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 - 9/22/11

So, again, it's been some time since the last post. I'm happy to say that while I haven't painted as much in the meantime, I've not been completely idle - I've done some substantial work on some figures.

The first one of note is Krueger, the Stormlord. It's take some time, but he's about 70% finished. The item of note with Krueger is the stylized lightning bolt I've made for him out of brass wire, arcing from his outstretched hand, around his spear, and into his base.  So far it looks pretty neat, even unpainted. I'm hoping it'll look even better once it's done.  I'm still debating whether or not to incorporate any OSL to a large degree... the tabletop part of me just wants to get it done well enough to get him on the table, while the display painter part wants to actually try and get the OSL done (and done right, at that). Tough call. For now, I'm thinking of sticking more with the tabletop part of me.  (I'm also very pleased to note that I managed to avoid giving Krueger the "Eek! A Mouse!" expression the studio model is well-known for. Mine actually looks kinda pissed off and ready to fry something... preferably, Menites).

Also finally finished working on the very first of the Warpborn Skinwalkers - the Unit Leader is now completely painted and ready to be used as a base template for the other two.

Battle Reports: eKaya vs. eMorghoul / pKrueger vs. Gorten

Battle Report 1: Kaya the Moonhunter vs. Lord Assassin Morghoul - 15 pts.

Morghoul hissed in fury as he swiped Mercy at the Argus, forcing the two-headed canine to abandon its twin bites to his leg and torso. He ignored his bleeding wounds and danced back from the quivering, eviscerated corpse of the Feral Warpwolf he had slain only moments earlier, then turned at the sound of a raw howl in time to see massive white wolf lope towards him, coming in low. A split-second later the wolf's howl was answered by a massive roar as the Bronzeback Titan charged forward with the mass of a steam-powered train to intercept the wolf in a bone-shattered blow that threw the beast to the ground, its howl turning to a high yelp of agony as bones broke under the impact. Morghoul flicked back Mercy in anticipation of delivering the finishing stroke when a female voice broke from behind him.
"NO ONE harms my companion!" The skorne assassin's head twisted in surprise - the young human female had not been there moments before, she had simply materialized. Caught off-guard, Morghoul attempted to parry, but the young woman's spear flashed quicker than expected to stab deep into his gut...

The Lists:

Kaya the Moonhunter Laris Feral Warpwolf Argus Tharn Bloodtrackers

Lord Assassin Morghoul Bronzeback Titan Cyclops Savage Cataphract Arcuarii

Initial Thoughts:
First time playing against Skorne. I had anticipated a much tougher victory, but some good tactics, backed up by some lucky rolls, swung things in my favor to give me the victory.  I also think my opponent was a tad overconfident (this same player was originally to be part of our current D&D group, but he was dropped partially on account of all the other players got sick and tired of him espousing all the other awesome things he had done in previous games...). He was playing with one of the heaviest non-character warbeasts in the game, and one hell of a nasty combat-caster, and he was counting on both to win him the game.  I had heard of how nasty Morghoul could be, but I had yet to experience it for myself - until he charged my undamaged Feral and proceeded to turn it into little bloody ribbons.  I also had some serious doubts about the Bloodtrackers' ability to deal with the Arcuarii, but they did surprisingly well. That said, my victory almost didn't make it, as the Bronzeback that almost ended my chances before I got there - countercharge placed Laris at exactly 1 remaining life box... but that was just enough to let me get Kaya into place.

Breakdown:
Kaya - Did decently well. Arced Muzzle through Laris to prevent the Bronzeback from moving up to engage my forces or use countercharge initially against the Feral. At game's end she used Laris' animus to teleport into flanking position behind Morghoul for the winning assassination run.

Laris - Mostly used as a "Bark node." Nearly died when setting up the assassination run due to being countercharged by the Bronzeback down to 1 hit point.

Feral Warpwolf - Ripped the Cyclops Savage to smithereens. Died to Morghoul.

Argus - Used the Doppler bark to paralyze several Arcuarii, but that didn't do much. However, scored a boosted Combo Bite on Morghoul just before Kaya went after him and finished him off.

Tharn Bloodtrackers - Tied up the Arcuarii. I didn't expect them to do well when he surprised me by running his Arcuarii up to engage them before I could use my javelins, since their clawed bucklers aren't too impressive. Instead, some really good rolls saw them take down the heavy infantry and suffer only modest losses in return.

Conclusion:
I definitely did not expect Morghoul to be THAT effective in combat. I now wonder if perhaps I should run Kaya a little more aggressively - having her and Laris flank a target should likely see that target destroyed. I think my opponent had a good idea to run very aggressively - I certainly didn't expect him to be engaging my troops that quickly, and I definitely did not expect to see his warlock charge (and kill!) my heavy. However, I had the right idea of how to initially deal with his Bronzeback... by NOT engaging something that big directly. Muzzle meant that for all its scary presence it couldn't do anything, which led him having to bringing Morghoul up to the front ranks and into range of my other beasts. So... maybe some more aggression from me, and maybe a little less from my opponent. ;)

Battle Report 2: Krueger the Stormwrath vs. Gorten Grundback

Krueger settled to the earth at the edge of the forest as he released the wind's hold keeping him aloft.  To the west, the Wolf Lord and his mount were busy finishing up the noisy gun 'jack while to the east the gorax fell upon the dwarven shield wall in a savage fury, tearing it to pieces and hurtling startled dwarves about in its mindless wrath. At his mental command, the feral warpwolf loped forward from the remains of the other 'jack, now a collection of scrap metal. Krueger scanned the area, looking for the enemy caster. Just as his eyes alighted on the dwarf, the ground suddenly gave a mighty heave, pitching and swelling as boulders and other rocks rolled and jumped along, carrying Krueger into the open. As he climbed back to his feet in surprise, he felt the fire of the first slug rip through his armor and into his side. Before he could transfer the injury, two more gunshots rang out, and Krueger slumped to the ground...

The Lists:

Krueger the Stormwrath Feral Warpwolf Gorax Druids of Orboros Druid Overseer Wolf Lord Morraig

Gorten Grundback Ghordson Basher Grundback Gunner Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corp Hammerfall High Shield Officer & Standard Bearer Thor Steinhammer

Initial Thoughts:
Quick friendly game with Tim, with both of us testing out lists for the Highlander Tournament on Mar. 5th. Mostly a test-bed to see if either of our ideas had any merit. While I did surprisingly well with my list, I ultimately lost due entirely to carelessness on my part. However, after gauging his performance, Tim has decided not to run this list at the tournament.

Breakdown:

Krueger - Did what he does best... fries infantry. His feat took out a fair number of High Shields. Between him, the Druids, and the Gorax, the dwarves' resolve broke and then went running. Krueger's Wind Wall helped shield my models, some. Died to a combination of Gorten's feat (which pulled him into the open) and gunfire (more on that below).

Feral Warpwolf - Took out the Ghordson Basher.

Gorax - Acted as fury battery and a dwarf-muncher. Used his Primal animus to make certain he broke through the High Shields' high armor and sent them running. Poised to go after Gorten next.

Druids of Orboros / Druid Overseer- First screened the advance with their vortexes, then used force bolts to pull the High Shields formation apart and twice drop the Devouring on them.

Wolf Lord Morraig - Came in on the flank at top speed. Killed Thor (who was 'jack marshaling the Gunner) and damaged the Grundback Gunner. Would likely have taken the 'jack out if Krueger hadn't died.

Conclusion:
While I'm impressed with how the list did, and even moreso that I seem to have finally found some reliable ways of peeling apart dwarven formations, I lost due to one careless mistake... I didn't pay attention to my stats. Specifically, I had initially left a point of Fury on Krueger for transfers, then realized my beasts were at full Fury so I wouldn't be able to transfer, anyways. So I ditched the fury.
...Only, I forgot the gorax can hold up to 4 Fury, and he was only at 3. So had I kept the Fury, I could've easily transferred the damage from Gorten's first shot to the gorax and survived the second, then wiped out his caster next turn.
Overall, though, I think the list is strong enough to work for the tournament, so it should be fun.