One store, two suprises!

Well I am back from Finland and somewhat recovered! I did make one awesome find on Monday. I firstly found a wargames store in Hamburg with a good Warmachine stock. Secondly I found a store that had discount Warmachine stock. I am not sure which find was better. Of course it was the same store but two suprises! I managed to pick up a full unit of Cleansers for €20 and a Vanquisher for €10, thats easily half the price of the games store back in Dublin. I had to strongly resist checking out the Hordes range as then I could really have gone crazy. After the weekend in the frozen north my wallet had enough of a beating.

I also got the details of a tournament for Warmachine happening this weekend. Sadly my 'jacks are all sitting on a shelf in Ireland which means I have one night due to distractions this week to get a single Vanquisher ready. While it is a decent ranged 'jack it would mean I have a pretty weak force! I might just head on over to the venue to spectate. At least there is no pre sign up so if I somehow manage to clean up and glue the 'jack together I am fine to play (and probably lose).

I do have another game this week. I will be starting the Annihalation campaign on Thursday evening. I have a few concerns about the balance of the forces in the way the campaign rules work out. The campaign is based upon the building of an eighty point list which is used to fight through a series of four battles. The lists for the four battles are selected from the eighty points. In this case we will be fielding four twenty five point lists over the course of the campaign. Any casualties are subtracted from the original eighty points making it harder to field a full twenty five points towards the end of the campaign, as the casualties mount. 'Jack points for casters are also not included in the total eight points meaning that the balance is not as easy as it seems. The premise is fine but I suspect there is a subtle list design flaw that can tip the odds in your favour.

Shooting inflicts as many casualties as combat, there is no distinction. However inflicting casualties via shooting, especially at longer ranges, is very safe as it generally does not leave you in a position where you can be attacked back. Combat however forces you to close with the enemy and leaves you open to the threat of a counter strike and hence heavy casualties. Keeping this in mind units with ranged weapons should be a lot more powerful in the campaign structure than purely combat units. A cagey opponent with a ranged force can afford to lose the initial scenario if he is able to cause enough casualties in the first game. This then enables them to dominate the last battles with a sheer weight of numbers. Of course he needs to be cagey enough to avoid direct conflicts but in Warmachine that is possible especially with a sudden death scenario win which can be easily committed deliberately in general. I will be bearing this in mind as I create my list over the next two nights, both to attempt to do it and to attempt to counter it.

You will find more information on the campaign here.