Progress Report - 11/29/08.

Is it possible to play too much Warhammer?

This was the question I set out to answer during the past two weeks. Since my last update I played two additional matches in the 500 point campaign, winning two massacres against Vampire Counts and Lizardmen forces. Total scores are still being tallied but as of this writing I am tied for second place (against Dwarfs) with a 2-1 record and 35 game points. Still determining a "fair" way to decide the tie breaker but it will likely come down to total "Goal" points awarded which puts me in second place.

Not bad considering I felt I had no chance of winning most of the games I played. Either I am getting better or it is my new dice!

Spent the better part of this holiday weekend playing Warhmamer as well, mostly in a team setting. My Slayer force took apart a combined Nurgle Daemon and O&G force (with my partner being wiped out by the end of the second turn), and I proxied a 750 point force of Chaos Trolls to great success against a mass of Dark Elves.

All in all things are going well in the game playing department! I have also made decent strides in the painting/finished models for the Beer Gut Tribe with just my Butcher and three Ironguts left to paint by next Monday. Look for pictures of the fully painted force soon!

One of the biggest time sinks involved in this hobby is crafting Army Lists. A lot of thought and effort goes into crafting a solid list, especially in a campaign/tournament type environment when you don't know who you will be facing and what they might bring. My group will be jumping from 500 points to 1000 points in January so I have drafted a variety of lists to choose from as I expand my painted force of Ogres. Here are a few examples of the things I am kicking around, utilizing different play styles with my Rare and Special choices.

List #1 - The "lets get as many models as possible on the table and still have a Rare choice" list.

Bruiser @ 182
- Heavy Armor
- Great Weapon
- Wyrdstone Necklace (5+ Ward save
- Luck Gnoblar (reroll one failed Armor or Ward save per game)
- Fistful of Laurels (reroll one failed Break test per game)

Butcher @ 130

Butcher @ 130

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Ironguts x 3 @ 144

Ironguts x 3 @ 144

Gnoblar Trappers x 8 @ 48

Gnoblar Fighters x 20 @ 42
- Groinbiter

Gorger @ 75

Total Points: 1000 (of 1000)

This list is pretty basic but offers quite a few tactical options. The Bruiser would go with one unit of Ironguts while the Butchers would shelter in the other Irongut and Bull units. The Gorger can be quite devestating but isn't worth banking on as he often gets shot to bits. For 75 points he can dish out a lot of hurt with some luck which is why he is on here.

I am likely to face a decent amount of Magic opposition in this next leg of the campaign which makes the Butchers even better. Wish I could spring for some magic items but they will still get buffs off and with 6 Power Dice and 4 Dispel Dice I should have a pretty good magic phase.

List #2 - The "lets use our Maneaters and Butchers to create a tough as nails combat" list.

Bruiser @ 167
- Heavy Armor
- Great Weapon
- Wyrdstone Necklace
- Luck Gnoblar

Butcher @ 160
- Siegebreaker

Butcher @ 150
- Skullmantle

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Ironguts x 3 @ 144

Gnoblar Trappers x 9 @ 54

Gnoblar Fighters x 20 @ 40

Maneaters x 2 @ 180
- Heavy Armor
- Great Weapon

Total Points: 1000 (of 1000)

The magical 9th Trapper is here, along with magic items on the Butchers and two Maneaters. All this comes at the cost of the second Irongut unit but the Maneaters and the Bruiser should be able to make up for lack of hard hitting.

List #3 - The "screw gut magic, lets blow ourselves up and fall down on the enemy" list.

Bruiser @ 162
- Heavy Armor
- Great Weapon
- Wyrdstone Necklace

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Ironguts x 3 @ 144

Ironguts x 3 @ 144

Leadbelchers x 2 @ 110

Leadbelchers x 2 @ 110

Gnoblar Trappers x 8 @ 48

Slavegiant @ 175

Total Points: 998 (of 1000)

Super bare-bones Bruiser but there are larger threats on the board now in the form of the Leadbelchers and the Slavegiant. I have had really bad luck with Leadbelchers but hopefully the Giant can keep them alive long enough to blast some cavalry or cheap unit blocks off the board. No gut magic could be very problematic but that is the cost associated with bringing big (potential) threats to the table.

List #4 - The "who says you can't have an Ogre gunline" list.

Bruiser @ 166
- Heavy Armor
- Brace of Handguns
- Wyrdstone Necklace
- Luck Gnoblar
- Sword Gnoblar

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Leadbelchers x 2 @ 110

Leadbelchers x 2 @ 110

Gnoblar Trappers x 8 @ 48

Gnoblar Scraplauncher @ 165

Maneaters x 2 @ 180
- Heavy Armor
- Brace of Handguns

Total Points: 999 (of 1000)

Shoot, shoot, shoot, misfire, blow up, lose. That is pretty much how I see this list going but it could be fun. No gut magic again, and no heavy hitters aside from the Bruiser and the Maneaters. This list is fairly defensive which is never good for Ogres, but forcing the enemy to come into charge range and hiding behind terrain while shooting at anything they can could really throw off some of my regular opponents.

So there you have it, four lists that all offer fairly different ways of playing the game. Which one is best? Your guess is as good as mine! The entire game of WHFB basically boils down to percentages. Increasing your chance of dealing damage while decreasing your chances of taking damage and then rolling the dice. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, which makes the more relevant question how do you want to lose the game?

My answer would be I want to lose in the most fun way possible which is what I need to take into account while making my final choices for the list.

Battle Report: Beer Gut Tribe vs. Warriors of Chaos 11/4/08.

Played the first game in the campaign with the Beer Gut Tribe last week, against the dastardly new Warriors of Chaos. His list consisted of one group of 5 Chaos Knights with a level 2 Chaos Sorcerer in their midst. All of the mounted units were marked by Nurgle (-1 WS in close combat and -1 to hit in shooting) and the Sorcerer also had a spell familiar which allowed him to cast three spells total. The remainder of his army consisted of two minimum size blocks of 10 Marauders.

My list was as follows (for those not keeping up with the campaign progress):

Butcher @ 155
- Bangstick

Bulls x 3 @ 105

Ironguts x 4 @ 192

Gnoblar Trappers x 8 @ 48

Total Points: 500 (of 500)

Obviously my main concern was the Chaos Knights and their general. Their statline is very high, not to mention their Nurgley goodness and the 1+ armor save. Hell, their horses can kill most of my troops! With this in mind I knew the only chance I had at taking out the Knights was to bait them into a charge they would fail, rush in with the Ironguts, and hopefully buff them with Toothcracker or Bullgorger.

Deployment

Terrain was randomly placed by the game "officials" and the Warriors won the dice off to deploy first. They started with the first unit of Marauders which I followed by my one unit of Bulls. Next up were the other Marauders across from my Bulls, which I followed by placing my Ironguts. Finally came his Chaos Knights and I finished my placement with my Butcher near the Ironguts and close to the Bulls. His Sorcerer went into his Knight block and my Trappers snuck their way on to the battlefield, hiding behind some rocks near the second group of Maraduers. I won the dice off for first turn and took it.

Rolling for his spells the Sorcerer got 5, 7, and 12. This equates to what I remember (as I don't have the WoC book) as being Bubous (deals 1 wound that can't be saved against), Fleshy something (a Regen save that is not remains in play and ends on the caster's next magic phase), and Rot Glorious Rot (which does something terrible to everything within 18" of the caster).

Turn 1

While I was able to get excellent placement with the Gnoblar Trappers they didn't feel like actually coming to the fight the first turn. I rolled a 1 and they stood about bickering. I was really hoping to march block the Marauders and threaten their backs with sharp stuff. Life goes on and the rest of the army marches forward to take on the Knights. Of course here is where I messed up and moved the Ironguts just a little too far, leading to their death at the hands of the Chaos Knights.

Butcher attempts to cast Toothcracker on the Ironguts with a 3 but this is dispelled by the Sorcerer. He aims Braingobbler at the outermost Marauder group but they hold with a 6. He aims at the group again with a Bonecruncher with a 6 which is promptly dispelled with a roll of 8 on two dice. Manage to cast Trollguts on the Ironguts with a 6 and the Sorcerer has no dispel dice left. The Bangstick makes a loud noise but only manages to to roll 1 hit and 1 wound on the group of Marauders. While it could have been a great magic phase it turned out to be pretty mediocre overall.

Now the dirty deeds of Chaos begin with the Knights charging the Ironguts and the Marauders marching up their flanks. The Knights are exactly 14" away from the Ironguts who have moved just a little too far. They hold the charge and take 7 wounds managing to kill just one Knight. They lose combat, flee (8 inches), and are promptly chased down(11 inches). A huge loss for the Beer Gut Tribe and the loss of any chance of victory for me.

The Sorcerer attempted to cast the Bubous spell in CC which the group ruled was not legal. Not sure on this one as the book isn't very clear on what is required besides line of sight. He follows up that with a case of the Fleshy something spell with a 10 which is dispelled by the Butcher with a roll of 13 (on 3 dice). He used his remaining two dice to dispel the Trollguts on the Ironguts which only added to their quick demise.

Turn 2

The Gnoblars finally decide to do something, marching forward behind the Marauders in case they flee the coming Ogre charge which comes from both the Bulls and the Butcher to their front. They manage to pass their fear check by rolling a 3 (although they should have taken two as it was two seperate fear causing units that charged ... I need to remember this stuff!) and hold their ground. The bull charge kills 3 of the front rank outight with the remaining 7 wounds coming in from the Bulls and Butcher. The unit is destroyed and both of the Ogre units take their overrun move forwards, the Bulls with 10" and the Butcher with 5".

Another turn of Gut Magic where nothing happened went by with the Butcher casting Trollguts on the Bulls with a 3 (on 2 dice) and Blood Gruel on himself at 6 (on 2 dice) which is dispelled by the Sorcerer with a roll of 7. The Butcher now has only two wounds left which makes him a great target for the Chaos Sorcerer and his nasty spells.

Chaos begins to reform and moves in to make charges on the remaining Ogres. The Sorcerer attempts to cast Bubous on the Butcher with 6 (on 2 dice) which is dispelled with a roll of 6 as well (also on 2 dice). He then casts Fleshy something on his unit of Chaos Knights again and the Butcher has insufficient dice to attempt a dispel.

Turn 3

At this point the Ogres are playing for survival. Knowing they need a diversionary tactic they send the Trappers forwards towards the incoming Knights in the hopes their tiny green bodies might slow down the massive warriors. The Butcher moves to face the Marauders flanks while the Bulls pull back towards the table edge.

The Butcher begins his magic phase with Braingobbler on the Marauders. A roll of 6 is not dispelled by the Sorcerer and the Marauders stay put after rolling a 5. Casting Bonecruncher on the Marauders does 2 wounds, while Bloodgruel is dispelled with an 11 (on 3 dice) after casting with a 9 (on two dice). The Bangstick makes some noise for the second time in the game, but it may be firing blanks as it only does 1 hit again, this time with no wounds. Another round of mostly ineffectual Gut Magic goes down in history.

Chaos moves its Knights forward while the Maruders shuffle backwards and turn to face the Butcher. The Sorcerer attempts to cast Rot Glorious Rot on everything within 18" with three dice but miscasts with two 1's and a 4. Rolling a 7 on the miscast table the Sorcerer takes a wound and ends his magic phase.

Turn 4

The Gnoblar Trappers continue to be the most useful unit on the board for the Beer Gut Tribe, moving forward 8" to march block the Knights while staying out of their charge line of sight. They think about throwing stones at them before remembering they marched that turn and can not do so. Silly, silly Gnoblars. The Bulls shuffle sideways 3" while the Butcher moves forward 12" and faces the Marauders flank once again.

Gut Magic is ineffectual again as the Butcher attempts to cast Braingobbler on the Marauders and fails, while Bloodgruel is cast with a 7 and quickly dispelled by the Sorcerer with another 7. The Bangstick remains quiet this turn as it is dispelled with the remaining dispel dice of Chaos.

The Warriors of Chaos seem to be losing their will to kill only moving forward 7" while the Marauders shuffle backwards to face the Butcher again. The Sorcerer casts Fleshy Abundance (yeah I just now remembered the name) with no attempt to dispel from the Butcher. This seems to confuse the Warriors of Chaos but they brush it off.

Turn 5

Terrible photos aside, turn 5 starts off with the Butcher running into the nearby forest. The Bulls continue to move sideways hoping to stay out of reach of the Chaos Knights, and the Gnoblars move into the flanks and front of the Knights. Once again they feel the urge to throw rocks and bits but their attacks are ineffectual at best, simply bouncing off the Chaos Knights and their twisted armor. The Butcher manages to finally get off a Blood Gruel and heals one of his lost wounds putting him back up to 3 wounds.

The Chaos Knights declare a charge on the Trappers who promptly flee in an effort to smash the Knights into the nearby rocks or at least expose their flanks to the nearby Bulls. They succeed in getting themselves killed but fail to position the Knights within the charge line of sight of the Bulls further proving that you should never trust a Gnoblar. The Chaos Sorcerer attempts to cast Fleshy Abundance again but this time fails (rolling 3 dice in the process). Meanwhile the Marauders turn and high tail it towards the back table quarter in an effort to get more points.

Turn 6

The Bulls can't make a charge so they do the next best thing and move towards the opposite table quarter. Meanwhile the Butcher pops out of the forest to say hello to the sweaty shirtless men on the other side. They get Bone Cruncher and Bangsticked down to just 5 models and run for their lives.

The Chaos turn and attempt to blast the nearby Bulls with Nurgle magic but fail to do so. The game is over and somehow the Bulls and Butcher managed to survive. The result is a Solid Victory for the forces of Chaos (340) over the mostly harmless Beer Gut Tribe (184).

It was a fun game and I can certainly see my mistakes. Hopefully the next time I have to face these close combat monsters from the Chaos wastes I will have a better plan to beat them with. Playing other MSU armies at a low point total just isn't all that fun.

The life and times of Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander – Part I

Here is a little "fluff" (aka story, fiction, a random string of letters and words that may pertain to something) for my Ogre Kingdoms army the Beer Gut Tribe. I had a hard time just jumping into the "now" for the BGT so I thought I would start at the beginning, with the life and times of the Beer Gut's Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander. Yeah it is a long name but that is just how the ogres do it!

I hope you enjoy this first little tale as I had fun writing it. I won't say this post or story has anything to do with the presidential election but I can't say it has nothing to do with it either.

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The life and times of Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander – Part I

Karnov was furious. That was not terribly unusual as he was often angry about something, but it was rare to see his own blood on the ground. His current source of aggravation stood directly across from him in the bone-strewn maw pit. Pulling against Dorfrog Stonechaser’s massive bulk Karnov strained to throw the other Bull over. “I will rip that shrimpy lump you call a gut right off your sorry frame an eats it!” growled Dorfrog menacingly. “You ain’t fit to be callin’ yor’selfs a true Ogre!” he continued as he threw his bulbous stomach forward, smashing into Karnov’s naked gut.

Dorfrog towered over Karnov, easily twice again as large and half again as wide. Even for an ogre Dorfrog was a bully and used to getting his way by beating down any Bull who might oppose him. Might makes right thought Karnov as he steeled his gut for another thundering attack, blinking the stream of blood out of his eyes. Straining forward against Dorfrog’s bulk Karnov twisted to the left, grabbing a fistful of the other ogre’s filth crusted breeches. Using all his strength he pushed forward, putting his front leg out behind the towering Bull, and quickly lowering himself to half Dorfrog’s height. The Bull was momentarily off balance and Karnov pressed the attack, punching Dorfrog once in the mouth.

“Keep your stupid thoughts to yor’self fore you makes me really mad!” roared Karnov as he thrust forward, crashing against Dorfrog’s gut and forcing him to the ground. “You might be big an’ your’es gut may swell, but I’m tougher an heres da proof!” Karnov rammed his head face first into the Bull’s skull with a loud crack. He continued the assault, repeatedly smashing his scarred face into Dorfrog’s now mangled face until the larger Bull failed to resist against his attacks.

Karnov forced himself up on his feet, the strain of pulling his massive girth shown in his squat muscled legs. Looking down at his now unconscious rival he put his large hand to his left ear, feeling the pulpy mass where it should have been. He would miss the ear, but it could have been much worse. Such was to be expected when two Ogres fought in a ‘guts-out’ contest.

Removing the gut plate and fighting to the death was seen as a badge of honor in ogre society, but there was no honor in this fight. Dorfrog was the younger brother of Reekus Goldmaw, Tyrant and ruler of the Goldmaw tribe. Karnov feared Reekus, but could not bring himself to respect the massive leader. While gold, silver, and jewels were plentiful for Reekus from the many assaults made on nearby traveling merchants, very little of this wealth made it to those ogres doing the fighting.

Karnov had a small gnoblar-hide pouch of his own which contained his meager wealth before Dorfrog had taken it. Such activities were commonplace among the ogre tribe, the large taking from the small, ensuring that only the most massive ogre made it to the top of the tribe. Karnov was not the largest nor the toughest Bull in the camp, but what he lacked in stature he made up for in ruthless cunning.

Waiting until the time was right, Karnov had confronted Dorfrog in front of the assembled tribe for his stolen possessions. The laughing and sneering coming from his rival had simply stopped once Karnov had removed his gut plate, throwing it at the Bull’s feet, and challenging his place in the hierarchy of the tribe. Such a thing could not be left unanswered and Karnov knew his life was the only thing truly at stake in this battle, no matter who was watching.

With a glance up at the engorged glittering beast seated in front of the maw pit Karnov drove his thumbs deep into Dorfrogs eyes. The semi-unconscious Bull struggled feebly against Karnov, grunting as he strained his head away from the savage attack. “You won’t be needin’ deese where you going!” Karnov said between clenched teeth before slamming the Bull’s head against the hard ground.

CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH

Dorfrog’s head finally burst with a sickening pop, leaking what few brains he had on to the bloodstained mud of the maw pit. There was suddenly a deep foreboding silence in the camp. Karnov pulled himself away from the now unmoving corpse of Dorfrog, his mouth full of the dead Bull’s brains. Where were the cheers and accolades from his fellow Bulls? Where were the knowing grunts from the older Ironguts not wanting to give him too much credit at their own expense?

Looking at the gathered crowd outside the maw pit dug into the center of the camp Karnov saw nothing but downcast eyes. He turned his view towards Reekus Goldmaw before suddenly realizing what he had done. While family was not the most important aspect of ogre tribal life Dorfrog had been the Tyrant’s brother. His twisted sneer of hate told him everything he needed to know. It was time to go.

Progress Report - 11/2/08.

Legends speak one man would rise above all obstacles, to paint and model like none that had come before him. Generations have sought this champion of brush and steel, this majesty of glue and file. This is the story ...

... the story of some other guy because that certainly is not me!

I began painting the Beer Gut Tribe! It only took me 8 months or so but here I am with painted models! Behold!!

The first steps towards painting my entire 500 point list for the "Paint and Play" campaign I am running with my WHFB cohorts. A test model, painted in 8 base colors to be "dipped" in Polyurethane stain (Minwax Polyshades: Antique Walnut to be exact), highlighted, based, and finished with a flat spray varnish.

There is a Gnoblar Trapper test model as well!

He is a cute little bugger. So those are the "before" pictures, and you may have guessed (or looked below) that were going to be "after" pictures as well. You were right!

Overall I am really happy with the results. All the colors I chose look really good under the stain, with the possible exception of the skin color. Maybe because of the large nature of the Ogre models, or my poor first attempt at dipping, the stain pooled in some of the flat places. The results look a bit like this Bull is covered in gore, or slime, or sickness, which was not the desired effect. I am hoping to use highlights, and maybe another coat of skin paint, to rectify that particular problem.

And in case you thought I forgot, fear not, here is the Gnoblar Trapper as well!

I will post more pictures as soon as I complete these models. Questions, comments, critiques, and random utterances are all encouraged.

This week I do battle with the dastardly Warriors of Chaos. Here is hoping the Beer Gut Tribe can come out on top and show the new kids on the block who is the boss.