Miniatures

So, uhhhh, Happy 2016 I guess?

So pretty, likely has no reason to be on this site..

 

Wow, it’s been a long time since we posted a blog article, and for no good damn reason I assure you aside from laziness.  Hoping to address that and make amends by producing more content on a semi-regular schedule, but no promises since that has happened before.

 

So saying “Happy New Year” to everyone is our first order of business.  We at HH wish you all much health, happiness, wealth, success and hysteria in the New Year.  2015 was a good year for me personally, with the health of my family being great and no small amount of financial success as well.  Holiday debt is a thing for sure, but Ladyblade has assured me a new budget is coming for 2016 in order to get us on track and making strides in paying off our household debt and saving for a bright future for our beloved little Dragonspawn.  Home improvements, savings, a vacation in the UK to coincide with Star Wars Celebration 2016 and more family travel are all good reasons to plan for a future and take steps to stick to said plan in order to reap the rewards.  However I doubt you are here to read about my plans to save money in 2016, I assume you are here for the Hysteria of my Hobbies and interests, which I am only too happy to provide.

There’s No ‘I’ In Team…

…but there are three in ‘Ontario Team Championship‘!

FACE_DOOM hits the streets to get the low down and roll some dice at the Ontario Team Championship.

To the victors go the spoils!

To the victors go the spoils!

 

So I’m sure most of you, dear readers, will have heard of the Warmachine and Hordes World Team Championship by now.  Some of you even have a set of gorgeous precision measuring devices from last years team fundraiser!  The team format in Warmachine has always been a tricky one to approach, the game always having been so catered to one on one play, but some methods have been thought up over the years.  Perhaps the most common of these is the 5 man team format, popular for a few years now in some of the stronger American Metas and recently gaining a good deal of recognition from the WTC.

There can be no doubt that the format is catching on, and provides a few unique tactical elements to change up the standard tournament style.  For these and other reasons one Mr. Scott Talarico, of Party Foul (a rapidly growing, Ontario based Warmachine website), and a few of his compatriots decided to organize a tournament in this format.  Before you could say ‘[insert complicated name of Convergence Battle Engine] it had grown into the ‘Ontario Team Championship’ – and ol’ FACE_DOOM just couldn’t resist a look.

 

Donate or Paint 2015

banner_ToThePoint

 

So I was tasked by a good friend to participate in the Chain Attack “Donate or Paint” 2015 challenge to help benefit a friend I’ve never met in need of assistance.  The full details can be found: HERE on the Chain Attack web site.

I’m not going to write too much about it since a short video with proof will do the same, but I will post more (and better!) pictures of the completed task on the blog later this week.

 

 

And yes I look like Hell, but I will shave and get some sleep and be much better soon, I promise.  The lingering effects of TempleCon hangover, Con Crud and being late at night have taken their toll on me, what can I say?

To those I have challenged, you have three days.  To those that wish to participate, paint something, donate whatever you can, help a person in need out and help pass along the good karma.

Till next time,

May all your Blades be Sharp.

– NB

Kriels for a Con

banner_ToThePoint

So it’s a New Year and we’ve been busy behind the scenes for some time, mostly working on armies, ideas, thoughts, and scrounging around for some content to keep things going here.  While I have the time, I hope to bring some more news and info to the blog.  Spring and Summer aren’t that far off, and that means I get busier and have less time when the sun comes out and people feel the need for some beautiful backyard leisure.  Regardless of all that, let’s discuss what we have been working on here at the Hystericave!!

For me, I picked up a new army that I have always admired from afar but avoided because my friends already played the faction or were working on it and enjoying it.  I won’t lie, I am one of those people who would like to be playing and painting something different from the majority of the crew at the FLGS, and wanting to be the paragon or pure player of the faction that I am championing.  That means sometimes you need to play the underdog, or play the less competitive stuff.  In this case it was just a shortage of players in the faction and the time was right for a new army and new challenge for the Road to TempleCon 2015.

 

Kind of a BIG deal

vip2

So you’ve gotta respect Godzilla.

That’s just a thing.  He’s way too large, powerful and capable of apocalyptic destruction on an unheard of scale to not merit respect.  So in light of this plainly common knowledge, we at Hero’s World chose to hold a contest of sorts; a battle of giants.  Hordes players were invited to bring their favourite Kaiju monster Gargantuans and Warmachine enthusiasts were likewise invited to bring their massive-monster-murderers, the Colossals.  In addition, as a nod to the unmatched destructive power of these beasts, all huge based warbeasts and warjacks could make power attacks for free.  Players were allowed to spend two points of their caster’s warbeast/warjack points on a support solo or unit to really help crank these monsters up to eleven!

The results were spectacular!  Even though only my man Chadi and I brought Gargantuans I think something like eleven or twelve of the fourteen participants brought out their huge bases for a good old Thursday throwdown.  Much fun was had by all, and many thanks to Northblade for organizing and running the event, and even rolling a few dice himself.  I must admit I got rather ponderous while enjoying the competition, because I haven’t seen so many huge bases at an event since the few months following the original colossals release wave.  I mean, the usual suspects are pretty common in Stormwall, Galleon, Earthbreaker and even Hyperion; but I don’t see the others too often.

 

Epic Roasted Marshmallow

 

In addition, I don`t use my own Mammoth all that often anymore.  This event made me wonder why. I really like the Mammoth.  I have experimented pairing him with several warlocks and had mixed results but the most consistent factor was how much fun it is to put on the table.  I guess I must have forgotten that in the last little while because he has been finding his way into fewer and fewer lists.  Putting the Mammoth on the table that night helped me remember how awesome it feels to charge that massive beast in and wreck everything in it’s path, so I’ve been inspired to mount a defence for it; to campaign for it, if you will.  Here are FACE_DOOM_II’s reasons why YOU should love/hate/want to play/be afraid of the Mammoth.

I shall call him… Mini Me: Part Dos

vip2

FACE_DOOM_II’s continued thoughts on some of the new Journeyman and Lesser Warlocks…

 

So you just got finished tearing through the competition at the Southern Ontario Masters and you’re bored with your easily victorious lists.  No?  Well maybe you’ve just been ROFL-stomped by some serious pros and you’re fresh from smashing some out of favour models with a six pound sledge hammer?  Either way it sounds like you need some hot, fresh new tech’ for the summer and that’s exactly what uncle Face_Doom is here to provide for you today!

Last week we took an in-depth look at both Initiate Tristan Durant, new Journeyman warcaster from the Protectorate of Menoth, and Fyanna the Lash, a very unique Legion of Everblight solo.  Both of these models bring a lot of exciting options and depth to their factions, albeit in very different ways, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing more of them in my local meta’s.  Today I’ll move on to Kovnik Andrei Malakov of Khador and Tyrant Zaadesh of my own beloved, xenophobic, death-obsessed samurai half-elves – The Skorne Empire!  If you haven’t read part one then it behooves you to do so immediately, and if you have then hopefully you have had sufficient time to recover from the resultant mind explosion so that you can follow along with:    ...Part Two:  The Samurai and the Socialite

 

"I thought I knew how to torture people..." - Morghoul

“I thought I knew how to torture people…” – Morghoul

 

 

So………. yeah.

banner_ToThePoint

 

We’re recovering here at Hysterical HQ.  The Southern Ontario Open was this weekend, an 89-player Masters event hosted in Hamilton, Ontario by some of the best people around.  Aside from confirming that I am the WORST player of Warmachine/Hordes in Southern Ontario at a competitive level, it was an amazing event that tired all of the Hysterical crew out to the point of exhaustion and the need for comatose-levels of sleep.

Discussion and some recap will be had, but for now let’s just assume we’re all too damn tired to talk about anything.  We’re going over our wins, losses, and analyzing our gameplay to try and understand everything better.

For my part, I got 31 models painted in 9 days to prep for the event and STILL didn’t get a single 50pt list to fully painted.  I took my Convergence of Cyriss to the event and really enjoyed playing and learning them this past weekend.  But I KNOW I need to evaluate my lists and figure out some stronger options as well as really get down to which caster is suited for which role, and then build better lists to support their respective roles.  I have a lot of work to do before I attempt another showing at a local, or international, Masters event.  😉

All kinds of article ideas spring up as I reflect on the weekend, however like I said, we’re all exhausted so all you’re going to get today is the promise of more articles (I see Face_DOOM is editing his next article as I type) and this GIF of a bidepal Horse running full out.

 

Guess which end of the Horse I feel like?

I shall call him…Mini Me

FACE_DOOM_II’s thoughts on some of the new Lesser Warlocks/Journeyman Warcasters

 

What do you mean 'other than Arcane Shield'!?

What do you mean ‘other than Arcane Shield’!?

 

So it’s been a pretty exciting 10 or 12 months for releases and there is still a lot brewing in the near future for Warmachine and Hordes fans.  Gargantuans has nearly completed it’s release schedule and Vengeance has brought a lot of new and unique options to the table.  Every faction is being given interesting new pieces to play with and there are some very sexy interactions happening as a result. Butcher 3 and Issyria have effectively changed the game in the tournament scene and I have been seeing a lot of use for all those cool new light cavalry units (and that terrifying new Cryx cavalry unit as well!) but what I want to talk about today are the new Juniors, or at least a few of them.

Obviously I need to talk about Tyrant Zaadesh, because Skorne, but I’m also going to cover the other factions I have dabbled in over the years and still harbour some vague, traitorous interest in.  They are also the factions that I have WarRoom decks for, and can therefore research this article; because knowing is half the battle!  Fyanna the Lash, Tristan Durant, and Andrei Malakov all bring very interesting ‘tech’ to their respective factions so I am going to offer my thoughts on their potential use, impact and overall tactical value, as well as their ‘fun factor’ in this riveting two part article!

Tournament Inventory

MPA

 

So many of us have been there before.  It’s the biggest local tournament of the year and you’ve been preparing for it for weeks if not months.  The first round pairings are announced and you confidently walk over to the table and begin unpacking your figures.  You then get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you frantically search all your foam trays in futility.  You forgot to pack that Warlock you just finished basing last night.

 

Goatvahna. Never leave home without her.

 

So just in time for the Southern Ontario Open, here’s a handy checklist for your Warmachine and Hordes inventory!

Would You Want To Play Against You?

vip2

 

FACE_DOOM_II’s thoughts on how to be a better and more enjoyable opponent.

So I’m playing a game.  It’s a game that I love, and I’m in a room with at least a few of my friends, and it’s Saturday.  Everything should be great right now…but it’s not.  I’m feeling stressed, or annoyed, or outright angry (in the worst case scenario) because the individual across from me is doing something – or multiple somethings – that are really hampering my ability to enjoy one of my favourite hobbies.  They aren’t being a dick or trying to cheat as far as I can see, but they are not holding themselves to a high standard of gameplay and that’s making things hard for me.

And the worst part?  Knowing that I’ve been guilty of all or some of the things they are doing as well at some point or another.  I’ve had to work hard and spend time and money in an effort to become a player people enjoy facing off against (most of the time), and it’s not easy.  It starts with good attitude and sportsmanship but that’s only the beginning, and that’s what I want to talk about today: how to be a better opponent.

 

Ok ok FACE_DOOM I'll put Epic Haley away...

Ok ok FACE_DOOM I’ll put Epic Haley away…