Age of Fantasy: Daemonic Onslaught

Posted by Comrade on May 25, 2022
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Here’s a quick write-up of a game that Lawrence and I played a few months back back in January, actually, which I forgot to log on the blog.

I recently spotted the photos on my phone and noticed that they featured some of Lawrence’s fantastic Nurgle daemons as well as my (at that time) newly painted dwarf lord mounted on a bear. Plus my newly painted medieval buildings from Tabletop World!

We played an small, introductory game of Age of Fantasy since it was Lawrence’s first outing with this particular ruleset. I set up a compact battlefield to showcase my snazzy new buildings, and then we commenced our battle.

I don’t recall the ebb and flow of the game, but it featured plenty of brutal fights between my stout dwarf infantry and Lawrence’s ghastly daemons.

That gnarly chaos spawn ended up rampaging up my flank before eventually falling in single combat versus my bear-mounted dwarf lord. Twas a melee for the history books!

Elsewhere the daemonic hordes continued their assault to seize the settlement and drive back the dwarven defenders. My iron warriors proved to be a particularly effective speed bump as they held the gap against a Great Unclean One.

In the rear, my artillery piece peppered the smaller daemons with lead shot, reducing their ranks even as they closed with the dwarves.

The details of the game’s conclusion are a bit dim, but I recall that I pulled off the victory. All in all, it was a small yet visually stunning spectacle – a perfect weeknight game!

Warhammer Skirmish & Mordheim Scenarios Converted to Song of Blades & Heroes

Posted by Comrade on May 23, 2022
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I’m doing a bit of public service here by re-publishing the beloved fan supplement entitled (you guessed it) Scenarios from Warhammer Skirmish & Mordheim Converted to Song of Blades & Heroes.

The original PDF supplement (all 172 pages of it) was created by James Diemer and hosted on his now-defunct Hour11 Wargaming blog. The supplement has been gone from the Internet for at least a few years, maybe more. All that’s left is a wasteland of broken links on gaming blogs around the world that had been inspired and energized by the crackling creativity in this massive tome of scenarios.

Of course, I had already downloaded a copy to keep handy on my computer. Little did I know it would become a rare artifact! I reached out to James via the email address in the scenario document and asked for permission to re-post this supplement on my blog. He never responded, but judging by the generous notes from the author on page 2 of the document, I don’t think he will mind.

So there you have it – a legendary lost resource has been rediscovered! This supplement takes Song of Blades & Heroes – one of my all-time favorite skirmish games as well as the game that single-handedly kickstarted my resurgence in this hobby – and adds in all of the glorious Warhammer and Mordheim scenarios you remember from your younger years. Share it, adapt it, enjoy it … above all, have fun with it!

Myphitic Blight Hauler Speedpaint

Posted by Comrade on May 16, 2022
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I recently completed painting my first “complete” 40k unit in quite some time – years, probably. These three Myphitic Blight Haulers will be reinforcements for my large Death Guard army, the Maggot Magnates.

They’re cute and fearsome models that epitomize the current Death Guard model lineup. I’ve always admired them, and so when I found a good price on a trio of these models (they can be fielded in a group of three, known as a “tri-lobe”) I knew the time for reinforcements had arrived.

I decided to try out a speedpainting technique on these models – specifically, this nifty tutorial that uses a simple sponge painting technique to quickly knock out the main armor colors.

The technique starts with a black basecoat, followed by a rough sponging on of a basic brown color – I used a couple shades for some variety. The sponging continued with rusty orange, followed by olive drab green and various metallics to create a rough, textured armor appearance that is perfect for these Nurgle-blessed murder tricycles.

This was a speedpaint, so I tackled the swollen, oozing fleshy bits with a mixture of washes and drybrushing. I’d probably spend more time if these were display quality pieces, but faster technique gave decent results in relatively short order. A key mantra for Comrade’s Wargames is “more toys on the table” and I tried to keep that in mind when working on these models.

The final highlights were kept to a minimum … just the most high-impact details were picked out, the stuff that would catch your eye from 3 feet away on the tabletop.

All in all, I was impressed at the overall effect that this quick sponge painting tutorial provided. It was certainly fast! Once I got the armor done, I probably spent the equivalent of a few evenings adding in the final details and highlights. I also hauled them to work with me and painted a bit on my lunch breaks over the course of a week or two. Much of the time was spent waiting for the various washes to dry!

Definitely give this technique a try if you’ve got some small vehicle-sized models that could benefit from a rusty, dirty painting technique. Don’t be like me, though, and forget to paint the rims on your bases! I know what I’m doing tonight after dinner!

Grimdark Future: Spearpoint Assault!

Posted by Comrade on May 11, 2022
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We got in a game earlier this month to help baptize Daniel’s new game room. He recently moved into a home with a basement, and he wasted no time in converting it into a dedicated game space! I expect we will be getting plenty of gaming done in this new clubhouse.

We opted for Grimdark Future, because Daniel has been painting up a bunch of cool new Ultramarines for his 40k army, and I have recently completed some new units for my long-festering Death Guard army.

Daniel set up a spearpoint assault scenario, whereby we both deployed in wedge-shaped deployment areas – meaning we could, if we wanted, deploy right at the “tip of the spear,” about 24 inches away from the enemy!

The game was a great seesaw of action, starting with a plodding advance by my Death Guard (Havoc Brother Disciples, in the parlance of Grimdark Future) in the face of withering firepower from the Ultramarines.

Before too long, our units were within charging distance, and we had to make the decision: charge in, or hang back and launch missiles?

Daniel opted to charge in, and for good reason: his Ultramarines appeared to outgun my Death Guard guys (on paper at least) when it came to melee combat.

There were several close combats going on simultaneously on the battlefield, and they were absolute grindfests! Both of our units had the highest defense in the game (2+ on a d6) which meant our guys had to really dismember each other to do any damage.

But slowly, very slowly, the thin blue line of Ultramarines was pushed back. A key play for me was when I sent my squad of Plague Marines, escorted by a Myphitic Blight Hauler, rumbling through a large ruined area in the center of the table.

We had designated the central ruined area as “dangerous terrain,” which meant there was significant risk of casualties for anyone who ventured in. I tossed caution to the wind and pushed my forces forward. The resulting pressure opened up the flank for my Foetid Bloat Drone to charge Daniel’s force commander, slaughtering him outright and paving the way for a general advance on the Ultramarines’ objective.

At this point, Daniel didn’t have a lot of units left to oppose me. He fell back to secure his objective, but it was only a matter of time until my advancing units caught him in a grisly, ichor-spattered pincer, as you can see in the photo below. Very drippy and oozy!

As always, Grimdark Future gave us a great game. We agreed that the best part of this game (aside from the beautifully painted armies) was the fact that we actually finished the game! We all have stories about slogging through 2 or 3 turns of 40k, only to realize you’ve spent the better part of a day hunched over the game table, or the countless hours spent flipping through rulebooks to solve a tense rules disagreement.

Grimdark Future has none of that, which makes it perfect for weeknights, or weekends when you don’t want to spend the entire day gaming. If you’re on the fence, give it a shot!

Fully Painted: Zealot Minotaur, Commander Ze, Blightlord Termintor

Posted by Comrade on May 1, 2022
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I’m trying to ease back into posting more frequently, starting with a simple update of some recently completed items from my workbench.

First up is this gnarly minotaur warrior from Zealot Miniatures. I acquired this guy and another one (a standard bearer) secondhand from Mindtaker Miniatures.

I didn’t immediately know the origin of this figure, but my buddy Lawrence took one look and said “Oh, you backed their Kickstarter?” No, I did not, but it was nice to figure out this cool model’s backstory.

I really like this model (and the other one, the as-yet-unpainted banner bearer). That’s a 50mm base, so this is a big model. Both of them are brutal and savage, without any obvious iconography that would place them into a specific setting. They will mesh perfectly with my large chaos fantasy army!

Up next is Commander Ze, a print file offered by Reptilian Overlords as a fundraiser to support humanitarian relief for Ukraine. The model is available as a pay-what-you-want download, and I urge you to stop on by and throw them a few bucks for a good cause.

The figure itself is obviously modeled on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – a leader who has transcended politics and secured his place in history due to his incredible leadership over the last two months during Russia’s heinous invasion of Ukraine. (Sidenote: it has been utterly fascinating to watch Zelenskyy being forged into a modern-day folk hero in real time. He met the moment in a way that few leaders have in the 21st century. I wish him long life and a boring, uneventful retirement surrounded by his loving family.)

The model was fun to paint up, and I was pleased to support this worthy cause, but I sincerely hope we never have to see Zelenskyy striking this pose in real life – holding an assault rifle astride the ruins of his glorious capital city. Cool model, in any case!

The last model in today’s roundup is a Blightlord Terminator conversion. I knocked this guy together when I uncovered an unused Forgeworld Nurgle Terminator torso + arms in by bits box. All I needed were some legs! I found an extra monopose Stormcast Eternal and snipped off the upper bits, leaving a fairly serviceable set of lower legs + base.

There was a large, awkward gap after I fitted the pieces together, but I was able to cover it up convincingly with an interesting tentacled armor plate that I found in my bits box. I also dug up a bunch of trophy heads and skulls to cover up all the goody-goody Stormcast iconography. You can see the result in the photo above. Looks OK, right?

I finished up the base right after I took this photo. Don’t judge me too harshly on that! I think the robes came out a bit too bright – this is Nurgle after all – but otherwise I’m generally pleased with the result. It’ll be a welcome addition to my Death Guard army, which has received some reinforcements recently, and more is on the way. Stay tuned!