One Night in Mordheim

The return to Mordheim begins with paperwork!

Thursday Night Fights! (Part 2)

Having finished up our Saga game with Monty (See Part 1 HERE), Eric and I moved on to the second game of our big Thursday night double header.  I was pretty excited to return to Mordheim as I had not played in quite a few years.  Mordheim is definitely one of my all time favorite skirmish games where you can really immerse yourself into the terrain, minis, and narrative.  Add in some themed music and it's almost like a RPG where you can feel like you're actually there.

In years past we used to have a campaign every October/Fall, but that was eventually supplanted by the start of our annual Warbringers Warhammer Campaign.  Some of the younger guys have a campaign going again this year, so I asked Eric if he wanted to play an one off battle and join in on the fun.  (You can find my previous Mordheim coverage, including past games HERE.)

The brave Templars of Sigmar gather to defend the memorial statue of "Fritz."

As we were not part of the campaign, we simply played a one off game with 850 gold crowns to spend on our respective warbands, upgrades, and any hired swords.  I brought my Witch Hunters and Eric his Undead.  We played a tweaked version of Scenario 1: Defend the Find (Get more standing models within 6" of the objective than the defender by the end of a complete turn.)

We played on one of the older MH boards, "The Wharf," saved from the olden days at Phoenix Games.  I would play the defender and protect the sacred statue of "Fritz" from desecration.  (You can see my recent post about "Fritz" HERE.)  The Undead could deploy on the other three sides opposite mine.  Also, there would be no rout tests, this was a fight to the death!

The Warhounds growl as they catch a foul whiff of undeath in the air.

I brought along a WH Captian, 3 Witch Hunters, a Warrior Priest, 2 Flagellants, 5 Warhounds, an Ogre Bodyguard, and a Freelancer.  Eric's Undead had a Vampire, Necromancer, 5 Ghouls, 3 Dire Wolves, 5 Zombies, and a Werewolf (Ogre).

I began the game with my Ogre and Flagellants defending the main steps, Witch Hunters and Warhounds guarding the flanks, and my Captain at the top of the pond hoping to use his 14" Eagle Eye extended range to great effect.  Eric's Necro, Ghouls, and Zombies scurried down the middle, and the Vampire and Wolves sped down the flanks.

The Pink Lady haunts the streets of Mordhiem once more!

Eric opened things up with his tooled up Werewolf hoping to clear away my Ogre and open a path to Fritz.  After a bit of bad rolls, my ogre stood tall and the Flagellants swooped in for the kill.  Round 1:  Witch Hunters!!

I usually (and when I say usually, that was years ago) keep my Warhounds close to my Captain so that I can use his leadership to launch them off to charge feared opponents.  Unfortuately where I deployed my Captain looked very dramatic, but leadership/fear tests would come back to bite me more than once.

Werewolf?  There wolf!

Other than an opportunity charge on the Necromancer taking him out, my Warhounds continuously failed their fear tests letting the Dire Wolves through unimpeded.  This later caused the death of two of my Witch Hunters.  My Freelancer also failed his fear tests refusing to give aid to my embattled Ogre and met his end cowering in the shadows before being becoming a snack for the Vampire.

The Warhounds play a dangerous game of "Pet the doggie" with the Zombies.

My Ogre held his ground (and held up much of the Undead) for a number of turns with a very helpful "Healing Hand" prayer from the always nearby Warrior Priest.  He managed to get one wound on the Vampire before finally giving way to her and her remaining minions. 

The Witch Hunters trade lives for time on the bloodied steps.

The Pink Lady made one last desperate dash up the steps at Fritz to confront the Witch Hunter Captain.  They traded vicious blows with no effect.  But the Vampire had run out of time.  As dawn was breaking, a Flagellant struck her from behind knocking her down, allowing the Captain to pull out a stake and finish her off on the last turn.

The Zombie Brigade finally arrives to join the fray!

The Witch Hunters were victorious, but it was costly on both sides.  Expensive "tooled up" characters seemed to die quickly for both of us during the game.  My mistake in not being able to use my Captain's leadership proved costly, but my Ogre backed by the Priest's "Healing Hand" kept me in the game.

The Pink Lady now sleeps with the fishes.

This game was another very entertaining treat for the eyes with its fun terrain and two great looking warbands.  Thanks Eric for a very enjoyable evening, and I hope to return to Mordhiem again sooner rather than later.  :-)
.

Saga - Feast of Crows 3 Way

Me and my fully painted Vikings are rearing to go!!!!

(Or... I might of just farted.)

Thursday Night Fights! (Part 1)

Although I haven't got much gaming in this year, games/batreps have been pretty scarce on the blog for awhile.  That may have to change a bit as I ramp up for Saga, 40k, and Bolt Action events in January and February.  My main problem is with my camera.  It does just fine for taking close up pics of minis in the studio light box or little odds and ends I might sell on eBay, but other than that it pretty much sucks.  The photos I have to share where taken by my opponents Eric and Monty and are a bit random.  Meant more for Twitter than for a blow by blow blog battle report.  Anyways...

 My Vikings advance as Eric hides behind the church

and Monty stays defensive, for now...

Although gaming goes on any day of the week, Thursday nights especially are usually busy at the Fantasy Flight Game Center.  Last week was no exception as I had double header of Saga and Mordhiem lined up for myself.  This post will deal with the Saga with part two and Mordheim to follow.

 OMG!  X Wing fans, it's Alex Davy!  OMG!

We ended up playing a three way "Feast of Crows" battle with Eric and I playing Vikings and Monty the Mutatawwi'a.  Although I've played a few games of Saga, this was my first with my fully painted warband.  Together with the terrain and two other finely painted forces, it was a treat for the eye.

 Jarl Wulfric & Company cautiously advance.

"Those Vikings sure look tough, don't want to get too close..."

is something Monty may or may not have said.

A week later, my memory is not good enough to give a real blow by blow, but at least there's the pics. :-)  I was sorta in the central deployment position, so I ended up trading blows with both of the other warbands early in the game.  I was holding my own alright and helped a bit by getting off Ragnarok which is doubly effective in a 3 player game.  As the game is decided by slaughter points, early returns appeared like I was quietly running away with the game.

 Monty throws out his bait...

As I advanced, Eric was content to hold behind the church and waddle fencing.  Other than a surprise attack by his berserkers from out of the church, he pretty much stayed where he was waiting to strike like a coiled serpent.  Meanwhile Monty put on the mask of meekness early, threw out some of his lesser troops as appetizers, and seemed to cluster together like frightened children.

 I unleash my berserkers!

"I'm doing alright, getting good grades, the future's so bright..."

Monty had a 12 pack of hearthguard and we all knew it.  Nothing meek about it.  Once Monty got his hearthguard and battle board rolling, everything died in its wake.  Including both Eric's and my warlord.  In the end, although he had sacrificed a few of his own, Monty ran away with the slaughter points and the game.

"When the music's over, turn out the lights..."

Not surprisingly it turned out to be a fun game with two great opponents and visual "Feast for the Eyes."  Thanks again guys!  :-)

Thursday Night Fights!

.

Saga Vikings - Warriors Complete

Viking Bondi: "We'd rather be faaaarming!"

Finally. here's the last two points (Warriors) of my Saga Viking Warband.  Now with completed bases, shields, and a bit of blood for good measure.  As I mentioned before, the Bondi really gave me the opportunity to add a lot of color to the warband by not having any armor/chainmail to cover up their tunics.

I've continued the black and white shield scheme that I've discussed previously HERE and HERE.  With the Bondi however, I've made an effort to keep the shield designs much simpler than their Hirdmen brethren.  Their Ash wood spears add another bit of contrast to the rest of the warband.

I hope to post some photos of the completed warband here in the near future.  Meanwhile, previous posts and pics of the warband can be found HERE.
.

Fritz returns to Mordheim

"Old Fritz" of Mordheim

Mordheim has had a bit of local resurgence lately.  Although I'm not a participant in the current league/campaign, I was able to get in a "one off" game Thursday night.  I'll try to post some pics of the game sometime next week, but for now you'll have to settle for Fritz.

The "before" Fritz pic

Fritz in action back in 2011

"Fritz" is a piece of Mordheim / Warhammer terrain I built back in 2003.  A sort of memorial statue and pond to some past Imperial hero of importance known now only by the name "Fritz" engraved in the stone.  Being a old favorite from when we used to play more regularly, I decided to touch him up a bit before making his return to the grimdark streets of Mordheim.

The pictures can pretty much speak for themselves.  I've just tried to make it appear a bit more dirty and overgrown.  To do over, I'd obviously make the steps wide enough for figures to stand on.  While the pond itself has seen its fair share of combat, being able to battle up and down the steps would of made for some nice cinematic moments.

Mostly made from foam core, the water is EnviroTex Lite high gloss finish.  At the time of its construction the only "fish" I could find to populate the pond was fishing bait.  Although I've run across a number of smaller solutions since, I think the giant (perhaps mutant) fish fit quite well into the world of Mordheim.  :-)

UPDATE:  Since some were curious, the model used for the statue is a old Colossal Lords Paladin from Grenadier.  Height is about 150mm tall.
.

16 Shades of Bondi (WIP)

Bondi, Bondi, Bondi, Bondi, Bondi...

It's been awhile (sorry)... September and October just flew by.  Didn't even get the Halloween decorations up this year.  The apartment above mine had broken pipe, which made it rain in my kitchen and dining room (where my computer is).  I've been pretty busy lately, and it set me back just enough so that it felts like I've been playing catch up ever since.

 Group 1A front

Group 1A back

Enough whining by me.  I did get some hobby-time in and have a bit of back log of things I could post, so let's start off with some Bondi.  These 16 Bondi make up the last 2 points of my 6 point Viking warband.

 Group 1B front

Group 1B back

These guys still need their shields and bases to be done, but they're pretty close.  I had a lot of fun painting them up and making everyone an individual.  Although Bondi are the "farmers" and "craftsmen" of the Viking community, they present a great opportunity to add some real color to their chainmail clad brethren.

 Group 2A front

Group 2A back

Tried to balance brighter colors with more muted natural tones.  I used a variety of paints on these figs, but really got the most of my Andrea Color paint sets for the first time.  The Bondi gave me the chance to experiment a bit, and I did discover a few color recipes that I will be sure to use again the future.

 Group 2B front

Group 2B back

.

Saga Storm 2015

A beautiful day for Saga!

(Lot of pics!  Click on 'em to make them bigger)

Last Saturday (September 12th) we had our second annual Saga Storm event.  Just like last year (Coverage for Saga Storm 2014 is HERE) it was all day open Saga gaming with ten tables set up from 10 am until 5 pm.  Just grab a partner and battle!  At 5 pm we started to set up for the mega Feast for Crows battle and then had bonfire to cap the day off until the park closed at 10pm.

This year's logo

 Did I mention the horn blowing??

Park?!  Yes, as the pictures show, we held Saga Storm outside this year at Ham Lake Park in Ham Lake, Minnesota.  It was a beautiful site and the weather was gorgeous.  We had about 22 players show up (3 from Wisconsin) and play during the day with 14 staying to fight in the mega battle.

Awesome people, minis, terrain, game... AWESOME DAY!

Sorry Bob, looks like Tim (and his beard) win the tie breaker...

What else... we had t-shirts and dice made up just like last year.  Twice during the day we had our chance to try our hand at the Scottish hammer throw. (ouch!)  We had a very successful pot luck/cook out in the afternoon as well.  Just an awesome day full of good times.  The day flew by so quick.  My only regrets is not getting the chance to visit with everyone that came.

The Feast!

Grillin' & Cillin' (?)

 Eric and John, thanks again guys!

John Stentz is a Ham Lake resident so he was able to reserve the pavilion and help organize the event.  Eric Hagen provided the terrain, most of it from the Grand Melee at Adepticon earlier in the year.  Thanks to those guys for a great event for the second year in a row.  Playing at the Fantasy Flight Game Center was nice in 2014, but I think we found our new home.  :-)

Are you issuing a CHALLENGE!!!!

I ended up playing four games with my Vikings including the mega battle.  Not having played in a long time I got to play Monty Luhmann, Eric Hagen, and John Stentz which were all great learning games for me.  The last one against John had a few distractions and was a bit rushed with the mega battle looming.  So I'm looking forward to giving him a proper challenge in the near future. ;-)

Hammer throw!

Last but not least, the day was a great one for families.  I know that at least John and Eric's families stopped by during the day.  Both my parents and my sister's family live in Ham Lake, so the event was also a great opportunity for them to come and check out Uncle Jason's hobby in a not-so-nerdy environment.  It definitely made the day a bit more special.  Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it!

 Mega battle!

Nothing else to say really...  Enjoy the pics!!

Good times, bring on next year!

Finally we tell our war stories and say our goodbyes around the bonfire.

(The majority of these photos were taken by members of the local Saga Storm group on Facebook.  (Mine were mostly rubbish)  Picture credits go to Bob Seabold, John Stentz, Eric Hagen, Richard Viner, and Monty Luhmann.  Thanks a lot guys!)
.