New Goreshade and Running with Farrow

I haven't posted here in quite a bit. In fact, I haven't been able to pick up my models and play a game since the Journeyman League began here, and I didn't even get to finish that. Things have been a bit crazy, but I am trying to find some time to spend with the hobby.

This past weekend I spotted something in my FLGS and I had to check it out. It was a Hordes blister, and inside was Lord Carver, BMMD, Esq. III - a Farrow warlock. Now I've heard a bit about the Farrow before, but never looked into it. I looked up Carver and read a bit about him, and instantly I knew I wanted to run him. Since Xenophonica plays Circle as well as another player in our close-knit group, I decided that I'd make the switch to Farrow and run Minions to see how I liked it. Looking at Carver's abilities, it was really easy to build a 15pt list for a beginner game. Here's what I decided:

Lord Carver
War Hog
War Hog
Farrow Brigands (leader and 5 grunts)

It doesn't sound like a lot, but run correctly this list can cause some real damage. I didn't want to run Carver with just one warbeast because he wouldn't get the fury he needs. I thought of running a Gun Boar instead, but the dual War Hog list really enticed me. The Brigands will gain Advance Deployment, allowing them to get into battle quicker. With Carver's spell list and abilities, the Brigands become deadly in groups of two, especially with Hog Wild. The War Hogs are just giant Mac trucks, and with Carver's feat they can attack up to 6 times, with each attack hitting at a P+S of 17/18 and an extra damage die. On the charge they'll get 17/18+4d6. That's nasty, and I like it.

So I am giving this faction a shot. I picked up Carver and I just finished painting him this morning. Here's the Bringer of the Most Massive Destruction himself:

I am certainly looking forward to running this list. I'm going to get my War Hogs and Brigands soon, and they'll be on the battlefield in no time.

In other news, Privateer Press released this sweet new image of a new Goreshade, the Bastard warcaster for Cryx:

He'll be released in white metal still, but the attention to detail has been cranked up to 11. The Deathwalker looks much more realistic, and Goreshade certainly looks more menacing. I'll definitely be picking this up for my Cryx army. What do you think?

War Room 1.3 Update Released, Has It Been Fixed?

War Room is Privateer Press' in-house app for players who want to keep their lists, cards, and other information for Warmachine and Hordes digital. Since its launch a lot of players have remained skeptical of the app's performance, many with good reason. The app has been known to crash, delete saved information, and for some it won't even start.

The app currently has 2.3/5 stars on the Android market, and the iOS ratings are nearly the same. Users are reporting poor execution in the app's presentation, claiming that the app will freeze over time, gamers are losing purchased content when switching to a new device, and some are reporting that it still hangs on startup. The idea behind War Room is a great leading off point, but can Privateer Press make the app work?

The company just posted a video on their site for War Room 1.3, the newest update for the app. From the video, here are the main points about what's changed in the app:

• added changelog feature that allows you to see all the changes that have been made to the app in one place
• new quick navigation button added to the top-left side of the screen that makes navigating the app much faster
• quick search function added, allowing users to search through the rules from any rules reference view
• theme force list option added, lets users check out theme lists while looking at warcasters/warlocks
• warjacks, warbeasts, and attachments have been removed from their own categories and added under a new attachment function
• theme force function added, lets players select a theme force from a warcaster/warlock's list, and the requirements to build the force will be shown for players to meet
• War Room automatically calculates bonuses for theme forces while building them, taking into account lowered point costs and more

You can see all the news in the video below. For those who use War Room already, what do you think of the changes? The new update will be live on February 24th.

Privateer Press Keynote Announcements 02/10/2014

This past Friday was the annual Keynote Panel from Privateer Press at Templecon. The company took to the stage to unleash a host of new announcements on the gaming community, and some of these announcements had the capacity to blow players away. We didn't get the new Horde faction announcement like we wanted, but we did get some pretty awesome information to hold us over. I'll cover the important bits from the Keynote below, and if I missed anything feel free to post a comment.

First up the company showed some stuff from Warmachine: Tactics. There was some concept art shown as well as 3D models for the Menoth 'jacks. We saw some environments the team is working on, though no video was shown for the game.

Next up, things switched over to the Iron Kingdoms RPG. A new book, Iron Kingdoms: Unleashed, was announced. This book will take the Iron Kingdoms RPG into the wilds of Immoren, getting closer to the Hordes side of things. Apparently this book will run as a standalone game, though it can be added to the IKRPG game as a supplement as well.

Moving on to Hordes, a new book called Exigence was announced. The book introduces some new warlocks, such as Helga - a new Farrow warlock, and an epic version of Xerxes riding a rhino, along with a new female Gatorman warlock. A Heavy Nephalym warbeast for Legion was announced, and it looks completely badass. Farrow and Gatormen Battle Engines were announced, and a new style of unit was announced called a Beast Pack. Beast Packs are part unit, part warbeast. They don't have life spirals, can be transferred damage, and can acquire fury.

Switching gears to Warmachine, a new sub-faction for Mercenaries was announced. This new faction is the Cephalyx, and they are the stuff of nightmares. The Cephalyx have Monstrosities instead of Warjacks, and make use of all sorts of mental magic. The warcasters can still gain and spend focus, though it will mainly be for casting spells. Monstrosities don't have a cortex, rather they work off of a brain system, and the models for the Cephalyx all work together as one sort of collective.

 

Finally, it looks like a new LEVEL 7 game will be coming, called LEVEL 7 [INVASION]. Aliens are invading Earth and you must pew-pew them.

Out of all this, I am most excited for the Cephalyx. The more I read/see about them, the more I want to give them a shot. I wrote on I:T that I feel they'll play too closely to Cryx, but now that I've seen more about them I feel like they're going to be something completely different. I think the ability to use mind magic on the field will definitely be unique, especially when dealing with non-living models. Apparently the Cephalyx will be at Lock & Load, so we'll have just a bit to wait and see what they're made of. What do you think about the announcements?

Using Citadel Typhus Corrosion - Thoughts and Opinion

Over the Christmas break I ordered a few more models to add to my Cryx army. Since I'm using Asphyxious now I realized I really need some arc nodes in my list to make him useful. I picked up the Cryx Battle Box to grab all the 'nodes I'll need, plus an extra caster and heavy 'jack. I finally got the models primed and when I sat down to paint the Deathrippers I knew exactly how I wanted them to look: rusted, worn, and outdated. I thought about trying to use some dry pigment to add rust effects, but I didn't feel my skill level was at the point to do that and have them come out looking presentable. After doing some looking around I came across the new technical paints from Citadel. Since I've been using Citadel paints more often now, I decided to give one a shot. After looking I saw that the Typhus Corrosion offers exactly the effect I was desiring, so I decided to put it to the test.

The Citadel technical line of paints are designed to help add all sorts of visual effects to your models. Whether you're wanting a glow, a corrosion effect,  dripping of blood, or even some cracked earth, the new technical line has you covered. Games Workshop released these paints fairly recently and they've already become a hit within the painting community. With my heart set on making my new Deathrippers for Warmachine look as dingy and corroded as I could, I went to work immediately.

The first thing you'll notice with the Typhus Corrosion technical paint is that it has the viscosity of a wash, though it appears to be as thick as normal paint. Inside the mixture you'll see pigment, little granules of material that add texture to the paint. Once I put on my base coats and added some detail it was time to apply the corrosion. Just like with a wash, when applying Typhus Corrosion you want to get it into all of the little nooks and crannies of the model that you can. Get it to flow into the recesses as much as possible. The paint flows like a wash, so the more you let it flow the better area it covers.

What's different about this paint is that if you spread it up onto the raised areas it adds even more effect. Panels become rusted, discolored, and all together worn. Hitting raised areas like rivets or screws will create a corroded effect all around the rivets that shows wear and age. Splashing areas like spikes or raised armor shows a dingy look that really makes the model pop.

On the first model I had to learn that the paint doesn't need to be applied in thick coats. You really have to be decisive to where you apply it. As long as you're careful you'll end up with a time-worn look that will definitely show the age of your models, no matter what sort they are. Whether you're wearing down a tank, aging a warjack, or just coating the armor plating of a knight, the Typhus Corrosion paint gets the job done.

You can usually find the Citadel technical paints running at around $4.25 MSRP, which isn't too high of a price for the effect you get.In the pot is 12 ml of paint, and you end up not using a lot when adding it to your models. If you're looking to add some spice to your models, check out Typhus Corrosion and the rest of the Citadel technical paints - you won't regret it.

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This article is cross-posted from Initiative : Tabletop, a sister site of From Focus to Fury.

Journeyman League and Steamroller 2014

I've been playing Warmachine for close to two years now. I know I'm not a veteran, but I'd like to think I've soaked up a lot of knowledge since I've been involved with the game. I've swapped factions, painted tons of models, and started a collection I'm quite proud of. That's why I am excited to participate in my first ever Journeyman League.

Here in my city we're holding the first Journeyman League the Common Room has ever seen.A Journeyman League is a slow-grow league where players start at a low point value and gradually move up to higher point values throughout the league. The rules are designed so that a player learns to harness the power of their faction's Battle Box and move up through the ranks, adding more models and tactics to their army.

I'll be playing Cryx, and I've already got a nice army worked out. The league starts at 15 points and moves all the way up to 35. I've got my mind set on a 15-point list with Asphyxious, and I am going to see how it all pans out. I eventually want to get Malice and the Withershadow Combine into play for some nasty tricks. I've got a handful of models to paint still: Deathripper, pDenny, Slayer, Cankerworm, Defiler, and a Pistol Wraith, and they'll all see gameplay at some point.

I'm looking forward to the league and getting to finally get more play in. Luckily all of my models are painted that I'll be using, so I'll surely get hobby points for the league, which will help me in the long run. We'll be sure to get coverage of the league posted here for everyone to see.

On top of this news, Privateer Press just announced the new Steamroller 2014 rules. According to the company:

After a year of feedback and review of the 2013 documents, we’ve tweaked what needed to be tweaked, balanced what needed to be balanced, and added enough new hotness to keep things fresh (without completely overhauling the system everyone has become accustomed to). There are new scenarios like the tricky Balance of Power, updated scenarios like the new Destruction and Incursion, new variant formats such as the battlegroup-focused Commander’s Crucible, and so much more! 

In addition to this, the company has released new rules for Hardcore, Iron Gauntlet, and Masters. You can download the rules at their respective links. With con season starting up soon, it's a good time to brush up on the rules and get your games in gear.

No Quarter Amory Compliation Available from Privateer Press

Privateer Press has just released the No Quarter Armory Compilation, and it's free. The download is a .pdf of graphical representations of spell effects. Basically there are a whole bunch of printable templates for you to use with your games when you need them.

 

You can download a copy of the No Quarter Armory Compilation yourself from the Privateer Press site. Make sure you get it all printed and cut out before your next game to ensure you won't be missing anything!