Shaman Trio

Another week without a game but I have completed a couple more Shaman's using the Centaur models from Mythic Battle. This means I've made some progress on two different games which is a real bonus.

This gives me three models I can use as mounted Shamans and I have a couple of other models that I will be painting up to stand in as foot Shamans. Due to the speed of the army I suspect I will only ever be taking the mounted version however.

As well as painting the models they needed to be removed from the round bases they came on for Mythic Battle and then pinned to a rectangular base for KoW.

The Herd Shamans come with plenty of spell options but as you can normally only cast one spell per turn it isn't worth loading them up with all the spells. At this stage I suspect the Heal spell will be the default choice.

I have also started work on the Horde of Giant Eagles and got all the bits I need / that I think I need ready. All I need to do now is paint them up and build the base.

Giant Eagle Horde 'kit'

I suspect this unit will be a couple of weeks work if not more but hopefully should look rather good once done. As always the issue is trying to translate the picture I have in my mind into reality.

Boar-pede

I haven't managed to get a game in this week but I have completed two more units for my Herd army.
First to be completed was the Stampede unit, this is a fast hard hitting unit that cannot be hindered due to the Strider special rule. The Stampede has been a staple of Herd armies over the years but has had a couple of nerfs to it's nerve which makes it a more fragile unit than when it was first released.

The main focus of the unit is a Boar Demon model from the Reaper Bones which is supported by some Mantic Boar models.

The Mantic models came as part of a job lot of Orcs I got on Ebay so I used a couple of the Orc infantry to add some extra interest to the unit.

I left the wings off the Boar Demon as this isn't a flying unit with the intention of using them on another model to make a flying Avatar of the Father model.

Being an Irregular unit means the Stampede does not unlock any other units and takes up a Troop unlock slot. 

The second unit to be added was the Avatar of the Father. This is a unique monster unit which can be upgraded to have wings to create a fast moving and hard hitting addition to the army.

I used a Minotaur Demon model again from Reaper Bones as the basis and added the wings from the Boar Demon. As the Reaper Bones models are made from a fairly soft material that can be heated up in boiling water to reshape the piece it was pretty easy to get the wings in place.

The other prime benefit of the Reaper models is the price, for just over £12 you get a really big model that whilst it may lack the fine detail of a GW model of the same size comes in at a fraction of the cost.

At 320 points for the flying version of the Avatar it isn't a cheap unit to field but being a monster means it gains the double/triple attacks when flank/rear charging. I don't feel that I made the best use of my flying units with the Kin so practice will be needed to get the most out of this unit.

Finally a quick shot to show just how large a model he is compared to some of the others in the army. So far pretty much all the units are on the large side but the Avatar towers over all of them.

Artefacts of Kyron Campaign Battle #7

This week we played out the finale of the Artefacts of Kyron campaign with both the armies having made it to the Gates of Power and each side seeking to unlock the artefacts whilst stopping the other from doing so. We agreed that the unit carrying an artefact must spend a hold move an uncontested gate and that each gate could only be used once.

The initial deployment saw most of the forces mustered around the more central gates with the Kin positioning the two artefacts they had opposite them and the Men going for the gate furthest away. The Men aimed to get forward as quickly as possible in order to ensure the Kin could not gain a quick victory.

The Men won the roll off for first turn and pushed forwards onto and over the gates they also launched one charge into the woods against the Kin Shadows but this was repulsed. The giant Oliphant mode was this time being used to represent a Horde of Elephants from the KoW Historical lists and this made it easily the more expensive unit on the table.

The Men had also been expanding their flying Corps so more carpets took to the skies.

Some fire from the central flying carpets wavered one of the Gargoyle units in the Kin's front line which caused some disruption to the following units. The Kin also pressed forwards and engaged some of the leading units in melee and also with ranged fire.

In what became a bit of a theme some poor rolling on nerve checks meant that only one unit of Men's chaff was removed and the other was able to further constrict the advance in the middle. The Buccaneers also failed to clear the central unit of carpets but did manage to lock them down by causing the casualty to stop them from flying.

In the next turn the Men stripped away the chaff units from the Kin but could not leave themselves out of arc or range to be charged in the next turn.

The had however managed to turn the Kin right flank and started to work their way through the artillery units there.

The Kin then launched a series of charges along the line all of which failed to route the enemy and if I recall correctly did not even manage a waver. The Oliphant managed to stop the Dark Knights I think for the first time in the campaign and this then left them in a bad position.

During the next Men's turn the Dark Knights went down as did another artillery unit and the Men caused casualties along the line, with the centre in particular being a bogged down grind. The Dark Lord on Pegasus was also amongst the fallen, this freed up the Men's right flank as well.

 The Kin's turn saw more counter charges and an attempt to shore up their left flank by moving across the Reaper Guard and the central Buccaneers finally routed the carpets and moved forwards to cover the Spear Horde's flank.

During this time the Men had pushed their Artefact upto a gate but a doughty defence by a lone Dark Avenger had keep them from being able to claim the gate.

During the Men's next turn the Kin casualties really started to mount and it became a matter of when not if they lost. Once you can get onto the flank of the enemy especially with heavy hitting units you can quickly roll up the opposition.

So in this turn the Shadows Regiment and Buccaneers routed and also the Lycan Horde was lost.

The Reaper Guard Regiment was also wavered leaving it straight in the path of the Oliphants.
The Kin had one final chance to break the central infantry Horde and again rolled low on the nerve test so did not even waver their opponents.

After that it was all over with the Men making some good nerve check rolls and the Kin being wiped out apart from one artillery unit.

In the end the collapse was swift and pretty much total but once again I came away thinking that even though I had mode some mistakes it could have been a different game with some better nerve check rolls, but such is the life of a wargamer.
So that is the end of the campaign and we had some good battles and it was great to push some models across the table and good to see two painted armies fighting it out.
Next up will be some SAGA with Stu building up a possibly Irish force so we will need to play some practice games for him to get used to the rules.
We both also have our second Kings of War armies under construction so we will need to think up another campaign structure to use once they are ready to be fielded.

Raiding Season

Since we started playing SAGA I have been searching for a way to put together a campaign that would add some overall meaning to our weekly games and not making much headway. I then came across a program that used the matchbox method of campaign movement and realised that something along those line would work. So this week as well as getting a game of SAGA v2 in I also finished off a simple set of campaign rules.
The idea behind the rules is to give a simple way to chain together the scenarios available for SAGA and give them some meaning in a greater context. The campaign uses the raiding of an enemy area as its basis and then adds a very simple strategic element. The aim is to get a battle every week where the results of the previous battles do not unbalance the encounter and give one side or the other an overwhelming advantage.

The Two Camps Scenario

As the campaign will be fought with each player taking the role of the raider in turn this meant that it did not have to be symmetrical or even balanced on a strategic level as over the course of two seasons things should balance out.

Campaign Map and trackers

Pagan Rus advance towards the Normans

 As long as each week generates a new scenario and keeps the gaming sessions fresh then I will count that as a success. Fortunately there have been a large number of scenarios created across the various SAGA v1 books which can be used in v2 and also some good player made ones.

Pagan Rus positioned to defend there camp

 I also wanted to keep the amount of tracking between games to a minimum and the fact that everything can be fitted onto one side of A3 is a plus.

Pagan Rus advance onwards despite casualties

This week we tested out the secondary objective whilst playing the Two Camps scenario and that worked well and next week we will try out some of the bonus abilities.

Norman flanking move

The bonus abilities are meant to give a little boost rather than an overwhelming superiority so I'd like to test them out before the campaign starts in case any need to be dialed back a little.

Norman cavalry charge repulsed

Before we start the campaign I'd also like to draw up some cards for the bonus abilities so they can be played and then discarded during the game, this will make tracking the use of them very easy.

Normans press forwards

We also decided during this weeks game that abilities whose effects last for the whole turn or longer after being activated need to be highlighted by a marker on the battleboard after being played as you remove the dice when activating the ability. This helps to remind both players that the ability is active, very helpful if you are both a little forgetful.

End game, Normans have 2 units that can loot and the Rus could only block 1

I have uploaded the latest version of the Raiding Season campaign to Google Drive in case anyone would like to have a look or play.

On the painting front I have all the models ready for my Herd Stampede Horde and just need to get them onto the base so they may be ready for pictures next week with a little luck.

Herd Review

Having had a week off I've made some good progress on my Herd army so I thought a little photo shoot was in order.

The Army so far

I've completed a fair few of the core units that I had planned and also a few of the extra units as well. Having the Lycans already painted up and ready to use has sped up the army building process. I did go back and reflock the bases so they tie in with the other units and hit the dark iron surfaces with a bronze dry brush, again to tie in with the other units.

Guardian Brutes

Guardian Champion to the fore

This week I completed the two hordes of Guardian Brutes for the core of the army. Whilst they lack the Pathfinder of the other infantry units they do have a high armour, decent nerve and plenty of hard hitting attacks. These along with the Tribal Warriors will form the tough centre of the army.

Lycan Hordes and Alpha

The Lycans add the fast element to the army and stand in for the cavalry units that most other armies would have on the wings. Being both fast and nimble they should be seeking out the flanks of the enemy and with regen and decent nerve they should be able to take and recover from a hit.

Beast Packs

Beast Packs provide the fast chaff for the army, if taken in Troops they do not present much of a danger when charging the front of a unit but can be more dangerous on the flank/rear charge. Regiments are still very cheap and pack a reasonable punch for the price.

Mounted Shaman

Shamans provide both Inspiring, Bane Chant and can be upgraded with Heal and several other spells if needed. My plan is to have an army that is difficult to destroy so fast moving Shamans with Heal could be key to keeping up with the troops and throwing out healing.

Brutox's

The Brutox is battering ram of a unit with good nerve & regen, the fact that it is fast and nimble means that it should be looking for flank charges to really force home it's strengths. The fact that these models look great is also a bonus!

Chimera's

The Chimera is a cheaper monster option for the Herd but for it to really shine it needs to be given the Wings option,this allows it to get behind the enemy and double/triple the number of attacks.

Great Totem

Lastly we have the Great Totem which is a unique unit for The Herd and allows you to place a Rally(2) unit on the table. As this unit cannot be moved you can even place it outside your deployment zone, the aim being to guess the location of the fight as the Rally effect only has a 6" range. It is cheap though and can also be used to block up the gap between terrain forcing the enemy to either go around or fast time fighting it.

For the Herd!

So that's the army so far and having counted up the points I already have 2205 points worth with several more units to complete. Next up on the bench is the Stampede, who look to be shaping up nicely.