Who reads this?

Been posting a lot but I haven't been getting much feedback. Has me wondering who reads my rambles besides myself? I enjoy chronicling my descent into miniature madness but what do other people like about this blog? Inane Courage gave me the idea to delve deeper...

BEHOLD! CHARTS!

There we have the most popular page views by post of all time for this blog (click to enbiggen). #1 is my fictional Army of Malal post (probably for the images) while #2 is my review of the first Nagash book. After that it is posts about rumors and various other news related tidbits. Nothing too fancy. 

And here we have keywords searches (all time again) - nothing too shocking here, just reaffirmation of the most popular page views (although I find it interesting that a sprue pic post is up there).

And finally we have my best reference links (of all time... for now) with BoLS taking the #1 spot. Plastic Legions comes in #2 (thanks for adding me to your blog roll!) and the rest is a trickle of self promotion from WHFB forums.

There you have it. People who read my blog want to know about Malal and Nagash book reviews. Sorry to disappoint you all with my boring WIP pics and crummy paint jobs but I can't post about your favorite topics all the time.

The Bellower - Issue 4 Out Now!

It's done! The fourth issue of the Bellower (the Ogre Stronghold webzine) is now available. You can find it here.

From our "press release"...

In this issue:
- Cover art by Hammertooth
- From the Gut by Randroid and Barney
- Ask Aunty Doreen by Aunty Doreen
- The Feeding Grounds: 8th Edition Overview by Sandals, Rocdocta, Lexy, Avian (We Iz Orcs) and Malorian (The Orc Tactical Team Podcast)
- Butcher's Cauldron: How to Paint Blood by Jarhead
- Tactics For Tyrants: Gut Magic Tactica by Entreri Bloodletter
- Gastronomic Rumblings From the Butcher's Pot: A Question of Why by Eric J
- Tales of Conquest: Ogre Kingdoms vs. The Empire by Mercules
- It's a Trap! by Ultra-Mega Bob
- Blood Bowl Ogre Team Overview by Chance and Pauly from Three Die Block
- Armies of the Stronghold: Feastmaster Tribe by DonTheDime and Barney

Thanks to everyone who helped out on the new issue (if you are reading this) and thanks in advance for checking out the new stuff! As always I would love to hear any and all feedback, praise, suggestions, or ideas for contributions for future issues you might have.

Progress Report 12/28/10 - Messing with my new light box.

So what sort of holiday swag did you get? I got a light box and some brewing supplies. Still messing with my camera settings and lighting but I think these pics are certainly better..

My Beast of Nurgle (Sucksore) from the Nurgland Germs. The color is almost spot on with the actual miniature's paint job but I am still having some trouble with the lighting and overall graininess of the image. Gotta read up a bit and figure out how to make that go away.

Tavern Talk - Looking Back

Time for another edition (the final one for this year) of Tavern Talk courtesy of the Trading Post! This time around Kuffy asks:

"So, another year ends.  As we wave bye to 2010, I wanted to get your thoughts on your hobby throughout it.  What are your proudest achievements?  Where did you fail?  Just how has your year in Fantasy been?"

I have a detailed list of my resolutions from last year that I will be going through later this week, but just as a quick run down of my biggest failure and achievement for the year...

EPIC FAIL: Planning on painting and finishing my VC army this year and not getting a single model painted after moving from Austin, TX to Michigan. I played a few games with the army this year (in fact I didn't lose a single one of them) but I just didn't find the "spark" I needed to get this done.

EPIC WIN: Starting Blood Bowl and finishing up one team (the Nurgland Germs). I know of at least two BB tournaments I will be attending in the coming year so I see this as a good way to continue my tabletop competitive efforts while I work on building a WHFB scene here in my hometown. Also... Blood Bowl is a lot of fun to play!

Overall I would say my year in Fantasy has been a mixed bag but in the end I came out a stronger hobbyist with a love and appreciation for more games. Fantasy started off strong with a good showing in the WHFB team tournament at Adepticon 2010 before quickly dropping off due to lack of players/interest here in my local gaming scene. While there are more players and interest now I have a hard time getting myself motivated to play the game again. Hoping a new force (WoC) will get me pumped up enough to dive back in head first with the Fantasy action!

How has your year in Fantasy been? Any major success or failures you'd like to share? 

Have a very...

Beer Review - Bell's Christmas Ale

Bell's Brewery, Inc. - Bell's Christmas Ale

Beer Type: Scottish Ale

Appearance: 12 oz brown bottle featuring a lone christmas tree in a yellow field of grain. The beer poured a nice amber color complete with a big off-white head that left plenty of lacing.

Smell: Sweet and sour first, then followed by some citrus hops and a bit of malt.

First Drink: Some strong alcohol flavors come at you in the front, quickly followed by some bready flavors sprinkled with hops and a bit of bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Pretty smooth for the amount of carbonation in the bottle. The overall body was somewhere in the "medium" range.

Last Drink: A lot more of the bitter comes through as the beer warms and sits on your tongue. It isn't bad but it sort of overwhelms and nuances the beer might otherwise have.

Drinkability: Nothing too crazy, pretty easy going down, and it is fairly affordable when in season. I liked it a bit better on tap but the bottle is a decent drink.

Notes: Hometown (Kalamazoo) brew for the holidays? Reminds me more of an IPA than a christmas ale (or scottish ale).

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5. A splash of the season but not the best of seasonal local brews.

Links: Beer Advocate and Bell's Brewery, Inc.

Progress Report 12/19/10 - BB Orcs continued...

Orcs! Managed to get a few additional Orcs assembled for my Orc BB team the Trailer Orc Boyz this week. In the back you'll see four Black Orc Blockers (the one with the blade on his hand is my team captain), then the two Lineorcs, with my one Blitzer in the front. I added some face guards to the Lineorcs, and the Blitzers will have a spiked shoulder pad and Black Orc gauntlet to show their faster moving and additional smashing capacity on the pitch. 

Only played one game of Blood Bowl with the Germs this week - crushed a Vampire team 2-0 leaving me with 3 wins and 0 losses so far this season. My two hardest division opponents are next in line.. we'll see if I can manage to make this season a complete shut out or if the fast moving Dark Elves and Underworld teams will manage to beat Nurgle back. 

Got more page layouts for the next issue of the Bellower done as well. Just a few more articles to go and we'll have another issue in the bag and out before the end of the month! This one has been hard going... I hope it gets a little easier in the next few issues. Not sure I can manage to devote as much time to it while still finding time to work on my own hobby stuff. 

Picked up my two Hellcannons from the FLGS this week. I'm not looking forward to cleaning and assembling those bad guns... might be a project for the new year. 

Look for a few Christmas beer reviews this week!

Book Review - "Nagash the Unbroken" by Mike Lee.

Holy cow! It has been way too long since I last reviewed a WHFB related book on the blog. Today's review is the next in a series from the Black Library - this one being the second book in the  Nagash "Time of Legends" books. Look for more book reviews here soon! 

"Nagash the Unbroken" by Mike Lee

The second in a series of three book, "Nagash the Unbroken" begins shortly after Nagash was soundly defeated by the combined forces of Nehekhara in "Nagash the Sorcerer". Stripped of his terrifying power, and desperately seeking refuge from the burning rays of the sun, Nagash encounters a pack of hunting rat-creatures who carry a small magical stone. After ingesting the stone (and some of the rat-creatures) Nagash is once filled with a burning torrent of magical energy. Following the trail of the (now deceased) rat-creatures and the scent of the magical stone, Nagash soon finds himself in the hills and mountains of Cripple Peak where the rest of this tale unfolds.

Just as "Nagash the Sorcerer" made great leaps forward and backward in time, so too does "Nagash the Unbroken". Sometimes jumping around as much as 50 years! A majority of the book is spent focused on Queen Neferata, Arkhan the Black, and Lamashizzar, Priest King of Lahmia, who seeks the secrets of immortality hidden away in the books of Nagash he has removed from the Black Pyramid. While this secondary plot it intriguing I often wished the story would jump back to Nagash so I knew what he was up to. While there is less narrative jumping back and forth here overall, it can still be confusing and seems somewhat unnecessary.

While the nobles torture Arkhan and search for new magical venues of immortality, Nagash retreats deep within the mountains where he slowly rebuilds his strength, finds new undead allies (in the ancient tombs and barrows of the barbarians who live there) and re-encounters the cowardly Skaven. While Skaven play a big role on the book cover and even in the text on the back of the book, their overall part in the story is quite brief and mostly revolves around Nagash's hunger for his new addiction to warpstone, which gives him far more power than ever before.

Overall I found this book to be more of the same - an enjoyable look into Nagash's past and an interesting view into the "old world" of Warhammer's "history". While less confusing, repetitive, and boring than the first book the story does seem to meander a bit before ending abruptly on a "cliffhanger" to set up the next book in the series. If you enjoyed the first book or have any interest in Warhammer lore, warpstone fueled necromancy, or the undead you will likely find a thing or two to like here.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10. A fun, fast, and entertaining read that avoids some of the missteps of the first book while keeping many things the same.

Whispers of the blood god...

Khorne has been whispering sweet murder musings in my ear over the past few weeks. This has led me to come up with a list that incorporates the WoC models I currently have with a couple of new additions. Very straight forward, punch you in the face style gameplay but I think it could be fun...

BEHOLD! KHORNE!

LORDS: (403)

Chaos Lord - Mark of Khorne, Juggernaut, Halberd, Helm of Many Eyes, Dragonhelm, Talisman of Preservation, Favor of the Gods, Diabolic Splendour (403)

A down right nasty example of Khorne's chosen sporting 6 ASF S6 attacks (with another 3 S5 from his mount), a 4+ ward save (2+ vs flaming attacks), a 0+ armor save, and a few nasty Chaos tricks to boot. He'll live in the unit of Chaos Knights for one hard hitting Khorne-powered steamroller.

HEROES: (314)

Chaos Sorcerer - Infernal Puppet, Talisman of Protection (135)
Exalted Hero - Mark of Khorne, Fury of the Blood God, BSB, Halberd, Shield (179)

The Sorcerer isn't "fluffy" in the list but he will be modeled in a way that matches the Khorneyness of the army (hahahah). He will actually be the puppet - a sort of head and torso being controlled by one of Khorne's chosen and there simply to protect his forces (and manipulate the miscast table for extra fun.. especially when the Hellcannons misfire). The BSB is a must in an all Frenzy bonanza such as this and a nice opportunity to use the Fury of the Blood God gift in a fluffy and functional way. The BSB will deploy in the Warriors while the Sorcerer will live in with the "Marauders".

CORE: (683)

Chaos Marauders x 39 - Mark of Khorne, Musician, Standard, Champion (176)
Chaos Warriors x 24 - Mark of Khorne, Halberds, Musician, Champion, Standard, Lichebone Pennant (459)
Chaos Warhounds x 8 (48)

Two big fat units of nasty fighty things. I skipped the flails on the "Marauders" as I will be using Beastmen instead and I don't think the flails look good on them. If only they had the additional hand weapon option...

The Warriors are pretty basic but I wanted them to have the Halberds as a way of really dealing some serious damage to incoming heavies, plus a little magic protection in the form of the MR1 standard. Hmm... I should look into how MR works in a unit for 8th (as the BSB has MR2 already and I might be able to use those 15 points on a character elsewhere).

SPECIAL: (440)

Chaos Knights x 8 - Mark of Khorne, Musician, Standard, Blasted Standard (420)

Common 8th edition WoC tactics say... DON'T TAKE KNIGHTS!! To hell with that I say! Sure they aren't quite as impressive as they once were, but used in the right way this unit can still deliver one hell of a punch. I've given them the 5+ ward vs shooting banner to ensure that most (if not all) of them make it through til the Turn 2 charge that will get them into CC. Overall this unit could probably be seen as a Chaos Lord delivery system.

RARE: (410)
Hellcannon (205)
Hellcannon (205)

Yup. I went there. The Hellcannon is just so damn cool and the only thing cooler than one Hellcannon is TWO! I played a one day tournament last year (or was it at the start of this year?) with Goatboy's WoC models and I had a blast with two of these guys running around the field. Unpredictable, deadly, and fun to field. Yes it can suck to be on the receiving end of a Hellcannon but I am counting on most players learning how to deal with the evil bastards. 

Total Points: 2,250 (of 2,250)

So there you have it.. my "all Khorne" Warriors of Chaos list that features both Magic and Shooting. I like the idea of a Khorne army twisting these two hated things to their advantage and best of all I only have to buy another 4-5 models to make this list a reality.

It's been quite a while since I had much WHFB content here and even longer since I wrote a new army list (for 8th no less). If you have critiques and/or feedback I would love to hear from you.

Orcs & Goblins - New book March 2011

WAAAAAGGGH!! From GW today...

Incoming: Orcs & Goblins

For years uncounted, before even the Empire existed, and Men were little more than barbarous and primitive cave-dwellers, the Orcs & Goblins have haunted the mountains and deep forests of the world. Extremely aggressive and savage creatures, Orc & Goblin tribes rarely suffer a peaceful moment in their unending lust for battle and inexplicable urge to pillage and despoil.

Once roused to war by a powerful or charismatic leader, a greenskin Waaagh! on the march can rapidly snowball into a seemingly endless tide of rowdy Orc and Goblin warriors, scuttling creatures and lumbering monsters as neighbouring tribes flock to join the gathering masses, or capitulate in defeat. The haphazard nature by which Orc & Goblin armies are mustered results in a huge variety of unruly mobs of squabbling warriors and a wide selection of creatures both great and small. Such huge diversity ensures that greenskin armies are by far the most unpredictable to face in battle.

March 2011 will see the release of Warhammer: Orcs & Goblins, an essential guide to fielding a greenskin host on the tabletop, and a veritable font of knowledge detailing the complete rules, background, artwork and enormous range of miniatures available to a budding Warboss.

To support this exciting release, we will also be unveiling a genuine feast of new miniatures that would sate even the most ravenous Troll. All will be revealed in time, but keep up to speed on developments by checking out White Dwarf and the What's New Today blog on the website. If you haven't already done so, make sure you sign up to the Games Workshop newsletter to learn of any news as soon as it is released.

With this in mind, if you have ever fancied starting your own legion of greenskins, or are looking to ensure that your tribe is the biggest and nastiest around, remember that the Orcs & Goblins are already blessed with a plethora of multi-part plastic kits. The selection of fantastic sets below are the best way to get your army up and running, safe in the knowledge that they will not be replaced in March. So, gather up some Boyz and grab your favourite choppa because now is the time for WAAAGH!

Progress Report 12/5/10 - Merry Krampus day!

 

Merry Krampus! 

Hope you managed to scare some little kids and shake some chains today! I had to settle for shaking chains at a puppy but he was a bit frightened so I suppose it counts...

Life has been a bit nuts! Working in a retail store before/after/during the holidays can be quite stressful. I had hoped to mitigate this stress with extra hobby time and possibly attending a Blood Bowl event but life and work had other ideas. Sadly I missed out on the Underworld Cup in Kenosha, WI, which turned out okay as one of the co-commissioners from our local Blood Bowl league took him the first place trophy! Congrats to Beaux and his (not painted like the Power Rangers) Chaos Dwarfs for getting it done.

While the Nurgland Germs didn't manage to make it out to the Underworld Cup they did secure a win in their first game of the new KUBBL III season against a hard hitting Norse team - beating them 2-0. No casualties were score by the Germs but Rendclap the Pestigor scored two touchdowns, leveling him up to gain access to Sure Hands. With a previous +AG boost under his belt this is one dirty diseased beastman that even Krampus could love.

And with that quick recap I will leave you to your own tabletop debauchery with this quick little glamor shot of the fully painted Nurgland Germs in all their glory: