Pirates, yar!

So I put together some Talion Charter lists, and I have to say, I really like how they're coming together. Shae's tier list seems really effective, and I'm thinking of doing 35 points tier 4 like this:

Shae +6
-Buccaneer 3
-Freebooter 6
-Mule 8
-Commodore Cannon 4
Max Press Gangers 6
Max Sea Dogs 8
-Mr. Walls 2
Grogspar 1
Doc Killingsworth 1
Hawk 1
Rockbottom 1

There are two main parts I like about this list. First, with all the infantry, it should play very differently from my Legion army, which relies mostly on beasts. Second, I can replace Shae with another Warcaster and battlegroup to create a different but still effective army. Broadsides Bart is the most obvious option, and taking him with a Mariner and Master Gunner MacNaile instead of the Freebooter and Buccaneer gives me a very shooty force. Drake McBain and a pair of Nomads are another alternative, and since they'll have to be Four Star Syndicate or Highborn Covenant instead of Talion, I can also start looking into cool solos like Gorman Di Wulfe.

So then, looks like I've got my next army chosen. I probably won't get a chance to start them until January at the earliest, as I'd like to get my Legion together first, though I may proxy them for a game or two sooner!

Warmachine Army Musings

One book I have been looking for lately was Hordes Primal MkII, partially so that I had a reference for all the game rules, but also so I could read some of the stories. By a stroke of luck, my regular gaming store got a copy in, so I spent some time today reading through it. The main thing that gripped my attention was the history - it was written by Magnus, and portrayed him in a very different light than I expected. He seemed more like a jaded old warrior who understood his country's survival required leaders to make difficult, damning choices rather than a mindless supporter of a tyrannical despot. He seems a lot more like a caster I would want to play, except I just discovered another player that plays him (see the battle report from yesterday). I flipped through his list and found it to be pretty shallow - I would most likely be running the same Warjacks as my friend, as well as similar solos. The infantry would be a little different, but close enough that it would feel like I was playing the same army, which is not something I want.

On the upside, reading through Mercenary lists gave me an idea for another army: a sort of travelling circus, stuffing in as many different characters as I could. The only problem with this idea is who to lead it? The options quickly whittled down to Magnus, Drake McBain, and Ashlynn, as the Dwarves seemed limited to Searforge jacks and units, and the Pirates work best with Sea Dogs and Press Gangers. I've got some Retribution lists from last time I thought about playing a WM army, so I'll try to put a circus list and see how it looks. Who knows, maybe if I start mercs a Magnus army will be an alternative option.

New stores and new army ideas

I mentioned in my last battle report that I was planning on trying out a new gaming store, but one of the things holding me back is I don't really have all the equipment needed to play a game. To remedy this, last week I went to another store a bit closer to my house, Gamma Ray Games, in an effort to find templates and a measuring tape (been borrowing both from the more experienced players). It turned out to be a really great store, and I'm going to try to go back Tuesday to meet some of the players - apparently they get together to paint then. Sadly they play on Fridays, which is normally pretty busy for me, but I may try to get in there once a month or so, depending on how Tuesday goes.

As I'm really amped up about Warmachine/Hordes right now, I've been giving some thought to starting a Warmachine army in addition to my Legion. It would be cool to experience both focus mechanic and see what the differences are between the games, as well as have some more stuff to paint! The trouble is picking an army. I actually like pretty much all the Hordes armies - I empathize with the trolls struggles to find peace, I like the werewolves of the Circle and the elephantine Titans of the Skorne, plus humanoid war pigs and crocodiles make Minions a fun choice.Warmachine, on the other hand, doesn't attract me as much. I'm not a fan of primarily ranged armies, so Cygnar is out. I can't really see myself enjoying playing the religious fanatics of Protectorate, and Cryx seems to similar to Legion. I really like Khador, and actually planned to play them as my first army, but I found out that a lot of people at my store play them, and I can't stand copying another person (which is also why I can't see myself playing melee-centric Cygnar). That leaves Mercenaries and Retribution. I don't really like any of the mercenary casters in particular; the closest one is Ashlynn, but shes anti-Khador, which is currently my favorite of the Iron Kingdoms. I guess that leaves Retribution. Flipping through the book, Kaelessa looks pretty cool, as do the Mage Hunters, so maybe I'll mock up a list based on them. I'll post as my thoughts on it develop.