Tournament Tuesdays: Preparing for the UG&G Team Tournament – Part One

In a couple of weeks, Ernie and I will be attending the team tournament being held at Unique Gifts and Games. Unique Gifts and Games is a nice store in Grayslake, IL that is known to host all kinds of gaming tournaments and leagues. It has been a few years since I have been to the store, so I am eager to visit. Unlike our last attempt at attending a team event, I am sure this one is going to happen, so I am very excited to be getting out for a day.

At the time of writing this post, the rules for the team tournament are pretty basic. Each team member is allowed 750 points and may not share their points with their partner. When I signed up, the person on the phone took my email address and informed me that a complete set of rules would be sent out shortly. I will post complete rules once they become available.

When it came to deciding which armies to use, there were really only two options for Ernie and me. The first option was for both of us to bring our IG armies. A nice idea, but we didn’t feel that each of could field what we wanted in our respective forces. This lead to the second option, Mean and Green! Mean and Green is the nickname for our team when Ernie fields his orks and I bring the daemons. We originally planned on bring M&G to a tournament last year, but since that one was cancelled, the only experience we have had with the combined force is from a single practice game. Fear not though, for Ernie and I are master tacticians and have begun to formulate a plan! Okay, it’s more like a strategy to avoid coming in last place, but that still counts as a plan.

While I have not finalized a list, a couple choices are pretty much decided for me already. My mandatory troop choices will be bloodletters and horrors. The horrors are my first wave troops and intended to anchor where other forces in my army will land. In comparison, the bloodletters are meant to deal with the 3+ save units that the horror’s shooting cannot deal with effectively. In the games I have played with them, I have found the combination to work well, so I tend to stick with it. At this point, I have ~400 points spent on two units.

When it comes to the other 350 points, Ernie and I will need to talk some more about what he is fielding. Depending on what Ernie brings, I may need to select units that will fill flaws in our combined force. As I write this article, one flaw that we need to fill is how to deal with AV13/14. In the game we played against a space wolf/necron team, a monolith was our undoing as we lacked any effective method of taking off the board. I have a few thoughts on what I can add to my army, but Ernie and I need to talk a little more before I make a final decision.

Next Week: The Final Lists

Fantasy Thursdays: Preparing for Vanguard - Part Three

The Cursed Company is one of the more fluffy units in the DoW list; an undead regiment with the ability to fill its ranks thru combat. I have heard that this unit is the ultimate tarpit and while I don't think it is the "ultimate" tarpit, I do think it can serve that role.

The Cursed Company has one of largest set of special rules for any of the RoR units. The majority of these rules are simply the standard rules that would be found in the VC army book. The unit causes fear and is immune to psychology. It takes additional wounds if it loses in combat and crumbles if the champion (Richter) is killed. Moving past the basics of being undead, the unit has a few rules that really allow for it to be a solid tarpit. The first rule is called “Join us in damnation”. Basically, every 1 wound model that is killed by the Cursed Company in close combat becomes an additional skeleton in the regiment. If it was only normal skeletons swinging back, I wouldn’t put much stock in the rule, but the addition of Richter and his sword Blight makes a big difference.

Blight is a magical weapon that confers a +1 strength bonus to Richter and gives him the killing blow special rule. This means that Richter is swinging with a WS 5 on 3 strength 5 (4 + 1) attacks. Typically this means that against any infantry, Richter should be generating 1 or 2 skeletons each turn of combat. Not a lot, but enough to slow down any unit forced into combat with the regiment. To keep him in the combat, Richter has heavy armour, a shield, and the Dark Gem of the Cursed which grants a 4+ ward save. Again, his stats are nothing that will slow down a powered up lord character, but they are enough to make him very solid against most standard infantry.


While the Cursed Company sounds really good, there are a few things about it that will make most players think twice about fielding it. The first thing is the cost of the regiment. At slightly over 300 points for 10 models, the regiment is very expensive just to field. The model count can be bumped up, but at 10 points per basic skeleton, the cost only gets more prohibitive the larger the regiment. The next issue with the unit is that it takes a special slot in a DoW army, and a rare slot in other armies. The combination of these two things leads me to believe that outside of casual play and weirdos like myself, most players are not going to place this regiment in a competitive list.

When it came to painting my Cursed Company, I decided to use a combination of the original RoR models with skeletons from the newer VC kit. I would have used the original Richter model, but years of abuse results in a model that requires more TLC than I want to spend at the moment. Maybe after Vanguard, I will revisit the model.

When it comes to the color scheme, I like the contrast between the bone, pseudo-NMM, and purple. I am especially pleased with the standard, as it was my second attempt at doing freehand. At this point I need to finish the shields and paint the movement tray, but that is work I plan on doing with other units.



My strategy for Vanguard is to castle and rely on my ranged attacks to diminish enemy forces before they hit my lines. In that context, I plan on using the Cursed Company to protect my flanks and push forward into enemy units that threaten my lines. I know my plan is very flawed, but considering the nature of the Cursed Company and my stubborn determination to include it, I need to have an idea how it will be used. I am sure that playtesting will help me hammer out how best to use the unit within my army.

In Two Weeks: Dogs of War Crossbowmen

Stuff for Sale - Wednesday Edition

More stuff hitting the web for purchase today. For any of the items listed below, I will cover the cost of shipping if you live in the lower 48 states (USA). Hawaii, Alaska, or international, I will still charge the cost of shipping based on weight and your mailing address.

If interested in any of the items listed, please email me at equinox999equinox@yahoo.com.

Tyranids
Codex Tyranids (new edition) $18.00 (excellent/near mint condition)
Lictor (primed/basecoated) $15.00
Space Hulk Genestealer sprues (minus broodlord) $30.00

Beastmen
Beastmen Army - The army includes the units pictured, plus a bag of gors/ungors on magnetized bases (fair condition), 1 new in blister Minotaur w/ GW, 2 minotaurs with 2 hw (Good condition), some more centigors (fair condition), and a beastmen chariot unassembled and missing the rider bitz. $65.00

Beastmen Armybook (new edition) $18.00 (excellent/near mint condition)
Avatars of War Minotaur w/ great weapon (new in blister) $25.00

I still also have the following items for sale. AGain, I will waive the cost of shipping if the items are being mailed to an address in the USA (lower 48).

Items for Sale:
5 Brand New Fleshhounds - $30.00
1 Brand New Fleshhound Special Character (Karanak) - $15.00
Chaos Dwarf Earthshaker (NiB, OOP) - $30.00
1 Brand New Forgeworld Khorne Daemon Prince (Only Prince) - $50.00
5 Screamers of Tzeentch - $35.00
10 Bloodletters of Khorne (New on sprues) - $15.00
2 Fiends of Slaanesh - $16.00 each
5 Horrors of Tzeentch (New, flash removed, never painted) $15.00
5 Chaos Furies (New) $12.50
1 NiB Genestealer Brood - $17.00

The Wednesday Peek

Last Week's Peek...

This Week's Peek...

The Rival List for 05/01/2010

10. Bay Hammer
Can't go another week without finding one good post involving blood angel models.

9. Four-Color Figures
Very nice ork kill team. I so want to build/paint a kill team army and this post is making that desire stronger.

8. The Old West Chronicles
One of the things I admire about Dean's work is how quickly he can get stuff painted that looks really good on the table. His trygon prime is yet another example of his skill.

7. The Grumpy Stunty
A nice salamander apothecary

6. The Winds of Magic
Nice to see some Tomb King models.

5. Arcadia Prime
Interesting special character rules for a unique tau conversion.

4. Andrath's Wargaming Blog
While not GW models, I really like the painting on these figures.

3. Spear of Russ
The blonde hair and green clothing is what caught my eye. A great test model.

2. Dark Future Games
Crisp painting on this inquisitor with a nice scheme that deviates from the usual red and silver.

1. 2nd City Warzone
Amazing work on 3 Angels of Absolution models. Of the three, the dreadnought is what caught my eye and earned the number one spot this week.