Deadzone Kickstarter...

Yep...that's another Kickstarter that grabbed my attention...and then my money...pretty much simultaneously...


The link to the Kickstarter page can be found here.

I'll also be adding the widget for it to my sidebar so I can see how it's going. A lot of stretch goals have already been reached so things are looking good :-)

Skirmish games are my thing at the moment as you may have noticed, lol.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Crew a Week Challenge (Week 4) - Yan Lo - Completed

Apparently I work much better under pressure...as another successfully completed 'Crew a Week' challenge would seem to confirm...

Yan Lo and his Totem, Soul Porter.

 
Chiaki, the Niece.

Toshiro, the Daimyo and Ashigaru.

I'm not 100% sure what to do for next weeks challenge as I currently have 5 crews either still in boxes or at the under-coated stage.

Unless I spontaneously buy something this weekend it will be between the crews of Jakob Lynch, Kirai, Lucas McCabe, Mei Feng or Von Schill. I also have every model that doesn't come with Collodi but has the 'Doll' type as well as every model that's even vaguely useful with Kirai or associated with Jakob Lynch so I suppose they'd be projects 6, 7 and 8...though not necessarily in that order...there's also a Lazarus and a Rail Golem that require my attention at some point...looks like there's still some mileage in this feature, lol.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Warhammer Forge Newsletter #36

For the few remaining people who still play Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer Forge have released some Orcs and an expensive Realm of Battle tile.....

Warhammer Forge Newsletter #36

26/03/13

	Hi there,             We turn our attention to the brutal Orcs in today’s newsletter, with a fantastically detailed new character set now available to pre-order. We’ve also got a great new hollow resin scenery tile for you too, as well as a reminder about an upcoming event. Orc Command Set The greenskinned Orcs are a brutal and savage species; hulking, powerful and possessed of a low cunning often underestimated by their myriad enemies. Their armies are commanded by a Warboss; the biggest, strongest and most powerful of their number. As the Warboss’ tally of victories grows, so too does its stature, resulting in the great Waaagh!s being led by hulking, verdant monsters who stand head and shoulders above the teeming masses who follow in their wake. Even the lowliest Warboss will go to war festooned with trophies taken from its previous victims and clad in crude and slab-like mail and plate; invariably armed to the teeth with a variety of brutal axes, cleavers and knives. As the Warboss wins more victories and grows in notoriety, its vanity and ego will also increase. A subordinate will often be granted the honour of carrying a great, ramshackle standard into battle; loudly and vulgarly proclaiming the Warboss’ prowess in the form of crude glyphs and the broken arms and armour of the vanquished. The Orc Command Set, designed by Edgar Skomorowski, contains two multi-part resin models. Each massive Orc is packed with jaw-dropping detail; from the severed wing of a great Wyvern bearing the broken body of a Trollslayer, carried by the Standard Bearer, to the mighty battered axe and the hateful bellow etched upon the Warboss’ features. This fantastic character set is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 3rd May. Realm of Battle Earthworks Blake Spence has recently finished a new hollow resin Realm of Battle tile, the Realm of Battle Earthworks. This is a fantastic addition to any Warhammer Realm of Battle gaming table; a hillside position fortified with two earthen bastions for artillery pieces, a forward ravelin, and an additional cavalier. The tile also features sufficient space for units of supporting missile troops, and Blake has packed it with plenty of detail, from cached barrels of blackpowder to discarded shields and crossbows. Such defensive positions are a common hallmark of the Dwarfs and Empire armies, particularly the vaunted artillery trains of Nuln, and it is indeed a rare army of Sigmar’s Empire that does not draw up its ranks with emplaced artillery at its back. The Earthworks can also be used to represent an area that has been overrun by forces of a more destructive nature such as the Orcs and Goblins and the hordes of the Chaos Gods. The Realm of Battle Earthworks tile measures 2' x 2' (609mm x 609mm). It is available to pre-order now for despatch from Friday 3rd May. Forge World Events News Horus Heresy Weekender 2013 If you’re yet to purchase your tickets for the Horus Heresy Weekender get in quick as there are not many left!  We are also still accepting reservation orders for this event. This is the best way to ensure we have the exact product you want, packed up and waiting for you at the show. As with all our UK shows, Horus Heresy Weekender reservation orders are pre-paid to make the collection process quicker and easier, leaving you with more time to enjoy the rest of the event. Please telephone the Customer Service team on 0115 900 4995 to place a reservation order. We will require your name, a contact telephone number and e-mail address, along with the list of products you wish to reserve, and you will also need your card details to hand too. We’ll process the payment while you are on the phone, and in the week before the event you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail containing your order number. This is your proof of payment and you must bring this e-mail with you to claim your order. We must receive Horus Heresy Weekender reservations by Monday 13th May. Thanks, Ead Brown Customer Service Manager Forge World

Malifaux for Beginners - Starter Set Soulstone Values

Editors Note - This tutorial is for version 1.5 of the Malifaux rules and has been left available for reference only. Some Malifaux 2nd Edition Tutorials can be found here...as well as quite a few of these old ones, lol.

I'm often asked about what people need to start Malifaux and those conversations inevitably move onto the Soulstone value of those Box Sets.

For an in depth examination of the contents of these sets then I recommend the 'Malifaux on a Budget' articles on The Murder of Ravens Blog but for quick reference I've listed the totals here. I've divided them by Faction and listed two totals. The first total is the actual Soulstone value of the crew and the second total is the value of the crew when their Soulstone Pool is maxed out.

For example - Lady Justice's Box Set comes to a total of 19 Soulstones and their Master (Lady Justice) has a Cache of 4 Soulstones. By adding enough Soulstones to max out her Soulstone pool to 8 we have a potential Maximum value for the crew of 23. Henchmen will have a dash in the Max Pool section as Henchmen have special requirements...for more information on Henchmen there's a tutorial here.

Arcanist.

Colette: 21 SS (26 SS Max Pool)

Kaeris: 24 SS (-)

Marcus: 22 SS (26 SS Max Pool)

Mei Feng: 25 SS (28 SS Max Pool)

Ramos: 28 SS (34 SS Max Pool)

Rasputina: 21 SS (25 SS Max Pool)

Guild.

C. Hoffman: 16 SS (20 SS Max Pool)

Lady Justice: 19 SS (23 SS Max Pool)

Lucas McCabe: 23 SS (27-31 SS Max Pool)*

Lucius: 26 SS (-)

Perdita: 25 SS (31 SS Max Pool)

Sonnia: 20 SS (24 SS Max Pool)

*Lucas McCabe can spend additional Soulstones to buy starting equipment so his total can vary.

Neverborn.

Collodi: 17 SS (-)

Dreamer: 19 SS (24 SS Max Pool)

Jakob Lynch: 18SS (24 SS Max Pool)

Lilith: 19 SS (23 SS Max Pool)

Pandora: 23 SS (26 SS Max Pool)

Zoraida: 25 SS (28 SS Max Pool)

Outcasts.

Hamelin: 22 SS (30 SS Max Pool)

Leveticus: 20 SS (28 SS Max Pool)

Ophelia: 22 SS (-)

Somer Teeth: 16 SS (24 SS Max Pool)

Viktoria: 24 SS (32 SS Max Pool)

Von Schill: 26 SS (-)

Resurrectionist.

Kirai: 19 SS (24 SS Max Pool)

McMourning: 23 SS (25 SS Max Pool)

Molly: 22 SS (-)

Nicodem: 22 SS (27 SS Max Pool)

Seamus: 18 SS (24 SS Max Pool)

Yan Lo: 19 SS (22 SS Max Pool)

Ten Thunders.

Misaki: 29 SS (33 SS Max Pool)

If you have any questions, find any errors with this tutorial or would like some further examples then feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Unboxing Malifaux - Vanessa, Treasure Hunter.

Opening presents is fun...here you can vicariously join in with my enjoyment...

Vanessa, Treasure Hunter.

The Box - Front and Rear.

Sprue - Front and Rear.

The Instructions.

The Stat Card - Front and Rear (No inside view...you'll have to buy one to see that...)

Here's an assembled one...

I haven't decided how to base this one yet so for now it's lightly tacked to the 30mm base it came with.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Malifaux for Beginners - Schemes

Editors Note - This tutorial is for version 1.5 of the Malifaux rules and has been left available for reference only. Some Malifaux 2nd Edition Tutorials can be found here...as well as quite a few of these old ones, lol.

Somewhere between 'Hiring Crews' and 'Deploying Crew' we have the 'Choose Schemes' part of the set-up procedure. This gives us a ridiculous combination of choices and can be a bit confusing the first time you stare at the list of options.

Firstly, schemes are completely optional. Though you can select up to two you are not obliged to do so and your Soulstone cache is increased by two for each scheme you choose not to take...however I wouldn't recommend this as a regular course of action as you are depriving yourself quite a few potential Victory Points (VP) by so doing. The other issue is that you are still limited to a maximum cache of 8 Soulstones at the start of the game so by not choosing Schemes you could potentially be wasting Soulstones...and one thing we don't want to do in Malifaux is waste one of our most valuable resources....

Broadly speaking schemes come in three different types.

General Schemes - These are Schemes that pretty much any crew can take generally have fairly straight forward requirements such as assassinating a certain model, keeping your Master alive or getting a certain amount of models to a certain area of the board, etc. These tend to be the best ones for a beginner to pick as they have fairly clear and simple to understand requirements.

Faction Specific - These are Schemes that can only be selected by a particular Faction and tend to play to that Factions strengths. Resurrectionists (for example) have a scheme that requires you to finish with more models than you started with, Arcanists have one that requires them to perform a set of magical rituals and so on. These schemes more often than not are biased towards a certain crew configuration so you need to think about what models your using before you decide on a scheme. As you select your crew after the main strategy is flipped this isn't a major issue.

Master Specific - Rather obviously these are schemes that apply to a single Master and invariably play to that Masters strengths, however their requirements are so specific that they may not suit your own play-style. Seamus's Scheme requires him to perform a particular task using his Totem and Sonnia Criid's requires her to use a specific Spell to gain a particular effect, etc...this is great if you were going to do these things anyway...but not...if your not...

There are some additional limitations as well.

1) Schemes generally give you more Victory Points (VP) if you announce what your up to rather than if you keep it a secret. Obviously this will depend on whether you think you can still accomplish it if your opponent knows what your up to ;-)
2) Any number of your selected Schemes can come from the General Schemes section but Faction Specific Schemes are only available at one per Master. At the point levels at which your playing most games you'll only have one Master so you'll be limited to just the one Faction Specific Scheme. In the event that your Master has more than one Scheme available to him you can only take one Master Specific Scheme per Master.
3) Some Schemes specify a particular terrain feature or model. Only one feature or model may be specified per Scheme per player. However there's nothing to stop you picking a scheme that coincides with your previously flipped for Strategy.

Obviously when picking Schemes it makes sense to select ones that compliment your Strategy and personal play-style.

Example.

A Resurrectionist Player is having a 35 Soulstone game of Malifaux, has flipped 'Claim Jump' as his Strategy and has chosen to use Seamus, the Mad Hatter and crew for the game itself.

In order to supplement his Master's meagre Cache of 2 Soulstones, his player has selected only 32 Soulstones of models during the Hire Crews phase so his starting Pool of Soulstones is now 5 and now moves onto the Choose Schemes part of the Encounter set-up.

At this point he could opt to not take any schemes at all and take an extra 4 Soulstones (2 per Scheme not taken)...but as he already has 5 Soulstones in his pool those extra 4 would take him to 9 and he's only allowed 8 which is quite obviously a waste of a Soulstone. This would also limit him to a maximum available Victory Points (VP) of 4 (If he successfully fulfils all the requirements for the Claim Jump Strategy) which is somewhat of a disadvantage should his opponent pick his maximum allotment of Schemes.

Instead he looks at his Strategy (Claim Jump) and decides that as he's heading to a marker away from his deployment zone anyway he might as well select Breakthrough as the first of his Schemes and as his opponent is undoubtedly going to be attempting to stop him accomplishing his Strategy he announces his first Scheme for a potential extra Victory Point (VP). He's going there anyway so what the hell ;-)

For his second Scheme he looks at the Faction Specific ones and decides that neither of them are going to be particularly useful and the Master Specific one is no use as it requires the Copycat Killer Totem and he hasn't taken it on this occasion. He decides to play it safe and take Bodyguard as his 2nd Scheme (as keeping your Master alive is always a good idea) and being as he'd like his Master to not be the target of every attack he notes this one down secretly.

He now has a potential Victory Point (VP) total of 7 (4 for Claim Jump, 2 for the announced Scheme of Breakthrough and 1 for the secret Scheme of Bodyguard).

After a few games you'll quickly get the hang of picking Schemes that compliment the Strategy you flipped and the models you selected. These Schemes are a very important part of both the Strategy and the fun of Malifaux and I highly recommend that you don't skip this part of the Encounter set-up.

If you have any questions, find any errors with this tutorial or would like some further examples then feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Crew a Week Challenge (Week 4) - Yan Lo

Having completed my Collodi crew a bit early I expected to be able to get a head start with my next weeks project, namely Yan Lo...however real life has got in the way as usual, lol. I'm not exactly behind as such...I'm just not ahead...

...at least they're assembled...

Yan Lo and his Totem, Soul Porter.

Chiaki, the Niece.

The Ashigaru.

Despite the fact that it's a separate model I've decided to paint Toshiro the Daimyo at the same time as I'll most likely use them all together,

Toshiro the Daimyo.

Same rules apply. One week to paint them all and then another week to get at least one game in with the painted crew. I got a game in with my painted Collodi crew this weekend though I used him with Leveticus rather than as a Master in his own right....he still go used...so I'm calling that another success ;-)

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Mantic Games Newsletter - A Show Off and a Prima Donna

Dreadball is becoming increasingly popular in my FLGS so I should probably give it a go at some point. There's some events info in here as well...

SHOW MADNESS!! So one of the biggest show on the calendar has begun (Adepticon) and another is about to begin (Salute) and we’ve got lots of stuff to show off and talk about. Ronnie is present in Chicago all weekend if you want to catch up with him for a chat and Jake Thornton will be at Salute with a special gaming board… wonder what that could be for? On a related note, Amera will be there with their shiny new DreadBall Stadium: The DreadBall Stadium is designed to fit the DreadBall Gameboard, and will be available to pre-order for just £24.99. Add in our Co-Prosperity Park Arena or the Quadrant Zero Stadium and you’ll have an incredible stage for your game – which can be made all the more better with our great Strike Zone upgrade kits! A Show Off and a Prima Donna... Two new MVPs are ready to take to the pitch! Rico Van Dien – MVP Anne-Marie Helder – Female Team MVP These two characterful models are both egomaniacs – big players in the Galaxy’s Greatest Sport, and are now available to pre-order both as individual blistersand as part of our Game On! Season 2 Launch Bundle!

Hex Bases now available to order! We’ve been getting an awful lot of requests for clear plastic Hex Bases and now we’ve finally got enough stock of them, they are now available to order as both anindividual sprue of 10 or as a bundle of 24! Get them whilst they're hot! Mantic at Salute We’ve got two new members of the Mantic Team… Welcome James!  James is our new community manager – check out his introduction video to find out what he’ll be doing! Not only has James been busy relaying messages on our Twitter, but he’s also beavering away onFacebook – and he wants more of you to join him! “With DreadBall Season 2 just around the corner, I reckon we've got a chance to do something awesome... So like this post and share it - let's see if we can hit 9000 before the end of next week! When we do, we'll pick someone at random to win a copy of the DreadBall Season 2 rules, two Season 2 teams of their choice, 2 MVPs of their choice and a pack of cheerleaders. Like the sound of that? Get sharing!” Wise words from our recruit – like us on Facebook to be in with a chance of winning! Welcome Chris!  Chris has come aboard to take over our graphics responsibilities – his first piece of work was the Season 2 book which is now available to pre-order and you’ll be seeing more work from him in the next couple of weeks. He also has a fine taste in T-shirts – but wait, what’s that he’s holding? Check out our events calendar for your nearest show! 18th-21st April - Adepticon: Chicago 20th April - Salute: London Excel Centre 20th April - Pathfinder Tournament: Firestorm Games, Cardiff, Wales. 4th May - War and Peace run DreadBall Tournament + Mantic Demos, Con-Quest, Derby 11th May - Mantic Open Day and ManticBowl Tournament - 193 Hempshill Lane, Nottingham NG6 8PF

Our mailing address is: Mantic Games, Greasley Street, Bulwell, Nottingham, NG6 8NG England. Copyright (C) 2012 Mantic Entertainment Ltd All rights reserved.

Unboxing Malifaux - Ama No Zako

Opening presents is fun...here you can vicariously join in with my enjoyment...

Ama No Zako.

The Box - Front and Rear.

This particular model comes on two sprues..well it is quite big ;-)

Sprue 1 - Front and Rear.

Sprue 2 - Front and Rear.

The Instructions.

The Stat Card - Front and Rear (No inside view...you'll have to buy one to see that...)

Here's an assembled one...

I haven't decided how to base this one yet so for now it's lightly tacked to the 50mm base it came with.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.