The Daemon's Claw

New Zealand has gone into Covid response level 3. Practically this makes no difference.I am still working from home and not going out, except to the supermarket (I get to bring home the bacon) and round the block for a walk. Luke is coming with me and will tell me things about Pokemon that mortal man was not meant to know. Many of my favourite YouTube channels are struggling to create wargaming content while under lock down conditions. Some very loving wives and partners have been drafted to take part in games. A shout out to these unheralded heroines of gaming (especially when they beat the channel owners). We have been catching up with people via Zoom. This is more social than before we went into lockdown. I have been working on a number of projects. Kill teams are coming along. I am thinking about how I could engineer a campaign with players doing their moves and me playing the games. I might also set up a Rangers of Shadow Deep and play that on the coffee table. I might be ...

Last weekend was the second club meeting we have missed due to the COVID response. Based on the latest update from the NZ government today, it looks like there will be another 3 weeks of life at home and it might be the end of May before we get to have another club meeting. This week I got into making Kill Teams again. These are a nice way to use up some old spare models I had lying around. I got inspired to make a Flawless Host kill team. These are Slaaneshi worshiping marines. They appeared in a short story involving the Carcharadons and have been around in several editions of the Chaos Space Marine Codex. I made some Noise Marine models maybe 15-20 years ago so I dug out a couple of those models and some other models to make the kill team. I also found an old metal Noise Marine Chaos Lord who can lead the team. I built some cultists to help provide some models to round out the list. I might also see if I can make a possessed that looks like more than just a marine with so...

I was also going to play in the  Saga Age of Vikings competition. I was going to use my Normans. I could not use mercenaries so my favourite Flemings were not going to make the trip. I have 3 points of Hearthguard, 2 points of warriors and 1 point of levy. Normally I would have 2 units of 6 knights, 2 units of warriors 1 with crossbow and some levy archers. I had the choice of taking the warriors mounted with Javelins or on foot with hand weapons. I also made 3 objectives out of the casualty models I got with the sets of figures. This is the Warlord, he is a plastic knight from Conquest games. The shield is hand painted  These are the levy, they are great for bombarding enemy units from double long range. Watch out for the Viking ability to exhaust you. You can use this ability to shoot and then stack extra dice in the combat pool or other Saga abilities to make the shot count. Its an effective way to open the battle.  Here is a unit of Heartguard. These are a...

I managed to receive a package of essential supplies from Firestorm Games. These shipped just before the lock down went into effect so were probably a week slower than normal. Given what is happening around the world I think that's a huge achievement from postal services and airlines around the world. I got three boxes of Fireforge Games fantasy models, these are diseased looking undead models that I will combine with the warrior models I got from Avatars of War. This will give me a Horde army for Saga Age of Magic. These are inspired by the Skin Riders from the old Malus Darkblade novels. Disease ridden fantasy Northmen will look suitably disgusting. This is also perfect timing because its Easter so I'm on Holiday at home. I also dug out some of my Skaven models, these must be nearly 30 years old. My initial order came signed by Andy Chambers back when he was a GW mail order dispatcher. I now have another Saga Age of Magic Army. I have a Warlord, Sorcerer, 4 units...

 I thought it would be useful to talk about the Undead Army I was planning to take to Adepticon. Heroes and Wizards I made a mounted Wizard, a wizard on foot and a mounted character that could be the Lieutenant or the Warlord. I ended up taking the mounted Necromancer (a unique Undead option that allows you to make your warlord into a Wizard). I liked this option because it meant the general could stay out of danger and still affect the outcome of the battle. I liked the mounted option because I still had the ability to get to where I needed to to cast spells and he could make use of bodyguards and more importantly have the ability to use We Obey. That's the equivalent of 6 extra Saga dice over the game. I used the Lieutenant in several games but found him to be underwhelming. I swapped him for an extra creature to make that unit more effective.  The Lieutenant is quite good as a tank, he can take a hit and help set up the enemy for a counter charge. I never used the a...

We are now under COVID 19 level 4 containment protocol. Typically there would be a Warlords meeting this weekend however this has been cancelled. So good news there is more hobby time. Alan Richard and I have been having video hang outs while we paint or model. I have painted a Lamenters Kill Team. These use the Blood Angel rules. Here is the first team. Here is the second half of the team. The team is made from a Blood Angel Tactical box and some left over bits from Sternguard and other boxes. This was a first time painting so much Yellow. I was inspired by Vince Venturella to include more shadows into the yellow mix even as far as light rust.  The Terminator is painted in Death company colours he can be a bit hard to kill and he negates the plamagun effect with a Storm Shield. I then started to work on some other Kill Teams after finishing the  Lamenters. I was overcome with the desire to paint more yellow so I dug out a Howling Griffon Kill Team and star...