So I picked up Wrath over the weekend and love it. I started looking over the Menoth first section of course. I'm trying to see how Thyra is used and what forces compliment her. I know that Daughters of the Flame are in her theme list and I start there. Now that I've played a couple of games I'm looking at the stat line and seeing what numbers are good. I may be off base with my assessments but I'm trying. The stat that stands out for me is Def 15. If I'm correct MAT 6 seems average. So on two dice I need an 9 or better to hit Def 15. So then I start to remember the games I played last Tues. and think Defenders Ward makes it a 11 or better to hit unboosted. But then I see that Thyra doesn't have that spell. No problem give them stealth until I can charge seems good enough. Anatomical Precision also seems like a strength of this unit. I saw POW 9 and just kept looking I want to kill some stuff with a big POW weapon. Doing some damage is better then none and some units only have 1 wound figures. But then I start to remember the Reclaimer does 1 damage if it has a soul token these guys could give him soul tokens and poke for 1 damage. With most solos I've seen at 5 damage boxes two Daughters and one Reclaimer equals a dead solo. Too bad Reclaimer isn't in the theme list. Now does Thyra feat say "use while melee before you activate and put target model on the back arc to back strike?" Not sure if it works but I think it does. Then I looked at Blood of Martyrs and think I've seen that picture before and loved it. This jack with the Choir seems nasty MAT 8 with a POW 18. Looking closer I see a new solo Nicia and unit Flame Bringers for the tier lists. Can you not make a tier 3 for Thyra or am I missing something. This was fun to look over since I've been looking at different casters. I want to see if my future purchases can be used with multiple casters.
The other thing about this weekend was I got to work. I try to phrase it like it's a privilege working Sat. and Sun. I got some feedback from readers and got turned on to a new pod cast. http://www.chain-attack.com I listened to the first episode and had to fight the urge to listen to another. This cast was well formatted, entertaining, and focused. It never felt like I was listening to a phone call between friends telling inside jokes. These guys are doing a great job. Not only having a good cast but a web site that has pics and force lists really made me understand what was happening. Being a new player I think is going to be a valuable resource in the new future. Thanks to Tranlin for sending me a link. I downloaded Boosted Damage and Lost Hemisphere but need to listen to them still.
I had a conversation about a 40k tournament from this weekend and came to the following conclusions.
1. Tournaments are for hard core lists/armies for the expressed reason to win. Win at all costs or WAAC as I saw it written means play to win. Tournaments have winners so play to win. Build your army to win. Could I win a Warmachine/Hordes tournament right now? Oh hell no. I expect to see the most broken combos and force lists at a tournament. If I want a happy pick up game using models that I think look cool that's a different ball game. A ball game that doesn't have an entry fee!
2. If your not playing in the tournament you shouldn't care who wins, loses, or draws. I didn't play this weekend so I can't and won't give my 2 cents about the event. I will talk about tournaments in general though.
3. Don't ever call a player a "power gamer" at a tournament. If I go to a Magic tournament I'm bringing the most broken, expensive, and degenerate cards I can afford to increase my chances of wining. If their is a prize for 1st place and you keep track of wins and losses you need to reread #1 above again and live by it.
4. If you don't like it then don't play tournaments!
I want to close today's post by thanking everyone who has given me feed back. I'll work on my grammar, spelling, and content. I also want to thank Privateer Press for page 5.
Hey there.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying reading about your first steps into warmachine/hordes. Hope you enjoy your stay and other such clichés :D
Anatomical Precision is a great ability, unfortunately it only works upon living models so if you're going to be facing Cryx daughters might not be effective.
On the plus side daughters can combine their melee attacks to hit those higher defence targets which is a plus, especially with two swords each.
Your not missing anything about Thyra's theme force as the models are yet to be released. Nicia is still being made and there are no units called flamebringers. Soon though as it looks like it could be so much fun to play.
As for tournaments. If you wanted to give it a go, chat to a local press ganger and see if they'll put on a beginner tournament. Battlebox, 15 or 25 points single list. I played in one about 3-4 months after starting warmachine and came third. So it is possible to get good fast. Within warmachine I've never really experienced a player I would call a "power gamer" or even a WAAC as PP seem to have done a good job of balancing the point costs of models. Even though the games are hard fought I've found 95% of players are great fun to play against and the other 5% I wouldn't mind playing again.
As for podcasts I listen to or have listened to the following:
American:
http://www.focusandfury.com/ - Heavily into the competitive side of things. They are not afraid to rant about something and say that it is useless. Also can be heavy on the swearing but they seem to be having fun at least.
http://www.ironagenda.com/ - Closed down but also very good for the competitive and tactical part of warmachine. Some very good old episodes for new players if I remember correctly
http://www.breakingtheformat.com/ - At least one of the guys from Iron Agenda has started up again. One episode so I'm not able to judge what it will be like.
http://www.losthemisphere.com/ - The fun side of the hobby. They love to try and get you to paint and have fun whilst playing. A great listen no matter what I've found. (actually Canadian)
http://www.theprimegeneration.com - Sweary, again about the competitive side of things and the sound quality could be much better when compared to the rest of these. They do have some good points but I find their episodes waffle along too much.
http://www.chain-attack.com - Brilliant idea. A battle reporting podcast. I've never looked at their pictures online as their descriptions as I listen are good enough to imagine the battlefield. I also like that they ask each other what they were thinking and why did they do this.
UK:
http://gutsngears.libsyn.com/ - I haven't listened to them in ages as I just found them too sycophantic towards PP and have poor interview skills. However, when I started Warmachine I learnt a lot when listening. Worth a try.
http://www.boosteddamage.com/ - You do a search on "warmachine podcast" and these guys come top and rightly so. Yes, they can chat about the UK side of things too much but the four guys have good experience in wargaming and thus can help a lot.
http://dragonslayersclub.wordpress.com/alpha-strike-radio/ - They are attempting to set themselves up as a beginners podcast and I think they are doing a good job. Three episodes in and all have been very good quality.
Australian:
http://warcastonline.com/ - Again a new podcast, three episodes in. But again they are a great listen and as more players start up over there I'm sure that this podcast will get even better.