Journeyman League - Barnabas

A few days ago, I posted that my gaming group (small though it is) has started a Journeyman League. This was to get us old veterans into checking out a new army and, hopefully, bring in some new players. We did get one new player (he played back in Mk I), and we have two newer players that are restarting their learning experience from the bottom.

One of the perks of the being a veteran in the group, and to provide a little more variety, is that a veteran can run two armies - one from each of the systems. So, in this article, I'd like to run through the Journeyman progression for my Barnabas list.

First, to review, our modified Journeyman rules are as follows:
1) A player may start using any prime warcaster/warlock (which means they have a '1' next to their name). You must start with a 0-point army, and must spend enough points to be within 4 points of each point level.
2) Character warjacks/warbeasts are not allowed in the first week. However, provided you have the points, you may add them at any point increase.
3) Every two weeks, the army will increase in points by 15 points. The first increase in points is still battlegroup only (only warjacks/warbeasts).
4) Points will not be scored, as participation is encouraged more as we attempt to add new players. In future JML's, we will revisit scoring.
5) All other rules for the JML are followed.

For my Hordes army, I decided to run Barnabas. I did this for several reasons:
- One of my goals for 2018 is to have all of my Minions fully painted by the end of the year. This list (more on it later) will have me painting two full units of Posse (I do have two painted, but need a "reason" to paint the other two), as well as many of the new units coming out in a couple of weeks. It will also force me to paint my unit of Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers. :-)
- I really like Bloody Barnabas, but the model for Barnabas, Lord of Blood is amazing! I am relatively sure he is going to be my new favorite.
- I am really familiar with Minions, even the Gator side, and so will be able to concentrate more on the new models, rather than having to stress a completely new army.

With all of that being said, let's delve into the army as it progresses from a 0-point battle box to a fully fledged (and hopefully fully painted) 75-point army.

@ 0-points
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [5]

This is straight out of the rules as one of the battle boxes for Minions. Truthfully, though, it's not very good for Barnabas. Barnabas likes infantry with his spell list, and he likes shooting with his Feat. Neither of those are present in this list. However, this sets up Barnabas2 really well! With a couple additions to his battlegroup, Barnabas2 will do well. So, I will just have to weather the storm until I reach 45 points.

@ 15-points
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [5]

As you can see, I simply added two Boneswarms - again with the Barnabas2 list in mind. Boneswarms are going to be good, I think, as soon as the Boil Master/Spirit Cauldron are released. With the ability to easily get corpse tokens, these relatively light-hitting warbeasts become as hard-hitting as heavy warbeasts! And as hard to remove! :-) Again, this is not really optimal for Barnabas1, especially without the ability to easily gain corpse tokens (an Ironback Spitter would probably be better), but the intention is to change to Barnabas2, so they work.

@ 30-points
The Blindwater Congregation theme
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [5]
Gatorman Posse [16]

Playing one point down during the last session helped, as it allows me to add a Posse. And being able to add the Blindwater Congregation theme makes those Posse members bigger and nastier! With 40 wounds in the unit, they become an excellent target for Death March (+2 MAT and Vengeance never hurts anybody) but, more importantly, they are still excellent under Barnabas2, becoming much more survivable thanks to Execration of Blackest Night and faster with Onslaught.

@ 45-points
The Blindwater Congregation theme
Barnabas, Lord of Blood [+23]
- Gatorman Soul Slave [0]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [5]
Gatorman Posse [16]
Gatorman Bokor & Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers [10]

Awesome-sauce! It's time to transition into Barnabas2 and get ready for the excitement to start. While still not completely optimal, it's getting closer. While 5 points are lost in the transition to Barnabas2 (due to warbeast point differentials), it's (kind of) made up for by being able to take the Soul Slave for free. At this point level, a unit of Shamblers is added (making great Feat targets), which allows me to add the Soul Slave for free. The Soul Slave, I think, is going to be very common with Barnabas2, allowing him to upkeep Onslaught for free and casting Hunter's Mark or Blood Rain as needed. And while his Magic Ability [4] is kind of disappointing, he can boost if he needs to. :-)

@ 60-points
The Blindwater Congregation theme
Barnabas, Lord of Blood [+23]
- Gatorman Soul Slave [0]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [5]
Bone Shrine [2]
Bone Shrine [2]
Gatorman Posse [16]
Gatorman Bokor & Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers [10]
Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron [5]
Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron [5]

The list is starting to come together! :-) The Boil Master is now here, two of them in fact, fueling Barnabas, the Boneswarms, and the Bokor with his Shamblers. The hitting power and survivability of this army has amped up, and the Bone Shrines give the ability to channel spells (probably situational) and Fury for Barnabas to more fully whack an opposing army.

@ 75-points
The Blindwater Congregation theme
Barnabas, Lord of Blood [+23]
- Gatorman Soul Slave [0]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Boneswarm [7]
- Bull Snapper [0]
Kwaak Slickspine & Gub, Croak Sorcerers [4]
Bone Shrine [2]
Bone Shrine [2]
Gatorman Posse [16]
Gatorman Posse [16]
Gatorman Bokor & Bog Trog Swamp Shamblers [10]
Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron [5]
Boil Master & Spirit Cauldron [5]

Again playing a point down last level allows me to bring in a max unit of Posse - increasing both my hitting power and my survivability. This also allows me to take the Bull Snapper for free, letting me put Kwaak Slickspine & Gub into the list. I'm not completely sold on these guys, I think Mud Foot is likely a trap and not being able to avoid free strikes makes Enliven less appealing, but I'm willing to give them a shot. Heal [D3] is always nice, especially when cast twice, as is a SP8, POW10 magic attack that causes Corrosion. But I'm also looking at Long Chops - RNG12 POW14 is tailor-made for solo hunting. Or I could just add the Bull Snapper's points back in and take a Totem Hunter. As stated, this will require some testing.

All in all, this will be a fun list. Lots of bodies to provide scenario pressure, the ability to trade up warbeasts and infantry recursion to help in the attrition game, and a 'caster who provides a serious melee assassination threat make this a fun list - especially in a JML - that has all of the tools to handle multiple situations and win conditions. And while he's not a Butcher3, I think Barnabas2 is going to be a melee monster!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave any comments you may have!

Masters Jaga-Jaga list

Well, it's been a few days since discussing my first list (see here) and it's time to get started discussing the second. Before I jump in, though, let me talk about my weekend. I went to a local steamroller with my two lists, and did ... horrible. I went 0-3 (though technically 1-2 since I had a "bye" the first round), and faced Butcher 3 twice. This guy is broken, and I hope he gets reigned in A LOT in the next Khador CID, whenever that is. But to be honest, part of the reason I lost (probably a large part) was bad play on my part and unfamiliarity with the lists. Hopefully this will change as the year progresses. Look for the battle reports of my three games as the week progresses.

Ok, with that out of the way, let's get down to the meat of this post - Jaga-Jaga's list for the future. In the same manner as with Barnabas, we will examine the warlock and see what makes her so cool. This is especially important with Jaga-Jaga, as she changed so much after the Blindwater CID released.

First up, her spell list - which, personally, goes way beyond Signs & Portents (though that is a great spell!):
Battle Host: An upkeep spell with a huge range (CTRL) that I haven't heard much talked about. It gives her warbeasts +2" movement (not SPD, so be careful) when advancing. If one of her warbeasts is within 3" of her, she also gets +2 ARM. Extra movement is always nice, giving our 'beasts a better chance at getting that alpha strike.
Deadweight: An offensive spell that I've never heard discussed either, that I think is being overlooked. When you destroy an enemy model (living or undead), choose a model within 2" of it. The chosen model must forfeit either its Movement or its Combat Action during its next activation. This is HUGE! The effect is unshakable, so target a squishy warrior next to a Warcaster/Warlock (like Butcher 3) or a warjack/warbeast and remove its effectiveness next turn! It's short ranged, so best used with an arc node (like the Blindwalker :-) ).
Ghost Walk: A cheap way to bypass terrain, this makes a model or unit (unit is nice!) Ghostly for one turn. Besides the benefits of just going through the terrain, Ghostly also allows the models to ignore free strikes! :-)
Grave Wind: An upkeep spell which grants +2 DEF and Poltergeist. This only affects a single model, so make sure it's on your important ones (say Jaga-Jaga?) Sadly, since it's an upkeep, you can't put both Battle Host (for ARM buff) and this (for DEF buff) on Jaga-Jaga.
Signs & Portents: Her new signature spell, and the main reason the internet seems to like her, this spell allows all friendly Faction models (since when would she be playing with non-friendly Faction?) in her control range to roll an additional die on all attack and damage rolls. This cannot be overstated, really - HUGE! Very rarely will anything affected by this spell not remove their target.

Her feat, Vengeful Spirits, is a little confusing. It reads:
Choose up to d3+5 enemy models currently in Jaga-Jaga's control range. Remove from play one friendly Faction warrior model within 5" of each chosen enemy model. Each chosen enemy model suffers a magical damage roll with POW equal to the base ARM of the corresponding removed model. Models destroyed by Vengeful Spirits are removed from play.

My biggest problem with her feat is not its mechanic, but its wording. It's ambiguous, and Privateer Press deliberately left it this way. Most people don't feel it's ambiguous, but my initial reading of it is different than what was intended. If I had never asked the rules question, but just assumed my interpretation was correct, I would have been in for a sad, and rude, awakening at a tournament. Really, I just hate ambiguous rules.

Anyway, simply put, it's a souped up version of the Witch Doctor's Sacrificial Strike, removing one of my models to automatically hit an enemy model. While this has been poo-poo'd across the internet, it can actually be very powerful. Use it to take out pesky incorporeal models, high DEF models, Stealth'd models, or anything that is difficult to hit. While not game-breaking, when employed correctly I think it will surprise people as to how effective it is.

Finally, Jaga-Jaga's abilities:
- Field Marshal [Death Rage] - a cool ability that gives her warbeasts one last swing before they die. This can be really good on the Blackhide.
- Poison (on her weapon Serpent Strike) - this gives her an additional die on her damage rolls when using her RNG 2, chain weapon zombie snake. That means on the charge, if she cast Signs & Portents first, she rolls five dice, dropping the lowest, against living models!

After my initial list musings, I decided I really wanted to abuse Signs & Portents. So rather than follow my typical list-building method (pick a theme and build around it), I decided I didn't want theme, as it opened up the chance to take the best models to abuse this powerful spell:

- Farrow Brigands - With Prey (thanks to the Brigand Warlord), these guys can threat 15" with a RAT7, POW14 gun that will be rolling three dice on attack and damage rolls. I have vaporized Trollblood and Khador heavies with LESS than one squad of these guys. With 12 shots, they can decimate their Prey at range. And they aren't slouches in melee, either (MAT8/P+S12 vs. their Prey), unlike most ranged units. Add in Hog Wild (shoot, then charge/run), Dig In (a *ACTION now instead of an order), and Reposition [3"], they are really jacks-of-all-trades that are pretty effective at most of them.
- Efaarit Scouts - Originally, way back in the beginning of Mk III, I hated these guys. They just looked dumb and I didn't think they were worth 6 points. Then I started running them in Thornfall Alliance as free models, and realized how stupid good they were. Their MOV 9(!) and RNG 12 guns give them a 21" threat. Armor-Piercing means even Khador heavies are only Dice -3, and Marksman allows them to pick the column or branch. With Reposition [5"], this model should always be at least 17" from an enemy, Add in Signs & Portents, and you have a highly mobile strike team that won't kill a heavy on its own, but will put a hurt on anything.
- Croak Hunters - Are you sensing a theme here? Another ranged solo that can really help out, its DEF 13 and Stealth helps keep it alive; while Hunter, a poison 8" spear, and Reposition [3"] allows it to move in, hit something hard, and back up to safety again. If you do catch it in combat (or it charges), Quick Work gives the possibility of two attacks (one melee, one ranged). Also, with Stealth, they can do a reasonable job of camping your flag - y'know, in case you're worried about scenario. ;-)

So, with all of that in mind, it was time to build the list. While it is not in theme, I do not believe I really lose much, as the theme benefits gained by using Croak Raiders instead of Brigands/Scouts do not even come close to outweighing the effectiveness of these models.

No theme force (GASP!)
Jaga-Jaga, the Death Charmer [+27]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Ironback Spitter [14]
Croak Hunter [3]
Croak Hunter [3]
Efaarit Scouts [6]
Efaarit Scouts [6]
Farrow Brigands [15]
- Farrow Brigand Warlord [4]
Farrow Brigands [15]
- Farrow Brigand Warlord [4]

I've already discussed the non-battlegroup models, so this is strictly to determine the role of these monsters:
- Blackhide Wrastler - a beast in combat (a pun!), this guy has a P+S 17 bite and two P+S 14 claws for three initials, and can charge living warrior models for free. That makes him very efficient at getting into combat. With Rage (+3 STR), his melee damage output goes into the stratosphere (damaging Khador heavies on straight dice is fun!) He's slightly slow, but Battle Host can help with that, and once he gets into combat, he will be Snacking his way through everything. I have two because they are my only credible melee threats.
- Ironback Spitter - honestly, I already have a lot of shooting. I have him in here to stand by Jaga-Jaga (so she gets +2 ARM) and provide slightly more ranged pressure. That and a Swamp Horror was too many points. He's not useless, but he's going to be the first thing dropped when the new Blindwater stuff comes out in February (Jaga-Jaga really wants a Gatorman Soul Slave!)

That's the list pair, time to get some table time with them. Thanks for reading!

Masters Barnabas List

As mentioned yesterday, I am hoping to up my Warmachine/Hordes game in 2018. This includes participating in Masters events, and maybe even Champions. To that end, I need to be playing the ADR warlocks for Minions. The warlocks for 2018 (at least the first half) are:

As previously stated, I don't really like the Farrow warlocks. In fact, they are my least favorite (even though Sturm & Drang are supposed to be good). However, the two Blindwater warlocks are my favorite of that side of the faction, so it's an easy decision to choose to play those two.

In designing my lists, I took a hard look at the warlocks and their capabilities, as well as having a hard and fast rule - ONE of the lists (at least) had to have the DRACODILE!! Now that it's an official model, I will be playing it. Heck, it's even pretty close to the home-brewed version I made at the beginning of the year (that may be a blog post in the future!)

So, to start I'll talk about the old trusted and true - Bloody Barnabas! While I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Barnabas, Lord of Blood this Saturday (I had someone ninja him at PAX, and get him Saturday), his first incarnation has always been one of my favorites.

His spell list first:
Death March: Upkeep spell that gives +2 MAT and Vengeance to a unit. Sounds perfect to put on Gatorman Posse, as they will be hard to remove, and then get free attacks.
Flesh Eater: Offensive spell (POW 13) that allows some healing of the warlock or a beast in his battlegroup.
Swamp Pit: Upkeep spell that makes Amphibious models completely in its 5" AOE untargetable by ranged attacks. This is AWESOME! It allows important models to get across the board without taking ranged damage. And coincidentally, the Dracodile's base is 5" :-)
Warpath: Upkeep spell that allows extra movement to his battlegroup if enemy models are destroyed in his control range. This is really good as well, because giving extra movement to a heavy warbeast is always good!

Barnabas' feat is Black Tide:
- Enemy models without Amphibious currently in Barnabas' control range become knocked down.

This is really cool, as knocked down models (especially melee models) are easy prey and basically lose a turn of usefulness. However, I need to watch out for abilities like Steady (which is more prevalent than you would think), since they basically negate my feat.

Finally, the abilities on the back of his card:
- Countercharge - Allowing him to charge out of activation seems nice on paper, but really - I don't generally want to get my warlock into the enemy for him. Mostly because I tend to run my warlock on empty (no Fury).
- Unyielding - This is awesome! While engaging enemy models (not engaged by), he gets +2 ARM. Takes his already great ARM into the upper reaches.
- Critical Consume - This is only on his bite, and only works on small-based warrior models - but on a critical hit he simply removes the model from play. That can be powerful, but not something to base a list around.
- Blood Boon - On his big axe (Bone Cleaver), this allows him to cast a spell of COST 3 or less (which is all of his spells) for free after he destroys an enemy model. It can only be done once per activation, and while free spells are nice, I don't see myself using it much.

So, with all of that, what models would be really good for him? I've come up with:
- the Dracodile. Duh! With Swamp Pit, you can't remove, or even damage, the monster with ranged attacks. That raises his survivability greatly, and will allow for all types of shenanigans with the Dracodile's animus.
- the Ironback Spitter. Hitting knocked down models with a 4" corrosive AOE is always awesome-sauce.
- Gatorman Posse. Perfect recipients of Death March, and can easily fuel Warpath.

With all of that in mind, I'm ready to start list building. However, a quick shout-out to LOS Warmachine during this, as I got a lot of the inspiration from listening to their podcast on list building for SR 2017 and their podcast on list building for ADR. My new Barnabas list will consist of the following:

The Blindwater Congregation theme force
Bloody Barnabas - [+28]
- Dracodile [36]
- Ironback Spitter [14]
Sacral Vault [17]
Totem Hunter [0]
Bog Trog Mist Speaker [0]
Feralgeist [2]
Feralgeist [2]
Gatorman Posse [16]
Gatorman Posse [16]

So, let's analyze the list, going from bottom to top:
- Gatorman Posse - these guys are here for two reasons: 1) They are very resilient and can easily hold or contest a zone. With two attacks, one with 2" range, and prayers they can deal major damage to most opponents' infantry. And with 8 boxes (due to theme), Snacking, Tough, and ARM 18 (due to Unyielding) they can take a hit and shrug it off. Very powerful! 2) They are naturally awesome targets for Death March and can also be used to proc Warpath very easily. This gives some great synergy with Barnabas.

- Feralgeist - these little guys are there for one reason - they are difficult to remove. Being incorporeal, they can only be damaged by magical attacks. On top of that, they are DEF 14. This means they are perfect for camping a flag - both mine and my opponents, creating scenario pressure and/or disrupting my opponent's plans.

- Bog Trog Mist Speaker - again, a guy in the list for a very specific reason - helping the Ironback Spitter. While having the ability to Summon a 3" AOE cloud is nice for hiding Barnabas, it's much more important to put Guidance on the Spitter, to keep him running at maximum efficiency.

- Totem Hunter - a high MAT (8), high DEF (8) model with Stealth, he's there for solo hunting. I want to be able to take out their support solos, and he gives me a pretty resilient option. If necessary, he can also hold a flag fairly well.

- Sacral Vault - I'm a little hesitant on this, but the ability to handle a swarm of infantry if needed is pretty nice. Dealing an automatic 1 point of damage will easily deal with infantry, and it's gun can do some good damage as well. Finally, while I've never used it, Arcane Vortex is an interesting tool in the toolbox.

- Ironback Spitter - he is there for that massive AOE. A 4" AOE is awesome, and with Corrosion and Continuous Corrosion, it the kind of damage that keeps on giving. He synergizes extremely well with Barnabas' feat, and with help from the Mist Speaker, his effectiveness is even better. I really thought of putting a Blackhide Wrastler in, but I think the versatility of the Spitter outweighs the Wrastler's animus.

- Dracodile - really, the main focus of the list. He's a huge, giant crocodile monster that can do almost anything. He has a 10" spray that deals Corrosion damage, with Continuous Corrosion (though his RAT 5 is a little disappointing). He also has assault - so he can charge and spray. And last (but definitely not least), his spray causes Blind. Yes, you read that correctly - anything he hits with that RAT 5 will be insanely easier to hit by everyone else, and basically be losing a turn of activation!

For melee, he has FOUR initial attacks, one at P+S 19 and three at P+S 17. With MAT 6 (actually average for a Gargantuan), FURY 4, and Territorial (charge large and huge based models for free), he is a monster (pun intended) in melee. With his ARM 20 and 54 boxes, along with Snacking, it will be extremely difficult to kill him. Finally, his animus makes a huge amount of mobile shallow water, granting cover to any amphibious model with 5" of him (or possibly Barnabas).

Anyways, there's my first list ready for the coming year. There will be changes, probably - especially with the Gatorman Soul Slave (free upkeeps) and Void Leeches coming out. This will be played tomorrow at a Steamroller, so we'll see how it goes!

Battle Report #3 - Minions (Maelok) vs. Khador (Irusk2)

So, this game was played last Saturday - sorry for the slow report. It's been a rough week. Also, you will notice several "mistakes" - my opponent was playing Mk III for the first time (he was a fairly consistent Mk II player), as well as playing Khador for the first time (he was a Minions player in Mk II - I actually got about half of my Minions from him).

So I was really wanting to play my dojo'd Barnabas list, to see if my theories were correct. However, my opponent had either Butcher1 or Irusk2 available, and there's no way I was going to take the chance that he'd put Irusk2 down (I've already run into Solid Ground with Barnabas, and it's not fun). So, I swapped out the Barnabas list for Maelok (it's actually fairly similar) and sure enough, my opponent played Irusk2.

My list:
The Blindwater Congregation theme
Maelok the Dreadbound [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Wrong Eye [17]
- Snapjaw [0]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]

It's pretty straightforward - Witch Docs keep Zombify on two Posse, until it's time to Sacrificial Strike one of them (probably after being Revived by Maelok). Maelok makes the other Undead with Death Pact. This limits souls harvested (which doesn't matter against Irusk) and gives a huge ARM swing during Maelok's Feat turn. I have three heavies for dealing with my opponent's armor, but realistically, if he's going warjack heavy, this list will have to rely on Gatormen Posse and Mortality to get work done.

My opponent's list:
Supreme Kommandant Irusk
- War Dog
- Kodiak
- Kodiak
- Destroyer
Man-o-War Drakhun
Man-o-War Kovnik
Widowmaker Marksman
Doom Reaver Swordsmen
- Greylord Escort
Man-o-War Shocktroopers
Widowmaker Scouts

We were playing the Incursion scenario with three obstructions (the two buildings and the large hill) and two forests. Two walls were placed on one table edge. I won the roll, and elected to go second, choosing the side without the walls.

My opponent's deployment, after Advance Deploy placements:

I deployed my three Posse at the edge of my deployment zone. The left side - red Posse (behind the large hill) - was supported by Wrong Eye, the right side - blue Posse (which I assumed was only going to have Widowmakers close) - had the Swamp Gobbers (which I placed REALLY poorly - they should have been in front) and the central - green Posse - had Maelok and his Wrastlers. This would allow me to put pressure on all three flags during my second turn.

Khador - Turn 1:
Irusk activates, casts Energizer, casts Fire For Effect on the Destroyer, and casts Solid Ground. Then advances behind the wall. Both Kodiaks run, filling the hole between the central building and the forest. Doom Reavers run, filling the hole between the two buildings. Drakhun runs up behind the Doom Reavers. Shocktroopers and Kovnik run. Destroyer runs up behind the central building. He forgot to move the Widowmakers and the Marksman, but I let him move them into the forest before I did anything.

Minions - Turn 1:
Well, dang - he's a lot further across the board than I thought he would be. After some measuring, and realizing I was going to get charged no matter what on the left side, I charged the red Posse into the Doom Reavers. Only one makes it (after praying for 2" extra), and he whacked a Doom Reaver. However, the homicidal maniac rolled his Tough check, getting knocked down (he was just out of Irusk's Solid Ground). The Gators' supporting Witch Doc moves up and Zombifies them. On the right flank, I realize my mistake after advancing the Posse - the Gobbers are not going to be able to advance and put down the cloud in front of them. So, they pray for concealment, and the Gobbers move up and put down a cloud anyway. The Witch Doc moves up in the middle of the Gators (don't ask why, total brain fart) and Zombifies them. In retrospect - I should have just run the Gators, but I was worried about the Kodiaks. The green Posse advances cautiously, looking to support either side in anticipation of getting charged. Snapjaw advances, and casts Submerge and riles for three. Wrong Eye moves up, casts Star Crossed and Submerge. Both Wrastlers run (though really I just needed the fury) and Maelok moves up behind them and puts Death Pact on the green Posse.

Khador - Turn 2:
So, the knocked down Doom Reaver rises (didn't see that coming) and the unit charges into the Posse. Thanks to Star Crossed and eight damage boxes, only one dies (though another had to Tough to stay). Irusk moves up behind the building (he had upkept Fire For Effect and Solid Ground), and casts Energizer, moving up next to the building and out of sight. The Destroyer walks around the building and takes a shot at the green Posse. The shot misses (thanks to Dirge of Mists), but scatters into s position to still kill one and wound another. The Widomakers plus Marksmen move to the edge of the forest and take shots at the blue Posse, after killing their supporting Witch Doc (why did I move that guy there?). A Kodiak charges the blue Posse as well, curb stomping the poor guy that he contacts. The second Kodiak charges the green Posse, killing another Gatorman. Drakhun and accompanying Man-o-Wars advance further, and he passes turn.

Minions - Turn 2:
Mistakes are made - that's the theme.

First, before I go into the mistakes made, a little background on me. I have a neurological condition that really affects my ability to concentrate and stay focused. This also affects my memory, and ranges anywhere from really annoying to completely disrupting. While not an excuse for the mistakes made, it does contribute. So if you're reading this (and you don't know me), realize two things - #1 I'm not a hard-core tournament player. Don't get me wrong, I like to win, but this is a social game for me (and it's important). It's one of the few opportunities I have to interact with friends, and I relish every chance I get. #2 I have a hard time remembering everything MY army can do (and frequently forget things many times) - there's no way I'm going to know what my opponent's army does.

So, the Doom Reavers having Rise was a little surprising, as was losing two Posse members from the middle. And the stupid positioning on the Witch Doc AND the Gobbers cost me. Oh well, hopefully I remember better next time. Time to get some work done.

The painted Wrastler charges the Kodiak and proceeds to pound on it. However, I forget to cast Rage (that's the whole reason I bring these guys!) first, so he leaves the Kodiak on a few boxes. Not good, I don't want that guy alive. So the blue Posse charges, praying for distance. I get to the Widowmakers and their Marksman with two of them, and the other two hit the Kodiak. This was unnecessary, one of them put the big guy down. This also ended up being a cheating moment (sorry) as I completely misread the command range on the Posse (I thought it was 8, not 7). Those two guys way out there on the Widowmakers are out of command. :( They kill one of the Widowmakers (I never did realize they were out of command) but whiff on the Marksman.

I'm really wanting to get into the back arcs of those Doom Reavers (and maybe even into the Destroyer) so Maelok moves up, Revives two Gatorman (one in the green Posse, one in the blue) and pops his Feat. The green Posse get ready to move past the Doom Reavers, clearing the way for the Wrastler to the second Kodiak and engaging the Drakhun and Destroyer, when my opponent informs me that Doom Reavers have magical weapons. Ah crap! Ok, change of plans - red Posse activates, moves up and starts whacking Doom Reavers. Half-way through my slaughterfest, my opponent remembers he has Solid Ground up, which means the Tough Doom Reavers aren't getting knocked down. I let him take back the auto-kills and the Posse doesn't do near as well as the first run-through. However, I forgot their prayers - all those misses that could have been hits if I had remembered! Needless to say, the red Posse didn't kill the Doom Reavers, so the green Posse comes in to help. One of the green Posse (the one Revived) engages the Destroyer - which triggers counter-charge on the Drakhun. He can't hurt it, but he can get closer.

The Doom Reavers still survive, so Wrong Eye moves up (this was a bad decision!!). He takes a whack, but the Doom Reaver Toughs. The second Wrastler charges the second Drakhun (I remember Rage this time), but leaves him on just a couple boxes. Snapjaw activates, charges the Kodiak, and puts it down.

Khador - Turn 3:
My opponent wanted to concede here, as he thought he had nothing left, but I talked him into playing it out. He had a lot more left than he realized.

Needing to get shots off, the Widowmakers move away from the Posse engaging them. Both get hit by the free strikes, but the standard Widowmaker makes his Tough roll. What happens here? He can't be knocked down, but he should have been. We played that he stopped moving as soon as he left the front arc of the Gatorman. The Marksman died a horrible, horrible death. The remaining Widowmakers shoot at the blue Posse, killing the Revived one and doing a damage point to the leader.

Irusk dropped Solid Ground, puts Battle Lust on the Man-o-Wars, and pops Feat. Doom Reavers activate, whacking some Posse - including poor Wrong Eye :( However, Wrong Eye Toughs his death roll, keeping him (and Snapjaw) on the table. The Greylord Escort charges the Gator engaging the Destroyer, whacking him (I mismanaged this, I thought I was in the back arc of the Escort) and he Toughs. The Drakhun turns around, rides up, and lays the smackdown onto Snapjaw. The Man-o-Wars activate and charge, doing horrendous damage to the Posse, and more damage onto Snapjaw.

Minions - Turn 3:
Hmm, SPD 2 across the board. That isn't good. The painted Wrastler activates and charges the Drakhun, unhorsing him. The blue Posse get the Press Forward order (run/charge) - two charge the dismounted Drakhun, two run to the flag. It takes both Posse on the Drakhun to kill him, but they get the job done. Snapjaw advances and munches on a Man-o-War and a Doom Reaver, healing Wrong Eye both times. The green Posse activates, whacking a Doom Reaver and the Greylord Escort (the knocked down one stands up and gets his retribution).

Wrong Eye stands up, and whacks at a Man-o-War, doing nothing. I didn't remember to load Snapjaw up on Fury the previous turn, so he only had one. He kept it for transfers. The Witch Doc charges the Man-o-War, killing him. Red Posse members move in to engage the Man-o-Wars, but whiff (I forget to pray again, dang it!). Gobbers run to base the flag, and the silver Wrastler moves 2" towards the Man-o-Wars. Maelok moves up, puts Death Pact on Wrong Eye, and I pass turn.

My opponent concedes again, and this time I don't try to talk him out of it. His army is fairly depleted and Irusk really isn't going to get an assassination (Maelok is sitting on two Fury). He's only got five models left, with a good chunk of my army looking down his throat. And he was clearly frustrated with how things turned out.

Minions victory!

Lessons learned:
- Remember the frickin' prayers!! Gatorman Posse are very versatile, and can do amazing things - but only when you remember their abilities! I think I forgot Snacking half the time, as well. Very frustrating on my part. Also, they are only Command 7 - not 8 like I was playing the whole game.
- I think one of the best features of the new theme list is the +2" deployment. Don't get me wrong, I love 8-box Posse, but being 2" further up the field is really good, too!
- I really like running Wrong Eye. Several times Star Crossed saved Posse members and Snapjaw did good work as well. It would probably be a good idea to drop a Posse in the Barnabas list and add him there as well, but I want to try it with four Posse first.
- Irusk2's Tactician only affects Command range, not Control range - this is much different than we were playing it. Same with Total Obedience. And while his command is 10", that's a lot less than 14" and would have changed several outcomes. But as I said, I have a hard time remembering what my army can do, I depend on my opponent to understand theirs.

Thanks for reading!

Barnabas List Dojo

#dojochallenge time!

With the new Blindwater Congregation theme now official, it's time to really sit down and take a look at what I want a Gator list to look like. Part of this is going to involve looking at my play style, but it also involves understanding where each model/unit in the army fits (I don't do this well - I mainly go "hey, that looks cool, let's use it!").

So, I have sat down and crafted a new army list for Barnabas, one that I think will do well. First, how will it match up to my play style? What is my play style? I kinda need to know that first. So, I spent an afternoon (not really, only about 10 minutes) reviewing army lists I have enjoyed playing, why I enjoyed playing them, and what makes them so fun. To answer these questions (and hopefully not waste all that introspection), I came up with the following:
1) I enjoy mashing it up. My favorite Minions lists to date involve Lord Carver and Dr. Arkadius, both running a large number of melee beatsticks. I don't have the patience or the mentality to sit back and shoot my opponent. I just want to apply axe to face!
2) To complement that, I also enjoy running lots of warbeasts - specifically heavy warbeasts. The two warlocks I mention above both have at least three War Hogs (usually four) in their lists. And while light warbeasts have their place (I do like Battle Boars, as well), they are at a minimum.
3) Speed is important! Slowly moving 4" a turn does not do it for me. Lord Carver has Mobility, giving all of his 'beasts SPD7. Dr. Arkadius has his Feat, giving all of his 'beasts an extra charge (thanks to targeted Frenzies).
4) On that note, Feats are important - but only in a straightforward way that helps with the first point. Lord Carver gives extra die on attacks and Overtake. Dr. Arkadius gives a free charge. Helga (another Farrow 'caster I enjoy) lets her whole army Slam!
5) Some way to damage at range is important. Road Hogs, Brigands, and the occasional spell are all used in my Farrow lists, even though they aren't the main focus. Of important note is that all of them can also be used effectively in melee!

Before I look at the list, let's look at the theme requirements and benefits.
Only the following models can be included:
- Minion warlocks with Amphibious
- Non-character warbeasts with Amphibious
- Warrior models/units with Amphibious (catching a trend here?)
- Gobber models/units
- Feralgeist solos
- Raluk Moorclaw, the Ironmonger (though this makes no sense to me)
- Totem Hunter solos
- Viktor Pendrake
- Wrong Eye & Snapjaw
- Sacral Vault battle engine

Benefits include:
- Can include one non-character Mercenary warjack controlled by Raluk (because he can be in the list, make sure he has a 'jack!)
- The field allowance for Gatorman Posse units become U (whoa!)
- For every full 20 points of units and battle engines in the army, add one Bull Snapper or solo without the Lesser Warlock rule for free
- Gatorman Posse units gain Snacking
- Gatorman Posse trooper models increase their damage boxes from 5 to 8 (double whoa!!)
- Deployment is extended 2" forward

With the above in mind, let's dig into the new army list!

Blindwater Congregation theme
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Blackhide Wrasterl [16]
- Bull Snapper [0]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Gatorman Witch Doctor [0]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]

The list really starts with the Gatorman Posse - the main beneficiaries of the theme. In theme, they gain an extra three damage boxes each and Snacking. Snacking is situational at best, but is really important for removing models before opponents can gain souls or corpses - this helps limit an opponent's effectiveness! I've always thought Gatorman Posse were effective with 5 boxes, but 8 boxes really push them above everybody else. That gives 40 damage boxes per unit!

Also, for every 20 points of units (or battle engines), I get to add a solo or a light warbeast for free - talk about points saved! However, that many points being spent on units limits the number of warbeasts I can take. And as seen in point #2 of my play style, I like warbeasts, especially heavies. This is a slight concern, until I view the advantages of these guys:
- SPD 5, with a Prayer (Predator's Prayer) allowing them an extra 2" of movement. This means they can charge as far as they run, if they charge a living model (10"). And with their halberd, they threat 12". That's a good distance, and means they will get into combat relatively quickly. Not SPD7 quickly, but good enough.
- Two attacks each - this means a full unit (if they are full when they reach the enemy) is attacking with 10 attacks. And while not incredibly strong, their P+S 13 will still do damage. And with the Prayer Offerings of Kossk, they get to re-roll misses when attacking living models. Since it's a Prayer, they can't use it and the Predator's Prayer at the same time, but once I get into melee, I'll hit more frequently (or if I'm close enough I don't need Predator's Prayer).
- Dirge of Mists allows me to Pray for concealment, boosting the average DEF 12 to a much harder to handle DEF 14. This increases their survivability. Another boost their their survivability is the eight damage boxes they all have now. Along with Tough, it's going to make it difficult for an opponent to remove models at range (and ARM 16 helps, too!).
- Once melee is reached, their survivability doesn't suffer too much. They still have eight boxes and Tough, but now they have ARM 18 thanks to Unyielding. While that's not going to stop a heavy 'jack from squishing one, it should slow down anything else.

Basically, I can count on the Gatorman Posse to kill anything short of heavy warjacks or warbeasts by themselves. With help, they can even manage to hurt those monsters. Also, with their defensive buffs, they can hold a zone and deny it to an opponent. Four units might be overkill, but I'm going to need four units of something to get the free solos, so it might as well be four units of Posse.

Witch Doctors kinda took a hit in MkIII. Since Gatorman Posse now have Tough as a base ability, people say that the Witch Doc doesn't have much of a place. And I was in that camp until a couple of games ago. There, I took one because I wanted to see how he worked with Maelok and discovered something really cool - auto-hitting POW 16 attacks hurt, even from only 8" away! So I include two in this list, to provide a bit of ranged attack when needed most. Sacrificial Strike an already mostly dead Gatorman to auto-hit a 'caster within 8" and there's going to be some hurt applied. Do it twice and watch the opponent cringe!

The warbeasts are minimal - not at all what I usually like. However, with a free Bull Snapper, I get a hunter-killer missile. But Rage on him and you get a P+S 15 bullet that attacks from 11.5" away. I plan on using him to kill important solos - and once he's done his job, it doesn't matter if the opponent kills him. He didn't cost anything. :)

The Blackhide Wrastlers are the heavy lifters of the list. However, their speed is a limiting factor, so they are probably going to be the second wave, following the alpha strike presented by the Gatorman Posse.

Barnabas is hopefully what is going to help the Wrastlers see combat. With Warpath, the Blackhides (and the Snapper, too) get a 3" move. However, this is dependent on something dying first, which reiterates their role as the second wave of attackers. He also helps deliver them by using Swamp Pit, allowing his battlegroup (the most likely recipients) to advance without being shot. Finally, Death March will help that first wave of Gatorman by allowing one unit of Posse to have Vengeance - getting them there a little bit quicker, in case they do get shot.

Barnabas also has a Feat I really like - everything gets knocked down! Well, almost everything, but there's not a lot out there that is Amphibious, except other Gators (and a small selection of Cryx). That's great! Auto-hit in combat, or having to sacrifice your attacks or movement if out of combat.

Finally, the lowly Swamp Gobbers. Really, they are here for cloud cover, to keep pesky shooting from my Posse (or maybe limit charges from targeting my battlegroup). And because I had a couple points.

There's the list - something I think will work well. It's got survivability, melee output, a little bit ranged (magical) threat, and a few ways to speed everything up. Time to get some games in!

Battle Report #2: Minions (Barnabas) vs Trolls (Doomshaper)

Well, the previous game with the theme list definitely didn't go as planned, but I have a feeling that was much more due to user error than anything else.

I decided again to run Barnabas and only use models I currently own (I think I will be picking more up sooner rather than later). The list contained:
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Ironback Spitter [15]
- Ironback Spitter [15]
Bog Trog Mist Speaker [4]
Feralgeist [2] (not pictured, because I forgot him originally)
Croak Hunter [0] - bonus model from theme
Croak Hunter [0] - bonus model from theme
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Croak Raiders [17]

Basically, it's the list I've been running with Barnabas, but now in theme so a few free models. Hopefully, it will do better this time.

My opponent was playing Trollbloods, and running the following:
Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia
- Dire Troll Blitzer
- Dire Troll Bomber
- Dire Troll Mauler
- Earthborn Dire Troll
- Mulg the Ancient
- Troll Axer
- Winter Troll
Northkin Shaman (free from theme)
Northkin Shaman (free from theme)
Troll Whelps (free from theme)
Troll Whelps (free from theme)

No picture of these guys.
I face this opponent a lot, so I know how each of the beasts work (I thought) and what the solos will do. However, I've never played against Doomie2 - at least that I can remember - so this is going to be a small problem.

Trollbloods win the roll-off, and choose to go first. I chose to have the same side I had been on. We were playing the Outlast scenario (same as last game), with each zone able to be Controlled for 1 CP or Dominated for 2 CP. The areas with a tree on them were forests, the areas without trees are hills.

My opponent deployed his battlegroup slightly left, with the Shaman behind. The Whelps were not deployed - they were going to be deployed whenever I wounded a Beast. :)

I deployed my battlegroup to the left, with my Gators to the right. My Croak Raiders would Advance Deploy in front of the Gators, while the Croak Hunters Advance Deployed into forest in front of the battlegroup. The Feralgeist and the Mist Speaker deploy close to Barnabas.

Trollbloods - Turn 1:
Everything runs. The Earthborn goes into the edge of the forest, the Mauler, the Bomber, and the Axer behind the wall. Mulg and the Blitzer move around the wall and towards the zone to the left. The Shaman move up behind and put out clouds, hiding Doomie.

Minions - Turn 1:
Feralgeist and Croak Hunters run, toeing the edge of the zone. Wrastler runs into the zone, Spitter runs into the zone, second Spitter runs close to the zone. Croak Raiders run into the right zone, some hiding behind the trees. Both Gator units run up behind the Croaks. Barnabas moves up, casts Warpath and then Death March onto the closest Gator unit.

Trollbloods - Turn 2:
Trolls advance, with Mulg running to toe into the zone. Earthborn stays put. Doomie moves up behind a cloud wall created by the Shaman.

Minions - Turn 2:
Barnabas forgot to rile his warbeasts, so he's only got three Fury. He upkeeps both his spells and only has one Fury. Raiders move around the forest and to the edge of the zone. First one throws an oil gourd onto the Earthborn. The next misses with his Dart, but second hits! And then I find out the Earthborn is immune to fire. That ... hurts. :( The others turn and throw at the Mauler, but since he's behind cover, they all miss.

One squad of Gators move up behind the Croaks, the second (with Death March) move into the trees. Croak Hunters move up and shoot the Blitzer, doing minor damage. Feralgeist runs to engage Mulg (because my mind wasn't functioning and I forgot Incorporeal models aren't roadblocks). Wrastler moves up and riles. Spitter moves up and shoots Mulg, missing. The AOE drifts back onto one of the Shaman, failing to break armor but giving him Corrosion. Mist Speaker then gives the other Spitter Guidance, he walks forward and targets Doomie. Boost the attack roll, hit, boost the damage roll knocks 11 damage off Doomie. Winter Troll gets Corrosion, Shaman gets Corrosion, second Shaman gets Corrosion again :) Barnabas decides to do nothing and stays a long ways back, with his one Fury. Minions score 1.

Score 0-1
Advantage Minions

Trollbloods - Turn 3:
I knew I had missed something when my opponent didn't care that I had scored a point. Northkin Shaman moves up and sprays my right-hand Spitter. Winter Troll moves up and sprays the same Spitter. Bomber casts Far Strike and shoots the Spitter twice (almost killing it). Doomie moves up and Feats (he cast a couple spells, but don't remember which) - he's sitting on one Fury. Earthborn charges into the Raiders, killing half the unit thanks to [Field Marshal: Overtake] from Doomie. Axer puts Rush onto the Mauler, then moves to engage the remaining Croaks, but misses his attack. Mauler charges the almost dead Spitter, killing him on the charge attack. He then moves into the Gators, whiffing on three attacks and finally killing the poor guy on his last swing.

Mulg then activates and charges through the Feralgeist into the Wrastler. After his initial attacks, the Wrastler is dead and he moves into the last Spitter, doing some damage. Then the Blitzer activates, charges the Spitter, and beats him into the ground, shooting at Barnabas in the meantime (doing minimal). He then Overtakes into the Mist Speaker, pulping the innocent bystander. He then tries to Overtake into Barnabas, but is just short. Whew!

No picture taken - too much scary just happened! Score 0-1, advantage Minions.

Minions - Turn 3:
Gatormen move up around the Mauler with Vengeance (from Death March), trying to get out of the woods. Barnabas activates, moves around the Blitzer (but staying in his front arch, since I had to get within 1" in order to get in position) and Feats, knocking everything within 12" (including Doomie) down. He then casts Flesheater at a Northkin Shaman (blocking the only charge lane), killing it. Croak Hunter moves up, hits Doomie, but fails to beat armor (on three dice!). Second Hunter moves up, hits, does good damage but it's transferred to the Winter Troll. Things are getting scary! If I don't get this, Barnabas has two angry Dire Trolls right in front of him. The unit of Posse offers a Predator's Prayer, and charges Doomie. One makes it into 0.5" melee (I wanted two attacks since no others were making it). Autohitting POW13's kill Doomshaper. Victory Minions!

Lessons learned this game:
- Never take anything for granted. Sometimes, what seems far away can get into your face very quickly!
- The list needs to change. With the combined arms approach, I don't think it works well. Going to tinker with it some tonight.

Thanks for reading!

Battle Report #1: Minions (Barnabas) vs Skorne (Mordikaar)

Well, the theme force for the Blindwater Congregation dropped today, and I just had to try it out. First, I fully realize my list is not optimized, but it was a first run-through and would give me an opportunity to see if I wanted to pursue it further.

For my list, I decided to run Barnabas and only use models I currently own (I think I will be picking more up sooner rather than later). The list contained:
Bloody Barnabas [+28]
- Blackhide Wrastler [16]
- Ironback Spitter [15]
- Ironback Spitter [15]
Bog Trog Mist Speaker [4]
Feralgeist [2] (not pictured, because I forgot him originally)
Croak Hunter [0] - bonus model from theme
Croak Hunter [0] - bonus model from theme
Gatorman Posse [17]
Gatorman Posse [17]
Croak Raiders [17]

Basically, it's the list I've been running with Barnabas, but now in theme so a few free models. We will see how it turns out.

My opponent was playing Skorne, and running the following:
Void Seer Mordikaar
- Cyclops Savage
- Despoiler
- Titan Cannoneer
- Titan Gladiator
Extoller Soulward
Void Spirit
Cataphract Arcuarii
Praetorian Swordsmen
- Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Paingiver Beast Handlers (min)

I had never faced Mordikaar, and it's going to show very quickly. Definitely a learning experience! ;)

Minions win the roll-off, and I choose to go first. My opponent chose the side with the walls. We were playing the Outlast scenario, with each zone able to be Controlled for 1 CP or Dominated for 2 CP. The areas with a tree on them were forests, the areas without trees are hills.

I deployed my battlegroup centrally, with my Gators to my right and my Croaks (and the Feralgeist) Advanced Deploying into the woods on my left. The idea was the two units of Gators would be able to support themselves/control that zone by themselves and the battlegroup would take the left side, supported by the Croaks. The Mist Speaker was between the Spitters, ready to give support to either.

My opponent deployed his battlegroup central as well, with the Swordsmen to my left (across from where I would place my Croaks - good, because I expected the Croaks to be able to kill a bunch of them) and the Arcuarii to my right.

Minions - Turn 1:
Everything runs. Well, almost everything runs. This is also where I realize I had not deployed the Feralgeist, and my opponent graciously let me put it down behind the Croak Raiders. Everything runs but Barnabas, who put up Warpath on himself and cast Death March on the far Gator unit, then simply advanced.

Skorne - Turn 1:
This is where things started to get interesting. At least, it sets up for things getting interesting. Swordsmen run up the flank, keeping within 6" of a certain spot on the field (I'll find out why in a bit). The two heavy beasts in the middle run up, with their support behind them. Arcuarii move up behind a wall, and the Soulward puts Guidance on the Cannoneer, then moves up. Cannoneer advances, puts Far Strike on himself, and shoots the Gators along the woods. He hits and kills one, and slightly damages another. Then Mordikaar advances and casts Hollow on the Swordsmen (remember that 6" range that was necessary - this is why) and Essence Blast, removing a Swordsmen to spray down a Croak Hunter and a Croak Raider - killing them both. :( He then Feats. Void Spirit runs into the zone.

Minions - Turn 2:
Mordikaar's Feat gives all of his models within 14" of him +3 Def and Poltergeist - not good. However, Barnabas can pop Feat and negate that +3 DEF (knockdown!). After some measuring, though, I decide against it (bad, BAD decision). I can't really catch much in my Feat, so I decide to save it for one turn.

One Spitter stands still, aims, boosts into the Swordsmen and kills two, putting Corrosion on two more. The second Spitter lines up a shoot, aims, boosts and shoots into the Swordsmen but misses. The scatter hits three Swordsmen (killing one) and the Cyclops. They get Corroded and he is then pushed 3" back due to Poltergeist. Barnabas moves up, casts Swamp Pit on the other side of the forest (he upkept Death March and Warpath) and camped two. The Mist Speaker moves up in front of Barnabas, putting out his cloud. Gators move into the zone (the four man unit into the Swamp to avoid being shot) and the Croak Raiders run to engage all of the Swordsmen (I figure some would survive the inevitable attacks).

Skorne - Turn 2:
With all the souls Mordikaar reaped from last turn (remember Hollow? Yeah, killing dudes is not a good idea), he is sitting on 12 Fury (thanks to two more dieing from Corrosion). However, this is unnecessary. Swordsmen kill and clear a few of the Croak Raiders, and then the Cannoneer gets Guidance from the Soulward again. Turning, he casts Far Strike, aims, and calmly shoots my Mist Speaker off the board - this is bad because that was the protection for Barnabas!

First the Cyclops come charging in, then the Despoiler come charging in, and the end result is Barnabas lying on his face in the mud, playing dead until the big, bad elephants go away and let him lick his wounds.

Result: Skorne victory through assassination

Lessons learned:
- Even if it's not going to catch the whole opposing army, use Barnabas' Feat! Knocking everything close down would have limited what he could have done. Or stay back - things can go a long ways in this game. If you are going to commit to being up close and personal, multiple layers of protection are necessary.
- Either play aggressive or play defensive, don't try to do both at the same time. And really, aggressive would have most likely been a better bet.
- If you've never played against the 'caster, take a moment and look at their cards. Both the Hollow spell and his Feat really surprised me. But what really got me was ignoring Guidance that second time - I know about it ignoring clouds, so should realized that Cannoneer would shoot the Mist Speaker.

Thanks for reading!

Welcome Mr. Stompy

So, I've mostly finished this monster (I affectionately refer to him as Mr. Stompy). His base needs some work, but my imagination has failed me and I can't seem to envision anything I like. So for now, it's not being done.

With that, welcome Mr. Stompy - my Dracodile!

Painting Gators

First up, I would like to record how I paint my Gators. This is important because while I love playing the Farrow, I don't have much fun painting them. However, I have recently picked up the painting bug with my wife, as we work to paint our small Warmachine armies. Basically, I've married a gaming snob - she refuses to play with unfinished miniatures!

To start, I use Reaper Master Series paints - mainly because a couple of years ago, during a bad migraine episode, I purchased the huge case of ~100 Reaper paints. These are awesome paints, giving me some of the best paint jobs I've been able to recreate, even with my shaky hands.

I am (mostly) finished painting my first Gator model - a gargantuan! What's that? Gators don't have a gargantuan? Well, not yet - but my gaming group has decided to let me use some home-brew rules for the Dracodile, so I've been diligently working on both the rules and the model.

The scheme is an adaption from that found in the Forces of Minions army book from Mk II and is based off of a Saltwater Crocodile (specifically, this picture):

It uses the following paints:
09005 - Phoenix Red [PR]
09008 - Sun Yellow [SY]
09012 - Pale Green [PG]
09028 - Muddy Brown [MB]
09029 - Earth Brown [EB]
09034 - Muddy Olive [MO]
09035 - Olive Green [OG]
09036 - Pale Olive [PO]
09037 - Pure Black [BL]
09040 - Dark Shadow [DS]
09058 - Bone Shadow [BS]
09059 - Aged Bone [AB]
09060 - Polished Bone [PB]
09061 - Linen White [LW]
09069 - Rosy Highlight [RH]
09074 - Palomino Gold [PaG]
09082 - Jungle Moss [JM]
09084 - Pale Lichen [PL]
09106 - Flow Improver [FI]
09999 - Water :)

Quite a list of paints, isn't it? Mainly, it all gets mixed as well, not much is used straight up. But, it makes a really cool model. Sadly, I do not have a step-by-step for how I painted the Dracodile (I wasn't planning on starting this back up when I started), but I should have finished pictures in the next day or two. On to the process!

1) Clean, assemble, and prime the miniature - I realize this should be obvious, but it IS a step. I primed using black primer (I use this 85% of the time).

2) Basecoat
- mixing four parts RH, four parts PO, and one part PaG with three parts water gives a really nice color for the underbelly of the crocs. Paint this on their belly, partway up their sides, and on the insides of their legs. To get a good coverage (since this is a thin paint), you will need to apply 2-3 layers.
- mixing four parts JM, two parts OG, two parts PG, and two parts PL with three parts water yields a great base for the upper scales/sides of the crocs. Paint this completely over the back and sides of the model, including arms and outsides of legs. Be sure to leave the pale underbelly/sides you already painted visible. Again, this is thin, so you will need to apply 2-3 layers - just take your time.
- Gators typically have a slightly darker back than sides, so I went back with a third basecoat, just along the back crest. This consisted of three parts JM, one part each of OG, PG, and PL, mixed with two parts water. This made a nice, subtle transition to a darker color.

3) Shading
- mix three parts DS with three parts MO. Add two parts FI and eight parts water. This leaves a very thin paint that can be spread quickly over the underbelly. Be careful not to let this leak into the green portion! Also, while not necessarily exact, don't let it pool or form bubbles.
- after the above is dry (wait for it to dry, trust me), mix three parts JM and three parts OG with one part BL. Add two parts FI and eight parts water to get a very thin, dark green. Apply liberally to the back and sides, making doubly sure to not let any leak onto the underbelly or other pale areas.
- NOTE - both of these washes darken the model considerably. This is intentional!

4) Highlight #1
- these are easy, simply use a light overbrush to reapply the basecoat colors to their appropriate locations. By overbrush, I mean load a brush, and wipe most of it off. However, do not wipe off so much that the brush dries out - you want the paint to be wet (it's not a drybrush!). This should deposit a layer of paint on all the raised edges, defining the scales without getting the chalky appearance of a drybrush. This will lighten the model while maintaining the definition provided by the shading.

5) Highlight #2
- mix three parts LW with three parts PO and add two parts water. Using a very light touch, overbrush this onto the pale parts of the model.
- mix one part OG, one part PL, and one part PG with one part water. Again, using a very light touch, overbrush this on the sides and most of the back of the model.
- mix one part OG, one part JM, and one part PG with one part water. Lightly overbrush this onto the back crest and head.

6) Details
- For any bone, paint a couple layers of thinned AB, followed by a layer of PB - leaving a bit of the AB showing along the base. After this has dried, wash with a mixture of two parts BS, two parts FI, six parts water. When applying the wash, apply from the tip of the bone to the base. Teeth, claws, bony spikes are all done this way.
- For the eyes, paint socket DS. Then, using a small brush, lightly layer SY just on the eyeball. This will likely take a couple of coats, and may leak into the socket - no worries! Dot the pupil using BL. Clean up the socket using DS, and then blend back to green.
- For the mouth, mix two parts RH with two parts PaG, adding one part water. Paint this all over the inside of the mouth. When dry, mix two parts PR with one part FI and five parts water. Apply liberally to the inside of the mouth (but make sure you don't splash outside the mouth). If desired, lightly overbrush the basecoat after the wash has dried.
7) Basing
- Paint base in MB. When dry, overbrush with EB. Then overbrush with equal parts LW and PO.
- Add plants, foliage, logs, rocks, etc. as desired.

There it is, the process of painting the Dracodile (and any future Gatormen). Tomorrow I should have finished pictures of the monster!