The Sump Dogs at it again

   As noted in the last post, we've been a bit focused on the Necromunda and getting some battles in on that great TinkerTurf terrain (it's awesome running around gantries and platforms and shooting down at enemies).  To kick off this round of battles, we have the Carrion Queens battling the Sump Dogs.  After the brutal comeback against the Goliaths, can the Orlocks do it again?

The Sump Dogs

The Carrion Queens

  With the silent signal, the Sump Dogs advanced and tried to use as much cover as they could.  But the wiley Eschers were prepared and immediately pinned one of the Orlocks.  The shuffle of dashing bodies was the only other sound echoing across the battlefield this round.

Poor Lander...

  It wasn't long before the Carrion Queens took the high ground and initiative from position (despite not getting Priority for the entire first half of the game).  This was the opposite of the Orlocks' experience from their last battle.  While they were still in good shape, they weren't outmaneuvering the enemy again.

  Reina had even quietly snuck around and chased Zed and his two buddies up the stairs where they cowered from her sudden appearance.  Discretion is the better part of the valour, right?

  The rest of the Carrion Queens climbed quickly to the top of the battlefield, taking some fire and having to hug the platforms.  It was becoming a repeat of their last battle, where they were surrounded and their high-ground advantage was completely taken from them.  

  Just as the Sump Dogs found their way to some advantage, the lithe Eschers fell on them from every direction, even above with little more than a rickety ramp!  Nakomi had the misfortune of falling prey to some unlucky shooting and a coup-de-grace from Jon Krow, giving the Orlock a much-needed confidence boost.  Unfortunately, Marika followed up right behind and stole that confidence right back...

Zed watching the misfortune

Gunner Ski sneaking around

  Meanwhile, Marika continued her rampage, knocking Mo Two-Fist out and securing most of the high ground.  This allowed for Brae to turn back and handle the already bleeding Grimm...

  Even point blank, she was nervously shaking and missed.  Grim, not yet finished for the battle, fired back and took her out.  Nerves matter.

  However, the stubbornness of Grim didn't outweigh the damage that the Orlocks have taken up to this point.  Outnumbered and outpositioned, the Sump Dogs had that dark feeling again.  

  Nerves finally broke with the realization that they were few and the Sump Dogs mostly abandoned the battle.  But they took down a number of the Eschers on the way out and made the Carrion Queens pay.  The hero in this battle was Grim.  

  It was another brutal battle in the Underhive!  The Sump Dogs were definitely a force to be reckoned with- as long as they didn't flee from the conflict at the most key moments!  The Carrion Queens were vicious and fast, quickly taking every position they wanted.  But they paid every time an Orlock shot as they aren't nearly as tough as the Goliaths from the previous battle.  

Happy Gaming!

Return to the Underhive

   Okay, this is a little late.  My buddy came into town to visit and I strong-armed him into a game of Necromunda.  This was back at the beginning of December.  Look- the Underhive is a busy, dirty place and time is never on our side!

  My buddy and I used to play the old Necromunda ALL THE TIME back in the day.  We probably competed in three full league cycles and even ranked sometimes (often at the beginning, before all the good players set their schedules).  Now, all these years later, I had the opportunity to show off the new version.  

  The first and most surprising thing about our game was how quickly my buddy picked it up.  He's read the rules and even purchased his own miniatures, but that was long before and out-of-mind by this point.  I took two minutes covering all the rules and the first turn was off without even a hiccup!  It's surprising to me how 'intuitive' the rules of this new version are.  

  We used the first Sector Mechanicus scenario (a "Kill and 12" mission) and set up using Mechanicum terrain from Shadow War: Armageddon and my awesome Tinkerturf terrain set.  This allowed us to harken back to the old days of Necromunda instead of dashing through tunnels per the new box.  

  The action in the game was brutal.  His Goliaths, the Ironlords, advanced and quickly took half the board.  They were set up to get charges and take advantage of their powerful but short-ranged guns.  My Orlocks, the Sump Dogs, cautiously hugged cover and tried to answer.  

  This led to half the Sump Dogs being knocked out quickly- that Str 5 Stub Cannon is a brutal weapon!  Conversely, the high rate-of-fire coming from the Orlocks bounced off the chemically-fortified pecks of the Ironlords.  Before long, the Goliaths controlled the high ground and had the enemies surrounded.  It was grim.

  Then, in the last two turns, Mo Two-Fist used his gunfighter skills to start mowing down the brutes and stave off some brutal charges.  Lucky dice and karmic resurgence led to the Ironlords being stunned and the odds evened out quickly.  The coup-de-grace was when Zed Hackjaw finally freed himself to the high ground and, like the snipers of Delaque, head-shotted the surviving Goliaths with his harpoon.  With his HARPOON!  Both gangs were long broken and the last three fighters quit the battlefield.

  The game was an absolute blast.  My buddy was so excited that he went back to his state and started working on his miniatures.  We've even planned for another game sometime this spring.  The rules weren't difficult, the action was constant, and the narrative was stunning.  

  Now I'm roping the family into the game again.  My son has slapped together two more gangs (the Delaque and Cawdor) and we're waiting for the spraypaint stock to be replenished to get them painted.  The Underhive was quiet for far too long...

  Happy Gaming!

Year of the Xenos

   I'm still around and very happy that you are as well!  Work has been my main focus and I've finally narrowed down to only one job, where I've been promoted and have taken on responsibilities.  Luckily, I actually have a job that I can't 'take home', so I have plenty of time over the weekends to actually hobby and play.  I have been.

  I've gotten a ton of miniatures painted (but obviously not all that I've planned to) and I've played plenty of games.  As is the cycle, this year is the "Year of the Xenos" for me and I've almost worked through the cycle.  The year continued the domination of the Necrons until I finally had to retire them out of respect for my son's and wife's desire to play a fair game.  I switched to the Orks and that provided for some close battles that saw the greenskins narrowly crush the Imperials repeatedly.  Once they were retired, I brought out the Tau...

  The Tau were my focus for some time.  The models have always been cool but their game rules were never aligned (too powerful or completely useless).  I even busted out the old airbrush to try some neat things.  The first few games with the Tau were extremely bad- the xenos couldn't compete against Dark Angels, Death Guard, or Sisters in any way.  With some hardcore adjustments and min-max paradigm in the army list, I was able to finally make the Tau viable.  But it was a struggle that required an effective 'alpha-strike' and that was too conditional.  In this case, I retired the Tau out of respect for my own desire for a fair game.  I'll be curious when the Tau update finally comes around.

  By now, we all should know that the Orks are getting their update finally. I was planning on maybe trying the pointy-eared Eldar by now, but the greenskins are finally getting their codex and even some new models.  I have way too many unbuilt Ork models (including a half-dozen artillery pieces and as many Meganobz) and the chance to put them out again is tempting.  But the codex isn't released yet other then the limited one from the box set, so I've had to make due for a little bit.  And therein comes the current projects.

  My Ultramarines  have seen battle against the Dark Angels in a simple bid to have some 'old-marine vs. old-marine' style game.  It's interesting because neither army sucks yet they are so different in their tactics even with near unique army lists.  There'll be a few more games of that because, well, they're just really fun!  It felt really good- almost nostalgic and comfortable after decades!  

  In addition, the Underhive has seen the launching of a campaign between the Escher, Goliath, and Orlock gangs.  The tunnels have echoed with screams and gunfire lately and it's been bloody.  Interestingly, it's the timing of the Orks release in 40k that may be impacting some of the goings-on in Necromunda...

  If you can't tell, I'm really excited about continuing my Year of the Xenos and using the Orks.  The blogosphere has pretty much revealed everything there is to know but I'm reserved until the actual codex is released.  The Snagga-boyz may be pretty cool, but my Bad Moonz are sounding pretty strong still and I do like the dakka!  That being said, Gazhkull has been built and waiting for a bit now...

  As always- Happy Gaming!

A post; ANY post!?

   If you are still hanging around and waiting for me to post- I have to apologize.  In August of last year, I started a new, very physically-taxing job that more than sapped all the energy I had outside of work.  This, in addition to my professional job at night and training for my seasonal job upcoming, means that I was forced to neglect this poor site.  And for those loyal readers to the right (and unsubscribed still)- I apologize.  

  I don't feel so bad, however.  First, this is because I often see other [far more prolific and successful] bloggers having to take intermissions for various reasons themselves.  The "I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while" incident is almost becoming a trope.  And for not being unique, I feel less guilty.  

  More importantly, I don't feel as bad for failing to post because I have made sure to get some gaming and hobbying in as possible.  I believe there has not been a weekend without a game or furious painting since my last post.  And sometimes I even have pictures to prove it.  

  If you remember, I had already posted about my games using the new Necrons and my feelings on them.  Well, we played many, many more games and eventually leveled the scores.  In fact, my Necrons first lost against my wife's Sisters of Battle, then against the Dark Angels (my son and I had switched armies so I could test my theory), and finally in a legitimately close game that came down to the final die roll.  It was a mission worth completing- defeating the 'space robots from space' and justifying a game each weekend despite health-affecting exhaustion.  Those many game provide the proof of hobby-involvement even without consistent updates to the blog.  

  There was much progress on the painting front as well.  My Ultramarines are only three models from Dark Imperium being complete (after the release of Indomitus- DON'T JUDGE!) and my Necrons are all done.  While easy, the army is still striking on the tabletop.  It's cool to remember where it started...

  This new year isn't looking any easier (quite the opposite, in fact), but I'm going to try to post more than once a quarter.  If I don't, I apologize in advance.  Hopefully, my newest toy will bring that Gaze of Death if I don't...

Happy Hobbying!