Hampshire Hammerers

Really hope it's the forge world guys that do 'Malerion' etc.

Masters of Aqshy Hobby goal month 2 - Rise of the Seraphon doubles campaign weekend, Warhammer World, Nottingham. Six weeks after attending my first Age of Sigmar event at Warhammer World, I was back for an action-packed weekend of hobby in Nottingham. My doubles partner was fellow Hammerer Mat (@MatMaslen) who brought his awesome Fire-Cast Eternals to aid my 'malignant' Seraphon led by the ancient Lord Kroak. With just shy of x40 players for the event we were divided into two factions: Order & Chaos. The weekends' games had pre-determined battle plans so each round we would be assigned a table number & given time before each game to read the scenario & discuss house rules with our opponents. There were plenty of varied tables to play on including the incredible 'Fortress of Kah'Rahkel'. Each board would be 8' x 6' - meaning we would not be playing on the newly revealed (and personal favourite) 'Ruins of Dras'Shiel' board. There were a lot of chaos players at the event, probably due to the recent releases of Skarbrand & Archaon. In line with the current trends, there were also very few Aelf armies in attendance. Game 1 - Close the Hell Gate The first of our x4 three hour games pitted our celestial warriors as the ambushers attempting to close a Malefic Gate defended by a Host of Slaaenesh - and their Duardin worshippers. Lawrence & Joe gave Mat & I a fantastic opening game that could have gone either way at every turn. Lawrence's models are absolutely stunning to see in the flesh - which is also the design of his armies' bases! Joe also had a fantastic collection of vintage GW Dwarfs including a Lord with Shield Bear! Despite flame-red stormcast descending all around the gate & Kroak pelting the corruptors with comets, the skull-encrusted outpost remained in control of the ruinous powers. Though the forces of order failed to close the Malefic Gate, our armies achieved victory for the faction by completing the most objectives, helping to put our grand alliance ahead after the opening battles. Game 2 - Ambush at Magma Pass Having been invited to meet the boys for beers (via Twitter) the night before, we were delighted to be facing off against the Warhammer Gaming Club guys for game 2! It's great to meet fellow #warmongers face to face, especially after talking to them online for a while! There were a great number of tweeters, bloggers & batreppers at the event ( and the last ) & it's great to see a strong social media presence in the community. Prior to game 2, Mat & I had spotted a box of nasties belonging to the WGC earlier in the day, that included Archaon, Skarbrand, Glotkin & a Maggoth Lord! Fearing a severe beating for our limited force, our opponents explained that they had simply brought models to the event to deal with any situation, & we quickly set about balancing our respective forces to ensure we had a balanced & fun game 2. It turned out to be exactly that! Fighting a force of Khorne Bloodbound & Forgeworld chaos models, our objective was to wipeout the enemy generals from both armies and blunt the advance of their lines. With re-summoned chameleon skinks aggravating Scyla Anfringhamm, Wrathmongers forcing Kroxigor to turn on themselves & Lord Kroak pelting the battlefield with another meteor shower, we created a well fought & almost cinematic last -stand battle. The Stormcast held firm in reserve until the rampaging Bloodbound were stretched thin across the battlefield, allowing Mat to choose his fights throughout the game. Kharanak was the first to fall to celestial blow pipe darts, shortly after declaring Lord Kroak as its quarry. Again, the combined forces of order failed to secure the objective, though again we left the battlefield with the lions share of campaign points for our faction. Game 3 - Close the Hell Gate pt.2 Game 3 was unfortunately 'that game'. Having been very transparent regarding our armies' total size, (as we once again arrived with only the recommended x30 models each) we were disappointed at what followed. Playing the same Malefic Gate scenario as Game 1, this time the Seraphon would be the defenders. Across the table was Archaon, the Varanguard & Gaunt Summoner (deployed using their unique formation) Skarbrand, all the Bloodbound characters, Chaos Dwarf Magma Cannon & dreadquake Mortar, Malagor....... Despite the overwhelming odds that had drawn the attention of even the GW events team themselves, we gave the enemy a serious run for their money. In the end though, the Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse sealed the Malefic Gate, slaughtering all in his path along the way. I actually had to use emergency (square base) models from my former Lizardman army just to try & add some balance to the forces arrayed against us. That alone should have signalled to our opponents that we weren't creating a fun & exciting battle. Such a shame. Game 4 - Blockade at Rysh For our final game of the weekend, our army would be assaulting a combined force of Chaos & Orruks attempting to carry a sacred relic to an arcane fulcrum. A unit is nominated to carry the relic in return for protective buffs to help them secure their objective. As the enemy force contained Grimgor Ironhide, 'da Immortalz' were chosen to carry the artefact. Our main objective was simply to destroy the Black Orruks to earn a major victory for our faction. Also defending 'da Immortalz' was Archaon ( everchosen this time ) the Varanguard, Dragon Ogres, chosen, Orruk boys, a mangler squig, giant & an Araknarok spider. Being a relic himself, Kroak was positioned in defence of the fulcrum. The chaos contingent had held back early in the game that almost cost them the victory as our forces raced towards the Chosen Orruks. - Including half of Mat's Stormcast that were previously deployed entirely in reserve. Despite his defensive back-field positioning, Lord Kroak was clearly a key target for the invaders, fending off the mangler squig & dragon ogres before being slain by the Everchosen & his Varanguard entourage. The Orruks retreated into a nearby forest after losing 90% of their unit, spending the rest of the battle under a Mystic Shield. Though they never reached the objective, our entire force was destroyed by the last game turn, earning the Chaos team a huge amount of campaign points. A well played, closely fought game that really captured everything that makes the battle plans in AoS so immersive. Once again it was a fantastic weekend of battles played out with some awesome armies. Especially nice to see lots of familiar faces from the previous months' event too! And the reward for our combined efforts - Best Faction & Masters of Aqshy! So 2 months in, 2 events attended with 2 completely different armies. Roll on March! J

Skulls for the Skull Throne Hobby Goal Month 1 - Throne of Skulls event, Warhammer World, Nottingham Turns out, there is no better way to beat those new year (hobby) blues than by attending an event at the start of the year! Exactly what was needed to ensure I am commited to completing my hobby target for 2016. - 12 AoS events over 12 months. As my first Age of Sigmar event, I was really intrigued to see how the Warhammer world team would create a fun & enjoyable weekend for all, in a game with no list building & a heavy dependence on its attendees to provide the right environment based on the fluff provided. It did not disappoint. Joined by fellow Hammerer Will, the weekend event would be played out over 5 games, battling for control of Rotwater Blight in the realm of life - aiding either the Sylvaneth or Nurgle Rotbringers using battle plans & time of war rules taken from the first two realmgate wars books. In the spirit of the weekend, Will & I decided to bring a list of Sylvaneth & Nurgle Rotbringers to really embrace the theme of the campaign. (And take advantage of all the fantastic bonus rules & abilites on offer!) As well as a detailed events pack featuring a mixture of scenarios from both books, there were additional rules enabling us to be joined by one of the events teams' Sylvaneth Blightlords in our games. With Archaon not quite released, Nagash & the Prime were the only members of the 'Big Hitters' present at the event. Out of 38 players, there were x4 supreme lords of undeath present, & x2 primes by my count. I have to say everyone Will & I met at the event were a really fantastic group who made a fun campaign without any need to wrestle each other over army compositions. There were guidelines in the rules pack to help keep the games fair, recommendations on how to interpret summoning as well as a consistent reminder to have fun & enjoy the event. The 15 minute pre-game discussion time was invaluable in making sure everyone knew where they stood regarding rules interpretations & what armies they would use. So to all the critics: it can be done. Just follow a few simple rules, chief among them...... Game 1 - Hold or Die A great scenario to kick off the weekend, this mission is also the first battleplan in the first realmgate wars book. I was the custodian charged with eliminating a primary force of invading Bloodbound before their reinforcements arrived to outflank me. A loss for the rotbringers but very close & loads of fun to play. There are good force restrictions on this mission to ensure you have quite balanced armies for the scenario. My opponent Sam was a great guy & had even made his warscrolls & abilities into double-sided laminated cards for quick reference! Game 2 - The Ritual Having diced off for roles in this scenario- also taken from the first realmgate wars book- my slow & purposeful Rotbringers would be cast as the invaders against the legions of undeath. This is one of those missions that is potentially very one-sided, & best played with friends at home/clubs so you both have access to plenty of models. In my case, I ideally needed to include some extra units with some form of speed (plague drones, beasts of nurgle) but due to my poor preparation, I had only brought the recommended 60 models to use over the whole weekend! The undead force included black & blood Knights, the latter of which are very hard for my non-rending rotbringers to shift. A coven of Necromancers around the ritual altar also helped to complete the objective quicker by adding to the dice roles required by the ritual player. It was a really fun game but over in an hour despite the two hour time frame. Game 3 - Breakthrough Having a slow moving, very resilient, tar-pit army means that when "picket line" style scenarios appear your army is built perfectly to cope with defending your table edge from invaders. Being British & allowing my opponent to choose which role he preferred probably cost me the game before we'd even started! However, this game vs. Matthew (who would go on to win the event through well earned favourite game votes) was certainly my favourite opponent from the whole weekend. Alongside being an absolute gent, Matthew consistently mocked his own army selection & was genuinely surprised at any & everytime they achieved something positive! Having rolled for random deployment, the seraphon picket line was left without a single unit in the middle of the board! With the bulk of my troops making a bottle-neck for the central board exit, I thought I had this game in the bag. Then the worst happened: Despite getting some of my plaguebearers off the board edge, the rotbringers had failed to achieve the required number of escapees to win the game. A loss, but one of the most enjoyable defeats I've ever played. Game 4 - Kill the Beast Oh dear. Facing off against the Aelfs for the first time proved to be an education in efficient murder-making. Protecting the Treelord ancient 'beast' were 25 odd witch elves with a cauldron of blood, two units of Wood Aelf archers, 2x bolt throwers, various Wood Aelf lords & mages & a Balewind vortex (!) With only one missile weapon in my army, the glass hammer, double piling-in Witch elves obliterated anything that came near them like a blade wind. Very short, & not very fun. The army run by (a fellow James?) was comprised of effective units, & yet it was the first army that I'd faced that lacked any clear 'fluff' during overall selection. Game 5 - War of the Storm Without a win all weekend, I was determined to reap glory for grandfather Nurgle in my final game at Rotwater Blight. Especially as this is my favourite scenario from the Ghal Maraz book! My opponent Matt had lots of undead units I hadn't faced before, including Manfred von Carstein! Being the Custodian & also unable to see the sun from within Warhammer World, Manfred would be hitting automatically in combat & wounding on 2's in his home territory! Another worthy adversary was the necrosphinx, that is not only VERY fast but dishes out a lot of damage - unless your nurglings. Having consistently been told they are one of the worst units in the game, my '7' bases worth were easily the MVP of my army! Particularly during this game as the little blighters charged the necrosphinx who took the entire game to remove them! In the end the Mortarch of Night chased down my Great Unclean one & the army unraveled as he was mercilessly butchered. A very close game with lots of death ( mainly on my side! ) but a great scenario to end the weekend on. I can fully recommend the Age of Sigmar events at Nottingham. The campaign weekends are really sociable & designed without the overwhelming sense of competition that the Throne of Skulls was previously famed for. I met an amazing group of gamers & Hammerer Will ( a previous AoS sceptic ) even left with some new models brimming with conversion ideas & new army concepts. Take a look at the next Blog Post for details on my second AoS event- The rise of the Seraphon doubles weekend. J

Embracing the Madness My 2016 hobby goals January invariably brings out the blues in me, especially concerning my work/life balance in relation to my hobby. I never know how it starts, whether I just feel a little older, or just a bit defeatist that there's too many projects & not enough time to commit to completing them all. My job in particular is high pressure & very stressful, which actually makes having such an immersive pastime invaluable to my sanity. I can't say I'm a commited (or decent) painter, not do I often get round to building or converting anything from the pile of sprues at my disposal, or religiously getting games in at regular times in the week. At a recent event, one guy I met summed up the real state of my hobby commitment when he said: "it's the most bizarre hobby really in that you spend a lot more time buying or even planning to buy models without ever actually painting or gaming with them! - it's like my hobby is to shop for new toys, constantly!" He was right. I'm always buying something. Or thinking about that missing unit. Or new unit/character synergies. Or that awesome conversion I pinched online. Or that fluffy theme I've always wanted to bring to life. January always shatters this. I will annually find myself in Hammerer HQ (aka the converted loft) staring at a variety of unfinished, or realistically, unstarted projects & emotionally torture myself with the same questions: Am I too old for this? Will I ever get round to finishing these projects? Do I even have time to play? This Fateweaver-style mono-conversation often ends with a good spring clean & sort out, purge & packaging stuff off through eBay ready to make way for next months' new year, new army rebound mood. Some projects of course, are too sentimental to part with & often in their same untouched - but still beloved - starting position regardless of the seasons or my moods. At an event earlier this year, one of my fellow Hammerers said they were finding less & less time in their busy life to wargame, & was conscious of the value they were receiving from the hobby. It is, like all hobbies, very expensive to not be doing regularly. At this point, I told my friend that he was right; this is an expensive hobby, & therefore it's up to us to make sure we get as much value for our time & money as possible. You have to commit to what you can achieve. Set realistic hobby goals & stick to them, supporting each other to make sure we all get the opportunity to enjoy & share in the hobby together. Ask yourself: When can I play? How often? When can I commit time to painting? So this year I made a decision. 2016 will be a commited & invested year in my hobby, making sure that I'm getting as much value as possible from a passtime I have loved for so long. At a time when the new Age of Sigmar is in its infancy, & there are thousands of places to explore & story-rich opportunities to enjoy, the Hammerers will strive to be involved in this new world as much as possible. No matter the pressures of work or anything else the real world can throw at us, we aim to grow within what is already becoming an exciting new wargaming community. So I need a measure. Evidence to look back on in 2017 & reflect on an awesome year of hobby, complete with finished projects & a host of wonderful new friends & memories made along the way. The Rules: Every event attended must have a different army/faction created. I will only use models from my existing collection until all current projects are completed. Even if only for the Hammerers ourselves, I will commit to creating & running an event within the year. The key to success will be from approaching event date deadlines forcing me into a routine to ensure each new project is fully painted, based & practiced in time to attend. Today is the 29th February, & I'm already 2/2. This has been largely helped by the GW team putting 30/60 model count recommendations on their events, as well as the recently released South Coast Grand Tournament pool system. - At the very least, supporting me to create core armies from current projects to steadily grow my collection of AoS minis. I cannot wait to join the rest of the Hammerers in supporting a fantastic new game & community. We hope you'll join us in creating an awesome year for the hobby full of epic battles & tales of legend within the mortal realms. I also hope I'll be able to look back at the end of 2016 with some fantastic model collections to use for games of AoS. Why not let us know about your hobby goals for 2016- we'd love to hear from you. @HantsHammerers Embrace the madness J

A brief history of (Hammer) time Let's start from the beginning. Not my own, or my hobby experiences, but with the beginning of the Hammerers. Back in the day (well, 5 years actually) having moved to the cathedral city of Winchester, I regularly attended 'veterans night' at the local GW store. The upside was knowing that every Thursday night I had a place to game & plenty of clubmates to play against. The downside was that the store would often be responsible for introducing & pairing players for the various systems available. - A noble attempt to support the hobby. In theory, this was a great way for gamers to meet new & like-minded hobbyists in a relaxed & mutual environment. Then one week you play the power gamer with your fluff list, the week after against the economical 'proxy' player, the week after that against the player with the '30 minutes to set up' army in your 2 hour slot. I was lucky enough to have met a fantastic group of guys through the store & on investment of a realm of battle board, we evolved into our own independent wargaming group. Since the club began, we've played campaigns & competitions, attended team events at Warhammer world, and even dipped our toe in the independent tourney scene. The vision for me has always been to find & invite other members to join the group, whether traveling to their home clubs, meeting at events, or hosting them for games at Hammerer HQ. It's so fulfilling to have a great group of friends to share the hobby with, & we'd relish the opportunity to do the same for others. We're an eclectic bunch, with our own power gamer, proxy lister & deployment centric member, with the boon of always knowing exactly which type of gamer we are facing off against. This year, the mission is to meet, greet & become part of the wonderful new AoS community, through as many events & other channels as possible. Joining other club nights across the country, and hopefully even hosting our own event before the years' out. It's an expensive hobby, & we want to make sure that each of us has an opportunity to get as much value for our time & effort as possible, making a host of new friends along the way. So welcome, enjoy, & get in touch if your attending events throughout the year. Let us know if we can support in finding people to share the hobby with too. The mortal realms are in their infancy, & there's a fantastic community growing around it. What an incredible time to be a #Warmonger. J