Gaming with Neoscream: 21st February 2014

Enforcer Pathfinder Sniper On Infiltrator Bike

Welcome to “Gaming with Neoscream”. This is my weekly gaming post for miniature games, RPGs, some card games and computer games. And what a whooper of a post we have this week.

Gaming News

First off is a bit of very bad news. On Monday it was confirmed that Campaign, a yearly Milton Keynes Wargaming that has been for over 13 years will not be happening this year. Normally I would redirect you to their website for the deals, however due to the fact that this was a major local gaming news, I decided to post what they about it:

“It is with great regret that Milton Keynes Wargames Society must announce that Campaign 14 will not be taking place. After an initial warning in early November and confirmation in mid January, thecentre:mk management have decided that Campaign in not compatible with the type of event they wish to see staged within Middleton Hall in the future.

Enforcer Pathfinder Sniper

We have been unable to source a suitable alternative venue within Milton Keynes for 2014. We continue to search for a venue which may allow Campaign to return in 2015.

I am sure that we all share a great sadness that Middleton Hall is no longer available to us. We would much prefer to continue to promoting our hobby to as great an audience as possible.”

Let us hope they can find a new place for next year. This has passed me off with thecentre:mk. The event was one of their biggest and long running events which brought people in from outside Milton Keynes. I will admit numbers had been dropping, but this was due to the number of stores dropping due to the lack of security thecentre:MK was providing.

Sadly I cannot remember names or places, but Campaign is not the only Gaming convention in the UK that is having these types of problems. It does mean that their will be no selling or buying at Bring and Buy for me this year as I cannot use Salute as they cancelled their Bring and Buy this year. Dam it.

Brains

Now for the Mantic news. On the Deadzone side of thing, they have revealed more CAD pictures of the Enforcer Pathfinder Sniper both on and off the Infiltrator Bike as well as a picture of a painted Zombie.

The Dreadball Extreme KickStarter will be starting from 1PM today. Let us see how much chaos it will cause.

Next is the HeroClix news. This week there was previews of: Validus from DC Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes; Blade Knight from Yu-Gi-Oh Series One; and Wolverine from Marvel X-Men Days of Future Past.

Now for the Privateer Press news. Next Wednesday will see the release of the Convergence Warcaster Unit Iron Mother Directrix with Exponent Servitors, the Circle Light Warbeast Gorax, the Minion Farrow Heavy Warbeast War Hog, the Warmachine High Command expansion set “Into the Breach”, Retribution of Scyrah Myrmidon Wreck Markers and Convergence of Cyriss Vector Wreck Markers.

Also the first volume of Iron Kingdoms Excursions is out on PDF and Kindle. This is part of a series of six volumes, each volume will contain three stories from the world of the Iron Kingdoms (Warmachine). There is be a new volume each month.

Next is the RoboTech RPG Tactics news. Due to the Chinese New Year, they did not have anything new to show off this week. Instead they showed of a CAD parts breakdown for Regult.

Now for the Cool Mini Or Not news. There was a new mission posted called “Team Tesla” for Zombicide.

Also they are releasing a new adventure board game in the same style of Super Dungeon Explore called, Arcadia Quest. In it, up to four players each have control of a guild of three heroes. They must face off against each other and the various monsters of the game as they explore the ancient city of Arcadia through a series of branching campaign scenarios. I am liking the sound of this game. Oddly it is not being done by Soda Pop Miniatures.

Next is the Journey: Wrath of Demons news. They posted images of the art for the Profile Sheets and attack ranges for all the miniatures that are not part of the core game.

Now for the Kingdom Death news. There is not really much news, but there might hopefully be an update on the KickStarter next week.

Now for the Warlord Games news. With Bolt Action there are now online rules for famous characters of the Pacific Theatre. Also Judge Dredd also got some online rules for the shamed Judges Glass and Quincy.

Next is the Elven Adventurers Box Set KickStarter news. More greens were revealed this week. This time of three pixies, the downed elf, the swan, the Marker and the Grand Marshall on Foot.

Lastly for the Interface Zero news. Sadly the test copy of the physical turn out to be terrible, so they have to try to fix the ton of issues it has.

Past Events

On Saturday I went to the first of this year's DreadBall tournaments at Wargames Workshop MK. An event that might have been cancelled last week at only three or four people had booked in, but luckily the numbers increased to ten. Please people, pre-book your place in tournaments as the event runners need to know how many people will come. It is no good for you to say that your coming. Well anyway back to the tournament. After trying them out against Rob Taylor a couple of weeks ago I decided to try out my Season Two Corporation team, The Battle Angels. Like the last DreadBall tournament we had at Wargames Workshop MK last year, this will be ran like a league, but with 20mc spending money at the start. With my 20mc I brought a coach and a card. This left 2mc in my stash. I name all but the guard after female characters from Battle Angel Alita with the number six Jack being Alita herself. The guard I jokingly decided to call Kaitlyn as I was using my AJ Lee Coach figure as the coach.

I my first game I was up against Leon. He was using a Nameless team. It was a close game, but I won by four points. Oh and Alita killed one of his players. Wow. I spent ten of the 11mc I earned from the game on a second guard which left me with 3mc in my stash. I decided to call this guard Tamina due to the AJ link again. Sadly none of my players went up a Rank.

In my second game I was up against the only Judwan player in the tournament, Rich (not my friend Richard). This was a very bloody. Alita killed another player and Tamina killed one and sent two out for three turns. I won the match with one points. With the 9mc I earned and one of the three I had in the stash I brought a second card. Also three of my players went up a rank. These were Alita, Tamina and the number one striker called Noia Defarge. Noia got the skill Roll, Alita got the skill Slide and Tamina got a +1 to her Strength stat.

My third game was against Rob Taylor. He was use a Nameless team. As he had a bad first game, his rating was was lower than mine and two spear mc he bid on and won "F"ing Buzzcut. This won him the game and killed four of my players. Luckily none of my main three were killed, just the other two Strickers and two Jacks. OK it did not help that he also had too many players on the field (and I later found out he was cheating, or at least getting the Sucker Punch rules wrong). I manage to replace all, but one of the Jacks with the mc I had stashed and earned. (While I was writing this up I realised I forgot I should have 5mc in my stash at the end from selling the dead body of the Jack.) Oh and my striker Noia went up another rank as well, gaining a +1 to her Skill stat.

After the first three rounds, the top four players move on to the semi-finals of the tournament while the rest continued with the league. Sadly due to the loss to Rob Taylor, I did not qualify for the semi-finals.

On the four game I was up against Rob Cornell. He was using a Forge Fathers team. Sadly due to bad luck with the ball (even with a 3+ Skill Stricker) and the Forge Fathers high strength I lost by a landslide. I earned only six credits from the game. I could of brought an extra dice, but decided to save the mc for MVP backing as I thought my last opponent might have been a higher rating. Kaitlyn also went up a rank and gains the skill Stretch. (If I had remembered about the 5cm I would have brought a replacement Jack for the one I lost in the third round and had 2mc left in the stash.)

My last round opponent was Rob Farley. Yes that is right, yet another Robert. He was using a Teraton team. This ended up being a blood bath, due to the 3+ Strength and the fact you cannot slam or steal from them from behind. Sadly Tamina was killed this match due to so terrible rolls. If things continued I would try to bring her back as she was just one experience off to becoming a rank three. Rob Farley won the match.

Over all I sadly ended up at seventh place. Oddly, the person I beat in the first round, Leon, won the tournament. Well that life.

I decided to see what my team may had looked like after the fifth match. Please note that the dice rolls were done at home as I am writing this and on different dice than want I used in the tournament. I earned 7mc in the match giving me a grand total of 13mc (or 9mc if I had remembered to recycle the Jack I lost in round three). It would cost me 16mc (d6 + 10) for a standard revive for Tamina, so I would have to go for a Cryorevision revive which is 4mc and it ended up fatal. So I have 9mc left and no more Tamina. I would have use that remaining mc on replaced the Jack I lost in round three (or just had 5mc in my stash). Well that is life.

On Thursday HeroClix was back on as my A+ course was over. The Scenario this week was “Relic Wars”. You can find it is the HeroClix Scenarios page at the top of the blog, just under the logo. The standard local players turned up: me, Darren S, Adrian and Michael. We almost had a fifth player this week, however he sadly could not get a babysitter for the night.

In the first round I was up against Michael who was using an X-Men themed team. I managed to win the game with only losing Wolverine. Also Adrian won against Darren S.

In the second round I was up against Adrian who was not using a themed team due to the numbers of figures he had. I sadly got white washed in this game. Also Darren S won against Michael.

In the third and final round I was up against Darren S who was using a Thunderbolts themed team. Like normal I lost against Darren S, but did give his team a nasty beat down. Also Adrian won against Michael.

Over all Adrian won the game with an over powered Ms. Marvel. Sadly it showed that the hammers from Marvel Fear Itself are over powered for their point value due to the +2 attack they give.

For those who are wanting to know, the other games happening at York House were Warhammer Fantasy, Star Wars X-Wing, Flames of War and DBM.

Future Events

These are local gaming events in Milton Keynes I know of, Guardians of Tyr events at Wargames Workshop Northampton and other events I plan on going to or want to advertise.

·       On Mondays at Wargames Workshop MK is Wargaming night.

·       On Tuesdays at Wargames Workshop MK it is Card games night (or is it just Magic the Gathering).

·       On Thursdays York House in Stony Stratford is open from Wargamers and Boardgamers.

·       On Fridays at Wargames Workshop MK it is Boardgames night and Friday Night Magic.

·       On Thursday the 27^th of February, there is HeroClix at York House in Stony Stratford. The scenario will be “Four is the Magic Number”. Details of the scenario are below.

·       On Saturday the 1^st of March, Guardians of Tyr will be running a Star Wars X-Wing tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

·       Every Monday in March at Wargames Workshop MK, Guardians of Tyr will be running a Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team League.

·       On Friday the 7^th of March, Guardians of Tyr will be running a High Command tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

·       On Saturday the 15^th of March, Guardians of Tyr will be running a Steam Roller Warmachine/Hoards tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

·       Saturday the 5^th April will be International TableTop Day.

·       On Saturday the 5^th of April, Guardians of Tyr will be running a DreadBall tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

·       Saturday the 12^th of April will be Salute 2014 at London Excel. This year's theme is the D-Day Landings.

·       On Sunday the 13^th of April, Guardians of Tyr will be running a Steam Roller Warmachine/Hoards tournament at Wargames Workshop Northampton.

·       On Friday the 18^th of April there will be a Bolt Action tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

·       On Saturday the 19^th of April, Guardians of Tyr will be running a Warhammer 40,000 tournament at Wargames Workshop MK.

Wargames Workshop MK has a £2 gaming fee or £4 with a pack of Magic the Gathering cards unless it is a paid tournament run by Guardians of Tyr (not including it is High Command). Weekday events normally start “playing” at 7PM.

For rules for Guardians of Tyr tournaments and leagues as well as information on pre booking your place in tournament. Pre booking is highly recommended so they know how many people are coming. So please go to their website which there is a link to it under my links section which are located on the right hand side of this blog.

York House has a £3 on the day gaming fee and a £5 fee for a year’s membership. However the first day is free and they only take yearly membership fee at the start of the year. The Hall officially opens at 7PM, but normally people start arrived 15 to 20 minutes early.

HeroClix Scenario “Four is the Magic Number”: 400 point. Must be Named Themed and must have four figures (no more, no less).

Painting and Converting

This week I have doing the MVP The Praetorian, a male Corporation Keeper, three male Corporation players, four Hive Warrior and a Human Rebs

This week's figures front view

This week's figures rear veiw

This week's DreadBall Figures

This week's 7TV figures

This week's Deadzone figure

Next week should be doing at least a Reb’s Heavy Weapon Team, another Human Rebs, two Yndij Rebs, a Reb Drone, a Grogan Reb, two Zee Rebs and a Loka Ice Prawn.

Armies

Here is my team from this week’s HeroClix game:

Guardian (011 Marvel The Invisible Iron Man) 100

Aurora (012 Marvel The Invisible Iron Man) 75

Northstar (013 Marvel The Invisible Iron Man) 75

Wolverine (001 Marvel Wolverine and the X-Men) 100

Puck (025 Marvel Mutant Mayhem) 38

Uru Forge (S301 Marvel Fear Itself) 10 (*Wolverine* +1 defence)

=398 and four re-rolls.

Here is Darren S’s team from this week’s HeroClix game:

Lady Deathstrike (210 Marvel Wolverine and the X-Men) 112

Man-Thing (033 Marvel The Amazing Spider-Man) 100

Bullseye (042 Marvel Web of Spider-Man) 117

Citizen V (052 Marvel Avengers) 58

Fragment – Cyclops (S101 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 10 (*Bullseye*)

=397 and four re-rolls.

Here is Adrian’s team from this week’s HeroClix game:

Ms. Marvel (017 Marvel Fear Itself) 155

Spider-Man (004 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 125

Scarlet Witch (006 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 100

Angrir's Hammer (S107 Marvel Fear Itself) 8 (*Ms Marvel*)

=388 and no re-rolls.

Here is Michael’s team from this week’s HeroClix game:

Cyclops (009 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 150

Colossus (012 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 125

Magik (013 Marvel Avengers vs X-Men) 75

Jean Grey (017 Marvel Wolverine and the X-Men) 40

Angrir's Hammer (S107 Marvel Fear Itself) 8 (*Cyclops*)

=398 points and four re-rolls.

House Rules

It had been a many centuries since the Mobius Empire fell from a devastating computer virus. The worlds of this former Galactic empire are now heavy barren with fighs over territory, resources, money, power and fame. Gangs have from it the chaos, each with their own motive. Players will take control of those waring gangs.

I had been considering factions for some time and and if it would work with my thoughts of the game. I have finally decided I will most likely be doing what I class as template factions. These are more generic than standard factions it games as the Mecha Knight gangs tend to be independent. There are currently three template factions planned: Raiders, Adventurers and Noble Guards. These name may change.

Raiders have a tendency to hide away in things like the old ruins or sand dunes, ready to ambush their target. They use a lot of long ranged weapons and their Mecha Knights tend to have the Fast, Infiltration and Ambush abilities, but suffers from poor armour.

Noble Guards are the the lap dogs of the Nobles that control the self claimed New Mobius Empire. They usually are equipped with shields and close combat weapons and are better Armour but suffer from low numbers.

Adventurers are out to make a name for them self as pro Mecha Knight Pilots. Pilots are normally better skilled than others and are generally the more balanced group.

There will be races in the game, however they do work with one and other. The basic races I plan on doing are Humans, a Dwarf like race, a cat/elf life race, the Cyberim (genetically made human slave race with nanotechnology inside them) and an Aquatic race that go around on land in robotic suit. There will more than likely be more races in the future as well as factions, but those will be the first one to added to the game after the basics are done. With the bare bone basics I will just be working with humans/adventurers and then I start adding the rest.

Until next time, Keep Rolling.