Introducing my club to BFG

In a few weeks i will introduce my club (which mostly play LotR) to my favorite GW game, BFG. The fleet i will be fielding will be as follows:

The Imperial fleet will consist of:
the Lauviah Dictator class attack carrier
the Harbonah and Zaphkiel Tyrant class attack cruisers
the Melchisedec Dauntless class light cruiser

The Chaos fleet will consist of:
the Arioch Devastation class attack carrier
the Gamaliel and Kushiel Carnage class attack cruisers
the Beleth Slaughter class fast cruiser

I did not include any escorts because I wanted to provide each player an equivalent cruiser. There are two others players in the club with BFG experience so hopefully they will show up and lead a fleet each.

Warhammer: Characters Role

With the new Lizardmen Army book out, I have returned to tuning my 5 separate Lizardmen armies (armies, not lists). As most, I started with thinking about Lords and Heroes and I have come up with the following in order of needs.

1. The General. This role is mandatory for all armies. First consideration is that he has to have the highest leadership of your characters. This stipulation alone means that if you want a wizard to be your general, he will almost has to be a Lord level character. Second consideration is that regardless of what army you play (though Vampire Count in particular) he must be protected at all cost. Even if you play a regular human army, many competition scenarios award extra points for killing your opponent's general. With this in mind, if you choose a fighter as your general, you will be unlikely to throw him into combat on a regular basis, making a Lord choice somewhat of a waste.

2. The Slayer. This role is essential for nearly all armies. First consideration here is that this character is designed to kill characters and or large monsters. As such, ideally he should be a Lord level fighter tooled up to fight, kill, and maim. However, a lord level character in most armies will typically will have the highest leadership and thus will be forced to be your general. Except for Lizardmen, a Hero is what you will end up with here. Second consideration is that his model should be as mobile as he can be in order to chase his prey down. A monster mount would be great but again most monster mounts are only available to Lords rather than Heroes. Finally, in the absence of characters or monsters to kill he can always hunt artillery.

3. The Battle Standard Bearer. This role is helpful for most armies. First consideration is whether you really need one or not. In order to get the best use of one, you will have to cluster your units around him. While this may not be such a bad idea, it may limit your force tactically. Second consideration is whether he will carry a magic banner, or be "inspirational" and armed for combat otherwise. Taking a magic banner will be the most traditional role but again would also make him more tactically limited. One options would be for him to function both as a "Slayer" and a BSB (Battle Standard Bearer). This combo advantage would be he would be more resilient in combat resolution and his disadvantage would be the higher 25 points cost. Regarding victory points if standard VPs are only awarded to over-running units, then this would not be a problem as he should be fighting challenges (and either winning or dying), taking on small units with easy wins, or re-rolling break tests and passing them. The third consideration is whether he can be a Battle Standard Bearer and a Wizard. Only a few armies allow this option but if possible, this would make a decent combo allowing the character to remain with the main battle line protected, inspirational, to either cast spells and or dispel them as a defensive wizard. Finally, only one army that I know of will allow you to take a General-Wizard-Battle Standard Bearer combination and that is Lizardmen. This is a great combo for a more balance offense/defense or just defensive minded Lizardmen player.

4. The Supporter. This role is really optional for all armies. The first consideration here really is whether you need to take a wizard for magical defense. This character will almost certainly be a Hero level. If you have already taken a wizard as your General, then he will be a much more powerful offensive spell caster. If you have not taken any wizards at all then it means you have gone with Fighters for your characters and might need some magic defense. The second consideration here is if you have no needs for a wizard in this slot, a fighting hero to lead/buttress a flanking force/unit separate from your slayer. Under most circumstances more troops might be better than another fighting hero.

First Meeting of the Richmond Warmancers

More details here.

But i am intrigued and excited by the possibility that 2-3 others in the group has expressed an interest in playing BFG!

LotR Tactics 2

Some thoughts on army list composition and the Reinforcement rule. If this rule is in play, then your battle plan will be thrown in disarray if you are not prepared. Thus because of the chance that the reinforcement rule might be in play, the army list should compose of 2 parts of equal or near-equal number of models wise.

1. The first half, the half starting the game. When troops come on as reserve, they do so not as a unit but as individuals and thus will not be able to function as a unit. This must be kept in mind. Missile troops should be considered for this force faction. By starting the game together on the board, missile troops can be grouped as a unit to shoot volleys. There will also be more opportunity to shoot earlier in the game both directly and indirectly. Secondly named heroes should be considered for starting the game. Most named heroes have special abilities thus these ability should be available sooner rather than later. Thirdly, support troops may also be better off starting the game because support troops are best within a unit rather than on their own. Support troops include spearmen, pikemen, or standards.

2. The second half, the half arriving as reinforcement. Reinforcement models are hindered by their delay entry into the fray time wise as well as distance wise. Thus mounted troops, flyers, and faster models are better troops for the reinforcement faction. These models are also typically viewed as higher power troops and will frequently be targeted by missile weapons. Delaying their presence to the battle also delay the number of turns they may be targeted. Similarly, low defense troops, typically cheap troops taken for their sheer numbers, may be better off as part of the reinforcement faction for similar reasons. Some support troops are reasonable reinforcement as well, as the can be directed toward spots on the table that may need combat support rather than opening a new offensive front. Un-named heroes, with their single fate points, make good reinforcement heroes.

3. Rolling for reinforcement. Since the rule stipulates that you roll for one model at a time, it may matter which models are rolled for first and which last. Even if you roll for all similar models at a time, the order of what models are rolled for still matter. Because there is a one in 3 chance your opponent will get to place where your reinforcement enters, it would be better off if he places your least useful reinforcement first, to fill up the least useful reinforcement entry location. The order to roll for are bowmen (if there are any in your reinforcement faction), warriors, warriors with shield, warriors with spear/halberd/pikes, cavalry, infantry standard bearer, cavalry standard bearer, and lastly, heroes.

LotR: Gondor & Rohan Colors 2

Started painting Gondor. My current thoughts on colors for Amon Barad (Gondor led by Cirion & Madril) & Eastfold (Rohan led by Erkenbrand) are now.

Gondor:
primer: boltgun metal
armor: boltgun metal
shield: deneb stone
weapon: chainmail
clothe: charadon granite
cloak: knarloc green
bow & arrows: khemri brown
arrow feathers: white
leather: black
wood: calthan brown
flesh: tallarn flesh
hair: Iyanden darksun
wash: ogryn flesh

Rohan:
primer: black
armor: boltgun metal
shield: charadon granite
weapon: chainmail
clothe: deneb stone
cloak: knarloc green
bow & arrows: khemri brown
arrow feathers: white
leather: black
wood: calthan brown
flesh: tallarn flesh
hair: tausept ochre
wash: devlan mud

Richmond Warmancers

With GW closing down locally, a few of us similarly minded gamers have started a gaming club, the Richmond Warmancers.

GW Stony Point Store is closing

My local GW store here in Richmond VA is closing in 2 weeks. Some of us gamers are looking to start our own gaming club, at least in the short term. A likely location has been found. We would like to get in together on the GW modular gaming board. So far we have about 6 so that means one piece of the gaming board each. I would like to see us have 12 players and 2 gaming boards. Two boards means 4-8 players on the 2 boards, and perhaps another flat top table. I would like the club to cover at least the 3 main GW games, 40k, FB, and LotR.