So winter was nearly non-existent here in Dayton, but the Spring has been trying to make up for it. April so far has been (at least it feels to me) colder than most of February! We even had snow at Adepticon!
Manticon down near Nashville was a lot of fun. We had 28 players and it was a great weekend that we are already planning on making better next year.
Speaking of Adepticon - it was a fantastic time. I actually got to play in a Kings of War tournament that I did not run (so was not the ringer) when Jon and I played in the team tournament - and brought back my Drunk Dwarfs with the full display that included a tap with a full keg of beer. There was also the Dreadball North American Championships (congratulation to Dave Baker for winning this), an of course the Clash of Kings North American Kings of War Championships - with our local boy Jon Carter coming third place. We even had a 14,000 pt mega-battle where Evil finally managed to win in their ongoing struggle (that makes it 4-1-1 good-evil-tie if you are counting) If you enjoy miniature games (and why are you reading this if you don't) then you should try to go to Adepticon. We hope to keep growing it, and will have even more events next year (so much so that you will NOT be able to play in every Mantic event anymore - a good problem to have!)
Check out my blog (if you haven't already) for full write-ups on both events.
So enough about the past, what is coming up? Over Memorial Day weekend I'll be heading down to Nashcon to play in their Kings of War GT - I ran this last year but Rob Phaneuf is doing it this year. It isn't quite in SW Ohio, but looks to be a good time - though it does mean I'll actually have to finally make a real display board for my Abyssal Dwarfs.
April is the last Kings of War releases for a while, as Mantic pushed up the release of the Nature army to this month - including the new Centaur unit! The centaurs are the latest 'retailer exclusive' release (i.e. they were not available from the kickstarter) and I've heard they have already gone into a second production run. These will be shipping starting at the end of the month. After that it will be Deadzone for a while, and then hopefully the Walking Dead will hit at the end of the summer.
Origins is happening in Columbus again from June 15th through the 19th. The event grid just went up, and event registration is going to start any day now. Not only are we (the Ohio War Kings, a name I came up with to group our events that is becoming a real wargaming club) running 11 Learn to Play Kings of War events, but also another Mega-Battle, a Kings of War tournament and a Dreadball tournament. We will be in our own dedicated space again this year (a little easier to identify I hope) - just look for the Kings of War banner! Excitement for this is growing, and we have had several people ask to share some of our space to do Deadzone and Dungeon Saga demos, as well as the Counter Charge podcast looks to be running several Paint & Take sessions. These are free and unticketed events, so come by and paint up an elf or try the new Deadzone rules.
Yes, the new Deadzone rules are out. Kickstarter backers have should have already received a link to get their free PDF of the rules, and in their latest update Mantic expects to begin shipping the kickstarter next week. If you backed the first kickstarter then you will get the a free rule PDF as well (though I don't think that goes out until it actually hits retail). You really need to take a look at this new version. They had the book and a copy of the new box set at Adepticon, and they are really nice. I like that the new boxed set is a much more manageable size (it is a square box that is the same as Mars Attacks! or Dreadball Xtreme, but a bit thicker). It comes with 10 enforcers and 10 Forge Fathers, plus terrain, dice, a paper mat and the hardback rule book.
I want to be honest about Deadzone - the first edition did not go over well. I played several games, and it just felt - well difficult to play. The final game of 1st edition I played a few months ago just felt bloated and clunky (this after playtest a lot of Kings of War). I gave the new rules a chance though. First I read the book - and was surprised when I had barely started the main rules and was suddenly at the advanced rules section - and then through that. I kind of felt like "Where are the rest of the rules?" Then we played a game. It was amazing - our first game and we were not constantly flipping through the rule book. Turns were fast. Gone were the doubling/tripling rules. Gone were the cards. Gone were the missions that you could not win before the game started. Gone were a player being able to activate every model they had before their opponent. It was a lot of fun, but also really reminded me of how well Kings of War flows. It made me want to play more. So give it a try - you might be surprised how much you like the new version. I will be setting up some demo days soon so you can give the new version a try.
While we are talking about the Warpath universe - the pledge manager has finally closed for that kickstarter. There is still playtesting going on, but it is down to tuning point costs. Firefight is a bit further behind, but is being worked on. Some of the new models are really looking impressive.
Locally, it seems people would like a bit of a break from Kings of War (*gasp*), and so we will be starting a new Dreadball league in May. I'll be doing some new league rules that are closer to the way tournaments are run (basically making it much easier (and even more important, cheaper) to ressurect players killed in a game). I'll be sending out the rules soon to those who played in the last league - let me know if you would like to join it this time. We will probably try to meet up about once a month at the Guard Tower in Columbus as well as there are several players in that area that have said they are interested (and Dave has said he will not be playing Mutants or Hobgoblins, and Jon has said he will not be running Unincorporated (they have both taken the challenge to use 'weaker' teams)).
Of course we will be playing Monday nights at the Hobby Shop, and if people want to get in other games just let me know.
Make sure you get out and enjoy the spring weather. I know that bright yellow thing at the top of the big blue room beyond that door is scary, but the leaky roof seems to have stopped; so walk out that door and enjoy the pleasant days before the pollen gets unbearable, the humidity sits at 100% in the heat, and millions of hungry mosquitoes target your soft, pink flesh. Then when nature doesn't kill you, come back and play more games!
Because it is all fun and games . . . http://blog.untilsomebodylosesaneye.net/
Mike Carter
Your friendly local Mantic pathfinder
Manticon down near Nashville was a lot of fun. We had 28 players and it was a great weekend that we are already planning on making better next year.
Speaking of Adepticon - it was a fantastic time. I actually got to play in a Kings of War tournament that I did not run (so was not the ringer) when Jon and I played in the team tournament - and brought back my Drunk Dwarfs with the full display that included a tap with a full keg of beer. There was also the Dreadball North American Championships (congratulation to Dave Baker for winning this), an of course the Clash of Kings North American Kings of War Championships - with our local boy Jon Carter coming third place. We even had a 14,000 pt mega-battle where Evil finally managed to win in their ongoing struggle (that makes it 4-1-1 good-evil-tie if you are counting) If you enjoy miniature games (and why are you reading this if you don't) then you should try to go to Adepticon. We hope to keep growing it, and will have even more events next year (so much so that you will NOT be able to play in every Mantic event anymore - a good problem to have!)
Check out my blog (if you haven't already) for full write-ups on both events.
So enough about the past, what is coming up? Over Memorial Day weekend I'll be heading down to Nashcon to play in their Kings of War GT - I ran this last year but Rob Phaneuf is doing it this year. It isn't quite in SW Ohio, but looks to be a good time - though it does mean I'll actually have to finally make a real display board for my Abyssal Dwarfs.
April is the last Kings of War releases for a while, as Mantic pushed up the release of the Nature army to this month - including the new Centaur unit! The centaurs are the latest 'retailer exclusive' release (i.e. they were not available from the kickstarter) and I've heard they have already gone into a second production run. These will be shipping starting at the end of the month. After that it will be Deadzone for a while, and then hopefully the Walking Dead will hit at the end of the summer.
Origins is happening in Columbus again from June 15th through the 19th. The event grid just went up, and event registration is going to start any day now. Not only are we (the Ohio War Kings, a name I came up with to group our events that is becoming a real wargaming club) running 11 Learn to Play Kings of War events, but also another Mega-Battle, a Kings of War tournament and a Dreadball tournament. We will be in our own dedicated space again this year (a little easier to identify I hope) - just look for the Kings of War banner! Excitement for this is growing, and we have had several people ask to share some of our space to do Deadzone and Dungeon Saga demos, as well as the Counter Charge podcast looks to be running several Paint & Take sessions. These are free and unticketed events, so come by and paint up an elf or try the new Deadzone rules.
Yes, the new Deadzone rules are out. Kickstarter backers have should have already received a link to get their free PDF of the rules, and in their latest update Mantic expects to begin shipping the kickstarter next week. If you backed the first kickstarter then you will get the a free rule PDF as well (though I don't think that goes out until it actually hits retail). You really need to take a look at this new version. They had the book and a copy of the new box set at Adepticon, and they are really nice. I like that the new boxed set is a much more manageable size (it is a square box that is the same as Mars Attacks! or Dreadball Xtreme, but a bit thicker). It comes with 10 enforcers and 10 Forge Fathers, plus terrain, dice, a paper mat and the hardback rule book.
I want to be honest about Deadzone - the first edition did not go over well. I played several games, and it just felt - well difficult to play. The final game of 1st edition I played a few months ago just felt bloated and clunky (this after playtest a lot of Kings of War). I gave the new rules a chance though. First I read the book - and was surprised when I had barely started the main rules and was suddenly at the advanced rules section - and then through that. I kind of felt like "Where are the rest of the rules?" Then we played a game. It was amazing - our first game and we were not constantly flipping through the rule book. Turns were fast. Gone were the doubling/tripling rules. Gone were the cards. Gone were the missions that you could not win before the game started. Gone were a player being able to activate every model they had before their opponent. It was a lot of fun, but also really reminded me of how well Kings of War flows. It made me want to play more. So give it a try - you might be surprised how much you like the new version. I will be setting up some demo days soon so you can give the new version a try.
While we are talking about the Warpath universe - the pledge manager has finally closed for that kickstarter. There is still playtesting going on, but it is down to tuning point costs. Firefight is a bit further behind, but is being worked on. Some of the new models are really looking impressive.
Locally, it seems people would like a bit of a break from Kings of War (*gasp*), and so we will be starting a new Dreadball league in May. I'll be doing some new league rules that are closer to the way tournaments are run (basically making it much easier (and even more important, cheaper) to ressurect players killed in a game). I'll be sending out the rules soon to those who played in the last league - let me know if you would like to join it this time. We will probably try to meet up about once a month at the Guard Tower in Columbus as well as there are several players in that area that have said they are interested (and Dave has said he will not be playing Mutants or Hobgoblins, and Jon has said he will not be running Unincorporated (they have both taken the challenge to use 'weaker' teams)).
Of course we will be playing Monday nights at the Hobby Shop, and if people want to get in other games just let me know.
Make sure you get out and enjoy the spring weather. I know that bright yellow thing at the top of the big blue room beyond that door is scary, but the leaky roof seems to have stopped; so walk out that door and enjoy the pleasant days before the pollen gets unbearable, the humidity sits at 100% in the heat, and millions of hungry mosquitoes target your soft, pink flesh. Then when nature doesn't kill you, come back and play more games!
Because it is all fun and games . . . http://blog.untilsomebodylosesaneye.net/
Mike Carter
Your friendly local Mantic pathfinder
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