What if......GW collapsed

There was an article on Bell of Lost Souls site which asked the question, if Games-Workshop collapsed, would it be the end of miniature wargaming. Their answer was 'YES'. It was basically a path of destruction which would spell the end of miniature wargaming......and it was BS.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe it. First off, if GW was to collapse, it would most likely be the end of it's miniature range, as I'm sure the IP is still quite valuable in various forms of media. Games, books and heck, even visual media like movies of video series can still be made. They are already well learned in how to sell their product in those medias (hell, GW video games have a strong market) so even with that collapse, I see the company's IP lasting much longer.

As for the end of miniature wargaming? First off, many non-GW brick and mortar stores only sell a small amount of GW products, with the rest coming from other miniature companies. Indeed, one such person (who copped a flaming by others) pointed out that out of their local stores total products, GW only makes up a tenth of it and it rarely sells compared to the other games. As such, were GW to collapse, it would make very little (if any) dent in the stores profit.

Another point is the debacle between the ending of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. See, when Fantasy ended, people panicked as to what would happen, but all felt they would wait to see what 9th Edition would bring. It never came. Instead, Age of Sigmar appeared and it outraged many. A majority of those who played Fantasy Battle left GW in search of something to fill the void. Many thought it was the end. Instead, those who left suddenly found a world of multiple games and it wasn't long before many found new games to play.

The result, that there are other games out there and if GW did collapse, many would eventually move on to find other games. From the ashes of GW, other companies could rise up. Many are already jumping onto the market with games to suit all types of players. Star Wars X-wing, Infinity, Malifaux etc are already gaining popularity, and then there are those players who never bothered with GW, mostly those who played historical type games (like Flames of War etc).

My conclusion to all this? I doubt GW will collapse anytime soon, though it no longer has the kind of power that it once did. Many of those who agreed with that article are probably the type of people who refuse to believe GW would send 40K down the same rules path as Age of Sigmar (I don't know if GW will, but they already have established lore wise that 40K will have it's End Times soon). The fact is, if they were to collapse then I see miniature wargaming will take a blow, but it won't be that which ends it for good.

That Moment....

.....when you accidently shut down your internet browser without setting it to save those three hundred tabs you've had set up for your study and research over the last month....




....that's me right now....




.....I could destroy worlds with my rage at this point in time.

Malifaux favourites - Part 4: Minions

Minions tend to be a mixed bag, some tend to be good while others tend to be cannon fodder. However, they should not be looked past and ignored when building a crew and some tend to have a few skills or abilities that can prove useful. Here are my most favourite ones.

Coryphee (Arcanists)

By themselves, they are quick and effective damage dealers with some nice survivability, but they have something unique about them too. They can merge to become a duet and once they do they can also begin healing themselves, so becoming even more deadly. I like their dresses also.....so what?

Slate Ridge Mauler (Arcanist)

A type of bear, this guy is all about getting in your face and once he's there, he ain't never going to leave. One tough cookie, he is still heavily vulnerable to range. That said, should Myranda be stuck in a nasty melee brawl, then the Mauler should be considered to be your form to shapeshift into just to see the look of 'Oh Crap' on your opponents face.

The Illuminated (Neverborn/Ten Thunders)

Who better to bring along to the Hungering Darkness' party then a few Illuminated. These guys are tough, have regen and can dish out Brilliance to boot, which not only benefits them but old HD himself. I've had the pleasure (or should I say displeasure) of fighting these guys and they are hard to deal with without getting some of my own crew killed in the process. That and they look like they are very much at home in a survival horror game.

Big Jake (Outcasts)

A native American themed character I believe, Big Jake has some nice stats and abilities for being a 5 soul stone model. One of his best abilities though is should he die before turn 5, then on turn 5 he come back with full health to get his revenge and can be a last minute game changer. Gotta wonder how many players will miss that part before it's too late.

Bayou Bushwacker (Gremlins)

A highly trained Gremlin, she looses the reckless ability to gain a sort of permanent soft cover. She can also drop soft cover which lasts a single turn around her, helping those next to her. She can also take a single shot per turn against a target in her sight if another Gremlin shooting that target failed to hit, so it's like an extra attack each turn almost. They can move for free early on, so pick a good camping spot and let those bullets fly.

Shadow Effigy (Ten Thunders)

I was going to make an effort to not add pure Ten Thunders models on this list, but I've really grown to hate this guy to the point of respecting him. The reason: 'Remember the mission'. This blasted move make scheme marker based schemes so much more easier to achieve. It's thanks to this bugger that I lost my first ever game due to Line in the Sand, something that one might see as very difficult to achieve for a players first game and yet my brother won due to it. He is effective at what he does and if you plan to use scheme dropping schemes, then consider picking this guy as an option.




So there we have it, the last part of my favourite miniatures and so brief reason behind why I like them.

Malifaux favourites - Part 3: Enforcers

Enforcers are the difference between Henchmen and Minions, being that they are usually weaker then Henchmen, stronger then Minions and that they can also have a single upgrade. They also tend to have a nice story in order to make them stand out more. So here is the list of my favourite Enforcers:

Rouge Necromancy (Resurrectionists)

An undead Chimera is the bast way to describe it. It is everything wrong (yet somehow right) with the twisted fusion of science and necromancy. This creature is a beast and is one of those miniatures I hope to get around to painting as just the image of it is simply amazing. That and when I eventually get around to making a Marcus crew, I want that in it.

Howard Langston (Arcanists)

I'm sorry, but everytime I look at this guy, all I can think about is that he should be in a Doom video game as one of the bosses (if his body was a tank, then he would have already have been one). This guy is a pure monster and an very sci-fi looking miniature. I guess that's why I like him so much.

Convict Gunslinger (Outcasts)

One of my favourite, not only cause of how great they look, but also cause they are a nice anti-range ranged model. They can become even more brutal if they are lead by a Viktoria who has the upgrade that lets them use their Rapid Fire ability without having to discard a card. Can't stress enough how much I like these guys.

 Lucky Emissary (Gremlins)

It should be no surprise to people that I love Skaven and their crazy contraptions, the Doomwheel being a highlight in my army. So what could make my Gremlins that more special, a crazed lunatic driving a giant wheel. This guy is fast, can pull off some nice damage, with some points he can regen and towards the end he can sacrifice that to give every friendly crew member on the board a random positive effect. He's even using a Gremlin as bait to get the pig in the wheel moving, what's not to love.

Rami LaCroix (Gremlins)

The counterpart to the Ortega's Niño (though not as good), Rami has possibly some of the longest range for the Gremlins. His gun is of his own design (based on a sort of chaingun I believe) and has to have a small pig tied to it to help with things like weight distribution. I usually take this guy (along with Francois) in my Gremlin crews, mostly just to sit back and shoot. His only failing is his survivability as he does tend to die quite easily in combat.

Whiskey Golem (Gremlins)

How could I not put this on my list. It's a Golem, made out of whiskey barrels and filled with the Brewmasters special brew. What's not to love about that. He can dish out pain and poison in fair doses and is quite a resilient beast. His only draw back is that he works best in a Brewmaster crew, so giving me a tactical reason to use him in any other crew is much more harder to justify.



Well, that's the Enforcers done, stay tunes for the final one, the Minions.

Malifaux favourites - Part 2: Henchmen

Henchmen are very important when building a crew (hell, in 25 soul stone matches or less they are a must due to you needing one to be your leader). They tend to focus well on leading or supporting crews, but also have their own unique stories, a few even revolving around the Masters they tend to associate with. So here are my most favourite Henchmen.

The Judge (Guild)

Straight up. I just love how this guy looks. I'm a big fan of the fantasy Witch Hunter style (big coat, large hat .etc). This guy is not only tough (tougher if given a lead-lined coat), but with a hand of Masks he can also dish out a world of pain. He looks like a bad-ass, he fights like a bad-ass.

Cassandra (Arcanist)

Not just a pretty face, Cassandra is a combat focused showgirl. A decent damage, she can kick butt despite having little defensive bonuses (a common thing it seems amongst the female cast, great offense in exchange for low survivability). Her ability to cast another non-leader's CA on their case means she can effectively double some of her crews better casting abilities. She's got the looks and the skills, but she isn't the only one on this list with those.

Myranda (Arcanist)

Shapeshift. What more needs to be said. She benefits from having beasts near her and beasts benefit from being near her, but when push comes to shove or things start going wrong, having the back up of shapeshifting into a beast from the Arcanists list means that you can suddenly twist things in your favour. The beast of preference that I would choose for her to shapeshift into: Slate Ridge Mauler.

Hungering Darkness (Ten Thunders/Neverborn)

Good old HD. This Cthulhu-ish mythos type character has more too him then it might seem (He only counts as a Henchmen when he is selected as the crews leader, so I'm still counting him as one for this list). He might not have some great abilities at first, but when the right models are selected in his crew, that's when he really shines. Enemies find themselves in a bad situation once that Brilliance characteristic is slapped on them and old HD starts chopping away. That and the lore behind this guy is both creepy and interesting.

Viktoria of Blood (Outcasts)

Much like Cassandra, Viktoria of Blood exchanges the survivability for damage. Though only melee damage, once you are in range, you will regret it with some serious damage output. Much like the Hungering Darkness however, she is limited to being in a crew is she leads it or if Viktoria of Ashes leads it.

Tealor (Outcasts)

Another female bad-ass (seriously, this game has some of the best female characters I've seen in most games), Tealor has a relic hammer, a weapon that works wonders against constructs and tyrants. She has an amazing three inch range for her melee and it is defiantly a big mistake to summon anything near her due to her 'Welcome to Malifaux' ability.

Francois LaCroix (Gremlins)

A runt who was picked on, Francois rose up to become a deadly gunslinger. This guy has a nice enough defence and survivability and he can dish it out nicely in both melee and range. Possibly my favourite of all the Henchmen on this list, I can't think of any game with my Gremlins in which I wouldn't use him.

Mancha Roja (Gremlins)

A wrestling luchador extraordinaire, Mancha Roja is a melee boss. I just love his theme and the idea of him trying to pull of wrestling moves in the middle of an actual fight is just hilarious (unless your on the end of those moves, then most likely not so much).

Trixiebelle (Gremlins)

Gifted with some rather large..umm...assets, you might think she's nothing more then some rather disturbing eye-candy and a quick look at her rules would give most the impression that her lack of pure damage and survivability means you'd just skip past her. On the contrary, it's her skills that makes her quite valuable. She can move models around, move scheme markers, apply poison, help get the initiative and can get others to take damage for her. She does have access to a nice upgrade that does give her some better damage, but this gal is pure tactical in her use.



With the Henchmen now said and done, we next more on to those further down the food chain, the Enforcers.

Another Malifaux crew plan

So recently I've trying to get my miniatures painted, but things haven't been going so well. In between that I regularly read all the Malifaux stuff a few times over to get a better understanding of it. However, one thing I've noticed since taking this game up is how little there is in regards to videos.

This person is one of the few I watch and if anything, has changed my view of the Arcanists. This recent video is on the Masters of the Arcanists, though I do suggest you watch a few of his battle summaries as I find them to be quite interesting. But more importantly, he's changed my view on the master known as Marcus.

When I first picked up M2E months ago I would read his profile once and would just skip him in subsequent look backs. However, since watching the many videos on Nicholas' channel, I've actually grown to like Marcus and having seen this video, am convinced to do a Marcus force.

Yes, another set of models to paint and bases to make and yes, on top of all the other ones I've done. However, a lot of the problems involve the painting of skin and in this crews case, only two of them are human and so the rest I can be a bit more creative on. So I'm planning to start collecting the miniatures for that crew over the next few months (still got to find things like plastic plants for terrain, let alone for the bases). Plus, I do love that Rouge Necromancy and this is just another reason to get that miniature.

I do recommend checking out his channel and that of The Sustainable Center as well for Malifaux content.

Malifaux favourites - Part 1: Themes and Masters

Speaking of Malifaux, now that I've had plenty of time to go over the rules, lore and the gameplay, let's look at some of my favourite themes and characters in the game.

Themes

So themes are part of what I love about armies/ crew in miniature wargaming. A theme is a set of models or units that work well in the lore and aesthetically.

Gremlins

A slight bending of the rules on this one, but the faction as a whole. The idea of greenskins as hillbillies, cowboys and even drunken ninjas just comes off as hilarious. Now I just want to see many dressed as other faction characters.

Jakob Lynch theme

This crew is focused on brilliance and spreading it. Mostly focused on Illuminated, Depleated and Beconers along with the good old Hungering Darkness. Perhaps through in Mr Graves for some extra slight change, but still well in theme.

Marcus theme

Malifaux, full of stone and metal, the last thing you'd expect to see is a variety of wildlife. The Marcus crew tends to focus on many types of beasts and beast effects. Best part is he can hire beasts from other factions as if they were his own (so no extra mercenary costs). Nothing like using your enemy factions beasts against them.

Colette/Viktoria theme

In short, all girl groups. Colette focuses of her various performers and really requires some real strategy cause they're not they tough or strong, but have a variety of skills when it comes to scheme markers. The Viktorias are just pure bad-ass and are just straight up 'in your face' combat. Both are great.

Masters

Those chosen on this list are different from the themes. While themes are a synergy of characters who work well together, this section is just on the master themselves and the ones I like when it's just them.

Ophelia LaCroix (Gremlins)

Not wanting to simple end up like every other Gremlin women, Ophelia has had to work extra hard to rise to the top. She's spent much time studying the Guild's Ortega family and even went so far as to steal Perdita's own hat for herself. The master with the blaster, Ophelia is a decent range damage dealer with a few or her discardable upgrades that she can re-attach to use again. My first Gremlin (and therefore, my first Malifaux) master, she is by far my favourite master and one that suits my style.

Jakob Lynch (Ten Thunders/Neverborn)

I like the look of the miniature, his story line and his abilities. As a character who focuses on the gambling aspect of a game with cards, his abilities work well in that sense and trying to decide on upgrades can be difficult, but even if you figure out which ones are best, there is still that element of luck involved. An ace is his best friend.





Yeah, honestly, I just don't get many of the masters. I guess I find many of the henchmen more interesting in both character and in rules.

Malifaux update

With all the problems I've had to deal with and the heat now brought on by Spring (looks like Summer this year is going to be a nightmare), painting has become a lot harder, mostly cause I can't do much in the heat and the lights only heat things up more. That said, some progress has been made.

Despite the painting not being finished, I have got many of the bases done, so many of them should be finished soon. I'm also working on getting the bases done for both the Jacob Lynch crew and the Colette crew (I tend to feel more confident working on the models once their bases are done). Many have said that with you main faction you should focus on at least three Masters, but I only have Ophelia and Mah Tucket and I'm not sure who the third will be. I'll get the Wong set, but that's really only because I want the luchador character. I do like the Brew Master, but I'm not sure if he's the right kind of playstyle for me. Still don't know.

As for the other factions, I'm looking mostly at Marcus and possibly Ramos for Arcanists, Von Schill for Outcasts (Outcasts mostly comes off as having great Henchmen then Masters to me), holding off on Guild and Resurrectionists and as for Neverborn, holding off on that one for the time being too (maybe Zoraida?).

Perhaps I might work on my Skaven in between for breaks, though I'm hoping for a cool wave so I can focus on all this.

Wildstar update

They seem to have fixed most of my account as I now have most of the boxed bonuses (minus the decore placement) and the subscription bonus.

The plots have increased in size, but no new plugs were added and now I have to go through a few of me set houses and re-design most of the outside. Still, being free-to-play, I have the time to take it more slowly. This means I can now spend some time actually playing some of the characters, which I'm looking forward too.