Trollblood Scrum!!!

We Have Moved

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 21:13:00 +0000

TrollbloodScrum has moved!!

http://handcannononline.com/blog/category/privateer-press/trollblood-scrum/

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With Our Powers Combined?!?!?!

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 18:54:00 +0000

Well folks, this has sort of been a long time coming. Handcannon Online, Removed From Play and The Scrum have been fast friends basically from the inception of all 3 sites and it's been tossed around that we should merge for about 2 years now. Now, it's finally happening. And you though the reference from that podcast was a coincidence? So here are the pertinent details and why no one should freak out.

So, without further ado, The Scrum has joined forces with Handcannon Online to leach from its underbelly all the page views we can get! But in all seriousness we are very happy to join the Handcannon crew to bring bigger and better things for the hobby, The Scrum and Hanncannon!

The Podcast
The podcast will actually be hosted, linked and posted on HCO from here on out. This should give a much more consistent downloading experience and a smoother relationship with iTunes. This also means better access to special guests, more frequent content(we hope), and a lot of cross blog content that will be more interesting for everyone.

At this time we have transitioned all podcasts from our main page to Handcannon's Scrum Page. You can get the most current episode here Episode 39 Were we have on super special guest, owner and operator of Broken Egg Games Jason Flanzer. All further episodes will be hosted from that page.

Articles, Guides and Hobby Content
All the rest of our content will be made available through The Scrum for the time being until we've merged our data from Blogger to Wordpress. So you won't loose access to until until such time that we have everything finished. At that point you will see a direct site redirect.

On a more personal note... Dallas and I, once again, want to thank you guys. The readers and listeners for making all of this wonderful nonsense that we do for you possible. You let us fill your ears and minds with our ramblings and without you we would just be making out spouses crazy. So keep on listening and reading folks so we can all be just a little more crazy and slightly better informed then before!

zomg a Bakaryu BatRep!

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 08:33:00 +0000

Screenshot or it didn't happen :)

In all seriousness though, this year I will be playing Trollbloods as my competitive tournament faction and have already been getting a few games under my belt, but haven't posted up the first few battle reports largely due to playing like a chump and getting used to not overextending on the fury system again. I have won two out of the three games, but this one here is the first one which I felt that I played well enough in to be considered for a battle report.

This match was Trollbloods against Mercenaries, my Gunnbjorn list had been doing pretty well but this opponent had at least one Galleon in all of his three lists, and so I had opted to go with eDoomshaper for threat range and ARM cracking, my opponent went for Bart so I felt like I had gone with the right matchup here.

Doomshaper2..................................Broadsides Bart
> Mulg the Ancient...........................> Galleon
> Rok..............................................> Galleon
> Mauler..........................................Max Forgeguard
> Axer.............................................Ragman
> Night Troll.....................................Gobber Tinkerer
> Runebearer....................................McDougall
Min Kriel Warriors...........................Aiyana and Holt
> Standard and Piper........................Piper of Ord
> 2 Caber Throwers
Min Krielstone and Scribes
> Elder

The scenario rolled up was Rally point, and the terrain saw a forest on each player's right flank just beyond deployment zones, a hill on the opposite flank and a few rocks as impassible terrain/cover in the dead centre of the board.

Deployment
My opponent won first turn, deploying both Galleons and Bart dead centre of the board, with Forgeguard either side of them, Ragman, Piper and McDougall behind the colossals and A+H just off to my left of the forgeguard, so quite central overall.

I also deployed pretty centrally, with (from left to right) Mauler, Rok, Axer, Mulg and Night Troll. Kriel Warriors filled the gaps between them and the Krielstone was camped behind but centrally, with Doomie and the Runebearer just off centre to my right.

Turn 1
One each to the Galleons, Bart drops Hot Shot on the the Galleon to my left, his Forgeguard run to make a screen in front of the Galleons who run up behind them. His various support solos and units hang out at the back ready to give support as soon as it is needed.

Runebearer gives Harmonious Exaltation to Doomshaper, who drops Wild Aggression onto Mulg and 5 into the Krielstone before advancing a few inches. Mulg runs up, the Night Troll runs directly in front of him to protect him from drags, Axer runs up behind a rock for cover, Mauler and Rok both get Caber Throwers in front of them who are in turn surrounded by grunts for take up to again prevent any drag shenanigans. Krielstone runs up and gives +2 ARM, focusing on the left side as Mulg is pretty safe.

Turn 2
Upkeep Hot Shot, 3 focus to the Hot Shotted Galleon. Forgeguard advance up to keep up the screen and are given tough by the Piper. McDougall gives Artillerist to the powered up Galleon and Aiyana just about manages to get close enough to hit a Kriel Warrior with Kiss. Fortunately the left hand Galleon rolls terrible for his 2d3 shots, getting 3 of them which thanks to the spacing only kills two Kriel Warriors and a boosted attack roll with the Harpoon misses the Caber Thrower in front of Rok. Bart switches Hot Shot onto the other Galleon and pops his feat. The other Galleon only has a few guys in range and again rolls poorly, killing one Krielstone scribe with a scatter and another Kriel Warrior.

Bart's feat I knew would be coming this turn, it doesn't make it any less annoying but I see an opportunity to kill Aiyana and Holt and decide to go for it. Mauler advances to toe the left zone and puts Rage onto the Caber Thrower, Kriel Warriors use Fervor and run/charge. One Kriel Warrior runs into the two Forgeguard right in front of Aiyana and Holt and the Caber charges him, the other Kriel Warriors run up to gum up and block charge lanes with two more getting charges onto the right hand flank. Thanks to Steady and Fervor they only have to put up with being MAT4, managing to kill one of the Forgeguard and then the all important one, he hits the Kriel Warrior and slams him 2 inches, enough to hit two Forgeguard, Aiyana and Holt but falling half an inch short of the Gobber Tinkerer. One of the Forgeguard dies, Holt dies but Aiyana is left on 1hp, the brave Kriel Warrior sadly does not pass his tough check. Aiyana needs to die, so Rock advances into Bart's control area and is consequently knocked down, but Doomie arcs a Primal Shock through him which auto kills her. Doomie also drops Refuge onto the Night Troll, and ditches a fury point. Other beasts advance, but otherwise remain out of charge range of the Forgeguard.

Turn 3
Upkeep Hotshot, 3 focus to the left hand Galleon. The right side Galleon gets Artillerist and Powder Rations before rolling up 4 shots, fires them all at the Night Troll hoping for kind deviations and blast damage rolls. Two of them manage to land on the Runebearer, but he rolls a triple one for the first damage roll and he passed a tough check on the second one. The Night Troll comes out unscathed, the Forgeguard clean up most of the Kriel Warriors, with only the standard and Piper left but they pass their command check. Bart cycles Hot Shot onto the left hand Galleon who opens fire at the knocked down Rok, getting the maximum 6 shots which do average damage, he then hits and drags him in with the Harpoon and he subsequently dies to the auto hitting melee attack. The piper again gives the Forgeguard tough.

Leech all fury, upkeep both spells. Time for my feat turn, losing Rok was a shame but it was important to kill one of his two damage buffers and I felt Rok to be more expendable than the Mauler. Runebearer goes first, giving Harmonious Exaltation to Doomie who pops his feat, is annoying about 1/4 inch away from dropping Rage on Mulg, but also needs to advance closer to the Axer and Mauler, dropping Rage on 1 for 1 fury, and on the other for free. He primal shocks a Forgeguard just to ditch some of the fury to leech back what I am feeling pretty safe to say will be a lot of fury on the board. Krielstone uses +2 ARM and +1 STR and then the Mauler charges the Galleon, wrecking him with his last attack and saving the Axer from having to commit there. He instead walks up to a bunch of Forgeguard and threshers all three of them, killing two out of the three, buying one more attack to kill that last one who had passed a tough check previously. The Night Troll charges two Forgeguard, killing them both and using Allure and then advancing via Refuge behind them all. Mulg charges into the other Galleon and proceeds to wreck him too, killing him with his final attack from his affinity.

Turn 4
That was a bad turn for Bart, he has 3 Forgeguard, Piper, Ragman, Tinkerer and Bart himself left and I have everything except Rok and most of my Kriel Warriors. Bart is forced to charge into and kill the Night Troll so that the remaining forgeguard can actually charge at Mulg. Ragman walks up and puts up Death Field and they charge Mulg, taking about half his boxes off him. Piper walks up to try to block the Axer off and McDougall quad fires a Kriel Warrior, who passes the one tough check he had to make as all the other 3 shots failed to break ARM.

I take all the fury from Mulg and the Axer, the Mauler manages to roll a 3 and pass his threshold test. An unexpected bonus but I will take it, I upkeep Wild Aggression and start with the Runebearer who walks up and uses Harmonious Exaltation on Doomie. The Mauler walks up and eats the Piper, freeing up the way for the Axer to get into the support at the back. He proceeds to do so, walking up and threshing Ragman, two of the three Forgeguard and McDougall. Doomie puts Rage onto Mulg, primal shocks through him to kill the last Forgeguard member and heals Mulg's mind, and Mulg then charges across the wreck of the Galleon into Bart and eats his face off.

Summary
Bart can always be a challenge, and a double Galleon list can bring a lot of hurt if you aren't prepared to deal with the armour. I still need to work on my unpacking of the list a little, a few guys got in each other's way turn 1 but that will come with practice. The list worked very well and I am happy with how it plays and the different options it presents.

Doomshaper: 8/10
Kept the army ticking along, throwing out the occasional primal shock and passing around Animi like candy. His feat as usual just gives so much speed to the list that it was game winning.

Mauler: 9/10
One rounded a colossal worth double his points, and his animus was useful all over the board. Caber Throwers with Rage do a lot of direct damage, and POW10 collateral is enough to threaten most infantry. Also ate the piper and passed a threshold check, so two thumbs up for that achievement.

Rok: 6/10
Didn't do anything this game, but was used as a sacrificial pawn to kill off Aiyana which by itself justified his sacrifice. Would have been safely behind cover if I hadn't failed to roll a 6+ to kill her with the Caber bowling.

Mulg: 9/10
Murdered yet another colossal, tanked three Forgeguard charges and them proceeded to kill an ARM22 Bart without batting an eyelid. Easily justified his inclusion for the caster that I think gives him more than any other caster in the faction.

Axer: 7/10
A steady performance from the Axer, he killed five Forgeguard, McDougall and Ragman and so earned his points back no problem. Never needed rush in this game, but was always an option that the opponent needed to be wary of.

Night Troll: 8/10
Played two key roles in the game. First of all he protected Mulg from being dragged by the second Galleon, and when my feat turn came around the Refuge Allure combo forced Bart to commit to killing him right in front of Mulg because otherwise the Forgeguard couldn't get to Mulg. Major impact.

Runebearer: 7/10
Kept Doomshaper's fury efficiency ticking over, and actually passed a tough check for once. Quiet but efficient.

Kriel Warriors: 8/10
Steady justified their inclusion over the likes of Warders or Fennblades, Kriel Warrior bowling should have killed Aiyana with below average dice but she survived only to be Primal Shocked to death. Proved to be a pain for the entirety of the game as they usually do.

Krielstone: 8/10
The Mauler would not have killed the Galleon without the +1 STR aura, as he filled in its final box exactly with his final attack. Other than that, the +2 ARM didn't really do much over the course of the game, but the utility always justifies its inclusion.

The Art of Trollbloods War ~ Stone 1 Planning

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 15:39:00 +0000

Prior to waging war there are five major elements that must be considered in order to make a proper evaluation or game plan to achieve success as a Trollkin General. Before you ever hit the table or even make your army lists there are factors to consider that will make you a more complete player and have you more prepared to expand your horizons in different metas and tournaments:

1) The Moral Law ~ In the Art of the War this is gaining the support of the people. In our game, this is knowing what each of your models does (i.e. know their card and have ample table experience with them.) and be consistent in the way you use them.

2) Heaven ~ Know your area, seriously, the first time I traveled to play this game I went to Seattle. Where I live if it rains you wait five minutes and the storm is over. When I was in Seattle it rained for a few days straight... wish I'd have brought a rain coat.   Check the forecast and prepare accordingly, if it is 100 degrees outside don't wear a coat.

3) Earth ~ This is also dealing with preparation.   Know the different terrain types we use in our game and how they affect your guys and be familiar with typcial distances we use.   Ask a few questions to check yourself: Is it rough terrain or not and do I need pathfinder? Can I see into it or through it? Does being on or in it hurt or help me? Can I stand on it?   Can I eyeball Grim Angus' range on his gun with and without Farstrike? etc.    This comes with practice and a little paying attention.

4) Commander ~ The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are (1) humanity or benevolence; (2) uprightness of mind; (3) self-respect, self-control, or "proper feeling;" (4) wisdom; (5) sincerity or good faith.   This can be a sensitive subject for some folks but it pays to think about what kind of a person you are going to be before you play.   As a Press Ganger I have seen players lose before they ever hit the table.

Benevolence - Be understanding of your opponents desires but don't give in to bullying.
Uprightness of mind - Be honest in all your interactions, don't manipulate the rules, don't be overbearing, keep it straight. Winning because you act like a dink only makes you a dink in the long run.
Self-Control - Keep your own emotions under control, lose graciously and win graciously.
Wisdom - Think what your actions are going to do BEFORE you do them as you interact with others.
Good Faith - Trust your opponent to be straight and expect them to be so as well

5) Discipline ~ Being disciplined means to consistent. It means that you don't have to take the easy path, you can be better, being better is the hard road. In our game we take the hard road. Make a long term game plan and stick with it. Discipline also includes, taking a shower, putting on a clean shirt and putting on deodorant. Discipline is keeping all your things together as you move from table to table.

Considerations

A proper Trollkin General asks them self many questions when evaluating their ability.
(a) Do you know the cards for all your models nearly by memory?
(b) Do you have more ability than your opponent and how do you use it to advantage?
(c) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth, home field advantage yours or not?
(d) How disciplined are you and your opponent?
(e) Which army is stronger? [Morally as well as physically.]
(f) On which side are key models better used?
(g) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

Answering these questions can help you forecast your own victory. Don't let yourself be beat before the game even starts.

Use any helpful information you can to help you have more knowledge. I used to play regularly against a player than won all over the country. He was most certainly better than me as a player but he rarely beat me. The only advantage I had over him was that I understood him, I knew how he typically reacted and what things gave him trouble.

All warfare is based on deception. This is not in regards to being deceitful. This is an approach to the game. We share information freely, but I often carry an attitude about certain models whether or not they are worth the accord. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Give your enemy bait to entice them into action that is to your benefit.

If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him.
If he is in superior strength, evade him.
If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.
Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.

If his forces are united, separate them.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Think and prepare much before hand so you can achieve victory and eliminate surprises.

Preparation and attitude before the particulars of your army are made is HUGE!@!! and often is the difference between guys that win a lot, and guys that almost win a lot.

The Art of Trollbloods War by TheGreatBlah

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 14:56:00 +0000

The following series of articles are a summary of the Trollkin Military treatise attributed to Horfar Grimmr, a high ranking Molgur general, bloodthirsty warrior, strategist and tactician, wielder of Rathrok and purportedly greatest Trollkin warrior to have ever walked Caen.

These ancient runes were found and transcribed into modern Trollkin Runes in 482 AR by Stone
Scribe Elder Gron Runeknuckle and have become one of the foundations in Trollblood military strategy. The Kriel Stones containing the body of this work can still be found in the heart of the Glimmerwood and many great Trollkin Chieftains have made the trek to study the work in its entirety. The size and power of this collection of Kriel Stones are great as is the body of work contained within. In these trying times it is the hope of the United Kriel that's it's location can remain secret to the Trollbloods and the work can be preserved for future generations. It is purported that some of the greatest Chieftains of the United Kriel have studied it's work including; Madrak Ironhide, Grissel Bloodsong, Grim Angus, Horgle Ironstrike, Horthol, and Calandra Truthsayer. Rumor persists that all United Kriel leaders have or will study from these powerful stones firsthand.

While studying from them directly is recommended for the power contained within the runes themselves adds much to the process, the runes themselves should be available to all Trollkin far and wide. It is for this reason that I will attempt to provide a summary of each of the stones so that all leaders in the United Kriel can receive at least the knowledge contained in the runes if not the power of studying them directly.

This body work can be divided into three main categories

A) Positional Strategy

Stone 1) Planning

Stone 2) Battle

Stone 13) Spies

B) Expansion Strategy

Stone 3) Planning the Attack/Expansion

Stone 4) Positioning

Stone 5) Force or Momentum

Stone 6) Weakness or Strength

Stone 7) Armed Conflict

C) Situational Strategy

Stone 8) Adapting to the Situation

Stone 9) Enemy Intentions

Stone 10) Field Position

Stone 11) Terrain

Stone 12) Environmental Attacks

This collection of stones was inscribed in the order by which the have been numbered by Scribe Gron and are typically studied in numerical order. It will be through some effort, but each of the Stone Shards will be sent out as they are made available by my team of scribes. Learn well my Trollkin brothers, there is much contained within the body of work Gron unearthed and truly Horfar's scribe must have been a favored child of Dhunia or more likely the Devourer, for with his runes Chieftan Grimmr's legacy continues. Though we now sever the Earth Mother instead of the Wurm, we are Trollkin, and we will not be denied our rightful place on Caen. May those who threaten our Kith and Kriel find themselves unprepared and on the wrong side of our axes.

Though some have started calling me an Elder Scribe, the ways of the warrior burn deep within me. It is this warrior that has trouble sleeping knowing there are so many that need these words.

Kithkar TheGreatBlah, former Piper of the Glimmerwood Kriel.

NOTE: The First Stone is nearly ready for distribution and should arrive within a few days the Kriel Shard Bearers bear the distinctive mark of the Rocksong Family Mercenary Clan

The Scrum Cast Ep.38

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:30:00 +0000

Goris has dropped the mic... go check it out on the Scrum Cast Page.

Episode 38

Trollblood Toolbox ~ Where To Start

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 19:51:00 +0000

Updated 07 July 2014 ~ See The Visual Companion by Celedor

The question on the Trollblood forums that is the most common is where to start and what to begin with when starting a Trollblood force.
There are many good choices in the Trollblood arsenal to choose from and picking the ones to begin with can be difficult. The first stop for any Trollblood player should be the Warpack; the Warpack has a few good things going for it. First of all it has some of the most solid Light Warbeasts available. Secondly is has a caster that helps showcase the way Trolls play and helps you begin to learn when and where to apply buffs. Finally, the cost is good, for what you get the cost is unbeatable.

WARPACK

Chief Madrak Ironhide ~ A solid caster with a very forgiving learning curve. He helps teach you to layer your buffing abilities and gives you a good feel for Trollblood playstyle. If you get in a jam, you don’t immediately lose the game, this is a good thing because when you’re new you make mistakes, not losing from those mistakes helps you learn.
Troll Impaler x2 ~ Quite possiby the best light warbeast in the game for a couple of reasons. Fantastic ranged attack, fantastic animus, decent in melee. He pretty much plays any way you want him to, this is great for a new Troll player and adds a good item to your ‘Toolbox’ as your army expands.
Troll Axer ~ Melee monster for a Light beast, hits hard, hits well, and hits multiple targets. His animus is good for extending a beasts movement. This guy won’t see every list you make, but he will be solid every time you bring him.

TOOLBOX
The next step in building your Trollblood force is to work on your’ Toolbox’. The ‘Trollblood Toolbox’ as defined by myself. Trollblood Toolbox ~ your most easily applied and widely useful abilities that affect the greatest majority of your models on the table or apply the best pressure where you need it. There are many good models with good abilities, but that doesn’t make them a toolbox model, a Toolbox model is one that brings things to the table that you can usefully apply anywhere its needed at any stage of the game. Most Toolboxes need four things: Damage Buff, Attack Buff, Defensive Buff, & Miscellaneous/Usage.

Below is a list of models that are ‘Toolbox Models’, YES, there are other GOOD choices, but in order to be Toolbox their application needs to be widely available. Any or all under each category will do.

Damage Buffing Models
Dire Troll Mauler, Melee ~ This Heavy Warbeast gets the job done for you. His animus is fantastic at increasing the melee or thrown damage output of any model in your army. On top of that he is an animal in melee with a good MAT, a solid Chain Attack, and very high Fury, not to mention two open fists giving him the option of the full range of power attacks.
Pyre Troll, Support ~ This light Warbeast is good for increasing the melee damage of any model in your army through use of his animus. With the added benefit of making that model immune to fire and have a chance to light what they hit on fire. With two open fists he can do the full range of power attacks available to light beasts. A very solid ranged AOE attack that lights anything on fire that it lands on, its only drawback being its short range.
Slag Troll, Range ~ The Slag Troll has the same melee damage buffing ability as the Pyre Troll but with corrosion instead of fire. Also boasting two open fists, his real strength outside his animus is his ranged attacks. Against any army that brings non-living models (i.e. Warjacks, Constructs, Undead) he gets additional dice.

Storm Troll, Range ~ Storm Troll gets mention here as a toolbox for his animus because autohitting electroleaps are pretty good for clearing infantry. Also put in his own ranged attack with it's boostable leaps and clearing is good. Top it off with the fact that Warjacks become disrupted if they hit him OR if he crits white hitting one in melee. This makes him good in many situations and golden in Speedmachine.

Elder Stone Scribe (Kriel Stone Bearer Unit Attachment), Support ~ This guy fits into many categories and is nearly the definition of a Toolbox model for a support model. One of his abilities lets you add STR to all models under the Kriel Stones Aura. Unlike the beasts above, he doesn’t give as much to a single model, but he gives a little to many models.
Rök ~ It's his animus 'Primal' that puts him up here. Rok brings one of the only hard MAT buffs we have for our beasts outside caster help. Throw in the STR buff as well and things start to look pretty awesome. Watch out for the Frenzy though.

Horgle Ironstrike, Support ~ Horgle gets mention here for his utility with Pyre Trolls and Slag Trolls for the sone reason that if you bring him with two of the aforementioned light beasts he can facilitate the casting of their animus FOUR TIMES per turn with ZERO draw on your Warlock. That alone makes him a toolbox model. Add in some situational spells and the ability to boost some good melee attacks with his Fury he gets the job done in melee when he has to. Keep him safe and life is good.

Attack Buffing Models
Fell Caller, Support ~ This solo is in fact our ‘Toolbox’ model. His Fell Calls add much to our warrior models abilities to move through rough terrain and hit better in melee. Perhaps his signature ability is his Fell Call to stand up everyone around him for free if they got knocked down. No slouch in melee himself, he is a weaponmaster with two attacks with decent speed he can typically get to his target first. On top of that he has a spray attack with good chances to hit. The Fell Caller is nearest thing Trolls have to an auto-include model.
Rök ~ See Above

Defensive Buffing Models
Stone Scribe Chronicler, Support ~ The chronicler adds much to our warrior models. He brings three stories to the table that affects our units. Two of them defensive in nature. The first increases our defense against anything that doesn’t ignore cover and makes them un-targetable at range if they roll tough and get knocked down. The next knocks down any warrior models that kill them in melee (this is probably the most used ability). The third story is more corner case, but useful at times, it gives additional attack and damage to our warrior models that go after something already engaged by a warbeast.
Swamp Gobbers, Support ~ These little guys make a cloud, our guys in the cloud get extra defense, our guys behind the cloud can’t be seen. Simple, cheap and effective. They are hard to hit directly, but quite vulnerable to AOE’s and collateral damage.
Kriel Stone Bearer, Support ~ Put some fury on him at the beginning of the game, spend one to make an aura that gives everyone in it a couple of extra ARM. With models that are easy to hit, our already decent ARM becomes quite good.
Earthborn Dire Troll, Melee ~ This heavy warbeast brings an interesting animus. If you play a lot of games without terrain (which you shouldn’t be doing) his animus is otherwise very solid. The animus, which is also a native ability on the Earthborn, gives you benefits for being within a couple of inches of certain kinds of terrain. Any rough terrain gives you a couple extra inches of movement, Structures/Rocks/Walls etc. will give you a couple of extra ARM, and water gives you a couple of extra DEF. (NOTE: Grim Angus standing in a pond with this animus on him is fantastic.) Some complain about the terrain requirements, but a good player knows how to use this animus to great effect. Top that off with a very fast beast, that hits very hard against targets with high POW weapons and this beast is a killer.
Janissa Stonetide, Magic Support ~ Janissa has the standard AOE of all the Runeshapers but hits better than they do making her great if you need an AOE. She also adds an ability to Runeshapers that help with control if you need it, though Runeshapers are hardly needed to bring Janissa. If you find yourself with the need to clear some enemies out of your way, move them up into charge range of a beast or get just get them off your back Tremor is great. Where she really shines though is with rock wall. Instant defense buff giving your models cover and allowing you to really mess up your opponents charge lanes makes Janissa one fantastic toolbox model.

Miscellaneous Use
Champions, Melee ~ Champions with very little work have very high ARM and hit hard. Add in some of the above mentioned buffs and they are quite good at bringing axe to mouth. Each sporting a couple of weaponmaster attacks, with added ARM if they are in base to base with each other they are a hard hitting, hard to kill, multiple-wound unit of destruction. The trick is of course getting them to the action, which is accomplished by presenting your opponent with other targets… or speedbumps.

Warders, Melee, Attrition ~ Though they lack the offensive output of Champions, with reach and good armor these guys can are difficult for almost all opponents to clear from the board. They can help you grab a zone and hold it, especially when one of them dies and you have the Kriel Stone up or any number of our other toolbox model's abilities.
Pyg Burrowers, Melee ~ Sevwall’s Burrownomicon will tell you all you need to know about these guys. Suffice it to say, they are a prime target for many of our Toolbox Models.
Kriel Warriors, Speedbump ~ Bakaryu’s guide to these guys is a good place to go. They take the hits for you and clog up the field allowing you to deliver your killing solution unscathed.
Fenn Blades, Speedbump ~ Not as beefy or numerous as Kriels, they have more speed and reach to make up for it. They engage more models making it harder for your opponent to get to your other stuff.

Some would include others models in their toolbox depending on playstyle or preference, but most can agree on the above list of 'Toolbox' Models.

WARLOCKS
While you work on your toolbox add in some flavor. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is by adding a Warlock. While some warlocks work better with troopers like Grissel and others favor more beasts like epic Doomshaper, and yet others are more self-sufficient like Grim Angus, all our warlocks can benefit from the ‘Toolbox’.

SPECIALISTS
Trollbloods have many other really good models to choose from and almost none of them are downright so bad you won’t want to bring them. Some of them that aren’t Toolbox models, are still by themselves quite good... amazing even. Pick the ones you like based on their looks, abilities or cost and you’ll like almost all of them. Really though, make sure to work on your toolbox so you can round out any army you decide to field with something that can fill the gaps for you.

Remember, toolbox models don't have to be in your arsenal but this Trollblood player (i.e. TheGreatBlah) recommends you bring at least one from each category in the games you play. Happy hunting my fellow Trollbloods. "Axe to Mouth Baby!"

Core Concepts: Strategy, Tactics, Placement.... Part 1

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 19:35:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to the Scrumcast...

Oh crap, sorry about that. Sometimes I just miss those corny intros.

Intro

So way back I wrote about different strategies and tactics I would utilize to try to get the most effectiveness out of my army. I wanted to bring some of that back but start with a broader topic about the fundamentals of this game.

Now for many of you the topics covered in this article may seem rudimentary. I would urge you to not dismiss them because of this. Knowing these things and executing them in each game, turn, and move is completely different. Doing these things in a timely manner is to master the basics of this game.

Define it for me

So let's jump in by defining what I mean by strategy, tactics, and placement. Strategy is your over all vision of how you see the game playing out. Tactics are the means to which you achieve the milestones defined by your strategy. Placement is how you enable yourself to execute the tactics you are planning to utilize.

Let's Strategize

So once you know the scenario and opponent you are facing you should begin thinking about your path to victory. In this game we have a few paths to victory; Scenario, Caster Kill, and Clock. Now I know someone out there is going to start yelling about their screen "ATTRITION!!!". So let me explain, attrition is a means to any of those victory conditions. If attrition is as deep as your strategy goes, what will you do when you hit end game? For example when you finally choose scenario as your path to victory, will you have the pieces available and in place?

Of course you cannot expect everything to go as planned, after all your opponent has a brain too. So when working out your strategy it is key to identify the pieces that enable your path to victory. If you lose those pieces you need to have a back up plan. This may seem like I am telling you to be precog, but really with some experience you can identify the general flow of the game. And if something does happen that you never expected, in future games you can account for it.

The last piece for working out a sound strategy is identifying the pieces your opponent has that will hinder your path to victory. Again this takes experience and knowledge of your opponents army, so in each game you will be better able to do this. Sometimes you may even have to choose a different path to victory due to certain problem pieces. Identifying this before deployment is key to a winning strategy.

If you can come up with a basic strategy before deployment starts you are on the path to giving your opponent a great game. To wrap up this article lets try to lay out a very basic game plan.

Example???

The scenario is close quarters and I am playing Grim Angus vs. Cryx. I determine my best path to victory is scenario via dominating my flag. I set up 4 milestones;

Score turn 2 and contest the opponents flag
Clear my flag on turn 3 to score again, contest enemy flag, make Grim difficult to kill.
Clear my flag again turn 4 using feat for back to back points.
Clear my flag turn 5 for the win.

I know based on my milestones Grim and my flag cleaners are the key to victory. I can sacrifice much of my army as long as I have enough attacks to continue clearing my flag off. As for my jammers, I just need enough bodies to prevent my opponent from scoring back to back multiple times. Looking at my opponents deployment and army list I can determine the issues they will present and roughly what turn I will need to deal with them.

If I were to lose Grim, its game over, but if my opponent is able to swarm my flag or remove my enough of my flag cleaners I can attempt to audible to a caster kill. Because of the scenario and my mad grab for control points, my opponent is more than likely moving their caster forward to grab points of their own. If all hell has broken loose and there is no chance of getting their caster I will grab as many control and kill points as possible to help my tie breakers.

As for identifying the problem pieces my opponent has we know Raiders jamming into my flag can be a problem. As can a bile thrall getting too far forward and removing my flag cleaners. We won't dig much deeper than that for the sake of simplicity.

Next Time

That's all for part 1 of this series. Next time I will attempt to tackle tactics and give some examples from a game on vassal.

Thanks for reading,
-nosrek

With Our Powers Combined!

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 23:26:00 +0000

Next time on the Scrumcast we have one of our old pals and very special guest on with us to talk about breaking down basic strategy. You'll be pleased to know we are kidnapping Bloodrath from RFP and HCO to rap with us about stuff we know nothing about! You can check out his work here in his Graduate Level Gaming Articles.

List Philosophies: 2 and 3 List Format Theory

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 21:08:00 +0000

Quite a few Scrumcasts ago I spoke about the elusive third list. This sparked my interest enough to actually write about it in addition to rambling in your ear. So this series of articles will focus on the core Philosophies behind how we build in this meta. These are also entirely my opinion and are most likely false. So, feel free to discuss with me as we go on this adventure into hyperbole together!

The Goal
I want to foster meaningful conversation about how to choose lists and warlocks for tournaments at the 50pt level. So, with that in mind I will share my ideas based on my experience and what I think is strong for our faction. This unfortunately will mean I'll be discussing lists that not everyone can play. The biggest example would be Runes of War. I'm going to start by using my current tournament builds as examples and then I would use that as a point of reference to build off.

Getting Started
After discussing this with other players in my area I decided to expand my original idea from only 3 list events to include 2 list event building as well so that's where we are going to start. But before we get into lists I think it's important to talk about the climate of SR2014.

We are seeing a large shift in the larger meta to Warcasters and Warlocks with a large amount of board control or with control feats to maximize their effectiveness in scenario play. This tends to be a bit of a problem for us as a whole as our standard list builds can tend to be a bit slow over all. This I think is what has caused a recent shift in Troll list building. In addition we have also started seeing a shift toward armor spam from a number of factions. This has not been a huge problem for us in the past. However, to keep up with the changing Meta I feel like we need to focus on what we can do well as a faction to present our opponents with the biggest problems.

So, what are Trolls' greatest strengths?
- High model count tough army
- Fast infantry with reach or AD
- Runes of War
- Resilient Warlocks
- The Beast Brick

Starting out I think there are a few ways to build that work toward a goal of answering bad match ups or asking tough questions. For instance. Here is what I bring currently to a 2 list event.

Points: 50/50
Tiers: 4
Hoarluk Doomshaper (*7pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)

and

Points: 50/50
Grissel Bloodsong (*5pts)
* Pyre Troll (5pts)
* Ršk (11pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Pyg Burrowers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Trollkin Long Riders (Leader and 4 Grunts) (11pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)
Stone Scribe Chronicler (2pts)

So here's the gist of why I went in this direction.
Runes of War start with a solid base leaving my options open. But I compensated for it's apparently lack of mobility with a list designed to blitz across the board and be hard to clear out thus the Grissel list. It's a list that can play out of apparent bad match ups because it can simply make you lose on scenario if you don't address it properly or don't see the gimmick coming. So it really reinforces Runes of War's inherent strength in it's strong beast brick and cheap runeshapers.

Here's the key with this setup. Both warlocks have serious board control and denail. And you can't just list chicken out of really hard denial either because they are both difficult to fight against. So it puts people in a lose lose situation if they can't charge or cast spells or can't crack armor or...you get the point.

The Scrum Cast Episode 37

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 20:02:00 +0000

Come listen to the pre Lock and Load excitement in our latest episode. Post Lock and Load recording commencing.

Episode 37

The Scrum and Handcannon Team Up for Beer and Justice

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:00:00 +0000

I am proud to announce a TREMENDOUS collaborative effort on behalf of www.Trollbloodscrum.com and Handcannononline.com ! Coming soon to a Lock and Load near you we will be pleased to deliver a new and exciting hobby tool. BEER! That's right the Evil Geniuses of The Scrum and Handcannon have teamed up to enhance your hobby experience the best way we know how. So without further ado I would like to introduce you to our....

DOUBLE BARREL HANDCANNON DOUBLE IPA

Have no fear folks the beer is in its infancy now but come four weeks time it will be bottled and ready for enjoyment! Stay tuned both here and Handcannononline.com for updates on the brewing process including step by step instructions on how we will construct our delicious brew.

New Blitzer! Holy shit!

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 07:14:00 +0000

Ladies and Gentelmen... Our next Dire Troll....

He's Lesser, but not Least

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 05:06:00 +0000

Hello again fellow scrummers. Today we're here to introduce, for those that haven't met him, are new friend Horgle Ironstrike. So let's get to the nitty gritty and just look at what the big guy can do.

Picture posted by Celebros on the PP Forums

His stat line isn't bad he's decent SPD 5, so without buffs threats 8.5". He hits as accurately as a fennblade with MAT 6, and his RAT is negligible since he lacks a range weapon. Standard troll def and base 15 ARM, but a nice 17 when under the stone. He's also fearless, tough, and immune to fire attacks. He's got 8 wounds, like a good troll, and fury 4, so with ARM 17 he has some survivability (still better off then some of the Lesser Warcasters).

He's got two weapons, both without reach, and are magical weapons. His POW 11 sword also causes continuous fire, his hammer is POW 12 with Critical Ram. Though with the Stone easily made POW 12 and 13. With his Pyre or Slag animus POW 14 and 15. Or have your caster bring a Mauler and he becomes POW 15 and 16. Add eMadrak and you have up to six MAT 6 weapon master attacks, one at POW 15, the other five at POW 16 and if the target isn't dead it is on fire. So even without beasts this guy can be considered a crazy combat solo for late game.

Even with his crazy melee potential it's crazy not to take beasts with him. Mind you he is limited to Slag and Pyre trolls, though both come at a 1 pt discount if in his battle group. He also has the rule Burnt Meat which situationally allows beasts in his battle group to charge models for free that are suffering from continuous fire. So if he needs a little help in melee they can follow him in for free, or charge in after a Pyre troll sets it on fire with its gun. Speaking of guns Horgle has the 2 COST spell Hot Shot, which boosts the ranged damage rolls of one of his beasts in his battle group. This at first didn't strike me as great, but looking back now I realise that I was just being stupid. On a Pyre troll you now have focus to boost the attack roll and cast his animus on something else, because everything under that 3" AOE is going to suffer boosted POW 6. The Slag can now pay to boost its initial range attack roll, still pay for a second shot, and boost the attack roll, because the spell makes sure you get that fourth die on damage against non-living models. Initially I thought Horgle was going to receive a distance buff to ranged attack rolls, but I'm just as happy with boosted damage rolls.

Horgle's second spell is Molten Metal, an offensive COST 2, RANGE 10 spell that puts one point of damage in every column of a Jack's damage grid. It is a little situational, as it is only effective against Warmachine factions, and while it has a little more threat then his charge, it isn't nearly as effective as actually just charging.

I feel that Horgle will be a fine addition to our future endeavours in the Iron Kingdoms. Many of our casters are focused starved and won't mind a 3 COST melee monster that can also sit back and throw out Slag and Pyre animuses, while they are busy casting other spells or fueling the Krielstone. I can't wait for June to get this guy on the table.

If you guys have any questions, comments, or suggestions throw me an email here, drop a comment below or pm me on the forums, otherwise have a good week and may all your dice roll tough.

- CrashWest

Epic Borka

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Goris) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:43:00 +0000

Start the rumor mill folks. Borka's concept art has been leaked and he's everything I ever wanted in life... In all seriousness though I don't see how this could be bad in any way possible. So let's hear it... I want to hear your wild speculation on what he does!
- Goris

High DEF Trolls?

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:36:00 +0000

Last week I shared my thoughts on an ARM skew list, which is undoubtably trolls easiest and most common skew. ARM skewing is possibly one of trolls greatest assets and we possibly pull it off the best. With ARM buffs coming out our wazoo it doesn't surprise anyone these days to see a heavy armour troll list across the table, however not so many expect a DEF skew from trolls.

In trolls we aren't without our DEF buffing warlocks. Calandra, Borka, pMadrak, Gunnbjorn, and Jarl all have the tools to help raise the DEF stat in some way.

Calandra has her Star-Crossed and Bullet Dodger spells to skew our trolls chance of avoiding attacks.

Star-Crossed - this is the main reason to take Calandra, it basically is a reverse Signs and Portents, which means that enemy models in Calandra's control area roll an extra attack dice, but drop the highest. It's pretty sweet and can be very upsetting for some opponents.
Bullet Dodger - this spell only works on a model and provides them with +2 DEF against ranged attacks and gives the model dodge. It isn't as great as star-crossed, but it does help protect her base DEF 14 fat ass.

With troll models this is a nice change of pace to have an army that feels like its base DEF 14. Pyg units, Scouts, and SoB also really like this spell as they are DEF 13 base, and really benefit the most out of the troll army. However in Minions/Mercenaries we find Nyss and Boomhowlers, who I believe really benefit the most. Nyss at base DEF 15 love the dice manipulation, and Boomhowlers become even harder to kill. I mention Boomhowlers so I guess I'll use them to segue into Borka.

Borka has iron flesh and access to his NQ tier list Family Reunion.

Iron Flesh - a basic upkeep that provides an additional 3 DEF at the cost of negative 1 SPD
Family Reunion - this tier list allows Borka to take Boomhowlers as in faction, provides Advance Moves, access to an army wide Tale of Mists first turn, and discounted Champion models

Iron Flesh alone on Borka is nice it does help in jamming zones once our models get there, but its -1 to SPD does hamper our models getting there. The tier list helps get around this. For every Champion Hero solo in the list one medium based unit gets Advance Move. So Boomhowlers and often a Champion units are the ones to benefit from this placing the Bomhowlers 6" up the board and Champions 5" prior to the beginning of the first players first turn. Now casting iron flesh wouldn't not be the disadvantage it once was. Also combined with the first turn Tales of Mists we have a DEF 15 unit against melee, and DEF 17 against ranged attacks that don't ignore concealment. Not bad, and this tactic can be upkept throughout the game as long as the Chronicler stays alive. The Boomhowlers can also jack up the skew a little more with their fell call, Rage Howler, which causes enemy Warjacks and Warbeasts currently in their control area to have -2 to attack rolls for a round. Thus this makes them Def 17 and 19 against if they become the target. It is situational and 4,5,6 tough is a pretty good alternative, so it can be a tough choice. Borka can provide some pretty high DEF stats when he needs to, but I do feel it often is forgotten in the context in the rest of his tier lists benefits.

pMadrak is next on our list of DEF casters and he provides the spell sure foot.

Sure Foot - a targeted friendly faction model gains +2 DEF and Steady and every friendly faction model in 3" of the targeted model also receive the same benefits

This is a pretty handy spell and combine it with a beast brick and Janissa's wall you have some pretty agile beasts, Mulg is DEF 17 against shooting and DEF 15 attacking over Janissa's wall with reach. Every other beast 18/16. Add a Krielstone to the mix and you have a very annoying list capable of skewing both ARM and DEF.

Gunnbjorn I've talked about before, so I'll quickly revisit him. Basically his feat provides cover for a turn, so +4 DEF against guns for a turn is pretty sweet. He also has a wall he can place anywhere in his control area to provide that +4 DEF to a selective few outside feat turn. Gunnbjorn isn't much of a skew, but it is important to note that he does provide something outside the basic ARM list.

Finally we reach Jarl who actually has probably the most access to DEF buffs in faction. He has Weald Secrets, Quicken, and his feat.

Weald Secrets - this spell gives a friendly model/unit camouflage and pathfinder, in this case camouflage is the important bit, as a model benefiting from cover or concealment receives an additional +2 DEF
Quicken - gives +2 SPD and +2 DEF against ranged attacks
Rolling Fog - puts down d3+3 4" clouds that don't block friendly faction model's LOS, while in the clouds friendly faction models can move through terrain and obstacles without penalty, advance through obstructions and friendly models if they have enough movement, and most importantly living enemy models suffer a -2 to attack rolls while in the clouds

Basically Jarl is the King of DEF skew in trolls. Using Fennblades as an example with Weald Secrets on them standing in the feat clouds they are DEF 18 against charging living models (base DEF 12 + WS 2 + Set Defense 2 + clouds 2 = DEF 18) and DEF 16 against shooting. Out of feat turn they can be DEF 16 against charges using the Swamp Gobbers or the Chronicler. Quicken also provides some great protection on the approach, but doesn't stack as nicely as Weald Secrets. Boomhowlers can do similar stacking using Weald Secrets, the feat clouds, and Rage Howler. There are a lot of options with Jarl and I believe that again base 15 Nyss are not a bad option when stacking these buffs, they might not have as many additional modifiers but +4 from concealment and camouflage still puts them at DEF 19.

Trolls don't have as many obvious DEF skews as they do ARM skews and they aren't as prevalent as those found in Khador, but with work they definitely have a place in the meta. Especially when everyone is worried about an ARM skew these days. We as troll players also have the additional benefit of having the Krielstone and normal answers to high DEF skew like blast damage aren't as effective as they are with DEF skews like Iron Flesh Kayazy. Many warmachine and hordes players see trolls across the table and reach for their anti-ARM list, and probably won't even notice the DEF synergies that these casters provide, some are more obvious, but a DEF skew is a bit of dark horse for us, so why not take advantage? Lets show the community that Trolls are not just a high ARM stat.

Grim Angus, Trials and Tribulations Part 1

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:23:00 +0000

One year when visiting my father for the holidays he introduced me to the great game of Warmachine & Hordes. I was instantly drawn to the hordes side of the house. The Grim Angus artwork and blurb drew me into the Trollblood faction instantly. After numerous defeats I shelved Grim and moved on to other casters. Now almost two years later Grim Angus and I have been hitting the dojo and it's time for his triumphant return.

First things first lets have a look at my Grim list.
Grim Angus
*Earthborn
*Bomber
*Imapler
-Runebearer
Gatorman Witch Doctor
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Scattergunners
-Scattergunner UA
Burrowers
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes
-Stone Scriber Elder
Min Farrow Bone Grinders
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

If I could define Grim Angus in one word it would be Versatile. I wanted to compound this strength by making his list as versatile as possible. I do run a great risk of having too much overlap thus making the list a heaping pile of shit. However, each model in the list is fairly proficient at multiple roles so the trick will be making the most of each piece. I am very light on armor cracking in this list which could also pose a problem. The list is meant to be paired with a beast brick and longrider caster though, so I can potentially avoid an armor skew match-up. If I find myself in an armor skew match-up (which I will do in a battle report) I hope the list has enough jam and denial to squeeze out a scenario victory before I am forced to deal with the armor.

I think the list has many strengths and I would sum them up as follows; jam, counter-jam, and denial.

Show me your Kithkar Entry Extension

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 19:39:00 +0000

Competition entry will be extended throughout the duration of the painting competition. Meaning as long as you let me know you want in and follow the instrcutions in the original post, then your model will be considered and voted upon when this is done. GET YE TO PAINTING!!!

Geek Garage

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 22:45:00 +0000

One of my favorite things to do when I am glueing and painting models, or even just thinking real hard about getting starting is perusing other sites that have helps on how to accomplish this. Really lets face it, I need all the help I can get when painting models right. A site that I frequently visit is Geek Garage (Check the banner on the right). They often run competitions, they have a forum that you can ask questions or seek advice on and they post a little bit on local events. Check them out when you have time, and if you are overly ambitious you can get something painted up for the intermountain cup (yeah it's in two weeks, but you hardcore painters can do it, I know it.) See the flier below for more info and go check them out.

The Geek Garage Painting Competition at Intermountain Cup returns as the:

Salty Dwarf Painting Competition!

March 15th at the IMC in Ogden Utah, we the Geek Garage, will be hosting an open painting competition. Complete with prizes!

Here are the details:

$10 Registration fee per entry ($5 if pre-registering*)

2 Categories

1st Category any models on a small or medium sized base (40mm and smaller)

2nd Category models on large bases and bigger (50mm and larger)

Prizes will be awarded for top three in each category!

Competition Rules:

-Entrant must have painted the

fig themselves. No commissions.

-Entries must be received by 12 noon

-The fig will be on display throughout

the day. DO NOT enter a fig if you

plan to use it in the tourney as well.

-Entrant must be present to collect the prize.

Winners will be announced after round 3

(between 5pm and 7pm) of the IMC.

-You do not have to play in the tournament

to enter the painting competition.

-By entering the contest, you give the

Geek Garage rights to post/publish pictures

of the figures and Artists where we deem necessary.

*Pre-Registration details: Send Pay Pal payment to thegeekgarage@gmail.com leaving a note with a name and

category along with payment.

Any questions feel free to contact us at thegeekgarage@gmail.com

Now grab those brushes and start slinging some paint!!

-Geek Garage

Show Me Your Kithkar *Competition Update**

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 03:34:00 +0000

We have expanded the model selection for the 'Show Me Your Kithkar' painting competition to include additional models from our most recent release.

You may paint the following for this competition:
Trollkin Fennblade Kithkar
Night Troll
Trollkin Sorcerer
The Hunters Grim
Trollkin Warders
Mountain King

Additional models that were completed previous to the competition date can submit pictures of those models for a chance to win a Trollbloodscrum Dice Set or Patch.

See the Competition Announcement http://www.trollbloodscrum.com/2014/03/show-me-your-kithkar-painting.html for more details.

Show Me Your Kithkar!!! (Painting Competition)

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 02:31:00 +0000

Our newest painting competition is up and ready to go. As you can see by the new logo on the side of the page. Lawn Battle ship is starting off a kickstarter (More information on it coming soon) and they have generously offered to sponsor this painting competition by giving two lucky winners a $25 gift card to either amazon.com OR Discount games... they're deciding okay. Anyway here is the nuts and bolts.

1)Enter the competition by emailing thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com no later than MARCH 7th.
a) Subject Line of the email should be 'Show Me Your Kithkar'. If you don't use this subject line, I probably won't find it.
b) Please give your Name, forum name if you have one, and any other information you deem pertinenet.
2)Obtain a Trollkin Kithkar or any model release for Trollbloods in Gargantuans (The Hunters Grim, Sorcerer, Night Troll, Warders or Mountain King) and send a pic of your unpainted, or partially unpainted, or painted but no yet complete, kithkar in the email.
3)Spend the next few weeks painting said kithkar.
4)Send a photo of your completed kithkar by March 28th for us to review.

That's it, its that easy. Trollbloodscrum will post your completed kithkars as they come in and announce the winners on April 1st. YES April Fools day.

Notes: Members of Trollbloodscrum CAN participate, but you probably wont win. It will still be awesome though. Also, you need not OWN the kithkar you paint we just want to make sure you are the one that painted it.

The Scrum Cast Episode 34

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (TheGreatBlah) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 02:19:00 +0000

Go check it out and keep yer eyes peeled here for our new painting competition.

http://scrumcast.trollbloodscrum.com/2014/03/the-scrum-cast-ep34.html

Mabrothrax goes to Smogcon

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:23:00 +0000

Bring it on.

This will be a quick post as I'm about to go get a train to Heathrow airport to meet a good friend of mine, then we're off to...

Smogcon is currently the UK's only dedicated Warmachine & Hordes convention (it does other stuff too) and this year the organisers have really stepped up to the challenge of presenting an American style con over three days in a hotel, well, two hotels actually because demand was so high they needed a second venue.

As well as Press Ganger duties (an 18 hour straight shift in the Smog Pit (think Iron Arena)), I'm entering the Iron Gauntlet and Hardcore tournaments, and plan to get in as much casual gaming as my body will allow.

I'm trolling all the way and playing both my eGrissel list and Calandra theme force in the IG, and still undecided on eDoomshaper or eGrissel for the Hardcore.

I'm not looking to win big, but I am going to have a great time, and hopefully really learn a lot about my armies and my own playing by exposing it to a multi-national meta of (wannabe?) top players.

Once the sleep deprivation has worn off and I've returned to normality I'll have convention report up. In the meantime, please do follow me and goad/insult/encourage on twitter @unicronsbeard

Keep rolling tough!

Mabrothrax, #trollingtrollswithtrolls & playing like he's got ~~a pair~~ sleep deprivation.

Mabrothrax Muses: Hunters Grim and Gators

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 13:52:00 +0000

Eat, Sleep, Gator, Repeat

I have a hard time with eGrim. Sort of. I was very pleased with the work put into the Hunters Grim challenge by the Scrumm boys, but disappointed that there was no real discussion after that. The only pseudo general consensus is that Scatter gunners are worth taking, and that burrowers are fun on the feat turn.

Mortality is amazing, it gets the job done and is the ultimate turd polisher, the feat gives that one turn of living the dream - assuming you go all out with Trollblood ranged options. Mirage gives a decent amount of movement shenanigans, the other spells are situational. This we all know.

I find that he doesn't handle the Kriel stone well, which is fine - I'm not addicted to it, but many of my units are. His beast selection, in my opinion, is very open to interpretation. Personally I don't enjoy the Bomber/Impaler plug-in.

I've tried these battle groups and found each of them to be successful:Blitzer, Pyre, StormPyre, Storm, StormBlitzer & Rok

My selection of units has never really settled. My adorable Warders, even with Mirage, don't quite do it right and almost demand the Stone (and a Storm troll) to really get things done which ends up being taxing on eGrim's Fury. Sons of Bragg always perform well, and don't require additional resources although the Chronicler gives them a little something that I like.

Valkine recently posted about his thoughts with pGrim and I'm very interested in his ideas, inparticular how (if) they crossover to eGrim.

Gatorman Posse look to be a strong unit choice with eGrim. Compared to Warders or Champs...

Costed between Warders and Champs

Slightly less armour (does not require B2B)

Same boxes

Two initials and Reach

Faster in most circumstances

Built in Pathfinder

Higher P&S

...and so on.

In a similar fashion I think Wrong Eye and Snapjaw give a very good flanking option, and a mean heavy that can make good use of Mortality. Submerge and again their independence takes the pressure off of eGrim and require less investment in Trollblood support pieces.

This is a very sketchy idea at present that needs tearing apart and putting back together again. I would love to have Rok in the list for some beserk action and the ability to Primal Snapjaw when it's needed. The blitzer feels at home with eGrim, and the idea of having a trinity of heavy beasts very much appeals. If I took out Rok, I'd add a unit of Scouts, a Chronicler and a Swamp/Night Troll as a fury battery.

Hunters Grim (+4)Runebearer 2Blitzer 9Rok 11Gatorman Posse 9Wrongeye & Snapjaw 9Pyg Bushwhackers 8Sons of Bragg 6

Alternatively, drop WE&SJ for a 2nd GMP - then Rok seems less appealing, in which case a Slag and five other points on a Storm/Pyre or Scouts.

The bottom line - GMP replaces the need for a lot of support and get as much if not more out Mortality when their prayers and abilities are taken into account. With the exception of his feat, eGrim doesn't need/support many of the Trollblood options, leaving him to get as much, if not more value from out of faction choices.

Also posted on the Muse on Minis forums:
http://museonminis.com/forums/index.php?topic=3375.0

Mabrothrax,
#TrollingTrollsWithTrolls (and this week, Gators)

Templecon Keynote... Mabrothrax ponders

thegreatblah@trollbloodscrum.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 18:04:00 +0000

Hurry up and wait

Well, it happened...

The new book will feature female Warlocks for Farrow and Gators as well as battle engines for both Minion pacts, a rather splendid heavy Nephalim character, units of mini warbeasts (as if shredder spam wasn't enough), Xerxis on a Rhino, what looks like a new Circle character beast...

our 'Lesser Warlock' Horgol Ironsmith, who'll have an affinity for (and reduce cost of) Slag and Pyre trolls:

Sounds like a fun guy, and I welcome the idea of Lesser Warlocks as pseudo Fury management. One pic that appeared was these guys...

Highwaymen? I'm betting two hand cannons CRA or Gang, possible assault and maybe gunfighter. Scouts on steroids. At least I hope so, I was never sold on the light cavalry idea.

Another brief pic is this one of Calandra, with an axe (not her dagger, 'salt'), I assumed a sneaky hint of Epic Calandra, but apparently it's an old IKRPG piece of artwork. Can anyone verify this?

The only other things of note, for Trollbloods at least - "no reach in the book", "no warbeast units for trolls (in this book)"
No preview of a Warlock, though teh Skorne cavalry Warlock bodes well for a Troll on a Tuffalo, and te comments about crazy stuff and battle engines has me wondering.

Meanwhile the Hordes Faction dice have officially been previewed...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152227899715242.1073741837.23665620241&type=1

Lots to moan and speculate about on the forums. See you out there!

Mabrothrax
#TrollingTrollsWithTrolls