Sunday, 7 August 2016

Interfering with Laddy J (GO with LJ and BJ with Molly)



GO with Laddy J and BJ with Mollly
Molly and Laddy J would be Interfering with each other in a charming oriental garden.

The no good dirty Guild fascists took along The Judge, Francisco, an exorcist, two death marshalls, the Brutal Effigy and were planning on covertly breaking through and to put their undercover entourage (Laddy J her/himself) into all the wrong places.
Representing the zombie community were; Mortimer and Toshiro, Sybelle and Sebastian and finally Chiaki who whistled her way into position. Their plan was a display of force and covert break through.

What the exocist saw - a set of behinds. He tapped Laddy J's!
The scheme pool had forced both players to go elite. On one side was shiny gun metal, menacing blades and the mean stares of those who had looked death in the face and not blinked. GO was not messing around and brought men and women who were well-equipped to deal with zombies. On the other side BJ had a bloke with a spade, a girl with a flute, a disembowelled stinky corpse, a short ginger man picking his nose who smelt worse than a corpse and a zombie dressed in unforgivingly light negligee. In fairness this side had also looked death in the face, and some of the Ressers certainly were not blinking. Mmmm. BJ didn't say anything, but he was worried. Too late now. Time to let the cards choose a winner.

Things started with some moving and manourvering and a little comboing. GO flung Laddy J into a box and ran him/her up field expecting Molly to off the Marshall and release LJ. But BJ was busy navel gazing. Literally at Mortimer’s and Toshiro’s navels. He had the spleen ripper (Mortimer) and spleen dripper (Toshiro) rip out body parts from said navels, and with the parts summon two Ashigaru, which Chiaki removed slow from and healed. The spearmen then moved into position and braced at the front of the zombie line (Charge now LJ and Judge if you like). BJ also managed to summon in two punk zombies and the Nercortic machine over turns 1-3.

GO and the guild weren't amused and over the next two turns the Exocists and Death Marshalls did their job, flinging undead into boxes and dealing death to the Undead horrors by mashing them into pieces. Bits of innocent zambies and skellingtons filled the air. But Molly’s Henchmen and Henchwoman were undeterred and they had seen worse and showed their stuff (BJ scored 1st VP with show of Force). Despite the losses its not as if BJ and Molly could think of anything better to have done with the stones. Then Lady J, the Judge and Franceso started hitting and shooting things that had cost real stones. From now on there was a chance that somebody would get hurt.

Somebody did and it was Sebastion who was killed, after rushing forward to make sure a Marshall with Sybelle in a box got poisoned nearly properly – nearly properly being to within one wound of death. Then somebody killed the Judge. (BJ nearly got away with the three inch black blood upgrade again). More zombies needlessly perished and at some point Franceso got hit with a Katana a few times too many. Toshiro then got killed and Lady J took down Yan Lo’s plucky little piper. (I think of the green clarinet). Mortimer got moody and the sound of ringing metal filled the air as he gave LJ the flat end of his spade a couple of times. BJ got more points for show of force. Molly’s and Justice’s interfering scored for them but BJ and the ressers were somehow getting ahead. Could they keep the lead? Surely the ABZ champion was better than this?

He was. He was about to net 5 VP in one turn! The exorcist, who until now had been keeping his head down, spamming schemes for breakthrough, finished and snuck up behind Lady J, who was engaged in combat. The Exorcist then shot LJ in the rear. Look where you're aiming! He claimed he had been aiming at a drowned, and no damage was done, but even Molly, familar with Rotten Belles, looked disgusted by the creepiness of it all.

Sybelle had spent some time in the box, but after being released and administering the lash to the terrified Marshall, began interfering for a table quarter. On the other side of the table The Brutal effigy was spamming schemes, and spammed more when molly summoned a Punk zombie to finish him off. The effigy dropped like so much sack cloth and iron, but finished the job and in doing so tied up Break Through in style. That was Darn Good scheming GO!

But now it was turn 5, it was late and interfering would have to stop. S&M and Kommander Frei had finished; the sound of squeeling and hails of gunfire had stopped some time ago. BJ and GO had to stop interfering with each other too.

In addition to a masterfully planned  covert breaktrhough GO scored with Laddy J and undercover entourage, although he/she was on her last wound and in a bit of a state. Molly would have to settle for the points she and Sybelle had slowly accrued through their interfering, and their now KO’d colleagues’ shows of force. He'd never quite got round to the scheme thing.

The Governors Orifice had put out a crew to kill undead, and BJ had taken a crew to play the schemes. In the end Molly had done the killing, or at least the wounding with summoned punks and LJ had largely done the better scheming with trained killers. How had this reversal of plans turned out?.

VP’s equalled and sixes to all – a draw. The cards chose no winner today, unless we were all winners? Yeah we can all be winners!!

A battered Lady J, an exorcists and the Marshall with a Zombie in a box stalked off looking very sinister and very mean. They had better things to do. I personally wouldn’t want to be the 'hind-tapping exorcist, or be near the Marshall when they finally find the punk zombie they'd left in the box. Still it was his now. A punk zombie is for life and not just for Christmas!

Sybelle was busy with her boots and a downed-Death Marshall (apparently the boots needed cleaning and the Marshall said he had been bad). This left Molly (and a couple of zombies) to wonder what she would do with all the bits that had been left behind. It would be a nightmare sorting them all out. How could there be an odd number of hands? Nobody appreciated resurrectionists and their hard work; it was like perpetually being left to pair up socks.

Good Game GO, good game and good scheming.


Thursday, 28 July 2016

New Henchmen and Enforcers Part 3

Lots of real life and some painting.
But in my inbetween nights have been working hard on increasing my Henchmen and Enforcers.






First up is my metal rogue necromancy. A bargain 5 GBP (Pre-brexit). The necromancy is so cool because he is a horror. He can be prompted by Molly for an Attack, gets black blood and immunity to it, can dish out poison and hands out an attack when Molly summons and a TN 15 WP test is failed. He also gets two AP like any body else. So 4 attacks a turn. Unfortunately he can not be given reactivate (its not a minion).





I would like to get a plastic one also. I loved painting all the different textures on it.S&M showed me his McTavish and some shiny Alligator Skin – I might try that for the snake. Maybe some glistening entrails also.







Glistening entrails brings me to Toshiro. Like Chiaki, he’s been stopped presentable rather than finished. He needs glistening in some places, and a final flesh highlight (head and toes) and the sword and fan haven’t really gone beyond base coats, his hair and beard also need work.



And the Ashigaru.  The spearman is a summon for Toshiro. I need two. Like Chiaki I have gone for a more Han feel, complete with jade goods etc. He also has been stopped part way through. Which is kind of ok with plastics. On the close up you can see my mistakes (the shoulder pads should not be blue, and a black part of his sleave should be blue!!). I like the lacquer effect on the armour, and his dry bones. I look forward to their final coat.

I really like Malifaux, and I really like ressers. Both not choices i would have made. Praise be for the things that happen.

Well, I gotta go. Time to light the hand, roll the bones and see what the late night air will bring. I hear talk of a new mistress in the haunted quarters. I feel I better clear the catacombs and make a little more space, in hope I can lure her here.
 







Tuesday, 21 June 2016

New Henchmen and Enforcers Part 2

I have been Elite-lite for a while. Chiaki is my newest addition. I have painted her with a Hanfu feel and given her jade beads and a death mask (jade grave goods), rather than an opera mask or "faux-spirited-away-kami" mask.
For her to look really hanfu her collar and cuffs should be a darker colour.

She needs a final highlight and accent, so there is time to change the collar at least, if I want. As for Molly I will highlight the top so it looks like her upper part is lighter - the beacon of light effect, and darken her base.
Chiaki is good summoning support and some healing and also board control. Two extra wounds removed from a punk zombie is ace, as would be a re-three headed rogue Necromancy. Her upgrade potentially lets you rob 2 AP for one of yours. All this for 1 more stone than a 6-wound Doxy.

A close up pic helps highlight all the mistakes that need correcting as well as the need to drybrush the base a little (dull coat takes off some of the shine).

Sunday, 19 June 2016

Gathering the Zombie Horde, Part IIX



The summoning and painting rituals are all but finished. I have only to spray on the old dull coat and two new zombies are ready. The necrotic machine has been on the Gurney in and out of the chamber for a long time. It see’s regular play for me.
The metal/punk zombie that looks like an 80’s Iron Maiden fan is also finally done. 
They had a disaster when they fell of a table and fell apart and got scuffed up, along with Mortimer!!!.
Today I will dull coat the Zombies/Horrors and put them safely in the carry case. The Machine does alot of work for me - so should have been finished ages ago.


Mortimer will have to wait. He is not an easy fix and has at least four colours that need fixing up (coat, hat, flesh and scarf).

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Henchmen and Henchwomen



My last game with S&M was a reversal of the ones before; where in many cases I luckily managed to win because the game didn’t go to time. This time, Molly (and Sybelle and Sebastian and a pile of corpses were left facing 4 models with 7 or less wounds between them. Molly, calm and serene as ever, would have knocked them off of the board. But she didn’t. It was the end of the game. S&M outschemed me and won in style, he timed his all-or-nothing perfectly. Good game S&M and Ms DuBois. That’s what I call playing.



Until this game I felt I had “only had eyes for Sybelle”, and that I had been playing a Molly and Sybelle list. I felt Sybelle had become a bad habit and Molly and I really wondered who the real mistress was at times!

So this game was the first time that I took along other Henchmen.

Sebastian hid, got me soulstones and cards from recycling my weak summoned models, planted schemes and administered coup de grace to opponents. He cost 8 stones with “those are not ours”, but no “transfusion”. Recycling old summons for stones and a card seems a good deal, except that it used up corpses (a sacrifice leaves no corpse.) Transfusing  poison to that stupid mechanical bird would have instant killed it. Not taking transfusion was a mistake on my part.

Mortimer, should have done a lot more. He cost 9 stones, no upgrade. He should have ruined Colete’s and the performer's schemes with chatty – “ Boo this show is awful, get of the stage!!”. But he didn’t. He had a fight with the Duet. Which he lost. Along with two punk zombies (summoned), who were also killed by the Corphee.

Were I running score cards for the Henchwoman and Henchman they would be:
Sybelle
Cost 8 stones.
Impact on game: Shrieked (for the blast), whipped, called Belle and sped up those around her. She rightly had opponents on their knees and on their backs or face to the floor. She was well worth the money. My favourite Henchwoman. I now love her more than ever.

Sebastian
Cost 8 stones (7+1)
Impact on game: ran schemes, kept me in stones when I had drawn 4 crows in 3 hands + 4 extra draws. Finished a model. Summoned a remains. Anti synergistic with corpse effects (I did not take any this game).

Mortimer
Cost 9 Stones
Impact on game: dropped schemes, died like a high cost minion/costly good time. I didn’t place or use him well.

I’m going to keep running Molly as a “Molly, Sybelle and a two belle entourage”. Look man, I am into Sybelle. That's just how it is. Expect more Sybelle protecting Molly, more shrieking at my own models (to get blast on other models in combat and trigger black blood attacks)  more of Sybelle just taking punishment and popping corpses. Its going to be dirty and messy.

I will definitely use Sebastian again, perhaps in a sustained quality summon list (aka punk zombie spam, blender, horror, black blood spray – e.g. summon punk zombies and have them slice and dice your own horrors to trigger black blood - but only 1" range and not 3").

Mortimer I’m going to try again. I can see that his chatty is an auto-include for head hunter, or other situations where you can guess where the interact will be going on. But he clearly isn’t good for ultra-violence. Nor is he needed in a Molly-Horror/Forgotten Life list to find corpses. There are plenty of those.

I can see potential, but he certainly isn’t my Sybelle.

From now on its BJ with Molly and Sybelle. There’s no shame in it.

Monday, 13 June 2016

Gathering the Zombie Horde, Part VII

The necrotic machine does alot of work for me - blocking LOS, dealing two damage (with poison) and engaging models. Its a cheap summon and has a 10" range.  The low wounds don't matter. All Molly's summons have low wound counts.
I loved this model and am finally finsihing it off. I'm also working on a 2nd punk zombie. this one looks more metal fan then punk.

Sunday, 12 June 2016

New Henchmen and Enforcers Part 1

I'm trying to improve my Elites. At the moment I am painting up mortimer. I have flat colours and am now mid way through highlights and details (his woolly jumper collar and cigar tip).