Blending Tutorial

Monday, 19 September 2011 13:57

Hi Folks, after I got a few requests to prepare tutorials on the techniques I use for my models I now present a first tutorial on blending. I will try to get a few more tutorials up, e.g. NMM, Faces, Weathering, Reflections, use of colours etc. but since real life keeps me fairly busy in the moment, I don’t know when. I do blending first because it’s a basic requirement for many techniques. But instead of repeating the typical blending tutorial what you can already find on the internet, I try to show you how I paint blendings on an army scale, because when I started blendings I quickly realized it takes up a horrendous amount of time to do it properly. Time I don’t want to spend on a whole army. Thus I developed my own shortcut.

Wet pallet

The first thing you need to prepare before you start a blending, actually in my opinion before you start any painting at all, is a wet pallet. This is basically wet tissue paper with baking paper on top. What does a wet pallet add to your painting? While water evaporates from the colour and dries
down your colour quickly the baking paper acts as a membrane and delivers water to the colour at the same. Thus it keeps your colour in ideal consistency for much longer. This is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary for blendings where you paint over a long period of time with thinned and self-mixed colours. If you can close your wet pallet, e.g if you prepare it in a box of tubba-ware, you can even keep it over night.

An example of wet pallet, mainly shades of grey for silver NMM

Classic blending

The blending what you normally see is based on the following principle. You start by mixing up different shades of colours, e.g. black to white in 8-10 shades using chaos black, codex grey, fortress grey and skull white for Silver NMM. You need to thin them by 1:4-1:10 with water or colour thinner and you should use a wet pallet (baking paper on wet tissue on a plate does the job). Then you apply layers starting with the darkest colour going up to the brightest. The important thing with blending is, that you keep the brush parallel to the gradient and move it away from the dark colour. Also you do not use the tip but the flat side of the brush. Normally you would apply a couple of layers on top of each other but leaving out a little bit more of the painted area with each step. I think the picture explains it. There is three different blendings just to show you the effect of adjusting the number of layers and the transparency (i.e. the dilution of the colours). Top is a poor blending with few layers and comparibly thick colours. Middle: Colour thinned out. Bottom: Colour thinned out and more layers applied. I think you can see the improvement of the blending with each step.

In order to obtain an even better result you can use very thin colour to smooth out the gradient by applying wave like brush strokes along the intersections of two shades.

There is a bit more behind blending, but because I do not use the “ideal” blending I wouldn’t go into more detail.

Fast Blending

My approach to blending is much faster and explained in the following. But I have to point out that it’s rather fake blending than real blending what I’m doing.

The basic principle behind the blending is fairly simple. Instead of applying many different layers with straight edges I apply less thinned layers (typically 1:1 or 1:2 colour:water) and with the tip of the brush I prepare uneven intersections between the different layers. Something like this:

It’s up to you to find the right settings (thickness of the brush strokes, dilution of the colours, amount of layers etc.) to obtain the correct effect. Normally I need only one layer of each colour to get a more or less smooth blending. Too sharp contrasts can be smoothed out by using thinner colours and paint in a wave like manner along the intersections of two colours (just like smoothing out with normal blending).

The more often you do the smoothing, the better the blending will be. But obviously it also takes more time and since I want to get a decent blending in as short a time as possible I try to minimize the extra effort.

Well, that’s it for Blending. I think it’s mainly a matter of training to get this technique straight. Good shapes to train blendings on are coats, cylindrical shapes such as armour plates on legs and arms and straight areas such as armour plates on vehicles. Generally it is good if the area is of medium size
rather than too large (e.g. on LARGE vehicles) or small (e.g. frames of gems). And the micro-shape shouldn’t be too confusing in the beginning.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/09/19/blending-tutorial/

Operation square-based-non-ork-though-still-has-ork-like-things-in-it-dweller-hammer…

Sunday, 04 September 2011 00:27

…ok so maybe it needs a better name but it is what it is!

The Test model is done up for for my first venture into square hammer & I’m fairly happy with it so far.

What do you think?

Test Ogre

I’ll put more photos up as i go along

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/09/03/operation-square-based-non-ork-though-still-has-ork-like-things-in-it-dweller-hammer/

Exchange Of Arms: A Free Day Of Wargaming Events

Thursday, 18 August 2011 09:01

QUB Dragonslayers will be hosting a special Wargames Event day and Miniatures Bring & Buy sale on Saturday 20th August 2011.

This event “Exchange Of Arms” (EOA) has been set up with the aim of getting wargames players of all systems to meet one another and gauge interest in holding regular games and tournaments for the Irish gaming community. If you’ve been trying to find local players for your preferred system (infinity, Warmachine, Hordes, Heavy Gear, Blood Bowl, Malifaux) but don’t know where to start, this event will provide the opportunity to do so. Bring down anything and everything you want to play, we want as many people from as many different clubs, organizations and groups to come down and see who’s playing what.

All tables and terrain will be provided for the event and we hope to have demo games and mini-tournaments of various systems on offer to new players. Anyone interested in running demo games or tournaments at EOA should e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with details of the game system, rules (where applicable) and format.

EOA will also have a Miniatures Bring & Buy sale giving attendees the opportunity to sell their excess minis and perhaps find some bargains to replace them. Stall’s are open to individuals not commercial trade operations.

Stall tables for the bring & buy sale must be arranged in advance of the event by contacting the Dragonslayers Committee at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Stall holders will be responsible for the transport and security of their items as well as all cash handling at the event. Stall tables will be given out on a first come first served basis so we advise you to get there early to ensure your place.

Any questions or queries about the bring & buy sale should be e-mailed to the Dragonslayers Committee in advance of the event.

For more information visit the Drgonslayers website http://www.dragonslayers.org.uk

Event Details:

Where: “The Space”, 1st Floor Queens University Students Union, Belfast

When: Saturday 20th August, 10am-10pm

How Much: Entry is Completely Free and open to members of the public.

Important Information:
EOA is open to attendees under 18 years of age, however anyone under 18 will be required to leave the Students Union venue by 8pm sharp in accordance with Students Union guidelines. Anyone under the age of 12 will have to be accompanied by a legal guardian while at the event and will also have to leave the venue by 8pm. In line with Students Union guidelines we will be enforcing a strict over 18′s only policy for anyone staying after 8pm ID WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THOSE WISHING TO STAY

Entry to the event is free for all attendees however some games or tournaments may charge a nominal entry fee. In this case a prize will be provided by the game organizer. Anyone wishing to run a game or tournament where an entry fee should be charged should contact the Dragonslayers committee in advance of the event.

The event organizers reserve the right to refuse entry to the event and to eject any attendee for unruly or disruptive behaviour.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/18/exchange-of-arms-a-free-day-of-wargaming-events/

The Irish Grand Tournament 2011 – 24/25th September,Kilkenny

Thursday, 11 August 2011 11:25

Tournament Type: 1,750 Points

This year Conspiracy will be the staging ground for the resurrection of the Irish Grand Tournament!

This tournament, to crown the best of the best in Ireland, will be using the missions being used at this year’s European Team Championship, a mixture of primary and secondary mission conditions using the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. The higher standard of play required to master these missions will allow only one victor through to the top but prizes are available for runners up also.

Terrain is kindly being provided by different sources and we welcome all and any input people may have regarding this tournament.

Questions and comments should be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The submission deadline for this event is: 9th September 2011

The Rules pack can be downloaded here.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/11/the-irish-grand-tournament-2011-2425th-septemberkilkenny/

Malicon – 30ss Malifaux tournament.

Thursday, 11 August 2011 10:16

Hi lads and lasses.
I’m planning a 30 soulstone Malifaux tournament to be held in Corks Other Realms on the 4th of September. It’s a three round event with details in the attached rulespack. Exact time and duration of the event is tbc, though I’m looking at starting late morning and ending around 6pm.

If anyone is interested in attending, throw your name down here and I’ll add you to the list!

Merlin.

For more information see http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1667

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/11/malicon-30ss-malifaux-tournament/

Road to Glory Series

Thursday, 11 August 2011 10:10

The Road to Glory Series returns this September and October in Gamers World Dublin. Further information to come.

Road to Glory II : The Revenge – Saturday September 3rd, Gamers World Dublin, 10am. 1000 points Fantasy. 4 games. Non-ranking. €10.

Road to Glory III : Mercury Rising – Saturday October 1st, Gamers World Dublin, 10am. 1250 points Fantasy. 4 games. Non-ranking. €10.

All welcome. Please note that players may attend as many or as few of the Road to Glory events as they wish. Free doughnuts will be provided (I’m not making that mistake again).
Entry fees break down as follows – €5 to the shop for tables. €3 for prizes for the current event. €2 retained for overall series prizes.
Full rulespacks with composition systems will be posted soon. One event will have very little comp, the other will have more.

Rules pack and registration for Road to Glory II : The Revenge see http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1739

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/11/road-to-glory-series/

Encore – Warhammer 40K Tournament

Thursday, 11 August 2011 10:02

Encore is hosting a Warhammer 40K tournament on the Saturday (27th) During the Event.
It will consist of 3 Game with a set army list of 1500pts, Each Game shall last 2 hours (with extra time if needed).

Entry For tournament will be £6 and will include:

Unlimited Tea & coffee,Orange Juice
and Biscuits

Held at: Magee University, MF Building (beside the bottom car park), University of Ulster – Magee, Derry (Londonderry)

For more information see http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1729

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/11/encore-warhammer-40k-tournament/

BannerCon 1: Warhammer 40,000 Tournament

Thursday, 11 August 2011 09:57

One and all,

I am pleased to announce the first annual (hopefully) BannerCon!

Tournament Information

Cost: 20 Euros
Capacity: Places for 52 players
Points: 1,750 points
Rounds: 5 games over 2 days
Location: Auburn Lodge Hotel, Gort Rd., Ennis, Co. Clare
Date: Weekend of the 13th and 14th of August
Other: This will be a Ranked Event with Prize Spport

James

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/08/11/bannercon-1-warhammer-40000-tournament/

Warmachine Demo Days

Thursday, 28 July 2011 10:44

Warmachine Demo Days

Ciaran here, just a quick note to anyone thinking of trying Warmachine & Hordes, Owen Conlon (a fellow Pressganger) and myself will be running demo games in Gamers World, Dublin on the following days:

Tuesday 2nd August from 4pm

Wednesday 10th August from 6pm

We will have a mix of all the different factions, so you don’t need to bring anything. Though if you have a battle box already that you’d like to try, bring it along.

I have some copies of the Quick Start rules, which you can also get here -

Warmachine:

Hordes:

Let me know if you’re interested. Spread the word!

Ciaran

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/28/warmachine-demo-days/

Warmachine 101

Wednesday, 27 July 2011 15:41

Hey Guys

Welcome to the first Warmchine 101 Blog. My name is Ciaran and I am a Pressganger for Privateer Press, basically a volunteer to promote the game, and run demo’s and tournaments. I was recently asked a couple of questions about getting into Warmachine and Hordes so i though i would put them up here for anyone else that may be interested.

Q1) Which book is used for building armies? We noticed there are several profiles for the same units in say the Forces books, the Wrath book, and the Prime MkII book (though there are some units in some that aren’t in the others). So which one do we use?

A1) Unlike 40k/fantasy, Warmachine & Hordes doesn’t use codex’s for armies. Traditionally all armies are updated at the same time with a major book release, ie wrath for warmachine & the upcoming domination for hordes. There are army books out for all the factions, but this was done to update all the mark 1 model rules to mk2 & to consolidate all the old books into easier to manage/transport books for players. With regard to what books to use, its quite easy as you can use any of them in any combination, as long as you follow the standard allocation rules found in Prime/Primal. For people starting off I would try to keep it simple and use either Prime or Primal for unit choices until you get to grips with how the system works & then you can experiment with any of them

Q2) What is the standard points people play? None of us are likely to play on the tourney scene any time soon but starting on the same footing as everyone else would be handy.

A2) Standard games are either 35 (most of the tournaments i run ~ 1500pt 40k game) or 50 points (larger & more toys ~ 2000pt 40k game). Best thing to do for starting off is play 15 point games – which conveniently is what the battlebox/starter sets are worth. After that try add in a unit or 2 & play 25 point games to build yourself up. The game scales quite well & there are tournaments designed around starter set size games

Q3) Where can we find the points costs for each unit? For all the profiles found across books, we didn’t see any points values or anything similar system.

A3) Point cost is on all the model cards & should be in all the books. Generally your warcaster is free & gives you free points to spend on warjacks/beasts (usually between 5-8 though there are exceptions). Units cost between 5-8 points, solos cost anywhere from 1-4 points, and medium and heavy jacks/beasts cost 4-12 points. If you have an iphone/ipad/itouch/android device, go to the app store and look up ibodger & you will get the free Warmachine/Hordes army building program

Hope this helps & anyone has any more questions about Warmachine or Hordes on the forums, my username is madrab

Talk to you soon
Madrab

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/27/warmachine-101/

35pt Warmachine/Hordes Tournament 28th of August in Gamer’s World

Monday, 25 July 2011 15:39

Hey all,

I will be running a 35 Point Warmachine/Hordes Tournament on 28th August in Gamer’s World Dublin. Full details are:
Steamroller 2011 Rules (can be found here: http://privateerpress.com/files/Official%20Steamroller%202011%20Rules.pdf )
35 points
2 lists allowed
10 Minute Turns
Registration begins at 10:30 am
Entry 10 Euro
No painting requirement

Prizes will include best general, 2nd place and a few spot prizes

I hope to see some of you there, it should be good fun. Spread the word to anyone i may have missed,

Ciaran

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/25/35pt-warmachinehordes-tournament-28th-of-august-in-gamers-world/

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more”

Tuesday, 12 July 2011 10:28

So after FARCE not turning out as I’d hoped, despite having a fantastic day, the results were like playing Ogres in 7th edition all over again.  I really thought those dark days were behind me. It was a long time since I’d been beaten in four games in a row (including the friendly game against Jay Saturday night).
So with Brocon around the corner, my reaction was that of any sensible gamer, “Daemons, I need Daemons”, but one glaring problem, Daemons would cost money so that ruled them out as an option. So it left me with the armies I’d amassed over the years, Tomb Kings – lots of chariots, archers and the likes, but didn’t think it could have been an option without the new toys. Secondly, Warriors of Chaos – My Tzeentch Horde, 100 Marauders, 40-60 Warriors depending on whether I wanted to include Chosen, again I decided against this, but this was more to do with my third option, Vampire Counts.
Well to be more accurate Ghouls, having received a Mantic Vampire army as a Christmas present I’d acquired some extra Ghouls along the way, in and about 110 of them to be honest. As I started reading through the army book, I knew these were the guys to take to war. Cheap Poison, loads of attacks, near complete control of the magic phase. So after a few practice games I settled on a list with maximum Ghouls, minimum everything else:

Vampire Lord – General – LV3 (Lore of Vampires) – The Flayed Hauberk – Talisman of Preservation – Helm of Commandment – Dark Acolyte – Forbidden Lore – Summon Ghouls

Vampire LV1 (Lore of Vampires) – BSB – Armour of Fortune – Black Periapt – Master of the Black Arts
Necromancer – Vanhel’s Danse Macabre- Dispel Scroll
Necromancer – Vanhel’s Danse Macabre – Power Stone

40 Crypt Ghouls
35 Crypt Ghouls
30 Crypt Ghouls
20 Skeleton Warriors FC
20 Grave Guard FC – The Banner of the Barrows

4 Cairn Wraiths
With the list decided I submitted it for Brocon and all was well.
Well so I thought, as I tried to get my Ghouls ready in time, I realised if current rumours are correct this would be the last fantasy tournament I’d be attending before an Ogre update, all going well and if Conclave II was at a similar time to last year,  the ogre update would be tournament legal.
Having played through 7th edition and into 8th I surely couldn’t give up on Ogres at this stage, it just didn’t seem right, so I quickly wrote out my standard list and sent it Brocon to replace my filthy Vampire list.
As Brocon quickly approaches my Ogres step once more and perhaps finally as the bottom tier army in to the breach, looking not to get beaten about the place. Although, there’s a saying in poker,” Look Around the Poker Table; If You Can’t See the Sucker, You’re It”. So I’ve looked at the sign up list so far for Brocon and I can’t seem to find the Bunny!
Should I be worried?

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/12/%E2%80%9Conce-more-unto-the-breach-dear-friends-once-more%E2%80%9D/

Warmachine/Hordes Tournament July 24th

Monday, 11 July 2011 16:38

Hello again,

I will be running a 35 Point Warmachine/Hordes Tournament on July 24th in Gamer’s World Dublin. Full details are:
Steamroller 2011 Rules (can be found here: http://privateerpress.com/organized-play/steamroller-tournaments)
35 points
2 lists allowed, the second list must have a different Character warcaster/lock
10 Minute Turns
Registration begins at 10:30 am
Entry 10 Euro
No painting requirement

Ciaran

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/11/warmachinehordes-tournament-july-24th/

All-Ireland Infinity Gaming Day – Sat. July 23rd

Friday, 01 July 2011 13:50

With the success of the inaugural All-Ireland Infinity gaming day, we will be running a second one.

It will take place in Gamers World, Jervis street, Dublin, on Saturday July the 23rd, from 11am.

Again the emphasis is mostly going to be on beginner friendly gaming, with demos available for anybody interested in the game, pick-up games and even co-op scenario play available.

If you don’t currently own Infinity then the rules, army lists and an army builder are freely available at the manufacturers web-site – http://www.infinitythegame.com/infinity/en/downloads/

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/07/01/all-ireland-infinity-gaming-day-sat-july-23rd/

Q-Con 2011

Friday, 06 May 2011 20:13

Q-Con is the annual Gaming Convention hosted by Dragonslayers, the Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) Gaming and Anime Society. This year, Q-Con enters its eighteenth year of providing almost 1500 people with a weekend of gaming and anime awesome – straight through the last weekend of June 2011!

Q-Con features a wide selection of games and events over the convention weekend; with Role-Playing Games, Board Games, LARPs, War Games, Collectable Card Games, Console Games, Anime Screenings, Cosplay, Special Events, Exhibitors, and much more!

Big events to watch out for this year include: Rock Band Live, the Cosplay Masquerade, and Warhammer competition tournaments. Come along and make yourself known – from 24th to 26th of June…

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Early registration for the full weekend ticket for Q-Con costs just £15/€17.
Accommodation is available for just £17/€20 per night – availability is limited, so register early to avoid disappointment.

For registration/accommodation details, information on all our games and events or if you would like to run games at Q-Con XVIII then please visithttp://www.q-con.org.uk for more details. You can also follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/QConBelfast

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/05/06/q-con-2011/

Sayl the Faithless and Nightmaw (from Warhammer Forge)

Wednesday, 13 April 2011 15:05

Even more goodies out today with the release of Sayl the Faithless and Nightmaw.

From Warhammer Forge:

Sayl is pre-eminent among the Dolgan tribe, and his rise to ascendancy began with his allegiance to Schalkain the Vile, as one of his seven seer-apprentices. Sayl’s honeyed lies turned each acolyte against the others, and fanned the flames of suspicion into murderous strife. Eventually Schalkain was manipulated into conducting a dark rite involving Sayl and three fellow ‘loyal’ apprentices which resulted in Schalkain’s horrific death at the hands of a daemon beholden to Sayl, while the three surviving acolytes were twisted into a terrible beast known as Nightmaw. Hated and feared, Sayl the Faithless and Nightmaw now march alongside Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord.

Experimental rules are available here.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/04/13/sayl-the-faithless-and-nightmaw-from-warhammer-forge/

Tamurkhan on Toad Dragon (new from Warhammer Forge)

Wednesday, 13 April 2011 14:55

Great to see more Warhammer Forge stuff coming out – this looks an enormous beast.  Assuming that the model on top is Ogre Tyrant sized, it’s got to absolutely huge.

From Warhammer Forge:

The fell legend of Tamurkhan has been whispered for many centuries amongst the nefarious tribes of the Chaos Wastes. Some tales speak of him as a scion of the Great Kurgan, one of four sons each cast to the four winds to conquer and enslave. Others claim that he was once no more than vermin – a corpse-canker grown fat and clever on the spoils of the battlefield, swelled and transformed by the light of the Ruinous Powers. Perhaps the most fell creature under his command is the mighty Toad Dragon Bubebolos, a huge, reeking, primeval horror and greatest of all its bloated kind. Blessedly few in number, the Toad Dragons are lumbering horrors from a forgotten age whose flesh festers with unwholesome rot and whose black blood is clotted with maggots and carrion worms.
Experimental rules can be found here – link.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/04/13/tamurkhan-on-toad-dragon-new-from-warhammer-forge/

New Empire Warhammer Forge Goodies…

Friday, 11 March 2011 21:18

Warhammer Forge came out and spoiled us today with two new resin sets for the Empire.

First up, they have brought out a conversion set for Imperial Handgunners.  This set is designed to mix with the usual plastic Handgunners and help create detachments.  According to the experimental rules, they’re only usable when named character Captain-Engineer Jubal Falk is included in the army too which is likely to limit their use in tournaments.  However, they look great and we hope to see a bunch of these in Imperial armies before too long.

Secondly, they have released the frankly awesome Land Train.  Coming in at a very hefty £115, this kit is absolutely huge (I’m guessing about 8″ high) and looks fantastic.  This is a really stunning piece of kit that reinforces the steampunk madness of the Empire in the Warhammer world.  With rules that appear very reasonable indeed, we can see this being allowed at tournaments as a Steam Tank alternative.  There’s no doubt which we’d prefer to see on the tabletop!

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/new-empire-warhammer-forge-goodies/

Warmachine & Hordes ETC 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 20:32

Its ETC fever at the moment, & the Privateer Press players arent getting left out

The Warmachine and Hordes ETC will be held in Maelstrom Games on July 2nd/3rd & will comprise of 4 man teams. Looks like we will definitely be sending over 1 team, but we are not limited to just 1. If anyone would be interested in going let me know and we can round up numbers & see what the scope of things are.

Details here – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1274

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/warmachine-hordes-etc-2011/

BroCon 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 20:20

After a good start last year Brocon is back this summer with an aim to rise to a higher standard. After carefully taking into account all reviews of last year UL Gsoc and the LDC are proud to present Brocon 2011.

Location: EGO10, University of Limerick
Price: 10euro day pass, 15euro weekend pass
Date: 16th-17th of July

Warhammer Fantasy: 2400pt two day tournament, rulespack soon to come
Warhammer 40,000: 1750pt two day tournament, rulespack soon to come

This will be a ranking event (assuming it stands to the criteria set for 2011/2012)

Full details – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1251

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/brocon-2011/

King of the Gnoblars 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 20:16

King of the Gnoblars 2011

The King of the Gnoblars 2011 is a Warhammer Fantasy Battle tournament being held in University College Cork, Ireland,

during Paddy’s weekend in March 2011. All Warhammer Fantasy players of age 18 or older are invited to come and compete for the grand title of King of the Gnoblars. Do you have what it takes to be crowned King? Probably not, but come anyway!

Time/venue: UCC , Cork, 19-20th March. Registration will begin at 10.00am on Saturday, with round one from 10.30-13.00, round 2 from 13.30-16.00 and round 3 from 16.30-19.00. On Sunday, round 4 will be from 10.00-12.30, round 5 from 13.00-15.30, and awards at 16.15.

Full details – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1051

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/king-of-the-gnoblars-2011/

HoLDCon 2011 – The Final Reckoning

Friday, 11 March 2011 20:09

The final ranking event for those interested in the 2011 Warhammer Fantasy ETC team – full details here (http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1186&start=0)

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/holdcon-2011-the-final-reckoning/

SkibbCon 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 20:05

SkibbCon is back on the weekend of June 10th to the 12th. This is a non ranking Doubles Tournament.

This is the second year we have run this event and we are delighted to be hosting it yet again. The first thing we want you all to do is to have fun. The event is hopefully a place where like minded people can have a proper weekend away with toys and socialising being the only real concerns.

As such; this is an over 18’s event.

The event takes place in a Hostel just outside of Skibbereen, in lovely West Cork. We have the whole place to ourselves for the weekend. We will be in the dorm bedrooms with toilet, shower and kitchen facilities at our disposal.

More information – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1225

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/skibbcon-2011/

ItzaCon 2011

Friday, 11 March 2011 19:57

ItzaCon 2010 takes place in University College Galway from March 12th-13th and features a Warhammer 40k ranking tournament on both days.  Full details and rulespack is available here – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1272.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/11/itzacon-2010/

NWG 2011

Thursday, 10 March 2011 10:24

Despite EVERYONE knowing about NWG 2011 for ages, it’s time to firm up a few bits and pieces with respect to it.  The event will be held on the weekend of September 16th-18th in Gorey in the Amber Springs Hotel and will feature two-day, five-round tournaments for both Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40k.

The rulespacks and so on are currently been worked on, and we expect to be able to release them pretty soon.  Darragh Cullen from the DGG will be running the 40k side of things, while I’ll be heading up the Fantasy organisers with Fergus and Jarvis.

Accommodation is available in the hotel itself, and we’re currently working on block-booking the Loch gCarman Arms Hotel in the town as well for a budget option.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/03/10/nwg-2011/

Portable Warfare- The Sergeant

Saturday, 05 February 2011 12:25

I’ve always had to opinion that to do a proper review you need to spend some time using the item.

So when I got this case I figured I should load it up with an army and travel to a con. Not just a put it in the car for the local con level of travel. Nope I was going to go international on this case. Ireland to Australia with a transfer in Heathrow and a refuelling stop in Hong Kong and it wasn’t getting the nice treatment accorded to hand luggage. NOPE this poor sucker was going to have to survive the hold and the dreaded baggage handlers. The only “cheat” was that I packed it in the box that it was shipped in.
I know that a bunch of you are now thinking, he’s gonna bring a “disposable” army of badly painted black Reach orks. Nope, there’s a forgeworld warboss on a bike in the bag along with trukks, boys and even a metal big mek. In the end the bag fit the following models
35 plastic boys
1 Forgeworld warboss
6 bikers, grot orderly
Big mek with KFF
Deffcopter
3 trukks
Perdidta, Seamus and Lady Justice Malifaux crews
As well as an army book, small rulebook, hipflask, tape measure, dice and other miscellaneous wargamer requirements fit easily into the pockets on the bag.
Nice touches – The extra pockets on the bag were very handy for water bottles and snacks and the big pocket at the front made getting the army book out very easy

So for storage- thumbs up

For transport in big flying things – thumbs up, I had 2 minor repairs to do that owed more to my poor foam plucking than the case.

So It was time to take it to an event.
Arcanacon was the weapon of choice a 2 day , 6 game con to give it a bit of a workout. Getting there from the hotel required me to cover some ground with the bag over my shoulder and use some public transport

So for comfort – Thumbs up.
The adjustable shoulder strap put the bag at a very comfortable height for walking and getting on and off trams.
Minor gripe. I would have loved to have a handle on the top of the bag on occasion

So how did it do at the event ?
Getting to dice and tape measures and all the misc stuff was very easy and the zip arrangement made getting the foam in and out a doddle.

With the back of the bag opened all the way it was easy to make 2 stacks of the foam . This made it easy to keep the foam layers with the boys at the top for easy access when they disembarked from the trukks and needed to hit the tables. It was occasionally annoying if I forgot to take stuff out of the back pocket before stacking foamtrays on it.

It was still easy to move the foam or lift the bag to get access.

I still haven’t figured out a use for the small pocket under the top flap and to be fair it bugs me that someone put thought into putting it there and I can’t figure out why.

So how did the army survive being transported around the convnetion? Excellent.

With games and the army display I packed and unpacked the army 7 times and the only damage was when I grabbed a trukk too fast and snapped a wheel. Army damage incurred outside of drunk idiot owner error – Zero.

And how was the Foam quality ?
THe Sergeant comes with a load of Blü foam that is the same dimensions as the foam from my Sabol Army transport.
Comparing the foams is easy just look at the 2 pictures below. The Blü foam has the Blue base and the noticeable lack of Foam droop

A small gripe is the edge of the tray does have a bit of glue that overlaps the first row of the pluck foam. A bit of powder will take the Tack off it so it’s not a problem

For anyone wondering about how they would transport a larger army – well have a look at the pictures the bag is designed to clip another bag underneath it. So you could easily clip 2 Sergeants together and carry them over your shoulder.

So to sum up the sergeant served me well for travelling and for the tournament I went to. I managed to take an army plus all the various sundry bits that go with playing a wargame neatly.
The build quality makes me believe I’ll be using this bag happily for years to come.
I would have no problem recommending it
EDIT– The URL to go find out more info and order the bag
http://www.portablewarfare.com

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/02/05/775/

Upcoming Gorkamorka campaign

Wednesday, 02 February 2011 10:15

On the barren world of Angelis…

Gaver round yu durty yoofs!

Da great Gork (f’ da Morkers), needs more gubbins!! I, Boss Mosher, ‘av been chosen by Da Great Gork (f’ da Morkers) himself to get it!”

Ive got lot o’teef and im willin to spend em on yu lot! but only da best of yas will get it!

We is gonna head out inta da waste an do a bit o diggin for loot! We might bump into dem f’n Morkers, or stuip diggers but we can bash em good’n nik der loot!!

If any of yu boys see any of dem rebel grots, make sure to capture’em and we can give’m a good hidin’. Watch out for dem orrible muties, bunch of freaks!

watch out for da pyramids..der be wierd things out dem directions!

Thats right folks, the Gorkamorka Campaign is starting soon.
Start Date: 7th March for 5 weeks
Starting teef – 100
Factions – Gorker, Morkers, Digga’s, Rebel Grots, Muties
Rules available here:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/conte … Id=5300012
Rules for Digga’s, Rebel Grots, and Muties are in the Digganob expansion (which is available on the net if you look in the right places)

The main rule of this campaign is WYSIWYG, everything your model has has to be represented on the model, eg if your nob roles and gets monowheels, he has to be modelled with them.

Full details on the forum: http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1180

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/02/02/upcoming-gorkamorka-campaign/

Warhammer Forge

Friday, 28 January 2011 10:01

After many months of rumours and speculation, Forgeworld have finally opened their Warhammer store – Warhammer Forge.  First up from the masters of resin are some Nurgle-themed beasties: Nurgle Plague Toads, Nurgle Bile Trolls and Nurgle Plague Ogres.  Rules have been published for the first two of these and all are available to order from the end of January.

Prices are a little high, but not outrageous, while the pictures on the website look really good quality.  Rumours have suggested for some time that this was the start of a range of models to tie in with new books with further campaign rules – the first being a Nurgle assault on the Empire from the east (through Cathay, the Mountains of Mourne and so on) which explains the Ogre/Troll element.  We’ll wait to see how this pans out, but Warhammer fans have been hoping for Forgeworld to come to Fantasy for quite some time – and the start gives us every reason to be optimistic for the future.

Warhammer Forge link – http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/01/28/warhammer-forge/

Grab da Looot lads

Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:57

Arc day 2

EDIT – Missions are available in PDF

Day two started with more cursing than day one. On my part at least. I woke up with a case of gamer knee swollen glands and an ear ache. Not to be deterred I grabbed my army and hobbled for the tram.

Game 4 was on a cityfight table against another 27 army. John-Paul’s “codex of convenience” space wolves. I’d been chatting with JP and Harley the night before so the banter kicked off as soon as the names were on the wall.

The mission is “ENTER SANDMAN” and it’s Annihilation, with Spearhead deployment
The twist is that it could be a Night Fight from Turn 2 on 4+. So with the power chords vibrating in our ears it was time to join battle.
The Game kicked off with JP hiding bravely in the back of his corner or on the top levels of the buildings. Turn one was orks zooming forward and JP trying to blow up his own guy’s with misfiring plasma cannons. The traffic patrol drednaught attempted to ticket the fast moving ork trukkboys. It didn’t end well for the boyz.

Turn 2 came around night fell, whoot but my orks were now so close it wasn’t really gonna make a difference. Most of my orks poured into the centre building. The boss took out the razorback, the boyz charged up to the Rune priest and the tac squad and the boys on the road decided to “dispute” the severity of the speeding ticket . When the smoke cleared there were less wolves and less orks on the table. JP hunkered down and shot. Running total 1 Razorback, 1 Rune priest versus 1 trukk and a Trukkboy mob.
Turn 3 and the game continued with me pushing further into JP’s quarter. The Warboss snagged a predator and got slagged by 2 squads of hunters in return, the poor old deffcopter got jumped by grey hunters and went down swinging. The dread disappeared under the weight of nob bikers and a mek on a boarding plank. The grey hunters in the tower fought clear of the trukkboys. KP running at 4-5 against me
Turn 4 rolled around with everything to play for. The bikers rolled into the fray totalling 2 grey hunters and the mek wagon managed to rip up a razorback. The hummer orks lost their ride along the way. The game ended out of time.
KP- 7-6 to me if I remember it correctly. When we totalled it up I snagged a 20 – 6 win.

Game 5 and it’s time to face an ork army that turned out to be very close to a mirror of my own, except more converted :0

The mission was “HOLIDAY IN CADIA” Capture and Control, with Pitched Battle deployment. Two Gates are on the table; units can embark and disembark through them. Which actually played no part in our game.
The game kicked off with Hairsquig guy seizing the initiative and sending in his copters. I retaliated and cleared out the copters. The game was going pretty badly for me the indicator being the sheer number of “Filibusters” coming from my side of the table. That was right up to the point where my Nobs and warboss got rolling. In two turns they made most of his army die or run away. The dread pirate warsquig and nobs bounced off my biker nobs and ran. Then 30 odd boyz charged the Nobs looking for revenge. The trukkboys bounced and the big mob was wiped out over 2 rounds of HtH. The last trukkboys charged into the back of my nob mob in an effort to drag them away from the fleeing Nobs and trukkboys. The consolidate move meant I was able to keep up with his fleeing units and the deffcopter got a good shot off at the battlewagon wrecking it as t tried to contest my objective. Leaving me with a suprising 20-5 win.

Game 6 —ACE OF SPADES—-MOSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Seize Objectives, with Dawn of War deployment and Arcanacon Strategy Cards.
The strat cards made my head hurt and facing a razorspam BA army made me nervous. Cracking that many hulls is always a tough job for orks.
So the cunning plan for Game 6 was to get the red gits out of the red boxes. I ended up with a set of big charges on turn 2-3 that failed miserably.

Shane had planned well and he flamered and charged the snot out of all 3 of my trukkboys mobs while the rest of his army focused on tearing up the Nob bikers. The bikers dished out a fair amount of damage before going down but it wasn’t enough. My Defcopter turned up on cue and charged into the back of the predator only to fall short of blowing it up and to die ?.
This was the game where my dice went cold and the orky tactic of charging failed. Still I snagged 10 points for it getting me 108 out of 120 possible points

A few moments that stand out during the day
The “OH God” moment of realising that end of game 5 isn’t the end and that my knees had to hold up for one more game
The roof ninja’s, of course
The speed and organization of the clean up and put away
Sitting in the courtyard with a burger and a much needed 5 seeds cider.
Being co-opted into the Ringwood club
The word FILIBUSTER
The 2nd hand tables. If I had ANY weight allowance left I’d have been grabbing some of the older game boxes that were on the table.
Realising I’d snagged 108 out of 120 possible points for kicking ass and being very pleased with myself for not sucking all weekend

Before the prize giving I was very curious how comp was going to affect my final standing having managed high scores in painting and Generalship I’d be pretty sure of a high position in any Irish event but if I got hit for being a poor sport with an unbalanced list this was going to SUCK

The prize giving was a bit of an epic event that has stuck with me in flashes of awesome
- Having the audience chanting the position number for Mark to call out the person and the GOLD shout for every 10th player.
- Realising that the Main Mad filibuster was going to call out all 140 player’s names
- The myriad of prizes and certs for just about everything and anything
- The great fez giveaway
- The 5 and 10 year vet certificates
- The effort put in to show to his mum that Mark McLaughlin is remembered with respect by his peers. I have a daughter with a severe heart condition and the standing ovation brought a tear to my eye
- The cake
- Being called a noob
- Realising that I snagged 2nd place.

My Pictures of the event

The full listing of who got what is over here –News

I’m looking forward to collecting an Australia flag on my RHQ profile and I will be mightily amused at having more RHQ points in Australia than in Ireland.

In the days since ARC the gamer knee has returned to normal and I’ve had a few shouts for rematches and I’m enjoying the fact that I now know a bunch of OZ gamers that I can arrange a few games with and know that the games will be friendly and tough.

I finished this report after returning from watching the Australia Day fireworks in Fed square and I can’t stop thinking that what a soundtrack it would be for a 40K game

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/01/27/grab-da-looot-lads/

Sneak peek

Tuesday, 25 January 2011 12:33

The post man delivered an interesting little sample

I’m looking forward to the chance to put some paint on these and posting more pictures

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/01/25/sneak-peek/

We came for the waggh down unda

Saturday, 22 January 2011 11:50

So you come to Australia with work. What do you do?
You drag an army along and find a 40K tournament to play in.
I found Arcanacon in Melbourne, signed up paid my 60 bucks and prepared for a weekend of guilt free brownie point nutral gaming.

The day kicked off with heavy metal and the “don’t give a feck, have fun” tone was very well set. The yearly trophy being a full size skull to be added to the rack of 14 from previous years is a nice touch.

Each game has the rule book mission with a slight twist

First game was against a beautiful space Marine army based on the sons of the snake by Dan Abnett on a pretty build up city ruins table.
Half way in we got painting judged and I swung the full 27 points for painting and conversioning
I played 2 of my 3 games against 27 pts armies as well, Ugo would love the painting level on a lot of the armies down here.

The mission is Killpoints and the twist is that for one unit in one turn you can reroll hits and wounds in shooting and HTH if you shout a race appropriate warcry when you need to do it.

I got ahead on kill points with a copter kill on the razorback and trukkboy ninja kill of an attackbike. I even managed to take out the TH/SS LC terminator squad without gutting my Nobs. I think my opponent was unnerved by the orks speed and lack of give a damn about casualties. His dice sucked as well
I laughed at the brave captain lysander hiding on from my nobs on the 1st floor of a building
Won with an 18 to 5
Missed the point for the commander and the point for reducing them to 25% of Kill points. Fun game against a pretty relaxed opponent

The Parade of armies was fantastic. I could have picked 10 top tier armies for theme conversion and painting. Can’t wait to find out what gets players choice. Watch this space for pictures coming soon

The Lunch BBQ was hosted by the scouts and they were selling bottles of beer and cider in the courtyard with high 20′s heat and the sun shining. Fantastic.

Game 2 was against a really nicely painted and converted Nurgle deamon army on an ork themed board. that has a forgeworld megadread as part of the terrain as well as a wrecked stompa, very, very pretty. My first game against Nurgle deamons I wasn’t sure exactly to do so I knocked back a shot of Glayva from the hip flask and did what orks do best. Charged everything
Mission was the good old capture and control with Dawn of war.
Special rule – Vortex template sized singularity in the centre of the board. It moves randomly d6 each game turn. If it hits you you roll on the deepstrike mishap table. If you are put in reserve you walk on when you return from reserve.
I got turn one so I deployed my 3 trukks outflanked the copta and reserved the boss and bikes.
My turn one my trukks went and sat on his objective
He turned up and I picked him apart.
On the left flank I charged 3 squads of orks into a deamon prince and a soulgrinder and walked away with the squads over 50% even after the grinder exploded with a 5″ boom. Thank Gork for KFF’s
He had 2 plague bearer squads try and drop on my deceptively empty objective. The nobs arrived from reserve on cue and ate both squads without slowing down.

They then killed the named GUO in HtH thanks to him being softened up with shooting. Yea orks shooting weird I know.
2 of the trukkboys mobs from the left flank hacked their way through nurglings and screamers to meet the nobs on his objective and team up against a squad of plague bearers and the palanquin of nurgle while the last trukkboy mob went and sat on my objective.

I came away from the game with a 20 – 5 victory

Being the only international visitor to an event that likes to rip the piss has some minor drawbacks.
The main one being having to go up on the stage to receive my award for funkiest accent. Lots of people in Melbourne now know what pog mo Thon means and I discovered that the rule book is wrong it should be ” in the grim dark future there is only bloody war, Mate”

3rd game was on another ork themed table against Chaos.
Quarters deployment but the special rule is to roll a scatter dice and that line gets 5 objectives. 1 centre 2 at 12″ and 2 at 24″ from the centre. You had to pick the quarters without objectives. He had prince with warptime wings and stuff. defiler with +2 HtH weapons 1 oblit, Serkers in a rhino, Nurgles in a rhino and slanesshi marines on foot.
Another slug from the hip flask and a quick alcoholic top up of my can of coke and it was time to come up with a cunning plan.
The bikers zoomed up the middle of the table aimed straight at his Zerker rhino and the trukks flanked on my right to start working through his units.

The nobs survived being charged by the deamon prince and the Zerkers to win the combat and kill the prince with fearless saves.
The boys ripped the legs of the big chaos spider
The deffcopter snuck up on an oblit who was hiding in the watch tower but flubbed the HtH.
Then it was a case of rolling down the line and cleaning out his units. Ork shooting ninja pinged the lone gunner oblit and the bikers chased down the last squad. Played to the end to give him a chance to try and bag some points for killing my warboss
20 – 6

Round out the evening with more BBQ, Glayva laced coke and cold cider to the background of flagrant nerdatry and the gentle pitter patter of dice on the table.

In case it’s not obvious I had a blast and met a bunch of really “good blokes” and even a gamer Shiela or 2

I’m looking forward to day 2 and seeing how I did on sportsmanship and army balance

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/01/22/we-came-for-the-waggh-down-unda/

International travel tip

Friday, 21 January 2011 04:35

Just a quick post to give people a little travel tip for travelling with their armies.

THis is NOT my Box

If you get a soft case for your army keep the cardboard box it came in.

Why?

Well I got a new case for my orks before Christmas.

A Sergeant Carrying Case from Portable Warfare, if anyone is wondering.

As luck would have it the box it came in was put aside for “storing stuff”.

So when I needed to take an army to Australia I packed the army in the case. Stuck the case in the cardboard box it had been shipped in for extra protection. The Box fitted into my luggage and was further protected by unimportant stuff like clothes for hand over to the tender mercies of the dreaded “ground staff”.

End result is the army travelled from Cork, through Heathrow and Hong Kong to Melbourne and suffered not an iota of damage.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2011/01/21/international-travel-tip/

Blogs I like

Saturday, 25 December 2010 18:33

There are quite a few blogs on Warhammer finally beginning to pop up. I thought I would provide you with some of the links so that you can enjoy them yourself!

Hobby Horse This is a great blog for inspiration. The guy who runs it is called Old Fogey and you should be familiar with his work from the Glass Cabinet on the Warhammer forum. I usually just go here to see what he has done recently and to copy his techniques. He really does come up with some nicely painted miniatures with some wonderful time saving techniques. You can generally pester him a little to reveal his secrets. Sadly he doesn’t update very regularly!

Geek Tactica I just found this blog recently and wow it is great! This guy updates really often and while it is rarely about Warhammer he does play some really interesting games. Currently his group seems to be playing Chaos in Carpathia and he has created some really fantastic terrain for it.

Rolls Dice This site mainly deals with 40k. I am still awaiting this guy finishing his wonderful 40k city… however he seems to get easily distracted! However he updates pretty often with some really nice stuff. He seems to paint like a machine despite complaing that he has no time at all!

Massive Voodoo This site is generally pretty weird but the guy is one of the best painters I have seen. He has a great number of articles and guides. It really is a great place to research something new. The recent tutorial on how to make lenses is great.

From the Warp This is a pretty popular site for 40k. The best thing about the site is the links they provide to others. I regularly find a lot of different places via this sites blog roll. The posts are generally interesting but 40k just isn’t my thing at the moment.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the sites and get some good hobby inspiration from them!

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/12/25/blogs-i-like/

Warhammer… what has happened?

Friday, 03 December 2010 22:16

Its been a good few months now since eighth has been released and well whats been happening with Warhammer? Seemingly nothing much! No new books have been released at which I am suprised, especially considering that there has been a huge amount of High Elves models relased. It would have in my opinion been a perfect time to release a High Elf book. I was quite suprised not to see it. With an expected release of Skaven models in January there won’t be a book to accompany them. GW’s laissez-faire attitude is strange as after the release of the new edition you would have thought the euphoria of the changes would have made for a buying frenzy. If this is a deliberate scheme it could be a good thing. For one GW may have let the initial changes sink in and then looked at the feedback. Having done this is should be easier to create army books that the players actually want. This would involve a rather large overhaul of the current books with a lot of options being adjusted. It would also allow for a faster release schedule in 2011 maybe with four books being released rather than just two. In essence the rules would be in an open beta now if this was the case and in my opinion its good. While the core rules won’t change the application of them easily could with points being adjusted heavily against magic armies. For instance adding fifty points to a level three wizard and having the fourth level cost another fifty would soon make magic heavy armies harder to field. The same could be true of warmachines with the more effect template weapons getting a higher cost. A few small adjustments like these over the next few army books would quickly balance out a lot of the complaints that have been levelled at the game.

Orcs and Goblins are rumoured to be next book released as are the Tomb Kings. The Tomb Kings really do need to get an update as they are almost imcompatible with the current edition though if you continue along this line of thinking Wood Elves, Brettonians and Ogres would be due for an update soon. The Orcs while not a powerhouse have benefitted immensly from the new rule changes. The other armies mentioned really need radical changes to compete. The problem being that the more powerful armies currently are the ones that need changing the most. Taking the current Orcs and Goblins as a bench mark it would be nice if all armies were levelled out at their power level. I can’t ever see this happening but I would like it to. The most likely course of action is continuing as before with a slow power creep in the army books. At the beginning this wouldn’t be such a problem in general as this would bring the armies being released on a par with the current powerhouses of Lizards, Deamons and Undead. However as before another book would quickly be released that unbalances all that came before.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/12/03/warhammer-what-has-happened/

The Road Continues

Wednesday, 10 November 2010 20:25

So after an unexpected result at NWGI am heading at light speed towards my next tournament, but this will be the first tournament to use the draft ETC rules, the restrictions or lack thereof will mean a different choice of list, or should I say a leaning towards a different style. Perhaps it’s my 40k background but I am finding myself more and more comfortable around a shooty force, yet at the same time I want the large, nay massive blocks of ratmen. I will stop here as I feel I will be divulging to much information about my force prior to the tournament. However after not finishing last at NWG and with more of an idea no how to use my Skaven I have high (well not too high) hopes for the Northernwasters tournament.

So here’s to Victory and May I die on my feet than live on my knees

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/11/10/the-road-continues/

Northern Wasters Fantasy Tournament – November 21st

Tuesday, 09 November 2010 18:51

The Northern Wasters are holding a one day Warhammer tournament on November 21st in Ballymena.  Points are set at 2400 with additional restrictions.  Further details on this ranking event may be found here: link

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/11/09/northern-wasters-fantasy-tournament-november-21st/

Assault on Arkham – a 40k Tournament

Tuesday, 09 November 2010 18:45

Tickets, priced £15 each, are on sale at http://assaultonarkham.eventbrite.com
You can also buy your ticket in person at Arkham, and Dominiom Day.

There will be a limit of 20 players.

Prizes
Winner: £75 voucher & etched glass ‘Assault on Arkham 2010 Winner’ trophy
Runner-up: £40 voucher & certificate
Third place: £20 voucher & certificate
Best painted army: £10 voucher & certificate
Best sportsman: £10 voucher & certificate.

Note the rulespack has no mention of BPA or Most Sporting but the gaming centre has donated the prizes, details will be pretty much standard and formalised on the day.

For those who are yet to be made aware of Arkham Gaming Centre you can find out more here.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/11/09/assault-on-arkham-a-40k-tournament/

Know Your Lores – Lore of Fire

Friday, 05 November 2010 09:03

Let’s be honest.  There’s a little bit of a pyromaniac in all of us and we’ve all, at some point, dreamed of sending magical fireballs at our foes.  Or, maybe that’s just me.  In either case, the Lore of Fire is probably the most famous Lore of them all and the easiest to master.  Without further ado, I’ll run through the new spells in the book.

The Lore of Fire

Lore Attribute

Firstly, it’s important to note that the Lore of Fire has the Kindelflame Attribute.  This means that it becomes easier to cast direct damage or magic missiles at a unit that has already been hit by one.  Clearly, there’s an opportunity here to stack attacks onto a unit with wizards using the damaging Fire spells to attempt multiple castings against a single target.  Each further attempt gains +d3 to the casting roll – which isn’t a huge boost, but may be enough to get one over the line.  Finally, all spells from this Lore are Flaming Attacks – handy against buildings, flammable creatures and those regenerating nasties.

Signature Spell – Fireball (5+; magic missile)

It had to be, didn’t it!  What could be more fun than zapping that nasty unit with D6 S4 attacks from 24″ away?  Well why not go all out with the general’s edition (that would be 2D6 S4 and 36″) or the deluxe collectors editon (a stonking 3d6 S4 from 48″).  Ok, you have to increase the casting from 5+ to 10+ and 18+ respectively, but this flexibility is welcome.  I’m sure we’ll see a lot of wizards going with the Fire signature spell as a result.

Cascading Fire Cloak (5+; remains in play; augment)

With a very short range – the caster and his unit – this spell hits every enemy in base contact with 2d6 S4 hits.  Very handy if your wizard bunker gets into combat and will force the opponent to use dispel dice.  One thing – this hits at the end of every magic phase…that’s yours and your opponent’s.  As I said – this is a “must dispel” spell or the casualties will soon mount up.

Flaming Sword of Rhuin (8+; augment)

Pick a unit within 24″ and they get +1 to wound and magical flaming attacks (or within 48″ on 11+).  Don’t underestimate this spell – +1 to wound is a lot better than +1 strength.  Combined with the new “To Wound” chart and any troop type will be wounding on 5+ at worst.  Dragons, Hydras and so on will definitely fear Spear troops with this spell in effect.  With the extended range, it could really cause surprising problems.

The Burning Head (10+; direct damage)

This is one spell that appears a little overcosted at present.  Draw an 18″ line (or 36″ on 13+) and everything under takes a S4 hit.  Any unit wounded takes a panic check.  At the start of the game, it may not be so effective, given the boost that BSBs now confer, but it may be very handy against light flanking units or in the late game.  Overcosted in comparison to other spells in the Lore though.

Piercing Bolts of Burning (10+; magic missile)

Faced with a nasty horde?  Then this is the spell for you.  At 24″ (or 48″ on 13+) you inflict D3 S4 hits per rank in the target unit.  So, against a five rank unit, you could happily expect to cause 10 S4 hits with a minimum of 5 guaranteed.   Essentially, this is a better value and more reliable version of the top Fireball spell (18+) against large units.  Depending on what you face, this spell could be a “must take”.

Fulminating Flame Cage (11+; hex)

Pick a unit within 24″ (or 48″ on 14+) and they take D6 S4 hits.  If they move for any reason up to the start of the caster’s next magic phase, each model in the unit takes a S4 hit.  Nasty.  Especially if the inital damage forces a panic check on things like Shades, Shadow Warriors or Gutter Runners.  Possibly the best use here is preventing the opponent from moving for fear of the damage it may take.  Bear in mind that this is not a remains in play spell either.

Flame Storm (13+; direct damage)

Pick a spot within 30″ and scatter the small template d6″.  Everything touched takes a S4 hit.  Or go wild on a 16+ and use the big template (scattering 2d6).  This is really going to hurt large units – and it doesn’t require line of sight.  And it’s only cast on 13+ (a level four wizard could chuck three dice at it quite happily).  Not bad, eh?

Tactics & Strategy

If you decide to bring a Bright Wizard to the table, you’re going to have a pretty offensive magic phase.  This Lore is all about creating damage and hurting the opponent – ideal if you basically want a ranged attack wizard.  It seems to have a strong focus at dealing with larger units – particularly those who are lightly armoured.  It still has enough power to damage monsters and tough nasties, but that’s not where this Lore’s strength is.

It’s worth considering the Fulminating Flame Cage.  While it’s not going to kill many troops, it will certainly discourage large units from moving for a turn – which could just be enough to get that crucial round of shooting in.

Overall, the spells have a relatively low casting value with lots of options to upgrade when required.  There are no game-changing spells here, but when used in conjunction with a good shooting phase the casualties can certainly mount up.  I’d suggest that this Lore is perfect for armies with a strong shooting phase who expect to face horde-style armies, using the wizard as a boost to missile damage.

Next up – Lore of Beasts…

If you’ve any thoughts or comments on this article, feel free to post them in the forum!

Nigel is a High Elf player who occasionally goes to the dark side and is really liking what he’s read so far of eighth edition.  He’s a social gamer with the North Wexford Gamers but often finds time for more competitive events.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/11/05/know-your-lores-lore-of-fire/

Dominion Day III: Rulespack (Nov 7th, Ballymena)

Wednesday, 27 October 2010 07:47

Full details on the forum – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=846

1.Tournament outline:
7th November, 2010
1750 pts Armies, Standard Force Organization Chart.
Armies should be fully painted and be WYSIWYG.
Players will be matched by swiss system (first round is random).
Battles have max 2,5h and take place on 72″x 48″ tables
Location of the venue is Michelin Athletic Club, 30 Woodside Road, Ballymena, County Antrim BT42 4HX

2.General Rules:
We play with the 5th edition of the Warhammer 40000 rules without any add-on. Imperial Armour, Forgeworld or Apocalypse rules are not allowed.
English version of army books and rulebook takes priority over other versions.
Each player must have all codices and rules they’re using, army roster, dices, measure tape and templates.
All official FAQ and Euro Rules Clarifications are in use. The Rules clarifications can be found here: http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic … 19&t=73405

3. Army lists limitations:
All special and named characters are banned.
Allies are not allowed, unless you are playing a Daemonhunters or Witch Hunters army in which case you may use the allies rules as described in your codex.
The following codices may be used:
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines
- Codex: Daemonhunters
- Codex: Dark Eldar (the old book, not the one due out in Nov 2010)
- DE: Wych Cult
- Codex: Eldar
- Codex: Imperial Guard
- Codex: Necrons
- Codex: Orks
- Codex: Space Marines
- Codex: Blood Angels
- Codex: Dark Angels
- Codex: Black Templars
- Codex: Space Wolves
- Codex: Tau Empire
- Codex: Tyranids
- Codex: Witch Hunters
- Codex Daemons

4. Tournament points:

Each player will receive a score from 0 – 100 Tournament Points as follows:

Gaming: 0 – 60 TPs
Painting: 0 or 30 TPs
List: 0 or 10 TPs

4.1 Gaming:

There will be 3 rounds of gaming. In the first round players will be randomly paired (though we will try to avoid pairing players from the same club where possible), while in the subsequent rounds the Swiss Chess System will be used. Each game will be played using the rulebook missions and deployments. Each type of mission and deployment will be used once, and will be randomly determined for each round (we’ll get someone to roll a big dice before each round and everyone will play that one).

Gaming points
First step – decide who is the winner based on rulebook rules. The result is always 15 (winner) : 5 (loser). If it’s tied on the objectives both players recieve 10.

Second step
Compute Victory Points (VP) difference. The player having the VP difference in his favour gets a bonus, the other one gets a malus.
Difference in vps / game points bonus / malus
1450-1750 / +5 / -5
1150-1449 / +4 / -4
850-1149 / +3 / -3
550-849 / +2 / -2
250-549 / +1 / -1
0-249 / no bonus & malus for vps

To sum up, the result consists of points awarded for objectives (win = 15, tie = 10, loss = 5, see step 1), plus or minus a bonus or malus due to Victory Points (see step 2).

4.2 Painting:

If EVERY MODEL in your army is painted, based and WYSIWYG then you will receive 30 points, otherwise you will receive 0 points. Each model should be painted in at least 3 colours (properly painted not just randomly splashed with 3 different colours).
Each model should have a textured and painted base of the correct size.
All models must be WYSIWYG. Non-GW, heavily converted and scratch built models are welcome, but they should be easily identifiable. Forgeworld and special character models can be used to represent other models.

4.3 List:
If you submit your Army list by 31st October, 2010, you will receive 10 points.
Please email your list to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in the following format:
PLAYER: Jonny Fisher
ARMY: Chaos Space Marines
CLUB: Northern Wasters

HQ1 : 1 Daemon Prince (110) wings (20) Mark of Slaanesh (5) Lash of Submission (20) – [155 pts]
HQ2 : 1 Daemon Prince (110) wings (20) Mark of Slaanesh (5) Lash of Submission (20) – [155 pts]
Elite1 : 3 Chaos Terminators (3*30) 3 Combi-meltas (3*5) – [105 pts]
Elite2 : 3 Chaos Terminators (3*30) 3 Combi-meltas (3*5) – [105 pts]
Troop 1 : 5 Plague Marines (5*23) Icon (5) 2 meltaguns (2*10) – [140 pts] in Transport 1
Troop 2 : 5 Plague Marines (5*23) Icon (5) 2 meltaguns (2*10) – [140 pts] in Transport 2
Troop 3 : 5 Plague Marines (5*23) Icon (5) 2 meltaguns (2*10) – [140 pts] in Transport 3
HS1: 3 Obliterators (3*75) [225 pts]
HS2: 3 Obliterators (3*75) [225 pts]
HS3: 3 Obliterators (3*75) [225 pts]
Transport1 : rhino (35) combi-melta (10) Carries Troop 1 – [45 pts]
Transport2 : rhino (35) combi-melta (10) Carries Troop 2 – [45 pts]
Transport3 : rhino (35) combi-melta (10) Carries Troop 3 – [45 pts]
TOTAL [1750 pts]

5. Prizes:
There will be trophies for the following:
1st – The player with the most TPs
2nd – The player with the 2nd highest TP total
3rd – The player with the 3rd highest TP total
Best Army – As voted by the players
Best Battlefield – As voted by the players

There will also be a variety of other spot prizes etc.

6. Best Battlefield:
Best Battlefield is a new award, which a player/club/team can choose to enter. Entrants will supply and place the scenery on one of the tables. The prize will be equivalent to the Best Army prize and players will vote in the same way, choosing their favourite battlefield based on how well it looks, and how much fun it would be to play on it. The award is intended to give the scenery makers a chance to show off their skills and also to make things a bit easier for the organisers.

The referee will check each board to make sure that it is playable. Any that aren’t will be adjusted by the player or ref. As a rough guide, terrain should cover around 25% of the board and about a third of it should block LoS.

7. Rankings:
DD3 will count towards the Irish Rankings, and TNI Rankings.

8. Tickets:
Tickets are £15 and are available in person from Jonny, Matt or Ivan (you can find us at the club, NWG tournament or Gaelcon), or by sending by Paypal to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The ticket price includes entry to the event and tea, coffee and snacks all day.

9. Registration:
There are 24 places available. You can reserve a place by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , with the following information:
Name:
Army:
Club:
Mobile Number:
***Please let us know in the email if you will be entering the Best Battlefield competition and/or you’d like to be a player ref***

We may be able to increase the number of places if necessary, but that will depend upon getting enough players to enter the Best Battlefield competition.

10. Player Referees:
To give players more opportunities to qualify for the ETC team, NW/TNI 40K events will be organised by WFB players and vice-versa. To assist the organisers, we will require some experienced players to act as player-refs. We’d ideally like one or two from each club. The player-refs will not make rules calls in their own or their clubmates’ games.

11. Timetable (subject to change)
9am – Doors open (Best Battlefield entrants should set up their table)
9:30 to 10 Registration
10 to 12:30 – Game 1
12:30 to 1 – Break
1 to 3:30 – Game 2
3:30 to 4:30 – Break
4:30 to 7 – Game 3
7 to 7:30 – Counting up and Prizes

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/27/dominion-day-iii-rulespack-nov-7th-ballymena/

To Cheese or not to Cheese?

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 18:56

With the madness of the ETC over for another year and 8th edition Warhammer just released, now seems to be a good time to review my gaming priorities. For one thing, I’m glad I’m finished with Dwarfs under 7th edition, I am absolutely sick of them, they had gotten very boring to play with. The new rules seem to hold some hope for them however, as you no longer need to be afraid to actually bring the fight to the enemy, rather than sitting tight and watching your flanks.

Now I have some choices to make. I’ve settled on High Elves for my new army which I will be assembling and painting alongside the Road to Glory tournaments (for further information on this try here : http://www.w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=720). As the tournament organiser I won’t be playing competitively in the events but I’ll need an army on hand in case an uneven number of players show up, as well as being the sort of excuse I need to get a new army finished (every army I’ve ever finished has been to a tournament deadline). However, this leads me to the next question – To Cheese or not to Cheese?

Under sixth and seventh edition rules I’ve played in many tournaments, some with random armies and some with more especially tailored armies. I’ve never done badly no matter what I show up with but it’s only in recent times I’ve been anywhere close to winning and that has required more extreme and competitive army building. As such, my armies have had several units prepared and painted that have been abandoned as less than ideal choices, and plenty of things I’ve bought have gone unused for the same reason.

Looking through the figures I already have for the High Elves, there’s a large number of Silver Helms among them. Now, most people would ask why you would bother with Silver Helms, when you could just take the far superior Dragon Princes instead? Which is a fair point. There may be a niche for Silver Helms under 8th edition, only experience will tell if that’s true. Still, I might build and paint some anyhow, even if they don’t make it into competitive army lists for tournaments.

Therefore, I’ve decided that my goal for 8th edition is to find the middle ground with my armies. I’d like to have a hard enough army to be competitive at tournaments (without venturing into arsehole territory) while also having a wide variety of different units so that I can mix up army composition for friendly games and campaigns and use some of the lesser seen units. This may result in needing to build and paint armies of four to five thousand points overall. This will allow for enough variety to keep games interesting and will look fantastic when viewed en masse, even though at the rate I paint figures, won’t be ready for about six years or so.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/26/to-cheese-or-not-to-cheese/

DIY in-game tokens

Friday, 22 October 2010 10:03

At Brocon I noticed Mike Tangley using a pretty handy set of counters.

I asked him aboutt hem and found out the originator is ]-[arlequin from the Warheads.
I’ve posted them here with his permission because they’re pretty handy for tournaments.
counters V3

I don’t think I’d use these much in a single game, but at a tournament they’re a life saver. After 3 games it can be tough to remember your name let alone which one of the 13 dark eldar skimmers is immobilised and which is weapon destroyed etc.

Inspired by the counters for the ETC I did up a set of markers for explosions on my Ork vehicles. It was very handy to be able to put down somethign that can act as a crater after teh trukk blows up and kills everyone

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/22/diy-in-game-tokens/

Fortitude and why we should use it!

Saturday, 16 October 2010 12:47

Speaking about composition and all such matter recently I have been thinking about ways of implementing a system of composition for tournament play simply dealing with the meta game. I really think that the Fortitude mechanism is quite an elegant fix as it combines a number of factors and gives a nice risk versus reward mechanism. Fortitude if I remember correctly is basically a score taken from the number of banners within your army. It is only used in one of the scenarios and I propose extending it to all tournament battles. I think this could be trialed by a few players even in just designing lists rather than having to fight actual battles. There will obviously be a few holes here and there but I don’t currently see any that are glaringly obvious.

Firstly there should be a basic Fortitude number each army should have, lets take seven as an example. An army therefore has to have seven banners within it to count as a tournament legal army. This causes a number of things to happen. Essentially characters, warmachines and monsters can’t contribute to this number. There are exceptions but at the moment this doesn’t pose a problem. So infantry and cavalry are the main contributors to this number therefore a certain section of the army has to be dedicated to fulfilling the requirement. This can come from any section and not just core so the restriction is not too severe. This will eat into the points available for the more exotic selections and characters, hopefully reducing the spend on magic and warmachines or at least forcing more of a choice between the two.

Secondly victory conditions should be set on reducing your opponents Fortitude number below a set level. Using seven as above the level should be four. Reducing the number below this first means your opponent loses. Reducing both below this in the same turn results in a draw. A margin of victory can be established by comparing what one player has left versus the losing player. These victory conditions can replace victory points and still provide as accurate a system.

The result of this could be good. It isn’t tested but it might be worth doing. The player takes a risk by not investing in more Fortitude. If they invest more heavily in Fortitude they are unable to invest in game breaking elements as easily. It is easier to win and lose by not investing in Fortitude is essence. The player needs to balance the risk versus the reward. It is also not as easy to score a massive margin of victory as the player doesn’t have enough Fortitude to create a big difference. Against this the player that invests in Fortitude has an easier time in holding their points and staying above the level needed for a loss. They also have a better chance of scoring a high margin of victory as they have more points and so can create a bigger margin.

This should balance across the armies easily. Expensive armies have regiments that are harder to defeat and hold their fortitude more easily. Cheap armies are the opposite and can more easily invest in Fortitude but would expect to lose it more quickly. If they invest in banners on poor units they are more quickly lost. On shooting regiments while effective are more likely to give up their banners and as such also present a risk in taking them in large numbers.

With this system gunlines should be reduced or at least if not reduced more easily defeated. The same goes for very magic heavy armies. The less spent on Fortitude the more likely you will lose. Also the gunlines won’t be able to score a big margin of victory as their Fortitude will have been too low to start! So any thoughts?

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/16/fortitude-and-why-we-should-use-it/

The Road to Geneva part deux

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 19:45

So I went to the NWG tournament last weekend and officially kicked off my qualifying campaign with little success. Now don’t take that the wrong way, I was at a tournament for a system with only two previous games under my belt and no experience at all with the army I am playing with. Yet for some inexplicable reason and without taking the extra nine points I was offered (I was the only person to play the ‘Buy Ball’ all others were given an automatic 15-5 god I hate pride lol.) I didn’t come last, not far off right enough but not last. I won’t go into the full details of my games, mainly because after Saturday night the first three are a blur. However here goes,

First up was Dave Wade and his High Elves, a fellow Northernwaster so we had a friendly easy game to slip into the tournament unfortunately it resulted in a 20-0 win for Dave

Game Two was my ‘Buy ball’ against Nigel and his elves which resulted in another loss of 13-7 the most memorable moment being the final combat where his Dragon princes charged my bell and clanrat unit, who were unfortunately sitting at -1 strength and -1 toughness

Game Three was Sofian and his woodelves, who thanks to his deploying as far away as huamnly possible resulted in an 11-9 loss

Then came the drinking…………….?

With a surprisingly small hangover and the attention span of a Goldfish, I started the second day against Jason Finnegan and his Empire, the final result was 14-6 to him and I would like to apologize for such a crap game, let this be a lesson to you all about the horrors of the ‘Devils Buttermilk’ (Whoever can name the original speaker of that quote wins a prize, answers on a postcard please*)

My final game was against Mal’s VC unfortunately we only got to turn four, and after working out the possibilities of ensuing combats called it an amicable 10-10

So we are off and running and from here the only way is up. Apart from a small blip on the Sunday morning my scores got progressively better, so here’s to the future

While I am here I would like to thank Nigel for organising a great Tournament and I would also like to thank all the people I came into contact with for making an old school 40k player welcome.

*Please send all your answers to 0 Nowhere street, No-town Nowhere. The result will never be drawn

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/13/the-road-to-geneva-part-deux/

Part 2 Round Based Man, Square Based World

Monday, 11 October 2010 11:24

Hi folks

So week 2 and another game played with my beloved Lizardmen, this time at 2,500 points which I’m reliably informed is widely championed as the new default tournament level. I played Gabhann and his Warriors of Chaos and being a 7th ed tournament veteran and all round good guy I expected a quality game. Once again a huge number of things learned…and shockingly a similarity discovered with 40k which is probably a good place to start.

People have started in Fantasy to construct what are described in 40k terms “deathstar units”. These deathstars are big units, often 50 or so strong and are designed to march up the field and act as something virtually unkillable to enemy units under regular circumstances (often deployed in horded units with spears for maximum kill potential) In my case its a unit of 50 sauras waddling up the field to beat the crap out anything they come near(which they did very well last night thank you very much) Another one I’ve heard of is the giant night goblin unit of 120 or so guys, or the big unit or lothern sea guard. That should be interesting and somewhat similar to the diversified nob squads of doom from 40k (At least in application if not composition)

Secondly shooting is all well and good, BUT (yes its a big but) its not the game winner that it tends to be in the 41st millennium. My current 2,500 list had 4 units of blowpipe toting skinks which I’ll not lie did not set the world alight with their performance. This view of course might have something to do with going up against an army of high toughness high armour save chaos warriors (not to mention the every annoying mark or nurgle) but I still think 2 units of 10 skinks with blowpipes might suit me better and allow for more bells and whistle on other units.

An exception to this thinking on shooting are my Salamanders who were an absolute revelation. I’ll be keeping my unit of 3 of them as they seem to work regardless of occasion I might even consider a second unit of these incredibly useful beasts

Last but by no means least of this weeks lessons is that magic is not all about blowing the crap out of stuff. Game 1 saw me go all out with a super destructive Lore of Death toting Slann trying to zap units left and right with the already infamous “Purple Sun”. This week saw me going for a little more tree hugging hemp trouser wearing Slann using the Lore of Life. It too has its uber killy spell in the form of the excellent “Dwellers Below” (str test or die) but the buff, debuff and counter nature of the rest of the lore really appeals to me (of particular note being Thrown of Vines which lets you throw around the dice “goodoh” without any major worries miscasting while improving all the buff spells in the lore). In fact I didn’t once find occasion where I didn’t have at least 2 things I wanted to cast. I may try it in my game next week too, or have a crack at the lore of light. Who wouldn’t want an Int and WS 10 stegadon eh

Anyway guys comments would be most welcome as I’m pretty much flying blind here on the list building.

Until next week

Mandragoran

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/11/part-2-round-based-man-square-based-world/

Dominion Day III: 40k Event on November 7th

Friday, 08 October 2010 15:46

The Northern Wasters in association with Team Northern Ireland will be running Dominion Day III, a one-day 40K tournament on November 7th in Ballymena.  This is a ranking event with full details on the forum – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=846

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/08/dominion-day-ii-40k-event-on-november-7th/

Warmachine/Hordes Tournament November 27th

Friday, 08 October 2010 09:30

There will be a Warmachine and Hordes tourney on the Saturday 27th of November in Gamers World. Entry into the tournament will be 10 Euro. The tournament is set at 35 points and will follow the Revised 2010 Steamroller format including Timed Turns, using the Base Colour Painting variant: Baseline Time Limit – Match Length – 80 Minutes, Turn Length – 10 minutes, Turn Extension – 5 minutes. Basic round times are increased by a 2d6-minute variable that is not revealed to players. During each game, one turn extension is allowed for each player. Dice down when round time is complete.

Basic Painting Required – All models must be painted using a minimum of three colors. Players should differentiate areas of the model to the best of their ability. Bases can be plain or finished. Hope to see you all there, and any questions give me a shout.

Ciaran

Revised 2010 Steamroller Link: Revised_SR2010 Rules Using the Base Colour Variant http://privateerpress.com/

Photos from the Last Event: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001139769137&ref=ts

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/08/warmachinehordes-tournament-november-27th/

Dominicon of Steel Wargames

Friday, 08 October 2010 08:59

Hi guys,

I’d just like to let people know about NUI Maynooth Games Societys annual convention, Dominicon. It’s on this year on the 12th – 14th of November in the Hume building, NUI Maynooth, Kildare.

Entry to the con is just €10, for the weekend and tournament entry is €2 each.

We’ll be hosting 3 main events, on Saturdy the 13th we’ll have our 1750 point 40k Tournament, while on the Sunday we’ll be running both a 2200 point Warhammer Fantasy and a 25 point Warmachine/Hordes tournament. Both 40k and Fantasy will run for 3 games while Warmachine/Hordes will run for 4 games.

Rules Packs can be Downloaded here:

40k Rulespack
Warhammer 40k Rulespack

Fantasy Rulespack
Warhammer Fantasy Rulespack

Warmachine/Hordes
Warmachines Rulespack is slightly delayed but it will be added as soon as possible.
However, format is:
Four 25 point games with the Kill Box Scenario

You can also check out our website at:
Dominicon of Steel Website

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/08/dominicon-of-steel-wargames/

Black Library Digital

Friday, 08 October 2010 08:54

To celebrate the lauch of Black Library Digital, those lovely folks at BL are giving away free eBooks today and the next three Fridays.

Further information is available on the Black Library website – http://www.blacklibrary.com/Digital

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/10/08/black-library-digital/

New bag company launches

Friday, 24 September 2010 09:27

US company Portable Warfare are launching the Sergeant line of bags.

The case comes in Army Green, Gun Metal Gray and Chaos Pink.

Pink huh?

It also looks like having several options on the foam layout you get with it.

Stay tuned for a more detailed review when we get our hands on one of these bags.

More info on their website

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/24/new-bag-company-launches/

I’m Getting Octimised!

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 12:39

Eighth edition has been out for long enough now that we’ve had a decent chance to see it in action, argue over the new rules and shake out all of those Seventh edition holdovers that we kept for a while – I can’t be the only one who said ‘I’m sure it’s a rule, let me just look for it’ when adjusting to the new system. So now I’m looking at my collection of miniatures and figuring out how to convert my Seventh edition armies built around Seventh edition restrictions and taking advantage of Seventh edition rules into shiny and new Eighth edition forces… I’m Octimising.

I have three armies (well, two and a half if I’m honest); my Dwarfs which were my welcome back to the hobby after a break, my Daemons which I built specifically for the 2009 ETC and my Chaos Warriors which are in the process of being finished for the autumn tournament season. Three very different armies that have been affected in very different ways by the new rules. Because I almost exclusively play in tournaments I have to build them as all-comers lists, not for me the luxury of being able to tune the armies for a particular set of opponents! Let’s take a look at how I’m modifying these three forces to bring them up to date.

Firstly the Dwarfs were always a solid force and the new rules have made them much better in almost every way. The traditional weaknesses of the Dwarfs were that they’d never get a charge against an opponent that was awake and that you didn’t get very many Dwarfs for your points. The new charge rules mean that Dwarfs aren’t at much of a disadvantage in charge distances any more and that getting charged is no longer as devastating as it used to be. The days of getting charged by elite cavalry, taking your entire front row off the table and then working out how much you’d lost by are over. The flip-side to the new charge rules of course is that now, even though they will be getting charges about as often as everyone else, they’ll still be going last against anything with a pulse. I see this as a Mithril-plated opportunity to put great weapons on everything! I did a bit of maths and worked out that there’s almost no advantage in giving Dwarfs hand weapons and shields if they have the opportunity for great weapons instead. It works out a little bit worse against really poor quality chaff like Skaven slaves, Zombies or Gnoblars but, against almost anything else it’s at least as good and in a lot of cases much better.

Another rules change that has a significant impact on Dwarf lists is the way that victory points are scored. No more VPs for half dead units, you now need to kill everything or it doesn’t count. Why does this affect Dwarfs specifically? Well, this means that gunline armies are going to find it difficult to score points – especially if the table has as much terrain on it as the rulebook asks you to place. A canny opponent will pull the last few stragglers out of the line of fire and hide them behind whatever blocking terrain he can find. You’re going to need to chase those guys down and hammer the victory points out of them. This means that not only is the (very boring) Dwarf gunline now a losing prospect but so is the classic Dwarf turtle formation. Your units will be all over the board because you will be surging forwards and bringing the fight to the enemy and you will be chasing them off into the corners. Oathstones just got even more pointless! Luckily for me, my army was already built to be a combat-oriented force so I don’t need to suddenly shelve all my Thunderers but I do need to beef up my combat blocks. My normal selections are 18 Longbeards (6×3) including the Lord on a shield and Battle Standard Bearer, 15 Warriors to bodyguard my Runepriest, 15 Ironbreakers as the central pivot of my combat line and 12 Slayers because they are cool. I like the idea of Steadfast, leadership 9 troops with a reroll to all leadership tests so I’ll be adding a rank or two to most of those units. These points will mostly come from my Gyrocopter which now has no role to fulfil, it should be a great choice to chase down fleeing units except that it has no movement characteristic so it cannot pursue (making the Swiftstride rule rather pointless in this case). The other thing it was useful for was boiling enemy warmachine crews to death but that’s a tall order now as crews use the warmachine’s toughness. The only realistic use for it is declaring charges against already fleeing enemy but I’m not sure I want to field a fragile and expensive unit just for that.

Next in line for Octimising are the Daemons. I built a filthy horrible list because a: I have no shame and b: it was specifically for a hard-nosed tournament where you either brought your cheesiest cheese or you went home. My list has all the things that will make tournament regulars roll their eyes – why yes I do have Flamers, Flesh Hounds, minimum size Horror blocks and a Lord of Change with all the usual options. If it makes you feel any better, I always suffered pangs of guilt when I put it on the tabletop. In contrast to the Dwarfs, Daemons have had their wings clipped a bit by the new rules. Firstly the new army selection rules mean that they’ll probably have to add a lot more core troops than they routinely field. I know that for my 2000 point army, I only had about 400 points of that tied up in core so I’ll certainly need to throw in some more rank and file. I do get the chance to vary the special and rare choices a bit more as I’m no longer limited to a set number of slots but, as most of these choices are fairly expensive, I don’t gain as much as most armies do.

So what’s in line for these servants of blasphemy? Well, as it happens there’s been a wave of new releases for Daemons so I’ll be experimenting with the army a little. I bought two boxes of the new Seekers and I’ll probably add some Bloodcrushers too so I can experiment with daemonic cavalry. Unfortunately, the new combat rules mean that those expensive cavalry units will be taking some attacks back – this probably isn’t a big deal for the Bloodcrushers but Seekers really won’t stand up to a cold-steel massage very well. Remember up the page where I said that elite units taking out your entire front rank and going straight to combat resolution were a thing of the past? Well this is bad news for Daemons. I’m really an edition too late to turn up to the Bloodcrusher party.

One of the strongest weapons in the Daemonic arsenal was Fear. In Seventh, this could be an autowin button while in Eighth it has been toned down a lot. I’m going to build my units around the expectation that they’ll be stuck in combat for a couple of turns. Magic too has been calmed down. Horror heavy lists (like mine) aren’t such a great idea any more because you won’t automatically be able to cast with each of them like you could in Seventh. If I generate less than about 9 dice, then the likelihood is that Mr Feathers will suck them all up – yes he can throw out a Boon of Tzeentch but I’d really need to use two dice for it or have a 1/3 chance of not being able to cast anything else for the turn – which makes it less useful than it used to be. In addition the mishap chart is now a whole lot more dangerous; especially for a high value model who’s also the general.

Of all my armies, the Daemons are the ones that are the hardest for me to Octimise. It’s not as simple as for the Dwarfs where I just added more bodies to units and refitted things with great weapons. The way that Daemons play has had to change because their old tools simply don’t exist in the new ruleset. I’m thinking that core heavy is the way to go – Daemonettes and Bloodletters in particular -  backed up by a couple of support units such as daemonic cavalry and Flesh Hounds.

Finally then we come to the Chaos Warriors. These are a work in progress still so modifying the list is easier than for the other two as I still haven’t got around to painting most of it. Previously it was a Tzeentch themed list with a small unit of Knights containing the Battle Standard, a mid sized block of Warriors and a small unit of Chosen all led by a Sorceror Lord and all sporting the Mark of Tzeentch. The remainder of the points were spent on Marauders with flails, Marauder Cavalry and Chaos Hounds. Now I’m very seriously considering adding a second rank to the Chaos Knights – as now they get supporting attacks as well as just the bonus combat resolution. This also reflects the fact that I can’t reliably throw them into the front of an enemy unit and expect to see them win and overrun in the same turn. Chaos Warriors with the Mark of Tzeentch and a Parry save are now godlike so I’ll be adding more to that unit. The Marauder Cavalry have got better too, now that they get supporting attacks so my unit of ten is great for flanking units that are locked up with the Knights or Warriors and running them down. The Marauders on foot may get cut as I make the army into more of an elite warband but I need some more practice games to see how this will work out. It’s tempting to build them into a Horde formation but I’m not sure how useful that is given that the rest of the army is super tough and won’t be giving up VPs easily.

As I work on these armies I’ll be updating the efforts on my painting blog, check it out and feel free to comment on the articles there.

How are you Octimising your armies? Tell us in the comments below!

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/22/im-getting-octimised/

Road to Glory I

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 13:51

Hey all,

The first event of the Road to Glory is coming up on October 3rd in Gamers World on Jervis St, Dublin. Entry €10.

Road to Glory I requires a 750 point army. Players will battle it out over four games using scenarios from the Warhammer 8th edition rulebook. Points are available for battle scores, painted armies and presubmitting army lists.

For full rulespack and up-to-date entrant list – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=776

For further information on the Road to Glory series – http://w-ired.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=720

Hope to see you all there!

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/14/road-to-glory-i/

Mad, Me?

Saturday, 11 September 2010 20:24

When I signed up to the forum Nigel asked me if I would be willing to the odd blog, after the clarification that whatever I wrote would be the ramblings of a madman I got the go ahead. Now anyone can claim to be mad so I feel I should possibly state my credentials. Last year I took part in the ETC for the 40K Team Northern Ireland, after a fantastic experience I found that this year I would try out for the Fantasy team, now this is the part that proves I am mad, I have only ever played 1 game of 7th before, so I will be going to Gorey with little or no experience to begin my qualification period.

To that end I will be using this side blog to chart my experiences and the ups and downs as I travel the long and difficult route, that may God willing take me to Geneva and the biggest tournament in the world. So with 4 weeks to go till the tournament I have painted one giant rat unit completely and almost have 96 clanrats upto a 3 colour minimum. Hmmm I think it is going to be a while before I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Whos the Mad one now?     ….Oh wait its still me.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/11/mad-me/

Terrain – we need more!

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 15:25

Its not so long ago since I was sitting in Dublin complaining about the poxy sandwiches. That wasn’t the only complaint of the day however. I remember being annoyed with the terrain selection we had as a club then. This has been improved at least in quantity via stuff being prepared for the tournament scene. However Eighth Edition seems to have rendered a lot of this useless. Well useless isn’t quite correct. Its a lot less effective in the game and in a certain way that is great. However what we are left with is a strong need to update our terrain collections around the country with more stuff that pertains to eight edition. Looking in my local game shop in Hamburg at the weekend there were both games of 40k and fantasy going on. The 40k I was really shocked by. There seemed to be four pieces of terrain on the board in total. With fantasy there were five. In my opinion it is generally terrain that makes the battle tactical. While armies are somewhat evenly matched the difference often comes then in what effect the board has upon you, your deploymetn and similarly to your opponent. Sadly there have been a fair few games I have lost by attempting to swing one flank around a forest meaning they never got to the battle at all. This won’t be as much of a factor now as forests and the general terrain we have in our collection is almost ignored by infantry. There should be an effort to start creating impassible terrain to make the battle a little more tactical again. Buildings would also be a benefit. I know one of the games I enjoyed most was where we had a small settlement cobbled together from the collections of a few players in Portlaoise in the centre of the board. This was back in the very early days of fourth edition. However now the rules would support a battle like this much more.

120 pieces would be the average needed in a thirty player tournament now. Thats an average of two extra pieces per table. Thats a lot of wiggle room where new terrain types can be introduced. I suspect that there will be a slow evolution of terrain in this edition. Tournaments will have to embrace this and the sooner the better. Comp is effected very strongly by factors such as terrain. Certain army builds favozur a certain type of battlefield and having a good variance in the terrain set ensures that certain builds don’t get an advantage. As an example the massive forests of the Grand Tournament colletion in Ireland have been the bane of my tournament career. I don’t know how many times I have had to play Wood Elves there and have them move two or three of those giant forests around until the entire centre of the board is suddenly a forest extending 36″ across. At least that won’t have such an annoying effect now… hopefully. I suggest at least on building per table with a decent foot print at least 5″ x 5″. I hate the little shacks with twenty warriors somehow squeezed inside. Ido hope that GW will follow along the same lines as they have with 40k and provide some really good terrain for fantasy in the form of buildings. The cities of death and the few buildings that followed after were really great. Another good move in my opinion is making hills a lot larger. By making them larger it is a lot easier to make them higher and keep a slope on them that doesn’t force troops to be balanced on dice towers. Most hills are about 10″ x 5″ now but it should be possible to easily double this. That immediately gives you an extra inch in height at least meaning in most cases that warmachines andarhers won’t be able to fire indiscriminately over the hill except at the largest of targets. Styrofoam isn’t that expensive either so tournament organisers should be able to manage this. Plonking a hill like that in the centre of the battle field will really ruin a gunlines day and having a few like that within a boards of a tournament should really help balance out the people who take the gunlines from those that don’t. Of course putting a hill like that in a deployment zone is a different story…

The fantasic terrain types I think are also pretty important in balancing things out. These would have been played with while the game was play tested and hence would have an effect on game balance. AT least you would hope that they were played with though it is GW… Adding a little risk or benefit for such thigs makes them much more of an objective during the game. A wood that can heal some of your characters really would be something in the late game o try to get a character or two into. A burning barricade is quite evocative and there are many cool possibilities for such things on the battlefield. I think these should be brought into tournaments also. Ofc ourse they have to be looked at in depth as it is possible that they favour certain armies a little too much. Having the variability on the table can only be a good thing and add to the games rather than subtract.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/07/terrain-we-need-more/

Quae caret ora cruore nostro?

Saturday, 04 September 2010 10:42

So we are heading into another tournament season. I have my list made out and a booking made to fly home for Gorey. I just need my holidays confirmed now and I am off. This whole travelling home for a tournament though isn’t ideal. While it gets me home for a few days which is always appreciated its expensive. The local tournaments are slowly becoming more and more attractive! There are quite a few around Germany thankfully the only problem is getting a seat in a car as the train is pretty pricey… more than a ryanair flight at the moment! I shouldn’t really talk about Aer Lingus at all as their prices are amazing.

So I was wondering why we are not offering some other international tournaments as ranking events? I know it is done by our Northern Neighbours. We have the Giant Fanatic coming up in Denmark which I am itching to go to but I don’t know if I will have a useable army by that stage. There are a bucket load of tournaments in England that would be fun to attend. However rather than just suiting me I think this could only be a good thing. I know it is difficult to sell to our significant others as they believe we are just heading off for a weekend of debauchery rather than the gaming. However I think that this would be the amazing for our preformance as a team in the ETC. You know it is easy to be a big fish in a small pond. If we can get some serious gaming in against the top players in Europe on a more regular basis it can only be good. The weekends at home that are outside Dublin are pretty expensive and it wouldn’t be really that more more to jet off somewhere. This should hone the team and maybe enable us to once again improve our preformance. One other thing to consider is inviting a team from another country to come over. It would be nice to have four or five of the english guys over for one of our two day tournaments. We could easily subsidise their tickets. Better yet we should just let them in for free. The invites could be extended to a few of the other European Nations that our ETC team have befriended. I am not sure how this ranking HQ thing works. It may be that if the tournaments are in different countries they will automatically combine the results? If not it can’t be too hard to have that implemented.

It also has the benefit that we can concentrate on providing fewer better tournaments at home. One thing I noticed is a two tier tournament system developping. Well it has been there for a while but it seemed to become more stark last year. We have the better (in my opinion) tournaments that are organised by the dedicated gamers from a club with the clubs support behind them. The tournaments I particularly enjoyed were Resurgence and Battlecry. The organisers were dedicated to providing a good fun day out. They knew they would get numbers though and so that provides a safety zone. The second tier seems to be shoddily organised, thrown together at an after thought and then applying for ranking status to get a few more numbers in. As I saw when travelling home to play in one of these events… three people turned up. Well that was a bit of a let down. It would be cool if we could (I could!) really have four premium events organised well in advance, organised well in advance and then we can look further afield to supplement these.

Read more: http://w-ired.org/blog/2010/09/04/quae-caret-ora-cruore-nostro/