Winds of Change

There, it's done. The winds are blowing. Took me longer than I had expected to get round to it but I've finally added a few changes to the structure of the blog. I tried to put more emphasis on the functionality and the new layout is supposed to reflect this principle. I've removed some bits that I didn't really like about Blogger (navbar, a separate blog header) and I've also chosen a different template. I hope that the new arrangement will be clearer and will make it easier to follow what's new at Independent Painters. There are still some things that I need to work on (I'm still thinking about the colors of text in the topic of an entry and the date, the banner should blend in better with the backgroung etc.). Big thanks go to Stan (the same guy who created the banner for helping me out with some technicalities). Also, I should point out that the background comes straight from the Jungle - it can be found (with several other at http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2010/05/photo-backgrounds.html). If you have any suggestions about the format, layout or content of the blog feel free to leave a comment!


Now, back to hobby-related stuff. I've finally found some time for a game of Warmachine. This time it was my entire Cryx force (the painted part of it - I try to use only painted models while gaming) against a quickly assembled Menoth force based on Reznik.



I should definitely try to get more opportunities to play as it's so easy to forget the rules... I haven't played since holidays! Anyway, we (me and my younger brother) decided to play an open game and try to quickly lead to a clash without hiding around. To make a long story short (please forgive lack of details here as it was my... fourth game ever and I was mostly busy trying to remember the rules), here are some of my thoughts after the game;

- I have definitely misused the Bane Thralls and waited too long to use them in game. Their charge came too late and they failed to inflict serious damage,
- Pistol Wraith is cool and if used carefully can make enemy units' life more difficult,
- I have failed to take advantage of arc nodes as I pushed the chickens into the fray, which rendered them pretty much useless (Bastions do hit hard, especially when they are boosted by some offensive spells).

A bit chaotic and not too cohesive, I know. As I said, I'm still mainly focused on learning the rules and developing some tactics. Time for detailed battle reports will come sooner or later (or much later).


An unexpected guest drops by to check out the situation on the table.

The decisive moment came when I decided to use Denny's feat and charge the remaining two Deathrippers into Reznik. I only needed to get rid of a single and wounded Bastion that was standing in my way. I activated the Pistol Wraith, hit him once and managed to roll two one's for the second shot. Clearly, the gods of dice were against me on this day. Still, it was a very enjoyable game with the momentum shifting from one side to the other on a few occasions. Hopefully, more games will follow in the nearest future! I'll finish at this point, leaving you with a very nice live version of the classic from the title of this entry.