It's great that you can make a permanent impact on your character though the story interactions, but other than your own character, the world is a fairly static, re-spawning obstacle course.

It seems that part of why the game makers have opted to go with a game mechanic base very similar to the World of Warcraft formula may have been a strategic move to not only appeal to a wide audience, but to appeal specifically to the audience of the players of the largest MMO out there right now.  With such a big production and initial investment, I suppose it would be financial suicide to try something innovative enough that would risk making a game that is for a niche audience.  So, in a way, I cannot blame them, but at the same time, I can't see the game holding my interest for long.  So long, and thanks for all the stories, Bioware.

Doubles Tourney

Wow, I can't believe I have neglected posting here for so long.   Nothing too new going on in regards to Warhammer.   I am slowly painting my Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge army and have played a couple games since the Brawl. 
This weekend though, I am playing in a doubles tourney with Paul at Borderlands Games.   Players get 1500 points apiece.  I am going to run my Daemons and Paul will be rolling out his Lizardmen.   I will post how we did on Monday.  For now though, feel free to enjoy the short story I wrote, explaining our strange alliance.  Let me know what you think.
-Chris

 Zaxslann's Gamble

            Omnix, the last remaining skink priest of Lord Zaxslann’s retinue, paced about nervously.   The losses that their troop had sustained on their journey were beginning to take their toll.   Even with the healing magics of Lord Zaxslann,  they had been unable to save their host of skin braves.   The great kroxigors, already few in number, had all been captured or killed in a devious skaven raid.  Their last ancient stegadon succumbed to wounds taken during that same battle as well.  All said, their force was unlikely to make it to the city of Mextonatl, Lord Zaxslann’s goal.  

            “Omnix, make ready.”   The command echoed through the skink priests mind.  Omnix shuddered as he thought on Lord Zaxslann’s plan.  Bartering with anything that has been touched by chaos was bad enough in Omnix’s experience, but dealing with daemons themselves, that was an abomination.   Lord Zaxslann knew how daemons work and though they are creatures of chaos, they still follow certain rules.   One such is the rule of contractual obligation.   Once a deal has been brokered, very few things could break it.   In exchange for a minor plaque of knowledge, the daemon balefire, agreed to help safeguard the remaining forces of Zaxslann.  

            Lord Zaxslann brooked no argument on the matter, and it wasn’t in Omnix’s nature to argue with his lord.   His task during the remainder of the journey was to shadow the daemon force using his enchanted cloak of feathers.   For while Lord Zaxslann was confident in the bargain that had been struck, balefire was a creation of Tzeentch, The Changer of Ways, who is known for his treachery and plots.  If any sign of betrayal was to appear,  it is Omnix’s duty to either strike down balefire, or prevent as much damage to Lord Zaxslann’s host as possible.   How Lord Zaxslann planned to deal with the Mage-Priests of Mextonatl, was not a concern that Omnix was prepared to think on.  First the host must reach the city alive.  

 

Black Sheep Brawl Photos and Full Rankings

Check out the photo's from the Black Sheep Brawl over here: http://www.bluemelon.com/ioscode/blacksheepbrawl2012

The full list of rankings can found up on RankingsHQ now as well.  Just visit the tournament page here:  http://www.rankingshq.com/public/tournamentprofile.aspx?TournamentId=2782

Bonus Round

  

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Quick Thanks and Black Sheep Brawl Results

First off, thanks to everyone who made it. A 32 person Warhammer Fantasy event without the roots of the OFCC wouldn't have happened a year ago. Fantasy is on the rise again, and all of the friends that the Order of the Black Sheep have made this past year have made it possible. Here's to the next year, bigger and better.

Thanks to all the guys who brought terrain; Eric and Ordo, Moses Jones, and the Kiefts. You guys rock and definitely helped us with some awesome looking tables. Thanks to all of the guys who helped paint pony carts, and everyone who helped clean up. A big thanks to Evil Bryan who hung out with us all day, and assisted us in paint and army judging. Speaking of Evil Bryan, thanks to the Deployment Zone, Ordo, and every other group that has helped us with advertising for this event. Finally, thanks to Borderlands games with providing prize structure and the venue.
Every little bit that people did, helped to make a truly awesome event.

Winners:
Overall: John "The (former) Points Pinata" Kersey
Brush Master: Moses Jones
Exalted General: Maurice Maynard
Most Excellent Opponent: Ellie


Again, thank all of you who attended.

More Brawl stuff to follow later.

Black Sheep Brawl Rules Pack

The rules pack for the Black Sheep Brawl this Sunday is complete and can be found here.  The document will also be distributed at the event.

The tournament has also been posted on RankingsHQ, and we'll be posting results up there afterwards.  Go there and sign up before the tournament if you want to have your results recorded to your user id on the site.  Totally optional though, if you do, include your userid when you sign in on the day of the tournament.

We have received 30 army lists so far, so we will be full.  If you have not sent in your list yet, there's a chance you can play if you show up we have a couple of last minute openings or are able to squeeze in and extra table or two.

See you at The Brawl!