Archaon!

Archaon and Varanguard were models that I have been looking at for quite some time. They look really amazing, but they are also very expensive - and I already had several armies and not that much time to paint or play. So I decided to wait before I jump onto another expensive side-project.

And then, the Slaves of Darkness book was released. However, the book was not what I expected (and I expected something similar to Cities of Sigmar) and it was a bit underwhelming, at least for me - except for one thing: The Host of the Everchosen army. This was exactly the type of the army I wanted to play, revolving around Archaon and his elite warriors: models were great, the rules were cool and I loved the fluff.

I decided to build 1500 point army, containing Archaon, two units of Varanguard and something else to fill the remaining 100 points (probably Marauder horsemen, since I like the models). Varanguard and Marauder horsemen will also fit the Knights of the Empty Throne all-cavalry list that I had in mind (but more on that in some future posts).

So, I finally purchased Archaon and the Varanguard. As soon as Archaon arrived, I started assembling and painting. The first problem I had was how to fix the model to the base - there are only tiny connecting surfaces on Dorghar's tail. So, I decided to add some scenery to the base (I had some spare Azyrite ruins lying around) and then added pins that went from the ruins to Dorghar's tail.

After this was done, I could start painting the model. This is probably the most fun I had painting since I finished Alarielle, the Everqueen. Below is the final result.

Beasts of Choas - Converting Bestigors

As I already mentioned in one of my older posts, Beasts of Chaos were the army I was looking at for a long time (probably since I discovered Warhammer in the late 90s). However, because of various reasons (and other games I played) I started collecting them only recently.

Since I mostly play 1000 point casual games with my friends, I decided to keep the army small, thematic and focus only on the models that I like the most ("prettiest Beastmen models" definitely sounds kinda strange). The plan was to build the most of the army from two Start Collecting sets and add a few exta things, like Doombull and Warhounds. However, I wanted to customize the army in some way and make it look "cool". The first thing I added was the Minotaur model from Zealot miniatures, that was already described here - it will make a great Doombull!

I also wasn't satisfied with the Beastigors. I like the concept (angry powerful Beastmen with big axes) but I'm not a fan of the poses. While searching for inspiration, I stumbled upon this page, where I saw a beatutiful Beastmen conversions - be sure to check it out, because this guy has is doing a fantastic job. Seeing JP's conversions inspired me a lot, so I decided to do something similar with my Bestigors - but I wanted MORE axes and spikes. So, I decided to order a lot of left and right arms from Blood Warriors set from eBay:

Then I started assembling the models. I am very satisfied with the end result - here are the pictures of my Bestigors:

Well, I like these Bestigors more than the original ones. I am now waiting on another set of Blood Warriors' arms, so I can convert the next unit. As soon as they are finished,  I'll post some pictures here.

Battle report: Sylvaneth vs. Cities of Sigmar (1000 pts)

Last week, I played my first game of AoS after a long pause (I became a dad recently), against my friend Vuk. We both had new battletomes for our armies, so we were really excited to try our new stuff. Both armies went a bit over 1000 points and we decided to use one of the Meeting Engagement scenarios and ME rules for deployment and terrain/objective placement, since we played on a smaller board (in all other aspects, it was a standard game). I was playing Gnarlroot list. My main plan was to try to use support spells (like Regrowth and Verdurous Harmony) to keep my main hitting units (Kurnoth Hunters) or my Treelord Acient alive and win by attrition. Summoning Dryads and then returning models to the summoned unit with Verdurous Harmony is also one neat thing that you can do - so they an tie up important units or contest objectives.  Here are the lists:

SYLVANETH - Gnarlroot glade

Branchwych (Deepwod lore: Regrowth)
Branchwraith - general (Deepwood lore: Verdurous Harmony)
Treelord Ancient (Deepwood lore: Regrowth)
2 x Tree-Revenants
Kurnoth Hunters (bows)
Kurnoth Hunters (scythes)

Endless spells: 
Gladewyrm
Spiteswarm Hive

CITIES OF SIGMAR - HALLOWHEART

Battlemage x 3 (Whitefire Retinue battalion)
Freeguild General on Griffon
Demigryph knights
Freeguild guard
Freeguild Handgunners

I deployed Hunters with bows and Branchwych on left flank, one unit of Tree-Revenants on the right flank and everything else in the middle.

Hallowheart army goes first: wizards put up some defensive spells on General and then both he and Demigryph knights run forward, while the rest of the army cautiously advances. I use Treelord Ancient to place another Wyldwood on the table and then summon 10 Dryads and Spiteswarm hive. My army moves forward just a bit, trying to stay mostly outside of enemy charge ranges. Kurnoth Hunters with bows shoot at the General and put 6 wounds on him.

Hallowheart wins the priority for the second turn. General is healed for 3hp, then Wizards place spell that gives enemy units -1 to attack rolls against that unit (Pha's protection). Demigryph knights fail their charge on Dryads, but the General rolls 12 for charge distance and after charging and piling in, he is able to engage my Branchwraith (ouch!). However, this also brings him in combat with my Kurnoth Hunters with scythes and one unit of Tree-Revenants. General on Griffon divides his attacks between the Branchwraith and Kurnoth Hunters: he kills the Branchwraith, but scores only one wound on Hunters. In return, Kurnoth hunters and Tree-Revenants manage to put just enough wounds on General to kill him, despite having -1 to hit.  In my turn, I heal Kurnoth Hunters and fail to summon Gladewyrm. Treelord Ancient shoots at the Demygryph Knights, but fails to wound. Hunters with bows also shoot at Demigryph knights and score just a single wound. Dryds run forward and Hunters with scythes charge at the Demigryph Knights (with a huge boost from the Hive). I roll poorly and manage to kill only a single knight and put two wounds on another. However, I start leading in victory points.

Hallowheart wins the priority for the third time. Wizards fumble some spells, but they heal the Demigryph Knights and take out one of the Hunters with scythes. Handgunners shoot at Dryads and manage to kill two. Knights attack, kill the second Hunter and leave the last one with only one wound. In return, that Hunter kills one of the Knights. In my turn, I shoot with Treelord Ancient at the Demigryph knights and kill the last remaining Knight, and Hunters with bows start thinning out ranks of Handgunners.

I win the priority roll for the last turn (yay, double turn!). Gladewyrm is finally summoned and it heals the last surviving Hunter with scythe. Hunters with bows kill some more Handgunners. Both units of Tree-Revenants "jump" on the other side of the board, but despite their ability to reroll dice, I fail all their charges. Dryads charge Handgunners and wipe them out, while the Hunter with scythe charges one of the Battlemages and kills him. I control my opponent's objective as well at this point. During his turn, my opponent does not manage to clear the Dryads with his Battlemages and Freeguild guard manages to score a single wound on a lonely Hunter with scythe. In return, the Hunter wipes out half of the unit. 

SYLVANETH VICTORY!

Some observations from this game:

• Branchwraith as Gnarlroot general is a very powerful combination. Nurtured by Magic ability works great with Regrowth spell and Chalice of Nectar artifact will help you greatly with summoning Dryads and casting Verdurous Harmony. However, my Branchwraith was the first casualty of the game, so I was not able to test this theory :D
• Kurnoth Hunters with scythes were probably my best unit. They had a key role in taking out General on a Griffon, they killed two of the Demigyph Knights, one Battlemage and half unit of Freeguild guard. Regrowth or any healing ability helps a lot, because it keeps them on the table much longer. 
• Hunters with bows were also very good - they were basically artillery, always dealing some damage from far away. 
• Hallowheart can be very powerful, especially if they have access to lots of Endless spells. However, my opponent could do some things very differently and he made several bad choices during the game. For example, he could put much more defensive spells or buffs on his General, making him very hard to deal with.
• Battalions should be used carefully in 1000 point games or smaller - they eat a huge chunk of available points and may not be worth the price.

Painting Sylvaneth Endless Spells - Gladewyrm

Yeasterday, I have finished painting Gladewyrm, so now all of the Sylvaneth Endless spells are done. I'm one model away from having all my Sylvaneth models painted - there's one Awakened Wyldwood that I'll probably finish by the end of the month. After that, I can focus on painting my Khorne stuff.

Below is the quick tutorial on how the Gladewyrm was painted, so you can use it if you like the colour scheme:

• The model was primed using Vallejo white primer
• The base was fully painted with GW Contrast Gore-Grunta Fur
• Light dryrush of Vallejo Khaki was applied to the base
• Light wash of GW Agrax Earthshade was applied to the base
• Skulls were painted with Vallejo Elffic Flesh, then washed with GW Agrax Earthshade
• Vines and leaves were painted with GW Moot Green, washed with GW Biel-Tan Green and then highlighted with Vallejo Livery Green
• The worm's chitionous plates were painted with Vallejo Hexen Lichen
• The "belly" and the head of the worm were painted with Vallejo Squid Pink
• The worm was then washed with GW Carroburg Crimson
• Chitionous plates were dlightly drybrushed with Vallejo Squid Pink, then edge highlights in the same colour were applied
• A layer of Vallejo Squd Pink was applied to belly and the face of the worm (leaving darker shade in the recesses)
• Belly and the face were highlighted with Vallejo Off White
• Eyes were painted with Vallejo Livery Green
• Glowing runes were painted with Vallejo Livery Green
• Gale Force 9 static grass and some tufts were added to the base

Painting Sylvaneth Endless Spells - Vengeful Skullroot

I am slowly getting my Sylvaneth Endless Spells done - last week I finished Vengeful Skullroot. As I have mentioned earlier, there's something strange with this model - it looks a bit too happy :D Jokes aside, I have the impression that, for some reason, this tree ended up being unintentionally funny. I expected it to have "creepy tree" kind of look, but instead it's a strange floating tree with skeletons dangling from it (the slight "curve" of the trunk and short branches are only contributing tho that look). However, I like the rules and how the painted model looks on the table. Below you can find a quick guide on techniques and paints used, in case that you want a similar colour scheme.  

Painting process:

• The model was primed with GW Zandri Dust
• Bark was washed Vallejo Brown Ink
• Bark was drybrushed with Vallejo Khaki
• Very light wash of Vallejo Sepia Ink was applied to the roots
• The soulpod (?) inside the tree trunk was painted with Vallejo Livery Green and then washed with GW Hexwraith Flame
• Leaves were painted with GW Moot Green, washed with GW Biel-Tan Green then highlighted with Vallejo Livery Green 
• Skeletons were painted with Vallejo Khaki and washed with Agrax Earthshade
• The base wash done using Gale Force 9 basing kit (Summer)