The Realm of Aqshy

  This past weekend the crew got together for a 3-way Age of Sigmar battle on the ashen wastes of the Brimstone Peninsula in the Realm of Aqshy.  We built our forces using the "Azyr Comp" system which enabled us to put together small armies of roughly equal value.  In the mix were Oggors, Orruks, and Aelfs with Sylvaneth allies.

 I used my old "Zuzzy" mat to reflect the scorched earth of the battlefield, along with some craters (one filled with bubbling blood), a Dreadstone Blight, and unique crater from 40K Planetfall which has magma coming up through a trench in the ground. 

  We used the basic rules from Triumph and Treachery to get our multi-player game going.  The system worked well, and with a little refinement will be perfect for future Age of Sigmar multi-player battles.

  The battle itself saw a stand-off between the Treelord and the Ironblaster, while on my corner my Savage Orcs were ripped to pieces by the Ogres and my warmachines were slaughtered by a Gorger (those poor little grots never had a chance!).  The River Trolls continue to be the mainstay of my army and bowled over the Ironguts in melee...which was no easy feat.  All told, I love having a greenskin army that isn't constantly hamstrung by animosity and stupidity!!

  Overall, the game was fun and will continue to challenge our generalship for months to come.  We have a limited grasp of the new core rules, but it takes alot of practice to appreciate the new war scrolls.  Units that used to be powerful in WFB (mainly because of an added hero or magic item) now must hold their own, ranges are different (the poor aelfs were out of range much of the game), and our expectations of a charge can be wildly different from the actual outcome.  Only once we've mastered our own armies will be able to start toying with new tactics for the game that become part of our group "meta."

  Next up we'll begin playing the scenarios from the big book, and likely try out a different comp system that allows greater flexibility of army building but also greater precision in points values.

Age of Sigmar - Gates of Azyr

While awaiting the first big campaign book for Age of Sigmar (hurry up FedEx!) I decided to read up on the new setting by purchasing The Gates of Azyr eBook ($8 download from The Black Library).  It was a quick read and did a great job developing the background of all the models in the Age of Sigmar boxed set while laying the foundation for the future of Age of Sigmar.

I won't bother with a full book summary, but I will say that The Gates of Azyr definitely gives off a vibe that is a clear departure from Warhammer Fantasy Old World and the writing of the End Times.  The End Times series slowly crushed the reader with the oppressive onslaught of Archaon and his horde, giving brief glimmers of hope for the forces of Order before seeing them snuffed out into oblivion.  The Old World was slowly torn apart as cities were razed, nations sunk, and millions consumed by bloodshed. 

However, in The Gates of Azyr, the apocalypse is already a distant memory, and the story focuses on the Realm of Ashqy (Fire), already controlled by Chaos.  "Normal" humans are few and far between, hunted like animals by the cannibalistic bloodreavers.  This wasteland setting seemed like a fantasy version of Mad Max / The Walking Dead / Planet of the Apes - and it really made me think of what life would be like on a world ruled by Chaos (not good!).  Further, the book added layers of personality to all miniatures in the box, my favorite being the Bloodreavers, who turned out far more interesting than the marauders of the Old World. 

Finally, The Gates of Azyr put Sigmar's warriors on the attack, and for the first time in an eternity I found myself rooting for "the good guys" after the past year of merciless beatings humanity took at the hands of Chaos. 

Overall, if you were on the fence about purchasing the Age of Sigmar boxed set, or just curious about what this new world is about, I think this simple $8 download is a great place to start.  Once you read the book you'll view the miniatures in the boxed set in a whole new light!

Bloodsecration of the Gaming Table

Spent the weekend testing out Age of Sigmar with the gaming crew.  None of us knew the rules, which made the 4 page rules set that much more appealing.  After all, I'd rather be painting or playing than studying rules (and drinking Jack and Coke like a wounded hero downing healing potions).  All 4 players slapped together some medium-sized forces from our collections, each with a different style.  The Wood Elf player and I both picked a smattering of models of all types so we could test out all the different kinds of units in the game.  I was able to add some gobbo woflboyz and a dark elf Kharibdyss to my ogres, which is something I always wanted to do but was "forbidden" by the old WFB game.  The Brettonians came with an old style of force of a couple massive units of peasants, a giant block of regular knights, and a handful of heroes.  The other ogre player brought the best of the best ogre units, with a few additions like a gorger that was rarely seen in WFB because, like a number of other "outflanking" forces, they rarely showed up to the battle on time (or ever). 

We split the battlefield in half, ogres vs wood elves in the background, ogres vs Brets in the foreground.

I put a little too much terrain out there, thinking it would be easier to move around with AoS rules.  With 2 games going on though, the table got cramped pretty fast.  

A brawl broke out in the center, with Ironguts and Knights of the Realm mashing each other, and wolfboyz vainly trying to assassinate the Brettonian BSB as the peasants rained arrowstorms down upon the ogres.  

In game 2 we switched opponents, and the Kharibyss made its debut, eventually rampaging among Wild Riders and Wardancers and eating their bones (and sustaining 11 wounds!)

  Overall I had a great time, and didn't keep track of turns.  Didn't even finish either of my games since I didn't really care about the results.  Gamewise, all I really remember was the Bretonnian general skewering my giant in a matter of seconds, the wood elf lord shooting my tyrant before the battle began (how rude!), and in all 4 games the Ironguts dealt some serious damage with their damage 3 weapons.

I think there can be some modifications to the AoS rules to clear up some confusion and make a little more sense of things.  Shooting into combat (including one you're in), the old "look out sir" for heroes so they aren't sniped off now that they can't hide in units, and perhaps a challenge system for hero duels.  We'll either make our own tweaks or borrow some from other gaming clubs.  Seeing the studio play some games should also clear up some confusion so we can better understand the intent behind some of the rules.

For casual play, a loose force org/comp guideline is good to keep players in the same ballpark for forces, though it seems that the "loser" in every game can still blame their failures on unbalanced forces rather than just enjoy the game itself.  I think scenario and objective play will clear up some of this problem, because the "pitched battle" type of game can seem pointless if the only objective is to table your opponent.  If the true objective is to have fun, then killing every single one of your opponent's models with a heavily favored force seems to detract from that objective.  However, with scenarios and objectives each player can claim moral victories and occupy their time with objectives other than killing every model. A game is better when both players come away having fun, not just the "winner."

Win, lose or draw, I'll still claim my own twisted victory ("yeah you killed my whole army, but I burned your sorceress alive like the witch she is!!") and have fun.  I do that in 40K already....I don't care if I get tabled so long as at least once per game I can go "pew pew pew" and blow up a tank.

The hardest part about AoS now is waiting for the new releases to come out so we can help the old WFB players make that mental leap into the Age of Sigmar, and stop living in the Age of Myth.  I'll keep playing my old stuff for now, but only until an AoS faction comes out that I really want to collect (Khorne and Eternals look awesome, but aren't my cup of tea).   
 
So, the battles are done, the dust has settled, and I'm still a Warhammer fan.  All is well. 

1st Playtest of AoS

Broke out the rules and some dice this weekend for a playtest of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.  Only attempted 10 Chaos Warriors against 2 units of 3 River Trolls (they were models nearby the table).  Some initial thoughts:

*  Being able to shoot and charge can be very powerful.  Check out these trolls vomiting at max range before charging in:

                                                                          HURL!!

*Also, combat is fast and furious, but I can see it turning into massive brawls that tarpit entire armies.

                     Each side is bloodied, but the trolls ultimately pulverize the warriors.

Finally, although the trolls were outnumbered, they completely overmatched the Warriors.  I'm not sure how best to balance forces, even when playing myself!