A Butcher-ing We Go!

So after a wobbly start I've pinned my flag to the Butcher's goal and sit here patiently waiting for a parcel to arrive so I can get stuck in.

Doing some required reading the Butcher's seem to be the Orks of Guild Ball. They're the Bezerkers, the big hitters. They get most of their Momentum Points from hurting opposition characters – it's all about the damage.

I'm lucky in that the starter set for the Butchers seems to consist of some pretty solid characters. The captain Ox seems very solid, with TAC 7 which means lots of hits. He also has a couple of auras that increase damage inflicted by nearby friendly models. Brisket, the striker, has a wicked 6" kick that can be increased to 8" with one of her abilities. Then young Boiler seems quick on his feet able to inflict some hit and run style damage.

But not satisfied with what comes in the box I added a couple of other models to the roster. Princess is the team mascot and seems to have a lot of affinity with both Brisket and Boiler. The Butcher's dog also seems very capable of dishing out damage so that's great.

Then there's the big man. Most teams have one but this guy is just rude. Boar is the b@$tard child of Santiago Ortega (from Malifaux) and a Khorne Bezerker. He just loves handing out the hurt in box loads, gets mad like the Hulk, and when he gets damaged he regenerates. Plus that model is amazing.

So I have to say expectations are rising the more I read about my team. I won't have enough for a full team (once we move on to 6 players) and the jury is out on the other Butcher's players Shank and Meathook. I may have to look at a Union player to fill the gap, but that is some way off.

Tick tock, tick tock.
Where is that Parcelforce van?

So… Guild Ball Then

You may recall way back in April, Bull invested in a couple of teams for us to start with Guild Ball. They're lovely looking miniatures and the premise seems great – Blood Bowl meets Malifaux. I even got so far as building my starter team but that was not a great experience and then I downloaded the rulebook. Hmmm, my enthusiasm evaporated rather quickly as I found the rulebook not very clear and was more confused after reading it than before.

The summer and autumn seasons have been a hobby-free period as family, building work then illness got in the way. Then I got to thinking about painting something. Bull had suggested I paint something special as a comeback project and my thoughts returned to the Guild Ball models that have been patiently sitting in a box in the spare room.

In the absence of any actual painting I thought I would do some reading up as it would be a shame not to give the game a decent go before consigning it to my gaming history. This time I avoided the main rulebook and downloaded the Quick Start Rules.

Oh my word, it suddenly started to make a bit of sense. I was now able to understand what some of the special plays meant and the pros and cons of various models. However, what I also discovered is that my team of choice – the Morticians – are the most difficult team to play. That sounds familiar, didn't the same thing happen with Blood Bowl… me choosing the three most difficult teams to play with!?!

This new information only came to light after I had ordered some additional Mortician models… of course!

I know what will happen, I'll lose my first few games and get very demoralised and feel like it's all been a waste of time. So, I've invested in a new team to start things off. Of the two flagship teams that they recommend for demo games I've gone with the Butcher's Guild. It was a tough call as I love the Fishermen's Guild models, but I just felt that I needed something with straightforward rules to begin with.

Also, from a painting perspective, I have plenty of experience painting red and brown colour schemes. Easy does it!

Looking forward to getting this up and running. Looking forward to seeing some painted models on the blog again!

Stay tuned.

Return To The Aetherium

After nearly two weeks off work due to illness I finally stepped back into the studio and got back into work mode. Felt good after so long of feeling unwell.

But just prior to my extended absence from the workplace I got the green light from Anvil Eight Games for the next batch of Aetherium goodness.

That's right, I'm heading back to the Aetherium!

Obviously I can't say too much at this stage except… OMG, what gorgeous miniatures, what gorgeous artwork, what a treat it is to work with these guys again.

For those with their fingers on the pulse you will have guessed that we'll be dealing with the House Ikaru expansion. You may remember some of these miniatures surfaced during the original Kickstarter and certainly made an impression.

Yes, the ninja borg are back!!

From my perspective – the visual side of the new stuff – I think we are taking a familiar if slightly more tailored approach to the previous stuff. I'm very excited to be back working with Brian, Chris and the rest of the Anvil Eight team.

Stay tuned!