®
™
Heroes Will rise…
Heroes Will rise…
Adventure through the infAmous underground
lAbyrinths of the iron Kingdoms!
Preorder now!
™Or Darkness
Will Fall.
Or Darkness
Will Fall.
Evil lurks beneath the city of Corvis, famed city of the Iron Kingdoms.
Descend into the treacherous Undercity, a decaying labyrinth of tunnels
and caverns that is home to all manner of vice and villainy. Work as a
team and utilize your hero’s unique strengths to battle the Undercity’s
deadly denizens and expose the dark conspiracy festering in the city’s
underbelly. If you’re tough and smart, you’ll gain valuable experience
and equipment you need to destroy the evil threatening Corvis. Fail, and
death will be the least of your concerns.
Become a fan of No Quarter on Facebook!
Credits
President: Sherry Yeary Chief Creative Officer: Matthew D. Wilson
Creative Director: Ed Bourelle Director of Business Development: Will Shick
Director of Operations: Jason Martin Project Director: Bryan Cutler Publications Manager: Aeryn Rudel
Art Director: Mike Vaillancourt Lead Developer: Jason Soles Graphic Design Director: Josh Manderville
Marketing Manager: Lyle Lowery RPG Producer: Matt Goetz Editorial Manager: Darla Kennerud
Studio Director: Ron Kruzie Hobby Manager: Stuart Spengler Playtest Coordination: Jack Coleman
• • •
Editor-in-Chief: Michael G. Ryan Editing: Michael G. Ryan, Michael J. Sanbeg
Proofreading: Matt Goetz, Aeryn Rudel
Continuity Editors: Matt Goetz, Douglas Seacat, Jason Soles
Graphic Design: Richard Anderson,
Matt Ferbrache, Laine Garrett, Josh Manderville
Photography:
Ryan Cooper, George DeStefano, Matt DiPietro, Matt Ferbrache, Laine Garrett, Guillaume Leguyader,
Allie Rose-Marie Leost, Marisha Ray
Studio Miniatures Painting: Matt DiPietro,
Geordie Hicks, Ron Kruzie
• • •
COntRiButORS Ed Bourelle, David “DC” Carl, Josh Colon, Matt DiPietro, Andy Gill, Matt Goetz, Orrin Grey, Miles Holmes, William Hungerford, Allie Rose-Marie Leost,
William Overstreet, Michael Plummer, Marisha Ray, Aeryn Rudel, Michael G. Ryan,
Michael Sanbeg, Douglas Seacat, William Shick, Tim Simpson
• • •
iLLuStRAtiOnS
Mike Capprotti, Chippy, Alberto Dal Lago, Ivan Dixon, Luis Gama, Mariusz Gandzel, Laine Garrett, Mark Gibbons, Marcel Mercado,
Néstor Ossandón, Karl Richardson, Brian Snoddy, Hugo Solis, Andrea Uderzo, Chris Walton, Matthew D. Wilson, Kieran Yanner
All content copyright 2001–2015 Privateer Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privateer Press®, Iron Kingdoms®, The Witchfire Trilogy, Monsternomicon, Five Fingers: Port of Deceit, Full Metal Fantasy, Immoren, Unleashed, WARMACHINE®, Forces of WARMACHINE, WARMACHINE High Command, Steam-Powered Miniatures Combat, WARMACHINE: Tactics, Convergence of Cyriss®, Convergence, Cryx, Cygnar, Khador, Protectorate of Menoth, Protectorate, Retribution of Scyrah, Retribution, warcaster®, warjack®, HORDES®, Forces of HORDES, HORDES High Command, Monstrous Miniatures Combat, Circle Orboros, Circle, Legion of Everblight, Legion, Skorne, Trollbloods, Trollblood, warbeast, Orgoth, cephalyx, War Room, Lock & Load, Steamroller, Hardcore, Iron Gauntlet, No Quarter, Formula P3, Formula P3 Hobby Series, Bodgers, Heap, Infernal Contraption, Infernal Contraption 2: Sabotage!, Scrappers, Zombies Keep Out,
On the COver
Perfect Ten by Matthew D. Wilson
It’s with much enthusiasm that our Juggernaut makes the journey through the Chunnel to explore Paris, La Ville-Lumière. While here, a quick visit and prompt ejection from the Moulin Rouge is in order. C’es la guerre.
—Photo by Guillaume Leguyader
Juggernaut’s JOurney:
Unleashed: Chasing the Dragon
New Releases
4
Nerves of Steel: An Interview with Miles Holmes
10
The Art of Cosplay: Allie Rose-Marie Leost
14
Battle Report: Sister Act 3
24
Modeling & Painting: Major Prime Victoria Haley
40
The Art of Cosplay: Marisha Ray
50
The Gavyn Kyle Files: Vinter Raelthorne IV
56
Scenario: Assault on Blackrock Island
67
TABLE oF CoNTENTS
The Art of Cosplay Devastation Fiction Extra
Ill omens
74
The Gavyn Kyle Files
Vinter Raelthorne IV
56
The Art of Cosplay Allie Rose-Marie Leost
Quick Shot
Scenario: 1 AR
88
Forces of Distinction XIX
71
Devastation Fiction Extra: Ill omens
74
Scoundrels & Sell-Swords: Witchfire Rogues Gallery
80
Quick Shot Scenario: 1 AR
88
Unleashed: Chasing the Dragon, Part one
102
Around the World
118
The First Anniversary of Privateer Pins
119
Drawn and Quartered/WARMACHINE Challenge
120
Modeling & Painting
Major Prime Victoria Haley
14
Scoundrels & Sell-Swords
WARMACHINE: R
ECkoNINgThe rising threat of the Cryxian armies has become
too great. Death permeates the war-torn region,
and Empress Ayn and King Leto themselves
chance incredible danger to meet and coordinate
their stand. The Protectorate’s Northern Crusade
joins Khador and Cygnar in a final alliance of men
against the unending armies of the Dragonfather.
As these armies combine to expel the deathless
forces of Cryx from the mainland, in tunnels below
the battleground a lone Khadoran soldier fights to
save one of the Motherland’s greatest legends.
release: june
PIP 1060 • $31.99 (
softcover)
PIP 1061 • $41.99 (
softcover)
e
xtremet
ItanG
ladIator(
metal/
resIn)
game: hordes/skorne
sculptors: jason hendricks and
sean bullough
painter: matt dipietro
release: june
PIP 74093 • $69.99
WarmacHIne: a
ll-
In-o
nea
rmyB
ox—c
ryxrelease: may
PIP 34126 • $129.99
Hordes: a
ll-
In-o
nea
rmyB
ox—c
Ircleo
rBorosrelease: may
PIP 72092 • $129.99
New releases
B
rennostHee
lderHorn(
metal/
resIn)
game: hordes/circle orboros
sculptor: brian dugas
painter: geordie hicks
r
uIn(
metal/
resIn)
game: warmachine/khador
sculptors: ben misenar and dave kidd
painter: geordie hicks
N
oQ
uARtERP
REsENts: F
oRCEsoFD
IstINCtIoNRipped from the pages of No Quarter—and presented for the
first time in a single volume—come over thirty theme forces
for WARMACHINE and HORDES to add thematic depth and
all-new strategies and tactics to your game.
In addition to rules for fielding famous forces straight from
the battlefields of Immoren, each theme force also includes
fiction written by Privateer Press’ top authors, providing an
intimate view of the origins and actions that have made these
units famous.
Whether you want to unleash the feared “Claws of the
Dragon,” an elite regiment composed of the best that Khador’s
Iron Fang Pikemen have to offer under the leadership of the
terrifying Butcher of Khardov…take a trip with the greatest
heroes of the Northern Kriels, bound by blood to Dhunia’s
favorite son Borka Kegslayer in “Family Reunion”…or run
Cygnar’s journeyman through the gauntlet under the
no-nonsense eye of Major Markus “Siege” Brisbane in “Trial by
Fire.” Forces of Distinction has theme forces for every faction
to challenge your opponents and inspire your hobby.
release: june
PIP 1064 • $19.99
W
olvesofo
rBoros(
PlastIcresculPt)
game: hordes/circle orboros
sculptor: todd harris • painter: matt dipietro
release: may • PIP 72082 • $54.99
r
eevesofo
rBoros(
PlastIcresculPt)
game: hordes/circle orboros
sculptor: todd harris • painter: geordie hicks
release: may • PIP 72082 • $54.99
B
lackd
raGonI
ronf
anGP
Ikemen(
PlastIcresculPt)
game: warmachine/khador
sculptors: todd harris and nate scott • painter: matt dipietro
release: june • PIP 33104 • $59.99
I
ronf
anGP
Ikemen(
PlastIcresculPt)
game: warmachine/khador
sculptors: todd harris and nate scott • painter: geordie hicks
release: june • PIP 33104 • $59.99
c
lassIcWarmacHIne
andHordes m
odelsn
oWa
vaIlaBleInf
ull-s
Izeu
nItsr
evenantc
reWoftHea
tramentousgame: warmachine/cryx
release: may • PIP 34119 • $64.99
t
HarnW
olfr
Idersgame: hordes/circle orboros
release: june • PIP 72086 • $84.99
WarmacHIne: a
ll-
In-o
nea
rmyB
oxr
etrIButIonofs
cyraHrelease: june
PIP 35074 • $129.99
I
NtotHEs
toRM:
tHemalcontents,
Book1
tradePaPerBackBylarrycorreIa
The year is 606 AR, and Cygnar is sorely pressed by
its enemies both at home and abroad. The Cygnaran
military is desperate for soldiers with the skill,
strength, and bravery to take up the devastating
galvanic weaponry of the new Storm Division.
Every soldier is valuable, even those fallen from the honor
expected of a Storm Knight. A group of such men—thieves,
drunkards, and worse—comprise the Sixth Platoon.
All they need is someone to lead them.
Lieutenant Hugh Madigan, a peerless warrior knighted
during the reign of the deposed king, has spent years
in obscurity, punished for his loyalty to the former
monarch. Now he has been ordered back to the front and
given command of the Sixth, his task to turn a platoon of
miscreants into elite soldiers fit to be called Storm Knights.
Time is short, and war is coming. One way or another,
Lieutenant Madigan must lead his men into the storm.
release: june
PIP 601 • $14.99
By Michael G. Ryan
Behind the SceneS of
cold Steel
Mercenary Nicolas Verendrye began his career as a refugee from Llael following the devastating attack by Khador against his homeland in 605 AR. Four years later, he had become a leader in the Steelheads after battling his way across much of western Immoren in search of revenge—and his true self. And as Nicolas considers a young recruit eager to embrace his own opportunity to seek revenge against Khador, the mercenary finds himself reliving how he got to where he is and why it might not have been the right path for him—or the young recruit—after all.
In No Quarter #58, Author Miles Holmes (The Way of
Caine) introduced the first part of his serialized novella, Cold Steel, tracing Nicolas—a former doctor—from
the devastation in Laedry to his imprisonment aboard a slave ship to his ultimate enrollment in a chapter of the Steelheads mercenaries. In No Quarter #59, he gets his first taste of battle—in the service of the Protectorate of Menoth.
“The people you want to kill?” Holmes says of Nicolas’ goals. “As a mercenary, you might end up working for them one day.”
leaving holmeS
By the time Nicolas Verendrye settles into his role as a mercenary, he will have come a long way from where he began, and many of his worldviews are likely to have changed. “He starts with a middle class upbringing, and he’s in the middle of a slow moral slide,” Holmes says. “As the Steelheads becomes his home, his moral compass shifts. The way mercenaries are treated by their employers, the way they’re viewed by their enemies, the politics of that way of life, these are the things I wanted to have an effect him and change him gradually.” It’s a hard row to hoe for Verendrye; his expectations of immediate, albeit undefined, revenge against Khador are thwarted almost immediately, and the men who becomes his brothers-in-arms each have their own reasons for doing what they do. Some are in it with similar intentions; others, for the money. And still others for the lifestyle that a hired soldier can only experience if his sword and gun are up for sale. So, while the Khadorans are his immediate nemeses in the tale, Nicolas finds himself dealing with dangers far closer to home. “It’s a man-against-self kind of story—there’s no individual he can go after. He joined the mercenaries because he knows he can fight against Khador. But as the story advances, the antagonists sort of emerge from the chapter of Steelheads that he’s joined. He’s going to have these polarizing moral elements represented by his fellow mercenaries, and he’s going to be pulled in different directions. He’s going to have to make decisions about what kind of man he is, who among his brothers-in-arms will have the stronger influence.”
To offset Nicolas from the other mercenaries and their disparate personalities, Holmes deliberately chose a less than martial beginning for him. He wanted his hero to begin as an everyman, the doctor, someone the reader might identify with.
“You associate someone in the healing arts as having compassion,” he says. “He begins essentially harmless. By the time we get to the end, though, history is not at all harmless.” “
Nicolas Verendrye thus needed influences; Holmes ominously cites the television series Breaking Bad and its main character, cancer-victim-turned-drug-dealer Walter White, as one of his inspirations for the good doctor. “White is an average everyday man who becomes a badass—and the moral shift that goes with that,” he says. Yet the story of Cold Steel goes well beyond the rise and/or fall of Nicolas—in fact, it serves as much as an introduction to the Iron Kingdoms for readers who might not yet know the lay of the land.
“We wanted it to be a tour of the IK and the factions in it so new players and readers could get a sense of what this world is like, and align themselves, if they are so inclined, to want to find out more about a faction or a place or a time,” Holmes explains. The format of publishing a new part across multiple issues of
No Quarter, he says, helped immensely with that
construct. “With every chapter, he works for a new client; he finds himself in a new battle zone. This way, you’d get that sweeping tour. And each time, these battles grow Nicolas’ character as well, taking him from a wandering refugee victim to where he ends up—and each of those chapters is integral to making that happen.” Is it safe to assume that the first-person narrative indicates Nicolas will survive until the end? Holmes neither confirms nor denies, instead focusing on how Nicolas develops. “While he’s quite content where he ends up,” he explains, “Nicolas entered the mercenaries under false pretenses. He justified to himself why he was joining, never considering that the mercenary path might not take him where he wanted to go. So, what he sees in the new recruit at the beginning of the story is a mirror image of himself. And hindsight gives him the benefit of doubting the wisdom in the decisions he’s made.”
RaiSing caine
That journey from victim to mercenary leader is a new approach for Holmes’ writing in the Iron Kingdoms. His past venture, the novella The Way of Caine (skullislandx. com/warmachine/the-warcaster-chronicles/the-way-of-caine), was a much more rough-and-tumble approach. “Caine’s story is one of rising up to fight his way to his destiny,” Holmes notes. “He already had talent—his time on the street made him a fighter.”
Holmes says he approached Caine very carefully during the writing of the warcaster’s story. “One of the things that makes the Iron Kingdoms so attractive is the depth of interaction between characters; the depth of the world and the events that unfold in it mean you can’t come in freewheeling and do whatever you want. You have to be very respectful of that character’s history and where he’s going.
“A lot of the books had hinted at Caine’s past, so we saw that as an opportunity to build backstory, to begin there. We had talked about his future as well, and we had to sort out how to balance my thoughts with the future that’s already been developed for him. “
Part of Caine’s future includes crossing paths with the Steelheads, Nicolas Verendrye among them. The encounter between Cygnar’s most unpredictable warcaster and the main character in Cold Steel provided Holmes with his favorite scene in the entire novella. “My reward was a cameo for Caine. Caine’s one of my favorite characters, and he seemed like an ironic person for Nicolas to befriend in any capacity, given Caine’s direct involvement in the fall of Llael.”
mileS to go
Whether Nicolas lives or dies by the end of Cold Steel, Holmes still sees great possibilities in the story he’s in the midst of telling (the remaining parts of primarily finished—some revisions are still being ironed out—and will appear in No Quarter issues #61, 62, and 63). “I have considerable notes from the early discussions about the rogues’ gallery of Nicolas’ brothers-in-arms. I have supporting characters who bring skills and personalities to the mix, and I’ve plotted these people out.”
That includes the as-yet unnamed young recruit Nicolas is narrating his history to. “That character, the young recruit, is kind of a blank—he starts off as sort of the new player coming to the game or the world, and Nicolas is making a case for why he wants to be a part of this. ‘I’ve told you everything, now what do you want to do? Do you want to play?’ That sort of thing. But the young recruit is more than just a conduit—once this story is done, that character has a future.”
And just what sort of future might Holmes be considering? “The dark side always interests me,” he says. “I’ve put some time into Cryx via the WARMACHINE: Tactics PC game—I did some writing for the extended campaigns. So, I’d love to spend a little more time with the darker forces of western Immoren. I would love to get my head into different perspectives, especially the skorne way of thinking. With characters like Nicolas Verendrye and the new recruit, it’s always fun to create their history in the Iron Kingdoms because you know you’re leaving a small mark in a big world.”
model meRcenaRy
Sergeant Nicolas Verendrye is coming to a tabletop near you. The Mercenary Steelhead character solo model is scheduled for its official release in early 2016, but attendees of Lock & Load GameFest 2015 will get a special advance shot at adding Nicolas to their armies—and the mercenary will work with a host of different factions. “It’s a chance to get him into play while waiting to see how his story unfolds,” Miles Holmes says. “Personally, I’d add him to my Cygnar army and go after Khador. But that’s just me.”A tabletop player since 1995, Miles Holmes first discovered WARMACHINE in 2004— the way it introduced the focus system was particularly appealing to him. “I didn’t need so many models to play, and so I got into it pretty quickly. You get in for the miniatures; then you get inspired by the setting, and the more depth you find there, the more you want to play.” From the beginning Cygnar was his faction of choice, and Allister Caine was his early favorite—“sort of a mix of two of my favorite rogue characters, Han Solo and Wolverine.”
His days of gaming go back even further, all the way back to Car Wars. Over the years, he has worked on a high-profile Sonic the Hedgehog game and Mass Effect for BioWare, as well as creative work for the Full Auto franchise. And in his spare time, he writes books for his personal website (infinitygate.com) and develops his own games—including a recent game, Road/Kill. “Infinitygate.com is where everything I’m doing creatively ends up going,” he explains.” You can download Road/Kill there; all my sci-fi theme stories are there as well.”
Currently, Holmes is ambitiously developing his own coherent universe of stories. “It’s epic. I wrote a few cornerstones that range from 70,000 BC to 4,000 AD, and I’ve written stories in between as important beats.” His first book in this venture,
Tales of the Invisible Hand, is a prehistoric adventure.
“I started with the genetic bottleneck. Sometime around 70,000 BCD, it’s thought a super-volcano trigged an early Ice Age, bringing us to the brink of extinction. In fact, our population was reduced to only a few thousand people worldwide! My story injects a science-fantasy context into that event, complete with lost civilizations, vintage aviation, and forgotten technology. It’s been an absolute labor of love to create.”
SPD STR M AT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 6 5 5 13 14 9 NICOLAS
SERGEANT NICOLAS VERENDRYE MERCENAR
Y STEELHEAD CHARACTER SOLO
FA C P C 2 HALBERD P OW P +S 5 11 PISTOL RNG RO F AOE P OW 8 1 — 10 D AMAGE
A mercenary’s path is neither black nor white; he must find his truth in the grey spaces between.
—S ergeant n icola S V erendr ye MERCENAR Y –
This model will w
ork for Cr yx, Cy gnar , Khador , and the Protectorate . NICOLAS FIELD MEDIC – While within 3 ˝ of
this model, other friendl
y li ving non-w arcaster , non-w arlock F action w ar
rior models gain T
ough
.
FLANK [STEELHEAD] –
When this model makes a melee attack against
an enem
y model within the melee rang
e of
a friendl
y model of
the type indicated, this model gains +2 to attack rolls and gains an
additional damag
e die
.
HOLD
THE LINE [STEELHEAD] –
While B2B with one or more Steelhead
models
, this model gains +2 ARM.
LEADERSHIP [STEELHEAD] –
While in this model’
s command rang
e,
friendl
y Steelhead models gain Defensi
ve Line
. (While a model with
Defensi
ve Line is B2B with one or more models in its unit, it gains
+2 ARM.)
HALBERD
PO
WERFUL CHARGE –
This model gains +2 to charg
e attack rolls with
this w
eapon.
SET DEFENSE –
A model in this model’
s front arc suffers –2 on charg
e,
slam po
w
er attack, and impact attack rolls against this model.
SERGEANT NICOLAS VERENDRYE
Illu
s.
by
Johan Grenier © Pri
vateer Press , Inc . All R igh ts R ese rv ed .
All faction names
, log os , war jack , warcaster & warbeast are TM of Pri vateer Press , Inc .
Allie Rose-MARie leost
Allie Rose-Marie Leost–better known as AllieCat Cosplay (or that Lylyth cosplayer) is a twenty-two-year-old Canadian who works in Vancouver, BC, as a CG animator for television and film. In her spare time, she draws, games, animates…and builds cosplay outfits. Her boyfriend Brad, who she met while attending animation school in 2011, introduced her to WARMACHINE, HORDES, and the Iron Kingdoms. As Brad showed me his tabletop armies and explained his painting techniques the backstories of particular characters, he handed her a model of Lylyth, Shadow of Everblight.
“I knew from that moment I had to do more than just play these characters; I had to be them,” Allie says.
When she graduated from animation school began her first job in the animation industry, she became great friends with a coworker, Sam, who had been making her own amazing costumes for years. Inspired by Sam, Allie built her first simple cosplay and won her first competition all in August 2013. But only two weeks later, Brad suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, and cosplay pursuits had to go on the back burner while she supporting Brad through long months
again, this time with her first armored cosplay: inevitably, Lylyth, Shadow of Everblight. “Lylyth was my first time using the material Worbla,” Allie says, “and I constantly learned new things along the way. But after five months of burning my hands and the midnight oil, Lylyth was finally complete—and it won me first place in Lock & Load GameFest 2014’s Costume Contest.”
In the fifteen months since returning to cosplay, Allie has made five builds, the most recent being the one she’ll display at this year’s Lock & Load: Lieutenant Journeyman Allison Jakes.
“Allison’s build to date has already required over 400 hours of hard work,” she explains, “but the important thing to keep in mind while considering my process is that there are 101 ways to make almost BY ALLIE ROSE-MARIE LEOST
In the BegInnIng...
EyEs on thE PrizE
The first step to making any cosplay is reference, reference, reference, and even more reference; I cannot stress anymore how important reference is to your build. Making a game plan and breaking down how to build each piece and figuring out what materials work best is also critical. Do your homework before jumping in headfirst and realizing there were faster, cheaper, easier ways to make your piece.
For this build, I chose to use Worbla, Transparent Worbla, EVA foam, and craft foam. For reference , I based Allison on a mix of concept art, miniature, and in-game visuals. Always feel free to mix and match the parts you like the most and truly make it yours.
Forms, Forms EvErywhErE!
Once I started using Worbla, I realized how many objects would make fantastic base forms. I have never been more excited to enter the fake floral section in my life to collect all the wondrous Styrofoam forms. Not only that but vases, toys, sculptures, sports balls, horns, bottles, skulls, baskets, almost anything. So, in this build I used a cashew bottle, shampoo bottle, Styrofoam egg, Styrofoam head, Styrofoam cone, baseball helmet, and multiple sizes of Styrofoam balls.
An Artist is only As Good As hEr tools
One of the nice things about cosplay expenses is that you’ll hopefully only have to pay for your tools once. Depending what you chose to use when deciding on materials, you’ll also need the appropriate tools to work with them to their fullest potentials. During my Allison build, I used a heat gun, a Dremel, hot knife, glue gun, sharp scissors, X-ACTO knives, a rivet hammer, a hole puncher, many types of paint brushes, and, the best tools of all, my own two hands. Make sure you wear safety goggles, dust masks, and proper gloves when sanding, airbrushing, or working with chemicals.
your Body is A tEmPlE,
not An AmusEmEnt PArk
Finally, it’s easy to get caught up in the mayhem of time constants that come with cosplay design, especially if you want it done by a certain date or for a specific convention. Make sure you always take time to take care of yourself, too. Go for walks. Drink water like it’s your job Try to eat veggies as often as you can to keep energy levels high and yourself focused. And get plenty of sleep—you’ll be far productive if you have the clear head that comes from getting enough rest!
ArcAne turBInes
I used a big plastic cylinder and covered it in Worbla, then closed it off and used a big round ball to form the raised ends.
I repeated the process to make two smaller inner circles for detail and used decoration nails for the bolts. I measured out strips of Worbla and laid them over top the tank to add more depth/ detail. I then opened the back of the tank and measured roughly where the pipes would go in.
For the exhaust pipes, I used PVC pipe and cut them down to a 40-degree angle for easier insertion into the tank. I then measured out roughly the size of the vents I wanted and using 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam and a circle pattern to cut out two rectangles four inches longer than the PVC pipe, and after I was all done cutting out the shapes from craft foam, I covered it in Worbla.
I needed enough space for the LEDs that would sit inside to be easily accessible if I needed to change their batteries or put in new lights, so I made the bottom out of the same 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam and traced out a circle for the vent and the pipe. I cut two small slits and put the power switch through it so I didn’t have to open and close them to turn on the lights. I then closed off the top with Worbla I shaped along a foam cone and made the PVC pipe appear to get smaller at the top. I then cut out 12 squares and glued two apiece together to make the coils for around the base of the pipes and after covering them in Worbla I used my Dremel to smooth the edges. I then made another simple box base around the entire tank, careful to follow the reference, and opened up the back to ready it to hold the electronics for the smoke machine.
Next, I moved to the bottom of the tank where another small furnace sits and, using the same egg foam shape as the breastplate (see below), made the furnace. I drew out the rough shapes of the vents and used my hot knife to cut them out. Then to get the right sizing for the trim, I used Scotch tape to cover the areas of furnace I wanted the design/trim and drew the rough trim on top. I then cut out all the shapes from the tape and transferred them to Worbla and cut it all out again. I then heated them to the edges of the furnace.
I then added one more strip of Worbla for decoration and to secure the pipes to the furnace then twice around the edges of the base tank for a firm hold.
Once the trim was done, I used the same tube from the breastplate piping, I heated globes of Worbla to each end and attached them to the bottom of the furnace. I then cut out two U shapes and used them to cover the Worbla globes and furnace to make it appear as if it’s running into it.
I moved on to adding the final gauges, piping, and screws. I bought two simple gauges, one big and one small, and covered them both in Worbla before attaching them to the tank.
I then heated together my Worbla scraps and rolled them into tubes and attached them to the tank as piping.
BreAstplAte
I bought a Styrofoam ball from my local craft store that was agood-looking breast size.
I covered it in cling wrap and used my heat gun to heat both sides of the Worbla until it was malleable. I then carefully stretched it across the Styrofoam ball, rotating it slightly as I went to help with tearing instead of stretching it directly from the top down. After a bit of wiggling it popped out, and all I still needed to do was trim the excess Worbla, repeat, and tah-dah! Allison boobs.
I used tape and cling wrap to make a dress form of myself, covering my torso first with the cling wrap and then with the tape. After I was completely covered with tape, I drew the shape I needed the plate to be, then taking the cup from earlier, I traced around the bottoms of where I wanted my breasts to sit. After I was done drawing the patterns, I cut it out and transferred it to craft foam. I covered it in Worbla, tucked the edges, and after carefully reheating it all, I formed it to the shape of my body. I then popped the cups in from the back.
I covered the base plate in tape in order to create trim from Worbla. I did it slightly different for the trim around the breasts—instead of transferring it directly to Worbla, I instead transferred it to craft foam first so it would have more of a raised edge.
I moved onto the center furnace and, using an egg shape, I made a Worbla form of it. I cut it in half and slightly overlapped it for a raised edge, then I traced out where I wanted my vents to go and cut them out. I covered the edges in tape and drew out the trim, transferred the pattern to Worbla, and heated it all together. For the bolts, I traced out the same circle pattern as the vents and cut it in half, covered them in Worbla, trimmed and tucked the edges, and then heated them onto the baseplate.
I used a tube meant for cable organizing as the piping and heated globes of Worbla to each end before attaching them to the center of the furnace. I then cut out two U shapes and used them to cover the Worbla globe and furnace. I added one more strip of Worbla for decoration and to help secure the pipes against the breastplate and again in the back.
I purchased coin battery LED strands and used them to save time on wiring them myself.
I covered the areas I wanted my LEDs to shine with Transparent Worbla and heated it against the Worbla. I then covered the inside with transparent colored vinyl and lined it with tissue paper to help diffuse the light. Next, I lined the inside where my LEDs would go with tinfoil and closed it all off leaving a hidden craft foam ports to easily access the LED strands to change batteries or replace lights.
MATERIALS USED
Airbrush
Iwata Studio Series
Smart Jet Air
Compressor
Iwata Eclipse Gun
Hot Knife
Drybrushes
Rust-Oleum Black Primer
Spray Paint
Createx Airbrush Paints*
P3 Paints*
FolkArt Acrylic Paints
LePage Wood Glue
Scotch Tape
Paper
*I mixed Createx and P3
together for the perfect
shades of Cygnar Blue/
Yellows
AllIson JAkes pAIntIng tutorIAl
1. Before painting your armor piece, be sure to clean the surface of any remaining residues. For the damage or scratches, use a hot knife to cut into the Worbla and be careful not to cut too deep. PSA: If you’re not sure if the hot knife is on, DO NOT TOUCH IT. A good way to test it is to flick a bit of water on it to see if it sizzles. 2. To begin priming your piece smooth, use four layers of wood glue.
The advantage to wood gluing is that the drying time is much faster (though you can’t sand it) while Gesso takes longer to dry and requires more coats (but can be sanded).
3. After the wood glue has dried, smooth out any lumpy surfaces by wetting your fingers and buffing it out or sand it smooth if you used Gesso.
4. Prime the whole piece black with the Rust-Oleum spray paint as a basecoat.
5. Switch to the airbrush to create the darker blue basecoat and be careful to not go too far to the edges to create the black-blue gradient.
6. Next, airbrush on a lighter shade of blue as the middle highlight. 7. Then airbrush the white highlights.
8. Mask off the inner areas you want to keep blue with the Scotch tape and paper , and then airbrush the inside edges white.
One note: Paint all your armor first to make sure it’s all matching before putting on the
final finishes.
10. Remove the tape and make sure everything looks nice. Don’t worry too much if some paint seeped through because you can take care of it in the drybrushing stages.
11. All the airbrushing is complete now, so you can switch over to your Acrylic paints and drybrushes. Paint all the detailing bolts and trim silver.
12. Use black drybrush along all the edges and create a drop shadow around each bolt and all of the trim, cleaning up any white around the edges.
13. Paint the Cygnar crest black and added all the drop shadows around it. Then paint in the damage/scratches with more black and subtle white/light blue highlights along the edges of the scratches to make them pop.
14. Paint the crest in with yellow; it takes about eight coats to make it really pop.
15. After the crest is done, outline it again with black to make the edges crisp and drybrush in some brown for low lights.
16. To finish it off, drybrush on a few white highlights to the crest and voila! Painting complete!
Now the only thing you have to decide is if you want a gloss, semi-gloss, or matte finish to your armor. I personally use semi-semi-gloss, but
I made templates from a baseball helmet and measured out where to sit my crest. I then covered the whole thing in plastic wrap and tape before drawing out my template.
I cut out the tape template and used it to measure out two sides of Worbla and a piece of craft foam. I sandwiched the two pieces for both sides, leaving the center out.
Next, I heated and formed both pieces around a baseball helmet and pieced it together like magic. I finished it off with a strip of Worbla smoothed down to a nice finish. The second pauldron was much easier because it was all one piece. I covered the entire helmet with Worbla, trimmed the excess, and tucked the edges. The hole in the first pauldron was meant to proudly house my Cygnar crest, which I cut out from craft foam and then glued to another piece of craft foam as a base.
I sandwiched this between two pieces of heated Worbla and then shaped out the crest.
Next, I formed it to the top of the baseball helmet to make it fit nicely into my shoulder.
To make the under-detail vents, I measured out how big to make it based on the bottom measurements from my pauldrons, cut out the shape from 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam, and then measured out where to put all my holes.
I traced all the holes from a simple circle pattern and used an X-ACTO knife to cleanly cut them out.
I sandwiched it between two pieces of Worbla, poking holes with a pin to let all the air out while shaping them in. After I was done, I trimmed the excess Worbla off the edges, tucked the edges in, and loosely rounded them to fit nicely under my pauldron. I then roughly traced the edges around the pauldron and got the right sizing for the raised trim. I cut it all out of craft foam, sandwiched them in Worbla, trimmed the excess, tucked the edges, and attached them around the edges.
For the rank, I measured out the size proportionate to the pauldron and cut it out from 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam, sandwiched it with Worbla, trimmed the excess, tucked the edges and attached it to the pauldron.
To get the right sizing for the inner trim I used Scotch tape to cover the area of the pauldron where I wanted the design/trim and drew the rough trim on top. I then cut out all the shapes from the tape, transferred them to Worbla, and cut them all out again. I attached them to the pauldron and then used upholstery decorative nails for the bolts, attaching Allison’s rank to her second pauldron.
And in the end, I used my hot knife to create random scratches and damage all along the armor.
I took all my measurements to insure a perfect fit and gave everything a little extra just in case things don’t work out right— it’s easier to make things smaller than it is to make them bigger. I bought and altered patterns, but sewing is not my strong point, so I had to get help. My good friend and fellow cosplayer Andrea from Forever Dreaming cosplay helped me by hand drafting the pattern for Allison’s jacket; she taught me how to sew everything After the patterns were figured out, I had to find all the right fabric and notions. Normally you’d make a test pattern out of scrap fabric before starting your actual piece but with time constraints, we had to make do with one pass. I used vinyl for the jacket, belts, and pants, and cotton for the skirts, centerpiece, and pants.
skirts
First I measured how long I wanted the skirts to be out of the cotton fabric, then I measured out the widths of the top and bottom, the bottom being wider than the tops. After I was done cutting out the patterns, I measured out a border for the skirts, making them 2 inches along the sides and 4 inches at the bottom After the edges were all sewn together, I sewed it to the backside of a belt to hold it around my waist.
torso PiEcE
To sew together the centerpiece, I did the same steps as the skirt with the same fabric and measured how long I wanted it to be. I then measured out the widths of the top bottom and center, the bottom and top being wider than the center. After cutting out the patterns, I measured out a border for the torso piece, making them 1 inch along the sides and leaving the bottom open for the Worbla detail. I measured the bottom for the right shape and cut out a triangular piece of craft foam for the bottom, covered it in Worbla, tucked the edges, and used decorative nails for the bolts. I used nails and super glue to hold it to the bottom of the fabric. I then attached D-rings to the back of the torso piece and attached the belts to the D-rings using rivets. After that, I added Velcro to the back to secure them around me snuggly.
PAnts
I took all the measurements for my legs, cut out pre-quilted cotton fabric and vinyl from a modified pants template, and sewed them together. To add the belts, I measured where I wanted them to go and sewed the premade belt ends into my seams. To finish it, I added an elastic band around the inside of the waist belt and sewed it shut. I then added a few rivets on the belts at their connecting points.
JAckEt
Using the patterns Forever Dreaming Cosplay drafted for me, I cut the patterns out of vinyl and sewed them together. I then topstitched and closed all the edges. Next, I added loops around the bottom of the jacket and the top of the collar for my belts. I cut out a simple sleeve pattern from the same pre-quilted material I used for the pants, and I sewed them together. I then
sewIng
A lot of planning went into my smoke machine. After the first failed attempt with a children’s toy, I had to look into small components to make a custom smoke machine. Once e-cigarettes were determined to be a small, cheap, and viable method, I just needed to figure out a way to pump air threw them. With some help from a friend, I found aquarium tank pumps that make bubbles, and as luck would have, they used the same voltage as the e-cigs. I then had some help figuring out how to wire the proper power circuit and battery source before added my wireless trigger.
Everything was wired into a fitting case, and tubes connected the e-cigs into my PVC pipes. When making the turbines, I had left enough space for the case and the battery to sit snuggly. So, with the custom smoke machine finished and mounted, all that was left to do was test them out, and ta-dah! Smoking turbines!
To begin the swords, I took a large piece of paper, folded it in half lengthwise down the center, and then used references to freehand draw a template proportionate to my body along the folded line of paper. I cut it out so it was equal on both sides. I then traced the paper onto EVA foam and used a hot knife to cut out two base shapes for each sword. I then cut out a 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam as my centerpiece guideline and hot glued it to one of the pieces.
I then measured how far to insert the doweling to double as support and a hilt. I marked where it would sit.
I then smoothed out the marked lines careful to not press through to the other side on both pieces, and I inserted the rod.
I then hot glued the whole thing together and marked out where to sand down. I then carved out the base shape with my Dremel. After it was even on both sides, I covered the whole thing in Worbla, being careful to overlap the edges just enough, and then smoothed down all the edges to a nice even blade’s edge. Next, I got to work on the sword’s furnace. This is another fine example of forms being everywhere—I actually used the form from my body soap bottle to get the perfect shape for the sword’s vents. I then used tape to cover the area of the vent where I wanted the design/trim and drew the rough trim on top. I then cut out all the shapes, transferred them to Worbla, cut it all out again, and heated them to the furnace. When the furnace was complete, I measured where the vents would go and, using a hot knife, cut out all the shapes where I had marked. Then I heated the top of the furnace to the bottom of my guard piece and attached both top sides of the sword’s blade.
smoke mAchIne
Using Worbla, I filled in all the gaps with strips and was careful to leave half of the top open to easily access the on switch for the LEDs and then smoothed down all the Worbla edges to a nice clean finish. I then made the outer guard pieces following the reference with 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam. Once they were covered in Worbla, I added the detail strip and used decorative nails to finish it off. I then measured where they would sit and traced out guard piece to cut openings into either side of the main guard and pop them in. After the guard was complete I move onto the pummel and, using the same form as I did for my exhaust pipes, I heated a piece of Worbla and wrapped it around. To get the raised top, I used the same egg shape as the bracers and used the top part of the egg. After trimming and carefully heating the two pieces together I roughly traced vents on the pummel and using my hot knife cut them all out. I then used scrap Worbla pieces as a backing to create insets all around the pummel.
Using 1/4˝ (6 mm) craft foam, I made rings to go around the pummel using the doweling, and I traced the ends and made rings to snuggly fit around it. I covered the ring in Worbla and, using my hot knife, cut out the centers and heated the edges as best I could to the inside to hide the seams.
I then attached one to the top of the guard and, using the same vinyl fabric I used for the belts/jacket/pants, I wrapped a scrap strip all the way around it until I got to the top, then I used the ring I had made for the pummel to hold it all together.
Once the vinyl was set the way I wanted it to be, I fixed the pummel ring in place and trimmed off any excess vinyl before heating the pummel to the ring to close it all off.
For the bottom detail beneath the vent, I used the same method I did to make the bullets and used the small foam ball I found, cut in half. I then covered them in Worbla, trimmed and tucked the edges then cut out rectangles of Worbla and attached it along the bottom of the rim on the ball.
After the Worbla process was done, I used my hot knife to create random scratches and damage all along the armor.
To follow the rest of Allison’s progress and see more final images, check out my progress page, AllieCat Art & Cosplay, on Facebook. I’ll be regularly posting my WIP as I finish the last few pieces leading up to Lock & Load, and once Allison’s complete, I’ll be gearing up to build Allison’s counterpart, Commander Dalin Sturgis, for Brad to wear. It’ll be his first time cosplaying and my first time building a male armor set, so I’m really excited to get started! Feel free to message me on my page or email me at alliecatcos@ gmail.com for any questions you might have or if you have any cosplays you’d like to share with me. I’d love to hear from you! Thank you so much to all my family (especially you Oka-San and Grandma-Grandma!) and to all my friends and to everyone in the Privateer Press community. Thank you for all your kind words and support along the way of my cosplay journey. A special thank you to Andrea at Forever Dreaming Cosplay for all the life-saving sewing advice, and more special thank yous to my photographers—Ryan Cooper at Vancouver Cosplay for all the stunning photos of Allison and Kevin Free at Kevin Free Photography for the gorgeous photos of Lylyth. Thank you also to all my fellow cosplayers who keep me inspired and forever challenging myself. Thank you Scarlette Cosplay, DV8 Props, Kamui Cosplay, Pipa Wolf Cosplay, NefeniCosplay, Armed & Dangerous, Lightning Cosplay, Tara-Rex Cosplay, Kayla Rose
By Ed BourEllE and MichaEl PluMMEr • art By néstor ossandón and andrEa udErzo scEnario By williaM hungErford • chroniclEd By MichaEl sanBEg
F
or this very special No Quarter tenth anniversaryBattle Report, we were determined to pull out all the stops and give you, our faithful reader, a fight to truly remember. Thankfully, the timing could not have been better. With WARMACHINE: Reckoning about to hit the shelves of game stores across the world, this is our last chance to reveal an advanced look at a pair of that tome’s amazing new warcasters. We could not have hoped for a better pair of models to present than the third incarnation of two of the
When it came time to select a player to take the reins of Deneghra, the Soul Weaver and her Cryxian forces, an occasion this big called for none other than Creative Director Ed Bourelle. On the other side of the table, Major Prime Victoria Haley and her Cygnaran army would be commanded by Convention Coordinator Michael Plummer—allowing us to call on the power of the longstanding blood-feud between these two combatants, which readers may recall from the “Hell & Dawn” Battle
cactus
Patch
Player 2
d
eplo
yment
Player 2
ad
l
ine
10
˝
6
˝
7
˝
6
˝
Player 1
ad
l
ine
Player 1
d
eplo
yment
cactus
Patch
water
tower
obstruction
obstruction
obstruction
obstruction
Scenario: Wasteland
The rivalry between the twin warcasters Haley and Deneghra has become legend in the Iron Kingdoms. Rumors coming from Ternon Crag place the location of their last battle along the western border of the Bloodstone Desert, and they say it was a bloody one. Only time will tell if these tales are true—but they sure do make for a good story.
This scenario is intended to be played between a Cygnar army led by any version of Haley and a Cryx army led by any version of Deneghra.
The Cryx player is the first player and has a deployment zone of 7
˝
and an advance deployment of 13˝
. The Cygnar player is the second player and has a deployment zone of 10˝
and an advance deployment of 16˝
.When placing terrain, players cannot use shallow water or forest terrain features. No terrain feature can be placed within 3
˝
of another terrain feature or within any player’s deployment zone.Special Rules
Players can use two new terrain features during this scenario: Cactus Patches and Water Towers.
A Catcus Patch is rough terrain that provides concealment to a model with any part of its base inside the Cactus Patch’s perimeter. Models that are knocked down while in a Cactus Patch suffer d3 damage points.
A Water Tower is an obstruction. When a model begins its activation within 4˝ of a Water Tower, it can run or charge without being forced or spending focus.
Victory Conditions
The Cygnar player is attempting to cross the desert to deliver vital intelligence Haley has acquired. Time is of the essence, and Haley must hurry before Cryxian reinforcements can arrive! The Cygnar player wins the game if Haley ends her activation completely within her opponent’s deployment zone.
The Cryx player is trying to stop Haley at all costs to protect the secrets stolen from the Nightmare Empire. Reinforcements are already on the way to overwhelm Haley and her escort, so she must be stalled until they arrive. The Cryx player wins the game at the end of the Cygnar player’s 6th turn.
Additionally, a player wins if he has the only warcaster(s) or warlock(s) remaining in play.
D
eneghra, the Soul Weaver is great at supporting her army, and her forces can play a pivotal role in fueling her to frightening levels. When it came time to put together an army list, first and foremost I knew I would want models with the ability to harvest souls to allow Deneghra to take full advantage of her extremely potent Soul Weaver ability.For my battlegroup, I started with a Harrower. This is an excellent all-purpose helljack anyway, and it has the added benefit of the Soul Taker ability. Cryx loves its bonejacks with arc nodes, and this game would prove no
Cryx Army Construction—Ed
exception—a Deathripper and a Defiler were the order of the day. I rounded out my battlegroup with a pair of Stalkers to provide an excellent flanking threat to divide Michael’s army before it could get too close.
I added a full unit of Mechanithralls with a full complement of Brute Thralls—naturally using the upcoming Lock & Load exclusive Femme Fatale variant—as the only unit in my army. For solos, I snapped up two Pistol Wraiths primarily for the benefits of Body Count. I also added a pair of Necrotechs to keep the Harrower in good shape and a single Warwitch Siren because, well, she’s just a handy bag of tricks to have on hand. Finally, I added a Wraith Engine. The huge base on this guy would block charges against Deneghra until she’s ready to come out and play, it has excellent threat potential against a Cygnaran gun line, and its Soul Collector ability has the potential to provide rocket fuel for Deneghra.
Dr Df
S
S
M WSWE
N
N
ST STWE
Model/Unit
Points
Deneghra,
The Soul Weaver
+4 warjack pts
Deathripper
4
Defiler
5
Harrower
10
Stalker x2
8 (4 each)
Mechanithralls (10)
5
Brute Thrall x3
3 (1 each)
Necrotech and Scrap Thrall x2 2 (1 each)
Pistol Wraith x2
6 (3 each)
Warwitch Siren
2
Wraith Engine
9
Total
50
D
Dr
Df
H
S
M BTN
ST PW WSD
H
M BT PW PWBe sure to pick up your own Brute Thrall—Femme Fatale variant, available at Lock & Load GameFest and in our online store, June 5–7!
W
hen I found out I would get to play Major Prime Victoria Haley for this Battle Report, I practically jumped for joy. This version of Haley is an amazing toolbox warcaster with answers to a lot of situations. Because of this versatility, there’s a lot of room for personal preference when constructing a list, which allows for significant leeway to play models that mesh well with your own particular play style.I knew I would want a lot of infantry for significant board presence, so when I started thinking about warjacks, I decided to save points and not to take a
Cygnar Army Construction—Michael
colossal. I immediately added Thorn to my battlegroup. Haley Past packs a lot of punch, and the extra range Thorn’s arc node can give me will be infinitely useful in securing victory over Ed’s Cryxian horrors. I wanted at least one heavy-hitting warjack, too, so I picked up Ol’ Rowdy for its high power and focus efficiency. To stretch my focus even further, I gave Haley a Squire. I definitely wanted to take advantage of Cygnar’s ranged superiority over Cryx. A full unit of Tempest Blazers can take out a lot of infantry in a turn or put some hurt on low-ARM warjacks in a pinch, and they’re also an excellent target for Revive. I wanted to add even more ranged output without spending too many points, and the Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team fit the bill perfectly. They would give me even more magic gunshots to deal with Incorporeal models along with a nice suite of special abilities.
S RC TB OR 13 FG
Model/Unit
Points
Major Prime Victoria Haley +3 warjack pts
Thorn
8
Ol’ Rowdy
9
Squire
2
Alexia Ciannor & the Risen (10)
5
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
4
Horgenhold Forge Guard (10)
8
Captain Jonas Murdoch
2
Tempest Blazers (5)
10
Journeyman Warcaster
3
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
2
Total
50 Points
HT
HP HFOR
S A R 13 FG JMTB
J RCWith my ranged firepower taken care of, I turned my attention to melee troops to round out my forces. I’m expecting hard targets on the other side of the table, so I decided to take a full unit of Horgenhold Forge Guard as my main melee threat. With Captain Jonas Murdoch added as a unit attachment, I would be able to bring them back with Revive as Ed picks them off. Rhulic troops are not the fastest, so Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord was an obvious choice to get them through rough terrain in a hurry. With all these bodies on the table, I reached for Alexia Ciannor & the Risen. Arcane Disjunction is a real issue for Cryx, and she can put out major damage when she wants to. Dominate Undead might also come into play against the Nightmare Empire.
With 3 points left, I was looking for a general support piece. A Journeyman Warcaster rounds out my force quite nicely, providing a little more ranged “oomph” when I need it along with an Arcane Shield to bolster my defenses. This is a very well-rounded army, and I think it can counter almost anything Ed wants to throw at me. I know it’s going to be a bloody slog against one of my favorite WARMACHINE opponents, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
H HP HF
T
J A R JMCryx – Ed
Cryx – Ed
Deployment
My deployment would have to be based solely on the terrain, since I was going first. For pre-deployment, I put Deneghra just right of center where she could move toward the Cactus Patches. I didn’t want the buildings on the left limiting where her base would fit if I could avoid it. I then pre-deployed the Wraith Engine left of center, leaving enough space for a large base between it and Deneghra. With no pre-deployment from Michael, I began placing the majority of my force. The Mechanithralls went to the left of the Wraith Engine where they could surge ahead and jam up the buildings on that flank and possibly find cover. I placed the Harrower with a Necrotech behind it between the two huge bases. The Defiler took up position left of the huge-base formation, and on the right side I dropped the Deathripper. I added one Pistol Wraith to each flank and finished things off with my second Necrotech, the Warwitch Siren, and both Scrap Thralls in the open space to the right of Deneghra.
Ed has his forces spread pretty evenly throughout his deployment zone, so I knew I would need to build a wide frontage to take him on. His Mechanithralls were on my right, so I deployed my Tempest Blazers and the Black 13th in a good position to take them on. All his heavy armor was on my left flank, so I responded with my Forge Guard and Alexia & the Risen across from those threats. Haley took her place in the center of my force with Thorn, Ol’ Rowdy, and the Squire. This should offer me tactical flexibility to deal with whatever threats I need to counter. I put Rhupert in place to buff my Forge Guard and the Journeyman Warcaster at the center of the table to support Haley.
Cygnar – Michael
Advanced Deployment
Michael had a pretty even spread of forces, so I placed my Stalkers as far forward as I could get them on either side.
Round 1
Cryx – Ed
I allocated 1 focus to each of Deneghra’s five warjacks, leaving 2 on her. I then used the Wraith Engine’s Apparition ability to place it 2˝ forward. Time for the turn-one-run! On the flanks, both Pistol Wraiths ran forward, one into the Cactus Patch on the right and the other behind the forward-most building on the left. In the center, the Harrower ran to within 4˝ of the Water Tower. On the right flank, thanks to Pathfinder, the Stalker ran straight through the Cactus Patch as far as it could go. Also on the right, the Pistol Wraith and Warwitch Siren ran into the Cactus Patch, the Necrotech ran just ahead of the rock obstruction, the Deathripper ran behind the Cactus Patch, and the Scrap Thralls ran forward.
Over on the left, the Stalker ran up and around the corner of the closest building toward the far flank. The Defiler ran next to the Water Tower followed by the Mechanithralls that filled the passage between the Water Tower and the left-most building. I was careful to leave enough space for the Defiler to move forward, should I choose to activate it before moving the thralls.
In the center, the Wraith Engine advanced straight up the middle toward the Water Tower, followed by
the last Necrotech running up behind the Harrower. Lastly, Deneghra cast Grave Wind on herself for +2 DEF and Poltergeist. She then advanced as far forward as she could get behind the Wraith Engine and Necrotech.
Round 1
Ed took a pretty standard first turn, and I wasn’t really surprised about where he was going with anything in his army. I decided not to allocate any focus to my battlegroup this turn, so I wouldn’t be tempted to over-extend too early. The Tempest Blazers activated and advanced to put themselves in a strong shooting position next turn, hopefully without taking a charge before then. The Black 13th followed suit, getting themselves a bit forward and into cover to avoid coming under fire from the Pistol Wraith on my right flank.
On the other side of the battlefield, Rhupert Carvolo used his March ability on the Horgenhold Forge Guard before advancing. The Forge Guard ran to put themselves as far forward as they were able, through the Cactus Patch thanks to Pathfinder from Rhupert.
Center-stage, Thorn advanced forward but not too far forward. I kept him at the center of the table so I could divert him to whichever side of the field would most need his support next turn. Next, Haley Prime advanced and spent 4 of her 8 focus to utilize her Time Walker ability twice, adding both Haley Past and Haley Future to her unit. These models can’t activate on the turn they come into play, but I needed them to set up for Round 2. Haley Prime then cast Tactical Supremacy on the Forge Guard to get a little more distance out of them and Temporal Flux to give a defensive boost to any models close by.
Alexia & the Risen ran in behind the Forge Guard, ready to pick up any corpses Ed might create and to act as a second wave in case he wipes out my dwarves. The Squire advanced behind Haley to allow her to benefit from its various abilities. Ol’ Rowdy ran up behind the Tempest Blazers without spending focus, thanks to Aggressive. To finish things off, the Journeyman Warcaster advanced. Looking at how this is all playing out, I realized Haley wasn’t going to be sitting on very much focus this game, so I cast Arcane Shield on her unit. After all of my activations had completed, the Horgenhold Forge Guard made their Tactical Supremacy move, and I sat back to see what Ed had in store for me.
Round 2
Cryx – Ed
Deneghra upkept Grave Wind and allocated 1 focus to each Stalker. I then used Apparition to place the Wraith Engine 2˝ forward, after which it became Incorporeal thanks to its Wraith Walker ability.
Now it was time to put the Wraith Engine at the center of the battle. It ran forward, cutting through the Water Tower, thanks to Incorporeal. This would make it a big but tough-to-crack target and put it in prime position for Soul Collector. To take advantage of that right away, I advanced the Warwitch Siren to the center and cast Venom at a pair of Forge Guard. Hitting their low DEF was no problem, and thanks to a couple of high damage rolls, both died to the corrosive spray. The Wraith Engine gained their souls, but over on Michael’s side, Alexia picked up two corpse tokens. We literally split the spoils between us.
When it comes to WARMACHINE, I do not like to share. I was going to have to get Alexia’s attention in the backfield. To that end, I ran the Stalker on the right flank a full 14˝ to pose a threat from behind in the hopes that Michael would decide to deal with it sooner rather than later.
Also on the right, the Pistol Wraith advanced through the Cactus Patch and shot down another Forge Guard. Soul to the Pistol Wraith, Corpse to Alexia. Grrr… The Pistol Wraith’s second shot hit another Forge Guard but failed to kill him. Maybe that’s a good thing—I had enough souls for the turn.
The Scrap Thralls ran around each side of the Cactus Patch and forward of the Pistol Wraith to create targets for the Forge Guard and hopefully to take attention away from the Pistol Wraith. Wrapping up activations on the right flank, the Deathripper advanced along the outside of the Cactus Patch.
Thanks to its proximity to the Water Tower, the Defiler was able to run to the front of the obstruction without spending focus. Deneghra then used her Soul Weaver ability to remove two souls from the Wraith Engine and place them on herself. This is where Deneghra becomes deadly efficient. Using her Soul Mastery ability, I removed one soul token from her to trigger Arcane Spirits, which allows her to cast a spell with COST 3 or less without spending focus. Mortality is my spell of choice in this case, which I cast through the Defiler’s arc node, targeting Thorn. Using a focus point to boost, I hit the high DEF warjack and caused it to suffer -2 DEF and ARM. Again using Soul Mastery, I removed a soul from her. This time I triggered her Vengeful Spirits ability, which allocates up to 3 focus to a warjack in her battlegroup within her
CMD range. I chose the Harrower and filled it with focus. Deneghra then advanced up behind the Wraith Engine. Between Grave Wind and the 3 focus on her, she was sitting at a respectable DEF 17 and ARM 19.
Next up was the Harrower, which advanced before boosting a Mortifier shot at Thorn. The shot connected, and thanks to Mortality, the boosted damage roll inflicted 8 damage despite mediocre dice results.
On the left flank, the Mechanithralls ran forward to the midline of the battlefield, engaging one Tempest Blazer in the process. The remaining Stalker then ran around the far building, keeping close to its edge to gain as much distance around it as possible. The Pistol Wraith followed up, taking shelter from all the magelock pistols behind the same building. Lastly, the Necrotechs advanced toward the Harrower so they would be able to move into base contact for repairs next turn.
Overall, this felt like a pretty good turn. There was a lot pressure on Michael’s army, and it was coming from a lot of different directions.
