Happy New Year and Paca Prep #2

Happy New Year’s fellow Warhammer Bros!

Well 2013 went out with a bit of a whimper as far as Warhammer tournaments as I only played in a single RTT since early June (no GTs).  I am looking forward to 2014 and have loaded up the calendar with events.  We have Waagh Paca (WI) in January, US Masters (NC) in Feb., LoneWolf (TX) and WCGT (SoCal) in March.  That is 4 major GTs in 4 different regions of the US in the first quarter alone.  Damn I am excited.  See Ramblings #1

First up of course is Waagh Paca and my first round death match against the dastardly Mike Gerrold.  Given the frozen hell that is the American Mid West (see ramblings #2) at this time of year, I was rather shocked to find out that electricity still worked in that part of the country (shocked…electricity…see what I did there?).  Imagine my greater surprise when I found out that Mike can not only read, but read my blog.  My sense of wonder knew no bounds when I discovered he had responded with a most excellent blog post of his own.  It can be found here Paca Prep From Last Years Champion.  I guess the diploma in a Cracker Jack box education Mike received in his ten years at Hamelin University was actually useful.  Now being a resident of Oakland, instincts lead me to demand

Actually one of the more peaceful debating methods here in Oakland

I would follow with a well-reasoned and unassailable post on how Orcs and Goblins is Da Best (see ramblings #3), how Californians are naturally smarter and better looking than Minnesotans, and expound on the many deficiencies of Mike Gerrold.  However I do not want to reduce Mike to a gibbering wreck and scare him off from attending Paca, so I shall wait for our match.  Instead I shall share some of my experiences in practice matches. 

I got 6 practice games in with the list I talked about in my last blog post and ended up going 4-2.  Alas one of those losses was against WoC, not a good sign.   Starting to feel a need to change it, I turned it in early and was informed by that great humanitarian and all around swell dude, Roge the Great (never hurts to suck up the Tournament Organizers!) that there were no take backs.  So here is the final….

Black Orc Warboss, ToP, Crown of Command

Orc Great Shaman, Scroll, Pigeon Plucker Pendant

NG Big Boss, BSB, LA, Charmed Shield, Obsidian Lodestone

Goblin Big Boss, Wolf, shrieking blade, Enchanted Shield, DB Gem

5 Wolf Riders, Spear, Shield

5 Wolf Riders, Spear, Shield

30 Big Uns, FC, XHW, Razor Std

21 Night Goblins, Mus, Std, 2 Fanatics

Troll

Troll

Wolf Chariot

Wolf Chariot

2 x Doom Diver

Rock Lobba

30 squigs, 10 squig herers

Mangler

Pretty much what I indicated in the last post.  Though as I typed this I see an error in the list (the extra NG should be a shield for the General or an extra herder), but this is the one I submitted so oh well.  What have I learned so far?

Black Orc Warboss-  I feel this was the weakest choice by far but damn am I having fun playing this guy.  He is very different then my last two combat lords, who were riding big beasties (Old Blood on Carno and Warboss on Wyvern).  Rather than heading off on his own or trying to set up a combo charge, he sits in the middle of his drinking buddies as an anchor.  He has proved to be surprisingly resilient, surviving every match.  I have to keep telling myself that 5+/4++ is not that great and to be careful.  At ST 7/8 plus Armor Piercing, what he hits feels it.  The Crown has allowed him to hold the line until help can come along…or not.  Two matches saw the unit destroyed around him and the game ending with this bad boy engaged with several units.  It conjures up all the great holding actions in history.  The Spartans at Thermopylae, the airborne at Bastogne, Gandalf holding the bridge against the Balrog, Custer’s last stand.  Images of these heroic stands are one of the reasons I play this game.

Ok, some of those last stands do not end well for the last standee!

Artillery-  Frankly I was close to dropping these things.  At best they have plinked a wound off of random models.  Unfortunately they usually just blow themselves up without contributing anything accept to my opponents victory point total .  Maybe it is I don’t identify with artillery, or don’t like the feel of gunlines, or have crappy artillery dice, or expect it to land on me, or whatever.  They have performed so bad that I am pining for my spear chukkas!  However, I reigned in my temptations and kept them in the list.  They are just too good against too many threats, especially WoC!  So I will take the advice of that great poet-warrior, Oddball.

I have nothing but beautiful thoughts for those Doom Divers!

Magic-  Ah Foot of Gork. 

Two of my wins was that spell going crazy on my opponent.  Frankly, it really did not matter what kind of list my opponent had, it was all a pile of models after Gork danced a fine Irish jig on his army.  However, the foot has stomped my own troops in every game but 2.  One of those games I never was able to cast the spell and the other I did not know it.  In one of those, it won my opponent the game when it stomped on my own shaman, who failed both his LoS and Ward and was killed!

Despite my random success with Foot, I am really disappointed in my magic phase.  The biggest surprise is how much I miss my NG Shaman.  I think this is a function of the Big Waagh Spell Lore.  Frankly my opponents save their Dispel Dice for Foot if I am not in combat and ‘er We Go when I am.  The rest of the lore is just not threatening.  Oh I can do some stuff with the movement spell, but to be really useful, I need a big winds roll.  Same with ‘eadbutt.   When I had the NG Shaman, I could save 5-6 dice for foot and use the odd PD or 2 to cast a couple of low casting value spells with the help of the mushrooms, get those off and hopefully steal some DD. 

 

yes, I know, "Foot of Gork is really good" is not deep and insightful analysis

The rest of the army has performed pretty much how I expected.  Occasionally animosity bites me in the ass but you really have to roll with that if you play O&G.  I have had a couple of tricks work out surprisingly well but we will save those for the post paca discussion. 

-Michael

Ramblings #1

Since it is the season for resolutions, one of mine is to keep this blog active and try to drop 2 posts a month.  Given my tournament calendar, I suspect this will be pretty easy during the first part of the year.

Ramblings #2

I am sitting here in flip flops and shorts in the dead of winter.  It is a wonderful 65 degrees, sunny, with a kiss of a breeze.  As an avid San Francisco Forty Niner fan, my team will be traveling to Green Bay Wisconsin this weekend to play the Packers.  I decided to check the weather forecast plus wind chill and saw this. 

Who lives in this frozen hell?

Just to point out it will literally be 95 degrees warmer where I live!  Waagh Paca btw is held at the mid way point between Green Bay and Steven Point.

Ramblings #3

I recently saw the desolation of Smaug and have to say those orcs are very bad ass!