A Case for the Arcanists

It's still GenCon. I am still ridiculously jealous of everyone who's in Indianapolis right now enjoying it. Ridiculously jealous. At least I have a friend out there currently grabbing all the bits and pieces I'm after though to send them to me - so that's nice, and of course there'll be pics and blogs when they arrive.

Sadly I'm not getting this Whiskey Golem

This got me thinking about where all these would go, though. Most of the stuff he's picking up for me is Arcanists or 'basic' bits (the new Crossroads book, Arsenal/Fate decks etc...) but there are a couple of crews and, of course, a Nightmare Edition Whiskey Golem. The fact that there is a Miss Ery coming too makes me think I'm about to start a Neverborn side project, and the fact that one of the boxes was The Dreamer's 'Hide & Seek' box certainly backs this up. I also have the Tara that I recently painted, an Outcasts/Resurrectionists crew. The Whiskey Golem and the 'The Kin' box also suggest I might be sidling into Gremlins too (but they're not a real faction apparently, so that's okay).

As such, I decided I wanted to do a picture blog today, just showcasing where I keep my Arcanists. See all the pictures after the break!

Malifaux Masters (Tactica): Colette Du Bois

Today I'm breaking the program and jumping madly ahead with the Malifaux Masters series, and looking at Colette and her crew! I was intending to work my way gradually through Wave 1 first, but a thread appeared on Colette up on 'A Wyrd Place' (mainly because I put it there...) and I wanted to share the responses, because they were amazing.

It's worth saying before we continue that what follows is in my own words, but that most of the ideas came from one David McGuire. After the break, we'll examine Colette and her crew in a very different manner to the rest of my Malifaux Masters posts. This one is less of a card breakdown, and more of a Colette Tactica.

Reconnoiter in the Badlands

Monday night is Red Steel Gaming in Preston, and once again, I had received a challenge of a game of Malifaux, against the same opponent who had taken Sonnia Criid in the previous report. So we agreed on a time, drew up our game and prepared for a dust up!

...well, at 50ss it was technically a scrap, but hey!

Malifaux Masters: Lady Justice

This time around on Malifaux Masters, I'm going to take a trip Downtown to the Governor General's HQ and have a look into The Guild. Specifically, Lady Justice.

Malifaux Masters: Seamus

Today's Master of choice is, again, something a little different. Mad Hatter meets the Joker with more than a splash of Jack the Ripper thrown in. Yes, it's the malevolent and mischievous Seamus of the Resurrectionists.

Malifaux Masters: Lilith

Rolling on from the success of 'Malifaux Masters: Rasputina', I thought this time around I'd switch faction to my old B-Side crew, and discuss a little about the Mother of Monsters, Lilith, of the Neverborn Faction.

Malifaux Masters: Rasputina

For a while now I've toyed with writing some short articles about some of the Malifaux Masters as a kind of guide for people who are interested in those Masters - either as a guide for beginners taking their first steps into the world of Malifaux, or for those looking to try a new Master, or those preparing to face that Master.

Where better to start than the first Master I ever used and, of course, an Arcanist (my chosen faction!).

Rasputina.

Foundry VS M&SU

Another Monday, another great evening at Red Steel Gaming Preston, another awesome Malifaux game - and this time around, it was a little different.

Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition - First Thoughts

Tonight, Games Workshop have put up the new Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (7th Edition) for Advance Order. I don't work for the company anymore so I have seen very little of the new rules besides leaked photos of White Dwarf and the videos that they have put up on YouTube. I also have very little money, so I have been unable to Advance Order it myself.

Still, I thought I'd have a gander at the new products and share my thoughts.

Battle Brothers

This weekend I journeyed from Blackpool back down to Nottingham for the Warhammer Battle Brothers event; a doubles tournament at Warhammer World, where I was partnering up with a very good friend of mine from back in Epsom. A few of the other Epsom gang were there too, and it was great seeing them.

Find out how the weekend went after the break!

The Hobbit: An Ancient Enemy

Evil has been stirring in Greenwood the Great. Nothing grows there anymore, at least nothing good, and the woodsmen have begun to call the forest Mirkwood. Giant spiders stalk the stagnant foliage, and whispers talk of a shadow falling upon Dol Guldur. Radagast the Brown ventures into the ruins of the ancient fortress to seek clues - after all, they have been abandoned for years...

The Fortress of Dol Guldur upon Amon Lanc

The following is a scenario for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Strategy Battle Game". You will need a copy of the "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Rules Manual to use these rules. Please be aware they are untested home-brew rules designed to give a fun scenario from the film!

The Journey Continues

Last night, David and I made our way to Tolworth First Founding to continue our "The Fellowship of the Ring" Journeybook Campaign.

Here's some pictures and an update on how it went.

Models to Soldiers, Boards to Battlefields

I write this blog entry on a bus towards Kingston, to visit Tolworth First Founding, a wargames society that meets weekly to play various games. The iPad in my hand is asking me why I am doing this, so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

The Forgefiend Experiment

On Monday 5th November, I was in Nottingham, at Warhammer World for a National Managers Meeting. I'm he evening, we all gathered in the Gaming Hall of a School League style tournament with each of the Battle Companies forming the 'School Teams'.

I took a Chaos Space Marine list, as discussed in a previous blog entry. I also mentioned then that I'd post a battle report for the games played. Those reports lie below.

Fantasy Renaissance

The Muster of Rohan

I quite like this; at this rate, I won't have to think of any blogs - I'll just sit back, watch my comments and Twitter feed, and let you guys come up with my blog ideas! So, today is a bit of a 'mailbag' blog... But perhaps a little more exploratory.

Futuristic Fantasy

The Battlelines are drawn...

I just got this blog set up with a few decent entries all planned out ready for future posting, a nice ordered sequence. One of you guys comes along and says something that motivates me so much that I had to write a response immediately.

Damn you all.

Social Games and the Daemonforge

Word Bearer Chaos Space Marines seize and objective

On Monday 5th November, myself and a rather large group of Games Workshop Hobby Centre Managers (in fact, the vast majority of the UK ones, and possibly some of our Northern Europe brothers too) will be participating in a Schools League style Demi-Tournament, both as a way of showing us what the Schools League is like and, perhaps most importantly, to break ice and form bonds (much the same way Astartes Legionaries often fought each other in sparring cages).

Whilst we won't be duelling topless in spinning mechanical deathtraps, we will be having a lot of fun

Poor Mans 40k

Today I wanted to discuss an alternate form of gaming, and point out that the hobby as a whole knows no bounds. Anyone can do it. Anytime. Anywhere.

 I'll let the picture above entice you in, then talk about it more, after the jump!