Goodbye 2013… Hello 2014

It's New Year's Eve again and time to sit and contemplate the last twelve months and make guesses and predictions for the coming year.

First of all, wow - time does seem to fly. I can't quite believe we're at the end of the year already. 

The beginning of 2013 started as 2012 had ended - 40k. I was in the middle of my Nurgle phase and Bull was prepping for the imminent Dark Angel codex. I never did complete any of my units for that army, especially once we started gaming. The way it's always been in the past with 40k for me.

March saw me finally getting stuck in to X-Wing and racked up a few games with Bull, Fugs, Chris and Mr Awdry, managing to get a couple of them addicted to the latest shinies.

Salute was all about historical 28mm as I began my ill-fated Dark Crucible project. I also dipped by toe back into my Warmachine Cryx army after reclaiming my airbrush equipment.

The summer months were spent building and painting Romans, Celts and Vikings and playing multiple games of test rules for Dark Crucible. After sending out the rules for other people to test, and getting nothing back at all save for a couple of pretty fundamental complaints, my enthusiasm was destroyed. I'd poured my soul into this project for six months and I was spent. My hobby mojo was gone completely and the blog all but shut down.

Eventually I managed to get some interest back into a golden oldie. Blood Bowl is the new shiny, despite me not being able to play it very well it seems. I'm kind of enjoying the painting again and look forward to gaming.

So what about 2014?

Life will change dramatically this year for me and mine. We are due to move house in January which will change the landscape (literally) of things to come. I followed through with my promised last year and left my job. I now need to drum up some more clients to ensure I can take care of my family. Family will be the big focus in the latter half of the year as our adoption process comes to a conclusion. Hobby time will be squeezed more and more this year I suspect.

As for the hobby, I think Blood Bowl will continue to dominate things for the next month or so. I have a couple of related projects I'd like to attempt which could be fun. I also have some Warhammer Chaos to build in the hope that myself and Bull could get a game of that under our belts. The latest rumours suggest that a new version of WHFB have been shelved in favour of 7th Edition 40k (please, it's just getting boring now) which is a shame and I have no interest in bigger tanks, flyers and monsters for my armies.

I'd like to take a look at Bolt Action at some point (taking me back to my childhood again) as well as sort out my Warmachine and Hordes models. Malifaux may need another investigation as I never picked up 2nd Ed. I also need to offload a lot of my gear to make room, so expect to see a few Ebay posts this year, haha!

Salute may not be possible for me this year, depending on certain factors, but if it is still on it will probably be quite low key.

I hope all you visitors and fellow bloggers had a great Christmas, and the best of luck and good wishes for the New Year!

Blood Bowl: The Rematch…

After the disappointment of an opening game loss I was keen to get back into it and dish out some payback to those Orks, and the Gobbo especially – he was going home in a bucket!!

There had been an Undead hero in the previous game and it was time to lavish some attention. Dedleg, my Zombie lineman (above) had knocked out a Black Ork in the previous game, drawing first blood and being awarded the Gutchewers' MVP as a consequence. As well as receiving a new skill "Block" for his achievement he also had some alone time on the painting table. He was looking a lot more like a star player now!

So I arrived at the Orkland Raiders' stadium yesterday with a week of research and an action plan. However, the one thing I hadn't banked on was the wrath of the dice gods. It seems that I have insulted them in a previous life to such an extent that my dice rolling is beginning to defy the laws of probability and averages.

The game started well – I chose to receive and the ball landed kindly. The first few actions were spent positioning my team so that we could make our move in the following turn. Gone were the reckless blocks in favour of something entirely more strategic.

As expected the Orks came at us… and the Gobbo came flying over the heads of the players to land almost on top of the ball.

With the previous game still fresh in the mind, it was decided that I should follow through on my promise. The gobbo got hit… and then we stamped on his head, sending him to the 'dead' box, no longer to play a part in the game. He would indeed be going home in a bucket!

It was at this point that my problems began. I just couldn't pick up the ball.

I sent a Ghoul towards the left flank and a Wight down the right so that I could throw a pass of some description and get the ball out of my own half and away from the rush of the Orks. Alas my ball carrier didn't survive the turn to attempt a pass and the ball bounced out of his unconscious hands.

As had happened all game, the ball was magnetically attracted to the Ork players, randomly bouncing balls always ending up at Ork feet. Even when I mashed the Ork thrower (above) the ball bounced into the arms of the nearby Blitzer, despite being surrounded by undead players.

In addition, most of my hits were resulting in ineffective pushes or backfiring and my own players going down. The dice gods were not on my side.

It wasn't long before the Orks strolled in for their first touchdown. With one turn left and me receiving, I decided to try and inflict some damage on the opposition.

As the half came to a close things were looking bad for the Undead. Not only were we a score down, but we had some major players off the field, including Dedleg.

The hope was the second half would be kinder… not to be. In fact things got steadily worse. My dice rolling was now becoming ridiculously poor and the ball ever more attracted to the Orks. In the end, with my team unable to hold the ball for more than a turn and the game surely lost, I decided to switch tactics. I let the Orks have the run of the field and concentrated on killing a few more.

Even this proved to be a futile tactic. Even when outnumbering individual Orks 5-1 my team were unable to foul any more of the opposition, often unable to knock them down. This was epitomised when a mummy blitzed an Ork Blitzer only to fall over his own bandages (despite using a team re-roll) and injured himself, taking no further part in the game. That's the equivalent of rolling double-1 TWICE, followed by 11 or 12 on 2D6 TWICE. That was quite some feat!

The Orks strolled in for their second touchdown and the game came to an eventual conclusion.

Having felt somewhat robbed in last week's game I had steeled myself for this week, able to laugh off a lot of the bad luck. Yet even Bullcher commented how the bad dice weren't making for a great game.

Luckily, all my injured players returned unhurt, but with a measly 2 SPP for the entire team there was not much chance of new skills. The MVP eventually went to the Mummy, Charmin, who managed to stay on his feet for the entire second half and knocked down a couple of Orks in the process. Clutching at straws to be sure.

Throughout the whole game the Undead had managed less than 6 knockdowns, which is simply staggering.

Having saved money up to this point we can splash out on new players, however the Orks are starting to acquire new skills which is going to make things more difficult going forward. The Undead can do a good job of defending, we just can't do anything with the ball – even on a 3+ with re-rolls we drop it – and I'm running out of ideas.

Time to find a star player to join us!

The Big (Blood Bowl) Match!

Game day arrived and the Grave's End Gutchewers travelled up the M20 to visit the Orcland Raiders – first Blood Bowl game of the season. The Undead were all painted, and I'd remembered to pack them – the signs were looking good (aside from the atrocious weather!).

All the pre-game amble was done and we were ready to kick off – Orcs receiving in fine weather. As I am slowly learning, Blood Bowl is a game of no control and complete randomness – despite kicking the ball to land between the two Orcs at the back of the pitch, the ball bounced a staggering amount and finally landed behind the troll, almost on the half way line (see above).

It was promptly scooped up by the Orc thrower as the Black Orcs and Blitzers started to form a cage. Models on both sides were getting knocked about but mostly getting back up. It was very balanced and the Orcs were being rather cautious on their opening drive as both teams jockeyed for position.

With all that violence it wasn't long before we had our first casualty. A Black Orc was taken down by the zombie Dedleg, and off the pitch he was dragged to be patched up.

A gap opened up on the right side and before I knew it the Orc thrower darted down the touchline and was in danger of breaking away. The Gutchewers rallied pulling as many players across as could be spared. Lots of josling ensued as the Orcs edged their way down the pitch.

The pressure grew on the ball carrier and eventually he was knocked out of play and into the dead bucket by the skeleton Bones, ably supported by Dedleg, the ghoul Mantanner and Drex the mummy. The ball got spilled… where would it land?!

Well, the ball landed straight into the lap of the Orc Blitzer who had been stood next to the Thrower. He ran back towards his own half of the pitch and hid behind a Black Orc, running down the clock to half time. So the ball finished the half pretty much in the same place it started!

++++++++++

Finely poised then at the break as we moved into the other room for pizza. We had been joined mid-way through the first half by Michael from 28mm Victorian Warfare, who had been keenly taking in the action.

++++++++++

Second half began, Gutchewers receiving. Again the kicked ball bounced hideously back to the halfway line. It landed on one skeleton (Bones) who didn't know what was going on, then bounced to the skeleton, Creaky, next to him who also failed to pick it up. It then shot back into the Orc half resulting in a touchback – meaning I could give the ball to any player I liked.

The Orcs had left an inviting gap in the middle of the field, a trap no doubt but I had devised a way to get through and, with a bit of luck, catch them flat-footed.

Alas it wasn't to be and the tiny gap I'd left exposed proved fatal as Bull managed to knock down the ghoul ball carrier Ateman and the pigskin flew up into the air again. It landed in Creaky's lap again but he couldn't hold onto it and dropped into the square next to him (above).

I concocted an alternative plan and wheels were put in motion and a gap created on the left flank for the other ghoul, Mantanner, to exploit.

Again, luck was not on my side and Bull managed to somehow get a Blizter across to foil my plan. The ball spilled again.

With some creative blocking the Goblin managed to squeeze through the gaps, pick up the ball and ran hell for leather towards the end zone.

Retaliation was swift and Mantanner recovered to blitz the goblin spilling the ball into the air again. Bull sent a Blitzer charging after the ghoul but everything was set up beautifully for the Undead recovery.

Then disaster…

The mummy Charmin blitzed the Orc Blitzer, to free up the ghoul to get the ball. It was a straightforward manoeurvre but I managed to roll double skull – the equivalent of a double 1 and meant I was face-down in the dirt and my turn ended. Not to worry, I used a team re-roll and tried again…

DOUBLE SKULL AGAIN!!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing – how can you roll the equivalent of a double 1 followed by a double 1…!?!

This handed the goblin a good shot at getting to the ball. He wriggled out of the ghoul's tackle zone but couldn't pick up the ball. Back to me.

With no team re-rolls left I decided to do a couple of easy hits first before the ghoul went for the ball. This time the other mummy, Drex, managed to roll very badly and fell on his face. ARGHH!

The goblin was not going to miss a second time, scooped up the ball and skipped into the end zone.

Touchdown Orcland Raiders.

With only two turns of the game left there was not much that could be done and the game ended.

+++++  Orcland Raiders 1–0 Grave's End Gutchewers +++++

Wow.
Wasn't terribly happy during that second half, the dice gods were definitely not on my side one bit. This is what I have found frustrating about Blood Bowl – I like to have a certain level of control when gaming, but this game can be totally random and you need to be able to deal with that. Today I wasn't and so endured a hard time of things at the end.

We came away with a loss, but the MVP Dedleg got a new skill and the two casualties I had survived unscathed, just about.

My thanks to Bull for hosting a great day – let the banter begin – and thanks to Michael for making the journey up to see us. He managed to get a bit of a game in before home time which was excellent (aside from that bloody goblin scored again!).

Looking forward to a re-match sometime over the Christmas holidays.


We will return… and next time the goblin's going home in a bucket!

Blood Bowl: Pre-Game Jitters…

Two more members of the Grave's End Gutchewers team for you, this time we have the Marrow Twins – Bones and Creak.

Game time is fast approaching. The last of the paint is going on the team so we'll have a fully painted box of death rolling up the Raiders' front door… that's if I don't leave them behind!

The line up has been chosen (or rather, decided by the models I own) and vague investigations have been made into team tactics. The best thing I read was that Undead teams can't buy an Apothecary – instead they automatically get a Necromancer who will raise an opponent killed in the match to play for the Undead team next time out.

Will the Gutchewers get buried, or will they come home smelling of roses?!

Stay tuned, full match report next time…

Another Blood Bowl interview…

Today we have the heavy hitters in the Grave's End Gutchewers' front line, mummies Charmin and Drex. Like their Wight teammates, conversation was minimal.

As you'd expect, these guys are slow on the pitch… I mean really slow. However, as one of the hardest hitting non-Big Guy/non-Star Player options in the game, they're a key part of the Undead team. Positioning them will be key as they can't jog over to a new position. Think of them as columns holding up a Roman temple – they're not moving!… either under their own steam or someone else's.

The painting is coming along well.

With three days to go until game day, none of my 11 models are complete, but only 3 are looking sparse. It has been a welcome distraction getting out the paints again. I wouldn't say I've enjoyed every minute (a lot of repetition) but it's been fun.

Given the tight deadline, I've taken a Bullcher approach of simply getting paint on the models and not spending much time with details. After the games we play, any MVPs or acts of heroism will warrant a bit more paint attention, so the stars will begin to look fantastic and those that don't perform (or die) with stay the same.

Hope to have another post for you on Friday, then post-match details over the weekend!

Rumble with the Raiders: Post training interview

Today we caught up with two members of the Grave's End Gutchewers' front line, after a training session on their astroturf pitch.

Bonesaw and Jawbreaker are the Undead blitzers, looking to make a big impact in the game against the Orcland Raiders next weekend. We asked Bonesaw how the training was going and what preparation they were doing before the trip to Raider country,

"Grrrrrrr. Kill. Kill. Grrrrrrrr."

and did Jawbreaker have any special tactics that would be employed against the Orcs,

"Kill. Kill. Kill. Grrrrrrrr."

Nice chat guys.

They're Coming…

Orcland Raiders beware!


To be continued…

Post 400: Blood Bowl Dark Elves

With the house move delayed until the new year I thought I should dig out some model bits from the attic and get something done, before my hobby mojo dies completely along with the blog.

As I mentioned previously, I purchased a couple of Blood Bowl teams from ebay last month, including the above Dark Elves. As you can (kind of) see, they're not very consistent with the paint job, rather basic and unfinished. You will also know that is not how I roll, so it was time for some surgery!

Once I'd taken the models off their old bases I gave them a quick scrub in warm soapy water. I could have stripped them properly, but I'm not looking for painting awards here and needed to get this little project rolling.

I spent some time finding replacement plastic bases in the attic and went about gluing the models in properly. We did have a casualty in the form of a Blitzer who lost the tab he was attached to, so had to be pinned. I did want to pin the lot so I could have pennies in the bases to weigh them down, but time is limited and I'm hoping to have a game against one of Bull's plethora of BB teams before Christmas. I had to crack on!

Half an hour later almost all remnants of the old colour scheme was gone.

The big question now is… what colour do I paint them?

Do I go with the traditional Purple/Black, do I go with a Red/Black or Dark Blue/Black instead, which are also popular colours for Dark Elves generally?

Once these guys are done I also have my Undead team, the only team I've played BB with, as well as a plastic Human team… for giggles.

To be continued…