When the office day is dragging, get your blog on about those models/games you'd try if money was no object.

Good afternoon everyone,

It's been a busy week at work for me catching up after the snowstorms shut us down for a few days and I have to say that the blogs I follow have been quieter than usual, giving me fewer fun diversions from work. I decided therefore to indulge in the age-old pastime of writing down a dream shopping list (of sorts) to say what I would do if I had the time and money. Hey, it's fun and it also lets me talk about all sorts of different miniature games. So on we go. I'm restricting this list to realistic choices (so no buying 3 Forgeworld Mantas) so that perhaps in a few years I can look back and see how many I could genuinely accomplish.


Warhammer 40k

Despite my reasonably heavy investment here I still have many things that I would like to expand in the game. I'll go by army.

Space Marines - I feel like I've pretty much done what I want to do with my marine force. It's not the biggest army but I have a pretty solid selection and I don't have any major expansions I want to make. I'd love to get an ironclad dreadnought and maybe a big squad of scout bikers but that's it. I like the way they play and I think that I have a reasonable handle on how to use them. I will be picking up the Storm Harbinger (if that's the name they are using now) from the rumoured Blood Angels release but this will be an opponent's permission or apoc unit only. I'm not tempted by any of the special flavours of marines except perhaps to get the wolf guard terminator set and using them to convert AOBR terminators with the mass of special weapons in the set.

Imperial Guard - An army that I'd love to collect but it's just too much of a model count for me. I think I might pick up a squad or two to fit into a general Imperial force for apocalypse or some 40k roleplaying.

Daemon and Witch Hunters - I love the character of these forces but they aren't something that I'm interested in making into whole armies unless there is a big change into cool plastic boxed sets. I like my Grey Knights and I would consider getting a few bits from each if I get the inspiration and money.

Tau Empire - Ah my lovely tau. This is an army that needs minimal investment (a battleforce and perhaps another hammerhead) to be complete for the time being. If I really wanted to flesh it out, I'd probably be tempted by some forge world tetras. I can see this one growing bit by bit like my marines.

Orks - I have loved the crazy vibe that orks originally had in 40k for a long time. I think the best part of it for me was when Andy Chambers and Jervis Johnson fought a White Dwarf battle report where Abaddon teleported into an orky village to beat the warboss into submission. It was a crazy mismatch of orkish ingenuity and chaos power that really was a good laugh. Now the orks have taken on a meaner vibe in the setting but I still really like the idea of playing a greenskin force. I have a painted set of AOBR orks and the temptation is constantly there to get another set and a few more models to bulk them up. The problem is that with such a numerous army, I would need to really invest a lot of time and money to make them playable even at 1850 points. Long term backburner project overall methinks, though those new Killa Kans are sweet.

Eldar - I'm temped here just for the idea of playing lightning fast elite warriors. That and having some of the coolest sniper models for rangers. I think I'd probably not be too competitive with these guys as I'd just want to play all the pretty models. This is a real possibility as OSH has tempted me with the offer of some second hand models for cheap.



Chaos Daemons/marines - I grouped these two together because I feel that they have so many links and I wish they could be played together all of the time. I've been getting a great fondness for Nurgle in all of the background and that's the way I'd want to play. In particular, there is such an evocative (and gross) section in the Chaos Daemons codex that describes the garden of Nurgle. If I made such an army it would be a few sets of marines and terminators (with FW Nurgle torsos), led by Typhus and backed up by some gribbly nurgle daemons and a grossed up soul grinder or two. This would be a list for fun more than anything and it's so quick to paint up if you get the hang of layering lots and lots of greens, yellows and browns topped off by inks and washes. I did a couple of units like this for a commission (Plague marines, dread, predator) and they came out very nicely.

Not saying mine would look like this, but that is some sweet decaying grossness.

Necrons - Outdated codex or not, I'm getting a good vibe for the scary robot skeletons. I think playing a bunch of Dawn of War helped this and I'm tempted to just pick up a couple of battleforces. Add a lord or two and you've got a neat army easily enough. This is something that I see as feasible and straightforward.


Warhammer Fantasy

Now while this doesn't really appeal to me in the way that it used to, I could see myself drifting into Ogre Kingdoms if I was going to play it at all. I'm not sure I like the regiment block way of doing units but I haven't played for many years so I don't know that much about how it works.

Lord of the Rings

Now this is my kind of fantasy. I love Tolkien's work and the depth that there is here with the lore and the characters really gets me going. If I could, I'd love to get all of the models and terrains to play through the entire trilogy with all of the key battles and scenarios. The problem of course is that even the GW studio probably had trouble getting all of the locations and models made up for this, it's such a big task.
As far as playing the game in a general setting I think I'd play with the wood elf factions or the dwarves. I liked both of these when I played fantasy in my early teens and they are definitely something I could see myself picking up. It helps too that the basic troop boxed sets are very cheap and you can just add a character or two to get a small battle force.
I suppose I could just get the Mines of Moria boxed set and build up a funky 3d playing area for it. It would also be able to double as an underground setting for another game system.

Flames of war

This is a new one for me and it seems like in just the last few months it has exploded onto the gaming scene. I am a total WW2 history buff and so it would be very cool to play this game. I'm not sure which forces I would go with but I think playing some of the desert battles in the early war when half the tanks were armed with pea shooters would be really fun. Lots of manouvre and misdirection there. Having teeny models would make it easy to paint up an army too, though I've heard that it can be quite expensive on some models.

Warmachine

Ah, we've reached the other big player on the 28mm scene. I am really really tempted to get into some Warmachine gaming. I think the artwork is fantastic, the setting seems to be really well fleshed out and I love the models.

Mmm, zappy lighting professor.

Do you feel lucky, punk?

I am thinking of getting the Cygnar warmachine book and having a good look through all of the cool artwork as well as getting a feel for the gameplay mechanics. The only thing that makes me a little wary of the game is that I hear from some people that it is very focused on creating killer combos and really going for the throat. I understand that all wargames (except perhaps some historicals) have the objective of winning the game but some say that the Warmachine mechanics lend themselves well to hardcore play. Of course, I've not played the game and it's just as easy to get asshat 40k players who only want to win so that won't keep me back. I think it's just about finding a good group of players and having fun with the game. I would probably even work out some narrative campaign type games to really focus on the background of the setting as much as the gameplay.

The other great thing about warmachine is that there are some really characterful models that I can see fitting into other game systems. The following two would work really well in Nuclear Renaissance I think.
I can just see her perched next to a steampunk-esque machine gun on the back of a fancy Victoriana vehicle.

A preacher roaming the wastelands bringing justice to the bad guys.

I think I'll be getting myself some warmachine at some pointe :-)

Malifaux

This game I know very little about other than it has some fantastic miniatures. I get the impression it's a victorian/steampunk setting featuring lots of supernatural goings on. Frankly I don't care what the game is about when it has such cool models as Lady Justice and Perdita Ortega.

Lady Justice

Perdita Ortega


Nuclear Renaissance

Ah the offering from the wonderfully characterful Ramshackle Games. I am already well into my collecting phase for this game and I think it is set to continue. I really love the style of the models, I like the mechanics of the game and I love Curtis' (the creator) attitude towards the game. He is all for people bringing in other models, using his parts in other games, suggesting good conversions and his customer service is incredibly personal. I have got a huge selection (9 or 10 vehicles, 20-30 figures) of Ramshackle's stuff at my place or still in the mail (grrrr, slow mail) and I eagerly jump on every new model that gets released.

Here is the beastly Huntsman spider tank in all its glory.

Cigars, suits and shotguns...all in a day's work in the wastelands.

For reference, this guy is taller than a dreadnought for 2.50 (that's 10 times lower!).

I will definitely be playing a lot of this game whenever I can and making up some cool terrain to go with it. The RPG aspects of the game are really good as well and let you really create a good mix of gang types that suit you best. A pair of ridiculously tooled-up heroes? Sure, just be aware that your opponent may bring a swarm of goons riding bikes to overwhelm you with sheer numbers.


Conclusion

Well that was quite an exhaustive (exhausting?) list of all of the games that have caught my eye. So in conclusion, I'll write up a brief purchasing list that will help me keep my dreams of wargaming grandeur in check when I realise the cost. Of course, if I win some kind of lottery (VERY long odds since I don't play) then you will may see this blog explode with pictures of my ill-gotten gains :-)

40k:
- Finish Tau army $150
- Few marine gubbins $50
- Some Guardsmen, DH and WH $100
- Orks from AOBR and other bits $250
- Eldar army $150 if I could get them at a good 2nd hand price
- Nurgle army $300 because of the forge world bits and variety of models
- Necrons $200 for a couple of battleforces, lord etc.
WFB:
- If I played it would be at least $200 for a starting army.
LOTR:
- Not too bad if I keep the forces small. Say $200 for a couple of races plus Mines of Moria
Flames of War:
- These are pricey models so it could get to $150+ easily
Warmachine:
- Cygnar army with battlebox, more warjacks, a few solos etc. $200-$250
- Some of the cool models from other factions $50
Malifaux:
- Probably just a few key figures $50 max.
Nuclear Renaissance:
- Pretty much anything Curtis makes. Since I have most of it already and he can only sculpt so fast, $200

Grand total = $2300. Not quite as much as I thought but certainly not pocket change either. Hmmm, this is depressingly within reach if I get that book of mine finished and published....oh well, back to work on the writing :-)