Age of Sigmar Stormcast Eternals vs Seraphon

Back in September, I finally got my Stormcast Eternals out to get in my first game of Age of Sigmar. Mine were painted by Squiggle's Studio. One of the members of my club had offered me a game and had brought his Seraphon.

I won the first turn and moved a bunch of models forward and shot a few Seraphon, but then on the Seraphon turn they advanced back then charged into the Stormcast, causing a hefty chunk of casualties.

I brought on Yndrasta to try and take out the big Seraphon general. She's a monster hunter with huge bonuses on killing monsters.

Ah. Oh dear. It's like that, is it?

I did charge forward and take out a unit of Skinks with my spear troops, but a lot of other troops elsewhere were dying horribly...

On the right flank, my other spear unit had been whittled down by shooting, and the survivors had charged the skinks. They cut down a chunk of them, but the wait of numbers pulled down all but the hero...

Which led to a somewhat cartoon moment of the hero beating up the small lizards not realising their big cousin was bearing down on them...

So, unsurprisingly, I lost my first game. It seems like advancing on the first turn is bad? I'm sure there's something clever you should do.

Did I have fun? Yes. It was good fun and I could see the broad shape of how the game is meant to play. That said, I was spending most of the game wishing that I was throwing my minions in front of me, chewing glowing green rocks, and screaming "more-more power" at my unreliable wonder weapons before they explode.

In short, I really want to get my Skaven on the table...

New Year Plans

 

With the New Year having ticked over, I decided it would be worth having a bit of a think about my plans for 2024. With over a thousand miniatures turning up in the flat, but only painting 42, things need to change. I did manage to paint 85 in 2022, so I can definitely get more done.

I need to change how I think a little bit. I'll only be picking up a miniature if I'm intending to use it straight away, or if its not going to be available in the future. The volume of things I have in the flat is getting in the way of me doing actual hobby - sorting miniatures out is taking up a whole ton of time.

I'm also going to stop running a rolling 12 month count of how many things I've got finished and painted. It was a lot of work to track, and the moment I had a less productive month, suddenly I "should" finish a ton of things before starting anything new, and that could potentially make me miserable feeling obligated.

My new goal, more or less, is to get something done for a project each month, and a couple of small minis finished in between whatever that month's project is. That may vary - I'm working on a deadline for the D&D minis I aim to get done in January, so I'm not going to put that at risk for sake of getting some small things done. The idea is to let it average out over the year.

One thing that's become obvious to me is that for the random individual miniatures I have that aren't for projects, I've got well over a hundred of them already assembled, undercoated and ready for paint... Which means I don't really need to assemble any more this year. This is, again, the volume of miniatures I have giving me a false feeling of progress while taking time away from actually getting them painted.

So I'll aim away from assembling miniatures for the sake of it this year. There's a couple of games where I play miniatures unpainted - like Malifaux and Infinity - so I'll still get those assembled when I can. But the rule will be to assemble things I have a use for - either that I'm about to paint them, or that I intend to game with them.

The hobby room is a problem. It's meant to be a shared space, and my clutter is taking up too much of it. My absolute priority this year is to make half of the hobby workspace is clear for my wife to use, and that the table in there isn't used as a storage space, but either of us can set up there to work when we want to, and then clear up after we're done.

I do want this to be the year that I work out the paint scheme for my Nomads and get at least one of them painted up. I've been enjoying my games with Nomads, and I'm looking forward to having more. The paint course with Roman Lappat last year was what finally gave me the confidence I know enough to get the look I visualise when I think of my Nomads.

I would also like to dip back into my Combiend Army force as well at some point. They have a really striking, simple paint scheme. Getting a few painted will be a good opportunity to settle into something I'm comfortable with that gets good results relatively quickly. 

The plan of actually getting around to playing 40K last year got stymied by a series of bad luck. It's a weird one, because I have a whole bunch of plans for 40K - things to try playing, hobby projects to assemble and paint... But those plans all sit behind having a game, which sits behind having the time to do so, and I've got several busy weeks coming up . . .

In between getting some games in with my Deathwatch, I want to dig out and try my Astra Militarum again. Once the Codex comes out, I'll probably have a bit of a rationalisation of my Guard collection. The idea is to sell some old things, buy some new models, and get them painted up - moving a lot closer to the idea of "buy a kit, assemble and paint it" rather than building up a huge backlog of miniatures.

There's then other games, like Age of Sigmar and Malifaux. The plan was to pop to a Malifaux tournament last weekend, but then I ended up being ill and going precisely nowhere instead. I'm now better, thank goodness, but I missed out on the event. Age of Sigmar, I just need to, again, get a game in. It's sitting behind 40K at the moment because I have more coherent plans for 40K than AoS. In the same way that Dungeonbowl was tempting last year and I never got to it, Legions Imperialis and the Old World loom large this year...

All in all, my main goal this year is really about that tidying and focus - clearing away things that I'm not using, and making space - both physically and in terms of my life and time management. I'm hoping that at least by the summer, I'll be in a better, more "grown up" tidy place. I just need to keep the self discipline of the current tidying that I'm doing to get there.

Stormcast Vindictors

Along with last week's Stormstrike Chariots, I also got Squiggle's Studio to paint up another ten Vindictors I picked up from some partworks magazine or other. Vindictors are useful defensive line troops, and I thought I might not have enough with a single unit of ten, so grabbed these to bulk my basics out.

Stormstrike Chariots

 

Squiggle's Studio finished painting up a couple of Stormstrike Chariots for me that I purchased on a whim.

Still not played a game of Age of Sigmar.

I should really get that sorted.

Last of the Stormcast

 

This isn't quite everything, in truth, because a couple of models still need some repair from transit, but I've photoed everything else before putting them all away. First up we have twenty Judicators I picked up from the Mortal Realms magazines.

I wasn't sure if the bows or the crossbows were good, so in the interests of classic indecision, I got ten of each painted. It will mean I can do a bit of experimentation to find out what I like by playing some games.

You know, when I actually play some games.

The Aetherwings are some nice visual variation from chunky armoured warriors. I hope they do something useful on the battlefield so I can use them now and again.

These are Vanguard Raptors, and I understand the Longstrike Crossbow version is super good, so I had them all made up the same.

I think the Exorcist was one of the first models I got from the Mortal Realms Magazine.

I haven't quite learned all the names of all the massive assortment of Stormcast characters yet. This one is a Knight Zephyros who does some . . . fighting stuff? I do worry GW have made slightly too many slightly different Stormcast characters.

This is a Knight Incantor, I think from a "Getting Started" pamphlet or something?

And finally, this is the Mortal Realms exclusive Knight Incantor model with a head swap, because I wasn't a huge fan of the original head.

Tidying up the Stormcast

 

I mostly spent last weekend tidying, but that did mean I finally started putting away a huge pile of Stormcast Eternals that Squiggle's Studio painted for me. As a happy bonus, I managed to get photos of a bunch of them while I tidied them up. First up being the original test model Liberator who can be bundled into some of my Stormcast Underworlds Warbands to make a Retributor unit if I need to.

I picked up these Castigators as part of the Warhammer Underworlds Starter Set. I need to dig out their card deck and work out if its a valid Rivals Deck, or if I need to use one of the "any warband" decks instead.

A Lord Imperatant with his noble Gryph Hound. The character model from the big starter box, I'll probably end up taking him in some early games while I start learning the rules.

The Praetors seem to be a bodyguard type unit, though I think the rules for such things have changed since I last looked.

I had to check the Games Workshop website to make sure I didn't call this model Flappy Boy 1, and his brother below Flappy Boy 2. He's a Knight Azyros, and his lantern does cool mystical stuff.

The Knight Venator is a fast shooty boy. I think I prefer the Azyros looks wise, but as I had a second one I didn't see any reason not to have one of each and find out what's different about them.

Anyhow, that's enough excuses for not tidying - I need to get back to putting things away!

Stormcast Eternals Riding Things With Scales

 

Here's a bunch more of my Stormcast back from Squiggle's Studio getting their time in the light box for photos before I put them away. First up, we have this Lord-Celestant on Dracoth. He's from the first starter set and doesn't seem hugely punchy for his size, but is a nice model and I'll certainly give him a go on the tabletop.

Next up is a Lord Arcanum on Dracoline, who seems to have some interesting abilities and will be fun trying out.

Finally we've got these Evocators on Dracolines. They come in units of three, but I've had seven painted so I've got options to either run them as two units of three or one unit of six.

There's plenty more to show off, and hopefully once LARP season is done I'll be able to schedule in a game to start learning Age of Sigmar...

Where am I? What's going on?

 

I went away on holiday! I went to a friend's wedding! We went to Warhammer World, and played a couple of Escape Rooms! I took no Blog Suitable Photos of any of it!

So. I'm back at the flat and now the laundry is caught up, I need to work out what hobby stuff needs doing. These Stormcast need photographing and putting away. But that's blocked right now because KR Multicase ran out of some of the foam I need and it needs cutting fresh. Hopefully it will be here soon!

My most recent Infinity assembly batch needs basing and undercoating. A couple need some bits gluing back on. This is the Combined Army reinforcement packs from the Defiance Kickstarter, so a bunch of assorted useful models.

I'm also halfway through hand undercoating any bits of the previous assembly batch I might have missed with the spray can before I do  the zenithal prime to make them ready for paint. I need at least a couple of these models in four weeks time, and I'm away at Empire next weekend.

Here's the muddle of half finished stuff I've got lying around. The Nox Troopers and Cadmus need finishing. The last of the Underworlds terrain needs doing. There's then a few D&D figures it would be nice to paint, a smattering of models from Salute that need undercoating, and the two Horus Heresy figures I need to undercoat.

I've also sent off the last of the models for my Deathwatch to get painted by Squiggle's Studio. Once these are back, I'll get some games in and work out what the biggest priority is for gaming purposes.

There's definitely way too much "in flight" stuff, and I need to finish off some bits and bobs so I can put them away or on the "later" shelf and clear a bit of space to think. Lets see how I get on before Empire...

Third Stormcast Post

Well, here's the last of the first batch of Stormcast Eternals painted for me by Squiggle's Studio. The second batch has now arrived and I need to get on with photographing all of them! Maybe at some point I'll even get a game in.

First up, we have a pair of Celestar Ballista. I'd actually assembled one of these myself before sending them off - they're a nice, simple kit that would be great for new starters.

To go with them, here's a Lord Ordinator, who is good at that artillery thing and gives bonuses to war machines near him.

Here's another one of those Limited Edition Stormcast Hero types. Not even sure what type he's meant to be!

This Knight Incantor has an automatic unbinding of a spell ability. This makes me nostalgic for 4th edition Dispel Magic Scrolls...

Another store birthday type model for when I need an extra character...

And another one? I really got carried away with limited edition characters I have precisely no use for.

This one I can at least remember is Knight Questor Dacian Anvil, because he has special rules that my faction . . . can't use.

A Knight Heraldor. A special thanks to Squiggle who used one of the Forge World heads so that a man with a trumpet isn't wearing a full face mask.

Not a Stormcast. But a violent Dwarf who can turn up with Stormcast. I should really read his new Mortal Realms books! I've liked Gotrek since the early 90s, so I was keen to have the option to take him.

And finally, a Lord Relictor, or "spooky man with a friend on a stick". I pray for the day they release a new single miniature release of this model that's slightly less of a pain to transport...

Continuing the Stormcast

 

While a huge pile of Stormcast arrived last week, I'm still processing the photos from the first half! First up we have Steelheart's Champions. They're a Warhammer Underworlds warband that have their own rules, but I'm considering just using them with a couple of spare figures to be a standard unit of Retributors.

Here's a couple of limited edition Stormcast that otherwise won't see very much table time.

Tada! Unit of five! Although I'm likely to swap out one of the two big hammers with a shield and hammer Retributor that's in the second box which I got with White Dwarf when Age of Sigmar first came out.

Stormsire's Cursebreakers. This is a character model and two Evocators...

Conveniently, there's three Sequitors from another Underworlds starter they could go with in friendly games for people who aren't too concerned about the exact models right.

And finally, we have Ironsoul's Condemnors, the Sequitors I mentioned earlier. Maybe there's some limited edition models I could dig out to round out the Evocators and Sequitors? I'll have to have a look...