Resolutions on the horizons

Its December 27 and the year is quickly coming to an end. Looking back is always a good thing to take time to do in life. Reflection helps us learn from out past to help make better choices in the future. As I look back from this past year lots of changes have come along. Out with 7th and in with 8th. Out with small elite units or cav and In with horde units of basic troops. Also terrain got a sweet update plus now even S2 can wound T6 on a 6. As the end of the year winds down, I am starting to compile my list of achievements to accomplish in 2011. Only 3 percent of people create goal lists. Also of those 3 percent are wealthiest people of America. I definitely see a correlation between the two for being successful. We can apply this same strategy to our gaming lives. 0nce I complete my gaming asspurations I will post them and also track them with updates through out the coming year. Thanks for reading as always and please leave a comment if this is a article that was helpful!

Gor-lish-ess-ness

After some deliberating with arnie, We have coordinated an update on the Beastmen Army. Below you will see the updated list. After facing the weaknesses of the Beastmen they faced a more competitive army, the empire. The extra magic support combined with double beast magic proved to be very helpful. The ability to utilize wildform from two casters helps the success of the game changing spell. Splitting up the big unit of minotaurs helped maintain the army composition but changed the role of the minotaurs. Now they are pure wreaking ball units. If they are targeted and destroyed, no biggie. If they smash into a unit, all the better. Flank support and charge deflectors are the new role for the epic fantasy figures. Dropping all of the ungor combat units has taken an adjustment but not have a unit flee do to their crappy ld 6 helped keep the battle line stout. Adding the ungor raiders gives a mage a bunker plus manoverabilty to help out where needed most. A unit of 50 Gors on the table top is impressive and fearful to field on the tabletop. I hope in the near future we will start adding pics and one day bye next years end, video.

2500 Beastmen

Killer Chariot Beastlord Razorgor chariot Brass Clever Slug Skin Charmed Shield Ironcurse Icon

Great Bray Shaman lvl 3 Beast magic xtra wpn

Bray Shaman lvl 2 Beast magic xtra wpn

BSB Wargor HA shield Scaly Skin (total 2+AS, 6+ward hth) Std of Discipline

Core:
48 Gors full cmd xtra wpn BSB and lvl 2 bunker

2 tuskigor chariots

10 ungor raiders shorbows

Special:
3 Minotaurs xtra wpn

3 Minotaurs xtra wpn

32 (8x4) Bestigors full cmd

Rare:
Jabberslythe or Ghorgon - the only decision need to be made (ran the Jab with decent success)

Merry Christmas All!

Lizardmen Rare Options

The Lizardmen have 3 different options for the army. Ancient Stegadon, Razordons, and Salamanders. All three are ranged oriented but the Steg has the big punch of a chariot with extras. The hunting packs of Razordon and Salamanders can be fielded up to 3 per pack.

Start off with Razordons. Their ability is to shoot their spikes at the enemy from a distance of a nomial short distance. Their strength is when they are charged they get double the chances to hit by rolling twice with the artillery dice instead of the normal of one. On the downside, they use their BS to roll to hit after determining the number of shots fired. So half of the number of shots should hit but if you misfire you lose all the shots from that razordon. I have not taken them into battle in 8th ed, yet, though compared to the other units I believe this is the weakest. If there was not salamanders, I know I would still use razordons.

Ancient Stegadons are very nice still even if you dont take the Engine of the Gods. (I'll explain the Engine of the Gods later in Heroes) The duel Giant Blowpipes can blast can criple a unit of lightly armored troops. The Stegadons stubborn ability makes it a chariot on the charge and throws out its anchor. Besides its terrifying nature, extra scaly skin and extra howdah protection for the crew on top, an ancient time aged skin helps it stay alive. Cannons are the bane of Stegs just like any other monster in the warhammer world. I always say, "If the cannons are firing at your steg(or other monster) they ain't targeting anything else". Right or Wrong I still like taking a form of a steg onto the battlefield. The model is awesome, the psychological effect of them, and its a frickin dinosaur. Anybody who doesn't like a dinosaur is jealous, simply jealous.

Salamanders are the great, unless you are receiving fire from them. Being able to march and shoot, a flame template that melts metal and flesh, is an option that the razordons can not do. Though, their is no stand and shoot option unlike the razordon. One of the over powered traits of a salamander is when you wound a model the unit must take a panic test. I have had outstanding results using salamanders to the point of making the following statement. If you run more than one unit of them, you dont want to have any friends or opponents. I feel very strongly about this. Salamander are overpowered when their is more the a unit of the on the table unless you are playing over 3ooo points. Part of being overpowered is the new rules for monster and handlers. The other is the test for panic from a single wound. Also having more than one "breath" weapon use per game seems kinda unfair considering dragons and hydras only get to use their breath once per game. (salys can not use its breath in combat) Finally the point cost is too low for all of the special abilites, raise the point cost per salamander to fix them. If i played against anyone who ran two units of 3, I would give them the losest score on sportsmanship in a tournament. Everytime. Period. End of Story. Cheese. Big Ole' Stinky Moldy Cheese.

I normally run a unit of salamanders of 2 or 3 in a 2500 list. I use them as target bait for shooting and magic and also to take out knights or other high AS units. I also try to run some form of a steg. That is my opinion on the rares and I am going to try a unit of Razordons in the near future to see how they hold up in the 8th realm. Next up is the Lord choice for Lizardmen.

Who gives a flock of doom!

Fail. I tried the Beastmen army against arnie's new HE list. Magic Heavy and Shooty Heavy. 60 shots and 2 bolters. Ouch. Then on top of that Curse of Arrow Attraction spell goin off on the minotaurs. Lots of dead minotaurs. Basically I went against the biggest weaknesses to the Beastmen a strong ranged attack. Everything got shot to pieces. Giant, Minotaurs, Bestigors, Tuskigor chariot, Ungors, all took massive casualties or out right wiped out before finding combat.

I did learn some tactics for the Beastmen. Keep the BSB near the main battle line. Do not keep the BSB on the flank and leave other units out of its range in the beginning. I place the unit of 20 ungors on the right flank near Bestigors, Tuskigor chariot, and Minotaurs. After failing a panic test with the ungors, out of range of BSB. The Bestigor unit decided to run from the panic. Epic Fail. Not keeping the BSB close to Bestigor and ungor unit really hurt on turn one. ungors off the table and thanks to a kind friend, the bestigors were barely on the table top. Only 2 minotaurs managed to stagger into combat before getting hacked and speared to death. only 3 Bestigors, a single wound left on tuskigor chariot, and a single wound on the giant managed to get into combat before being finished off by the High Elves.

There was only one "real" close combat engagement. After running my Killer Chariot Beastlord from a Block of 30 Phoenix Guard with BSB, the Beastlord rallied. The Phoenix Guard pursued into my block of Gors with BSB with Beast Banner. Good Fight! Primal Fury really pays off for the Beastmen when they finally make it into combat. After losing combat by 2 and actually passing a leadership test, with a re roll. The Beastlord Chariot smashed into the flank of the Phoenix Guard. I issued a challenge with the Beastlord and the HE BSB excepted. I was burned by awful dice rolling. I did not cause a single wound to the BSB, even though all I needed was one more wound to kill off the BSB. Fail again. After taking over 650 points to break and overrun the Phoenix Guard the game was over at turn 6. Major Victory to the lofty High Elves.

What I learned from the my first game of Beastmen:

Primal Fury Rocks - I guess its the reason to play Beastmen
Minotaurs are only good in small units of 3 or otherwise they become HIGH value targets
Beastlord Charoit is great for taking on a single infantry unit
Beast Magic for Wildform is great
Flock of Doom is fun to say when you say "who gives a flock of doom"
Running a lvl 3 and lvl 2 is almost a must two chances at Wildform
Giants are only good if you have two otherwise go with a Ghorgon
Ungors suck T3 and no armor take chariots instead and more gors

Here is some of the things I want to try with the Beastmen. The magic item to make -1 to hit and 4+ for artillery for one shooting phase. Maybe try the bound item for Beastial Surge spell to get into combat quicker. Horde of Bestigors and drop to two unit of Minotaurs or one unit of 4 with shields. Back to the drawing board.

Beastmen War Host

Short and sweet here is the list for our Wednesday night gaming. Im going to general, for the first time, a Beastmen Army. I believe this is a well rounded list to try out everything from Killer Chariot to Minotaurs and Giants. I am most curious about Bestigors. I can see them being a waste or a game winner unit.

2500 point limit

Unit Killer Chariot - Beastlord on Razorgor Chariot - Brass Clever, Slug Skin, Ramhorn Helm, HE, Shield - see arnies post for more details

Great Bray Shaman Lvl 4 - Beast Magic

Wargor BSB HA Shield Scaly Skin gift - Magic Banner Beast Banner +1 Str

Core:

39 Gors Extra hand weapon full cmd - BSB in unit

20 ungors S and M

18 ungor AMBUSH unit S and M

1 tuskigor chariot

Special:

9 Minotaurs

24 Bestigors full cmd Banner of Discpline

Rare:

1 Giant

I may at last minute drop a minotaur but add a musician to the minotaurs (run 4x2 and reform to 3x2 if casualties). and increase the Bestigors to 28 and run it 7x4. 15 WS4 S6 attacks with chance of re-rolls. Or I may try to squeeze a lvl 1 shaman with beast for wildform to help survivability and combat prowess. Other than that my battle plan is to march and get into combat as soon as possible. Simple plan but only plan with Beastmen.

Biten by Beastmen

After reading some forum junk, the consensus that Beastmen is a low 3rd tier army has got me stumped. I know arnie and I's favorite memory filled games have been Beastmen vs. Empire. All the games were decided turn 6 and then it still came down to victory points which lead to draws. After some thought I have decided to try my hand at the stout Beastmen. I dont know if I can except them being portrayed as a crappy army. I believe besides a slim few that you can screw up any army if played correctly or if the army design is not there. Are some armies better than others? Yes. GW clearly does not care about balance shown through the different army books and lack of updates for some races. cough cough Tomb Kings.

Taking from what we have learned from past games I am developing a new list. I am going to try out a unit of Bestigors and also incorporate a Great Bray Shaman lvl 4 with Beast magic. Beast magic has a lot of synergy with the army. Besides reducing 1 to the casting cost for being beasts, the lore seems to buff and also help with ranged damage. Those two abilities seem that it should help the heavily close combat oriented Beastmen. Minotaurs are awesome. Minotaurs is part of the reason Fantasy is Fantasy. From Mythology to Movies they have been a highlight into the genre of Fantasy. Not fielding a unit of them would be a disgrace in my opinion.

I am not sure how this list will hold up against HE's surgical close combat units, but what the heck this game is to played for fun! Remember wargaming community that this is a game and entertainment, so winning every game is not my or arnie's top priority. We enjoy have a great time rolling dice, relaxing, and having those epic moments on a table top setting. Warhammer is a nice escape from reality and having the ability to play again is a much need relief of the daily stresses we all encounter through life. Ok enough sappy stuff, but just wanted to administer a dose of reality into the fantasy realm. Hopefully by Tuesday I will have the list completed and posted before we play on Wednesday. If you have any suggestions or experience with Beastmen we are all ears, just leave in the comment box.

Lizardmen Core Choices

The Lizardmen Core choices are very very basic. Infantry and weak infantry. Saurus Warriors are arguably the best point per point infantry in the game and they are core. Sweet! unless you are facing them. The only option for Saurus is spears. Take em or leave em doesn't matter a bit, thanks to the support attacks rule. Saurus are a great core choice but have some short comings. M4 and low I1 will allow them to strike b4 ASL weapons and average mobility on the battlefield. The Strengths of a Saurus warrior greatly outways the weaknesses easily. 11 Point stock for S4 T4 A2 and 4+AS plus a HtH 6+WS these guys are anvils and hammers.

Skinks are the option for core. M6 and I4 Skirmishers and Block Units are the versatility of the skinks. With all their weapons coated in poison it is a nice feature for the fragile newts. Skirmisher Skinks have blowpipes so they can be screening or a distraction unit, not much else. I prefer to use Chameleons Skinks from the special units over the core skirmisher skinks. Ranked up skink units is a cheap and viable Horde unit for Lizardmen. With the ability to add a Kroxigor for every 8 skinks helps the T2 WS2 skinks greatly. A single Krox with increase the LD to 7 and also cause Fear to the models in BtB contact. The S6 with a Great Weapon Krox help the damage output of the unit. T4 W3 and a 4+AS fills out the stats and survivability of the Krox. I recommend a horde of 36 skinks with S and M with a single Krox. 249 points this unit has mobility, ranks, hordeability, and a throw away unit against elites, cav, and flankers. Steadfast on Ld 7 (thanks to a Krox) on 3D6 this unit has the potential to hold a unit up for 2 turns easily when it is ranked up 5x8. Lizardmen players remember that you get your 6+WS in HtH thanks to Hand weapon and shield(I forget all the time).

To sum up the Core choices for Lizardmen is very simple as said in the beginning. Saurus; standard issue tank grunts that you cant go wrong for taking to the battlefield. Skinks serve a different role and have some limited uses. Skirmishers are decent for harassing and shooting. If you are looking for a cheap point horde unit go with a skink with a krox unit. Low in points and better than average move it is a good all around unit to through at enemy elites to hold up or slim down their ranks before a flank charge. Until next time what it your favorite setup with saurus units? 30 5x6 , 25 5x5, or a nasty horde of 40 10x4? I only been running 30 5x6 and seems to be working well.

Lizardmen from 50,000 ft.

Lizardmen was the first army I started to play after our 10 year layoff of Warhammer. Back in 3rd edition there wasnt many models or players of the race, but there was high interest in the oldest race of the warhammer world. Now with 7th in the past and 8 in the present some of the units scene on the battle have changed slightly. A brief breakdown of the Lizardmen can be summed up in one sentence. No matter what army choices you take, you have a good shot at winning. PERIOD! (oh that's a exclamation point after the word period-sarcasm)

Despite the armies ultra low Initiative except for skinks, their toughness and armor saves rival the elites of other armies. One of largest race specifics from high above the Lizardmen is there Cold Blooded Leadership. The gift to roll 3D6 on any leadership test is a huge advantage comparative to any other army. To Slann or not to Slann; is not that big of a question thanks to the engine of the gods. You can have magic defense with the engine and still pack some punch in your magic phase due to the engines powers. The Lizardmen can be competitive in every phase of the game due to their range of units. From Horded skink/kroxigor unit to a pack of devastating salamanders you can strike fear into the belly of a Greater Daemon or bring a proud High Elf Prince to his knees. Over the next weeks I will be breaking down the Lizardmen into their primordial ooze as a guide to the first race of the Old Ones.

Post Pumpkin Pie Post...thats right 4 P's in a row

After a long break from pre-Thanksgiving to post-Thanksgiving our gaming has taken a halt. :( GOOD NEWS! We are back and in action and with new ideas and articles to come b4 the Christmas Rush Season. Arnie and I did get a quick game in b4 all the Turkey Feasting. HE vs Empire with a new list mentioned below: (I do believe on my final tweaks to the list)

General of the Empire
Griffon, FP, shield, sword of Sig

Lvl 4 mage - shadow

BSB - AoMI

3 warrior priests - HA, Shield

38 Swordsmen full cmd with BSB and WP

39 Halberdiers full cmd with WP

29 Greatswords full cmd with WP

2 mortars

cannon

6 outriders

6 outriders

with 32 points left i need to figure out some magic items to enhance the army

Maybe gleaming penanet for GS unit, Sword of might for BSB, Iron curse icon on WP with GS, and Potion of Fool Hardiness on Griffon General.

The game took a quick turn with some unfortunate dice rolling for the HE BSB and Prince that they both slipped and fell into a Pit of Shades on turn 2. I still don't particularly care for the 8th ed game changing over powered spells such as the Pit of Shades. But besides that the game still was very close after some bad dice rolling for my Empire troops. Overall the Empire did well against the ASF HE's which gave me alot of confidence with the transformed list. I wanted to play up the strengths of the Empire which are cheap hordes, vast amounts of support characters, artillery including black powder outriders, and Warrior Priests.