Progress Report - mass delays due to mass effect.

Painting progress has slowed down due to the timely arrival of Mass Effect 2 and moving preparations. I signed a lease for a massive 2 story, 3 bedroom house (with attic and basement) - located directly between a huge old cemetery and an abandoned asylum. At least I have somewhere to live/store my models when I move!

I wanted to post something that would be appropriate for my new life as a " victim soon to be killed by the axe murdering pyschopath" so here are some pictures of my first Gorgerspawn!

I added the third arm, tail, and hook blade/tentacles. My Gorgerspawn (and Skrag) models come directly from the Great Maw which is close to/inside of the Chaos Wastes. Spending time there has given them a few ... additional features.

I didn't take any photos from the back of the Gorgerspawn but he has some growths sprouting from his shoulders. They look quite gross the way I have painted them. I love it! The victim on his base is the running man from the Giant sprue - slightly repositioned and repurposed (as lunch).

I also finished my first (of two) unit of Gnoblar Fighters. I had some help painting these from my missus. We went for the red shirts as an homage to the classic cannon fodder of Star Trek. I like the look of these guys all ranked up and painted and I might go back and give them some more detail and extra finish (right after I finish another unit of 20).

Aside from these two units I also completed a Paymaster Maneater model which I use as a Bruiser, and my one Ogre standard bearer. I will try to get pictures of those added as soon as the sun comes back out. I'm now working on my Skrag model, 20 more Gnoblar Fighters, touch ups for all my Ogres (especially the bases), and my Corpse Cart for the VC. Lots to do!

Ogre Kingdoms - Skrag the Slaughterer 2,250 list.

SKRAG!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!

LORDS:
Skrag the Slaughterer (400)

HEROES: (524)
Bruiser – BSB, Heavy Armor, Luck Gnoblar, Wyrdstone Necklace, Greedy Fist (189)
Butcher – Siegebreaker, Skullmantle (180)
Butcher – Bangstick (155)

CORE: (310)
Bulls x 3 – Bellower (115)
Bulls x 3 – Bellower (115)
Gnoblar Fighters x 21 (42)
Gnoblar Trappers x 8 (48)

SPECIAL: (465)
Gorger (75)
Gorger (75)
Gorger (75)
Gorger (75)
Scraplauncher (165)

RARE: (540)
Maneaters x 3 – Great Weapon, Heavy Armor (270)
Maneaters x 3 – Great Weapon, Heavy Armor (270)

Total Points: 2,249 (of 2,250)

So here it is, my 2,250 Skrag list. I decided to go "light" on the Gorgers and only take 4 (of the possible 8). While 8 could be truly devastating I think 4 gets the job done and then some. 6 might be a way to go but that would mean dropping a unit of Maneaters or perhaps the BSB.

Things I like about this list:

• It is fighty (all OK lists are but this one especially).
• It can actually use Gut Magic (although it can still be shut down with scrolls and mages).
• It has Terror and ItP/Stubborn units.

Things I do not like about this list:

• It doesn't have a lot of units (and the few that are on the board cost a lot).
• It has unpredictable units (2 potential bickers, 1 frenzy, and 1 Scraplauncher).
• It does not have a lot of protection against shooting (and it gets shot quite a bit).

I have played with this list twice now (one win and one draw) and I am still undecided on a few things. The BSB has his uses but overall I feel the points might be better spent elsewhere. I don't want to run a third Butcher so that leaves me with a few options:

• Give him the Tenderiser (for a unit with the Siegebreaker Butcher for max magic GW madness).
  
• Drop him from the list and add two units of Leadbelchers (would require losing the Bellowers on the Bulls as well)
• Drop him and add two more Gorgers (with a few points left for another unit of Gnoblar Fighters perhaps).
  
• Drop him and add another Scraplauncher (which I would probably do if I had the model).
  

Playing this list in a local tourney at BattleForge Games this weekend so hopefully that will help me decide on a direction to go with. Would love to hear any comments or suggestions so if you have some please leave me a message!

Progress Report - 5/25/09.

Holy crap! Time flies when you are working your butt off on things that are not model or painting related. In my last post (a month ago!?) I promised a list overview for the Beer Gut Tribe I took to Cap City.

LORDS:
Tyrant – Cathayan Longsword, Heavy Armor, Luck Gnoblar, Beastkiller, Wyrdstone Necklace, Greedy Fist, Greyback Pelt

Tyrant Karnov is good for one thing and one thing only - standing up to nasty combat lords. To do this he needs to have Trollguts on himself or his unit, and preferably in a challenge with the character he is setting out to kill. His overall record at the tourney (and since) is admirable but still not at the "I kill whatever gets into close combat with me" level I am looking for. Beastkiller has yet to come up in any of my games, but I see a need for it so I am hesitant to lose it for something else.

HEROES:
Bruiser – BSB, Lookout Gnoblar, Cathayan Longsword, Heavy Armor, Giantbreaker, Gnoblar Thiefstone
Butcher – Siegebreaker, Skullmantle
Butcher – Bangstick, Dispel Scroll

These three are all about utility. The BSB rarely does a lot in close combat but he can hold his own and really he is only there to carry the banner for the army. The two Butchers give this list a respectable amount of casting dice but still lack a bit in the dispel phase against enemy armies. The tourney was fairly magic light with the exception of one list which had 12+ power dice so this was not a big problem. With two Butchers I have to pick and choose what spells I want, typically throwing 2 dice at them if I can't draw dice out of my opponent with one off castings. The Bangstick almost never gets used as most people save one to two dice to get rid of it at the end of the phase. I'm starting to think I should scrap the Bangstick, but drawing out those dice is always good too.

CORE:
Bulls x 7 - Bellower
Ironguts x 3 - Bellower
Ironguts x 3
Ironguts x 3
Gnoblar Fighters x 10
Gnoblar Trappers x 10

The Bull deathstar scares people. Sadly it is a glass cannon, usually losing models to tons of shooting and magic fire before it makes it into close combat. When it does make it into combat it hits hard, but if anything misses it usually falls apart and gets run down. There is no "trick play" with this thing, it is straight up the gut and to hell with everything else! When it works it is a beautiful thing. When it doesn't ... well you can imagine what it looks like.

SPECIAL:
Scraplauncher
Leadbelchers x 2
Leadbelchers x 2

I love the Scraplauncher! For 165 points you get a lot of versatility in shooting, impact hits, S5, T5, and 5 wounds with 9 attacks! Killing blow blast template is great against Elves, Empire, Khorne Daemons, and Marauders. Just like any chariot you have to watch out for the other war machines and S7 hits. Just like other Gnoblars you gotta be ready for the worst to happen. This one unit racked up more kills during the tourney than my Bull and character deathstar! I'm planning on building a hybrid Slavegiant/Scraplauncher model sometime down the road so I can field it as either a second Slavegiant or a second Scrappie. Leadbelchers however still underwhelm me. They are probably my least favorite unit in the game; they look cool and the premise is awesome but the reality is they are expensive pieces of crap. I plan on taking them out of all my lists going forward unless I can find a really good reason to put them in.

RARE:
Slavegiant

This guy didn't kill anything in any of my tourney games. In fact, I can't remember the last game he managed to kill anything. It bums me out. I want to keep playing him but as of right now he is sitting on the bench.

So there you have it. My quick and dirty run-down of the list and my thoughts after the fact. While I think this list can work it still isn't competitive enough against most armies. I am working on a Skrag list and toying with a Mawseeker list in an effort to hit harder and do more damage to every army I face.

As part of my upcoming Skrag list I have gained two new "Gorgers". Say hello to the friendly Gorspawns from the Maw pit itself!

I intend on building 6 of these "Gorspawns" for my Skrag list and also using them as Chaos Trolls in my (slowly building) Throgg Troll/Malal WoC list. I really like the Chaos Spawn kit. It has so many gribbly bits!

Expect more updates and pictures this week! Working diligently on test models for my Vampire Counts list, an Army of the Dead!