Bay Area open: Day One

Today was the first day of the Bay Area Open, a three day gaming Tournament. There's a Steamroller each day for Warmachine and the Bay Area Open draws the best players of north California and a few from the Socal. Today's (Friday) tournament was a 35 point Teir list event.

I brought:

Theme Force: Storm Bringers Tier 4
35+5 points, 23 models

Major Victoria Haley  +5 points
* Thorn  8 points

Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team  4 points
4 Field Mechaniks  2 points
4 Field Mechaniks  2 points
Storm Strider  9 points
Storm Strider  9 points
Stormsmith Storm Tower  2 points
Stormsmith Storm Tower  2 points
4x Stormsmith Stormcaller  1 point each

Additional Rules:

For each Field Mechanik, 1 Storm Strider gains Advance Move.
Warjacks in Haley's battlegroup are automatically allocated 1 focus at the start of your first control phase.
Storm Striders begin the game with 3 power tokens.

Reinforcements:
Firefly 5
Gun Mage Captain Adept

* * *

Theme Force: The Weathermen Tier 1
35+6 points, 14 models

General Adept Nemo  +6 points
* 5x Charger  4 points each
* 2x Ironclad  7 points each
* Squire  2 points

5x Stormsmith Stormcaller  1 point each

Additional Rules:

Stormsmith Stormcallers gain Advance Deployment.

Reinforcements:
Firefly
Storm tower

Here are some Photos and I'll post a battle report at a later date.

My lists for the Goldrush Rampage

These are the lists that I played in the Goldrush Rampage.


We played divide and Conquer, with a 3 list requirement.  Three lists, character restrictions, and reinforcements really made for an interesting list design


My E-Nemo list was my anti Hordes list. I felt Nemo allowed me to out or equal threat most hordes lists and Alpha just as strongly if not stronger. Energizer and Nemos feat allow for some great attrition or assassination turns. Chargers are amazing, but with his feat turn they are pretty crazy and almost always useful. In non feat turns a Single Focus point still works wonders with them, allowing double fire or one cheap juicey shot. Have a Charger show up in Reinforcements, allows you to really but them to work out side of the feat turn, as it arrives with full focus.


My Caine List was what I thought was a balanced all comers list. I focus on building up the Stormblade ranged game and in after playing in the event, I think I want rangers with them in the future. Both Games I played with Caine, the Stormblades refused to die, having an early game defencive buff (arcane shield form Jr. or Blur from Caine) and buffed by Rupert with Tough and fearless. With them hanging in for a turn or three longer then they seemed they should, allowed them to bring plenty of pain. Getting Jarl Skuld to one health and assassinating Kharchev.


My P-Haley list was my anti Terrain list, encase i got stuck on a forest loaded table or something similar. It's a real beating and I want to play it more. It was also fun with reinforcements because having a full focus Hunter showing up on your feat turn is just sweet. It's also a pretty balanced list, but I feel it's stronger against infantry spam as opposed to a Heavy beast list. It can crack some heavy armor, but it really depends on it's feat turn to do the damage. The Storm strider is nice in this list, because removing the enemies' charge with Temporal Barrier really increases it's durability against Infantry and TB also increases it's accuracy. Nyss Hunters on nutty when they assault and make it into melee under the effects of her Feat. I think I'm going to focus on this list for a while.




Army Name: E Nemo
Cygnar
35+6 points, 11 models
General Adept Nemo  +6 points
* 2x Charger  4 points each
* 2x Ironclad  7 points each
* Stormclad  10 points
* Squire  2 points


Journeyman Warcaster  3 points
Captain Arlan Strangewayes  2 points
2x Stormsmith Stormcaller  1 point each


Reinforcements
Charger
Harlan Vesh
Stormsmith


---
Army Name: Lt Caine
Cygnar
35+6 points, 24 models
Lieutenant Allister Caine  +6 points
* Stormclad  10 points
* Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker  2 points


Journeyman Warcaster  3 points
Anastasia Di Bray  2 points
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team  4 points
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution  3 points
Harlan Versh, Illuminated One  2 points
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord  2 points
Stormblades  5 points
* Stormblade Officer & Standard  3 points
* 3 Stormblade Storm Gunners  3 points
2x Stormsmith Stormcaller  1 point each


Reinforcements
Precursor Knights and UA


---
Army Name: Prime Haley
Cygnar
35+5 points, 19 models
Captain Victoria Haley  +5 points
* Defender  9 points
* Squire  2 points


Journeyman Warcaster  3 points
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt  4 points
10 Nyss Hunters  10 points
* Captain Jonas Murdoch  2 points
Storm Strider  9 points
Stormsmith Stormcaller  1 point


Reinforcements 
Hunter
Stormsmith

Goldrush Rampage

Yesterday, I played in the Goldrush Rampage a new Warmachine tournament that's going to happen twice a year. I was really impress with the event, I expected this to be a neato steamroller, but it was something more. While it was a Full steamroller, they also ran a Master Craftsmen painting contest and had a ton of in game achievements that earned you raffle tickets, for a very generous prize pool. It was a five round event with a $15 dollar entry fee, but aside from having three Judges, great prize support, you also got s sweet swag bag that had full color print out of the scenarios to be played that day, there was a commemorative resin objective marker, and full color interactive objective cards in sleeves. You might have already had access to this stuff, but I thought it was really classy to provide a bunch of little extras to make the game play smoother. The swag bag it's self was a nice black canvas bag that was perfect for carrying my rulebook, counter box and all my paperwork around in.

 I had a great time and played great games, but I did lose my first two games and I'm a little bummed about that. I played each game well, but the first game I lost to Scenario because I was too focused on getting a caster kill on the Troll Warlock Jarl. Jarl casting Quicken on Fen Blades make then scary fast. I did get him to one hitpoint at game end, so I feel like I was in it to win it, but I made some mistakes both minor and large, so I feel I learned a lot on being a better player. My second loss was against Retribution and I really felt like I was diced until I was thinking about it today and realize I just need to be smarter. I was doing a incredible job moping up Sentinels, and killed his Phoenix, most his battle mages both Mage Hunter Assassins, and Archanist. I was feeling very incontrol with TB up and Haley Camping two Focus for armor or Vortex Spear. My opponent activates Rahn, but he's so back field, He Feats, then trys to chain blast some Nyss Hunters and mostly does nothing. I'm getting really excited about the supposed Lockdown I have on him. So he moves up hit last two battle mages and shots at Haley. I'm super happy with my self as I vortex spear both force bolts away. Thinking I was now officially safe, I ws shocked when a Magister moved out form behind a tree, moves up his max distance and shoots at Haley. He's barily in range and rolls a Critical hit, pulling Haley forward 2"s and knocking here down. He also punched 10 damage though her armor and leaves her for a sitting duck. The Storm Fall archer I had no respect for, walk into range and execute her with Brutal Damage. If I had been an Inch back I would have been out of range of the magister and archers. If I had blocked LOS to Haley with the Defender and Jr, she would have survived. Jr. could also have dropped Arcane Shield of the Storm Strider and popped it on Haley too.

I had a Bye on Round three and had to sweet games where my Epic Nemo list dominated Gators and my P-Caine list killed Kharchev.

Here are a ton of photos of game in progress:

This was a long day of awesome gaming. I'm diffidently going to the next Goldrush Rampage. Also Stormblades with Snipe that refuse to die are pretty good.

Troll painting!!

I've been painting Trolls lately. I've dug out my trolls from last year and realised that While I painted most of them, the paint jobs are not at the level I'm at now a days, so I've been touching them up. Additionally, I'm painting up a friends Troll army so he can play in the Bay Area Open.

Here is my Mulg I've re-based touched up and tried to get his runes to glow Orange.

These are the Trolls I'm painting from my Friend, He gave me a E Doomie list to paint first. I'm sure I'll paint a lot of other units for him.

The Earthborn is almost finished I need to paint his loin cloth and detail him a bit.

Another Model that's over 70% done. Not sure what Else I need to do with this guy, other then base him.

Epic Doomshaper is only base coated at the moment. I need to do a lot with him.

 The Axer is also close to fully basecoated

Mulg is almost done. I need to paint the base and figure out what I'm going to do about his runes.


And now some picture from my adventure in Star Wars: The Old Republic

Finished Fulcrum

Here are some pics of the finished Celestial Fulcrum I painted for my friend Johnny.

Warmachine and SWTOR

Hey all,
It's been a while since I last posted and that's only because I'm a big slacker. I've been doing plenty of Gaming in the last month or two. I've been playing my Cryx. The Casters I've been playing are Elich, Coven and Denny1. I've been playing Elich (Epic Asphixous) for players that have issues with Bane Spam or Cryx in General. The Coven seem very sweet to me, spamming multiple Infernal Machines a turn is very sweet if you like Jacks. My Coven lists tend to run Deathjack, Reaper, and a bunch of Bone jacks, typically 4or 5. The different Bonejacks as pretty sweet at moving around and dealing with light armor and meduim or light infanty. Plus the Coven loves arc nodes, for long range downtown spell assassinations and ease of buffing. I've been plenty surprised with how good the bonejacks can be when not "runspeed arcnoding". I'm really starting to love the Defilers with it's Spray and the Deathripper is pretty decent in melee, even better with Armor debuffs on the target and Infernal machine upping it's threat and accuracy.

Recently most my games have been in the 25 or 35 point range, so there are less chaff on the table (by Chaff, I mean stuff that I need to kill to get to the real priority targets), but I really enjoy the smaller games. I think it places more impesses on the Casters or Warlocks, as they have a larger impact on the game over all. 50 Point games are good and all but It's starting to feel a bit like a long 40k VP Grind or extreme Warmachine (where you set up a ton of models then get caster kill on turn two with almost no causalites on either side). I guess I'm saying 50 games tend to have more extreme play in my opinion.


Here are some pict of stuff I've done lately

Food Machine 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

I ran a Foodmachine event last Saturday. It was a 25 point Steamroller with some special rules if you brought in cans to donate to charity. 

The Extra Rules

Some games in progress

Huge stack of all the tickets (cans) that where used. Over two hundred and seventy cans where donated.

When the players signed up they donated thier cans and got tickets to use in the event, you had to rip your tickets in half to use them.

At the end of the Day Alan Smith's P-Goreshade BaneSpam list dominated. With Bryan Carrol's Retribution getting Second place.