FreeFall

Orba, the Merc Warlord, is the perfect place to start.

That is exactly what I'm looking for. I find that often I'll go back after I seal to touch up those flash points again after the dullcoat kills em. In fact I find myself compensating and over highlighting, knowing my sealer is going to kill a certain amount. I'm gonna try what you describe on my next batch. Thanks again Anne.

Yes and no. As someone who worked the Reaper Retail booth at a Gen Con a few years ago trust me when I say that price matters a ton to gamers. This was before the Warlord game was released but there were figs out. For every person that went oooo look at the kickin Warlord figs, there were 3 that said that's a dollar more, I'll look over here. Again, it's all speculation by us here, and I think we all have valid viewpoints. Notice though, there are 3 or 4 different views. That says a lot, doesn't it? BTW, kudos to everyone for keeping this discussion to an adult level.

I just spent two days cleaning and priming all the new solos and leaders and my Chevies. They're gonna stay white for now, I gotta have my phalanx!

OH how I wish it were that easy. There's just that little matter of the 14 hour drive...

Also look at the cost of Rakham figs. You don't think that cost it built in there? Personally I have no problems with the cards what so ever. They are a game aid for a miniatures game, we're not talking about a CCG here. I wouldn't want to pay and extra .50-$1 just to get a glossy card, and I don't think I'm in the minority here. One of the biggest selling points about Warlord is the economy of it. Why ruin that jsut to increase the appearance of things that have no effect on playing the game?

Well I just got my phalanx units, and the jury is still out. I'll admit first that the little roman skirty thing didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. They are still in full armor, so I can live with it. The sculpt we haven't seen on the card is basically the same, except that his shield is lifted overhead like they are turtling. Very cool. The only disappointment to me is Merack. He's basically the same sculpt as the grunts, but with a few more adornments to his helm and armor, and a different shield/weapon combo. Not bad, I was just hoping for somthing radically different. That said, it does show the unit cohesiveness of the phalanx, so maybe it's not so bad. Overall I have to say that I'm pleased with them. When I saw the skirting I was very skeptical, but seeing them in real life they're much better. So any bets on whether or not I'll get 22 phalanx units painted by Monday?

Now THAT would rock!!

Thanks Anne. So, for table top minis would you say 2 or 3 thin coats of the RMS Sealer would be protective enough for moderate use? Would you thin it or use it straight?

I usually use Armory Sealer because it is more of a satin than a gloss and protects pretty well, then a coat of dullcoat over that. I'm always leery of using it though. It sometimes frosts the mini.

No, not exactly. I shoulda said Zephyrs. Slip o the tongue.

Personally I've never liked this eaither. I think the mounted models should be sould in pairs. Perhaps I'm spoiled with the 3 per blister mentallity, but I like the diversity. It's one reason I'm not really looking forward to my Cavalry, it will be a single model and not as exciting as the leaders/elits/solos I know and love. Yeah, but think about price point? How you price your products is important, not just for your profit margins, but for the perception of the buyer. Why do you think people price things at $4.99 instead of $5.00? Why is gas price at $2.749(with a very small9) a gallon instead of $2.75? I think many times we tend to forget that Reaper puts out products in ways that increase sales, not just in ways that cater to our convenience. They certainly haven't ever screwed us over with their business decisions and if it keep sthe company strong, whatever works. I can adapt to 2 grunts per pack as opposed to three. Heck we still don't even know if this is a marketing decision or what. It's all speculation. I just think the whole argument is spurious and knee jerkish.

Can anyone tell me how protective the brush on sealer is? Is it more like a sealer, or like a dull coat, which has no protective qualities just dulling?

I don't know, maybe I just want people to like her too much.

What kind of tables do you use. A standard Warlord table is 4x4, but even other games only use a 4x6 table and you set up along the 6' side so you still have 4' to cross to get to the other side. I don't think I've ever played on a 6x6 table unless it was a group game. I've done 6X6 games at Cons. For my home games though, we use 4X4 or 4X6 for one reason, economics. It's way easier and cheaper to build and store a 4 X whatever table than it is to make a two piece 6X6. For this reason I've gotten used to the 4X4 tables. Now for all you out there who say they love big games and big tables, how realistic is it? I mean I know I dont have the room to set up a huge game table 12' X 6' and leave it set up all the time. I also don't have hours and hours to play. For me it's more fun to sit down on a 4X4 or 4X6 and hammer away for a couple hours or 3 and then tear down. Helps with the marital bliss too. If you talk to any gamer they'll say they love big games on big terrain, so long as it's not their problem to set up or tear down.

That's actually my only concern about this, where's that third sculpt go? I can swallow 2 grunts to a pack and maybe having one extra lying around, but I really want to see the variety of 3 different sculpts. Maybe that's the plan, to only go to two sculpts because it is one less sculpt they have to pay for. If so, I can understand it, but I'll be disappointed. Not that it will stop me from buying the same amount of figs.

I think the problem with Zora is that people are missing the point of the model. She is a Mob Warlord, she commands an army that is focused on using bondslaves. My ONLY complaint about the final version of this model is that I feel her CP ended up too low. Then again, as Michael pointed out to me, she is a hybrid Warlord(cleric/Melee), not a straight caster. She probably doesn't warrant a 7 CP. I like to think of the Overlords as a thinking man's army. That's not to say that other factions are boring or anything, what I'm saying is that to get the true power of this faction you have to have more tactical thougth than just charge and smash. You have to use those extra elite guys, you have to throw those extra 5 slaves into each mob troop, you have to be willing to sacrifice to gain. Here's a good example: When we first started testing the Phalanx units, I was smoking everyone, because they couldn't kill them with archers. The next session all but one of my group showed up with an Elven archer heavy force, thinking sure shot would decimate me. Well hey, they were able to tear up my phalanx, but they concentrated so much fire on them that they forgot about the quartet of Chevaliers that were hanging out behind them. When they did split their fire, they didn't have enough juice to wipe out both groups before ti was too late. Tactics and a willingness to sacrifice my phalanx won me every game, though some were close, but it illustrates the point. I think that too often we get wrapped up in the numbers of a card and don't understand the overall balance of stats and SA's. I know I've been guilty of this in playtesting, and I like to think that I've come to understand that balance much better.

That really shoudl have been Xailor's quote: "Elves, the other white meat!"

There's a beautiful way to deal with Elven Archers. It's called Firestorm and it works for me everytime. Bring on the Fairy Folk, I love the smell fo dead treehuggers in the morning!

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Yeah I try to keep my colors down for two reasons. First I like simplicity and I think it's very easy to over do a figure. Second because he's part of an army, the fewer colors, the easier is is to replicate across the whole force.

The only thing that bothers me about this at face value is the lack of variety in the sculpts, nothing more. That said, we're seeing alternative scuplts popping up all over. So who's to say we may not see an alternative sculpt for some soldier models? Not clue if that's a fact, just a random thought from my brain.

Rogran is a bit fragile , but hey they can't all be tanks, right? You have to have units that fit all shapes, sizes and ranges. Badass but breakable, that's his schtick. As for the Daughters, all I can say is it's all about distract. You have to use them in concert with other units, but when used right, they are perfect for killing those pesky Warmaster units. Strength in number, victory in aggression. And I just have to say thank you to Bobby for the models. I was a bit disappointed in Lorena, so it's nice to see the Daughters in a more active pose. The Zephyrs, well they are light fast cavalry. Strach is going to kick a ton of tail, trust me. Someone else hit on my strategy by using GME. It's a perfect upgrade for him and makes him really nasty. You can give an opponent all kinds of headaches if you use him right. It's all starting to come together. It's so beautiful, I could cry.

Well if I'd not been short on time I would have just taken them off. I've never really understood the point of them on various Warlord figs, but just roll with it. I guess I prefer to just paint them the same so that they are there, match the scheme, but don't just out and say look at me, I'm a strap to nowhere!

The Lock Shields ability ahs gone through a lot of revisions and there was a lot of research put into it to make it function well. If you want a good idea of what it would look like, watch Troy. In the first attack on the temple Achilles and his men Testudo under their shields 3 ranks deep and ward off the ranged attack. This is the idea of how this would look. This is NOT an uber skill. This current version is balanced and effective if you use it right. You can technically move while your shields are locked. You move first, then lock shields, next activation repeat. As for defensive strikes, if you are making them you're in base to base anyway, so there's not a whole lot of point to locking shields. The biggest drawback to this aility is the requirement to be in base to base formation. Yes, that means you are firestorm food. Still, a smart player can use them to great effect. They do require a bit more tactical thought though to play effectively.

I think in the end every faction will have some cavalry, but some more than others. For example, the Overlords have 3 Cavalry units listed: Chevy(solo), Zephyr(adept but not heavy), and Lorenth(leader). Now look at how many the Nefsokar have? I can't even count that high without taking off my shoes. Why? Because they are a Cavalry heavy factions. The Overlords are an infantry heavy and elite heavy faction.