So that was Battlecry 2015

Well the first event of the year is been and gone and I am bushed. Been a while since I knocked out 8 games in two days and I am feeling it.

Upstairs rubbing elbows

Battlecry this year was at a new venue and whilst it was pretty nice, it was quite a bit smaller than the previous one leading to some compromises. On the positive side it was light, airy, in a rather fancy suburb of Auckland (which meant that there were nice places to hang out and have lunch etc, or go for a "between games wander". On the down side though itmissed a lot of the atmosphere of the previous venue where the larger space meant that there were plenty of non-wargaming things to check out. There was also a hiccup in the layout that meant that the upstairs (where I was all weekend) was a bit cramped and really noisy with that many gamers. Day two was not so bad as the Roleplayers moved downstairs and the 1 day Malifaux event had run its course.

On day one I played X-Wing in a 60/90/120/150 point escalation event. Dash and the B-Wings turned up with Dash Rendar leading the charge, and then at each points escalation another B-Wing joined the squadron.

Dash Rendar (57) YT-2400 Freighter (36), Push the Limit (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), Lando Calrissian (3), Outrider (5), Hull Upgrade (3)

Blue Squadron Pilot (31) x 3
B-Wing (22), Fire-Control System (2), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

On day two we had more space upstairs than day one

In the couple of playtest games I had the list seemed really good but as it turned out I think I invested some of my points a bit poorly. Dash is excellent, and Lando is a fantastic (if slightly random) upgrade and I am tossing up between Lando crewing a ship, and Lando piloting a ship...

In the end the shortcomings of my list were found out a couple of times, and I ended up down the end of the rankings. Talking with Andrew and Victor after the event I found myself wishing I had taken a Decimator build. Ironically Victor was wishing he went with the YT-2400. I guess the grass is always greener!

Day two and I ended up taking a very low stress 'jack heavy Kara Sloan list to the 50 point Warmachine event.


Captain Kara Sloan - WJ: +6
- Squire (2)
- Defender (9)
- Stormwall (19)
- Thunderhead (12)
- Minuteman (5)
- Minuteman (5)

Journeyman Warcaster (3)
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator (1)

With no units I knew I would not have to think too hard about placement and if I could get some good matchups I would just shoot my opponents off the table. As it happened I managed to shoot one off the table (pXerxis) whilst two others outshot me (Legion beasts and Retribution Mage Hunters), whilst one ground me down (after I dropped his caster down to 3 health and missed 3 boosted RAT 6 or 8, Pow 15 or 12 weapon master shots!).

Downstairs luxury

Kara is fun and it was great to really try out the Minuteman 'jack. Not convinced that I am a good enough player to get the most out of them, or that Kara is the best caster for them, but damn the look cool (love the Hunter chassis) and I really do have the urge to paint them now! On the downside I am less interested in painting up Bradigus as every man and his dog had a freshly assembled or painted Brad force. Whilst I need every crutch I can get my hands on I am not sure I want to be one of "those guys" running the new broken toy... If I wanted to do that I could just run Banes of Legion beast spam :)


Next event up on the calender is Ides Of March, the big 50 point, 40+ players, all the hard men coming out to play. In theory I will be running my Circle as I have the most options that are fully painted (yep Ides is a fully painted event) but I am really struggling to pin myself down. I have a week to ponder it so I guess I better find some inspiration fast.

2015 Gaming Calendar

With January rapidly coming to a close I thought it was worth taking a closer look at the Wargaming Calendar for 2015 and coming up with a bit of a plan. Also I need to clear the plan with the Master Scheduler (in other words, my wife) so that I don’t get into hot water.

Battlecry

Battlecry - Tigers in the mud

Traditionally one of my favourite events of the year as in the past it was hosted in a big gymnasium and it was filled with people playing a wide variety of wargames, as well as board games and card games. It also had the biggest turn out of retailers of any of the events I would normally go to. This resulted in some good games along with a few ways to be parted from my money. This year they are moving to a new (smaller) venue and dividing the event up over a couple of weekends. Hopefully it will still retain the flavour of previous years and luckily I only have a few weeks to wait to find out!

As for the gaming I am taking a slightly unconventional approach (at least by my standards) and dividing the weekend up in to two events – one day of X-Wing and one day or Hordes (first chance to roll out some Trolls).

Ides of March

Yeah, this is the big one! 40-50 Warmahordes players and a chance to get in a bunch of tough games (that I will of course loose). Ideally I will be taking the Trolls along for their second outing but IOM does have a fully painted requirement (which I am really pleased about) so I might have to put down a backup list with eBaldur and/or Bradigus Thorle and lots of constructs. Super excited about this event

Ides Of March - Sweet trophies!

To go to the NZ Nationals or to not go… that is the question?

This year the New Zealand Nationals will be in Auckland (yay!) but I am really struggling to find the time and enthusiasm put a 3 day weekend into gaming these days. Ten years ago I would have gone in a heartbeat but with more responsibilities comes more hard decisions… not going will definitely put a dent in my efforts to take out the Romanian spot in the NZ Flames Of War Rankings though! I might end up just having to put in a days friendly gaming somewhere instead?

NiCon

The North Island Convention is on another long weekend (just like the Nationals) but in this case it is in Thames (which is a short-ish drive away from the in-laws house) which might make it a bit easier to get away for a couple of days. Whilst it is too far away for concrete plans, Flames Of War is definitely on the cards.

Panzerschreck

Panzerschreck - Road Trippin'

Panzerschreck is the ancestral home of Flames Of War tournament gaming and traditionally takes the form of a doubles Late War event. 

Definitely keen on this as we normally hire a big mini-van for a nice team building 9 hour drive! I’ve been chatting to Phil about pairing up for a bit of low stress gaming. 

Assuming I get my act together I’ll either be taking an Atlantik Wall Puma company or Romanian StuGs so that could be quite a lot of fun.

Lords of Ruin - More sweet trophies!

Lords of Ruin

I am working on the assumption that this event is happening again this year as it was an absolute blast last year. Sean Lincoln organised a fantastic event in a local pub (down in Wellington). This is my drop dead target for having the fully painted Trolls in action!

Choptober

Looking forward to this one day W/H event here in Auckland. All the usual suspects will be there, and it will be a low stress event!


FlamesCon

We still need to get out ducks in a row with FlamesCon but my assumption is that it is happening… so much for insider knowledge eh! Either way, Romanians all the way baby! Currently thinking that it would be fun to play Early and Mid War, just not confident that I can get an EW Romanian army painted for it…

Well, there we have it, but 2015 event plan… throw in a few 1 day X-Wing events that pop up over the course of the year and it is feeling pretty solid to me.

Battlecry 2014 Photo Dump

I've given up writing some sort of event report from Battlecry as time seems like it is flying by! Instead here are some brief notes, and some photos - sadly I was very slack with my in-game shots...
The list:  
HQ Platoon
1 Tiger I E

Combat Platoons
Schwere Panzer Ausbildungs Platoons
2 Tiger I E
2 Tiger I E
2 Konigstiger (Porshe) 

Leichte Panzer Ausbildungs Platoon
4 Panzer III N

Weapons Platoons
Panzergrenadier Ausbildungs Platoons
3 Grenadier Squads with 6 Pioneer MG teams

Support Platoons
Luftwaffe Light Anti-aircraft Gun Platoon
3 3.7cm FlaK43

Round 1 vs Lance (British Commandos). I spread my forces to avoid the NFGS whilst I waited for reserves. Luckily Lance got a little keen with his Archilles and I knocked them out early.

My Panzer IIIs spent the game dodging 6"shells and shooting up infantry, at the far end of the table my Tigers, King Tigers, and 37mm AA fought hard to keep the objective safe. In the end the Pz IIIs took the centre objective and I won

Round 2 vs Steven (Soviet 76mm horde). Steven and I had been discussing this match up at work, thinking that he would need the right mission to have a chance... turns out he got it. With half of our armies in reserve and mine turning up at the far end of the table he was able to jump them and easily knock them out one at a time. At the near end my infantry found themselves assaulted by another T-34 tank company and were quickly knocked out... a 1-6 loss

Part of Stevens horde on the starting line!

Round 3 vs Rob T (PAA500... with an extra King Tiger, but no Panzer IIIs). Rob and I had a bit of a mirror match, from lists through deployment. Unfortunately his extra King Tiger meant he had a leg up and I had to attack.... and that ended badly! I pushed on both flanks but lost things early, my King Tigers rescued some honor though by taking out his 37mm tucked behind the treeline by the river!

Round 4 vs Tony (Hero Motor Strelk). Tony and I are old mates and I knew he had a few tricks up his sleeve. I deployed hard on one flank knowing I would have to attack up the length of the table. I hide my infantry and 37mm AA inside forests to stop him picking up easy kills

Advancing up the table, slowing grinding my way (one infantry company down)

Tigers in trouble... luckily I diced my way out of that one! I eventually managed to knock out enough of Tony's infantry that I freed up some terrain to move around, allowing me to pick off some of his units piecemeal, resulting in a drawn out win.

Round 5 vs Rob S (PAA500...same list as the other Rob). Last game, another half on, half off mission... and lots of objectives to defend. Rob and I danced around a little, trying to minimise and maximise (depending on perspective) the effects of the 3rd King Tiger. In the end Rob got Tigers near one objective, and infantry on the other but I managed to hold him off (I even employed a dirty trick Tony taught me about making tanks flee off table in an assault) whilst my Panzer IIIs snuck down the near flank and took out his AA, resulting in Rob's company breaking.

Super cool Lego Star Wars!

 

In the end I came in the top half with three wins, but 2 solid losses. Really happy with how the list came together and found it to be really fun to run. Not sure if I would change anything to be honest... In a 1750 point event I would definitely upgrade the Pioneers to MG Panzerfaust teams, and try to fit in a 2iC to give the list a little more flexibility!

Last Models for Battlecry

Okay, so Battlecry has been and gone - more on that later, but in the rush to finish everything I am a little behind on the blog posts. I managed to finish my last two platoons 36 hours prior to the tournament (possibly a record for me, finishing so early that is!).

The Grenadier Platoon - I took a few liberties and made the MG/Assault Rifle/Panzerfaust/Pioneers...something for everyone for ultimate gaming flexibility... hopefully the purists won't notice!

FlaK43 37mm AA Platoon

I followed James' Splinter camo painting guide from the back of Desperate Measures with a few changes to suit my fast and loose painting style... I am unhappy with a few parts of the painting, primarily the rather average job I did on the faces and that the wash I put over the figures darkened up the camo pattern. However, the platoons are done and they look cool on the tabletop so...job done!

Panzer Ausbildungs Abteilung 500

With Battlecry only a few weeks away, I am furiously painting up my Panzer Ausbildungs Abteilung 500. My tanks are nearing completion with a couple of days work left to go with just detailing, decals and crew to finish up. This will give me all the tanks I require for the tournament as well as a 2IC tank for use later. 

The army shot (excluding the infantry that still need to be painted)

HQ Tigers - 2IC on the left and Company HQ (finished as part of the painting challenge at work) on the right

Two Tiger Platoons

King Tiger Platoon

Panzer III N Platoon

Once these vehicles are finished I have my Infantry Platoon and AA Platoon to do. I'll have a couple of painting days up my sleeve so I will need to maintain my focus to get them finished on time!

2014 Tournament Season

With growing family responsibilities at home as my son gets bigger and starts to throw around the word "daddy" a lot more, 2014 is already panning out to be a big year so I sat down and had a look through the tournament calender to try and plan out the year so there would be no (okay, fewer) surprises on the home front. It also gave me an opportunity to work out what was on the painting schedule.

February: Battlecry and Flames Of War. This will be the first road test for my Desperate Measures Reluctant Trained Tigers.

March: Ides of March and Warmachine. Dusting off my Circle forces and using this to incentivise me to paint up the Woldwrath!

April: Hamilton EW Tournament and FOW. This one is a little up in the air for me right now, but my French are looking for a reason to hit the table and this might be it!

May: NiCon and TBC. Love heading to sunny Tauranga, just need to work out what is on the menu I guess.

July: Panzerschreck and the FOW Doubles Event. It is just easier to give into Evan's nagging and head down. Plus Mike and I have something to make up for after our terrible performance last year.

August: Call to Arms and WarmaHordes. Not sure what I would take, but the WarmaHordes guys in Wellington are great to play so hopefully the timing of this works out.

October: BFGT and FOW. This could be coinciding with my 40th so might be a little challenging, tempted to play in the split 1 day Mid War, 1 day Early War events... wonder how I could convert my '56 Israelis to Mid War?

November: Rallypoint and the WarmaHordes Teams Event. Three man teams and this year it is Ghordson Earthbreakers all round.

So, painting needing to be done for five events this year at minimum, plus some more post war Israeli's for work no doubt.... maybe it is time to start reducing my expectations!

Battlecry 2013

Another Battlecry has come and gone, this year it was a little quiet that previous with most of the Warhammer guys heading down south for a massive teams tournament. I opted to take the easy option and stay in Auckland and play X-Wing. The event was a little smaller than expected with only 8 entrants, half of which were at the Kessel Run event late last year (so I knew there were some veteran gamers). Luckily the Falcon and Slave 1 (and associated cards) were not allowed so it was an even playing field. I borrowed the test Space Mats from work again so that we would have some nice battlefields to play on.

The gaming hall

There was a large 40K contingent there this year and I continue to be surprised by the number of big models (whether they be large monsters, flying things or just otherwise large random things) - perhaps it is since I have not played in over 15 years that I have lost touch with what constitutes a 40K army these days? There was a strong board game crowd, proving that in the age of PC and console games it is still nice to sit down with friends and play a board game. The Warmachine lads turned up in numbers as well putting on a Colossal-fest. I think I may need to tweak my lists for Ides Of March again as it appears that if you do not have a Colossal (or Gargantuan) you had better have a way to take one out!


As for the actual X-Win gaming I managed to go 3 wins out of 4, and thanks to some in depth accounting my strength of schedule put me over the top, taking out first place. I picked up a very nice starwars.com print, as well as medal and (even better) one of the A-Wings that was left over from last years Kessel Run event! I also managed to take a few shots of some of the other games during the day.

First Place Trophy

Blue on Blue match up (on Red)

Head on run

Asteroid action

I think those Imperials might be a little out numbered

Not Rebel scum, rather Imperial scrum

There was also a good sized Flames Of War event running over the weekend and I managed to snap a couple of photos, as well as some really inspiring photos of a 6mm Micro Armour tournament (using WRG rules). Most of the 6mm terrain is made by an old club mate of mine - Kieran Mahony. I also spotted some super cool Nerf guns... really made me want to crack out the airbrush and go to town on the couple I have. They are of course used for playing with some of the younger kids in the family...

Wayne says "See, this is where I will crush him!

Flames Of War tables

6mm Desert Hotel

6mm Desert Port

6mm BTRs roll past a fender bender

6mm Porsche Dealership

Now those are some cool Nerf guns!

Overall it was an outstanding day (Battlecry is normally a two day event, however I opted to just head by for a single day this year) - many thanks to Karen and the rest of the volunteers for putting one a good time for everyone. Thanks also to Dan for umpiring and organising the X-Wing games, as well as King of Cards for the A-Wing and Seriously Board for providing a whopping $50 voucher for each of the top three players in the event. I might be ordering a second Millennium Falcon from them...erm I mean YT-1300.

Post Battlecry Hilarity!

With Battlecry 2012 done and dusted (and me almost caught up on sleep!), I thought I would steal a few photos from King Dan, as well as show off a few photos of my finished army. In terms of my experience I have to say I had a blast! This was my first EW Tournament in about two years (i.e. before the release of Blitzkrieg) where I played zee Germans at a NATCON in "the Hutt". Thanks to Gav for organising, thanks to my opponents for the games (wish I could have been a tougher opponent for a few of you!).

In terms of my overall performance.. it was not as good as I had hoped, but half of that blame lies with me being a little asleep at the wheel, and a little with some poor list choices! I really should have found a way to wedge in the Sapper Platoon, as well as some R-35s so that I had some maneuver elements.

Very excited about filling out the French, but I am also concious that I have many tournaments over the next couple of months and much painting to do!

Games in process photos

Sam's Panzers dismembering me

75mm SP AA about to deploy

 Battlecry 2012 French Legionaire Company

Company HQ

Infantry Platoon

25mm Hotchkiss AT Guns (only 1 platoon was in the Battlecry list)

Self Propelled 75mm AA (Dion de Bouton 75mm)

75mm mle 1897 Battery

75mm Staff Team

75mm mle 1897 gun

155mm C mle 1917 S Heavy Artillery Battery

155mm C mle 1917 S gun

The Defences!

The Rest of the French...

SA-37 47mm AT Gun Platoon