Warmachine/Hordes Campaign: Building the Iron Kingdoms

I know that it has been exactly 2 months since my last post but I promise today will make it worth it. I have been working on a campaign inspired by one which I witnessed almost 4 years ago. A Press Ganger and friend ran a kingdom building campaign using the Mighty Empires tiles for some locals at The Whiz back when Mk. II was in its infancy. It was through watching these guys play games and build their own mini kingdoms that got be interested in playing Warmachine/Hordes, and I hope that the campaign I have been working on will inspire someone else to join the game. The version I have worked on has many of the same features as the one I witnessed, with some minor tweaks and some additional features (like faction specific advantages) which I hope will fully revive the campaign while keeping in the same spirit. I have also clarified some of the terminology and even color-coded terms to make it easier to read and understand.

I will be running this campaign starting in the middle of July for 6 weeks (actual start date has not yet been determined) at The Battle Standard in Manchester, CT. There will be a low entry fee to play in the campaign which will go towards prizes (likely trophies). I will announce the finalized details soon.

Without further ado I present to you:

Building the Iron Kingdoms Campaign

Thinking Cap: Reeves of Orboros

I know what you're thinking. Anyone who's played with Circle has probably looked at Reeves, thought they were neat and then laughed when they saw the cost of the unit. Furthermore, anyone who's actually played with the unit will probably even agree that they are difficult to use effectively at best or lackluster at worst. They have some neat tricks with War Wolves but the synergy can be a bit off (if a War Wolf charges a target that you shot at, you'll have a hard time shooting that same target again to get another War Wolf in there to trigger Gang Fighter). Indeed, even the UA doesn't seem to offer much as Ranked Attacks is not as helpful when a ranged unit is the one that has the ability. To top it all off, they're pricey and if you really want to max out all of their synergies you're looking at 17 points (full unit + UA, 3 War Wolves, and the Reeve Hunter). That's a lot of points for a bunch of models which will still have a hard time. So I got to thinking and I may have found someone who could make them far more effective: epic Morvahna.

New England Team Tournament 2013

I just realized today that the New England Team Tournament (NETT) is less than 4 months away. It's currently scheduled for July 13th and this year I have to make some difficult decisions. The first decision, of course, is whether I should even attend.

Project Press Ganger: Battlegroups!

It's been a while now but for those who weren't aware, I want to be a Press Ganger. My regular job takes a big time commitment but my spare time is mostly spent on Warmachine/Hordes and I've had some experience running tournaments in the past. I love Warmachine/Hordes and I want to give back to the community and help new people get into the game. I'm already a teacher so it's a natural interest for me and plays to my strengths! I like to think that I'm a good player, know the rules, and am fun to play against (or at least am helpful for those who are looking for advice) so I hope that Privateer Press will agree that I'd be a good candidate to be a Press Ganger. That's all well and good, but there are, of course, some requirements for applying to be a Press Ganger and one of those requirements is making sure that you have fully painted models to demo games with, and that's admittedly been an area of weakness for me. That ends today, however! I finally got two battlegroups fully painted for Hordes!

Thinking Cap: Initial thoughts on the Woldwrath

I think I inadvertently creating a shooting list with eBaldur.  I got to play with the Woldwrath for the first time a couple of weeks ago against a Cryx player at the Battle Standard.  He usually doesn't play in tournaments much but it was my first time with the Woldwrath anyway so I have no allusions that it's OMG BROKEN or anything but I do want to share my brief insights on the model.  I wanted to try out a 50 point game because Templecon is coming up soon and I need some practice.  I crafted a 50 point list for eBaldur a while ago but I finally got to try it out and so I need to share my findings.

Miss Warmachine/Hordes

It's 2013 everyone and it's time to crown your choice for who you believe to be Miss Warmachine/Hordes herself!  You cast your votes for the sexiest female warcasters... you cast your votes for the sexiest female warlocks... and then you had to cast your votes for who you thought deserved the title of Miss Warmachine/Hordes.  Sexiness isn't everything, of course, and your votes considered who deserved the title for her popularity, iconic stature, and her performance on the tabletop.  I do love myself a strong female character and your votes certainly chose a strong one.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present your choice of Miss Warmachine/Hordes:

Winter 2012 Holiday Bundles: Hordes

Much like the Warmachine Bundles offered by Privateer Press for the holidays, today I will look at the Hordes holiday bundles and rank them on the same criteria (Power Level and Longevity).  It's taken me a while to fully evaluate these lists and there are some very interesting differences between the Hordes bundles from the Warmachine ones.  Notably, the Warmachine bundles included the plastic battlegroup box (and so you would normally get a second warcaster to play).  These bundles do not include the plastic battlegroup box (except for Skorne, for some reason) and, in the case of these bundles, that is actually more of an advantage since the rest of the bundle isn't limited by warbeast choices.  Also, the Hordes bundles include a full-sized rulebook instead of the pocket sized one - probably since there's no battlegroup warcaster and they wanted to offer a fair deal.  What's also different with these bundles is that there isn't even a Trollbloods holiday bundle, which is very curious.  Instead, there are two Minion bundles - a great boon for anyone interested in starting the Thornfall Alliance or Blackwater Congregation.  It's great the Privateer Press created separate bundles for what is, essentially, two separate factions.  Well, let's jump into it!

Editorial: the Karma Deck

A couple of weeks back I was having a conversation with a long-time friend about 40k.  We often will discuss Warhammer 40k and, despite me rarely playing the game anymore, he appreciates my insight on various topics.  For now, I still keep up-to-date on the goings-on of 40k.  I think of 40k like an ex-girlfriend: we broke up a while ago and while I will never return to her, I do admit that I like to know what she's doing and how her life has changed.

During the course of my discussion with my friend about 40k, I had an idea come upon me.  We were discussing how dice can throw everything and it can be really frustrating when the dice are supposed to come back to help you, but sometimes never do.  It's a poor consolation that the dice should have rolled average over the course of a game but don't.  I came up with an idea that might maintain a level of randomness that is necessary for a game but with a greater degree of predictability and with proper probabilities that dice don't really offer.

Miss Warmachine/Hordes Pageant

Okay, so my last poll ended a billion years ago and I've been far busier this year with helping the fiancee plan the wedding (although she's definitely doing most of the work).  As a little aside, feel free to check out her wedding blog over there on the top right of the page!  We're doing a Steampunk wedding and while it's going to be awesome, there's been a lot of work crafting the stuff we need - as if weddings aren't crazy enough to plan as it is.  I digress.


After the results of the last poll (see below) we now have your votes for the sexiest female warlocks and it's time for the ultimate showdown: The Miss Warmachine/Hordes Pageant!  Indeed, make sure to cast your vote for who you believe should win the title of Miss Warmachine/Hordes!  These finalists have been taken from our previous polls but this time you should also weigh their accomplishments, background, and tabletop performance in addition to their sexiness.  By the end of the year we will have our Miss Warmachine/Hordes herself!

Steamroller Prep: Escalation Tournament

So there's an Escalation Tournament on December 9th at The Battle Standard in Manchester, CT that sounds really interesting.  Unfortunately, I'm on duty that weekend so I will be unable to attend *shakes fist* but in case I can get someone to switch duty weekends with me, I still would like to prepare for it.  What will be interesting about the tournament is that there will be 4 rounds and the points values for each round increase, so you'll play at 15 points the first round, then 25, then 35, and lastly you'll play at 50 points.  Where it gets most challenging, however, is that you must keep building on your previous list.  In other words, the models in the 15 point list must be present in your 25 point list and so on.  The other major challenge is that your 15 point list is warjack/warbeast only (although you can be 3 points down).  That's where things get tricky because it means infantry warcasters will have a tougher time first round, and so the event as a whole will likely favor warjack/warbeast-heavy lists.  So what would I be bringing?  Well I first had to start with looking at viable 15 point lists, since those elements will carry forth into the later rounds.  Here's what I considered:

35 point Fall Steamroller Results

Sunday I played my first tournament in well over 2 months and it felt great!  While I was definitely pretty rusty, I found myself in my element and on my game, for the most part.  There was a little issue in the last game because me and my opponent were pretty tired and forgot that scoring for Incursion meant scoring each turn instead of round, but we were able to retroactively determine that I did, in fact, win the scenario.  He was a great sport and we had some good laughs afterwards about how tired we were.  So let me share the lists that I finally decided upon and then I'll briefly break down my games.

Road to Templecon 2013: List Building Part 2

Like I said on Monday, now that the Templecon Team Tournament has been confirmed as 50 points, 2 lists, and Divide and Conquer, I have some decisions to make.  I already looked at using pBaldur vs. eBaldur and I'm genuinely torn between the two and will need to playtest the lists thoroughly.  Today, however, I want to look at my other two options to pair up with whichever Baldur I want to take.  Fortunately, the 50 point level means that I have more options to play around with and I'm more motivated to use warlocks that I have a hard time justifying at 35 points.  So which lists am I considering?

The "Counter-Punch" playstyle

This article was inspired by a couple of comments exchanged with someone on a Bell of Lost Souls review of the Woldwrath.  I thought that the review was pretty solid (although without much play experience) and I generally like the Warmachine/Hordes writers for BoLS.  In the comments I mentioned my experiences with the Woldwrath for some additional feedback and I had an interesting exchange there discussing Circle's playstyle.  In fact, I've had similar thoughts from reading Lamoron's articles on his experiences with Circle over on his blog.  I've always been interested in Circle and they're my first faction since Mk. II (although it might have been Cygnar if they had released the Firefly model sooner for that eNemo theme list).  I'm not going to suppose that I'm an expert on the faction or that others are incompetent, but the purpose of this article is to try to explain the playstyle of the Circle Orboros and why many find the faction to be so challenging outside of just a handful of warlocks.  I believe the best way to describe this playstyle is something called "Counter-Punch".

List Building: pKaya 35 - Griffon

It's been a long time since I've done some list building.  Perhaps it's been because I've been extremely busy.  More likely, it's because I don't have many opportunities to play games as it is and so I don't play around designing lists when I won't be able to test them.  Today I want to share a list I came up with that I want to try with pKaya.  I've always been an outspoken supporter of pKaya (and indeed, a lot of under-appreciated warlocks) and I think the recent release of the Griffon will allow a lot of flexibility for pKaya.  Admittedly, with the recent errata ruling that medium bases cannot use their full range of power attacks against larger bases (throws, locks), the Griffon will have more limited usage in many lists, but I still think he's useful for an assassination tool - especially with pKaya.  Let me share the list and then I'll break it down.

Recent Games and Reflections

September is the craziest time of year for me.  Coming out of the hibernation period that is the summer and being dropped right into a full boarding school teachers schedule is a bit intense.  Now I remember why I didn't start The Steam-Powered Gamer until October (OMG ALMOST A YEAR OLD!) - I was far too busy in September to do it.  Things are starting to calm down here a bit now 0 well, actually, I think I'm just getting into my groove.  Anyway, I have still been trying to be productive when it comes to Warmahordes stuff and I've managed to get a couple of games in at the local club.  Now that school is back in session some of the regulars have been coming back to the game club so I can at least get a game of Warmahordes in on Friday nights (typically).  That said, 2 games in the month of September is still not that great, but let me outline quickly how those games went.

Editorial: Shifting the Metagame

This article has been on my mind for some time now.  If you have not already seen it, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the concept of 'Imperfect Balance', which is mentioned in the video found here.  This video has been a big topic of conversation in the miniatures gaming community because there is a certain sci-fi miniatures game which is notorious for its balance issues and the very vocal fanbase which complains about it.  Today I want to use this topic as a point of difference between certain miniatures games and the design strategy outlined by this idea of 'Imperfect Balance'.

Showcase: The Woldwrath

I know it's been a long time coming, but I finally got pictures snapped for the Woldwrath!  I'm really excited to use this guy but unfortunately school is getting in the way.  I'll be fine for now, but mark my words - I will want to smite someone with his fists in the near future!  While I've already written about how the Mountain King really isn't as bad as people claim, I haven't written much on my opinion of the Woldwrath (that will be coming soon).  I will let you know that I really like the Woldwrath, but its uses will be far more limited than the much-maligned Mountain King.  Even still, I want to try him out because I think he will be fun, even though he won't see much use below 50 point games (except for eBaldur).  Anyway, without further ado, here's my Woldwrath!

Thinking Cap: Farrow

I've been going to The Battle Standard in Manchester CT for a couple weeks now and I've had some great conversations with the guys there.  One of the topics that has come up is Dr. Arkadius - one of my favorite warlocks.  Unfortunately, the good doctor has some serious drawbacks and problems and I've discussed them before, notably what he needs to compete with Carver.  Any competitive player will see that Arkadius - and the Farrow in general - have some challenges that need to be overcome in order for them to be successful in a tournament setting.  I've already discussed in the past what Dr. Arkadius needs to make himself a little more competitive, but today I want to look at some ways of giving an edge while still keeping them unique on the scene.  First, we need to discuss what makes Farrow interesting and different from other factions.

Woldwrath preliminary thoughts

The stats for the Woldwrath were spoiled on the forums a few weeks before the No Quarter issue was officially released.  Some individuals had their own copies in advance for some reason, so I've had some time to reflect and collect my thoughts on the highly anticipated Circle Gargantuan.  While some mock the appearance of the Woldwrath (notably it's massive shoulder blades), it's technically the oldest of the gargantuans since we've had pictures of it from the original Iron Kingdoms RPG, before Warmachine even existed!  I'm eager to purchase my own model and I wish I could justify spending the money right now to have a friend pick it up for me from Gencon.  I've already commented on the viability of Gargantuans, in general, and specifically with the Mountain King, so where does that leave the Woldwrath?  It has some of the same challenges which face the Mountain King but it also has some different ones.  Let's take a closer look.

New Poll: Points

It's a new month and that means it's time for a new poll!  Our last poll looked at the perception around Colossals.  With the arrival of the Stormwall the entire meta changed almost overnight and the model has seen a surge in usage in all kinds of competitive events.  The interesting thing, however, is that even with the infamous eHaley + double Stormwall list, we're not really seeing the Stormwall winning major events.  Does it make an impact?  Absolutely.  Does it make a player automatically top-tier?  Absolutely not.  I think this is a great thing and Privateer Press should be recognized for making a model that seems OMG BROKEN!!11! on paper but is not a "win button" when actually played on the table.  I think our last poll reflected the same attitude amongst players and I'll analyze the results more in-depth after I introduce the new poll.

The poll for this month is a little less controversial than some of the past polls:
What size games do you typically play?
10-15 points
25 points
35 points
35-50 points
50 points
75+ points






Note that I included the 35-50 point range because I believe that there are some differently-sized games common in Germany between the 35 and 50 point ranges.


I'm curious to see how popular certain levels are in various metas because I think there can be some model/faction choices that change depending on the size game (I think Gargantuans will be way more viable at 50+ points).  Now let's look at the results from the previous poll.