Well, I haven't been posting much (okay, okay, not at all), but I have actually been playing games, so I figured I'd post an update of what I've been up to, by army.
Dark Elves:
What? A fantasy game? That's right- I played a 3000 point Fantasy game against Frans' Skaven last month. Our scenario was Battle for the Pass. It wasn't super close, but it did teach me a bit more about how fantasy works (at least from the Dark Elves' perspective). I have a bit of learning to do, no doubt.
Cryx:
I've played a few games with Cryx. Last month I played Iron Lich Asphyxious against Rob running Vlad, and got a win. My highlight of that game was using my newly assembled Darragh Wraithe. I didn't get much mileage out of him, admittedly, but the threat of Incorporeal Soulhunters did help dictate the game some.
I've been busy fixing a lot of my old Cryx models (mainly jacks). My hope is to assemble Mortenebra soon and get them (and her) on the table.
Skorne:
I've been playing a lot more frequently with my Skorne, including breaking out some new warlocks.
First, I gave Naaresh a try, in two games- one against Jerry playing as Siege, and one against Rob running Harkevich. Although I won in both games (although the one against Jerry was partially because I did a poor job explaining the scenario), I feel like Naaresh was just there to pop his feat and let his beasts do the work. I've been running him fairly beast heavy (Titan Gladiator + 2 Cyclops + Razorworm + Basilisk Krea), because his feat is very good, I just haven't gotten a feel for what I should be doing otherwise with him. Cyclone is a nice spell, but he's not going to be able to assassinate casters, and really its just there to get him out of unfavorable combats. Still undecided about him.
I've been loving Dominar Rasheth however. In three game (loss vs Ben playing Grissel, and wins vs BK playing the Harbinger and Rob playing Vayl) I've already decided I love the way he plays. Running the Cannoneer + an Agonizer does a good job keeping him alive, and running Gatormen Posse and a few beasts seem to provide him with enough punch. I'll be working to tweak what I run with him (I need to buy Nihilators!) and posting some battle reports of those games.
Finally, I ran Mordikaar once, against Rob's Bethayne army. It turned out to be a pretty favorable matchup, but man Mordikaar seems like a boring 'lock. I Revived what I could every turn, popped my feat on the second turn, and had Marketh cast Ghost Walk once. Other than that, my warlock was basically a spectator. Not too impressive... but I'll try some more times.
Legion:
I finally played a game with my Legion! Unfortunately, it was a game using regular Lylyth with a bunch of melee elements. Needless to say, I'm not very good with Legion, and I got destroyed by Ben's new Retribution army. We'll see if I can get something working with these guys (maybe with Thagrosh). I did, however, finish a fun conversion for Legion this weekend, which I'll post pictures of on Monday morning, most likely. Let me know what you think when it's up!
Anyway- I'm still here, just not frequently. I'm excited that I'm playing more games of late, so hopefully I can use that to drive my painting as well (since strangers now see my miniatures semi-regularly!).
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Lord Tyrant Hexeris: Thoughts/Tips
I finally have some experience with Hexeris (at least enough to write SOMETHING about him). He's certainly different than the other Skorne warlocks I've used, and with his epic version coming out, there's never been a better time to be excited about him!
Stats:
His stats aren't really amazing (or terrible) all around. Average SPD, decent MAT, DEF, and ARM. Having 17 damage boxes actually puts him slightly above average in Skorne, and he has a few ways to heal himself. His FURY stat of 7 is really nice as well. Overall, his stats are pretty average or slightly above average.
Attacks:
His only attack is Gulgata, a moderate P+S weapon with reach. It has Beat Back, which is a nice ability that lets Hexeris move his opponent around some, either to push him into a more favorable position, or even to push him out of combat, if you'd like. Also, it has Life Drinker- if he kills a living enemy model, he can heal d3 damage.
I don't find myself getting into combat much with Hexeris, but it's actually not that bad if you do. P+S 14 will definitely get the job done, and with Beat Back to help move people out of combat if you'd like, Life Drinker will help keep him alive, and with Vampiric Reaving (look under Special Rules) he can really get a lot of Fury during his turn to be very effective. Of course, you aren't going to have that happen too terribly often, but even though it rarely occurs it's a nice addition.
Feat:
Hexeris' feat is Dark Dominion. When an enemy living or undead model is boxed while in his control area, you gain control of them, they become undead, they can move three inches, make an attack, and then are removed from play. With luck, you can chain this through your opponent's army, getting a lot of value for a single death (although in practice, you're lucky to get even the one extra dead model per model you kill). With luck, you can drop an opponent's warbeast with some of your attacks, and get a free warbeast attack (with no lost aspects) on another of an opponent's models.
As I 've said, with some luck, this becomes a TERRIFYING feat. I mean, it can end a game sometimes. Usually, you'll use it to kill models that are blocking charge lanes, or get a few extra points of damage on something that you're having a hard time killing.
Spells:
Death March: This spell tends to get used every game. Extra MAT and Vengeance is really helpful in a generally melee oriented army. You'll need the extra MAT often enough to make it worth using for that alone, but having the extra attacks from Vengeance, plus the extra movement can make even mediocre offensive units into something a lot scarier. Throw it on something first turn, and move it to something else when the time comes.
Obliteration: AOE 4 POW 15 attack. Decent damage and the AOE is nice, but at a cost of 4, you're not likely to cast it often during your games. However, on the feat turn, sending one of these into a group of enemies can really get you started on the right foot. I find I rarely cast this.
Psychic Vampire: This spell is incredibly helpful against some armies, and not nearly as useful against others. However, even with the 'less useful' armies, it still might be nice to cast right away and upkeep it. Whenever an enemy model casts a spell or uses an animus while in Hexeris' control area, they take a point of damage and Hexeris heals a point. This spell will put a definite limit on the lifespan of several units, including Greylords, Battle Mages, Hex Hunters, and Druids. It'll also chip away at those spell casting solos pretty quickly. The healing is a nice bonus that could occasionally keep you in the game.
Against warcasters and warlocks, it's not quite so strong, but how often do you find your opponent at 1 health after your turn? Often enough that this can really be a powerful spell.
Soulfire: This is a pretty solid spell. It's POW 12, but removes the boxed model from play if it kills it (effectively making it useless for your feat). However, if you kill a living non-soulless model with the spell, you gain a fury (effectively making the spell only cost a single fury to cast!). POW 12 is high enough to be deadly to most infantry, and with the extra fury you can get a lot of mileage out of this spell.
Soul Slave: Two parts to this one- first, the warbeast you cast it on automatically passes threshold checks. That's actually not so bad on its own, although with Paingivers and FURY 7 you're not going to be struggling horribly with managing it. However, in addition to that, Hexeris can channel through the model this spell is on. That's REALLY nice.
Throw it on a Bronzeback, and none of your Titans needs to worry about Threshold checks. Throw it on a Gladiator, slam something, and start casting at the knocked down models.
There are plenty of ways that this spell can be handy so it's probably good enough to say that you'll be throwing this on something from the very beginning and upkeeping it the entire time.
Special Rules:
Vampiric Reaving: Hexeris can reave fury from enemy warbeasts if he's closer than anyone else who could do the reaving. Not only do you get extra fury, which is always really helpful for spell casting, healing, or holding for transferring, but you also deprive it from your opponent, who is going to be more restricted about doing those things next turn. Of course, this ability means that you'll want to keep Hexeris up towards the front line a little, but with the abilities he has to help heal himself, having him just behind the front line isn't such a bad idea.
Synergies:
Cyclops Savage: Other than the benefits the Cyclops Savage gives to the other members of your army, there isn't really any major synergy between the two. Perhaps making Soulfire more likely to hit would be nice, but there are probably better targets for Prescience. Soul Slave isn't really that helpful on the Savage either.
Molik Karn: Since Karn is so good in every list, it makes sense that he would work so well with Hexeris. Soul Slave is really nice for when Karn gets too far ahead. You can very effectively extend your spell threat range. The amount of pain Karn can dish out can really feed Hexeris' feat turn. Hexeris' 14" control area gives Karn the ability to operate even further out.
Titan Cannoneer: I really like taking a Cannoneer with Hexeris for a few reasons. First, the gun is very handy on the feat turn. Shooting into low ARM infantry can really effectively clear them out. Second, when you're in position to shoot the gun, you'll be in position to channel some offensive spells through (via Soul Slave). The shooting + offensive spells can make for a moderately effective ranged threat. Also, since Hexeris is likely to be fairly close to the front, Diminish is a very handy animus to have available.
Titan Gladiator: Another very strong choice for Hexeris. Soul Slave allows you to put an arc node equivalent right in the midst of your opponent's army, where, after a Gladiator's slam, you should have some very vulnerable targets to drop an Obliteration or a Soulfire onto. Using the Gladiator as any sort of wrecking ball for some spell attacks is pretty effective.
Paingiver Beast Handlers: Not really any major synergy, although you can run really beast heavy if you wanted, because Soul Slave removes the threat of frenzying from a beast. Of course, you'll end up taking these guys in almost every list you can take anyway.
Praetorian Swordsmen: Death March on these guys is really nice. They become MAT 8 with is really nice, and with Vengeance, they become quite a bit more threatening, especially to a nearby beast or jack. Moving from two attacks to a potential three, in addition to the extra movement potentially provided by Vengeance (and Side-Step, of course), Hexeris can turn this unit into a huge pain in your opponent's army. Certainly not a bad choice.
Agonizer: There's no special synergy with the Agonizer, but the extra durability that he could bring may be handy. Two less damage from living models may be the difference between alive and dead with Hexeris, you never know.
Ancestral Guardian: Not any particular synergy, but reach and potential to have extra attacks can make the Ancestral Guardian an effective starter during a feat turn.
Tier Thoughts:
Hexeris' tier list is called the 'Kingdom of Shadow.' It's a very non-restrictive list of models you can include, although to hit tier 4 you're required to take 2 units of Praetorian Swordsmen (giving them Advanced Deployment), Aptimus Marketh (who I'll review soon, and is an amazing choice), and at least two Cataphract units. The benefits (Advance Deploy, Advance Move, and an extended deployment zone) are all geared to get you to grips with the enemy faster, and combined with Death March and some strong beasts, this could be a very effective combination of tools.
Oh, and he gets to have all his upkeeps up on the first turn. That's just fantastic of course. I've heard about using a Soul Slaved Razor Worm to put a shot into your opponent's deployment zone Turn 1, but I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know exactly how helpful that is.
Since this list is fairly open, I'll try to get it on the table one of these days in the not too distant future. Looks like it could be very effective.
Thoughts:
Overall, Hexeris is a fairly strong caster. You don't see him taken in a lot of major tournaments, because he isn't as 'easy' as some of the other strong Skorne casters. You'll want to take a strong melee-oriented army, with at least one good melee unit (even Swordsmen work here), and a beast that'll need to be up close. All three of his upkeeps will probably be in play the entire game, leaving Hexeris enough focus for a solid Soulfire shot. I think Aptimus Marketh is absolutely required to run Hexeris- the extra spell a turn can save you some focus (even if you're just recasting an upkeep so that Hexeris doesn't have to pay for it), and the occasional ability to upkeep spells can help Hexeris' fury go a long way.
You'll probably end up playing fairly close to the action, so you'll need to make sure to have some protection as well as focus to leave on Hexeris in order to transfer damage. He can heal himself, a couple of ways, which will extend his lifespan. I've been able to fairly successfully run Hexeris as a backfield caster, but it can be a little tough if your Soul Slaved beast gets heavily engaged.
Stats:
His stats aren't really amazing (or terrible) all around. Average SPD, decent MAT, DEF, and ARM. Having 17 damage boxes actually puts him slightly above average in Skorne, and he has a few ways to heal himself. His FURY stat of 7 is really nice as well. Overall, his stats are pretty average or slightly above average.
Attacks:
His only attack is Gulgata, a moderate P+S weapon with reach. It has Beat Back, which is a nice ability that lets Hexeris move his opponent around some, either to push him into a more favorable position, or even to push him out of combat, if you'd like. Also, it has Life Drinker- if he kills a living enemy model, he can heal d3 damage.
I don't find myself getting into combat much with Hexeris, but it's actually not that bad if you do. P+S 14 will definitely get the job done, and with Beat Back to help move people out of combat if you'd like, Life Drinker will help keep him alive, and with Vampiric Reaving (look under Special Rules) he can really get a lot of Fury during his turn to be very effective. Of course, you aren't going to have that happen too terribly often, but even though it rarely occurs it's a nice addition.
Feat:
Hexeris' feat is Dark Dominion. When an enemy living or undead model is boxed while in his control area, you gain control of them, they become undead, they can move three inches, make an attack, and then are removed from play. With luck, you can chain this through your opponent's army, getting a lot of value for a single death (although in practice, you're lucky to get even the one extra dead model per model you kill). With luck, you can drop an opponent's warbeast with some of your attacks, and get a free warbeast attack (with no lost aspects) on another of an opponent's models.
As I 've said, with some luck, this becomes a TERRIFYING feat. I mean, it can end a game sometimes. Usually, you'll use it to kill models that are blocking charge lanes, or get a few extra points of damage on something that you're having a hard time killing.
Spells:
Death March: This spell tends to get used every game. Extra MAT and Vengeance is really helpful in a generally melee oriented army. You'll need the extra MAT often enough to make it worth using for that alone, but having the extra attacks from Vengeance, plus the extra movement can make even mediocre offensive units into something a lot scarier. Throw it on something first turn, and move it to something else when the time comes.
Obliteration: AOE 4 POW 15 attack. Decent damage and the AOE is nice, but at a cost of 4, you're not likely to cast it often during your games. However, on the feat turn, sending one of these into a group of enemies can really get you started on the right foot. I find I rarely cast this.
Psychic Vampire: This spell is incredibly helpful against some armies, and not nearly as useful against others. However, even with the 'less useful' armies, it still might be nice to cast right away and upkeep it. Whenever an enemy model casts a spell or uses an animus while in Hexeris' control area, they take a point of damage and Hexeris heals a point. This spell will put a definite limit on the lifespan of several units, including Greylords, Battle Mages, Hex Hunters, and Druids. It'll also chip away at those spell casting solos pretty quickly. The healing is a nice bonus that could occasionally keep you in the game.
Against warcasters and warlocks, it's not quite so strong, but how often do you find your opponent at 1 health after your turn? Often enough that this can really be a powerful spell.
Soulfire: This is a pretty solid spell. It's POW 12, but removes the boxed model from play if it kills it (effectively making it useless for your feat). However, if you kill a living non-soulless model with the spell, you gain a fury (effectively making the spell only cost a single fury to cast!). POW 12 is high enough to be deadly to most infantry, and with the extra fury you can get a lot of mileage out of this spell.
Soul Slave: Two parts to this one- first, the warbeast you cast it on automatically passes threshold checks. That's actually not so bad on its own, although with Paingivers and FURY 7 you're not going to be struggling horribly with managing it. However, in addition to that, Hexeris can channel through the model this spell is on. That's REALLY nice.
Throw it on a Bronzeback, and none of your Titans needs to worry about Threshold checks. Throw it on a Gladiator, slam something, and start casting at the knocked down models.
There are plenty of ways that this spell can be handy so it's probably good enough to say that you'll be throwing this on something from the very beginning and upkeeping it the entire time.
Special Rules:
Vampiric Reaving: Hexeris can reave fury from enemy warbeasts if he's closer than anyone else who could do the reaving. Not only do you get extra fury, which is always really helpful for spell casting, healing, or holding for transferring, but you also deprive it from your opponent, who is going to be more restricted about doing those things next turn. Of course, this ability means that you'll want to keep Hexeris up towards the front line a little, but with the abilities he has to help heal himself, having him just behind the front line isn't such a bad idea.
Synergies:
Cyclops Savage: Other than the benefits the Cyclops Savage gives to the other members of your army, there isn't really any major synergy between the two. Perhaps making Soulfire more likely to hit would be nice, but there are probably better targets for Prescience. Soul Slave isn't really that helpful on the Savage either.
Molik Karn: Since Karn is so good in every list, it makes sense that he would work so well with Hexeris. Soul Slave is really nice for when Karn gets too far ahead. You can very effectively extend your spell threat range. The amount of pain Karn can dish out can really feed Hexeris' feat turn. Hexeris' 14" control area gives Karn the ability to operate even further out.
Titan Cannoneer: I really like taking a Cannoneer with Hexeris for a few reasons. First, the gun is very handy on the feat turn. Shooting into low ARM infantry can really effectively clear them out. Second, when you're in position to shoot the gun, you'll be in position to channel some offensive spells through (via Soul Slave). The shooting + offensive spells can make for a moderately effective ranged threat. Also, since Hexeris is likely to be fairly close to the front, Diminish is a very handy animus to have available.
Titan Gladiator: Another very strong choice for Hexeris. Soul Slave allows you to put an arc node equivalent right in the midst of your opponent's army, where, after a Gladiator's slam, you should have some very vulnerable targets to drop an Obliteration or a Soulfire onto. Using the Gladiator as any sort of wrecking ball for some spell attacks is pretty effective.
Paingiver Beast Handlers: Not really any major synergy, although you can run really beast heavy if you wanted, because Soul Slave removes the threat of frenzying from a beast. Of course, you'll end up taking these guys in almost every list you can take anyway.
Praetorian Swordsmen: Death March on these guys is really nice. They become MAT 8 with is really nice, and with Vengeance, they become quite a bit more threatening, especially to a nearby beast or jack. Moving from two attacks to a potential three, in addition to the extra movement potentially provided by Vengeance (and Side-Step, of course), Hexeris can turn this unit into a huge pain in your opponent's army. Certainly not a bad choice.
Agonizer: There's no special synergy with the Agonizer, but the extra durability that he could bring may be handy. Two less damage from living models may be the difference between alive and dead with Hexeris, you never know.
Ancestral Guardian: Not any particular synergy, but reach and potential to have extra attacks can make the Ancestral Guardian an effective starter during a feat turn.
Tier Thoughts:
Hexeris' tier list is called the 'Kingdom of Shadow.' It's a very non-restrictive list of models you can include, although to hit tier 4 you're required to take 2 units of Praetorian Swordsmen (giving them Advanced Deployment), Aptimus Marketh (who I'll review soon, and is an amazing choice), and at least two Cataphract units. The benefits (Advance Deploy, Advance Move, and an extended deployment zone) are all geared to get you to grips with the enemy faster, and combined with Death March and some strong beasts, this could be a very effective combination of tools.
Oh, and he gets to have all his upkeeps up on the first turn. That's just fantastic of course. I've heard about using a Soul Slaved Razor Worm to put a shot into your opponent's deployment zone Turn 1, but I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know exactly how helpful that is.
Since this list is fairly open, I'll try to get it on the table one of these days in the not too distant future. Looks like it could be very effective.
Thoughts:
Overall, Hexeris is a fairly strong caster. You don't see him taken in a lot of major tournaments, because he isn't as 'easy' as some of the other strong Skorne casters. You'll want to take a strong melee-oriented army, with at least one good melee unit (even Swordsmen work here), and a beast that'll need to be up close. All three of his upkeeps will probably be in play the entire game, leaving Hexeris enough focus for a solid Soulfire shot. I think Aptimus Marketh is absolutely required to run Hexeris- the extra spell a turn can save you some focus (even if you're just recasting an upkeep so that Hexeris doesn't have to pay for it), and the occasional ability to upkeep spells can help Hexeris' fury go a long way.
You'll probably end up playing fairly close to the action, so you'll need to make sure to have some protection as well as focus to leave on Hexeris in order to transfer damage. He can heal himself, a couple of ways, which will extend his lifespan. I've been able to fairly successfully run Hexeris as a backfield caster, but it can be a little tough if your Soul Slaved beast gets heavily engaged.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Skorne vs Khador, 35 pts, 9/23/11
No pictures sadly, but did at least get a game in against Rob.
My list:
Archdomina Makeda
* Basilisk Krea
* Molik Karn
* Titan Gladiator
Cataphract Arcuarii (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Ancestral Guardian
Nothing really out of the ordinary here, in my opinion. I'm trying to run the Arcuarii in every list for a bit to see how I like the feel of them.
Rob's list:
Supreme Kommandant Irusk
* Demolisher
Doom Reavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Greylord Escort
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts)
* Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard
* 2 Winter Guard Infantry Rocketeers
Winter Guard Mortar Crew (Leader and Grunt)
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich
Rob has had some success recently with this list against Ben (from Impact Hits). He was certainly hoping to duplicate that success against me!
We rolled for scenario, and ended up with Overrun. In this scenario there is a 36" x 8" rectangle in the middle of the table, and you are working on getting control points. Pretty standard.
Rob won the roll-off, and elected to go second. The control area had forest on both the left and the right sides, with not much terrain down the middle. I deployed my Swordsmen with the Ancestral Guardian on the right, and everything else on the left.
My first turn was just a basic advance. Most things ran, to get into position. The Krea advanced and used it's animus, and most of the army on my left hunkered around it. I threw Savagery on Makeda and Defender's Ward on the Gladiator.
Rob had his Winter Guard, the Demolisher, and the Kayazy Eliminators run on the right, staying just out of the control zone. The Doom Reavers and Great Bears ran up on my left, with the Doom Reavers entering the control point forest. Irusk cast Fire for Effect on the Mortar, which advances, and Tactical Supremacy on the Demolisher, which got a few extra bits of movement.
I run my Swordsmen into the woods on my left, trying to keep them safe and able to contest the control area should things go bad. I move Makeda forward into the control area to get her control zone into place, pops her feat, and casts Carnage, while moving the Krea, Gladiator, and Arcuarii around her. Molik Karn charges the single Doom Reaver he can see in the forest in the left, and after some side-steps and swings, kills 4 of the Doom Reavers.
Now we're fully engaged, and Rob starts the shooting off. He starts with a Mortar shot at Makeda, but deviates well past her, killing two Paingiver Beast Handlers. Rob spends a few minutes deciding whether to send the Demolisher charging into Makeda, but after some deliberation, realizes he's definitely out of range. The Doom Reavers take chunks out of Molik Karn, and are helped by 2 of the Great Bears who move in to support. They don't fully kill him though (almost!). The Winter Guard move up, get into position, and try a CRA at Makeda, which ends up as a POW 18 attack. The 9 damage is transferred to the Basilisk. Irusk moves to the left, and pops his feat (not realizing he's pretty far out of range for certain of my guys). The Demolisher decides to start shooting at Makeda, but the Krea's animus keeps her safe, and the scatters end up killing a Swordsmen.
After some quick checking, we find out that the only models of mine that the feat affected were about 3 Swordsmen, who don't need the extra distance to reach his Winter Guard. Poor Rob was a bit displeased about this- he mentioned later that Irusk's positioning with the feat cost him the game (for what it's worth, I agree).
I start my third turn off by upkeeping Defender's Ward on the Gladiator, advancing Makeda pretty far, and once again casting Carnage. Molik Karn goes on a rampage after getting healed some, killing all the Great Bears and Doom Reavers (poor tough rolls by Rob). The Arcuarii kill 3 Winter Guard, which clears a path for my Gladiator to charge into the Demolisher, doing some moderate damage (my rolls here were pretty poor). My Swordsmen end up killing another 3 of the Winter Guard.
We're pretty tied up here, but I"m definitely winning the attrition war at this point.
Rob decides to go for a pretty ballsy move, and casts Artifice of Deviation on top of the Gladiator, allowing the Demolisher to charge through him into Makeda. He first drops a Mortar on top of the Krea, but doesn't get a whole lot of damage out of it. The Demolisher charges, but the rolls don't happen to go in Rob's favor, and the 2 attacks that end up hitting Makeda are transferred to the Basilisk, killing it. The Winter Guard turn their attention to the pesky Swordsmen, and end up killing all but one.
Fully stuck in, I hammer the Demolisher with the Arcuarii, and Makeda finishes it off (and casts Defender's Ward on herself). Molik Karn gets healed up some, and slowly moves to rejoin the battle. The Ancestral Guardian and the Gladiator kill almost all of the Winter Guard. Rob is running really low on guys!
Rob again decides to go for broke. The Mortar takes a shot at Makeda, hits, but can't do any damage. Irusk Battle Lust's the Eliminators, who rush in, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, none of their 4 attacks hits Makeda, and Rob decides to concede, tired of the ineptitude of his underlings.
So, another hard-fought win for the Skorne. We talked a bit, and I just don't think the Demolisher works with Irusk. I thought that maybe a Destroyer will be better, and Rob had some ideas himself. He also thought about switching in Fenris for some more offensive punch. I guess we'll see!
My list:
Archdomina Makeda
* Basilisk Krea
* Molik Karn
* Titan Gladiator
Cataphract Arcuarii (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard
Ancestral Guardian
Nothing really out of the ordinary here, in my opinion. I'm trying to run the Arcuarii in every list for a bit to see how I like the feel of them.
Rob's list:
Supreme Kommandant Irusk
* Demolisher
Doom Reavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)
* Greylord Escort
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Kayazy Eliminators (Leader and Grunt)
Winter Guard Infantry (Leader and 9 Grunts)
* Winter Guard Infantry Officer & Standard
* 2 Winter Guard Infantry Rocketeers
Winter Guard Mortar Crew (Leader and Grunt)
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich
Rob has had some success recently with this list against Ben (from Impact Hits). He was certainly hoping to duplicate that success against me!
We rolled for scenario, and ended up with Overrun. In this scenario there is a 36" x 8" rectangle in the middle of the table, and you are working on getting control points. Pretty standard.
Rob won the roll-off, and elected to go second. The control area had forest on both the left and the right sides, with not much terrain down the middle. I deployed my Swordsmen with the Ancestral Guardian on the right, and everything else on the left.
My first turn was just a basic advance. Most things ran, to get into position. The Krea advanced and used it's animus, and most of the army on my left hunkered around it. I threw Savagery on Makeda and Defender's Ward on the Gladiator.
Rob had his Winter Guard, the Demolisher, and the Kayazy Eliminators run on the right, staying just out of the control zone. The Doom Reavers and Great Bears ran up on my left, with the Doom Reavers entering the control point forest. Irusk cast Fire for Effect on the Mortar, which advances, and Tactical Supremacy on the Demolisher, which got a few extra bits of movement.
I run my Swordsmen into the woods on my left, trying to keep them safe and able to contest the control area should things go bad. I move Makeda forward into the control area to get her control zone into place, pops her feat, and casts Carnage, while moving the Krea, Gladiator, and Arcuarii around her. Molik Karn charges the single Doom Reaver he can see in the forest in the left, and after some side-steps and swings, kills 4 of the Doom Reavers.
Now we're fully engaged, and Rob starts the shooting off. He starts with a Mortar shot at Makeda, but deviates well past her, killing two Paingiver Beast Handlers. Rob spends a few minutes deciding whether to send the Demolisher charging into Makeda, but after some deliberation, realizes he's definitely out of range. The Doom Reavers take chunks out of Molik Karn, and are helped by 2 of the Great Bears who move in to support. They don't fully kill him though (almost!). The Winter Guard move up, get into position, and try a CRA at Makeda, which ends up as a POW 18 attack. The 9 damage is transferred to the Basilisk. Irusk moves to the left, and pops his feat (not realizing he's pretty far out of range for certain of my guys). The Demolisher decides to start shooting at Makeda, but the Krea's animus keeps her safe, and the scatters end up killing a Swordsmen.
After some quick checking, we find out that the only models of mine that the feat affected were about 3 Swordsmen, who don't need the extra distance to reach his Winter Guard. Poor Rob was a bit displeased about this- he mentioned later that Irusk's positioning with the feat cost him the game (for what it's worth, I agree).
I start my third turn off by upkeeping Defender's Ward on the Gladiator, advancing Makeda pretty far, and once again casting Carnage. Molik Karn goes on a rampage after getting healed some, killing all the Great Bears and Doom Reavers (poor tough rolls by Rob). The Arcuarii kill 3 Winter Guard, which clears a path for my Gladiator to charge into the Demolisher, doing some moderate damage (my rolls here were pretty poor). My Swordsmen end up killing another 3 of the Winter Guard.
We're pretty tied up here, but I"m definitely winning the attrition war at this point.
Rob decides to go for a pretty ballsy move, and casts Artifice of Deviation on top of the Gladiator, allowing the Demolisher to charge through him into Makeda. He first drops a Mortar on top of the Krea, but doesn't get a whole lot of damage out of it. The Demolisher charges, but the rolls don't happen to go in Rob's favor, and the 2 attacks that end up hitting Makeda are transferred to the Basilisk, killing it. The Winter Guard turn their attention to the pesky Swordsmen, and end up killing all but one.
Fully stuck in, I hammer the Demolisher with the Arcuarii, and Makeda finishes it off (and casts Defender's Ward on herself). Molik Karn gets healed up some, and slowly moves to rejoin the battle. The Ancestral Guardian and the Gladiator kill almost all of the Winter Guard. Rob is running really low on guys!
Rob again decides to go for broke. The Mortar takes a shot at Makeda, hits, but can't do any damage. Irusk Battle Lust's the Eliminators, who rush in, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, none of their 4 attacks hits Makeda, and Rob decides to concede, tired of the ineptitude of his underlings.
So, another hard-fought win for the Skorne. We talked a bit, and I just don't think the Demolisher works with Irusk. I thought that maybe a Destroyer will be better, and Rob had some ideas himself. He also thought about switching in Fenris for some more offensive punch. I guess we'll see!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Yeah, yeah, busy busy busy.
Obviously, I've been really busy, but I swear I'm not done blogging yet! I won't get into all the various things that are keeping me away from the computer here (you can look on my other blog for that, it's not very interesting though, I promise).
The important thing is that I'm going to try to blog more.
I don't know if I'll ever get my various battle reports up from PrezCon, mainly because it's been so long now that my memory faded. We ended up leaving from it early, but still got a few other games in that I haven't posted about: Imperium and Triumph of Chaos come to mind immediately. Man, Triumph of Chaos has potential to be a fantastic game, but it's going to have to be one I'll need to own to play it effectively. I need to actually study a few of the parts of the game to see why I would want to do certain things, or to see the penalties from playing certain cards, etc. One day.
Upon coming home from PrezCon, I broke out (at the time) ATO's newest issue: The Lash of the Turk. Played one of the scenarios solo. I really like the overall flow and rules of the game, but it needed some errata (for instance, the setup was completely screwy). Also, the siege rules are bit peculiar. It's one of those eras of history that doesn't seem to get enough games covering though, so I'm definitely going to give it some slack. Again, maybe someday I'll post pictures and a report of that game. More likely, however, is that when I play it again, I'll post THAT.
Rob and I have been playing occasional games of Combat Commander. We've been eyeing the Stalingrad campaign game, so maybe in another few weeks we'll do that. Combat Commander is a blast, but I swear that has to be the most complicated game in existence.
I still do my ASL playtesting when I have time to. I won't say I'm decent yet, but I'm certainly getting better at playing. Every time I play it, I'm just reminded how great a game it is. I have dreams of playing a lot of the scenarios solo (and even grander dreams of running some of those massive Valor of the Guards scenarios *drool), but it won't be for a bit.
Regardless, I'm sure I wasn't missed much, but I'll be coming back with some new posts, I promise. I've been trying to tackle Fields of Fire lately, so I suspect there will be some posts on that coming up soon.
See you guys soon!
The important thing is that I'm going to try to blog more.
I don't know if I'll ever get my various battle reports up from PrezCon, mainly because it's been so long now that my memory faded. We ended up leaving from it early, but still got a few other games in that I haven't posted about: Imperium and Triumph of Chaos come to mind immediately. Man, Triumph of Chaos has potential to be a fantastic game, but it's going to have to be one I'll need to own to play it effectively. I need to actually study a few of the parts of the game to see why I would want to do certain things, or to see the penalties from playing certain cards, etc. One day.
Upon coming home from PrezCon, I broke out (at the time) ATO's newest issue: The Lash of the Turk. Played one of the scenarios solo. I really like the overall flow and rules of the game, but it needed some errata (for instance, the setup was completely screwy). Also, the siege rules are bit peculiar. It's one of those eras of history that doesn't seem to get enough games covering though, so I'm definitely going to give it some slack. Again, maybe someday I'll post pictures and a report of that game. More likely, however, is that when I play it again, I'll post THAT.
Rob and I have been playing occasional games of Combat Commander. We've been eyeing the Stalingrad campaign game, so maybe in another few weeks we'll do that. Combat Commander is a blast, but I swear that has to be the most complicated game in existence.
I still do my ASL playtesting when I have time to. I won't say I'm decent yet, but I'm certainly getting better at playing. Every time I play it, I'm just reminded how great a game it is. I have dreams of playing a lot of the scenarios solo (and even grander dreams of running some of those massive Valor of the Guards scenarios *drool), but it won't be for a bit.
Regardless, I'm sure I wasn't missed much, but I'll be coming back with some new posts, I promise. I've been trying to tackle Fields of Fire lately, so I suspect there will be some posts on that coming up soon.
See you guys soon!
Been so busy!
Man, it feels like forever since I've posted here.
I've been busy, obviously- I'm starting to move to a new job, which requires skills and knowledge I have to learn before doing so. That takes a lot of time. My girlfriend is starting college, and her first classes are poorly taught, leaving me to help her out... that takes time. I work two jobs... that takes time.
Mainly, there just isn't enough time to go around, and certainly none for blogging (or myself in general).
Well, I'm going to try to keep it up a little. I HAVE played a few games in the intervening months, and I have stacks of battle reports to go through, but truthfully it's so daunting to sit out, right them up, and edit them that I may never get around to it. Instead, I'll just make a few comments here about what's been going on for me the last few months (various things I haven't posted already, at least).
Warhammer Fantasy: All I've really done somewhat recently was play a single game of this against Frans. I was using Dark Elves vs. his Skaven, 2500 points, I believe. I tried to run a little stronger with magic and melee, and it was actually a decently close game, but I still lost. I actually learned a LOT about Warhammer from this game though- for instance, I won't be taking any more small units. They are just too easy to get points from. They can't stand up to all the various things in the game, and it's not worth it anymore. The new 'unkillable' lord is really as tough as he sounds, as well.
I haven't purchased the Storm of Magic supplement yet. I may or may not, I haven't decided. It's too difficult to keep up with GW's pricing these days.
Warhammer 40K: I've spent some time thinking about the background for my Chaos Space Marines, and even started to assemble some Berzerkers, but haven't progressed past that yet. I'm really excited about Necron rumors, however.
Other GW games: My Blood Bowl project has hit a bit of a snag, because my free time is so limited. I will look at trying to use the updated Java Blood Bowl client to help speed me up here, however. If I can save some time, I can still pull it off.
Warmachine/Hordes: I've done a decent amount here, but still pretty disappointing. Let's cover a few things.
I've played quite a few games. I played Nathan, Cryx vs. his Cygnar, and lost. I played BK, Skorne vs. his Menoth, and lost (although the Titan Gladiator dropped two of his heavies in a turn, something he won't forget, I'm sure). I've played Ben during lunch once or twice, and lost. I've been playing Rob with intent to help him play Warmachine (especially his Khador) better, and won, but of course these were teaching games. We've made some progress though- last night we played a quick game, 35 points, me running Master Tormentor Morghoul, and him running Karchev, and although I won, he was one or two rolls away from making it a MUCH closer game (as in, not rolling a 4 on three die for damage on Morghoul sort of rolling). So, I'm getting some gaming in, but not much.
I've been assembling some, but not very quickly. Finished a Necrotech for Cryx (you know, because I'll use it so much). Finished my Arcuarii for Skorne. Started on a unit of Venator Reivers. I bought a few Retribution models, but I don't expect to start working on them soon. Still haven't been painting.
I'm really excited about Unbound, but I don't think I'll get many opportunities to play, since I'm the only person amongst my group of friends with 150 points (of Cryx). However, I'm going to be working on my Cryx to have them available to play such a game should the chance arrive.
Warmachine Wrath came out, and it looks incredible. Maybe I'll go over the choices, from my perspective, but maybe not, since it's not like you can't find those reviews elsewhere :).
Other games: I haven't been working on any of my other miniatures, sadly. I'm really eager to work on Flames of War, even though I don't play it yet. Same with Malifaux. But I don't have time to play the games I have stuff for, it's hard to justify extra.
So yeah, that's where I've been. I'll be trying to blog more, now that I've posted. If I go back and manage to get some of the other battle reports up, great, if not I'm not going to sweat it too much. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well out there!
I've been busy, obviously- I'm starting to move to a new job, which requires skills and knowledge I have to learn before doing so. That takes a lot of time. My girlfriend is starting college, and her first classes are poorly taught, leaving me to help her out... that takes time. I work two jobs... that takes time.
Mainly, there just isn't enough time to go around, and certainly none for blogging (or myself in general).
Well, I'm going to try to keep it up a little. I HAVE played a few games in the intervening months, and I have stacks of battle reports to go through, but truthfully it's so daunting to sit out, right them up, and edit them that I may never get around to it. Instead, I'll just make a few comments here about what's been going on for me the last few months (various things I haven't posted already, at least).
Warhammer Fantasy: All I've really done somewhat recently was play a single game of this against Frans. I was using Dark Elves vs. his Skaven, 2500 points, I believe. I tried to run a little stronger with magic and melee, and it was actually a decently close game, but I still lost. I actually learned a LOT about Warhammer from this game though- for instance, I won't be taking any more small units. They are just too easy to get points from. They can't stand up to all the various things in the game, and it's not worth it anymore. The new 'unkillable' lord is really as tough as he sounds, as well.
I haven't purchased the Storm of Magic supplement yet. I may or may not, I haven't decided. It's too difficult to keep up with GW's pricing these days.
Warhammer 40K: I've spent some time thinking about the background for my Chaos Space Marines, and even started to assemble some Berzerkers, but haven't progressed past that yet. I'm really excited about Necron rumors, however.
Other GW games: My Blood Bowl project has hit a bit of a snag, because my free time is so limited. I will look at trying to use the updated Java Blood Bowl client to help speed me up here, however. If I can save some time, I can still pull it off.
Warmachine/Hordes: I've done a decent amount here, but still pretty disappointing. Let's cover a few things.
I've played quite a few games. I played Nathan, Cryx vs. his Cygnar, and lost. I played BK, Skorne vs. his Menoth, and lost (although the Titan Gladiator dropped two of his heavies in a turn, something he won't forget, I'm sure). I've played Ben during lunch once or twice, and lost. I've been playing Rob with intent to help him play Warmachine (especially his Khador) better, and won, but of course these were teaching games. We've made some progress though- last night we played a quick game, 35 points, me running Master Tormentor Morghoul, and him running Karchev, and although I won, he was one or two rolls away from making it a MUCH closer game (as in, not rolling a 4 on three die for damage on Morghoul sort of rolling). So, I'm getting some gaming in, but not much.
I've been assembling some, but not very quickly. Finished a Necrotech for Cryx (you know, because I'll use it so much). Finished my Arcuarii for Skorne. Started on a unit of Venator Reivers. I bought a few Retribution models, but I don't expect to start working on them soon. Still haven't been painting.
I'm really excited about Unbound, but I don't think I'll get many opportunities to play, since I'm the only person amongst my group of friends with 150 points (of Cryx). However, I'm going to be working on my Cryx to have them available to play such a game should the chance arrive.
Warmachine Wrath came out, and it looks incredible. Maybe I'll go over the choices, from my perspective, but maybe not, since it's not like you can't find those reviews elsewhere :).
Other games: I haven't been working on any of my other miniatures, sadly. I'm really eager to work on Flames of War, even though I don't play it yet. Same with Malifaux. But I don't have time to play the games I have stuff for, it's hard to justify extra.
So yeah, that's where I've been. I'll be trying to blog more, now that I've posted. If I go back and manage to get some of the other battle reports up, great, if not I'm not going to sweat it too much. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well out there!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy (Book Review)
David Stevenson's Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy may be the best coverage of the First World War ever written. This terse, detail filled tome covers, in incredible detail, the political, financial, logistical, and strategic decisions and challenges faced by all of the belligerents.
When I was in middle school, our coverage of World War I started with a class exercise. We broke into groups, were given a written description of our groups’ thoughts (basically- ‘You have an agreement with so and so group to fight a war if they join one, but here’s why you might not want to’), and a group was told that one of their leaders was assassinated. Soon, the entire class was at war. The goal was to show that politicians weren’t so much in control of this war- events just spiraled out of their control, and the result was a conflict resulting in millions of deaths and effects which are still felt today.
Cataclysm challenges that view- it shows, in great detail that politicians deliberately made choices to both initiate the war, and continue it despite appalling casualties. Most importantly, it presents this case in an unbiased fashion as possible- you won’t find much in the way of assigning blame to one country or group in here.
The book is broken into four major parts, and I feel it’s probably handy to at least mention them for and understanding of this book’s value.
In Part One, Outbreak, Stevenson examines the causes of the war- from the decisions taken by politicians after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife to the various diplomatic factors faced by Germany and Austria prior to this event, to the tensions caused by the Balkan Wars, to a bunch of other things. I feel this is probably one of the strongest sections of the book- the causes of World War I are one of the most studied topics in history because there are SO MANY factors that went into it. This book does a fantastic job covering them all. The central theme is, of course, that World War I was a controlled event- the politicians from BOTH sides knew (at least partially) what their actions would cause, and chose them anyway. The first part ends with coverage of the initial attacks in the first year, and the difficulties faced on the Eastern and Western fronts- including why the front lines didn’t advance on West for 4 years, and the ones in the East didn’t move very far to start. It also describes why the Germans chose to keep their fleets at port, instead of going out to attack the various British troopships when they were vulnerable (since the British fleets at Scapa Flow probably couldn’t have arrived in time). The desire to not risk the fleet, keeping it as a ‘political instrument’ would of course present the Germans with problems later- Stevenson shows us early on the decisions made by the Central Powers that ended up hurting them.
Part Two, Escalation, nominally covers the middle of the war- from spring of 1915 to spring of 1917. As we know, there were several major battles during this period- Verdun, Somme, and Cambrai, for instance are all well known. Despite this, the advancements of defensive warfare meant that no advances were made, so in the long run, there isn’t a lot of historical interest that happened (‘escalation and stalemate, both sides applying rising levels of violence yet failing to terminate the impasse’ according to the book). However, instead of boring the reader with page after page of inaction, Stevenson chooses to examine the issues that kept the war going as well as examining, by country, the various issues facing them, from manpower shortages, to morale, to economics, and into new logistical, tactical, and technological advances. He does a great job blending the information in- although the information is fairly terse at times, the information is presented in a way that shows, at each step, how it influenced the course of the war. One thing to note about this section is that coverage of the war is only briefly chronological- much of the section is devoted to discussions about the various topics and how they influenced later parts of the war- not so much when they happened during it.
Also covered in this section are the war aims of the various countries. The people of a country won’t support a war without knowing why they’re fighting, after all. Some of the works towards finding a peace (or in the case of Germany, trying to use peace feelers as a way to split their enemies) are covered here.
Part Three, Outcome, covers the Russian Revolution, the American entrance into the war, the final push of the Central Powers and the collapse of their armies, and their eventual ceasefire and surrender. The causes, progress, and results of the Russian Revolution, are perfectly blended into Stevenson’s coverage of World War I, and the same great amount of detail is put into it as the war itself.
The reasons behind the American involvement in the war, from the various political reasons to the Zimmerman Telegram are covered, but once in the war, the actual fighting the Americans were involved with was very briefly stated, although their presence was ‘indispensable’ to the Allies’ victory.
Also, the various tactical/operational improvements are discussed, especially prior to the Central Powers’ 1918 offensive, which met with early success but eventually drained the German manpower too much to allow them to continue the offensives, or even effectively defend themselves during the renewed Allied attacks. Also discussed is the role of Ludendorff’s mental breakdown in the eventual fall of Germany.
The final part of the book is titled Legacy. Given the grand scope of the war, and its influence to later world history, it’s an apt title. A few different issues are discussed here. First, the Treaty of Versailles, reparations, and the League of Nations are all briefly discussed. The eventual bitterness towards the treaty certainly contributed to the rise of nationalist groups in Germany after the war, so you couldn’t talk about World War I without discussing them. Much of this section, however, is concerned with covering the breakdown of the cohesion of the Allied powers, their reasons for their laxity in enforcing the treaty, and indeed the eventual rise of the Third Reich (although Stevenson makes a point to show that the events of the 1930s and later were not inevitable, but they were more difficult to defuse because of earlier choices). One of the primary reasons mentioned for the breakdown of peace is the lack of American or Russian involvement in post-war security.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in World War I- unless you’re only interest is in the individual battles occurring during the war. Although the book covers the overall strategic decisions made by the powers fighting, comparatively little is written about individual battles. The Battle of Verdun gets about 3 pages of coverage, and some battles (for instance, the Second Battle of the Marne) get only passing mention. There are plenty of resources for readers interested in that. Cataclysm contains a 21 page bibliography- I’m almost certain you could find a perfect book for any topic you’d want listed in there.
If you’re interested in the politics behind war, and the various processes a country has to undertake to keep a war running, as well as the strategy and flow of World War I, I don’t think you’ll find a better book than Cataclysm. My only warning is that this is NOT an easy read- it’s going to take you a month to get through this, but it’s well worth it.
When I was in middle school, our coverage of World War I started with a class exercise. We broke into groups, were given a written description of our groups’ thoughts (basically- ‘You have an agreement with so and so group to fight a war if they join one, but here’s why you might not want to’), and a group was told that one of their leaders was assassinated. Soon, the entire class was at war. The goal was to show that politicians weren’t so much in control of this war- events just spiraled out of their control, and the result was a conflict resulting in millions of deaths and effects which are still felt today.
Cataclysm challenges that view- it shows, in great detail that politicians deliberately made choices to both initiate the war, and continue it despite appalling casualties. Most importantly, it presents this case in an unbiased fashion as possible- you won’t find much in the way of assigning blame to one country or group in here.
The book is broken into four major parts, and I feel it’s probably handy to at least mention them for and understanding of this book’s value.
In Part One, Outbreak, Stevenson examines the causes of the war- from the decisions taken by politicians after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife to the various diplomatic factors faced by Germany and Austria prior to this event, to the tensions caused by the Balkan Wars, to a bunch of other things. I feel this is probably one of the strongest sections of the book- the causes of World War I are one of the most studied topics in history because there are SO MANY factors that went into it. This book does a fantastic job covering them all. The central theme is, of course, that World War I was a controlled event- the politicians from BOTH sides knew (at least partially) what their actions would cause, and chose them anyway. The first part ends with coverage of the initial attacks in the first year, and the difficulties faced on the Eastern and Western fronts- including why the front lines didn’t advance on West for 4 years, and the ones in the East didn’t move very far to start. It also describes why the Germans chose to keep their fleets at port, instead of going out to attack the various British troopships when they were vulnerable (since the British fleets at Scapa Flow probably couldn’t have arrived in time). The desire to not risk the fleet, keeping it as a ‘political instrument’ would of course present the Germans with problems later- Stevenson shows us early on the decisions made by the Central Powers that ended up hurting them.
Part Two, Escalation, nominally covers the middle of the war- from spring of 1915 to spring of 1917. As we know, there were several major battles during this period- Verdun, Somme, and Cambrai, for instance are all well known. Despite this, the advancements of defensive warfare meant that no advances were made, so in the long run, there isn’t a lot of historical interest that happened (‘escalation and stalemate, both sides applying rising levels of violence yet failing to terminate the impasse’ according to the book). However, instead of boring the reader with page after page of inaction, Stevenson chooses to examine the issues that kept the war going as well as examining, by country, the various issues facing them, from manpower shortages, to morale, to economics, and into new logistical, tactical, and technological advances. He does a great job blending the information in- although the information is fairly terse at times, the information is presented in a way that shows, at each step, how it influenced the course of the war. One thing to note about this section is that coverage of the war is only briefly chronological- much of the section is devoted to discussions about the various topics and how they influenced later parts of the war- not so much when they happened during it.
Also covered in this section are the war aims of the various countries. The people of a country won’t support a war without knowing why they’re fighting, after all. Some of the works towards finding a peace (or in the case of Germany, trying to use peace feelers as a way to split their enemies) are covered here.
Part Three, Outcome, covers the Russian Revolution, the American entrance into the war, the final push of the Central Powers and the collapse of their armies, and their eventual ceasefire and surrender. The causes, progress, and results of the Russian Revolution, are perfectly blended into Stevenson’s coverage of World War I, and the same great amount of detail is put into it as the war itself.
The reasons behind the American involvement in the war, from the various political reasons to the Zimmerman Telegram are covered, but once in the war, the actual fighting the Americans were involved with was very briefly stated, although their presence was ‘indispensable’ to the Allies’ victory.
Also, the various tactical/operational improvements are discussed, especially prior to the Central Powers’ 1918 offensive, which met with early success but eventually drained the German manpower too much to allow them to continue the offensives, or even effectively defend themselves during the renewed Allied attacks. Also discussed is the role of Ludendorff’s mental breakdown in the eventual fall of Germany.
The final part of the book is titled Legacy. Given the grand scope of the war, and its influence to later world history, it’s an apt title. A few different issues are discussed here. First, the Treaty of Versailles, reparations, and the League of Nations are all briefly discussed. The eventual bitterness towards the treaty certainly contributed to the rise of nationalist groups in Germany after the war, so you couldn’t talk about World War I without discussing them. Much of this section, however, is concerned with covering the breakdown of the cohesion of the Allied powers, their reasons for their laxity in enforcing the treaty, and indeed the eventual rise of the Third Reich (although Stevenson makes a point to show that the events of the 1930s and later were not inevitable, but they were more difficult to defuse because of earlier choices). One of the primary reasons mentioned for the breakdown of peace is the lack of American or Russian involvement in post-war security.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in World War I- unless you’re only interest is in the individual battles occurring during the war. Although the book covers the overall strategic decisions made by the powers fighting, comparatively little is written about individual battles. The Battle of Verdun gets about 3 pages of coverage, and some battles (for instance, the Second Battle of the Marne) get only passing mention. There are plenty of resources for readers interested in that. Cataclysm contains a 21 page bibliography- I’m almost certain you could find a perfect book for any topic you’d want listed in there.
If you’re interested in the politics behind war, and the various processes a country has to undertake to keep a war running, as well as the strategy and flow of World War I, I don’t think you’ll find a better book than Cataclysm. My only warning is that this is NOT an easy read- it’s going to take you a month to get through this, but it’s well worth it.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Received Four Roads to Moscow!
So, early last week, I received my copy of Four Roads to Moscow, the 2010 Annual from Against the Odds Magazine. This issue is particularly exciting, because not only does it include a game covering Operation Barbarossa, but rather it includes FOUR games on the topic, from four different designers (John Prados, Roger Nord, Ted Raicer, Michael Rinella), each with its own style and rules.
I haven't had a chance to play any of them yet, but man the product looks good. I managed to get the last ATO release (Lash of the Turk) on the table- even though I've been really slow posting things on here!- so I'm really excited to see that they are getting on the ball this year.
I haven't had a chance to play any of them yet, but man the product looks good. I managed to get the last ATO release (Lash of the Turk) on the table- even though I've been really slow posting things on here!- so I'm really excited to see that they are getting on the ball this year.
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