Da Waaagh got beat bad!

It is once again time to let da Waagh go to battle and face the Chaos Marines of my infamous buddy.  This time, unlike our last battle of epic comebackedness, was going to be the Crimson Slaughter.  I didn't think it would matter, but oh, it mattered.

In case you don't now, the Crimson Slaughter is the Chaos Marine army showcased in the Dark Vengeance Starter kit.  They have the distinction of being a fallen loyalist Chapter, haunted by the souls of a planet they were forced to exterminate.  Finally succumbing to Khorne, they made the Dark Angels their bitch and are just downright freaky!  They love them some Possessed and Daemon Engines, which is definitely a good fight for the greenskins.

Unfortunately, the army is a power-armoured army (always a pain for da boyz) that happens to like psykers (which da Orks have no real defense yet), and most importantly of all- CAUSES FEAR!  I don't know if you guys know this, but Orks have the lowest Leadership in the game.  I didn't think it would matter too much, but it mattered quite a bit.

The battlefield- a typical long-ruined Imperial city with plenty of cover

My setup: Deffkoptas are going to Outflank

His setup

Turn 1 sees my Orks leap into action and movie forward as a group.  One mob of boyz decides to flank into the ruins, while everything else pretty much flows into the middle, taking some time to defile the giant SM statue.  The Crimson Slaughter pretty much respond as expected, moving up and establishing a 'kill zone' in the middle of the battlefield.  The Rhino disgorged marines and completely blocks that side, mowing down some boyz with well-placed shooting.  The Defiler, way scary to my boyz, manages to blast a couple of them to shreds.  His Sorcerer, comfortably chilling with a ton of marines, casts Foreboding on the unit.  I'm not worried yet.  So far, not too bad a turn for the greenskins...

End of Turn 1

Turn 2, and my Warboss calls the Waaaagh like a bauss!  The orks charge those pesky marines holding the flank and immediately get crushed.  Of course the Orks fail the Fear test this time, so I'm not thinking it will matter too much only to find it matters alot.  This is where I'm starting to get a little of that 'math' on, realizing that 10 marines isn't quite enough to stop a full mob, but it is enough to take care of a small one...  Otherwise, the Warbikes charge up the middle, trying to get to the Defiler, but to no avail.  The other boyz and Deffdread, seeing the perfect opporunity to finish this game, charge the massive marine squad with the Sorcerer chilling there.  The Deffdread, impervious to all but two of his weapons (a meltagun and a plasma pistol), is immediately destroyed before the second step.  Remember that Foreboding power he got off last turn?  It is the single biggest turning moment in the game as that Deffdread dying ruined the Warboss's kunnin' plan.  The Crimson Slaughter, now fully emboldened by the sudden collapse of the foe, moved up and charge the last couple of bikes.  With another failed Fear test, they were completely wiped out, leaving only a Nob and a couple of regular boyz to fight some marines and the Sorcerer.  Oh, this turn, the Sorcerer gained an extra Wound as a reward for smashing the aliens' characters so easily...

End of Turn 2

Turn 3, and all hope is long abandoned.  But my buddy likes to keep it going, so it continued.  The Orks on the flank, having come out of the building finally, charge the marines holding that flank and kill them off, gaining some momentum.  The remaining boyz in the middle consolidate with the now emerged boyz and set up a giant wall (of a dozen models).  The Rhino goes down with a couple of chops, but it was the last bit of energy they had.  The Chaos Sorcerer, with his very scary armor and huge battlefield superiority, charges the Orks.  Amazingly, the Orks chop down the remaining marines around him (admittedly, it was a bunch of Orks against a few marines), but the red survivor just cleaves through the greenskins.  The last challenge of the game was a lone Nob against a wounded Sorcerer, but we know how that turns out.  Complete rout.

End of Turn 3

Well, that wasn't fun at all.  Playing Orks, the lowest leadership in the game, against an army that causes Fear, has large blast templates, wears power armor, and has psykers...  Yeah, that's not a fun match at all.

Have y'all had a game like this recently?  Let me know about it and maybe I won't be so bitter...
Happy Gaming!

More card games!!!

I don't know how it happened.  Way back the first time I was in college I played Magic: The Gathering (I totally rocked a red and black deck that decimated green with impunity) and a ton of Lunch Money.  Shortly thereafter, I played Jihad and eventually found my way back into the throes of 40k, leaving all those card games behind.

Then I walked into my local comic shop and started up a gaming group, pimping all sorts of games and trying my darndest to get everyone into 40k (and Attack Wing).  I have been out of card gaming (and a downright hater) for well over a decade.  And yet, these guys (and gals) have gotten me into the deck-building and Dice Masters.  And HeroClix snuck in there, getting me into that 'collectable' thing.  Yet I still resist...

Then I walked into my LCS again (for the first time in weeks and a few weeks since, being ultimately focused on my studies) with some money burning a hole in my pocket.  And what happens to me?  I turn around, seeking the new Attack Wing ships, and find a game that one of my buddies has been pimping since the Kickstarter was running for it.  And as you can see by the price, there was no reason not to.

Dagnabbit!  So I picked up yet another deck-building game.  And like most of them, there's expansions to add and competitive formats soon to follow.  With all the super-powerful dreadnoughts and space stations in the game, my favorite seems to be this little guy:

There's four main 'races' or factions in the game, each representing a different aspect and presenting different strategies.  While the Mechanical dudes are really quite offensive and generate a massive amount of firepower in a turn, the Federation are more about healing and can easily keep pace with the damage that some cards can deal.  Check out some examples below.

Now this game doesn't see each player representing a specific faction.  You simply lay down all the cards you have in your hand (5 to start, of course) and count up both the total firepower and the total credits that you gain.  Firepower kills Outposts and your opponents' Hit Points (or whatever they're called; after a while you lose track on all these games!  Lol!) until he is dead.  But here's the cool part- 

Certain cards work with certain other cards to get even better effects!  You can have Blob cards on the table and then play more and suddenly see everyone with a Blob symbol have +3 gazillion firepower!  Meanwhile, your other cards from other factions still have effects, but they can work together in the same way- Federation works with Federation, etc.

I am using this from TheEscapist, credit to that site for this one.

The game is very simple, cheap, and enjoyable.  It doesn't require any additional markers (Hit Points have cards to represent them!) and you can knock out a game in about 15 minutes.  My buddy and I played a couple of games in a few hours, and that was while relearning the rules.  We were familiar, but it's different when you switch from paper to card.  Believe me, it's really different.

Pick it up if you see and give it a shot.  The four expansion packs each cost $5 and are complete, just like the game is (no boosters and not necessary).  Let me know what you think of the game, especially if you're one of the founders.  And, as always, Happy Gaming!

Painting Orks da fast way...

Everyone knows that I have some painting skills, but I don't focus on characters anymore.  As much fun as they are to paint, I've been conditioned to paint armies quickly.  Well, I've learned a secret over the years.  If I paint the quick 'base and wash' style now, I can always go back and add layers and highlights to take the army from 'tabletop' standard to 'case' standard.

Well, you're not getting 'case' standard today.  I'm working to get the core of my Ork army painted quickly, using it as an excuse to teach my son how to hobby (I gotta be a daddy once in a while, it seems).  Moral of the story- this is the POOR MAN'S VERSION OF PAINTING ORKS.  You will NOT win a Golden Daemon with this set.  But when it's all done, I'll get to go back and add that stuff.  More articles?  Of course!

Let's get started on getting started:

After building the models and gluing sand on their bases, prime the models Black.  I use Citadel, while some other buddies use other stuff.  Black makes it all better....

Step 1. Basecoat the pants and backpacks with XV-88

To prove that I actually DID paint this.  Trust me, it's really hard to hold a phone and a paintbrush at the same time...
More importantly, you'll notice that it's a Standard Brush.  That's the only size brush I used for this set.

Step 2.  Basecoat shirts with Tausept Ochre (or whatever it's called now).  

Notice the complete lack of regard for any of the other areas of the model as I'm painting.  By this point, the only reason I care where the paintbrush goes is to not get colour on something I've already painted.  If I get yellow on the gun, who cares?  If I get brown on the armour plate, again, who cares?  I'm just trying to get paint on the models and I still have many more colours to go, so I shouldn't waste time trying to be too careful.  That's the greatest lesson that I teach anyone when it comes to painting lessons- care less!  I know it's hard, but enjoy it for the first few stages at least...

Step 3.  Basecoat all flesh with Gretchin Green (or whatever colour you use now).
You might want to start being a little careful now.

They look so GOOD with green!  I guess that's why deyz greenskins!
Also note that I use a darker green on my Nobz- in this case, Knarloc Green.

Step 4.  Basecoat all belts, straps, and boots with Adeptus Battlegray (or some other dark gray)

From here, my technique for my Ork army is actually a little different.  Unfortunately for you guys, I'm going to save that and selfishly use it as the subject of another post.  To continue this article, I'm going to use the 'easier' method that everyone knows.

Step 5. Basecoat all metal bits, such as weapons, helmets, and armour plates on back and belt and belly and..., Ironbreaker.
What!?  Did Jay just use a modern colour?  Wow!!!

Step 6.  Paint all fur and hair with Charadon granite (or another super-dark brown).

Step 7.  And this one is really important- paint all teef and skulls Dheneb Stone (or whatever bone colour there is now).

The final step (that's right, a while Ork mob in only 8 steps!) is the coup-de-grace of GW's painting system and the lazy-man's technique.  I have already done posts about the wonders of this very product and still swear by it (even using it sparingly on Infinity models- all painted like characters!)-
THE WASH OF DOOM!

Step 8.  Um, heavily wash the models with Agrax Earthshade (there's that modern colour again!).
It's the Wash of Doom.  Like, heavy wash.  Maybe twice or thrice.  I'm thinking about doing it again...

And the finished product looks a little something like this:

Not bad for a couple of nights' work, right?  21 models, painted efficiently and quickly. And there's still plenty of room for improvement later!  Let me know what you guys think and what you're working on these days.

Happy Hobbying!

The Empire's gonna strike back!

That's right, I picked up the Decimator recently!  The Empire has a sad knack for underpowered fighters and depend on more swarm tactics than anything with real punch (although there are a number of things you can put together, if you can just let go of the TIE Fighter...).  It's that time!

Now I'm not saying that the Empire sucks in this game.  I've definitely lost more than my fair share of the occasional battle.  But that has much less to do with the squadron and more to do with my poor dice skills (something I'm known for nation-wide).  I love to use the Defender, am a big fan of the Bomber/Shuttle combo (seriously, that combo is vicious!), and am hopelessly obsessed with Interceptors.  But I wanted something that screamed 'Empire'...

 Enter the 12 Hull and Shields!!!  That's right, the Rebels get their little log hideouts, but the Empire owns the galaxy!  And this is just a fighter.  :-)  With the typical good firepower of '3' and the deplorable agility of '0', this ship isn't going to single-handedly annihilate the Rebel fighters.  But it can run them over, take advantage of great weapon options (turrets for the Empire?  Finally!), and generally be a pain to move around.  Here's the best part--

This thing is maneuverable!  Without a single red option, a '4 straight', and 'hard 2's and 3's', this fighter can get anywhere I need it to go.  Minus, of course, the fact that she's HUGE! 

I still haven't used this baby, but I plan to in the next game my buddy and I play.  He has to use his YT-2400, so we can have a little fun with the 'new' stuff.  Let me know what y'all have seen or experienced from this Rebel-busting monster.  As always, Happy Gaming!