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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Progress Report 2/25/15 - Mordheim ho!

It has been a busy few weeks for me as my new job has kicked into high gear with the grand opening of our store (which happened today!). Sadly this has left me very little time for painting or playing games. But I did manage to sneak in two games of Mordheim this week with crushingly fun results!!

Played two games (which will count as the first towards a progressive campaign in the works) here at the Drinkin' and Modelin' gaming basement (which is still under construction). I had a 4'x4' table and Furry brought over the terrain he had been working on. The results were good and the games began!


Game 1 - Randroid's Undead vs. Furry's Witch Hunters

This game started off strong for the Undead with the Surprise Attack scenario and the Witch Hunters being the warband who were surprised. Not sure what they wanted with all the Wyrdstone but my intrepid band of Undead (names and backstory shall be coming soon I promise) snuck up on them and launched a viscous attack against the unsuspecting Witch Hunters. After turn 1 they were already making Route tests but failed to fail which failed to end the scenario. After taking some additional troops out of action the Witch Hunters stubbornly fought back and refused to leave before taking the life of one Dreg and beating the crap out of a couple Ghouls. The game finally ended sometime between turn 9 and 10 when the Witch Hunters Routed voluntarily to avoid being snacked on by the hordes of Undead advancing on their positions. Here are a few shots of the action (in all their blurry glory):

Nice doggy! Fiddles the Dire Wolf gets his snack on.
Surrounded by Ghouls this Flagellant will go down swinging.
Vampire and Dreg meat shield attack from the rear.
"Just take'n a peek..." said this Dreg before getting shot in the head.
Casting necromantic spells has never been so fun!

Game 2 - Randroid's Undead vs. Beaux's Skaven

Damn dirty rats! This time it was a good ol' fashioned Wyrdstone Hunt in the ruins with 3 hunks up for grabs among the power hungry warbands. The Skaven quickly scattered and used their superior speed and agility to claim 2 piece of the Wyrdstone while the Undead slowly made their way up behind cover in an attempt to avoid the shooting onslaught which came their way. While the Ghouls headed up the flank the Vampire and his doggy friend Fiddles rushed the Skaven warband leader and gave him a whack before taking his Wyrdstone. The game ended up Turn 6 after the Skaven failed a Route test and scurried off with the last remaining chunk of the glowing green stone. And here are a couple shots I grabbed during the action:

Sneaky Skaven up in the top of the building with their Wyrdstone.
Kinda like "Where's Waldo" but with rats!!
"Just go running out there... you just got a toughness boost!"
Grozman the learned Necromancer hangs back with his Wyrdstone.
"He is up on the wall! He is invincible!!"
Rats with sharp sticks keep the Ghouls at bay.
Had quite a few increases including boosted WS and Ini stats for the Vampire leader. He is quickly becoming quite the force to be reckoned with! Toughness boosted Dreg and Ghoul make up for some of the lack of "punch" and we might just get a few Zombies added to the roster before the next time the Undead hit the streets.... gotta keep 'em guessing!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Dog Bowl III - Tournament recap.

Late is better than never right??

Well over a week ago Furry and I held our annual Blood Bowl event here in Kalamazoo at the Marmalade Dog WMU gaming convention... the Dog Bowl! This was the third year we've held the event and the second year we've run the build rules which focuses on giving the underdog Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams a fighting shot at winning a tournament (also I hate Elves and tire of playing against Dwarfs). 14 coaches from around the Midwest braved the winter onslaught for three rounds of dog eat dog Blood Bowl action!

This year I brought out the Human team I built alongside my Necromantic and Undead team... the Zlurp-Outcasts! This was the first time I played Humans (ever) and it was a good deal of fun. I tend to shy away from the "boring" teams that aren't made up of fantasy creatures or monsters but my Human team is all Zombies so I can get past the boring aspect. 

Roster was something easy to keep track of and play:


Guard on the Blitzers, Block on the two Catchers and Ogre, and Dodge on the Thrower. Light on the rerolls but I figured the amount of rerolls in skills would help make up for that and it did indeed help (though it didn't help failing those skill rerolls all day). Ended up the day with a record of 2/0/1 in a three game tournament which feels like a good outing for my first time with the team. Only loss was to the tournament champion Siggylama who trounced the Outcasts good with his Chaos Pact team (returning Dog Bowl II champions the Frozen Flames).

It was so much fun I am contemplating running another event later this year! Assuming I have time and can find a good space to play/theme for the event. Until next year I leave you with a few photos from Dog Bowl III!

Rowdykatie and Siggylama square off in Round 1 (Dog Bowl 1 and 2 champs)
 
 

Trophies made for Dog Bowl with a 3D printer!
Close up shot of the Champion 1st place trophy.

Hind Dog (last place) "winner" Fejwe (Slann)
Junkyard Dog (Most CAS) winner Valdric (Halflings)
Greyhound (Most TD) winner Big Stray Cat (Ogres)
2nd Place (Butt Sniffer?) winner Delevus (Vampires)
Best In Show (1st Place) winner Siggylama (Chaos Pact)

Monday, February 16, 2015

Beer Review - Left Hand Brewing The Stranger Pale Ale.

Speaking of strangers... 



Left Hand Brewing Company - The Stranger Pale Ale

Beer Type: American Pale Ale - 5.00% ABV

Appearance: 12 brown bottle with the shadowy stranger on the label. Makes me think of Repairman Jack by F. Paul Wilson (and not the other "stranger" sometimes associated with the left hand). Wonder if it is supposed to? Beer is a golden-straw color with a nice fluffy beige head that leaves lots of lace. Bubbly! A pretty looking beer.  

Smell: A light malted aroma and something a bit woody? Maybe it's just all the yardwork I was doing before drinking this beer.        

First Drink: Light like the smell, a bit of citrus hops comes out, also a bit of grassy flavor.  

Mouthfeel: Quite nicely carbonated. I would say it's pretty light otherwise.     

Last Drink: More bready malt coming out now and the hops finish is quite nice.         

Drinkability: I wouldn't kick it out of my fridge but the price for this beer is a bit hefty for the flavor it brings when compared to more local MI brews.         

Notes: People swear by Left Hand but I haven't been very excited about their beers. It's well made but nothing mind blowing.        

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5. I like the way it looks in this pint glass and I like the label. Beer's okay too!