flamingwalnut

This is gonna be a fun week! So excited for the previews!

Dwarves are awesome and can be super great, but yeah, you've hit a few odd snags. First, yeah, Path to Glory is almost always the OPPOSITE of balance. Some of the Path to Glory lists are just....all sorts of wonky. Like, I can get an almost 1,000 point force out of some "starter lists" while other armies barely muster 300. Avoid them as much as possible. Points should be pretty simple to understand, IMO, to start with, so focus on that for list building. Second, Dwarves have some potent synergies, but you need the full machine to really get going. Ironbreakers are solid, but don't do much other than hold the line. Warden King is good, but needs a REAL combat unit to buff. Hammerers, Irondrakes, and Runelords are the REAL bread and butter for the dwarf forces. That should help. If you want to really try some different odds and ends and really get a taste for what Cities of Sigmar is SUPPOSED to do as a faction, try a combined force and find Dwarven counts as. A battlemage can be a cool dwarf model in a robe and can provide some awesome support (the Realm of Beasts Battlemage has a GREAT spell for dwarves) Also, remember this is an objective game. Dwarves can smash, but they are best at holding firm. BUT...they are also slow, while FEC is fast. Try out some scenarios that can help make the game less about just who can bash harder, because FEC just hits harder, period. It may take some patience to get a hang out, but might help iron out some balance issues.

Your cities of Sigmar is fantastic. Some wonderful choice of bits and fantastic painting. Honestly, everything is! Though I must say that the Oni Ogres are just inspired! What did you use to convert them? Are they really just Bullgryns and greenstuff or were other bits involved?

Ahem. Hi. So, I have nothing to show for this month. And by the looks of it? Might not have much to show for next month. I am in the process of moving and have a lot to get done. Even worse so, between the stress of all that, spending time with my local friends before going, and honestly just not being excited to actually PLAY Stormcast, I haven't had the motivation for it. I haven't even logged onto the forums here for most of the month! It's been wild, but it is what it is. It's a nasty case of poor timing and uncertainty. So, I am afraid, you won't be seeing much from me. The hopes is that come the end of August, when I am moved and settling in, I can get a better grasp on what I can and want to do. Might pick up this project, might just shift gears if it isn't what is sparking me anymore. Either way, I am so happy to have a forum like this and a group that wanted to get this done. You all are doing some delightful work and putting out some great models. Keep it up! I'll be cheering ya all on from the sidelines till I see what the future brings! One of these days I'll do one of these events from start to finish without pause. lol

In line with the Tale of X Online Gamers, gonna do 2 Stormcast Celestar Balista with crew. If I can stretch, do a few city things in theme with like (aka More Artillery and support characters)

Love everything ESPECIALLY that Pegasus (still go wild thinking about the amount of kits used to make them. Hell, the base is an endless spell instead of a normal base, right!? Wild... And with all this absolutely wondrous conversions and such, so weird to see stock steam tanks. lol They look great, just find it funny how at this point stock models are more out there than your conversions because you crank them out so quickly and so well. One day I'll invest in an army like this. Gorgeous.

Looking good everyone. I might want to go back on that Lord Ordinator...especially the face. BUT, that is for later. This month I am going to flesh out that Lord Ordinator story wise and give him an arsenal to play with. Depending on how much time I devote here, he might get a bigger arsenal of Cities allies. I might even get around to starting to convert the other characters! For this month, for now, keeping it small and aiming for 2 Celestar Ballistas and their crew. Kinda wish I had some solid way to make the crew unique, but...so many little details, hard to replace bits...not that I have many extra Stormcast bits. Shame. BUT, they look good at least, let's see if my paint job do well enough. lol

AWESOME! How big is it? Any chance you can give us more pictures and perhaps divulge some of the steps and techniques on how to make it? Fantastic either way, that is a great looking table.

Whew! So, this month has been wild. I have finally accepted the idea of moving away from friends and community that I have cultivated for over 5 years. I have had surprise projects, personal revelations, and some major struggles. To keep all of this moving, and to keep to my task, did feel like an impossible call but I did it! My charge has been painted, my story has been written, and I have one step closer toward a full collection of painted minis. The plan going forward will change a bit as time goes on, but the core remains the same. This month is an introduction, and over the next 7 to 8 months (depending on how I handle Azyr) I will be focusing on a District of my city and the Stormcasts that watch over it. That means 8 total Stormcast characters, a host of other models to round out a list, and some Cities of Sigmar models to sprinkle in as I find the time and energy. The end goal list will be nebulous, as I will be aiming to paint things that honestly might never see play. What I focus on is narrative and story. I should have done the Lord Arcanum from the story here instead of the Lord Ordinator, but her model isn't done yet. Will try and get it converted for next month, but we'll see. For now, Argul Vale will be a preview of next month's focus, the Realm of Metal. The next 2 months will probably be smaller as the move digs in and I wrap up projects for the community down here and spend some time with my friends before I leave. But models will be done! I have loved what I have seen around here and am glad to be a part of this community. You make this hobby even better. Now, the main event, chapter 1 of this Tale of X Online Gamers and the finished models!

Why IS the monthly contest starting and ending on the 28th? That seems so odd... AND I AM TOTALLY NOT SAYING THAT BECAUSE I AM LATE TO THE POSTING OF MY STUFF! Also, it totally still counts as June 30th, because I haven't slept yet, which is how the day ACTUALLY ends... Or something. Ssh. Want to quick post here, but will have a more elaborate post, WITH A STORY (just working out the details), on the Tale of X Online Gamers thread. Poke in there for even more....fun. Or something.

Wanted to pop back in for a small update. No pictures yet, but only got 2 miniatures and a bit extra in regards to miniatures I promised. May end up with a big update on Tuesday as I press everything together, INCLUDING THE WRITING! Not gonna let that slide. This month came with all sorts of surprises. Finally decided to move at the end of the lease, so have a lot of things to tie up before I go. Also had a few evenings dedicated to helping paint store terrain, and likely more of that in the future. Then packing and planning! July will definitely be a smaller pledge and August maybe even smaller, but I have my plan solidified and my goals set, so Tuesday will be the Moment of Truth, so it were. Everyone else is looking great. Love to see the progress. Feel free to slip some more narrative in there, I will gladly repay in kind. (Meaning, I'm giving it out anyways, for all who care. lol)

Awesome minis and paintjobs! Those are the Atlantis dwarves, right? Any chance you have a side-by-side comparison with GW dwarves? Would be wonderfully appreciated.

Feels later. We only have 1 full week after one and only 2 weekends left. But yeah, only a little over half. That said, I figured I was safe....until our shop tried to do events and I pledged to finish up/do the terrain I had lying around for them. >_< We'll see how it all plays out.

Hello everyone! So I dove into Stormcast when 2nd edition dropped. The sacrosanct was finally what I wanted, the combination of epic paladin and powerful mage. Loved it, aesthetic, lore, the unit types. From the first glimpse of the Lord-Ordinator and the Lord Arcanum, I wanted it. Grabbed a few sets of Soul Wars and......they were kinda meh. Not bad so much as just...not very interesting. Some aspects were, like the synergies of Sequitors and Evocators and the utility of a Knight Incantor. But the Castigators were depressing, the Ballista was swingy, and their spell lore was....bland. I was amped for the Celestial Warbringers, a Stormhost all about magic and prophecy, would be perfect? Still no. So I dropped them, but after my Cities of Sigmar I wanted to try again. I wanted something more elite as a balance to the horde of Cities and well, I already have a chunk of them, so might as well. I have been finishing painting/repainting them in Tempest Lords as they fit my city's lore perfectly! And when I looked at them, they had some interesting, if slim, potential... First: with a battalion, I can take the both the Tempest Lords relic and Aetherquartz Brooch from Hysh...meaning every command point I spend I roll 2 dice and potentially get 2 back, GAINING command points instead of spending them...? Is that really right? Second: How in the world do I abuse this? Gavriel is in another Stormhost and generic command abilities are solid, just not anything to write home about. The Dracoline Lord Arcanum's ability seems to be the biggest outlet for all of this. Kinda shocked this wasn't FAQd like the others, making me think it won't stay.... For now, I tried out this list today: Lord Arcanum on Dracoline Knight Incantor Knight Incantor 10x Sequitors 10x Sequitors 5x Judicators 10x Evocators 3x Dracoline Evocators Cleansing Phalanx Just a small bit to try out, see what kind of core I like. Considered a more Ballista support instead, but...eh. The game was kind of a blow out, but due to opponent's mistakes, a double turn, and some hot dice. Not a GREAT test. But, thoughts on the list? Thoughts on Tempest Lords? Thoughts on ways to really capture that warrior mage feel and feel like a tank made of magic and steel?

The transition colors on both the wing tips and where the wings attach to the back are great. Love the little veins on the membrane, too. Makes the whole thing look more real, which adds to the already twisted air of the model. Looking forward to seeing more!

A bit of progress to show: the first Sequitor! Rather like the Tempest Lords scheme. Technically my second model in it as I did a Knight Incantor for my Cities army. Hopefully I can find my groove again and start to crank them out. I got....so many projects I want to cover and very little time to do them all in. We'll see how it all pans out!

Now that the Tale of Online Gamers has been sorted for me, I now have a pledge! Yay! I will be getting back to Stormcast, with: 1 Lord-Ordinator 5 Sequitors 5 Evocators Any stretch goals will be some fun, side stuff for my Cities army. But might also be 40k Orks with the new Edition on the rise.

Well, my friends, come one and come all to witness the tale of tragedy and woe! No, not my army lore, but my army choice! lol Warning...might be a long post. These past few weeks have been wild. I have combed over all the options, weighed conversions and time and play style and lore. It also didn't help that my LGS has almost bare shelves and orders are starting to get a bit bare in the supply chain as GW starts to start back up. But demons? Nothing really clicked or felt interesting enough. Chaos is super common around here anyways. Orcs? Had some conversions in mind, but AoS Orruks don't do the fun stuff that I love Orks for (weird tech, bizarre units, weird rules). Skaven and Gloomspite had the weird, but relied heavily on hordes. KO and Sylvaneth all have great things, but uncertain I want a full army of them. Fyreslayers are too samey, Nighthaunt is too flimsy, and Bonereapers too busted (lol). Which left me looking at expanding my Cities of Sigmar. I have a lot of lore I never really put out in the open, and a lot of angles to do models with. But expanding the Cities starts to dive into the same units (Freeguild Guard/Eternal/Dreadspears/Longbeards...all chaff. LOTS of overlap for each subfaction.) I also have a solid pile of Stormcast that I never really dove deep on because they were a bit...underwhelming? So, not gonna lie, I was feeling pretty disheartened. I love the hobby, but nothing was sparking me which really throws a wrench in the machine. So, after a long debate, I decided to look at this differently. Not as a way to get a specific brand new army, but to flesh out the aspects that I HAVE fallen in love with, the stories and unique bits that I have made. So, while I do plan to aim for a 2,000 point army list, my GOAL will be to finish the Cities I have, expand each section of my city (more on that below), and put the Stormcast to use as a grounding center, both model wise and lorewise, for my Order collection. Hopefully, as well, the Stormcast will go by fast. SO! My goals and pledges for this Tale of X (Online) Gamers goes like this: Have a painted 2,000 point Stormcast Eternals list Write a short story for my Stormcast/Cities for each month Introduce at least one part of the city with each month's pledge with some themed models to paint Hopefully end up with little to no painted Cities of Sigmar models by the end OR build all the conversions I planned for my Cities army for painting later I do not have a specific list for the Stormcast, but I have some basic units to paint to get me started! I will be doing Tempest Lords, which ironically turned out perfect for my Cities army after I laid everything out, as both coming from Hyshian nobles (city is in Hysh) but also blue for the Lore of Heavens. How fitting! Here is a base start for the City and the Stormcast: The city of Aval'Atun was once a testament to perfect balance and prosperity, a symbol of the Mortal Realms United. The metropolis stood in the center of an expansive desert, with the gleaming city as the only beacon of civilization for leagues around. The city itself was built around a brilliant crystal spire and at the top of that spire sat a massive stone dais. Legend says that this dais came from The World That Was and its 8 sections, colored with magical runes, each denoted symbols and magic from each of the 8 Mortal Realms. Around the spire, the city was built into 8 perfect sections, each joined to reflect the different sections of the dais. From the crystal spire, energies from across the realms poured forth, bathing each portion in a wash of their own separate Realm's energy. The city was a masterpiece before even a single building was created. Over the years, the city stood for harmony as denizens from all 8 realms lived together in peace, sharing their knowledge and homelands for the rest to enjoy. The mighty city stood against assaults from all forces and even endured much of the Age of Chaos. Ironically, the constant battering did not break the walls, but instead broke the spirits, collapsing the city from within through intercity strife and anger. The city of Aval'Atun fell one century before Sigmar would move to reclaim the Mortal Realms. Now the bright light of Hysh shines down on Aval'Atun once more. Sigmar demanded the gem of Hysh be reclaimed and sent a contingent of Tempest Lords to ensure that the city shine once again. The Tempest Lords were quick to see it was not iron rule and absolutes that kept Aval'Atun in perfect balance, but delicate care and cohesive respect amongst all of its people. So, as citizens from across the Mortal Realms come to the gleaming city and settle in to a home away from home, the Tempest Lords stand as the arbitrators of an uneasy, burgeoning peace. But many differences make for constant conflict... Will the city stand strong in the face of the ever looming threats? Or will the forces of Chaos and Destruction see the city crumble to dust once and for all... The city is based off of the colleges of Magic in the Old World Empire. 8 districts representing the 8 winds/realms, each with their own culture, personality, and of course, their own caste of battlemages. Mages rule as the premiere users of the forces that give their city power. To start off this Tale, I will have Lord-Ordinator Argul Vale, accompanied by 5 Sequitors and 5 Evocators. My stormcast will definitely be Sacrosanct based, as that is what tipped me to REALLY enjoying the Stormcast.

I think he was just picking up a bunch of gifts/new projects. There were only 3 there, and 2 could be related (Slaanesh Daemons and Slaves to Darkness). Hell, the third was the Corsair Cities SC, so all could fit into a weird, Slaaneshy army. lol Whooooo knooows. Not a HUGE deal, just might slow me down....assuming I can ever pick a project. My city is in Hysh, and I have been pondering basing (both lore and, well, their bases) all my other armies like them so I can have thematic fights. Especially if I make my own table sometime down the line. Goals right there.

I love the idea of the Ironsworn, such an amazing concept and great execution. Kinda tempted to build something similar, but debating how to run it. Wish cities had access to a few more monstrous and odd size things, might go bigger with a Redemptor Dreadnaught or Invictor and run it as a War Hydra? Either way, excellent quality as usual, would love to see the entire painted army in a battle report or something similar.

Yeah, I got lucky. I got the Hammerhal box when it came out (decided that over Tempest Eye Dwarves because of Demigryphs and the Hurricanum, though having extra old Empire and liking Liberators over Persecutors also helped...) Would love a Start Collecting Hammerhal with like a Freeguild Guard or Handgunner kit, 3 Demigryphs, and a Griffon. Would be wonderful!

Definitely an AMAZING centerpiece. Definitely save it for the end. Personally, while it DOES look daunting, it also looks like it has a LOT of good drybrushing spots. That entire backpiece could be an easy prime dark, highlight in a metal or something of your choice, and maybe even tint with a wash/contrast. You can have blue shimmering metal with shadowy recesses. Or Green to highlight the Realm of Life. I do love having "weird" Realm choices for armies. Like, Realm of Life has obvious stuff in Nurgle and Sylvaneth, but Tzeentch has some cool, weird choices for that. Then you can get SUPER wonky with tech people like Kharadron or the big WTF with a Death army from Life. lol Sadly, my store's stock got hit harder than I thought during lockdown. Some dude came in the other day and ordered all the Start Collecting off the shelf! REALLY curious what in the world HE was building.... Anyways, so while I will have a project set by June 1st (OR SO HELP ME! Grr...) but I might not have models ready by then. Should be easy enough to order, but time. GUESS WE SHALL SEE!

They were actually really solid! I always loved the models from their release, but having them in person now, they still hold a lot of weight! I didn't pick out a lot of details, going solid iron for the rider and solid Screaming Bell for the Demigryph plates. The basic look works well, but there is a lot of room for fancy detail if you want to embellish them. Just wish they weren't so expensive for 3 dudes, would LOVE a full Demigryph army. A common problem for the Cities of Sigmar. lol

Alright! Got my pledge done in the past few days. Should have gotten more, but hey, things got weird this month. BUT, I am done, 3 Demigryphs, 10 Freeguild, and one fancy Gyrocopter (LOVE the model, sad it is so expensive....) Won't hit my stretches, and next month looms with an interesting conundrum in the "Tale of X Online Gamers" but for now, these will do!

Looking good everyone! Curious, now I know this isn't specifically a narrative event but I do love me some beautiful narratives. Anyone on here got some background thoughts for their new warbands? Perhaps some ideas from a while back? Maybe something off the cuff right now? Since we can't battle in an awesome campaign, I want the next best thing: I want to hear from you all! If you want, of course. (Still deciding on my own, I know, slowly but surely. lol)