PICS: A Circle Album: Warlocks

And, here's the last part of the Circle Album - the army centerpieces, the Warlocks!

While I own all the currently-released Circle Orboros Warlocks, only a few are fully painted, or nearly so.  Morvahna, Mohsar, Kromac, Cassius & eBaldur are all in various states of completion (or not). Even though I own him, I've yet to try out Kromac, and I've only used Cassius and Mohsar a scant handful of times. I'm looking to try playing them more, soon.  As I get the others painted, I'll eventually start putting them up here, as well.

Baldur the Stonecleaver

   Baldur's a favorite of mine, for two reasons - One, he's the first Hordes miniature I painted, originally picked out by a friend to represent his Dwarven Druid in our Pathfinder game. It was also an intentionally underhandedly sneaky method my friend used to get me interested in Hordes... and it worked.

   The OTHER reason I like Baldur is that he's one of the few Circle characters who isn't a complete and utter jerk in the fiction. :)

Kaya the Wildborne

   Kaya is probably my favorite character in the Circle Orboros fiction (for those not familiar with the Iron  Kingdoms fiction, Kaya is Baldur's former student). Given my own appreciation of wolves, it was hard not to gravitate to her character. Kaya was the second miniature I painted in the Hordes line. Playwise, she doesn't see much play these days. Occasionally I pull her out for small points games or for games with new players at the local store.

Kaya the Moonhunter + Laris
   This Epic incarnation of Kaya is probably my favorite caster to play in the game, and she's played a lot better for me than her Primal counterpart. Her Wolf companion, Laris, in these pictures is still a work-in-progress, something I really need to finish up, one of these days...

Krueger the Stormwrath

   When it comes to frying infantry, no one does it better than Krueger.  He works well for me, and I generally tend to play him against infantry-heavy factions... particularly Menoth and oftentimes, Cryx. Being able to drop multiple zones of electrical death on his feat turn is always fun.  Krueger here is still a nearly-finished WIP - I really want to freehand some sort of design or sigil on his cloak.

 
Krueger the Stormlord

   I've only used Krueger's Epic incarnation a small number of times, but he's still fun, if not a bit more tricky for me to run. I'm getting better at putting his feat and telekinesis spell to better use. I can't wait to add a Scarsfell Griffon to his battlegroup. This model is also still a WIP - I'm pleased that I seem to have painted him without the "Eek! A mouse!" expression the PP studio model is rather known for. 

   Krueger's 'lightning' is removable, made from brass rod and with a small bit of steel wire twisted around it. It'll be eventually primed and painted (either blue or green, not sure yet) - I'm debating whether or not to apply OSL to this model. It would be appropriate, but we'll see.  His base is made from some stacked cork, to better help with his 'flying' pose.

Grayle the Farstrider
   The newest warlock to be released in Hordes: Domination, Grayle has quickly become another favorite caster of mine, alongside eKaya. I love the model's name, look, artwork and backstory. Not to mention, he's great fun to play. I've watched him tear single-handedly through a unit of Iron Fang Pikemen - no small feat! - as well as tear into larger models as well. Like Krueger, I can't wait to add a Scarsfell Griffon to his battlegroup, either.

Paint Log - 3/14/2012

It's been a while, but I'm still at it. Unfortunately, wedding preparations and the like have kept me from the painting table for a while (although lately I've been spending a fair amount of time playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, as well...).  I haven't been able to make it over to the game store for almost 2 months now, just because everything is rather hectic, but lately I found some time to get back to painting.

Previously I mentioned the possibility of stripping Mohsar and Nuala. I went ahead and did that - since then I've repainted Nuala, and she looks much, much better. She's about 80% finished. Mohsar has been primed and his cloak base-coated, but that's about it for the moment.

The Tharn Bloodtrackers are finally all finished, over a year past their purchase. I'm quite happy with how they turned out. After I get a few better photos of them, I'll place them up here.

I also picked up the new Circle models - The Gallows Grove. I did a small bit of basecoating on one model last night - looking forward to painting them.  Also assembled, based and primed the Sentinel Stone and Mannikins. Need to paint those. Assembled Baldur the Stonesoul, built his base out of thick cork and painted it, as well.

As for the rest...
I haven't said much about it now except for a few previous references, mostly because I was hoping to surprise folks with it once I had finally finished it... but seeing as many know I have it, I figured I might as well show off what I've got so far.

The model that's been keeping me busy for the last few months is the one I've been salivating over ever since PP first teased it. I received it just after it released in December as a late birthday gift from my fiancée ... The Celestial Fulcrum battle engine!

These pictures have been taken over a 2-3 month span, since I started painting the Fulcrum sometime in late December and have been working at it off-and-on again since then. I started repainting the model midway through, which is why it's been taking me as long as it has. But I'm a lot happier with the newer, more polished, results.

With regards to the color scheme, this is straight out of the painting guide in Hordes: Domination. I'm following their guide very closely, in part because I love the studio scheme, and in part to better learn how they went about painting it.

Backside of the Celestial Fulcrum. Just finished painting every single rune with the first step of color.

Next step: adding Menoth White Highlight to each rune to create 'hot spots' in the glow effect.

Each rune has now been glazed with mix of green, yellow and blue ink. All finished!

Phase two: At this point, I started repainting portions of the fulcrum because I wasn't pleased with the result. You can see the difference if you look closely - the right side of the stone ring has the new paint job, compared to the left, which is the original. The stone looks better on the right, in my opinion, and more akin to the studio paint job.

Last night's work. At this point, the entire front side of the fulcrum has been redone - stone, wood, and runes. I still plan to do a minor touch-up on the green gem. The three guys in the foreground are the druids who control the Fulcrum. They'll be attached last.

Better view, showing off the new paint job. I tried a different method of doing the runes on the left that captures the look of the glow better, I think. I'm debating about going back over the right for a third time and redoing the runes on that side so that they all match.

View of all the Fulcrum's pieces: On the left are the "moons," which will be the next pieces attached, something I'm really looking forward to. Each one still needs its own gem painted, along with the wood and steel bands on their armatures to be finished. The druids are currently semi-painted - just their skin and glowing stone breastplates for the moment.

I still need to do shading and highlighting of the various gold bands and plates on the fulcrum.

Backside of the fulcrum. Here you'll see that I haven't really gone back and further painted the stone yet. Part of me really likes how the darker tones really makes the runes 'pop,' but I still plan on highlighting the stone at least a little more to bring it more in-line with the front.

Used the camera's flash here, just to make some of the other details stand out.

Battle Report: Baldur vs. pSeverius

 The scream of the Deliverers' rockets had died down, replaced instead with the screams of the Deliverers themselves as the Pureblood's death howl tore through them, joined by the blast of stone shards from the hands of the blackclad, leaving only tattered cloth and flesh in their wake.  Thick, black smoke drifted across the battlefield, the burning remains of a Sunburst ballista, blasted to pieces by the woldwyrd's arcane energy.
Off to Baldur's distant left, he could see Morraig's flanking charge had failed... the druid could not tell if the Wolf Lord still yet lived. But Morraig's charge had distracted the enemy long enough to let Baldur advance his forces. The woldwatcher was in dire shape, having suffered the brunt of the Menite attacks. The tenacious wold still advanced alongside the ponderous steps of its larger cousin, the woldwarden whose footfalls shook the ground as it strode past Baldur, an extension of his will.
From somewhere ahead the Grand Scrutator still directed his forces, and Baldur frowned as the Menite warjacks reformed, massing for the charge as the wolds moved to meet them. From the hills the Avatar of Menoth strode, ready to engage in battle.  A long, tough fight still loomed as Baldur called upon the power of the earth, fracturing and splitting it before him, sending it shuddering in all directions...

My first 50-point game... it was impressive, to say the least. Unfortunately, there was nowhere near enough time to finish it. I'd say we got about halfway through.  While my opponent was of the firm belief that I "won" the match, I don't think so - I'd say that though I had made some impressive gains, the game was nowhere near finished at the point when we had to end for the night - I still firmly believe it could've still swung either way, especially with a powerhouse like the Avatar of Menoth still on the board and ready to fight.

The Lists:

Baldur the Stonecleaver Feral Warpwolf Pureblood Warpwolf Woldwarden Woldwatcher Woldwyrd Druids of Orboros + Druid Overseer Shifting Stones + Stone Keeper Blackclad Wayfarer Wolf Lord Morraig

Grand Scrutator Severius Avatar of Menoth Reckoner Blessing of Vengeance Redeemer Deliverers (full unit) Deliverer Sunburst Crew x2 Choir of Menoth Covenant of Menoth Vassal of Menoth Protectorate Vassal Mechanik Gorman di Wolfe The Wrack

Initial Thoughts:
So, it was Schno's suggestion that perhaps I field Baldur, since he knew Baldur would be the biggest counter to his forces with his Solid Ground spell and he wanted to see how well he coped against it. Initially I had thought I might field Krueger (since he does enjoy frying himself some Menites), but if Schno was willing to try taking on Baldur, then I was game. Schno's army was planned around AOEs... LOTS of them. Baldur's ability to negate blast damage would be a huge counter to that.
The druids and the overseer were a must-take as well: Since it was Menoth, I was expecting to see infantry - lots of them - and given Menoth's propensity for setting things alight (namely, heretics, i.e., everyone else in the world), so anything that could shield my troops, drop my own AOE in return, AND get immunity to fire was a must-have. I expected to see the Avatar, it was a no-brainer, so I was planning on having my druids once again see if they could push/pull targets into optimum positions to hamper it.
For the warbeasts, the constructs were a given with Baldur, and I was itching to try out my woldwatcher - this seemed like the place to do it. Woldwyrd would have the advantage against the upkeep spells the Protectorate so loves, and the warpwolves were there to wreck face and take names; Feral for the big targets, Pureblood more for infantry and his ghostly warp.
Shifting Stones were there to provide healing and mobility, the Blackclad was another anti-infantry/fire immune/and beast-helping solo, and Morraig is, well, Morraig. A fast, hard-hitting and 15 hit point solo is always worth it.
So the plan going in... wipe out the infantry and hit the support units. Without his support units, I should have a much simpler time (I hate the Menoth support units with a burning passion that rivals Krueger's).
...Easier said than done, right?

The Battle:
So, I've learned that it generally works better for Circle to go first, so I opted for that. Most of my forces were set up in the middle, with ruins for cover to the left and right.  Morraig was deployed to my far left for a flank. The rest waited for advance deployment.
Schno placed his army's jacks in the front and center, with the deliverer's off to my right, one sunburst almost dead ahead, the other to my left on the hilltop. The supporting units and warcaster were, once again, firmly behind everything where I couldn't easily get to them. Not surprising.
For the AD, the Druids were put forward to screen everyone, and on a whim, I placed the woldwatcher as far forward and angled towards the deliverers - I was going to try and see if I could distract Schno and keep his attentions focused on the light warbeast instead of my other forces.

Since I cannot remember the full sequence of events, I'll try and give the highlights for each round, as best I can recall.

Round 1:
Advance! Morraig ran forward, using the ruins for cover - his objective was to try and take out the left-hand Sunburst. The druids advanced and immediately threw up counter magic, elemental immunity, and cloud effects. Baldur cast Solid Ground and Rapid Growth for additional protection while placing a Stone Skin on the Woldwatcher for added durability. The warpwolves and wolds advanced under the cover of the clouds.  The woldwatcher put itself front and center and took on Stone Form - for ARM 23! Not bad for just a light! The Shifting Stones teleported the Woldwarden forward and the Blackclad shifted to the right for additional flanking.

Schno then went, throwing up his assorted benefits on his warjacks and advancing... Severius cast Vision on the Blessing of Vengeance and put up Eye of Menoth whereupon he took the bait and opened fire on the Woldwatcher, realizing he couldn't hit my other models. The Deliverers, Redeemer, Reckoner, and Sunburst crews all attacked... and when the smoke cleared, the little guy was beaten and battered and naturally, on fire... but still standing! Morraig took a five boxes of damage from a lucky pot-shot by the other Sunburst crew, but the Wolf Lord wasn't down yet. The Avatar advanced towards Morraig in case I opted to run him around the ruins and at his Choir and Covenant, but stayed at enough of an angle that I couldn't get a charge on him... not that I was going to try for that! The Avatar tried to hit Morraig with the Eye of Menoth, but was just a half-inch out of range, lucky for me.


Round 2: 
The woldwatcher continued to burn as the Stone Keeper moved forward and repaired some of the cracks and damage, restoring its damaged Mind spiral. The Woldwyrd advanced and fired on the Blessing of Vengeance, stripping away the Vision spell, but unable to damage the jack otherwise. However, the warpwolves went next, ghostly warped into the ruins and took cover, and the Pureblood got off a howl at the Blessing of Vengeance... wrecking its repulsor shield now that its defensive spell had been stripped away.  The woldwarden advanced and laid down a forest alongside the druids who advanced and did the same as they had the previous turn, shielding the majority of the forces. The Blackclad ran for a forest on the right, staying out of Deliverer range.
The woldwatcher, meanwhile, advanced and fired an elemental burst at the Deliverers, catching three of them, The lead deliverer died and burst into a forest, as did the second, providing my forces with yet more concealment before the wold again took on its Stone Form. Baldur maintained his upkeeps and advanced.  Morraig, however, broke for the hill at a run, skirting past the Avatar of Menoth and coming up behind the hill and right on top of the Sunburst crew, placing them into melee and preventing them from firing next turn.
On Schno's turn Gorman Di Wolfe rushed up to help the Deliverer crew and the Avatar stayed put, uncertain of where to go. The Deliverers had to advance past the forest that was once their companion and half fired once again on the woldwatcher, joined by the other Sunburst crew... and yet again, the little guy refused to fall despite the beating. The Blackclad ran for the forest, seeking cover behind a boulder as he prepared to get into range....

Rounds 3 & 4:
Memory's a little fuzzy here...
Morraig swung at the Sunburst crew, hoping to whittle them down, but no luck - he whiffed on the attack. Gorman Di Wulfe arrived moments later and blinded him with a Smoke Bomb. With his Defense reduced, the Wolf Lord was an easy target for the Avatar of Menoth as it charged up the hill to finish him off.
Half of the Deliverers fired on the Blackclad, who was saved by his cover while the rest fired, and missed, at their intended targets.

The Vassal Mechanik appeared to repair the damaged Blessing of Vengeance, getting its shield back up and active. The Covenant of Menoth along with the Choir meant my Druids of Orboros couldn't get close enough to use their Force bolts, since they prevented me from using my spells on much of his army.
Meanwhile, the Pureblood used its Ghostly warp to pop out from the ruins and issue a death howl at the unit of Deliverers, who fared very poorly against the attack. What was left was nearly mopped up to a man by the Blackclad who advanced and stone sprayed down the survivors.
The Shifting Stones healed the Woldwatcher again. Together, it and the Woldwarden advanced to shield the  and Baldur by placing themselves in the charge lanes of the Menite 'jacks. The druids parted to let the constructs through while placing themselves into position where they could hopefully be out of the Covenant's range next turn to be able to use their force bolt spells.
The Woldwyrd meanwhile opened fire on the Sunburst ballista dead ahead and scored with all three hits, eliminating the crew and the weapon. The Feral Warpwolf ghostly warped as well, placing itself in a counter-charge position to hammer any Menite 'jack that attempted to charge the Woldwarden the next round.

Finally, Baldur popped his feat to make things tougher for the Menites to handle by limiting their charge ranges and ability to launch ranged attacks...

At this point the store was closing, so the game had to end.

Final Thoughts:
This was a fun game, and I wish we could've seen it through to the end, but we didn't have the two hours we likely would've needed. I evidently demoralized Schno, who seemed pretty convinced that he couldn't penetrate the Baldur/Druids shield I had going and therefore wasn't going to win. To be honest, as I originally stated, I don't think that was the case. I may've crippled his AOE-producing capacity, but he was far from helpless, and I've had one too many games swing wildly in the end such that the "loser" suddenly pulled a win out of his hat... so I have no illusions; With the rest of his forces he could've still soundly beaten me, especially given that he still had all his jacks in almost perfect fighting condition and along with all his support units. For some reason, I still have trouble getting at Menite support units, which should make my job a lot easier.
I'd like to try out some more 50-pt games at some point. When we have enough time to finish them.