More Boyz!!!

 

  I have a ton of Orks.  Like, a TON!  I only have 80 Boyz built and painted, but I make up for it with having almost everything else, and a couple or few of them.  I love my Orks!  The only problem is that GW has resized the bases on the models (much less the models themselves) and I have to rebase that "tons" of models to get modern complaint again.  Luckily, most of the stuff I had to rebase was bikes as vehicles don't have bases (ironically, they're all getting replaced soon.  Dagnabbit!) and the specialists are few (I can't not have Tankbustas, Burnas, and Lootas, so...).  

  And then comes the new 11th edition "Armageddon" box.  This has a ton of models!!!  And they're awesome!!!  The bigges problem I have is that the options are not reflected, making the Ork side a bit boring.  Otherwise, the models are phenomenal and two sets makes many of them (if they pack the boxes correctly, this is.  But that's a different story for a different post)...

  First came the lots of building part of the process.  Once these push-fit models were assembled, I popped them off their bases and primed the models white.  My plan is to use Speed Paints or Contrast to get this [suddenly completely new] army painted quickly.  

  I will admit that I love the new characters.  I already have a Banner Nob and a Weirdboy, and about a half dozen Warbosses.  But these models area remarkable in their simplicity and detail.  I believe the work is "elegant"- not something you hear with Orks.  The only complaint I have is that the Warboss is about as 'basic' as you can get- no armour, no Power Klaw, no supah-shoota, no attack Squig, nothing!  I will probably be using my outdated older Warboss models in-game as theuy're just more effective (cooler wargear is always cooler!).  

  I built and primed all the large vehicles with black instead of white.  My normal colour-scheme for Orks is rusty, and that is done best over black (like any metal).  That being said, I may just choose to add real colours to the models...

  And here's the entire 'take' from two boxes of Armageddon- that's a lot of Orks!!!

  That's as far as I've gotten so far.  There's a ton of other projects going on at the same time, so these are lower on the priority-scale.  But GW has released more and Orks always love more!  MOAR!!!

As always, Happy Hobbying!

Where's my benefits!?!?!

  So, uh, there's another game that I am getting into.  You see, I like to drink and I like to play games.  When I served in the Emprah's forces, we would havea "Beer-hammer" tournaments and definitely part hard after all the meetings where we weren't meeting sales goals.  Ah, the good 'ol days...  But now there's a game called "Space Gitz" that actually makes those two things (drinking and gaming) the same thing!

  The game uses personal dexterity as the main mechanic, and all failures will result in the consumption of alcoholic beverages- resulting in reduced dexterity!  It's brilliant in the most basic way and I love it.  Plus, the game is based on Orcs- of course!  I will never forget my old 'big boss' named Ed that was straight 'cockney' and very obviously a digganob in days past.  And he forced us to drink alcohol as part of the 'party hard' mentality to out high-pressure jobs.  It was glorious.  And now there's a game that embodies all of this???  Well, that's happening.  

  I was very easily drawn into supporting the crowdfunding campaign and that gave us some 3d models ready for print.  One of them was an Orc veteran in a 'wheelchair' and raising a ruckus.  I call him "Ork-tenant Dan" and I'm too lazy to check if this character actually has a name.  And I had to paint him.  

 

  And that's as far as I've gotten so far.  There's more progress coming, but I've had to switch gears...  Keep your eye out for this as I have a feeling this is going to pop up once or twice!

Happy Hobbying!

Gitz vs. Luckyboyz

   It's a beautiful thing to see- the fires of battle in the eyes of a rookie.  When the Emprah's light can be spread to the willing, his grace is euphoria.  Um... yeah, that's all the poetry I can come up with today!  We recently got a new game store in the area, with a brand-new community and that small home-town feel when someone with passion wants to share it.  So I was able to coerce one of my buddies to go with me and try out his first game of 40k.  It was awesome for so many reasons!

  Now, I must admit that our game had a bit of a pare-down for the rules (basically no strategems or enhancements just to keep things easy), but definitely no 'Combat Patrol' silliness.  Because of the upcoming new edition, I grabbed up some Ultramarines (the "lucky boys" because they're blue, of course!) and Orks (gitz by all measures) to make a 1000 point game out of all the modernized basics.  We still did the mission objectives, terrain, deployment, and all that so that it wasn't so simple- my buddy is a gamer-at-heart and pretty smart to boot.  I wanted the full grim-dark experience and some bolters versus krumpin' deserves that!  

  It started with both armies advancing toward the objectives, but the greenskins weathered what little firepower came their way and jumped the combat squad right away to get the bashing going.  Some less-than effective shooting quickly swing the battle away from the Imperials...

  After his bodyguard was destroyed, Captain Acheron leapt in to face the Warboss one-on-one.  While the battle was epic and lasted for a while, Acheron's armour eventually failed and the boss stood victorious, taunting the Techmarine to join the fray.  

Not very lucky...

  Eventually, even the Techmarine fell, but only after dispatching the Warboss's bodyguard on the way out.  This led to the Redemptor dreadnought rounding the corner of the ruins to exact revenge, utterly annihilating the brute commander.  He then turned his attention to supporting his surviving forces against the deep-striking Deffkoptas appearing behind the lines...

  It wasn't enough, however, as the rest of the greenskins had already surrounded the final combat squad of marines with the full intention of krumpin' them with rokkits AND choppas!  With a massive gap in victory points and no forces left, the Ultramarines quit the battlefield to recover and rearm.  The Orks crushed the Imperials!

  During the game, there were so many other customers in the store coming around to watch and check out the models and terrain.  We may have even chattered a bit about armies, the upcoming rules changes in the new edition, and even a league-style tournament for all the 40k players.  The community was great and the new store is definitely and epic little treasure not far from my house.  And to see the enjoyment of my buddy after his first game?  Great time!  Even if my lucky blue-boyz weren't so lucky...

As always, Happy Gaming!!!

Da Boyz iz comin'!

   If  you haven't paid attention lately- 40k is coming out with a new edition in only a few weeks.  The starter box will have Blood Angels (the old and new again poster-boyz!) and Orks and be themed around the continuing third war for Armageddon.  I don't want a new edition.  But I do want more boyz and my addiction to toy soldiers far outweighs my budgetary discipline.  

  My son demanded that we play a game finally (life has been 'fun' for both of us recently!) and I had to ask which foe he'd like to vanquish.  Dem greenskins wuz his target, so I had to do some digging to pull those old things out.  I have SO MUCH and still have WAY MORE to build and paint, but now I worry about the new edition and all those models becoming replaced anyway, so this game needed to happen just to give my collection their 'last run'.  My son, being the great defender of the war-planet, decided to bring his Black Templars led by Grimaldus himself, so this last run was going to be a massacre for the xenos.  Or so I thought...

  We deployed our forces and I saw my tough, unarmoured mob lined up across from his tough, heavily-armoured mob.  We rolled off for the first turn and the Emprah's angels won, so they got to jump forward and advanced with everything, their righteous zeal pushing them to cleanse the unclean.  The Templars shot with a couple of weapons but caused no significant damage, and then stood to wait for the oncoming charge.  Their chainsswords revved with murdurous intent and their voxes spread prayers of hatred and litanies of faith to the Emprah.  The only choice for the Orks was to match that energy and charge.

  The wall of greenskins surged forward and their mobs were quickly joined by a ramshackle but speedy Battlewagon sneaking from the flank and blocking off the Templars' dreadnought with its massive size and blocking line-of-sight.  With that, the cheers erupted and the choppas swung and the Orks gleefully leapt into the Black Templar lines.  When the smoke finally cleared, more than half the marines were destroyed and the Orks had lost only a few of their number.  Now it was an unarmoured horde versus a couple of armoured defenders.  

  We finished the next turn, just rolling dice to see if anything neat would happen, and it didn't.  The Orks massacred the Black Templars.  In game terms, the Orks almost 'tabled' their opponent in two turns.  In narrative terms- the greenskins have long taken over Armageddon, scrapping and looting any abandoned Imperial site that they could find.  The Templars were dispatched to reclaim a particular area (now a junkyard and less a defensible site) and they ran into overly eager inhabitants.  Zeal does not replace Intel...

  The problem in this battle (besides a lack of dense terrain- we wanted to fight, not dodge!) is that the Templars went first and ran up too quickly, allowing the Orks first turn to take advantage of the 'Waaagh' rule and get stuck-in very quickly.  This gave Orks first strike and the sheer weight of numbers quickly overwhelmed even power armour.  But it was fun and we got to see the greenskins do what greenskins do.  

  Needless to say, I can't wait for the new edition.  I want more boyz!  They're coming, and soon.  

As always, Happy Gaming!

Ghost vs. Greenskin

  My wife has been asking for a larger game in Age of Sigmar for some time.  She has everything for the Death allegiance, including the Lord-god himself- Nagash!  I unfortunately, do not have updated rules or even enough modern units in most of my armies to stand up to that.  I've been using my Ironjaws because they are simple and I don't have to worry about constant re-dos (looking at you, Bloodbound).  Unfortunately, I only have 1440 points of Ironjaws, but I DO have some regular Orcs from the old Warhammer days kicking about.  Adding that bit of extras, upgrading the Maw-crusha to the special character version, and following the 'allies' rules, I brought my Ironjaws force up to 1980 points.  Now I can give my wife the 2000 point game that she wants. 
 

  She had the brilliant idea to lay out the board as though it was near a drying-up or low-tide coast.  With a mausoleum nearby and a shipwreck not too far away, it made sense for the spirits of the deceased to consider this their territory.  It was a fantastic table and an even neater little narrative that added to the game. 

The battlefield

  Finally being able to bring some toys, her force was led by Reikenor and included a couple of unit of Hexwraiths, some Spirit Hosts, a battalion of Chainrasp Reapers, some special Banshees, and then a Mourngul.  Following the 'allies' rule, the Nighthaunt force is able to bring this Forgeworld-created monstrosity of unkillable horror.  Great...

  My army list was really just adding some stuff to this list I normally use- this time led by the Gordrakk Ironfist or whatever that main character's name is (a super-Megaboss on Maw-crusher), a Warchanter, a Warcaster, a Megaboss on foot, all tending to a unit of 'Ardboyz, two units of Brutes, some Gore-gruntas, and now including a mob of 20 orc choppa-boyz and a mob of 10 orc arrer-boyz.  To top it all off, an Aleguzzler Gargant followed along...

  The undead had more command points than the Ironjaws due to including a battalion.  It would be interesting to see how they get used.  Remember that the Ironjaws do nothing but call their buffing command ability every turn, so theirs is simple to predict.

  We rolled up a mission from the General's Handbook 2018 (if I remember correctly and I'm not real sure...) and came up with Border War.  There were four objectives on the table, one in each players' zone and two on the centerline.  The players gain points by controlling objectives, each worth more depending where they are on the table.  Simple- kill and control.

  The Ironjaws deployed in a line across the battlefield.  The Mega-Megaboss on Mawcrusher stood in the center of the line, flanked by a giant and Gore-gruntas to one side and Brutes on the other.  To the far left mobbed the Choppa-boyz, ready to leap forward and take the centerline objective, while the Arrer-boyz guarded the right flank while hiding in the woods.  In between those woods and the Brutes stood the 'Ardboyz, ready to answer the charge of super-quick ghosts. 
  The Nighthaunt forces also deployed in a line, from the other woods to the shipwreck, nearly tracing the old coastline.  To their left flank was placed the Spirit Hosts and terrifying Mourngul, with cavalry and Banshees screening Reikenor in the center.  To his right was the mob of Reapers and the Dreadblade Harrow to sweep the flank if needed.  More, they kept a unit of Reapers in reserves.
  Both armies had their generals planted atop their own objectives, and each mirrored units to move and take objectives in the middle.  This was going to be a tug-of-war at this point. 

Deployment

Battle Round 1

  The Ironjaws wisely chose to hold the line and allow the Nighthaunt to go first.  They would need to understand how the ghosts were going to stretch to get those objective points before unleashing their rage.  Plus, the option of the back-to-back turn is the goal on every first turn (unless you're a ranged army)!

  The Nighthaunt forces started their turn by rushing everything foward to take the objectives and set up for charges when they became possible.  The final unit of Reapers turned up just in front of the Choppa-boyz, but chose not to charge so they could instantly claim that middle objective.  The cavalry formed a wedge right up the middle toward the 'Ardboyz, and the Spirit Hosts moved up to take the other middle objective.  With control of her and both of the middle objective points, the Nighthaunt army immediately gained 5 victory points.  Plus, her army had to solid waves of invulnerable ghosts to wade through- this was going to be hard...

End Nighthaunt Turn 1

  The morning mist still clung to the wet and rocky landscape, and this was further sullied by the incorporeal warriors floating above it.  But the greenskins simply licked their teeth, eager to see just how similar 'incorporeal' is to 'unkillable'. 
  Gordrakk bowled forward and crushed a unit of Hexwraiths nearly to death, which allowed the 'Ardboyz to get into a frenzy and charge both the Spirit Hosts and the nearby Hexwraiths, nearly wiping out that second unit with the help of the Arrer-boyz garrisoning the woods.  The Choppa-boyz happily took the bait from the Reapers and charged into combat, which then urged the Aleguzzler to stop all the way around and charge the rear of the enemy line.  The Dreadblade Harrow counter-charged and invited the attacks of the giant, only to fail all the way around.  The giant just wanted his presence known for the moment...
  While those units of mayhem wreaked their havoc, the Brutes and Megaboss firmly held their objective, and the 'Ardboyz had maneuvered in just such a way to steal control of one of the middle objectives.  This only gave the greenskins three points this turn.

End Ironjaws Turn 1

Battle Round 2

  The all-important die roll to get initiative in the turn resulted in the Ironjaws getting a back-to-back turn.  Taking full advantage, Gordrakk continued his rampage and destroyed the Banshees, but was then locked up by that unnoticed survivor from the last charge, keeping the orc Lord from getting to Reikenor.  Brutes quickly caught up and charged alongside the Gore-gruntas into the second unit of Reapers, locking them up and keeping them from reinforcing the flank. 
  The Choppa-boyz hacked down most of the first unit of Reapers while the giant kicked and 'eadbutted the Dreadblade Harrow, almost killing him.  The other side of the Battlefield saw the Mourngul lazily attack and fail to kill many of the 'Ardboyz, while still losing most of the unit to the frightful touch of the Spirit Hosts. 
  With clever maneuvering and timely casualties, the Ironjaws were able to take control of both middle objectives and gain five points this turn.  That put the greenskins clearly in the lead and in position to obstruct the undead in every direction. 

End Ironjaws Turn 2

  The Nighthaunt were now stretched too thinand had too many combat-oriented beasts to deal with.  Unfortunately, the magic was very weak again and the resurrection of ghosts was minimal.  The back unit of Reapers was completely wiped out by buffed Brutes and Gore-gruntas, while the first unit was nearly destroyed as they killed a few Choppa-boyz in return.  The Dreadblade Harrow actually hurt the giant, forcing him to turn and 'eadbutt the undead officer to death.  The center and right flank of the Nighthaunt line just completely vanished.
  In desperation, Reikenor charged into Gordrekk, hoping to severly wound the big monster.  Instead, his ethereal weapon somehow bounced from the impenetrable hide of the Maw-crusher, which then noticed and stomped him into the ground.  An irritated beast had just effortlessly killed the Nighthaunt general and now the home objective was open to Brutes and a barely-distracted Mega-megaboss on Mawcrusher. 
  Luckily, the Mourngul and Spirit Hosts exerted their power and killed all but the champion from the 'Ardboyz, retaking control of that objective.  This act of defiance would get the undead three points, tying up the game. 

End Nighthaunt Turn 2

Battle Round 3
  Unfortunately, this game mirrored last week's game in that the final turn would be determined by the priority roll.  And again, that irony came in whether my wife won the roll or lost it and the timing issues it would create.  If she won, then my models would finish off their combats and have their next turn to destroy the rest of her army.  If I won, then I would have to waste my turn finishing combats and she can then move her survivors and attempt to salvage the situation.  After all, that Mourngul is insanely powerful and can easily kill the orc general.

  So we roll the die, hoping for an orc priority for any chance of victory, and...

  The Nighthaunt wins the roll-off.  That's it- the game is over.  There's no conceivable way, based on numbers of models and units and simple order, regardless of perfection of tactics and miraculous dice, that the Nighthaunt would be able to pull it out now.  This was an Ironjaws victory. 

  This was a very intense game right from the beginning, but everything went really well for the Ironjaws.  Besides missing out on the opportunity to use the general's 'bowling ball' trait, every charge roll was made and priority always fell in their favor.  Rather than the strategic errors from the last battle, this one was simple luck.  And Ironjaws like luck too!

Any good but way too one-sided in the blessings games lately?  Please leave a comment below and fill me in- I always dig a good story.  Otherwise- Happy Gaming