Ah, the complicated existence of someone who cannot settle in and paint just one type of model over and over. Just as I’m getting started with Convergence of Cyriss, I start to feel like I want to paint something else. Of course, that means my plan to play only one Warmachine faction and one Hordes faction in 2017 has been long-since lost (this week’s games makes 3 different Warmachine factions and two Hordes).

I figured that if I wanted a change in painting I’d better do something worth my time. So I finally painted up a model that’s been intimidating me for a while: The Harbinger of Menoth. I assembled her last September or October, and got some initial colors on to her model before I stopped. It was time to get going and get her completed. That led to even more model completion from amid some of the Protectorate stuff I have acquired.

I’m pretty pleased with how the model turned out. I honestly like the scheme for the penitents who are towing her along maybe more than Harbinger–I definitely need to complete my Choir and add some Zealots and the Covenant to my painting queue. That said, I also like how Harbinger turned out. The red armor is something that I’m really getting comfortable with, and I think it works well on the tabletop.

I also painted up a Mercenary model: Rhupert Carvolo, the Piper of Ord. As I will never, ever play Cygnar, he really is only for my Protectorate force. So I made sure that some elements of his clothes and armor matched with the look of my Protectorate force. But I still wanted him to be a bit different, so I made the odd orange color that I use for occasional sashes on Protectorate models the dominant color on him. It also gave me a chance to explore some rudimentary plaid patterns on the bag pipes. 

On the gaming side of things, well… if I’ve got new models painted I want to play them. So out came my Protectorate for a few games–all using Harbinger as my Warcaster.

First up, a match against Ryan’s classic-scheme Skorne, led by Makeda1. This game would have ended in a win for me, but it was his first time fielding Molik Karn and he messed up a bit of the order of activation in going for the long-distance kill run. I was happy to let Ryan sort it out, and Molik did indeed finish off the Harbinger. Was a fun game, and taught me that I need more bodies in the force. Even if I’m planning on only using Martyrdom on a few, I need to have that stand-off space in the army. 

Second game I played against Larry’s Cryx, led by Deneghra1. The bulk of the force was two units of Satyxis Raiders and a unit of Satyxis Witches. It was a fun game, it was a curious puzzle for how engagement would go for both of us. I ended up losing thanks in large part to feedback damage from the Raiders’ whips. I definitely need to be ready for that in future games, and have more of an answer for infantry than I did. Of course, I also forgot to set my unit of Flamebringers on the table, and that really hurt my ability to be anti-infantry. Hopefully I can get a rematch in sometime against this force, as I think I’d like to see how I can go about the puzzle of stopping all those high-defense models a second time. 

My third game was against Steve’s Retribution, led by Kaelyssa. This was an odd battle–his warjacks were definitely ahead in attrition, but they were all clusters on one end of the battlefield–while the critical action was taking place elsewhere. Eventually the Flamebringers closed their way in on Kaelyssa and managed to kill her in a round of swirling melee.

Followed those games with a game against Dan’s Retribution of Scyrah. Was glad to see him back into the hobby after a break, but less glad to see the one Mage Hunter Assassin that managed to slip past my back line. I presumed it would go for support staff, as I had 15 hit points and only 2 damage on Harbinger. But he went for her instead, cranked the damage roll, and killed her in a single hit. Bad risk-taking on my part to be sure. Still a very fun game, as Harbinger’s feat and Protectorate shenanigans posed a tough puzzle for his infantry-heavy force. 

Next took my Protectorate against a newer player in our meta–yet another Andy. He’s working on a Cygnar force, but also had some Khador. He took Kozlov, and as Harbinger is kind of wonky for newer players to face, I took Feora2. While the first-starting Redeemer did amazing work, and she had a silly amount of focus on her feat turn, she couldn’t pull off a personal assassination. Kozlov’s defense gets powerfully high with any sort of buff to increase it, and my dice went cold in the game. Feora2 suffered a Juggernaut to the back as a result of the failed assassination run, and that was that. 

365 Points Challenge Progress (2017):

199/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2017: 49 (Win/Loss 33/16/0); 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)

Protectorate of Menoth:

1 Win (Kaelyssa) / 4 Losses (Makeda1, Deneghra1, Thyron, Kozlov)

Trollbloods:

5 Wins (Gaspy1, Terminus, Barnabas, Gunnbjorn, Kaya2) / 1 Loss (Feora3)

Skorne:

8 Wins (Kaelyssa, Nemo3, Zaadesh2, Makeda1 x2, Kaya3, Grayle, MacBain) / 4 Losses (Makeda2, Venethrax, Grayle, Horgle2)

Convergence of Cyriss:

6 Wins (Maddox, Haley2, Rask, Helynna, Makeda1, Gorten) / 2 Losses (Venethrax, Helynna)

Retribution of Scyrah:

13 Wins (Tanith x2, Venethrax x2, Malekus, Gaspy1, Ragnor, Zaadesh2 x2, Grayle, Borka1, Makeda1, Strakov) / 5 Losses (Zaadesh2, Thyra, Xekaar, Tanith, Gaspy1)

• Warmachine/Hordes