Warmachine!

We finally set up a proper game of Warmachine yesterday! Although I have been dabbling in this system for a few years, nothing has ever really come of it. And lthough a few friends and I decided to committ to this game last fall, it wasn't until yesterday evening that we managed to give it a proper go - but it was worth the wait!

Many would scoff at the idea of using the word "proper" when matching two Battlebox starter forces against each other (a game that doesn't even match the minimum 15 pts Duel size game format), however I define "proper" in a more wholistic sense: a nice gameboard, painted miniatures, keen and focused players, etc.

I used my Cygnar force (although I have a Retribution of Scyrah force ready as well), and my buddy Marw brought his newly painted Marcenaries Battlebox force! So the evening had to begin with enjoying the study of newly painted models over a cup of coffee (Marw's own picture copied below, with an additional 'jack to the force played yesterday)!

I love the way the greens and browns characterize the more rural and rugged Mercenary character - and although I don't have a picture of it the freehand on teh back of Magnus's tattered cape is fantastic! I hope to get a picture in the future!

We used some of the Wrath of Kings terrain for the evening's game, and outr objective was to give the Quickstart rules a try! We'll have to learn all the rules again when MkIII (3rd edition) is released this summer - but who cares? The journey of learning these rules together, with new forces; is a joy in itself!

We spent the evening playing through the game, filling most moves with a lot of discussion and exploration of the Quckstart and unit rules; but that was alright! Getting a sense of the possibilities, and watching Marw get his head around how this game works - made it a great evening!

Cygnar got off to a great start and destroyed the Mercenary Talon turn two, and although they retaliated by destroying the Lancer the boys in blue kept the moementum and looked like they were going to roll over Magnus's battlegroup. However, just as Stryker was about to close the trap Magnus caught him getting just a bit too close and managed to strike him down with his near-destroyed Ravanger 'jack. Very exciting!

I'm still thrilled with the feeling of having to constantly be on your toes playing this game! Even though you feel like you have the upper hand, and sudden mistake and some creative play can turn the tables in a heartbeat! That suits me just fine, as I have come to realize that I can easily loose focus on a game with a more predictable for which requires a lot of waiting.

I am also thrilled by the knowledge of how quickly you can make switches in this game (by switch I mean adding new models and changing the way you play), knowing how dramatically your force can change with the addition of even a single model! Even though I haven't played much yet I have already come to greatly appreciate less of a feeling of rush to get my models painted. I can take a little more time and explore the painting side with less sense of pressure to wrap them up for the tabletop!

On the subject of painting, I've been investing a little time and working on how to make my own bases and explore snow effects. I started with EonsofBattle's tutorials (EonsofBattle), and have been adding my own variations to the process (in particularly adding washes and turfts of grass) as I gain more experience.

I also attepted the harispray technique when painting the 'jacks, using SchnauzerFaceMini's turtorial  (Stormwall Tutorial) as a guide. I'm not convinced it is worth it on such small models and normal warjacks, but it was a fun learning experience nonetheless. Point is, I felt comfortable taking my time trying new things since I only had to paint 4 models to get started!

As I mentioned earlier my Retribution of Scyrah Battlebox force is finished, but I am almost finished (around 90%) with my Trollblood and Legion of Everblight Battlebox forces as well. Perhaps it is overkill to have four armies, but I am still enamored by how quickly I can get a new force up and running - even when experimenting at the painting table - and love the idea of exploring the game at such a basic level as the Quickstart Rules.

That's my segway into my parting thoughts. Usually getting started with a miniature wargame involves collecting and (depending on your local gaming culture) painting a force to match what your buddies (or local meta) is playing. Locally there is a good group of guys who gather for weekly 35 and 50 pts matches, for instance. Regardless of how experienced you are at painting, and how friendly the group is - this will typically entail a gruelling aspirant period of pressuring yourself into getting done with your painting and subsequently getting your rear end beat for a number of games until you start to figure things out - all while being excessively influenced into changing your army and playstyle into "what wins" - quite often form a competitive point-of-view.

Although there is nothing wrong with this, given your tenacity to stick out a hard aspirant period - I find it robs one of a great experience of discovery and exploration! Keeping the painting limited to 3-5 models, learning the rules with a friend, figuring out tactics and combinations as you play more evenly matched games, and developing your collection based on a far more personal desire for new models / units is arguably a far more rewarding journey!

Aftermath Campaign (Star Wars: Imperial Assault)

We suffered a short delay between cycles as we prepared for a run of Star Wars: Imperial Assault. This s a game that I was quite excited about before it's release, mostly for the chance to do a little Star Wars 28mm model painting! The boys picked it up for me as a gift for my 40th, and once I stumbled across Sorastro's Youtube channel I found it a pleasurable set to paint up in between other projects.

Precisely because I was working on other projects, I was happy to make Sorastro's tutorials a simple way to knock out a few these models every know and then, which I've been doing since January. Those tutorial videos are some of the better ones made on Youtube, a pleasure to watch and simple to follow - perfect for the beginner and professional enough for the experienced painter. If you are not familiar with them please check out his channel: Sorastro's Painting

Last week we spent an evening running through the tutorial and getting a grip on the rules. That allowed us to jump right into it this evening with gusto! Nipo, Marw, Blunt and Mane played the Rebel Scum while I manifested my inner Sith and did my best to thwart the so-called "good guys".

It doesn't look like much, but the painted miniatures really brings the small skirmish maps to life! The gameplay was fast and furious, and we had a lot of fun! Everybody prepared by watching a few tutorial online, but although they were useful we all agreed they were not great. In hindsight I would say watch a descent review of the game (like this review) just to get an awareness of how the game flows and jump right into the tutorial.

The co-op element is very entertaining, but we immediately started entertaining thoughts of a time limitation. This was not because discussions were bogging the game down in a negative way, but simply considering how to move the missions along at a slightly faster pace so that campaigns don't end up lasting months and months! We got two missions done in 4 hours, and with about 9 missions to a campaign (as I understand it) increasing game effect to 3 or even 4 missions an evening would make a huge difference. And with all the great expansions offered by FFG this is simply a necessity given all the other stuff we want to play as well!

The characters played were Fenn, Diala, Jyn and Garkhan, and the missions we played were Aftermath and Homecoming! That second mission was a steep learning curve (we hadn't looked too closely into allies before it came up in the mission briefing). However, that worked quite well - and the players were all stoked to see the characters that turned up!


I can't quite judge the game on it's narrative feel yet, but we certainly had a lot of laughs and are looking forward to continuing the campaign next week. I'm going to look for a time glass that runs about 2 minutes, and experiment with using that for every activation (Imperial as well as rebels). In addition the rebel players will get a few minutes to discuss tactics before their turn begins. This should help get a mission down to about 1 hour, especially when combined with an ever-increasing confidence with rules and tactics.

I will get some proper shots of the gameplay and the miniatures next week as well! For now consider that a good sign that we had so much fun we forgot to take more pictures!

The Yavin Retaliation: Advanced Gunnery (Star Wars: Armada)

 
Captain Draygan confidence was restored, but noevertheless the edge of obsession in the orders of the Sith Lord unsettled him. The Vindictive was operational again, and he was under orders to form up with another Gladiator-class Star Destroyer and accompany the Dominator in closing the trap. Darth Vader was adamant that the Rebels must be stopped. However, intelligence was reporting that the Rebels were forming up and preparing to fight their way out of the system, and that their force was spearheaded by two Assault Mark II-class frigates. 

Draygan did not like the odds of forcing a head-on engagement between the Dominator and two large frigates.

Nevertheless, he had just learned a lession on the value of bold tactics. And the rebels were in a desperate position - they needed to escape the sytem without significant losses.

Draygan put all doubt from him mind as he oversaw his flight officers forming the Vindictive up on the Dominator's starbord flank.

They would punish these rebel scum.

We lost a week due to sudden work demands, but last Thursday we moved on and finished the third and final game of this campaign / cycle. In the meanwhile we had received a few more ships in the mail (a back-order that finally arrived), so agreed to make lists that got these into play. That meant two Assault Frigate Mk IIs for Marw, and two Gladiators for me.

Although there was not hobby progress planned (we're still focused on upcoming cycles), Marw was inspired to add a little something anyway. He picked up a Nebulon-B and gave it an extra few details to pick it out as a rebel command ship.

The "Salvation":

We both felt our understanding of the game was growing, and that finally we were beginning to get a sense of the rules, fleet design, and tactics all coming together. Nevertheless, the agreement to include the aforementioned ships lent itself to yet another round using lists of a more playful, experimental nature.

The Objective: Advanced Gunnery

The Imperial Fleet:

Victory I-class Star Destroyer "Dominator" (Admiral Screed, Wulf Yularen)

Gladiator II-class Star Destroyer (Assault Concussion Missiles, Veteran Captain)

Gladiator II-class Star Destroyer (Assault Concussion Missiles)

3x TIE Fighter Squadrons

Howlrunner

Fidor Draygan - Imperial Captain of the "Vindictive"

This campaign had provided Captain Draygan's career with a roller-coaster ride, but as he lead the Vindictive towards the Rebel spearhead he purged all unease from himself and focused on the task of unrelenting destruction.

The Rebel Fleet:

Assault Frigate MkIIA (Gunnery Team, Enhanced Armament, Electronic Countermeasures)

Assault Frigate MkIIA (Gunnery Team, Enhanced Armament)

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate "Salvation" (Mon Mothma, Veteran Captain

Edaara Durgen - Rebel Fighter Pilot ("counts as" Veteran Captain)

Edaara was still not medically cleared for flight operations, but this was a mute point as Mon Mothma had recalled all fighters in order to make a more concetrated "punch" out of the system. Neveretheless, Edaara's council was considered valuable, so she was posted on the Bridge of teh Salvation to advice counter-fighter tactics.

First Player: Imperial Player (me)

Battle Report:

I set up rather aggressive with my Star Destroyers, with the Victory-class in the middle and the two Gladiator-class ships to his right. The Rebels deployed slightly off-center across from the Imperials, with the Nebulon-B in the middle between two Assault Frigates.

I selected the Dominator as my "objective ship", while Marw nominated the Assault Frigate furthest from me. Then we attacked!

The Imperial ships burned all ahead forward, overwhelming one of the Assault Frigates. While the Star Destroyers folded in on the Rebel's left flank, crippling the Nebulon-B in their relentless onslaught; return fire hammered the Dominator.

Despite full focus on restoring shields, the desperate Rebel fire finally overcame the Star Destroyer, leaving the objective ship drifting dead in space. Beyond the wreckage, the two Gladiators strove to reach teh final Assault Frigate, but were out of effective range.

Victory Points: By destroying the Dominator the Rebels had taken the lead with more than 200 Victory Points, which was more than the two Imperial kills were worth. Since there was no way the Gladiators would be able to catch up to and destroy the last Assault Frigate in Round 6, I called the game - and the campaign - with a honorable handshake.

Conclusion: Despite suffering some painful losses, the Rebel fleet managed to enact an effective escape from the Yavin sector with the majority of their forces. Although Draygan's personal actions had been praiseworthy, playing a key role in the crippling of two Rebel ships; his redemption was cast in the shadow of the fleet's ultimate failure to capture the Rebels at Yavin.

Edaara would soon return to flight status, but her success in the Yavin Retaliation was not due to her piloting skills, but the work she did on the bridge of the Salvation ensuring that Imperial fighters were not able to pose a serious threat to the Rebel fleet.

The Yavin Retaliation: Contested Outpost (Star Wars: Armada)

 
Captain Draygan contemplated how exactly his career would be ended as he oversaw the repairs to the Vindictive. His cautious approach had seen him caught in the rebel's trap, and despite his angry frustration there was nothing to be done than accept his fate. When he was eventually called to a holographic conference with the Lord Vader Draygan stole himself for the worst.

The Sith Lord's expression of  disappointment in the Captain's performance did not surprise Draygan, but the sudden order to report to the "Commander" and take command of the
Victory II-class Star Destroyer did. Reeling from the sudden change of direction, Captain Draygan barely noted Lord Vader's brief explanation that the commander of the newly arrived Star Destroyer had become indisposed.

The Captain felt a curious numbness throughout his shuttle-flight to the "Commander", but as he walked on to the bridge of the Star Destroyer the last words of the Sith Lord galvanized his resolve; "Do not disappoint me again...".

The Rebels may have won the opening moves, but the Imperial fleet was reorganized and reinforced. The Rebels were not in a position to escape yet, stationed as they were protecting the evacuation efforts. As Admiral Screed transmitted his orders for the second attack, Draygan decided to embrace a far more offensive tactic.

He would not fail the Dark Lord's trust...

Moving on to our second game we both wanted to toy around with our list a bit, focusing more on experimentation than getting to carried away with list efficiency. In that regard we also seized the excuse to paint up a few more squadrons.

First up are the TIE Bombers:

TIE Advanced:

And finally the A-wing squadrons:

Marw and myself both feel that any given game cycle (and preferably every game) should be enhanced with some hobby progress, even if it is just a model or small terrain feature. Therefore these squadrons make perfect additions for this cycle given that one of the main reasons for spending some time on Armada is to give us time to paint up other stuff for future cycles.

The Objective: Contested Outpost

The Imperial Fleet:

Victory II-class Star Destroyer "Dominator" (Admiral Screed, XX-9 Turbolasers, Veteran Captain, Sensor Team)

Victory II-class Star Destroyer (XX-9 Turbolasers, Veteran Captain, Point Defense Reroute)

2x TIE Advanced Squadrons

2x TIE Interceptor Squadrons

2x TIE Bombers Squadrons

Fidor Draygan - Imperial Captain of the "Vindictive"

Captain Draygan found himself tranferred to the Commander in order to take command of the Imperial Victory II-class Star Destroyer. The Vindictive was undergoing emergency battlefield repair, but would not be ready for the second strike, and the captain of the Commander had suffered an unforseen accident during its hyperflight to the Yavin system.

Draygan had been given an opportunity to make up for his initial failure, and he would make the most of it.

The Rebel Fleet:

Assault Frigate MkII (Expanded Hanger Bay, Mon Mothma, Weapons Liaison)

CR-90 (Overload Pulse)

CR-90 "Tantive IV" (Raymus Antilles)

Luke Skywalker

2x X-wing squadrons

2x A-wing squadrons

2x Y-wing squadron

Edaara Durgen - Rebel Fighter Pilot

Edaara had to eject during the initial battle, but was promptly rescued by a reble shuttle. Although the medics rushed to get her battle ready, knowing the danger was far from over; she would not be able to take another star fighter to combat just yet.

First Player: Imperial Player (me)

Battle Report:

The two Star Destroyers deployed on the flank, close to the objective. The Rebels chose a more cautious deployment on the opposite diagonal, with the exception of one CR-90 that was to grab some early victory point before veering off to the flank for a come-around.

The two Star Destroyers drove straight towards the objective, and unfortunately for the Rebels managed to destroy the courageous Tantive IV. This put the rest of the Rebel fleet on their back foot as they were forced to deal with two Star Destroyers camping the objective at a slow cruise by turn three.

There was a furious star fighter battle where Rebel squadrons daringly cut through Imperial Star Fighters for multiple bombing runs on the Commander, supported by long-range fleet bombardment. Despite being heavily mauled, the Commander held together and its position, denying the Rebels space superiority.

(Unfortunately we did not take any pictures of the gameplay.)

Victory Points: 167 (Imperials) vs 63 (Rebels)

Conclusion:

The Rebel fleet was running out of time. They had done all they could, to remain any longer was to invite a high risk of unacceptable looses. Whatever remained on Yavin now would simply have to stay behind. Those left on the base were ordered to immediately abandon the planet and prepare to escape the system.

While the Imperial fleet closed in on the planet, the Rebel fleet prepared themselves to run the gauntlet towards free space.

The Yavin Retaliation: Fleet Ambush (Star Wars: Armada)

 
In the long days of chaos following the destruction of the first Death Star, the Empire tried to make sense of what had happened. Grand Moff Tarkin had arrogantly rushed into destruction without accurately reporting the location of the rebel base. A great number of high-ranking Imperial officers had gone missing, including the dark lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Emperor Palepatine had withdrawn, and the remaining Imperial authority was in disarray.

The rebellion, as surprised at their own success as any Imperial command, fought to maintain the secrecy of their Yavin base. For months, they continued to operate, rallying from the battle and trying to hold on to their momentum. Eventually rebel command had to concede that the secret location of their base had once again been compromised and a general evacuation was ordered.

Darth Vader suffered several difficult trials following the Battle of Yavin, but ultimately the fallen Jedi survived and managed to reassume his position within the Empire. Impatient to enact his vengeance, Darth Vader assembled a retaliatory strike force of several Star Destroyers that he lead back to Yavin.

Having been forewarned of the Empire’s knowledge of their base, the rebels were fortunately in the final stages of evacuation when Darth Vader’s fleet arrived. As the Star Destroyers erupted from hyperspace, a stern guard fleet of rebel frigates and corvettes moved to intercept: their mission to buy the evacuation a little more time.

The Objective: Fleet Ambush

The Imperial Fleet:

 Victory II-class Star Destroyer "Dominator" (Admiral Screed, Expanded Hanger Bay, XX-9 Turbolasers)

Gladiator II-class Star Destroyer (Assault Concussion Missiles, Nav Team) (see below)

Howlrunner

2x TIE Interceptor Squadrons

7x TIE Fighter Squadrons

Fidor Draygan - Captain of the Gladiator II-class "Vindictive" (free Officer upgrade - no ability)

Draygan is a son of Denon, born to a middle-class family of that Imperial world. Although never considered brilliant, his focus and diligence earned him a commission from the Imperial Academy. His work ethic saw him rise steadily through the Naval ranks, but never earning particularly prestigious assignments. This did not bother Daygan, however; who was proud of eventually earning command of the Vindictive. He was content to fulfill his career diligently carrying out Outer Rim patrol duties, but the events following the Battle of Yavin saw him thrust into unforeseen circumstance. As Darth Vader hastily assembled a retaliatory force to strike at the rebel base of Yavin, the Vindictive was near-at-hand and ordered to support the Dominator.

Although uncomfortable with the situation, Draygan nevertheless recognized the opportunity this presented should he perform to the Sith Lord's satisfaction. Darth Vadar was not known for his forgiving nature, but Draygan put his trust in the stoic work ethic that had seen him successful this far.

The Rebel Fleet:

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (Mon Mothma, Nav Team, Veteran Captain)

2x CR-90 (Overload Pulse)

CR-90 (Nav Team, Enhanced Armament)

Wedge Antilles (see below)

X-wing Squadron

2x Y-wing Squadron

Edaara Durgen - Pilot (Wedge counts-as)

Edaara hails from the Talay system in the Mid Rim. Her parents were dengu farmers. A local algae grown in large shallow lakes. At the age of seventeen Edaaras family lakes were the victims of an imperial take over to turn the lake districts into a new star port. During the protests that followed, her father was killed by the imperial suppression force. Edaara and her mother fled the system as stow aways to Najiba of the Faj system in the Outer Rim Territories.

Growing up Edaara spent much time to care for her mother. She came to work as a co-pilot on a freighter. At the age of 24 she decided to join the rebel alliance. She quickly displayed a great talent for piloting and has since risen to become commander of Firewing Squadron.

First Player: Rebel player (Marw)

Battle Report:

The Imperial fleet arrived in a tight formation, pouncing upon the lone CR-90 that had strayed too far into the ambush zone.

The force was with the blockade runner, as it escaped Imperial fire relatively unscathed and came about on an escape vector. Meanwhile, the rest of the Rebel fleet began to respond.

The escaping CR-90 came about again, looking to out-flank the Imperial fleet. Although tempted to pursue and box in, Admiral Screed decided against it in favor of maintaining a strong defensive stance against the remaining Rebels.

Seeing an opening and loosing patience, the Admiral ordered the fighters in to clear out the X-wing and Y-wing nuisance. Although successful, the Imperial squadrons got caught in a brutal Rebel crossfire and were mostly wiped out. This opened a clear path to the Vindictive, and in a heroic act of sacrifice another CR-90 shot forward and hit it with a pulse overload, disabling its defenses.

Although the Dominator obliterated the courageous corvette, the damage was already done. Combined fire by the remaining Rebel ships disabled the Vindictive even as they struggled to regain shields. The fire from the Dominator was relentless, but the Rebel pilots did their utmost to escape the worst fields of fire and thus managed to keep their ships intact.

Victory Points: Rebels 135 vs. Imperials 99

Conclusion:

The fierce Rebel counter-assault had robbed the Imperial fleet of their initiative and a great number of their fighter squadrons. The Vindictive was disabled and Howlrunner barely able to limp back to her Dominator.

The Rebels had all reason to be relieved that they had won the opening moves of the battle, but the evacuation of Yavin was still ongoing and there were several Star Destroyers in the system, including an unscratched Dominator.

Edaara had punched out of her X-wing and was fortunate to be amongst those EVA pilots rescued. Captain Draygan found himself in a less fortunate circumstance, however; having failed to anticipate the Rebel's gambit and greatly displeased Lord Vader. The officer knew that unless he got the Vindictive repaired and back in the fight his career would literally have a short life expectancy.