Turning Worm

Hi all,

Figured I should get a post in before dropping off radar for a week or two (work related).  Behold, the majesty of the Razorworm:



It's a Skorne light warbeast, notable less for being particularly killy, and more for being a) manoeuvrable, and b) having excellent synergy with my boy Hexeris.  Hexy, in both his Primal and epic form, is able to run beasts as spell channellers (things that dramatically extend the range of his spells).  The Razorworm, in addition to it's mobility, can channel spells at double the usual range, and can see through clouds, and other line-of-sight blocking effects.  That makes it one of the most effective channelers in the game, and I'm a little puzzled why I didn't paint one up earlier.



As it turned out, we got a chance to try him in a game.  YYZ, one of the Toronto gang, was in town visting family, and we managed to get down to Monster Comic Lounge, a FLGS, for a game.  Cub came too ;)  He and I played his Khador, and YYZ took my Skorne.  We also played our first game of MK3, as the cards we'd ordered were there waiting for us on arrival.

Being a muppet, I forgot to bring my camera, but the game was pretty fun, given that Cub and I had no idea how things worked in the new edition, and YYZ has pretty much equally unfamiliar with the force he was commanding.  The Razorworm, ironically, didn't get much of a chance to shine, as I know exactly what it can do, and Cub and I made wrecking it an early priority.   YYZ had us on the ropes at one point, with all three of his combat warbeasts getting an alpha strike, taking out one of our juggernaughts, and banging up the other, but our destroyer evened the odds when it took out his Gladiator, and the game was swinging our way when YYZ had to leave.



While my experience is obviously limited, Mk3 seems pretty solid. As with the transition to Mk2, they've cleaned out and tightened up the rules, which have always been a strength of the game.  The tweaks they've made to points and abilities also have me reassessing my force. The Krea, for example, has gone from being a default-include defensive piece to something primarily suited to protecting against blast damage.  As something to protect high DEF, low ARM, costly troops, it'd shine, but as a general include, I dunno.

The Gladiator continues to shine, despite a mild nerf.   I'm coming to recognize how much of a lynch-pin he is, at least in the force I'm running.  As long as the gladiator is on the table, I'm in the game.  If he gets taken out, I'm in trouble.  Case in point was the game with YYZ, where he had us on the ropes until we killed his Gladiator, at which point you could physically feel the game swing out way.

Given how important he is, I'm giving serious thought to working another Gladiator, or at least another Titan, into the list.  A second gladiator would give me an excuse to pick up the new and improved Skorne starter box (all the new starter boxes, by the way, are ridiculous value for money), but as I have a Cannoneer (which look very cool in the new edition) and a Sentry (one of my favorite models in the game), I'll likely behave myself, and stick to painting what I have.

There's been some other changes too.  Venator Rievers have gained a bit of price cut, which is much appreciated.  They remain basic ranged infantry with a few bells and whistles, but I learned a long time ago to respect the power of the Combined Range Attack rule, and these guys will be staying in.  Cyclops savages remain dirt cheap, quick, melee light warbeasts, and I'd be hard pressed not to fit one in if I can.  The Rhinodon remains the red-headed stepchild of Skorne, having been slightly nerfed despite being the weakest heavy warbeast in the faction.  I love the guy though, as he IS my favorite model in the faction, and I can't seem to quit him.

Who could say no to that tummy?  Needs a good rub.

We played at 50 points, roughly equivalent to 35 at the old points level, which I have almost completely painted.  The new "competitive standard" points level seems to be 75, which gives me 30ish points to play with when planning the painting queue.  A Titan of some kind, and some more infantry are likely on the slate, with Arcuarii (elite, flexible, killy, but expensive) and Bloodrunners (fast, moderate price, ninjas) as possibilities.  I'm also thinking about painting up either eHexeris or pMorghul as a second caster.

In the meantime, my First unit of Hanoverian Horse are almost finished, and I seem to be getting back at least a bit of my painting mojo.  Life's no less busy *and I'm no less tired ;), but the big slump from last winter seems to be receding.  Matybe the sun is finally having its effect?