2023 Year in Review

As we come to the close of 2023 and welcome 2024, it is that time of the year for my annual "2023 Year in Review".

As I do each year, 2023 started with a "What's in store for 2023!" so we will use that post as a basis for our year in review.

Bolt Action

Painting Goal: None currently, we have enough models painted for the 1000 point event and plenty for the 450 points for AdeptiCon.

Gaming Goal:  We will probably be playing 3 games at the event, and I can see at least another 2 for the year.  For now I am going to keep it real low at 5 games and we shall see what happens.

As stated above, I had no expectations of painting anything for Bolt Action, and that stayed the same.  I did manage to get in 3 games of Bolt Action, but fell short of 5 for the year.  We played at one event early in the year, but did not manage to play at AdeptiCon.

Marvel Crisis Protocol

Painting Goal: I am not making any promises on this one. For 2022 I painted around 100 models for the game and we now have painted what really need. I still have 30+ models in the back log for the game and I am currently painting them when I am in the mood. I am sure when a “new, cool” model gets released it will take priority.

Gaming Goal: With 60+ games played in 2022 (which was a record for me with a single game system), 2023 “should” be a good year too. I am going to set my goal of just shy of 1 game a week with a total of 50 games played for 2023.

Marvel Crisis Protocol was/is the staple game for my son and I currently, where most of our time has been spent with this game.  In regards to painting models, I did manage to paint another 22 models for the year and as stated, it was mainly models that I thought were cool or wanted to try out in a new list.  Most of my time the last few months has been catching up on painting terrain for MCP, and boy do we know have a lot of terrain.

For gaming, I set another new record with 90 games played for 2023 (a new record for single game system).  We ended up playing at quite a few events (local and distance) and quite a few games at home.  With the quick game play of Marvel Crisis Protocol, we will be riding MCP into 2024.

Middle-earth SBG

Painting Goal: This one is hard to say, nothing is currently planned, but there is a chance that a model here or there may need to be completed.

Gaming Goal: Also as above, a few games of practice will be needed, in either case, I think maybe I can get in 1-2 games in for the year.

Middle-earth SBG was a bust this year.  I did not play Battle Companies at AdeptiCon, nor did we attend the NOVA Open.  I think these models will still be staying in the gaming bag in the future.

Warhammer 40,000

Painting Goal: Currently no plans.

Gaming Goal: Currently no plans.

I had no plans for Warhammer 40,000 this past year and it stayed that way, even with the release of a new edition.  I realized the Games Workshop money grab once again and the game stayed on the shelf.  As of now I only see this game hitting the table again if Atomic Mass Games loses the license for Marvel.

Star Wars Legion

Painting Goal: No plans, but a few models may get painted in between painting MCP.

Gaming Goal: Tough to say with what we may see coming out this summer (see below).

Star Wars Legion was a bit of a disappointment for me in 2023.  No models were painted and no games played were played.  Atomic Mass Games did release a new game called Star Wars Shatterpoint which is more skirmish based like Marvel Crisis Protocol, but we did not jump on that game either.  We have been just having too much fun with Marvel Crisis Protocol, nothing else fit in.

New Games for 2023?

As I had mentioned twice above “see below”, Atomic Mass Games (makers of MCP, and current owner of SWL) are releasing a new Star Wars game this Summer called “Star War Shatterpoint”. AMG currently has only teased the game with planned demos at AdeptiCon 2023, but as of now looks to be played very similar to MCP. If that is the case, this game will be competing for time with Star Wars Legion.

I think I can honestly say that 2023 was the first year I probably did not get into a new game.  Already mentioned above plenty of times, MCP was the game.

Events

March 22nd - 26th: AdeptiCon

August 30th - September 3rd: NOVA Open ?

October 6th - 8th: Michigan GT ?

October xx- xx: Second Wind ?

November 3rd - 5th: Warfaire Weekend?

Events are what I look forward to in the year, and we actually had a really busy year (especially in the Fall).  We managed Adepticon in March, Atlantic City Open in June (not on above list), Michigan GT in October, Second Wind 5 in October and Warfaire Weekend in November (not on above list).  We also attended some one day events of MCP in Chicago, Lansing, Kalamazoo and even a trip to Ontario Canada.  Next year a new event will be on the list, but stayed tuned tomorrow for that one.

Come back tomorrow to see What's in store for 2024, I have a feeling it will be a very short list.

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What's in store for 2023!

Happy New Year 2023!

Well, today is the day I write out all my goals for the year only to find out on December 31st that I fell short once again.

So I think for 2023 like I did for 2022, I am going to keep it short and realistic.

This list will be again much shorter than last years, and if by chance I do play something not on the list, well then that will be a bonus. It is a little sad that some of the old staples will not be on this year.

Bolt Action

Bolt Action has not been on this list for some time, but not long ago when the AdeptiCon preview cart was made available, there was an event called "Combat Patrol" that sounded like it could fun, 450 points with quick games to be played on Thursday night.  This itch made my son and I did out all our Bolt Action models and see what we have and start working on lists.

There is a semi-local 1000 point event on January 21st that we are going to attend to help us shale the cobwebs off.

Painting Goal: None currently, we have enough models painted for the 1000 point event and plenty for the 450 points for AdeptiCon.

Gaming Goal:  We will probably be playing 3 games at the event, and I can see at least another 2 for the year.  For now I am going to keep it real low at 5 games and we shall see what happens.

Marvel Crisis Protocol

Well since around February of 2022, Marvel Crisis Protocol (MCP) has basically taken over all of my hobby/gaming time. I love this game for a plethora of reasons, some are, it’s Marvel!, it plays quick (90 minutes and we can play 2 games in the time it takes 1 in other systems).

MCP will be my staple game for 2023, a new Crisis card set was just released three weeks ago so we have new missions for the year, and there are plenty of models scheduled to be released.

Painting Goal: I am not making any promises on this one. For 2022 I painted around 100 models for the game and we now have painted what really need. I still have 30+ models in the back log for the game and I am currently painting them when I am in the mood. I am sure when a “new, cool” model gets released it will take priority.

Gaming Goal: With 60+ games played in 2022 (which was a record for me with a single game system), 2023 “should” be a good year too. I am going to set my goal of just shy of 1 game a week with a total of 50 games played for 2023.

Middle-earth SBG

MeSBG making the list once again this year because there is still a small chance I may be playing in the Battle Companies event at AdeptiCon or Doubles event at NOVA Open.

Painting Goal: This one is hard to say, nothing is currently planned, but there is a chance that a model here or there may need to be completed.

Gaming Goal: Also as above, a few games of practice will be needed, in either case, I think maybe I can get in 1-2 games in for the year.

Warhammer 40,000

I was way off with Warhammer 40,000 for 2022, but I am going to leave it on the list for 2023 “just in case”. You never know what may happen with this game or MCP.

Painting Goal: Currently no plans.

Gaming Goal: Currently no plans.

Star Wars Legion

Star Wars Legion (SWL) was a new game we added in 2022. The goal for us was to play this game with the Skirmish rule set and we did get a few games in. We picked up this game as filler between MCP games and I think this will still be the case for 2023. I have painted 800 points of Empire, so playing Skirmish games at 500 points is easily doable. There is a chance this game may get shelved for us (see below).

Painting Goal: No plans, but a few models may get painted in between painting MCP.

Gaming Goal: Tough to say with what we may see coming out this summer (see below).

New Games for 2023?

As I had mentioned twice above “see below”, Atomic Mass Games (makers of MCP, and current owner of SWL) are releasing a new Star Wars game this Summer called “Star War Shatterpoint”. AMG currently has only teased the game with planned demos at AdeptiCon 2023, but as of now looks to be played very similar to MCP. If that is the case, this game will be competing for time with Star Wars Legion.

Events

I originally had planned quite a few events for 2023, but a change of jobs recently is going to damper those plans. I am still working on what events we want to attend, I have thoughts in mind compared to what reality might be. Realistically it will probably be a Spring event and a Fall event.

March 22nd - 26th: AdeptiCon

August 30th - September 3rd: NOVA Open ?

October 6th - 8th: Michigan GT ?

October xx- xx: Second Wind ?

November 3rd - 5th: Warfaire Weekend?

As you can see above, the Fall event is still undecided. I really wanted to go back to the Atlantic City Open in June, but I do not think that will be possible.

Now we’ll see if the above holds true for 2023. 

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2022 Year in Review

Well it is New Year's Eve, December 31st 2022, and you know what that means.  It is my annual "2022 Year in Review"

As I do each year, 2022 started with a "What's in store for 2022!" so we will use that post as a basis for our year in review.

Middle-earth SBG

Painting Goal:  This one is hard to say, as stated above, if we play in the Doubles, I'll have to finish an army in time.

Gaming Goal:  Also as above, a few games of practice will be needed, in either case, I think maybe I can get in 1-2 games in for the year.

Well MeSBG had a small chance this year, and I failed to live up to that little bit.  The urge to play would come and go, and I even painted a few models to prepare for AdeptiCon 2023 just in case.  With a goal of 1-2 games, 0 games were played.

Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000 will be the bulk of 2022 for me.  Between adding on more Units to my new Necron army, and new Codex's coming out for armies I already have to attending tournaments, all my time will be mainly spent here.

Painting Goal: In all honestly, I think for the first time I do not have a painting goal.  I would have said my Necron army, but this past Fall I managed to paint over 2000 Points of Necrons, so 2022 will be adding to that army.  I also have a Chaos Space Marines, and a Tyranid army on the back burner that are waiting for a new Codex, so we shall see who gets a Codex first and that army probably will hit the painting table next.

Gaming Goal: Last year I had a goal of 24 games and I hit it with 29 games played and I think 24 games will be another realist goal to hit.  I do think that with events somewhat opening back up, this number should be easily attained.

I cannot believe what a FLOP! I had with Warhammer 40,000 this past year.  W40K was going to be my bread and butter game for 2022 and half way through the first month of January things really turned around.  I did attend the Las Vegas Open 2022 and played the first day of the 'Warhammer 40,00 Friendly' with the second day shopping and enjoying myself at the bar.

A few more of my Necron models did get completed, but with a gaming goal of 24 games, I only managed to play 5 games in 2022 (and 2 of them were in Vegas).

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.

Painting Goal: Not Applicable (pre-painted miniatures)

Gaming Goal: I had a goal of 6 games for 2021 and I fell way short with only 1 game played.  An updated version (v2.5) will be coming out early 2022 so I know we will play a few games to try out the updated rules.  So for 2022, I think I will set my goal to 5 games.

As with the three games above, X-Wing was another FLOP! for me.  We did not try the new v2.5 rule set, nor reached my goal of 5 games played, kind of hard to do when 0 games were played.  I have a feeling in 2023 this game will finally be officially shelved/boxed for me.

Events

COVID has really messed up 2020 and most of 2021 for attending events, 2022 has more events scheduled but there seems to always be a new variant coming out, so events are always risky at the moment.

We do have quite a few events planned out so far for 2022:

• January 28th - 30th: Las Vegas Open
• March 23rd - 27th: AdeptiCon
• May 13th-15th: Motor City Mayhem
• August 7th - 14th: Cruisehammer
• September 30th - October 2nd: Michigan GT 

If we can make those 5 events, it will be a good year.

Some of the events above we did attend (LVO, AdeptiCon) and some we did not (MCM, Cruisehammer, MiGT) but we added a few other events for the year.  One of the biggest add-on's for the year was the Atlantic City Open (ACO) and I had a really good time there.  We had a few more planned for the Fall, but personal reasons kept us from attending.

New Games for 2022?

NONE....  I have too many games already sitting on the shelf.  Warhammer Age of Sigmar did not make the above list and we do have plenty of models for the game now, so if its played, as originally stated way above, it will be a plus.

Okay, here are where things took a change and I believe for the better.  Back on January 24th of 2022 in my "Weekly Chronicle #4" I talk about the game Marvel Crisis Protocol (MCP) and how it has started to interest me after attending Universal Studios Florida.  That happened to be the week before Las Vegas Open 2022.  While at LVO, there were some vendors selling MCP at a really good price so a lot of models were purchased, followed by vendors at AdeptiCon and so on and next thing you know we have almost every model in the range including two copies of the Core Set.

I have always liked games that are quick to play, and MCP is that game (plus the added benefit of Marvel Super Heroes).  Between setup, playing, and clean up, you can be done in 2 hours.  Each game is 90 minutes (and we play on a clock) and there have even been days where we would get a back to back game in.

So as you can see in the original games above, of the three games, only 5 games were played in total, that is because I had played 62 games of Marvel Crisis Protocol this past year and I do not see it letting up anytime soon.

Another game we picked up in 2022 was Star Wars Legion, we have been going back and forth about this game for awhile and finally picked up some models.  We were going to be playing in a Narrative game at LVO 2023 (but that is not going to be happening now) but I did manage to paint up a 800 point force.  We also played 5 games this year and then it kind of sizzled again due to MCP.  Not sure what will happen in 2023 for this game with talks of a new Star Wars game coming from AMG similar to MCP.

Come back tomorrow for "What's in Store for 2023!"

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Weekly Chronicle 2022 #13 (AdeptiCon 2022 Recap)

 

AdeptiCon 2022 has come and gone, and unfortunately 2022 was a short event for me.  I had to work on Thursday and had other personal commitments on Saturday, so Friday was my only day to really attend the event.

I was originally signed up for the Warhammer 40,000 Friendly on Friday, with the plan that I was able to get downstairs on Thursday to do my Vendor Hall shopping, but real work kept me busy all day on Thursday.

Thursday night after dinner, I did get a game of Warhammer 40,000 in with my son, and then I decided to bow out of the Friendly on Friday and do my Vendor Hall shopping and visits with old friends.

I did really good in the Vendor Hall, I was so tempted to pick up a few different games, but I never have time, so I kept it to my main two core of the year, Warhammer 40,000 and Marvel Crisis Protocol, and most of it was for MCP.

AdeptiCon 2022 purchases.

I am disappointed I could only attend 1 day at the greatest miniature convention in the US, next year I will plan it a bit better and make sure nothing else interferes with the weekend.

Here are a few pics from the time I was there.

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Weekly Chronicle 2022 #8

It was a pretty decent week for me hobbying.  I was able to finish up my Necron 'Chronomancer' and try him out in a practice game on Saturday (which I realized I really still need to learn the Necrons better, even tough I did get a win).  I really only have one more weekend (this coming weekend) to get another practice game with them, and instead of trying a different list again, I think I need to play the one I played and just stick with that one for AdeptiCon, and hopefully I'll do alright.

We did not get in a game of Marvel Crisis Protocol, but I did start attacking our backlog of unpainted models and made some really good progress, those will be posted in the coming days.

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W40K: Necrons 'Chronomancer I'

List submissions are due pretty soon for the 2022 AdeptiCon Warhammer 40,000 Friendly, and I have it narrowed down to a possible three, all are pretty much the same with a slight variant.

Two of my lists have the new 'Chronomancer' model that I picked up at the Las Vegas Open, and seeing how I am limited on the number of days for a practice game, today being one of them, I wanted to get the last model I needed for my lists completed.  Last night I put this guy on the painting table and was able to complete him for today's game.

Chronomancer I

Chronomancer I

Painting Points: 2

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W40K: Necrons 'Lychguard I'

I always able to finish up this Unit faster than what I had orginally planned, which is always a good thing.

I received this box as a Christmas present from my son since I did not have a Unit of 'Lychguard' yet, and this Unit provides a nice bodyguard protection when run alongside a Noble Character.  Plus when this Unit is outfitted with a Shield (like I have), they have a 2+ Save and a 4+ Invulnerable Save, they are nice Unit to hold a center Objective (especially when run in a Unit of 10...hmmm)

Lychguard I

Painting Points: 5

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Weekly Chronicle 2022 #7

I have not really been keeping up with "Weekly" Chronicles, but some are better than none.

Let's see where we are at with projects and gaming since coming home from the Las Vegas Open.

First up, we assembled "most" of the models we had purchased for Marvel Crisis Protocol that we purchased while at LVO, there are still a few models that came in the two packs that we have not completed yet.

Assembled Marvel Crisis Protocol models.

This past Saturday we then also played two more games of MCP (game #'s 2 &3) to still get more familiarized with the rules.  The games took us quite a bit of time to complete and I think soon we will start playing with a chess clock to help speed up the games.

So where I am at with Warhammer 40,000 besides the two games at LVO and one in Arizona, I am only sitting at those three games played for the year, but with AdeptiCon fast approaching, a few more practice games will be played before we head there.

I am currently working on painting up a Unit of 'Lychguard' for my Necrons that should be completed any day now, this Unit is in one of my test lists for the AdeptiCon Friendly event, so if it makes it to the final cut, then the Unit will be completed.

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Weekly Chronicle #5 Las Vegas Open 2022 Recap

Late last night my son and I came back to AZ after spending the weekend in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Open 2022.

We were attending LVO for the Warhammer 40,000 Friendly event which was taking place on Saturday and Sunday (2 games on each day).  Well for me, it was only 2 games on Saturday.  My plan/intent was to play both days, but after checking into the event on Saturday, some of the lists were not so "friendly" and I knew my "fluffy all bolter themed" list had no chance.

I kept my 2 games pretty close, but ended up losing both of them.  My son was playing his Dark Angels, and he managed to go 1-1 on both days for a 2-2 overall record.  For some reason Best Coast Pairings is not showing the correct data, so we do not know where he finished overall.

I mainly attend events for the ambiance anyways, and the vendor shopping, and boy did we buy a lot, and it was mainly for our new game Marvel Crisis Protocol, I cannot even remember how many models we purchased, seems like every time we walked into the vendor hall, we came out with another model (there was a good deal going on, 25% off).  My son also did find me a Chronomancer model for my Necron army that I have been looking for awhile, so I was really happy.

The dining is another reason I like to attend these events, especially in Las Vegas.  For Friday night I had made us reservations at Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, and then while having dinner there, I managed to get us a reservation for Saturday night at his Pub & Grill, so the dinners were very expensive, but I do not gamble much, so it all evens out.

Below are some pictures throughout the weekend.

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Weekly Chronicle #4: Marvel Crisis Protocol

Back on January 1st (just a few weeks ago, in my "What's in store for 2022!", I had wrote for New Games in 2022, "NONE", well that did not last long.

While spending a week away at Universal Studios Florida and the whole week just at their parks and a lot of time in Marvel Land, the game Marvel Crisis Protocol started to get in my head.  On top of that, then one night after the park closed, I finally went and saw the new Spider-Man movie, No Way Home, and that really sealed the deal for me.

I first wrote about Marvel Crisis Protocol back in 2019 when the game was first coming out, and we were unsure if we would be purchasing it at that time with all the other games we played, well most of the other games have really hit the back burner and we mainly just play Warhammer 40,000 most of the time (which is fine, but every now and then it is nice to throw down a different game).

Late last week I decided to place an order for the Core Box (I had $20 in a free pre-paid card) so the game only costed me another $60.

The box arrived this past Saturday, and right away I went to assembling miniatures so we can do a walk through game on Sunday.  Unfortunately the miniatures took a bit more time than I had thought to put together (I do not think I will complain about putting together another Games Workshop miniature again) and I was only able to finish 8 models (4 and 4) instead of all 10.

Sunday came and we did our first walk through game, and I really liked it a lot, it sort of reminded me of when we played 2nd edition Batman Miniature Game (we never purchased into 3rd edition with all the changes they did).  The one thing that I do not like about the game is that you do not get any Victory Points for Knocking Out models.  I do with that this would be at least 1 Point.  My Squad of Red Skull, Back Widow, Ultron and Spider-Man did edge out the win 16-14.

Marvel Crisis Protocol will not be our new game that replaces Warhammer 40,000 (I have too much invested in Warhammer 40,000 an it is still an easier game to purchase at our local gaming stores), but I do see MCP being played at least once a month.

We leave for the Las Vegas Open this Thursday and will be in Las Vegas on Friday, I am going to see if there are any more models I can pick up for this game while there.

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