A quiet week and "The Fear"

It has been very busy this week as I crack on with numerous painting commissions, at the same time it has inspired me to try and pick up other figures to paint. The last four or five weeks have been a non-stop assault of Warmachine figures on the paint station and this week I finally hit burn out, so the commissions were a welcome change.

It was this week that my two new Kingdom Death figures arrived (Thanks KD guys!) and as always the figures are awesome. I really though about painting one this week but "The Fear" took over once again. 2010 has been the first year where I have sat down at the paint table for long hours in around four years so my painting skills are rusty to say the least. Readers will be able to visibly see the quality of work go from basic army painting upwards over the last few months. Yuri the Axe is a good indicator of where I should be working at as a painter and I have to say the second Kodiak is more to my old level of painting especially when compared to the first Kodiak from January.

So what is "The Fear"? it's that moment of apprehension when you start painting, knowing that you won't give it the paint job you know you can do, which ultimately leads to a unfinished paint job or in my case, leaving the figure in the box to gather dust...

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th legion

P.s regular articles and updates will continue from next week along with a new column dedicated to Auctions and Commissions! Join the Legion to get your hands on pro-painted figures and auction bargains!

Warmachine: Torch Arrives

Torch is here! I have eagerly opened up the pack and have put him together. While the glue is drying I am taking the opportunity to look at the card and share my opinions. Now this is not a full blown tactica as I feel it will take a few games before I see any obvious synergies. However on 'paper' it looks very viable for my eButcher list.

First thing that comes to mind is the improved MAT of 7, this stacked with eButcher's 'Conferred Rage' means I will be able to hit at MAT 9 with two melee weapons, considering that one of these weapons is the Ripsaw, you will probably hit and as fans of the Ripsaw know; one hit is all you will ever need. Naturally the open fist has many uses for power attacks etc. Torch also has a improved RAT of 5, at first glance it does not look significant due to the range of the spray (6 inches) and the fact that this 'jack will probably be used exclusively in combat. However throw in the fact that Torch has a spray template AND Virtuoso (use in melee) then benefits become very clear.

Warmachine: Bank Holiday Bash!

Next weekend (28th August) will be the almost mandatory "Bank Holiday Bash" Warmachine game between myself (Butcherofkhardov PP Forum name) and my best gaming buddy (CountZero PP Forum name) and while it is always a good fun game between us, he is still chasing that elusive Butcher kill! We have decided to play a straight up assassination game at 50pts so a average size game with access to some nice units. As always I will be playing Kommander Orsus Zoktavir (epic butcher) and will be looking to run the new Torch character 'jack. I expect CountZero to continue his Mortenebra fascination and 'jack heavy steam roll list, and I would not be surprised if he decides to field the new Malice character 'jack (assuming it arrives before then).

"I must break you"

So what am I taking? Part of it is my standard formula, but there are a couple of units I have not used in MKII, but were stern favourites of mine in the previous editions. I am a firm advocate of "play the list, don't let the list play you" which basically means; I prefer to run units I know work for me rather than units perceived to work by others, I still today believe that Warmachine is one of the few games where there is no defined meta, you can take any combination of units in your list and assuming they fit your style of play, it will work regardless of how poor it looks on paper.

Whats on the Table

I got notification from Alex at Privateer Press about my order and it turns out "Torch" was sent out last week and should be arriving soon which is great news! For those of you who do not know what "Torch" is, basically it is the new Khador character 'jack that was released during GenCon two weekends ago. Privateer Press opted to make these kits available via their webstore (a great move!) so that everyone could get access to the new stuff. I expect it to be part of the first Wave of Wrath (upcoming Warmachine expansion) figures so the actual release dates would be January 2011. 

I can't wait to get my hands on this accessory kit and using him in my lists. My next scheduled game is in two weeks time (50pts) and I am keen to see what destruction I can sow with this beast. It still begs the question though; when will the Butcher get his true character 'jack?

The week ahead

This weekend saw the deadline for my Tale of Warmahordes army list hand in. The final details are being written for the updated pack, with the first article scheduled for this week. In reflection, I did a full logistics of what I need for the next 5 or so months and top of my list is the gaming table set up. Luckily I have plenty of terrain donated by best friend CountZero (also playing in the campaign), the only real issue now is getting the Citadel battle board painted to a level I am happy with. Rest assured I will be sharing my views on this project before the deadline of last week September.

So how about my list? I went through a number of different lists trying to keep my perceived theme as stable as possible, I am happy to say that I stuck with what I like the look of and perhaps there is little to no deviation to my standard formula. As I have stated in the past; Warmachine is one of those games where there is no defined meta, you can take a combination of any of the units released and regardless of it's statistical value, a competent commander can make very good use if as part of the overall strategy. This is the reason why after seven years I still love the game.

How about new toys? Regular readers will know that I placed my pre-order for Kingdom Death's new releases; The Forsaker limited edition and pin up version. This figures were released as part of the GenCon exclusives so I expect them to be shipped for the end of August. I also have some Khador goodies in the form of the new character Warjack "Torch" (another GenCon exclusive), in a perfect world this figure will arrive this week with a un-boxing and review following swiftly.

I look forward to sharing episode 1 of my "Tale of Warmahordes" and introducing the additional players, the next few months will see army growth, games and plenty of pretty painted miniatures. 

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion

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Gallery: Yuri The Axe

Finally finished and ready to join the Butcher of Khardov in the dance of destruction; Yuri the Axe. I opted to use multiple shades of grey for the furs, which is more in-line with the art work, whilst choosing a much darker shade for the Axe head. I am satisfied with the weathering applied to the golds and steel. The whole paint job took a long time to complete simply because I spent too much time thinking when I should of been painting.

Tactica: Fenris

Riding on his monstrous steed, Fenris is a true vision of nightmares. Wielding two of the cursed Orgoth Blades, such is Fenris' presence that other Doomreavers around him obey his commands. A fast and powerful melee monster who rides alongside the Butcher of khardov.

Basics

Fenris is one of Khador's two dragoons. He is fast and hard hitting, but has a noticeably lower survivability than his counterpart; the Drakhun. Wielding two Orgoth Blades, Fenris will excel at thinning out ranks of infantry and can even take on small to medium warjacks. Being a Doomreaver, he has the benefits of never running away and cannot be the target of spells. However he cannot be kept near non-fearless allies, and cannot receive direct target beneficial spells. Despite this, Fenris can tackle almost any melee situation and come out on top.

Kingdom Death: Upcoming Previews

Kingdom Death never ceases to amaze me when it comes to jaw dropping miniatures. This month's early August newsletter previews the companies first duo release; The Forsaker and Forsaker pinup, and what a magnificent pair they are.

The Week Ahead

Good morning all!

Last week was a pretty busy week as I organised details for a "Tale of Warmahordes", a campaign I have been working on to help draft new players, and re-motivate existing gamers into playing Warmachine/Hordes.

Players has been in communication and it is looking like we have all a interesting spread of factions; Cryx, Menoth and of course Khador (me naturally!), another player is looking at the Hordes range before confirming what he would like to do. Hopefully this means that I can post lists and photos of the provisional armies on time for the 15th of August. So have I decided on what I am taking? As to be expected I will be using the Butcher of Khardov (as always), but as for the rest of the army? Readers will have to wait for the 15th, so Join the Legion to find out first.

GenCon is round the corner, and with it you can expect lots of new shiny toys. Unfortunately I will not be there this year, but rest assured as soon as any new toys are shown I will be showing it on the 14th Legion. This weeks Tactica will be Fenris the Doomreaver, another one of the Butcher's henchmen and a very nasty character indeed. I will be sharing my thoughts on this powerful character and sharing some of the synergies I use to get the most out of this infantry killing machine.

Thanks for reading,

DiStudios

The 14th Legion 

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