Friday, October 10, 2008

Dispatch Update: "Troopers! We Are Leaving!"

Hey everyone

Just a quick heads up to let you all know that the blog will be moving! I know I have said it before but this time I am actually serious. The new address will be...

http://sincitydispatch.blogspot.com/

So when will this big change happen you ask? Within the week! I had planned on posting about this about a week ago but I have had relatives in town for the past three weeks and we all know what that does to the schedule... I love them to pieces but man am I ready to get back to gaming! I will be posting a link from this blog to the new one so even if you don't change the address you will still be able to get there from here so no worries.

See you at the new blog and until then may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Sin City Dispatch #2

Hey everyone and welcome to the second issue of the Sin City Dispatch

In this issue we will start by taking a quick look at the latest pictures Rackham has released of the Cogs. Most of it we have seen before but there is a little something extra as well. The rest of the issue will be all about the box of plastic goodness that is the Assault on Black Reach. So sit down and strap in because we are about to hit the ground running!

Incoming!!!
Upcoming releases for AT-43 and Warhammer 40,000

Since the last issue of the Dispatch Rackham has actually released two issues of Cry Havoc Online, both of which have some pictures of the Cogs that we have never seen before. One of the most startling ones (for me at least) is the picture of what they look like without a helmet on.

I hate to say it but this is nothing like I expected them too look. From the concept pictures I think a lot of people were under the impression that the Cogs were somewhat Cthulhuian (does that word actually exist?) in appearance but this looks more like a typical Grey from Hollywood. I hate to say it again but this is another disappointment in my book. I am sure that just like the Karmans some people will like the look of these minis but I am really finding that I am falling into the camp of those who don't.

There is also another preview picture of the Cogs but this time it is what looks like their type III infantry.

The pros of these minis are the sculpts look kind of cool with an Anime flair to them. The problems is the paint job. Again with the orange! At first glance they look like some kind of an alien construction crew or chain gang instead of a powerful faction that was able to put the hurt on the Therians until the Karmans were thrown into the war. Something that looks worrying from a play point of view is the variety of weapons these guys have. It might be that these are from various type III units (such as the various types of the TacArms for example) but if they are just one unit then having that jumble of weapons could have an impact on how effective they are in combat. Of course only time will tell how good or bad any of the Cogs are but so far I am really not sure about the direction they are taking with them.

On the 40k front, this month is all about the Space Marines baby! Of all the releases, the new Codex is without a doubt the most important one.

Coming in at 144 pages, it will include all of the rules for fielding a Space Marine Chapter so if you are looking to build that Marine chapter that you have always dreamed of or you just want to see what new nasties they will be fielding, then this is a must buy. The bad news is that this is the first Codex that will fall under the new pricing, coming in a $30. On the plus side, this book is bigger than most of the current Codexes by at least 40 pages so it should have a bunch of new goodies and information in there.

A majority of the remaining releases are new minis for the Marines (including a plastic Drop Pod kit!) though there is one other product that really jumps to my attention and it is something that I will definitely be picking up; the Dice Cube.

For a mere $6 you get 27 20mm dice inside of a giant die. How could any gamer pass one that one? "I think I'll use the giant die for this roll." Plus the price actually isn't half bad so I would definitely recommend grabbing at least one of these right away.

To find out more about these items and the other new releases, head on over to their site and check out the Advanced Orders for 40k.

Taking a Closer Look at...
Assault on Black Reach

Cracking Open the Box

Everyone knows that there is nothing worse than opening a game only to realize that you just paid for a box full of air. The good news is that this is not something you need to worry about with Black Reach. From top to bottom, this box is packed full of stuff. In addition to the four sprues of minis, there is also a small version of the rulebook and a starter book. As far as I can tell the rulebook contains all of the information that the hardcover has (minus the fluff and color painting sections) while the starter book is more of a basic overview of how the game plays with a bunch of full color pictures thrown in as well. All of the templates that you need are also right in the box as well as some dice. Definitely not enough dice in the long run but it is a start in the right direction. A scatter die is also included so overall you are ready to go right out of the box once you have assembled the minis.

Taking a Closer Look

Looking at the miniatures, the first thing that struck me was the level of detail. From purity seals to scroll work, they managed to get it all in there. The symbol for the Tactical squad is even sculpted into the shoulder pads! And it is not just the Marines that received the love either as the Orks are very detailed miniatures as well. From my own experience, I think that this is great. While it might seem that having the extra detail just means that the figs would be harder to paint, I think that the opposite is true. With the higher level of detail, everything is so well defined it really seems to make the figure much easier to paint so I am really looking forward to getting to the painting. First I just need to cut them all off the sprue, assemble, and prime them. Definitely different than the AT-43 "open the box and go" feel but I am still really excited about these which really says something to me.

And The Verdict Is...

So is Assault on Black Reach worth the $60 price tag? In a word, definitely. The hardcover version of the rulebook alone costs $50, while you get all of the information that you need in a smaller size in Black Reach plus a ton of miniatures for an extra $10. In fact I have heard about a number of people getting two, three or even more sets of Black Reach just because of the value in the miniatures. Heck, I know that's what I am going to do.

From the Workbench
the Next Big WAAAAGH!!!

After some slow progress to start with, I have finally assembled most of my Orks from the Black Reach set though I am doing it slightly different from the what the box lists the contents as being. Rather than fielding a twenty strong Boyz mob I have decided to split the group and I have assembled them as a twelve strong Boyz mob and an eight strong Kommando mob, both of which are lead by a Nob. This is actually pretty easy to do and make them somewhat different as I simply used the helmeted Ork heads for my Kommandos while the rest of my Orks running around with a bare head. Here is a picture of the Kommandos...

And the regular Boyz...

To take it a step further, I am looking for some seperate backpacks that I can mount on the Kommandos to give them the appropriate "military-wannabe" look. This will really make them stand apart from the "regular" Orks (if there is such a thing...) by giving them a very unique look. Combined with just the other miniatures from Black Reach (the Deffkoptas, the small Nobz mob, the Warboss, and the other conversions that I will be doing with just this set) this should go together to make a pretty good starter force for my Ork horde. It is by no means finished of course but it is definitely a solid start to getting my Waaaaagh!!! underway.

And that is all for the issue of the Dispatch! Be sure to come back for soon for more Sin City goodness and until then, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Assault Has Begun!

Hey everyone

Just a quick note this time; I picked up my copy of Assault on Black Reach for 40k a couple of days ago and let me tell you it is cool. The level of detail on the plastic minis is incredible and I will be taking a closer look at them in the next issue of the Dispatch. Rackham has also released some more pictures of the Cogs, including one showing what they look like without a helmet! (Crazy fool, not wearing his huntin' safety gear! Gunna get himself shot up good I reckon.) See you soon and until then, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Sin City Dispatch #1

Hello everyone and welcome to the new Sin City Dispatch!

In this issue of the Dispatch, we will be looking at the new preview pictures that Rackham has released for AT-43 plus we will take a look at the new Assault on Black Reach boxed set for Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition. Next, we will be taking another look at my new Space Marine Chapter, the Reclaimers, to see how they are progressing. Last but not least, I stumbled across something at my local grocery store that has inspired me to start work on a new terrain piece. Just what could it be? Well, you'll just have to read on to find out!

Incoming!!!
Upcoming releases for AT-43 and Warhammer 40,000

In the latest Cry Havoc Online, Rackham released previews of several different miniatures that they having coming down the pipe in the next few months for AT-43. The first is the UNA Fire Crawler, the second of the support striders to hit the shelves.

Mounting two Grasers, this support strider packs a considerable punch and can easily cripple lighter striders with one salvo. It also mounts enough armor to make it a hard nut to crack though it does have the lightest armor of the support striders, the common hallmark of the UNA vehicles.

Now what about the miniature? Personally, I don't really like it. The forward sections of the hull swoops down so low that they really negate any ground clearance that the walker would have and the articulation of the legs where they meet the hull just doesn't look like it would be able to move well enough for it to be very maneuverable. There is also a large hatch on the back of the hull which seems odd. I would assume that this is meant for the crew to enter the vehicle but with the overall height of the hull it makes it look like the Crawler also has some kind of APC capability which it doesn't. While this is a nice addition to the game because it finally finishes off the units from the UNA army book, I am really not that thrilled with the sculpt. To each their own though, right?

Next are the Cog Warmongers.

While there are not many details out there about the Cogs, it seems like the Warmongers are going to be their basic infantry unit based on the previews that Rackham has been showing us. The main difference between this picture and the previous ones is they finally got some paint on them so we can see what they will look like. One question though; why are they wearing hunting vests?

These are still nice miniatures but I am really not that thrilled with the paint scheme. It reminds me too much of deer hunting season in Maine. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against hunting but it looks like the Warmongers are wearing safety gear so that they don't accidentally shoot each other. Makes me a little nervous about how the rest of the army will look like, but maybe there is a reason.

Last but not least is the ONI TacArm which for some reason I can not post a current picture of so I will have to put up the old one in its place.

These two pictures are identical in all respects but one; the new picture has the "helmet" of the TacArm open so that you can see the pilot. As I noted before, the arms and torso seem very odd because they look like some kind of body suit rather then armor and the new picture seems to support this look. The face of the pilot within seems to be heavily scared (of course they are mercenaries which could explain this) but he also doesn't look like he has a neck (which the mercenaries thing doesn't really touch on). In fact the musculature of his shoulders looks absolutely massive, giving him an almost Frankstein look. While this seems really odd, he is ONI and they have already aluded to the fact that ONI has access to technologies from all of the other factions. It might be that the TacArms are enhanced and modified Humans but only time will tell and until that time I am going to hold back my opinion of this one.

On the Warhammer 40k front, the big release is the new Assault on Black Reach starter set. Coming in at $60, this is an amazing value for all of the stuff that it comes crammed into the box. Don't believe me? Well, here is a look at what you get in there.

As you can see, that is a ton of minis, plus three templates, dice and a digest sized version of the full rulebook containing all of the rules for the game. Definitely a great value for anyone that is new to 40k or even anyone that it already a fan. Since I have mainly focused on AT-43 in the past, I do want to point out that Games Workshop minis are not pre-painted so you will need to break out the brushes for these but I really do think that it is worth it. From what I have seen and heard, the new edition is pretty good set of rules and Assault On Black Reach is a solid step toward collecting either a Space Marine or and Ork army (or both if you are crazy like me).

As a side note, I am also going to do a review comparing 40k and AT-43 in the future but I want to get a bit more experience with Warhammer first. I can already think of a few pros and cons for each system but I want to get a little more play in to see if there is anything else that I might be missing.

From the Workbench
Raising the Reclaimers

As I showed you a couple of weeks ago, I recently unearthed some of my old Space Marines and started painting them up. I had the base coats on the full squad and force leader and I have made some more progress on them. Here they are in all their glory.

Not the clearest picture I'll admit but I think that you can get the idea. Beyond the base coat, I added a few details to them; the trim on the shoulder pads, the Imperial Eagles on the chest, the white stripe on the right pad indicating the squad type. These are all small additions to the models and it was very quick and easy to do them but they really do add a lot to the model. The bases are also very important as well. I didn't add any details to the bases beyond some flock and painting the edges black but even this helps to give the whole group a more uniform and finished look. I am still in the process of working on the Eddy the Dread but once I get some more work done on him I will be posting his picture as well.

Is this all that I will be doing with the Reclaimers? Not hardly! This is just the beginning of my new Space Marine Chapter and the minis from Black Reach will be helping to swell their ranks. I also have some other ideas floating about things that I can do to really give the Chapter my own feel instead of just being another cookie cutter Marine Chapter. Unfortunately more on that will have to wait until the new Codex comes out in a so that I can see exactly how far I can go with it all. So have no fear; the Reclaimers are coming for you!

Lay of the Land
The Storage Tank Project

While I was picking up some groceries the other day I noticed these items on the shelf.

I almost walked right past them but something told me to pick a couple up so into the cart they went. When I got home, I took another look at them and instantly saw the potential for a terrain piece, namely a large storage tank. With only a few additions I plan on taking this simple jug from the grocery store to the battlefields of the far future, and the beautiful thing is that it cost me less than a dollar. That's right only $0.75 for one of these bad boys so we will have to see just how cheap I can make this project by the time I am finished. I even picked up a couple of extra ones so that I could put several of them onto the table to create a small industrial complex but more on that later.

And that is it for this issue of the Dispatch! It was a long time in coming but it took me a little while to figure out just what direction I wanted to go in. Thanks to everybody for putting up with the wait! Now that I think I have things figured out, the updates should be more regular in the future. This is the Snowman signing off and until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Update coming soon!

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to let everyone know that a new update will be coming soon! In it, I will take a look at the latest pics that Rackham has posted in Cry Havoc Online for AT-43, I will update my progress with my new Space Marine Chapter for Warhammer 40,000, and I will be taking a look at a new terrain project that I will be working on. Let me tell you, it is amazing the things that you can find on sale at a grocery store...

That's all for now so until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Returning to the Beginning, aka Another Minion for the Evil Empire

While I plan on taking a break from AT-43, I definitely don’t plan on giving up gaming. Far from it in fact! Among the things that I will be touching on over the next few months are several miniatures games as well as some board and card games. So, without furter ado let's get to it!

The first of these games has a place in many miniature gamers hearts, be it for good or ill. What could it be you wonder? Let me give you a few hints that will make it obvious. Over the years, I have collected several armies for it and it is still in the sci-fi genre. Hmmm… What could it be? Sci-fi, been around for years, collected several armies for it… Sound familiar? That’s right I’m talking about Warhammer 40,000.

Over the years, I had amassed a motley assortment of Chaos Marines, Space Marines, Tau and Tyranids. Notice that I said had amassed. I sold my Chaos Marines, my Tau, and a good sized chunk of my Space Marines a couple of years ago leaving me with a handful of Marines and my Tyranid horde, neither of which were really painted. Well, they were painted as in paint had been applied at some point but there was very little theme to it and nothing was ever really completed.

With the release of the 5th edition rules our local gaming community has become all the buzz about 40k again and a friend of mine has started running very small games to help people become familiar with the new rules. In fact this past Saturday he ran several 500 point games at our FLGS so I decided to break out my minis to see what I could actually field.

Digging through the small plastic box of Marine bits and minis that I have, I actually managed to find about fifteen Marine minis that I could scrounge up for a game, along with a Land Speeder, an old version of the Land Speeder Tornado, and an even older version of a Dreadnought. I had planned on taking a picture of this bunch of misfits before I started painting them but it slipped my mind until I had the base coats on all of the Marines. D’oh!!! To give you an idea of how mish mashed my minis are here is a picture of good old Eddy the Dread (this is a Rogue Trader era mini for those of you that might remember it).

Originally painted up as to be part of a Chaos army, I kept it when I sold the rest of my Chaos miniatures. As one of the original dreadnoughts introduced to the game back in the 80’s in White Dwarf #100, they are quite hard to find. In fact my friend told me that I have one of three that he knows of in Vegas.

As for the rest of my fledgling army, here is a picture of how they look right now.

With a mix of some of the original “beaky” Marines from the 80’s along with a couple from the newest version of the Marine plastic set, I actually had the makings of a couple of squads right off the bat. By just adding a force commander and land speeder with a multi-melta to my other minis, I was able to field a nice little 500 point “army”.

The question now is how did it go? Well, I arrived while they were still wrapping up a four player battle (Witch Hunters and Space Marines on one side with Orks on the other) and I was immediately struck by how negative everyone was being. I have listened to various podcasts about the new edition and a majority of them have only good things to say about it. After watching them wrap up the game and launch into more complaints about the game, I asked them if it was so horrible why did they play it? I mean really, what is the point of playing a game that you can’t stand? No one was really able to give me a good argument against this and they all started say that it wasn’t really that bad so apparently it was another case of “let’s bash the Evil Empire” that prevails in the hobby.

The other players needed to get going and Jason and I set up our forces so that I could see how things worked. On my side, I had a total of twelve Marines (including the commander), one Dreadnought, and one Land Speeder. On the Ork side, there was a War Boss commanding the army, a unit of at least half a dozen Nobs, an Orky Dreadnought, and a mob of thirty Ork Shoota Boyz. Nothing like being hopelessly outnumbered, right?

So how did it go? Well, I did have to pack up early (family emergency which thankfully proved to be not too serious) so we only managed to get into the second turn but from what I saw it didn’t seem too bad. Movement seemed relatively straight forward as well, at least from what I saw of it. Coming from AT-43 I was at a loss at first as to how far I could move. As for shooting, there were lots of dice on the Ork side (in one volley Jason rolled 38 dice compared to the paltry four dice that I had rolled the turn before, and that wasn’t even the whole unit shooting!) but after playing against the Karmans that really didn’t phase me too much. The true line of sight and cover saves also really made sense to me from what I saw.

Was it enough to get me back into 40k? Possibly though there are other games that people would be familiar with that I am considering as well, the first of which is Warmachine. Unfortunately the Warmachine community in town is very erratic to say the least but it seems like it might be making a comeback so I have sent out some emails to see what is happening with it. Either way, I am still going to add some more Space Marines to my collection so that I have a small army that I can field. After all, it is 40k and like it or leave it that is one game that is not going to be disappearing anytime soon.

Another thing that people should consider is the new starter set coming out later this week, Assault on Black Reach. Loaded with a ton of miniatures, this set contains enough to give you the start of both a Marine and an Ork army right out of the box. You need more to be able to field “legal” armies in the game but this is a great way for new gamers to get into the game for a very reasonalbe price. As for the quality of the minis, they are not on the same level as the regular unit boxes but still, you are getting 46 miniatures of various types including three small vehicles and one walker for $60, not to mention a small version of the rulebook and the three weapon templates. Personally, I don’t see how you can go wrong with this. After all, even if you buy and decide that 40k is really not for you, there is always Ebay.

Well, that is all for now but there will be more in the future as I track my work on my Marine Chapter, the Reclaimers, and my Warmachine armies as well. Until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Endings and Beginnings...

Hey everyone,

I know that another issue of The Dispatch is long overdue but unfortunately it just does not seem like it is meant to be. I have decided to hang up my reaper blades for a little while but instead of just shutting down the blog I have decided to change it.

Rather than just focusing on AT-43, I am going to start covering the various miniature gaming projects that I am working on and also anything else that I have been playing at home and around town. Things are definitely going to be a little bit different around here but hopefully you can still find a little something you enjoy.

Until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

AT-43 Dispatch #4 delayed but coming soon!

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up that the next issue of the Dispatch will be delayed until next week but have no fear; the cryptic meaning of that picture with the single '6' will be revealed soon! Until then, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

AT-43 Dispatch #3:featuring Incoming!!!, the Battle Report, and Reviewing the Troops

Hey everyone and welcome to issue #3 of the AT-43 Dispatch!

In this issue, there is a small Incoming!!! update, we will take a look at the first scenario in the new league as seen in our first of two Battle Reports, and we will take a closer look at the Karman Yetis in Review the Troops, a new segment that looks at both the miniature and how the unit plays in the game. So without further ado, let's head right for the front lines!

Incoming!!!: A Quick Update on the New Releases for August

While I was an the Shop this weekend, John told me that he expects to receive the new releases this Wednesday, as in today! Operation: Frostbite, the Baal, the K-shooters, all of it! So if you haven't ordered your copy yet, click on the link for the Little Shop of Magic located to the right, place your order now, and don't forget to tell him that the Snowman sent you!

Battle Report 11082007: League Play featuring the Therians vs. the Karmans

Sunday was a special day for gaming here in Sin City. Not only was I able to get out and play the first scenario in the new AT-43 League, I was able to play it twice! This week we'll be looking at the first of these two battles with the second one coming out in the next issue of the Dispatch.

For those of you who might have missed it, the first scenario in the intro league is called "Break On Through" and takes place on a board remarkably similar to this...

The background for the scenario is the attacker has managed to secure a vital piece of information and needs to escape off the far side of the board, while the defender is simply trying to stop this from happening. This sounds all well and good but there are a few things that don't really fit with this scenario.

For some reason, all of the defender's troops start the game on the board while the attacker is forced to keep a quarter of his force as reinforcements. This seems especially odd since when those reinforcements are deployed it is right behind line of low walls in the center of the board. Still, this was the mission and no one ever said that every mission had to make sense so John and I rolled off to decide who would be the attacker and the defender. Winning this roll, I decided to try being the defender (the idea of running past a bunker full of troops plus everything else to try to escape the board didn't really appeal to me...).

On my side of the board, I was fielding Babylon Zero, a second Incubus, a unit of Assault golems with a flamer (who were located inside the bunker), a unit of Bane Goliaths and a unit of Assault Goliaths. On John's side there was a King Buggy (proxied in this game for Jindo Un since he forgot to grab his King...), a unit of three Easy Trikes, a full unit of Wendigos with grenade launchers, and a unit of Anakongas that were kept as reinforcements. We deployed our troops on the board and got ready for turn one.

Since I was once again facing Nova (you kind of expect it when you field the Therians...) I was able to decide who would activate first and naturally choose myself. My first order of business was to get those Assault Golems out of that bunker!

There were other units with much better range that I wanted to be in that little stronghold.

John activated his Wendigos next, moving them forward and having them take cover and go onto overwatch as they started the mad dash across the table.


My Banes went next, moving forward into the now empty bunker so that I could get some serious firepower in there!

Unfortunately only one of them was able to make it all the way in but I still put the unit onto overwatch just in case.

The Easy Trikes went next, moving forward to fire on Babylon Zero.

My lone Bane managed to get off his overwatch shot and inflict a point of damage to the frame of one of the Trikes before they returned fire, inflicting one point on Babylon's frame and damaging a cannon in the process.

Babylon Zero went next as I moved her up behind the walls next to the bunker to get some cover. A logical thought until you realize that those walls are a quarter of her size and won't do anything to protect her. D'oh! I tried to repair but John quickly and thankfully canceled the routine. Why thankfully? When my Banes had gone onto overwatch, we had played the famous "Nova LP Game", draining off a few of my points before I was able to activate my combat drill. This had also tapped a chunk of John's LPs and once he cancelled my repair I was able to run Creation unopposed. I love making Hekats...

After doing this, I opened fire on the center Trike (which was the unit leader)and managed to do two points to the frame along with destroying one of the jammers and damaging the engines as well Definitely not a bad round of firing!

The King Buggy went next, moving up behind the Trikes and opening fire on Babylon Zero.

The shots ripped into the Golgoth and blew in apart, leaving Nina suddenly out in the open.

My Incubus activated next, moving behind the other troops before opening fire on the Trikes.

Spreading the shots across the unit, I was able to take out the engines of the undamaged Trike on the left, while the leader lost his other jammer in the barrage leaving him weaponless!

With the Karmans done I activated my last two units, moving the Assault Goliaths forward to try to get into a better position to shot while the Assault Golems just moved out of the way. This brought the first turn to a close with neither side scoring any victory points.

Opting to go first again, I had Nina Zero take command of the Banes and moved the whole unit into the safety of the bunker.

From this position, they opened fire on the Easy Trikes, destroying the leader and seriously damaging the frame of both of the remaining Trikes.

John activated his Trikes next, abandoning the immobile one while the other sped behind a container to get into cover.

I attempted to dash my Hekat forward but with the routine canceled I could only run forward instead.

This left it right out in the middle of the fire corridor but there wasn't really any other option for it as I wanted to engage those Wendigos soon.

Activating the King Buggy next, John moved it forward so that he could hit the Hekat with the flamers and the Incubus with the ZZ-cannons.

The Hekat survived the attack unscathed and the Incubus only took one point of damage to the frame. I was lucky this time but I had to get that Buggy before it could do some serious damage.

I activated the Incubus next, moving forward to open fire on the Buggy at point blank and managed to destroy the engines and damage the frame.


To finish out his round, John activated his Wendigos and moved the forward to try to get into cover behind one of the containers as they continued their run for the opposite edge.

My Assault Goliaths went next, moving forward to the wall before opening fire on the King Buggy.

The sonic guns were totally ineffective but the nucleus guns actually managed to do two more points to the frame! One more and it would be out of commission.

My Assault Golems activated last, moving up behind the bunker in case I needed them. With turn two coming to a close, neither of us had managed to score any VPs.

For turn three, I decided to let John go first to see what he would do. I had been hoping that he would move the last Easy Trike forward so that I could be a shot on it but instead he moved the Wendigos deeper into cover behind the container.

The Banes went next, opening fire and destroying the King Buggy in a massive salvo.

The Buggy had been next in the sequence and John decided to miss the activation so my Hekat went next.

Running forward it charged into the Wendigos, failing to trample any of them but then killing two of them in close combat.

The Easy Trike went next and fired on the Hekat before moving on toward the far edge. As the jammers blasted the Hekat, they managed to destroy one of the grim scythes and damage the frame but even damaged it was still very much a threat.

My Incubus was next and moved forward to open fire on the Wendigos.

I managed to kill two of them and somehow actually failed to damage the Hekat.

With the Karmans done activating, I moved my remaining troops closer to the action and the third turn came to a close with the Therians up 2 VPs to 0 VPs.

For the fourth and final turn, my Incubus moved forward and destroyed the Easy Trike. With only the three Wendigos left, we decided to call it a game at this point, giving the Therians the win at 5 VPs to 0 VPs.

Talking about the game afterward, we all came to the conclusion that this scenario really favors the defender. Not only does it give them a strong position on the board, they also start with their full force right from the start while the attacker is forced to wait until at least turn 3 before bringing on his reinforcements and this is assuming that the reinforcements are cheap! Even so, it was an interesting game but we are all curious to see what else FFG and Rackham are going to be throwing out there for the rest of the league.

So what about the other battle? Sorry, you'll just have to come back to find out what happened in that one but I will give you something to think about.

Just what could this mean? Find out next week...

Reviewing the Troops: Taking A Closer Look at... the Yeti

The Yeti miniature is one that inspires a love/hate relationship. Some people love the retro styling of it but others wonder why the monkey is wearing a fish bowl on its head. Indeed, I can see how it would be easy to discount a miniature in the game just based on its appearance. In my own case, I one time swore that I would never ever buy a Hekat because it looks like... well, lets just say something rather unflattering and leave it at that. Then I heard people singing their praises on the forum and decided to bite the bullet and get one, and since then I have never looked back. I still wonder at just why it looks that particular way but considering how effective it is I am more than willing to see beyond the ugly duckling facade. Could the Yeti be the same way? Let's take a closer look and find out...

At first glance, they seem like a slightly weaker Wendigo with a jetpack. Their range and penetration are both one less than the Wendigos but their cost is high even for an already pricey Karman unit. One of the key differences is the re-roll on the Jungle rifles. This means that for a full unit they will be rolling twenty four dice with a re-roll, would should more than make up for the lower accuracy and penetration.

Beyond this there are several other factors that you have to consider as well. Unlike the Wendigos, the Yeti actually does have a close combat weapon and a pretty powerful one at that especially when you combine it with their jetpacks. Their special weapons are not something that should be overlooked either. The flamers give them the ability drop a couple of templates within 25cm and the rocket launchers pack a very nasty punch as they each roll three dice per shot with a respectable penetration and a whopping two points of damage. This means that against an armor 14 strider they could be rolling 5+ to damage on six dice so with a little bit of luck you might even be able to destroy it in one salvo! The downside to this is that you need to get close to be able to make use of them but with the jetpacks it is that much easier to do.

So what is the best way to make use of them in the game? Take advantage of the mobility of the jetpacks to set yourself up in a good position, hit your opponent with the massed fire from the jungle rifles, then jump into close combat to finish off any survivors with those nasty power grips. I know that I make it sound easy but with a little practice I think that the Yetis can more than make up for the odd little fish bowl on their head.

Well, that's all for this week, but be sure to come back next week for the second Battle Report and perhaps we will even start taking a closer look at some of the new goodness that Operation: Frostbite contains. So until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

AT-43 Update: MedTec revealed!

Hey everyone,

The latest Cry Havoc Onilne is out! Though most of it is devoted to the Lions for Confrontation, there is one thing for AT-43 that really sticks out; the stats for the MedTec unit! What more? You can check it out here.

This has all the stats for it including the answer to the burning question; just who can use this thing anyway? The answer is EVERYONE! Talk about mercenaries, the ONI Corporation will sell their services to anyone, including the Therians and the Cogs! Counting as three medics plus having the ability to bring back a fighter that was killed earlier in the game, they sound like a nasty addition to any force but they have their limits. Their special abilities are very short ranged and if you are not careful the whole unit can quickly disappear without taking a point of damage! But more on that in the next Dispatch... Until then, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Monday, August 4, 2008

AT-43 Dispatch #2: featuring Incoming!!!, Intelligence Report, and the Unit Review: Storm Golems vs Assault Golems

Hey everyone,

Welcome to the second installment of the AT-43 Dispatch! In this issue, we will take a look at the new releases that will be hitting the shelves this month, we'll take another look at the Cog preview picture from earlier in the week complete with a little wild speculation, and I have a new Unit Review, this time focusing on the age old debate of which is better, the Storm Golem or the Assault Golem. As an added bonus, I have a little bit of information about the new AT-43 introductory league which starts on Monday and I look at the question of just what is an introductory league anyway? So without further ado, let's get on with the show!

Incoming!!! A Quick Look at the August Releases

August is going to be a big month for AT-43 with several new releases, including the new Operation: Frostbite boxed set!

Included in this set you will find three civil engineers, two crystal terrain pieces, new map tiles, and of course a rulebook which will cover a bunch of new rules for the game; new units for all of the factions to terrain rules and everything in between. It sounds like a definite a must-buy for anyone who is a fan of the game and you can expect a more detailed look at just what is in it soon!

On the miniatures front there are also several new releases that look really good as well.

The Karmans will be getting two new additions to their army; the last of their infantry units, the K-Shooters, and a new hero complete with a Thunder Buggy, Guru Lucius.

The K-Shooters come equipped with a massive ZZ-gun on their back which normally just a potent anti-vehicle weapon, but in this form is even more dangerous. With the potential to rip infantry units apart quickly as well, this will be a very deadly addition to their arsenal especially since the unit has the “Concentrate fire!” ability which lets the player re-roll all of the failed damaged tests. A re-roll to hit and damage? You gotta be bananas not to want one of these! (And the monkey jokes just keep on coming…)

Guru Lucius is a bit more of a mystery since information on him will be coming out in Frostbite but based on the images of him, he should be pretty nasty as well.

The Thunder Buggy combines the best of both worlds; the drum guns on front mow down the enemy infantry before the Buggy spins around to rip apart enemy vehicles with the twin ZZ-cannons. As for the Guru himself, he looks like he can be attached to an Anakonga unit and comes with not one but two drum guns! Like the Anakongas didn’t already roll enough dice when they shoot…

Next is Lieutenant G. Epstone for the UNA.

The really interesting thing about her is that she appears to be equipped with a Death Dealer TacArm. Originally the Death Dealers could only be used in their own platoon pattern so maybe this means that will be changing with Frostbite. Mounting two volcano machine guns each, the Death Dealers are the bane of infantry units as they let loose their torrent of lead and with hero attached they will become that much more deadly!

And of course I save the best for last (Yes, I play Therians…) That’s right, I am talking about the mightly Baal Golgoth, first of the type 3 striders.

Mounting a heavy flamer and a heavy particle accelerator, this strider can inflict some serious damage but perhaps the best thing about it is the ability to reduce the cost of a routine used by the Overseer on board by 1 LP to a minimum of zero! Combine this with the Web Striders advantage and you are looking at the Baal being able to repair for free. And people thought that Urod was bad...

So when does all this goodness hit the shelves? The word from my FLGS, the Little Shop of Magic (you can find the link to his online store on the right side of the page...), is that they will be arriving within the next two weeks and he is already taking pre-orders as well so if you don't have a FLGS that carries AT-43, just hit the link and John will be happy to hook you up!

But before you hit the link there is something that I need to warn you about. When you try to checkout of the online store, a warning comes up that there is a problem with the security certificate. I have talked to John about this and the site is safe, there was just a spelling error on the certificate that triggers the warning (I believe that he told me it says "littleshopofmagic.com" instead of "shopofmagic.com"). So now that we have that cleared up, be sure to hit the link and get your pre-orders in right now! We now return to your regularly scheduled Dispatch...

Intelligence Report aka Wild Speculation

Earlier this week, Rackham released a picture giving us an idea just how large the Cogs are compared to a UNA Steel Trooper. I had posted this before but in case you forgot lets take another look at it.

Seeing just how big these critters are gives us a pretty good idea why the Karmans were used to fight them, don't you think? Mounted on the larger infantry bases, Cogs look like they will be a little taller than a Karman making them the largest race in the game so far. I also think that their size might give us some clues into just what to expect from them as far as unit sizes. Assuming that they follow the same unit coherency rules, they would only be able to fit so many troops within 10cm of the leader due to the larger bases so I expect that they will probably run up to a maximum of eight troopers in a regular unit.

The type 3 troops will be a different story but I am inclined to think that they might follow the Karman lead and just put two into a unit for the Cogs as well. That said, I can see how they might push it as high as three but more than that just seems like it would be too unbalanced.

Of course only time will tell just how far off base I am, but if you have any thoughts of your own about it be sure to post a comment!

Unit Review Storm Golems vs. Assault Golems

It has been a while since I have done a unit review so I decided that it is time to fix that! I was recently asked by a new player which units he should look at getting first for a Therian army. For most of the units, it was pretty cut a dried but the two that really stumped me are the Storm and Assault Golems. They both have some definite pros and cons so lets take a look at the both, starting with the Storm Golems.

Storm Golems were the first Therian infantry unit introduced in AT-43. Equipped with nanoblasters, sonic guns, and reaper blades, they were supposed to be one of the first lines of defense against the invading Avans and I suspect that they are probably the most common Therian mini out there today. Heck, all you have to do is pick up the Operation: Damocles boxed set and you get eight of them!

Taking a closer look, they are faster and tougher than most of the Avan units. In addition, they are equipped with both a decent short to medium ranged weapon and a powerful close combat weapon. This makes them very versatile on the battlefield, wearing down their opponents with ranged fire before charging in to finish the job. They carry sonic guns or the optional flamers for their special weapons, making their punch against infantry units that much deadlier as long as you can get close enough to be effective. Against armored units it tends to be a different story as they simply don't have the penetration to effectively deal with most of the vehicles that you could run into.

By comparison, the Assault golems are probably slightly less common on the gaming table but they do have some nice advantages. Their standard ranged weapon is the nucleus rifle which has double the accuracy of the Storm Golem nanoblaster and one better penetration as well which is always nice. On the down side the nucleus rifle doesn't have a re-roll on its shooting test so the improved accuracy definitely comes in handy. For special weapons they can field either flamers or nucleus guns. I don't use flamers very often but when I do I am certainly not going to put them in an Assault Golem unit. The Assault Golems already cost a little more that Storm Golems and with the improved range most of the unit has it just doesn't make sense to me to give them a short range special weapon. The nucleus gun is also a great anti-tank weapon with a very good accuracy and a re-roll plus the penetration is extremely good, making it impossible for me to pass on them in favor of the flamers.

So the question still stands; which one is better? Personally I tend to favor the Assault Golems because I like having the extra range but I also tend to face a lot of walkers so having the extra punch of the nucleus guns is almost a must for me. Even so, the Storm Golems do have their own merits and if the conditions favor them (if I were facing a large number of infantry for example...) I would not hesitate to bring them out instead.

Does this answer seem a little vague to you? Well it should because I think that these are both very solid infantry units. Each of them has their own specialty but they are too useful not to at least have one unit of each of them available in case you need it. After all, even if you don't need them both now you might in the future.

Dispatch News: Just What is an Introductory League Anyway?

This Monday marks the beginning of the new league for AT-43. The scenario will be winging its way over the internet to the LGS's that have signed up and people will be throwing down their miniatures fight it out but the real league doesn't start until next month. Huh? Seems kind of odd but I think that I can see why FFG and Rackham are handling it this way.

AT-43 has never really had a solid league going for it. Sure, there was the whole Operation: Damocles campaign but that had a very erratic time table and didn't have much support from Rackham besides saying which side was winning or losing. It seems like the new league will be something more than this since I have heard that there are supposed to be official league kits that will go along with it.

That still leaves the question; why run an introductry league? My own guess is that they want to try test things out first to make sure that they are running right as far as the online portion of the thing, which is a really good idea in my opinion. It makes a lot more sense to work out the bugs first then hit the official league instead of jumping right into the league only to have it fall apart. So all in all, I think that this is a good way for them to start out and I can't wait to get in there and mix it up! But more on that in the next battle report... : )

And with that it is time to bring another Dispatch to a close but be sure to come back next week for a new battle report and I'll also be taking a closer look at all the goodness that is Operation: Frostbite. Until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

AT-43 Upcoming Releases: A New Perspective on the Cogs

Hey everyone,

There will be more about this in the upcoming Dispatch but I just had to share this one right now. Rackham released this picture of the Cog miniatures that they have been showing with a UNA trooper to give some scale. Well, the picture speaks for itself.

Great googley-moogley those things are big! Now just imagine how big their AFVs will be...

More thoughts on this in the next Dispatch, but until then may all of your dice come up Dragons!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

AT-43 Dispatch #1: Karman vs. Therian Battle report, Frostbite Terrain Project, and the Zeros miniature review

Hey everyone,

As you can tell from the title of this post, I have decided to try something a little different. Instead of a bunch of individual posts throughout the week, I have decided to try typing up several "articles" and posting them together on either a weekly or a bi-weekly basis. There will still be smaller updates throughout the week but I thought I would give this new format a try to see how it works. As always I would love to get your feedback about it as well so feel free to post your comments here or drop me a line at dyssnowman@gmail.com. So with that said, lets go ahead and dive into the first AT-43 Dispatch! Enjoy!

The weekend has come to a close and that means it is time for more from the Sin City Snowman. In this week's dispatch, the Karmans clash with the Therians over some urban ruins in our battle report, we will finally take a look at the new Frostbite terrain that I have made, and I will have a miniature review of the Lady in Red herself, Nina Zero. So sit back, relax, and let's get on this the show!

AT-43 Battle Report 27072008: the Therians vs. the Karmans

Does anyone remember how I said that this was going to be the big rematch for the Semi-Mega-Battle? A gigantic battle featuring the legions of the Red Blok support by the Therians fighting against those dirty apes the Karmans? It didn't quite work out that way. Life conspired against us so that idea had to be changed slightly but that's okay because it wound up being a really good game regardless.

Featuring the more manageable 2000 points to a side, this battle had the Web Striders fighting against Nova. This was a first for me as I have always played Cypher so I was very interested in seeing how another faction would handle. On the Karman side of the table was a King Buggy, a single Easy Trike, a full unit of Wendigos led by Cornelius, and a full unit of Kaptars led by a Saint. My side of the table had a unit of Assault Goliaths, a unit of Bane Goliaths, two small units of Storm Golems led by Deltas, Babylon Zero, and a Hekat piloted by an Alpha overseer. For our battlefield, we used a 4' x 6' table with some of the Shop terrain on it; mostly ruins but there was a small stream and pond as well. Here is a view of the table looking down it from the right hand side.

Since I was facing Nova I was able to choose who would move first so needless to say it was me. Go figure! One of the small Storm Golem units moved onto the center of the board first, taking position behind a platform.

Normally I would put one of my more powerful units first in the sequence but this time I wanted to see how the Karmans would be deploying their big guns first.

The Kaptars moved on next, following my lead as they took up position behind a ruin on the center of their side of the board.

My second Storm Golem unit came on next, this time on the far left side of the board.

I was a little worried that they might be too far from the center to really do anything in the battle but it seemed like a good position overall; good cover and it meant that I might be able to hit the Karmans on their flank.

The Wendigos were next onto the board.

Positioned to the left of the center, they were in a good position as far as cover went since there was no way that I could get a good shot on them in the first turn.

My Assault Goliaths were next, taking up position to the left of the Storm Golems in the center.

Letting lose with all their weapons they managed to wipe out four of the Kaptars on the other side of the board, including the Saint! Now I just had to get rid of Cornelius to reduce his LPs to the point that I could really start using my routines effectively...

The King Buggy moved on next taking position next to the battered Kaptars before opening fire with its ZZ cannons against the Assault Goliaths.

The deadly rain of blasts proved to be too much for them as every single was blasted to scrap.

Seeking revenge, the Banes moved onto the battlefield next stepping over the broken shells of the fallen brothers.

Opening fire on the King Buggy, three of the shots managed to pierce the vehicle's armor, damaging the frame and knocking out its engines.

The Easy Trike moved on next to the now stationary King Buggy and tried to open fire on the Banes.

Realizing that he couldn't actually do this, he opted to go onto overwatch instead so that he could wait for a more promising target.

The Hekat went next, running up the right side of the battlefield.

Using Dash is always the best way to move a Hekat but since the Karmans still had most of their LPs, I didn't see the point in even trying. Besides, moving at a rush still got it into a nice and safe location even without the extra 10cm.

The Lady in Red was next, moving up beside the Banes to open fire on the Easy Trike.

Finally having a target, the Trike opened fire with its jammers and totally failing to hit Babylon Zero. I opened up with both of my v2.0 medium nucleus cannons and BAM!!!

You gotta love that! Then I tried to use her special Zero Fire routine thinking that it was free since she was a Web Strider, at which point my opponent reminded me that a routine can not cost less than 1 LP with their advantage and he was canceling it. Grrr... I rolled my damage and somehow only managed to destroy one of the jammers with that volley of fire.

This brought the first turn to a close with the Karmans leading 2 VPs to my 1 VP.

For the second turn I moved Babylon Zero first positioning her behind one of the buildings so that I could avoid some of the heavy fire that would be coming from the disabled King and the Trike.

I had hoped that I might be able to get a shot off against the Wendigos but with most of that unit in cover I decided against it. And for some reason I didn't bother to put her onto overwatch... D'oh!

The Kaptars went next, running up behind the King Buggy so that the mechanic could get the ZZ cannon back online.

Opening fire on the now mobile King Buggy, my Banes were able to inflict two more points of damage to the frame as well as take out one of the ZZ cannons before moving into cover behind the nearby platform with the Storm Golems.

The Easy Trike moved next, flying forward to open fire on Babylon Zero at close range.

Amazingly enough, the Trike once again failed to connect with the Golgoth and sent its energy blasts winging off into the distance.

My Hekat was next up in the sequence, running forward to get into position to attack next turn. I would have been there sooner if I had used Dash but at least it was still able to move at a pretty good clip without it.

The Wendigos went next, advancing slowly but surely through the ruins toward the main conflict.

The second turn ended with both of my Storm Golem units moving into what I was hoping were better positions. On the far left, the unit advanced around the ruin and went onto overwatch.

The unit in the center moved up onto the platform they had been hiding behind, took cover and also went onto overwatch.

This brought the second turn to a close with no change in VPs, leaving the Karmans leading 2 VPs to my 1 VP.

I opened the third turn with Babylon Zero firing on the Easy Trike. At that range it was an automatic hit but I failed to penetrate his armor with even a single shot! With that jammer still to worry about, I pulled further back behind the building to get some cover.

I quickly wondered why I bothered as the Easy Trike flew over the building to get a line of sight on my Golgoth. Now just why did the Therians give the Karmans anti grav vehicles again?

Letting lose with the jammer, it finally managed to score a hit on Babylon, damaging both the frame and one of the cannons.

The Hekat charged forward, finally closing with the King Buggy and ripping into it with its grim scythes, scoring two points of damage on its frame.

The Wendigos advanced again and were finally close enough to join in the fray!

Splitting their fire, the grenade launchers pounded on the Storm Golems that were on the platform, killing all but two of them, while the zz rifles opened fire on the Banes, who amazingly survived unscathed! An incredible stroke of luck that was followed up with none of their shots managing to connect as the returned fire on the Wendigos before moving into cover further behind the platform.

The Kaptars were next up and repaired the engine of the King Buggy before the snipers took out one of the two remaining Storm Golems left in the center.

Managing to make his morale check with flying colors, that last Golem was so motivated that he sprang to his feet to climb down off of the platform!

Well, I actually forgot that he was grounded but it sounds good, doesn't it?

Spinning around, the King Buggy turned its rear flamers to the Hekat and engulfed the Golgoth in twin balls of fire.

Thankfully for me it armor withstood the inferno and it emerged blackened but undamaged.

The Storm Golem unit on the far left moved next, closing with the Wendigos but ultimately no where near enough to be able to actually have their nanoblasters be effective though the sonic gun did manage to score one casualty.

This brought turn three to a close with the Karmans at 3 VPs to my 1 VP.

The fourth turn opened with a bang as Babylon Zero opened fire on the Easy Trike, damaging its engines, destroying its other weapon and pounding on its frame.

Turning their attention to the Storm Golems on the left, the Wendigos advanced toward them and then let loose with all of their weapons.

Just how many dice is that?

And this is not including the four dice from the grenade launchers! Needless to say that unit was wiped out in short order.

Running up behind the Wendigos, I was hoping to go right through the unit with the Hekat but just came up short. Even so I was still able to take out the two that were in contact.

Did anyone else know that a Wendigo is the perfect size to do this?

Advancing around the King Buggy, the Kaptar snipers fired on the Hekat while the other two went onto overwatch.

Most of the shots glanced harmlessly off its armor, but one shot managed damaging its legs.

Moving out of their cover, the Banes took position to fire on the Kaptars but no before they were able to get off their own shoots.

One of the Banes went down in the fire fight but the two that were left quickly took out the last of the Kaptars.

The King Buggy then moved forward and let loose another broadside at the Hekat.

Once again I was lucky as the only damage it took was one point to the frame.

The lone Storm Golem was the last unit to move for the turn, moving up with the Banes behind the platform. This brought the fourth turn to a close with the Karmans at 6 VPs while the Therians trailed behind at 3 VPs.

Turn five started with the Hekat plowing through the Wendigo unit and then turning to attack them in close combat, killing four of them in the process.

All of this and yet Cornelius was still alive!

The King Buggy went next, flying up onto a ruin to open fire on the Hekat with the flamer and Babylon Zero with the ZZ cannon.

The Hekat looses one of its grim scythes in the attack while Babylon takes a second hit to the damaged cannon.

Babylon responds by returning fire against the Buggy and does the last point of damage needed to destroy it, finally taking it out of the game.

Cornelius and the last Wendigo move away from the Hekat to try and destroy the last two Banes but fail to damage either of them and are then killed by the returning fire. This effectively ends the game with the Therians winning 7 VPs to the Karmans 6 VPs.

All and all this was a really close game and a lot of fun. There were a number of times that slightly different dice rolls would have changed the outcome for the whole game, which is something that I really love about this game. Usually it comes right down to the wire before someone finally manages to emerge victorious.

AT-43 Terrain Project: Operation: Frostbite Terrain Tiles

I have finally managed to get most of the work done on my Frostbite terrain tiles. Here is a picture of them laid out with a couple of Golgoths on them for scale.

And here they are from the side with a couple of hills that I made as well.

This whole set up is completely modular and it is also reversible with a terrain feature on one side and an open snow field on the other. Combined with the hills, this should make for some interesting games, though I am really interested to see what the official tiles look like so that I can compare the sizes of the various features.

The creavases in particular are a feature that I am not sure about. I didn't want to make them too large as that could make portions of the battlefield completely inaccessible for an average game but I am thinking about making some special ones that are much wider for use in scenarios. I have the Technobridge that was made by Pegasus Hobbies and I think that would be perfect for an objective in a game.

I also made the ice flows as small individual chunks of ice but I think that I am going to make a couple of larger sections that are mostly solid ice flow. Even then I think I will try to work in some opennings through the ice to make life interesting. What fun is ice if there isn't a chance you will fall in the water, right?

AT-43 Miniature Review: Babylon Zero and Nina Zero

This is something new for the blog. In the past I have done unit reviews but not actual miniature reviews. With the new releases coming out for Frostbite, I decided that it was time to take a closer look at what exactly these new miniatures look. First up is Babylon Zero, shown here from the front...

And the side...

Overall, I like the paint scheme. The white "frosting" looks a little rough compared to the studio model that we have been shown but other than that the model looks pretty good. That said, there is one thing that is kind of strange about it. The back of the main body is cast from a transluscent orange plastic which just looks kind of strange. Not a big deal really, it just looks a little odd from the back. My model can also rotate at the "waist" which is the first time that I have seen a Golgoth miniature that was articulated this way. Not a major perk but I think that it is a nice touch.

Next up is Nina Zero. Again, here is a view of the miniature from the front...

And the side...

Like Babylon, the paint job is not bad. At first it looks like the metalics were applied in a thin coat but there is actually an orange wash over the metal which makes it seem this way. Another thing that I really like about this miniature is that the arms and the waist are all movable. Why do I like this? Well, there are a couple of reasons that immediately come to mind. First, it is nice that it is somewhat posable as it makes the miniature more unique than a regular Bane Goliath and a little easier to transport. I can simply move the arms so that it fits nicely inside my container and I don't have to worry about it being bent. The second thing is just the basic fact that I am a kid at heart and this reminds me of the old action figures of my youth. Yes, I admit it; I am a geek at heart but aren't we all?

Well, that is all for now but there will be more updates throughout the week and another Dispatch next week! As I said at the beginning, I would also love some feedback about this new format. Do you like it combined this way or are the seperate posts an easier read? Please feel from to post your comments on the blog or you can send me an email to dyssnowman@gmail.com. Thanks a lot and until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!