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Strength_Hammer

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  1. 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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  2. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone! Last week at this time Adepticon was in full swing and what a great adventure it was this year!  I got to hang out and catch up with friends from last year and meet plenty of new folks as well.  All I can say is four days is just not enough and I am planning on hitting up more events so I can see all these great people more than once a year.  The biggest challenge will be getting myself across the water to visit that fantastic gentleman who invaded from the U.K. this year.  This post will be a lot of pictures and a lot of names of great people in a general overview of my time this year.  If you are looking for in-depth coverage of how my games went you will have to wait until next week.  If I missed mentioning anyone I apologize as it is the people and this community that really make these events so great.
     
      My Adepticon 2018 started off with a nine-hour drive with my good friend Sean with other members of my local club, Cole, and Jacob, driving a bit behind us.  We had left early in the morning and made it to our hotel a bit after midday.  After a quick refresh, we got out badges, visited the dealer's room before I headed over to help Paul run his Age of Sigmar Narrative event, The Gibbering Dome.  As we waited for the players to show up I started seeing some of the great people I befriended last year Alex, David G., and Austin who introduced me to the talented Em.  It was a fantastic event that Paul ran well and I even got to see some friends I made at NOVA Open this past year as well!  The event ran all four hours and the players looked eager to do more so I am hoping Paul will continue the event next year!
     
      Friday rolled around and I met up with Mike, who I knew through Twitter as we teamed up with my Khorne and his beautifully painted Skaven army in the Team Doubles event.  This is really where the fun began to ramp up.  I was able to catch up a bit with Brad, Andrea, David W., Domus, Tom, Vince, Neil, Garrett, Mike B., Miles, Joe K., Dan B., Kelly, Martin O., and Tyler while also getting to meet great people such as Adam T., Mitzy, Jimbo, Russ, Eric, James, Scott R., Ministomp, Scott F., Andrew, Elric, Martin M., and the great Kari Ann.  As I said this post is a lot of pictures and a list of all the great people who made my event so great so hang on!   After three amazing games in the team event, the day wrapped up with a throwdown between Mitzy and Eric in a 2000pt matched play game.  It sounds odd to think about, but watching a game of Age of Sigmar was one of the best ways to relax after playing Age of Sigmar all day.  It was indeed a long day as the team even lasted thirteen hours, while it is a grind quite a few teams needed the longer rounds to coordinate their battle plans.   After Friday wrapped up it was on to the GT Saturday morning.  I was lucky enough to meet a few more great people in Steve, Byron, as well as others.  I had three great games with day and even managed to make my way on to Table 1 for round 2 and meet Cody and his family while having a great game with him!  I had my Daughters of Khaine out in force and I was very happy with how they played.  My wins were swift and my losses always down to the last round or two as they made my opponents fight tooth and nail to claim a victory over Morathi and my Witch Aelves.   Saturday night I was invited by Pete F. to attend the second meeting between Games Workshop and some of the U.S. AoS Community leaders.  The meeting was very constructive and I was very happy to be included.  It is so great to have Games Workshop reaching out through continued efforts to the community so we can grow this great game together.  Post meeting a large group of us ended up in the lounge as we chatted and shared a few drinks well into the night with everyone having high hopes for the next day's games.   Sunday began as any other day expect a lot of people were a bit more sleep deprived due to the previous night's fun.  Two more great games were played and I was able to say hello to Les, Terry, Wayne, and Dan H. during breaks between games.  After the awards were given to the winners and a round of applause were given to Alex, Kari Ann, and their team for running yet another great event everyone ventured out for dinner.  A large group of us made it to a great Burger Joint called Kuma's Corner and after rounds of drink and meeting a few more people like Paul M., we ate our food and headed back to the hotel's lounge for some more fun.  After a few more hours of hanging out, and making fun of the fact that ESPN was treating Corn Hole as a professional sport, I said my goodbyes and headed to bed as I had another nine-hour drive the following day.   With my second Adepticon wrapped up, I can safely say that I am happy I have made this a must-attend event for myself each year.  The games are great, the atmosphere is second to none, and best of all are the people.  As mentioned above I met so many wonderful people and was able to see some good friends I met last year.  Only seeing these folks once or twice a year isn't enough and while I got to hang out with a lot of them a few I only saw briefly so I am working to attend even more events next year as well as travel over to the U.K. to play in an event and visit Warhammer World.  I am happy to say my wife has agreed to an adventure to the U.K. in 2019 for some Warhammer and catching up with friends.   I cannot say enough that if you play Warhammer Age of Sigmar you need to attend this event.  It is one of the best events in the U.S. and if you join the Twitter community you are going to feel like everyone you meet is family long before you even meet face to face.  There was so much Age of Sigmar, incredible Hobby, delicious food, and exceptional people that it is hard to come back to reality.  While this post was more about all the fun and great people from the event next week you can expect detailed coverage of all the events I played in and how my Witch Aelf horde performed.  Until next week, Happy Hobbying!   Chuck M.      
    Visit my Blogs main Page!
     
  3. Strength_Hammer
    Hey everyone!  Today I wanted to talk about the upcoming Warhammer Age of Sigmar events at this year's NOVA Open Tabletop Wargaming Convention.  I have the honor of being selected as the T.O.  Lead for the Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament and Team Doubles Event, but there is a variety of Age of Sigmar events for all players and age groups and the Age of Sigmar Lead Team are working together to make it a great year.  I have invited the Kidshammer and Narrative Leads of these events to come on and talk a bit about their events as well.  Registration opened yesterday so be sure to get your tickets and join us later this year!




    Kidshammer: Event Organizer Stephen Duall
    The NOVA team is excited to have our youth gaming event – “Kidshammer” - return to the NOVA Open for the second year.  It’s a two-day Warhammer camp for kids aged 10-15.  Last year’s event was a blast. Kids played Age of Sigmar all weekend, with open gaming and hobby tutorials on the Saturday, and a friendly three-round tournament on Sunday. For 2018, Kidshammer will have the same general format, but will offer the option to play Warhammer 40,000 too!

    The organizers of Kidshammer are excited to see the next generation of Generals and Warlords develop, and the event fits in well with the family atmosphere of the NOVA Open. More than one parent said they attended the NOVA Open last year just because Kidshammer made it more attractive to attend the convention with their whole family. We love that, and want more family gaming!

    Participants can bring their own models to play or can borrow a “loaner” army provided by the organizers if they don’t have their own army or want to try something new.  

    Saturday morning will feature pairing off participants and playing matched play missions to get a feel for the game. Adult leads will be close by to provide tips and tricks and answer any rule questions.  Saturday afternoon will start off with a painting seminar lead by Sean McAfee (BrushforHire), an extremely talented and approachable artist and teacher.  The rest of the afternoon will give an opportunity for the kids to experience multiplayer and narrative gaming. The Age of Sigmar narrative team has cooked up some exciting ideas that will really emerge the kids into story-based gaming (if they want to if that’s not their thing kids can do other things).

    Sunday is the “Youngblood” friendly tournament day, designed to be a competitive event without being a cutthroat event.  The tournament will use the matched play missions from the General’s Handbook or the Eternal War missions from the 40k 8th edition rulebook. Two separate tournaments will be run simultaneously: an AoS tournament and a 40k tournament.  Kids will sign up at the event on Saturday for the tournament in which they wish to compete. The Age of Sigmar tournament will be played at the 1500 point level with a custom Pitched Battle army composition chart. The 40k tournament will be at the 75 power level using the army construction rules contained in the Matched Play section of the 8th edition rulebook.  Kidshammer encourages models to be painted, but it’s not required (although we will offer the opportunity for painting to be judged during lunch during the tournament on Sunday, and painting will be used as a tie-breaker for determining a tournament winner).  There are more details, of course, in the Kidshammer Primer for the event.


    We look forward to making Kidshammer a success again this year, and hopefully for years to come. There are only 16 spaces available, so act fast if you or someone you know is interested!



    Grand Narrative: The NOVA Open Age of Sigmar Team

    The Age of Sigmar Grand Narrative at the NOVA Open is going to run continuously from Thursday, August 30th until Sunday, September 2nd, and our event team is excited about delivering a world-class narrative event. Our event has grown out of the work that Aaron Bostian has done to run the Narrative at NOVA since 2016, and this year is set to transcend everything we’ve offered in the past. We are hobbyists and storytellers that are hosting a game for like-minded individuals: we’re looking for players that will combine excellence in painting and modeling with storytelling and wargaming in the world of the Mortal Realms. We invite players to join us as equal partners in bringing our story to life, and we’ve designed a weekend of activities that will bring the Realms to life on the NOVA tables!
    As a player in the Grand Narrative, you have the opportunity to craft unique warscrolls for your faction, along with one-of-a-kind models to play this on the tabletop. First and foremost, every player will create a unique Airship model, in the general style of the Kharadron Overlords. This model will fly, transport models, and have some kind of offensive capability dependent on the choices you make before the games and the upgrades you choose throughout the weekend. The modeling choices are up to you because every faction is going to implement a flying transport in a different way. Would the Stormcast Eternals build some crackling dynamo out of sigmarite, or enlist the aid of some celestial beast? Would the forces of Chaos take to the skies through Skaven engineering, a daemon-infused ship hull, or a howdah on a giant monster? We’re giving every player a chance to answer these questions and build a model that’s unique to their forces while opening up modes of play that wouldn’t be available on any other AoS table.
    This year’s narrative continues the Ships of Renown theme we started in 2016 but expands this game element in exciting ways! We’ve always set games around moving the concept of battling with foot-long sailing ships, but in 2018 we are creating new epic ships that take the scale of naval warfare to a new degree, and most excitingly are drawn from the lore of Warhammer! Our first ship to be unveiled is the Heldenhammer, seen in GW’s 2011 board game Dreadfleet. This ship, originally a dreadnought for the Empire in the Warhammer Old World, is re-cast as an Order Grand Alliance sailing vessel in our story. Other ships will follow, each drawn from the lore of Dreadfleet, Man’o’War, and the Mortal Realms. The ships will all interact together to allow players to create naval battles, garrison their structures for new and interesting powers, and launch their airships and other pieces for unique gameplay on the high seas!
    We’re also trying to formalize the space that narratives need to develop with our Planning and Team Meeting sessions. This is time scheduled in the NOVA GT calendar in which we won’t be doing structured gameplay. Instead, the organizers will be facilitating sessions with the teams of players, organized around the alliances of our story. In these sessions, teams will talk with each other about what they’ve experienced in the preceding games, what theories they have about the world that’s being unveiled around them, and what strategies they can use to block the progress of other alliances. This is the time when alliances come together to plan against foes or when new motivations can be formed beyond the somewhat mundane “rule all the lands.” If players want to accomplish some side objective, they can work with the organizers to quickly define a skirmish-level game. A wager or challenge can bring in another alliance as an opponent, or the organizers can run a quick Renown or Ruin game as a test of skill. These sessions will be the space that lets our stories breathe and percolate, but more intense players can find themselves embroiled in AoS Summer Camp with gaming around the clock!
    Finally, we are using this year’s Grand Narrative to establish a covenant with our current and future players. We are committed to making this event the equal of any Age of Sigmar narrative event running around the world. We display that commitment in the tables and terrain we build, the medium we use to tell our story, and the planning we put into quality game design. We know that the NOVA GT has been blessed with an amazing Age of Sigmar community that is going to respond to our work with a compensating effort and that our tables are going to be graced with beautifully painted armies featuring fascinating and distinctive creations.  We invite both committed and prospective players to connect with us on the NOVA NEON Facebook group to see our progress and start building their armies, in both plastic and prose, as we march towards Labor Day. The AoS Grand Narrative for 2018 is going to be something really special, and we invite every player within striking distance of Washington D.C. to be a part of it!



    Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire Grand Clash T.O. Garrett Mulroney
    The NOVA Open Warhammer Underworlds Grand Clash is a 7 round Warhammer Underworlds tournament spread over the whole weekend. The first 4 rounds are in the evenings of Thursday-Saturday so you can enjoy the rest of the convention, either by competing in other events, attending hobby seminars, or exploring the vendor hall. On Sunday, players will be broken up into 8 player brackets, by current standings, where they will compete to be the top of their brackets.
    This is the first Grand Clash at NOVA Open and we hope to see you join us to battle it out in this competitive fast-paced game!


    Grand Tournament and Team Doubles Event: T.O. Chuck Moore
    It wouldn't be a convention without a Grand Tournament or a Team Doubles Event and NOVA Open will be bringing back both of these events for this year's convention.  The goal is to provide two distinct and different competitive events for its participants who will compete for glory while enjoying the social aspect that Warhammer provides.
    The Team Doubles is being built to focus more on the social aspect of the game with balanced and fun scenarios in a one day, three-game event.  One of the great joys of conventions such as NOVA Open is getting to play different people and make new friends.  It is made even easier by the fact we all share a common hobby and can easily talk for hours about it.  The Team Doubles is a great time to play Age of Sigmar while playing with a friend against other players and growing your social circle.
    While the focus is on the social aspect you can be sure that each of the three scenarios and twists will still allow for balanced gaming whether you are building a team with a friend or looking to fight it out with a random team member assigned on the day if you arrive solo.  Tickets will sell fast and only one ticket is needed per team.
    The Grand Tournament this year will be a two day, six game event with the focus on finding the best general at the event.  The scenarios will seem familiar and are being built with a competitive mindset in order to allow players wanting to battle it out to their fullest with the finely honed armies.  Gaming is only one part of being the best general in Age of Sigmar however so you can expect to see scoring on painting and sportsmanship being in play as well victory points earned during your games.  We want players to bring their best on the table, in their hobby, and with their interaction with one another at the event.
    The scenarios are still being finalized for both events, but will be posted ahead of time to allow everyone to practice until they feel ready to storm the fields for glory!  Unlike last year we will be using the latest General's Handbook as well as having a cut-off date for useable released much closer to the event date to ensure we are playing with the most current releases.   I hope to see you all at the event and if you haven't yet, be sure to pick up your ticket's now.

    As you can see there is a way to play Age of Sigmar at NOVA Open this year no matter your age or preferred play style.  It is worth noting as well that the Age of Sigmar Leads decided to implement changes to last year's hobby standards.  Primarily, with exception to the Kidshammer event, we will be requiring round/oval bases as well as full tabletop standard painting.  These will be detailed in the Primers soon if they are not already.  NOVA Open is one of the three Major National Events in the U.S.A. and we wanted to ensure the standards for what you see on the tabletop will match those of other similar events at the National level.  Feel free to check out my impressions of NOVA Open from last year (Part 1 and Part 2).  All info will be posted on the primers for each event online, but if you have any questions about the event be sure to reach out to customerservice@novaopen.com.  NOVA Open is a very unique event as it centralized around raising money for various charities and enjoying the social aspect as much as the gaming.  We look forward to seeing you later in the year!

    Happy Hobbying!

    Chuck Moore
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  4. 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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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. Strength_Hammer

    Hobby Tunes

    By Strength_Hammer,

    Hey Everyone!  Nova Open is in full swing right now with live coverage from Warhammer TV as well as pictures all across Twitter so be sure to check out what is going on.  Today I wanted to discuss what I listen to while I am building or painting in at my Hobby Desk and what I have heard others do as well be it for background noise, a distraction, or a form of motivation while they are deep into the Hobby.  At the end, I added some playlists on some of my Hobby Music Playlists for you to judge and enjoy while you Hobby.

    I also want to note that this post is partially inspired by Chris T. over at The Black Sun Weekly.  His love of music is very apparent and I often find new music and bands through his intro and outro music selections.
          Podcasts: One of the best parts about our hobby is all the great contributors who put out great podcasts on a regular basis.  They can range in focus from Narrative, Competitive, to Hobby related shows.  I find podcasts an enjoyable way to pass the time Hobbying and it allows my mind to wander about the hobby without being too distracted from what I might be building or painting.  There is also a plethora of other podcasts outside the hobby as well worth checking out as well.

    Audio Books:
    Audio Books are another great option, but with a bit of a warning.  I have found that from time to time I am unable to concentrate on both and may find I missed a spot of detail on a model due to listening to an exciting part of an Audio Book or that I have no ideas what the last few minutes of the Audio Book were about due to concentrating on painting those eyes just right.  I tend to limit my Audio Book listening to when I am priming or color blocking models as it requires less of my concentration and is easily corrected if a mistake happens.
     
    Television/Movies/Youtube:
    I have heard of hobbyist putting on a movie or favorite television show while Hobbying.  Sadly, this is one that doesn't work well for me outside of the odd sporting event, and even then I usually prefer the radio.  The visual addition of the media is far too distracting for me to concentrate on just the noise, but I can see the appeal in how it allows you to spend time with your family even when you Hobby.  Often times significant others enjoy watching some of the new Dramas on TV or watching something a bit more family friendly with the kids or even a Lets Play video on Youtube and with Time being limited this might be a good way to mix family and Hobby time.

    The one caveat I have with this is Hobby Related Youtube Videos and Warhammer TV.  Often times the Youtube and Twitch channels related to our Hobby are themed to be more audible and as such I often Hobby while putting them on from time to time.

    Internet Chat/ LiveGroup Hobby:
    Either via Skype, Discord, Google Hangouts, or meeting up in person this is a very fun way to pass the time Hobbying, but it suffers from the same pitfalls that Audio Books do in my mind with wanting to concentrate on who is talking and your model at the same time can be a challenge.  However, the added benefit of talking with someone with similar interests and who can provide instant feedback to your work is invaluable and needed from time to time to prevent us from becoming shut ins.  I really enjoy doing simple bits of Hobby while doing this or working on a group project together.  If you ever see someone online wanting to Skype while Hobbying I suggest you jump in and enjoy the comradery.
     
    Music:
    Music is my personal favorite way to Hobby as it allows me really get lost in whatever songs are on while I put my full focus on my models.  Pandora is often a helpful tool in this as well as I can choose a genre and let it do the rest.  I will range from Classical to Trance, to Pop, to Rock, to really anything.  I hold a special place in my heart for Spanish Guitar for an unknown reason.  Music really helps me forget about everything but what I am working on at that moment and keeps me distract from how long I might be sitting in one spot.  If you haven't really put on some sweet Tunes and let the music flow I highly suggest you do and soon!

    Silence:
    The last way I can think of to Hobby is in Silence.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with Silence and while it can be used for an entire Hobby session I prefer to let it dabble in any of the other listening options.  Chatting with a group is great, but sometimes a comfortable silence among friends all working on Hobby can be pleasant.  Even the greatest tunes can really get us going and a few minutes of silence is a nice way to recenter on what you are working on and maybe switch genres of music with a less jarring effect.  All in all, I don't enjoy long periods of Silence when Hobbying, but it is not something to avoid either.
     
    Whatever media you pair your hobby with I hope you branch out and give something else a try.  If I missed anything, and I am sure I have, please let me know so I can try them out myself as well as anyone else looking to mix up their Hobby.  As promised you can see a few examples (but certainly not everything as it would be an entire post in itself) of what I listen to while hobbying.  Feel free to judge my tastes and until next week, Happy Hobbying!

    Podcasts/Youtube/Twitch Channels:
    Scruby & Wells
    Garagehammer
    Mortal Realms
    Warhammer Weekly
    Tabletop Minions
    The Black Sun
    Bad Dice
    Rolling Bad
    Age of Sigbrah
    Bravery One
    Facehammer
    Fjordhammer
    HeelanHammer
    The Independent Characters
    Life After The Cover Save
    Forge the Narrative
    Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
    Warhammer TV
    AoS Shorts 

    Music Playlist for my Hobby:
    Sadly I was unable to share my Pandora stations so here is a general run down of what I listen to while hobbying.
    Modern Pop Music
    Classical Music
    Dance Music
    "Irish Pub" Music
    Heavy Metal
    Classic Country
    90's Music
     
    View the full article
     
  8. 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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  9. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  As all of you know this past weekend was Adepticon 2018 out in Schaumburg, IL.  It was an amazing experience once again where I got to hang out with friends and get to know them all even better.  While there wasn't much actually hobby other than food, drinks, and games my Hobby mojo is very high after such a great event so expect a lot in the future.  I plan to do more in-depth coverage of Adepticon on my Friday posts, but for today here is some of the fun that took place!



    I took the trip out this year with my very good friend Sean (BrushforHire) and while it was a nine-hour drive it did go very quickly as we shared out passion for this hobby as well as filmed our travel out in some short videos via my Twitter (One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six).



    I also want to give a quick shout out to a few members of my local gaming club who made it out as well for the event.  Cole, Jamie, Jacob, and Noah all joined the fun, probably due to my constant talking about how fun last year was and joined in all the fun.  Cole and Jacob played both 40k and Age of Sigmar team events, but after a great time in the Mortal Realms have committed to going all in for the Age of Sigmar GT next year!

    I was overjoyed to be helping Paul with his Age of Sigmar Narrative event, The Gibbering Dome, and my first night in town was watching him help players craft a story.  The event went very well with the players enjoying the narrative and fun rules he created as well as his ability to adapt on the fly to help make the story much grander than the initial intent.  

    The following day was Age of Sigmar Team event and I had the pleasure of playing with Mike who I know from the Twitter community using my Khorne alongside his mighty Skaven!  We went to the event for fun and to play new people and were not worried about winning every game and I am happy to say we met our goal and had three great games!





    The last big event of the weekend was the Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament.  164 players began the event and it was crazy to see so many players together to play this great game!  On top of that, the Age of Sigmar Team Doubles had 120 total teams for their event and a small, but sold out Narrative as well!  My Daughters of Khaine were out in force and I was happy to see other Daughters at the event as well and doing well.  In the coming weeks, I will cover my over impressions, and event breakdowns to give you all the juicy details.  Come back this Friday to see my overall impressions of the event and the fun had with all the wonderful people I have become friends with thanks to our Hobby.
    Until Friday, Happy Hobbying!

    Chuck Moore
    Visit my Blogs main Page!
  10. Strength_Hammer

    Why Do We Hobby?

    By Strength_Hammer,

    Hey Everyone.  To wrap up The Realm Gate's birthday week I wanted to propose a question to all of you as well as offer my answer to this simple question.  Before I do, however, I want to give a shout out to Vince over at Warhammer Weekly who proposed a similar question in his Topic of The Week series recently, albeit a bit more focused.  Go check out his channel if you haven't already as it is my favorite Youtube channel around this Hobby and well worth your time.  The question I wish to put forth is "Why do we Hobby?" or "Why do you Hobby?".  It is a strange thing we all do and for a community to form around, but yet we all hold a very close attachment to it all and cannot imagine our lives without it.



    Before I begin to answer the question myself I want to define what I mean by Hobby.  My definition of Hobby is "Anything you do in relation or because of Wargaming".  This can be games, painting, list building, Blogging, YouTube videos, Podcasts, large community projects, or anything else that fits the definition.  For some people, the Hobby defines us, while with others we define out Hobby and it is fascinating how we can be so vastly different regarding why we Hobby, but be more unified as a community because of it.

    There are many reasons why someone would choose to Hobby.  Some want to compete at the top tables at large events, some wish to paint thematic armies and tell stories.  There are those who are about winning trophies whether it is through games or painting.  I imagine there are some who are just trying to be well-known in the community, although I believe this as a driving goal is a poor reason.  Those who are well-known painters or competitors on the table are well-known because their goal was to be the best painter or become the best player they could.  If you are unsure of what your goal is I suggest checking out my old article series "Life Lessons and Wargaming".

    It may also be good to touch on the concept that motivation does not mean amount of time put into the Hobby.  While those who are highly motivated might indeed take on multiple projects at once, but that doesn't mean the person painting a single model for a painting competition is any less motivated.  Humans are very different creatures and while there are those like myself who enjoy multitasking and feel highly motivated to work on multiple projects.  There are those who are just as motivated, if not more so that focus on a single task or project.  It is a grey area, but when you can see how motivated someone is through their passion in this Hobby.

    So why do I Hobby?  When I proposed the idea to myself it initially felt intangible and to broad and open to properly put into words, but the more I thought about it the more I was able to cement the idea and bring it to the ground.  The answer for me is that I hobby for myself and my wellbeing.  It is the same reason I lift weights and go to the gym daily.  It sounds a bit odd comparing two vastly different hobbies and cultures, but the comparison works for me.

    Talking in the various chats I am a part of as well as Twitter interaction brings me great joy throughout my day and a welcome distraction to the stresses or work and life.  When I build lists and theory craft with others really fulfills my need to problem solve and the enjoyment that process brings.  Painting is a therapeutic escape where the world disappears as I move paint around a model.  The various community projects energize me as I work with fantastic people and great friends knowing we are looking to offer positive impact to the community as a whole and help Age of Sigmar grow.  I cannot forget gaming in all of this as it is the culmination of our efforts where we get to enjoy meeting and playing people.  Doing this Hobby for myself and my wellbeing has really allowed me to identify with the game and the positive impact it can have.

    While the improvement of my wellbeing is what I feel the major part of why I do this Hobby I know there are other reasons as well mixed in such as wanting to help the community grow, make new friends, etc...  That is okay as I know over time my reason may adapt and change as is natural.  So why do you Hobby?  I would be excited to hear in the comments below and see what discussions form from the question.  Perhaps, by doing that you will help others discover why they hobby.

    Until Next Week, Happy Hobbying.

    Chuck Moore
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  11. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  Today I wanted to start a new article series about lessons in life but applying them to our hobby of Miniature Wargaming.  As we mature in our lives we discover little bits of knowledge that we carry with us through our time here on earth.  Some simple while others grander in nature.  Often times we are taught these lessons by a Parent, Close friend, and sometimes through hindsight.  What I find interesting about these lessons is how they can help someone improve their quality of life if the lesson is applied correctly and how they can be applied to every part of one's life.  This includes Miniature Wargaming.


    What can The Terminator tell us about success in Miniature Wargaming? Turns out quite a bit.
    Today I wish to discuss the lesson on having a goal to give you purpose and having the vision to see the goal to end will make you successful in this hobby.  While I feel everyone knows the benefits of having a goal to a lesser extent I find that they still continue their hobby journey with no substantial goals.  If they do have a goal it is often very short term.  Above you might be confused by the image of Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Vision, Goals, and Success methods he utilizes in his Career from Bodybuilding, Acting, and now Governing are universal and I hope to relate them to you here through the language of Miniature Wargaming. 

    A goal is simply defined as "The result or achievement toward which effort is directed".  I would ask you, my reader, to take a moment and write down your Hobby and/or Wargaming Goal.  You may have a few goals or more goals than you find capable of being accomplished.  Now that you have your goals written down separate them into long-term and short-term and ask yourself some of the following questions.  Does your short-term hobby goal help me achieve my long-term hobby goal?  Do you have one key long-term goal for the hobby or many? Which hobby goals give you a sense of purpose for what you are doing and which do not (if any)?  Based on your hobby goals, what is your purpose?

    I have done this exercise myself and wish to share it as an example to help with the understanding of what I feel is a necessary part of Wargaming, Hobby, as well as life, having goals.

    Long-Term Goal(s):
    Unify the U.S. Age of Sigmar Community without Homogenizing
    Put out content beneficial for the Age of Sigmar Community
    Create lasting friendships with hobbyists within the community around the world

    Short-Term Goal(s):
    Paint to a higher standard on my next army project
    Complete Final Version of U.S. AoS Modular T.O/Player Pack with U.S. AoS Community Group
    Add Models to Khorne Army
    Add Models to Stormcast Army
    Add Models to Sylvaneth Army
    Play Aelves as primary army (return to my first love in Warhammer)

    The difference between long-term and short-term goals are down to the individual creating the goals, but often times spending a bit of time critically thinking into each goal will sometimes cause a shift of a goal from one camp to another.  For example Completing the U.S. AoS Modular Pack was a long-term goal for me months ago, but as I thought about it more and more I saw it move to a short-term goal this is in part due to the nature of my long-term goals and some comparison between the two categories.  A long-term goal for a new hobbyist might be "Have a fully painted 2000pt army".  There is nothing wrong with this at all as it is a great goal, but over time it is good to know that having another painted army might shift to short-term or even off your goal list entirely.

    Over time you might see goals disappear or change as you mature within the hobby and become more confident and begin taking deeper and deeper steps in Wargaming.  If you look above at my list I have noted about adding models to my forces and improving my painting skills, but I don't list anything about painting an army to completion.  A few years ago it would have been top of my list, but where I am at within my hobby journey I have painted numerous armies.  The concept of painting the army I am working on is so natural now that it is not a goal anymore.  It is just part of my hobby, if I begin a new army I will paint it so I have no need to list it as a goal.  The point is to not be afraid to reexamine and readjust your goals as you journey through the hobby.

     You might look at my long-term goals and say "Can you ever complete those?  Why set a goal that might be unreachable?"  My response is "Are you ever done with an army?  Do you feel that competition model is ever good enough?" I feel setting easily obtainable goals is missing the point, at least for the long-term goals.  Now I feel they need to be reasonable and obtainable, but they need to push you outside of that comfort zone so you are always reaching for more.  In every aspect of my life, I utilize goals like this, whether it is in my professional life, home life, lifting at the gym, or in my hobby journey as they give me purpose in what I am doing.

    All goals give purpose no matter long-term or short-term or if they are easily attainable or not easily attainable which is the underlying point that can be missed by those who not regularly set or examine their goals.  Without purpose, you will be aimless and it will be near impossible to get very far in your hobby journey without a purpose.  That desire to achieve your goals is what will drive you forward and continually push you to do better than the last time and continually set higher and higher goals for yourself which will, in turn, push you even more.  It is a self-serving circle if you treat it as such and it is entirely for your own benefit to do so.  If you are a regular reader and thank you if you are, I believe you get a sense of my purpose in putting out posts regularly and to the schedule, I put forth.  Imagine if I had no real goal and therefore no purpose or drive to writing my blog, I doubt you would read regularly or at all as I wouldn't have the drive to give you something worth reading.  Early on I will admit I didn't know my purpose, but over time I set a goal for my blog and it has helped me ever since and I hope it comes across to you, the reader, as well.

    So at this point, you have set goals and found your purpose with those goals.  So how do you begin achieving those goals?  The easy answer is to just do it and don't waste a minute in achieving the goals you have set for yourself, but even this will set you up to fail.  You need to visualize your goals, ingrain them into you by imagining them to keep focused on working toward them.  If your goal is to have a fully painted army (we will use this goal for the remainder of the article) then imagine that army painted whether you are working on it or out at the movie.  See yourself playing with it on the table and displaying it on a shelf in your room or house.  Perhaps put a few of the finished pieces as a phone or computer wallpaper so you keep seeing it in your mind.  This visualization will continue to inspire you after that first spark of inspiration fades and will help you continue on when you hit some of the low points working toward your goal.  In our example you might not be achieving the exact result you are after or find your color choices are off, but having that inspiration through visualization will help you push on and work through any issue.

    Be sure to always give yourself a deadline that gives you a sense of urgency.  Be it an upcoming event, game, or a date of your choosing.  Without this sword above your head you can lose sight and despite you visualization of your goal you may become aimless and lose interest and fail at your goal.  Not that failure is a bad thing, but failure without giving it your all should make you mad.  Mad that you didn't put everything you had to succeed at your goal.  If you are going to fail, fail giving it all you have so you can still hold your head high.

    The key, especially through the low times while working toward your goal is to keep doing.  To continue with our example don't ever quit painting your army if you set time aside to paint.  It is so easy to blow it off because you are tired or just don't feel like it at the moment, but the slope gets steep fast and each session is easier and easier to brush off.  The goal is gone and you visualize it less and less and the inspiration is gone.  If you set a goal keep up with working toward it.  Attack the goal and eventually, you will fall in love with the process of achieving that goal.  There are two good sources of external inspiration to help keep you motivated as well.  The first is those who support your visualized goal and offer encouragement.  The second and what I find to be a very good source are those who might feel you cannot accomplish your goal because it is too lofty or unreachable.  Proving this group wrong is great motivation, it lights your fire to not only achieve your goal but surpass it.  While I admit we have a good community with supportive folks you will still find those who might not be convinced that you can achieve your goal as you see it and while they are still supportive overall you can take the bit of doubt to fuel your hobby drive.

    The goal of having a painted army requires different tasks that hobbyists can find mundane or tedious.  Sometimes they outrightly hate part of the process.  In our example goal let's look at the painting as this is typically the part people dislike the most or do not enjoy, but through your goal and visualization of the goal, you will begin to enjoy painting.  I am not saying there won't be boring or tedious times during the process, but they won't be an issue because you will find happiness in moving toward completion of your goal the more you do and as such falling love with the process, even if that includes painting.  This is important as by developing a love for the process of completing your goal you remove another barrier to actually working on your goal and remove excuses that keep you from the goal you are visualizing.  While visualizing your goal is tremendously important you must also keep in mind how to track your smaller wins, or goals within the goal if you will.  With our example completing a unit or hero can be considered a small win and they reinforce that you are on your way to achieving your goal of a painted army.  If you can, look for these small victories often to keep the inspiration going strong.

    As we explored above goals will change as we move toward them from time to time.  You might find that as you are just about finished painting your army that your goal is now expanding the army or perhaps learning to play it to a high level.  They key here is that your hobby journey may start with a simple goal of painting an army, but it will evolve and the vision of that army will change.  Simply put, the journey does not end.  You have accomplished your original goal, but what has really happened is that you have gone that much deeper on your hobby journey and your goal has grown, your vision changed to be outside easy reach once again and hopefully, you still have the inspiration to chase it and grow alongside the journey.  There is always another step, there is always a way to do something better, there is always more to accomplish if you want it bad enough and can visualize yourself achieving your goals.

    As you begin to see the next step as your goals change and grow to keep in mind that simply visualizing your goal is part of achieving the goal, but is not the actual action in achieving your goal.  Seeing that painted army in your head is key, but to achieve it you actually need to paint.  There can be a very uplifting feeling when you visualize your achieved goal, but do not let that feeling reward you, in the same way, that actually finishing the army will have on you.  Look at New Years Resolutions as a source for this false reward.  Each year millions of people resolve to finally get in shape and hit the gyms.  They do for a while, but they did not vision the result properly or they might have let the satisfaction they received by visualizing their ideal body alongside the encouragement from friends and family to work toward this goal be all they needed.  They stop going to the gym every day and eventually stop entirely and the cycle repeats the following year.  The reward should come from the actual accomplishment of your goal which should then inspire you to go after that next step.  You painted your army to completion, be satisfied with the completion, but look to go podium at a local tournament before you ever finish the last brush stroke.

    Continue to set your bar higher, move that goal farther as you progress.  You are capable of more than you realize and one day you will realize that you have become the hobbyist you are visualizing yourself as right now.  Even then there will be more work ahead, more goals to reach, but you can do it if you set the goal, visualize the goal, fall in love with the process of achieving your goal, and never be satisfied after you accomplish your goal, stay hungry.

    Until next week, Happy Hobbying.


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  12. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone and happy Friday!  Years ago when I began my hobby journey and began laying Warhammer I never imagined how it would become more than a hobby and truly a part of my life.  I cannot see any future that does not involve Warhammer and Tabletop Wargaming as a key aspect of my life.  Beyond being a healthy and enjoyable hobby I have come to realize, over the past year or so, that it is a community of so many different people.  This community is the single greatest part of this hobby.  There is no doubt that completing your latest model or army is satisfying and making a podium at a tournament is thrilling, but the best part is sharing it with the community to give it true meaning.  My hope for this article is to help you branch more and more into our community (please note this will be from my perspective in the U.S.).



    When you share your hobby with the community you get validity in what you are doing and we have a supportive community that you should connect with as you grow in your hobby.  That is not to say that there are not people who can be critical within the community, but as The Honest Wargamer has pointed out recently this is part of a healthy community.  Now there are people who will be negative for the sake of being negative and people who are positive for the sake of being positive, but they are there no matter what you are doing in life. You shouldn't let this keep you from connecting to the larger community as the more people you have to share your hobby with and chat to will broaden your thoughts and views about the hobby we all share.  It is good to keep in mind that every level is different as cultures and subcultures exist as human nature, but at its core, we are all here for the same thing and that is Age of Sigmar.  The best way I have found to describe this is "Unifying without Homogenizing".  That is my dream for our community.
    So how do you connect to this community?  I feel it is best to break down everything down into four levels that I will cover. Local, being your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS), local friends or club. Regional, being your larger area such as your state or surrounding state for larger events or playing with other clubs.  National, is your country of origin and the major events within that country.  Global is the connection with those in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zeland, and any other part of the world.

    One of my FLGS
    Local:
    One of the best ways to connect is to find the closest shop in your area that sells Age of Sigmar.  Chances are they have space to play and you might even see some people playing a game.  If you do walk up and talk to them, but don't interfere with the game.  Chances are they are more than happy to talk about the game, their army, and when they play.  Also, ask the Shop owner if anyone plays the game regularly and see if you can stop in when they usually play to connect with them.  It is very possible the shop has a Facebook page or that there is a local club with a Facebook group you can follow or join to begin playing at local club days that you might not have even known are happening close to you.  It is also good to see if you have any friends who have interest in the game who can join you in their own hobby journey.

    There is a possibility that there is no one really playing the game and in this instance, you have the opportunity to plant your flag and begin building your own community.  At this stage, it is a great idea to begin looking for Age of Sigmar Blogs (like the one you are reading now) as well as Youtube Channels and Podcasts.  These content producers are often looking at the National and Global already and help you connect the community in their own ways.  There is also a The Grand Alliance forum which is a great way to begin connecting to every level of the community and discuss Age of Sigmar.  On top of all of this Games Workshop has the Warhammer Community page to help keep you informed as well with daily articles being posted.

    Midwest Meltdown 2017
    Regional:
    You know have a local group you play games with on a regular basis and that is fantastic, but how do you grow from there within the community and continue to connect yourself?  Begin to look on Facebook for groups based on a part of your country, state, or even your closest large metro city.  There is a very good chance there are more FLGS the farther you branch out into your region and find the Facebook pages for larger areas you can usually see when clubs within your region meet or maybe even run tournaments that you could attend.  Reaching out to people on Facebook can help you connect your club to other clubs to form a larger and larger scene.  You can even visit the Facebook Pages of the farther away FLGS and often times post there to find players from that area.  On these group more Regional Facebook Pages you will also see events such as Grand Tournaments (GT's)  that may be a one-day or two-day event.

    These are fantastic ways to connect more to the community as people are often willing to travel a bit for these events so you get to meet, play, and hang out with fellow hobbyists from across your region.  At this point, it is great to look into using Twitter as well and exchanging Twitter handles with people within your region.  The Age of Sigmar community has a strong presence on Twitter as it was a refuge after The End Times and it has retained a strong presence even as Facebook pages for the game grew.  Twitter will be useful in the higher levels as well.

    Nova Open 2017
    Nationally:
    When you begin looking at the National Age of Sigmar Community you will undoubtedly be looking at a few major events that draw in wargamers from Age of Sigmar and many other game systems to a single place.  In the U.S. the biggest three are Adepticon, Las Vegas Open, and Nova Open.  These events will be across all forms of Social Media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as well as having their own dedicated websites where they post all the detailed information for the event.  These events will fill up the Twitter Feeds and Facebook Groups as they draw near as people from all across your country will travel to share in our Hobby.

    We often times see people from other countries traveling to these events as well.  Just as it was with the Regional events it is a great time to make more friends and connect with them on Twitter and Facebook to keep in contact.  These are the top events and you can often times talk and chat with the podcasters, bloggers, and Youtubers and never be afraid to go say Hi.  We are all just passionate Age of Sigmar players just like everyone else and I know I love to talk about Warhammer as much as possible to anyone.  Not only are these events amazing times, but you will walk away with new friends of similar interests and a connection to the game at a very broad level.

    Warhammer World Age of Sigmar Grand Final 2017
    Global:
    When you begin connecting nationally you will encounter those who connect globally and by doing that will begin to connect you globally as well.  If you are following Podcasts, Blogs, Youtube Channels, and The Warhammer Community site you are aware of what is going on with the Global Community.  Also if you are on Twitter and Facebook as well as following or friending players from across the globe you are already interacting with the Global Community.

    One more layer you could look at is asking to be added to a Whatsapp grout for a specific army or other various Age of Sigmar related Whatsapp groups.  The last big step, which is one I need to take myself, is to travel to another country to play in one of their major events to make even more connections to the countries community and create our Global Age of Sigmar Community.

    This is no way a set roadmap you need to follow as you could just as easily attend one of the National Events without having a local club or friends who play, but I encourage you to try to create connections at all levels as it will enrich the other levels within this community.  I am sure I have missed items as well so if I have please mention it in the comments to help us all.  Age of Sigmar has a strong community full of great people and I hope you participate at all levels to help the game grow as it will help keep a healthy and active community while bringing more awareness to our game.  If you have a link to a Facebook group, Blog, Youtube Channel, or even to your Twitter please post it in the comments as well.  I am also very happy to chat more about this as I love thinking about and working to grow the Age of Sigmar Community so feel free to reach out to me.

    Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
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  13. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  Today I wanted to talk about Khorne in a light not usually seen, but these parts of his persona were integral in my choosing to follow the Blood God over any other as I began my Fall to Chaos.  These character traits also helped in the choice of my color scheme choice of White and Gold across the army.

    Everyone sees Khorne being all about Blood, Rage, and Skulls and while these are indeed part of who Khorne is he also represents Strength, Honor, Discipline, and a Motivation unsurpassed by other Chaos Gods.  Khorne is a warrior above all else and to be a warrior is to be steps away from being in his service.  A lot of these positive traits can be viewed in Hero's across the Mortal Realms, Sigmar, for example, could be seen as Khorne's mirror image, but with the control to not fall so far into the Rage that consumers The Blood God.

    Khorne is about strength.  He doesn't even skip leg day at the gym!  Might of arms and the ability to kill any opponent you might face in hand to hand combat is his way and the way of those who follow him.  Using other means to kill such as a bow, poison, magic, or having others fight your battles is a good way to earn his ire.  We can all relate to wanting to be strong and wanting to be able to handle any situation we may encounter.  Being strong allows you to tackle things head on physically and anyone who goes to the gym on a regular basis enjoy pushing themselves to be stronger.  Khorne would be pleased.

    You always know where you stand with Khorne, he hates you, but he might respect you if you share qualities with him, qualities of an Honorable Warrior.  He won't stab you in the back or use trickery to come after you.  You can be certain that if Khorne is after you, it will be on the field of battle with weapons in hand.  His honor will not allow him to kill you in any other way.  He wants you to put up a fight and is not opposed to Champion Duels to settle things.  He would rather see two champions fight to the death in an honorable duel instead of a watching an army slaughter the defenseless or cowardly.  If his champion wins then his strength and loyalty will be rewarded, but if his champion falls then he knows he was weak and not worthy of saying his name.  As I said you always know where you stand with Khorne.


    In order to follow Khorne, you must be disciplined of mind and body.  While it is true the rage of his persona can ruin discipline among his followers that are only if his champions fail to maintain discipline.  Why are his Champions able to hold Discipline in an army of frenzy murders?  They are the most disciplined and examples of who Khorne is and what he represents.  This filters down and while the army appears to be screaming lunatics running across the board they are in fact a disciplined army using their straight forward martial tactics to win the day.  Sadly, Rage can cause this to break down from time to time, but the same can be true due to pride or the promise of power in other armies.


    Khorne's followers, to me, are the more proactive and motivated bunch.  You don;t see them sitting around and waiting very often and if you do they are usually not happy about it.  The Chaos Gods are always ascending and descending, but you never really see Khorne stop and regroup.  He and his followers simply carry on killing as much as they can, even amongst themselves.  Nurgle is happy to wait for his time in the sun, Slaanesh will revel in excess to extremes, Tzeentch will play his grand game.  Khorne can receive the Death of a world as a gift and immediately go looking for more.  He is always pushing himself and his followers for more.  Khorne the Motivator!


    So I have fallen to Chaos and I plan to enjoy it a bit, at least until the Aelves drag me back into the light.  I really look forward to finishing painting my army so I can get it on the board. I see a nobility in Khorne and that is what I am painting them with Whites and Golds as they are typical colors of purity.  I will focus on their noble aspects and I do enjoy the duality the colors are giving to the models.  Perhaps turning a blind eye to the rage and blood is proof of my fall?

    I think I will end my Falling to Chaos series here as I don't know where else I could take it at the moment, but I hoped you enjoyed my insight on Khorne and my new found love of Chaos.  See you all next week, Happy Hobbying!
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  14. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone and happy Friday.  It is no secret that I have been traveling quite a bit for my job recently.  While it is fun flying across the country and seeing new places once the work day is done it can eat away at your hobby time.  Today I wanted to share some tips for keeping your hobby going strong even when traveling.
    I tend to travel a lean as possible be it for work or pleasure.  I enjoy not needing to check a bag when flying and being able to make just a single trip to my hotel with my luggage.  A single bag is all I ever take and as such, I need to make sure I can fit what I need for my hobby in a small and durable case.  Only a few months ago I would put everything into a small sturdy box packed as nicely as I could with tissue paper to prevent items from moving.

    While this method worked in the short term I knew it wasn't and ideal solution for the long term.  Thankfully my solution came to me while I was at Adepticon this past March. I stopped in at the Battle Foam booth and found their Pack Mini.  I grabbed the case and 3 different foam layouts.  One being the standard pluck foam so I could create my own travel layout.  I cannot recommend these bags enough.  I plan to switch entirely to Battle Foam within the next few months as my only foam and bag brand to transport my models and you can expect a review when I do.


    While having hobby to enjoy at your leisure in the hotel room at night you cannot forget to have some books and podcasts ready to keep your hobby mind working during your flight or drive.  I listen to a fair number of Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 podcasts and audiobooks so that is my usual preference during my travel.  It also allows you to stay light by downloading the podcast or audiobooks to your phone for convenience.


    It may be tempting to bring a lot of models to try and crack through them in the hotel at night, but I would recommend against this train of thought.  We all have one of models or units laying about that we promise ourselves we will paint one day.  When you are traveling this is the perfect time to fulfill that promise yourself.  It is a chance to paint something different while keeping to the thought of painting light.  Recently I chose to bring and paint the event model from Adepticon 2017.  I typically paint armies or more recently terrain so this was a nice escape and a chance to experiment a bit.  Also since it was a one-off piece I didn't stress about recording my paint recipes and simply let my creativity flow.


    While it may seem as if you will have a lot of downtime in your hotel I found it more common that I had less time than usual to hobby at night.  I was either out with a vendor or exhausted from the day of travel so a few nights I barely managed an hour, but I planned for this to be the case.  I decided I would only to the color blocking and a bit of blending.  Holding off on any Washing or Highlighting until I had returned home allowed me to stay lean.
    I was able to pack fewer paint pots and brushes to keep the eventual security stop at the airport to a minimum.  It also gave me the piece of mind that I wouldn't open my bag at my destination to find a pot of Nuln Oil spread through my clothes.  For this same reason, I typically do no build models while traveling due to possibility issues with Super Glue leaking.  The one time I have built on the road it was a short trip in a car and only a few infantry models to stay lean.


    It is also worth noting that hotels will often have a few of the necessities such as a desk to hobby on, cups to wash your brushes, and paper towels or tissues to keep your painting area neat and clean.  The one item that varies the most from Hotel to Hotel is the lighting as you can see in a few pictures above.  This reinforces my thought to avoid washing and highlighting on the road.  I don't plan to travel with any lighting soon and keeping to the basics on the road will prevent any frustration due to any poor lighting.


    When you arrive home it is time to fix up any missed mistakes and finish the piece.  It is very satisfying coming home from traveling and spending only a short while more to wrap up a model. If you packed lean like I typically do then there isn't much to put away either to get your hobby base back to normalcy for the next, and probably, more in-depth, project. 
    I hope my insights are helpful if you have any travels coming up and your planning on hobbying while abroad.  Stay lean, keep it simple, and take something different to work on.  I find it a good way to keep my hobby flowing and motivate me to dive back into army projects back home.  Let me know if you have any tips or if you go in a completely different direction to Travel hobby.  As always feel free to follow me on Twitter.  Also, one of my local Groups Steel City Sigmar has planned their next event on July 9th so come out and join us!  If you're participating in Coalescence this weekend I hope you and your group have an excellent time crafting a great story!  I will be covering my Coalescence event as well as the global view on the event next week so until then,  Happy Hobbying!
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  15. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  Hope you had a great week of Hobby with plans for more throughout the weekend.  Today I want to bring you more coverage of my time at Nova Open 2017 looking more at a general recap, how I spent my time and all the great people I got to know better, meet, and spend time with throughout the weekend.  In one of the next posts in this series, I will do a more in depth breakdown of my games so keep a look out.  I am sure I missed mentioning a few people in the sections below and if I did I apologize, but know you helped make this an amazing experience for me and I cannot wait to see you all at the next one!


    My driving skills have mixed reviews apparently
    Any trip to a convention is a great time with the excitement and promise of a fun weekend when you arrive.  I am very fortunate that Nova is only 3.5 hours from my home and I had a few friends coming along so it made the road trip quite a bit of fun!  Myself, Matt, and Sean loaded into the car after work on Thursday and hit the road!

    We arrived late in the night and after settling in headed up to the Nova Open Charity Lounge which was going strong.  It was a very relaxed scene where we could grab drinks and chat with other Hobbyists about our armies, games, and upcoming events.  I was also able to finally meet Aaron Bostian who runs the Narrative Age of Sigmar Events.  We shared a few drinks and got to know each other a bit more and had a great evening.  It was nice seeing other familiar and friendly faces all gathered to share a good time.

    Thunder Buddies for life
    Waking up Friday saw myself and Matt dawning the Title of Thunder Buddies in the Age of Sigmar Team Event.  We each rocked up with Stormcast and meet great people in our games and even got to play with a few of our local scenes top players in the second round.  Lightning only struck once as our record will show, but it was three great games of Age of Sigmar.

    A quite Age of Sigmar/Hobbit Hall
    After the armies were packed away a few of us headed out to grab some dinner followed by me heading back for another game.  This time it was Triumph and Treachery in one of the Age of Sigmar Narrative Events.  I got to meet some great people including Chris, who was introduced to me by Aaron, as we played on the same table.  The game was an odd deployment which actually kept me out of most of the game as my Stormcast had to foot slog it over the board.  During that time I got to chat with Vince quite a bit and share ideas of the future of the game, lore, and other musings.  After a while, I managed to get within range, due to some shady deals and got stuck in and after more wheeling and dealing I was awarded most Treacherous from those at my table which in a game of Triumph and Treachery is a goal of mine.

    A day of gaming was wrapped up and it was time to head to the Charity Lounge again for a few drinks and socializing.  I got to meet some a few great people while hanging out such as Jason who handles Warhammer 40k at Adepticon (if I recall correctly) and I was able to meet the man himself Mike Brandt who runs the show at Nova with the support of all the amazing volunteers.  Mike is very passionate about the event, the volunteers who he refers to them as a family, and what we as a community are doing for charity through Nova Open.  It was nice to see Pete and the rest of the crew from Games Workshop hanging out as well and talking hobby with everyone.  It was another great night catching up with friends and meeting new people.

    Warhammer TV was out in force
    Saturday morning saw me awake bright and early to grab breakfast before the Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament.  I headed down with a bit of nervousness and excitement for the games ahead.  I shouldn't have been nervous as I had three of the best games I could ever hope for anywhere.  My opponents gave me a challenging game while keeping it all about the fun and I did my part to do the same for them.  High-fives and cheering each other on is what really made these games.  I ended the day in what was later dubbed as Perfect GT Karma (1-1-1).  I was also able to catch up a bit with my friend Miles who arrived to hang out with everyone for a few days.  It was great seeing more and more friends at the event including others from my local scene such as Bill, Roger, Ryan, Mike S., Jason, Linda, Christian, Jenn, Matt, Aaron, and Evan!

    The lovely lobby at the venue
    I followed my gaming with a brief rest in the hotel room.  I met up with Vince, Kelly, Miles and headed to a seminar presented by Games Workshop talking about Generals Handbook 2017 and beyond with David, Andy, and Pete.  I was also thankful to meet someone who I have followed on Twitter for quite a while, Joe, who will be running Age of Sigmar for The Renegade Open in November.  Joe is a great guy and it should be an exciting event.  I won't dive into the details here as Vince covered it nicely in his latest Warhammer Weekly video, but I can say this will be a very exciting year for Age of Sigmar!

    Directly after I was fortunate enough to sit down with Kelly, Vince, Miles, and Joe to talk with Pete Foley in a follow-up meeting from Adepticon discussing the U.S. AoS Community.  After a great talk, we headed over to a Shadespire Seminar which got me excited to buy this game when it arrives this fall.  Deciding which faction to play will be the hard decision.

    Live Music, Drinks, Friends, and helping charity
    Saturday night saw Mike Brandt's band playing live in the Charity Lounge and boy did they blow the roof off.  I won't lie that I partied a little harder and longer than I expected this night.  I bought a few rounds for the great team from Games Workshop and Forgeworld as well as other friends who were out having a good time.  They all, in turn, did the same for me right after I finished my drink.  I did not get to wild, but I knew I would be hard pressed to play in my last two games of the GT on Sunday.  I still can't tell if I was a bad influence on Dan or if he was a bad influence on me, but it was a great night!  After climbing into bed around 4:30 am I knew I would not be gaming and dropped from the event so sadly I will not be able to bring you coverage from those last few games.

    I should have known this crew was going to be trouble
    While I might have dropped I found I enjoyed hanging out with everyone and just wandering the halls quite a bit.  It reminded me that the community is more than the game, but the game is how we all connect and is integral.  I spent the afternoon watching Vince do very well at the Capital Palette as well as my friend Sean achieving a medal with his first entry into the event as well.  You can read more about that in my prior post.  It was great to sit back and cheer them on and see them do so well.

    The evening wrapped up with one last Seminar hosted by Games Workshop on Building a Community.  Those who know me well will realize this was the one I was waiting for as I love the Warhammer Community and am doing everything I can to help it grow, connect, and become bigger than ever before and I couldn't do it without all those around me who feel the same.  It was nice seeing others opinions on the community and even making a few more connections of like minded people who care a lot about our community.  Games Workshop really cares about the community and I am of the mind we should do all we can to help each other grow.

    Closing/Award Ceremonies
    The whole event wrapped up with a Closing/Award Ceremony.  After the awards were handed out and the goodbyes were exchanged me, Matt and Sean hit the road homeward and after a few hours of telling our stories, we made it home in one piece.  I have been asked if I prefer Nova Open or Adepticon by a few people and I can safely say "Yes".  They are each top level events, but there is no comparing as they each have their own charm and reason to attend.  I will be back at Nova next year without a doubt and I will count the days until its back.

    New Album from  the new Band "Grim Dank" coming soon
    See you all next week, Happy Hobbying!
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  16. Strength_Hammer
    Hey everyone!  Today I want to show you my completed Blades of Khorne army.  I managed to finally wrap up the painting last week and the basing over the weekend.  It is always exciting to complete an army and really give you a lot of satisfaction on seeing the army laid out as a whole.  I have seen some hobbyists who take a well-deserved break after completing an army to prevent burnout, but for me, the opposite effect happens and I get really excited to jump into my next project.  Thankfully I was able to jump right into my display board for Armies on Parade 2017 and keep the hobby flowing.



    One of the best parts of completing a new army is getting it on the table.  Thankfully this Saturday I will be running Age of Sigmar at my local club and will be able to blood this army properly!  I really need to sit down and figure out how each unit will synergize with the army.  I built and painted this army on what I felt looks cool so I really not sure how to use the army to its fullest effect, but that will be part of the fun!  Although finding a place to display the army will prove to be a challenge.

    Once I do find that space I will have plenty of working space on my current project for Armies on Parade 2017.  I only have three kits to build and the force is currently just shy of 1000pts (in matched play), but I also have three wood's to paint alongside the army as well as a display board.  It is about to get frantic in my hobby space with less than thirty days to do everything.

    I really need to buckle down and keep grinding away at my Armie on Parade project.  With such a small window to complete it a missed day or two could keep me from completing the project to the level that I am aiming to achieve.  Working through a project in such a short space of time might be a future article, so let me know if it sounds interesting as a topic. Also, let me know what you have on your hobby table and until Friday's post.  Happy Hobbying!

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  17. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  Today I wanted to talk about that still, somewhat, controversial topic of rebasing your models to round and oval bases in Age of Sigmar. If you have been following my blog for the past year or so you would have seen me accepting the move to round bases, but refusing to rebase any old armies.  You would have also seen my reversal of opinion as I began my Aelf rebasing project that is still ongoing currently.  Today I wanted to dive into this topic about why I feel the community needs to begin working toward having round bases as a requirement for Age of Sigmar.



    Warhammer Age of Sigmar has been out for a few years now and the community has never been better for hobbyists and gamers alike.  The community is growing with new and returning players and we are seeing a wide variety of armies out on the scene from these groups.  While it is still not officially mandated that Age of Sigmar is a game played with round bases it has become the general standard as more and more kits are being repackaged with round bases.  It is also standard to see events at the Local, Regional, and National levels stating that players measure from base to base during the game.  These are pointing toward a move to fully round based armies in the near future.

    While newer players are coming into the game and putting their model son round bases a lot of the returning players still have old armies on squares.  I am not suggesting we turn players away at our local clubs because they wish to try out Age of Sigmar, but only have an old Army on Square bases.  I would encourage those players, as they find themselves enjoying the game, to look into rebasing their old army or begin a new army using the appropriate round bases.

    National level events are, or most likely will be, requiring the appropriate round bases at their events and it is likely that the Regional level events will be soon to follow.  This puts the burden on the Local level to help prepare players and their armies for the higher levels of play.  This isn't anything new for the Local level as it has always been a place to learn your army, improve your skills, and prepare for the larger events as far as gameplay and list building.  This level must now also help encourage players to base their armies on rounds.

    In my Local scene, I have been working to support the players in rebasing older armies to round bases.  It was not a quick process and it wasn't until I decided to rebase all of my old models that it truly became a priority to my hobby and allowed me to honestly help other players to join me in rebasing.  A lot of my local scene saw how much fun Adepticon was last year and are planning to go for the first time or return there after a gaming break and this has been a great final push to embolden everyone to go to round bases.

    As our community grows we are always looking to invite new players into our game systems and supporting the use of round bases as the standard will only help us grow even more.  Seeing a game played between two armies with one of Square bases and the other on rounds appears disjointed as opposed to two armies on the same type of base.  It also takes away the odd feeling of measuring between two different shapes of bases and allows a better uniformity to knowing how far you need to charge, shoot, pile in, etc...  While it is possible to play with the two shapes of bases it is much simpler if you know your opponents will be bringing the model footprints you are expecting based on what we see from the more prevalent Regional and National levels of play.


    To be fair there are a few hurdles and arguments about rebasing, but they are often not what you might be expecting, but they do have workarounds.  The first argument I hear is that it is a pain to rebase and it isn't as hard as one expects.  Rebasing goes quite quickly as models which were glued to bases with the use of plastic glue easily come off with a pair of snips and a bit of patience.  If someone used plastic glue then you just need to snip around the feet leaving a bit of the old base and gluing that directly onto the new round base.

    Another concern is the cost of buying new round bases.  If you are looking to buy resin bases or official Citadel Bases then I would agree with the high cost of buying new bases.  If you have a small elite army then it isn't much to swallow.  However, if you are like me and looking to rebase hundreds of models then you need the cheapest option possible.  If you look online at hobby supply sellers or on eBay you can find bases made very cheaply in either a thinner plastic or MDF that often come in very large quantities.  The downside is they often have a lengthy shipping time as they cross international lines and customs checks, but if you need to pinch pennies it is the best way to do it.

    The biggest hurdle that doesn't have an easy answer to point toward is what base sizes should be used?  While some of the older kits have been repackaged with round bases we still have kits on shelves that are supplied with square bases.  There is a great community tool over on TGA that lists out the old models and their appropriate base size, but it is far from complete.  What is the solution?  While it would be great to see an official document that lists the base sizes for models from Games Workshop it is unlikely we will see it, at least in the near future.  Perhaps we could see it in a future Generals Handbook, but for now, it falls to us as a community help the new and returning players find the appropriate base size.  Thankfully a lot of this can be done with common sense as a lot of square bases have associated round or oval bases close to their size.  You can also look at other units which are similar that may have an updated base.  For example, the repackaged Slaves to Darkness Start Collecting Box has a 120x92mm base for the chariot.  I would say it is safe to assume that all chariots would be based on the same size.

    There are tools out there to help with moving from square to round bases as well.  Very soon The U.S. AoS Community group will be releasing their Modular Pack and within it is items such as a base conversion guide to help as part of one of the many modules.  Keep an eye out here as we are nearly done with the final stages of the pack and more info will be coming shortly.  For now here is a preview of this specific part of the module.


    With positive support and encouragement, we can begin to see the use of round bases as the community standard at all levels of play int he near future.  While we do this we should also encourage Games Workshop to repackage as many of the old kits as they are able to help the newer players come in on the proper footing as well.  While I know not everyone will agree with a push such as this it is a big part of the health and growth of our game and community and it is already in process of happening, it just requires a bit more pushing from the community to make it a reality.  If you do disagree I hope that perhaps one day you will change your mind on rebasing as I have over this past year.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments and until next week.

    Happy Hobbying!

    ~Chuck Moore





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  18. 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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  19. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  In just over a weeks time the second Coalasence Global Narrative Event Day will take place.  On March 17th Warhammer Age of Sigmar players are planning to gather for some fun narrative gaming for glory and fun.  Following up on last summers successful event I will be running this event once again in my local club.  The Neon group have outdone themselves once again and Games Workshop even gave the player pack a nice facelift to make it look stunning.  There is still time to jump on board and host this free event so head over to Neon Blog to sign up and get the pack!



    I really enjoyed running this event back in June and while the story of the Godbeast Eristrat this event is purely focused on the current story revolving around Shyish and the Malign Portents.  If you haven't picked up the Malign Portents book yet I highly suggest you do so.  The level of detail it dives into about Shyish is worth it alone.  Be sure to check out the companion website as well for even more stories and details about this strange time in The Age of Sigmar.
    The event also coincides with the Global campaign, Dread Solstice, as well where players across the world are helping shape the future and story of The Age of Sigmar.  Every game will count toward reporting so be sure to track the wins and losses at your table and report them to your participating location.  

    One of the coolest additions from Malign Portents is our four Hero models, one for each Grand Alliance.  While their power and use in Matched Play is debatable they are perfect for a narrative game and with an event themed around their release I thought it necessary to make them part of my local event.  Each of my players can bring their respective Malign Portents Hero for free in addition to their armies and my local club has been very excited about this as there is no reason not to play with these great models now.  I am allowing proxies for these models, but if players want to win the infamous "Coolest Award" from my event they should find time to buy and paint one of these up.

    The pack is laid exceptionally well and is built for each scenario to grow from 100 to 1250 to 1500 points from game to game.  I love the idea of growing your army each ga,e, but sadly this will be the one item I change.  Since the event is the weekend before Adepticon time has been a bit of an issue for my local club as we all scramble to prepare.  For my local event will be playing each game at 1000 points only.  This is twofold as it will allow us a fun and quick day of gaming and as a lot of my club will be playing in the team event at Adepticon we can practice the use of our armies in a relaxed fashion.  It is a small change, but one I felt worked well for myself and the players at my event.

    One of the great ideas from last summers event was to add your local story to the overall narrative.  As I am a big fan of Aelves I used Tyrion and Teclis as the driving force in my local lore and made fun little teasers involving them and the event centered in my local area.  I even brought Tyrion and Teclis as leaders of my Aelven army last year to play as my ringer army and have some fun on the tables.  I couldn't resist doing this once again and with the well-timed Daughters of Khaine release who better to involve this time other than Morathi.  I plan to theme my ringer force once again around her and Teclis will be my be Harbinger, although with slimmed down rules. 
    As I did last year I will also create a small wrap up teaser after the event to help tie in my local result with the overall narrative and, hopefully, set up some plot devices for the third event in June.  If you want to see how the first Coalescence went to my local club be sure to check out the article I posted about it.  The post also lays out my local story from beginning to end in case you wish to read that as well.


    Much like last year, I couldn't see running this event without some fun prizes.  While a smaller event I did not go as overboard as I did in June, but I got some nice prizes and certificates for my players to battle over.  I made the certificates using a PDF created by the Neon Team which I printed at a local shopping center as 4x6 pictures and picked up some simple frames to put them in.  I love doing these nice little awards and they are well received by my local club when I create them for my events.  All in all, each award costs less than two dollars so it is worth doing even if you do not have any prize support.
    Narrative gaming is a lot of fun and a great way to play Age of Sigmar.  While Matched Play may get the spotlight it doesn't mean you should shy away from doing both or even doing Open Play.  Each of these pillars is great ways to keep your gaming in the Mortal Realms varied and fresh.  I encourage you to participate in the Global Coalescence event day on March 17th, even if it is just you and a friend playing the scenarios.  Be sure to report your overall winner as laid out in the pack to help be a part of this great event! Let me know if you are running a Coalescence event in the comments below and be sure to keep an eye out for coverage of my event in a future post.  Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
    Chuck Moore

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  20. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone!  Today I will wrap up my personal Adepticon coverage as I take you through my games from the Age of Sigmar Team Doubles and the Grand Tournament.  I say my personal coverage because next week I am having Paul return to talk about the Narrative event he ran now that The Gibbering Dome's halls have quieted down.  All in all, I had eight great games with wonderful opponents and while days of gaming can become draining near the end I came out of it all energized for me.  The body might of wanted rest, but my mind wanted more Warhammer.



    Team Doubles
    Originally when tickets went on sale for Adepticon I was going to skip out on the Team event and look at taking a few hobby seminars.  However, Mike who I knew through Twitter reached out and asked if I would like to be his partner for some fun in the event.  He wasn't looking for someone to smash opponents off the board with, but someone to enjoy a day of gaming with and I couldn't pass up the offer.  I am glad he reached out to me as the event, while long, was a lot of fun.  My Khrone teamed up with his Skaven mastermind and we set off for some fun and chaotic games.


    The first game saw Mike and myself facing Adam G., who runs Imperium Games, and his friend Tony C..  They gifted us with some really nice custom Combat Gauges from Adam's store which is always a nice surprise.  Mike and I were given the first turn and while we reached as far as we could Adam and Tony deployed far enough back to prevent any of my units getting stuck in immediately.  While I feel proud that Mike's Skaven and my Khorne did well to keep the spells from the Lord of Change at bay Adam and Tony did not need to rely on magic to win the battle.  Some great movement plays from Tony's Sylvaneth kept my Bloodletters out of the battle for too long.  At the end of Turn, four Mike and I knew the battle was lost.  Adam and Tony gave a great game and were very fun to play and chat with during our time at the table.  Mike and I took away a few lessons for our next opponents as well.


    Game two put us on some lower tables were we met some players who, much like Mike and myself, were there for fun and rolling dice above all else.  Those players were Cody B. and Travis L. with their Kharadon Overlord and Fyreslayer army.  This scenario had each team bid a number of minutes in which to deploy to determine who would go first.  Mike and I practiced between rounds and we bid one minute to our opponents five.  They were wide-eyed as they saw our very low bid, but with the timer going Mike and I managed to deploy with two seconds and patted ourselves on the back.  Sadly this was the only victory we can claim from the game itself.  While it only took four three and a half turns for Mike and I to admit defeat, with almost no models left on the field, we got to hang out with these cool guys as they offered beer and friendship.  One thing I will remember from our game with Cody and Travis is their dice with mugs of ale on the six's.  When a six was rolled we all took a drink and I was never happier to see an opponent roll so many six's!  Gentlemen, DRINK!


    The final game of the day allowed Mike and I one final attempt at redemption. We were lucky enough to play some great fellas who traveled from the UK to play.  Al M.(a fellow Moore!) and Darren J..  They had brought a wonderfully painted Stormcast army and much like our other opponents were ready to have a fun game.  The scenario had a bit of randomness to it as the objective would move around each turn so it was anyone's game.  Early on Mike and I put ourselves into a nice advantage, but Al and Darren would not be denied and they fought to the bitter end to bring our game to a draw.  It was bloody, exciting, and a lot of fun.  We were all very excited to see that in case of a draw each team received a minor win so all of us walked away with one "win" under our belt to boot!


    I had a great time playing with Mike and am happy to say he offered me the "right of first refusal" to be his partner next year as well.  It was a long and fun filled day and I was happy to have a partner such as Mike to hang out with as we battled our way through it all.  Be sure to find mike on Twitter at @exorre to check out his wonderfully painted Skaven as well!

    Grand Tournament


    Saturday rolled around and it was time for the big show.  The Age of Sigmar Gran Tournament.  Before I dive into my games I want to give a big thanks to Alex, his Wife Kari Ann, and all those who supported running and preparing for the event.  It was an amazing turnout and one of the best run events I have ever been to and the team that did deserve high praise for all their work so we can play some great games together.

    The day started off on a high note as I arrived early and was randomly placed on Table two!  I joked that it is the highest table I will be at for the entire event and went to prepare myself for my first opponent.  I was running my Daughters of Khaine list and while it is not the exact list I wrote for my Warhammer Community Tactica articles it was very close, but due to time constraints I wasn't able to finish my Khinerai in time so had to shuffle things around a bit.  The core of ninety Witch Aelves remained as did Morathi as my General.




    My first opponent was a very polite and friendly gentleman by the name of Josh A..  Josh had brought a Stormcast force which included a Prime!  I was excited, and a bit scared, to see a great and underused model on the table.  Josh Null deployed his force giving me not much to do at the top of my turn as the objectives hadn't dropped yet so I simply moved up a bit to get closer to the middle of the table and hoped to survive his alpha strike.  Josh brought the hammer and while he killed off a fair amount of my Witch Aelves as well as removing Morathi at the top of Turn two it simply wasn't enough and being able to roll handfuls of dice was too much to bear.  My Kraith ability triggered a fair number of times this game as well and by the top of turn four I had secured all the objectives and removed his last Liberator giving me a Major Win.  Josh and I chatted through the first break and drank some coffee and I was glad to have so much time to chat with him.  He is a solid person that I hope to play again one day.


    After a nice break, the pairings were posted and I jumped for joy as I saw I was headed for the great Table one!  It has always been on my Hobby Bucket list to grace the top table for a single round and due to my previous victory, I managed to do just that!  My Opponent was Cody B. who was there with his lovely wife and their child.  He had brought a Sylvaneth army and he was as excited as I was to be playing on the top table.  As I deployed I felt confident in Morathi's ability to hold down an objective and I turned her into her Snake form right away, but it was really Cody's scenario to lose and while I pushed him to make mistakes he played it perfectly and was able to take the victory.  While I did very well keeping him from summoning more Woods the one mistake I made was attacking his unit of Dryads with Mystic Shield and Throne of Vines on it.  I managed a large number of saves which he promptly made in order to have me nearly kill off an entire unit of Witches.  We had a good laugh at the sight of it all and despite the early set back the game remained close until turn four when he was able to kill off my remaining Heros and leave me with nothing left that could hope to take down his Treelord, but we both carried on and claimed some Secondary and Tertiary objectives with what we had left.  I suffered a Major loss but it was thrilling to play such a great person on the top table and make a new friend such as Cody.


    While I expected to be knocked down in tables after my Major loss my third game saw me kicked very far down and with a long road ahead of me to fight back up I encountered Kyle K. and his Undead force lead by nonother than Nagash himself.  Morathi was Scared and I was Scared for her in the coming battle.  I was given the first turn and once again I turned Morathi immediately and threw her at forward and as many Witches as I could in hopes to remove Nagash as quickly as possible.  While I gave it everything I had it simply wasn't enough and while I wreaked havoc on his Gravegaurd Nagash surviving kept Kyle going strong.  The magic phase was a tense, but thrilling time for both of us as we waited to see if he would successfully cast Hand of Dust on Morathi or not.  Do to some bad dice rolls and some great dispell dice from me I staved off the inevitable until turn four.  Neither one of us had enough left to claim a Major Victory and with him winning the roll for turn four it came down to his he could remove Morathi or if she would kill him in combat to decide who would take a Minor Victory as we would draw on the objective and look at total killed.  Nagash did it with style and Morathi was removed giving me a Minor Loss.  It was a tense and fun game and the story told on the table was one I will remember, but next time Morathi will not be denied!


    Sunday arrived and we all shuffled into the hall for our last two games after a night of rabble-rousing.  After the usual few minutes extra wait for those who might have had too much fun the night before the drops sorted our pairings posted.  I looked for my place and was very excited to play a very good friend Neil L. who you might know from my blog as he runs the Rend 4 club in Ohio.  This was a great way to begin the day and I hoped to exact revenge against his Khorne from the stomping they gave my Morathi and my army in a practice game a few weeks prior.  However, he had Skarrbrand and while I feared I might lose Morathi quickly I was determined to put her to good use.  I had the first turn and Morathi transformed, Mindrazored herself, and took off toward his Wrath of Khorne Bloodthirster.  Mortahi got to work and while I took his General down to almost nothing she failed to kill it.  Neil ran his General away, a fact that I will never let him live down, and quickly brought in Skarrbrand to do the dirty business of killing Morathi.  Morathi was removed, but the battle was far from over.  Neil made one error and moved off his objective in the first round and after realizing he wouldn't score pulled a few back in hopes to kill me off and claim some of my objectives to make up for his deficit. Unfortunately for Neil, my Witch Aelves were inspired by Mroathi's sacrifice to Khaine and proved that they can outfight Khorne any day and I began deleting his units over the next few rounds giving me a Major Win.  Playing Neil was great fun as he has become a very close friend since I met him last year at Adepticon and neither one of us pulled any punches in our brawl.  Next time we meet we have a rubber match to see whose army reigns supreme!


    The final game of the event paired me against Jake L. and his Kharadon Overlords.  I had come to fear this matchup as it could quickly end a game with a few good rounds of shooting.  While Jake position, deployed and had fantastic target priority his dice let him down and while he killed a few key pieces he didn't do enough to blunt my army and the battle got Bloody and quick.  It was back and forth with great saves and tight play from both of our armies, but the game ultimately came down to turn five priority roll.  If I won I would have claimed a Major Victory by capturing all four objectives, but if he won he would be able to draw on the objective and since he had killed more of my force by this time he would claim a Minor Win.  We rolled and Jake won the roll.  It was a Minor loss for me, but it capped off the event with a final and exceptional game with a truly great player and person.

    At the end of it all I placed 67th of out 164 (total players after drops) and while it keeps me at the mid-table hero level I am happy to say I placed higher percentage-wise this year than last year.  I am also very happy with how my army performed.  The Witch Aelves are brutal in combat and Kraith really worked well for them and caused a good bit of fear for my opponents.  I plan to continue running a Witch Aelf Horde for quite some time with the only change is give command of my army to a Slaughter Queen as opposed to Morathi.  She is targeted to quickly and while I wanted her command ability to be a great force multiplier she was either dead or transformed before it became effective in combat.  The army is an absolute blast to play and I was happy to see other Daughters of Khaine out in force at the event.  I can imagine everyone will be seeing much more of them in the coming months!


    Top Painted Armies


    I wanted to leave you all today with pictures of the top painted armies from the event.  The hobby was high for the majority of the armies, but these were the cream of the crop and truly inspiring to continue to improve my own hobby in the future.  I am looking at you Idoneth Deepkin!

    Another great Adepticon full of gaming, friends, and fantastic opponents is wrapped up and I cannot wait until next year for even more fun.  I hope you enjoyed my coverage and be sure to check back next week as Paul recaps his Age of Sigmar Narrative event, The Gibbering Dome.  Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
    Chuck Moore


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  21. Strength_Hammer
    Hey everyone!  It is Wednesday so it is time for my weekly hobby update.  My Hobby hasn't slowed down despite a lot of work travel lately, but the more hobby the better.  From Club Days to  Coalescence preparation, and even my Youtube Debut it has been frantic and fun.

    I was lucky enough to be brought on as a guest on last weeks Warhammer Weekly Hosted by Vince and Tom.  We did a review on the "New" Stormcast book and I was honored to join them and hope to be back on in the future.  Check out the video here and be sure to catch his live talkss every Wednesday.

    This past weekend my club held its second Barter/Buy day and lots of minis exchanged hands in a fun filled day.  Some of my gains can be seen below.


    I was able to round out a full 2000pt Blades of Khorne list with a few recent additions.  It isn't my ideal list, but I can finally begin painting these guys soon and a new project is always an exciting feeling.


    Also, I got my hands on an unwanted Unforgiven army.  I will be stripping it to ready it for a new paint job for my #New40k army.  I am currently debating on stripping my older Dark Angels for a fresh coat of paint as well, but time will tell with that endeavor.


    Last on my table has been my final preparations for Coalescence this Saturday.  Packs are printed, the terrain is painted, and the players are excited so it will be a great event for everyone.  The prizes and awards will be fun to track and hand out.  I will be doing a follow up to my event next week as well.
    As always feel free to follow me on Twitter to see what I am working on in more depth as well as letting me know what you have going on.  Until Friday, Happy Hobbying!


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  22. Strength_Hammer
    Hey Everyone! This past weekend my club held a very important event in place of its standard gaming days.  We had determined at our Town Meeting that our terrain was in need of a facelift and we committed to repairing, repainting, and if needed replacing terrain from our club collection.  I also committed to painting up all of my terrain so when I am running Age of Sigmar events such as Coalescence I can also bring a few extra tables of quality terrain as well.




    I went to this project with the mindset that if I am unwilling to paint my own terrain how could I possibly motivate others to fix up our community terrain?  While painting my own terrain was motivating for the club as we came up to the club terrain day it really began to stretch my endurance.  While some terrain like the new Games Workshop has a lot of fun little detail to spend some time on other proved to be monotonous with priming and dry brushing becoming the standard.  All that said it was educational going through the process on my own terrain.  
    I also spent time using a hot foam wire cutter and some sharp knives creating hills along the way.  I cannot express how easy these were to create and very friendly on the wallet as well.  If you are needing some simple terrain to get on your or your clubs table I can honestly say you could have a table full of line of sight blocking hills done to a decent standard in an afternoon. 


    Our local library which is our normal meeting location was completely booked through the month.  Thankfully we had another FLGS nearby with a lot of space who was willing to host us as we got to the task.  I picked up the clubs terrain early from our club FLGS and headed over to the hosting FLGS.  I arrived and one of our younger members Luke had already arrived and was eager to get going so we began unpacking and setting up shop.

    Over the next hour or so more and more club members became coming in to help out.  It was great to see every rally around a single task to improve the club as a whole.  There was a wide variety of hobbyists as well.  The hardcore gamers, the high-level painters, and the casual group all joined it.  The time really passed quickly as we all chatted hobby and upcoming releases.  It was a real bonding experience for those who were able to attend.


    I think the key detail of the day was who showed up to begin taking our club to the next level.  While it is worth noting that a few members who let me know there were schedule conflicts and they couldn't attend I noticed that those who showed up were the younger players.  I feel I was able to relay to them how important they are to the future of the club as it will be them leading it one day.  They are enthused about what I have been pushing with taking the club to a higher level and growing once again.  It wouldn't be possible without the support of the entire club, especially the younger players.

    The fruits of our labor paid off as we managed to repair and repaint all of the club terrain in about six hours of hard work.  It was great seeing the looks of accomplishment on everyone's face and the care with which everyone put the terrain away in its boxes to be transported back to our FLGS.  The club showed up and took ownership and they will see the fruits of their labor during our next game day when we play with the terrain.


    If your club is in needs to up their game tables I can recommend dedicating a single day to repairing and even building new terrain.  It is a great way for everyone to take ownership in the club as well as bond as a community.  If you do have a day like this coming up let me know as I would love to check out some pictures or offer any advice I can.  Follow me on Twitter if you would like to see pictures from the next club game day where we will begin using the freshly updated terrain.  Until next week Happy Hobbying!
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  23. 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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  24. 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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  25. 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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