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Hampshire Hammerers

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  1. Hampshire Hammerers
    (Year) End Times
    And what an incredible year it's been too. Such an exciting time to be in the hobby with surprises around every corner to excite & inspire. 

    I started the year with a now failed hobby goal to attend 12 events over the course of the year, beginning well after attending three between January - March. Then life got in the way and implemented a six month gap onto my hobby ambition. Oh well, resolutions & all that!


    Something I'm immensely proud of achieving this year though was the creation of the Hammerers, officially. I've wanted to run a gaming club no matter how modest for a long time, and can now look back on this year knowing that the dream was finally made a reality. The club has not only given me fantastic motivation to get hobby projects & terrain completed, but I've met a great group of guys to enjoy Age of Sigmar with. Miniature wargaming is expensive, & having a place where I get to game regularly gives me a sense of value for money in addition to the enjoyment and escapism from a stressful job. 
    Looking back, we've been very lucky at the club to be able to enjoy a huge amount of new product & involvement from Games Workshop. A month after the club started our regular games'nights, the General's Handbook was released. The matched play element of the Handbook really helped to boost attendance as players were able to discuss & decide on points limitations for their games through our Facebook page, fighting over a cleverly designed set of challenging battleplans. Personally, the Handbook was by far my best purchase of 2016, & we are hoping to explore the many other features and various campaigns it contains in the new year. 
    Another enriching experience for the club was the global Season of War campaign, which really helped get everyone immersed into Age of Sigmar. Not only did it inspire the Hammerers to ramp up their painting projects, we also hosted a huge battle on the last week of the campaign where all the chaos gods were represented, as well as the Stormcast, Ironjaws & even Nagash!

    The recent release of blood bowl will also make a grand appearance at the club soon, and work has  begun on our first ever league. There's also some discussions about a ladder campaign for Age of Sigmar too. 
    One thing I am sure we will all be doing more of in 2017 is attending events, in as larger number as possible. The narrative events held at warhammer world at the start of the year were a great introduction into the rich story of the new universe, and we also had a fantastic time at the South Coast Grand Tournament - the largest, and definitely the friendliest independent event I personally have ever attended. We were really proud to be at an event that went on to form the backbone of the General's Handbook.  

    We also attended the Honour & Glory event held by Solent Wargames. A one day matched play tournament that was won by our very own Hammerer Chris Goldsworthy & his devoted of Sigmar!

    Our last attended event of the year was the incredible Blood & Glory. Timed perfectly, the tournament really showcased the journey Age of Sigmar has been on throughout the year, and really showed off the competitive element of matched play spectacularly. This was the first event I'd attended that all the top players were involved with having missed out on the Warlords & Facehammer GT events earlier in the year. I learnt a lot about how to play the game that weekend!

    Games Workshop have been much more involved in the hobby community this year too, live streaming events, creating community pages & even a TV show! I was made up to see Rob Symes become the face of Warhammer TV after watching such a genuinely nice guy take home the SCGT & deliver one of the most hilarious podcast shows I think I'll ever hear! It really well demonstrates Games Workshops efforts to reconnect with us.
    The Grand Alliance community page also had a huge impact on membership for the club, in particular through their ingenious world map of clubs & players. I meet & talk to new players, returning rage quitters & die hard Warhammer fans constantly, growing not only our player base but also inter-club events too. The forum section also helps to iron out any rules questions that come up on club nights. 
    http://www.tga.community/
    Now, at the end of the year thanks to the various events & club nights, I've achieved a Warhost of Death, Warhost of Flesh Eater Courts, a Battlehost of Nurgle & a Vanguard of Seraphon all fully painted! Think that's the most I've ever painted in a year!

    A fantastic journey in such a small amount of time. We are all very excited at the club for 2017 & all the new hobby it will bring, and I feel very fortunate to start the year with a well attended club to further pursue my passion for campaigns & narratives with.
     If your local, or attending an organised event in 2017, or even from another gaming club, get in touch. We are always looking for new players to battle against & often travel to get games in between club nights. 
    HampshireHammerers@gmail.com
    Happy new year!
  2. Hampshire Hammerers
    Bloodied & Glorious
    The Hammerers embarked on another new adventure in the mortal realms in November. This time we attended the 'Blood & Glory' matched play event, run …
    https://hampshirehammerers.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/bloodied-glorious/
  3. Hampshire Hammerers
    For Glory, not Honour 
    Saturday 8th of November was the first official group event attendance for the Hammerers. Solent wargamers club were the hosts for Honour & Glory, held at the Royal British Legion South in Portsmouth. We would play three randomly determined games all from the matched play section of the generals handbook.
    Including the four attending Hammerers, the event had a total of 12 gamers. Our armies were:
    James - Flesh Eater Courts
    Chris - Devoted / Stormcast
    Jack - Sylvaneth
    David - Sylvaneth
    My army was:

    Ghoul King on Terrorgheist
    Ghoul King
    Crypt Haunter Courtier
    Crypt Ghast Courtier
    Varghulf Courtier

    20x Ghouls
    20x Ghouls
    20x Ghouls


    3x Crypt Flayers
    6x Crypt Horrors

    Ghoul Patrol
    After a quick brief, we had the opportunity to choose our first opponent & table before finding out game 1 would be Escalation. - possibly the worst possible battleplan for me to start with as I've never even played it! I know, I know, the HeelanHammer boys would be shaking their heads at my poor tourney prep, but I did my best to brush up pre-game! My opponent Benjamin was a really great guy, with a fantastic Sylvaneth army in some really unique colours. He also had a celestial hurricanium which I had yet to come up against in AoS, a Treelord Ancient, Treelord, 10x tree revenants, 6x Kurnoth hunters with bows, 2x branchwyches and of course, plenty of Dryads! ( Apologies if I've missed anything! )
    GAME 1 vs. SYLVANETH
    Escalation requires you to split your units into 3 parts that arrive over three turns, attempting to hold objectives that are spread diagonally across the board, one next to your territories, and one in the centre of the board. Each of your turns after the first that you have more models within 6" of an objective than the enemy, you score a point per objective held.
    I had 10 drops - so had to deploy 4-4-2 units over the three turns. Benjamin had 9 drops and therefore deployed 3-3-3.

    Having bought the Ghoul Patrol formation, my interpretation of the battleplan was that I wouldn't be able to use my movement shenanigans as the scenario states that battleline units have to be deployed first. Also, in a game where points are scored for having objectives held in your turn, I ran the risk of conceding points early as I would've only had one unit on the table if I had employed the ghoul Patrol formation, compared to Ben's 3 starting units.
    I deployed my first ghoul unit as close to the objective nearest my territory as possible, a second unit dead centre and a third way off on my right flank to threaten the far objective. I then deployed my Ghoul king on terrorgheist ( general ) in the centre of my territory behind a building out of range and view of the soon to arrive Kurnoth Hunters.

    Tactically, I had no intention of attempting to take on the far objective and figured this battle was either lost or won in the centre of the field. I had a strong foothold on one objective, my enemy the other, so the third objective would be the one to tip the balance.
    I planned on using my characters to sit back and buff my ghouls, helping to keep enough of them around to outnumber the Sylvaneth and keep scoring. The only hero I would use aggressively would be my Ghoul King on Terrorgheist- who loses very little momentum when wounded, and comes back to life anyway!
    I will also mention at this point, that I lost every turn roll in this game!
    First, a Sylvaneth wildwood grew from nowhere all around the central objective, telling me the enemy had a similar understanding of where the fight would be won. Mirroring my deployment, units appeared turn one facing off against each objective. Buffs were applied to the Sylvaneth, and each unit ran up towards each objective early.
    My first turn began much the same way, with my Ghouls holding the objective nearest my territory, ready to start earning points next turn. The now sacrificial flanking unit ran towards the far objective, and the central ghoul horde leapt forward with my ghoul king a safe distance behind them, securing deathless minions range without exposing himself to the inevitable arrival of the Kurnoth Hunters.
    I had also summoned my crypt Flayers using the General's 'summon royal guard' command ability and deployed the unit on my near objective to protect and/or replace my camping ghoul unit. With a regular wood near my home objective, I was certain something would be appearing from amongst the boughs to attack my troops, and the crypt Flayers scream would help against the low bravery foe.

    Seeing as Benjamin had deployed the smallest of his dryad units on his home objective, I figured my flanking ghoul unit might just destroy or at least outnumber them to gain me a cheeky extra point on an objective I hadn't hoped to control, and made sure they remained well within a tempting charge distance of his troops.
    On the nearest objective to my territory, I'd be facing off against the tree revenants with the Treelord close behind. I hadn't faced revenants before, but with one wound and a poor save, not to mention outnumbered 2-1, they should have been easy to whittle down to make sure I would be able to secure the objective and hold out against the angered Treelord!

    The Sylvaneth went on to create another wildwood close to the objective in their territory and the treelord ancient burst from the copse nearest my general. The battle for the central objective was in full swing.
    Having killed half of the revenants in close combat already, way-pipes were used to relocate the unit to the far end of the table to support the smaller unit of dryads, who were embattled & surrounded next to another newly sprouted wild wood! Thought I had that objective in the bag!
    Mixed shooting from Kurnoth Hunters & the treelord ancient, as well as a barrage of arcane bolts & comets reduced my Ghoul King to a single wound, stranded and severely beaten in the centre of the board. After explaining the rules for the ring of immortality to Benjamin, he opted to leave the Vampire limping through the woods surrounding the central objective.

    Having butchered a large number of dryads on the central objective, my Ghouls retreated to reduce their chances of being counter-charged while still remaining within range to collect my much needed battle plan points. The crypt Ghast courtier and second ghoul king arrived, skulking in a nearby building to heal and buff my central units, while my large unit of crypt horrors entered the fray racing towards their masters' side ready to weigh in against the hurricanium and Kurnoth hunters.
    The combined efforts of my newly arrived Varghulf and my remaining Ghouls eventually finished off the treelord, before the bestial vampire was pin-cushioned with Hunter arrows. With the central ghoul unit still holding onto the contested objective, I manoeuvred my crypt horrors around an intervening building to take on the treelord ancient that had decimated my General.
    Despite making a massive charge distance the horrors were bottle-necked between the terrain and slowly slaughtered by the treelord. My crypt Haunter Courtier had also been assassinated attempting to replenish my horrors by the hunters' bows, one trio of which were scarily accurate thanks to the buffs bestowed by the hurricanum.

    My General was finally brought down late game and reappeared due to my invaluable artefact behind my ghoul hordes, keeping them in the fight with that 5+ deathless minions save. The game went right to the wire, to the last minute of our allotted time, with the the last of the remaining dryads needing to kill enough of my Ghouls in the centre of the field to have the majority of models on the objective at the end of the final turn. Though the Sylvaneth failed on their mission drawing on points, I lost the game on VPs by 720-500.
    A really awesome first game against a great opponent, and a really tense fight to the death!
  4. Hampshire Hammerers
    We, the faithful  Hobby goal month 4 - South Coast Grand Tournament, Waterlooville.

    Just Wow. 
    First, you may be wondering: 'what happened to month #3?' -well the goal is twelve armies, twelve events, twelve months. So I guess one month will have to be a double!
    Anyway, back to the agenda. The South Coast Grand Tournament. 
    Accompanied by veteran Independant tournament go-er (& fellow #Hammerer) Will, this was   the first time I'd ever play Warhammer 'competitively' outside of a GW organised event. 
    Having already been to both a single & doubles campaign weekend at Warhammer World this year, there would be a huge amount of new challenges for me to navigate in preparation for this event. First, and most importantly, there are points (or pools) which I have so far not  considered in AoS.
    The pools are a fantastic design to ensure there is a balance in army selection for competitive play. Instead of the recommended model count idea used at GW's events, you get a total pool cost for your army, but only use 2/3rds of  your total force for each game. So out of 150 'pools' you are allowed to take 100 pools-worth of models for each game, but can completely interchange what you would like to field for every scenario. You can find the pool choice point system here: 
    http://www.heelanhammer.com/SCGTdownloads/SCGT16PoolV2.0.pdf
    Despite the recent hate, rage quits & reduced attendance at 'official' events, the SCGT team have achieved attendance of 130+ players in the games' first year, a testament to their fantastic support for Age of Sigmar through associated podcasts Heelanhammer & Facehammer. The event itself created such a buzz in the lead up to the weekend on social media that GW themselves announced they would  attend to provide online coverage & promotion of the event through their new AoSFacebook page. They even sponsored a prize driven community painting award for best army voted for on their page from a shortlist of armies they selected over the weekend.
    At a glance, army selection seemed daunting considering I would be painting an army almost from scratch for the event. Pool costs for units, particularly characters appeared to be quite low, & with a 150 pool total this could have been a big project! I was already intrigued to see how 100 pool-sized armies would cope with a 2.5 hour time limit in game.
    Some of the 'big hitters' are of course a large pool point sink - I hesitantly took Nagash, who is 55 pools alone! You can find the lists for all four of the attending #Hammerers (and everyone else) here: http://www.heelanhammer.com/SCGTdownloads/SCGT16Lists.pdf
    House rules were also in place covering everything from measuring to summoning, wound allocation to spell spamming, even covering those pesky dice roll changing abilities. You can find them all in the events pack here:
    http://www.heelanhammer.com/SCGTdownloads/SCGT16RulesFAQV2.0.pdf
    The major appeal for me however, were the battleplans. Each one is designed to test the versatility of your army selection. Every angle had been covered. Camping on an objective? - we'll make them explode, or even just vanish. Bringing a slow & hard hitting army? - Try capturing some table quarters. In hindsight both Will & I felt we should have read into the scenarios more to make sure we were bringing more of an'all-comers' army. Not that it necessarily means you'll be the victor in AoS!
    Excellent narrative & exciting scenarios are hugely important to me in Age of Sigmar & every one of the six games played over the weekend provided some seriously cinematic battles.  
    Arriving early on the Saturday morning, Will & I had already had the chance to see which table, player & faction we would be battling against first, as these were all made available the night before the event.

    Game 1 - vs. Chaos
    Heralds of the Storm


    Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse. Not a title the ruinous powers would simply just hand out to anyone. Game 1 saw Nagash & my malignant forces face the Overlords of Chaos formation & a mixed slaves to darkness warband.
    We would be fighting to occupy as many of  x4 central objectives as possible, which in turn push a storm-front to & from your army, damaging units it passes over en route.
    Only Heroes & Monsters could control the objectives, & with only two heroes on the table (one of which was a monster too) I had an uphill struggle from the off!

    With various Khornate Heroes camping on the objectives, I knew I would have to play aggressively in order to win this battle - committing Nagash to the centre of the board early in the game to lure the enemy from their deployment zone. The morghast & hexwraiths hit the chaos lines on the second Battleround in the hope of doing sufficient damage for Nagash to single-handedly do the mop-up work of crushing the enemy heroes. Through some awful dice rolling, my vanguard failed to make a big enough dent in the chaos lines & the slaves to darkness surged forwards.

    Nagash was left to face off against the 4 remaining Varanguard & a rear charge from Archaon, who was trailed by his gaunt summoner lackey. Despite losing every initiative roll for first turn, Nagash not only obliterated the varanguard, but removed a full wound Archaon with the hand of dust spell! Unquenched of his thirst for souls, The Lord of the dead then proceeded to hunt down & destroy the tzeentch summoner too!
    Unfortunately, Khornes' champions resisted the temptation to strip Nagash of his final three wounds & remained on the objectives while on the other flank the enemy Skullcrushers commited my wraith & skeleton bodyguard to dust. The game ended in a loss for me 3-1 on objectives.
    Game 2 - vs. Death
    The Winds of Death
    Relegated from the main hall for my defeat, game two would be held in the second hall which luckily for me was were the bar was! I was to play a fellow death army commanded by Jonathon - a friend of my first opponent who had both travelled all the way from Norway/Sweden just to attend the event!
    In this scenario, we had to control the majority of x6 objectives that could be captured by any unit that wasn't a hero. At the end of each Battleround, whoever had the most objectives scored 1 point. 

    Jonothan had really nice looking death army & for this battle he chose to use Neferata, 2x 20 zombies, some Vargheists, a coven throne & at least x10 Blood Knights. He also had a summoning pool of spirit hosts & skeletons.

    Again I opted to play agressively with Nagash & the morghasts - wthe latter were pulled down very early on by Neferatas' ethereal Blood Knights. 
    Despite consistent harrying from Arcane bolts & skeleton archer volleys, the objective guarding zombies resurrected every casualty they suffered. Jonathon also played his summoning pool well, manoeuvring spirit hosts to slow Nagash in reaching the zombie picket lines while the blood Knights tore through my hexwraiths defending my left flank. 
    Neferata skulked at the back of the battle line, never once committing to the fight! Some excellent rolling also saw the Vargheists on the right flank tear through my grave guard in a single round of combat, even before the coven throne appeared to support.
    A sound beating for me, from one of the nicest opponents I've ever played against!
    Game 3 - v.s Destruction
    Garden of Life
    Based in Ghyran this scenario allowed units & heroes to either purge or initiate corruption on a variety of terrain pieces around the battlefield. 
    Still within the back room of Throndean community Sports Hall, game 3 was against an MSU force of Ogors owned by Paul (@LoftHammer) including Tyrant, Butcher, Bulls, ironguts, maneaters & one of each of the big Ogor beasties. 
    There are no pictures of this game, as we were having such a laugh drinking & playing the scenario that all thoughts of photos went out the window! I'm sure the combination of booze & banter is what won me the battle that afternoon!
    Outright fear of having never faced Nagash cost Paul the game as he refused to commit units to destroying him early on which left the Supreme Lord of undeath running rampant across the board. 
    Most of the Ogors were placed on the right flank of the board, including both monsters - so I threw my dispensable deathrattle units to face the enemy in the hope of slowing them down while I corrupted the other terrain pieces around the battlefield.
    A great game against a fantastic guy, & my first victory of the weekend!
    Game 4 - v.s Order
    Fire & Brimstone 
    Having seen our upcoming opponent detailed on the SCGT website on the Saturday night, I was convinced that the word 'Order' would translate to my army facing off against one of the many Stormcast armies arrayed around the venue. 
    I expected some nasty teleporting movement shenanigans from my enemy which would prove costly in a game where controlling table quarters was the objective of the mission. What i faced in game 4 was so much worse.......
    I was surprised to find my opponent had brought a Wood Aelf army to the table!
    Lightning however, was still about to strike. Facing a cavalry heavy army accompanied by Orion, Twilight sisters, wardancers & glade guard, I was immediately concerned that fast manoeuvrability & a lot of shooting would be the ruin of my restless legion in no time.
    Not knowing how your enemies' army plays is a massive disadvantage, & I discovered to my horror that I had lost the minute I elected to go second for the opening Battleround of the game!

    Winning the roll off for first turn, I figured I would let the Aelfs come to me & sweep them aside in a counter charge. I then had to watch Nagash receive a turn 1 double-charge from both Orion & the sisters, who proceeded to butcher him before he'd even moved off the battle line!
    With one of the best command abilities in the game, I will never, ever, elect to go second with Nagash again!

    Broken, battered, & without the Supreme Lord of undeath, my army didn't last long after. I was at least able to take the heads of Orion & the wretched twilight sisters, scoring my general killing hidden agenda mission.
    Game 5 - v.s Chaos
    The Celestial Compass
    Remaining in the main hall despite an absolute kicking from the Aelfs, the next game pitted my undead legion against a mounted mortal Khorne army, (complete with compulsory Tzeentch wizards). Chariots, Skullcrushers, Knights & chaos Warriors were vastly arrayed against my much smaller force.
    The mission involves both armies having a relic style object that the enemy must seize & drag back to their own deployment zone over five turns. Every turn the relic has the potential to do damage to units that get too close.
     
    This was a fantastic scenario as it meant that you couldn't just camp a unit over the objective or they would continually take accumulating damage the longer they stayed within range. 
    I decided to position a large unit of skeleton spearmen around the relic as they were easy to regrow despite suffering consistent losses. My opponent opted to guard his relic with chaos warriors while the entirety of his remaining force (bar the Wizards) stuck to khornes' wishes and charged across the board as quickly as possible. 
    Thanks to some terrible rolling from the Chaos player ( clearly for using tzeentch with khorne! ) multiple failed charges meant that a large portion of his army was stuck in the centre of the table for me to throw counter charges at. The morghasts ground down the chariots before they were finally dismembered by skullcrushers & the grave guard inflicted heavy casualties on the jugger-knights and deathbringers.
     
    Nagash however, utterly humiliated by the first turn assassination last game, was on an unholy rampage. The Deathlord butchered anything that came towards him, including a large unit of chaos Knights, & two separate units of skullcrushers. A khorne Lord & skullcrusher retinue managed to break through my lines and began hacking down my skeleton barricade, before Vlad leapt down from a nearby rooftop & took 7/8 wounds off the Chaos Lord in their first round of combat! The vampire Lord soon made short work of the rest of the Chaos worshippers!
    The game ended in a draw though the khornate army had suffered massive casualties, Nagash ending the game carving up the centre table, picking off wizards & heroes along the way. 
    A draw, and a bloody retribution from an earlier defeat.
    Game 6 v.s Chaos
    Battle for the Allpoints 
    For the final game of the weekend, the objective was to control one of x4 realmgates, throwing units across the table with a chance they'd end up in random parts of the battlefield.- or dead of course!
    My last opponent for the weekend was Steve Wren, who's stunning chaos army had kept me glued to Twitter in the run up to the event. 
    Steve was fantastic to play against & the final game felt really cinematic with Archaon leaping through the realmgates to clash one on one with Nagash in the centre of the table. Steve also ran units of x1  varanguard - which I'd never seen done before but was brilliant for objective controlling gameplay. I also faced MSUs of chaos warriors, helllstriders, Lord of Slaanesh & a mutualith vortex beast.

    Half way through the battlerounds one of the realmgates would randomly collapse making the objectives even more difficult to claim. Not wanting to face the Lord of undeath alone, Steve threw in the varanguard & mounted slaanesh Lord to soften him up, however he positioned Archaon within range of my morghasts who counter-charged and began whittling down the grand marshal of the apocalypse. 

    After a couple of rounds of combat, the slayer of kings failed to unleash the daemon within and deliver the killing blow to Nagash, & the everchosen was slain! (Again)

    Despite this epic showdown, my forces failed to hold off the remainder of the chaos army & I finished the weekend with a crushing defeat to the ruinous powers. A really fantastic game though & close until the end. 
    Finishing 117th is certainly something to improve upon for next year, but it really was a fantastic weekend with an awesome group of games, balanced pool system & most importantly, fantastically competitive scenarios. 
    It was also great to grow the attending Hammerers from 2 - 4 by the end of the weekend! At no point did I feel the armies I was fighting were unfairly balanced or that there was any 'tourney' tension among the players. 
    Massive thank you to the DWR team for an incredible event, we cannot wait to gather the clan & return in force next year! 
  5. Hampshire Hammerers
    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
  6. Hampshire Hammerers
    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
  7. Hampshire Hammerers
    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
  8. Hampshire Hammerers
    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
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