GWWC: The Competition

The GWWC got off to a rip roaring start last Wednesday night with above freezing temperatures and Blithering Idiot beer (http://weyerbacher.com/cwo.php?id=7&page_id=10) The forces of Cygnar rocked out a 1-2 record on night one. Not overwhelming, but not a complete loss. All three games were tight and tons of fun, and I tried two armies that I hadn't played much with. My eNemo army was tons of fun, but in the end lost a scenario victory thanks to an excellently played reckoner that managed to beat the snot of the Thunderhead. Game two and three I took a pStryker list that attempted to capitalize on the knockdown mechanic of Earthquake coupled with the Devil Dogs. Against eGaspy I managed to pull off a pretty hard core caster kill after actually surviving his feat turn but against the angry elves of Joey Baltimore, I lost another scenario after failing to disengage the Black 13th from Narn. The point truly was, all three games were incredibly fun. (the Blithering Idiot helped this as well but I digress...)
So tonight's entry is for anyone who isn't a part of our little group of gamers... the who's who of the GWWC.

1: Name: Joey Baltimore
   Army: Retribution
   Biggest Strength: Incredible arguing prowess.
  Biggest Weakness: Dice hate him. I mean really hate him... he doesn't see the number six except on morale tests...

2: Name: TAD
    Army: Minions
    Biggest Strength: Can build armies better than anyone else in the group. Understands the best way to finagle the rules to his advantage.
    Biggest Weakness: He's tiny and could be easily beaten if things get physical.

3: Name: Web
   Army: Searforge
   Biggest Strength: His Gorten list is built to win scenario victories and seems to win when the odds are stacked against it.
   Biggest Weakness: His models run away. A lot. I think if I could take an all terror causing/ abomination army against him I would win on the second turn.

4: Name: The Kutch
    Army: Protectorate
    Biggest Strength: Has spent more time theory machining his army than anyone and knows every in and out of his force. The man has a notebook I tell ya, a notebook!
    Biggest Weakness: His dice abandon him almost as much Joey's. The Kutch has left more Warcasters at 1 health before losing than anyone in the group.

5: Name: Lupes
    Army: Cryx
   Biggest Strength: He plays eGaspy, affectionately known as Assface in our group. His list is brutal. Gaspy's killing power is unparalleled in our group.
    Biggest Weakness: Never reads email or the group message board. This keeps him from gleaming important tactics and information and even sometimes keeps him from showing up for games.

6: Name: Reese
   Army: Protectorate
   Biggest Strength: The freaking Avatar of Menoth. I hate that jack. Coupled with a cynicism that no one can match.
   Biggest Weakness: Expects to lose.

7: Name: Ed
   Army: Khador
   Biggest Strength: Winterguard. Lots and lots of freaking Winterguard. Also has the only other army close to being completely painted. Since everyone knows painted models play better this presents a challenge.
    Biggest Weakness: Works a lot. Therefore not around to kick my butt as much as he did earlier this year.

8: Name: D-9
    Army: Cygnar
    Biggest Strength: Much of my army is painted. See above for the statistical improvement of painted models.
     Biggest Weakness: I'm not playing my Cryx army.
So there you have it, the usual suspects. Now all of you can follow along at home.

GWWC Round One Standings
               Joey B      D-9     Kutch    TAD    Reese   Web    Ed   Lupes  
Joey B.      X            W                      W    
D-9           L              X           L                                                    W
Kutch                       W            X                               L                 L
TAD        L                                                               L
Reese
Web                                       W        W                      X                 L
Ed
Lupes                      L            W                                  W                   

We Interupt Our Regular Scheduled Coverage for... DARK ANGELS!

So... while I have no new Warmachine news tonight I did finally get to pick through the new FAQ and what it meant to my beloved Deathwing. Overall? The boys are at least playable again. Maybe not upper tier, but the next time our new FLGS has a 40k tourney, I'll probably take them out for a spin (if I can remember the rules...)
The Important Points... (for Deathwing Players)
Narthecium/ Reductor: My command squad now has "Feel no Pain." This really can't be underestimated when talking about models with a 2+ save. Anything that keeps terminators on the table, or at least gives them a chance, makes the unit much better. It's likely that this squad would be the prime candidate for a Deathwing Assault turn one deepstrike with its improved survivability.

Cyclone Missile Launcher now with TWO missiles! This DOUBLES the ammount of anti light armor fire power in my army. At 1750 points I always ran two squads with missile launchers, this lets them have a much better chance at cracking light armor or helping to thin out hordes forces.

Power of the Machine Spirit: Now land raiders can fire one additional gun, at a seperate target. For the las cannon variety, this means move and two shots to help pop big armor. For the crusader, it garuntees a multi melta can be pointed at a real target no matter what. The MM actually makes sense now. The ability to target different units also plays into the fact that we will always be outnumbered and if we get lucky with that first shot, we now have a chance to take out something completely different. This also plays a huge part with just how true line of sight effects modeled side sponsons on land raiders. Broadsides shots while moving just became very viable options.

Storm Shields= 3+: Need I say anything else? This may in fact erase a portion of grumpiness that I have held on to ever since the Space Marine codex was released.

Good stuff! Enough to make me even want to play a game of 40k... maybe... sometime...
http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1620225a_Dark_Angels_Version_1_1.pdf

Cygnar Marches!

This week marks the beginning of the Garage Winter World Championship! Now some hardcore players might be going to Temple Con and others looking to throw down Hard Core at Adepticon, slackers one and all! No event can hold a candle to the challenges and competition of the GWWC! The competition, the suspense, the ... cold, the drinking! It's everything that wargaming should be... and you, gentle readers, will get round by round updates as the weeks roll on here on D-9 Minis.

To start everyone settled on one of the their factions to play thoughout the entire tournament. All games will be 35 points with open lists for round one, and then two 35 point lists for round two. I'm bringing Cygnar as they have really become my primary faction these days. My other goal is to get a big chunk of my Cygnar painted while working through the event. Wednesday marks the first night of competition, so look for an update Thursday! Until then, here's my most recently completed Cygnar stuff.

New Year's Resolutions: Hobby Style!

Happy New Year all! 2010 brought some major changes in my hobbying, specifically the shift from 40k to Warmachine which started in January and has now completely put GWs games to the side as Privateer has taken over our group.
For me, I got two armies painted last year. Not quite as much as I wanted to, but still not too shabby. I assembled a lot of Warmachine models and got in a lot of Warmachine games. Wednesday night fights in the garage have been awesome and I look forward to them continuing in the new year.

So... goals for the new year...
PAINTING:
1: Finish painting my 35 point e Stryker army.
2: Paint my 35 point Siege army
3: Finish painting my 35 point Kromac army
4: Paint my 35 point Krueger army

GAMING:
1: continue Wednesday night fights!
2: attend some tournament that require some travel time
3: play in whatever events our new FLGS sponsors
4: Plan and host War for the Cure 2!
5: Update my blog more regularly....
So hopefully I'll get some updates up shortly as I get to work on painting up some more models.

Happy New Year!