Grind and Whine

Grind and Whine
Epic Whining on a Global Gaming Scale

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

League of Ordinary Gentlemen...

It may be Winter outside but here in Mini Gamer's world its a different season; Not bound by Winter's cold harsh winds of pale and bleak nor the promises of Spring's early thaws. Nope... Here, it is early Charsuag! This year's Warmahordemachine's league;
just opened up at one of my LGS, ToyWiz. I'm especially charged up as this is my favorite type of gaming. We get to add some poisonality into our games, connect them into a narative. In short- We get to tell stories...

My story last night was of a Faction divided. It was my Convergence versus my buddy's Convergence. It was a Tale of Two TWIN Casters as we both ran our WiP Syntherion lists. We went spell for spell, free upkeep vs free upkeep, feat against mirrored feat. Both near identical 15 point lists met in an inevitable circle of metal on metal carnage...
If you look at opposite ends of the circle you can see the Brothers Synth facing off.
But despite 2 Technical Superiority feats, 2 successful Resurrections and Hot Shot and Synergy in mega-abundance I narrowly managed to get evil imposter Synth in a very very bad grind;
You see, painted models really do perform better! Victory MINE! And not since William Shatner fought his evil twin in Star Trek's The Enemy Within was such a tense and terse battle fought!
Okay, so we didn't quite go where no man went before but we did have some gear grinding fun!

There were lots of league games going on and here's the proof of the exciting and EXPLOSIVE start to Scars of Caen!
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen indeed...

From the other side of the table...
Eric J

Sunday, March 2, 2014

If Sergio Leone played miniature games...

Malifaux... I do love this game and want to bring it back to life in my area. I first got into the game in late 2011. I was drawn to its quirkiness and steampunkgothiczombiehorror universe. The instant draw for me was my love of the Spaghetti Western. I grew up watching these gun slinging cheese fests in my Uncle Wally's movie theater while stuffing my pie hole with scores of White Castle murder burgers. Yeah, I was privileged!!

So when I saw these guys;
It was a no brainer! These guys walked right out of a Sergio Leone classic!

But what really sold it for me was the narrative possibilities and active story telling of Malifaux. So here is my first Batrep, posted way back in late 2011 or so.Hoping this may inspire someone to take a serious look at the game.

                                                          Blood on the Sun
The ruins of the abandoned town were evidence of a time when prosperity reigned. The buildings, or what was left of them were not the ramshackle wormwood huts so common this far from the Breach. But brick and mortar structures built to stand for generations.

So much for that dream...

It did mean however that the chest left out in the dust of the once well traveled street might contain a valuable yield. Soulstones most likely. But then this was Malifaux, when was anything what it seemed. Perdita Ortega sighed resolutely as she unfastened the holster cord to allow for a faster draw just in case....

"Nino! What do you see?"

"Something or someone's coming." Said Nino, the most diminutive of Papa Loco's children, "Not sure how many."

"Well, take that cannon of yours and climb up to what's left of that window. You can cover us from there." Said Perdita, pushing her long, flowing hair back behind her,"Let me know how many."

"To hell with this, I ain't waiting for them to get here, I'm going for the chest." Francisco was never a patient man.

Then, from behind came a hooting and a hollering that could mean only one thing...

"Dios Mio," Said Perdita,"How did you get out this time Papa?"

"How do I get out? I am Papa LOCO! No prison can hold me!" Papa laughed the laugh that helped earn him his nickname then pulled out a stick of high explosive, "Now Mi Corazon, who do we come to kill?"

Before Perdita could answer Nino shouted down from his perch, "Looks like five or six.... Two women up front with very long swords and three others also with swords. They move fast Sister..."

Santiago pulled both his pistols and started to ask if Nino had a shot but suddenly, impossibly, one of the women, now revealed to be twins was there in the midst of them!

Steel flashed catching the sun momentarily blinding the family of gunfighters. Before any could react Francisco was bleeding from more than a single wound.

As fast as the attack was what happened next seemed to happen even faster. Santiago barely sidestepped an attack from the same warrior woman as he stepped back to avoid the blur of the blade. While not wholly unscathed the Pistolero managed to escape further onslaught and took off running toward the chest.

Perdita grimaced, determined to show these... Outcasts what a Woman of The Guild could do!

Moving with a signature swiftness she took aim, "Nino, the other one is coming... SHOOT HER!!"

Her pistol spat twice dealing hurt and pain to this bitch who dared hurt her family.

Francisco bore down on the tall swords woman shooting her near point blank. He smiled despite the blood he felt leaking through his wounds as he watched her fall.

Nino felt more than saw the other three warriors as they advanced but could not focus on them. He knew there was something very dangerous about them but with a steel resolve he shook off the feeling and took careful aim at the fallen warriors twin.

The Repeater clapped cannon like loud dealing a mortal wound to the sword wielding warrior. She collapsed in a heap but this fight was not yet over.

Papa Loco rounded a ruined building but before he could throw one of his boom sticks the other three assassins appeared as if from nowhere.

Francisco moved to the chest trying desperately to drag it to safety but the assassins whom they knew only as Ronin were on the attack!

Santiago moved to intercept the Ronin moving toward his brother but was no match for this combat master. He went down clutching his pistols but slowed her down none the less.

Nino managed to blast off another shot wounding the second but the third made it to Papa Loco, wounding him and then pressing the attack to Nino.

Francisco fought hard to protect the chest but fell under the razor sharp blade of the stealth assassin. Her smile at the small victory was little more than a gash in her face and short lived as well.

Perdita, ever the picture of calm resolution advanced and shot with aim as sure as the sunrise. A sunrise the assassin would not live to see.

Papa Loco meanwhile went into suicide mode dropping stick after stick dealing scathing damage till he himself was taken down but not before he lit the last of his dynamite taking one of the Ronin with him.

Perdita had enough. The long distance impersonal kill feel of a bullet wouldn't do here, with arm outstretched the gunfighter feared throughout Malifaux put the gun to the head of the Ronin.

"Nobody blows up my Papa and lives!"

The assassin never heard the shot that took her head clean off the blood spray making it hard for Perdita to see.

"Sister!" Nino called out as he broke open the chest, "Nuthing but a bunch of pretty rocks... Make a nice paper weight but that's about it."

Perdita looked up at the blazing sun through the red in her eyes but felt no warmth.

"Blood on the sun," She said. "Just more blood on the sun..."

This was my second game. I used the Ortega box set vs The Victorias w/ totem and 3 Ronin. I had an absolute blast!





From the other side of the table...
Eric J

What's old is new again...

Been a while... Stuff has been happening, models getting painted, games being played, win/lose rage quitting etc... etc... etc...

But when I got THIS guy;

I was inspired to start up the old blog. One old Bastard deserves another...

The Goreshade redux rocks and has a great sense of humor about him what with a dice game based mini.... rolling dice. I'll be working on him for a bit. But I'm embroiled in the immediacy of the East Coast Rumble, details for this awesome weekend of Warmahordes wackiness can be found here; http://museonminis.com/forums/index.php?topic=3213.0

In other news I have taken a serious plunge into Flames of War and, get ready as I'm totally going to toot my own horn and brag obnoxiously; I COMPLETELY DOMINATED THE ORDO MALLEUS EARLY WAR ESCALATION LEAGUE held at ToyWiz in Rockland County! My first ever Flames "campaign" and I kicked gamer ass with my Brit Desert Rats shown here at their 1250 point level;

I finished them up at 1550 with another tank platoon. It was a great league shepherded by Troy "Panzer" Baker. great job indeed...
But I still haven't been given my winner's medal... WTF?!

Bringing us all up to date, I'm working on my Convergence to bring to the EC Rumble.Here are a couple of early pics and these models have been finished since but I haven't taken new pics and being a lazy 'ol bastard didn't feel like doing it now;
Syntherion the Art Deco Caster;

and Cipher, who doubles as a refrigerator during lulls in the fighting;

I'll be sincerely trying to keep up the blog and keep it as cantankerous as is my usual. If you don't know what cantankerous means then look it up illiterates! As I opened with new pGore it's only fitting that I close with the OG pGore, my first and still favorite caster. Because if there's one thing I know about, its Old Bastards...


See you on the other side of the table...

Eric J