Salute 2011 ... and how I've spent too much money again...

Check out Anton's breakdown of Salute 2011 ... he's got all the bases covered...

What impressed me most was the chance to meet so many creative enterprises face-to-face. The amount of creativity in the room was extraordinary and very exciting.

Big thanks to Anton, Lee and Nick (Rick) for putting up with me at Salute 2011. It was my first time, and what an eye-opener to all things wargamer and non-GW... The show was extraordinary and while being quite well behaved I managed to scoop up a plethora of bits, such as:

1. WARHAMMER 40k

Forgeworld Llugft Huron in Terminator Armour. My one concession to 40k in a conference lacking in 40k. I love this model - it slightly scares me and it totally intimidating in the detail and lustre - gob smacking in every way - but I love it! Has anyone got any tips on doing FW models?


2: INFINITY

Infinity models at 4 for 3 - can't pass that up!

2 x Nasmats (two in a box): These little guys are tiny, but very very cool. For 3 pts, you get a little man who can do the doctoring on the front line in mimicry to a Doctor (or engineer). Just very cool. He's also a small target and has Mimetism (which is like Stealth) - awesome!


2 x Viral Rifle Lasiqs. I've run with the Lasiq sniper and found her to be pretty good value, these guys however can offer a lot more Mid range punch. Viral Rifles are nasty lethal to all medium and light infantry. Combined with their x-visor (increases their effective range) and their mimentism - a nice pair of trouble makers.


Azra'il with AP rifle, Flamethrower and Panzerfaust. This guy is a very well equiped deathmonger. The flamethrower and AP rifle are both awesome as anti-infantry work... the Panzerfaust combined with his BS is a nasty combo. This guys a bit of a rambo.


2 x MicroArts Infinity Holoboard walls (need to order more walls though...)


Harbadin IFV from Governance of Technology (so new it's not even on their website!) for Infinity cover/scenarios etc...

Before moving on ... I've spotted that Infinity have a very sexy new website - go check it out and be gobsmacked by the stunning miniatures and biblical gameplay. Also remember - you can download an army builder and the game rules and proxy a game. THEN BUY THOSE MODELS!

3: CUTLASS!

And Cutlass ... oh cutlass...


All four of us came together and purchased 2 bands, a leader model and a book each. After reading through the rulebook - this is a perfect addition to my 'year of the skirmish game'.

I bought Mad Jim Jones: turns out to be a close combat monster who automatically kills anyone who he puts down... nasty!


A flurry of Privateers, these guys are a healthy mix between pirates and the army (who I'll be facing on Thursday night!


Rogues. The scum of the universe and the pirating world to boot. Cheap and miserable, then fill a disgusting niche...

The rules are really clever. The crux of it rolls around two concepts:

1. The better you are, the big the dice.
2. The wrestle for control of the game turn.

Better=bigger dice

Let me explain. Unlike most games, where skills are all based on conventional stats like BS4 or WS6, the stats in this game are a bit more interesting. A poorly skilled/weak/poor shot would roll a D4. An uber-marksman would roll a D20. You get me. Everything moves up and down that scale.

It all revolves around dice and the multiple concurrents with them. So getting injured results in a -1 die level. So a D8 skilled guy rolls a D6. Taken out (ie on the ground) results in all tests on a D4. And that's the point, you can quickly modify all the players statistics through injuring him, so he'll have dexterity D4 instead of D6, Combat skill D6 instead of D8. You follow?

To follow this up, the player can get bonuses for carrying two weapons, allowing his to roll two dice in combat AND parry (if the weapon allows it)... Other modifiers like this can turn a good attacker into a really nasty one - and beautifully for a skirmish game ... getting hurt can turn a dangerous model into a vulnerable one. Which I've not really seen before outside of RPG.

This would seem overpowered, except for a genius idea. The die are open ended. This translates that the maximum score on any dice allows you to roll again and add the totals together. This is a great leveller, as the poor player with say D4 attack has a 1/4 chance of scoring a 5-7, or a 1/16 chance of scoring a 9-11 etc etc. Suddenly the guy weilding one D10 in attack ought to be careful...

The Wrestle for the Game Turn

Alike the Infinity, the game includes actions and reactions. Unlike infinity, the ability to react is not guaranteed, and the amount of actions taken is not a fixed sum. Most teams roll a D8 at the start of the turn. The player with the highest score goes first. At the point at which the opponent 'chooses' to react, if successful. He goes from being the inactive player to the active.

***

So player A moves 'Big Jim McGreedy' out into the Line of Sight of 'Lil Phil', Player B doesn't fancy his chances at taking down McGreedy with a brace of pistols, but is desparate. Little Phil (a deck hand) has D6 Reaction roll and must roll a 4+ to react. He does and rolls to hit, he has an Accuracy of D4, whereas Big Jim (a pirate captain) has the dex of D6.

The shot is at point blank range, so Lil Phil gets +1 die level and boosted to D6, however he's shooting dramatically with a brace of pistols, cancelling this bonus - but giving him two shots. Big Jim rolls a 2, while Little Phil rolls a 2 and a four. The four roll extends and he rolls a 3. Giving him a total of 7, +5 over Big Jim.

The 2 misses, but the 7 scores a critical hit - giving him 2 dice to roll on the damage table. 2D6 versus D8 for the captain's constitution. The captain is injured! Player's active turn now moves to Player B. With the captain at -1 level, Lil Phil attacks with his hand axe.

***

The players keep jostling for control and initiative until all the actions are resolved on both side. At which point you consolidate and restart with an Authority roll.

Cutlass ... the conclusion

This back and forth seems really exciting and has certainly got me thinking. I've got a game Thursday and will report how it plays. The core rules are written by Gav Thorpe, and I think are some of the most interesting I've read in a while. The real heart of the games is on campaign though, with Adam Clarke working in what appears a both delightful and exciting campaign, loot and experience system - which looks to be one of the systems biggest attractions.

Speaking of which, Adam Clarke's models are stunning, and the amount of work involved in developing and creating this new game falls squarely on his talented shoulders. Simply - Wow!

Painting Showcase: Haqqislam so far

This is more of a work in process than anything else. After photographing all the models, I've spotted so many 'adjustments' that need to be done that it really means I'm back to the drawing board with this lot. That said, the models are amazing and fully worth a drool over ... even if my painting could be improved and my basing attempted!

A SHORT NOTE ON SHOOTING PEOPLE

In Infinity (unlike 40k) there are no definite range problems. Most weapons can fire 24-36", but don't expect to hit anything at that range. This is because between the -6 for range and the -3 for cover (which is like GOD in infinity), your 11+ BS just dropped to 2 ... giving you a 1/10 chance of hitting.

Once you've hit, then life is good, a rifle is a solid weapon and has a good likelihood of dropping Light or Medium infantry ... but hitting?

What needs to be remembered is that unlike 40k, the fella or lass being shot at can react! This means that if you are shooting your 3 shots at 1 or 2 out of a D20 to hit, he has to roll less than his physical (12) but more than you. Giving him a 50% chance of avoiding your hits altogether.

So this is why the range on Sniper Rifles, HMG (Heavy MachineGuns) and Autocannons are cool. The ability to get a +3 bonus on the to hit at 32-36" means than you're rolling a 12 to hit rather than a 2 or a D20 (and you get 4 shots with the HMG).

LIGHT INFANTRY - GHULAMS (Maximum limitless)

Ghulams can come with HMG, Panzerfaust and be a hacker, doctor or lieutant ... they die very quickly too.

Playing Infinity is totally unlike 40k. You run a small group of crack (or cheap) commandos and your job it to either achieve a nebulous objective or to wipe out the enemy. As such, the troop types are divided along generalist lines ... you can have medium infantry, heavy infantry, Specialists and Light Infantry (plus Remote robots and dreadnoughts - but that's by the by)...

Ghulam are the bread and butter of the Haqqislam army. They may not be able to shoot for toffee, but they are steady troops that have some serious upgrade options like Missile Launchers, Panzerfaust and Heavy Machine Guns.

The advantage is that Ghulams are limitless ... meaning that 12 Sniper Rifles can be a reality at 300pts and still leaves lots of toys.

LIGHT INFANTRY - MUYIB (maximum 2)

Muyibs are great fun to field and have lots of tricks to keep enemies occupied

A fellow player expressed serious 'manlove' for the Muyib (this IS NOT becoming a theme of this blog people!) It's a cool and highly versatile set of models that are sappers and anti-tank theme'd. They get mines (cool), including viral mines (double cool) and also get panzerfausts and other ridiculous weaponry.

SPECIALIST - TUAREG (maximum 2)

Tuareg Sniper Lady... complete with chocolate icecream face?!?

Tuareg's are middling shots and come with ho-hum weaponry. They do however have a huge advantage, they get Thermo-optic camoflague. This means they can be 'infiltrated' anywhere on the board and get the drop on people. When attacking, only a few hardcore opponents can actually 'react' to a Tuareg's attack. She also has mines. She also appears to have been eating chocolate icecream like my son!

SPECIALIST - FIDAY (maximum 1)

Fiday makes opponents cry ... he just doesn't play by their rules.

Most valuable player. Think Jon Grammaticus in the Dan Abnett book 'Legion'. This guy can impersonate the enemy, cannot be fired on and has a good shotgun and an awesome explosive close combat weapon. He's nasty.

MEDIUM INFANTRY - DJANBAZAN (maximum 2)

Arguably my favourite model and the first port of call in most lists...

These guys are the must have of the Haqqislam list. Awesome models are complimented by killer stats. They are middling tough ... but have one huge advantage. They have multispectral visors (level 2, to be precise) ... think Sam in SplinterCell. They spend most games playing 'spot the twat' with all the enemy in camoflague... and then shooting them in the head.

In a game where cover is god, and people have camoflague left right and centre, this is very veyr disruptive. To add insult to injury, they also have regenerate - so unless you shoot them with something pretty tasty - they can resurrect.

MEDIUM INFANTRY - LASIQ (maximum 2)

Lasiq, the viral Sniper rifle, combined with her camoflague and climbing abilities make LAsiq truely handy.

The Djanbazan is the ultimate anti Camo man, the Lasiq is a MI with attitude. Reasonable stats combined with Viral weaponry and camoflague make this lady a nasty piece of work. Not as 'instant love' as the Djan's, but VERY cool.

HEAVY INFANTRY - JANNISSARY GUARD (maximum 2)In my mind's eye ... this is what a Space Marine SHOULD look like!

Awesome armour, two wounds ... these guys should be considered the space marines in this list. The HMG and a close in attack make this fella doubly nasty. Even the basic weaponry of a Jannissary is a AP rifle (which halves the enemies armour), but this fellas real trick is all about the HMG! That said he does cost 2 support weapon cost to a Ghulams 1 when fielding an HMG.

HEAVY INFANTRY - AL FASSED (maximum 1)

The Al Fassed (right) is as tough as the Jannissary (left), while the Asawira in the middle tops the pair.

This ladies a bit of a shock, for although the model is half the size of a Jannissary - she's got almost identical stats and for 10 less points. This one comes with a boarding shotgun, which is a close range armour piercing death merchant.

HEAVY INFANTRY - Asawira (maximum 1)

Sounds more Far East than Middle East, but the Asawira is the toughest of the lot. Armed with a AP rifle and Explosive Close Combat Weapon, the Asawira has a combination of Martial Arts and Regeneration on a highly armoured and highly lethal build. The real strength is that an Asawira can be a doctor or a lieutenant... a regenerating version of either can make or break a game.

But pricey at 60+ odd points... (that's two heavily armed Djanbazans...)

CONCLUSION

The army so far has been an interesting treat. Remember that you are often only fielding 10 of these models, this leads to multiple combinations and abilities. Coming up I have motorbike troops, deep strikers, suicide attackers, forward observers, Death Robots and even a TAG (or Dreadnought to us 40kers). This is great.

On the painting side, does anyone have any suggestions on the scheme, highlighting the detail and getting more impact ... beyond "go back and do it again!"

Infinity: A Bargain

I've been going after tactics on the Infinity Forum and was approached by a Belgian with £200 worth of mini's to sell at half price...

I now have more Haqqislam than I can ever field. Still - my options are varied!

Unlike 40k, Infinity doesn't 'scale' well to bigger games, this is because all the reactions multiple up (to the power - for all you mathematians out there) until no-one can move anywhere without being spotted, slotted and shotted...

If you take my meaning. As such, the lists and battle are much more about objective tailored missions and matching different skills against different forces. That said - I'm really excited about painting up these simply stunning models and having some real fun.

Sorry for the short post - but my babies are calling me...

Peace out 40k-ers.

Infinity: First game thoughts and miniature feedback

GAMEPLAY REVIEW

As you may be aware I'm delving into a non 40k universe called infinity, as I'm keening for some 'real' skirmish game kicks.

Anton (of the Anarchy) played a proxy game against me on Tuesday (my models arrived Wednesday - typical!) and I got my first thorough look at the game dynamics.

The irony is that it's actually a far easier, looser and more fluid game to play than 40k. The turn sequences operate totally differently, so you don't have to worry so much about 'MOVE-FIRE-ASSAULT' and feel cheated/nervous about missing a models move or forgetting that shooting.

The basis of the game dynamics are fixed around two things:

1) Everything that is non-standard requires a roll. This would appear straightforward, but unlike 40k, there isn't an exhaustive list of causal relationships delivered in the rulebook. The simple answer to 'would jumping through a window slow me down' is to have a chat about it. We decided that jumping through a window wouldn't slow you to half movement, but that I needed to 'succeed' a physical roll to make it through the window... otherwise an embarrassing 'trip-fall' fail would occur. In this way, the game plays more like a D&D game than 40k.

2) Everything is about 'face to face' challenges. Example: I step out and shoot you, you can react. I have a BS of 14 (which is pretty good), you are a crap shot (10) but are rock solid physically (15), you therefore decide to dodge/charge me using your good stat, rather than hope for a critical (a roll of 10 - 1:20 chance) or a bad roll from me. A face to face requires you to score below your stat (with modifiers) but higher than your opponent. This leads to some dynamic 'face-offs' - which is what skirmish is all about!

As you can probably assess from above, this approach means that games simply steam along ... with more focus on face-offs and actions, than rules research, which is nice!

The final piece of the puzzle is orders ... which are similar to the activations used in Hordes/Warmachine. Basically you get 1 order per member of your merry band, but this order (if they are a trained 'regular' soldier) can be expended on any model in the band. This makes the play very dynamic, as a player with order in hand can attack, attack and attack again in close combat! This disproportion is balanced by the reactions every single order would provoke.

In the game on Tuesday, I used my Fiday (think Jon Grammaticus from Dan Abnetts Legion) to stalk a sniper cell. He then climbed the tower and massacred the two guys up there with his explosive close combat weapon, all in one turn. None of the rest of my army really moved and he used up 7/10 total orders. Such behaviour is called 'Rambo-ing' and is frown on by the Infinity players. It's within the rules, but isn't this broken??

Well no, as every time Fiday walked in front of the enemy they could attempt to spot he wasn't one of theirs, tricky but even so... two good spots (which they managed) and he would have been peppered full of holes. The other alternative is to 'box him in' using suppression fire. Suppression fire is like what Overwatch should be.

Remember, everyone in this game effectively has overwatch, they can react to the appearance of an enemy model, and either dodge, or take one shot etc. Suppression fire means that ANY enemy model that walks through you're 1.5 inch wide channel will be hit by a full burst of fire (rather than one shot), so every model gets 3-4 shots worth of death. It costs, but it's good.

So overall, the game works very well, I would be intrigued by the builds which would turn up for tournament play - but they have a different subset of rules for that. In pick up play, it plays fast and loose and is a lot of fun.

MODEL REVIEW

The models I've ordered are gorgeous. They are (unlike 40k) quite delicate. My 2 year old son looked in the spray box this morning for monsters and broke 2 newly glued ones... what strikes me is how 'out of proportion' these models make space marines and imperial guard look. 40k models are largely built to be handled by the 'store-kid', these aren't. As such the swords are realistically thin, the rifle muzzles are delicate. There's a very artistic french/anime style to the models. Additionally, the women models are attractive and well proportioned (so are the men models, but yeah ... that came out a bit letchy...?)

What struck we immediately was the lack of mold line on any of the models. There just weren't any. Flash was more of a problem - but all so thin it came away easily. There also a lack of those weird GW lead wiry bits sticking out of the models extremities - I wonder why? The detail on the models exceeds GW, there's no doubt. There is layers of detail, the Lasiq's longcoat is impregnated with layers of tron looking tech cloth ... it's extraordinary and I'm seriously concerned that my painting abilities won't cope. Fingers crossed.

The poses of the mini's can vary. I've selected my models on those I feel are the most attractive and some of the others I left online are a little 'meh?'. That said I'm very pleased with my merry band. They are now glued (and reglued, thanks son...) and blackbased and ready for painting tonight...

WIP to follow.

Getting Infinite: an Intro

As I've highlighted in the last post, Infinity is a true skirmish game compared to 40k. I'm not up to speed on the fluff yet, but here's a biblically brief synopsis:

a) It's the Far future

b) A bunch of Wormholes happened

c) Different Cultures busied off through wormholes

d) Cultures diversified and embedded away from others

e) come back AND FIGHT!

Infinity fighting is all about the secret war between the factions, which can be loosely pulled down like this:

PANOCEANIA: The big power. Think America meets Halo with a fanatical religious twist (America meets Halo then, boom boom!), me no like them.

YU JING: The other big power. Chinese/Japanese Culture. The Chinese are the high tech masters, the Japanese are treated as second class citizens and cannon fodder (boot -> other foot) but with wicked cool Ninjas. Think uber gundam/appleseed with a heady mix of Shaolin Monks and Samurai thrown in. I'd get these guys ... but Spin's already maxed out!

ARIADNA: Cossacks, French, Scots and American. These guys were some of the earliest wormholers and got proper "Buck Rogered" and have only just come back. Low tech, numerous, but they've bought Werewolves... Anton's got these guys covered.

HAQQISLAM: Eco-Muslims with a divine mission. I was drawn to the environmentalist warrior angle, plus the models are seriously cool. You've got Tuaregs alongside Cyber-warriors ... great fun and many many many machine guns ... ho,ho,ho! My choice.

MERCENARIES: Hordes like faction that can be picked in pieces by anyone. Not an army in their own right ... but great models.

NOMADS: Babylon 5 meets Battlestar. Very cool models, these guys never left their colony ships and have been cruising the galaxy picking up cool tech and nasty viruses ... my second choice and the last of the 'mostly human' armies.

ALEPH: Ghost in the Shell, truly. Aleph is an ultimate uber-intelligence (Think SKYNET), with a horde of hackers and droids in their army ... but more on that angle later. Gorgeous models, serious firepower ALL round.

COMBINED ARMY: Aliens, lots of aliens. They are ugly, but very cool. Aliens in their alienest alienation. Yep, make the Tau look positively homely.

And that's it, so Suneokun, I hear you say ... how does it play?

PLAY STYLE

As I've previously mentioned, 40k is quite ludicrous in its 'turn sequence', because in real life - if you stomp around the corner, I will shoot you - yep, thought so. So in my (albeit limited) experience where would I place infinity?

HORDES/WARMACHINE: Well i've had a go at hordes, and there's a gamut of random information that you have to get your head around ... activations, boosts and cumulative attacks ... its very very cool, but a world away from 40k. That said the combat style is actually very close, with a strong lean towards chopping eachother up. At least it still uses D6.

MALIFAUX: Eeek, well Malifaux's even more odd, dropping dice altogether and using cards, similar to Hordes in activations and actions, it has a pot full of unique ideas and concepts and very specific rules to get your head around. Neither HORDES or MALIFAUX are happy with the 40k term USR. While there's still a lot of shooting, over half the death dealing is dealt in close combat (but in an elegant and majestic way).

INFINITY: I don't know about you, but I hadn't noticed many soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq sporting halberds and basterd-swords? Lets face it, close combat tilt is popular as its not actually very common in real combat (take the Japanese in WW2, the last army to successfully (?!??!??) arrange bayonet charges). Infinity has a decidedly shooting tilt, and is a skirmish game in line with Necromunda and Confrontation (for you old buggers out there), but well, better.

Here's the top eight which makes Infinity cool:

1. Everyone operates independently, but in squads. Well dah? This means orders are shared between squads of up to 10 men, and your army is spread out, hugging cover. Oh and the squads, well they're up to you!
2. You can shoot people when they come into view. Or dodge out of the way, or charge them, or run away. Snipers are really snipers in this game, not ratlings. Think how this changes the game mechanic, you have to plan ahead, cover eachothers backs, create firezones and ambushes. Everyone (yes I know, everyone, how weird) get an Automatic Reaction Roll, and can well, react.
3. Face to face nearly always has one winner and one loser. But at least its a competition. This has a certain 'top-trumps' aspect. Going toe-to-toe with a MeQ equivilent, then don't shoot - try to dodge or run away ... or hack his internal power armour, take control and make him shoot his buddies instead.
4. You've got six men, you get six orders, but you can spend them how you like. So the guard at the back isn't 'wasting' his actions, he's giving them to the sniper or ninja who be killing! Each order equates to one long action (cautious movement, laying a mine, suppressing fire) or two short actions, run and shoot. So in a ten man squad can get one guy with a Heavy Machine Gun fire 80 shots (but they'll be 10 shots coming back at him!).
5. In addition, you can launch combined orders. This cost the same, per man, but they all do it on a Lethal Weapon "1...2...3" and can only be reacted to once. Need to kill that pesky armoured monster, time to gang up on him...
6. There's an arms race going on ... so power armour is awesome, but liable to hacking. Sometimes lowtech is best tech. This maps into all the best things about System Shock 2, Bioshock and Fallout 3.
7. Cover (and camouflage) affects both your to hit roll (usually -3, -6 in a bunker), and its also affects armour rolls. so cover is truly king for everyone.
8. Camouflage is intrinsic to the game. You have lictor like camouflage, Impersonation (particularly evil) camouflage and straight 'you can't see me until you make an 'identify' roll' and I can react... or I shoot.

Awesome-sauce all round! Downside, well the close combat is a bit clunky...

Suneokun's Army list

Here's a quick synopsis of the starter army I've opted for and why they are cool.

Light Infantry - these are largely basic troops or engineers, with minimal armour.

Hassassin Muyib Lieutenant: He comes with a Rifle (which is standard fare in this game, and unlike the lasgun - actually effective) and a grenade launcher. The grenade launcher allows him to drop both parabolic shots (indirect) of normal grenades or smoke. Smoke is essential in a game which loves cover and can allow you to assume a better firing position, without being shot at.

2 Daylami: Irregular (ie untrained) but cheap, standard armament of a rifle and shotgun. 50/50 shots and no armour. One Daylami has a 2 shot panzerfaust (that's bazooka).

3 Ghulam: Think IG veterans, better trained, slightly better shots and (unlike Daylami) can work in combined actions with all other regular troops. Armed the same.

Skirmishers: Light Special Forces trained in stealth and infiltration.

Hassassin Fiday: veteran at shooting and evil in hand to hand, he carries smoke grenades, antipersonnel mines and an armour piercing CCW (close combat weapon) on top of his rifle and shotgun. He's particularly nasty as he can pretend to be an enemy soldier and wander about laying mines, dropping grenades and stabbing people in the back. Evil. He also has Martial Art Level 3 ... which is a bit mean.

Tuareg: I've avoided going for another sniper (I already have 2) and instead gone for the hacker model. Another Veteran with the rifle/Shotgun comba and antipersonnel mines ... she can infiltrate AND has Thermo-optic camoflague (think Sam in Splinter Cell)... so she can be placed without placing her, can then move about without being shot at AND can take the first shot when she wants to engage WITHOUT THE ENEMY BEING ABLE TO REACT!

Medium Infantry - here we get into the bigger boys with the better armour...

Hassassin Lasiq: Good shot. She has Armour (which helps) and mimetism (basic camoflague -3 to hit), and she can climb walls like a monkey, she also has an x-visor - which effectively makes her a great shot at medium to long range. She fires a viral sniper rifle, which is both long range and very very evil.

Hassassin Ragik: Deep striking, armoured, dogged (ignores incoming fire for panic tests) carrying standard weaponry (Rifle and Shotgun, which are pretty good). Better shooter, even better in combat. Think IG Storm trooper.

Djanbazan: Another Sniper, he has a multispectral visor - which means he's the man when it comes to spotting all the camo'd enemies. He can also fire through smoke with no penalty. He has multiterrain (so getting around is no bother) and he has armour and regeneration. Which means he can spend an order, take a physical test and regain a wound.

Heavy Infantry: A Space Marine ... but not.

Asawira Regiment: This guy is seriously nasty, he packs an Armour Piercing Rifle (nice) and a nano-pulser (which is an illegal weapon, against the secret war conventions and effectively pulps the competition). He's nearly as big a monster in combat as Fiday, with Martial Arts L2. His explosive CCW (don't ask) means every wound he causes force THREE rolls - Eeek! Oh and he's got two wounds and regenerate.

Conclusion

I guess I'll soon discover I chose all the wrong toys, but I've chosen all these models on looks and sometimes stats. Their options for synergy are endless and should make for a lot of fun. The best part of all. This army is 'equivalent' in play and game time to a 1500pt army list.

And it cost me £51 for the 12 models from Maelstrom Games in the January Sales (thanks Anton).

The Defiler and the Obliterator cost me more than that!!!

2011 - Stepping away from 40k

After the rush of completing my Tyranids, I'm now polishing off the Chaos Space Marines with a well earned Defiler and final Obliterator... I know I did say they were finished, but this is what my wife would term 'tidying up the corners' ... and pickers have bigger knickers.

Anyhow, with the Tyranids completely done I was feeling a significant amount of basing/modelling/painting burnout - generally in the 40k field. My next options are:

a) Build and paint the Defiler, Obliterator (underway) and finish the paintjob on the last rhino.

b) Base 200+ Guardsmen

c) Base 100+ Tau

d) start a 100+ model Ork Army

All of which is filling me with a surfit of YAWN at the moment. 40k burnout happens to us all, and I'm keen to keep the fires burning with more games and more challenges.

That said ... on Tuesday I was led to the darkside.

A Spanish company have invented a game called Infinity. It's a skirmish game, and the models are comparable to Malifaux for impact and beauty. Anton (of THE ANARCHY) did an intro game, and I'm hooked!

With 40k you have to suspend your disbelief totally ... that's why it always makes me smile when players use 'reality' example to support their (mostly heinous) rules sculpting. The idea that soldiers have to wander around in clumps and can walk out in the open and shoot willy nilly at the enemy without fear of being shot at is silly. I know why its that way, after all 40k ISN'T a skirmish game, its a full on slug-fest.

With Infinity, I'm suddenly getting shot down when I emerge from cover. I can react to getting shot at (by ducking, diving or returning fire)... I'm wielding an Armour Piercing Explosive 2 shot Autocannon which is killing everything it hits ... what's right with this picture...

So I'm diving into Infinity ... and it's easy! I need 20 sided dice (hmm warm D&D feeling), but the rules are online here, there's a very well built army builder software here

I've pumped for the Haqqislam army ... in this future, the different cultures (highly reminiscent of the 'Clash of Civilisations' theory of the early 90's) have buggered off into space and then come back to earth with different experiences.

The armies vary from very low tech, but plentiful and surprising deadly (Dog warriors and Autocannons all round for the Russian derivatives) to Entire Alien races looking like Halo, Gundam and other influences.

I've plumped for Haqqislam (which is space Islamist who are all high tech, environmentalist and balanced) ... as Anton has the Russian angle covered and Spence has a boatload of Chino/Japanese tech.

I've pulled together a 300pt list ... which I'll post up tomorrow. Very Exciting!