December 8, 2006
Everyone completed their army! Who’d have thought that would happen? Definitely
not me but congratulations to everyone, this was a ton of fun.
Not only did I get my army done, I also discovered it’s a lot of fun to
play as well. I don’t think it’ll be easy to ever go back to my Hordes
of Chaos army. The High Elf army can really hammer it out to an opponent in every
phase of the game, I’ve never caused that many panic tests with another
army, never mind their maneuverability.
In my last blog I was talking about finishing my dragon off quickly by modeling
the rider onto his base and not putting him properly on his back. What a bad
idea that was! I had the model all posed out and I was nearly finished painting
the guy standing there beside him but I just couldn’t take it. He looked
so piddly and lame! So I grabbed my trusty clippers and began hacking into the
Carnosaur’s back, right at the shoulder blades. After I’d gouged
out a suitable spot I plopped in a pair of plastic Silver Helm legs and went
off to bed to cry. This was the part of the model that I was a bit afraid of – puttying
a cloak and other bits to hide the gouge in his back. Fortunately everything
went really well, the cloak came off just fine and it works well. I had it flow
back over the Dragon’s wings and it looks great. The rest of the model
is a Silver Helm torso and lance with one of the Archer’s heads and a pewter
shield from one of the new heroes on foot. Unfortunately no photos of the model
can be posted because of certain wings that belong to a certain demon outside
the Warhammer range, but trust me that the Carnosaur was made to have those wings
put on him.
Before the Dec. 2nd tournament I made a couple war gear changes to my Prince.
I play tested a game with him using the Bow of the Seafarer and I definitely
didn’t enjoy using my dragon as a mobile artillery piece (I killed 2 dark
elves with it in the test game). So I decided to kit him out for close combat
instead. I gave him the Vambraces of Defense for a 4+ ward save and re-rollable
armour saves. Lastly I gave him a lance and the Lion Guard Honour to give him
+2 armour versus shooting and magic missiles and to make him and his dragon stubborn
on Ld 10!! That combo worked very well as I could fly him into any combat and
be confident that I would eventually break any opponent after I killed off their
rank bonus (maybe not Undead, but that’s a different story).
I think the trick to playing the high elves is to resist the urge to charge the
enemy. I felt dirty sometimes but even when a delicious charge was viable I usually
held off if I knew I could just destroy them with shooting and magic (Dragon
Breath can really help a lot there too). Only when I’m almost guaranteed
to win will I allow my Elves to get enemy blood on their battle-gowns (not skirts!).
In the future I’m going to try giving my Prince the ring of Corin instead
of the Lion Guard honour. What killed him in my games was that enemy Generals
that were kitted out for close combat. I think he’d really appreciate the
chance to go into a fight knowing the battle would be won skill on skill alone,
as long as his Dragon was still alive and kicking. The extra bound item would
also help get rid of enemy Dispel dice before I start casing with my Wizards.
Right now I’m working on some Shadow Warriors to stand in for one of the
chariots. I mostly used my chariots to keep threats away from my Bolt Throwers,
which went fine, but I think I’ll find the skirmishing unit handy and more
fun.
A special mention has to go to my Great Eagles and my Archers. These two lowly
units were my favorites in almost every game. The win eagles because of their
speed and total expendability. They don’t cause panic when they explode
due to their unit strength 3, they can be anywhere you need them to be with their
fly ability and they can take on weak units like cannon crew fairly reliably.
Add in that they’ve got Ld 8 and they only cost 50 points and I’m
sold. My archers make it to the list because they regularly do the impossible.
In my first game for example they managed to kill 2 Liche Priests when they needed
7’s to hit! I still lost the game but it was something to laugh about.
I can’t wait to do it again next year, I’m not sure what army I’ll
do but I really enjoyed the Elves.
November 17, 2006
Almost done. I have finished both chariots and the bolt thrower last week, which
means that all that I have left is the dragon! For him I’m sticking the
Balrog wings on a Carnosaur, which really looks cool. I’ll be using the
new’ish High Elf hero with a bow to represent my prince. To save time and
to make the model more versatile I won’t be sitting him on the dragon,
he’ll be standing beside him carefully taking aim for a shot (Thank you
Paul Ting). He’ll be nicely fit into a scenic base, but not glued in so
that I can remove him if either he or the dragon get smoked. I’ll also
be able to switch him out for a different model if I want to switch up his war
gear. He really would look more impressive sitting on his back, but ultimately
I don’t think I’ll have the time necessary to make it look proper.
The Carnosaur’s back is lined with large spiky scales and it’ll take
a bit of putty work to make it look like the model is sitting right.
Once they’re out of the way all that is left is some movement trays and
shields for my Silver Helms. Piece of cake!
November
10, 2006
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I’ve got the two chariots
built and base coated, and my mounted mage is done. Both chariots will be finished
this week, and I just bought my last bolt thrower. No, I haven’t started
the dragon yet, but I should have a comfortable amount of time left at the end
to devote to this magnificent beast. Unlike some people (Bodycote) all of my
eyes and tattoos will be finished on the day of the tournament, because I know
that this challenge was to have a finished army by December 2nd.
I even managed to get in my first 1000-point game this week versus one of my
old adversaries (who was playing Beastmen). I had two wizards, one of whom had
the Ring of Fury, and they totally dominated the magic phase. Doom and Darkness
is now my favourite spell (it reduces a units leadership by -3). With that much
shooting and magic there were panic tests happening in every phase of the game,
and it really paid off for me. My ten-man archer unit really performed over and
above what I was expecting. Every time they drew their bows somebody died. My
bolt thrower didn’t really do as well as I had expected, but it was only
the first game. It’s only natural that the crew might need a few games
to get used to the big war machine. Perhaps they’ll do better after I finish
the second and they have another crew to compete against.
I have been doing some touring around, just to check and see how the competition
is doing. I was shocked to hear the amount of venom being hurled in the direction
of my High Elves, from Brandon and his Dark Elves especially. After talking to
him about it he came out and admitted it was because he’s terrified of
facing High Elves on the battlefield. He’s actually gone so far as to beg
Cory not to play any High Elves on the 2nd! It’s really no surprise given
the inferiority of the Dark Elves in general, but enough on that. On top of all
this Milson has some chariot with no crew in the front window that he’s
calling finished! He’s as bad as Bodycote!
Well that’s enough for this week, I can’t find any more stones to
throw at the moment.
November 3, 2006
So here we are at the half way mark, time to take stock of what’s been
accomplished and what still needs to get done. This week I finished the unit
of ten archers, and my mage on foot is 90% done. That brings my total up to 990
points painted, which is perfect. Now the lesser men in this competition, like
say Adam, Corry and even Milson are probably becoming concerned at this point.
Looking over their own pitifully small piles of painted models they’re
asking themselves “What battalion box am I going to buy Kraatz?” Well
worry no longer! You can all get me High Elf battalions. I can’t get enough
of them and their pointy little heads. Once this bet is finished I’m going
to keep going and paint up a couple blocks of spearmen and some Lothern Sea Guard.
I just don’t know what’s happened to me, the Chaos Lord inside is
crying silent tears at this betrayal. I pulled out 6000 points of my old Chaos
army for the 1,000,000 point WAAAGH! and it all went so well. It’s like
they were trying to prove to me that they could still kill for my glory. But
it’s too late. I’ve been consumed by the challenge of playing with
any army of toughness three models (that really likes dancing more than fighting).
I really like to run circles around the enemy, and then maybe slap them with
a white glove after they’ve been shot up and invite everyone over for tea
to talk about their differences. Very un-Chaos.
So the only thing to do is move forward! I’ve built my mage on a horse.
I found one of the old pewter ones in my bitz box, and did an arm swap with an
archer arm so he wouldn’t look quite so impressive with his giant sword
and staff. I bought my two chariots and I hope to get one finished next week.
I should also be able to build my second chariot next week and finish it shortly
after the first. After that all that I’ll have left is my last bolt thrower
and the dragon. Piece of cake!
October 27, 2006
Well it’s been an awfully unproductive week. What did I do? Almost nothing!
I base coated 10 Archers and built a Mage. I’ve got to say I love all the
newest High Elf character models, it was actually difficult to decide which mage
to use. They all look so cool.
Next week I have to finish those Archers and the Mage, no more slacking. After
that I’m going to convert up a plastic Mage to match the Ellyrian Reavers
that I converted earlier. It’ll probably be just consist of Glade Riders
legs, a High Elf archer’s torso, some fancy waving arms and a head with
a smug Elfish grin. On that note nothing makes an Elf Mage feel more smug than
blasting apart little Goblins. Especially when they’re painted in blue,
like Paul Milson’s Blue Moon Tribe. Actually, Jay Griffith’s Gobbos
will surely get a good blasting from him too. Oh, and Chris Little’s, and,
um, Cory Laycock’s. Wow, you’d think that Orcs and Goblins were the
new hot army or something.
Assuming that I get those done next week I should be in the clear to finish my
army well ahead of schedule. The only thing that will really take up time is
going to be the Dragon, I’m still not sure what models I’m going
to use.
I’m not sure what I’ll do with all of my free time after that. Maybe
Ryan will want to hang out, it’s not like he’s painting or anything.
October 19, 2006
This week it was pointed out to me that my army list is illegal! I forgot that
a dragon uses up an extra hero slot. Who me? Try to cheat at a tournament? Since
I can’t take five heroes I’ll remove the battle standard bearer and
add another bolt thrower to the army. It was an innocent enough mistake, I haven’t
used a dragon in an army since 4th edition. The army will probably play better
with the extra bolt thrower anyway. I’ll make one of the crew in a chariot
removable and paint a standard bearer to fit in. I still want to try out that
chariot driving gleefully through the woods sometime, I really think it’ll
be fun to play.
I managed to put in a lot of painting time this week. I finished off my Ellyrian
Reavers and got the first bolt thrower 90% finished. It and the crew just need
some highlights and basing. I’m now building my archers and I’m using
the spearmen cone-heads to keep the theme flowing. I’ll give archer heads
to Ash so he can finish building his silly Bretonnians. They’re as silly
as 48 charging strength 6 knights can be…
Overall I’m very pleased with the look of the army. Their blue jump suits
initially made me think of Romper Room but they’re starting to grow on
me. I really can’t wait to get some games in with them. Jay M.G. has given
me the honour of being the first person to play against Stampy the War Mammoth,
not something you get to do every day. I can just picture my chariots being turned
into kindling as they smash themselves on his ankles, fun times! We just need
to get our armies built and then we’ll give it a go.
What will be even cooler than killing Stampy will be playing against some of
my old adversaries at the upcoming tournament. Who’s going to blame their
dice for their crushing defeat at the hands of my triumphant Elves? Will it be
Clarence? Paul Milson? Commissar Cory himself? Only time will tell. If you live
in the G.T.A. come out and get in on the fun, all of the guys in this challenge
are tons of fun to beat up on, especially Milson – he gets so sad when
his goblins start dying.
October 13, 2006
It was a good painting week in Chris Land! I finally let
my girlfriend know what I had to buy if I didn’t finish my challenge on
time and now all she wants me to do at home is paint! It’s the best thing
ever.
So this week I finished off the eight Silver Helms that were sitting on my table
and I even painted up two more to finish off both units. I did a new base for
the eagle which my dog had chewed up and I bought and finished a second one to
finish off that rare slot.
So what’s next? I finally decided on a simple conversion for my Ellyrian
Reavers that I’m happy with. I wasn’t happy with just using the Glade
Riders out of the box so I was dragging my feet on priming the models. I figured
a head swap would be the quickest and easiest way to make them look more like
they belonged in the army and High Elf Spearmen heads fit the bill perfectly.
The size is right for the slight bodies of the Glade Riders and it really tied
them into the rest of the army. I also built and primed my Repeater Bolt Thrower.
The Reavers are being painted in the same charcoal grey and blue with brown accessories
as the rest of the army. It may not be the best work I’ve done, but it
will be finished on time ?
I’m starting to brainstorm with what I want to do with my dragon. I may
be skimping on the time I spend on the rest of the army, but the dragon is going
to be prettier than the free battle forces I’ll be getting from Ryan, Cory,
and Mr.Little!
October 5, 2006
Well I finally got rolling on my elves this week. I’ve half painted a box
of silver helms, I just need to do some details and skin on the riders and finish
their shields. I also bought and assembled some Wood Elf Glade Riders to use
as my Ellyrian Reavers. I really like the look of the Glade Riders and they’ll
really look like they’re from a different province of the High Elf kingdom.
I’ll paint the horses the same charcoal gray so they don’t stand
out too much from the rest of the army (and because it’s quick and easy!).
I got a new puppy this week and for the first time in my life I can actually
say my dog ate my homework! I left a figure case open on the floor and she actually
ate the base for my great eagle, not a great loss but I’ll definitely be
more careful in the future.
Next week I should have my Silver Helms finished and I’m hoping to have
the Reaver’s horses finished. Oh and I’ll redo the base for my eagle
:P
September 28, 2006
Hello and prepare to be amazed by my ever growing, Amazing, High Elf army
of
Amazingness.
I’m Chris Kraatz and I currently work out of the Oakville bunker store
and I
have been playing Warhammer for over 12 years now. I’ve played many armies
over
the
years but one thing has remained constant – I’ve always made fun
of High Elves. So when this painting challenge idea was being kicked around I
figured
I’d 'man-up' and put my money where my mouth is. This army list was chosen
because I figured it would be rather quick to paint. It also contains some solid
bones from which I can build a much larger and more well rounded force in the
future.
I’ve never painted a dragon for one of my own armies, so that was definitely
a must. Put an elf lord with a bolt thrower on his back and that’s not
only a big chunk of points, it might even kill some stuff. The second thing I
had to have was my Battle Standard Bearer riding in a chariot ignoring difficult
terrain
thanks to his magic banner. I’ve always wondered what kind of nasty surprises
someone could pull off with this guy, provided he doesn’t get shot up first.
I’m also really excited to try out all of the new lores of magic with my
two wizards, one of which is mounted. I 've also included some Silver Helms and
a unit of archers to fill out my minimum core selection and some day they will
be joined by a big block of spearmen, but not yet. For my special choices I wanted
some fast hitting power to compliment my dragon, Ellyrian Reavers and two chariots
with their insane 18” move fit right in. Finally two eagles to flap around
and perhaps annoy some small helpless enemy units, and a bolt thrower to provide
a little fire support and, the list is done.
So what did I get done for the first week of the challenge? Nothing! Well I did
put a minimum of effort into the elves and built an eagle, so almost nothing.
I did finish painting a huge 40K army for a giant game on the weekend, but that
won’t
pay for 19 battleforces. So with that in mind I’m off to begin my Silver
Helms, photos to come next week.
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