Useful Wargaming Resources

No update last week as I've just come back from a (much needed) holiday in Berlin. You've got to say one thing for the Germans, they've got memorials down a tee. Learning about so much WWII and Cold War history was certainly an eye opening experience and certainly one that I'd recommend, especially if you are interested in wargaming that period of history.

This weekend I'm off to an Infinity tournament in Exeter, so there has not been much time for painting lately either, but lots of frantic gluing instead. So this is just going to be a quick post inspired by some of the most helpful things I've found recently whilst wargaming. Hopefully you'll find them useful too!

Fairy Power Spray

All hail our saviour of models!

Do you have paint on your models? Do you wish that paint wasn't on your models? Fairy Power Spray is the answer you've been looking for. It's becoming harder to find now, but larger Sainsbury's in the UK still have it and I recommend stocking up just in case it gets discontinued. I know that since I've been introduced to the Oldhammer movement I've been buying up miniatures that have arrived in a rather rough state and it has been invaluable.

Infinity Starter Packs - PanO & Nomads

Update: This post has now been bought into line with the 3rd edition of Infinity.

So, you've had a demo game, seen the pretty models and want to get playing, but which starter pack should you buy? My aim is to rate each of the currently available starter packs on a scale of 1 to 5 based on the following criteria and provide some sample army lists to get you going.

• Immediate Usability: How well can you use the starter box to build a 120 and 150 point list for the first two rounds of an Escalation League. Top marks are for being able to use all six figures effectively and being able to play the first two rounds with minimal extra purchases.

• Long Term Value: Are the models that come in the Starter Pack going to be useful in the long run, will you end up using them all consistently as your army grows and are they likely to replaced by newer sculpts in the foreseeable future.
     Two ratings are given, the first when playing the 'vanilla' army with no limitations, and the second when playing the Sectorial that the box specifically belongs to (if available).

• Model Quality: Are the models good quality, recent sculpts. Some starter packs show more age than others or have outdated models in them.

I'm making the assumption that it is the player's intention to play the 'vanilla' faction, which means that they are interested in the full range of models for that faction. If a player is interested in just a particular Sectorial (a sub-section of a faction) then they should always just get the relevant starter box for that Sectorial as it invariably provides the best value.

All images in this article are the property of Corvus Belli.

It's a liebe-fest

Phreedh has kindly nominated me for a Liebster (darling? beloved?) award. I'm embarrassed to say that this was now over two (three? four? five?) weeks ago and that I've taken my sweet time writing it up. My excuse is that I have had too many games to play and models to paint. Also, writing is hard.

So after doing a little research it turns out that the format is 11 truths, 11 answers and then 11 questions for 11 other bloggers. That's a lot to get through so I won't prattle any more and will just dive straight in instead.

That's a lie actually - just a little prattle. You may have noticed that I've finally worked out how to add a follower button to my blog. If you find anything I write interesting, please click it and let me know. It should be about here. →

Thank you for this prestigious award.

UK Games Expo 2014

Well, that was exhausting! The weekend of 30th May to 1st June was the annual UK Games Expo in Birmingham which was once again held in the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel. The attendance over the weekend was incredible with almost 6,000 attendees and, at least as far as I could tell, the event was fantastically smoothly run. Given how much was going on that was no small feat. I had initially planned to play a follow up game to Otten Village on the Saturday but unfortunately couldn't arrange for it to happen.

Over the weekend there were one-shot role-play games, open board gaming rooms with a board games library, tournaments, signings, seminars, playtesting areas for new games, a bring-and-buy and three trade rooms. There was such a huge amount happening that it really felt impossible to do everything that I wanted to do in just those few days.

One of the open gaming rooms

The Battle of Otten Village - Part 3

Suddenly everything had fallen quiet, the last frantic blows of the battle had been struck and all that was left to do was count the dead.

In total I had four Skaven, three Beastman and one of the Trolls knocked out, but luckily every one of my models recovered with only minor injuries. Fred, the bull-headed Beastman, had an eye injury which reduces his Ballistic Skill (oh no!) and the yellow Troll, who has been named Nars, suffered a broken nose. Given the description of a nose injury in the book, I am less than worried:

"The character's nose is smashed in and looks really awful. This doesn't affect the game, but the Champion's youthful looks are ruined forever."

Lars and Nars. Due to this injury, Lars is now considered the 'pretty' one.

The Battle of Otten Village - Part 2

The Battle

No fluff today, just battle report goodness. You can find the introduction and army lists in part one.

Turns 1 to 3
The fimir won the dice roll to move first and we were off. My opponent did not hold back in the slightest as the fimm warriors moved into the centre, no doubt hoping to hold up the beastmen and skaven whilst Fergus and his retinue of fianna fimm (their elite troops) start swinging around the flank. The door to the house is on the far side from them and they wanted to get some captives whilst the chaos forces were distracted.

Dorrin's band moved in towards the middle of the battlefield also hoping to flank the fimm regiment with one of the units and wipe them out quickly. There wasn't much excitement in the first few turns as the trolls repeatedly fail to show up, they were too busy contemplating the meaning of the universe whilst picking their noses probably. Melondil shot with his crossbow, hit despite the swirling mists, but failed to cause a wound. This would be a recurring theme of the game for him.

Turn 3 - Jostling for position - also in shot is some fine tape measuring action.

The Battle of Otten Village - Part 1

This week I played my first game of Warhammer Fantasy in over three years, and my first of 3rd edition in much longer than that, with Fimm McCool. No doubt we both made a lot of mistakes and we played a little fast and loose with the rules but a great time was had. Read on for an introduction to the battle.

Prologue

A woman came screaming and stumbling through the woods, almost blundering straight into Dorrin "Help us, help us! The deamon-fiends - we can't hold them off!" She took a look at who she had run into and she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. An angry, winged dwarf with a retinue of beast-things were not who she was hoping to come across.

Dorrin was about to tell the woman to be gone as he had more important things to do, there were still Slaaneshi worshippers to run down after all, but the whisper told him to stop and consider her. "Were her people not like him," the whisper said "unable to return to their homes, their families murdered? Would they not also desire vengeance and relish spilling the blood of their tormentors?" Dorrin thought on this for a moment then walked over to the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Aye lass, we'll help you - take us to your home."

She looked up at him and the surrounding company, considered her options and decided the they were favourable to the marauding deamonfolk. After all, aren't dwarves meant to be good, and there was an elf too, aren't elves meant to be kind? She'd never met either an Elf or a Dwarf before and she wondered if all dwarves have wings, or maybe only those that live above ground like this one. Certainly all the folk tales she knew suggested that both dwarf and elf were benevolent, so she stood up, dusted herself down and - being unsure how to address a dwarf - did a curtsey. "My Lord my name is Marta, Otten lies this way, please hurry." 

Classic Warhammer - lining up to fight at a jaunty angle.