Khador Warjacks painted with new Citadel Paints!

This weekend I met with Brian from A Gentleman's Ones for some much-deserved hobby time and for the first time since I've know Brian we actually hung out for a reason that was not terrain-building or Special Operations: KILLZONE. And it was Glorious!

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know that I don't usually post about my painted models simply because.. well.. I don't paint a lot. It's not because I can't or I don't want to - it's just that whenever I start an army I can never decide how to paint it. I'm very familiar with color theory and the different types of brushes and paints, mind you. It's just my indecisiveness and inability to commit to a decision that usually leads to a lot of my stuff being factory gray. That is why I decided to let Brian teach me how to paint my Khadoran army. His stuff is always so astonishing and from the few times I've seen him paint, his entire process seems so spontaneous and carefree. I wanted my hobby to be like his, so I made the trip to his place with "Frozencore" Joe to get stuff done!

Green has always been my favorite color and I wanted my Khador stuff to be green. It's not the most original idea, but I like the look of it, so I wanted to do that. I wanted my army to be dirty, gritty and covered with rust and dust from months and months of constant warfare in the trenches. I didn't want pristine-looking 'jacks, I wanted them scratched and damaged, but still ready to punish the enemies of the Motherland!

After I explained to Brian what I wanted, he went and primed the models. He grabbed the Destroyer and I got to paint the Juggernaut. The rest is magic..

What you see below is the result of ~3 hours of painting. There are a lot of touch-ups, highlights and other things to add and fix on the models, but for now I am definitely happy with the results.

Destroyer and Juggernaut - 80% done!
OH! AND THEY ARE ALL PAINTED WITH THE NEW CITADEL PAINTS!!!

Due to Popular Demand: MORE KILLZONE cards!

Extra! Extra! Due to popular demand Brian was kind enough to let me know that he has in his possession a bunch of extra Special Operaitons: KILLZONE tokens and cards, as reviewed here a few weeks ago. They are quite literally hot off the press and are on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you were one of the many Adepticon 2012 attendees who couldn't purchase the tokens or cards due to initial doubt, financial insecurities or if you simply couldn't get in line (Seriously, the tokens vanished Friday morning; the cards were soon to follow) to purchase these KILLZONE supplements.. well, I guess you can do it now.

Information about the cards, tokens and the various sets + how to ORDER

Here

But hurry up! Even though Brian considers shipping dozens upon dozens of packages to be an enjoyable part of the hobby I doubt that he's willing to do it forever.

Adepticon 2012, Part II: About KILLZONE and Oh, How the Tables Have Turned!

Yeah, I know, I know, I'm slacking, but I'm still relaxing after what was an amazing convention and (just this weekend) my 22nd Birthday! Time for some more coverage..

The Eldar Waygate at the Forest Table

Adepticon 2012, Part II: About KILLZONE and Oh, How the Tables Have Turned!! 

Adepticon 2012, Part I: Deliverance and Swag!

Huzzah! I survived my third Adepticon in a row!
And as always, my oh my, what a long, strange trip it's been, my friends. Yet again I have to say that this has been the best convention I have ever been to and certainly the best Adepticon for me and I meant that on so many levels. I suppose I'll try to capture the awesomeness of this event in the near future simply because I.. just have to!

So let's begin with..

 Part I: Deliverance and Swag! 

This is what they ended up lookin' like!

This year's perspective was different for me. On Thursday, while most players were surely finishing (or starting.. yikes!!) their armies for the smorgasbord of events and tournaments that Adepticon had to offer I was about an hour drive away from the con with Brian from A Gentleman's Ones.
What were we doing? We were finishing the ten 3x3 tables for the Special Operations: KILLZONE event, of course.

My favorite table!

Early in the morning yours truly got on the train to Chicago where Brian was already working hard, delivering the finishing touches on the tables. We were blessed with beautiful, sunny weather with just enough wind to speed the process of drying. Honestly, I don't even remember what we did that day. It's a blur because it really seemed like we were each doing 10 things at the same time: from fixing smaller imperfections to gluing down lichen, undergrowth, touching up the vehicles and the rust effects. Basically a lot of small things that just brought things together, and yet they were all necessary.

The Gentleman

I'm sure Brian is going to write a lot about the intricacies of the table-building, the many, many challenges we had to deal with and the decisions we had to make. It was pretty much like the Odyssey, except without Vanessa Williams as Calypso. But in the end we managed to return to Ithaca and there was much rejoicing.
Look at the picture on the left. See Brian? See how stressed out he looks onnit? See the table? That's the desert trench table which you can see right above. Literally two weeks ago all we had was a wooden board, some pink foam, 6 lines and a couple of circles drawn. We had no idea what was going to be on it. It was the least finished table, we had run out of ideas, materials and even some steam...
... it turned out to be one of the best pairs of tables. Glorious.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

That day felt like packing for a long vacation.
The tables were as finished as possible given the time we had, everything was neatly arranged inside a truck (something that we didn't have last year), the packets with the rules were printed out (at a disgustingly high price....), the cards and tokens were in a box. Basically all we had to do was drive to Lombard.



Brian and I were at Adepticon around 4:00 pm where we met up with "Frozencore" Joe. Now, to kind of show you how big the line for the Registration/Badge pick-up was lemme steal a picture from Adepticon's Flickr pool..

Original

The line was so huge that it wrapped around the entire grand hall and then it got inside it.. and wrapped around it!
Everyone wanted to be one of the lucky 500 - the first 500 attendees to pick up their badges got a limited edition version of Battle Foam's Shield Bag ($36.99) for FREE! 
It even has a nice patch on it to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Adepticon! 
Now, we got there at 4:00 pm and the whole thing was supposed to being at 5:00pm. Actually we were just in time, because the bag ran out a couple minutes after I got mine, which was lucky I guess. I definitely can't wait to use it - probably for my Warmachine army and/or my Ogres! 


WAIT, THAT REMINDS ME - Brian, you owe me a case of Guiness!!!!


And now for the bag itself.. 
My FIRST real swag bag. I did my best to register on time this year, so that was nice. 

• From Privateer Press I got the sweet Trollbloods Battlegroup for Hordes! Trollbloods were actually the first models I saw by PP and for a while I was actually considering to play them rather than Khador. The Motherland's call was louder, though. It's okay, now I have both! 
• From Mantic Games I got a sprue with enough bits to built x2 Forge Father Steel Warriors! The models look very nice. I'll probably keep them for bits, though, since I already have plenty of gaming systems and projects under my belt.. 
• Let's not forget the lovely metal AdepticConstruct for Adepticon's 10th Anniversary. It's simply gorgeous and it actually stands pretty tall. I think I might actually use it in my army for Adepticon 2013's Team Tournament.

• From Secret Weapon Miniatures (a great website!) I got a 20% Off Coupon, a Dark Sepia Wash and resin base! 
• From GaleForce Nine I got the Mysterious Waters Markers. I really don't have a use for them, though. I wish I had gotten their measuring tool thingy instead. I really need one. ; / 
• From Wyrd Miniatures I got the rulebook for Malifaux game! "Frozencore" Joe plays it, but I honestly can't see myself picking it up any time soon. 
• Wreck Age gave me a metal Drifter Chieftain. I don't know a whole lot about the game, but the mini is alright. 
• Got a yellow paint sample from Badger.
• An Adepticon pocker chip for $25!  
• Tons of promotional brochures, leaflets and coupons that I am never going to use! 
• I bought the Adepticon anniversay glass and the T-shirt as well.

There are a few more things on the picture but I got them on Friday and Saturday, so I'll cover them in the next few posts. Overall a very satisfying Swag Bag! Around ~$100 worth of stuff with tons of interesting bits and pieces.

After the swag we set up the 10 tables. We needed a length of 30 ft. and we got exactly that. The tables fit perfectly on the tables and there was no extra space! We were actually worried that one of the tables wasn't going to fit, but in the end all was well.
We didn't get a pot in the Grand Hall this year. Instead we were in the big hallway with all the other skirmish games, which was not a bad spot to be honest, but we were expecting to be in the spotlights again just like last year - between the Team Tournament and the Crystal Brush area. It makes sense, though - this year there were more spots in the Team Tournament and the Combat Patrol event and the Crystal Brush had to be in one of the hallways as well.

I learned that I should make some business cards - having to write down my name, blog address and e-mail on random scraps of paper is so annoying and unprofessional. Not that I'm a professional, mind you. Any takers that are willing to help me out with a cool design for gratis? :O .. No? Didn't think so.

Next I'll cover the two Friday events for Killzone and some other miscellaneous thingamajiggers. 

Come and say "Hi" to the SO: Killzone crew at Adepticon!

I'm sure that a lot of you already know that there's going to be a Special Operations: KILLZONE event at Adepticon 2012 and that it will be ran by Brain from A Gentleman's Ones and the duo from Wolves for the Wolf God: Skarvald the Troll-faced (yours truly) and the ever-elusive "Frozencore" Joe.
We are going to be showcasing the third and final (until 6th edition, that is) version of Killzone and of course we'll be presenting the ten 3'x3' tables that we have been working on.

There was a lot of this.

Personally, I can't wait to show our efforts to you. And I can't wait to play on them, to actually play some Killzone, it has been so long since we released the final version of the rules! I an't wait to be finally done with the tables and the organization. I just want to relax for a bit. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the last few months have been hectic at best and this whole ordeal has been feeling more like a second job than a hobby, but only because all three of us had to juggle that with life and school. You know, the usual interferences.
If I was asked to do it again, I'd say "Yes!" in a heartbeat.
But this is not the time nor the place for me to discuss what has been happening behind the curtains with the Chicago Operatives.

I want YOU to stop by and say "Hi!" to us if you are at Adepticon. If you are a reader of Wolves for the Wolf God and/or if you frequent Brian's blog please feel free to visit the SO: Killzone tables. I'm not 100% where they are going to be this year, but last year we were sandwiched between the tables for the Team Tournament and the Crystal Brush. Bah, you'll find us.

The AdeptiConstruct
Adepticon's 10th Anniversary Model

We WANT to talk to you. Yes, YOU. We want to hear what you think of our blogs, of KILLZONE, of the tables. We want to hear your suggestions. This is more or less a community project done for the wonderful miniatures war-gaming community. And heck, if you like what you see record a video or take a bunch of pictures. Help us spread the word about Special Operations: Killzone. We are very proud of what we have to offer and want to see this wonderful skirmish version of Warhammer 40,000 in every little store, in people's basements and even in your local Games Workshop stores. Blog about it, share it on Facebook, tweet about it.. I dunno, lol.

Oh, we also accept drinks as gratitude. Hahaha. No, seriously. This is my first Adepticon in which I can legally imbibe alcoholic beverages. I'm a Space Wolves player (actually, all three of us are). Don't let me leave the convention sober.

We'll be at Adepticon on Thursday, setting up the tables, so if you are good at stalking you might be able to find us and catch the first glimpse of the Killzone tables.
On Friday we are going to be running 2 Special Operations: Killzone events from 10am to 10pm with a break from 3pm to 5pm. You'll find us where the tables are at.
On Saturday the crew will be all over the place. I'm not sure about Joe or Brian, but I will be playing in the Warhammer 40k Team Tournament from 7am until 10pm, so all you have to do is find what table "The Justice League" is playing on. I'll be running the same list I ran last year with some buddies. This time we are just doing it for teh lulz with almost no preparation whatsoever. We're just going to be putting models on the tables and hope for the best... of times. I'll be drinking. Heavily.
Actually, Brian will be playing in the Warhammer 40k: Combat Patrol with his Necrons, but I'm not sure if it's going to be the 9am-2pm or the 5pm-10pm event.
On Sunday, before the three of us run the last SO: Killzone event from Noon to 4:30pm, we are all going to participate in the Freeblades event from 9am to 11am. I have no idea what it is, but it was cheap and at a time that was available for all of us. I have no doubt that it's going to be a blast, though.

Speaking of buying drinks and war-gaming in general, have you guys read what Dark Future Games has to offer? If you're at Adepticon and you see any of the awesome dudes from Dark Future Games you can get your name in a raffle to win a FREE Battleforce or an equivalent of one. All you have to do is buy any of them ANY drink and every drink will get you a raffle ticket. How awesome is that? Pretty awesome, but not as awesome as the guys from Dark Future Games and not even close to being as awesome as their newest banner.
By the way, DARK FUTURE GAMES DUDES, you are reading this please bring me one of those awesome T-shirts. I MUST have one. I'll pay you or get you drunk, whatever.

Seriously, it's orgasmic.

Product Review: Special Operations: KILLZONE Cards!

In what is probably going to be the very first, official review of Brian's (you know, the glorious man from A Gentleman's Ones?) ultra-mega-spiffy supplement cards for Special Operations: KILLZONE, I'm going to cover the cards and show you some cool shots of the actual product. I think I'm the first person to actually get his grubby hands on the new cards!

Information about the cards, tokens and the various sets + how to ORDER

Here

Death Area: An Inside Look at Killzone Design #1

KILLZONE!

As promised, here is  the first article about our involvement in Special Operations: Killzone. At the moment we are not sure about the length of the series, but expect at least two more. Hopefully by reading these articles you will be able to see Killzone for what it is and what it has been during the transition from v2.0 to v3.0. The entire Killzone team is very proud and extremely excited to bring you the new edition of Special Operations: Killzone and with the following articles we hope to share our excitement with you as well as the process of reshaping Killzone into what it is now.  


 
Article #1 is going to cover the story of how Joe and I become part of the Killzone crew, some of the general changes we had to make and the challenges we had to face with v2.0 after Adepticon 2011 was over.


Enjoy! 

Killzone v3.0 finally done! The Imperium of Man rejoices!

Special Operations: Killzone v3.0

The Official THIRD installment of Special Operations: Killzone

The legal Rulebook and Errata which will be used at Adepticon 2012

As brough to you by: 

Big Jim from Galaxy in Flames

Brian from A Gentleman's Ones

Skarvald the Troll-faced and Frozencore Joe from Wolves for the Wolf God

-=and of course=-

YOU, the supporters

YOU, the play-testers

 

It has been done, friends, followers of Wolves for the Wolf God and skirmish-enthusiasts from the whole wide world! Special Operations: Killzone v3.0 is finally here! AND, if you haven't done so already head to the Killzone page and get yourself the brand new versions of the Killzone Rulebook v3.0 and the Killzone Errata, which has now been renamed to Killzone Codex: Operatives. v3.0, of course. ;)

After many Skype sessions, after many hours spent theory-crafting, balancing, writing, cutting, editing and play-testing we, the authors of the current incarnation of Killzone believe that the game is finally ready... For Adepticon, that is. 

A true masterpiece is never done and even know I can't wait to see where the winds will take us. Big Jim is already salivating at the possibilities over at the Killzone Facebook Group. I just know it.  

We are of course very happy to deliver the jolly good news to you, but don't you dare think that our job here is done. No, sirs! No such thing. The temporary finalization of Killzone was just a part of our pledge to make Special Operations: Killzone the best skirmishing independent game out there. We are done with the theory part of the challenge. Time for some practice.

And while we are done with the rulebook stuff until the end of Adepticon we still have so much to do. 

But we'll manage, right? We just have 10 3x3 ft. tables to do by the last week of April. Shouldn't be too bad! 

For now, though, we'll be keeping these a secret. :P 

Brian really hit the nail on the head over at his blog, though. It has been hectic and crazy, but oh so much fun. 

Lets just say that we not feel for all game designers and developers out there. Coming up with cool and fair rules at the same time ain't easy, dudes! 

So, what does that mean? Well, while we are ready to reveal some of the table designs and ideas, me and Frozencore Joe will try to share with you a fraction of the Killzone Madness. Expect some insight your very own VIP pass behind the scenes of the MAKING of Killzone. How does it work? What were the limits? 

Soon..

Today is going to be Killzone-tastic!

Super excited, folks!
The elusive and crafty Brian from A Gentleman's Ones and my good ole buddy and co-blogger (although he as been *cough*silent*cough* lately) Frozencore Joe are stopping by the 'burbs for a day of Special Operations: Killzone play-testing. Basically the thing you should all be doing right now.
It's like.. buying Christmas presents. For yourself. For FREE.
Literally.. you can win stuff by playing games. Here's how.

As I already said.. I'm hyped. It has been a while since I got the chance to move models across the table and today should be a pretty exciting event. Will finally be able to play against Brian - for the first time, nonetheless.
We are going to hopefully play-test some of the new changes and just see how the game is flowing.. so to speak. Hopefully we'll be able to cull as many things not working as intended today.

What list am I bringing? Well, I'll be giving the Silensurz a spin, but this time the list is revised and I'll be playing with some new options. So here's my list:

Da Silensurz
Unnamed Team Leader - Deffkopta with twin-linked big shoota
Thermal Imaging (grants Acute Senses), Penetrator Rounds and Hard to Kill (grants Feel No Pain)

Unnamed Deffkopta - Deffkopta with twin-linked big shoota
Thermal Imaging (grants Acute Senses), Penetrator Rounds

Deffgrin Gargleblasta - Ork Boy with a Big Shoota
Psyklopz - Ork Boy with a Big Shoota
Grimjaw - Ork Boy with a Big Shoota
Da Ledbelcha and Corki - Ork Boy with a Big Shoota
Zodrukk da Gitfinda - Ork Boy with a Big Shoota

Unnamed Ork Boy Nob - 'eavy armour
Stealth Suit (grants Stealth, Scout and Move Through Cover), Smoke Grenades

Unnamed Killa Kan - big shoota
Targeter

DAKKA! With the removal of the special weapon limit and concept this list now has even more dakka. There are 8 big shootas and two of them are twin-linked. My older list had no Deffkoptaz and instead had more infantry and Nobz - all of my five big-shootas were essentially twin-linked due to Crack Shot and my Nobz had Stealth Suits. However, with Crack Shot costing double the points (it went from 5 pts. to 10 pts.) and with Stealth Suits being limited issue equipment my old list had to go..
So - less foot-sloggin, but still enough. Less Stealth across the board but a way of granting it with the Smoke Grenades. However I'll be getting more maneuverability due to my Deffkoptas. I'm actually kind of excited to use them, ebcause they are really jacks of all trades, at least in Killzone.
I'd say that my shooting power is about the same. I'm just trading volume for accuracy.. or is it the other way around? ;D

With the list above I'm trying to address the following issues (most of which came up as I was writing the list):

1. Can a Walker be the Team Leader? 
2. Does the Close Combat Accessories general equipment upgrade count as a Close Combat Weapon for Walkers using Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons? 
3. Can Smoke Grenades affect Walkers? 
4. Can Walkers take the Medipack or Hard to Kill equipment and skill? 
5. Can Walkers even benefit from Feel no Pain?
6. Because Walkers can move and shoot all of their weapons, can they also fire Grenades of any kind, in addition to their regular weapons?
7. Do Smoke Grenades count as shooting a weapon?

I'll be taking tons of notes and pictures throughout the day and hopefully I'll be able to deliver a Killzone update today or tomorrow! 

Reminder: Killzone Giveaway #2 is Tomorrow!

That's right, my super sexy followers - A GIVEAWAY.
There's going to be yet another awesome giveaway over at A Gentleman's Ones and this time instead of an unaerodynamic flying shoebox Stormraven you'll be competing for a full-sized 6x4 Zuzzy textured mat.

Now you can practice the landing of your Stormraven while making funny noises on this sweet mat, that you get to paint and play sweet games of whatever the heck you want. You could even be creative and use it for.. well.. I dunno.. playing games of Special Operations: Killzone. It's like a Realm of Battle table.. except portable.. easier to paint.. pre-primed black.. and FREE.

Waddaya hafta do ta win it, Skarvald?

Download the v2.3 of Rules and Errata.

Play games.

Report.

Win. 

 Read Brian's full post about it.

YOU HAVE UNTIL THIS FRIDAY!

I can't stress this enough - we need YOU to help US by play-testing Killzone. A LOT. 

See, we have all these crazy ideas.. all the time.. and we spend a lot of time on Skype discussing, balancing, measuring, cutting, typing, formatting - all for you. We really want people to enjoy Killzone, we really want it to stick around and be a fast-paced, cinematic way to immerse yourselves in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. 

That's why we need you to play games while we are reshaping the rules of the game, guys. We need your input. All of it. We need to know what we are doing right, but we also know what we are doing wrong. 

Do certain things need to change? Do certain things need to go the way of the dodo bird? 

If you ever thought to yourself "Man, I wish I was involved in the rules-writing process of this system!" then this is your chance to chip in by rolling some dice and moving a bunch of plastic dudesmen.

Oh, and you can totally win sweet prizes by doing so. Don't miss out!

Necrons Scarabs ate my PC! Let us celebrate with a KILLZONE GIVEAWAY!

So yesterday I was the witness of a mysterious virus, which managed to delete every single file inside my computer.. Not cool, Necrons. Not cool. Keep your gimmicky canoptek-scarab-swarm-beast-things away from my PC! ;_;


Oh well! Fresh start!

Check out Gentleman's Ones for a sweet, mega, ultra, super-duper G~I~V-E~A~W~A~Y!

SPECIAL OPERATIONS: KILLZONE GIVEAWAY

And all you have to do is play! Man, winning a Stormraven has never been easier. You don't have to buy, built, convert, prime, paint OR base ANYTHING. All we are asking of you is to download the FREE Killzone Rules and play as many games as you can. We need all the feedback we can, dudes! 

Wait a second.. Can I participate in this? Would it be.. okay? Because I'll play the !@#$% out of Killzone then.... XD Not that not being able to win a Stormraven will stop me from playing, of course. I love this game. 

 And so should you! :)  

Still alive! Special Operations: KILLZONE UPDATE!

Ho-hummm! No worries, ladies and gentlemen - I am still alive. Just been busy with live and a super-secret-project-which-I-will-reveal-to-you-in-a-second-or-two..

Let me just tell you what I've been doing/working on lately, then..

• The battle reports from the Gentleman's Grand Tournament will continue. I have the second game 40% done, but typing my opponent's I.G list is seriously too daunting a task and I'm too lazy to scan it, even though the scanner is 2 feet away from me.  Here's a sneak-peek:

 

• Been playing my Orkz again! Me and "Frozencore" Joe started a map-based campaign at our GW store with custom-made rules and a sweet map. Just been too busy to post about it, that's all.

• Purchased a box of Widowmakers for my Khador army! 

• With Secret Santa in our GW store I spent a bunch of money on the person I drew this year. He's a good friend of mine, but this year I seriously had one of those "Should I really buy him this overpowered unit which is going to kick my ass?" moments. I didn't end up getting him that unit, after all, but I'm sure he'll be happier with the alternative. 
•  
• By the way our GW store has a new Store Operator now and there have been changes all around - some for better, some for worse. 

1. Less tables. We went from 5 tables to 3 playable tables with terrain. The other two are now Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 demo/display tables. 
2. No more free Citadel Paint Carrousel to use at the paint bar. I'm pretty sure we were the last store to have one and that was because we had our own super-secret-fridge and kept on donating soda-money to refuel the carrousel. 
3. There will be more changes, without a doubt, but change is not always a bad thing. Our community is still strong, but now we have more reasons to prove it. 

• Won a sweet GW voucher-thing from HOTpanda's Birthday Giveaway! Thanks, HOTpanda.

And now for the secret-project.. 

I've been working with "Frozencore" Joe, Brian from A Gentleman's Ones and of course Big Jim from Galaxy in Flames have been seriously working on the new Killzone "Edition".
Seriously, dudes, we've been working hard on this epic project. From Errata, to Rules, Missions and Deployments, we've been trying to balance things and make the game faster, more brutal and yet rewarding for the scheming individuals. I am not going to spoil too much, but expect results soon. Like.. around Thanksgiving day soon.

• Yes, this will include the much anticipated Grey Knights, Sisters of Battle and Necrons Erratas and Rules. 

• Yes, this will include the demanded Inquisitorial Henchman Errata and the possibility to field your very own Inquisitor in KILLZONE!

And that's.. NOTHING!
If you managed to be a part of the Killzone experience at this year's Adepticon you were probably impressed by the sweet tables that Brian made. Heck, even if you couldn't participate, I bet you've seen them all over the internet. Seriously, Google is your friend.
I also bet you've stumbled upon the Heroes of Armageddon event at Games Day Chicago 2011 and the even sweeter tables that Brian made! You haven't? Google is your friend!

And now.. for next years Adepticon 2012 event we'll be making... TEN TABLES. 
Yep. Ten (10) of 'em. All 3 by 3.
What is going to be on them, what the concept art is and how we're going to accomplish this... I don't know. But we'll do it. Also, Brian is a madman. ;D

The day before Games Day: The Tale of the Tables for Heroes of Armageddon!

Phew! I survived yet another Games Day!
But before I start showing you shiny pictures of the event itself let me start with the day before Games Day in which yours truly overslept, the FOUR 3'x4' Heroes of Armageddon tables were finished and then transported to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, the Heroes of Armageddon crew finally met in person and the miniatures finally got to see their enemies..

Heroes of Armageddon and Games Day!

Q: "Throne, Skarvald, where the heck have you been hiding, you thunderwolf-riding, troll-faced son of lasgun?"
A: Well, I promise you that I haven't been lazy. At all. Between me quitting my shitty job and finals just around the corner (tomorrow, actually) I still managed to keep myself busy with plastic and resin dudemen. The month of July has been.. and still is.. a whirlwind of projects. And I'm afraid that between juggling so many of 'em I still don't have anything to show you..

Games Day Chicago, 2011: This Saturday you can meet me at the convention center where I'll be pretty much the whole day. When I'm not all over the place I'll be at the Heroes of Armageddon table, so make sure you stop by and say Hi! Just ask the people at the event table (especially Brian) for "Vlad" or "Skavald the Troll-faced". You'll see a picture of me later in this article. I'm really looking forward to meeting some of you!

Heroes of Armageddon Tables: I'm proud to announce that besides donating I also managed to get involved with the building of the HoA tables by helping Brian. "Frozencore" Joe was there as well. All I can say is that Monday and Tuesday were FUN. Brian is a very creative man with great vision and not only does he have innovative and grand ideas but he also has the guts to attempt all of this AND be a father, husband and a teacher at the same time. Wow! Each day we spent under the scorching rays of the sun painting, washing, cutting, measuring.. you name it. While there are thousands of pages written on the battle for Armageddon there are not a whole lot of books detailing the construction of its hive cities and the masterminds behind them. It was Brian. Brian built Armageddon so that 12,000 points of beautifully painted models had something to fight for.... and something to grant them cover saves. With every task completed the table kept on evolving into something so much more! When we first started we thought that we would never finished this crazy project, but you'll be surprised what a bunch of dedicated hobbyists can do for the hobby when under pressure. AND it was for a good cause. There is, however, a lot of work left and Friday will be a day dedicated to perfecting the four Heroes of Armageddon tables with what little time we have left.

Left to right: "Frozencore" Joe; Skarvald the Troll-faced (me!)

Warmachine: In my last post about Warmachine I talked about the unveiling of the Khador box. Indeed, it has been an awesome adventure, ladies and gentlemen. My initial thoughts were to magnetize my plastic Warjacks but I really don't feel like drilling all the wholes in each individual arm. Besides, I think I know which Warcaster I'll be using, including my first few 'jacks.
My choice? Kommander Harkevich, the Iron Wolf. And a Black Ivan. And then a Behemoth.... Because blasting the enemies of the Motherland to smithereens before charging them with steam-powered gargantuan robots is awesome.
I know I said that I was going to stick with the Battlebox for a while.. but I lied.

"Frozencore" Joe has been teaching me how to play the game. He plays Circle Orboros and his Thunderwolf-wannabe puppies have been rending my Warjacks to death for a few games now.. But Joe is a great teacher, despite his generous use of the beat stick. So far it has been a blast and each game has been pretty close. There are a lot of things to learn and remember, but the turns are bloody and action-packed, which is my favorite part about Warmachine! I'll be covering some games and models later, though.

Adepticon 2011, Part IV: Special Operations Killzone

In part IV of my Adepticon coverage, I'd like to tell you guys about my first games of Special Operations Killzone on one of the FANTASTIC tables that Brian from A Gentleman's Ones built and painted with the help of a few friends (with my buddy "Frozencore" Joe being one of them!).

Come on, now. Unless you have been living a rock for the past year or so you probably already know about Special Operations Killzone, but for your convenience and in case you don't know here are some quick links to the beautiful .pdf's:

a simple, cinematic skirmish version of Warhammer 40,000... of AWESOMENESS!!!

• Rules: What is Special Operations Killzone? How do I get started? How do I write a list?
• Army Errata: How does my army work in Special Operations Killzone? What units can I pick?
• Missions: How much terrain do I need? What size are the tables? What are the deployments and missions?
• Mission/Fate Cards: What is that?

The best way I can summarize Killzone is "a simple, cinematic skirmish version of Warhammer 40,000... of AWESOMENESS!!!" It is a great way of playing quick, fast-paced games of 40k that, while at a smaller scale, feel just as (if not even more) epic but it still requires lots of thinking, because in Killzone nothing is expandable....
 Okay.. Maybe Gretchin are. Just a little bit. And I.G Conscripts. And Penal Legions.  Okay, I'll shut up now.

Brian's increasing Special Operations Killzone WAAAAAAGH!

Killzone games are just around 250 points each with special upgrades included and it allows for a relatively cheap and easy participation. In many cases a single box of plastic dudemen or just some models you have laying around but never use are more than enough. Always wanted to be cool and play Orkz but never got around to it, intimidated by the throngs of guys you'd have to paint? So did Brian and look what he did!
It's also a great way to start an army: A warband here, a warband there and all of a sudden you'll have a nice collection of models and 1000 pt. games will be a piece of squigpie.

/palmface

Also an opportunity to finally field "those" units. Got some Kroot or Vespids that you never use? Maybe one of those units that a new edition, codex or codex creep made less-than-desirable like.. Pariahs, Immortals, Wraiths, Necron Warriors, Destroyers, Scarab Swarms and Flayed Ones? Genestealers (in Killzone you can give them frag grenades for 1 pt.)? Ogryns and Ratlings.. and pretty much all I.G Elites Choices... Ork Flash Gitz, even! BAM, you got yourself a Warband that doesn't necessarily suck. Actually Necrons are kind of amazing in Killzone and I really, really WANT to have a Kroot or a Vostroyan-themed Warband in the future.

This is Special Operations Killzone in a nutshell, Ladies and Gentlemen's Ones...  Now follow me for my Adepticon 2011 Special Operations Killzone coverage!

Paincake is Deliciousness Leaving the Body!

Hurr hurr hurr..
Just became a brand spanking new member of the International House of Paincakes Blog Network and I was actually surprised that the person who read my application actually had taken the time to read some of my "articles". That was nice. Thanks, Dethtron. ;P Not sure why I didn't apply earlier.
So, if you have your own tiny, dandy place on the Internets where you like to share your little toy soldier stories with the rest of the world do not hesitate to drop Int'l House of Paincakes an e-mail if you think you are awesome enough.

I threatened them with my Thunderwolf and got accepted in no time.

Funny story about IHOP, though. And this time I'm talking about the place that serves delicious breakfasts 24/7. You might even say it's Warhammer 40,000 related. It was quote a long time ago:
Me and some buddies were driving to IHOP after a party, listening to some 100.3 FM and just commenting on how dark and scary the woods surrounding us were. You know, the usual blabber. Then all of a sudden a raccoon appeared. Man, was the little bugger fast! Our dedicated driver tried to avoid hitting him, but the raccoon apparently really wanted to give Death or Glory a shot and my friend's change of direction actually hit the poor little thing dead on. You could even say it got pancaked.
 
And then it that awkward, semi-sad moment I said the first thing that came to mind.. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! My apologies, PETA.

Other related news..

IS THIS NESSIE?!?

 It might look like a random blob or like left-over material from the construction of a Barby Doll House or something My Little Pony-related.. but this is the beginning of our Adepticon Display Board. It's a 3x3 ft. pink foam square that we are mounting on a wooden board. The stacked smaller pieces of pink foam will be hills and other raised areas and the hole in the middle is going to be broken ice from where one gigantic kraken tentacles and a bunch of other smaller ones (our Objective Markers) will be fighting our Space Wolves. We want the one big tentacle to be the radius of a monstrous creature base and tall enough to be seen from afar.
We'll be doing more work on this table on Wednesday..

And it just so happens that this Wednesday, February 09, 2011 the SIN of ALACRITY Space Hulk table over at A Gentleman's Ones is going to be announced for a raffle of some sort. No one really knows what the catch is going to be, but trust me when I tell you that this table is phenomenal and none of the awesome pictures do it justice. Its big, boxy, death trapy and grimdark. What else should it be? So mark your calendars and make sure you pay Brian's blog a visit.

A Gentleman's Ones

""Gentleman's Ones" is an expression commonly used among friends here to describe those devious double-ones required to pass a morale test when everything has otherwise gone horribly, horribly wrong. It's an admission that one doesn't really deserve to be on the table, but just might continue to fight anyway."
- from A Gentleman's Ones

 If you still haven't visited this marvelous blog, now is your chance. Check out the awesome models that B. Smoove has painted, his beautiful 3D interpretation of Space Hulk and all the other crazy projects that, without a doubt, will blow your mind.

And now I will share with you MY "Gentleman's Ones"

1. This one was recent. I was playing a 1750 pt. game using my buddy's Ork list against a very nasty Imperial Guard player who knew he was going to face Orkz and thus fielded tons of heavy bolters. His list consisted of 2 Leman Russ squadrons (not sure which type), a Psycher Battle Squad in a Chimera and then a bunch of other vehicles, few Sentinels.. Overall a pretty good, annoying list.
The list that I ran was fairly simple - 2 Warbosses with PKs - each with 10 Nobz (Painboy, Waagh banner, one with PK and everyone else with Big Choppas). One of them was in a trukk, one in a Battle Wagon with a Deff Rolla. There were two units of 30 Boyz with Nobz and Zagstruk with his Stormboyz was in reserve. Notice how the Nobz are not really kitted out for mean wound allocation!
So first turn I see a squad of Boyz whittled down to 3 Boyz and a Nob (they make their saves) and the Trukk is glanced and stunned from Heavy Bolters.. or something.

Yes. My Nobz had the balls.

My army advances and does nothing. Until the end of the game one unit of Boyz will never get in close combat and the Trukk will always be stunned, shaken or immobilized but never wrecked or destroyed. Zagstruk shows up and assaults a Leman Russ squadron, wrecking all 3 vehicles. Next turn he ends up being the only survivor and will wreck a Chimera before getting shot to death. The 3 Boyz and a Nob squad becomes just a lonely Nob who ends up killing 2 vehicles in the next 2 turns all by himself AND survives the game. However, it all seems lost when my closest Nob squad gets hit with his psychic power and their Ld gets reduced to 2. They get shot.. a LOT.. . I roll like a 9 or 10 and use my boss pole to re-roll the moral save... and BAM! A GENTLEMAN'S ONES!

I then start screaming WAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! from joy and proceed to humiliate his Leman Russes. I really needed that save, because my whole army was being kited around and when I made it, it really changed the game around for me. Final result was 7 KP to 2 for me - He got a point for killing my Battlewagon and Zagstruk's unit. Silly Guardsmen.

But then you'll probably say "But Vlaaaaaaaaad, you had a boss pol and that was not faaaaaair!"
Well, then... sit tight for I have yet another story to tell! : )

2. Da Sevun Bloo Boyz
The store had a pretty big Planetstrike game in which everyone brought 1,000 points of their army. My team was playing Attackers and for most of the game my Boyz were pretty much unharmed. A turn or so before the game ended I had a unit of 25+ Boyz with a Power Klaw Nob and they were headed for this tiny sandbag bunker in the middle of the map. Now, in Planetstrike Attackers touching an objective count as controlling it and it just so happened that my Orkz were the only ones around AND this little bunker was the tiebreaker. What was in the bunker? Genestealers and Scarab Swarms. My Boyz WAAAAAGH and multi-assault them sustaining minor injuries due to lucky rolling. So far so good.

Next turn they get assaulted by..
Ultramarines Terminators
Blood Angels Assault Squad
Corbulo
A few Tactical Marines
NECRON WARRIORS - Yes, that's right. They assaulted me since they had nothing to shoot at.

Uh-oh. I get to watch my Boyz dieing like flies before they can even strike back. However, Mork was watching over me and he made sure that 7 Boyz remained. Their attacks killed a few Scarab Swarms, but the damage was done. I had to allocate wounds on my Nob and he ended up dieing so that meant no bosspole morale re-roll for me. ;_; Luckily my boyz were not Fearless, which would have meant taking like 15 armor saves. Yikes. Combat ended and I needed to take that impossible morale save. It was the very last turn of the game (Defenders didn't get their turn because they had the points advantage and we were running out of time).. and I rolled A GENTLEMAN'S ONES.
My brave Ork Boyz decided to stay and fight for this meaningless little bunker. Was it because of sheer stupidity or blood lust? Probably.

Da Sevun Bloo Boyz

Later that same day I repainted those seven Boyz from red to blue. After all, Orkz believe that blue brings luck to their race and they WERE lucky to survive that meat grinder.
Since then, I started painting my Orkz blue. My painting skills have evolved since then but these little guys are always in the front lines of one of my Ork Mobz and no matter the tactical situation, I always, always remove them last. They have never stopped working for me.

I haven't had any Gentleman's Ones with my Space Wolves, but I believe that when I start playing with them more often they will also get to experience the epic power of the double ones.