29 December 2012

Inn of Odd Wanderings

Doctor here again. Still making my attempts at figuring out the wargaming side of things but until I have something worth mentioning on that end you'll just have to 'listen' to the ravings on the RPG side of things.

So with that out of the way, for those of you doing the RPG side of things, here's a new piece for you. I've been thinking of a shared space for one shots. Play By Posts, and such, tend to have a lot of characters posted, and there are nearly always some folks who don't get into the games. So I thought of having a space where characters could sit in common. And so was born the Inn of Odd Wanderings. Here's the description from one Traveling Adventurer's journal:

The Inn of Odd Wanderings is pretty non-descript. A single building by the roadside, no town near it. It serves as an overnight stop over and has since before even the Orgoth invaded. The building itself, a wooden structure, is well enough maintained but wears its age proudly. The downstairs is wholely given over to the tap room and the kitchens, large enough for a small crowd, though often enough it's a quiet place, depending on where people are coming from or going to. The upstairs has rooms for travelers, both communal rooms as well as a few private rooms for those wealthy enough or important enough to need them. The area immediately around the inn is well groomed enough. A small garden sits in back providing much of the seasonings and some of the vegetables served at the inn. The small stable and 'Jack hall sits to the side, away from the main building, and sturdy enough for even the worst of weather.

20 December 2012

Removed from Play Features Goris!

I sit in on a podcast with the Removed From Play guys from www.Handcannononline.com We drink, we talk and we are merry! Omnus expresses his bromance! Come listen and see what they are about!



http://handcannononline.com/blog/201...ay-episode-19/

Straight Trollin', a Guide to pDoomshaper ~ by Beckman

pDoomshaper is a Troll. And he's not even nice about it. He wants to deny your opponent the ability to do anything, stop him from moving, strip all his buffs, and take his candy. He doesn't even care if your opponent's a child. pDoomshaper's such a jerk that he even steals from the person who plays with him because in order to play him correctly, you have to drop ~$164 on Runeshapers (retail).


We pretty much stole pDoomshaper straight from Menoth.

18 December 2012

Journeyman League Cygnar Week 3

Week 3 is upon me and I have been given 25 points to work with. Originally I postulated that I wanted to bring a hunter with my Kraye list, but I switched it up with great effect. See how Long Gunners served me in week 3 below.



Week 3: 25pts
The List

Points: 25/25
Captain Jeremiah Kraye (*6pts)
* Ironclad (7pts)
* Stormclad (10pts)
Long Gunner Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts) (10pts)
* Long Gunner Infantry Officer & Standard (2pts)
Stormsmith Stormcaller (1pts)
Stormsmith Stormcaller (1pts)

As it stood, I felt a marked lack of ranged power with Kraye and I didn't feel like just adding Hunters would present me with enough options as more and more infantry hit the table. So I went to the shooting well and brought Long Gunners and 2 Stormsmiths. The Stormsmiths could help with my jacks and infantry getting caught up and provide some key model removal. Might I add that these things are solid gold.  I don't know if anything for 1 point is quite as good as these are. Anyway, this gave me a whole new look at the game and sort of sold the combined arms thing for me.

Insights
Having a concentrated ranged threat really had a profound effect in my games.  I now had a way to really soften hard targets on their way in. Making my jacks more effective at removing the pieces that could threaten my Warcaster in the late game. 

I wish I had such effective 1pt solos in Trolls. Having the ability to remove key blocking models or help to disengage things so effectively is really sweet. They won me 2 games simply by getting my long gunners out of melee so I could use them more effectively. 

At this point level it is really hard to say that what I am experiencing is a true representation of the faction.  I get that.  It however, is making me take a look at my list building in Troll in an effort to spread my model choices out and see if I can achieve the same success.




17 December 2012

The Scrum Cast Ep.15

Episode 15 is up over on the Scrum Cast page and probably in itunes (I haven't checked yet)  come give us a listen.

Also please forward any positive comments to TheGreatBlah.

Criticism and Complaints should all be sent to Goris.

http://scrumcast.trollbloodscrum.com/2012/12/the-scrum-cast-e15.html

16 December 2012

Mechanika's Heaven: The Intro

With the cast introduced, we have our first day. Having left Ord to make our fortunes we have settled into an area halfway between Corvis and Fort Falk, east of Ironhide's Hold. The Mechanika's Mercenaries mostly does repairs, we have a small rented shopfront where we bring in jacks and do repairs, but also do heavy/dangerous labor out on the warfront. The area here is dangerous. Trollkind, Skorne, Menites are all common to the area. Circle of Orobos arn't uncommon either. Then there is the constant threat of bandits, potential Khadoran patrols and even Llaelese 'patriots'. In short, the perfect place for a starting mercenary charter to set up shop.

So we do. It is a typical morning, quiet, not much work today lined up, our jacks are currently standing outside with us as the four of us run some tuning on the jacks, a common enough occurrence in a group of Mek heads like us. The first signs that something isn't right is the sounds of gunfire followed by explosions and smoke rising over the far side of town. That's the direction of the Cygnar Barracks, but nothing should have been able to get close enough to the city without being challenged. Not in any significant force. The confusion for us was compounded when an Iosan, in heavy armor, behind two strange looking light warjacks came around the block heading straight for our shop. Weapons drawn and blood in his eyes. Nearby another Iosan, whirling a bladed chain weapon of some sort ran towards us as well. Our shock and confusion was nearly complete.

The Retribution had come to our city, and intended to lay waste to all of the jacks and warcasters within the city. But they hadn't come to simply kill the casters, no, their plan was more insidious. It was to weaken Cygnar enough that the Skorne would roll over the city and wipe out the rest of the humans here, as well as moving into the soft area of Cygnar, flanking Fort Falk and Corvis. If the Skorne couldn't do it then forces of Menoth could be directed towards the weakened area, or others. But first all jacks and those who ran them, be they marshals or warcasters, had to be eliminated. And so a massive strike force hit the city. Their information was quite good so they knew too of our small mercenary company and deemed two Griffons, a Dawnguard Scyir and a Mage Hunter Assassin(12 points) to be sufficient. Eiryss lead the assault on the main encampment, which was a total success and would arrive a little later to check on her strike force and their progress.

To build the list I used Warroom and used the stats as they are in the cards. The only change to the stats was to improve the Vitality of the Scyir and Assassin from 5 to 15 each. This put them on par with the PC's but I didn't give them life spirals, mostly because tracking it would have been a pain. This seemed to work just fine.

And so it was that our band of mercenary field mechaniks sat outside our shop, waiting for work, our jack's moving scrap around the yard when enemy arrived!
Battle of the Forge Start: Yes some of those are D&D tokens, and for those in my PBP Blackwoods campaign, Yes I reused the Blackwoods map.


The party stood up, confused by this turn of events, they had no idea what was happening and the initiative fell to the Retribution War party. The party had little time to do much more than gape as the griffons charged into the party, intent on immediate death. The first one fell on our surprised warcaster, who while fully focused, had nothing else up. The blow was heavy but a heroic dodge later, combined with the over charged field and the extra health of the powerfield, he was standing unharmed, but clearly shocked(12 damage over a 4 point boosted armor left us clearly understanding that IKRPG meant business). The other griffon's assualt went after the Mek and Lucky was the unlucky recipient of that blow, though it didn't do much to him. Neither of the two Myrmidon's had much luck getting any damage in with their shields, and the Dawnguard was just outside of charge range, so he was relegated to closing the distance. The same was true for the assassin who simply closed, planning to assault the party. The valiant mechaniks recovered quickly and as a group urged their jacks into combat. Lead first by our warcaster, who cast aura of protection and kept the other two focus to boost his armor rating. He used his actions to boost the attack and damage of Andrew 'Jackson who proved that even a labor jack, armed with a flail can be dangerous, though he did only minimal damage to the Griffon. This was followed by Lucky and Finnegan proving that this dangerous combination of human and jack can sometimes be completely ineffective as the two failed to hit or damage their target at all beyond taking out the Griffon's shields.

But it was our Arcane Mechanik's turn that turned the tide. Starting first with free casting of temper metal on Arkadi, followed by Positive Charge on Arkadi and Drive: Boosted Damage, Arkadi proceed to nearly drop the Dawnguard  in a single hit. This was followed up by Taltos failing to finishing the job, despite being driven to boost attack and damage by Emma, who, like Andrew, is primarily a ranged character.



It rolled around and the Dawnguard drove his jacks to reroll misses. The one on top turned to Finnegan, while the one on the bottom, with the Dawnguard turned on Arkadi. That was the danger to them it seemed.

Finnegan suffered greatly taking 8 points of damage(heroic dodged to 4) while arkadi laughed at the inability to crack his armor 18, despite being hit several times. This was the real sign of trouble for the Retribution force. The assassin closed the distance and hit Taltos, beating his armor by a couple points but with his bonuses the party realized  he was a real threat.
Round 2 after the Retribution Actions

The Party responded and things turned ugly for the Retribution now. Andrew and Jack put a world of hurt on Griffon 2, boosted by Positive Charge on Arkadi(we determined that 1 round means such spells last till the casters next initiative), and Andrew using his actions to drive boosted attacks and damage from 'Jackson. The flail also proved it's usefulness in ignoring the shield on the Griffon and with nearly max damage, took out  half the Griffon's health. Moving around to the back of the Griffon proved fortuitous as Finnegan and Lucky, through Drive Ancillary Attack, and their own well placed hits, crushed the griffon between leaving it with a single box of movement left.

Arkadi took out the Dawnguard, renewing positive charge and upkeeping temper and things looked grim for the Retribution. Taltos suffered in silence, managing only to do some minor damage to the other griffon, taking down it's shields.

15 December 2012

Journeyman League Cygnar

Well we are drawing near on my week 3 games so I wanted to post a few reflections about my experience with the faction and some insights I am having as I play. This has certainly been interesting.


Week 2: 15pts

More stuff on the table
As the lists started hitting the table my patented Stormclad to the face combo was becoming harder to pull off. My hopes that more infantry would hit the table were also dashed as I saw more walls of metal and my choice to add a Sentinel to my list was going to fall flat. So simply, it was becoming harder to piece trade or out and out win games with more crap in the way. There were a few ways I tried to mitigate this...

- Use my Sentinelas bait to have my opponent throw a heavy at and perhaps leave a gap in his lines I could open for the Stormclad bullet.

- Things like throws and slams are really effective for getting stuff out of the way and making room for large bases. So with my mat 7 Ironclad I was having no trouble pulling off slams.

- Shield guard is pretty good it turns out. My Menoth opponents were having fits because they just couldn't connect with the targets they wanted consistently.

Insights
Piece trading was becoming harder and I'm starting to notice there is a marked difference in the power of focus v fury. Cygnar does have very focus efficient jacks and I think that my selection of the Sentinel will probably be changed into a hunter in the coming point additions.

A strong ranged presence I think it was what I really need as time goes on to ensure that I can get the most damage out and not just rely on my 2 heavies.

12 December 2012

The Scrum Painting Challenge II: Week 4

Sorry for the delay folks, The Scrum has been abuzz with activity lately and I have fallen behind.  Never fear though! I have all the pretties from week 4 for you and we are only two weeks away from picking our winner. And man will it be tough! So view on my brothers and sisters!









07 December 2012

Mechanik's Heaven: The Cast

In my last article I talked about the online game being run. Today we'll talk about what we've got.

So first off, we have a group that has very little experience with the Iron Kingdom's world. But with lots of experience as Role Players. We also have a group that tends to be more passive personalities, but who love a good role play session. And a group that likes humor more than dark humor. And we all love big robots.

So this lead to a concept, as we started going through character generation of the fact we all like robots.. Why not an entire group of Field Mechaniks. A 'Jack for everybody and everybody for the Jacks! The starting rules were that players could swap starting abilities out for other abilities, starting weapon levels for other weapons, and same with skills. All have to stay within the original career, but using the rules as laid out in the core IKRPG. Given the fact that the folks were all generally not as familiar with the world setting everybody also went as a human.

So on to the cast of Mechaniks in the group:

Finnegan Kilbride('Jack Lucky) - Group Lead - Intellectual Knight/FM - Played by Me
Emma Bartley('Jack Taltos) - Skilled Bounty Hunter/FM - The Wife!
Andrew('Jack Andrew 'Jackson) - Gifted Warcaster/FM - The Quiet 'Ninja'
Dimitry('Jack ) - Gifted Arcane Mechanik/FM - The Engineer

For a detailed break down I'll give you me(Shared GM so every person has a PC as well as potentially GMing).

Finnegan Kilbride - Knight/Field Mechanik

While I talk about my character first(possibly only), he was actually the last one created. And it came down to a desire to take a combination that was a little different. But as I'm making him to him Jack's are the continuation of the traditions of the Knights. Fighting beside them, against other Jack controllers is the new ideal. Not being familiar with the Knight Orders I still have to resolve that one, but Finnegan started from this idea of the warrior who also has a bit of a mechanikal bent. I also know I have one of the strongest personalities in the group. Given the passive nature of our group it would be natural and easy for me to play the group leader, in terms of taking the lead. It also leads to hilarious(for my friends and wife) situations where I am talking and arguing with myself.

Archetype: Intellectual - (Genius)

The nature of our team also meant that I knew we'd have lots of people who can improve the 'Jacks during the fight and outside of it, so I decided to concentrate on the leadership role. To that I took Intellectual as my archetype and the bonus of Genius, after all this guy has gone and gotten into Jack's. Has to be a reason why. He just really likes these things. This leads into an interesting idea of a story where Finnegan was always a bit of a bookish young man but his family had expectations. "You will be a Knight. All of our family has done that. This 'Jacks thing is just a phase, you'll grow out of it." So we have a young man who spent time with an order of knights, learning and training to be one but whose first love is 'Jacks and who finds a way to do both.

Weapons: Great Weapons 1, Pistol 1, Shield 2

He's a knight! Going to definitely enjoy using a great big weapon, and in fact I know just the weapon. While the Jack Wrench is that big weapon it's not quite what i had in mind. Something similar but nearly as good, while still being one handed is the Warhammer! Also useful for breaking loose those stuck parts at -1 attack and POW 5 it's one of the most powerful one handed great weapons. Only the Storm Glaive and Iron Fang Pike are stronger(or equal). The one handed nature of it also means I can use a shield.

Shields are rather nice as well. The extra armor bonus really makes this character survivable in the complex nature of melee. To get to 2 we had to agree that the rules that allow you to swap out starting abilities(knight gets great weapon, shield and hand weapon) for something else on the list would allow us to swap one handed for shield. Not an unreasonable approach. In addition moving to Field Mechanik's options this knight has a bit more of the modern in his area of interest so Pistols seemed like something he'd enjoy using.

Abilities: 'Jack Marshal, Ace Commander, Drive: Ancillary Attack, Cleave, Precision Strike

This character is about running a Jack in a fight and then adding it. Standing beside it and really doing a number. So to me it seemed the best option was to maximize the damage output my Jack could do, and then control where my damage could do the most good, whether that meant putting the damage against multiple small guys through cleave, or in dropping specific attributes on other jacks or creatures through the use of Precision Strike. Both gave me some flexibility to keep my jack and I moving through the battlefield.

Skills: The Defaults
Here I didn't make any changes. The different skills just stacked up nicely together and I left them as they were.

Overall I'm happy with Finnegan and his jack and I'm looking forward to the first session, which you'll hear about shortly.

04 December 2012

Journeyman League - Goris' Journey Into Cygnar

So, our shop is doing a Journeyman and in an effort to refresh my enthusiasm in the hobby I have decided to pick up Cygnar and get a feel for a new play style and paint scheme.  So aside from it being a pallet cleanser I feel playing roe then one faction will help me understand the game better. Stay tuned for weekly updates and pictures of my Cygnar as the weeks go by.


The List
Our PG decided to let us build custom battle boxes of 11 points for the league so instead of going with Stryker, which was my first choice actually, I decided to field my favorite Cygnar cast, Captain Jeremiah Kraye.  From the beginning his fluff and model always intrigued me. So, when I saw no one was playing him I was surprised.  His rules looked good to me and it seemed like he would be good in this format. So here's the list I decided to go with.


Points: 11/11
Captain Jeremiah Kraye (*6pts)
* Ironclad (7pts)
* Stormclad (10pts)


 Aside from this list looking awesome on the table I really like the ability to just slingshot my Stormclad across the table and take out whatever I feel is the biggest threat. This leads to an already favorable piece trade on my part and the Stormclad is pretty resilient when it gets there. In the limited points format it's really hard to stop.  As I build up I plan to add a Sentinel at 15 points but I am not sure where I want to go from there.  Kraye runs jacks every well and the light Cav nature of his light jacks screams at me to run multiple Hunters.  I feel like some infantry might do me well in the later stages of the league. We'll see if I end up running jack spam or if I decide to sprinkle in some trenchers or long gunners for fun. I'm 4-1 with this list and leading the league so far with the most game and hobby points.  Hopefully I can keep the lead...

I plan to keep doing updates on my progress as the league goes on and I fill the holes in my list and get a better feel for Cygnar as a whole.  I'll be playing other games with the stuff that I have to get a feel for how the faction goes, so expect some more articles about Cygnar from a Troll perspective.

03 December 2012

The Scrum Painting Challenge II: Week 3

We are half way through our competition and the models submitted are looking better and better.  You are really starting to see the themes coming through.  Look below to see this weeks entries!



Week 3









30 November 2012

Mechanik's Heaven: An Online IKRPG Campaign

When it comes to my 'lifeblood' it's the IKRPG side of things, rather than the wargame. (though I'll post later on my thoughts on starting a Trollblood army, something I'm getting ready to do.) I also used to enjoy a very regular gaming session with friends before my move south. I've been missing that and the friend of mine that got me into IKRPG and I have been talking about doing a game online. Play By Posts just don't have the social aspect and the speed which we wanted. It all finally crystalized together after my wife complained about not being able to get her gaming/social fix in either. When the wife comments I know I need to do something.

And so was born the Mechanika Campaign. Played weekly I will give you a sense of where this campaign is going and how we do it. This will be an ongoing series on the Mechanika Campaign.

But first the tools of an online game. Two key features, one is voice and video. You need that around the table feeling where you can laugh at each other, etc. For that we've used a variety of tools. For small numbers of people we've used Oovoo, a great free video chat that we still use to chat with family with the kids all the time. We've found it to be great for providing the chat component, especially when it's hosted on a TV in the living room with the videos hanging out to one side. You can do your main view in the rest of it and have a quick 'table' view of who else is playing. Worked out great.

28 November 2012

Trollblood Scrum's Painting Exchange!

We here at The Scrum love to give back to the community.  We have contests and giveaways but now we want to help the community give back to itself! That's right, we are doing a painting exchange! Check out the details below.



RULES
The rules are simple folks:
1. International shipping is possible and those who enter will say if they are wiling to ship international.
2. Must submit PRIVATELY, your name, address and faction(s). Example pictures welcome for continuity purposes.
3. No price or model count limit on exchange so give as much as you want!
4. Please, if you want to participate send a model to someone else and make this a happy holiday.


DISCLAIMER
The Scrum is in no way, shape, or form responsible for the delivery of models to participants.  We are merely the vessel with which you folks spread holiday cheer.  There is a small possibility that you will not receive a model during this exchange. If so, we are sorry and we love you no matter what and you should take solace in the fact that you made someone else's Holiday truly magical by painting something.  Trollblood Scrum will not in anyway divulge your information to anyone but the recipient of your painting exchange model.

If you wish to participate send the following information to our submissions email at submissions@trollbloodscrum.com by Dec. 7.

Full name
Address
Faction(s)
Willing to ship international
Example Pictures if you choose

27 November 2012

The Doctor Is In

Welcome and well met! This is James Kilbride, known to some as kilbrj, and to others as The Doctor. New to Trollblood Scrum, and excited to be here. A little bit about me, I am a long time gamer, having started roleplaying games around the age of 11 when I first convinced my grandfather to run the basic D&D module for a friend of mine and I. Though long before that my father had introduced me to the concept with Playmobile, d6's and board game style rules for fights/etc. In fact, gaming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, longer in some ways.

And so that brings me to Warmachine/Hordes and really IKRPG. I've always loved role playing games and war games, in equal basis. And the mixture of the two, which is the miniature games of today, has always held a fascination for me. I was acquainted with Warmachine/Hordes years ago by a friend that moved from Warhammer to that. I myself, having bought very little at full price, didn't feel like picking up another game that I didn't get to play all that often, but I did find it intriguing, for it did take a different approach to the models. I got back into it a little over a year ago when another friend of mine started transitioning over to Warmachine. But again, my investment in it is sparse.

On the other hand the new IKRPG holds my interest a great deal more. And in that I am true to form. While my miniature collection for wargaming doesn't get used often, due in part to not having a lot of time for long games or people to play against, my miniatures for RPG's (which are sometimes the same ones) get used quite frequently and I am an avid role player. From pen and paper to MUSHes even to sporadic MMORPG's(when I have random time on the computer to splurge). It is here that the wonderful folks at Trollblood Scrum found me, for the release of IKRPG filled a niche that I had been longing for for some time. With the grit of a world war 1 style combat, and the delight of steam punk married to fantasy races IKRPG had me hooked. I bought the rule book the day it came out and had 12 characters built in 3 days. I started to have questions though so came to the PP Forums to look at what people were doing about some of the 'uncertainties' in the book and there you will find me. Lurking oh so.. oh who am I kidding, a man who has done 1000 posts since September isn't lurking. I'm there, playing and running Play by Posts, giving my not so humble opinions on rules questions or character creation or how to run the gaming group and even tools you can use to run the game remotely.

And that is what I will bring to you here. Generally put, IKRPG related 'stuff'. Whether it be NPC's for you to borrow for your own campaigns, settings to use, or even some adventure/plot stuff(sorry folks Blackwoods will not show up here till the PBP is finished) that is what the Doctor(and yes I hold a PhD in computer science, along with an MBA) will bring you.

26 November 2012

The Scrum Painting Challenge II: Week 2

Well folks things keep on rolling her at The Scrum and the painted models keep rolling in. The themes are really starting to show and and the painters have started to show some really great work.  Bellow I have detailed some of their themes for the contest.



Anthony Winter sends us photos of his "Badlands" themes Mountain King and Whelps.

Batma will be sending us a list of "Blockade Runners" for his theme.

Crashwest has sent us the beginnings of his lave based red Trolls. Don't worry Brian your Bouncer is on the way!


DocSmith42 with his blue themed Trolls.

DocEther with yet another Borka theme.  We'll just call this one drunk...

ObsidianLily sending in her Tarot Card theme. Nemo here is the Magician.

Quelg give us his Reaching for the Keg" theme. There are kegs on there, we swear.

Svirfneblin bring us his Azul trolls and their very pretty tartans.

Taodark's theme is Celebration gone wrong.  So far it's off to  good start, can wait to see what's next.

That's it for this week folks, stay tuned for more awesome models next week!

21 November 2012

The Scrum Painting Challenge II Week 1

Week one down as our intrepid painters begin their short odyssey towards loot and glory! Keep a sharp eye as this contest unfolds.  Each set of models has a theme and not all are specific to faction!  Check out this weeks entries below!


Week 1 Entries








20 November 2012

Rocksong Family Mercenary Clan

The IKRPG Full Metal Fantasy has captured my attention.  In the spirit of the Scrum we have started a Play By Post in the Privateer Press Forums featuring our own creation, The Rocksong Family Mercenary Clan' located on the edge of the Glimmerwood.  The Clan has felt call of the United Kriel and vowed to assist them in any way... at a discount of course.  We have homebrewed rules for a War Wagon and a Pygmy Troll and even have longriders already.  Come Check it out.

Rocksong Family Mercenary Company PBP
PlayersKillbrj - Gunnar Foxface Trollkin Fell Caller/Investigator
Tooze - Bergthor Ulfar Trollkin Long Rider/Fell Caller
Stevenart74 - Xhamuul Kholt Trollkin Gun Mage/Solider
Tuttleboy - Boxus the Pygmy Alchemist/Field Mechanic
Chip - Wild Bil Gobber Cutthroat/Explorer
AluminumFalcon - Grunk Stormborn Pygmy Ranger/StormSorcerer
Geist - Brothan Bloodborn:Trollkin Ranger / Investigator.

Read More over at BEYOND THORNWOOD

27 October 2012

The Scrum Cast E.14

Sid and Goris Recap Duelcon and we announce our new painting competition.  

Trollbloodscrum, quietly honoring one eared listeners everywhere.

http://scrumcast.trollbloodscrum.com/2012/10/the-scrum-cast-e14.html

24 October 2012

The Scrum's Painting Challenge II

Hey you! You think you can paint? Think you have what it takes to show your stuff off to the world and compete against some of the best there is? Now the real trick.  Can you do it...Fast? Well, we are here to find out.  And this isn't your grandmother's painting contest, this one is for stuff, like Battlefoam and things.  But, seriously, there are prizes on the line.  Here's the skinny!

The Challenge
- 6 Weeks
- 6 Models
- Painted and Based to your best possible quality

The Catch
All models Submitted must fit a theme within the game.  Meaning, these models must all be within a unit, or have some connection in the story or game play. Examples are: Min Champs, Champ Heroes and Skaldi.  You can see a clear theme. Be creative here though. I don't want to see just a list of Battlegroups in a theme list. I want something kick ass that has an interesting scheme.

Here' the other part of the catch.  I need a list of all models you intend to paint, why you want to paint them and what theme you will be choosing for your submissions. Extra points given for anything and everything that sets your models apart, not just in paint, but in theme.

The Terms
- Entry to the contest is $5 donated with forum name at www.trollbloodscrum.com
- Photos must be clear...very clear.  The better the picture the better the model looks.
- All models must be submitted by the deadline each week in their completed form.
- All models being submitted MUST be pictured in bare metal or primed form with time stamp.
- All model groups must be submitted with explanation of theme and paint theme.

Contest begins Nov. 12th 2012. Models must be submitted by end of the week Sunday by 12AM based on your time zone.  Please included the time zone when submitting your initial information. Send all Submissions to Goris@Trollbloodscrum.com

The Loot
Best Painted: $50 off a purchase of $100 or more at www.Battlefoam.com
Runner Up: Trollblood Foam Topper
Best Theme: A Set of Trollbloodscrum.com Tough Dice
Random Prizes!
Patches
More Dice
eGrissel?

Depending on the number of entries our prize pool only gets more grandiose! So come one come all and even if you paid 5 bucks you might get something out of it. So even if you just want to be seen for your painting and modeling prowess you can still walk away with something sweet!

So, bring your best, bring it fast and show the world how good you are.

This event is sponsored by Battlefoam(TM) and Located at www.Battlefoam.com




08 October 2012

Duelcon Recap

Duelcon has come to a close and Sid and myself are home from an awesome weekend. I am equal parts exhausted and exhilarated. Below Sid and I will give you a recap of what went on, how we did in tournaments, tournament results and all the other goings on. Sit back and enjoy the ride.



Let me start this post out by saying thank you.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to Sid and I getting to Duelcon.  This blog would be nothing without it's readers.  Those of you who contributed to the blog, and you know who you are, thank you guys and there will be a lot of furious painting and podcasting happening over the next few months with all the folks who helped out.

Day 1 -

Sid and I fly in the day before so we were relatively well rested.  We got our free breakfast and checked into the con.  In the swag bag there were a few things of note: $25 off a Battlefoam purchase of $50 or more, a sprew with some miniatures on it that looked shockingly similar to GW models but under a different brand, lastly a set of rare earth magnets.  We hung around until the first set of events started and then we watched some games played a pick up game or 2 and had a pretty chill day before I entered in the 20pt MM/TC.

Round 1 -
My List:
Grim
Earthborn
Rok
Impaler

eSkarre.  This was a complete slug fest and I had the privilege of meeting my opponent earlier in the day so it was a fun game all the way through, but it came down to my Impaler getting a charge off on a KD Skarre.

Round 2 -
vs Legion
Saeryn is lame.  Like, really lame. Grim however is more lame counter feating on his army and then killing every last beast. I though I lost on scenario until I found out if I kill his beasts that I simply win.

Round  3 -
vs Cricle
Played against eKruger piloted by the masters winner Craig. Was a fun game that came down ultimately to him missing a crucial TK which caused the loss.

Round 4 -
vs Khador
You know who else is lame? Karchev. Holy shit is he beast in this format. I knew what he could do with the power sliding jacks and I just let it happen because I am nub and that's how it goes.

Round 5 -
vs Khador
God dammit. Karchev, again. F***! So yeah, this time I learned from my mistake earlier and feated early to prevents the huge run power slide BS.  I subsequently got the charge off with Rok and failed to seal the deal because well, dice are dice... 3-2 and failed to score a spot in the WMW qualifier so far.

It's now late and I want to go to bed, so I do...

Day 2

Masters was a 50pt 2 list format, non divide and conquer so I could use whatever lists I wanted. At the last minute I swapped my eDoomy list for a pDoomy list looking at the players and the armies from the last evening I felt it was the best option.

Round 1 -
vs Circle
Well, I faced off against Craig again and his eBaulder list.  I chose pDoomy with his beast brick and I felt pretty solid with my choice.  I was sort of out of position during my feat turn and it ended up being lack luster.  The rest of the details are trivial at this point.  Picture a de-clawed kitten swatting at Warpwolves for like 3 rounds. Craig is a great player obviously and I don't want to take anything away from his win but man... He felt bad for me and bought me a beer afterwards, that's how bad it was.... Dice games... 0-1

Round 2 -
vs Menoth
This round was against Harbinger which, is one of our worst match ups and once again I chose Doomy.  It was pretty attritiony until I got the itch and decided I might be able to assassinate Harby. Well a good amount of missed attack rolls later I hang my Earthborn out to dry and the game starts to go down hill for me.  I should have taken the opportunity to remove my opponents jacks and really win the attrition war rather then try for the kill.  One of my personal failings sadly. 0-2

Round 3
vs Khador
This round a faced a pretty standard pButcher list and my opponent was pretty nice and fun about the game which lifted my spirits a bit because the last two games were rough.  I finally pulled my eMadrak out of the bag and went to town. The effects were 3 dead heavies in one round and not a good outcome for Butcher. 1-2

Round 4 -
vs Skorne
I faced off against eMakeda with my eMadrak list and in the beginning my opponent was not enthusiastic about playing me to I started telling jokes and in good humor just said I'll let Madrak face tank for my army, not knowing that is exactly what would happen. Over the coarse of 2 turns Madrak weathered 2 Bronzebacks to the face with a combination of Grim Salvation and transfers. The end result was a Long Riders to Makeda's face. 2-2

Round 5 -
vs Legion
Have I mentioned how much I HATE radial deployment?  Really not a fan.  Also it's on of those scenarios that can really force an army to split up and Trolls don't like that much. Fury 5 warlocks can't spread their love much in those situations.  Anyway, against pLylith and once again eMadrak comes in to save the day.  By turn 2 I mired his beasts with Burrowers and Fenns and start the slow grind to victory. I have effectively neutralized his heavies at this point and Madrak is in no risk so I move in for the kill on Lylith. 3-2

I rounded out the day alright, but failed to make it into the WMW masters qualifier. Who knows how I would have done, but overall was a fun tournament.  Last that evening I entered into a story event where i ran a fun Borka list and has some fun games and drinks with people.

Day 3

I relaxed on Sunday had a good casual game with Javaman from the forums and watched the masters play itself out.  There were a lot of interesting lists being played and lots of good play happening.  By this time, Sid and I were exhausted sow e just took it easy.  In the end though I walked away with $25 from Battlefoam.  I met a lot of really chill guys from all over and had a great time.  I wish I could remember names because so many people were really awesome to me and they deserve some credit.

Things I took away from this tournament...

Playing lists you are comfortable with can really help you against bad matchups and second guessing yourself on which lists to choose is always bad. I can't say taking my eDoomy list would have won me games where my pDoomy list did not, but I know that list in an out with it's threat ranges and strengths and I feel like I would have had a better shake at it with that list.

Think outside of the box.  I saw a tone of different and new lists.  From tiers to oddball stuff.  We really need to shake up our lists building sometimes to challenge the meta and stay ahead of the curve. I've already started building some lists with Warlocks I haven't played in a while that have some real power and started adding in pieces that I think have some interesting synergy.

Do no let bad dice or bad match ups get you down.  A players confidence and mindset are perhaps their greatest asset.  Being calm, collected and moving on through adversity is the mark of a truly good player and can really make or break a close or hard game.

All in all I really want and need to play more scenario play.  It makes games so much more interesting for me and I just don't get enough of it in my local meta.  Also as my areas Warmachine and Hordes scene grows I see really potential for something like this as a Northwest regional con of some sort in the next few years.  Bringing people together to play this game and have a good time is perhaps the best thing about it and I really hope I can continue to attend such awesome events.


04 October 2012

The Scrum at Duelcon Photo Dump

  Hey guys, I just wanted to post the pictures I took at Duelcon, and would like to thank you for all of your support for getting us there. This couldn't have happened without the community, and all props go to you guys. <claps emphatically>

  Here are the photos from the events ranging from the MM/TC event to the WMW Qualifier. Thanks again guys:

24 September 2012

Dire Brackets Winners

The Dire Brackets have finally come to a close.  With the dust settling the battles have been furious but Jarl reigns victorious. 

Dire Brackets Winner ~ Uncle Biggins & Largi $15 at Discount Games Inc.
Dire Brackets Pickem ~ Phreaker $50 coupon (purchase of $100 or more) at Battlefoam's Online Store
Random Winner ~ ToughRolls  Trollbloods foam topper
Random Winner ~ Ogrob  Trollbloods foam topper
Random Winner ~ The Happy Anarchist  $15 at Discount Games Inc.
Random Winner ~ Rham7649  $15 at Discount Games Inc.

 Winners will receive email notification shortly on how to claim their prizes.   A big giant Thank You to Everyone who participated. 

Stay Tuned for the painting competition that we most likely will call, "They're Whelps Jim."

18 September 2012

List Creation Process and Tournament Performance - The Basics


                                 

  I have been really busy with current painting projects, that I haven't had a chance to actually write something for the Scrum; Even though my page is part of the Scrum. I just want to take a small break from writing painting articles, and try a different variety.

  I also saw that Removed From Play did a podcast with a section on this similar topic. I haven't had a chance to listen to it, but I don't want to intentionally steal their thunder. This is something that I feel inspired to write.

  Recently, I played in the largest tournament that Utah has to offer, the Intermountain Cup. I prepared a few lists, but had little time to play them all thoroughly, due to a busy work schedule. It was a full house! I believe there were 35 people at this tournament, and all the factions were represented except for minions and mercs (oh and please correct me if I am wrong). My only complaint that I had at the tournament was, that there were no chairs for the main tables. For those who don't know, I totally destroyed my knee when I lived in Switzerland, and it has never been the same. Anyway, I didn't do very well in the tourney, as I went 2-3 for the day. There were times of frustration, and also down right anger. I made a lot of mistakes, and thinking on it now my behavior was not at my best. My learning experience was not deterred, and I still had a lot of fun playing one of my favorite games.

Yeah....this was my inner dialog after game 2