Morghast's Revenge

I finished up my second Morghast for my Grand Alliance of Death army.  In my first game, these guys did all my killing.  

I had a great time at the Lords of War Birthday celebration this past weekend.  We played a dramatic Mavel/DC megabattle.  Batman got tossed around like a rag doll between Superman and Groot, but he did emerge victorious in the end.  However that just got me pumped to do some more Batman stuff.

I was talking with Jay and Chris and we would like to build up the Batman/DC/Marvel (we can keep is going) community.  So if there is anyone reading this that would like to throw down with some Batman or Marvel/DCU give me a shout.  Even if you are new and have never played a game.  I would be happy to run you through a game!

I am going to start on the last 3 models I have for my original Joker Crew (Henchmen with axe, Mr Hammer and the Clown King himself).  However, first I decided to try making a piece of terrain to go with my Dark Circus table.  Here is a little preview.  

Kevin

Batgirl

Most recent on my painting block has been Batgirl.  Two challenging colours to paint, red and yellow.  I am comfortable painting red by now (so many Blood Angels), but I still hate yellow!  She is a simple model to paint, but the black/yellow contrast will pop nicely on the table top.

I don't know which sidekick I will use more often, Batgirl or Robin.  I like the thematic team up of Robin and Batman.  However I have never had great successes with Robin in the past.  I have not figured out exactly how to use him effectively.  The upgrade to his card which gave him "combo with BO" was nice. Having said that, with only a single stun damage with each attack, he has a hard time knocking out a simple henchman.  I do like his flash grenades and detective trait.  He did tend to get shot down part way though the game.

Batgirl on the other hand is fairly close to Robin.  They have identical stats with the exception that Batgirl has a higher movement.  She has "Combo with Unarmed" and produces a single stun damage.  They both have a "Batclaw".

There are a few things about Batgirl I like over Robin.  The "Stealth" trait keeps her a little more hidden, which will help avoid being shot up early on.  The "Informer" is nice (one addition pass a turn).  "Martial Artist" and "Sneak Attack" are OK for those times when avoiding hand to hand combat is unavoidable.  The "Batcape" is also good for dropping down onto objectives to reserve action counters.

The big selling point of Batgirl over Robin for me is, she is 9 reputation points cheaper and has a $0 Funding.  That is 3/4 of another foot cop and I can save the funding for upgrades and guns.  Only the table top with tell me which one I can rely on more.  

Kevin

I think I am going to go back to putting a quote as a sign off.  I always enjoyed that,

"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten" - Neil Gaiman, Coraline

Morghast Archai and "Alternative Rules"

I finished up the first of two Morghast Archai.  In one of my last posts I talked about the feeling of not knowing where to start on a model which leads to hesitation to paint it.  I definitely had that problem with the Morghast.  I had no idea where to begin on this model (at least I did not have to build it, thanks Zajac!).  I eventually decided to experiment with a quick bone colour.  I was happy with the result (my dry brushing skills are very rusty) and the rest of the model fell into place.

The base was a little frustrating.  I used an old grave marker to spruce up the base.  I wanted it to blend in better so I mixed some plaster and put a layer on the base.  Then I figured to toughen up the plaster, I would paint a thin coat of PVA glue on.  Everything looked great.  I painted the green and then put on a thin coat of Agrellan Earth.  It cracked great...except it pulled up the green base coat with it, so all you could see was the white plaster.  I guess the PVA made it too smooth for the paint really stick.  To fix this I put a thin coat of PVA glue and baking soda (I wanted some fine texture but not as coarse as sand) and did all the steps again.  It worked great the second time.

I even got to play my first game of Age of Sigmar against my old friend Ian and his dwarves.  It was a fun game.  It felt very equal all the way through.  Victory ebbed and flowed back and forth several times.  In the end the dwarves vanquished the rattling horde.

We realized part way through the game that we forgot to use many rules.  I like to think that we were just using "alternative rules".  Which are just a valid as "real" rules.  In fact I will go as far as to say they are superior; because if everyone is making rules up then no one is cheating.

The Boy Scout - Superman

I finished up the first of my DC Trinity this weekend, Superman.  I have never been a big Superman fan.  I did not grow up reading his stuff or watching any of his cartoons.  I just never found him a very intriguing character.  When a superhero can do practically anything that they want it is hard to build suspense and risk.  Now take that with a grain of salt, this is only the opinion of someone who never read his comics.

Having said all that, I do find Superman interesting when he is juxtaposed against Batman.  The boy scout (as Batman calls him) beside the The Caped Crusader.  Superman's optimistic outlook is great compared to the stark pessimistic realism of Batman.  It was great in the Dark Knight returns.  I especially enjoyed it in Justice League: Doom (Batman speech at the end was great).  Batman Noel, in which Superman takes on the role of the ghost of Christmas present and Batman Scrooge is particularly good.  The bright warm colours of Superman set to the cold dark grey of a sick Batman was astounding.    

Superman saw some action earlier this week.  I played a beginners' game of the DCU/Marvel against Chris at Lords of War Games.  He used his Dark Avengers starter vs my Justice League Trinity.  It was a very cool game.  Superman is a beast!  It is very difficult to hurt him with his resistance/2 (and an insane health bar).  Combine that with the ability to inflict 6 damage by overloading his "super punch" attack.  He is definitely worth his 18 level cost.  

Kevin

Bat-Fleck

I finished up the newest version of Batman yesterday, Ben Affleck Batman.  It is a simple model, but especially nice to paint.  I tried a few different ways to work up the black/grey to try and differentiate the body from the head/cape/gloves/boots. Then, I softened the grey with a a few thinned down stains of Nuln Oil.

When I heard that Ben Affleck was going to be Batman, I was pissed.  I had never been a big Affleck fan.  I thought he was OK in some of his movies but not great, and definitely not right for the role of Batman.

However, I said the same things about Heath Ledger, and boy was I wrong about that one.  I am not saying that Affleck's take on Batman was anywhere near as incredible as Ledger's Joker, but he was better than I expected.  

I don't think I have seen enough of Affleck's Bruce Wayne or Batman to make a full judgement, which is funny since he had a whole movie with Superman.  There was just so much going on in Batman V Superman to really focus on his portrayal.  I liked how he looked tired and just a little bit angry all the time though.

His cameo in Suicide Squad was fun (although they really should have just done a live action version of Assault on Arkham!).  I guess I will have to wait for Justice League and the eventual Batman stand alone to shore up my opinion.

I really want to try this Batman version out in a few games.  I honestly don't know which one I like more, compared with Arkham City Batman.  Arkham City Batman has total vision and remote controlled Baterangs, which are really fun!  Also the Martial Expert rule (CRTs on 4+!) is amazing.  Ben Affleck Batman on the other hand is really nice in close combat with Martial Artist (can't be outnumbered), Close Combat Master (re-roll to hit roles) and Sustained Defense ( 3 block dice for every 2 DC spent).  I guess it will be decided on the table top.

Kevin

Suicide Squad - Harley Quinn

I finished up the seventh member of my Suicide Squad yesterday, Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel.  Sometimes I get a model that I really want to paint.  The model is sculpted great, it is dynamic and has a lot of character.  I really want to do a good job on it.  But then I don't know where to start.  I end up delaying painting it, not knowing how to approach it.   I psych myself out and it sits on my shelf for several days (in this case a few weeks).  Suicide Squad Harley was one of those models for me.

I eventually decided to just block out the colours on the whole model.  Paint on the skin base colour.  Put on the initial red and blue on the clothes.  Paint the hair a yellow brown.  From there I just picked one part of the model and highlighted it.  Eventually the model was done.

This new version of Harley should be interesting.  She has the same physical stats as the classic costume Harley I painted last year.  Their hand to hand weapons are similar, but the new Harley does get a ranged attack with her "Hate/love Gun".

It is in her Personal and Special Traits that they differ.  The classic Harley can be a little faster (she has fast...) and does have a "reach" weapon with the 360° special attack (which will push everyone back, she can clear a room with one swing).  Both have Acrobat (great for objectives and getting to pesky people sitting on building tops).

The Squad Harley does have Confusion which is a better version on the other Harleys Distract.  I really like the new Harleys Combat flip rule.  It will make it very difficultly to surround her and block her path.  And the Voices special rule (Attack counters are wild cards) with the Suicide Squad Harley will be very useful.

I am looking forward to some games!
Kevin

Mini Gandalf and Bilbo

While waiting for layers of paint to dry on my last few models, I started on my first mini from the Battle of Five Armies box.  Mini Gandalf with mini Bilbo.  I had a blast painting this model.  There is a good amount of detail, especially for such a small model.  

coin for scale

While I am working on the last of my suicide squad guys, I think I will have to paint up some mini wood elf archers to keep an eye on Gandalf.  

Kevin