In Legio Again!

Well, what can one say. I miss Legio, man. It's a great place to game, and to a greater extend, an awesome place for hobbying. As fortune would have it, I was in KL yesterday, and I made it back to the factory....

My opponent for the night was Arzmi's Empire. With a solid line of artillery supported by 2(!) Engineers (for the re-rolls). It was a very static list, with unwieldy blocks of greatsword and swordsmen. He made the most of the Lords choice, taking an Arch Lector on horse and a Level 4 Wizard on foot. He also had a BSB, a level 2 wizard and 2 engineers.

We played the pass scenario where we use the short table edge as our deployment zone. With a distance of more than 36" between his line and mine, my force had to endure his shooting for the whole game. My first misfortune was to have my General taken out by a well placed cannonball in the 1st turn of the game (sigh).

Then, my shooting and magic throughout the game was rather dismal, with the cannon failing to hit for the first 4 turns. The mortars were a bit better but distance really proved a factor in the game. His use of Lore of Light spells was very canny and it was put to good use, ultimately killing off 3 of my units. The steam tank was severely damaged in the 5th turn and that proved its undoing, although the machine survived the battle. I have to say, Terror has been nerfed to a great extend with 8th Ed.

Anyways, the game was great (despite the defeat) and I look forward for a rematch (where we deploy for pitch battle, hehe)

AIDILFITRI GREETINGS!

Salam! To all my muslim brothers, happy Aidilfitri! May this festive season be thankfully blessed besides your family and loved ones.

To all my non-muslim friends, enjoy the holidays and do try to get to any open houses availbale for some good food and times.

To the rest, enjoy your games and keep up the hobby!

ps: I will start work on my fantasy army after this festive season. :)

GAMING IN 8TH ED.

Last Friday, I was in KL and had the good fortune of having a fantasy game at CM in Midvalley, courtesy of Peter. It was a battle between my empire forces against his evil dark elves.

we played a 2000 points game, using the standard mission. He deployed the bulk of his troops, spearmen, corsairs, black guards and cold one knights in the center, flanked by a repeater on each side. On my side, a mortar and cannon was on the left while another mortar and the steam tank was on the right. a unit of knights and outriders were on the left ahile the crossbowmen and handgunners deployed in the center. another unit of knights deployed on the right with the flagellants.

I had first turn and started the turn by killing 3 of my knights from dangerous terrain rolls! lol. Then, my wizard cast flame storm (miscast!) and took out half of his spearmen. My steam tank failed to hurt anything from shooting but my mortars decimated his crossbowmen. my general on his pegasus managed to stay out of side to avoid shooting.

In his turn, he advanced his troops. His sorceress flying near my general, but out of sight. the witch cast something on my general but he came out unharmed. His shooting caused some wounds here and there, most notably on a unit of knights.

Then, in my next turn, my flagellants inched closer alongside the steam tank. The outrider champion managed to wound a level 2 witch inside the corsairs unit while my mortars, again reduced his troops. The cannon did great, wiping out a unit of 5 cold one knights from a flank shot, leaving a master alone.

HIs next turn saw his black guards charge my flagellants and his wounded sorceror killed my outrider champion with a spell. His lord witch then flew nearer to my flagellants and cast...Purple Suns! It was cast with irresistable force and after rolling on the miscast table, the witch suffered a wound and killed the other, already wounded witch. The vortex tore through my flagellants and stopped at the steam tank. Most of my flagellants survived but its bye-bye for my steam tank. His 12 black guards did some killing and won combat but the demented guys reduced their number to 4. with their unbreakable rule, they stayed.

My next turn saw his crossbowmen left with one guy and the spearmen block left with 2. The corsairs were wiped out from a shower of attention from 2 mortars, a grape shot from the cannon and the outriders repeaters. The combat saw the black guards taken down, but the flagellants were left with only 4 guys.

His next turn saw his witch again cast Purple Sun and this time, it took down half of my handgunners and crossbowmen. The handgunners remained on the field while the crossbowmen fled from such terrible injury. His repeaters managed to put down the remaining flagellants too.

And that was all the time we had for that game. with much book flipping and rules checking, especially with the spells. All in all, a fun game. I look forward to playing more of the same.

WARHAMMER REVIEW: MEASURING THE CHANGES

As I mentioned previously, reading the huge tome that is the Warhammer 8th Edition Rulebook will take some time. As of today, I have yet to fully read every line as I intended and has only finished the rules section and part ways into the background and histories of the Old World. Unable to hold myself, I did flipped to some of the later pages, namely the magic lores and linked games section.

Games Workshop totally did a tremendous job with this Ruleset. As far as I'm concerned, it's clear, with little ambiguity in the wording, fully intended for an engaging and fun game. There were several typo mistakes but very minor in the larger scheme of things. Some of the rules will require further reading and mayhaps, full understanding through gaming.

Anyways, before I touch on all the aspect of the rules, let me start off with one of the changes that I find totally changed the way the game plays. Pre-measuring is allowed! No longer will generals wrinkle their brows trying to guess range, whether for that crucial war machine or desperate charge. Now, the distance between units is no longer a mystery and tactics and strategies can be formulated based on that knowledge.

Honestly, I'm of two minds when it comes to this. On the one hand, knowing how far the enemy is is undeniably a good thing, however, I find it a bit off when it comes to warmachines, especially when we consider their rather chancy odds of hitting anything. Well, it's just a small beef but one I can live with.

Unit strengths are no longer a consideration. The emphasis now is on model counts. Which is a good and bad thing. Good in that it will provide a very rich display on the tabletop by the number of combatants, and bad in that players will now have to fork out more to have that many models. If you can afford them, then, it's not a bad thing really but will really limit those with smaller spare cash.

The way army lists are being built now also has a significant impact. The emphasis on core choices really gives flavor to the exact nature of warfare in the Old World, where the common troops were, common, and the specialized and rare, less likely so. The cap for lords and heroes makes the appearance of "uber" characters less likely in smaller games and will really add flavor in larger games.

So, we'll probably see a surge of horde armies and infantry led attacks in the foreseeable future. The way armies are ranked and gaining bonus in combat has changed too, but we'll cover that later. For now, the rules looks to be quite solid with emphasis on the right things for a better and fun play. Next time, we'll look at that most crucial of phases, Movement.

Till then, keep on gaming!

Ramadan Greetings!

To all my muslim brothers in arms, rejoice! Once again the Holy month of Ramadan is upon us. Gird yourself, cleanse and purify the soul. Hold oneself from all the earthly temptation and the heavenly rewards will be ours to reap.

Lastly,happy fasting(and keep up with the hobby)

WARHAMMER REVIEW: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Ahh....the smell of freshly printed ink.

After some wait, I am now the proud owner of my very own copy of Games Workshop's latest Warhammer Fantasy Battles 8th Edition Rule Book. The first thing I noticed upon putting my hand on it, was its weight. It is quite hefty and I think I'll go and find a scale to measure its weight.

Tearing away the plastic wrapping, I caught a wift of freshly printed paper. This smell became more apparent as I flipped the hard backed cover open. Pages upon pages of finely illustrated pages filled the tome's glossy pages, making this tome's purchased much justified.

To say I was blown away would be an understantement! GW did a remarkable job with this one and although I haven't delve that deeply into the rules, the book looks promising to say the least. Deep inside, I'm bubbling with excitement, much akin to what I felt when I had my first Warhammer book in 6th Ed. years ago. As then, I'll read every single line and feast my eyes on all the beautiful photos and illustrations within. It'll be slow, I'm sure, but hey, it's my book and I'll savor every moment of it.

As I progress through the book, I'll share my thoughts on what and how (if any) the changes has changed the way we play this game. I'm so excited by all this.

PS: I really love this line from page 3, "...and it is in this spirit that the rules were written." totally brings back all the awesomeness of Warhammer.

Back at Legio!

And the feeling was awesome!

As you guys probably figured, its been some time (almost 6 months) since I last set foot at the hallowed halls of Legio Malaysia. I was fortunate enough to be able to drop by last night.

There was Jeff and Azlan fighting it out with Eldar and Thousand Sons. Soon, I was in a fight with Jo's Tyranids. As usually happens, when in a game, one tends not to notice what's happening around oneself. Anyways, during my game, Dann dropped in as well as Rizal and Iqbal. Oh. I forgot to mention, there was two guys I've never met before. They've gotta be cool fellas since they're at Legio, after all. My bad for not introducing myself to them but I was so excited for a game at legio that it blocked all other considerations, lol.

Also, I don't have the luxury to hang around until Legio closes and later go for mamak. So, what opportunity I got I use to savor the games being played and engage in conversations with old friends. Quite funny observing Iqbal's vs rizal match. i wonder who prove the better general?

In my game with Jo, we rolled a 1+1 mission with DOW deployment. He had first turn (whew!) and I dumped everything in reserves. It was a new experience for me as I've never faced such a list before. There was a swarmlord escorted by 2 guards, a tervigon, 2 trigons, a unit each of termagants and genestealers, 3 units of hive guards (2 each) and a whatchamacallit that has a big spout that fires s10 shots.

It ended a draw with my nobs and 'ard boyz dead. The grots proved pivotal once again in securing the draw when they sat on my objective after the menacing swarmlord was finished off by the faraway lootas. On Jo's side, he had the tervigon babysit his objective. Something I learn from this game was that it's better to get to grips with the MCs around as they don't cause instant death to my nobs. The best moment for me was when the trigon was taken down by the 'ard boyz and when the swarmlord was reduced to 1 wound by the 'ardboyz. Oh yes, the grots managed to pistol shot 3 gaunts who were threatening the objective after the lootas thinned their ranks.

All in all, itwas a fun game, and thanks to Jo for making it so. despite being able to make my life miserable, he chose to go easy on me last night and not play all his cunning tricks. Well, since my list is so predictable, what can one expect?

Okay, time to finish that IG list of mine.

Another Weekend of Gaming! Wheeeee!

I had another good fortune to be able to pick up my dice this weekend. After a fortunate gaming last week, I manage to put in 4 games on Sunday (Yay!)

My first game was with Ian (who just got here from Japan) who fielded a themed Slanesh CSM list. By turn 4, his forces were wiped out in this 1+1 game. My next opponent was versus Lexiss's CSM. our KP game was a constant moving battle which see-saw until the end, when he beat me 4-3. Later, I met Edwin's monstrous tyrannid list, which has 3 Trygons!!! It was another KP game and I managed to shave a win by destroying his spore pods to lead by 6-4. I must say the Trygons can dish out a lot of hurt and that list will prove difficult to beat at times.

I was tired then but wanted to have another game. This time with Peter's familiar oblits list. This time, our showdown was a KP game and I was thoroughly TAed by Turn 7 lol. His opening barrage was painful to bear but I dogged played the game, knowing the probable outcome. I was glad I did as I saw a lone biker Nob reduce and utterly destroyed a 7 men Plague marine squad (the champion was armed with a power fist, too) over a course of 3 melee phase, what an Ork!

I doubt I'll have the opportunity to game again next week as I've got some work scheduled. Hopefully, i'll take up the dice again in 2 to 3 weeks time.

On another note, I've finally picked up the stuff I bought from Subhan. It's all Space Marine stuff that I've meant to use as part of my Space Wolf Project. I need to work on the models as their paint is too thick for repainting, so, they need to be stripped. That'll be tedious. When time permits, I'll post the background for my Imperial Guard project, the SCARS.

That's all for now, I heard that the Big Rule Book for fantasy will be in our local store by next week. I can't wait to have it in my hands...

I'm gaming again!

Wow! After more than 5 months of not touching WH40K, I finally managed to drive to KL and have a blast of 3 games on Sunday! Let me tell you, the joy and sweetness of picking up the dice again was delicious.

After my long absence from the tabletop, it's not suprising to have me being rusty and making blunders along the way. Who cares? it's the fun that matters. Anyway, My first game that day was against Peter's "cheezy" oblit/lash list. it was a 1+1 mission and I managed to scratch a narrow win of 1-0 (whew). My second foray that day was versus John and his Eldar (Saim-Han wannabes). He totally trashed my army, leaving only 8 models left in that KP game (sob,sob). my last game was with Shazli and his ultramarines. My mobs managed a convincing win in that KP game, almost TAed him except for a damaged Land Raider (Yay!)

The next evening, Peter was kind enough to offer a game(rematch). This time, his CSM managed to draw, leaving the battlefield littered with dead from both sides. That was a fun game.

Well, at the moment, I'm waiting for my Warhammer Fantasy Rule Book (8th Ed). i wonder how the game will be?

whew! i'm in the first week of my local Legends and i haven't done squat!

For your information, Legends is a competition organized by my local group. It requires participant to build and complete a tournament legal list from any game system that uses miniatures. Contestant have 6 weeks to complete the task. As you probably guessed, this more hobby oriented with emphasis on painting and theme.

Okay, what with all my new time and all, I do find it a wee bit difficult to hobby but I'm sure I'll manage. So far, I've come up with a list and I do have some ideas on how to go about this whole thingy, especially for the custom job required. Oh, for your information, I'm planning to do a 2000 points worth of Battle Fleet Gothic's Ork Fleet.

Since it's orks, I don't have to worry so much about constructing streamlined vessels, as the orks basically flies anything. So, hopefully the assembly lines will start churning out kroozers and the like next week.

Moving to the East Coast

Hmm...Of late, I have not been able to attend many a gaming/hobby nights at my local club. The reason being that I am now effectively relocated to the east coast of Malaysia, Kuantan actually.

So, the reason of the move not withstanding, me and the family are liking it here (the no hobbying part is a bummer though). At the moment, and into the forseeable future, I plan to make at least 2 trips a month back to KL since I still have some of my clients there. Each trip will enable me to stay for a couple of days at least. Fortunately for me, my work doesn't have me stuck in the office and I can basically work anywhere.

To all my Legio friends, if I'm in KL on Friday nights, I'll be sure to drop by. And if I can only make it on the weekends, then I'll head off to CM or Alvin's place.

I do hope I could get my SCARS project done in time for the Legio Birthday bash this July. At the moment, I'm slowly building up my orky BFG fleet. And when WHFB 8th Ed finally comes out, maybe I'll finish off one of my unfinished fantasy army.

Fortentaf Diaries 3

...from the campaign journal of Garis Weiner, engineer for Wrath of Erickheim.

We had just finished loading the Wrath onto the barges when riders appeared and met with the general. Soon as you know it, we were unloading the barges and headed back towards Tilman's Ferry. Sure enough, the place were being overrun by those furry skaven, and they had one of them abomination with them. Those creatures are damn scary I tell you. Oh, along the way, the general managed to recruit the giant, 'Ol Bold to fight for us. Of course, we had to part 3 heads of cows and a wagonful of good mead.

The general took charge of the left field and left the right field to the mage Marius, where the Wrath was deployed, along with the pistolkorps and Edgewaters militia. The center was held by Fort Fosburg's detachment of artillery and handgunners, as well as the crossbowmen. A company of mercenary knights were on hand too. The Braeme's archers took up position near the giant on the left.

The verminous tide came upon us in their multitudes, the abomination making its way towards the general and his knights. The dreaded plague furnace craked its rotting wheels towards the center while two large blocks of clanrats scurrying on the right, facing off with the Wrath and the pistolkorps.

Their magic was desultory, with the priest hurting himself from a miscast. Their shooting was a bit better with a volley from the jezzails killing a mortar crew. Fortunately for us, the lightning cannon overshot.

I put all steam into the Wrath's advance and we almost came to grips with the clanrats. Unholy magicks protected the priest from the well-aimed shots of the marksmen and the crossbowmen reduced the number of jezzail teams. "Ol Bold hid himself behind some trees, in the hope of catching the abomination by suprise. The suprise was on the giant, when the abomination slithered and smothered him in its many limbs.

Gravely wounded, the giant heaved his huge club and brought it down onto the monstrosity, splitting the putrid flesh. The wounds were too great for the beast and its previous injury from Jaeryd's fireball denied its body to heal itself. With a massive crash, the thing lay still.

Emboldened by their numbers, the clanrats marched closer to our lines, undeterred by the tank's terrifying presence. Another block of rats, this one led by one of their magic user, fled at the sight of Wrath, no doubt aided by Marius's dreaded Doom and darkness spell. These fleeing rats were easy meat for the pistoliers who scattered them.

The general led the charge against a unit of Rat Ogres and ran them down but 'Ol Bold was pulled down by a pack of giant rats. In the center, a second cannonball connected with the furnace, and with a mighty crash, the whole contraption came falling down. The priest emerged unscathed. Sporadic shooting by the handgunners and outriders picked off several more monks from the huge block coming towards our lines.

After failing to hit anything since the start of the battle, the mortar crew suddenly outshined themselves with an accurate round on a block of 30 clanrats. half of the rats were blown to pieces and the rest simply fled away from the battlefield. This freed up our right flank and we began to drive towards the center with the Wrath aiming for the skaven general's unit of stormvermins.

Having pulled down the giant, the giant rats continued their rampage and slaughtered the crossbowmen as they tried to flee from combat. The Wrath steamed towards the stormvermins and scalded them in hot steam. Unnerved, they ran but was eventually caught and most of them were grounded down. the nearby remnants of the jezzail team fled at the sight of the approaching tank

The remaining monks had swept into a band of flagellants and proceeded to wipe them out, but not before the prophet of doom managed to strike down the already injured priest. The plague monks swept into the nearby handgunners and again, their unholy rot prevailed. The cannon crew were next in line and it was then that the cannon failed them as the powder fizzled. Even as the remaining monks crested the mound where the cannon used to be, they did not have time to savor their victory as Jaeryd and Marius cut them all down with magical energy.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. Early in the battle, the company of hired knights managed to destroy the warp-lightning cannon but they in turn were lost when they fled from the stormvermins and ran into the pack of giant rats. Goes to show you can't really rely on these showy knights-for-hire.

Now, after policing the field, we're on our way north again. I dread what we will face there.

Fortentaf Diaries 2

...from the campaign journal of Arthur Hellas, of the Falcon Dragoons.

Several days back we had received Brother Kholmar's replacement. It was Brother Barik. The general arrived with the mage MArius and several other new detachments, including a contingent from Fort Forsburg, that included the steam tank, Wrath of Erickheim.

No sooner had the general arrived, we set out on the march to punish the Dark elves, for their complicity in the death of Brother Kholmar. Words reached us via the ogres, who had engaged the elves and we hasten to their last reported sighting. True enough, the evil ones were set up with 3 of their accursed bolt throwers on a hill and a regiment of cold one knights harrying up the flank. In the center, a large mass of corsair stood still, as if daring us to come to them.
Brother BArik immediately split our forces, with him leading an attack on the right and the mage Jaeryd leading the attack from the left.

The mortar battery had just finished setting up before they came under a withering hail of bolts. The first volley didn't take out the battery but the follow up volley surely did. The heavy volume of fire also took their toll on the archers, who were unnerved by the ferocity of the bolts in cutting them down. The hellish rate of fire also took their toll on my band of pistoliers. It killed Jarv and Talfer, and gravely injured Ormer. I had my revenge for sure, when i charge them crews with Farney at my side, wiping them out. Cutting them down was sweet, but it won't bring back the guys.

I heard from the Wardens how Master Marius's spell of Doom and Darkness harried the cold one knights, prompting them to flee the battlefield. They also told me of how the Edgewater militia broke ranks and fled from the charging corsairs. He also told me how an assassin leapt from the corsair's ranks as the knights charge hit its flank. He was aiming for Brother Barik, yet Sigmar's blessings was with the priest. The envenomed blade failed to pierce his armor and he, in return, managed to wound the assassin.

The heavy horses charge broke the corsairs and they were cut down as they tried to flee. The enemy general's whereabout is still unknown. Back in camp, I could see the engineers affecting repairs on Wrath of Erickheim suffered during the fight. All in all, we got off pretty lightly with few casualties. The huntsmen regrouped and rejoined the fray while the unnerved militia now has latrine duties.

The men's pent up anger over Brother Kholmar's death was spent, but we are determine to honor him by fulfilling his original mission. By Sigmar's will, we shall prevail.

Note: This is the second battle fought in Fortentaf by the Erickheimers. What challenges will the future bring?

Fortentaf Diaries

...from the campaign journals of Bregan Harker of the Outriders squadrons...

It was the 12th day in our march towards Fortentaf when the scouts returned with news of another force converging on the road we were traveling. Brother Kholmar immediately despatched a small band of troops to gather more useful information.
As we neared the other force, we became aware of a multitude of heraldic colors and emblems emblazoned on their banners-Bretonians! Though not evil as some other creatures, the men of Bretonia are too far from home to be up to nothing good. Brother Kholmar sensed this too, yet his duty as emissary to the Baron required him to inquire of the knights' intent.
Escorted by his band of Border Knights, the monk rode up to the Bretonian commander. What transpired in the meeting is not known to me, but many whispered that the knights were feverish with thoughts of the warpstone and seemed obsessed with its claimation.
Barely had the monk returned that trumpets from the Bretonian side brayed their charge, pursuing Brother Kholmar. We roused and met them in a small clearing not far from camp...

From the letters of Battle Wizard Jaeryd Firemane to Baron of Erickheim...

My Lord,
Tis my sad duty to inform your lordship of the demise of your brave champion, Kholmar at the hands of Bretonians here in Fortentaf. We encountered the Bretonians on the road to Fortentaf and they attacked first, eager to spill our blood and restrain our search of the warpstone. Brother Kholmar wisely placed us in clever positions and we were able to harass the knights all the time.
In their eagerness to come to grips, they abandoned their pitifully wretched peasants behind and these were easily dispatched by the pistoliers detachment and myself. Using a band of free-swords, Kholmar managed to trick a group of knights into leaving behind their support. He hid himself behind a hill and caught the seperated group in the flanks. Alas, fate took a twist and a Paladin himself revealed himself in the group of knight. Although outnumbered, the remaining knights held their ground, no doubt bolstered by the courage of the paladin.
Trapped in combat, Brother Kholmar and his Border Knights could not react to the flanking charge delivered by another unit of knights. this proved their downfall as the melee swept them away and in the confusion, your champion was pulled down and slain. Too late to prevent their murder, the pistoliers and myself could only exact retribution.
The jubilant errant knights hoops of joy turned to screams of pain as a hail of lead pierced their mail and send several tumbling off their saddles. Unnerved, the cowards fled the field and scattered into the woods. The regrouped knights of the realm tried to escape the same fate yet the wind of magic was strong that day. Sigmar smiled on us and my bolts of fiery death claimed several more. Surely they have had enough, as even their general was weak enough to quit the fields of honor.
As you have often said, tis the crows that are the true winners after a battle. We scavenged what we could and buried our dead, as well as the enemy. For Brother Kholmar, we built a funeral pyre for him. His ashes we shall throw to the winds, so his spirit may protect the unwary, even as we continue on our mission.
Lest your lordship decree otherwise, the mantle of command lies with me now. Master Throngrave has shown me the visions and I too sense the danger in the winds of magic. Fear not My Lord, your command will be done. Tomorrow we will strike camp and move on. I entrust this letter and Brother Kholmar's hammer to your Lordship's side.
May Erickheim prosper under the blessings of Sigmar.


Note: Both entries are part of the ongoing warhammer fantasy battles campaign taking place at Legio Malaysia.

Re-Enjoying hobby nite

after so many weeks of not attending hobby nites, I finally managed to squeeze just a bit of time to go to Legio Malaysia. As usual, there;s the good company of people chucking dice and hobbying. I had a game of whfb with peter that night where it ended a draw, with him managing to knock off my Empire's steam tank. In return, I managed to kill his Enchantress. Muahaha.

Azlan and Khairul were having a go at Battlefleet Gothic and I must say I am hooked. Sadly, at the moment my finances doesn't allow for any more new purchases. Currently, I'm paying by installments for several second hand wh40k vehicles, so, I need to finish that one first. After that, I think I'll start a small Ork fleet (grin).

Unexpectedly, i had some free time the next day, and I used well for another game of whfb with Peter again. this time, I changed my list and in the end, I suffered a minor loss. Regardless, it's a new list and will need some getting used to but I'm confident it'll work out fine once I've tweaked it a bit more.

So, although my schedule for the coming weeks doesn'y seem to ease up, I'll be sure to sneak off to hobby nights as often as I can get away with it.

A Short Break

Whew!My schedule sure has been hectic over the past few weeks and will continue to be so for a few weeks more. Anyways, I took the opportunity of a breather yesterday and pulled out my dusty Empire army for a round with Peter's Bretonian. We didn't get to complete the game properly so it was all rushed and all that. It was fun to throw dice again after...several weeks of not touching toy soldiers (grin)

People say that the new GW's Battle Mission book is not worth the buy. I personally haven't read it so can't comment fairly. Will definitely try to get my hands on it(someone else' ,of course). I'm still travelling around, so, all my undone WIP for the SCARS will just have to wait(sigh)

My Kindred - Shot Down!

Real world commitments has forced me out of Kindred. Fortunately for my partner, he has found a replacement. For those of you not in the know, Kindred is a Hobby tournament organised by a pair of brothers and run at Legio Malaysia this coming 6th March 2010.

I would have fielded my SCARS Imperial Guards for the event and partnered with a force of Ultramarines. Alas, that is not to be and so I wait for how the event will turn out. I wish all the guys who's making it the very best in their endevour for the Purity Seal and Best General.

Work has really taken its toll on me this couple of weeks. My last hobby action was during Iron Painter and I foresee it would be some time before I get back into the gaming scene. (sigh) The limited time has also forced me away from any further work on the SCARS. So, hopefully, by end of this month, I'll be back on track or something.

Iron Painter: Done

Whew! What an event! I don't think I've sat that long for a session of painting before. It was a very productive day and kudos to Jeff for organizing it. Congrats to all participants who tough it out to complete their task.

We started off with 10 people and fairly got off at 10am.A few guys turned up late, like Shazli who arrived 30 minutes later and Khairul, who came in the afternoon after a round of golf. Dann and Ivan dropped by to hobby themselves. Redeye and a couple of his buddies turned up for some dice rolling too. Azlan brought his kids to watch the event, as did Maxcell.

I started the day quite doubtful as I have yet to completely assemble the command squad and another veteran squad. So, I spent the first 5 hours putting together the models and painting the tank. thanks to Iqbal's airbrush, the Leman Russ Demolisher turned out fine after all.

Thanks to Subhan's Nasi Lemak, I didn't have to trouble myself with lunch. So, I sat there trying to finish what I've started. First were Bravo Squad and I painted them green! With various shades of green. Then, I completed the others using black, semi-gloss black and highlights of grey. The last hour proved frantic for me as I had to finish basing them all. Thankfully, it was all done 3 minutes from time. I had painted myself 1010 points of minis!

Overall, the results were quite good. I especially liked Arzmi's washed orks and Stanley's CSMs. So, it ended with Jeff handing out mock certificates (he'll make proper ones later) to all who completed and Subhan and I got Iron Skulls while the rest made Iron Painter. Iqbal won the hobbyist choice and his first Legio Purity Seal. Congratulations!

Although I'm bushed after all that painting, I still need to complete my two vendettas for Kindred. And if there's another Iron Painter happening, maybe I'll plan better and prepare better.

Of dwarves and others...

I went to hobby nite last night and had a game with Jade's beautiful chaos troll army. It had 27 trolls led by the troll king and a chaos lord, as well as a giant. I fielded my dwarves for this battle, and had as many burning runes I could possibly have to deal with their regeneration. Honestly, that army is tough and they just keep on coming. The anvil significantly slowed them down but the cannon and bolt thrower did their share of killing the monsters.

My longbeards did well in taking down the giant, luckily missing being crushed by its falling body. The thunderers and quarellers could not stand to the troll's charge. In short, the trolls prove strong in melee but they suffered through effective shooting and low leadership, as well as being subject to stupidity.

On other fronts, the last week has been really draining and I didn't get to do much hobby stuff at all. My SCARS project for iron painter is yet to be completed and the event is only 2 weeks away! I really need to find time to finish assembling the remaining models for squad Nova and Alpha.

For now, with time permitting, I'll focus on my dwarves and try to complete them. Oh yes, I also made a purchase of several second hand space marine vehicles from Subhan for a reasonable price.

Getting slow???

Had a blast of a time last hobby nite!

Got trashed by Peter's chaos army and fought to a standstill with doc's orks. Totally fun with both games. After so many weeks of not touching my 40k stuff (in fact, I was gearing for a FoW or WHFB game that night), I could feel my bones creaking and the rust grinding in my mind. It has been that long!

Anyways, whatever happened is just a good indication of what is likely to be for a player after leaving the dice untouched for some time. In truth, I was becoming more involved with finishing my SCARS project and worrying about its paint job and assembly that I took off my gaming hat. On the plus side, it made me approach both games that night with an alarming dose of casualness, thus insulating me from feeling down when my units were taken out ignominiously. I discovered that my usual drive for victory was not up also, enabling me to much savour the game in a lighter mood.

So, I played both games without much thought to the tactical "orky kunnin'" and just played. Another reason could be because ever sincce starting on my SCARS project, my train of thoughts became more attuned to Imperial Guard lines, thus detaching from my normal orky self.

Whatever the reasons, Kindred is a month away and Iron Painter just 3 weeks away!

Friday Nite-at last!

Last Friday I made it to Legio after 2 weeks of enforced absence. I had Peter and Alvin in tow that day. This time, I didn't play any games, just sat at the hobby table and put together 3 Pz IV for the upcoming Market Garden Campaign.

Having done that, I watched the games played. There was some FoW action going on with Nick and Jason. Peter was fighing it out with Subhan while Alvin and doc was having at it with their orks.

Had to go back early that nite but at least I've satisfied my need for some hobby action. On the home front, I'm busy completing my entry for Iron Painter and Kindred. I plan to have them assembled and primed by early February.

On that note, my Iron Painter entry will consist of the SCARS, namely Command Team Alpha, Squad Nova and Squad Bravo.

Nimphora VII Campaign: Turn 5-End Game

In turn 4, the planet saw some destruction as the lands began to sink and disappear. The IG commander, Yee How, managed to escape the doomed planet at the end of turn 4, making him the second commander after Shazli's ultramarines to do so. At the moment, his Node lies unguarded in the Polar Waste.

The beginning of turn 5 also saw the search for Nodes intensify as Jin's Inquisitors, Mark's IG and Zaki's Hive Mind successfully sought out Nodes. In Mark's case, he placed it in his last remaining territory as all his territories were lost to the dying planet's crumbling.

As the planet continues its dying contortions, each commander's territories has dwindled drastically. Mark is left with Dread Anchorage. Zaki has Calidas Fertarii, West Coriy and Plains of Omen. Raymond is left with Noxa Irput, Oncalth and Demonstalk Vale. Jin's Inquisitors hold Roofspine Mountains, Coldaroth, Bloodfields and Crystal Isle. The chaos forces of Lexis owns Icefloe Shores, Icebridge Vale, Crag Mountains and Rock Arbor. Nahri's IG forces is keeping Tahiri's Throat, Tobrau, Mead Valley and Ilim's Fields.

Those with the Nodes will try to exact the Bloodprice to escape while those without will try and wrest it from those who has them. The end is at hand!

Nimphora VII campaign: Turn 4

At the beginning of Turn 4, only the ultramarines have managed to successfully searched for and activated a Node of Power, hence they became the first force to evacuate the doomed planet. Hive mind Zaki too managed to find a Node but was unable to utilise it in time.

All the riots, raiding and general chaos attributed to the local populace has died down, in some cases suppressed with deadly force. What is left merely waits for the end, all hope gone. With darkness fully encompassing the planet, the ground continue to tremble even more violently than before.

In the north, the territories of Moonlight Ridge, The Bones, Floodplains of Beslan, Jendras Baxo and Gars Vinolin were swollowed up by the earth, wiping them out from the map. In the centre, Unggroth, Ingra Mobis and Kartonga suffered the same fate. In the South, only the Central Tundra and the Eastern Glacier were affected.

The Node stored by the Tyranids at Gars Vinolin were lost to the ground before it could be activated and the remains of the Ultramarine's Node too was lost. The territories has started to dwindle, even as the commanders enter the last phase for their survival.

Hobby: SCARS - Skuad Bravo

Here are some pictures of WIP of Bravo Squad. This squad will take part in Iron Painter and Kindred. There will be some slight difference between their appearance in Iron Painter and Kindred.

The pictures are taken without their squad leader, Sgt. Feizal (a.k.a. Harker). The squad is a recon and pathfinder team for SCARS 1. They either deploy in advance of the main body or infiltrates the enemy lines.

I've tried to customize and personalize each model since I've given them individual names and kitting them out in appropriate wargear befitting their role.

Hopefully this army will mark my beginning to embrace the hobby side more.

Slow week

Been a bit of slow this week, what with work and all. On the hobby front, I've managed to assemble Bravo squad (minus the arms) and started on cleaning bodies for Nova squad. Since all of Bravo squad carry a backpack, I've yet to sculpt out the straps for them.

Nimphora VII campaign is entering its final phases tomorrow. I wonder what will happen?

Soon, Legio will turn its attention to Operation Market Garden, a FoW campaign. It'll be good to play with my WWII minis again.

Nimphora VII Turn 3-Beginning of the End

The thickening malevolent energies of the warp has almost engulfed the planet in its entirety, panicking and affecting the local population in unexpected ways. Driven insane or purely out of desperation, the locals struck out at the nearest targets.

Disruption of supplies, raids, uprisings to name a few, all manner of local unrest prevailed in the territories occupied by the various commanders, forcing them to divert their forces and suppress the chaos.

This was most evident in the north. IG commander Mark lost control in half of his occupied territories of Brokeback Cape, Dread Anchorage and Sunken Swamps. Fellow IG commander Nahri too faced unrest in three of his territories of Jendras Baxo, Mead Valley and Ilim's Fields, effectively denying him use of two foundries and a communications relay unit.

The Ultramarines too were not spared from the unrest as the shield generator in Roofspine Mountains went offline when its underground cables were swarmed by mutated rodents. East Coriy too suffered a panicking influx of refugees fleeing the nearby tyranids. In West Coriy, the fleeing refugees set random fires that utterly confuses the Synapse creatures there.

In Jerdeh, Hive Mind Zaki faces an unnatural stampede of mutated beast that trampled through its killer broods. The central continent too saw the templar Raymond losing contact with his forces in Orkern's Nest and Unggroth. The Inquisitor Jinn had to contend with an uprising in Lakehome, temporarily suspending the operations of the nearby communication relay. He also lost contact with his forces in the recently occupied Crystal Isle as the last report indicated broods of genestealers infiltrating across the territory.

The recent offensive of IG commander Yee How has stripped his forces in the Polar Waste and the garrisons there were ill equipped to cope with the rampaging ice beasts that stalked the lands. The Black Legion of Lexiss were not immune to the unrest as a tide of uncontrollable spawn laid siege to the communication relay there and a freak and impassable storm lashed the regions of Icebridge Vale.

As the dying planet nears its end, who shall find the Nodes of Power to escape?

Nimphora VII Turn 3-Darkness in Despair!

Turn 2 saw some reversals as players fielded bigger armies with which to pound their foes. Having replenished their forces, the commanders took to the field. In all, 7 battles were fought with the number of territories held by each almost the same.

Hive Mind Zaki still have the highest VPs score with Shazli's Ultramarines trailing a bit behind. With the start of Turn 3, commanders will have begun their search for the Nodes of Power. It stands to reason that someone is bound to find one, but could they hold on to it or activate it in time to escape the doomed planet?

Even as the planet heaved in its death throes, more special rules comes into play, to reflect the deteriorating condition of the planet. The end is near...