Hail Caesar - First Impressions

I received my copy of Hail Caesar in the mail yesterday.  I'm still working my way through it but from what I've read so far, I like it.  This book does not take itself too seriously.  The rules appear to be common sense and reasonable.  The central premise is that these rules are for friends to sit around a play a reasonable game together, not for tournament play.  I enjoy tournaments every now and again, but week to week, I play for both myself and my opponent to have a good time.

On first read through, these rules look like they may deliver what I'm looking for.

Battle Report - Harad vs Galadrim - Again

The ongoing grudge match between Harad and Lothlorien continued tonight.  I got to Collectormania early.  Jonathan showed up a bit later and, yet again, we were left with only each other to play against.  Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy playing against Jonathan, he's a great opponent and our games are always nail biters.  It's just that, if you look at the bat reps on this site, you'll see that we play each other more than anyone else.

Now that the league is over we are firmly into the new "Warbands" era, leaving "Legions" behind for good.  This means a new meta-game.  All armies, in the local group, have gotten smaller.  We are, mostly, still trying out new lists and making our first purchases of new models, mainly heroes.

Jonathan's list was Rumil, an archer captain and a mounted captain.  Rumil had his phalanx, spears and pikes, though smaller than under Legions.  The archer captain was leading, oddly, eight archers.  The knight captain had four knights, two with bows and six sword and spear elves.  My list is pretty much the levy of Kharna list.  The Betrayer, Haradrim King, Taskmaster, Chieftan, one Warrior of Abrakhan with horn, six Abrakhan guards, twelve haradrim with spears and eighteen warriors of Kharna with bows.  This gives me eighteen shots hitting on threes with poison re-rolls on a third of the dice (1-2).  With the points for the Kharna upgrade I could add five more models.  So far, in four games, the upgrade seems to be worth the points.  We'll see how it works out in the long run.

Initial Deployment.  The Taskmaster's ill fated band is behind the ruins to the left.  You can see the hornblower.

Painting and bases

I have completed another eight Haradrim.  Sadly I had eight more spears mostly done, which I won't need in my current list under Warbands.  This group is six archers and the final two spears.  I believe that puts me at eight models for February, which means I need to step it up if I'm going to get twenty done this month.

I'm painting all of these to basic table top standard.  I'll go back later and clean them up, fixing the capes, working on the faces and adding a few simple hightlights (all my skills will allow, simple).

The latest recruits to the army.  I have to figure out how to take better pictures.

More games with the new rules

I got two more games in with the new "Warbands" rules today.  I was playing against my cousin, who I am trying to get into the game.  He has played a few times, enough to remember most of the rules.  It has probably been a year since our last game though.

Both of us liked the changes.  I gave him my Gondor army.  Faramir, Cirion, Damrod and a captain.  He had 46 models, 14 rangers.  It was his first time playing something other than Isengard, which is the army I usually start new people out with.

He liked the new deployment rules.  He liked the scenarios.  I like everything about the changes except for being forced to take so many heroes and the nerf to my Mahud.  Overall, I can live with the changes and they seem to be transparent to new players.  With all of the attention that LotR should get this year that means we should have a lot of new players around.  Here's hoping.

Battle Report - Harad vs Galadrim (Warbands)

This last Thursday was the last night of the league down at Collectormania.  Only Jonathan and I showed up to play, and he was about to leave when I walked in, twenty minutes late.  He suggested that we try the new warband composition rules.  I threw together a list and off we went.

The Galadrim were led by Rumil, who is the default choice of all Galadrim players.  He was asssisted by two captains, one mounted.  There were the usual five knights (2 with bows), the phalanx and the archers.  He had 36 models total, though we discovered later that he had been playing two short.

My list was the serpent's sting list from the blog.  I was able to look it up on my phone and just copy it to paper.  I wanted to test the Haradrim Warriors of Kharna with their shoot of 3 accompanying the Betrayer with his poison re-roll on a 1-2 instead of a 1.  In the interests of full disclosure, I went into this game expecting the 2 point upgrade for Kharna warriors to not be worth it.

We rolled Lords of Battle as the scenario.  Cause as many wounds as you can.  Points for expended fate as well.  Once one side is broken, roll a d6 every turn and the game ends on a 1-2.  The new scenarios have alternating deployment, which we both liked.  Coupled with the fact that, on average, half of your army will be in the forward half of the board it gets the game rocking sooner and adds some additional tactics during the deployment phase.

Initial Deployment.

Here is the Galadrim Phalanx, led by Rumil with the archers off to the left.

More thoughts on Warbands vs Legions

In the local club (I don't actually think we have a name yet) we have been discussing the new army books for Lord of the Rings SBG.  The first thing we had to determine is what we are going to call these.  The old rules were called Legions because we had to use Legions of Middle Earth to guide our composition.  We have finally decided to call these rules Warbands, since that is the most obvious concept that they are built around.

The next article of discussion is the size of armies that will be needed under the new rules.  There was an immediate, and widespread, rush to argue that 700 points will have to be the new standard.  I have been leaning towards staying at 600, though that is a fairly arbitrary amount as well.

I wrote up a post in our forum (here) about this and decided that it was something I wanted to capture on this blog as well.

I agree that 600 points is feeling pretty good to me. The new Warbands construction rules actually force theme better than the LoME rules did. You can still take that hero that doesn't really fit your army, but you are paying a premium for the privilege. If you just have to have Durin in your Gondor force then you are going to have to make some sacrifices. From a theme standpoint, this is not a bad thing.

It also makes horde armies smaller, with the exception of goblins and hobbits. I'm less happy about this. I like having a bunch of crappy dudes on the table and kicking that elite warband's arrogant teeth down their throats. Oh well. I'll just have to adjust.

You can still bring a pricey hero. The trade off is still there. It's just when you try to bring a pricey hero who is not thematically linked to your army that you get hammered on the points. I'm actually ok with that. I'd prefer that the min/max math hammer stay in 40k and Warhammer and LotR be about the story. For me, and this is certainly only my opinion, the point of a skirmish game is the story that's being told. The reason I like LotR is because I started in the books and want to play them out on the tabletop, not because I'm looking for a generic fantasy skirmish game.

All in all, it's actually a pretty elegant way of controlling what players bring. We can all choose to bring the big heroes but there are appropriate penalties in place when we break the paradigm of the stories. I'm less pleased that I have to buy some new models and get them painted as well as retiring others that I have worked so hard on. On the other hand those old guys are already forming the core of new armies, in my mind at least.

So what we have with Warbands is certainly an adjustment.  My Faramir, Captain of Ithilien doesn't even exist in the new rules.  I can take Faramir and tool him up for the story or purpose I want him for, but the guy I built my Gondor army around is gone.  I can move on from that.  In many ways, Gondor is the least affected army because they have a couple 25 point heroes that you can throw in and lead Warbands. 

My Harad list is more affected.  My base troops are more expensive.  1st blow against numbers.  Bob the Budget Nazgul is no longer viable since I won't spend 90 points on a hero who can't lead a warband.  I can use a thematically correct Nazgul instead.  He costs 30 points more.  Another blow against numbers.  My Mahud are now just another slightly different flavored warrior option.  They are a lot cheaper.  Here's where I can make some points back.  Coolly themed upgrades to tweak how normal warriors play.  Those eat into points too.  I'll have to see if they are worth it.  Right now I'm thinking they are not but I'm going to give it a shot, just to see my opponent's face when I tell him I have 18 Elvish equivalent archers with poison on a 1&2.  Suck it Galadrim!

I'm reconciling myself to the changes, though I'll always regret the loss of my Mahud.  We're in for some fun times for the next two or three years.

Historicals

I majored in history in college.  Military history.  I love it.  My parents are both PhD Historians.  I've never played or collected a historical game or model.

I think I've been intimidated by the choices.  Too many scales, rules, eras.  Where to begin?  Will I have someone to play with?  Because I haven't had the answers to these questions I have held off on taking the leap.  I've read the blogs.  I've leafed through the rules books and read reviews online.  I've looked at models from different eras and manufacturers.  I've avoided making any kind of commitment for years.

I've finally made a decision.  I've ordered Hail Ceasar.  I'll read through the rules.  If they look good then I'll be picking up one of the great deals on Romans from Warlord Games.  I'll probably add some Celts.  I don't know that I'll have anyone to play against but I've taken the first steps.

I'm also interested in Black Powder, several sets by TooFatLardies as well as Very Civile Actions from the Perfect Captain, for ECW.  I'll probably be buying several sets of rules this year.

I'm looking forward to this.  We'll see how it goes.

Battle Report - Harad vs Gondor and Dwarfs

The Thursday night league at Collectormania has come and gone and I got in another fun and interesting game.  I was there early and Micah showed up.  I haven't gotten to play him yet so we agreed on a game.  600 points using the old composition rules but he, kindly, agreed to my request to play one of the new scenarios.  We divided our armies up between our heroes, to serve as our warbands.

This is turn two.  You can see each of the warbands in action.  Boromir and the two Knights are just visible behind the wood, top right.

The Knights and rangers battling the Mahud.  Almost everyone in this picture was dead by the end of the game.

Anticipation

I've been list building this week.  In addition to the Harad lists I posted up I've come up with lists for Gondor, Rohan, Isengard, Grey Company and Aragorn and the army of the dead. 

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that at 600 points most lists are going to be between 30 and 40 models.  Despite my reservations about the new format, which I'm putting behind me in the interests of mental health, I'm looking forward to playing with the new lists.  I am really liking the ability to customize basic warriors now. 

New Army List VI - Levy of Kharna II

 After some more thought, this might be a better list than the first Levy of Kharna.  I was having a hard time giving up on my Mahud at that point.  This doesn't have the Betrayer but has a high model count and some actual hand to hand fighters.

New Army List V - The Serpent’s Sting

This list is designed to maximize the benefits of the Betrayer, since he is so many points.  I have the upgraded horn blower.   I have some hard hitting Abrakhan Guards and lots of Kharna bows.  The break point is a little bit lower than I would like, as with pretty much all of these armies.  The Haradrim are fragile, there's no getting around that.

New Army List IV - The Serpent Horde

This list is led by Suladan with his nice big 12" Standfast and extra Might.  It has  decent numbers, the upgraded horn blower and lots of Kharna bows.  It does not have the Betrayer's enhanced poison re-rolls and other goodness.  This is a more pure Harad list.

New Army List III - The Levy of Abrakhan

This list goes back down to fewer models but addresses some of the other issues.  The horn bearer is upgraded to a warrior of Abrakhan.  This gives him courage 4.  With his horn that is C5.  This makes it much less likely that he will run away, depriving my whole army of the +1C.  I have the betrayer and a fair number of bows but they are not upgraded to Kharna bows, so they will not make full use of his re-rolls as they will miss more often.  I'm more comfortable with this breakpoint though.  

New Army List II - The Levy of Kharna

This warband has a higher model count and lots of might.  It has good heroes and some tough models in Warband 1.  The rest is filler, with a couple of upgrades.  This list add in the horn.  The horn has paid for itself in every single game.  

Pros:  High model count, good shooting, decent break point. 

Cons:  No good way to deal with big nasties, it still includes the Mahud Warriors, who just don't seem like they are a good choice anymore.

New Army List I - The Betrayer’s Guard

I have been working on my Haradrim army lists using the new composition rules.  I'll post them here in separate posts.  There are some cool combinations with the new rules.  There are also some serious disappointments (I'm looking at you Mahud).  My model count goes way down, unless I'm just shooting for as many  models as I can by minimizing everything across the board. 

Four Month Plan II

My original plan, found here, is going to have to change a little bit.  The new source books change things a lot.  I'm going to have to react to that, so...

Goal 1:  Have my entire Harad army painted.  This is not going to be done by the end of the league as I have to figure out what my new army is likely to look like.  I'm not going to paint figures that will not be making it into the list, long term.  I'll keep working on spears and bows and Abrakhan Merchant's Guards, since I know they will be in the list.  The rest will have to wait.

Lord of the Rings Source Books - Initial Impressions

My initial impression - I don't like the changes but it's not game breaking and I think everything will be fine in the long run; except for Rohan, they are just as bad as before.

What I don't like:

1.  The Warbands rule.  You have to have a hero for every twelve warriors.  This forces smaller armies.  The hordes are pretty much dead.  There's nothing wrong with hordes.  It was a viable army build.  In return for more warriors you had fewer heroes.  Most factions don't have cheap heroes meaning a bunch of troops are going to have to be dropped to fit in the extra heroes.  This rule just takes away options from the player.  I'm not sure what problem GW was trying to fix with this.

Battle Report - Hard vs Galadrim

Last night was League night down at Collectormania again.  Rhys and I got there early and hung out for awhile.  We talked about the new books coming out this weekend.  We talked about what new models we are likely to see.  We talked about Russ's new orc models.  We watched Craig (Harad with a Mumak and Serpent Riders) play a game against Jonathan (Galadrim).  When that game was over I asked to get one.  I wanted to play Craig as I have not played him yet and I haven't played against a Mumak in years.  On the other hand Evil is behind in the League and I wanted the game to count.  I played Jonathan, which is not second best by any measure.  He is a great opponent and he has beaten me the last two times we played, both good reasons for a re-match.

The Changing Game

This weekend Games Workshop is finally releasing the stats for all of the LotR SBG models.  Sadly they are doing it in five books.  Happily, from my point of view, they are not changing the main rule book.

The good news is that I no longer have to carry around an arm full of White Dwarfs.  This is an eternal problem, as old as White Dwarf, but at least for awhile we will have everything we need in these five books.  This also means that Legions of Middle Earth is now irrelevant.  It's few uses are superseded by the new books.

Battle Reports

The week ended with a lot of gaming, too many for individual reports.  On Wednesday I got off work early and was able to meet up with Keith for a game.  We played Seize the camp.  Smaug went off on his, sadly, normal, solitary blood lust infused charge and chewed through my troops to get into my camp.  I was finally able to see him off with three Black Darts, after which I had to rush a third of my army across the table to get to the center where the remainder were facing off against the rest of the army, a bunch of Black Shields.  Keith thought the fight was over once the dragon was dead but he managed to drag it out for several turns and limit me to a Minor Victory.  As always against Keith, I had to think fast in this game.  I only win about a third of my games against him, one of the things I'd like to turn around this year.

Smaug Munching on Haradrim warriors

Smaug about to get Black Darted for the third time.  The Nazgul is in the forest, top right.