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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Battle Report: Arena Rex 3/25/2019 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII (3v3)

Wow, I cannot believe it has been three months since our last game of Arena Rex, and the first game of 2019, I do miss the quickness of the game play, I may have to remember that as I am shopping the aisle of the vendor hall at AdeptiCon this week.

We played the scenario "Duellum" which we played once before back in October of 2018.

Scenario: Duellum

Two Gladiators take center stage while their cohorts jockey for position and favor.  The grand melee begins when one of the duelists falls.

Special Rules: Each player secretly selects one gladiator from their cohort to take part in the duel.  Dueling models may not voluntarily leave the duel zone.  No other models may enter the duel zone until one of the dueling gladiators is defeated or pushed completely outside of the zone.  Dueling models must be activated if they are Ready.

Deployment: A 5" diameter ring is placed at the center of the arena, this is the duel zone.  The dueling gladiators are deployed in base contact with one another at the center of the duel zone.  Remaining models deploy in base contact with their controlling player's arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: Each player must bring at least one gladiator.  Gladiators selected for the duel may not have more than one stage.

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

The Arena setup.

 Both Ludus lose their men in the zone.

Down to the last two men standing, and Micon was able to push Gaius Pallidus into the pits for the victory.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 12/28/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

It has been a pretty long while since our last game of Arena Rex, so instead of a rematch of Guild Ball yesterday, I decided to get the arena ready for battle.

I also decided to try a new scenario 'Geminae' that we have never played before.

Scenario: Geminae
Rival cohorts vie for control of the hart of the arena and the love of the crowd.

Special Rules: Place 2 dual zones in the arena (5" diameter).

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player's arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The first player to control both duel zones is the victor.  The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor, otherwise.

The arena setup.

The scenario conditions for a win made this game play very fast.  Before anyone was killed, my Ludus Magnus had both duel zones controlled.  

Ludus Magnus controlling both dual zones.

Since no gladiator was slain yet, we decided to continue on with the game and play last gladiator standing.  At this point we decided to make the duel zones "Rings of Fire" and each time you cross the ring your gladiator will take 3 damage (but you would gain a Favor for entering the ring).  This is where Legio XIII started to make a comeback and got me down to one model remaining with 'Micon'.  In order for 'Micon' to finish off one of the Legio gladiators he would have to cross the ring and sacrifice himself.  There was no coming back for a victory, so 'Micon' made that sacrifice and Legio XIII won the match with 'Ban-Luca' still standing.

The match was actually 1-1.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 10/25/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII (3v3)

It has been 2 weeks since our last game of Arena Rex (mainly getting in some Guild Ball practice) but last night my son and I threw down for a quick 3v3 game.  Now that I ha few more models assembled than the original 3 from the starter set, it may for a more interesting game.

The Arena

Ludus Magnus:

Micon

Septimus

Otho Mentulus

Legio XIII:

Gaius

Aquila

Valen

For a little added variety and fun, I decided to place a Living Hazard in the Arena, 'Leo'.  Unfortunately though 'Leo' did not see any action.  I was setup to take advantage of him with 'Micon', but 'Micon' saw 'Valen' sitting right next to the Pit so he changed directions and engaged 'Valen' and successfully pushing him into the Pit, it was a quick start for my Ludus Magnus.  'Micon' then did work on 'Aquila' and he ended up in the Pit.  Now it was a 3 on 1 battle and 'Gaius' could not hold his own, but manged to take out 'Micon'.  This time it was 'Otho Mentulus' that was able to get the push on 'Gaius' into the Pits and the Ludus Magnus were victors.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 10/11/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

Played another 5v5 game of Arena Rex last night and this time I did not play with 'Nero', instead yesterday I quickly assembled 'Otho Mentulus' for my Ludus Magnus to make it a little bit more fair against my son.

We also played a new scenario called 'Duellum' where we both had to start with a gladiator in a 5" duel zone in the center of the arena.  No one else could enter the duel zone until one of the gladiators was killed or pushed out of the arena.  In the center of the arena, it was 'Septimus' for the Ludus Magnus and 'Aquila' for Legio XIII.

'Septimus' did quick work of pushing 'Aquila' out of the duel zone, but then he met his fate being pushed in a pit.  The same fate fell for 'Otho' who did not do much in this game.  Just about right from the start I was already down 2 gladiators.  The Ludus Magnus started to make comeback with the help of 'Micon' pushing and throwing Legio models into the pits, but my final 2 gladiators could not get me the victory.  It was a loss for the Ludus Magnus.

Scenario: Duellum

Two Gladiators take center stage while their cohorts jockey for position and favor.  The grand melee begins when one of the duelists falls.

Special Rules: Each player secretly selects one gladiator from their cohort to take part in the duel.  Dueling models may not voluntarily leave the duel zone.  No other models may enter the duel zone until one of the dueling gladiators is defeated or pushed completely outside of the zone.  Dueling models must be activated if they are Ready.

Deployment: A 5" diameter ring is placed at the center of the arena, this is the duel zone.  The dueling gladiators are deployed in base contact with one another at the center of the duel zone.  Remaining models deploy in base contact with their controlling player's arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: Each player must bring at least one gladiator.  Gladiators selected for the duel may not have more than one stage.

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

 The arena setup.

 The selected duelists in the center of the arena.

Down to Last Man Standing for each of the cohorts.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 9/27/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

I was able to get in another 5v5 game of Arena Rex last night with 'Nero' once again in my lineup and it was another win for my Ludus Magnus.  I was actually a little shocked last night that 'Micon' finally pulled his weight and was able to Push 3 Legio XIII models into the Pits before he fell to his death.  'Nero' was again the last of my models surviving.

I think next time we may try a 4v4 and I will remove 'Nero' from my lineup to keep it a little more fair until  I can get a few more models assembled, playing against a Titan can be pretty rough, but it does feel pretty nice getting in some wins.

Scenario: Munus

A classic match evolved from funeral traditions, the Munus is a standard combat between equally matched cohorts.

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player’s arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 9/15/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

Last night my son and I played our first 5v5 game of Arena Rex.  Yesterday morning I quickly assembled 'Septimus' for my Ludus Magnus Cohort, and 'Sulla', 'Valen' for my sons Legio XIII Cohort.  With 'Nero' already being completed, we were now able to play a 5v5 game.

Scenario: Munus

A classic match evolved from funeral traditions, the Munus is a standard combat between equally matched cohorts.

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player’s arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

As with all my previous games (but 1) my original 3 Ludus Magnus models went down pretty quickly, but it was 'Nero' and 'Septimus' that changed the game for me and pulled out the victory.  Slowly but surely I was able to bring down all of the Legio XIII.  I actually do have to give some credit to 'Micon', at least in this game he was able to push a model into a Pit before he fell to his death.

I still need some more practice with 'Nero' and 'Septimus' as playing with Mount is a bit different.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 8/24/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

Last night my son and I played another 3v3 game of Arena Rex, and this one really flew by.  I tried to play aggressive and forgot how easy it is to Push in this game.  I had two models too close to the Pits and they easily fell to their deaths.  It was another loss for my Ludus Magnus.  Next time I need remember more about them.  Besides falling into the Pits, I think the rules are starting to come around for us, there are still a few things that I am looking back into the rulebook or my reference sheet.  Once we get back from the NOVA Open, we should be ready for the larger 5v5 or even tournament size 6v6 games (as soon as I get the rest of our models assembled).

Scenario: Munus

A classic match evolved from funeral traditions, the Munus is a standard combat between equally matched cohorts.

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player’s arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 8/18/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

Yesterday morning my son and I played our second game of Arena Rex and it was pretty fun.  We still made mistakes (some very costly), but the game is really starting to grow on me.  The quick game play and setup is what I really like of this game.

We only played a 3v3 again and it took us just over an hour, I know that is still a bit slow, but we are still learning the game.  We each broke out our Starter Sets and played with the following models:

Lugus Magnus

Micon

Marcus Furius

Infelix

Legio XII

Gaius Pallidus

Aquila

Ban-Luca

We played the standard scenario once again, but this time we added an additional Pit, and we had two of my new Spikes in the arena also.

Scenario: Munus

A classic match evolved from funeral traditions, the Munus is a standard combat between equally matched cohorts.

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player’s arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

I forgot to take any pictures during the game, but my Ludus Magnus fell to Legio XIII once again.  Like I mentioned above, we still made mistakes and one of them was costly.  Early in the game we played Displacement incorrectly and I let my son place ‘Micon’ where he wanted him touching his base (instead of me placing my own model), well sure enough he was going to place him in the direction of a pit, and 3 Pushes later, ‘Micon’ fell to his death early in the game.  We re-read the rules for Displacement and corrected how to play it later in the game, but we left ‘Micon’ and dead.  It is a learning mistake.

We may try and get in another game in tomorrow night and hopefully remember from our mistakes.

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Battle Report: Arena Rex 8/8/2018 Ludus Magnus vs Legio XIII

Last night my son and I got to play Arena Rex for the first time and we were going to take our time and learn the rules and the game mechanics.  The other day I had assembled the two Starter Sets that I had picked up at GenCon, and now we were ready for battle.

I was playing the Ludus Magnus Starter Set with ‘Marcus Furius’, ‘Micon’, and ‘Infelix and my son was playing Legio XIII with ‘Aquila’, Gaius Pallidus’ and ‘Ban-Luca’.

Our Arena was bare with terrain, the only piece of terrain we were using was one Lethal Hazard, a Pit.  As I mentioned above, for this game we just wanted to go through the rules and mechanics of the game.

Scenario: Munus

A classic match evolved from funeral traditions, the Munus is a standard combat between equally matched cohorts.

Deployment: Cohorts deploy in base contact with their controlling player’s arena edge.

Cohorts: Both players bring cohorts of equal value.

Restrictions: None

Victory Conditions: The last player with models remaining in the arena is the victor.

As the fans of the Arena wait for their Gladiators.

The cohorts are both deployed and ready for battle.

‘Infelix’ is the first casualty of the Arena.

‘Micon’ pushes ‘Gaius Pallidus’ into the Pit and to his death.

‘Ban-Luca’ spears ‘Micon’ into the Pit, to his death and victory for Legio XIII.

The game was a really good learning experience and I really enjoyed how the game plays.  The one item that was hard for me to wrap around was that there was no Rounds in the game.  Each model takes alternating Turns which keeps the game really flowing.  As we got down to one model each, then Last Man Standing kicks in, for me personally (in this game) that got a bit boring as both models were just dancing around in circles trying to push the other into the Pit.  As I stated “in this game”, normally you would have more terrain features setup in the Arena and have may more obstacles that you can push your opponent into.

The plan is to play a few more games with the same 3v3 Starter Sets, but next time we add some more terrain, maybe another Pit and some Columns.

I think once we get back from NOVA Open at the end of the month, then these models will start to hit the painting table, I should have more of our models assembled that we can play with as I get these painted.

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