CanCon 2017 Part 2- Blood Bowl tourney

The main reason I went to CanCon was to take my Norse team, The Pillage People, to the Australian Blood Bowl Nationals.

The Pillage People

Fine print: Six games, two days, 1 000 kgp, no cards, standard progression with coach-selected MVP.

My starting team: 2 Berserkers, 2 Ulfwereners, 7 Linemen, 3 Rerolls, apothecary.

I could only make five of the six games due to having to leave early on the final day. Previous CanCons have been a marathon eight games (2016 Halflings) and seven games (2013 Lizardmen). The shortened format was less gruelling, and allowed me more of a leisurely look around the convention than previous years.

Match 1. Cullen's Chaos Dwarves, Bashy

Can the hobgoblin hold on to the ball for long?

Cullen was the youngest player there, but being the son of Rabid, one of Australia's strongest players (and- spoiler- winner of the tournament), he comes from good stock. He played a solid game but I was able to win 2-0 with 2-2 casualties.

Match 2. James' Amazons

Forget the ball, the Norse fight the 'Zons!

This was a fairly straightforwards match between his dodging Amazons and my blocking Norse. We wound up with a 1-1 Draw and I took out the casualties 3-2.

Match 3. Thomsy's Dwarves, the Hammer Throwers

The Hammer Throwers smash the Norse defence

This was not a game I was looking forward to, and my apprehensions were proved accurate. Thomsy is a great guy and a strong player, and his dwarves barely put a foot wrong. He took out an Ulfwerener and a Berserker on turn two, and it went downhill from there. He won 3-1, and also took the casualties 3-1.

Match 4. Sangraal's Norse, The Tanelorn Rebels

Blood on the snow- Norse on Norse

This was the best match of the tournament. Sangraal is my long-time BB opponent, and I think we can each say we've fuelled the other's BB addiction over the past 15+ years. His team were also Norse, using vampire biker gang figures. I was again apprehensive going in, as I was understrength following my drubbing at the hands of Thomsy's dwarves.

Receiving the ball, some lucky rolls and a wizard's fireball allowed me to score in the first half, and I delayed his scoring until well in the second, leaving us with a 1-1 tie and 3-3 casualties. With this match concluded, my earlier casualties returned from the hospital and I was able to face my final match with a full team. Furthermore, I was able to hire a Snow Troll with my accumulated winnings. I was feeling good.

Match 5. Leigh's Humans, the Grey Ravens

The Ravens prepare for upcoming carnage

So in my last match, my rookie Snow Troll got injured in the third turn, and then my team got taken apart. I've not seen someone roll so many tens... I suffered a massive nine (!) casualties, until the ball became an afterthought and I was fighting to survive. Leigh was apologising profusely for the farcical damage. I lost 3-1, and was thankful I didn't have to play a sixth match as I wouldn't have had anyone there!

Conclusion and Happy Ending

So, one win, two draws, and two losses. I don't think the Norse suit my preferred playing style, but I did have a fun time and a great set of opponents. It was, of course, good to see other old friends also playing in the tourney.

There were 25 coaches (4 Orc, 4 Undead, 4 Amazons, 3 Norse, 2 Human, 1 each Slann/ High Elf/ Skaven/ Chaos Dwarf/ Dwarf/ Chaos/ Dark Elf/ Dwarf). I don't yet know where I came overall. I think more coaches wanted to play, but there was a strict cap due to table space limitations and (I hear) fire regulations.

To ease the pain of that final match/ massacre, I was stoked to receive the award for Best Painted Team! There was some good competition, and I haven't won one of these since my Pro Elves took it out at the inaugural 2005 EucBowl.

Tomorrow: Social events and my loot

Blood Bowl Norse

Hasn't it been great to see a resurgence of interest in Blood Bowl recently!

I'm very happy with my Icelander team from Roll Jordan. The Pillage People are painted with more than a nod to the blue-grey and yellow Space Wolf palette.

Blood Bowl Norse- The Pillage People

I wanted a slushy, snow and mud base for them. I drybrushed a bit of white over brown painted sand, then I added a paste of Woodland Scenics' 'Realistic Water' and 'Soft-flake snow' and Secret Weapon's 'Ground glass' for extra sparkles.

The Snow Troll has a great face. He's huge, on a 40mm base.

Blood Bowl Snow Troll

The Ulfwereners also have good monstrous anatomy. I based them on 30mm bases. (NB for a more historical bent, check out my SAGA Úlfhéðnar).

Blood Bowl Ulfwereners

The Berserkers are my favourite sculpts, absolutely ripped torsos with a great helmet.

Blood Bowl Berserkers

One of these runners reminds me of Paul from the Man Cave... The other one is a bit like Smurfette... Norsette?

Blood Bowl Norse Runners

The throwers have great expressions.

Blood Bowl Norse Throwers

I really like the lineman with the eyepatch enjoying a frosty one.

Blood Bowl Norse Linemen

Blood Bowl Norse Linemen

The team also came with a turn counter which I added to a 25mm base, painted in team colours and added snow.

Turn counter

This team took up valuable AHPC time! They came with a few extra markers which I will be doing for the challenge. Next week, I may have my first AHPC entry.

Happy New Year!

Saga Vikings 6 points

I finally got these finished! I'm happy with the limited palette, which ties them together as a force.They are all Gripping Beast figures- the Berserkers and Levy are metal, the rest are plastic. Follow these links for more pics:

• Warlord
• 4 Berserkers
• 8 Hearthguard (pics below)
• 16 Warriors
• 12 Levies

When I finished off the Warriors, I also took the opportunity to improve the Hearthguard's helmets, swords, and shields.

Viking Warriors

It's been a while, but I finally got my Gripping Beast plastic Viking warriors done for Saga. The figures are, by design, generic, but the faces are very characterful and a pleasure to paint. I hadn't planned to have detailed shields, but got caught up and painted a few designs on.

I'm just tarting up my Hearthguard, and next time I'll show pics of my entire Viking force.

Club games: Omega Protocol, and Saga battle report

So, I made it down to the monthly Newcastle Legion Club meet, and got two games in.

First, I played Shannon in Level 7- Omega Protocol. This is a gun-crawl following on from the events of Level 7- Escape, a smaller-scale tile-based survival horror game. L7-Escape is about an underground lab where human-alien hybrid experiments have gone wrong, and you have to escape. L7-Omega Protocol is the spec-ops team going back in to mop up.

My three commandos of Team Disco* advanced through the first level, finding both the required intel and the exit lift. I mowed down more than a few Greys, and took a few scratches in return, but nothing too serious. I'm sure we overlooked a few rules.

Team Disco preps a napalm grenade for a target-rich environment

The aliens are of the 'Grey' variety, and the sculpts are suitably creepy. The commandos are hard-SF full body armour types, and all the minis and components are decent. The dice are nice simple hit-miss custom dice in black or red, depending on damage potential.

Gameplay was surprisingly good. Commando action points are spent and then passed to the alien player- the more you do, the more he can do and vice versa. Each soldier comes with extra kit options to boost their abilities. Each turn you select a 'Stance' for each soldier- firing, advancing, or running- which doesn't limit what you can do, as much as how well you do it. For example, if I sprint I can still shoot but not very well, and if I shoot I can't move so far, etc.

Next, it was time to get back into Saga with a 4-point game against DC. We're kicking off a light narrative campaign. The border was being threatened by Vikings, and Godwin's Anglo-Danes were protecting the bridges. Here are DC's photos from his perspective (and my only one):

Vikings start with an aggressive charge over the right bridge

Berserkers and Warlord approach my Warriors and Godwin!

My levy are covering the middle...

...and wheel neatly out to pepper the Berserkers. Survivors are mopped up by the Warriors.

Viking Warlord now charges the Anglo-Dane warriors...

...and almost kills them, but now faces down Godwin.

A clash of steel!

Godwin wins! Viking Warriors come to avenge their chief...

...but Godwin sends them to Valhalla.

And on the other flank, I charge the bridge and push the Vikings back.

A risky charge by the proud Viking warlord didn't pay off, and my warlord (the newly-christened Ealdorman Godwin) chopped off many arrogant Viking heads. I managed to clear the field of my opponent, huzzah! Sharp eyes will note my force is a mix of my Vikings and Anglo-Danes, including my newly-painted Viking warriors. More of them in my next post. DC's Vikings are metal Gripping Beast figures.

* yes, really.

Viking warriors WIP

I still haven't completed any of my SAGA forces. I've knuckled down to get the final two units of my Vikings underway; sixteen unarmoured warriors (Gripping Beast plastics). I gave them axes left over from the Viking Bondi. I uses slottabases rather than the flat discs provided so as to mix with my existing figures (mostly LotR- these could be Ruffians or Dunlendings, after all). I've left the shields off to make painting the figures easier.

I build up the base with plaster, then PVA sand on. Finally, Army Painter Leather Brown spray.

Viking Levy

Twelve vikings with bows/ one point for SAGA. Metal miniatures from Gripping Beast. This season's raiders are fashionably colour-coordinated with their brethren.

Now I'm just waiting to get my hands on the GB plastics to make up a few points of warriors, and my Vikings will be finished!

Viking Warlord

After my previous Larger Than Life Warlord, I made a smaller warlord from the Gripping Beast plastic Viking box. I really like the flexibility you get with multi-pose plastics. To help with tabletop recognition, I decided to leave him without a helmet ('cos he's dead 'ard) and to give him a wolf cloak (to tie him in to his Berserkers). I agonised over whether or not to give him an axe instead of a shield, but finally decided on the shield so I could do a bit of thematic freehand. I didn't realise that his right arm is bare while his left has a sleeve! I did some painting on his right arm to make it look like a sleeve.

He doesn't have a name- yet.

Berserker! (and how I paint wolf pelts)

I'll ask of the berserks, you tasters of blood,

Those intrepid heroes, how are they treated,
Those who wade out into battle?
Wolf-skinned they are called. In battle
They bear bloody shields.
Red with blood are their spears when they come to fight.
They form a closed group.
The prince in his wisdom puts trust in such men

Who hack through enemy shields.

Extract from the 9th Century Hrafnsmál ('Raven's Song')

These are Gripping Beast's metal Úlfhéðnar (old Norse for 'Arrow Magnets').

 

I'm thinking I should darken their eyes a little more, they look blind in these close-ups.

How to paint wolf pelts:

I was interested in their wolf pelts. I painted them in Derivan Unbleached Cloth, then washed the whole pelt in Army Painter Soft Tone, then defined a darker area in Army Painter Strong Tone. I added a black wash down the centre (after the picture immediately below was taken) to get the final result, shown in the end picture. I also did a black nose and dark brown eyes. I was thinking of adding a few grey hairs, but was happy with the look and didn't want to accidentally ruin it. I have to say it was quite easy to get the effect shown using the washes, which was my first (ahem) brush with the Warpaint Quickshades.

L-R: Unbleached Cloth, Soft Tone, Strong Tone

L-R: Unbleached Cloth, Soft Tone, Strong Tone

Final result, after black wash central stripe

I will whinge that I don't like the 'Playmobil' hands, and if I wasn't lazy I'd have done a lot more work to get the weapons sitting properly in their grip. (I'd either carve off the thumbs, secure the weapons, and green stuff new ones, or cut the hands off and replace them with plastic ones already holding weapons). Also, the wolf tails are sculpted more like horse tails. Anyway, they're a crucially thematic addition to my Vikings, and I can't wait to get them on the table. 

Check out Svein the Berserk, from 'Erik the Viking':