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Strength_Hammer

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  1. Strength_Hammer
    Hey everyone!  This week's Hobby is all about preparing for Coalescence on June 10th.  The word for the event has spread much quicker and farther than I originally thought it would have for my club.  I decided to keep pushing and have been hitting up local stores to hang up flyers I printed off for the event and hopefully get players to register via email so I can get a somewhat accurate headcount.



    My Local FLGS's and even my local Warhammer Store has allowed me to put up flyers to help generate more interest in the event.  They all are helping spread the word with hopes that all ships will rise with this tide.  Talking up the event and organizing it is a big part of my hobby right now and will be for the foreseeable future.  I have also confirmed I will have Prize support in the form of Games Workshop Kits for the event on top of the trophies I had planned for the event.



    While it is very exciting it is a bit intimating to make sure The Club tables are ready as we are lacking in quality terrain and mats.  This was a topic of conversation at our recent Town Meeting for the club, but I will go into detail about meeting in Fridays post.  Thankfully we have set up a day to work on fixing and building terrain for the club, but I plan to put in as much effort as I can to ensure we are ready!  People have already donated some foam to the cause and I feel confident in what we will accomplish.  I will be using this deadline as pressure to also paint my own terrain collection to finally get it done for myself as well as the Coalescence event.


    The other hobby I am getting into is creating a small Display Board for my Warhammer Stores Inner Circle event.  I plan to take some of my Sisters of Battle to display in hopes of getting one of those wonderful Deathwing medals being awarded at the event.  I even have a last minute addition to the force in the form of the Canoness Veridyan.  I cannot wait for the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 after this week's recent news and Q&A session!

    Let me know what you are all working on with your Hobby.  I would love to see and be inspired by it.  As always feel free to follow me on Twitter and see you all on Fridays post where I wrap up my Building a Community Series with Part 5.  Happy Hobbying!
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  2. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  This week I wanted to begin a new segment where I talk to a club mate about their journey in Age of Sigmar and this Hobby.  Today I will be talking with Matt who is a consistent member of a local group based in Pittsburgh, PA.  I am dragging him back to Twitter so follow him here as well!
    Matt (Background) and myself at Adepticon 2017
    Hey Matt,  Thanks for being my first test subject for my new Blog Article Series.
    "No Problem.  Happy to help and talk about Age of Sigmar anytime!"

    So Matt how did you begin in this Hobby?
    "It started off with going over to a Lan party focused on RTS, specifically Dawn of War.  I spent hours playing before the party and afterward I was introduced to the lore of Warhammer 40k by a friend.  A few years later I got the itch to try painting some of these models.  I went to my local Store and Picked up a unit of Space Marine Devastators.  I spent three weeks painting five models.  A  friend who was into 40k and he convinced me to pick up a few more models to play a game!  Many months of painting and preparation later I played a game in which I got my the tar kicked out of me. I picked up the Age of Sigmar Starter box and I didn't do much with until I met you."

    What brought you to Age of Sigmar?
    "You did! To be honest, I was in love with the rule set at the start.  As long as you trust your opponent and participate int he social contract you can have fun in the game without getting too serious."

    Some of Matt's Dispossessed
    What armies are you currently playing in Age of Sigmar?
    "I tend to dabble across the board until I find an army to match my play style.  Currently, I have Dispossessed, SCE, Nurgle, and recently began Slaanesh."

    In regards to Open, Matched, and Narrative play where do you fall?
    "I don't like the idea of focusing on one.  I feel all three are very important to the hobby.  To prevent any fatigue it is best to play them all!  Matched play is the easiest and more common way to play it the Open and Narrative play are overlooked but are essential to explore the full extent of the creative side of the hobby."

    Are there any aspects of this Hobby that you really enjoy?
    "The delightful banter between a friendly opponent!  I really enjoy the community and friendships built through this game. Of course playing the game and list building are near the top as well."

    On the other end, what parts do you perhaps not enjoy?
    "I do not enjoy players who play strictly to the Meta simply to win.  I feel the game is more fun if people take lists they think are interesting despite power.  Tactics of lists!  I do not enjoy the amount of time Painting takes me.  If I could get quicker to have table top results faster it would be marvelous!"

    Matts Scheme for his Current Army Project - Stormcast Eternals
    What is your Dream Goal for yourself in this Hobby?
    "I would love to be known as The Dispossessed Player.  I want people to look to me as the be all end all of the Army.  Also going to Warhammer World would be nice."


    Can you share with us a memorable experience within Age of Sigmar?
    "I was playing against My local Warhammer Store owner.  It was my Warden King against three Kurnoth Hunters with Swords.  It took 5 rounds, but he managed to kill every one of them while only taking one Wound.  there was plenty of Ribbing and John Cena References being flung across the board to my opponent!"

    Matt's entry into a local Painting Competition (Random Hero and paints were given to use)
    Where do you see the U.S. Age of Sigmar Community regards to Locally, Regionally and Nationally?
    "I haven't delved deep into the National or Regional scene, but as far as local it is interesting.  I have the dichotomy of my local group and your local group.  My scene is an odd mix of Hobbyist who play once a month but enjoys the painting.  I also have the aspiring Tournament players who are trying sharpen their game as well as a few High-End Tournament Veterans who come in and show respect to all players despite experience.  It is a diverse community who gets along even if they don;t agree on Armies, Play Style, Or game but they come together over the Hobby.  Your scene is more of a club but shares the same love for the Hobby despite the game and gather around each other to build friendships.  A commodity if you will."

    What would you like to see in the U.S. National Age of Sigmar Community?
    "I would like to see a ranked system.  While competitive isn't my focus giving us a chance to talk smack about ranks could be fun.  Mostly,  I would love to see points of contact within the U.S. scene to help guide it all and assist new groups/players would be a strong influence to get the U.S. growing in a positive way."

    Thanks again Matt.
    "Sure thing Chuck."

    I hope you all enjoyed my first Player Spotlight article and perhaps got some insight into how who Matt is an Age of Sigmar player.  Feel free to message me here or on Twitter if you have any questions you would like me to ask in future Spotlights or let me know what you thought of this series!  Special shout out to everyone attending South Coast GT this weekend, good luck and I can't wait to see Twitter coverage!  Also be sure to keep an eye on the Games Workshop Coverage on Twitch.  Until Next week, Happy Hobbying!

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  3. Strength_Hammer
    Hello Everyone!  I have made the decision to take my blog from once per week to twice per week.  I want to have a short post about what hobby I have going on or a short hobby related topic every Wednesday, which is the post you will see today.  I also plan to continue bringing you longer more in-depth posts at the end of the week on Friday.  If you have any topics you would like to see covered in my Shorter Tuesday posts please let me know.  Today I want to share with you all the projects I am currently working on as well as what is coming down the pipe for my hobby.
     
      My current army project is Blade of Khorne and I could not be more excited.  I have settled on a White/Gold color scheme and plan to work on my Airbrushing skills with this army.  Expect to see a Bloodthrister from em soon as the pictures above are just the beginning!
       
        I have had a small Sylvaneth grove in my backlog since the beginning of AoS and I keep adding more to it slowly.  The assembled Treelord and Dryads were originally meant to be part of my 8th Edition Wood Elf Force, but with the separation of the army.  They, as well as three Citadel Woods, are sitting silently on the side for that rainy day.     Aelves are my first Warhammer love and I eagerly anticipate the first Aelf army that will join the fight in The Mortal Realms.  I have picked up the Balewind Vortex, a Mistweaver, and a Shard for when the new Aelves are finally released.  I currently have an  Aelf army consisting of models people gave me after The End Times when they decided to "Quit the game for good".  I used the army to practice my airbrush skills and jump on the Concept Army Bandwagon that was all the rage.  However, I plan to go back and give them a proper paint job soon.  Possibly in an AOS28 style!         A humble Liberator Prime sits waiting for me to begin a side project I am very excited to being.  This hero is slated to be my first Nonmetallic Metal model.
          Outside of all the painting, building, and buying, I am also prepping for Nova Open as well as planning out my  event for Coalescence on June 10th that I finally committed to running for my local club.  I have a lot of focus on building communities right now so these events are usually at the forefront of my hobby thoughts. I have come to learn recently this game is so fun and exciting because of the players and growing that aspect will only further the game.     That's all I have on my Hobby Table at the moment, but it is ever changing and growing.  Let me know what you think of this new addition to my blog schedule so I can put out the content you wish to see.  As always feel free to follow me on Twitter and until Friday.  Happy Hobbying!        
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  4. Strength_Hammer
    Hello everyone!  I wanted to take this week’s post to run down my games from The Age of Sigmar Championship that I participated in at Adepticon 2017 this year.

    I decided to take the Stormcast Eternals to the event.  My intention was to take the Warrior Brotherhood, but after the changes that occurred in the new book, it simply wasn't a worthwhile option in my opinion.  With only a limited amount of time to adjust my list, I decided instead to use the Hammerstrike force. Because the Hammerstrike force acts similarly to the old Warrior Brotherhood, I decided to go with what I was more familiar with.  An added bonus was that it also meant I only had a few late painting nights to be prepared for Adepticon.  Now on to the games!


    My List for the Event
                                                                                 

    Game 1 - Opponent: Steven, Army: Sylvaneth



    Steven and I had a great game, despite my nerves at playing my first tournament game at Adepticon.  He made sure that we had a good time playing.  The game really had a back and forth sequence, with no one ever gaining the upper hand until the final turn.  In this first scenario, we were to fight over pieces of terrain each round in order to score points.  I decided to play very aggressively and kept him from ever leaving his deployment zone.  I was able to keep my objective secured, but due to how the scoring worked with battle line units versus non-battle line units, I was behind on points.  Sadly I was unable to kill off his Kurnoth Hunters quickly enough in the remaining rounds to prevent him from capturing his objective for one round giving him the win in the end.  I really enjoyed myself and Steven was a great opponent.  My only real criticism was his substitute GW forests.  He had cut the shape of the Citadel Wood on a Mousepad material and was using them for his forests.  It took a bit away from his army and since there were no trees in his forests or even circles to represent where the trees were supposed to be.  This really allowed him freedom of movement and line of sight that would have otherwise would have been obscured.  That said, I would happily play him again in the future if some more accurate representations for forests were used.
                                                                                 

    Game 2 - Opponent: Gabe, Army: Stormcast Eternals




    Game 2 put me in a mirror match of sorts.  I have always had the Achilles heel of not being able to beat my own army, in a matter of speaking.  Gabe was still new to Age of Sigmar, but his commitment was obvious as he had an exceptionally painted Stormcast Army.  In this scenario, we were fighting over 4 objectives and we deployed spread out knowing we each had a Hammerstrike Alpha-Strike waiting in the wings.  He had the initiative which meant I had to blunt his spearhead.  He devastated my right flank with shooting and Paladins.  The survivability of my Concussors, and a few brave Judicators who punched above their weight class allowed me to essentially take his large paladin unit out of the game.   I targeted his flank in the opposite corner from his Alpha-Strike with my ten Retributors and deployed my Protectors on his other flank.  I was gambling here as my Prosecutors were killed off, but both units made clutch 9" charges to get me into combat and gain the upper hand.  With his Retributors essentially removed from the fight and mine cleaning up, I just had to stall his battleline with mine to claim victory, which I successfully accomplished.  Another great game under my belt and I went into game three 1 -1.
                                                                                 

    Game 3 - Opponent: Cody, Army: Sylvaneth



    I went into game three feeling great and I met Cody at the table and felt a bit worried as I saw Sylvaenth yet again and I feared I would suffer the same fate as before.  The scenario involved waiting for meteors to arrive, so turn one went quickly, but we had traded some shots between our forces.  I had some lucky rolls on my part, as his dryads were removed entirely from the board.  Cody had deployed entirely in the center section which paid off for him as his meteor arrived in the center of his army, while mine fell to my left.  I was able to put a strong defense on my objective and I knew I had to break through his army to prevent him from scoring to try and take the win.  Once again I found my Prosecutors dead after turn one, but some great charge rolls from my Retributors, Concussors, and Lord Celestant on Dracoth allowed me to strike into the heart of his army and begin fighting toward his objective allowing me to prevent him from scoring for a few turns.  The game got very bloody and we were cheering each other on the whole time as we removed our toys.  I took off most of his force, but Allarielle wouldn't fall.  She remained steadfast to the end and even managed to kill off my General in the last round for a moral victory.  I took the game, but found a great opponent, and had one of the best games of Age of Sigmar I ever played.
                                                                                 

    Game 4 - Opponent: Gavin, Army: Flesh Eater Courts





    Scenario four saw us fighting over multiple objectives once again, and I knew I was in trouble due to the lasting power of Flesh Eater Courts.  I went as aggressive as I could, and threw everything I could at his line.  He held on and began to regrow which put me on a back foot for the rest of the game.  I managed to throw some curve balls at him managing to keep the scenario to a draw.  In the end, though, he came out ahead on kill points which gave him the win.  Sadly, this was my least memorable game and it did not have anything to do with the army or how it was played.  My opponent didn't seem to want to participate in the game.  I tried cheering on his Zombie Dragon eating my Retributors, but was denied any response.  When I finally whittled down the monster, I was met with a grumble as he removed his model with irritation.  I felt this could have been a much more exciting game, but the social contract was not met, so I put my hopes on my last game being a more memorable ending to the event, win or lose.
                                                                                 

    Game 5 - Opponent: Peyton, Army: The Legion of Azgoth



    Game five paid off as Peyton was my favorite opponent of the event.  He played exceptionally clean with his entire army and he was one of the finalists for painting which meant I got to play against one of the best painted armies I have ever seen.  The last scenario had us running for three objectives in the middle and holding onto them to score while keeping them away from the enemy.  We both went very aggressive and I managed an early lead.  However, the number of points you scored was based on the turn number so even with an early lead, it was anyone's game.  Peyton baited out my Alpha-Strike and kept my Paladins out for most of the game.  This was a bloody game like the others, but with some power stances and clutch rolls on defense and offense from both sides.  The game was thrilling all the way down to the end.  With each of us holding one objective elsewhere on the board, the game came down to my Lord-Celestant and lone Judicator Prime chasing down his General who held the third objective.  He had one wound and all I had to do was kill him to take the win.  I rolled max attacks for shooting and melee and Peyton stepped up and rolled every single save allowing him to retain the objective and win the game!  This was a thrilling and memorable end that I had hoped for in my final game.
                                                                                 

    Overall I really enjoyed the scenarios as well as the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Objective system.  My only critique is the scenery needs and update.  It was clearly built for eighth edition fantasy and lacked Line of Sight blocking terrain.  Alex who T.O.'d the event has already acknowledged this and plans to correct the situation.  Alex put a lot of heart and effort into running a great event and from my perspective, I can say he succeeded!  I managed to place 44/104 in the end and scored well in Sportsmanship and much better in painting then I expected.  This has become a must-attend event for me yearly and I look forward to what next year will bring to the Age of Sigmar Championship!  Feel free to follow me on my Twitter so we can meet up next year if you are attending.

    Until next week Happy Hobbying!

    Edited by Grudgegamer

    Scenarios and Secondary Objective List:

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  5. Strength_Hammer
    Welcome to Part 4 of my "Building a Community" Series.  If you have missed Part 1, 2 or 3, please check them out in the links below.  Today I want to talk about how I will attempt to bring unity to my local club.
     
    Later this month my local club, Ligonier Legions, will meet as we usually do.  However, instead of setting up immediately for a gaming event, I have set up an open forum to let members determine the future of the group.  After speaking with a few dedicated club members, I believe an open forum is my best option to bring us all together.
      I see three major cliques that make up our club that I hope to have a meaningful discussion with at the meeting.  In previous articles, I spoke about a small subsection in my local community who were poisonous to the whole with how they wished the club to be run while not actively stepping up to run events themselves or thinking beyond their own short term goals.  On the opposite side, I have another small group dedicated to my vision.  The third group is the majority of the club.  They are made up of younger and newer players.  I wish to let everyone voice their opinions so they get their points across and let the group as a whole react.  My hope is that I can perhaps bring them around to my long view approach to growing our club.
     
    The majority appear to be enjoying the current games that we conduct and do not seem to mind too much one way or another how things are run or handled.  This majority is just looking to show up and have a few games with some friends, but I hope this will give them ownership in the club and help get us all moving in the right direction.
        My major concern is that the small group, who does not appear to be happy with the recent changes, speaks out in a negative non-constructive way.  What I predict is that they voice their displeasure without offering any positive ideas on how to improve on my ideas to grow the club.  I hope I am wrong, but I am preparing to lead the conversation away from negativity to be sure we come up with positive ways to enact any change members wish to see in the club.  While I am preparing for this inevitability, I have hopes that we will be able to clear the air and find the common ground that I am sure is there.
     
     
    While it may seem that the point of the meeting is to get the grumblers on track with me, I am more focused on the younger members.  The younger players are the future and will one day take the wheel and lead this club.  I want to make sure I lay down a solid foundation for them to build off of when the burden is placed on their shoulders.  I need their input so I can try to set the club up for future success.  I want to see what they like and what they do not like.  Perhaps we are playing a game that is getting to much focus, while one they really want to play isn't getting enough attention.  Is gaming the only thing they want to do when we meet?  Would more hobby days be in order or more seminar-style events to teach better tactics?  Do they want a competitive or narrative focus?  This majority is my focus and I look forward to what they will have to offer.

    After Adepticon, I have come to realize just how different my club’s mindset for this hobby is compared to me.  At Adepticon, I was surrounded by so many people who cared about every aspect of the hobby.  There were beautifully painted armies, strategically satisfying games, and opponents who want to have a fun game instead of focusing only on winning.  My local club is lacking in these philosophies and I have set my path to correct these failings.  It has to start somewhere and it needs to start with me.
     
    I will be reporting back next month sometime to let you know how the first open forum club meeting went.  After that, I will be focusing on other articles besides the Building a Community series so I can put a light on different subjects.  If you have any tips, advice, or have done this within your own club please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@odiamh) as I would love to talk more about this before the meeting.
     
    Until next week Happy Hobby!
    Edited BY @Grudgegamer

    Building a Community Series:
    Part 1
    Part 2
    Part 3    
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  6. Strength_Hammer
    Hello, everyone!  I have recently returned from my first Adepticon and I wanted to share an overview of my time at the convention and run through my experience.  Spoilers...it was great!

    I traveled out with my buddy Matt and from Pittsburgh, PA.  We took a predawn drive Thursday morning through a few states; Indiana being the worst due to construction, and seven hours later we arrived at our hotel.  After a bit of unwinding, I headed over to the Convention Hall to Register and explore.


    My Arrival at my First Adepticon
    First off I was blown away by the amount of Swag I received just for registering.  An entire copy of Runewars, the new Hordes Book, tons of models, bases, and a bunch of other little things.  It was so much I immediately took it back to the car so I could be free of any burden as I walked around.  My first stop was the AoS game hall!

    The AoS Vanguard and Warhost events were in full swing and I got to check out all the great armies on the table.  One thing that was palpable on entering the area was the positive energy in the room.  Everyone was having fun playing this game.  No one seemed stressed from the bottom tables to the top.  It was a great thing to see and made me instantly glad I finally came to Adepticon.  As I walked the room I began to recognize people I knew from Twitter and I began introducing myself and being introduced to others as well.  One of the strengths of this community is how welcoming it has been and this was no exception.  One of the highlights was getting to play a fun 2000pt game with Tyler Emerson from The Scruby & Wells Podcast.  His Sylvaneth were a beautiful army and my Stormcast were put to the task in 5 great turns of AoS.  Tyler pulled out the win and his Durthu was the star of the match for him making three consecutive 9" Charges!


    Tyler's Durthu had his running shoes on this day
    Day 2 began early as my excitement kept me from sleeping all that much.  I didn't have much planned for the day until evening so I really got to explore the convention in earnest.  The vendor hall was fantastic and I was lucky enough to meet some 40k podcasters while spending a fair portion of my funds on all the great miniatures in the hall.  I spent the rest of the day meeting folks  I know from Twitter until my evening when I was lucky enough to attend one of Duncans Painting classes.  This experience was eye opening.  Roger (the man behind the camera) and Duncan were very open and clearly enjoy what they do.  I took away a lot of army painting knowledge from this event as well as insight into how the community creates and posts their videos.  I have learned that in order to get to the next step of my painting skill I have a lot to do.


    Roger, Myself, and Duncan
    Saturday arrived and so did the AoS Championships, which I will go into detail in a future post, I had three fantastic games of AoS.  I gave out Combat gauges made by 6 Squared Studios to all my opponents who all immediately used it in the games played!  Honestly, they were some of the best games I have ever had, despite a few small critiques.  The time flew by and I pulled our a 2-3 record for day one and felt happy in where I sat.  Later that night I was humbled to be part of the US AoS Community Meeting.  This whole concept began as an idea I sent Tyler Emerson months ago to get us all together to work with Games Workshop in order to take AoS to the next level.  Games Workshop was welcoming and very open and the community leaders really rallied and will continue to help push this game to bigger and better things it the future you can be sure of that!  After the excitement, I managed to get a bit of sleep and head to the next day.


    My and Duncans model (He gave me his! On the left)
    While most people were tired from the previous night I had another two games of the AoS Championship.  While my first game suffered due to a lack of engagement from my opponent, but he played well and without issue. My final game was easily one of the best games I have ever played in and enjoyed every last moment.  I ended with two losses but ended up 44/104 in the event and for my first event I feel proud and look forward to improving year after year.


    The AoS US Community Group meet up (missing a few folks)
    After the awards ceremony, I said my goodbyes and was once again humbled by acceptance of the community ad hated to leave, but did so knowing I made a fair number of new friends who continued contact with me via twitter with nothing but excitement for our shared hobby.   I drove home that night with my buddy Matt and arrived home at 4:40 am.  After a night fo sleep and a day of relaxing and recalling stories to my wife, I found a new legitimacy and motivation for this hobby that has yet to die off.  Adepticon is now a must-attend event for me and I am looking at other events such as Nova, LVO, and Nashcon to a possibly attend in the future.


    Until next year...
    If you have ever thought to attend Adepticon I can whole heartily say do it.  Jump in and join us in this fantastic event.  I meet so many great people and cannot wait to see what the following year will bring to this great game.  I hope to see even more of you next year at Adepticon 2018!  Feel free to follow me on Twitter as I prepare for next year!

    Until next time Happy Hobbying!



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  7. Strength_Hammer
    We have at last come to the week of Adepticon 2017.  This will be the first major Wargaming event I will be attending and the excitement is incredible.  Games Workshop will be out in force this year with event support and hobby seminars galore.  It is going to be big and I cannot wait for Thursday to arrive!



    Over the past few months, you could see a few posts about Adepticon preparation appearing in your social media feeds.  As we grew closer more and more appeared as the Hobby Crunch time swung into full effect.  I personally experienced this crunch for other hobbies and conventions, but it was very unique this time around and that is due tot he community.

    My Lists to hand out
    As my Stormcast army was changed with the release of the new book I kept struggling on what army list I would bring to the Championship  (spoiler it will not be Warrior Brotherhood).  I had no idea what else I needed to paint, but along the way, I received lots of support from the Twitter Community as well as my close friends.  They would constantly tell me "You can do it!  We believe in you!" and it is heartwarming to hear those words from the people I call friends.  To top it all off every picture I posted via Twitter on hobby progress for Adepticon was met with words of encouragement and a plethora of likes (hearts?).

    Which Gryph-Hound made it into my list? (Digby or Becky)
    I found myself searching for those prepping for Adepticon to offer my own words of encouragement and support.  It has been great to see how a community can bond and keep pushing itself more and more while keeping the fun.  From finishing my army to working out some giveaways to my opponents I have enjoyed every minute, even the stressful ones.  We have a very unique and close-knit community and we cannot forget how great a thing that is as we continue to grow in the future as a game and a hobby.

    Who will prevail? Only the Faithful!
    I don't believe I will accomplish everything I intended for Adepticon, but I will be ready enough with the few hours remaining to prepare.  I look forward seeing some of you at Adepticon and please do come up to say hello and chat for a bit!  If you are not able to attend keep an eye on my Twitter as I will post up as many pictures as I can for everyone to see all the fun!

    Until next week Happy Hobbying!
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  8. Strength_Hammer
    This past weekend I was able to attend the first event for The Steel City Sigmar Series.  The event was hosted at Legions Hobbies and Games.  Organized by Bill Souza and acting as T.O, Mike Ryan.  I wanted to run down my games and give some of my opinions from the event.  I took Stormcast Eternals to this event using the Hammerstrike and Thunderhead formations.  I do want to mention that this club is separate from the local scene that I am trying to grow within my immediate area that has been the focus on my "Building a Community" Series.  Steel City Sigmar is where I simply show up to play and compete.  It is vastly different from the local group I am struggling with currently.

    The event consisted of three matched play games at 2000pts using the ITC format.  Entry was $20.00 with prizes for First, Second, Third, Painting (although painting was not a requirement), and Smoking Boots (i.e. Last place).  As I mentioned above Legions Hobbies and Games hosted the event and we had plenty of tables and space to play.  All prize money was given in the form of Store Credit and everyone was scoring ITC points for attending as well as our own in-house point system for Steel City Sigmar.  I feel the entry fee was a bit high for a local event, but there were thirteen players who show up to play so perhaps it is what the local scene sees as reasonable.  After a bit of banter and coffee, the games got under way.


    Game 1
    My First game was against a club mate Roger who brought a  Tzeentch army with Archaon at its head.  While I have known Roger for a bit, we have never faced off one another across the table so I was very excited.  The first Scenario was "Three Places of Power".  Roger had more heroes than I did, but my shooting kept all but Archaon cowering in the back for a large portion of the game.  I took an aggressive move early to try and rack up the points before Archaon and his magic began to remove my heroes.  The game had a lot of back and forth and stayed tight until the initiative roll for turn four.  If I would have won, I would have been able to shoot off one of his scoring heroes.  We rolled and he came up with the big roll to seal the game.  It was a great game and I learned how to handle Archaon on the table as well as the power Tzeentch is bringing.  My big mistake in the game was attempting to drop my Prosecutors from the heavens on a 3 up in order to allow my Hammerstrike Force Paladins to attempt to alpha strike his line.  They did not arrive until turn five.  A harsh lesson learned to start my game with the Prosecutors on the table.


    Game 2
    Game two was Gift from the Heavens down on the bottom tables after my loss.  I was paired off against Pat who was new to Age of Sigmar, but a long time Fantasy player.  Pat had a good humor about him and seemed excited to be playing.  Pat brought an Eight Edition Dispossessed Army with lots of artillery and shooting.  Pat did his best with an underpowered army, but I quickly neutered his army by baiting his killing units away from the objectives and shooting off his artillery crew.  I did my best to give him a proper game and we made it through four rounds despite the primary being wrapped by me up in the first few turns.


    Game 3 (My terrain error is easily seen)
    I was going into my final game as 1-1.  I knew I was most likely out of the running, but I was ready strive to place as well as possible.  The last Scenario was "Border War", and I was playing Tom and his Stormcast Army.  Tom was new to gaming, and despite a few of the bad habits we all had when beginning he was a good opponent.  This game I made my biggest mistake.  I am sad to say I did not give Tom a proper game.  I took myself out of the game after I realized my mistake.  That mistake was that after deployment began I realized terrain had been pushed to the edges by the person before packing up their army.  I was stuck deploying on objectives with no cover to be seen.  I should have been more aware before deployment or called the T.O. over to rectify the situation, but I mentally took myself out of the game.  We threw dice, we did have some fun, but by turn three it was all over.  I did my best to give my opponent a good game, but I am sure my attitude wasn't as sporting as it could have been for the game.  Tom played very tight and clean and I hope to play him again in the future and have a better experience on the table between the two of us.

    I placed 12th out of 13 at the end of the day and while the gaming experience wasn't all that great I did learn quite a bit about my army.  It didn't work well with how I wished to play.  I am currently adjusting in preparation for Adepticon and still considering running Warrior Brotherhood, but more and more I feel the Stormcast Eternal Battalions are too much of a point sink and a strong list might not need to include any.  I also got to experience a bad day of gaming and reflect on how I can handle it better in the future as well as look inward to improve myself.  Overall what I took away from the event was immensely more valuable than a podium.


    Club Shirt (Front)
    Taking a step back to view the event separate from my personal experience I would say it was a good first event.  It was organized well and we did great as a club to get the word out to ensure a good turnout.  However, I feel the $20.00 entry fee was too steep for the drive and the potential to have a lackluster day.  My other concern was the lack of soft scores.  The ITC is known to be very competitive, but this kills hobby and ultimately can kill the enjoyment of the game.  Only three armies, one being my own, were fully painted and based.  I didn't get to play against a finished army that day, which added to me wondering if the drive and entry fee were worth it to me.  One bright spot of the day was receiving my Club Shirt.  While the first event didn't go all that well for me the next one could be much better and I intend to continue supporting and growing with the club.  The turnout was great and I hope it grows to improve the wider scene.  Hopefully even my own, more local, group.  Bill and Mike did a great job and I have expressed my views of the first event to them both prior to this article.  Open feedback will help improve the next event and I am always happy to share both the positive and negative.


    Club Shirt (Back)
    Until Next week (Adepticon week!) Happy Hobbying!

    Edited by Grudgegamer


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  9. Strength_Hammer
    I was chatting with my friend about our preparation for Adepticon that is rapidly approaching.  An interesting topic came up on where we saw ourselves in a level of competitiveness.  I thought it could be a good talking point to discuss how someone might see themselves in the various levels of competition.


    So much to do and so little time...
    I see myself as a very competitive player.  However, Adepticon will most likely change my perspective on the matter.  In my local scene, I hang around the top tables with a high level of consistency.  I developed my taste for winning during 8th edition Fantasy and found enjoyment in developing new competitive lists and testing them on the table.  When I found that list I would play it for months constantly refining it, and committing the play style and stats to memory.  It may sound dull, but if you mix in the background and the story it can feed into a competitive style of play, at least for me it has.

    I can look at my past and feel proud of my accomplishments and awards.  Recently, however, I have been challenged and it is very refreshing to get your teeth kicked in once in a while.  That may sound odd, but it is the truth. In a few short games in which I lost has given me more info about how to improve then all the wins combined.  Always ask why you lost and be honest in self-critiques.

    My hobby space with my local event trophies sprinkled about to keep me motivated!
    It is easy to say that your dice went cold or your opponents dice were hot.  We all know this is a dice game and there is a level of luck involved, but when you build and play your lists you should be working to minimize how much luck affects the game.  There is always something that you could have done better.  Maybe you made one wrong move or buffed the wrong unit that swung the game against you.  Being able to see your mistake and work to correct it will make you a better general.  A good strategy I have used in the past is to play a game with a like-minded individual, but remove as much of the dice as possible.  Instead of rolling to hit, wound, or save use the average of what your dice can produce.  Same for Battleshock, running, and charging (this one can be difficult).  The only dice that I feel needs to stay random is the Turn Order roll.  Keeping that random helps you prepare to be double turned while taking advantage of gaining the double turn.  This type of practice is not for everyone, but I find it invaluable.

    Getting out of your comfort zone and playing new people is an exciting a scary idea.  I like the group I play with and I do well in the local group.  I could leave it at that and be content with my current status, but what is the point.  I want to climb the next mountain no matter its height always reaching for the impossible.  I am about to go to Adepticon and I have the confidence to show up and do well, but I also know there is a good chance this mountain will kick me off its rocky slopes.  Honestly, I am not afraid to fall as I will learn from my failure and when I stop falling I will stand back up, spit the blood from my mouth and start climbing again!  Ever forward!

    It would be amazing to bring home one of these beauties.
    Dramatism aside, I look forward to Adepticon and I am going in with confidence.  If I win every game I will be over the moon, but if I lose every game I will enjoy the process of learning while meeting and playing new people.  I am competitive by nature, but I always see more opportunity to learn from my defeats.  Look forward to my post-Adepticon article that will most likely be titled “Big Fish, Little Pond”.

    Until next week Happy Hobbying!

    Edited by Grudgegamer
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  10. Strength_Hammer
    Welcome to Part 3 of my "Building a Community" Series.  If you have missed Part 1 and Part 2, please check them out in the links below.  Today I want to talk about my local club’s tables, terrain, etc...
    I need to be honest with myself.  Building and painting terrain can be a chore for the common hobbyist, with the exception of a few notable exceptions.  When I go home to hobby I would rather build lists, paint, or convert models while catching up on Warhammer TV streams.  I could go on and on about the parts of the hobby that I love, but it would take some time until I mentioned building and painting terrain.  I am falling short in raising the bar in that regard for my local scene.
    When I took over the leadership position of my local club, I inherited a ramshackle assortment of terrain and gaming mats that the club has collected over the past decade.  Most of which has been donated from less hobby enthused patrons, to say the least.  It is the same terrain in service today.  While it is great to have anything to put on the table when you are just starting out, our club has been around for a number of years.  Despite my motivation to take the club beyond where it currently stands, I have not managed to rectify this situation.
    A classic piece of terrain, but it has seen better days...
    When we show up for Club Meets, we begin by setting up uneven tables in the basement of our local library.  Old felt mats, not even cut to the proper size, are then laid out.  Terrain, that has seen better days, is then spread out among these felt mats.  It is time to correct the situation. My goal has always been to motivate others to play and enjoy Age of Sigmar, and that must include playing on quality tables.
    Basic field at my local events
    Many hands make light work, and building and painting does not require a high level of hobby skill, but it does require a time commitment and perhaps even a few dollars.  Hopefully, I can get the club on board with taking a few of our standard Club Meets throughout the year to spruce up our tables.  My goal isn't to have Holy Wars or Realms at War level of tables, but I would like our club to be able to host a small size one-day event without the feeling that the playing area is lessening the experience of the players.
    While I need help from my club to improve the tables, I realize I will have to take on most of the responsibility myself to make it all happen.  I have worked with my FLGS owner to purchase some Games Workshop terrain for use at the club so each table can have a few high-quality pieces.  I need to motivate myself to paint these up quickly to inspire everyone else to put in their effort, so we improve our club as a whole.  It won't be an overnight change and it might not be very easy, but it needs to be done.
    A beautiful table by Steve Herner One day I hope to play on it myself!
    Luckily, I have a few stalwart friends that I know I can count on.  Others I may have to drag along in this process, but that is part of being a motivator.  My hope is everyone steps up to help, even if it is only in a small way.  The fear is that there are a few who feel they are above this endeavor or do not feel like it is a good use of time.  No matter who is on board or possibly not on board, I will give it my all to inspire and motivate others within my club to create the best playing experience possible.

    A lovingly crafted table by Ming
    Another thing to keep in mind is that our club currently shares terrain between 40k and Age of Sigmar.  While this is great for starting out it will have to change so we can theme our tables wholly within The Mortal Realms.  While hills can easily pass for both games I doubt a High Elf Dragon Prince would land next to a power generator and a chemical plant any time soon.  As a club, we will need to acknowledge and sort our terrain between the two games to prevent unnecessary damage and keep it thematic.  I have seen firsthand how players from other systems can be careless and downright abusive to terrain that they know is not theirs.  Hopefully separate tubs will be enough.
    I have fallen short of my goals for this club so far, but I will work to correct it with their help.  Currently, I am striving for having 6 tabletop standard tables with 8-10 quality pieces of terrain for each prepared by the end of this summer.  I would like to invite anyone who has advice on the matter or from anybody who has been in a similar situation.  I will continue to keep everyone posted on my progress on this topic.

    Until next week, Happy (Terrain) Hobbying!
    Building a Community Links: Part 1 Part 2
    Edited by @Grudgegamer
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  11. Strength_Hammer
    Hello everyone!  This week I wanted to give you a short update on my Adepticon 2017 Preperation.

    Adepticon 2017 is now less than one month away and I am feeling the hobby crunch in full force.  This is not a new feeling, as I have experienced it before, although it feels just as stressful and fun as it always has in the past.  Perfecting my models, my list, and stashing aside those few extra hobby bucks for an impulse buy constantly occupies my mind.

    As you may have seen in my previous posts, I plan on taking a Stormcast Eternals force.  You will be happy to know that I finished painting the last of my Warrior Brotherhood last Friday night, just in time to see my original plan change the next day when I picked up my copy of the new Stormcast Eternals Battletome.


    I am in no way upset that Warrior Brotherhood has been altered and that some warscrolls have been changed.  I believe it was a necessity for the health of the competitive gaming scene.  There appears to be quite a bit of potential in the new Battletome as well.  Diving into a new book is always an exciting time, especially “educating” your unfamiliar gaming buddies by catching them off guard.  However, I have chosen to stick with my initial plan of taking the Warrior Brotherhood.  I may splash into something new from the new Battletome, but I see no reason to alter my plan.  I believe the Warrior Brotherhood can still work and I intend to give it a go at Adepticon.


    I am excited as a Stormcast player, but I feel that I may be running out of time to have an army that I am comfortable with playing.  I typically play test a list for a few months before I am familiar with it.  It is when I am comfortable playing the army that I can simply enjoy a fun competitive game with some new opponents.  I do not want to find myself second guessing my lists and abilities.  I feel keeping the bulk of my list as the Warrior Brotherhood will keep me in my comfort zone that I have developed, while at the same time bringing in something fresh.


    I have a chance to field some new models and units in a competitive environment with a book that is a bit of an unknown.  I feel that including some of the newer units could prove to give me a slight advantage over players who are unfamiliar with the change, given that new mechanics and new list compositions can mix things up.  I just have to get my head wrapped around the new book and how I can supplement the list I wish to bring.


    I may feel terribly behind on what I want to have completed for Adepticon, but I am staying motivated.  I keep the thought of meeting some of the people I know from Twitter and enjoying time celebrating this hobby.  I hope everyone is feeling more confident in their preparation than I am, but if not just stay positive and keep toward your goal as I am doing.  If you see me at Adepticon please come say hi!


    Until Next week Happy Hobbying!

    Also, I want to apologize again for the delay of last week's blog "Building a Community : Part 2"  Feel free to check it out on the link in case you missed it!

    Edited by @Grudgegamer
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  12. Strength_Hammer
    Welcome to Part 2 of my Building a Community Series.  If you missed Part 1 please check it out here.  I apologize for the delay in getting this article posted.
    In this installment, I want to talk about poisonous players and the current challenges with this type of player that I am currently facing.  I will not be calling out anyone by name, as that is not the direction I want to take this article.  My wish is to show you my personal dilemma that I have encountered while trying to grow my local scene.  Hopefully, my experiences can help others to better prepare for these obstacles.  
     
    So first let me set the scene.  When the 8th Ed. Warhammer Fantasy scene died, I decided to take the reins and lead the Age of Sigmar division of our gaming club, Ligonier Legions.  Our club has three main game systems that we run, Flames of War, 40k, and Age of Sigmar.  We typically meet twice a month, and Flames of War.  Flames of War is the most popular of the games and was guaranteed a date each month.  This left 40k and AoS competing for the other date.  During this time, I was only in charge of running the Age of Sigmar events.  I did not have any authority on picking the dates for which games would be played.  This worked for about a year, until recently.  The senior member who handled all the higher level duties, as well as running the other game systems, burned out trying to manage it all.  He tried listening to everyone in how to run things and gave in to every request.  By trying to make everyone happy, this quickly made everyone unhappy.  Instead of playing the three main games we were supposed to be dedicated to, we were playing older editions, board games, open games days, build leagues, paint leagues, etc.  This led to bitter people blaming everyone else and generally beginning to create a poisonous atmosphere.

    This should bring everyone up to speed.  At the end of 2016, I arrived at a combined 40k/AoS event.  The senior member who had been running things up to this point told me that he was done and needed a break from all the aggravation.  I was thrust into the position of club leader and running the 40k events as well.  I now organize all the events; however, I did have to put someone in charge of running Flames of War, as I am unfamiliar with that system.  I had seen this coming, so I had a bit of mental preparation to take over long before it actually happened.  The thing I wasn't prepared for though was the complaining that followed, and the poisonous players trying to assert their views.  I never realized how a few people could bring a group down and inhibit its growth so easily.
    Over the past year of running AoS, I have learned to run events and gaming groups with the view that "if I was a player, how would I like this to be run".  My first order of business was to adjust how we shared time.  I wanted more focus on 40k and Age of Sigmar.  These two game systems have a bit of player cross over, as well as a stable core.  We now have a solid rotation of 40k and Age of Sigmar, and are able to keep Flames of War consistent each month.  Unless the group wants to run an open games day, in which case Flames of War has to volunteer to give up their day.

    It did not take long after this adjustment for those poisonous players to assert their opinions and make demands that had pulled down the previous leadership.  It has been challenging, to say the least.  These players have refused to accept that Games Workshop has changed for the better and cling to older editions with zeal.  They have had no love for 40k as it stands now for the past year, arranging for previous edition play outs that have had a reduced turnout month after month.  When I put the word out that we will rotate 40k and Age of Sigmar they suddenly began defending the game of 40k as if nothing was all that wrong with it anymore.  They debated my change because I was taking time away from their failing games for Age of Sigmar.  I have explained myself, but they didn't grasp my long view.  I understand they want their old editions to become the “new” way to play in the area, but I know we can grow all of our game systems to be equally supported by the player base.  
    They talk about wanting to run older editions of Fantasy and 40K even though in the past these events have failed to draw players.  I decided to not simply say no, as I feel that isn’t the right path.  I told them that it could be a fun idea and they should organize it on one of our open days.  I put the ball in their hands and said go for it.  So far they are unwilling to step up and organize it but continue to nag and make comments to other players.  You must be cautious if you have players who may be poisonous to your larger group because they could easily get the ears of the newer players with negative remarks or even outright complaints.  When my new players show up, I just want them to have fun playing some games, and not have people who take a negative view on the game drag them down. When this happens in my group, I combat the problem in two ways.  I counter with my excitement for the game.  If this fails, I have no problem pulling the person aside and asking them to set a better example for the younger players.  I have seen this succeed in the short term, but old habits tend to die hard so you need to keep aware of the poor attitude returning.

    The long and short of all this is there will be some people that may be poisonous to your local group for one reason or another.  My advice is to set your course and see it to the end.  Some people may drop off, but others will join you and those are the players you will want to focus on.  It is important to adjust your course from time to time but always head towards your goal of growing your scene.  Don't let anyone drag the whole group down, keep motivated, keep active, and keep it fun along the way.  All the negative talk will not be able to stand up to the real examples of fun and excitement you will bring to the community.  You will fall occasionally, but focus on the good and don't let it drag you down.
    Until Next Time, Happy Hobbying!



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  13. Strength_Hammer
    Hello everyone!  I wanted to start a sub-series focused on building a community around Miniature War Gaming (particularly Age of Sigmar) by sharing my experiences.  My hope is to speak with other community members during this series, and share ideas to use with local gaming groups.  Part one of this series will focus on developing your local scene.  I will explore connecting a personal gaming group to a larger scene in future articles.



    Before I dive in I want to preface the article a bit.  I had written an article about building the community, but after some friendly and honest critique, I saw how generic and boring the article was to read.  Instead, I am bringing you a fresher and much more personal experience, my experience to be exact, of the challenges in developing a local scene.  Please enjoy.

    At the end of Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition, my local scene was falling apart.  My friend that was leading it all at the time was out of steam.  The dropping of Age of Sigmar took what little wind he had in his sails away.  I can't blame him either, as he had been playing for over 20 years in the Old World.  Within a few years, the scene went from tournaments of 24 attendants and up to just him and myself showing up.  Thankfully he has returned to the scene and is playing games somewhat more regularly, but he is no longer leading the group.


    I decided to take up the reins and try to regrow the scene shortly after.  I debated with myself “why I had chosen to lead the local scene?”  I found my answer after a bit of thinking.  I truly love this hobby and this game, and I didn't want to see it die in my local area.  So I began taking steps to rebuild.  I began showing up to play and teach Age of Sigmar to anyone who would try, but it was weeks until I managed to get anyone to throw dice with me in a game of Age of Sigmar.  I won't lie in the fact that it was very rough and heartbreaking at times.  My best advice is to never give up and keep showing up to play.  You may not get a game in every night, but eventually, you will be playing consistently with a small group.

    Over time I had a few small groups of people playing regular games and it felt rewarding, but I faced a new challenge.  These small groups played only 15 minutes apart from one another, but no matter what I did they simply would not communicate and to this day they still are separate entities with the only connecting being myself as the consistent Age of Sigmar player who leads the scenes.  This has been immensely frustrating, to be honest.  I have tried to set one-day tournaments with prize support, narrative events, and even simple open games days to get everyone together.  Nothing so far has worked, but I have not given up on it happening yet.  I hope to ultimately bring these groups together and get them playing with my consistent group (a scene I happily play with but have no part in leading) of game buddies that are a bit farther away.  I do not know if this will ever happen, but I continue trying.


    There have been very exciting times within the groups that made then take leaps and bounds in a positive direction.  The first was the release of the Generals Handbook.  Many players who were on the fence were finally convinced, as they now had an easier way to set up a game with other players.  Those players who held off for so long found themselves with points and small local groups within reach to begin playing with and we welcomed them with open arms.  Shortly afterward, we had The Season of War, which we all had something to play for in capturing our perspective cities in order to change the future of the narrative.  It was a fun and exciting time.  As scenes grow, more and more types of players will join in.   Occasionally, however, you will attract people who can be harmful to a local scene.  This is a topic I am going to save that for the next installment of my "Building a Community" series.

    I hope my honesty won't keep anyone from stepping up to lead their local scene.  It is a very tough and can be thankless work, but if you are doing it for the right reasons (love of the game and hobby), then the happiness you will experience as positive growth happens will outweigh any of the drawbacks.


    Feel free to follow me on Twitter and until Next Time Happy Hobbying!

    Edited by @Grudgegamer on Twitter


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  14. Strength_Hammer
    Last week was the anniversary of my blogging career, and I wanted to take a moment to look back on this previous year.

     
    On January 23rd, 2016 I released my first blog post.  I loved the idea of running my own blog to share my thoughts and ideas with the community in a format beyond Twitter.  Truthfully I felt a little intimidated at first.  I believe I spent a week or two designing the blog layout and reading articles with titles such as "How to write your First Blog Post".  Soon I realized that I just needed to jump in with both feet and enjoy the plunge. 

    Humble Beginnings...
    I did my best to consistently put out one post each month.  I was successful in posting once or twice a month.  I, however, did miss a post in the month of August.  The topics I discussed were varied and typically what was on my mind at the time.  I was able to follow and respond to the trending topics of the Age of Sigmar community at large.  It is very likely that you will continue to see the same general composition of topics in the coming year, but I hope to add new topics of my own as well.  I believe responding to current events in the community and introducing topics of my own will create a continuing narrative between you, the readers, and myself.

    This year I decided to make a few changes to my blog.  The biggest was switching to a weekly release format.  I am still adjusting to the new level of output, but I am very happy with the change.  One of my goals is to ensure I post entries on the same day every week within the next few months.  The other big change was the addition of my friend Tom as my editor.  If you have read my blog before, it isn't a secret that I am not the best with grammar or sentence structure, but I am striving to improve on this.  Tom has stepped up to edit my posts in order give you an improved professional product. 


    I have had a lot of support throughout this past year.  I want to end by offering my thanks to everyone who joined me on this journey.  First, let me thank those in the Twitter community who have retweeted my blog posts, encouraged me along the way, and read my blog.  Second, I want to thank Tom who is now editing my blog.  He is volunteering his time to help me produce a better product.  He also has been my longest wargaming buddy.  He has taught me a lot about the way of gaming and tactics throughout the years.  Next, I want to thank my closest friends who are always there encouraging me.  They are not all wargamers, but they can see my love for this game, and buy me brushes, paints, models, and put up with my questioning of "What color scheme should this army be?" or "How does this look?".  When they visit my home, I am always humbled by the amount of time they spend looking at my latest work.  It truly fills me with joy having friends like this in my life.  Last I want to thank my wife for many of the same reason as my friends, but also because she allows me to put the time into my hobby as well display my armies throughout our home.


    And of course, I cannot forget to thank you, my readers.  I am always pleased to see when my reader numbers increase every month.  Without you, this blog would not be worth it.  I hope you have enjoyed my first year and are looking forward to the coming year of posts.  The best thing I can hope for is that every one of you will share my blog with you gaming friends and clubs.  I also encourage you all to reach out to me about any topics you might be interested in seeing in the coming year.


    Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
    Edited by @Grudgegamer on Twitter
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  15. Strength_Hammer
    Hello Everyone!  I wanted to talk this week about my local club, and the exciting things that are happening.



    The club is located in and around Pittsburgh, PA, and several small Age of Sigmar groups have popped up all over the place.  Clubs from Latrobe, Ligonier, Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Monroeville, and I am sure others I have missed, are off playing Age of Sigmar together at their friendly local gaming store (FLGS).  Occasionally people from these gaming groups pop into our new Games Workshop Warhammer Store, but there is very little cohesion.  A few of us who frequent the Warhammer Store have begun playing competitively on a regular basis, and have decided to work on a way to bring these clubs together under one roof.  This will hopefully branch out to others even further away.

    The Steel City Sigmar Tournament Series hopes to bring a friendly, competitive Age of Sigmar gaming environment to the region.  The club have been working with Frontline Gaming to be added to their ITC ranking system.  As you have seen on some recent blog posts, we are consistently running smaller tournaments monthly, but the hope is to grow large enough to qualify for Grand Tournament status.   

    In conjunction with the ITC ranking system, it will also be using a local ranking system for the Steel City Tournament Series that you will gain throughout the season to count toward prizes and bragging rights.  Not only will you be able see where you place nationally, but also be able to see where you stand in a regional sense.  As the series moves through this process, they are looking for any critiques or advice, so that they can make positive changes. 


    The first event will be held on March 12th at Legions Games, one of our local FLGS near Pittsburgh, PA.  The event will consist of three games with random round one pairings.  The entry fee will be put to prize support in the form of Store Credit for the FLGS (the event is not run by the FLGS, but we want to "Pay where we play"). I look forward to writing a full and detailed report about the event, as well as a brief overview of the games I will play in a future post.

    If you are thinking about joining us feel free to check out the event pack here and if you have any questions on attending these events or helping out please feel free to reach out to the contact below.

    Mike - mikosan18o2@gmail.com


    As always feel free to follow me on Twitter (@odiamh) Until next week, Happy Hobbying!


    Edited by @Grudgegamer (twitter)
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  16. Strength_Hammer
    Hello everyone, sorry for the delay in this week's blog post.  Nurgle has blessed me with a plague and it has been a struggle, but I am battling back!  Enjoy!

     

     
    This past weekend, I attended a Competitive Tournament at my local Games Workshop Store (Bridgeville, PA).  It was a six player 2000 point event, with three games scored on Win/Loss/Draw.  The Tournament was free, but that didn't mean the competition was any less fearsome. (Sadly my phone was down so I only have a few pictures from the event)

     

     
    My first game was against a club mate, by the name of Michael, who brought Beastclaw raiders to the table.  The Battleplan (rolled randomly from the general’s handbook) was Take and Hold.  I brought my Warrior Brotherhood to the table, and despite the Mortal Wound threat from his army, I saw my opportunity to win the Scenario based on my higher model count.

     
     
    I began my turn one by dropping my Judicators to shoot off his Mournfang Cavalry. With the help of some lucky battle shock rolls, I was able to reduce his force more quickly than I expected.  Michael pushed back and killed off my shooting with ease, much to my dismay.  I responded in kind by dropping in my Knight- Azyros (using my Knight- Vexillor to pick him back up and drop him closer) and my ten man unit of Retributors with four Starsoul Maces.  I ignored the obvious threat of his Stonehorns and proceeded to destroy his Yeti and a few more Mournfang.  After I took my beating back, I dropped the rest of my army to try for the Turn 3 victory, but I failed and watched my army melt as the Stonehorns took over the battle.  I was able to get a few characters in line to block my back field Liberator units holding my objective, and with a lucky roll of my Lord-Celestant’s Cloak, I was able to kill off his last Mournfang model.  That left him with only four models left in his army, allowing me to secure a victory.

     

     
    My Second game put my Warrior Brotherhood against a Club Member Pat, who brought his Tunneling Skaven army.  The Battle Plan for this game was Three Places of Power.  We each had three Heroes and Armies that could Strike anywhere on the board.

     
     
    We both began defensively by exchanging a bit of shooting between the Judicators and Warp Lighting Cannons.  The dice were in my favor as I killed off one cannon and one of his Heroes, preventing him from scoring.  I went all in on my next turn, and deployed most of my remaining army and destroyed the rest of his Heroes, while scoring on all three objectives myself.  The game was won, but Pat asked to continue for one more round and I agreed.  I watched in horror as he tunneled up his entire army to seek revenge on my Retributors and Knight-Azyros. It was a good laugh and fun seeing the raw power he could have brought to bear if things had gone slightly differently. 


     
    Two wins under my belt put me on the Top Table for game three.  I was going up against my friend Bill Souza, who is exceptionally fun to play against.  We have only faced each other a few times, but it is always an intense and laugh out loud time.  Bill brought a mixed Order Army that took many by surprise.  We rolled for our Battleplan and ended up with Gift from the Heavens.

     
     
    Bill set up a perfect bubble around his Heroes to protect them from my Alpha Strike.  It was perfect except for my use of my Knight-Vexillor to drop my Knight-Azyros in the middle of the bubble and spread my Retributors around his Heroes.  His commanders died ignoble deaths, but the Fyreslayers at his command quickly crossed out any grudge before it could be recorded.  I had made a mistake by committing my force, but it sure was fun seeing his face when I circumvented his deployment strategy to protect himself.  Bill then proceeded to play a great game, and by the end of it he had the better of me, due to my inability to contest his meteor while he was able to contest mine without much issue.   The game was over by turn three, but we continued on just for fun and I am glad we did.  We had a blast trying to kill off that damn Hero who wouldn't die or seek revenge on a particular unit while just enjoying the game.

     

    Bill's List

     
      In the end I nabbed second place behind Bill (a recurring theme I intend to change!), but what a fun day of Age of Sigmar against three great opponents.  Events like this are getting me more and more excited for Adepticon 2017.  I apologize for the late post once again and until next week, Happy Hobbying!

     
    Edited by Tom Schubert (@Grudgegamer on Twitter)
  17. Strength_Hammer
    We are less then three months away from Adepticon 2017 and I still feel as if I need more time.

    This will be my first Adepticon and my first Wargaming convention.  I am very excited to finally participate and see what all the fun is about!  I have attending local tournaments and events and they have been enjoyable and well run, but I have a feeling they will not compare.  I am also excited to meet many people I know though the Twitter community Face to Face ( So please feel free to say Hi to me anytime!) and on top of that Games Workshop will be attending!
    I have decided to participate in the 2 Day Age of Sigmar Championship and have worked out a few list options that I am play testing.  I have also discovered that I will need to paint a bit more than expected to run the lists I have created.  That is all before I touch up the previously painted models in the army.  I wanted to share my road to Adepticon by dedicating one post a month (of my new weekly format) to Practice Games, Painting and the like, but I will be holding my list back until the event.  Although after a few weeks of deciding on an Army I settled on Stormcast (as it has the least amount of prep work to get it ready) so my list should be pretty obvious...

    A Combined Force of Bloodbound (Played by Tom) and Undead (Played by Frank) against my Stormcast (2Kpts)
    This past weekend I began getting in as few practice games to test the list out and see what it can and cannot do.  I discovered that spreading out my force against undead is a very very bad idea.  This game also served as a farewell game to one of my fellow Wargamers Frank who is moving across state soon.  Hopefully it will not be the last time our forces do battle!

    A small table game played against my friend Matt and his Duradins 2k (pts)
    I was able to get another game int he following day against my good friend Matt.  Due to a busy day at our local Games Workshop we played on a 4x4 which only assisted in my now focused assault.  We had an enjoyable game nonetheless and Matt truly helped me prepare by doing mock scenarios of combats with alternate weapons and turn order to see how to (possibly) adjust my list.

    6d3 Mortal wounds!!!
    After a weekend full or tough battles and lessons learned I sat down to add some much needed power to my list as you see above.  I added a second StarSoul Mace to my already painted unit from the starter set as well as building another five Retributors.  After finding myself short of Starsoul Maces I converted a few up for my Protectors using the extra Decimator Axes heads and they turned out alright (they might get a bit of greenstuff).  I won't deny that I am bringing a Hard list that is very high up in the Meta, but I still have much to learn in how to use it before the Tournament and a fair bit of painting as well.  As I said I do not feel I have enough time, but I hear that is a typical problem for these large events and I am up for the challenge!
    However, I am not without worries.  I am worried about being to serious about it all.  This game is fun and the community are a great bunch from what I have seen online.  I want to enjoy the games I play and I want my opponent to do the same.  What is better then getting to talk with someone with a mutual interest while enjoying said interest?  Not much.  I am fully aware that I am competitive and can get very focused when competing, but I want it to be about the fun while still aiming for the top.  I am keeping this in the front of my mind when practicing as well to help keep it as a priority.  
    If you are going to Adepticon let me know as I would love to say hello ( I will have Yeungling Lager to share!).  If you care to share what you are doing for the event or what you might be bringing let me know in the comments.  Until next week Happy Hobbying!
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  18. Strength_Hammer
    Happy New Year everyone!  2017 has finally arrived and that means setting a few goals and resolutions for the coming trip around the Sun.  Here are my Hobby resolutions and goals for 2017.

    1) Attend more Events and go for a Podium.  I have always been competitive and while I am one of the consistently better players in my area I am pretty sure I will be suffering "Big Fish, Little Pond" syndrome with this goal.  Nonetheless I want to try to hang around the top tables at some major events and go for a podium.  All that said I want to make sure I have fun and give the best game possible to my opponents.

    2) Make more friends in the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Scene.  As I attend more events I want to try and meet some of the people I talk to on social media face to face.  I would also like to try and create or join up with some Hobby Sykpe nights as well.  I am usually to timid to jump into one I might see posted on Social media, but if I wish to create more friendships in the scene I will have to overcome this feeling.  We have a great and welcoming community and I doubt I have any need to worry.


    3) Grow my Hobby.  If you take a look at my Cover Photo you will see I have created a Facebook Page for my Hobby uploads Called "Odiamh Wargaming" in order to consolidate some of my Hobby picture spam and blog posts as well as create a brand (of sorts) for my Hobby.  My Twitter posts will appear there as well as I hope to reach the goal of 1000 followers this year.  As I begin this new chapter I welcome all positive critiques to be sure I can put out good, quality content.  You will still be able to find my Blog in the usual place as well as posted on TGA.Community.

    4) Help my local scene grow.  When The End Times ended I found myself pretty much alone.  Most of my group disappeared due to school, work, or just being done with Warhammer.  I held onto the glowing chuck of The World That Was right along with Sigmar and eventually people began to join me in the Mortal Realms.  Some players are new and some are returning players.  It is time to move forward more then ever and grow the groups I either run or am a part of.  I dream of a healthy Age of Sigmar Scene in my area for competition and Hobbying (maybe even enough interest to have a Grand Tournament in the area).

    What are your goals for 2017?  Let me know in the comments.  I wish everyone the best for this coming year and may you hobby go wherever you want it to take you.  Don't forget that I will be bringing you this blog weekly so be sure to comment and let me know if you have any topics you would like me to cover.

    Happy Hobbying!
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  19. Strength_Hammer
    Happy Holidays everyone!  Today I wanted to take some time to discuss your Hobby Space and give you some insight to future content I will be putting out (with help) to the community in the coming year.



    Where the hobby happens...
    Above you will see my new dedicated hobby area (Video Tour here).  There is still more lighting to add as well as general improvements due to it being my basement, but that will come with time.  While it will always be in constant development I could not be happier to have my entire hobby (except models I am displaying) consolidated into one space.
    My hobby space, like most, started out as some newspaper on my kitchen table.  Sometimes I miss that simplicity of those times.  Just sitting down with a model, some paint, and a worn out brush and taking a few hours to myself to create what I felt was top quality work.  While I enjoyed this time of my hobby career there was a lack of commitment on my part.
    As I grew within my abilities and commitment to the hobby I eventually put in a permanent table opposite my computer desk.  I felt this finally legitimized what I was doing with my hobby.  I was able to make a mess without care and leave projects on my desk until I finally completed the project.  This space gave me a constant reminder to build and paint while giving me a comfortable area with which to work.
    The one unexpected benefit of a dedicated hobby space was the bubble of hobby it created around me in that dedicated space.  Times when I didn't feel like hobbying were easier to overcome when I sat down at my table.  I knew the space was for building and painting miniatures and just by being in that space got my hobby juices flowing immediately.

    A while ago I took up Airbrushing and that meant I needed to set space in my basement strictly for airbrushing.  This worked splendidly, but I only did the minimum with my airbrush due to it being so far away from my main hobby space.  I can tell you lugging models from my basement to my second floor and back again began to get old quick. So I made the decision to move everything to the basement and I have not been more energized to paint in a long time.

    Thankfully part of the set up is an old workbench that was in the house when I moved in.  After moving my upstairs hobby table to the basement I opted to build a third table for a bit of extra space.  I have only had this space set up for a few weeks, but I have already begun painting and building and I am happy as can be.


    Having a dedicated hobby space  really allows you to grow and offers you a constant reminder to keep the paint and glue flowing.  If you do not have the space to set up a full table for your hobby I would recommend purchasing The Citadel Hobby Box (or other MDF/Plastic options that you can buy around the internet)to give yourself a small space that is easily stored to allow you to get up and hobbying quickly.  Sometimes the setup can be the biggest hindrance to wanting to hobby.  Get creative and you could build your own setup to suit your needs!  If you do I would love to see pictures in the comments below!
    Until Then Happy Holidays and Happy Hobbying!


    Future Content Update:
    Hey again everyone.  I wanted to take a moment to fill you in on some of my plans for 2017.
    My initial goal is to move this blog from monthly to weekly.  I tend to keep my posts short and instead of a longer monthly post I would rather offer the shorter length more often.  Please expect this to take place in January 2017.

    My other goal is to begin putting out content via Youtube in the form of Tactical Battle Reports, Breakdowns, What if scenarios, etc...  While this blog leans toward a hobby focus I cannot lie that I am a competitive gamer at heart.  I will be working with a very good friend to get this going sometime within quarter one of 2017.

    I have also tossed around the idea of doing a monthly podcast with my local group in a open talk format to discuss our games and hobby, but at this point it is only an idea as I do not want to over reach my time constraints, but who knows what could happen.
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  20. Strength_Hammer
    Let us be honest 2016 has been a terrible year, but the shining gem this year has been Warhammer.  I honestly doubt I would have survived this trip around the sun without all the good going on in the Hobby.
    Now on to my Warhammer Top 5 for this past year.


    5) Games Workshop Reaching Out:
             When the year started no one could have predicted the cultural change at Games Workshop.  Age of Sigmar was still a bit of an unknown, but now it is a thriving and continually growing community of great Hobbyists and Gamers.  Rumors are put to bed quickly with witty videos and high quality pictures from the Warhammer TV Team.  Facebook is a place of true interaction with quick and quality posts and responses.  We even have daily Painting Tips with the Lord of Layers himself.  What else could we ask for?  Well if we think of it we should ask because we will probably get it!


    4) Community Growth:
             After the Generals Handbook dropped people took notice.  The Naysayers all but gave up as players left other game systems to come try and ultimately fall in love with Age of Sigmar.  Some players are those who left during the End Times and it is great to see their return.  Others came over from Warhammer 40K and are bringing a fresh perspective along with them.  We have also seen an influx of people new to Wargaming entirely and it has invigorated some local scenes in my area.  It has been rewarding to help these players out and watch them grow within the Hobby.


    3) The Generals Handbook:
           What can be said for this that hasn't already been said?  Not much.  The community before the Generals Handbook was tight knit and supportive.  After the Generals Handbook it has only grown.  I myself was worried that Ultra-competitive players would come in and take the joy away, but I have been happily wrong as The Generals Handbook is all encompassing.  Let us look forward to next version of this resource!


    2) Hobby Milestone 412 (and maybe more) models painted this year:
           I set out this year to paint one model per day on average and I managed to blow this out of the water.  As of 12/28/16 I have 412 models painted for the year across Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40k.  This total is based on model count alone.  Monsters, Heros, infantry all counted as one model.  This next year I am going to slow it up a bit and put more time into individual models and focus on more quality then quantity.  I am proud to say I crushed my goal and hope to do the same with next years Hobby Resolution.


    1) Warhammer Live:
             The latest and greatest thing to come out of the Community Team.  I subscribed during the free week because I had faith that the content would be quality and exciting.  Think about that for a moment.  As a long time fan and customer of Games Workshop who dealt with *insert the old usual issue here* on a regular basis I now have blind faith that they will do right by me and the community.  I am not the only one considering how lively that Chat was on day one.  This has become my usual evening entertainment and I look forward to see where it will go from here.  Major League Wargaming here we come?

    See you next week as this blog begins going weekly! Until next time Have a Happy New Year and Happy Hobbying!
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  21. Strength_Hammer
    Weeks ago I decided to finally begin Airbrushing in earnest.  Until that moment I was honing my skills with a brush (and even did a lot of priming with a brush) with  a plethora of techniques to still learn.


    Here is my weapon of choice.  Found a great deal online.
    I managed to find a great deal on the brush above and purchased it without a second thought (over one year ago).  Then I let it sit in the box unopened for about eight months.  To be honest I was intimidated by the thought of starting down the path of learning this new tool.  After my eight months of fear I decided to open and examine the device and shortly realized I needed an air compressor (which allowed me to delay a few more months as I searched for the right compressor).  Shortly after Christmas and Birthdays rolled around and my friends and family bought me everything I could need to begin airbrushing!  I had no more excuses so I delayed a few more months anyway and finally began.


    I decided to go right into it by priming models from minute one and after some trepidation I began to get a feel for the flow and flew threw my Army to what you see above.

    After the initial night of airbrushing I was fully invested and I spent the entire next day creating the concept Aelf Army (Dubbed "The Survivors of Rhana Dandra") you see above.  I created a black to white gradient in about 5 different layers using all the techniques I have heard about over the years.  To top it off I did a spot color of Electric Blue with a small highlight of blue mixed with a bit of white.  I don't feel this army is done, by any means, but I plan to go back to it soon with some subtle washes to add the illusion of color to a few more pieces of each model.


    With my motivation high I tackled a few more small projects with some Dark Angel Terminators, an old White Dwarf model and some converted models below.

    I had a few Witch Aelves left over from my Dark Elf army and converted them up to be a Mistweaver Saih and a Tenebrael Shard to lead my Concept Army.

    Currently I have moved sprayed a sea of Green as I have begun my Orc force for Age of Sigmar.  Let the WAAAAGH Commence.

    Looking at it all now I can say the thought of airbrushing is much more frightening than actually airbrushing and I encourage everyone (if able) to look to add this tool to your painting tool belt even if its just blocking colors as you see me here.  Listen to podcasts and pick up insight they may offer and I can highly recommend checking out Kenny Boucher and his weekly Twitch stream(Here is a link to his YouTube Channel).  His stream is was great encouragement to finally begin airbrushing.  Kenny and the podcast he is on The Long War is a great source for Warhammer 40,000 tactics and they are committed to "Bringing Hobby Back".

    Until next time. #OnlyTheFaithful

    Also I promised big news in the last Post.  I am planning on starting a YouTube channel the beginning of next year.  Keep and eye out for updates!


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  22. Strength_Hammer
    This is a follow up to a previous post entitled "Preventing Hobby Wobble between Projects"
    It has been just about 2 months from my previous post regarding hobby wobble and I wanted to discuss how my attempt at embracing the wobble in a controlled way to knock out smaller projects went for me.

    Over these past few months I have managed to knock out the following projects.  Two Battlefleet Gothic Fleets, Ten Dark Angel Terminators, Five Stormcast Judicators, and a handful of one off individual Models. Check out my Twitter feed for pictures! (@odiamh)

    Pro Tip #1: Completing a bunch of one off projects doesn't feel this good.
    I must admit that the ability to jump between different models and games was a refreshing change for both myself and my brush.  At times it felt as if I was not making meaningful progress, but over time I saw the mini projects begin to fill up my shelves and it was a relief to get these one off projects completed.

    However, I found my motivation slipping away as the time went on and I spent fewer and fewer evenings at the painting table.  The issue I had was a lack of excitement in completing a large project.  That feeling of seeing an army 90% painted on the shelf with only a few bare models begging you to finish them so they can join their brothers and sister in glorious battle!  That very high sense of accomplishment simply was not present in my hobby.

    Over that time I have managed to purchase a small Sylvaneth Force, five more Judicators, a Lord-Castellant with Gryphound (in fairness this was for a local tournament), the Harlequins from Death Watch Game, and The Burning of Prospero box.  (I also managed to base my Large Orruk Army that is up next on my army projects List).  Lastly, I have committed to a Chaos Force Path to Glory Campaign (yet another army).

    Pro Tip #2: Do not buy more then one army at a time (This also annoys the spouse)
    Overall I made great progress and put myself behind the eight ball once more as I stacked up multiple army projects.  With no current army on my mind I felt free, but perhaps a bit to free and I managed to get myself in over my head a bit for the future (time will tell).  What I have taken away from this experience, however, is a new found willpower.  I can go into my FLGS and walk out with only the paint I went in for and not that character model that I want to paint because "it looks fun".  Time for the next army....WAAAAAAAAGHH!

    Pro Tip #3: Waaagh!
    #OnlytheFaithful

    !!!!!Keep a look out in the next few months as I have some big plans coming your way!!!!!
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  23. Strength_Hammer
    It is that time of year for us to muster our forces and display them proper in Armies on Parade!

    Every year I watched as hobbyists across the globe created armies and display boards for their local Armies on Parade.  Seeing the projects was always a great way to get my hobby mojo going either through the White Dwarf or Online posts by the community.  This year I finally have a Games Workshop location within driving distance and I am finally able to participate.
    I decided to use my Stormcast Chamber (The Reik Eternals) as they are one of my newest armies and only had minimal work to finish the army from a painting stand point.  Then came to the decision of designing my display board.  Such began the process...

      The outline of my board
    Thankfully I work in the building industry so foam insulation board is easy to come across.  I gathered a few pieces and after some wire and glue I had a base.  I decided to go with a raging river on my display board to represent a variation of the River Reik.  The foam was a new medium for me and after some guess work it began to come together.  I cut the River into shape and used a candle to create the wavy pattern for the river you see above.  After adding some foam rocks created from the scrap it was time to paint!
      The color blocked out

    The river comes alive!
    I have to admit painting the river was an exciting challenge.  I know there is plenty of room to improve, but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish.  After some quick drying with a hair dryer I was able to flock and trim the board which admittedly was my least favorite part.
    With added scenary
    I even added a sign complete with sloppy hand writing!
    The whole process took me 3 days from start to finish and while there is much I would like to redo I am very happy with the finish product and will take my knowledge with me to next years display board to make it bigger and better!
    Good luck to everyone participating this year and I look forward to seeing your work online (I hear rumors GW is putting up all pictures from the stores on one website)!  I will leave you know with a few shots of my Army on Parade and I will report back if I manage to pull out a podium!



    #OnlyTheFaithful
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  24. Strength_Hammer
    Hello again everyone.  Sorry for the delay between posts recently, but you will be happy to know I will be back to my regular posting twice a month!



    We all have experienced Hobby Wobble and as Wargamers we have come to almost accept it as part of the process.  It sneaks into our hobby time like a Nurgling dancing around distracting us from the Great Unclean One that is our current (or next) project.  What are some of the ways to prevent Hobby Wobble? Is it possible to use Hobby Wobble to your advantage?  I will explore these ideas (and maybe more) while sharing my current plight as I finish my latest army and attempt to stave off the dreaded Hobby Wobble.

    Ignore the large hobby project behind the curtain!

    I am currently finishing a large Wood Aelf Army (also my final army to be on Square bases!  Woohoo!) and as I grind out my last models my mind keeps asking what should I put on the painting table next?  I have no lack of options that is for certain.  I have a few more Stormcast bodies to add to my chamber.  Perhaps I could begin growing my Sylvaneth Wargrove or even begin my Orruk Warband that has been slowly taking shape on my Airbrush Table.  Lets not forget the 40k projects that have been untouched since Age of Sigmar dropped from the Heavens.

    Slaughter your Hobby Wobble!
    As you can see I am on the verge of; if not dipping my toes into the Hobby Wobble.  I decided to find a small goal (a mini project of sorts).  This has staved off the Wobbly feeling as I shift my focus entirely to painting my Slaughter Priest that came free from the latest White Dwarf for the competition on TGA.community (Click the link to access the competition being run by Ben Curry of Bad Dice Podcast).

    While I plan to spend quality time on this lone model and attempt to paint beyond my standard I know the wobble will come back in force.  So what do I do when it returns?  It may sound strange, but I will embrace the wobble for a short time although with a bit of guidance to the madness.

    So here is the plan.  I will gather up all my small projects (be they a single model or unit) and just put them on my hobby table and let my mood dictate which one of the assortment I will paint that day.  I will let myself bounce from Space Wolves to Dreadfleet, but I will set a 1 or 2 month time limit (undecided right now).  Once that time frame hits I will finish the current unit/model I am on and end the wobble and begin working on my Orruk Warband in earnest.  While the other projects might take a back seat they will still be there and hopefully I can use them as a break from the Army project to prevent burnout (another scary hobby predicament) from time to time.

    Behold the KanBan!
    I will report back in a future post with how this strategy has worked or if I abandon it completely and fell into a larger rabbit hole.  Time will tell, but with tools at my finger tips like my KanBan board (pictured above) it will help keep me focused while being unfocused at the same time.  Feel free to follow my updates on twitter as well ( @odiamh )

    Until Next time... #OnlyTheFaithful
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  25. Strength_Hammer
    The Season of War is almost upon us!

    What a year we have had in the Age of Sigmar.  The End Times had come and gone while the remnants of our community clung together and shape our destiny with the new game we loved.  I want to applaud everyone who came through The End Times and stuck with Age of Sigmar particularly the community leaders (Dan Heelan, Wayne Kemp, Russ Veal, Dave Witek, Big Jim, and others I am sure I am missing).  This community focused and maintained course and now we are reaping the rewards!

    Right now we have the opportunity to shape the story of our game through a month long Campaign (July 14th - August 14th).  I have the benefit of have 2 FLGS within a 10 minute drive of my house, but the AoS scene was on a life line.  One store supported it fully and so I supported them from Day 1 by buying the starter box and all the campaign books as they came out.  I ran events monthly for the few of us wanting AoS to be a success.  The second store pulled back as the local community reeled from the backlash caused by The End Times.  Their shelves usually reserved for Fantasy shrunk and other systems took over.  I still showed up and played an AoS game here and there to gauge interest and network to little effect and bought the odd AoS item here and there in hopes the community would grow.

    I focused my efforts on my FLGS that supported the game and continued to bring in the new AoS models time and time again.  This paid off initially for our small group as Gamesworkshop gave us a nice bit of credit to use for scenery on our tables and some prizes for a small tournament.  I am proud to say we can easily fill 3-4 tables of nice Gamesworkshop Scenery Kits.  The event was small, but a success.

    Now with the summer campaign kit out the continued efforts paid off once more as my supporting store got in the kit for the event and handed it to me to run as I see fit for the event.  I took the early copy of the Generals Handbook in hand (expect my review soon) and began to flesh out what we wil be doing and began my campaigning to get more players hooked to try the game out and be part of the story.  In a twist my second FLGS decided it was time to join in and also got a kit and are allowing me to run their event.  Last night I got the ball rolling by talking up the event, game, points system, and free swag being given out.  Long story short it worked and we have over 10 sign ups and models being sold at both locations.

    It feels like a true David and Goliath story with this little community exploding into the big guy in town (knocking down x-wing, and 40k in my area at least for a bit it seems).  My efforts are now clear.  I need to run these events effectively and most of all do it in a way everyone has fun to keep the momentum going.  My little core group are ready for the next challenge of shaping our future community as we battle to shape the Story of Age of Sigmar.

    Good luck with your events everyone and I encourage you all to keep it relaxed and open.  My events will allow large armies battling on the field to simple duels to help decide the fate.  We even have some people who just wish to paint to provide support to their chosen alliance.  All will be counted and recorded and the new players are chomping at the bit for the 14th to come.


    The Realm of Ghyran is ready for War in earnest...and who will prevail in the coming war?  Only The Faithful!
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