Slow Grow League Announced @ Connection Games

Local Press Ganger PG_Geist (aka Geist) has announced a slow grow league at Connection Games on Renfrew.  His announcement is posted on vancouvergamers.com and is re-posted here for those who are not wanting to click through.

Geist sez:

Shattered Grounds game report – Strakhov vs Bethayne in King of the Hill

Having missed an opportunity to play on Wednesday, I headed out to Connections on Renfrew intent on finding an opponent. When I arrived there was a game being set up between Ryan and Ben.  Ben has been on a bit of a tear with “Darth” Stryker (aka Lord Commander Stryker), so Ryan was predicting doom for whichever of his merc casters he was sending off to the gallows. Right next to them was Stephen, with his Legion arrayed before him, who jumped at the chance to kill some poor defenceless Khadorans. We threw down some terrain and ended up with a large rectangular hill (with obstructions on either end) in the middle.  Each player had a small 4″x6″ forest on his left and an obstruction on his right.  The obstruction near my end was a small thatch roofed hut.  My opponent had a small fountain on his side.

The lists:

I had decided I wanted to play Strakhov earlier this week, but had not actually gotten around to building a list with him.  I frantically started pulling models out of my case, burrowing down until I hit Assault Kommandos at the bottom.  Here is what I ended up with:

• Kommander Strakhov (-6 pts)
• * Torch 10 pts
• * Destroyer 9 pts
• * War Dog 1 pt
• Assault Kommandos, full, 8 pts
• * 2 x Flame Throwers 2 pts
• Greylord Ternion 4 pts
• Kossite Woodsmen, min, 4pts
• Man-o-war Demo Corps, min, 6pts
• Man-o-war Shocktroopers, min, 6pts
• Widowmakers 4pts
• Widowmaker Marksmen 2pts
• Total 56 pts

I’d like to lie and say that I had a totally awesome reason for choosing each and every model, but I was literally plunking down models until I ran out of points.

My opponent had a bunch of magic-enabled legion models, leaving me to ponder just how bad Bethayne’s feat turn would end up being.  Here is his list:

• Bethayne (-3 pts)
• * Belphagor 0 pts
• * Carnivean 11 pts
• * Seraph 8 pts ** league model
• 2 x Shredder @ 2 pts ea = 4 pts
• Stinger 2 pts
• Blackfrost Shard 5 pts
• Blighted Nyss Hex Hunters, full, 8 pts
• * Bayal, Hound of Everblight 3 pts
• Blighted Nyss Raptors, full, 10 pts
• The Foresaken 2 pts
• Total 53 pts

(more…)

Spectating at Connection Games

I went down to Connection Games after work today to try and find an opponent for a league game, but I ended up the odd man out just when I arrived.  I got into spectating a game between Lawless Monk and a new player who had recently picked up some Skorne. As I got wrapped up in their game, I let a few opportunities to find an opponent slip by, so I was obviously content where I was.

The lists were a Skorne warpack (Morghoul, Titan Gladiator and twin Cyclops Savage), a Cyclops Brute and a unit of Immortals vs  Lawless Monk’s Borka, a Dire Troll Mauler, an Axer, a unit of Fennblades with attachment, Fell caller and a scribe-guy.

Lawless Monk very kindly put up with my repeated coaching of the new player (Craig…?  Crap – I got him to tell me his name twice and still forgot.  We’ll call him Mr. C), as he was having a few issues with the order of things.  Even though I wasn’t playing, it was actually pretty cool to watch someone pick up the mechanics and even some of the subtleties pretty well in just his second game.  Obviously Mr. C was no rookie gamer, but still, he was directing order of operations pretty well mid-way through the second turn.  Lawless Monk played pretty loose, such as popping Borka’s feat early when he was pretty sure things were at the limit of his range and just generally running models into the middle to make it a big hairy mess without worrying too much about getting the most out of his surprisingly nasty list.  Side note: Holy crap!  If I end up facing Fennblades, I’m going to remember they are crazy-go-nuts fast.  Particularly with Borka’s feat.

Watching (and coaching – sorry Lawless Monk!) also reminded me that while I’ve been frustrated with playing Hordes, Morghoul with a whole whack of beasts is pretty awesome. The game was a lot of back and forth, plenty of tough rolls were made – I think the trolls were running about 60% success near the end… Even with two units with vengeance on the table, there were plenty of whiffs, knockdowns etc.  A highlight was when the mauler charged from outside Morghoul’s feat area into it, hit the Gladiator with both attacks and the chain attack and successfully heaved the hephalump at Morghoul who was chilling by a rock column.  Another was when two cyclops with three fury each still made their frenzy checks despite Morghoul screaming at them to get angry.  Lots of chills, thrills and spills.

As I didn’t get a game in, I ended up leaving the store a little early and getting home in time to put a little work in on the Man-o-war shocktroopers.  I have the two grunts almost fully basecoated with just black trim on the shoulder pads and cleanup to do, then I can get to the red overcoat.  The leader needs a bit more work to get up to the same state as the others, but the unit is progressing all right.  The models will end up being pretty rough in some areas, but any colour on the models is better than none, right?  I mave a lot of bare metal to cover before I worry too much about the quality of my workmanship.  However, I have convinced myself to paint my second unit of Shocktroopers while they are still in pieces.

I’m thinking I will try and get a game in on Saturday. My itch to roll dice has not yet been scratched this week and the urge to order soldiers and warjacks to die for the motherland is rising.

Shattered Grounds 2011: Windless Wastes @ Connection Games Renfrew

Heads up Warmachiners, the Shattered Grounds leagues are back for 2011.  PG Geist has put out a call on the vancouvergamers.com forum with some information about how you can come out and participate in the action at Connection Games‘ Renfrew location.  For those too lazy to click the link to Geist’s post, I will reproduce his missive below:

Tour 1 of the 2011 league season takes place in the Windless Wastes, where Khador, Cygnar, and Pirate forces square off. Each player that participates in the league will receive a unique Windless Wastes rank insignia patch. As the 2011 Shattered Grounds leagues continue, each participating player will receive another rank insignia patch that adds to the prior patches to form a higher rank.

The league runs from Monday Feb 7th  to Sunday March 6th. So come on down on Wedensday evenings until 9pm or all day Sunday from 11am -6pm for confirmed table space for warmachine gaming at connection games on Renfrew.

People are able to get in games any other day of the week but please be mindful of other players and remember that we are sharing the space on other days.

Important date: Saturday March 5th –  Magic the Gathering: Mirrodin Besieged Gameday
Therefore there may be no space or limited gaming space available for Warmachine on this Saturday.  Please call on the 5th to confirm space availability if you plan to come in.

For more information on windless wastes go to:

http://privateerpress.com/organized-play/leagues/windless-waste

Here you will find Images of the League coin that goes to the top ranking player,  The rank insignia patch that everyone gets for participating in the leagues,  as well as the rules for shattered grounds and windless wastes.

There are also special cards for this season that replace the units normally available so make sure to check those out as they present some new and varied options for your force!

I look forward to seeing everyone over the course of this league, be they new players or veterans returning to the leagues!

See you there!

-Lucas Smith
PG Geist

I’m looking forward to getting some more HordesMachining in, as I missed a lot of the league action in the last half of 2010.  If you’re looking to set up an opponent, head on over to The Connection section of vancouvergamers.com and post up!

Easter Weekend Gaming at Connections – part 2

This post is more than a little late, so I will keep it brief. The start of the Shattered Grounds league as well as other types of gaming (and work too) kept me from finishing this post up in a timely manner. The group of six or so that showed up on the Friday holiday was outdone by the larger group that showed up on Saturday, April 3rd.  There were gamers there that I had not seen in quite a long while, as well as some I had never met.  Connection Games 2 filled up throughout the day, which was cool to see.  I took a few notes on other games but am not sure the results of most, so I’ll stick to the games I played.
(more…)

Easter Weekend Gaming at Connections – report part 1

As promised, I have just taken place in a couple of solid days of Warmachine and Hordes gaming.  This post will focus on the game I played on Friday, April 2nd, with a couple of mentions to other action that went down.

Friday saw a middlin’ size group of us show up to throw down.  Old stalwarts Dylan and Trolland showed up ready for battle.  A few players new to Warmachine also ventured forth:  rancidtwinkie, gds23 and lorenz.  If there was anyone else that showed up for a game, I must have been distracted by the carnage on the table in front of me. (more…)

Open Gaming at Connections 2 During Easter Weekend

Hi all! Those who follow the Vancouver Gamers Warmachine & Hordes and Connections sub-fora may already be in the know, but for those who might have missed the posts…

A bunch of the Vancouver WM/H crowd, including myself, will be out at Connections 2 (google map link) Friday April 2nd to play as many 15 pt games as we can. There will be people there starting just after noon. As Friday at 6pm is the normal Magic: The Gathering day, table space will become limited starting around then.

Saturday April 3rd, will see some folks out for more games – most likely at the 35 pt level. There will be a mix of grimy veteran and sparkling new players trying to learn the ropes, so don’t be shy.  On Saturdays, Connections 2 opens at 11:00, with some early-birds aiming for around then to start.

I will try and take notes during my games (or any that I spectate) and post up some battle reports later during the long weekend.

The Connections post Nightfall details

The Connections have posted details of their Shattered Ground Nightfall League.

“Nightfall” takes place in the northern expanse of the sharde islands comprising Garlghast island and the smaller neighboring islands across the Dying Strands. It is a region fully embraced by Toruk’s blight, where even pirates and traders begin to feel the dragon’s taint after any degree of regular exposure.

Info: The Shattered Grounds League introduces new concepts into league play. The online League Map makes each of your battles count towards your faction controlling key parts of the areas we are fighting over. The Battle Journal is a personalized war journal for you to keep track of your Commendations throughout the 2010 year. Stratagems are abilities unlocked by earning Commendations in league play and are available for all sorts of things. Lastly, Season Models replace regular units in your armies with characterful special units with unique abilities related to each league.

Dates: The Nightfall League will run from April 6th until May 1st and games may be played any day of the week as long as there is room. On days other than Warmachine days (Saturdays) please call ahead to make sure we have room for you and definitely organize your opponents before coming down.

Check out their post on Vancouver Gamers for more details.