Call to Arms - The Podium Contenders

Looking at the CTA lists I believe the event is very very open. I could list ten contenders for 1st and none would surprise me if they took it out. But tradition (and pride) doesn't allow me to pick ten people so I have narrowed it down to five.

Missing Warriors of Chaos

What will strike you immediately is that I have not included any Warriors of Chaos in my Top 5. Why? Well two of the Warriors (sam Whitt and Ryan Lister) are running their armies for the first time and although it is a blunt instrument I believe it will take awhile for them to have strategies/tactics tuned. Stu Robinson ran his WoC at Panzershreck but Rounds 5 and 6 were very brutal for Stu. I'm not sure the counselling he has had since then will be enough to see him over the line.

And Damon Quaid? Well he has the best WoC list but he is from the South Island and I can't therefore pick him and maintain any credibility. Sure if the planets align, Prince Harry officially acknowledges his father and/or the Warriors win the NRL, then maybe, just maybe.

No. 5 - Harry Dixon (Tomb Kings)

The observant amongst you will have noticed how much Harry's list has improved since the Horned Rat. Harry will also have shaken out the ring rust that comes with not playing for two years. Watch him, he's the smokie!

No. 4 - Hamish Gordon (Skaven)

Running his Horned Gobbo list where he threatened but ultimately failed to deliver at the last hurdle. A good list and with more experience Hamish should be driving this to a Top 5 finish. Gets the nod over Locky Reid who is currently more worried about his costume for some deviant orgy when there is a tournament on the horizon. Focus, Locky! Focus!

No. 3 - Joel Van de Ven-Long (Empire)

I pick him every time... and he let's me down. But just like people backed Michael Campbell to win a Major from 1995, I'm not getting off the horse now. Definitely one of the top two strongest lists on show, Joel really has no excuses.

No. 2 - Raymond Dick (Vampire Counts)

The list may not look breathtaking on paper but this list screams "SYNERGY". Raymond is a wily old campaigner and if people check out the FOB Honour Roll you'll see he pops up generally at least once a year on the podium. It hasn't happened in 2013.....yet.

No. 1 - Sam Campbell (Daemons of Chaos)

A Special Character, 12 under-pointed Beasts of Nurgle and two of the most broken thing in the game (hey, I read the internet) how can Sam fail not to win this event. No, seriously, how can he? A very very strong list with all the tools. If perchance Sam does fail to win then he should take off all his clothes, visit the mirror room and TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AT HIMSELF. Seriously Sam, if you don't podium perhaps it's time to concede that this may not be the game for you. I understand Guardcon is offering 40k.

So there you go. Crazy Pete's Form Guide. Back those winners in.

FOB NZ Rankings - Warhammer 40k Nicon Update

I received the Nicon 40k results yesterday and the rankings have been updated accordingly.

This has seen Scott Birrell and Anthony Davy enter the Top 10 and Masters contention. Steve Davis, Pascal Roggen and David Foster also improved their ranking score.

New Zealand Team Championship 2014 - Registrations Open

Registrations are now open for the 2014 NZTC. These will be held on 1st and 2nd March 2014 at the Khandallah Town Hall here in Wellington.

The Players Pack can be downloaded here

The event is limited to 16 teams of four.

All details re registration are included in the pack.

Pete Lite Comp - The Skullcannon Conundrum

Most of the discussion around loosening the warmachine cap has centred on whether in conjunction with this Skullcannons should be 0-1 in a Daemons of Chaos army.

Now given that the Skullcannon is one fugly model I am not unsympathetic to that train of thought, however I do reserve doubts that such a restriction is needed.

Most of the "compers" cite the fact that Ironblasters are 0-1 under Pete-Lite and centre their analysis on a comparison between the two. Local gamer Hamish Gordon has written a very readable analysis on his blog which you can access here

However I don't think it is necessarily the best analysis to consider the unit in isolation. Rather I think you need to look at the situation as to what units add to the overall competitiveness of the army.

Here are my thoughts on Ogres and Ironblasters taken from the FOB comments:

There has to be variation between armies and Daemons unlike Ogres, for instance, are much more susceptible to Magic (ref: Hellheart, Dispel Scroll, Feedback Scroll, Rune Maw). 

Does DoC having two Skullcannons break the game? No. Personally I'd only use one as points are spent better elsewhere.

Does OKs having two Ironblasters break the game? A lot of people said yes last year, hence the restriction.

Now I have both dogs in the fight. I own Ogre Kingdoms and steered them very successfully in 2012. I will say that running two Ironblasters lifted them from a good army to a great army, their only real weakness being Warriors of Chaos during that time.

Recently I have played Daemons and used one and two Skullcannons. Neither army in the guise I ran it is as strong as an OK army with all the toys, limited to one Ironblaster.

Now that's not to say there may not be builds that are at this level of competitiveness. The Nurgle Beast build backed by Epidemis and two Skullcannons was cited by Hamish as potentially all-conquering. However I think we have to see this in practice rather than by internet analysis. Tournaments are not won purely based on Theoryhammer.

Should we see a string of wins by the 2 Skullcannon army and people flocking to build such an all-conquering build then perhaps that is the time to start limiting Skullcannons.

Skaven for CTA - Ratz N Da Hood

So I wanted to change up my Skaven for Call to Arms after running similar lists at Runefang and Horned Rat. Being a boy from Pomare and therefore having enormous street cred, living how I is (see what I did there) in the mean streets of Khandallah, Seerlord Morskitta decided to go gangsta!

Here's the list I'm packing (getting into the lingo now, biatches):

Seerlord Morskitta - Bell (nice ride), Skalm, Power Scroll, Dragonbane Gem

BSB - Standard of Discipline (keeping the homies in check)

Engineer - Level 2 (packing extra heat), Condenser, Doomrocket (pew-pew)

Engineer - Level 1, Dispel Scroll (word), Ruby Ring (more heat...oh this works on so many levels)

Engineer (pretty fly for a white guy)

Assassin - Weeping Blades, Potion of Strength (Mr. One Man Gang)

33 Stormvermin - Full Command, Storm Banner (Foot Soldiers, my homos homies)

40 Slaves (biatches)

40 Slaves (more biatches)

39 Slaves (even more biatches)

22 Slaves (running short on biatches)

6 Gutter Runners - slings, poison (pew-pew)

6 Gutter Runners - slings, poison (more pew-pew)

Hell Pit Abomination (one nasty mofo)

Doomwheel (Drive By with souped up hydraulics)

Doomwheel (Don't you be eyeballing me)

Skaven Styln' N Da Hood Pomare Style

Seerlord Morskitta has oodles of street credibility and will be popin' caps while downing a trim soy latte at a table near you. Peace out.

Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition

It has been awhile since we have had an update on progress towards 1500 point Heresy armies. I know I got distracted with Daemons and Skaven and the release schedule that GW have keep up has put a lot of people in the same boat.

Here are the latest photos I received:

1. Ultramarines - Hagen Kerr

Hagen has given us two shots of his Veteran Squad.

2. World Eaters - David Grieg

It's character models from David.

Apothecary

Kharn

Legion Sergeant

And the limited future, Librarian

Thanks to both for sending them in. A kick up the backside for the rest of us.

So where am I? I have assembled two Contemptors, an Apothecary and a Praetor. They are on the priming table waiting for an order of White Primer to arrive. I'll have something up in the next fortnight.

Doomwheel - Classic Case of New Model Syndrome

There is a perpetual superstition among wargamers that a newly painted model never performs on its first outing. It's even got a name "New Model Syndrome".

And so it was yesterday as I took my new Doomwheel out for its first spin in a game against Mike's Lizards. We were playing Battle for the Pass and my 24" line had a building and two woods straddling it. This left very limited opportunities for placement of my Doomwheels. And so I took a chance and deployed in a wood.

Of course you all know what happened - "1" followed by a "6", then remove the model from play.

Things can only get better!

Straight off track and into a wall

Ripley the Cat never knew what hit her

The Doomwheel had picked up a stray goblin en route to the battle

Never ever expect a  newly painted model to perform! It's one of the truisms of wargaming.

Pete Lite Comp: Warmachine Cap - A Revision Due?

There has been some chat this week on Twitter re the warmachine cap in Pete Lite Comp. Currently warmachines are limited to four (with two O&G chukkas counting as a single choice and the Steam Tank counting as a choice).

The question posed is would it be such a bad thing if the cap was removed?

The armies it impacts most on are Dwarfs, Chaos Dwarfs and Empire.

Would we see a change in the makeup of those armies if the cap was removed.

I believe that we would see an increase in warmachines and I think that I would be comfortable in limiting only bolt throwers and their ilk to being 3+. This would mean that there would continue to be a limit on cannons (though Empire it seems are ok with three, if you include the Steam Tank - not sure why they are ok).

There seems to be two schools developing. The one is that the game is becoming Monster-hammer - and multi wound warmachines are a counter to this - while the other is that Monsters are largely missing from the game.

I think that the truth (as always) is in the middle. However I do think a Dwarf gunline or an Empire battery is a response to Monster-hammer and if you think that is the best investment of points then should you be restricted?

However I know Dwarf players and I'd confidently expect to face 6+ warmachines and 3+ scroll runes castled up in a corner looking for that 10-10 win.

What do people think? Should the warmachine cap be removed to be replaced with "Only Bolt Throwers and Spear Chukkas can be 3+".

The point of Pete Lite has always been to be permissive. This is becoming more so as we see more 8th Ed books. I expect a swathe of Lizard restrictions may go if the book is rebalanced on release.

Call to Arms Army Lists Published

The CTA WHFB umpire James Millington has asked me to publish the CTA lists on Fields of Blood.

You can download them here

Better Lizardmen Pictures Emerge

I'm not going to post them here as we'll be able to see the official versions in 48 hours but you can check them out here

Lizardmen will be sharing High Lore with the High Elves but with a Lore Attribute called "Contemplations". With this, if he successfully casts a spell he can choose to forget the spell and then randomly generate a new spell he has access to. Spooky!

Warpfire Fantasy Tournament Players Pack - FOB's One Day Extravaganza

Warpfire is a five round 1000 point WHFB tournament to be held in Wellington on the 14th September.

Seerlord Morskitta envisaging the devastation he would cause at 1000 points.....and then thought he might have a lie-in instead,

You can download the Players Pack here

The event will use modified scenarios utilising a Win/Draw/Loss mechanism but with lots of additional Bonus and Objective Points. The Scenario Pack can be downloaded here

The usual Army List Template is available also.

This should be an excellent event and its focus is very much on the fun aspects of the hobby.

Get in quick as places will be limited.

The Only Good Dwarf Is A Dying Dwarf!

Regular readers will know that I'm not a big fan of the Dwarf race.

To assist you all, I thought I show you how I like to treat Dwarfs when I face them on the battlefield. The following pictures are taken from my game versus Adam Richards' Stunties at Panzershreck.

The Hammerer Block is charged by the Death Chicken, four Beasts of Nurgle in the front, two in the side and a unit of Flesh Hounds in the rear. Behind that a lone Engineer receives two units of Screamers and more Flesh Hounds (note forlorn anvil to the side).

The aftermath of the front combat just before the Stunties break in terror and are caught by a Beast. Attention will now turn to the Engineer who dies ingloriously.

The Longbeards take the opportunity to charge some Horrors, over run ......straight into a trap. Lots of dead dwarfs and the Stunties are tabled.

One less army out there ruining games for people who enjoy Warhammer.

Cue some pitiful defense musing from Dwarf apologists.

Daemons at Panzershreck

Over the weekend I went up to Panzershreck in Palmerston North for a six round 2400 point event that used the Swedish Composition system. I believe that math comp achieves nothing, it just shifts goalposts from one place to another creating a new set of most efficient armies. That said, it was a great opportunity to get away for an event and meet up with the local gaming cohort.

I got up at 5.00am on the morning of the event and drove north picking Sam Whitt up on the way. We bowled into Palmy just after 8.00am ready for the 8.30am start. I posted my list earlier so you can check it out there.

Game 1 - Ryan Lister (Vampire Counts) - Battleline

Ryan has beaten my DoC the last two times we played. This time he was rocking Mannfred and a block of 9  Blood Knights (Flag of the Blood Keep) plus two Vamps one with MR2. I realised early I wasn't going to get the bus so worked over the rest of his army, including Mannfred for a moderate win.

Win 15-5

Game 2 - Peter Williamson (High Elves) - Blood & Glory

Peter had Fortitude 6 to my 4. I also realised that he would be my main opposition in this event so it was always going to be a hard game. In the end I picked up more VPs for killing units but Peter managed to destroy the Lord of Change in one round of shooting combined with a Sunfire Gem IF Fireball and that broke me. A deserved win for Peter who'd go on to win the event.

Loss 6-14

Game 3 - Adam Richards (Dwarfs) - Battleline

I hate Dwarfs. However if I have to play Dwarfs I want to play Adam. He is always looking to make it a fun game and while other Stunties will see him as far too loose, I'm sure he gets a lot of enjoyment out of his play. In this game I gave him a unit to chase after which he caught and destroyed. While that was happening the DoC went wild on the rest of his army picking up a lot of points.

Win 20-0

Game 4 - Neil Williamson (Warriors of Chaos) - Dawn Attack

Neil's army was a 16.5 on a scale that capped at 13. He had Valkyia and then fitted in some Forsaken, a Shaggoth plus a huge bus of Dogs. It was rounded out with a unit of Knights, Skullcrushers and three Marauder Horse. The key in this game was my ability to force Neil in piecemeal while my Death Chicken cleaned up his Knights and chaff. In the end I got the whole army for minimal loss.

Win 20-0

Game 5 - Stuart Robinson (Warriors of Chaos) - Battleline

Not much to say about this game. If it could go right for me, it did. If it could go average to poor for Stuart it did. An example was a shot with Skullcannon through Tzeentch (3rd Eye) Disk Hero. He rolled a 2 for his ward. In the end it was a big win.

Win 20-0

Going into the last round I was 5 Battle Points behind Peter but 21 points ahead of 3rd. So I had no downside but big upside if Peter stumbled.

Game 6 - Hamish Gordon (Empire) - Meeting Engagement

Hamish had what I thought was the strongest list at the event. A few things went wrong for me straight away - no Gateway and my Skullcannon blew up on Turn 1. Key to the game was me rolling snake eyes for the Winds of Magic Turn 2. This removed a single Beast that was diverting a second unit of Demigryphs. This allowed them to clear out a Horror unit and threaten my rear. Going into Turn 5 I was up 12-8 and decided with no downside to go for it. My LoC was on 2 wounds and charged demigryphs. He fluffed his 7 attacks and then failed a series of 5+ AS and 5++. This turned game into a small win for Hamish.

Loss 8-12

Summary

While this was going on Peter crushed his father (who I'm sure rolled over and let him tickle his tummy) so anything I would have achieved was for naught anyway. Peter was clear winner with me second. Mike King snuck into third.

Charlie Lloyd won Best Painted and Sports. He got my Painting Vote while I gave my Sports vote to Hamish.

Great event with excellent opponents. Big thanks to Jeff Kent for running it and for allowing Sam and I to crash at his place.

Next event for me is Call to Arms in just under a fortnight.

New Lizardmen in August

As expected Lizardmen are incoming for August. From Dakka we have the following releases confirmed:

Warhammer: Lizardmen

· 96 page full colour, hardback Warhammer army book.

PLASTIC Carnosaur

· This box contains a multi-part plastic kit that makes one of four possible massive center-piece miniatures.

· HUGE - 8 inches long by 5 inches tall

· Can make an Oldblood on Carnosaur, Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur, Kroq-Gar on Carnosaur or Troglodon with Skink Oracle.

Terradon/ Ripperdactyl Riders dual kit!

· This box contains a multi-part plastic kit that can be assemble as either 3 Terradons or 3 Ripperdactyls, flying cavalry mounts ridden by Lizardmen Skinks.

· Included Parts to upgrade one Terradon rider to the special character Tiktaq'to.

Bastiladon

· This box contains a brand new multipart plastic kit that makes a Bastiladon carrying either a Solar Engine or an Ark of Sotek.

Lizardman Skink Priest

· An addition to the popular plastic heroes Clampacks.

· The Lizardman Skink Priest is adorned in feathered plumes and carries a traditional Lizardman totem.

Gor-Rok

· A Clampack that contains one highly detailed Citadel Finecast resin miniature.

· A Lizardmen Special Character particularly suited to close combat.

Tetto'eko

· A boxset containing one finely detailed Citadel Finecast resin miniature.

· A skink Priets on a Palanquin.

FOB WHFB Rankings Updated - Panzershreck

Panzershreck has been run and won and the rankings have been updated to reflect the results.

A new boy has burst into the Top 10 in a blaze of glory and I'm sure that all neutrals will be backing this underdog in his further efforts this year. It is great to see someone come from nowhere and shakeup the established order!!!! And he's doing it with two different armies. What a champ!

Mike King improves his ranking while with his win Peter Williamson moves into the Top 20 and has two further events to improve in his Masters push.

In icon news Sam Whitt gets the Changeling after giving Tomb Kings a run at Panzershreck.

The need for 225-230 points to assure qualification is looking more and more concrete.

Panzershreck WHFB Results

Panzershreck was held over the weekend and this year included WHFB for the first time.

It was a six round 2400 point tournament umpired by Jeff Kent and it used the Swedish Comp system.

Here are the results:

Best Sport and Best Painted went to Charlie Lloyd. Charlie has a lovely Dark Elf army that uses some of the Raging Heroes figures.

Congratulations to everyone...especially Peter Williamson who schooled everyone.

A big thanks to Jeff and the Manawatu club for all their efforts.

CTA WHFB Entries

EDIT: There has been one drop out today so the event is back to odd numbers. Great opportunity now for someone wanting to register.

This week we have had two further entries for CTA (Nic Jebson and Ryan Lister) which takes entries to 24.

From here the Warlords have advised that entries will be accepted only to maintain even numbers. That means you can still register but it will require a drop out or another registration to confirm entry.

Also lists are due in by this Sunday so get your list in early to avoid list penalties. James will be checking the lists over the next week with a view to publishing them next weekend. That means that if you are a late registration - not one of the current 24 - you'll have the opportunity to submit your list without penalty up to next Friday.

Panzershreck This Weekend

This weekend I'm off to play at Panzershreck in Palmerston North. I'll be using my Daemons of Chaos, for the first time since they crashed and burned in the last round at NiCon.

My list has been modified to drop the Tzeencth Chariot and a Skullcannon for two units of ambushing Flesh Hounds. This is a concession to the Swedish Comp system being used but in all truth I suspect one unit would have made it in anyway.

In the first round I am playing Ryan Lister's Vampire Counts. He has gone with a Mannfred-led army centred around a bus of 9 Blood Knights with Flag of the Blood Keep. I suspect this is where his two other Vamps will go making it one god-awful bus. I must say I'm impressed that someone has bought 9 Blood Knight figures!

Tomorrow will be my first games since Horned Rat so I'm looking to use the weekend to work out some ring rust before Call to Arms in two weeks. The field looks really competitive and I can see a big group in contention for podiums.

With the Death Chicken "There Will Be Feathers".

Raffazza Time - A Very Worthwhile Read

Over the last few months I have been reading a blog out of the UK called "Raffazza Time".

You can access it here. I'll also be adding it to my blogroll.

He is somewhat unique amongst a lot of the blogs I read in that rather than just lists and battle reports, he has quite a lot of independent analysis of the game.

One of his recent posts looks at the lists of the ETC Big Three - and England - and looks at the army makeup of the various teams. The Big Three are interesting because they have deviated from the norm and not included some of the so-called "power" armies.

In an interesting observation he also points out that the English team took a lot back from the Danish Warm-up - mainly Germany's lists.

Looking forward to reading more of his thoughts in weeks to come.

ETC Fantasy Lists Released

For those that are interested the ETC lists for WHFB have been released and are here

I wish Team New Zealand well at the event. Looking at the lists it appears they have taken a few off-the-wall selections that are either inspired or will crash and burn (e.g. unit of 19 Black Orcs).

ETC Army Lists - Race Breakdown

The army lists have been lodged for the ETC and here is the race breakdown:

A few things strike me immediately:

• the fall of Ogres - I'm guessing WoC do everything better in most people's minds
• that the Big Three - Poland, Denmark and Germany - aren't taking WoC. Perhaps they've seen something the peloton have missed
• the Danes and the Poles have also rejected Skaven 

Austria is nearest to the median taking the seven most popular armies while Poland has only one of the four most popular.

NZ Masters Round-up - Fantasy

Just looking at the current Rankings for Fantasy, it looks like a score of 225+ will be required to ensure that you get an automatic invitation to the Masters - that is be ranked in the Top 11.

Most of the current Top 10 have three 2013 season results which means that their ranking score can only improve. Certainly 9 of the Top 11 will score at least 218 points come 31 October.

So if you are aiming for the Masters you'll need to attend events to get that score above 225.

Coming up we have:

Panzershreck (closed) - Palmerston North
Call to Arms - Wellington
Warpfire - Wellington
NerdyCon - Auckland
Tauranga Open - Tauranga
CavCon - Christchurch
Skitterleap - Wellington

NZ Teams Championship - A Reminder

Just an early heads up for the 2014 Teams Championships. These will be held in Wellington on the first weekend of March 2014. 

The NZTC is a competition ETC-style for teams of four. However unlike the ETC it is very lightly comped and there are no fundamental changes to the rules. 

This year we had 10 teams - including one from Australia - battling it out over six rounds. In 2014 we have secured a larger venue which will allow 16 teams to be accommodated. 

The event has proved the highlight so far on the NZ tournament calendar and I expect to attract the full complement of teams once the tickets go on sale in early September. 

So mark your diaries and get your team together. 

Further details can be obtained by contacting me at pete@thefieldsofblood.com

Fields of Blood Fantasy Update - Post Tin Soldier

Tin Soldier has been run and won in Auckland....and the rankings have been updated.

The event was won by Phil Wu (showing just how competitive the new High Elves can be). Ross Hillier-Jones was 2nd and jumped to #2 in the rankings on the back of the result. Both Ryan Simister and Richard Barby entered the Top 10.

In icon news, the Chaos Dwarf icon was regained by Richard while James Brown finally got the Ogre icon. Phil Wu now has custody of the High Elf mantle.

Tin Soldier showed that Warriors of Chaos continue to dominate the top echelon of tournament results being an all-singing, all-dancing repository of toys whether with or without comp.

Call to Arms Incoming

Call to Arms Warhammer Fantasy is shaping up as a really good field. Currently there are 22 signed up.

Lists are due in by the 19th July so those wanting to play need to get moving and sign up.

There are a few locals I'm expecting still so we may push 25+

"Ruination" - Get Big or Get Out?

I am canvassing interest for a new event to be run late January 2014 here in Wellington.

"RUINATION" would be a five round tournament over two days for 4000 point armies!

My initial thoughts would be no Grand Army rule, no Comp - though maybe some rules around duplication where more than two of the same Lord/Hero level magic users (to stop Light Council shenanigans), 3.5 hour games on 8' x 4' tables.

Armies would have to be painted but I think there would be sufficient opportunity to borrow figures from locals to flesh out your force.

So any interest?

Army List Template For Fantasy Tournament Organisers

One of the tasks I do as a Tournament Organiser is to ensure that either myself (or my Umpire) have an easy life when it comes to Army List submission.

The best way to do this is to have a list template that is supplied to players and that they are required to use for list submission. The benefits of this are:

• it makes it easy for players to submit lists;
• it provides a standard format which gives umpire consistency;
• it sets out units in a clear and logical manner;
• it does the numeric calculations for you; and
• it is easy to collate lists and send them out prior to the event.

Here is the template I am currently using and you are welcome to download it for your own use. It is an Excel spreadsheet which virtually everyone has access to.

Panzershreck Lists

Here are the lists for Panzershreck.

This is the first NZ event to use the Swedish Comp system.

The event is one and a half weeks away. Early next week I'll give you my thoughts on the various lists.

Hobby Update

The last few weeks have seen some hobby action.

Key amongst this was completion of the Clanrat unit that I posted pictures of recently. I have purchased a Spinetail model to drop into the unit as a Champion for challenges.

Last week Slave to Painting had a sale and I took the opportunity to buy five of the Secret Weapon Miniatures Washes that I had heard good things about. As is the case with STP these arrived within 48 hours and I have been playing around with Sewer Water, Baby Poop, Black Armour, Concrete and Drying Blood. So far I've been very impressed. They are different colours to the standard GW washes and give good coverage. Expect to see more comments as they get further use.

The Adepticon dates have been confirmed as 3-6 April and so I have booked my hotel room at the venue for the event. Looking through this year's schedule I'm keen to play three of the four Fantasy events and the Heresy tournament. My thinking with this last one is that knowing that I have it coming up will give me the impetus to finish my Death Guard.

To this end I broke out the models I've got in the cupboard - two DG Contemptors and an apothecary. I have cleaned and assembled these and also ordered myself a Praetor set, contemptor weapons for second dread and more shoulder pads. Once these arrive I intend to spend the next month or so painting these. My thinking is that with the LTS and the Deathshroud, I will only need to paint a second LTS and that will give me over 1000 points of the 1500 points I need. From there I'll work on firming up a list and sprinkling some toys into it. Keen to keep it as largely infantry/walker force.

Tournament wise I have Panzershreck in less than two weeks, followed by Call to Arms a fortnight later.

Painting Scores At Tournaments

One of the pieces of feedback to come out of the recent Horned Rat was some disquiet over the painting scores. There was a school of thought that there wasn't sufficient variation between the scores to reflect the variation in painting quality.

The basis for painting scores at Fields of Blood events over the past few years has been the premise that everyone wants to play against a fully painted army that meets certain minimum standards - the standard tabletop tournament army. The rationale for this is that we are involved in a hobby game and that this hobby aspect is a major part of the attraction for most players. However the tournament is not a painting competition and as long as you achieve a certain standard then it shouldn't impact your results.

Now this basis is significant. It means people can borrow or buy armies without being advantaged or disadvantaged. It definitely raises the minimum standard - meaning participants are encouraged to make the necessary effort to achieve the full score but are not disadvantaged if they can't achieve 'Eavy Metal standard. There is a school of thought that it also reduces the top end of the spectrum as there are no additional points on offer and instead that competition is transferred to Best Painted, Best Presented or Players' Choice or whatever the painting prize is called at the event.

When marking painting I use a variation of the Adepticon system that I first saw 5-6 years ago. This has a set number of points for painting e.g. 36 but there are 45 points on offer. Therefore as long as you have a fully painted, based army with movement trays you will achieve full painting marks. Implementing this scheme I believe has been instrumental in improving the minimum painting standards in the local scene.

However such a scheme needs to punish those armies that don't meet this threshold and I think that there was some evidence that that didn't occur at Horned Rat - all but one army scored full points and the exception got what many felt was a very charitable score. That however comes down to the individual judge marking the armies and how they decide to implement the painting system they use.

It did get me thinking about the wider scoring and the comment from some that they would prefer to see more variation at the top end. This is easily achieved. With 15 points for painting you could award 10 points for having an army that meets tabletop tournament standard with the other 5 points awarded for higher achievement. However you need to determine whether those points are based on standard of army or on painting skill. With the later how do you reconcile armies not painted by the player, be they purchased or painted by someone else.

As a TO I have a vested interest in an event being as inclusive as possible, while as a player I personally would be disappointed if someone got an advantage for work that was not their own OR was disadvantaged if they were excluded from all the points on offer. However I am interested to hear other people's thoughts on this.

My solution is to increase the number of painting trophies at future events to reward those that do make the extra effort. Of course these would be restricted to armies that were player's own efforts. The intention is to reward those that go the extra step and hope that wider recognition encourages more competition.

Daemons for Panzershreck - Return of the Blue Waffles

I'll be attending Panzershreck in a couple of weeks and there they are using Swedish Comp. I understand that the event has attracted 16 players so it will be interesting to see how the comp affects things.

Looking at the comp pack, I remain unconvinced that it is any type of great leap forward. All it does it shift the goalposts about and reward people for trying to "break" the system.

Obviously at some stage Sweden was overrun by a vermintide and rats are now regularly appearing on "Stockholm's Most Wanted". I didn't even try to create a list for my Skaven and defaulted straight to Daemons.

For the event you need to have a Swedish Comp score between 7 (strongest) and 13 (weakest). I took the list I used at NiCon which came in at 7 and strengthened it. Strangely this improved my comp to 11. You've got to love math-comp.

Here is my list:

Return of the Blue Waffles

Lord of Change - General, Level 4 (Metal), Greater Gift, 2x Lesser Gift

Tzeentch Herald - Level 2 (Tzeentch), BSB

20 Horrors of Tzeentch - Full Command

15 Horrors of Tzeentch

10 Horrors of Tzeentch

4 Beasts of Nurgle

Beast of Nurgle

Beasts of Nurgle

3 Screamers of Tzeentch

3 Screamers of Tzeentch

5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne - Ambushers

5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne - Ambushers

Skullcannon of Khorne

I'm thinking the list will give my opponents plenty to think about while giving me the necessary tools to get things done.

NZ Masters Event Information

One of my aims with the Masters is to have it in different centres. In 2011 the event was run by Phil Wu in Auckland and this year Rob Shirley from Hamilton is running the event. 

Rob has sent out the first event information for the 2013 Masters and you can download it here

Thanks to Rob for getting this information out so early in the piece, it makes planning for travel and accommodation much easier for participants.

I will post further updates as they are released.

Wellington Fantasy Events Until October 31

Just so people can plan their tournament gaming over the next few months here are the dates of upcoming Wellington events.

Call to Arms

• 3rd & 4th August
• St Pats Kilbirnie
• Organiser: Wellington Warlords
• Umpire: James Millington
• 2400 points
• 5 Rounds
• $45 until July 8 then $55
• Currently numbers have just broken 20. I'd expect them to reach 25-28

Warpfire

• 14th September (one day)
• Cashmere Avenue School, Khandallah
• Organiser: Fields of Blood
• Umpire: TBC
• 1000 points
• 5 Rounds
• Intention is to use scenarios used at Adepticon in a departure away from straight rulebook scenarios.
• Players Pack to be released in next week
• $25
• Expectation is for 24-30 people

Skitterleap

• 26th & 27th October
• Cashmere Avenue School, Khandallah
• Organiser: Fields of Blood
• Umpire: Sam Whitt
• 2400 points
• 5 Rounds
• Rulebook Scenarios and Pete-Lite Comp are likely but still to be confirmed.
• Players Pack out first week of August
• Earlybird Registration (up to 31 August) $40; after that $50
• Expectation is for 28-36 people
• Capacity limited to 36

I hope that helps in people's planning. 

Emperor's Children Get More Forgeworld Heresy Love

Forgeworld have announced that they are releasing Palatine Blades for the Third Legion.


A warrior fraternity drawn from the finest swordsmen of the IIIrd Legion, the Palatine Blades existed outside of the rigid formations of the Emperor’s Children. They were a duelling society to whose ranks many aspired, and upon whom Fulgrim himself looked with particular favour. 

The Emperor’s Children Legion Palatine Blade Squad, designed by Steve Whitehead is a multi-part resin kit containing five incredibly detailed Space Marines. These miniatures are also perfect for using as officers and commanders in other squads.

                                    
This continues the fine releases that FW are doing. Excellent stuff again.

The Race for the Masters - Fantasy

Thought it was worth looking at this year's race for the Masters given we are two-thirds of the way through the tournament season.

Tom Dunn - 2012 winner and automatic qualifier. Hasn't played a singles event since the Masters as he hibernates in a uni hostel.

Tim Joss - currently #1 and is absolute certainty to qualify. Worse case score sees him finish on 255 points. He is away at the ETC but has banked points early to qualify.

Dan Butler - the big man broke his duck at Nicon, unfortunately no ranking points were up for grabs. Worst case he'll finish on his current score. Certainty.

Sam Whitt - also has banked points early and the worse he can score is 237. Will make the Masters and is building WoC so he can join three quarters of the field at this year's event.

Ross Hillier-Jones - looking shaky. Needs one, possibly two good results to ensure his place at this year's event. Has sold his current WoC army to build a harder one.

Mal Patel - has 230 points locked in which will be enough to get him a dance. May snag a southern event to improve his score nearer the cutoff.

James Brown - score drops to 205 when 2012 events drop out. James will, even now, be scouring forums looking for events in small provincial towns. So if you are a gamer in Te Kuiti, Opotiki or the like expect to see him on your doorstep soon.

Joel van de Ven-Long - will drop to 210 when non-2013 events drop out. I suspect this will be the benchmark and he'll scrape in.

Wil Hoverd - needs one more result to replace last year's Skitterleap. Pretty sure he'll get it and hold onto the Ogre icon he has made his own.

Thomas van Roekel - worst score he can get is his current 218 and change. History says that he'll qualify with that but is out of the country so it will be purely academic. Still three years qualification in a row is great effort.

Locky Reid - needs one more result so expect to see the weekend away in Christchurch at Labour Weekend.

Jeff Kent - worst he can get is 206 but this may not be enough. Obviously is mighty concerned as he has spent a student's yearly allowance on buying a WoC army to give him the edge that 150 shots fail to do. Unfortunately for Jeff it may be all in vain and he'll have to content himself with "Miss Congeniality" and the newest Taylor Swift album.

Below these worthies, a school of sharks circle and with at least 10 events still to play out there is ample time for blood in the water.

FOB NZ Rankings - System Update

This morning we launched the first system update to the FOB NZ Rankings (button below banner).

All players now have individual page with:

• results - both current and historical (intention is to extend this results back as time allows)
• the points value of each of those results
• results colour coded to show what is included in their current ranking
• any icons that they hold

Players will now be able to work out the effect of results rolling out of their ranking and the points that they need to score to improve it.

To access your page just click on your name. To access results just click on event.

A big thanks to Jack for all his work in getting this up and running.

The next update with focus on army success rates.

Warhammer at the Warlords

This weekend is the first of the month and that means that it is "Warhammer Day" at the Warlords.

Tom and I'll be down there just after 9.00am with 2400 point armies looking for games. Come along and get some games in over the day.

If you'd like to organise a game in advance then drop me an email letting me know you're coming and at what time and I'll make sure that you are accommodated.

New Nurgle Daemon Prince/Great Unclean One

I've been looking out for a suitable figure to use as a Daemon Prince for a Warriors of Chaos army and stumbled across this model on eBay.

It is produced by a Polish company "Kromlech" and currently can only be purchased via eBay. They call it a Rotten Butcher (Daemon of Plague) and it tipped the scale at USD52.99

Postage from Poland was only USD7.00 and it arrived in less than a week.

The model stands 4" tall from top of head to soles of hooves. It is a five part resin model and the casting is very clean and the pieces fit together extremely easily. There is minimal cleanup and it looks like any filling required will also be minimal.

Here are some photos of the resin pieces I received:

I am very happy with the figure an intend to use it both as a Nurgle DP and also as a Great Unclean One.

Once it is painted I'll post pictures.

Hobby Update - Skaven Clanrats

Every now and then I feel the need to paint some Skaven models. Over the past week I broke out some Island of Blood figures and painted me up a 30 strong Clanrat unit.

I am using the Doomflayer as my Champion model. The banner is not complete yet.

Happy that it provides another unit in the Seerlord Morskitta's Triumphant Army of Doom!

July White Dwarf Observations

My July White Dwarf arrived yesterday. As expected it is almost totally devoted to Apocalypse....so not much in there for the Fantasy or Heresy gamer.

The Khorne Lord of Battle is on the front cover. I'm not enamoured by the model though I concede that it is close to the old Epic model. To me it just looks like military technology hasn't advanced too much in the next 38,000 years. The profile of the model seems wrong for a tracked model.

However what really amuses me is some of the detail on the model. Why, why, why are there Jugger heads adorning the vats on the back of the model?

They just seem so out of place.

However, there is absolutely nothing to fault with the Necron Tesseract Vault. What a spectacular model!

If you haven't seen it go to the GW site and have a look at the 360 degree view of it. It is phenomenal. This model would almost get me to play Apocalypse if I had a Necron army. From the Scarabs on the faces to the topdown view this is a piece of work.

There were also some Space Marine characters released for Apoc. Now I don't know what they do but I was surprised by what I suspect is the fragility of the sculpt. In both these two models I'd be very worried about breakage. I'd certainly hope Finecast is sturdier now than at release.

Both these look like an accident waiting to happen.

Finally we have the ultimate Xmas present for any Apoc gamer - The Siege of Angel's Redoubt

Two RoB gameboards plus assorted scenery kits, this purchase will set you back $2,565 NZD. Little Timmy will have to do a lot of yardwork for Santa to bring this come Xmas.

EDIT: If you want a more "cynical" look at the new Apocalypse releases you should listen to the Jaded Gamer Podcast episode entitled "Ribbons". They pick apart the new release and give such gems of info such as the number of exhausts the LoB has - 12 - and there take on the SM characters and how to fix the C'tan. It was very funny.

The Fields of Blood Honour Roll

The observant amongst you will notice that there is now a second button next to the Rankings button on the banner.

This is an Honour Roll for the tournaments run by Fields of Blood. At present it has the Fantasy events on it but the intention is to also add in 40k events as well.

Check it out. You may even see your name there!

There are a couple of gaps - primarily Warpfire 2010. If you can fill them in please let me know.

And thanks to Jack for turning my scrawl into a webpage.