Some local gaming updates, my own list progression, some shots from games, and painting progress all to share in this post.

Recently our local store, Drawbridge Games, hosted a Winter Rampage event. We had two tables where two different team-ups happened, and it was a lot of fun to run the event and watch the carnage.

Top are shots from the big Khador versus Circle, two-vs-two game. The Winter Rampage scenario had defenders in the middle with attackers coming from all sides. Circle chose to stick to one side, so the Khador wedge formed in the middle. The lower shot is from Cygnar versus Skorne. Despite some big heavies coming in and destroying a lot of stuff, defenders win when model count drops too low on the attackers, and they managed to stave off Skorne and triumph. Was a very close thing!

As for my gaming, I’ve been reading through an extensive forum blog about Minions that Nicholas in the Minions facebook group put me on to: Azahul’s Experiments with Sturm & Drang and a Dracodile. I’ve been starting to paint up some Farrow to explore that side of the faction, and this was a perfect way to enter that side while still using some of the pieces I’ve already done. I really like the combo of Sturm & Drang with a Dracodile, all the more now that I’ve played it some. I got in three matches, and I think I’m going to keep experimenting with them going forward for a while.

(Clockwise from Left) First up, I had a good game against Ryan’s Cryx, and Gaspy2. Their access to ghostly was tough to manage, but the Farrow warbeasts did a great job cleaning up threats so that there wasn’t enough on the board to stop the Dracodile from getting to Gaspy. Ended with assassination and no points scored by either side. Second game was against Mike’s Cygnar and Siege1. I took a lot of losses in the game, but got to the point where Siege1 had committed his feat and resources to taking out all my stuff. Sturm & Drang had to get the job done themselves. So they switched to Drang mode, rumbled in, and smashed Siege1 pretty handily. I’m definitely liking the pocket potential for personal assassination. Having Puppet Master and Hunter’s Mark from solos can turn up Drang as well as any of the beasts in the list. Finally a match against Patrick’s Retribution and Kaelyssa list. With two standoff sorts of abilities on each side, this became a positioning game. The Dawnmower battle engine was one that I couldn’t effectively cope with, and it got to the point where I couldn’t stop it from getting to Mire. That effectively ended the game despite the Dracodile being able to guard much of the board well. My first loss with S&D. 

I also got in one non-Sturm & Drang game. I tried out a Maelok list with a Sacral Vault, against Michael’s Trollbloods led by Horgle2. The Sacral Vault is just no good with Maelok, at least the Gatormen Posse version of his list. They get in each others’ way, and it doesn’t gain their souls as they die (because they’re undead). Just not enough clicking there. There were some abysmal dice on both sides, but I managed to get to a stronger spot thanks in part to Enliven letting me back away from Mulg, to heal and go back another round. Ultimately I won, but it was a slog–a fun slog!

Finally my painting progress. There’s a lot here, and while I have the last couple parts of Sturm & Drang’s battlegroup to tabletop quality, I still need to touch them up to complete them. Until then, here’s what I’ve got complete:

Sturm & Drang. Really like how the model turned out. I’m realizing that I just plain like painting red colors, and love the red armor portions. So far they’ve been fun to run too, so I’m really pleased I got them done and onto the table. 

The one part of Sturm & Drang’s battlegroup that I’ve completed: a Battle Boar. I use yellow as my “energy” color for this faction, so felt that it was a good choice for the Battle Boar’s “rage liquid” apparatus as well. Definitely pleased by the outcome. Makes the model part of my faction, but still draws the eye. 

Can’t run Sturm & Drang with a Dracodile without Underchief Mire! Great model, and I definitely like the scheme I chose for my Croaks. Have I said enough how happy my painting of this faction is making me? Because they really are fun. And I’ve been able to play tabletop painted all year so far. 

The Dracodile itself. This big beastie was fun to paint up, and I really like the way it looks on the table. Excited to find other spots for it. Definitely want to try it with some of the other Warlocks soon. 

Finally, Orin Midwinter. Had fun doing him, and I like his one “wild” left eye. He’s a pretty integral part of the Sturm & Drang list. If the Dracodile gets rebuffed in a way that keeps him from being effective, things can go pretty bad pretty fast. So Orin got painted up to help with that problem. 

All told a good couple of weeks of gaming and painting. More updates to come as I finish up some Farrow and get more reps with Sturm & Drang.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2019):

230/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2019: 21 (Win/Loss 15/6); 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

15 Wins (Nemo1 x2, Irusk2 x2, Helynna, Maddox, Thyron, Harbinger, Magnus2, Rahn, Madrak1, Gaspy3, Siege1, Gaspy2, Horgle2) / 6 Losses (Xerxis1, Goreshade4, Dreamer, Makeda3, Irusk2, Kaelyssa)

So I’ve been toying around with the idea of running Rask without all the Lesser Warlocks, but still pretty beast-heavy. I’m working on getting Underchief Mire painted up, as I think he may bring a lot to Rask’s flexibility. Till then, I’m running what I think of as a 2×2 idea: two Swamp Horrors leading the way, backed up by two Wrastlers.

So far it’s working okay, if a bit slow. Rask actually takes more time to run than I expected, as there’s a lot of positioning concern in the early turns–making certain that the Feat ranges are complete protection isn’t always as easy as it seems.

I’ve really liked the one-two punch of two Swamp Horrors with Enliven and Admonition going in first, with two lingering Wrastlers waiting behind. Dahlia & Skarath is the one lesser I’m running now, and they’re designed to help swing whatever side I put them on, clear out infantry threats with sprays, and be a late-game assassination piece. It’s not an ideal list, as there are some things it can really struggle into, but it’s a fun list to play–and as I get the speed down on it I think it can leverage clock decently, as there are lots of decisions opponents need to be careful about when facing it.

Five of the six games I played recently were with variations of this Rask 2×2 list. First three were from a local steamroller, and then some practice games with opponents.

(Clockwise from Left) First round I got matched into Justin’s Irusk2 36 Doom Reavers list. I didn’t like either Rask or Maelok into this one particularly well. I probably should have worked armor and spacing with Maelok, but I opted for Rask as part of what I’m looking for in that list is infantry clearing. He wasn’t particularly effective at that, and I got far too pressed by scenario and ultimately lost the game on control points. Round two I faced Bill’s Madrak1 in Band of Heroes. Again, took Rask to leverage threat range and keep me safe from charges a turn. It worked better here, and I was able to open a corridor to Madrak1 and assassinate him. I almost bungled it a couple of times, but managed to get the job done. Third round was against Charles’ Gaspy3 list with Satyxis. This time I took Maelok, and that was an effective choice–Gaspy3 might run the few jacks in that list pretty scary, but does little to support the infantry. And they needed support to get thru the herd of gatormen. He had to get extrememly aggressive with Gaspy3, so Maelok himself was able to finish him off (with a Wrastler waiting in the wings as well if he came up short). All-in-all a fun tournament but hardly my best performance. Definitely need to get more practice with spacing and timing Rask’s attack. 

(Clockwise from Left) As for my practice games, I started with Rask into Makeda3, played by Larry. I got really close to assassinating her, which was good learning in what is a workable assassination run and what isn’t. Getting space for multiple heavies to stand is key, as I came up short because I could only fit the Snake into her after the Swamp Horror’s drag. Next I faced Steve’s Rahn list. Was another grindy game, this time with heavies trading into each other. I managed to win on scenario thanks to early presence and the way that Rask’s feat slows opponents’ ability to get to the rear scoring zones without sacrificing models. Final game was against Andy’s Irsuk2 running Iron Fangs. Andy put Irusk2 pretty close, and we paused the game to work out an assassination run with proxy bases where a Swamp Horror supported by a Wrastler both got onto the warcaster. It was pretty likely, but we were interested in a more extended game so we played it out. I ended up winning on scenario, but to be fair Swamp Horrors match up super-well into Iron Fangs so it was a tough slog from list selection for him. I’m definitely looking forward to the rematch on this one someday. 

Finally, I got a ton of painting done. I decided to swap the order on my painting progress, as I’m endeavoring to write more thoughtful articles about the lists I’m running–and putting that first. But I don’t want to neglect the painting progress, so here we go.

Rask turned out really nice, I think. I love painting reds (no surprise), and it was fun to do some of the various highlights on him I definitely think my look for the Bog Trogs is my favorite (above Gatormen and Croaks). 

Both Swamp Horrors to go in my 2×2 list idea. These were also fun to paint, and pretty easy overall. They used techniques from the Gatormen but also from the Bog Trogs, so were nicely a middle ground model in that sense. 

Dahlia and Skarath were more of  challenge, and the picture doesn’t quite do them justice here. I liked the yellow snake motif I’ve done on things like the Sacral Vault (and will be on Jaga-Jaga), so finding how to fit that onto Skarath was a challenge. I went for the flesh between the front and back armor plates, and think it worked out nicely. They fit the rest of the army but still definitely stand out. 

Lanyssa Ryssyl, Nyss Sorceress, is probably the model I’m most proud of in this set. I really like the look of how she turned out, and I’m happy with her face and some of the lines of her more than anything else. A lot of the things I struggle with are on this model, so I felt definite accomplishment in getting her not only done, but looking pretty good. 

Finally good, old Targ. He took far longer than he would seem to, as he’s got patchwork skin all sewn together on his arms and also composing his apron. I’m pleased how he came out, and I really liked making his red armored accent his eyepatch (he also has little bracers on his hooves and a bar across his back that are red, that you cannot see in this image). He’s ready to help out with my next project list… that’s right, some Farrow are coming soon. 

365 Points Challenge Progress (2019):

168/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2019: 17 (Win/Loss 12/5); 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

12 Wins (Nemo1 x2, Irusk2 x2, Helynna, Maddox, Thyron, Harbinger, Magnus2, Rahn, Madrak1, Gaspy3) / 5 Losses (Xerxis1, Goreshade4, Dreamer, Makeda3, Irusk2)

This past weekend I traveled to Wisconsin for the America’s Team Championship for Warmachine and Hordes. My team, Iron City, is composed of players from here in the Pittsburgh meta, and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn to say we all had a pretty great time–even with the -1 degree weather in lovely January Wisconsin.

Team Iron City for 2019. And if you’re not from Pittsburgh, and don’t know what Iron City is or means, this video is a pretty good start. Our team captain, Rob McCarty loves his conversion of the Skarre3 boat to have the full ship so much he carried it everywhere… even our team photo. 

Our team focused on us bringing a combination of things we felt strong and comfortable with, as well as some anticipation of various lists. I have been playing Minions for the past few months, and have really felt that this is the faction for me for both fun and competitive play. Because I’m relatively recent to Minions, I don’t have a ton of practice under my belt–I got 42 games in with Minions in preparation for the event, though many of those were with Warlocks I didn’t end up taking as my final pairing. That definitely showed in my record and play, but it’s something I can work on.

I clearly wanted to bring a Maelok list, as I feel that’s one of the strongest in the faction right now (and one I enjoy playing). So the question was pairing. I finally settled on a Jaga-Jaga list to help me cover some specific match-ups that are bad for Maelok (tho I bungled one in my time at the ATC, see below). In particular, things that brought high defense infantry and massed weaponmaster infantry were a concern. Maelok’s gators have strong armor, but not that strong. I made my Maelok list around two Wrastlers to crack armor, so I didn’t have quite the problem with hitting power that some Maelok builds can have. All in all, I felt like it was a good pair for me at least, and it definitely improved my match-ups chart over the other Warlocks I had been considering.

The event ended up being a good one for the Iron City team, as we finished 4-1 for record and in 5th place overall as a team out of a field of 32. Not too shabby. My aim was to go 3-2 for the event, and I didn’t quite get there, ending 2-3. I’m probably the weakest player on the team in terms of experience and preparation (again, only started Minions recently), so that wasn’t entirely surprising for me. I did feel good about how I did overall, when considering the matchups and the games.

It was a great event, and huge thanks to Travis Marg and Nathan Hoffman for running a smooth and effective tournament. Was fun to see all the games, all the great armies, and to play some seriously great opponents.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of my games in each round, for those interested in a bit of underwhelming battle reporting. I’ll discuss the pairing options, outcomes for our team, and how my game went with each.

First round my pairing sheet was kind of ugly, because I don’t have a ton of readiness for some of the Skorne drops and their team had double Skorne. Both Maelok and Jaga-Jaga are iffy at best into them, tho the fewer heavy hitters the more Maelok may shine. Unfortunately first round I got paired against a player running a Xerxis1 Immortals list with Tiberion and double Supreme Guardians Certainly qualify as too many heavy hitters. I took Jaga-Jaga and hoped it would be enough shooting. It wasn’t. The list projects Tiberion far faster than you ever expect, and having a better plan for it than I had is critical. The shield guard solo was a huge deal, making me have to oil twice against targets often. My opponent was Phil, from the Bottom of Three, Grab a Brewski team from California. He was a great opponent to play against, and we had a good discussion of just how effective Xerxis1 can be–kudos for him for a good list piloted well. Even though I lost, my team ended up winning the round 4-1.

Second round we faced Florida Meta, a great team, and my opponent was Rean and his Retribution (Goreshade4). I felt like my Jaga-Jaga list would just be diced by either of his Dawnmowers, so I went for Maelok even though I also didn’t care for him into this particular matchup. This was a tough match from the start for me, as the shooting of the Dawnmower was well applied, and I was just coming a bit short on some of my distances in both the relative threat range and the positioning I was using. There was a large woods and a building that made a narrow corridor, and while on my feat turn I could use it that gap turned out to be a bit of a pain for the rest of the game–I definitely played my starting positioning wrong on this scenario/matchup. With a scenario that was hard to score points on and a great player running a solid list, it ended pretty ugly for me. Still had a fun game, but starting 0-2 wasn’t the look I was hoping for. This time our team just narrowly was beaten. We won 2 of our games (Iona over Vlad2 and Goreshade4 over High Reclaimer), but our Gaspy3 player lost him to an assassination that was pretty streaky on dice. If one of Holt’s two damage rolls weren’t 10’s or better on two dice Gaspy3 would have survived. So a pretty close round.

Third round we faced our first cold-weather team, The Trolls from Felix’s Basement from the Chicago area. I had some good match-ups and bad into this team, and got one I was at least confident into: Magnus2 (run by Ben). He could only catch 4 lead gators and the Totem Hunter with his feat, which meant the ones behind them on my feat turn could get into the action with ease, and it was a reasonably quick scenario for points to be scored. I wasn’t locked out of stopping his scoring, but he couldn’t stop mine as easily. That meant I got the gradual lead, and was able to just keep re-filling my units to grind his force down. It was a scenario victory for me, and what I needed that weekend–that first win makes everything feel a lot better when playing on a team event. Our team also won this round 4-1, so we kept the pace on the positive side of things.

Fourth round I was starting to drag just a bit as it was a long day, so of course it proved to be my most grind-y matchup. We were paired against the other Florida team: Snooty’s Chosen. Again, there were a couple of lists in this that I was comfortable at least playing, and a few I was less interested in facing, but I got set out early to help other match ups. I got paired against Jeff and his Protectorate of Menoth. He went for Harbinger, and I took Maelok. And it was exactly the slug-fest you expect it was. It came down to clock, during turn six of the game. I was up on scenario 3-0 thanks to protecting my flag and clearing the left zone once, but things were getting ugly. The faithful were definitely wearing through my force, and I was increasingly having to summon 1 heath gators with Revive back to block lanes of advance. The real advantage in this game was that Soul Harvester paid off in a big way. I was able to collect a lot of solos and infantry on my left flank thanks to it, after they eventually died. Harbinger used Martyrdom a lot–to the point where one turn she had only 3 health left (and the objective and the hierophant were healing her up). It was a fun game, and the only downside was that I bungled the clock once (passed to him for what I thought was him taking time to decide on a Martyrdom). We noted it about 2 minutes later, called a judge, and they luckily got it reset–bleeding an extra 2 minutes off my clock and adding 2 minutes back on his. Overall a great game, and my opponent played it really well. It was extra great as a game, because our team won that round 3-2. It’s a weird feeling being the final game to finish when the teams are 2-2, but good if you win.

Fifth round pairings were announced late that night, so we could discuss them the next morning over breakfast. In talking through my matchups, my teammates were insistent that I was wrong to think Jaga-Jaga was my choice into Grymkin, and that I use Maelok to grind for scenario (on a reasonably fast scenario). I have experience into Grymkin with other factions, and I was reasonably confident into the match regardless. My only problem was that I’ve never played against Grymkin with a Warlock so reliant upon specific rules Incorporeal, Undead, and Tough. Yeah. Totally spaced that there was an arcana that simply strips Maelok of everything that his force needs. Add that to the RFP effect on the heavies, and that will tell you what you need to know. I did get a scenario lead at the start, but soon it equalized and it ended with a scenario win for him and all but my Warlock and one unit of Gators dead. I chalk this one up to my inexperience with the faction more than anything else. Jaga-Jaga still may well have lost, as my opponent (Dan from Team: Faction Hoppers Inc. And Steve) was a very good player, far more experienced than me. So it was a major learning flub for me, and the worst possible time for such a flub (final round of a big event). Thankfully my teammates were effective, and we ended up winning the match 3-2.

Overall a good event, with more than few take-aways for me as a relatively novice Minions player. I think the critical things I learned were:

1. Have a better answer to shooting and infantry than Maelok.
2. Figure out what opponents’ abilities are simply back-breaking for your lists and your faction–don’t count on prior faction knowledge to give you a sense about what you’re currently playing. I even reviewed major arcana when doing my pairings sheet two weeks before, but totally spaced that the minor arcana held something that was a silver bullet against one of my lists–because it never came up with my Legion or Convergence in all the times they’ve faced Grymkin.
3. I still need to work on my spacing. I’m getting much better, but there were moments where I’ve lost 3 rather than 2 gators, or 2 rather than 1, that could have been avoided if I conceptualize the battlefield a bit better.
4. I definitely enjoy playing Minions as a faction more than any other I’ve tried in quite some time. I played 65 games with Legion last year, but it never clicked like this faction did almost immediately. I’m very excited to get better as a player with them.

I also managed to paint a bit more of my force when I got to the hotel on Friday night. Jaga-Jaga wasn’t finished but had enough colors to be fine, and I borrowed the two units of Croak Raiders and a min unit of Bog Trog ambushers from my teammate Justin. But I did finish some other stuff.

A Gobber Tinker, who is carrying the repair parts that would be appropriate for repairing the Sacral Vault (skulls and candles).

A Void Leech for my one unit of Croaks. Glad to have him done, as it means that I can swap in this one-point item in Blindwater lists as needed to make points work. 

And finally, a Boil Master and Spirit Cauldron. I absolutely love that the crocodile has a little salt and pepper shakers set on his belt. Given that I wanted to keep the flame motif of the force, I didn’t want to do any magical bubbling liquid or anything, so I made the runny stuff coming out of the pot just skin tone–like boiling flesh. 

365 Points Challenge Progress (2019):

107/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2019: 11 (Win/Loss 8/3); 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

8 Wins (Nemo1 x2, Irusk2, Helynna, Maddox, Thyron, Harbinger, Magnus2) / 3 Losses (Xerxis1, Goreshade4, Dreamer)

It’s that time again. Time to lose some games in the cold weather. So what better way to do so than to host the third annual Warmachine and Hordes Bummer Bowl? But before I get into that, the non-bummer is that I finished a ton of painting. Still going strong with all the Minions.

First up, I finished Calaban, the Grave Walker, for the Bummer Bowl itself. Part of playing in the Bummer Bowl means bringing a less good warcaster or warlock, so Calaban fit that bill well. He was fun to paint, and I like the way the mask really ties the red color scheme together. 

Next up, I finished a Sacral Vault. This was a beast of a model to get done, but I’m really pleased with how it looks overall. Definitely an army centerpiece kind of model. 

Not content there, I also painted up a maximum unit of Gatormen Posse. This brings me to a fully painted 75 points list for my Maelok force, which alone makes me very happy to have completed.

Not to be outdone I also got some pieces done for my Jaga-Jaga list as well… a Bog Trog Mist Speaker being the first of them. Though honestly he’s for many lists, as one of the most ubiquitous of Minions pieces. 

And last but not least: an Ironback Spitter. I managed to get him shaped up and finished. Was unsure about making him red but matching the shell to the more prominent ridge on my gators, but I think it turned out really nicely. 

That’s more than enough painting for now (well, not really as I’m painting like crazy to get things into a semblance of order for the tournament this coming weekend. What’s more exciting than painting, though, is the official return of the Bummer Bowl.

The bummer bowl began in 2016, when Steve, Ryan, Brad, and I tried to head down to a tournament in Charleston, WV, on a snowy winter morning. We had a series of poor happenstance occur that left us entirely unable to go. So instead we hung around Ryan’s place and played what we called “the Bummer Bowl” (owing to the series of complications). We decided to flip the story of a usual tournament: instead, the people who lose each round continue on toward the championship*. Thus, the person who had the worst time of the day won* the prize*. And what a glorious prize it was: we wrote the words “Bummer Bowl” on a plastic spoon we found in the trash.

Enough about the past, on to this year’s Bummer Bowl. First round was Mike’s Cygnar, using Maddox, facing Ryan’s Skorne, using Makeda1, and my Minions Calaban clashed with Steve’s Retribution Thyron. The battle lines were drawn, and the war to see who was least bad began–as no one wants the shame of the Bummer Bowl trophy after all.

My first game was pretty effective, with Calaban proving to be a slow Warlock but a fairly effective one. I managed to harass Steve’s stuff enough to build a strong position–it got me the scenario lead and then he clocked out. Bummer! That meant I knew I was spared from being the Bummer Bowl 3 champion this time. Phew! Second round I played just a fun winner’s bracket game against Mike, who had triumphed narrowly in his first game. His Maddox list faced some serious hitting power with Calaban, and I managed to win via assassination.

Steve, the Retribution player, managed to win* the championship yet again (3rd time in a row, even). This time, Enrico Nardini at Drawbridge Games was generous, and he bought and helped construct a championship belt for the event. Note that we incorporated the “used spoon from the trash” plan, and made sure the belt held all three plastic trash spoons.

Overall the Bummer Bowl 3 was a great time. We’ll be planning a Bummer Bowl 4 soon enough. It’s always a great time, and a fun chance to play the game for laughs rather than more hardcore competition. Speaking of hardcore competition, my next post will likely cover my time at the ATC. So stay tuned for that fun!

365 Points Challenge Progress (2019):

99/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2019: 6 (Win/Loss 6/0); 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

6 Wins (Nemo1 x2, Irusk2, Helynna, Maddox, Thyron) / 0 Losses (___)

Well, it’s a new year so a fresh blog. Back to 0 models painted and a 0/0 Win/Loss record. I’m starting the year reasonably committed to the Minions plan, and I’ve made some pretty strong strides with them in comfort and composition.

Another big thing this year is that I’m endeavoring to play fully painted. That means minimum progress on anything that I’m fielding, tho ideally fully completed forces. In keeping with that, I’ve joined the Brush Wielders Union: an organization that is designed to promote some specific hobby-focused values that I found to be quite compelling.

So given that, here’s all the stuff that I completed. I’m still putting the bases on one final unit of Gatormen Posse, so the games were painted enough but not completely done. Once I finish those bases I’ll have my entire Maelok army fully painted to 75 points. Pretty exciting!

One of my favorites was this Bone Shrine. It’s simple, but I really like it. I think it bodes well for how the Sacral Vault will turn out in my paint scheme (coming soon). 

The Totem Hunter, which I did in the style that I’ll be using for my Thrullgs and my Bog Trogs: red skin, with a dull copper and metal armor and some bone pieces. Pretty pleased with him. 

Another solo: Kwaak & Gub. I love this guy, and the little frog emerging from his belly to cast spells to is just adorable. 

I’ve been trying to get the mix right on Maelok, and I settled on two max Posse and three min Posse. That gives me 19 Gatorman bodies, and the points work out for three solos. Having finished this unit (the purple unit), I have just one maximum Posse unit to go. 

A second Blackhide Wrastler, finished up. I swapped around the colors of his facemask from the other one, but otherwise they’re really similar. Makes for a good pair. 

In addition to a heap of painting to start the new year, I also got in a few games.

(Clockwise from top left) All four games I used Maelok, as he’s my painted list currently. So he’s what I’m running. And spoiler alert: all four games were wins by scenario, which is exactly what Maelok wants to be doing. I faced Andy’s Irusk2 list, which was a serious grind. I got up on points because of the scenario, able to clear my own rectangle zone and the left circle zone enough times to win. Second game was against Steve’s Helynna double colossal list. Again, a scenario win thanks to terrain and jamming with Gatormen. They really can be frightening if you’ve got a live scenario. Third and fourth games were against Mike’s Nemo1 Cygnar list. They took place a week apart, and he made some changes from the list after the first game. First time I managed to kill a junior warcaster, which left him short on the left side and enabled a scenario win. Second game I had to be careful as his list had more heavy hitters, but I got lucky in collapsing the right side this time. Nemo1 had to try an assassination with spells that came up short, and I scored the rest of what I needed to win. They were a good set of games to get me more comfortable with unpacking my force and thinking about when Feat is best used. 

I don’t think there’s a need for the Warlock tracker any longer, as I’ve gotten to the point where I have enough reps with the front-runners to be comfortable with them. Back to just the basic points-painted and wins/losses record from before I started down the Minions path.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2019):

38/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2019: 4 (Win/Loss 4/0); 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

4 Wins (Nemo1 x2, Irusk2, Helynna) / 0 Losses (___)

Given my experience with the test weekend against the Mollywhoppers, I decided to settle in on giving Jaga-Jaga some serious consideration as a pair to Maelok. That meant a bunch of games in rapid succession, but also ample amounts of painting. First as always, the painting:

First up, Longchops and his little Kingfisher bird buddy. I’m really pleased with how he turned out, and especially with the little bird. Hah. 

Gatorman Soul Slave was another fun model to do up. It may be my favorite Privateer Press model in a funny way. This image doesn’t show it, but the way he is bound up and decorated is just really intriguing as a notion: the unwilling warlock attachment. 

I did up a second Gatorman Husk as well, as I’ve toyed with the idea of running two of them with Maelok (likely to settle on just one, sadly). Definitely enjoy this model as a model, and it’s fun but inconsistent in the game. 

Last but not least, a Gatorman Witch Doctor. They’re a bit skinny compared to the other Gatorman models, and doesn’t have quite the facial character of the others. I’m pleased with how it turned out though. 

As for games, I knew that I needed to give Jaga-Jaga a much more thorough testing. So I got in a whole heap of games!

 

(Clockwise left to right) I played two games over a two day stretch against Larry, fielding Makeda3 (a brief break from Circle to dip into Skorne). In both games I took Jaga-Jaga, which doesn’t have exactly the greatest match-up against Madeka3’s high defense and armor. In the first game, I had to go for the kill after Molik Kharn took out my Wrestler due to poor placement on my part. I managed to use the Cauldron to get her away from shield guards, and then managed to survive a Kharn free strike with the turtle after a bit more shooting (and an Oil hit). Brought her down to just a couple of boxes, and she died to fire the start of her turn. Second game again it hinged around a Molik Kharn missile, which this time my warlock managed to survive thanks to absurdly crummy dice on my opponent’s part. Next I played Jaga-Jaga into Larry IV’s Ossrum list. It was a monumental grind-fest, but the Sacral Vault really shined. It took out so many foes, from hammer dwarves to Kayazy Assassins. Gets so much work done against living infantry. Wow. I won on scenario 7-2 at the bottom of turn 6. 

 

(Clockwise Left to Right) Another three games, all with Jaga-Jaga. First up was a pair of games against Ryan, trying out a Kromac2 beast brick list. We split them, both times on assassination. Jaga died the first time to an unexpected path werewolf, and managed to live through an assault the next game and answer with a kill of Kromac2 herself. Third game was against Steve’s Retribution list. It was Helynna with double colossals, and a very tough match for Jaga-Jaga because her shooting was very limited in destructive power. I managed to win on time and scenario advantage. I’m reminded how envious I am of Retribution’s pieces every time I face it. 

 

(Left to Right) I forgot to take a photo of the first game of this set, Jaga-Jaga into Larry’s Iona list. It was a brutal match, I lost far too much early and simply had no answers to what I was facing and simply lost on scenario. Second game was a brief interlude of Maelok, again into Larry’s Iona. It was a scenario loss for me as well. I need to do much better at spacing my Gatormen Posse members. Final game of this series was Jaga-Jaga into Justin’s Barnabas2 Minions list. It was a win for me, though much of it was that it was his first time using the lesser warlocks. Jaga-Jaga ended up with enough shooting to take even Barnabas2 out of action.

Overall it’s a start to seeing what Jaga-Jaga can do. I’m pleased to start delving into her more deeply as a warlock. Looking at my chart (below), she is now the Warlock that I’ve had the most reps with–and I’m feeling reasonably competent about much of her game. Now to work on spacing the Croak Raiders just so to get the most out of them without losing them all.

Primary Warlocks	Games	Secondary Warlocks	Games
Maelok	7	Barnabas1	6
Jaga-Jaga	10	Dr. Arkadius	3
Rask	7	Midas	2
Barnabas2	1

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

404/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 129 (Win/Loss 78/51); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

20 Wins (Vlad1, Issyria, Kromac2 x2, Maddox x2, Magnus2, Kryssa, Helynna x2, Irusk2, Amon, Feora3 x2, Siege2, Vlad2, Ossrum, Makeda3 x2, Barnabas2) / 16 Losses (Venethrax, Ossrum, Syvestro, Madrak3, Krueger2 x2, Iona x6, Rahn, High Reclaimer, Terminus, Kromac2)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Haley3, Vlad1, Caine2) / 11 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus, Vyros2, Ossrum, Stryker2, Vlad2)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Skorne:

10 Wins (Anamag, Sorscha3, Kolgrima, Gaspy2, Feora1, High Reclaimer, Vlad1 x2, Haley2, Skarre3) / 5 Losses (Rahn, Magnus1, Denny1, Haley2, Syvestro)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Like I said last time, I wanted to do some Barnabas1 testing. I think he and Rask are the two potential choices to pair with my Maelok list. I really like the way his Feat helps handle a variety of infantry forces, and his Swamp Pit spell remains pretty nasty against gunline armies. While Rask protects on the advance as well, after Rask’s Feat turn and alpha there isn’t as much play left in him. It’s one of those “you better have such a clear winning situation on turn 3” kind of lists. I think Barnabas1 sacrifices some of the force protection Rask gives, and instead permits longer term force protection for some of his pieces. And then there’s always the dark horse of Jaga-Jaga, which means that Maelok would need to be the one to power thru gunlines–but she could give some destructive power on both cracking armor and killing swaths of infantry that both Maelok and Barnabas1 lack.

My team for the America’s Team Championship in January has arranged a practice event this month against five other Teams from Pennsylvania and Maryland. Like I will for the ATC, I prepared a match-up sheet for this one. Good lord so many Circle players (8 of the 30 are Circle), but was pleased to see that Minions ties for second-most-represented with Cryx. I’m feeling a little iffy on my match-ups, so you’ll see a lot of yellow squares. But this is what the breakdown looks like with Maelok and Barnabas1 as my committed choices.

Out of the 25 potential opponents, I’m seeing only two that don’t have a clear choice for me to make (I think). That helps a lot with my decision-making. And I only have two where I’m feeling like it’s really list chicken. It’s also about 65% Maelok as a choice, so that helps too: the list I’m feeling is my main list is the one I’ll be playing more.

Proviso: I might be totally wrong on these match ups, and my team helped me on some of them (especially the Circle ones). But it’s a good experiment to go thru and think about how I’d do these with my given lists. That in itself gives feedback on Barnabas1 and my current build of him.

In advance of the practice event, I got in some more painting and practice games of my own to be ready (practicing for practice, hah). First up painting:

Finished a Blind Walker. I really like this warmest for Maelok, both aesthetically and in the game. Being able to arc Mortality is a huge boon for him. I think he turned out great. 

Maelok’s list also has a Thrullg, which was a good way to paint something slightly different. I’m planning on doing my Bog Trogs in this red, to compliment the way that the Gators are brown and the frogs will be brown and orange. The Thrullg has that sorta trog “feel” to it, minus scales, so I gave it a whirl. Really liked how it turned out. Will bring out the reds that are more rare on the rest of my stuff really well. 

Like I said above, I got in a few practice games in the week before the practice event:

(Clockwise left to right) First up, a Barnabas1 loss to Larry’s Iona. That caster is a meta-bender to be sure, and I still haven’t solved it–though I got closer this time than I have in the past. Next up I got a pop-and-drop assassination win against Chad’s Feora3. Being able to walk out of jam after the Feat enabled me to get pieces to clear a path and then a wrastler onto a knocked-down Feora. Finally, I snuck in a game with Barnabas2 against Mike’s Cygnar with Maddox. It was a sort of a palate-cleanser game, as I just wanted to try something different quick–and had just assembled Barnabas2 (who is such a cool model). I won the game, tho I expect the next time I use him against Mike he’ll do much better. I fear Barnabas2 may be a one trick pony. 

The practice event itself was a lot of fun. It was organized by the Mollywhoppers, and we ended up facing both of their teams (Baltimore area) as well as another group from New Jersey (Team Meat).

(Clockwise left to right) First I faced Chris, from Mollywhoppers Lincoln. He dropped High Reclaimer with double Judicators, and I dropped Barnabas1. It was a tough game, and I managed to take out one of the two Judicators, but it still wasn’t enough and he killed Barnabas. Our team went 2-3 this round, but we also didn’t get the exact match-ups pairings that we were looking for. Second round I played Maelok into Anthony’s Vlad2 Armored Corps. I had Barnabas1 as my drop for this one, but I re-thought it because it was a relatively small AC list (few units). I managed to win on scenario by killing enough to score and denying him scores on his turns thanks to effectively sturdy gators. Our team went 5-0 this round, as we got the match-ups we were generally looking for (mine was probably the roughest). Final round was against the Mollywhoppers Booth, and I took Barnabas1 into Brad Park’s Terminus Ghost Fleet. I definitely adjusted my sense of the match-up on the advice of my team captain, Rob, but I still felt it wasn’t as bad as he suggested it was. I managed to get an assassination run that left Terminus with only three boxes, after it was clear I was on the losing end of the attrition game. So a loss, but not as problematic as it could have been. Definitely felt the limitations of Barnabas1 across this one and the HR match up in round one. 

Overall, I fear that my Barnabas1 list is more reactive: that it’s me responding to others’ threats and hoping to answer them. I asked Brad after our game what he’d fear to see from a Minions list, and he said that Jaga-Jaga is a straight up red match for many Cryx lists, and we talked through reasons why that might be good. Left me feeling better about my performance and the weekend. I’m thinking that maybe with Jaga-Jaga I can move to where I’ve got more green match ups, and it’ll just mean that a few match ups are clearly red (otherwise known as “play Maelok and count on the armor plus scenario”).

Primary Warlocks	Games	Secondary Warlocks	Games
Maelok	6	Barnabas1	6
Jaga-Jaga	2	Dr. Arkadius	3
Rask	7	Midas	2
Barnabas2	1

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

391/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 120 (Win/Loss 72/48); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

14 Wins (Vlad1, Issyria, Kromac2, Maddox x2, Magnus2, Kryssa, Helynna, Irusk2, Amon, Feora3 x2, Siege2, Vlad2) / 13 Losses (Venethrax, Ossrum, Syvestro, Madrak3, Krueger2 x2, Iona x4, Rahn, High Reclaimer, Terminus)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Haley3, Vlad1, Caine2) / 11 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus, Vyros2, Ossrum, Stryker2, Vlad2)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Skorne:

10 Wins (Anamag, Sorscha3, Kolgrima, Gaspy2, Feora1, High Reclaimer, Vlad1 x2, Haley2, Skarre3) / 5 Losses (Rahn, Magnus1, Denny1, Haley2, Syvestro)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Well, I’m close to settled on my Minions pairing to do a deep dive with in practice. I’ll put an asterisk on one warlock, as I still have a few ideas I want to test with Jaga-Jaga and Barnabas1 and could maybe, maybe still move to Dr. Arkadius. The Jaga-Jaga idea probably more cute than good, but still want to check it out (need to assemble a few more models for it). And Arkadius is great, but pulling up those relatively poopy Farrow warbeasts is a chore.

So for right now it looks like Maelok and Rask* will be my Warlocks that I’ll seek depth of practice with. But first up, more painting:

Finished up the first two of my many minimum Gatorman Posse units. Two more minimum units to go, but I’m going to change up some of the bits I’m painting before tackling the next set. There are markings on the back of each of the units to keep them separate–and those correspond to the feather colors of their leaders. 

I at least got a number of chances to test varieties of a Rask list once I started to get games in.

(Clockwise from Left) Started a mini Rask-a-thon with a game against Siege2, piloted by Mike. Was a good game, and I felt that I had some answers to the trenchers and traded well as I went with the game. Won by assassination after Siege had to get much more personally involved in the battle. Second game was against Chad’s Feora3. I didn’t feel like I played this one particularly well, sorta fumbled more than a few things. But I managed to clear his battlegroup pretty effectively, to the point scenario became a smooth win. Was fun, and staying safe from Feora3 was a huge part of the challenge. Final game of the set was against Steve’s Rahn. I was ahead on scenario, but as always: where there’s a Rahn, there’s a way. A personal charge to clear Orrin Midwinter, then some careful chain blasts to free up the TK lanes, and Rask was dead. Yikes. Even after dispatching both arc nodes early and effectively, you still need to play it super-conservative. 

(Left to Right). I wanted to give Jaga-Jaga at least one more go, but I definitely don’t think Larry’s Iona list was a good test. It punched my ticket pretty well, top-to-bottom (was a clear attrition loss about to get ugly). We did a rematch because that game was pretty quick: this time Maelok took the field. Better, but still abysmal. Iona is a serious, serious list and I need to think more about how to face her. 

So far so good-ish with Rask, as I’ve played him more than any other warlock in the faction. 21 games in to Minions and still liking their overall options and play, which alone is a win. Gonna do a bit of Barnabas1 testing, and then settle (finally) on a pairing.

Primary Warlocks	Games	Secondary Warlocks	Games
Rask	7	Barnabas1	2
Maelok	5	Jaga-Jaga	2
Dr. Arkadius	3	Midas	2

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

376/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 114 (Win/Loss 69/45); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

11 Wins (Vlad1, Issyria, Kromac2, Maddox, Magnus2, Kryssa, Helynna, Irusk2, Amon, Feora3, Siege2) / 10 Losses (Venethrax, Ossrum, Syvestro, Madrak3, Krueger2 x2, Iona x3, Rahn)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Haley3, Vlad1, Caine2) / 11 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus, Vyros2, Ossrum, Stryker2, Vlad2)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Skorne:

10 Wins (Anamag, Sorscha3, Kolgrima, Gaspy2, Feora1, High Reclaimer, Vlad1 x2, Haley2, Skarre3) / 5 Losses (Rahn, Magnus1, Denny1, Haley2, Syvestro)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

I got in a bunch more games, to keep trying out various Warlocks in preparation for some team tournaments I’m attending in early Spring. But first, painting: I completed my first full Gatorman Posse unit.

I’m still pleased with the look of these models. There’s more work in getting the scales just-so than I thought, but it’s worth it. I’m pretty pleased with the results so far. 

For games, I’m still tracking my different Warlock experiences to kind of get a sense for how deep I’m going in the faction. After this set, I’m at six different warlocks at least hitting the table–but certainly some more than others.

(Clockwise from Left) First up, I played Maelok into Cornelius’ Kryssa list in Legion. Thanks to the pressure that the Gatorman Husks put on his list, I was able to get far too sizeable a lead early on for him to catch up in a meaningful way. Second, it was Maelok again–this time into Steve’s Helynna list. I didn’t crack much armor (especially on Feat), but the scenario pressure was enough to get my the win. Opponents really seem to need to adjust their game plan against Maelok–avoiding the scenario getting out-of-hand seems critical. Third game was my first outing for Dr. Arkadius. I faced Jonas’s Irusk2 Khador list in the Winterguard theme. Arkadius’ threat ranges and silly feat are something I’m going to need a lot of practice with, but I won this game largely due to Jonas being a relatively new player. I’m sure soon enough that Irusk2 list will be causing fits for my force. 

(Clockwise from Left) More Dr. Arkadius games! I faced Ben’s Protectorate running an odd Amon list (two units of Idrians rather than all battlegroup). After my alpha strike, he killed four of my five heavies, which made me have to go for an assassination with the fifth. I managed to do so, which was good. It was a game marked by poor plays be me–need to sort out all the bits of the Doc’s technicalities (while also thinking about opponents’ abilities). Next I got in a game against Ryan’s Madrak3 list with my Arkadius force. This list was a real solid one, and while I did a good job clearing the infantry the durability of what was left was a real struggle to get thru. We were tied on control points at the end of 7 turns (8 each!), and it came down to army points destroyed where he hedged me out by 7 points. What a close game! Finally I played Rask into Larry’s Krueger2 in Bones. Was a pretty fierce game, and I expect that if I had gone first it would have come down differently. It was a clear loss on scenario for me. 

(Again, clockwise from Left) My final two games to report on were both against Larry and his Circle forces. First against Krueger2 again, then against Iona–the new warlock. I dropped a Barnabas1 list that I wanted to at least try out in both lists. I learned a few things. First, I’m unsold on Underchief Mire, the Minions lesser. Free animus distribution is good, but keeping him safe and keeping the warbeast relevant gets much harder to manage. Second, while I like Will Work for Food, I don’t know if Barnabas brings exactly what I need. I’m thinking that Rask is where I want to spend a bit more of my time and thought (though I did have a Jaga-Jaga in WWFF flash of insight that I’m going to at least try). 

Overall a great set of games, and definitely feeling like each one I play I’m learning more and more about the faction’s strengths and weaknesses. I definitely am feeling more connected to this faction than others I’ve played. Not sure why. But yeah, I think this is a groove that will last a while.

Primary Warlocks	Games	Secondary Warlocks	Games
Maelok	4	Midas	2
Rask	4	Jaga-Jaga	1
Dr. Arkadius	3	Barnabas1	2

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

356/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 109 (Win/Loss 67/42); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

9 Wins (Vlad1, Issyria, Kromac2, Maddox, Magnus2, Kryssa, Helynna, Irusk2, Amon) / 7 Losses (Venethrax, Ossrum, Syvestro, Madrak3, Krueger2 x2, Iona)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Haley3, Vlad1, Caine2) / 11 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus, Vyros2, Ossrum, Stryker2, Vlad2)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Skorne:

10 Wins (Anamag, Sorscha3, Kolgrima, Gaspy2, Feora1, High Reclaimer, Vlad1 x2, Haley2, Skarre3) / 5 Losses (Rahn, Magnus1, Denny1, Haley2, Syvestro)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Progress continues on my Blindwater side of my Minions project, both in painting and list creation. I’m fiddling with three different Warlocks to begin my serious inquiry into the faction: Jaga-Jaga, Maelok, and Rask. I think each of them bring some solid tools and effective play styles for me to work with.

On the painting side, I am working toward a fully-painted core of a force, and exploring the various types of model that I’ll be fielding. To that end, here’s some progress:

Maelok the Dreadbound is the first Minions warlock that I’ve finished. He was an intimidating model to paint, as there’s a lot going on with him. But I think it turned out really nicely–special bonus Mr. Meeseeks voodoo doll in his pouch to torment any Trollbloods with. 

This Blackhide Wrastler shows a lot of what the faction will be looking like from an alligators side. Red cords, two-tone skin “top” and “bottom”, slight trend toward yellow on the more prominent spikes and scales. I’m really pleased with this one!

The Boneswarm was honestly pretty easy. My technique for painting bone is quick enough, so he went fast. Maybe I should play some Barnabas2 just because I could get his kit painted faster than most everything else!

The Bullsnapper painted up pretty easy as well. He doesn’t have quite as many sharp scales, so is a more simple thing with a bit less yellow along the top (it’s very fait, just on his head and tips of the darker spine scales). 

Despite focusing my painting efforts on Maelok first, I started experimenting with Rask and Jaga-Jaga as well in my first two games. But quickly broke out Maelok as well.

(Clockwise from left). First took Jaga-Jaga vs Savage’s Kromac2. Managed to survive two rounds of assassination attempts due to mostly luck and some positioning mistakes, won on scenario after that. The new Circle Thunderbird is a scary piece to face! Then took on Steve’s Issyria with a “Neomodern Rask” list (all credit to Matter of Pact Minions Podcast for coming up with the list). Managed to win on scenario with this one as well. Finally dropped Maelok into Larry’s Ossrum list. He forfeited near the end of the game due to needing to run to an appointment, but it was going to be an assassination kill of Maelok unless the dice were exceptionally poor–so I’m going to count this one as a loss. 

 

(Again, clockwise from left) Fielded Maelok vs Mike’s Cygnar and Major Beth Maddox. Was a good learning game, and while Maddox got a shot to assassinate Maelok she came up a bit short and he was able to finish her off personally. Next took Rask vs. Larry IV’s Mercenaries Magnus2 list. Managed to stave off scenario pressure with some key placements and ambushing husks, which let me get to the point where I was able to assassinate Magnus2. Finally took Rask into Syvestro, which taught me that I definitely need more practice into Crucible Guard and more experience playing into infantry swarms with these lists. Was a solid scenario loss for me. 

 

As I was doing with Skorne, I am going to sorta do with Minions as well. I’m going to track number of games I get in with my chosen focus warlocks leading up to the America’s Team Championship (ATC) and Ontario Team Championship (OTC) coming up at the start of the year. Hoping to hold myself to 30 games played of each of the two warlocks that I end up bringing to those events.

Primary Warlocks	Games	Secondary Warlocks	Games
Maelok	2	Midas	2
Rask	3
Jaga-Jaga	1

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

340/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 101 (Win/Loss 63/38); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Minions: 

5 Wins (Vlad1, Issyria, Kromac2, Maddox, Magnus2) / 3 Losses (Venethrax, Ossrum, Syvestro)

Convergence of Cyriss:

3 Wins (Haley3, Vlad1, Caine2) / 11 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus, Vyros2, Ossrum, Stryker2, Vlad2)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Skorne:

10 Wins (Anamag, Sorscha3, Kolgrima, Gaspy2, Feora1, High Reclaimer, Vlad1 x2, Haley2, Skarre3) / 5 Losses (Rahn, Magnus1, Denny1, Haley2, Syvestro)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)