A Tale of Four Warmahordes 2010

Finally I have managed to convince/motivate some friends into doing a Warmachine campaign. Two of the members are heavily involved in GW; one of whom at a tournament level, so finding the time for a secondary system has been difficult. The fourth and final player is a long time friend who has been looking to get his first Butcher kill for quite some time.

Last week I took the initiative and wrote a small campaign pack with starting forces of 15 points. So far it seems that I am having the hardest time trying to make list, being so used too (spoilt) playing 75 point games. Each player will then build ad paint the figures for the lists over the next 6 months. The incremental points increase will follow the engagement guide from Warmachine MKI. I have included a few little details to promote hobby as well as game play, players will be 'penalised' for not completing the months painting pledges, which ultimately affects the overall scores.

Final faction and Warcaster submissions will be the 15th of August and once those have come in I will post the initial army lists and pictures of the figures. After that, each month the players will give me updates which I intend to share with 14th Legion readers. At the end of this campaign readers will see four battle evolved armies, with plenty of army insight and battle reports along the way.

Thanks for reading,
DiStudios
14th Legion

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Tactica: Khador Man-O-War Shocktroopers

Probably the most iconic Khador unit next to the Juggernaut, the Man-O-War is a combination of man and Warjack. Man-O-War Shocktroopers can lock Shields together to form a near impenetrable line that can advance into the heaviest of gunfire and come out unscathed.

Basics

All Man-O-Wars share multiple wounds and fairly high base armour above, they come equipped with Shields cannons for short but hard hitting firepower, and Annihilator blades which allow extended melee range. To balance the heavy armour, Shocktroopers have a low defence, average RAT and are just as slow as Khador heavy jacks.

Yuri the Axe: Lack of progress

The warm weather has proven to be a hindrance, my room gets really hot during the day so it can become a little bit like a sauna. Overall I am happy with how it looks, but I am unhappy with how long it has taken. I really hope that tomorrow will see the completion of Yuri and also the starts of a new painting project.

On the plus side, the standard of this paint job is far closer to where I was in 2005 before giving up the hobby which means I will probably be putting out work consistent to this style over the rest of the year. If all goes well, I should have my first fully re-painted Warmachine force by Autumn! Something I would really be happy about :)

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

Tactica: Khador Manhunter

The Manhunter partially fills the role of light Warjack for the Khador army, while lacking in range damage it's ability to move fast and inflict consistent melee damage makes the unit a core choice in most Khador armies. Being a living model, it lacks the survivability of heavy armour and mass hit boxes, but makes up for this by having a much smaller base and the stealth ability.

Basics

As a living model, the Manhunter has no 'jack related restrictions to it's movement, it does not have to be in the focus range of the warcaster, and will not require focus to march or charge. On the flip side of this, you cannot allocate focus to boost or gain additional attacks. Luckily the melee potential of this unit and a few spell combinations mean that most things the Manhunter hits, dies. Perfect for solo and even Warcaster assassinations.

Reflections on a Hobby

A pretty bad week hobby wise. As part of my one figure a week challenge I elected to paint up my converted Khador Spriggan. The week started strong with the NMM (non metallic metals) finished and weathered by Wednesday last week. Unfortunately, the figure succumbed to the most terrible fate of being knocked off the shelf. In the ensuing panic I struggled to look for a replacement figure to paint this week. A number of options ran through my head including Lady Aiyana and Holt, but on the end I decided to work on Yuri the Axe.

Games Workshop: Chaos Daemons Advance Order

Games-Workshop strike back this summer with the latest plastic additions to the Chaos Daemons army. Among the pre-orders are the plastic Seekers of Slaanesh, Pink Horrors and the truly monstrous Daemon Prince.

Hordes: Captain Gunnbjorn

This summer Privateer Press released Hordes MKII, fans have already seen the infamous Lord Carver and his Warhog. But today Privateer present us this:

Described as a ex-Cygnar soldier, Gunnbjorn brings modern tactics to the Trollblood Kriels (with his obscenely large heavy bazooka as a backup!). This figure is pure eye candy and is consistent with the previous released Horde's images in terms of detail and inventiveness. It might just be enough to make me break out my Trollblood's army again.

Captain Gunnbjorn is slated for a early September release, secure your Hordes here: www.WaylandGames.co.uk

Thank you for reading,

DiStudios

the 14th Legion

News and Reviews

Lots of productivity last week, I managed to stay on track with the one painted figure a week and this week (so far seems on target). The arrival of Kingdom Death's Gorm is a sobering reminder that I do have other things to paint other than Warmachine so time should probably be made at the end of the month to fit these in. On the subject of other figures to paint, I have amassed a large collection of Anima Tactics and Infinity figures, which again need to be painted. It looks like I won't be leaving the paint table any time soon!...

Kingdom Death: Gorm Un-boxing

This weekend saw the arrival of Kingdom Death's Gorm, the companies first large monstrous creature model. I had the privilege of not only meeting Adam Poots but also seeing the master model of the Gorm back in April this year (Salute). The Gorm is a strange looking creature which can basically be summed up as a baby headed elephant, Angler fish. The Gorm arrived in a minimalistic card board box with the Kingdom Death font.

Tactica: Khador Decimator

The Decimator is the latest warjack to join the Khador arsenal. Like all Khador 'jacks it's big, slow and packs a punch. What makes this 'jack different is the fact it can pack a punch from range.

Basics

Based on the Juggernaut chassis we get the usual low speed, heavy armour and high hit boxes, clocking in at the same points cost as a Destroyer. Despite being ranged like the Destroyer this is where the similarities end. The Decimator is a direct damage 'jack in both range or melee, anything it decides to target is going to be left in pieces.

Warmachine: Khador Manhunter Alt Version

Second Manhunter in my collection and a worthy companion for the original Manhunter. This figure was fun to paint and I decided to use a different palette for the skin, for  darker look. I decided to give very dark/natural colours for both the lips and eye shadow, I just could not imagine Khador's greatest survival hunters running around with fully made up faces!

Decimator Tactica Preview

Regular readers will know, that after the performance of my two Decimators last weekend I will rarely leave home without them. I have been doing a lot of research and working on effective synergies these last two days to increase their kill potential and because of this, this weeks Tactica (Friday) will be the Decimator. 

Under the control of eButcher, this jack unleashed a whole new level of carnage last weekend and in this week's Tactica I will reveal just how I did it. So make sure you do not miss out on this Tactica and all future articles, become a Follower, "Join the Legion!" Widget is located in the left column.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

14th Legion

End of Week Updates

Last weekend saw my first Warmachine game in a very long time (75pts); it was brutal and fun, just the way I remembered it. As always I used an incarnation of the Butcher of Khardov (Epic in this case) and managed to finally test the Decimators I picked up start of the year; my verdict? Awesome. Sustained attack on eButchers feat is very powerful as a line breaker and I will be fielding two of these monsters from now on. One problem with the Decimator though is the model kit, the plastic used it soft and almost rubbery to the touch and during the "heat of battle" it actually started to lean at the ankles. I dread to think what would happen if they had been fully painted...

Tactica: Khador Spriggan

Welcome to the the first of a series of Warmachine Units & Tactica articles, today's subject; the Khador Spriggan.

Basics

Based on the Devastator chassis, the Spriggan is a unusual Heavy warjack sporting a unique array of weapons. With most Khador warjacks we expect the huge amount of hit boxes, heavy armour, brutal weapons, expensive and a very low speed across the board. The Spriggan however shoe boxes into the following: slow and expensive.