Not a battle report - MESBG Orcs Vs Orcs

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PlayingWarhammer with a game of new MESBG. I think this is Azog's Legion versus Azog's Hunters with the main difference being the hunter's ridiculous movement value of 8". Meaning Otty had a huge manoeuvrability advantage. Liam had originally looked at Bolg as the hero but saw the new rules for the Troll Brute, so we switched things up. 

As I have a huge issue with matched play games having missions with scoring points for taking a banner, when not all armies can take banners - I was adamant we take one, because we could. This caused a lot of debate how wrong we were but I think 50% of the missions score this way. Obviously we rolled a mission that didn't, but that doesn't stop us using the re-roll to duels within 3" benefit.

Liam did most of the movement, tactics and rolling in the early turns. Trying to find a way to make Otty's movement redundant. Unfortunately his dice rolling was appalling and he couldn't manage above a three. 

Eventually he handed the dice to me as I've had a run of 'getting exactly what we need recently' but hilariously I was also getting ones and twos! 😂 The Troll Brute had some fun trying to trample through the Hunters.

About halfway through the game we realised we'd not remembered to use the Banner's reroll ability afterall! To make matters even worse we discovered the Legion has a faction rule that means we get can get a Banner reroll over the entire board each turn, or a couple of other benefits instead. This represents Azog's banner orders from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies. So we'd forgotten to use them for most of the game.

The Brute managed to get into some meaty combat with Lurtz eventually. Then Otty took the decision to fire with his archers into combat at the Troll Brute rider [not actually on the model]. Both hit, but both got 'in the way', so hit Lurtz!

He had one fate point left, a 4+ save and this was Otty's role!  😂 

Oh man, it was such a funny game. Once again MESBG delivering fun outcomes that make you laugh so hard. I don't know why this plays so hard with comedy moments. There's something about the game mechanic that makes so many dice roles pivotal and yet offers 50:50 chances that come as such a surprise when it doesn't pay off.

Whatever the reason we're going to keep on playing and having fun.

Star Wars Legion Barricade - TO DONE! 🔴⚪

Afternoon I've been #PaintingStarWars with hindsight I should have posted this for 'May the 4th', but I wasn't on the ball. I'd made a comment to Otty about some barricades in the rulebook looking cool with the orange accent colour, which he responded with a comment about them being "a bit too much rebel scum"!

But he had 6 unpainted ones and told me if I liked them so much I could paint my own.

So this came out of nowhere and I just got the urge. 

Simple and straightforward, I managed to keep my tendency to over-complicate things in check.

Sure I added a bit of extra details on the bizarre control systems on the back.

But I do think they reflect the original Star Wars control panel aesthetic in the black.

I had flashbacks to my Deathwing Land Raider Redeemer, but in a good way.

I don't know why but I did find this type of barrier much easier to paint.

Which is odd as this one looks like it has less detail.

I definitely prefer them.

Some random panel colours. Some work much better than others.

It's a weird thing to do and no one is checking they make sense.

But there are definitely some choices that don't sit well with me. I can't explain why but equally it doesn't make any difference to them whatsoever.

Less battle damage on the back.

Super happy with the control panels.

Even the little ones,

The black housing just evokes that Star Wars design style.

Chalk it up!

Another Great Big Wooden Stamps of Approval.

#MESBG Middle Earth Goblin Town Goblins - angry red

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Middle Earth Goblin Town Goblins. There feels like so much to do at this stage. Not so much the sheer numbers of models. In fact the many goblins feel quite manageable. 

What is slightly overwhelming is the character models, like the King, the Scribe and Grinnah. Not to mention the King's throne and some pieces of Goblin Town terrain I also need to do. Because they're different it feels like a challenge to throw them in amongst what are a pretty uniform bunch of models.

Although, there is some variety with some weapons being bone, some stone axes and all the models that have angry mutated growths. There were quite a few times I had to subdivide the groups to make them easier to manage and not miss painting elements on all the figures.

I also went back in with the Heavy Red to make their growths more red and angry. 

It's a different vibe now. I may have lost that pasty albino look but I have recaptured my typical over-saturated mass off colour. They may be a more Warhammer style of painting than Middle Earth but I do like where they're going.

Once again I considered movement trays in an attempt to speed up my gaming but Otty isn't sure. At least that means I don't have to repaint them or buy new ones.

So, quick poll: I had intended the eyes to be black, with a gloss finish. But I can't decide if glossy red dot eyes work better. What do you think?

Meanwhile, Otty and I got all spruced up for his wife's birthday. He wanted us to look like we play toy soldiers in our Sunday best 😂

#MESBG Middle Earth Goblin Town Goblins - Basecoats and moar Big Build and Base TO DONE!

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Middle Earth Goblin Town Goblins. There's now 50 of these, from the most basic gobbo to the King himself. You may recall there were 35 and goblins in a box of 36, well Otty found another 10 or 12 knocking around throw in the heroes and it is a lot to batch paint.

This is something of a test model. I took it a bit further on my attempt to recreate my Poxwalkers, although it wasn't quite the same. For some reason my new bottle of Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Red dilutes to a a terracotta colour, rather than the maroon I've come to expect from years of making angry red skin. But the purple has made it a little less noticeable. 

The King too has become a bit orangey in the process. Going to have to go some way to make the rest of the goblins match what I had in mind.

These 10 are the new ones Otty found, plus a captain and a few other pieces.

They were already primed, but I based them and added the red wash from an older bottle of Heavy Red that had enough to get the angry red I was after.

Another Great Big Wooden 'BIG BUILD' Stamp of Approval and a Great Big Wooden 'BIG BUILD BASE' Stamp of Approval.

Not a battle report - Star Wars Legion Empire Vs Mandalorians

Afternoon, at this rate I may have to look at a new URL and whole new rebrand! I can't appeal to the Warhammer Community on this one, it's Star Wars Legion! This is not the first game we've played, but it appears to be the first one I've shared.  That surprises me as I'm sure I have loads of pictures... of games I will definitely have no recollection of either!

As I don't remember what happened let us instead enjoy the pictures and muse somewhat on the game. Legion is like 40k, but based on Star Wars. There's another game - Star Wars Shatterpoint that seems like a skirmish game and seems to have a bit more support but Legion is on its 2nd edition [the new rules are free to download]. We're coming to terms with the new rules, I'd estimate we played 1st edition maybe about 6 times.

Overall, I think we like it. It's not as fun, or as simple as MESBG but it is much more engaging than 40k, despite occasionally being more complex! That's right. When I claim 40k is too complex how does a more complex game feel more entertaining? I'm still trying to conclusively answer that but I have various thoughts.

First up, every unit comes with a datacard, with all it's specific rules. You can then add upgrades, more cards, and that helps build your army. Together with an overly convoluted and impenetrable mission/deployment/objective setting stage at the beginning of the game just getting to turn one is a chore in itself.

Honestly, I think the next game we played it took over an hour in pre-game 'book-keeping'. It was ludicrous, but did add some of the high points of humour for the evening. When the game actually starts you have a set of order cards that give you some buffs but have a specific value 1-4. This is how many of your units you can give orders to and whoever 'bids' the lowest gets to activate their unit/units first. So if you choose a 2 unit order and your friend chose 3 you get to give orders to 2 units and activate them. Your friend gets to give orders to 3 units and can activate them after, or it alternates, I forget which. Like I say it's complicated and I seem only able to understand the rules when I'm actually in the shed.

There are various movement tools that feel really precise given they have hinges in, and you position them on the base and then move the leader model from one end to the other. The the rest of the squad just moves anywhere within a certain distance. Kind of undermining the precision effort but I think there is a net speed benefit in the end. Each unit gets to do 2 'actions' which could be move twice, move once and attack once [you can only make one form of attacking action unless special rules say otherwise], aim and shoot, dodge and move or even rally.

Some of these actions give benefits in the shooting phase or when you are shot at. Any time you are shot at your model gets a 'suppression' counter, like Bolt Action pinned marker, and that can prevent you from doing more than one action. To counter this you have to do a leadership roll and all of these rolls are on special 6 or 8 sided dice. 6 sided are for 'defence' - for rallies and saving throws [in white and red -  red is best]. These have shields and 'surges'. Some units convert surges to shields, increasing their defence. 8 sided dice for 'attacks' [in white, black and red - red is best]. These have hits, critical hits and surges. Again, some units convert surges to a hit, or even convert a surge to a crit! It's a neat way of managing a units capability but it does mean every time you fire or make a save you have to consult their datacard to see if a surge counts for anything else.

So yes, confusion is very much part of the game and can slow down progress. If we get through 2 to 3 turns in one evening that's a result!

Many units are single wound models, but some heroes and tough units like Wookies are multiple wound models. 

Therefore wound counters come as standard, alongside the suppression and many, many other markers. Now you know I'm a fan of markers, but even I get overwhelmed by just how many are used in this game.

Cover allows you an additional saving throw [on white dice]. Roll a dice for every hit [crits ignore cover]. Soft cover allows a shield [and surge if you convert] to negate 1 hit. Hard cover can negate 2. You also get 'cover' saves for dodging and if you already have a suppression counter. Simple and complex, it's quite a feat.

Alternating play really helps feel like you're not a spectator as your army is deleted a unit at a time. Although, the potential to remove a unit in one turn in Legion is highly unlikely. Which is one of its appeals. Even with 'tanks' like the AT-ST against an infantry unit - it just doesn't have enough guns to wipe a unit in 1 turn. It may kill 1, 2 or 3 in a squad but most of them have enough figures to weather firepower of that magnitude.

And even that will only put one suppression token on the squad so they'll still be usable if they haven't been activated. They may have one less action, if they fail their rally, but you don't feel like you're constantly losing options. I think that is one of its biggest successes - the durability of units. Unlike the films, Stormtroopers hit quite a lot, but their blasters aren't that fatal. Even Rebel t-shirts can be effective armour!

So, we're somehow loving this complex, long winded game in a way that the similarly afflicted 40k doesn't seem to deliver. It's frustrating and sad that we've all invested in a game that no one is motivated to play. I love the figures, the settings and the armies I've spent time and effort painting. We just can't bring ourselves to put them on the table

That said, I won't be investing in a Star Wars army just yet. Suggestions for factions keep being made to me and I would dearly love a Jawa army. The 3D sculpts are stunning and funny too.

However, this is is not even a legitimate faction. There are no rules for them aside from an upgrade card for one model. And without official figures even, there are no official cards, which are key to playing the game.

We discussed using Ewok rules, but the Ewoks are utterly murderous and we have an Ewok army already painted up. So there's no incentive for me to buy into another system. Nor add in a load of new figures to paint, which is actually a relief.