Crazy Gamer goes to the Tournament- the list

A few days ago I told you how I go about getting ready for a Warhammer tournament. 

Today I will discuss two characters that I will be using and why I have decided to include them in my list (which still isn't finalized).

Here are two heroes that my list will include

Witch Hunter- 50pts

Brace of pistols +5pts
Great Sword +5pts

Why a Witch Hunter?  Easy... because they're cool! 

Kinda like a kick ass pilgrim!  If you don't think that's cool then you need to have your head examined!

In game terms a witch hunter has below average stats, but he has two things that make him great.  First he can accuse an enemy character of being a witch.  The witch hunter then gains the killing blow special rule against that character with both his shooting and close combat attacks.  He also can shoot at this character as if the witch hunter had the sniper rule.  Will he get lucky and knock off your 600pt chaos lord?  Probably not, but just the fact that he can will give some opponents pause and in my book that is worth 60pts.

His second rule is even more important.  The witch hunter comes with a handy magic resistance of two.  In the magic happy world of 8th edition this can really help a low toughness unit (which is all of the Empire units) survive and when combined with my next character can make a unit almost invincible. 


Battle Wizard- 2nd magic level- 100pts

Scroll of shielding 15pts

This little wizard will use the lore of life and can use the scroll of shielding to give the witch hunter's unit a 2+ ward save!  Hopefully I can use this when a high powered spell is coming my way to avoid most (if not all) of the damage the spell will cause. 

I really like to use the lore of life to increase the survivability of my units.  A unit of spearmen at toughness 3 and a 5+ armor save isn't going to scare anyone.  That same unit with a toughness of five (due to flesh to stone) and a 5+ regeneration save (due to earthblood) can hold up the scariest monster or fighting character for a long time.


The other characters...

Not decided yet.  Check back! 

Crazy Gamer Goes to the Tournament

Today I thought I would discuss how the Crazy Gamer goes about getting ready for a tournament.  Cool huh?  I thought that you would agree.

The tournament is a Warhammer Fantasy tournament, typical local fair at 2500pts.  In my dreams I would play High Elves, but seeing as I don't have a single model painted and the tournament is in less than 30 days my practical side must kick in.  As usual then, I will play my tried and true Empire army. 

About now you are probably assuming that I am lining up my hardest hitting list.  Wrong!  You silly people!  I'm the crazy gamer remember.  Here is how I will go about creating a tournament list.

1.  I don't use hordes.
2.  I won't use a large unit for the sole reason of having that unit be steadfast.
3.  I won't use any popular gimmick. 
4.  I will rely on unpopular units and characters.

So what does this mean for the Empire? 

I will not use any huge units of halberdiers.  In fact I won't use any unit with more than 30 models.
I will use one artillery piece max.
I won't use any special characters (not that the Empire's list has any great special characters).
I will rely on things like huntsmen, swordsmen, regular knights (not inner circle, Reiksguard, Demi- Gryph or other popular types).  I will also not use a 4th level battle wizard lord. 

Now, I will point out that I haven't yet decided on my final list but I will post it when it is decided.

Why do I go about designing lists this way?  Well the answer is simple.  I want to win because I played a better game than my opponent, not because I designed a better list or exploited a silly loophole.  I would rather lose than win using a gimmick.  Have I lost to gimmick lists?  You bet I have, but guess what?  Those gimmick lists have weaknesses and I will find them and use every single one against them. 

If you are reading this and think I'm crazy, try winning with good tactics, take your lumps and learn how to play a mistake free game and you will be surprised how successful you can be. 

On a side note, I've been playing Empire now for almost a decade and my army has never been made obsolete by changes in rules or changes in army books.  I don't fear the day that huge units of cheap infantry are no longer so good. 

Crazy Gamer's take on the X Box 720

Hello true believers!

Crazy Gamer here to talk about the next Xbox!

Microsoft has announced that they will unveil the new Xbox 720.  Even though this unveiling is almost a month away I figured I'd give my opinion on the rumors that are circulating the interweb.

Rumor one:  The new Xbox will have an eight core processor.  My take... seems powerful, but I need to see games. 

Rumor two:  The new Xbox will allow you to "DVR," your game play and share it online.  Also you will be able to upload achievements and what not to social media.  My take... couldn't care less.  I don't want to share my gameplay with others.  I suck and I'm sure you have better things to do than watch it. 

Rumor three:  The new Xbox will use Windows 8.  My take... I get the impression this is supposed to be a selling point.  I've never bought a system based on its operating system and although I don't have the hatred some have for the OS it would never make me want to buy a system. 

Rumor four:  The new Xbox will have two purchase options.  One will be $500 dollars, the other will be $300 but will require a two year subscription to Xbox Live (thought to cost anywhere from $9.99 to $14.99 a month).  My take... $500 dollars is out of my price range.  As for $300 dollars plus a subscription... sorry, I don't play games online, I don't want to play games online, I don't want any of the social garbage that is offered, I don't care about avatars or any of the like.  As I see it, the $300 dollar model is really at minimum a $540.00 model, yeah... I'll pass.

Rumor five: The new Xbox will require an always on internet connection.  My take... considering that my internet connection can be...sassy to say the least I don't want to spend $500 dollars for a system that I may or may not be able to play reliably based on my internet connection.  I'm sure this has nothing to do with getting rid of used games and DRM (digital rights management) and is just for all that wonderful social crap that I don't want. 

I have an Xbox 360, but unless rumors 2, 4, and 5 are false, I will not have the next Xbox. 

Sorry Microsoft. 

Warhammer 101-Becoming a better General: Terrain

Many of us want to be a great general.  In our quest to become Napoleon we sometimes will go down a dark path of WAAC gaming (win at all costs).

While this article will not help you become a little French dictator (though everyone should know by now that Napoleon was actually a very average five seven) it will help you to be better at Warhammer.

Today's article will focus on terrain.  I will point out that I have decided to separate Warhammer Fantasy and 40k into different posts.  This is on Warhammer Fantasy. 

Terrain is all the stuff on your table that keep it from being just a green (or whatever color you go with) table.  It can be

Hills

 Forests

Swamps

And weird Warhammer wackiness

My first piece of advice is simple.  Know the terrain rules. 

Sadly, most players view the terrain rules as something to glance at and nothing more.  To an average commander terrain is something to be avoided as a nuisance.

A wise commander knows better.  Just by knowing how terrain works you will give yourself the advantage. 

Learn the terrain rules!  Got that?  Don't feel overwhelmed, you just need to know the essentials.  You don't need to know the exact rules for a charnel pit but you should know forests are mysterious and are dangerous terrain for cavalry, chariots, monstrous cavalry, and fliers using a flying move. 

Next, insist that you use the rulebook mandated D6 + 4 pieces of terrain (pg. 142).  Be aggressive with your terrain placement by looking for advantages you can use.  Do they have a gun line?  Use forests to block their lines of fire (especially in the center, force their shooters to one flank or another).  A wise general will look for any advantage and terrain placement is one of those advantages. 

Here are a few helpful hints:

Units cannot claim rank bonus nor can they be steadfast if they are even partially in a river.  Have trouble with big units of infantry then this can help.

Units with most (over half) of their models in a forest cannot be steadfast unless they are skirmishers or lone characters on foot who are always stubborn in forests. 

Fun tactic: Use a fighting hero and give him the Armor of Silvered Steel (or your armies equivalent) and place him in a forest to ambush a big unit of infantry.  As long as he is in the forest he is stubborn holding your foes unit in place until you can dispatch it (or ignore it all together).

Obstacles like walls not only protect you from shooting but can also swing close combat in your favor by making your troops more difficult to hit.

Charging down a hill gives you a +1 to your combat resolution.

Terrain is your friend!  Learn the rules and watch your game improve.

See you next time!

Coming soon!

I apologize to my readers that I haven't been publishing articles that I have promised.  I will get better, I promise!

In the next few solar cycles you will see:

Intermediate painting help.

How to win at Warhammer: Using terrain.

Review: Ni Nu Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for the PS3.

Review: Lego City Undercover for the Wii U.

High Elf wishlist part 3

Hello again my fellow gamers!  Crazy Gamer here to give you some stodgy prose about my wishlist for the High Elves.  Today I will talk Special units, Rare units and special characters, let's dive in! 

Well, actually not yet... I forgot to mention that I'm not discussing "new," units such as the Phoenix (a new monster for the High Elves that is floating around the Internet and is coming) but only pre established units.  Got that?  Good.

Special units: 

Shadow Warriors: Let's bump their ballistic skill up to five and keep their points the same. 

Tiranoc chariot: Raise the weapon skill of the crew to five, they are elite after all.  Points down to 80.

Lion chariot: Same

Rare:

Repeater Bolt Thrower:  Can we get a third crew member please?  Drop points cost to 85pts.

Dragon Mage:  A cool idea, but doesn't see much table time.  If he goes to the rare spot and becomes a unit and not character (therefore he uses the dragon's toughness) he will become more popular. 

Special Characters:

I assume that all the current characters will return.  I'd love to see Belennear (sp?) the Wise return.  I wouldn't cry if the Everqueen and Imrik also made an appearance. 

We won't have long to wait!  My guess is we will see the High Elf pre orders the last Saturday in April. 

Crazy Gamer's new High Elf wishlist part 2

Yesterday I talked about how I would like to see the High Elf core section pan out.  I discussed why I wanted to see silly special rules go away (always strike first) while adding a bit of durability and some options to the core of the High Elf army. 

Today I will discuss what I'd like to see from the High Elves special choices.

Dragon Princes:  Stay the same.

Swordmaster's of Hoeth:  Same stat line as current.  Should be -1 to hit in both shooting and close combat due to their awesome blade skill for 15pts a model.

White Lions of Charce:  M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A   LD 
                                         5    5       4     4   3     1   4   2     8

The above is the stat line I would like to see.  It would go without saying that the champion gets 3 attacks.  They should come equipped with heavy armor, great axes, and lion pelts.  Lion pelts should act like the Dark Elves Sea Dragon Cloaks and add +2 to armor save against shooting and +1 save in close combat.  The White lions should also retain their stubborn and woodland strider special rules and should cost 15pts.

The idea here is to make all three of the High Elves elite infantry to be equally worthwhile.  The Sword Masters have a better weapons skill and initiative, while the White Lions are stronger and more durable both in terms of armor save (4+ versus 5+) but also in terms of combat resolution because they are stubborn. 

Phoenix Guard:  M   WS   BS   S   T  W  I   A   LD 
                            5     5       4    3    3   1   6   2    9

The above is the stat line I would like to see the Phoenix Guard possess.  Again it goes without saying that the champion would get 3 attacks.  They should be equipped with halberds, heavy armor, and a 5+ ward save.  Phoenix Guard should have a rule in which they can choose to pass or fail any leadership test and should be 15pts.  While the Phoenix Guard don't hit as hard as the other units they are able to hold their position (or not if the player chooses) in a more dependable fashion. 

Whoops, gotten long winded again.  Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow!

See you then!