After another couple of weeks of labouring away with the little people I’m at that stage where my army is starting to look like it might just one day be an army. My first flying dog is fully based and ready for action. I’m excited about this because he’s one of my favourite models from Northumbrian Tin Soldier and he’s set to play a starring role in the army.
As well as the flying doggo I’m also making inroads into the infantry with something that could be mistaken for a horde ready for the table. I have to admit I’m finding the halfling sprue a bit of a pain because whilst the models are lovely, the weapon ratio is a bit of a pain. The sprue has 10 infantry and 5 cavalry models; however the weapons options are a bit restrictive as you have the bits to do 10 melee weapon options and 10 shooting options. It means that everyone can get a weapon, but if you’re not interested in the shooting options well you have a bit of a shortfall. All that means I have a bit of a concern how far towards my final army my current sprues will be able to stretch – obviously it’s not the end of the world but it would have been fab if there could have been enough arm options to allow all models to have melee weapons.
With progress being made the army’s narrative is starting to take shape as well. The Mushroom Muster will be a valiant band of heroes who risk everything to gather rare Yellow Cap fungi. The Yellow Caps only appear as the winter snows begin to melt and they must team up with gnomic guides and their sniffer toads to ensure they bring back the real deal. I’m excited.
And finally rat news. After a year of mainly heading off to tournaments with Basileans the rats are off to Poole to play the Slay Bells event. I’m really looking forward to getting them on the table and I might even manage a bit of a review. There is a special character which is a chariot. I certainly haven’t put the effort in that some people have but I have given my Impaler an extra crewrat to fulfil the special character role, and it’s the perfect excuse to give this lovely looking model a run out.
Things have been progressing nicely in the cupboard of dreams where the backlog is stashed. It’s hard to believe I’m now 20 weeks into trying to clear my wardrobe of unpainted minis, but it’s happening! A few things have made their way onto Ebay, but not so much that I believe I’m actually making serious headway.
Am I on track to have no backlog by the middle of next year? Who knows, but I’m finding a new appreciation for what I’m uncovering and wanting to include more of my favourite models in my Kings of War armies, since they are the most likely to make it to the table at the moment.
One collection in particular look on course to find some openings in my halfling army, which is leading it down a particularly fun route. I mentioned in a past post that the little fellas would be supported by a number of giant toads, but plans are now in motion to expand recruitment, a theme has been decided, and a backstory is being considered. To that end this week’s hobby output sees the basing of my Sauceror on Aralez and the completion of my first regiment of Braves. I’m looking forward to rolling this basing out across the whole army and seriously considering whether it will become my entry for the next Birmingham bull-themed event.
In other news, the rats are being hailed once more as the champions of the wardrobe. After almost a year of messing around with Basileans I’ve decided I want to have a few months giving my vermin some TLC, and much needed exercise. Last week I added another Shock Troop regiment and on Sunday I took a new list out against an Undead army with the Shambling Blight formation at its core (together with Barkskin and tonnes of healing). The scenario was dominate, which was great for the Undead player, not so much for me! However, the rats scraped a victory in the sixth turn by destroying one of the zombie legions. A fun game, but wow, that formation is strong.
That’s it for this week. The new hobby total is 68 models completed, so still a little way to go.
This week started with a visit to Birmingham for my penultimate tournament of the year. The Bullrun was organised by the ever-lovely Steve Hildrew, and it was a hugely enjoyable day out. I took my Basileans, having settled on a list that I thought would be interesting to play, and be a little different to the Knights and Angels list I’ve had a measure of success with. My list included:
Sisterhood Scouts Regiments (3)
Gur Panther Troop
Sisterhood Chariot Regiment
Elohi Horde with Celestial Fury and The Wine of Elvenkind
Elohi Horde with The Brew of Strength
Dictator with Wings of the Honeymaize
Ur Elohi
Julius
Rather excitingly my first game was against Mark Cunningham’s Rat Slave list. I really like the Slave army and have been really excited to see two very good UK players leading them to victory after victory in tournaments. Having drafted in a load of shooting I thought this would be quite a good match up. Unfortunately, I managed to make a couple of mistakes before the game even really began and Mark quickly capitalised on them. Despite it being a loss it was great to play a list I’ve been really intrigued by.
Next up was Richard Luke with his filthy Basileans (I jest of course) … yes, he won! Despite the outcome it was a really enjoyable game. I really like Rich’s list because it’s a great mix of units, rather than the sort of Angel and (insert unit name) spam lists I tend to end up bringing to the table.
By the time the third game rolled around I was feeling a little tired and hoping that the final game would involve far less thinking than the first two had. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. My opponent had brought a really beautifully painted forces of nature army consisting of loads of defence 5 and 6 units. The terrain restricted my lines of sight for shooting, and to make matters worse (for me) the scenario definitely favoured his army. This would have been a major thinking game on my part, had my brain been up to the job. It was not. Suffice to say that Nature triumphed, and I watched my army get dismantled. It was over pretty quickly, which did leave time for a good chat over a cup of tea, which was a pretty decent end to the day.
Despite failing to make a dent in the score board I did win another flying doggy in the raffle, and beautifully hand-finished wooden spoon. Not to mention having three great games with three lovely people I haven’t played before.
All in all, it was a great day. Looking back on it all I’m actually quite happy with my list and I see loads of potential for it. However, the event reminded me that one of the things I love most about Kings of War is that every element of the game has its nuances and needs a little practice to really get your head around. In my case I was using a reasonable chunk of shooting with a really manoeuvrable, punchy, nimble, flying unit that I haven’t really got my head around – more practice is undoubtedly required.
So, the flushes of tournament day excitement have receded and I’m considering my next hobby moves. After a few months of dancing around the edges with my rats I’ve decided that the time has come to reconnect. I’m not sure how long it will last, but my plans are to go back to vermin for an event or two. In order to do that I think I need another Shock Troop regiment. So, I dug around in the magic cupboard and found some of my old GW stormvermin and given them a refresh, which I’ve decided counts towards the overall hobby number.
I can’t help but think I need more banners in my army.
In addition, and inspired by having another winged Alverez, I have moved the needle forward on my halflings and managed to complete another 10 braves (bringing the total to 13). Not bad for a week’s work.
A few weeks ago, I started going through my cupboards, dragging everything out, and trying to get on top of my backlog. It’s been kind of fun so far, but this week it became useful…
I’ve been wrestling with a new Basilean list for a tournament next week in an attempt to field a lot more infantry than usual. After a few iterations (and really bad losses in test games) I now have a list that does have more infantry (although this is starting from a base of a single individual, with the Wings of Honeymaize), but also required a Sisterhood chariot regiment (which I didn’t have). Wanting to spend no money I had a wandered through the steaming piles of backlog and came across a GW set that would get me far enough towards a suitable proxy.
Now the kit in question is one of my absolute, all-time favs. Also, I wanted to include one of my fav Mantic models, the new(ish) abbess on foot. I love having her in my lists, although she usually represents a priest. Because it was a case of fav model meets fav model, with the potential for a diorama style multi-base, my imagination started off twenty to the dozen. Soon I had amassed a pile of all sorts of additional models that could be added to the scene, and a backstory had been written (in my head).
It was going to be EPIC… until reality interrupted and reminded me, I simply didn’t have enough time. My plans were redrawn. I’m not going to go too much into what I had in mind because I really want to see if I can build it as it’s absolutely in the spirit of my current mission. So, I’ll just show you what I’ve got so far… only time will tell if I actually manage to revisit a perfectly serviceable regiment?
Time flies when you’re having fun, also when you start a new job and have to run around the south of England for… reasons.
The last few weeks have been just a little on the busy side and it’s resulted in a fair few trips to the best of all the service stations (Reading, natch). All in all life is pretty sweet. Painting hobby has taken something of a back seat, but I have now completed all my outstanding Abyssal Dwarfs and can field an entire horde of Decimators, so the odd win is on-going.
In addition to finishing off my plastics I also painted up a very fetching new addition to my Basilean army (the one in the middle with the big pointy stick). “But that’s not a Basilean,” I imagine you’re currently screaming at your screen.
Calm yourself, no-one’s mentioned the withdrawl changes for at least three minutes. Allow me to explain. I did my first doubles tournament earlier in the year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, I, and The Lazy Pirate, headed off to Hemel Hempstead for another session, courtesy of the Kings of Herts. At both events I’ve fielded my Basileans and have taken to adding models representing friendly forces to my own ranks. This Northumbrian Tin Soldier mini was added to one of my Elohi hordes.
The event itself was of the excellent standard expected from the Kings team and we managed a healthy 5th with our Dwarf and Basilean combo. We had a narrow loss to the Moonrakers in the first round before grabbing some well fought wins in the second and third games. A special mention goes to the final scenario which was written by Mark Cunningham and was absolutely cracking, I’ll probably be giving it a run out at Tree Thugging in February.
With the doubles out the way I’ve started thinking about what I’m going to take to the Birmingham Bullrun, part deux, on 4th November. I’ve decided as I’m snapping away wildly at the heals of the current incumbent of the Basilean’s first in faction to take Basileans (stranger things have not happened, but they might). After a lot of thought I’ve decided I want to take a more infantry-based army. I’m currently putting a new list through its paces, and pretty much losing at every available opportunity. There is now only one more trial game to go, the list has become sillier, the spear horde that has been charged and waivered in 100% of its test games has been dropped, and Julius (who I really didn’t want to take) is being called up from the dug-out. I guess it’s a case of only time doing the telling now.
Spear horde prepares to be waivered by a troll regiment…
Finally, I just wanted to share a couple of snaps of my lovely Genestealer Cult army that I waved off in the post the other day. It’s the first time I’ve actually sold on a full army. It’s been in the cupboard for quite sometime and used a grand total of 3 times, make of that what you will. Whilst this is a predominantly Kings of War blog it is a wholly and completely hobby blog, so I thought I’d share a few picks for the last time.
Now I need to dust off my diary and work out when I’ll next be able to lift a brush.
This week has been, well, erm… interesting. I took my ratkin out against the mighty undead on Sunday night. I wasn’t expecting a win as I’m still very much trying to get my head around the army once again, but I also wasn’t expecting the table to collapse somewhere around turn 4!
In fairness to my opponent, by that stage the game was going firmly his way after a lucky shot from a Balefire Catapult took out my Tangle in turn 2 and my front line was wavered in turn 3 (which would have been fine had the Tangle and its Aura of Fury still been alive). I was very fairly and squarely out played by the time the ground literally disappeared from under my rats’ feet. Once it was established that the few breakages could be easily glued back into place, it was time to retreat to my lair and plan my next assault on the world above.
A legion is born…
The list I played on Sunday gave me a chance to try out a Vermintide Legion and Birthing Daughter. As with so many Ratkin units neither of these are outstandingly great individually, but together they are quite interesting. The Birthing Daughter has a Strider Aura for trashy units like Vermintide, and the Legion has no less than 36 attacks (albeit with Melee 5). In addition, the unit has movement 6, nimble and D3 wild charge (made more interesting by giving the unit Brew of Haste), all of which presents reasonable opportunities for shenanigans. Of course, the 240mm by 80mm base does mean any shenanigans must be carefully considered in advance!
Its first outing proved to be rather disappointing, which was entirely down to me. Despite that though I have the bits to make up a Legion (having used a very sparce proxy for the game) and have decided to give them another go, maybe they’ll play better if they look better. This has also helped reduce my backlog by another 13 models.
Will this lot ever make it to the Ribbit Rumble?
And finally… the toads. I am slowly adding to my Halflings. I have a bit of a theme I want to explore with this army which means I’ll be bringing in a number of non-Mantic models. The first of these additions are 4 battle toads who will be added to various multi-bases for a bit of character.
The toads bring the week’s total painted up to 17 and gives a year-to-date total of 31.
This week I’ve managed to sneak in 2 games and I’m feeling pretty damn smug about it! On Tuesday I took a Basilean force, consisting of predominantly foot troops, into battle against the Trident Realms. It was a really close fought game and the Basileans just about claimed the day. My spear horde had a good run, taking a Coral Giant and horde of Water Elementals off the table, before bringing their unit strength in to claim the dominate circle. The stars of the show though were the three regiments of Sisterhood Scouts. Very much cast in the Gladestalker mould these ladies saw off a regiment of Tidal Swarm, a horde of Water Elementals, a Thuul Mythican, and harassed a Coral Giant. What’s more two regiments survived to tell the tale.
My foray with the rats was considerably less successful, however, this was expected, and it was just as fun. Ratkin are my favourite faction in Kings, but my move from second to third edition has been… extended. Over the past year I’ve been keeping an eye of Simon Brand’s progress with the little bundles of cuteness. This has categorically proven that rats are most definitely a strong army, and they don’t rely on any spam builds to deliver those knock out blows. Of course that doesn’t mean I’m expecting the same results, but with a little practice I might be able to get the odd win in.
This week’s game saw them pitched against the mighty Rift Forged Orcs. I hate playing orcs purely because they just look, and play, like a massive slab of green aggression. I decided to give a mixed arms, MSU army a whirl and whilst I came in a solid second I was happy enough with the army performance. This is definitely the start of the journey and I’m looking forward to making some progress (hopefully).
And finally, how’s that pile of painting going? Well, I managed to get another 7 models completed. 5 Sisterhood Scout kit bashes and two test models for my Paladin Foot Guards. Not sure what the plan for next week is yet, but there will be rats on the table on Sunday.
This week sees the Sisterhood Scout regiments completed and the foot paladins started… I’ll leave you to guess how many regiments of those are in the cupboard!
I hope everyone at the UK Clash of Kings has an absolutely fantastic weekend. I have so many great memories from last year at Cardiff, and hope to do another one in the not too distant future.
It’s been a very busy week all in all. I started the week on Saturday (for the sake of argument let’s just go with it) hosting an 18 person Kings of War Tournament in Bristol. It was the second event I’ve hosted and went swimmingly. I’m settling into my tournament organiser role quite well now and really looking forward to getting stuck in again next year.
I already have two Kings of War events booked in for 2023 (February and July) and look forward to opening the doors to them. What’s especially great about the events is seeing so many people from the local Bristol King’s scene in attendance. Bristol has a number of regular players (and the occasional one with an unhealthy relationship with Soulflayers*) so it seemed a shame for there not to be events in the town, especially after Matt James stepped back from running them after the pandemic having built up a number of successful tournaments over the last five years or so.
After a very busy Saturday, the best way to unwind seemed to be by having a go at Black Seas. This is the Warlord Games navel system that Mantic’s Armada is based on. Armada is making some waves (oh yeah) at our club so I thought this would be a great way of checking out some of the mechanics to see if it’s something I would consider jumping into.
To be honest I’ve never really gotten excited about vehicle type games, whether it’s boats, planes, or tanks. I don’t know why, it’s just a me thing. Sadly, Black Seas didn’t ignite any sparks (even though I thought the tiny boats were pretty cute). However, whilst I don’t see any little ships in my immediate future, I get why people are enjoying the game. Yes, there are a number of differences between Black Seas and Armada, but the core of the rule’s engine is the same and frankly rules wise there was nothing to fault. It played smoothly, it was quick to get the hang of, and there is clearly considerable depth. If you like boats, I would definitely recommend giving it (and/or Armada) a try.
But what of the pile – I hear literally no ask (which is to be expected because I am in an empty room as I type). Well, this week I managed to complete 7 archers for my Basileans. Having had it pointed out to me by an elf player (because I am that short sighted) that Sisterhood scouts are very similar to Gladestalkers (very probably after making some disparaging remarks about a certain flavour of Elven scouts) I am now firmly of the belief that multiple regiments are the way forward. I’ve brought two to the table and had great success, so an extra regiment can only improve things further (right, maybe another three).
A new regiment is founded… if only they weren’t irregular.
The only issue with this is securing the models. I have a handful of the official models and am bulking the rest out with men-at-arms kit bashed with Oathmark human archer arms. I’m definitely looking forward to giving these an outing next week against some fishy foes.
In addition to the 7 painted models getting their completion I have also managed to off load a few books I no longer need – so there is a tiny bit of space starting to be seen in the cupboard. I’ve also decided that this column needs some sort of tally, which I will start this week, just to see what sort of impact I’m actually having. So, on that basis I will leave you with my best wishes for a great weekend and the number 7.
The observant might notice that my weekly updates are a little out of synch with actual calendar-based time. This is because I have been on holiday for several weeks far away from my models and paints, so I decided to cut myself some slack and suspend the counter.
Having some time out has been really invigorating, and now I’m back with enthusiasm and ideas. I still have far too many projects on, but variety is the spice of life. The best thing that’s happened though, is that I finally have an idea in mind for how I want to theme my halfling army – and it opens up the possibility of including some of my much-loved Northumbrian Tin Soldier models. I’m not going to dwell on this too much as I’m planning on putting some blogs together on the army as I start to firm up exactly what I’m doing.
Inspiration for this has no doubt come from managing to take my gnomes out for a cheeky mid-week game of Frostgrave. I love Frostgrave because of just how much drama the rules allow. This week my barbarian was magicked to the top of a bell tower by my wizard, only to be pushed from the tower by enemy magic that sent him flying 19” across the table. He landed with, unsurprisingly, serious injuries only to find himself being eyed up by wild dogs and an ice toad. Fantastic fun.
Barbarian attempts to claim the treasure…and finds himself surrounded by hungry beasts.
For this week I’ll leave you with my finished Iron Beast and Sauceror that I managed to complete.
Finally, I just want to wish anyone reading this who is coming to the Mean Squeaks of Bristol, Kings of War tournament, a safe journey down. I look forward to welcoming you all.
It’s said that the demons of Amzharr, and the Eternal Abyss, were created with a wish. It is but a fanciful story, for the truth is that it took three wishes.
Once upon a time one of the great immortals was travelling through a forest and happened upon a sprite. The sprite granted the immortal three wishes. The immortal wanted, more than anything, to have a servant who would be faithful to him for all eternity and do exactly what was requested of it, anytime of the day or night.
The sprite giggled as the immortal’s first wish brought a zombie into existence. Disgusted by the rotting, shambling aberration and annoyed that he considered his first wish to be wasted, the immortal tried again. Trying to make better use of his second wish, he did his utmost to detail exactly how his ideal servant should look, act, and revere him. Flushed with the anger of his previous mistake, desperate to bring into existence exactly that which he desired, and keen that his third wish might be used to deliver another of his ambitions, he was unable to focus clearly on what he really wanted. As a result, his second wish quickly became confused and contradictory. Even the sprite, who had heard many wishes in her time, was not quite sure what the immortal really wanted.
To this day there is no name for what that wish called forth. Both the immortal and the sprite recoiled in horror at the awkward, broken creature that appeared before them, whimpering in irritated anguish. Almost as soon as the creature emerged from the cloud of magic in which it had formed the immortal drove it off into the trees.
In a fit of rage, rational thought now an impossibility, the immortal was about to use his final wish when the sprite raised a hand and politely silenced him.
“Have patience,” the forest spirit said gently. “Do not rush. There is no limit on how quickly you need to use your final wish. Take some time to reflect on exactly what it is you want. Then you might find that your wish fulfils your desire.”
The sprite’s words calmed the immortal. Relieved that he could take time to perfect his final request, he made himself a comfortable seat by the side of the road and sat in thought for a year, a month, a week, and a day. The sprite sat beside the immortal, as she was now bound to him until his final wish had been used.
On the morning of the final day of his contemplations the immortal rose with the sun. He made his wish, speaking clearly and confidently. There was a flash of green light and the very first demon stood before him.
The immortal was pleased with the creature. The creature seemed keen to serve, it reassured its new master it needed little rest. It also revealed that it could shapeshift and adopt any form its new master requested of it. The more the demon spoke of its capabilities and qualities the more the immortal began to congratulate himself on how well he had woven the words of his final wish. As soon as the demon finished talking, the immortal immediately began to list the tasks he wished the demon to undertake. The demon listened patiently, and when the immortal had finished politely outlined the payment it would expect in return.
The immortal stood in stunned silence. He could not find the words with which to respond. He could not believe the creature’s ungratefulness, its arrogance… its hubris. Enraged by the thought that any servant should expect greater payment than to bask in the glory of its master, the immortal grabbed the creature and threw it to the ground. Such was the rage that fuelled the assault, that as the demon hit the earth a great fissure began to open. The demon fell into the dark. The ground continued to open before it for many leagues before it finally stopped, and the demon crumpled on the rock-strewn ground. Trapped alone in the dark, far from the light of day, the demon made two promises to itself. It knew that it had been created to serve, and it felt no shame in that because it knew instinctively that service had worth. Consequently, it promised itself that in the future it would only serve those who were prepared to pay for the full value of its assistance. Furthermore, it would only ever respond to its name: because it knew the importance of names. And so, in that moment demons were born, and the Eternal Abyss was created.
On the surface the immortal continued to rage.
“Why have you tricked me?” he demanded of the sprite.
“I have not tricked you. I have said nothing to you, other than to offer you your wishes. I am afraid that if you believe a creature created from the same magic as yourself would willingly accept a life of slavery simply because you called it into existence, then it is you who has tricked yourself,” the sprite said with a smile, before disappearing into the trees.
Aged twelve Gerald is separated from his mother. Alone in the world he is coerced into committing a theft. Once the theft is done, he hides himself away to wait his death. Seventy years later he is still in hiding, terrified of the world outside his sanctuary, but his world is changing. He must now venture out into the world once more to face the consequences of this actions.
The Wizard's Bookshelf 