Thundercliff Peaks Results
North Cornwall Beasts and Bionics
This week saw night 1 of Shattered Grounds: Thundercliff Peaks at
North Cornwall Beasts and Bionics
For those that havent heard about these events before, Shattered Grounds is 4 1 month long leagues that run around the world at different clubs and stores at the same time. And all results are entered onto an online live map that shows which Factions control which areas. The Faction to control the most areas at the end is the overall winner. Each venue will also have a winner that gets the league coin shown above.
The full rules, story and alternate rules cards can be found with the online live map at
Privateer Press Events
Onto the NCBB 1st night then.
The league ladder started like so-
Rich - Khador
Steve - Cryx
Matt - Legion
Andrew - Cygnar
Claire - Menoth
Col - Cryx
Cal - Khador
Ian - Mercs Talion
Liam - Circle
After a great night of big games and alot of fun the points sat at-
Col - Cryx - 14
Matt - Legion - 12
Claire - Menoth - 10
Steve - Cryx - 10
Cal - Khador - 10
Rich - Khador - 10
Ian - Talion Mercs - 9
Liam - Circle - 8
Andrew - Cygnar - 0 (wasnt there)
We are also counting games played between each other outside of the club as map points. But not league points.
The points earnt were-
Malgor Forest - Menoth 1, Khador 1, Cryx 1
Ruins of Riversmet - Legion 1
Kovosk Hills - Legion 1
Horgenhold - Cryx 1, Mercs 2
Ghord - Mercs 2, Khador 1
Click
>>HERE<< to see the map.
How did the above results affect it?
Horgenhold was still under Menoth reign but Cryx started to appear by gaining 3%
Cygnar was still defending the Runis of Riversmet but there a Blighted Legion shape on the horizon
Kovosk is strongly blighted by the Legion with little sign if them failing
Malgor Forest is still under Cygnar rule
And in Ghord, the Mercs are challenging Cygnar for control with a tied 1st place
I even had a slight effect myself again. I managed to capture 2 areas. Even though they were lost again afew hours later. Look, proof!!!
All this could be about to change though.
Cygnar seem to have broken several treaties and pacts with other Factions online. And the others look to be planning a rebelion and taking Cygnar down from all 6 of the areas they hold.
Will see what happens in the next couple of days.
Mid Cornwall Gaming Club Results
Night 2 at
Mid Cornwall Gaming Club @
Mad for Miniatures was great fun aswell.
Each player gets 2 Battlebox or 15pt games per night. Although we over ran a little this week and didnt have time for all of them.
Means I only played once but I get to fight for the Mercs 3 times next Friday!
Last weeks results looked like so -
1. Darren - 6
2. Andrew - 6
3. Matt - 6
4. Steve - 6
5. Anj - 6
6. Hannah - 5
7. Claire - 5
8. Rich - 4
9. Ian - 4
10. Lisa - 2
11. Luke - 2
12. Mark - 0
And after the games played this week the current standigs are -
1. Andrew - 12
2. Matt - 12
3. Darren - 11
4. Hannah - 11
5. Steve - 10
6. Anj - 8
7. Claire - 8
8. Rich - 8
9. Ian - 7
10. Lisa - 6
11. Luke - 6
12. Mark - 4
But with 3 games still to play for week 2 it could all change.
Next time my games will be facing Cygnar, Khador and more Cygnar
Kernow-Machine!!
Cornwalls first official Steamroller tournament still has a couple of places left.
2 35pt lists, £10 to enter at Mad for Miniatures on June 4th
Full details can be found
>>HERE<<
To enter please contact me at
hendybadger@aol.com
Now for the stuff you have been waiting for
News and Preveiws from Privateer Press
For more info on any of the below items or to see the
FULL 360 VEIWS head over to the
Privateer Press Main Site
I will start with the one that excites me the most
Monsterpocalypse: Dangerous Monster Zone
Power Up Your Game!
Once you’ve battled with the figures available in the core Monsterpocalypse battle miniatures game, turn up the heat with Dangerous Monster Zone expansion forces.
Each Dangerous Monster Zone box features one preset faction of classic monsters, units, and buildings that will take your force to the next level.
Think you’re ready? Enter the Dangerous Monster Zone and rampage your way to victory!
Contents: 3 monsters (alpha form and hyper form of each), including 1 morpher type monster, 16 unit figures, 2 faction specific installations and 1 building, 1 morpher rules card.
All the minis in these boxes can be seen
>>HERE<<
Cant wait for this. Mosterpocalypse (MonPoc) will be going from random closed packs to Faction boxes.
You can now know what your buying and buy what you want! At an amazing new and cheap price tag!
My Martian Menace and Planet Eaters are awaiting thier reinforcements
Next up we have the
Cygnar Storn Strider Battle Engine
Towering above its enemies, the lightning-wreathed Storm Strider moves across the battlefield raining voltaic death upon all who stand against Cygnar. Its lightning cannon is one of the most potent weapons in the Cygnaran arsenal and represents the pinnacle of stormsmith achievement. More devastating still is the Storm Strider's ability to capture and store the energy of enemy attacks, adding this deadly kinetic force to its withering lightning blasts.
Although my gaming arch nemesis is a Cygnar player, I have to admit, this is by far my favourite Battle Engine. Looking forward to seeing what it does. May even end up being the centre for a new lightning themed Cygnar force for me
Next up, some Menoth
Menoth Warcaster - Thyra, Flame of Sorrow
A fanatic assassin able to move between the bounds of life and death, Thyra, Flame of Sorrow is the peerless commander of the Daughters of the Flame. Her twin swords, Grief and Lament, weave a path of razor-edged destruction through the enemy ranks as she leads her sisters into battle. Thyra has become a living weapon of the Menite cause, her body and soul devoted to avenging the injustices carried out by those who oppose the Creator.
And her Character Warjack (metal add-on kit)
Blood of Martyrs
Fueled by vengeance, Blood of Martyrs demonstrates an insatiable desire to unleash its twin blades upon infidels who spill Menite Blood. Only its mistress, Thyra, Flame of Sorrow, matches Blood of Martyrs’ thirst for retribution, and the two are a scything whirlwind of righteous destruction on the battlefield.
The Blood of Martyrs Character Heavy Warjack Upgrade Kit is NOT a complete model. Players will need a Protectorate of Menoth Heavy Plastic Warjack Kit (PIP 32061) in addition to this kit.
I dont really know too much about Menoth myself. But they do look like an amazing pair of assassins.
Going to be alot of happy players out there.
Angry elf time
Retribution of Scyrah Warcaster - Lord Arcanist Ossyan
The fundamental laws of reality twist and shatter beneath the will of Ossyan, Lord Arcanist of House Vyre. Time bends with but a gesture from him, and he can alter his perception to see the convergence of fate. Armed with perfect foresight he is a deadly combatant and battlefield general. Ossyan’s myrmidons and soldiers move with the assurance of destiny as he unleashes House Vyre’s sophisticated armaments upon the enemies of the Retribution.
He looks great. And his bit of fluff seems like it will add alot to th Retribution. Looking forward to seeing his own Warjack aswell
And to finish off the model preveiws
Cryx Warcaster - Lord Exhumator Scaverous
A specialist in the acquisition of lore from the dead, Lord Exhumator Scaverous is one of the most potent and intelligent servants of the Nightmare Empire. Souls are both ammunition and fuel for Scaverous. Those he slays and casts aside are fortunate compared to any possessed of special lore, whose skulls and souls he preserves for horrific necromantic interrogation.
WOW! Just wow! He is amazing. A giant caster wielding a chain scythe. It doesnt get much better than that.
My Cryx was going to stick to just pirates but this Caster is going to change that I think.
Rhulic Caster News
Not a model preveiw but a confirmation.
PPS Jason Soles has stated this week there "
Will be a 3rd Rhulic Searforge Caster in 2012"
Very happy to here that after just starting Searforge myself.
And theres alot of other happy dwarf players out there aswell!
Finally for today
Warmachine + Hordes: Unbound!!
Rules for playing Warmachine + Hordes games on a much larger scale. 150pts / 3 Casters +!
The rules will be in the next No Quarter magazine and the announcement was in the
Privateer Press Insider Blog. Or you can read it here-
Development UNBOUND: Confessions from the Big Game
Over the past few months I have been playing a lot of WARMACHINE and HORDES –truly large games with great masses of models on each side of the table. Games that engaged me on every level and challenged my over stimulated mind to constantly adapt and refocus on the rising and falling tides of conflict erupting across the tabletop. I have mounted cavalry charges in which three full units of Uhlans slammed into my opponent’s zealot horde. I have faced the massed might of six Wraith Engines (damn you, DC!). I have seen a tabled littered with dozens of wrecked warjack. These were the epic battles I have longed for throughout my tenure at Privateer Press.
Debuting in the pages of
No Quarter 36, UNBOUND is a system for large-scale WARMACHINE and HORDES battles in which players each field 150+ point armies with three or more warcasters/warlocks. Unlike standard games of WARMACHINE and HORDES, throughout an UNBOUND game players alternate activating a portion of their armies each turn, activating every model and unit each round. On most turns a player will activate a battlegroup along with a few units and solos.
It is safe to say that UNBOUND is WARMACHINE and HORDES on a whole new level. While using the same rules as smaller WARMACHINE and HORDES games, UNBOUND has been engineered with the big game in mind. The changes to WARMACHINE and HORDES in the UNBOUND system are instinctive, easy to learn, and engaging. Along with a smattering of alterations to individual models, the majority of the rules changes are in the mechanics of the turn/round structure.
We have always known that WARMACHINE and HORDES were capable of resolving large-scale battles, but we grappled with the length of time between turns. In a standard large-scale game of WARMACHINE or HORDES, meaning one with 150-points on each side, it can be a lot of fun to move around and take apart your opponent’s forces with a vast army, but it is not the most interesting part of the game to wait through your opponent’s mammoth turn while he is shooting apart your army. To reduce the lulls in the action between turns, we decided to redesign the flow of rounds so that players would take alternating turns, each activating only a portion of his forces each turn, but activating all of his models each round. In this way UNBOUND keeps players focused on and thinking about the game – we learned from experience that you never know what your opponent will do and how it will effect your next move.
We planned for a long time to do a version of WARMACHINE and HORDES retooled for large-scale battles and kicked around a number of possible directions. UNBOUND finally took shape when Matt Wilson explained his vision for the game to me. After getting past my personal prejudice against “you-go-I-go” systems, I soon saw the wisdom in his proposal and can honestly say, “I am now a believer!”
I personally had a lot of experience with alternating activation systems and have seen few that I felt were done well. Virtually all either bogged down in esoteric rules that relied on constant reevaluation of the forces remaining in play or were intrinsically gameable in their structure, usually giving the advantage to whichever player had the most models on the table. When we set out to create the fundamentals for UNBOUND we took great pains to engineer a system that could not be gamed, that is to say a system that could not be manipulated by a player who chose to play the system rather than fight the battle.
The battlegroup proved to be the obvious force division for turns. It preserved the most appealing aspects of the combos and tactics inherent in WARMACHINE and HORDES while providing the feel of the ebb and flow of battle.
The changes to the turn structure for UNBOUND required a careful examination of every ability in the game to make sure all the rules worked properly. We made a few changes for the sake of balance and flow. However, overall we made much fewer changes that we had initially anticipated. Though an UNBOUND player may discover that some old combos are not as powerful in UNBOUND, they will also discover a wealth of new tactics and dirty tricks. Whole strategy guides could be written on playing UNBOUND and we learned a lot with every game.
I found our proof of concept in the first game. It was WARMACHINE like never before! I was hooked. From there on out we made a few important changes, but really focused on fine-tuning the system. One of the earliest things we discovered during play tests was that established turn orders ran contrary to the ebb and flow we liked about the UNBOUND system. Instead of having one player take the first turn every round, we decided that players would roll off at the start of every round to Seize the Initiative. While this worked out pretty well, we ended up with a lot riding on a single die roll that could throw the most carefully laid plans into chaos. In the end we found a pair of solutions that gave us everything that we wanted. First, players could not activate the models they had activated during their last turn of the round during their first turn of the next round. This kept players from holding their forces back during their opponent’s opening turns of a round only to rush them forward in the last turn of the round in hopes of Seizing the Initiative and scoring a decisive first turn of the next round. Secondly, we took territory holding rules developed for a scenario and integrated them into the core rules of the system so that the control of the battlefield would influence the die roll allowing a player that watched his flanks, went on the offensive, and exploited his opponent’s carelessness to turn the tide of war to his advantage (sadly a skill I am yet to fully master though I have seen Ed and DC put to effective use).
UNBOUND is not for everyone. It takes a lot of models and hearty appetite for destruction. It is a large-scale game and takes some commitment of time to play. It is also not a system geared for high pressure, competitive play. That is simply not the experience we set out to provide. Instead we wanted to create a system for playing compelling large-scale battles for the sheer joy of mayhem. UNBOUND scenarios, which will be debuting in
No Quarter 37, hearken more back to the scenarios in Escalation than to today’s Steamroller.
Unbound is about bringing to life the narrative experience of WARMACHINE in epic grandeur. We know there are players who are more interested in immersing themselves in the experience of massive WARMACHINE and HORDES battles than fighting furiously toward a quick and decisive victory, and we've designed UNBOUND for you.
Looks like it will be alot of fun. Just need another 25pts of Pirates. Im sure I can do that. (Just dont tell my wife)
Thats all for now though people.
May your random number generaator cubes be kind to you.
Cheers all
PG Hendybadger
