2021 Year in Review

As I always say each year, the two blog posts I enjoy writing the most are "What's in store for" (next year), and the second one is my "Year in Review". 

2021 started with a "What's in store for 2021!" so we will use that post as basis for our year in review.

Arena Rex 2021

Painting Goal: None, I am not setting any expectations for painting.

Gaming Goal: I missed my planned goal of 5 games last year with only 2 played, so we are going to shoot for 3 games played in 2021.

Arena Rex was a big MISS in 2021 with no models painted and 0 games played.

DCU Miniature Game 2021

Painting Goal: If Knight Models would ever ship me my models, there may actually be a goal in place.  I placed an order in November and still have not heard anything from them, honestly I do not think I ever will.  If my models arrive, then I may put a few on the painting table through out the year.

Gaming Goal: Just like with Arena Rex above, this game be played every now and then when we want to change it up.  I think 3 games played may be a good expectation.

DCU was pretty much a MISS, but I did get a few models completed in January 2021, but 0 games were played in the year.  I did offer to play a game with my son, but then we ended up playing Warhammer 40,000 instead.

Blitz Bowl / Blood Bowl 2021

Painting Goal: 1 full Blood Bowl team box of 12 players will be my goal for 2021, I really think this is attainable and may surprise myself with another.  I just need to decide which team will be first.

Gaming Goal: I have high expectations for Blood Bowl this year (at least with Blood Bowl 7's).  We are planning on playing an in house League with 4 Teams to start the new year off and then add a few Teams in future Seasons.  Blood Bowl does still take a few hours to play, so combing Blitz Bowl/Blood Bowl.... I am going to shoot for 30 games played in 2021.

I had really high hoped for Blitz Bowl / Blood Bowl in 2021, with purchasing a lot of new armies for the game.  But with like most games lately, it was a big MISS.  We did end up playing 2 games of Blitz Bowl, so far that is better than the above two games.  I also did not get a Team painted for the game either.

Middle-earth SBG 2021

Painting Goal: I did buy a lot of models at the end of 2020 for quite a few different armies so I may concentrate on getting some of them done.  I am not really setting any goals or armies completed, where I can see myself painting a few models / warbands here and there through out the year.  There is a big convention in the Fall (that actually may happen) where it would probably kick my painting into high gear if I elect to play MeSBG there.

Gaming Goal:  My plan is to try and play 1 game a month, so in theory that would be 12 games for the year, but we all know other plans do happen.  So I am setting a goal of 10 games for 2021.

Well I did paint a few models for Middle-earth SBG, like with DCU above, they all got completed in January 2021, and nothing since.  NOVA Open 2021 was cancelled, so that Fall event did not kick start me into a higher gear.  Unfortunaltly 0 games were also played this year.

Warhammer 40,000 2021

Painting Goal: With AdeptiCon 2021 already cancelled, it is tough to set any painting goals.  I think it will be more like MeSBG above and when I am in the mood to paint a model for Warhammer 40,000, I'll just paint it.  I have fully painted Imperial Fists army for 1000/1500/2000 point games, and plenty of more models to add to that army.

Gaming Goal: Last year I had a goal of 30 games and I hit it with 38 games played.  If we are not attending any events this year for Warhammer 40,000, I have it scheduled for twice a month which would be 24 games.  That is less than last year, but we are adding MeSBG and Blood Bowl into the mix.  I think I will stick to what is scheduled and set my goal of 24 games played in 2021.

Warhammer 40,000 was our mainstay game of the year and we stuck with it.  This is where most of my painting time was spent with expanding my Imperial Fists army, and in October starting a whole new army with the Necrons and completing over 2000 Points of them.  I had a low amount of games set for the year with 24, and we barely just hit that with 29 games played, at least I did hit my goal for the year.

X-Wing 2021

Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal: Last year I lowered my expectations with a goal of 6 games played, and I hit it with 10 games played.  For 2021 I will keep the same goal of 6 games played.  If more games are played again in 2021, that will be a bonus.

X-Wing was another HUGE MISS for the year, I honestly thought we would get more than 1 game played in the year.

Events 2021

As I had thought, the early part of 2021 were not good for events with most of them being cancelled due to COVID.  The first event we attended was Motor City Mayhem in April which was a nice event and close to home.  Then in October was the Michigan GT that we attended and once again was close to home.  At least we were able to get away to two events for the year.

New Games Played 2021

Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Painting Goals: None

Gaming Goals: None

Warhammer Age of Sigmar was a new game I picked up for 2021.  We started off the year pretty hot about it with building a whole Kharadron Overlords army and playing 4 games, and then it kind of simmered.  Age of Sigmar v3 was released in the Summer and thought we may get a few more games in, but it has still been sitting.

Painting Points 2021

January 2021 started the year hot for Painting Points with 66 points for the month, then it cooled way down until the Fall when I decided to start a new Necron army for Warhammer 40,000 and the points really picked up and saved the year for me finishing with 293 points.

By reading the above post, you'd probably think that 2021 was not that good of year, but in all honesty, I did pick up Bass Fishing as another hobby and some of my weekend time in the Spring thru Fall were spent Fishing instead of playing games and painting.  To me, I had a satisfying 2021.

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What's in store for 2021!

Happy New Year 2021!

Today is the day where I get to use my psychic powers and predict my gaming trends for 2021.

Yesterday I posted my "2020 Year in Review" and today we shall see what stays on the list and what is going away and if there are any new additions.

Arena Rex

Arena Rex is going to stay on the list for 2021, we do have some models painted along with terrain, so it is a nice quick game to occasionally throw down.

Painting Goal: None, I am not setting any expectations for painting.

Gaming Goal: I missed my planned goal of 5 games last year with only 2 played, so we are going to shoot for 3 games played in 2021.

DCU Miniature Game

DCU MG for now is staying on my list for 2021, but it slid way down to another occasional game.

Painting Goal: If Knight Models would ever ship me my models, there may actually be a goal in place.  I placed an order in November and still have not heard anything from them, honestly I do not think I ever will.  If my models arrive, then I may put a few on the painting table through out the year.

Gaming Goal: Just like with Arena Rex above, this game be played every now and then when we want to change it up.  I think 3 games played may be a good expectation.

Blitz Bowl / Blood Bowl

I am going to combine these 2 games in 1, Blitz Bowl being the quick board game style of play and Blood Bowl being more in depth.

Painting Goal: 1 full Blood Bowl team box of 12 players will be my goal for 2021, I really think this is attainable and may surprise myself with another.  I just need to decide which team will be first.

Gaming Goal: I have high expectations for Blood Bowl this year (at least with Blood Bowl 7's).  We are planning on playing an in house League with 4 Teams to start the new year off and then add a few Teams in future Seasons.  Blood Bowl does still take a few hours to play, so combing Blitz Bowl/Blood Bowl.... I am going to shoot for 30 games played in 2021.

Middle-earth SBG

In all honestly the re-watching of the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings movies toward the end of 2020 and it re-sparked my interest in the game.  We do own quite a few models for the game and I have recently added some more in the past few weeks.  Will the fire keep burning through all of 2021, that may be a tough one.  I may just have to re-watch a movie to light the spark again.

Painting Goal: I did buy a lot of models at the end of 2020 for quite a few different armies so I may concentrate on getting some of them done.  I am not really setting any goals or armies completed, where I can see myself painting a few models / warbands here and there through out the year.  There is a big convention in the Fall (that actually may happen) where it would probably kick my painting into high gear if I elect to play MeSBG there.

Gaming Goal:  My plan is to try and play 1 game a month, so in theory that would be 12 games for the year, but we all know other plans do happen.  So I am setting a goal of 10 games for 2021.

Warhammer 40,000

Just like in 2020, Warhammer 40,000 will more than likely be our primary game in 2021.  We have a lot of models and different armies to play/paint throughout the year.  With the ease of just going into any gaming store and picking out a new model when we want, it is the easiest to get a hold of all the games I have listed so far.

Painting Goal: With AdeptiCon 2021 already cancelled, it is tough to set any painting goals.  I think it will be more like MeSBG above and when I am in the mood to paint a model for Warhammer 40,000, I'll just paint it.  I have fully painted Imperial Fists army for 1000/1500/2000 point games, and plenty of more models to add to that army.

Gaming Goal: Last year I had a goal of 30 games and I hit it with 38 games played.  If we are not attending any events this year for Warhammer 40,000, I have it scheduled for twice a month which would be 24 games.  That is less than last year, but we are adding MeSBG and Blood Bowl into the mix.  I think I will stick to what is scheduled and set my goal of 24 games played in 2021.

X-Wing

X-Wing is a great game that can be played in 75 minutes, so it always seems to make the list for the New Year....plus we do have a lot of ships for the game.

Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal: Last year I lowered my expectations with a goal of 6 games played, and I hit it with 10 games played.  For 2021 I will keep the same goal of 6 games played.  If more games are played again in 2021, that will be a bonus.

New Games for 2021?

This is a little tough one to decide.  Towards the end of 2020 we picked up Blood Bowl and I seem to have resurrected MeSBG, so it will be tough to get another game into 2021.  

Is there a chance to also resurrect Warmachine/Hordes? I think that would be very slim.  I have been out of WM/H for awhile now and have not kept up with any of the changes.

What about bringing back Bolt Action? Possible, but slim also.

Then there is another game that is very easy to pick up at the gaming store, Warhammer Age of Sigmar.  All of my Warhammer Fantasy models are gone, and with Age of Sigmar they really changed the game, but AoS is played a lot like Warhammer 40,000 now and there are a few models that I really like, but you do need quite a few of them to play the game.  I can "maybe" see this game happening if MeSBG is not quite doing it for me (I enjoy the world of MeSBG and the models, it is the game play of almost always needing 6's on the dice that gets to me).  I think squeezing in AoS will be really tough unless something else gives.

Another possible interest may be Star Wars Legion, again there is quite a few models to this game and it is sci-fi like Warhammer 40,000.  When Legion was first released, there was not a lot of choices for models, but it has been out for a couple of years now and the line has grown.  It is hard to get into Legion when we have so many models already for Warhammer 40,000.

Events

Well the early part of 2021 is not looking good for events.  The Las Vegas Open in January and AdeptiCon in March have already been cancelled.  The next two larger events that interest us, NOVA Open and Renegade Open do not happen till the Fall, September/November.  Those two events are a possibility if the vaccine for COVID-19 works and gatherings are allowed again.  The problem with the Fall trips is that I still have a month long Europe trip scheduled for the Summer and getting more vacation time and dollars may be an issue.  If Europe gets cancelled once again for 2021, then there may be a chance.

The above is not set in stone, I like to look back at this post through out the year and see how I am doing and if anything changes.  There are only so many weekends in the year, and other interests sometimes do take some of that time.

We shall see what happens in 2021.

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2020 Year in Review

As I always say each year, the two blog posts I enjoy writing the most are "What's in store for" (next year), and the second one is my "Year in Review". 

2020 started with a "What's in store for 2020!" so we will use that post as basis for our year in review.

Arena Rex 2020 

Painting Goal: 1 model, I purchased 1 model at GenCon 2019 and would like to get it completed.

Gaming Goal: Lowering my expectations quite a bit this year, even though 0 games were played last year on a goal of 20, we are going to shoot for 5 games. 

Arena Rex was a sort of a hit and a miss for 2020. My Painting Goal was to finish a model I purchased from GenCon 2019, that did not happen, but I did complete 1 other model for Arena Rex. The Gaming was a miss, I lowered my expectations for this game, but it was lower than I had planned. I was shooting for 5 games to be played, but it ended up just being 2 games played.

Batman Miniature Game 2020 

Painting Goal: This is a tough one for me, I have a huge backlog of BMG models waiting to be assembled/painted. It is on a hold pattern at the moment till we can see how the game is, interest may pick up if we like the game. 

Gaming Goal: I am going to try 3rd Edition, so it really depends how much we like the game. If we like it, it will probably be played quite a few times (since I built a lot of buildings in 2019).

Batman Miniature Game was a "no go" for 2020. We never did purchase 3rd Edition to try the game out, with the use of all the "cards" for the game really changed the game play and I was no longer interested in playing. With that feeling, no models were painted for the game either. I really do not think this will see the list for 2021.

DCU Miniature Game 2020 

Painting Goal: A lot of the DCU models are the same models as BMG, so we have a pretty good collection. I do have some models that are DCU specific so those may be completed this year.

Gaming Goal: First we need a test game, so I can say 1 for sure, if I like the speed/ease of play it may hit table more frequently and in place of Arena Rex. My plan is to get a game in early this month so we can evaluate how we like it. 

DCUMG was so so for the year. I did paint 4 models for the game and we actually played 2 games. This one will be staying on for 2021 but in a limited capacity.

Guild Ball 2020 

Painting Goal: I still have quite a few recently released Captains that need to get completed, so I do not see myself painting any complete Guilds for 2020, but at least a handful of models.

Gaming Goal: As mentioned above, I really like the game....I am going to have a new high priority game for 2020 (see below) so it is tough which game will be my second. I have a feeling it will be Guild Ball so I will set a reasonable expectation of 20 games played. Currently I do not have any events lined up for Guild Ball, but there may be a weekend here or there where I may be able to attend one.

Guild Ball was probably the biggest MISS of the year. With my renewed interest in Warhammer 40,000 all my painting time went to that and away from Guild Ball. Then came the announcement from Steamforged Games that they were ending Guild Ball and that just put the nail in the coffin. So there was no models painted and no games played of Guild Ball in 2020 and I already found a replacement with Blood Bowl.

Middle-earth SBG 2020

Painting Goal: Once again no expectations, if anything gets done, it would be an accomplishment.

Gaming Goal: Keeping my expectations low again like last year, I think at least 1 game in the next few months before AdeptiCon so my son can refresh on the rules, and then we'll see what happens. 

2020 was not so hot for MeSBG, but the fire is still burning. I did recently paint 2 models, 'Durin' and the 'Witch King' for MeSBG and 3 games were played. Looking forward to 2021 to see what happens.

Warhammer 40,000 2020 

Painting Goal: My #1 goal is to finish what I need for my 1000 points and 1500 point lists for AdeptiCon which is for my Imperial Fists army, long term goal is to get them completed to 2000 points. My plan with the Imperial Fists is for them to be my "main" Space Marine army with which to add new models too, so the army will be growing. The collector in me likes to see other armies too, so my plan is to add another Warhammer 40K army in 2020 and for now that will be Tyranids. The reason for Tyranids is, I like the look of the models and it it something different to paint than just Power Armor. I believe with the Tyranids I am going to look into the new GW Contrast Paints for them. Going to start small with them (1000 points) and we'll see.

Gaming Goal: As stated above, Warhammer 40K will be my highest priority in 2020 but I will be realistic. I'll be getting in around 8 games just at AdeptiCon, so let's set a goal of 30 games for 2020 (I still have to squeeze in all the other games in too). 

Warhammer 40,000 was huge for me in 2020. I was able to get everything painted that I needed to for AdeptiCon and then as we all know, COVID-19 hit. I was slowly painting more models for the game throughout the year and I am happy with my progress. I did start on some Tyanid models, but the Contrast Paints were not working with for me and had to go back to regular paints. I did not get too many Tyranids completed unfortunately as I was concentrating on my Imperial Fists. In regards to gaming, I did hit my goal even without attending any conventions, 38 games of Warhammer 40,000 were played in 2020.

X-Wing 2020 

Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal: Last year I set a goal of 20 games, and I just managed to squeeze that in. I think with trying to add in DCU and possibly MeSBG, 20 may be a bit tough. I do like that the game only takes 75 minutes to play, I think realistically 6 games would be a good goal (1 every other month). 

I was right on par with my prediction for X-Wing, 6 games was a good expectations and 10 games were actually played in 2020. More than likely my expectations for 2021 will be kept the same.

Events 2020

Well 2020 will not be a good year for events for me. I am attending AdeptiCon at the end of March, but that is basically it for the year. My vacation days are very limited in 2020, 3.5 weeks will be spent in Europe over the Summer, and then another week in the Fall with my wife on a cruise. Any events I attend after AdeptiCon will mainly be just single day events on Saturday/Sundays and those will even be tough this year. There is a very loooooong shot that we may be able to attend NOVA Open again since its falls on a Holiday weekend, I will need to look at the schedule of events and see if it is worth it. 

So I predicted 2020 was not going to be a good year for events, but it was because of a planned vacation to Europe and not because of COVID-19 shutting down the World. Every event that we had planned was cancelled for the year and as of now it is not looking to good for the early part of 2021.

New Games Played 

Blitz Bowl 

Blitz Bowl is a faster board game style game of Blood Bowl. We picked this up late in the year just to have something to play in an hours time. I am liking it a lot since it uses the same models as Blood Bowl. We managed to get in 7 games with this late pickup. 

Blood Bowl 

Just like Blitz Bowl above, Blood Bowl was a late game pickup for us this year. At the end of November, Games Workshop released the newest edition of the game with an all new starter box, and since we just started Blitz Bowl, I thought it would be fun to grab Blood Bowl. We only played through 1 full game to learn the rules and 1 game of 7's (less models/smaller Pitch). 

Painting Points 

Painting Points were not as good as the previous 3 years, but I still managed 200+ Points. Even though COVID-19 had hit and a lot of people were stuck at home painting, I was really busy, so at the end of the day I did not feel like sitting down to paint. Another reason was all the events being cancelled. Usually I sit down to paint models I want to play in an upcoming event as a motiviation, well obviously that motivation was not to be had. So it was not a great year, but it was not bad either.

All in all 2020 was not too bad considering dealing with COVID-19. Honestly most people would think that I would have gotten in more games played, but THANK GOD my real job was keeping me busy all year long. Tomorrow we shall see what will make the list/expectations for 2021.

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Weekly Chronicle 2020 #32

I have to admit it was yet again another slow week, as I stated numerous times, even though we are still in a pandemic, I have been super busy with work.

I did manage to get one model completed last week and it was 'Tribune' for Arena Rex, so at least something was completed.  My 'Invictor Tactical Warsuit' is now sitting on my painting table and I am hoping this weekend it will start to get some colors.

On the gaming side, nothing was played.  Honestly this was probably more due to the NHL restarting and all of us watching last week, it will be tough for the next few weeks, but our plan is to at least squeeze in a small game over the weekend.

Models Completed: 1

Games Played: 0

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Arena Rex: Ludus Magnus ‘Tribune’

It has been a long time since I painted anything for Arena Rex, but after an afternoon of a few games a couple of weeks back, I felt like getting another model down on my painting table.

With the excitement of Indomitus for Warhammer 40,000, he took a little bit longer than expected, but 'Tribune' for my Ludus Magnus is now completed.

Tribune

Tribune

Painting Points: 2

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Weekly Chronicle 2020 #31 (Michigan GT Cancelled)

It was not another great week for painting, but I did get quite a few models assembled from the new Warhammer 40,000 Indomitus box.  I still have a lot more to build, but at the moment do not have a "rush" on any of the models.  Most of the models from the Indomitus box will be used for my Imperial Fists, but mainly when I want to play an "assault" style game instead of my usually "shooty" game.

My highest priority model to get completed will be my 'Invictor Tactical Warsuit', it is assembled and primed and will be hitting the painting table sometime soon, not sure when it will get done, but hopefully this coming weekend I'll be able to sit down and get some of it done.

I mentioned last week that I started on an Arena Rex model, 'Tribune'.  He will be getting completed and posted tomorrow so that way it leaves room for the 'Tactical Warsuit'.

On the gaming side of the week, one game of Warhammer 40,000 was played on Friday....really not sure how this weekend will pan out, it is looking pretty busy with "real work".

Also this morning, it was announced that the 2020 Michigan GT that was slated for October has been officially cancelled.  With the state of Michigan still limiting their gatherings to 10 people, it was the only decision that they had.

Models Completed: 0

Games Played: 1

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Weekly Chronicle 2020 #30

It is a little bit later in the day than usual for this post, but I had a busy morning.  Unfortunately nothing was painted this week, but I did get a few colors done on an Arena Rex model this past Saturday, hopefully I will have time this week to finish him up.

All the excitement this past week led up to the official release of Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition on Saturday.  My son and I each pre-ordered an Indomitus box from our local gaming store three weeks and Saturday evening we drove out to pick them up.

We were able to squeeze in a 750 point game yesterday afternoon using the quick setup of Open War cards that I picked up, and my Imperial Fists just managed a small victory after trailing all game.  It was our official first game of 9th Edition (with real rulebooks and points).  I spent the better part of yesterday morning assembling 10 Primaris Assault Intercessors just so I can try them out for the game, one Unit was just holding an Objective, but the other did get into some combat,

I now have A LOT more models to paint and not sure what will be next, I am leaning towards painting an 'Invictor Tactical Warsuit' that I just put together.

There was some sad news also announced during the week, Renegade Open 2020 has decided to cancel their November even up in Minnesota, so as of now, I really do not think there will be an event for us to attend to this year.  We'll see if there is a tournament that might pop up later in the year.

Models Completed: 0

Games Played: 1

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Weekly Chronicle 2020 #29 Warhammer 40,000, Arena Rex and the Week of Indomitus

As stated in last week's "Weekly Chronicle", Buckeye Battles was happening this past weekend but I had elected to cancel since it was against Ohio's gathering rules, so instead my son and I played a few games here at home to continue preparing for Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition and we broke out a game we have not played in a long time.

Saturday was the day of Warhammer 40,000.  Our first game was 1000 points (8th Edition points), I elected to give my new 'Creations of Bile' army a a first time shot vs Dark Angels.  The Mission was 'Divide and Conquer'.

This was a pretty close game and as you can see above, the Dark Angels squeaked out a small victory 47-37.  I am still getting used to the Chaos army, and not having a Primaris type troop model does really hurt them.  I am also still needing to assemble some 'Khorne Berzerkers' for the army, so I think that would help some too.

Our second game on Saturday was roughly 2000 points (new 9th Edition points) of my Imperial Fists vs Dark Angels.... payback is a bitch...  We moved over to the larger table for this game, but I forgot to get any pictures of the game.  The Mission was Front-Line Warfare.

My Imperial Fists just dominated this game wiping out every last model of the Dark Angels allowing the only points to be scored is for a painted army.  My Imperial Fists won 88-10.

With the release of the new Tournament Pack this coming weekend, I heard some rumors that there will be a few changes on some of the lists can be built (mainly Specialist Detachments will not be allowed) so this will effect my Imperial Fists slightly, but it will also save me 1 CP when building my lists.

Sunday was a nice change of gaming.  Since more than likely the majority of our gaming after this weekend will lean heavily towards Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition, we decided to break out the gaming mat and models for Arena Rex.  It has been a very long time since we played this game (only played it once in all of 2019) so it was a nice change and quite fun.  Since I was drawing a blank on the rules while setting up, we decided to keep the battles 3v3, but we did play 2 games.

In both of my games I was playing my 'Ludus Magnus' and my son was playing a bulk of 'Legio XIII', but with a single 'Helleniki' model.  Between games we each did swap a model to change things up a bit.

This was the setup for the first battle with three Deadly Pits in the arena, my 'Ludus Magnus' were able to win this battle with 2 remaining models still standing in the arena.

For the second battle, we swapped out one of the Deadly Pits for a Living Hazard, the Lion.  It was now payback for 'Legio XIII' as they won this battle with some help from the Lion, Deadly Spikes and a Pit.

So that was 4 games played this past weekend, probably the most since what was suppose to be AdeptiCon weekend.

No painting was done this week, and it does not look too good this coming week, I "may" actually prime an Arena Rex model since it has been a long time since I last painted one of these.

Now comes next weekend which is the releases of Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition aka "Indomitus" boxed set.  My son and I each were able to get a pre-order in with our local store out in Kalamazoo, and we wont be picking those up till later in the day (around dinner) so not much will be done that evening.  More than likely we will be using the new points book and start updating some of our lists with pen and paper just so we have a few ready to go for when time allows.  We shall see what the plan then is for Sunday, probably start assembling some of the models and reading through the new rulebook.

Models Completed: 0

Games Played: 4

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What's in store for 2020!

Happy New Year 2020!

It is the first day of 2020, and the day to predict my gaming future for the year.  Each year I always say I am going to try and be reasonable, but somehow things always change.  So once again for 2020, let's try and be reasonable.

Yesterday I posted my "2019 Year in Review" and some of those game will not make the list for this year, so below are my list of games that I think will make it through 2020.

Arena Rex

I need to keep this one on the list for 2020, even though it was a huge MISS in 2019, it still is a nice game to throw down for a quick game.

Painting Goal: 1 model, I purchased 1 model at GenCon 2019 and would like to get it completed.

Gaming Goal: Lowering my expectations quite a bit this year, even though 0 games were played last year on a goal of 20, we are going to shoot for 5 games.

Batman Miniature Game

This one is going to be a tough one for me.  The rules for 3rd Edition were just dropped the day after Christmas electronically on Knight Models (the physical rules/starter box are yet to be shipped).  I like most of the changes they did with 3rd Edition to speed up the game, but they also introduced Objective Cards to be used instead of objectives on the table, and no Victory Points for casualties unless it is on the Objective Card.  So currently I am on wait and see.....waiting to see if the Rulebook and Objective Cards will be sold without the starter box, if they are, we will make the purchase and see how the game goes.

Painting Goal:  This is a tough one for me, I have a huge backlog of BMG models waiting to be assembled/painted.  It is on a hold pattern at the moment till we can see how the game is, interest may pick up if we like the game.

Gaming Goal:  I am going to try 3rd Edition, so it really depends how much we like the game.  If we like it, it will probably be played quite a few times (since I built a lot of buildings in 2019).

DCU Miniature Game

DCU was not on my list last year, and it is now on my list since I do not know the outcome of BMG.  DCU 2nd Edition was released right around time of GenCon 2019, my son and I did not purchase the rulebooks till late November while we were up at the Renegade Open.  We have yet to try the game, but we will.

Painting Goal:  A lot of the DCU models are the same models as BMG, so we have a pretty good collection.  I do have some models that are DCU specific so those may be completed this year.

Gaming Goal:  First we need a test game, so I can say 1 for sure, if I like the speed/ease of play it may hit table more frequently and in place of Arena Rex.  My plan is to get a game in early this month so we can evaluate how we like it.

Guild Ball

Guild Ball was my main priority for at least the beginning half of 2019, the last few months it has taken a back burner.  I can honestly say I love the background, the models, the low count of models to play but I do not think it will be a high priority for 2020.

Painting Goal: I still have quite a few recently released Captains that need to get completed, so I do not see myself painting any complete Guilds for 2020, but at least a handful of models.

Gaming Goal:  As mentioned above, I really like the game....I am going to have a new high priority game for 2020 (see below) so it is tough which game will be my second.  I have a feeling it will be Guild Ball so I will set a reasonable expectation of 20 games played.  Currently I do not have any events lined up for Guild Ball, but there may be a weekend here or there where I may be able to attend one.

Middle-earth SBG

I am going to take a chance a chance and include this one once more for 2020.  As of now I have too many unknown variables with what games will be played that this one may slide in.

Painting Goal: Once again no expectations, if anything gets done, it would be an accomplishment.

Gaming Goal: Keeping my expectations low again like last year, I think at least 1 game in the next few months before AdeptiCon so my son can refresh on the rules, and then we'll see what happens.

Warhammer 40,000

This game was a huge surprise for me late 2019 with my interest in the game resurfacing, I think my son is just as excited for the game as I am.  As of writing this today, Warhammer 40K will be my highest priority game for 2020.  I am signed up for the Friendly and Team Tournaments at AdeptiCon 2020 so I know I will need practice games for that, plus I already see myself looking at other armies like I have years and years ago.

Painting Goal: My #1 goal is to finish what I need for my 1000 points and 1500 point lists for AdeptiCon which is for my Imperial Fists army, long term goal is to get them completed to 2000 points.  My plan with the Imperial Fists is for them to be my "main" Space Marine army with which to add new models too, so the army will be growing.  The collector in me likes to see other armies too, so my plan is to add another Warhammer 40K army in 2020 and for now that will be Tyranids.  The reason for Tyranids is, I like the look of the models and it it something different to paint than just Power Armor.  I believe with the Tyranids I am going to look into the new GW Contrast Paints for them.  Going to start small with them (1000 points) and we'll see.

Gaming Goal:  As stated above, Warhammer 40K will be my highest priority in 2020 but I will be realistic.  I'll be getting in around 8 games just at AdeptiCon, so let's set a goal of 30 games for 2020 (I still have to squeeze in all the other games in too).

X-Wing

Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal:  Last year I set a goal of 20 games, and I just managed to squeeze that in.  I think with trying to add in DCU and possibly MeSBG, 20 may be a bit tough.  I do like that the game only takes 75 minutes to play,  I think realistically 6 games would be a good goal (1 every other month).

Events

Well 2020 will not be a good year for events for me.  I am attending AdeptiCon at the end of March, but that is basically it for the year.  My vacation days are very limited in 2020, 3.5 weeks will be spent in Europe over the Summer, and then another week in the Fall with my wife on a cruise.  Any events I attend after AdeptiCon will mainly be just single day events on Saturday/Sundays and those will even be tough this year.  There is a very loooooong shot that we may be able to attend NOVA Open again since its falls on a Holiday weekend, I will need to look at the schedule of events and see if it is worth it.

The list is actually longer than I had intended, there were a few games I purchased last year that did not make the cut along with some others.  We shall see in 364 days on how well I did.

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2019 Year in Review

As always, the two blog posts I enjoy writing the most each year, the first one is my "What's in store for" (next year), and the second one is my "Year in Review".

2019 started with a "What's in store for 2019" so we will use that post as basis for our year in review.

Arena Rex

2019

Painting Goal:  I still have quite a few models in my backlog for Arena Rex (11).  I honestly feel it may be a doable goal to have these all completed, as long as I do not add anymore to the backlog.  I think as long as I stick to the two Ludus' that I have, this goal should be completed (especially if one the games way down below takes a back burner).  Once these get completed (maybe by GenCon in August) then I may add a third Ludus.

Gaming Goal:  Currently Arena Rex for me is just a game I am playing for fun, the play is quick and enjoyable.  At least in the first quarter of the year I do not see myself partaking in any events, but the goal will be to at least play the game every other week.  I am going to shoot for at least 20 games played in 2019.

Well, this was a huge MISS for me (mostly in part to picking up BMG this past year).  My Painting Goal was non existent, and only 1 game of Arena Rex was played for the entire year.

Batman Miniatures Game

2019

Painting Goal:  Maybe the occasional one off miniature to paint, I am not setting any expectations on getting a Team completed.  I do have some models already completed painted that I can play with.

Gaming Goal:  As I mentioned yesterday, my feeling right now for BMG is just to be a punching bag for my son so he can warm up for AdeptiCon, who knows, maybe after all those games I may actually enjoy it some more.  I can see us playing a handful of games before the end of March and then I will need to reevaluate.

This one was a huge change of events and probably received the most time from me in 2019, at least in the Painting aspect of the hobby.  My Painting Goal expectation was not even to get a Team completed, well I far exceeded that and painted around 100 models for BMG this past year.  I also managed to play 24 games of BMG which is much more than I had expected. Although the last 2 months of BMG has taken the back burner with the release of 3rd Edition, and currently I am not sure where I stand with the game.

Bolt Action

2019
Painting Goal:  As of now, no expectations to paint anything for Bolt Action...again that may change come June.

Gaming Goal:  The current plan is to play at least two games of Bolt Action this year.  A warm up/practice game, and then a game to be played on June 6th, 2019 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.  After playing this game, the interest to play more may happen.

This was another MISS for me and nothing was ever done with Bolt Action.  In fact most of my models have been packed away in my storage shed. I really do love the era, but there is just not enough time.  I can probably say for certain this one will not make the list for 2020.

Guild Ball:

2019

Painting Goal:  I need to make this one a bit realistic compared to what I actually want.  I would love to say to finish up my entire backlog plus any new models that are released.  Right now my backlog is at 39 models (not including the Union Guild) nor the Cook's Minor Guild releasing in February.  Main priority will be to finish the one off models to complete my Guilds, then I will tackle some of the Minor Guilds. With Guild Ball being planned to be my main game for 2019, my painting priorities will be with Guild Ball.

Gaming Goal:  I shocked myself at the end of 2018 having played 32 games of Guild Ball (with the majority of them coming the last two months of the year).  If I want to be somewhat decent at playing the game, I cannot take long breaks in the game. My goal is to attend a monthly tournament (if there is one in a close vicinity) and to try and play a friendly game at least once a week.  The total goal for the year will be 50 games of Guild Ball (which is very doable with the tournaments).

Guild Ball was my main priority at least for the beginning of the year and I can say I am pretty happy with my outcome.  I did not complete everything in my backlog, but I did manage a few one off’s, some new Captain’s, Rookie’s, and the new Cook’s Minor Guild were completed.

I was short of hitting my Gaming Goal of 50 games, but 40 games played of Guild Ball is still pretty good.  I also managed to host 2 events, one in February down in South Bend, IN and the second one this past October at the Michigan GT.  I did start out of the 2019 gate really good with games played, but it also has recently taken a back seat as priorities have changed.Guild Ball will definitely make tomorrows list for 2020, I just need to see how much.

Middle-earth SBG

2019

I actually almost forgot about this game, that is how much I have been thinking about it recently.

Painting Goal:  No big goals for me.  An accomplishment would be to finish the models I have for my The Dead of Dunharrow army.  I believe I still have another 20 models on foot and 8 riders on horses.

Gaming Goal:  I have a feeling that this one may be a lot like Bolt Action where it may only see 1-2 games for the year.  Considering we have only played once since the release of the new rules set back in September.

Another MISS for me. No models painted, nor any games played this year.  I know my son is still excited for this game, but the playstyle no longer interests me.  I won't count it quite Dead yet for me.

Warmachine/Hordes

2019

Painting Goal:  I own a lot of models for Warmachine/Hordes (between what I own and what my son has).  I feel that for WM/H I will still will be painting them throughout the year. I know there will be times when I want to paint something different than Guild Ball or Arena Rex, so that is when I will throw down a WM/H model to paint.  I have a lot of models that I received in the last half of 2018 for a Cryx army, and thought of a fairly quick paint scheme, so I may decide to work on them a bit.

Gaming Goal:  This is a tough one...between my son and I, we have a lot of completed models between my two main factions Khador/Minions and his Cygnar/Circle.  I opted not to sign up for any WM/H events at AdeptiCon 2019, but that does not mean I will totally be giving up on this game. I just do not feel it will be played as much as it was in 2018.  I think it will become the occasional throw down game just to have some fun. Goal for the year, probably a bit low, but lets shoot for 12 games (average one a month, especially with no tournaments planned at the moment).

I wouldn’t technically call this one a MISS, more like there was/is no more interest in the game for me at the moment.  This will be a tough one for tomorrow’s list, it may still make the list for 2020.

X-Wing

2019
Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal:  I really like what was done with the release of X-Wing 2.0 bringing all the Factions back to a balanced playing field.  So for at least for the first half of the year I see that this game being played the second most behind Guild Ball and to prepare for AdeptiCon.  After a few months my mood may change. Having this game and Arena Rex to counter some of the games played of Guild Ball will be a nice change. I did not get in as many games of X-Wing since the release of 2.0 (8 games), so I will be once again realistic and will place a goal of 20 games played for 2019.

I can say I really enjoyed X-Wing for 2019.  I hit my goal of 20 games played for the year (barely), but it was still achieved.  Like stated above, it was a nice game to play as a filler game, and it does not take more than 90 minutes to play.  I did try signing up for a few events, but only played in 1 game at this years NOVA Open. This is one that will still make the cut tomorrow.

Events

2019
So what kind of events and I am looking at for 2019.  In my previous years, this section mainly was for the larger conventions that I had hoped to attend.  But for 2019, there are a lot of 1,2 day out of town Guild Ball events that I will be looking at also.  There is still not much info out there for the later part of 2019, but here is what I am looking at:
February: Bourbon Trail Open IV (Guild Ball)
March: AdeptiCon (Guild Ball, X-Wing)
April: Spring Fling ? (Guild Ball)
May: MuseOn Con ? (Guild Ball)
June: East Canadian Nationals ? (Guild Ball)
August: GenCon 1 Day (Vendor Hall)
October: SteamCon USA (Guild Ball)
December: Second Wind (Guild Ball)

To be honest, 2019 was a really great year for Events and exceeded the above list.  In June, I did not attend the East Canadian Nationals, it ended up being too close to MuseOn Con in dates.  SteamCon USA never happened in October, so in September we attended NOVA Open again, and October I hosted the Guild Ball Championships at the Michigan GT.  I cancelled Second Wind in December in favor of attending the Renegade Open in November. 2019 saw a lot of travel to events, and unfortunately the list for 2020 will be very slim for me.


New Additions:

Aristeia!
While at AdeptiCon 2019, Aristeia! really caught my attention and thought it would be a fun game to throw down every now and then and I jumped all in.  Well it was another MISS, we played 3 games and it has since been just sitting on the shelf.

Judgement
Boy did AdeptiCon 2019 do a number on me and bought into another game, just like Aristeia! Above, it was MISS.  Models are still sitting in the same boxes as purchased and no games were played. I am going to have to look at unloading these models as I really see no time for this game.

Comebacks:

Warhammer 40000
This one really surprised me!  The past few months I got the itch to break out Warhammer 40000 again, I had told myself I was done with GW, but we seem to always get sucked back in.  One of the huge benefits of this game is that you can find models at any gaming store, and I like to impulse buy, so it is nice to walk into a gaming store and purchase a model and not just a pot of paint.  We are still getting our feet wet with the rules of 8th Edition, but I see 2020 looking really good for this game, with a new Imperial Fists army that I am currently working on, and I have my eye on one more for 2020.

Conclusion:

All in all, I can say 2019 was actually a really good year for painting models (mainly BMG) and getting in some games.  I had a goal of 110 games played, but fell short of that mark, not too bad as it was still in the 90’s.

Here’s to 2020! and Happy New Year1

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Weekly Chronicle 2019 #31 (GenCon Recap)

GenCon 2019  has come and gone now, and yesterday was a good time, but before we get more into that, just a quick usual weekly recap.

Gaming was pretty decent last week with 3 games of X-Wing played, we are preparing for the NOVA Open Grand Championship at the end of the month, so we are trying different lists until we find one that we like.  There will be a lot more X-Wing the rest of the month as I am still undecided on my list.  BMG games will have to take a back seat until we get back from NOVA, we may and try to squeeze in one though for the month.

Painting was also really good last week, I was able to complete another 6 models for Batman Miniature Game, though I do not have any more models currently prepped and ready to go so it may be a bit before I post anymore BMG models, which is OK since I have two Guild Ball Rookie models I need to also get completed or NOVA Open and they will be next in my Queue.

Games Played: 3
Models Completed: 6

So now onto GenCon 2019.
The day started pretty early for my son and I while I had to take care of the dogs before we headed out for our 3 hour drive, but we arrived at the time I was hoping for which was around 9:15 AM.  We easily found our Parking Garage (I prepaid with ParkWhiz) and proceeded the 3 blocks to the Convention Center, along the walk you can the city advertising for GenCon.

Luckily this year, I pre-purchased our badges for the day and we did not have to stand in an hour long line like last year, we got inside the Convention Center before the doors to the Vendor Hall were open, so we decided to check out the Gaming Hall.  Last year I did not make it to the Gaming Hall as I spent all my time in the Vendor Hall, but I am glad this year I was able to check out the Gaming Hall.  The Gaming Hall is so large with a lot of different manufacturers running their tournaments and demo games.  By seeing the Gaming Hall, it actually makes me want to sign up for a tournament in future years.

We got through the Gaming Hall around 10:10 AM and it was perfect timing as we did not have to wait for the doors to open for the Vendor Hall, there was access to the Vendor Hall from the Gaming Hall and we started our stroll through the Vendor Hall from the higher number rows and worked our way down, which was nice for us since Miniature Market was in the higher numbers and we could see what miniatures they had with them for BMG.

I saw some models that I wanted to get, but since they still had a lot left, I decided to hold off on my purchase we can just come back before we leave.

We then proceeded to the Steamforged Games booth, nothing new for Guild Ball, but I was already expecting that, but we spent a few minutes there catching up with friends.

As we left the Steamforged Games booth, a vendor caught my eye.  I saw some dragon flasks that looked really cool and I had to get one for my Bourbon.

Our next stop was the Knight Models booth, this is the first year that KM was at GenCon, although they had a really nice booth, they had nothing they were selling there and were referring people to Miniature Market, the only item we had wanted was the new DC Universe Rulebook, but I guess we will have to do an online order for that when it comes out.  We were able to get a closer look at the upcoming Doom Patrol and Watchmen models.

After Knight Models we came across Red Republic Games (Arena Rex), I knew I did not have much on my shopping list for them this year (seeing how the game slid a bit for us), but they did release a new Beast for GenCon, 'Crassus' a bear, so I had to pick that up along with some Arena Rex dice to use as "Favor Dice".

Seeing how we spent a little over an hour walking up and down 4-5 aisles (and there were 30), we decided to start heading towards the booths that we wanted to see, and then we can backtrack to the other aisles afterwards.

We did hit two more vendors along the way, Chessex (where we picked up a dozen D8's to be used for DCU) and another dice company that some really nice satin dice bags we can use for BMG.

All the talk on the internet for gaming the last few days were about the new Marvel Crisis Protocol Miniature Game from Atomic Mass Games, so our next stop was there booth.  As I mentioned the other day, I am iffy about this game, and I am still iffy.  The models are really nice, but do I "need" another superhero game (with BMG and DC).  Pre-orders for the game just went up and I still need to decide what we are going to do.  It looks like the game will be releasing at the end of September, early October.  I do have to say, they did a great job on the demo boards.

After visiting Marvel Crisis Protocol and how we were right next to Fantasy Flight Games, it was time to check out some X-Wing minis.  I also needed to grab another Scum ship (seeing how Amazon shipped me the wrong ships) and I was impressed on how you purchased items from FFG.  They have registers with a catalog book, you order from the catalog, pay and then someone grabs your items from the back and hands them to you.  I think it makes it a little quicker than everyone hovering over all the models.

It was getting pretty close to lunch time, but we wanted to do one more stop before we checked out the Food Trucks and this was Privateer Press.  Their new game Riot Quest was very tempting along with Mosterpocalypse, but I managed to walk away from the booth with just 8 bottles of paint (6 new colors) that I needed.

Now it was time to head outside to grab some lunch from the food trucks, and they were pretty pricey.  We managed to find a BBQ truck and got 2 pulled chicken sandwiches and 2 bottles of water for $20.

Just like the Gaming Hall, last year I was not able to visit the gaming inside Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts), and I thought this would be cool to see.  We followed the underground corridor to the Stadium and it was impressive.  We actually got to stand on the 50 yard line in the center of the Stadium.  It looked this area was setup with a board game library, and a lot of tables just for open gaming.  This being on a Sunday there were not too many people, but I can see this being packed on Friday/Saturday.  I am not sure if this area is open 24 hours like the rest of the Con.

We then proceeded back to the Vendor Hall to look at any booths we may have missed, and to pick up my models from Miniature Market.  We did come across Modiphius Entertainment (makers of the Fallout miniature game) and it looks like they have a new miniature game releasing soon, Eldar Scrolls: Call to Arms.  My son seemed very interested and even purchased a limited edition model they had for sale.  I may have to take a look at the rules for this game when it is released.

Up next was heading back to the Miniature Market booth when I picked up some needed BMG models, 'Teen Titans', 'Grifter', 'Bronze Tiger', and 'Justice League Dark'.

Of course on the way home we had to stop in South Bend for some dinner at Hooters.

So the question is, will we be back next year?  All honestly I really do not know, it would not be just for Vendor Hall shopping, it was $50 for parking and badges which most of the items I could have purchased online.  If we attended next year, it would have to be for some gaming events (but we already have a few Cons lined up for next year already).

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