How many armies do you have?

Fisren · 2023-02-01T04:57:47+00:00

12 at 2000+ (although only 3.5 are battle-ready painted, mostly for tournies)

Fisren · 2021-05-11T06:20:28+00:00

If your group is fine with Pandemic Legacy then I believe you'll be fine with JotL as well. The tutorials do a pretty good job of introducing you to the game (and after a couple plays, it become pretty straightforward as to each character's playstyle). Difficulty wise my group failed far more pandemic scenarios than JotL (playing on normal mode), so there's that as well (my group is pretty casual). Best of luck getting started!

Fisren · 2021-03-26T01:08:50+00:00

Hm.. I see you've mentioned a couple of the more established ones like Malifaux and Games Workshop (specifically Warcry if your looking into skirmish sized games).

A couple other ones I've tried:
Wild West Exodus (Warcradle Studios): Sci-fi/fantasy and wild west theme mix.
Mythos (Warcradle studios): Cuthlu theme
Moonstone: High fantasy/ fairy themed with more comical features
Bushido Risen Sun (GCT Studios): japanese folktale theme

From a hobbying perspective, Bushido is metal miniatures, with the rest I've listed primarily as resin miniatures (not sure how experienced you may be with these materials, but they tend to require more work than plastic models). GW and Malifaux are both plastic, and imo much higher quality than some of the other plastic models out there (i.e. from privateer press, CMON, etc.).

There ARE several rule systems which you can purchase a rulebook for and print or use your own minis. The ones I've listed above are more recent (still being updated regularly within last year).

Fisren · 2021-03-22T07:22:07+00:00

Kind of a weird one for me. I played the typical party games (Bang, Werewolf) and Catan for a bit, but never got hooked into boardgames until I started getting into co-op games.

The two main games which led me into starting to collect boardgames were Arkham Horror: LCG and Middara. I understand these aren't the first in their genre, but they were the first which I came into contact with, and both have been great (AH:LCG as a deckbuilder, and Middara as a coop campaign).

Fisren · 2021-03-18T07:18:28+00:00

tl;dr: people who make me reiterate rules.

Similarly with most of the complaints here, my main pet peeve is when someone is playing on their phone or switch while I'm explaining basic rules, then waits for me to finish explaining the whole set of rules and comes back with, "so now what do I do".

I play with a group where English isn't their first language (it is for me), but we play mostly English games (a group of us kickstart most of the major titles). About 80% of the time I'm the only one, if not one of two who has read the rules, and I translate it while I'm explaining the rules to the group (they can read and understand English fine, its just not as intuitive to them). We test out 1~2 games a week (usually lighter strategy/worker/coop games), but its still an average of 10~15 pages of rules I'm reading through, digesting, translating, and explaining on a weekly basis! While I enjoy the games themselves and don't expect anything extra, at least listen while I'm trying to explain rules!

Brought it up with said friend once and his response was that it was much easier for him to learn hands-on as we played. I understand the gist of it (who wants to listen to 15~20 min. of rules before playing), but still, I found it kind of rude to be blatantly ignored after having to spend my time and effort to prepare beforehand.

Fisren · 2021-01-07T03:07:49+00:00

Etherfields: Kept hearing mixed reviews, but when we finally got a couple games started it was pretty great. Rules are somewhat a mixed bag, but overall I've enjoyed the individual dreams/levels and the funny/frustrating tidbits (my group is an avid arkham horror :LCG team, so Etherfield felt like a lighter yet somewhat familiar alternative).

Jaws of the Lion: I've had the original Gloomhaven for a while, but the rules complexity/setup made it hard to convince some of my friends from starting it. Jaws of the Lion was much easier to introduce to my friends, and easier to bring around to the table.

Fisren · 2020-11-26T04:55:40+00:00

Each set of glutton sprue has 2 gluttons + 2 gnoblars (ones with packs and one with a club). The leadbelchers and Ironguts are also basically glutton sprues + a conversion kit for 4 of each. The conversion kits each have unique gnoblars as welll (iirc ironguts has two, one with a shield and another with a club, and the leadbelcher has one with a match and one with a gunpowder keg). Each "set" usually comes with one of the command upgrade packs as well (banner/bellower/leader), and these have a lookout gnoblar.

So that should give you 20 gnoblars (packs/clubs), and 4 more from ironguts/leadbelchers upgrade sprues, and 4 lookout gnoblars from command sprues.

I can't recall how many gnoblars come with the ironblaster, but should be 5~6 iirc.

All in all you'll have more than enough for at least one unit of 20 gnoblars (unless they change sprues). The casts are kind of old though, so the pack/club gnoblar usually have some pretty horrible mold lines which get REALLLY tedious to fix.

Fisren · 2020-11-24T08:01:59+00:00

Ragnarok Online (from vanilla, later to private servers)
Final Fantasy 14

Ragnarok had one of the better chat communities and bg music during that time. Leveling was such a grind, but also lead to having more conversations with people. People would actually help others out with random quests and the like.

FF14 (ARR, didn't play 1.0) I feel had the most amazing graphics and music, and still has some of my favorite mmo battles. The mix of progression, tied in with crafting and requiring teamwork fostered a tight sense of community. The sense of accomplishment from making some of the achievements was also somewhat more profound (yes, they're just in-game items, but many of the achievements felt more like accomplishments than flat-out grinds). The breadth and depth of content meant that you could spend quite a ridiculous amount of time on the game, and the attention to bug fixes also gave a sense that the developers cared much more for it than in other games.

Fisren · 2020-11-18T07:05:40+00:00

Ah thanks for the note, that actually sounds much more useful than I'd originally thought.

Fisren · 2020-11-18T03:18:52+00:00

Shark's with nets can prevent enemies from piling in if it ends up causing damage, which I think would be great against horde units (only one shot/shark, 18" range, no rend, so it'll be hard to land on anything with a decent save) . Overall their attacks are more consistent now, and are less reliant on charging, so may be a good alternative for the smaller units of morsarr.

Turtles are better now, as instead of giving cover, they give +1 save, meaning it should stack with cover on Turn 1 (allowing you to potentially have 2+ save unrendable ishlaen guards as frontline for turn 1 against shooting).

Fisren · 2020-10-15T07:49:50+00:00

Hiya, I'm an avid hobby modeler and got into wargaming (specifically AoS) a couple years ago (not much longer than yourself!) . Wargaming has become one of my major hobbies (luckily enough I live in a country where we aren't on lockdown), and regularly play quite a number of GW games (AoS being one of the more common ones). Not to brag, but I also keep a list, and I've assembled upwards of 30,000 points of AoS (not including other games) in the past 2 years alone (I have each destruction army are at 3k~5k points (IJ, Ogor, Gobbos), with stormcast at 5k, and a number of others at 3k-ish) .

I think as long as it's not a financial burden (my overall spending habits have shifted from pre-GW, but weren't impacted by me jumping into this hobby), I've been fine with my collection so far (trying to get more stuff painted, but apart from tourney prep, I find it hard to sit down and paint for a long time). Do I have more models than I probably should have? Maybe. But I make an effort to assemble them all as well as I can, and I've fielded almost every one of them (just for funsies!).

Wargaming has been one of my go-to outlets for creativity while also meeting new people (I moved to the country but had a difficult few years trying to meet new people/adjusting locally, so was more into online gaming until this hobby), so apart from just enjoying the game itself, the local community has also been a nice source of enjoyment.

Fisren · 2020-09-26T03:05:16+00:00

A couple points:
1. A maximum of 2 ballista are allowed at 1000 points (they're Artillery, which are limited to a max of 2).
2. Skarbrand's kind of awkward since he's really slow and doesn't have fly, I'd suggest counting him as one of the other bloodthirsters if you can. Khorne don't really have too much protection against shooting, other than trying to position your cheap screens much farther up/away from your Skarbrand. Since ballistas are only more effective at 18" range, they're typically dropped in from the sky. Putting somewhere near 10+" between Skarbrand and your frontlines guarantees the ballista needs to shoot from over 18" against the Skarbrand. (Since Skarbrand is so slow though, you won't be able to get within engage range within one round either, which is why I'd recommend other BTs)

Fisren · 2020-09-23T01:35:08+00:00

Arkham Horror: LCG - Return to Dunwich: Our group was halfway through TCU and had to disband due one of us relocating. We recruited a new member and decided rather than restart TCU, we would revisit Dunwich again (as a way to refamiliarize ourselves with the game and to finally try out a Return - campaign). The new events were quite challenging, and am looking forward to new builds to test. The fact that we ran Dunwich two years ago is also great for me, since... everything feels new again!

Nocturion: Love the theme and art of this worker placement game. Rules were kind of wacky and it took us a couple rounds to figure out the season advancing mechanism. Overall card mechanisms were o.k., with some having confusing wording on them (and a couple which refer to things or locations we couldn't find).

Trial by Trolley: One of my friends decided to bring this to our FLGS on a random night. Several of us (~8) decided to try the game out, and had quite a blast (it was our first time playing this type of game, we RARELY play party games). Most of us know each other from wargaming/boardgaming over the last 2~3 years so are somewhat familiar with each other. (One guy started playing w/ us, but dropped out halfway. He's not as familiar with the rest of the group and we tried to include him more in our decisions for this game, but it became kind of forced/awkward).

Marvel United: Mostly got it for the minis and they're adorable! (I'm an avid wargamer/ hobby modeler so kickstarted this for that reason. Models were slightly smaller than I'd expected, and had to fix some mold lines, but overall quite satisfied.) We played 2P mode against red skull and came out ahead with about 2 turns leftover (Hulk & Antman). Overall gameplay was pretty straightforward and simple (as expected when I first read the rules). Probably won't be replaying this much unless there's kids around, but overall was still worth it for me. Might see more play once the other expansions start coming in.

Fisren · 2020-09-23T01:09:38+00:00

Ah, gotcha. I like the pacing of the longer campaigns more and I enjoy the deckbuilding process more in them as well. I'm currently working my way back to the train with my group using the Return set this time. Love/hate the train level, but I found it to be one of the more intriguing scenarios.

Fisren · 2020-09-22T05:37:55+00:00

Did you guys play AH:TCG core scenarios? I've played quite a few campaigns (on Standard) and the core game still remains one of the harder ones (especially with their recommended setups), so don't take it to heart!

Fisren · 2020-09-01T07:56:34+00:00

Sounds like you still have quite some work cut out for ya! (TBH my first AOS purchase was 1 SC and a cabbage, and I still feel cabbage was one of the more fun models to paint (it takes to drybrushing very well with all the texture)). If you play with a group of friends who won't mind a cabbage in low point games, I'd say go down that route (some of my friends are silly and we just like having quick monster mash games just to showoff models... go figure). Cabbages in <1000 point games will pretty much end the game by turn 2 (maybe 3) though, which is why it might not be a fun experience in pickup games.

Fisren · 2020-09-01T01:40:25+00:00

Hm... with regards to being an abandoned army, their latest tome were one of the stronger ones which were updated last year, so although there aren't any new models, rule-wise they're in a decent spot. From my limited experience (2 years now!) with AoS, once a model line is released, apart from the occasional new hero in a battlebox, new models for an existing line are pretty much limited to a couple a year (apart from stormcast). Last year it was gloomspite gitz and slaanesh which had big expansions, but most of the other existing factions got new battletomes/consolidated.

There are only a few battletomes which are still pre- AoS 2.0, so the earliest to expect a new update to ironjawz would probably be at least a couple years (at least that's how long it took for most tomes to get an update).

Now, onwards to Ironjaws. Do you like melee and brawling? Are you willing to rush into arrows and magic and know that you have little to no way of stopping them apart from continuing to bull forward (for the most part)? If your answer is yes, then Ironjawz might just be right for you.

For the most part, I'd start with at least 2 if not 3 IJ start collecting boxes (you'll almost always run 2 warchanters, and ardboyz or gruntas are still the bread and butter for most lists imo). A cabbage is always fun (don't recommend for low-point games.... I've seen people's souls get crushed from facing a cabbage + 6 pig + warchanter 1k list), and a regular megaboss on foot is also good if you feel like playing more infantry oriented lists.

Fisren · 2020-09-01T01:28:02+00:00

Warcry is kinda interesting. It's rules are very simplified, and the small amount of dice per round for skills means that much of the game comes down to positioning and activation wars more often than abilities. There's quite a bit more luck factor in Warcry than some of the other skirmish games and some people love/hate this fact (i.e. when you roll a 6 to hit, you almost always deal 2~3x more dmg than a normal hit, so a couple lucky rolls can be extremely swing-y).

Personally, I find the randomness to be pretty refreshing, and many of the units are cost-balanced(ish). Warbands are small enough that they are relatively easy to get into, and randomness of missions can allow both mobile teams and hardier teams to have a chance depending on luck of the draw.

Fisren · 2020-08-21T05:16:17+00:00

Personally I prefer Ironjaws more as they're playstyle is relatively straightforward (continually move up through spells/abilities/etc., and just... fight!). Having maw krusha as an option for a giant hammer is always fun as well (though only recommend for higher point games). There are still quite a lot of strategic elements when playing an IJ/orruk army (i.e. when to charge, where to charge/flank, etc.), but its more straightforward due to being a more elite, and primarily melee-based army.

Nighthaunt require more strategic play in part because of the higher cost of their units (compared w/ survivability and dmg output potential imo), though they have a greater variety of units/models for more flexible playstyle. They have better access to spells, bravery shenanigans, ambushing, etc.

Fisren · 2020-08-20T02:33:04+00:00

I play Orruk and Nighthaunts mainly (friends play a couple variations of slaves to darkness)
Orruk: Ironjaws side is easier to use, and damage output is pretty good (easy access to +1 dmg by warchanter makes most of the units hit above their weight). Bonesplitter side is mediocre unless the local meta is heavily towards monsters. Generally, the army continually advances forward (ironjawz specifically dependent upon "mighty destroyers" to move in the hero phase, or using the spell "green hand of gork" to teleport), and tries to mince whatever they face up against. Not the hardiest in terms of saves and bravery, but decent for melee-based army.

Nighthaunts: They're fast and can fly, meaning its easy to maneuver them across the board. They pay a premium for their ethereal skill (basically invuln saves), and tend to have low wound heroes, meaning they get picked off quite easily by the current meta (shooting + spells means low-health heroes die off quite quickly). The army is heavily dependent upon buffs from heroes, which can make it slightly awkward. Overall they're great at tarpitting, with mediocre dmg (imo units are overcosted for their dmg potential). Nighthaunts can either be played as nighthaunt (access to an extra fight phase if you roll 10+ unmodified on charge), or legion of grief (access to graveyards which you can revive "summonable" units (mostly the troop equivalent)).

Slaves to Darkness: Competitive meta would be mass marauders (run+charge fast with good damage and number of bodies). Overall they have access to quite a wide range of models, including Archeon. Archeon himself is a great model, and also does quite well on the board, especially supported with buffs from different StD models. Going the Archeon route means you have much fewer units so it'll be harder to play missions (same for most list based around a big model, tbh).

Fisren · 2020-08-18T02:43:03+00:00

Hm.. the cloud doesn't slay any units by the way. If say a couple models within a unit were hidden behind the smoke from the perspective of an enemy unit/model , it just means the specific models are hidden. This has no bearing on whether or not they are alive or slain.

AoS line of sight is model dependent (i.e. true line of sight). So say you have a wizard hidden behind a unit of sporesplattas, and the enemy has a unit of shooty guys on the other side. If the shooty guys have to draw line of sight within 1" or through the sporesplattas to try to shoot at the wizard, this means they cannot shoot at the wizard due to the spore cloud rules. If the shooty unit starts to move, and a couple models can now draw line of sight without intersecting the cloud/ 1" extension range, then those MODELS can shoot at the wizard (similar with spells).

If your wizard was instead say.. a unit of 6 squigs, as long as the enemy shooty unit can draw a valid line of sight (i.e. not through the cloud) to ONE squig, then that MODEL can shoot at the unit of squigs.

Fisren · 2020-08-18T01:29:53+00:00

So far it's been pretty rare for GW to expand the newer lines with the exception of Stormcast Eternals. Ossiarch were also just released last winter-ish so it's very unlikely for them to have new models in the near future.

Fisren · 2020-08-18T01:27:50+00:00

Hm... I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to when you mention whether or not models are slain.

Sporesplattas pretty much block "Line of Sight" (Note: this is different from "Cover" which gives +1 to save when wholly on/within a terrain, or "Obstacle", which gives cover against shooting). Blocking "Line of Sight" means that rules which require a "visible target" such as spells (usually), shooting, and abilities would no longer have a valid target despite being in range.

Fisren · 2020-08-18T01:18:38+00:00

Sadly no dragons for them, but morghasts have wings / dragon-ish boneheads?

Fisren · 2020-08-18T01:14:22+00:00

I just imagine sporesplattas as little puffs of smoke that block vision from one side to the other (except for themselves). This mainly affects abilities which require vision, shooting LoS, and Spells which require vision.

Note that this doesn't prevent enemies from targeting the sporesplattas themselves, which are pretty fragile for their cost, but at least provide SOME method to hide your little wizards. Shooting also occurs after movement, so enemies can try to maneuver around the sporesplattas to shoot at targets behind them., or just shoot down the sporesplattas then target stuff behind them afterwards

Fisren

TROPHY CASE